Allez Faire…

Content Warning: Violence

Verdant the Emerald Dragon

Combat Sports, counterintuitively, was our school’s safest extracurricular activity. This wasn’t because our other clubs involved inebriated bomb making or anything like that. It was simply because of the collar I was wearing. An absolute enchanting marvel of our own school’s design. If the wearer sustains a fatal injury, the collar simply teleports them to a predetermined location, good as new.

I paced around the performer’s antechamber and took deep, calming breaths. I ran through the mantras and truisms my combat instructors had drilled into me. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Was a favorite, especially for spellcasting. Rage doesn’t make victors, it makes stories.

The crowd outside erupted into cheering and applause. The announcer’s voice was muffled in here, so I didn’t hear who won the last bout. I looked at the gem array that would indicate it was my time to perform. The standby gem, a yellow citrine, glowed.

I reached out to the mana of the collar I wore. It was full, hooked into my body’s mana, and vaguely indicated its root point: a dusty field just outside the arena. Our school had strict rules and leagues to complement its technology.

We had three major leagues. Spell duels, spell combat, and total combat.

Spell duels were a beautiful affair. It was three strikes to win, and magic only. Duels consisted of attack spells, counter spells, counter-counter spells, ad nauseam. Often, they doubled as light shows where contestants would disguise the color of their elemental attacks. Blue flames, red lightning, and purple ice flew about, and would annihilate via similarly disguised counterspells. Spell combat, like spell duels, was magic only, but until yield. The additional caveat being that touch attacks were allowed. Total combat’s sole rule was simple. Kill the opponent.

The emerald lit. My turn. I stepped into the arena’s main area to uproarious applause. I was announced.

“Our very own Verdant, the scrappy little demon hailing from our lovely, lovely Capitol.”

Across from me, fifty meters away, another dragon emerged. His announcement was similar.

“And another of our own, Serenity. He hails from Silver Talon Springs. A moderate flight, or a brief fall from the University.” This caused a low laugh to rumble through the crowd. The announcer continued as Serenity and I mounted our starting platforms.

“Everyone, say it with me! LET THERE BE - “ and the crowd finished for him. “TOTAL COMBAT!”

We launched ourselves for the first pass and flew directly at one another. I dove under the larger dragon, dodging a vicious claw swipe that would likely have made this fight mere seconds long. Serenity wasn’t just a larger dragon; he was a large dragon, and I wasn’t just smaller; I was small.

Size difference aside, we were rivals at the level of arch nemeses. Dozens of fights led to an exact 50/50 win/loss rate between the two of us. This one was for an upset, however brief it would last. Given the odds, we were a crowd favorite. It was an actual coin toss as to who would win.

I landed on his platform, and he mine. Now was time for some showmanship. Serenity roared first.

“I see I am to kill the runt again!”

“I wish these collars left a corpse! So I could tear you apart right in front of all these dragons, you soft bellied, big blue - “

He charged, interrupting me. Ehhh, it wasn’t my best work, anyway.

I meant to try a risky gambit. I just needed an opening. Serenity, still 20 meters away, turned on a single claw, keeping his forward momentum to whip his tail. He flung a wicked shard of ice at me, and I dodged it by moving my head.

To many, this was more than a sport. We were the martial heralds and carried the knowledge of violence and war from the past to the present. It had been generations since the last major conflict had occurred, and those with combat experience or even ability were dwindling and few. Most of the magic at the school focused on technology and careers that involved spellcasting, not war magic. Not the old spells of violence and harm.

Brass tax, I was just a history major with a hobby. My opponent studied childcare and early development, and we were doing deadly battle.

“Missed me, you lumbering oaf!”

I then strafed left and dodged his bull charge by leaping over him as he crossed where I stood. I emitted a small mana bolt at his back during my somersault, and it struck. He flinched, turned, and growled at me.

“Son of a serpent!” He yelled. “Now I’m going to make it hurt.”

I needed him pissed to better my chances. I slapped my tail on the ground, and vines shot up at him from my previous position. I’d used my tail to quickly mark the spot with mana, and the dolt ran headlong into my trap.

Vines bound his back legs, and I charged. Undeterred, he quickly brought his foreclaws together in a clap, and lighting missed me by a tail-width. The force stumbled me, but I continued. Time for my gambit. He kicked, trying to loosen the vines as I rushed to him. As I approached, I pushed as much raw mana into my claws as I had in me. If this didn’t work, I was utterly screwed, and totally at his lack of mercy. The sport aspect of this allowed for such reckless endeavors.

I got to him and thrust my claws forward. A directional blast at this range, charged up with nearly all of my mana, would turn him inside out. I released the spell.

In the mere fractions of a second it took to bring my claws from the ground and cast, Serenity grabbed both of my wrists and planted them back on the ground.

Shit.

The explosion deafened me, and pain racked my entire frame. We were airborne, but neither of us had our wings out. The collision with the ground knocked the wind out of me, and before I had any chance to react, he was over me with his claws around my throat.

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Then serenity showed how clever of a combatant he really was. He cast a basic shield spell on me. This wouldn’t affect his grip, but now my sharp talons and teeth were dulled to the point of uselessness.

I thrashed, but I knew it was futile. I grabbed his wrists, and they were iron pillars. Kicking and clawing at his belly showed how unfounded my previous insults were, and each strike weakened as my desperate need for air grew. Dizziness joined the panic, and my grip on his wrists faltered. His face was a determined grimace, and though deaf, I saw him mouth three words.

“See you outside.”

Splotches of blue and black replaced the large blue dragon in my vision. It all darkened and I was gone.

My eyes shot upon, and I took a deep gasping breath.

Good show, you brute.

I immediately noticed an issue. My eyes went wide, and I flopped onto my belly, limbs splaying out around me. I frowned. What in every hell? I felt heat rush up my spine into my ears and face. Is this because I was asphyxiated? Did I have this erection in front of the entire crowd?

I looked at the arena as a blur emerged over its high walls and darted straight towards me. Serenity wasn’t the kind to stick around for applause and adoration. The announcer’s magically enhanced voice boomed.

“Another fantastic performance from our school’s rising stars. Up next is…”

Serenity landed in front of me and gave me a questioning look.

“Are you okay?” He asked, looking down at me in my odd position.

“I’m so hard it hurts.”

He grinned at me and chuckled.

I continued. “Did the crowd see?.”

“I doubt it. My body should have covered yours.”

“Thank the Gods.”

He picked me up in his forelegs, turned me over, and looked between my legs. His grin turned into a smirk. After glancing around, he ducked and slowly licked from the base of my cock to its tip. I shivered in his grasp.

“Oh, you tease!” I cried.

“Okay, let’s go.”

***

The baths were a welcome warmth, and a steamy oasis away from the piercing cold outside.

He landed on the smooth stone just outside of the baths for our den’s floor. I tried to hold on to him as he unceremoniously dumped me into the water, but his smooth scales and hard muscles offered no purchase.

“You bastard.” I laughed as I brought my head back above the water.

It was warm, and steam rose in threads and spirals around us. Water mainly flowed from spouts in the walls and fountains in the center of each bathing pool. Other amenities like soaps, oils, and sponges lined the walls in cut out alcoves.

He smoothly entered the water and walked directly up to me. Then, taking my face in his big claws, he kissed me. He held me gently as our claws wandered, and after a few moments, he lifted me out of the water and sat me on my tail at the foot of a fountain.

He broke the kiss, but kept his snout to me, trailing licks and kisses across my cheek, and down to my neck.

“Ahh!” I gasped. He trailed his tongue under my ear and then whispered.

“I need you so badly.”

A shiver ran through me, and I kissed the top of his head as he continued licking my neck.

“Please, have me.” I said.

He trailed his nose down my chest and leaned me back as he reached the bottom of my ribs. I held his head and spoke again.

“Gods, I love you. I love you so much.”

He held my hips and breathed on the lowest part of my belly.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

“I know it’s just for fun, love. It is fun for me too.” he never seemed to believe me. No one was forced into our sport, and thank whatever gods may be, these devices weren’t invented when actual gladiators existed. That would be an incredibly cruel life. “You’re not sick for liking a game.”

He nuzzled into my belly and said, “thank you.”

“You apologize every time you win.”

“And you gloat. Now, for your consolation prize...”

He raised his head and took me into his mouth. I gasped and shuddered under his claws. After wrapping his tongue around my cock, he started stroking as he sucked. He wasn’t playing around, and for the second time today, he was going to finish me in just over a minute.

“Serenity!” I gasped. He stopped and let me fall out of his mouth.

“Close?”

“Yes.” I panted.

“Good.” He then let go of me, grabbed my tail, and pulled me from where I sat. I went under the water again, but regained composure a second later as he dragged me out of the pool. I spat water onto the stone floor.

“That was mean.”

I was on my back, and he climbed over me. I looked down, between our bodies, and saw his member hanging fully out and ready.

“How about I make it up to you.”

“Gods, I want you so bad” I spoke without breaking eye contact. A low chuckle emanated from him. He brought his claw to my cheek and turned my face to meet his eyes. He gave me a brief kiss and raised his head. I rolled over onto my belly, and his claw guided my rear up so that I was standing on my back legs and laying on my chest.

“Good boy. Don’t move.”

He whispered directly into my ear, and his words drove a shiver through my body. He stepped away from me, so I craned my neck to look at him. He rummaged through the bottles in the walls’ embedded shelves, looking for a neutral oil.

Serenity’s claws clicked against the stone as he walked back to me, and I felt his eyes all over my raised hindquarters.

Back over me, he kept a claw on my hip and gently guided himself in, stopping as soon as he didn’t have to hold himself any longer. His claws gripped my shoulders, pressing me into the floor. I tried to push my hips back to him, but he had enough control over me that I couldn’t do much.

He was so gentle that I rarely had to stop him, and he gave me plenty of time to adjust once he was all the way in. This time was no different, but as our hips met, he let go of one of my shoulders and slid his claw under my neck. A bolt of panic shot through me.

“Serenity!”

He froze. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I panicked for a moment.” I calmed my breathing. “I like having your claws on my neck, but please, please don’t choke me.”

“Of course, darling.” He bent to kiss around my ear and gently put his claw around my throat. The edge of fear was still there, but I couldn’t bear the thought of him stopping, and I wanted his claws holding me just as he was.

I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. But trusting him, in that moment, just after seeing - no, just after feeling what he was capable of - it felt like nothing I’d ever experienced before Serenity entered my life.

He began slowly, and I knew he wouldn’t go much faster until right before the end. On every pump, he would almost pull out, and then grind his hips against mine. I got to feel every inch of him, feel his breaths on the top of my head, and feel his claws as he gripped my shoulder and caressed my neck. I was completely vulnerable to him, and though unlikely, someone could walk in and see us, see him in the honesty of succumbing to want, and me in the honesty of intense pleasure.

We were liars, though. Our rivalry was public, and many speculated an intense hatred between us. That lie was an easier thing to accept than us as lovers. Even a hint of that would change the speculation into “what if they go easier on each other?” Or “what if they are colluding to keep their even win rate?”

We never once gave the other quarter. We truly were one another’s match, and that was far more thrilling than popularity or renown could ever be.

A growl joined his breaths, and short moans joined mine.

“You’re getting close.” he grunted. “I want to hold you while you cum.”

He let go of my neck, and his claw trailed across my body, leaving electric tingles in its wake. Then he reached under me and grabbed my member, but didn’t stroke. His touch alone, at that point, was enough to push me over.

I cried his name as I came in his grasp, emptying on to the floor. He pulled me back into his hips, and ground against me, throbbing several times as his own growl became a satisfied “ahh”.

***

I sat in Serenity’s lap as we lay back and enjoyed the warm bath. Given our setting, cleanup was a breeze, and we could spend as long as we desired cuddling.

The trickle of the wall spigots and the bath fountains did a lot to cover up the sounds of dragons walking. Usually, you’d get some warning from the sounds of talons clacking against the stone.

We were no longer doing anything untoward, so being walked in on wasn’t an issue, but the sudden appearance of a new dragon still startled me.

A brass colored dragon walked in carrying an extremely happy looking opal dragon on his back. The smaller dragon nuzzled his ride’s neck as they came through the double corner of the bath’s entry.

Serenity yawned and looked over at them.

“Oh, hey, Sprocket.” He said.

“Serenity?” Sprocket said. “Is that Verdant? I thought you two hated each other!”