{"sf1_id":98567,"sf2_id":"7ejX5bKn","title":"Forest Keep 47","author":"Shimrod","words":2925,"posted_at":"2009-08-14T23:49:00.000Z","tags":["Dragon","Dragoness","Gryphon","Human","Mild Drama","Story Progression"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/98567-forest-keep-47","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/7ejX5bKn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/9d/f7/9df7396e-936e-49bb-8d3c-f9c1c5841646","description":"#48 of Forest Keep","content":"Hi folks, just a few notes - Latest archive version is up on WWW.FORESTKEEP.NET  \nIve spent a month going over the story and changing the dragon/human thought speech into \\*this\\*  \nDragon to dragon etc will remain the same  \nthank you all for the comments and donations - I do read them all and try to reply and thank using my somewhat flaky net connection  \nthis story is up to 342 pages now and book 1 will likely finish when cill clutches her egg..that means laying.,.not hatching..just to keep you all keen for book 2 (muahahahaha)  \nOh yes..there will be yiff..taking bets on who seduces who next!  \n  \nCheers Pete  \n  \n  \nChapter 47  \n  \nTommy lay back on the bed as Shalla cleaned away the remains of their lunch.  \nHe was still partially stunned by the activities of the last couple of days.  \nSurreptitiously pinching himself to make sure it wasn't a dream, he thought hard  \nabout what had happened.  \n  \nHad he really made love to a dragoness? One who was even now humming quietly  \nto herself as she bustled about? The memory of the night was a pleasant blur, but he  \ndefinitely had the odd bruise where an over-eager paw had held him down. He  \ncould feel her pleasure in his own head and he marveled anew at the sensation â€\"  \nJames had not been exaggerating in the least.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Shalla finished stuffing the remains of the breakfast into the pantry and slithered  \nover to his side, nuzzling him teasingly \\*So full of thoughts, my mate?\\* she asked  \nfondly.  \nTommy grinned and wrapped his arms around her neck \"And very good thoughts  \ntoo,\" he chuckled, giving her a kiss on the snout.  \n  \nShalla smirked, gently disentangling his arms \\*I'm glad to hear it,\\* she purred,  \n\\*but we have to clean up and find that errant brother of mine â€\" I do hope he hasn't  \nbeen causing trouble!\\*  \n  \nTommy chuckled. \"I think Tomako is old enough to look out for himself.\"  \n  \n  \nTomako miserably made his way back towards the smithy, the Clanmaster's  \ninstructions still ringing in his ears. He had already tentatively tried to shift back  \ninto dragon form, and the crackling shocks that had racked his body made him  \nswiftly realize he was unable to defeat the spell placed upon him.  \n  \n\"Stay out of trouble and learn what you can,\" he muttered to himself, repeating the  \ninstructions given to him, sullen anger fighting against the depression he felt. He  \nhad replaced the bandage on his thigh so as to deter human suspicion about the  \nsudden healing.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Pausing outside the smithy he took a deep breath, relieved at feeling the flame ducts  \nin his throat open under his control; at least he would be able to still fulfill his  \nbargain with the Mastersmith and provide heat for the furnaces.  \n  \nStepping past the entrance he bowed a greeting to Desmond. \"I'm sorry for my  \nlateness Mastersmith. I, er... ran into some trouble last night.\"  \n  \nDesmond's gaze swiftly ran down to the stained bandage and back up to his face.  \n\"Aye, I heard you rescued some lass from a nasty fate!\" He gave a chuckle and  \nreached back to tug Tomako's finished shield from the wall \"Lad, you're a natural  \nsmith, this is one of the finest apprentice works I've ever seen â€\" but if your going to  \nbe running off and rescuing damsels you'll be needing a decent sword at some  \nstage!\" Reaching beneath the table he pulled out a cloth-wrapped ingot.  \n  \n\"I've been saving this up\" he murmured, dropping it with a thump onto the table  \nand unwrapping it slowly, revealing the high quality steel blank to the dragon's  \nhungry eyes.  \nDesmond grinned. \"We shall both work on it; you will need to practice on ordinary  \nswords before you are able to do this metal justice. Would you like that?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Tomako looked down at the ingot and back up at Desmond before nodding eagerly  \nand reaching for his tools.  \n  \n  \nOsedax looked at each of the dragons in front of him and nodded slowly. \"You are  \nall aware of the problems facing us now.\" He looked sadly at Nakkour. \"Tomako  \nwill learn quickly, and I shall release him when I deem him ready to resume his  \nposition.\"  \n  \nStepping in front of Nokala he pointed a talon meaningfully. \"Teach him and James  \nto fight in human form; if he can learn that, then it should go a long way to giving  \nhim the control they both require.\" Nokala nodded in agreement, not daring to say a  \nword after the haranguing they had all received from the elderly dragon.  \n  \nOsedax finally came to Carlina. \"And you, my dear, have the hardest job of all,\" he  \nsighed. \"Use your contacts amongst the other dragonesses to find out who else  \nbesides Divitchka is behind the movement to find James and Cill â€\" I know there are  \nmore and we need to find them and watch them!\"  \n  \nCarlina nodded, pausing briefly before raising a tentative paw.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Yes?\" asked Osedax.  \n  \n\"Zelafin told Mella that she was worried about Tekala,\" Carlina replied hesitantly.  \n\"She said he kept on sneaking off, and she was afraid he had found a mistress.\"  \n  \nOsedax frowned and tapped his foretalons together slowly. \"One so high in the  \ncouncil should not be partisan,\" he muttered, genuinely concerned. \"You need to  \nquestion her more closely in regard to this behavior!\" Carlina looked about  \nnervously and nodded her agreement, not wanting to upset the Clanmaster any  \nfurther.  \n  \nSeemingly satisfied as to his plans the elder wyrm stumped back to the portal and  \nprepared to leave, waving a paw in farewell he faded slowly out, leaving three  \nsomewhat stunned dragons behind  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nDivitchka stepped slowly through the halls of the clan, his muzzle twisted with  \nanger. The expression was sufficient to prevent any other dragons from approaching  \nwith questions. Where to start, he wondered? He looked up at the massive scroll  \ncovering the wall of the cavern â€\" it named the entire clan, and blazoned in a  \nprominent place were the names of the two newest members. Avoiding those  \nhateful names he let his gaze roam slowly.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He had never paid much attention to his daughter's friends; looking back, he  \nrealized he could not bring to mind any specific faces or even voices. But then a  \nsudden jolt of recollection sent his memory spinning down a particularly dark path.  \nWhen they had just returned from the joining ceremony, his daughter had  \nmentioned something about a new scent one of her friends had been wearing.  \n  \nHis eyes widened in horror as he struggled to recall the smell â€\" Dragons were  \nsuperb at identifying odors and the closest he could place the one she had  \nmentioned was ‘human!' He had been too preoccupied with the ceremony to pay  \nattention. A sudden pain made him realize he had clenched his paws so tightly that  \nblood was trickling from between his claws. Along with the pain came the name she  \nhad mentioned that night â€\" Eriga.  \nWith a snarl of hatred he found her name on the scroll and underscored it with a  \ntalon before sweeping from the chamber.  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nDougal carefully put his traveling clothes back into the closet and trudged back to  \nthe throne room deep in thought. Wards would not present a problem but the  \ndamage was already done. He twiddled his mustache idly as he entered the room.  \nAt least they would be able to stop any more unnatural couplings and there was no  \nsign of any pregnancies so perhaps they had escaped the worst of it.  \nSettling into his throne he realized there was something sticking into his rump.  \nBemusedly he rummaged down the side of the throne and pulled out a scroll he  \nswore he'd never seen before, his eyes swiftly scanned the title and he sucked in his  \nbreath loudly, his eyes bulging dangerously before bellowing ‘Where is Lord  \nPepper!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Pepper sat in his favorite chair, stared at the empty pot of honey-ale and sighed; he  \nhadn't wanted to be made ambassador! What did he know about humans other than  \nthat they were clumsy and stupid? Idly flicking the pot with a fingernail he realized  \nthere was someone screaming down the hall. Heaving a sigh at fate, he closed the  \ndoor, recognizing the yelling as that of the King. Things certainly had changed  \nsince the dragons had moved in. Shoving his fingers in his pointy ears to shut the  \nranting out, he suddenly realized it wasn't doing much good as with an abrupt crash  \nhis door flew in and shuddered violently when the red-faced monarch scurried in  \nand shut it behind him.  \n  \n\"Y-your Majesty?\" he stammered, sweeping the pot off the table and out of sight.  \n  \n\"Did you put this on my throne?\" yelled Dougal, brandishing the ‘Thee noble  \nDragonne and Thee Egges' at the bemused elder.  \n  \n\"N-No My lord\" replied Pepper, now thoroughly confused \"I've never seen that  \nscroll before!\"  \nDougal stared at him a moment as if assessing his veracity, then slumped into a  \nchair. \"Then we have another problem.\" His eyebrows knotted together in agitation.  \n\"When we were talking with the dragoness, did you look - and I mean really look -  \nat her?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Pepper belatedly realized what Dougal was trying to get at and shook his head. \"No  \nmy lord, I did not bring full sight to bear on her at the time. It may have been  \nmisconstrued...\"  \n  \nDougal grimaced. Of course the elder was right, but if his suspicions had been  \nborne out... \"Next time you visit â€\" take a good deep look at her. Tell me...and only  \nme - what you find. Do you understand?\"  \n  \nPepper nodded slowly. \"Yes My lord\" his eyes flicked to the scroll \"Do you  \nthink...?'  \nDougal swiftly put a finger to his lips. \"No one must even suspect!\" he hissed. \"Not  \neven her, if she does not realize it yet!\"  \n  \nPepper swallowed nervously \"Yes, my Lord!\" he said again. It seemed the safest  \nthing to say.  \n  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nKatreen fluffed her fine wing-feathers out as she preened slowly. She was not a  \nvain being, but she realized that she was certainly fine-looking and was aware of the  \ninterested gaze of several males within the tribe. Any one of them would be a  \nworthy mate, she mused, yet they seemed too crude when she considered the human  \nlord and his gentle touch. He was sensitive and intelligent and she knew she was  \nstronger than him so he could not harm or scratch her during a mating. Her nares  \nflared pinkly as embarrassment flowed through her at this thought. She darted a  \nswift look at her brother as he moved back and forth talking to various visitors to  \ntheir camp. Hoping he had not seen the momentary lapse caused by her musings,  \nshe pretended to look busier.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Ostensibly this dinner was merely to cement further friendly relations with the  \nhumans, and perhaps set up trading outlines. She swallowed nervously as her  \nbrother spread the word of the new treaty that was being negotiated among excited  \nrunners from other clans. The news was certainly welcome, and the fact that  \ndragons had returned to the forest added luster to their tribe's importance as go-  \nbetweens.  \n  \nThere was also the disturbing problem of her lack of knowledge about human  \ncustoms. Should she make a gaffe, it would no doubt reflect poorly on the tribe as  \nwell as embarrassing her personally. She paced up and down, briefly considering  \nhow to reduce the possibility of this occurring when an agitated runner arrived at  \nthe entrance of the den, bowing in submission before her brother Meron before  \nbeing allowed to approach.  \n  \nShe paid little attention until she heard her brother's gasp of disbelief. Leaning  \ncloser, she began to pick out words that alarmed her greatly. ‘...disembowelled  \n‘humans killed by dragons...'  \nHer eyes lidded themselves in shock, the protective membrane sliding down in  \nresponse to her mood. Surely things could not have gone wrong at the keep?  \nStepping closer, she pushed her way to her brother's side, wanting to hear more.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The runner was showing a paw, raised talons indicating the number of bodies they  \nhad found. \"Tthere was evidence of others but scavengers had cleaned up,\" the  \nrunner said, then cawed in surprise as Katreen pushed her way in front of him. \"Tell  \nme what you saw!\" she demanded, feeling a sudden irritation at the way the  \nrunner's eyes slid sideways to her brother in a mute question.  \n  \n\"Tell her,\" replied Meron flatly. \"She is our ambassador to the humans and  \ndragons.\"  \nThe runner nodded and swallowed nervously \"There was not much left to see, there  \nwas evidence of an armed struggle and both human and dragon blood was upon the  \nground. The humans were all killed â€\" there was no sign of the dragon though. The  \nsmell of fear was strong so we did not stay long.\"  \n  \nKatreen growled softly and swept out of the den. Surely the friendly dragoness she  \nhad met could not be responsible for this. Perhaps some renegade or interloper?  \nHow would this affect their relations with the humans now? She scratched idly at a  \ntree, running her talons down it in frustration as she realized she would now have to  \nruin her dinner with such questions for Duncan.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Time for a swim before dinner, she decided, and after a short run-up, she flapped  \naway and headed towards the nice pool she had visited with the fairies.  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nCaroline was doing some pacing of her own in her room. She had to admit that the  \nelder's words had struck home and that perhaps Tomako had not intended to be  \ncaught in the middle of the struggle, but the damage was done and she was sure he  \nwas responsible.  \nThere were too many unanswered questions â€\" and where was James? She was sure  \nhe would have been there to meet her - even if he was going to get married! Her  \nfists clenched once more and she pondered hunting him down and demanding an  \nexplanation.  \n  \nShe walked over to the window and peered out through the slats at the bailey below;  \nhaving lived in a pleasant estate for all of her life, the last couple of weeks had been  \na somewhat unpleasant shock. She had never wanted for clothing or food, but  \nhaving seen ragged, hungry children and their parents had opened her eyes  \nsomewhat.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Now she had to tell her father about the occurrences of the last days. Narrowing her  \ngaze she pulled a parchment from her pack and sat down, lips pursed in  \nconcentration as she pondered what to write. She would make sure this Tomako got  \nwhat was coming to him!  \n  \n  \n\"WHAT!?\" came the message from his sister. Tomako flinched at the intensity of  \nthe mental scream, the sensation like little claws all down his back.  \nOn the private band there was no hiding the emotional content of the  \ncommunication, and he felt her shock and shame at the news as if they were his  \nown. \"I leave you alone for a few hours and you not only tear up humans and ruin  \nour reputation, but the Clanmaster himself punishes you??!\"  \n  \nTomako could do nothing but try to withstand the tide of anger and resentment  \ncoming from his sibling as she vented at him. The Clanmaster had informed him  \nthat telling her was his responsibility, and to take the consequences as an adult  \ndragon. He just wished she wouldn't be so shrill though, as he winced once more at  \na high note in her denunciations.  \nBack in their lair, he stood with his head hanging in shame as she angrily tugged a  \nsheep apart. Tommy had returned to the keep earlier, which was just as well as  \nShalla was in fine voice.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Finally running out of insults, she flumped down onto the bed and stared at her  \nmiserable-looking brother. \"So how long are you trapped as a human?\" she asked  \nangrily, shoving a haunch into the fire.  \n  \n\"As long as he thinks I need to,\" replied Tomako quietly, sitting on the edge of the  \nbed. \"I don't know if I can stand it! I feel so...helpless!\" Wrapping his arms around  \nhimself he leaned against his sister who pulled away angrily.  \n  \n\"What will mother and father say?\" she growled. \"You've disgraced the whole  \nfamily!!\"  \nTomako bit his tongue as an angry rejoinder sprang to mind. He had rescued a  \nfemale and survived an armed attack - it didn't seem so bad when he though of it  \nlike that.  \n  \n\"Mother has left the lair,\" he said quietly, watching her reaction. \"She's staying  \nwith Nokala and Carlina.\"  \n  \nShalla's mouth dropped open in shock. Had everyone gone mad overnight?  \n  \n\"We should go and see her,\" he continued. \"They know what happened, the  \nClanmaster told them.  \n  \nShalla's eyes flickered towards the portal and she nodded slowly. \"I think that  \nwould be a good idea. We have a lot to talk about,\" she replied, trying to think of a  \nway how to tell her mother about her new, somewhat hairy mate. She pulled the  \nchunk of scorched sheep from the fire and chewed it savagely, glaring at her brother  \nfor a long time. Eventually she dropped the bone and sighed, pulling him into a  \ntight hug. She felt him shake in her grasp and sob against her chest.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Standing slowly, she walked with him to the portal and sent the request runes to  \nNokala's lair. Eventually they both moved onto the portal and flickered out.  \n  \nTo be continued...  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Forest Keep","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/85185-forest-keep-46.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/114909-forest-keep-48.json"}}