I was so close to getting the Dari piece ready to be posted first this month, so close... but the crippling hold of my pounding headache won out, so you get some Rheal instead.

I can't remember if this one got a proper read through edit,and I can't remember what extent of vorish happenings happen, if any... again, pounding headache... so, I hope you enjoy it anyway. This story is the last I have planned for Rheal at the moment... I do intend to continue but, well, when I come up with more ideas... got the bare seeds of a couple... but given the title, I'll let the suspense take full root in your minds

If you want to see my work earlier, check out some of my non-writing projects in production, or just give a dragon a snack, why not check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=9679574


Rheal the Exiled
It was delicate work, the piecing together of broken pottery, particularly in this case. Johan could feel the ache of fatigue on mind and spirit as he carefully glued another piece into the reassembled pot. It was tedious work, stressful work. Largely because he had no care about the artistic value of the pot, what he wanted was the words that had been carved into it.
Mottled brown, the pot was from a dig out to the east of the capital, an old tribe that lived in the brackish marshland where the land submerged into the sea. It was a land of humidity, he was told. And a world where the trees were pathways and homes. Paper had never been something those people discovered, they lacked solid rock, and had not discovered ink either… all their stories, their history, had been written in their pottery instead… but even that was of low quality, hence the fragments he had been poring over all day. How he craved rest, but he knew if he stopped, he’d never get back into this task, it was too agonising and dull while steeped in stress. These people had a damnably precise language. The difference between some symbols was so very slight… the breakage alone might force him to mistranslate, and he could not afford a piece even a hair out of place, else what was the point…
The fragment held by his tweezers shot out of grip with the clench of his hand, as with no tact the door to his office flew open with a bang. A graceless leap saved the piece, but not his shoulder as he hit the floor, biting back curses as he fixed the intruder with the full fury of his glare.
He forced that look to soften immediately. He knew the man in the doorway, shrunken with age, yet powerful enough to kick a door like that, the man’s physique, though worn still told a story of the life of strength and power he had lived before. Yet, Johan wasn’t sure what that job had been… something suitably manly he didn’t doubt… He tried not to smirk at the little internal jab, easing back to his seat and moving the delicate pottery somewhere it was less likely to be broken before speaking
“And to what do I owe the honour of receiving our, illustrious leader’s presence?”
“You bookish types do so enjoy throwing scorn at those who do what a man is supposed to do in life, now don’t you” the town’s, largely self-appointed mayor had a deep voice, which some might call commanding, despite his aging years. Johan didn’t doubt that under the far from humble attire, the man still had the strength to beat him to the floor… and the eagerness. Brutes.
“And the rule by muscle types just love degrading those who study, when their lives don’t depend on it” Johan leaned back on his chair, fixing the older man a steely look “How’s your back? The doctor has a fine touch, doesn’t he? I hear he trained in the capital”
“That, is useful learning” the man spoke firm, but Johan had a little spike of pleasure watching a hand moving to the man’s back…
“To you. My learning is useful to others” Johan noted “I’m sure our illustrious mayor wouldn’t be showing favouritism to only some of the townsfolk… so why don’t you get this conversation over with, so you can go back to barking orders and I can get back to work?” He let a little emphasis drip over his last word, and for a moment had a flash of fear the mayor might strike him, but the deepening scowl ebbed his mirth all the same.
“Three of those townsfolk have gone missing, recently. The only connection, would be that they all went outside the town, the day after that dragon of yours flew off”
Johan’s face fell, a cold weight pooling in his stomach. Rheal. The huge, golden brown dragon he had grown so fond of “and why would he be behind it? He’s been visiting here for months and hasn’t eaten anyone” none of the town anyway, Johan reflected. Rheal was no puppy, he was big, he had an appetite, and he did eat humans… but… he was no mindless beast, he had motives, plans. He brandished Johan for the purpose of archaeology like Johan brandished a brush. He’d even agreed to… try at least, not to eat anyone while Johan could see it. Surely, Rheal wouldn’t change his mind about leaving the town alone, would he?
“We found dragon tracks” the mayor spoke slowly, his words precise, cutting “and a rather familiar scale rubbed off against a tree. And we found their remains… or what was left afterwards. A dragon had them for lunch”
“Rheal leaves the town alone” Johan asserted “He sees it as my nest, my kin. He fears offending me, I’m useful to him” his mind was racing… would Rheal eat such people? Not in town… but outside of town? He’d made it clear, outside towns, humans were fair game… and if he was hungry enough. Johan felt a chill to his cheeks as the blood drained. He had no doubts. If Rheal was hungry enough, he’d eat them. Heck, if Rheal got hungry enough, the dragon would eat him…
“We have never had this before” The mayor leaned in closer, his breath had the distinct aroma of rotting apples… “this region has no dragon that calls it territory, so your dragon is the only one around”
“He’s not my dragon” Johan grunted “He’s a dragon, a dragon who came here one day, and everyone here merrily handed me over to him. I could have been eaten, I’m lucky I wasn’t, we’re all lucky we weren’t. But he’s not the type to go back on his word. And he has made it clear, he won’t hunt us here”
Johan felt terrible… how could he doubt Rheal… but, how could he not?
“The dragon is not welcome here… his presence has been tolerated, he had been harmless, till now. We had no wish to anger a dragon, but Not I, not any of the town intend to sit and be gradually munched through. If he returns, you will tell him to leave and never return. And if he does come back… if he resumes hunting, we will dispose of him”
“You can’t do that” Johan rose from his chair, and was glad that at least he had the height advantage on the shorter man “He had done naught but good for town… the dangers of his tail to carts aside, and you have no proof he’s done anything”
“He’s a dragon… he is dangerous enough already” The mayor grunted “Who cares what happens to a dragon? I’d sooner kill the beast than risk a human life” The mayor jabbed a finger to Johan’s table “human lives are more important, than anything” he met Johan’s eye, there was a deep-set certainty, a blinkered edge in the short man’s cold eyes “except the lives of those who would stand in the way of us being rid of a threat”
Johan all but growled, but the mayor was already leaving… oh he wanted to chase the man, explain everything wrong, ethically, and logically with that argument… but he knew there was no point… no… he’d better look compliant. Tired, he fell back into his seat, and rubbed his hands down his face. Rheal… he had such mixed feelings about the dragon. He spared a look to his wall. He had, in a little frame, a single, shield-shaped scale. It was about as wide as his palm, golden in colour. One of Rheal’s that had shed. He hoped Rheal hadn’t done this. But, he believed it when he was told a dragon ate them… if they’d found human remains in… the remains of a dragon meal, what was there to say? Unless Rheal really had left his… leavings, human filled leavings in the woods…
Johan felt a bittersweet solace. Yes… maybe that was it. Rheal might relieve himself in the woods after he… ate someone, somewhere else. That would be innocent, or, innocent in these disappearances anyway. Unless what was found was more than just human remains, but anything, distinctly identifying…
He groaned. Anger was burning up the last dregs of energy that had survived the ordeal of that infernal pot… He eased off his chair and locked the door before dropping into his bed. It was late… It had been five days since Rheal had last visited… he was due a visit soon…

“What do you know about this?” Johan leaned to the doorframe of his boss’s office, an apple for his breakfast half eaten in his hand, taking a fresh bite. The sugar was good, got his head working. He’d barely slept.
“Why should I know anything about it?” his employer spent a life trying to sell things. Of course, Johan knew his ticks.
“You itch at your palm when you’re nervous” Johan observed coolly, taking a bite of his apple, watching his boss with sharp eyes
“I know it looks bad for your dragon” his boss sat back on his chair, pushing aside the meaningless documents he had been pretending had some relevance when Johan first burst in
“Details, I heard they found the remains?” Johan pressed “A heap of sludge in the woods where a dragon goes is no evidence, I need to know why they’re so sure”
“They were looking for the missing lot, found the… ugh, you know. Still steaming, they dug in, enough bits of bone to identify three people. More important, metal went right through the beast”
Johan’s heart sank “what sort of metal?”
“One of the missing was this young thing, the herbalist’s student, you know the girl? She wore this clasp in her hair to keep it back when she was in the woods. That found that buried deep”
Johan nodded slowly. That was unfortunate. Too fresh to be as Rheal was leaving last time, and if one of the people missing went through a dragon, and there were two other victims in the mess…
“So, they really were eaten by a dragon” Johan eyed his apple and tossed it out the window into the grass. He’d lost his appetite
“Horrible way to go” his boss added
Johan considered disagreeing but wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to know the answer, really, but he assumed it was either hellish or quick, depending how long a human could survive in that acid cauldron… He knew the idea of disappearing beneath a dragon’s scales, just… eaten. It made him shudder, with a fervour he felt from little else. There was something about being eaten, that sparked a strong reaction in most… instinctive he supposed.
“I also heard they found one of Rheal’s scales”
“Tree nearby the heap, lodged in the bark… a few there actually”
Johan considered the information… “Like cats, sometimes dragons rub themselves to things for scenting reasons… or it could be accidental due to size… of course… where they… do their leavings implies possession also”
“That’s how they found it… that hill has a strong breeze across it, carries, scent”
Johan’s stomach turned. He was glad he hadn’t discovered it… it sounded, horrifying, that sheer volume of, excess, with evidence a human like yourself, used to be it.
He looked down, considering the scenarios where it wasn’t Rheal… there were still some, but it was narrowing. Predation, it was the weak point, the thing which brought issue between him and Rheal. He accepted much about the dragon, but… the predatory side. Nature put him as a prey thing to a dragon like Rheal. He tried to forget that… any reminder got his instincts riled, commanding he stay away from the… friendly, bumbling, happy dragon. The dragon who with a single snap of his jaws and a swallow could reduce Johan to so much waste, flecked with bone… He shuddered again.
His heart felt like it cartwheeled, up, then down, then up again as he heard, a thud… the more, distance but becoming audible… wings. Rheal.
“Sounds like the beast is back for seconds”
Johan shot his boss a look, and the man shrugged “There aren’t any other dragons here. Not a single sighting for centuries. Face it Johan, chances are, your dragon got peckish and ate the first unlucky things to pass its muzzle… namely, some of us”
“That’s a possibility” Johan admitted… it felt, better to admit it… “but… not the only option”
“You told me once, he doesn’t care about humans”
“I never said that” Johan noted, peering out the window as the glorious, handsome… suspected dragon came in to land just outside the town… he looked as cheery as ever “But I did say he wouldn’t give eating a human any more thought than he’d give eating anything else… when he needed to eat”

Clearing his head was difficult. Johan wasted no time hurrying out, so he could greet Rheal as the dragon came in. Even from the buildings he worked in, he could see the large reptile sauntering into the entrance of the town, sitting just within its borders. That long, curious muzzle, blunt but triangular head pointing like an arrow to whatever took his interest. People were, moving away… though that wasn’t new. Maybe there was a little more urgency.
Still, he could see Rheal wasn’t advancing in, or eating anyone… so he took a little time, trying to think how he should ask the dragon. If he came right out, Rheal might just deny it then close up… that would tell him nothing, he had to try and gently cajole it out of the dragon. But what if Rheal had eaten those people… what then? That was the difficult one… he could accept the dragon had to eat, could accept that meant, sometimes a human… was eaten. But, what he couldn’t stand was feeling responsible for it… if Rheal had eaten some of his town, coming to visit… where did his loyalties lie… with the town, or with the dragon…
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a large half barrel full of water being taken towards the gate… it struck him as odd… when he realised it was also the direction of Rheal, concern flared. He hurried his pace, eying the two men carrying it as they put it before Rheal, the dragon obligingly lowering his snout. The way Rheal’s head bobbed, and those glowing eyes took in the two… Johan guessed they were being thanked, but… he approached Rheal faster. Exchanging a look with the two coming the other way. An unfriendly look.
Rheal was licking his chops, tongue probing down. Johan half leapt the last step and pushed his palm up into the squishy wetness of Rheal’s tongue. A drop of dragon saliva dripping into the water. Rheal’s huge eyes rolled up from the drink to Johan, the huge glowing orbs puzzled, but compliantly the tongue withdrew till Johan’s palm was against scaly lip, and the head rose away.
“I’m thirsty” Rheal noted, a remorseful edge to his voice.
“Did you ask them for water?”
“No… they just brought it to me”
“And you were going to drink it?” Johan demanded
He saw the dragon’s sharp ears pin back against his horns, head cocking “yes…? Humans often bring me things, even if I don’t ask… they want me to like them, what’s wrong?”
Johan sighed out a breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding, and pushed the barrel aside “It’s complicated, Rheal, just, please don’t drink that”
He eyed the barrel… was it poisoned? Had he saved Rheal only from quenching his thirst, or from a painful death foaming at the mouth… He wondered if he was paranoid, but, the herbalist had lost his student… if he was emotional and blaming Rheal… well, a drop of the right poison could kill someone, a few drops of something deadly in a barrel… that could kill a dragon or make it very sick. Sick enough to starve to death, perhaps. He didn’t dare risk it.
Rheal huffed, a shorter sound than Johan had heard before… the language of the dragons was still novel to him, but it sounded distressed.
“Look, lets get out of here. There’s something I need to talk to you about”
He got a snort as answer, but Rheal flared his wings, vast taloned paw scooping Johan from the ground like a ragdoll before leaping, wings carrying him up, and away from the town. The wind off his wings blowing the barrel over into a bush as the dragon rose away from the town, gliding lazily over the plains.

It didn’t help Johan’s nerves that Rheal had chosen a hillside as his perch, the same range where the people had… been taken. Rheal often flew in this direction. From the perch, he could see the town, distant and small. The ground trembled beneath his backside, as Rheal padded around, finding a comfy spot to drop his body onto.
Johan could never get enough of admiring Rheal. He had, admittedly, found himself reading more about dragons since Rheal first dropped into his life. He could see the traits of his colouring and ridges that showed to other dragons that he was male, and strong. A ridge down the length of his snout, the length of the spiky frill around his jaw, the spacing of the patterns along his limbs, even the length of his tail and the length of the blade. Rheal was strong indeed, healthy… he’d have a good appetite.
Rheal’s long muzzle settled beside Johan, a cheeky, plaintive glance from those eyes which got Johan scratching under and behind the jowls, earning a purr that numbed his fingers.
“Now will you tell me what is going on?” Rheal asked, tail curling along Johan’s side, surrounding him in dragon. Johan considered the gesture. Possessive. It was conflicting, to be, friends with Rheal but also know that, to a way, the dragon felt ownership.
“Nothing you need worry about… I just thought that water might make you sick… I’d not trust the water in the village for a while”
Rheal’s purr ebbed into a low hum “you aren’t going to get sick, are you? What is wrong with the water?”
“I’ll be fine” Johan reassured the dragon, though… something the mayor had said… maybe he should turn down offered water too… “it’s not a big problem, just… you shouldn’t take anything they offer you”
“Your words give me worry, Johan” Rheal huffed, drawing his head away from the grooming, snout hovering above, eyes boring down into his small companion “is your river polluted? We could look upstream?”
“No… it’s not, but, you’d do that?”
Rheal’s wings flicked, sharply, irritation? “Why not? All you humans getting sick and dying wouldn’t be good”
“Rheal…” Johan began, musing how best to approach “May I ask when you last ate, and what?”
“You wouldn’t like knowing” Rheal observed, settling his head down again
“you mean… humans”
“mmm…” Rheal glanced to Johan again “in my defence, I passed it over the first time I spotted it, but it was hopelessly lost, either I ate it or something else would, and I couldn’t spot another meal”
Johan nodded slowly, and hesitated “just one? When was this?”
“Two days ago,” Rheal reflected after a moment “I finished with him this morning” Rheal yawned, licking his chops “then I flew here”
Johan was considering the numbers, hope flaring “Rheal, early this week, a few people went missing from our village… they found the remains yesterday, they were eaten by a dragon”
Rheal’s ears perked, head raising quick enough it almost wrenched Johan’s arm from the socket as he reached to stroke “Here?”
Johan nodded, sliding back till his rump hit Rheal’s tail, keeping away from the limbs and body… he knew it was best to stay away from the moving parts when Rheal was in a state of… excitement “the town suspects you”
Rheal’s sharpened ears dropped “it wasn’t me… I swear to you. I’ve wanted to, but… humans only let me close to their nest if I don’t eat any of them, I learnt that the hard way”
Relief seeped through Johan, soothing, like the world had been set right. The darker voices in him reminded that Rheal could be lying, but… he trusted Rheal to tell the truth. Besides, why would a dragon need lie to something he could stand on.
“It does my heart no end of good to hear that, Rheal” Johan petted the thick tail, eying how the tip twitched. He knew that one, agitation. “I told them you wouldn’t, but we haven’t seen any other dragons but you, and no dragon except you has been seen here in two centuries”
“No… it’s not a prize territory” Rheal mused, his emotions seeming to relax, he looked focussed, thoughtful, his eyes roaming the surroundings, looking “Too many humans. You have a habit of leaving the surrounding lands terribly barren of good prey. To live here, you need to feed on humans, or maybe the animals you cage, that’s where all the meat is collected. It’s more trouble than it’s worth”
“Good to know… but a dragon has eaten someone, three people actually”
“Three? Same feeding?”
Johan’s stomach twisted in a knot. He could never get over how casually Rheal reduced their lives to food… he guessed he didn’t spare any more thought for a pig… “seems like it”
“Might be about my age” Rheal seemed to muse “You haven’t seen him because he’s hunting you. You can’t make territory in human lands and be bold. You have to be subtle”
“I have to ask how you know that, Rheal” Johan murmured “and, ‘him’ how do you know the dragon is male?”
A, stifled huff escaped Rheal’s long, raised snout. He saw the nostrils flare, and a slight reddish hue darken the hide under his jaw “I, would know if it was a female. I would smell her. And I only repeat my lessons when I was young, and what elders tell me. Human lands are difficult. Humans gather food which is too easy to get, a dragon can get fat and lazy and weak… and at the same time, humans take predation personally. Do not just defend themselves, but with time, begin to hunt the dragon as well. Which can be difficult for a dragon who has become fat and weak on penned food”
Rheal drew in a deeper, long breath “mmph… to live in such a place, must not let humans know you are there, if possible, hide from sight, keep yourself exercised being subtle, keep your senses and instincts sharp” A breath snorted out through his nostrils “I smell him now…”
Johan scurried away as the dragon rose, suddenly, powerfully. Claws paws raking into the ground, tail sweeping, catching Johan and brushing him aside. Rheal stood, wings wide, muzzle pointed skywards as a roar tore from his fanged maw, savage and bestial, wings wide, beating as his voice echoed over the rocks and hills.
“Rheal… calm down” Johan grasped at his side… that tail, his ribs felt bruised. The dragon’s head swivelled, and he saw… a different pair of eyes to what he knew. They were wide, like a beast on the prowl with prey in its sight.
“Stay here, or you might get, squashed. It would defeat the point of driving this one away, if you were lost in the process”
Johan shook his head “I’m coming with you, Rheal… so calm down”
The dragon gave a new snort “I am sorry, Johan, but this is a matter for dragons, not humans”
“I’m safer with you” Johan shouted to be heard, gesturing an arm around them “you say he hunts from stealth… well, he just left his last meal and has yet to take another. You’re going to leave me, alone, on a hillside?”
He saw the tension on Rheal’s muscles relax instantly… three blinks, and his eyes had softened “you make a good point… like as not you’d be digesting in his stomach while he flew away from me…”
Rheal’s head turned, cocking a moment “he hasn’t roared back… there is a chance he’s already gone… stopped for a meal while he travelled”
“But you said you smelled him” Johan walked closer, hand nursing his side as he got closer to Rheal, avoiding the hips as the dragon sat himself back
“I smell his scent, very faint, I’d missed it till I focussed on it… forgive my reaction… I feel protective of this place, like it was my own territory… I do not want him here”
“Your concern is flattering at least” Johan smiled as he got close, petting Rheal’s forelimb “why don’t we follow your nose, slowly…”
The dragon nodded slowly, glancing to his human “you’re hurt…”
Johan waved a hand “just try not to hit me with your tail again, I’ll be fine…”
The ground quaked as Rheal’s belly hit down, the dragon crouching “Climb on, and hold with all your strength. I don’t want to grab you…”
As ever, the task of climbing such a creature as Rheal was daunting, but Johan grabbed to the scales of Rheal’s bunched hind limb, the first jump tricky till he could wiggle the toes of a foot between the heavy muscles… then it was easier to get onto the hip. Crawling tentatively up the dragon’s back, beneath a folded wing, even as the scaly floor he clambered up buckled and hardened as muscles beneath adapted to the dragon getting to his paws.
Johan took a spot behind Rheal’s neck quick as he could, holding as he was bounced with Rheal’s stride.
At first, he wondered why Rheal wasn’t flying, but, the progress a dragon’s gait made was apparent quickly. Soon they were amid the trees, on the rise where the remains had supposedly been found. A foul edged scent was becoming dominant, and the source soon came into view… Rheal didn’t get too close, thankfully, but the, disturbed dragon leavings were the source of the stink.
Johan covered his nose with one hand once he was convinced Rheal had settled. The dragon’s gaze was moving around the site, sniffing in the air. He didn’t know how the dragon could stand it.
Eventually Rheal snorted “he is making a claim, for sure… a strange one”
“How do you know?” Johan mumbled past his hand
“Simple… I, scented this spot, nothing so drastic, just rubbed to the trees, he has gone to lengths to smother my scent, it’s a challenge”
“I don’t understand” Johan probed “this isn’t your territory… how can he challenge it, and, why are you marking it?”
Rheal didn’t answer for a long moment, but glanced to Johan “Rheal… are you embarrassed?”
“No… just, trying to decide what I was doing” Rheal hummed a shifting note “If this was my territory, I’d circle the area I wished to claim, and mark the edges. Another dragon would find a mark, sniff to the left, the right, detect more, and realise they had hit a territory boundary. Normally, they would fly around it, unless they wished to challenge me… or at least, risk being driven out. It’s a sign of great disrespect to violate that line without permission…” Rheal nosed a tree “However… not all dragons have set territories, and those who do, do not always stay within the boundaries, so… sometimes you will find a more, distantly spotted line, a dragon’s… roaming routes. Marking out little spots where we like to stop and rest while travelling. Sometimes… if you make a territory, such spots will be within it… in such cases, you either leave them alone, which is the nice thing to do, give the dragon leave to return… and then confront them muzzle to muzzle about changing their routes… or, you do this” Rheal flicked his tail “this, is a very clear and simple, you are not welcome, signal”
Johan glanced past Rheal’s shoulder to the still rather tall mound of dragon waste “humans do the same thing sometimes, to give the exact same signal…”
“Really?” the tone of, revelation in Rheal’s voice told Johan he was going to regret that… not that it was untrue…
“So…” Johan pressed to change the subject “you said there was something strange about it”
“Yes…” Rheal cocked his head “he’s done this, but not marked out his territory… very rude indeed”
Johan considered Rheal’s words, seeking context inside his own mind “so, he hasn’t put down markers to say this is his territory, but he’s telling you to get lost anyway? I don’t know… like, if I was walking down a public street, and someone shouted at me to get lost?”
“Very rude” Rheal confirmed “If nothing else, if he wished to contest this route with me, it’s a direct challenge to me”
Johan felt, a very odd fear entering him. It was a fear, that was becoming common today… but which, till now he had never felt, nor expected to feel… fear over Rheal’s survival “Are you going to fight?”
“I hope to solve this matter with words” Rheal sighed a snort of breath through his nostrils “but, one so rude, there is a chance we may indeed fight”
Rheal rolled to his paws, padding down the slope, forcing Johan to quickly cling on for dear life once more “Rheal… I won’t want to see you hurt”
A deep chuckle answered him, a soothingly familiar, cheeky glance from Rheal, muzzle turning to eye Johan “are you doubting the strength of me, tiny human? Want to fight him in my stead? I’d count your battle in seconds, depending how long it took your bones to snap”
Johan petted the scales beneath him “like me you’re a scholar, we’re not known for our strength”
“But we are known for our guile” Rheal countered, flicking his wings “We will go somewhere open, and I will call him out”
“He didn’t come when you roared before”
A snap behind them drew Johan’s eyes immediately back. In time to see a smaller tree falling, ended with an angry whip of Rheal’s tail
“Last time I was being friendly. Trust me, Johan, I know what to say to make him come to me”

Concern only grew in Johan, as he started to realise what Rheal meant by somewhere open. The dragon wandered from the woodland, into the open plains where the town was situated. There was a good distance, but, they were in view. He hated how he felt, but, he wasn’t sure he liked being seen astride Rheal at the moment. Though what felt worse was how glad he was that Rheal was far enough away from the walls that, should they be so inclined, his people couldn’t throw things at them, or hurl insults instead.
“Rheal, are you sure you want to call this other dragon here? What if you do fight? Could the town be in threat?”
Rheal glanced to the human astride him, rumbling softly “trust me, my little human. Now… perhaps it would be best you slide down off my back, and, should things become violent… stay clear”
Worry was making Johan feel ill, but he slid down off the back of the dragon, flinching as a hind paw thudded to ground beside him. Rheal sat, head raising high. The thick scales tightened along the powerful neck before his head thrust up, jaws went wide… and he roared, a deep, savage sound that seemed, impossible to come from the playful, soft spoken Rheal. It was, more than a simple burst of sound… through the deafening boom there were ups, and downs, twists in the sound that Johan had to assume were the dragon equivalent of words… though he couldn’t guess what Rheal was saying. What he did know was… that sound would alert the whole town to what was going on…
It was a relief, when Rheal’s teeth clicked shut on his roar, the dragon relaxing himself a little, lowering his head and neck, easing his weight back to his haunches.
“So… what did you say?” Johan queried
Rheal’s eyes were almost back to their playful gleam when the dragon shot him a cheeky look “you’re better off not knowing. Suffice it to say he will be very, annoyed”
“I see…” he shook his head slowly, but any further prying was halted as his attention snapped to a distant reply, a roar. A shorted reply, less, booming tore from Rheal’s throat, before the dragon rumbled
“He comes…” Rheal eased to all four paws, taking a few steps from his human companion, eyes, seeming focussed on a distant copse of trees. Soon enough, a dragon padded out of them. A sleek, red creature… otherwise, Johan would admit he couldn’t tell much difference between the two… although this dragon was, more intimidating. Its stance low, tense, and aggressive as it approached Rheal’s stand.
Johan found himself moving out of sight behind Rheal, watching the golden-brown tail in its sweep. The dragons exchanged roars again, he didn’t need to know what they said, to know it wasn’t friendly. Then the red one lunged, it happened so fast, Johan only had time to feel terror. The hind legs launched the heavy beast, forepaws, talons raised launching for Rheal. One of Rheal’s hind paws came towards him, suddenly, the dragon seemed to, anticipate the attack, for he turned to his side a little, tail whipping up, catching under the jaw of the attacking red. Those talons came to ground, the head reeling, before Rheal’s thick tail swung back down onto the muzzle, bringing the red’s horned head to ground, unnervingly close to Johan, who finally got his legs to stumble back, away from the groaning muzzle.
Rheal padded away, and in an arc to face the red again, snorting “Leave, now, interloper… you have a point, this is not my territory… or, was not. It is now, and you, are not welcome”
Rheal’s tail suddenly came down, sweeping Johan to his hind leg, as the red dragon rose, hissing, but Rheal answered with a growl, and… the red backed off, wings flicking, before he leapt, rising, surging wings. Johan dared to relax
“Is he gone”
“He is” Rheal noted idly, tail resuming its casual swish “He was clumsy and slow to attack. I don’t think he’s ever fought another dragon before”
“Have you?” Johan looked up towards Rheal’s back… from his spot, so near, Rheal looked, especially large. He’d never seen Rheal as a fighter.
“not really… practice” Rheal hummed lightly “older siblings, you know how it is…” Rheal shot a bright smile down to Johan “so, back to the village? They may believe there is another dragon now”
Johan smiled, but, as Rheal turned to pad back for the village, and he followed, he found his smile ebbing a little. Had Rheal planned that? Had his little fight in view, on purpose? Maybe it was a minor little thing, but… he’d never really considered Rheal capable of… manipulation. Not… that big, naïve dragon…

He had some difficulty keeping up as Rheal wandered for the town, by the time he arrived, there were, a lot of townsfolk gathered outside, in front of the settled dragon.
Rheal rumbled a low note “The, other dragon is gone… and to ensure he shall not return, and, no others will seek to take your pack for their meals… I have declared this region, and your nest as my territory” behind the dragon, the long tail wove, firmly to the ground “Of course… that may mean, I need to hunt in this region. But we can, discuss the specifics… Regardless… I will, safeguard your little nest… it is of great interest to me”
Rheal turned his head to Johan, lowering his snout “I had better get marking, sooner than later… to make sure any other dragon knows without doubt that you are all mine”
Like the red before him, Rheal sprang, beating his wings to rise, up, and away. Johan watched, an odd, unease in his chest. This had all worked out, very conveniently for Rheal… he just, couldn’t help considering that, this was probably the only situation the town might accept such a, guardianship without conflict… He shook his head, no, this was just, convenient… Rheal wasn’t the type to plan something like this, was he?
“So, you’re back, are you?” He looked down from the rising dragon to see… the brute again. Of course, the self-styled mayor would be at the front of any crowd
“Yeah, didn’t get eaten by the oh so dangerous dragon… funny that” He gestured off “I’m sure you saw the real culprit”
“No proof of that” the brute retorted “fine, another dragon… but we don’t know it wasn’t your one”
Johan scoffed “right… innocent till proven guilty, unless it’s Rheal, then it’s guilty of anything you could conceivably make stick…”
He pushed past the brute and into town. At least it was over… for now. But he found himself troubled… troubled in ways that were, harder to define… He was worried the accusations against Rheal, really weren’t over, although it would make sense if there were no active attempts to drive him off or worse now. What troubled him was this new relationship… it had come about so quickly, he hadn’t even gotten a say. Of course… what could you do, if a dragon decided its territory included your home. He hoped it would bring the people closer to Rheal if he was officially a guard against other dragons, but yet… that could bring resentment. But what was worse as a nagging, maybe paranoid feeling that this was all, very convenient. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence, for an innocent reason. Maybe that new dragon followed Rheal’s scent here… it, was odd a dragon would start hunting here for the first time in so long, so soon after Rheal started visiting.
With effort he shoved such thoughts aside and headed back for his office. He had nothing else he could do, after all. And, rather suddenly the tedious but, emotionally simple task of fixing an old pot sounded, a lot better.