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Taalli blinked her glossy amber eyes as she glided on an updraft from one thermal before flapping her wings to move to another thermal, slowly but effectively flying towards the academy. She promised not to say goodbye to her boyfriend, Mike, a small promise to him as much as herself that their time in the caves wasn't the last time they would be together. She knew that their final embrace before she had to leave for training was never going to be long enough and she tugged on the straps of her harness to tighten them further. The nylon digging into her neck just a little bit more firmly, a poor imitation of Mike's arms around her, but was the best she could do as she spotted the academy.

The collection of old and new buildings were nestled inside a valley between the surrounding farmlands, the rolling hills obscuring it from prying eyes while also helping to reduce the noise of the training exercises. She cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her snout before adjusting her wings to allow for a lazy descent towards a guard tower that protected the academy from the main road.

The guard on duty stepped out of the small windowed office as he saw the bright orange dragoness touch down on the road, her scales had a satin shine to them which made her black wing arms and paws contrast against the rest of her orange coloring.

Seeing the military issue harness she wore, the guard retrieved a folded list from his pocket, "good morning, here for training?"

Taalli nodded and saw his list, "yes, Private Taalli," she announced, "with two L's and an I."

Scanning down the list the guard spotted her name, "training doesn't start until 10 hundred hours, but we have you listed in barracks 3.08." He added and nodded to the bag strapped to her harness. "Is that all your personal effects?"

Taalli blushed slightly as she remembered what was in the bag and nodded, "why? Is there a problem?"

"No, ma'am." The guard quickly said defensively and looked up to her face. "Just, some dragons come here with everything including the kitchen sink."

Taalli smirked at the image, "well, this 'ness travels light."

"Well, welcome to Tombstone, Taalli with two L's and an I." The guard smiled and pressed a button on a remote to open the boom gate.

With a nod she walked past the guard and into the academy. While Aurelia Academy is comprised of many old tin buildings, Tombstone seemed to be a mix of old and new structures. She padded her way between a pair of faded metal clad structures towards the barracks and noticed that something seemed unusual about the academy. All of the buildings which faced the large exercise area, looked almost brand new. At first Taalli thought perhaps it was a development project or expansion, however something was not right. The pavements and footpaths were old and faded, yet the buildings were new.

She shrugged as she spotted the barracks and made her way to the place where she will be calling home for the next few months. As she approached barracks 3 she gave a polite nod to a group of soldiers leaving, compared to basic training, the specialized explosives course wasn't dragon exclusive and many of her classmates were going to be human.

As she was about to step into the barracks her chest tightened, a small sticker on the window next to the door caused her to pause. A familiar logo sitting proudly in the corner read, 'Another development done right, by Large Scale Developments.'

Her jaw clenched and she resisted the urge to scratch off the label as she quickly opened the door and stepped inside. Her heart beating harder than it should be as memories of her father's business came flooding back. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself and focused on finding her bunk, looking down the long corridor she quickly realized another stark difference to this academy. Where in basic training, the barracks were just a single open planned area with beds for the dragons, this modern building hosted a wide corridor with many individual rooms.

Taalli padded slowly down the hallway, moving to the side to let other soldiers pass until she spotted a room with 3.08 written above the door. As she approached she heard voices inside, "I'm just saying, we could save so much space if you just shared with me. You wouldn't need a blanket either." A strong feminine voice stated.

"Not happening." Replied a distinctly human male voice. "Can you stop breathing down my neck?"

"I'll breathe down your cock if you ask nicely."

Taalli frowned and gently tapped on the door with a talon, the voices inside paused before Taalli heard softly from the other side. "Please be a drake, please be a drake, please be a drake." Chanted the female voice before the door swung open to reveal a human male, dressed in loose fitting fatigues with a close tight haircut. Taalli noticed his brown hair was clipped in a high and tight style that empathized his strict looking face, as her eyes drifted to his name tag she stood to attention.

"Sorry sir, I think this is my room." Taalli said weakly, "the guard said I was in 3.08."

The hint of a smirk flashed on the human's face before he waved her in, "sorry Feerah, not a drake." He called back to the other occupant in the room. Looking back at the orange dragoness he read her name tag, "at ease Taalli. Come on in, you are bunked with us."

Taalli's head cocked in confusion as she stepped inside behind the human, the room was a very simple affair with three beds that were each suitable for a dragon, on one of them a black dragoness was lounging on her back, her wings half unfolded and legs spread to leave nothing to the imagination.

Spotting Taalli she adjusted her position to be less exposed and smiled to the human, "oh, don't worry Shane. I'm not narrow minded." She said with a broad grin as Shane went red in the face. Her bright blue eyes flicked to Taalli and her voice dropped to be low and sultry, "and who is this gorgeous ness? What did the recruiter have to offer such a divine angel like yourself to get you in the same room as me?"

Taalli froze on the spot, her eyes widening at Feerah's words. "I, um, I'm not that type of ness." She stammered. Trying to hold the gaze of the powerful ness, a single wicked scar traced up from the lip of the black dragoness towards her eyeridge, missing her captivating eyes but now drawing Taalli's focus to her icy gaze.

The black dragoness rolled to her feet and stepped off the low mattress, her athletic body composed of inky black scales with the exception of mottled patterns of crimson that highlighted her muscular curves. Her patterns not unlike a venomous snake and Taalli tensed as her body brushed against hers. She moved confidently around the orange dragoness, measuring her up while taking in her scent before coming alongside her, her snout next to Taalli's ear and whispering just loud enough for only Taalli to hear. "Don't worry sherbet, you're not my kind of ness. But it's fun watching the humans change color." She teased before nuzzling Taalli's cheek and stepping back towards her bed.

Taalli blinked a few times and looked at the human she had called Shane, only to see his jaw slightly agape and cheeks become rosy. Clearing his throat the human gestured to the spare bed across from Feerah's, "this is your bunk Taalli. Bathrooms are in the building over, best get unpacked as training starts soon-ish." Looking back at the lounging black dragoness he added, "and don't try arguing with Feerah here, I'm finding that ignoring her is easier."

"I'm just saying, you're a Sergeant, I'm a Corporal, but let's be real, I would be the same rank as you if I could. It doesn't need to be anything serious, it could just be a causal thing, I sit on your face, you eat me out, completely mutual." Feerah whispered in a sultry tone before reaching under her bed and fishing out her combat harness.

Taalli shook her head and smiled, "that- that's not even close to mutual." She mused and unhooked the plastic bag from her harness and slipped the contents under her bed.

"Sure it is, he gets a taste of Feerah, I get my clit licked." The black dragoness teased, "look, he has gone red again!"

Taalli gave a nervous chuckle, "I see what you mean Shane." She paused as she saw his rank, "Or do I call you Sergeant?" Stepping onto her bed she pawed the firm mattress and lowered herself down to make space in the small room, looking at the human he looked even smaller as he sat on the third bed.

"I'm not your leader, so Shane is fine, unless you are in trouble." He said and continued to unpack his gear.

Feerah watched the human before a mischievous smile pulled at her face, glancing to Taalli she gave a wink, "so Taalli, how was your last heat?"

"Oh come on!" Shane exclaimed, "that's not a thing you talk about." He added while becoming very focused on the contents of his bag.

Taalli couldn't help but chuckle as his face turned red again, glancing to Feerah she saw the black dragonesses mouth open in a wide smile, her sharp ivory teeth contrasting against her scales. Her blue eyes widened as she gave an encouraging nod for Taalli to play along.

"What's there to say? It was so long ago, I just got really horny and stayed in my room."

"But what did you do in your room, Taalli, all alone, just you and your paws? Or was there toys as well?" Feerah asked, her voice low and seductive. Glancing to Shane she saw him retrieve a set of headphones from his bag and firmly clamp them over his ears. "Oh don't pretend you don't want to know!" Feerah said loudly. The disapproving glance from Shane told her that his headphones were not as noise canceling as they may have been advertised to be.

"You better watch out Shane, you've got two nesses here who don't mind a human cock, isn't that right Taalli?" She asked and saw the orange dragoness blush. "Ain't nothing wrong with a smaller man, is there Taalli? How good are their fingers? It's like five tiny dicks attached to one big one when they go elbow deep."

Taalli blurted a nervous laugh and just shook her head. "You sure you're not on heat now, Feerah?" Her eyes widening as the black dragoness rolled to her side and lifted a hind leg to inspect her slit.

"Nah, I think I'm good, what do you think Shane? Shane! I need a second opinion. Heh, look at him." She teased and even Taalli laughed at the human who was now laying on the large bed, staring up at the ceiling with music blaring from his headphones. "I'll break him in, don't worry." She added before lowering her leg and focusing on Taalli. "So, what was your human's name?"

Taalli cocked her head, "and how do you know about him?"

Feerah's smile flashed her white teeth, "you either have a very good relationship with whoever does your claws, or Taalli has a man to polish her paws and leave his scent all over you."

Taalli turned her head around to her shoulders and gave a quick sniff, indeed, Mike's scent was still lingering on her body but she didn't mind. "Mike, his name is Mike." She said warmly, even mentioning his name made her miss his arms around her neck.

"Oh no, I've seen that look!" Feerah exclaimed, "Please tell me it's not serious." When Taalli nodded she sighed, "you be you, girl. But if the military wanted you to have a partner, they would have issued you one."

Taalli's smile wavered and she couldn't stop the defensive tone creeping into her voice, "so I take it you haven't found the one yet then?"

A dramatic groan echoed out from Feerah's maw as she rolled onto her back and stretched out as much as she could, her long black tail pressing against the wall. "I have found plenty of 'the ones' but this job isn't for relationships. And don't get me started on that long distance crap."

"We can make it work."

"Ergh, that's what they all say. And then one day you get a letter in the mail saying, 'Sorry sweetheart, I just can't wait any longer. I've found someone who gets me, blar blar blar.' So take my advice, don't let that happen to you."

Shane's voice interrupted Taalli's rebuttal, "sounds like someone got dumped." He chided.

"Oh and you didn't? I can see that tan line on your ring finger." Feerah retorted quickly. Shane's hand instinctively moved to rub where the recently absent ring once was. "Yeah I thought so. So Taalli, word from the wise, have your fun, get it while you can, as often as you want. Life's too short to be tied down, especially in this gig."

Taalli looked at Shane and saw him staring off into the ceiling in defeat. "I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on that." Taalli said and tucked her wings closer together.

"I'm just saying, next heat, dose up on suppressors and hit the town, get a gang of drakes under your beck and call. They will massage you, bring you food, treat you like a queen and rut you senseless." Feerah explained, her black claws turning her harness over while she had a nostalgic gleam in her eyes, "nothing will make you feel more desired than when they fight over you." She added, her words drifting off. With a shake of her head, she focused back on Taalli, "or, you have one little man waiting at home for you, like a pet. Just don't come looking to cry under my wing when you get a letter in the mail saying he has found someone else."

"Just ignore her, Taalli, it's easier." Shane muttered. "Many have made long distance relationships work. She just works a role that means she has to get up and go at a moment's notice."

Taalli looked over to Feerah and saw the harness she was fidgeting with, a noticeable patch was attached by Velcro onto the shoulder straps. The patch consisting of a flaming torch with a dragon's wing, a simple motto reading "first in'' scribed in a cursive font. "And what role is that exactly?" Taalli asked.

"16th airborne assault, Pathfinders." She said simply and smiled at the orange dragoness' confused look. "Rangers shout that they 'lead the way', but us pathfinders are 'first in'. When shit hits the fan, we are there within the day, finding the best roads and airstrips while the politicians work out if they are sending troops in."

Taalli cocked her head, "wouldn't satellites already show what the roads and airstrips are like?" She asked and heard Shane chuckle as Feerah's expression stiffened.

"A satellite can't turn off the power to an air traffic control tower on invasion day, nor can it show what an enemy commander likes to drink or ask the locals what the weather does to certain roads or infrastructure." She stated matter of factly.

Shane lifted one ear of his headphones off and turned to Taalli, "a satellite doesn't blow up a porta John while a commanding officer is taking a shit though." He teased and laughed as Feerah hissed at him.

"That was not how it went, crayon cruncher!" Feerah snapped back.

Shane sat up in his bunk and turned to face the black dragoness, "alright then, map lady, I've read the official file, how did planting a charge in a toilet go?"

Taalli smiled as Feerah recoiled back defensively, "first of all, I'm not just your fucking map lady." She snarled before regaining her composure and folding her front paws over one another elegantly, "and some context is required. It was a simple prank that went…. wrong." She added while inspecting a sharp ebony claw.

Taalli chuckled, "well, tell the class."

Feerah pulled her neck back into a graceful curve before turning to look at Taalli, "in my unit, a few of us would prank one another. Simple, harmless stuff, buckets of water while sleeping, hiding their rifle and sounding an alarm, that sort of thing." She said and paused for dramatic effect. "One in my squad thought it would be funny to tighten my harness, just a little every day. I didn't know he was doing it, so with that and a few comments here and there about looking more rounded than usual, it put me in a bit of a bad mood."

Taalli tried as best she could to stifle a giggle, but her whole tail vibrating slightly gave her away. Undeterred, Feerah continued, "so when I caught him, I waited until his morning coffee was about to kick in and placed a small charge in the toilet." She said and looked offended as she saw Taalli's eyes widen. "Oh, don't give me that look, it was hardly larger than a firecracker and besides, under liquid it would never burn him. Just give him a reason to have a shower." She added defensively.

"But Feerah, it wasn't your squad mate who went into the toilet, was it?" Chided Shane, trying hard not to laugh.

"No, no it wasn't." She replied simply and began fidgeting with her harness, the sounds of ripping Velcro filled the room as she pretended to be concerned about the stitching.

"And what rank was the victim of this 'harmless prank' eh?" Asked Shane with a broad grin.

"A Colonel." Feerah muttered quietly. "But in my defense, he was a dick too." She added and glared at the chuckling orange dragoness across from her.

"So, Taalli, maybe don't take her advice too seriously. Or you may be back in basic because your seniors think you have a few more lessons to learn." Shane laughed before catching a pillow with his face.

"Hey, you gotta have some fun in this gig, or else you turn out like you, Shane, this guy is meant to be on leave and the dork decides to do explosives training." She teased, "that's right, I read your file too. So tell us, why are we graced by your presence?"

Shane tossed the pillow back to the black dragoness, "some of us, work as a team." He stated, emphasizing the team. "And I don't believe in getting my team to do anything I'm not comfortable with, so if I have someone on my team who does explosives, I will do explosives too."

Taalli smiled and gave a respectful nod towards him for his leadership ethic before the black dragoness interrupted, "oh, really? Well aren't you team leader of the month? Tell me, how many of your team are actually trained in explosives?" She said and saw him glance away. "It's none, isn't it? So maybe it's more you don't want to deal with your ex, so you came to training instead. Does that sound about right?" She said more firmly than she meant too, the silence that hung in the air spoke louder than any of them could. Feerah lowered her head slightly, "sorry, that came out wrong."

Shane gave a guilty smile, "no, you are right. I'll happily go to war, then deal with them."

Taalli nodded in sympathy before Feerah chuckled, "don't worry, a night with me and I'll have you batting again." She said while staring at his groin, her long tongue slipping out her mouth to run over her lips hungrily.

Shane smirked and looked to Taalli, "did you hear something Taalli?" Winking as his head motioned towards the black dragoness.

"You know Shane, I don't think I did." Taalli answered with a smile. "Must have been the wind." She teased.

Feerah's lip curled back into a slight snarl which made her facial scar look even more menacing, "Oh don't you pick a human's side. Us 'nesses need to stay together."

"Hey don't be making it a race thing." Shane said as he laid back down on his bed. "You dragons always make it about race." He said with a smile.

"Excuse me, it's not a race thing." Feerah started, "it's simply a sex thing."

"Why do I get the impression that everything is a sex thing with you?" Teased Shane with a grin.

Taalli chuckled as she saw the death stare Feerah was giving the human. "Well, I for one am glad that we have our own room. Being the only 'ness in basic was a bit shit."

Feerah raised an eye ridge, "see! if you didn't have a pet on the outside, you could have had the pick of the clutch. Or have them compete for you! I bet they would do anything to get under your tail"

Taalli's jaw clenched, "there was one who tried." She said softly and Feerah's eyes lit up. "He pinned me in the showers, but I left him in a pool of his own blood." She added flatly and became busy tightened her harness straps.

A heavy silence hung in the room before Shane turned to Taalli, "hey, that's not what she meant-"

"I know! But my love life is my own, okay?" She said and turned to the black and red dragoness to repeat herself, "okay?" Feerah gave a small nod and murmured an apology.

Taking a deep breath, Taalli forced her body to relax, "so as I was saying, glad to have some privacy. Even if I'm not completely alone."

"Well, I heard this place went through a huge remodel after the last accident." Shane mused.

"Yeah, I heard they got the designers who did the Spires to do this place." Feerah added while digging through the contents of her harness pouches. "Can you imagine the view from up there? 140th floor, looking down on everyone." Her body gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of surveying the city like it was her domain.

Taalli smirked but kept her mouth shut and shrugged.

"Like, I'm not one for sky sex, but there isn't much I wouldn't do to be pressed against the glass and railed at that height." She said and glanced at Shane to gauge his reaction.

"Rooftop was better." Muttered Taalli under her breath. Unfortunately Feerah's head snapped to her and Taalli's wings drooped as she realized she had been heard.

"You kinky thing!" She teased, "Isn't there cameras?" And smiled wickedly as Taalli shook her head. "Oh, well I know what I'm doing on veterans day! Yo Shane, what are you doing that day?"

"Not you." He said flatly and checked his watch, "we should get to class." Standing up, he let Taalli move off the bed and followed behind the orange ness. "Coming Feerah?"

"Normally they offer to buy me a drink first," she said and looked the human up and down, "but don't worry, I'm sure I can make an exception for you." She said with a smirk and rolled onto her feet.

"Why do I get the feeling you make that exception for almost everyone." Shane mused and watched her slip her harness over her neck. She stepped through the leg loops before securing the buckles.

Noticing the human staring she gave him a wink. "Want to find out?" She added as she moved past him with a deliberate sway of her hips. Turning her back to him and reaching around to secure her tail pouch. Her long tongue sticking out at him as he shook his head and left their dorm.

Taalli moved to the side of the hallway to let Shane lead the way. Pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his breast pocket, the human shielded his eyes from the sun and they followed the rest of the trainees towards the main auditorium. Taalli gave a friendly nod to a fellow dragon and scanned the small crowd, quickly realizing that dragons outnumbered humans approximately two to one.

Stepping into the new auditorium, Taalli was reminded of the university that she and Mike attended. The same boring carpet had been used and the tiered floor allowed for dragons and humans to get a good view of the projector screen and podium. Each row had low tables, but while folding chairs were provided for the human trainees, the dragons had to make do with the thinly carpeted floor.

Shane led them to a middle row and collected a chair, Feerah positioned herself so that the only space for him was between Taalli and herself. A cheeky grin pulled at her snout to reveal her sharp ivory teeth, with a pat of her tail on the carpet she looked at the human lustfully, "come on little Shane, come join us. We are just two 'nesses who need a big strong human in our lives."

"Shut up, Feerah." He remarked and sat down at the table between the two dragonesses and pulled out a notepad and pen.

As the last of the soldiers filed into the hall, a dragon walked up the main auditorium steps carrying a heavy bag in his jaws, he would pause between the rows and fish out thin packages from the bag before passing them to the students to distribute down the row and walk to the next to repeat.

As the dragon paused next to Taalli he passed her a stack of the thin packages before continuing, confused she held onto one and pushed the rest towards Shane and Feerah to keep passing down the line. "What's this?" She asked, looking at the combination of letters and numbers before glancing at Shane and Feerah's look of surprise.

Shane opened his mouth but was interrupted by Feerah, "it's a snack!" She said quickly. Shane snapped his head towards the black dragoness who ignored him. "They want you to be focused for class." She added playfully.

Taalli turned back to the package and gave it a sniff, it smelt like a mix of flour, salt and vegetable oil and with delicate claws she unfolded the green paper wrapping. Looking over to Feerah she saw the black dragon doing the same and shrugged. It didn't smell very appealing, however she rationalized that most military food was pretty bland. Poking a claw into the cream color bar she discovered it was a similar consistency to clay, delicately she carved off a small piece and skewered it with her claw.

Lowering her head down she opened her mouth to taste the snack before pausing, quickly realizing that the whole room had gone silent. Her amber eyes flicked around the rest of the class and saw that all eyes were on her, each one trying to stifle a smile until Feerah roared laughing, "oh my god, so close!"

Lifting her head up quickly, the whole auditorium erupted in laughter. Turning to Shane for support, he had his fist in his mouth as he struggled to contain himself. "It's not a snack!" Raising his voice to be heard over the sounds of the rest of the class.

Blushing in embarrassment she placed the piece she had cut off back into the wrapper, a deep resounding voice echoed through the auditorium as their teacher stepped behind the microphone on the podium. The large portly man chuckled and spoke with a deep southern voice, "it's not toxic to a dragon persay, but C-4 will give you the shits for sure."

The rest of the soldiers quickly turned back to the front of the class, Taalli flicked a glare to Feerah who's smile only broadened while fidgeting with her own package.

Holding up an intact package the human began his lesson, "welcome to Tombstone, I will make a few things very clear. One, these are not snacks, if you are hungry tell me, and I'll pretend to care." He said and paused for a small chuckle to wash through the crowd. "My name is drill sergeant Tony, drill sergeant, or Sir. For those of you who are fresh from basic, you won't find me shouting and yelling at you if you do something wrong, hell I ain't gonna come near you. Instead, if you fuck up, I'll be running for my life. If there are any pieces left of you and your fellow classmates, I'll make sure to ship them to your loved ones. We clear?"

The students echoed back loudly, "yes, sir!"

"Good! Now look at the person next to you, pay attention to what I say, ask questions if you are unsure, and you won't get them killed. You are going to be working with a variety of dangerous gear which WILL, not if, fuck you up if you don't pay attention. Clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"As you sat down, my wonderful assistant gave you all a strip of C-4. Pick it up, feel it's weight." Tony instructed and all the soldiers followed his instructions. Taalli lifted her open strip and turned it over in her paws as the instructor continued. "Each strip, if applied correctly, could take out all of us in blink of your eye." Taalli's eyes widened and quickly let go of the strip as if it had bitten her. The dull thud echoed out in the room, causing the rest of the class to glance at her.

Tony's laugh cut through the silence, "without a detonator, it's a fine paperweight, or a shitty laxative." He joked. "It's going to be your bread and butter while we teach you how to properly apply it."

Taalli glanced over to Shane and Feerah, the former's attention was focused on the instructor. Meanwhile Feerah's tongue poked out of the end of her snout as she concentrated on the explosives in her paw. Taalli watched with concern at her nonchalant attitude to the weapon as she folded and kneaded the off white material, forming it into the crude shape of a dragon laying on its back.

"Now, most importantly. If I tell you to stop, what do you do?"

"Stop, sir!" The students replied in unison.

"Good, if I tell you to run, what do you do?" Ton asked while holding onto the podium.

"Run, sir!"

"Good. Now a few housekeeping rules. Anything you are given, you are responsible for. I may give you dummy charges, I may give you live ones. I ain't gonna tell you what's what, so, any explosives you have, are live unless I say so. Clear?" He paused for the students to acknowledge. "Now you will work in teams of three, If you have explosives, your buddy has detonators and the other is there to make sure you don't fuck up. If you follow these simple rules, we won't have to rebuild half the campus again. Are we clear?"

Taalli looked to Shane and Feerah, the black dragoness was placing the finishing touches to the explosive dragon she had crafted. When Shane gave her wing a shove with his elbow, her tongue flicked back into her maw and gave a nod of acknowledgement to Tony's instructions. Taalli rolled her eyes as she looked at the small sculpture Feerah had crafted, the small explosive dragon was expertly posed to be laying on his back with a paw on his comically large erection.

"Very good. Now that the formalities are out of the way. Let's begin."

With a click of a presenter, the projector screen showed a large map of the campus with an overlapping red circle that encompassed many of the buildings. A small red laser dot appeared on the screen and pointed to the center of the red circle. "This is the storage shed for the explosives, we have recently had to cut back on the volume stored there due to an incident. Let me make this very clear, whoever is carrying detonators, isn't allowed within 100ft of this structure. Clear?" He asked and waited for the class to respond.

"Our fine government has already spent millions of taxpayer dollars rebuilding the barracks and training buildings, so let's not level the place again."

Taalli's head was abuzz with the information Tony provided, scribbling down notes on a thick notepad she couldn't shake the feeling that she was back at University again, even some of the slides showed diagrams lifted straight from her textbooks as they explained structural principles and weaknesses. Glancing to Shane next to her, a pang of sadness washed over her as she wished Mike was here.

---

---

Mike's jaw clenched as he stood behind the bar, the only patron in the bar being Geevin, his boss's boyfriend. Thankfully for the quiet morning shift, Mike scrolled through his emails at the expenses incurred over the days he spent with Taalli. Nothing had been cheap and even after the discount he received for the accommodation, he knew it had put a significant dent in his savings.

"Soooo, how was it?" His boss, Ben, asked playfully. Walking behind the bar and gripping Mike's shoulder with a glint in his eyes. "Did she love your little sexy cave trip?"

Glancing down the bar he could see his boss's boyfriend sitting on a cushion, pen in paw while writing in a journal. The brown dragon paused his writing to eaves drop. Mike smiled and put his phone in his pocket. "The cave? Yeah, she did! Thank You, it was a good call." Mike said and saw the expectant look in his boss's eyes. "Yeah, we did that too."

Ben slapped him on the back when Mike gave a guilty smile and a nod, "atta boy!" Teased Ben. "Told ya, put a dragon in a cave, feed them, tell them they are sexy and they just melt."

The deep throating chuckle of the brown drake rumbled through the bar as Mike shook his head with a smirk, "when you're right, you're right." He conceded and picked up a cloth, "though, sign me up for any overtime. I was just going through how much it all cost."

"Girls aren't cheap, Mike. That's why I don't date them." He teased.

"You calling me cheap?" Geevin retorted and raised an eyeridge at Ben before he adjusted his grip on a thick pen and resumed writing.

"Your ideal date is sitting in a bar and writing your book. So yeah, I can afford that all day long." Ben teased.

Mike chuckled and started to walk through the bar and gave the tables a wipe down for customers that weren't there. Ben and Geevin's banter devolving into mock insults and finishing with the soft sound of a kiss.

Mike was bent over stretching over a table when he caught a glimpse of orange and black scales enter the bar, his heart soaring as he turned around to face his Taalli.

"Taa-" he paused as he realized who it was, the large orange dragoness stood in the doorway, her scales polished within an inch of their life while black leg warmers stretched from her paws up to her thighs and half way up to her shoulders, a simple black scarf wrapped around the base of her neck even though it wasn't cold. "Take-away only, Seelena." He corrected firmly as he tucked the cloth into his apron.

Her orange eyes burning into him as she tried to read the complex emotions she had just seen on his face, the initial look of surprise and shock as he fell for her ruse gave her a glimmer of hope.

"I just want to talk, I don't want to fight." She said simply and moved to a cushion. Mike watched as she looked at the seat with disgust before resetting her wings and settling down on it.

Glancing to his boss, he saw Ben tap the brown drake on the shoulder who then adjusted his posture, ready to intervene if needed.

Looking up at the orange dragoness his eyes lingered on the black knitted leg warmers, a poor imitation of Taalli's scales but still sent a pang of sadness through him. "You assume I want to talk to you." Mike started and returned to cleaning the tables.

"I know why she left." Seelena said softly, her eyes drifting to the floor as Mike turned around, his fist tight in the cloth.

Mike tried to comprehend what to say, but paused as Seelena lifted a paw to her neck and pulled back the scarf. Four deep scratches marked her otherwise pristine body, the polished scales either cracked or missing to reveal the pink lines where claws had ripped into her.

"So? go to the police. I'm not your shoulder to cry on." Mike said bluntly and saw her flinch as his words stung.

"I can't…" She said softly and looked into his eyes. "I am a failure aren't I?"

"Yes." Mike said without hesitation and she sniffed as tears welled up in her amber eyes.

She gave a nod in defeat and blinked while looking to the ceiling, "I- I never wanted an egg." She said weakly, her lip trembling. "He did. And I just went along with it. My mate used to be so kind, but now… I just- I just wish I could ask her what went wrong."

Mike looked at the crying dragoness and glanced at Ben and Geevin, both of them listening but unable to offer any guidance. Turning back to the dragoness he sighed, "I'm sure she could have made a list." He said quietly and she blurted out a laugh, like his Taalli did.

"She probably could have." Seelena said softly and wiped her cheek with a paw. "Please, I want to know if she is alive. Can you tell me that at least?" Her emotions welled up and threatened to break through her attempts at composing herself. Since her daughter disappeared the lavish apartment she occupied had become a silent prison. Her soul breaking as she fell into a constant routine of waking up alone, drinking and then arguing with her mate until she submitted.

Mike swallowed and struggled to hold her gaze, taking a deep breath he leveled his voice and answered flatly, "I haven't seen her, if you find out, you let me know."

Her breath hitched as she began to cry, she could tell he was withholding something from her. "Please, Michael… Please." Her voice devolving into a sobbing whisper. “I know you know where she is, tell me she is safe. Please?" She pleaded between shaky breaths, almost begging for anything he could offer.

Mike took another deep breath and tried to compose himself, the crying dragoness eroding his stoic demeanor. "Why should I? If I knew where she was, why should I tell you? You are vile, cruel and a perfect match for your mate!" His voice raising as his fists unclenched and clenched again.

A long pause took hold of the empty bar, Seelena's chest heaving as she looked down at her paws. His words stinging her soul, she had never imagined that her daughter would turn her back on her, but deep down she knew she was just as bad as her mate. "I know." She muttered softly, her voice hardly audible. "I'm just such a failure, as a model, a mate and now as a mother, I need to prove I'm not like him, I want to help."

"It's too late for that." Mike retorted firmly. It was exceptionally rare for a dragon to berate themselves as much as she was and he could tell she was truly broken, but he remained sceptical.

"Why?" She asked simply, her glossy eyes meeting him. "Please tell me that she is alive. I want to help, but I don't know how. Please, I just need to know she is okay." She begged again.

"We are done here." Stated Mike, his heart hammering in his chest. "Either leave now, or I'll call the police."

Seelena looked at him with tears threatening to run down her cheek before she nodded sadly and stood up. Slipping a paw into her harness pouch she retrieved a wad of cash and placed it on the table. "My scales and my jewelry are all I have. Please, give this to her. I can give you more if she needs more, or if it makes it easier."

Mike looked down at the notes, "you piece of shit! Are you really trying to buy her back?" He exclaimed, "we don't need your money! Okay? Now fuck off!" He yelled.

Seelena's eyes widened as she heard him say 'we', her suspicions confirmed. "Money is all I can do to help, but thank you." She said softly and turned away, her tail flicked from side to side as she made her way to the exit. Turning back, her eyes were still glossy but now had a look of relief. "Thank you Mike, for telling me she is alive." She added and nodded to the money still left on the table. "Please, use it to keep her away from her father, she deserves better. If you need more please just let me-" her words ended abruptly as she saw his expression and sighed.

Mike watched as she stepped out of the bar and took flight, a tidal wave of concern washed over him as he realized his error.