FSE

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Taalli felt like she had just finally found herself calm enough to sleep when Feerah gently nudged her awake with a wing. "Come on princess. Big day today."

Taalli blinked her eyes open and saw the morning sun starting to shine through the window above Shane's bed. Looking up at Feerah she noticed droplets of water on the black dragoness' scales and concluded that the older dragoness must have snuck off to the shower prior to waking her. Nodding slowly, Taalli stretched her back legs and began to get up. Realizing she had slept with her harness on, she adjusted the straps and tucked the plastic container of pills Feerah had given her into a pouch, so they were within easy reach.

Rolling to her feet she stepped off the bed and followed Feerah out of the dorm and then outside to begin the morning ritual of breakfast in the mess hall.

"Where is Shane? He didn't come back last night, did he?"

Feerah shrugged, "he said he was going to tent it with his boys. Some squads do everything together." She mused quietly as they walked past the rows and rows of tents.

As they passed, Taalli got a good look at what field accommodation would look like if she deployed. Each squad seemed to share a single square shaped tent for sleeping, the squads that included a dragon that would have a second tent attached which seemed to be used by their dragon and also used as an area to store packs and maintain gear.

Taalli gave a polite nod to a dragon in one squad who was timing the humans as they stripped and reassembled their rifles. The human's deft hands quickly knocking pins out of their rifles to start a disassembly in a rhythm that was almost musical.

Meanwhile in the tent next door, a squad were laughing at a lewd joke their dragon squadmate had just told. Feerah saw Taalli observing and smirked.

"Ladies! Well, hello there!" Called a dark burgundy coloured drake from the next tent while the rest of his squad worked on a Humvee. "You look a little lost, but you found me!" He added with a grin.

Feerah noticed Taalli stiffening and gave the orange 'ness a wink before turning to face the drake and slowly padding her way over to him. Every step she swung her tail wide and held her head proudly.

Taalli watched as the drake suddenly swallowed and sat up straighter as the black dragoness prowled towards him. He opened his mouth to speak but Feerah cut him off, "hmm, let me see. Big strong hips, great for pounding my cunt with your hopefully decent size dick, ram horns that are begging for me to hold while you eat me out." She said in a low sultry voice while looking the excited drake up and down like a piece of meat. "But, not too bright, are you?" She added with a smile, leaning her head close to his she whispered so only he could hear. "Pathfinders don't get lost, sweetie." She teased and pulled her neck back in an elegant curve. She saw his eyes flick from her face to her harness where her patch was proudly on display.

"I-ah, I mean-"

"And I don't do fours." She said finally and turned around. She smiled at Taalli while walking back to her friend, deliberately rolling her hips as she walked before calling back over her shoulder, "and my friend doesn't do fours either."

Taalli shook her head with a smile as Feerah returned to her side. "A four?" Taalli asked once they were out of earshot of the dragon.

"Out of ten." Feerah said with a smirk. "He is going to be thinking about that for a while."

As they approached the mess hall, the sounds of banter and the clanking of knives and forks filled the air. Stepping into the large, vaulted ceiling mess hall, Taalli felt herself relaxing. Something about the chaos and noise made her feel safe, everyone distracted by their friends and not focusing on her gave her a sense of anonymity that relaxed her.

"Now this, this is what I call a target rich environment." Feerah said, raising her voice to be heard as she scanned the room and assessed the drakes one by one.

"Really? The drake last night didn't satisfy you?"

Feerah chuckled, "oh girl, even if I'm not hungry, I'm allowed to look at the menu." She said with a broad grin. As the pair lined up with others to receive their food, the black dragoness moved her head close to Taalli, so she didn't have to shout. "Alright, so forget Mike for a second. Fuck, father, forever. Who are your picks."

Taalli glanced ahead at the slow-moving line and sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to escape the question. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Tell me you went to a private school, without telling me you went to a private school." Feerah sighed. "Out of everyone in the room, who would you just fuck, who would you have father your child, and who would you want to spend forever with." She explained.

"Why wouldn't they all be the same?"

Feerah nudged her with a wing, "well, they could. But that's boring. Besides, look around and don't tell me there isn't someone here you would just like to fuck and be done with." She teased and looked over the crowd. "Let's see, oh, I've actually done Mr blue frill over there, easy seven out of ten, but not forever material." She mused and continued to scan.

Taalli shook her head and followed her gaze. Swallowing, she tried to push aside Mike for a moment and entertain the idea to pass the time. Credit where it was due, Feerah's comments about a target rich environment was no lie. Every dragon in the room was strong, fit and seemed to be enjoying themselves while chatting to their fellow soldiers.

"Riimack?" Taalli said aloud as she spotted the familiar face in the hall. His blue wings tucked close to his body as he sat with a few other dragons.

Feerah followed Taalli's gaze, "oh. Hello Mr Riimack." She said hungrily while looking up and down his strong muscular body across the mess hall.

"Hold my spot." Taalli said before leaving the line and walked over to her friend. As she walked, she saw Riimack glance at her and smile while holding a scoop of beans on a rasher of bacon.

"Riimack! What are you doing here?" Taalli exclaimed with genuine happiness evident in her voice.

Riimack chuckled, "same reason you are, I imagine." He said before munching down on the bacon and beans. Noticing the look from the white dragoness next to him he swallowed quickly. "Viina, this is Taalli, and vice-Viina." He said with a smile, earning a snort of laughter from the lithe dragoness beside him.

Taalli smiled in recognition and looked at Riimack with a twinkle in her eye. "You prat." She smiled before turning to Viina, "Riimack was my battle buddy in basic and made me feel safe, was kind of my knight in shining armor." She said proudly and saw the look of admiration in the white dragonesses' eyes as she looked at Riimack briefly.

"He does have the color for it." Viina mused and nudged his side with a wing.

"You're looking good Riimack, I'll- I'll see you out there, okay?" Taalli said as awkwardness started to settle over the three of them. Before he could respond she quickly turned and trotted back to Feerah who wore a broad grin on her snout.

Feerah waited until Taalli had returned back to her place in the queue before teasing. "Oh, and you think I'm the nest wrecker."

"Oi! He wasn't seeing anyone last time I saw him." Taalli retorted, and moved to Feerah's other side so she could glance over her shoulder to Riimack and Viina. "They look like highschoolers on their first date."

Feerah snorted a laugh but nodded when she glanced over and saw the large silver drake and white dragoness sitting closer together than others, but still awkwardly.

Feerah smirked, "that white 'ness, do you think her frill goes up or down when he makes her cum."

"Feerah!" Taalli exclaimed and nudged her hard with a wing. "That's my friend you're talking about."

"Oh, I'm sure he is just a friend." Feerah teased. "So, fuck, father forever? Where would he be." She asked and grinned, "if the white 'ness wasn't on the scene, if that makes you feel better."

Taalli shook her head and took a step forward when the queue moved. "Just a friend." She said simply.

"Friends can have benefits too." Feerah retorted and dodged Taalli's tail that swung playfully at her face.

The pair collected their food and walked awkwardly on three legs while holding their plates. Scanning the mess hall, they could see that seating was limited. Feerah's eyes narrowed and focused on a large, dark green dragon sitting with his unit, "found my seat. I'll catch you out there."

Taalli opened her mouth to retort but the black dragoness was already prowling towards the dark green drake. She watched as Feerah approached the dragon and caught fragments of her explaining that she does like a good sausage. Moments later the drake stood up to allow her to sit in his place while he then sat behind her.

Shaking her head at her friend's audacity she continued to look for a spare seat. Seeing the other dragons and humans talking together she found herself feeling isolated. Looking back over to Riimack she saw him offer some of his breakfast to Viina who refused but looked up at him with a smile.

Looking down at her plate of beans and bacon she contemplated trying to find a spot outside before she felt a tap on her wing. "Care to join us?" Shane asked.

Taalli smiled as she saw her battle buddy and nodded when he gestured to a table nearby. Shane took the plate from her so she could walk easier and led her to the table where a group of marines were sitting. Seeing the dragon and their captain approach they all shuffled to make room. "Oh… fuck." Muttered a familiar dark skin marine.

"Problem, Bishop?" Shane asked with a knowing smile.

"You!" Taalli exclaimed as Bishop tried to make himself busy with his plate. "You're the one that vomited all down my shoulder!"

"Hey, look, I'm really sorry about that." Bishop exclaimed while Shane placed her plate down across from the guilty Marine.

Taalli sighed and shook her head before sitting down. "Oh, you will be." She teased and looked around the table at the chuckling marines.

Taalli smiled and picked up a piece of bacon, "so how do you guys all know each other." She asked and looked around the table.

"This is my unit," Shane said proudly.

"We are a fine bunch of fucktards, rejects and last picks" one of the other marines said. "So, let us know if you fit in."

Taalli looked at the Marine and read his name tag, looking back at his face she smirked. "Joker, hey? So do I have to hide my crayons from you do I?" She teased, her grin broadening as the rest of the unit chuckled.

"Yes, that's Joker, you know Bishop already, and these two are Kodiak and Raider." Shane said and gestured to the two other members at the table.

"So, you all have cool callsigns, except you Shane?" Taalli asked and turned to look down at their leader.

"Oh, no. We call him Scarecrow." Joker explained while reaching to snatch a piece of bacon from Taalli's plate. As his hand came close to her plate he paused when he saw her eyes focus on him and lip twitch in a snarl, with a smirk he slowly retreated his hand.

"We only call him Scarecrow because he just stands around all day." Joker teased.

Taalli looked at Shane who just shook his head and smiled. "Well, Scarecrow it is then." Looking over to the Marine called Kodiak it was clear why he had earned the name, his thick neck and muscular hairy arms gave him an almost bear-like appearance.

Taalli cocked her head as she looked at the one called Raider. "So, why Raider?"

Joker chuckled, "he loves his video games, Tomb Raider, became Raider. And he smells like a gamer too."

Taalli chuckled and recalled a conversation with Mike. "So modern wingfare 2, you prefer the original or the remake?" She asked and smiled when the other Marines became slightly slack jawed.

"Original for sure." Raider said, his voice skeptical. "You play?"

Taalli could see the rest were waiting with bated breath, "eh, if I had more time."

"You like the new one, don't you?" He asked, clearly testing her to see if she was genuinely interested.

"Nah, original recipe for me, they kept adding new mechanics and features that kinda took away from the core game." Taalli said, recalling what Mike had told her about the game. She chuckled as she saw the Marines smile, "I'll take you all on one day, but only if you don't go bitching about aim assist." She added.

"Watch out Raider, you might start liking dragonesses one day." Joker teased and the rest burst out laughing. Looking down at her plate Taalli saw Scarecrow give her a subtle thumbs up.

Taalli smiled as the others shared stories and jokes while she ate her breakfast. Finding herself relaxing in their company and laughing along with Bishop's recounting of his first flight with Taalli, enjoying the memory of the Marine opening up on Jeenik with paintball rounds from his automatic weapon.

As she was finishing a bell rang out across the academy, and everyone in the mess hall began to rise from their tables. "Come on Zulu squad. Time to earn some money." Scarecrow announced.

"Do we know what the exercise is going to be?" Kodiak asked while collecting Taalli's plate so she could walk on four legs.

"I'm sure it's just a simple patrol." Joker chimed in. "A nice easy walk around the countryside, babes handing out water to us on the side of the road, or I guess handsome drakes for Taalli now."

"Sorry boys, Taalli already has a man." Scarecrow replied. "Ain't that right?"

Taalli's smile flickered, "yeah, something like that." She said softly and nodded in thanks to Kodiak who returned her plate to the kitchen.

Zulu squad and Taalli made their way with the rest of the soldiers out of the mess hall towards the assembly area. Looking around at the crowd, Taalli noticed that there were many different uniforms of different branches and concluded that the exercise they were about to partake in was going to be a diverse simulation.

"There you are!" Called Feerah as she came trotting up to Taalli and began walking alongside her. "I see you have made some new friends." She added and nodded in greeting to the members of Zulu squad.

Taalli looked surprised at the black dragoness "Oh, you're joining us? I thought you were going to hang out with that green drake."

Feerah shuddered dramatically as they took their places in the assembly area. "Oh no, he is into some weird shit! No thank you."

Taalli opened her mouth to ask what exactly was too weird for Feerah as an amplified voice came through large black speakers that dotted the assembly area. Looking towards the front, Taalli could see a high-ranking officer take to a small stage to address the soldiers.

The exercise seemed somewhat straightforward. One half would be attackers, the other defenders. Across the countryside "bases" had been set up for the defending team to hold, while the attackers would do their best to try and invade. Each base would include a coloured flare that would be ignited when the attacking team secured it, the simulation would be over when either one side was neutralized or if all bases were secured.

"This is going to be fun." Whispered Feerah to Taalli with a predatory glint in her eyes.

The commanding officer passed the microphone to the drill sergeant Tony, "thank you sir. Alright, if I read your squad's name. You are defending, rally up and get out there." He said before starting to read out a long list of squads who quickly left the assembly area to their vehicles nearby.

Taalli continued to watch as squad after squad left, each dragon that was assigned to the units took flight and flew off ahead of their squad. Eventually the drill instructor finished reading out squads. "Alright, that leaves you lot to be our attackers for today. Squad leaders! Come forwards and collect your maps of the AO, rest of you, get geared up." He announced and used his open hand to gesture towards a collection of tents at the side of the assembly area.

The remaining squads quickly formed queues, each one walking past the rows of weapons and collecting what they believed they would need for the mission. Following Feerah's lead, Taalli lined up with the dragons of the squads to collect their gear. "I assume paintball rounds?" Taalli said and looked to see the humans packing out their rigs with ammo.

"Oh girl, this isn't basic." Feerah said with a broad grin and chuckled as Taalli looked skeptical, "rubber bullets. Don't worry, you will know if you've been hit. Try not to get shot in the eyes, I've seen some nasty injuries from them."

Taalli swallowed, looking around she could see that many of these soldiers were seasoned, and their expressions became firm as they mentally prepared themselves. As they moved forwards Feerah and Taalli collected their radios and took turns helping each other strap them to the back of their harnesses.

Moving to the next tent, Taalli's eyes lit up. "Okay, rubber bullets are one thing, but no way these are real." She said as she saw rows and rows of grenades, charges and other ordinance.

Feerah chuckled as she saw Taalli's expression, "no honey, they will be flashbangs and smoke grenades at best."

"How many are we allowed?"

"If you can carry it, it's yours." Feerah answered and plucked a couple out from the table and tucked them into her rig. "The more you carry though, the slower you are. I prefer an up close and personal experience." She added with a grin that revealed her sharp teeth.

Taalli nodded but hardly heard her warning before she began stuffing her pouches with smoke grenades and flash bangs. As each pouch rapidly became bulging with explosives, Feerah removed one of her pouches from the webbing on her harness and passed it to Taalli. "Have one of mine, if you want." The orange dragoness proceeded to fill it and attach it to her own harness.

Scarecrow shook his head as Taalli and Feerah returned, the orange dragoness' pouches almost bursting at the seams with grenades. "Got enough?"

Taalli chuckled at that. "Ran out of pouches!" She replied, "besides, I don't want to run out."

"You could, like, conserve them." Kodiak teased. "You know, only use them sparingly."

"Yeah, but where is the fun in that?" Taalli retorted as she gathered around the large map that Bishop and Kodiak were holding.

"Alright Zulus, here is what's up." Scarecrow said while pointing to the map. "This is us here, we have been tasked with capturing these three bases. Because I'm basic, let's call them Alpha, Bravo and Charlie." He explained, "I'm thinking we take our Humvee, circle wide east while Feerah here, flanks the western front. Taalli, you are going to be covering our advance by dropping smoke ahead, if all goes to plan, the enemy won't be able to see our vehicle as we come in, and Feerah will be the main threat."

"That's because I am the main threat." Feerah said with a grin.

Joker chuckled and looked up at the black dragoness, "I like you."

Scarecrow cleared his throat, "that means they will be firing at you, and if they have deltas, we may not be able to cover you. Are you sure you are okay with that?"

The black dragoness winked at Joker, "oh, I'm good with being the centre of attention."

Taalli shook her head at Feerah's confidence, in combat dragons were given the short name of 'Deltas' and taking enemy dragons on without reinforcement would not be easy, meanwhile she would have a Humvee full of marines nearby to help if she was going to be intercepted. "So, once we capture the first base, what next?"

Scarecrow pointed down at the map, "it looks like we have a straight shot at Bravo base. We move hard and fast and push as deep as we can."

Feerah lowered her head to inspect the map, "while I always appreciate a Marine pushing hard and deep. There isn't a road." She said cryptically, using a claw she traced the indicated road. "Someone has tampered with the map, the way these hills roll and the river down low, this should be a swamp." She said confidently and squinted to look closer "Photoshopped, you can tell by the pixels."

Looking closely at the map, the rest could see what she meant, the area between the two bases was the wrong color. "Alright then, we wrap around the east, the rest of the enemy should be coming from the west so we shouldn't get as much resistance. As for Charlie base, well, if we are doing good, we could just repeat the plan." Scarecrow concluded.

"Isn't it dangerous? Doing the same play each time?" Taalli asked while adjusting the straps on her harness.

"Only if there are survivors to tell the tale." Shrugged Feerah.

"Alright, double check your kit and get ready to mount up." Scarecrow ordered and began to fold the map up. "Taalli, we are giving you the title Zulu Delta One. Feerah, you are Zulu Delta Two."

"Why am I number two?" Exclaimed the black dragoness.

"Because I'm better!'' Taalli teased and turned on her radio before strapping the bone inductive speaker to a horn. Feerah revealed her sharp teeth as she snarled playfully while the others chuckled.

"We should also be getting our third delta in a sec, they were getting their own briefing." Shane said while strapping his helmet on.

"A third delta? Boss, we don't normally roll with any." Chimed in Raider. "Let alone three."

"Watch out Raider, one day you will be the minority." Bishop said playfully while strapping his helmet on, his white teeth bright against his darker skin.

Feerah's eyes lit up as she looked over Taalli's shoulder, "oh god, please be our third, pretty please."

Sighing, the orange dragoness turned to see who she was referring to and saw Riimack strolling towards them, a large radio on his back and harness tight against his muscular body. His silver scales reflected the morning sun in a way that almost made him look like molten silver as he approached.

"Is this Zulu squad?" He asked with a nod to Taalli.

"For you, we can be anything." Feerah said dreamily before catching a glare from Taalli.

Riimack swallowed nervously, "Coolio. I've been assigned as your relay to command and be as your eyes in the sky."

Feerah angled her snout slightly to look at Riimack with her bright blue eyes, "Well, you can be my guardian angel anytime-"

"Oh, behave Feerah. Riimack has a girl." Taalli snapped playfully.

"Wait, what?" Riimack asked, "I'm confused, who's my girl?"

Taalli cocked her head, "Viina? The white and red 'ness who was fawning over you at breakfast." She said and saw his eyes widen slightly, "she seems cute."

"Alright ladies, that's enough." Scarecrow interrupted. "Let's mount up and get ready to head out. As soon as they give the go-ahead, we are going to go full send. Got it?" He commanded and the three dragons nodded.

Together, Zulu squad made their way to the rows of Humvees and found the one they had been assigned while the three dragons took to the sky.

"So, all I'm hearing is that your single Riimack?" Feerah called out as they rose on thermals above the academy. Looking down it seemed that all of the squads were almost ready to begin.

"Don't listen to her Riimack," Taalli called across to the silver drake. "Feerah wishes she was in your league." She added with a smile.

Riimack found himself unable to look at the black dragoness who was biting her bottom lip while flying next to him. Focusing on Taalli instead he asked, "you really think Viina likes me?"

Taalli shook her head in disbelief, "I thought you two were already together! Is that not the case?"

Riimack cocked his head, "I only asked if she wanted to sit with me for breakfast." He said simply, "and she said yes."

Taalli looked over and saw his enamored expression, "good on you Riimack." She teased. "I think you two look cute together."

"And if it doesn't work, my bunk is free." Feerah chimed in and brushed her wingtip against his, causing him to drop a few feet in altitude as he flinched.

As Riimack returned to their height he held up a paw while he listened to his radio before pressing a few buttons on a control pad built into his harness. Taalli felt his deep voice reverberate through her horn induction speaker. "All Zulus, all Zulus. We have the green light." Riimack called, "no safety ceiling or floor for deltas so happy hunting." He said firmly and began to beat his wings hard to gain altitude.

Taalli's eyes widened and looked to Feerah, most drills and exercises had a specific window of altitude where dragons were allowed to engage one another. Often with enough airspace below to ensure they could recover from a dive or collision with another dragon.

Feerah smiled and saw the concern in Taalli's face, "no safety floor in the real world sweety." She called back. "Fuck, your boy can climb." She added as she saw Riimack soaring up above them.

Taalli looked up and smiled as his silver scales and blue wings seemed to disappear in the azure sky, his powerful wings beating the air into submission while other dragons rose on thermals.

"Zulu Delta One and Two, this is Zulu actual." Scarecrow's voice echoed through their radios. The title of actual was given to the squad leader. "We are moving out now and are not slowing down, stay high but I want you low and fast for our approach on Alpha base."

Feerah nodded to Taalli and activated her radio, "Roger, we see you."

Looking down they could see the Humvee peel away from the rest of the vehicles and start to travel east towards their first objective. In formation the two dragonesses adjusted their course and beat their wings to fly high above Zulu squad's vehicle.

Scanning the rolling hillside, Taalli spotted the Alpha base. While it had been described as a 'base' it was nothing more than an old shipping container with a collection of sandbags used as lightly fortified positions.

"Zulu Deltas, let's begin." Called scarecrow as they came close to being within range of the base's defences.

Feerah and Taalli both cropped their wings in sync and entered a steep dive. The sound of the wind rushing past filled Taalli's ears and nodded to Feerah as the black dragoness twisted her tail and pulled away to flank west.

Looking ahead to the base she could start to see the figures defending it. A collection of humans standing with weapons trained on the approaching vehicle, waiting for it to come in range.

As the ground rushed up to meet Taalli, she slowly opened her wings to redirect her speed across the battlefield. Like an orange arrow she shot past Zulu's Humvee and headed straight towards the enemy.

Pulling the ring on a smoke grenade, Taalli dropped it and began evasive maneuvers. Flashes of light came from the enemy base followed by the crack of gunfire as rounds flew towards Taalli. Banking steeply, she felt the strain in her wings from the g-forces as she circled in a wide arc ahead of Zulu squad's Humvee, dropping smoke grenade after smoke grenade to create a wall of smoke to conceal their approach.

"That's great! Keep that angle Taalli. I mean, Zulu Delta One." Riimack called over the radio.

As her path slowly brought her closer and closer to the enemy, she could hear the sounds of the rubber bullets zipping past her becoming louder and louder. Adrenaline pumped through Taalli's veins as she continuously adjusted her altitude while maintaining a tighter and tighter radius. Every beat of her wings brought her and Zulu squad closer to the enemy base. "And I thought Feerah was the one drawing fire!" Taalli laughed while pulling the pin on another smoke grenade.

"Zulu Delta Two, Feerah. How are you traveling?" Scarecrow asked over the radio.

"Oh, I'm fine. Ready to make my approach." Called Feerah's voice, "seems like all the boys are attracted to you Taalli."

"Zulu Delta Three. How is it looking from up there? We can't see shit through the smoke." Scarecrow asked.

Taalli smiled slightly as Riimack's voice came through the radio on her horn. "You got maybe 500 yards and then a hard right and you will be right on-top of the first base." Riimack called.

"Roger. Zulu Delta Two, Feerah. You're up! Zulu Delta One, toss another smoke down range and circle around behind us you get to follow us in. Marines! Let's do what we do best!"

Taalli beat her wings hard to surge ahead before pulling the pin on another smoke and banking steeply, using the added speed she sent the grenade flying towards the enemy lines. Circling in a wide arc, Taalli reduced her altitude even further and took her position behind the Humvee. The ground rushed just below her feet as she tried to stay as low as possible. Looking ahead she could no longer see the enemy emplacements, only muzzle flashes of blind fire illuminated the thick white smoke from the grenade she had tossed.

The roar of the portal axles on the Humvee built in pitch as Zulu squad accelerated towards their objective. The smell of the exhaust from the Humvee stung Taalli's nose as she readied herself to engage the enemy as soon as they emerged from the smoke.

"Oh, hello boys!" Called Feerah, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the Humvee. "Hold these for me!" She added. As Taalli and Zulu squad emerged from the smoke, flashes of brilliant white light bloomed from the encamped enemy followed by a deafening crack.

Taalli looked up as the black silhouette of Feerah flew over the top of them, spreading her wings wide she pulled up and banked to the right, the white smoke swirling and rippling in her wake. Looking ahead, Taalli quickly adjusted her wings to lift herself above the Humvee as it growled to a halt in the loose dirt.

With a snarl on her face, Taalli flared her wings and landed behind the sandbags of the enemy, only to discover the writhing bodies of the defenders on the ground. Each of them clutching their ears or eyes.

The sounds of boots on the loose gravel made Taalli snap her head around to see Scarecrow and the rest of Zulu squad rapidly moving over the sandbags with guns trained on the defenders.

"They are all dead Zulu Actual!" Feerah said proudly as she flared her wings and touched down next to the squad. "Ain't that right!" She spat at the reeling soldiers on the ground, only to be met with groans of pain.

"Well, that was fucking easy." Chimed Raider as he lowered his gun.

"Aww, looks like Raider IS starting to like dragons!" Joker teased.

Taalli caught a smile on Scarecrow's face before he slung his rifle and started to check the defeated soldiers to make sure they were not permanently injured. "Taalli, Feerah, there should be a flare or something for us to signal it's been captured."

Without needing to be told twice the dragonesses approached the shipping container. Prowling towards the door Feerah took the lead and unlatched the door. The hinges wailed in protest as the heavy door was opened. "Really!" Feerah exclaimed. "They fucking froze the flare!" She called over her shoulder to the rest.

Taalli cocked her head and watched as the black dragoness reached into the shipping container and with a firm tug slid out a large block of ice. Suspended in the centre was an orange flare. "There is no way they had time to freeze that." Taalli said.

"Nah, it would have been the organizers." Feerah replied.

"But why?" Taalli asked.

"Oh? No one froze your shit as a prank?" Feerah smirked. "It's good fun, If not a bit time-consuming." She added before taking a step back, "alright new hotness, can you do your thing?"

Taalli smiled, "with pleasure." Stepping up to the giant block of ice she cocked her head from left to right before pulling her neck back in a graceful curve.

While the dragons of old were known for breathing fire, it was an evolutionary trait that was rarely used and during the darker ages of dragon history, fire glands were either bred out or cut out of dragons. As a result, the ability to sustain a flame had become an ability that was more akin to red hair or freckles in humans.

Taking a deep breath, Taalli mantled her wings and thrust her head forwards. A long stream of oily orange flame jetted from two glands in her maw, mixing with the oxygen and burning in an oily mixture that left a cloud of black smoke above the flame.

Taalli's pupils became slits as they adjusted to the bright light ahead of her, making sure to keep her tongue out of the stream she continued to sustain the flame until a sudden flash of green light burst from within the torrent of fire.

Constricting muscles in the glands she snuffed out her fire to reveal the now well ignited flare burning a crisp green flame amongst a cloud of steam and oily smoke.

"Jesus! That comes out of you?" Cried Raider before Bishop gave him a firm jab in the ribs.

Before Taalli could reply, Riimack's voice came through their radios. "Uh, be advised. It looks like the enemy is falling back to fortify the second line. We might want to get going."

"Alright ladies, you heard the man. Mount up and let's keep it moving." Scarecrow said while helping one of the blinded combatants lean against the sandbags. The whole squad moved as one as they quickly returned to their vehicles, meanwhile the two dragonesses took to the sky and followed a few hundred feet above the Humvee.

Riimack held his large wings wide as he circled above Zulu squad, drifting from thermal to thermal to conserve energy. His eyes lit up as he heard a familiar voice come through his radio. "Zulu Delta Three, this is Foxtrot Delta One, can I get you on private channel two?" Called Viina.

Riimack smiled and looked across the training field to see the white and red dragoness gliding at the same altitude as him. With a quick acknowledgement he changed frequencies. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing's wrong. Just wanted to say hi." Just by the time of her voice, Riimack could tell she was smiling.

"Well… hi!" Riimack replied before shaking his head. 'Come on Riimack, get it together.' He chastised himself. "Oh, um, hey. I was wondering, Thanksgiving is coming up. Did you have any, like…. Plans?" Riimack asked nervously.

A long pause hung in the air that made him swallow, reaching for the transmit button again he was about to speak when Viina's voice came through. "Ah, no actually. My family is far north, so no plans. Why's that?"

Riimack's heart beat a bit faster as he held the transmit button. "Did you, like, wanna hang out somewhere, or do something?"

Viina chuckled before replying, "that sounds good. Maybe get some food or something?"

"I love food!" Riimack replied loudly, "I know a great noodle place in the city if you want to make the trip."

"Are you sure they will be open?" She asked before hastily adding, "the flight doesn't bother me, it would be good to chat while we fly."

"Oh, I'm sure they will be open."

"Then it's a date!" Viina said happily. "I mean, sorry, you are single right?"

"Of course! What makes you say that?" Riimack asked, his heart pounding in his chest with excitement.

"That orange dragoness. She isn't a mate, or anything is she?" Viina asked nervously.

"Taalli!? No, she is just a friend." He said while shaking his head, "just a dragon called Taalli." He added quickly.

"Okay, good." Viina said, "I just wanted to be sure."

"Hey, Love birds. Can we get you back on main comms, Delta Three?" Scarecrow asked, "we have three enemy deltas in the air and climbing to you."

"So much for private channels." Riimack muttered to himself, "Roger Zulu Actual, changing to the main channel." With a few clicks of the dials on the radio control pad he returned to the main channel and looked down to see the shapes of three enemy dragons starting to climb towards him. "Alright Riimack, three vs one. Whose first? Red scales, blue scales, or green scales who wants a piece of Riimack!" He said to himself to psych himself up for the fight.

"Sir, permission to intercept?" Taalli asked with a layer of concern in her voice. She was already low to the ground and ready to start dropping smoke.

"Negative, we need you to cover our advance. Zulu Delta Two, Feerah, go help him." Scarecrow ordered.

With a quick acknowledgement, Feerah beat her wings hard to climb as fast as she could. Taalli looked up to her while dropping another smoke grenade. Even though she knew it was just an exercise, she couldn't stop her stomach tightening at the thought of the two going up against three equally trained dragons.

Taalli reached for her transmit button, pressing it to ask again to join before pausing and releasing the button. Riimack's voice came through her radio, "it's okay Taalli, focus. Stay on mission and let us do our job." Despite his calm voice, Taalli could hear an underlying tension in his words.

Riimack watched the three hostile dragons climbing with Feerah on their tail as Taalli acknowledged begrudgingly. The hostiles were closing fast but he was content to let them exert themselves climbing to his height before he would drop down to engage them.

As the distance between them closed, he reached to his harness straps and pulled them tight to stop the weight of the long-range radio from interfering with his mobility. "Alright Riimack, just like you've been trained." He said to himself before taking a deep breath.

When he could hear the wing beats of the incoming dragons, he keyed his radio to transmit on the frequency used for the dragons overwatching the battlefield. "Foxtrot Delta One. Be advised, I'm not on station and am engaging the enemy." He said and tucked his wings as he heard Viina acknowledge.

The mass of his heavy muscular body caused him to quickly accelerate and plummet towards the incoming dragons. With a few minor adjustments with his tail, he corrected his trajectory to aim to engage head on with the lead red scales dragon.

Taalli tried to stay focused on the mission at hand as she heard the loud roars of the dragons coming together above her. As much as she wanted to radio to see how they were doing, she had her own battle to fight. The zips of rubber bullets flying inches from her made her focus, tucked a wing and banked hard she then rocked her wings to jink back on course, dropping yet more smoke grenades to cover the approach of Zulu squad's Humvee.

"Alright, that should do it, go help." Scarecrow said over the radio as the Humvee floored it through the smoke towards the enemy.

Taalli roared as she banked steeply and began furiously flapping her wings to gain height. The enemy soldiers on the ground now focused their fire on her as she ascended, their rounds whipping past her while the Marines of Zulu squad breached their perimeter.

Taalli's chest tightened but she pushed through the pain as she saw Riimack diving with the red and green drakes on his tail, meanwhile Feerah had locked claws with the third blue dragon and was battling it out as to who could make the other submit. Because they had no intentions of permanently harming one another, they only swiped at each other with the palms of their paws, tails slapped like clubs as they tried to get their mouths on each other's necks. Their strikes more like blunt instruments instead of using their claws to rend flesh and scales like they would in actual combat.

Adjusting her direction, Taalli saw Riimack turn to come towards her, the two dragons snapping at his tail. A slight cock of the head was all that was needed to communicate the plan as they rushed towards one another.

The two enemy dragons behind Riimack glanced at one another as they saw Taalli and Riimack approaching at speed, head on. Moments before collision, Riimack rotated sharply one way while Taalli did the same, missing each other by inches.

The red hostile dragon was fast enough to bank to the side, while his green scaled wingman caught the full weight of Taalli driving into him. As she latched onto his harness with her talons, she tucked her wings and allowed her momentum to throw him of course. His wings having been used to stabilize his dive now suddenly were thrown against the rushing wind causing his wing fingers to buckle and jar before he tucked his wings tight to his body in agony.

Without missing a beat, Taalli pulled herself close to his body by his harness, forcing herself between his powerful hind legs before he could kick her off.

While the drake aimed to try and latch his jaws on her neck, Taalli was focused on trying to latch onto a delicate wing. As they tumbled out of the sky and fell towards the earth, Taalli felt the green dragon's claws rake against her scales, not hard enough to price them but her hide stung as the plates were tugged out of position.

As she reeled back in pain, the drake didn't hesitate and lunged for her throat, his jaws snapping closed loudly in the air where her neck once was. Using her tail, she coiled it around his as best she could and flared her wings, the air catching them and swinging her around out from under him and onto his back. She saw his eyes widen in terror as she clamped her jaw down hard on his left-wing shoulder.

Roaring in pain the drake tried to twist and roll but to little effect, with her on his back with two working wings she was able to manipulate how he fell with ease. As he would try to snap his jaws at her head, she would adjust their course to make him miss, glaring at him with her amber eyes she squeezed down harder and harder until finally he cried out in submission.

They both saw the ground rushing up towards them and Taalli quickly let go of his wing, while holding his harness she flared her wings. Holding him steady to make sure he could support his weight on his now shaky wings before releasing her grip on his harness and breaking off to help Riimack and Feerah.

Panting for breath, Taalli scanned the sky for the others. Riimack held the upper hand against his red combatant, using his larger body to overwhelm the drake while snapping at him with his powerful jaws.

Looking lower in the sky Taalli saw Feerah was not faring so well and quickly beat her wings to help. The black dragoness seemed to not be giving up, despite the enemy dragon latching onto her back. Their wings floundered as they tumbled uncontrollably down towards the hard earth while Taalli dived to intercept them.

"Just fucking give up!" Snarled the blue drake before receiving a wing to the face. "I've bitten you already! Just submit!"

Feerah's voice was strained and hoarse as she tried to swing another hit on the drake. "You call that a bite? I've had mating bites that were firmer than that!" She cried and twisted her head around to try and latch her jaws into his throat.

Taalli tensed and tucked her wings into a dive as she saw the blue drake deflect Feerah's incoming bite and latch firmly onto her neck, his sharp teeth sinking into her body to leave trails of crimson blood. "Ow! For fucks sake! Okay!" Feerah yelled, "you win!"

As the drake let go of the black dragoness, Taalli came in at full speed and slammed into his body, aiming directly at a wing shoulder. The drake roared in surprise but was able to roll with the impact to deflect Taalli rather than have her break his wing. Without missing a beat, the blue drake continued his roll and dove after the orange dragoness, his jaws snapping at her tail as she was forced to continue the dive.

"Oh, so you want a neck bite too, do you?" He teased as he chased Taalli towards the earth, his face looking almost deranged with the crimson streaks of Feerah's blood.

Taalli could see how close they were towards the ground and glanced back, "oh, I don't waste my time with runts." She teased and adjusted her course towards Bravo base. "Feerah may like anyone biting her neck, but I have standards." She added and smiled as he growled in return. Dropping even lower, Taalli dove towards the remnants of the white smokescreen that she had used to hide Zulu squad's advance and keyed her radio.

The enemy dragon smiled as he saw her slip into the smoke, her silhouette still clearly visible as the wind had caused most of the haze to dissipate. He banked and twisted right behind her, watching her hips roll and bounce in front of him as she tried to lose him in the smoke. A smile creeped on his snout as she began to run out of smokescreen to hide in and was forced out into the open. With a powerful surge of speed, he chased after her, before his eyes went wide as she suddenly and unexpectedly pulled up and flared her wings.

Bishop held down the trigger of his squad automatic weapon, its belt of rubber bullets quickly running through the receiver as a stream of non-lethal rounds zipped into the drake. The pained roar of the dragon was like music to Bishop's ears as round after round impacted his scales, while not enough to cause any lingering harm the damage to the dragon's pride would last longer.

Taalli watched as Feerah fell towards the earth like a dead weight before righting herself and extending her wings, lines of her blood now streaking down her neck.

"Good work Deltas!" Called Scarecrow as the trio touched down along with their 'dead' combatants.

"You did good, that bit where you grabbed my horns was really clever." Riimack said happily to the drake he had fought while panting for breath, "I think next time, just watch out for my claws and you will win." He added with a friendly smile. Seeing the crimson drake still unimpressed by being bested, Riimack slipped a paw into his front pouch and retrieved a bag of jerky. Holding it with a paw he shook it slightly as a peace offering to the downed enemy.

Taalli gave a friendly nod to the green dragon she had bested in the air and saw the blue drake glare at her while rubbing his sore chest. "Better luck next time boys." She teased playfully.

"Maybe next time you could come a little quicker?" Feerah growled while she retrieved a bandage from her kit and tossed it to Taalli with a bloodied paw.

Taalli caught it with her mouth and her eyes widened as she saw the puncture wounds in the black dragoness' scales. Quickly moving to Feerah she began undoing the bandage and pressing it against the bite. "That looks nasty." She said while winding the white fabric around the dragoness' neck.

"I've had worse." She said and flinched when Taalli tightened it. "Gods, not so tight! I still need to breathe." She added and slipped a toe under the bandage to loosen it.

"Oh, don't lie, you like it tight, you kinky thing." Taalli teased, "so I guess you are dead now, huh?"

Feerah took a deep breath, "Yup, here lies the mighty Feerah. Her scales like the midnight sky, died valiantly, doing what she loved most-"

"Yeah, a male on your back with his jaws on your neck." Called Scarecrow as he approached, his rifle slung across his chest. "Taalli, I need your strength, the flare is under the container." He said and waved her over to where Riimack was already waiting for her.

"Oi, don't be mean! I'm dying remember, show some respect." Feerah snapped and sat down dramatically closing her eyes she spoke loudly in a somber tone. "Here I lay! All alone on the battlefield, having broken many hearts, now it is my time to lay broken. She lived a life of risk and recourse, plucking flowers and capturing minds, now but a memory and food for the earth she once came from!"

"Oh my god, haven't you died already!" Taalli called back over her shoulder with a smirk as she pressed her forepaws against the side of the empty shipping container. Both Riimack and herself groaned as they put their backs into pressing against the metal wall, their combined strength slowly tilting the shipping container until Kodiak could crouch down and reach under it to retrieve the flare.

With a thud, the container rolled back to the ground when the dragons let go of it. Kodiak pulled the cap off of the flare and struck it against the end to set it ablaze, the bright green flame erupting from the end before he tossed it on top of the container to signal it's been captured. "That's two!" Riimack said happily and smiled at Taalli who was still panting. "You, okay?" He asked and she simply nodded.

Riimack opened his mouth to confirm but paused as he heard a voice through his radio. Taalli knew something was wrong as his expression became stern and eyes widened in panic. "Artillery inbound!" He called, "move, move, move!" He shouted and quickly launched into the sky.

Taalli pushed through the pain in her chest and followed Riimack into the sky while the Marines ran back to their Humvee. The high pitched shrill of the ordinance hurtling towards the base was the only warning as three training rounds airbursted with precision a few feet above the shipping container.

Snapping her head back at the sound of the dull explosion, Taalli saw what was once Bravo base was now obscured by a thick cloud of orange chalk. Circling the base, Taalli searched for signs that Zulu squad had made it out before a coughing voice came over the radio, "we are hit." Scarecrow said with a fine of defeat. "Sorry you two, it's up to you now."

"Oh, for fucks sake, now I look like her!" Cried Feerah as she emerged from the thick orange chalk cloud. Her once black and red scales now covered in the fine powder.

Taalli snorted a laugh before keying her radio, "wash your paws young lady." Taalli teased in a motherly tone, “Then, we can be twinses!" She added playfully.

"Enough mucking around, we have a mission." Riimack called, "enemies are falling back to the third line, if we push it, we may be able to get there before they do."

Swallowing, Taalli nodded and banked towards the base in the distance, falling into formation on Riimack's side. She could feel her chest was still tight after helping with the container and tried to keep up with Riimack's powerful wing beats. "Still got some in you?" Riimack asked, his concerned eyes looking at the pain etched in her expression. "You weren't hit, were you?"

"I'm fine." Taalli replied and tried to take a deep breath, but a sharp pain rushing through her abdomen forced her diaphragm to expel the air from her lungs. Gasping but unable to breathe, Taalli's vision began to blur while she hurriedly tried to get a paw into her harness pouch. Slicing a talon through the strap that held the pouch closed she quickly retrieved the container of pills and opened the lid. Her body felt on fire while also freezing cold as her brain misinterpreted the signals from her nerves, jarring pain blocked out all thoughts from her mind as she held the container of pills with a trembling paw. Closing her eyes, she felt the wind increase as she began to dip down towards the ground. Lowering her head down to her paw she took a tablet into her mouth and tried to swallow, her throat dry and raw as she tried to force the drugs down her gullet.

The tablet quickly dissolved as it travelled down her throat releasing her from the clutches of her mind, slowly her orange eyes opened. The world swam below her leaving her feeling disoriented and sluggish. Blinking she tried to make sense of what she was seeing, her wings now hung uselessly below her, yet she wasn't falling to the earth. A deep resounding growl above her sounded muffled as if it was underwater while she regained awareness.

With a deep inhalation of air, Taalli snapped back to reality and flicked her wings up and opened them wide, supporting her weight on the membranes once again. "Taalli! You, okay?" Called Riimack. Glancing over her shoulder she saw him close above her, his powerful legs latched onto her harness while he helped support her weight. "Taalli, you, okay?"

"I'm-I'm okay." Taalli lied and shook her head to clear her vision. As quickly as it came, the pain was gone and a tingling sensation through her body was the only evidence of what she had just gone through.

"You sure you have it in you?" Riimack asked again as he gently let go of her harness, remaining above her just in case.

Swallowing, Taalli tried to process what had happened. Burying the truth that the pain seemed to be getting worse she nodded. "I'm fine" She replied weakly, looking back she could see the concern in Riimack's eyes. Clutching her harness, she quickly snapped her head down, "where's my AT4." She snapped, discovering she only had the container of pills in her paw. "My rocket launcher, where is it!"

"You don't have one." Riimack said and cocked his head in confusion.

"What have you done with it?" Seeing he didn't have it she scanned the ground below to see where she must have dropped it.

"Taalli, you don't have one anymore. You gave it back to sergeant, remember?"

Taalli continued to look at the unfamiliar landscape for any signs of Aurelia academy before blinking. "I… what?" She said in confusion, "of course I don't have it." She said and looked back at Riimack. "Sorry, I- I don't know what came over me."

"Taalli, where do you think you are?" Riimack asked, the look of worry on her face caused his heart to beat harder.

"We- we are on the exercise. Tombstone academy, explosives training." She said slowly as the memories came back to her. "We just did Bravo base, and now we need to do Charlie." She added. "I'm-I'm okay, I swear."

Riimack didn't look convinced, his blue eyes scanning over her body as seeing her wing fingers twitching with phantom impulses, "we should turn back, I'm not sure if you're-"

"I'm fine" Taalli snapped, "let's just get it done." She replied and beat her wings harder to surge ahead. Taalli's heart raced as panic sapped away at her confidence. Gritting her teeth, she continued to beat her wings hard, determined to prove she wasn't weak. Looking back, she saw Riimack was still lingering behind her, "I'm fine, I promise. It's just been a long day is all."

Riimack's blue eyes focused on her amber ones, he could see the fear behind her stern expression and finally nodded. "We go at your pace then."

Taalli nodded and focused ahead before retrieving another pill from the container and returned the container to her harness. Looking back, she saw Riimack still looking at her, "I'm fine, stop looking at me like I'm crazy." She snapped firmly and saw him quickly look away. With a quick dip of her head and a flick of her paw she popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed. With a gentle bank they adjusted their path to catch a thermal to rise higher above the battlefield.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she looked ahead to see Charlie base in the distance along with lines of dust from vehicles heading towards it. "How are we going to do this?"

Riimack gave a few quick beats of his wing to move alongside her, feeling more confident that she wasn't going to fall out of the sky again. "It looks like their Deltas are sticking with their humans. If you think you have it in you, we could try and beat them there. But I don't want you to hurt yourself-" he cut himself off as he saw her stern expression. "I'm just saying it would be a big push, regardless-"

"Speed it is then!" Taalli snarled and opened her mouth to draw as much air in as possible while she began to beat her wings as hard as she could. Riimack watched as she accelerated and quickly flapped his wings to keep up. Every beat of their wings was another surge close towards overtaking the falling back enemy and towards the base.

"Once we overtake their vehicles, their deltas may try to intercept." Riimack stated.

"Let them try! They have to be as tired as us." Taalli retorted, "besides, we have the altitude."

Riimack nodded and kept alongside her, his larger blue wings beating once for every two beats of hers. Looking across to her he could see the focused expression on her face, a stark contrast to the young confused 'ness he first met on basic training.

Taalli's heart throbbed powerfully in her chest as they overtook the retreating enemy, looking down she could see the enemy's dragons quickly scramble to climb, with a slight adjustment of her tail she directed herself into a slight dive towards the final base. Try as she might to block them, dark thoughts of her condition and what would happen if she was discharged crept into her mind and she snarled to push them aside, instead focusing on the enemy ahead. Her lungs burned with exhaustion, but she remained focused, the double dose of medicine doing its best to keep her body functioning as the wind rushed past her wings.

"They are closing in." Riimack said while looking at the enemy and gave a reassuring look to Taalli.

"Let's get this over with then!" She replied sharply, more for herself than anyone else, and increased the angle of her dive to build even more speed. She could see the base quickly approaching and couldn't bring herself to look behind her, instead she became solely focused on the mission.

She tried to ignore the sounds of the enemy dragon wing beats as she came in for a landing at the enemy base, her whole body feeling like jelly as she flared her wings as best, she could and landed at a gallop with Riimack beside her. "Find the flare, light it!" She barked at the silver drake. Riimack pounced forwards towards the door of the shipping container and pulled it open.

"It's here! it's just on a table!" Riimack called back over his shoulder. "That's nice of them." He added before stepping into the container.

"WAIT!" Was all Taalli was able to shout before a loud crack erupted from the container along with a blinding white flash from within. Riimack's horns collided with the roof of the container as he was suddenly blinded, deafened and disorientated. He felt claws on his hindquarters and panicked, the ringing in his ears stopping any chances of hearing Taalli trying to calm him down as he thrashed in confusion.

Dodging his tail, Taalli quickly grabbed his hind paw with her mouth and pulled the larger drake backwards, she felt him try to kick back but tugged hard to drag him backwards despite his feeble attempts at resisting. As soon as he was pulled out of the doorway, she leapt over him while the enemy dragons barrelled towards them.

The container reeked of phosphorus and burning magnesium, remnants of the flashbang booby trap were scattered on the floor as she drove in to snatch up the flare with her mouth. A quick huff of her flame breath was all it took to ignite the green flare and she emerged with it held proudly in her mouth.

Taalli yelped as the wind was knocked out of her and the flare was sent flying by a blue enemy dragon as he landed heavily on her. His heavy body driving her into the ground and causing her to become sprawled out. She felt the sharp pain of the drake's teeth against her neck scales as he quickly pinned her to the ground. "Hey, fuck off!" She gasped while trying to throw him off, her tired body offering little resistance to his powerful bite.

Another enemy dragon landed next to her, his crimson scales covered in dirt and soot. "You're dead Delta! submit." He said firmly and looked over to Riimack who was blinking his eyes and opening his mouth again and again. "You're both dead."

Taalli gave a final thrash to little effect, the male dragon's bite holding her in position. "But we lit the flare!"

"Exercise is over when all bases are captured, you're not the only squads out here, remember." He said simply. "Come on, you're done." He added and nodded for his team mate to release her.

Feeling the jaws of the dragon release her she relaxed on the ground. "Well, fine then." She said and rolled over to her side, her legs no longer cooperating. "I guess I'm dead." She added to the enemy dragons who smiled slightly.

"You okay? Sorry if I landed on you too hard." Asked the dragon who had his jaws around her neck a moment ago.

"I'm fine." Taalli said, "I'm going to just be dead here for a while, get my breath back." She said, her pride stinging more than the pain in her neck.

The red dragon nodded towards Riimack, "take care of him, he should start to see in a few minutes."

"WHAT!" Exclaimed Riimack loudly and turned his head to roughly their direction. "TAALLI, I THINK IT WAS A TRAP!"

Taalli shook her head and smiled, panting for breath she yelled back so he might hear her, "I THINK YOU WERE RIGHT!"

Riimack turned to face her, his eyes opening and scrunching closed as he tried to make out shapes in the bright light. Taalli grunted as she got to her feet when she saw him try to stand, his large body wobbling on his shaky legs before Taalli quickly moved next to him. "Just lay down Riimack, we are both dead now. But we lit the flare." She said loudly near his ear.

Slowly lowering himself back down he nodded before his nose twitched as he smelt the smell of the flare. "DID YOU LIGHT THE FLARE!" He shouted loudly.

"YES! WE DID IT, THEN I GOT TAKEN OUT." Taalli laughed and lay next to him. She saw him nod and felt a shiver run through his body. Rolling her eyes, she extended a wing over his larger body to reassure him while she caught her breath.

The single flap of wings caused Taalli to look up and see the white dragoness Viina flare out for a landing. Her eyes focused on her, more specifically her wing over Riimack. "What's going on?" She asked and cocked her head.

"Oh, it's not what it looks like." Taalli stammered but kept a wing over the large male. "He got flashed." She added while Riimack stared blankly ahead, his blue eyes blinking slowly. Seeing the unimpressed look in Viina's eyes, Taalli smiled. "HEY RIIMACK, SO VIINA, I THINK SHE LIKES YOU."

Riimack smiled while staring blindly at Viina, the white dragoness' profile completely hidden in the white light he was seeing. "YOU REALLY THINK SO?" He shouted, "I ASKED HER TO COME TO THE MARKETS FOR THANKSGIVING! AND SHE SAID YES!"

Taalli smiled at Viina whose cheeks became slightly pink. "I THINK SHE WILL LIKE THAT!" Taalli said with a slight giggle.

"GODS, I HOPE SO. I REALLY LIKE HER! I JUST DON'T WANT TO STUFF IT UP." He replied.

Taalli slowly retracted her wing and stood up, nodding for Viina to take her place. The white dragoness smiled and trotted over with a slight limp, it was clear to Taalli that the dragoness had been hit by a rubber bullet.

As Viina lay next to Riimack to extend a wing over him just as Taalli had done and felt him relax against her. "TELL ME MORE ABOUT HER." Taalli shouted and smiled when Viina stifled a giggle next to the big silver drake.

"SHE IS SMART, AND FUNNY AND, AND, AND I REALLY LIKE HOW HER NECK FRILL GOES UP WHEN SHE SMILES." Riimack said happily.

"SO, YOU FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE IN YOUR LEAGUE!" Taalli teased.

"SHE'S PROBABLY OUT OF MINE!" Riimack laughed, "SO ARE YOU, IF I'M HONEST. IT WAS JUST A JOKE BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO GET BETWEEN YOU AND MIKE!"

Taalli looked at the pair of dragons and frowned when she felt a hint of jealousy pull at her thoughts. She shook her head to clear her mind and smiled before moving her head next to his other ear, "WELL, I'LL LEAVE YOU IN HER CAPABLE PAWS." She shouted and smiled when he snapped his head around to the side Viina was on and then back to the direction he heard Taalli. His eyes going wide when Viina gently nuzzled his neck.

Taalli looked across the battlefield and spotted a dusty orange coloured Humvee approaching the base with a disgruntled and orange chalk covered Feerah flying alongside. Looking back at Riimack and Viina she nodded to the white dragoness who nodded in return before Taalli trotted towards the approaching vehicle, her tired wings drooping low.

Mike checked his watch for the hundredth time, he knew what time it was, but he was doing it only for something to do. He watched as a pair of skydivers made their approach to land in the park, a nostalgic smile flickering at the corner of his mouth as he remembered his date with Leena. The kiss they shared while falling across the bay felt like it was an age ago.

He slipped his hands into his pockets while he waited and rehearsed his words on his head. He needed today to go smoothly, for their relationship's sake.

Meeting somewhere neutral had been his boss's idea, meeting somewhere familiar had been his own. Looking over at the ice cream van, he saw the tree where he and Taalli shared sundaes. The way she smiled when he kissed her snout made him long for how things once were.

The sounds of wing beats caused him to turn and nod in acknowledgement as the familiar orange dragoness landed a few meters away from him. "I was starting to think you didn't want to come." He said and removed his hands from his pockets.

The large orange dragoness slowly walked towards him, her glossy orange scales shimmering in the afternoon sun, contrasting against her black leather harness. Her amber eyes were devoid of emotion as she stopped in front of him and looked down at the one who stole her daughter from her. "What mother wouldn't want to have her daughter back" Seelena said flatly while focusing her gaze on him.

"I want her back too." Mike said and held her gaze, "and this is what you are going to do to make that happen."