The amount of pleasure wrapped in Ashton's tongue left me wondering about what he could do if our entire bodies were... No … We can't … I won't … But he's so ... Just breathe … It was far more surprising than I ever thought. I wasn't disgusted. He held me, touched me carefully, sensually, and I actually felt safe in his arms.

When he had his fill of me, he brought me something to eat. I imagine the Scalers in here would be incensed at this kind of treatment, but I wouldn't complain. Ashton had been honest with me so far. While I had concerns it was a front of sorts to deceive me, I couldn't ignore how good it felt to be treated like a woman.

Relationships never lasted between most Anthros. There were too many dangers. One day you'd be in love and then the next day your spouse would be scorched, eaten, or taken captive to be held as a pet. The few of us who still looked healthy were in such high demand, coveted by both Scalers and certain Stations, we kept to ourselves. Learning to trust people had its difficulties.

Now as I sat in the intimate space of the Ashton Cane, I found myself wanting to trust him. That was until he brought me a plate of food. There was some charred kind of meat with vegetables. It smelled delicious.

"What is this?" I asked him.

He stifled a laugh, "What do you think it is?"

I picked the plate up, bringing it closer to my nose. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, only to open them still perplexed, "Honestly, I don't know. I just don't want it to have been human at some point."

He let out a boisterous laugh. The vein in his neck bulged as he laughed so hard. It actually brought a smile to my face to see him so, so, so joyous.

"Oh wow! I needed that. Thank you. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I don't eat Anthros, and even if I did, I would never serve it to you. That's disgusting. That's the same as me eating scales," he said.

I nodded tasting a piece of the food. It was the most tender piece of meat I'd ever had, "This is so good."

"It should be," he smiled, "You see how hard it is to get meat that runs, imagine what I had to do to get beef."

"Beef? This is a cow? An actual cow? Something that took years to grow to maturity and survived to be this tender. I'd only been told about them, never got the opportunity to eat one. Aya wants three feathers off a Golden Imperial just for a cheek. The cheek! I was scared to ask what she wanted for any other parts," I told him. I practically devoured the rest of the food without another word and when I was done he took the plate from me and washed it. They had running water.

The Gears had running water, but it wasn't ready as soon as it came from the pipe. Jasper fashioned some mechanical filter system that it had to pass through simply for us to touch it and even then we were all limited to a few gallons a day. Ashton let his water run as he moved around the kitchen. Not a single thought was given to how much he was using, wasting. I couldn't stand it as I rushed over and shut it off.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

I shook my head looking at the sink, "You were wasting so much of it. I couldn't take it."

"This building, The Towers, they both run on an isolated tanked system. It was put in place before we took over. No water gets wasted, it's all recycled," he assured me.

"That's something I'd love to see. Seeing an enormous tank of cleaned water? I bet you it's almost as cool as the Glasslands," I smiled.

"The Glasslands?" his eyebrows raised with curiosity.

"Yeah, there's this place Jasper took me to years ago. As a matter of fact, it was right after you decided not to take me the first time. Once I ran off and you didn't follow me, I went back to my Station. We were staying at The Rogue back then. It's on the far outskirts of the city, right where the roads meet the trees. You know where that is right?"

"Of course I do," he said. But there was something different in his voice. The laughter was gone and a mood had settled over him.

I paid it no mind as I continued to tell him about it, "Yeah so I was spotted by one of those Scarlet Wings while scoping out a location for a new station. I'd found The Gears but was nabbed before I could get back and then we met. Anyway, I told Jasper about what happened and he told me I was lucky to be alive. I was lucky to have made it back unbothered too. Now that I think about it, I probably have you to thank for that huh?"

"Partially," he forced a half smile.

"Well thank you for that. So Jasper was so happy to have me back with him, safe and sound, that he wanted to take me on an adventure. We left just before dawn and hiked into the trees. The torched earth smelled different from the city. The deeper we went into the woods, the greener it became. I wanted to live out there, but Jasper assured me that the wilderness Scalers weren't any nicer than the ones in Black Harbor. He preferred we stay in the city since we knew what we were up against. Anyways, we hike, and hike, and hike. Finally, we reached this clearing right there in the middle of the forest. It looked like a lake had frozen over, but it wasn't cold. It was glass-"

"And in the center of the massive crater of glass were a set of wings, amber with hews of green," he paused with sadness in his eyes. "I know the place you're talking about."

"Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it? I've always wondered how a lake full of glass just ended up in the middle of the forest like that."

"It's not a lake, Whisper," he mumbled to me, "It's a grave."

"What? How do you know that?" I turned to him and the sadness now looked mixed with anguish, sorrow.

"I know because I'm the one who put it there and those wings? They belonged to my mother."

I couldn't stop myself as I went to him and hugged him. I held him tight even though he stood there like he'd never been hugged before. Running my fingers up the back of his neck, I moved his head down onto my shoulder. He had to bend slightly, but he finally gave in. The strength of his arms around me was something I never expected to make me feel so needed. As strong as he was, he still needed this. He needed someone to be soft around.

When I released him from my embrace, he took a deep breath, gazing at me with those big blue eyes of his, "There was a time when my mother lived here. She didn't exactly like the way things were done, especially with how your kind was being treated, so she left. She tried her best to make it in the wilderness. There's supposed to be some city out there, but I don't know, it's a myth to me. Anyways, when she left things were hard for me. I was furious, and anger manifested itself in my dragon. I was ruthless, brutal and could be so easily provoked. My father went to look for her, and I followed him of course. He ended up in a battle with some other Scalers, when she came from nowhere and tried to jump in and save him, but those bastards killed her. They wanted to take my father out and take control of Black Harbor, but the only thing they managed to do was make us both angry. I went crazy when I saw her lifeless body on the ground. It felt like flames came out of every inch of me, not just the pit in the back of my throat. My father killed two of them while the rest remained on the ground, injured and teetering on the brink of death. I torched them all. I let all of my anger out in a blaze of black and blue flames. The flames were so hot that it turned that entire pit into a lake of glass, as you call it. My mother was the only dragon whose body didn't burn. After that, I only got out of control a few more times, and then when I stopped mourning over her, the anger went away. I think it was the next time I saw you actually. It had been at least a few years, but it was you. Your scent, your run, I could just tell. You helped me not be so angry, so sad, so destructive."

"I had no idea."

"Of course not," he sighed, "Why would you know that? I am glad that you think it's a beautiful place. I'm glad my mother can rest in peace somewhere to be awed."

"At least you know your parents," I mumbled shaking my head.

"What about that Jasper guy? Isn't he like your Dad?"

"I guess he is in a way," I smiled, but it sucked. I was here eating beef while a Scaler fed me, and he must be worried sick. "I want him to know I'm safe."

"I'm sure he knows," Ashton said. "Because you're here as Ashton Cane's pet. I'm sure all of Black Harbor knows by now."