~ 11 ~

Goodbye to Goodness

"C-COLE!? WHAT THE FUCK?! L-LOOK... LOOK THE OTHER WAY! LOOK THAT FUCKING WAY!" Astria covered an arm across her chest, and a hand laid flatly over her crotch, and in an instant, it made sense why she went off alone. "The fuck are you doing! There. There! Look over fucking there."

My eyes opened to the extreme, and I looked to where she had pointed. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, staring at me. Astria spoke again. "Can you still see me out of the corner of your eye?"

"Yes."

"Then why the fuck are you looking there!?"

"Because you said so!"

"Then how about you look the furthest fucking thing that isn't me!"

"Aye, aye! Fuck! I'm sorry, alright! Fucking sorry." I covered a claw over my eyes and looked all the way to the right. The blockade of green scales denied any accidental viewing. "I didn't mean to surprise you. Or scare you. Nothing like that. Just... you weren't there when I woke up."

"I left you a note!"

"You... did?"

"On the ground next to you! It should have been the first thing you saw next to my footsteps! What, were you too lost in your own head with worry over me to notice?"

Lost in my head for a different reason, maybe... hey, wait.

...the voices are gone!

"Something like that." Water splashed as feet sunk into the pond. "And why are you worried about a dragon seeing your bits? Different species, remember?"

"You can try every excuse in the book," Astria went on as she sank further into the water, "but I'm not letting you see me naked. As far as I'm concerned, the parts look close to the same across the board."

Not like it would fit.

"Fair enough."

"And I don't need a massive dragon dick looming over me while I wash."

"I got the point already, for fucks sake! And—hey! That wouldn't go popping out if I looked."

"Oh, is that so?"

"You trying to find out?"

Astria chuckled. "Clever boy. You either get to see me naked, or I have to forfeit the argument. Fine. You win. You might be one of the few males that won't lust after me."

"Tch. Now who sounds up her own ass?"

"I am a princess, y'know."

"You were a princess, y'know."

"So that affects my figure?"

"Go figure."

"Gah!"

The splashing stopped as the princess must have lowered to her chest in the water. The water moved lightly after that as she washed. I sniffed myself at that moment, not knowing much better I was myself.

"Do I stink?"

Astria stopped cleaning and possibly turned toward me. "Nothing worse than usual. But you have cuts and blood across your back. Those might be worth the wash."

"Have any room in there?"

"Not unless you want to do some shrinking." Astria playfully laughed to herself, marketed by more splashing; the serene sounds manipulated my heart. "Hey! Now wouldn't that be an idea! A teeny-tiny dragon to carry in my palm and sometimes wear like a scarf! You would be so cute and precious! Like my own lil' pet."

Everything within me hardened.

Do not become a simp.

Do not become a simp.

Do not become a simp.

"Think I'll have to take a raincheck on that idea."

With heavy regret.

"D'aww! I guess you'll have to take a bath over on the shore, then." Astria walked out from the water, creating little waves with her legs. Grass greeted her feet. She paused, turning to me. She’s still naked; don’t look. "Say... that trick you showed me last night. The way you're able to keep yourself and others warm. Would you be able to do something similar to that?"

The fuck did she mean by that?

"In what way?"

"I know I'm probably going to regret this, but," Astria cleared her throat and spoke louder, "would you be able to exhale warm air at all?"

My face tightened together in a horrible confusion that, I hoped, would cause her to feel some resemblance to pain and shame. A retreating footstep against the grass fueled that hope. "Uh, try again?"

"Not like just blowing warm air! Because everyone can do that! What I mean, is... aw, fuck." Astria sighed and composed herself, deciding it wise to try again. "You're able to breathe fire, right? Would you be able to breathe something close to that—without the fire part?"

"So blowing warm air?"

"Not like blowing warm air like I'm able to do—but, like, warm air brought on by a fire or something." I could hear and feel her slump in place. "On second thought, never mind. It probably would smell awful anyway."

I smiled and turned my head closer. "Actually, you'd be surprised."

"Why? Because you're the first dragon to discover a dragon's equivalent to floss, a toothbrush, and mouthwash?"

"For someone who's usually pretty smart, you can be dumb, sometimes."

"And what does that mean?"

"Fire, duh! The ability to melt and exhaust anything in my mouth? Why do you think dragons never worry about morning breath—besides the fact that they're dragons?" I tilted my head upward and blew a little flame, capturing, burning, and exhaling everything within my maw. I grinned once I was done. "And, just like that, my mouth is clean. No bacteria. No smell. Just a usual dragon's breath—which, I admit, isn't the freshest in the world."

Astria was silent for some time. I could feel the war raging within her. She couldn't shake the coldness battling the desire to not look like an idiot. But with clattering teeth came the admission of defeat. "F-Fine. Do it. Warm me up and dry me off. Non-sexually."

"Don't you worry," I said as I charged a fire in my chest, ensuring, hopefully, that I didn't blow some of it out. "I don't think there's a fetish for dragons exhaling on humans yet."

Unless you're the one to create it.

...fuck.

I exhaled with covered eyes the heat of the fire over the maiden. A blissful sigh came at once, creating something close to a sauna next to the water. Astria moaned without meaning to, and my heart became suddenly afraid of what I might have done. She had been warmed within a few seconds, and the excessive water dried off.

"Man... I could make a fortune off you."

"I hear dead dragons go for a lot of gold."

"You're better alive." Astria sauntered away, her feet softly crushing the grass, probably going for her previously discarded clothes. "Able to keep people warm by staying close to them. The ability to create a sauna anywhere. Winter troops would be glad to march alongside you."

I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. "If they're not trying to kill me."

"But maybe they won't? Have you considered the possibility that there are others like me out there? Those who will hear of your stories and might be willing to give you a chance?"

I looked downward. "The latest story they'll have heard is the dragon who kidnapped the princess—so par for the course on that one."

"On this island, maybe, but not out there, wherever you might choose to go." I could hear the clothing sliding up her body, squishing and becoming snug against it, a beautiful sound of a zipper zipping upward. "It's not up to me to tell you how to live your life. But you could make something of yourself out there. Find a village to take you in—maybe a kingdom to serve."

I thought about it a bit.

"So long as you don't attack people and try to talk to them, soon enough, someone will listen." Astria finished with her outfit with a hum, clearing her throat and letting me lower my claw. I looked at her again in her skintight outfit. She was right. Dragon or human, a good enough female could cast a spell on any male. "Work your way through an opening like that. You won't have to be alone. You could be useful in ways you never knew."

My voice floated from my throat without me even knowing. "And what makes you think that I want to help humans?"

Astria shook her head with raised hands, smiling sincerely at me. "It doesn't have to be humans. But you're someone who likes to help, aren't you? Or did I get that part wrong about you?"

My mouth opened to speak, but once more, I was without words, and the corners of my eyes suddenly stung. I looked away without a response. The princess dusted herself off with a hum... until settling onto her knees.

That caused me to glance back at her.

"Do you think you could do me one last favour... before we part ways, that is?"

I coughed and nodded.

"While you were asleep, I was able to clock the public port north of here, a quarter's day journey at most." While on her knees, she turned away, facing me with her back. "Out of the few ships there, I think I can convince one to allow me passage. Problem is, with my father and the two kingdoms... there's a chance that word, somehow, might have gotten out."

She smiled and used her hands to gesture to herself. "They might already have sketches of me posted out there... looking like a princess."

I looked at her with shame. She keeled on the grass, low, thin branches hanging overhead, the dense foliage of the woods allowing slices of light across her. It was a beautiful image. A natural one. Like though she were one with the forest. She always connected harmoniously with her environment.

"I don't trust myself to do it—not even with the sword." Astria looked at me from over her shoulder, with that little smile meant only for me. "You've proven yourself skilled in control with your claws. If you would..."

Astria collected her long, overflowing hair, condensing it into a ponytail. She held her hands out, allowing sufficient space close to her head. "Could you cut my hair? Few can grow theirs out so long. It's one of my last connections to being a princess."

I swallowed nervously as I rose over the woods, lowering my arms close to the pond, splashing it widely from the impact. I held out a claw, extending a talon, slipping it between her back and arm. I aimed the sharpness at the bridge of hair.

And, with a held breath, sliced upward.