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The Persistent Dragon, Chapter 17: The Persistent Dragon Chows Down

It was like Jacob had a rug pulled out from under his feet. He felt the blood drain from his face, and a terrible, icy pit form in his stomach. The moment seemed to hang in the air, as if it were lingering for the sole, sadistic purpose of drawing out his embarrassment.

She knew. She knew! She knew that he and Penelope were more than companions! But how!? Why!?

Jenivive's green eyes widened as she saw Jacob's jaw drop in sheer dumbfounded horror. She immediately brought her fingers to her mouth. "Eep! I'm sorry, was I not supposed to know about that?" Her freckled cheeks began to turn red.

Jacob buried his face in his hands and swore repeatedly. No ... no ... no! Not again! Why? What information did Penelope share this time!? That blasted, blabbering dragon couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it!

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry if I've embarrassed you, Jacob," Jenivive gushed. "I ... I didn't know that it was supposed to be a secret ... I'm really sorry! I just kinda assumed you'd be rather okay with talking about it! It doesn't bother me, really ... I'm not going to judge you for it!"

"Penelope," Jacob seethed, trying to restrain his anger. He placed both hands on the table, looked down at his empty soup bowl, and set his teeth. "What did you tell Jenivive when you first met her two weeks ago?"

"What?" the dragon was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"You must have told her something to let her know about ... us."

"You mean ... that we're mates?"

Jacob winced and pursed his lips tight. So much for subtlety. "Yes. You must have told her something."

"I didn't! I swear I didn't!" Penelope gawked, folding her ears and fins back in dismay.

"Penelope ..."

"I didn't say a single thing this time! You said it was supposed to be a secret, so I kept it secret!"

"You had to have said something ..."

"I didn't, I swear!"

"Penelope, half of the time you don't even know what comes out of that big mouth of yours," Jacob angrily retorted.

"Hey! That wasn't nice!" she objected, shrinking back in defense.

"I can't believe you ..." he pursed his lips tight. "Who else have you told, huh? Mother? Millie?"

"I didn't tell no one, I swear!" She shook her head. "Not after what happened with Dessie!"

"Actually, um--" Jasper apprehensively cleared his throat, lifting a single claw up in the air for pause. "If I may ... uh, heh-heh!" Jasper winced as if he was being slowly pinched and ducked his head down. His ears were folded back in a show of meek culpability. "I think this may be my fault ..."

Jacob's gaze whirled around to fixate on the now-cowering aquamarine drake across the table. Suddenly, all pairs of eyes were on him.

"What?" Jacob asked, his face contorting into an expression of confusion.

"Err, well ..." Jasper paused to swallow his anxiety down. "I-I do believe Penelope is completely blameless. She never told me a thing about it, either. But, on the first day we met--on the day you were looking for a dragon to hire ... after returning from my last job I noticed an odd smell in my hovel ..."

Jacob's eyes narrowed. His nose wrinkled. "What? What does that have to-"

"It was a clear and undeniable scent of sexual arousal. Um ... arousal of the two of you, to be more specific. And at once I deduced that both of you had had a little fun in my hovel while I was gone." Jasper turned a paw up toward the ceiling. "Not that I minded much, really! I found the revelation more humorous than anything!"

Jacob's eyes opened wide. He could feel his cheeks burn even hotter. A dragon's sense of smell ... it was much more sophisticated than a human's and capable of detecting scents he could not; that was something Jacob would have never thought to consider. He looked at Penelope, who cast her gaze down, wearing a pitiable expression. Her ears were folded flat, and her fins were drooped and slack as if they were wet cat whiskers.

"I, uh ..." Jasper avoided eye contact with hunched shoulders, practically squeaking out the next few words. "And I maaaay have just casually mentioned that the two of you were mates to Jenivive, not even considering that it may have been private information. She's the only one I've told ... you have my word."

"So all this happened, Penelope," he turned to his dragon, "because you couldn't wait to get back home before getting into my pants." Jacob fumed.

"I'm sorry!" the dragoness winced. "I was antsy that day. And we were alone. And it was exciting to do it somewhere new. And I knew you would get all fussy over it. Which is why I did it. Because it's fun to corner you and convince you to mate when you get all conflicted! And ... and ... I was antsy!" she defensively yapped.

Jacob held his head in his hands as those words reached Jasper and Jenivive's ears. "I can't believe this is happening ..."

Meanwhile, across the table, Jenivive was trying not to giggle at Penelope's speech.

Penelope scooted over next to her keeper and wormed her snout under Jacob's arm to press against his chest. "I'm sorry, Jake!" she pitiably whimpered. "Can you forgive me?"

Jacob opened his eyes, only to see the saddest dragon in the world looking up at him. The curled-back ears, the expressive, soulful cerulean irises, the whimpering escaping her throat, the full-on pout complete with a tiny lip quiver ... one second was all it took before he tore away his gaze in disgust and began to smile and shake his head.

"Damnit, Penelope ... you know I can never say no to that face." He smiled and sighed. Still angry, but unable to focus it on his dragon, Jacob embraced her tightly and gave the dragon a kiss on the forehead. He rocked with her as he stared at the floor in shame.

Jenivive smiled and laughed, causing her red curls to swing and sway. "Jacob, as I already said, I'm not uncomfortable with what's going on between you two. Otherwise, why would I have still come out here to have lunch with you and the dragons?"

Jacob cringed as he let go of his dragon. He put his hands up in defense. "This isn't what it looks like. We're not even really in a relationship, I swear! We're just ... cripes, I don't even know what we are! I ... I ..." he put a hand to his forehead. "Gosh, this is so embarrassing ..." he muttered.

"It doesn't have to be!" Jenivive protested. She leaned forward on the table on both elbows to try and appear more sincere. "No one else at this table is embarrassed or uncomfortable," she whispered. "It's alright, Jacob."

Jacob ran a hand through his hair and said nothing. He felt awkward for just being out in the open now.

"Jacob, may I reiterate," Jasper meekly added, "that this was entirely my fault and I deeply apologize. It's just that ... it never occurred to me that you would have preferred such knowledge to be kept secret."

Jacob's brow wrinkled as he processed the drake's words. "Never occurred ... Jasper, how the heck would something like that not occur to you to be secret!?" He threw his hands up in the air. "We're talking about ... about--" Jacob leaned in close over the table and whispered: "We're talking about the son of one of the wealthiest men in the land getting caught having physical relations with a dragon for cripes sake! How could you just casually not consider that to be sensitive information!?"

Jasper was taken aback. "Well, that's just the thing! You humans are so uptight and touchy about mating for some reason. I've never particularly understood it myself," he scoffed, pausing to calmly drink his tea. "Why, the very idea is so strange to me that that find it quite amusing, to be perfectly honest."

"Jacob, if I may," Jenivive cut in, "Jasper is perfectly right. We as humans, especially with our culture ... we are accustomed to keeping hush-hush about what goes on in the bedroom. But to a dragon, such an act makes no sense. They just tend to see certain things differently than us humans. It's not Jasper's fault that he didn't think to keep it secret. Nor is it Penelope's fault, for that matter ... since it sounds like this isn't the first time this has gotten out."

"It was a mistake to come out to this tavern," Jacob muttered.

Jenivive looked hurt. "Aw, come on, Jacob! We've all had lots of fun so far! Do you really mean that?"

Jacob looked around the table, seeing three pairs of eyes--two dragon and one human--staring back at him. All three were eagerly looking for his approval ... even Penelope, who looked to her keeper with a hopeful expression. Jacob sighed and grumpily folded his arms over his chest. "... No," he finally admitted. But he still kept his sour frown, and it made Jenivive laugh for a brief moment.

"Jacob, I'm not going to judge you ... please understand. This isn't even the first time I've heard of something like this happening. You would be surprised: a lot of dragons--well, mostly the domesticates ... they've expressed sexual interest in humans before. Dragons are pretty frank and up-front about that kind of stuff, actually. I've even seen more than a fair share of the Dragonguard mounts flirt with their riders ... sometimes they simply approach and ask them for sex. I've even had it happen to me a few times! Please trust me when I say that what you and Penelope have going on doesn't bother me in the slightest."

After a peeved sigh, Jacob put his hands down on the table. Jenivive reached forward, rested a hand gently on his wrist, and leaned close.

"Well?" she asked. "Look, I'm sorry I even brought this whole thing up. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Can you at least forgive me for bringing it up?"

With those words, Jacob finally let himself look at the woman in the eye. What he saw was a pretty redhead with green eyes staring back at him, wearing a look of honest concern. He could hardly believe the nerve of this commoner for bringing up the subject, let alone Jasper for telling her with no regards to his personal privacy! And yet, she had acted wholly different than Jacob could have imagined. She wasn't acting disgusted, or horrified. She wasn't even acting uncomfortable. A part of him swore the woman had to be lying, that behind the mask of concern laid a judgmental glare, a look of contempt, or a stray thought of scorn or disdain. There had to be such a thing, there had to! How could she so casually wave off his acts of dragon debauchery? Maybe such thoughts of hers were simply being suppressed, as to appear more agreeable. That had to be it. And yet ... a part of him wanted to believe in the words she was saying. Maybe she really wasn't bothered. If so, Jacob could have, for the first time in his life, a confidant when it came to the stresses of living with a dragon such as Penelope. That could prove quite valuable.

"Well," he began, sighing in resignation. "I ... I don't know if--"

"Oh, it looks like you four are getting along quite well!"

Jacob jumped in place and his heart nearly skipped a beat at the sound of Annabelle's voice behind him. Jenivive hastily withdrew her hand from Jacob's side of the table as he whirled around to see the waitress approaching from the back exit of the tavern. She was carrying two hot human meals and two glasses of wine on a large serving platter ... followed by one of the cooks--a hairy mountain of a man wearing a red-stained apron--with two additional over-sized plates of lamb meat, one in each hand.

"Oh, did I startle you? I'm so sorry! But it's for a good reason--dinner is served!"

"Ooh, ooh! Yay food!" Penelope gushed, letting an excited, rolling trill escape from her throat.

"Oh, thank the stars ... I am famished!" Jasper proclaimed. He licked his scaly lips in anticipation.

"Me too ... that couldn't have been better timing!" Jenivive added.

Jacob took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, feeling incredibly relieved that dinner had come to change the subject. The sooner they get off this topic, the better, he reasoned.

"Ooh, ooh! Is that mine?" Penelope's nose zeroed in on the plate Annabelle was carrying, following it all the way to the spot of table in front of Jacob. He had to keep her inquisitive snout at bay with a hand.

Jacob laughed. "No, Penelope, that is." He pointed to the exceedingly large plate being carried over to her section of the circular table.

Penelope gasped with wonder as an entire slow-roasted lamb's leg--from the rump down to the hoof--was placed in front of her, along with a few extra surprises ... causing Jacob to remember that Annabelle had said the food would be "garnished appropriately for a dragon." Any bit of parsley or other greens were nowhere to be found on the plate: Penelope's "garnish" consisted of half a liver, sautéed with onions; one kidney, fried in spiced sauce; one half of a fried lamb's brain; and the heart, which looked to be cut in halves, marinated, and lightly grilled. A glance at Jasper's plate revealed the same selection of meats, only receiving a lightly-grilled and seasoned lamb's tongue in place of the heart. At once he realized that between the two of them, all of the meat must have come from the same animal.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" Penelope squealed with joy and giddy laughter. "There's so much food! It all looks so good!" She immediately bent down to stuff her face, and Jacob only barely managed to hold her back, urging her to politely wait until everyone was ready.

"Hrmmf, but I don't wanna wait!" Penelope whined.

"We're just being polite, Penelope," Jacob reminded her. "And it's only for a little while."

As Penelope impatiently fussed and compulsively smelled her hot meal, Jacob took another look at the cornucopia of meats laid out for her and Jasper. "Wow, you two certainly got one heck of a dragon's feast," he remarked, trying hard not to look at the slab of lamb brain on Penelope's plate. He couldn't imagine chowing down on some animal's brain, or kidney, or ... .

"Dragon meals are one of our specialties," Annabelle reminded him, as she set down Jenivive's steaming hot chicken broil, complete with a side of steamed rice. "The Dark Horse Grille is proud to be one of the few establishments that cater to our scaled friends."

"Yours doesn't look so bad, either, Jacob." Jasper noted, nodding towards his roast beef. And it certainly was, having been seasoned, cooked to medium wellness just as asked, and allowed to marinate in its own juices. His boiled golden potatoes had been sprinkled with diced green onions, salt, black pepper, and topped with a dollop of whipped butter.

While the presentation wasn't the best, and the quality wasn't quite what he was used to for a restaurant, everything still managed to look quite delicious, and the portions were larger than he was expecting. Though there was plenty to nitpick, Jacob was pleasantly surprised. "I have to admit ... the food doesn't look too bad for a commoner's tavern. But I'll have to taste first before I make my judgement." He looked across the table to sneak a peek at Jenivive's chicken, which looked to be heavily seasoned and almost as equally tasty-looking.

"And here's your wine," Annabelle pleasantly remarked, placing a pair of stemmed glasses in front of Jacob and Jenivive. "There. Now, does everything look to be in order?"

Jacob opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Penelope shouted out. "Yes! It's lovely! Thank you, Anna!"

The waitress giggled. "You're welcome, dear. Enjoy the meal, now." She curtsied and left.

Penelope hovered her nose over her plate, taking in the meaty scent of barely-cooked lamb and letting out an impatient, hungry growl. True to his nature, Jasper was doing the same, letting a rumbling growl well up in his throat.

"Can I eat now? Pretty pretty please?" Penelope whined.

"Hold on a sec, Nel," Jacob excused himself, reaching over to her plate. "Just checking the wellness." With his knife, he cut into the lamb thigh and pulled back the meat with a fork. It was nearly all still red and tender on the inside: cooked rare, just as the waitress had described.

Jenivive laughed. "Of course, you would be particular about how they cooked a dragon's meat."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," Jenivive waved the comment off. " ... silly rich folk," she jokingly muttered, after a long pause.

"Hey, I heard that!" Jacob complained, grinning. "You watch your tongue, commoner."

"Ooh," Jenivive raised her brows. "I'm so scared. Whatcha gonna do, drown me in your swimming pool of gold coins?"

Jacob laughed. "Oh my gosh ..." he muttered, thinking that his family certainly had enough coin to fill a pool if they had one.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just ..." not knowing how to finish the sentence, Jacob merely let out a whimsical sigh and smiled. He felt refreshingly elated to be able to joke with a woman like this. Nowhere to be seen were the ultra-conservative table manners and the overly-modest, easily-offended ladies with their prim and proper dinner talk. The mood was light-hearted, the food smelled delicious, and best of all, he was sharing it with friends.

"Alright, everyone ..." Jacob clapped his hands together and tucked his napkin in his shirt collar. "Let's eat!"

--=-=--

"How's everything going?" Annabelle asked.

Penelope looked up from her plate wearing a broad grin. Fatty juices dribbled down from her chin. "Mrf, it's so good!" the dragon trilled happily. "Best lamb ever! Best luncheon ever! Best meal ever!" She quickly went back to her leg and, holding onto it with both front paws--ripped a chunk of meat off the thigh, chewing noisily and ravenously.

The waitress couldn't help but giggle.

Jasper held his flagon up between both paws. "Everything is delicious, Anna. But--may I have some more tea, please? And an extra napkin, for later."

"Sure! I'll be right back." The waitress spun around and went back inside.

"So what do you think, Jacob?" asked Jenivive. She cut a section of meat off her chicken and dabbed it in her steamed rice before bringing it to her mouth.

Jacob took another bite of his roast beef and savored the complex flavor for a moment before politely swallowing and dabbing his lips with the napkin. The black pepper danced on his tongue, and the sage's herby accent blended well with the juicy tenderness of the beef. "It's all been pretty good. Messy, but good. A lot better than I expected."

"You know," she began, bringing her wine glass to her lips and taking a sip. "I bet the waitress told the cook to pay a little extra attention to your meal 'cause she knows you're rich."

Jacob waved the notion off. "Oh please! I doubt she'd be that concerned with my experience here. I'm just a paying customer like everyone else."

"You really think that?" She raised one eyebrow. "Because that's what I would have done, if I wanted a good tip."

At that moment Annabelle reappeared with the tea kettle. Jasper held his flagon out--using both paws to hold the lid flipped up--and the waitress leaned over Jacob's side of the table to fill it for him. Jacob took a sip of his sherry in silence.

"Jake, why do you keep looking at her breasts?"

Jacob nearly spit his wine out all over the table. "Penelope!" he angrily admonished, turning to the dragon.

"What?" she innocently asked.

Jenivive began to laugh as Jacob's face turned red for the second time so far.

"That's what they're there for, so no worries," Annabelle cheerily replied, standing up straight once more. She paused to fidget with her low-cut dress, making sure her ample cleavage was proudly on display. "Anything else I can get 'cha?"

"You look like you need another glass of wine, Jacob," Jenivive motioned to his mostly-empty glass.

"After that little embarrassment, I think you're right," Jacob muttered. He took a not-so-polite last gulp and felt the mild burn as he swallowed. Sherry was quite strong for a wine, and perhaps it needed to be, at this rate! He set his empty glass on the edge of the table.

The waitress nodded and took his wine glass. "Right away, sir." She curtsied and left.

"Why did you have to say that, Nel?" he angrily hissed at the dragon once the waitress was out of earshot. "In front of everyone, no less?"

Penelope splayed her ears out wide and frowned. "I just ... I don't get why you always stare at women with big breasts."

Jacob pursed his lips. "I don't always stare."

"Yes you do!"

Jacob felt his cheeks becoming hot. "No I don't! And when I do stare, it's because female bosoms are attractive. I'm a guy ... that's natural for me! What's wrong with that?"

Penelope dropped her gaze to the table. "Nothing's wrong! It's just that ... I watch you keep looking at them, and--"

"Why are you even bringing this up?" he irately yapped.

"Because ..." she patted the flat, armored scutes of her chest with a paw. "Because I don't have any!" the dragon admitted. "And when you stare at them, it makes me feel left out!"

"Oh, cripes, dragon," Jacob sighed and sunk his head into his hands. Penelope was jealous. She didn't seem to be aware of it, but she was as jealous as a dragon gets! And over such a silly thing as bosoms, too! "How many times are you going to embarrass me in one day?" he muttered.

Meanwhile, Jenivive was beside herself with laughter, which Jacob was beginning to learn was par for the course in these situations. Annabelle reappeared with a second glass of sherry, and Jacob quickly took it, taking a long sip. Jacob liked sherry for the taste, but at this point, the high alcohol content was the only thing on his mind. He could use something to take the edge off his current mood.

"Anything else you folks need?" she asked.

Jenivive motioned over towards Jacob, who was staring at his plate and silently chewing his beef with hunched shoulders and a sharp frown. "Aside from a mask for my embarrassed friend to hide behind, I think we're good, thank you," Jenivive laughed.

"Alright, then!" the waitress giggled and left.

"I'm sorry if I got you embarrassed, Jake," Penelope gave her keeper a loving nuzzle against the shoulder. Jacob frowned. The dragon had not yet wiped her lips and had accidently smeared his shirt with fatty grease from her meal.

"For what it's worth, Penelope," Jenivive began, talking between chews. "Men have been fascinated by breasts since the dawn of time."

"But why-yyy?" Penelope inquisitively caroled.

"It's simple, really ... because men don't have any themselves!" Jenivive stated, flashing a grin.

"Yes they do, though!" Penelope piped up. "I've seen Jake naked and he has breasts, they're just really, really flat. He even has nipples, too!"

"Oh, cripes, dragon!" Jacob griped, smacking his forehead. "Don't go telling people you've seen me in the nude! Sheesh ..."

Jenivive laughed. "Yes ... technically, men have breasts too, but they're too small and flat. But these ..." Jenivive cupped her own breasts through her dress, nearly causing Jacob to choke on his food. "These girls, here ... they have some 'oomph' to them! They jiggle and bounce. And they're fun to fondle and play with! That's what men like about 'em."

"I can't believe you just groped your own chest in public ..." Jacob muttered. He stuck a fork in another slice of his roast beef and peevishly plunged it into his mouth.

Jenivive giggled. "Well, to be fair... normally I'm not even that brazen. But Jacob, look around," she said, and motioned around the dining area of the Dark Horse Grille's pavilion. Jacob did so, seeing around eight or so scale-covered patrons spread out around the standing tables in the area, most nursing a flagon of ale. "We're surrounded by a bunch of dragons, Jake. And none of them care about proper dining etiquette or acting modestly. That's one of the things I find so refreshing about dragons ... they're completely unconcerned with the manners of human society. Heck, they wouldn't even care if I stripped nude and started doing cartwheels."

"Yeah well, if any person was passing by and saw you, they might!"

"And that's just it, Jacob: the humans would care. But not the dragons. Nobody here cares. Except for you, possibly. Do you care, Jacob? Do you care if I do this?" she teased him, giving her own breasts another grope and squeeze.

"Oh, my lord!" Jacob deliberately averted his gaze by bringing a hand up between his eyes and her. "Forgive me for saying this, but that was the most un-lady-like act I've ever witnessed in my entire life."

"Good," Jenivive nodded. "You could use more of that, it seems."

Jacob continued to avoid her gaze but could not argue her point. His cheeks were still warm, but part of that was from the sherry starting to affect him.

"Do you see now, Jenni?" Penelope asked, grinning. "Do you see what I mean when I said he was fun to tease? Look at the grumpy little pout on his face! It's so cute!"

Jenivive laughed. "Yes, I see it!"

Jacob let out a groan. "Oh, cut it out, you two!" he remarked, causing both girls to giggle.

"Jacob, take comfort in me staying out of this one," Jasper remarked. The drake had been busy eating during the whole conversation and was already half done. He paused to dabble his chin with a napkin before speaking again. "However, I can't say I didn't find the whole exchange positively amusing."

Jacob took another bite of his roast beef as he thought. He swallowed and cleared his palate before speaking up again. "Jenivive, I think just like how Penelope and Jasper act more like humans for spending so much time around them, you've probably had some dragon brush off on you as well. That explains your brash attitude."

Jenivive laughed. "You know what? I wouldn't argue that. But I can't say I think that makes me any worse of a person. Just a little different, that's all."

There was a loud clank and clatter from behind, and Jacob whirled around to see what those four dragons were up to this time. Broken Horn and Green, who were fighting just minutes before, were now sitting on their haunches, wings wrapped around each other, acting very amorously and nibbling each other's mouths and necks. The crash had come from their empty flagons, which were now on the ground. The two dragons were churring and humming quietly to each other, while Red and Black looked on with drunken amusement, growling in approval. Broken Horn leaned into Green more and more, until the pair toppled over with a crash, causing Green to grunt loudly.

It didn't take long for things to progress, with Broken Horn beginning to hump and grind against Green, tail lifted high into the air. After a moment of this, Broken Horn abruptly disengaged. With chest pompously puffed out, he began to trot around Green in a show of bravado, clearly displaying the dangling pillar of red flesh between his hind legs. A glance at Green, still on his back with splayed legs, revealed that both dragons were quite definitely male and aroused. Growling headedly, Broken Horn then stepped over Green's head as his own snout zeroed in between Green's hind legs. He then began to--

Jacob abruptly turned back toward his roast beef and said nothing, hunching his shoulders up and feeling awkward. He could hardly believe what he had seen ... those two, about to have sex in public! How shameless could a dragon get?

Jenivive shrugged apologetically when she saw Jacob's flustered and clearly uncomfortable expression. "Like I said earlier, Jacob ... most dragons are pretty frank and up-front about showing sexual interest."

"Yeah, I can see ..." Jacob wryly commented.

"Are they really--Is he really putting it in his--" Penelope let out a gasp. "They are! That's ... that's kinda hot." Jasper seemed to let out a little rumbling from his throat but said nothing.

Jacob didn't want to turn around and look, but he did notice both Penelope and Jasper watching intently. Actually, a glance around the room revealed that most of the dragons here were watching with some level of interest. Nobody seemed to mind.

Then, as if on-cue, Annabelle rushed out of the back door of The Dark Horse Grille to yell at the rather rambunctious and rollicking drakes.

"Hey! Hey! Cut that out! That's not allowed in the eating area! Hey! I'm talking to you two! Hello? Aren't you listening? I said cut it out! I don't want you two ... Rrgh!"

Fuming mad and tired of being ignored, Annabelle stomped back into the restaurant and reappeared a moment later with a big tin pail of water. She crossed the room again and threw it on the pair of amorous dragons, who sputtered and coughed and gradually rose from the floor, dripping water and looking positively grumpy. They growled at her in displeasure, even going as far to gnash their teeth at her.

But this time, Annabelle was having none of their sass. She put one hand on her hip and threatened the two with a finger. "I am not going to be responsible for cleaning up any mess you leave on the floor! We're a restaurant, not a brothel! If you flying lizards wanna go debauch yourselves, go do it somewhere else! I want you four to pay up and leave. Now. Before I go back inside and get the whole kitchen staff out here with more buckets of ice water!"

The table of four dragons looked at each other for a moment, grumbling amongst themselves. Green gave the waitress a hiss and a sneer, snorting a puff of smoke for good measure. Looking very reluctant, Red grabbed the small leather pouch that was dangling from his neck and poured out a bunch of gold coins onto the table. He counted out a number of them and set them aside, collecting the rest back into his pouch. The other three prepared to leave, making the appropriate leg, wing, and tail stretches, looking like three lazy cats who just woke from a nap.

Annabelle snatched up the money as slowly, the four dragons exited via the fence door to the left, walking in single file. The last in line, Black, hissed something to the waitress before walking out. Appearing somewhat sobered up by now, the dragon was no longer slurring his words, and Jacob could just barely make out the phrase, "Filthy duusku!" in a guttural, growling tongue.

Silent for now, Annabelle merely pointed out to the gate, only turning around once the four were out of sight. With the situation finally resolved, Annabelle sunk her shoulders and brought her hands to her face. She stood there for a moment, collecting herself. She then sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. As she approached Jacob's table on the way back inside, he noticed a few tears had streamed down her cheeks.

"No tip ... again," she muttered to herself as she walked by.

Jacob returned his attention to his own table, shaking his head in disgust. "I can't believe the nerve of those dragons ..."

"They'll be back in a day or two, though," Jenivive nodded. She was talking with forkfuls of rice in her mouth, something Jacob had been taught to never, ever do. "I guarantee it. As I said earlier, there's not many establishments that are willing to sell alcohol to dragons ... and most love the taste of ale. A pity about the lack of a tip, though I doubt her treatment of them had little to do with it. I am pretty sure most dragons never leave tips. Their general line of thinking is: if giving money is optional, then why give it away to a human when you could keep it for yourself?"

"But, having sex in public like that?" Jacob shook his head. "I don't get it. How can they be so debauched? So ... so shameless?"

"Oh, trust me, Jake ... dragons have a strong sense of pride and can get ashamed at a lot of things. But sex is not one of those things. To them, sex is just a part of normal life and nothing to hide from others. Human upbringing or not, that's just how they tend to see the world. It's like ... they're just wired that way ever since hatching, or something."

Jacob nodded. That explained a quite a lot about Penelope. Perhaps more than he even knew. All the times she had ever said something deeply sexual out loud, or appeared to never care about getting caught having sex with him... it seemed that no matter how many times he had to explain to her that sex was a private act, the dragon simply wouldn't see things from his point of view. And all this time he had assumed Penelope was merely being forgetful or even willingly defiant with her brazen and carefree approach to sexual matters ... but perhaps the real reason was something else entirely!

"But even so, I would think that they'd at least prefer to do it somewhere quiet without interruptions!" Jacob asserted.

"That is true ... but those dragons were drunk, Jacob." Jenivive reminded him. "You know what alcohol does to the mind."

"Right, right ..." Jacob nodded. He was feeling a slight buzz from the sherry, himself.

"Speaking of alcohol, how's that sherry treating you?" Jenivive asked, bringing her own wine glass to her lips and taking a sip.

Jacob smiled. "It's been treating me great, actually. Have you ever had sherry before?"

Jenivive shook her head no.

"Well, it's a very strong wine, but this one is also rather sweet, with a savory flavor. Like port. Would you care to try it?" he held his wine glass up to her.

Jenivive shook her head no as she returned to her meal. "I'm fine. There is something else I wanted to ask you, though," she said, grinning.

Jacob tilted his head. "What?"

"I wath jush--" Jenivive paused to swallow a mouthful of rice. "I was just wondering if you could return to our earlier conversation topic, and tell me about, well ..." Jenivive pointed across the table. "The two of you. That is, if you're okay talking about it."

Jacob groaned and put down his fork, completely forgetting that he had just witnessed a commoner's faux pas of talking with a mouthful of food. "Oh gosh, not this again ... you're hoping the wine's given me a pair of loose lips, haven't you?"

"I'm just curious!" Jenivive professed. She had ignored Jacob's question, which had him convinced that the answer was yes. "I've known dragons who've had casual flings with humans--usually, it was some special circumstance, like after a night of drinking on the human's part. But I've never met anyone in a relationship with a dragon before!"

"It's not a relationship!" Jacob angrily spat out. "It's ... it's ... hell, I don't know what it is, okay? But it's not a relationship!"

"We're mates," Penelope happily added as she ripped off a chunk of her lamb kidney. She trilled happily as the flavor hit her palate. "Mrf, that's so good!"

Jacob visibly winced at her words. "Cripes, dragon! We need to get you to stop using the m-word!" She kept using that word to describe their relationship ... and Jacob still didn't fully know what she meant by that. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know.

Jenivive giggled. "Well, if you won't tell me about it ..." the red-haired woman turned to the lavender dragoness across the table. "Then what do you have to say, Penelope?"

"Oh no. No. No!" Jacob put his hands out. "Don't ask her. Please!"

"Penelope, how did you and Jacob become mates?" Jenivive sweetly asked, ignoring him. She played with a curly lock of her fiery hair and cocked her head, looking innocent and inquisitive.

The purple dragon briefly looked at Jenivive, then back at Jacob, who looked positively miserable. She frowned and put down her half-eaten kidney. "I don't wanna tell if it'll get Jake upset."

"Penelope, honey ..." Jenivive leaned forward, looking the dragon in the eye. "If you ask me, Jacob needs to get more comfortable about this subject, don't you?"

The dragon slowly nodded.

"Good. Talking about it will help him with that. Doesn't that sound good?"

The dragon slowly nodded once more.

Jenivive smiled. "Good. What do you think, Jacob?"

Jacob again crossed his arms over his chest and put on a scowl, chewing his roast beef silently. Penelope nudged him in the shoulder and looked up at him with the most innocent, hopeful expression.

"Jake, can I talk with Jenni? Just a little?"

Jacob was silent.

"It's for his own good," Jenivive added.

"It's for your own good," Penelope parroted to him.

Jacob said nothing.

"And I promise not to tell a soul," Jenivive added.

"Jenni promises not to tell a soul," Penelope parroted to Jacob once more.

Jacob did not speak a word. He looked around the table out of the corner of his eye. All three were staring at him. Again! What was the deal with this woman? Why was she being so nosy, and about such a sensitive topic? It struck him as very rude, and perhaps even a bit suspicious. Just what was she playing at, anyway? But his head was a little buzzy from the sherry ... and a part of him was nagging at the back of his mind, wondering why he was being so stubborn. She already knew the truth, didn't she? How much harm could telling the rest of the details do? He flared his nostrils and let out a long sigh through his nose.

" ... Fine," he quietly muttered.

"Ah!" The dragon squealed delightfully. She wrapped a wing around his shoulders and squeezed tight. "Thanks, Jake!"

Jenivive looked pleasantly surprised. This time she paused to swallow her chicken before talking. "Wonderful! So, how did the two of you end up as mates?"

Penelope took in a big breath and happily began. "Well, a while ago I started getting ideas to mate with Jake. When I had my heat last spring, it was all I could think about every day. But I was afraid he would say no, so I would think of ways to trick him into mating with me. And I tried a lot of things! But none of them worked, and I got desperate, and so I told Jake how much I wanted to try it. And he said yes."

"He immediately said yes? Just like that?" Jenivive asked, cocking her head.

"It wasn't that simple," Jacob interjected. "If I remember correctly, she took me deep in the woods, and wanted a suspiciously sensual massage. Which I entertained for a while. But when she tried to take things too far I attempted to leave, so she tackled me to the ground and wouldn't let go until we ... experimented."

Jenivive laughed. "Okay, now it's starting to sound more like most dragon sex stories I hear."

Penelope giggled. "Well, he said yes and I got to mate for the first time. And it was so hot and I loved it and I wanted to do more but Jake started thinking that what we did was wrong, so whenever I wanted to mate again, I had to start convincing him to mate. He'd think about it too much instead of just giving in, and then he'd get all conflicted, which made it hard."

"What she really means," Jacob added, somewhat in disbelief that he was adding anything at all, "is that after our first time, I started dealing with a lot of regret over what I had done. But every time I wanted to back out, Penelope started trying everything short of tying me down to get into my pants. Nel, here, is persistent to a fault, and never takes no for an answer! We eventually had a fight over it, and things were rough between us for a while. But eventually our argument smoothed over, and sometimes ..." Jacob let out a sigh. "Look, as much as I don't want to admit it, sometimes the dragon says or does the right things, and, well ... she gets particularly hard to ignore. Take those words in any way you choose."

Jacob took in a big breath and let it out slowly. He was amazed at the things he was allowing himself to say. Perhaps that sherry was affecting him more than he realized ...

"Jake means he likes it when I seduce him with my feminine charm," Penelope purred. Jacob pursed his lips tight and frowned.

"You seduced a human!" Jenivive raised one eyebrow, looking thoroughly amused. "My my, that couldn't have been easy!"

"She had help," Jacob added, wrinkling his nose in slight disgust. "My mother has read a lot of novels to her over the years, including a number of trashy feminine romance stories. That's how she even knows the meaning of words like 'seduce' and 'feminine charm'." He gave the dragon a glare.

"They're not trashy!" Penelope objected. "I like them and they're nice!"

"Gimmie a break, they're practically pornographic!" Jacob griped. "They're full of page-long descriptions of shirtless men with chiseled muscles that almost always end up having sex with the female protagonist!"

"Yeah, so? That's why I like them!" Penelope adamantly responded. Jenivive stifled a snicker.

"Ugh, the point is," Jacob continued, pausing to eat and swallow a slice of roast beef, "she started learning how humans flirt and charm from all those saucy 'romance' books. Then she started trying them on me, and paid attention to what worked and what didn't. So, since then this particular dragon has learned how to ..." Jacob frowned. "Push my buttons. And sometimes I just decide to let ... things happen." He dropped his head in his hands. "Gosh, this is so embarrassing to admit ..."

"You're fine, you're fine!" Jenivive assured him. "Much of what you're saying doesn't surprise me in the least. Like I said earlier, I've heard of situations like this happening before, especially with domesticates. It's because they grew up around humans, and they're comfortable with them."

"You gotta remember, Jenivive, that me and Nel--her especially--we don't really meet a lot of new people." Jacob added, feeling the need to be defensive for some reason. "And it's not like it's my fault or anything! I never went to a public school, I was home tutored! Going to a public university was so overwhelming in contrast. Most social occasions I attend because of my parents. And when you have parents as well-off as mine ... well, let's just say that this is the first casual luncheon I've ever had in my life. And dragons usually aren't invited!"

"That's exactly my point, though! It's no wonder Penelope took a fancy for you, when you and her spend so much time together."

"Heck, Penelope's awfully timid around other dragons ... it's a miracle I even got her talking to Jasper!"

"That's because Jasper's not grumpy and mean and scary like most dragons!" Penelope confided.

"Indeed he is not!" Jenivive chuckled. "Like I said earlier, part of that is because he was raised by humans, too."

Jasper fidgeted in place. "I ... I'm right here, you know. I can speak for myself, if need be."

"Sorry," Jenivive told the drake. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. Penelope?" she turned back to the purple dragoness. "I believe we were originally talking about something far more amusing." She put on a sly grin, and leaned forward on the table. "Jacob mentioned you getting ideas from romance novels, when it comes to trying to get him to bed."

Jacob's chest began to tighten, and he felt his breath stifle. Oh no, not back on this subject! He had hoped that the topic had moved on from this!

"So tell me," Jenivive continued, "What sort of tricks did you pick up on, and how do you work your magic to get such a ... what's the word I am looking for? Stubborn? Timid? How about tentative? How do you get such a ... tentative man to do your bidding?"

Jacob wanted to object to such a question, but said nothing. At the very least, he thought that Jenivive had picked a rather apt word for him.

"I get him antsy until he's too antsy to say no." Penelope responded, looking absolutely proud of herself. "I say a lot of sexy things, and I do sexy things like putting on a show for him just like in all the hot scenes of Lucy's books, and then I start touching in places he pretends he doesn't like." The dragon hummed gleefully. "Even if he doesn't want to mate the regular way, sometimes I can win him over with a blowie because Jake really likes--"

"Penelope!" Jacob objected, starting to feel his cheeks grow hot once more. "That's ... that's getting into too much detail!" The dragon giggled at his reaction.

Jenivive laughed. "Let me guess ... you like getting oral sex because it feels like it's not as big of a deal compared to regular sex."

"Well, actually ..." Jacob's eyebrows rose up in surprise. "Actually, you're right, that's exactly it." Wow, he thought ... was he really talking about oral sex with a woman he had just met? Why wasn't she acting just as uncomfortable as he? What was going on? Jacob felt so incredibly out of his element ... and yet, a part of him remained calm, as if nothing was wrong. Perhaps there really was nothing wrong ... or maybe, that was merely the sherry talking!

Jenivive nodded. "Sex can be intimidating, especially if you're outside your comfort zone. In that case, oral sex can be a more comfortable compromise."

"Jacob gets lots of blowies." Penelope candidly nodded.

"Nel, please ..."

"But I like them too, so I don't mind."

"Can we--"

"I lo-oove the taste!"

"Penelope!"

"Ooh, and it's really hot to watch his face and feel him throb in my mouth when he--"

"Cripes, dragon, enough!" Jacob ran an exasperated hand through his hair, letting out a pained groan. "You don't need to tell her everything!"

Penelope grinned. "Heeeeeee! I want to tell Jenni more! This is fun!" The dragon put both forepaws on the table and leaned close. "This one time, I had an idea to trick him, so I got really muddy so Jake would have to give me a bath, and it got me all hot and bothered feeling his hands rub me all over my scales, so I started to--"

"Oh, no you don't!" Jacob cut her off, bringing a finger to the dragon's snout and shushing her. "We're not getting into what happened that day." Penelope began to giggle effusively, appearing nearly giddy with excitement at having a chance to openly talk about sex for the first time in her life ... or perhaps she was simply having too much fun making him squirm. Jacob wasn't sure which one it was ... maybe it was a bit of both!

Jenivive bore a wide smile that told everyone at the table that she was thoroughly enjoying the conversation. She leaned in on her elbow, narrowed her gaze, and spoke softly to the dragon. "So tell me, Penelope," she asked, raising one eyebrow. "Does Jacob ever ... return the favor when you give him oral sex?"

Penelope put on a grin and took in a big breath in preparation for answering, but barely a peep came out of her mouth before Jacob grabbed the dragon and clamped her jaws shut with a hand. "Rrf! L-let's not get into these kind of questions ... please!" Jacob stammered, holding a fidgeting dragon in his arms. Penelope let out an unhappy whine. Her scale-covered snout was messy with meaty juices, which made it hard to hold on.

Jenivive laughed. "Fair enough! I'll let you off the hook for now," she said, and Jacob let go of the dragon so he could wipe his hand clean on his napkin. "So, jokes and teases aside ... how serious is it between you two? If you don't mind me asking? Is this a long term thing, or just a casual fling?"

"I ..." Jacob sighed. "I honestly don't know." He opened his mouth to say more, but didn't know how to elaborate ... or rather, he didn't know which words to use. Or if he should even be saying them in front of Penelope. Instead he stuck his last piece of potato in his mouth and chewed.

"We're mates!" Penelope proudly proclaimed once again. Jacob frowned.

"We're not mates! We're a--"Jacob stopped himself short. "We're a cou--" he cleared his throat. "We're a human and a dragon that sometimes ... do stuff," he finally settled on.

"Well isn't that awfully specific ..." Jasper muttered, glancing away from the table.

"I didn't know you had a sarcastic streak in you, Jasper," Jacob commented.

The aquamarine drake put down a lamb bone, held a forepaw up, and squeezed his dewclaw and first toe together, as if pinching something invisible. "I've got just this much in me. It only comes out every once in a while ... such as when I see a human stubbornly trying to dance around the fact that he's in a sexual relationship with a dragon."

Jacob scowled.

Jasper blinked, looking hurt when he regarded Jacob's expression. "My apologies. Jacob, I don't mean to be derisive ..." the drake fanned his cheek fins out. "I merely find it grossly unnecessary that you keep this charade up."

"It's not a charade!" Jacob lashed out defensively. "I just ... I don't know how to describe what's going on between me and Penelope, that's all. We've been close friends for a long time, and ... and just because there's a little extra now doesn't change that!"

"Just say we're mates, Jake!" Penelope gleefully offered. She bent down and ripped off another piece of meat from her meal. "How come you don't like that word?"

He turned to the dragon. "It just ... it sounds so ... hell, I don't even know what you think it means, to be honest."

"It means that we mate with each other, silly," Penelope let out an enthused little hum.

Jacob frowned. "But I don't know if that means we're in a serious relationship or not, or heck ... what type of relationship this even is."

"Rrg, human relationships!" Jasper let out an unsavory grumble from his throat and held his snout in his claws.

"What?" Jacob asked, feeling mildly annoyed.

"They're ... they're so needlessly complicated, terribly convoluted, and downright confusing!" The drake closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and took a moment to calm himself before looking Jacob straight in the eye. "Jacob? Penelope likes spending time with you, and likes mating with you. Just leave it at that." Jasper finished with a little self-assured nod. "Do you understand?"

Jacob frowned. Penelope had told him something similar not long ago. Such a response answered none of his questions, but he reluctantly kept his objections to himself. "Yes," he lied.

"Urf, I'm getting so full," Penelope groaned, setting down her lamb leg, which was now mostly bone. "But I can't stop eating!"

Jacob jumped on the chance to change the subject. "Pace yourself, you silly dragon!" he chided her, giving Penelope a rub on her scaly shoulders.

"Jake ..." the dragon ripped off a bit of meat and began chewing noisily. "I got so much food, and it's all so good ... we need to come back every week! No, every day!"

Jacob smiled. "Oh we'll come back. Don't you worry about that. It's not common you find a tavern that welcomes dragons."

The dragon trilled happily in response. "Yay! Good. Let's eat here for supper, too! And tomorrow, for breakfast!"

Jacob laughed as he stuck a piece of beef with a fork and brought it to his mouth, looking around the table. Having spent much of the time quietly eating, Jasper had finished his meal and was happily gnawing on one of the bones. There was suddenly a loud crack that caused Jacob to flinch, and the drake spit out a few bone shards. He then began to clean out the marrow of the broken bone with his long tongue. Penelope was almost done, herself, having just a little meat on the ankle and foot left, and other bits here and there. Jenivive had finished eating as well, even though there was a bit of chicken that went untouched. Jacob frowned as he regarded his own plate, which still had plenty of food. He felt like a slow eater.

Jenivive sucked on the inside of her cheek for a moment, causing a smacking noise when she opened her mouth. "Well then let's approach this whole relationship thing from a different angle, then." Jacob immediately frowned, unhappy to see he had not completely gotten off the subject. "Jacob, if Penelope were to go off and have sex with another dragon--say, Jasper, here ... would that bother you?"

Jacob tried not to react, but his eyes opened wide. He tried not to react, but felt his cheeks begin to burn. He tried not to react, but found himself sucking in a sudden breath. A hundred different thoughts began swirling around in his mind. Why did she mention Jasper? Did she know about him and Penelope? What should he say? Would Penelope say something? Would Jasper? Should he glance over their way? Were they looking at him? Was he looking suspicious right now? What if he lied? What if he told the truth? Why did his chest feel so tight?

Jacob shook all the thoughts out of his head. " ... No," he calmly replied.

Penelope slammed both forepaws on the table. "That's a lie!"

Jacob winced and sunk his head down. "Damnit, dragon!"

The smile vanished from Jenivive's face. "Huh?"

"That's a lie! He got really upset when I told him I mated with Jasper! And it made me feel really bad!" Penelope pouted.

"Penelope ..." Jacob seethed.

"Wait, hold on a second ..." Jenivive interjected. "That actually happened? Penelope, you and Jasper ... you two had sex?" She looked over at Jasper, who hung his head, avoided eye contact, and tightly wrapped his tail around his feet.

"Yes and it was really, really hot! And I'd do it again, too, but Jake would get mad!"

"Cripes, dragon, I told you that I wasn't angry, I was just a little ... surprised, that's all! It was my fault for getting ..."

"Jasper," Jenivive turned to the drake, ignoring the quarreling pair across the table. She began to grin. "I don't believe it. You finally landed yourself your first mate!"

"I don't feel much better for it, for what it's worth," Jasper muttered.

"Well, regardless ... congratulations!" She playfully patted the drake on his shoulders.

"Wait, what?" Jacob asked, halting his quibble with Penelope. "Do you mean--Jasper's a ..."

"Well, he was! But not anymore!" Jenivive proudly proclaimed. Jasper ducked his head down in shame.

"I don't get it. He's an adult drake, in the prime of his life ..."

Jasper closed his eyes and sighed, huddling over his flagon. "And I'm a domesticate, too, Jacob," he muttered. "And not only that, but I'm a bookworm and an intellectual. Rare traits for a dragon, to be sure. Traits that are not usually appreciated by my kind. And they're not in the least bit acceptable to the wildborn, who view it as a corrupted human influence. My confidence in attracting a mate is ... quite lacking, and has been for some time. Why, it's so unheard of amongst dragons to still have no mating experience at my age, that I find it to be incredibly embarrassing and shameful, to be honest. It's become quite the high hurdle for me when it comes to seeking companionship."

"But that's not the case anymore!" Jenivive consoled the dragon, giving him a reassuring rub on his scaly shoulders. "So, how did it go? Did Penelope treat you right?"

"It was ... like nothing I've ever imagined or fantasized about. She was altogether quite giddy and ... rather persuasive," Jasper admitted, causing Penelope to deviously giggle.

Jacob, despite himself, was beginning to smile. "She trapped you somewhere and wouldn't let you leave until you had sex, right?"

"Yes! Right!" Jasper proclaimed, showing a hint of annoyance. "She's done that to you, too?"

"Yes!" Jacob exclaimed. Hearing this from the drake, despite what other emotions were swirling around inside of him, felt oddly satisfying. "She was trying everything to get you to bed, right? Wouldn't take no for an answer?"

"Why, yes! It was ... it was very flattering, but at the same time very scary!" Jasper professed, his voice nearly squeaking from how high it went. "Why, a part of me couldn't believe the nerve of her, ah--no offense, Penelope! I ... I told her many times that I didn't wish to mate--and I couldn't even bear to tell her why! However ..." Jasper looked away with a huff. "Her persistence began to pay off as my body started betraying the wishes of my mind, and as soon Penelope saw a weakness, she pounced ... quite literally!"

Jacob felt as if a pent-up pressure was being released from his chest with every word Jasper spoke. For the first time in his life, here was someone else that knew ... someone that could understand and empathize with what his dragon was putting him through! This drake knew what it was all like: feeling the pressure to give in to her whims, the constant teasing and flirting, and the way she would never take no for an answer. And he knew what it felt like to be wrapped up in the claws and wings of that relentless dragon and her libido, feeling too embarrassed to give in, yet unable to fully dispel her brazen charm! Suddenly, Jacob felt like he had much more in common with Jasper than he had ever realized before.

Penelope began to giggle even more at the drake's words, not even bothering to hide her broad grin parted by the tip of her tongue. The conniving dragon hunched her shoulders and padded her feet against the ground, thoroughly amused to hear the drake's side of the story. Her tail curled up and relaxed several times. The hard scales of her tail made scraping noises against the flagstone floor.

"Isn't she good at it?" Jacob asked. "Isn't it uncanny how she always manages to get her way?"

"Yes, yes! It's quite uncanny ... why, it was as if she knew she would win our tussle since the very beginning!" Jasper ruffled his wings as his eyes dashed to the floor. "She was ... awfully persuasive. Horribly incorrigible. And terribly persistent! To imagine dealing with that on a daily basis ... Jacob, you have my full sympathies ... and perhaps a shred of my envy."

Jacob couldn't help but grin.

"Heeeeeee!" Penelope let out a gleeful laugh out, no longer able to keep quiet. "I cornered Jassy and I started saying sexy things, and doing sexy things, until he caved in. Just like with Jake!" she proudly stated. "Then, when he told me he had never mated before, I decided to be fair: after doing things my way and getting him to come once, I let him take control and mate me in whatever way he wanted, to let him see what it was like." The chipper dragoness hummed and nodded, appearing rather pleased with herself for this concept of sexual fairness. "But since I had never mated with another dragon before, it was like a first time for both of us! And I even got him to come twice in one night! Mmrf, it was so hot, his cock was so big! Such a rush ..." The dragoness fanned her cheek fins and let a tiny growl rumble out of her throat.

Jenivive sucked on the inside of her cheek for a bit as she pondered the dragon's words. "Hm. Interesting. So Jasper," she began, turning to the drake. "Do you think you'll have the courage to take a full dive, now that you've gotten your feet wet?"

"Err, no. I mean--not quite!" Jasper drummed his claws along the side of his flagon, looking unsettled and apprehensive. "After all, that was only one time ... not long enough to become comfortable! And also ... to be fair, I'd like a chance to mate with another drake, too, so I can see if I like it, and--why are you making that face?" he asked to Jacob.

Jacob flinched. "Oh, sorry! It's just ..." he fidgeted in place. "Look, to be perfectly honest, when I first met you, I assumed you fancied other drakes, but when I heard you had sex with Penelope, I thought that wasn't the case ..." he glanced over to his lavender dragon, who appeared to be deep in thought. "But now you're saying you'd--err, that you do in fact fancy other drakes?"

"Do I fancy them? Well, I'm not sure! I've thought about mating with another drake before, but would I like it if it were to happen for real? And naturally, how will I ever answer those questions if I never try?" Jasper matter-of-factly proclaimed. "Haven't you ever considered it? Err, mating with another male of your kind, that is? I assumed most have ... whether draa or homn--err, human."

"I ... uh ..." Jacob let his jaw hang open.

Jenivive saw this as a good place to intervene before the topic took an unsavory turn. "Jacob, from what I've seen, dragons don't really have any concept of sexual orientation ... just varying degrees of preferences. The majority of dragons I know--especially the males--have experimented with both genders. And if they haven't yet, they usually have expressed some measure of curiosity in it. Heck, there's a few dragons I know who are happily expecting eggs with their mate, while openly having casual same-gendered flings on the side. And their mate never objects, either."

"That's ..." Jacob furrowed his brow. "Odd."

"How so?" Jasper pressed. The drake looked unusually focused on Jacob's reaction.

"Well, it's ..." Jacob stalled, not knowing what to say. "Well, sex is meant for having kids, right? So same-gendered couples are odd in that respect."

Jasper lifted a single claw in the air. "No no ... sex is meant for having fun. Eggs are meant for having kids! You humans always get that mixed up."

Jacob frowned.

"He has a point, Jacob. Although, Jasper," Jenivive said, turning to the drake, "the word you should be using is impregnation, if we're talking about both humans and dragons."

"Yes, that cumbersome word," Jasper dismissively waved the correction off with a forepaw as he took another drink of his tea. "You know what I mean."

"But yes, one can have sex without getting pregnant. And, shoot ... maybe someday, technology will let us all get pregnant without having sex, too!" Jenivive laughed. "But I can't see that being especially popular. Why, that takes all the fun right out of it!" she proclaimed, laughing even more.

Jacob felt the pang of awkwardness rile up once more for talking about sex with a woman he had just met ... and not only just a woman, but a commonfolk woman! It seemed like if Jacob were to have any modesty left in his soul after today, it would be a miracle. As of now it felt more like his sense of social etiquette was being knifed, gutted, and served on a platter with its tongue, brain and liver.

Penelope suddenly sucked in a huge gasp. "I got it!"

All three heads whirled around to meet her gaze.

"Huh?"

Penelope put on a big grin. "Jake, you should mate with Jasper!"

Jasper's cerulean eyes opened up wide. Jacob nearly choked on his own breath. "W-w-w-what?!"

"You should mate with Jasper," the dragoness repeated, excitedly nodding. "You got jealous when I mated with Jasper, so if you mate with him too, then me and him mating won't be such a big deal anymore! You can mate just like we saw those two drakes mate! You can even stick it in his--" the dragoness gasped again. "Wait wait wait ... what if I mated with you while you mated with Jasper ... it'd be like the three of us all mating together! Is ... is that possible for three people to mate together? Has anyone done that before?" she wondered aloud in excitement.

Jacob was at a loss for a proper emotional response to his dragon's words. What came out instead was a confused laugh. "Penelope! What in the name of--I wasn't jealous of you because I didn't have sex with Jasper!"

"Oh oh, I'd get to have you both in my den at once! And then--Oooh!" Penelope stared off into space and let out an eager growl, completely oblivious to her keeper's words. "What if you both mated with me at once? I could have two cocks. Two! One in my mouth, and one in my slit! At the same tiiiiime!" The dragon wiggled and squirmed in place, her own words riling herself up. "Mmrrf, that'd be so hot. So amazing! So awesome! And so hot! Rrrf!"

Jacob smacked his face with his palm. "Oh, for cripes sake, dragon!"

Penelope flinched. "Jake!" She turned and grasped her keeper's shoulders, shaking him back and forth repeatedly and making him dizzy. "Jake Jake Jake! I need to try this! I need to--I mean, you ... you need to try this. You need to mate with Jasper ... with me watching. So I can join in." She stared into his eyes with an almost crazed gaze.

Jacob was as stiff as a wooden board. His face contorted into an expression of intense unhappiness. "No."

"Awwwww, come on!" she whined, and began shaking him again. "Hrrrrm ... why not? You were jealous when I mated with Jasper, so this will make us even! You won't have a reason to get jealous anymore!"

"M-me getting jealous has nothing to do with getting even or wanting to have sex with Jasper, you ridiculous dragon!" Jacob stammered through a tightly-clenched jaw.

Penelope cocked her head, jaw dropped in dismay as her plans were shattered to pieces. "But, but ... whyyyyy?" she whined. "And why don't you want to mate with Jasper? You've never mated with another male, right?"

"No," Jacob grit his teeth.

"Then why not try it to see if you like it?"

"No!"

Across the table, Jasper was sniggering laughter. "Penelope, dear, while I do appreciate your matchmaking efforts, I believe the boy is not willing to consider taking another male to bed. Arguing may prove to be futile."

"Y-yes ... thank you, Jasper," Jacob managed.

Penelope slowly let go of her keeper as a long, unhappy whine escaped from her throat. She put on a big pout. "But whyyyy?"

Jenivive was shaking her head, not hiding the amused smile on her face. "This is so typical ... for both human and dragon! So if I may back up the topic just a tad ... Jacob, I hear you were upset to find out about Jasper and Penelope."

Jacob frowned. "Maybe just a little."

"No, he got really upset!" Penelope gawked. "He yelled and got angry and then wouldn't talk to me and it made me feel really, really bad."

"Aw, Nel ..." Jacob pulled the dragon to his side and wrapped her up in his arms. "I told you I forgave you." He began to rock with the dragon, stroking her cheek and reassuring her.

"But I can tell part of you is still mad," the purple dragoness pouted. "And I still don't even know why."

Jacob bit his lip and said nothing. He couldn't deny that without lying. "I ... I can't--I don't know, Nel," he muttered.

"Well, if I may butt in for a moment," Jenivive began, "I think I see some confusion here that I can fix. Penelope, the reason Jacob got upset over you and Jasper having sex is because human relationships and dragon relationships work differently. For one, human relationships usually imply sexual fidelity."

"F-fidelity?" Penelope cocked her head in confusion.

"I mean, a human couple will only have sex with each other, and having sex with someone else is considered to be breaking the rules of the relationship. You see, for humans, sex is deeply tied to intimacy and having children. Sex also reinforces romantic feelings. Having sex with someone else is considered being unfaithful to your partner, and so they get jealous and upset."

Jacob sunk his head in his hands. "Oh, cripes ..." he had just had the most horrible thought.

The dragoness frowned. "That's not fair! You should be able to mate with whoever you want!"

"And Jacob," Jenivive turned to him. "Dragons, as I said, have different perceptions of sex and relationships. Monogamy does not come natural to them; it is not uncommon for a dragon to find a new mate after their first clutch of eggs are hatched and fully raised. And since females are only able to get impregnated when they enter estrus, during the rest of the year, sex is solely for recreation ... which they practice largely without restriction."

Jacob frowned. "You make it sound like dragons are collectively a bunch of debauched philanderers and floozies."

Jenivive chuckled. "Well, if you insist on holding them to human relationship standards, then yes. But dragons aren't humans, and they have their own standards. Physical needs and emotional needs are more distinct to them. As they put it, there's a difference between mating with someone and being someone's mate. What separates the two distinctions are the deeper feelings of love, loyalty, and sacrifice. Dragons even have a word for it: ragn'thuum. It means 'heart-fire'. As long as the ragn'thuum is kindled between a pair, everything else is ... are you okay, Jake?"

"Wait, wait! I get it!" Penelope nodded excitedly. "Jake likes being mates so much that he wants us to mate only with each other! Ooooh, how romantic!" the dragon trilled. "It's just like Lucy's books!" Feeling altogether flattered, Penelope curled up next to Jacob with an almost serpentine sway. "Jay-ake," she playfully cooed, laying her snout against his chest. "Does this mean I'm your girlfriend? Can we go on dates, now?" the dragoness giggled, but her smile slowly faded as she gazed into her keeper's eyes. "Jake? Jake? What's wrong?"

Jacob hung his head and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He refused to. The reason he was jealous over Penelope having sex with Jasper ... was he was actually starting to develop romantic feelings for the dragon? Jenivive had said sex and intimacy were deeply tied ... but no, this was impossible! He was a human, and she was a dragon: a scaly, winged, fire-breathing beast! How could one have romantic feelings for such a thing? No. No! That can't be right. It musn't. He forced the thoughts out of his head and took a deep breath. He felt his dragon's wing wrap around his shoulders and stiffened up at the touch. She laid a few claws on his arm, and her scaly paw--having been meticulously licked and wiped clean of savory lamb juices--was cool on the skin exposed by his rolled-up sleeves. He didn't want to be touched right now, and shrugged the dragon off of him.

"Jake?"

Wait ... it could be just a crush: a mere case of puppy love; a whimsical and temporary thing. Jacob had had a few abrupt flings during his first year of university, but Penelope was his first experience of being with the same person over a period of time ... in that case it was only natural, then, to feel some modicum of attachment. And while an adult, he was still quite young ... and perhaps still susceptible to such swoons! Yes ... that sounded plausible--and much more reasonable than actually developing romantic feelings towards a dragon. Ha, why the idea sounded completely silly now that Jacob thought about it! Jenivive must be mistaken, there was no way he could actually have budding feelings for Penelope ... right?

"Sir? Sir ...?"

Jacob's mind snapped back to the present. He became aware of his long silence and noticed his heart was racing. All eyes were on him. "Yes, hm?" he responded in the direction of the voice, trying to look as casual as possible. Annabelle had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"And how about you? Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Oh. Oh yes! It was great." Jacob nodded, not paying complete attention.

Annabelle smiled. "Great! Is anyone hungry for dessert?" she asked, as she began picking up the empty plates.

"Err, no, I think we're fine," Jacob responded, forgetting to ask the rest of the table first. His mind was still elsewhere.

"No thanks, I'm stuffed!" Penelope exclaimed, patting her now bulging belly. Her stomach scutes were so stretched that you could start to see pale skin between them. "Ooh, I am so full I think I could take a nap ..."

There was a flop and a slam, and Jacob flinched, turning to gawk at his dragon who had fallen to the floor and turned herself belly-up, resting her forelegs against her chest and splaying her hind legs out wide.

"Penelope! Not here! That floor's dirty!"

"Urf, I don't care. It feels good." The dragon puffed her scaly chest out and let out a satisfied sigh.

Annabelle took the moment in stride. "We get that a lot back here. It used to be an issue, but it was happening so often that the owner eventually decided to let the dragons nap all they want, as long as they pay their bills, and they aren't taking up table space for other patrons. He told me something like ... napping here after a meal is a sort of compliment, in a way. It means they were satisfied and they feel comfortable enough to stick around."

"Oh yeah?" Jacob asked. "And who's the owner?"

"Dario. You met him already, when he was bringing out the food for your dragons."

"Oh!" Jacob muttered in surprise. That humongous, sharp-jawed, barrel-chested chef covered in food stains and body hair ... he was the owner?! Jacob thought he'd make a better bouncer than a cook ... but then again, that surprisingly good roast beef would attest otherwise! "In that case, give Dario my kind regards; we'll probably be back again soon," Jacob said aloud.

Annabelle precariously hefted the stack of dirty plates in both hands. "Great to hear! I'll be back with your bill in a moment, sir." She turned and left.

Jenivive smacked her lips as she opened them to talk. "Well! Jacob, Penelope ... thank you for providing a little insight. Jacob, I know that must have been a little difficult for you. And I hope I've helped shed a little light on the complexities of your relationship ... there's a lot of new ground to cover, and I'm sure it must be overwhelming at times."

Jacob at first wasn't sure what Jenivive was talking about, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized just how much he had learned over a single luncheon! He had learned why Penelope and Jasper behaved so differently from wild-born dragons. He had learned that dragons perceive sex and relationships differently than humans. He had learned why Penelope thought it was okay to fool around with Jasper, and why she was so unconcerned with keeping sexual matters private. He had even learned that Jasper and Penelope were the same species of dragon, despite having different colors!

"I do think it's sweet to see the two of you together," Jenivive continued, "despite the hurdles and complications of being involved in a cross-species relationship."

Jacob frowned. Cross-species relationship. He didn't like the way she had worded that. It sounded so ... so deviant. For a moment he felt like he was on trial. "I trust your curiosity has been satisfied?" he guardedly asked.

"Mmm ... perhaps," Jenivive winked.

Her curiously ambiguous answer made Jacob ponder. There was a question he wanted to ask ... one that had been brewing in the back of his mind ever since the meals had arrived. But he felt like the subject was far too uncouth to bring up, especially with a woman he had just met!

"You want to say something," Jenivive said, as if reading his mind. "I can see it on your face. Go ahead."

"Nah, it's fine."

"I just said you can go ahead and say it."

Jacob bit his lower lip. "Don't worry about it."

"Jacob, I insist. I've been perfectly open and honest with you so far. Whatever comes out of your mouth, I will not hold against you. You have my word."

"Alright, alright!" Jacob spat out, feeling exasperated. "It's just that ... well, you've been so casual and nonjudgmental about the topic of sex, and especially when it came to me and Penelope--" Jacob paused, feeling embarrassed to say more. "I was just--it made me wonder," Jacob swallowed his anxiety down, "if you were being so understanding because you've ... done something ... with a dragon before." Jacob pursed his lips tight, feeling incredibly awkward for being put on the spot like that.

Jenivive brought a hand to her chest. "Me? Oh, no no no ... I never have. Now, I've had a number of dragons flirt with me before, back when I worked in the stables. Heck, I've even had some try and make a move. But I've never let anything develop beyond a provocative breast nuzzle or cheeky little nip in the rear! Dragons are ... too gruff and brutish and scaly for me, I suppose. Not to mention the size difference! Most adult dragons are bigger than Penelope."

"Oh! Well ... that answers that, then," Jacob said, not feeling sure on what else to reply with. He felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment.

Annabelle appeared from the back entrance of the tavern and placed the bill on the table. "Here ya go ... just bring that up to the bar with your payment when you leave." She turned around and left. Jacob picked the slip of paper in hand and chuckled when he saw the total. Despite the three glasses of wine, this bill was a fraction of the cost he was used to. Even for a commoner, the total seemed somewhat reasonable ... though Jacob admitted to himself he had no idea what qualified as a reasonable bill for a commoner. He unfastened his billfold from his belt and laid a number of bills down on the table.

"However ..." Jenivive began humming. "You know, after all this talk about it, and seeing how happy Penelope is being with you, and how hard you try not to show the same, Jacob ... I think, under the right circumstances, one day I might entertain the idea of a little experimentation with a dragon ..."

Jacob's eyes opened up wide.

" ... that is, if Jasper wouldn't mind."

As the words left her mouth Jasper froze in place, ears springing to attention. Jacob swore that if the drake's scale-covered cheeks could blush, they would bright red right now.

"Err ... w-w-what did you say?" he stammered, looking guardedly in her direction.

Jenivive put on a smug, knowing grin. "You heard me, Jasper. You're a close friend. I've known you for over two years, now, and you're quite the gentleman. If there's any drake I could trust with such ... scandalous endeavors, it would be you!"

Jasper's lower jaw quivered as he tried to formulate a response. "I ... err ... heh." The drake let out an anxious laugh and swallowed hard. "I, erm ... I don't know what to say."

For a brief moment Jacob swore he saw a flash of Penelope in the woman, as she appeared thoroughly amused with Jasper's apprehension. "You don't have to say anything ... it's just something to keep in mind for the future, if you'd ever want to gain a little more confidence in the bedroom. Of course, we'd have to keep any indignities to ourselves ... and our friends, here." Jenivive motioned to Jacob and Penelope. "I'd rather not have word reach the rest of my scaly tenants, otherwise they'd start getting ideas. That's one slippery slope I'd rather not slide upon."

Jasper ducked his head down and stared straight at the table. "Frankly, my dear, I'd be worried of hurting you ..." he muttered.

Jenivive opened her eyes wide in wonder. "You're that well-endowed?"

"Yes! Err, I mean no! I mean--I was referring to my claws!" he stammered. The dragon appeared flustered. "And of course I have concerns over my size ... err, I mean, my bulk! Of my body, that is!"

Jenivive let out a little laugh. "In that case, such a worry is exactly why I'd be willing to trust you. Most dragons would not show much care or concern with a delicate lady. And then there's you: always considerate, conscientious, and courteous ... if a little on the skittish side. But the latter is exactly what I'm offering to help with. Oh--but, if this day ever comes, you'll have to buy me a bottle of wine, first."

Jasper lifted his head a little and contorted his face into a perplexed expression, looking as if he had just smelled something strange. "Jenivive, are ... are you insinuating I must bribe you with alcohol before you'll allow me to mate with you?"

Jenivive laughed even more. "Of a sort! Men give little gifts like chocolates and wine all the time when they expect an intimate evening. Think of it as a human mating ceremony. And besides ... I'm pretty sure I'd need at least one glass in me before I become foolhardy enough to try anything. There's no way I'm going through with this without a little liquid courage to rid myself of those pesky inhibitions!" she laughed.

"Right, wine and chocolates ..." Jacob watched Jasper's cerulean eyes scan the table in concentration, but he was sure it wasn't the actual table the drake was paying attention to. It appeared that Jasper was wracking his brain on how a dragon could get a hold of those items, and perhaps wondering if he should even go through the trouble.

Jacob stood there, feeling a mixture of amusement, shock, and charm. He could hardly believe the boldness of this woman. To say she resembled nothing of what he was accustomed to in high-class society was an understatement. She had just casually discussed having sex with a dragon ... and in public, no less! Well ... granted, Jacob was the only human to bear witness to the discussion, but even so! The moment felt positively surreal, like it was out of a dream, or as if Jacob was standing in someone else's shoes. There had to be some explanation, Jacob thought. Surely, no woman would ever act so brash in front of a man she had just met! Jenivive did have one glass of wine--albeit, that was with a large meal. It seemed unlikely that alcohol was the culprit ... maybe she felt more comfortable merely because she already knew of Jacob's most guarded secrets?

"Wow, you two ..." Jacob shook his head in disbelief. "Did I really just hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jenivive asked, flashing a knowing grin. "Me and Jasper were just having a little talk, that's all." Jasper still looked flustered from the discussion.

Jacob stood there with jaw agape as he struggled to think of a response. "I ... wow. This lunch has been a crazy experience," he finally settled on.

Jenivive cocked her head. "I hope you mean that in a good way."

Jacob felt a smile on his face. One he didn't have to force. "Of course. I've had fun ... except for all the awkward moments."

"Which, for you, was about half the entire time spent here." Jenivive said, laughing. Even Jasper chuckled at that comment. Jacob was sure Penelope would have had found humor in that as well--if she wasn't conked out from over-eating!

Jacob shook his head and stared at the table. "Gosh, it feels like it's been a long day ... I can't believe some of the things we've been talking about. Just having to discuss what's been going on with me and Nel had me feeling almost as uncomfortable as when she let it slip to my father that we were ..." Jacob curled his lip. "That m-word."

"Yeah, about that," Jenivive began. "Jasper mentioned that incident to me. I assume when your father found out about the two of you, he was upset?"

Jacob nodded. "Oh yes, he had Penelope on house arrest, locked in her den every day from the afternoon until the next morning. He even threatened to have Penelope sent away to some ranch or shelter or something, to keep us separated. I only just managed to change his mind when I came up with the idea for Penelope to act like her isolation was pushing her towards eloping with some city drake and flying away, which is something my father seems rather paranoid about."

"Ah, now the circumstances of my employment are starting to make more sense!" Jasper chimed in. "I see now ... so you had me pose as Penelope's mate, in order to take the heat off of you!"

Jacob nodded. "Well, that was the other reason, Jasper ... but there was no way I could bring myself to admit anything about me and Nel when we first met you." He turned back to Jenivive. "But yes, I paid Jasper to follow Penelope around for a few days and act affectionate with each other in front of my father, to make it appear as if she had moved on from me, and to get him worried about her leaving our family."

Jenivive nodded. "Jasper's told me all about his little odd job. Which is why I found the two of you so intriguing in the first place.

Jacob was more than a bit displeased at Jasper's loose lips, but decided not to react, as all the damage had already been done. "My father was surprisingly troubled over seeing Penelope with a sudden "boyfriend", and didn't know what to do. Later, I told him that Penelope's friendship with me was the only thing that kept her around, and he had jeopardized that. He was convinced, and took the locks off of Penelope's door, hoping that would encourage her to stay. Now he actually wants her to spend time with me instead of Jasper!"

Jenivive nodded slowly. "Wow ... that's all very clever of you, Jacob. Color me a tad impressed."

Jacob felt a little warm in the cheeks. "Thanks. We're still not allowed to ... well, you know. But at least I got her freedom back!" Jacob motioned to his dragon, who was still resting on the ground, belly-up. "I have a feeling that me and my father aren't done butting heads, though. He's probably planning something. He's a very thorough man."

"Your father ... forgive me for saying this, but I think he is out of line."

"What do you mean?"

"Well ..." Jenivive shrugged. "You may be young but you're still an adult. Frankly, it's your life to live, and your parents shouldn't still be able to tell you what and what not to do anymore."

Jacob shook his head. "I have to do as they say as long as I'm living under their roof."

"Then move out."

Jacob let out a little chuckle in disbelief. "Why would I do that? I have everything I could possibly want at home."

"Everything except free will, apparently," Jasper muttered.

Jacob put on a pained expression. "Jenivive, Jasper ... come on! At home I have a butler! Maids! A cooking staff! A huge bedroom! A personal bath! A lavish garden with a fountain! Private canter trails! My own library! And a very expensive stable for Penelope ... it's more like a one-room cabin! Me and Penelope have everything we could possibly want! You can't expect me to give all that up just because my father disapproves of where I stuck my--" he shut up before saying it and put on a tight-lipped frown. "You know."

"Fair enough," Jenivive reluctantly relented. "Forgive me, I generally don't have a good opinions of rich folk like your father. If I were you, I would move out as soon as I could."

"My father may be ... harsh, and we're going through a rough patch right now, but he's not always this way. The situation is not as bad as it seems! It's not like I live under a tyrannical rule, Jenivive. I'm free to come and go anywhere I want ... except inside my dragon."

Jenivive threw her head back in laughter, causing her red curls to fly everywhere. "Come and go in your dragon! That's pretty good!"

"Oh cripes, did I really just say that?" He held his head in his hands as he began to laugh too, partly out of disbelief at the words that had just come out of his mouth. "I hadn't intended for that comment to be dirty when I started it ... it just sorta happened!"

"Well, I'm glad it did!" she said, still chuckling between words. "You're starting to learn! It's good to see you a little more relaxed about this subject."

Jacob said nothing, feeling unsure if that was a good thing or not.

"At any rate Jacob," Jenivive continued. "I mentioned in my letter that I had an idea concerning you and Penelope ..." she cast her green eyes downward. "But now I'm not so sure you'd agree to it."

Jacob cocked his head in surprise. Oh, right! There was something in her letter that Jacob had just remembered. There was a mention of "a solution to your troubles" or something similar to that effect.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well ... I do have a few hovels that are still unoccupied in Tailwind Shelters. I was going to suggest that if things ever become too ... difficult at home, that Penelope could have a place to stay here in the city, if she wanted to. It's safe there, and she'll be among friends. Most of my dragons are close-knit and tolerate each other well--even the domesticates."

"We talked it over and agreed it was a sound idea," Jasper added. "Moreover, I can watch over her and help her fit in as she adjusts to the new community."

Jacob shook his head. "Even if worst came to worst, I don't think she'd like moving ... plus, I'd rarely get a chance to see her."

"Not if you move out as well," Jenivive countered. "Out into the city, where you'd be close by."

Jenivive looked at Jacob with an expectant grin, but Jacob merely stood there, silent. He furrowed his brow and stared down at the table in thought.

"As I said, it was merely an idea I had when Jasper was telling me of your predicament. You don't have to decide right now ... in fact, I urge you to go home and put some thought into it first. But it's something to consider."

"Right ..." Jacob mumbled.

"Mm, that floor is starting to look rather cozy," Jasper murmured, stifling a burp from his full belly. The dragon had been looking groggy for some time now, with half-open eyes and drooped fins. "If we stay any longer, I might have to join Penelope for an afternoon nap."

Jenivive let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, we have been here quite a while."

The drake wearily nodded. "Yes, I think it's ..." he paused to yawn, stretching his jaws wide and flexing his tongue out. "It's time to adjourn, at least for me."

Jacob took out his pocket watch and stole a glance, surprised to find that they had been at the tavern for close to two hours. "Woah yeah, I should get a move on ... my father will be home within the hour and I'd like to try and get there before him so nothing appears suspicious. Penelope!" Jacob bent down and gently nudged his dragon, who snorted and stirred. "Wake up. We're gonna get going soon."

"Hrnnnn, five more minutes," the dragon muttered. She attempted to push him away with the arm of her right wing.

Jacob frowned. He rocked the dragoness to full arousal. "Get up, you sleepy dragon! We have a long walk home."

Penelope shut her eyes tight and let out an unhappy whine, but the dragon eventually rolled to her side and slowly stood up. She looked a tad grumpy, and grumbled to herself as Jacob stood back up.

"Okay Nel, you stay here while I go pay inside. I'll be right back." Jacob made his way to the back entrance of the Dark Horse Grille.

"Hey, wait--" Jenivive picked up the stack of bills on the table. "You forgot the payment right here!"

"That's not for the bill, that's just the tip!" Jacob called out behind him.

"What? Oh!" Jenivive dropped the money as if it were hot. "Woah, that's a really generous tip!"

Jasper let out another yawn and took his place alongside her. "The boy definitely has money to spare, that's for sure. It seems like the wench could make good use of it, too. She was a nice lass ... pity about those four troublesome drakes she had at the other table."

Jenivive continued to watch Jacob as he entered the tavern. She let out satisfied little sigh and found herself starting to grin. "He's kinda cute, you know. Reminds me of you, in a way ... only, with grey eyes and messy brown hair."

"Jenivive ..." the drake gave her an odd look and fanned his cheek fins. "Do you ... fancy him?"

"Oh, come off it, Jasper. I've got almost ten years on him. He's too young for me."

"That's not what I asked, my dear."

"And I wouldn't want to jeopardize what he and Penelope have going on."

"That's also not what I asked, my dear." Jasper smiled.

Penelope crept up to Jenivive, coming along her other side. "You can borrow him, if you want," she whispered, humming deviously. "Just bring him back when you're done."

Jenivive laughed. "I said he's kinda cute; that doesn't mean I want to take him to bed!"

Jacob reappeared mere seconds later, catching the tail-end of the laughter. "Hm? What did I miss?"

"Nothing!" all three responded.

Jacob was no fool, and was on the verge of opening his mouth, but decided to let the suspicious moment slide. He came over to Penelope and gave the dragon a stroke on her chin. "Come on now, Nel, it's time to say your goodbyes."

Penelope ducked her head down and avoided eye contact. "I don't wanna say goodbyes. I hate goodbyes."

"We'll see them again, Nel," Jacob laid a hand on her shoulder as he gently consoled the dragon. "Just say 'See you later, alligators'!" Jacob chose that phrase for a reason; Penelope would always use it when she was young.

"Oh, fine ... see you later, alligators," Penelope reluctantly mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?" Jasper cocked his head, looking mildly offended at being called an alligator.

"It's just a figure of speech, Jasper," Jenivive said, chuckling. "After awhile, crocodiles!" She responded, and slid over to Penelope's side of the table. "Come here, you adorable little thing," she said, wrapping the dragoness up in a big hug that had Penelope crooning with delight. "Thanks for coming ... and for bringing your human along!" she winked.

"You're welcome, Jenni!" Penelope gushed, looking enamored with the woman.

"Jasper," Jacob nodded to the drake. "It was good to see you again."

"And you, too," Jasper bowed his head.

"And Jenivive, it was a pleasure to meet you." Jacob said, smiling broadly. He held out his hand.

"The pleasure was all mine! Thank you for the meal; Jasper and I appreciated it greatly." Jenivive said, taking his hand in her his own. She assumed Jacob had wanted to shake hands, but was surprised to find him bending down to kiss the back of her palm. She immediately yanked her hand back, laughing.

"Cut it out, you silly boy ... I'm a woman, not a lady!"

"All women are ladies," Jacob matter-of-factly replied.

"Well, not this one!" Jenivive proclaimed. "Nobody kissed my hand when I was growing up! Though that might be because they were always dirty and smelled like dragon."

Jacob laughed. "That'd be a good reason not to!"

"Ha ... ha ... ha," Jasper sarcastically spat out, ears folded back in disdain. "There's nothing wrong with how a dragon smells."

Jenivive rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you grouchy drake, it's just a joke. You'll feel better when you've had your nap. Jacob?" she asked, turning to him. "We should do this again some time."

"We will, don't worry," he replied, and Penelope let out a little gasp of joy at his words. "I'll keep in touch."

"And remember, you're always welcome at Tailwind Shelters. Stop by any time you like!"

"I'll keep that in mind! Let's go, Nel."

With the pleasantries and valedictions concluded, both parties took their own roads to home: Jasper and Jenivive, a short trip to the outskirts of the impoverished eastern quarter, where the homely Tailwind Shelters lay ... Jacob and Penelope, the long walk out from the city into the northern hillcrest, where the wealthy and noble live in their great manors and lavish estates.

TO BE CONTINUED

Post-story notes:

~Whew, that's finally done and over with! As I said before, this luncheon was an experiment for me. I am practicing world-building for a novel I wish to write. And I have to say I learned quite a lot. But after finishing this chapter, I unfortunately have to say that after all this writing and reflection, I feel like I am not yet ready for a novel. I've poured over my own writing and I observed that I spend way too much time with dialogue and I don't have a good grasp on narrative prose. Currently most of my writing is in the "here and now" with specific moments taking place in dialogue rather than narrative prose that more efficiently moves plot forward or spends time detailing the scene with vivid imagery. To that end I will be doing a lot of reading in the future, to study narrative prose. I have more experiments to do in the future. I definitely need practice on other styles of writing!

~I also feel like I have a tendency to over-explain things rather than letting the reader figure the details out. My only gripe is, though, is when I DO try to leave ambiguous information for readers to deduce, I get feedback from people saying they don't understand certain things. For example, I heard from some people that don't understand why Penelope acts so different compared to a "typical" dragon, so I had to try and explain that in length throughout these chapters, even though I've brought it up before several times. Now, with a full-blown novel, I feel like I have a bit more freedom to leave details lying around for readers to pick up on rather than handing it to them on a silver platter ... but due to the nature of this story, I sense that I am encouraged to be more up-front about details and bits of information. The balance between making information too obvious and making information too hard to notice is a hard line to walk and it is something I will have to practice.

~A third area of concern is my complete and utter inability to keep things short. My long-windedness is also something that I need to try and fix before I attempt any novel, otherwise I'll end up with a whole lot of writing with an agonizingly slow pace and a whole lot of unnecessary words. I am at a loss as to how to fix this.