Pov: Aesmo

I like to believe me and dragon have reached an agreement of cohabitation. I live here under the condition that I do some easy work. In return, dragon feeds us and even provides us rooms to live in. Under this agreement, I can theoretically live here forever, or until I die I guess. It is contenting.

I like to believe dragon is strong. That way, I can be unconcerned about protecting myself. I like to believe I'm stealthy. The dragons I met don't notice me if I don't want them to. I like to believe my children are like me. Unconcerned, and content.

This is to mean that I'd like it if these beliefs are true. Because if they aren't, then this new dragon that is heading straight for the mountain will be... concerning. Larger than my dragon by 70%, with scales glowing gold. Larger than the dead dragon, and with a worse smell as well. Worst of all, this dragon sounded dangerous. I'll have to agree with Cesmo; the very air is screaming from this dragon.

As it approached our home, dragon got the avocado they prepared earlier and went to the entrance.

"I told you not to come. I don't fake threats!"

Dragon threw the avocado. Its speed made it break apart mid-air, leaving a pit surrounded by mush flying straight for the intruder. The intruder responded with their own attack. As in a spell so bright I didn't get to see what it actually did. All I smelled was burnt air, which I didn't even know was possible.

"Fuck. He's being serious. Aesmo, hide everyone and the metal dust. This is going to get annoying."

Dragon then grabbed a chunk of tarilite and flew out to intercept the intruder. I decided to take their advice and ordered everyone to move the metal dust to my room. I took the dragon hide and used it as a tarp to cover the jars. Finally, I surrounded it with fireclay dust. I made it look as natural as possible, hopefully. Next, I ordered everyone to hide. I didn't bother with checking how well they hid; I had to check on dragon's situation.

From the entrance, I could see the fight clearly now. Dragon was flying quickly around the intruder, attacking unpredictably. Oddly, the intruder seemed to be slowed down by something, with any attempts at defense or counterattacking being a second too late to be effective. This seemed to make dragon cautious, while the intruder seemed annoyed. Unfortunately, the intruder was tough, and it seemed like they were still approaching here at a rapid rate.

That was until the intruder suddenly exploded. A blast of fire and smoke engulfed them. Then from the smoke, the intruder burst forth, heading straight for the entrance. I quickly hid to the side, right before he burst through. The entrance wasn't big enough for them, so they transformed into a smaller, familiar form. Four legs, six arms. A form for running fast and holding many things. The coward was trying to steal something before dragon could catch up.

I am feeling conflicted. On one side, I feel an obligation to defend what I helped make. On the other side, they're still a dragon. They can easily kill me. I'd most likely barely slow them down. In that case, my best course of action is to remain hidden. After all, we have plenty more ore.

Then I saw Desmo. And then the intruder saw Desmo. He was trying to hide under the metal detecting plate, but he was slightly too big. The intruder yelped out in disgust, before spewing bright flames towards Desmo. I didn't see what happened to her after that. I was too busy getting on the intruder's back.

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I don't know how much a dragon't body changes when they transform, but what I do know is that they must still have a spine. And the spine always passes blood. And impure dragon blood is poisonous even to dragons. I aim for where their pulse is the strongest, and bite. Immediately, I taste blood and spinal fluid. Next, I vomit. The mix of blood and digestive fluids irritates my mouth.

There was a scream, followed by thrashing. A flailing limb hits my left side; 4 arms crushed, 5 arms bent irregularly. Another to my lower right; 2 arms crushed, 7 bent. I kept my grip, spitting out more bile, including any undigested metals still in me. A fist reaches my back and leaves a sensationless mess. My mandibles start to crack, and I barely spit out one more round of fluids. There wasn't any undigested fluids left, just my own blood and saliva.

Violent shaking breaks me off, my grip failing and mandibles melting. I feel myself flying, and catch a glimpse of my handiwork. A patch of green among golden scales, rapidly spreading. A rapid trickle of red from the intruder's neck. The faintest smell of mixed metal. Then I hit the wall. It felt like a softer landing than a stone wall should have been, maybe because of Besmo, who was now coiling around me.

The intruder stopped screaming for once, before turning directly at me. I do not know how effective my attack was, but it was enough to get their full attention. He pointed at me and started chanting words I could not understand. Words for a spell, one that dragon tried before; rir-fire... no, it was slightly different. But a spell was a spell, and I would accept the approaching death.

A second passes. Then three. After five, the intruder de-rages, appearing more concerned. Another 5 seconds later, and they are now in a panic. The spell never casted. My death never came. The intruder hesitates, before attempting a different spell. Nothing still happens.

As they try to cast a third spell, a blur smashes into them. A shockwave rocks the whole mountain as dragon, my dragon, holds the intruder against a newly formed, dragon-sized hole.

"Give me three reasons why I can't kill you right now, Mike."

"The council won't approve of an unannounced killing. Neither will mom. I know I'm in the wrong, but we can reach an agreement if w..." Mike suddenly coughs up blood. A sickly yellow color. Dragon unstabs their tail from Mike's chest.

"You seem to misunderstand. This is simply self-defense; a dragon may escalate the conflict in defense of themselves or their property once proper warning has been given. I gave you a warning, and you blew it up. Not only that, you and I have different desires. The only thing I want from you that you can give me is your corpse. Not that you even have anything left to give, you glutton.

Also, you know I'm mom's favorite. I'm the only one who hasn't stolen from her."

Dragon finishes maiming and dismembering the intruder. Last time, the body was left mostly alone in order to perform an autopsy. This time, there was no need; each limb is cleaved off, before they return to their original form. From there, the wings are removed at the base, and tail cut into segments. The body barely fits into the food room, not including the limbs that now filled one corner of the entrance.

I try to get up and help, but find that my lower half is unresponsive. Begrudgingly, I have Besmo cut off the dead weight. It takes a minute for me to get used to the shifting in weight and the lack of sensation past a certain point. Once I do adjust, I first move towards where Desmo was.

The plate was blackened, but otherwise undamaged, and beneath it Desmo was alive. Charred, smoked, and singed, yet still alive. She lost a lot of arms, and the smoke rendered her temporarily mute, but the plate seemed to have kept her body intact. Eesmo helped her out and dragged her to my room to rest. I was about to follow, but dragon stopped me gently, asking me to answer a few questions.

"What the fuck did you do? And how?"

I'd like to believe everything I believed before was true. Though the agreement we have turned out to be more nuanced than I realized. And now, dragon tells me that we might be fucked. She scares me, because she said that with unconcerned confidence. I'd like to believe that we are not. All of my beliefs were true, after all.