Argus was well-aware that this interaction must have looked fairly ridiculous, with the mountainous princess so happily playing with her hair and petting the visiting dragon at the same time, while he floated within range to let her. However, he was unwilling to be the first one to back away from their confrontation.
“Stop that!” he grumbled. His wing twitched to throw her off, but the princess only tightened her grip, though without inflicting pain. “Why are you doing this? Can you not see the flame of war is reignited?”
“Ooh, your scales got a little tougher. You used to be so soft, you know. That must be from fighting a bunch of scary knights, right?” Narina asked. She wasn’t lying; he had indeed grown hardier. What incensed the dragon, though, was her patronizing tone. The princess addressed him as she might to a small child just learning to swing a sword for the first time. Like his steel scales were “cute.”
“Laugh at me if you wish. Soon, you’ll learn that the bigger you are, the harder you fall,” Argus scowled. He thrashed his wing, and at last escaped Narina’s grip, though he suspected she just decided to let go. “Are you ready to witness the fall of your kingdom?”
“Mmmm… no, but I am ready to give you a big hug, puppy! Hmm… you’re not really so much a puppy anymore, though. Unless you’re a super itty-bitty puppy. What should we call you instead? Kitty? Fishy? Mousy?” Narina said. She pondered the question, tapping a finger on her chin and turning her blue-eyed gaze to the clouds. “No, just puppy. For old time’s sake.”
Meanwhile, Argus’s throat glowed. He flew straight for Narina, belching accursed flame as he approached. No sooner had the fire come within singeing distance of the princess’s hair, though, when the girl sidestepped his assault with the ease of a practiced ballroom dancer. Then, her hand arose again, and this time, her palm was pressed flush to Argus’s stomach.
The dragon was startled, not only at the sensation of the girl’s hand cupping most of his scaled belly, but at the feeling of her mighty pillared fingers closing up and around his sides. Despite the delicacy and softness of her flesh, dainty and pale as the rest of her royal body, there was obvious musculature lurking beneath the surface of her hand. When she squeezed him, Argus was choked dry of flame, and suddenly at the mercy of Narina’s fist. Once she had him snared, the princess’s other hand arrived at his back, sandwiching him between her plush palms. Then, without a moment’s hesitation to consider the danger of the fire-breathing monster in her hands, Narina cuddled Argus straight to her chest.
“Oh, I missed - you - so - MUCH!” Narina wheedled. With each emphasized word, she rocked her body from side to side, clutching Argus harder to her bosom. The dragon was helpless, going floppy in the imprisoning grasp of Narina’s soft hands, the combined force of which was significantly stronger than his battle-hardened reptilian form. Her giant chest quaked on each sway, and her heart beat faster every instant. “I almost came looking for you on my own, when you didn’t show up this morning! Thank goodness you did, though. It’s kind of tricky when I have to walk through the village and makes sure I don’t crush any of the houses! They’re all so adorable and pretty, but really fragile, like they’re made of paper. But I know I don’t have to worry about hurting anything when you’re here, puppy, since you’re such a mean and tough dragon, right?”
Argus squirmed for all he was worth. His strength had been known to tear boulders apart and plow through armies like wheat. Yet the warm, vaguely flower-scented arms of the princess had him in iron thrall. The dragon was positively stuck, and at the whim of the bubbly blonde monarch. She took a few steps back, still with Argus cuddled to her chest, and took a seat on a nearby cliff side at the foot of the mountain. Getting comfortable, she at last loosened her grip, and cradled the dragon into her arms, keeping one cupped hand at his side.
At the first available moment, the dragon let rip another blast of flame, which curled around Narina’s fingers, but didn’t burn her in the slightest, aside from blushing her skin momentarily pinker.
“Oh, somebody’s feeling toasty today, huh? It was kind of cold up on the mountain, so my fingers could use a warm-up!” Narina said brightly. “Thanks, puppy!”
Argus tried to lift off, breaking his wings free again from the princess’s grip. However, before he could get away, in a show of gratitude for his relaxing flames, Narina reached out and caught him by a tail. Her fingers coiled tight around the spiny extremity. The dexterous gesture caught Argus off-guard, and he had to swallow an embarrassing squeal as he flapped his wings for all they were worth. He managed to point toward the sky, but no matter how hard he thrust, Narina’s single hand was simply too powerful to overcome. Laughing again with that same sickening good-naturedness, the princess drew her arm back toward her body, retracting the dragon back to her bosom like a fish on a hook.
“STOP this!” Argus crowed at the giant princess. “I demand you fight me!”
He tried a different tactic this time, wriggling underneath the expansive plain of Narina’s palm, and actually managed to avoid being bear-hugged again to her chest. Instead, he threw himself down against her stomach, with all his pointiest edges bared for substantial damage. Just as it happened last year, though, despite Argus’s increase in strength, he only managed to get his claws caught in the elegant “armor” of Narina’s aquamarine gown.
“Hey, careful! You might break one of your little nails!” Narina said with genuine concern. “Oh, no, no. That would not do at all, would it?”