Chapter Text
Tommy had just been strolling through the woods, looking for his favorite lunch spot, a nice creek where so many plump and juicy fish of all kinds would swim. His claws would leave marks in the dirt and his tail would wag behind him, as he lifted his snout in the air, smelling for the familiar smell of fish and fresh water.
He had been minding his own business, before he heard a small groan of pain from behind a few trees. Now, Tommy knew the woods, he knew what small critters and roaming animals sounded like, and that didn’t sound like anything he'd ever heard before! Maybe it’s something new! A new friend??
Tommy slowly approached the trees from behind, lifting his tail above the ground so it didn’t drag against the dirt and make any noise that could give him away. He felt himself becoming more restless by the second, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was excited or anxious, maybe both. He flared his nostrils slightly, a bit of smoke steaming out, as he cautiously peeked over from behind the trees.
There was something, someone, curled up against a tree. It took a moment, but Tommy knew exactly what that was, but he had never seen one before. That was a human!! Or mostly one, anyway. Tommy had always been warned by other dragons to stay clear of humans, and that they didn’t like dragons, so Tommy had never really seen one until now. The human had messy black hair that went a little bit below its shoulders, and pretty olive skin with a few scars here and there. It wore a white, and slightly ripped, dress shirt with brown suspenders and tie, with a beanie supplying its head. But, the thing Tommy noticed most about this human, was the long ragged scar that went down its face.
That scar looked like it hurt really really badly. Actually, the more Tommy looked, the human seemed to be in pain, its face scrunched up and its eyebrows furrowed. Oh no, it was hurt! Tommy had to do something, he couldn't just leave it there! What if it died! Tommy doesnt know much about humans, but he knows they are very fragile, way less tough than dragons are. A small scar like that could probably kill it! He needed to do something, besides! Even if the human did try to hurt him, he’s Tommyinnit! No dumb human could take him down!
Tommy slowly stepped out from behind the trees, watching the human carefully. It hadn't seemed to have noticed him yet. The humans chest rose and fell slowly, and it shifted upright. When the human shifted, Tommy noticed something else, something shiny. Tommy inched closer towards the human, trying to get a better look at what shined behind its back. The human's eyes were closed, but it was still obviously awake with the way its face scrunched up and how its hands clutched its stomach.
Tommy continued to get closer before the human turned over with a quiet groan, revealing its back to the dragon.
And what he saw was so… shiny!
Tommy's eyes widened as he stared at the beautiful, golden wings that came into view, the short feathers ruffling against each other in the soft breeze. It was one of the most beautiful treasures he’s ever seen! And he had a whole pile of gold at home! There was no way he could leave this gold here alone! Tommy let out a noise, something similar to a purr at the lovely sight. However, it seemed the human had heard. Its head quickly snapped toward Tommy, and turned around to where its back was now pushed against the tree, hiding the golden wings away.
The human- no,,, wings were a bird thing, right? But it looked human… what's the word he was looking for… oh right! Its an avian! Tommy was so smart.
The avian's eyes were wide in shock, and its hands clutched its own sides seemingly trying to shield itself. Why would it do that? Tommy's not going to hurt the shiny! He was slightly upset that the gold was no longer in his sight, but that's okay, he’ll have plenty of time to look at the gold when he takes it back to his hoard! The avian attempted to back itself more into the tree the more Tommy got closer, its eyes (well, eye) frantically looking around for any means of escape. Tommy got as close as he possibly could, his snout now only a few inches away from the avian's face.
From here Tommy could hear its breathing, and notice how quickly its pace had picked up. Tommy tilted his head a bit to get a better look, the avian seemed too scared to move. Tommys gold was scared of him? That's no good! How does he fix this? Hm…
Tommy thought for a moment, before leaning forward a bit and licking the avians face. The avian flinched and raised its arm up in defense, closing its eye tightly and turning its head away. It stood like that for a minute before slowly opening its eye, staring at the dragon before it. It slowly brought its hands down and relaxed a bit, though a suspicious look on its face remained. They stared at each other for a good minute, before finally the avian found the strength to speak.
“You’re not… gonna eat me?” It asked hesitantly, nothing more then a scratchy whisper escaping its lips. Tommy tilted his head, eat it? Why would Tommy eat his gold?
Tommy shook his head rapidly, wanting to get his point across. The young dragon meant no harm. As a matter of fact, he wanted to do the opposite. Tommy wanted to take the shiny back to his hoard and protect it forever!
The avian's eyes narrowed, as it leaned forward just a bit, so now it wasn't pressed against the tree. “Can… Can you understand me?” It asked quietly.
Tommy nodded his head.
The avian looked shocked, placing its hand on its forehead in disbelief. While the other processed the information, Tommy slowly leaned forward and pushed his nuzzle behind the avian's shoulder, trying to turn it around and get another glance at the shiny gold.
“Woah- Hey! The hell are you doing?” The avian shouted in shock as it snapped out of it, pushing the dragon's nose away, a disappointed whine escaping Tommy's lips. The avian let go of Tommy's nose and he went to nudge its shoulder again, more gently this time, trying to show the avian what he wanted. “What?” Oh cmon! Let him see the gold already! Tommy huffed and shoved the avian, not very harshly, but enough to make it turn a bit. The avian let out a yelp at the sudden force, flinching a bit. “Hey! What the hell man-“ It trailed off when it noticed what Tommys now dilated eyes were staring at.
“My- My wings?”
Tommy nodded frantically, an excited glimmer in his eye.
“Oh-“ The avian muttered before turning around, giving Tommy a better view. The avian turned his head to look back at the young dragon. “There you go, I guess- Nothin’ special.” It muttered, watching Tommy closely, as to make sure he didn’t try anything.
Tommy's pupils dilated even more as he stared at the wings, the pretty, golden wings. They were obviously not well taken care of, that wouldn’t do. The moment he brought his treasure home he’d make sure to fix it up! The wings were short, smaller than your average sized avian wings. Were they still growing? Tommy stared for a long time, watching at the beautiful golden feathers swayed in the wind. Oh yeah, it was his now.
“Look- I uh- appreciate you not eating me, but I kinda have to go home and fix myself up-“
Tommy's head snapped up to the avian's face. Leave? Gold cant leave! His gold cant leave! His gold is hurt! What if something bad happens to it? Tommy shook his head.
“…No?” The avian questioned, already in the process of standing up.
It faced Tommy again, fidgeting with its sleeve. “Look, maybe I can come back some other time-“ Tommy shook his head before it could finish. Gold cant leave, gold is hurt, gold is his. He needs to bring gold home! He needs to bring the gold home right now before it runs off and gets hurt!
Tommy stretched his wings out far, the avian stepping back a bit with wide eyes. Even for a smaller dragon, his wings were huge. Especially compared to the avian beside him. He let out a huff, a bit of smoke coming out of his noise, before leaning forward and snatching the avian by the back of its shirt.
“WOAH- Hey man what the hell?! Put me down!” The avian screeched in panic, squirming around in attempts to escape the dragon's grip. Tommy shook his head lightly, not trying to shake his gold around too much. He wouldnt want to hurt it by mistake!
Tommy shifted his mouth to get a better hold on the avian before spreading his wings out, hearing the panicked protests from the gold under him. Tommy internally smiled, knowing his cave up in the mountains would be a perfect place for his gold! He could take care of it and keep it safe there for all of eternity! Tommy began to flap his wings before taking off into the air, hearing a scream come from the gold. Tommy warbled, trying to assure the gold it wasn't going to be hurt, but it didnt seem to understand, so naturally it continued to panic beneath him.
Tommy sighed internally as he flew up to his mountain. Gold would understand when they get home! The flight wasn't long, maybe a few minutes, before home sweet home was in sight! Tommy let out a pleased purr as his wings slowed down, landing on top of the mountain. Now that the sounds of the wind were gone, he could hear his gold's heavy breathing. Tommy kept hold of his cold as he pranced into his cave, wondering a bit before he reached the very top of his hoard. He leaned his head down and placed the gold gently on top, to which the avian immediately collapsed on top.
Gold clutched its chest as it took quick and heavy breathes, still getting over the panic from earlier.
“What the FUCK?! What the hell was that for!?” The avian screeched as it stumbled over the bits of gold and shiny jewels. It finally reached a stable standing point as it looked up at the dragon with a frustrated look. “I thought you said you werent going to eat me!? Why the hell did you bring me here then?” The avian questioned in a panic, backing away a bit, but not too much in fear it would fall down the tower of shiny golden coins and jewels.
Tommy shook his head frantically, trying to remind the gold he would never eat it in a million years! It took the avian a moment to understand, however. “Well, if you're not going to eat me, what the hell am i doing in your- cave thing!?”
Tommy took a seat on the top of the mountain of jewels, glancing down from the shiny back to the avian. The other didn’t seem to understand, not before taking a good look at where the dragon had put him, at least. His face slowly paled as his eyes widened.
“I— You brought me to your hoard?” It asked quietly. “Why?”
Tommy tilted his head in a ‘you-know-why’ kind of way.
The avian visibility gulped as its wings pushed themselves tightly against its back.
“I- You want me to... be your hoard?” It asked, in a whisper.
Tommy nodded his head with a smile. You already are.
The avian stared. It stared for a very long time.
“Woah, woah, woah- No, I- Sorry but there's no way.” The gold stammered out between nervous laughs. “I’m- I’m flattered I am but- I cant be your hoard! I have a family, dude- I just-“
It cut itself off when Tommy shook his head. The avian winced at the realization. “You’re not giving me a choice… are you?” Tommy shook his head.
The gold looked around frantically, and began to head down the hill of gold before Tommy blocked its way with his tail. It let out a frustrated groan before Tommy picked it up with his teeth again and set it between his arms, leaving no place for escape. Believe him, it tried. It tried to get out of the dragon's grip for maybe a few minutes before eventually going limp in exhaustion.
“You’re—“ It took a deep breath. “You’re really not gonna let me go without a fight, are you?”
Tommy shook his head with a smile. Gold let out a long, defeated sigh.
“Great. First I get fed poisonous berries from my devil of a sister, but when I go outside to blow off steam, I get kidnapped by a dragon. Just great.” The gold muttered, but Tommy wasn't paying too much attention. He simply nuzzled his new treasure, holding it close and never wanted to let it go. He could hear a small groan coming from the gold, but that's okay. Soon gold will love its new home! It'll realize how safe Tommy can keep it. Just wait!
The avian looked up at the young dragon, a look of annoyance and defeat on its face. “So… Do you have a name? It’s kinda lame just calling you ‘dragon-that-kidnapped-me-in-the-woods’, y’know?” The avian said with an awkward and crooked smile. Tommy stared at the gold for a moment before nodding his head. “Oh? What's your name?”
There's a beat of silence.
“Right, dragon.” The avian said with a nervous laugh. “Well, if it's any use to you, my name is Quackity.” The avian- no, Quackity said with an awkward smile. Hmm, Quackity. Tommy liked that name. Tommy let out purr as he nuzzled closer to his treasure, a small yelp coming from Quackity. “Wow- You sure are, uh- affectionate, huh?” Tommy let out a happy noise as he laid his head down, right next to his new gold. He shut his eyes with a smile as he held Quackity close, only receiving a bit of struggling before he eventually relaxed in his arms.
“Prime— Dad’s gonna kill me-“ Quackity muttered, shifting around in attempts to at least be comfortable in this situation. If Tommy heard it, he didn’t care. He only cared about keeping his new gold close and safe. Tommy felt himself begin to doze off, falling asleep easily with his most precious treasure beside him.