The dragon in the room
Cora has brought home a date, but her relationship with Mally might present some obstacles.
There’s no vore in this one? Just a cute fluffy story about monsters navigating romance and communication. So maybe that’s not why you came to this blog but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
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“So, this is your girlfriend’s place?” Shenyen asked Cora, looking up at the high stone ceiling as the two of them descended deeper into the earth. It was a strange place for a gryphon to make her home. Still air. No view of the open sky. And the floor beneath his feet was strangely warm. Still, it was spacious, and who was he to judge? Cora was a sweet girl, and she still wanted to spend time with a carrion bird like him, so he wasn’t going to complain.
“Yep, Mally lets me live with her in here,” Cora responded, nervously preening one iridescent black wing. “Hey, um, th-thanks for being cool with all this, by the way. I know a lot of people find this sort of thing difficult so, uh, I really appreciate your willingness to give it a try.” Her beak split in a shy smile. She hoped he wouldn’t ask her any more questions about Mally. She may have . . . forgotten . . . to mention one key piece of information when telling Shenyen about her. She would tell him eventually, just . . . not on the first date.
“Of course, Cora,” he said, the dense feathers of his bearded vulture’s head softly rustling against her own as he nuzzled up against her. “This is all new to me. To be candid, I’m still dizzy from the shock of being asked out. That . . . doesn’t happen too often. But I don’t mind sharing in your affection with others. I can sense that you love deeply, and I have a feeling that the time you can give me will be more than enough.”
Cora squeaked with surprise and blushed deeply. “W-Well, open communication is the key to a healthy relationship like this, and communication is k-kinda your whole thing, so I think you’ll do great.” Shenyen was a medium and an oracle. When Cora considered his formidable ability to commune with the lingering spirits of the dead, and the lengths he went to in order to bring them peace, his humility really was his most impressive trait. She was just happy he seemed to like her too!
He nodded and purred contentedly. The two gryphons reached the main room of Mally’s lair, and Shenyen blinked at the pile of gold that dominated the room. “Ah, that is a great deal of treasure.”
“M-Mally’s a bit of a hoarder, sorry. . .” Cora ruffled her wings anxiously.
“That statue there is as big as you are, Cora. How did she get it down here?” He opened his great, broad wings and leapt closer, inspecting the collection curiously. Cora looked down guiltily and took a deep breath, fur bristling as she strove to hold it in, but just couldn’t anymore.
“Okay! Okay, there’s something I have to tell—”
She was interrupted by a long, earth-shaking yawn as several tons of sleepy dragon came into the room, stretched, and blinked sleepy eyes at Shenyen and Cora. “Hey.”
Shenyen leapt in front of Cora, claws bared and feathers fluffed up to make himself seem more imposing. “Cora, get back! I’ll distract her!”
“Oh, you certainly will, cutie. Congrats, Cora, this is quite a catch!” The dragon leaned down and inspected the gryphon, breathing in the scent of oil and incense from his well-groomed feathers. She exhaled a cloud of hot steam that made him cough and look away.
“U-Um, Mally.” Cora gulped. She felt absolutely rooted to the spot. “This is Shenyen. Shenyen, this is Mally. My girlfriend. ShenyenI’mSoSorryICanExplain—”
To his credit, Shenyen spoke calmly in spite of his furiously pounding heart. “Mally. My apologies. I wasn’t expecting you to be, well. . .”
“So far above you on the food chain?” the dragon offered.
“MALLY!”
“What? I didn’t mean anything by it!” She laughed heartily as Cora fumed at her. “She’s adorable when she’s angry, isn’t she? Sorry, Shenyen was it? I didn’t mean to give you such a fright.”
“It’s my fault,” Cora said, deflating. “I said all that stuff about open communication. . .”
“Hey, hey now. I was the one who assumed she was a gryphon too. And maybe you omitted some important information. . .” he watched her nod, yellow eyes downcast. “But I can understand how this would be hard to, uh, address.” He placed a talon gently on her shoulder.
“I was afraid I would scare you away if I told you too s-soon. . . And Mally wasn’t supposed to be home today.”
Cora glanced up at the dragon, who shrugged sheepishly and said, “Neyra had to cancel, sorry. Her work has been keeping her so busy lately. . .”
Shenyen sighed, relaxing a bit as he said, “Even so, you brought me back to her lair. With her treasure hoard. And then there’s these.” He pinched up a green, shed scale from the cave floor. “I would have found out eventually. You are a terrible liar.” He chuckled. “Another reason to like you. And I’m not running off, am I?”
Cora sniffled. “It’s really okay? You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“I mean, I have questions. But . . . yes. It’s okay. And love is love. Do you know how many people I meet who didn’t pursue a love that they were told was wrong for them? They always, always regret it. I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’re strong. Besides, in my line of work, I’ve never once heard the name Mally, and that’s a pretty good sign on its own.”
“He talks to dead people,” Cora proudly asided to Mally.
“Ohhhhh. Yeah, I don’t make those. I’m strictly catch and release.”
Shenyen let his claw fall from Cora’s shoulder as he laughed again. “Oh, Cora, you really are full of surprises. . . Oh!” He blinked in surprise as Mally’s enormous leathery wings enfolded both him and Cora and pushed them closer together. The dragon kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head warmly and then stood, stepping over the two of them as she left, looking back over her shoulder and giving Cora an encouraging wink as she left the two of them to their date. She had a good feeling about that one.