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** Neither One Thing, Nor the Other**

** Chapter 1**

** By William W. Kelso**

I took a quick scouting flight over the town and it looked pretty quiet and peaceful, so I decided to take a chance. I was so very tired of sleeping in the open or in abandoned buildings, and despite what I am I don't much care for caves. Plus I need provisions badly. Of course I should have known better. I was just so lonely though, I guess the need companionship comes from my human half.

I landed about a quarter mile outside of the town and willed myself into as human a form as I can take on. I got some clothes out of my pack and put them on. I put on boots, breeches, jerkin with a hood, and a wide leather belt with a dagger and purse hanging from it. The breeches and jerkin were baggy and loose fitting; well worn but respectable, and helped to hide certain parts of my anatomy. They were typical enough for a traveler or prosperous farmer, so I hoped I would blend in. Naked there is no way I can pass for human, but in clothes I can if no one pays too much attention. The only really uncomfortable part was I had to tuck my; now much smaller, tail down one pants leg. The pants were pretty loose though; intentionally, so it shouldn't show. I threw my pack over my shoulders and set off for the town.

*As I neared the town I could see there were guardsmen on duty at the gate and they looked pretty alert. I would have been surprised otherwise, what with all the raids and strange goings on lately. I myself was pretty strange, but I meant no one any harm. On the other hand I would not hesitate to defend myself; I've gotten quite adept at that. I pulled the hood a little farther forward and casually approached the gate as if I had every right to be there. As far as I was concerned I did, though others might not agree. The soldiers gave me a close look and asked my business, but when I told them I had come to town to buy a good mule and showed them my coin they lost interest and I passed through the gate and into town. A silver piece "donated" to the local militia didn't hurt either. That got me a grudging smile and salute. *

*As I walked down the streets I was impressed overall, the town was fairly large and well kept. The streets and ally's were clean with no garbage thrown in the streets or piled in the ally's, and was well lit with oil lanterns on most street corners. From the lack of riff-raff and skulkers it was also evident they had an efficient town watch, which could be good or bad in my case. Overall I approved though, a people who take pride in their town will fight twice as hard to defend what is theirs. I doubted if raiders would find an easy target here. I was cold and hungry; had been for days, so I decided to find a tavern and inn for the night. I can sleep in the open without much worry, but a good cooked meal and warm bed would be so nice. I had plenty of coin, but avoided the higher quality places as I wasn't really dressed appropriately, plus I would be less likely to attract unwanted attention at a lower end establishment. So I headed for the "wrong" side of town, which wasn't hard to find. Every human town has one. Come to think of it every town has one, human or otherwise. *

*I soon found what looked like a perfect place, it was called the "Happy Pig" and from the sounds coming from inside the patrons did sound pretty happy, or more likely they were as drunk as a goblin, which was perfect as far as I was concerned. I entered and was instantly surrounded by a thick haze of tobacco and cooking smoke and loud noise. It was a working man's tavern; most of the patrons were off duty soldiers, laborers, and tradesmen. I gagged a little at the smell, my very sensitive olfactory senses are always temporarily overwhelmed when I'm around so many humans in a small space, but soon I was able to pick out the smell of roasting meat and I started to salivate. I can eat raw meat as easily as cooked, but a well grilled steak is always a treat and I'm too picky about what kind of animal it came from. I found a seat in the only unoccupied booth in the place, and a serving wench quickly found me. I ordered a platter of whatever the "meat of the day" was and a pitcher of the local ale. I also requested a loaf of bread and some butter, if they had any. I was very pleased when they did. When she brought my meal I tipped her a large copper and got a grateful smile in return. Then I settled down to enjoy my meal. It was quite good for such an establishment, but even the poor and less affluent can have pride in their wares. *

*There are always those who never like to buy their own liquor, either that or don't have the coin. Often it's the local town drunk, or someone down on their luck between jobs. They always watch out for strangers who don't know them, and one of them found me. He was a large man with the florid complexion of a heavy drinker, and uninvited he joined me in my booth, much to my annoyance. *

"Good eve good sir!" he said as he sat down. "Might I have a word with you?"

"Begone, I said, I have no extra coin to waste on a drunk." Sometimes that works, but this fellow took affront.

"What, think you're too good to buy a drink for a veteran?" The man snarled.

So, I thought, an out of work soldier. Since the war was over there were many of them, I was one myself. That changed things, a little. "What was your unit, and where did you serve?" I politely asked.

He pulled himself up with some pride, and replied "The Dukes Own Forester's", I was with them at Shallow River when we stopped the Dark Host this past summer.

*"Aye, I replied, I was there too. Your arrows stopped a charge of heavy cavalry on the left flank, which was fair and hot work. Name your drink veteran." *

*With a huge smile he ordered a pitcher of the local ale. He drained a flagon in one draught, and smacked his lips. *

"Ah, thank you sir, I was bone dry. The local ale is quite good, and they don't water it down at the Pig. But I am being rude, I am Roger Crofter, to whom do I owe my thanks?"

I replied, "I am called Drack, and you are welcome. It will be a cold day when I can't buy a fellow veteran a drink."

*"Well said, well met and to your health Drack." Roger said, and lifted his mug in salute. *

"To comrades not present" I replied, and made the mistake of raising my own mug in salute, and my sleeve slid far enough down my arm to expose the small black scales that cover parts of me even in my most human form, and of course having the sharp eyes of an archer he saw that.

"By the God's, a darkling!" Roger roared, and reaching across the table he pulled my hood back before I could react, and exposed my finned ears. They are one aspect of my other form I cannot change, and it marks me for what I am. I pulled the hood back up, but it was far too late. He threw his mug of ale in my face, and jumping up yelled,

*"A darkling, we have a foul darkling amongst us!" *

And of course that got everyone's attention, and the whole tavern fell ominously silent. Several soldiers stood up and started towards my booth, drawing their swords.

Well, I thought, this is a most unwelcome development. That's what I get for doing a good act, such never goes unpunished. I tried to reason with them, but that got me nowhere. They would not even look at the letter of introduction I had from the Duke attesting to my service in the war. So there was only one option left to me, to get the HELL out of there before things turned nastier. And the best way to do that; and survive, was to change. It usually scared the locals long enough to buy me some valuable time.

*So I stood up with a roar and flipped the table over, and willed myself back into my other form. The sight of me growing obsidian black scales, eyes becoming glowing yellow and green with vertical pupils like a snake, a snout full of nasty fangs as my neck lengthened, horns, my tearing clothes, and the large bat like wings I snapped open as they grew had the usual effect. About half the patrons started towards me, and the other half did their best to run in the opposite direction. This created mass confusion and gave me enough time to run up the stairs to the second story and lock myself in a vacant room; the front door had been out of reach. At best this bought me a couple of extra minutes as the sight of my long tail disappearing up the stairs attracted too much attention; that and the screaming from the little old lady I scared half to death as I pushed past her with a polite "Excuse me my lady", and pursuit was close behind. Fortunately the room had a window; which is why I picked it, so I knocked out the frame and part of the wall in order to make a hole big enough for me, climbed up to the roof, and took flight. Idiots, I thought, what can't they just listen for a change, instead of trying to kill me? All I had wanted was a meal and a warm bed and to maybe swap a good story or two. *

Well, I'd escaped, again. I seem to do that a lot. But I'd had to leave all my belonging behind as there had been no time to retrieve my pack, and my clothes had shredded and fallen from me as I changed. And worse of all, I had lost my purse. It was bad enough being what I was, but even worse if I was broke. But I had survived in the wild before, and could have to do so again. In my true form I can hunt quite well, but I prefer cooked food to raw flesh if I have a choice. With an angry roaring bellow I took my leave and flew towards the forest surrounding the town. At least there I would not be hounded. Unless I met a Dragon, but they were few in these parts, which was one reason I prefer this part of the kingdom. They were not kind to half-breeds like me, and more often than not would just try to kill me on sight, much the same reaction as humans. Though I had all the natural weapons of my larger cousins I do not have the size. I'm not much bigger then a yearling, and a full grown dragon would made short work of me.

*I flew until I found a good perch on a rock outcrop, and settled down to catch my breath. Cretins, I thought. All I wanted was to be accepted and left alone. I was, after all, part human. But I knew in their eyes that made it even worse, humans have very little tolerance for half-breeds. But for that matter neither do Dragons, they too try to kill me on sight without asking any questions. I nibbled on one of my claws to trim it as I thought about my next move. Fortunately I'd finished my dinner at the tavern, so wasn't very hungry even though the change always uses up a great deal of energy. *

*I'm what they call; with contempt and derision, a Hugon or Dragoman, or more often just a bastard spawn or darkling. I'm the result of an unnatural mating, half human, half Dragon. I am neither one nor the other, and accepted by neither of my parents races. I did not ask to be born, and all I want is to be allowed to live unmolested. It is true my kind were created by the evil twisted magic's of the dark wizards and sorcerers' to serve as slave soldiers in the Dark Host, so while I can understand human fear of my kind it still hurts. But for all of that we are intelligent beasts with the power of free will, and I was lucky in a way. I escaped the breeding pens with the help of another slave before I was old enough to be broken and trained. When I came to know what I was I chose to serve on the side of the Kingdom of Albachon and fight against my own kind, along with other "darklings" who also chose to serve the light. There were precious few of us though, and most fell trying to prove themselves worthy of respect and I lost many friends. I too bear old wounds from the last war, and while I had earned the respect of the humans I served with they were precious few, and when the Corp of Special Scouts and Messengers was disbanded, like many soldiers I found myself out of a job. And being what I am finding other employment was, let us say, most difficult. At least honest employment; and I must admit I have done things to survive of which I am not proud. But never murder, I draw the line at that. To kill in war or self defense is one thing; to kill an innocent is another thing entirely. *

*I finished preening, and with a hissing sigh stared out over the tops of the trees towards the lights of the town. I threw back my head and gave a lonely roar. All I'd wanted was a warm bed for a change, and maybe some companionship. I'd gladly have bought a round for everyone in the tavern if it would have bought me a little acceptance. I felt large slow tears sliding down my muzzle. Damn, I do that too much, I thought. And as if to add insult to injury it looked as if it might start raining soon. In my Dragon form I'm pretty much immune to rain, but that doesn't mean I like to sleep in it. It was time to find a nice dry cave, or an abandoned farm house. If nothing else a dense stand of trees would be better than nothing, at least they would break the wind. With another sign I took flight and wearily began to search for a place to spend the night and wait out the coming storm. I do love to fly though; it's one of the few things that give me true joy. It was a beautiful, if cold, night. *

*I followed the road as there were more likely to be abandoned farms or other buildings, but I also kept a lookout for any rock formations that might possibly contain a cave. Like my Dragon mother I have a natural instinct for finding such places. I was so busy looking for a refuge I almost missed the desperate little battle taking place in a clearing near the road. I heard it first, the shrill scream of a woman in fear and pain. With a tilt of one wing I angled my flight to take me closer to where the sound had come from and, braking, dropped to a lower altitude. I was listening intently now, and had increased the power of my binocular vision and focused on the forest below. I passed over a clearing, and found the source of the cry. *

*A band of three highwaymen were attacking two men and a woman, the two men were armed with staffs and had so far held their own against the robbers, but even as I watched the older man went down under a sword blow to the neck and it was one against three. Well, I thought, time to change the odds a bit. I gained a little altitude, then stooped and dived into the clearing. I killed one man by simply using one of my heel spurs to rip out his throat as I passed, then landing I crouched and roared at the other two men and let them see my fangs and claws, both those on my hands and my wings. In this form I am entirely dragon in appearance in anything but size, but I'm still not small by human standards. Their companion was still standing, but not for long as the blood pumped from his torn throat. It was the sight of him falling over in a spray of blood that made the others chose the better part of valor, and run for the hills. I let them go as I prefer not to kill unless necessary. And of course I was punished for my good act by a hard blow to the back of the head from the staff of the still standing traveler. *

"Oww! By the God's!" I roared, and turning I pounced on the man and took the staff away from him. "I just saved your life, and you reward me by hitting me on the head!" I growled as I put my snarling face next to his. And as I gripped his body I realized two things, from "his" scent and feel "he" was a woman! My nose told me that right away, and the feel of soft breasts under her jerkin confirmed it. With a loud "RAWR!" of surprise I jumped up. "By the God's, you're a woman!" I bellowed.

"Yes, I am! She said, and I can still beat even a Dragon if I must! Now begone beast, and leave us in peace!"

"I, I'm sorry, I beg forgiveness. Had I known I would not have, um, handled you so roughly." I said.

About this time the older woman spoke up, "Dear, he did save us from the cutthroats, but Uncle Gregory was not so lucky, he's dead child." She said with grief in her voice.

At that the young woman seemed to forget me, and ran over to bend over the fallen man and older woman, and I heard her sob and she held the man's head in her lap and brushed back his hair so she could close his eyes.

Feeling rather awkward; to say the least, I said, "I am sorry I did not arrive sooner in time to save the man too, he fought bravely and well."

*The woman replied, "He was a fool, he should have just let them have our packs, that's all they wanted. But no, he had to fight them." But her harsh words belied the tears in her eyes and tenderness she showed as she stroked his balding head. "Stupid old brave man" she said with a catch in her voice. *

"Dear, said the other woman, I doubt they would have been satisfied with just our meager possessions. It wasn't those your uncle fought for."

*I had been so surprised by my discovery, and so engrossed in watching the sad scene, that I had neglected my normal constant awareness of my surroundings, and we paid for that. I hadn't heard the returning robbers until an arrow flashed past me and buried itself in the chest of the older woman, and she fell with a sigh and I knew she was dead. I whirled with a snarl and felt despair at the number of foes, there must have been thirty or more, and from their weapons and armor many were ex-soldiers. Five, maybe ten, I could have handles, but thirty? And quite a few had bows or crossbows. Most of those fired at me, but my scales are very hard and most of the arrows bounced off of my natural armor, but one punched a hole through a wing membrane. Too many like that and I'd be grounded, so with a roar I leaped up, grabbed the still living woman with my hind feet, and took flight. The robbers fired some more arrows at me, and through sheer bad luck a crossbow bolt found a weak spot in my scales under a front leg and I screamed as the bolt penetrated to the fletching. *

Gasping for breath as the arrow had penetrated a lung I managed to gain some altitude before becoming too weak. I could only carry heavy loads for short distances, and wounded I would be even less capable. I needed to land again soon. I spotted a large rock outcropping jutting up from the center of a swampy area in the near distance, and with a moan flew towards it, blood splattering in my wake. If I can only reach it we should be safe. And I did, just barely. I dropped the woman as gently as I could, and landing hard I screamed in agony and rolled several times before coming to a halt in a still unconscious heap.

Leander didn't know what to think when the Dragon came roaring out of the night sky and almost tore the head off of one of the robbers. She'd told Uncle Gregory to just give them what they wanted, but he had refused as it was all they owned, and now they had a Dragon to fight as well! Once the Dragon had chased off the other two robbers she saw her chance, and brought her staff down as hard as she could on the beasts head. To her dismay that only seemed to enrage the beast, and he had pinned her and roared his anger, along with his hot breath, into her face. But when he realized she was a girl his surprise had almost been comical as he leaped off of her even faster then he'd leaped onto her.

After realizing she was female the Dragon had left her alone, and she had gone to the side of her uncle. He was dead, and despite the horrible wound to his neck he had a peaceful expression on his face. He and his wife had been good to her, and she cried as she gently touched his weather beaten face. Then she had watched horror as her aunt had fallen with an arrow in her chest, and then shrieked in fear as powerful claws dug into her shoulders and she was lifted into the air! Her first thought was the beast was taking her to his lair to devour her as Dragons were prone to do, but as they climbed higher she saw more robbers pouring into the clearing and cringed as they launched arrows and bolts after them, and she heard the Dragon give a bellow of pain. But his powerful wings kept lifting them higher, and he bore her towards a large out cropping of rock, and then dropping her roughly he nosedived into the ground with a shriek and rolled to a halt and lay limp and unmoving. She felt a wetness on her head and shoulders, and with a start realized it was his blood. The beast was wounded.

Her first inclination was to flee, but as she turned to leave she heard the beast give a low moaning cry of pain. She hesitated, but when he moaned again she turned and went to him. He was lying more or less on his back, and she could see the dark stain of blood on his left side. The light was poor as clouds were moving across the face of the moon, but she could see the arrow protruding from the wound under his front leg. She was no healer, but even she knew such a wound was fairly serious. She wanted to help, after all he had saved her despite whatever his motives might be, but what could she do? He moaned again and gave a gurgle and she realized he was spitting up blood. She knew if he didn't get help soon he'd die. But where, she didn't even know where she was. She stared around at the dark in despair.

Squig looked up as a large shadow passed over the moon, and instinctively dived into the water. The outline had been that of a fellow Dragon, but it had been carrying something large in its hind claws, something screaming. Squig felt sympathy for the unfortunate prey; she knew what it was like to be hunted. While a true dragon she was a knucker, or swamp-dragon. Her kind was sleeker and had fewer horns or spines then most other dragons, and her scales were smaller and finer. Though her fangs and talons were impressive, her main defense was the thick acid soaked phlegm she could spit for great distances. It came directly from her stomach and the digestive acid could eat through even another Dragon's scales with ease, so though small they were respected. She had wings and could fly, but preferred to stay on the ground, or in the water, most of the time. But now she was concerned that the unknown Dragon might challenge her for her domain, such as it was. So with a hiss she raised her head out of the water and watched as he disappeared towards the rocky hill in the center of her part of the swamp. Though small, she would fight for what was hers. With another hiss she started swimming through the stagnant water towards the hill in the near distance.

Leander carefully picked her way down the steep rough sides of the outcropping towards the swampy area below. The nearest human town was several miles away, but she had no idea in what direction for sure. She had no idea how much longer the injured Dragon would live, but she would try to help him. She owed him at least that much. As she neared the base of the hill she didn't notice the eyes protruding just above the surface of the dark water, mainly because she wasn't looking and they were partially covered by a lily pad.

*Squig was surprised to see a human female in the swamp. First a Dragon, then a human? This was turning into one very interesting night, but for her interesting could be bad. Then it occurred to her, this was the other Dragon's prey, somehow it had escaped. Squig did not prey on humans, very few knuckers did. She preferred fish or small animals. Not that she couldn't kill a human with relative ease, that is if they weren't armed or in large numbers, which tended to be the case most of the time. Plus if you killed one others would often come looking for you, armed and in large numbers. So most of her kind knew better then to mess with humans. That didn't mean they liked them tramping around in their territory though, so time to investigate the situation. As with all her kind she knew the human language. *

Leander reached the bottom of the hill and cautiously ventured into the swamp. It was not an area she knew; the pools of dark stagnant water and moss draped trees were intimidating. She knew the town was to the south, so started into the swamp in that direction. She had only gone a short way when a voice suddenly said,

"I wouldn't go that way human." Squig said.

Leander jumped and spun around, but there was no one there!

"Who, who said that!?!" Leander asked in a shaking voice.

Squig had watched as the human had tentatively started towards the deeper area of the swamp, an area which even for her could be treacherous. Not really sure why she did; but the human female looked so vulnerable, she spoke up.

"I said, Squig repeated, don't go that way. The ground is soft and will swallow you whole, and there are giant water slurgs as well. They would eat you right up in one bite. Now, what are you doing in my swamp human?"

Leander looked around her desperately, she heard a voice, but saw no one. Getting even more frightened, she said,

"Please, who is there? Are you a ghost? A spirit come to haunt me?"

Squig blew some bubbles in resignation, very well. Slowly she lifted her head out of the water, and said,

"Here I am human, behind you."

Leander spun around and gasped, another Dragon! She had seen it before, but had thought its head was a sunken log. But this one was different, it was green and its scales were smaller and had more of a glistening sheen to them, and the head had only two small horns. The creature's eyes were beautiful, like green sapphires, and despite the situation she felt no fear of the beast, for the eyes were also gentle, and a bright intelligent curiosity burned in them.

*Leander bowed, and said, "I, I thank you for the warning, it was, was most kind of you." Quicksand, she thought, and shuddered. *

Squig dipped her head to return the bow, at least this human did not run screaming or try to kill her, and was actually polite, which was a nice change. She said,

"I am called Squig, this is my swamp. Now I ask again, what are you doing here? It is a not a safe place for you, and I do not get many visitors."

Leander replied, "I, I was brought here by accident, but another Dragon. He, he saved me from brigands, but they, and her voice quivered, they killed my aunt and uncle. He was hurt, and had to land; I'm trying to find help for him."

Well, thought Squig, this IS interesting. A Dragon who saved a woman, and a woman trying to help a Dragon! The very idea was almost ludicrous. Her brethren were not known for having a kind disposition towards humans, or Knuckers for that matter.

Squig said, "Indeed? Tell me human, how badly is this chivalrous Dragon injured? Are you sure he was saving you, and I don't mean for a snack."

Leander paused for a few seconds, but, yes, she was sure. "I'm sure, at one point he had me pinned where he could easily have dispatched me, but when he found out I was a girl it was almost, well, funny the way he reacted."

Squig crawled a little further out of the water and blinked her eyes. A Dragon who cared about the sex of a human? Stranger still. Many of her kind couldn't tell the difference, or didn't care. It was a little more obvious if you were closer to their size though. She asked,

*"Human, how badly is he injured? I may be able to help, I have some healing ability." *

Leander felt her hopes go up, maybe if they reached him soon enough. "My name is Leander beautiful one, and I fear he is most gravely injured, he had a bolt from a crossbow here, and there was much blood." and indicated her arm pit.

Squig blinked again, beautiful? She had never been called that before, and found herself liking this human female. No, it had a name, Leander. A nice name for a human. And if the Dragon was injured in that area it was as bad for a drake as for a human. She hoped she could help, though her healing ability was not exceptional.

Squig said, "Show me where he is Leander, and I will do what I can. But first help me gather some plants and other things that may be of use.

Leander dutifully gathered what the Dragon indicated, several kinds of moss or moldy looking plants, some thick black (stinky) mud, dark green berries, and a good flat stone to mix them on. Then she led the sleek elegant beast back up the hill to the large ledge she had left the other Dragon on, and he still lay there and if anything his breathing was harsher and more labored. She felt a true fear for him and gently rubbed his snout as the swamp Dragon examined him.

*Squig was quite surprised when she saw the other Dragon. For one thing he was a Black Dragon, the first she had even seen, and he was male, and he was not much larger then she was. But he was an adult, his scent told her that. And he was indeed gravely injured. He was having trouble breathing, and when he exhaled bubbles of blood sometimes came from his mouth or nostrils. He was lung shot she knew, very bad. But she would try, Dragons were tough. *

Squig told the girl how to mix some of the ingredients they had gathered, and how to make a paste from the berries and fungus and a large poultice of moss and mud. She also had the girl start a fire. Then came the hard part. Gently she rolled the Black Dragon on to his side. She told Leander to have the paste she had made and the poultice ready, and to put first the paste, then the poultice, on the wound as soon as the arrow came out. Then bracing herself against her fellow dragon Squig grasped the bolt in her claws, and with a hiss pulled it free. The male gave a great shuddering squeal of agony, but other than weakly kicking his hind legs did not struggle, fortunately. Squig looked at the bolt and was relieved to smell no heart blood on it, so at least it had missed his hearts. That meant there was at least a chance. The she pressed her hands to the wound and used what healing power she had to repair as much of the damage as possible. When she was through she took the paste and poultice and applied them to the wound. Having done all she could she turned to Leander and said,

"Come Leander, Squig said, we need to move him out of the cold. There is a nice cave near here, I sometimes shelter there if the rains flood my burrow. We will be out of the cold, and it looks to start raining again soon."

Leander looked up from where she had been securing the poultice to the horrible wound with a length of rope from her pack. The Black Dragon was so horribly still though, only the faint rising and falling of his chest gave any indication he still lived. She gathered up some wood that was still fairly dry and took a brand from the small fire she had built to heat the paste after she'd mixed it in her cooking pot. The she followed the green dragon named Squig as she half dragged/carried the other dragon into the cave she had pointed out. Leander soon had a small fire going in the roomy main chamber of the small cave. It wasn't a limestone cave, but the floor was level and covered with a thick soft layer of dirt and mulch. Squig propped the other dragon in a sitting position to help keep his lung from filling with blood, which was the main danger now. He could end up drowning in his own blood, but since only one lung had been penetrated he had a fair chance. They could only wait now.

Leander sat and looked at the sleeping Black Dragon who had rescued her from possible death and sure rape. The other dragon had left to look for something to eat and bring more wood. She didn't know what to think. All she had heard about dragons as that they were grand, beautiful, terrible, and most looked upon humans as little more than food. She had never even seen one before except flying overhead from a great distance away, but this night she had met two of them. One who had saved her, and another one who was kind and nice. It was most confusing. But as she calmed down what had happened came back to haunt her, and soon she was sobbing as she finally let her grief for her aunt and uncle vent itself. She and been orphaned during the war, and they had taken her in and treated her as their own. And now the only family she had was gone, butchered by brigands for nothing. She was so grief stricken she never even noticed when Squig returned.

Squig's sharp hearing heard the human, Leander, crying before she reached the mouth of the cave. She knew the sounds were how humans showed grief, and for a few seconds she feared the other dragon had died, but no, she could smell him and he lived. She silently entered the cave and dropped a large handful of dry wood she had gathered, and took two large catfish from her mouth and put them down. Then she slowly approached the crying woman, unsure what to do. Finally she just reached out and gently caressed the girls long black hair with the back of one hand. The girl looked up at her with tear filled eyes, then suddenly stood up and hugged her around her neck. This took Squig by surprise, but she knew the human meant to harm. After a short hesitation she gently returned the hug, careful not to squeeze too hard a she knew humans were fragile, and crooned to her.

*Leander pressed herself against the smooth scales of the swamp dragon and cried for her family and herself, and the beast gently hugged her and made a soft strangely soothing hissing sound from deep in its throat. The sound and the dragon's musky scent of water and damp earth were comforting, and finally she fell asleep. *

*Squig knew when Leander had fallen asleep as her breathing slowed and her scent changed, and gently she laid the girl down on the sleeping pad from her pack and put some blankets over her. She looked at the girls tear stained face with sympathy. She knew what it was to lose family. Her own mother had died when Squig was quite young, killed by humans. Since then she had been pretty much on her own, as this girl now appeared to be. Then she went to check on the Black Dragon. He did not seem to be any better, but was not any worse either, which gave her some hope. She deftly boned the two large catfish with her razor sharp talons, and taking each fillet she propped open the blacks mouth and let them slide down his throat, which convulsed and swallowed them. Excellent, he needed the food. Then she curled up next to the warm fire and fell asleep herself, it had been a strange and exhausting day. *

Squig woke with a large yawn full of razor sharp needle teeth, and looked around. The fire was coals now, and her two "guests" were still sleeping. She quietly built up the fire again, and then checked the Black Dragon. He seemed to be breathing better, and his scent smelled healthier. She was pleased, her healing ability was only minor, but it appeared to have been enough in this case. It was up to him now. Silently she left the cave to gather more wood and would take a dip to catch some more fish. She was hungry, and knew her "guests" would be as well.

Leander woke up and stretched. She was warm and her stomach rumbled from hunger, then suddenly she remembered! She sat up and saw the still sleeping Black Dragon, but the green one was not in the cave. Had she imaged it? But no, everything else was real. Oh auntie and uncle, you deserved so much better, she thought sadly, you were so good to me. They had taken her in after her father had died as a soldier in the last war, and her mother had caught the fever and died the following winter. Her aunt had married a cobbler and lived in Lowentown in a small shop with an apartment above. He had been a gruff man of few words, but had been kind to her and made sure she had everything he could give her. Her aunt had loved her husband dearly, and Leander had come to love him too. He had never raised his voice or hand to either of them, and she had seen the way he looked at her aunt, his weathered face would soften and she could see a shadow of the young man he had once been. She lowered her head and cried again for awhile, but dried her tears as the green dragon returned.

*Squig returned the cave through the slight drizzle that had been falling since early morning. She loved this kind of weather; it softened everything and muted the sounds of the swamp and forest, made it seem a gentler place. She loved to perch on a fallen log or flat rock and survey her domain as the moisture dripped down her scales. She was not a true amphibian, but did like the way water made her scales shine. She dropped the large bundle of reasonably dry wood she had gathered, and took three fish out of her mouth, two more succulent catfish and a large carp. She quickly boned them and taking the offal and carp fillets she fed them to the still somnolent dragon, who swallowed them without waking. Having finished feeding the Black Dragon she turned to offer some of the fish to her other guest, but it was gone. *

Leander had watched as the swamp dragon named Squig (what a strange name) had returned with wood and food. Leander was starving, so as Squig attended to the wounded black she built up the fire, and pinning the large fish fillets between some greener still springy wood began to grill it over the fire, adding some seasoning from her small packet of spices and salt. Soon the fish was grilling nicely and filled the cave with a delicious smell.

Squig blinked as she saw what the human girl was doing with the fish, she was burning it over the fire! She gave a dismayed hiss to see perfectly good fish destroyed in such a manner, and surely the girl could not eat that much. What a selfish creature she was. But it did smell good, and Squig began to salivate. The girl looked up with a smile, and said,

"Don't worry, I'm hungry too, the fish will soon be ready. I've seasoned it lightly so it will taste much better that way." Leander said.

Squig replied, "I've never had burned fish before. Is it good that way?"

Leander seemed surprised, "Well, it's certainly better than if it was raw, yuck! Don't you cook your food?"

Squig gave a hiss of amusement, "Good Gods no! No self respecting Dragon would ruin food by burning it! There is nothing better than a fat juicy raw fish or meat, its lovely the way it slides down ones throat."

Eeeew, thought Leander. "Well, I guess dragons are different, raw meat or fish would make a human ill. But I hope you'll like it cooked, I didn't mean to ruin your share."

Well, thought Squig, it does smell good. She would reserve judgment until she tried some. She settled down and watched in interest as Leander kept cooking the fish and added some powders from time to time that made it smell even better.

And someone else noticed the smell of roasting fish. With a grunt I blearily opened one of my eyes. Gods I felt horrible, and why does my mouth taste like fish? And I could smell fish cooking as well, it smelled delicious. Fish is not my favorite, but raw or prepared right it could be quite good. I preferred it raw in my dragon form, but cooked in my more human. I tried to more, and gave a squeal of pain as my shoulder shifted. Looking down I saw; and smelled, the bandage on my wound and remembered. The fight, the girl, the arrow in my side. Then I looked up as suddenly a green dragon was looming over me, and weakly snarled. Damn it, I was in no condition for a fight!

Squig and Leander looked up as they heard the Black Dragon moan and then squeal a few seconds later as he tried to rise. Squig got up and moved quickly to his side to make sure he didn't try to move around too much. He was healing nicely, but too much movement could open the wound, especially if he tried his wings. Gently she held him down, and he weakly snarled at her but was too weak to do anything else. She hissed, and said,

"Don't worry brother, I mean you no harm. I am called Squig, and you are in my domain and under my care and protection. Your human friend brought me to you, and a good thing too or you would have died. But the bolt is out and you are healing nicely. Now rest and I will bring you more food."

I just stared in shocked amazement, most dragons wouldn't even lower themselves to speak to a "vile spawn" like me, which is what they called me when they were being nice. I raised my head and watched as she left the cave. Then I heard a voice say,

*"Well my gallant rescuer, how are you feeling?" *

*I turned my head and found the human woman I had saved looking at me with a relieved smile on her face. *

"I feel horrible, but I live, thanks to you if I understand correctly. My thanks lady."

"Actually, Leander said, you owe it more to Squig then me, not I. I merely brought the swamp dragon here after she found me wandering around."

"She's pretty" I replied. I could still smell her scent. It was nice and musky.

"She? Said Leander, I didn't know. I mean, how can you tell?"

I gave a chuckle, and then grimaced from the pain in my shoulder. "Believe me lady when I say dragons have no trouble telling the sexes apart. I think she is a forest dragoness, but is certainly rather small though she is an adult. A very pretty adult."

Leander grinned, "I guess that means you're a boy, and you like her."

I gave a soft snort, "Well of course I'm a boy, and she is, well, lovely."

Leander said, "I think she likes you too, she has been very attentive and made sure you had plenty to eat."

*"Did she now? I replied, I don't remember being fed, but I can taste the fish. Why has she been so kind to us? Normally a dragon would have slain us both for trespassing in her territory. Did you promise a reward? I must warn you, if you cannot pay she will be less gentle." *

Leander replied, "I assure you I have no idea, she has been helpful and gracious from the start. I really don't know much about dragons I'm afraid. You and she are the first ones I've met. And thank you again for saving me from those horrible robbers. Gods know what they would have done to me."

"Lady, I am sorry I could not save your companions. But please, what is your name? Mine is Drack."

Leander smiled, and said, "Well met Drack, a good name for a dragon I would think. I am Leander Tuttle."

*I hissed softly, and said, "I am please to make your acquaintance Lady Tuttle, but my name is almost a form of jest as I am not, actually, a dragon." *

Leander blushed, and replied "Please don't embarrass me, I am no lady, just call me Leander. But what do you mean you're not a dragon? Surely you can't be serious."

"Yes, I am serious. I said. I am not a true dragon. My appearance is the same, but my size is the main difference. Plus I also have other forms depending how human I wish to appear, but I can never be entirely human. I'm what they call a Hugon or Dragoman. You see, I'm a darkling half-breed, a human/dragon hybrid. My father was human, my mother a Black Dragoness. I was hatched in the breeding pits of the horde, and was meant to serve those vile masters and mistresses as a slave soldier. But with the help of my mother I, and a sibling from the same clutch, managed to escape. My sister and I volunteered to fight in the Duke's Army when we were old enough, and she was killed several years ago. In the eyes of most I am an abomination."

"By the Gods, Leander said, that's horrible. But you're not evil, I can tell. No evil being would have risked their own life to save a stranger. But I do not care what you are, if you will accept my friendship I give it gladly. And as far as abominations go you're never met my cousin Huey."

I gave a pleased and amused hiss, I have few friends, but each one is precious to me. And those friends were all veteran soldiers whose friendship I had earned in camp and on campaign. I was flattered such a pretty young woman would want to be my friend; most would just spit on me. With a soft hiss I said,

"Thank you lady, I will treasure your friendship and trust. I am truly rich now."

*Leander blushed; he was so eloquent, like a gentleman. No one except her uncle had ever called her a lady before. *

"Please, she said, just call me Leander. I make no pretensions, I am certainly not a lady."

Squig had paused outside the cave in a the now pouring rain, and had heard part of Leander's and the Black Dragons conversation. So he was a darkling? Well that certainly explained his size, by dragon standards, with the exception of Knuckers, he was a runt. But he had been honest in telling the girl his secret which was a good sign. She had never met a darkling, but had heard about them. She would let him remain until he was healed, then he would have to leave her domain or she would drive him out. She did not want to get a name for consorting with darklings. She entered the cave.

Leander and I looked up as our hostess entered the cave; she had several large fish grasped in her mouth and claws. She didn't say anything, but started cleaning and boning the fish with deft skill. I spoke up and said,

"Leander has told me what you did for me lady, I am grateful."

Squig replied, "I am not a lady, my name is Squig. You were helpless; I would have done what I did for any intelligent creature. As soon as you are well you will leave. I do not intend to share my domain with such as you."

*She knows, I thought. I would have told her, but she must have guessed from my size. Well fair enough, she had done way more then she had to, so as soon as I was able I would leave her domain. I was used to others not wanting me around due to the stigma of my unnatural origins. But it still hurt. *

*Leander was shocked, the lady dragon had been so gracious before, but now was suddenly almost rude to her wounded visitor. Even she could see the hurt on Dracks face. *

Squig fed Drack some more raw fish, then accepted her share of cooked fish from Leander, and it was quite good actually. But they all ate in an awkward silence. As soon as Drack was through he fell asleep again, and his breathing was healthy and mostly pain free. Squig had mixed feelings though, had she known what he was from the start she honestly didn't know what she would have done. She liked to think she wouldn't have just let him die though, she was not that callous. But a darkling? She had heard nothing but bad about them, and the Dragomans were supposed to be the worst. They were creatures with the bodies of small dragons, but none of their virtues, soldiers of the dark. Evil incarnate. No, he left as soon as possible. After the meal was over Squig got up and went outside.

*Squig sat down on a boulder and looked out into the rain. She was upset one of her visitors had turned out to be something other then what he appeared. Unlike most dragons Knuckers tended to live in small bands or extended families called clans, while their larger brethren tended to be loners unless it was mating season. Because of their small (by drake standards) size there was safely in numbers. Even a full grown dragon would hesitate to tangle with a half dozen or more Knuckers. But she was the only one of her kind in this swamp, and was often lonely. The company of another dragon, even a Black Dragon, would have been nice. But he wasn't a dragon, not really. The human girl Leander was nice though, but she knew the human would leave soon enough. And she would be alone again. Now more than just rain ran down her muzzle. She had been alone for so long, and knew the loneliness would return with a vengeance when her unexpected company left. *

Leander stood in the mouth of the cave and looked at the small green dragon as she sat in the rain. She was hunched over and seemed so sad. She didn't know what she could do though, and didn't wish to venture out in the freezing rain as she had no lanolin soaked cloak. With a sad sigh she returned to the warmth of the fire. She could see Dracks eyes reflecting the flickering flames, and it was an eerie sight.

"What's she doing" asked Drack.

"Just sitting in the rain, she seems so sad." Leander replied.

*"I don't know much about Knuckers, I replied, most other dragons seem to consider them a kind of underclass or something. Not that I should talk. I'm surprised she's alone though, they usually run in packs. It's dangerous to mess with them as they'll mob you as they stick together. I don't blame her for wanting me to leave though." *

"It's not right, Leander said, you're not evil. You can't help who your parents were. It must have been horrible."

"Yes and no. I replied. I never knew my father; he probably never even met my mother. She was forcefully impregnated by dark magic. Somehow they made it possible for human sperm to fertilize a dragoness's eggs. She laid ten eggs and I and my siblings were the result. But she loved us like we were normal hatchlings. I didn't even know I wasn't a true dragon until the trainers forced me to assume my more human form. It was a shock. But mother was always there for us. I had hoped one day to return to the breeding pits and free her, but I have no idea if she even still lives. Life in the pits was brutal though for the slave soldiers bred there. They controlled us through brutality and fear. My mother wasn't the only dragoness to be forcefully bred, and there were animals of every kind that they also bred with humans. Their offspring are what you call darklings. Most are no more evil then you until they have been broken and trained, and given the final brand of binding that make them mindlessly obedient slaves. I have the brand of my owner on my own flank, but escaped before I was old enough for the second brand. So far as I know I; and my sister, were the only Dragomans to ever escape. The dark warlocks even put a price on our heads as they do not like their "pets" to roam free. More than once bounty hunters have tried to claim that reward. So far they have failed."

*I had been looking in the fire as I spoke, and did not notice at first that Leander had tears running down her face. It touched me when I saw them though as I knew they were for me, and no one had ever cried for me before except maybe my mother. At the thought of my mother I felt tears sliding down my own face, I missed her so much. The only time I had ever felt happy and accepted was in her presence, she had not cared what I was as she had only seen a child she loved, and I missed my siblings as we had also loved one another. *

*Squig listened silently, not really meaning to eavesdrop. She had meant to go back into the cave as the cold weather was getting unpleasant, but when she heard her visitors talking she had paused to listen without really thinking. As she head the darkling tell his story to Leander she had regretted her previous rudeness. He had no choice in what he was, and from what she had heard it was remarkable he wasn't some twisted evil thing. She turned, and walking to the edge of the ledge she took flight and flew and glided the short distance to her lair. She squeezed through the narrow entrance and snuggled down in her nest of soft moss and lichen and stared into the dark a long time before falling asleep. *

Leander woke up with a groan, sleeping on the ground was giving her all sorts of aches and pains. At least she was fairly warm, but it helped after she built up the fire again. She was surprised to find Drack up and limping painfully around the chamber. He still couldn't completely fold his wing and favored that front leg, but she was still amazed. When she voiced her concerns, he said,

"One of the advantages of my drake blood, I heal fast. Another couple of days and I should be able to fly again. Then I can leave and Squig will be happy. I don't want to wear out my welcome, she's already done much more then she had to. She is a good person. She's living proof that dragons can show compassion if they feel like it, they're not all insensitive brutes like the legends say. Of course Knuckers are a little different; they don't even have much in the way of hoards."

"Hoards? Leander said, do you mean gold and treasure?"

"Yes, I replied, the older and more experienced the drake the greater their hoard. I myself am fascinated by gold and other valuables, but since I don't have a lair I don't have a hoard. Most drakes get their treasure from defeating other drakes in combat, or stealing from humans, or being paid for their services. Since Knuckers rarely challenge another dragon due to their size, and pretty much leave humans alone, they tend to have small hoards, if any. Which is smart as the bigger drakes pretty much leave them alone as it's not worth the effort to challenge them for such small; or nonexistent, hoards. Frankly I don't know why we like baubles so much; we just pile the stuff up in caves and hardly ever spend any. We do love the stuff though. I can sit and play with a pile of coins for hours, and don't get me started on jewelry and gems. It's like an addiction, we can never get enough."

"Well, said Leander, I'm glad I don't have any treasure."

"Yes you do, I replied with a smile, I can smell it. All drakes can, we can sense the precious metals and gems."

"I'd hardly call it a treasure, Leander smiled, two small gold pieces, a few silver, and some coppers."

"Well, it's enough to attract drakes, I replied. A word of advice, if you're ever approached by a drake; present company excluded, just give them all your gold and silver and chances are they'll let you go. That's usually what they want; human meat is not one of their preferred foods. Try and hold out, and well, it wouldn't be pretty. They'd get the treasure anyway, and a meal."

*"Uh, thanks a lot for the advice." Leander replied with a shudder. *

"Not at all, but I doubt you'll ever meet another drake. They're rare in this area of the Kingdom, too damn cold in the winter. We're warm blooded, but prefer warmer climes. I was surprised to see a Knucker here; this is not their native territory. They prefer the warmer climate down south in the great swamp or jungle, or in other wetlands and waterways. I wonder how she ended up so far from home?"

*Squig woke up, and with a yawn full of nasty fangs looked around. Oh, right, she was back in her lair. After all the unusual activity she had really slept a long time. Time to get some dinner for her guests; if she was hungry they would be too. How often did humans eat anyway? She had no idea. As she dove into one of her favorite ponds to hunt she thought about her life so far as she knifed through the water with powerful strokes of her tail. *

Her clan had been small, but she didn't really remember much as she had still been little more than a hatchling when she'd been taken. She remembered a big fight of some kind with lots of loud scary noises, confusion, and finally some lizard folk had thrown a net over her and fished her from the water. They in turn sold her to a traveling circus and she had spent five years on the road living in a cage. They hadn't treated her too badly, there was plenty of food and the cage was large and clean, but she had hated it. The circus had been passing through the woods near her swamp one summer on their way from one town to another when they were attacked by brigands. The horses pulling the wagon with her cage had panicked and the wagon had overturned and the cage was damaged enough that she was able to escape. She had run and run without stopping until she reached the swamp, and plunging in had quickly found a good hiding place. When there had been no sign of pursuit she had ventured out and explored her new home. It was different, but still a swamp, so she made it her domain, which wasn't hard as there were no other Knuckers around. The down side was she was so lonely. Unlike her larger brethren Knuckers were sociable creatures. That had been over fifteen years ago. She had thought of leaving more than once, but no idea which way to go or how far, so she had stayed. There was plenty of food, and unlike her original home the only competition she had were the water slurgs, but only a few grew big enough to be a threat and they stayed in the heart of the swamp. She quickly caught some more lovely catfish, and with a powerful sweep of her tail broached, and with strong flaps of her wings took off for the cave.

*I was feeling much better today. It's been almost a week now since I woke up in the cave, and under the attentive care of Squig and Leander I was healing rapidly. I was getting kind of tired of fish, but since Leander was cooking most of my share now that helped a little bit. I like raw meat well enough, but raw fish was not my favorite. Even though drakes basically just swallow large chunks as we can't chew we can still taste just fine. We like to hold choice morsels in our mouths and just suck on them. I like to suck the blood out of a nice juicy chunk before swallowing it, delightful. *

*Squig knew the darkling would be ready to leave soon, and found she had mixed emotions about it. The darkling looked; and smelled, exactly like any other drake except for his size. He hadn't taken on any of his other forms as he would heal faster in his dragon form, and shifting could tear open the wound again. But she had found herself liking him despite his horrible origin; he was polite, intelligent, and fun to talk to. Plus he was so very male, and she had never been around other drakes before other than her dimly remembered clan. His scent had awoken feelings she'd never had before, or kept suppressed. She was fully mature and had gone into heat more than once, but thankfully wasn't in that condition right now. But Knuckers; unlike most drakes, are sexually active even when not in season because they live in groups. They enjoyed sex for pleasure only instead of just making eggs. Other drakes tended to think they were a bunch of sex fiends, but then they didn't know what they were missing. The other drakes only did that after they had mated for life. But she had no experience in that and was a virgin. So she was confused and a little alarmed by her feelings. Maybe it would be good if he just left, but part of her didn't want him to. *

Perhaps it was because of her tangled emotions that she wasn't as cautious as usual as she fished. The giant slurg; a distant relative of the minute water hydras, had lain in wait buried in the silt at the bottom of the pool. The drake was not its usual prey, but the slurg was hungry and a larger the average meal would be welcome. As it detected movement in the water it extended its tentacles with lightening speed, the paralyzing toxin injected by the tiny darts on their surfaces capable of penetrating even the tough hides or scales of fish, amphibians, or drakes. Soon it had its tentacles wrapped around its weakly struggling prey, and extending its throat began to swallow its meal. The slurg had no bones or rigid body structures, but it's deceptively soft looking body was composed of powerful muscles and was incredibly tough. The prey's fangs and talons were of little use.

*Squig knew what was happening the second the floor of the pool exploded in a cloud of silt, and desperately she headed for the surface and almost made it, but the slurg was too quick and she shrieked as she felt its tentacles wrap around her hind legs and tail, and almost instantly they started to go numb from the creatures poison. She was shocked such a large slurg was so far their usual haunts, but still should have been more careful. Normally she had nothing to fear from slurgs, but this one was huge. Now she would pay the price for her carelessness. Turning she tried to bite and tear at the tentacles holding her as the surface of the pool churned from her struggles. It was like biting thick mud, no matter how much she tore at the thing it showed no sign of weakening or pain, and now more tentacles were wrapping around her body. She gave a final hissing shriek of terror as it pulled her under the surface. As it dragged her deeper she could see its large soft mouth open and the tube of its throat push out and bloom like a horrible flower. And she knew she would soon be in that gaping maw, and once that happened she was doomed. She gave a final bubbling shriek as the soft throat muscles wrapped around her and pulled her inside and soon she slid into the slurgs stomach, the powerful muscles pushing her into a fetal position and she was too paralyzed to struggle anymore. She could feel the slurg burrowing back into the soft silt to bury itself while it digested its meal. She had never known such terror before, such despair, the horror of being digested alive. *

*The slurg was giant mollusk, a fresh water predator similar to a hydra and/or slug. Its body was entirely soft; it had no shell for protection. Most never grew beyond a few feet in size, but this monster was over one hundred years old and almost twenty feet in length. Their strategy for hunting was to bury themselves in the bottom of a pool or river and basically grab anything that came swimming by. They were opportunist hunters, and would eat anything; including other slurgs, that they could get their tentacles around. They had eight exterior tentacles to hold and paralyze prey, and four interior tentacles or "tongues" they used to drag prey into their extended throats and down into the stomach. Their soft bodies were opaque and once swallowed the prey could be clearly seen inside the slurg, and it often took them a very long time to die as they were slowly digested. It was a truly horrible way to die. *

Leander, who had been gathering what dry wood she could find in the wet drizzle suddenly stopped as she heard a loud bellowing roar from somewhere in the swamp. She could tell it was Squig, and then came another roar that was more of a pain filled screech, and she knew something was horribly wrong.

I was dozing again when Leander suddenly ran into the cave and yelled,

"Drack, I think something's wrong with Squig! She's roaring and screaming, it sounds horrible!"

With a snort and hiss I ran out of the cave and paused to listen, and heard a shriek that tapered off into a squeal of pain. She's fighting something, but what? With a roar I ran off the edge of the ledge and flew in the direction the sound had come from as fast as I could, favoring my still sore wing. I roared again to let her know help was on the way, and to ask here where she was, but there was no answer. I was scared now, I hadn't realized how much I'd come to like the friendly dragoness, and if she had been harmed it would tear at my heart.

Leander picked way down the side of the hill as quickly as she could, and started in the direction the dragon had taken. She didn't know if she could be of any help, but would try. She stayed on the higher ground as much as possible and avoided open areas, she was deathly afraid of quicksand.

*I dipped and swooped around; and under the branches of, the huge old trees draped with moss, and roared again, but still no answer. Where are you? I thought in anguish. If it wasn't for the muddy churned water in a large pool I would have passed right over and missed the horror of what was happening. It was clearing now, and I saw something large and strange looking digging in the silt at the bottom of the pool, and curled up inside its almost clear body I saw something darker. I made another pass at a lower altitude and was horrified to see it was Squig! She was inside the things body, it had eaten her! "NO!" I shrieked, thinking at first she was dead, but then she moved and I could see her eyes staring at me terror as the thing kept digging deeper into the bottom of the pool, taking her with it, soon they would disappear from sight. *

*Squig tried to struggle, but the strong muscles of the slurg's stomach easily kept her partially paralyzed body almost motionless. She looked up through the clearing water at the sky and thought how much she'd like to be able to fly one more time. She felt the slurg's body move again as it kept digging, but then she saw a dark shadow pass overhead, and then return. Seconds later there was a huge splash and she saw Dracks dive into the pool and start to tear at the skin of the slurg and felt hope. She could see his fangs and talons flashing as they tore at the tough rubbery flesh. *

I didn't much care for water, but plunged into the pool which was deeper then it looked. My momentum took me to the bottom and I latched on to the creature that had swallowed Squig and started to tear at it with my natural weapons as they were all I had. I'd left my sword and dagger; along with my other worldly possessions, back at the last town I'd been evicted from. It looked soft, buts it flesh was tough, like rubbery chitin or horn. At first all I did was claw at it, but finally started to tear away chunks.

*The slurg didn't have much of a mind, but eventually it responded to the source of its sudden pain. It had been digging into the mud with its tentacles, but slowly began to back out of its burrow, but it was slow as it was swollen and clumsy from its meal. *

*This damn thing is bigger than I thought, I must have torn away at least a foot of its disgusting rubbery flesh, but had yet to reach Squig, but I could see her right in front of me, just inches away. Luckily I could hold my breath for a very long time, which is useful at high altitudes where the air is thin, so I was able to continue my vicious attack. I had torn a pretty big rip in the things side now; and suddenly felt my claws touch scales! It was moving back out of the hole it had been digging, and I saw a tentacle reaching back toward me, so turning I moved under it and bit it off at its base with a snap and tug of my razor sharp fangs. *

At the loss of of a tentacle the slurg had enough, and in order to escape faster it regurgitated its meal in a cloud of digestive fluids, then turned and jetted away through the water like a squid. It wasn't smart, but it knew when it was losing a fight. It wasn't mortally injured, and would grow its tentacle back, but it was hurt. It was quite upset at having to give up its lovely dinner to the unknown attacker though.

When the thing convulsed it threw me off, but I immediately returned to the attack. I would die trying to say Squig; but to my great relief that turned out not to be necessary because she was drifting in the water, free from the things stomach. I grabbed her and towed her to the surface, and then to the shore, where we both lay gasping for breath. I could tell she was hurt though, and couldn't seem to move very much. I cleaned off as much of the goo that coated her as best I could using clean mud & sand, and was as gentle as I could be. I was really worried because she was so unresponsive, but then she looked at me with those brilliant sapphire eyes, and said,

"Thank you." And then she closed them again.

"Squig? I hissed softly, and gently nuzzled her. "Where's your lair, we need to get you out of the cold."

She didn't open her eyes, but said in a fading voice, "At the base of the largest tree."

I knew where she meant, so half carrying/half dragging her I moved through the swamp toward the tree which I could see from where we were. In this case the slippery mud and plants helped. About the time I reached the tree Leander found us, and we quickly found the entrance between two large roots, and I dragged her into the small opening after me. The inside was larger than I expected with the trunk of the tree as its roof, it was nice and dry, and there was a nest lined with soft moss and other plants. I pulled her into the nest, then lying down next to her I wrapped my body around hers and covered us with a wing to give her as much warmth as I could. I gently licked her snout for awhile, concerned that she wasn't responding, but she was breathing easier so eventually; exhausted from my battle and the strain to my wound which had started to bleed a little, I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until the next day.

*Leander was relieved to see Drack and Squig as she neared a huge old tree, but it was obvious Squig was hurt, and Drack was bleeding again. They'd obviously tangled with something, but appeared to have won. She helped; as best she could, to drag Squig to the entrance to her lair. It was obvious there was room only for the two drakes, so after a short talk with Drack they decided it would be best for her to return to the hill for now. At least there she would be safe from the dangers of the swamp. She'd return on the morrow with any food she was able to find. *

Squig drifted in and out of awareness; never quite waking up, for quite some time. The slurg's poison would wear off eventually, but in addition to paralyses it also induced mild disorientation and hallucinations. But finally she woke up and realized she was safe and warm, and she could feel warm breath against her snout. Opening her eyes she realized she was in her burrow and Drack was wrapped around her holding her. He was breathing heavily, and she saw fresh blood trickling down from under his arm, and she licked his wound which had opened a little and used her power to stop the bleeding. She remembered the sight of his snarling jaws as he had torn at the slurg and battled it to save her from a horrible slow death. He had been magnificent. She turned to his head and gently licked his snout, her eyes half closed. He had risked his own life, while still injured, to save her. By all reckoning she should have died in the slurg's belly, and would have if not for this brave darkling whom she had been ready to drive from her domain. She kept licking him and realized that she wanted him to stay now, more then she'd ever wanted anything in her life. Finally she gave him a final lick, and putting her head on his neck fell into an deep sleep of her own comforted by his warm strong presence.

I woke with a soft snort. My wound felt much better and the bleeding had stopped. Squig was curled as close to me as she could get, and I sniffed at her enjoying her lovely female scent, then gently licked her muzzle. She stirred a little, but didn't wake up. I could tell she was doing much better and was in no danger and felt an amazingly strong relief which surprised me. This was the closest I'd ever been to a female before, drake or human. The fact we were both "naked" didn't bother us at all, drake's concepts of modesty are quite different from human. Even among humans I only wear clothes to be polite, and keep from getting stoned to death. But she was beautiful, her scales were a lovely almost iridescent green color and she was sleek and shapely, the most perfect dragoness I had ever seen. And while humans might have trouble telling a drakes sex as we have no external genitalia we certainly have no such problem. I sniffed her some more, and closing my eyes I licked her again, and this time she woke and licked me back, slowly and tenderly. I gave a soft hiss of pleasure, it felt wonderful.

"I'm sorry, I said, I didn't mean to wake you. How are you feeling? You smell better, uh, um, I mean you look better."

He's embarrassed, she realized, how sweet. "I'm fine thanks to you my brave hero, but how are you? You were bleeding again."

*Hero? I thought, and would have blushed if I could. "I'm just fine." I replied, and carefully opened and folded my wing. It twinged a little, but otherwise felt good. *

*I nuzzled her snout, and said, "I'm glad I was in time. I was so scared, I didn't, didn't want anything to happen to you. I, I didn't want to lose you." *

*And I licked her on her neck, her long beautiful neck, and hissed in affection. I no longer had any doubts, and I now understood the strange feelings I'd been having ever since I saw her beautiful sapphire eyes for the first time, I was very much in love with her. It was a strange sensation, wonderful and frightening at the same time. And I was so very worried that she might not return my affection. *

Squig hissed her own pleasure as he nuzzled and licked her, he was so gentle and so very male, and he had fought for her, had saved her life. And he had been scared and worried about her; no one had ever shown such concern for her before. She had no friends and had been resigned to a life of exile, but now she had hopes that might change. She felt a genuine affection for this dragon, and it no longer bothered her he was a darkling. He seemed very much a drake to her, and his actions had been those of a drake, a drake defending his, mate? She sucked in her breath sharply and dared to hope. Did he like her enough for that, did he feel the same love she felt for him? Yes, she realized, she did love him. He was everything she could have hoped; and dreamed, for in a mate. If only he felt the same about her.

I licked her neck again, shyly and tentatively, hopefully. And she responded by licking my own neck and rubbing her snout against it, and my spirits soared. She likes me! With a deeper hiss I licked her snout and neck some more, rubbing my head and neck against hers and it felt so good, felt so wonderful. The feel of her scales against mine was lovely, she was so smooth and muscular, so, so, perfect. We clacked our horns together, and I ran my tail across hers and we both hissed at the sensuous feeling, and I gently nipped at her neck and her scent was changing, as was my own. I wrapped my neck around hers and nibbled at the base of her head, gently biting her, letting her know I wanted her.

Normally Squig and I wouldn't have had much sexual interest in one another unless she was in estrus, but she wasn't. But she was a Knucker, and they have different sexual practices then most drakes, and I was part human with some of a male human's constant interest in sex. So we were perfect of one another.

I was a virgin, having never mated with a dragoness or a woman, but I still knew what was happening. Her scent changed and became spicier as her musk became much stronger, and I responded with my own sexual musk. Squig had never been with a male, but she responded as would any dragoness to an acceptable mate who had made his intentions known. We began to rub harder against one another, our hisses getting deeper and louder, and she began to return my nips and bites as out attentions went lower. I found myself sniffing her cloaca to try and determine her state of arousal, and then licking it to taste the juices now leaking from it, and she growled and nipped at me. She in turn sniffed my male vent and licked at it as well and I moaned in pleasure. She was the most beautiful and desirable female I had even seen or smelled, and I wanted to make her mine for all time. As I licked her I felt; and saw, her cloaca bloom for me, spreading open to reveal the soft red lips inside, and the fresh intense blast of her pheromones almost drove me crazy with lust, and I felt my penis push out of my vent and become rampant and I whimpered from my need. She gave a soft snarl, and growling I pulled away from her and then circled her rubbing my body against hers, rubbing my snout against her back and gently clawing at her and she followed me with her head and nipped back at me. Then I stopped behind her and bending over nuzzled and rubbed the base of her tail, stroking it with my hands, hissing loudly as I drank in her scent.

Squig had never felt anything like this before, the things he was doing to her, she was doing to him, awakened needs and desires she'd never felt before. His powerful male musk was heady and she felt herself tingling wherever he brushed against her, loving the feel of his caresses as she caressed him back. As their scents continued to change she found herself attracted to his crotch, fascinated by his male vent, and when he started sniffing and licking her cloaca her whole body shuddered from the delicious touch, and she started to lick him in return and felt his own body shudder. She gave a little snarl as she opened for him and he gave a deep rumbling growling hiss and started circling her, and she swiveled her head to keep him sight hissing and snarling at him. His powerful body rubbing against her own, his scales brushing against hers with a rasping sound, his tail brushing and stroking her, was incredible, he was so magnificent, so desirable, so very, very, male. When he stopped behind her and started to stroke her tail she sucked in another lungful of his musk and felt weak with lust, she wanted him, needed him, so she presented herself to him, crouching and lashing her tail and lifting it to one side to let him know he was acceptable, not that she had ever had any doubts after he'd fought for her.

I gave a bellow as she lifted her tail for me, and I hooked my right leg over her right leg to pin her and help hold her tail out of the way, and pushed my other leg behind her left rear leg to help spread her for me. It took me a couple of tries, but finally I got the angle right and felt the head of penis push against, and then penetrate the hot wet lips of her cloaca and I had never felt such pleasure before, had never imagined anything could feel so good. I roared as I lunged into her until I hilted, then I rested my weight across her back and held her with my front legs, and when she tried to bite me I seized her neck at the base of her neck and bit down hard to pin her, snarling in pleasure as she shrieked and roared.

*Squig hissed in pleasure as she felt him mount her and spread her to allow himself easier access to her sex, and as she felt his hardness find her cloaca and push into her she roared in pain and pleasure, and with a snarl turned her head and tried to bite at him, but he was ready for her, and grabbing her neck he bit her hard and snarled to let her know she was his, and she submitted to his dominance and the incredible pleasure building inside of her as his hardness thrust deeply into her, pleasure that grew and grew until she was shrieking in ecstasy. And it went on and on, the pleasure peaking and becoming almost unbearable, and she opened her mouth as wide as she could and roared as a massive orgasm racked her body, and he roared his own pleasure through the fangs gripping her neck. *

I kept her pinned and didn't let her head go as I knew she would keep trying to bite me in her sexual frenzy, I knew this instinctively. Our intelligence had been totally submerged in our lust for one another, and we were nothing more than mating beasts and it was marvelous, it went far beyond mere physical pleasure. I thrust and thrust snarling and roaring through my fangs as I bit her, and when I finally reached the release I so desperately needed it triggered both of our orgasms and I clenched my eyes shut and shrieked and roared in agonizing ecstasy as my seed poured into my mate, my beautiful perfect mate who was all that mattered to me now in the entire world. I stayed in her a while longer to give time for all my seed to be absorbed into her womb, and as I started to go limp I pulled out of her, and with a loving hiss lay down next to her and started to tenderly lick the spot where I had bitten her on her neck, rubbing my snout and neck against hers and crooning and hissing my love. And she returned my attentions with her own loving caresses licking and nuzzling me.

Squig was happy, happier then she had ever been in her life. The feeling of her mate filling her with his seed had been wonderful, and he had kept his hardness in her for a little longer until their orgasms had died down, then pulling out he laid down next to her and gently and tenderly licked her and rubbed his snout and neck against her, hissing in pleasure. And she returned his loving touches with her own, perfectly content with her mate and wanting no other. And she knew the mating was for life, and her love for him made her glow inside, and her own love for him was complete and total.

Eventually they fell asleep, their necks wrapped around one another's, both happy and overjoyed to know they'd never be alone again. And they knew the pleasure they'd given one another was just the beginning.

*Leander had paused at the entrance to the lair when she heard the sounds coming from inside it. She was no drake, but she had no trouble recognizing passion when she heard it, and those could only be roars of lust and pleasure. She had managed to catch several large fish with her fishing line using pieces of offal from previous catches for bait, but knew better then to disturb the mating drakes. Turning around she headed back to the cave in the side of the hill. She would cook the fish and it would keep for awhile. After she cooked the fish she sat and looked out into the drizzling rain. She was glad for her friends, she felt they had both needed one another and would be very happy together, but at the same time she felt a hollow loneliness of her own. The penniless orphan of a farmer and cobbler had few opportunities to look forward too. At worst she would become some farmer's wife, or maybe be taken on as a maid in a rich or nobleman's house. Frankly she looked forward to neither. As the fire died down and it got colder she finally went to her bed roll, and found herself crying as she slowly fell asleep. *

** The End**

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