Now that the truce has ended, don’t call for a 'permanent ceasefire', call for the end of the occupation. As long as Palestine is occupied, Palestinians will never know peace. Even if the Israeli army left Gaza in this very moment, Palestinians will still face brutal suppression at the hands of the Israeli state. Apartheid laws will still remain. Palestinian children will continue to get kidnapped and tortured in prisons. Armed Israeli settlers will continue to act as shook troops in the Occupied Territories.
The state of Israel must be dismantled and occupation must end for such a permanent ceasefire to happen. Support the end of the occupation.
Found the plot and a short drabble in my google docs and wanted to finish it! Couldn't find the original ask, but I have delivered! Second part comes out tomorrow
Soap had found him deep in the woods. He had heard of something had been seen and he wanted to look for the creature causing issues. From the reports, he had a feeling it was a small wyvern or maybe a kelpie. It had been stealing sheep and other small livestock to eat, so he doubted it was anything too powerful. While he could leave this to his knights, he wanted to get out of the castle for a bit.
So for him to find a sleeping dragon, tucked in an abandoned farmhouse, curled up tight, was more than a little surprising. Usually dragons didn't bother with livestock, but Soap could see the bones of the creatures he had eaten all scattered about.
Soap noticed a large gash on his side and realized what the problem was. With a wound that size, the poor thing was probably trying to get what it considered easy pickings.
Slowly, painstakingly, he got on the ground in front of him. His kingdom had many religions, most revolving around the inherent divinity of dragons. They were majestic. The blending of humanity, nature and the divine. All of those features were very prominent in the creature before him, even injured and sleeping.
Massive paws, tipped with giant claws. Wings that filled the entire barn with just enough room for his body. Beautiful black iridescent scales that made red ripples when the light ran over them, complete with gold cracking from where the wound was as well as a couple of other scars. Gorgeous. His eyes were a stunningly dark color. Pools of ichor with flecks of color in them. The pupils were barely recognizable as pupils, just a thin vertical line.
Eyes.
Soap jerked back but the beast’s tail had already blocked the exit he had just went to. It stared at him, clearly thinking.
Intelligence was another thing. Most people believed that dragons had knowledge that escaped human grasp. Something about them felt so ethereal it wouldn’t shock Soap if it was true. But that did not and could not erase the fact that dragons ate people. And Soap was certainly people.
The dragon considered him for a moment before lowering his tail and returning to resting. “You should leave.” His voice was hoarse and scratchy from disuse.
Soap hesitated. “You’re not healing.”
“Poisoned arrows. Still working through the poison.” He lowered his head on his to paws again. The feathers along his head lowered. They were scant, just a few along the barbs. Which meant this dragon was rather young as they lost their feathers as they got older. Probably just reached adult age.
Just like Soap! His 19th birthday had passed a week prior. This dragon must be around his age. Possibly a little older.
“Maybe I could help?” Soap moved closer.
The dragon opened his eyes. “How could you help me?” He looked down at Soap like he was a bug. An inconvenience.
“I could bandage you up. See if I have anything that will help in my kingdom.” Soap got closer. He wanted to assist him. Dragon or not. He was hurt.
He growled and narrowed his eyes. “Do not come closer.”
Soap paused. “I… Okay. What if I bring you supplies?”
“That would be… acceptable.”
“My name is Johnny but everyone calls me Soap..”
“...Simon.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Simon.” Soap smiled at him. “Don’t leave, alright?” He started to step back.
Simon narrowed his eyes but slowly, achingly relaxed back onto his paws. “How do I know you won’t bring someone else here to kill me?”
“I’d never do that! You may have stolen some things, but it was clearly from need.” Soap raised his hands, praying he would believe him. “I’ll even bring you more food.”
Simon looked very suspicious but he nodded. “I’ll stay. But just for a little while…”
Soap beamed. “I’ll be right back!!” He rushed off to get supplies.
Only after coming back with two backpacks, stuffed to the brim, did he consider maybe that was overkill.
Simon had shifted back.
Soap blushed and quickly looked away.
“Something wrong, Johnny?” Simon asked, stretching himself out among the hay. His wings had blocked it before but the majority of the left side of the roof had been damaged. The sun was spilling out all over his very naked body.
“Do you have no modesty?” Soap sounded aghast. Simon had his wings still, but they were lounging around his body. Not moving to cover it. Soap kept his eyes firmly on Simon’s face.
Simon looked amused. “Why? I am wearing just as much as I was before. I simply changed forms.”
Soap shook his head. “This form is… is…”
“It is your form!” Simon frowned. “Under all of those clothes. You’d look just like me.”
“Yes, but I’m wearing clothes!”
Simon snorted and looked away, crossing his arms. “You said you’d help me. Get on with it.”
Soap glared and moved closer, still focusing on his face.
Simon sighed and raised the arm on his injured side up above his head and used the other to cover himself. “There. Modesty.” He said it with such sarcasm that Soap wanted to snap at him.
“I’m a Prince you know. You’re not being very respectful of royalty.”
“You’re the one asking me to be unnatural and wear clothing. Are you not disrespecting divinity by doing so?” Simon purred.
Soap poured water over the wound. “I think there may pieces of arrows still… in the wound… That may be why you still haven’t healed.”
Simon frowned and deflated a bit. “I’m going to have to let you dig it out… Fucking hell.” He tilted his head back, exposing his throat. “Alright. Go for it.”
“What?? I’m not… I don’t have the… experience to do this!”
“C’mon, little Prince. Hurry up. Explain why it still hurts so much.”
“You cannot be serious! You weren’t even sure if you’d stay until I got back and you’re going to let me just dig around in your wounds??” Soap was hoping he’d see sense and change his mind.
Simon smiled. “You got it! Get to it, Johnny.” He had a beautiful smile. It lit up the entire room and Soap was sure it was some sort of dragon magic he wasn’t aware of. He was wrong. Simon just looked like that.
Soap sighed and got closer. “Alright. You’re crazy.” He moved to get a better angle, pulling out a knife. “One of the pieces are in deep. Let me get these little shards first. Think you can stay still for me?”
“Sure. And if you hurt me too bad, I’ll just break you in half.”
Soap nodded immediately and got to work. “How old are you?”
“21 years. You?”
“19.” He had guessed right! “What brings you to this area?”
“I was fleeing the North. There are some real assholes there.” Simon winced and then pressed back into his hands to correct himself. It meant that Soap’s palm came into direct contact with his skin which surprised him.
“You run hot. Always thought dragons ran cold.”
“Misconception. Thanks to the fire in us, we’re technically warm blooded.”
Soap hummed. “The thing that lets you breathe fire right?”
Simon pursed his lips and blew out a perfect smoke ring. “Yeah. Exactly.”
When he did that, a spot in his throat glowed faintly. Since it was just smoke, it wasn’t very noticeable, but it was clearly there.
Soap focused on the task at hand again, but he planned to ask some questions once they were out. He pulled out the little wooden splinters before grabbing the metal tip. “This may hurt a bit.”
“What do they say? Pain is beauty?” Simon grinned right before yelping in pain when the arrowhead was fully dislodged. He panted softly as the thing dropped the ground. “Jesus that’s big.”
Soap nodded in agreement and, while Simon was distracted, quickly poured alcohol all over everything. Simon growled immediately and grabbed Soap hard. For a moment, Soap thought he was about to make good on that promise of breaking him in half, but Simon didn’t move any further. He just held him tight and slowly took a deep breath. Then another. And after a moment, he relaxed his grip.
“There ya go. That wasn’t too bad, was it?”
Simon had closed his eyes and it gave Soap a chance to steal a quick glance at him. The dragon was a vision. Dozens of golden scars laced over his body, especially over his chest. His face… He was pretty. So very, very pretty. When he was a kid, his mother insisted he study the ancient arts and one of those included a set of sculptures made to be in the gods’ images. Simon would’ve fit in well among them.
“Thank you.”
“Of course… I also brought more food for you.”
Simon opened his eyes again. “You’re being awfully kind.” His throat glowed again, down his chest.
Soap stared openly this time, too taken back by the fire clearly going under his skin. “What is that?”
“A flame.”
“Fascinating.”
Simon stared for a moment before grabbing Soap’s hand and pressing it to the places that glowed. There was more heat in those areas. It felt extremely pleasant. “Huh.” Soap felt very eloquent with that response. He kept his hand pressed to spot.
“Little prince, you done?”
“One second, ye overgrown lizard.” Soap mumbled and followed the little lines.
“And you tried to talk to me about modesty.” Simon purred, chest vibrating under Soap’s hand. Soap quickly yanked it back.
“I am so so sorry. I sho-”
Simon grabbed one of the backpacks, effectively cutting Soap off with a question. “So you brought me stuff?” He tried to get it open but had a problem with the clasp. His hands were comically big compared to it so he couldn’t quite get it to work. Soap gently took it from him so he could get it open.
He didn’t know what dragons could and couldn’t eat, so it was mostly meat since that was a safe bet. He did bring some bread, cheese, butter, different fruits and… most importantly, rings.
Dragons love rings.
And Simon was no exception. He scooped them all up and quickly started putting them on. Only a few of them fit but Simon held all of them close to his chest, clearly thinking of ways he could wear them. “You have any string?”
Soap fished through his bag. “I brought this in case I needed to sew you up?”
Simon snatched it from his hands and looped all of the rings together so he could wear them as a necklace. He also organized it so they made a rainbow around his neck.
Soap was fascinated with how the knots were made. Simon butted heads with him once he was done. It was careful, like a cat, and it was clear by the soft purring sound that this was an affectionate gesture.
Soap felt like he was getting some look into some hidden language. He was being entrusted with something.
Another thing he was being entrusted with is that Simon was the least picky person he had ever seen. He happily ate everything Soap had. Goat cheese and apples was also a combo he liked. A lot. Simon ate everything Soap had brought which was, again, about two backpacks filled to the brim.
Soap held it upside down and shook it. “Seems I’m all out.”
Simon hummed and stretched, looking tired. He started to close his eyes. Already, the wound had started to look better.
“Let me bandage it and then I’ll be back tomorrow to check it.”
“If I’m here.”
“If you’re here, I’ll bring more food.” Soap promised.
Simon looked up at him from the dusty hay. He narrowed his eyes and his pupils had slid to slits.
Soap leaned over him so he could get to his wound again. Unlike before, Simon didn’t make it easy for him. He was deadweight and half covering the wound.
“C’mon, ya little flame.” Soap gritted out and Simon gasped at him. “Move your ass.”
“How dare you call my flame little.” Simon did twist so Soap could get to the wound. He started to bandage it and put some extra tape over it in case he moved a lot.
Soap patted his side like he was a horse that had been particularly good that day. “Don’t be so difficult next time and I’ll say it’s big yeah?”
Simon growled but most of the initial fear was already gone. It was funny. Soap felt like they just… clicked. Being around this dragon in the woods felt strangely normal.
So he came again the next day with more food. He ignored that there were a couple more bones in the bone pile. They had been picked clean at least, nothing there to rot.
Simon still looked human. Other than the giant wings of course. He sat up, stretching and shaking himself out. “Little prince!”
“Little Flame.”
“That’ll do.” Simon turned on his back, feeling the heat from the sun on his stomach.
Soap smiled and went to his side, checking under the bandages. Accelerated healing was not a joke. Without those pieces making it worse, already things were starting to look better.
Simon threw one of the bags at him and sat up. “Hungry.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Soap opened it and handed it back over. Simon happily started to eat as Soap continued to look at the wound. If he watched closely, he could see some of the skin stitching together. “Fascinating.”
Simon hummed. “Thank you. We have to have pretty intense healing abilities.”
“I brought you something extra special this time.”
Simon perked up, excited. That excitement was immediately ruined by Johnny throwing pants at him. “Seriously? Does the naked human form offend you that much?”
“Yes.”
Simon grumbled but he slid them on. They were leather, from the guard’s wing, and tight. He twisted himself and Soap could hear it tense and pop before something in them tore. Luckily, it seemed to just be a few threads because Simon relaxed and he was still covered.
He continued to happily eat everything he could. There’s this soft and sweet air about him. Gentle. What an odd thought.
Simon looked over at him, mouth full of food. He grinned stupidly. “Why are dragons so amazing at making music?”
Soap frowned. “I didn’t know you guys were good at music.”
“It’s because we really know our scales.”
Johnny blinked before laughing. “Seriously? Didn’t expect you to be a joking person.”
Simon shrugged and looked a little rueful. “Maybe I should’ve let you think I was cool a little longer.” He stretched and smiled before settling next to Johnny. The day had started to get cold so the dragon’s body heat was pleasant against him.
Simon continued to eat his snacks as Soap just soaked in his presence.
“It must be weird.” Simon started, tracing Johnny’s spine. “Having no wings. Do you ever feel off balance?”
Johnny shivered. “What?”
“Does your back look naked without wings?”
“No?”
Simon hummed and tried to lift up Johnny’s shirt. “Then what do you look like?”
“I… um…”
He tugged at his clothes. “Let me just see!”
“No!!” Johnny was aghast. He didn’t know why this scandalized him quite so much. He had went shirtless around tons of people. Whether it was just that Simon was… Simon or maybe that he was being asked, it felt different.
Simon groaned. “I’ve never gotten a good look at a human before! You’re so… fragile. Your little heartbeat is thumping so loud.”
Johnny had never ever been so utterly offended. “Fragile??”
“Your heart is so loud but you look… you know. Soft.”
“Soft??”
“Yeah. Soft.” Simon grabbed his hand and put it to his chest. “See. I’m hard. You have give.” He wasn’t wrong. There was hard muscle and his skin wasn’t quite as soft. It felt a tiny bit like a snake’s skin even though it looked like human skin.
Johnny could not believe he was being shamed by a dragon for his physique. He was not soft!! Was he??
“It’s not bad. I like it. Never really looked at a human properly. Your skin is also softer.” Simon touched Johnny’s inner wrist, gently feeling his skin. “Really soft. It’s nice.”
Johnny felt like he was going to melt from the heat. Yeah. The heat. Had to be. “Thanks.”
“Why do you humans consider us divine?”
“I guess it’s the fact you can shift between forms. Touch the clouds.” Johnny didn’t really have a solid answer.
“Clouds? Really? What do you think they feel like?” Simon sounded amused, but he was staring at him. His giant brown eyes staring into Johnny’s soul like he’d give him an answer worth listening to.
Johnny hesitated because Simon knew what they felt like. He tried really hard to guess right. “Like cotton?”
Simon smiled. “Nope. Cold and kinda spiky. They’re full of ice crystals.”
“What??”
“Yep.”
Johnny frowned. “I don’t believe you.”
Simon hummed. “I could show you?”
Johnny was expecting a couple of things from this. Maybe something a little romantic. Not for Simon to grab him by his ankle and throw him several feet in the air like he weighed less than a stuffed animal. Before he got a chance to scream or start to fall, Simon was right next to him, batting him further up into the air. It was easily the most frightening thing he had ever experience. The giant dragon that was flying at him at mach speed wasn’t helping.
Once he was above the trees, Simon snapped him up in his jaws and flew straight up until he found a cloud. He went straight above it and
Fucking
Dropped
Him.
Johnny did scream this time as he plummeted through the cloud. Simon followed him luckily and grabbed him properly this time. With his arms. He had shifted back to be human and Johnny had zero clue if he could fly in this condition. They spiraled down together and Johnny worried for just a moment that Simon would crash them to the ground before his wings came out, catching the breeze. He spun them around so fast that Johnny knew the only thing keeping him from getting dizzy was Simon’s eyes boring into his own.
Then he was sent flying back up in the air and Simon shifted back, grabbing and landing on to the trees. Johnny was put on his back as he moved just above the tree line.
He was trying desperately to catch his breath, both full of fear and… exhilaration. That was pretty fun. Maybe his family was right about this adrenaline junky thing.
Johnny kept trying to catch his breath as Simon got them safely on the ground.
“Tell me, do you feel like that was a spiritual experience?”
Johnny took a deep breath. “Yeah. A little.”
“Come back tomorrow.” Simon smiled at him.
“Yeah. I will…” Johnny did come. Every day for weeks. Simon was his little secret.
One day, Johnny was very surprised to find Simon jumping around when he got back. He was very skilled. The way he managed to easily go from the floor to the roof and back to the floor of the farm house. His wings followed along his body, flashing gorgeously.
Johnny watched him for a few minutes until Simon noticed him.
“All healed!”
“Oh! That’s good.”
Oh no. Now would be the perfect time for him leave.
“Now I could take you flying properly. Not the sloppy stuff from before.” Simon grinned at him.
Johnny nodded, already excited. “I’d love to.”
Simon smiled brightly. The sun in his smile. Gorgeous. God he was so gorgeous. He shifted like smoke, sliding underneath Soap and between his legs. When he sat up, Johnny grabbed on to his neck, perched on his back. It didn’t seem quite as scary, even when Simon stood up and he was several feet in the air, because he had Simon solid beneath him.
Simon took off and went high up in the air. His wings spread out wide and as he glided, Johnny could feel the air rushing through his hair. It felt so soft.
“This is so much better!” Johnny yelled at him and Simon only purred in response, lifting up slightly. It started to get cold so he pressed closer to his warm body. Simon spun again as he descended, going in lazy circles around and around and around.
Flying ended too soon. Part of him never ever wanted to leave the air. But his feet were planted back on earth.
Johnny looked at Simon and Simon looked back. It felt different than his subjects. Less respectful but more understanding. Simon understood something about Johnny he didn’t quite understand about himself.
“Thank you.” Johnny said softy, afraid if he was too loud, Simon might take flight and disappear.
“You healed me. Not the other way around.”
Johnny had a feeling Simon did somehow. He just wasn’t sure how yet.
They were so close. So very, very close.
Simon pulled back just a little. “I want…” He looked at his lips. “I…”
“Yes.” Johnny said softly.
Simon kissed him. Soft and sweet. It felt like a first kiss. The first of many hopefully. He tasted like cinnamon. His hands held Johnny closer. Staying firmly on his waist.
Johnny cupped his jaw and finally got to touch his hair. Felt like silk strands. Like they’d run through his fingers. He wanted to cry for some odd reason. Happiness was fickle. Fleeting. And he knew if Simon ever left him, it would feel like the end of everything. End of something. End of Johnny maybe.
Simon panted against his mouth, their breath still mingling. “My little Prince.”
“My Dragon.”
Simon grinned before diving back in. Johnny would’ve went further. Would’ve let Simon take him against the floor of the old barn. But Simon didn’t. He just kissed him until too much time had passed.
Johnny found himself on the floor of the barn, the dragon pressing him down. The place started to feel warm and he smelled burning hay. He shoved Simon back to see that he was in fact burning the hay around Johnny’s head. Luckily, it was very careful and controlled.
“Sorry. Forgot to control it.”
Johnny flushed brightly, watching Simon just breath. Every exhale meant a little bit of smoke came out of his nose and muddying the air between them even more. He kissed him again. Couldn’t help himself.
They kept kissing until Johnny needed to leave. As he was pulling away, Simon still kept following and kissing him. His lips, his jaw, his fingers.
“I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Simon’s eyes smoldered through him. Burned him alive. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
The farmhouse was empty.
Johnny stood in the door, watching the empty home. Simon was probably just hunting.
He sat at the front of it, reimagining the kiss over and over again. He kept thinking about it all night.
Night fell.
It fell and Simon wasn’t there.
Johnny kept waiting. He just kept waiting.
Don’t cry.
Just don’t cry yet.
Johnny heard his knights find him.
He started crying.
His body hurt. He didn’t want to look at the ground in case his heart was there. Blood smeared on the ground.
Had Simon ripped it out when he left? Or did Johnny when he offered it to Simon?
Naively. Horribly. He just offered it to a God and expected that God to look at him and think he was worthy of his attentions. His knights brought him home and he left his heart in that farmhouse.
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