Hercules found himself at the top of the mountain, standing outside the cave with his sword in his paws. It had been a long journey, but now, he could finally slay the dreaded dragon and become the hero his town needed! The mouse approached the cave's maw cautiously, holding his lantern out and his sword ready to strike. There was no telling what could emerge from the darkness before him, or if it might be worse than the dreaded dragon.
"Steel yourself,"
a voice reminded him in the back of his head. With a deep breath, the knight headed forwards, ready to face whatever danger he must to keep his town safe.
His lantern did little to light the vast tunnel, and his sword seemed small compared to any beast which might make a home here. He noticed cracked and shattered stalagmites that looked like they'd been hit by something. A giant dragon's tail? Perhaps. He trekked onward, holding the lantern further out in front of him. With how limited his vision was, he was more worried about the cave having a steep drop off than running into a dragon for the time being.
The only reason he believed in the beast himself was that he'd seen it flying over the town with his own eyes. It was a massive thing, with wings over twice his height, and he'd seen it exhale flames into the night sky. His mission was a precautionary one - while this dragon had not attacked his town yet, everyone had heard enough stories about villages being burned to ashes by horrible monsters. Better safe than sorry, with so much on the line. Hercules had been the only one mouse enough to go, so he had, on his own. If he made it back, he'd be hailed as a hero for the rest of time.
A few yards or so in the distance, Hercules noticed a light shining through the top of the cave. It was moonlight, illuminating a large nest and...
By the gods. Could that truly be the monster?
It looked less... grotesque than he'd imagined. Rather, it looked less monstrous than he'd expected. If he had to say, it looked like an anthro dragon. The only difference was it was extremely large. Hercules slowly circled around the thing, observing it. He'd expected to come across a waking demon, sword pulled to slay, and yet...
The dragon opened one deep amber eye, staring at Hercules. "What are you doing in my den?" A deep feminine growl echoed throughout the cave, though the reptilian creature did not raise its voice, nor did it sound enraged. Hercules gulped - was he to tell it, or, her the truth?
He supposed there was little other option. Maybe as a dragon, she would be used to it? "I, um... I came here to slay you," he admitted meekly. "My town thought you were a monster and sent me to fight you."
The dragoness lifted her scaled orange head, chuckling. "They sent one little mouse to slay a monster of my size?" she questioned, clearly amused by the obvious flaw in the town's plan.
"I was the only one brave enough to volunteer," he defended the choice, though as he said the words out loud he began to realize it hardly mattered. No ruler of any town in his right mind would send a lone fur to take down a dragon, no matter how short on "volunteers" they were.
Throat rumbling with a guttural laugh, the dragoness sat up in her nest, moonlight reflecting off of her shining, multi toned orange scales. She truly towered over Hercules - if he'd still had any concerns over her attacking him, he would have been shaking. However, she came off as peaceful. He held the sword at his side, no longer holding it ready for an attack. "And what now? Do you still intend to slay me, mighty knight?"
The mouse pondered the question for a moment. "Well... my town was concerned that you'd attack, with all of your roaring and fire-breathing. I don't feel like that's much trouble now though, having spoken to you." Just a few sentences of chatting gave Hercules the impression the dragoness wasn't the violent type. "Though that does raise the question: if you weren't planning to rampage on the town, why did you fly over us causing such a fuss?"
From the expression she offered, the question caused a slight bit of embarrassment. "Well... I was trying to find a mate. There aren't many dragons nearby, and I'm in heat. I need something to satisfy me... I haven't been able to get any males to respond to my breeding calls."
Hercules felt a blush spread under the dull gray fur of his face at the dragon's explanation. He looked her up and down - there truly must not have been any other dragons around if she couldn't find someone to breed her. "That's a shame," he commented. "I... wish there was some way I could help." He glanced down - he couldn't possibly be large enough to satisfy someone so giant.