Dragons are the most fascinating species to have ever graced this planet. I do not write these words simply because of my racial bias, nor because of the claim my people have in regards to kinship to these mighty wyrms. The truth of the matter is that out of all the myriad species capable of having pleasurable encounters in their mating rituals, dragons are, by far, the most prolific. With their magical abilities, they can take on the form of any creature they desire, and, for those of the draconic race who desire to consort with lesser mortals, their charisma is simply unavoidable.
The fecundity of dragonkind is legendary in its own right, to the point where the goddess of fertility herself takes on the form reminiscent of a dragon. So potent is their seed that they are able to breed almost true with any race they desire. Because of this, sorcerers with the power of dragons in their bloodline are especially common in the magical community, yet they are not the most coveted nor feared of draconic descendants.
The most potent of draconic progeny outside of their own true descendants are the half-dragons, beings who resemble the races of both of their parents. When a dragon decides to sire or birth a child with another creature, it brings into this world a powerful being unlike it or its mate, yet to not call this creature a dragon would be a disservice to their power and majesty..
I have thus far only seen one creature that could be considered a true ‘half-dragon,’ yet I initially saw no way she could ever possess the criteria necessary for being one. After all, there was never any indication that there was ever a dragon among the Dragon’s Heir tribe in the generation preceding ours. Yet, Tikana, the Kobold Queen showed every sign of her draconic heritage. I didn’t consider the implications back then, but the more I researched mating and lovemaking, the more troubled I became. After all, it was by her leave that I was sent off to the wilds of the world above to study all I could about outsiders and their mating habits. I didn’t know why at first, but after startling revelations, it came much too clear to me that Tikana the Kobold Queen was just as interested in her past as I was in the future of our tribe.
I have already written on what I’ve learned about the generation before us. It was the discovery of that knowledge that made me feel content to come back home and fill in the blanks with Master Tikit’s insight to the matter. All that was left was discussing with the Queen herself the matter of our origins. But, before I make it to that, I must fill in the details new readers must face in order to understand the exact nature of myself and my Queen. To explain our most intimate and my most cherished memories feels much more humiliating than any act I’ve tried in the past..
-Tik Tik

Years after the hatching ceremony that saw a whole generation of kobold young brought into this world at the same time, Trapmaster Tikit walks through the line of his apprentices, each tinkering on traps of their own design. “Good, good Jalacdo. An outsider won’t be able to run after that bites them! Tighten up you screws, Quiquan. You’ll be the death of us all one day. Shape up, Bratto. We have to make sure those parts are all compatible before we attach them to a bigger mechanism.”
His form looms over the final apprentice--the little pink kobold with bright blue eyes, who has her tongue sticking out to her side as she tinkers with a block of wood.
“And just what are you making, Tik Tik?” the older kobold says, clenching the block in his claws and lifting it up.
The little Tik Tik gasps and holds her hands up, whining, “gimmie, gimmie!”
Tikit examines the block, a frown forming on his muzzle. “There isn’t a damn thing going on in here!” he shouts. “What the hells have you been wasting your time on?”
Those big blue eyes waver as she looks up to her master, sniffling.
“Oh, no. None of that, now, or I’ll have you sent to the mines.”
Her demeanor shifts instantly, scoffing at how easily he saw past her ruse“Look!” Tik Tik says, pointing to the underside of the block.
Tikit turns it around and narrows his eyes. “Hm… what’s this…? ‘Made by Tik Tik Dragonsheir.’ “Oh, so, you’re putting your vanity over the rest of your people, are you? What was the first thing I told you about trap design?”
“It doesn’t matter who makes the trap. It matters that it works!” Tik Tik had repeated that mantra many times before. “But, I thought if someone knew who made it, they could ask. Kobolds make things differently. We all work together, but we’re all different, too. If someone tries to improve my trap, then they can ask me about it. It makes repair more efficient.”
Tikit snorts. “Any kobold worth her salt will be able to know exactly how a trap works just by lookin’ at it. And if that kobold is too dang slow to figure it out in time, then they’re too slow to not get sliced by an outsider’s sword. Look how quickly the others have made functional material. Yet, here you are, playing arts and crafts! Get out, and think about it while you miss out on supper tonight!”
Tik Tik hangs her head low, whimpering a little bit at the demand, but she does as she is told and slips out of the apprentice trapmaker’s chambers into the warrens beyond.
As Tik Tik sulks in the tunnels, a light emerges from one of its off-shoots. Squinting and covering her eyes, Tik Tik groans at the inevitable encounter.
Poking her head out of the hole is her nestmate, Tikana. Red spots speckle her pink scales, and nestled in her crown-shaped ridge is a tiny little miner’s hat she uses to shine light around the area. “Hey, Little One!” she says, a giggle on her voice.
“Hey, Tikana--oops, your majesty.” Tik Tik says, slumping back against the wall. “Shouldn’t you be training?”
Tikana rolls her eyes and pops out of the hole, landing next to Tik Tik and shutting off her light.”I slipped out. Easy enough to do when you’re the queen-to-be, and your teacher just sits around all day.”
Tik Tik giggles, rubbing her eyes to remove the burning stains from the light. “Lucky. I got a grumpy old Master Tikit to be mean to me.”
“Ah, don’t you worry, Little One!” Tikana says, patting her on the head. “No matter how far back you are in the social ladder, you still hatched alongside me. That means whatever you do, I’ll back you up! So, tell me, what did he yell at you for this time?”
Tik Tik shakes her head. “He won’t care by next shroomglow. You won’t care now. I just want kobolds to be more… different. Like you. Like me.”
Tikana smiles at that, wrapping her arm around the smaller kobold. “Oh, you’re not so different from other kobolds, Little One. Remember, I have the blood of dragons. You have a weak shell. Plenty of kobolds do.”
She takes a breath, then stops in place, reaching back into her little pouch and producing a tiny chunk of rock. “Anyway, lookit. I found some shiny treasure. It doesn’t shine now. There’s no light, but its so beautiful. This is something that’s really different. Everything is so dark and gloomy around here.”
“H-hey, I like things that are pretty!” Tik Tik says. But, how different are you, really? Dragons love gold, but what about you? Do you love it, or does dragon in you love it?”
Tikana blinks and shrugs. “What are you talking about?”
Tik Tik rubs her head. “Tik Tik isn’t sure. Around Tikana, Tik Tik think bigger things sometimes.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing the two of us are nestmates. Tell ya what. When I’m queen, you can be my grand adviser, and we can put our heads together all the time!”
Tik Tik smiles at that and wraps her arms around her nestmate. “That’s nice… this seems like a good place to take a nice nestmate nap.”
“Yeah,” Tikana says, yawning and snuggling up to her. “We can worry about big plans tomorrow.”

Back in those times, life was far different than it is now. My aspirations went no farther than what I was told by my dear Master Tikit, so I kept pursuing my skills, usually having my inspiration whenever I cuddled next to my beloved nestmate, Tikana. Little did I know that our connection came from an arcane ritual performed by a powerful being who had lived underneath our tunnels. How I came to this knowledge I shall tell later, when I chronicle my adventures to learn the origins of this very book I compose my notes within. Suffice it to say, this glance into my early years is perhaps more vain than is necessary for purely academic pursuits, but my bard friend and I have decided that there is a fundamental truth in this world: cuteness is the spice that flavors a story, making it all the more sweet, and perhaps more sour. Alas, I must continue my story to the most relevant point in the future, and in order to do that, I must skip ahead a few years in our lives, to a time when adulthood had just introduced itself.
-Tik Tik

The trap door slams shut, blocking off the entirety of the chamber. Strong stone cuts off the path as metal bars reinforce it. Air hisses as the hydraulic system constantly fills and refills as the air pressure keeps the door closed.
On the other side, a team of kobolds push against the door, but their combined might cannot break through. They then seek any holes or cracks in the stone, but it had been washed completely smooth, the size cut perfectly to slide against the wall and seal it shut. Then, the leader of the party snaps their fingers and holds out a hand. One of their subordinates hands a flask of acid, and the leader drips some onto the stone. But the chemical used to treat it hisses with caustic smoke at the reaction.
They jump back and cover their mouths, trembling in fear of the sight, but the amount is so minuscule that the gas soon disappears entirely into the air of the cavern.
Tikit shakes his head as he approaches the group. “Well, well, well, the infamous Cavern Crackers cannot break through a simple door trap.”
“We haven’t tried breaking it apart yet!” One of them shouts.
“Go ahead,” the master trap maker says. “After all, this is just the prototype. If you can break through it, then it wasn’t good enough to begin with.”
The Cavern Crackers all get into formation as one of their supporters passes by Tikit, carrying a large stone of their own, with the head reinforced with fine metalworking. They all grab onto the handles of their battering ram, their leader starting them off in their cracking song.
“Down and deep,
The dragons keep
Their treasures far away,
But kobolds must
Secure their trust
And keep ‘siders away.
So, crack, crack more
The cavern door
To find if they will sway
So dragons say
You’re A-Okay,
You’ve helped me out this day.”
Each line of the poem accompanies the battering of the door, sending the vibrations shaking through the cavern, but with each strike, their attacks become weaker and weaker. Soon, kobolds drop to the ground, panting for air, exhausted beyond their exertion. “Wh… what is this…?” the Cracker leader says. “Sorcery..”
“No, no!” pipes up the voice of the pink-scaled assistant trapmaker. “Sleepy Spores, mixed in the rock!”
“How?”
“My student, little Tik Tik here, has developed quite the method of mixing stone into a new, smoother form, increasing its strength beyond anything even the dwarves could muster.”
“It’s Tik Tik’s greatest invention yet. No one will get through the door until it opens on the other side!”
“My student,” Tikit says, placing his hand upon her shoulder. “This has been quite the rite of passage for you. With this, we can officially call you a trapmaker and an adult. You’ve certainly outdone even some of my creations with this advancement. Dare I say that not even a sorcerer could devise such an insidious door trap. Let’s celebrate your coming-of-age tonight, but for now, open this door, so we can make it to the coronation in time.”
Tik Tik’s smile disappears, and she bolts down the cavern, taking the long way past the impenetrable door and ignoring the pleas of the crackers and her master.
She zips past all the kobolds getting things ready for the coronation. For the moment that Tikana would officially become her queen, the dragon-blooded kobold would become something far greater than what Tik Tik is.
Already, the voice of the Grand Matron fills the chamber, pronouncing the passing of the crown, and, as Tik Tik staggers into the chamber, her eyes immediately go to her friend, who stands tall and proud, displaying all of her red-flecked pink scales in their draconic glory, her head held high, but her fists clenched. No one turns their head to look at the newcomer as the queen’s new crown is placed upon her head. To display her authority, she roars with a powerful fury, spewing flames from her mouth.
Every kobold in the chamber bows before their new leader, but when Tikana looks down, smoke streaming out of her nostrils, she sees Tik Tik and scowls, before she looks to the rest of her subjects and proclaims. “For too long, the Dragon’s Heir tribe has been without a dragon. Today, you have crowned one as your queen. Any kobold here who would seek to see your queen as the old kobold that stood here before you today shall be punished by my will. She, like your previous queen, is dead. Now that I, a great dragon, am your queen, I shall declare unto you my first decree: our tribe shall entice outsiders to come to our lands and pillage our treasures. We shall crush them as they dare set foot here, and we will take their riches and add them to our queen’s magnificent horde. From that, you will earn the respect of a true dragon.
All of the kobolds in the room, save for Tik Tik, bark in appreciation for their new leader.
The queen, who sits down on her newly-constructed throne, crosses one leg over the other and stares at the lone kobold standing among the sea of subjects, saying,“There is none, who is equal to me within in this tribe.”
Immediately, the kobolds set off to make their lands more enticing for invading adventurers. Tik Tik, of course, remains stunned as her mind races at the implications of this new mandate. So, against the sea of exiting kobolds, Tik Tik wades forward, her eyes squarely upon the new queen.
But before she can get up to the raised platform, two guards jump in her way, each of them carrying spears as they snort and show off their larger size.
But the apprentice trapmaker is undeterred, and she barks up. “Tikana! This is stupid! Why are you acting this way!?”
“You dare speak to your queen--your dragon, like that?” The Grand Matron shouts, her claws digging into her old gnarled staff. “I should expect that. You’ve been trouble since the day you were born…”
The Kobold Queen holds her hand up to silence her, and she stands tall, looking down to Tik Tik. “You want to know what’s spurred this on? I suppose I can give you a small hint from my generosity. After all, I am going to be a fair ruler.” The draconic kobold chuckles as her wings drape around her back like a cape. “You, Little One, are perhaps the most selfish among the kobolds here. Truly, that is a testament, as you do not have the blood of dragons running through you.” She finishes the statement as she runs her fingers down along one of her red-splotch patterns.”
“Tik Tik is selfish!?” She shouts. “What about you, Tikana!? The moment you put on that crown, you’ve become a different kobold!”
“Am I so different, Little One?” The queen says, sitting on the edge of the raised platform, crossing her legs once more, bouncing one over the other. “After all, I’ve always afforded myself the rare and elusive gold and treasure. Now, I don’t need to find it on my own. I have the power to have the miners find it for me. I have the command to bring outsiders here faster than ever before. I have the lust to have those beneath my concern fear me.”
“You’ll kill us all!” Tik Tik says.
“On the contrary,” she says, hopping down off of the platform. She nods, and the two guards grip Tik Tik’s shoulder and force her down onto her knees. The Queen sways her way towards her former nestmate, her grin growing to levels of smug far beyond any kobold should have. “I have the best trapmaker in the Dragon’s Heir tribe working for me. No one will get through to us, and if they did, then our combat specialists will take care of the issue with no issue.”
“You promised… you promised we’d work together to make things better for everyone here! You said I’d be your adviser”
“I did promise we’d make things great for the different… and I’m not going back on that promise…” The Queen says, standing up, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ve just figured a more mature and intelligent way to go about things. You are little, both in body and in mind, Tik Tik. Grow up, and maybe I’ll reconsider putting you among my closest confidants. But, I have no need for someone who would throw their life away just to try and preach at me. Now, you have traps to make and outsiders to kill, do you not?” She turns her back away from her former friend and heads out of the chamber.
“You’ve changed, Tikana…” Tik Tik says, a growl in her voice.
“A little,” she says, “but perhaps, you haven’t awakened fully? Wake up. Grow up. I expect great things from you.”
She snaps her fingers, and the guards hoist Tik Tik up, dragging her away from their Queen’s presence.
The Kobold Queen lays upon the bed of gold, created from the rewards dug from the earth and stripped from unwary travelers. The warmth of the sun light that master Tikit constructed for her sends her off into her own bliss, but such pleasures are fleeting.
Kosher, the captain of the guard, approaches, placing a hand upon her chest and kneeling down before the relaxing queen. “Your greatness,” she begins, keeping her good eye down upon the floor, to avoid being blinded by the radiance of her queen’s bed. “She has returned.”
“Has she, now?” The queen asks, scooping her coins into the palm of her hand and drizzling them over herself. “I suppose you can send her in.”
“Alone with you? But your majesty, her behavior at the coronation-”
“You do not question my decisions. You only seek out the best ways to carry out my commands. Now, go.”
“Very well, my queen.” The captain says. “It will be done.”
Only a few moments later, Tik Tik comes stomping into the chambers. “Tikana. Now that we’re alone, you’re going to have to explain to me everything about your outburst.”
“Look at you, making demands of me,” The Queen says, sitting up and letting the jewels roll down off of her royal robes. “Perhaps, I didn’t make myself clear earlier when I told you about your shortcomings, Tik Tik. Hm… when was the last time you went to bed? You look horrible.”
“The last time I had my nestmate to watch over me,” she responds earnestly.
“There are traditions for when nestmates are lost.”
“You’re not lost,” Tik Tik says. “You’re right here.”
“And I don’t need a kobold who is so… so different being associated with the first dragon this tribe has had in generations.
“You’re not a dragon!” Tik Tik snaps. “You’re… half a dragon, at best. And that doesn’t even make sense.”
The Kobold Queen rises, sauntering over toward Tik Tik with her narrowed gaze. “Such lies spread about your queen, Little One? I could destroy you right now for your impudence.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Tik Tik says, clenching her teeth and her fists, staring up at the taller, more imposing kobold.
The Queen stares her down, smoke rising up from her nostrils, her claws twitching a bit as blue eyes meet blue eyes.
And then she wraps her arms around Tik Tik, pulling her in close, her voice coming through, soft, meek, and wavering. “I’m sorry.”
Tik Tik thrashes a moment, but stops immediately upon hearing her voice. “W… what?”
“There’s just so much that I can’t tell you,” she continues. “As the Queen, as a true Heir of a Dragon.”
Tik Tik nips the queen’s arm, which makes her stumble back, rubbing the spot. “Tik?”
“You do not get to be two-faced!” Tik Tik snaps, an accusatory point straight up against her snoot. “We are closest that kobolds can be—nest mates. In an army of endless parts in our machine, you are the only one I know so closely, and this is not you!”
The Queen keeps her head held high as the remaining tears glisten in her eyes. “That may be so, but the ways of our tribe means that we must be far apart. To even have you here right now jeopardizes you.”
“Start making sense, Tikana!” Tik Tik says, “Or… or I’ll leave!”
She takes a deep breath, and turns to face away from Tik Tik, her hands behind her back. “I’ve been trained to be the Queen my entire life and told that I was special because of my draconic heritage. That may be true, but what I didn’t know was that our people, the Dragon’s Heir, have a special connection to the magic of this world, and a duty, even a sacred one. I cannot tell anyone, as that is the mandate of our kind.”
“You closed me off to keep a secret?” Tik Tik says. “Is this secret so important?”
The Queen sighs, turning her head down low. “You were always the smart one, Tik Tik,” The Queen says, “But I have a responsibility now that’s bigger than you. You need to drop what we used to have and respect my position as the Queen of our tribe.”
“Did you have to humiliate me in front of everyone as the first thing you did?”
“Only because you made such a huge deal about it.”
“What about this…?” Tik Tik asks, her, scooping her hand into the bed of gold.
The Queen grabs her wrist, squeezing it, forcing her former nestmate to drop all of her precious gold. “I cannot allow you to disrespect my position in the tribe, Little One. I can only protect you so much. Stop being so selfish.”
“Is it really selfish?” Tik Tik asks “to want to be with my nestmate?”
“It’s selfish, and it is childish. When a dragon graces our tribe, it must not follow the conventions of kobold kind. That is the normal way.”
Tik Tik is stuck there, unable to pull herself away from Tikana’s strong grip. She doesn’t respond to her, but instead just stares her down.
“Listen,” The Queen says, brushing her fingers over Tik Tik’s wrist. “I can do what I can to make your time here happy, but you need to fall within the natural order of our tribe. If you get in trouble, I will help you. If you are unhappy, I will see that you’re given what you need, but you cannot share my bed with me, and our talks have to stop. You need to grow, Tik Tik, and this is the only way.”
Tik Tik rubs her wrist. “Fine,” she says. “I’ll go now. So… goodbye, Tikana, I mean…” She turns to face her again, but does not look into her eyes. Kneeling down upon one leg, she bows her head and says. “I shall go and do these things, by your leave, your majesty.”
The Queen shivers, but she sits back onto her bed and says. “You may go, Tik Tik. Go and develop the greatest of traps. Spill the blood of the outsiders and expand the reach of our people”
Tik Tik nods and silently exits the room, but Tikana’s last words to her are “Make me proud, Little One.”

“Something seems to be troubling you,” Tikit says. “Your latest trap slipped up. The Cavern Crackers were able to find a way through half a minute quicker than the last one.”
Tik Tik puts her tools down, staring at the components, but not really seeing. “Is this really what Tik Tik is supposed to do, really what I’m supposed to do?”
Tikit sighs and scoots on over to sit next to her. “You are a gift, Tik Tik. When I picked you as an apprentice on your hatching day, I thought you were no good to me because you came out of a broken egg, kept alive only by royal decree, but you are special, indeed. You’re the best trapmaker we’ve ever had, and I cannot imagine you anywhere else.”
“Tik Tik is only alive because of some mercy?” asks the trapmaker. “That’s, against the normal way.”
“Yes, I suppose that is. Your egg would have been splattered flat if the old queen didn’t have her say in the matter. It’s certainly unorthodox, but so are your traps.”
“Master Tikit,” Tik Tik says. “Do you think there’s some way out there… do you think I’m selfish for wanting to improve us all, even at the cost of my place in the tribe?”
“Ha, yes, of course you are!” He shouts, standing up, but patting her on the back. “But what makes you great is that you go against that and you stick to it. Just… get through this phase of yours and get back to work stumping them crackers. After all, we got ourselves a huge haul the other day. Quite a few adventurers came in. Seems like someone tipped them off on some hidden treasure even beyond the queen’s reach.”
“Oh, that’s why they’re digging down deep.”
“Yep. Prakibak’s really cracking the whip down in the mines. Just be glad you didn’t get picked by that lot when you were hatched. Nothing but thankless, mindless, back-breaking work down there.”

My younger years were filled with misadventure as much as my adult life has been filled with actual adventure. Yet, there is pain in those memories. It is a sad tale I have heard many times in taverns and in bedside chats that friends from our younger years turn into bitter enemies as we age. Adulthood holds some of the greatest wonders for our minds and bodies, but it forever changes each and every one of us, whether we pupate physically or mentally, it is all the same. Perhaps it is the love that persists despite this change that is the most precious, the most powerful. Of that, I cannot be quite certain.
What I can be certain about, however, is the wealth of knowledge I received after the events described above. Like a character in a fiction, I fell through the proper steps for my story to be told. My trap skills were inadequate. I was put in a position of brute work. I discovered the ancient text I now add to in an abandoned camp. All of these were devised by a cruel mastermind, and I have returned home specifically to confront this master and confirm my dreadful conclusions.
-Tik Tik

Tik Tik enters into Queen Tikana’s chambers. Her guards let the wizard in with no resistance, lest they face the wrath of her orgasmic touch once more. When she stands there now, Tik Tik drops her cloak and marches right up to Tikana’s bed of gold.
The half-dragon pushes herself up, her tail swishing back and forth, scattering gold all about. “You don’t seem like you appreciated my little show in front of the people.” She says.
“I thought our lying to our people was over, Tikana.”
“So blunt,” The Queen says, standing before Tik Tik, looking down at her with her more impressive size. “But, let me be blunt in return. Did you find out what I asked you for?”
“Yes,” Tik Tik says, narrowing her eyes, as a snarl curls up from her lips. “I learned all about you, Straiesha…”
Tikana blinks a moment, and then shakes her head. “My, my, my, Little One, you have found out quite a bit to learn that name, but alas, you’re not quite right in that regard. That heir of dragonkind did not come back to life through me, not alone, at least.”
Tik Tik sighs. “So, it’s true, then? That we’re just puppets for their scheme? That my whole life, all of my research, all the friends I’ve made, all the pains I’ve suffered… They are all just someone’s will?”
“A kobold may be greater than most creatures,” Tikana says, patting Tik Tik on the head, “But the truth is quite simple: we are below dragonkind, and when a dragon commands us, we listen. Yet, here you are, shunning the command of Xasandra, perhaps the greatest dragon to ever exist. Does that not frighten you? Especially since it was through her you were supposed to learn the last lesson before we got to our final act of obedience?”
Tik Tik blinks, then she frowns, and then she gasps. “Tikana, you didn’t mean for me to-”
Tikana places a finger at the end of Tik Tik’s snout, her eyes narrowing as she stares into her former nestmate’s. “You’re a smart girl, but that is the problem between us. I’m sure you’ve had dreams, just like I have, about how something went wrong, about how destiny was perverted.”
Tik Tik takes a step back, shaking her head. “Tikana. You don’t… you can’t.”
“But you’ve learned so much, Tik Tik, about breeding…” She licks her snout now, stepping closer to the wizard with each step that Tik Tik takes back. “I think it’s about time you show yourself, your real self, to me, my nest mate… no…” she whispers, her voice becoming much more husky, “My mate…”
Tik Tik raises her hands, her claws crackling with magical energy. She narrows her eyes as she grasps the half-dragon by the shoulders. “This was all a ruse… to get me to mate with you!?”
“We’ve already had sex before, Little One,” the queen purrs “and you already know the magics to transform yourself. All you need to do is alter yourself in the proper way for me.”
Tik Tik pushes her away, causing the kobold queen to fall upon her bed of golden coins. She lays there, sprawled out, her hands going underneath the gold and practically swimming in it.
Tik Tik stands over her and growls. “When will this nonsense end, Tikana? You call me selfish, yet you string me along just to get me to father a child with you? What makes you think I even have that power!?”
“In all my years of training,” Tikana says, “I have learned many, many things. Through my dreams, I have learned much more.” She sighs as she rolls over on her bed, placing her palms under her cheek. “I know I told you to grow up all those years ago, but the truth of the matter is, we cannot until we fully fulfill what was asked of us. So I ask you, no, beg you, please, give me this one last thing, and I will never, ever ask anything of you ever again.”
Tik Tik grumbles at this and pulls out her book. “Just be glad I wanted to test this. Plus, the implications this has for the tribe as a whole is fascinating beyond belief.” She flips through some pages and sighs as she catches it. “Alright, well, I think I’m ready. Just… I’ve never tried a change so drastic before.”
“What better place than with the kobold you love?” Tikana asks, fluttering her eyes.
Tik Tik closes her eyes and raises her hands up high, muttering to herself the arcane words that bind the fabric of reality together, modifying its sway over herself and feeling the power course throughout her body.
With a flash of light bright enough to cause even the sun-loving Queen to flinch, Tik Tik disappears, and when darkness returns to the cave, the Kobold Queen lays witness to the transformed being before her.
The kobold before her is still a little one, but gone are the pink scales of her friend and nestmate and one-time lover. Now, blue scales with a more harsh ridge line and stronger jaw show off the modified face. When this kobold opens their eyes, the bright pink irises look down upon Tikana with a mixture of emotions. Annoyance and anger, confusion and lust.
“Tik Tik?” the queen asks, a huffing breath in her voice as she stares up at the commanding presence of the standing kobold.
The being that was Tik Tik doesn’t respond, and instead just lifts up their shirt, tossing it aside and crawling on top of the kobold queen. Smooth scales slide along smooth scales as the figure descends upon her, hissing as their mouth makes it to her ear, its hips pressing against her own to let her feel the beast that she has unleashed.
The queen gasps and closes her eyes, burying her hands under the mound of gold. The new male kobold pulls down his pants, his tapered dick free now to prod at her slit. “This is who you wanted…? Not Tik Tik? Never Tik Tik?”
“Tik…” she whispers
He nips her neck, teeth breaking through scales, and she whimpers. He responds. “No… She’s not here. You didn’t want her. You wanted me. Now, here I am. No adventures, no helping out the tribe. You just wanted me to find out how to do this!” With that, he pushes forward, penetrating into her. It is an experience this being had never had before, and he growls as he feels the tightness around her. “Are you a virgin, my queen?”
“N… not anymore,” she says, her voice shuddering as much as her body.
He snarls and pushes deeper, harder into her. “You made me… made her, believe that you wanted change. You  made it seem you wanted the tribe to become more than what it was!”
She tilts her neck back again, pushing her hips up, wrapping her legs around him, anything to get him to continue to plow her.
“But you just wanted my kobold cock in you! You want me to father your children!”
“J… just one…” she gasps, her hands rising out from the gold, coins showering down over the male kobold’s back, her claws clutching at his scales, digging in, not letting go.
“Then have it!” he shouts, and speaks no more. The only sound coming from his throat is a rutting grunt. Gold clinks with each push. The queen’s gasps get higher and higher. Soon, the male releases his first stream into her, making no sound but the deep breaths through his nostrils, taking in the aroma of sex and gold all around him.
He rolls off of her and stands up immediately, snatching up the clothes that he discarded and sliding them back on.
“Th… that’s it…?” Tikana asks.
“That’s all you needed me for,” he says, sliding his pants back on. Now, he turns around and narrows his gaze at her. “I hope it was worth everything.”
“W… wait…” she says, sitting up, crawling towards him. “You can’t go.”
“Why not?” he asks, draping his shirt over one shoulder. “Let me guess, Tikana… do you really miss me? Do you want me as an adviser to you? Do you want to work together to make our people thrive?”
She opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. “Or, do you want me here to make sure you actually are going to have my child? Do you want to make sure you follow what some dead people told you to do in your dreams?”
She is silent.
The kobold shakes his head, and then the magical energies that created him unwind in bright light once more, until he is gone and Tik Tik stands in his place once more. “Too bad for you, Tikana,” she continues. “Tik Tik is not interested in changing herself for you anymore.”
“So, that’s it?” Tikana asks, pushing herself to stand, looming over Tik Tik. “You’d give up on your people, just like that?”
“They are not my people,” Tik Tik says, putting her cloak back on and cowling herself. “They are yours, and as long as you want to do this, I cannot help them how I want.”
“Selfish…” Tikana hisses once more.
Tik Tik turns and begins to head out, but suddenly, she jumps out of the way as a blast of flame hits right where she once was.
The wizard glares over at the queen, seeing the smoke rise up from her nostrils and mouth. “You are not leaving here. I will keep you here, with me, forever, as my consort!”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Tik Tik says as she raises her hands, the arcane energies surging with bright light.
“Is this how our friendship ends?” Tikana says, her wings spreading wide, her stance intimidating to most other kobolds.
“Only because of your foolhardiness,” Tik Tik says, and with that, she throws her arms downward, the bright energy flashing, but then the darkness of the room becomes oppressive, filling every nook and cranny with its everpresent murk.
Tikana snarls and holds her hand up, a lick of flame appearing in her palm. The fire only highlights a small portion of the room, just in front of her face.
“I know your weaknesses, Tikana… how you held me close in the darkness,” Tik Tik’s voice comes from behind her. “If you wish to hunt me down, so be it, but you will not find me so easily captured. You have what you want from me. Now, I shall take what I want from you. Goodbye.”
When her voice vanishes, Tikana is left alone in the room. She roars, her bellows echoing throughout the entire tribe.
Tikit sits in his workshop, sighing as he looks at the notes that his former apprentice, his daughter, had handed to him. “A blasted fool you are, girl,” he says. “Always doing things yer own way. Always knew you’d be trouble, but this?” he smirks a little. “Well, at least in my old age things are about to get interesting around here. Just be safe you little troublemaker, and let someone, anyone use your skills, even if we don’t deserve it.”
He sighs and opens up a drawer, seeing the small little box that she had made all those years ago. Flipping the hidden switch located in her signature, the box opens up, and within it, he paces her notes on improving efficiency.

These memoirs are the toughest thing for me to discuss. I thank the bard who has helped me articulate the events in such a way that can shed some light in a rough past that I cannot seem to elude. I am not a depressed kobold I am far from it. Most of my adventures have a much more positive outcome for both myself and my research. But in all things in life, there comes bad with the good. I will not fault future scholars if they expunge this experience of mine from their text. My personal life is not something I would rather bog people down with. Through my work, I hope to bring happiness and fun, not misery and pity. So, if you must think of me, think of the many friends I have made and the exploits I have gotten myself into. Think of all the people surprised by my occupation and my appearance. Think of the sexy things I’ve learned along the way. But, if you do wish the full story, here is but another part of it, the parts I am currently willing to tell.
As for my study on half-dragons? I can say with honesty that I do not feel the Kobold Queen is representative of her kind. What I can say, however, is that the draconic side and kobold side of her soul are at odds. She is both a heavy-handed ruler and someone craving subjugation to a greater power. Knowing her in the physical sense as much as I knew her in the spiritual sense has only led to a sense of duty and feelings of regret. Perhaps the lesson to come from this is that sex and love are two separate items indeed. It is an interesting paradox. I must take it up with Tybalt the next time I see him. Perhaps he can shed some light on the differences.
Now that I write this down, I have to wonder if his mission was a success? I must scour my notes on that time period to ascertain where he might be…
-Tik Tik