Lo and behold! Another adventuous story featuring dragons and the like! Kira is obsessant on joining a guild for the chance to meet more friends, unlike Mar who knows fullwell that guilds can be quite dangerous. Little do they know that both of them are a mixture of wrong and right. They do meet plenty of friends... but do they have ulterior motives?

A fun commission for  MarRose that's more of a set up and a chance to lore dump, although there's quite a few binging scenes to be had, if you like your dragons as round and taut in the belly as possible. I know I do!

I hope you all enjoy! 10k words

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Maranai Rose: a spectacular specimen of a dragon, on the inside and the out. Their unique plumage and coloring has garnered them many praises from those who witnessed them, comparing them positively to butterflies and the like. With a deep, almost-black purple along their body; a sky-blue mane, limbs, and wing highlights; and a scarlet underbelly, anyone could consider themself lucky to witness such magnificence. To add further intrigue were the large red dots that spread out behind their large red eyes, much like how butterfly wings also had false eyes along the wings, giving the impression that they could look everywhere, at everything, all at once. Truely, they were a sight to behold.

In fact, even now, Mar was the center of attention yet again, their eyes as wide as the dots along their head. But for once, it wasn’t due to their striking physical qualities, or for showing off their impressive wingspan.

They were literally being dragged through the town by their tail.

“Kira, please!” They pleaded, their claws dragging through the dirt. “You’re making a scene!”

Their captor hardly seemed bothered by the chaos she was causing. If anything, she looked as though she were having fun with the chaos, her gray head held high with glee. The other dragon looked back and smiled. “The only thing I’m making is making you come with me!”

Well, that was what she had intended to say. Really, all Mar could hear was. “Teh ‘nly fing em merking esh merking yeh c’me wiff meh!” It was hard to speak with a mouth full of tail, after all.

Mar attempted to scramble away, but just like the first several dozen attempts, it was no use. Even though she was smaller, Kira was surprisingly strong, each tug enough to drag the dragon several inches forward.

Honestly, it wasn’t even the pain that bothered Mar, so much as the humiliation. Every time they glanced around, they found more people crowding along to look at the scene, anthros and ferals alike. Even a few dragons found their way to the pair, snickering softly at the hijinks unfurling right before them. Horse-dragging carts traveled past the pair, having to maneuver around them awkwardly, but no one seemed bothered by the inconvenience. If anything, every face that passed them by was smiling, even waving.

There really was no alternative, was there?

“Alright, fine! I’ll come with you Kira, just please let me go!”

Finally, their poor tail was released, and Mar was allowed to bring themself onto all fours for once, shaking off the dust that had accumulated from their excursion. Really, the colorful dragon had every right to just turn tail and flee from their captor after being forced to endure that. Kira may be strong, but Mar definitely had the edge in speed.

But while it was tempting to hide their face from all the gawking people, Mar knew better than to do that. Kira was a friend. A brainless friend, but a friend nonetheless. Stepping to the side of the road in an attempt to maybe regain a small shred of dignity back, Mar turned towards Kira with a scowl. “That was entirely unnecessary, you know.”

“Yeah, but it worked!” Kira smiled bright, even as they spat out a mouthful of dark tail feathers. “I got you to come, didn’t I?”

“Not because I want to!” Mar didn’t know what was worse: The fact they were having this conversation in public or the fact that Kira genuinely believed she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Why do you want us to join a guild so much?”

“Because it looks fun?” The gray dragon responded in a ‘duh, obviously’ tone.

Mar sighed. “No, no they are not. We’ve had this talk before, Kira. This isn’t just a big dragon party, alright? They put you to work. You’ll be forced to answer any request they have, running up and down the whole damn kingdom if they want. You might have to fight monsters, deal with emergency situations… I-I mean, the whole kingdom could just suddenly go to war, and you’d be drafted on the spot!”

Kira tilted her head. “We could go to war soon?”

“I…” The dark dragon shook their head. “It’s just an example. My point being that it’s not all fun and games. It’s a lot of hard, scary work, and the last thing I want is for something to happen to my friend… even after you dragged me through town.”

Kira’s head flopped the other direction now, as though trying to find the best angle for her brain to operate most efficiently. “That’s not what Gaz told me.”

Mar blinked. “Who’s Gaz?”

“He works at the guild here! He says it’s mostly really boring work. Sometimes you help with construction, other times you stand guard at a town’s entrance. One time he even had to sit in front of a school and be used as a lesson for dragon anatomy. Isn’t that cute?! I wanna play with kids.”

Now it was Mar’s turn to tilt their head. That sounded much better from what they’d been told. Every guild the darker dragon had seen advertised the thrill of adventure and exploring, a call to arms that many people, anthro and dragon alike, would happily rise up to take. Mar, however, was not the adventurous type and much preferred the quiet life among friends. But while battling monsters and mapping out uncharted lands was quite horrific, helping with casual, almost mundane chores was much more their speed. They liked helping others, and putting a smile on someone else’s face was the easiest way to make them smile back.

At least they knew that Kira wasn’t lying or making up this Gaz fellow. She was too pure to lie, plus it was questionable whether she could formulate a lie on her own anyways.

With a sigh of defeat, Mar looked down into Kira’s wide, red, too-innocent-for-their-own-good eyes. “Alright, let’s check it out. I’m not convinced of joining just yet, but I may as well hear them out.”

“Sweet!” Kira leapt forward to give Mar’s neck an affectionate nuzzle with their neck, almost making the larger dragon wonder if this drake was the same one who dragged them through town just now. With an excited wiggle, Kira flipped around and galloped off, tail shaking excitedly. “Let’s get going then! We still got, like, twenty kilometers to go!”

“T-twenty?!” Mar blinked, before running after their friend. “The town’s guild is just down the street!”

Kira laughed, turning to look back at her friend while trotting blindly forward. “Yeah, but they’re full, they said! But, but Gaz says there’s another place that’s looking for dragons.”

Mar still wouldn’t let this go. “You were going to drag me twenty kilometers?!” Ow, their poor, poor tail…

---

A twenty kilometer trek would have taken a normal anthro a fair bit of time. Morning to afternoon, or afternoon to evening, for example. For two powerful dragons, they crossed that distance in a quarter of a time, even faster if they were in a hurry.

And even faster if Mar had chosen to fly. At high enough altitudes, the wind currents did all the work for them, after all. They could cross the entire country in an afternoon with ease, all while enjoying the beautiful sight of the wooden countryside far below them.

But that wouldn’t be fair for Kira.

The gray dragoness had even brought this up as they trekked through the woods. “Really, you can go ahead and fly there if you want. I know it’s boring having to walk.” She muttered, weakly fluttering her own wings.

Mar scoffed loudly. “Don’t say that. You’ve seen one tree top, you’ve seen them all. Besides, anthros hate it when you land in front of them. Too much wind.”

“Well, just land outside the town, then.” Kira muttered.

The darker dragon sped their pace up to walk beside their friend, nudging her. “I’m walking with you, Kira, and that’s final. Literally anything is better than your other method of bringing me here.”

The dragoness perked up, curious. “Hey, you think if you tried flying while holding onto my tail-”

“Nope.”

“Why not?!”

“Because I like you too much to want to try tearing your limbs off.”

That was the end of that conversation, but Mar noticed Kira now sporting a slight smile to her face. This wasn’t the first time Kira brought up wanting to fly again, and it probably won’t be the last, either. Her gray wings, while now fully intact, had been scarred red from a brutal fight she’d gotten into, leaving her unable to flap hard enough to propel herself upwards. Yet another reason why Mar was so hesitant with her joining a guild. Still, the fact that Kira still held onto some sense of wonder and excitement for the unknown made Mar proud that the dragoness wasn’t too torn up over their disability.

Flying was overrated, right?

Even on the ground, it took the eager Kira and the protective Mar seemingly no time at all to reach their destination. Even if Mar wasn’t the adventuring type, they were still quite curious to see what sort of settlement wanted dragons

It was another run of the mill town. A large main street with a few alleyways leading into homes. Nothing of particular note.
This was quite the city! Enormous stone walls leading into rows upon rows of buildings, merchants, and more!
Shops, shops, and more shops! Everywhere they looked, Mar found a stall or stand set up selling something or another. Most were interesting doodads and baubles picked up from adventurers years ago, but the dragons could easily smell out several delicious pastries…
Was this even a town? The buildings were so far apart and spread out, it was hard to tell! But as they ventured further in, Mar could soon make out the farmland in between. A farming town needs dragons?


Mar felt a little intimidated. A city this size would absolutely be looking for more dragons. It’d be hard not to, given just how much work must go into keeping everything nice and tidy. It wasn’t often that the dark dragon felt small, but those walls were something else. They meant what they said when mentioning how flying was overrated, but just once they wished they could soar above and take in stock of the whole city, just to have a map memorized.

Well, maybe they will soon enough, if they do end up joining the guild.

Even walking through the gates felt like passing through a small hurtle. They were clearly wide enough for dragons to get through, making Mar feel smaller than ever before. The only doorways and entrances they were used to were the ones meant for anthros. What happened to just walking in and out of town from any direction?

At least the city was wide and sprawling enough that they didn’t need to worry about accidentally walking into buildings or other valuables on the side, if just barely. It was quite crowded still, as people, carriages, animals all alike ventured up and down the roads. Soon enough, eyes began turning towards the pair, and Mar found themself stepping directly behind Kira, hiding their face. These were all new people to them. Which, in hindsight, was probably a good thing. No one knew about what it took to convince them to arrive, right?

At least Kira was having fun. She swirled her head this way and that, a large smile etched into her face. “Wooooow! Aqrane is beautiful, huh?”

The larger dragon blinked. “Who?”

“Aqrane! It’s the name of the city!” Kira beamed. “That’s what it said on a plaque back there!”

Mar figured that may have been the name for a street, and not the city itself, but didn’t have the heart to tell their wide-eyed friend. Sure, this city is Aqrane now, at least until someone corrects them.

Eventually, the darker dragon couldn’t hold back their nervousness. “H-hey, Kira? Do you know what this guild’s like?”

The dragoness shrugged. “I dunno! I just know it’s not too big. It’s actually kinda laid back.”

“W-what?” Mar blinked. “This place is huge! How is there not a lot of work to be done here?”

Kira shrugged again. “Well, people like to make up guilds all the time, right? I think this is one of those new starter guilds. Maybe we’ll be their first employees- heeeey, I smell chocolate!”

Mar sighed. “Kira, focus. We’ll get the chocolate after we check out this guild of yours.” Please, anything to make this looming anxiety over with already. There was so much they didn’t know, it was genuinely stressful.

Thankfully, Kira managed to hold back her urge for the sweets, although Mar noticed her mouthing “I’ll be back for you!” They had no idea if that was directed towards the man running the stall, or the chocolates themselves. For now, they continued through Aqrane with open eyes and swiveling ears, memorizing every path they could, taking it all in.

Until at last, Kira announced they’d arrived at their guild. It was out of the way, right along the outskirts of the city if the nearby stonewalls were anything to go off of, but it was a large, open area with a building that could easily fit multiple dragons, much like the guild at their smaller town.

And sure enough, there were many dragons there to greet them. They all seem friendly but… well, Mar couldn’t help but notice they looked a tad overfed.
Dragons and anthros were ready to greet them… goodness, they seem a little too ready to greet them. Were they that desperate for more help?
But they couldn’t see any signs of anyone there. No dragons, anthros, no one! There was a light inside, however, so at least someone was there. The guildmaster?


It was a good thing that the area was so spacious and available; there were quite a few dragons mingling around as well. Some headed into and out of the enormous building, while many others sat or stood outside, chatting with one another, and even with some anthros, all of whom wore silver ribbons around their arms! Now this was news to Mar, who assumed that dragon guilds were meant for, well, dragons. Were they helpers? Errand runners?

There were so many dragons and anthros that Mar actually felt a little overwhelmed. This was supposed to be a smaller start-up, right? They were clearly quite busy, as well as quite well off, given the overall quality of the building itself and the environment around them. This place put their own small guild back home to shame. Would they really need two more dragons?

Kira apparently didn’t hold any of those reservations. Instead, the light gray dragon happily trodded forward past her friend, marching straight to the nearest unaccompanied green dragon and smiled. “Hello! My friend Mar and I wanna join your guild! How do we do that?”

“Kira…” Mar sighed. No, in the end they were glad she did that. Otherwise they’d just be standing on the outskirts staring at everyone like two idiots who didn’t have anything better to do.

Thankfully, the green dragon didn’t seem bothered by the sudden interruption. If anything, she found it amusing if that chuckle was anything to go by. “Hey, that’s great to hear! We’re always looking for new drakes!”

She pointed towards the building. “Our guildmaster’s just inside. Take a right, up the first set of stairs you see. After that-”

“Stairs?!” Mar couldn’t help but blurt out. The building was huge, sure, but there were stairs meant for dragons inside? They weren’t used to being inside buildings in general, save for stable-like areas that were mainly used just to keep rain or snow off of them.

The green dragon laughed again. “Ah, you must be the friend!”

Mar, a little embarrassed, slowly sauntered beside Kira. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No worries. I know this can be a little overwhelming for outsiders. I was in your position not too long ago, in fact.” The guild member nodded. “Yes, it’s up a set of stairs on the right. Circle around until you find a large desk. Our guild master is the red and gold dragon behind it. He may be reading something, but feel free to grab his attention anyways. He always has time to take on new recruits!”

“Gotcha!” Kira lowered her head respectfully, with Mar following suit. “Thank you so much!”

The other dragoness bowed as well before continuing forth, leaving Kira to eagerly hop in place, her forepaws tap-tapping the ground. “Mar, this place has stairs!”

“Yes I heard.” Mar couldn’t really believe it, either. If nothing else, this was an interesting new experience for the pair.

With an energetic yip, the gray dragoness practically leapt from her spot and bolted towards the wide-open entrance. Mar was about to yell for her to relax and slow down, but was just a bit too late.

For right as she got to the entrance, Kira nearly bowled into another dragon who was just stepping out.

With just inches to spare, Kira managed to plant her rump down and skid to a halt, quickly backing up with all fours to the point of nearly tripping over herself. “Oooooohmygosh, ohmygosh, oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”

The dragon she nearly bowled into, however, was clearly not as sociable as the green dragoness they spoke with earlier. His piercing gray eyes glared at Kira with a quiet, yet noticeable fury, before snorting and marching forward. “Be more careful next time,” he demanded before marching forth.

Kira nodded vigorously, although the other dragon had already moved on, slowly marching away and leaving both Kira and Mar stunned. He was… something, alright. Very large even for a dragon, at least nine feet to the withers with his horns and wings just barely squeezing through the opening of the building, with long bleached-blond hair flowing down his back. He was an intimidating force to be sure, the scars along his obsidian scales indicating he’d fought many battles in his life, and no doubt won most of them.

Yet, it was the dragon’s stomach that they couldn’t help staring at.

Sure, the large drake had noticeable muscles along his legs, but his stomach was, well, quite wide. Flurry and gray, as opposed to the rest of his dark and scaly visage, yet so round and swollen that it nearly hung to his knees. It actually looked a little uncomfortable, the way it made his normally-prideful walk look a bit more stiff and stilted instead. Given the way he moved, Mar would have assumed he was being sent out on another mission, but instead of that, the enormous drake simply collapsed beneath the shade of the nearest tree, nursing that bloated middle.

Kira was the first to break the silence. “Is he pregnant?”

“That’s a male,” Mar responded back.

Kira scoffed. “Males can get pregnant too, ya know!”

Mar shrugged their wings. “Who knows. Would definitely explain the attitude.” Hopefully they won’t have to deal with him anymore.

Thankfully, their concerns with the cranky male were quickly forgotten when they stepped into the building. The size and scale of it suddenly made sense to Mar once they were inside; this place used to be a Coliseum! It must have been worked on extensively, hence why the darker dragon didn’t notice it earlier, but on the inside they could easily make out the older stonework. This building was still being renovated, perhaps, but the base of it must have been hundreds of years old, if not older!

Directly ahead of them, they could see another large opening that went into the inner circle of the Coliseum, an enormous arena. However, instead of it being some ruthless battlezone like Mar had read about some years prior, it was instead converted into some sort of commonground; even more dragons and anthros mingling about, only with more furniture involved. Chairs, tables, even a large fire pit further back was being used to roast a huge variety of meats.

“They have a whole cafeteria out there!” Kira groaned, licking their lips. “Can we get something to eat, Mar? I’m starving!”

“Sure, let’s check it out.”
“That might be for members only, Kira.”

“Awwww.” Kira sighed, lowering her head. “You’re probably right. Let’s hurry up and become members, then!”

Mar didn’t like the idea of becoming members just so they could eat at an outdoor cafeteria like that. However, they couldn’t deny that it smelled wonderful, even from where they stood. Coming back after a long mission to relax out there with a hearty meal sounded very appealing.

Right now, however, the pair needed to overcome their first hurdle: Stairs.

Mar and Kira looked at the spiral stone staircase, silently pondering. They both lived many long years of walking on flat ground, maybe occasionally leaping onto small rocks or fallen tree trunks. The idea of stepping up and just… continuing to do so was a little weird, even if it was simple in practice. In fact, Mar actually felt a bit embarrassed when they first decided to trot up the stairs, realizing with a bit of a blush that once they cleared the second step, everything fell into place rather quickly.

Kira even managed it just fine on her own, looking up to Mar with an excited grin. “Can we do that again?” She said, as though it were some ride.

“We’ll have plenty of time later,” Mar reckoned. Right now, they really wanted to meet this guild master. Being the only ones to walk through this building without a silver armband made them feel even more like outcasts, even if no one pointed out or seemed to mind. If anything, the dragons or anthros they passed all looked up towards them and smiled, welcoming the strange new pair into their hall. Interesting, so it was just the large gray dragon outside who was the only butthead of the group.

The view from the second floor was beautiful, seeing as how this was where the audience was meant to spectate the arena itself. Being able to see the large open area was quite the treat; Mar and Kira could better see the cafeteria area behind the stands, seeing the large fire pits roasting meat and whatnot. It smelled so good; how anyone could work from up here and not be constantly hungry was a mystery.

It didn’t take long for the newbie dragons to find the quildmaster’s area. Sure enough, the red and gold dragon was situated within an enclosed desk-like area, perhaps what used to remain of the old Coliseum’s concession stand, now remade into a small library or record keeping station. The guildmaster laid atop a small pile of pillows, small spectacles resting on the bridge of his red snout while overlooking a book of his own. To Mar’s surprise, he was also a tad large in the belly region, but unlike the grumpy gray dragon outside, the guildmaster’s was clearly a result of years of overeating or lack of exercise, as the gold-coated gut spread slightly out from beneath him to form soft flanks. That definitely answered Mar’s previous question on whether the dragons up here were constantly hungry or not from the smells.

“Hello!” Kira blurted out to the guildmaster, running right up to the desk with a big grin. “Are you the leader?”

“Hmmm?” The hefty dragon looked up from his page, glancing at Kira and Mar respectively before widening his eyes. “Oh, we have guests!” With a chuckle, he leaned further upright into more of a sitting position, his soft flanks ebbing away to hang back beneath his large frame, while taking off his spectacles.

“A pleasure to meet you two.” He smiled, nodding his head. “My name is Thylodeus, guildmaster of the Silver Tongues, but please call me Theo. The anthros struggle a little with my full name, heh.”

Mar smiled at that. They related all too well. “In that case, my name is Mar, and this troublemaker here is Kira.”

“Yes, I am!” Kira nodded, more or less confirming both statements about herself.

Theo chuckled warmly. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance! How may I be of service?”

Mar thought for a moment on what they wanted to ask first.

“What kind of work does your guild specialize in?”
“Your guildhall is very impressive! Did it really used to be a Coliseum?”
“We were told this guild was relatively new, but everything we’ve seen is so amazing!”
“What’s the deal with the big gray dragon we ran into earlier?”
“Is the food down there for non-members too?”
“We’d like to join your guild!”


Kira beat Mar to the punch with that question, although the darker dragon didn’t mind at all. It was a thought that’s been on their mind since arriving, after all.

Theo grinned widely. “I’m glad you think so! We’ve only been around twenty years or so, but I suppose we have been making great strides lately, haven’t we?”

Kira nodded. “Yeah, my friends were talking about the Silver Tongues all the way from our tiny lil town! What’s your secret?”

The soft-bellied dragon smiled. “Honestly? It’s been volunteer work. It’s mostly been myself and a few like minded individuals who have been taking unpaid jobs when we can to build up this little place, something to make us different from Ash Wings. That being the name of Aqrane’s main dragon guild,” he said, noting the confused looks on his guests.

Theo continued. “It was slow going, but once we were recognized as a guild, we started receiving donations, some from smaller organizations and individuals, to even a few grandiose contributions from the local nobles. You can thank Her Majesty the queen herself for helping to fund the reconstruction of this Coliseum, as well as the outdoor cafeteria. I thank her every time I feel my belly press against the floor, heh.” The dragon snickered, giving the side of his chubby sides a poke with his large tail.

“If you’ve come to join our guild, you’ve done so at an excellent time. Right now, constructions are under way to ensure everyone here has a roof over their head and a soft place to lay during the night. Right now, however, space is limited and you two may need to share a space meant for a single dragon, but who’s to say if your good deeds will earn us the chance to expand our neat little building even more, or perhaps build additional housing along the sides for our members to rest in?”

Mar tilted their head at that. A room for themself and Kira would be quite interesting, although they weren’t sure how cramped it would be if it’s meant for a single dragon. Kira was a restless sleeper, after all.

“Now then.” Theo smiled. “Are there any other questions on your minds?”

“What kind of work does your guild specialize in?”
“Your guildhall is very impressive! Did it really used to be a Coliseum?”
“What’s the deal with the big gray dragon we ran into earlier?”
“Is the food down there for non-members too?”
“We’d like to join your guild!”


“Kira!” That time, Mar did have a problem with their friends’ blatant disregard for manners. They were already too nervous to ask the cafeteria workers for free food as is, but asking the guildmaster himself just felt too rude.

Thankfully, the red and gold drake let out a booming belly laugh at that question. Hopefully he continues to find Kira’s impudence humorous.

“Hah! Oh, a dragon after my own heart! I love it.” He snickers, wiping a tear from his eye with a claw. “Technically, you do have to perform a task or so to earn the privilege to eat for free, but at which point, you may as well be a guild member yourself. So, the answer is no.”

The dragon turned his head left to right briefly, his golden eyes shifting about, before leaning in and speaking with a hushed voice. “However, our chefs have been complaining lately about having a surplus of certain foods leftover. Anything that isn’t eaten has to be salted, stored, and sent to shelters who could use the food to feed the hungry. I’m sure they’d love it if a pair of hungry dragons asked for whatever they had too much of to eat themselves, as it’d save them a lot of menial chores after.”

Clearing his throat, Theo leaned back and cleared his throat, speaking once more in his usual, louder voice. “So as you can see, we can’t let non-members eat for free, I’m afraid.” He said, giving the pair a knowing wink.

“Is there anything else you’d like to know?

“What kind of work does your guild specialize in?”
“Your guildhall is very impressive! Did it really used to be a Coliseum?”
“What’s the deal with the big gray dragon we ran into earlier?”
“Well, I guess we better go somewhere else to eat.” Kira winks right back.
“We’d like to join your guild!”


“What?” Mar blinked, confused. But Kira was already trotting away, no further questions being asked. Stunned, the darker dragon quickly bowed their head in thanks towards Theo before cantering after Kira, frowning. “What was that? Kira, I thought you wanted to join the guild!”

“I do!” She huffed, pausing briefly at the top of the stairs before slowly stepping down. “But I also wanna eat before we do anything. I’m starving!”

Mar stumbled after their friend. Oof, going down stars was a bit trickier than going up them. “I understand that, but Theo said the cafeteria is only meant for guild members.”

“Only technically! We just gotta ask for whatever they have most of, and then we’re fine.”

Mar still wasn’t too keen on the idea. Finally on flat ground, they dashed in front of the smaller gray dragon, cutting them off. “Ok, and what if it’s something you don’t like? You’ll have to eat it then, you know.”

Kira tilted her head at that, clearly not thinking of such a scenario. But with a shrug of her wings, she stepped around her friend. “Well then we’d be doing everyone a favor, huh?”

Mar frowned, and slowly followed behind their friend. Could it really be that easy? Was it possible to be helpful just by eating?

The taller dragon pondered this while the two of them waited in line, inching closer towards the cafeteria counter. Everywhere they looked, they saw dragons and anthros alike eating rich, meaty meals, meaning whatever they had a surplus of was clearly not that. A shame, as they all smelled wonderful, and probably tasted just as splendid.

Eventually, they arrived at the front of the line, standing before a young fox anthro who smiled at the pair. “Welcome! What can I get you two-”

She paused, looking at both dragons’ shoulders. “No arm bands? I’m sorry, but the cafeteria is only available to guild members. You can speak with Theo on the second floor if you’re interested.”

Kira spoke up proudly. “We did! And he said you guys have stuff that’s hard to get rid of. We’ll both take some of that, whatever it is!”

Meanwhile, Mar planted their palm against their beak, too embarrassed to look. Dammit, Kira, there was a reason Theo looked both ways before telling them this in a hushed voice.

The fox’s brows raised. “Huh, so this is like an initiation course for you two? I wish Theo mentioned that to me earlier, but I’m definitely not complaining. You two sit tight, I’ll go get you two something to nosh on.”

“W-wait!” Mar couldn’t take it anymore. “S-sorry, I just have to ask, what is the food you are having trouble passing on?”

“Oh?” The worker snickered. “I guess Theo hasn’t told you everything, huh?”

“It’s chocolate. Our guildmaster loves the stuff and keeps ordering more, but it’s hard to stomach for everyone else.”
“It’s lard. We don’t waste any animal meat we get, but lard isn’t exactly tasty on its own.”
“It’s bread. The bakers donate the stuff to us in droves, but all it's good for is filling the belly. Not really nutritious, ya know?”
“It’s vegetables. Us anthros don’t mind it, but dragons tend to be a little picky. No offense, of course.”


Mar blinked. “Chocolate? Really?” That made no sense. “Where we come from, that’s a delicacy! Can you really have too much of it?”

“Apparently.” The worker shrugged. “It’s been common here for a while now. When we first got it, people couldn’t have enough of it. Now, they’re sick of it and prefer candied nuts for their dessert, even though we’re still getting big-ass shipments of the stuff. You’re expected to move a lot in a guild like this, and chocolate is pretty dense and weighs on your stomach a lot. It may sound delicious now, but give it a couple of days, and you’ll start getting sick of it too.”

“I don’t think I can!” Kira resumed the forepaw tappy-taps, her mouth hanging open to the point where Mar was afraid she’ll start drooling in front of the fox. “I could eat it all day! Chocolates for us, please!”

“T-to help with your surplus, of course.” Mar quickly chimed in, blushing. “N-not because we just want free food, or anything.”

“Riiiight.” The fox nodded, smiling. “I getcha, I getcha. Well feel free to pick a spot and settle down at, and you’ll get your fix soon enough. Just don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

“Alright.” Mar and Kira responded simultaneously, both with completely different inflections in their voices. Kira tappy-tapped her way to the nearest unoccupied table, head held high and smiling as though she’d just won the lottery.

Mar, not so much. Honestly, they were in the same boat as Kira; how could anyone get tired of chocolate?! But the fox sounded confident that no one’s stomach could handle eating too much dessert over time. The idea of getting sick of one of their favorite treats just sounded terrible. The point of chocolate was to enjoy and savor it, not find it revolting!

But Kira didn’t seem to share that line of thinking, her head swaying left to right as she settled down at the table, as though listening to some inaudible song. “What kinda chocolate are we gonna get, Mar?” She asked innocently and sweetly. “Chocolate eclairs? Chocolate donuts? Ooooh, what about chocolate cake!?”

Being the realist, Mar felt it was necessary to taper those high expectations. “From how the worker sounded, it might just be hunks of raw chocolate.” It still sounded delicious, but an entire block of it…

Kira shook her head. “No way, why would Theo ask for that?”

Mar shrugged. “Maybe he’s close friends with chocolate makers, or part of a business deal. This place is very well funded, after all.”

Yet, Kira continued to remain defiant. “But that doesn’t sound nearly as yummy as chocolate pastries!”

“It might not be as yummy as you think!” Mar sighed. This poor, innocent, adorable doofus.

Soon enough, both of their heads tilted back to sniff at the air. That was definitely chocolate, no doubt about it. Even Mar found themself smacking their jaws. It smelled wonderful.

They looked over, and quickly spotted a fellow dragon heading towards their table, pulling a trolly with their tail.

There were a lot of chocolate pastries! Kira was right!
Massive, crumbly hunks of pure chocolate. It seems Mar was right.
Bowls? Was this chocolate pudding, or perhaps it was all melted to make it easier to guzzle down!


Kira and Mar were wide-eyed as the scarlet-red dragon arrived, setting aside plate after plate of chocolatey dish. The dragons’ noses twitched, their mouths becoming moist. Even Kira was vibrating in place like an overeager child being told to sit still; honestly, their patience was admirable.

“And here you are.” The red dragon finally finished loading their table full of treats; it would have been hard to find any room on it for more. “Thanks for getting rid of this stuff for us. It’s nice to have some room back there without all this crud clogging it up.”

The very idea that all of these aromatic, delicious treats could ever be seen as invasive was just illogical for Mar. The same went with being thanked for eating it all. They were quite confused how the guildmaster here could have ordered this much chocolate, especially when others were practically sick of the stuff.

But now wasn’t the time for asking questions, was it?

Thanking the red dragon once again, both drakes greedily dug into the plates upon plates of chocolate meals, their tails swishing happily. These weren’t fresh by any means, a tad stale from being left out for long, no doubt, but that wasn’t nearly enough to put off the chocolate starved dragons by any means. Chocolate muffins, chocolate candies, chocolate cupcakes, all and more vanished greedily behind their respective maws.

“Ya know,” Mar muttered, having just gulped down a chocolate donut. “We’re being expected to eat all of this.”

“M’hm.” Kira muttered, mouth full of chocolate eclairs.

“That won’t be a problem for you?”

“Nope.” Kira had moved on to chocolate cookies.

Mar grabbed at their own set of cookies as well. “Same here.”

Relatively little was spoken between the two as they eat, outside of a few soft grunts and moans of delight at trying out a new little treat. It almost felt shameful, how much joy they were having with their strange dessert-for-dinner. From the corner of their eye, Mar noticed many other guildmates pausing to look at them, as was expected, given how many platters full of chocolate they had. However, what wasn’t expected were the smiles they received, or at the very least a few sighs of relief. Was this really such a big deal to these people?

In any case, they weren’t going to leave a job half finished. Bite after bite of sweet, chocolatey bliss entered their lips, only to be followed up by even more sinfully delicious morsels. Mar could feel themself start to fill up a fair bit, and noticed Kira slowing down as well. As tasty as it was, this food was quite heavy; they could easily imagine how uncomfortable flying must feel with a belly weighed down with chocolate.

But they didn’t need to concern themself with that, right? Flying was overrated.

It was some time later when the dragons finished their chocolatey meal, the many plates now empty with little brown crumbs instead. Mar let out a hefty sigh, leaning back to let their bright red belly stretch out and breathe. Sheesh, they felt bloated. How long has it been since they were allowed to eat so much in one sitting? Hopefully they didn’t have to do too much moving today.

Kira appeared to be in the same boat. She may have been smaller, but she still ate a large portion of the meal herself, that light gray gut looking visibly distended. Suddenly they were reminded of the large angry dragon from earlier with his colossal paunch. Was that the reason why he was so grumpy? Bah, forget him. Anyone who gets that upset over eating chocolate doesn’t deserve them!

Suppressing a small burp, Mar looked over Kira and grinned. “Not bad for our first mission, huh?”

“Heehee, yeah.” Kira giggled… then gasped, her eyes lighting up. “So you do wanna be guild members!”

Oops. Mar didn’t mean to share that much. Was it possible to get drunk off chocolate? Well, in any case, they still smiled back. “You can’t deny the benefits are nice. Everyone here seems happy, too.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” The bloated dragoness huffed. “I knew you’d like it!”

Mar slowly nodded. “You were right, Kira. I shouldn’t have doubted you, even with the tail pulling. Still, leading us to this meal was, phew, quite the way to make up for it. This time, I’ll follow your lead. What should we do next?”

“Let’s go get more chocolate!”
“How about we try something else to eat?”
“Can we go talk to Theo about becoming guild members then?”
“I’m getting sleepy. Let’s find somewhere to nap.”


“Another good idea.” Mar nodded. A nice walk was what the two stuffed dragons needed right now anyways. They were starting to understand that thing about the too-much-chocolate thing anyways… kind of. Chocolate was still too delicious to ever put down.

With two sets of grunts, the drakes were back up and shuffling through the arena-turned-cafeteria. Bloated, a little tired, yet feeling confident as ever, Mar had their head held high. They may have had reservations from joining a guild, but they loved helping people whenever they can, and seeing others smile at them and nod for helping to deal with food waste made them proud.

Well, it did at first, until they heard Kira giggling. “Mar, you have chocolate all over your face!”

“I-I do?!” Blushing, the dark feathered dragon quickly wiped their beak with the back of their hand like a cat, scraping off chocolate debris along the way. Shoot, she was right! That would explain the chuckles too.

They turned to Kira, and noticed that there actually was a bit more brown on her face. “So do you! I couldn’t tell because it blended in so well.”

“Oh?” Rather than wipe it off, Kira chose the more direct method of licking around her face, her tongue flailing wildly trying to get the chocolate off. Of course, that wouldn’t work, and Kira was just making herself look like a fool, meaning Mar had to step in and wipe it off themself.

“Thanks!” She chirped.

“Don’t mention it.” Let's hope this doesn’t become a trend.

Climbing the stairs was even easier the second go, save for the weight in their stomachs, of course. Regardless, Mar felt as chipper as ever, and given Kira’s positive body language, she felt the same as well. Even Theo looked pleased to see the new dragons return, a warm smile on his soft face. “Well, it didn’t take you two long to become great assets, huh? I hope you had as much fun eating as I did watching.”

Mar blinked, feeling a bit flustered. “You were watching?”

“Well, I just happened to be glancing down when I noticed you two sitting at a table with a hearty portion of our chocolate supply, and now I can see that supply is now mere crumbs. Excellent work, you two!”

Kira’s head rose proudly at the praise, whereas Mar felt a tad embarrassed they’d forgotten to return the empty plates. Oops. And they’d just made a big deal to Kira about cleaning up after themselves, too.

“So.” Theo sat up again, smiling. “What can I assist you with next?”

“Out of curiosity, why request so much chocolate if it ends up being uneaten?”
“It’s official: This place is perfect! We’re ready to be guild members!”
“If we became guild members, will our missions be more than just eating excess supply?”

Normally, it would be Kira who would make such an emotional exclamation like that, but this time Mar was the one who blurted that out. Happy dragons? Friendly leader? Praise for eating chocolate? Every box was checked!

“Wonderful!” Theo’s soft cheeks dimpled as he grinned at the pair. “Then as of today, you may proudly call yourselves Silver Tongues!”

Even Kira was shocked at how quickly things were moving along. “R-really? We don’t have to go through any big initiation or anything?”

Theo chuckled warmly. “Our initiation is doing one act of kindness for the community on your own, and having the person you acted kindly to report it to me. Clearing out some surplus stock was an act of kindness in of itself for everyone here, and there’s no need to report to me when I watched everything go down. So long as you two have a healthy mindset and healthy body, there’s no need for me to make a background check either!”

Mar noticed Kira subtly shuffle her wings, and chose not to make a mention of it. Theo didn’t need to know she couldn’t fly.

The red and gold dragon reached beneath his desk, and soon produced two silver bands. “Arms, please.”

Stepping forward, Mar and Kira held out their respective right arms, watching as the chubby dragon pressed himself forward to tie them on, his soft brisket splaying across the desk. “One for you, aaaaand one for you. Wear them with pride! As newbies, you are required to fulfill a task from the request board at least twice a week to maintain your Silver Tongue membership, but most, if not all, tasks are trivial matters that can be completed in a day. You’ll get plenty of time to rest and recover between missions.”

Mar inspected their new armband curiously. The bright silver clashed a bit with their shadow-y purple and blue feathers, but it did help make it stand out from the rest of them. It would be very apparent to anyone that they were a part of this guild, whereas Kira’s somewhat blended in with her gray body.

Not that Kira seemed to mind. She was over the moon with her new accessory, sitting on her haunches to hold out her arm before it. “It’s so pretty! I’ve always wanted to wear stuff like the anthros!” She chirped, her tail swishing happily behind her. “Hey Mar, let’s go accept a quest right now! I wanna get ahead of the curve, here!”

“Great idea. Let’s see what we’re working with!”
“Maybe tomorrow? I’m still a little tired from all the walking and exploring… and eating.”
“You know… I know we just ate, but ever since we put on this armband, I’ve been feeling a little peckish.”

“Really?!” The dragoness laughed. “I thought I was the chocolate obsessed one here! Is that why you wanted to clean my face? So you could have another taste?”

“S-shut up!” Mar groaned, hiding half their face behind their wing. Well, the half facing Theo, that is. “Look, they clearly have a chocolate problem on their hands here. We’re just being helpful, that’s all. A-and besides, we walked and explored much of the day anyway. There’s no reason we can’t indulge ourselves a little, right Theo?”

Mar paused, blushing. It was bad enough they were having this conversation in front of their guildmaster to begin with, but also asking him for his input on overeating? A dragon who was already quite fat? Sheesh, that was a total Kira move right there!

But Theo hardly minded the subtle jab at his weight, perhaps overlooking it entirely. He let out a hearty belly laugh, and nodded along. “I’d say eating another serving as large as the one you two just finished would absolutely count as fulfilling a request. A personal one, maybe, but it definitely counts. You’re also welcome to volunteer here at the cafeteria, or as a nurse or clerk if you’re feeling a little lazy. Lord knows I have those days, heh.”

Mar grimaced a smile and nodded. Lazy days, huh? They didn’t like the idea of doing ‘lazy’ work, but, well, it doesn’t get any lazier than just sitting and eating. Comparing it to working at the guild itself did make the darker dragon feel a tad better about it, at least. It was an essential job. They were just waste disposal… right?

In any case, they knew Theo didn’t mean it harshly. He seemed too gentle to want to offend his newest dragons. And who else would offer them a job just to eat? Stepping back outside and into the cafeteria line, Mar soon regained their composure. Even Kira, who scolded her friend for wanting more chocolate earlier, began licking her chops as they approached the front.

“Oh hey, it’s you two again! Anything I can help you with?” The fox girl from earlier asked, before gasping. “Oh no, we didn’t make you sick, did we? The, e-erh, infirmary is back that way to your right. U-uh, if you don’t think you can make it, I’ve got an empty bucket somewhere-”

“N-no! It’s not that!” Mar blurted out. “Actually, we just came-”

Kira thrusted her head over the counter. “More chocolates, please!”

“Kira!” Mar hissed through a clenched beak. Now look who should be scolding who!

The vixen’s eyes widened at the request. “Seriously? You guys want more?” She stared at the pair in stunned silence, eyes flicking from one to the other.

And then she chuckled, shaking her head. “Sheesh! You two are something else! Theo must have seen something special in you, alright. That explains the armbands, huh?”

“Armbands?” Mar blinked. They thought theirs were the same as everyone else’s. But looking at the fox’s, the dragon noticed hers was a duller gray compared to theirs and Kira’s brighter silver. Why did Theo give them special bands when they hadn’t done anything spectacular? They’ll have to ask him.

Later. They came here to eat first, after all.

The fox continued. “Looks like your table’s all cleaned up and everything. Feel free to take your seats, and we’ll get to ya in a moment. Thanks again for this, by the way. You two are a huge help!”

Kira chirped back. “Happy to oblige!”

Again, the two took their spots behind the table, and again, Kira couldn’t stop babbling about what they’d receive. “I really hope we get more of that chocolate cake stuff. It was sooooo fluffy, like eating a cloud! But I also want more of those lil chocolate candies. It’s super satisfying hearing them all go ‘crunch’ when I eat a big handful.”

Mar tilted their head. “They were probably being nice before when they gave us all those pastries last time. It might actually just be raw chocolate this time.”

“Aw, really?” Kira lowered her head, before shrugging. “Well that’s still fine with me. Chocolate is chocolate!”

Mar thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. “I couldn’t have phrased that better myself.”

Luckily, to their respective surprise and delight, it wasn’t just raw chocolate wheeled out. There was definitely a block present; the size of a child’s teddy bear, in fact, but there were still plenty of the aforementioned pastries that still lingered on the dragons’ tongues. And yet again, it was wheeled out by the crimson red dragon, who looked over the moon to be serving more to the pair.

“I really can’t thank you guys enough. This is saving us hours of clean up, taking inventory, and other boring crap. I might actually get to bed at a decent time tonight.”

“It’s no problem, really!” Mar smiled softly. They didn’t want to look too excited now.

Once they were left to their meal, the two dragons went back to eating. It didn’t matter they were complaining about fullness a little under ten minutes ago, there was now more delicious, chocolatey food to be eaten, and they were going to do just that. Mar even let out a delighted groan as they gradually chowed down on another large cake, licking their beak before going to the donuts next.

Why weren’t they full? Well, Mar was very full, stuffed even, but they always found some room to grab another chocolate treat and eat it, again and again. It was as though no matter how swollen their stomach grew, there was still this tiny gap that refused to be taken up, a tiny gap that constantly demanded more, no matter how overwhelmingly full the rest of their stomach was. It was a pesky, annoying feeling, an annoying itch that Mar couldn’t help but to scratch at.

They’ll keep eating until it finally goes away!

Mar didn’t need to ask Kira if they felt the same way as well. The gray dragoness’ eyes looked a bit droopier than before, some of that boundless energy finally being sapped away. That didn’t stop them from eating, oh no it didn’t. Pastry after pastry was gobbled up, each one adding to that round, swollen middle. At least this feeling wasn’t exclusive to Mar then, to their relief. They’d heard of anthros talking about a “dessert stomach” before; could the same happen to a pair of dragons?

As they chowed away, Mar noticed they were getting attention yet again. This time, however, it wasn’t just idle glances in their directions. Anthros and dragons alike padded over to observe them as though they were performers. Some even chatted amongst themselves; unfortunately, Mar picked up on some of it, despite their chewing.

“Isn’t that the second time they’ve done this?”

“Urf, just watching makes my stomach hurt.”

“Poor things must have been starving.”

“You think they’re relatives of Theo?”

“I’m just glad we won’t have to smell this stuff much longer!”

The attention was just too much. If Mar was going to eat more, they'd need some more space.
The attention was embarrassing, but at the same time motivating. Yeah, they can get through this meal, no problem… hopefully.
The attention was… hrrf, Mar was starting to get a little too full. They wanted to eat but… would it be wrong to ask for help?


Mar was already feeling cramped as is; they didn’t need an audience to crowd them any further. What were they supposed to do about it? They understood everyone was grateful, but-

“Do you mind, guys?” Kira raised her head, glaring at everyone around. “It’s hard to enjoy our meal with everyone gossiping around us.”

That certainly did the trick. The crowd quickly went silent, and uncomfortably so. They very quickly began dispersing, some muttering a few embarrassed apologies as they went.

Mar tilted their head, watching the last dragon leave. “They were bothering you, too?”

Kira just shrugged. “Not really, but you were looking really uncomfy. Friends gotta stick together, right?” She went for another cupcake, ending the conversation there.

Mar smiled softly. What a great friend they had.


Alas, as the meal went on, Mar realized it wasn’t just the crowd that had made them uncomfy. They were really pushing their limits today when it came to stomach capacity, as each bite and swallow felt more forced than the last. At this point, they weren’t even doing this to fill that tiny gap in their stomach, which by all accounts really should have been filled by now. It was just to clear their table and finish everything off, complete their very first quest, even if it meant dealing with an incredible stomach ache.

“Mar?” Kira asked weakly, now nibbling on a tiny cupcake instead of swallowing it whole as she had done dozens of times already. “I, erh… I’m not gonna pop, am I?”

“Nonsense.” Mar grumbled. The very thought actually made them shiver a tad, as though it were a real possibility. It certainly felt like it at the moment. “We’re almost done, Kira. A few more bites, and we’ll never have to do this again.”

“R-right.” Kira nodded, finishing the rest of her cupcake. “But, we can do this again sometime, right? It doesn’t taste bad yet.”

Mar winced as they chuckled at that. Damn, laughing hurts. But leave it to Kira to be thinking about eating more chocolate in the future despite being weighed down with literal pounds of cakes, pastries, and the like. Talk about looking ahead. “Of course.”

The last few plates vanished in a blur. Mar and Kira respectively believed it would have been easier to just cram everything down into one last gulp instead of prolonging it. Whether or not that was the right idea was yet to be determined, as with two collective sighs, the dragons rolled onto their backs, groaning.

Mar could only take rapid, shallow breaths, their claws gently stroking up and down their broad, red belly… Gods, was it even redder? No, just their imagination, although they wouldn’t be surprised either way. Their hollow, slender middle had rounded out significantly compared to the rest of their nimble body, as though they’d swallowed a large balloon of sorts. A very, very dense balloon. Rubbing and squeezing at that mass of feathers only relieved the pain somewhat-

Kira suddenly let out a rather loud belch, causing Mar to scowl. “Kira!”

“What? It felt good!” Kira groaned from the other side of the table, curled on her side around her own swollen middle.

Mar grumbled. Of course Kira would swallow a bunch of air, how quickly they ate. Secretly, the larger dragon wished they were the same way; a hearty burp would probably feel great at relieving the tension in their middle.

They too lost in a semi-conscious daze of rubbing and kneading at their own stomach to notice a shadow had loomed over them. With a blink, Mar craned their neck up to look at the red dragon from earlier, who’d come to help clean the table of empty plates. “You two are amazing. Only Grief has attempted to eat as much as you guys at once, and even he could barely walk away from it!”

Mar tilted their head. “Who’s Grief?”

“Oh! He’s a big mountain dragon. Dark scales, blond mane and tail, constantly looks like there’s a thorn wedged between his claws.”

“Oh.” Mar nodded. Well now they had a name to attach to that jerk.

The red dragon continued. “I know you two wanted some space, but is there anything I can get you two? Some water, maybe?” He paused, looking over Kira as well. “I mean, I can also alert the nurses here too, if you’re not feeling well enough to move. Could get you some stretchers.”

“Stretchers?” Mar flopped back down. Did they really look that helpless? Well, given that they haven’t heard anything from Kira in a while, it was likely their friend had actually fallen asleep. How would she feel about this?

They looked back at the red dragon.

“Some water would be nice, actually. We just need a moment to catch our breath, that’s all.”
“Maybe not stretchers, but are there any spare cushions around? Kira and I like sleeping under the stars.”
“Yeah… I think we’ll need help moving. But not with stretchers, please! We’re not wounded or sick, just a little bloated.”

“Cushions?” The red dragon blinked, taking a moment to parse that response. “Uh, yeah, we have plenty. Is that all?”

Mar nodded lazily. “Only if it’s not a problem.”

Their new friend shook his head. “It’s nothing. Like, there’s no rule that says you can’t sleep out here. But the cafeteria opens up again at sunrise, and people like to wait around before that even. So if you don’t mind the noise, then by all means.” The drake smiled warmly before pushing the cart away.

Mar didn’t mind at all. A little bit of background noise actually made sleeping easier. A purely quiet night was more distracting, as strange as that sounded.

In any case, they were grateful when the drake returned, now with several large pillows for the pair. Perfect timing, as Mar actually found themself drifting off. Laying in a bed of grass, with a simple cushion to rest their head, the drake already found sleep tugging their eyelids down. “Mmmf, thanks.” They muttered. “Kira, thank him too.”

Nothing.

“Kira.” Mar thumped their tail against the table.

“Mrrf!” The rounder gray dragon blurted out, before another snore pierced the air.

“Kira says thank you,” Mar translated. Honestly, they didn’t remember if the red drake said anything afterwards. Right away, they felt their consciousness slipping, the noises muffling in their head, from the sound of distant chatter to their own gurgling stomach…