Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 92: Transgressions

~I should've cleaned it up earlier.~

"Mist," I purred between licks, using her true name. "It's fine. Really."

~No, it's not... It's gross, and now you have to spend more time trying to clean me than you have to! And I can't even help because my stupid stomach hurts too much to curl that far!~

I rolled my eyes at her festering guilt. "Oh, come on, it isn't that bad! Besides, I definitely don't dislike this part of you, so spending more time down here isn't a bad thing, in my opinion..." 

Predictably, Nibbler paused her stretches and looked down her underbelly at me with narrowed eyes. ~You're so lucky I love you, or I'd be clawing your eyes out right about now...~

I snorted at that. "If any dragon other than me spends any time doing this, I hope you'll claw their eyes out much sooner." Not only that, but I would want a piece of them, too. 

Nibbler blinked, though her eyes still betrayed her distaste for my earlier comment. ~Obviously. That's a Vaskr-only zone.~ I couldn't agree more, even if it was still weird to think that way.

The rest was much needed, of course. Lying around enjoying each other's company surprisingly left us refreshed, though it had a couple of downsides. Nibbler's aching wounds only got stiff from lack of movement, and considering her worst wound covered most of her abdomen, that left her quite frustrated, to put it lightly. She had to stretch and twist her body in various ways to help loosen the muscles.

To top it all off, the 'mess' got harder to clean after a couple of hours or so of time to set. I'd already groomed myself first at Nibbler's insistence, so it was her turn. Funnily enough, she hated the mess more than her stiff body, and she wasn't usually the type to worry about cleanliness.

Still, we eventually prevailed. At least, we did on the cleaning part. 

"Nice and easy," I hummed, supporting her chest with my head. Unfortunately, that meant my forepaws bore most of the load, which hurt a lot, but I didn't let it show. "No rush."

~I can feel... your paws hurting...~

I flinched, recalling our bond shared more than simple emotion. "Don't worry about me," I dismissed firmly. "My paws won't kill me. If your belly tears, it will kill both of us."

Nibbler fumbled to position a hind paw. ~Why?~

"The Mate's Bond will take me with you." I didn't know if our so-called 'Eternal Flame' would interfere with that. The Mate's Bond was Nana Moon's magic, which was obviously powerful, so we'd more than likely stay dead.

~Oh... I'm sorry.~

I chuckled despite the morbid subject. "Believe me, after everything I've been through with you, I'd rather die with you than live without you."

Nibbler didn't reply to that.

Eventually, we got Nibbler on all four paws. She was unsteady, but she could walk. As long as she walked slowly, her belly wouldn't hurt. She vehemently refused to be carried when I offered, and her murderous glare ensured I didn't offer again. Apparently, I'd gone a little too far with my 'helpfulness' lately.

We stepped into the chilly night air with Nibbler in the lead, and if it weren't for the island's persistent glow, the clouds in the sky would've shrouded us in utter darkness. 

Which was exactly why all it took was one look back at me to make Nibbler sigh. ~Look, Vaskr, I appreciate you trying to help, but I... I need to feel like I can do some things on my own.~