✿;
His words were terribly old and
unfamiliar to her but filled the girl with a warmth she could only
describe being akin to peace. If he wished to devour her he would
have done so on that night or pillaged her residence but instead he
left people be for the most part. So long as people left him to his own devices she supposed he’d be content to remain as he was. She envied him, alone time was rare for her and she would happily reside in a cave if it meant she could be left alone by other people.
She registered the pressure of his snout against her face and she closed her eye briefly. When he drew away from her she stood tall. With her head held up high. It was rare for her look smug or proud and while she didn’t she seemed less jumpy than before.
Hanako regarded the beast with the same interest one watched a dog try to lead its master into a direction. The weight of his tail guided her like the crook of a shepherdess and she found one foot follow its twin as she took a step forward and made her way forward. The strides of his long body could easily out pace her own but she caught up swiftly a few steps away from his head
She didn’t know where she was going. Any fears of him eating her was cast aside.
“Where are you taking me?” she didn’t know if he’d actually answer her or if he actually understood her but she for once filled the silence with her own voice.
⊰ ♞ ⊱ —— The dragon’s claws were long, tapping against the stone floor of his cave as he made his way towards the back, his tail curled around her waist to lead her along. He glanced behind him every once in awhile to ensure that she was keeping up; this human was pathetically small, he didn’t wish to leave her behind.
Together, they made their way back to his horde pile– the piled-high stones and gold glittered, even among the other pieces of tin or scrap-metal. Hatori wasn’t a picky dragon, anything even remotely shiny could be added to his treasure pile. He was no fool– some of these things may have had zero worth, but it was what the poor families had saved together to leave out for him on their doorsteps, in return for his protection- so he’d take it.
Appreciatively.
A chicken-like claw reached out, digging through the horde pile like a dog digging up a bone. As if he was searching for something in specific, the grey eyes of the dragon were focused on what he had before him, a pile of his only possessions, and rummaging through it almost like a human. It wasn’t long before he seemed to give up his search.
After a few moments, he glanced back at her once again, but this time, he used his snout to nudge her closer to his prized collection. “*Daar los pah tol Zu’u meyar, mun,” Hatori explained, a claw pointing towards the treasure once again, wanting her to see his wealth. Unsurprisingly, the dragon was a proud creature and wished to impress his guest with what he had amassed over his centuries of living. Perhaps she’d find it interesting.
[insert comment about my eternal salt and anguish over the reply feature being gone]
It is literally fucking rude. I need to yell from the rooftops (ie: using the reply feature) about how bomb you and @kabenohanako are, because you two are slaying the role-playing game, honestly.
✿–; Rarely if ever did she feel big. She shrank before the sight of others and tended to hunch. However, she never felt as impossibly small as she did currently before a display of raw power and energy. Awe replaced her fears but her stomach continued to coil.
He didn’t have an unpleasant voice. It
was loud and ricocheted off the walls of his cave but it drew her in. She decided it wasn’t frightening at all, even if she couldn’t understand it. Perhaps he was speaking ill towards her. “Huh,” Hanako breathed out. She
hadn’t expected him to speak to her and at the sound of his voice a
tremor moved through her lithe being. Slowly, he meandered closer to
her and she realized she’d been holding onto a breath as he eyed the
precious treasures. Brigands and thieves weren’t common but she understood the dark intentions of human nature and curiosity pulled her to his home.
A latent memory remained in her mind. Something she wrote off as a dream to deal with her trauma. Her father often said there were explanations to everything and the village doctors told her that she must have passed out after she escaped from the smoke and pain. She saw him that night.
He looked the same as she remembered. She only caught a glimpse of him, a brief fraction of time before she passed out. Her eyes widened as he inched closer to
her and she pondered if dragons truly devoured young maidens. Worry
loosened the shape of her mouth and she gawked as his nose balanced
beneath her chin. Hanako quietly breathed in the smoke as her hair
left her face. Save for the fringe she tucked the rest of her hair
behind her ear. She couldn’t understand him, maybe he wasn’t scorning her. Perhaps he was curious. Dragons couldn’t be burned by fire, otherwise how did they breathe it?
She registered the pressure upon her
cheek but not the full extent of the touch. Her hand traveled up to
brush against the fine white fur. “Do you remember me?”
⊰ ♞ ⊱ —— The dragon was no fool, he was quick to realize that his ancient tongue was lost on her; seemingly, she could only speak the human language Hatori himself never bothered to pick up. This would be troublesome indeed, trying to communicate with a fair, young maiden with a language barrier as large as he was. Yes, this would be tricky, but doable all the same.
His wet, warm nose pressed to cheek once more before he pulled away enough, nodding with his elongated neck. Yes, of course he remembered her. How could he forget? Memories of that night haunted him even now, her visage burned into his memory. Bowing his head, he wished to show her submission, and that she had no reason to fear. He was no enemy and no threat to her, she was free to do as she pleased.
“*Dreh ni faas zey, kiir,” Hatori murmured, more for himself than her. “**Zu’u seik nid aax.” No, she was safe here, perhaps more so than even down in the village.
Even despite her bag of jewels that was catching his attention, and his ever-growing curiosity, Hatori wished for her to not feel as if she needed to present him with presents. Though to an untrained (human) eye, his cave may be barren or perhaps even gaudy with nothing but the pile of jewels towards the back of his home, but Hatori was right proud of it.
After all, the pride of a dragon was unrivaled.
The creature wished to show her around his cave, particularly, he wished to show off the pile of treasure he had amassed over the centuries. Turning on his claws, he began padding quietly and towards the back of his cave, motioning with his head for her to follow. His long tail wrapped around her waist, gently encouraging her to follow.
⊰ ♞ ⊱ —— It was the quiet moments like this that he enjoyed; it had taken awhile to grow comfortable enough to sit on her bed like this. Something about sitting on the bed of one of his students in her dorm room after-school hours felt entirely lewd, but it wasn’t long before he was able to relax a bit and lay back with her. Of course, he had sneaked in as inconspicuously as he could into her tiny, little one-roomed apartment, and once he was able to relax in the solace of knowing they were alone, he partook in a bit of cuddles with his new partner.
It had gone quiet between them, neither he nor she were particularly talkative. The physician rather enjoyed the silent moments, his arm wrapped around her as she nuzzled into his chest. Yes, this was certainly worth all the hassle of trying to hide their budding love from the prying eyes of his colleagues and her classmates.
This made every moment and every precaution they took absolutely worth it.
After a few calming minutes, he glanced down towards her and smiled a bit, pleased to find that her amethyst hues were blinking slowly, dancing along that cusp of sleep. Hanako was incredibly endearing in everything she did, but Hatori truly thought that a sleep Hanako was perhaps his very favorite Hanako. It was much too enchanting. Captivating.
Ever so gently, he tiled her chin upwards with his long, deft fingers, just enough to be able to place the smallest, sweetest peck to her forehead. Just a small affection, a succinct one, but meaningful all the same. She had been around him long enough to decode his very prim and proper ways, just as he had learned to read between the lines with her. This was a special moment, one that needn’t be spoiled by whispered words or confessions of love.
No, that could be saved for another time. Right now, all he wanted was to relish in the feeling of her soft skin under his lips, and her silky, heliotrope locks tickling his nose. Sighing happily, he gave her a small squeeze, giving her one last peck on her cheek.
✿–; Warmth spread through her chest and she
quietly beheld the older man. Eyelashes fluttered against her flushed
cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her ear. He was smiling and she happily beheld the doctor. She smiled in her own cute Hanako way and shook her head, “No.” She toyed idly with her saucer and continued, “You have…No-no reason to to to uhh…Apolllooogize.” She’d been doing her best not to slur her words but failed at the final one. “I don’t I don’t really, mind, at all.”
{♞} — Hatori chuckled quietly as Hanako drawled the final word of her sentence out; it was entirely much too endearing, only amplified by the doctor’s own intoxicated state. Rising up from the table, he carefully extended a hand out towards her. “I believe we’ve had enough, Hanako. Here, let me walk you home.” The dormitory was just down the street, and Hatori had planned to make sure she made it back to her room safely after their little celebration.
✿–;
The wood of her sandal clapped against
her feet as she slowly but surely made her ascent up the mountain. The stones beneath her feet echoed with each movement and she stood at the mouth of the cave as the wind behind her whipped through her dark hair and she peered into the abyss. Small hands clung to the offering before her and the sleeves of her yukata billowed briefly. Another was upon her back.
Years of the beast tales swam through her head and she tentatively stood. The light caught his hoard and she took a step back. Hanako believed herself to be a logical girl. She readily accepted facts and truths but longed and wished for those that were beyond the realm of her understanding. As he shifted her heart stopped and she quietly waited though for what she was uncertain.
The scent of smoke shocked her and she moved in closer. One step, then another just a little bit away from the entrance she stood in the threshold as the uninvited guest she was. Hanako held her breath and she watched him move. Kissed by moon beams his scales shone and glistened like the reflection of the lunar orb upon a river.
She watched him watch her and canted her head to the side in tandem as wonder filled her marred face. “…I was…afraid all this
time…when people…People left things down below…someone else
was…taking it but it looks like it’s you,” it truly was. Hanako
knelt which lead into a bow before she untied the satchel that rested upon her back with a small king’s ransom. She rested the one she’d been holding upon her lap and quietly began to untie it.
{♞} — Dragon bowed his head a bit, a sign of submission as he listened closely to her words. It had been decades since he last had a visitor, but he could discern her human tongue without too much trouble. He inched closer to her, carefully planned steps as the girl knelt down to the ground, his curiosity getting the better of him as he caught hint of glimmer coming from that old satchel of hers. The moonlight caught a bit of gold, and the dragon was suddenly very intrigued by his new, unexpected guest.
“*Mun kiir, hi lost bo pah daar ven wah kelnat hin ofanaat ko jor?” The beast drawled, the words growled out quietly from his throat. The soft, deep words echoed off the damp walls of his cave. Another step or two and he was just a few feet away from her now, towering over the pathetically small human before him. Grey eyes focused on her hands as she shakily dug through her leather bag, and it was then that he noticed that what he had previously perceived as painted markings were, in fact, just her marred skin.
Hatori snorted again, smoke rolling from his nostrils in waves. His long neck craned, his head bending down and using his long snout to nudge at her chin. Encouraging the girl to tilt her head back a tad, the pale, glowing moonlight caught the scarred side of her face, and he was able to examine it closely.
“**Kiir, hi los ahraan,” Hatori noted pointedly, a bit of concern lacing his dragon tongue. “***Aalkos hi los gein do vogaan wo aus nol sahsun yol decenninum vod?”
It seemed like just a few days ago he swooped down to the village after nightfall; a fire ravaged the stone and wooden home mercilessly. The second the creature had seen smoke billowing in the wind from atop his mountain, he sprang into action. He had torn through the roof and snatched up the tiny human child he found inside. Carrying her in his mouth, he placed her outside the home engulfed in flames. He returned again to rescue the other humans inside, but he had been too late. The much larger, older anthropoids had already passed, their bodies charred and smoldering by the time the dragon had stumbled upon them. The flames were already dying down, soon to fizzle out. Ashamed, he guiltily slunk off into the night and back to his mountain, remorseful that he had arrived so late. He was able to save the human offspring , but her progenitors perished. It was an unspeakable oversight.
That was a decade ago, a blink of an eye in his lifetime. It was enough to make him shudder.
Realizing she didn’t understand his ancient dragon tongue, the creature sighed. How was he going to be able to communicate to the child? His cold, wet nose pressed against her cheek, the one with marred and wrinkled scar tissue. Perhaps she would understand that he was trying to ask her about her scars.
*Human child, you have come all this way to deliver your offering in person? **Child, you are wounded. ***Perhaps you are one of the few who suffered from the village fire a decade ago?
{♞} — It was odd for someone to be here like this; humans often didn’t stray this far up the mountain. No doubt, she must have been a child born in the village down below. Hatori had watched that village for hundreds of years, he’d seen the celebration of birth, and the funerals that came later- only in the blink of an eye for him. Human lives were so pitifully short. Still, he remained as the silent guardian and watched over the little settlement protectively. No one had dared come up to his home- that was, until today.
The girl was tiny. A pathetically petite human, he was nearly the size of the home she dwell in. She stood at the opening of his cave, the empty, stalagmite and stalactite-filled burrow filled only with a pile of shiny gems and glittering pieces of jewelry he had hoarded over the years. Most of which were small tokens and offerings from the village at the base of the mountain. He assumed they were trying to repay him for showing them mercy, not attacking the little town- but he would never do so, gifts or not. Hatori was not violent, all he cared to do was laze around in his cave and admire his treasures. He was a simple creature… But that didn’t answer as to why she’d come this far to visit him.
Rising up slowly from the gleaming pile, the dragon snorted. Puffs of thick fog was exhaled from his nostrils, and the long, snake-like body of his uncurled and stretched. Slowly, the quadrupedal creature inched towards her, large grey eyes trained on the visitor. The closer he drew to her, the more he was able to make out some strange markings along the the side of the girl’s body- some kind of ritual, perhaps? Humans could be so odd.
The dragon towered over her, staring down at the girl curiously. His head cocked to the side, as if prompting her to state her business. He’d spent years listening to the humans below. While he could understand human tongue, he himself could not speak it. His ancient tongue had long since gone extinct. A crooked, chicken-like claw padded at the stone floor of the cave, a bit impatiently. kabenohanako
✿–; Hanako’s face was flushed. A delicate warmth moved in her chest and she nodded shyly once. Her dark hair bobbed and she mumbled, “…Yes. Yes please.” Hanako offered his saucer and she waited for him to pour.
{♞} — Hatori smiled a bit drunkenly, the expression much less controlled than usual, and even a tad silly. The sake was warming him up, the doctor was used to his scotch-induced buzzed, but this was nice too. Perhaps it was so nice
because of the company, and not the booze, however.
Hanako looked cute flushed like that, Hatori noted. It was almost enough to make him chuckle. “I… I’m not holding my alcohol well tonight, Hanako. I do apologize.”
“Hanako,” Hatori breathed, glancing down at the cake she’d baked for him with widened eyes. He hardly expected her to even remember his birthday, none the less do something special for him. He’d spent the entire morning avoiding phone calls and staying as far from the estate as he possibly could- the doctor wasn’t a fan of birthdays, particularly not when he was finally turning thirty. Choosing to avoid everyone was easiest, but as per usual, she could always find a way into his defenses.
After a moment, he cracked a smile, letting his walls drop for her. The cake looked delicious, she’d done a wonderful job at decorating it. Hanako even wrote his name on it. He almost liked his name, at least, the way she wrote it. Reaching down, he couldn’t help himself. Stroking a bit of the chocolate icing onto his index finger, (from the side, he didn’t wish to ruin his beautifully written name on the top of the confection), he licked it off his finger and smiled. “And my suspicions were correct. It’s delicious, Hanako. You even remembered that I prefer bitter chocolate.” Using the same finger, he scooped a bit more up and extending his hand out towards her, the icing on his index fingers hovering just in front of her lips.
✿–; “…Sensei. I never…Really went out like this. Not before. I-it’s kind…It’s kind of n-nice.”
{♞} — Hatori smiled at her a bit from across the table, watching as she moved to cover her face with her hands. “Oh? I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Your company has been quite nice, Hanako.” Reaching over for the sake, he held it up. “May I pour you another drink?”
A Grumpy Little Dragon 