A Dragon's Slave Ch. 06

I stretch and yawn as I wake up, feeling well-rested and quite satisfied. Nightwing isn't cuddling against me, but it doesn't really worry or concern me – she's probably just cleaning herself or something.

I scratch at my bare back, resenting my choice not to redress myself before falling asleep after our...experience. The bark from the tree has scratched small patterns into my back, and it's quite irritating.

After stretching again, I decide to stand and walk to the nearby stream. Luckily it's just by the clearing. I glance at the small rock on which Nightwing had melted my mothers' wedding ring. The gold shines in the morning light. I return my attention to cleaning off the dried up liquids on my legs and chest.

I take a deep breath as I enter the water. It's fucking cold as hell – I can actually feel my balls receding into my body, as if to shout "no, please – don't put us in there!" I steel my nerves before plunging in, gritting my teeth as I begin to shiver. I quickly rub myself with a smooth stone, because I read it in a book once. I don't really know if it works, but I do know that my limbs feel a bit more limber. And fucking cold.

I smile bitterly as the cold brings a sharp awareness to my mind. Standing in the water and preparing to leave the cold, a sudden pang of guilt hits me as I think upon the intense encounter that occurred earlier.

That woman – we raped her. I know it doesn't really seem like it, because she enjoyed it, but that doesn't change the fact that she didn't give us consent. I shiver as I step out of the water, preoccupied by my thoughts as the cold hits me like a whip.

That woman is probably crying somewhere in the woods right now – probably feeling defiled and disgusted at the depravity of the act. I hope she's okay...I'd hate for –

Holy fuck that is a cold fucking breeze. I begin to shiver uncontrollably, and I realize that I should have waited for Nightwing to get back before cleaning myself as I huddle against the tree I was sleeping on, seeking any sort of warmth as I hug my knees to my chattering chin.

After what seems to be an eternity, and after my nose has started to run and my fingers have gone numb, I hear heavy thuds on the ground. I'm suddenly enveloped in a ferocious warmth that immediately stops my shivering and forces a relieved sigh from my lips.

"You fucking idiot!" Nightwing hisses at me, her wings wrapped around my form as she grasps my arms tight. "How long were you shivering like that!?"

I try to form words, but my lips are still too numb to do so. The dragoness sighs as she pulls me closer to her. I feel her clothes and scales rub against my skin, and I instinctively cuddle into her, seeking all the warmth I can find.

After a few moments, she relinquishes her grip on me and allows for me to dress myself. She sits down next to me once I'm done, and sighs. "You know, Peter, you're smart and all..." She casts me a sidelong glance. "But you are a complete and total moron."

We share a half-hearted chuckle, and she eventually starts to lean against me, her eyes occasionally drifting closed. I wrap an arm around her, and we smile in the embrace.

After a little while, Nightwing begins to fidget a bit. I move to accommodate her, looking down as she lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"You okay?" I ask. She sits up, and I relinquish my hold on her. She stares into the trees with a vacant stare, seemingly occupied in thought. I wait for her to speak, sitting up straight as I prepare for a conversation.

"I'm confused," Nightwing finally announces. I wait for her to elaborate. "Last night...we had fun. And...that girl enjoyed it, she did - her Spectrum even denoted that she wanted to participate." Well, that eliminates my concern of rape.

"But...there's something I...something I did, and said, uh...after." Her cheeks begin to glow, and I notice that her face has mostly reverted to a more humanesque form. Her hair is starting to grow back, and is a light dusting of gold on her head. But that's not what matters right now.

"What'd you do? And, uh, say?"

Nightwing stands with a sigh, and begins to pace. "I don't want to tell you," she mutters. "But I also do want to tell you, because I feel it would be wrong not to..." She sighs again and turns to me. "But, if I do, I'd miss out on something I really wanted to do..."

I frown as she continues to pace, her tail dragging a jagged line in the dirt. I stand as well, watching her in concern.

"Well, if you feel that it's wrong not to tell me, then, well..." I shrug. "Do you whatever you think is right, I guess. I mean, it's really not up to me, y'know?"

Nightwing stops pacing and turns to stare at me. Her tail nervously thumps the ground as she thinks, her arms crossed across her chest and a frown dancing across her lips. I remain silent as she thinks, waiting for her to decide.

"Oh, to hell with it," she sighs, sitting down on the rock she had melted my mother's wedding band on. I sit down next to her, after making sure that the gold has completely solidified.

"I was planning on toying with you," she sighs. I ask her what the hell she's talking about. She sighs, and seems to brace herself.

"The girl...from last night...that was Demetrius."

At first, I laugh. But then it hits me like a metal arm. Attached to an elf. An elf's metal arm. The metal arm of an elf I know.

"The metal arm," I groan, pressing my face into my palms. "How the fuck did I not notice the metal arm!?"

"Well, you were...really out of it. You weren't paying much attention to anything but sex."

I groan and shake my head. "Fuck, I can't believe..." I release a hefty sigh. "So, what - he's a transgender or something? But he had breasts, or, uh, she did...and a feminine voice! And face!"

"I don't know how, but I do know that I planned on toying with you by teasing her with sexual innuendos," she mutters. "I...I even told her that...I wanted her to watch us from now on..."

I sigh, and Nightwing's cheeks glow a brilliant gold. "Well, I'm glad you told me now - it'll help us avoid one hell of an awkward situation..."

"Awkward? Wouldn't it have been sexy?" Nightwing asks. I frown in confusion.

"I thought you told me so you could avoid an awkward situation." I scratch my head. "Why'd you tell me, then?"

"I told you because..." She looks away from me, her cheeks glowing even brighter as she does. "Because I don't like lying to you..."

I blink in surprise, speechless for a moment as I stare at the back of her head. "Nightwing, I -"

"And to be honest, I don't understand why." She sighs, resting her elbows on her knees as she runs at her temple. "It gives me a fucking headache..."

I frown as I place my hand on her shoulder. "I know, I know - it's because I'm becoming more human," she sighs, anticipating what I was going to say. "I just...it's just confusing sometimes. I...I'm still getting used to..." She waves her arm in a sweeping motion, gesturing to herself. "All of it..."

I smile in sympathy as I sit behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I keep my legs open, and she leans back into me with a sigh as I embrace her.

"I'll help you out, alright?" I softly remind her. She nods, and I just can't resist from such a great vantage point - I kiss her on the nape of her neck, softly brushing my lips across her beautiful scales. She leans into it with a sigh.

"I do enjoy the benefits of being human, however," she mutters as she rests her head on my shoulder. I smile, but harden myself as I realize that we have to get moving.

"C'mon," I mutter, prompting Nightwing to get up. "We've got to get walking - we don't have forever."

She agrees with a huff of resignation. "Fine," she mutters. I chuckle lightly as we stand and start to walk. We don't say anything else on the way to camp, but I can tell that we're both asking ourselves the same question:

What the hell are we going to say to Demetrius?

-----------------

Demetrius

I shift uncomfortably in my pants. Until recently, they were soiled in the remnants of sex. Now, they're almost dry after a thorough soaking in a nearby river.

I finish my meager breakfast of some blueberries I found growing nearby, and sigh as I silently dread what will happen when those two get back...

I mean, I'm not going to leave. The world is ending, and they may be able to stop it - or at least delay it. I'm not about to give up on something like that.

But at the same time, Peter doesn't know it was me that he fucked, and that makes things pretty awkward...

Well, Nightwing doesn't understand her humanity in its entirety yet, so maybe I could talk to her about telling Peter and make it seem like I'm teaching her morals so she'll listen?

Yeah, maybe I'll do that - honestly, I think it would be quite easy to manipulate her. At least when she's like this. Maybe. Hell, I don't know - I've never really dealt with a dragon before, let alone a dragon turned human...

What if I circumvent her and tell Peter without her - yeah okay, that wouldn't work. I don't know a lot about her, but I know it'd piss her off...

Maybe I could -

I snap to attention as I hear the brush being disturbed. I tense up, but relax as I realize that it's Peter and Nightwing.

Then tense up again when I realize that it's Peter and Nightwing, and I know how god-awfully awkward this is going to be.

"H-Hi," I stammer, blushing as thoughts of last night rush to me. I hide my rosy cheeks by turning my attention to the berries I collected, pretending that I'm examining each of them for fungus before popping them into my mouth. Good thing he doesn't know it was me, or –

I jump as I feel his hand rest on my arm. I turn, cheeks ablaze as he gives me a remorseful expression.

"Demetrius," he sighs. "We...we need to talk."

I gulp, and nod silently. He relinquishes his contact with me and sits back on the ground. I do the same, silently hoping for and dreading the same thing.

"Last night...I..." He lets out a flustered breath, while Nightwing sits down next to him, remaining surprisingly silent. "I...I know now that..." He shrugs. "Well, I know it was you." As soon as he says that, his face goes beet red, and he rubs at his eyes to hide it. He mumbles something about allergies.

Swallowing my apprehension, I nod and respond with a simple "yeah". Peter nods awkwardly in return.

"Well...I just...I wanted you to know that I'm..." He briefly looks to Nightwing. "We, actually, we're...we're sorry."

"F-for what?" I ask, stupidly. A lump of discomfort forms in my throat. I do my best to keep those few berries down.

"For, well...not getting your consent. We should have done that, and...I'm sorry." He shakes his head. "We're sorry." Nightwing nods, and refuses to make eye contact with me.

"Well, I...I-"

"There's something Nightwing wants to say, too," Peter interrupts me, which is a good thing – I'm at a loss for words. Nightwing releases a small sigh.

"I...Well, I..." She shakes her head. "I...I am sorry, Demetrius. I...I didn't ask, and...and that was wrong..." She looks away from me, and stares aimlessly into the woods. I realize it must've taken her a lot to swallow her pride and apologize for something like this, so I smile reassuringly.

"Thank you," I respond. "It...it means a lot that you two came to apologize to me. But...you really don't owe me an apology."

Peter sighs. "Yeah, I know...I just felt we should apologize."

"Wait, why didn't we owe him an apology?" Nightwing asks, seemingly confused. Peter's about to answer, but I answer for him.

"I watched you two having sex," I remind her. "I thought I heard you breathing fire, and I got worried that somebody was being killed or a forest fire was starting. When I saw you having sex, I...I should've just left, and let you have your privacy." I let out a hefty sigh. "We all did things we're not proud of."

Nightwing nods, and looks away again, still blushing.

"And, hey – not for nothing, I did enjoy it."

Peter smiles uncomfortably, and I can feel the awkward dripping into the air from my words. "Uh...yeah," he mutters in response, before mumbling about getting packed to continue walking. He's probably weirded out about the fact that the girl he had sex with looks and sounds like a guy...

PLEASE NOTE TO READERS: THAT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HOMOPHOBIC. PETER IS SIMPLY NOT A HOMOSEXUAL, AND FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN IN A SITUATION THAT IS SOMEWHAT HOMOSEXUAL. CARRY ON.

I stiffly return to my berries, blushing and feeling like I want to go invisible. Peter and Nightwing start to pack, and after a while I get up to help them. We remain silent, avoiding each other's eyes the whole while.

Yeah, it's way more awkward than it sounds. Mostly because Peter is having a really hard time hiding his boner.

Once everything is packed, we wordlessly begin to walk. About ten minutes into our silent trek, Peter sighs and looks me right in the eye for the first time in a while.

"Look, Demetrius, I just...I've got to ask, and I'm really sorry if it makes you uncomfortable..." He hesitates, and I feel a certain sense of dread. "Who...who exactly are you?"

I swallow the lump in my throat, and let out a hefty sigh. "My real name is Demetra," I respond. Tears well up in my eyes as I use my proper name for the first time in more than a decade.

"Wait – seriously? You make a fake name and you just use the masculine form of the name you already have?"

"It worked," I mutter in response. "Nobody ever recognized me, and people assumed that a vigilante would be too smart to do something as simple as that. Plus, it kept my family safe."

"That's why you dress as a guy?" He asks, obviously confused.

"No, I dress as a guy because when I tried being a vigilante as a girl, nobody took me seriously. I mean, Elven women have a very high degree of equality, but...they still don't get taken as seriously as men. When they hear about a female vigilante, they assume that she's just doing it because her targets go against women's rights." I shrug. "As a male, they realize that his targets were violating very basic moral codes. It's pretty fucked up."

"I thought Elves were supposed to have some sort of unity..."

"Yeah, that's bullshit to make you look up to us," I admit. "In fact, we have less unity in Elven society. It goes to show that as technology advances, people regress."

Peter frowns. "That's...a pretty negative outlook on life."

"Yeah, well..." I shrug, letting my thought trail off.

"Wait, you said nobody recognized you as a male, correct?" I jump at Nightwing's voice. I hadn't expected her to speak up so suddenly.

Or to walk up behind me in complete silence and start talking. That was also kind of startling.

"Uh, yeah...why?"

"Couldn't you just sneak into a city by taking off your disguise?"

Peter frowns. "Yeah, good point. Couldn't you just – "

"I heard Nightwing the first time," I interrupt Peter. He blushes and falls silent. "And no, I cannot. Whenever an elf enters a human city, they follow an identification process. That way, if any technology gets leaked to humans, they can easily pinpoint which elves were where, and when."

"But...wouldn't it just show you as Demetra, and not Demetrius?"

"It works by using something called an 'RFID chip' implanted in the palm," I explain. "It's...sort of ancient technology. But it gets the job done." I smile in fond memory. "When I first got mine, it was just placed in my false arm." I pat the metal limb lovingly. "Everybody at school was jealous - I didn't have to feel any pain when they put it in."

The fond memory fades, however, as I continue my explanation. "I...I had mine torn out, and replaced with a false one that read 'Demetrius', so that nobody could trace me back to my family. It has a false ID code and everything."

"What's an RFID chip?" Peter asks. "And wait – what do you mean by ancient technology? How long have elves been around for, anyway?"

"You never learned that in school?" I ask, surprised. He shakes his head. "Well...On the Elven calendar, the year is currently, uh..." I sigh abruptly, sorrow filling my heart as I realize that I've been in exile for over two years now. It feels like it's been an eternity. "The year is 5678".

"Wait, what!?" I recoil at the sudden exclamation, as does Nightwing, who seems rather perturbed by both the revelation and the exclamation. "I was always taught that Elves were around for just as long as humans, if only a few years longer – not by three thousand years!"

"I must agree – when I was..." She falls silent for a moment, and casts her glance to the ground. "A...long time ago, I was told that Elves had existed for the same period of time as humans, as well."

I frown, rather confused. "Why would they hide the date of origin of the Elves from you?" I can see a question boiling on Peter's tongue, so I continue. "I never paid much attention to new foreign policy while I was acting as a vigilante, and I wasn't updated on it when I was banished. I think they assumed I knew the new rules or...something."

"That explains why you don't know," Peter mutters. "But then...wouldn't other humans, from before this change in policy, know about it, too?"

I'm about to answer, but I hold my tongue. If policies have changed so much...maybe it would be unwise to reveal any more than I already have. "I...I don't know if I should say," I admit. "I may have been a vigilante, but I still hold true to my people's laws pertaining to how much we can reveal. I...I think it's best that I keep you in the dark for now, including what an RFID chip is. If you weren't taught what it is, maybe they didn't want you to know."

Peter frowns, and I can tell he's frustrated by the development. However, I really don't care – if he's not allowed to know something, he shouldn't know it. In fact, I probably should have stopped talking about ten minutes ago, but...whatever.

"Anyway...that explains why I can't enter a human city undetected," I conclude, pushing the conversation forward.

"I could use magic to transform your appearance into a more human semblance." I turn to Nightwing with a sigh.

"They have ways around magic," I inform her.

"Let me guess – you can't tell us about that, either?" I cast a glance at the clearly grumpy Peter.

"No – no, I can't," I respond, pointedly and forcefully.

He rolls his eyes, but gives up with a shrug. Nightwing clears her throat, catching our attention and bringing us to a stop before a small creek that runs through the trees, continuing on towards the right, with its origin somewhere to our left.

"Peter, if you're done being a little shit, I'd like to present you with our new path." I look to Nightwing in confusion.

"New path? What d'you mean, new path – aren't we going to the city?" Peter remains silent as I ask, but I can see that he's giggling a bit – probably because Nightwing called him a little shit. I've noticed that he's somewhat strange in that regard. Among several others.

"We must first visit my friend and determine why Peter can control the Void." I nod, remembering that whole able-to-stop-the-end-of-the-world-thing. Don't know how I forgot about that in the first place. Well, I really didn't forget – I'm still kind of in a suspense of disbelief about it. I've not seen this "Void" thing yet, so I'm starting to wonder if it's true or not...

Nightwing points to the left, down the path of the creek's origin. "My friend abides within the waterfall a few miles that way." She takes a deep breath. "Let's start following it. I'd like to get there by dawn." She starts walking ahead of us. I glance at her butt, and start following her. Peter does as well, his frown deepening. I roll my eyes at him.

"Oh, come on – you can't seriously be THAT upset about me not being able to tell you about stuff, can you?"