Late Knight
 
 
Amicus made his way through the forest, searching for the layer of his target. His blue tail was the only part of the armor clad knight uncovered as he looked for a dragon in the area that had kidnapped the princess of a nearby kingdom and was being held as a hostage. The bounty had warned that the beast was a cunning creature and many had failed already. Despite this, the blue feline figured he could succeed where others had fallen, hoping to claim the large sum of gold coins the kingdom had offered for proof of its death.
 
 
So, the knight continued to trudge through the woodland, noticing less and less wildlife as he got closer to where the beast's lair was said to be. It was roughly noon by the time Amicus found the cavern, a gaping hole in the hillside that seemed to lead deep underground, leaving anything past the entrance covered in shadows. The brave feline took a deep breath as he readied his sword with one hand, and held a lit torch in the other. Just looking into the cavern seemed to send waves of fear down his spine before he steeled himself, and took his first steps into the darkness.
 
 
His footsteps echoed off the cavern walls, making any hope of catching the beast off guard out the window. The walls themselves didn't seem natural, as if the beast had personally clawed its way into the earth. Once again, fear gripped the feline's heart as he realized just what he might be up against. He continued to push on, his sense of duty and honor pushing him to see his quest through. He would save the princess and return to a hero's welcome! He continued at a steady pace through the tunnel until he noticed the flickering light of fire coming from a large chamber up ahead.
 
 
As he got closer, he could see there was practically a wall of flame behind what could only be the curled up form of the dragon he had come to slay. The light seemed to glisten off the large beast’s golden scales, causing it to look like a pile of golden coins all on it’s own. Further looking around, the feline noticed the dragon’s hoard behind it, a mass of various gemstones of riches all piled together for purposes only the beast knew. What he didn’t see was a cage, or any sign of anyone else being here but the dragon itself. His gaze focused back on the lightly snoring beast as he put down his torch and gripped his sword with both hands. If he could take advantage of it being asleep, then perhaps he could quickly end the fight before it started and search for the princess without worry. He moved as carefully as he could in his full armor, nearing the large dragon’s head. He took a deep breath, readied his stance, and thrust towards the dragon’s closed eye!
 
 
The sound of breaking metal suddenly filled the room as Amicus could only look in shock and horror as his sword cracked from the tip of the blade all the way to the grip. His gaze quickly shifted from his broken weapon, to the now open eye of the very much awake dragon. He quickly stumbled away as the large beast yawned and uncurled itself as it rose to its full height. It looked down at the frightened cat below it, its gaze narrowing in clear annoyance at having it’s afternoon nap ruined. It’s voice echoed around the room as it spoke, “So, you tried to kill me in my sleep. Clearly despite you’re appearance you’re not the same type of knight that usually comes here.” The voice was clearly feminine as she looked about the room for a moment, seemingly looking for others before focusing her attention back on the cat before her. “Where is your party at, little snack? Certainly you weren’t so foolish as to come here alone, with only that bit of metal to try to fight me.”
 
 
Knowing he was outmatched, but unwilling to simply surrender, Amicus shakily raised his cracked sword up to the mighty dragon and took a deep breath to steady himself. “I have come here to free the princess you kidnapped! You’ve got a bounty on your head, and I aim to-” He was suddenly cut off as the dragoness began to laugh, the sounds reverberating through his head even as he tried to maintain an intimidating pose. “W-what’s so funny?!” He demanded, more than a little annoyed at the interruption.
 
 
The dragon slowly calmed herself down, wiping a claw under her eye and wiping away a tear as she looked back down at the fuming little cat. She cleared her throat before talking. “I’m sure you looked around a bit before so rudely waking me. Why do you think the princess you seek isn’t in this very room?” The cat’s eyes once again scanned the room, double checking himself and making sure that his initial check had been accurate. It was then that he heard it, the low grumbling of the dragon’s empty stomach calling out for food. His eyes widened with fear as it all clicked together in his mind.”Yes, there it is little snack. You finally understand~” She brought a foreclaw up to her belly and giving it a gentle rub. “Honestly I’m surprised they haven’t called off the search for her. Though I won’t say no to more treats like you coming in to try and save her, saves me the hassle of hunting.”
 
 
Seemingly still in shock over the news, the feline dropped his weapon as he realized how pointless his endeavor had been. He was going to be the hero, but there was nothing left for him to save. He was snapped out of his thoughts as the dragon’s claw came rushing at him, only able to let out a yelp as he was picked up off the ground and brought to the dragon’s face. “Don’t worry yourself too much about it, you’ll be joining her very soon after all.” She raised him over her head, jaws opening wide below his boots. His eyes went wide with fear as he realized what his fate would be, and began to struggle as much as he could within the dragoness’ grip to free himself. She seemed to take pleasure in his fruitless squirms, her warm breath wafting up below him as he tried desperately to free himself and escape the beast who only saw him as lunch.
 
 
She enjoyed his panicked squirms and pleas for forgiveness and mercy for a few more moments before simply releasing him over her wide open maw. Amicus’ reflexes kicked in causing him to turn and reach back up for her claws to try and stop his descent, only to feel himself already landing on her tongue. He flailed in terror as he tried to desperately work his way up even as his body slowly filled her jaws. Her teeth soon framed his view of the outside world as he tried to get some sort of grip on the wet flesh around him as he ended up being the perfect size to fit within her jaws. He could only watch as that last glimpse of the outside world was soon sealed away as her jaws closed around him, smothering him in the humid embrace of her maw. Her tongue undulated underneath him, shifting him about as she tried to get a good taste of him despite all the armor in the way. He was relentlessly shifted about from one cheek to the other as she toyed with him, murring as he tried in vain to fight off the slimy appendage as it curled around him and tossed him about within her maw.
 
 
She kept it up for a few minutes, savoring the muffled pleas of her meal before finally guiding his legs to the back of her throat. The feline could only look back in horror as he could more feel than see the tight embrace of her gullet wrapping around his legs. He clawed at her tongue, trying to get any sort of grip on the slippery muscle, but it was no use. The grip around his legs tightened, and with just a single gulp, the feline was reduced to just a simple bulge sliding down her gullet. She traced his progress with a claw, following him the entire trip down until he disappeared behind her chest and didn’t even make a bulge within her large underbelly. She let out a sigh of satisfaction once she felt him slip into her belly, once more laying down to rest as her stomach began to gurgle around the meal within.
 
 
While the dragoness was resting, Amicus continued to try and fight for his life. Trapped in the darkness of the snoozing predator, the feline could only press at the walls around him, hoping to find a way out even as he could feel the acids seeping in through the gaps in his armor. It didn’t long before he could feel his body start to itch and burn as the acids around him began to eat away at his fur to reach the tender flesh of his body. He could only scream in pain as the burning grew worse as his skin began to blister and peel away, adding his blood to the growing pool of digestive acids around him. He screamed out for as long as he could, hoping that perhaps someone else might come and save him, but the only responses he got were from the dragon’s body gurgling and groaning around him as it continued to treat him like the lump of meat he was for the hungry beast. It only took a few minutes for his limbs to fail him, leaving him to lay in the pool of caustic fluids and bits of his own body floating around him. He was already gone by the time his head sank under the surface to be melted like the meal he had become.
 
 
The dragoness stirred a few hours later, once again rising with a yawn as she stretched out her limbs. Whatever was left of the cat had already been pushed deeper into her bowels, letting her know that what’s left of him was ready to be brought back out into the world. She casually made her way out of the cave and headed for a clearing a bit away from her den. Finding a suitable spot, she simply relaxed and raised her tail as her pucker twitched and soon spread open to reveal the thick log of dragon shit that the foolish feline had been reduced to. She let out a content sigh as she emptied her bowels, dumping her latastest meal just like she would any other. Bits of fur, the occasionally bit of bone, and armor were the only things that revealed what the pile of shit had once been. His skull was the last thing to push out from the ring of muscle, landing on top of the pile with a wet splat. Done with her business, the dragoness once again headed back to her done, idly wondering when her next meal would arrive.