Past noon, the wheat fields are quivering under the influence of the wind, and a sweet fragrance of lilacs and fresh lilies of the valley spreads around the colourful flowerbeds adjoining the numerous meadows of the kingdom of Merini.
In the blue sky, without any clouds other than a few high cirri, birds sing happily as they pass from one bush to another, looking for their nest. Finally, a few bees and bumblebees, sprinkled with pollen, go about their usual quest for nectar, foraging again and again.
Except for the rustling of the fields, a flat calm reigns.
A farmer with a single straw hat for shade places his fork on the ground: a stalk of wheat in his mouth, he takes the time to fill his lungs with fresh air while looking at the countryside around him. In the distance, he manages to see the tower of the castle, where his son, soon to be an apprentice squire, works: a rare privilege for a child born from an unnamed family, but fortunately, the King of Merini accepts anyone, as long as one can prove their worth.
He places a sheet over his slightly damp forehead and smiles: a good day of work seems to be coming to an end for him.
However, all of a sudden, the ground shakes.
From a small grove on the path that runs alongside his field suddenly escapes a flock of panicked birds, rushing to the sky, flapping their wings hurriedly. A low rumble begins to accompany the slight tremor.
The noise soon becomes clearer and the farmer frowns, wondering what could possibly be causing such a commotion. Perhaps this is the work of an armed troop returning from a mission to Kahka Brud, or that of a group of young reckless adolescents still racing on horseback.
He sighs: whatever the options, he has no desire to witness such a spectacle.
But as he walks to take his fork back, the ground shakes harder than ever and a noise like an infernal horse rush tears the earth apart: from the road suddenly emerges an enormous creature running at full speed and pounding the great earthen path with its giant claws, raising behind it a large cloud of dust and smoke which spreads in its furrow and on the sides.
Taken with fear, the farmer almost trips and clings as a last hope to his pitchfork while the creature passes in fury near him, without paying him the slightest attention though: its eagerness seems to concentrate its attention elsewhere.
Looking closer, he notices that the enormous monster is covered in feathers and scales, and that immense wings are neatly tucked to its sides.
But just as he regains control of his breathing, the creature already disappears behind an enormous trail of dust.
The rumbling subsides a little and silence then finally returns.
Trembling a little, the man takes his pitchfork and runs at full speed to return home.
Still, an incredible thing seems to torment his mind: it looked like the creature was covered in ropes and boxes.
“sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t”
Falin gallops along the path, her human part leaning forward as if to grab the few precious seconds that could save her from being late for the first time at work. Not surprising however given that this is also her first time doing a transport job.
Bending instinctively to avoid a few tree branches that clutter the path and breaking those that resist her passage, she suddenly emerges from a grove: a myriad of birds escape from it, chattering by the dozen.
“Ooooops sorry my bad aaaaah.”
Nevertheless, there is no time to feel sorry for the fate of the poor birds who are chased from their shelters, nor for that of the farmer who almost falls backwards when he sees her appear on the path: she traces her route with the greatest focus she can manage. After all, accidents happen quickly if she doesn't pay attention to what's happening in front of her.
She may put away her wings as much as she can to avoid being slowed down in her movements, but the dozens of large boxes that she carries on her back weigh her down enough to tire her out little by little: visibly, her future profession will be an endurance race rather than an speed one.
“That's it! I see the castle!”
Finally! She almost wants to cry with joy: something to quench her great thirst await her there, surely in the company of her loved ones, all happy to see her for sure.
No, she shakes her head: staying focused on the path must remain her top priority, at least until she arrives. She's already late enough to get lost in her deep thoughts.
Suddenly, the path branches off to slowly descend the steep slope of the last hill which separates her from the village and the castle. Prudence would demand that she just follow the road and prepare to turn quickly, but unfortunately the detour seems much too long.
Making a quick decision, with her hind paws against the ground, she then gains momentum by tearing up part of the earthy soil and leaps forward over the low wall separating the path from the slope and the void. The catastrophic acceleration pulls her human torso back but she holds on: with surprising grace, she opens her large majestic white wings in a prodigious gust of wind and began to descend the hill while gliding, her claws still rubbing the ground.
Behind her, a furrow of grass, shrubs and gravel torn from the slope fly to follow her in her fall: a loud noise, like a clap of thunder, then resonates in the valley.
“Oops again.”
Seen from a distance, one might well believe that an entire section of hillside could be literally collapsing: enough to embarrass Falin for the next five hundred years if anyone asked her how her first day as a transporter had been and what was the origin of the noise that had shaken the kingdom that day.
But soon, her front claws touch the ground with a surprising deceleration: she staggers a little while regaining her balance on the terrain again flat, twirling her rear tail, and then falls back with more confidence on her four paws.
Fortunately, the packages she carries don't contain anything really breakable.
“Oof” she sighs, one of her hands wiping her sweat-soaked forehead as her lower half still hurries to get to her destination.
But now that she’s finally starting to approach the houses of the village, it’s time to slow down for her: no matter how late she is, she can't risk crushing or sweeping away anyone or anything in town. Not to mention that Laios would surely be a little embarrassed to still have to find excuses for her before the general population: after all, it had already happened that she committed a few "accidents" from time to time (only material accidents obviously).
In front of her soon appears the main avenue leading to the castle, the passers-by who meet her are well accustomed to her presence and, despite their customary anxiety, greet her while slowly moving out of her way as she advance towards her own boutique.
It’s a shame that Falin finds it so difficult to speak: her vocal cords are too low and are already extremely tiring just to say “hello”. So, she just waves her arms, all smiles, to each person who crosses her path.
Around the chimera, the village children seem to be begging her to stop and play with them but unfortunately, she must first complete her current task. To make them understand, she crosses her arms with a thin, embarrassed smile while shaking her head.
The children's disappointed looks break her heart but she will have time to make up for it later.
“Sorry sorry…”
Rubbing her hand behind her head, she turns a street corner and finally arrives in front of the large warehouse that serves as her shop. Just in front of the entrance, Kiki and Namari are waiting, waving at her next to a coupling of horses and a cart.
The dwarf woman looks a little embarrassed while stomping her left foot but the tall-man following behind gives Falin a wonderful smile as the latter carefully comes to park in front of them. Her hind talons fold gently, causing her to tip her body then, her fore ones also follow the movement by placing themselves partly under her abdomen.
With a light thud, she finally rests all her weight on the ground.
-“She looks exactly like a cat.” she hears Kiki say as the two women come to meet her at the front.
As Namari arrives first, Falin gives her a big smile and waves at her energetically with her right arm.
-“Everything went well?” then asks Kiki who arrives behind the dwarf, still with her usual charming expression.
The chimera soon agrees, nodding her head with a proud smile.
However, Namari at her side still seems a little uncomfortable, she rubs the back of her head and then finally decides to speak under the now perplexed gaze of the cleric.
-“Falin, you didn’t have to make such a fuss, it didn’t matter if you were just a little late… I bet everyone has heard you fall…” she says with a tired look “…but thank you all the same.”
Terribly embarrassed, the chimera's cheeks turns even more red than usual and she raises her eyes to the sky to give herself an innocent look, as if the thunderclap that resonated in the capital was not her fault. How unlucky for her that the sky is so clear.
But while she’s still immersed in her embarrassment, Kiki leans towards Namari from behind, a delicate and calm smile on her lips.
-“Come on Namari, don’t be grumpy, she did what she could. I could never have hoped to bring so many bags of wheat from Kahka Brud in such a short time without her precious help.” she whispers to her partner before turning towards Falin, narrowing her eyes “Thank you for taking my request so seriously, I will make sure to pay what I owe you as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you.” the chimera thinks as she then smiles: finally, a new influx of money into the coffers of the chimera shop. It's been months since she really hasn't earned much and her first official transport mission will surely bring her a lot of money: enough to allow Laios to finance the kingdom projects without risking investing too large a part of the royal treasury in the chimera's bowl. After all, with the amount of daily food she needs to survive, the castle's budget is almost breaking.
She of course initially did try to make money by making deals with Kiki to buy and sell her shipments at her own shop but in the end, the tall-man rather recently convinced her to take care of the transportation of goods directly. The chimera's impressive running speed and the lifting capacity of her body definitely seemed to please the now ambitious trade-woman.
Returning to the present, Kiki slowly opens her eyes, stands up and now extends her hand to the chimera who bends down to shake it.
-“Glad to have done business with you once again!”
Pleasure obviously shared for Falin, she nods with even more energy than before, shaking a little hard the arm of the tall-man who is pulled a little more upwards with each handshake.
Namari seems a little worried to see her partner mistreated but Kiki only laughs.
-“We'll start unloading the crates then.” announces the latter, blinking at the dwarf woman who regains her senses a little while blushing.
-“Yes, let’s go.”
The two women, circling the chimera, then head to the rear, where the cargo galloped from Kahka Brud is still securely attached to Falin. The simple technique of using multiple belts going around her abdomen seems to have worked: visibly, the rope knots of each bundle attached to it were fortunately strong enough.
Under the curious eye of the chimera who has now turned around a little, Kiki begins to untie the boxes, passing them to Namari from hand to hand while the latter places them in their own cart to which horses are harnessed. But soon, the tall-man is no longer tall enough to be able to access the last crates, a good wall of red scales being in front of her. She turns towards Falin.
-“Can I climb up?”
“Of course.” thinks the chimera, nodding her head.
So, gently, hooking her hands and feet on everything she can, Kiki climbs a little and finally manages to detach the rest, thus completely freeing Falin from her load. Eventually, the two women remove the remaining belts and she is soon completely free of the weight and constraints which until now have tightened her everywhere.
“It feels good.”
Although Laios has spent a good part of his time and energy imagining this kind of equipment, she still prefers to live without it.
“Especially since they would get in Marcille’s way.”
The tall-man and the dwarf woman being sufficiently far from her, she can finally get up: her four powerful talons slowly lift the rest of her body and she returns to a position which allows her to turn other than by pivoting her human torso.
-“See you next time.” then concludes Kiki who, already inside her cart, is waving at her and smiling.
In turn, Namari greets the chimera and then hastens to join her partner with an expression of haste. In response, Falin waves both hands and finally watches the convoy leave with the crates she has been carrying on her back so far.
She would have liked to carry them further but Kiki did assure her multiples times before that it would be better that she limit herself to the Kahka Brud – Merini route rather than trying longer distances. A reasonable decision given that no one, not even Falin, really knows the extent of her full running endurance.
“That remains to be discovered!” she thinks, smirking proudly, “like with everything else.”
After all, it's obviously a bit strange to have spent a good portion of her life as a human and have to spend the vastness she has left as a chimerical creature like she is now. Learning to carefully manoeuvre so many different members and masses does not happen without effort: fortunately, she can count on all her friends to trust her and accompany her in this curious experience.
Of course, Laios is the most excited of them all but Marcille is not far behind, even if the latter seeks more to take care of the chimera’s well-being than anything else.
“I’m lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people.”
At a light trotting pace, she then arrives in front of her shop: a rather large stone building with a large roof supported by a frame worthy of the largest religious buildings. Entering through the enormous back door which sinks a little under the ground, she remembers how the masons and carpenters railed when they saw the plans designed by Laios: no one had ever used such construction methods for such a simple shop.
She turns the large leaves of the double door that separates the inside from the outside with her two fore talons, and finally enters. Inside, the floor lowers a little more so that only her human half can protrude from the counter: a way of not directly frightening customers who enter through the front door while allowing them to communicate with her with equal height.
Even if it is always a little strange to make those who enter understand that she is not really able to speak, the parchments and ink that Marcille provided her still allow her to carry out some exchanges by writing, the rest being completed by signs.
But if she goes to her shop on this apparently public holiday for the city's merchants, it is obviously not to sell but to get something to wait before the meal. Under the counter platform is actually organized a small reserve in which there are some provisions to offer a little respite between lunch and dinner: nothing too big of course, just a few large hams, a few wheels of cheese, big loaves and a direct access to a water well. As surprising as it may seem, and even if her diet is primarily carnivorous, it is still also possible for her to digest other foods in smaller quantities: enough to perfectly fill the gaps.
The space available around her is a little tight but she won't last long: first, she takes a big jar and fills it with water from the well, immediately drinking large gulps before filling it again and again and again. Eventually, her terrible thirst quenched, she resumes taking some other goods in order to fill herself up.
But suddenly, while she is busy taking everything she can, the front doorbell rings: the chimera, taken by surprise, gets up with a somewhat powerful leap and then knocks abruptly her head on the ceiling of the storage room, making the floor of the customer area shake.
“Ouch ouch”
-“Falin? Is everything fine?”
Apparently, Marcille has just entered the store: she would recognize her among thousands just by her very particular smell.
Showing a complicated smile, the chimera stands up over the counter while kneading the top of her head with both hands. Obviously, nothing pleases her more than her beloved half-elf visiting her at her workplace but she must admit that she would have preferred to be warned before smashing her head on the ceiling.
-“E-Excuse me, I must have surprised you.”
In front of her, her beloved partner, wearing a light blue dress, seems to be totally helpless with a half-panicked, half-embarrassed look: Falin must first reassure her a little. And so, the latter waves her hands while smiling stupidly, fangs protruding above her lips.
-“Are you sure?” adds Marcille, seeming to understand where the chimera is coming from while the latter acquiesces by nodding her head.
But in the next moment, the half-elf does not even have time to add one more word: her monstrous partner passes her human half directly over the counter and comes to embrace her, wrapping her two feathered arms behind her partner’s back: they kiss tenderly despite the slightly strange height difference.
Falin is still a little worried about putting too much force into her kisses but Marcille always reassures her, so, this time, she’s content to just have confidence in herself for once.
-“Marci.” she manages to say with a little effort when their lips part.
-“F-Falin.” replies the half-elf, blushing a little at first before in turn coming to reinforce the embrace of her companion, smiling in a peaceful manner, “I’m happy to see you again…”
Then she sneezes.
*ATCHAAAA*
The chimera steps back a little in surprise while the half-elf scrutinizes her while sniffing with a slightly surprised look.
-“F-Falin, you look like you are covered in dust.” she then says in a stern voice.
“Ooooops.”
Something that she has obviously not noticed since earlier: the dust and dirt from the path have visibly spread over her entire body since her race and are now staining her normally white feathers with a greyish tint.
Embarrassed for good, she can't stop herself from rubbing herself all over: how dare she appear in front of Marcille looking so dirty? How could she charm her mate with grey plumage like that? Not to mention that the little green blouse that she usually wears to cover her torso, the same one that the half-elf bought for her, also seems to be in poor condition.
-“Stop stop, you’re going to put it all over the furniture!” exclaims her partner on the other hand, moving a little away from the cloud of dust generated by the chimera's panicked smear.
Then under the pleas of the court mage, she stops, arms dangling, still dusty.
-“It would be better if you went and washed yourself at the lake at that point.” the latter adds, raising her finger with a knowing expression.
“The lake? Why not…”
Yes, perhaps it’s a good idea: she might as well go wash before the meal at the castle. Not only to avoid putting dust in her bowl but also to be clean before she goes to take a post-meal nap: after all, these naps can very well last between one and two days.
“Maybe Marcille thought about it too…”
Of course, it has now been a year since Falin came to her senses and Laios was crowned king: her partner has had more than enough time to get used to her rather “special” sleeping pattern.
(Even if she still did have difficulties at first accepting her partner’s long three-month hibernation period in winter: Laios, on this occasion, did have to repeat to her several times that no, Falin was not dead and that she would wake up once winter passed).
Regardless, the chimera is now determined to go wash herself: one last activity with her beloved half-elf before going to eat and sleeping as much as possible.
However, she still gestures towards her stomach and then towards the reserve below as if to show that she intends to take something to eat on the way.
-“Of course! Take something to hold on to. If you want, I’m willing to carry part of it.” Marcille replies, understanding Falin's intentions better and better out of habit.
The latter shakes her head as if to say that everything will be fine and then takes one of the large shoulder bags lying on the side to wrap it around her bust.
-“Okay, I’ll see you on the other side then.” concludes the half-elf with a tender smile.
The latter then leaves the room through the front door, leaving the chimera to bend down a little towards the reserve to take some provisions.
“I didn’t ask if she was hungry on her side, I might as well have a little extra for her too.”
There are some very sweet fruits there just waiting to be devoured, enough to satisfy her partner before dinner: she could provide Marcille with anything.
With her bag full to the brim, now ready to set off on an little adventure, she slowly backs out of the store, taking care to avoid sweeping her tail too much as it sticks out of the walls: the store may be big, but really, there is only one direction of entry and exit that can be suitable.
Outside, the half-elf waits for her while scanning the surroundings, as if preparing to warn her of the slightest unforeseen event that might arise while she is walking back. Fortunately, the chimera’s human bust is rather flexible: she manages to turn around a little to inspect her surroundings, finishing leaving her large shop in complete safety. Finally, completely outside, she takes a deep breath and then slowly turns around to face her partner.
-“Good job Falin! You are managing better and better!” remarks the latter smiling, more than two meters under the gaze of the chimera who gives her a proud grin in response, her eyes narrowed.
“You see? I learn from my mistakes!”
Of course, she continues to experience the burden that her body represents on a daily basis, but she still has far fewer accidents than before: something that greatly reassures Marcille.
But strangely, the half-elf's joy seems to disappear a little in the next moment, as if she were overcome by doubt: she looks up and down at the chimera with a strange expression, a hand over her mouth.
-“Um, Falin?”
“Hmmm?”
After a questioning huff, the chimera slowly leans towards her mate with a perplexed look. But the latter finally turns her back on her.
-“N-no it’s okay, ‘nothing to say.”
Her ears lowered and a little red, visibly embarrassed, she then begins to walk slowly towards the street, as if nothing happened.
-“A-are you coming?” she then asks without really turning around, motioning for her gigantic partner to move forward.
At that moment, if Falin were a wise chimera, she would surely be content to follow her nicely, but the cleric has other tricks up her sleeve, especially since she largely guesses what might have been thinking her partner just before.
“Hehe.”
With a mischievous smile, she rushes towards the half-elf and, surrounding her with her feathered arms, scoops her with a quick gesture into the air while the latter's legs dance in the void.
-“AAAAH FAAAALIN.” the half-elf shouts, completely panicked as she sees herself suddenly gaining height, almost four metres high from the ground.
In response, Falin hugs her and cover her with kisses before gently placing her, completely dazed, on the pile of feathers of her back, the same which sometimes serves as cushions for sleeping.
-“F-F-F…”
Poor Marcille completely unlocks: her cheeks red, she’s obviously trying to understand what has just happened in the space of a few seconds. A little worried, the chimera turns around a little to check that she hasn't completely blown her fuses.
-“Marci?” she manages to say in a weak voice.
Fortunately, the half-elf then shakes her head a little and looks at her partner with a slightly more usual expression of anger: the chimera can breathe in relief.
-“F-Falin!” Let me know next time! Especially when you’re still covered in dust!” she says, pointing at her, her other hand firmly anchored in the pile of feathers to prevent any fall from this height.
But the cleric only smiles more brightly, laughing a little through compulsive huffs, her eyes tenderly narrowed.
“You didn’t dare ask.” she thinks, pointing at Marcille.
-“Me? What do you mean?” the half-elf, indignant, blushes even more.
The latter then begins to cross her arms, while looking into the air with an embarrassed look while her legs are firmly anchored in the pile of large feathers which serve as her saddle.
-“Okay you win… I just didn’t dare ask you…” she finally admits, “But you better be going now grrr …”
Falin laughs a little more then decides to obey and finally set off. She turns her body around to face the road and soon begins to march forward, one paw after another, slowly but surely towards the lake.
“Marcille is much too cautious.”
As if asking for such a favour was rude when, on the contrary, it fills the chimera with happiness to offer her sweetheart a little ride on her dragon back.
In addition, although she feels the half-elf holding some of her feathers firmly, the latter seems more reassured than the first times Falin had her ride on her back.
“One really gets used to everything.” she notices as one of her hands rummages in the large bag she took with her, pulling out a large piece of ham and an apple which she kindly hands to her partner while the latter still seems a little trembling.
"She's still a little dizzy though.”
As strange as it may seem, on her side, Falin has never felt dizzy from her new height since waking up as a chimera, as if this position seemed natural to her. Maybe her transformation or the dragon soul living inside her allows her to forget this fear or maybe the feeling of her large claws pressing down on dry land contradicts what her brain sees? Who can really know except her? Perhaps is she the only still living chimera in the world after all?
With these good thoughts, while her fangs fall on the ham that she now holds in both hands, she and her rider finally leave the castle village to head towards the lake located a little below.
Both are of course used to going to such a place: given the size of her body, it is only there that the chimera can hope to clean her feathers and scales properly and in peace. Laios initially wanted to create a bathtub in her size at the castle but, given the angry expression displayed by the royal carpenter upon receiving the order, such an option seemed impossible, not to mention the incredible amount of water that such a project would require and the impossibility of heating it completely.
So, she then settled for using the entire lake as a bathtub: it's better to have too much than too little water. On the other hand, the castle has already been sufficiently furnished for her, her room having taken the place of a former large armoury next to her brother's quarters: it would surely have embarrassed her to have to take up a little more space, especially since Yaad is tired enough as it is by all these changes.
Of course, to rediscover the pleasure of hot water, she sometimes heats a basin herself and pours it slowly over her head, but the effect is not really the same when the vast majority of her body remains immersed in cooler air.
Passing next to a tree on the grassy path in front of them, the chimera takes a final bite of her ham when suddenly she feels Marcille approaching her, advancing on her back, feather by feather.
-“You are very calm, Falin.” gently remarks the latter who then wraps her arms around her bust.
In response, the chimera looks at her with a perplexed look, pointing at herself.
“Me? Really?”
Is the walk to the lake too quiet for the half-elf? Maybe she wants a more energetic crossing? Perhaps that's why she makes such a remark now… But it doesn’t matter as she would do anything to please her beloved.
“Alright, let’s spice things up a bit.” she says to herself, smiling while giving an “ok” with her left hand to Marcille who is still clinging to her.
On her side, the half-elf soon seems to understand that something’s wrong and begins to panic a little.
-“Wait Fal-”
Too late, once her ham bone quickly put away, with an energetic leap, the chimera hits the ground with frightening force and rushes with lightning speed along the distance they still have to cover. Now that she is completely unloaded from her packs, she very quickly reaches her maximum velocity, faster than a horse at full speed.
She can still, thankfully, feel the half-elf's hands clinging desperately to her, arms and legs wrapped as if her life depends on it (and it surely does). But too bad Falin can’t hear her scream over the hammering of her claws on the ground, otherwise she would surely brake.
The ordeal finally ends when the couple arrives at the lake, the chimera reducing the pace of its frantic walk to resume a light trotting pace.
-“Falin.”
“Hmm?”
Her head turns towards the half-elf and notices with horror that the latter seems to be on the verge of throwing up, her face paler than death.
“Oh no, I overdid it!”
Immediately, Marcille lets go of her beloved's bust and sprawls full length into the feather bed on her back while the chimera, in panic, stops completely, waving her arms.
-“Marci? Are you… "
“Just a little more effort.”
-“…All right?”
No answer.
But then, still lying on her feathered back, her partner waves an arm in the air as if to signal that everything’s fine.
-“Falin, please lie down.” she proceeds to ask in a weak voice.
Without asking more, the chimera immediately complies, gently lowering her abdomen to the grassy ground next to the lake. From her stabilized position, Marcille slowly slides from her lying position to return to firm ground, one hand clutching one of her partner's large feathers to prevent her from tripping during the manoeuvre.
With her feet back on land, she sits directly in the grass and takes a deep breath, seeming to regain some colour.
As for Falin, she panics slightly, more embarrassed than ever at having misunderstood her companion's wishes.
“Aaah, how can I fix this??”
In these moments, she never really knows what to do to soothe the half-elf's heart. However, this time, she seems to be more sick than angry: hugging her against her brood patch is therefore perhaps not the right solution for once. Perhaps, it would be better to give her as much space as possible to breathe this time.
Maybe a flower could help? At the academy, even if the chimera was not always very attentive, she nevertheless learned to recognize medicinal plants thanks to her eating habits. And so her gaze soon sweeps the sides of the lake, looking for what might interest her while her partner is still sitting in the grass, as if immersed in a fairly deep state of meditation: the latter probably trying to not throw up right now.
“There’s lavender there.” she finally notices, as one of her wings covers her head to prevent her from being dazzled by the sun.
Perfect, a few dozen meters from her, at the edge of the lake, a few blue beds of lavender seem to be growing, a flower quite suitable for combating nausea and feelings of dizziness: without waiting any longer, she gallops to the location in question and once arrived there, takes great care not to crush even one square centimetre of plants with her claws.
Flowers this small necessarily require the intervention of her delicate human hands to be able to manipulate them, so she leans as much as she can towards them, tilting her draconic body forward a little while lowering her fore talons as close to the ground as possible: finally, her fingers touch the elongated tips of bluish lavender and gently pull a few stems out of the ground: she can now return to Marcille with something to help her.
At a small trotting pace, she slowly approaches the half-elf while the latter, still a little pale, looks at her suspiciously, frowning a little.
-“Eat.” Falin then says in the softest voice possible, bending down again to hand her the harvested flower stalks.
Still a little ill, Marcille takes the lavender in her hand and begins to eat it at the chimera's insistence, not without giving her a few looks filled with doubts of course.
-“Thank you.” she finally responds while regaining a few more colours, her previous paleness disappearing little by little to the great happiness of Falin who exults with joy.
But who says recovery of spirit also means return of anger for Marcille.
-“Grrrr, avoid doing that next time Falin…” she adds in a slightly more severe tone, passing her hand on her face.
“She really seems to be doing better.” the chimera thinks, rubbing the back of her skull with an uneasy look. Then, she bows in front of the half-elf as if to ask her forgiveness, her hands politely crossed.
-“Humph, ‘won't be enough!” exclaims the half-elf while getting up with her arms still crossed.
And so the chimera bends even more, as much as she can on the ground, her legs curled up under her wings. On her face, an expression of pure shame.
-“Falin.”
Marcille calls her name again and the latter raises her head a little.
-“Lie on your back.”
“Huh?”
There is a pause and under Falin's totally perplexed look, the half-elf soon begins to blush.
-“L-lie on your back, that’s an order!” she reiterates again, this time with much less confidence, her arms a little trembling.
“Hum. All right all right.”
Without asking any more questions given the discomfort of her mate, she complies: pushing on the ground with part of her paws, she rolls with extra caution in the grass to expose her large abdomen to the open air while her wings spread wide flat against the ground.
“And now?” she thinks as her elbows rest on the ground, preventing her human torso from tipping back completely.
On the other side, Marcille, looking a little ashamed, approaches slowly and then places her hands against the feathered part of the chimera’s abdomen.
“What?”
With back-and-forth movements, she begins to rub the large surface available to her with a desperate smile of pure embarrassment.
“H-hey s-stop, t-that tickles…” the cleric thinks while a contorted smile begins to crack her sweet face.
At first, she tries to hold back from laughing, but soon the tickles almost make her squirm uncontrollably.
“I-I can’t control…”
Under the needy gaze of her half-elf partner, she suddenly begins to laugh with increasingly compulsive and repeated huffs, her mouth wide open in a big smile revealing her fangs.
With narrowed eyes, she cannot stop herself from stretching, extending her claws far away while convulsing more and more under the merciless scratches suffered by her belly.
-“Stop Marci.” she manages to say between two deep breaths as her head bobs against the grass uncontrollably.
However, her partner doesn't care, worse: she goes lower, to the scaly region.
-“It’s your fault Falin! You just shouldn't have rushed like that!” she replies with visibly newfound confidence while laughing a little in turn.
Falin raises her head and begins to perceive a terrifying sparkle in Marcille's eyes: she swallows.
-“So, you'll be careful next time I’m on your back? Will you?!” continues the half-elf who pursues the belly rubs with a now somewhat sad*stic expression.
Obviously, the chimera does not waste a single second to nod her head enthusiastically, her dragon part still widely stretched as if to support the funny sensation invading her. It must be said that she really didn't expect her abdomen to be as sensitive as that... Is this her only weak point? Yet the scales don't really look different between the top and bottom of her body... Strange...
Finally, the torture ends when Marcille, exhausted by so much arm movement, comes to lie down on the chimera's stomach, blowing a breath.
Then strangely, here she widely laughs too.
-“That is what I call fun! Plus, I know your weak point now.” she adds, smiling cruelly at Falin who is now content to remain lying on the ground, totally defeated, with her eyes closed.
“I’ve really liked it too, to be honest.” she thinks, sighing a little. But she keeps that to herself.
Still enjoying the relative calm of the day, they remain in this position for a while, lulled by the rustling of the nearby trees and by the water ripples of the lake colliding against the rocks of the banks.
Marcille just rests gently, her head on her partner’s abdomen, breathing deeply as if she were going to fall asleep at any moment.
“Is it that comfortable?”
With these thoughts in mind, Falin thinks of bringing her partner closer to her feathered part, believing that it would surely be a more pleasant surface for sleeping. All she would need to do is pull the half-elf slowly and silently with one of her giant claws, but she has to hold on: if Marcille has chosen such a place to sleep, it must be the right one.
“I just wish she was closer to me, I can't even hug her…” she grumbles with a slightly disappointed expression as she raises her bust as much as she can to reach Marcille, in vain.
But when she thinks about it, doesn't the fact that she is lying on her abdomen ultimately amount to cuddling against her? It’s also a part of her body after all of course. Maybe in the end she should stop worrying about so many things and just enjoy the moment, in the company of her beloved.
“Yes, we can stay like this, I’m not likely to fall asleep for good until I eat anyway.”
A few more minutes of silence pass.
Looking back at the half-elf, it seems that she has now completely fallen asleep.
“Good.”
The chimera begins to gently tilt in profile while dragging Marcille down. Once the change in position completed, she uses one of her wings to cover the half-elf who now seems to be dozing nicely.
“I'll wash up when she's awake and then we'll go eat.”
Yes, this is an excellent agenda, especially since the large piece of ham she ate previously would help her last well enough for a little nap at least.
“I feel like Marcille is going to complain about sleeping on me while I’m still dusty once she wakes up…”
So, one last time she watches the half-elf sleeping under her wing with all the tenderness in the world. The face of one of the rare people who love her completely, as a monster or as a human.
“Sleep well my little wife…”
And the chimera falls asleep in turn.
