So... I kinda fell in love with Ezzie and just kept writing her, so like most of the other non-human members of the town she gets her own little side story, and the first real, gathering thread towards the eventual finale, still a number of stories down the chain. We might be about half way through this story arc

Opportunity Yeah

Ezzie padded around her little house surfaceside, checking she had everything she needed in her cloak. The night was closing in… evening and night.
Her small dextrous paws felt each little bottle in turn, one held in her grip, the tonic to make her human, for Ezzie was a rat. Like the foxes and the wolves, even the were kind, she walked on two legs like the humans did. She imagined it would be a harder change to deal with otherwise. She considered drinking it but, not yet. It wore off, and she didn’t want to drink two. She could take an antidote to it but, otherwise it only lasted so long.
She padded to the door to the world of the humans, taking a slow breath “You can do this Ezzie… No dragon today. Just business, and customers, yeah”
The rat-kin pressed out through her door, looking left, right… empty. None of the outsider haters, no humans at all. Not even the guard and his dragon friend, or servant, or master… really she wasn’t sure.
She brought the bottle to her lips, head tilting back, gazed along the huge, scaly muzzle looming above her head and with a yelp jumped back. Reflex, not decision as it threw her to her shut door. The little vial popped from her grip, falling to break on the ground
“Dragon” she eeped “Not here to eat me, yeah? Human said don’t eat me”
The dragon in question was looming over her house from behind, only the head, long bend neck and shoulders visible, if barely, light cascading from the moon across one side of the big lizard. The creature only just would fit the snug stone streets.
“I’m here on official guard business” the booming voice of the reptile pounded down upon her with a hint of pride… Ezzie was sure she heard her bottles rattling “I’m to watch you, and make sure you’re not up to bad stuff”
“Watch me, yeah?” Ezzie tried to straighten herself “Perhaps meant to watch me without being seen, no looming and breathing and talking and spooking, yeah… Dragon made me break my bottle” she lamented
“The one that makes you look human?” Daniel’s vast head cocked above, crouched over the back of her house as he was “can you change into other things?”
She gestured a finger up at his snout “makes me human, not look human” she corrected “and no, it’s human only, see, nothing else… would be a dragon if I could, yeah? Chase you off my house… don’t break my roof”
“Oh” the dragon sounded disappointed as he slid out of view down behind her house, before his padding paws sounded in her ears, the dragon moving around the lined houses. Ezzie’s ear twitched… the dragon was so big but, seemed innocent enough? Her curiosity largely won out with this one.
“So, why is dragon here?” Ezzie asked, folding her arms over her chest
“To watch you” Daniel lowered himself, breath gusting and billowing her cloak, forcing her to frantically put a paw to her bottles lest they be thrown loose
“Don’t breathe on me, dragon, you’ll break all my merchandise, yeah?” Ezzie scolded him, before pulling her cloak tight around herself, a paw holding it shut “and I meant the city, dragons don’t live in human cities, unless they’re biting and eating and swallowing and trampling homes to rubble and don’t trample my home to rubble” she emphasised, gesturing to her house again “expensive, expensive, and it’s very hard for rats to get human money”
“Well rats don’t live in human cities either” Daniel countered poutily “why do you live here?”
Ezzie cackled, gesturing at his snout “rats don’t live in human cities, but under them, beneath, understand dragon, yeah?. Lots of humans cities have rats living under them, not this one, except me. Only not allowed because they think we’re dirty, but the humans are wrong, yeah? They’re not wrong about dragons, dragons do break houses, don’t lean on my house again” She paused, looking off “but, why I live here, I want humans to let rats live with them. Most humans don’t want to try, think they’re fine on their own, like the ones here with the little bitey mark on their clothes who shout and scream and swing weapons if they see a rat. Not right perhaps, but if rats want to live with humans, we need to convince them we’re useful, and we are, yeah?”
Daniel exhaled softly “I mean, we’re not so different, I think” the dragon sat up, looming above the tiny rat, barely a mouthful, a thing Ezzie was painfully aware of “I’m not… a normal dragon, I think” he rolled a shoulder “A lot of my siblings were… proud, I guess. But, I saw humans and liked what I saw. They’ve got so many nice things, and I wanted those things… but I can’t just take them, humans need to… give them to you” he tried to explain “their food tastes really nice, and they build shelters from the wind and rain which are much comfier, and their little paws feel nice when they’ve touched me and…” he trailed off “I’m not that big”
“You really are, yeah” Ezzie objected
“For a dragon” Daniel added “I just, figured since a lot of things eat humans, and those things are meaty, if I lived with humans I could eat what tries to eat them, and they’d be grateful, and give me their luxuries” he mused
“Mercenary” the rat concluded “but not bad if both benefit I think. Lots of benefits to having a dragon who doesn’t eat you around, nothing dares approach a dragon. Keep city very safe, yeah? Guard dragon”
Daniel nodded to her words, head resting to his paws, considering her and, breathing gently “It seems like everyone benefits to me”
“Benefits, lots of benefits, lots of opportunity” Ezzie agreed, pointing out at the city around them “but dragon, tell me yeah? What if the big eaters… smaller than you, but big eaters still, think, this place is a dragon nest, and stay away. Don’t take the humans under your wings as bait to chase and munch. What then, dragon? What do you do?” she flicked her tail “do you chase and munch the humans then, what else do you eat?”
Daniel hummed in his throat “do you think that’ll ever happen. I’ve met a naga… I think those like her would stay away if they knew I’m here… but I’ve caught other things. They don’t talk, they leap over the walls or crawl from the water or fly in the sky. I don’t think they, well, think, enough to realise it’s a bad idea”
“Maybe, maybe dragon is right” Ezzie continued “but what if I’m right, what if big prey doesn’t walk right into the dragon’s jaws”
“I don’t know” Daniel spoke slowly “eating the humans would defeat the purpose… I could just fly and hunt”
“But if the city is the dragon’s territory, and the humans hunt too, and there’s not enough prey for dragon and humans… what does dragon eat then?”
“Maybe, the humans wouldn’t mind if I reduced their numbers if it was explained to them like that?” Daniel wondered aloud after a long moment
“The humans would mind very much, you listen to Ezzie, the humans would always mind very, very much”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it” Daniel hummed “Cory says that sometimes, it means…”
“I live underground, but we have rivers and bridges too” Ezzie cut in “Now is the dragon going to leave? I’ve deliveries and customers”
“Oh… not yet” the dragon’s muzzle came in close… quickly, the jaws parting which was all Ezzie needed to see. She turned to run but felt jaws close on her tail and slide up over her rear. Her paws pulled up from the ground as the dragon grabbed her up in his mouth
“Put me down, not for eating or licking or swallowing or digesting or for anything a dragon wants to do with me” Ezzie blurted, pushing at the snout around her “let me go…”
“I will, but I need to show you to someone” Daniel hummed “Oh… but you need to keep them secret… they’ll keep you secret too”
“I don’t agree to this, put Ezzie down” she gasped and growled, pushing with her paws… unable to shift the jaw, as it became plain the dragon wasn’t asking… he was just being polite enough to explain himself, already walking off with her
“You talk funny, I like it” Daniel rumbled around her “but sometimes funnier than others”
“I speak human better than you, and can pretend to be human better than you” Ezzie rebuked, folding her arms, discontent, but dangling from his jaws anyway “rats have their own talk… and it isn’t structured like how humans talk. I talk more like home when I’m annoyed”
“I don’t…” Daniel huffed “I think…”
“You do, you really do” Ezzie asserted “You talk like you’ve never talked human before, and barely know what a human is. You talk without a filter, yeah? Surprised you haven’t compared human meat to other animals in front of them, which is chewier, which is tastier”
“I swallow humans whole, I don’t know if they’re chewy” Daniel huffed
“You see, like that” Ezzie waved a paw “you don’t say that. Say something like… well don’t mention eating humans to a human. Say something like…I’d never think of doing that, it would be insensitive”
“Is it?” Daniel hummed around her as he trotted along “I’m telling the truth… isn’t that good?”
“Humans lie, humans always lie, wake, eat, lie, talk some more, lie again, sleep. Not big lies, little lies… sometimes big lies, but mostly little lies, or, things they don’t say. They talk and talk, but more important than talking a lot, is know what not to say”
“You talk even more” Daniel huffed, miffed
“Well, I’m not human, I’m a rat… and I’m annoyed, because a dragon is carrying me in his mouth around a city and very far from my house and customers…” she crossed her arms
Daniel didn’t respond to that, and Ezzie was carried in unwilling silence for a while, looking about the city from her new vantage. Her mind turned back to her work, tail flicking.
“Curious, do you have a lady dragon, do you have one you mate and mount and firm below for, do you firm well?”
Ezzie eeped with the, sudden stop which dug the dragon’s teeth into her
“What… no, what are you… why?” the dragon huffed around her “You’re weird…”
Ezzie smiled a little “I sell to humans, medicine, helps them with their partners. Never tried giving it to a dragon, was curious if the dragon needed the medicine, would be interested to try”
“No” Daniel huffed, lifting a paw to walk on but, stopping himself, head twisting back “wait, though… it’s not who I was taking you to but… someone else is close. Do big wolves eat rats?”
Ezzie looked along the muzzle “Eat… They might, why? Don’t feed me to a wolf” she hit his snout with her little paws “where are you taking me anyway”
Daniel’s head shook till her resistance was quelled “stop that… I’m not giving you to someone to eat… I want to show you to them, so they know not to eat you… but, let me tell the wolf not to eat you too”
“How many big eaters live here like you?” Ezzie asked to no reply, the dragon turning around, and padding quickly a few steps before peering into an alley
“human wolf… come out” Daniel hummed “smell you, in there…”

Ezzie found herself staring into the gloom. Her heart had been racing since the dragon appeared, and it was getting fatiguing. Still, her curiosity was piqued as from the shadows at the behest of a dragon walked not a wolf, but a man. Her keen eyes told her he was local, her nose told her… he was a wolf, he smelled like one from what she could detect.
Her eyes met the man, his confused, hers suddenly excited “he’s a were!” she exclaimed “you said human wolf, you mean a werewolf, lycanthrope, shifting, changing, biting, howling… but he’s man, he’s not wild… interesting”
The human before her eyes flinched at the words, mumbling, clearing his throat “don’t call me that… please”
“Oh, sorry” Ezzie paused a moment, before smiling weakly “which thing… Ezzie called you a lot of things”
“None of it” he clarified “Not were, not werewolf, or lycanthrope or…” he paused, rubbing between his eyes “man… what do you want, dragon… I’m not hurting anyone, except myself…”
“Just showing you this rat” Daniel thrust his muzzle towards the man, rat and human getting much closer, Ezzie gazing excitedly into the tired, harrowed eyes “don’t eat this rat, if you eat rats”
“I’ve only eaten the smaller sort lately” the figure muttered “but thanks for telling me… I might not have stopped the wolf from ripping her throat out…”
Ezzie’s tail flicked “whatever you want called, creature, if you find me, come to my place, I have things… I’ve always wanted to try on a… a, um, one like you” she grinned “I’ve a tonic, it makes me human, one like you, who can think and control, and talk… could advance our theories by years”
“I don’t know what I am anymore… except someone who wants to be left alone with my mate” he muttered “I’m only in this form for her… it feels…” he looked to his hands “it’s my new, least favourite…”
Daniel’s snout pulled away “have places to be… so, have a good night, don’t eat anyone” he instructed, before trotting along and carrying Ezzie with him
“I’ve never met one before…” Ezzie spoke mostly to herself “Knew a partner, back in the city, purposefully got afflicted to test… very interesting, very sad…” she shook her head “surprised your guard friend let that one stay… my people, we don’t hurt, people just don’t like us. But those ones, wild, hunters, conflicted and torn creatures. Very varied symptoms, two distinct breeds actually, very interesting, but both very dangerous”
“He, doesn’t know about that one… or the next one, sort of” Daniel mused “but they want to live here like me and aren’t hurting anyone. I’ll eat them if they do”
Ezzie pawed the snout “Draconian, yeah, well named concept, yeah”

Ezzie hadn’t been down to the docks much. Humans had weak noses, but wolves… the not transforming kind, and such did not. She didn’t want to test if they could smell her true self… well, actually she did, she wanted to test that, and many things very much… but not at the price of her secrecy.
Tonight, the dragon took her here, to the place furthest from her home, she observed sourly. But her annoyance was placated by much curiosity… her mind still lingering on the werewolf… didn’t like his human form, how curious… made her wonder, could a wolf become a werewolf, or just a person… or, was there something more… how she’d love to get him down to the lab and just, spend a solid unsleeping week advancing murine knowledge. A colleague back home had some promising research on a blend of assorted ground plants they hoped to negate the need for sleeping hours. Thus far while extending straight waking to an extent, it always seemed to result in an energy crash and spontaneous near comatose slumber… but she and all ratkind hung on every report keenly.
So, her mind wandered as she was carried towards a derelict warehouse. Daniel shouldered his way in, humming to himself “Dia? I’ve brought someone to show you, are you here?”
Ezzie peered about the gloom, curious, intrigued what new thing the dragon had for her now… but her hoped diminished when it slithered into view… a naga, huge snakes… dangerous, very dangerous, nightmares in the tunnels…
Daniel’s head lowered to drop her to the ground, reminding Ezzie how big the big snakes were… her eyes were keen, venomous one… no crushing but still swallowing.
The naga hissed pleasantly “that’s kind of you Daniel…”
“No… wait, not for eating” Daniel cut in “brought you to show, so you know not to eat”
“Oh…” Dia’s tongue flickered, assessing the rat with her eyes, as Ezzie tugged her cloak closer “now that’s not fair… we made a deal I’m not allowed to eat the humans and fair enough I don’t eat the merchants either but rats? The humans hate rats… they’d thanks me for eating them”
“City is in trouble if it has snakes” Ezzie gestured at the naga. The big snakes are trouble, always trouble, big, coiling, oversized, big and swallowing with their big plump bodies trouble”
“You shouldn’t insult things that can swallow you, rat” Dia hissed sharply
“Oh, of course” Ezzie rolled her eyes, folding her arms “of course the snake threatens swallowing, it’s snake’s only trick, ok admittedly pretty cool trick, can swallow really big things, interesting body structure, but still only one trick, one trick gets boring. I have more tricks in my coat than snake will ever have”
“Oh, I have at least two tricks” Dia hissed, deeper, flashing her fangs “I’ve venom to keep you motionless and terrified while I do it”
“Oh, silly me” Ezzie retorted “snake has swallowing, and venom to make swallowing easier. How diverse and useful are the snake’s tricks…” she looked up to Daniel “why is the snake allowed here, and rats aren’t? You wanted to eat me, but the snake gets to stay”
“I wanted to eat both of you” Daniel shrugged “Dia convinced me not to… and Cory told me not to eat you…”
“And what, pray tell” Dia snorted “does a rat think she does which is so, so useful to the humans?”
“Ezzie is a doctor” Ezzie smirked, pulling open her coat to show her bottles “Ezzie makes medicines, have a lot of customers not getting their orders because dragon rudely dragged me here against my will and broke my tonic to make myself human because of how big and scary and likely to break my house he is”
“Well, I make medicine too” Dia hissed triumphantly “effortlessly” she parted her jaws a little again, tongue flickering by her teeth “my venom is a painkiller, the doctor I work for in town is very excited about its possibilities… he’s never mentioned any, grand rat contributions”
“Only a snake thinks poison they make without thinking is better than a medicine made because of research and understanding and being very smart” Ezzie folded her arms “Maybe I’ll give you some samples for your doctor, neither of us are normally allowed in town. But then, I don’t need a human doctor’s approval, I’m already a doctor, I have my own clients… you approach a human offering to bite them, they’ll smack you in your scaly snake snout”
“Well, what do your oh so smart medicines do” Dia probed, sensing victory in the fidgety rodent
“Don’t fight” Daniel huffed “I brought her here so you wouldn’t eat her… it sounds like you’re going to”
“Stay out of this” Dia hissed up at the dragon… before, deflating a bit “we’re just talking… I don’t need to eat her to beat her…”
“My medicines bring humans pleasure” Ezzie stated boldly, trying to big up her creations though… painkiller, good painkiller? Sounded pretty useful actually “I can make many more things, but for now what I sell is what makes humans happy”
“You’re being vague” Dia teased “what exactly do they do? Humans can get pleasure many ways, so I think I’m more useful right now”
“I can cure when humans… well male ones, can’t be firm for their partners, and make them lustful and passionate and, have so much fun when they pair together”
“Is that all” Dia cut sharply
“I can do many things more” Ezzie folded her arms “it’s only, don’t want to draw too much attention, and offering something humans can’t get elsewhere… and mine are bottled” she tapped her jacket “humans can take it away… can they take your venom away? You need to bite them, yeah? They can drink my medicine”
“My doctor is working on it” Dia countered “he’s only just learnt about me, he wants to bottle my venom… it’s just not made to be bottled”
“Not very useful if it needs a snake to bite you” Ezzie smirked, though, looked off, thoughtful “though had similar issue with some chemicals, need suspension fluids, human hasn’t figured it out? Interesting challenge… maybe take some of your venom sometime and see if can use it… humans don’t like pain. Snakes normally happy to give venom, and then eat you, not happy to give venom and not eat you”
“Sounds like you think I’m pretty useful huh?” Dia smirked, glancing to Daniel… the big dragon seeming neither impressed… nor really comprehending of their discussion… speaking of Daniel though “As an, aside… that stuff of yours… only works on humans?”
“Oh, don’t know yet” Ezzie perked up at the topic of her work… and the chance to praise it “Well, using version for rats, and works for humans. It should work for more… never tried on reptiles.”
“right… because I was going to ask if it worked on dragons” Dia beckoned to the rat who, faltered, before cautiously stepped closer, eying the coils “see…” she lowered her voice “Daniel talks about eating me a lot… you know, dragon and all… I’ve been trying to get on his good side more… intimately, but he’s… not very amorous”
“Oh, yes, he talks about wanting to eat people to their face… told him about that” Ezzie shook her head “asked him about testing my products… doesn’t want to, very flustered”
“Can you two stop now” Daniel huffed “or I can leave… I don’t like being talked about”
Dia glanced to the dragon before, after a moment’s thought, offering the smaller rat a hand “truce? I’m willing to admit I may have misjudged you a bit… maybe we have something to offer each other”
Ezzie considered the scaled hand, and sank her little paw into it “yeah, very strange, very interesting… meeting dragon and living, somehow seems minor compared to meeting snake and living… very curious, very big opportunity, yeah? Big as snake when plump… not with rats though yeah? Maybe invite snake into house if snake is willing to forgo rat… yeah? Words I never thought I’d speak, scary thought being alone with a snake… scarier than dragon, very true, very odd thought…”
“You’re friends now?” Daniel’s head cocked “that’s… good. But Dia, no eating rats, please. Cory forbade me, and I forbid you”
“Yeah, sure, no rats” Dia chuckled faintly… pity, the odd chatty rat whetted her appetite… she, admittedly, had crawled into a tunnel of them once and, eaten as many as she could before they blockaded her out. She could forgive if they were even warier than humans… maybe she just had a knack for placating doctors.
“Customers will be mad” Ezzie muttered “But interesting evening, meetings of much opportunity” she glanced between the gigantic dragon, and the coiling death “dragon, and werewolf, and naga… many dangers, all strange, different than normal ones, all gathered in one place, very fortunate… quite a coincidence, or, maybe not”
“Werewolf?” Dia paused “what werewolf?”
“Oh…” Daniel murmured above “right, Dia, don’t, uh…” the dragon paused, head cocked “do I tell you not to eat him, or him not to eat you?”
“Me not to eat him… probably” Dia muttered “depending how big he is… but ok… there’s a werewolf now. On as tight a leash as me I assume”
“I don’t put you in a leash” Daniel huffed “and I don’t think the one his human put on him is tight… it seems loose… but I guess it’s tighter because you don’t have one?”
“It was a…” Dia murmured “and a human put a…? You know what, I don’t care…”
“Can dragon take me home now?” Ezzie asked “I’ve got my deliveries…” her eyes turned to the naga for a moment “and Naga… I’ll get directions to my home sometime, you can come and give venom… indirectly, yeah? Just make sure to say when you come, that you’re Dia… We’ve had a lot of big snake problems, so, I’ve got a snake deterring lever. You don’t want me to pull the snake lever, so make sure I know it’s you”
“You have a snake lever?” Dia smirked, bemused “we’re that much trouble?”
“All good nests have a snake lever” Ezzie grunted “snake deterrent system used to have two levers, but people would pull the right lever which was the wrong lever and it all got very confused and now there’s just one lever. I’m saying the snake deterrent works and isn’t confusing and is very bad for snakes”
Ezzie nodded to the snake, taking a last moment to memorise the heavy coiled reptile… snakes, deceptive looking for size, a lot of snake and all muscle… squeezing muscle. The rat turned on her heel to stride back towards the bigger, should be scarier but… actually not quite, reptile that was the dragon.
“Am I allowed to get back to my duties, on the opposite side of town, now?”
“I guess” Daniel mused “I can carry you”
“I’d prefer not” Ezzie nodded his way “the less time spent in a dragon’s mouth the better, yeah? Think most things can agree to that, rats or humans or even giant venomous snakes” Her tail flicked out of her cloak “and prefer you keep your massive self and your thick tail which swings so carelessly with weight and might away from my house”
Daniel sighed “I won’t touch your house…”
“Very good” Ezzie looked between the two… nightmares, really… her heart was pounding in her chest faster than even her chattering tongue with its reckless excitement… the curiosity was wavering, reminding her half of its relentless pulse was terror… and she should really focus on the reason for that… giant predators “I’ll maybe see you again… hopefully not when you’re hunting, yeah?”
She scurried to the door, neither stopping her as she pressed through a smaller entry built into the main door, out into the dark and cold night. For just a moment she lingered there, breathing in the sated air, the door clunking behind her. The she wheezed in a breath, paw pressing to her chest, trembling as she, indulged her fear, before sprinting off into the night. Her customers would get their deliveries late or not at all… it all depended really on how much she calmed down by the time she got home… Her partner in research Kro would be… intrigued in the possibility of the snake, so long as she left out all the almost dying she’d done that night from the tale.