Chapter 2: Welcome to my Underground Lair
Irina was...perhaps livid was too strong a word. But she was without a doubt annoyed.
[Aah...right there.]
When The Emerald Emperor had told her she would be serving his every whim and desire...her admittedly imaginative brain had kicked into overdrive, wild scenarios involving shameful acts that left her blushing and stammering racing through her mind (in seeming ignorance of the fact that even Ddraig's tongue was bigger than her, making anything remotely conjugal impractical, at best).
Those thoughts had seamlessly turned into fairytale wonderings about a dashing knight that might come and rescue her from the Dragon's keep, sweeping her into a tender kiss-
[Stars above, Foolish One...you are a master with your hands, you know that?]
Irina finally snapped and threw her cleaning rag at the grinning Dragon's face, a wet plop noise signifying a direct hit.
The reptile laughed at her.
"This is ridiculous! I am a Virtue of Heaven! It's my duty to patrol the world outside of our realm and I have faced off against Devils, Fallen, Yokai and other dangerous entities! I am good at my duty!"
[You are also good at personal hygiene, if this latest session is any indicator.]
The Angel petulantly stamped her bare foot on the Dragon's shiny, sparkling and unyielding scales.
"So WHY have I only given you baths in the two days since I've been stuck here?!"
The Dragons voice was infinitely patient.
[Because the patch directly above my tail is incredibly hard to efficiently clean. It's just far enough outside of my reach that I cannot cleanse it with my tongue, while rubbing against rock and diving through lakes is a poor substitute.]
Craning his neck around so that he could gaze at the patch Irina had been tasked to scrub with fine soaps and rags the Dragon let loose a pleased growl.
[And now look at them, Foolish One!]
It's pleased tone took on a teasing lilt.
[They are almost as red and pure as your unopened maidenhood, are they not?]
The Angel blinked dumbly for a second...and then her face become a shade of crimson that made the Emerald Emperor seem positively pallid in comparison.
"W-w-what?! Y-y-you don't say things like that to a p-p-pure maiden you stupid lizard!"
A succession of rags, brushes and towels smacked into Ddraig's snout even as he merrily laughed, tail waving to and fro with mirth as the Angel ranted and railed at him.
He knew it had been a good decision to keep this one.
Eventually Irina ran out of steam-and things to throw-before collapsing to her knees on the Dragon's back and hiding her head in her hands, a plaintive whine of frustration leaking past her lips.
This was so embarrassing...she had exchanged her Angel attire in favor of a simple brown workshirt and pants that had been found in one of the many various treasure hoards scattered throughout the Dragon's lair so as not to dirty it and it made her look like some downtrodden peasant.
...A lonely little village girl who would be rescued by the brave, dashing knight...and then they would elope, sealing their vows in a night of passion that would-
-she quickly turned her thoughts elsewhere as the slightest tinge of black began to color her feathers, prompting her to sigh.
Lust and Envy had always been her weaknesses.
Lust...a lust for romance and affection. She had always coveted the relationships Humans could form with one another, of the free expression they were allowed. Whether that love was expressed emotionally or sexually...she had always secretly-sometimes not so secretly-wished to be able to feel the same way.
Envy? Well...she would admit her wish to be able to feel affection sometimes crossed the line into outright jealousy. She wasn't proud of it...but denying her own flaws was a certain path to darkening one's own wings.
[Is there something on your mind, Foolish One?]
"Hmph! Certainly not!"
[Hmm...I believe you. One so foolish as yourself likely doesn't have much room for thought, so much of your head being occupied by acts of silliness.]
This time she chucked a lightspear at the Dragon, consequences forgotten.
Predictably, it bounced off the Dragon's hide and the beast chuckled heartily before laying back down in the steaming water.
With a resigned exhalation Irina sat in a more comfortable position, observing the room from her living perch.
One of the many caverns Ddraig had hollowed out over his life, this one contained an honest-to-Father lake. A five-tiered bowel of steaming water, heated by a volcanic vent to just the right warmth, covered almost a full kilometer of the floor, surrounded by an outer ring of Green Ash trees. The tier they were on at the moment was the second, the water barely rising past her ankles when she wasn't standing atop of the Dragon. The first was hardly even enough to cover her feet, although she imagined it started deepening rapidly after the third tier.
And through the first and second tiers there were odd rock formations shaped like chairs or couches, covered in some kind of moss that was incredibly soft and durable to touch, she had discovered that almost immediately after becoming curious enough to brush her fingers across the mystery material.
"Ddraig?"
[Yes, Foolish One?]
"Where did you find all of these things and how did they grow so well? The Jade Mountains aren't exactly crawling with life..."
A huff of pride left the Dragon's nostrils and the Angel resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Ask the Crimson King anything about his nest or it's treasures and he would launch into a lengthy explanation of just how and why exactly they came to be a part of his lair.
[Now that, Foolish One, is an interesting tale! The mosses are actually a type of symbiote that I discovered by accident when flying through the lands of Shinto, growing at the base of their Kitsune Princess's own flower garden. The trees themselves are particularly hardy since they come from the roots of Yggdrasil itself. I may or may not have snapped off a few branches after fighting Thor as a symbol of my victory. Heh, I hear Odin gave him a proper scolding for letting me get away so cleanly after damaging their most important artifact…]
Irina blinked once, her expression shifting into one of horror.
"Y-you...you stole from Lady Yasaka's own personal garden...and then you damaged the Norse's patron artifact?!"
[You sound shocked.]
"If Heaven had done something like that, there would be several wars breaking out across the continents as we speak! How did you get away with all of that?!"
The Dragon's voice was so smug it made Irina want to throw something. Unfortunately she was all out of buckets.
[The privilege of being an unstoppable, all-mighty Dragon that almost no one can defeat. Feel free to bow and praise me now, Foolish One.]
The chestnut-haired girl just put her hands in her head and moaned under her breath.
She was ordinarily an enthusiastic and optimistic young woman...but hearing of the Drake's willfully destructive actions that would have lead to the deaths of thousands if it had been anyone other than him performing them…
Well, it made her want to crawl up in a corner and have a good cry for a while.
This was the creature she was now a slave to? Father help her…
"Oh, Irina, Ddraig! There you are, I was looking for you!"
Oh thank the Lord! Someone with common sense!
Strolling up to them with a beaming smile on her face was Asia, the Heaven's Bride dress now gratefully substituted for a far simpler dark green skirt that went to her ankles and a plain black shirt, both articles covered by a comfortable looking robe of dark red.
[Ah, Little One. Perfect timing, would you be so generous as to climb up on my back and clean my scales? The Foolish One did a rather impressive job but she kept throwing away her cleaning implements for some strange reason and now the task is only half-done. It's in a rather difficult spot for me to reach…]
One reptilian eye of blazing emerald met a narrowed violet one, Ddraig deriving no small amusement from Irina's simmering gaze.
"Oh, of course! I know exactly what you mean, sometimes it's hard to reach the center of my back when I bathe myself unless I use a special towel..."
Without further complaint the nun gathered the fallen buckets and rags, stripped off her boots and robe and carefully climbed Ddraig's offered leg until she joined Irina just above the base of the Dragon's tail.
"Right here?"
[Indeed, Little One.]
With an uncomplicated smile the diminutive girl began to scrub the Dragon's crimson hide and within a minute the Drake was purring, a grinding of boulders noise that shocked both the women into silence.
...The Emerald Emperor was part cat?
[Goodness, Little One! You are far better at this than the Foolish One! She was so very rough and cruel, chafing my scales all while smiling malevolently...such a cruel female…]
Irina turned bright red.
"What?! I was chafing you?! You got hit with a lightspear and weren't even scratched, how could a few rags do what annihilating Holy Energy couldn't?!"
[Because it's the thought that counts, Foolish One. And the Little One is such a kind and uncomplicated soul. Unlike your dark and twisted one, that puts on a smile and bullies me with reckless abandon.]
Irina sputtered in directionless indignation, Asia giggling at the two's interplay as she continued scrubbing, slowly coming to enjoy the rumbles emanating from the Dragon's chest.
It was like caring for an oversized pet, something she had been able to occasionally do at Vatican and always enjoyed.
The purrs upped a notch as she must have touched a sensitive patch, the Dragon's hind leg twitching and shooting out sprays of water everytime it spasmed.
[Foolish One? I hereby decree that you are to watch the Little One work and adopt her technique, her hands are simply superb.]
The Angel just dropped her head into her hands with a sob of resignation for the umpteenth time that day, silently praying that this ridiculous nightmare would soon be over.
It would have been nicer if the Dragon had just eaten her…
Oh baths...how we hated you as children, how awesome you are as adults :D
Just a few quick questions to answer here then, since I don't have much to say bout this little snippet.
1) Irina, Asia and Kunou are in with Ddraig and that's it, no more no less.
2) Issei will have an appearance, after a fashion. Next chap covers that :D
3) And yup, Ddraig has a Human form.
Thanks to all who read and reviewed, faved and followed, see you next chapter!
