One Of The First Things Jaskier Realized After Discovering His Immortality Was That Not Being Able To

I've had this realisation way too many times

Late night talk about how I'm afraid of dating because I want a romantic relationship but not a sexual one (or at least not right away) made the realization that I may end up alone forever hit like a truck

The new live laugh love

Masterlist

Alrighty Here is a Masterlist Sorry it has taken so long to get up a lot of life has been happening here the past couple months, but anyway I will be updating it and trying to organize it a bit better over time but this is it for now lol! Hope it helps!

That Girl By. @bookchic20 (Bucky Barnes x Reader) Finished

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8 Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15 

I Like the Spider?! By. @bookchic20 (Peter Parker x Reader) (On Hiatus)

Part 1

Al’s Arcade By @bookchic20 (Dean Winchester x Reader) (On HIatus)

Part 1

Shield Sledding By. @bookchic20 (Steve Rogers x Reader sorta)  Oneshot as of now

Hack Into My Heart By. @bookchic20 (Tony Stark x Reader) Abandoned for now

Part 1 Part 2

This is Hallow…Christmas By. @bookchic20 (Clint Barton x Reader) Finished

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5 

How To Play Pool By. @bookchic20 (Dean x Reader sorta) Oneshot

Crowley!!! By @bookchic20 (Crowley x Reader sorta) 

Part 2 

PSA’s By. @bookchic20 (Steve Rogers x Reader) Oneshot

Undercover What??? (Winchester Reader platonic) OneShot

Hot Tubbin  By. @bookchic20  (Loki x Reader) (Finished)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4  

Stuck In a Web By. @bookchic20 (Spider-Man x Reader) (On Hiatus)

Part 1    Part 2     Part 3

One Night By @bookchic20 (Dean Winchester x Reader) (Work in Progress)

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5   Part 6  Part 7 Part 8   Part 9

Free Comic Book Day (Steve Rogers x Reader) (Completed Unless you all want more lol)

Part 1   Part 2

Ice Cold Mind Games (X-Men) By. @bookchic20 & @sylvanasthebansheequeen

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4   Part 5   Part 6    

It All Started With A Smoothie Cup (Sam Wilson x  Reader) By @pusantheamazonian

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5 

Not What You Think By. @pusantheamazonian (Steve x Reader)

Part 1   Part 2  

Who Are You?  By @pusantheamazonian  (Reader x FatherTony) One Shot

You & Me and Sherlock Makes 3   By @pusantheamazonian (Sherlock x Original Charecter)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9            Part 10      Part 11   Part 12   Part 13   Part 14  

You Can Hide Here  By. @pusantheamazonian  (Loki x Original Character)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4    Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Part 10   Part 11   Part 12   Part 13   Part 14   Part 15   Part 16   Part 17   Part 18   Part 19  

What is Meant to Be   The Sequel to You Can Hide Here

  By.  @pusantheamazonian (Loki x Original Character)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7 

What Now  The Third Installment of You Can Hide Here

(Loki x Original Character) By. @pusantheamazonian

Part 1    Part 2   Part 3  Part 4 Part 5

Effects of Hot Water   By. @pusantheamazonian (Thor x Reader) One Shot

Unexpected By. @pusantheamazonian  (Tom Hiddleston x Reader) Drabble 

Someone Like You By. @pusantheamazonian   Prince Nuada x Reader (HellBoy II)

Part 1

Whatcha Want? By. @pusantheamazonian Joe Bang x Reader (Logan Lucky)

Part 1  Part 2

The Dwarves Magic By @pusantheamazonian   Atreus x OC (God Of War)

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  

Part 11  Part 12  Part 13

Ultimate Devotion By. @pusantheamazonian  Thanos x Reader (Avengers)

Part 1  Part 2  

Movie Date By @pusantheamazonian Orc x Reader (Drabble)

Wanna Cuddle? By @pusantheamazonian Cable x Reader

Waters Below By @pusantheamazonian Sea Creature x Reader

Part 1  Part 2  

Sweet Revenge Kisses  By @pusantheamazonian   RK800 Connor x Reader

(Detroit Become Human)

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  

Metal vs. Meddler By @pusantheamazonian   Colossus x Reader (Deadpool)

Mine By @pusantheamazonian   Michael Myers x Reader

Silent Caress By @pusantheamazonian    Leatherface/Thomas Hewitt x Blind Reader

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  

Hunger By. @pusantheamazonian  Bubba Sawyer x Reader (Drabble)

Cash Prize By @pusantheamazonian    Michael Myers x Reader

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4   Part 5 

Can I Join You? By. @pusantheamazonian   Jim Hopper x Reader (Stranger Things)

Part 1  Part 2  

Banned By @pusantheamazonian (Avengers) 

Scouts Guide to Blue Balls By @pusantheamazonian   Carter Grant x Reader

Jelly Beans By @pusantheamazonian   Cable x Reader (Deadpool)

Damn   By @pusantheamazonian   Rufus Jr ‘RJ’ Firefly x Reader (House of 1000 corpses)

Whats in the Box? By. @pusantheamazonian   Michael Myers x Reader Drabble

A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out By @pusantheamazonian   Merle Dixon x Reader (Walking Dead)

Letters By @pusantheamazonian   Leatherface x Reader

Don’t Belong Here By @pusantheamazonian   OC Fogteeth Orc x Reader (Bright) Part 1   Part 2   Part 3

the Bet By @pusantheamazonian Steve Rogers x Reader (Drabble)

Fragile Hearts By. @pusantheamazonian   Jason Voorhees X Reader

A Favor  By @pusantheamazonian  Thor x Reader

Kisses for Help By @pusantheamazonian

Mix Up   By. @pusantheamazonian  Doc Ock X Reader 

Agape

Rating: G

Words: 1.6k

Tags: fluff, cutagens, wintering at Kaer Morhern, purring

The cruel northern winter has set a chill deep in Geralt’s bones that even two pairs of socks can’t fix. Jaskier helps.

Beta-ready by: @mirkwood​

A/N: This is actually the first time i’ve written a propper character pairing since i was 16! I know it’s very different from the usual stuff i write but this is just where my interests have taken me :) I’m actually really enjoying this fandom atm!

Sorry to bombard you with 2 Witcher posts in 1 week - I’ve created Witcher Wednesdays in my schedule now so business will resume as usual from next week :)

Read on Archive of Our Own

The library was warm when Jaskier entered, a contrast to the dank, gloomy corridors of the keep. The fire crackled merrily in the hearth on one side of the room, casting dancing shadows over the bookcases and the face of the room’s single occupant.

“Geralt?” Jaskier asked, taking several steps forward and shutting the door behind him so the warmth didn’t escape. He was dressed only in his nightclothes, feet bare against the stone floor. “It’s late, are you coming to bed?” He asked.

Geralt grunted from his seat on the sofa, a deep frown on his face as his eyes stayed fixed on the book in his lap. The witcher was swaddled up in a thick woolen blanket, one of the few luxuries he allowed himself against the cold this deep into winter. Only his head and hands poked from the fabric.

Keep reading

In almost a week of relentless violence, Palestinian authorities had already recorded 20 families completely wiped out from civil registry, meaning all living members of that family, of all generations, had been killed. It has been three months, and this number only grows. This, along with many of the war crimes Israel commits daily against Palestinians, is a form of genocide.

To kill entire families is to kill their stories, it is to burn a page of a people's history, their roots. It's deliberate.

"As the number of victims rises and more and more families disappear from Palestine’s rich tapestry of history and culture, there is a bewildered note to the mourning as people try to come to grips with what these disappearances mean."

- Mohammed R. Marwish, October 13th, 2023, Al-Jazeera

Ravadhi (Part 10)

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationship: Female Human x Male Half-Orc Additional Tags: Exophilia, Half-Orc, Monster Boyfriend, Interspecies Romance,Angst, Slow Burn Content Warning: Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse Words: 5009

Ravadhi recovers from a brutal attack at work, and Holly reaches out for advice. Please reblog and leave feedback!

Holly arrived at the hospital in the sheriff’s patrol car and followed him inside. All he’d told her was that Ravadhi had been injured at work, but hadn’t said more than that. She followed him into the ambulance entrance and toward the intensive care unit.

“Dr. Givens,” The sheriff said, flagging down a lavender-colored tiefling woman in a white coat, pouring over paperwork and looking frayed. 

“Are you the family of Ravadhi Silversmith?” The doctor asked. 

Holly nodded. 

“What’s your relation?” 

“I’m his girlfriend.” 

“I’m sorry, but only immediate family is allowed into–” 

“His entire family is dead, I’m all he has,” Holly said abruptly. “What happened?” 

Dr. Givens shot a glance at Sheriff Scott, who nodded, and replied, “He sustained several stab wounds to the abdomen and a blow to the head. Fortunately, the knife missed most of his vital organs, though there was a nick on his liver, but his large intestine was bisected and needed to be stitched up. His spleen was also ruptured and needed to be removed. He has a bit of a concussion, as well.”

“Will he be alright?”  

“He’ll be on some serious painkillers for a while, but yes, he’ll be fine.” 

“No painkillers!” Holly said immediately. “You haven’t given him any yet, have you?” 

Dr. Givens looked confused. “He’s sedated, but no, we haven’t given him any pain meds yet.  If it’s because he’s an orc–”

“He’s a recovering addict,” Holly said tersely. “He’s been sober for years. Don’t give him any pain meds unless he explicitly asks for them, and even then, I’d recommend having him see a psychologist first.” 

“That’s not in my chart,” Dr. Givens said, looking at the clipboard. 

“Trust me,” Holly said. “Don’t give him any pain meds.”

Dr. Givens sighed. “Alright, but the second he asks for them, I’m giving them to him, no matter what you say.” 

“That’s fine,” Holly said. “Can I see him?” 

“He’s in post-op at the moment,” Dr. Givens replied. “I’ll have a nurse retrieve you when he’s in a room.” 

“Thank you,” Holly said. As Dr. Givens walked off, Holly turned to Sheriff Scott. “What happened? Who was it?” 

“Mr. Silversmith was involved in an altercation at his place of work. There was an attempted theft of platinum plating that Mr. Silversmith prevented,” Sheriff Scott replied. “We caught one of the perpetrators, but that’s all I can tell you. The investigation is ongoing.” 

“I understand,” Holly exhaled, exhausted. “Thank you for letting me know.” 

“Don’t thank me,” The sheriff said. “If you hadn’t ordered a check, it’s likely he wouldn’t have been found until morning, and he very well could have bled out by then.”  

 Holly gulped. The sheriff patted her arm and gestured to the sitting area before walking away.

Holly sat heavily in the chair, feeling numb. Ravadhi always seemed like a wall that could stop anything. The idea that some random asshole could have taken him away from her over plating was… horrifying. And infuriating. 

The intensive care unit only allowed visitors every three hours for fifteen minutes, so when she was finally called back to see him, she’d been stewing for over two hours. Ravadhi was lying in the hospital bed, looking pale, breathing steadily. Seeing him, her savior, looking helpless and injured made her heart drop.

She laid one of her hands on his. “Vadhi?” 

His eyes opened slowly. He seemed confused at first, as though he wasn’t sure where he was, but when he saw her, he smiled. 

“Hey, honey,” He said. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” He said, his smile widening. “Just a scrape.” 

She laughed, which immediately evolved into sobs. 

“You can’t do that to me,” She said, easing down and placing her head on his shoulder gently. “Don’t leave me like that.” 

 Gingerly, he reached up and petted her hair. “I’m sorry, babe.” 

“No,” Holly shook her head, sniffling. “It’s not your fault. I was just really scared.” 

“I know,” He said, kissing her head. “It’s okay.”

Holly straightened up and looked at him, assessing. She could see a split in his lip and some bruising around his eye.

“Does it hurt badly?” 

“It’s fine,” Ravadhi said, shifting. “I’m just worried about what they gave me while I was asleep.” 

“I told them not to give you anything,” Holly said. “The doctor said you were sedated with gas, so you haven’t had any narcotics or painkillers.” 

Ravadhi sighed heavily in relief. “Thank you.” He looked at the IV in his arm. “This is making me very anxious.” 

“The doctor said that you can have it out as early as the day after tomorrow,” Holly said. “Depending on when you’re able to be moved out of the ICU.” 

 “That’s good.” He looked up at the clock on the wall and hissed. “Gods, it’s four in the morning. You should go home and get some sleep, honey.” 

Holly shook her head vehemently. “I’m not leaving.” 

Ravadhi chuckled, then grimaced. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” 

“I don’t care,” Holly said. “I’m not leaving.” 

The next morning after breakfast, Ravadhi was moved out of intensive care and to an observation room on the surgical ward. Observation rooms weren’t quite the same as intensive care; it was the same level of attention as the ICU but had normal visiting hours. Thankfully, he was healing quickly and there were no life-threatening injuries, since the internal bleeding stopped and the damaged organs were either repaired or removed. 

Ravadhi continually requested for his IV to be removed, which was causing him a great amount of anxiety, pleading with the nurses to send up a psychologist to assess his mental state. They eventually agreed to call on a psychologist, who agreed with Ravadhi that the IV should be removed. It was only after the IV was removed that Ravadhi seemed to relax. 

“Are you okay?” Holly asked him after the nurses left with the IV stand. 

“Yeah,” He said with a sigh. “It’s just… the feeling of the needle in the skin… it triggers that impulse. The whole time I had it in, the urge to request pain meds was always right at the front of my mind, and I was struggling to suppress it. I still feel the… craving, I guess, but it’s not as intense now as it was before.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “Will you help me? Please? Stop me from asking for the medicine. It doesn’t matter if I scream or beg, don’t let me take it. I’ll put it down in writing, if I need to. Don’t let me throw away thirteen years.” 

“I won’t, I promise,” Holly told him, squeezing his hand back. “I’ll help.” 

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “Thank you.” 

“Are you in a lot of pain, though? Be honest.” 

“Honestly? This is probably the worst physical pain I’ve been in, other than detoxing after I tried to OD.”

“Can I do anything to help?” 

“You already are,” He said, smiling gently at her. “The sheriff told me I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.” 

You shrugged. “I’m sure that’s not true.” 

“I’m sure it is,” Ravadhi replied. “I owe you.” 

Holly shook her head. “No, you don’t. If anything, we’re even now. I should probably start paying you rent.” 

He snorted, but then sobered. “I have enough savings to support us for the next few months, at least. I just hope I recover and find a new job before I run out of money.” 

“I mean, I’ll totally pay rent, now that I’ve got a job,” Holly insisted. 

“No, no, you don’t have to worry about that, honey,” Ravadhi said. “It’s my job to take care of you.” 

“But isn’t it also my job to take care of you?” Holly fired back. 

He smiled. “You already do. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.” 

Holly debated for a moment before speaking again. As afraid as she was to place trust in anyone, she desperately wanted to be able to trust Ravadhi in all aspects, and this confession was the next step. She swallowed.

“Ravadhi… My mom left me some money. She had opened a secret bank account for when we would escape, and it’s been accruing interest for ten years, so there’s quite a bit in there.” 

“Really? How much?” 

“$53,000.”

Ravadhi blinked. “...whoa.” 

“Let me take care of things, at least until you’re back on your feet. It’s only fair, considering everything you did for me. I want to do this for you, so that you can take as much time as you need to heal without worrying about anything.” 

Ravadhi frowned, contemplative. “Are you sure? You’re not responsible for my expenses, honey. I don’t want to take advantage of you.” 

“It’s not your expenses, Ravadhi, it’s our expenses,” Holly said. “You didn’t plan to get stabbed any more than I planned to get beat near to death. You helped me then when I didn’t have anyone to turn to, and you never asked for a thing in return. The least I can do is do the same for you.  You taught me that when you care about someone, you want to share their burdens. So let me help. Please.” 

Ravadhi’s frown softened and he stared at Holly fondly, lifting a hand to cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her skin. 

“Okay,” He said, pulling her close. He kissed her softly. 

Ravadhi was released within a week. It was great that orcs healed twice as quickly as other races; he’d likely have had to stay another two weeks if he had been human. 

 Holly picked him up in his own truck, which he had to get into very slowly so that he wouldn’t reopen his wounds, and she drove very carefully down the pothole-ridden roads. When they got back home, she helped him inside and steered him into the master bedroom, where she had been sleeping up until that point. 

“Wait, why aren’t we going to my room?” He asked her. 

“The same reason you put me in this room when I first got here,” She said. “It’s got an attached bathroom and it’s the closest to the kitchen and living room. You’ll be the most comfortable here.” 

“Where will you sleep?”

“In the room where you were sleeping. I’ve already switched our stuff over.” 

“Are you okay with that?” 

“Ravadhi, this is your house,” She said with a laugh. “You can sleep in any room you want. I’m basically just a guest.” 

Ravadhi frowned as she settled him on the side of the bed. “No, you’re not. You’re my girlfriend, and before that you were my best friend. You’ve never been just a guest. This is your home, too; it has been since you got here.” 

She smiled softly. “Then I misspoke. Even still, this is the best room for a person on the mend. No arguing.” 

He snickered. “You’re the boss, boss.” 

“Good. Now the boss says ‘lay down’.” 

“Actually, I really need to take a shower. They wouldn’t let me in the hospital because of the stitches, but they said I could when I got home. Can you help me get my shirt and the bandages off? It hurts to lift my arms above my head and I can’t reach the ones on my back.”

“Of course,” Holly said. She carefully drew his t-shirt off over his head, and gently peeled the bandages off of his wounds, wincing at the sight of them. She couldn’t imagine how much pain he was in; as many times as she’d been injured, she’d never been stabbed before. “When can the stitches come out?” 

“In another couple of days,” He said. “I’ll likely have to go back to the doctor to get it done.” 

“Nonsense,” She said. “I can do it. I’ve treated enough of my own wounds that I’m practically an expert in wound care.” 

Ravadhi grimaced sympathetically but didn’t say anything. 

“Let me know when you’re done showering and I’ll help you clean and redress the wounds, okay?” 

“Okay,” He said, pulling her down for a kiss. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome,” She said. “I’ll go start a casserole while you’re in there. I’m sure you’re ready for some real food, having eaten hospital garbage for the last week.” 

He sighed happily. “You really are the best, honey.” 

She smiled and kissed him, leaving him to shower in peace.  

Except when she went back ten minutes later to check on him, she realized she couldn’t hear the shower running. Rather, she heard him sighing unhappily. She knocked on the door.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” He called back. “I finished washing, but I can’t lift my arms to wash my hair.” 

“Would you like me to do it?” 

There was a pause. “Is that okay? I’m kinda naked.” 

“You’ve got a towel on, right?” 

“Well, yeah,” He said. 

“Then it’s fine. Can I come in?” 

“Yeah, it’s unlocked.” 

Holly opened the door and stepped inside. Ravadhi was sitting on the side of the tub, hunched and holding his side a little. The towel was wrapped loosely around his hips. It was as undressed as she’d ever seen him, and it made Holly’s heart flutter a little, both in anxiousness and attraction. It was a strange mix of feelings.

“Here,” She said, putting a footstool in the shower stall. “Sit here and I’ll help you.” 

Ravadhi stood gingerly and followed Holly to the shower, dutifully sitting on the stool as she directed. She tilted his head back, took down the detachable shower head, and ran it over his hair. Other than the times when he had to close his eyes, he watched her, his expression all open trust, and it made her face flush. 

“This feels really nice,” He said softly as she rinsed out the shampoo. “I might actually fall asleep.” 

“Don’t fall asleep in the shower, babe,” She said, laughing. 

“It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom would stroke my head when I was sick,” He said, his expression becoming wistful. “I can’t imagine the earful I’d get if she could see me like this.”

“I can; I’ve been biting my tongue all week,” Holly said sternly, applying conditioner. “Just you wait until you’re not in danger of reopening your wounds. You’ve got a strongly worded lecture coming your way, mister.”

He grinned. “I’ll take it happily.” His smile faded and he looked contemplative. “When I was laid out at the factory, losing consciousness…” He looked up, his eyes staring at the ceiling, unfocused. “I kept thinking about you. I kept thinking that I’d never see you again, that there was so much I hadn’t shown you yet. We haven’t seen a movie together in a theater yet. We haven’t taken Sarah to an amusement park or the zoo or the aquarium yet. I was thinking about how much I wanted to see you at your happiest and I wanted to be with you when you got there, and how I would never get the chance. And I remembered wondering… is this what my parents thought, when they died? Did they have all this… regret?”

Holly’s hands stilled in Ravadhi’s hair. “When I was struggling to breathe outside my window that night,” She said slowly; Ravadhi’s eyes refocused and locked on her face. “I was worried about leaving Sarah alone, but I didn’t feel any regret. I felt… relief. I called you because a part of me wanted to stay for Sarah, but as I was fading out in your truck, I just remember thinking… ‘finally.’ I was… ready to go. I wanted to go.” Tears sprang to her eyes and her voice shook. “At the time, I didn’t know things could be better. I thought my only escape was dying. I’m glad I didn’t.” 

He took her hand and gripped it. “Me too, sweetheart,” He whispered. 

“Thank you.  For everything.” 

He kissed her knuckles, one by one. “Right back at you.”

She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and gave him a swift kiss on the lips before going back to her task. Ravadhi continued to watch her face, as if committing it to memory.

When she was finished, she went out so that he could get dressed, then came back in to rebandage his wounds. After she was done, the casserole was ready, and she brought him his dinner in bed.  He didn’t eat much, and she imagined he was getting tired. She took the plates to the kitchen, helped him lay back, and told him to rest and call if he needed anything. He smiled and closed his eyes, asleep before she shut the door.

For the next few days, they fell into a new routine that was almost the reverse of when Holly had first come to live with Ravadhi. In the morning, she’d wake him with breakfast and make a simple lunch he could reheat on his own before leaving for work. When she got off work, she made sure he was doing alright and, if he was feeling up to it, they’d sit together in the living room and watch a movie, cuddled up to each other. 

One slow afternoon while Holly was working with Lucy, Lucy asked, “How’s Ravadhi been doing? Is he healing alright?” 

“Yeah,”  Holly replied, washing the counter. “He’ll be back on his feet in no time. He’s a tank, that one.” 

“I’m sure it’ll be nice to get back into being intimate, too,” Lucy said playfully. “After Tumble broke his leg, I couldn’t touch him for weeks while he healed.” 

“Oh… we… we don’t… we haven’t…” Holly blushed and fell silent. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lucy said, holding a hand to her mouth. “I didn’t mean to insinuate anything. Don’t listen to me, my brain-to-mouth filter must be broken.” 

“It’s okay,” Holly said, pensive. “Actually… can I ask you something?” 

“Sure, hon, what’s up?” 

“How long had you been dating Tumble before being intimate with him?” 

“Well, we slept together for the first time on the same day we decided to date,” Lucy said, blushing in remembrance. “But we had been living together for months by that point out of convenience.” 

“Hmm,” Holly said. 

Lucy considered Holly closely. 

“Do you want to be intimate with Ravadhi? You’ve been dating for months now, right?”

Holly nodded. “I… don’t know… It’s hard to tell.” 

“Why’s that?”

Holly tried to say something, but the shame kept her lips shut. 

“How about this?” Lucy said. “Why don’t you meet some friends of mine? They’re… experts, so to speak, in this sort of thing.”

“What do you mean? Intimacy experts?” 

“Something like that,” Lucy said. “You don’t have to be detailed about your interests or tell them anything embarrassing if you don’t want to, they can just give you some general advice.” 

Holly considered it, then nodded. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” 

About a week later, Lucy had invited Holly over to her house for brunch. Sitting at the table when she arrived were two people, a man and a woman, who Holly had never met before.

“Holly, this is my friend Kiri. We went to high school together,” Lucy said, gesturing to her in an introductory fashion. “And her boyfriend Rolgun.”  

Kiri was a very lovely-looking human woman, and Rolgun was a handsome, well-built, red-skinned tiefling with gold eyes, silvery horns, and salt-and-pepper hair.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Kiri said, shaking Holly’s hand.

Rolgun did not extend his hand, rather kept them clasped firmly in front of him. Ravadhi once told Holly that therapists did this sometimes to make people feel safer, because you always knew where their hands were. He smiled warmly and echoed Kiri’s greeting.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Holly. Lucy told us you’re very sweet and a hard worker. She’s very proud of you for asking for help. I know it was probably difficult for you.”

You took a large breath and nodded in agreement. “Thanks for agreeing to see me informally.”

“Let’s sit down,” Lucy said. “Tumble took the girls to the trampoline park, so they’ll be gone for a while. They love the trampoline park.”

The four of you sat down at the table to the spread that Lucy had provided for lunch, some of which had been baked by Tumble earlier that day.

“So, Lucy says you have some questions you wanted to ask us?” Kiri said, taking a bite of her quiche.

“Well, she had mentioned something about one of you being a specialist?” Holly asked.

“In a way,” Rolgun said. “I’m actually a sex worker. I used to be an escort, but nowadays I mostly work in pornography as a performer. However, I’ve recently begun work with a psychotherapist to help women treat and overcome sexual dysfunction, whether it’s caused by a physical condition or trauma.”

“In what way?”

“Well,” Kiri said. “I have a condition called vaginismus, which makes sex virtually impossible for me. For women like me, he helps them with the exercises to relax the muscles and open them up. We tried that kind of therapy to help my condition, but I ultimately decided it wasn’t for me. It’s what got him interested in sexual therapy in the first place, though. He’s actually gotten a PhD. in sexual psychology.”

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” Holly said, smiling a little.

“I think so,” Kiri said, kissing Rolgun’s cheek. “I’m so proud of him.”

“So what does your work entail, if I may ask?” Holly said.

“When it comes to anyone with sexual trauma,” Rolgun explained. “There is often physical trauma, but it’s predominantly psychological, and I’m sure you can understand why. In those cases, my role is to talk with the patients, get them comfortable with my presence during their therapy sessions with the psychologist, and then eventually when the patient feels they’re ready, we’d have sessions alone. Monitored by the psychologist, of course. The entire point of the exercise is building trust.  I do what I can to help my patients enjoy sex in a healthy way, up to and including having intercourse with them. It’s completely up to the patient, of course. I’ve helped counsel dozens of women, but to date, only three have decided to engage in intercourse with me as part of their therapy. Although, some of them are already in relationships when they experience their trauma, in which case I will council both them and their partner in how to approach sexual relations comfortably after the assault.”

“Do you have positive results?” Holly asked.

“For the most part, we do,” Rolgun said. “There are some cases so severe that it would take many, many years of therapy to help them, and we do what we can in conjunction with medication and other specialists. And we also understand that this kind of therapy is rather controversial and isn’t for everyone.” He leaned forward and rested on his elbows. “People don’t have to seek therapy, though I would highly recommend that they do. But this is an informal meeting, so I’m happy to answer any questions you have. Informally.”

“Well… I have a boyfriend,” She began. “He’s been… amazing. Kind, sweet, understanding… and… he says not to worry about it, but I feel like at some point he’s going to want to have sex, and I don’t feel prepared.”

“Well, first I would ask if you are interested in sex personally,” Rolgun asked. “Could there be a possibility that you are sex-repulsed or asexual?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think so,” Holly responded uncertainly. “I’ve never really had the chance to explore my sexuality, so I’m not really sure.”

“Can you tell us why that is?” Kiri asked gently.

Holly took a deep breath, blowing it out shakily and putting down her fork. She took a moment to steel herself, feeling the panic rise up in her.

“It’s okay, honey, take your time,” Lucy said, patting Holly’s shoulder.

“I’ve… I’ve never… said this out loud before. Not to anyone.” She began to shake, and gripped her hands to keep them still. “When I was twelve, my father…” She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked back tears. “He… started molesting me… he raped me. For years. He didn’t stop until he was arrested several months ago for nearly beating me to death. He used my sister as a weapon to keep me obedient, threatening to hurt her if I didn’t do what I was told. It’s why I never left or told anyone, because I was scared he would move on to her.”

There was sympathetic silence at the table. No one was eating now.

“Ravadhi… my boyfriend… he saved my life. Literally; he found me bleeding out after my dad beat me nearly to death and got me to the hospital in time before I drowned in my own blood. And after, he took me in and gave me a home, a real one, and he’s never asked for anything in return. He’s been protecting me and caring for me almost since the day we met. I haven’t told him this yet, but I love him very, very much.”

“I don’t mean to insinuate anything by asking this,” Rolgun asked gently. “But are you sure your thoughts about having intercourse with him aren’t because you feel like you owe him for rescuing you?”

“I don’t know,” Holly said uncertainly. “I hope not. I mean, I absolutely do owe him my life. But I also know that I really do love him, regardless of that fact.”

“You don’t think he’d ever force you, do you?” Kiri asked.

“Oh, god no. Without going into too much of his past traumas, he’s a survivor himself, so he’d never.”

“I understand. Do you believe you have sexual feelings for him, like urges or desires?”

Holly thought about it. “I think I do? When he hugs me tight or kisses me, or even if we’re just cuddling together watching a movie, I feel… something. Like I want to be closer. I weirdly feel kind of… hungry? Does that make sense? That’s not quite right, but that’s the only word that comes to mind. It’s so hard to sort between the good feelings and the bad ones.”

Rolgun nodded. “That’s fairly common, I’m afraid. I’m going to ask a very personal question now, if that’s alright?”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever masturbated or had an orgasm?”

“I’ve never… touched myself, if that’s what you mean,” Holly said, blushing. “How would I know if I’ve had an orgasm?”

“You’d know,” Lucy and Kiri said in unison.

“Oh,” Holly said in surprise. “Then, I guess I haven’t.”

“I think that would be a good place to start. You have nothing in your memory or experiences that ties sex to pleasure. For you, it’s only associated with pain and humiliation. I think the very first step for you will be self-exploration. I can give you the links to some sites with instructional guides specifically tailored to women with early sexual trauma.”

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small notebook and began writing. You looked over his arm and watched him scrawl several websites onto the paper.

“These are normally given to patients and need a doctor’s code to be accessed outside of a clinic, which I’ll provide for you. You’ll probably feel weird or maybe even disgusted and repulsed when you start, but keep trying. Self-exploration and self-satisfaction is the beginning of psycho-sexual maturity, and you’ve never had the opportunity to do that. Before you start thinking about sex with a partner, you need to retrain your brain and body to associate sex with pleasure. Your pleasure specifically. It won’t erase the trauma, of course, and again I’d recommend you seek a counselor, but it will open the door for healthy sexual activity.”

He tore the paper from the notebook and handed it to you. You took it and read it numbly, briefly wondering if he’d just given you porn sites. But they looked really official: some of them were sites for well-known national universities.

“I appreciate this,” Holly said. “I want to move on and start living my life. My dad’s gone, but he’s still got his claws in me and I hate that. It’s not fair. He shouldn’t get to dictate how I live from the grave.”

“Exactly!” Rolgun said approvingly. “That’s very encouraging, Holly. You’re already in a good head space, and I feel like you’re definitely ready to move forward. I’m glad I could help.”

“If you have more questions in the future, I can give you my number and pass the message on to Rolgun,” Kiri said, taking Rolgun’s notepad and jotting down her number. “It would be inappropriate for Rolgun to have your number, even if he’s not your therapist. When it comes to sex therapy, the rules are very strict, to protect both the patient and the counselor’s privacy and safety. For him to give you any formal advice or counseling privately automatically makes you a patient and the same rules would apply to you.”

“I understand. I appreciate all of your help, both of you,” Holly said. “It means a lot to me. I love Ravadhi and I want to be a good girlfriend to him. But I also want to be intimate with him for myself. It would be a huge step forward.”

“You’re more than welcome. I would suggest talking to your boyfriend about this,” Rolgun replied. “The self-exploration, I mean. He might be able to help as well; you can slowly integrate him into your personal play to get used to having a second person with you when you experience pleasure. And even if you would prefer to do it on your own, he should be in the loop. Healthy discussion between partners is very important in an intimate relationship.”

“I’ll tell him,” Holly said.

The conversations turned to other things, and eventually Holly left with a lot to think about.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi,becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

Ravadhi (Part 3)

Rating: Mature Relationship: Female Human x Male Half-Orc Additional Tags: Exophilia, Orc, Half-Orc, Orc Boyfriend, Interspecies Romance, Angst, Slow Burn Content Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Racism, Implied Molestation, Child Neglect, Child Abandonment Words: 4493

We learn more about Ravadhi’s parents and the rumors about him being a criminal. Holly tells Ravadhi about the agreement she made with her father for Sarah’s safety. Please leave feedback!

The Traveler’s Masterlist

They pulled up to Rod’s Diner on the other end of town, which was the only place that stayed open twenty four hours. Ravadhi led her to the booth at the very back and let her take her seat before sitting on the other side of the booth across from her.

“This place has great cheesecake,” Holly said. “I’ve only been here a few times with Sarah, but I always get it.”

“I’m buying, so get whatever you want. Get some cheesecake. Hell, get two,” Ravadhi said with a smile.

“No, no, a sandwich is fine,” Holly insisted.

Keep reading

Ravadhi (Half-Orc)

                 WARNING!

This is a story that has been knocking around in my head for quite a long time, and it’s going to be a very dark story. It will include domestic violence, murder, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, child neglect, child abuse, as well as heavy references to sexual abuse. (However, there will not be any scenes in which sexual abuse occurs apart from one scene in which a groping happens briefly; there will only be mentions of the abuse before or after the fact or during a character’s spoken word narrative. I do not write non-con under any circumstances.)

Each chapter will have content warnings at the top of the fic and will be tagged liberally. I want to let my readers know what’s coming so that you’re not blindsided by a fic that has extremely heavy subject matter and could potentially contain serious triggers for many of my readers, so if any of this is hard for you to read, feel free to steer clear. I want to be 100% transparent with you guys. This is a story about living through and overcoming physical and sexual abuse as it is happening. I want to make that clear.

If you have any questions or concerns, please shoot me a message or an ask. I’m more than happy to interact with you guys.

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationship: Female Human x Male Half-Orc Additional Tags: Exophilia, Orc, Half-Orc, Interspecies Romance Content Warnings: Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Implied Child Molestation, Child Neglect, Child Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Racism Words: 4928

The Traveler’s Masterlist

“Hey, there.”

A deep voice sounded out to Holly’s right, making her jump out of her seat a little. She turned, startled, and saw an orc, far larger than her but not nearly as big as others she’d seen, carrying a stack of books separated into two distinct piles.

“I’d like to return these, check these three out, and purchase this one, if I could,” He said in a pleasant tone. Unlike most orcs she knew, his hair wasn’t long and braided, but cut shortish around his shoulders and had a medium curl to it. It was also dyed royal blue and had at least half an inch of brown roots showing where it parted in the middle.

Keep reading

Really want to break the composure of a prim and proper vampire lord by sucking him off. Quiet gasps and subdued noises rising to moans. Back arching. Hips gracefully but desperately undulating. Head tossing back. Long hair splayed out on his pretty silk sheets. Shivering. Whimpering. Tears in those ancient, red eyes as they meet mine.

M

On The Altar

cw: kidnapping, size difference, attempted human sacrifice, indoctrination, culty vibes, blood, hunting animals for food, self-loathing, allusions to drowning, heights, non-human genitalia, voyeurism, oral sex, threesome, unprotected sex, everyone in this is having a rough time

male dragon x male knight x fem reader

word count: 12k

Your breath caught as you stared at yourself in the mirror and a sort of disappointment washed over you. The white ceremonial dress draped across your form, fitted perfectly to you. 

You were supposed to look better than you ever had. Your heart sank a little when realized you didn’t think you did. 

Your birthday a few months ago. You thought you looked better then. 

You should have toned it down, not given yourself such a high bar to clear. It was your own fault, really. 

It had just been your last one. You'd wanted to make it count

Your head felt heavy with the ceremonial braids in your hair and the golden crown atop your head. It matched the rest of your accessories. Golden bracelets and necklaces and cuffs that circled your biceps. 

You wondered if it was real gold. Of course, everyone said it was but it seemed like a difficult thing to manage, a whole set of new golden adornments made every year just for it to be lost. A Sisyphean task. 

You didn’t have to worry about that. Your responsibility was far from that of the clothing and jewelry makers. You didn’t have to do any work at all, a crowd of women ensuring you didn’t so much as lift a finger on your day, bathing you and dressing you in unfamiliar clothes. 

You’d spent the whole day preparing. This was the first time you’d had a chance to breathe. 

Excitement and nerves all swelled inside of you, neither able to snuff the other out. 

Time was flying by and you weren’t sure whether you wanted it to slow or speed up. Part of you wanted to cherish these last few moments but it was almost here. It was almost your time. 

They tied you up. Not that they had to. You weren’t going anywhere. It was just tradition. 

You forgot to treasure your last moments of sight before someone behind you pulled a blindfold over your eyes. 

All you were left to do was imagine it. Being pulled from where you stood on the shore, being dragged under the water, the air leaving you as you fulfilled your duty.

And the town saved. 

They’d do it again next year and again the next, just like they had for decades. But this year was yours. You would save them. 

What a privilege it was to die for them. 

You wondered if the ropes ruined the lines of your dress. You supposed you’d never find out. 

Something hooked around your shoulders and you couldn’t help but flinch. You took in a big gulp of air instinctually, knowing what was coming. 

You braced yourself to be dragged forwards and instead slipped backward as you were lifted in the wrong direction. The ground disappeared from under you before you could fall. 

Your legs kicked, searching for anything below you, but you found nothing. The wind rushed up around you and despite your lack of vision, you could feel that you were rising up and up and up. 

You were meant to be dragged down to the depths and yet here you were, being hoisted into the sky. Claws dug into your skin and you were still blind and disoriented. Fear overtook you. 

You reached up and felt at whatever was carrying you, finding scaly skin connected to the strong talons digging into your shoulders. 

And then, as quickly as you’d been scooped up, you were being dropped. Rocks scraped your skin as you tumbled onto a hard stone floor. The bindings had come undone during the fall and you scrambled for your blindfold, squinting when the harsh light reached your eyes. 

As your vision began to adjust, you saw an enormous figure in front of you. At first, all you could see was a silhouette. Massive wings curled into the figure and the dragon that was slowly coming into focus in front of you stared right back at you. 

It was retreating into mounds of shiny things, gold and silver, old pieces of armour and crowns and candelabras piled into the cave you’d been thrown into. 

It stood out amongst the collection, a hulking creature with scales that shone a dark bronze that matched little of his horde. It was probably 20 feet long, its head cocked to the side as it watched you. 

Your instincts screamed at you to run, to get as far away from the creature as possible. 

You took a deep breath and tried to steady yourself. If you tried to run it could just scoop you up again. Besides, the last thing you wanted to do was activate a hunting instinct. Maybe right now, covered in gold jewelry, he saw you as something for his horde. It was certainly preferable to the alternative. 

He didn’t seem to be eating you, which you took as a good sign. Maybe if you removed the gold from yourself, it would lose interest in you and you could sneak out. If you rushed and were lucky, maybe you could even make it back in time. A sacrifice without the ceremonial adornments wasn’t ideal but it would certainly be better than nothing. 

You slowly lifted your hand to the golden cuff on your bicep, praying it wouldn’t think you were trying to take it. You tried to rip it from the white fabric of your dress, wanting to return home with at least some of your dignity, and your clothes, intact. 

Its head tilted further to the side and then a voice sounded, echoing off the walls. “What are you doing? Why would you ruin such a lovely dress?”

You froze at the noise, looking up wide-eyed at the creature. It couldn’t have. That wasn’t possible. Dragons were forces of chaos. Mindless beasts, nothing more. 

You blinked slowly, wondering if maybe you hadn’t woken up this morning quite yet. Or perhaps you’d been pulled underwater too quickly to notice and this was the oxygen deprivation messing with your mind. 

“Hello,” you responded. 

Its jaw opened to reveal layers of teeth in a ghoulish imitation of a smile. “Hello!”

You felt your heart stutter in your chest. “What… why did you take me?” You tried your best to keep your voice steady. The last thing you wanted was to upset the creature. 

“You were out there to be taken, yes?”

Oh. You supposed you were. Perhaps you’d been sending mixed messages to the monsters of the world. 

You wondered if maybe some town made sacrifices just like you to dragons.

“I was,” you said cautiously. “But not for you. For the creatures of the deep. Fishing is our life, it’s how we survive. We need the waters to be safe.”

“Not… what? You’re… but I thought. So you weren’t out there for me?” He sounded heartbroken. 

“It’s fine,” you said, keeping your voice level. “Misunderstandings happen. Just take me back and everything will be fine.”

“No, it doesn’t make sense. You’re covered in gold. You can’t just cover someone in gold and not expect a dragon to come snatch them up. You must have known. You must be for me.”

“Well, I’m not. And I would love to go home now.”

“What do they even want with you?” it asked, avoiding any discussion of bringing you back. “I don’t know much about humans but I know you aren’t water creatures. They couldn’t even take you anywhere, they’d have to come all the way up to visit you every day.”

Now it was your turn to be confused. “What?”

You’d assumed he’d taken you for the same reasons as the creatures you sacrificed maidens to every year. To take and consume, to feel worshiped. But it sounded like this dragon had entirely different ideas as to why a monster would want a sacrifice. 

“I wouldn’t have to just visit you,” he said. “I could be with you all the time. Take good care of you. No water involved. I’d keep you warm and fed and completely dry.”

“I’m not given to be a pet,” you snapped. 

The creature reeled back and began backpedaling instantly. “I didn’t mean you’re like a pet, I just meant…”

“They were going to kill me,” you said. “I’m a sacrifice. They need to kill me. It’s the only way.”

It took him a minute to understand what you could possibly mean by that. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to understand. 

You didn’t have time for this. “Just take me back,” you pleaded with him. 

He paused. “They’re going to kill you?”

“It’s none of your concern what they’re going to do.”

He dropped his head low, resting it on his tail with a huff. “Then I’m not taking you anywhere.”

Your heart sank. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I can’t let them hurt you.”

You let out an exasperated groan, burying your head in your hands. “It has to happen, without it so many more will perish. 

“What if I start terrorizing your village!” the dragon said, with the intonation of someone who’d just had a great idea but none of the content. “Or say I would if I didn’t have you. Then your sacrifice won’t have been for nothing.”

Reasoning with him was starting to seem pointless. “Please don’t.”

“Well, either way, I’m not letting you go back. If I let you go, it would be like I hurt you. No, you can stay here.”

You could not do this, couldn’t argue with this strange creature who was incapable of understanding how vital it was that you returned so your town had its proper sacrifice. 

You stormed over to the corner of the cave, leaning against the cold stone wall with a huff. 

He just stared at you, neverendingly, undeterred by your attitude. 

“It can’t be comfortable over there,” he called out to you.

“Leave me alone!” you shouted back, curling in further on yourself. 

He wanted to approach you, you could tell that much. His hesitation was evident and he took small steps forwards before pulling himself back, repeating the gesture over and over until he seemed to come to a conclusion. 

“Alright. I can go for a while. Don’t hurt yourself.” 

With that, he gave you a final once-over and flew out of the cave. 

He was hard to read. The way a dragon worked was unfamiliar to you. The most you could do was take guesses and try your best. Hopefully, you wouldn’t be around long enough to figure out the intricacies of dragon body language. 

You should run. If you were going to have a chance to escape, this would be it. 

As you edged out of the cave, your dreams of making it down the mountain were crushed. There was, technically, a sort of path down the mountain. It was barely a few feet wide with a sheer cliff at the edge of it. 

You hadn’t eaten since this morning. You were scared and exhausted and there was a slight tremor in your hands you couldn’t quite seem to rid yourself of. There was no way you could safely traverse that path. 

You went back into the cave with a huff, waiting for your captor to return. 

Eventually, he did, blood dripping down his face as he dropped an animal in front of you. It was hard to tell what it was with the way it was mangled. It was clearly a fresh kill. 

You stared blankly at him, edging further away and into the cave wall. 

At your lack of reaction, he nudged the creature towards you. “You should eat,” he said. 

“I can’t eat that.”

You prayed he wouldn’t try and force you. 

“Why don’t you just eat me?” you spat at him. “At least it would be better than this.” 

At least then you wouldn’t have to live with the knowledge that you’d failed, and your village would pay the price. 

He tilted his head once more. “Why would I do that? I’ve wanted to meet a human for a very very long time. I’ve got another friend too, come look.”

He started to wander back into the cave, behind piles of gold and you hesitantly followed him on shaky legs. 

When you reached the back of the dark cave, you found a single, frightened sheep sitting atop a massive patch of grass that seemed to have been uprooted from the ground. 

“I took him from a field. I couldn’t eat him, he had sad eyes.”

“Do I have sad eyes?” you asked. Maybe that was why he insisted on keeping you, refusing to let you go back home. 

He looked at you and as hard as it was to read the facial expressions of a dragon, you knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Is it that bad?” you asked as you looked away.

“Not bad. You just look like you're hurting.”

If you were it was because of him. This was supposed to be the best day of your life, the only day that mattered. And instead, you were here, looking at a poor terrorized sheep who was in the same position you were in. 

“So, what can you eat?” the dragon asked. Before you could give an answer, it said, “Nevermind, I’ve got an idea.”

You didn’t get the chance to ask him what it was. He was off again, moving through the cave until you heard the telltale flapping noise that meant you were alone once more.

You looked down at the sheep again. 

Maybe not entirely alone. 

He returned swiftly with a whole market cart in tow. It had piles of bread in it, although they were a little worse for wear from the flight. You had no doubt that some unsuspecting farmers had found it raining loaves of bread as he made his way back. 

You were too hungry to worry about scolding him for the thievery. You grabbed the first piece you could get your hands on and took the biggest bite you were capable of.

Your dragon watched, seemingly entranced by the sight. 

As you chewed your first bite of freshly baked bread he asked, “I did alright this time?”

You nodded, unable to speak through the mouthful of food. 

As you finished scarfing down your bread, you sat in the grass with your new sheep companion and asked your captor, “Do you have a name?”

The dragon considered this for a moment. “No. No one has ever needed to call me anything.”

“Oh. I thought dragons would have names.”

“They do. Just not me.”

You looked up at him, brow furrowed. “What, just you?”

He hummed in acknowledgment, the vibrations from the noise cascading through the stone under you. “Didn’t bother to give me one. I was the runt so you know how it is. Or maybe you don’t. I don’t really know how people work. With dragons, the littlest one always has to go. That’s the way it is.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I get a little lonely but now you’re here!”

You rolled your eyes, collapsing back into the grass. If you closed your eyes you could pretend you were outside your village lying in a field instead of trapped in a dark cave on a cold mountain. “Yeah, now I’m here.”

The moment couldn’t last. It was too cold, there was no wind. The air smelled different. 

“You know,” you said. “We had stories about dragons. Big terrifying ones that wanted to hurt people. My mother used to tell me stories of Pytho. I was so scared of him when I was little.”

“Oh.” You heard his wings rustle and opened one of your eyes to peek over at him, shuffling uncomfortably in place. 

“I could call you Pytho,” you added. “It’s the only dragon name I know.”

“If you think it fits, I suppose. I thought you said he was big and scary?”

You laughed. “Well, from my perspective, you’re pretty big and scary.”

Instead of being pleased at your words, he reeled back. “Are you scared of me?”

You shrugged. “I was. Not so much anymore. Honestly, I think on any other day, I would’ve liked you”

“But not today?”

You shook your head. “Not today.”

“Well then,” he said as he began to curl up into a ball, “Maybe tomorrow.”

You backed up, leaning against the cold wall, and tried to suppress your tears at the thought that there would be a tomorrow for you at all. 

When you woke up, it was all still real. A dragon snored beside you as a sheep stared at you with the saddest gaze you’d ever seen. 

Maybe, as you looked at it, it thought the same thing about you. 

Pytho stirred from his slumber, immediately turning to check on you.  

When you felt his warm breath directed at you, you realized just how cold you were. Not that you were going to do anything about it. Your only source of warmth was the dragon in front of you and you were going to go nowhere near him. 

You clench your fists, doing your best to stop the shivering. 

He didn’t seem to notice. With the warmth that he radiated, you were sure that the concept of being cold was something that was foreign to him. 

You turned away from the creature. If he wouldn’t take you back, the least you could do was deprive him of your attention.

It wasn’t much but it was all you had. 

The day passed slowly but still, it passed. You spent it wallowing in the corner. 

Pytho left you alone after the first few outbursts. He seemed to understand that you needed your space. You could appreciate him for at least that much. 

As the sun began to set once more, you began to realize just how much warmth and light the day had brought to this miserable cave. 

You curled in on yourself, not far from how Pytho slept. 

You watched him begin to settle in for the night and saw a moment of hope where he tried to move closer to you. You glared at him and he stopped in his tracks. 

“You’re still upset with me,” he noted. 

“Of course I am. There’s nothing for me now. It was supposed to be over and now it’s not. You took that from me.”

“I took your ending,” he said, and you knew he understood.

“You did.”

“You’ll find a new ending someday.”

“But that one was mine. It mattered,” you said, frustrated that he couldn’t seem to get it.

“You matter.”

You scoffed. “I did.”

“You do.”

You turned away from him with a huff. “You don’t understand. You can’t.”

“Goodnight, little human.”

You fell into a fitful sleep against the cold stone of the cave. When you woke, however, you felt warm and safe. 

You opened your eyes to find Pytho standing over you, his body heat covering you in waves of warmth, even when he wasn’t touching you. 

“You were shivering,” he said, like it was that simple. You were cold, he was warm. There wasn’t anything else to be done. You hadn’t even known he understood what shivering was. 

You slid away from him, back into the cold. 

He watched you. That’s all he ever seemed to do. Watch you. “You’re mad at me but you’re punishing yourself.”

You didn’t dignify that with a response. “Let me go back.”

“I will not.”

You tried to sleep again but the cold felt harsher now, crueler. It was your turn to watch him, remember the waves of heat across your skin. 

You waited until his breathing leveled out, the rise and fall of his chest becoming uniform. You couldn’t handle a smug look or excitement. You just needed to sleep. 

You took the few steps between you slowly and gently leaned against his side. 

Almost instantly, without thinking, he curled around you, bundling you up in a nest of warm scales. His breathing was steady against your side. 

You’d never slept better. 

You woke to find his head a few inches from yours, propped up on his tail and staring at you with a soft gaze. 

“Good morning,” he said.

You gave him a hum of acknowledgment back. 

You were wracked with guilt. How could you be enjoying this, allowing yourself even these minor comforts? It wasn’t right. None of this was right. 

You pulled away from him, feeling sick.

Traitor. You’d betrayed them after they’d put so much trust in you. Who knew what was happening to them now, while you slept feeling warm and comfortable. 

“You still want to go?” he asked in hushed tones as you backed away, clearly afraid of the answer. 

You nodded. “I’m always going to want to go. I have to make this right.”

He let out a pained whine and moved towards you slowly, giving you the chance to stop him. 

You didn’t.

“You could be happy here,” he insisted. “Why won’t you just be happy here?”

“It just wasn’t meant to be." 

“Don’t want you to get hurt,” he whined out. 

You pressed your forehead to his. “Does it not matter what I want?”

He let out a huff and hot air cascaded over your face. He was always so warm. 

You pressed a kiss to his scaly nose. “I know you want to help, but I have to do this. Please let me do this.”

And he stared. Just stared at you, like he was drinking it in, trying to memorize you. 

Finally, his face fell and you knew exactly what it meant. 

“If you change your mind…” he said. “If you ever get the chance, come back to me. You’ll always have a safe place here.”

You nodded, still holding his head in your hands. You knew you never would, but it was nice to imagine returning someday. 

You looked down at your dress, dirty and torn, and you finished ripping off the golden cuff you’d started to tear days ago. 

“You can have this if you want. For what could have been.”

His eyes were glassy. You didn’t know dragons could cry. He grasped the golden cuff in his talons, tucking it away far from the rest of the gold, instead next to his beloved sheep. “For what could have been.”

A forlorn laugh escaped you as you looked at him. All three of you had sad eyes now. 

Before either of you had the chance to rethink it, he moved towards the mouth of the cave and you followed. 

Familiar talons grasped your shoulders and you were off again. 

This time, there was no blindfold. An entire landscape unfolded below you and you watched towns and rivers and forests pass you by at incredible speeds. 

Your hands reached up to grab Pytho’s legs, the seer distance to the ground making you dizzy. 

The flight was shorter than you remembered. You wished it wasn’t but as your feet touched grass, real grass rooted in the real ground, you knew there was nothing to be done. 

He dropped you off near the village but still outside of it. It was for the best, you couldn’t imagine anyone inside the town would be particularly pleased to see him. Worst case scenario, they might even try and hurt him. 

As soon as you’d properly landed he flew off, leaving you behind. No parting words, no last look. Before you knew it he was gone, a distant silhouette on a blue sky. 

 Good. You didn’t want him to see what might happen here anyways. 

The walk back was too quiet. You could hear the birds and the wind but none of it was enough to drown out the blood rushing in your ears. 

You didn’t know why your heart was pounding so loudly. This was what you wanted. You were back, ready to repent for the crime of being stolen. 

The first person who saw you was a boy. He couldn’t have been more than ten. He wandered on the outskirts of the village but as soon as he saw you he turned and ran back into the town, probably telling tales of your miraculous homecoming. 

You’d been so caught up in your return you had managed to think of little else but now, as you neared society once more, you realized what a mess you’d become. Your sacrificial dress was brown with now much dirt it had collected, ripped and shredded and hanging off of you in tatters. You were sure your face and hair were just as dirty. 

You walked further and further into town, unsure of what to do with yourself. You’d assumed someone else would tell you what to do but instead, they grouped together and stared, whispering and pointing as you trudged your way through the village. 

As you reached the center of town, you found a gathering waiting for you. 

You stopped in front of them, waiting as they inspected you. The same people who’d helped ready you and told you how vital you were to the town now looked down at you with thinly veiled disdain plastered across their faces. 

“I came back as soon as I could,” you said, your voice sounding small and weak. 

The man at the front of the group, the one who chose the sacrifices, made speeches about its vitalness every year, spoke. His voice boomed across the gathering. It didn’t feel fair. He was accustomed to speaking to crowds like this. You weren’t meant for this, of course you sounded small. “We chose another,” he said, and his words echoed in your ears. 

Your heart sank in your chest. Of course they did. What else would they have done? At least it meant the town was safe. So why did it sting so badly? 

“I can do it next year,” you said. “Please, let me do it next year. I’m here now.”

The man turned up his nose at you. “You abandoned your post.”

You could feel yourself getting more and more frantic as he spoke. “No, I was taken. I came back as soon as I could, I promise! Please.”

“An example must be made.”

You nodded, searching for a way out, any way you could still be useful. “Anything. I’ll do anything.”

The women who’d helped you bathe and get dressed a few days prior surged forwards, grasping at your arms. They held you in place as you refused to struggle. 

“This is what happens to deserters,” he called out over the crowd.

You could barely think, barely hear his words. 

The fact that you’d been replaced kept running through your mind. You’d been raised for this. It was all you’d ever wanted. You’d dreamed of it. 

You weren’t so sure you wanted it anymore. 

It didn’t matter anyways. It was too late. You’d left. 

The man chanting to the crowd pulled out a knife. 

It felt like what you deserved. Your chest tightened with guilt and fear. Now it wouldn’t even be for anything. Just an example, nothing more. 

Maybe it was saving them, in a way. Saving them from an epidemic of girls who thought they could escape it and damn the town in the meantime. Maybe you still could die for something. 

A thudding sound echoes in your ears, slightly out of time with your heartbeat. It felt almost grounding, helped you ignore the chants of deserter and heathen. You didn’t have the strength to try and defend yourself, to insist that no, you’d fought to come back. You weren’t even sure you believed that anymore. You latched onto the thudding, anything to get those words out of your head. 

And then the arms that had held you down were being ripped away and instead you found yourself being lifted. This was not the endless upwards motion of your dragon. Instead, you found yourself hoisted onto the back of a horse. 

Hard metal dug into your side and you looked up to see a knight in full armour, his face hidden by his helm and his arm hooked around your waist. 

You pounded your fists against him, fighting to be let go. “No!” you shouted. “I need to do this. I need to be forgiven.”

The knight's grip on you tightened and the horse you were both on sped up. Neither seemed to find your fighting anything more than mildly inconvenient. 

Before long, your struggle slowed. You were becoming very used to the intense frustration that accompanied being trapped, being taken away with no regard for what you wanted. 

You lost track of time as you rode. You’d just been trying to make things right, even if you couldn’t do what you were meant to do. The universe seemed intent on stopping you. 

Maybe you’d done something wrong, offended the cosmos so severely you were no longer permitted to do what you were meant for. 

As the horse slowed, the knight's grip on you loosened. 

He set you gently on the ground in the midst of this unfamiliar forest and you glared up at him. 

“Can I go now?” you hissed. “Or am I still being kidnapped?”

“There were going to kill you,” he said as he dismounted his horse.

“You don’t know what was going on,” you insisted. “Maybe I deserved it.”

He rummaged around in his saddlebag. “Maybe.”

You reeled back a little, not expecting him to agree with you. “Oh. Can I go back then?”

“No. Here, eat this.” He held out some dried meat in your direction.

You refused it. It would be a waste anyways. 

“Why can’t I go?” you asked. If he didn’t even know if you were in the right, what reason could he possibly have for taking you? 

“I’ve heard about your village, you know. I was worried I was too late. They’ve messed with your mind. It’s not your fault but you’re not making good choices right now.”

“My choices are fine,” you shouted. “Who are you to decide that? You don’t even know what I did.”

“What did you do?”

“I shirked my duty. I should have been there.”

“For what?”

“To be their sacrifice.”

“You didn’t deserve that.”

You did, but he couldn’t know that. It was beyond him. 

It was hard to remember where you were. It didn’t make sense. Why weren’t you home? Or were you? You knew that you should be. Why wouldn’t you be? 

You saw your dress, dirty and crumpled and ripped. You’d ruined it. How would you go through with the ritual now? 

Something in you always knew you’d ruin it somehow. And now things were all wrong. Who else’s fault could it be?

The knight pushed some food at you and once again you were in a forest far from home. 

You threw it back at him. “I said I don’t want it. Aren’t you going to eat?”

That damn helmet stared back at you for a moment before he said, “Maybe later.”

“Do you have a name?” you asked, desperate to get anything from him. 

“Phillip.”

You missed your dragon. At least you could see his face and try to figure out what he was thinking. 

He got up without warning, and you jumped a little at the sudden movement. 

He froze for a second as you did, staring down at you before continuing on, trudging through the nearby bushes. 

He returned in a few moments. 

“There’s a pond back there,” he said, gesturing towards the foliage. “It’s not too cold, you should be fine.” He started to move back towards his horse before pausing for a moment and adding, “It might make you feel better.”

You went to inspect this pond as he tended to his horse. 

It was a small pond, the trees around it curling over the top of it, mostly blocking out the sun. You dipped your foot into the water and found that the knight was technically right, it wasn’t cold enough to hurt you. It still wasn’t a pleasant temperature but right now it was the best you were going to get. 

As you tested out the water, you watched from behind the bushes as he mounted his horse and started to ride away. 

It made sense. You wouldn’t want to keep you around either. At this point, you were just ungrateful dead weight. 

You considered taking off your dress and attempting to keep it dry but at this point, it consisted more of rips and dirt than anything. Dousing it in water might do it some good. 

You sunk into the cold water, doing your best to get the dirt out of your hair. As long as you were in here, you might as well attempt to get clean. 

You wondered if you could find your way back to Pytho’s cave. If you could manage to get close you were sure he’d be able to find you. At least you hoped he would. It was the only place you had left to go. 

You had no real desire to prolong the bath in the cold water. You just didn’t know what came next. After this, where could you even go?

Your fingers began to prune and you know you couldn’t do this forever. 

As you exited the pool in your sopping wet, muddy, ripped ceremonial dress, you decided you needed to go. You weren’t sure if you were trying to find your village or Pytho but it didn’t really matter, you had no sense of what direction either was in. You just needed to be headed somewhere. 

You made it half a dozen steps before you collapsed. 

You didn’t even notice he’d returned until he was right in front of you, staring down at you collapsed in the dirt in your soaking-wet dress. 

You watched his helmet as he looks you up and down, lingering a second too long on your chest before snapping his head back up towards your face.

He cleared his throat and you would have bet money that his face was bright red beneath his helm. 

“Apologies, my lady. I thought you might want some fresh clothes.”

He held out some folded clothes with a pair of leather boots balanced atop them. 

No. It wasn’t right. This was supposed to be the last outfit you ever wore. It felt like a betrayal to take it off. 

“No thank you,” you said from your spot on the ground. “I’ll stick with what I have.”

“I know they’re not much but they’ll fit.”

You shook your head again. 

You heard a quiet, muffled sigh escape him. “The sun is setting, you’ll freeze to death if you wear those. You can change back in the morning if you really want to.”

You eyed him suspiciously. “Promise?”

He nodded. “Promise.”

You took the clothes with a sigh. “Fine. Turn around.”

You’d never seen him move so fast. It was like he was afraid you’d start stripping the second you decided to change. 

A giggle escaped you and you watched his shoulders tense up at the noise. It seemed like the two of you were having entirely different kinds of crises. 

You got dressed as quickly as you could, a chill starting to set deep in your bones. He’d found you a faded red tunic that hung midway down your thighs and some pants that miraculously fit pretty well. 

The boots had thick woolen socks inside and putting them on felt like heaven. You swore you’d never wear pretty shoes again as long as these were an option. 

You didn’t bother telling Phillip he could turn around. He’d figure it out in his own time. Or he wouldn’t. It wasn’t really your problem. 

As you got ready to sleep, you watched him, keeping track of time as best you could. It took him about twenty minutes before he finally peeked over his shoulder, finding you sitting with your back against a tree. 

You gave him a halfhearted smile and he cleared his throat. “You should rest now,” he said. “We have to leave at dawn.”

“And when are you going to stop dragging me around with you?”

“Whenever you’d like. I can drop you off at a town tomorrow. I just have something I need to attend to first”

You knew by now not to get hopeful. “Can you drop me off at my town?” You kept asking but you didn’t know what the point of it was. There was nothing for you there anymore. The most you could do was repent. Pay for what you’d done. But for what?

“I can drop you off at any other town.”

You slid down the tree, basically lying on the ground. “Alright. 

He spent the rest of the night in full armour and you wondered if maybe part of him thought you might attack him. Either that or these woods were more dangerous than you knew. 

He awoke you the second the sun began to peek over the horizon and you groaned, trying to kick him away from you. 

He would not be deterred, coaxing you up and onto the back of his horse. You got on behind him and wrapped your arms around him for stability with minimal protest. You didn’t have the energy to fight him on it. 

It took you too long to realize you'd left your dress behind, discarded in the mud.

The ride was much more comfortable when you weren’t being held captive. 

Forests and plains and mountains passed, all foreign and strange. You’d never left your town before, never seen anything like this. Even in your bad mood, it was hard not to admire it. 

Your heart stopped as you noticed one of the mountains that the two of you were fast approaching seemed familiar. 

It had taken you too long to recognize it but in your defense, you were used to seeing it from a cave right at the peak.

You shut your eyes and prayed to anyone that might be listening that you’d ride right by it. 

If the gods were listening, they had a special hatred for you. You weren’t sure you could blame them. 

 Phillip lead the horse along the precarious path you’d deemed too dangerous only days ago.

You needed to figure out a plan but you had nothing. 

With only a few minutes left before you reached the peak, Phillip dismounted, holding out his hand to help you down. You half considered trying to take his horse to go warn Pytho but you had no real idea how to ride one on your own and you couldn’t shake the feeling you’d ride the pair of you right off the cliff edge. The poor creature didn’t deserve that. 

You dismounted and Phillip nodded, getting right back on the horse. “You stay here, I won’t be long.”

“No,” you yelled, a little louder than was necessary. Phillip flinched, probably worried it had echoed up the mountain and warned the dragon at the top of his presence. You hoped it had. “I want to come.”

“These are dangerous lands, m’lady. I will not let you get hurt.”

You scowled at him. “You know, people won’t stop saying that to me.”

The helm stared down at you, unwavering, before he gave his horse a swift kick in the side and it rode up the narrow path. 

You took off in a dead sprint after him. 

You neared the top of the path, panting, just in time to see Phillip creeping into the cave, sword drawn and at the ready. 

You had no idea what to do. You couldn’t just stand here and do nothing but you felt frozen in place. 

The problem was, you’d rather neither of them were hurt. It felt like an impossible situation. 

Pytho needed to be warned but as gentle as he’d been with you, he could decimate Phillip in a second. That much you were certain of, no matter how competent of a knight Phillip might be. 

You finally willed yourself to move, darting into the cave to see Pytho standing over Phillip, who had his sword positioned right at the dragon’s neck. 

Before you could even think, you shouted, “Don’t hurt him!”

You had no real idea which of them you were talking to but both stopped in their tracks, heads spinning towards you. 

For one moment you were terrified one would take advantage of the distraction to harm the other and then their blood would be on your hands. Before the worry had time to settle, Pytho swung his tail around, hitting Phillip over the head with it. 

He instantly collapsed to the ground, going limp. 

You rummaged around in the saddlebag as Pytho stared at you. When you finally found rope you raised it triumphantly. 

Pytho’s gaze followed it up. “What is that?” he asked as you rushed towards the knight. 

“It’s rope,” you informed him as you tried and failed to drag him across the floor. As soon as Pytho realized what you were doing, he swept him effortlessly into the corner for you. 

You bound his hands behind his back, tethering him to some heavy golden chair that would at least slow any escape he tried to make. 

“You’re back,” Pytho said behind you, his voice airy and incredulous and so very grateful. 

You turned from binding the knight with a big smile. “I am. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it back but this guy led me right here,” he said, nudging at him with your foot. 

He didn’t seem to hear any of it. “I can’t believe you’re back.” His eyes were wide, refusing to leave you. 

You nodded, grabbing Phillip’s abandoned sword and throwing it right off the mountain, listening to the clanging noises as it bounced all the way down. You glanced nervously at Phillip as you returned, leading his horse over by the sheep. “I am. This is so rude but can you please go for a couple minutes? If you’re still here when he wakes I’m afraid he might perish from fright.”

He nodded. “If that’s what you want. I will be back.” 

He bumped his head lightly into you before heading out, flying off somewhere. 

And not a moment too soon. 

The knight stirred from his slumber. The only way you could tell was by how his helm slowly moved up, rising to meet your gaze. 

The second he did he tried to move before realizing he was bound. “Why?” he asked you. “I don’t understand, you… Was this all a trap?” His voice cracked and he sounded genuinely hurt by the betrayal. 

You felt a pang of sympathy in your chest as he struggled against his bindings. Quiet fearful noises escaped him as he glanced between you and Pytho’s horde.

You shushed him, your hands up in a quiet surrender. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’ll be just fine.”

“We? You’re in cahoots with this monster?”

You bristled at the harsh langue but did your best to be forgiving to the frightened man. 

“He’s not a monster. He helped me. Why are you even here? He hasn’t hurt anyone.”

“That’s not what I heard. From what I’ve heard he’s been snatching up women.”

You groaned, rubbing at your temples. As you did, the knight leaned forward as much as he could and even through the stoic armour, you could tell exactly when he realized. 

“No. But… but you….”

“I just wanted to help my people. I don’t know why every creature within a thousand miles is trying to stop me.”

“If he took you, how did you escape?”

“I didn’t. I asked him to let me go, to be able to make my own choices, and he did. Because he respects me and didn’t kidnap me on the back of a horse!” You tactfully decided to omit the original kidnapping. At least for now. You had a feeling it wouldn’t help your case. 

“Please, it’s a dragon, it…”

“He! He’s a dragon! And at least he’s allowed me to make decisions.”

He reeled back. “I… you were going to get yourself killed. I couldn’t just let you get yourself killed. It isn’t right.”

“And it’s not your choice to make.”

He hung his head, helmet clanging against his chest plate. 

Pytho chose then to return, his tail swishing happily as he walked. He rubbed up against your side, letting out a happy rumble as he did. 

“So they let you go?” Pytho asked, ignoring the man on the floor. 

“Not exactly. They were going to kill me. They wanted to make an example of me.” You couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t imagine that the example they wanted to set was getting rescued by a knight but I suppose that’s the hand they were dealt. 

Pytho turned his gaze to Phillip. “You saved her?”

He nodded hesitantly. 

Another pleased noise escaped Pytho. “He’s a good one. I’m glad you didn’t let me kill him.”

“About that,” you said and you watched Phillip freeze up, all of his limbs locking. You glanced at him, adding, “I said we weren’t going to hurt you, calm down. I was just going to say, Pytho, you should let him go.”

The dragon tilted his head. “Why? I like him, he’s shiny.”

You suppressed a laugh. “He’s not shiny, his armour is. It’s like clothing.”

“Oh. Why do you creatures insist on that stuff? Seems awfully restrictive.”

Phillip cut into your conversation, saying, “I can’t leave.”

You looked over at him, a wave of irritation rushing through you. “Why not?”

“I can’t leave you here with this beast.”

You had half a mind to throw something at him. “Get this through your head, I don’t need you to save me.”

“It wouldn’t be right,” he continued, undeterred. 

“Fine. But I’m not untying you and risking you hurting him.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Pytho’s head swiveled between the two of you as you bickered. As the argument finally finished, he asked in a hushed tone, although still lough enough that Phillip could hear, “Does that mean we get to keep him.”

You snorted. “Guess so. It’s your lucky day.”

“It really is,” he said, voice as genuine as it could be. 

The sunlight was fast fading and you knew how cold it could get in here. You had no intention of sleeping alone but you glanced at your mostly willing captive. 

“Pytho?” you called out. 

He turned to you immediately. “Yes? Do you need something?”

“Could you go get some wood?”

“Of course I can,” he said, already speeding off. 

When he returned, he had a whole tree in his mouth and another in his talons, dirt still clinging to their roots. 

You bent over laughing as he dropped them both in front of you, tail swishing behind him. They’d barely fit through the mouth of the cave, filling up a significant amount of the room and knocking over at least one pile of gold in the meantime. 

You got to work snapping off some of the more reasonably sized branches, having Pytho move the trees back outside as you finished. 

You set them up a few feet away from Phillip, far enough away that he’d be safe but could still feel the warmth. 

“You can breathe fire right?” you called back to Pytho. It would be unfortunate if he couldn’t because you did not have the proper tools to start one here. 

He nodded, visibly eager. “Do you need one?”

“Just on the sticks here. Make sure not to burn anyone,” you said, nearing Phillip to ensure that he didn’t forget there was a person inside of the shiny armour and cook him. 

With a quick and surprisingly controlled burst of flame, the pile of sticks turned into a quaint little fire. 

You gave Phillip a pat on the shoulder as you headed over to Pytho. “Goodnight. Have fun sleeping in full armour.”

He didn’t respond. 

You left the fire behind to go curl up with Pytho. No fire could compare to his warm scales, of that you were certain. 

A happy rumble escaped him and ran through you as you leaned against him. 

He spoke in hushed tones, face right in front of yours as his tail curled around you. “I can’t believe you came back.”

“I shouldn’t have,” you said, giving him a quick kiss on his snout. “But I think I realized I didn’t really want to be anywhere else.”

His head leaned into your touch immediately, a wistful look in his eyes. 

“I wish I could do that.”

“What, kiss me?” you asked with a laugh. “Well, how do dragons kiss?”

Without another word he licked a long stripe up the side of your face, leaving a sticky residue behind. 

You giggled as you felt his spit on your cheek. “Well, my way is definitely less messy.”

He let out a noise that sounded almost like a purr, resting his head in your lap. “I like it your way.”

You hummed quietly and you wished he could feel it reverberating through his body the way you did for him. You curled happily into warm scales, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of safety, and fell asleep in your new home. 

The next morning, you realized you had no idea how to tell if Phillip was awake or not. He could have escaped and left only his empty armour behind and it would be impossible to tell. 

What you did know was that he hadn’t eaten. 

Pytho still had some slightly stale bread from your last stay here and you’d brought in all of Phillip’s supplies. You grabbed some dried meat and the freshest of the bread that you could find, heading over to him. 

“Good morning,” you said, hoping he could hear you.

He shifted, just barely, to turn to you. It seemed like the most positive reaction you could hope for. 

“Okay, you need to eat. Here, just let me.” You went to lift his helm but paused as he flinched away from your hand. 

“Please don’t.” His voice was low and shaky. 

You backed off, keeping your hands up and away from him. “Okay,” you said, “But you do need to eat.” 

There wasn’t any other way to do it. You reached behind him, pressed close to him as you untied his hands. As you struggled with the knots, you felt his breath hitch in his chest. 

After a few moments, you pulled away from the newly freed knight, rope in hand. “Tada.”

He froze once more, something you were getting used to, and just stared down at the rope for a minute, flexing his hands by his sides. 

With no warning, he grabbed the food you’d gathered for him and stood on shaky legs, giving you a small nod before he headed out toward the mouth of the cave. It was near where the animals were being kept, tied up to some golden pillar near the front. If he wanted to, he could leave here and now.

You waited patiently for him, avoiding looking in his direction, even if you were sure he’d gone far enough that you wouldn’t be able to see him. 

He quickly returned, fast enough that he must have scarfed down his food.

He presented his hands to you and it took a second to realize he was waiting to be tied up again.

You scoffed, looking at him dubiously. “Is that really necessary?” It seemed silly to tie him up again after that.

His hands stayed out and you rolled your eyes as you grabbed the rope. 

You tied them in front of him this time, taking much less care with the knots as you did. 

“Where are you a knight of?” you asked as you pulled the knot taut. “I see no insignias anywhere on you. That doesn’t seem normal.”

“My kingdom is long gone, m’lady.”

“Still so respectful, even after everything I’ve put you through. Well, sir knight, how can you be a knight with no kingdom to serve?”

His head cocked to the side as if baffled by the question. “I know nothing else.”

You paused a moment before asking. “How long have you been doing this?”

He remained ever impossible to read, although that never stopped you from trying. After a long, stoic pause, he simply shrugged and said, “I’ve lost track of the years.”

“And so what? No kingdom to speak of, you just keep fighting?”

“I do what I’ve always done.” Like it was as simple as that. 

“Don’t you get tired?”

“I never have the time.”

“Well, sir knight, I think you were just about due for some rest anyways.”

He didn’t respond, the helmet following you as you left him.

He was so stoic. You weren’t sure how it was easier to get a read on a dragon than a man but somehow he’d managed it. 

Anything other than silent staring began to feel out of place. 

“M’lady,” Phillip called out. You turned, confused. It wasn’t like him to start a conversation. 

“Yeah?”

“Where is my sword?” he asked. 

You’d forgotten he was unconscious for that. “Oh. I threw it off the mountain.”

“You what? Why?”

Pytho chimed in immediately. “I can get it.”

You shifted between him and the entrance to the cave as quickly as you could. “No, you will not.”

“Why?” asked Phillip.

“What do you mean why? You tried to kill him.”

“I won’t attack him unprovoked.”

“You already did attack him unprovoked.”

“I didn’t have all the information. For that, I am truly sorry, sir.”

Pytho’s chest puffed up at the title. “You are forgiven. And I am sorry that I almost destroyed you.”

That caused Phillip to reel back a little. “You did not. I can best a dragon easily, I almost slit your throat.”

Pytho huffed and you smelled a bit of smoke on his breath. “You did not.”

“Okay,” you said, cutting in. “You’re both very dangerous. I’d still love it if we could keep the sword where it is.”

Phillip nodded. “I understand your hesitancy.”

He said it tied up on the floor. Despite not having a weapon, despite his promise not to try and hurt Pytho, despite the fact that you'd already untied him so he could eat. 

“This is stupid,” you said, pacing up to him and immediately setting to work on the knots and ignoring his quiet noises in protest. 

It didn’t take long to undo them, you’d put barely any effort into tying them in the first place. 

“We have to free you so you can eat anyway, I don’t understand your obsession with this little performance.”

Phillip froze, still holding his hands together despite the lack of rope. 

“What should I do?” he asked you quietly. 

You threw the rope to the side. “That’s up to you.”

It took him hours before he was even willing to stand from his spot on the floor. 

His movements were all colored by hesitation. You understood. The freedom made staying a choice. And even when he managed to stand, to move from his corner, he stayed.

He stuck to his corner as often as he could, but nonetheless, he stayed. Watching him sleep alone in the cold, you were certain that this was how Pytho had felt every night when you froze your ass off far away from him. 

You both lit the fire for him every night. Pytho has started running off to get wood without you even asking, even if the trees that remained outside left you with enough wood to last years. 

His armour got lighter as time passed, forgoing pieces from time to time. No matter what, the helmet stayed. It felt like a part of him, like you could imagine there possibly being a man under there. 

He was adjusting to the newfound freedom about as well as you’d expected. 

With every small sign of growing comfort, something else went wrong. 

A few days after his freeing, while Pytho was out gathering more food for the two of you to eat, you heard him muttering in the corner. 

You drifted closer and he paid you no mind. You couldn’t make out any words but you could tell it was frantic.

“Phillip,” you said softly, doing your best not to startle him. “Are you alright?”

You had no idea if you’d frightened him, he remained entirely unreadable. All except for his hands. He had foregone his gloves and much of the armour on his arms and you watched as he nervously fidgeted, threatening his fingers together, cracking his knuckles absentmindedly, his hands never staying still for more than a moment. 

“I’m wasting time here,” he said. “I have things to do. I have a duty to this land.” 

You knew it was near impossible to get through to him but you couldn’t help the urge to try. “It’s a waste to rest?”

“It is. I need to go, need to continue on.”

You sat beside him, as close as you could get without touching. “You should take me back home on your way. I’ve got a duty too, you know.” 

His head fell back. Metal against stone sent a clanging noise echoing across the walls. “That’s different. You were brainwashed.”

“I wasn’t. The monsters are real you know. I’ve seen them. We all do, every year. I really would have been saving them. Whatever girl they chose instead of me really did save them. Maybe you don’t think it’s right. That’s fine. It’s an important duty nonetheless.”

“It’s not the same. I’m not being marched to my death.”

“People will still need saving in a week, in a year, in a century. There’s no real, final end to it. There has to be ends to it for you. Little ones. There just has to be.”

His head was turned towards you and you squirmed, feeling like you were being studied. 

Finally, he said, “It upsets you.”

“What?”

“That I never stop. That upsets you?”

You nodded. “It does.”

“I can stand tiny ends to it. To ease your mind.”

A sad laugh escaped you. “I’d rather you did it for you.”

“That’s the best I can do right now. You’re the same, aren’t you?”

And you supposed you were. “I can’t go back. I can’t do that to him. Or to you, I guess.”

A small laugh escaped him, a noise you weren’t sure you’d ever heard from him before. “You guess. I’ll take it.” 

Pytho returned, entering the cave a little too quickly and knocking one of his piles of treasure over. He dropped a cart in front of you, this one with boxes of pastries covering it. 

“The humans seemed to love this one,” he said with his disarming, open-mouthed grin. 

“Who are you taking those from?” Phillip asked incredulously, and you were almost certain you could hear a smile in his voice. 

You grabbed something that looked chocolatey and when you felt that it was still warm you almost sobbed. “I don’t care who he’s taking it from,” you said, taking a massive bite of it. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

You scarfed down three pastries, offering a small piece to Pytho, just so he could taste it. He spat it back out, questioning how you could ever eat something like that. 

And then you remembered your stoic knight, still sitting beside you, just watching you eat, and a sense of guilt overtook you. 

“I’m sorry,” you said and he perked up as you addressed him. “You know, I could turn around or we could close our eyes. We wouldn’t have to see anything. So we could eat together.”

You didn’t wait for an answer, didn’t wait for him to politely refuse, instead turning around and signaling for Pytho to do the same. You shut your eyes, just for good measure, as you leaned against the dragon. 

The quiet thud of the helmet being set on the floor made your heart swell. 

As you took another bite of a pastry, this one filled with a beautiful lemon cream, he slid his hand into your open one and ate behind you, slower than he’d ever eaten before. 

Even if it was for you, you hoped he enjoyed it. 

And still, no matter how much progress you made, every night he still slept in that goddamn corner. 

You were glad Pytho curled up around you at night because then at least you couldn't see him, sad and alone next to his fire, away from the two of you. 

You knew Pytho could tell it bothered you. He always did his best to distract you, pull all of your attention to him. He’d gotten pretty good at it. 

He was nuzzling into your side, pulling giggles from you as he gave you a big, slobbery kiss on your face. 

“What are dragon kisses for?” you asked. 

“What?”

“I’m just curious. Humans kiss their kids, their partners, their parents, all sorts of people they love. Dragon kisses don’t feel like something you can do as casually as a kiss on the cheek.”

Pytho perked up immediately. “You love me?”

You pressed a kiss into his cheek. “Of course I do.”

He purred at you as he answered your question. “Well, dragon kisses are just for mates. We aren’t an overly affectionate species.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You know, maybe you can’t kiss like a human but I could kiss like a dragon.”

He tilted his head and you decided to take the gesture as a challenge. 

You opened your mouth and licked a broad stripe up the side of his face. His scales tasted ashy and were incredibly smooth against your tongue. 

A wave of heat passed through him as you did, a deep guttural sound escaping him. 

You pulled back, trying to get a better look at him. 

“What was that?” you asked quietly. 

He ducked his head down in a poor attempt to hide from you. “Nothing. It was nothing.”

Something clicked in your head. “Hold on. You said dragons only kiss their mates.”

He nodded hesitantly. 

“You kiss me all the time though.”

He whined again, his tail moving away from you and curling in front of him. “I’m sorry. I know it’s strange, I know you’re human, I can't help it. You're so soft and nice and I love you so much…”

As his words got more frantic you kissed his snout again, shushing him. “You should’ve told me. If I’d known my big, strong dragon wanted me maybe I could’ve done something about it sooner.”

You practically watched his eyes glaze over, head tucking into your chest as he purred more. 

You gave him all the kisses you could, peppering them along his head wherever you could reach. After about a dozen, you decided to try another dragon one, licking along his jaw. 

You were flipped and pinned under him in a second, looking up at a ravenous face. His wings were folded over the two of you, blocking you from the outside world. In here, it was just the two of you. 

You couldn’t be happier. 

“Please, let me see you,” he hissed and you struggled to get your clothes off as quickly as you could. You kicked your pants off and they got caught on your ankles, spurring on a minor giggling fit, feeling absolutely giddy. 

And he just watched, perfectly content to stare down at you as you waged a minor battle against your clothes, desperate to get your bare skin against his. 

As you lay below him, finally fully naked, you didn’t feel shy or self-conscious. It felt right, the two of you, like this. 

“I will never understand clothes,” he informed you. “Why would you ever cover this up?”

His head shifted around, looking at every part of you he’d never gotten to see before. 

As his head moved downwards, you could tell exactly when he noticed how wet you were. He stopped moving entirely, nostrils flaring and eyes locked on you. 

He nosed at you and you opened your legs for him, spreading them as wide as they could go. 

His tongue snaked out instantly, licking a hot stripe through your folds. Whatever he found there seemed to interest him because the next thing you knew his thick tongue was snaking deep inside of you, your walls stretching around him. 

You let out a strangled cry, fighting to not snap your legs closed at how overwhelming the sensation was. 

His content vibrations ran through you, causing a spark of pleasure to run up your spine. 

His tongue found a spot deep inside of you that’d didn’t quite feel like the rest, rubbing against it experimentally and you slapped your hand over your mouth, trying not to scream. 

It was too much. You’d never felt anything like this before. 

His jaw was cracked open over your stomach, his impossibly long tongue reaching as far into you as it could go. 

His tongue slowly withdrew from you and you didn’t know whether to beg for him to keep going or take your reprieve from the overwhelming sensation while you could. 

You noticed his hips shifting and glanced down. Your heart skipped a beat. 

He was massive, probably a foot long. 

“That’s not going to fit,” you whispered.

The dragon shook his head. “No, I would never try. You’re too small, it would break you. I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“What about you?” you asked, feeling bad you couldn’t reciprocate. 

“I have everything I need,” he said, nuzzling into your chest once more. “But if you want someone your size, we could always ask for help.”

Your face heated as you realized what he was implying. To be honest, you’d entirely forgotten Phillip was there, too caught up in what you were doing. Oh god, he’d probably heard everything. 

Pytho lifted his wings as you looked at Phillip, who had turned to face the wall. 

“I am so sorry,” you called out, embarrassment washing over you. 

He turned to you slowly and you prepared to get yelled at. 

Instead, his voice came out breathy and strained. “Do you want me to help?”

Your heart skipped a beat as you stared back at him. “I do. 

He moved towards the pair of you. “I live to serve”

You wanted to kiss him. You wanted so badly to kiss him and you just couldn’t.

So instead you made do, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards you. He fell next to you, both of you leaning against Pytho. 

He froze a little as your hands neared his helmet and you whispered, “Trust me.”

He untensed, although you could sense his anxiety. 

You grasped the side of his helmet slowly, tilting it gently to the side to reveal a sliver of his neck. You moved towards it, taking all the self-control you had to go slowly. 

He shivered as you neared him, your breath ghosting over his skin. 

You started gently, pressing soft kisses into his skin. 

Before long you wanted more, nipping at his neck and sucking marks into it as he let out little whines. You could feel his throat move as he swallowed, could feel his muscles tense as you moved.

Eventually, he pulled you away from him and you looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“Um…” he said, his voice shaky and high. “If you do want me to… to help. You need to stop doing that. 

You smiled, resting your forehead on his helm. “If you insist.”

The way you’d pulled at his clothes, shifting his shirt out of the way, meant you could see as he gulped. 

His hand hovered inches over your hip, as if afraid to touch you. You covered it with your own, pressing it onto bare skin. 

You didn’t mind his staring so much now. You could feel the waves of awe coming off of him as his hands gently slid up and down your sides. 

You hooked your fingers into the front of his pants and pulled him closer to you. 

“Please,” you asked. 

He didn’t bother taking his pants off, instead pulling them down just enough to get his dick out, already painfully hard. 

Pytho’s tongue had more than prepared you and Phillip seemed like if someone breathed on him wrong he might come so you wasted no time, pulling him over to you. 

Pytho sat there, watching as Phillip pushed inside of you. He was painfully slow, groaning with every inch. 

Your walls fluttered as his hand pressed tentatively down on your clit and he had to stop entirely, breathing slowly. 

“Do you know how hard it was,” he gasped out as he buried himself fully inside of you, unmoving. “Hearing all that and not touching myself. It felt like torture. 

You could feel Pytho shifting behind you, molding himself against your back as you saw his hips twitch, grinding against nothing. 

You opened your mouth to speak when your words were cut off with a sharp thrust. 

Phillip gripped your hips so hard you were worried it might bruise in the morning. You couldn’t bring yourself to care. 

He slowly found his rhythm, desperately trying to pull you impossibly closer as he thrusted inside of you.

You felt something hard against your back, moving as Phillip slammed inside of you again. And then, as if sharing one mind, you felt a sticky substance coat your back just as Phillip gave you one final, hard thrust, groaning as he came inside of you. 

As soon as Phillip pulled out, Pytho rushed to snake his tongue back inside of you. It was so dexterous, pressing up perfectly inside of you as he tasted both you and Phillip. 

Phillips fingers intertwined with yours as your back arched and you felt waves of pleasure run through you. Pytho seemed intent on working you through it, his tongue moving steadily until you could take it anymore. 

You pushed at his head and he lifted it, mouth slick and eyes looking just as dazed as you felt. 

You were all gross and sticky and you’d never been happier in your life. 

Phillip snorted. “I was supposed to kill you.”

“Plans change,” you said. 

“You never could have killed me,” Pytho declared and you couldn’t help but smile as their argument began again. 

You woke up in a tangle of limbs. Your head was tucked into Phillip's chest, his arms wrapped around you with just the tip of Pytho’s tail betwixt you. You were both entirely surrounded by him, curled up protectively around you. 

Pytho had to take both of you down to the nearest lake to get clean the next morning. He sat patiently at the edge of the pond as both of you washed off the mess from the night before. 

Phillip helped you clean, scrubbing your back and running his fingers gently through your hair as you both stood in the waist-deep water. 

You’d had the good sense to remove your clothes but Phillip had to clean his along with himself, standing in the water in his pants, shirt, and that helmet. 

It seemed a little silly but you wouldn’t bother him over it. It would come in due time. Or maybe it wouldn’t and honestly, you didn’t think you would mind. 

Pytho was content watching the two of you, occasionally shifting his tail to splash water at you, a favor you returned to him readily. 

As the cleaning finished and the three of you sat on the shore, drying off, Phillip braided your hair as you both leaned against your warm dragon. 

You were curious where he’d learned it but scared to ask, to remind him of anything other than this perfect moment. 

He did not seem to understand how precious and fragile this moment was, breaking the silence by saying, “I can’t stay here,” and shattering everything. 

You looked at him with panicked eyes and Pytho hid his head under his wing. 

“What?”

His next words came slower, more gently. “I think we’ve made a little home here. I do. But I can’t just stay.”

You nodded. You understood. “Neither can I. You’re going off adventuring again, right?”

He nodded and you immediately added, before you could lose your nerve. “I want to come.”

“It’s going to be dangerous,” he said, his voice not commanding but instead cautious and worried. 

“Please. I need to do something, to help someone. I feel like I’ve got a debt on my back. I can’t let it hang over me like this forever.”

He went to protest but you stopped him. “I don’t care what you think, I can’t live with it. Please.”

He nodded. “First, we’re going to need to find my sword.”

You gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sure it won’t be too hard.”

“And we can’t come back every night,” he continued. “You’re going to have to spend days on the road. You sure that’s what you want?”

You rolled your eyes. “I think I can manage for a few days.”

Pytho lifted his head from where he was hiding it. “Come back? You said you can’t stay?”

It took a second to understand what he could possibly be asking. The idea of leaving him forever was so inconceivable to you that you hadn’t realized what this must have looked like. 

You rushed over to him, kissing his forehead. “No, I’m not leaving you. Neither of us are. We just…I just can’t stay in a cave for the rest of my life.”

“People will still need helping,” Phillip chimed in, standing behind you. “I won’t ever stop doing this. It’s what I was made to do. But it's been too long. I think it was about time I found a home to come back to.”

You smiled at him as you leaned into your dragon’s side. “I think it was.”