A Dragon's Slave

When I wake up, I find that I'm alone in the small clearing in which Nightwing and I had camped. I look about, and find that the puddle of ejaculate we had made has either dried into nothingness, or has simply disappeared - as I can say with certainty that I'm not laying in it.

I stand and bend, my back sore from our...well, to be blunt, our insane fucking last night. I can't help but grin to myself as I remember how awesome it was. Who knew that sex with a dragonness could be so rewarding?

Poking about in search for something to eat provides a sufficient distraction, and I don't notice as Nightwing walks into the clearing until she's standing right in front of me. I look up as I notice her with a smile, but it fades as I notice something...odd.

"Uh...Nightwing?"

"Yes, Slave?"

"Uhm...you're bald."

She smirks at me, running a hand over her newly balded head. As she steps back, I notice that her face has taken on slightly more reptilian features - an elongated jaw, a more defined brow, and less of a nose and more of a snout. Somehow, it is both beautiful...and terrifying.

"Do you like it?" She asks, stretching her wings out to their full length - which, once again, is beautiful and terrifying. Seems to be a theme with her, doesn't it? "It was getting in the way of my wings - and besides, I didn't like how I looked with such human features. It seemed too...alien."

I nod and stand. "Well, in any case, I like it." I smile at her, and quickly gesture towards the clothes she's wearing, which we had taken off during our fuckfest last night. "So, you managed to get them on yourself?"

"With a small amount of magic, yes," she responds, sounding slightly exasperated. "It's more difficult than it seems..."

"Just give it time - you'll get used to it," I assure her. "Now - for breakfast. What d'you want? I found some cereal in the bags - I'm assuming that you're an omnivore now?"

"Why would you assume such a thing?" She asks, genuinely confused.

"Well, you've become human - surely, you've taken on more human attributes than just a human form."

"Hm...perhaps. Shall we test this theory of yours?"

"I don't see why not."

I pour her a bowl of cereal, and we sit next to each other as we eat. Her tail swishes, and I feel it against my back. I smile, and Nightwing begins to laugh.

"You know...having you as my slave has been incredibly rewarding," she informs me. I remain silent as she eats another spoonful of grains fashioned into cereal, clearly both enjoying the food and properly ingesting it. "I've been sexually stimulated for the first time in...oh, four hundred; five hundred years...I've already experienced a multitude of human emotions from our intimacy, which will help me in dealing with my new form, as well as the new magnitude to which I am able to experience emotions..." She sighs as she reclines, placing her empty bowl on the ground next to her. "Hm...life is good."

I smirk as I put aside my cereal, as well. "And I get to have sex with a bombshell of a woman-er, dragoness. Seems like a win-win to me."

She shrugs. "I guess that's simply a perk of being my slave - most dragons would have simply raped you, should they have the urge to partake in coitus. You're lucky I allowed for you to decide the pace."

I nod, and sigh. I can feel Nightwing watching me as I recline, as well. "Slave, what are you doing?"

"Hm?" I look to her in confusion.

"Clean up. You don't expect me to clean up my own bowl, do you?"

"Well - yeah, it's part of being human: having responsibilities. You'll have to get used to it if you want to -" I'm cut short by a sharp slap across the face, leaving a large streak of burning pain on my face. I place my hand to the sensitive skin, looking to Nightwing in confusion. I suddenly remember her incredible size in her full-dragon form, and I feel my fear resurfacing.

"What did I say about respect?" She demands, darkly. "You will speak to me as your superior - never your inferior, boy. Now - clean up, and I suggest you do a good job of it. I'm already cross with you, and you would not like to see me in a state of pure anger."

I nod, humbly going about cleaning up the remains of our breakfast. Needless to say, I'm taken by surprise - and scared to an even greater degree - when Nightwing grasps me, and practically tackles me into a nearby bush. I keep silent as I flinch away from her, waiting for another slap. I'm surprised again when she holds me by the arm, as if for both comfort and to ensure I won't move.

"What -"

She shushes me, and shrinks more into the bush as I feel her hand grip me tighter. I follow suit, my heart hammering in my chest as I watch the clearing we were just in. What the hell could scare her so much?

The answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And I don't mean that she's not afraid. I can tell that she's terrified. No, what she's afraid of is a being of nothing - of absolute nothingness.

The creature breaks free of the foliage, and I struggle to make out its form. It is so black that the world seems to abruptly end around it - as if it were a gaping hole in reality. It reminds me of what the Elves refer to as a Black Hole - something that not even light can escape. And, surely, not even light can escape the confines of this being's existence.

I watch in paralyzed fear as it ambles through the clearing, aimlessly wandering. I feel my spine go cold as it seems to stare right at me. I look away, shutting my eyes tight and silently gripping onto Nightwing, who I discover is shaking. Tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes - I am absolutely fucking terrified.

After a while, I hear something in the distance. I force myself to look up, and find that the beast has been distracted, and is slowly moving away from the clearing to investigate the source of said noise. I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding, and I hear Nightwing do the same. I wipe my eyes as she drags me out of our hiding place.

"What was that?" I ask, anxiously.

She shakes her head. "A very...very ancient magic. A form of magic that takes the shape of an entire species..." She crosses her arms as she shivers. "A species believed by the dragons to be extinct - after we hunted them all down."

"So - you can kill that thing?" I ask, hopefully. Something about it makes me not care for the sanctity of life - that...thing, should be dead.

"No...not in this form. And I cannot risk changing back into my dragon form, as it would feed upon the leftover magic and become too strong for me to kill myself..." She shakes her head as she shakes again. "I had only ever heard legends of those things...I...I never thought that..." I'm shocked as she loses her ability to speak, and leans over to retch into the ground. I gingerly place my hands upon her, stabilizing her as she shakes more and more violently.

"Nightwing...what in the fuck was that thing?"

"It...it is referred to as the Void," she responds, slowly. "We...we must move. Now. We have to find refuge from it - there may be more nearby. We cannot stay here. Gather our things and let us be on our way."

I nod, gathering the supplies I had packed without a word. When I'm done, Nightwing begins to lead me out of the clearing. I have no idea where to, and I don't care. As long as we get away from that thing...

After a while, we reach a second clearing, and Nightwing freezes. "Shit."

"What?" I ask, scared and nearly shitting myself.

"We're surrounded," she breathes. "I don't know where they came from, but..." She looks me in the eye, and I can see her fear, bleeding out of her like a wound. "We're going to die here." She grasps my hand. "Don't let me die alone."

I shake my head. "Of course not," I respond, my heart hammering in my chest. "Nobody deserves to die alone."

She nods, and directs me to the center of the clearing. We stand there in silent patience, and I feel all my pores releasing sweat. We wait for our inevitable demise.

The Void creatures appear from the brush. There seem to be five of them, but I can't tell - they seem to be completely amorphous, and I have a hard time discerning them from one another. Nightwing and I grip each other tighter as they approach.

And then, everything in me turns of. It just...stops. My fear, my emotions, my thoughts - all of it switches off, and is replaced by a single impulse. I do not understand it, but I do not need to as I follow it, as the impulse I feel now is stronger than anything I've ever felt before in my life - a natural inclination, if you would.

I stand, and I feel Nightwing clinging onto my hand. "Wait - not alone, Peter, I don't want to..." The words die in her throat, but I don't fully register them. I hear them, but in a way, they fall on deaf ears, as I don't...hear them.

I continue to follow the impulse, and hold out my hand towards the Void. I feel it pulling at my entire being, as if I were being sucked in. It shows no reaction, nor emotion, nor existence.

And I speak two words - two words that I understand, yet whose meaning is lost to me.

I say, "Not yet."

And, in the blink of an eye, they're gone - disappeared, regressed, and retreated. I stagger on my feet, nearly falling to my knees as sudden fatigue takes over. I turn to Nightwing, my fear returning as I search for an answer in her eyes.

Instead, I see fear - pure, unadulterated fear. Directed right at me.

"What the hell are you," she breathes.

"Nightwing-" I take a shaking step towards her.

"Keep away from me!" She shouts, scrambling away from me in terror.

"But...Nightwing, I -"

"Shut up! Just...stay away!" She screams, before turning and fleeing into the brush. My vision begins to fade, and I fall to the ground, unconscious.

~~~~~

Nightwing, Later...

Fuck - where is he...

I came back to the clearing where he was in hopes to extract from answers by more closely examining his Spectrum. I may not be skilled at doing so, but I have a rudimentary understanding of it. But now, he's gone. I sigh as I rely on my more draconic instincts, and find that there is a trail, leading from where he was to where he appears to be. I follow it to a small cabin, deep in the forest, and more towards what can be properly referred to as the woods.

I force the door open, and a woman screams. "Keep away, beast!" She shrieks. I ignore her, searching for Peter amongst the wooden walls. I find him, sitting up in a daze. I approach him, and grasp his hand tight.

"Come," I growl, dragging him out of the building.

"Halt! I demand you halt!" I sigh in anger as I turn, and see a man brandishing a blade at me. A quick burst of flame melts the steel, and he screams in agony as the metal burns through his flesh and muscle, leaving his bone exposed. Peter remains in stunned silence as I drag him away from the building.

"Nightwing - what's going on?"

"We're going to see an old friend of mine, in an attempt to understand your...nature. I realize now that I do not possess the wisdom to properly assess your Spectrum, and so I require assistance."

"But...Nightwing, what's going on!?" He demands again. "Why were you so afraid of me - and why aren't we going to the city? Couldn't we do research?"

"Humans have no knowledge of the Void - or whatever you are."

"Nightwing - why is this so important?" He demands, attempting to yank away from me. I tighten my grip, and he releases an exclamation of pain.

"Don't you understand, boy?" I growl, glaring at him in disgust. "The Void marks the end of the world, and dragonkind were barely able to stop it last time. And you...you just exhibited control over the fucking thing. I don't know what you are, or what you're playing at, but we're going to find out. Now, come - we don't have much time, and I do not wish for you to die. You would be worthless in that case."

He remains in stunned silence, and I can sense his fear as I drag him along. He seems to be as much in the dark about this as I am. I sigh.

This is going to be one long fucking journey.

~~~~~

So, did you guys like this chapter? I made it specifically to introduce an external conflict - which I originally meant to do much later, but I decided to bring in the Void early. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but I started writing this chapter at, like, 7 in the morning, and I don't want my parents to know that I'm writing this stuff. So...yeah.

In any case, enjoy, and look forward to new chapters.