Zag is on a mission to find clothing that fits. Meanwhile, Rangavar is on a mission to fix their ship and leave this icy wasteland, but their plans might be foiled again if their suspicious hosts aren't willing to help.

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Under Ice
Chapter 6


Zag needed a shower. At least he didn’t have to worry about fighting over it with Rangavar. He was scared of water, or something.

“I am not!” he called from the other room, sparking with annoyance.

“Weren’t we staying out of each other’s heads?” Zag retorted. Rangavar didn’t reply.

He stared into the mirror as he waited for the water to heat. Part of him wondered how the cave dragons managed to make hot water, but he also didn’t want to question it. He was simply grateful as the inviting steam warmed his scales. Before it clouded the mirror, though, Zag put a paw against the glass and frowned at the reflection. He knew it was his imagination, but he still looked bloated from yesterday. Well, and the day before that. And the day before that. He shook his head slightly, certain that the steam was just warping the image.

When he emerged a while later, he and Rangavar traded places. Maybe the other dragon could just stare at the water, or something.

“I can tell you’re still thinking about me showering,” he growled quietly as they brushed by each other.

Back on the ship, when Rangavar suggested they spend some time apart to detangle their telepathy, Zag had been mildly hurt. Now he could see that maybe it was true their thoughts were getting a little too aligned. “The water’s still hot, if you actually decide to use it,” he said helpfully. Rangavar scowled, and Zag had a feeling his comment missed the mark. Oh well.

The chubbier dragon went over to the box of food that had been delivered for breakfast while Rangavar was in the shower. He was still feeling heavy and full from last night, but figured he should probably eat up; they were supposed to find out about fixing the blade this morning, and he definitely didn’t want to be hungry while working in the snow again. The extra energy had helped out a lot last time, right? Surely, eating as much as possible right now would be a good idea. Yeah.

He was deep into the box of food when Rangavar emerged. The other dragon stared at him a second before going over to the bed to pull on some fresh clothes. It was polite of him not to comment on the binge. Or maybe, he was a bit self-conscious about his own bloating from the food last night; it wasn’t beyond Zag’s notice as he saw Rangavar begin to haul on his pants. Zag certainly wasn’t looking forward to squeezing into his own.

Even so, it must be a good thing that the food was so dense; it kept the cave dragons alive, right? Eating all of it was good for his energy.

Repeating it in his head again and again, he watched the leaner dragon spend a moment wiggling his pants over his bloated belly. The slight bulge was pushing the button flaps farther away than usual, and he sucked in his gut as he spent another long minute fighting to force the button through the hole. When he finally succeeded, he let out his breath. He wrinkled his snout at the food. “I’m pretty sure I’m still full enough to never eat again.”

“I’m keeping up my strength for our trip back outside later,” Zag forced out through his full mouth.

Rangavar stared at him a moment longer before he politely just said, “Sure.” Even Zag could tell.

He quickly finished up the current piece he was eating. He still didn’t know what to call the things, although ‘fruit’ seemed like the best way to go. “If you’re not going to eat, I’ll throw on some clothes real quick and follow you out. Do you remember the way to that person we left the blade with?” Zag was pretty sure he knew, but he’d feel more confident if Rangavar did too. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, feeling slow and heavy. That had been happening more and more lately.

Rangavar watched him with his arms crossed, a somewhat curious expression on his face. Or maybe Zag was imagining it. “I think so,” was all he said.

Grabbing his pants, Zag started to pull on his winter gear. Right away, he noticed a problem. He grunted as he hauled the flaps closed, realizing that they weren’t reaching either. “I must have grabbed the wrong pants,” he muttered, glancing over at the pile they’d been left by the generous cave-dragons.

Rangavar raised his brows, but continued to not say anything as he watched Zag struggle. The much larger dragon sucked in his belly as best he could and hauled on the waistband, but it didn’t seem to do very much. These were definitely a different size than the pants he’d been wearing yesterday. Although he could have sworn he’d left those in the same spot…

Rangavar suddenly suggested, “Maybe I’ll go alone and you can catch up after? It also might be good to take a break from each other, actually. No offense, but… I think I need you out of my head,” he finished awkwardly.

Zag frowned. He’d just been thinking that a while ago. They were probably both in each other’s heads more often than either of them even realized at this point. Pausing with his pants still plastered under his waistline, unbuttoned, Zag waved a paw. “Alright. See you in a bit.”

When the other dragon had disappeared down the hall, Zag could feel less self-conscious as he struggled with the pants. They weren’t anywhere near closing, but were still pinching into the fat rolls at his sides that folded over the waistband with each squeeze. Zag paused a moment to grip his own love handles, frowning at how thick they felt in each paw. When had that happened? He couldn’t blame that on his hearty breakfast.

It was another few minutes before he had to admit defeat. These definitely weren’t the same size as the pants he wore yesterday, even if they did look suspiciously similar. He wandered back over to the pile Garren had generously offered them the other day, supposing he should be grateful they were still here. Even though he hated trying on pants, it looked like it was time to start the cycle all over again.

The next pair he chose was visibly larger, although when he began to pull them on, he second-guessed himself. As they struggled over his chubby thighs, they grew tighter and tighter until they halted beneath the curve of his belly again with the zipper spread wide apart. His attempts to close the button were laughable. Reaching around his gut to haul on the waistband, all of the pudge merely bulged out further, managing to escape despite his efforts.

He let out his breath and sighed. When he wasn’t sucking in, the pants were a lost cause entirely, the sagging of his paunch physically forcing them even lower on his hips. He squeezed his rolls in his paws for a second, wondering when they had become so thick and soft. If he was so doughy all over, why couldn’t he just… squish his way inside the pants? Why couldn’t it just work that way?

Unfortunately, all of the wishing in the world wasn’t doing anything to contain his overflowing pudge. He gave several more futile tugs on the pants, now hyper-aware of how every part of him jiggled with the motion. It was just no use.

He yanked off the pair and tossed them aside. He dutifully picked up another. He’d have to find something that fit eventually.

Right?

~

Rangavar stuffed his paws in his pockets against the chilly cave air. At least for the most part, he didn’t mind the cold; the dark, thick fur on his wings helped insulate him as he kept them close to his body. He found it a bit ironic; Zag grew up in a desert. Their temperature preferences would normally be the other way around, but Zag was just so covered in blubber that he was the one thriving here.

Back when Rangavar was employed to Zag, the larger Darkal already had a little bit of a paunch, but he was definitely well into chubby territory now. Rangavar suddenly had flashbacks to late-night snack runs ordered by the other dragon. It definitely hadn’t helped Zag lose any weight. Like, fifty percent of his employment had just been about getting him snacks, probably. Or at least it seemed that way. But even after his employment terminated, the heavier dragon still managed to eat enough to keep on the weight—and then some.

After a moment, Rangavar shook his head; Zag wasn’t even here, and he was still thinking about him? Some time apart was definitely overdue.

He paid close attention to the tunnels he passed through, building his internal map of the place. He knew where they’d dropped the blade off yesterday, and didn’t waste any time making his way there. Hopefully, the dragon they’d left it with had some ideas on fixing the damn thing; everyone had assured him that she was the expert when it came to metalwork. Despite the fact that they ‘didn’t have any materials’ or whatever Garren had said.

Rangavar frowned to himself as he walked. Zag had pointed out that they probably didn’t want to share their materials with outsiders, which made a great deal of sense. Normally, he wouldn’t think twice about that explanation, but… then why didn’t the Iylarians just come out and say so?

He sighed. If they could get the blade fixed and get out of here, they’d never know, and if it meant getting off this damn planet, Rangavar would be perfectly okay with that.

Reaching the deep floor where they’d dropped off the blade, Rangavar absently pulled at his pants a bit and looked around. They were digging in sort of tightly. Finally giving in and eating that dense cave-food probably wasn’t helping.

“You’re Shale?” he suddenly heard from behind him. Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t noticed anyone approach.

He turned around, about to instinctively say ‘no’ before remembering that was apparently his name now. “You have the rotor blade?”

A broad-shouldered, dusk-colored Faerian dragon stood before him. She grinned. “I knew you’d come down here eventually.” She beckoned with a paw toward the back of the cave. “Follow me.”

It didn’t really answer the question, and with everything else the dragons had told them, he had a feeling there’d be some sort of bad news. He stifled a sigh. Stepping forward, he saw that there was a narrower passage at the back, hidden somewhat by shadow. Another tunnel. Great.

“Where’s the other one?” she asked curiously.

“The other what?” It took Rangavar a moment to realize she meant Zag. “Oh, he’s, uh, eating breakfast.” It seemed more polite than saying ‘he got fatter’ and needed new clothes.

“I see,” was her only response. She didn’t turn to look at him. The short tunnel actually turned out to be more of a doorway, with a larger room at the back. It had tables and odds and ends Rangavar couldn’t identify. He assumed most of their ‘tech’ was bajillions of years old, and made sense it was unrecognizable to him.

She went to a stone shelf towards the back. “Over here.”

He saw that she had the rotor blade. He also saw that it was still bent.

She picked it up and went to hand it to him. “I’m afraid repairing this is beyond my abilities.”

“Flattening metal?” He tried not to sound annoyed, but felt like that should be Metalwork 101. He took it from her paw, unsure what to do with it now.

“It’s not the shape. It’s the material,” she explained. “It’s made of something stronger than anything else I’ve worked with here. I just don’t have the resources to melt it. And if I can’t melt it down, I can’t do anything with it.”

Oh.

Rangavar tried not to let out a frustrated growl, and settled for gritting his teeth instead. At this point, the only dragon with the slightest chance of being able to do anything was Zag and his magic? It was true he was powerful—naturally-gifted, and with years of experience on top of that—but this was probably beyond even him.

“I don’t understand,” he said slowly. “You were able to build everything here—using metal from the ships that brought you here, I’m assuming.” That material would have been very similar. That particular technology hadn’t changed in forever. He carefully watched her face, but she was just looking at him with her brows furrowed. “You were even able to dig these tunnels. They’re not all natural,” he pointed out. “So… how?”

She finally gave him a wry, half-hearted smile. “Did Garren neglect to tell you that part? These were here before we arrived.”

Rangavar stared blankly for a second. “The tunnels were already… dug?” That couldn’t be right. Not only because the idea of some monstrosity large to do so, somehow surviving on this cold world, was unnerving.

She caught his expression and chuckled. “I’m not surprised. He doesn’t like talking about it. We don’t even teach it to newer generations anymore.”

That didn’t make him feel better.

Still watching his face, she assured him, “It’s not something relevant any longer. No need to look all worried about it.”

He flattened his ears a bit. “Do you know where the creature went?” He was more worried about how they could be sure it was really gone.

“Hahahaaaa. No wonder you keep looking at me like that. It wasn’t what built the tunnels. It was who.”

Rangavar scowled. He wasn’t sure what ‘looking like that’ meant, but was pretty sure he wasn’t doing it. However, his thoughts were quickly elsewhere. “You weren’t the first people here?”

She waved a paw dismissively. “There was no way we could have made these tunnels with only the technology we’d brought.”

“What happened to them? The others with the technology, I mean?” Rangavar pricked his ears as he began to get an idea.

“They moved on,” she shrugged.

Well, that didn’t tell him anything.

She gave him a rueful smile. “Sorry. I can tell you were hoping for more.”

Rangavar and Zag needed the blade fixed. They needed technology to fix the blade. There were dragons here with technology. The intention of his questioning seemed pretty clear to him, so he wasn’t sure why she couldn’t just elaborate. “Any idea where they went?”

She awkwardly scratched behind her thick, jagged horns. “Deeper underground, I think. No one knows for sure.”

Rangavar frowned. She wasn’t exactly ‘lying’, but he had the inkling that maybe she knew at least something more.

Still, he was getting the impression that he’d gotten out of her as much information as he could. “Thanks for trying to fix this.” He held up the blade for emphasis. “I think I’ll be heading back up now.” He needed to fill in Zag. This new revelation wouldn’t negate the bad news, but at least their situation seemed hopeful again. If they could find these people, at least.

She gave him a brief wave. “Come back if you need anything else!”

He pressed his lips together. He had a feeling they might be taking her up on that offer.

~

Zag’s morning wasn't going too badly. At least not after worming his way into a new pair of pants. He’d decided to go for a walk to distract himself; it was probably okay to wander around if he and Rangavar might be here a while longer anyway. He didn’t think Garren would expect them to stay in one small room the whole time. Even if the alternative was the cold weather aboveground.

Thinking about the cold, he absently readjusted his current hoodie. He had consciously grabbed a larger size, hoping it would cover the bottom of his gut more fully. Still, even though this one no longer stretched tightly across his belly and rode up at every moment, he felt like he still managed to… fill it out, or something. Like it was resting over all of his curves without being tight quite yet, but with no room to spare.

His pants weren’t faring much better, although they seemed to stretch out a little as he wore them. They were tightly containing his jiggling thighs, so he definitely wouldn’t mind if they loosened up a bit. Although he didn’t quite appreciate that his thighs were jiggling so much in the first place. It had taken him quite a while to find a new pair, so he’d eventually just settled on ‘close enough’.

At some point, he had to stop and sit, feeling tired. He didn’t want to admit it, but probably also needed to catch his breath. He’d made it back to the central cavern, where most of the activity down here seemed to take place, and fortunately found a sort of stone bench carved along one of the walls. Or maybe it was supposed to be a table or a shelf or something. Either way, the local inhabitants better not mind if he planted his ass on it.

“Zanden?”

Zag’s ear flicked toward the sound, but it took a moment to remember it was directed at him. He glanced over to see Rift headed his way. He tried not to look guilty at being caught wandering. “Hi.”

Rift didn’t look mad, though. Zag could sense his emotions weren’t negative at all. The other dragon just looked him up and down. “Where’s your friend?”

“Oh… Shale?” Zag shrugged. “He went to go get a part for our ship.

Rift frowned, but didn’t comment. As their eyes met, Zag tried not to stare. All of the dragons down here looked from the same region as Rangavar, but Rift just looked… more similar, somehow. He wondered if he’d met any other dragon first, if he’d still been able to put the pieces together as fast.

He realized he was still staring and quickly looked away. “We, uh, needed a break from each other. We spent a lot of time together on that trip,” he chuckled awkwardly.

Rift snorted, crossing his slender arms. He was about as thin as Rangavar, too, although slightly taller. “I can imagine.”

Suddenly, he beckoned Zag along. “Hey, want to walk with me? I have to admit, I’m so curious about what’s been going on in in the outside worlds. What’s the new technology like?” He turned away and set off, not looking back to make sure Zag was following, as if he already knew that he would. He was right. “I want to hear everything.”

Zag got the strange sense that his abrupt questions weren’t as innocent as they appeared, like he was screening him or something, but followed anyway. “Uh, sure,” he stammered. He’d just have to tread carefully. They’d already been hiding some of their basic information from these dragons. What was a little more?

~

When Rangavar reached their living quarters later, he was somewhat disappointed to see Zag wasn’t there. He found it a bit ironic, actually; just months ago, the thought of seeing Zag anywhere was annoying. Now, they were depending on each other to get out of this mess.

He sighed and carefully disappeared the broken blade for later. It was a basic magic that anyone could do, so he didn’t need Zag’s help. Now, if only either of them had magic for repairing the blade entirely. He was trapped with one of the most powerful Darkals in the known universe, but thwarted by a stick of metal?

He crept carefully across the room, trying not to trip over the clothes Zag had left scattered everywhere. He felt like he should be doing something useful. Maybe another conversation with Garren was in order. If there was secretly advanced technology down here after all, he and Zag needed to find it. At this point, it seemed like their only option, whether Garren wanted to hear it or not.

Making up his mind, he turned and set off down the tunnel again. He wished he could have left Zag a note, but even if Rangavar knew how to read, there just wasn’t any paper around. That seemed to be a theme down here: These dragons had an awful lot of nothing. The metalworker probably hadn’t been lying about the other dragons with technology being long gone, or it would have been convenient for the Iylarians to have a healthy trading relationship with their neighbors.

When he got back to the main cavern, he saw none other than Zag. The chubby Darkal appeared buried deep in conversation with Rift, of all people, and didn’t notice him at first. Rangavar was tempted to reach out telepathically, but decided to leave him be. They were supposed to be taking a break from each other today; he might as well let that go on as long as possible.

Instead, he made his way slowly across the cavern, watching out for its natural occupants hard at work doing their daily tasks. It was more difficult to maneuver around them than he’d expected, seeing as how they all took up a rather large amount of space. As a Darkal, he was used to being one of the shortest dragons when surrounded by Faerians. But he was easily outmatched in width here, too.

He wondered whether he wanted to check for Garren in his ‘office’, or in that huge room with the table. Yesterday, he and Zag awkwardly walked in on some sort of large meeting. He decided that there was less a chance of that happening if he at least checked the small office first.

The office was empty.

Rangavar sighed.

When he’d finally trudged all the way to the much larger room where Garren seemed to like his company, he paused and pricked his ears first, trying to detect if anyone was inside. Through the reddish stone walls, he could sense some aura, but didn’t know any of the dragons here well enough yet to tell whose. He at least knew it wasn’t Rift.

He didn’t want to interrupt, but had no idea how long they were going to take, and thought it might be more suspicious to hover outside. He carefully padded up to the doorway.

It was Garren and Jaroshe. They both glanced toward him sharply. It was Garren who spoke. “Yes?”

“Hi.” Rangavar was never good at this stuff. He tried not to gulp. Just ask. He wouldn’t be so anxious if only the rest of his and Zag’s lives weren’t relying on Garren’s answer. “So, your metalworker said she couldn’t fix the blade.” He glanced from Garren to Jaroshe to Garren again, but they didn’t respond, sensing there was more. Rangavar took a deep breath, and finally blurted, “But she said there might be other dragons down here with the type of technology she would need to fix it.”

Both of the other dragons pricked their ears in surprise. “She… said that?” Garren raised his brows.

“I mean, she didn’t offer,” Rangavar amended. She’d offered to fix the blade, but hadn’t said anything about using the other dragons’ technology. Still, if he could get the technology to her somehow, asking her help again seemed like the implied conclusion. “Either way, Za…anden, and I, have to do something to get home, and if we can’t get our supplies here, then going to find others just seems like the logical next step to me.”

Garren sat back from the table, his chubby fingers curling around the edge, while Jaroshe sat silently beside him. He didn’t look mad or anything, fortunately. Just… worried? “You don’t understand,” he stammered.

“You’re right, I don’t.” Rangavar was starting to get impatient. Why were they being so cagey? “Why won’t you help us?”

“Shale,” Garren said softly, rising to his feet. It was a somewhat ponderous ordeal, hauling up his wide, thick frame. His gut jiggled a bit as it came to rest on the table. “I’m not sure exactly how she worded the problem, but contacting them just isn’t an option.”

Rangavar wanted to demand why, but just gritted his teeth. He clearly wasn’t getting help anywhere he turned. And since Garren had supposedly silenced all mentions of the other dragons down here, the number of people he could think of to ask about it was growing increasingly small.

“We were at war.”

Taken off guard, Rangavar pricked his ears and frowned. “What?”

Garren sighed. He wasn’t lying. “There were others here before us. It’s true. And, well, they weren’t very happy when we showed up.”

Rangavar wondered why he couldn’t have just said any of that in the first place, but was afraid if he interrupted, Garren would stop talking.

The larger dragon went on, “Neither side really won, but they retreated deeper underground, and thankfully continue to leave us alone.” He pressed his lips together in a wry half-smile. “They took all of their technology with them, unfortunately.”

Rangavar didn’t know how to react. “Oh.”

“We want to help you.” Garren still wasn’t lying. He’d never been lying about that part. “But I mean, nobody’s even had contact with them in centuries. Heck, we try not to even talk about them anymore, so that people not old enough to remember don’t get curious and go searching. We were lucky enough to hold our own at the time, but they still have the superior technology, and we just don’t,” he explained.

Slowly, Rangavar nodded. It made sense. But he still had to ask, “Can you be sure they’re even still down here, then? If you haven’t had a single sign of them in centuries?” There could be a treasure-trove of technology just sitting there for all they knew.

Garren shared a glance with Jaroshe, who’d been quiet this whole time, but ended up shrugging. “I mean, I guess not, but I don’t see much value in risking everything we have here to find out.”

It was a fair point. Rangavar didn’t feel ready to lie down and resign himself to a long life underground at the edges of the known universe, but was grateful that at least Garren was finally being straight with him. “Alright.”

Garren could probably guess from his expression that nothing about it was ‘alright’, but didn’t say anything. “I’ve said before; you and Zanden are welcome to stay as long as you need to. You don’t have to worry about us throwing you up on the surface or anything like that, if that’s part of your hurry,” he chuckled. “We have plenty of food and resources to sustain two more, I promise.”

That really wasn’t part of their hurry, but Rangavar supposed it was nice to know. “Thanks.” He really did appreciate all of the help.

Still, he stifled a sigh. He wasn’t looking forward to relaying all of this to Zag. Although hopefully, the other Darkal might have more ideas than him. Right now, Rangavar was coming up with nothing.

~

Zag tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of the clothing pulled tightly around his body while keeping up with Rift. The conversation actually wasn’t going poorly or anything; as Rift warmed up to him, it became more natural and less probing. Still, Zag was beginning to feel like he needed a break.

“I wish we had something like that here,” Rift commented. Zag had been struggling to explain the internet to him. “I have to admit, I miss communication with the other worlds.”

“Were you present when someone sent the distress beacon?” Zag asked curiously. The beacon was a moot point now, but it would be interesting to know.

Rift just shrugged. “Sorry, I really don’t know when it happened.”

He wasn’t lying or anything. “Okay.”

Rift looked around. They were still in an area of the main cavern, so the place was open and well-lit, and Zag could see the dragons around them going about their lives. There was an entire community here. Rift continued, “I don’t think I’d leave without everyone else even if I could.”

Zag nodded slightly. It was understandable.

During the slight lapse in conversation that followed, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura coming his way. He excitedly pricked his ears. “You know, I think I should go see if my friend got that part we need for our ship,” he blurted. “He’s been gone such a long time, I wonder if he needs help.”

The interruption was abrupt, but Rift just frowned. “Alright.”

“It was great talking to you,” Zag said awkwardly as he turned away. Vaugh, he didn’t want to seem rude though, either. He quickly added, “We should talk more. Like, before Shale and I have to leave.”

“Alright,” Rift said again, although his emotions weren’t negative or anything. Satisfied, Zag began following the aura to its source.

The other Darkal was coming from the direction of Garren’s circular meeting room. He looked distracted, like he had a lot of his mind. Zag wasn’t sure it meant anything, though. He looked like that a lot.

He saw the other dragon prick his ears when he noticed Zag’s approach. “You’re still down here?” he thought his way.

When Zag reached him, he tried to hide how much the brisk walking had winded him. It probably didn’t work. “What do you mean ‘still’? I haven’t seen you since this morning.”

“I passed by you talking to Rift earlier.” Rangavar adjusted his pants slightly, and Zag saw it looked like most of the food bloating was gone. He wished he could say the same for himself; he felt as heavy as ever. He could still feel the tight waistband of the pants pinching the thick love handles on his sides, his scaly flesh overhanging it a bit.

“Anyway, I have a bit of news.”

“Did they fix the rotor blade?” Zag asked. Judging by Rangavar’s lack of excitement, he didn’t feel too hopeful.

“Not exactly.” Rangavar grimaced. “Although, there might be another way.” He proceeded to recount his day, most of which seemed to have involved the Iylarians giving him the runaround. Zag wished he could be more surprised about that.

“So, there is another way,” he said slowly when Rangavar was finished. “It’s just way more complicated.”

At a loss, Rangavar just shrugged. “Yeah.”

Zag felt at a loss too. Although, at least they had something to work with. “Hang onto that rotor blade.” Things were going to be hard, but it wasn’t time to give up. “It sounds like we’re still going to be able to use it.”

Rangavar shrugged again. “We have to find the technology to fix it, first.”

“Right.” Zag bit his lip. If he were a lost civilization buried deep underground on an almost uninhabitable world, where would he hide?