It's been a while, but back to the world of the Dragonring. Hope this story will be welcome to those that like the series. If memory serves it ended up a little longer than intended.



The rough circle of the dragonlands was marked in various ways around its vast circumference, a reflection of the humans who lived, pressed up to the edge. Fencing, or singular poles of wood or stone stood as it’s markers around the vast rural edges. But where the capital of humanity settled, dense and thriving, pressed between the thick woods and the endless sea, cut in two by a river that ran all the way from the mountains where dragons resided, there the marker was a tall, immovable stone wall. Largely, the youth were told, to allow humanity to built tall right to the very edge without any in the city needing fear they would walk into the jaws of one of the immense reptiles.
It was an old city, but few of its regions told the true age of the place. It had been ravaged and rebuilt no less than three times. Twice it was the work of humans at war. The third time had been decidedly more thorough and at the clawed paws of the reptiles that now held their firm pact with the small creatures that had once been, only prey. The city stood as the face of humanity for visiting dragons. The streets were wide enough for all but the largest dragons to walk comfortably. The walls were dotted with solid towers marked by the claws of dragons who liked to perch there.
The grand settlement, The Pactbound City of Raril, was undoubtedly had the highest density of dragon visitors, and regions in the dragonlands nearby were often hotly contested by the reptiles. Decidedly less renowned, was that the woods around the city had the highest density of acid-worn human bones anywhere in their world.

“You’re weird” Jack’s friend Lee observed with a miffed folding of his arms. Shooting looks to Jack, who was sat on the mossy stone wall marking out the garden of the alchemist who lived near the city’s north gate. The words were familiar enough, and wafted harmlessly past Jack, who only shot his friend a grin “I’ll play with you tomorrow”
“Why do you want to play with a dragon anyway…” Lee mumbled, kicking at a stone that skittered into the nearest gutter
“She’s really fun” Jack responded simply “She’s huge, and scaly and warm… it’s just so cool”
“My mom says it’s dangerous to play with dragons” Lee noted pointedly “Why does yours let you play with them?”
Jack shrugged “I don’t know if she knows. She just knows I’m out playing with my friends”
“Dragons eat people, that’s what teacher says” Lee reminded him
“Only if you play in the woods, and she likes me” Jack asserted
“You’re weird” Lee observed again, looking back down the smaller street they’d wandered along to get to the wide road into the city “I’m going to go do something fun”
“See you” Jack responded; his good mood unshaken. He didn’t get to play with his dragon friend very often, she only came once a week. He could play with Lee tomorrow, today he had a dragon on his mind.
He barely even noticed when Lee had wandered off, leaving him alone. He hoped they arrived soon… his backside was starting to feel cold, and damp from sitting on the wall…

“Mom…” Liss whined, padding in a circle, eyes on the big, odd flat wood that led inside… her paws padding in place… so close, she wanted inside, but her mother was so, so slow…
“Calm down, Liss” the voice that answered was deep and weary, the adult dragoness padding after her bounding daughter, looking back as her tail brushed at the slower of her children encouragingly “and come along, Wirr”
The young male huffed dismissively, taking a sideways step, slightly out of the arc of his mother’s tail “I don’t want to go. I want to hunt in the woods”
The dragoness sighed past her fangs… she was sorely tempted to let her son do just that… so close to humans he probably wouldn’t find anything, except perhaps, a foolish human… but finding him to get him home would be a nightmare… “you’re staying with me, Wirr”
She cajoled the dragonling to speed his pace just slightly, flicking her tail behind him, before looking ahead “both of you… Liss, I know you want to play with the humans, but stay where I can see you till we get inside…”
Neither dragonling seemed too pleased with her commands… but fortunately, they complied, for now… she lamented to herself the inevitable age where they didn’t… but tried not to dwell on that just now
Her family were of green scaled heritage, her son wore the colours most obviously, a mottling to his pattern that would make him all but disappear if he laid out still in the right spot and let the hunting trance take him. Which at least kept him quiet… but his camouflage was frustratingly effective. He took after his father more than she. Her own scales lacked the darker streaks.
A frown wrinkled the scales on her muzzle. His father had been a purebred of his lineage… which meant he had been a relatively small dragon… she hoped her son would inherit a little more of her size… that way he might not end up as, eaten.
She heard the sound of human voices, and looked around. Liss had sat herself in front of the gate to the human city and was nosing at the humans guarding it… she, let herself pretend for now that she didn’t hear their slightly nervous objections and muttering of “good dragon”. Liss wouldn’t eat them… she was fairly sure. She still gave Wirr a firm nudge to speed him along.
The human city was a playground for young dragons… high, oddly shaped structures to dart around. Rocky things to climb or hide behind, and… the bright-eyed attentions of young humans. She remembered it fondly. But if she cavorted like a dragonling anymore she’d cause, considerable damage. It was a nice age… big enough she felt they were safe, couldn’t get into doorways enough to get stuck, would be unlikely to get trapped under anything. But small enough their very presence didn’t cause damage. Her sharp ears always heard the slight rattle in the windows of the humans, when she walked too close, or too fast.
She dipped her snout apologetically to the humans at the gate, nosing Liss inside… the dragonling needing no encouragement. Slightly distant, she could see a human spring up, atop a short wall, bouncing. Would be the one Liss had taken to, then. She frowned for a moment, before looking down to be sure Wirr was wandering in as well “Now Wirr, you can go and play, or you can stay with me. But stay inside the walls”. The command was more for her convenience than, the wish to socialise him further. She doubted he would ever be inclined to use humans as a survival strategy… and to be fair, he seemed he would do fine the traditional ways. But the stone made him very easy to spot, much to her convenience. Less conveniently, she noticed in the corner of her eye, him eying a near human in response. He hadn’t eaten for a couple of days.
“Remember the rules… be good and I’ll get you a treat”
That caught the young dragon’s attention, as he looked up to her, tail giving a flick “The, tickle meat?”
“If that’s what you want” she confirmed gently “you can go curl up somewhere and sleep if you want”
Wirr snorted slightly, looking around himself “might follow my nose”
“Alright” she sighed, looking skyward “if I don’t find you, or call for you first, be by the gate before the sun if half set, understand?”
“I understand” he responded with little passion, swaying himself off, down a road too narrow for her to follow. She grunted to herself. The first time she had brought him here, she had found him curled up around a full stomach. By all the luck he hadn’t eaten a human, but one of their animals… but she had little doubt he would have just as happily eaten one of the bipedal primates… even young as he was, that would be, serious…
Liss, she noted, was sitting by her favourite human… that would be a problem, one day, she observed to herself with a sigh. But she didn’t have time for that. She had an appointment. With that in mind, she padded down the street. It was still early; most humans weren’t flocking the roads. It was convenient. Minding where she put her paws, was quite the annoyance.

Jack rubbed at the scaly snout hovering before him, smiling to himself. Her head moved, her eyes like a person, watching him. But she was big and scaly and strong… he could feel so much of her when he pushed and touched. She was like a big horse. He wanted to ride on her back… but that was embarrassing to ask, so he just thought it really hard…
Liss for her part, sniffed at the little human, considering the strange scents. He always seemed to have new ones hanging around him and the drifting garments of fabric the humans draped over themselves. Some of the smells seemed tasty, some seemed like other humans… some she assumed must be from his nest, they were there often. There was also his own, the scent of the fabric itself, which changed, and some scents that she really didn’t like... but, they were new in strange ways, which still made her curious.
“You took so long” Jack complained with little emphasis, too happy to see her to feel much but that
“I know” she looked around to her mother, wandering away, leaning her ear closer to him, her tail giving a sharp twitch as he stroked at it… sensitive there. “Mother was so slow… Wirr didn’t want to come”
“I’ve never met your brother” Jack noted in passing
“You’re mine” Liss noted, looking to him “why would you want to meet Wirr?”
Jack smiled, looking at her strangely. She said the weirdest things “So, what do you want to play? Chase? There aren’t many people up yet”
“I like to chase” she noted with a thump of her tail, before her ears dipped “But we can’t go to the market again, mother said they don’t want me there anymore, not if I’m playing”
Jack nodded slowly “yeah… I didn’t tell my mother about the cart…”
He slid down off the wall, reminded how big Liss was, his head only reached the shoulder, and he could see down her belly, the wide scales there. He could see when she breathed.
“We can play chase in the street… but I don’t know if it will be much fun…”
Liss rumbled “you’re just saying that because you know you won’t be able to catch me when you don’t have anywhere to hide”
Jack grinned “you’re almost as big as a house, how can I not catch you?”
“I am not” Liss rumbled, easing to her paws, bounding away form him, tail lashing dangerously close in the spring, carving a line in the stone. She turned to look back at him “but if you think so, you’re catching first!”
Jack responded immediately, rushing for the dragoness, watching her eyes go wide a moment, before she bounded away, her long, sprightly steps were fast… He frowned just slightly… she was really fast. Normally she had to get between things… she’d be hard to catch. But it just made him want to more. So he ran at her, the young dragoness cackling a deep giggle as she weaved ahead of the chasing little human. She loved this game; it was so exciting. Her eyes landed on the human running after her. It felt perfect to play with him.

Wirr sighed to himself deeply, looking around the paths of the humans… the buildings were odd to him. They looked flimsy, made of little pieces. But a brush of his tail showed them to be, at least solid enough he couldn’t push them apart as easily as it looked…
His stomach was empty, that annoyed him. He flicked his tail to the stone ground, sitting for a moment as he sniffed the air… he’d love this place, if only he was allowed to eat. It smelled like food, all sorts of food. He just wanted to close his eyes, follow his nose, and mouth over whatever his snout bumped into… but it would probably be a human… then he’d be in trouble. He remembered the look on his mother’s face when she’d thought he ate a human, that one time. He’d never seen her look like that before… she was scared, and it was scary. He had eaten human though… not here, but outside. It had been nice… he wanted it again, some day. He was hoping he’d find one he was allowed to eat, since they had come so close to the nest… but he couldn’t eat them while they were inside the nest… that was strange to him too… they were right here, and no less deliciously filling.
He exhaled deeply, watching his breath mist the air in front of him… it was cold… he just wanted to curl up around a warm, twitching meal. He whined to himself… he wanted it so badly. He eased back to his paws, continuing to wander along, fresh human scents drifting… there were other things, of course, but the human scents were what caught his predatory attention
Deep in his head, his mind was consumed with probing for loopholes… but if they existed, he didn’t know them. Even if he could find a human they wouldn’t miss, his mother would see he’d eaten something, or the other humans would, for that matter. He wished he could have stayed at home… or in the woods where if he smelled something he wanted to eat; he could go for it. Having to ignore his urges always made him miserable in a way he couldn’t shift
He found himself wandering closer to the water. That was normally where he ended up. The scent of sea and the reek of fish did a lot to drown out human scent… but it had its drawbacks. There was normally a lot of, exposed, toned, salt seasoned human meat to roam before his eyes…
His mouth watered just thinking about it… so he stopped his paws… he couldn’t go there, he… couldn’t. The urge to eat such a human was overwhelming his willpower… if he closed his eyes he could just imagine them… some were too broad shouldered to swallow whole… but the tang of salt would make every torn bite so wonderful… Wirr growled at himself, shaking his head violently. He still didn’t understand why… but he knew the rules. He knew his mother would be, very disappointed in him.
With that in mind, Wirr turned, padding in a direction he hadn’t walked before. Maybe he could find somewhere quiet to bury his snout beneath his paws till it was time to go home… his body was trembling with the overstimulation

It wasn’t her first appointment. Far from really, the dragoness reflected as she wandered through the wide streets. Through the market area, past a district where humans tended to… go wild, they drank and ran and cavorted. Smaller roads led to personal nests, other roads she’d be watching her tail on led to different parts of the city, but she was heading somewhere, large. A rather vast building of the humans, off of the single largest open space in their city. It had, tamed trees and plants, a floral smell she presumed the humans liked. It was a long, open place, leading to the towering presence of the citadel where the ruling humans resided. Their system of alphas and such was novel to her, but… they seemed content enough. To the sides of the long park were many things of import to the humans. The offices of the intermediaries she knew well. It was a simple building for its size… the size being, to allow dragons access naturally.
Outside another building however, the first on her left, one she had heard was called, the archives, was a sole human, waiting for her, she knew.
At her approach, it moved away from the building, into the park. There was a space, deeper, where the trees formed a secluded glade that they tended to choose for these encounters. The entry to the archives was big enough most dragons could enter, but the nature of these visits lent itself to a more private setting.
She took her time, the human was slower than her, though it still reached the glade ahead of her. She wandered in, and laid down to the grasses, curling into a loop, and offering her tail before her muzzle. The human sat upon the cord of muscle, as he normally did. Trying not to rake the dirt with her claws, the dragoness set her head onto a forepaw, eying the human before her snout.
“Prompt as ever” the human smiled at her. He always seemed in a good mood.
“Naturally” she noted with a long yawn
“How are the little ones?” the human asked pleasantly
“Growing well” she responded in kind “though I’d sooner we not dally. Wirr hasn’t eaten lately, and I’d sooner not leave him alone for too long”
“right…” the human seemed nervous for a moment, adjusting the, transparent construction it wore before it’s eyes… something a lot stronger than it looked like it should be, hooked the glinting surface in place by looping the ears “well, I don’t have anything too, ah… invasive planned for today. Actually…” the excitement started to stir into the human again, as it, fiddled with the flat thing in it’s paws. Sheets of what she understood to be called paper were pushed aside, the human seeming to seek a specific one
“here it is… yes, there has been some interesting discoveries lately on metabolism, really rattled the cage of our current… well, past theory” the human shifted, seeming to try and find comfort upon her scaly tail. It was always an odd sensation to her
“What is this word, metabolism” she probed. Her interest was meagre at best, but she preferred to understand
“Oh… mmm, it’s an overarching term for a few factors…” he hesitated “right… simply it’s, how dragons process, food” he frowned “well, not dragons specifically, but that’s what we’re… never mind, I’ve said this all before, haven’t I”
“You have” she shifted on the grasses, hind leg stretching, altering her posture to better present her belly plates “you wish to examine here again?”
“No, uh… no” he looked to her underside for a moment “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but today won’t need physical examination, only questions”
“I see” she noted lightly. In truth, she preferred the physical examinations. Ironic, since those had unnerved her the most when she had first heard what they wanted, and agreed to come here, once every of their, weeks, and devote her time to, whatever they happened to want to learn. When they were just interested in some, physical aspect of her, she could relax, try to keep her mind occupied, and just, let them do whatever they wanted. Sometimes they wanted nothing, but she was still given a reward of their coins for turning up. She had asked why once, and they had said… they wished to keep her, on staff, for when they required a suitable dragon again. Her understanding of what suitable dragon meant, was one who they could poke, prod, and explore without getting bitten for the indignity of it… and one who wouldn’t swallow a human that crawled into their mouth. She’d admit, those tests had been challenging. And she had hated, hated when they had actually requested she swallow one, and spit it back out. Fortunately, they hadn’t done that again yet. The human who had entered had only spoken a few words when she coughed him up, specifically about never going back in again. Her understanding was they had neither convinced that human otherwise or become willing to go in themselves.
“You’re a green” the human noted “I’m curious, are you an evergreen green, a swamp green, or a plains green…” he looked up to her “you don’t have the yellow tinge of the grasslands…”
She considered the question “my mother was from the swamps, my father lived in evergreen forests”
“I see, I see” the human noted “your green colour is more swamp, but for some of the, ah, markings… which makes sense… you’re also larger than them…” the human cleared his throat slightly “your parents, were they… uh…” he adjusted his glasses “good grief, just say it” he murmured “was there… a significant difference in their, sizes”
She felt just a faint rush of blood to her jawline “oh… yes, there was”
The human scribbled something down “really, need to revisit the attraction questions one of these days… anyway… so, your mate you mentioned, from your description, was from the swamplands as well?”
“yes…” she noted slowly
“And he’s no longer around”
“Eaten”
The human nodded slowly “I see… as an aside, is that considered normal in your culture?”
She snorted slightly “not normal, I imagine. It has become more common as dragons from different regions join the dragonlands. The rules within are the same for us all. Should one dragon be, capable of eating another… then their strategy is to be respected same as those who interact with humans is to be respected. But it is frowned upon, and a dragon who makes a habit of such things is, taking risks… eating dragonlings is also, considered a poor strategy, for the risk of, retribution” she grunted to herself
“right…” the human murmured, adding something in his scribble “Now, your son, you mentioned bears all the traits of the swamp dragons, both in behaviour, manner, size and hunting preferences…”
“Why are you asking about my young?” she probed “We have spoken of them, but you are asking much”
He cleared his throat, seeming very aware he was sitting on a mother dragoness’s tail “let me explain what our, current tests are about then. I’d have said earlier but you normally, don’t care. Metabolism. We’ve always known different dragons, due to their different lineages and regions of… original habitation, tend to have different… mannerisms, different behaviours, different preferences. And different metabolisms. We used to think the dark dragons had the lowest, as they are the single most, sedentary of the dragon breeds, using the darkness to set ambushes. They move slow, in part due to the cold. But we’ve found they actually generate a remarkable amount of heat, internally, for a reptile… to allow them to hunt at night one theorises. It’s making us question a few of our original theories… but we… ah…” he looked off “we had a report from a little village way out in the swamps where, a lot of your kind are still wild. A swamp living dragon pounced and ate one of them, and they managed to pin it down, being a smaller breed. I understand it was eventually released after dragons were called to converse with it on the matter… but, well, they claim, they heard it’s victim screaming from inside the hide, for over twenty four hours” he adjusted his glasses “which, is surely impossible. But it was corroborated by a lot of sources there. Meaning, we’re considering it as we structure a new theory on dragon metabolism”
She clicked her tongue “so you ask about my son, because he bears the swamp traits…” she looked off “they are not a common dragon to live with others here, they do not generally trust larger dragons to, not…” she snorted “well… eat them”
“yes…” the human observed “but, more importantly, you, are of swamp lineage as well, and we have you visiting us so regularly”
“Very well” she noted “ask your questions…”
“Fantastic” the human smiled to her again “I’ll want to know what you can remember about your most recent hunts, if you ate them alive, if you ate them whole… if they had open wounds, and how long you were aware of it taking you to digest them entirely… also, we’ll cover the state of the remains, whether you ever need to regurgitate food, and hopefully discuss your energy levels. I have a questionnaire on that, and will need to ask you to, best as you can, remember some details over the next week for our next session since having you fill in a diary would be… difficult”
“If you so wish” she spoke slowly rolling her shoulders “But what is this word, regurgitate”
“Oh, you’ve never heard it?” he mused “it means to… bring food back up from your stomach, and spit it out… or what’s left of it” he tapped his scribbling tool to the paper “some larger breeds of dragon regurgitate their prey quite frequently if they swallow it whole. It is mostly digested by that point, but as it starts to, decompose with time taken to, simply digest all that meat and hide and fur… some of the chemicals released trigger a vomiting response. A natural protection from eating rotting meat I suppose. It’s something we’re looking at, since it’s certainly tied to… how slowly reptilian bodies like to do things”
The dragoness sighed. She was reasonably happy her stomach was empty… this seemed it would not be a particularly charming conversation… that said… it might be one of those days where the temptation to flick her tail and throw that human right to her maw would be distracting.

Jack was having more trouble than he expected, the spry young dragoness trotting ahead of him, leading him in circles in the open space. Sometimes he’d change angle and rush right at her, making her spring and wheel away. That, was pretty exciting, all the movement and the faint tremble in the stones below his feet when she landed from a jump. She seemed quite confident… and chasing her was getting boring, bit by bit.
Though, as he walked after her, catching his breath, he was starting to notice her tail always lingered behind. He ran for her side again, watching her wheel, but instead of continuing, he jumped to the side, for the cord of tail dragging on the ground, grasping it and clinging on. The rush of having caught her was short lived. A moment later he was off the ground, clinging for dear life as her tail whipped around her, the dragoness finishing her jump, and looking around for the source of the sudden pressure on her tail. It came to ground again, shaking Jack off, to bounce off the ground with a gasp. He flopped on his back, groaning a bit, his side ached, but he still found a smile.
“Gotcha” he exhaled, grinning a little as her snout loomed into view above him. The head turned, looking down herself to her tail “yeah, sorry, you startled me a little bit”
He stayed strewn long enough to catch his breath, sitting up and brushing his clothes to try and shake off the brown tinge of dirt and dust “so, your turn”
She nodded, sitting to her haunches, tail drifting back and forth behind herself “I’ll let you get a head start since I think I’m faster… but no hiding behind things, I don’t want to break something again”
“I know” Jack mumbled, rolling his shoulders… the left one hurt a bit from being thudded to the stone… it was probably a good thing he didn’t get to play with the dragoness every day.
A few steps of stumbling, and he felt he could move normally, running to get some distance from the dragon. Already wondering how he could keep ahead of her… normally he could move around things she couldn’t… but she’d get in trouble. His eyes considered the alchemist’s house again… the path around it was probably wide enough for her… He went that way, as the thump of her paws started to echo. He looked back, seeing her head level, eyes on him, wings folded tight down, springing, forepaws, then hind paws, bolting for him. It was a rush he couldn’t explain… it made him want to run even faster, and he did, arcing around the building so she had to turn, and she did. He felt he’d made a little distance as he ran for the next bend. Still, all the time chasing her around in circles was fresh in his mind. Running round and round this building would be no more fun, and he was getting tired. More fun would be to get past her, he considered with a grin, looking back at the advancing dragoness as he moved around the bend, and stopped, crouching low turning around, readying to leap under her. He saw one foreleg thud into view, her body turning above, head and eyes looking past where he was. Then he saw her other forepaw, rushing around the bend. Claws folded towards the palm, knuckles speeding near. His head spun as the forelimb caught his head and chest, throwing him back as the limb moved past and landed down. He got a view of her underside sweeping above, before the hind paw rose into his view, and lowered as quickly.

Liss growled to herself in playful desire… she loved seeing her human friend run, she just wanted to chase and chase… but he was using the normal tactics… moving around things. At least it was a big building this time. She lamented seeing him get further away as she got around the bend. Determination was alive and thriving in her chest, she had to get around the next bend faster. She started to turn her body before she even reached it, letting one foreleg take her weight as she turned around it and, saw nothing… where was he? Her body was completing the turn, and with a wince she felt her leg hit something, but she didn’t hear a shatter. Then her foot landed on something, soft, that yielded under her weight. Reflex acted on the unknown. She heard a wheeze, felt like it was yielding under her, but at first touch the shock was running down her leg to lift it again from the unexpected surface.
She looked down, and grimaced, ears pinning flat, seeing her own pawprint in dust across the body of, her human, strewn on the ground “oh… sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you” she eeped, sitting back and lowering her snout. He didn’t speak, only gasp for air, little paws fumbling at his chest. She bore fangs in a deeper grimace… she hoped she hadn’t broken him… she’d be in so much trouble.

Jack had only felt this way a couple of times in his life, the pressure of the step having driven all the air out of his lungs, winded, and gasping for nothing but to re-inflate them. He ached… but that wasn’t his main focus. He just felt the urge to breathe, eyes locked on the looming muzzle. She looked worried… It was a lot to wrap his head around… he’d been stepped on.
“I’m ok” he wheezed, a bit painfully, a shaking hand pushing the ground as he tried to sit. His head was spinning from the impact… and his chest felt like it was on fire where she had trodden.

Liss hummed a remorseful note, watching the human struggle, unsure anything she did would make it better, instead of worse. Her eyes moved to one forepaw, as she lifted it to examine the digits. It was a hind paw that had got him, she felt he was lucky she had been moving so fast… she’d only been on him for a second, and not her full weight. He was, very small. She found herself reflecting on. Smaller than he used to be, or, he seemed it anyway. She’d seen an adult human against her mother… she sighed, dwelling on the eventual end of the fun with the human…
Still, she looked around to him as he sat himself, lowering her muzzle to press gently to his side “I’m so sorry I stepped on you… are you hurt?”
“It hurts a bit” Jack replied, a hand resting on her warm snout “ow… haven’t played that rough for a long time… if ever”
She nodded slowly, nosing him with her muzzle “I thought I’d broken you… I probably would have if I’d stepped down all the way”
“I guess…” Jack murmured, the idea a bit alien to him “But I’m ok, I think I need to sit here though, I don’t feel like playing right now”
“I understand” Liss noted, lifting her head away “I’ll be here, if you want to play more… unless my mother comes back” she turned her view off to the road, then up to the sky… she probably would have had more time to play… such a pity…

Wirr stumbled along with little precise direction. On occasion a human crossed his path, which he eyed, hungrily. Most had the good sense to be hurrying on. The paths he walked, he supposed, didn’t have many dragons on them. They would be impossibly small for his mother.
He found himself looking along the buildings… the stone, with the softer entryways. He smelled humans, and their food. He saw them moving inside. He felt himself wondering if he could fit inside one, eat the humans, curl up in there and digest them, then go home… would anyone know?
He licked his chops slowly, humming as the idea dwelled… but then a human started to get near him on the road, walking in his direction, looking him over. He looked back in turn. It was dressed a little differently… different colour, less dark. It stood out, and stared at him… maybe it wanted to be in him, a hopeful part of him thought…
“Would you happen to be, Wirr?” the human asked, catching the dragon’s thoughts off guard
His head tilted, as he padded nearer, looking this one over “you know me? I don’t know you”
The human stopped before him, raising its paws in… was that an aggressive, or submissive one… no, why would he be so foolish to be aggressive. “I know your mother, you’re a very distinctive young dragon”
“Oh” he murmured. It didn’t mean much to him, other than it probably meant he couldn’t eat it even more than normal
“I was actually looking for you” the human asserted, beckoning “why don’t you come with me, I’d love to talk to you”
“I don’t care” Wirr noted simply
“I can offer a snack” the human noted
Wirr perked an ear “something to eat?”
“Something to eat” the human confirmed with a smile
The promise of food was what Wirr wanted to hear, and with little else to amuse himself, he wandered after the beckoning human, swaying into the deeper settlement, towards some of the larger buildings.
There was a slightly open space behind the one the human finally stopped at, enclosed by a short wall which, Wirr supposed, would keep humans out. Impatient, he sat, watching the human as it moved to the building, fumbling inside, a box of some sort. In it’s arms it brought out, some sort of rodent. The scales on Wirr’s snout wrinkled as he lifted his snout, eying the small thing… it took both hands for the human to carry it… he supposed it was a big rodent, with hind legs it liked to kick.
“That’s small” Wirr complained, lowering his muzzle to the human’s level “tiny”
“True” the human observed, approaching “but, do you want it or not?”
Wirr eyed the small offering… it would go down easily, and maybe it’s kicking would convince his stomach there was more inside. In the end, he wanted to eat something, and this was something he could eat, still…
“And what did you want in return?” Wirr asked pointedly
“To ask you a few questions, and listen to your stomach as it, aha… handles it”
Wirr cocked his head with a snort “humans are strange…”
“A snack, for the cost of tolerating me and muttering a few answers, not a bad deal, right?”
Wirr growled lightly, but parted his jaws “deal”
The ball of fluff hit his tongue, and his teeth snapped shut. The human he fixed a look, before flicking his snout up, and swallowing. It took a roll of his tongue to carry the creature back, its fur was almost, sticking it to his tongue, but he swallowed, and felt it sink down. The kick of those legs, did give it a bit of sensation going down… He put his head on a forepaw, eying the human as it indeed, moved to the plates of his belly, and put itself close.
“So” the human began “you swallowed it, while it was still alive, I noticed”
“Yes” Wirr confirmed “why?”
“Do you ever kill your food before eating it?”
“If I cannot swallow it whole, it dies when I bite it” Wirr noted
“Have you ever needed to, empty your stomach of a meal you ate?”
Wirr huffed out a breath, tail flicking “I got sick once… other said I probably ate something I shouldn’t, but I don’t know what”
“ok, ok…” the human noted, pressing a paw to the belly, listening for a moment “it’s still alive. Are you aware of it?”
Wirr exhaled “it’s small, I don’t feel it”
“Do you ever feel them?” The human pressed
“Not normally” Wirr cocked his head slightly “if they were very big”
“Do you like it, when you feel them?”
“I guess I do” Wirr hummed, confused by the question
“Do they move for long?”
“A bit. I stop paying attention” Wirr observed
“Ok…” the human murmured. Wirr waited, but no new question came, so he closed his eyes to rest and let it, do, what it wanted. The probing touch of its paws didn’t feel bad, and he didn’t feel as desperate to eat it, so… that was good.
“Are you done?” he asked
“If you don’t mind, I’ll just be here a while, you can relax”
Wirr shook his head faintly but shrugged. He didn't much care. If this was all he needed do, let it, be human. He stretched out and tried to relax. At least now he felt he was doing something, sort of.

He slipped in and out of a semi doze, as the day wore on, feeling the tickle of human paws. But then it stopped.

“Well, I think your mother will want you back Wirr” the human voiced, drawing the young dragon’s attention back from his doze

Wirr looked skyward, and had to agree “probably…”

“I hope you’ll come back” the human noted

“Back?” Wirr cocked his head idly

“Well, maybe when your mother brings you here again, you can come here, and I can ask you more questions… maybe I can promise you a more, substantial snack, how would that sound?”

Wirr rumbled, easing himself onto his paws with a stretch, eyes roaming the human. They were odd things… in some ways he did find them interesting. Most things saw him and fled, they likely didn’t fully understand why, but they knew he was danger. Humans… they understood better than anything what he, and what his body wanted to do to them. And yet they only drew closer.

“If it is big enough to interest me, then I shall” he rumbled to himself, turning to sway back the way he had come. At least it was hard to get, too lost. He stood tall enough he could peer over the shorter buildings if he tried, and the gate, was noticeable.


Liss giggled, trying to keep her snout level despite the weight perched on the tip, watching the flailing arms of her human above. She was sat back, neck reasonably straight so her head didn’t tremble, staring up at the human whose little hind paws were upon her scales, balancing himself on the tip of her snout. She liked this game more and more, she found. It got her tail swaying. Though she had to try and stay still, or he might fall.

He got bold, lifting one leg to extend, balancing on the one paw. He always removed the, thick layer he kept over his hind paws for this one, he said he could balance better. She didn’t see the hind paws of humans often. She responded by tilting her head even further back, offering him a smaller space to balance upon, smirking up at him. Not for the first time she felt such an urge to prank him, open her mouth and let him fall inside. She felt it every time now, but she always thought, it might not be a good prank. He might slip right into her throat.

He also tended to whine if she got him slimy, she recalled, ears flicking a bit down. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to pull that prank so, so much…
Finally, as he started to wobble, he bent himself down, both hind paws, and forepaws placing to her muzzle, a sign he wanted to stop. Obligingly, she slowly tilted her head to level, letting him step onto her face, and between her horns, his arms wrapping her neck before he slid to the ground where the layers he called shoes were sitting.

He eased his little paws back into them as she rotated her neck. She always felt a little sore there after that game… but she’d given him bigger aches today, she reasoned

“I probably have to go soon” she lamented, looking to the sky

“Oh” her human sounded a little despondent “I wish you didn’t have to”

“I need to eventually, I’ll get hungry” she explained with a faint hum. She wished she could bring her human with her, sometimes.

In the corner of her eye, she saw movement, turning to see Wirr wandering by, looking to her, and her human with disinterest, before continuing to pad for the gate. She dipped her snout, to nose her human gently “you should scurry back to your nest… and I’ll find you when I come back again”

“will you be here next week?” Jack probed

“I think so. Mother always comes regularly, and I get to come”

As if beckoned by the thought, the rattle in the beams and bricks around them signalled the approach of a larger dragon… her mother, Liss assumed as she stretched her back legs from their sit, and with a last lick across the smooth face of her human, she turned to follow her brother into the main street. Indeed it was her mother, who offered a fond hum to each young dragonling in turn, licking along Wirr’s side in a gentle promise he’d get to fill it soon, before leading her family back for their world outside the immense gate to the city of humans.

Jack swayed on his feet a bit, watching the large reptiles wander out. He thought of Liss, fondly. He thought of home and felt the sensation dissipate. He liked being with her. The warmth from her lick lingered on his cheek, like a kiss. And her mother seemed so kind. Scary, but kind. He looked back down the path to home, through the streets, darkening with the slow set of the sun. Sunset always came early within the walls. In a lot of ways he knew exactly what he wanted, as he turned from the streets and ran in the direction the dragons had gone.


“That was pretty harrowing” the younger man in his pale coat noted as he sipped from his cup, the swirling drink still cold from the cellar. In the back of the great library, the scholars of the city spent their time and did their work. And in the back corner was a small room. Nothing special in it’s build, just a secluded nook with chairs and a table. But it was the perfect place to unwind.

“First dragon you’ve been close to?” his superior spoke, not that much older than him really, but, far longer under the roof of the library

“I mean, they’re around” the younger scholar noted, looking into his drink as he swirled it “I’ve had one walk over me, close enough I could see what sex it was, with legs thick as an oak at the thigh. But I’ve never touched one before, or spoken to one. Honestly it was a little chilling”

“You get used to it” the more experienced Scholar offered a smile, brushing his fingers at his chin “I’ve been interviewing them for years, and examining them. The most unnerving part about getting so close, really was just that they were alive. It was hard to put myself in, the examination mindset when my subject was still breathing”

“I swear he wanted to eat me”

“I’m sure he did” the older scholar rolled a shoulder “speaking of…”

“he swallowed the rabbit, but next time it needs to be something bigger. I really thought he’d turn his nose up at it in disgust” the younger scholar mused, almost glad to focus on the experiment again “maybe something that makes more noise too… a pig perhaps? But I listened, hard to hear much once his stomach recognised it, but… I think I could still hear signs of life by the time he left”

“I see” the older scholar sipped his own drink, one that steamed bitter notes into the air. He let little escape.

“I want to run the next tests too” the younger pressed “I’ve built a rapport with the dragon after all”

“I thought you were scared of him?” the older hid a smile behind his cup

“The opportunity is worth it” the younger responded “Look at you, you got that immense beast to agree to come here every week, and she’s been one of the most consistently behaved, you shot right up the ranks”

The older rolled a shoulder “dragons are easier to understand than people when you get down to it, but yes, it was a boon. There’s always funding for more knowledge about dragons. Classic of the ruling class really. Only thing that scares them is something being more powerful than they are. And dragons… well”

“So, he’s mine?”

“Sure, sure” the older let his smile show a little more “I’m really glad you offered, really. I was worried I’d have a hard time finding someone to work with him”

“Meaning?” the younger probed with a dark look

“meaning, if the running theory is right, and your report is accurate” he nodded to the sheets on the desk “then his breed represents a truly horrifying way to die” he sipped his drink casually “expansion of the whole torso with breathing, prolonged survival times of prey. It runs with the theory that due to their immensely slow metabolism, they really have adapted to keep their prey alive while they digest it to better preserve the meat… in order to avoid waste, or the risk of rot” he tapped a finger to his cup “Normal bodies resist such things, you know… it only sets in when one dies and the flesh can’t defend itself. Can turn a piece of meat into a heaving mass of flesh digesting goop… some think its really, tiny creatures that are constantly fought off, until the flesh can’t fight anymore. So… it follows, while the body can fend off little skirmishes with these creatures… if they have time to build a vast army, right inside the creature, it can overwhelm the predator, and make them rot from the inside. Nasty”

“ugh…” the younger muttered, putting his mug down

The older smiled wryly “which means if he ever does eat you, there’s a good chance it will be a very long and slow way to die… which does bring me to your preparations for next week. I’ll need samples of his saliva, and an examination of his fangs for sign of an injection mechanism. The biggest contender on this theory of preserving prey is the risk of, primarily mammalian prey, fighting back, or struggling too hard and causing some injury. One offered explanation is that they may possess something to, immobilise or impede their prey’s movements… leaving them alive but harmless, for their digestion. So if you could check for venom or, such”

The younger paled a little, while the older only smiled, and took another slow, calm sip of his steaming tea.


Jack pushed a fern out of his face, grimacing at the swipe it had delivered as he pushed into the woodland. He’d, never really been out here… it didn’t seem a fun place to live, though it was… interesting and different. He was used to wood and stone towering over his head, here it was, all green towering above him. It was louder than he had imagined, birds, and other things… he didn’t have words for some of them.

In the brush, he had lost sight of the dragons. They were used to here, he supposed, and a lot of the things his legs were getting caught in they could step over. Already he missed how easy it was to move in the city. The roads were open and flat, but here… nothing was flat, it was all, lumpy and full of green leaves. But he wanted to find Liss.

He frowned to himself. He envied her family… it seemed nice. He wished she was his sister. That was what he wanted to ask, why he was following them. But now…

Jack stopped his feet, looking around and realising, he didn’t know where they were… or where home was. Deciding to give up, he turned and went the way he had come, pushing through the plants again. Time passed, and the city didn’t appear. Nothing looked familiar either… or, more to the point, everything looked familiar to itself. He didn’t know the difference between one route or another, and the plants closed quickly behind him.
Was he closer though…? He didn’t hear as many animals anymore. But he heard one, suddenly. He heard something move.
Something leapt at him from ahead. Dragon… he saw dragon, big maw coming for him. A scream escaped him, instinct winning in an instant. He leapt aside, seeing the green thing land with a thud by him, missing barely, claws raking dirt, muscular body turning for him again.

“Liss!” he screamed for help, running blindly, pushing plants, feeling as much as hearing the chase behind him. It was close, very close, it wanted to eat him.
Then he felt jaws. It snatched to his side, warm, pointy hold on his belly and chest, dragging him to the side in a jolt that hurt. He felt the ground taken away, lifted high. His hands felt to the snout, hitting at it weakly, he pushed, but it didn’t move, not at all. It was, so suddenly, ominous and unavoidable. It was stronger than him, he couldn’t make it let go.

A hiss echoed nearby, before he was wrenched to the side again, seeing, jaws snap shut with a click right by his head… a different set of jaws. He saw the muzzle, green, dark and light… that was the one that had pounced at him, he realised, so, what jaws had him.

“No fair” he heard a voice roaring at him, and the mouth holding him. It was a dragon voice, but, loud… not tamed, not whispered, screaming in his ears and head “Give it to me”

The jaws lunged again, and the head holding him moved away, seeming to flee the predator. It didn’t bite though, so he clung to the jaw for dear life. This one, would eat him too… some part of him reflected, but… but the other one scared him more right now.
He felt the dragon holding him leap, left and right, or, struck left and right by the one chasing. But, it stopped, very suddenly, as before it, and before his eyes, a vast wall of green scales loomed. He looked up… a bigger one and… and he knew it, sort of

“Mom, Liss took my prey” Wirr growled, weaving in beside the dragon holding Jack, making a snap for the human’ head again, while the head kept him away

The older dragoness growled, a simple, low sound that brought both smaller dragons to stillness “Liss, it’s not nice to catch things your brother is chasing”

“But mom…” the voice that pushed around jack… he knew, he knew well, even muffled. He saw the ear on the side of the head his forebody was poking from pin to the horn he could see “it’s… my human, it’s the human I play with”

The older dragoness sighed “I know dear… now eat it up or give it to your brother, he’s very hungry, and you know he would have caught it if you hadn’t intervened”

“Mom” Wirr objected, before snorting as she looked at him

“Your prey managed to scream, Wirr, and another dragon caught it first. She caught it, it’s hers. It’s not polite, but who catches the prey, has the prey”

“Liss…” Jack managed to murmur, though her tight jaw kept his chest compressed, he realised when he tried to speak more.

The head shook slowly “mom… he’s my human”

Wirr growled, but stalked a step away, the looming snout of the mother dragoness coming closer
“I know he is, and now he’s your dinner. He’s out here in the woods, and you caught him. If you didn’t want to eat him, you should have let your brother catch him”

Liss whimpered faintly, her tongue probing at Jack’s side “I taste blood…”

“If you bite, it will be quick” her mother counselled

“I won’t… I don’t want to” Liss complained

“Mom, make her give him back” Wirr complained again

Her mother looked to Liss’s eyes with a slow sigh “Liss… there are more humans to play with. You know he’d prefer to be eaten by you than Wirr”

Her head shook, firmly, dazing Jack “No… I want to play with him again, I said I’d be back, next week, and play with him… I want to play with him again…”

Wirr growled faintly, but the mother looked to her son “Wirr, please stop. I’ll help you catch something nice later, bur the human, is your sister’s”

“She won’t eat him though” Wirr objected

“Technically, she doesn’t have to” the mother observed with a low sigh, looking to her daughter “A human out here, is not protected, but it is for the dragon who catches them to decide what they do”

Liss let out a hopeful hum

“Liss” her mother noted, tone level and stern “you may keep this human, if you really insist. But a human is a responsibility. If you don’t take good care of it, I will take it from you and then, you may either eat it, or I shall. Do you understand?”

Liss nodded, quickly “Yes, thank you, I will, I will”

Her mother nodded slowly with a low sigh “Wirr, respect my decision please. If the human runs away, then you may hunt it, but only then”

Wirr snorted wordlessly but didn’t object. Liss’s jaw relaxed, relief.

“Liss…” Jack murmured “I’m sorry”

“You shouldn’t have come here” Liss murmured, leaning her head to her back, letting Jack fall to her shoulder “But I’ll take care of you… you’re my human”

Jack nodded weakly, collapsing on the warm scales… he hurt all over, he felt faint… just grasping to the scales, and feeling the gentle sway as the dragoness started to walk again. He had become part of her family though… he smiled a little to think that. He felt like her brother.