! AUTHOR'S NOTE, skip past looong horizontal line for the story !

3/4 years since the last chapter update. Trite to repeat, but apologies for being late as usual. While it's not much by views, it involves Ember and Flame; considering they're minor characters, I'm impressed – and thankful it's not too clamored for an update had it been Spyro and Cynder instead. Much appreciated, the lot of you, and I'm content at the fair reception. On top of that, it's something which isn't done too often, so whipping out this idea grew on me quite a bit for a lemon. Due to a lack of FlameXEmber, it helps push more for something different on the table.

Before I forget, a big thanks to Dayledabomb; he helped get me to gain a great idea to create the lewd lemon in a discussion. I forgot to mention him, so pardon my rudeness. As always, children and people offended by sexual content get outta here; bad story for you, and anyone who's into this, do enjoy.

Dust off your wings; I'm back!

Chapter 4: Tinder for the Flame

"Errrgh, my aching tail…"

The fire dragon groaned against the ground from the launch. His joints extended to push him up, hopefully to conceal himself more. A crimson pinkish object popped from a slit from the frontal scales between his hips. The part outstretched with both a slender and stiffness to its fullest length. The heat in Flame's scales continually pumped more blood in his body, heating his face and enabling the throbbing from below.

The previous sight of Flame completely exposed like this tinted Ember's face a rosy red. She was aware of their previous intimacy, capable of escalating; that aura of intuition lessened what utter surprise she could have reacted with. Did I do that to him? she wondered. Perhaps I pushed it with that play and touching. It's… not bad for an actual sight for a dragon around my age, she considered. A brief realization jolted her: the scent she exuded during heat returned to her nostrils. The dragoness' folds once again permeated with a distinctive pungency. The sudden waft puzzled her, unable to piece together how she felt significantly more stimulated now, unable to remove that blinding image of her companion. No words came forth, yet she hurried to her friend's aid as he twitched with each breath.

Her friend, still embarrassed, now rested on his side to face opposite from Ember. The dragon took a gander at himself, noticing his new plumpness. From out his pointed tip exuded a clear pre from his earlier arousal. Flame turned his head to notice Ember before, and sighed under the lunar light.

"Flame... I, er, didn't expect that was…what you meant – well, sort of…" she responded while pawing the earth. Her wing rose in front of her eye to conceal the sight; enough was seen of the dragon, but mainly the object of interest. "I-I was kidding with the stuff about your… part with me, but…" The dragoness attempted to muster out. Instead the sight beckoned her to timidity, sealing her maw with a keen interest. "I just... never saw one up close with another dragon my age." Ember approached closer, getting a better view of Flame to observe. The veins popped and pumped, piquing more curiosity. "I guess you didn't want to see my surprise of seeing more to you like this."

"I, uh…" flame stuttered, gulping down some saliva and trying to recollect himself.

Ember placed a claw on his snout. "You're going to need help with that," she mentioned, leaning her head to his. The dragoness' paw extended outward to meet him. The fire dragon faced her with a coy blush. "Wait, help with what exactly?" he nervously responded, and peered down on himself. A thought soared in his mind, inquisitive if it was to imply helping his new problem.

The dragoness rolled her eyes. "Your paw, Flame…" she plainly answered. "Where else, hrmmm?…"

The fire dragon complied with the request and paused to conjure a response without provoking her. "Well… I thought maybe you meant my…"

She settled on her haunches with him – Flame in front of her – and pinched her snout with her fore claws. Ember's head shook in disapproval of what he initially thought she would help with. "No, not your sword, if that's what you're referring to." she briefly groaned with air quotes.

"Way to put it subtly," he added with a forced laugh. It did humor him a bit.

Boys… she thought at first, then smiled to comfort Flame by placing a paw on his shoulder. "Still, that's alright. I did see a dragon's you-know-what by accident. I stumbled to the wrong room after a game of Tailball in Artisan Academy, so it's not too shocking or bad." she spoke, thinking to lighten the mood with him.

"…Well?" Flame asked between their brief silence, awaiting more from Ember's mention.

"Well what?"

"Hmmm…" the fire dragon thought, poking more reasoning in her odd response. "The better question is whether it was intentional?" he slyly chuckled to tease her. "You just stumbled upon that?"

The dragoness flustered with an insulted gasp, shifting her sight down to avoid his eyes, "Well…no?" she answered sheepishly then immediately avoided his direct gaze on her. Flame continued to stare with skepticism, knowing well she was hiding something. "Oh reeeally? You suuure?"

Ember grumbled at his question. "You're still just as persistent as always, even when we were hatchlings." she mocked him lightly. "Alright – fine – I was curious, okay? I was tired and I happened to slip into the boy's bathroom. I could very easily just get out, but then I heard an indistinct moaning. It was just… different, almost like he was very, very happy. Dare I say pleasured?" she emphasized with her paw outstretched to the sky, "– and I never heard it before. Lo and behold, a stall was open. I decided to go, and I had quite the…" she confessed, unsure how to put the act properly. She draped a wing to conceal her flustered embarrassment in front of him, slightly miffed having to spill the beans.

Flame cracked his laughed between his teeth. His laughter got the best of him, laughing and pounding the ground. "Eye candy? Sounds like staff than a sword, don't you think?" The dragoness' maw dropped agape, and attempted to suppress her anger. Or so she wanted to feel, her grinding teeth easing quickly into a laugh. "Cracking jokes again just like that, the same old Flame. That Flame I just hate… Or rather love." she mentioned with a cheery laugh. "So, I really was a bit hesitant to think about your size – even as I peered a second ago at you. At least you're no pervert like that one and a few others."

"Debatable," chimed in Flame, only to be met with a puzzled expression from Ember. "B-By my choice of words as a pervert, ha…ha." he recovered himself, recalling his sight at Ember from the raised platform. She'll tear both my wings with her fangs if I dare mention what I saw at the platform now, or another 'appendage', he gulped in thought glancing down at his current softer state.

The dragoness scooted close to Flame, tapping his hind leg. At first, he showed a slight reluctance; the presence of Ember was vastly more warming to him despite his silly behavior appearing as a façade of confidence. It can't be too bad. She's not one to judge harshly of me… he thought. The fire dragon smiled comfortably by her gentle nudge in their shared silence, and then consensually turned perpendicular to her. His hind leg spread outward to her to expose himself for her eyes. "Like I said, it does not look too bad. Nor too big – at least I think." Ember noted as the member retracted with little stimulation.

Flame gulped with both eyes of hers locking towards him. His heart raced with anticipation with her concentrating on him. "Well… What now?" he inquired as he brushed his forearm. An untimely and distinct shiver filled his lower body; Ember's wet and cold paw from the dirt swept against his warm underbelly scales with a chilly moisture. "Shhh…" she hushed her companion softly, and continued her advance nearer towards his part.

The dragoness leaned her side to brush herself against him. She rested a paw at Flame's cheek. "Well, I really love how you handled me." Her playful claws slid from his cheek to the nape of his neck to beseech him on his back. The dragoness stepped closer with her paw to quell and perhaps seduce him for a bit. Ember carefully climbed atop her mate, pinning him down with her paws on each of his legs. "I must return the favor. I insist, and I'll be gentle much like you. Promise."

Ember's tail blade rubbed around the base of his knot to tease and please her friend. Flame's flaccid state faded as his veins warmed up to circulate his blood. "Ahh, you don't have to, Ember…" he gasped in surprise. His modest words contradicted each content moan by his friend; her tender touch sent shockwaves of pleasure to course his body.

Her body descended lower atop her companion, as her folds skidded past his tip. Ember smiled, pleasuring her companion lovingly with the brushing heart of her tail; the flame dragon continued to twitch with blood flowing in each slow stroke. Her tail blade moved away, and the scales of her tail coiled him to squeeze gently up and down. The dragoness's heart drummed harder with her rubbing gradually quickening. The previous lewdness of her scent intensified with their satisfaction.

Flame's moans loudened steadily. "Hey… Ember. Do you think anyone might… catch us?" he huffed while staring ahead of her. His eyes scanned the vicinity for any wanderers under the night. The dragoness slowed her pace, and followed suit around their environment, then back to Flame. The same silence still lingered in the background. "There's not even a peep, and it's late, dear." she responded. "I think what matters more is that I'm with you, in the privacy we have here."

Flame agreed with her. "We're completely alone. No one to watch at this time." he moaned. Both dragons smiled in each other's eyes. Nothing could break the bonding between them in their most intimate moment.

Flame stared at Ember descending even lower on him, her head near his crotch. The throbbing motion of Flame's was halted by the dominant grasp cushioned by the pink dragoness. The squishy sensation and pulses within her paw widened her eyes with an anxious yet eager interest. "Hmm, it feels a bit smoother than I expected, Flame." she nervously admitted. She began to motion her paw up and down, hoping to pleasure her mate with her sly smile. Flame angled his head back as his dragonhood warmed with the friction of her strokes. "Ah… Ember... M-Maybe you can… use your m-maw?" he stuttered between his between his moans.

The dragoness's modest smile curved as her lover's moans were now music to her ears. The foreplay and now teasing worked, she thought as she pressed her snout against him. "I thought I'd play around with the gem of my eye. Is it too much to ask for?" Ember joked. A bit of liquid seeped from the tip, enough to whiff a distinct scent in her nostrils.

Ember retreated an inch to gaze into his clear fluid. Oh, that was quick, she thought, That can't be all, now can it? His erect state throbbed and yearned along with him. She placed a claw on his tip and used the other paw to rub and further entice her dragon. A long breath escaped her maw, feeling more seduced by the sight of Flame.

The fleshy, reddish knot compressed slightly with her paw giving a playful squeeze. "How's this?" she teased. The dragoness jerked his member towards the opposite direction, earning a simultaneous hip jerk and yelp of pleasure from him.

Flame's leaking fluid seduced her with both the mildly saline taste and its wet kiss on her cheek. The dragoness lowered herself to lie on her belly and opened wide. As the tip of her snout tapped it, she paused to gauge his size. How much of it would he like? The tip, or all of it in my mouth, she surmised. Or can it break or bruise if I'm not careful, or scratch it? She hoisted herself up from the wet grass a few inches. "I don't know… Is it safe?" she wondered to her dragon.

"Safe? What are you talking about, Emmy?" he asked her, the confusion suspending his lust.

"It's simple: what if I bite it too hard, or scratch it badly?" She checked her fangs and razor teeth. She intended to avoid harming her love for their intimacy, especially their first moment.

The dragon rolled over and situated himself in front of Ember to comfort her cautious grimace. "I'm sure it won't hurt. Just try not to grind your teeth on it. And even if it does, I'll let you know, sweetie." he reassured her and pecked her maw. "It… could be great, I don't know. I'm not that flexible to check myself if it were amazing."

The dragoness giggled with a mischievous grin. "If it were too good, I wouldn't mind biting it."

Flame's eyes widened with a shaky grin. "Ah-ha… I only have one of those!" he nervously gulped.

The pink dragoness smiled down to him. "It can't be too bad especially since your juice tasted nice," Ember answered, settled to please him. The dragoness lowered herself as Flame's presence put her at ease. "I'll be gentle. Once again, promise." she repeated after him. Her maw opened slightly to feel the dragon enter inside. Flame's eyes shut halfway, and the wet grass coaxed his descent to catch him during her ginger advance.

The flavor of mixed saliva and the meat of his tip tingled at her tongue. Flame bit his lip as his her maw pressed against his organ, still accustoming to its tenderness and size. He attempted to sit upright to watch; instead the sensual lust flowing in his blood relaxed his senses and heartbeat. All he could do was balance himself on one foreleg to bend and gaze lovingly to Ember's motion. The tough cushion of grass and soil met his lower back for him to lay and stare into the forest brush above, each peeping star to peek in their affair.

"Ember, mhmmm… Don't stop. It's so great." he beseeched in between his moans from the sensation. The dragoness pupils raised to meet his and reactions under her power. Her friend enjoyed each slow dive Ember took in him, and she wished to pleasure him more. Past the tip, she pushed her maw in deeper. The taste, the fluid, and the steepness of his size entranced her to continue.

"Enjoying it, Flame?" she whispered in a calm voice. She ceased her movement abruptly, and pulled away to climb atop him, and turn to face parallel with his sight. Her tail arced high with her heart concealing her dragonesshood.

"For your eyes only, my love." she spoke softly, as Flame's eyes locked towards her rump. The yellow heart blade unveiled her bare self to her mate, "Uh…I…" Flame murmured, attracted to her body. His eyes merely scanned around each individual part and scale on her lower body. Ember smiled as Flame was distracted by the view. She lowered her behind and rubbed herself on his chest and neck. The rubbing parted her pure scent of heat on him. He was completely under her control to impress, even for her first time. "Just relax. You're warming up to it, I'm sure."

The dragoness resumed her motion with him inside. Her humid breath and tongue tickled under the cold night, and produced further moans from her mate. Flame's eyes stared towards the moistening void she exposed to him, seduced of her features. With as much care as the dragoness, he experimentally licked Embers quite wet slit. In response, Ember shivered with a squeak of pleasure.

The dusk wind strengthened and swept across their dragoness opened her eyes, noticing the cold wind intensify her to quiver from his tongue. Her hind claws drilled to the soil because of the frigid wind. Brrr, would be nice to have a warmer night out of all days,she groaned in her mind. I really could use a toasty blanket or some source of heat than get a cold so easily. An idea popped in her mind. Be gentle, as you promised, Ember. Though… I wonder how it would feel on me…

The dragoness steadied his knot between two claws, and exhaled a toasty heat from her throat. Flame loosened his hips feeling the heat rise in him. He looked towards Ember with surprise, yet relaxed under her service. "It sure is cold, especially for us fire dragons with more susceptible body heat, Flamie," she muffled with him filling her mouth. "Care to warm me up a little, please?" she pleaded in a beseeching tone voice.

"Sure, sweetie." He nodded and licked her folds. His maw brightened with a faint, red light, and spewed a gentle fire close to her opening. Her legs ceased to shiver by the dragon's warmth. The muscle and nerves within her labia tenderly loosened; the wave of relaxation channeled through her body with a newfound toastiness. Likely it was not just the warm heat, but perhaps under the sheer touch of Flame's toasty tongue still brushing so passionately against her.

"Ahhh! Mmmhmm…" she purred with a kiss to his tip, and proceeded deeper in his shaft to continue. The dragoness lowered to rest her chest against his pelvis. "You really know how to please a dragoness, Flame." The fiery heat from his licks on the vulva to her sucks wisped within them both: a mutual crispiness filled their mating organs.

Her legs spread wide to expose herself. The dragoness moistly dripped with his saliva and her fluid leaking. "It's so amazing," she moaned, fitting his erect member almost completely within her maw and bobbing with greatest haste.

"Oh, ancestors!" he panted loudly and pulled away from her slit. A mere inch was not engulfed to prod the far interior of her throat, feeling it beat harder with her love. The dragon then inserted his hot tongue within the heated canal of his mate's.

The dragoness shook from drawing him in for too long, and pulled back to catch her breath. Flame tickled her inside, making her pant in ecstasy. "Aaah, Flamie!" she whined, enjoying each push of his tongue inside her companion.

Again, she lowered her maw but simply wrapped her reptilian tongue to coil around his member with a forepaw to stroke and beat on him; immense seduction coursed each passing second and pump they took on and inside each other. The pulses in Flame's member surged with more force, making Ember wild with her wait to finish him. Ah, he must be getting near! she passionately thought as the excitement clouded her thoughts, and shoved his member by the knot within her throat.

The flame dragon she pleasured bucked his legs again. A rush pulsed inside his member engulfed by her maw. Flame quickly clenched his teeth from the stimulation, and pulled himself away from her hold. From within his tip left inside, a bit of milky-white fluid shot out. The dragoness's eyes dilated with the burst, as the unfamiliar substance leaked inside her mouth and dripped on her muzzle. In near unison, the dragoness flinched from her mate's release. A weak, clear squirt exited from her folds and on him.

"Mmmuhh..." she slurred, feeling dizzy after the climax. She simply collapsed on her mate. His member drooped limp on her face and snout. "Flame…" she murmured, concentrating again as a sweeter, yet mildly saline taste entered her tongue. "See? Not… too bad, quite honestly, ahh."

He chuckled, lapping the dragoness' sweet liquid with his tongue against her. Flame retracted from her and purred next to her on the ground, sides touching. "You're right, especially for you – not that I would think you'd taste bad." he bashfully blushed. The dragoness stared at him with a skeptic, then a cheeky grin, rolling her eyes. "What, you were thinking it'd be bitter or gross?" she mocked and nudged his horn with hers.

"Pfft, like you would know for sure." he played along. It's not like you've tasted yourself in your own time."

Ember opened her mouth to speak, yet flustered from his words. "Well… Er… It's not like I had at least once!"

The fire dragon waggled a claw. "Tsk-tsk. You hesitated, Emmy."

She pretended to cringe at his response as if she was appalled. Yet the dragoness sighed with accepted defeat. "Alright, you got me." she confessed. "Yeah, twice, not once… In all honesty right before you came tonight–"

"Literally." Flame interrupted with a naughty chuckle.

"Smooth as ever, Romeo." Ember added with annoyance. "Anyway, I got bored one night. Doesn't everyone, maybe you, perhaps?"

The fire dragon recoiled back by her biting accusation and sweated. "Uh… don't you be ridiculous! It's not like I would ever." he ineffectually denied and rubbed the back of his head nervously. The dragoness showed a cocky grin, and laughed. Flame's denial was humorously blatant as she climbed atop his back to halt his scratch. "Really? Why the sudden itch? That's the best you can do in trying to lie?" she chortled.

Ember's companion hastily tapped the claws of his forepaws together. "Well...I…Ergh. Fine, no use denying it." he playfully sighed in defeat, and stroked Ember's foreleg. "You got me, yes I've had a taste test myself. The world's just full of perverts, isn't it?" he retorted cleverly to Ember. She looked at Flame from above with a straight face and a shrug.

"Touché. More so with mating season and the heat after all. … And us." she sarcastically reminded him. "But, the very first time I was curious how it tasted like." She lifted her hindlegs to the air to sway willy-nilly. "You know, if it was fine enough for a mate. I wasn't sure myself, and it was… pleasant. Why else would I have let you lick me?"

"You too?" Flame asked with surprise. "I partly did it for the same reason, back when I was alone at night a month ago. Kinda like a cook: they sample what they have if it's right for others to try. And… I'm glad you like it." he smiled brightly and draped the cream membrane of his wing on her side.

The dragoness giggled from his analogy playfully. "It makes sense as silly as it sounds." she thought aloud, and eyed Flame below and a bit to the right; some grass was coated with their juices. Blatantly of all were the few milky-coated blades of grass. She flipped off of him, and slipped her muzzle under his side. His previously erect member limped down with a few drops of her saliva and his lucent seed from the tip. The dragoness' paw rubbed around the scaly slit housing his member.

"You have such a great taste, probably from being pure without another." she teased with a claw prodding his scaly base. Sudden pleasure jolted him, yet a gasp only escaped his breath. Her libido from the experience enticed her more from his question, thinking more of Flame.

Only, she withdrew her claw to the ground, facing down the moist earth. "If only I could have had that for you…" she muttered under her breath.

"Ember."

The pink dragoness raised her head quickly with a brief tug; his crimson paw clasped the ruby of her neck brace. "Ember? Is whatever that was bothering you still in your head?" She immediately knew Flame would prod more on her thoughts. Question was, should she tell? It would only break the mood between them. "You've been more upset recently before all this."

Ember shook her head.

"… I can tell it's that same thing since days ago. What's stuck in your mind?" With a sigh, she rolled from her friend. "I promise to tell you later. I do not wish to bog our time if it must be about me too much." Maybe tomorrow he must know, she contemplated. That same figure in her mind returned, only the garbed figment stroking its hand across her, and descending lower, and lower…

She let out a deep breath as her eyes shut. "I need to wash up before I go back indoors. I can't return home all muddy and… messy after that."

"I?" Flame asked, raising himself on all fours to face Ember.

"Well it is late at night. Plus you really should get cracking on that report in two days for the teacher. I can't keep you from academics if you're going to catch up on sleep for until afternoon and lounge, all because you decided to find me out here this late at night."

A soft, yet sad growl emitted from Flame. Upon inspecting her ruby and the metal wrapping her neck for any smudges, her eyes shot back up to Flame. "Hmmm… How about a 'trade'? Just help me get the difficult spots on the bracer to wash up too. I have a rough time washing it myself, and I don't want to drop it down the stream and to the drain at the hill."

Flame looked to the dragoness, and nodded. "And maybe you could give a pointer or two in getting that scroll done?"

"Aaand with some sharp quills at the comfort of my house. And if we finish, a bit of fun if you're interested…" She bumped her rump at his side with a wink. Except the flame dragon blankly blinked at her gesture. She tilted her head looking at him, and the idea finally illuminated more with a wink of his own. It could be him pretending not to be too dense, she thought with a mental sigh.

However, a tail blade crept over to her side to trace her curviness. It continued all the way to her tail, and a tail coiled around hers. Her eyes followed the source: it was Flame. "Let's stick together out from here. There's more light if we follow the stream out and be closer to Dragon Village." she told him. "Also, I'd much rather not be out in the dark too long, in case something is out here."

A slight rustle of a distant bush echoed. The dragoness attempted to pinpoint the source, yet was only interrupted by a gentle tug of Flame's. "Like that for starters!" he whispered quickly, and flapped his wings – Ember following his lead to glide low.

At least he cares for my welfare, Ember thought.

"And also for some… better privacy, after my part of the bargain." he added with a sly wink. "Surely you don't want just the brace and brief bath, but some company, riiight?"

And catches on quick. Lovely.

The loving pair finally descended lower to the lower part of the stream, shallow enough to reach halfway up their legs. A protrusion of earth raised above with a lone torch perched atop, still alit to ward the darkness. At the bottom, Flame followed a few meters off to the metal bars blocking anything larger from getting swept inside. However slim objects would be swept away such as Ember's bracer.

"If I just wash at at home, my parents may just wake up with both of us together. Better safe than sorry, take two birds with one stone." spoke the pink dragoness following beside him. She lowered her chest to dip the gold, and submerged her ruby halfway. Raising it up, she looked to her friend while rubbing the exterior with a claw, and grunted. She couldn't quite get the lock inside between her chest scales and the plating.

"Flame, can you reach in and click the lock for me?" He followed suit and shoved his paw in between. She took in a deep breath to hopefully make room for him.

"Do you really have to bring this thing wherever you go?" he asked. "Your neck must be sore with this heap of metal."

She scoffed, "Boys won't understand, not even you."

"It's several pounds of dead weight, though!"

"Please, it's not like I'm some evil black dragon wearing bracers of iron on my neck. And then on my forepaws and tail. That's unnecessary – and not at all stylish in any sort of way."

"What is that supposed to mean, Ember?"

"It looks unattractive. Either that, or more deserving of the insult, unlike how you call this single, but beautiful brace unnecessary."

The chain clicked open with struggles (and whines) after a minute, the both of them working on scrubbing the smudges and specks of dirt and dust. The two dragons separated to scrub themselves on each part of their bodies. Traces of their fluids leaked away with the cleansing stream. The female held it out with a paw extended out for the male to splash water on the bracer afterwards.

"It's just important, happy now? It's… both precious and sentimental for me, really." she finished. Her eyes wandered upon the cleaned gleam of her bracer, and caressed it close to her.

"Fair enough. I'm sure it is as dear as you put it than some lousy knick-knack," Flame settled for with a roll of his eyes. It only earned a brief glare by his companion.

Ember raised a claw to give a mouthful again, until a crunch of the a few leaves crisped aloud. The torch above them blew out, causing the two of them to jump. "Down!" Flame whispered with haste to Ember, bumping the wrist of his forepaw on her's.

"Hrm?"

The fire dragoness raised his wing to pick up the source – whatever it was atop the wall of the drain above them. "Just do it, please!" he hushed her, and dragged her with the brace they both held under the rock the drain perched under.

Above them, the silhouette peered down with the moonlight on its back. A distinct whoosh of the flame billowed, and the torch was lowered below to search for anything below. The two fire dragons huddled at the bars, Ember atop him and his tough back spines. The fire male could barely examine the figure, but only the smoke with the torch. The pink dragoness wiggled comfortably to bide time until it finally.

A swore from likely the figure broke the silence, followed by footsteps to the other direction. The wooden stick plummeted into the stream before them.

Peculiar to their sight, there was a red bandana as Flame caught the torch floating perpendicular to the bars. "That's funny, I don't recall these being in any style around here," he noted picking the cloth with his teeth. "Come to think of it, what a droopy horn that dragon had. I could barely see him – or her… or it, if neither."

Ember slid off him and peered at it. She gulped, and turned her head away. "And to think it was over and done with…" she sullenly spoke before yanking the cloth forcefully from Flame – tearing it slightly – and laid it on the ground. She lowered herself on her belly, next her head on the dirt and away from Flame. I thought, I just thought he was away from me for once! she shouted in her head, some tears dripping to the ground. The brackish bitterness deluged the mud and down to the calm waters leading down to the dim blackness of the drain.

"Leave me alone already…" she wept softly, and clenched her paw. A sizzling came forth, and her claws enflamed with a distraught swipe against the rag. It singed with a larger tear, but beckoned her with a crisp crimson left.

Flame could not help but watch. Another slash. It was almost as if his own heart was tearing, but he was fully aware it was not his doing, nor his own heart she intended to tear. "Ember…" he called softly, creeping closer to avoid surprising her.

"It's your fault for clawing my hopes more!" she rasped under her breath. Her slashes lost accuracy swipe after swipe. The red rag continued to haunt and hurt her as a twisted nightmare. "I've never felt so destroyed since, and all you had to do was leave with that…" she muttered, distinct enough for Flame to hear.

Was there another dragon? Flame pensively thought, pawing the dirt. Back to being chopped liver, again and again, until seeing Ember like this. He moved the brace from his paw to his teeth by the trimming near the ruby. She can't be like this forever. With that, he presented the neck brace in front of her. Another swipe at the rag, now completely missing. He gulped, watching his love in this rage, and attempted to grasp her blazing paw with his enflamed to bear her fiery anger.

"Mrgh!" he muffled loudly against her force. Had it not been for the brace, he'd shout loudly, but only left a few disk-like dents with his fangs. The fire dragon opened his eyes to find himself on his side. A streak of lucent fluid began to bleed out from his lower neck and cheek, leaving Ember to open her eyes in horror above him. He could only quiver, and try to recollect his bearings.

"F-Flame!" she cried out suddenly beside him. "I-I didn't mean to, I swear!" The quiet wind swept the rag atop the ruby; the gemstone appeared now eclipsed by the veil of crimson. The crying dragoness swiped it away and stamped it to the ground. Her love continued to hold her precious brace. Ember bit her lip, and gratefully took the brace. Instead of asking him to help put it on her, she merely rested the brace on his neck and clicked it on him. It was tricky, considering her neck and chest was more slender than his.

It could be sized to suit him, but I can't help he looks… precious with my treasure, she noted. The fire dragon coughed and looked up to her. "Em…ber, I should have known better while you were in that fury. I–"

"Shhh… Shhh…" she whispered to him. She calmly dampened her forepaw and brushed the claw slashes, and licked his wounds. "It's my fault; I should not have let myself lash out like that," she began. "You deserve no actual pain of mine. It is not your problem nor burden."

The fire dragon nodded, and allowed her to continue. "I do not want to sound pushy at a time like this, but is it appropriate now you explain?"

Ember looked to her side, and to the charred bandana which enraged her. "Yes, I must explain myself. Before that, can you move without too much trouble?" she examined, pressing on each of his limbs for any reaction to injury. Nothing; Flame was fine. What a relief. He's just fine, only hurt.

The fire dragon carefully rolled on to his front side and pushed himself up. He wiggled his legs and fluttered his wings with a reassuring smile. "I'm A-OK, Emmy." he spoke with his usual energy and sangfroid from the injury. "You didn't claw too deeply, thank ancestors." The pink dragoness cracked a smile, and looked over a hill. Dragon Village was in a short distance – dimmed with all lights and torches off. Ember rested him against her side in case the clawing still hurt.

Flame could not help but close his eyes with her newfound calmness. It was contagious as Ember felt the same, and guided Flame with each step. The tender atmosphere remerged between them of the commitment. It was still frigid; the sooner to return home, the better. Especially since it was much later than usual she'd be outside, typically when staying outside too long. The pink dragoness spoke, "Brrrrr, I can't wait to rest on the puffy straw and blankets. Dumb late winter." she complained. The time progressed much later than her usual stay outside, feeling herself shiver more than usual now.

"Ah…Ah-choo!" the dragoness pivoted away and sneezed once with a soft sniffle. "Sorry, I don't normally stay out this long, Flame." Her companion wrapped an arm around her, along with the blanket of his wing. "No problem, but you're right how it's been too long." he mentioned. "It's a shame we could not stay out too long tonight, even away from our dens. And days after our trade proposal…" A grimace of disappointment appeared evident in his face.

Ember looked at closely at Flame. This time, she could read what was going through his head; returning home was but a mere part of the problem. She placed a paw on his side. "Well, it's not easy for me to just hide how empty I'll feel back home after tomorrow, since it was such a great night we spent."

Flame sighed, convinced of having to abandon his newfound partner after tonight and back to the daily grind. He shook it off with a look to the stars. "But, we can always see each other, every single day, so don't feel too bad."

The dragoness nodded. "I know, honey. It just would feel empty if we left each other so soon after just now. What if everything this night is all a dream, and we return like normal?" As he kissed her forehead, her eyes closed to savor his little act of courtesy. "Your parents won't mind not knowing I snuck out with you for just one night, right?"

"Well..." she began to explain with a hesitant laugh. "My parents are actually light sleepers, and they wake maybe an hour or two past sunrise. I did leave a note saying how I'm with another girl in a sleepover – of course lying to just stay at the lake, until you came. It'll be fine, just to rest with the sweetest dragon I've met for tonight." she finished, nudging Flame with her side and a wink. "Change of thought; how about your place instead? I'll still fetch you the fresh quills from my house, and we don't risky rousing them."

Flame looked into her eyes. A smirk curved in his face with a claw on his maw. "My parents sleep a lot, and they are heavy sleepers. As long as we don't make a racket, they won't even stir the slightest. I have a lot of cozy pillows and warm red bed sheets there… and hot chocolate to warm up."

The dragoness waved her wings in anticipation. "Oh yes, that sounds heavenly…"

He nodded, and licked his lips. "Speaking of which, I could really use some!" he exclaimed and headed towards a direction away from Ember's home. "So it's a deal, Ember?"

"It is." she answered with another warm nuzzle on his cleaned, albeit slightly reddened neck. Ember nodded and followed frivolously, "Thanks! I just really, really love hot chocolate, even for a upcoming, frosty Spring morning." she added.

"Besides, what we did back there, we should at most finish in some other place than there. You did pleasure a few sweet spots, after all…"

The male suppressed a laugh. "You mean anal next?"

The pink dragoness widened her eyes and facepawed. "Wha? No! Get your mind out of the gutter, Flame!" she responded, and slapped the back of his head with her heart-shaped tail blade. Flame could help but laugh heartily. "Your reaction, Ember. Priceless."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Boys! You can't live without them."

Still has the mindset of a child, I swear, she thought with a long yawn, But within that immature and laughing exterior is a sweet dragon, she concluded, and stepped towards the familiar path she previously came from, ready to end each other's night in a high note. More importantly of the bandana she slipped under the brace she set on him. Tonight, everything will be made clear.

And that concludes this part. There will be even more citrus-y tartness to come in the next chapter, plus romance. Hope this long-delayed update didn't startle you, but a review would be appreciated whether it rocked or sucked. Or praise or tear me a new one, either or. Been a while since I continued, hence "dust off your wings". See you all in the flipside when I continue this and other things.