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“Stupid mortals..” Lychee muttered, wincing as their throbbing tail swung up against a bush. They had always subtly admired the natural foliage of their island and now they were cursing it.
A dumb little scuffle with a group of humans who were a lot more trained than the dragon had anticipated.
“Damn it, Longan..!” They should’ve been fine! But half of these cookie limbs were not scaled! Therefore weak to more traditional weaponry. It was a dumb recon mission from Longan, the group had passed through Lotus’s paradise and the Ivory Dragon had wanted to know what they had wished for.
They let out a sigh of relief when they saw a relatively clear grove out of the lush green.
“Must’ve been cleared out by the tribe..” They thought, a decent place to lick their wounds. Oh! Speaking of those..
Small cuts and bruises traced their more exposed arm, a mixture of dull purple and shimmering black. Ugh.
Their tail was irritated too, for a dagger had gotten stuck underneath the scale ridges there during the fight. Another annoyance brought on by the small crunchy beings.
Their bare right leg was the bad one. A deep gash was carved right into their upper thigh, spewing dark black blood.
The rest of their injuries would heal in a matter of hours, at worst they would have to wait for morning to be better, but their leg? Unusable at least till at least the end of the week!
They flopped down on a boulder that was laid in the middle of the grove, groaning loudly. They hated this, they hated this weak, squishy body! So fragile and easy to hurt.
…
A branch snapped.
Their head snapped up, spear summoned out of thin air as they waited.
“…Lychee..?”
Shit.
Rambutan Cookie emerged from the treeline, caution etched into her features yet overtaken by concern the moment she spotted their thigh.
“Oh, of course it’s you..” Stars, they didn’t even have the energy in them to be snarky.
“Are-?” She paused to lean her bident against a nearby tree, before taking a step towards them. “Are you alright..?” Her voice was tentative, like she was trying to approach a wild animal. Which.. wasn’t too far from reality.
Lychee rolled their eyes and growled. “There’s a giant hole in my leg, what do you think?” Their spear was still poised to strike, their muscles still tense and ready to fight.
“I-.. I assumed so.” Rambutan reached down to fumble with the clasp on her front, pulling the more decorative layer of her outfit off. The thick fabric was a dark magenta, lined with waves of green.
Why was she undressing? Was she offering herself to them? It would make things a lot easier if that was the intention. But, still confusing.
“What-?” They tilted their head in confusion. “Are you asking to have sex?”
Rambutan balked for a second, a faint flush appearing on her tan skin. “N-No! You need a tourniquet..” she sputtered.
“What the hell is a..” Lychee paused, stumbling over the letters. “A-A tourni..quet?” They let their spear dissipate into a small puff of lavender smoke, watching the other suspiciously.
Rambutan shook her head, folding the fabric carefully. She approached slowly, watching the dragon for signs of.. something.
“It’s just to stop the bleeding, I can- I can wrap it if you’d like.” She offered up the bundle of soft magenta fabric, her eyes creased in worry.
Lychee would admit that they wanted her to wrap it. Their hands hurt, their head hurt, and maybe all they wanted was to sit back and let someone else help. Longan would never let them do something so disgraceful, they would only offer the raw supplies to deal with it. Never even thought to help.
“Uh,” they huffed, scooting back on the stone and offering up their leg to her. “Just.. Be careful around the scales.”
She smiled softly, moving to sit opposite of them. The slick black blood continued to spill, waves of agony surging through the dragon.
The fabric was unfolded, and…
Rambutan took their hand.
Her grip was firm, but gentle. It was a strange feeling, to be held. Their claw was extended deliberately, and she used it to cut the fabric.
When she was done, she placed their hand back against the stone, taking the rest of the piece and placing it aside. The newly cut strip was lifted and she locked eyes with them.
“I’m going to need you to lift your leg so I can wrap it around.”
“..You are such a strange cookie…” Despite themself, they lifted their leg.
Rambutan worked quickly, rough fingers tying the fabric in a tight wrap just above the gash. She had indeed heeded their earlier warning, trying her best to avoid the faint scales that emerged as she got closer to their torso.
Once the knot was tied, loosely might they add, the other got up and seemed to look around for something. Lychee squinted as they saw her pick up a small stick from the ground. Why?
Their instincts flared sharply; sticks could cause infections if placed into wounds, they were vulnerable, and completely alone. Their spear had been dissipated earlier, and while the could likely summon it faster than she could reach her bident, it was still a risk.
“Mind telling me what the stick’s for?”
“Hm?” Rambutan looked up. “Oh, it’s just to hold the knot in place. Do you want me to explain how this works?”
Silence stretched, heavy as molasses as the dragon’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you helping me?” They finally asked.
The other’s eyes widened, before her shoulders slumped. She walked back over with less caution than before but.. With a heavier sense of duty.
“It’s.. I guess an old instinct.”
“To.. care for someone..?” Dragons never did that, dragons only healed each other when it was dire. Life threatening. Wounds like these were the responsibility of the owner, maybe mortals had a different way?
“Yeah, it’s only natural to help those in pain. And.. you were in pain.” The stick was placed underneath the knot and rotated. The fabric tightened slowly with the stick and Lychee noted that soon, the bleeding had stopped. The wound was.. dormant for now.
The rest of the fabric from earlier was grabbed, and Rambutan was now using it to clean up the skin surrounding the wound, the blood.
“That.. That should hold it until we can get you back to the village..”
“What?!” Lychee flinched away, claws and teeth bared. They were not going back to village, not that stupid place.
Their companion lifted her hands in mock surrender, scooting back a bit.
“N-Not if you don’t want to! It’s just a suggestion.”
“No.”
“Sorry, Mango-!” She stopped, shaking her head. “Sorry, Lychee Dragon Cookie.”
“Get it right the first time..” Lychee looked at their leg, at the fabric wrapped around it. The pain was still there, and the fabrics were soaked in iridescent black but..
They did feel better.
Rambutan stood up and offered them her hand. “At least let me walk you back to your cave?”
Stars, they wouldn’t recover from this.
She was beautiful. Tan skin with scars from years of battling for her place as chieftain, thick magenta hair with a green tinge at the edges. And her physical appearance wasn’t anything horrible either. Toned muscle honed from hundreds of spars and real fights with their monsters. The sunlight filtering from above only made her look better, highlighting the vibrancy of her color scheme.
Lychee felt their cheeks warm sharply.
“Fine, fine! If you so insist!” They folded their arms, huffing. Rambutan let out a sound that might’ve been a laugh as she helped them stand.
“You know for a great dragon, you’re remarkably childish..”
“Hey!”
The forest seemed to glow as the dragon and chieftain walked through it, the area filled with quiet banter and flushed cheeks.
Little did the two know.. Hidden in a dark crevice between the trees, was a small golden orb, its dark black pupil narrow as it flew upwards.