“Damn, it’s dark…” I muttered as I tapped the handle of my axe on the ground ahead of me to make sure I didn’t fall into a hole I wasn’t trying to get into. 

I walked carefully, eyes strained to see into the backness, when a light suddenly engulfed the side of the cave I was clumsily stumbling through and Lolliyant looking at me like I just interrupted her “girl-time”. She set the large torch she lit with her breath on the wall of the cave and looked back at me with those annoyed eyes. 

“What is it?” she asked with a condescending tone as if she was anticipating danger or alert to error. 
“You looked steamed when you walked by,” I said simply, “Figured I’d check up on ya.”  

She scoffed, but didn’t say anything. She simply pressed her fist to the floor and rubbed it back and forth as if she was trying to scrub off what she did to that cunt with the ballista. I sighed and walked up to her hand which seemed to put her on edge, but she still kept up the illusion of ignoring me that seemed so much more effective in theory. I dropped my axe and pressed the heels of my hands into median nerve before lightly working the muscle which made Lolliyant jump slightly at the touch, but quickly relax. The gentle touch must’ve been all but forgin to the kind hearted monster. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, condicention gone from her voice.
I thought before I spoke, which was rare for me, but I wanted this to be meaningful; “I’m prone to help the ones I like.” 

She slowly moved her hand away and hugged her knees up to her chest leaving me standing awkwardly next to her. I didn’t understand how she could feel so guilty about hurting someone in self defense, but that was what was so special about her. Lolliyant had more sympathy for humans than most humans had for humans. 

“I’m Oxle, by the way,” I reset the momentum of the conversation and it seemed to relieve some tension.
“Lolliyant, but you already know that. Call me Lull,” she offered, but still felt distant.
“Right. Lull. Soothing,” I said as I leaned against the rocky wall.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” she asked, “A soothing name for a monster.”
I scoffed, “Doll, if you’re a monster, that doesn’t leave much hope for me.”
“Doll?” she asked and chuckled, “You needed to make it more ironic?” 

I was suddenly aware that I was closer to Lull than I thought. Maybe she scooted closer when I wasn’t paying attention, or maybe I just sat closer than I thought, but either way, I could practically lean against her thigh. 

“I just…” she started and raised her hand to her face, “I hurt people. At my size, it’s all I do.”
“Haven’t hurt me.”
“Yet,” she quickly cut me off. 

I won’t lie. I’ve always been a ballsy guy, but I was scared out of my mind by the plan I had. Sure, Lull seemed nice, but she could still kill me if I royally pissed her off. Jokes were my nature and if she took it wrong and killed me, well, I’d worry about that if it happened. 

“Right there,” I started as I pointed to a big piece of rock in the corner of the cave, “That boulder could probably roll over and kill me and it wouldn’t even care,” Lull looked confused as I went on, “I can, and have, killed people, bad people, and I mean every kill. You kill things, but unlike me, you don’t do it on purpose. Unlike the boulder, you feel bad about it. Yeah, you hurt people, but remorse is stronger than accidents. Though you’ve got quite the pair of boulders, you’re not a rock. And you’re not a killer.” 

I stood up and picked up my axe. 

“Now, c’mon,” I enticed, “Maybe I want a rematch. Just a friendly brawl. Take out some frustration.” 

She looked at me with a dull fire in her eyes; like she was trying to hide how much she wanted to hit something. Before long, she let go and knocked my legs out from under me with one finger. I landed on my shoulder and rolled directly into her waiting hand which snatched me up to her face, but instead of getting bitten in half like I was expecting, I was pressed into her pillowy lips and put into the weirdest kiss I’ve ever taken part in. She pulled back and left me sitting in her palm with a coating of saliva on my upper body. 

“Not exactly a fighting move there,” I joked as she blushed and looked away.
“Sorry,” she said simply.
“Don’t be,” I stepped in, “I normally get slapped when stuff like that happens so this is a nice change of pace.” 

So, I had a crush on a dragon. Yep… that was- uh… Yeah. She set me down back where I was and lightly smiled. 

“Thanks,” she said, “I’m not a rock.” 

I leaned back against her thigh as I set down my axe and looked up at her. Lull was a lot like me. We were made for the same thing in a way, just by different things. I was taught to be a killer and my remorse had been stripped down to a sliver before I was old enough to decide if I wanted that or not, but Lull was born as a violent creature… she just had the will to say something about her fate and she did. When I thought about the things I’ve done with that axe, it made me sick, but it was something I’d gotten used to. I was dull and maybe Lolliyant could sharpen me again. 

The enchanting seas of her eyes seemed to sparkle in the torchlight as it framed her round face and the pale complexion of her face that faded to the dark green of her scales. Her smile refreshed me as it dotted with dimples on each cheek and I couldn’t help but think that she would be so cute if she wasn’t seventy five feet tall. The only inhuman characteristics she had were her wings and curling horns in place of hair. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to feel safe around her. Maybe it was because she was so soft spoken. Maybe it didn’t matter. I made two decisions that day. 

“Lull,” I started, “I’m not leaving until that bastard of a king is done trying to hunt you.”
“Oxle, I can’t-,” she tried to stop me, but I interrupted her.
“And,” I cut in, “I’m calling our brawl a tie.”
She scoffed, “In your dreams.”