How a dragon trains you

Part 12

Lucid

…

Surrouned by mountain-like clouds and a dense fog that covered everything around me in a white veil, I found myself seemingly in the middle of a bright blue sky. The sun shining above me as a flashing circle, blinding me when merely looking near it. The air felt cool, but not chilly. Gentle breezes were pulling through my clothes, caressing my skin, yet upkeeping the warmth. Wind rushing past my ears was the only thing I heard. Not loud, but noisy enough to drown out any other sounds, if there were any.

As I looked beneath me, I was standing. However, there was no surface under my feet. The ground was distant, as if I was levitating far above it. So far away a smooth foggy vapor blurred its very bottom. I could still recognize most of its details however. I spotted the thick forest, Dummerston resting in the middle of it, so distant it appeared rather small, like a dot. As if it was a stain in the seemingly endless green of the landscape. I stood so high above, the mountains seemed like mere bumps, yet, when I looked down, I felt no fear. Not of heights, not of anything. I felt no worries. Nothing could bother me up here. Nothing could concern me. I felt neatly isolated, finally free. Free from the anxiety. Free from the restrictions. Free from the problems. Finally, somewhere secure…

Yet, I was not alone up here. A black figure stepped through the fog. Even before it became entirely visible, I knew who it was. The dragon. It was up here with me… For the first time in my life, I felt like I had no desires. As if every wish I ever had became granted.

The dragon walked up and stopped, sitting down on its haunches in front of me. We spent some time looking into each other's eyes…

"Greetings" said… something. A voice that sounded like it came from within my head… and it was the only thing it could've been. As if I had had any remaining doubts, the deepness of the voice made it clear. It was certainly the dragon's voice.

Again, I paused, still not believing it… and yet, here it was happening to me. Eventually, my mouth opened, but before my lips moved, my words had been spoken.

“So, you really can talk then, huh? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

“Why didn't you tell /me/ earlier?" it replied, better than anything it had said before. The way it sounded… Its maw barely even moved. The voice was in my head! In a weird mix of thoughts and speech in my mind.

"How are you doing that?! It sounds like you're in my head or something…"

“I am" it chuckled. "When I know someone well enough, I start to understand them in their tongue. The more time I spend with them, the better we get at speaking to each other. It's a personal connection, though. It seems to work better when our minds are close."

I could remember the night before… it made sense, we did indeed fall asleep with our heads touching.

"So, being closer helps?"

"Yes"

"But what about now? You're not… touching me or anything."

"How do you know we're not still touching? Or not still asleep?"

Suddenly, the dragon drew in a deep breath. A very, very deep breath. Way longer than it could ever be physically possible. It kept inhaling without end, but did eventually stop. And then it exhaled normally, disproportionally less than how much breath he took in.

"Aaahhhhhh....  I haven't been here in a very long time."

"Where?... Here? Are we-" I was cut off by its thought as it replaced mine in perfect sync.

"-dreaming? Yes. Enjoy it while it lasts. Take in a breath.. the fullest, most pleasurable, fulfilling breath you've ever taken. Feel your whole being expand to infinity and fill with life."

I did as the dragon said, inhaling deep. No hesitation, no inhibition, no fear. My lungs just filled with no end. I felt myself become full to the brim with energy and peace, expanding forever into infinity just as it described. I stretched my arms out and the whole world glowed bright even through my eyelids… then, I exhaled just as deeply, feeling my whole body settling in, growing a bit warmer. The air itself felt cozy… like the softest blanket.

"Thaaaat's it..  Very good..  /Very/ good."

I took a moment to just sink into the feeling... before finally asking "Are you in my mind?"

"We are not of separate mind. At this moment, we are one and the same."

"Woah... Wait a second… We may be talking right now, but... why couldn't we talk before? I mean, I heard you try, but this is flawless!"

"In time, it could become this way. But distance reduces the effect tenfold. Also, your language is by far the most complex I have ever encountered. I just cannot make some of your sounds."

"Is… that why you misunderstood me when I pointed at Levicus?"

"Y-yes.."

“Hehe… it's alright" I said, reaching all the way to the head and petting it a little. The hide felt as warm as always. “But speaking of Levicus… I know I've already asked this, but... What on earth happened earlier? Why was he… under you when I came back?"

“Oh- h-heh.. Hey! He.. grabbed my ears! They're..  sensitive.." it stammered, and I felt its hide became a little hotter.

“So you /did/ think he asked for it?"

“I did, yeah" it somewhat remorsefully replied. “I know he's not you, but- I mean you brought him to me and we bonded while hunting. He was happy and you were happy. I just- thought he was asking."

I felt somewhat relieved by now having confirmed that the dragon didn't mean any harm. But one thing still didn't quite add up…

“Well. Not... meaning to accuse you of anything, but when I came along and... when you held him in place under you it kinda looked like you were... about to force him into it."

“Well, /you/ seemed to like it when I did that.."

“O-oh. Yeah... that..."

I looked down for a second, my face flushing red quickly. I never knew the dragon actually was being rough because it was aware of my thing for this kind of behavior… I used to think those were just the ways that were typical for dragons. 

“Even females like to be a little uppity during mating sometimes" the dragon went on. “Sort of slashing at my face, it's all part of the way it works. Unless.. is that not the way you two-legs do it? You yourself gave me the impression that it is."

“Oooooh, well... wait, two-legs? That's how you call us?!" I laughed.

“Uh.. you have only two legs.."

“Yeah, I know, but... Ah, never mind about that. Just know that the official term is humans. Anyways, the way /we/ do it varies a lot. Some people like it that way, some that way, but... the standard is... I don't know how to describe it... just.. normal. No slashing, scratching or biting and stuff. Just straight to the point" I cleared up.

“Oh? But what about you?"

“Welllll…"

That question triggered something in me. Thousand ideas and memories of weird stuff I've fantasized about and things I've even tried all by myself went through my head, yet I couldn't quite find the words for any of those. I had a weird feeling in my guts as I was pondering. …

“First of all, when it's about humans, I... actually haven't mated yet" I answered somewhat nervously.

“Oh? You make such a good female though" the dragon snickered.

“…Do I?" I inquired, lustfully stroking my hands along its face.

“Yes you do" it answered with a playful tone. I couldn't resist… I leaned all the way up and kissed right on its lips again, my eyes shut tightly. The dragon blissfully pushed its maw back onto mine.

“What is this by the way?" it asked while still kissing. “Stuffing your face into mine. From what I've picked up, it seems to be the two-leg-  er, human, you said you were called?  The human way of showing affection?"

I pulled back a little. “You mean... what we just did?"

“Yeah."

“It's… called kissing. You're right, it is the human way of showing affection… Don't dragons do this too?"

“Kissing? No. We do this~"

The head leaned forward in a rapid movement and the slimy tongue went all over my face, down from the chin up to the forehead. As soon as I opened my eyes again the dragon licked again, this time pressing harder and groaning quietly, getting a little into it.

“Oh yeah… I guess I can get behind that" I chuckled. “Do licks at different places also mean different things?"

“It's contextual. But generally, licking the ears is a turn on. You can tell if it's an accidental brush or intentional, though… They are fun to look at and play with, I will give you that."

“Heh, yeah, I guess…" I mumbled whilst interestingly looking over the many ears on its head.

“You guess? Rah!"

All of the ears suddenly flared out, sticking out of the head at nearly 90 degrees. Then the dragon flattened and opened them up again over and over.

“Holy... you can pretty hear well with those, can you?" I asked in astonishment.

“I sure can. I can hear your heart beating from across this yard. I love the sound of it" it answered in a somewhat seducing tone.

“Oooh…"

I looked down to my chest, imagining what it must be like… hearing my heart pound…

Getting an idea, I glanced back up to the dragon's chest.

“Well, with my… also rather sensitive fingers, I can /feel/ your heart beat!"

I reached out for the dragon's chest, placing a hand on it. Sliding it across it, I adjusted the position a little until I had the perfect spot where I could sense every pulse of its heart. They were slower than mine, but heavier.

“And I also… love the feeling of it."

“Can you..? Wha?"

It held its own paw out, touching its chest… but couldn't feel its heart.

“Awrrr. It must be so incredible to touch things."

“Yeah... it's what I'm used to, so it's nothing special for me. And you... it must be cool, being able to hear /everything/.

“Yeah, but.. it's nothing special for /me/.."

“Seems like pretty many things on your body are good for hunting."

“Raarr!" the dragon shouted out, perking up, lifting a paw and swiping at the air, seemingly always embracing every opportunity to show off its strength, or its 'weapons'. “Grrrr."

“Well… I don't have much to show off."

“Hehe, yeah, what CAN you do?" the dragon curiously inquired.

“The only advantage hands have is… that you make all sorts of crafty stuff.

“Oh?"

“You see, every construction you have ever seen, like the ones in Dummerston, wouldn't have been possible to create without the many tools we built. We even use tools to make other tools. Hell, there is so much stuff we can make, I can't even keep track of it! It's crazy! Also, weapons. Back to talking about hunting advantages, hands are good for making and using weapons, and armor too. How much that of an advantage is depends on how skilled you are with handling those."

“Huh.. that feels like cheating" the dragon chuckled.

“Well, it's the only chance we have! There's pretty much no other way to survive out there for us."

“Really?.. huh."

“Yeah! Even way back when we were living in caves we were using tools, made out of sticks and rocks and so on."  

“I feel like we might make a really nice team."

“You bet!" I replied cheerfully, petting along the hide again. But then, suddenly… I stopped, looking down and sighing.

The dragon sensed it immediately.

“What's wrong?"

“Just... imagine all humans and dragons willing to do that. I just wish that... they would be able to live in peace. /With/ each other... Those ongoing hostilities have always bothered me."

“Oh…"

The dragon started to look down too.

“I.. don't know what to think about humans. I've always been told they were a plague.. Heard horror stories about the way they treat dragons.. The way they destroy nature. I always said I'd rather find out for myself. Cuz I just couldn't imagine anybody to be THAT bad.."

“I understand that you're thinking that... And you can keep thinking that, if you wanna, but just be aware of one thing, please… There are always other humans who are trying to stop them. Because trust me, it's not all humans who are doing that. It's actually just a small portion. The ones at the top, mostly, are the ones controlling it. The rest is going along because they have no other choice if they want to have what they consider a good life. And still, there are always humans who are trying to change everything. I wouldn't lump those together with the bad ones."

The dragon just looked at me for a moment… and then just nodded, the paws reaching around and hugging me.

“I'm just glad I stumbled upon you then" it spoke into my ear, kissing my cheek.

“I'm so glad I stumbled upon you too" I replied, petting back. “Although, our first night has been a little... rough"

“Heh. You caught me right in the middle of mating season. Well, I'm /always/ ready to go. You know how us males are. But especially now" it went on, still hugging.

“Hehe, I think you caught /me/. Literally. Man... what a night that was..."

“I'm sorry if I hurt you by the way. The first time we met, I thought you were going to take over my home. I had already seen the other humans construct that cave that you went to" it clarified. “I was not about to let that happen."

“Haha, how am I supposed to take over anything? All by myself? One thing I should mention about humans is that they can only really survive in larger groups. Hence why they're all living in town like… Dummerston. They have systems in which everybody has a role which contributes to living overall. But alone? You can be sure they're absolutely not dangerous."

“Pack hunters. I can respect that. Still can't beat /me/, though!" it laughed.

“You ain't seen nothing yet" I cheekily laughed back.

“Oh yeah? Bring it on, two-leg!" it shouted, getting up and hunkering down, it then leapt at me with its teeth bared, but ended up smacking me right on the whole face with its tongue. The wetness sent a shock through me that-

Suddenly out of nowhere, I found myself lying in the backyard again, snuggled into the dragon's chest, though my body was a little tense from the jolt. Both our eyes blinked open at almost exactly the same time. The slimy tongue slipping off my face quickly revealed that it was quite early in the morning. Just a couple hours to sunrise. The deep black of the starry night sky was just beginning to flush blue on the horizon, midnight possibly an hour or two ago. We stared at each other. For the first few seconds, it was emotionless, but then, we both developed an upward curl at the edges of our mouths. A moment later, at exactly the same moment, we both leaned our heads in together, and closed our eyes, touching noses. The dragon let out a chuff, and I smiled…

…

About a minute later, I was ripped out of my slumber by the dragon's stomach beginning to growl, and I could feel its face contort into an embarrassed scowl against mine. I just chuckled and gave a kiss to its snout.

“That's one way to break the ice!" I laughed, already getting up. “Come on. Let's go and take care of that."

I quickly came to notice, that was easier said than done. It was night time. Everybody was asleep. The stores were closed. The markets were empty. The whole town, and the surrounding forest, was concealed in darkness. This might not be the best time for searching food… tasty… food… like… cooked beef or… some stew perhaps…
Sitting there, thinking about food, I just now realized how hungry I was myself. Stronger than I've ever felt it before.
I pushed myself up and looked around the backyard. It was unlikely Levicus just had anything to eat lay around here…
The dragon, having rolled over to its paws, was already moving away, idly trotting over to that little corner with the shed where Levi kept the deer and sniffing at the ground. Quickly, it tracked down its storage place, stopping in front one of the largely holed walls and huffing, poking its nose at the wood.

“Oh- no, Levi needs that!" I advised it. “He'd be… pretty upset if that'd be gone the next day. He was very happy to have that from you."
Trying to divert the attention away from its deer, I stepped over and lied a hand on its head.
“Come on. We'll find something else…"

“Buh-"

I could feel the dragon's protest... Hesitating at first, it stumbled away and followed my guidance as I turned away too.
“B'n-…Awrrrrr…"
The way that sounded… it was really sad. As we walked off, it occasionally looked over its shoulder, back to its catch.
I couldn't see the dragon like that. Trying to comfort it, I stopped, and held its head with both hands.
“I'm certain it's no problem for someone of your hunting talents to find something like this again. But… thing is… this one is very special for Levicus. And I'm pretty sure he might give you something for it…"

“wrrrrhh… owraah…"
It groaned a little, then it walked off with me.

Thinking about food for us again, I looked at Levi's house. Its lights were unilluminated. The whole family was asleep right now, which would be odd if they weren't. But Levi… he wouldn't mind helping his friend out, wouldn't he? He surely was asleep and would be pretty mad if I wake him, but… it absolutely was necessary right now.
“I'm gonna go check on Levicus. He might have something for us…"

I scampered ahead, but a second before I arrived at the door, I noticed something. My clothes were kind of… gone. I damn nearly forgot I was naked the entire time! How did I not notice this? Did I really become that used to being nude around the dragon?

“My… clothes…"
I turned back around to the dragon.
“Have you seen my clothes? I mean, you were the one who tossed them away."

The dragon just turned its head to look back once and seemed to have immediately spotted them. It ran over, grabbed them with its maw and trotted back to me, plopping them down at my feet.

“Oh- Thanks!"

I picked them up piece by piece, putting them one hastily.

“Hrh… Yr welk- gh!" the dragon spoke, licking the side of my head. The dreaming connection had apparently lost its effect… The flawless speech was back to normal again. But I could still identify what it tried to say.
Smiling and petting it back, I suddenly got an idea. Perhaps I could teach it? It said the human language was very complex, but not impossible to learn. Maybe the dragon can pick up a couple things from me?
“Now try to say it properly! Or wait- try to say 'Thank you' as well. 'Thank you' and 'you're welcome'. I think those aren't hard, and, in my opinion, those words are very important! People should use them more often in fact… anyways, try to say it!"
“Rr?"
The dragon sat down to its haunches and stopped any kinds of movements. Damn… I didn't know it would require that much concentration. It was completely still!

“…han'g… wh'an… Nrrrgh-.. Thhhh"
I was watching in amazement by how hard it tried, but then it just hissed out, grumbling in frustration and walked off.

“No- come on! You almost had it!" I shouted as I hurried after it. But it just whined and kept walking.
“It's okay! Really! Learning how to speak is pretty hard… Just keep on trying! You will succeed" I tried to comfort it.
As I softly lied a hand on it, it stopped and sat down, huffing out. It was still mad, but at least willing to try again.

“Alright, let's approach this slowly… can you say 'the'?"

“dah"

Oh boy… This is harder than I thought… The 'th' seems to be quite difficult for a feral tongue. Maybe I can find a workaround…
“…Can you do an f?"

It just tilted its head in confusion.
“rr?"

“Come on- like… just, put your lips together!"
Quickly, I reached out and grabbed them, pushing them closed.
“Like… this!"

“Awmm- mm?"

“Okay, uh… now the lower lip goes back a little… Just watch me do it! Fffffff"

Interestedly, it watched closely… squinting its eyes…

“Frrrrrrh… Fah! Bah!"

It licked its lips, growling a little frustrated.
“Grrh."

“Yeah- No, the first one was more like it! Try again…"

“Fffff"
In surprise, its eyes got super wide. It absolutely nailed the sound!

“Yeah! Good! Perfect-… Maybe not perfect. But that's not what we're aspiring anyways. Now, try to say that at the beginning of 'Thank', and the rest should go easily."

“Fahn… Fahng- grh… gk-! Cah!"

I forgot something… the dragon has to somehow get the K sound too. Could it even do that? There would be no way of working around it without making the word sound ridiculous.

“Almost! Just keep on trying!"

“Dahng… Fank… Faenk?"
It tried its hardest.

“Yeah… kinda like that! It's not exactly the same, but it's good enough to be understood. But let's forget about the second word… 'Thank you'. Can you do that?"

The dragon didn't wait to start trying.
“Fank aruu?"

“Almost! Just give the second one alone a try. 'You'."

“Ru… Yerouuu… yuu? YOU!!"

“Yes!!"
The way it said that word sounded perfect! Just like humans say it! This one might have been quite easier for the dragon, because it's similar enough to this 'Ruu!' noise it makes when it's excited.
Rewarding the dragon for all the effort it's been putting in, I stepped forward and lay my arms around the body. Hugging it just seemed to make it even more excited, and more eager to keep on trying.
As I leaned back again, I saw its eyes squinted again, staring off into the distance in concentration.

“Fangk you!"

That didn't sound bad. But the dragon was satisfied with itself yet…

“Fff… Ffffth…"
I could hear its tongue swishing around its maw.
“thgggrrhrah. Rah!"
For the dragon, the sound it could make didn't get close enough to the original 'Thank' but it was determined to make that work, no matter how hard it would turn out to be.
The head suddenly leaned forward, all the way to me until our foreheads made contact. I remembered the dragon describing that from the dream… how physical closeness helped understand one another. How it was like a link between our minds. I felt it happening in me… it wanted to leech off my mind and try to feel what I'm feeling each time I say that.
“Just go like that… 'Thank you'."
It could feel my mouth and tongue movement, silently lip-syncing a perfect copy of everything I say… being so connected to me. To me it looked like those were perfect words… just without the voice.
Confidently, the dragon then pulled away, glancing at me.

“Let me hear it!"

“Sank you."

“Ooooh yeah! That's even better! Not quite it, but really close! Just try to… perhaps make the sound… sharper?

“Ssssank? Grr…"

Despite having a perfect mirror of my mouth movements, it must have been the shape of the dragon's maw that was just so greatly different from mine. It just… couldn't work out…

“Ssssssss… Ssssss… hhhhrrrr…"

It went on, sounding a little more frustrated and desperate with each attempt, until it stopped and just huffed out, its ears sadly drooping.

“Don't feel troubled about it… that is already very good! The learning will come over time. Usually it takes about a decade to master that. For now, that's as close as you can get. For this phrase at least… Now let's continue! Go ahead and say 'You're welcome'. Should be a little easier!"

Still a little blue, it went on.

“Yur walk" it mumbled. “Waelg… Gh"

“Keep going you almost got it! Or just watch and speak after me. Ready?

Its ears flared out to listen. An impressive sight indeed, seeing all those large and many ears at their maximum capability… I almost let myself be distracted by those.

“You're welcome" I spoke mildly loud and clearly. “Maybe you could try 'welcome' alone?"

“Walc'm… Cm- Khhhm"

It just couldn't. And not just because the dragon was too new to this, it's maw and throat… they were too different. For some words, the shape seemed to be necessary. The dragon can say human words, but only to some certain extend. And that extend has been reached…

“Okay… I guess that'll do. That's as close as you can get… Just look at us. We both can make sounds the other can't make. We're too different."

“Awrrr…" it sadly huffed out. But I leaned in to hug again. Tightly, this time, to seal the end of this learning session, showing the dragon how great it was. It did seem comforted by the touch, softly starting to purr. Suddenly its lips moved to my cheek.
“Lav you" it said before giving me a kiss. I couldn't help but awkwardly smile, my whole body seemingly getting warmer. So happy it managed to pick that up from me, I kissed back, right on the side of its head where I would guess its cheek to be located.
“Ah lav yu" it spoke again, to which I just softly replied “I love you too."
I shut my eyes… starting to move my hands up and down along the comfortably warm hide…-
Suddenly my stomach made a hearable loud noise, disrupting us both. My face just contorted in shame… Now I know what the dragon must have felt like when that happened to it earlier. It did react the same as I did, chuff-huffing out which seemed to be its form of a laugh.

“Right… I forgot…" I awkwardly chuckled, slowly pulling away. “Imma head upstairs and see if I can get us something!"

“Oa'kie"

As a quick goodbye, I kissed its snout. “Be right back!"
Making my way to the door again, I rather hastily stepped off. As I arrived, laying my hand on the handle, I looked back once more.

“Raur!"
The dragon watched me disappear with a wide smile.
Heading up the stairs, I became slower the closer I got to the next door at the end of this doorway. How I knew Levicus, it most likely was locked. I would have to knock… and wake him in the middle of the night… Maybe it's not locked? It's worth a try.

But as I arrived and was just about to lay my hand down onto the handle, the door suddenly swung open rapidly.
It was Amanda! And her… rather agitated look on her face concerned me. More than the fact that she was up so late as well. Something's up…

“Oh! Sorry, I thought you were Levicus… Have you seen this drunkard of a husband?!?" she went off before I could even get a chance to say something.
“Well, I… was just here for him actually."

“Well, you're late. I'm not even going to question what you would want from him at this time, but if you're looking for him, he's gone. Earlier, he ran upstairs, sat around in the bathtub for nearly an hour, and then left, going god only knows where! And you know what?! This was almost half a day ago! I've been waiting for him to get back the entire time! I know my honey, something is wrong!"

I just stood there and let her go off… Good lord, how on earth does Levi put up with her?
“So… you don't happen to know where he… could be…?"

“Come on, you know him better than me! My guess would be he is rotting in the tavern again, drinking away all of our savings... Besides, can you tell me what's up with him?? He's been acting really strange lately, and the only hint he ever gave me was that it was something about you!"
I just stayed silent for a moment. Luckily, the hallway was not illuminated from the very few candles that were in the room behind Amanda, so she couldn't see my face turn red…

“I… well, it's… something about the store… Nothing special or to worry about" I stammered while I kept thinking back to the dragon waiting downstairs.

“What is it even you wanted from him at this time!?"

Oh right! A little dizzied by the scene, I almost forgot. Me, and the dragon, still needed something to eat.

“Oh, I was just asking… You happen to have some food left over that we- I mean, /I/ could take?"

She didn't answer. All she gave was that look. That kind of look she sometimes had of which you couldn't tell if she was confused or irritated. Confusedly irritated perhaps.

“Get my husband here first, and then we can talk about… your food later. Now, skedaddle!"

Without even awaiting a reply, she just slammed the door into my face. I still stood there, starring at the shut door for a while as the scene she made was pretty…. dizzying. But eventually, eager to continue our search for something to eat in the middle of the night, I turned around and strolled down the stairs. As I got through the door back into the garden, I saw the dragon still stand there, however holding an ear to the wall with its eyes shut.

“Oh, have you been spying on me?"

As if it didn't notice me come back, it opened its eyes and looked at me.

“Nu?"

“…Anyways, I got bad news… Levicus isn't here apparently. And his wife… isn't really in the mood to provide us anything. Well, unless I find him for her. She seems to be looking for him as well… and is quite… upset about it. You mind if I go looking for him for a second?" I asked, already on my way to the gate which was behind the dragon. It didn't respond anyhow. It just sat there, curiously watching where I was headed next, and the moment I came past it, the dragon rose to its paws as if ready to follow me for the short bit until I'd exit the garden. Stepping around the corner, my hand already on the gate, I hesitated and looked back, just like earlier before I went upstairs. The dragon yawned big and the scratched the back of its neck with a hindpaw, grunting a little. Then it just glanced at me, again with that wide smile.
Smiling back, I finally opened the creaky gate and went through… but stopped again as I noticed the dragon walk up right behind me.
“Oh, I actually meant that /I/ would go get him while you'd stay here in the meantime and…"
I turned around, looking over the wide, empty streets and alleys of Dummerston. There was no one to be seen. In this part of the town there wasn't already not much going on during the day, but at night it was seemingly dead. You could do anything here at this time and no one would notice a thing. Not even a dragon roaming the streets…
I turned back around, staring at the dragon in thinking. It looked so happy, as if feeling more and more at home around here with each passing hour…
Come on, I thought to myself. It won't be out here for long, and it knew how to keep itself hidden. What's the worst that could happen? Even if someone were to spot it and tell about it, would anybody believe them? They'd more likely send them to Benton's place to have their mental health checked. There was little to no risk of anything going wrong during this… I can do this!

I opened the gate all the way, allowing the dragon to step through. Although the frame was hardly large enough for that.
The dragon approached and looked at the gap in the gate assessing. Then, it lifted its wings just over the height of the fence and stepped through, perfectly fitting by just an inch, tucking its wings back in once it got across holding its head high and looking a little smug its eyes shut.
Meanwhile, I scampered ahead, down to the middle of the road, looking into each side. Still, no one. Most of the lanterns weren't even lighted. The dragon's black hide should blend into the night alright…
I stepped over to the other side of the road, one of the darkest spots.
“Over here!" I whispered, loud enough for the dragon to hear. Making the gentlest of crunching noises on the gravel and tapping noises on the stone beneath its paws, it hopped over and met me where I stood.
I couldn't stop turning my head around, even after the dragon had approached. I merely smiled at if for a moment before facing away again. I could hardly believe I was actually doing this. I brought out a feral, living dragon out right onto the streets of civilization! What on earth is wrong with me? This idea didn't sound as crazy in my head… but here I was, and I should use this opportunity while I'm at it. The dragon would probably feel disappointed if we would head back to the backyard already. I wanted to show it around the town, but… I didn't feel comfortable about that…
The dragon could probably feel my anxiety, adopting a kind of similar emotion, lowering its ears and breathing quieter.
I leaned up and gave the dragon a rather nervous hug, wanting to cool us both. But we couldn't keep ourselves from looking around vigilantly.  
As I felt myself becoming at least a little calmer, I pulled away. We both ended up standing around for a while, not knowing where to go. The dragon let me lead the way, and that was something I was absolutely not used to. As I thought about what we should do... I remembered what I actually came for. Levicus. We should find him and bring him back to his home, so he can give us a midnight snack in return!
I looked around again, not vigilantly but searching for something this time. There still wasn't anybody roaming the streets, no one but us. The way I knew Levicus, he wasn't one who would be outdoors at this time. He would never spend more time in the dark than he would have to… especially after that thing with those wolves… He must be inside somewhere. But where would a Levi who almost had been sexually molested by a dragon go? What would he even do after such an experience? The last time he saw something horrifying, namely me and the dragon making out, he… just drank it all away. Oh, of course! The taverns! He must be sitting around at a table again, drinking as much cheap ale as he can afford. Even Amanda talked about this. He must be in one of those!
There happened to be quite a couple taverns, ranging from cheap to fancy, scattered across and down the street, the lanterns of those, which were the only few in use, illuminating the front doors. They still seemed to be opened. But going through those might take some while… that, and awkward questions. Perhaps… my dragon can help me out?
I took a wild guess, heading for the Drunkardston which was at the very far end of the road, where that sinister alley was I always used as a shortcut. This tavern was the closest to Levicus' place and was rumored have the best ale, wine and whatnot to offer. Which made it expensive… but that might be the kind of stuff Levi needs now.
The dragon didn't follow me yet, seeming like my apprehension has made it more cautious, just sitting there in the dark and watching me intently with those big eyes. It only stayed put for a little longer, as it then, while I was looking through the windows, wandered out of the shadows before I could tell it to do so. Able to pick up something from the food or drinks stored inside, the dragon began sniffing around. It was headed towards me at first but halfway there, it suddenly diverted off towards the edge of the tavern, disappearing in another alleyway. Not allowing the dragon to be out of my sight for just one second while it was roaming around out here, I, of course, hurried after it, checking what's it up to. It stood there by the door, sniffing and staring at it.

“Oh, I… wouldn't go in there. That could cause a lot of trouble… even if I go in there. It's illegal for me, it'd be trespassing. You know what that is?"

The dragon tilted its head in obvious confusion.

“I'll explain that some other time. That might be too much at once with that speech thing you're learning, on which you are doing really good by the way! Also… while you're already standing there, can you hear anybody in there? Levicus perhaps?"

“hmmmm"

The dragon twisted and pressed the top of its head against the wall, lifting its ears and pressing them against the door as it could.
As it stood there, I heard nothing but the roaring silence of the night. There might have been a little bump from inside and a gentle gust of wind here and there but else… just the noises of a sleeping town, sounding as it looked. Empty. Hearing something usually so vivid and loud being so quiet… was as surreal as seeing the crowded streets being blank. As if being at another place. Anywhere, but not here.
The dragon was still busy. Watching it, I began to wonder what it would be like for the dragon? Seeing the town clear as day… Hearing and smelling everything… I remembered what the dragon told me in that dream, of which I still wasn't quite sure if it was all just in my head or if our minds did were connected how it described. That it could hear my heart beat.
Maybe it can hear it right now? Should I step aside? Perhaps it could also hear what I'm thinking right now? No matter how much time I've spent with this precious being… it seemed to never lose its mystic touch. There was always something to be riddling about. I wonder if it thinks the same about me…
The dragon suddenly moved, getting me out of my head and back to what's going on. It stepped a little down the alley, trailing along the wall, doing the same thing again. It pressed its ear on it and stayed perfectly still… Seemed like it wanted more angles on this one. It made sense, it was able to receive more signals and get more information, allowing a more precise perception on the situation. It must be onto something. I guess it wouldn't be doing that if it was just dead silence in there…
“Hrr…Rr?"
Headed for one of the windows, the dragon pulled off, peering inside and nodding to itself.
“Oh you- get down there! Don't let them see you!" I loudly whispered.

Its ears flicked as it heard me and gently slipped away from the window, looking at me.

“So… uh… did you see anybody?"

It nodded confidently.

“Is Levicus in there?"

It nodded again.

Perfect! I thought to myself. The first pick was the right one. That just saved us a whole lot of searching around. Now, let's get in there and persuade him to give the dragon, and me, something eat… eugh, I'm starving…

“Imma go in there and talk to him for a second. You stay right here… okay?" I spoke, already beginning to walk off a little bit.

“Okey."

The dragon did follow me for a bit, peeking around the corner as I stood by the door. I just smiled at it.
“And don't make a noise!" I said before going in, the dragon sticking its tongue out at me in response. I still felt uneasy leaving behind me, even when it were just a couple minutes I was gone…

I hesitantly shut the door as I had stepped through. Other from that last time I had visited Levicus in the bar in the middle of the night… we weren't alone. Next to the more than just a little tired looking tavern keeper, there were a few other people scattered throughout the large room, sitting alone, seemingly just as troubled with life as Levi looked right now. They were rather curiously and questioning looking at me. What's a young lad like him doing here? At this time? It felt like I could read it from their faces.
The sight had made me stop by the entrance for a couple seconds, before I finally proceeded to walk off. Feeling watched made me weirdly anxious inside.
I wasn't sure if Levicus noticed me yet. He was staring down into the cup, sitting there crooked. He might just be ignoring me again.

I pulled up a chair beside him, sitting on the other side of the table to his left. He still didn't react. Not even glancing up or anything.
I was about to talk, but then stopped before I even got the first word out. Those people… they didn't seem busy with anything else at the moment. No one was saying anything. Dead silence. If I started talking with Levicus right now, everybody would surely be eavesdropping on us. Even if not intended, if I mention a dragon once, all eyes would be on me… I would drag Levicus outside, but… he didn't look like he would be willing to go anywhere right now. Especially not anywhere near the dragon. Also, he would have to leave his ale behind since you're not allowed to take the cups outside in this tavern, and he would on no occasion ever do that…

“Levicus" I tried to grasp his attention, keeping my voice down but not whispering or mumbling. “I know what he did to you."
Just a little bit, his head seemed to shoot a little and glare at me.
“And I've been talking to him."

“You've been… talking to him?" he muttered, his voice sounding rather sore. “I didn't know that this dr-"
In the last moment Levi realized that he probably shouldn't say that word out loud, since it might get us both into trouble if anybody hears him.
“th-that this drunkard could still talk" he corrected himself, bringing the attention off us again.

“Yes. I did. I know it sounds unlikely, but I did. And he's sorry for what he did. It's just- it was a misunderstanding."

“A misunderstanding?" Levi snarled. “Do you know what he was about to do!? There is no way all this could have just been a 'misunderstanding'."

“Levi- just look" I stammered. “What he has been doing to you was nothing different than he did to me! He just though that- you were okay with it."

Levicus inhaled deeply and propped up in his chair, leaning closely to me and speaking very quietly.

“Listen, Merv. I don't know if you're aware of this, but I've gave any possible hint that I would /not/ be okay with it I could. I resisted in any way I could. I even tried to flee. I don't know what… he has told you, but I highly doubt that any of this is true."

The serious and secret tone Levicus had in his whispering voice just attracted more attention onto us. Not good…

“You…"
I stayed silent for a couple seconds, hoping that no one would focus…
“You touched… his ears, yes?"

Levicus took a quick glance to a guy behind him, who luckily didn't seem too interested. Then he turned back around, shooting me a glare and being quiet for a couple seconds.
“Yes I did" he mumbled.

“Well… I think you should know that… this is some sort of a… gesture."

“What kind of gesture" he unbelievingly snarled back.

“Y'know, for… Ah, you know what I mean!" I just told him off, beginning to flush.

“No, I don't" he replied persistent.

“Well, it's… a way of showing that you wanna… Y'know, it's some sort of an…"
I darted around with my eyes a little to make sure that no one is paying attention.
“Instant turn-on for him."
Levi looked down, seeming surprised.
“And he thought you meant to do that" I added.

“But that still doesn't quite add up. He was clearly… forcing me."

“Well…"
I tiled my head away a little, hiding my blush.
“That's the way… I usually did it with him..."

Levicus suddenly took a huge sip and leaned back onto his chair, sighing loudly and staring up the ceiling.

“Just when I thought you couldn't get any weirder… you come up with shit like this" he mumbled. “Thank you for clearing that up though."

“No problem" I chuckled. “And if you wanna sort things out with him, I've brought him along."

“You WHAT!?" Levi shouted, glaring at me.

“…he's… waiting outside…"

Levicus quickly emptied the cup, banged it onto the table and scampered towards the door as I quickly hurried after him, taking a quick look back as I exited through the door. The sudden movements surely did attract some attention onto us but luckily, no one cared enough to actually follow.
I shut it firmly. Levicus was just standing there in the light of the lantern, searching around, as if he did not believe me. I expected the dragon to still stand there by the corner, but it wasn't there anymore. It must have backed away when it noticed somebody, that wasn't me, step out. It would surely notice.
Levi didn't dare to just take one step away from the building.
“Levicus, look! There's nothing to be so… worried about! He can hide really well. No one would ever find him!"

He just turned to me, giving me that angrily confused look again that Amanda sometimes had. “You're a lunatic. Just absolutely crazy… to bring a living dragon out here… You must be asking for trouble! Where the hell even is that animal!?" he almost yelled at me.
“He's actually… I mean, he's supposed to be…"
I jumped towards the alley, where I thought the dragon would have gone in, but it was empty. No dragon standing by the backdoor or by the window. Strange… Maybe it went towards the other side? I ran by the entrance again, passing Levicus who was just glaring at me the entire time, checking the alley on the opposite side, but it was blank as well. Dammit… I nearly started to panic as I realized that I lost my dragon… in a town!

“Don't tell me you don't know where your dragon is" Levi just snarled at me, seeing how worried I became failing to find it.

“H- he's probably just… hiding, because you scared him off!" I accused him, not admitting my fault.
Levi didn't seem to be affected by it anyhow. “Why would even bring out your dragon onto the god damn streets!?" he told me off whilst standing there apathetically, watching me go left and right.

“Well, I... I was looking for you so I could help sort things out between you two, but Amanda told me you weren't at home, so I went searching for you!" I explained, continuing to pace around and check every corner.

“And at no point you thought it was appropriate to like... not take your dragon out into the town?!"

“I just… I…"
I ended up glancing at the ground as I gave up looking for it. Levicus just palmed at his face, groaning.
But then, as I glanced off into the darkness… I noticed something. The dragon! There was a snout peeking out from one of the sides of the building, followed by those recognizable eyes. Waving my hand around a little, I quickly gestured it to come over here. It did eventually step out… a sad look on its face…
Gleefully, I turned back around to Levicus.
“There he is! I told you he would be hiding well. Too well, almost."

“Oh good heavens… you did not…"
He looked like he was about to faint… but I could understand him in this case. Bringing a feral dragon out into a town wasn't the quite most normal thing in the world. On top of that, this dragon damn nearly molested him. He might not be too pleased by this sight…

“Come on, Levi" I spoke to him, giving him the same gesture I gave the dragon. “He's not gonna step out into the light."

“Oh, you thought I was gonna reason with this creature? Just- get it the hell out of here already you nutcase!" he disrespectfully shouted, partly to me… and the dragon…
As if it wasn't sad already, those words were enough… The dragon turned away, got up suddenly and spread its wings, disappearing into the night with a huge gust of wind.
“What- no! Stay here! He didn't… Don't go! Please…"
I could protest as much as I could, it wouldn't return. It probably didn't even hear me, it was gone so fast… My dragon… It surely wouldn't go far away. At least I hoped so… I couldn't know for sure, which drove me crazy. Just the thought of never seeing my dragon again...
With a rather bewildered look, I turned back to Levicus. He looked a little calmer now, however not as relieved as I expected, just standing there with the hands in his pockets. I wanted to say something, but he cut me off before I could even say something.

“Spare it, Mervyn" he interrupted, not rudely though. “I never asked for an apology. Neither did I ever want one, all I wanted was to forget about this. But if it helps you and your dragon who is just as crazy as you are… I accept his, or your, apology. Okay? From now on… I guess you can understand if I don't want him anywhere near me or my garden for some time… I have to go now. Amanda is probably going insane by now."
Slowly, still a little hesitant about the night, he began to wander off towards his house. But then, he abruptly came to a stop.
“Oh- and one more thing…"
His mood seemed to have quickly improved.
“Maybe… as another, y'know, sign of apology… how about you get him to boost up my store a little?"
Of course. This son of a… Levicus had a way of twisting /any/ type of situations to his advantage. Comes from running a store, I guess.
“What are you thinking of?" I asked rather solemnly.

“I'll explain more tomorrow, but for now just know… That kill the dragon hauled in earlier is pure gold! And let's just say, I'd be very grateful for any more he would bring along… Come to think of it, if my store should happen to be doing a lot better, I might even reward him. I might. But I'm way too late already, I really have to go now!"
And he was gone with the wind, quickly waving back… Dammit, what now? I thought to myself, standing there alone in the street, left by everybody. Time to head home, I guess. Things will look different in the next morning… surely…

(Perspective switch to Fahren)

As I couldn't be seen anymore, I had turned back around and landed on top of the nearest building, watching my human and his friend from above, the only sign of my return being a big rush of wind. And I heard alright what he described… and felt determined to make things right.
Confidently, I flew off without anybody noticing and headed back towards the forest, disappearing from the town instantly. About an hour later, when the sun's light dimly started to show, I was all on my own, far far away from town as not to raise suspicions. I flew close to the ground, keeping my eyes peeled for any movement, eventually finding and locking onto something. With a quick dive and a roar, I disappeared into the canopy.
…

The sunrise began to poke over the top of the mountains, casting delicate rays onto the tops of just the tallest tree at first. The fifth of the six bucks got laid neatly arranged in almost a perfectly rounded arc surrounding the door, all facing the same direction and all with great big horns… but the sixth one, I kept hidden for now on the other side of the fence. I took my place just behind the middle and curled up to sleep, wondering exactly when humans wake up… I just yawned and closed my eyes.

…
(Perspective switch Levicus) 

I didn't get up on time today. I usually had Amanda wake me up when I'm oversleeping, but she refrained from it this time. Most likely because I was gone almost the entire night. The gong of the market place should sound anytime soon, and the all the crowds would rush into the freshly opened stalls and stores. No way I could catch up with that, and hurrying would be barely worth it anyways. My store was dead before noon, as for the most time of the day. I should use that time to put some work on that catch Merv's dragon brought me yesterday.

I lowered the mug down onto the table, on which I was sitting all by myself. Amanda was upstairs already, taking care of her little ones. I probably shouldn't be drinking mead in the morning, but we ran out of milk again, and it certainly was better than this dirty water from the well. I hope things will look different for some while with this catch…

Feeling my body hurt at a couple places from yesterday's little incident, I pushed myself up, not caring to shift the chair back into place, or to bring anything left on the table back into the kitchen. Still feeling the dead tiredness in my eyes, I headed for the door, mindlessly trotting down the stairs. As I stood there in that small room between the door to the counter and the backdoor to my garden, I took a quick glance into the store looking out from the front windows. No one here waiting for this place to open. I can take my time… Once the fur and flesh of that deer is ready to go, I can at least make some coin today. It was a weekend, so there should be a little more going on than usual…
I shut the door, now headed for the opposite one. I took the key hanging on the hook placed beside it, and barely even got it inserted by how sleepy and hungover I felt.
I took just one step forward, out into the fresh morning air, rubbing my eyes. Then I just stood there, my eyes squinted from the sudden light and from how sleepy they still were… It felt relaxing… just looking around my garden for a bit. Watching the bright blue and clear sky, the morning sun shining out of it and making the still slightly wet grass glow, the rays shining through the hairs of the deer's hide and reflecting off the dragon's black surface in a matt way… wait a minute… WHAT!?
I wasn't sure what startled me more in this moment, that big dragon sitting there with its large eyes staring at me or the dead deer surrounding it. It took me a couple seconds to comprehend… How did I not notice this right away?!
Holy gods! Mervyn's dragon did… bring me more catches… He actually did it… I couldn't believe what I was seeing… I must be dreaming! Hallucinating! This can't be real! Not with the luck I have!
I took one or two steps forward, closer to the kills, examining closer. Next to a few biting and burning marks here and there, they looked nearly untouched. Most of it was very well usable. Not even I can get the job done so clean! And those antlers… look at those antlers! I might even hang up one or two of them into my own house. Man, those sizes… you could feed the entire goddamn town with those! And all that hide! Me and Mervyn might use some of that for some armor pieces for our own… There's so much! Usually hunters don't catch what was laying in my garden right now in a whole year!
Suddenly, the gate creaked. Somebody just opened it! Dammit… this better be Mervyn!

(Perspective switch to Mervyn)

Dammit! Where is that dragon!? I've gotten up extra early to meet up with it and tell it what Levi told me, but I couldn't find it! I've spent the whole morning wandering through the forest and pretty much froze ass off searching for the dragon... Did it really go back home? Or was it still too ashamed? Usually the dragon was only seen when it wanted to be seen. It could be hiding around here… Or did it go back to Levi's place to properly apologize? Dammit, I should have checked before I gone out.
Pacing quickly, I stepped back to the path, following it down to the opened gate. I could spot the crowds from back here. The market was open. Levicus might be busy now… unless he was in his backyard right now working on Amanda-only-knows-what, his garden must be empty. Perfect place to hide. The dragon hopefully is there… The longer I felt separated from it, the worse I've felt. I had barely slept this night. I was too worried… that it might've gone away or something. No matter what, I'll be looking for it, even if I'm spending the whole day on my feet.
Taking the shortcut through that one alley as usual, I noticed that Levi's store wasn't opened yet… Usually he never missed those times. Especially on the weekends. He could be still asleep. Or working in his garden. Or drinking. That didn't matter much to me right now anyways, what did matter was if the dragon was there.
As I approached the gate, I felt a certain apprehension that the dragon might not be here… and I would have to search through the whole forest…
I hesitantly pushed the gate open, forgetting to close it, and as I walked around the corner. I stopped as I spotted a dead deer lying on the ground. Must be the one from yesterday… wait a minute, is that /another/ deer? How did he catch that so fast? I scampered closer, and suddenly… the dragon! It was sitting there in front of Levicus, who looked was entirely motionless, surrounded by five more catches! They were arranged around Levi, the dragon sitting proudly behind it and smiling into his face. But- how did the dragon know that it was supposed to- It must have been spying on us! It never went away in the first place!
“Rurr!"
Suddenly, it got up, walking off towards the fence and reaching over it with its head, pulling out yet another catch. But this one was humongous! Bigger than all of those! A pure trophy! This thing has musculature that would make any barbarian squeal with envy!
Carrying the catch, it got back to Levicus. It stood there right in front of him and placed the final catch by his feet, nosing it towards him. Levi was so frozen… he just looked at the huge deer beneath him in awe. He didn't say anything.
I couldn't hold myself back any longer, nearly running up to the dragon and hugging its huge form as tight as I could, closing my eyes and just smiling in pure bliss. I felt the dragon purr and nuzzle me back, making happy groans and chuffs.
“mmrrarrr… I luvvvh… mrrrrr"

“I love you too."

I stayed like that for some while, just hugging and petting it back…

“Did I gud?" it asked. I gave a little kiss to its hide as a reply. “Oh, yes you did!"
The dragon started howling with excitement, quite loudly, before realizing that it's still in a human area and quieting down.
I pull back a little and grabbed the head by its cheeks. “I'll make sure that you'll get a reward for that" I spoke with a somewhat playful tone. But then Levicus, interrupted us.

“Come on, Merv! We have a lot of work to do! It's Saturday! The markets will be filled to the brim in just a couple hours!"
He sounded so chipper, I didn't even mind him stopping me right there.

I just smirked back. “One thing after another! I think you haven't expressed your thanks yet."

“Oh… uh.."
He looked up the dragon, a little discomforted. I could understand, talking to a dragon was a pretty… new thing to him.
“Thank you!" he got himself to finally say.

“Yur wal-kum!"

I hugged it again. “Well done!"
The dragon's tail began to audibly thump against the ground in excitement. Suddenly, the tail swooped around towards Levicus, shoving him towards us by his back. I thought I would have to get him out of there, but he actually didn't resist. He didn't look comfortable, being hugged by the dragon like that, but he didn't try to get out of it.

“Feels, good doesn't it?"

“Merv… could you… please…"

The dragon got the hint itself, but still giving me a good lick or two onto my cheek before letting us all go. Then, it hopped off and bit its biggest prize by the horns and excitedly lifting it up, holding it there for us.

...