An odd way of help

The wind blew hard, the cold nipping at my face. I needed to find shelter before I became a frozen statue. It was hard to see through all the snow. I knew I was in a large forest. I squint my eyes and put my gloved hand up to shield them trying to get a better view of my surroundings when I see a cave. I feel my spirits lift as I enter. It is dark but a bit warmer than the outside.

I gather wood to start a fire to get it warmer, freezing when I hear a low growl. I shake it off and start the fire, sighing when I feel the warmth. After I get warm enough I go and collect more wood to keep the fire going. I stop against hearing the same growl. This time i go looking for the source wanting to put my worries to rest. I give up after an hour or so when it gets too dark to see.

When I turn to leave two amber orbs appear. I stare at the orbs and let out an oof as something heavy pins me. My eyes widened in panic as I thought a rock fell on me. I try to push it off but stop confused at the texture of it. It was smooth like scales. Whatever was on me shifts and I panic realizing the thing is living. I needed to get free before I became the creature's meal. Suddenly hundreds of torches light up showing me the creature.

It nearly hit the roof of the cave . It had Black scales and wings. Spikes ran along its back down to it's tail which is curled a bit. It took me a moment to process what the creature was before struggling again. The dragon stared at me with an unimpressed look as it sat down. I quickly get exhausted with labored breaths.

"Are you done struggling yet?" I was startled by how beautiful it's voice was and that it could talk in general. I nod nervously watching it, still scared of what it'll do to me. "Good now let me introduce myself. I am Xursai i am a shadow dragon." It stands and releases me as it does. I back up, shaking a bit.

"Oh calm down, If I wanted to cause you any harm i would have already" She chuckles softly at her remark though it didn't do much to reassure me. "Oh and before you ask, I am a female. Many humans mistake me as a Male" I nod, taking a deep breath to calm myself. As far as i could tell she really didn't mean any harm to me.

"I-If you didn't want to hurt me then why did you pin me?" I wanted to be absolutely sure she was being honest and that she wasn't tricking me. She sighs, muttering something under her breath though I didn't catch what she said.

"If you had seen me and had nothing to stop you you would have ran out of the cave into that blizzard. We both know you wouldn't make it very far if you did too. You'd freeze in a matter of seconds. Humans let fear drive them." I looked down knowing she was right. If she didn't keep me from running i would have and i would have died she had saved me from myself. I sigh a bit ashamed. "No need to be ashamed. It's in your nature you were programmed like that."

She thinks and chuckles. "I believe I have the right to know your name now." I jump feeling even more ashamed since I haven't introduced myself to her after she did.

"O-oh! I'm A-aimee!" She tilts her head confused as it takes me a bit to realize I had stuttered. I had started to rub my arms getting colder by the minute looking over to what was my fire. It was out by now so I went over and tried to start it again only to fail. The wood I brought in was still wet and my hands were shaking too hard. Xursai came over and I looked over. "C-can you use fire breath or s-something to get it started for me?" She shakes her head sadly.

"No, I don't have that ability unlike most dragons, shadow dragons don't have breath attacks." I sigh knowing I was going to die if I didn't get any warmth. I looked around for anything to start the fire but found nothing. Xursai seemed to be thinking of something as she sighed. "I know of a way I can warm you up but you can't freak out or panic. Okay?" I nod not wanting to freeze to death.

"Alright now close your eyes and just trust me." I nod and close my eyes, still shaking badly. I feel her lift me up as I let out a surprised noise not expecting it before she sets me down again. Whatever she had set me on was squishy and warm. It took me a minute to notice that it was also wet. Something pressed on me forcing me to lay down and any light I could see through my eyelids disappeared. This caused me to start panicking, realizing I'm in her maw.

My ears are filled with the sound of her murring. Her tongue pushes me around as I start to struggle. She lets out a soft huff and swallows upset about me struggling. I feel her throat pull me in as I start sliding down it. It felt like a tight water slide as I tried to stop my descent towards her stomach. I feel my legs enter an open chamber not long after the rest of my body joins my legs as I fall, landing on the squishy and slimy walls.

I hear Xursai sigh contently, her paw resting on her belly. I start banging on the walls yelling at her. "Calm down Aimee. I'm not going to digest you, you're perfectly safe." I found it hard to believe her as she lays down curling up. "How about you get some rest. I'm sure you'll find that you are safe in the morning and anyways I bet it's nicer there than it was out here."

She chuckles and I huff not wanting to admit it. I curl up to one of the walls about to go to sleep. "Oh umm Aimee. This might be an odd question but, can you live with me? It gets lonely here on my own and you're the first company I've had that hasn't tried to kill me..." I think and nod.

"If I wake up in the morning cause you didn't digest me then yes i will. It's kinda nice having someone to talk to, even though they ate me." I hear her chuckle and it reverberates around me causing me to smile. After that we both fell asleep comfortably and happily.