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“This is a really bad idea, you know,” Tim said as he tried to shift to a more comfortable position in the cage. A difficult task since the cage bars were reinforced with blessed iron and burned his skin whenever he accidentally brushed up against them.
“Shut up!” One of his captors banged the side of the small cage, rattling Tim within. He hissed lightly as his hand hit the side and he got a new small welt from the cursed metal.
“That is completely unnecessary,” Tim reprimanded as he pulled his limbs as tightly around himself as possible. His thin, whip-like tail wrapped around his waist and his small wings twitched against his back– tucked up beneath his overly large black cloak. Underneath the cloak however, he wasn’t even wearing pants.
They’d captured him while he was sleeping, snatching him right out of his bed while he was nearly naked and barely had a chance to grab a nearby cloak before they’d bound him tightly and shoved him in the magic resistant cage.
The heavy, dark leather cloak wasn’t even his size… but at least it was fire proof.
There was another loud roar from overhead and the men gathered closer to the carriage with their cargo – the one particular cargo of Tim. Tim merely raised an eyebrow and pulled the cloak tighter around himself. His magic should naturally protect him from what was coming but the cloak provided more reassurance along with covering his nudity.
It also had a lingering scent of a campfire that soothed at Tim’s agitated nerves, providing him solace and reminding him that this would all be over soon– with none of these captors having a way of stopping it.
“I’m starting to think the demon is right lads.” The man who’d spoken raised a shaking sword as he glanced fearfully around the dark forest. “The demon is cursed, and we should have left it where we found it. I said we should have never taken this job!”
Tim resisted rolling his eyes at the cursed comment and perked up on the mention of a job.
“Stop it!” The group's apparent leader commanded. “He’s spreading fear! It’s what demons do! Don’t listen to him.”
“Well that’s stupid,” Tim advised primly as he began to fidget with the pointed end of his tail. “I do not spread fear. But could you tell me what’s in the contract you accepted? The one you took to capture me?”
A few of the men glanced towards him warily, even as their eyes lingered on the slivers of exposed skin from Tim stretching out an uncovered leg.
“Oh I think a few of you might help at least,” Tim smirked. He purposefully let his robe slip off his shoulder, exposing a bit of creamy unblemished skin from underneath. “I can show you more if you come closer,” he teased with a wink at the group of guards.
A blonde man dropped his sword and swayed closer on unsteady feet– until the man next to him slapped him across the face, knocking him from the daze Tim had placed him under.
“Idoit! He’s an incubus, his power is over our minds. Don’t look and don’t be weak to his wiles. Hold your crosses and silver for protection.”
Tim pouted at the man who’d spoken as he pulled up his robe, and everyone’s eyes quickly averted away. “You guys are no fun. Still, it’s not really me you have to worry about.”
Blondie glanced back at him, before slapping a hand over his eyes. “What do you mean?”
There was another roar and the trees shook around them. They’d already doused all lanterns so the only source of light was from the moon. A shadow crossed above, blocking the moonlight and darkness surrounded them as the group circled in close for protection.
“You should have paid more attention to your surroundings,” Tim offered solemnly. “If you tell me who paid you, I can ask for mercy on your behalf.”
The leader of the group, only obvious by the bossy air he carried himself with, turned towards him with a glare. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Tell me who hired you and I–”
Fire erupted around the small caravan and the men screamed as their bodies lit up under the intense heat. Tim sat back down, pulling up his cloak up high to protect himself from the heat with another pout in place as the kidnappers, all their equipment, and probably the contract that Tim was hoping to read burst into flames. It was a quick end, the high temperature of the dragon’s flames reduced everything to ashes in a matter of moments.
Tim’s cage of blessed metal melted around him, though a shimmering spell of protection along with the fire proof cloak kept him completely unharmed.
“Blessed metal is not impervious to dragon fire,” he noted to himself, his fingers itching for his notebook to write the details down. “I wonder if it’s the properties related to the metal or the blessing that make it weak.” He reached out to touch the bubbling metal when a hand snatched his wrist before he could burn himself.
“I think that’s enough injuries in the name of research for one day, Tim,” Jason said as he began observing the burns across Tim’s hands and arms.
“Oh come on,” Tim laughed, not bothering to pull his hand back. “I want to mettle with the metal meltings.”
Jason huffed, causing a stream of smoke to emerge from his nose as he smiled fondly. “Fine, I’ll do the collecting though. Did they tell you who sent them this time?”
“They were about to before you decided to toast them all. You could have left one alive for questioning!” Tim accused. The robe slipped down his shoulders again as he pointed. Jason grinned, eyes lighting up as a flame shaped brand appeared.
Seeing what distracted him, Tim huffed and straightened the robe, shooting him a glare. “Stop staring at your mark. How are we going to figure out who sent them?”
“I’ll never get tired of seeing my magic on your skin,” Jsaon immediately pipped bac,
Jason glanced around the empty space contemplatively. Where once there had been trees and a road with a small caravan, now there was nothing but ash. On the edge of the area the previous greenery was still smoldering as hot coals. He frowned as he began to kick at the various piles of ashes until–
“Don’t hurt me!” Blondie from before emerged from under a pile, completely unharmed.
“There you are!” Jason beamed as he turned to Tim. “I cast a protection on the one closest to you so either I could personally roast him slowly for touching or possibly you could question him!”
It was Tim’s turn to give a fond sigh as Jason’s tail wiggled with happiness. The dragon rarely took a fully human form, choosing instead the lazy approach of just accepting the pieces that made life more convenient for him. Jason’s humanoid form therefore looked far more demonic with dark horns emerging from his head and a large scaly tail, than even Tim’s full demon appearance.
“Okay, yes,” Tim allowed, “you did a good job. But he didn’t touch so I get to question him!”
Jason growled as he heaved the man up by his collar. “I can still roast him while you ask your questions. Slowly burning something piece by piece until you are done sounds like a great time.”
Tim frowned as the man gave a final squeak and promptly fainted in Jason’s grasp. “You broke him already,” he admonished. He finally took a step towards Jason, but a sharp burning had him yanking his foot back with a gasp.
“The metal is all around you. Sorry about that,” Jason dropped the man in a heap and quickly knelt down in front of Tim. “Climb on my back.”
Jason’s wings stretched out, showing off the strength of his back muscles before Tim. “Hmm, can you just carry me in your arms? I’m feeling so faint.”
Jason turned back to him with a concerned frown, but at seeing Tim’s smirk once more gracing his lips, Jason laughed. “If I carry you, how am I supposed to also carry your new captive and your precious metals?”
“You’ll figure it out won’t you?” Tim started to step towards him but Jason scooped him up before his feet could touch the ground.
Tim wrapped his arms around his dragon’s neck, inhaling the smokey scent. “Thanks for coming for me.”
Jason’s returning embrace was tight, secure, and protective. Tim sank into it, enjoying all the warmth offered.
The dragon gave a happy grumble before: “No one takes a dragon’s mate."