anything and everything

Zepar x Kamor

Zepar gently ran his hand over the settling fledgeling in her nest. Kamor had left last week to check her usual territory where she knew some dragons were settled. She checked on them twice a year to see if they were still alive.

It was admirable work, attempting to protect dragon numbers the way she did. Humans were the primary killer of the gentle beasts. Dragons were omnivores, some types were even herbivores. They tended to avoid humans and were very important to the balance of nature. Humans over hunting and over expanding was the main cause of their deaths.

He turned when he heard the sound of wings and saw kamor landing in the center of their sanctuary. "youre back."

"Yes." Kamor didn't seem very pleased about it though.

"Youre injured." Zepar noticed next. Her right arm was bound tightly in bandages that were darkened with blood.

"It's not to bad. Do you think you could help me though?"

Zepar nodded and had Kamor take a seat on their bench. He carefully undid the bandages on her arm to find a deep gash along her bicep.

"What happened?"

"A hunting party was going after the green dragon in Belphamine. She's so young and sweet. Greens are herbivores too, there's no reason to hurt her!" Kamor always got upset when she found her dragons missing or injured.

"Did you stop them?"

"Not in time." Kamor sighed. "I didn't let them harvest her body but..."

She hadn't been able to save the dragon.

Zepar gave her a gentle pat on the back. It wasn't her fault, he just didn't know how to say it in a comforting matter. Emotions weren't his strong suit.

"She just laid her first batch of eggs too. I have no idea where she found a mate. The shells are so weak." Kamor took off her bag and ever so gently set it on the ground.

Inside there was a bunch of grasses and other soft items to protect the eggs. Three of them, though one was slightly cracked already.

"The shells are soft." Zepar noted after touching one.

"I know. I've never seen that happen before."

"What are we going to do for them?"

Kamor hesitated in thought. "Raise them of course. We'll keep the fledglings out of the hatchery to be extra safe. Do you think king Germaine or your mother would know anything about soft shells?"

"I don't know." Zepar admitted. "I can visit mother and ask."

"Please do. I heard of a dragon shifter in Delyra. When you come back, I'm going to seek her out. Hopefully we can save this nest."

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"It's a cold winter this year." Kamor snuggled up closer to Zepar, securing her arms around his waist and resting her head on his bare chest to get more skin contact.

"Do you want me to make it warmer?" Zepar offered.

"If you can." She knew magic could limit him a bit. She had no idea just how much magic an incubus like himself held, she just knew how often he generally had to feed.

The dragons had all gone into hibernation for the winter. They went underground and rested. Kamor checked on them every day but Usash would make sure they survived the cold.  Kamor, on the other hand, stayed awake and needed a bit more help keeping warm.

Zepar nodded and magically raised his body temperature just a few more degrees. He pulled the blanket up more to secure it around Kamors shoulders. "you're shivering still."

"Yeah, just give it a few minutes. This should be fine." Her coat had gotten soaked earlier in an accident so she had it by the fire drying but that meant she didn't have it for tonight.

"We can go somewhere else, just for the night. I can take you to my home." He was sure his mother wouldn't mind another visitor considering how many of his siblings brought their partners home. Kamor would hardly even be noticed.

"I don't want to leave my dragons." Not if she didn't have to.

Zepar should have known she'd be stubborn about it. "Alright."

He gently stroked a hand through her hair in a soothing motion before shifting closer to her and resting his head above hers. Incubi didn't need to sleep but he could spare a few hours to keep her warm overnight. Kamor helped Zepar feel some semblance of humanity despite his lack of emotions, the least he could do was help her feel warm.

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"Zepar, what is expected of you for your family?" Kamor asked, stirring her stew and shooing away a curious hatchling from the food. They'd get their own later.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've helped me more than I could have ever asked. There must be something I can do for you." Kamor explained. She walked over to Zepar and took a seat beside him.

"You're nobility, don't you have responsibility to your family in some way? I assume someone born in your order would usually be used in a political marriage but I've already taken your hand."

"My mother isn't like that." Zepar shook his head. "We can do whatever we wish."

"Yes, I did notice that. Considering your brother is gay." Kamor chuckled. She found that quite amusing. "In which case, whose job is it to give an heir? Esther would only produce mortals."

"I never considered it. We're all immortals, we don't really need one." Zepar shrugged.

"I see." Kamor took her stew off the fire and grabbed a spoon though paused and pointed it at him. "then that can be what I do for you. If someday you need an heir, I'll be willing to give you one."