"Gloriana, you have to do something about this smell."
Gloriana was a smaller sized green dragoness. Her wing span though fully extended would rival any male's. Stephan's height came to about her shoulder and her length was roughly one-and-a-half times his height, her tail doubled that length and her neck was half that. Just like any other Western dragon, Gloriana had four legs to go along with her wings. Her hind legs had the relative shape of a lion's but a bit meatier around her haunches and the paws had three clawed toes with a fourth at the heel for gripping prey. Her forelegs almost resembled how a human's arms would be built but they were a bit stockier to support her weight and instead of hands there was of course paws. Three toes just like the hind legs but the toes on her forepaws were much more nimble and flexible nearing the resemblance of fingers, but she missed the fourth digit to act as a thumb. Her coloring ran from a dark forest green along her back to nearly yellow at her belly. Scales covered her body and were smooth to the touch, getting softer at her belly and joints. The skin behind her jaw line at her neck and hip joints on her ventral side was completely void of scales and was just pale skin. Her eyes were slitted and colored a midnight blue. Her gaze was soft and welcoming yet could change to horrifying wrath just as easy.
Sure enough, Stephan was right she was in heat again. Gloriana and Stephan had met little over a decade ago while Stephan was just a boy of 10 years old. Gloriana was a little over 50 years and found Stephan wandering helplessly through her parent's forest. In a similar manner of how a boy like Stephan would have taken a lost puppy home and pleaded his parents to keep it, Gloriana had pleaded with her parents that they let Stephan live with them. Her parents full well knew the problems that came with humans, but there was a way around that. Not wanting to see their little fledgling heartbroken, and more importantly not wanting to cast out an innocent boy to his death, they agreed he could stay on one condition. That she and Stephan would be bound to each other as dragon and rider. In comparison dragons were immortal to humans, but the ritual that bound dragon to rider equalized their life spans. The rider would have little over a millenia added to his life span while the dragon lost thousands of years to its. It wasn't a choice taken lightly and Gloriana's parents had a good feeling about the boy.
By now Stephan was 20 years old, and would seem to remain that age for hundreds of more years to come. He always kept his hair cut short which was a dark brown which made his green, hazel eyes stand out so much more. His facial features were smoother than the average man but it was also more noticeable because he shaved often at the request of Gloriana's parents. He wasn't too built, but hunting with Gloriana helped keep him in very good shape and his body was well toned. At his age very little hair covered the rest of his body, but being outside as much as he had been his pale skin had a wonderful tan.
As far as clothing went, it was difficult at first for Gloria's parents to find suitable clothing for a human, let along a growing boy. As he grew up with the three dragons though he somewhat became an adopted son and they eventually learned what would fit, especially when he finally stopped growing. By now they knew he was of age to leave which meant that Gloriana would be leaving too. As a parting gift Gloriana's parents had an elvin tribe which lived a days flight from their den, make Stephan his own armor and weapons. They had helped train him on occasion and through his hunts with Gloriana had become superb with the bow. The sword was a simple elvin blade which on its own meant it would rarely become dull and never rust. The armor was a crafted work of art and made specifically to be as light as a feather and as mobile as cloth. With a cloak worn over it all, it never made a sound.
So far Stephan and Gloriana had little more to do than see the world and its adventures. There was always a war going on somewhere but it was none of their business to interfere which the two agreed on. Their time together for now was simply a time for bonding and exploring new realms. The area they had come upon now was a forest much like any other and nothing was out of the ordinary. Stephan wanted to see the city but to go in the city meant leaving Gloriana behind and he couldn't bring himself to do that when she wanted to see the city as much as he did. Most human civilizations weren't too welcoming of dragons.
Gloriana took a moment to register what Stephan had said while she concentrated on the new scents of the area. She realized once again that her groin was warm and throbbing, a sure sign that she was in the middle of her heat. Normally she was easily able to suppress it given her young age, but with her shortened life span her body matured a bit more rapidly than most dragons which meant her body's need to mate would come sooner than normal, she just never thought it would be this soon.
"I'm sorry Steph, I'm in heat. Normally it's not this bad."
Stephan stepped over to her and rubbed her shoulder just before her wing joint. The touch alone was enough to send a thrill through her body and made her startle a bit. Stephan recoiled his hand not sure what to do. Gloriana's parents hadn't taught him how to handle something like this and by what he could tell neither did they tell Gloriana.
"I...I'm sorry."
Stephan felt bad for Gloriana. Not knowing what to do or how to help her made him feel somewhat helpless on his own. He knew she needed to mate but at her age what male would want her? Still it was worth a try.
"Why don't you seek out a male? I'm sure it'd help."
Gloriana seemed taken aback by her expression. The wing posture and facial expression was more than enough of a clear indication.
"Yeah if I wanted eggs, you think you could support a clutch of hatchlings while bound to the ground?"
He understood her point, a female dragon rarely if ever left the nest with a clutch.
"Well what do you suggest? Your scent is stinking up the whole forest we'll never find food for the both of us at this rate."
