Scribbles and Drabbles

Notebook Drabble 66 - Dragon Carrier

He should have refused the contract. 

Dragons liked to fuck their defeated foes. They also liked to humiliate the ones who'd defeated dragons in the past. They weren't easy prey. More often than not, killing wasn't an option. Maas fought dragons regularly to get them to behave and stop being inconsiderate neighbours. Killing beings that had the magic of fate and earth baked into them was a bad idea for the balance of nature. Today, however, Maas had a temperature. 

"Red?" Maas asked as the dragon pinned him. 

"Hum?" Red shifted to pin Maas with a claw, not his whole body. Red had started human but moved to his dragon form when Maas caught him with a decent hit. It went with their script at this point. They fought, and Red shifted. Sometimes, Maas won, and Red calmed down with his antics for a few weeks; sometimes, Red won, and Maas limped for a few weeks.

"Could we skip the next part? Or delay it until next week?" Maas let his unsteadiness enter his voice in a bid for mercy or pity. Getting out of a dragon's punishment was a fool's errand as they never forgot, but maybe he'd let him recover first? 

"You should have stayed home today," Red scolded, a puff of hot smoke running over Maas. "You can stay there and be pleased I don't eat you for that offence."

"Rent went up, and I didn't feel that bad when I left the house. Maybe if it was Midori, but you don't kill that often," Maas said, trying to relax and calm the instinctual burst of fear from seeing Red's native form. It didn't matter how often he saw the dragon's full shift; the fear remained the same. 

"I haven't killed in years."

"You killed a guy last month," Maas winced as his head started to pulse. He tried to shuffle to the side, but Red didn't let him move an inch. "Can you block me from the light?"

"That didn't count. He saw my true form and had a heart attack. I let him die, but that's not the same as killing him," Red huffed but folded his wing to put Maas in the shadow.

"Thank you."

"It is nothing." Red's muzzle appeared as he sniffed Maas. "This will need to be delayed; you aren't doing well."

"Glad you agree."

"Mortals are so fragile," Red said, but his claw stopped pinning. Mass didn't try to get to his feet; instead, he slowly moved to sit. He didn't have permission to leave yet.

"I've defeated you in combat before!" Maas shifted closer to the wall and shade. Red's tail moved to block if he did try to escape, but Red didn't growl with warning. He must look bad. 

"That doesn't make you not fragile. It makes you skilled," Red countered, magic bubbling around them. 

"Is it ok if I sleep here?"

"I'm not sure you can stop yourself," Red smiled, blowing hot air Maas. It curled around him like a blanket. Maas slumped and fell to sleep. He might have said 'thank you', but his memories became mush as his mind faded. 

He floated in and out. Red moved into a soft nest of brackets, switching to human form to take his armour off and feed Maas some water. The heat remained, lashing at any chills and warming his chest. The ache behind his eyes pulsed, fading but returning regularly, too. 

"Maas, wake up for us," Red's purred eased through his dream. 

Maas shivered as the blanket covering him varnished but opened his eyes to find two dragons watching over him in their human forms. Midori's silver crest pulsed, and a layer of coolness settled over him. 

"Morning?" he offered, sitting up and pulling his legs close. 

"You're on wanted posters for failing to kill me," Red laughed. Maas groaned and buried his head in his hands. Both dragons chuffed, amused by Red. A combination of warm and cool air pumped over him that left him nervous. He waited for the dragons to talk, but both settled on either side of him and made themselves comfortable. Midori placed a hand over Maas's stomach.