PgueDaddy

  The dragonkin brought the two ptes of food to the table, each had one of the four steaks on it, a sad, and a gss of a dark brown, almost bck liquid with cubes of ice in it. A gss pitcher filled with the same liquid floated behind her. The food smelled amazing and the drink intrigued me.

  She set her pte down where she would sit, right across from me, and then gave me mine. I decided to show restraint by not just eating everything and waiting until she sat down. As soon as she did, she started eating her food wordlessly, her face blushing as she tried not to look at me. I wonder what's got her blushing so much? All I did was compliment her. Or is she just a shy individual? Oh well, better start eating.

  The steak was delicious, perfectly tender and juicy, and with just the right amount of salt. Strange that I know about salt. I wouldn't think it's important information but what do I know? The sad's taste was how it was to be expected, pin and vegetable-tasting. The drink was the most peculiar thing. It was bittersweet, the sweet coming from something added to it while the bitter was the drink itself, and the coldness of it complimented everything and brought it all together.

  "What is this peculiar drink?" I asked my hostess. "I have never tasted anything like it."

  She meekly looked up from her meal, finished chewing the slice of steak she ate, and then spoke.

  "It's called iced tea. It's something that the merchants made to help with the hot season of heat and rain that Tarrise has. It became popur enough that it's a staple thing here now. I made it without thinking so if it displeases you I can find something else for you to drink."

  "It's fine I like it. Also thank you for cooking the meal miss... I don't know your name as we haven't done introductions, have we? I'll make it a bit easier for you. I am Orstelia, a wanderer who found themselves in the wrong pce at the wrong time."

  The dragonkin looked embarrassed that she hadn't even introduced herself yet.

  "My full name is Sotqothur Fulger, although I just introduce myself as Fulger to people as they don't need to know about my draconic heritage. You're the first in this city to know me for what I truly am."

  I just nodded and continued eating. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask and I figured that after dinner would be the best time for them.

  We both finished eating at around the same time and quietly basked in the fvorful tea before I spoke up.

  "So now that we have finished our food I believe we have a little to talk about. First, was there anything weird about me when you rescued me from the grove?"

  Fulger shook her head. "Besides the giant snake tail nothing unusual," she said casually.

  "Then why do I have humanoid legs?"

  "I used an item I keep on me in case of emergencies on you. It sensed that you have a tent transformation ability like I do so it forcibly activated it. It only worked because you were unconscious though. Items that forcibly activate abilities without the recipients' permission usually work that way. I don't know why, just a rule of magic it seemed." Fulger said, slowly breaking out of her shyness from earlier.

  I just nodded in understanding. "Then I assume you also put this cloth around my lower parts as well?"

  She just nodded in affirmation.

  "You probably have some questions of your own then. How about we take turns asking and answering." I posited. She seemed to mull over my proposition for a while before she let out a tired sigh.

  "Very well. I'll start with a simple one, what are you? You are more than a snakekin but also not like the more monstrous Naga. So what are you?"

  Various thoughts coursed through my mind, but I felt the truth would be best. The partial truth at least.

  "I am a mia. I don't know what the Naga are but judging from your tone they look simir to me but different enough that it's noticeable. Is it alright with you if I show my true form as you did to me? These cloth wrappings are uncomfortable truth be told and I feel a bit cramped with my humanoid shape."

  Fulger looked at me a bit perturbed by my request. "Sure I guess," she said in a confused and semi-questioning tone.

  A mischievous smile crept onto my face. I couldn't do this sitting down anyway but for some reason, I got the urge to tease this poor woman I stood up from the table, my covered lower parts just barely visible from Fulger's view, and slowly started unwrapping my lower parts from the cloth. Fulger started blushing heavily and quickly looked away while shielding her eyes with her hands, but I could see that she was peeking through them.

  I could tell that she wanted to look at me but why was she so shy about it? When I finished removing the cloth I deactivated [Masquerade] and that cramped feeling in my legs finally disappeared. As I stretched nguidly Fulger finally stopped pretending not to look at me and just stared openly, her eyes glittering and filled with want. A want that seemed to be directed at my scales and not me directly. Well, I guess I can't ignore the troll in the room.

  I sat sideways in the chair, letting my tail sway and curl around in the limited space avaible. "Now time for a bigger question," I said while shifting my weight to a more comfortable position. "You cimed that you were a being of misfortune and ruin, or something simir at least., Do you want to eborate on that?"

  Fulger went from a cheery disposition to a fsh of depressive quiet. Her eyebrows drooped as if she was trying to hide something hidden in them. Her mouth became various shapes before a sigh left her lips.

  "Do you know what happened in the three camities hundreds of years ago?" she expectantly asked. I shook my head, the fact that there were at least three camities before is something that wasn't given to me.

  Fulger gave me a surprised look. "Well if I gave you the full stories we would be here until dawn so I'll give a brief overview of the three. Over five thousand years ago the first camity, called 'The Consuming', spread over the continent of Orasfione. A monster, simply called 'Chaos' in the historical texts, consumed and grafted everything onto itself, causing untold destruction. The Ur of the dragons had to step in and destroy it. A century years ter the second camity, called 'The Defilement', happened. It was when the forces of 'The Shining Citadel' and 'The Burning Abyss' found our world and started invading. The war sted for another century before the dragons and gods enforced a peace treaty between them. The peace sted for thousands of years before it all fell apart. The reasons are unknown but the demons, angels, and dragons entered a three-way war against each other. The war was short, only three years, but it ended in the worst way. The leaders of the three factions met on the same battlefield and fought. The ending of the battle saw a quarter of the world being broken into floating pieces. Hence the name 'The Sundering'. That was over five hundred years ago."

  I felt another tirade coming on so I shot her a look to get on with it. Something she saw.

  "The way this all connects to me is simple," she said while moving to hug her legs in despondent dread. "All three events were caused by a simir being. A magical being of bck and white. I'm going to assume that you don't know the connection between magical beings and colors. Exceptionally magical beings will have some part of their body match the color of the element they are the most attuned to. Things like red for fire, blue for water, and so on. But bck and white is now seen as an omen because of the camities. They don't care if you possess the power to do so, just being the right colors was basically a death sentence. Especially so if you were an orphan. Guess I'm lucky in that regard. Mother may have raised me alone but she was a caring person. Mother..." As she said the st few words tears began collecting in her eyes before they started flowing out when she thought of her mother.

  I couldn't do much as Fulger started crying, but I decided to do something I knew I could do. I got out of the chair and slithered my way towards her. I reached my arms around her and gave her the warmest and most caring hug I could give. A hug she reciprocated and she used my shoulder to cry upon. I guess she had a lot of pent-up emotions she couldn't get rid of since she couldn't show them to other people due to her fears. I felt sad for her. I don't know why I was, but I was.

  I don't know how long we were like that but eventually she stopped crying. I tried to break the hug but she tightly clung to me, not wanting to let go. I sighed and tried to position myself into a more comfortable position for her. That seemed to break her out of her clingy mood as she slowly let go of me.

  "Did you have anything else pnned tonight Fulger?" I asked while slowly standing up, or the closest thing to standing that I could do with a snake's lower half.

  She nodded meekly. "I wanted to go to a local bathhouse as I wanted to clean myself in hot water, and I figured that you would like to as well. Do you want to go?"

  I barely had to think about it. "As long as I can borrow some pants I don't mind. Soaking in hot water sounds really good right about now."

  Fulger's eyes practically lit up in joy, the only signs about what happened earlier being her slightly puffy eyes.

  "Stay here I'll go grab everything we need!" she excitingly yelled before dashing up the stairs like a bolt of wild lightning. I could only smile at her antics. She was quite cute when she wasn't constantly moping.

  It took only a few minutes before she came back down with a leather bag in one hand and a pair of shorts in the other. A jubint smile was on her face like a child coming to their parent with a cool stick they found.

  "I don't have any undergarments that could fit you so you will have to make do with just these shorts for now. After you put these on we can head out," she said while tossing the shorts at me and looking at me excitedly.

  I let out a soft chuckle as I went to my humanoid form and quickly put the shorts on, much to her seeming disappointment. As I stood up I saw that she was going back into her human disguise and I noticed that her hotpants, which accommodated her tail, shifted to look like regur human clothing. I'll have to ask about that ter.

  "We ready?" I asked. Fulger wordlessly pulled a pair of sandals out of her bag and handed them to me. I didn't even think about how I was shoeless at the moment. It seems like she is more attentive to things like this as she's more used to society than I am. I wordlessly put them on and both of us left to the bathhouse.

  -POV Change-

  Orstelia and I walked through the chilly, twilight-lit streets of Goldtusk. The city street's manamps were lit, looking like fairies trapped in bottles, and radiated a soft white light that would barely affect the more light-sensitive races like goblins, batkin, and mothkin. The tter would enter an almost rabid berserker state with bright light. A stark contrast from their cute and fluffy looks and pacifistic demeanor.

  We passed through the wide main street of the city and Orstelia was enchanted by all of the various nightlife the city had. Food stalls lined the street selling various foodstuffs ranging from skewers to bread, some of the open-air bars where various races could be seen mingling and enjoying the booze, the various men and women trying to sell their bodies, and the hunters back from commissions in all their exotic equipment. It was like she was seeing what a city was for the first time. Something I suspected was actually the case.

  One thing that made dragons the top of the food chain in this world was the fact that they, and to a lesser degree dragonkin, inherit memories from their parents. Dragons get everything while depending on the generation dragonkin may receive a lot or a little. I happen to be a first generation, my mother was an Amazonian, and whoever my father is was a dragon hence first generation, and I don't remember anything about something called a mia. The closest are the Naga, who are like Orstelia in her true form but covered entirely in snake scales and have snake heads. Snakekin didn't have shapeshifting abilities so that left only two possible options in my mind.

  She is part of a previously unknown species, or the most unlikely is that she is an Ur. Urs are mostly unknown to everyone but the most studious schors or those old enough to meet them, so the fact that I may be in the presence of one is like wishing on a shooting star and then getting hit by it. The odds were just so astronomical.

  I stole a gnce at the starstruck mia, her gaze at a lingerie shop. There was no way to confirm whether she was or not except for her admitting it, which could be a lie, and if she grew unnaturally strong in a short time. I started forming an idea as we approached the brick and wooden bathhouse. A small smile crossed my lips as a pn came to mind. Perhaps I could even stay with Orstelia a bit longer with this pn as well. The mere thought brought a blush to my cheeks. Why was I so happy and nervous about spending more time with her?

  I shook my head a bit to straighten my thoughts. I needed to focus on booking the room without slipping up. I grabbed Orstelia while excitingly guiding her to the bathhouse. She let out a startled squeak as I dragged her into the bathhouse.

  The reception area was rge enough to hold around ten people, and the floor was made of textured stone while the walls were made of darkened pine wood. A comfortable heat emanated from the four entranceways behind the reception desk, each with a small cloth covering the upper part of the doorframe with a symbol to show what it led to. One was the shared men's baths, one shared women's baths, the third was shared baths for those with Lilith's blood, called hermaphrodites by some schors and futanari by some otherworlders, and the final one led to the private baths. Behind the reception desk was an elderly minotauress with graying fur and her hair done in thin dreadlocks that draped over the side of her neck on either side. When she saw Fulger enter a big toothy smile exploded on her face.

  "Fulger! It's wonderful to see you, how have you been!? You've been the talk of the town recently you know!" she said with a thunderously boisterous voice of both excitement and friendliness.

  "Nothing out of the ordinary Beth. A private bath for two, please. We're both tired after a long day and just want to soak in some hot water."

  Beth just let out a chuff as she began to grab some things behind the reception desk. "Here's your towels and room key. Don't cause too much of a ruckus," she said while giving Fulger a cheeky and knowing wink.

  She always did that whenever I was here with anyone. I think she just enjoys my embarrassed expressions, but not today! I kept a stony facade as I grabbed out towels and key and drug Orstelia into the private bathing area. I would enjoy this bath to the fullest with Orstelia, and Beth's stupid remarks wouldn't affect me! No way!

  PgueDaddy

  It's Fulger's first name

  [colpse]