"Takara," I thought to myself, "now where could you be?" I'd looked through just about all the rooms of her cave and still hadn't found her. She was certainly doing a good job of hiding from me. I wasn't sure what had inspired her to start this surprise game of hide-and-seek, but I was willing to play along with it. I was also determined to find her, no matter how long it took me. A smile crossed my lips as I thought of a few ways I could pay her back for her mischievous behavior when I found her.

In our few weeks together, quite a lot had happened between us. I was still amazed at how close I'd gotten to my sweet dragoness, and how close she was to me. I'd never thought things would turn out that way, especially on that night she found me and scared me nearly out of my wits. She'd sure put on a show of bullying me into becoming her prisoner and slave for a month, my penance for disturbing her in the privacy of her cave.

How soon she'd turned the tables on me though, leading me into her bedroom, making her true intentions for me known. She hadn't attacked me like I'd half expected her to, behaving like the vicious beast that dragons were supposed to be. To my surprise she'd shown me tenderness instead.

I chuckled to myself remembering our first night together, recalling how nervous I'd been as she'd slowly undressed me and then herself. She'd coaxed my uneasiness into passion as she gently touched me, then encouraged me to run my fingers over the exposed expanses of her emerald flesh. At first I couldn't believe what we were doing, it seemed so strange to be doing that with her. She was convincing with her wordless arguments though, and as our bed-play became more serious she helped me realize that it was something I wanted just as much as she did.

In the end the beautiful dragoness had been my first lover. She'd not only shown me how human she could be with her thoughts and emotions, but with her expressions of passion and desire as well. She'd also shown me the exotic qualities of her alien beauty. Ever since our first night together, I'd stayed with her, living these past few weeks in her cave. It was all part of the deal she'd made with me that night, scaring me into agreeing to be her servant for a month. Now I happily spent my time with her, enjoying her presence. I was no longer there to serve her as her ruse had suggested, instead we spent our time together as lovers.

Now she was playing some sort of trick on me, hiding as she made me search throughout her cave for her. Well I would find her, that was for sure. I'd been through all the rooms except for one, her bedroom; how fitting that she should be hiding for me in there. When I found her I'd force her to the bed and hold her tight, kissing and tickling her until she apologized. She was slightly stronger than I was, but I felt that she'd play along with me for that game.

Entering the bedroom, I didn't see her right away. Of course she'd have to make it as difficult as possible. Looking at the bed, I smiled, realizing she must be hiding beneath it. What a wonderful spot to find her in. It would've been a tight squeeze for her to fit under there, and it would be hard for her to get out from it and away from me once I discovered her.

My expectant grin soon melted away though. Kneeling down, I lifted up the sheets and blankets from the floor, and peering underneath the bed all I saw was empty space. I let out a humph of exasperation, but my annoyance soon turned to confusion. I'd looked throughout the whole cave and hadn't found her. This was the last possible place she could be hiding.

A little chill of nervousness rippled over me as I tried hard to think of someplace I could've missed. Thinking over all the rooms in the cave, my mental search kept on coming up blank. I'd looked everywhere for her.

"Okay Takara, you win" I finally called out to the emptiness of her bedroom. "I couldn't find you and I give up."

There was no answer. I waited several moments, before deciding to walk out into the hallway. Of course if she wasn't nearby she wouldn't have heard me. Stepping out of the bedroom, I repeated my statement of surrender, letting her know she'd won the game.

Again it didn't work. I waited for her response, listening to hear her laughter as she stepped out from her hiding place to playfully gloat at her victory, but all I heard was the silence of the hallway.

I went from one room to another, repeating my words, each time my plea getting a little more desperate. "Takara, where are you?!" I called out in the second to last room of my search. I tried to sound annoyed, but the shaky tone of my voice gave away my concern.

I held my breath, straining to hear even the faintest of sounds, but all I heard was my pulse beating rapidly within my ears. Where was she, why had she disappeared like this? Had something happened to her?

I was about ready to move on, to try searching in the last room, when I finally heard her break the stillness of the quiet air. "John, where are you?" she called out. From the sound of her voice, she was some distance away.

"Takara, I'm here!" I called back, feeling the relief wash over me. "Where are you?"

I listened for her response, trying to locate her position so I could run to her, but all I got was silence. I waited, feeling nervousness steal over me once again as the moments ticked away. Finally I heard her voice again, but not to acknowledge my response. She hadn't heard my answer, and instead her cry tried to determine my location once again. She was searching for me, just as I was looking for her.

I called out to her again, but quickly surmised that for whatever reason she couldn't hear me. It didn't matter though, her cave wasn't that big, I knew I should be able to find her by the sound of her voice.

I hurried through the rooms, listening for her voice. I called out to her myself several times, but even doing that she still couldn't hear me.

"John, where are you?" she called out again, her voice echoing with worry. "I don't know where you are and I can't find you..."

"Takara, I'm right here. I'm coming for you." I yelled out, but again my words didn't reach her.

Tracking the sound of her voice, I followed it to the back of her cave, but I still couldn't find her. I couldn't even tell if I was getting any closer to her either.

"John," she called again, "where are you? I don't want to lose you..."

Her voice came from the down end of the hallway, and as I turned a corner I came to a doorway I hadn't seen before. I'd thought she'd shown me through all her cave, but she must not have; the open doorway led to another hallway beyond it, one I'd never been down. Looking down it, I couldn't tell how long the hallway was, as the magical lamps lining the walls seemed to stretch on for a good distance. Finding this new passageway felt strange to me. I hesitated at its entrance, but then realized I had no choice but to follow her in there.

"Takara, I'm coming" I yelled to her, hoping against my growing dread that she'd be able to hear me this time. Once again as my voice echoed down the hallway it didn't reach her ears, and she continued to call out to me as if she was lost.

I raced down the hallway, my feet moving faster as my pulse grew quicker, my heart pounding heavy inside my chest. I heard her calling out again, her words growing more desperate as she searched in vain for me. As I chased after her voice, it seemed to be retreating from me, no matter how fast I ran I couldn't catch up to her.

"No, Takara, wait for me" I screamed into the emptiness of the hallway stretching out before me. I continued to chase after her, but her pleading cries got softer and softer as her voice pulled away from me. Within minutes I knew she was gone. I'd lost her.

I came to a stop almost immediately, giving up the chase. Even as I looked around, taking in the emptiness of my surroundings, I felt that something was wrong. As I stood there, a flashing of light and shadows behind me caught my attention. Turning around to look at it, I saw the glimmering crystal of one of the lamps flickering weakly. It flashed a couple of times, trying desperately to stay on, but within seconds its light was out.

I watched it die in disbelief. In all my time with her in her cave, I'd never seen any of Takara's magical lamps give out. As I watched though, the two lamps on either side of it flickered and died as well. Within moments a third and fourth lamp had followed, and the encroaching region of darkness was working its way towards me.

A new worry consumed me. Now I was not only alone, but threatened with being lost in the darkness as well. I turned and ran from the dying lamps, but even as I moved quickly I could see the flickering shadows catching up with me.

Pushing onward, I ran down the mysterious hallway, its length and final destination totally unknown to me. Running faster, I glanced back to see the darkness still approaching me. Within moments the lamp above my head gave way; I looked forward and saw the one in front of me flickering as well, its magic quickly fading.

I could still see the other lamps ahead of me burning brightly, but as I raced on, chasing after them, they went out one by one. No matter how fast I pushed my legs, I couldn't catch up with the wave of darkness that had overtaken me. Takara was gone, and now her magic was dissipating. All I could do was run frantically after the remaining lights, hoping to escape the darkness of her now-empty cave in time.

The speed of the failing lights only continued to increase, and the distance to the remaining lamps still illuminating the hallway continued to pull away from me. My breath hot and rasping and my heart pounding heavy, I watched desperately as the lights retreated into the distance. Within moments all that was left was one shimmering point of light far away on the horizon of my sight, one last small beacon to guide my way.

As I chased after it in vain, I saw to my horror that it was dying as well. It flickered and expired just as quickly as the others, leaving me in total darkness. My vision extinguished, I continued to run blindly into the blackness surrounding me. I tried to slow down, but as I did, I lost my footing. Tumbling forward, I braced myself for the coming impact with the hard stone of the floor, but it never came. Instead I continued to fall, tumbling aimlessly in empty space, my arms flailing wildly as a scream lodged itself in my throat.

I came awake with a start, fighting back against the jumbled bedding that ensnared me. It was only when the firm and comforting touch of an arm grabbed my shoulder, holding and reassuring me, that I began to calm down.

"Shhh John, it's okay. You just had a bad dream, but you're awake now" I heard a familiar voice say in my ears. Opening my eyes, I saw the caring and slightly worried face of my beautiful dragon lover looking down at me.

It'd only been a dream, she was still with me, as she'd been for the past few weeks. We could still be together. As my thoughts calmed and the panic from the dream dissipated, I looked up at her, smiling to see her there. The concern fading from her eyes, she gazed back at me and returned my smile.

"You were quite restless this morning. That must have been some dream you had" she said, reaching out with one of her hands to gently stroke my face.

"Yes it was," I replied, nodding and then shivered slightly as I thought of the few vivid scenes of my nightmare that still remained with me.

"Can you tell me what it was about?" she asked. "I'm always curious about dreams, especially one as powerful as yours must have been."

"Okay, but it was a weird one." I caught a flicker of amusement in her eyes as I said that, so I continued.

"Well I was in your cave, and for some reason I was looking for you, but you were hiding on me." She smiled at that and I couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. "The fun didn't last for too long though, Takara. I continued to look for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere"

"Finally I got nervous and started to call out to you. I heard your voice calling to me, but it was distant and no matter how loud I yelled back you couldn't hear me. I started searching for you, trying to follow the sound of your voice, but you kept on getting farther away from me. I heard you crying, saying that you'd lost me, and then you were gone. I was alone and then all the lights went out and I was lost, falling into the darkness."

As I finished, I saw the concern showing on her face once again. She looked worried, but I couldn't understand why. I reached up to touch her, and running my fingers along her snout, I gently caressed her skin. Moving my touch up along the side of her face I scratched lightly behind one of her ears.

"Come on Takara, it was just a silly dream, right?" I said. "It's over now and we're together. That's all that matters."

Her eyes looked a little distant for just the briefest of moments, and then her smile returned. "Yes John, that's all that matters right now... Let's enjoy our time together this morning."

Moving my head up to hers, I found her lips and kissed her softly. I heard her sigh and our kiss soon deepened, her familiar forked tongue finding mine.

Throwing my arms around her, I pulled her down on top of me. Closing my eyes, I let out my own gentle sigh of contentment as I felt the familiar curves of her body resting against mine. She opened her wings slightly, spreading them out over us and we were surrounded with each other's warmth.

The irrational emotions of the dream forgotten, we soon found new emotions with each other. I held her against me and our arms explored one another as we cuddled together, the hot kisses stoking the passions within us.

As the moments passed, she chuckled as she felt the insistence of my erection pushing up against her. Licking at my neck she pressed her body against mine, determined to make quick use of my growing willingness. No matter if I'd lost her in the phantom visions of my dream, she was with me now and we were both happy to get reacquainted with one another in the most intimate of ways.

After bathing together, we returned to her bedroom to get dressed. She'd been quiet and slightly distant for most of the morning as we'd lain together in bed and then cuddled in the bath. It was only after we'd finished toweling ourselves dry that I got a hint of what was troubling her. I'd put down my towel and had gone to retrieve my clothing when I'd found my cloak was missing. After keeping me nude for our first night together and most of the following day, she'd finally given me a cloak to wear while I stayed with her. Now that cloak was nowhere to be seen. Was she planning on keeping me naked for the rest of the morning? A small smile crossed my lips as I though of what mischief she might be planning.

Instead I realized she was planning something different, as I saw her rummaging through her ornately-fashioned wardrobe. She soon turned to me holding something completely unexpected. There in her hands were my shirt, a pair of breeches, and my familiar heavy boots, my old clothes that I'd worn the night I'd first met her. My sword and chain mail were missing, but as I'd done well without them these past few weeks, I didn't really feel that I needed them right now.

"I think you should wear these today, John" she said with a sad tone to her voice. "Your old breeches were all ripped to shreds, so I made you these new ones; I tried to match them to your old ones as closely as possible. They should do until you can get a new pair." Pausing, she finally added "your sword and armor are locked away, I can get them for you shortly." As she finished, her voice trailed away to almost a whisper.

I looked back at her silently, seeing the emotion evident in her eyes and the rest of her body. She'd pulled her wings in, huddled tight against her body. As I glanced down at her tail, I saw its tip lying there lifeless, devoid of the usual energy it possessed.

I just sat there for several moments, staring at the garments she held out to me. After being out of them for so long, they now almost looked alien to me, I was so used to the robe I'd been wearing. It'd been a few weeks since I'd last donned my wardrobe of a knight in training; it'd been closer to a month in fact. As I thought that and looked into her sad eyes, I began to figure out the situation. Had it been a month already? My time with her had passed so quickly, yet even as I looked at her, I knew in my heart that it was true.

As I took the clothes from her, still looking dumbly at them, she reached out to softly touch my cheek. Her taloned fingers no longer scared me and I welcomed the gentle caress they planted on my skin. I smiled up at her, but it felt a little hollow as I met the sadness of her eyes.

A moment later, her touch was on my neck. Her fingers trailed over the metal fabric of my collar, tracing its outline. I'd all but forgotten it was there. The symbol of my servitude to her had become just that, only a symbol, as we'd quickly become lovers. Her touch now sent shivers down my spine as she reminded me of its presence, stirring up an uneasiness within me as I began to understand what she was thinking.

Her fingers traced the collar to the back of my neck, and as they touched a secret lock there I was free. Almost within an instant I felt the comforting touch of the collar loosen and give way as its clasp opened. It fell from my neck into her hand, I gasped, then looked up at her, my gaze falling into hers.

She finally broke the silence between us, speaking with a hushed voice. "You do know what this means, don't you, John?"

"Yes," I whispered, managing to nod my head. "Has it really been a month Takara?" to which she just nodded sadly.

Searching for the right thing to do, I hesitated before reaching up to stroke along her face, touching her cheek and snout. "Well you said that I had to stay here a month with you, but you didn't say I couldn't stay longer if I wished..." I said with a pleading hopefulness to my voice, trying to reassure the both of us.

"I know, but I can't keep you here, John. You need to go back to your world, you can't stay here with me forever."

"But I want to, Takara. This past month has been so wonderful for me. You mean too much to me to just leave like that. I want to stay here with you."

"It's been nice for me too, you've been a good lover... I was lonely before finding you, and taking you into my home has been good." The sadness in her eyes brimmed over at that, as they glistened in the light and I saw a tear flowing down her cheek.

She'd once told me that there weren't as many dragons left in the world as there'd once been. There weren't any of them around in the land surrounding her cave, or anywhere else in the kingdom from what she'd said, at least none that she knew of. Of course she'd been lonely when she'd found me and my friends rummaging through her cave, and little did I know then that she'd be using me to help cure her loneliness, for that night and the days and nights to come.

The idea of a dragon and human bedding down together was not a totally- alien notion to her, as it had been known to happen before. In days long past she'd even said that priests and priestesses of the old religions had communed with dragons in that way, passing magic and energy between them in an act of mutual benefit.

While the notion of loving a dragon had certainly been a surprise to me, she'd quickly warmed my mind to it and our acts together had been mutually beneficial as well. I could feel the warmth between us as we'd laid together in bed. She was my first lover and she'd kindled the passions within me as we'd made love together.

"Takara, I know you've enjoyed my time with you," I said as I reached up to catch one of her tears with my fingertip. "It's meant a lot to me as well. Please don't send me away now. I want to stay with you some more." Faced with the prospect of losing her, now for real, I felt my own eyes watering as I looked back at her.

"I can't do that to you," she sighed. "I shouldn't have even taken you in that first night. I should've known how attached I would've gotten to you and how our actions would affect you. I enjoy having you here with me, but I can't keep you here for my own benefit. There's nothing here for you..."

"You're here," I whispered. "I don't want to leave you."

"You're just saying that because I'm your first lover, and it means a lot to you. I showed you the pleasures and secrets of bed-play so it had a great impact on you..."

"Takara, how can you say that?" I asked, feeling my face beginning to burn at her insinuation. "You were my first lover and you've shown me a lot, but I think I'm smart enough to know my feelings and know what I want... This isn't just a schoolboy crush, I do care for you."

"I'm sorry, perhaps you're right. You should still be with a human woman though. You're a young knight ready to see the wide world... I shouldn't keep you here shut up in my cave."

As she mentioned the knighthood, my thoughts rushed back to the academy. I hadn't thought about it much in all the time I'd spent with her, my mind had been wrapped up in the excitement of finding my beautiful dragon lover and all she had to share with me. As I thought about it now, however, a new nervousness spread over me. "But I can't just return to the academy, Takara. How will I explain my disappearance for the last month? Desertion is a very serious offense..."

My words stung at her, and I saw the pain show clearly in her face. "I'm sorry John, I never should have kept you here... can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can... and to tell the truth, I think that after our first night together I would've stayed here anyway, whether you were holding me here or not. I truly have enjoyed my service with you. It's been so much more than that to me and I do truly care for you..."

"But what can I do? I have nothing to offer you here. You should be out making your life, not here with me as my consort."

Staring at her, searching for something to say to convince her the depth of my feelings, an inspiration struck me. "What about if you could teach me something that would help me in my life?" I asked. "Would that convince you to let me stay, if you had something to offer me besides the warmth of your love?"

I watched her looking at me, and saw the confusion mixed with hope washed across her face. I paused before I continued. "What about magic Takara, couldn't you teach me how to use that? Didn't you tell me that humans could learn the magic if they took enough time, that dragons had occasionally taught humans magic in the past?"

A spark lit up in her eyes at that suggestion. "Yes, that's true John, but it's not that easy... not all humans can learn magic you know." The spark began to fade almost as quickly as it had come.

"Ah, but didn't you tell me you could feel some of your magic flowing through me when we were together sometimes? Can't you focus your magic on me, channeling it through me to help me learn it?"

"That's true, but it's still a complicated process. It would take quite a long time."

"How long?" I asked, a smile crossing my lips.

"A couple of years at least to show you a lot of what I know, longer to teach you everything" she replied. A hint of a smile crossed her own lips, spreading across her snout, as she caught the meaning of my suggestion.

"You would stay with me for that long?" she asked after a short pause.

"Of course I would" I replied, moving closer to her. I felt her warmth grow as I put my arm around her, feeling her wing brushing up against my back.

"It's a big commitment, deciding to become a pupil in magic. You'd have to stick with it for the whole duration of the training."

"I know, and it's something I want to do. I've felt the magic in you before, only briefly, but sometimes when we're together I can feel your power washing over both of us. I want to learn more about it and I want to be with you."

"It'll be tough at times. It won't be all fun and excitement" she replied. Even though her words still held some caution, I could tell by the warm look on her face that I was winning her over with my argument.

"Please just give me a chance," I answered, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her lips.

I'd finally convinced her that it was a good idea for me to stay on with her as her pupil. I felt that she didn't really need all that much convincing though, as we both realized our relationship would be more than just teacher and student. Even after a few weeks together, there was a growing bond between us. In the end, she'd been happy to have me stay with her.

She'd finally sent me outside to leave her alone for the day as she'd said she needed to prepare for the evening. She needed to get ready for a ceremony marking the start of my training with her, marking us as teacher and pupil. She also said that as we'd be together for the next couple of years and that we'd be more than just teacher and student to each other, that the ceremony would be one of bonding as well. She was still a little hesitant at that, finding my feelings so strong for her as my first lover. I think she can see how much I do care for her though, and I sense feelings similar to mine reflected in her as well. Talking it over, we both agreed a bonding ceremony was a good idea to strengthen our growing relationship. She said that the ceremony won't mark us as life-mates, not yet, it would be too early for that, and not to mention we're different species. It will let us be together to explore the depths of our feelings for one-another though and that's definitely something to look forward to.

As I walked out of her cave, the surrounding area was familiar to me. She'd taken me outside several times over the past month. We'd taken walks together out here often, and a couple of times she'd even shown me how she flew. It'd seemed strange to see someone so similar in form to a human flying, but she looked so beautiful and graceful in her flight. From our frequent trips outside, I knew my way around the surrounding landscape. On our walks out here, I'd found that the wilderness wasn't as barren as I'd first thought it was, first seeing it on that night we'd rode through the badlands on our way to do our exploring. There weren't the lush fields of grass as I was used to, but there was a beauty to it. The area wasn't really a desert, it had its own vegetation and animal life, sparser than in other areas perhaps, but still present. On my walks with her through this new landscape, she'd shown me the beauty of it.

Walking along through the wilderness, my mind was filled with several thoughts and emotions. I couldn't believe I'd really spent a month with her, the time had passed so quickly. Thinking back to the beginning, I almost chuckled now at how scared I'd been when I'd first seen her. I also smiled at remembering how my feelings had changed when she'd gotten me into her bedroom and showed me her true intentions. Who would've thought that a dragon and a human could end up being so close to one another?

Even that first night, when it was just the hot passion between us, I thought I'd felt something there. It'd been wonderful and it was not something I'd soon forget. I did laugh to myself when I remembered it wasn't until the following morning, after we'd become quite well-acquainted in bed that we'd even found out each other's names. That was not exactly how I'd envisioned finding my first love would be like, especially finding love in the arms of a dragon. Even now as I thought of her, I felt my thoughts growing warm. It'd been quite a change from that first night, my thoughts going from fear to lust, then finding something stronger between us, but it had been oh so wonderful.

We'd found more than just a physical love between us in the bedroom too. As the days had passed and we'd grown closer, she'd really opened up to me. She'd shared many things with me, telling me many stories of dragon history and of her own life. In time she'd told me the secrets of her thoughts and dreams, and I'd done the same. Just as I'd quickly become more than her servant, more than just someone to satisfy her needs in her bedroom to an equal partner in our bed-play, another change had happened. As the days had turned into weeks, I think we were both a little surprised to find our exotic physical attraction deepening, filling out with friendship as well.

Now I was going to be able to stay with her for quite some time, and my heart soared as I thought of it. At the same time, pangs of doubt nagged at me. Was I really doing the right thing by staying with her? I couldn't think of leaving her, but was she right about my feelings only being so strong because she was my first love? Would they end up diminishing even if I did stay with her longer? She wasn't human, I couldn't deny that, and I did wonder what loving a human woman would be like; how would it be different than with her? Was I giving up the chance to find out by staying with her?

What about everything I was leaving behind as well? There was the academy and my friends there. I hadn't thought about them much during my time with her, but I needed to think about them now. It was true that I couldn't go back there. There'd be too many questions to answer, and I didn't want anyone finding out about Takara. Even if I returned now I would most-likely be expelled in disgrace. It felt strange to be giving up the prospect of service to the knighthood, as that had been my long-term goal for several years. That opportunity had slipped away from me, but at least I had the bright prospect of learning magic with Takara. That was the best chance for me to make a life for myself right now, and there was no telling what uses there could be for such fantastic skills.

Thinking about my friends, I remembered once again the way William and Eric had deserted me that night when Takara had surprised us as we searched through the treasure of her lair. Thinking she was some terrible beast, the two of them had managed to get to the door and ran away, leaving me trapped with her. I realized they'd just panicked, but it'd still been quite a blow to me. At the time I'd been too scared to dwell on it, but thinking of it now it hurt to know they could've just left me like that. We'd been close friends, and in an instant of panic they'd thrown that away.

I'd had other friends at the academy too whom I'd miss, and I felt a pang of emptiness as I realized I might possibly never see them again. Takara, even though she wasn't human, was a very close friend to me, and thinking of our time together, that helped to fill the void. Still, I couldn't help but wonder how being away from human contact for so long would affect me. Takara was in many ways so human herself, her exotic dragon traits only adding to the depth of her character, but could one person be enough for me in the many coming months, we'd be together? I couldn't deny what I felt for her, but was that enough to help me live a life of quiet solitude out here in the wilderness with her?

"Why hello there my lad" a voice suddenly spoke out behind me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I jumped in surprise on hearing the unexpected interruption. Recovering from the shock, I turned to see a woman, watching me from where she sat atop her horse, only a short distance away from me. In all my times out here with Takara, we'd never seen another person, as this land was so far away from all of the major routes of trade and travel. As I stared up at her, she looked to be an adventurer-type of person though, so perhaps she was used to traveling by herself in deserted places.

"Um, hello there," I responded trying to hide my surprise at seeing her there.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she answered, a slight grin on her face. "It's just that I was surprised to find someone way out here. What are you doing out here alone in the wilderness anyway?"

A nervousness suddenly gripped me. No matter how strange it seemed for her to be out here, I must've seemed even more out of place. Thinking quickly, I threw out an excuse. "Oh, I'm out here on an exercise with my class at the knighthood academy... It's part of a solitary survival course, so we've all split up to spend the afternoon and night out here by ourselves."

She gave me an incredulous look at my hasty explanation and I tried to cover up my nervousness. She paused as she studied me, then finally replied. "Hmmm, is that really the case I wonder?... Perhaps you're actually a deserter from the ranks hiding out here?"

My heart jumped at her accusation, feeling the pangs of my leaving the academy wash over me once again, but I also let out a silent sigh of relief. She could believe that if she wanted to, for it was partially true. It was okay, just as long as she didn't suspect the truth, that I was here with my lover, a dragon. Even as I thought that it hurt me to realize she wouldn't understand it if she did find out the truth. To her Takara would just be a monster, she wouldn't see the things in my lover that I saw.

She took my silence as a confirmation of her guess. "Don't worry," she replied to me with a grin. "I don't know why you left, but I can understand people becoming disenchanted with the knighthood. I've had my problems with it in the past, mostly because some people don't think a woman could possibly be as good a fighter as a man..."

It was then that I noticed the sword hanging at her waist. That came as quite a surprise, since it was rare to find a woman who'd taken up the skills of the blade, but the few who had were quite impressive. Looking at her, I could see that she wasn't a fair maiden, that she had a slightly rugged look to her; she wasn't without some beauty though. She also had a confident charm to her, I noticed as I saw her grin. Takara had a similar confidence to her as well, and that quality she possessed was one of the many reasons why I found her attractive, as well as her warmth and exotic appeal.

Takara had shown me how to appreciate a woman with strength, where I hadn't thought of it before, and looking at this lady adventurer before me, I respected her for her fortitude. There was something about her that I found attractive as well, it was subtle, more with her character than her physical appearance, but it was definitely there.

"Whatever reason you're hiding out here for I don't really care" she added. "I'm on a journey to a distant place and you could accompany me if you wanted to."

Seeing my wary expression, she continued. "You don't need to be too surprised. It's not often that I meet people out in the wilderness on my journeys. For most parts of my adventures I'm alone. I hate to see you by yourself way out here as well. Perhaps we could both use the company... I could at least give you a ride to the nearest town, so you aren't stuck way out here.

"I don't know..." I replied, my words trailing off.

"If you really were studying to be a knight, then you could be of some help to me too, though I'll need to get you a decent sword, that is if you can use one... Are you good with a sword?" she asked me. Seeing my enthusiastic, but still confused nod, she added "so maybe now, for whatever reason, you can't be a knight, but you could have some exciting adventures with me."

"You can show me your skill with a sword later then, and if you have promise I can train you myself. We might make a good team... Besides, on my travels I'm always looking for some warmth of companionship..." she finished with a chuckle.

My mind raced at the prospects she held out me. Not only did she offer me the possibilities of travel and adventure, but she seemed attracted to me as well. I was wary of this stranger before me, but her confidence and charm warmed me to her. What new and exciting experiences would my travels with her lead to? I could travel the lands with her seeking adventures while learning her skills. At the same time, there were hints of the possibility of something more between us. Could there be a relationship for us as well? There were signals from her that certainly seemed to be hinting at that, and I felt tingles of excitement running through me at those suggestions. What would loving a human woman be like, how would it be different from my time with Takara?

As I thought of Takara, everything turned around again. How could I even think of leaving her. This woman before me did have her attractive charms, but what did I know about her? She promised me adventure, but how sincere was she? Even if her promises were true about the adventures out in the world she spoke of, how could I leave Takara behind at a moment's notice with someone I'd just met?

I'd gotten to know so much about my dragon lover in the past month, and our continued time together promised much more to be shared between us. She had so much to offer me, and I wanted to share myself with her as well. No matter how enticing the promises of adventure with this woman might be, they couldn't add up to what I had now with Takara.

I paused for several moments as I looked upon this woman who promised me so much. My mind still a jumble, I felt one thought, the true answer, forcing its away above the rest. "No, I can't go with you" I finally responded, my voice hushed.

She was surprised, almost shocked at my response. "But why, I have so much to offer you? How can you possibly choose to stay here?" Her voice carried the slight tones of indignation at my refusal to accept her generous offer.

"I know," I replied, shivering slightly at her show of disappointment. "But there's something else I've finally realized that's right for me. I must go to it and follow that road... I'm sorry"

She studied me briefly, then surprised me as a slight smile slowly crossed her lips. "Good luck with it then. I'm glad you've realized what you want, now go to it."

With that she turned from me and simply rode off. I watched her go with a small pang of uncertainty. As she disappeared into the distance however, I felt my thoughts returning to Takara. When I started walking back to the cave, my mind was still occupied by various things, but the thoughts of my dragon lover stood out strongly amongst the others.

It was late in the afternoon before I returned to the cave, my mind finally made up. Takara was there waiting for me, and along with her other preparations for the evening she'd fixed a simple meal for us to eat. She smiled at seeing me enter her home once again. "So John, you've finally returned" she said.

"Of course Takara, you know I couldn't stay away from you for too long."

Her smile widened at my response. "So, did you manage to keep yourself entertained wandering around outside all day?" she asked me, and seeing me nod, she continued. "I'm sorry for keeping you out there for so long, and I hope you weren't too bored... I had a good deal of work to do though, and I've got a few surprises for you tonight." I caught her grin and chuckled along with her, wondering just what exactly she did have in store with the bonding ceremony between us.

"Yes, it's okay, it was kind of nice being able to take a walk and just let my mind wander. I had some things to think over, so it was good for that... it's good to come back to you though."

"Thanks," she replied, her eyes shining. "Come on, let's eat so we can get ready for the ceremony."

We spent most of the meal in a comfortable silence of quiet expectation, flashing furtive glances and smiles at each other. As we were finishing the meal, she looked at me more-closely, and simply asked "so, how did your solitary survival training go?"

"What?" I asked, caught off guard by her question, my mind fumbling for its meaning.

"You know, the training you said you were doing with your class at the academy... that was a good story by the way."

She answered my stare with a mischievous grin, her tongue darting quickly across her snout in amusement. "So you didn't want to go on an adventure with me? You didn't like my human form?"

"What?" I gasped, my mouth hanging open. "But how... ?"

"Yes, that was me, John. Though I haven't shown you much of it, illusions are quite a common form of magic."

I paused for several moments, just looking at her. "So you were testing me? Why... don't you trust me?" I finally asked her, as I spoke I could feel my face heating up.

Seeing my reaction, her smile quickly faded, replaced with a look of concern. "No, John, I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to make sure that this is what you wanted... I wanted to have you know you were sure as well."

"Takara, I'd already told you this is what I'd wanted... wasn't that enough?"

"I know, but I was still concerned that you were choosing to stay with me because it was the only real option open for you. I thought if you had a second choice that you could decide to stay with me because you wanted to."

As she spoke, I saw the emotion on her face as her eyes began to glisten slightly. She hesitated before adding "I'm sorry to have tricked you that way, I didn't mean it like that... I just wanted what was best for the both of us..."

I looked back at her, pausing again before answering her. "I know" I sighed, "meeting up with her helped me to finally figure things out... I just wish you could've been a little more straight-forward with me, that's all."

I reached out to take her hand in mine, grasping it firmly and looking into her eyes, I continued. "We're both nervous over this, but I think it's the right way to go. Do you promise that in the future, if something like this comes up, we can be more open about it with each other?"

She nodded, "yes, we can do that" she answered. She paused and then added "you do know the sacrifices you're making by staying here with me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do... but right now I think you're definitely worth it" I answered, squeezing her hand gently. "I've never felt this way for someone before, but I feel strongly about you and I want us to be together now... I know that's what we both want."

She smiled at that and responded. "Thank you John, I feel the same way about you, and I'm glad you're staying with me. I was surprised at how close we've gotten after only a few weeks, and I want to get to know you even better." She paused, a sparkle showing in her eyes, before adding "I'm looking forward to having you as my student, as well as my lover... you mean a lot to me and there's a lot I want to share with you."

"You mean a lot to me as well," I replied. "I'd never thought it could be like this, but you've shown me how special you are and I'm happy share my time with you."

"So," she said as she smiled at me, "you're sure you didn't want to go riding off into the distance with that woman on the promise of great adventures?"

I returned her grin as I looked at her and felt the warmth of her hand in mine. "No, her offer was exciting, but she couldn't match what I have here with you and the adventures you promise to take me on as you show me your magic." I paused, my grin getting a little wider, before I continued. "I should've realized it was you anyway. She wasn't as pretty as you are, but she had your same confidence and maybe a little bit of your personality, and who else would be way out here in the wilderness... I'm still glad I decided to stay with you though, my lovely dragon."

She beamed at that, and leaning in, she brought her face closer to mine, kissing me softly.

When it was time for the ceremony, she led me to one of the empty rooms in the cave, a room I'd only been in briefly just once before. As I followed her inside, I saw the work of her preparations. She'd set the light of lamp on the wall turned down so it cast just a faint glow on the room. The only other illumination was provided by six large candles, their flames bathing the room in their dancing light.

The candles were placed in a circle, its outline marked with heavy lines drawn with white chalk on the dark stone floor. The circle and the flames surrounded what looked like a large sleeping mat that lay there on the floor. Beside the circle, against one of the walls stood a small pedestal with several objects placed upon it. I tried to get a better look at them to see what they were, but the light was too low and I couldn't get a good look at them from where I stood.

She stopped and paused for several moments, looking at me with a mix of emotions on her face. I could see her expectation, but also a hint of nervousness dancing in her eyes. "So John, my young knight, are you ready for the ceremony?" she finally asked. "Are you ready to pledge your time with me as my pupil... and my lover?" She smiled as she finished the last part, adding it for both our benefits, reminding us just what the dual nature of our arrangement was to be.

"Yes Takara, I am" I replied. I could feel my own nervousness growing slightly, but it was mixed with an excitement that was already buzzing in my mind, and which promised only to get stronger as we continued.

"Very well then," she said, smiling at me again. "Before we can enter the circle, we must undress first."

Without another word, she reached down and untied the knot of her robe. As the belt fell down and the garment began to part, she turned away from me, just as she'd done that night she'd first disrobed before me one month ago. She looked back at me, smiling over her shoulder as she let the robe begin to slide off of her.

Just as before, the fabric of the garment moved slowly down her on its way to the floor, revealing the beauty of her backside to me inch by inch. Once again I could see the full beauty of my dragon lover, the familiar and sensuous form of her body a perfect blending of human and reptilian traits. My eyes traveled the length of her beauty. Moving from the bright gleam of her eyes and the smile playing across her muzzle, I gazed upon her wings. Looking over them, I took in the elegant form of their design as they spread outward from her back. Running my eyes further downward, I came to the gentle curves of her buttocks and then followed the length of her tail down along her legs until it reached the floor.

She let me take in the sight for several moments before turning to face me. I gasped as I saw her nude form before me. It seemed as if I'd always be amazed at her beauty, and just then, seeing her emerald skin lit up with the flickering glow of the candle light, she looked even more desirable.

Feeling my gaze upon her, she chuckled. "Now it's your turn. Let me help you undress."

I was quick to agree with her and I returned her smile as her hands moved to the buttons of my shirt. She made fast work of removing it from me, then paused to trail her fingers over my chest. Her touch sent shivers through me, bringing back even more memories of our first night together and kindling the excitement welling up within me.

Running her hands down my belly, she stopped at my breeches. I'd removed my boots when I'd returned inside earlier, having become quite accustomed to walking barefoot inside her cave. Now all that stood between her and me was the single garment I wore; looking back at her I held my breath, remembering the abrupt and forceful way she'd removed my breeches before.

She was gentle this time however, and teasing as well. She eased the fabric off of me, slowly exposing me to her gaze. Finally my manhood was free, standing out proudly in all its glory, much to her wordless approval. A feeling of warmth and a longing excitement washed over me as I caught the slight grin playing across her snout.

She continued to pull my breeches down my leg, crouching down to work the clothing off of me. Lingering briefly, her face level with my crotch, she hesitated for a moment or two. I saw her gaze fall on my cock, and her mouth opened slightly as she looked upon me. The expectant twinkle in her eye and the sensations I felt from her breath lightly touching me piqued my arousal. I wanted her tongue's caress on me, and I stood there under her close inspection, waiting for her action. My breath hushed as I watched her, I was disappointed when she finally lowered her head to turn her attention to my breeches, and continued to guide them downwards to reach my feet.

I stepped out of the garment to join her in her state of undress, and reaching down I took her hand to help her up to a standing position. As I stood before her, now nude as she was, I smiled, showing my anticipation.

"So John, I see you're quite excited for the ceremony" she let out with a slight chuckle. "That's very good." She punctuated her words by moving her hand to my balls. Her touch finally upon me, she cupped them lightly, then trailed her fingers upward to run her touch briefly along the length of my erection.

"Mmmm, yes" I let out with a low moan, feeling the shivers of pleasure running through me. "But is this ceremony always like this?" I asked, bringing my hand to rest on her side near her waist, feeling her warmth.

"Well not exactly" she answered. "It's not necessary to perform the ceremony as exposed as this, but many times it's done this way. It's believed by many that uncovering yourself in this way can help show the true nature of your mind and your heart. Opening yourself up like that is good for both participants to get a better view at each other's inner self, which is important for both teacher and pupil to be able to understand one another... It's even more important for us as we're extending the ties of the ceremony to deeper bonds between us."

"Of course," she added, with another slight chuckle, "the participants usually aren't as aroused as we seem to be, but we can make an exception for that." Looking at her, seeing her eyes sparkling once again, my grin mirrored hers.

"This is more than just a ceremony joining us together as teacher and pupil, binding us to one another for the duration of your studies. It's also a joining of two lovers. While it isn't a permanent bonding as life- mates, since we'll be close for the next few years, I wanted us to make a stronger bond together."

Pausing, she looked at me, her expression becoming more serious. "Are you ready to make such a commitment John?"

I'd felt it coming, but her question still surprised me. For several moments I held my breath as I looked back at her, the enormity of her question hanging over me. Looking into the depth of her gaze though, my decision became clear. This was what I'd wanted ever since I'd gotten to know her as my lover, and my decision was obvious.

"Yes, I'm ready for this, Takara. Right now I cannot bear to think of leaving you and I cannot imagine my feelings changing for quite some time... You have so much to offer me and we have so much together, of course I want to stay with you."

Her smile was wide at my reply and it flowed across her snout as her eyes beamed brightly at me. "I'm so glad you've chosen this, John. I didn't want to lose you and now I'm happy to be able to offer you something to stay here with me... It will mean so much sharing my magic with you."

"For tonight, as part of the ceremony, I'll be sharing part of my inner energy with you. In fact we'll be mingling our life forces together as part of the bonding process. It isn't a permanent bond, but we'll be sharing many things like this with each other quite often. A small bit of my energy will become part of you, helping you work to master the skills of magic. It will bring us closer as well. In time it might help you understand a little of what's it's like to be a dragon, and I may learn a thing or to more about humans from you."

Hearing the awed gasp escape my lips, she reached out to take my hand, reassuring me. "You don't need to be nervous, it's not as complex as it seems. True we will be sharing more than is typically done for a teacher- pupil binding ceremony, but we've become so intimate already, this is just another step for us."

"Plus," she added as she caressed my abdomen, her fingertips gliding down to my lower belly, "I think you'll like what I have in store for you... Because of the more-intimate nature of the ceremony, I've added some details to it which should prove to be quite exciting and fulfilling."

I met her grin with my lips as I leaned in to kiss her, and she responded in turn. It was a simple kiss, not heavy with passion, but warm and comforting. It felt so nice just to be with her, with the promise of what was to come, that I didn't need anything more right then. From her responses, I could tell she shared my sentiments.

We lingered on the kiss for several moments. When she finally broke away she beckoned silently to the magic circle beside us. I followed her as she led me inside the circle, stepping between two candles and over the white line marking its boundary. Once inside the mystical space, we finally came to a stop on the mat laying in its center. Physically the inside of the circle felt no different than the rest of the room, but being surrounded by the flickering flames, I caught a hint of the wonder of this special place. As I looked at her and pondered what was to come next, I felt my body tingling with excitement.

Looking into my eyes, she paused for the briefest of moments before asking me "do you understand the bond we are about to make between us, joining us together as teacher and pupil?" I nodded silently, fairly certain of the conditions to the pact we were about to make between us.

"As your teacher, I promise to guide you well, helping you along your journey of education. It won't always be easy, but I'll be there to help you. In return, do you promise to follow my instructions and teachings as I lead you along?"

"Yes, I do" I replied softly, my gaze locked on hers.

She smiled at hearing my words of confirmation, then turning away from me briefly, she reached outside of the circle to grab something from atop the pedestal which stood there. Turning back to face me, she held the object up so I could see it. It was a necklace, made from a golden chain, with a star of a small blue jewel hanging from it. Caressing my cheek, she said "this is my gift to you. It symbolizes the contract between us and marks you as my student."

The idea of me wearing jewelry seemed a little silly, but at the same time, as I watched her offering it to me, I felt its significance. I couldn't refuse a gift of such meaning from her, and I wordlessly acknowledged my acceptance of it. As she put it around my neck, a small tingle of excitement ran through me; it felt so right to be wearing it. At the same time, it felt slightly familiar, almost like the collar she'd had me wear before. I'd grown so used to its feeling around my neck during the past month that I'd missed it when she'd taken it off of me. It felt nice to be wearing something else there in its place.

She caught the look on my face and understood my thoughts. "So I see you like wearing that, John. You may no longer be my servant, but in some ways you still belong to me..."

My grin matching hers, I replied. "I think I'll belong to you for quite some time, Takara."

"Yes, and now I belong to you as well, my pupil and lover" she answered. I leaned closer, and my lips finding hers, I punctuated the end of her sentence with a kiss.

She responded warmly, and we lost ourselves in each other's embrace for several timeless moments. When she finally went to slowly pull away from me, she returned her attention to the pedestal once again. From the pedestal she retrieved a gilded jar, its golden surface marked with arcane symbols painted upon it.

"Now it's time to move on with the ceremony," she said as she dipped two of her fingers into the jar. When she pulled them out, I saw they were dripping with a deep-red colored fluid. Taking her fingers, she moved to touch my forehead with them. I shivered slightly, feeling the slippery substance touch my skin. Its consistency was almost like that of blood, and it felt strange as she brushed it on my flesh.

"I know this seems weird for you, John" she replied, seeing my reaction, "but this is an important part of the ceremony. It symbolizes the sharing of energy between us, marking the energy of our life forces on its most basic level. It also has a sort of sympathetic-magic quality to it, reacting to our interactions with each other. I think you'll find it's quite a nice experience."

I tried to relax as she dipped her fingers in the fluid again to brush it on my lips, stuck my tongue out experimentally, I caught some of the liquid and tasted it. I'd expected it to have a bitter taste, but instead it had mulled sort of flavor that was not unpleasant. As she moved down to cover my neck, slipping her fingers under the chains of the necklace to touch my skin there, I began to get used to the feelings of the liquid covering me. It felt a little sticky, but that was alright; it was enjoyable having her fingers touching me, and the strange ceremonial fluid heightened the sensations.

She offered the jar to me, and I understood what she meant for me to do. I took it, and looking at her as she gazed expectantly back at me, I dipped my own fingers into the fluid. Mimicking her movements, I used them as a guide and proceeded to mark her head, snout and neck with the liquid. I moved slowly, playing my fingers along her flesh as I covered it with the red markings. As my touch covered her lips, she flicked her tongue out, darting it over my fingers playfully to taste the liquid covering our skin.

She smiled as she took the jar back from me, and went about the process of painting a large V-shaped mark across my chest, the colored path sloping downward to my belly. I repeated the process on her, running my fingers across her flesh, leaving a trail of the liquid behind me. Its dark red sheen made a strange contrast against the light emerald color of her chest and belly, but looking at it, it seemed right.

I was getting quite involved with the ceremony. I didn't quite understand it, but it was affecting me with its hints of secrets and power, and of what was to come. I could understand the importance of it, but could also see that we were meant to enjoy it. The movements of my fingers were just as slow and playful as hers had been, and I enjoyed painting her breasts with the red coloring. I heard her let out a low hiss of pleasure as I ran my sticky touch over one of her nipples. They were both erect with her arousal, and I circled her nipple with my fingertip very slowly, gently caressing the tip of her sensitive flesh. By the look on her face, and from the sound of her breathing, she was enjoying the slow and playful way we were approaching the ceremony as much as I was. Seeing her reactions to my touch, I chuckled happily at her responses.

The last phase of our anointing one another was even more pleasant. With the red fluid dripping from her fingers yet again, she brought her touch down to my cock. Now used to the strange sensations of the liquid covering me, I gladly welcomed its presence there. Gliding her fingers along the shaft of my manhood, she slowly traversed its length from base to tip. I heard the moan passing from my lips, and looking at her, I saw she was enjoying her own quiet laughter. Her soft chuckling was warm and happy as she reveled in the pleasure she was exacting upon me.

Caressing the head of my erection, she caught the clear drops of my excitement, gently coaxing it from me as my breathing deepened. Taking the beads of fluid on her fingertips, she brought them to her mouth. She licked at them, her forked tongue tasting the hints of my seed, mixed in with the redness of the ceremonial paint covering her fingers. She then proceeded to slowly cover every inch of my manhood with the liquid, spreading it's crimson embrace over the light coloring of my skin. Cupping my balls, and slowly massaging them, she painted them with care, then moved up to cover the shaft of my cock once again. Her attentions were quite thorough as she played her touch upon my sensitive flesh. I completely enjoyed the pleasure she administered to me, knowing it was only hints of what was soon to come.

Finally it was my turn to mark her most secret of regions with the sanguine fluid. I glided my fingers along her skin, starting at her belly-button and approaching the mound of her sex with a deliberate and calculated pace. Coming to the slit of her pussy, I painted its outer lips, smiling as another hissing moan of excitement and pleasure escaped her mouth. I dipped my fingers in the jar yet again, pooling more liquid to cover her with.

I slipped my touch inside her, and felt her warmth opening up to me as she gasped again. As I touched her, I felt the wetness of her arousal mixing with the red fluid on my fingers. In our month together, she'd taught me so much about the art of lovemaking. She'd shown me just how she liked to be touched, letting me explore on my own as well as heeding her gentle instructions. I'd gladly participated in those lessons and I put my knowledge to good use as I caressed the folds of her sex, anointing her with the markings of our ceremony.

As I touched her, and heard her sighs of approval at my work, it felt so good to be giving her pleasure. I felt so much for her, and it was wonderful to be able to show her that in such an intimate way. It was also so nice to return the gift of sensuous touch that she'd given me. She'd taught me so much in this past month, in the bedroom and outside of it. I wasn't sure how similar she was to a human woman, but I thought she had to share many similarities with them given how well we got along. For right now, she was the woman for me, no matter if she was a dragon. Seeing her spreading her wings slightly as she shivered at my touch, I smiled, knowing I'd made the right decision to stay with her.

"Ahhh," she finally sighed. "I think that's good enough, John... I enjoy the attention, but we should continue on with the ceremony. There'll be time for more play soon enough, okay?"

I nodded silently and slowly withdrew my fingers from the warm wetness of her pussy. Sniffing at my fingers, I could detect her musky presence blending with the slight spices of the red liquid, a definite hint of things soon to come. She watched me as I slowly licked the wetness from my fingertips; her eyes were alive with excitement and emotion.

She took the jar with of the ceremonial body-paint from my hand, and turned her attention back to the pedestal once again. Placing the jar upon it, she picked up something else. As she turned back to face me, I could see that the object she'd retrieved was a silver knife, one that was intricately fashioned with the greatest of care with jewels set in its handle. It was a small knife, but looking at it, I saw that its blade of a few inches looked quite sharp.

She caught my reaction to the new implement she'd brought out and quickly moved her hand to my chest. Stroking my skin gently she looked at me. "Shhh, John, you trust me don't you?" she asked softly.

"Yes," I whispered, focusing my attention on her face.

"You know I'd never do something to cause you any harm then, right?"

I simply nodded, confused by the sudden turn the ceremony had taken.

"Remember how I said there'd be a sharing on the energy between us? Well as you may have guessed by looking at the liquid we used to mark each other with, there's a visceral component to that as well... By the simple sharing of blood between us, we can start that process, sharing some energy and sealing the bond between us. After that, you'll find other ways we can share things with one another."

Her eyes had found mine and she held me in her gaze as she spoke. "Do you remember the small amount of blood I took from you on our first night together?" I nodded, remembering how scared I'd been at the time, but now the prospect of that act sent shivers of other emotions through me.

"That was just a simple act, done more for my benefit than yours. There was no sharing involved in it then. I was simply marking you as my prize to take to bed that night, reveling in the fact that I had someone to indulge my passions with after being alone for so long... Now you mean so much more to me, and I want to do this for the both of us."

My mind swimming, I stared into the depths of her eyes, catching the waves of her emotions rippling there. Once again I realized just how much this ceremony meant to the both of us, and I felt overwhelmed by my feelings for her.

As I continued to watch her face, she resumed stroking my chest. She focused her fingers on the area above my heart and looked at me with a strong and expressive determination. I caught her wordless question and nodded my head slightly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her bring the knife up to me, but I held my gaze on her face. I felt its cool caress against my skin and a shiver ran through me. Before I could react any further, she'd struck.

She'd made the cut quickly, just as she had that night one month ago, but this time the blade cut deeper than her talon had then. It was a clean and skillful cut, and by no means a fatal wound. It didn't go that deep, but it went deep enough to release a small but steady flow of blood from it. The cut definitely felt deep enough to me, and I gasped as the pain stung at me.

The blood ran down my chest, coating my skin with its crimson warmth, and mixing with the red coloring she'd previously painted me with. I held my breath against the pain, knowing it was only a small and temporary wound, but still feeling its presence quite clearly. Looking at her, I watched her bring the knife to her other hand. Opening her palm, she made a quick cut along it, releasing her blood with a quiet gasp of her own.

She brought her palm up quickly to place it on my chest, pressing her cut against mine. As before, when she'd used her healing magic on me, I felt its cool presence washing over me almost immediately. The burning pain of the cut was dulled at once, and I sighed with relief. That sensation was soon joined by another one though, for as our blood mingled together I felt a new wave of energy rippling over me.

This new magic was not the healing energy I'd felt from her before, it was something different. Standing there, looking into her eyes, I saw them sparkle as she gazed back at me. I was confused for at first as I felt the strange currents of power flowing around me, but as the moments passed, I was aware that I could somehow feel the energy extending outside of me, passing around to her as well.

It was just as she'd said, we were sharing this energy between us. As my breathing deepened, I could feel the power coming not only from her, but also from somewhere inside myself. It felt weird, feeling an energy within me, one I'd never known before, coaxed out of me by her expert touch. I shivered as the eddies of sensation and power swirled around us.

I gasped again, feeling the rippling of magic spreading out from where her hand touched me. I knew that it was all her doing, that she was channeling the energy through both of us, but it was still a powerful feeling, realizing the hidden potential lying within me. With my gaze locked on hers, I saw her smile with both confidence and excitement as I felt the power increase slightly.

It felt so strange and exciting to have her controlling the flow of magic between us, but at the same time I noticed an uneasy feeling at having my energy being pulled outside myself. As I felt her increase the power again, a sudden dizziness swept over me. It caught both of us off guard; I felt my legs suddenly go weak, and as my footing became unsteady, I saw her eyes go wide with surprise. She quickly grabbed me, holding me up and supporting me, and the moment soon passed.

My equilibrium returned, and as my head cleared I became used to the feelings surrounding us. She'd reduced the power of the energies flowing between us, and was slowly decreasing the levels of the magic. The sensations no longer felt overwhelming, and I could once again simply enjoy the strange but wonderful feelings of it. As the waves of energy trickled down and then gradually stopped I let out a protracted sigh. The momentary surprise having passed, I was amazed at the wonder of what she'd shown me. Knowing what to expect from this sort of communion, my mind raced at thoughts of what might be in store for us shortly.

She'd read my reaction correctly from the look on my face, and was no longer nervous and concerned for me. Instead, she simply looked at me, waiting to hear my thoughts on the matter.

"Wow," was all I could say, my breath panting slightly.

"It was quite powerful, wasn't it?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Yes, it was... that was amazing."

"That was only the beginning too," she replied, her eyes sparkling again. "I pushed it a little too far, forgetting how new it was to you. You've felt some of my magic washing over us when we've been together before, but this was the first time we've shared each other's energy."

She paused briefly, then continued. "It takes some work to channel your energy through you, but with training it'll get easier, and you won't need me to help you. For now I won't push things as much, we can still share the magic at a lower level and enjoy ourselves quite nicely."

I smiled at that. "Mmmm, yes, I think there's a lot we could do to enjoy ourselves, lover..."

She nodded enthusiastically, her hand moving to caress the unblemished skin of my chest where only a minute ago the wound had been. As she touched me, I moved closer to bring my mouth to hers.

Our lips met in a kiss, soft at first, but quickly becoming more passionate as she opened her mouth to me. Pressing myself against her I licked eagerly at her lips, tasting the mild spices of the red liquid covering them. I felt her arms coming around me, her hands at my back pulling me close. The kiss deepened and she began to taste the flavors coating my lips, her forked tongue rubbing against mine. Kissing her, I felt the heat rising between us, and holding her against me, I felt our hands roaming over our bodies as our tongues played against each other.

Eventually she pulled away from the kiss, disengaging her lips from mine to look at me. As she did, I saw the hot look in her eyes and met her amorous smile with one of my own. After pausing to meet my gaze for a couple of moments, she brought her snout down to nuzzle my neck; as her lithe tongue darted out across my flesh, I let out a soft sigh.

I felt shivers of sensation flowing through me as she ran her tongue all along my neck. Working her tongue across my flesh, she deftly slid it under the chains of my necklace to glide it against my skin. Her breath was hot against my neck as she licked at the red fluid covering me, lapping up the ceremonial body paint she'd coated me with.

I let out another sigh as she continued to run her tongue against me. My hands roaming over her back, one of them came to her buttocks. Hooking my touch around the gentle curves of her flesh, I pulled her hips against mine, moving against her with a gentle insistence. The feelings of her touch and her breath against my skin stoked the fire in my loins. I stroked her upper back gently with my other hand and closed my eyes, enjoying the feelings of her warm flesh against mine and her tongue lapping at my neck.

She was very thorough with her ministrations, and the moments drifted on quite pleasantly. Moving her snout down she turned her attention to my chest, and continued to lick at my skin with the same attentiveness. As her tongue moved over my flesh, occasionally brushing across one of my nipples, I sighed happily, content to leave her to her work.

In time she ceased washing me with her gentle lapping, and brought her head back up level with mine. Glancing down, I saw she'd been quite thorough with her cleaning, as my chest only showed slight traces of the markings she'd painted me with. Looking back at her, I grinned, seeing the red stain on her tongue as she flicked it across her snout.

I realized it was my turn to return her favor, so with a smile I moved my head closer to her, bringing my mouth to her neck. Brushing my tongue across her skin, I tasted the strange but alluring flavors of the ceremonial fluid once again. I heard her sigh as I reciprocated her attentions. My lips kissing her gently, my tongue lapped up the sanguine spices covering her emerald skin.

As I played my tongue over her flesh, slowly washing the colored liquid from her neck, I felt her hands moving across my back. She brought one of her hands up to stroke her fingers through my hair, caressing me as I nuzzled her. The warmth between us was becoming more palpable, almost a physical presence; as I ran my tongue over her skin, I could feel the energy we'd shared between us coming back. It was low at first, but building in an easy, but steady pace. I heard her sigh as I continued my work upon her, and I felt the slightest of waves of magic flow from her to me.

Licking and kissing my lover's skin, I felt my excitement increasing with every movement of my mouth against her. The taste of the curious liquid danced on my tongue and I could feel the heat of my desire rising. At the same time, the feelings shared between us were becoming stronger. The body paint we'd used to cover each other with and were now working to wash off in such a sensuous manner was serving as a catalyst for our emotions. Savoring the flavors of the crimson fluid, and feeling the warmth of my arousal growing hotter, I happily let it work its magic upon me.

When her hand gently nudged my head, guiding me downward, I was all to eager to follow her suggestion. Moving along the path of the redness covering her skin, I came to one of her breasts. Cupping it gently with my hand, I brought my mouth to it, grazing my tongue over her hardened nipple. She stiffened and then let out another soft hiss of a sigh as my lips descended upon her and I began to nurse.

I suckled her slowly. Licking at her, I tasted more of the magic fluid covering her skin and drank up the desire I could feel coming from within her. More eddies of the shared power were flowing around us, growing slowly stronger as I focused my affections on her. Feeling her warmth against me, her hands stroking my body as I licked and kissed her flesh, I could sense her arousal growing, as was mine as well. Nibbling at her nipple with a playful nipping of my teeth, another pulse of energy flowed between us, in time with the moan falling from her open mouth.

I continued to work my ministrations upon her, and our foreplay continued to warm the feelings between us. With my hand on her breast as I lapped and nursed at her, I could sense the energy within her. I could feel it flowing out into my touch with the beating of her heart. At the same time, I could sense the energy flowing through me once again, mingling with my own inner power to be shared with her. The levels of the magic were less than what we'd experienced between us before, but mixed with our growing desire, it was quite powerful.

Driven on by these wonderful sensation, I continued the work of my touches upon her breasts, feeling the warmth between us growing stronger. Eventually I pulled away, turning my attention to meet her smiling eyes and open mouth. I lost myself in our kiss, feeling her lips meet mine once again.

We kissed and nuzzled one another with abandon, and our embrace pulled us even closer. Time stood still between us as I held onto her and felt her grasp upon me. Moving downward together, our legs slowly dropped to the ground, and we eventually sank to kneeling positions. Easing our way to the floor, our fingers and tongues glided over each other's bodies. We soon found ourselves lying on the mat, where we continued our explorations, tracing out the paths marked by the red liquid still covering our skin.

As I licked at her chest once again, I felt her tail brush against my leg. Looking up at her, I followed her gaze downward. Her tail glided along my leg, then moved closer to her hips and the secrets she held between them. The tip of her tail flicked eagerly as it pointed out the focus of her attention; understanding her intentions I smiled at her, and moved closer to my target.

I turned around, repositioned myself to better reach her, then brushing my lips lightly across her skin I followed the path of her belly down to her groin. She eagerly opened her legs to me, giving me access to the mound of her sex. The light green of her flesh there glistened, both with the crimson paint of the ceremonial fluid, and the wetness of her arousal.

I brought my tongue to her skin slowly, brushing it lightly across the painted regions of her crotch, licking and kissing her flesh gently. As I moved my tongue over her, washing up the redness of the liquids anointing her, I let the flavors slide over my tongue once again. Reaching the lips of her pussy, I flicked my tongue across the outer ridges of her sex; as I touched her and she sighed again in pleasure, another spark of energy traveled between us. I shivered with excitement and gave her another lick, as she spread her legs a little wider for me.

Moving my tongue along the slit of her pussy, I glided it across the mound of her sex, bathing her with my touch. The scent of her arousal and the musky tastes of her secret flavor mixing with the spices of the body paint drove me on. I licked at her a little more forcefully, moving to stoke the powers I felt steadily growing between us. Using a couple of my fingers, I spread her lips, gently opening her up to me; as I eased my tongue into her and tasted more of her sweet nectar, I heard her gasp once again.

She hadn't lost herself in the pleasure and forgotten about me though, for as I continued to wash and stroke her, I felt her touch at my crotch. She started out by softly nosing my balls, then she brought her tongue out to lick at them playfully. I let out a sigh of pleasure as I felt her lapping at me, easing off my attentions on her only for a moment to enjoy the sensations she stirred up in me.

As she continued, she soon brought her fingers in to take the place of her tongue. I felt her soft touch cradling my balls, gently massaging them as she moved her mouth up, now focusing on my cock. Another gasp escaped my lips as she licked along the shaft of my erection and I felt the sparks of pleasure running through my loins. My mind swooned as she moved her tongue over my entire length, wrapping it around my cock, encircling me with her oral touch.

She washed me thoroughly with enthusiastic attention, covering every inch of my manhood, making it slick with her saliva. As she worked on me, the touch of her tongue upon my skin sent another shiver up my spine. My shiver was accompanied by another ripple of energy passing between us. My arousal was growing stronger and I could feel the connections between us as we focused our attentions on each other's sexes. Pressing my tongue deeper into her, I returned the pleasures she was giving me, and I felt her tremble lightly in response.

My tongue licked at her eagerly, laving her pussy, tasting her fluids as they ran freely. As I pushed onward, she redoubled her own efforts and I soon felt her mouth opening to take me. My mind swam as she slowly swallowed my cock, taking its length into her snout. Bobbing her head gently, she sucked at me eagerly, trailing her mouth up and down my manhood as her tongue worked its way over my sensitive flesh.

I could feel the energy growing steadily between us. It still wasn't as powerful as it'd been when it'd peaked between us before, but the flow of the magic was increasing with each of our movements. That, combined with the tingles of pleasure running through me at her mouth's nursing touch and the excitement I felt as I licked at her, was more than enough to drive me onward. My climax was building quickly, and I sensed she was near the edge as well.

Feeling the growing desire building between us, I worked with increased vigor, moving my tongue against her more forcefully. Her mouth hot on my cock, she stoked the pleasure within me, drawing the growing heat to my loins as she sucked me mercilessly. Ravaging her tender flesh with my tongue, I licked at her wildly, dipping my fingers into her warmth.

Her diligent ministrations driving me on, I soon felt a tickling sensation growing in my loins. An instant later the sensations overwhelmed me and I felt the tremors of my climax flooding through me. I let out a low moan of pleasure as she sucked me, catching all of the spurts of my seed in her mouth and happily swallowing it. With a forceful lick of my tongue I pressed my fingers against her. Her hips quivered and then I felt the spasms of her climax running through her. My mind overwhelmed as the feelings rushed through me, I still tried to lap at her, tasting as much of the nectar flowing from her as I could.

As we climaxed together I could feel the waves of magic swirling around us, and closing my eyes, I surrendered myself to its powerful embrace. My body trembling with pleasure, I felt the convulsions running through both of us. The spasms flowed through me, marked by peaks of sensation, as they slowly wound their way down.

We paused for several moments and simply enjoyed the feel of the afterglow. The stimulating feelings surrounding us were still present though, and we didn't relax for too long. I soon felt her tongue at me, teasing my sensitive flesh, as she coaxed my arousal once again. I joined in with her, licking eagerly at her pussy as I felt another ripple of energy wash down over us. The strength of the magic had decreased only slightly since our mutual release of pleasure; the power had leveled off, but was now holding steady, keeping our interest up.

The sensations of her mouth on my cock were quite persuasive, and soon she'd nursed me back to a full erection. I pressed my fingers deeper into her pussy, parting her lips farther, as I continued to lick at her, teasing her with a promise of what was soon to come. Her low, needful moan was all the encouragement I needed.

Getting up, I turned around to face her, and maneuvering myself on top of her, I looked down, my eyes meeting hers once again. I hesitated only briefly, to lick at her snout, before pressing against her. As my cock slid into the inviting depths of her pussy and we joined together, we both let out a gasp, our sighs of pleasure sounding in unison.

With all of the involved steps to the ceremony, this moment had been long in coming. We both felt the excitement at consummating our new bonds together in the most sensual and intimate of ways. Moving my hips against hers, I heard another hiss of pleasure escape her lips. Pulling back, I slowly eased myself almost all the way out of her, readying to push into her warmth once again. Another shiver ran through me as the movements between us teased the sensitive flesh of my cock.

As I moved down again, she rose her hips to meet mine, guiding her body against me. I let out another moan, feeling her sex grip my manhood, and at the same time I felt another swirl of magic running between us. Looking at her face, I saw the fire of passion burning in her eyes. She flashed me a grin, a lecherous smile that pushed me on at seeing the look of wanton desire cross her face.

I matched her grin, and as she watched me, I pulled back, a little faster than before, only to move forward once again. She met my motion halfway, forcing her hips against mine greedily. I gasped at the sensations flooding over me. They were focused on my loins, but they radiated outwards from there, flowing through my whole body. Even though I'd climaxed only minutes before, I still felt the overwhelming desire building within me, pushing me on.

Usually after my first climax, I was a little more subdued, but now I didn't feel that way. Instead I felt even more driven for a release. The energy between us was building, and I could feel the power of the magic sweeping over our bodies. It was invigorating, and very erotic; my skin was tingling with the power shared between us and my mind and body burned with the desire and passion I felt for her.

Panting, my breath low and heavy, I felt another gasp escape me. My concentration faltering, I was consumed by the sensations washing over me, and I knew my determined smile was slipping from my face. Watching her, I saw her expression loosening as well. Her mouth partially open, her tongue hung out slightly as she drunk up the pleasure and the heat of the passion between us

I brought my head down next to hers, nuzzling her neck as we moved together. I felt her hands gripping at my back, pulling me against her, and the feeling of her warmth surrounding me increased. Closing my eyes, I pumped my hips against her. The energy was flowing freely over us now, and I could hear her breath sounding in my ears, her hushed breathing echoing my own. Rubbing my cheek against her skin, I moaned again as she absently licked at my ear.

We moved in time with each other, the motions of our hips working to bring us together again and again. With every surge of our bodies, our sexes coupling, new ripples of sensations, both erotic and emotional, physical and ethereal, ebbed and flowed about us. With my eyes slightly open, I saw a flickering in the light around us. Opening my eyes wider, I glanced briefly at the candles lining the circle surrounding us, and saw their flames dancing wildly.

With every movement of our bodies, and with every wave of the power that was rushing through us, the candle flames pulsated. Their light glowed in rhythm with the sensations and the magic of our coupling; as our hips came together yet again, I saw the flames jump, burning brighter.

My mind buzzed with the sensations. As I felt the growing tightness in my belly and the warmth in my loins, I began to speed up my movements. I pumped my cock into her harder, thrusting against her motions; I needed release. I heard her whimper desperately, and she brought her hips up to meet me just as forcefully.

As our motions sped up, and our breathing became even heavier, I felt my climax building within me. I pushed against her as she grabbed at me wildly, and a moment later I felt her muscles beginning to twitch. The spasms ran through her, slow at first, but quickly building in intensity. The energy between us peaked and as she let out a low hissing moan of pleasure. Her pussy squeezed me tightly and the convulsions plucked at my tender nerves. She'd hooked her legs around mine, pulling me closer to her and with one final push I surged into her.

With that motion, my climax was finally there. The waves of pleasure crashed in upon me and I groaned, letting out a protracted cry as relief finally came to me. As I felt my cock throbbing within her, the spasms of her pussy milking my seed from me, I sensed an increase in the energy flowing between us. The flow of magic was not just focused at the union of our sexes where we were joined together, we shared ripples of power between us all along our bodies.

As we peaked together, our mutual climax played out in slow motion. The moments stretched out between us, and the sensations gradually died down, along with the convulsions our pleasure. Eventually I felt the last surges of my climax washing through me, and the last spurts of my seed splashing into her. Her spasms were easing up as well, and I felt the energy between us diminishing, the power of the magic we'd felt slowly ebbing away.

Coming down from the pinnacles of such powerful sensations, my whole body felt drained. It wasn't an exhausted feeling, but a comfortable level of fatigue, a pleasant sort of tiredness. I felt sated and fulfilled, and now feeling the warmth of my dragon lover below me, all I wanted to do was sink peacefully into the cozy embrace of sleep.

"That was amazing, Takara." I panted out, my eyes fluttering as I tried weakly to hold them open. "Thank you."

"Yes, it was... I'm glad you were with me for this" I heard her reply with a sleepy voice.

"Mmmm, it was quite tiring though" she continued as her hand reached up to stroke my head, her fingers gliding absently through my hair. "We could both use some rest...."

Even as I acknowledged her suggestion with a low affirmative moan, I felt sleep stealing over me. Before letting my eyes drift shut however, I happened to glance over to my hand. Looking at it, I saw the slight aura of magic flickering over my fingers, brief sparks of energy jumping from them to dissipate into the air.

The realization of what that sight meant to me registered only slightly to my tired mind. My thoughts were fleeting, and I smiled at the abstract sense of accomplishment. The feeling of satisfaction pleased me, but as I closed my eyes to sleep I didn't recognize the full importance of my achievement.

"Yes, you performed your first lesson quite well" I heard her say as I drifted off into unconsciousness. "Now sleep well, lover" she whispered, and her soft words and the warmth of her presence carried me off to my dreams.