FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Taalli's nose twitched at the sharp familiar scent of a permanent marker being used across the dorm from her, a smile creeping at her snout as she remembered how Mike would use a similar smelling pen. Her mind drifting back to spending time on the roof of her parents' apartment, held close in her embrace while he used a sharpie to fix a crystal statue her mother bought her.

Clutching her pillow to her chest she tried to imagine it was him, remembering how his soft hands would hold her jaw and her heart soared as she remembered his soft tender lips on hers. Breathing deep she tried to imagine she could smell him, but could only smell the scents of dust, oil and traces of explosives. Clenching her jaw she pulled the pillow harder against her as the dream of Mike against her started to fade.

The sounds of another dragon humming softly destroyed what little hope she had of returning to her imaginary Mike. With a sigh, she relaxed her grip on the pillow and slowly opened her eyes.

The early morning light that was softly streaming in through the window was casting the dorm in a light gray glow. Taalli's eyes drifted to the other beds in the room she shared with Shane and Feerah, the human's bed unusually empty while Feerah's black and red scaled body lounged on her own bed.

"Morning." Taalli muttered and saw the older dragoness' tail twitching. Getting no response, Taalli blinked her blurry eyes and saw Feerah had a set of headphones on. The set looked like they had been to hell and back but were clearly still working as Feerah tilted her head and nodded slightly to the beat.

Looking down into the black dragoness' forepaws, Taalli could see her using a sharpie marker on a harness. The once green buckles were quickly becoming black under Feerah's squeaking marker.

Taalli watched her work, the tip of Feerah's forked pink tongue protruding from her mouth as she concentrated on her work. As each buckle was slowly coloured in to match the black nylon harness, Taalli looked over the other dragoness. They were almost impossible to spot while she was moving, but sitting still, Taalli could see the countless chipped and cracked scales that ran down her body. As a dragon grew, their scales would shed in layers, rather than entire scales as many were led to believe. If a scale was damaged, it would often take years for it to finally shed enough layers to fully heal. Losing count of the number of blemishes on her scales she mused that behind the playful sultry exterior lay a warrior who had proven themselves in battle many times over.

Taalli remembered when she was little her mother, Seelena, always made sure that her scales were in pristine condition. She remembered how angry her mother had been when she grazed the scales on her side after she misjudged the wind and crash landed on their home's balcony. Unbeknownst to Taalli at the time, but her mother had booked her into a fledgling pageant that following weekend.

Taalli's eyes widened as she saw Feerah's harness hanging on a hook above the black dragoness' bed and quickly snapped her head to where she had hung her own harness and saw her hook empty.

"Hey, is that mine?" Taalli asked and rolled to her front.

Seeing the movement out the corner of her eye, Feerah's sharp ivory teeth were revealed by her broad grin. With a swift swipe of her paw, Feerah slid her headphones down to her neck. "I'm almost done." She said playfully, seeing Taalli stand up on her bed made her scribble faster on the harness, determined to finish her handiwork.

"Hey, give it back." Taalli snarled as she stepped off the low bed and crossed the small room in two steps.

"Oh, don't get your horns in a twist." Feerah teased and lifted the sharpie as Taalli snatched the harness out from her paws. "I was just making it better."

Taalli gave her a stern look and retreated back to her bed, harness in paw and gave it a look over. True to her word, every green buckle had been coloured in with black sharpie, which made them blend in with the rest of her harness better.

"Thank you." Taalli muttered softly and glanced to see Feerah struggling to put the cap back on the pen. "So where is Shane?" Taalli asked and nodded to his empty bed.

"He got called to meet with the drill instructor, not sure why." Feerah said simply before successfully getting the lid back on her pen. "So, have you told Mike yet?" She asked with a smirk. "I saw you holding your pager last night." She teased.

Taalli nodded, "I sent him the message last night."

"Naww, look at you sweetie." Teased the older dragoness. "So is he going to meet you here? Or how does it work?"

"We are meeting up in a town down south. We arranged to meet at sort of a halfway point for both of us." Taalli explained, "assuming he can make it." She added softly.

Feerah adjusted her posture on the bed to focus on the orange dragoness, "oh, so you had it all pre planned?" She said and smiled at the stern look Taalli gave her. "Sounds like you have everything under control-"

"I'm not controlling him." Taalli said flatly. "He doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to."

Feerah cocked her head, "oh, and you would be okay with him if he didn't show?" She could see Taalli thinking the words over, "like if you got there, and he wasn't waiting for you. You would be okay with that."

"Of course not, what's your point?"

Feerah shrugged, "no point." She said simply. "Just poking buttons."

"Well some buttons don't like to be poked, Feerah." Taalli snapped. "Don't imply that I'm manipulating him, when you don't know what you are talking about."

Feerah chuckled at the tense dragoness, Taalli's amber eyes focused on hers briefly before glancing away. "Oh girl, I know exactly what I'm talking about. Let me guess, kinda beta male vibe? Doesn't have the girls chasing after him, you give him the time of day, he says you're pretty." Feerah teased, "call it love, call it romance, call it what you want. But I bet you could call him up and ask him to do anything and he would dance to your tune."

"Shut the fuck up. It's not like that." Taalli replied firmly, but found herself unable to hold the gaze of the older dragoness. "What we have is mutual."

"Uh-huh." Feerah mused, "so if he asked you to quit and come home to be a little nest warmer while he brings home the bacon, you would consider it?"

Taalli glared at the dragoness in silence, the thought of being a trophy mate like her mother had caused her stomach to tense, yet she couldn't shake Feerah's words. The idea that Mike had been so willing to bend over for her eroded her confidence. Was she really just manipulating him like her father had done?

"Oh, and you are such a fine example of not manipulating males. You are more than happy to have a whole flight of drakes servicing you while you prance about pretending you're in heat." Taalli growled.

Feerah could see she had pushed it too far and struck a nerve with Taalli again. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against leading a male on to get what I want. But just don't lead yourself on in the process." Feerah replied calmly, "you are going to be spending a long time apart, it's going to be painful for him to think about you, with all these fit drakes while he is back home waiting for you. Sometimes it's better to put prey out of its misery, rather than keeping it alive until they just give up."

"How about, you don't tell me how to live my life, and I won't tell you how to live yours?" Taalli asked.

"Alright girl, you be you." Feerah said with a wink. "I'm just stirring shit, I don't mean anything by it."

Taalli nodded thankfully before stretching, training was already mentally taxing enough without also having a disagreement between her partner. "When do you think we can leave?" Taalli asked, while today was Veterans Day, they had not been officially dismissed yet.

Feerah shrugged. "No idea."

"Got plans?" Taalli asked, trying to make sure there wasn't any tension between them. "That don't involve a drake under your tail?" She added.

Feerah snorted, "oh come on, that's not fair." She chuckled. "We are hosting a big exercise tomorrow, lots of other units are traveling up to be here. Think about it, all these lonely males who don't have a family to go to, all pent up without having the touch of a female in months… target rich environment!" She said dreamily before shaking her head to focus herself. "And with Shane hanging out with his unit, I will have the whole dorm to myself." She added with glee.

Taalli shook her head with a smirk, "Well, don't make a mess on my bed."

Feerah's grin widened, "oh don't worry girl, I know how to keep it all in me. I find it cleaner if I stay on my back and let it seep in deep-"

"Oh my god! Way too much information." Taalli exclaimed and recoiled back. Laughing along with Feerah they both turned as the sound of the door to their dorm slowly opened.

"I didn't hear what you said, and something tells me I don't want to know." Shane sighed as he held the large door open, looking at both the dragonesses as they continued to giggle.

"Oh, we were just exchanging notes on human anatomy, care to help us?" Feerah teased, her whole body vibrating as they both chuckled at his red face.

"Nope!" He said simply, "we got a mission." He added and stepped into the dorm. Both of the dragons tried to stifle their laughter and straightened up. "Drill instructor wants us back on the range ASAP. Some big wig from that construction firm has come down and wants us to explain how we blew up the training building."

"What!" Taalli exclaimed loudly, her playful tone replaced with fear as her eyes widened in disbelief. Feerah's eyes snapped to Taalli and cocked her head in confusion. Swallowing, Taalli tried to find her voice, "I mean. Why- why do they want us to explain, we already wrote our report?"

Shane looked at her quizzically, "because you did a great job at destroying something that shouldn't have been able to be destroyed, they want to meet the crew." He could see the tension in the orange dragoness and tried to reassure her, "it's okay, you're not in trouble. He just wants to know how you did it."

"Who? What- what did he look like? Dragon from the construction company." Taalli stammered, her wings tucked close to her body and she curled her tail around her paws defensively.

Shane shrugged, "I didn't say dragon, but he was big, black scales, white belly, you know. The one whose face was on the side of the building-?"

"No! No-no-no! I can't!" Taalli exclaimed, looking to the window and then the door for an escape.

"Whoa, easy private, what's wrong?" Shane asked, he could see her breathing coming in rapid pants as her heart hammered in her chest.

"I-I can't be near him. I'm not who-. It's complicated. Please, you can't make me." She cried, her lip trembling in fear. Her sharp claws digging into the heavy sheets on her bed as she cowered down away from the pair.

"Hey Shane, do you mind giving us gals a minute?" Feerah said firmly and stepped off her bed towards Taalli. The orange dragoness recoiled back against the wall as Feerah stepped up onto the mattress next to her. "You walk back there, we will fly to catch up."

Shane looked at Taalli and could see tears forming in her eyes before Feerah shielded her from view, "O…kay. Don't keep us waiting, the sooner we are done with this meeting, the sooner we can leave base."

Feerah nodded as she wrapped a dark wing around the trembling dragoness and watched Shane leave. As soon as the door closed she turned back to Taalli, "okay, what's wrong." She asked bluntly. "You know this dragon?"

Taalli nodded and found herself leaning against Feerah for support, "please, don't let him see me. Please!" She begged, her voice strained with distress.

"Who is he? You know him?" Feerah asked.

Taalli shook her head, "Feerah, please! He cannot know who I am."

"Taalli, your name is all over the report. What are you talking about?" A weak wail came from Taalli and Feerah tightened her wing around the shivering dragoness. "It's okay, I've got you." She said warmly and tried to comfort her.

Slowly rocking like she would comfort a hatchling she finally felt the younger dragoness slowly start to calm down in her embrace and turned to look down at her. "If you get snot on me, we are sooo done." She teased and got a weak smile from Taalli. "How about you take a deep breath and tell me what this mystery dragon did to you, to make you freak out like that."

"It's a long story, I don't want to go into it." She whimpered softly under Feerah's wing.

"Is he an ex or something?" She asked and saw Taalli shake her head, "did he hurt you? Give me something."

"He can't know I'm here, please, I'm trying to stay away from him." Taalli begged.

Feerah had seen her fair share of dragonesses trying to escape abusive relationships and started to build a narrative in her head. "Okay I think I understand. Take a deep breath, this is what we are going to do."

---

Riimack's large blue wings beat slowly before settling in for a long glide once again. Ahead he could see the large city that he once used to call home, the morning Sun causing the large skyscrapers to almost look like pillars of gold against the skyline while the crisp morning air sapped the strength from his body. Taking a deep breath, he pushed through the pain that throbbed in his wings. While he was proud of setting a new record for endurance flying at the academy, the reward of leaving early to fly more was bitter sweet.

The thought of reuniting with his sister, Reevian, and enjoying her cooking kept him aloft as he skimmed over the outskirts and headed towards the eastern markets. Looking around he saw that there were less dragons in the air this morning, a pang of loneliness ran through him as he imagined them all staying at home in warm beds. Looking at the countless buildings he tried to imagine that one day he may have his own place to call home, the thought of flying home to a waiting mate made him smile. His expression faltered as he imagined the white and red dragoness, Viina, from base waiting for him.

"Come on Riimack, you can hardly pluck up the courage to ask her out, let's not get ahead of ourselves." He chastised himself, his deep voice lost in the wind as he continued to beat his wings.

"Maybe after the exercise." He mused to himself and ran through the information he had been given. The exercise was a simulated wargames which combined multiple forces in a simulated battle to find out any weaknesses in their synergy. The rest of his flight and himself would be in-charge of forward recon and surveillance of the battlefield, acting as a relay for orders from command.

Out of the many roles that the military offered, he found himself drawn to this role. The idea of being out of harm's way while protecting squads below was appealing to the large silver drake, and was one of the few roles that his older sister would approve of. Looking over the skyline and adjusting his wings to bank towards the marketplace he mused that it was better than prison. Shuddering at the memories of being grounded for years, confined to concrete and steel cells and only seeing the sky once a week for 'enrichment'. While locked up he had heard stories of dragons being grounded after long stints and made it his mission to use the prison's gym as much as possible. Thinking back to the grim environment he found that suddenly the pain in his tired wings faded and he continued to power his way across the skyline.

---

Feerah fanned her dark wings wide and landed at a running pace on the firing range where Shane, their drill instructor Tony and the large black dragon were waiting. She could tell they had been waiting for her and noticed the black dragon's tail twitching restlessly.

Shane scanned the sky and opened his mouth to ask Feerah, "Where's-"

"Poor girl tried some danger putty and is in the John." Feerah said flatly. Shane opened his mouth to press further but Feerah's blue eyes burned into him. "And by the sounds of it, she is demolishing that building too." She said with a smile to the drill instructor and the black drake, sensing a further rebuttal from Shane she directed the focus to the large black dragon who sat proudly with a designer leather harness strapped around his polished scales. "And who is this handsome hunk of dragon?" She added playfully and extended a paw.

Kaarak looked at the unpolished paw Feerah offered and gingerly held it briefly in a formal greeting, "CEO and chief designer of Large Scale Developments. Call me Kaarak." He said coldly. "I understand you were responsible for destroying my building." His nose stung as he smelt the overwhelming scent of a human's aftershave on the dragoness, its overpowering aroma dominating any traces of her own scent.

Shane folded his arms and looked to his drill instructor, "well, it was really the work of-"

"A plastic explosive charge." Feerah quickly interrupted, cutting the Marine off. "One small single serve, of Uncle Sam's finest pow-pow putty. Shaped to be as effective as possible." She said proudly before flicking her eyes to Shane to silence him.

"Impossible." Kaarak said bluntly and looked at the rubble, his logo and image now a ruined mess on the ground. "That central column was designed to take a beating." He replied before turning back to the drill instructor, "look, we are not responsible for incorrect usage of what was built for you. It's simply impossible that you were able to drop the building with just one charge on the column-"

"But what about the lateral support beam?" Feerah asked while sitting down on her haunches, her eyes quickly leaving her forearm to meet Kaarak.

"The what?" Kaarak said and raised an eyeridge at the loud dragoness. His first read on the dragoness had profiled her as a dumb brute but was now intrigued. "What about the lateral support beam?"

Feerah smiled and guided his gaze to the ruin before quickly glancing down at her forearm, the black sharpie almost invisible on her black scales. "The lateral support beam that spanned the roof of the building, we noticed that it was not built to the dimensions that were on the plans." Feerah explained. "At first we assumed that it must have been an amendment in the design, and maybe built with a 32 mpa concrete mix, or at least a 25 mpa for it to be so small. But it seems whoever did the pour must have used only 20 mpa."

Feerah quickly rotated her forearm to hide the notes that Taalli had scribbled on her scales as the rest turned to look at her in disbelief.

Kaarak's eyes narrowed as he turned to focus on Feerah. "You're an expert in concrete now are you?" He asked and smiled when she shook her head. "So, are you suggesting there was a defect in my work?" He asked with a raised eyeridge, his firm green eyes burning into Feerah's who held his gaze easily.

"Oh, I'm sure you get paid enough to blame someone else." Feerah teased, "perhaps some builder cut a few corners." She offered with a wink.

Kaarak focused on her intently as he pondered her words. "So you are Taalli, are you?" He asked. "Shane here was saying how well you spotted this weakness."

"Oh, no. I'm Feerah." She said while trying to hide her confusion. Nodding to the drill instructor she added, "they train us all pretty good to identify a weakness."

Kaarak took a deep sigh and looked back over the building. He knew that he had cut corners on this project, just like so many beforehand. A sense of uneasiness came over him as he started to wonder if he was losing his touch.

The silence hung heavy in the air before Feerah carefully looked at her forearm, "if it helps, the plans we were given showed a beam much thicker and I'm confident that it would be able to survive a blast quite easily-"

They all paused as Kaarak quickly moved a paw to his chest, his whole body tensed in stifled pain while he sat back on his haunches. Feerah and Shane both focused on the black dragon as he reached into his harness with a trembling paw and retrieved a plastic container of pills.

Kaarak could feel their gaze on his pitiful body, silently judging him as he cracked the lid and retrieved a pill from inside. Struggling to stop his whole body from shuddering in the agony that ran through his broken body, he placed the tablet in his mouth and swallowed. The soft membrane of the capsule quickly dissolved to deliver the medicine into his body, as promised by his doctor he could feel the effects almost immediately.

Feerah cocked her head and focused on which pouch in his harness he tucked the container into before looking up at the pained green eyes of the drake.

Kaarak's heart slowly resumed its regular cadence but the medicine did little to stifle the looks from the others. Clearing his throat he looked back at the ruined building, its crumpled walls as broken as his deteriorating body. Rolling his wing shoulders he looked back at the rest and tried to give a reassuring smile.

"Nothing to worry about. I will get this rebuilt as soon as possible." He announced. The smile on the drill instructor's face telling him that this is what they wanted to hear, "and I will make sure it's built correctly. You will have my personal guarantee." He added proudly, noticing the stares from the dragoness and Marine still focused on him, silently judging him for being weak.

Taking a deep breath to calm his paranoia he looked at the black dragoness and nodded. "You seem to know what you are doing when it comes to structural engineering. I'm always looking for new talent, maybe you should come work for me one day." He said and relaxed as he saw Feerah smile.

Feerah sauntered over, smiling sweetly as she saw his eyes flick to her tail fan. Turning around so she was alongside him she brought herself close to his large body. "What do you think Shane? Can you see me settling down for corporate life?" She added and pressed herself against him, his wing instinctively lifting to give her access to his side.

Kaarak's pride bloomed as he felt her pose alongside him, just as his mate had done so very long ago. Any doubts of his body were quickly forgotten as he felt her warmth against his side.

Shane smirked and shook his head, "I think the office gossip would be legendary." He teased. "Is there anything else we can do for you, Mr Kaarak?" He added and took a few steps to the side opposite Feerah, understanding what she was trying to do.

Kaarak tracked the human by turning his head and smiled. "No, I think we are good here. I will be in touch to organize developments." He added and felt the dragoness under his wing step away from him.

"Well, that's fantastic to hear." The drill instructor smiled. "I would like to thank you for coming out here Kaarak, and I'm glad we could come to a resolution." He added politely.

Kaarak gave a graceful nod to the drill instructor and then to Feerah who returned his gesture. Mantling his large wings he bid them farewell and launched himself into the sky.

"Well, that went easier than expected." Tony said thankfully. "Make sure Taalli is okay and you are all dismissed." He added and turned to start walking back to the buildings.

Shane placed a hand on Feerah's wing to halt her and waited until the drill instructor was out of earshot. "Mind telling me what's going on? Who was that dragon, and why is Taalli so worked up?"

Feerah shrugged, "she wouldn't say who he was. My guess is an abusive ex." She lied and tucked a container of pills into a pouch on her harness. "Come on, we are dismissed."

---

Reevian sat on her haunches as she used a small rod to unwind the awning that hung over her market stall. The noodle shop she had built from the ground up was nestled under the home she rented and was in a prime location of the eastern markets.

She could feel the morning Sun on her wings as she tucked away the rod and set about getting her stall ready. Being a holiday it was always a bit of a gamble on how busy the day would be, but she could see a few early risers exploring the stalls as they opened.

Reaching under the counter she turned the lever for a gas bottle and quickly ignited the stoves. While they started to heat her woks she retrieved containers of vegetables and meats and began preparing for the day. Looking across the marketplace she saw a tired looking dragoness following behind a small hatchling who seemed to make it their mission to race between the stalls as fast as possible.

Reevian smiled sympathetically to the other dragoness and continued to slice a cabbage with a sharp knife. It's wooden handle worn with use but while inexpensive it was the first knife she bought for her stall and it meant more to her than its worth.

Splashing some oil into the wok, Reevain gauged the heat by the high of the flame that erupted. Gently fanning the flame with a wing she smiled as she saw she had attracted the attention of the small hatchling. The tiny gray dragon watched in awe as the red flames tickled the awning before settling down before losing interest and bounded over to another stall.

Reevian could feel her maternal instincts tugging at her as she watched the hatchling begin to chase a plastic bag while its mother followed behind. Her mind drifted to thoughts of a family before she sighed and busied herself with preparing more ingredients.

In the corner of her eye she saw a dragon approach the counter, "we are not open just yet. But if you want to wait I'll be right with you-" her words drifted off as she turned to see a large silver and blue drake on the other side of the counter.

"Would you open early for family?" He asked before coming around the counter.

"Riimack! What- what are you doing here?" Reevian exclaimed as she threw her forearms around her brother.

Riimack pulled her into a hug, "what? Do I have to make an appointment?" He teased and released her, he gave her a broad smile and made his way over to the sink to wash his paws. "I got to leave early, so I flew back for today." He explained.

Reevian's heart swelled as Riimack took over preparing ingredients and she took her place behind the stove. A few customers were starting to make their way towards the stall and she invited them to order.

While tossing ingredients into the wok she glanced over to her brother, growing up she would cook for Riimack and his older brother. Their routine was almost second nature as Riimack would prepare, she would cook and their other brother Teeslah would clean afterwards. A sense of nostalgia washed over her as she watched him skillfully chop a carrot, while he was always large for his age, it was clear that he was not the fledgling who would help her in the family kitchen.

As the morning rush picked up, they didn't have a chance to talk but instead focused on making the orders. Grateful for the help, Reevian managed to keep up with the cooking and the morning flew by until the stream of customers started to finally slow down.

"And you do this every day?" Riimack asked while cleaning a cutting board in the small sink.

"Three times a day, every day but Tuesday." Reevian replied and started tossing ingredients into a wok for their own breakfast.

"Far out!" He replied. "Ever thought of getting an assistant?"

Reevian sighed, "the margins aren't good enough to pay someone." She said while adding his favorite spices into the wok. "So I really appreciate your help." She smiled at him as he cleaned up, thinking about what it might be like if she found someone who would help her.

"So how's training?" She asked while stirring the wok. "Making new friends?"

Riimack stacked a pot on top of another and dried his paws on his harness. "It's harder than basic, that's for sure." He started, "a lot of my class are people who have already seen action."

Reevian turned her head to look at her younger brother, "hey, don't think that makes them better. I'm more than happy if you don't see any action at all." She retorted and saw a flicker of a smile pull at his snout.

"Yes, mom." He teased and copped a glare from her. "I'll be okay, I promise." He said with a smile.

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I wasn't worrying about you." Reevian said and tossed the ingredients that were cooking in the wok. "I just want you home safe, okay?"

Riimack smirked sadly at the idea of home and nodded when she turned her head to see if he had heard her.

Tapping a wooden spoon on the edge of the wok she signaled that she was done and sat on her haunches while dividing the meal between two bowls. "Eat inside?" She asked and nodded to the apartment inside.

Riimack nodded and accepted his bowl, unable to stop himself from dipping his nose down to inhale the delightful smell of his noodles. Reevian gestured for him to head towards the door next to the market stall while she locked the register and placed a sign on the counter. Following her brother up the stairs they made their way up into her apartment.

While not a large dwelling, her apartment was sized for a dragon couple. Riimack looked around the studio style layout, his sister's bed was tucked into the corner while a fold out couch was positioned to face a small television. Beside the entrance was a tight kitchenette with an island which she was clearly using as a dumping ground for odds and sods. It wasn't much, but it was something his sister had fought tooth and claw for and for that he was proud of her.

Reevian placed her bowl of noodles on the kitchen island and cleared a space for him to do the same. "Sorry, if I had known you were coming. I would have cleaned up a little." She fussed.

"Oh, If I had known I would have told you." He said with a smile. "They let me out early because I did well." He added before starting to eat his breakfast noodles.

"Oh yeah, what did you do?" She asked and picked a piece of meat out of her bowl with her claws before eating it.

Riimack swallowed, "we had to pretend to survey the base and stay up for as long as possible. And I beat their record." He said proudly.

"Well, look at you!" Reevian beamed. "And then you flew all the way here?" She asked and he nodded with a mouthful of noodles. "Are you sore?" She asked and he nodded again. "Are you flying back or do you want to stay the night?"

Riimack slurped the noodles and swallowed, "I would, but I have to be at a different base for the morning. Thankfully it's not as far."

"So wait, it's a holiday but they expect you to travel from one base to another on your day off?" She asked and he simply shrugged while eating more of his meal. "So what's at the other base?" She asked and saw him look away briefly.

"Oh, it's just we are doing a combat exercise with other units. See how we work as a team and all that."

Reevian raised an eyeridge, she could always tell when there was something he wasn't saying. "Is Taalli going to be there?" She asked and smirked when his eyes widened.

"I-I guess so, maybe?" He said and could tell Reevian could see straight through him. "Oh, shut up. It's not like that."

Reevian giggled, "I should hope not, she has a man last time I checked." She teased while Riimack busied himself with the remains of his noodles. "Well, if she is there. Tell her I said hi."

Riimack nodded, "but there may be someone else there." He said softly and smiled as Reevian's eyes lit up.

"Oh, I've seen that look." She said with a playful tone. "Does my big little brother have eyes for someone, does he?"

Riimack couldn't stop his silver snout from turning a few shades pink as he picked around at a noodle fragment with a claw. "Maaaaybe."

"You do! You totally do! What's her name, or his name?" Her voice thick with her excitement. "Tell me everything! What's their name? What are they like?"

"Her name is Viina, and yes she is pretty." He said softly

"Oh, Viiiiina." Reevian giggled, drawing her name out deliberately.

"Okay, hold on. I'm not even sure I like her that way."

"Oh, bullshit. Look at your face." Reevian teased.

Riimack chuckled, "okay, look don't go getting your hopes up or anything, we've only spoken briefly."

Reevian was practically vibrating with enthusiasm as her little brother continued. "But, I've been told she is single. I just don't know what to say." He added.

"Tell her you think she is cute! You're a handsome drake, Riimack! Just say hi."

"Thanks, you make it sound so easy." He teased and looked around the room for something to distract himself with.

"What are you talking about? I heard you and Taalli got along just fine."

Riimack rolled his eyes, "that's way different. She has a guy, I don't know, I find it easier to talk to girls as just friends."

"Riimy, you're training to go to a warzone. Nothing bad will happen if it goes wrong. Tell me, what will happen if she says no?" She said while moving her head to be in his vision. She could see him mulling over her words and added, "and how would you feel if she was waiting for you to make the first move, and you didn't do anything?"

He pondered her words for a while before finally answering. "You're right, you're always right, Reevian." He said with a weak smile. His eyes drifting over the small apartment and settling on something that made him smile. "Oh my god, You still have him?" He asked while getting to his feet.

Reevian followed his gaze to a shelf near her bed, "of course I do! I would never throw out Mr snuggle scales." She teased as Riimack stood up and approached an old worn stuffed dragon. It's once silver fabric faded to a light gray with age and was missing an eye but Riimack didn't care as he picked up his old childhood toy.

Reevian smiled as she saw her larger brother flop back on his haunches while holding the toy up to his snout. Her eyes became moist as she remembered the last time she had seen Riimack with his beloved toy. He had been almost too old for it when he carried it with him to his trial. The memory of his demand that she keep him safe as 'prison was no place for Mr snuggles' made her throat tighten.

"He has been a good boy." Reevian said warmly and collected the bowls from their meals. "You can take him with you if you want. He might know what to say to Viina." She teased.

Riimack smiled, "do you- would it be okay if he stayed here for a while longer?" He asked and placed him back on the shelf. "I don't want him to get dirty."

Reevian's heart melted, "on one condition Riimy, you have to talk to this girl. Okay?" She asked and smiled when he nodded.

---

Taalli's wings burned as she beat them furiously, every hard flap of her powerful wings was a surge away from the base where her father was now. Glancing back over her wing, she checked to see if she was being followed but didn't slow down.

Her lungs burned but she swallowed hard and continued her frantic pace. With the Sun to her left she knew she was heading south, towards a town on the outskirts of the city. Its location was specially picked because it was a halfway point between Mike and her new home.

Thinking back to the instructions she had given Feerah she hoped that her notes were clear enough. She prayed that her scent would be masked by Shane's aftershave Feerah begrudgingly wore as the thoughts of her father knowing where she was tore at her mind.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she spotted the town ahead. Adjusting her wings she made a beeline straight towards it, keeping low to be harder to spot against the clear sky. As she approached, she glanced over her wing again to confirm that Kaarak wasn't behind her.

She spotted the belltower in the middle of the town and adjusted her course. The agreement that she had made with Mike was to meet at a park on the western side of the town, somewhere where her father or mother would never go.

Skimming over the treetops of the park, a shrill whistle rang out from behind and below her. Her heart stopped and eyes widened as she snapped her head around in alarm to see the source. Down on the ground a familiar face beamed up at her and waved an arm to get her attention.

With a twist of her tail and quick beat of her wings she spun around and began her rapid descent below the tree tops and landed at speed in the clearing. Mike's eyes widening as she ran across the park towards him, he could see the look of distress in her amber eyes and stepped towards her with his arms out. "Whoa, what's wrong?" He asked as she finally slowed down to a stop in front of him, her mouth open in a pant as her chest heaved. "Everything okay?"

"He was there- at the base- he almost- he almost saw me." She gasped.

"Who? Your father? What-why?" Mike asked, he could feel his own heart beat faster at the thought of being near the black dragon.

"I- we-"

"Take a deep breath," Mike said and placed a hand on her scaly shoulder, "it's okay, you're safe." He could feel her body trembling and moved to wrap his arms around the base of her neck in a reassuring hug. "I've got you."

Taalli tried to control her body, and finally took a long deep breath before slowly exhaling. Her heart still beat wildly in her chest, but his soft skin against her scales slowly helped her relax.

"You're okay." Mike repeated and held her tighter when a black paw wrapped around his back. "He won't find you here, you're safe."

Taalli relaxed her tense wings and shuffled them at her side before releasing her paw from Mike. "Thank you." She said weakly and swallowed.

Mike relaxed his grip on her neck and took a step back to look at his orange dragoness. "You good?" He asked and she nodded softly. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked and she shook her head, even the mere thought of him made her chest tighten. "Want a coffee?" He asked and saw her smile.

Stepping back to look at a basket and blanket he had placed under one of the trees in the park. "Come on then." He added and they walked together. Flexing his hands he could feel a fine layer of grit from where he had hugged her, "you seem to be dirty again. What would your parents say." He teased and laughed when she nudged him firmly with a wing.

"Oh shh you." Taalli said with a small smile, her mind starting to drift to what her father would say until Mike placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking down to his innocent face she couldn't help but smile. Glancing ahead she saw his bag under the tree and the old white van he drove parked in the car park nearby.

As they reached his bag he opened the top and retrieved a large coffee flask which made her eyes light up. She quickly lay down on the ground and patted the soft grass next to her for him to sit, after the long rapid flight she was keen to rest for the moment.

"So why are you so dirty?" Mike asked and unscrewed the cap of the flask before handing it to her.

Taalli breathed in the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans before taking a sip. Her eyes closed in bliss as she drank his hot coffee. With her eyes still closed she spoke softly, "I blew up our building, and tomorrow I've got a big combat thing, so I figured I'm only going to get more dirty."

Mike sat down next to her and frowned, "our building?" He asked and saw her smile.

Opening her eyes she looked down at Mike and nodded. "That cheapskate used our final year project to build a training building on the base." Taalli explained, "thin support beam and all."

Mike reached for a mug for himself and Taalli poured him a coffee. "Wait, like, our design was built?" He asked.

Taalli nodded, "best bit, they said it was impossible to blow up with the amount of explosives we were given." She said and took a sip before looking across the manicured lawn of the park. "But I dropped that bitch by taking out the support beam. Whole thing came crumbling down with one charge, drill sergeant was pissed at first until Shane talked him down." She added with a chuckle.

Mike frowned, "sorry, Shane?"

"Battle buddy, well, one of them. I'm partnered with another dragoness and a Marine called Shane." She explained.

Mike sipped his coffee and looked up at her, "did you enjoy it?" He asked, having mixed feelings about having something he helped make be destroyed with glee.

"Oh, I didn't tell you the best bit. The runt put a big image of his ugly face on the side of the building." She said with enthusiasm, "I wish you could have seen it come down, there was a loud crack and then it held for a while and then booosh! No more ugly face, no more stolen designs." Lifting the flask to her snout, she smiled, "I wish you could have seen it."

Mike chuckled nervously and gingerly placed a hand on her forepaw while she drank from the flask. He could feel the dust and grime under his fingers as he gave her scales a soft stroke, looking up to her face he saw a small trickle of coffee escaped her maw and run down her cheek. Looking at her strong neck muscles move under scales as she swallowed, he couldn't stop himself from wondering when they became so defined. He waited for her to finish drinking before asking, "so, the building is gone? Is that why he went to the base?"

Taalli nodded, "Feerah said she would cover for me and I slipped out. We were probably going to be dismissed anyway, but I had to get away."

Mike shuffled closer to her forepaw and leant against her shoulder, while she was laying down, his shoulders were slightly above hers and he wrapped an arm around the base of her neck in a reassuring embrace. "Well he isn't here. It's just us."

Mike gently stroked her scales while enjoying her presence, seeing how frightened she was at the thought of her father made him struggle to find a nice way to bring up her mother.

"So, how have you been?" Taalli asked and adjusted a wing to pull him closer to her side.

"Quite boring in comparison, no demolitions happening on my end. Quite the opposite actually."

"Oh? How so?" Taalli asked and turned her head around at the sound of him pulling something out of his pocket.

Unfolding a piece of paper he straightened it out on his leg before showing it to her. "I think I've found a place. For the coffee shop." He announced.

Taalli didn't need to read his expressions, the tone of his voice conveyed his enthusiasm for what he was showing, lowering her head down as she looked at the black and white print of an advertisement. "Oh wow, that's quite large!"

"Well, if I'm going to be targeting dragons."

"You calling me big?" She teased playfully and looked at him sternly, Mike paused until he saw her lips slowly pull back in a smirk.

"I'm calling you beautiful." He playfully replied and directed her back to the flier. "I've been talking to the realtor and started making inquiries on some espresso machines!"

Taalli smiled and listened to him as he explained the layout of the store and how he would market towards dragons, his price structure and loyalty card system all while she continued to nod politely. While she enjoyed his enthusiasm and was glad to hear that he was building a life for himself, she couldn't stop herself from looking to the sky every now and then. A part of her expecting to see the looming dark shape of her father.

"You have been busy." She remarked as he paused for breath. "I'm proud of you Michael." She said and lowered her head to kiss him on the forehead.

"Thank you" he replied and guided her head lower to kiss the bridge of her snout. Pulling away suddenly at the taste of concrete dust. "Bleh, sorry. You are kinda dusty." He said with a smile. "Sorry."

"Don't be, I-I should have washed." She said self consciously and lifted her head out of his hands.

"I still love you though." He said and squeezed her with his arm over her shoulders.

Taalli smiled, content to sit with her Mike as she enjoyed the serenity of the park. On the far end of the grassy field she could see a couple of humans holding hands while walking, and a group of fledgling dragons practicing Dragonball tackles on the safety of soft grass. Her thoughts were interrupted by a snort of laughter from Mike. "What?"

"Caution, hot? Really?" He remarked while pointing to her harness.

"What?" Taalli repeated with a confused smile.

"You didn't write this?" Mike asked and tried to hold the harness strap so she could see.

Taalli focused on the black nylon and rolled her shoulder, the sunlight reflecting differently off the black sharpie. "Oh no she didn't!" Taalli exclaimed and stood up suddenly. Mike watched as she slipped a claw through each of the black buckles and the harness crashed to the ground. Spinning around Taalli inspected her issued harness. "Oh for fucks sake."

Mike rolled to his knees and inspected the harness more closely, his smile broadening as he read the very subtle writing that had been inscribed on the harness. "Who-"

"Feerah, my battle buddy." Taalli said with a sigh. "I thought she was just coloring in the buckles. But it seems she has a bit of a flare for the arts." She mused as she read the variations of 'caution hot' that had been written on the straps.

"Oh, there is more inside." Mike added while turning some of the rear straps over before he burst out laughing.

Taalli snatched her harness out of his hands and read what Feerah had written on the inside of the strap that ran between her hind legs. "Warning: confined manhole-, oh fuck you Feerah!" Her frustration was evident in her tone despite Mike's laughter.

"Oh it's not that funny!" Taalli retorted, only for a smirk to pull at her lips.

"Oh, it's a little funny." He laughed, taking a breath, he tried to calm himself down, "So I take it you are making friends." He added.

"She… is something. I'll say that." Taalli said in defeat. Thinking about how well they had gotten along after the few months they had trained together.

"Well, it sounds more exciting than basic training, blowing up things, hanging out with other 'nesses."

"It's different, I'll say that." She mused, "yeah, a lot more exciting." She concluded after thinking for a minute.

"Do you think you will find it okay coming back to a normal job?" Mike asked hopefully, "working in a cafe is going to be different to blowing up buildings."

Taalli cocked her head and looked down at him, "oh, I don't think it would be too hard. In basic training I got my fair share of drill instructors shouting at me, I imagine some customers will be like that."

Mike chuckled, "well, I hope not." His smile faltered when he saw her look to the sky again. "Is something wrong?"

Taalli swallowed and tried to smile but could see the concern in his eyes. She wanted to tell him about the pain she had felt in the cave and on the training field, but knew he would worry. "I- I, can we walk? Sorry, it's just I feel like a sitting duck here and I keep expecting to see him."

Mike nodded and got to his feet, "of course, whatever you need."

Taalli stepped back into the leg loops of her harness and slid it up her shoulders, "thanks" she murmured to Mike as he held one of the straps for her to latch.

An uneasy silence hung between them as they began to walk down the path that ran alongside the field. The green trees providing a canopy over them which helped put Taalli's mind at ease.

"So I saw that this place has a statue of a war dragon, want to check it out?" Mike asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I would like that." Taalli said politely, unsure where the sudden awkwardness had come from. "So, when do you think you will open the coffee shop?"

"I'm not sure, I would love to open before Christmas or maybe Thanksgiving if I can."

"That's cool, is there anything I can do to help?" She asked. "Besides, you know… helping." She added sadly.

Mike placed a hand on her shoulder to make her stop as he stepped around in front of her and looked up into her amber eyes. "Hey, don't be saying stuff like that. Okay? You are helping! You're one of my investors, remember?" He said warmly and saw her smile. "And the sexiest of them all too." He added and she blurted a small laugh.

"Oh am I now? Who am I beating?" She asked and saw him break eye contact.

Gently stroking her front he busied himself with a stubborn flake of dirt on her scales. "Well, there is Ben and his boyfriend Geevin." He started, "and I may have another on the hook, but I'm not sure if I want their money."

Taalli smiled wide, "well, look at you Mr entrepreneur! Getting shareholders and backers, I'm impressed!"

Mike swallowed and smiled, the genuine pride in her eyes made it impossible for him to mention her mother wanted to help. He knew he had to tell Taalli that he was considering taking her mother's money, but struggled to find the words.

*So Ben and Geevin, huh?" Taalli probed as they continued walking, "how are they going?"

"Good! He is writing a novel and is often hanging out at the bar or the library. Ben and I started working alternative shifts because we were kind of seeing each other all the time, so I often get the apartment to myself in the evenings and they get it in the mornings."

"That's good, you get a bit of alone time." She mused.

Their gaze looked ahead to a bronze statue of a large dragon standing proudly with wings mantled. As they approached, Taalli noticed the casting also depicted an old fashioned military harness on the dragon and they walked their way towards the front where a plaque was mounted on the base.

"Dedicated to the dragons fallen while fighting for their freedom during the battle of the big wing." Mike read aloud and looked down the list of names the plaque was dedicated to. "I'm- I'm confused, I didn't think dragons had last names."

Taalli cocked her head and looked down to him. "We don't" she said and cocked her head in disbelief when Mike looked up at her.

"But these dragons, look they have last names, Raal Petersmill, Huunic Johnsyard, Yuura Nathanielmill." Mike continued to rattle off the names listed in the plague before looking back to Taalli. "They all have names." He added and could see her jaw tense.

Taalli shook her head, "not quite, Michael. You didn't do history at school, did you?" She asked and he shook his head. "Or dragon culture? Oh sweet Michael, those are not last names, they're owners."

Mike's eyes widened and jaw opened as he looked back at the list of names, he knew dragons were once treated as property but as he looked at the dates on the plaque he was shocked to see how recent it was.

"During the first great war, the government would go through the country and buy dragons that could fight from farms and mills. To motivate them, they would promise their freedom if they survived the war." Taalli said sadly.

Mike looked down the long list in disbelief, "there are so many."

"There is, isn't there." She mused while looking up at the statue. While the pose and features of the dragon were meant to inspire others, she could see the artist had also captured the look of pain in the dragon's eyes.

"So, those that survived. They were now free?" Mike asked and frowned when she shook her head.

"It wasn't straight away, after the war there were a lot of excuses being made. You see, the government now owned the majority of the most desirable stock and some officials knew they could make a pretty penny if they sold us."

Mike moved next to her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her foreleg. "That's pretty fucked up."

Taalli gave a weak smile, "yup!" She said painfully. "Once dragons gained their own rights, they demanded they not have last names. Sort of a way of saying that they were free and they didn't belong to anyone." She added before giving a dismissed snort.

"What?" Mike asked and stroked her foreleg.

Taalli shook her head, "nothing, just a silly thought." She couldn't help but draw parallels between the statue and herself, both fighting for their own freedom. Finding herself unable to look at the list of names, she shrugged her shoulders for Mike to let go and resumed walking the smaller human staying beside her with a hand on her side.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mike asked, he could tell her body was tense and quickly skipped ahead to move in front of her. Taalli paused and looked down at him, allowing him to quickly wrap his arms around her neck. "I've got you." He added warmly and gave her a squeeze.

Taking a deep breath she sighed and placed a paw around his back to hold him close. His grip comforted her as she tried to relax. "Sorry, I just had some bad thoughts." She said softly.

Mike gave a soft kiss to her throat scales while he held her close, "want to talk about it?"

"Sorry, it's just they died fighting for something. And… gah, it's silly." She admitted, "I just thought about myself and compared myself to their struggle. It's silly, they are actual heroes."

"You're a hero!" Mike said cheerfully and looked up to see her unamused expression. "You saved me from jail." He added with a grin.

"It doesn't count if I put you in it." She retorted.

"Oh, we are not going through this again." Mike said and tightened his grip on her shoulders. "It's not your fault, it's your parents. What you are doing is heroic. That's final." He said with conviction, "and one day, you will be back home with me, I'll work the coffee machine, you will just look pretty and together we will get through it." He added with a smile. "Just as we planned."

Taalli clenched her jaw and relaxed it again, the idea of her returning back to a normal world caused her chest to tighten with confliction. The memory of Feerah's joke about Mike asking her to be a nest warmer made her heart to beat faster.

"Yes, just as we planned." She muttered quietly, as much for her own sake.

Mike noticed she still felt distant and held her close. "I love you Taalli, this military thing is just a blip. Just a phase of your life we will look back on and smile at, okay?"

Taalli took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before lowering her head down to his back and hugging him in return. "Sure," she said softly. "You're probably right."

Mike's hands gently stroked the back of her neck while he embraced her. "I missed you." He whispered softly, "I was really happy when I got your message."

"I missed you too." Taalli murmured and pressed her head into his back. "Sorry, if I'm tense. It's just been a weird day."

"Hey, don't worry, it's just us now." He said warmly and pulled away from her front so he could guide her head into his hands. Looking into her amber eyes he smiled before kissing the top of her snout.

"Sorry, I know it's meant to be Mike's day, but I feel like I haven't done anything for you."

"You didn't have to do anything, I'm happy to just be with you." Mike replied and scratched behind her jaw. "I will wait for the end of the world, if it means you will come home one day." He added.

Taalli slowly relaxed in his hands, "one day." She said softly. "I-I missed you too." She added finally, tilting her head she pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss before lifting her head up. "Food?"

Mike chuckled at her change of topic. "Sure, what would you like?"

Taalli smiled and looked down at him, "what would you like. It's Mike's day afterall."

Mike moved next to her as they continued to walk, "maybe a sundae?"

"Then a sundae it is!" Taalli announced happily, "what would my mother say."

Mike chuckled as he walked beside Taalli, thinking to himself that maybe one day she could ask her mother herself. "By the way, do you get Thanksgiving off?"

Taalli nodded, "unless I do something to get myself held back, we should all get leave that day."

"Awesome, how about I organise something?"

"You don't need to go over the top, the cave was really nice. But I'm happy with just something simple."

Mike pretended to look sad, "well shucks, I'm probably going to have to cancel the ice sculptures and the skywriter then." He said and looked up to her with a smirk, "and the horse drawn cart with a marching band is probably over the top hey?"

Taalli snorted, "can you imagine! The horses would probably freak the fuck out."

Mike chuckled, "and I'll have to tell Seelena to not worry about her apology." He added and looked to her to gauge her reaction.

"Pfft, that bitch wouldn't apologise to save her life." Taalli spat and shuffled her wings tight against her body.

Mike could tell she was tense just at the mention of her mother and looked ahead before shruging, "maybe."

"Maybe?" Taalli exclaimed, "she would happily snuggle up to my dropped egg of a father and be his soft scaled whore than apologise."

Mike looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "you haven't heard have you? She left Kaarak."

"What?" Taalli asked and stopped walking. "When did this happen?"

Turning to face her he looked up at her, "maybe a month or two ago, she just took all her jewellery and left him."

Taalli was taken aback, "and, he was okay with that?" She asked, her heart starting to beat faster in her chest as Mike shrugged.

"As far as I know, he didn't set the police on her. So she is a free 'ness now."

"I-..... wow." Taalli said stunned. "How-how do you know all of this?"

Mike swallowed, "it was on the news." He lied, holding her gaze until she looked across the park.

"I- that… I can't believe she left, and he let her go with stuff he paid for." Taalli remarked, "I assumed he would have had her locked up for stealing or something."

"Seems not, I think after you left, it set a few things in motion." He explained, while trying to find the words to guide Taalli to maybe open up to the idea of meeting her mother again.

"Well, I'll be." Taalli said and shrugged. "Ice cream?"

"Ice cream." Mike said with a smile.

---

---

Feerah smiled down at the large male she had pinned on Shane's bed this evening, her white teeth and bright eyes almost glowing in the dark dorm room. "Really? And I thought you knew what you were doing, Gillic."

The male panted for breath, his hard erection pinned between their two bodies. "It's Gillac-"

"I really don't care." Feerah said with a raised eyeridge, yelping in surprise as the male wrapped a paw around the base of her neck and pulled sideways, with the help of his powerful wings he rolled them over before pressing his jaws against her vulnerable thoat. His sharp teeth pressing firmly against her smooth scales while he grinded his member against her, the fleshy nubs on the underside of his cock sawing at her puffy wet vulva.

Pulling his hips back he replaced his jaw with a firm paw, pinning the black dragoness into the bed. "You want it rough, don't you?" He grinned while rolling his hips to align his tip with her entrance.

"I want you, to fuck me." She gasped simply. "So, are you doing that any time soon? Or should I go find another one of your unit." She teased and tilted her head to look him in the eyes. "Your captain looked cute-"

The male knew she was just trying to rile him up, but as soon as his tip found her damp folds he let out a feice snarl and pressed his hard cock into Feerah hard enough to silence her jests. "Something tells me, you don't want cute." He teased while she gasped, the sudden feeling of being filled by his hard length driving the air from her lungs.

Adjusting his footing he drew back, every ridge on his dick's fleshy comb plucking at her entrance until just his tip was inside. Pausing he looked down at the black dragoness, "you want this, don't you?" He asked rhetorically, "beg for it."

"Oh, honey, maybe you are too cute for me." She smiled and leant forwards, wrapping her fore paws around sides, pinning his wings before darting her head at the base of his skull. Her jaws latched onto his throat, and she used the predictable recoil of shock his body reacted with to push him sideways and backwards.

With lightning-fast reflexes, she rolled herself out from under him and used a tail to pull one of his back legs out. Before the male knew what had happened, he found himself crashing to the thinly carpeted ground with Feerah on top of him. He tried to open his mouth to protest but was silenced by the sensation of his dick entering her warm folds once again.

Using her forepaw, she quickly pinned his wing arms to the ground and began to slide herself up his cock before thrusting herself back down firmly. A weak moan came from the male as he suddenly found himself unwilling to fight back.

Replacing her sharp jaws with a tender lick she looked down at the male that she was riding, "this girl doesn't beg." She said proudly, as he opened his mouth to retort she simply slammed back down his cock and tensed her body as much as she could. Her vice like grip on his thick cock caused whatever words the drake was thinking of to become a needy moan. "Good boy." She teased and lifted herself up, enjoying the friction of his length in her warm wet tunnel before humping back down into him.

Feerah smiled at the disarmed male, alternating between lifting up and down his long cock and hilting him before grinding in a tight circle. Her claws dug into his delicate wing arms as she felt his tip run across a particularly sensitive spot, lifting up and thrusting herself down she made his member stroke and press against the areas that brought her the most pleasure. Glancing down, she saw him scrunch up his eyes in pleasure, she could feel how close he was and lowered her head down close to his. "If you cum before I do, you will have hell to pay."

Giilac groaned, "you're so tight, so wet." His hips giving involuntary humps up into her to try and gain some semblance of control.

Feerah's pride swelled, "yes, more of that." She gasped and closed her eyes, her mind replacing this male with another. "Keep going." She added while lifting and slamming her hips down to meet his.

Feeling his own pleasure building rapidly he used his forepaws to clutch her strong shoulders, "you-you're so warm, you feel so good." Seeing a mouth open in bliss he continued, "your scales, they are so sexy, so smooth. You could be a model." He said, his mind struggling to find the words to describe her as he felt her velvety folds hugging and caressing his cock with every movement.

"You make me want to cum, to flood you, to fuck you silly and go again and again until you drip when you walk."

"Fuck!" Feerah gasped as her mind painted the picture of a certain green drake under her, devoting himself to her with praise. "I'm close." She gasped.

"I can feel it, your clenching down like crazy." He groaned and continued to rock his hips up to meet her downward thrusts. The wet slapping sounds of their bodies coming to get her filled the air as they frantically worked each other closer to their climax.

Feerah could feel her pleasure building while he continued to groan his praises to her, her heart pounded in her chest as she drove up and down his cock harder and harder, every twitch of his hard cock signalling how close he was to filling her with his seed.

Giilac yelped in surprise as Feerah's jaws clamped down hard on his throat, her sharp claws denting his scales as her whole body shuddered and convulsed while her orgasm washed over her. His whole body stiffened as he felt her tunnel clench and ripple on his cock while she mashed her slit against his. His own pleasure skyrocketing as he felt her body begging his cock for his seed, with a jerk of his hips he pressed up as far as he could inside her and unleashed his pent-up seed into her depths. Months without the touch of a female now culminated in a surge of hot seed firing out of his tip and against the cervix he so desperately pressed against.

Feerah let out a muffled yowl of bliss into his throat as she felt the hot cum jet inside her, her instincts kicking in to milk his shaft with her tunnel and grind her hips against this to ensure he had the best chance of impregnating her. Every throb of his hard length inside her was another shot of his virile seed trying to claim eggs that were not there, but neither minded as her sensitive walls continued to twitch and shudder on his hard cock.

Eventually her climax started to end, and his length lost its battle to stay hard. Relaxing her jaws, she released the male's throat from her grip and looked down with a smile. Grinding her hips against his softening member she chuckled as he whimpered in overstimulation. "Worth it for a comfortable bed?" She asked with a smile, her mouth still partially open as she panted for breath.

As the drake opened his mouth to respond, a soft knock came at the door. "Are-are you guys done?" Came a feminine voice that made Geerah chuckle.

"Want to join in Taalli?" Feerah called back over her shoulder. "He is a bit drained but could probably eat you out."

"No! No, I can just take my bed outside or something." Taalli called from the hallway with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Feerah slowly lifted herself up from the drake, the last of his softening length slipping out of her in a wet slurp. With a smile she took a step forward and rubbed her messy vent across his chest before stepping off the prone drake. "Come on in Taalli, Gillic was just leaving."

"What? You said I could stay the night-"

"Sorry beautiful, tonight's been fun, but it's just not going to work out." She teased as the door to the dorm slowly opened. "I'll catch you tomorrow in the field." She added as the disgruntled drake rolled to his feet, his pink flaccid member slowly retreated into his slit as Taalli held the door open for him.

With a sigh and a shake of his head he trundled out of the room with a crestfallen droop to his wings. Taalli gave him a polite smile as he walked past and then she entered the room.

"Breaking hearts again, Feerah?" Taalli teased and inspected the state of the room. Both Feerah's and her own bunks were still made tightly as they did every day, while Shane's bed had clearly been the focus of Feerah's activities.

"Oh come on, I offered him Shane's bed for the night in exchange for a good root. It's not like I'm making him sell his soul or anything. He just gets to sleep out in the tents." Feerah explained before stepping onto Shane's bed and curling around to lay down.

"I saw the tents and vehicles outside, are they the others for the exercise tomorrow?" Feerah asked. Taalli had seen the rows and rows of the military issued tents alongside the buildings as she had flown in.

"Yup! Most came tonight, but I expect the last of them will filter in before breakfast. Poor things have to sleep on their bedrolls while we get beds." Pressing her paws into the mattress she emphasized her point.

"Ah, I see." Taalli mused as she gave her bed a curious sniff before stepping onto her bed and laying down. "And generous Feerah offered to give a handsome drake somewhere to stay, if only he scratched an itch you had." She added with a smirk.

"You know me too well, you would think the poor sod would be grateful for a shag. Besides, I don't think he would be a good cuddle. But enough about me, what is Taalli doing back here so early? I thought you would be out galavanting in fields of roses with your little Mike." She teased and noticed the orange dragoness shift her focus to her pillow. "Oh… was it that bad?"

Taalli took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "no, it was…. I don't know, we just felt… off? I don't know how to explain it." She said softly.

Feerah reached over to her bed and snatched her pillow up in her jaws. Placing it down on Shane's pillow she plumped them up before laying down again and resting her head on their combined thickness. "Let me guess, you didn't find things relatable between one another." She said softly while closing her eyes. "He gave you the odd, weird look when you talked about military stuff, and found yourself bored by his civilian life stories."

"No! It's just…. I don't know." Taalli retorted, she knew where Feerah was going and didn't like the answer she knew would come. "I love him, he is sweet and funny. Makes me feel special, but… I don't know."

"You are a different breed now Taalli, this gig changes you." Feerah murmured, "you're a killer, or about to be. Muggles don't get that." She added. "However, you are when you meet someone, how you are when they fall in love with you, is how they expect you to be. At the end of the day, people don't like change."

"I didn't want to change though, I joined to keep him safe, but now… I just don't know."

Feerah rolled onto her side slightly and stretched her wing before nestling it close to her side. "If you were to do it again, enlist I mean. Would you do it?"

Taalli opened her mouth but found herself confused, she had run because she thought her father would pursue her. But seeing how her mother had escaped, now made her question if she had over reacted.

Feerah saw her in thought and pushed, "the fact that you hesitate, speaks volumes." The black dragoness lifted her head to look at Taalli. "Listen, I'm tired and this may come off as blunt. But what are you doing here?" She said coldly, holding Taalli's gaze until the orange dragoness looked away. "Like, you have a guy on the outside, some health things going on with your body. But you're smart, pretty and could do anything you wanted. I know you ain't here for the food, so what's the deal?"

Taalli swallowed, "it's a long story."

Feerah rolled her eyes, "okay, let's put this another way. If the drill sergeant came in through that door and said 'Taalli, you're cut. Pack your shit and go home.' How would you feel? Relieved? Happy? Sad?"

Taalli looked around the room at what she had started calling home. While the living quarters were smaller than the bathroom she had back in the apartment she grew up in, she felt safer here than she had in the city. "I don't know."

"Yes you do." Feerah retorted sternly. "Answer the question."

"I really don't know, alright!" Taalli snapped, "look, out there things are weird, my family is nuts, and now Mike feels… weird. But here, things just kinda make sense."

"There you go." Feerah smiled and lowered her head back down to her stack of pillows.

Taallis chest was tight as she thought about what she was saying, her eyes welling up as she imagined Mike's innocent face looking at her. "Is that why you are here?" Taalli asked, hoping for some sense of understanding.

Feerah shrugged. "My great grand sire fought in the first great war, my grand sire in the second. My mother cleared sea mines for the navy, so when my brother refused to enlist, it was up to little old Feerah to keep the tradition alive." She said while closing her eyes. "So now, I get paid to travel the world, exploring areas that tourists would never see, doing sketchy shit that would be illegal back home, all while hanging out with friends. Oh, and having access to a couple hundred sexy strong drakes is nice too." Feerah explained warmly, "what more could a ness want?"

Taalli softly nodded without realizing it, "it does make things simpler. Do you ever think about getting shot or killed?"

Feerah's lip twitched briefly before she took a deep breath, "did you know that over a thousand dragons die each year, just from flying into one another in the city? Hell, the amount that die on construction sites would shock you." She said and opened an eye to look at Taalli. "Workplace deaths happen in every industry. Ours just get you a marble headstone and a 3 volley salute."

Taalli shook her head, "those are completely different, those are preventable."

"Ours are preventable too." Feerah mused and closed her eyes again. "Just don't be shit." She added with a smile. "Or at least better than the enemy."

Taalli snorted and tucked her tail around herself tightly before she lay down herself, as she pressed her head into her pillow she heard the jangling sound of something underneath. Lifting her head up she slid a paw under her pillow and pulled out a plastic pill container. "What's this?"

Feerah opened a bleary eye and saw the container then closed her eyes. "Don't ask where I got it, but it might help with your chest pains."

Taalli squinted at the label and tried to pronounce the label 'tetrabenazine'. "Are you sure this will help? This isn't some heat enhancer or something as a joke is it?"

Feerah gave a snort and smiled with her eyes closed, "no, if I was going to do that. I would crush it up into your coffee flask." She teased.

Taalli rolled the container over in a paw to try and find a dosage but only a slight trace of where a sticky label of the prescription details once was. Either whoever owned it didn't want their name on it, or Feerah had removed the label.

"Thankyou Feerah." Taalli said softly, "it's- it's good to be able to talk to someone about Mike." Her voice a hushed whisper as she settled down for the night, it was quite late, and she knew she would have to be up early in the morning for the exercise. "Maybe you are right, maybe I am different now. I still want to love Mike, but I just feel-"

Taalli was interrupted by a soft gargling snore coming from the clearly asleep black dragoness. With a deep sigh Taalli nuzzled her pillow and curled herself tighter on her bed. While exhausted from the flying, she found herself adjusting her position repeatedly as she tried to quiet her mind.