Drasus

The clarity mating brings me blooms within my head. The items which swim through my mind are crystal clear, like the water of the pool where I first made her mine.

Her little stomach puffs up with my seed between us as my hook deepens. It is perfection itself. To be with the female I would die for, buried in her, where I should be.

And the names of the warriors who've been haunting my dreams swim in my head. The mission we were sent on attempts to resolve in my mind. But the tendrils are slipping away, the memories are fading until there is just Coral, locked to me, forever.

"We need to go, Drasus," she says gently. "The others, they're waiting for us. They need this technology."

I feel a pang within me. The desire to do what needs to be done for my fellow Sarkarnii. It wars with the need to keep my Coral all to myself.

Males! My rut bristles with anger and flame at the mere thought of her being near any other males. The conflict makes my scales itch and my neck throb.

But if my Coral wants to return to her human friends, I cannot deny her. I will need to place myself between her and any other Sarkarnii. Any other males.

"Then we will go, my flame," I murmur into her fragrant skin.

Of course, I have to clean her up first, and she very much enjoys having my tongue everywhere if the delicious noises she makes are anything to go by. It very nearly turns into another mating session. But I am a male with the ability to control myself, so I am content my mate climaxes twice more before I'm finished.

"I could do with one of those glow stick things," Coral grumbles as she peers into the passageway the control room reveals. "It's very dark in there."

"Lights," the control room says and the passage illuminates.

I growl.

"It's fine, Drasus. The Kirakos is full of these sorts of places, or so I've been told. Apparently as humans, we also have the ability to move through the place via hidden doors and passages." She says it as if this is something I should know. "It's a machine, that's all."

"If it's a machine, why do I scent something which is anything but machine?" I glare around at the consoles. "Why did it try to get in my head?"

Coral follows my gaze. "I don't know. But I think we should leave."

I'm not sure I've ever agreed with her more. I usher her forwards. Whether this is the right thing or not, my mate doesn't want to stay, and I'm not going to deny her anything.

Once we've gone a little way, the passage opens out and the ceiling height increases which is something I thank the ancestors for. Coral keeps pace with me, her limp only slight, powering forward with a determination I admire very much.

The passage opens up farther, until it's almost like a cavern. Our footsteps on the stone echo back to us.

"Do you think we're going in the right direction?" Coral asks.

A smell hits me and I know.

"Yes," I grimace. "Males."

"That's your answer to everything." She smiles up at me, her sweet face needing to be kissed, always.

"My desire for you, my rut for you, means I need to keep you close. I dislike males being near you."

"That's fine, Drasus. Telling me you'll kill them is not so fine. Promise me you won't try to kill any of the Sarkarnii we're going to meet. I know you think you don't remember them, but they know you, and you're one of their crew, one of their warriors. They're going to be pleased to see you, pleased to see both of us."

I grunt in response. The scent is growing stronger the closer we get to a fissure in the rock ahead. As we get to it, I see the exit is high above us.

"I don't think I can climb up there." Coral sits on a bolder and grips at her foot. "Walking is one thing, but climbing is another. This is better than it was, but it's still not strong."

Part of me is rather glad we've been given a reprieve. But this echoing cave contains nothing which would sustain my mate or me. There is only one way to go and one place to be.

Up and out.

My tail thrashes, my body changes, and I am more than myself. My little mate is even smaller, staring up at me with a smile on her face.

"Then you shall not climb, my Coral. We can fly."

I hold out a clawed hand, which is large enough for her to step in between my fingers. I lift her up until she is level with my head, and she reaches out, caressing me and pressing a kiss to my scales. I place her at the back of my neck.

"Are you ready, mate?" I ask, feeling my lungs inflate.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I beat out my wings, and we rise up, higher and higher, every atom tuned in to my precious cargo. We spin around the cavern as I size up the fissure. It's large enough near the top for me, and I fly hard towards it. On my back, Coral lets out a whoop of joy.

"This is incredible, Drasus!" she yells.

And my heart is hot in my chest, beating for her, for the flight, and for whatever is to come. We will face it together, and as long as I have her, nothing else matters.