Nope... could not think of a good title for this one. I did try... oh well...

Anyway... sorry I'm a little late this month, hope it's worth it, as finally I give a little taste of the home of the little Zaipu creatures who have shown up from, time to time. So, here it is, another little jaunt into the, familiar den of Dari'karra.

If you want to see my work earlier, check out some of my non-writing projects in production, or just give a dragon a snack, why not check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=9679574

TDoDK; Nerves to overcome

Kir laid strewn on his back in the cosy room he called home, stirring as sunlight peeked through his solitary window to splay across his bare chest. The zaipu yawned a bit, tufted tail flicking against the smoothed wooden floor. He was a lithe creature, skin a yellowed brown, hair the colour of fresh dirt. Sprightly and fit. An unassuming and common zaipu.
Slowly he sat as the heat on his chest became uncomfortable. His back to the curved wall of his home, dregs of sleep shaking from his thoughts. He wove the fingers of his left hand idly through the slightly oily fur of his tail tuft, scratching where the skin itched. Then memory finally surfaced, and he sprang up. He was late.
Kir’s home was a simple place, a bedding of woven grasses, a small box, and that was it for the small room he could barely stand in. He burst from his door with a wobble, confronted with the sheer drop to ground far below, tail on reflex curling to the door handle, catching himself in an all too familiar way. One day, the door would break free, he reminded himself, before sectioning that off into the quarantined parts of his mind known only as, to get around to.
Below the village sprawled out, a wide oval, walled to keep beasts out with a nicely sized pathway for the gleaming gems of beasts that wandered around below. Dragons.
With no time he was willing to waste, Kir turned, weaving past the little dome of a house he had, out on the thicker branch. Tail keeping him balanced, he hopped across to a thinner branch, waiting the split second as it adjusted to his weight, before darting for the trunk of the tree. Many a home like his in his view, perched on any branch wide enough to support it.
The two trees their village was built around were mighty things, deep in old forests. Older than he, older than dragons… the trees needed to be this big, to support their buildings. Kir sprang off the branch, grasping to the base of the tree, and jumping again, wrapping around a rope and bracing. He sank, as a counterweight rose. The pulleys were the best way to get down. Already the roof of the big, main hall, built around the base of the tree was on approach. One lithe spring, and he was atop it, slipping down the sloped roof to be dumped down onto the earthy path.
Kir stood, shook himself, arched his back and cast one look up the towering tree. His home was a bauble, way up there… he hoped he could get a dragon to carry him back up…
Speaking of, a tremor in the soil urged Kir to weave aside, one of the large reptiles wandering past him. His head came to about the shoulder, or a little higher. The dragons were so huge, several times his size at least… not to stand in the way of.
He took the moment to rub his arm, dulling the ache of his landing, but still… he was no less late. Once the dragon had passed, Kir darted down the path, the way it had come. It had like as not been coming from his destination. Right against one of the tighter curved walls of their oval home, the big building where dragons flocked. It was a dream to work there. Kir felt a knot of dread in his stomach.

The grooming parlour was a big place. Though one of the taller buildings it only had one floor. But it was for the dragon’s comfort. Their wings could flick, their tails sway, all with no fear of hitting a wall or ceiling.
Kir slunk in, dipping his head to the older zaipu overseeing things… his boss. But that was a brief glance. His eyes turned quickly to the dragons. His heart sank. He didn’t know any of the beasts visiting today. The dragons were self-absorbed creatures. They cared little for zaipu affairs. But they did enjoy grooming. The relationship between their kinds was symbiotic, but the dragons at least, focussed only on what the zaipus offered, and how to stay in the good graces of the little serving creatures. But any dragon could enter the village, so long as it didn’t come to hunt, and any dragon could come to be groomed. They had regular visitors, even some Kir would consider friends… but these dragons today, he didn’t know. He hesitated.
“Kir…” the older zaipu spoke, his tone low, warning “there’s a dragon over there who could use an extra set of hands”
“right…” Kir murmured, looking over the beast in question. A female he could tell, beautiful, strewn… it wasn’t that he didn’t want to serve her… he was scared.
A low sigh echoed from his elder “Kir, either get to work or go clear your head… you came well recommended, but I can’t deal with a young zaipu who’s scared of dragons”
Kir lowered his head. He wanted to object, correct his elder. But he wanted to escape the awkward situation more. So he turned, and skulked off, tail low. He knew he wasn’t scared of dragons… but it was embarrassing to admit he was indeed scared, scared of disappointing them.

It was dejectedly that Kir wandered down the paths of the village. Each day he rose with energy, in some way, naively convinced he could push through with willpower. The will lasted till he was faced with strewn dragons in need of delighting. He was wondering what to do with himself to try and psyche himself up for tomorrow, when a faint wingbeat grasped at his attention.
Consciously, he’d never be confident to tell dragons apart from the leathery flaps alone, and yet, subconsciously, he was certain he recognised that pattern. Like the gait and step of a relative. Something recognised the little distinctions in the pattern.
Energized with excitement again, Kir darted down the road, listening as the flaps drew nearer. Cresting their outer wall, rising high only to dive over it came a beautiful red beast. The regal young dragon sparkled in the daylight. Kir knew that dragon. He couldn’t remember whether the dragon had given him the name, or he’d made it up… but he’d called the dragon Junal for as long as he could remember. All that mattered to him was that the dragon accepted the name.
Junal was a male, sleek and strong. He’d grown over the time Kir knew the beast. His head barely reached Junal’s shoulder now. The dragon landed, shaking himself, red eyes practically aglow as they found the zaipu racing for him. In a single, fluid movement, Junal stretched out onto his belly, a rumble in the air.
“There is my little attendant. Do focus on the wing joints, it was a long flight here”
Kir nodded quickly, pacing closer, and laying hands to the warm red scales. Now he felt at peace. He knew Junal well, where the dragon liked to be pressed, where the rubbing drew the deepest purrs. This was a dragon he knew he could tend well.
“It’s been days Junal” Kir complained, leaning a bit from the snout that lowered, and the pink tongue that flowed to the side of his face
“I’ve been hunting. You wouldn’t want me eating you, now would you?”
“Not yet” Kir noted, reaching high to stroke the scaly wing joints. It got harder and harder to reach sometimes… though he thought, Junal must be about fully grown now. There were several breeds of dragons that visited their village. Two had red scales, but the texture was different. Junal’s sort gleamed like jewels, the other was rough and deep hued, they didn’t shimmer. But those ones got bigger.
“Not yet” Junal chuckled, head setting to a forepaw
“Not going to the grooming parlour?” Kir probed, moving around the dragon’s forelimb so he could attend that regal muzzle, reaching to scratch under the jaw. He felt the muscles melting there
“Why bother, I have you, all to myself”
A thick cord of muscle, Junal’s tail, rolled to Kir’s back, before settling in a circle. He couldn’t help glancing back with a shiver. Excitement not fear. He could step over the tail, of course, but the little possessive movement was so, flattering.
“You’re getting bigger, it might take more zaipus to groom you well soon” Kir warned
“Or just take you all day” Junal responded with a smirk, head raising to offer his throat for attention
Kir hesitated for a moment “Maybe you’ll even want to take me with you, to groom you every night”
“Maybe” Junal mused, the tail thumping behind Kir with a heavy flick “I’d probably eat you, I get impatient when I’m hungry, and you’d be right there by my paw”
“mmm” Kir mumbled, moving down Junal, working the scaly hide, massaging the weary dragon. He did love his work, though… “you know, I got turned away from the parlour again… they think I’m scared of dragons, but it’s really not that. I just couldn’t bear disappointing them…” Kir sighed, looking to Junal’s rested muzzle
“You worry a lot” Junal chided with a yawn “I am here, you have scales to groom. You serve me, be content”
“That’s fine when you’re here” Kir murmured, shaking his head a bit “but I have a place amid my kind, I need to fit in, do my part”
“Sounds bothersome” Junal rumbled “I don’t know why you bother, little attendant”
“Because I’m not a dragon” he poked the dragon hard in the ribs, but only got an amused rumble as reply “Easy for you, you just fly off, eat what you want, then fly back here, do as much as pleases you, bask in eager hands, then fly off again”
“You should try it” Junal purred “it’s very nice”
“I’m sure” Kir grunted, resuming the work down Junal’s body “how about you carry me back up to my home when I’m done, save me the climb?”
The strewn dragon yawned “groom, then I nap… then I will”
Kir sighed but knew better than to disagree. The dragon had spoken his intentions. So, he continued down Junal, working the muscles in every limb, and down the mighty tail. At some point the dragon dozed off. Kir knew the manners of a dragon well by now… he didn’t dare wander off. If Junal woke and he wasn’t around, the favour would be forgotten… so, he moved to the dragon’s belly plates, leaned back to them, and closed his eyes to rest from the work. Junal wouldn’t get out of carrying him home.

Kir assumed he had dozed off when so suddenly the world around him was moving. He sat up, as the clawed digits of dragon came down. The large scaled hand pressed to his chest, claws supporting around to his back as Junal lifted him. The dragon yawned, shaking off his wings, eyes up to the tree “I think I remember which is your nest… but they all look the same”
“Anywhere up the trunk is good” Kir murmured. Much as he trusted Junal, he grasped tight to the supporting claws
A snort answered, before the world jolted, the force of the dragon’s casual spring and catching wings. It was both blissfully and disappointingly short. Junal swept up the sheer trunk, wings flaring to glide over the branches, and so carelessly, his grip released.
Kir tumbled in the air, before his hands found a branch, tail wrapping to one also, halting his momentum. The dragon was already disappearing away. Kir sighed, tugging himself up to get secure… this wasn’t that close to his house. Still, better than climbing. Being carried by a dragon was nauseating, but… also amazing
He took a moment to let his stomach settle before easing along the far-flung branch, finding his way home via the trunk. Despite the temptation of gazing at dragons that flew by that high vantage, he managed to get home without falling out of the tree. The high reaches of the tree might be considered the low end of accommodation, what with the frequent climbs and risk of falling. But there was no better vantage to dragon watch.
Kir’s briefly reignited mood ebbed with the dragon gone. All the time in the world now to reflect on the morning’s nerves, and the fresh attempt of tomorrow. He doubted he had too many more chances.
One step into his small home, and Kir froze. The place wasn’t much, but it was his. He knew every inch. There was only one door in and out of his tree nest. So why were there two…
Against the far wall, almost propped against the dome, was what had to be a door. But it was bizarre. For a moment he wavered, but deep down he already knew curiosity would win, so he crept closer. The wooden door was slightly warm to the touch, the frame, impossibly perfect an angle. No zaipu had made this, he realised quickly. Though the little dragon image on the door was, cute…
Magic, he concluded as he regarded the bizarre door. Before today he would have sworn magic was make-believe, but staring at this door, his mind drew blanks till that simple solution was all that remained. This door was impossible. It was bigger than his own door, nobody could have gotten it in here, or made it for that matter. It seemed, finely moulded, there were no cracks or keyholes to peek through.
His hand twitched. Surely, he should open it… a strange door in his home by means unknown. It couldn’t possibly lead anywhere, could it…? It wasn’t even to the wall properly. How bad could something emblazoned with a dragon image be…
Kir took a breath, setting his hand on the doorknob, and turning it. There was… nothing beyond it, nothing and yet… something. The sheer amount of nothing was something in and of itself. Almost, compulsively, he swayed forward and through the door, which clicked shut behind him.

He heard the door shut, as he stared around the, vast room… vast beyond thought. He’d seen trees shorter than the ceiling... but moments later his attention was upon the beasts within. His eyes darted. Dragons. Long dragons, huge dragons, little dragons… dragons that walked on two legs. Had he died...?
“Careful your jaw doesn’t hit the floor, kid” a voice to his side chuckled “might fall on someone. Seriously though, watch your feet”
Kir flicked his tail. He looked down. Nothing. He looked to his side, following the voice. There was a zaipu there, but nobody he knew
“Who are you?” Kir asked reflexively, before the more pressing question chased it out “what is this place?”
“I’m Resin, and this, is the den of Dari’karra”
“Dari’karra?” Kir mumbled, looking around again. What was a Dari’karra “So… Resin, like, the tree stuff”
“Customary in my village” Resin rolled a shoulder “Never seemed strange till I started meeting Zaipu from other worlds”
“Worlds?” Kir mumbled
He felt a hand pat his back “come along, lets get you a drink. I’ll explain”
Kir grunted, but followed where he was nudged “uh… so, you greet people?”
“Not exactly” Resin smiled slightly “But for some reason, that door, seems to fetch us, zaipu. I wait for people I know and… well, show the ropes to those I don’t. You’ll like it here”
“I will?” Kir mumbled. Though, he didn’t doubt it, one look around at the, dragons… “They’re immense…”
“Ah, well that answers one of my questions”
“Oh?” Kir murmured, sitting at a chair he was pushed towards, at a table. He considered, there was a huge, feathery… thing, settled not far away on a big platform
“There are only a couple of worlds where we live, zaipu I mean” Resin explained as he sat opposite Kir “Explains which you’re from. Dragon size”
“Oh…” Kir murmured, letting himself slowly absorb this place “So what do you mean, worlds…?”
“That’s hard to explain” Resin observed, waving at a passing… human? Kir found himself staring at the tail-less creature for a while. He’d never seen one… but he’d heard of them
“Suffice it to say, you could walk every corner of your world, and never find where I live, or most of the creatures here” Resin paused “think of this place as a bridge over many rivers… we all meet in the middle”
“I see” Kir mumbled
“The doors seem to pick who they appear before… who knows how. And they lead us all here, to Dari’s Den. Dari, is a dragon, you’ll spot him eventually. He serves drinks, greets people, acts as referee” Resin chuckled slowly
“What’s a, referee?” Kir asked quietly, eyes following that same human as it came back with drinks… no, it was a male one, he remembered. Humans had… a big difference between the sexes
“Ah” Resin sighed “human term for… something between a judge and mediator… he’s here to make sure everyone and everything, plays fair”
“Oh” Kir responded again, as a greenish drink was placed before them in a pristine pitcher, and, glasses “wow…”
“You’ll get used to it” Resin observed “but, I think I know the best way for a young zaipu to get comfortable in this place. Find a dragon, and zone out against its scales. Plenty to pick from. Choose one who’s swamped if you’re nervous, you’ll be largely unnoticed… or you can pick one who is, alone, if you think the, utter immersion and attention will best distract you”
“This is a lot to take in” Kir complained, taking a sip of a drink poured for him… the taste was… strange. Not unpleasant but, he’d never tasted anything like it “I don’t know what to make of, any of this place”
Resin looked back as the door Kir had come through opened. More zaipu, Kir observed, watching as Resin got up “there they are… well, have fun kid” Resin shot him a wry smile “and I do mean that, just have fun”
Kir’s heart sank as the older zaipu darted off. He sipped his drink. It was nice… soothing. So, what should he do…? A quick look around overwhelmed him. Dragons of, so many shapes and form, sizes… while trying to find a way home sounded safe and relieving, how could he turn down, whatever this was.
All the same, no amount of cajoling moved his tailed backside from the chair. He felt so, confused and out of place. His theory of magic made more sense by the moment, or it would if magic existed…
But how else could be explain the walking animals… the strange, beasts. The nearby heap of feathers and talons was particularly strange… hauntingly regal… but strange. And more than one… he wasn’t sure… canine breed thing walk by him… he’d only heard of wolves, and the foxes he knew weren’t so… brightly furred, and the ears were different. Slowly he shook his head. Not only foxes from another world… but walking, talking foxes from another world. This couldn’t be real… could it?
A rattle went through the floor, drawing his attention around to see a, golden hued dragon descend from the ceiling... no, a ledge up there he hadn’t noticed before. Was that the dragon the other zaipu had mentioned? Should he go say hello… if this was that dragon’s den? The thought was daunting. He’d always been told to never, never approach a dragon in its den. Fastest way to be eaten short of jumping on their tails.
His view was suddenly obscured by, talons, a thick, scaly forelimb as a large, greenish-brown limb thudded in front of his view. A second joined it, before the vaster hinds took his view. He exhaled. This place was really getting him jumpy if a dragon walking by was so, spooking. Still, it was a very large dragon. Kir found himself looking up the, rather impressive beast. The colour wasn’t very appealing, though he could see a practicality. The colours mottled, he imagined it would hide the beast well. So captivated was he looking up the, vast muscular flank and thigh, it caught him by surprise when his whole world was thrown by a swish of the following tail. The chair he was sitting on flew off somewhere, Kir yelping as he was airborne, then his cry cut off as the mottled tail curled around his middle.
The floor rushed closer, but never reached him. Still, he got a good view of it as he was carried back and forth with the sway of the tail as the vast dragon walked. Feebly he pushed at the scales a bit, realising quickly this dragon was… something else in strength. The dragons he knew… he could pry their tails off with a little effort, but then, they also had always felt more playful than this.
Once he ascertained he had no way to free himself, Kir tried to enjoy the ride. At least the choice of what he did next was answered… that was something. The room was hard to see when he was swinging around so much, but he was aware the dragon walked through a big, open door, into a new room, much like the first. It wasn’t as busy…
From what Kir could see, the dragon was wandering for one of those, cushioned plinths the bird thing had been laid on. The dragon stepped up onto the plinth, settling its bulk down, forelimbs folding together as it eased to its side. The wings stretched for a moment, before settling, the hind legs flopping untidily. The dragon’s, haunting blue eyes looked down as the tail swept towards the heavy plates along the belly. Kir dropped as the grip disappeared, a hot gust of dragon breath down his back “serve”
Kir staggered to his feet, gawking at the, wall of dragon belly in front of him. Serve, it said… “I, uh…” he murmured, the nerves crashing back as he looked up to the watching muzzle “you want me to groom you…?”
“Serve” the dragon repeated “I hear your kind serve well, so serve” The dragon snorted hotly over him “disappoint and I eat you, and find another, so serve”
“Ok…” Kir mumbled, placing his hands to the belly, pushing hard as he could... would a dragon this big even feel him… He didn’t feel the same, yield he got from his own dragon... “Are you new here…? I am” Kir mentioned conversationally, contemplating the… huge amount of dragon he was to… serve.
“I have been here before” the dragon noted, head cocking slowly “Once, when the, strange entrance appeared within my home, leading to this, banquet. The others of my… kind, informed me the tailed humans, served best”
“Oh…” Kir noted, swallowing a bit “well… we groom dragons, if that’s what you mean… but I’m a zaipu, not a human”
“You look the same to me” the dragon snorted “my home lacks both, or anything that looks alike. I only know of one creature to walk on hind legs… there are these digging, scavenging rodents in the deep trees, that I am told walk on their hind legs when they surface at night, to hunt those creatures foolish enough to sleep near their burrows, and scavenge the prey of the landbound”
Kir nodded along. Not a lot of that made sense to him, but he got the idea… a world without humans or zaipu… strange “So you’ve never been groomed” he concluded
“I have not” the dragon rested his head to one forepaw “you will, do this grooming upon me, talking prey”
“The thing is…” Kir murmured “I’m not very good at grooming other dragons” he looked up and down the big beast… still, this one wouldn’t know good from bad, right… and he had to try, his life was on the line…
“If I enjoy, you live, if I do not, I eat. I’ll gladly just eat you and nap”
“I’ll try” Kir blurted, nodding to himself. Now… where did he normally start. The jaw was a good option, and he should get used to the snout before the dragon got any hungrier. Nervous as he was, he approached the watching snout
“You choose to be devoured?”
“No” Kir added quickly “Just… my dragon really likes what I do around his jaw… will you allow?”
“Do as you will” the beast added, eyes closing a moment “but do not attempt to harm me… you will regret it”
“I wouldn’t think of it” Kir promised sincerely, getting closer and closer. Carefully, he placed a hand on the snout. The scales didn’t feel too different… he’d have thought they might be thicker but… he supposed that would be pretty heavy. Gently he rubbed, pressing a bit firmer than normal to account for a bigger dragon. The hum that answered him was, familiar. That was encouraging. Tracing his movements for his own dragon, he rubbed under the jaw, scratching at the hide beneath, bracing as a puff of breath, and a poked tip of tongue greeted his efforts. Bit by bit, he worked back to the jowls, and dug in his nails to the smaller scales and scratched. A low, startlingly deep murr echoed down his arm as the dragon relaxed, the muscles near him loosening.
“That is pleasant indeed” the dragon sighed past his fangs “the others spoke true… how strange. It feels like an itch I never even knew is being scratched, or one I long forgot.
“I guess, even between worlds some things stay the same” Kir smiled a little. This was nice “Back home, the dragons don’t… shed, they drop scales, bit by bit, not in one, single event. The skin flakes away, the hide gets itchy… they can rub against things, but… sometimes where the hide is softer, or in little, hard to reach places, there can be layers and layers of itchy hide, even little pieces still attached and trapped under new scales… that and, well, sand and dust…”
“Mmm” the dragon responded wordlessly, yawning widely, the ligaments creaking by Kir
Kir waited a moment, and then resumed, eyes trailing down the scaly body. He should try a few other spots Junal liked… When the purring ebbed a bit from the jaw work, he moved on, down the neck, rubbing at the throat. The flesh and muscles could get so achy and stretched there when a dragon ate something big. The content rumble that echoed was a sweet confirming sound
“So… what’s your world like?” Kir mused as he got down to the, massive, solid muscle of the chest
“I am told by my, otherworldly kin that it is a strange place. It is a place where the life is large and scaled, though only dragons as I, fly. The landbound are dangerous, if they can grasp a hold of you, depending on the type… but I am master of my territory. I hunt them”
“A world, of dragons” Kir mused, imagining these… landbound, dragons perhaps…
“I would not allow them the title” the dragon snorted “They are tough, their hide thicker than mine, their scales heavier than mine, but wings and cleverness, and their size avails them not… large as their jaws can be”
“Oh… they actually eat dragons…?” Kir reflected on the idea with a dash of horror “How terrible…”
“I am strong, I survive” the dragon rumbled “you will make me stronger once I add you to me”
“You’re going to eat me…?” Kir looked back “but I’m doing well, right?”
“Your service delays my meal” the dragon observed with a rumble “But you do well, yes… I may find you next time, also”
“Next time…?” Kir mumbled
“Ah, you said you were new here” the beast rumbled, licking his chops “this is the land of endless banquet, all you, edible ones return every time, whether I eat you, or not”
“Really?” Kir found his hands pausing for a long moment as he absorbed that. He could come back even if he was eaten…? Maybe this place really was a dream… and he’d just, wake up.
Kir worked somewhat quietly after that. He couldn’t help but reflect that the scales he was rubbing, he’d be added to. It was the fate of every zaipu, of course… but he’d never expected it today, or, to experience it and survive. That was unheard of. He was excited to know, and also terrified. A stomach wasn’t known to be, cushy. It existed for one, brutal purpose. To strip living things down to a fine paste. It didn’t sound, pleasant to experience. But then, some did speak of the majesty of becoming one with a dragon’s scales, part of their… being. But would he get to experience that part… surely that part was, defined by finality.
So, lost in his philosophic musings, it took him a while to realise he had just… been going about grooming this, dragon of another world without, any hesitation. And the gentle purrs were a soothing balm. Was it really so, easy… he’d never even seen a dragon like this, but he was making it coo and purr. Kir smiled a bit.
The tail suddenly swept close, and a cord of muscle was around his middle, tearing him from the stoic grip of gravity. The room spun, but finally his view settled, moving headfirst for the dragon’s muzzle. A flash of bright tongue went across the chops as those eyes gazed at him.
“I grow hungry now” the dragon explained simply “any last words, speaking prey?”
Kir swallowed slowly “why are your eyes so blue?”
The dragon’s head cocked a bit, a low rumble as the jaws spread “there are blue fruits the smaller prey seek, so I blend in, and lure prey… and then, they know this” the maw spread wide, showing the, pinkish depths of dragon right below Kir.
A fat, forked tongue laid in the base of the fleshy cavern, a floor that rushed for him as the dragon released his grip, letting Kir fall to splat anticlimactically onto the slimy muscle.
The zaipu managed to groan and draw a breath before the world went dark. A wet click as fangs sealed snugly together. The tongue came alive. It rose beneath him, strong and intent, pressing Kir’s back to a firm ridged wall of dragon palate, beginning to stroke up his chest. Working him back, he quickly realised.
He held his breath, slime being washed over his every inch, dragon saliva… soaking into his skin, trickling across his face, sticking between him at the tongue in tense strings. He fumbled, pushing at the oppressive muscle. But soon he missed it. The tongue was gone so suddenly, Kir slipping back off of it, falling. It didn’t last long, Muscle clamped down from all sizes, pinning him motionless for a moment till the pressure on his slimy body sent him sliding down a convenient path of least resistance, into a pillowy tunnel. The soft interior rolling in, and relaxing, ushering Kir deeper. He was being swallowed alive, he realised, curling into a ball. The nerves were winning now. But he knew better than to fight it. Accepting his fate and sliding down. Past the thunderous drum of the heartbeat, into air as acrid as it was thin. He reluctantly breathed it, letting his body see for itself what he had been trying to protect his aching chest from. He felt dizzier with every breath. What little consciousness he still had told him it would probably be quicker this way. That thought, had a mixed reception. He didn’t want to die.
The tube pressed him out into a wider pouch, though the walls greeted him all too friendlily, crushing in and making him choke out his last breath. He gasped it back in when the walls relaxed, too focussed on that to notice as he slipped into a shallow pool of hot liquid. It was three pants later he felt it itching. Kir shuddered.
His small hands pushed to the walls of flesh around him, but one clench undid any work he achieved to keep them apart. He endured another tight squeeze, the breath forced out coming as a squeal as he was choked again by the clench. It wanted to crush him, he realised dismally. Was that how he’d die… squeezed till he felt something snap… or several somethings. The breath he gasped back in didn’t satisfy. No sooner were his lungs filled than they were screaming for air.
A hot trickle of juices hit his hair and dripped down his cheek. Kir shuddered, bracing for the next clench… so, what would get him first…?
The dragon stretched out, relaxing as he licked his chops of the strange creature’s flavour. In some ways it was a shame they didn’t exist on his world, he mused, as the flutter in his stomach ebbed to a cease. Quite pleasant eating.

Kir gasped, such a good, sweet breath. The air swam with the sickly-sweet touch of tree sap, and the lingering scent of dragon that hung on his bedsheets, carried in by him from every grooming. His head swam as he stumbled onto the bed belly first. No sooner had he grasped his senses than he looked back but… there was no door there. Of course, there wasn’t, but… then why did he have such a vivid memory of the door… of the world inside it
“I can’t have dreamed that” Kir murmured to himself, hands grasping at the sheets of his bed, breathing in the lingering scent of Junal. It soothed him.
He rolled over to sit on the bedding, placing his head in his hands to cover his eyes, conjuring his memories to the inky blackness. He remembered everything, though the last bit of his memory was fuzzy… he’d remembered confusion and choking and squeezing and… and then he remembered being here. His mind was trying to fathom the, sudden change.
The memories weren’t becoming any harder to feel. It had happened, hadn’t it…?
Kir drew in a slow breath. He hoped it had…
His eyes fell where the door had been with a faint smile. He’d never gotten that strange dragon’s name… a dragon from another world. So many times, he had told himself, sat like this with the night drawing in, that tomorrow, he’d go to the parlour and it would be different, but, more than ever he actually believed it this time. If he could make a dragon from another world purr in delight, just by treating him like Junal, how hard could the local dragons be?