A small anthro dragon returns home after many years to find that things are not at all as he left them, particularly his relationship with the dragon he loves. He desperately wants her back, but might inadvertently make enemies on the way...


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Kill, Marry, Fuck
Chapter 1



The gray dragon peered out the window excitedly as the ship began to descend. White, fluffy clouds parted to reveal the foreign city opening up below. He pressed his paws and nose against the glass, trying to see it more clearly.
“Sit down.” A gruff voice sighed behind him. “We’ll be there in a few more minutes.”
The dragon turned to look at the Faerian in the seat behind him. He had dark red scales and a broad face with thick, curling horns, far more imposing than the first dragon’s smaller, narrow body.
The beckoning sunlight outside reflected off the smaller dragon’s rare shade of dark gray scales. “I just came from Glitara,” he said. “I’ve been gone quite literally for centuries.” He pointed out the window. “My mate is down there. I’m about to go see her again.”
The Faerian dragon pricked his ears interestedly. “Oh, congratulations,” he said more warmly this time. “I heard the news, but haven’t run into any of the dragons rescued from Glitara yet.” He eyed the gray dragon curiously, and stuck out a paw. “I’m Rax.”
The smaller, gray dragon shook. “Rangavar.” His paw was dwarfed by the Faerian’s. His species, Darkals, were smaller than most Faerians. The features that looked most similar to the Faerian were his sharp, jagged horns, unlike the perfectly straight horns of other Darkals. Despite that, his horns were still the normal black color, including the short, straight eyehorn on his forehead.
Rax leaned back in his chair. “What was it like? The planet Glitara, I mean,” he added. “When the atmosphere collapsed, everyone thought that all its inhabitants… well, you know.” He lowered his voice. “…Died.
Rangavar grimaced. “Well, in some cases, that… did happen.” He took a seat next to the friendly dragon. “But the rest of us were able to recover. Some areas thrived, even.” He waved his paw. “I’m going to put it behind me now, though. I just want to see my mate again.”
“Aren’t you worried,” Rax paused as he carefully searched for the right words, “that she might have thought you were dead, too?”
Rangavar looked down at his lap. “I actually expect her to,” he admitted. “She wouldn’t have a reason to think otherwise. But, I’m hoping she’ll be all the happier to see me alive and okay.”
Rax grinned and slapped the much smaller dragon on the back. “Well, good luck to ya’. I’m excited for you, too.”
Rangavar returned a small smile, nervous but eager for what lay ahead.



The ship’s landing was smooth. The solid ground felt good beneath Rangavar’s paws, as he got used to real gravity again after several days of travel. He stopped in a nearby shop to ask directions. He’d managed to find out the name and number of his mate’s home before arriving, but didn’t admit to the shop keeper that he couldn’t read them to get there.
Afterwards, armed with some verbal directions and a quick description instead, Rangavar made his way towards the southern end of the city.
He marveled at how incredibly different it was than the Glitarian cities he had become accustomed to. This city was full of hard lines and edges, the buildings made of firm, vertical walls and corners. Everything was dingy brown earth tones and a lot of grays. He could practically stand against a wall and disappear.
It was somewhat of a relief to reach the southern edge and see more greens and blues as plants appeared, splotches of color growing out of brown soil. He’d forgotten what that looked like, too; it was in huge contrast to the sparkly white and pink sands of Glitara, which were a constant assault on the eyes to someone who wasn’t used to it.
Rangavar paused as he finally stood before a lone house, slightly outside the city now, and not clustered too closely to the houses around it. It even had a welcoming band of green grass encircling the outside. The number on the house looked like it might be a 52, as he’d been looking for. Or maybe it was a 25? He wasn’t sure, but the description of the area matched what the shopkeeper had told him, so he went up to the door to knock.
The door opened as his paw hovered over the surface. A dark green dragon stood in the way, eyeing him suspiciously. But when their eyes locked, hers widened.
“R-Rangavar?” she stammered.
“Jade,” he said warmly, his heart pounding with joy. He moved closer, wanting to pull her close, but she backed away.
“How…” She looked him up and down in shock. Their aura had been severed for centuries; he realized she truly, almost didn’t recognize him. Of course, she wouldn’t have been expecting her ‘dead’ mate to show up on her doorstep, either. “It’s really you,” she said slowly.
He held out a paw again, more gently this time. Hesitantly, she took it. She brought it to her cheek. Her eyes welled up with tears. “It’s really you.”
Rangavar felt himself welling up with emotion too. It probably didn’t help that the gentle touch was restoring their telepathic bond, blending their emotions together.
She looked left at the neighboring house, then right. It was a little odd, seeing as there was no one around. But then she yanked him quickly into the house.
It was pretty average; couch, computer, some other electronics he didn’t recognize; the invention of newer tech had surged ahead without him during his absence. Jade turned her back to straighten the curtain over the front window as he glanced around curiously.
“I’m sorry, I would have called,” he began. “But I didn’t know… uhh…” He fidgeted, trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment. He started over, “Technology has changed a lot while I was trapped on Glitara, so everything’s a bit ‘new’ to me…” He sighed. “Okay, honestly, I had no idea how.”
She turned back to him, her expression concerned. “Rangavar, I have something I need to tell you.”
“Oh, uh, okay.” He paused. He didn’t like the way she said that.
She bit her lip, revealing one of her white fangs. “While you were ‘gone’,” she said carefully. “I sort of moved on.”
Rangavar frowned. “What?”
“I thought you were dead,” she said more bluntly.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I felt our bond get severed when Glitara closed off. I sort of figured that much.” He’d thought she’d be happier to see him alive, actually. He was starting to wonder why she was acting like she hadn’t even missed him the last thousand years.
She slapped her forehead. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Jade,” he reached out for her. “I know coming here was a bit of a surprise, but I didn’t mean to upset you. I know this is a lot to take in.” It was a lot for him to take in, too. But he had also pictured this conversation going a bit differently.
She sighed. “I mean, when I felt you ‘die,’ I… found someone else.”
“Oh.” He pricked his ears. Getting a companion wasn’t that strange—he’d had one himself, many years ago.
“Not a companion,” she interjected, reading his thoughts. And his facial expression, probably. “I mean more like… a new mate.”
He frowned. That didn’t make any sense. “But I didn’t actually die, Jade. It’s impossible to connect to two dragons at once.”
She walked around him to go flop on the couch. He followed after her, his mind reeling. He must have misunderstood.
She glanced at him with a sad expression as he sat down beside her. “Apparently, it is.” Her voice was soft. She reached up to touch his face, but at the last second, stayed her hand. “When you were on Glitara, I did really sense you die. And they told us there weren’t any survivors.” Her eyes began to well up again. “Rangavar, I couldn’t feel you anymore. I mourned you. And then, as the centuries went by—” she looked away from him. “I healed.”
He shook his head in denial. “Two mates at once? It’s never been done.”
“Well, it has now.” She looked back at him, her soft green eyes staring into his dark, violet ones.
Rangavar had the realization, as he sat on the couch next to his mate, whom he had lived with, built his life with, shared half his soul with—he was sitting on the couch with practically a stranger.
He suddenly got up, but turned around to face the couch again. He spread his paws. “So what happens now? If you’re mated to another dragon... then, uh, what happens to me?” When she didn’t answer he went on, “I mean, I can’t just, un-mate you. It doesn’t work like that.”
“I know.” She rubbed her forehead, looking as lost as he was. Her fingers parted around her eyehorn, which was white, because she wasn’t a Darkal like he was. She was the third species of dragon, a Gemian. “But he’s still, literally, my mate. We’re bonded too. I’m bonded to both of you.” Jade groaned. “I don’t have any answers. And, presumably, there’s nobody to ask, since this sort of thing doesn’t happen.”
Rangavar actually wasn’t so sure about that. If it had happened to him, it seemed possible that it was happening to other families being reconnected after Glitara.
“That doesn’t matter,” Jade answered his unspoken thoughts out loud. “They’d be just as confused as we are.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he admitted. As happy as most Glitarians were to be heading back to their home worlds, he realized they had unknowingly stumbled onto a new problem. This one couldn’t be so easily fixed with science.
Jade suddenly pricked her ears and glanced sharply towards the window. “Oh no,” she breathed.
Rangavar focused his own senses to feel what she felt, and noticed an unfamiliar aura near the house. His senses weren’t as strong as hers, but there didn’t seem to be anything remarkable about the new dragon, so he patiently waited for her to explain.
She looked up at him. “You have to go.”
He could feel her sudden spurt of anxiety. “Are you in danger?” She obviously recognized the dragon approaching. It felt like probably a much larger Faerian, but Rangavar decided that if it came down to it, he was definitely going to square up. Whether Jade wanted to reconnect or not, he still loved her and was ready to defend her.
“Rangavar. That’s my mate.” She stammered. “I mean, the other one. The one that isn’t you.” She smacked her forehead. “This is all so weird to say.”
He relaxed. “Oh.” He liked the odds of that outcome much better. “Wait, does this mean I get to meet him?” He actually found himself a bit intrigued at the prospect of meeting this new dragon she obviously loved. The fact that he made her happy made Rangavar interested. He wondered why she felt so much anxiety about it.
“I don’t think…” She gestured around at, well, Rangavar. “I don’t know how to explain this to him.”
“I mean, you could start with, ‘Oh hi, this is that previous mate I told you about, who has turned out to be not as dead as I thought.’” He frowned suddenly. “You did tell him you were mated before, right?”
“Yes, of course.” She got up from the couch. “But, Rangavar, if we can’t figure out how to fix this, he is going to be crushed.” She added, “He’s a little, uh, sensitive.” She looked up into his eyes and pleaded, “Please, can you… go?”
He cast a glance towards the front window, where the Faerian was quickly approaching. He’d definitely be seen, which Jade didn’t seem to want. “Is there a back door?”
Jade stared at him pointedly.
Rangavar stared back, realization suddenly dawning. “Oh. You mean like, GO go.” He stared at her in shock.
Her eyes began to well up with tears again. “I don’t know what to do. But, he and I chose each other. And I can’t do this to him.” She gestured between Rangavar and herself.
The small Darkal felt his heart crumple. “So you’re going to do ‘this’,” he copied her gesture exaggeratedly, “to me instead?”
She started crying in earnest and covered her face. “I’m sorry. I love him and I can’t hurt him.”
Rangavar realized the obvious implication; she didn’t love HIM anymore.
She could still hear his thoughts. “That’s not what I said!”
Her turned away from her. “You didn’t have to.”
They’d been so absorbed in their conversation that the sound of the doorknob startled them. The door swung open to reveal a large Faerian, as Rangavar had expected, although he was actually more massive than most others. He had thick, muscular arms and legs, but was also swaddled in fat. If he really had been here to hurt Jade, he and Rangavar wouldn’t have had to fight; he could’ve just squashed Rangavar like a grape by sitting on him.
The dragon glanced between them. “Jade, what’s going on?” His eyes moved from his mate, in tears, to the stranger in his house, the obvious source of her distress. He squinted at Rangavar, sizing him up.
“I was just leaving,” Rangavar interrupted, shooting a pointed glare at Jade.
Jade looked at her newer mate guiltily. “He’s just an old friend,” she lied. “He’s going to…”
“Karraden.” Rangavar decided right then that that’s what he would do. “I’m going to Karraden. There’s a research lab starting up there to figure out what happened to Glitara. I’m interested in working there.”
The fat dragon glared at him suspiciously. Rangavar glared back.
Jade turned back to Rangavar. “Please, just go now. And… and…” She sobbed. “Please, don’t come here again.”
“Of course.” He moved towards the door, but paused a moment. “I respect your decision, Jade. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
His heart broke to hear her start crying again.
“I think it’s time you get out of here, buddy.” The Faerian bared his teeth and stepped aside to gesture Rangavar out the door. He had to squeeze a bit to give him the room to fit through.
Rangavar didn’t need to be told again. As a Gemian, Jade was emitting her emotions in powerful waves, even if she hadn’t been crying. As he passed by her new mate, towering over him, he was glad that his own face was now out of view. He waited until he heard the door shut behind him before he started wiping his own eyes on the back of his arm.


“Who the heck was that guy?” Arro paced back and forth while Jade sat on the couch, the sound of her sniffling filling the pauses. “You know, if you want me to go after him, I have no qualms about crushing his skull.” He pounded his fist into his other paw for emphasis. “I don’t care if Darkal bones are unbreakable. I’ll find a way.”
“Arro, it’s fine.” Her voice still wavered as she recovered.
“Why’d he come here to bother you?” he demanded. “What was he going to do?”
Jade wiped her eyes. “Nothing.” She sniffled. “Please let it go.”
Arro’s heart was pounding angrily. That little punk had made his mate cry. The piece of trash. Shitty—
“Please stop,” Jade begged.
Sometimes Arro forgot she could read his thoughts. “Sorry.”
“If you really want to help, do you think maybe you could just… give me a moment?” She got up. “I’m going to go lie down for a bit.”
“Of course.” He went over and wrapped her in a quick hug. “If you need anything, will you please let me know?”
She nodded.
He watched silently as she went up the stairs, wondering why she was so unwilling to talk about what the Darkal had done. Threatened her? Hurt her? Arro’s blood boiled to think about it.
He plopped heavily into a chair at the kitchen counter. He had to adjust a little to get his rear to fit in the straining seat. He drummed his claws on the surface, his chin resting in his other paw, deep in thought.
That guy had said he was heading to a research lab on Karraden. An idea began to hatch in Arro’s mind. He couldn’t imagine there were too many such labs. It would probably be easy to figure out where it was.
A devious plan began to build, something he had never considered in his life. He wasn’t sure why he felt such a strong rivalry with the other dragon, but the sight of his mate sitting there crying and begging to never see him again…
Arro pulled up a bit of info with a few taps on his wristband’s little screen. Within minutes, he found that there was only one Glitarian research lab on Karraden, making his search even easier than he’d thought.
He hardened his resolve, a feeling he’d never experienced sending a shiver through his body. But he’d made up his mind. Despite that dragon’s veiled threat, he would definitely never come back.
Arro was going to kill that piece of shit.