WIP-Dragonish Fic

2,3,3
13, 13, 9, 11, 12, 3

Female (Jap-Jap) Fumiya Aoki 3, 2, 1, 3, 1 (5)
Wyvern (Kur-AmI~GFather) Nuroj Nayavu 4, 5, 1, 3, 1 (1)
Dragon  (Eth-Spa) Zema Palacio 2, 1, 5, 2, 3 (4)

Order Corporal Fumiya Aoki didn’t have to pull on the reigns to get Specialist Nuroj Nayavu to begin circling and descending to the craggy peak below. Fumiya had a good enough relationship with the Wyvern carrying her, Spc. Nayavu, that the reigns weren’t even necessary. Strangely, Spc Nayavu insisted on wearing them anyway. Most of the Order’s Wyverns agreed with the preference. Given the propensity for wrestling among that species of mamono, it was just one more oddity of a long list that Order humans had to accept with aplomb. Mamono were full of odd quirks, but they had just as many advantages.

In fact, Crpl Aoki had signaled the Wyvern to circle with knee pressure and touches. She’d signaled more intensely than usual, it’d been a long flight. The heavily insulated and enchanted flyer’s uniform she wore only did so much against the stinging wind and biting cold. Nayavu spun playfully as she sped her descend downward, and landed with her usual dexterous skill.  Aoki stepped off of the Wyvern, shaking the soreness from her body and stretching her limbs. Behind her, she heard the small pop and clap of Nayavu transforming into her humanoid form.

Moving towards the wyvern, the human woman picked up her haversack and slung it on her shoulders. Stepping forwards into wyvern’s personal space, she placed her hand on the other’s claw. Nayavu had probably been reaching for a Order-issue mana stones. The human mana within was a replenishment for that internal mana a living being drained by magical activity. For mamono, the human mana had other attributes. Human mana acted as sustenance, sexual stimulus, as well as being a internal mana level restorative.

Not bothering to speak over the mountain’s heavy wind, Aoki held Nayavu’s claw, meeting the mamono’s questioning gaze. Flying and transformation had been a drain on the Wyvern’s mana reserves. If a mamono’s mana dropped past a certain point, they tended to fall into a instinctual quasi-sexual fugue state. When so effected, they generally sought to take the needed mana by sexual force from a nearby human. There was a very high preference for humans with a pre-existing relationship. It had made the interactions between the two types of beings … interesting, to say the least.

Nonetheless, the Order did its best to make it work. The mana stones would only release their mana charge to either humans, or mamono truly having a low mana level. Aoki herself had several of the fist sized stones on her person, as did Nayavu. The confused golden face of the wyvern, shifted to slyness as she met Aoki’s eyes. The pointed teeth within a human shaped mouth were shaped in a predatory and lustful grin. Aoki exaggeratedly gave a chiding frown and a shake of the head to the wyvern’s sexual implication. Aoki had stopped finding it strange that mamono could ooze sexual desire into the slightest movements. Having examined Nayavu’s face for traces of the fugue and only finding a slightly larger amount of the wyvern’s usual mix of lust and playfulness than usual, Aoki felt herself relax. Seeing a friend and comrade staring with blank lust filled eyes as they attempted to mindlessly and violently rut with you was a more common experience for humans than the Order liked to admit.

Still not bothering to try and shout above the wind, Aoki pointed at her eyes and made a circular gesture at Nayavu. The Wyvern had the ability to excrete mid-flight, but Aoki lacked that capacity. If Aoki was going to bait a Dragon in her own lair, she’d do it with an empty bladder damn it. Safe in the knowledge that Nayavu would give warning, or (more likely) outright attack an intruder, Aoki dealt with that bit of business. With a smirk of amusement from marking the outside of the Dragon’s lair, Aoki returned to look at Nayavu. The tall slightly chubby reptilian Specialist turned from her vigilant watch of the surrounding area to look askance at Aoki. The wide dark eyes of the Wyvern still carried merriment, lust, and a strong edge of hunger. Good, thought Aoki, she’ll be the real draw for the Dragon.

The Corporal’s wide experience with the Dragon family of mamono didn’t extend to Dragons, or Zombie Dragons for that matter. Still, Command had selected them for this mission. If those ordained by the Goddesses had faith in her, she’d little choice but to believe that they could see it through. Motioning towards the entrance to the Dragon’s lair, Aoki stepped inside the torch lit entrance. The change in environment was immediate. No longer were there wailing biting snowy freezing winds. The hallway was warm and comfortable enough that she’d soon have to shed her insulated jacket. She sniffed the air, wary of the reek of death. Muscles she had even realized she’d tensed un-knotted, when only a dry dusty scent was detected. A Dragon Zombie would’ve been much harder to deal with in some ways. Aoki’s command over a team of Wyvern had given her some degree of empathy. The amount of misery needed to transform a Dragon in that way made her skin crawl.

The main hall in which they soon found themselves was ornately decorated. There was a massive long table mid-room. Though holding stacks of golden coin and curious sculptures, there was a layer of dust upon it. There were enough chairs to hold a very large dinner. They were covered in dust too. The stone floor had been inlaid with a beautiful mosaic. Jewels had been set into the stone at regular and aesthetically pleasing intervals. It was truly a fine work of craftsmanship.  Aoki yanked two chairs backwards from the table, ignoring the loud stutter and screeching of the wooden legs dragging on the elaborate stone floor.  She sat on one and propped her boot covered feet on the table, the loud jingling and spilling of coin was disregarded in favor of squirming to get comfortable.

“Have a seat, Nayavu.”, said the human loudly, as she adjusted her position with a few more groans of chair legs on stone, “I’m sure our host’ll pop up in no time. She doesn’t have guests often, so she probably has plenty of hospitality saved up.” This statement was punctuated by the clatter of coins spilling on the floor as Aoki stretched a bit more. The grinning Wyvern met her gaze, and grabbed the spare chair forcefully. She dragged it hard enough that Aoki swore she heard something chip or crack. Fuck! I forgot how enthusiastic she can get, thought Aoki, with an internal wince. Quickly she added, “But don’t put your feet up. Wouldn’t want to get snow on this lovely table here.” Aoki thumped the heel of her boot on the table for emphasis. The Wyvern looked at Aoki’s snow-covered boots and then her face, she did this a few times. Somehow, Aoki kept her wide grin under the scrutiny. Finally, the Wyvern blinked, shrugged and plopped into the chair hard enough to make it rattle. Well, at least she didn’t end up kicking through the table, thought Aoki, as she winced internally once more.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my lair?”, said a voice. The strain and aggravation in it were strong. So strong that the question sounded like a statement. It was vivid too, full of unstated implications like ‘why shouldn’t I roast you on a spit, or melt your face’. Very communicative, thought Aoki, that’s a good sign. The Corporal turned to face the speaker. The Dragon was slightly shorter than Aoki’s near-average height, and more wiry as well.

The acerbic glare on the red-haired Dragon’s face could've been threatening – too bad Aoki dealt with that sort of thing on a daily basis. The Dragon’s anger-flushed pale face and piercing golden eyes were met by a happy smile from Aoki. Self-control was good too, thought the Corporal. Things were looking better and better, tending to a squad of Wyvern had made Aoki much more abrasive than the usual human. From the corner of her eye, Aoki could tell that Nayavu didn’t share her good cheer. The Wyvern’s easy-going tallow face was set in a glare of her own.

“Well, we were in the neighborhood when we heard of a Dragon hermit around these parts. It’s a long way up here, we’re pretty famished. Nayavu here was sure that a fellow mamono would be glad to help us out.”, said Aoki, rubbing her stomach dramatically. The air in front of the Dragon’s face shimmered with heat. Whatever vicious thing she was about to say was cut-off by the Corporal.

“Oh I forgot to mention”, said Aoki who had an excellent memory, “I’m Corporal Aoki, and that’s Specialist Nayavu. Order work is hungry business, y’know. But Nayavu was sure you’d love to do your civic duty.” Here Aoki waved at Nayavu, who was glaring at the Dragon. The air in front of the Wyvern’s nostrils was starting to shimmer with heat as well.

“Isn’t that right, Nayavu?”, said Aoki, verbally prodding the Wyvern.

“Yes ma’am. I’m sure Dragons know all about civic duty, isolated mountains are the best places for it.”, said Nayavu flatly, still glaring at the Dragon who currently had her piercing golden eyes fixated on Aoki. The Wyvern was tense and taut, her seated body looked near ready to spring at the Dragon. Aoki’d have to keep an eye on that. It’d be hard to stop them if things went too far.

“I didn’t realize I had a duty to cavort around between human legs. I’d be happy to cooperate, you’ll need extra servings to ---”, said the Dragon with a sneer in her voice, only to be cut-off by the Wyvern’s snarl.

“Specialist.”, said Aoki her voice sharp, “We should let Mrs. Palacio go prepare some food.” Setting her voice to a milder tone, she continued, “I really wouldn’t say no to a old fashioned lair-cooked meal.” Both of the mamono were still tense, but the Dragon’s lips were pursed.

“It takes a lot of energy to stay warm out there, but the scenery is worth it. This is pretty far off of the beaten path. I can’t tell you why we’re this far out, Order business, you understand. But we really do appreciate the help, Missus Palacio.” , said Aoki, in the same conciliatory voice. The Dragon’s claws were clenched, as was the rest of her. Her wings and ear-frills were drawn inward as well. Nyavau on the other hand, had a gleeful look on her face. The Wyvern’s wings were outspread, and her head was jutted out in anticipation. The Dragon sighed heavily before she spoke.

“Miss. Not missus.”, said Zema Palacio, her voice as equally clenched as the rest of her. With a brief nod, she left them.

“If you can keep from ticking her off too much, and wait through dinner I’ve got some fun planned. Can you handle that, Nuroj?”, said Aoki in a murmur to the Wyvern beside her. The mamono wasn’t so dense to miss out on the use of her personal name.

As a whole, the meal was edible, and the Dragon didn’t skimp on proportions either. The meat was overcooked and ridiculously tender, while the grains and vegetables were barely cooked. The meat was near slurp-able and the grains were difficult to chew. Typical for a carnivore. Palacio really must be a hermit. Aoki looked up from the almost raw pile of barley making up the remainder of her plate. Adding more butter didn’t help, a situation the far-ranging soldier rarely encountered.

“The human villagers went on and on about how hospitable you are, Mrs. Palacio”, said Aoki to the unmarried Dragon. There were no human villagers remotely near here, of course. This province had a unusually high level of background corruption. Only roughly 10% of humans could tolerate those levels without sickness and death. As one of those gifted lucky few, Aoki found herself in high demand when it came to dealing with areas that normally only mamono could survive.

“We certainly appreciate the hospitality. I’m tired of rations, myself. Nayavu, on the other hand, appreciates the Order’s hard work keeping us sustained.”, said Aoki, drawing a mana filled stone from a pocket and holding it above her head. To her credit, Nayavu was still glaring at the Dragon, but her posture was now unmistakably aimed in Aoki’s direction.

Aoki grinned at the predictability of the mamono, even the Dragon’s haughty posture couldn’t disguise her clear interest in the mana stone. Human mana was favored by mamono over all other victuals. The Corporal ignored the churning in her intestines as they dealt with the barely digestible meal.

“Well, we should be taking our leave.  Of course, we’ll have to hope that me and Nayavu can keep from chipping up all of those precious artifacts. It’s probably not that important, the ancient Yabyankans likely left all kinds of crap sitting in their tombs.”, said Aoki.

The shifting of tension in the Dragon’s body as she spoke was amusing, despite the danger an angry Dragon posed. The Order Airmen were chosen for traits like restlessness and risk-taking. The long association with so many Wyverns in her wing had left its mark on the Corporal. Her wing of abrasive mamono had rubbed off on her, both metaphorically and otherwise. Aoki stood, stretching and causing a clatter of silver to spill from the table. Happily doing her best to showcase how careful she’d likely be in an excavation, she took in Palacio’s response. The antiquarian Dragon, looked nearly ready to have a fit at her words. Comparing the ancient civilization whose works the Dragon so regarded as crap had been a natural reflex. Wyvern were want to test, poke and prod, sometimes quite viciously.