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Rangavar and Zag aren't really sure what happened in that cave, but they might end up finding out the hard way. The worst case scenario would really be if they had to go back and do it all again...
I didn't mean to upload this so late. I've had a lot of awful things happen lately irl, also some commissions coming up, I'm definitely trying to get back on track though. It didn't help that I just switched to Libreoffice and the Furaffinity submission page does not like .docx files from Libreoffice for some reason lol
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Under Ice
Chapter 8
Rangavar and Zag found themselves staring at the crevice again. They didn’t bother looking at each other. They were thinking the same thing.
Zag sighed.
“You probably just burned like, a ton of calories,” Rangavar encouraged, but they both knew it wasn’t helping.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Zag grumbled as he moved toward the gap. At least he’d recovered some energy after his frantic running earlier. They’d had a long walk back, and had spent time deciding that whatever caused the noise on the other side of the door was completely natural. That’s what they kept telling themselves.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Zag walked up to the crevice and squeezed himself inside, turning like last time and wriggling his body deeper as it closed in on his pudgy middle.
“Wait!”
Zag had already paused, sensing that his tired brain had missed a step.
“I’m supposed to go first, dumbass.”
Zag flattened his ears. Something had felt off about the light coming from behind him instead of in front. “Right, sorry.”
“Can you even see?” Rangavar sounded annoyed as he waited for Zag to back out.
As Zag started to wriggle free, he sucked in his breath and jerked his body back the way he’d come. The rocky sides of the crevice pulled at the fat on his middle, the blubber jiggling as he wriggled to escape the walls’ grasp. It took him a moment to realize that he’d already pushed himself far enough inside to be struggling.
From behind, he heard Rangavar audibly smack his forehead. “Are you serious?”
Zag didn’t reply. He was tired of saying ‘sorry’ over this. Rangavar already knew.
“I guess you might as well, just, keep going?”
“Yeah,” Zag grunted, still doing his best to suck in. He didn’t need to be wedged twice, both to get back into the small room and let Rangavar go first, and then again trying to follow Rangavar out. “Give me a second. Maybe I can get through on my own this time, after all of that running and exercise.”
The other dragon stood back, feeling doubtful. Zag ignored him and focused on pushing himself farther inch by inch, twisting and turning in the tight gap that held his rounded gut pressed tightly against it. It was going well for a minute, but he eventually couldn’t budge again. “Dammit.”
“Here.” Rangavar took several steps toward him but faltered as he realized he wouldn’t be able to pull this time. Only push. “I’m, uh, not sure I can get the leverage I need. But is it okay if I help?”
Zag quietly nodded, knowing full well Rangavar could sense his embarrassment. After this, he was never going to eat ever again. He felt Rangavar’s paws suddenly press into his flabby side and jolted, even though he’d been expecting it.
“Sorry.”
Zag only grunted in response. He sucked in again as he felt Rangavar begin to push, the other dragon’s smaller paws sinking into the soft adipose, trying to force his trapped tum to squeeze through. He gave himself a bit of a wriggle and massaged the other side of his belly Rangavar couldn’t reach, wondering if he could pull some of the flab a bit farther. “Oh come on,” he growled after they’d been at it for a while. The exercise he’d just gotten hadn’t done shit.
“You’re not going to lose a ton of weight in one night.” Rangavar sounded amused.
“I know that,” Zag scoffed. “I just…” Maybe he’d hoped his belly was just bloated earlier, and now it wasn’t? That had happened the first time they’d come. This time, after all of the exercise, maybe he’d been expecting things to go a bit more smoothly.
“Here.” Rangavar suddenly threw his own weight against the stuck dragon.
Zag suddenly had the wind knocked out of him with the force of the other dragon butting his side, but he did feel himself slide forward. He eagerly resumed squishing his way forward. He jumped a little as he felt Rangavar join in kneading from the other side.
“Is that hurting you?”
Zag squirmed uncomfortably. “No.” Well, maybe the emotional damage. “I just want to get out of here.”
He suddenly felt Rangavar brace both paws on his pudgy side. “Alright. Another big push.” Before Zag could reply, Rangavar suddenly threw himself forward again, his much narrower body causing Zag’s soft lard to ripple from the force. He yelped as he finally fell out the other side of the crevice, landing heavily in the dark.
A moment later, Rangavar appeared over him holding the torch. He looked dirty and tired from the night they’d been having, but offered Zag a paw. Zag sheepishly accepted. He spent a moment looking around for where he’d left his sweatshirt and gratefully pulled it on over his bruised middle, his gut pushing against the front of the thick material.
Rangavar turned toward the end of the tunnel, brandishing the torch ahead of them. “Let’s go.”
Zag couldn’t agree more.
There was knocking on the door. When it didn’t stop, Rangavar groggily lifted his head. He didn’t recognize the aura of whoever was there, so he wasn’t sure what they wanted.
When he opened the door a moment later, he saw a friendly-looking Iylarian holding an overflowing food box. He hoped he looked as annoyed as he felt. He accepted it anyway. “Thanks.”
She gave him a prepackaged response about having a great day or something as she walked away, and Rangavar didn’t bother waiting to shut the door. He wasn’t even hungry. He’d have been fine with sleeping in.
“Is that food?” Zag’s groggy voice carried over from the bed. Of course his special food-detecting sixth sense was hard at work first thing in the morning.
“No.” Rangavar still wouldn’t call it food.
As the other dragon sat up, he saw Zag roll his eyes. “Can you just bring it over here?”
Walking over to the bed, Rangavar made sure to put the box just out of reach. Just because it was early didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun. “You said to take food away from you from now on.”
Zag rolled his eyes harder. “Well… I’ve had a change of heart.”
Rangavar shrugged. “Then get up and get it.”
“You’re standing RIGHT THERE, can’t you just hand it to me?”
Zag was finally beginning to feel annoyed, but Rangavar didn’t budge. “I don’t work for you anymore, remember?”
Finally, Zag didn’t have a comeback. He just grumbled to himself quietly as he pushed himself the rest of the way up in bed. Then he brightened a bit as the idea struck him to simply pull on the blankets to pull the box closer on the bed.
Now it was Rangavar’s turn to roll his eyes.
“What? If it works, it works.”
Crossing his arms, Rangavar didn’t comment as he watched Zag pry the lid off and begin removing some of the items from inside. It was a lost cause.
“Why don’t you go be judgmental somewhere else.” Zag’s pudgy cheeks were already stuffed as he tried to wave Rangavar away.
“I’m not being ‘judgmental’,” Rangavar protested. “But next time you want food first thing in the morning, maybe you should get it yourself so I can keep sleeping.”
Zag flattened his ears. He seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he just said, “I can’t believe last night really happened.”
Rangavar didn’t know what to say back. He couldn’t either.
After swallowing the last of the food currently stuffed between his jaws, Zag said what they were both thinking. “What do you think was behind the door?”
Rangavar shrugged. Last night, he’d been hoping the door might be the barrier between him and whatever mysterious technology the other dragons had been keeping, but after their adventure, didn’t feel too keen on going back to check.
“I told you they might still be down here,” Zag pointed out. “Just because the Iylarians chased them away didn’t mean that they all died out or something.”
“If there’s an ancient civilization down there with a ton of technology, then wouldn’t they be using it to fight back?” That part just didn’t make sense.
“Maybe they’re happy down there.”
Rangavar gave Zag a look, but the pudgy dragon just shrugged. “What? The Iylarians are supposedly happy here. Why would it be a stretch to assume that the others might be happy where they live too?”
It wasn’t a bad point, although it would never make sense to Rangavar that any group of dragons could live the entire span of their very long lives trapped in a cave.
While he’d been hoping that the technology had been left behind, but had to admit that at this point, he wasn’t really buying into the idea anymore. Especially after what they’d encountered last night. “Maybe.”
Zag shrugged and boxed up the food that was left. He’d stuffed himself quickly enough that there wasn’t very much. Any calories he’d burned last night, he’d certainly replenished. He didn’t offer any to Rangavar before moving it aside, well aware of the much thinner dragon’s disinterest. “Think we should bother going back?”
It was a question that Rangavar didn’t have an immediate answer to. He wanted to say no way, but… as long as the rotor to their ship remained broken…Did they really have a choice?
Slipping on some slender pants and pulling a thick jacket over his shoulders, Rangavar flapped his wings a few times to readjust his outfit. “Either way, I’m going to take a walk. Since no one randomly showed up to get us, it looks like the alternative would be sitting around all day.”
Taking a cue, Zag also pushed himself out of bed to search for something to wear. “Do you think they’ll eventually give us jobs?”
Rangavar kept hoping that they’d be out of here before their stay became any more permanent, but was less and less hopeful as the days passed. “Maybe?” If they really were stuck here a while, Garren and the others probably wouldn’t want them lounging around like pampered pets. At the same time, the thought of being here that long made him shudder.
“Maybe I’ll go up to the surface today,” Zag changed the subject.
Rangavar raised a brow. “What for?”
The pair of pants Zag picked up was a bit on the small side. Rangavar noticed him shimmying to get the top up to his tail. “What if we activate the distress beacon on our ship, and our friends and family come looking for us. ”
It seemed like a great idea, except that Rangavar had already been churning it over. “So they have no idea what to expect when they arrive, and make the same crash-landing we did? With their ship potentially being damaged even worse than ours? With more people?”
Zag flattened his ears.
“I’m just not sure risking others’ lives is worth the chance to save our own asses,” he said what he hoped came out a bit more gently.
With a deep sigh, Zag slumped his shoulders and looked down at the pants hopelessly stuck around his thighs. “Okay, you’re right.”
Rangavar actually had a nervous feeling that when he and Zag didn’t return—within however many months or years seemed reasonable to their friends—they’d send someone anyway. Although the two of them would definitely get off this world before then. Right?
“What are you worried about?” Zag commented on his negative emotion.
Rangavar just shook his head, scowling softly to himself. “Nothing.” There was no point in making Zag worry about it too.
Zag didn’t look convinced.
They ended up hanging out a while longer, mostly so that Zag could find something to wear while Rangavar washed up using a damp towel to wipe the grimy layer of dust off his scales from last night. When he emerged, Zag was panting after worming his way into a new pair of pants, still quite a bit bloated after breakfast but trying his best nonetheless.
Upon leaving the room, Rangavar was just relieved they weren’t being summoned or otherwise whisked off somewhere. The two dragons ended up strolling down to the main cavern. It was bustling with activity, as usual. As Rangavar slowly became accustomed to the work going on around him whenever he passed through, he noticed a fair amount of it seemed either to do with gathering, selling, or preparing food, or what possibly looked like various processes of making clothes.
“Maybe you should get new clothes.” Rangavar jutted his chin toward a nearby table. He smirked at the scowl Zag shot his way. “Oh come on. Something you have fitted here might work better than the spare clothing Garren gave us. The stuff here looks way higher quality, and some looks like they have ties and stuff to make them adjustable.”
Zag gave the tables a sour look, but Rangavar could feel he was tempted. “What do you think they accept as money here?” he asked after a moment.
“Probably not food.”
Zag rolled his eyes.
“Okay, well, it’s possible they don’t use money here at all,” Rangavar pointed out. Everyone seemed pretty well provided for here. Maybe there wasn’t a need. “You could just go ask.”
The chubby Darkal’s ears flattened as he looked over at the nearest table. There were clothes set out enticingly that a rather wide dragon behind it was watching over. “What if you go ask instead.”
Rangavar lifted his brows in amusement. “I don’t need new clothes.”
“Please? I don’t want to do it.”
“I think you can do it yourself.”
“What if she says no.”
“Then you come back, but without new clothes.”
They stared each other down another moment, but eventually Zag sighed. “Can you come with me?”
Rangavar was about to say no, but realized there wasn’t really a point to standing all alone and watching anyway. “I guess.”
The two Darkals wandered over, Rangavar only a step behind Zag. Still, the rather chubby dragon was a bit hesitant to address the dragon at the table. Rangavar scowled at the back of his head in annoyance and thought, “Stop having anxiety. Your anxiety is giving me anxiety.”
“I can’t control my anxiety!” Zag thought back.
“Can I help you two?” came an amused voice from in front of them. They’d ended up at the table of the friendly-looking dragon. Up close she had an even larger stature; her wide, stocky frame boasted a hearty layer of lard on every surface, the bulges of which were mostly hidden under her clothes. Rangavar supposed that was a testament to how good she was at her craft.
“I need clothes that fit,” Zag blurted.
“Well, that isn’t unusual around these parts,” she chuckled. It wasn’t hard to imagine she had plenty of customers. “Anything particular in mind?”
As Zag briefly explained his ‘difficulties’ as of late, Rangavar hung back and watched the transaction unfold. She assured them that they didn’t need any money, but it was instead her share of work down here to help. “I need you to hold out your arms.
A little confused, Zag held out his arms, and she took the opportunity to pull his shirt halfway up and wrap a measuring tape around the fattest part of his middle. It was still bulging with the food from earlier. “Hmm…”
Even if Rangavar weren’t telepathic, Zag was visibly blushing. The dark color of his cheeks didn’t go away as she began to poke and prod his tum and jiggling sides. “Would you say your size changes often?”
“Uh, I,” he started to stammer.
“All the time,” Rangavar stepped in. He supposed he owed Zag a save now and then. Even if the ungrateful dragon currently shot him a glare.
“Alright. You need something adjustable.”
Rangavar watched curiously as the sturdy dragon switched to hefting the bulk of Zag’s belly in her paws, moving to inspect his sides, then checking the inventory on her table. Zag was furiously blushing the whole time, but Rangavar didn’t think anything could really be done about that. He crossed his arms and looked around, pretending not to notice.
The dragon eventually presented Zag with a pair of pants that had drawstrings that laced or something, so he could adjust it as needed. Rangavar wasn’t paying too much attention, but noticed Zag felt relieved. He thought, “She found ones that can last you at least a few days?”
“More than a few days!!” Zag thought back, giving a silent huff through his nose. “I’m just glad I got this over with.”
Unaware, the large dragon folded the pants and handed them to him. “Now, how about a shirt?”
His face fell. He’d forgotten that part.
It was a while later that the two dragons were wandering back through the crowd, Zag keeping his head down until his cheeks returned to a normal color. It didn’t look like it would be happening anytime soon. At least now he had pants he wasn’t bursting out of, and a reddish hoodie that complimented his pale gray scales.
“C’mon, that wasn’t so hard.”
“I don’t like being… poked.”
“Well, just make sure you don’t grow out of these pants and you won’t have to worry about going through that again.”
Zag glowered, but Rangavar ignored him as he brushed through the crowd, doing his best to avoid the overwhelming shapes of the other dragons around them. He wondered how they should spend the rest of the day. There wasn’t much of a point to finding the few dragons they knew. Unless Garren could conjure up some useful ship parts for them, all they could do at this point was hope to solve the issue themselves. Rangavar just wasn’t sure how.
Well, he ‘knew’ how, but he needed a solution that was an option to them.
“You’re thinking about that crevice,” Zag interrupted his thoughts out loud.
Rangavar shrugged uneasily. “I guess.”
“You’re gonna try to go back, huh.”
Rangavar glanced at him, but didn’t have anything clever to say. “I guess.”
“Are you expecting me to come?”
Slowly, Rangavar shook his head. “I have magic too, you know. I could try to move the metal door on my own.” Sure, Zag was vastly more powerful, experienced, and capable, but what could go wrong?
The fatter dragon sighed.
“I just said I could do it on my own!”
“We both know that isn’t true.” Zag crossed his arms. Rangavar was well aware what Zag thought of his magic, so he decided it wasn’t worth trying to persuade him. He just glanced around at the swarm of large Iylarian residents moving around them going about their simple, happy lives.
“There you two are!”
They both pricked their ears at the sound of Garren’s voice. The broad, stocky dragon was quickly making his way toward them. He didn’t look happy.
“Do you think he knows?” Zag thought quickly.
Rangavar frowned. “How would he?” The Faerian was larger than either of the two shorter Darkals. “He couldn’t have seen the opening we made. He wouldn’t have fit into the cave.” A moment later, he supposed that anyone else could have, though. Both Rift and Jeroshe were lithe enough to easily fit through the gap. Then they would have told Garren immediately. “Shit.” Why would they bother checking on it in the first place?
When Garren caught up, he was out of breath, but not about to slow down. “I need to talk to both of you privately.”
Neither of the two Darkals needed to be telepathic to hear his frustration. Yeah, he definitely knows. They followed him silently as they made their way through the tunnels towards the stone meeting room Garren appeared fond of. Rangavar felt a bit like a little kid about to be chastised. He tried to glance out the corner of his eye at Zag, but the other dragon looked as anxious as the nerves he was radiating.
Jeroshe was waiting at the table already, his face blank, but serious. Garren gestured the two dragons to sit, which they did without a word. Rangavar tried to send a thought to Zag along the lines of ‘we’re probably fucked’ but Garren interrupted by speaking. “What have you two been up to?”
The tension in the room was unbearable for a moment.
“I got a new shirt,” Zag blurted.
Rangavar tried not to scowl. Helpful, Zag. He didn’t think it directly to him, but was pretty sure Zag got the gist, as he saw the other dragon’s ears wilt slightly out the corner of his eye.
“I’m not asking about the shirt.” Even Garren’s voice was irked. “Someone went ‘exploring’ last night. Conveniently after you realized there might be other dragons down there. And then told me you needed their help. Remember?”
Zag glanced at Rangavar, but Rangavar didn’t break Garren’s gaze. He wasn’t about to deny the obvious. “I noticed we weren’t getting a whole ton of help up here.”
Garren spread his paws. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Those tunnels were blocked off for a reason!”
Rangavar wondered if it would finally be an appropriate time to ask what that reason was. Fortunately, just then, Zag decided to miss absolutely every social cue in the room and ask for him. “Why? What’s behind the door?”
The larger dragon gritted his teeth. “Well, we were hoping nothing , but after some strange noises coming from the tunnels last night, that might not be the case.” He glanced at Jeroshe for a moment, but the green-gray dragon was staring back with his chin on one paw and didn’t add anything.
“Is it where the dragons here before you are hiding?” Zag asked curiously. It took all of Rangavar’s self-restraint not to smack his forehead. It was definitely not the time for questions. If anything, they ought to be doing some damage control and hoping Garren didn’t throw them back up to the surface after all.
“Technically, we don’t know that for sure,” Garren growled, “but who else could have infiltrated our tunnel this morning after some idiot decided to open it back up? When we sent someone down to check on the noises, a few unknown dragons were caught disappearing through the tight gap and escaped.”
While Rangavar tried thinking of ways to salvage the situation, Zag thought, “This doesn’t sound good.”
“Oh, you think?” Rangavar thought back, annoyed. “We might get thrown back up to the surface. Or worse, if those dragons are dangerous, we could have put everyone else in danger too,” he snapped.
While Zag sank slightly in his seat, Garren and Jeroshe were still unaware of the private conversation. Garren still had his teeth bared slightly as he looked at them. “I think I’m going to send a few dragons down to clean up this mess. Perhaps the dragons who made it.”
It took a moment to register. “Us?” Zag asked blankly.
Garren’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I won’t be sending you alone, though. Jeroshe is going with you to supervise.”
The dark greenish dragon suddenly became more alert, picking his head up with his ears pricked. “I am?”
“I trust you to deal with the dragons you’re likely to find down there. I’m hoping everything will go diplomatically,” Garren said. “I’m planning to send Rift, too, although he is currently busy, so he’ll catch up.”
Rangavar and Zag carefully shared a glance. Was this supposed to be their punishment? Wasn’t getting down there to speak to the other dragons what they’d actually wanted? To be honest, Rangavar actually felt a bit better knowing they’d have a ‘guide’ this time.
If Garren noticed their interest, he didn’t say so. He waved dismissively. “No point in waiting around. You two are going to demand that cave be sealed back up on their side, and then we’ll see about fixing ours, too. Better get to it.”
Jeroshe was radiating annoyance as they left the room, but didn’t speak to either of them as he led the way. With his back turned, Rangavar and Zag could finally share a glance. Rangavar wondered if he looked as tentative as Zag felt. Probably. He thought, “I guess we’re about to find out what’s on the other side of the door anyway.”
Zag gave the smallest shrug and thought back, “I’m not sure whether this situation is more or less dangerous than we originally thought, though.”
Despite feeling hopeful, Rangavar had to admit he had a point.
I didn't mean to upload this so late. I've had a lot of awful things happen lately irl, also some commissions coming up, I'm definitely trying to get back on track though. It didn't help that I just switched to Libreoffice and the Furaffinity submission page does not like .docx files from Libreoffice for some reason lol
<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>
Under Ice
Chapter 8
Rangavar and Zag found themselves staring at the crevice again. They didn’t bother looking at each other. They were thinking the same thing.
Zag sighed.
“You probably just burned like, a ton of calories,” Rangavar encouraged, but they both knew it wasn’t helping.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Zag grumbled as he moved toward the gap. At least he’d recovered some energy after his frantic running earlier. They’d had a long walk back, and had spent time deciding that whatever caused the noise on the other side of the door was completely natural. That’s what they kept telling themselves.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Zag walked up to the crevice and squeezed himself inside, turning like last time and wriggling his body deeper as it closed in on his pudgy middle.
“Wait!”
Zag had already paused, sensing that his tired brain had missed a step.
“I’m supposed to go first, dumbass.”
Zag flattened his ears. Something had felt off about the light coming from behind him instead of in front. “Right, sorry.”
“Can you even see?” Rangavar sounded annoyed as he waited for Zag to back out.
As Zag started to wriggle free, he sucked in his breath and jerked his body back the way he’d come. The rocky sides of the crevice pulled at the fat on his middle, the blubber jiggling as he wriggled to escape the walls’ grasp. It took him a moment to realize that he’d already pushed himself far enough inside to be struggling.
From behind, he heard Rangavar audibly smack his forehead. “Are you serious?”
Zag didn’t reply. He was tired of saying ‘sorry’ over this. Rangavar already knew.
“I guess you might as well, just, keep going?”
“Yeah,” Zag grunted, still doing his best to suck in. He didn’t need to be wedged twice, both to get back into the small room and let Rangavar go first, and then again trying to follow Rangavar out. “Give me a second. Maybe I can get through on my own this time, after all of that running and exercise.”
The other dragon stood back, feeling doubtful. Zag ignored him and focused on pushing himself farther inch by inch, twisting and turning in the tight gap that held his rounded gut pressed tightly against it. It was going well for a minute, but he eventually couldn’t budge again. “Dammit.”
“Here.” Rangavar took several steps toward him but faltered as he realized he wouldn’t be able to pull this time. Only push. “I’m, uh, not sure I can get the leverage I need. But is it okay if I help?”
Zag quietly nodded, knowing full well Rangavar could sense his embarrassment. After this, he was never going to eat ever again. He felt Rangavar’s paws suddenly press into his flabby side and jolted, even though he’d been expecting it.
“Sorry.”
Zag only grunted in response. He sucked in again as he felt Rangavar begin to push, the other dragon’s smaller paws sinking into the soft adipose, trying to force his trapped tum to squeeze through. He gave himself a bit of a wriggle and massaged the other side of his belly Rangavar couldn’t reach, wondering if he could pull some of the flab a bit farther. “Oh come on,” he growled after they’d been at it for a while. The exercise he’d just gotten hadn’t done shit.
“You’re not going to lose a ton of weight in one night.” Rangavar sounded amused.
“I know that,” Zag scoffed. “I just…” Maybe he’d hoped his belly was just bloated earlier, and now it wasn’t? That had happened the first time they’d come. This time, after all of the exercise, maybe he’d been expecting things to go a bit more smoothly.
“Here.” Rangavar suddenly threw his own weight against the stuck dragon.
Zag suddenly had the wind knocked out of him with the force of the other dragon butting his side, but he did feel himself slide forward. He eagerly resumed squishing his way forward. He jumped a little as he felt Rangavar join in kneading from the other side.
“Is that hurting you?”
Zag squirmed uncomfortably. “No.” Well, maybe the emotional damage. “I just want to get out of here.”
He suddenly felt Rangavar brace both paws on his pudgy side. “Alright. Another big push.” Before Zag could reply, Rangavar suddenly threw himself forward again, his much narrower body causing Zag’s soft lard to ripple from the force. He yelped as he finally fell out the other side of the crevice, landing heavily in the dark.
A moment later, Rangavar appeared over him holding the torch. He looked dirty and tired from the night they’d been having, but offered Zag a paw. Zag sheepishly accepted. He spent a moment looking around for where he’d left his sweatshirt and gratefully pulled it on over his bruised middle, his gut pushing against the front of the thick material.
Rangavar turned toward the end of the tunnel, brandishing the torch ahead of them. “Let’s go.”
Zag couldn’t agree more.
~
There was knocking on the door. When it didn’t stop, Rangavar groggily lifted his head. He didn’t recognize the aura of whoever was there, so he wasn’t sure what they wanted.
When he opened the door a moment later, he saw a friendly-looking Iylarian holding an overflowing food box. He hoped he looked as annoyed as he felt. He accepted it anyway. “Thanks.”
She gave him a prepackaged response about having a great day or something as she walked away, and Rangavar didn’t bother waiting to shut the door. He wasn’t even hungry. He’d have been fine with sleeping in.
“Is that food?” Zag’s groggy voice carried over from the bed. Of course his special food-detecting sixth sense was hard at work first thing in the morning.
“No.” Rangavar still wouldn’t call it food.
As the other dragon sat up, he saw Zag roll his eyes. “Can you just bring it over here?”
Walking over to the bed, Rangavar made sure to put the box just out of reach. Just because it was early didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun. “You said to take food away from you from now on.”
Zag rolled his eyes harder. “Well… I’ve had a change of heart.”
Rangavar shrugged. “Then get up and get it.”
“You’re standing RIGHT THERE, can’t you just hand it to me?”
Zag was finally beginning to feel annoyed, but Rangavar didn’t budge. “I don’t work for you anymore, remember?”
Finally, Zag didn’t have a comeback. He just grumbled to himself quietly as he pushed himself the rest of the way up in bed. Then he brightened a bit as the idea struck him to simply pull on the blankets to pull the box closer on the bed.
Now it was Rangavar’s turn to roll his eyes.
“What? If it works, it works.”
Crossing his arms, Rangavar didn’t comment as he watched Zag pry the lid off and begin removing some of the items from inside. It was a lost cause.
“Why don’t you go be judgmental somewhere else.” Zag’s pudgy cheeks were already stuffed as he tried to wave Rangavar away.
“I’m not being ‘judgmental’,” Rangavar protested. “But next time you want food first thing in the morning, maybe you should get it yourself so I can keep sleeping.”
Zag flattened his ears. He seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he just said, “I can’t believe last night really happened.”
Rangavar didn’t know what to say back. He couldn’t either.
After swallowing the last of the food currently stuffed between his jaws, Zag said what they were both thinking. “What do you think was behind the door?”
Rangavar shrugged. Last night, he’d been hoping the door might be the barrier between him and whatever mysterious technology the other dragons had been keeping, but after their adventure, didn’t feel too keen on going back to check.
“I told you they might still be down here,” Zag pointed out. “Just because the Iylarians chased them away didn’t mean that they all died out or something.”
“If there’s an ancient civilization down there with a ton of technology, then wouldn’t they be using it to fight back?” That part just didn’t make sense.
“Maybe they’re happy down there.”
Rangavar gave Zag a look, but the pudgy dragon just shrugged. “What? The Iylarians are supposedly happy here. Why would it be a stretch to assume that the others might be happy where they live too?”
It wasn’t a bad point, although it would never make sense to Rangavar that any group of dragons could live the entire span of their very long lives trapped in a cave.
While he’d been hoping that the technology had been left behind, but had to admit that at this point, he wasn’t really buying into the idea anymore. Especially after what they’d encountered last night. “Maybe.”
Zag shrugged and boxed up the food that was left. He’d stuffed himself quickly enough that there wasn’t very much. Any calories he’d burned last night, he’d certainly replenished. He didn’t offer any to Rangavar before moving it aside, well aware of the much thinner dragon’s disinterest. “Think we should bother going back?”
It was a question that Rangavar didn’t have an immediate answer to. He wanted to say no way, but… as long as the rotor to their ship remained broken…Did they really have a choice?
Slipping on some slender pants and pulling a thick jacket over his shoulders, Rangavar flapped his wings a few times to readjust his outfit. “Either way, I’m going to take a walk. Since no one randomly showed up to get us, it looks like the alternative would be sitting around all day.”
Taking a cue, Zag also pushed himself out of bed to search for something to wear. “Do you think they’ll eventually give us jobs?”
Rangavar kept hoping that they’d be out of here before their stay became any more permanent, but was less and less hopeful as the days passed. “Maybe?” If they really were stuck here a while, Garren and the others probably wouldn’t want them lounging around like pampered pets. At the same time, the thought of being here that long made him shudder.
“Maybe I’ll go up to the surface today,” Zag changed the subject.
Rangavar raised a brow. “What for?”
The pair of pants Zag picked up was a bit on the small side. Rangavar noticed him shimmying to get the top up to his tail. “What if we activate the distress beacon on our ship, and our friends and family come looking for us. ”
It seemed like a great idea, except that Rangavar had already been churning it over. “So they have no idea what to expect when they arrive, and make the same crash-landing we did? With their ship potentially being damaged even worse than ours? With more people?”
Zag flattened his ears.
“I’m just not sure risking others’ lives is worth the chance to save our own asses,” he said what he hoped came out a bit more gently.
With a deep sigh, Zag slumped his shoulders and looked down at the pants hopelessly stuck around his thighs. “Okay, you’re right.”
Rangavar actually had a nervous feeling that when he and Zag didn’t return—within however many months or years seemed reasonable to their friends—they’d send someone anyway. Although the two of them would definitely get off this world before then. Right?
“What are you worried about?” Zag commented on his negative emotion.
Rangavar just shook his head, scowling softly to himself. “Nothing.” There was no point in making Zag worry about it too.
Zag didn’t look convinced.
They ended up hanging out a while longer, mostly so that Zag could find something to wear while Rangavar washed up using a damp towel to wipe the grimy layer of dust off his scales from last night. When he emerged, Zag was panting after worming his way into a new pair of pants, still quite a bit bloated after breakfast but trying his best nonetheless.
Upon leaving the room, Rangavar was just relieved they weren’t being summoned or otherwise whisked off somewhere. The two dragons ended up strolling down to the main cavern. It was bustling with activity, as usual. As Rangavar slowly became accustomed to the work going on around him whenever he passed through, he noticed a fair amount of it seemed either to do with gathering, selling, or preparing food, or what possibly looked like various processes of making clothes.
“Maybe you should get new clothes.” Rangavar jutted his chin toward a nearby table. He smirked at the scowl Zag shot his way. “Oh come on. Something you have fitted here might work better than the spare clothing Garren gave us. The stuff here looks way higher quality, and some looks like they have ties and stuff to make them adjustable.”
Zag gave the tables a sour look, but Rangavar could feel he was tempted. “What do you think they accept as money here?” he asked after a moment.
“Probably not food.”
Zag rolled his eyes.
“Okay, well, it’s possible they don’t use money here at all,” Rangavar pointed out. Everyone seemed pretty well provided for here. Maybe there wasn’t a need. “You could just go ask.”
The chubby Darkal’s ears flattened as he looked over at the nearest table. There were clothes set out enticingly that a rather wide dragon behind it was watching over. “What if you go ask instead.”
Rangavar lifted his brows in amusement. “I don’t need new clothes.”
“Please? I don’t want to do it.”
“I think you can do it yourself.”
“What if she says no.”
“Then you come back, but without new clothes.”
They stared each other down another moment, but eventually Zag sighed. “Can you come with me?”
Rangavar was about to say no, but realized there wasn’t really a point to standing all alone and watching anyway. “I guess.”
The two Darkals wandered over, Rangavar only a step behind Zag. Still, the rather chubby dragon was a bit hesitant to address the dragon at the table. Rangavar scowled at the back of his head in annoyance and thought, “Stop having anxiety. Your anxiety is giving me anxiety.”
“I can’t control my anxiety!” Zag thought back.
“Can I help you two?” came an amused voice from in front of them. They’d ended up at the table of the friendly-looking dragon. Up close she had an even larger stature; her wide, stocky frame boasted a hearty layer of lard on every surface, the bulges of which were mostly hidden under her clothes. Rangavar supposed that was a testament to how good she was at her craft.
“I need clothes that fit,” Zag blurted.
“Well, that isn’t unusual around these parts,” she chuckled. It wasn’t hard to imagine she had plenty of customers. “Anything particular in mind?”
As Zag briefly explained his ‘difficulties’ as of late, Rangavar hung back and watched the transaction unfold. She assured them that they didn’t need any money, but it was instead her share of work down here to help. “I need you to hold out your arms.
A little confused, Zag held out his arms, and she took the opportunity to pull his shirt halfway up and wrap a measuring tape around the fattest part of his middle. It was still bulging with the food from earlier. “Hmm…”
Even if Rangavar weren’t telepathic, Zag was visibly blushing. The dark color of his cheeks didn’t go away as she began to poke and prod his tum and jiggling sides. “Would you say your size changes often?”
“Uh, I,” he started to stammer.
“All the time,” Rangavar stepped in. He supposed he owed Zag a save now and then. Even if the ungrateful dragon currently shot him a glare.
“Alright. You need something adjustable.”
Rangavar watched curiously as the sturdy dragon switched to hefting the bulk of Zag’s belly in her paws, moving to inspect his sides, then checking the inventory on her table. Zag was furiously blushing the whole time, but Rangavar didn’t think anything could really be done about that. He crossed his arms and looked around, pretending not to notice.
The dragon eventually presented Zag with a pair of pants that had drawstrings that laced or something, so he could adjust it as needed. Rangavar wasn’t paying too much attention, but noticed Zag felt relieved. He thought, “She found ones that can last you at least a few days?”
“More than a few days!!” Zag thought back, giving a silent huff through his nose. “I’m just glad I got this over with.”
Unaware, the large dragon folded the pants and handed them to him. “Now, how about a shirt?”
His face fell. He’d forgotten that part.
It was a while later that the two dragons were wandering back through the crowd, Zag keeping his head down until his cheeks returned to a normal color. It didn’t look like it would be happening anytime soon. At least now he had pants he wasn’t bursting out of, and a reddish hoodie that complimented his pale gray scales.
“C’mon, that wasn’t so hard.”
“I don’t like being… poked.”
“Well, just make sure you don’t grow out of these pants and you won’t have to worry about going through that again.”
Zag glowered, but Rangavar ignored him as he brushed through the crowd, doing his best to avoid the overwhelming shapes of the other dragons around them. He wondered how they should spend the rest of the day. There wasn’t much of a point to finding the few dragons they knew. Unless Garren could conjure up some useful ship parts for them, all they could do at this point was hope to solve the issue themselves. Rangavar just wasn’t sure how.
Well, he ‘knew’ how, but he needed a solution that was an option to them.
“You’re thinking about that crevice,” Zag interrupted his thoughts out loud.
Rangavar shrugged uneasily. “I guess.”
“You’re gonna try to go back, huh.”
Rangavar glanced at him, but didn’t have anything clever to say. “I guess.”
“Are you expecting me to come?”
Slowly, Rangavar shook his head. “I have magic too, you know. I could try to move the metal door on my own.” Sure, Zag was vastly more powerful, experienced, and capable, but what could go wrong?
The fatter dragon sighed.
“I just said I could do it on my own!”
“We both know that isn’t true.” Zag crossed his arms. Rangavar was well aware what Zag thought of his magic, so he decided it wasn’t worth trying to persuade him. He just glanced around at the swarm of large Iylarian residents moving around them going about their simple, happy lives.
“There you two are!”
They both pricked their ears at the sound of Garren’s voice. The broad, stocky dragon was quickly making his way toward them. He didn’t look happy.
“Do you think he knows?” Zag thought quickly.
Rangavar frowned. “How would he?” The Faerian was larger than either of the two shorter Darkals. “He couldn’t have seen the opening we made. He wouldn’t have fit into the cave.” A moment later, he supposed that anyone else could have, though. Both Rift and Jeroshe were lithe enough to easily fit through the gap. Then they would have told Garren immediately. “Shit.” Why would they bother checking on it in the first place?
When Garren caught up, he was out of breath, but not about to slow down. “I need to talk to both of you privately.”
Neither of the two Darkals needed to be telepathic to hear his frustration. Yeah, he definitely knows. They followed him silently as they made their way through the tunnels towards the stone meeting room Garren appeared fond of. Rangavar felt a bit like a little kid about to be chastised. He tried to glance out the corner of his eye at Zag, but the other dragon looked as anxious as the nerves he was radiating.
Jeroshe was waiting at the table already, his face blank, but serious. Garren gestured the two dragons to sit, which they did without a word. Rangavar tried to send a thought to Zag along the lines of ‘we’re probably fucked’ but Garren interrupted by speaking. “What have you two been up to?”
The tension in the room was unbearable for a moment.
“I got a new shirt,” Zag blurted.
Rangavar tried not to scowl. Helpful, Zag. He didn’t think it directly to him, but was pretty sure Zag got the gist, as he saw the other dragon’s ears wilt slightly out the corner of his eye.
“I’m not asking about the shirt.” Even Garren’s voice was irked. “Someone went ‘exploring’ last night. Conveniently after you realized there might be other dragons down there. And then told me you needed their help. Remember?”
Zag glanced at Rangavar, but Rangavar didn’t break Garren’s gaze. He wasn’t about to deny the obvious. “I noticed we weren’t getting a whole ton of help up here.”
Garren spread his paws. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Those tunnels were blocked off for a reason!”
Rangavar wondered if it would finally be an appropriate time to ask what that reason was. Fortunately, just then, Zag decided to miss absolutely every social cue in the room and ask for him. “Why? What’s behind the door?”
The larger dragon gritted his teeth. “Well, we were hoping nothing , but after some strange noises coming from the tunnels last night, that might not be the case.” He glanced at Jeroshe for a moment, but the green-gray dragon was staring back with his chin on one paw and didn’t add anything.
“Is it where the dragons here before you are hiding?” Zag asked curiously. It took all of Rangavar’s self-restraint not to smack his forehead. It was definitely not the time for questions. If anything, they ought to be doing some damage control and hoping Garren didn’t throw them back up to the surface after all.
“Technically, we don’t know that for sure,” Garren growled, “but who else could have infiltrated our tunnel this morning after some idiot decided to open it back up? When we sent someone down to check on the noises, a few unknown dragons were caught disappearing through the tight gap and escaped.”
While Rangavar tried thinking of ways to salvage the situation, Zag thought, “This doesn’t sound good.”
“Oh, you think?” Rangavar thought back, annoyed. “We might get thrown back up to the surface. Or worse, if those dragons are dangerous, we could have put everyone else in danger too,” he snapped.
While Zag sank slightly in his seat, Garren and Jeroshe were still unaware of the private conversation. Garren still had his teeth bared slightly as he looked at them. “I think I’m going to send a few dragons down to clean up this mess. Perhaps the dragons who made it.”
It took a moment to register. “Us?” Zag asked blankly.
Garren’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I won’t be sending you alone, though. Jeroshe is going with you to supervise.”
The dark greenish dragon suddenly became more alert, picking his head up with his ears pricked. “I am?”
“I trust you to deal with the dragons you’re likely to find down there. I’m hoping everything will go diplomatically,” Garren said. “I’m planning to send Rift, too, although he is currently busy, so he’ll catch up.”
Rangavar and Zag carefully shared a glance. Was this supposed to be their punishment? Wasn’t getting down there to speak to the other dragons what they’d actually wanted? To be honest, Rangavar actually felt a bit better knowing they’d have a ‘guide’ this time.
If Garren noticed their interest, he didn’t say so. He waved dismissively. “No point in waiting around. You two are going to demand that cave be sealed back up on their side, and then we’ll see about fixing ours, too. Better get to it.”
Jeroshe was radiating annoyance as they left the room, but didn’t speak to either of them as he led the way. With his back turned, Rangavar and Zag could finally share a glance. Rangavar wondered if he looked as tentative as Zag felt. Probably. He thought, “I guess we’re about to find out what’s on the other side of the door anyway.”
Zag gave the smallest shrug and thought back, “I’m not sure whether this situation is more or less dangerous than we originally thought, though.”
Despite feeling hopeful, Rangavar had to admit he had a point.
Category Story / Fat Furs
Species Western Dragon
Gender Male
Size 120 x 116px
Listed in Folders
"Garren and the others probably wouldn’t want them lounging around like pampered pets."
okay, but consider-
okay, but consider-
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