-"What?..." Lyra said, but the answer should be obvious. There was no way some human girl would be able to make it here, after all. Reina in turn pranced around barefoot in the living room, wearing only one of Lyra's shirts, which thankfully went down far enough to cover Reina's privates, if she now had any in human form, but Lyra assumed she did.
"Forgive me, master, I thought you knew dragons could use the polymorph spell." Reina said, smiling brightly and once again getting closer to Lyra, taking and hugging her arm. She looked young, but still adult, so in her early twenties. Fair skin, medium long bright red hair hastily tied into a pony-tail, and eyes that were a deep crimson. Her figure was beautiful, fit yet curvaceous, and even slightly taller than Lyra.
"Anyways, I figured you'd be back around dinner time, so I caught some fish and began preparing a fish stew!" Reina said, beaming happily at Lyra as she guided the High Elf towards the kitchen. And Lyra, well, she was just dragged along, though she managed to ask:
-"What's in the stew?"
Reina just stopped in the kitchen, before the stove, and looked at Lyra with a puzzled look. "Fish, I just told you." she said, raising an eyebrow, confused.
-"Yes but... what else, other than fish? To be a stew, you need more. Like... potato? Vegetables." Lyra answered.
"Nothing, just fish." Reina said, and using her bare hand removed the cast-iron lid from the pot, and showed the content. It was as she had said, just... 5 fish, not even filled or anything, crammed into the pot with a bit of water, currently boiling away. Lyra looked down into the pot, then at Reina, then back at the pot. Then she laughed, short yet sweet.
-"Reina dear, this is just... boiling fish. They haven't even been prepared yet." Lyra said, looking over towards the dragon, who in turn just looked like a massive questionmark. Lyra actually found this side of Reina to be rather cute, and assumed the dragon had probably never cooked anything before, but had still tried her best to make dinner for Lyra regardless.
"I apologize if it is not up to your standards, Master. I have never really cooked before. Not had much practice going around in my polymorph form." Reina said, looking a bit embarrassed as she pushed her two index fingers together. Lyra smiled in return, and gestured for the pair of them to go sit down at the kitchen table. The fish wouldn't be done for yet another while anyways. Once seated, she pulled out some ready-made food from the Capital City of the Revean Empire that she had stored in her inventory. Since time was frozen in there, the food she pulled out, which were meat-skewers, were still smoking hot. She put down some twenty some skewers on a plate on the table, and sat down opposite of Reina.
-"Nothing to apologize for. I am touched that you thought to try and prepare dinner. Perhaps in the future I might be able to teach you how to cook." Lyra said, as she gestured for Reina to try the skewers.
"Oh, I'd love that! It is my duty to look after all of your needs, after all!" the redhead responded, reaching over to take a skewer, only to take a big bite, even going as far as to bite through and eat the wooden stick all the meat had been impaled upon.
-"Oh, Reina-... not the wood. Look, here, you eat just the meat, like this..." Lyra explained, showing Reina how one was supposed to take the meat and drag it off the stick, and then eat it.
"Oooooh. Yeah that makes sense. Say, what's this green and red stuff, between the meat?" Reina then asked as she chewed loudly, mouth open.
-"That would be squash and paprika." Lyra answered calmly, as she took another bite from her skewer.
"Ew, veggies..." Reina said with a look of utter distaste on her face. Then, she carefully removed all the meats from the skewer, and put all the vegetables back on the plate, to be discarded.
-"You do not eat vegetables?" Lyra asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Of course not! I am a dragon, not a rabbit, Master." Reina said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, while happily chewing on the meat, eating with her hands, licking her fingers, the whole deal.
-"Of course. Honestly, I do not know all that much about dragon... culture." Lyra said, watching Reina with a fascinated look. This was the first non-human person she had ever conversed with, so she was very curious about everything about her. "By the way, is that my shirt?" Lyra then added.
"It is! Well, I found it in the house, so I assume it is yours. I considered not wearing anything but I know you two-legged wingless folks always cover up your bodies with clothes, so I tried to fit in! Did I do it right?" Reina answered immediately, looking down at the shirt, very proud of herself! Even if it was on backwards. Lyra did not however have the heart to tell her that.
-"You did very well, for your first time." Lyra just said diplomatically.
"Thank you master! So long as you are happy, I am happy!" Reina said with a smile, as she began removing meat from another skewer. Lyra ate more slowly, marveling at how she could sit here, inside a house, eating dinner with a dragon that was originally larger than her entire house.
-"You really do not mind the entire conflict with your clan? I killed many Red Dragons, yet you do not feel an ounce of anger or resentment towards me?" Lyra then asked, feeling like she had to get to the bottom of this, once and for all. To understand the mentality. Reina tilted her head sideways, just like a puppy would.
"If they died, it is because they were weak. The weak will perish, that is the way of nature. The strong prosper, the weak die. I too would have died, but you chose to spare me! Which is why I am not resentful at all, but thankful! More than thankful, honored! That I get to follow and serve someone as strong as you!" Reina said in response, a fist raised, the fire of devotion burning inside her red eyes.
-"I see. So strength is central to your culture?" Lyra asked.
"Absolutely. It is how our leader is chosen, but killing the previous leader. It is also how we choose our mates." Reina said, putting some more meat into her mouth gleefully.
-"You-... choose partners by fighting?" Lyra said, bewildered.
"Naturally. Most males will fight and subjugate the females, and then fertilize their eggs. And we females naturally only want the strongest males, so we put up a good fight, to ensure the males have what it takes! The stronger the male, the better!" Reina answered casually.
-"So... it brings status, to have a very strong partner?" Lyra asked gently.
"Indeed. While rare, it can also go the other way. If I was very strong, I could fight and subjugate a male, and make him fertilize my eggs. But most dragon females prefer to find a mate stronger than themselves. But it is not always possible. The current Matriarch, for example, was the strongest around. So there were no males who could beat her, and make her theirs. As such, she was still without a mate despite being being over 500 years old!" Reina explained, as she reached for her third skewer.
-"Very fascinating." Lyra remarked, truthfully. It was a very interesting mindset, to be sure, to pick your partner entirely based on their strength and battle-prowess. Though also a very natural way of life. You want a partner who can protect you and the yours, while you are with child, after all. Or whelp, in this case.
-"I did end up killing the Matriarch though, by the way. I'll be using her body to fashion some more equipment, upon her own request." Lyra then added, as she took a bite of squash from her skewer.
"I figured. Who is the new leader?" Reina asked.
-"No one. Not yet at least. Told them all to figure it out themselves." Lyra answered.
"I see..." Reina said, looking thoughtful for a moment, as if contemplating something, but then she quickly got back to eating her meat.
-"Something on your mind, Reina?" Lyra asked, curiously.
"Oh nothing serious. But would you permit me to leave for a while tomorrow? I promise you I will be back as soon as I can master!" Reina said pleadingly, looking at Lyra with those big, red puppy eyes.
-"Sure. I will probably leave the Spirit Sanctuary in a few days time." Lyra answered, taking a bite of meat.
"I'll be sure to be back by then!" Reina answered quickly.
-"Oh, you do not have to come wi-" Lyra stopped, noticing how hurt the woman opposite of her looked.
-"Reina, I jus-"
"You don't want me, after all? Was it the fish stew? Am I eating too much? I am really sorry master, but please do not send me away or leave without me! I promise to be useful! Please!" Reina said loudly, voice trembling.
-"No no! You got it all wrong, I... didn't mean it like that. I just... did not assume you planned to go with me everywhere..." Lyra said slowly.
"Why wouldn't I? You are my master! Where you go, I go! It is my job to look after you now, and to serve you! So please... never leave without me..." the dragon woman said, looking down at the table with the same hurt, insecure expression.
Lyra sighed softly. She had only really known Reina for a few hours, but it felt far longer. She had not expected to gain a permanent traveling companion, but Reina was sweet, sincere, and unexpectedly cute. So Lyra reached out over the table, taking Reina's hand and giving it a squeeze.
-"I promise you I won't leave you behind, okay? I just thought you would want to stay here, was all." Lyra then said, smiling at the redhead.
"Okay... so it really wasn't the stew?" Reina asked, which prompted a laugh from Lyra, and a quick shake of her head.
-"No no, I promise it wasn't. Now eat up, alright?" Lyra answered.
And just like that, the dinner progressed into late at night. Reina could eat a lot. Lyra had 3 skewers, while Reina had the remaining 17. She also ate the entire fish stew herself, which Lyra politely declined. When it was time to sleep, Lyra had at first assumed the dragon would want to sleep outside, but quickly realized her folly when the dragon-girl followed Lyra upstairs and then promptly climbed into Lyra's own bed. She sat there under the cover of the blankets, and patted the spot beside her, smiling expectantly.
-"You... want us to sleep together?" Lyra said, a bit unsure about this progression. Reina however just nodded rapidly.
-"But... I prefer to sleep naked..." Lyra added, thinking maybe Reina would pick up on the hint. Alas, she did not, as she just answered with the brightest of smiles:
"Oh, I absolutely do not mind! Not at all, master!"
Lyra stifled a laugh with the back of her hand, finding these misunderstandings rather cute and endearing. There was something refreshing about how honest and open Reina was, and how... well, non-human she was. In the end, Lyra relented, undressed, and climbed into bed together with Reina. She tried to keep a respectful and modest distant, but that was clearly not what Reina had intended, who quickly wrapped her arms around Lyra and nuzzled her face in against the nape of Lyra's neck, breathing in her scent deeply before settling down.
"Ahh... this is the best! Good night master, see you tomorrow!" Reina then expressed, and promptly fell asleep just like that in less than 30 seconds. Lyra however, well... she wasn't sure if she could possibly get any sleep like this, not with her heart beating this wildly. She had never even shared a bed with anyone before, nor had she cuddled like this, at least not without any mind-control involved. But it wasn't that bad. In fact, Reina was very warm and soft, and very cute, despite the fact she was drooling all over Lyra's shoulder. Lyra smiled faintly, worried about how the night would go, as she said gently:
-"Good night Reina~"