The Mephit's Tales

Freedom. At long last he was free!

Delvin threw back his head and let a laugh tumble free, whipped away by the wind as Glitterdark bore him down from the clouds. The drake was in just as good humour as the rider, wings splayed wide, barely rustling as he rode the currents; his eyes were half-lidded, his posture as relaxed as it was possible for a dragon in flight to be, save that as Delvin looked about at the vast unspoiled landscape rising to meet them, the drake’s tail-fin splayed and relaxed in a rhythm of barely-constrained excitement.

Behind him, now, was the bewilderment of Choosing, the labour and study of a candidate with eggs hardening before the hearth, the gut-wrenching anxiety leading up to a hatching. They’d lived together through Glitterdark’s ravenous hatchling days, the confused young night-drake barely able to comprehend anything but his own hunger and Delvin’s devoted care. Then the lessons, the training, the endless, endless drills both on the ground and in the air. For years, they’d never had a moment’s peace.

And now, wonderfully, for the first time since he’d been Chosen by his dragon’s dam as a youth of fourteen autumns and entrusted to the care of Glitterdark’s cornflower-blue egg, the young man’s time was his own. (more…)

An almost negligent wave of the man’s hand, and the force keeping Alderian up in the air shifted smoothly downward, letting him get all fours properly onto the ground. It was a marked improvement; he was hardly afraid of heights, certainly not the mere foot’s breadth he’d been at, but it was such an undignified way to be hanging there, not like proper flight at all.

Not that Edric was quite ready to trust him enough to release him entirely, apparently; he was allowed to furl his wings, but then force bound them against his body, and he was not permitted to walk around, or even to sit. He was stuck standing with his legs outstretched, at the human’s mercy.

(more…)

The door swung into the tiny little room. Two burly tigers strode through it, taking up positions on either side of it. In their wake followed a much smaller man, a unicorn with pure white fur and blue eyes, in a fine white suit that was as distinct from the darker, simpler dress of the tigers as his body was from theirs.

The tigers glared at the room’s other occupant, a similarly large black dragon. The unicorn, on the other hand, seemed to hardly notice anybody else there at all, sauntering over the wooden floor with a light clatter of hooves. He ran a finger along the bare surface of a side table and held it up, as though inspecting for dust.

“I suppose,” he said at last, in a voice heavy with resignation, “you’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

(more…)

The great blue dragon heaved a heavy sigh. “Truly, you are the most curious human I have ever encountered. Many have come seeking my blood. More – and some few of my own kind – have come seeking my wealth.”

With the outward curve of one obsidian claw, he stroked along the human’s side, where that human lay on the dragon’s own stomach. “None of them – except perhaps one fetching but greedy red, and certainly none of the humans – showed nearly so much interest in my sex.”

Kalen laughed, gliding his hand along the broad expanse of the dragon’s arousal. “I’ve more interest in knowledge and magic than in coin. And I’m young yet. A lover, however temporary, means more to me than a purse of silver.”

(more…)

It was not a fit night to be travelling, not for man nor beast. Wild magic had crept into the storm; rain and hail pelted down with unnatural force, ripping away needles, shredding bark, and pulverizing much of the ground cover. Mere boughs simply weren’t enough to keep the icy rain at bay; anything that could, huddled under leaning or fallen trunks for some cover.

But not all errands waited on the weather, and so Kalen, out gathering the last of the season’s rimeberries, had been caught on the trails when the full force of the storm hit. A magical barrier kept the rain and hail from falling directly upon him, but it couldn’t keep the ground from being treacherous, nor did it keep the chill bite of the air from his lungs. But even if he was inclined to wait out the storm – and as the sky grew still darker, that was a possibility he was strongly considering – there simply wasn’t good cover to be had. Not down in the woods.

And so he trudged upwards. The going was harder, especially as the trees thinned and the ground became icier, but there were caves in the foothills. Better to stumble into a bear’s den than to be caught out here; his magic could subdue such a beast, but he could drain himself trying to keep away the fickle anger of the Green Goddess and still succumb.

In searching for such shelter, he was better-equipped than most men. He could sense air under stone; all he needed to do was follow it to the surface.

(more…)

Fabian Springvale.

That was how everyone knew him, now. Everyone at the studio, everyone who saw his work, all his friends and acquaintances – even he himself was starting to think of him with that name. It was a good name, his agent had said, a beautiful name. A name that’d draw more attention than Darren Cooke.

Well, it and he had certainly drawn attention, all right. Maybe the world of adult entertainment wasn’t the grandest arena out there, but he’d found his place in it, and it had brought him enough success to be happy with. A job he enjoyed – even on the days where things didn’t go quite right and sex felt like work, he was still in his element. A nice flat – not the biggest of spaces, but big enough, and well enough appointed, to feel luxurious. And good company.

(more…)

Tristan Summers knew he was hot. Oh, he tried not to make a point of it; he’d encountered plenty of people who were a little too aware of their own good looks, and he tried to avoid becoming one of them. But what was the use in denying it, even to himself? He was tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular – all those masculinely attractive traits. He was also very distinct – he was, after all, a dragon, and a very visible example of one at that, with glossy black scales, claws like jet, curling black horns like a ram’s, and batlike wings on his back which, while they still didn’t let him fly, were larger than most. So, yes, he was quite aware that he was eye-catching and attractive.

Getting paid to be hot, essentially, would still take some getting used to.

(more…)