Mayday! (Whitebrand and Fiona)

[GenericBunny]

Fiona stepped forward, getting a closer look at the wound on his head.

"Please, you don't look fine to me." Maybe it was her, but the confusion seemed to have gotten worse. "The wound on your head is quite serious. Can you heal it, just like you did with the other one now?" She knew how to triage a head injury, but not much more. There was little she was actually able to do - Let alone for a creature she recently thought to be a myth.

[Whitebrand]

“My head?” The dragon said. “Don’t be silly. Nothings happened to my head...I just remember this sexy, tasty little vixen...”

His voice trailed off as he found himself fighting to remember.

“And I...did something. And now that you mention it my head does hurt a bit...that can’t be right...I don’t remember getting...hit...”

[GenericBunny]

"You are hurt." She said very bluntly, hoping he would believe her. "I have no way to tell exactly how badly though... Can you heal that part of yourself, like you healed me?" She looked to her own shoulder, moving it just a bit to make sure it was still set properly.

[Whitebrand]

“I...can,” the dragon said slowly. “Yes...I can. Don’t know why I didn’t...bother before...”

He set a claw over his face and closed his eyes.

It took several long minutes. She could actually see the subtle damage to his skull reshaping itself into its proper place. He’d taken that blow for her.

His eyes opened. He looked around as though reorienting himself. Then he stared down at the fox.

“Well,” He said, no longer sounding drunk or rambling. “This is embarrassing.”

[GenericBunny]

As terrifying as it was to be eaten alive, Fiona appreciated that it meant shielding her from an almost certain death. Still, she wished he had said something to that effect beforehand. Sitting in his stomach might not have felt that bad if she didn't think she was about to be digested...

She was curious about this Viconia he had mentioned, but decided against trying to pursue anything he had rambled on about before. "I'm just happy you're okay. And, thank you for protecting me... If that blow to your head had landed on me instead, it would've done much worse than cause me to be confused."

[Whitebrand]

“Can we pretend I didn’t use the word ‘pet’ at all?” He said. “And I’ll see about getting you dressed.”

He shifted, shrinking down until he became an anthro much closer to her size. He hadn’t been kidding about his anthro appearance: he was a very handsome member of his kind. He moved with some difficulty, evidently not having entirely healed himself. He wore a kilt that had appeared out of nowhere, with a banner that crossed his broad chest and went over his back. He flexed his wings and let his tail sway back and forth as he stepped diwn from his bed to stand before Fiona.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona nodded once. "Of course. And..." She looked down over her bare body. "Yes, I suppose I should." Somehow she hadn't been that bothered to have her bare body exposed. Perhaps it seemed mild to have him look over her body, when it had previously been <i>inside</i> of his.

The vixen's perception of the dragon had been on a bit of a roller coaster in the past day. She accepted that he certainly wasn't intent on killing her, and <i>probably</i> had her best interests at heart, though she was still just a bit nervous. Even so, the sight of him transforming was amazing to her. She watched as he stepped forward, glancing up and down over his new form.

"I don't think you ever told me your name... I'm Fiona." She said with a soft smile. She knew she had already said it before, but wasn't sure if he was able to remember it.

[Whitebrand]

The dragon took her hand and raised it to his lips. He lad to lift it a little high to reach.

"Brand," he said. "I am called Brand. It's much easier to say than my draconian name. I'm glad to meet you, Fiona. It's possible that you may have just saved my life...so let's get you dressed and then see if we can...get you home."

The last three words were spoken with reluctance...but it was a lot better to hear than "pet" talk.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona couldn't help but blush as her hand was brought up to his lips. She sighed with relief when she heard those last words, though she was able to pick up on that hesitation.

She had been trying to put his previous talk out of her mind, but a few things he said still nagged at her mind. She didn't want him to feel bad about the things he said to her while in his confused state, but there was just something she really wanted to know.

"Did you mean that, erm..." She began before trailing off, and looking away. "Did you really think I was tasty?"

[Whitebrand]

Well, that was an unexpected question. the dragon obviously thought.

“Absolutely,” the dragon said as he led her into a human-sized tunnel. “And I’m something of a connoisseur.”

He said that so casually...

[GenericBunny]

The answer was equally unexpected to the vixen, igniting many more questions. A connoisseur of people? Of vixens specifically? Or was it just an attempt at humor.

"S-so, who's this Viconia?" She asked after an awkward pause. Maybe it wasn't good manners to keep on probing into the things he said in his previous state, but she wanted any excuse to get off the topic of people being eaten.

[Whitebrand]

There was a flash of pain across his face but he kept his tone conversational.

"She was...the head of my harem. Back when I had one," he explained. "She and the others are...gone now. I miss her."

[GenericBunny]

"Oh... I'm so sorry." Fiona said softly, feeling embarrassed for managing to bring up enough to make them both uncomfortable. Granted there was a part of her that found it a bit flattering to be tasty to a "connoisseur".

She decided to remain quiet until Brand either spoke again, or finished leading her to wherever they were going.

[Whitebrand]

“None of her clothing would fit you,” Brand said. “But there were others. I should be able to put together...something.”

Brand took her to a room that was filled with wooden wardrobes, all covered with sheets. He walked among the wardrobes for a bit until he finally selected one to uncover.

“This one belonged to Celeste,” he said. “Ferociously proud of her heritage. You’re about her height so some of her kimonos should fit you. Give them a try. She was a kitsune...so all her clothing was cut to accommodate a tail like yours.”

[GenericBunny]

Fiona wondered about this Celeste's herritage and the others, but she didn't dare pry anymore into what was obviously an uncomfortable topic. She silently nodded, looking over the different kimonos for a moment before pulling out a blue one that looked close to her size. She slid it on, taking just a moment to find the hole with her tail before being able to ease it through.

"It fits well." She said with another nod, looking down over herself for a momnt. "Thank you, Brand."

[Whitebrand]

"That's just the robe," Brand said as he dug around inside the wardrobe. "There's a narrow obi in here that goes with it...and some undergarments...and a few pairs of wooden sandals. Help yourself. I'll wait...outside the room if you like."

He paused.

"If you have any questions," he added. "Any at all...just ask. It still hurts a little, but sometimes they're good to talk about."

[GenericBunny]

The questions still bounced around Fiona's mind as she got dressed. After a couple of minutes she walked outside, once again fully clothed. She looked up to Brand's face, and after a couple of seconds spoke up.

"I would like to know about you." She stated. "Anything about you, really. Until yesterday I honestly thought dragons... Giant, magical dragons, were just a myth."

[Whitebrand]

“My kin and I generally try to keep things that way,” Brand said. “But were out here...some like me live in the distant corners of the world and get by unnoticed. A few others actually live in your wirld...I’d guess that one in a hundred of your super rich are probably dragons in disguise.

“People have these ideas about us,” he explained. “Dangerous ones. That were all monsters or thieves, even evil. Stories about how dragon body parts have powers...and then there are the nutcases that hunt us as though we’re some kind of hunting challenge or rite of passage or something. And don’t get me started on the treasure hunters.”

[GenericBunny]

Dragons in disguise... A few suspicious names immediately popped into her head, but she didn't dwell on them.

"Well what ideas do you think people should have about dragons? Desire to maintain secrecy aside."

[Whitebrand]

“We protect what we have,” he admitted. “Ferociously. We’re territorial and proud. We’d much rather be left alone to guard our lands or fly in the skies. We’d rather be left alone, in general. Our wealth is fairly earned, and we are at the top of the food chain for a reason.”

He laughed.

“Do you know why I had a harem of non-dragons?” He asked. “Because there aren’t any female dragons anywhere near my territory. And I admit I have a thing for humanoids.”