Money.

That was the only thing on Bakugou's mind. He didn't care about the growl of hunger in his stomach or the ice cold chill of winter that pricked his skin. Two weeks out hunting the wilderness for big-game had all but diminished his packed resources, and what did he have to show for his efforts? Three fox pelts, two deer pelts, and one set of antlers that he hadn't even considered bringing along with him. All the meat he had gathered had been devoured at this point, both by him and his companion. The fact that said companion was a sixty-five foot long and twenty-five foot tall dragon - give or take an inch or two - didn't exactly help the situation. The giant creature was probably more hungry than Bakugou was, but there was nothing the young Lord could do about it.

Well, previous Lord. That's why he needed the money. His inherited land, his tribe that had been in control by his family for generations had been taken over, and he was determined to get it back. But, he needed money for that. Lots of money. Gathering it was turning out to be a lot harder than he expected, but there was no point in pouting about it. He had to act if he wanted to succeed, and there was nothing in heaven or hell that could stop him. Except starving to death, maybe.

A sigh escaping his lips, Bakugou gave a few soft pats to the top of the dragon's head, speaking loudly to him over the roaring ice cold wind. "Let's land. I need to hunt for food." With a low grumble in understanding, the creature descended from the sky, landing in a clearing right outside of a thick forest. Having been sitting between his horns, Bakugou slid down the bridge of the dragons nose as he rested his head down. He glowered down at the ice coated grass as it crunched beneath his boots, hating it. At this point, it was hours after sunrise, and the grass still had yet to thaw. There was no snow, but the morning dew had gotten to the point where it coated the grass, freezing it.

Bakugou knew that he didn't have much longer to be out here before snow began to fall. He was desperate at this point, to find something worth a good sum of money. But, once the snow arrived, he would have to return home. Or, well, to the nearest city that would accept having a dragon so close. Home was something foreign to him at this point, having been cast out of his land years ago. What he called home was here and there, everywhere and anywhere.

Turning back to his friend, Bakugou took a moment to shrug off the cape he wore, switching it out for his bow and quiver full of arrows. Around the dragon's neck was a leather collar that had pouches, hooks and ropes hanging from it to hold whatever the traveler may need. For now, it held their killed game, what little food they had, water, weapons and blankets. As Bakugou stored away his cape, he glanced up at the bright orange eye peering down at him, listening to the soft high pitch whine that caught his attention. "I get that it's cold, but it will get in my way. I don't need it." After placing the quiver across his back, he rolled his shoulders and his neck, the bones popping along with the rattling of the necklaces that adorned his neck.

"I'm not going far, just around the edge here and to the stream. Make sure you kill anything that you see come through here." Bakugou gave his large friend one last pat on the nose as he headed towards the forest. With a low hum, the dragon laid down, chin resting comfortably on a large patch of fluffy grass. Bakugou gave a small click of his tongue as he watched, noticing that the frozen grass in the path of the dragon's breath melted, springing back to life. "Lazy ass. Don't slack off just because I'm gone." He got no response as he vanished behind the forest edge, swallowed by the darkness of the thick brush. These trees could hold up against the cold, at least until the snow began to fall, so he knew there would be some type of life in here that he could eat.

The thought of eating another rabbit made him a bit nauseous, wishing that he could find some type of pheasant or even a couple snakes. For now, he focused on searching for a sign of any animal that would be worth the effort. Bow and arrow at the ready, Bakugou crept through the forest as quietly as he could, and after nearly an hour, he found no sign of edible life. Defeated and angry, he broke through the brush to a riverbank, gazing upon the slow moving river. If there was nothing on land, fish would have to do.

Taking his place on a rock on the river's edge, he was pleased to see a good amount of fish swimming about. Ah, fuck yes. Finally a little bit of luck. He put the arrow back into the quiver on his back before removing it completely, placing it down onto the grass along with his bow. From a pouch that hung from a belt on his hip, he removed a fishing net, taking his time to spread it out. Though, his focus was suddenly broken by an annoying flash of light in his eyes. Squinting and blinking against the light, he glanced up, feeling shock rush through him as he finally laid eyes on the source of the light.

Down the river bank, the form of a small dragon could easily be seen, light reflecting off its white scales. It's back to Bakugou, it had yet to notice him, busying itself with ripping into the flesh of a large fish it must have pulled from the river. In this part of the world, dragons were a rare sight, compared to Bakugou's homeland where they ran rampant. Why one was down here, he had no idea, nor did he care. Dead or alive, a dragon would bring in a massive amount of money, and this one was small enough that he was pretty sure he could get it to a big-game trading center alive.

Now finding a new purpose for the net in his hands, he slowly made his way towards the creature, silently cursing at himself for having not noticed it sooner. He could have easily scared it off, and he knew damn well his lazy lard of a companion wouldn't fly after it on his own if it took off. This one was a beauty, too. White scales with pale blue accents would surely be extremely valuable, as it was a rare combination, even in dragon populated areas.

This net is large enough to tangle the wings, then get the legs. He could feel the heavy weights of the bolas on his hip hit against his thigh as he thought this, glad he had decided to keep it with him. Holding his breath, he stopped only a foot from the creatures tail, out of range as it flickered and moved in enjoyment of its meal. Long and slender, the tail tapered off to a fine point, with a fin like extremity protruding from the underside. The fin was about a foot long, made up of white spikes and a thin blue membrane. Bakugou was unsure of its purpose, but he knew a hit from it could seriously injure him, even if the dragon was small.

Now so close, he could tell that it was female, her lean frame and thin limbs making her unsuitable for riding, at least in the air. Her main line of defense were obviously her claws, which were long and so sharp they dug into the ground, even with her making very little movement. The back feet were the most vicious, both inner toes consisting of a large sickle claw that could easily rip him open. Those will need cut before anything else. Bakugou's crimson glare moved to the fish carcass she was eating, noticing that it was getting down to the bone.

He needed to move, now.

In a quick series of highly skilled movements, Bakugou threw the net over the dragon's folded wings, immediately entangling them as the creature panicked. Just as she leapt up to try to flee, Bakugou dodged the swinging tail and pulled the bolas from his hip, slinging it towards her back legs. With the momentum from the weights, the rope wrapped around her legs with ease, sending her tumbling sideways with a high pitched shriek that rattled Bakugou's mind and sent birds flying from the trees.

"Oh shut up!" Bakugou went towards the head of the creature, snatching her by the horns and forcing her head down onto the grass. For more control, he placed a foot over her long snout, effectively clamping her mouth shut. Still, she whined and struggled, digging into the ground with her still free front claws.

"I said stop!" He increased the pressure with his foot, resulting in the instant halting of the dragons struggles. She peered up at him with distressed pale blue eyes, her white slit pupils constricted into a thin line in her panic. Bakugou sighed, calming down a bit, though he didn't dare to loosen his grip. "You're coming with me, dead or alive. Do you understand?"

He watched her pupils expand, an indication that she did indeed understand him. Bakugou's bloodline had a special talent that made them more powerful, which was the ability to communicate with dragons through regular speech. Bakugou was unsure how the magic worked, as it was something that came naturally to his family for centuries. There was a story that it was because his family line had dragon blood flowing through their veins, another reason for their fierce and harsh nature. It was possible, but he didn't really care. His family was nothing to him anymore.

Growing up with them, Bakugou had a soft spot for dragons. He liked them more than people, as he had a tendency to be judged harshly by anyone he came into contact with. In fact, the thought of taming this creature for himself crossed his mind, but it was quickly overshadowed by his goals. He needed the money, selling her was his only option at this point. Still, he couldn't deny that she was a magnificent breed, one that he had never seen before. The two horns that sprouted from her skull were slick as glass, smooth and cold beneath his fingers, and he imagined that her claws were the same.

His eyes were pulled from her as he noticed movement from her tail, watching as it slowly swayed back and forth. With a scoff, Bakugou released one of her horns, using that free hand to dig about in his pouch to see if he had any more rope to use. "What? You're happy? The fuck is wrong with you?" The tail only increased in speed as he spoke, the creature giving a soft growl that vibrated up his leg. Bakugou paid little attention to this, cursing as he came to realize that he had no other rope. "Damn it. I need to tie you up and come back with more-"

Suddenly, a bright blue light blinded him, illuminating from the creature below him. With an irritated growl of his own, Bakugou brought up an arm to shield his eyes, releasing the dragons other horn. When the light finally faded, he tried to blink his vision back into normality, squinting through one eye down at the dragon. What he found instead shocked him so badly that he stumbled backwards, only coming to a stop when he slammed into a tree. "What the fuck?!"

There was no longer a dragon tangled up on the ground. Instead, a completely nude woman was laying in the grass, still staring up at him with those same blue eyes. Her expression was completely void of emotion, except for the tears that were welled up and trickling down her fair skin.

"I… I can understand you?"