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PART 4

_Whew...good thing I'm not showing the time. She wanted some "action" and of course, being me I can't say no ;) Hot damn, that was awesome... Of course, I'm not telling who it is...you can have your guesses but I don't wanna potentially ruin anything later on. So no, I won't tell until I intend to.

Let's see...where did I leave off...oh yeah, Dorchar. Oh crap...well, the gold dragon is Dorchar...I was hoping to reveal that in the story but oh well._

We followed the gold dragon through some more hallways to one of the few rooms whose door hadn't been de-hinged or brutally massacred, and once inside he locked it tight and deadbolted it after listening for anyone else around.

"You can relax here," he said, seeing us still standing. There were some chairs nearby (note: I'm gonna do notes in parentheses for ease of reading from now on, but I have to say this: dragon chairs are what you might consider "couches", they're made to lie down on.) and Flora set Glairn down on one and sat by me on another. Dorchar settled himself on the largest chair and waited until Flora had finished cleaning my bloody back with a bit of water. It didn't hurt as much as it had initially, but it made breathing a bit more difficult because as my ribcage expanded it pulled the cut apart a bit and made it sting.

"So...about my earlier question," I said, and grunted as Flora's claw accidentally scratched the inside of the cut.

"Yes...my group and I have long known about you, Froststar."

"Ooooo...they know your real name, must be important," Glairn said teasingly.

"That is true." He looked at the floor and sighed. "Before we go any further, I must apologize for the incident four days ago..."

"Incident?" Flora asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes...our original intent was to separate you two and test your devotion, but the enemy took our plan into its paws and...well...you know what happened. But, they worked to our advantage anyway."

"How so?" I asked angrily.

He looked at me with a strange expression. "Froststar, you are wanted by many evil forces...you house a dark power that many wish to either have for themselves or to manipulate towards their purposes. Our plan was cruel on the outside, yes, but it was vital. Our messenger, the surveyor who got you two going, wants to take the full blame for what happened but I'm the one you should be angry at."

"How was it vital?" Glairn asked, confused.

He chuckled at her. "You're a bit too young to understand, but we needed Froststar and Flora to be angry at each other so they would become more attached."

Flora and I looked at each other...this was definitely odd. "And...why?" she asked.

His eyes turned to me. "You saw the inscription on your wall. That was my idea, but the enemy made it into a threat."

"'Find love or reality, Aznor...' But why? What's 'Aznor'?" I asked.

"You, Froststar, perch upon a scalpel's edge. Our intentions for you are in your best interests...you and Flora both. On the one side, you have love and happiness...but on the other side lurks the darkness passed on to you. And you only have room in your life for one of those sides." He looked at the floor again. "Our intent was to separate you and make you want each other back...the enemy wanted to enrage you and force your darker side to rise. Some higher force apparently was on our side...we hope..."

"'Hope'?" I asked, still confused.

"We were informed of your outbreak in that last fight...no, I shouldn't say it now. Later, when it's more of an issue, I'll tell you."

"Excuse me, but we still don't know your name," Glairn said a bit overly authoritatively, but the gold dragon just laughed.

"You'll be a good politician someday...my name is Dorchar, head of the Final Resistance, second in command of the Last Army."

Flora and I looked at each other oddly, and I groaned. "Okay, lemme guess...sometime in this discussion you were planning to break it to us that our assistance is needed in this 'Final Resistance'?"

Dorchar looked at me in pleasant surprise. "You're sharp! Yes, that was my goal...I wasn't counting on the little one being here, though..."

"I'm not a 'little one'!" she said angrily, and I chuckled to myself. "I'll floor you to prove it!"

Dorchar just grinned at her humorously. "Little girl, you may have been able to dominate your friends in combat, but I would not advise fighting me. Especially since you're hurt."

"Ah!" Glairn gasped, offended, and Flora and I both laughed as she hopped off the chair, holding her injured leg off the floor. "C'mon, right here, right now!!"

"Gang members," Dorchar sighed, shaking his head. He got off the chair and faced her. "Okay fine, I'll go easy on you." She darted forward and shrieked as she was suddenly strung between both his paws, her neck caught in one and her tail in the other. She flailed madly, trying to get him, and he set her down. As soon as she touched the floor she rushed at him again.

"Yikes..." Flora said as Glairn's little fist connected with Dorchar's chest and sent him staggering. He regained his balance with a grunt, and as Glairn came at him again he whipped around and caught her in the neck with his tail. It was a glancing blow, but Glairn tripped and fell, and as she got up she staggered as if she were dizzy. Dorchar just sat there, watching her with a small grin.

"Stand still and I'll show you!" she said, looking around, and fell on her side.

"What did you do to her?" I asked, curious and a bit worried.

"No worries. She'll be fine in a minute or two, it was a glancing blow to the base of the neck. No damage, it just stuns you and throws you off-balance for a bit. Very handy against rampaging enemies. I must admit, though, that blow was very impressive. I'd expect that from a male."

I coughed nervously and Flora and Dorchar looked at me curiously. "Uhhh...yeah..."

"What?" Dorchar asked as Glairn slowly sat up, reeling a bit. "Something about her?"

"Well...uuhhhh...you should ask her."

"Ask me what?"

"Why you're...well, why you're stronger than other females your age."

Glairn laughed. "Gale, you're weird. What's so wrong with saying I'm a shemale?"

Dorchar and Flora looked at her in stunned surprise, and I grunted uncomfortably and rubbed my neck. Flora cleared her throat. "Well...ummm..that's..."

"Don't you go being all sexist on me!" Glairn said angrily. "I can easily prove it!"

"No need!" Flora said quickly. I was trying not to laugh; this was all so awkward and Glairn just kept pushing it. I decided to change the subject.

"Dorchar...what was that thing? The shadowy dragon?"

His eyes darkened. "An escaped experiment the enemy used to eradicate the town. It was far stronger, but the enemy let it go because its energy was unstable. As it tore the town apart it lost its power until it became the thing you helped me kill. I knew about its attack beforehand and managed to evacuate most of the inhabitants here, but many decided to barricade themselves in the sixth basement floor..."

Flora and Glairn shuddered. "Are there more out there?" Flora asked uneasily.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I am one of several covert recruiters for my organization, and so far each one of us had encountered at least one of those creatures on our journeys."

"Who's this 'enemy' you keep talking about?"

Dorchar growled at the floor. "Have you ever heard the ancient legends of the Orcharis?"

Flora growled and I looked at her to find a face of darkness. "The most evil of dragons..."

"Yes...a dragon that tapped into unnatural power and was corrupted beyond nature's limit... He's returned in secret and is beginning an assault."

"OWWW!!" I yelled as Flora's claw again accidentally slipped into my fresh wound. A bit frustrated, I looked over my shoulder and breathed along my back, coating my back in a thin layer of frost. "No, you're fine, Flora," I said, seeing her worried look. "It just stung like hell briefly."

"You were saying?" Glairn said to Dorchar.

"All I had to say at the moment. Flora and Froststar are key in the fight now. I hate to say it, but whether they like it or not, war is on us." His eyes settled on me. "The question is...will you fight, or will you hide? Those who hide eventually are found."

The next day, after a painful healing potion salvaged from the basement storage and a back-sore sleep on the hard stone floors, Dorchar found us some old jerky in a food locker, and after eating our fill he led us up into daylight. The fires had burned down overnight, and a few dragons were flying around monitoring everything, but overall it was again deathly quiet.

"Nice to see someone with fighting spirit," Dorchar said, looking sidelong at me and Flora. "Most of those I've asked to join end up running away."

"Why can't I fight?" Glairn asked, upset.

"You're too young."

"Ocreshit! I can fight, I'm plenty old enough! I'll fight if I want to and you're not stopping me!"

I just groaned as she rode on my back...once she got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her.

"Glairn, is it? If I took you out that easily last night, you WILL NOT stand a chance against our enemies. The best thing for you to do right now is train and grow stronger."

"No!"

Flora leaned by my head and I tilted mine towards her to hear her. "Is she always like this?"

"Sadly, yes...I know how to get her to stop but I won't use that method unless you wanna see a 9-year-old crybaby."

"You guys talking loveydovey?" Glairn asked chidingly, and Flora's face clenched in frustration. I looked over my shoulder at Glairn and breathed cold air in her face as a warning.

"I've frozen you before, Glairn, and if you keep pushing any of us, I won't hesitate to do it again." That shut her up then and there, and she tucked herself between my wing-shoulders and we walked on quietly, following Dorchar. He led us out of town, and silently signaled that we were going to fly. With Glairn on my back, we had to go a bit slower than normal, but it was a very peaceful flight...relatively. As midday rolled past, we encountered a thick, damp fog over the heart of the eastern forest. I knew why; there was a swamp below and it was humid here. And that swamp housed evil creatures I never wanted to see if I could help it. Dorchar kept us flying until Glairn complained that she was hungry, and to our surprise he complied without any argument and quickly caught her a rabbit. She ate while us older ones rested, sunning ourselves on the treetops until she finished her meal. Flora and I were hungry too, and no doubt Dorchar was, but Dorchar seemed to be in a hurry and we didn't have the time to hunt deer or something more satisfying than rabbits or karse. By the time night rolled around, Flora and I could barely keep our wings moving for much longer, and Dorchar finally found a place for us to rest. Glairn slipped off my back as I came in for a landing, and she almost instantly curled up for the night. Dorchar slipped off into the forest to secure the area, and after a few minutes Flora came back after relieving herself.

"Uh...Gale, what're you doing?" Flora asked, and I paused as I chewed on a branch.

"Cleaning my teeth?" I spat out the wood and stuck the trimmed end of the stick into the ground.

"Odd way of cleaning your teeth," she said, cocking her head at me, and I snorted as I tried not to laugh.

"You look cute when you sit like that." She sat there, her paws together, her tail wrapped around her, her head tilted to the side a bit, and to top it off she opened her eyes wide and gave me a goofy grin. I couldn't resist any longer and walked up to her, getting a happy purr from her as I nuzzled her. Off to the side, Glairn grunted and her legs twitched in her sleep, and her tail was going crazy; she was hunting something, or playing, whichever one. Flora and I climbed up the trees and found quite a nice branch to rest on---it was forked several times over at one spot, making a large and comfortable net that easily supported our weight. Not too far away Flora heard Dorchar wrestling with some night creature and nestled against my side as a chilly night wind swept over us. I folded my wing over her, hiding her body almost completely under my wingskins, and she purred as she rested her head on my neck.

"Y'know," she yawned, pressing her cheek against my scales, "after seeing you get thrown around by your mouth, I can't help but wonder at how ice dragons don't have huge jaws."

I chuckled. "Well, some do, but they tend to be big in body as well. One of the computer scientists I worked with for a few years said I look like my mother...I don't remember her very well, but she was pretty slim. My parents were both ice dragons...dad had a big jaw, from what I saw in a picture, but he was also really muscular."

"You're half-and-half," Flora said teasingly, running her claw along my left bicep as she reclined against me. "I take it your dad had the crest-scale?"

"Yeah...mom had small glassy horns and dad's were silver, and mine kinda got two-toned."

She lifted her head and studied my horns. "I like it. Looks even more icy than either one alone."

"Thought you told me you didn't like ice all that much..."

She giggled. "I don't like being cold...but ice is so pretty."

I leaned me head on hers with a grin. "Well so is water..."

"Now you're just sucking up to me."

"No, I mean it! When I was younger I'd spend hours just staring at drops of water or at small streams, just watching the light and the reflections and refractions..."

She yawned and nuzzled against me again...damn, her scales were so soft and warm...I winced as the gash on my back throbbed briefly, but Flora's presence quickly drove that from my mind. I put my head down on the branch and she yawned and draped her neck over mine, and I couldn't help but smile to myself as I felt her throat rumbling peacefully as she purred.

Dorchar woke us up rather quickly, a look of urgency on his face.

"We need to move! The enemy's signal has been activated; the demons are gathering!"

Flora and I quickly got up and followed him down to the ground. Glairn jumped up onto my back and we ran as fast as we could to an open area to take off from.

"NOOO!! GALE, HELP!!" Flora screamed, and I whipped around and my blood boiled---two demons had caught her.

"Glairn, hang on!" I yelled, and Glairn's claws grappled my scales as I raced at the two demons. They were ready for me and one of them kicked me in the head as I came at them. Glairn shrieked and spat a fireball as them, taking them by surprise and making one let go of Flora. I picked myself up quickly and froze the fallen one solid, and Flora screamed again as the one holding her scratched her. I let Glairn go nuts on the frozen demon and threw myself at Flora's assailant. Dorchar was off to the side, watching me fight, but I only noticed when I finally rent the demon's throat apart with my claws after a vicious tussle on the ground. Glairn shrieked as the frozen demon snapped free of its icy trap, but she slew it quickly.

"Every time I recover from an injury or fight I get torn up again," Flora groaned, licking her side. I picked myself up off the ground and glared at Dorchar.

"Is that how you dragons fight? Leave it to others? Is this the group I accepted to join?"

"Control your anger," Dorchar replied calmly, standing up. "I wanted to see how you fight. Those demons were already wounded, so I figured I'd let you get rid of them and display your skills at the same time."

"Damn things counteracted my electricity," Flora grunted. After Dorchar tended to Flora's cuts, Glairn got on my back again and we were off. It was a very quiet flight, like yesterday, but before long we were flying above the mountains and Dorchar led us into a valley and we landed.

"Here we are," he said as we looked around. It was a nice grassy opening, snugly nestled bewteen two peaks, and off in the distance we saw dragons flying around and training.

"Ooooo...a garden!" Flora said, pointing off to the side. Dorchar nodded with a half-grin.

"We're currently creating more lodging inside the caves, so you two have the option to sleep out here in the garden while we make accomodations."

"What about me?" Glairn asked, feeling left out.

"You, little one, will have your own room for the time being. It's not very big, it's proportional to your size, but it's all we have at the moment."

"Better than nothing." She stretched her leg and hopped off my back, and after testing her injured limb on the ground she ambled off a bit. "Where do I go?"

"I'll take you once I get Flora and Froststar situated." The gold dragon turned to us. "You two will be training within the next hour, feel free to get to know others here. Tomorrow, sadly, we move out to challenge an installment of the enemy's forces, and after that...who knows."

Flora looked back at the garden. "Will we be alone out here?"

"Yes. Everyone else has rooms inside, and those with rooms are not to be outside past sunset unless given permission. And no one has permission tonight."

Hours later, we dragged ourselves to the garden to finally get some rest amid the sea of tall mountain-dwelling flowers and plants. Our bodies were completely sore and we were drop-dead tired...no one else was around and we finally had some privacy. We deserved a little cuddle-time, as Flora coined it, and she flopped on the ground and I lay down next to her. I rubbed my face against her shoulder and she wearily giggled and her foreleg went around my neck, pulling me closer. She laughed a little as I crawled up and lay myself on top of her to shield her from the cold wind blowing across the open ground as the sky opened up, and we spent a good fifteen minutes if not more just looking at each others' eyes. She reached up and put her paws on my shoulders, slowly trailing them along the back of my neck until she was hugging me. Our muscles were aching and burning, but we didn't care at all...this was our last peaceful night for a while and nothing could ruin it.

"I love you, Flora," I whispered, my nose touching hers, and she sighed happily and rubbed her nose against mine as I wrapped my tail around hers.

"I love you so much, Gale..."

I briefly kissed her and she purred...damn, how I loved that angelic rumbling... She lay her head back against the ground and I put my head down right by hers, still draped over her, and we both fell into a happy sleep. Her happy purring was like a lullaby...

Flora's eyes slowly opened as something brushed against her lower belly...something warm and stiff and slightly wet. She was still too tired to be very physically aware, but she felt Gale's weight still on her and she smiled happily and hugged him tight. He nuzzled her face and she realized he was awake, but like her he was only half-awake. For some reason their breath was heavy and ragged, and their hearts were racing like never before, and a strange, warm excitement was growing in them. Gale started moving his hips against her and she moaned as an unusual but pleasurable feeling flowed through her. She felt something brushing against her virgin slit but was enjoying this too much to pay any attention. Gale moaned and sped up a bit...Flora suddenly gasped with pain as something in her seemed to tear at the same time that warm, stiff thing pushed into her. The pain was instantly overcome by an all-body fire and she moaned, clenching her legs together and feeling a new pleasure increase. Gale grunted and pushed even further into her...he felt something warm and wet all around his penis but it felt so good he didn't realize what it was, and kept lightly thrusting with his hips. Beneath him he heard Flora moaning and whimpering in pleasure, and it somehow felt really good and he kept going, pushing in harder and harder as this new pleasure increased in him. Flora started pushing back against him every time he thrust forward, and he felt her insides begin to squeeze onto him even harder. His movements suddenly became easier as her juices began flowing around his member, and he groaned and hilted himself completely inside her repeatedly, loving this new experience. Flora was in a realm of complete bliss and pleasure, but before she knew it she felt the ecstasy increase rapidly and she screamed as she felt like she was exploding with pure pleasure.

Gale's eyes snapped open when he heard her scream followed by a rush of hot liquid around his shaft, and he looked down at her and gasped. He mistook her pleasured expression for pain and backed away quickly, his dragonhood retreating quickly into his sheath, still dripping with her fluids. She just lay there, panting heavily and moaning in her afterglow, but Gale was so distraught he thought she was in pain.

"Flora...I...what've I done?!" In a panic he ran off deeper into the garden, tears running down his face.

Flora finally came back to reality and propped herself up, looking around for Gale. She looked down at her vagina, still partly open from their activity, dripping with her juices, and she realized what had just happened. Looking around again it hit her... "Oh no...he thinks he raped me," she said to herself, and quickly but shakily rolled over and stood up to go look for him. As she went deeper into the garden she heard him crying, and quietly followed the sound and found him staring into a pool, his face wet and his wings drooping all the way to the ground. He started as he felt someone wrapping their arms around him. "Shhhh...shhh, it's okay Gale," Flora whispered, holding him tightly. He forced his way out of her arms and backed away, looking very upset.

"Flora...I-I'm so s-s-sorry..."

"About what?"

He stared at the ground. "I-I just raped you...I don't know what I w-was thinking..."

"No you didn't," she said, walking over to him. "Gale, you're fine, I'm not angry at you..."

He just looked away, and Flora nuzzled against him. "Leave me alone," he said sadly, and lay down, still heaving as he tried not to cry. Flora looked down at him, sad but understanding. She'd have to try later, now wasn't the time. He believed he'd raped her and obviously wasn't going to change his mind right now. She ran her paw along his back.

"I'll be in our sleeping spot, Gale...please don't be so hard on yourself..." She kissed him on the head and walked off quietly. Gale sideglanced over his shoulder at her, and sniffled and looked back at the pool.

How could I not know what I was doing? I asked myself, staring at my wavering reflection. Maybe I'm not meant to have friends...all I do now is hurt others...

The next morning Flora woke me up earlier than normal and all I could see was her smiling face in front of bright light.

"Too early..." I grunted and rolled over. Flora giggled, and I jumped with a startled yell as she shocked my tail.

"Waky sleepy," she said, nuzzling me. "Dorchar says evaluation and training begin soon before the attack, can't be late for that."

Memories of what happened last night suddenly flooded my head and I backed away from her, looking away. She went to rub against me again but I stepped away and she looked at me oddly. "Flora...I..." It hurt me to see her and I flew off before she could say anything. I didn't even look back as I flew for the cavern entrances, but something in me was torn up at my own actions. It took me a while, I had to ask about ten dragons where to go...a lot of others gave me weird looks...but I finally found the medic.

"So, Froststar..."

"Gale, please."

"Gale?"

"Yeah...nickname from my parents that kinda stuck."

"Okay then...Gale, have you ever had a physical before?"

I groaned. "Yes...once a year for six years while I studied computers."

He chuckled. "You're not very comfortable with it, are you?"

"Let's just say the doctors weren't the best, in practice or attitude."

"Well, might not help coming from one in the field, but--" He cut off as someone knocked on the door. "Come in." Flora slowly came in, and gave me a small grin as she caught sight of me.

"Hi...um, I'm here for evaluation?"

The medic laughed. "Well, you came to the right place but the wrong dragon."

"The dragoness next door told me to come in here."

"Oh. Well, Gale here is in line before you, is that fine?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Should I leave?"

At that moment there was a loud yell in the hallway instantly followed by a loud crashing and grinding sound as something heavy fell in front of the door. There was a lot of yelling, but someone finally yelled louder than everyone else, calling for quiet and shouting out orders. The medic brushed past me and knocked hard on the door. "What's going on out there?"

"Mining cart fell over," came the reply. "You're not the only ones barred in. HEY YOU!! GET A PICK AND PRY THIS THING LOOSE!! It's gonna take a while to clear this out."

The medic groaned and turned to us apologetically. "Well, this isn't the most awkward thing I've had to do...looks like I'll have to give you both your physical examinations."

"What's a physical?" Flora asked, and I couldn't look at anything else other than the floor.

"It's a test to check and see if everything is okay with your body---reflexes, heartbeat, lungs, the like..." He looked over at me and smirked. "Gale, you're not the only one embarrassed with the idea, but..." he looked back at Flora, "I also need to check your...private areas and see if there's anything wrong like infections or tumors or whatever."

Flora's eyes widened and she looked incredibly nervous. "Uhhh...can I wait until the other medic is free?"

"Technically yes, but Dorchar wants you two tested and ready for training as soon as possible. I've had to do female physicals before, and let me say this right now, it bothers me as much as it does for you, but it's gotta get done."

I looked at Flora a bit sheepishly. "You wanna go first and get it outta the way?"

She hesitated but slowly nodded, and the medic slipped on some claw-covers and a pair of gloves. "Don't worry, the sexual exam is very brief compared to the rest. Everyone has issues with it." He proceeded to test her reflexes, her heart rate...I just sat in the corner and half-watched, my mind ablaze with everything. For some reason, I felt like something very evil was nearby...I felt hunted and cornered, but there was nothing around. For some reason, it felt like...it felt like I was there, yet I was also somewhere else.

"Well, you're done," the medic said, and I snapped out of my trance as Flora rolled onto her belly and stood up, her face a bit red. "Good job on your first physical, you took it a lot better than other females your age." His eyes turned to me as he replaced his gloves with new ones. "Gale, you're up."

I sighed and stepped onto the stone table-block. Now it was Flora's turn to watch, and I could only stare at the floor as the medic examined my sheath and its contents. He finished by asking both of us to roll our tails in a wave-like motion, to check our flexibility and see if we had any kinks in the bones.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," I admitted.

"Speak for yourself, I don't like the idea of someone having seen my private areas," Flora grunted.

"Well, look at it this way, are you two wearing anything?"

Flora opened her mouth to speak but stopped. "Not really..."

"Hardly anyone is." He pulled the covers off his claws and knocked at the door. They were still working outside, and he tried to open it but the door wouldn't budge. With a sigh he turned to us, a strange look on his face. "This may seem awkward, but by medical law I need to ask. Did you two mate last night?"

Flora and I looked at each other with wide eyes and I shivered and looked at the floor. Flora cleared her throat. "Wellll...kinda-sorta...we were half-asleep and didn't really know what was happening..."

The medic chuckled and I just wanted to melt into the floor and die. "It's fine, I can't tell anyone, privacy mandate. But you two both had the signs of mating and I wanted to clear that away."

"Why?"

"Because there is a rare but deadly...groin-infection, whose symptoms look like the after-effects of mating." I could feel Flora looking at me, but I didn't see anything...all I could think about was how I took advantage of her last night... "Are you two mates? I'm curious about that."

"Not really..." I murmured.

"Well, I'll let it slide because you two weren't physically aware at the time...but just a heads-up, don't let anyone else know." We already knew why---pre-marital mating was frowned on heavily with a lot of dragon communities, excluding the now-ruinous town and its sister establishments. I couldn't stand this, I wanted to blast through that door and kill myself, I felt so horrible for last night and still embarrassed by this whole situation...and it only got better. "Froststar--I mean, Gale, could I speak with you privately?" He nodded towards the corner and I hesitantly followed him, and Flora stepped towards the opposite corner, listening against the door at the discussions going on outside as they cleared out the mess. The medic lowered his voice so low I could barely hear him. "I'm surprised it actually worked between you two last night with no injury..."

"What the hell?" I asked, very confused and a little pissed off that he was still going on about it.

"Gale, I know you're stressed about it and I hate to mention this and add to it, but...well, I'll put it bluntly and embarrass us both. Your penis is twice the normal size for your age."

I could feel my face burning red, and he was blushing a bit too. "Just to let you know. Just some advice before you...do it again...so you don't hurt your eventual mate. Better informed and safe than ignorant and sorry."

All I could do was nod a bit and he walked away. Shit, if this could get any worse, I might've melted the floor and thrown myself into the core of the planet itself. First I inadvertently rape my best friend, then she and I see each other's physicals, and now I learn that my dragonhood is twice the normal size? (I know, you're probably thinking, "Why is the last part so depressing? That's awesome!", but given the circumstances and what was going on, gimme a break here.)

Finally the door was freed, and Flora and I rushed out rather gladly and immediately sought out Dorchar. He was overseeing Glairn's training, and gave us a stern look as we hurried to him. "Don't explain, I know what happened." Inside, I freaked out when I heard this...did he know about our accidental affair?! "What did he say?"

"Clean bill of health," Flora said, and I let out a relieved sigh...Dorchar didn't know. He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I coughed.

"Sorry...calming myself after the run here," I lied, but he believed it. Nice cover-up, I said to myself as he turned to watch Glairn again.

"You two begin training as of fifteen minutes ago. Nargalath over there will see you." He indicated a large mauve dragon off to the side, and Flora and I hurried over to him. We stood as straight as we could for him, sensing that he was the strong military type, and he glanced us over and grunted.

"So, the infamous Froststar Mortsleam and his girlfriend Flora." I tried not to react. "You two are late. Twenty pushups."

"Only twenty?" I asked, stretching my hind legs back along with Flora.

"Normally it's fifty but we're on the brink of battle. Now on with it!" He watched as we both knocked away twenty pushups with our forelegs. "Now twenty hind-leg pushups! Then the training!" It was all I could do as I tried desperately not to think about what this exercise looked like as Flora and I bent down and began pushing our hips up and down vertically with our legs. Would this day ever end?! "Flora, lock your knees! Gale, keep your back straight! You don't do it properly you're more likely to pull or injure something before the training!" I'd done this exercise before during my research days, my skeleton being monitored by machines, but Flora was straining to get to fifteen by the time I finished. I couldn't watch...perverted thoughts kept rushing through my head and it hurt like hell with guilt. I thought Nargalath was taking some kind of delight in this, but his expression never changed as he studied Flora's body. I felt a sudden heat of jealousy, but I knew he was watching her to make sure she was stretching the right muscles. "You're almost done, blow them out of the water!" Blow...oh geez...no, bad thoughts! I wanted to cry. Flora finally finished, groaning in pain as her hips ached.

After an hour of controlled sparring with other dragons under the watchful eye of Nargalath, a loud, deep, throbbing horn echoed through the valley. All at once, everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed to the cavern entrance, standing in straight lines. Flora and I had no clue, but we mimicked everyone else and stood in the lines. Someone nudged me and motioned with his eyes, and I realized I was in a wrong spot and that there was an empty one one line back "Thanks," I quickly whispered, and he gave me a tiny smile and a nod but didn't take his eyes off of the cavern entrance. I backed up and mimicked the position of the dragon standing next to me. Dorchar and another, bigger dragon appeared on a balcony above the cavern entrance, and Dorchar looked out over us. The dragon next to me quickly moved, and Dorchar's eyes settled on me and he frowned a bit.

"Froststar, I showed you the correct stance last night." I felt many eyes turn to me and I blushed under my scales as I hurriedly stood in the right stance. The dragons to my side and front exchanged quick glances and I could tell they were laughing. Dorchar's eyes fell on them. "You two, see me afterwards, you know better." Everyone laughed a bit and the two shut up instantly. "With the jokes out of the way, it's time to get serious. The Ocres have teamed with the ferals, and the enemy hopes to flood our position in three days. We move out to head them off. It will be a hit-and-run mission, quick and simple." He stepped back and the larger dragon took his place.

"Froststar, Flora, and many of our new recruits," he addressed us in a deep, powerful voice, "you may not know me, but I am quite sure I know you very well. I am Murdon, head of the Last Army and second in command of the Final Resistance. This may be your first battle, it may be your last, it may be nothing or it may be everything for you, but we are now one of the last remaining stands against the leagues of Orcharis, and we are the strongest. This battle will be the bomb on the floodgates, and we will brace against the flood and stand strong!" Something in his voice, maybe his grim determination, maybe the sheer hope it carried, made all doubt of possible defeat leave me, and it apparently had a similar effect on many others; I saw some stand up taller and others set their bodies more solidly. "None of you are allowed to die on this simple run! I will drag you back here and slaughter you again if you die on me, so give this fight every damn bit of muscle you possess! Make the enemy run crying to their graves and bury themselves in fear! This is your chance to leave a mark on the world! Make every enemy fear your name!" I was so caught up in the power behind his voice that I roared excitedly with everyone else, itching to get going. "Follow me, this is your day! MOVE OUT!!" he bellowed, and flew over us. We flew after him, filing through the lines into the air. I forgot to mention...during training, we'd been given armor; now, as we flew through the mountain air, the rock itself seemed to shiver with excitement under this silver-and-multicolor cloud moving rapidly to the west. We flew silently, eager to go into battle, and I glanced back over my shoulder and caught sight of Flora's blue scales and ice-blue fins. She noticed my glance and grinned at me, and I smiled back and turned to see I was flying a bit too fast and almost tailing the dragon in front of me. As we drew closer to our destination, a sudden thought crossed my mind...I suddenly saw a red sky and smoke rising from the ground, but it passed in a flash and I brushed it off as adrenaline and excitement. Oh how wrong I was...but that comes later. Now, as I looked up towards Murdon and Dorchar at the head of the army, I saw thin trails of smoke from the enemy camp and grinned.

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