I simply sat in what would be my last few moments of peace for a while as I watched the knights march over the hills that used to feel so safe and free for me. Kiri was nice enough to heal my arm so I could fly away, but some part of me didn’t want to. Maybe it was my most vicious instincts that, no matter how hard I fought against, would always eat away at my morals that made me see nothing but red when I looked at that raid, maybe it was a much more human thirst for revenge, but it didn’t matter what it was. I had a burning hate in my stomach for humans, and I’d had one for years, but, suddenly, these three humans come around and treat me like one of their own. What was I supposed to feel? 

Mom was right. I was too soft to be a dragon. 

“Oxle?” I asked as I sat next to the axe wielding man who kept busy cutting wood for a fence.
“Lull!” he said, chipper as ever, “What’s up?”
“I-,” I stopped myself for a second, but picked up again with a rushed sense of confidence that made my words fast, “These traps will just scare them off, right?”
Oxle paused before saying, “Yeah, scare them into a grave. Lull, you’re not going pacifist on us, right?”
“Oxle, I don’t like killing,” I reminded.
“Yeah, that’s why you’re not doing it.”
I frowned with an annoyed pout, “I can’t let them die. It’s not right for us to stoop to their level.” 

Our argument had to be put on hold as the knights approached. James was quick to rush in front of me with his shield up and Oxle took to his side while Kiri stayed back with me. I was sat on my knees in the grass and still the most menacing thing on the battlefield which gave me a small rush that made my body tingle, but the idea that lives were on the line ruined the fun of it. I liked fighting with the humans, but, to me, it was like playing with a puppy and now… I didn’t like it. I had to do something. 

“Come no closer, humans!” I demanded and caused the raid to ready themselves where they were in preparation for an attack. 

I smirked at the power rush. 

“I will not allow you to fight in my meadow.”
“You’re in no position to make demands,” the commander stated as he pulled free his sword and started to move closer to the fire runes Kiri set up.
“No!” I shouted on instinct, but it worked well enough for them to stop.
“It begs!” one of the knights yelled and got an uproar in the raid. 

They charged right into the runes and I was left with no choice. I lunged forward and wrapped my wings around the frontmen of the raid as the runes went off and scorched my scales which albeit didn’t hurt, but left black marks on my body. With a simple shove, I pushed the front line back into the archers and messed up their shots. I was already working hard enough when Oxle and James charged into the fray and I had to focus on them too. A large knight with an axe ran at James with his heavy blade in the air and ready to slice James into five pieces, but I carefully plucked the axe from his hands and knocked him on his back in the same action. I bumped James in the stomach with the handle of the axe as he readied a strike and knocked the wind out of him before discarding the weapon by throwing it over my shoulder. 

I was already getting tired of this. I hooked my thumb around Oxle’s leg and picked him up, deciding the safest place for him was in my hand until further notice. The ballistas were loaded at this point, but I knew they were there this time and had no trouble casually pushing the fronts of the devices down and sticking them into the mud so the only thing they could shoot was dirt. I saw a spark out of the corner of my eye and realized I forgot about Kiri and James. Kiri was about to roast the whole raid and James was about to try and block a whole firing squad of archers. I needed both hands, but I couldn’t put down Oxle without him killing someone. I’m… not proud of my decision. 

“Oxle, I’m sorry, but I need both hands,” I said quickly.
“What?” he asked as I raised him to my mouth, “Oh, no. Let’s talk about thi-!” 

I quickly tossed him in my mouth and held him in place by pressing him to the roof of my mouth with my tongue as I put my hand in front of James to block the arrows and pinned Kiri’s arms to her sides as I picked her up. I flicked a wing and knocked over the raid with a wave of wind like the first time. A metallic taste filled my mouth as I idly sucked on Oxle’s armor and casually flipped him around in my mouth. I kinda got why dragons ate people, but it wasn’t that tempting considering I knew the guy I was so casually sucking on. I picked up the commander with my free hand and tossed him in the air enough to scare the crap out of him, but made sure to catch him before he hit the ground. 

“Lolliyant!” Kiri yelled and caught my attention, “James!” 

I looked down and saw James currently brawling with the axeman I disarmed earlier. I got my thumb between them and pinned the axeman to the ground with the pad of my thumb while I tried my best to keep Kiri upright and comfortable. I used my pinky to flick James backwards and pinned him with the side of that digit. 

“Men!” the commander yelled while in my grasp, “Fire bombs!” 

I let out an annoyed sigh which almost made me drop Oxle, but I caught him with my lips before he could fall and pulled him back into my mouth with my tongue. I felt bad about keeping him in there, but I didn’t have time to pull him out and… well, maybe I liked the power I had over him. I didn’t have time to think about that though. I was fireproof, but Kiri and James weren’t and, to a lesser extent, neither was the commander. I let go of Kiri and put the commander next to her, James, and the axeman before dropping to my stomach, hugging them to my chest and making a shield out of my wings. I almost couldn’t stand the bite of the explosions when they first hit, but, luckily, the flaming oil did nothing but stain my scales. 

I rested the top of my head against the ground and opened my mouth to let Oxle out who eagerly scrambled out of the damp cave. 

“Sorry,” I said again.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Oxle muttered as he wiped a thick layer of saliva off his face, “You owe me now, I hope you know.”
“Okay,” I agreed, “Let me deal wi-,” I was cut off when a ballista bolt dug itself into the back of my upper thigh as I had my back to the raid. 

I shot up and yelped in shock from basically being shot in the ass. A second shot hit my shoulder and knocked me to my hands and knees. I could see the tip of the bolt sticking out of the front of my shoulder and the blood dripping from it. 

“Hey!” James yelled as he charged at the raid, but I caught him as he ran between my knees by pinning him between my thighs.
“Lull,” Oxle said as he put the commander in a headlock, “For god’s sake, they’re gonna fucking kill you if you don’t fight back!”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said with a sad chuckle, “I’ve had it coming for a while.”
“No,” Kiri ordered, “Not today.”
“I’m sorry…” I muttered with a barely convincing smile. 

Oxle didn’t say anything for a second before he slammed the commander into the dirt. 

“Call them off!” Oxle demanded and he reared back and hit the commander with a haymaker that made his helmet rattle.
“Fuck off, savage,” the commander quipped. 

Something in Oxle snapped, but I quickly got a finger around his chest and pulled him off the commander. 

“C’mon, Lull!” he yelled, “You owe me, pay me back by not dying here!” 

A solemn grimace covered my face as I realized I had no choice. I let Oxle go and spread my knees enough to let James free. I slammed a fist into the ground and caused a tremor that shook the raid and knocked the lucky five near me over in various ways. I grit my teeth and grabbed the bolt in my shoulder before ripping it out and letting out the roar of a dragon to the skies with a pillar of fire. I got to my knees as another ballista shot ripped through my left wing, but I barely flinched to the pain at this point. I stood to my full height and turned to the raid. 

I used what was left of my wings to throw myself hundreds of feet into the air and then propel myself downwards with more force than a bomb. I slammed into the middle of the raid party with a punch that cracked the earth and sent a shockwave all the way back to the castle. Bodies popped under my force. I landed on my knees and swiped to my left with a grabbing hand. I pick up maybe ten men before crushing them to paste in my iron vice. Maybe it was the heat of the battle, maybe it was some subconscious itch, but I couldn’t stop myself from hand picking the ballista men with my right hand and dropped them into my mouth. 

Their armor crunched to iron dust as I bit down once and spit the mutilated bodies to the side. Another fire bomb hit me in the chest and made me fall backwards, crushing a few of the footmen with my ass and maiming a few more. I put half my weight on my hands before picking up my legs and slamming them down against the raid party. My heels collided with the fire bombers by the ballistas, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. I picked myself up and added an extra stomp against the bombers. They started to scatter and I decided I was done. To be honest, there was a reason I didn’t like getting violent like that. 

I grabbed the commander as I walked back and slammed him against the wall of my cave hard enough to make him spit up blood, but not hard enough to kill him. I was in a trance. I wanted more blood. I wanted more death. More carnage. I wanted to be a real dragon again. 

“You stupid human!” I yelled, “How dare you enter my realm!? This is my world, not yours! You’re death won’t be quick, I swear to you, and, after you, I’ll kill every single one of your narcissistic race! And I’ll do it happily!” I pressed harder, but only cracked his ribs with the force. 

I put two fingers around his head and slowly put pressure on him, but something caught my eye. I saw Oxle and James watching me in horror while Kiri had her staff raised… towards me. What had I done? 

“I-I’m sorry…” I stammered as I set him down.
“No!” the commander pleaded, “Don’t crush me, please! I’ll never come back! I swear!” 

He was so scared of me… Oxle quickly swooped in and helped the commander up before passing him on to the axeman who had lost his fight since he saw my display of power. 

“Don’t come back,” James warned, but it wasn’t a threat; it was advice and I didn’t blame him.
“Lull,” Oxle said as he carefully approached me, “Are you… ya know, still wacko?” he asked. 

I simply shook my head. 

“Thank god,” he said and sighed, “That was badass.” 

With that he casually walked up to me and motioned over Kiri. 

“C’mon,” he said, “Let’s get you patched up.” 
"And maybe a bath," I added. 

I was covered in blood and I needed a little alone time after what happened because the only thing that conflicted how bad I felt was how turned on I was.