FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A soft tapping sound stirred Mike from his sleep, he looked around the dark room trying to blink away his bleariness with little success for the first few moments. As he tried to move his legs he was puzzled as to the heavy warm weight pinning his thighs to his mattress while he was slumped against the firm wall. Moving his hands to investigate the source of his immobility he smiled sleepily, his soft hands moving over the smooth scales of Taalli's head as she slept on him.

The return of the tapping caused him to look towards the front door, the sounds of a key being entered into the lock reminded Mike of the arrangement Ben had promised. A quick glance confirmed he was decent, as the door opened Ben's face peaked around the corner, smiling as he saw the silhouette of a dragon on the mattress that dominated the living room. Spotting Mike smiling back at him, Ben pointed at Taalli and then gave Mike a thumbs up which Mike returned.

Tiptoeing, Ben stepped inside and held the handle as he softly closed the door, his shoulders tensing as the latch engaged with the loud click. Looking to Mike and his dragon he could see that she was still asleep and Mike was holding a finger to his lips. With a nod, Ben softly tiptoed towards his room, trying to make as little noise as possible as he walked past the large mattress. His shoe clipping the empty tub of ice-cream and sending it across the room, the large metal spoon that was inside it clanking loudly against the vinyl floor.

"I'm up." Murmured Taalli, her body tensing and tail uncoiling from under her wing. Smacking her lips slowly she opened her eyes and lifted her head to peer around sleepily. Her large amber eyes adjusting to the darkness, a moment of confusion as she realised she was not in the barracks before she blinked and looked to the figure standing next to her "Oh... It's you." She added as she saw Ben standing next to their bed.

"Sorry, I'm just going to bed." Ben whispered and collected the spoo and the empty tub, "as you were soldier." He added with a smile before placing the empty tub and spoon on the Coffee table and made his way to his bedroom door, softly closing the door to the living room behind him.

"It's okay, you have time." Mike said warmly and gestured for her to lower her head back down. Taalli looked at him and leaned into his chest, nuzzling her snout against his body before pressing her snout to his lips. His soft kiss warming her more than any bed could.

"You can't be comfortable." She whispered as she pulled away, seeing his slumped position against the wall and gave him another kiss.

"Worth it." He said softly, moving his hands to her jawline, chuckling into another kiss as he heard her croon to his touch. "I would happily sleep like this, if it meant my dragon was safe." He said as he guided her snout to his chest and placed a kiss between her closed eyes.

Pressing her head against him she sighed softly. "What time is it?" Her chest tightening at the thought of leaving him. Mike's hands left her jawline as he pressed a button on his watch to illuminate the time. "3am, you have time." He said before holding her close, shuffling his feet to lift his knees, allowing her to rest her head on his thighs while he was hunched over her snout.

Breathing deep she tried to commit his scent to memory, the warm musky notes and hints of his aftershave making her sigh and wiggle her head further into his embrace. "I should get going." She said sadly, "if I get lost on the way home, the drill sergeant will have my head." She added defeatedly however she didn't leave his embrace.

"Five more minutes," he muttered and kissed her between the eyes again, smiling as she chuckled. They stayed in silence, her snout and head wrapped in his loving embrace while his mind processed what she had said, her casual mention of home striking a chord in his mind. Eventually, painfully, she lifted her head, his hands tracing her jawline as she looked sadly at him. "Don't go." Mike said weakly and saw her lip quiver, her deep amber eyes etched in the pain she felt, mirroring his own.

"I have too." She said in what almost sounded like a whine. Sniffing back a tear, she cleared her throat and reluctantly moved her head from his reassuring grasp. "Please, let's not make this harder than it already is." She added as she lifted her neck into a graceful S shape while she remained lying on his bed.

Mike opened his mouth to protest but could see the agony she was in, the dim lights from the city outside reflecting off the tortured amber pools of his dragoness's eyes. With a sigh he admitted defeat, "sorry." He said weakly.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay, believe me. There is nothing I would rather do than snuggle with you forever." She said sleepily, "It's a long flight, and I imagine today will be a long day." She added and stifled a yawn.

Mike stretched his stiff legs before rolling to his knees and crawling towards her, wrapping his arms around the base of her neck, and holding her tight. "I know." He whispered and enjoyed a final hug, he knew her training would be tiring, and she had only had a few hours of sleep. His eyes opening wide as he thought of a plan. "How about I give you a ride to the base?"

Taalli chucked at the image her mind painted, somehow riding on his shoulders while he ran. "I think I'm a bit big for you to carry me." She said sleepily, wrapping a paw around his back and holding him close, committing to another hug. Telling herself she would make up the time in the air.

"I meant in the van." Mike corrected with a smile, chuckling when he felt her body jostle slightly with her quiet chuckle.

"Is it big enough?" She asked, the idea of spending more time with Mike too appealing to ignore.

Mike used her strong neck for support as he got to his feet. "Ben told me he and Geevin.... Yeah, I think you will fit okay." Standing he was eye level with her head and saw the flicker of sleepy excitement in her eyes as she nodded.

"Okay, give me a sec to get ready." He said and stroked her cheek, not wanting to go anywhere as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. He remained there for a minute, gently stroking her soft scales, enjoying her warmth, and softly smiling. Her head following his hand for a few inches as he pulled away.

Opening her eyes, she smiled back to him and gave a nod. "I'll get my harness on." She murmured and stood up slowly, stretching but stopping quickly when her tail struck the wall with a loud thud. "One day we are going to get a large enough house." She promised.

"I'll hold you to that." He said with a smirk before stepping off the mattress and headed to the bathroom.

Taalli yawned and shook her head to try and wake herself up enough to put her harness on, stepping her paws into the loops and pulling the rig up to her shoulders. The buckles coming together with reassuring clicks, rolling her shoulders she made sure it was secure as she heard the toilet flush and Mike emerge, drying his hands on his pants before approaching Ben's bedroom door.

Mike tapped on the door and spoke in a hushed voice, "Yo Ben, I need to borrow the van." There was a shuffle and a brief pause before the door opened a crack and a hand emerged, jingling a set of car keys for Mike.

"Make sure you put fuel in it." Ben's muffled voice instructed as Mike took the keys, the door closing again when Mike promised he would.

Mike stepped towards the kitchen as he saw Taalli trying to open the small fridge, her claws clumsy against the small handle. "Let me." He said and she took a step back so he could fetch the food and snacks for her battle buddy. "The van is at the bar, parking here is non-existent." He added while closing the fridge and moving to secure the cold bags to her harness.

"Do you want to put something warm on? It will be a cold flight." She warned and he nodded, moving through the dimly lit living room to fetch a wool sweater from a pile of clothes that he had been meaning to put away. Looking over the apartment one last time she tried to take in all the details, the smells, the warmth, and the memories. As her eyes scanned over the kitchen, she spotted a familiar box of cereal sitting on the counter, her mother's exposed body presented in all her glory on the front, however her paws and wing arms had been coloured in with a black sharpie. Looking closer Taalli could also see that Mike had carefully used a pen to broaden the seductive facial expressions into a cheeky smile including small dimples at the corners of her mouth, something she had never seen on her mother.

Mike followed her gaze and blushed, stepping forwards and turning the box away. "That's embarrassing." He stated and moved to her side, unable to look her in the eyes.

"It's cute." She said warmly and used a wing knuckle to pull him close against her side. "I guess we always have breakfast together." She said, her voice becoming strained, before he could reply she cleared her throat and curled her neck to look down at him. "Shall we get going?"

Looking up at her glossy amber eyes he gave a nod and stepped to the balcony door. Opening it gently he felt the cold chill of the morning air against his cheeks and was grateful for his sweater. Holding the door open for her, he watched as she stepped onto the tight balcony and had to hang her tail over the handrail to have enough room.

Mike had to squeeze onto the platform to slide the door closed before crawling under her wing to reach her neck and climb up to her shoulders. Taalli's head craned over the edge and glanced to the surrounding buildings with a frown, "this may be a bit of a wake up call." She said and glanced back to him. Mike gave her a nod and held onto her harness tightly as she placed her left two legs on the handrail and launched sideways off the side of the building. She twisted her body sharply as she fell a floor and quickly unfurled her large wings. With a powerful flap she corrected their fall and levelled out before beating her large wing arms again and sent them surging upwards into the sky. Glancing back, she could see Mike still holding on tight and eased her flapping once she was safely above the rooftops.

"A house big enough, with a balcony large enough to not do that again." Mike called out, releasing his grip on her harness, and stroking her neck warmly.Taalli chuckled and glanced back, "with a coffee shop!" She added, the wind rushing over her wings driving away her tiredness. She adjusted her course to head towards Ben's bar, the streetlights and moonlight giving her enough light to see where she was going. Looking back, she saw him looking down over the city, "I mean it." Taalli added softly, her voice just audibles over the wind. "Just because I'm away, I don't want you to put your life on hold."

Mike gave a weak smile and looked her in the eyes, "with you away, my life kind of-" He started and caught himself when he saw her eyes waver and turn around to watch where she was going. "Sorry, that's not what I meant." He corrected and saw her give a nod, not looking back at him. "I mean... I want to open a coffee shop, with my smoking hot dragoness, with a big house big enough for her to stretch out and be comfortable. But I need my dragoness for that to be a reality."

Taalli swallowed back her emotions while she flew in silence, her mind in turmoil as she was being torn between her want for Mike, and her need for a new identity. She could feel him looking at her as she glided quietly through the early morning, his hand ever caressing her neck. "What would you call it? The coffee shop I mean." She asked, trying to change the topic without dismissing him.

"Well, how about 'Taalli's hotness'." He said, earning a glare from her and her jaw open in a look that shouted, 'are you serious'. "No? Well, originally, I was thinking luscious Leena liquid. But that won't work now."

"That sounds so wrong!" She exclaimed, eyes wide at the thought.

"Oh, come on! we all know sex sells, especially for dragons." Mike teased and rubbed her neck with his palm.

"I think you have been reading too many articles with my mother in them." She smiled wide as she saw his cheeks blush, even in the low light she could see him awkwardly look away.

"Whatever you call it, it will be great. The coffee will sell itself, it's that good."

Mike beamed, "so Taalli's hotness it is!"

"No!!" She exclaimed with a laugh, "anything but that" she added as he laughed. Spotting the familiar bar, she adjusted her wings and started to descend. "What about 'magic Mike'? Wait... Never mind." She said blushing.

"Oh? What's wrong with magic Mike?" He teased, feeling her stiffen and smile guiltily back at him, "is it taken or something?" He added, pretending to feign naivety, laughing as she winked back at him. "So now who has been looking at too much smut!"

"Oh, shh you. It was ages ago." Taalli blushed, flaring her wings as she landed at the entrance of the alley way that ran behind Ben's bar. Her paws touching down with grace as she continued to move in a graceful trot down the damp lane. "Um, hey. Could I use the bathroom?" Taalli asked as they approached the van and back door of the bar.

"Sure, let me unlock the place for you." He said and swung a leg over her neck, slipping down her shoulder without her needing to lower herself down onto the dirty ground. Pulling the keys Ben gave him out of a pocket he found the right one and opened the door for her, he followed her inside and flicked a switch, the kitchen and bar becoming illuminated in a warm orange glow as the bulbs warmed up.

Smiling as she trotted off through the kitchen and towards the restrooms, he gave a tired yawn and stretched. A smirk pulling at his mouth as he saw the time and walked over to the large espresso machine that sat behind the bar.

Taalli's eyes lit up as she exited the restroom, the sounds of the coffee machine screaming was music to her ears. "Is that what I think it is?" Taalli asked playfully and trotted over to where Mike stood before resting her head on his shoulder while he worked. His hands spinning knobs and dials to get the brew exactly right before using a free hand to hold her snout while reaching down to fish out a large brown flask from under the bar.

"I hope you don't mind using someone else's flask, it's clean." Mike said and placed it under the spout of the machine when she nodded against him. "Ben's new friend keeps leaving his flask here, as an excuse to come back, I think. I'm sure he would understand."

Taali closed her eyes and lay down behind the bar, her head still resting on his shoulders while the flask filled, the smooth aromatic scents of perfectly roasted beans filled her nose and caused her to swallow, a soft croon escaping her lips as she relaxed. "You make the best coffee." She murmured, inhaling deeply while nuzzling him.

"You haven't even tried this yet."

"I don't need to, I've been without decent coffee for weeks now, and this smells amazing. I've wanted to get my claws on your coffee since...." Her words trailing off, her mind giving up on expressing her desires and just becoming content to enjoy his closeness.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes as he moved forwards, to turn off a knob and collect the flask. "Well, get your claws on this coffee." He said and turned around with it.

Her eyes lighting up and she licked her lips. "Can we drink it in the van?" She asked, her eyes glancing to the clock and noticing the time. She wasn't sure how long it would take to drive compared to flying, but she knew it couldn't be quicker.

Mike nodded and screwed a lid to the brown coloured flask. "Come on then, let's make sure you fit." He said and she turned around.

Rolling her hips as she walked, she glanced back and smiled when she saw his eyes focused on her rump, "make sure I fit? Are you saying I'm fat again?" Letting out a surprised yelp when he playfully spanked her flank.

"Oh shh, you know that's not what I meant." He teased as they exited into the alleyway, turning around briefly to turn the lights off and lock the door behind them.

Taalli's eyes narrowed as she inspected the van, having never paid attention to the automobile before she now cocked her head as she worked out how she would fit. Moving around to the back, Mike grasped the two rear doors and swung them open, gesturing like a doorman to the interior. "It will be tight, but I think if you go headfirst?" He offered.

She gave him a nervous smile and lowered her head, the scents of stale food and alcohol lingered in the flooring and the curious scents of another dragon. The vans suspension creaked as Taalli placed a paw inside and crawled in, keeping her wings tucked close to her body as she ventured deeper inside the vehicle. Moving her head between the front two seats she gingerly turned her head back to step her hind legs inside the van, her back pressing against the bare metal roof. Mike's gentle hand guided her feet inside and she lay herself down on the floor, a frown on her face as she felt her tail on the ground outside. "I don't know if this will work." She said sadly.

"Sure, it will, can you curl your tail inside?" He asked and she felt his hands move to her tail tip, helping her curl it around and with an awkward shuffle of her hips she moved so he could tuck it back inside. It wasn't comfortable, and was a tight fit, but Mike made sure that her tail and toes were tucked in before closing the rear doors with a loud thud.

As he moved to the driver's side door, he looked through the window at her uncomfortable position, her head resting on the dashboard with the passenger seat empty. He held a finger up as he skipped around the front of the van and opened the passenger door, "here this might help." He said as he slid the passenger seat as far forwards as it could and reclined it back.

"Okay that's better!" She said happily as she lay her neck down on the padded passenger seat back. Mike closed the passenger door and returned to the driver's side, quickly opening the door and taking his seat. With his seatbelt on, he started the van, the screech of the fan belts slipping caused him to smile awkwardly at her as the engine roared to life. Shifting the column shifter into drive the van lurched forwards and they started making their way down the alleyway.

Taalli's eyes flicked to Mike and then to the road, the strange lurching and rocking motion of the van causing her to feel uneasy. "You sure about this, I feel like I'm inside a tin can." She mused, as the van dropped off the curb her head smacked the windshield, not hard enough to break it, but enough for her to flinch.

Mike tried to look up the road but couldn't see past her head, "here" he said and slid his seat back before guiding her head into his lap. "That better?" He said and smiled as she wiggled her snout into his lap. She relaxed her body and found she could lean against the walls of the van with some comfort, her eyes closing as she felt Mike's hand rest on her neck, stroking her scales tenderly as they made their way through the city. "Might be easier if I give you your coffee when we stop." He said and felt her nod in his lap. "If you want, try and get some sleep. I don't mind."

Taalli murmured a thanks and shuffled to try and get more comfortable, the disconcerting feeling of being in motion while not flying or walking was causing her stomach to tighten, with a deep breath she tried to just relax and trust in Mike's driving.

The vans engine changed note as they left the city and joined the highway, the only other traffic seemed to be large trucks ferrying goods across the country. Mike leaned back in his seat, one hand on the wheel while he continued to stroke her head softly, her scales slid ever so slightly over one another as he rubbed between her horns. "That feels really good." She whispered softly, her eyes closed as he continued.

"Sorry, was I keeping you awake?" He asked and paused, only to continue when she whined softly.

Taali smiled as he resumed, "I'm not used to riding in a van, the movements are strange." She said, trying to block out the vibrations and soft swaying of the van and focus instead on his touch.

Mike glanced down to her, unsure if her scales were paler than usual, or if it was his imagination. "Let me know if you are feeling sick, okay? I'm happy to stop because I really don't want to clean the van."

Taalli chuckled and gave a nod, "know where you are going?" She asked, realising she had only paid attention to landmarks while flying, now at ground level she wasn't going to be much help.

Mike switched hands, resting his arm on her neck while holding the wheel and stroking the bridge of her snout with his other. "I was thinking maybe I just keep driving," he said softly. "Keep driving until we run out of fuel, fly from there, find a new life where we can just be alone-"

Her sad voice interrupting him, "Mike... You know we can't." She said firmly, opening her eyes and tilting her head so she could look up at him easier. "Please." She added desperately when she saw his lip quiver. "It's just a bit longer, when I graduate, I'll get a service card. It's the first step to becoming Taalli." She could tell he was still not happy. "Mike, I'm still Leena right now, wanted by the police and my father. I need to do this to fix the mess I've made... Okay?"

Mike looked down at her and was about to repeat it was not her fault but saw the look in her eyes. Finally he sighed before giving a nod and returned back to looking out the windshield, she pressed her head firmly against his lap to get his attention, "okay?" She repeated, her eyes looking up to him for his understanding.

"Okay" he finally said begrudgingly. "But yes, I do know where the base is. It's just... I'm going to miss you, okay?"

"I know." She said softly and rested her head in his lap again. "I'm going to miss you too."

Mike continued to drive in silence, eventually returning his spare hand to her scales to stroke her softly, a happy sigh escaping her as she pressed against him lovingly trying to change the topic to a lighter note she asked, "so, until I get a bank account opened as me, do you mind hanging onto my paychecks?"

"Of course, so you want me to stick it in a savings account in my name or something?" He asked, gazing ahead and stroking her snout.

Taalli's shrugged, "I don't need it while I'm training, so sure. Invest in stocks or something with it if you want."

"I wouldn't feel comfortable gambling your money on the stock exchange."

Taalli's eyes opened, and she tilted her head to look up at him. "Then open a coffee shop." She said with a smile. Her smile broadening to hint at her white teeth as he looked down at her. "Like we were going to with my father's money." She added.

"Really?" He said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Do it." She said without hesitation, "like I said, I don't want your life to be on pause while I un-fuck mine. Besides, once I fully become Taalli, it would be great to come back to a handsome barista... Getting all steamy... Playing with his knobs-" she laughed as Mike broke out in giggles.

"Oh, you like it when I wear an apron do you?" He chuckled and stroked her eye ridge, despite his close proximity of his hands to her eyes she continued to look up at him.

"I like it when you wear nothing at all." She teased, "and by the feeling of your lap getting lumpy, I think you do too." She added with a soft voice, smiling side as Mike's whole face became flushed.

"Oh, stop it! You tease." He chided, vigorously stroking between her eyes with his hand.

"I'm the tease? You have me in a van that smells of male dragon and sex! What on earth has been happening in this poor van?"

"It doesn't smell like sex, does it?" Mike asked and felt her nod. "Really? Ben said he and Geevin got busy here. But I assumed they cleaned it, because I can't smell anything."

Taalli chuckled and shuffled around as best she could, one of her wings had gone numb from being pressed against the side of the van. "Not sure why they would have, it's not exactly comfortable. Like how did they manage it?" She asked, eyes widening as she saw him blush, "Ben told you! Didn't he?!" Her suspicions confirmed when he went bring red. "And here I was thinking that it was just the 'nesses that gossiped about their adventures."

Mike opened his mouth to defend himself but couldn't so he just smiled, pretending to be extremely focused on the road.

"Come on then, logistically, how did they do it, and why?" Taalli asked, "come on, we have time."

Mike sighed, knowing he wouldn't get out of this. "So, Ben says the van broke down, and Geevin helped-"

"Ooh a knight in shining scales, go on."

Mike chuckled, "not sure on the lead up, but Geevin was on his back, tail out the back of the van." He cleared his throat as he blushed, looking down he could see Taalli was still looking eagerly up at him. "He, ah, he said that it put Geevin at a comfortable height, when he was standing over his tail."

"Hot." Taalli stated with a smile. "If it meant not going back to base smelling like sex, I would be keen." She said warmly, smiling as Mike's jaw quickly closed. "Although, after graduation... I'm thinking we find somewhere private, just you and me."

"I would like that." He said and rubbed between her horns again. "That can be my mission." He said with a hint of purpose, "to make a Taalli day to remember!"

She crooned at his enthusiasm, "can we have it not in the city? I don't want to risk getting seen."

Mike smiled warmly, "we will go somewhere where no one will find us, no police, no parents, just us." His mind already thinking of where they could go, what they would do.

"Your lap is getting lumpy again." She teased only for him to blurt a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He said sarcastically, "my smoking hot dragoness is just telling me she wants to be alone with me."

Taalli giggled, "and do despicable things to you." She teased, smiling when she felt him adjust his seating. "Did I tell you, they try to make my heat cycle time with leave between tours." She mused, her heart beating faster at the thought. "It means I'm going to be coming back as a horny heat monster."

Mike burst out laughing and had to use two hands to hold the wheel, looking down between his arms he saw her smiling back up to him. "Okay, we have to come up with a better name than that. You are no monster." He retorted.

"You haven't seen me on heat."

"That sounds like a promise." He quickly replied, his voice just above a whisper.

"Oh, it is. You better clear your schedule if you plan on keeping up when I'm all needy."

Mike placed a hand back between her horns and pressed her close against him. "I will be all yours." He promised.

Wiggling into his lap she looked up at him longingly, content to watch him drive as he took her back to base. The flick of his wrist and the sounds of the vans indicators made her smile flicker, the reassuring pats on her head keeping her calm.

"We are almost there." He said, trying not to let his emotions taint his voice. "Do you want me to drop you off at the front gate?"

Taalli thought for a moment before responding, "could you drop me off on the main road, I don't want the guards to see me trying to squeeze out of the van."

Mike nodded, "it's almost 5:30." He answered as she tried to lift her head to look out the window properly, the sky was starting to become a pale grey as the sun threatened to emerge over the horizon.

Taalli nodded and took a deep breath, steeling herself for their goodbye. "Thank you, Michael." She said warmly, continuing when he glanced to her, "I mean it, not just for the ride. But for everything." He gave a curt nod, trying to remain strong for her departure. "And especially for the coffee." She added which made him smile. "Can you tell Geevin I'll bring his flask back?"

Mike nodded, "I'm sure he won't mind, and I'll get you one that matches your sexy scales, next time I see you. Okay?"

Taalli nodded, her smile disappearing when she heard the indicator go on and the van start to slow. The whole van rocking as two wheels dropped off the asphalt to the shoulder and came to a gradual stop. Mike cut the engine and looked down to her face, her amber eyes pained, and he gave her a knowing smile while gently stroking her cheek.

They sat in silence, until Mike finally gave her a nod and reached for the door handle, "come on then. Let's get you... home." He said sadly struggling to call the base her home as easily as she did. She lifted her head from his lap, and he stepped out of the van, she could hear the crunch of the gravel under his shoes as he made his way to the back door, with a creak she heard them open and the cool morning air wash over her hindquarters.

With a gentle hand, he traced down her tail and slid it out, careful to make sure her scales didn't catch on the metal frame of the van, "it would be a good height." He chuckled before guiding her hind paws down to the ground.

"We can add it to Taalli day." She chuckled, with a twist and a wiggle backwards, she slowly emerged and stretched her whole body out, mantling her wings and giving them a dramatic stretch as the blood rushed back into the long limbs.

Reaching back into the driver's area, Mike returned with the brown flask of coffee. "Here, have this with breakfast." He said and reached to her harness to clip it on, making sure the bags of food and snacks for Riimack were secured. "Oh, and just in case." Mike added and pulled out his wallet, Taalli watched patiently as he pulled out a small photo, her throat becoming tight and tail quivering as she recognized it from their first flight together. The still frame capturing his smiling face as he had taken the selfie while she had turned her neck to have her face in frame in the background.

"Thankyou." She said warmly, her tone emphasising it was not just for the drink. His lip quivered and he quickly moved forwards, tucking the photo in a small waterproof pocket in her harness reserved for money.

Mike stepped back and smiled knowingly, "oh, fine! One more hug." He said dramatically and stepped up to her front, wrapping his arms around the base of her neck and holding on tightly, letting out a gasp as she sat back on her haunches and used both paws to hold him against her chest, his feet dangling in the air below him.

"Until Taalli day." She said with a mournful voice, the lump in her throat chasing her voice to break. She held him tight, her toes kneading his back and her neck curling tightly to bring her head behind his shoulder. She could feel his breathing, his body shaking slightly as he sniffed back a tear.

"Until Taalli day." He repeated and she slowly lowered him back down to the ground. "I promise it will be a day to remember." He added as she released him from her clutches.

Taalli gave a nod and a weak smile, not trusting herself to speak. Mike looked up at her face and gave her a nod in return. "Go-on, go show those drakes what a real dragon looks like." He teased and turned around quickly before his tears came, taking his time to close the van doors.

"I'm not saying goodbye." Taalli said before launching herself into the air, the rush of wind blowing at his back signalling she was gone.

Mike turned and looked up, watching as her silhouette in the sky quickly disappeared over the tree line towards the base. "Me neither." He said to himself.

Taalli approached the front gates to the academy on foot, the bags of snacks, food, and the flask of coffee swinging against her sides with every step. Staffing the main gate was a bored looking cadet who's eyes perked up when he saw Taalli approaching.

"The conquering hero returns. did you... Get sum?" He teased while leaning on the back of the boom gate to open it for her.

"Wouldn't you like to know soldier." Taalli retorted without skipping a beat, ignoring the questing snout that sniffed the air behind her.

"Oh, come on, tell us a tale! I've been out here all night." He added and looked at her with a desperate look in his eyes. Since the harness magazines had been confiscated, she knew the drakes had become desperate for any juicy stories. Thankfully, their frustration had been directed towards Jeenik and not her.

"A 'ness doesn't kiss and tell." She called over her shoulder playfully.

She was just turning the corner towards the mess hall when she heard the fellow cadet call out, "so there was kissing?" Causing her to chuckle and shake her head.

There were still a few minutes before 6am and she made her way into the mess hall, Riimack's noodles still cold to her scales as she made her way to the kitchen staff who were still getting ready for the breakfast rush of the flight.

Waiting patiently at the counter she finally caught the eye of one of the kitchen staff, "Heya, could I be a pain. Would you be able to heat this up?" She asked as she unhooked the bag of noodles and placed them on the counter, she could see the unimpressed look from the kitchen staff and smiled weakly, "I'd eat them cold, but I know the bathrooms would be in a state." She threatened, getting a smirk out of the chef who took the bag from her with a silent nod.

Smiling to herself she sat on her haunches and scanned the empty mess hall, it seemed different without the rest of the flight causing a chaotic noise. She glanced across the rows and rows of low tables and realised she wasn't the only dragon up early. Sitting alone in the middle of the mess hall was the drill sergeant, a plate of food In front of her which she delicately picked at with her claws.

Glancing at the kitchen and then back to the sergeant, Taalli tried to bury the awkward feeling, not knowing if she should talk to the sergeant while she ate. Thinking back, she couldn't remember a time when she had seen the sergeant eat and realised she must always get up early.

"You came back." The drill sergeant called out, her tone sounding more like an observation and was void of excitement, her voice echoing off the tin walls and vaulted ceiling. With a slight nod to the bench, she beckoned the orange dragoness over. Taalli gave a weak smile and approached the lone dragoness, her claws clicking loudly on the concrete floor. "A part of me wasn't sure you would return." She stated flatly, "you wouldn't be the first to go AWOL."

"And let you down? Never ma'am." Taali said with a smile, sitting down across the table from the tan dragoness who ate quietly. Taalli's amber eyes glancing over the drill sergeant, a strange feeling of unease as she sat next to the powerful dragoness filling her stomach.

"I'm not ma'am." She said flatly while she ate. "Not until 0600, that was the deal. Until then, I'm not your superior."

Taalli swallowed and looked to the clock on the wall, true to her word there was still a few minutes left of her evening pass. Turning back to the drill sergeant, a small smile pulled at her snout. "Can I ask you a question or two?" She asked.

"I'm eating." The sergeant said flatly before lifting her food to her snout and chewing slowly. "But I feel like that won't stop you." She added after she swallowed.

Taalli turned her head and glanced up at the wings that hung in the mess hall wall and noticed they were very visible from where the drill sergeant sat. She opened her mouth, the obvious question on her lips but paused, facing the sergeant she could see her glaring back with a firm gaze.

She closed her mouth and then asked nervously, "sleep well?"

The drill sergeant coughed with a laugh, "what!? Why do you want to know that?"

With the tension broken Taalli smiled, "well, you are my favourite drill sergeant." She said with a playful smile, "besides, I don't even know your name, and we have known each other for so long, it's kind of awkward to ask now. So... Sleep well?"

The Sergeant reared her head up, her neck in a tight curve as she looked at the curious orange dragoness. "And here I was thinking you would be the hundredth cadet to ask about my wings."

"Well until 6am, Am I your cadet?" She said and saw a flicker of a smirk appear on the tan dragoness's snout. "Besides, I felt it rude to just lead with that."

The violet eyes of the sergeant fixed on Taalli's and held her gaze, "It would be rude to lead with that, but I would be lying if I said I don't enjoy the stories that the cadets come up with." She said and nodded towards the pair of wings. "What do you think happened?"

Taalli looked up at the wall and considered her words. "Slipped in the shower?" She said with a shrug and turned back smiling playfully, hoping humour would put her more at ease. The traces of a smile pulling at her sergeant's snout, but she held her composure. "My mother said that if I didn't keep them tucked in tight, they would fall off, did that happen?" Taalli added with a chuckle, the sergeant's smile broadening.

"No, no that is not how it happened." The drill Sergeant said with a chuckle and collected some food with a claw to continue eating.

"So, what's the best story you have heard?"

Swallowing, the Sergeant stared into Taalli's eyes before glancing back at the wall. "High altitude dragon jetpack accident was a good one, but I think the cadet had played too many video games." She said and saw Taalli wasn't content with the answer. "But my favourite?" she said before taking another bite of her breakfast, Taalli waiting patiently for her to continue. Glancing back up at the clock there was only a few minutes left until she would have to resume being the drill sergeant. While she didn't want to scare the orange ness, she could see an innocence in her eyes that she knew would have to die eventually.

"I was flying somewhere that doesn't exist, doing something that never happened. Carrying a rider who had no name, with intel that you would never believe." She said, her words becoming distant as she remembered the fateful day. "Their dragons intercepted us at sunset, they ignored her and went straight for my wings, knowing the crash would kill us both. I took four of them out and injured another before they took us out of the air, if it wasn't for the forest below, I would be dead.

She was almost dead when they found us again, I had to deny them the asset. We were lucky I could breathe fire, they dragged me back and for interrogation, my wings were already broken, but an axe removed them slowly." She said and sniffed before turning back to her breakfast.

"And then you were rescued?" Taalli asked hopefully, her head cocking slightly in confusion when the drill sergeant shook her head.

"I was never there, remember?" She said with a weak smile, "The story goes, that I fought my way out, carrying my wings on my back." She took a final bite from her breakfast and licked a claw. "That, is one of my favourite stories a cadet has come up with." she said and stood up. "That being said, slipping in the shower is up there."

Taalli paused and contemplated what she had just heard, the idea of losing her wings in such a brutal and heroic way caused her to shudder. Her head following the drill sergeant as she held her tray in one paw and awkwardly hopped on three legs, glancing back up at the clock the second hand was approaching the zenith of the face. "Riinys, my name is Riinys. But you call me Ma'am." She said and made her way back to the kitchen counter to deposit her tray.

"Cadet Taalli, you have left your food on the counter. Perhaps we are feeding you too much if you are leaving it lying around." She said with a coy smile and a nod back to Taalli.

"Yes ma'am."

The cadets started to file in for their breakfast as Taalli collected Riimack's noodles and a plate of food for herself, balancing a plate between each of her wing knuckles and shoulders she slowly made her way to a table. As she sat down, she saw Riimack line up for food, her at4 launcher dangling from his thick neck. She called him over, he had a curious expression on his snout as he walked towards her and sniffed the air. Once seeing the plate his eyes lit up and practically bounded over to her table.

"Is that! Is that what I think it is?" He exclaimed, his mouth open and eyes unblinking. Licking his lips when Taalli nudged it towards him with a claw. He unhooked her AT4 rocket launcher from his neck and slid it across the table before pulling the plate towards him with both front paws.

"Reevian says hi." Taalli smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Fuck yes! She makes the best noodles." He said, sitting down at the table, not wasting any time he drove his snout down into the plate, collecting a large mouthful and pulling his head back up.

Taalli laughed at his blissful expression, his eyes closed and his head tilted up to the ceiling, noodles hanging from his jaws as he ate. "Good?" She asked and chuckled as he gave a small nod, unable to formulate a sentence due to the flavours overwhelming his mind. The delightful mix of spice and sweetness transporting him back home to when his sister used to cook every night for him and his brother.

==Cops==

"We will try again tomorrow, I mean, tonight." Jim said sleepily, the evening spent waiting outside a concert on the other side of town only resulted in them not finding Mike.

"But that dragon said he would be here." Teeslah said in frustration while sitting next to the park bench that Jim sat on, his eyes scanning the final intoxicated fans leaving the concert while the crew worked to pack up equipment.

Jim yawned and glanced up at the male dragon, "well face it, he isn't here. We know where he works, and where he lives. We will catch up to him, this was just a waste of time." Jim checked his watch and sighed, "sun will be up soon. I think breakfast and then back to the station. Today is going to be shit." He added with a grumble. He had gotten a few hours' sleep while on the bench, only to be woken for the millionth time when Teeslah thought he saw their suspect.

Teeslah frowned, "but he should be-"

"But he ain't!" Jim snapped. "We must have missed him, or maybe he went to another concert."

Teeslah shook his head, "no, this was the only-" he stopped when Jim placed a firm hand on his shoulder, turning he could see him staring tiredly at him.

"I'm getting breakfast, wait here if you want." Jim said and stood up, "we start work at 9, don't be late."

"I'm never late." Teeslah stated flatly.

Jim gave a weak smile and a nod before leaving his dragon partner sitting next to the bench.

Teeslah waited for another few minutes before standing up and walking to the closest launch area. Even though the park was deserted and there was no risk of endangering any other dragons he still purposely followed the rules.

Before stepping into the launch area, he checked the skies for any fellow dragons landing and then took his place in the centre of the area and sprung into the air, large wings thrusting him forwards into the early morning sky.

His mind wandering to where Michael could be, his partner's words about knowing where he worked and lived ringing in his head. With a twitch of his tail, he adjusted his trajectory and headed back to the bar Michael worked at. Perhaps there were more clues there that would reveal the truth.

==Mike==

Mike yawned as he flicked the indicators on and pulled over next to the alleyway that ran behind the bar. Checking his mirrors, he threw the column shifter into reverse and with a whine of the engine, Mike reversed the van down the alleyway and parked. He killed the engine and leant back in his chair, his hands resting in his empty lap as he closed his eyes. Hoping that he would open them and feel her resting her head on him.

With a final groan he slowly opened his eyes, taking a moment to realise what he was seeing. His eyes went wide as he saw the dragon from the bar walking towards him from the street, his form blocking any chance of escape down the narrow lane.

"Michael!" Called the dragon with a voice of authority. "Stay where you are, we have been trying to find you." He added as he approached the van.

Mike raised his hands above the steering wheel, his heart racing as the dragon approached his face going pale when he saw the gold badge on the dragon's harness. "What- what seems to be the problem, officer." Mike stuttered, trying to sound as calm as possible as the dragon came to the window and lowered its head to peer inside.

Teeslah's nose twitched, taking in Mike's scent as well as the scent of a dragoness. "Where were you last night?" He said flatly, his eyes burning into Mike's, he could see the fear in the human's face as he swallowed, guilt written all over his pale face.

Mike gripped the steering wheel firmly, his heart hammering in his chest. Conversations with Ben about the power of keeping quiet coming to him quickly. "What? What is this about?" He asked, trying to act innocent.

Teeslah pulled back and demanded he exit the vehicle, Mike's hands gingerly opening the door and stepping out into the dark alleyway. "This is about the missing dragoness, Leena. Where did you go last night?" Teeslah repeated firmly, stepping close to Mike, and looming over him.

Mike took a half step backwards and tried to breathe, "I- I," he stuttered trying to formulate a sentence that would keep his dragoness safe. "Am I under arrest?" He asked finally, unable to look the dragon in the eye, he focused instead on the nylon harness that the dragon wore.

"Have you done something to think you should be?"

Mike's hands were shaking, "N-no." He lied and the dragon knew it, the scent of fear coming from the human telling Teeslah he was on the right trail.

"Your sweating, you are scared, where were you last night?" Teeslah asked again. "Tell us, and it will be better for you and her." The dragon saw Mike's eyes dart to the van and then back at the ground. "Where is she Mike? Tell me now."

Mike swallowed and shook his head slightly. "Am I under arrest?" He asked and looked up at the dragon's stern expression. "Am I?" He repeated and saw the dragon shake his head, Mike's heart was pounding as adrenaline rushed through his system. "Then fuck off. I don't know where she is." He said and turned away from the dragon. He expected him to be stopped but when he circled around the back of the van and went to the door to the bar, he saw the dragon was still stationary.

"I can smell dragoness on you." The dragon stated flatly which caused Mike to drop the keys he was trying to use to unlock the bar. "Harbouring a fugitive is an offence." He added.

Mike turned his head back to the dragon, "so what? I was with a different dragoness!" and collected the keys from the ground, "Leena is gone. I've moved on." He added and unlocked the door, slipping inside he slammed it closed. Leaning against the door his heart felt like it was going to explode. His vision blurring at the edges as he felt faint, his knees gave out from under him, sliding down the door his whole body trembled.

==Taalli==

"Cadets! Today is a very special day for you all." The drill sergeant announced, turning her head from side to side to project her voice to the far reaches of the assembly. "I have organised a play date with you and Charlie company." She said, a small flicker of recognition washed through the dragons, "remember, you will be representing this academy, and more importantly, my teachings. So! If you embarrass yourselves, you might be better off not coming back. Am I understood cadets!"

"Yes ma'am!" Replied the flight with loud voices.

"Charlie company is performing war games 100 clicks north and have come under heavy fire, requiring you dead wingbeats to help. You will divide into two flights, alpha flight is to fly in and CASEVAC their injured and bring them back to this assembly area." She announced.

"Bravo flight, you are playing the role of the enemy. You will provide alpha squad a thirty-minute head start before leaving here to engage. Remember cadets, you will be carrying real soldiers! I don't want to see any cowboys out there being relaxed with their gear! A flight floor of 600 feet will be in effect, you are not, I repeat NOT authorised to fly below that flight level, unless collecting injuries or if you are 'killed'. This is for everyone's safety, am I understood cadets!"

"Yes ma'am!" The assembly replied, their voices loud with a hint of excitement. Rumours of this training exercise had been slowly spreading throughout the flight and was their first opportunity to put their training into practice.

"Looks like my cadets are excited!" She shouted loudly, "However! I regret to inform you that the mess hall has informed me that they are running out of meat." She said loudly, a smirk pulling at the corners of her snout as she saw the cadets give her a desperate look. "So! We shall make it interesting, the flight with the most alive at the end of the exercise will get meat for their dinner! The losing flight will get to watch."

Taalli's eyes darted around the assembly area, noticing the other dragons doing the same, each one eyeing one another to assess their chances. The exercise was heavily stacked in the aggressor's favour, once alpha flight were carrying the injured, they would be at a significant disadvantage for aerial combat.

Taalli's heart sank when she saw a certain green dragon beat his wings against his sides, "ma'am, this cadet would like to be Bravo flight leader." He shouted, Jeenik being one of the more aggressive cadets in the flight made an obvious choice to be leading the aggressors.

The drill sergeant approached him and looked him up and down, "very well Jeenik, happy hunting. Who shall be alpha flight leader."

Riimack's deep voice didn't hesitate, "I will ma'am." He announced with a smile to Jeenik. The two dragons eyeing one another up.

"All other cadets, divide into teams, you can work it out." She bellowed Taalli's chest tightened as she quickly made her way over to Riimack, many of the dragons looked to join Riimack's squad before joining Jeenik when they realised, they had better chances of winning as aggressors.

"Radios will be required, take them from the racks. Time starts now alpha flight." Announced the sergeant.

Riimack and his flight quickly broke out into a canter towards the equipment racks, "move move move, get it moving alpha flight!" Shouted Riimack, his voice loud and authoritative as he took his role of flight leader to heart. "Radios on, channel 16, move it cadets." He shouted, passing the radios to the dragons as they ran past the racks.

The drill sergeant made her way through the cadets and her sudden presence next to Taalli startled her briefly, "graduation is coming up cadet Taalli. Now is your chance to prove that you have what it takes." She said firmly, "are you a killer?" She added and saw the orange dragoness hesitate.

Taalli opened her mouth, but Riimack's voice interrupted her response, "Cadet Taalli, radio, now!" He barked, a queue had formed behind Taalli, and she quickly stepped forwards to the rack.

Taalli grabbed her radio from him and with a paw strapped the antenna and conductive speaker to her horn, the crackle and hiss of the radio reverberating through her horn to her head, allowing her to hear the rest of the flight, even with wind noise. Hopping on three legs away from the racks, with her at4 swinging wildly, she strapped the throat mic around her neck, just behind her jaw before leaping into the air with the rest of the flight.

Looking back, she saw the last of the flight take off, with Riimack following behind them, beating his large blue wings quickly to catch up while strapping his radio in place, before his voice vibrated through Taalli's skull, "Alpha actual to all alphas, radio check."

One by one each of the dragons chimed in to make sure their radios were working. The title of 'actual' being reserved for the flight leader, or whomever was in command of the squad or unit. "All alphas coming through clearly, good work. Let's pick up the pace, faster we get there, the further we get back before being engaged by Bravo. I don't know about you, but this cadet likes his meat." He said and with a few fast beats of his wing he overtook Taalli and the rest of the flight, taking his place at the lead of the v formation they had formed.

They flew in silence, each focused on moving quickly, every beat of their wings was another surge away from Bravo flight. Taalli glanced at the others from the rear of the formation, each of the dragons was tense, every one of them knowing that this exercise would be brutal. While it was just a simulation, threatening a dragon's meal was a formula for bringing out the most competitive side of each dragon.

Taalli pondered the exercise as she flew before reaching with paw to press the transmit button on her radio. "Hey, refresh my memory. But isn't it a war crime to attack medical personnel?"

Riimack glanced back to her, "it is, but not every enemy follows that law."

"But we are training Bravo to-"

"They have their mission Taalli, we have ours." Riimack snapped, the tension of the mission eroding his friendly disposition. "Let's focus alphas."

Ahead in the distance, Taalli spotted a plume of green smoke coming from the other side of the mountain range, revealing the location of the pretend battle.

Riimack glanced back at the two halves of the flights formation as he formulated a plan. Riimack's voice reverberated through their radios as he spoke up, his voice firm with just a hint of nervousness, "alpha flight! those on the left side of the formation, I am designating you as Evac head down and get the injured. Right wing, you are now guards, form a guard ring around them and keep them safe. I will coordinate from above, we move once all the injured are secured."

Each half of the v formation split, the left wing clipped their wings and started their descent towards the plume of green smoke Taalli tested her harness and saw the rest of them doing the same pulling firmly on the loops on their harnesses to make sure they were tight and ready to evac the mock injured soldiers. Meanwhile the right half of the formation held steady while Riimack beat his large blue wings hard to gain altitude. Looking up at him from below, Taalli had to squint to see him as he used the midday sun as cover, his silver scales and blue wings quickly disappearing against the heavens.

Riimack's commanding voice came through the radios, "alright, we have made good time alphas, good work. Guards, keep your heads on a swivel, Bravo flight shouldn't be here yet, but I wouldn't put it past the Sarg to shift the goal posts." He said with a slight chuckle.

Taalli watched as the half of the flight that were designated as guards formed a single line and started a wide orbit around the landing zone. As soon as the curved line of guards wrapped around the landing zone in a circle, Taalli and the rest of the evacuation dragons clipped their wings and dove towards the ground.

The plume of green smoke swirled as the evac dragons spiralled down to the ground. Taalli tried not to laugh as she spotted the 'injured' soldiers scattered across the landing zone. Each of them was in their full battle attire, however most of them had blue paint splotches on their fatigues, their rifles equipped with orange tips to their barrels to signify they had been retrofitted to fire high velocity paintball rounds rather than lethal bullets.

Taalli flared her wings out and landed with the other evac dragons, quickly moving towards the closest soldiers, and prepared to attach them to the harnesses. Trotting over to one of the soldiers, she tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Hey soldier, need a lift?" She said with a smile. Looking down at the soldiers uniform she saw the callsign embroidered on his uniform, "Bishop, is it?"

The soldier's eyes widened slightly, his deep southern drawl making Taalli smile, "aw hell naw." He said before sitting up suddenly, "When they said we would get air lifted, they didn't say by a dragon."

Taalli's smile waivered slightly, "hey, fuck you too." She teased, "you can stay here and die, or come with me." She said and lowered herself down next to him.

Bishop swallowed deeply, "I- ah. Fine." He said, "but don't you dare drop me." He added, his voice not hiding his trepidation.

"Trust me Bishop, I have never dropped a soldier before, not planning on doing it now." She said, trying to reassure the frightened soldier. Looking down at his uniform, the only fake injury he had received was on his right foot; the blue paint splattered on his boot and the cuffs of his legs.

"Evacs, get it together. Bravo flight is in bound. ETA, 3 Minutes tops." Riimack's voice called over the radio, Taalli's chest tightening. Riimack must have been right about the drill sergeant giving a false head start.

Taalli glanced around and saw the rest of the flight collecting their injured, those that were incapacitated with 'serious' injuries were slung under the dragon's chests, while those that were less injured were riding on the shoulders. Each soldier giving one another nervous looks as they strapped themselves to the dragon's flight harness.

Bishop touched each of his shoulders, chest, and chin before slinging his large rifle onto his back and hauling himself up onto Taalli's shoulders, her amber eyes watching him with a smile as he quickly tethered his belt to her harness. "You good?" She asked and saw him nod.

"What's with the tube?" Bishop asked and tugged the strap to her at4.

Taalli chucked at his perplexed reaction to the heavy weight. "Long story." She said simply.

Standing up Taalli took a few steps, the added weight between her shoulders oddly comforting as she mantled her wings. Looking around she noticed the rest of the evacuation dragons were ready and with a nod they all took to the sky. The panicked screams of the soldiers causing most of the dragons to smile. "How- how many times have you done this!" Cried out Bishop.

Beating her wings, Taalli surged into the air, chuckling as she glanced back. "With a soldier? Never!" She said and blurted a laugh when his dark face became a few shades lighter.

"Just don't throw-" she flinched at the sensation of something very wet and warm running down her neck, turning back she saw the hunched over form of Bishop as he heaved again down the side of her neck. "Really?" She sighed, glancing at the other dragons she saw them giving sympathetic looks.

"I-I'm sorry ma'am-"

"It's fine!" Taalli said flatly, "let's just get this over with." She gave one more glance back and could see her once clean scales now covered in chunks that were now running down her underside, covering her at4 in sticky fluids.

As the evacuation dragons rose above the guard dragons, they formed a tight formation, ahead of them a dark shadow of Bravo flight approached. Looking up, Taalli couldn't make out Riimack against the bright sky, but his commanding voice was comforting as he issued orders.

"All alphas, eyes up! Bravo flight is coming in hot, standard wall formation. Guards, form an arrowhead for our evacs, punch a hole and then hard turn back to engage, call your kills and keep it clean. Evacs, your job is to get those boys home, don't stop, don't slow down, the guards will buy you as much time as they can."

Taalli's heartbeat powerfully in her chest, glancing at the other dragons with injured soldiers, they all shared the same sentiment. Their numbers were evenly split between the opposing team, but with half of alpha flight carrying injured, it meant a two to one ratio of attackers against their guards. Once the guards were gone, it was only a matter of time before they were targeted.

Forming a tight cluster, the evac dragons grouped up, ahead and around their front flew their escorts. As they quickly approached Bravo flight, Taalli turned her head back to Bishop. His concern matching her own, "hey Bishop, I hate to tell you this now. But the flight leader of the other team, reeeeally hates me." She said, "so good news, this may be over soon." She added and saw him swallow, his hands gripping her harness in terror, his cheeks puffing out as he almost hurled again, her stern gaze forcing him to swallow.

"Alright guards, let's earn that meat!" Riimack called as the two flights engaged.

The sounds of dragons colliding with one another, and their roars were almost deafening, the leading guard dragons driving into the Bravo flight with teeth and claws bared. While they deliberately struck with their paws rather than their claws, the resounding impacts knocked the wind out of one another as they grabbed and jostled in freefall, each one trying to restrain the other in a hold or stroke vital areas to force a surrender. The wall of enemies quickly collapsing on-top of evac dragons, keeping a keen eye upwards Taali dodged and weaved through the diving dragons, Bishop clinging to her harness while her at4 swung from her neck. Her wings beating furiously as she emerged from the other side.

"Holy fuck! They know it's an exercise, right?" Cried Bishop as he turned to see the dragons tumbling from the sky locked against one another. The few evacuation dragons that had been 'killed', tucked in their wings, and lowered below the combat floor to signify they were out of the fight.

Looking around Taalli saw that about half of the evacuation dragons had made it through. "Yeah, they said the losing team wouldn't get meat. Kinda brought out their feral side." She joked, looking back she saw the guards fighting valiantly, trying to buy as much time for the evacuation dragons to get away. Her eyes widening as she saw Riimack diving from the heavens, two enemy dragons snapping at his tail as he plummeted towards the fray.

"Let's make it count!" Taalli cried out to the other evac dragons who were sharing nervous looks. All of them beating their wings as hard as they could to distance themselves from the combat behind them. The radio crackling with every kill and down that they suffered, the feed starting with a strong list of kills and downs before slowing down.

Taalli tried to keep track of who was left until there was a silence, interrupted by, "Alpha actual down, good luck evacs, fly like hell." Riimack gasped in a defeated tone.

Glancing back, Taalli could see the last of their guards being dispatched. She tried to think it was just her imagination, but her chest tightened when she thought she saw Jeenik smile as he turned to pursue the evacuation team.

"We got no escort gents!" Shouted Taalli, "let's make them fly hard to catch us." She added and surged ahead, being the smaller and nimbler of the group, she knew the others would try to match her pace. Panting she beat her wings furiously, the added weight of the injured soldiers however meant that it was only a matter of time before Bravo flight were bearing down on them.

"I guess it was fun while it lasted." Called Bishop, looking back Taalli's stomach dropped, coming to the same realisation. The academy was still on the horizon and when she looked back, she could make out the faces of Bravo flight as they approached. Taalli's amber eyes flicked to Bishop, his large automatic rifle still strapped to his back.

"Hey, Bishop, right? You still got paintballs for that gun?" Taalli said, smiling as she saw his eyes light up.

"Yes ma'am, but they didn't say we could shoot you guys."

"Did they say you couldn't?" Taalli asked playfully, her mouth slowly parting to form a smile as he paused to think.

"No ma'am, no they didn't." Bishop said and unslung his rifle, the large automatic weapon making Taalli's smile broaden. With a large box magazine slung underneath the weapon, Bishop lifted a flap on top of the rifle before feeding a belt of blue tipped bullets in and slamming it closed. Taalli turned back to her flight with a chuckle as she heard Bishop rack a round into the chamber.

"All remaining alphas, if you have a soldier who can shoot, get them on your back. Those that don't, keep moving hard and fast. We are going to buy you some more time." Taalli called over the radio.

"Taalli, your mission is to get them home safely, what are you doing." Called Riimack over the radio, glancing down and behind she could see the large silver and blue dragon flying quickly towards them in the exclusion zone.

"Hush now, dead dragons don't talk." Taalli chided, "hey Bishop, you got a radio?" Taalli asked, looking back and seeing him nod. "Try and find Bravo's frequency. Then get ready to hot mic it." She said and saw him smirk.

Bishop flicked through his radio set before a deep voice came through his earpiece, "I'm up on 4 kills, but that orange bitch is mine." Called a voice causing Bishop to glance towards Taalli, her warning about being a target becoming very real.

Taalli saw the few evac dragons who had soldiers on their shoulders look to her for direction and she racked her brain for a strategy, a smirk creeping onto her snout as she realised what they were doing was not too dissimilar to a Dragonball game. The dragons carrying the soldiers were simply the scorers, the academy was the goal zone. Looking back at the enemy, they were simply the opposing team, and the dragons with combat effective soldiers were the blockers.

Thinking back at the games she has searched growing up, she formulated a plan to quickly dispatch the enemy team. "Those with riders, slow down!"

"Slow down? Are you mad?" One called back.

"Slow down, nice and slow. We want them to think we are weaker flyers, giving the rest more time. Copy?" Taalli barked and they reluctantly acknowledged.

Bishop's radio crackled to life, Jeenik's voice coming through the speaker. "Focus on the group that's slowing down, we can catch the others afterwards." Bishop relaying the information to Taalli who then spread the word to the squad.

"Bishop, what's the range on that gun of yours?" Taalli asked, her breathing becoming laboured as she continued to pound her wings.

"Not far ma'am, with the wind even less. Maybe 200ft before it's guesswork." Bishop called back.

"Okay, turn yourself around and hide your gun, we will only get one shot at this, wait until their whole flight is in range, got it?" Called Taalli as she glanced back and saw the attackers closing in on her blocking squad.

Bishop nervously undid his tether and swung his legs around, so he was straddling her neck while facing backwards, placing his large gun down on her back he hunched over it, obscuring it from view as the enemy kept getting closer and closer.

"Steady!" Taalli called as she glanced back and saw Jeenik leading the charge against her and the others. "Wait until they are on us." She called out to the rest of the breakaway group.

"Oh Taaallii!" Called Jeenik, his voice sinister and loud as he surged towards her. "Of course, you are dawdling at the back," He added with a chuckle. "I'm going to enjoy this!" He shouted and beat his wings hard, surging forwards quickly.

"Me too... Now!" Taalli yelled, Bishop quickly held down the transmit button on the radio, locking it down while his microphone was tucked next to his earpiece. The deafening wail of feedback blasting through Jeenik's headset and the rest of his flight, the high pitched shrill being sent down their horns from their radios to the skulls causing them to lose focus on Taali and flare their wings while reaching to yank their radios off their horns.

Bishop, seizing the opening, sat upright, his strong biceps lifting the heavy automatic weapon to his shoulder with ease and pulled the trigger. Taalli couldn't help but glance back at the roar of gunfire and smile as the stream of blue paintball bullets zipped out of Bishop's gun with a roar, empty brass casings and belt links bouncing harmlessly off her wing while Jeenik's face was quickly hosed in blue balls of paint. The other riders followed suit, streams of blue paintballs zipping from their guns and into the chasing dragons.

Jeenik roared in pain as his sensitive nose and eyes were pelted with round after round, his gaping mouth quickly becoming the focus of Bishop's attention. Jeenik's roar cut short in a splutter as the back of his mouth caught a dozen rounds and he flared his wings, pulling away to hack and cough up blue paint. Bishop's gun quickly changing targets to the next closest dragon and maintained a heavy stream of paintball rounds.

Taalli noticed one of the other soldiers was having an issue with his gun and quickly darted between him and the attacking dragons, Bishop's body swaying wildly at the sudden change of pace but lent down over her back and kept his gun firing, choosing accuracy in volume as the belt of ammo was run through his gun.

"You want some! Fucking get it!" Shouted Bishop over the roar of his rifle. Smiling as he unleashed his fury onto dragon after dragon.

Taalli grinning horn to horn as she watched her attackers break away and drop into the exclusion zone, eventually leaving just her and her small squad alone. "Well, that worked." Taalli exclaimed and joined in with the laughter of the rest of her flight. With a few hasty beats of her wings, she surged ahead to lead her blockers back to the rest of the evac dragons.

"Well-done, surprising, but well-done." Riimack's voice came over the radio, causing Taali to beam with pride. With no further threats, the 'dead' members of the flight climbed and formed up around the survivors for the remainder of the flight back to base.

"So, who got the highest kill count?" Taalli asked over the radio. "Apart from us." she added with a glance back at Bishop who was swinging his legs around to face forwards.

"Jeenik leads with four kills, I doubt the Sarg will let you claim Bishop's kills." Riimack said with a hint of sympathy in his voice, his blue eyes catching her look of disappointment. Deep down Taalli knew he was right, despite the unorthodox solution, she expected to receive an earful from the sergeant about not fighting like she should have.

"That's bullshit!" Called one of the other evacuation dragons. "I don't know about you, but I think we would have been fucked without that play." He called out, causing Taalli's chest to swell with appreciation. Glancing around to the other dragons, she saw that they were all looking at her in admiration as they made their descent down to the academy.

Flaring her wings to scrub off her speed, Taalli landed with a trot and slowed down to a stop. Looking around the academy, she saw the rest of the flight landing and letting their injured soldiers dismount and untether themselves from their harnesses. Those that were struggling received help from Bravo flight, their previous hostilities towards one another dying with the exercise.

Taalli saw the drill sergeant watching her with a focused gaze, her chest tightening as Jeenik was already debriefing the sergeant with what happened. Taali lowered herself down to the ground to let Bishop slide off, his thanks going unheard by her as she watched the sergeant swiftly approach.

"Cadet Taalli!" Barked the sergeant, the whole flight's attention shifting to the sergeant. "Am I to understand that you failed to make a kill, again!?" She asked.

Riimack's silver form sliding through the flight as he made his way towards the pair. "Ma'am, cadet Taalli showed fine leadership against overwhelming-'

The drill sergeant's gaze didn't waver from Taalli's as she talked over him, "cadet Riimack! You will speak only when spoken to!" She shouted before snapping her head to focus on the silver dragon. "And no one was fucking speaking to you." She added with a snarl that caused the large silver to sit to attention and close his mouth.

"Ma'am, with the assistance of my rider we were ab-"

"My point exactly, with the assistance of!" The sergeant shouted, getting close to the orange dragoness, her lip curled back in a snarl. "You didn't even try, did you?" She said, her words driving into Taalli like talons, the orange dragoness remained staring ahead while the drill sergeant continued. "If you think that you are going to pass graduation without pulling your claws out of your ass, you have another thing coming."

"Understood ma'am." Taalli said with a sigh.

"And you smell like shit." She added as the scent of Bishop's vomit stung her nostrils. Turning to the flight she bellowed, "because you all seem so content with doing the killing for cadet Taalli here," she said and glared at Riimack, "you can all do the kill while cadet Taalli gets herself cleaned up." She said and glared at the orange dragoness.

Taalli swallowed as the flight rolled their eyes and moved towards the supply shed to collect their rocket launchers and begin the exercise. "Cadet Taalli. Get to the showers and think about what your flight is doing for you."

"Yes ma'am" Taalli said reluctantly and quickly marched herself across the assembly area towards the shower block.

As the cadets collected their launchers and took to the skies, Jeenik watched as Taalli was sent towards the showers, alone. Her assigned at4 strapped to her harness.

Blinking rapidly, he passed the last dragon a launcher and stumbled his way towards the sergeant. "Ma'am, I seem to have paint in my eyes. Permission to seek first aid." He said, predicting her answer.

"Its water based you fuck wit." The sergeant said firmly, looking at the dragon she could see most of his face was covered in blue paint and sighed, "Go wash it out."

She watched as Jeenik made his way to the shower block, her gaze focused and a frown pulling at her face as she saw his tail twitch in excitement as he headed to the shower block. Her mind torn, while having the pair unsupervised in the showers could be risky, it was time Taalli learnt that she wouldn't have the flight to fight her battles.

Jeenik's smile broadened as he stepped into the shower block, the sounds of rushing water masking his entrance. The sight of the orange dragoness under the shower head, streams of water running off her wings with her back to him making his slit tighten.

With a tail he closed the door and approached quietly, wings mantled and ready to pounce.