The passing days were less hectic than Henry had anticipated. He had braced himself for the tough times he would face due to his selfishness of bringing along an unseasoned individual into a world where might defines what was right. Only the fittest shall survive in this unforgiving world. He dreaded the hardships that would befall him and Yula.
However, the days passed without any hardship that was no different than a mere bump in the road. Yula’s ever-growing mastery of her shadow powers was a huge boost to the quality of their lives. Though her powers’ destructiveness wasn’t the level of Henry, what she lacked in firepower, she made up with precision and grace. She would handle things and matters that required a delicate touch. With her shadows, she was able to make various tools, objects, and instruments, by carving them out of stones or wood.
Over the course of a week, she had made various cooking utensils and cutleries. It made cooking easier and more enjoyable. Eating with plates and cutleries also reduced the mess made but the tradeoff was the increase in the consumption of water.
Food was easy to come by. Due to some unknown reasons, animals of delectable flesh and meat had been swarming into the forest in droves. Deers, cows, goats, oxen, boars, and just about any kind of animals that would taste great once their meat was on a grill. Henry wasn’t complaining due to the influx of good meat but he was worried about the reason behind such a fortunate occurrence.
The animals and beasts were never an issue even if they came in large a herd or horde.
Water was, by far, the toughest challenge they had faced, but not to an impossible degree. Unlike Henry, Yula didn’t have the stamina to travel back and forth between their abode and the pond where they got their water from. To lessen the severity of this issue, Yula made containers for water, such as cups, buckets, and barrels, all crafted from wood with the use of her shadow powers.
Yula had also made beds for herself and Henry. Prior to his couple's life, Henry had been sleeping on solid ground. But with the addition of Yula, he could no longer do that, or at least he couldn't allow Yula to sleep on the ground. The main reason was the ground was too uncomfortable for sleeping and their mating sessions, with the latter being the more important reason. Every night, without fail, they spent at least two hours exchanging the intense heat and great passion of their love and lust through their bodies.
Of course, Henry had assumed his human form first before doing the act. His cock was smaller due to him now being in the body of a teenager but he was still quite large in comparison to Yula’s flowery cunt. In spite of so, that didn’t stop Yula from pestering Henry to indulge in her dangerous kink and that was to fuck her in his Dragon form. Henry had repeatedly rejected this absurd request of hers. It was just plain impossible as Yula was only a size larger than his rod while he was in his Dragon Form.
On an off note, Henry discovered the queer side of Dragon's biology. A Dragon's private part was normally concealed inside a slit located on the crotch. It only came out when the need to excrete or breed arose.
Overall, aside from Yula’s neverending pestering of such an absurd request, their lives were peaceful and threats from nature never went beyond what they couldn’t handle. However, Henry knew that a storm was most likely brewing out of their sights and once it came, it would come within a blink of an eye.
Today was a morning like any other. Henry had just secured the water they needed for the day. He was currently out hunting for their meals and patrolling the perimeter of his territory. Yula was staying back at the cave, indulging herself in making more and more useful tools and objects out of wood and stone. She had also made a few sculptures for decorative purposes. Just yesterday, she had carved out a queer-looking greatsword she had seen in an Anime. Henry decided to leave her to it and handle the morning routine by himself, not that he needed any help in the first place.
She’s quick to adapt. Maybe I should be worried about her surpassing me rather than her being a burden. How complacent and naive of me.
Henry mused in wonder as he sauntered along the edge of his territory, which was made clear by a line carved into the ground using his claws. He saw quite a few minor beasts getting frightened by the sight of the line alone and scampered off before he even came close.
They may not be bright but they are not utter idiots. Their animal instincts are really working in my favour.
Satisfied with the result, Henry continued in his hunt and patrol. He began humming a tune he remembered by chance. It was a tune from Earth but he could not remember the name or the artist. He could only remember the tune. In the midst of his pointless deliberation, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the line that defined his territory was cut off by what appeared to be hoof tracks.
Henry could tell the tracks were new and whatever it was, it had entered his territory quietly. From the tracks alone, Henry knew the trespasser was larger than the recent animals that had wandered into his territory. He let them wander since they were his food supply. But this trespasser was obviously not as tame as the others. The silver lining was that the trespasser was no bigger than Henry himself.
Henry tried searching for the trespasser’s scent but the winds were blowing from the other direction. With the winds being unhelpful, he sorted to tracing the tracks. The tracks were not straight but gradually veered to the left.
That’s where the lake is. A thirsty fellow but why all the way here?
Along the way of tracing the trespasser’s tracks, he discovered drops of blood accompanying some of the tracks.
It is hurt. Hmm… it was running from something.
Henry concluded. There was the only possibility he could arrive at given the clues he had so far. As followed the tracks further, the blood drops also became more abundant, to the point that Henry doubted the trespasser would even live long.
Henry got his answer when he emerged from the trees and found a relatively gigantic ox with two pairs of eyes, lying dead near the edge of the lake. It had a big and nasty wound on the side of its body, seemingly made by large claws. Henry drew close to the dead ox and sniffed at its wound.
This scent… A Wyvern? Another one? The mate of the one I killed? But everything's quiet. A monster of that size would have been loud and brazen with its movements. Something’s wrong.
Henry stuck his arm into the ox’s carcass through the large gaping wound. He rummaged around, feeling for anything solid with a smooth yet coarse surface. After a few short seconds, his claws stumbled upon that feeling. He gripped that object tight and pulled it out of the carcass.
Jackpot!
Henry exclaimed in his heart as he held up the Murux Heart of the ox to the sun. It was around the size of a quarter of his palm. It was quite large in comparison with the other Murux Heart he had consumed. Like the others, the Murux Heart melted in his mouth straight away once he consumed it. As he had barely expended any of his stamina or Murux, he didn’t experience any initial changes.
As Henry was about to leave, he noticed the ox had another wound. It was on its right hind limb. There was something gleaming in the wound. He dug the shiny object out of the wound and brought it close to his eyes for inspection.
An arrowhead? Made of smooth stone… A person did this… Working with a Wyvern? No, the Wyvern might be the person’s mount but how did they manage to tame a Wyvern?
The answer came as quickly as an arrow.
Rayne… Daughter of a bastard. You are a pain in my neck.
Henry gritted his fangs, his claws balling into fists.
The surface of the lake began to bubble and ripple. Henry barely paid any heed as he could already tell what was lurking underneath the water. Or rather, who was lurking underneath.
“I know it’s you, Sarynn. Show yourself immediately or don’t make your presence known at all.”
The lake’s surface broke apart and a serpent with gleaming dark blue scales erupted from the water. “As expected from my husband. You can tell it’s me even with just a small hint of my presence.”
“I’m your husband only in your delusions. And I remember telling you to make yourself scarce from my territory.”
Sarynn tittered. “Which I did, dear husband of mine. As far as I’m concerned, I’m in my own territory.”
“This lake is in my territory.”
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“That doesn't mean it is yours. I have been ruling the waters long before you came to be. It is by my grace that you are ruling this territory in peace.”
“Well then, I appreciate what you have done. Stalk me all you wish as my payment and gratitude but make one harmful move against me or my woman, I’ll see to it that you would regret it.”
Sarynn scoffed. “I would never harm you nor your women. Fortunately for you, I am a tolerant sort. I look forward to you gathering more women into your harem.”
“Shouldn’t you be jealous instead of being encouraging?”
“Why would I be jealous?”
“Why would you be jealous? Are you serious with that question?”
“Quite serious. I understand it’s something to be jealous about, according to humans, but I never could understand why.”
“Doesn’t it make you angry seeing your mate loving another woman in front of you?”
“If the woman is an outsider, yes, I would be angry. But if the woman is a fellow bride and sister-wife, why should I be?”
Henry stared at Sarynn for a while before giving up explaining with a heavy sigh. He realised how futile it was to apply human logic to the mindset of a monster. Animal's concept of marriage and relationships were vastly different to humans’ own in the first place. He remembered reading about female mantises taking the heads of the males after they’re done breeding. It was common for the mantises but that concept was extremely bizarre for humans. Not that he was one to say anything about it considering he was a Dragon.
This whole love and relationship affairs were seriously putting a huge strain on his mind.
“If your refusal is due to concern of me being jealous about your other mate, then you need not be. I will treat her like a sister.”
“That’s not why I rejected you,” Henry snapped Sarynn out of her assumption.
“Then what is the reason for your rejection? Is it my appearance? If that’s the case, I can take on a form that is to your liking.”
“I’m rejecting you because I don’t feel a connection with you. Unlike with you, I can feel a bond between me and Yula the moment our eyes meet. I knew she was to be my mate at that moment. But for you, I don’t feel anything for you.”
“Oh, goddess!” Sarynn swooned. “How direct of you… You’re breaking this maiden’s heart…”
“Maiden? How old are you to still be calling yourself a maiden?”
There was a sharp glint in Sarynn’s gaze as her eyes warped with anger.
“Oh, shit,” Henry muttered as he hopped out of range right before Sarynn smashed the ground where he had been a second ago with her tail. “What’s the meaning of this?” Henry growled.
“You dare ask me why?” Sarynn growled back. Her gaze was laced with fury.
“Why wouldn’t I dare? Depending on your answer, I might just respond accordingly.”
“You made an assumption of a maiden’s age! That’s why!”
“....”
“You think I’m joking?”
“...Nope, not at all. I think you are completely serious.”
“Never question a maiden’s age ever again,” Sarynn warned.
“I won’t. I apologise. It was very rude of me.”
Sarynn huffed in derision but she reined in her anger nonetheless. “I will accept your apology but only under the conditions that you accept me as your mate.”
Henry stared with a deep frown of annoyance. “No way, you old hag.”
Fury returned to Sarynn’s gaze. “It would seem that you love the company of death.”
“If that’s all it took to rouse your anger and have you bare your fangs at me, all the more reason that I should not accept you as my mate.”
Sarryn was about to lunge at Henry but his words stopped her movements.
Henry raised an eyebrow. He was fully ready to fight back when he said those words. The sudden dissipation of her anger was unexpected.
“You are right, Henry. To be roused by mere words, I am unbefitting to be your mate. Excuse me,” Sarynn said with a downtrodden gaze and swiftly disappeared into the lake.
“...What the fuck was that all about?” Henry muttered to no one in particular.