Phaedra wondered if she could convince Yroth to finish the date by collapsing into her tub of ice water. She found it unlikely. The heat really didn’t seem to be affecting the dragon at all, even though she could already feel sweat beginning to form under her wool.

  She supposed she should be grateful. As miserable as she felt, she was pretty sure if she were still human she’d be dead. From the moment they left the keep and entered the settlement proper she’d felt the heat coming from all directions. While outside had the benefit of slightly better ventilation than the keep, it had the issue of small rivers of lava flowing through it with no walls of stone to try and hold it back. While she was nowhere near able to comfortably withstand the heat, many of the demons and kobolds seemed barely impeded by it. Some could even walk through the lava with ease.

  Yroth just eyed her with amusement. “Perhaps I was hasty in my decision.”

  “No,” Phaedra said firmly. “I’m not going to pass out from heat stroke on my first ever date. Come on, show me around. A real tour.”

  “Very well,” Yroth said before she began to walk again, lightly leaping over a small stream of lava.

  Phaedra sighed and jumped over it as well. Yes, she was pretty sure she’d be dead by now if she was human. Though maybe the amulet would have protected her. She wondered how Emma survived; maybe there was some fire demon in her as well.

  “Pathetic sheep,” a voice said, making Phaedra pause. She glanced around before she caught sight of three demons by one of the stone buildings, talking in whispers. She wondered if it was them.

  Perhaps she’d have her challenge met before long. She hoped not, she didn’t want to have to kill one of them.

  “Are you coming?” Yroth asked.

  “Y-yes, sorry,” Phaedra said before walking after her. The kobolds she saw looked a lot weaker than the ones she’d seen before. More than that, they looked more mixed. In her prior tour all of the green kobolds had been together, the blue ones together, so on and so forth. But kobolds seemed to come in a dozen different colors and entirely different shades. The only thing they really seemed to have in common was their reptilian skin and their height, most barely coming up past her stomach and none coming anywhere near Yroth’s height. “Hey, Ascended Dragon?”

  “What?” Yroth asked.

  “What do the colors of a kobold’s scales mean?” Phaedra asked.

  Yroth hesitated for a moment before turning to look down at her. “What?”

  “What do the colors mean?” Phaedra asked. “Do the colors represent families? Skills? Do they--” It took a moment before she realized Yroth was laughing. The dragon was at least trying to suppress it, albeit failing.

  “They mean nothing, Phaedra,” Yroth said. “In fact, most kobolds will change their colors many times throughout their lives. While it’s natural, there are plenty of spells and tonics they can use if they desire a particular color. Why?”

  “W-wait, that’s it?” Phaedra asked. “I just thought…” She glanced at a small group of kobolds, a blue, red and golden one. “It doesn’t mean a talent for magic? Or jobs? Or--”

  “Anything,” Yroth said. “Though, many kobolds have particular colors they favor, either in themselves or their mates. And there are likely plenty of different things different colorations can signify. Not to mention some dragons prefer specific colors for the kobolds that gather around them. Personally? I’ve always enjoyed the variety of colorations my kobolds embrace. I’d find them all looking the same to be quite boring. I hear it’s akin to the makeup and hair alterations elves and demons often use, or the feather shaping of angels.”

  Phaedra nodded, though a frown formed on her lips when she saw a pair of small kobolds playing outside one of the homes. A blue and an orange one. They were very small, kind of cute and adorable. But now that she thought about it, on her first tour she hadn’t seen a single kobold even close to that small. Had she really been so oblivious to Carth’s intentions? In retrospect it seemed so obvious, but at the time all she’d thought was ‘oh, everyone seems so strong and happy’.

  “Ah, here we are,” Yroth said.

  “Huh?” Phaedra asked before turning and barely suppressing a small whine. Another wave of heat washed over her. The hot springs that Yroth had been so proud of, so hot they were actually boiling. How the dozen or so kobolds were able to lay in them and look so content she could never understand. Worse, there were quite a few young kobolds playing around some of the pools, splashing each other. “Please no.”

  “Come along, trust me,” Yroth said with a smirk. “It’ll do you good. The hot water is great for releasing tension.”

  “I’d really rather no-- ahh!” Phaedra let out a startled baa when her hand was grabbed and she was tugged into the water. She cringed when it washed over her hooves and up her legs, soaking into her wool.

  Yes, she was definitely thankful she wasn’t a human now. The water was just shy of hurting, but even though she was only in about knee deep before she managed to stop herself, she could already feel her body overheating. “Ascended dragon,” Phaedra said, struggling to keep her legs straight and avoid collapsing. “I don’t… think…” Finally, the heat was too much. Her body gave out all at once and she stumbled forward, her legs giving out.

  “Sheep?” Yroth asked with worry in her voice, catching her. “Are you okay?”

  Phaedra gave a gurgled bleat.

  “Come on,” Yroth said with a soft sigh. “You truly are delicate; perhaps this was a bad idea.” She picked her up with ease and walked her out from the boiling water. “I know just the place, okay?”

  “Okay…” Phaedra said softly. Well, while the date already wasn’t going the best, she had to admit she didn’t mind having to be princess-carried partway through.

  ------

  “Better?” Yroth asked.

  “A little,” Phaedra said. “A little harder to breathe so high up, but not quite as hot.”

  “I’d never realized you were so weak,” Yroth said in a teasing tone.

  “I don’t handle heat well,” Phaedra said before tugging at a strand of her wool. “Unlike you, I’m not designed to be able to swim through lava.”

  “I see,” Yroth said. “There is still one more place I’d like to show you, but it can wait until you feel better. Perhaps our next date should wait until we move somewhere cooler.”

  “Thank you,” Phaedra said before staring down at the settlement. Yroth had been kind enough to fly her further up into the surrounding mountains. She glanced towards Yroth’s wings next. She wondered just how much magic was used in a dragon’s flight, because she wasn’t sure those wings were large enough to carry both of them as quickly and as high as they were. Then again, she’d seen plenty of creatures fly far, far higher than she would have guessed was possible. Maybe flying things just worked differently here.

  “You know, it’s considered a sign of intense desire to stare at a dragon’s wings that intently,” Yroth said.

  Phaedra’s cheeks went scarlet and she quickly looked back over the settlement. It wasn’t very impressive, just a dozen or so stone homes and an oversized keep, the streams of lava, hot springs and occasional caves taking up more space. “Sorry, it won’t happen again.”

  “Oh, so you don’t intensely desire me?” Yroth asked in a teasing tone. “I think I might be offended.”

  “O-of course I desire you,” Phaedra said sheepishly. “I’m a demon, not dead. But it’d be like me staring at your…” She trailed off and glanced at Yroth’s chest. Right. Odd as it was, now that she thought about it kobolds didn’t really have breasts. Even dragon ones. “Butt. It’s rude.”

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  “Rude?” Yroth asked. “I, for one, take it as a compliment. My ass is magnificent. Let me guess, another thing from your prior world?”

  “Actually, I think it applies here as well,” Phaedra said. “Sure, I’d like it if you stared at my ass, but that’s because I find you attractive.”

  “Done,” Yroth said without skipping a beat.

  “But if I found you creepy I probably wouldn’t,” Phaedra said. “Not to mention it’d be pretty weird if you started eyeing your kobolds, there’s a huge power differential there that’s just wrong.”

  “A huge what?” Yroth asked.

  “A power… differential, and I don’t even know if that concept is considered here,” Phaedra said before sighing. “The idea is that it’s wrong to like… ogle someone if you hold more power over them.”

  “Then how would they know I was interested in them?” Yroth asked.

  “They’re like your servants,” Phaedra said. “You aren’t supposed to do things like that with them. How could they say no?”

  “Who would ever say no to me?” Yroth asked.

  Phaedra just sighed and shook her head. She doubted she was explaining this well at all. Not to mention she struggled to imagine anyone wanting to tell Yroth no about anything. “Okay, let’s put it this way. How would you feel if my daddy started staring at your… wings?”

  “Confused,” Yroth said.

  “But uncomfortable, right?” Phaedra asked.

  “Wary that he intended to tear them off,” Yroth said. “So uncomfortable could be a word.”

  “I… I mean if he was trying to… to um… to…” Phaedra turned red and she could feel her wool almost instinctively trying to grow out around herself, though the sweat made it easier to stop. “To have an egg with you.”

  Yroth gave a soft sigh. “He is far more powerful than I, though I admit it only grudgingly. I would likely prefer it over death, now.”

  “And that’s the problem,” Phaedra said. “If you have no choice in the matter, that’s wrong.”

  Yroth just stared at her. “Your world was very strange. Did the strong not take the weak?”

  “Oh, they did sometimes,” Phaedra said. “But our strong and this world’s strong were entirely different things. But in a lot of ways we tried to make that… less the case. There were people who wanted to go back to that. Usually people who saw themselves as strong. They usually wanted to strip the rights of anyone who they saw as weak, just so they could be in control. The biggest issue with that was there were a lot of people who saw themselves as ‘how strong’ you were supposed to be, everyone beneath them could suffer for all they cared. But those at the bottom eventually got tired of being exploited. Our world was filled with rules that had been written in the blood of those who died for them.”

  “I… see,” Yroth said. “So you have no intentions with the mouse?”

  “Emma?!” Phaedra asked, turning to stare at Yroth with a look of horror. “NO! Have you seen her? She’s adorable! Not to mention the power differential there is MASSIVE! Not just in a social sense, but in a physical sense. If I ever tried to do anything like that with her I’d need to punch myself!”

  Yroth just stared at her, an amused look on her face. Her tail moved out, the tip pushing on the sheep’s chin so she had to look her in the eyes. “I see. And if I decided I desired the mouse?”

  “No,” Phaedra said, a lot harsher than she meant to.

  “No?” Yroth asked before chuckling. “Jealous?”

  “People aren’t objects to be used and discarded,” Phaedra said coldly.

  That, however, made Yroth go still. She cocked her head to the right and then left. Finally, she retracted her tail. “Used… and then discarded? Is that what it was in your world?”

  “Often,” Phaedra said.

  “That sounds foolish,” Yroth said. “Discarding another. A powerful way to make many enemies.”

  “Yeah, that happened a lot too,” Phaedra said. “Though, I imagine it’s a lot more of an issue here, considering how much longer everything lives. A lot harder to get vengeance on someone who wrongs you in twenty years than two hundred.”

  “Indeed,” Yroth said. “Still, it is an amusing way you look at the world. I don’t find it altogether bad.”

  “Yeah, my world had a lot of things like that,” Phaedra said. “Remind me one day to explain marriage to you.”

  “We have marriage,” Yroth said.

  “I more mean the ‘until death do we part’,” Phaedra said. “And the ‘only being allowed to marry one person’ thing.”

  “… What?” Yroth asked.

  “Exactly,” Phaedra said with another chuckle before sighing. She wondered if those ideas of hers truly were strange in this world. Power dynamics certainly shifted when you went from ‘I have more money than you’ to ‘I can literally crush you in the palm of my hand and turn you to ash with a breath’. Not to mention the rules of relationships had been a constantly shifting thing even in her world. She let out a little yelp when she felt Yroth’s tail wrap around her head and force her to turn and look at her.

  “These power differences,” Yroth said. “Do you believe I or you are the stronger one here?”

  Phaedra gulped nervously. “Uhhhh… I mean, I, uhhhh…”

  Yroth’s eyes narrowed and she looked a little angry. “Answer,” she ordered.

  “M-me,” Phaedra said before whimpering. “W-when you wear the collar at least.”

  The tail tightened slightly before relaxing. “I see,” Yroth said. “Is that why you glow so red when I touch you?” Her hand reached out and squeezed one of her breasts. “When I molest you? When I torment you, you little pathetic mewling sheep?”

  Phaedra gave a little squeak. “N-no, I mean, I-I ummm… i-is it… s-safe? Up here? I mean, err, if your people saw you…”

  “How would they?” Yroth asked. “On this mountain we are alone.” Her wings spread out and then closed around her. “Collar or no, there would be none to stop me. But more than that… I do not believe you would want me to stop.” She reached up and gave her ear a little squeeze. “However, I suppose I should try your way, no? After all, this is one of your ‘dates’, as it were. So, as the more powerful one here, what would I do now?”

  “Make my heart explode from pounding so hard,” Phaedra said softly, nervously poking her fingers together. “I-I guess… ummmm… allow me to say no?”

  “No?” Yroth asked. “Why would you not be allowed to say no?”

  “I-I mean, that’s… kind of… the big issue? Why power differentials are bad when used for things like that?” Phaedra said softly.

  “Your world was very, very strange,” Yroth said again. “I do not believe any have ever told me no.”

  “I-I’m probably not the best at explaining it, anyway,” Phaedra said sheepishly. “S-sorry.”

  “It is fine,” Yroth said. “You are a strange creature, Morgana. In so many ways.”

  “I hope that’s good,” Phaedra said. “C-can I ask you something?”

  “Of course,” Yroth said in a soft, almost purring voice that made her wool instinctively poof up for a moment before she could stop it. At least that meant she was sweating slightly less now.

  “You’ve been asking more about my world lately,” Phaedra said softly. “Why do you want to know?”

  Yroth went still before, slowly, she pulled her wings and tail away from her. “Morgana… you have been alone a long time. When you came to this world, I failed to see the torment and pain you were suffering through. I… merely wish to make it up to you. To understand you.”

  Phaedra stared at her for a few moments before asking, very softly. “Why? I’m not… worth all that effort.”

  Yroth just stared at her before suddenly reaching out and giving her a tight hug. “Oh, Morgana… you poor, stupid little lamb…”

  Phaedra squirmed a little in the hug, her cheeks going rosy red again. “You’re a bit evil, you know that?”

  “A demon would know,” Yroth said in a teasing tone before pulling back from her.

  “Thank you,” Phaedra said. “For caring, I mean. It’s… nice to talk about. I’m still trying to figure out where and how I stand on a lot of things, but I’m happy I don’t have to do it alone now. Sorry I’m kind of… confusing.”

  “Confused,” Yroth said. “You are very confused.”

  “That too,” Phaedra said. She then turned and walked to the edge, overlooking the settlement. “Does it cause any problems? You being nice to me, I mean. In front of…” She trailed off and sniffed the air.

  “What’s wrong?” Yroth asked.

  “Shhhh,” Phaedra said before sniffing the air again. “Do you smell that?”

  “Smell what?” Yroth asked.

  “Blood,” Phaedra said. She sniffed the air again. It wasn’t very strong, so there didn’t seem to be a lot of it. But it was definitely there. She’d smelled it plenty of times over the years to identify it easily. That was definitely blood. Was someone hurt?

  “Are you sure?” Yroth asked.

  “I am,” Phaedra said before sniffing the air again. “That’s definitely--” Phaedra let out a startled bleat when she was picked up again and Yroth spread her wings, lifting them both into the air before diving down towards the settlement.

  The smell was getting stronger. Something had happened, and she bet it was bad.

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