I Became Part of the Dragon's Hoard

Bery pushed thick leaves away from her face. The further they'd gotten into the forest, the thicker the vibrancy became. The trees which had been more separated became closer together. The sounds of animals and monsters alike traveled within.

The feeling was all too familiar to Bery's mind, and she held on tightly to Valerie's hand. It was supposed to be a normal hike, but Bery's heart was relentless. It pounded hard in her chest, and the only way to calm herself was paying her attention to her love.

Valerie pecked Bery on the cheek. "If your little kitten legs are tired, I can carry you now."

"They are not tired yet. You just want to carry me."

"Oh my, my ulterior motives were spotted."

"They wouldn't be spotted if you didn't wear them on your dress."

Emary chuckled once more at their interaction. This had become common occurrence. The two would bicker back and forth, and Emary would react. Though, it had been several hours since she said she wouldn't leave so soon.

Bery saw how the elf's legs became restless. She kept looking to the west over and over again. "You don't have to stay with us any longer. I am sorry for keeping you."

The elf shook her head. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I genuinely felt like I needed this. If anything, I am completely thankful for the time we shared together. I would love to continue on with the two of you for a while yet, but we are reaching a point where it is safe for me to go home. I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity."

Valerie grinned at the elf. "My kitten and I will be here any time you need us. Don't forget to write to us every once in a while."

"Yeah?" Emary giggled. "And who is going to deliver my letters into the lair of a scary dragon?"

"You would be surprised. Either way, I can make arrangements for us to meet again. I will give you a passing magic gift for our time spent together." Valerie pushed her hand out in front of her, and a red sphere wrapped itself around Emary. "Should anyone wish to harm you, they will be burned by the flames of the end."

"I don't know how I feel about receiving such a scary blessing, but I will take it with gratefulness. Thank you, and thank you too, Bery."

Bery gave the elf a final hug, her eyes tearing up. "Even after so long, I am still a cry baby."

The elf shook her head. "This is one of your good qualities. I can tell that you care a lot about me."

"Take care of yourself, Emary, and watch out for scary dragons."

Emary returned the sentiment before departing from them. The elf leapt up a nearby tree with her agile body and dashed into the distance.

Valerie's hand latched onto Bery's shoulder. "And what did you mean about scary dragons?"

"I meant dragons with serpents tongues! They are dangerous and quick to steal your heart."

Valerie kissed Bery on the lips and pinned her against a nearby tree. "You are so lucky that I've trained my patience. Otherwise, I would take you right now for a comment like that."

Bery shivered, her knees growing weak. "I need to be more careful."

"I don't know about that. You are pretty cute when you become a needy kitten. Were you missing this sensation?" The dragon pressed her thigh between Bery's legs and leaned in to speak into the kitten's fluffy ear. "You have to be patient, too. As much as I want to pin you down right now, this is not the place."

The tingling feeling bubbled within Bery. She never imagined it could feel so good to be pinned against a tree. The rough bark pressed against her back, and the warm, soft breasts of the dragon pressed against her front. Caught between a dragon and a hard place.

Bery bit her lip and struggled against her impulses. She knew that one word would be enough for the dragon to take her, but she didn't want to spoil the surprise. The Kanai'ns voice came out more breathy than she expected.

"I can wait…"

Valerie backed up slightly and scratched behind Bery's ear. "Good kitten."

Bery purred. Even though Valerie loosened her grip, the kitten found it hard to continue standing. Her wobbly legs were like a faun.

"Um...can you carry me now?"

Valerie grinned devilishly. "I can carry you anytime. This body was made for carrying you. How would you like to be carried? Like a kitten princess?"

Bery's face flushed and she nodded hesitantly.

Though that was the only signal Valerie needed. The dragoness swept Bery off her feet and held the kitten against her like a precious princess.

Bery's arms instinctively shot up and wrapped around Valerie's neck. "Don't drop me!"

"I would never dream of dropping such a cute thing. If I ever dropped you, the only repentance I could pay would be my life. Maybe not even that would be enough."

"You don't need to go to such extreme measures. I've told you before that you're not allowed to die either."

Valerie started walking with the kitten in her arms. "Okay, kitten. Would you prefer the fast way or the slow way?"

"I think that depends on what it means."

"If you want to get there quickly I can fly you there. If not, then we continue like this."

Bery shook her head in awe. "Weren't you the one who said that I needed to exercise my legs?"

"I said you should exercise your kitten legs, but we already got plenty of exercise. And I plan to give you much more exercise."

Bery's face went tomato yet again. Her eyes swam through the inferno eyes of her lover. She relished every aspect of the dragon's beauty from her horns down to her cherry lips. Each feature was enough to get lost in. The fact that Valerie felt the same way about her was amazing.

"Did you ever try this kind of thing with someone else?" Bery asked.

"Nope. You are the first and only person I ever wished to do these things with. Beautiful people come and go, but my standards are way too high to be swayed by those. You are beautiful beyond measure of common folk, but your beauty is not only on the outside. Every single part of you is gorgeous. Like a single ray of sunshine to clear out the cloudy skies. One day with you would be enough to last me one hundred lifetimes."

"You are going to make me cry again."

Valerie smiled. "It's only natural to treat the kitten princess as a precious treasure. Anyone who would disagree has neither an eye for beauty, nor a heart that can love."

Bery remembered her tribe that cast her aside and more specifically, her father. Did those people not have hearts that could love? They seemed to love everyone else.

Valerie flapped her freshly sprouted wings and took to the skies. "Look at this view, kitten."

Bery turned her attention to the sunset. They'd traveled long enough that the sun had time to dip behind the horizon and paint the clouds red. Yet another beautiful canvas her lover showed her.

She watched the sun continue to set, until darkness eventually settled on the land. Stars twinkled in the night sky, and the galaxy painted the emptiness with purple. Bery always loved the color of the night sky. It reminded her of blackberries and the scent of her mother. I wish she could see this sight today.

"Thank you for showing this to me. You keep showing me more new things, and I…"

Valerie pressed her two fingers against Bery's mouth. "Being with you is already special to me."

Bery pulled the fingers away from her lips and pouted. "You are so unfair sometimes. I want to do things for you because I am in love with you, but I feel inadequate. How do I compete with this?"

Valerie's expression softened. "I don't mean to make you feel like this. You remember how I talked about patience before? You will have plenty of time to give me everything you ever wanted. Did you already forget the painting you gave me? You feel inadequate, but you are enough for me. You are more than enough for me. To me, you are my everything, and I will repeat it over and over, until you understand."

Bery choked down her tears and held onto the dragoness. Even though she'd sworn that she would change herself, become someone that could feel adequate to her dragoness, and hold her as someone equal, she still felt small. Incredibly small. Like the little fireflies glittering beneath them.

Though, Bery realized they weren't fireflies at all. Spirits danced in the moonlight under them, and she finally realized.

We reached the enchanted forest.