An enormous, membranous wing covered the beast in a comfortable slumber; the three conjunctional joints of the leathery limbs were each horned with an ivory point at the base of its wings and also where they merged at the top, much like its deadly claws. It chuffed quietly, stretching its arms forward lazily to work its sore muscles. The scent of warm dripping blood flooded its senses as the dragon slowly opened its eyes. Hunger consumed every cell of its being, screaming for nutrients to satisfy the near starvation it approached. Discreetly, dragon's large amber eyes focused at the center of the room.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake." A familiar voice rang in the tall, cold chamber.
The creature raised its head to get a better look around its surroundings; it must have moved in its sleep as it found itself in the corner of the cold chamber, behind the throne; the make shift cushion strewn out beneath its massive frame. In front of the steps of where the King sat was an enormous carcass of what looked like a monstrous boar; its legs still twitched from the fresh kill. The chains around the dragon's neck clinked quietly as the beast rose from its resting place, stretching its immense wings as they brushed them against the top of the cold, stone room. The under-wing color was now visible to the Overlord as a much darker grey than the rest of its scales; its thin membrane made the spider web blood vessels beneath clearly visible. Its front claws dug into the stone, leaving scratches beneath their wake. The stretch only accented how emaciated the beautifully rare creature was; it jarred the King in contempt for those other demons that kept it captive.
"I took the liberty of procuring some sustenance for you." He motioned towards the dead pig monster before bringing his hand up to lick some excess blood off of his long fingers, "I hope you don't mind."
Stepping down from the stairs in a single stride, the beast examined the prey. It usually wouldn't accept kills from others but it its current weakened state it probably wouldn't be able to hunt the mammoth boar that the Overlord had provided. Narrowing its eyes, the fire-breather questioningly glancing back at the Demon Lord once more, he merely motioned towards the carcass, his ruby gaze never leaving the dragon. Taking a deep breath in to fan the flames within its core, the winged lizard spewed white hot, molten fire at the dead boar, cooking the outside to a near blackened crisp. The flames erupted and sparked brilliantly, momentarily illuminating the room in a bright flash. It was a sight to behold for the King; to see a magnificently ancient creature using its signature species attack. The force of the fire substantial compared to its user, pushing it back millimeter by millimeter, ever so slightly. His smooth lips curled into a ghost of a smile as the dragon quickly dug its ivory claws into the stomach of the monster for leverage as the dragon took its first large bite of meat, razor sharp teeth snapping straight through with barely any resistance. The bloody juices mingling with the burnt outer layer was heavenly, permeating the beast's taste buds in a flavor it hadn't tasted in ages. It had to steel itself from rolling its eyes back into its head from the pleasurable flavor, holding itself proud and dignified as its race always had. The body cavity was devoured first, bones crunching in its powerful jaws along with the internal organs; the hind legs followed shortly after. By the time the dragon had finished the second leg, it was satisfied beyond belief, breathing a deep content sigh. The physical feeling of a full belly was not a feeling the fire breather was used to experiencing- its captors always gave it just enough to fight. Its golden gaze flickered over to the one who provided everything thus far; surely he had another agenda in mind for treating the beast so well, not that its pride would have let it leave without repaying this debt anyways. The beast closed its eyes, sighing a second time.
"Stranger, you have liberated me from those vile creatures, housed and fed me,"
A deep voice reverberated off of the walls in an almost growling manner. Its booming voice commanded respect as the beast furled its wings onto its body. Where the sound came from was confounding- the King wasn't sure if it spoke or if it was telepathic. The confusion on his face wasn't very evident but it excited him immensely as he eagerly kept his gaze on the dragon.
"I give you my life to use until you see fit."
"Oh?" The King grinned, his eyes trailing over the magnificent creature, "I was wondering when you would speak to me."
The Demon strolled over to his seat, leisurely looking over at his newly found prize. He sat comfortably, leaning forward as his eyes scanned every nook and cranny of the dragon. Its strong, commanding stance was withdrawn to a much more complacent one; the effort to show respect was noted as the Lord glanced behind the dragon before speaking.
"You are too large to fit through most of the halls and entrance ways in this castle," He motioned at the door behind the beast," Do you not have a smaller form?" He asked almost teasingly.
The dragon narrowed its eyes ever so slightly at the snide comment. It growled quietly before inhaling deeply, causing a small tremor to ripple across the scaled body. A white cloud of steam emanated from under its scales and from its mouth as the lizard steadily shrank in size, its large shimmering scales fading back into its body to expose the olive skin beneath while its snout was pulled back to form a more humanoid face. Tilting its head and neck upwards, the beast allowed the metal restraints it had around its neck to fall to the floor, reverberating loudly from the sudden disappearance of mass; the sheer weight of the metal caused the entire room to quake. The dragon's form disappeared into the mess of heated clouds in the center of the room, its transformation requiring more energy than the King had initially anticipated. The Demon Lord's eyes scoured the thick fog from which the dragon seemingly vanished- this was something he had read of from old tales and whispers, though their ability to shape-shift was never confirmed. From within the center of the large metal collar, a pair of smaller, horned, grey scaly wings emerged; they flapped experimentally, blowing the steam away. Long, silver hair reached down to her knees, flooding around her as she assumed an upright position. Her darker, olive skin gave her an exotic look as her large, amber slit eyes slowly opening to scan the new world in front of her. Two ivory horns split her hair partings on the top of her head jutting out backwards. She stood proud and tall, boasting an extremely curvaceous body with a large bosom and wide hips that were only accentuated with her waist that was all too thin. A large tail protruded out from the end of her spine in the same scaled color as her wings, half of it resting on the floor behind her. Her beauty was beyond compare in his experience as the Overlord, her smooth skin had just the right amount of glow to them and her soft, supple curves were something he thoroughly admired. She exhaled her overdue breath, small sparks of flames lighting up as she did; she tilted her head upwards, to lock eyes with the King in an almost arrogant fashion- her wings outstretched to express her pride. In comparison to the Dark Lord, she stood a head and a half shorter although she was still quite tall as a female. With a strong flap of both of her wings to aid her, she lithely leapt into the air, escaping her metal constraints. She rubbed her neck absent mindedly as she did so, her light hair fluttered wildly around her well-portioned during her slowed descent before her new master. His mind reeled at this confirmed discovery of the transformation of these ancient beasts, he nearly gawked at what he saw before him, quickly collecting himself into a more appropriate demeanor. He cleared his throat professionally, politely covering his fist in front of his lips.
"What is your name?" He asked almost curiously.
The beast stood up right before chuffing in amusement, "Dragons do not have names. We refer to each other in title." She paused momentarily in a short train of contemplative thought, "The closest translation I can offer you to a name is 'Pale Eyes'- it is what my fellow dragons called me."
Her rich, deep voice was as smooth as velvet, sending shivers down his spine- an unfamiliar but oddly welcome feeling that resonated through his core. He made a mental note of it, quickly brushing it off to the side.
"Hmm." The Demon Lord leaned back in his chair in contemplation, his eyes drinking in the exotic view before him.
This creature fascinated him to no end- he had indeed rescued her from a grueling fighting ring but she still stood before him, nearly indignant in her posture after she had just offered herself to him and yet still unafraid of him. Smoothly unclipping his mantle, the King strode over to his newest subject, puncturing two holes in the back before draping it over her slender body. The dragon glanced over his movements, quickly registering what he was doing; she carefully fitted her leathery attachments through them.
"We'll need to get you some clothes. It would be a hassle to explain to others why I have a beautiful unclothed maiden with me." He tightened the chains on his mantle to close them all together.
The newly transformed humanoid lizard hummed in amusement, "Flattery will not work on this dragon but the gesture is appreciated."
The quiet atmosphere was interrupted with both of the two arched wooden doors being unceremoniously swung open and banged against the stone walls behind them with a loud and unwelcoming thud. A rather short, skinny, pale, purple haired being stood in the center, his arms reached out from where he had shoved the doors open. His matching purple eyes glanced over the spectacle before him, interpreting the situation. He wore similar clothes as the Demon King except his choice of color was closer to black. The most prominent feature of this being was the pair of black feathery wings that protruded from his shoulder blades- a trait that was characteristic of fallen angels. He had a lazy look plastered on his face, as though he had just woken up from a nap. The dragon narrowed its eyes at the sudden intrusion, her eyes scanning the disgraced holy being- he looked more like a teenager than an angel.
"Maou-sama," It sounded as though he was whining, "I'm bored. Is there anything to do around here? When are we going to invade the humans?"
He dragged his sentences longer than they needed to be. For some odd reason, the lack of succinct communication bothered her immensely, forcing her to hold down her quick temper.
"And who's that?" He pointed at the female who was garbed in his King's favorite mantle.
"She is my new bodyguard." He motioned towards Pale Eyes with a fond ring to his voice.
She stood quietly beside her savior, her eyes still locked on the child that had opened the doors. Bodyguard or not, she wouldn't stand any disrespect towards this demon; she had fully intended on protecting this one with her life.
"Ohhhh?" He contemplatively rested his index and thumb on his chin, locking his amethyst eyes on her, "Why didn't you pick one of the ones we looked through? She looks kind of weak…"
The dragon narrowed her golden eyes at him ever so slightly, irked by his ignorance. As far as first impressions went, he wasn't making a very good one. The Demon Lord merely gave an impish grin, condescendingly crossing his well-defined arms in front of him.
"Then why don't you fight her?" He challenged, mischievously.
"Huhhh? Really? That might be fun…" His face contorted into a bordering evil gaze, "Beating a girl, I mean. But what if she cries?"
She stared at him impassively, tilting her head to the side, "May I kill him? I've never tasted angel meat before."
"What? No." The King nearly sputtered from the sound of conviction in her voice.
She really would kill him- the Lord could tell from the tone of her voice. Dragons were not always known as merciful beings from what he could recall. Perhaps pitting her against Lucifer wasn't the best idea…but at least it would shut him up for a few days; he would step in to break up the fight if need be. The angel merely smiled creepily at her comment, accentuating the dark bags under his eyes.
"I may destroy your nest if we battle here. I request relocation from this area." She turned to face her new King.
"Ohhh? You think you can beat me?" His head lolled to the side as though he was sleepy.
"I do not need to consider the possibility of winning against a mere disgraced angel." She didn't bother looking at him to respond.
A wide smirk spread across his lips as a mirthful laugh erupted from his throat, "How fun this will be. It might be a waste to hurt someone as pretty as you…but I think I can make an exception."
The dragon could feel the King grinning from above her gaze at the short bicker between the two. He was testing her to see if she could live up to her heritage and words. She would not lose; for the one who saved her life. He was the one she would protect at any and all costs.