Ingot the Silver Dragon

  Our bodies met like the pieces of a puzzle. That’s poetic, right?

  Basil laid on my chest, jaw resting on my collarbone, and breathed deeply. I could see he was fading out. His deep, post-coital breaths slipped into the slow, even breathing of slumber. My exhalations caused his rear claw to tap the floor. I watched him, feeling that familiar warmth that hadn’t faded even two years in.

  My claw stroked down his neck and over his side. Half-consciously, he made a pleased sound and nuzzled into my neck.

  “I love you.” He mumbled.

  It brought a huge dopey grin to my face. So, in response, I gently scratched behind his ear. He turned his head to the side and rested it on my chest, mostly asleep.

  “Now say it back.”

  He murmured it quietly, but insistently.

  “I love you too, Basil.”

  Another pleased sound, and another wave of warmth in me. I let him doze for a while on my chest.

  We planned a date night with Velvet, celebrating one of his art pieces getting into a local gallery. Basil and I brought him lunch today, and he mentioned he was going to stop by “his room” after work. The school administration acknowledges declared mates and allows them to cohabitate, but only for two. This meant they forced Velvet to have his own room. He used it as his art studio.

  Basil and I had to clean up before our date since we had made a mess of each other in the past hour. A contented smile spread across my maw. It had been a while since Basil had gotten to do anything besides oral.

  Size difference, extra prep time, busy lives, etc. When we got to indulge, it was incredible. Like, all the songs of men and dragons could not contain it, incredible. And, despite the heightened hormones of the coming week, I felt this way about him normally.

  I’m not sure how I’d gotten so lucky.

  Memories came to mind as he peacefully napped. I watched them play like a projector on its grainy, magically illuminated screen.

  ***

  First year for culinary students is a sample platter of various religions’ hells.

  The so-called ‘filter classes’ at Silver Talon are especially brutal, and even the likes of Chrysanthemum and Leaf had to be on their A-game to not fail out. I think it was access to the wine cellars that ended up doing their attendance and motivation in. I was a mess. I was chopping celery, carrots, and onions in my sleep. At least, that is my explanation for why I woke up with my pillows wet sometimes.

  Given my size, I had to use most knives with just two of my talons and a thumb. Once I figured that out, it was all smooth sailing… I just had to figure out how to use everything else in the kitchen.

  I met Basil in a class for catering multi-species events. It was dry, and the professor’s own boredom manifested as a mean sort of snappiness and short temper.

  “Have you ever met a human before?” The little green dragon to my right whispered. This class was one of the rare ones where we actually used writing desks, so everyone sat up on their haunches, taking notes with their foreclaws. I glanced over at him. The professor’s droning had become a lullaby. I blinked at him stupidly as the question processed in my re-awakening mind.

  “I’m from Silver Talon Springs.” I said. “So, yeah. Lots.”

  His bright eyes stayed on me, and I looked back over at him, leaning over so he could whisper more quietly. I had obviously noticed how cute he was before then, but I never had mustered the courage to speak with him.

  “I’m from the swamps. A big port city named Petit Lac Bleu.”

  “I’ve heard of it. So, I suppose you’ve met a few too.”

  “I even dated one, for a bit.” My eyes went wide, involuntarily. As I realized I made a face at that, I went to mention I wasn’t one to judge, but he spoke before I did.

  “I know. It’s weird, and he got me in trouble with my folks big time.” He said wistfully, “It’s part of the reason I went to college so far away.”

  “I wasn’t judging or anything, I was just surprised.” I offered. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  If I was more confident, I would have used the hint he dropped with mentioning the human’s gender, but my social acumen is lacking at the best of times (drinking). So, stone-cold sober and groggy, I didn’t exactly put my best claw forward.

  “I’m gay too.” I tried to mention casually, but also at full volume. I realized my error and, with horror, looked at the professor.

  “That’s great, Ingot, but we’re discussing human diets right now.” he said, turning back to the diagram on the board.

  I shrank into my seat as much as my large frame allowed and flushed such a dark shade, it probably looked like I dipped my face in liver of sulfur. My loud overcorrection obviously trashed any chances I had with the cute emerald dragon next to me. I couldn’t bear to look at him.

  After class, I gathered my things as quickly as I could; looking only at my bags and desk. I felt a tail tip tap my shoulder, and looked up to see its owner: Basil.

  “A few friends and I are having a get together before the play tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go?”

  I smiled - panicked, excited, and shocked all at once. Once I nodded, he rose, then gave me a hug with his wings and ran off, leaving me love-struck by my desk.

  My big, clumsy ass had successfully stumbled into a date.

  ***

  Basil snored softly as I stroked between his wings.

  I chuckled softly at the memory. Needless to say, I was shocked to see a sorta-ex of mine as one of the performers while on a date. I did my best to hide behind Basil, but once the brass dragon noticed me, he just waved and smiled. I should go see how Sprocket is doing at some point, I thought. It’s been a second since we’ve chat.

  A sing-song voice called from the den as Velvet announced his arrival. “I’m hoOOoome”.

  I glanced at Basil; he grinned, wide awake.

  “We’re in here!” He called, without an ounce of drowsiness or sleep in his voice.

  For the life of me, I could never understand the amount of energy these two had.

  Basil tried to stand over me, but only succeeded in slightly raising his chest off of mine. I lifted him and placed him on the ground next to me, while rolling over myself. Basil was still a mess. For me, it was confined to my belly, so lying on my side hid most of it, but for Basil, he wore our previous hour plainly.

  Passing through the door, and already taking his uniform off, Velvet saw Basil, then looked at me and grinned.

  “I can’t believe this.” Velvet said, faux offended. “I’m off at work, feeding the good dragons of this school, and you two are back here participating in this… this lechery!”

  I cackled, but Basil played into it.

  “I’m so sorry, Velvet.” He sauntered up to the ruby dragon, and put his head under Velvet’s chin, pressing his back into Velvet’s chest. “Whatever could I do to make it up to you?”

  Velvet took him by the claw, made him stand on his hind legs, and twirl slowly. Even brash and shameless Basil blushed at being examined in such a state.

  “Oh, I can think of a thing or two.” He chuckled with performative menace. “I’m actually quite inspired by another artist’s work right now.”

  With this, he winked at me, kissed Basil, and walked over to kiss me as well. Velvet and Basil looked at one another silently, exchanging something non-verbal as they came to both sit in front of me. I cocked my head to the side.

  “So…” Velvet began.

  “We have a proposal for you.” Basil finished.

  ***

  To be completely honest, I had completely forgotten about the tradition of the “Mating Flight”.

  I'm not a history buff, but I knew the Mating Flight was traditionally about finding a safe place to hatch eggs. In the past, I assume that had more to do with the actual physical issues involved, like having easy access to prey and a protected place to keep the eggs safe and warm.

  More recently, the mating flights had a lot more to do with a vacation and “making” said eggs.

  Though we were not physically capable of this, and despite the previous sentence being entirely euphemistic, Basil and I had not partaken in the tradition once we declared ourselves mates. Our busy lives as students had kept us too busy, rather than deliberately eschewing tradition.

  We declared Velvet to be our mate over the summer, and since our lives had become a lot less hectic with classes becoming shifts in the kitchen, we finally had time to celebrate. I enjoyed the idea of having a mating flight with both of my mates.

  Basil and Velvet had invited me to their hometown. I gleefully accepted. We discussed going for a while, and our Mating Flight was a perfect excuse.

  ***

  My mates brought me to a squat, cozy inn near the sand landing pits outside the city. Petite Lac Bleu surrounded a large gulf, one large enough that parts of the city were mere shapes on the other side of the water. Dozens of marinas, piers, and docks stretched out over the sea.

  The short walk from the edge of town brought us to a square that was bustling with people. Dragons, humans, gryphons, and even elves and dwarves scurried about carrying boxes, conversations, or just busy looks on their faces.

  The city smelled of salt, seafood, dark roux, and coffee. Bay, thyme, and garlic accented every waft of mouthwatering cookery that blew our way. I was starving. It had only been a day’s flight, but that was a day’s flight, un-interrupted and over mostly unoccupied woodland. We’d arrived Sunday night, sore, tired, but in good spirits for our vacation.

  Velvet and I waited outside as Basil went to reserve our room. We decided it’d be better to just have one do it, rather than have three grown male dragons explain why they were sharing one nest. We’d learned our lesson from the school’s administration, and that was a quite progressive administration at that.

  “What do you think so far, love?” Velvet said, stepping to my side to lean against me as we sat.

  “It smells incredible here, and it’s so warm!” I put my wing over him, and he responded by nuzzling my shoulder.

  “You’ll get tired of the latter right quick, but I never stopped loving the smell.” He said.

  “Well, I get why you don’t visit.” I said. “Family shit is hard.”

  “Yeah. Your folks are plenty kind enough to make up for it.”

  “Neither I, nor Basil - “

  “Aye, momma, you tired of that big lout winging you?” A dragon neither of us realized was there slinked up from behind us, eyeing Velvet with his head level to his back.

  “Go lick your own egg hole, you lizard.” Velvet snapped back.

  “What the hell?” I said.

  “Oh, males.” He sounded annoyed, and grumbled something I couldn’t hear.

  “I heard that, snake.” Velvet shrugged my wing off and rose to his full height, slightly taller than the intruding dragon. The other dragon’s head shot up, angry. They stared one another down until I stood, dwarfing both of them.

  The other dragon’s eyes went wide, he gave a quick “pardon”, and ran.

  “I’ll crack your eggs in your stomach!” Velvet shouted. He showed every tooth and snorted as the pervert turned the block.

  “Gods, Velvet.” I said, putting a claw on his back. His face went from rage to horror.

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” He said, covering his maw.

  “It’s fine, but that was uh… some rough language.”

  “I grew up hearing those misogynistic insults all the time. I’m not like that, you know. I don’t use them anymore, but… I… they slipped out. Gods, I’m so…”

  His forehead met my chest. I pulled him into a hug.

  “I know, love. I know.”

  ***

  Once Velvet regained his composure, we entered the inn. He looked dazed for a moment, but by the time we crossed the bustling street he was back to smiling and looking around, eyes drinking in his colorful home town.

  Velvet and I stepped into the room Basil rented and grinned. It was cozy, and covered in dragon friendly blankets and pillows. The inn opted to have both a low bed, and a nest, per room. We’d obviously sleep in the nest, but based on Basil’s pose lying atop the bed, it was going to get plenty of use.

  He’d also poured two glasses of wine. Velvet didn’t drink. So, instead of a third glass, a teapot and cup sat on the nightstand.

  “Did they not have a rose, for you to hold in your mouth, love?” Velvet teased Basil.

  “Best I could do on short notice.”

  Velvet got over him and rolled him onto his back. I retrieved my glass of wine and sat back to watch their banter.

  “You can go ahead and put something in my mouth, though.” Basil said, salaciously.

  Velvet deflated a bit. “The dragonsbane hasn’t worn off on me yet.”

  “Why don’t we just chat to fill the time, then we can all do something together.” I said.

  “I like that plan.” Velvet replied, leaning down to give Basil a brief kiss before sitting next to me. Basil also joined, not trying to hide the bit of pink flesh showing after he and Velvet’s near miss. He also sat by me, and they both cuddled into my sides.

  “So,” I started. “Is this city just how you two left it?”

  “Looks like they’ve opened a few more gambling halls since we’ve been gone.” Basil said with a snort of disdain.

  “Not my thing.” I said.

  “It’s all pretty colors and tricks to take your money.” Velvet said. “The house always wins.”

  “Then why do people keep going over and over?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m sure there are some folks proper addicted to it, but sometimes it’s fun to just waste some money.”

  “Couldn’t be me.” Basil said.

  “I don’t like being tricked.” Velvet said. “Some of them games are just the house taking your money. A few have a skill component to it. Even fewer are ones that have a trick where you can win.”

  This got Basil and I’s attention. ”Oh?” I said.

  “A lot of card games are just confidence games.” Velvet said. “If you can figure out the other players, then you can get enough of an edge to actually make some money.”

  “How do you know all this?” Basil asked.

  “My cousin Ember and I may have made a little drinking money by figuring that out.” He grinned slyly, fully aware he was rapidly approaching gloating. I knew how smart he really was, though, and figured he’d earned at least some gloating time.

  “Alright, spill it.” I said.

  “The real trick to confidence games is knowing that everyone has a tell.” Velvet said.

  “A tell?” I asked.

  “A non-verbal tic that a person will do when they do another behavior, like lying.”

  “Oh, kinda like Basil’s claw thing?” I asked.

  “Yeah, exactly.” Velvet agreed.

  “What claw thing?” Basil said. “You don’t mean…”

  “No, not the fetish.” Velvet said. Then he looked at me. “How would you explain it?”

  I pulled Basil onto my lap, so he was belly up and could see his own rear claws. I grabbed one by the ankle and showed it to him.

  “When you are getting it just how you like it, you clench and unclench your rear claws.”

  “Oh?” Velvet said, scooting closer to us. “Do I know something you don’t, Ingot?”

  I looked at the grinning ruby dragon beside me.

  “He clenches his claws at the pace he wants it, not just the pace you’re giving.”

  “Is that so?” I said, low, in Basil’s ear.

  “I don’t know what y’all two are talking about.” Basil said, with adorable indignation.

  Still having a hold of Basil’s ankle, I pulled his leg back down and straightened his back, so his belly was exposed, and he was laying across my lap rather than curled in it. Basil gave a cutesy displeased cry. Velvet took the opportunity for a chin rest, and looked up at me from Basil’s belly.

  “Care for a demonstration?” Velvet asked.

  “I wouldn’t mind in the slightest.” I said.

  “Do I get a say in this?” Basil asked.

  “No.” I said.

  Velvet lifted his head, and I could see Basil’s cock peeking out. Velvet then drug the tip of his snout down Basil’s sternum, and to his belly, kissing before moving lower, and repeating. Basil squirmed, but I held him in place. I brought my maw to his ear and whispered.

  “Is this okay?”

  “Yes,” he gasped, “and I want you in charge.”

  I looked at Velvet, who nodded before continuing his slow trail downward.

  Given we had only recently started having group sex, I made a discovery about myself.

  “Velvet.” I said, slipping into an even and cool version of my voice.

  “Yes, sir?” He said, doing everything he could to stop the lecherous grin trying to split his face.

  “Give me a moment, please.” I said.

  I sat up a little further, positioning Basil against my chest like I was the back of a chair. Already having a hold of one of his ankles, I grabbed the other and spread his legs towards Velvet. No amount of acting could fake the longing look in his eye.

  “Velvet, be a dear, and suck Basil’s cock.”

  “Absolutely, sir.”

  My erection pressed into Basil’s back, and he twisted to rub against it. Velvet sauntered around to be directly in front of Basil, took his time getting comfortable and finding a seat, then compiled with my instruction.

  Basil moaned the moment he entered Velvet’s mouth, so I let go of an ankle and gently wrapped my talons around his snout. His foreclaws went to my wrist.

  We had established safewords and signals for if one’s maw was occupied. Velvet and I, in that case, knew to not bind or restrict the end of Basil’s tail. A specific shape he made with it meant stop. Velvet straddled the middle part of Basil’s tail, and Basil’s tail wrapped around Velvet’s. Oh, yeah. He’s totally comfortable right now. I thought.

  The muffled moans and gasps Basil made in my grasp drove me wild. The growing tension in his body told me everything I needed to know about how close he was. Recalling our conversation, I glanced at Basil’s claw. It clenched in time with Velvet’s bobbing. I then saw that Velvet had a claw on Basil’s thigh to feel the movement. Clever as always. I thought, admiring the Ruby Dragon.

  “Velvet, stop.”

  Velvet then dragged himself from his task and looked up at me.

  “Now, Basil.” I said, “I’m going to let go, and I want you to say one of two words. Maw, or face.”

  I let go of his maw. “I’m so close -”

  I grabbed his maw again and whispered.

  “Shh, now.” I glanced at his tail. Still good. “I said one of two words. Understand?”

  He nodded in the limited capacity available to him.

  “Good.” I said, again letting go of his snout.

  “Maw!” Basil gasped.

  “Good boy.” I whispered in Basil’s ear, then grabbed his maw once more.

  “Velvet, please swallow Basil’s cum.”

  “Yes, sir.” He said excitedly.

  The tension in Basil’s body turned into the familiar squirming I loved feeling so much. When he got close, he moved. Whether under me, over me, or like this, where I could hold him still and provide him with that thrilling bit of resistance that made bondage so fun. He started thrusting into Velvet’s maw, and after a few pumps, his body went rigid and he gave a long, muffled grunt.

  I watched Velvet swallow several times without letting Basil out of his mouth. Basil gave a little jerk at each. My pre drew slick lines below his wing shoulders.

  “Good job, Velvet.” I said. He replied with an earnest, contented smile. “Now, get on the bed. I want you on your chest and hind legs.”

  Velvet didn’t respond. He just rushed to comply.

  I brought my snout to Basil’s ear and whispered, not trying to hide my words from Velvet, but just for the tender effect.

  “That was fantastic, love. Now, relax and enjoy the show.”

  I sat him in the nest and retrieved oil from our tail bags. All the while, Velvet adorned the bed, rear happily in the air for me to admire. I applied some oil to myself, and then mounted the bed as well.

  Velvet turned his head and pressed his cheek into the sheets, looking up at me.

  “How are you with the dragonsbane?” I whispered.

  “I don’t need to be hard for you to top.” He said. “And later on, I can owe you one.”

  He winked, and I grinned down at him. Back to my in-charge voice.

  “Now, lay on your belly and lift your tail.” I said.

  He pushed his foreclaws into the bed as I put mine on his shoulders. I entered exceptionally slowly, as he hadn’t had time to stretch, and waited for him to tell me he was ready to go.

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  “I love this little bit here.” Velvet said.

  “Hm?”

  “You waiting for me to get used to you.”

  I had to shift my weight, and the movement made Velvet groan into the sheets.

  “Oh, sorry love.” I said.

  “I was just saying, it’s so intimate.”

  Carefully, as to not move my hips, I kissed around his neck and ear. His breath caught in his throat, and he pushed his head back into my machinations.

  “I’m ready, love.” He gasped under me.

  I started slowly anyway, drawing out all the wonderful sounds he made.

  “Can I have a pillow?” He said.

  “Do you need one?” I asked. “Cause I like hearing you.”

  He covered his face, blushing fiercely. He couldn’t hide it, though. The ruby scales of his face turned a beautiful scarlet.

  “No, I don’t.” He squeaked.

  Velvet was close. I heard it in his voice.

  Basil drove me wild with how he moved, but Velvet did the same with the sounds he made. I loved that total honesty of baring yourself to someone else’s judgment. Judgment of how you act during sex, or the sounds you make, or the weird things your body does. That core bit of unmaskable honesty with the both of them is what made our group sessions so incredible.

  I finished first, and wasted no time flipping Velvet over, and handling him how he had just handled Basil. All the while, I made sure I wasn’t just performing for Velvet. I felt a little thrill every time I glanced at Basil, and saw him rapt with our performance.

  ***

  I dragged Basil to the bed, and we all took a nap afterwards “human style”. It was a comfortable bed, and Basil had told me before that the bedding was a nice plus to dating a human, but sleeping splayed out like that too often would mess with our backs, so he ended up making a nest out of pillows and blankets on the man’s bed.

  Humans are actually completely fine sleeping in nests, but it hadn’t caught on because having an enormous bed is, apparently, a status thing. So much so that they even name their bed sizes after royalty. At least, that's what I’ve gathered from the human acquaintances I had growing up.

  Basil awoke first, and by his stretching woke Velvet and I. The shadows from the window showed that it had only been an hour or so. Basil stood and dismounted the bed.

  “I have to visit my folks.” Basil said. “I can’t even imagine how mad they’d get if they learned I was in town and didn’t see them.”

  “That’s fine.” Velvet said. “But it’s a big town. Do you really think you’d run into them?”

  “They’ve got spies in the trees” Basil said, crouching down and looking around like these ‘spies’ may jump from the shadows of our room.

  I chuckled at the antics, then stood to kiss him goodbye.

  “It should only be a few hours.” He assured us, giving Velvet a quick peck from the side of the bed as he left for the door.

  Once Velvet and I were alone, he curled up on my forelegs like a cat, looking up mischievously, as if daring me to comment. I didn’t take the bait. I simply used my snout to roll him onto his back and planted my chin on his chest.

  “Touche” he grinned.

  “Yeah, you’re not as cute of a cat as he is.” I teased.

  “Fair.” He put a claw on top of my head. “It’s ‘cause I’m sexy, not cute.”

  I laughed, feeling his own laugh through his belly, and after a few moments, he put both his claws behind my ears and gently scratched. I melted over him. When next I opened my eyes, he was gazing down at me. Seeing the warmth and appreciation in his eyes almost made my heart ache.

  “So,” I said, “Basil has told me about his family, but you’ve been quiet about yours. Do you mind if I ask?”

  “No, of course not. I just - I’m sure you can guess that I don’t have the best relationship with them. Actually, they ain’t really even part of my life no more.”

  “So I’ve gathered.” I said, encouragingly. Velvet had been so silent about his family that my knowledge of it bordered on being a weird thing to not know about one’s mate, but I preferred not to pry.

  “Basil and I grew up in totally different parts of town. I didn’t live in the dense, close part of town he did. We had a reasonably sized family home. It’s just: we usually had a few cousins, and the odd grandparent or two living with us.”

  He stretched out, getting into a more comfortable position on his back.

  “Someone was always yelling, or squabbling, or pissy about nothing, and making everyone aware of it. Then my eldest cousin got the mana rot, and suddenly everyone else had somewhere else to live.”

  “Oh, gods Velvet. I’m so sorry.” I said. “Was he fire affinity, like you?”

  “Yeah. He is. I moved out just as it got real bad. Just as he started getting visible burns on his limbs and chest. Doctors said that because he had a lot of mana in the first place, that the rot was going to progress quickly.”

  He grimaced at the ceiling. I moved a claw to rest on his chest, and he held it with his own before looking back down at me.

  “I really should go see him.” he said aloud.

  “Absolutely, love. Do you want me with you?

  “Of course, Ingot. It’s just… not that simple. I may have underplayed how poor the relationship with the rest of my family is.”

  ***

  Velvet flew ahead of me, leading us from the close - almost cozy - urban area of our inn to the extremely sparse neighborhoods of manors, plantations, and old family estates. Beyond this heavily manicured and wealthy part of town, we flew above more modest homes. They were still comfortably large, easily accommodating large families, but were nowhere near as decadent as the homes we had passed that would require full staffing.

  Velvet touched down into a run onto a cobblestone street ending in a cul-de-sac. He slowed to a stop and approached a dilapidated house, one where vines and dirt had started to reclaim it. It looked like the earth was trying to pull the house back into the swamp. Its front porch was sunk in, and the wood had partially disintegrated from being in constant contact with the wet ground. I would have assumed the house was abandoned, but Velvet paused, looked up at it, tsked, and stepped up to the porch.

  “You’re showing your face around here again?” A dark orange dragon emerged from the door. “I suppose you’re here to see Ember, huh.”

  “Yes, Maple.” He said, not making any effort to hide the exasperation in his voice. He stepped forward. “If - ”

  “He ain’t here.” She said, moving to block his way. Velvet rose, instinctively, to the challenge of this cousin blocking his way. “Who told you he’d be here?”

  “Nobody, I just ain’t seen him in a bit, figured I would.”

  “He’s at the Hospital. He’s got like, a week left.”

  Velvet’s voice rose immediately, and his tail thrashed furiously. “And none of you snakes thought to tell me?”

  “Snakes? That’s rich coming from you, hun. Ain’t you still sleeping with a mated dragon?”

  Wait, me? I thought.

  “You still sleeping with your cousin?” He snapped back.

  “Goddamnit, Velvet. You know that was an accident.”

  “Would knowing really have stopped you, though?” He asked, sarcasm dripping from a bared fang.

  “At least I ain’t the toy of an already mated dragon. That him right there?” She gestured at me.

  “Hey,” I barked, surprising even myself. “Velvet is my mate. So, you can keep that word out of your mouth.” I said.

  I stepped toward the orange imp, and put my shoulder forward, shielding Velvet. A shaky claw found my other shoulder, and I glanced at him. With me blocking the way, I saw the hurt come through on his face. In an instant, everything shifted to anger, and he emerged from beside me. I turned back to Maple.

  Even standing on the raised porch, she tilted her head up to meet my gaze. She was unfazed by a large dragon glaring daggers at her as another stalked angrily towards her. She took the gap in conversation to speak.

  “That’s the problem with your kind”, she made the human air quote gesture with her wing thumbs. “Most dragons fuck the same sex. Most dragons like having or being toys. It’s you lot, calling one another ‘mates’ that’s so fucking stupid. Even backwards uneducated peasants like me can tell the difference between a proper partner and a plaything.”

  Velvet had walked up to be snout to snout with her. She was beyond unbothered, and had an insolent, contemptuous look in her eye as she smiled in Velvet’s face.

  “Since you like human swears so much, fuck you Maple.” He turned and walked away with a snap of his tail in front of her face. She actually flinched at that one. “Don’t fall and choke on another one of your cousins’ dicks.”

  She tried to interrupt, but Velvet was already leaving, guiding me away with his wing.

  We walked up the cobblestone street, with Velvet keeping his back straight, and his gait even and confident. Seeing this, I walked with him just as composed. One of the cobblestones slipped under his claw, causing him to hiss. That hiss turned into a strangled cry, and he flicked his tail angrily against the ground. A hollow opened up in my heart, and everything in me just wanted to pick him up and whisk him away, but I knew his pride needed this, so I restrained myself.

  The second we were out of view, he slumped; so much so that I reached to catch him, thinking he was falling. He leaned into me and slowed to a stop, burying his face in my chest.

  “I didn’t mean to drag you into that. I am so sorry, Ingot.” He said.

  “You haven’t dragged me anywhere.” I put my wing around him. “I go proudly with you as my mate.”

  ***

  It left a hollow in me, seeing that. I hurt for him as he dragged tail and wing down the cobblestone streets. I kept him wrapped in my wing as we walked, and pulled him into my side. On the way, his posture improved, he folded his wings back up to his sides, and his steps stopped dragging.

  When we got back to the inn, Velvet ordered a beer. I tilted my head at him, and his response was a cheery, “we’re on vacation, hun.”

  After shrugging, I ordered one for myself and we sat at the dragon end of the bar. It didn’t have seating pillows like some, but there was some space to put our elbows up and sit comfortably.

  “I’m not mad no more. I’ll just go see Ember tomorrow.” He said. I put a claw on his back and toasted him. Our steins’ bottoms clacked against the bar top as Velvet and I tapped our mugs, tapped the bar top, and took a big swig. He smiled at me with a beer foam moustache, and I finally let out a chuckle. He seemed fine, so I didn’t figure there was any use in being a downer.

  “Maple was sweet as her name, at one point.” He said, wiping the foam away. “Her and Ember are half siblings. On their mom’s side. My aunt. We’d all play together even though he was a few years older than us.”

  He smiled at the empty air far beyond the bar, swishing around the bottom half of his drink.

  “They was some of the family who lived with us. Ember was like an older brother to me. Maple got real distant and mean once their mom kicked them out to ‘start a new nest’” he did the wing thumb, human air quote gesture as well. “With a new guy who was actually a good dragon, this time around.”

  “Gods, Velvet. That’s horrible.”

  “Yeah, she is.” He said. “Maybe one of the old gods does have a sense of humor, because he ran off with their egg less than a year later.”

  “Hopefully that whelp has a better life than with her.”

  “That ain’t a high bar to clear.” Velvet said with a chuckle.

  There was a pause - Velvet was watching memories play out on the ceiling.

  “I’m sorry, love, to bring it up - but you’ve not mentioned your parents once.”

  He looked at me seriously for a moment, and I feared I’d stepped into something truly painful for him.

  “Oh, yeah. Right. They don’t live around here anymore. Soon as I fled the nest, they packed up and moved to the golden coast,” he said with a casual shrug. For a moment, I thought this wasn’t a sore spot—until he added, “I don’t talk to them either, though.” My relief turned sour. Goddamnit. I thought. “‘cause I called them out on letting the whole extended family walk all over them. That, apparently, was a bridge too far. But, at least they took my advice and got out of town.”

  Damn, Velvet. I thought. Is there any part of your family that isn’t horrifying? I just wanted to wrap him in my wings and just tell him over and over that it’ll be okay.

  “Like I said earlier.” He continued. “Your folks welcoming me and Basil in is more than enough for me.”

  He put his head on my shoulder, cuddling into me. I saw the empty beer stein sitting on the bar. Mine was only about a quarter down.

  Basil arrived a short while later. He trudged in, staring at the ground. He beamed as he saw us. Velvet, to my inexplicable relief, hadn’t ordered another beer. I wasn’t sure why I felt that way. He rarely drank at all, but like he said, this was our mating flight. I asked Basil if he wanted something from the bar, and the poor exhausted thing just said.

  “Naw, I’ll just meet y’all upstairs.”

  We paid our tab and joined him, finding Basil paused and staring at one of my tail bags by the nest.

  “I didn’t mean to rush you two.” He said.

  “It’s fine, I think we were going for a one-and-done anyway, right?”

  I glanced at Velvet.

  “Oh, yeah, of course.” He said.

  I hadn’t coerced that response on accident, had I? Velvet looked back at Basil, but I watched him for a moment longer, hoping I hadn’t overstepped.

  Basil’s gaze remained fixed on my bag. His eyes shifted to me, and he finally spoke.

  “Y’all…” Basil said. “I’m sorry, but my folks made me promise to go to lunch with them tomorrow.”

  “Ahh.” I said. “Do you want that?”

  “Of course not.” Basil was looking at the ground now. “But they make it impossible to say no to them. It also means that I… er… we will have to pay.”

  “I’m sorry, dear. We're fine on coin.” I said. “I just hope it won’t be that long.”

  “And I know at least half of the conversation is going to be me saying ‘I am a college student, of course I can't give you a lone.’”

  I stroked down Basil's back until he calmed down, and in the quiet moment, I also glanced at Velvet. He smiled pleasantly at us, just listening to us talk. I was glad he didn’t seem upset or put off. Basil, who was still stealing glances at our luggage, finally spoke.

  “Ingot, can we - uh… can I wear the collar, please?”

  My eyes widened for a moment, as Basil hadn’t ever asked for this in front of Velvet before. Of course, Velvet knew, but it still made me almost giddy with how much trust had grown between the three of us.

  Basil enjoyed pretending to be a cat. He’d curl up in my lap, nuzzle against me, and even purr using his growling vocal cords. It helped him with stress, and according to how he’d explained it. The headspace of it let him distance himself from whatever he was dealing with.

  I was more than happy to oblige. It wasn’t a sex thing, for me or for him. It also didn’t have the feeling of roleplay either, it was just… nice. The only hangup I had was that when he put the collar on, he was totally nonverbal. I had to understand that his silence didn’t mean he was ignoring me or that he was stressed or upset. It was just a part of it.

  “While y’all get started on that,” Velvet said, that suave cheery note back in his voice. “I’ll pick us up some dinner from downstairs.”

  Basil gave a long sigh and said. “That sounds so good right now.”

  At the suggestion, my stomach grumbled, and I chuckled at its comedic timing. It prompted smiles; exhaustion, though, stifled our laughter.

  Velvet departed, then after a moment, Basil sat in front of me, and passed his collar over his shoulder.

  “Need anything before we start, dear?” I whispered into his ear. He shook his head no, so I gave him a peck on the cheek and put the collar around his neck. Before doing the buckle, I checked that two of my talons fit. Basil immediately turned around and bumped his head into my chest, purring.

  I lay back and pat my lap, making a “pstpstpst” sound to invite him onto me. He elegantly stepped up and curled into a ball. I stroked down his back, much further than I would for a dragon. In any other situation, stroking this far down his back would be an incredibly intimate gesture, but during this kind of play, it wasn’t erotic. It was just part of petting a cat. He smiled and closed his eyes; still purring adorably.

  It seemed Velvet had waited in the main part of the inn for our dinner, because it was almost thirty minutes later when he knocked at the door. I sat down the string that Basil had been batting at with his claws to let Velvet in. He stood on his hind legs and carried a tray whose smell immediately filled the room. It was a luscious, fully seasoned etouffee. On the tray, I saw a shared rice bowl, two glasses of wine, and a beer.

  I turned to Basil. “Do you want to continue this with dinner?”

  He shook his head no, so I walked over and took his collar off.

  “Thank you, Ingot. I needed that.” He whispered.

  “It’s never a problem, love.” I said.

  Velvet sat the tray on the edge of the bed, and gave Basil and I a kiss.

  “I figured I’d give y’all a moment.” he passed the three bowls to us. “Kinda figured since that’s y’all’s thing that I might accidentally distract y’all or something.”

  “No worries, Velvet, we do appreciate the privacy, though.” I replied.

  Dinner tasted better than it smelled, and Velvet showed his skill at pairing drinks to meals. The slightly sweet bright white wine he got us complimented the rich shrimpy etouffee perfectly. They fluffed the rice with a spicy seasoned butter that had just enough bite to tingle the tongue without overwhelming the palate.

  “Gods,” I said between bites, “did you guys pick this inn because of the food?”

  Basil and Velvet grinned at one another. Then Velvet spoke. “Nope, the food is just this good around here.”

  ***

  We saw Basil off to lunch and departed for the hospital immediately afterwards. Unfortunately, we had to leave Basil a few blocks before the restaurant because his parents had refused to even acknowledge he was a grown, mated dragon. I met his parents once; Velvet never had. Despite our insistence that we were mates, Basil’s mother pointedly referred to me as Basil’s friend, and his father seemed entirely uninterested in the visit.

  Velvet and I walked silently through the lunch crowd, dodging impatient creatures of all sorts, shouting their orders at cashiers who, regardless of species, had the wide-eyed and focused look of strong illicit stimulants. As we evaded the rapidly forming and clearing lines, I ended up behind Velvet and watched him walk. I was in a nice position to look at him, and I enjoyed that I still found his form so eye-catching.

  Next, I noticed how determined his gait was. It brought me back to the grim reality of our task today. I wondered if my carefree, admittedly horny thoughts were something breaking through the dragonsbane we had chewed this morning. Ideally, we’d not need to take any this week, and could sate our desires in the way we craved, but reality was never one to spare a vacation from its toils.

  We arrived at a large complex of flat, disconnected buildings. I looked around. The hospital had grown out of its scales multiple times. The inner buildings, one of which we saw on the other side of a courtyard, had the older dramatic architecture of the historical district of the city. The remaining buildings radiated out, demonstrating the history of various grants and expansions, with buildings looking newer and newer the closer to the edge of the property they were. It looked ramshackle, but in an expensive way.

  The extremely uninterested gryphon at the front desk directed us to one of the inner buildings, and we walked through the maze-like campus reading as many signs and directories as we could. We found the building we were looking for. The gryphon said it was room seven, building three. The sign said “Palliative Care”. I grimaced. I didn’t know medical terminology, but I knew what that word meant.

  “Velvet?” A voice called from my left. Looking over, I saw an older, elegant blue dragon stepping out of a doorway.

  “Aunt Celestite?” Velvet replied, stepping out from around me.

  I knew this name. Velvet had mentioned her. I couldn’t remember which aunt had done what, but I knew they had all been various degrees of horrible to him. My wings unfurled slightly, but Velvet put a claw on my shoulder, and I calmed down before I even realized I was reacting.

  “Who is this?” She asked. That question had a point to it. Something unfriendly I couldn’t quite put my talon on.

  “My mate, Ingot.” Velvet glanced at me and added. “Ingot, this is Celestite, my father’s sister.”

  “Ahh, well - I wouldn’t put it above you to have hired muscle around. What do you want?”

  I finally recognized the tone I heard in her voice. It was contempt.

  “I’m here to see Ember.” Velvet said.

  “Who told you he was here?” She asked.

  “Nobody.” Velvet growled. His flat, cool effect faltered, and a growl accented his reply. “But it sure would have been nice if someone had.”

  “You ever stop and think there was a reason we didn’t tell you?” She began looking down her snout at him. Her voice held no anger. She sounded annoyed, bored even.

  “No. Explain it to me.”

  She made a sound, like a whelp assigned a chore they found tedious.

  “You know why?”

  “Then why ask.” Velvet spat. Finally, all pretenses had fallen, and they were glaring at one another. “Cause as far as I’m aware, you just want to surround him with people he hates so he kicks it faster.”

  “You’ve always been a cruel son of a snake, Velvet.”

  “Shut up!” He shouted, raising some heads. “I just say what everyone else in the family thinks.” I glanced around and I saw an orderly approach. “I don’t hold my tongue like everyone else who puts up with you because you can hurt them. I don’t have anything left here, except for him!”

  The orderly was about halfway to us.

  “He’s my son.” She hissed. “I get a say in who gets to see him.”

  “You gave up that right when you left him with me. You wouldn’t have looked back for a single second if your ‘new family’ had worked out.”

  She took an aggressive step towards Velvet, raising a claw as if to slash at him, and I responded with a step of my own. She flinched, and the orderly finally arrived.

  “Y’all gotta go.” He said to Velvet and I. “I know of her, but I don’t know y’all, so go on.”

  Velvet seemed rooted in place. I was worried he’d bolt for the door before he stood up straight, but then he lifted his head in a dignified gesture, and walked away.

  “I knew you wouldn’t come here without muscle, you coward.” She accused.

  Velvet spat on the ground between us and her without losing the poise of his posture.

  “That’s the difference between you and me, auntie.” Even the orderly stopped to hear what Velvet had to say. “I don’t view other dragons as things. Ingot and Basil are the loves of my life. Not just means to an egg, or someone to control.”

  She growled and rose to her full height, tail swishing furiously. The orderly interjected.

  “Ma’am, don’t make me kick you out as well.”

  She started screaming angrily at the orderly, and we made our escape. We’d have to come back after this dragon’s shift. Or tomorrow, so he knew we’d cooled down.

  Once we left the complex, Velvet didn’t make it as far as he had after Maple. He collapsed into me, and I wrapped him in my wings as he wept into my chest.

  ***

  Basil walked in as Velvet took another swig from a bottle of wine. Once we got back from the hospital, we ordered the bottle from the bar and forwent the glasses. He passed it to me. I took a pull and handed it to Basil.

  Basil made a face at the dry, strong Merlot, but took a second gulp for good measure. He then flattened onto his belly and sighed. Velvet and I watched him as he stretched, rolled onto his back, and curled into a crescent. I absentmindedly started scratching his belly, causing another sigh. A contented sigh, rather than a defeated one. I suppose he didn’t want to wear his collar this time around.

  “What have y’all been doing since y’all got back?” Basil asked.

  “We’ve just been sipping this bottle and reminiscing.” I said.

  “I’ve been telling him stories about how funny my aunt used to be.” Velvet said, trying to force a cheer to his voice that simply wasn’t there.

  Velvet grabbed the bottle from beside Basil and sat under me, scooting back so he was in contact with my belly. I wrapped my free foreleg around his chest, leaning my weight into his shoulders, and kissed around his ear.

  “I’m sorry you two are going through it right now.” I said aloud.

  “What?” Basil said.

  “Naw, love.” Velvet took a sip. “It’s just…” he paused, and I felt his entire body tense. Concerned, I pulled him in closer, nuzzling the top of his head, keeping a claw on Basil’s belly.

  Basil continued the statement for Velvet, grabbing my claw in his. “It’s just been a rough few days.”

  Velvet started shaking, and after nodding at Basil, I retrieved my claw to hold Velvet fully. A cry of despairing rage erupted from him. He grabbed a pillow, biting into it deep enough to show down feathers, and screamed. His neck twitched, instinctively tearing at the poor, inanimate victim of his fury. His cry calmed into a growl as he slammed a curled claw into the ground.

  The shredded pillow fell from his maw.

  “I’m - I’m so scared. I’m so scared to see Ember. I lived with him for years, just watching, knowing he’d be dead soon. I thought I got used to it. Death being so near by. Looking it in the face every day. I was wrong. I’m so scared, Ingot. I’m so, so scared.”

  Basil stood, moving to the nightstand to pour some glasses of water.

  Velvet clutched his stomach, arching over - nearly in the fetal position - but I held him up, and kept my chin on his shoulder. His breaths were quick. Panicked. Bordering on hyperventilation. I held him tight and spoke as gently as I could.

  “Take a deep breath.”

  He complied, sharply inhaling and holding it in as I did the exercise with him.

  “And out.” I said with my exhale.

  His exhale was more controlled this time. I took another deep breath, and he did it with me. After a few more repetitions, he didn’t shake as much in my grasp, and his muscles and jaw unclenched.

  I knew little about the rot, but I knew it was mostly something that showed up during adolescence. If Velvet hadn’t shown signs by now, then he would most likely not get it. He didn’t need medical information right then. He needed to be held by his mates.

  Basil came back from pouring water and wrapped his wings around us. While I still had my forelegs around Velvet, I sat my head on top of Basil’s.

  “How are you doing? Actually.”

  “I… I’ve been pretending to be the dragon my parents think I am. I come back, and feel just hollow. Like that act is all that’s left when I’m done.”

  I grit my teeth. My mates were suffering - I could feel it in how they held onto me. We needed to get out of here. I hadn’t ever seen Velvet drink, and Basil hadn’t needed cat play since first year finals.

  “How about this?” I said. “We demand to see Ember right now, and after that, we just leave. He’s a grown dragon. She can’t decide who gets to see him or not. We’ll get the orderlies involved if needed.”

  The rage and resentment in Velvet’s eyes turned to hope. I looked at Basil. He nodded.

  “I don’t want to act no more.” Basil said.

  ***

  The second time we walked to the hospital, the city felt barren. A few people still scurried about, but most had since finished lunch and gone back to their work or homes. It made the walk ponderous. I walked behind Velvet and Basil as they quietly chat. I didn’t try to listen in, but the bits I overheard seemed to be Velvet filling Basil in on his family situation. I saw a pained, sympathetic look in Basil’s eye, and he eventually pulled Velvet to him with his wing as they walked.

  I finally started to notice the heat. When we’d arrived, it was like a warmth you could always feel, but wasn’t so intense that it couldn’t fade into the background. It started as something like a blanket. It had become oppressive. The heat seemed to weigh on me. The late afternoon sun glared upon this city, and its stare felt like disgust.

  The orderly from earlier looked alarmed as we approached, but after he saw Velvet wrapped in Basil’s wing, and the somber looks we wore, he approached us with concern.

  “What was all that about, earlier?”

  I, to my own surprise, found myself responding. “Velvet’s aunt was who you saw us speaking with earlier. She’s trying to prevent Velvet here from seeing his cousin.”

  “How old is this cousin?”

  “Twenty-eight.” Velvet said.

  “Alright, y’all stay here. I’ve gotta go check something.”

  He walked inside, and I put my claw on Velvet’s shoulder. Basil moved his wing, so I wasn’t craning my foreleg, and I kissed the top of his head.

  “It’ll be alright, love.” I assured him. Velvet reached up and grabbed my claw in his, squeezing to acknowledge me.

  The orderly returned.

  “So, he hasn’t signed anything saying she can make decisions for him. Y’all are free to see him, if he’ll have you.”

  “We’d appreciate an escort who could explain that.” I said. The orderly nodded and gestured for us to lead.

  ***

  It was shockingly cold compared to the early autumn heat outside. The halls were silent, with the reverence of death muffling even our breaths. I knew nothing about magic, but whatever spell they were using to keep this hall cool gave it an eerie, tomb-like aire.

  Approaching, I heard it. The aggressive hissing of water boiling and a nearly orgasmic moan of relief. A doctor left, bucket in hand. Velvet stood before the door, looked back at us, took a breath, and walked in. The brief glance I got was enough to turn my stomach over. Disturbingly, the pleasant smell of charring meat filled my nose and nearly made me wretch. Basil beside me gagged, coughed, and covered his snout.

  Ember lay on a long, flat stone slab. Black charred flesh stuck to it, smeared like a put-out fire. Sparse patches of his ruby red scales clung to his ribs and face. His teeth were all exposed, but his eyes and eyelids had mercifully remained intact. Everywhere else was black, pink, and the exposed sinews and stripes of muscle.

  Then the door shut behind Velvet, and my glimpse of the horror was over.

  Basil coughed, tears showing in the corners of his eyes, and spoke.

  “If the gods exist…”

  “I agree.” I said.

  Basil went back to covering his snout. The next smell that hit me was the vinegary smell of burning desert poppy. Opium.

  I breathed out in relief. At least he had some balm that made this all less horrible. I could only wonder how much it helped. A hearty laugh I didn’t recognize came from the room, then Velvet’s indistinct voice, and finally Velvet’s own laugh. The doctor returned with a full bucket, and I turned my head away.

  When the door opened again, and Velvet emerged. He wore ash, and a tear traced a clean path down his cheek. The black substance I’d seen on the table—a grainy, wet soot made with his poor cousin’s blood—smeared his chest.

  I pulled Velvet to me immediately, and he held me like his life depended on it. Basil wrapped us in his wings and nuzzled into Velvet’s cheek. We would wear these ashes too.

  “Let’s go.” Velvet said, quietly, letting go of me, and nuzzling Basil back. “Let’s get cleaned up and just go.”

  I saw him glare down the hall at an angry-looking dragon, watching from afar. That vile snake had failed in denying Velvet his goodbye. I felt a triumph in it. In helping provide my mate with what he needed.

  ***

  We ended up staying another night. After a quiet dinner, we curled together in one of our favorite patterns: Me on the outside, Velvet being little spoon for me, and Basil being little spoon for him.

  It felt like I was a big silver shield for them. After they fell asleep, I watched them for a moment. Velvet's head lay on Basil's neck, just under his jaw, and when I finally fell asleep, I would rest my head in the same place on Velvet.

  I had no idea that this town, or their families, had been so hard on them. I respected that Basil came from poverty, and that Velvet's family was toxic - but I hadn't been confronted with it so viscerally. Especially in the latter case. It put their almost excessive manners and thanks to my own parents in perspective.

  We washed ourselves in a cool, clean river north of the hospital outside of town; feeling that washing someone's body off of us would be inappropriate in a public bath. Velvet still wore that sickeningly familiar scent of roasted meat on him as I carefully wiped the dryer, light colored ash from his face. Basil emptied his stomach in the trees away from the water, and when he returned, I cradled him and washed his scales as well.

  Back at the inn, we all pointedly ordered the meat-free red beans and rice. Velvet recounted some of he and Ember's antics growing up, and told stories of the fun he had having so much family around back then. He finished with a statement that still echoed around my mind as I watched them take deep breaths and unconsciously snuggle into one another.

  “When you are young and they still think they can change you, family can be so grand. All your manipulative aunts, crazy grandparents, and inattentive uncles can be so cozy and nice. Just be careful growing up. That's when they'll start to hate you over nothing at all.”

  ***

  My claws were tied above my horns, so I relaxed my shoulders and sank into the pillows under my head.

  We were back at the dorms. Home, as it were. A smile crossed my maw. Home is wherever I have these two with me. Velvet had a composed, perhaps even stern, look on his face as he completed my restraints. He glanced over at Basil, who was retrieving bottles of oil from our still packed luggage.

  He then looked back down at me.

  “To… thank you for this week, Basil and I are going to make sure you have a wonderful time. Whether you like it or not.”

  “Safeword, notwithstanding.” Basil called out from the other side of the room.

  Velvet put a rear claw on my belly, kind of stepping on me, and brought his snout right to mine. He then dragged a talon along my chin.

  “Are you ready, love?”

  I couldn’t help the grin on my maw as I replied.

  “Yes, sir.”