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Toothless Goes Courting

Chapter 2

It was early, and the sun was only beginning to chase away the cold that clung to the island colony. It was better inside the nests, where clever human wood-shaping traps the heat of our fires and theirs to keep us warm all the time. It's cozy as sleeping in a pile of flock-mates, only you don't have to worry about getting squished, or being squeezed out and left in the cold. You could just stay in your spot and soak up the heat all day, if you wanted. And if you weren't alpha.

At that moment, though, sleep was the last thing on my mind. Fishbone and I had an important errand to run, but he had a surprise for me first.

I dug my claws into the floor as I stood on my hindlegs, struggling not to overbalance and fall over. My wings flared wide, brushing the inner walls of our night-nest, doing my absolute best to keep still. I was doing a good job, too. The only parts of me I couldn't keep from twitching were my eyes along the length of Fishbone's body and my member against the gentle touch of his paw.

My breathing was shallow and rapid with the effort to restrain myself, to allow my little human to explore. This was a first, and I didn't want to spook him by being too eager. We'd had a few intimate moments since that first night in his bed, but it had always been me to make the overture. This was the first time it had been his idea, stopping me with a paw on my shoulder as I headed for our bed, caressing my frills with growing tenderness, finding one spot in particular that made me rumble with desire. He favoured me with a soft kiss in that strange human way. I nuzzled him and pretended I couldn't smell how nervous he was.

Bare to the waist, he'd knelt between my hind legs and thumped a paw on my chest to make me rear up and give him room. It didn't take him long to coax my drakehood out, not with the way he caressed the tender scales of my sheath.

Now I was bracing a forepaw against the wall for support. I purred encouragement at Fishbone and did my best not to buck against his explorations. With the light on his face I could see that look in his eyes, the gleam he gets when something new has caught his attention. That gleam was as much a victory as I could have asked for, and the biggest leap forward in our courtship so far. He was curious, and when Fishbone gets curious nothing can stop him.

His touch was feather-light as it traveled along my length, teasing and learning its contours. Whenever he found a spot that made me rumble with particular pleasure, he would stop and pay it special attention just to make me wriggle. He was smiling, having fun, babbling either to me or to himself. I can never tell.

I rolled my hips into his caresses, even though he wanted me to hold still. I couldn't help it. It felt so good to have his paws on me, so right. I kept having to remind myself that my work wasn't over. As much fun as we'd been having, we hadn't consummated our courtship. Fishbone wasn't mine yet. Not quite.

My little human seemed pleased with himself, and he had a right to be. He made little happy sounds every time I twitched in his paw, flinching as my juices splattered his face from time to time. Eventually his pace slowed, just as I was getting close to my release, the rhythm of those little pads easing back to a caress that kept my fire burning without stoking it. I thought he must have gotten tired, so I pried my eyes open and lowered my head so I could talk to him--just in time to see him lean forward, mouth open, and take the tip of me past his lips!

This was new. I shuddered hard, claws scraping deep into the wall. His lips sealed tight around my length, suckling softly. Fishbone gave a little moan of pleasure and when I realised it meant he liked my taste I nearly lost my mind. I towered over him, completely at his mercy, and never once did I feel his teeth on me as he carefully slipped himself deeper onto me.

I meant to warn him, really I did. But he slipped his little paws down the length of me and dipped them into my sheath and the whole world collapsed to the places where his flesh was touching mine. All I could do was grunt in pleasure as my whole body shuddered, again and again, pouring my seed out in great glorious volleys. By the time my vision cleared I was spent, and Fishbone was on his rump between my legs. He coughed and grumbled at me, trying without much success to wipe my seed from his face.

With a contrite warble, I set about cleaning my lover off, no easy feat with the mess he'd made of himself. Eventually I resorted to popping his whole head in my mouth and suckling to clean my seed out of his head-fluff, ignoring his little paws thumping against my chest and neck in protest. It was his own fault, and I told him so. If he was going to be that good at mating, he would have to expect to get a little messy from time to time.

Fishbone complained a lot after I was done, and took a long time to preen himself, as though I hadn't done a good job licking him clean. I may have slowed him down a little when I gave in to temptation and nipped him in the rump, both to remind him that we still had a little ways to go before we were truly mated, and because it's fun to make him jump. By the time he was willing to leave the nest we were running late. I didn't have time for a proper breakfast and had to stuff my mouth with fish and try to eat as we flew. I got most of it down, and only dropped a little of it.

We only had a little way to go, but I urged Fishbone to loop wide and high so we could see the island beneath us. We were going to be busy all day and I wanted to make sure everything was peaceful before we started. Satisfied, I let my rider bring us round the spire of the island, bringing into view a little patch of land with a little man-roost, a gaggle of lounging dragons, and a single human female.

We had come across Fishbone's dam while we were out exploring, right at the end of the old days but before all the bad things that led to my becoming alpha. When everything had settled down afterwards, she had joined our flock along with the rest of the old alpha's dragons.

Fishbone's dam is special. She would have to be, I suppose. Broad-Horn told me the story of how he found her, the only human on the island trying to talk and not just swing pointy things at people. So he brought her to the Old Alpha's lair to learn to talk properly. I wish he'd taught Fishbone as well, though that might have meant I never would have met him. Apparently it took a long time. But it was worth it. She's far and away the most helpful member of our flock.

She had lived with Fishbone and I in our night-nest for a little while, but I think she had a hard time getting used to all the people after so long living with dragons. Broad-Horn tells me she's been part of his flock for years without any people around at all. So Fishbone, in a masterstroke, had built her and Broad-Horn a nest of their own a little distance from the center of the colony, and tasked her with caring for dragons who were sick or hurt enough to need help getting by. Now both she and they get only as much time with humans as they're comfortable with. Fishbone makes a point to visit every few days. It was good to see them, and to let the injured dragons know they were part of the flock too, and weren't being ignored. Fishbone's dam was already outside, waiting for us. She waved her arms in a human greeting as we approached and I called back. That woke Broad-Horn from his nap, and he rose as we landed to shake himself and say hello.

Broad-Horn is the best. He's big and generous and he knows all kinds of tricks for talking with humans. He also knows a thing or two about keeping track of a fragile little rider with more courage than sense, which makes him nice to complain to.

I wish he would agree to be my beta. He's the biggest dragon on the island, which makes everyone take him seriously without really thinking about it, and even though that would be really really useful he keeps saying no. He's put off by all the strange dragons and people, I think. He was happier when it was just him and Fishbone's dam and no one really asked much of him.

I know how he feels. There are days when Fishbone and I don't get to see each other at all, when he has to stay in the Big Cave sorting out human problems and I'm running around like a hatchling keeping the dragons from breaking the rules. It had been so much easier in the early days, before all the responsibility. But we're the only ones who can protect everyone, and we can't do that unless they listen to us.

And if I weren't alpha, some other dragon might think they could get into my head and tell me what to do. I will never let that happen again, and I'll keep it from happening to any dragon who follows me.

We got to work. We all stood across from one another and Fishbone and I watched as Broad-Horn and his human partner made a show of talking to each other, all big, simple sounds and motions. Then they would stop, waiting for us to mimic them.

It was strange to learn to speak to Fishbone, after knowing him so well for so long. It was hard for me to understand the strange yapping noises humans learn to talk, especially since hardly any of them came out right when I tried them. But at the same time his dam was teaching him that I don't only talk with my mouth like humans do. He learned quickly, and was eager to practice. It got to be fun, after a while. I could tell him how much I wanted to mate with him when we were out with his pack, and he couldn't do anything but blush while the other dragons laughed at him.

I had less luck trying to speak like a human. Part of the problem is that I don't think even they understand how they talk. Fishbone might spend all day trying to teach me a hundred different squawk and chirps --I think he makes up new ones to tease me; there can't possibly be that many-- but the whole time the way he's standing and the tone of his voice and the set of his jaw are screaming love-patience-frustration. He doesn't even realize he's doing it, but if he'd only stop and pay attention to what his own body was doing he might be able to teach me properly, instead of rattling off a bunch of noises he knows I can't even make.

When the sun was high and Fishbone and I were starting to get impatient with one another, his dam chirped and we took a break to eat. She has a little food-hollow for the injured dragons, and Fishbone arranges for one of our pack to bring in fish to feed them every day. Today it was Snag-Teeth, who stopped long enough for their humans to complain at their alpha and to get a little griping of their own in regarding not being allowed to eat the fish, then went off to get up to who-knows-what.

It had been a busy morning, and everyone must have been hungry. Still, the injured dragons held back from the food, and it wasn't until I noticed all their eyes on me that I understood why. They were waiting for their alpha to eat first.

I had run into this a few times since taking charge of the flock, not just from the new dragons but the ones I had lived with for years already. Normally, it's fine. I even enjoy it. I hadn't planned on becoming alpha, but it was hard to do and it's been a lot of work since and it's nice to be appreciated for it. But it was different with these dragons, the sick and injured. It felt wrong to take food from them, even if they were especially grateful to be free of the Dark Alpha. And it was different with Broad-Horn, too. It feels wrong to see him giving way to me, when he's so much bigger and older and more experienced than I am.

I shook off the funny feeling and bounded over to the pile of fish. A few quick mouthfuls and I retreated to where Fishbone and his dam were waiting, trying not to look like I was rushing. I'm not sure I succeeded, because I heard Broad-Horn chuckling at me.

The older dragon joined us once he'd gotten his own food, settling down around the female the way I had Fishbone. The humans were eating too, but like everything else they do, eating takes forever. They always burn everything they eat, which doesn't make any sense because they can't make fire on their own. How did they ever figure out they liked it that way? Fishbone doesn't like it when I try to help, either, even though I can burn it a lot faster and more thoroughly than he can.

Fishbone's dam was showing deference too, insisting that he eat first even though she wasn't done burning her own food. As with most things, Fishbone is more gracious about this kind of thing than I am.

Fishbone cooed at me and rubbed my head while he ate, and I purred and snuggled closer around him. At least Fishbone never changed. I don't know if I could have borne it if he had suddenly started acting like he had to give way to me. It's good that we both became alpha at the same time. I might go crazy without someone I could talk to, even if he doesn't understand most of it.

Sometimes, when we've had a long, good day together, I look at Fishbone and see a dragon, as though something went funny in his egg and he was born in the wrong body. His dam, though, has it showing through all the time. It's hard to tell where the human ends and the dragon begins, most days. She's part of her offspring's flock and does her best to fit in. I'm not sure she's any good at it. From the way Fishbone picks at the fish she gives him and tries to give it to me when she isn't looking, she's not any better at burning human food than I am.

We all went flying together after lunch, swooping around the island looking for places where the wind did funny tricks. We found a few pleasant thermals, and some clouds with holes all through them that you could fly into without touching the walls. We even managed to find a spot where the wind swept straight up the cliffs and you could hover without beating your wings, and it was so strange to just hang there in the air, not doing anything and with the world not moving beneath us. Then Fishbone had to ruin it by trying to walk out onto my wing the way his dam does, except he didn't tell me first so I could stiffen my wing for him. He wound up just plummeting straight down like my wing wasn't even there, and I had to scramble and dive to catch him.

I love Fishbone with all my heart, but I have no idea how he survived long enough for me to meet him. He'd be dead in a day without me to look out for him.

It's almost more than I can bear, sometimes, the burden of protecting him. He's so fragile, and so small, and so fearless. He's made my life so much more complicated, but also so much better.

We spent most of the day with Fishbone's dam and Broad-Horn, playing and learning and laying in the sun while the humans burbled at each other. But alphas can't take all day to themselves, even if they are learning important things. We had to get back and fix whatever had broken while we'd been away, and get some food that didn't make Fishbone gag. And then I had to find some way to repay the spectacular mating he had given me that morning.

For a moment as we were getting ready, I considered asking Broad-Horn for advice. But no, that probably wasn't a good idea. I'd asked him, once, if he and his human were mated. He had just stood there and scowled at me in total silence, and eventually I'd decided it was none of my business and found something else I needed to do.

We said our goodbyes. Fishbone's dam came up and embraced him and fussed with his head-fluff, which was okay because she's family and she's allowed to make sure her scent is on him. She gave us a bit of a funny look when I rubbed my head against him to make sure my own mating-scent was strong there, but then Fishbone was babbling nervously and scrambling onto my back and we were flying away. I supposed I'd have to figure it out later.

~~~

Afternoon was getting on as we flitted back over to the center of the colony, and by some miracle everything looked peaceful. We got a few calls of greeting from lounging dragons or bustling humans, and Fishbone stripped away the things he adds to my tail and flying-rig when we're doing fancy flying. He locked up my tail as well, which meant he was planning on being busy and wanted to make sure I could get around. And, when I saw the little knot of humans clustered outside his day-nest, I could guess why.

This always happens. Fishbone takes a bit of a day to spend with me or with his dam or because he's gotten sick and I have to keep him in bed, and all his flock bends over backwards to find the stupidest little problems that he has to look at right away or they'll get offended. I might think it was silly, if my dragons weren't the same way. People like to know their leaders notice them, I suppose.

Still, I eyed the crowd with dismay. Even if all their problems were little and easily solved, Fishbone would be busy for ages. And we had been having such a good day together. He must have been thinking the same thing, because he answered my nuzzle with a caress along my chin that spoke of regret-apology-love.

It was only then that we noticed Fishbone's beta was in the crowd, though she didn't seem part of it. She was moving from one human to the next, talking to them with clipped impatience. One by one she addressed them, inspected whatever trinket they had brought for Fishbone to look at, and sent them off with a scolding if she thought it wasn't worth his attention. By the time we reached the day-nest there were only a few left, and Fishbone gladly engaged them, even more willing to help them now that he knew they actually needed it.

I sat by while he worked, happy that he wouldn't be tied down all afternoon. His beta was watching, too, looking pleased with herself. I snorted. She was supposed to be my rival, but, as long as she was making herself so useful, it was hard to dislike her the way I ought to. Still, that didn't mean I had to like the look in her eyes as she stood to the side, watching as Fishbone wrapped up his business. Nor did I have to like the way she walked over to him, hips swaying in a way that I had a sinking suspicion her alpha would like.

Fishbone turned as he noticed her approaching, and when he saw the look in her eyes he went very still. His beta approached, speaking in a playful tone, until they were almost nose to nose. Before he could react she had snuck her head forward to steal a kiss.

I stiffened in outrage and opened my mouth to protest, but Fishbone was already pulling back. It's easy to tell when he's embarrassed, because his face goes all red and he gets even worse at talking than he normally is. He must not have managed to say that he had already taken a mate and wasn't supposed to be kissing anyone else, because she kept hold of him, looking worried. Murmuring a soft question, she reached up to caress gently along the leading edge of his head-fluff and I watched embarrassment give way to pleasure on his face. He leaned a little into the caress, then caught himself. His eyes darted from her face, to me, back to her face, and he yelped some kind of excuse, wriggled free of her embrace and scuttled off toward his day-nest. I came up to sit beside the beta and she absently reached up to pet my cheek.

As we watched Fishbone make himself scarce, I leaned into the female's caress and enjoyed the feeling of her scratching among my frills. It was tempting to compare it to the caresses Fishbone gives me when he wants to mate, but if I were being honest it was the same sort of affection she had always shown me.

I eyed her sidelong as she squinted after Fishbone, muttering to herself. She raised her brow at me and babbled a question. Most likely she didn't expect much of an answer, but she looked uneasy so I gave her a quick nuzzle under the chin. It was important to remember that, besides being a rival for Fishbone's affections, she was a member of our flock and a valued beta. It was my job to keep her from being too broken up by her defeat.

It turns out she's ticklish under the jawline. She made that high chittery human laugh and batted me playfully away. I looked at her with a pang. If things continued the way they were going, she would be losing her mate-apparent. I know Fishbone values her prowess in battle. Certainly she's invaluable to him as a beta. She might likely have already done everything she needed to win Fishbone, and here I was swooping in at the last moment to steal her victory. And I didn't envy her other prospects, if she insisted on a human male.

After a moment she stopped scratching me, her jaw set in a way I had come to dread seeing on Fishbone. With a little huff of determination she sprang after Fishbone, and I had to blink and gather myself to follow.

Fishbone had barely begun to get set up for working in the day-rest. His special fireproof belly armour was half-fastened and dangling as I rounded the corner. The female had put herself between him and the door, hands on her hips as she made inquisitive noises at him. Poor Fishbone could only stammer and flail his paws, gesturing at his slabs full of tool-stones in what even I could see was a feeble attempt to distract her. It didn't work; she sidled closer, trailing her paws up his chest.

I watched them with growing apprehension. I could see it, now that I was looking for it. She stared after Fishbone the same way I did: desire barely constrained, afraid of spooking him with the strength of her affection. And really, I couldn't blame her. She was simply trying to win the best mate on the island. She obviously wasn't going to get him, now that I was on the scene, but part of me admired her persistence.

I kept one eye on them as she teased and flirted, rolling the situation around in my head and pondering a few things I'd been avoiding thinking about. Most dragons assume that they'll be bringing up hatchlings at some point, and I imagined humans were much the same. I'd thought taking my rider to mate meant that was impossible, but this female presented a solution. She was clearly angling to breed with him, and even I could see they were a good match. She was strong where he was clever, bold where he was meek, and if she was a little rough with him he didn't seem to mind.

The bond that Fishbone and I were settling into wasn't unheard of, among dragons. The heart wants what it wants, and sometimes that means you mated with a male, or a female of the wrong breed, or a bony, yammering human. Such a couple might accept going without hatchlings, or they might work together to woo a third dragon, one to help them get a clutch that they would raise on their own. It's easier when the couple has a female. There's never any shortage of young males around, ready to mount anything that holds still long enough and happy enough not to have a clutch to care for afterwards.

Fishbone bustled to the other side of his day-nest and she followed. I got up and stalked after them, still appraising. It would probably be all right, I thought, if she got a pup from him. More than one, if she was gracious about it. Then she could go away and we'd take care of the little ones. The more I thought about it the more appeal the idea had. The thought of rearing Fishbone's young gave me a pleasant tingle in my craw.

For the time being, though, she was getting a little too close for my liking. She had mistaken his fleeing for shyness and was pouncing on it. Soon he was trapped in a corner and leaning backwards over a wooden shelf to try to get away from her and she was right there, face inches from his. She ran her hands along the length of his chest in what I could now recognize as a lover's caress, and she was clearly enjoying the way it made him squeak and squirm. Then she gripped him by the loose skins of his chest and pulled him in for a kiss.

At first, Fishbone seemed startled. Then he gave that little sound of pleasure and relief that only I'm supposed to be able to get from him and, to my horror, began to kiss her back, right there in front of me! They whimpered together and I realised she must be better at it than me. She'd had practice, after all, and her mouth was the right size.

I'd been stalking forward, glowering as their scents began to sharpen with arousal. His hands were roaming over her, burrowing under her skins to feel the naked hide of her flanks and make her moan into his mouth. His extra belly-armor had already fallen to the floor, and at the rate they were going the rest of his skins would be following shortly.

Then he reached up to grip her by the upper thigh and pull their crotches together with a whimper of need, and that was quite enough of that. With a huff, I barged into the little cave with them, knocking over all sorts of the noisy things Fishbone keeps stacked in there. The commotion startled the humans into separating, which was good because I would have hated to hurt them when I dragged them apart. As it was, Fishbone got a few heartbeats to look guilty before I snatched him up, ignoring his squawking as I pressed him to my chest.

With my prize secured, I glowered and hissed at the usurper and even showed her my teeth a little. Forget admiring her persistence. I hadn't planned on being unkind in my victory, but really, she should have known better.

Her eyes were very wide, and she was pressed to the back wall of the cave. I think, for the first time in a long time, I had scared her. Then her eyes dropped to Fishbone, trying to wriggle out of my paws and stammering excuses. Then back up to me, then back to him again. Her jaw dropped open and I think she was about to say something, but I wasn't going to stick around to hear it. I spun around and tromped out of the day-nest on my hind legs, Fishbone still struggling in my arms. I dropped him outside so I could get back on all fours and pick him up by the skins with my teeth.

We got some funny looks from the humans as I trotted up the path, carrying Fishbone like a hatchling by his scruff. He wriggled more and more fiercely and eventually I had to drop him. Scrabbling to his feet, he complained at me as he brushed the dirt off himself. I guess I'd be upset, too, if someone embarrassed me in front of my flock like that, but I didn't care. I prodded him against the side of a man-roost and grumbled a reproach, while he flailed his arms at me and pulled at his head fluff and babbled in exasperation. He rounded on me as though this were my fault, so I just pinned him to the wall with a forepaw and let him vent his frustration on my leg until he calmed down. When he had stopped trying to be angry and had settled for sulking, I leaned in and nosed him and he laid his brow against mine. He made sure no one was looking --he's still so shy-- and gave me a quick kiss, murmuring an apology.

Once he'd calmed down a little, I managed to convince him we should go flying. He resisted, but there was no reason not to: for all his beta's meddling, she had at least managed to clear up her alpha's evening. And yes, we had already been flying together for most of the day, but that was for learning so it didn't count. I wanted to fly for fun.

But as he was getting ready, I realised my thoughts were still with the female, full of anger and, I eventually realised, remorse. She didn't deserve to be snarled at, not really. She didn't know any better, any more than Fishbone had known I was trying to court him at first.

With an unpleasant lurch, I remembered the night I met this female, and the way her hostility had melted away into the air after Fishbone made me take her flying. The way she'd clung to him, before and after. Fresh guilt gnawed at me as we spiraled up into the late-day sunlight. Had I given her the idea to pursue him in the first place?

~~~

Fishbone didn't want to fly for very long. We had barely circled the island before he began to fidget, and not long after he started tugging at my flying-things and making the noises that mean he wants to land. I grumbled, but tilted air out of my wings and began my descent towards home. It wasn't until we were on the ground and I could smell properly that I realised why he'd been so squirmy. His beta's aborted affections had left Fishbone frisky, it seemed.

Gripping me by the base of my frills, he dragged me into the night-nest, even getting behind me and pushing on my rump when I didn't go fast enough for him. He barred the entrance behind us and began shedding his outer skins, his scent already spiking. I expected him to lead me up to our bed, but evidently that was too far for him. He gave the dark space at the back of the cave a look, then just plopped down on one of the wooden storage craws and gestured me closer. I followed dutifully, laughing at his eagerness and at the way he caressing the bulge in his leg-skins even as he struggled to get them off over his fake foot. Were humans like this all the time, to make up for not having a proper mating season? I wondered, not for the first time, what I had gotten myself into.

The last of Fishbone's skins had hit the floor as I'd been thinking about it. He sat on the wooden thing and beckoned to me, using all his names for me in rapid succession. His little member, bobbing between his legs and demanding attention, must have been making him impatient. I sauntered over to the bed, moving especially slowly to make him even more frustrated. I made a show of licking my lips and opening my mouth and getting a good long whiff of his scent... then lunged and grabbed his good foot in my mouth and hauled him onto the floor.

With a squawk of surprise and alarm, he landed hard on his back. He lay there, wheezing and groaning, as I waddled over and dropped my head onto his chest to pin him in place. I could feel his erection pressing against the base of my throat. I ignored him when he pawed at me and told me to move, gripping my claws around his knees and giving him no choice but to just lie there.

I didn't let him up until he'd been down there long enough to get bored, and for his member to lose its stiffness. When it was fully gone I sat up and allowed Fishbone to do the same, leaving him looking awkward and embarrassed, sitting on the floor with no skins on and his bits hanging out.

He looked so lost and uncomfortable that I had to step forward. Resting one paw on his knee, I told him he was beautiful and gave him a gentle kiss. I must have pressed a little harder than I'd meant to, because before long he was leaning back onto the floor and I was moving to straddle him, brushing lips and tongue across his. I'm beginning to really enjoy kissing like a human.

I brought a paw up and let the back of it brush along reawakening maleness, making it surge against my scales. I did it again, nice and slow, to make him whimper, to make my point as clear as I could: When he and I made love, it would be because I had gotten him worked up, not anyone else.

Still, he had been patient, and it wasn't really his fault. I supposed I hadn't been all that clear about my intentions with him, and if he thought we were just having some fun he wouldn't know he was supposed to be turning away other suitors.

So I decided to be merciful, for now, and extended my tongue to flick at his member a few times. He yelped in pleasure, spreading his legs wide for me. I tasted him from root to tip, letting my strokes grow along with his length until I was beginning at the base of his shaft and ending by pressing his straining tip into the patch of coarse fluff on his belly. By this point he was moaning nicely, arching his hips up into my attentions. I made my licks long and slow and wet and he trembled all over, and I got to experience his taste changing as his pleasure began to mount. I had licked him before, of course. It was one of my favourite ways to make Fishbone wriggle. But he had inspired me, as he always did, and tonight I wanted to try something special. I kept the same pace for a little while, repeating over and over until he was used to it and it wasn't making him quite so crazy, then opened my mouth and took him inside.

His back arched and he yelped, and I smiled as I thought of what it must feel like. Fishbone is so much littler than me that I didn't have to work at all to take his entire length past my lips. In fact, he barely reached far enough to touch my tongue if I didn't extend it. With my teeth hidden, I was free to suckle and gum experimentally at him and listen to him gasp and babble. I pressed the fork of my tongue against the base of him and slurped I had to press a forepaw to his belly to keep him from wriggling clear off the floor.

After a while I realized I could basically do no wrong. He liked it when I closed my lips around him and nursed. He liked it when I pressed him between my tongue and the roof of my mouth and bobbed my head. The only time he complained was when I took my mouth off him for too long and let the cold air at him, so I made sure to always keep him cradled by my lips or tongue.

Fishbone was wriggling and mewling so much I didn't get much warning when he reached his peak. He gripped the sides of my head and gave a squeak as his member began to buck and spill his seed across my tongue. I took him as deep as I could so I didn't miss any, caressing my tongue up along his length to draw out his pleasure. By the time it was over, Fishbone had gone limp and dreamy, blinking up at the ceiling and making all kinds of little noises of satisfaction. I think I'd done a good job, but I wasn't done yet.

The run-in with the female had spurred me. I decided then and there that if she felt she had a chance --and if Fishbone was too meek to stop her-- then clearly it was time to move forward again. Moving slowly to keep from startling him, I slowly slipped my tongue away from his member --already stiffening again-- and kissed and licked at his bits. Then I nosed under them and pressed my tongue very deliberately against his rump.

He jumped and squawked, but then he relaxed a bit, and even though he was trembling, he didn't make any move to get away. I think he'd been expecting this.

I pressed my tongue against his entrance, rumbling the depths of my love and a promise of pleasure to come. He squirmed a bit at first, but after a few licks he was panting, his little malehood straining-hard and slapping his belly, even as he trembled. To my delight he lifted his hips a bit, exposing himself further, and I obliged him with longer, harder strokes of my tongue. I went as far as to try and wriggle my tongue a little ways into him, and the sound it got from him was enough to burn away the rest of my patience. With a half-suppressed growl of anticipation, I withdrew and began making my way up his body.

He watched me the whole time, wide-eyed, silent and panting. I gave his member a flick of my tongue as I passed, to watch him squirm and to distract him from the apprehension I could see around the edges of his eyes. I stood above Fishbone as I pondered exactly how I was going to do this. My first instinct was to get his rump in the air so I could claim him like a dragon, hard and fast and loud. But no that wouldn't do. Fishbone was only human, and much too fragile for that. At least the first time.

This was one area where courting Fishbone like a human had failed me, because I had never been able to figure out how they mated. Not for lack of trying, of course; I had singled out some mated human couples and tried following them around so I could spy on them, but they just looked at me funny until I got bored and left. I suppose they hadn't been in the mood. Near as I could tell, mating must happen in a human's nest at night, since that's the only time they take off their skins.

I was taken out of my thoughts by movement beneath me. Fishbone had sensed my hesitation and was taking matters into his own paws, scooting out from beneath me to open one of the wooden craws he uses to keep all his little human things. He fetched a little round hollow thing and hurried back to the shelter of my body, and I saw it was filled with something slick and shiny inside that made my nose tingle when the smell hit me. Scooping some out with his nimbly human claws, Fishbone rubbed them experimentally together. He gave me a look that spoke of afternoons spent falling side by side, totally helpless and happy together. With his slick paw, he gripped my member.

It was electric. I moaned, arching my hips against his touch as he caressed my cock, supplementing my natural slickness with whatever miracle concoction he'd found for us. His little digits slid along my length as easy as ice, if ice was warm and teasing and squeezed when you were least expecting it. It would be easier to claim him now, I realized. He was trying to help.

As he fondled my tip he looked back up at me, eyes wide and uncertain. He babbled something, some mix of impatience and worry, buried under a joke he must have known I wouldn't understand. I was struck again by how little he was, how much he trusted me. Humbled, I reached down to caress his naked flank. However I claimed him, I would have to be certain not to betray that trust, no matter what.

My mind made up, I hooked a paw under his belly and hauled him up against my chest while I flopped down onto my side. I cradled him against me, his back against my chest. My forelegs were occupied in holding him steady, but he was in just the right position for me to kiss and slurp at the back of his neck, and his wriggling kept us both distracted while I got myself lined up properly. At the first touch of my member to his rump he got still and quiet again, tensing in my arms. I nuzzled and crooned at him as I wiggled my hips to get my tip against his entrance, telling him that I loved him and that I knew he was little and that I had to be careful. It was only when he had relaxed a bit and mumbled a bit of encouragement that I dared to press forward.

His passage opened easily for me, which was surprising. The tip of my shaft, the narrowest part, sank into Fishbone like it was meant to be there and the feeling of him surrounding me made my head spin. I clutched him to me as he mewled, letting him slip down onto the wider parts. Flesh slipped along extra-slick flesh as his muscles fluttered around my shaft, and nothing in all the world had ever felt so wonderful. Pressing my nose to Fishbone's shoulder, I babbled love-pleasure-joy and began to roll my hips against him, matching the rhythm to my laboured breathing as I worked myself deeper with slow, shallow thrusts.

For his part, Fishbone was having the time of his life. At first he had tensed and shuddered every time I slipped a little deeper inside him, but once I had begun to thrust it was like night and day. I think I might have been pressing against some tender spot inside him, because every time I sank into him just so he yelped and pressed back hard against me, to the point I had to back off my own thrusting to keep him from taking too much of me in too quickly. I grunted annoyance into his head-fluff. It was already taking all the restraint I had not to give into my body's urgings for faster, deeper, more. I didn't need him making it worse. Even in mating he was determined to hurt himself.

As good as it felt to finally be mating properly, before long we began to notice a problem with our arrangement. Fishbone's member was poking out from his belly and I wanted to touch and lick it some more, but if I moved my arms I would drop him. He seemed to be having a similar dilemma, holding on to my forelegs too tightly to give himself the attention he was begging for. Still, he was leaking all over the place, so it was safe to say he was enjoying himself. I settled for caressing along his smooth, pale thigh as, slowly but surely, I deepened my thrusts.

I clutched him tight, drinking in his scent, reveling in the presence of my mate. It may not have been the hard, joyous mating a dragon would have expected, but it was still the most wonderful thing I'd ever felt because it was Fishbone. I loved him and he loved me and we were finally showing each other properly. I pressed into his fluttering passage and he pressed back with a moan, chest arching against my paws. He lifted his legs to give me easier access and I took advantage, pressing deeper, pulling him closer, nearly all of my length buried inside my little love--

A sudden clamour at the entrance sent ice up both our spines, a pounding on the wooden flap that meant a human was asking to come in. At the same time a muffled human voice rang out and I hissed in displeasure. It was Fishbone's beta again! Hadn't she interfered enough for one day?

I had my back to the entrance, but I could twist enough to snarl over my shoulder at the closed flap . Fishbone, pinned against my belly and impaled on my pride, could only wriggle and yelp a reply to his beta. He pushed against my arms in an attempt to scramble away, but I held firm. We were in the middle of something important, and he didn't get to panic and run off just because something had spooked him.

He would just have to make the female go away, if he didn't want her seeing us. Personally, I hoped he wouldn't. Maybe seeing me spill my seed into her alpha would be enough to get the point across, since otherwise she couldn't seem to take a hint.

She called something again through the wooden barrier and I heard the clatter of someone trying to open it. Immediately, Fishbone jerked up and twisted, trying to yelp at her. I obliged him by rolling a little more onto my back, since it didn't look very comfortable for him. From there he was at least able to talk in the right direction, though he looked silly, splayed on my belly with his member sticking straight up.

The rattling had stopped, which meant the beta wasn't trying to get in any more. Instead she called a question. Fishbone immediately piped an answer, but his voice had gone all squeaky and he was tripping over the sounds, so she must have known he was hiding something. Still, when he had given a bit of a cough and repeated the last bit in a slightly more commanding tone, I heard her murmur obedience and tromp off down the path.

Then I made a mistake. Eager to get started again and with a paw freed up by the shift in positions, I reached down to caress up the length of Fishbone's erection. I caught him by surprise, though, and after getting so far into the mating with no attention he must have been sensitive. At the first touch on his tender flesh he arched high and yowled, and even though he slapped a paw over his mouth right away to silence himself, the damage was done.

We waited, frozen, ears straining, aching members forgotten. There was a scuffling sound outside and the pounding was back as the beta called a concerned question though the wood, and I bit back a groan of despair. But Fishbone was already babbling frantically at her, and even he seemed a little exasperated at this point.

When she had finally gone away for good, Fishbone laid down hard against my scales and gave one of his big, puffy, unhappy breaths. I tried again to caress my paw down his body, starting with his chest and making my way toward his malehood slowly this time. I thought at first he wouldn't be up for it: he wriggled against my touch as though he wanted to call the whole thing off. But I held him tightly and caressed him, and slowly he began to relax again. I bent to caress my cheek along his scalp and told him I loved him, that I wanted him, that I needed him.

He likes that, when I get in close and rumble my lust right into his ear. I rolled my hips up and my member, which had softened a bit in all the excitement, stiffened anew and sunk a little bit back into him and he moaned for me.

As nice as it felt, I couldn't thrust properly with the way he was floundering on my back. Lucky for me, Fishbone doesn't weigh anything, so I could just grab him under the forelegs and lift him up to start moving him down onto me, instead of the other way around. Any objections he might have had vanished when my shaft started pressing into that special spot inside him again, and all he could do was moan at the ceiling and spread his legs.

I made slow, deliberate, wonderful love to Fishbone like that. I pressed him down as far as he could take, gentle but firm, again and again. My wings came up to enfold us, shutting out the rest of the world as I crooned my love and devotion. I felt skin against the tender scales of my sheath and shuddered with pleasure. He had managed to take all of me, after all.

He had felt it too, and he arched and hissed as I dared to press a little more firmly against him. He began mewling and whimpering, squirming against my grasp. At first I thought he was uncomfortable, but when I peeked over his chest I saw that with my grip under his forelegs I was accidentally keeping him from touching himself again, and his member was throbbing and neglected. I wasn't about to let him go, because that would have meant stopping, but I still felt bad so I lowered my wing to caress him with the weight of the trailing edge. Then I did it again and a third time, and that's all it took. My little lover bucked and wriggled against me, insides churning along my member. He mewled, helpless with pleasure as his seed spattered the insides of my wing and slid down to make a mess of his belly-fur. My name breathed from his lips as he rode out his climax, voice saturated with need and pleasure.

The sound of it made my blood boil, and I snarled in pleasure against the sudden tightness around me. Fishbone had been seen to, which meant now I could worry about myself. The slight shift of weight as I adjusted my grip on him was the only warning my lover received before I'd lifted him to press him onto my shaft again, continuing our rutting even before his climax had left him. He yelped and squawked as I pressed that special spot again and again, keeping him from the fuzzy after-mating as I sought my own satisfaction.

Luckily for both of us, it didn't take long. I had already been close --How could I not be?-- and the scent of Fishbone's climax burning in my nostrils, the knowledge that it had been me who'd done that to him, proved enough to tip me over. With an inarticulate keen of pleasure I shoved Fishbone down and my own hips up, pressing as deep as I could as I let myself go.

My entire world narrowed to Fishbone as my climax crashed over me, focusing with desperate urgency on the smooth skin against my scales, the cries of a human in pleasure, the warm, sweet scent of my lover-- my mate! I throbbed and bucked inside him, pouring my seed deep in his belly like a promise. I crushed him to me with legs and wings, emptying all that I had into him until there was nothing left but pleasure and love.

I held him like that long after the torrent of my love had dwindled down to a pulsing trickle. I wouldn't let him try to get up until I had given every drop. Not that Fishbone seemed eager to go anywhere. He sprawled, breathing hard, paws caressing lazy circles along my legs and the membranes of my wings and his own belly, as though he could feel me inside him that way. I caressed a paw along his shoulder and he gave a happy, sleepy croon.

Separating, when the time came, proved tricky. I thought I'd simply pluck Fishbone off me, but when I tried it he barked and swatted at me until I stopped. I was confused; it had gone in easily enough. My little mate wriggled and squirmed, moving slow and careful and easing himself off the broad base of me. Eventually he passed some threshold and he slipped off me all at once, to a pair of relieved, satisfied groans and a gush of sticky slickness across my belly and tailbase.

He turned to kneel on my chest, swaying with happy exhaustion and with the uneven footing. I gathered him to me to steady him, nuzzling fiercely under his chin and against his chest. I told him how happy I was, and that I hoped he felt the same. I think he did. We were mates now, finally. Not just friends. Not just rider and dragon, not the strange half-mated lovers we had been. He was mine, and I was his, and we both knew it.

Fishbone tilted his head to look at one of the covered openings to the outside, studying the golden evening light filtering into the nest. He heaved a sigh and I understood: the day wasn't over yet, and as much as we both wanted it we had a while to go before we could sleep. He made a weary little noise and twisted to slide down to the floor, only to collapse immediately as his legs gave out from under him.

Thinking fast, I shot out my paw and caught him under the belly, absorbing most of the fall and lifting him back onto his feet. I rolled over to stand myself, keeping him steady until I was sure he would be all right on his own, and he caressed under my chin in gratitude and tried to lie that he was fine. When I let him try again he wobbled, but stayed up. At first his gait was stiff and lopsided and he cringed with each step, but Fishbone is a little tougher than he looks. By the time he had hobbled around the lower chamber and cleaned off and found all his skins he was moving much more naturally. I took the opportunity to clean off with my tongue like a proper person, though I made sure I was turned so that Fishbone would get a good view if he happened to look over.

He met me at the entrance when he was ready, still grinning and sleepy-eyed, touching me all over my head and neck and leaning up to kiss me gently as he fumbled with the clasp. I swirled around to his other side as it opened, letting my wing trail across his back and legs, never breaking contact. I was there at his side, I was telling him, as I always had been and always would be. We had made a promise, now.

As we went off together to care for our flock, I checked to make sure no one was watching and nipped him on the rump again. It was a gesture of affection and gratitude. It was a promise of more matings to come.

It was fun to watch him jump!