FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Sorry, Teba?" Luke asked unsurely, while gently shaking the paw in his hand, conscious of the sharp, painted talons she had at the end of each digit.

The dragoness shook her head with a smirk. "No-no-no, Teeba. Like a cup of tea, then a bar," she explained as she withdrew her paw and placed it back on the ground. "Some say it's a great night out," she added, her smile wavering as she remembered her ex's words.

"Tea-bar. Well, ma'am, that's easy to remember. Okay, now I get your gamer tag," he chuckled as he realized the meaning behind Flying_Tea_404, or at least two-thirds of it.

"Ma'am?" Teeba snorted and saw his cheeks redden. "I ain't no ma'am… sir," she retorted with a playful smile. As she sat on her haunches, her eyes flicked up and down Luke's body. Being of average height he held himself with an upright posture although she noticed her shoulders were level with his. Remembering what he had said about working in irrigation and plumbing, she noticed how tanned his skin was and how his hands were rougher than those of her former colleagues at Drag'n'drop.

"Sorry, 'ness then? Do I call you 'ness?" Luke asked politely, while brushing his hand against his worn blue jeans.

"Pfft, no! Just Teeba, please," she laughed. "You really haven't hung out with dragons, have you?"

Waving a hand dismissively, Luke chuckled. "Nah. I've worked with a couple, but they were kinda… different," he said cryptically. "It's just a surprise is all. I had a picture in my head of what you might be like, and it wasn't…" his words drifting off as he realized he was gesturing to her vaguely.

"A dragon?" Teeba said with a hint of dejection. "Gah, I should have said something. I'm sorry, maybe this was a bad idea," she added and with a flick of her tail, she curled the long appendage around her feet defensively.

"I-um- no, it's fine, really," Luke hastily said when he saw the sadness in her eyes, but was relieved when she smiled weakly. "I guess that's why you use a controller," he added and smiled with her.

"Yup!" Teeba said proudly. "Keyboards have their place. I can use a lot of macros for coding, but I would probably rage quit constantly if I had to use one for gaming."

Luke nodded, he knew they made larger ones for dragons, but the idea of her hunched over a human-sized one brought a smirk to his lips. "Really? I could never see you rage quitting," his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Oh, shut up," she chuckled and shuffled her large wings. "When you are used to winning, losing feels weird."

"Uh-huh," Luke smirked and shook his head. "Though, if they knew you were a dragon, they would probably be impressed," he added with a grin. "I don't think I've seen any dragons play as well as you do."

"Naww, thanks!" Teeba exclaimed happily. "You're sweet." Looking down at the man, she could see his cheeks redden slightly and watched as he averted his gaze, becoming fixated on her harness. "You like?" she asked, looping a digit through one of the straps that wrapped around her shoulders and down her front.

"Um, yeah. I like the purple." he said sheepishly, while admiring the lavender colored hexagonal pattern stitched into the straps, its shade similar to the dragoness' paws and tail.

"It lights up too!" she said with a giggle. "Not very bright, but there is some RGB in the piping."

Luke smiled, noticing the plastic tubes stitched into the edges of the harness, and cocked his head. "That's cool."

She could hear the confusion in his voice, but she found his politeness endearing. "It's for night flying mainly. So others can see me. It's not as bright as a nav light, but it sure beats carrying one on long flights," she explained.

"Oh, that makes sense. Though, I don't think many dragons carry lights out here. There isn’t enough traffic to worry about it," he said, suddenly aware he was explaining details of flying to a dragon.

Teeba nodded politely and shrugged. "They also look cool at night," she said with a smirk. "Which is like half the appeal."

"Of course, of course," Luke hastily agreed. Looking up at the dragoness' face, he felt his neck start to stiffen and found himself rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Well, did you say you needed to grab some things from the shops?" He asked, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to point towards the town center.

"Ah, yeah! But-um… have you had breakfast?" She asked with a weak smile.

"I have, yeah," Luke said, before realizing what she was saying. "But I could maybe go for a snack or early lunch sorta thing."

"Cool!" Teeba exclaimed merrily. "What's good here? I've only flown over the town a couple times."

"Oh, so you really only just moved here, huh?" He asked, seeing the cheeky smile pull at her lips until she was grinning from horn to horn.

Lowering her head slightly to be closer to his eye level, she looked onto his green eyes before bashfully averting her gaze to his shirt buttons. “Yeah, I'm kinda new here,” she explained, before looking up again. “Care to show a city gal a good time?” She asked, trying to contain her amusement as he went bright red.

“I, um…” Luke stammered. “What?”

Teeba coiled her neck back and roared with laughter at his stunned expression. “I'm kidding, oh my god!” She laughed. “C’mon, man, I'm hungry! Let's get something to eat!”

Luke nervously chuckled at her antics. While he had been on the receiving end of a few pranks by dragons before, they always took him by surprise. “Um, okay. There's the tavern at the other end of town; they have a section for dragons.”

“Awesome! Sounds like I'll fit in,” Teeba joked, getting to her feet. “They serve humans too, right?”

“Of course!” Luke said with a smile at her bubbly enthusiasm. “So, have you been in town at all?” he asked, surprised when she shook her head. “How long have you been here?”

Teeba shrugged as they began walking down the footpath towards the center of town. “Um, a few weeks now. Some friends helped me move, and we did a big shop while in the city,” she explained, remembering how there hadn’t been much that survived the blaze in her apartment. Her friends Geevin and Ben had let her share their bed while she had gone through the arduous process of purchasing her new home and buying all new furniture. She hadn't been keen to put her new address on any deliveries, and Ben's van was a lifesaver for getting things moved over to the new place.

“That's nice of them,” Luke remarked, walking closer to her to give other pedestrians room. “They live in the city too?”

“Yeah, they share an apartment near the center of the city,” she explained. “What about you? You got many friends here?”

Luke rocked his head from side to side. “Most of my friends have moved into the city; not much to do out here if you ain't into farming. I had to come back after my dad busted his back.”

“Oh no, what happened?”

“He's okay. He was trying to shift a drum of irrigation hose by himself, and it chose violence,” Luke explained. As the path became narrower near the shops, he walked ahead of Teeba so they would take up less room. “But bills still need to be paid, and it was kind of lucky timing as I was about to renew my contract. So I came back home and took over the show.”

Teeba smiled warmly and nodded while listening. “Do you enjoy it? Doing irrigation, I mean.” As they passed a series of shops, Teeba noticed that there were dragons waiting outside some of the shops for a human staff member to emerge with a grocery bag of goods for the dragon. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that many of the stores had a sign forbidding dragons from coming inside.

“It's honest work,” Luke remarked, “and for the most part, it's pretty straightforward. Lots of digging trenches and laying pipe, so it keeps me busy.”

Teeba snorted in amusement at a thought, before shaking her head to push it away. “And I guess lots of fresh air and sunshine.” Looking down she could see down the back of his collar and noticed a tan line. “Do many dragons do what you do?”

“My dad tried to hire some for a while, but wasn't happy with their work. Why? Are you wanting a job?” Luke said while looking up at her face.

“Oh gods no!” Teeba said, before quickly clearing her throat. “I mean, sorry, no offense. But it sounds like too much hard work for me.”

“It's all good, it's not for everyone,” Luke said dismissively, “The call outs at 2 am in the morning can be rough, but they bring in the big bucks.”

“They happen often?”

“More than you would think. Sometimes a cutoff valve fails or someone crushes a pipe with a tractor. Once upon a time, a lot of the farmers would just fix it themselves. But nowadays the properties are owned by big companies who want a ‘trained professional’ to do the work,” he said with a grin, “and that's where I come in.”

Teeba smiled politely and nodded. Her mouth suddenly began watering as a delightful scent wafted down the street, the smell was a mix of sweet honey and cooked meats. Looking ahead, she could see their destination. While the building was made to look rustic and charming, it was clearly a new construction that had been designed that way. Featuring red bricks and iron beams supporting the two-story building, the restaurant was clearly designed to accommodate dragons, with its large windows and doors. The establishment even had a dedicated landing zone marked out the front and a name that made her chuckle.

Hearing her chuckle, he followed her gaze and smiled. “Oh, this place sure did cause a stir when the sign went up. People didn't know what it was going to be.”

“The Drag-inn. I guess that could mean a few things. It smells great though.”

"Oh, it does, doesn't it? I heard they have fans that exhaust the kitchen smells down the street to attract customers. But to be honest, they are the only place that lets dragons dine in, so it gets pretty popular," Luke said, and together they approached the front door that was propped open.

Stepping inside, Teeba found herself mesmerized by the charm of the decor. Antiques of various levels of authenticity hung from the walls and pillars that supported the high ceiling. While the exterior of the building made it appear as two stories, it was only a facade for the vaulted ceiling that allowed even the largest dragon to rear up without touching the ceiling. Music played through the various speakers that were hidden in the roof, and Teeba found her head softly bobbing to the familiar country rock music.

“Did you want to sit inside or out?” Luke asked, having to raise his voice slightly over the noise of the many dragons that were chatting and lounging inside. The amber light of the countless oil lanterns around the space cast her in a warm glow, and he found himself staring at the way they reflected off of her gray scales. While actually electric lights, they made the place feel old, cozy, and inviting.

Teeba scanned the countless dragons that lay on cushions scattered across the floor of the restaurant. Many of them glanced in her direction, their gruff expressions clearly judging her dainty features. “Um, I don't know. This is nice, but it's a little loud. What's outside?” She asked and moved closer to Luke.

“It's like a garden sorta thing, want to try that?” He suggested and gestured for her to follow him when she nodded.

Walking through the restaurant, her polished claws tapped gently against the worn timber floors. Despite the building being new, it was clear that many claws had chewed up the flooring. Following her friend, Teeba stepped outside and into a walled-off garden; instantly, the noise of the restaurant faded and she found herself more at ease. In the center of the space rose a tall water fountain, its gray concrete form adorned with crude images of fish and dragons. Around the perimeter wall were a dozen or so cozy nooks with timber partitions to allow guests some privacy.

“What do you think?” Luke asked the dragoness and felt relieved when she nodded in approval. “How about over here?” He suggested and gestured to a quiet nook with a large cushion for her to lay on.

“Perfect!” She replied happily and walked with him, giggling as he gestured for her to enter first and get comfortable while he fetched himself a cushion of his own from a stack nearby.

“I won't lie, I think I've only really come here once or twice,” Luke explained while dropping his cushion across from hers. “It used to be a bit of a seedy place, but it burned down a few years ago and this replaced it.”

Stepping onto the cushion, Teeba’s nose twitched at some of the smells and she frowned. Sitting with her haunches on the grass, she used her front paws to flip the cushion over before inspecting it for stains. Satisfied, she stepped onto the clean side before lying down with her front paws crossed and hind legs sprawled to the side. “So, what does someone like Luke do for fun around here?” she asked with a playful grin.

“Play video games?” He laughed and looked up at her face. “I’m sorry, it's still weird hearing your voice. I really thought you were a woman.”

“Sorry again, I probably should have said something sooner. It's just you never know who people are online.”

“Like a dragoness?” He said with a smirk and laughed when she smiled sheepishly. “It's fine, really. I just really didn't know.”

“Yeah, still. I just don't like advertising that I'm a dragoness online, you get some weird creeps out there that say all sorts of random shit." She explained, remembering some of the toxic remarks players had made when she was discovered and how many others would go out of their way to agree with her in order to try to somehow win her favor.

Luke nodded, “It's all good, I totally understand. I guess you are doing a great job at hiding it, I never worked it out.”

“Thanks. But it's good to finally meet you in person, Luke. And it's also great to know I'm not alone here.” She said warmly and smiled when a waiter came into view with a pair of menus.

“Luke?” asked the waiter before glancing to the gray dragoness and back to the man. “Haven't seen ya in ages man!”

Luke's eyes widened in recognition. “Jimmy, hi! Yeah, it's been a while hasn't it, I don't think I've seen you since school.”

“Yeah man, it's been a while.” Jimmy replied before smiling at Teeba. “Does your father know you are hanging around with this stunning dragoness?” he added with a friendly wink as she grinned happily.

“Oh, ah, no! Sorry, this is Teeba, my friend.” Luke hastily corrected while putting a strong emphasis on the word friend. “She just moved here.”

“Well, it's great to meet ya Teeba. Welcome to the Drag-inn and Crestmead.” Jimmy replied, while holding eye contact with the dragoness. “We have a variety of events on, throughout the week, but forewarning, things get a bit wild on Thursdays.”

"Oh really? I'll keep that in mind," Teeba smiled, trying to imagine what the country version of ‘wild’ was. Having spent her fair share of nights in the city’s many nightclubs and bars, she was no stranger to a fun night out.

Turning back to Luke, Jimmy passed the second menu to the man. “Also, good to see you got back from your last tour in one piece. Your ma told mine that things got pretty ugly.”

Luke nodded and accepted the menu. “Thanks Jim, it's good to be back home.”

“Well, I'll be back in a few to take your order. But if you would like something to drink, nothing but cool filtered water comes from the fountain,” Jimmy said with a glance to Teeba and a gesture to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. With a polite nod, the waiter left the pair alone and disappeared back into the building.

Looking at the horns and roses T-shirt Luke wore and thinking back to arguments they had had over music tastes, Teeba started to piece together an image of him in a band and going on tours. “So, what instrument do you play?”

Luke cocked his head in confusion at her question. “Um- I kinda know how to play the bass, but it's been a while. Why's that?”

“Oh, I just think that's kinda neat! Gotta have hobbies, right?” Teeba said merrily. “Growing up, my father always wanted me to play the horn flute; they were always classical like that. After a year though, my teacher agreed that maybe I was better suited to another instrument.” She could remember the expression on her mentor's face, as she tried again and again to create anything but shrill whistles from the ivory instrument.

Luke was still confused at the sudden change of topic but assumed it must be something she was passionate about. “Horn flute? Now that is a rare instrument. Aren't they like, really expensive?” Luke asked. He had seen pictures of them. Traditionally, each one was made from the horn of a dragon, and even then, only ones of a certain shape were ideal for making music. However, in modern days, synthetic ones had been produced, although purists would claim that the originals created a richer note.

“Oh well, yeah,” Teeba said sheepishly while fidgeting with her purple paws. “My great-grandfather taught himself how to play, and his horn has been passed down all the way to my father. But I think it may need to skip a generation.”

“It wasn't synthetic, was it? It was actually made of a dragon’s horn?” Luke asked, the menu in his hand completely forgotten as the dragoness nodded. “Isn't that kinda weird? Like, blowing into a part of a dead dragon.”

"Eh, a lot of instruments are a bit messed up if you think about it. Like whoever invented bagpipes was a very troubled lad," Teeba joked and laughed along with Luke. "But, in all honesty. Yeah, it's kinda weird if you think about it. The one I used was made from my great grandsire’s horn when he broke it in an accident, but most others do have pretty messed up pasts."

Luke chuckled and looked down at the menu before smiling broadly. “Well, your folks are probably proud that you ended up learning the keyboard instead," he said, remembering she did some sort of programming for work.

Teeba frowned and cocked her head as she contemplated his joke before she snorted with laughter. “Ayoo! Sorry, took me a moment." She giggled, her sides vibrating and the tip of her tail twitching in amusement. "Yeah, for some reason my folks are not awfully yay’d about me doing programming and not something wanky like being in city planning like them."

“Your folks are city planners?” Luke asked, in Crestmead it was rare that a dragon would receive an education, let alone be qualified for such a role as working for the city.

“Trust me, it isn't as cool as it sounds. They mostly just let developers wine and dine them followed by rubber stamping their plans. That sorta thing,” she said nonchalantly while looking down at the menu between her forepaws. “Although I guess we both worked with developers if you think about it, so we have that in common.”

“You get along with your folks?” Luke asked while browsing the menu, the various items all listing different prices for human-sized meals and ones for dragons.

Shrugging, Teeba continued to scan the menu. “Well enough, yeah. You?”

“For the most part, my father is retired and my mom still helps me with the admin side of the business,” Luke said and glanced up at her to judge her reaction.

“That's cool,” she mused, “Ooo, they do spicy noodles!” She added cheerfully and held one page between her digits to compare items from either side. “I haven't had a decent spicy noodle soup in like…” her words drifted off as she counted back to the day she had to leave her apartment. “… Ages.” She added softly.

“You like spicy food, do you?” Luke asked and smiled at the sight of her unfocused gaze. “I don't mind a little bit of kick, but just not enough to ruin the next day.”

With a quick shake of her head she buried the memory of the smell of smoke and smiled. “Oh, well, us dragons are built different. If it's not making your throat burn, is it even hot?”

“I'm sure there is a joke about breathing fire, but I'm not going to make it,” he said with a smirk at the dragoness. Despite the stereotype, it was very rare for dragons to have developed fire glands. During their dark history it was common for a dragon's master to have the glands removed or selectively breed those that didn't have them to ensure an easier to train product.

“Oh please don't! Speciecist humor is just such a…. Drag.” Teeba laughed.

Shaking his head while laughing until he finally composed himself, “Oh my good ‘ness.” He said with a wink and a chuckle as she groaned dramatically.

---

"Okay, that hit the spot," Luke mused with a pat on his belly as Jimmy came back around with the bill on a small black plate.

"I've got this," Teeba said while lifting a flap on the front pouch of her harness. Her polished claws fished around inside to find a collection of notes she carried with her at all times.

"Nah, it's okay, you don't have to," Luke said quickly when the waiter glanced at him. "I can pay for—" but was interrupted before he could say "mine."

"Luke, please, I ate way more than you," she interrupted and placed a few bills down that would more than cover their meals and enough for a hefty tip. "Besides, the guy paying is only for dates."

"Okay, fair," he said with a small smile and nodded to Jimmy, who then turned and left with their bill and payment.

Once the waiter was out of sight, Teeba leaned closer to Luke, "So, how do you know him, Jimmy I mean?"

"Oh, we went to school together. Same grade, but not exactly a friend," Luke explained.

"Like a bully?"

"Nah, not like that. He was just a bit… weird."

Teeba frowned and looked back towards the restaurant. "Weird how? He seems pretty normal."

Luke cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. "Well, he kinda has a thing for 'nesses."

Teeba cocked her head in confusion. "And?"

Waving a hand, Luke shook his head. "Sorry, it's probably different in the city. But out here, that's kinda frowned upon."

"Wait… what?" Teeba said with a nervous chuckle and tried to read his expression for any hints of a joke. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah, mixed couples are really frowned upon," Luke said and lifted his glass to drink the last of the melted ice.

"But it's legal," she said flatly.

Luke shrugged. "Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, there are couples here that are together. But things are a bit more traditional out here," he said, noticing the pained expression in her eyes. "But hey, it's not just the people who think that, most of the dragons think like the old days."

"That's crazy," Teeba mused with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Growing up, she knew of some family friends that had insisted their daughter find a drake and had heard rumors of what happened when she brought a human home. But she had thought that it was just because they were psychotic and wealthy. The idea of most of the town sharing the same draconian ideals made her wings tighten against her body.

"You good?" Luke asked, noticing her tense jaw .

Blinking, she looked down at the man and forced a smile. "Um... yeah. I guess it may take a while for me to get used to country life."

Luke swallowed. "Oh, so wait, you like..." His words drifted off as his eyes widened. "Wait, this isn't a-"

"No-no-no!" Teeba flustered, her eyes going wide. "This is just a friend thing. Right?"

"Right! Yeah, just a friend thing," Luke agreed, looking around the courtyard to see if anyone else was watching. Satisfied that no one was paying them any attention, he nodded towards the town. "Shall we? I've got to get some groceries."

"Me too," Teeba said, rising to her feet. She let him exit their nook first and followed him across the courtyard and through the main building with enough distance to make it clear to the other patrons that they were not together. Looking at the other dragons lounging, she took note that all of them sat together with other dragons and despite the bar having some seating for humans, Jimmy and Luke were the only humans in the building.

Stepping out of the restaurant and into the street, they walked along the pavement until he noticed she had stopped and turned to see the dragoness reading one of the posters that hung on the exterior of the restaurant. "Problem?"

Turning her head, she smiled. "Nah, just saw that on Thursday nights, 'nesses drink free," she explained and nodded to the poster.

Following her gaze, Luke's cheeks became flushed as he read the name. "Oh, um. I don't know if that's your kinda night," he said and nodded for her to give it a second read.

"What? Free alcohol is always..." Teeba retorted while re-reading the poster, her words drifting off as she saw the title. "Wait, that doesn't mean what I think it does. Does it?"

"Yeah, um. Tails up Thursday, I think, has been responsible for most of the eggs in this town," he said in embarrassment. "It was a bit of a meme in the farming community, even before this place was built. The trucks would come Thursdays to take produce to the cities, and the dragons used to... celebrate," he explained while becoming focused on a bit of dirt under his fingernails.

"I guess that's one way to motivate the workers," Teeba chuckled and returned to Luke's side. "Maybe I'll check it out sometime if dudes are off the menu," she mused and grinned when his jaw dropped. "I'm kidding! God, it's funny how human skin does that."

"Hey, shut up, your snout scales darken when you're embarrassed too!" Luke retorted playfully. "So don't be going all high and mighty on me."

"High and mighty?" Teeba laughed and stretched her neck up as high as she could and mantled her wings. "I am high and mighty!" she retorted loudly with a broad smile. Her grin wavering and wings tucking back close to her body as she caught the attention of a male dragon across the road.

Luke, oblivious to the exchange, chuckled at the large dragoness. "Well then, mighty dragon, it's time to spend some of your hoard, if you still want to do some shopping, that is."

"Yus!" Teeba replied cheerfully and forced a smile despite the drake across the road still staring at her. "Food followed by shopping, Maybe you and Jimmy have something in common.” She said and paused for him to look confused before finally giggling. “You do know how to show a 'ness a good time," she joked and laughed as he shook his head while blushing.

As they walked past a few stores, she looked into the windows and took in the sight of their wares. Each store had a name that she didn't recognize; it seemed that this small town was not worth the attention of large chains. However, as they passed a hardware store and a drug store, Teeba saw the signs forbidding dragons from entering and cocked her head. "Okay, I've got to ask. What's with all the no dragon signs? Isn't it kinda illegal now to ban dragons from stores?"

Luke frowned and saw the signs she was referring to. "Oh, right... um, yeah," he said while scratching his neck. "A lot of these buildings are quite old and were not built with dragons in mind."

"But we ain't exactly new, right? So why were they built if they aren't suitable for dragons?"

Luke rocked his head from side to side as he tried to find the right words. "Well, when they were built, it would have been expensive to build them large enough for dragons to walk down the aisles, and back then dragons would just have a shopping list from their... ah... farm owners," he explained and glanced at her face to try and read her reaction.

"You mean their owners," Teeba said sadly before seeing the guilty look on his face. "Glad we don't do that anymore!" she said cheerfully to try and bring the mood back. "Now I guess we have little human servants that fetch our shopping!"

"Oh, how the tables have turned!" Luke laughed, glad that she was able to make light of a dark tradition. "But places like the bakery and the butchers have been refitted to allow a couple of dragons to come inside."

"Well, food is important for us dragons," she said as she looked into the window of a clothes shop and smirked at the dresses. Their muted colors and frilled hems made their racks a drab sea of pastel yellows and greens. "Dresses, less so."

"Oh, what? You don't want a frilly dress? We can ask if they have your size," he asked sarcastically and laughed with her.

"Nah, stuff that, I much prefer my harness," she said while puffing her chest out to display her harness. "It has pockets!" she added with a skip in her step and rocked her folded wings as she walked.

Luke found himself smiling at her attitude, the bubbly personality she had online turning out to be almost comedic in real life. "Oh, what did you need to buy, by the way?" he asked as they approached the town's general store.

"Oh, um, I do actually have a list. Only because I would forget something if I didn't," Teeba said, as she slowed to a stop and sat down on the pavement. Tucking her tail around her feet, she stayed close against the shopfront to keep out of the way and lifted a forepaw to look at the tablet she had strapped to her wrist. "Can I send it to you?"

Luke nodded and couldn't help but notice the background she had set on her tablet. A picture of herself standing in a deliberately majestic pose along with a small sky blue hatchling mimicking her. The pair both stood with their necks curved in a graceful S shape with wings partially lifted to reveal their bodies' slender profile. Both of them, however, had broad grins on their snouts, clearly not taking the moment seriously. As far as he knew, she didn't have offspring and before she had opened up her notes app, he realized that the little dragon’s colors didn't match hers and it even had a crimson neck frill which she lacked.

Teeba’s claws danced on the screen as she selected the text and copied it to another app. The speed at which she worked her tablet with two claws surprised him and he chuckled when he realized she could probably type faster than he could. With a swish sound from her tablet and a ding from his phone, he received her list and scanned the items.

"Do you want cash now, or afterwards?" Teeba asked, unsure of the etiquette.

"Let me grab the stuff first and make sure they have everything," Luke explained. "I'll be right back." With her list on his phone, he stepped inside and went to pick up a basket before realizing he needed to get groceries for himself, his parents, and her. He decided to use a cart instead. The dragoness was clearly running low on almost all the essentials as her list was long, and he began the search for everything she needed.

Going down the narrow aisles one by one, he was grateful that she had organized her list in an order similar to the layout of most stores. Alternating between her shopping list and his own, he collected everything and tried to organize his cart so that their items didn't get mixed in with one another.

Scrolling down her list, he frowned as he saw a collection of items he was unfamiliar with. “Paw balm, horn whitening cream, and scale shine…” he muttered to himself and looked at the aisle of products he never would have thought of buying before. He blinked a few times at the choices in front of him; many of the boxes looked almost identical with large text and an image of a dragon. The key difference being that the dragon model was posed differently to emphasize which part of their body the product was meant for.

As he added the items to his cart, he paused as he reached the boxes of horn whitening cream. While almost identical, an additional label had been added to indicate each one's color. “Iconic ivory, Lavish lace, Alabaster awe, or pearly points…” he muttered while holding the boxes together to compare them. “Why are there so many whites…” If he focused hard on the color swatch, he could just make out a difference in shade, but their similarities were uncanny. Placing them all back on the shelf, he pulled out his phone and checked to see if she specified before glancing down the aisle towards the front window of the shop and to the dragoness outside. Teeba was still sitting patiently, and he found himself staring at her horns to try and determine what shade she must be using. One by one, he held the boxes up in the air and tried to match the color on the swatch with the color of her horns, but realized that she may be wanting the cream to lighten her horns and sighed. Finally accepting defeat, he opened the camera app on his phone and took a photo of their range to send it to her.

"Pearly Points it is," he announced to himself when he saw her reply. Tossing it into the cart, he walked down the aisle and saw her smiling face through the window at the end of the store. Clearly, she found his confusion amusing. With a smile and a shake of his head, he rounded the corner and collected the last few items before heading to the register for the clerk to begin ringing up his order.

Luke waited until her order was bagged and processed before stepping out and collecting cash from the dragoness. Emerging once again from the store with his hands full of bulging shopping bags, he came over to her and placed them down on the pavement. "Are you sure you are okay carrying all these?" he asked as he began to sort which of the bags were hers and which were his.

"Oh, please. Just 'cause I'm from the city doesn't mean I couldn't carry them with you on my back," she retorted. "But, can you tie off the handles so they don't spill?" She asked and sat upright while fumbling for a series of small lengths of Velcro on the sides of her harness. Each length could be wrapped around itself to secure a shopping bag or tucked inside the strap of the harness when not in use.

Luke nodded and began knotting the bags' handles together before helping her secure them to her harness. Being so close to her, he could see the stark difference in her body compared to the dragons he had worked with. Her gray scales were incredibly glossy, smooth, and clean without a chip, fracture or scar to be seen. As he picked up a heavier bag, he shifted around to her other side and secured it to a loop closest to her shoulders.

"You’ve done this before, haven't you?" Teeba remarked, once he had finished with the last bag. Rolling her shoulders, she could feel the weight evenly distributed across both sides and most of their mass close to her wing arms.

"Sorry, you're not my first," Luke said with a wink and picked up his bags of groceries from the ground.

"Oh reeeeeally?" Teeba exclaimed and got to her feet. "And I got the impression you were a country bumpkin who hated dragons. Now I'm curious, who was the first dragon you helped with their harness?"

Luke's smile faded as he remembered the few times he had helped a dragon with their harness when they were unable to do it themselves. "Hey, first of all, it's not that I hate dragons. It's just I didn't expect you to be one, okay?" he retorted as they made their way down the main street towards where he parked his truck.

"Oh? So you DO like us dragons then? That would explain why Dragnought is your go-to in Riderfall." She teased and saw him glance over his shoulder at her. "It's okay to like her. She def has that dommy mommy energy—"

"That is not why I play her!" Luke retorted while his cheeks burned and spun on his heel to face her. "She just has the best abilities."

"You mean, she totes needs balancing." Teeba teased and poked her tongue out at the man.

"Says the Koba main, that kobold has the smallest hitbox in the game!"

"She also is the one with the least amount of health!" Teeba quickly replied with a grin. "Dragnought is just a fire and forget hero. No skill needed." She lied and laughed when he went to retort, but realized she wasn't serious.

"I think I preferred you when you were just a voice in my headset." Luke said in mock offense.

"Oh, because now I'm a big scary dragoness, you can't push me around like a woman." She teased and smiled broadly to ensure he knew she wasn't being serious.

"No! I mean that I could just mute you then." He retorted quickly. "And besides, you ain't that scary." He added while looking up at her.

"Oh, I've heard I can be scary." Teeba said before lifting her lips and opening her mouth into a semi-snarl. She held the expression for a moment before Luke just laughed.

"Sorry, Tea, you're gonna have to be scarier than that to scare me," he replied and stepped closer to the side of the road where his truck was parked.

"Well, I could pick you up and take you flying. See how tough you are then!" Teeba threatened and glanced down at the sign on the side of the white pickup truck.

"Please don't!" Luke laughed and lifted his bags of groceries into the bed of the truck. "I like my feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much."

"Fine. But one day I'll just see you working in a field, fixing a pump or something, and I'll swoop down to pick you up." She grinned and laughed as his face became pale.

"Please don't. Human plucking is not cool," he replied, aware of the practice that many young adult dragons would do after drinking too much. Like cow-tipping for humans, their goal was never to cause any harm and they would always put their prey down again safely once the screaming had stopped.

"Live in fear then," she said with a sinister smile before laughing with him. "Oh, I'm glad that you live here, Luke. I was starting to think I had made a mistake moving out here," she added once she had composed herself.

Sensing the end of their meeting, he nodded. "Yeah, it was good to finally put a face to a name," he replied and ran his fingers through his short hair. "Even if their face had horns."

"Bleached horns!" Teeba retorted and rocked her head to emphasize their length. "I put a lot of effort into these bad boys, thank you very much."

"And don't they just look wonderful," he said with a hint of sarcasm that made her chuckle. "So I guess I'll see you online?" he asked and retrieved his truck's keys.

"Yup! With my scores just above yours!"

---

Luke had a smirk on his lips for the entire journey home; his day with Teeba had made him feel strange and somewhat giddy. As he threw his truck into park and stepped out, he wanted to run upstairs to get back online and continue their conversations like he was a teen once again. Despite being a dragoness, he found her playful antics infectious and in complete contrast to the gruff dragons that lived in Crestmead.

Collecting the few cans of food that had escaped from their plastic confines, he hauled the shopping bags out of his truck’s bed and headed towards his parents' house. While the paint was faded and some areas of the tin roof was starting to rust, the old two-story house was still home.

With a long driveway leading up to the house and his father always home, the front door was never locked and he used a bag-filled fist to open it. Stepping inside, he could smell his mother cooking something with the radio on and announced his arrival, “Got the shopping!”

“About damn time,” his mother scolded. “What took you so long? I needed those beans for the casserole.” She added and waited for him to place the bags on the kitchen counter before she began to search the bags.

“Hey, you should have said something,” Luke replied and began unpacking the groceries. “I met up with a friend for brunch.”

“For brunch?” His mother replied with a raised eyebrow. “With who-”

“What sort of sissy shit is brunch?” came a deep voice from the living room along with the telltale click of a cane against the tiled floor as his father entered the kitchen. The man's mane of gray wispy hair was a complete contrast to Luke's close-cropped cut. Despite sharing the same eyes as Luke, his face was worn and wrinkled from decades in the harsh sun. “We didn't break our backs raising no soft-handed bimbo-”

“Oh, thanks for getting the groceries Luke - that's fine, mom, it was no problem,” Luke replied in a mocking voice as he played out an alternate version of their conversation. “And thanks for dropping everything to come back and not let my business crumble to the ground - that's okay, dad.”

“Don't use that tone with us, boy,” his father snarled. “You should be grateful for what we have given you.”

He glared at his father, but saw the rage building in the old man and his mother now aggressively washing the dishes. Luke sighed and threw up his hands in defeat. “Forget it, you can unpack it all then,” he said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fistful of change and receipts and dropping them on the table. “If that's the sort of reception I'm gonna get, I'll be in my room.”

Before his parents could retort, he left the room and climbed the stairs two at a time. “I'm almost thirty. I'm not your boy anymore.” He muttered under his breath. “Hell, if I didn't come back, you would have lost the house. You ungrateful…” He added, as he opened his bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him.

---

The sun was setting when Luke heard a remorseful knock on his bedroom door. Lifting one side of his headset off of his head, he took a deep breath and looked towards the door. “What?”

Opening the door, his mother stepped in with something in her hand. “Dinner is ready,” she said, but by her tone, she had something more to say.

“Alright, I'll be down in a sec.” He replied. With Teeba still offline, he was playing a single-player game that could be paused, but didn't want to follow his mother in a subtle act of defiance.

“Also, your father didn't see this,but your friend may want it.” She said and placed a large metal tin of paw balm down on his computer desk. The size of a small plate, the metallic container had a picture of a dragoness model on its label, exposing her paws to the camera to show their plump, smooth toe beans.

Luke's eyes went wide at the realization and looked in shock at his mother. “That's not-”

“It's okay, honey.” His mother said with a small smile. “You can have dragon friends. Just… promise me you won't be like one of them… tail chasers.”

Luke found himself shaking his head, “I promise, it's not like that. She is just a friend.” He said and saw her lip twitch in a mixture of relief and trepidation at the thought of the dragon being just a friend, but also being female.

“Well, that’s a relief.” She said and turned around. “It's on the table, don't let it go cold.”