Revenge of a Myth

Erbrow didn't think twice. It didn't occur to him that there was anything wrong about what he was doing, though he did wonder why she was acting so squirmy. He hoped she didn't have fleas.

When she finished drying, he gestured with one hand to follow him and walked back toward the main living space. From there, he turned to where the human sized door blocked off the final cave. He opened it and stepped aside. This was the smallest room of all. It was about the size of a spacious bedroom with a simple bed, two bookshelves, a few hung shelves, and a small writing desk. A massive trunk sat at the foot of the bed, and another peaked out from under the bed.

"Help yourself," he stated. He'd gathered a rather odd assortment of clothing over the years in those trunks, so there was no telling what she would find.
 
Aaaaand, he still wasn't leaving. Fantastic.

Saffron dug into the chest with the damp blanket hung over her back. Finding nothing for women, she tied a scarf around her chest for support and settled to cover the rest of her with a loose shirt and trousers. She had never worn men's clothing before, and it was more comfortable than expected. She wrapped the blanket around her still wet hair to keep it from dripping everywhere and turned back to Erbrow.

"Thank ye," she said gratefully. "'Pologies if I was an inconvenience."
 
"No more than a goat or a sheep," Erbrow said, turning away. He didn't mean it as an insult, merely a fact, and had no idea it could be taken as such. "The meat is nearly ready, and if you want vegetables, they are there in that room. Take what you like."

He walked back to the fire and tested the hunk of beef he had cooking. For not cooking much, he was a surprisingly good cook, at least when it came to getting hunk of meat cook through properly.
 
A goat or a sheep? If she wasn't so scared of Erbrow, Saffron would have lashed out at him for that. No more than a goat or a sheep, ha!

She entered the room that he had gestured at and surveyed the vegetable options. She saw a few tempting potatoes, but she couldn't eat them raw, so she left them there. (I know, potatoes aren't really vegetables, but whatever) Her eyes landed on a few apples. What were those doing there? They weren't vegetables, but she grabbed one, pleasantly surprised.

She left with the apple in hand and went to where Erbrow was cooking a hunk of meat. She stood far enough away so as not to intrude, but close enough to signal that she was ready when he was.
 
(But... potatoes are vegetables... are you thinking Tomatoes?)

Erbrow finished his poking of the meat and glanced up. "The napkins are there," he supplied, nodding to a small stack of fabric squares balanced on a relatively clean rock. "I do not have plates."

With that, he started hacking a large chuck of meat off the carcass and then held it out to her before turning to his own. The meat was still hot, though not quite hot enough to burn fingers, and the juices ran freely. He had his own piece and started eating, hunched over so the juices didn't drip on him.
 
(it's a tuber, isn't it? looks up if potatoes are vegetables alright then. it is a veggie. facepalm)

Saffron took the hunk of meat. She was too hungry to care whether there were plates or not. She bit into the meat. It was delicious. The two of them sat in silence for a while, the only sound was chewing. When Saffron finished her chunk, she started thinking of ways to get revenge on Fellen. Holy beings forbid she would have to start the conversation, but she could be ready when it came.
 
(No worries! I always thought "dragonfruit" was a made up thing until I saw one being sold.)

Erbrow ate probably three times as much as Saffron. When he finished at last, he sat back and licked his fingers clean before wiping them off. "Can you milk a goat?" he asked suddenly.
 
"A goat?" Saffron asked, surprised. "Aye, I can milk a goat."

Was Erbrow going to make her his slave or something? She had seen his goats, was he not able to milk them himself?
 
"Good." Erbrow stood and picked up what was left of the hunk of meat, removing it from the fire. He carried it to his storeroom and tucked it away to be eaten later before returning to the fire. Juices from the meat still splattered his arms, and he was glad he'd rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He had no idea how to do laundry, and thus usually ended up throwing away dirty clothing. He stuck his bare arms into the fire and let the flames lick away the juices, leaving his arms clean and sticky-free.

Erbrow turned and gestured to the girl. Sapphire? Solar? He couldn't remember; it had something to do with an herb, he thought. "Come with me." He didn't wait for her as he strode up the incline back to his animals' cave. It was time to milk, and while he milked by himself all the time, he wasn't about to waste an extra pair of hands. He went to the little shed where he kept the buckets and pulled out two. One large, and one small. He handed the smaller one to Girl, as he was calling her in his head.

"Start with those two," he said, indicating the closer pair. There were no milking stands or anything to hold the goats. He walked right up to his first goat, patted her flank, then squatted down and started milking while she nibbled at a bit of grain. "Tell me. How do you plan to exact your revenge?"
 
Saffron had to hide her surprise when Erbrow stuck his arms in the fire. It looked extremely unnatural, but when Saffron reminded herself that this was a dragon in a human form and not an actual human, it made sense and was a little less disconcerting. She had wiped her face and arms with a napkin and was a little sticky with meat juice, but not enough to be bothersome.

She followed him to the animal pens and took the milking bucket without a word. When Erbrow had taken his own, she relaxed, realizing he meant to use her able hands to help, not make her a slave. She squatted down like Erbrow had, feeling a little exposed without a milking stand, but willing to try without one. She let the goat sniff her hand and get used to her before she even thought of reaching for the udder. Once the goat seemed relaxed enough to not bolt, Saffron began to milk.

And now for the topic of revenge. She had had plenty of time to think over this while she was in the bath.

"Fellen Skynner loves money. Take 'is money or 'is source o' income, 'e'll be lost. I want 'im to die, but I also want 'im ter suffer first. If 'e loses 'is money, 'e won't be happy, an' if we do it stealthy-like, 'e won't have nobody ter beat up for it."
 
Erbrow focused on his milking, the steady, rhythmic motions and sound almost soothing to his ears. After a moment of thought, he said, "I think this idea of destroying his business is a good one. To properly make someone feel pain, you must first understand what will bring them the most pain. This man... it is his money, and likely also what reputation he has."

He rose and patted the goat gently before turning to find the next goat. Once he was settled and milking once more, he continued. "Human trade far and wide, do they not? If this human trades with others, then perhaps it is time that those he trades with discovers that he has been cheating them in some way."
 
Saffron nodded.

"'E's a trader in dragon parts. Sells all sorts o' stuff. Mosely dragon scales, but also claws, teeth, hearts. If we can co'vince 'is contacts the parts 'e sells is fake, they wouldna trade with 'im no more."
 
Erbrow focused on his milking for a little bit and not what she had just told him. Claws... teeth... hearts... and all of them from his friends. From his family. No, dragons were not particularly close with each other, but they were still loyal to the race, and there was no way any dragon was going to let this go easily. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he kept milking. He finished the goat, gave it a pat, and moved on to the last goat, trying to ignore the knot of fury in his belly.

He sat down and started milking. Only then did he say, "In that case... perhaps we could switch his next shipment with something other than dragon parts and prove it. Deer or elk... no, bear would be best. The size would be much closer. Especially if you were to sew two hearts together."
 
"Ye want me to sew two bear hearts together?"

That was... unsettling. But she must steel herself against such things if she was to have her revenge.

"I can do that. What 'bout the scales? Should we paint pieces of tree bark or somthin'?"
 
Erbrow felt his lip curling in distain. Tree bark? Tree bark! She thought scales would feel like tree bark? But at least she was trying, so he forced himself to calm down and not react. "No, tree bark would not quite cover it, but you are on the right track," he said as neutrally as he could manage. Tree bark. "If you can sew the bear, I can manage the scales."
 
Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut in the future. Erbrow's response to her suggestion had been mild enough, but his body language told a different story.

"Alrighty," she mumbled, embarrassed. "Ye take care o' that. I'll sew the bear hearts."

She shivered at the thought of touching a bear's internal organs. How slimy would that be? Revolting. Absolutely revolting. The things she would have to deal with to have her revenge. Was it worth it? .............Yes. Yes, it was.

"Do ye just have bear hearts lyin' aroun'?"
 
"Oh, not usually, no," Erbrow said as he finished milking and stood, patting the goat's back. "I do have one right now, and I shall fetch the other tomorrow morning. There is a massive fellow who roams the mountainside down below, but he is old, and I have seen him struggle to keep off the younger challengers."
 
Alright then. That took care of that. Erbrow seemed like the type of person, er, dragon to have supplies of all sorts everywhere, so Saffron didn't worry about a needle or thread yet. He surely could provide that when it was needed.

"That's lovely. Is there anythin' else ye want me to do?"
 
"Do you want to have something to do?" Erbrow asked as he picked up his pail then reached for Saffron's. "I don't usually entertain humans. I have no idea what you want. Or don't want. What I need right now is to go empty the milk and feed the animals, so I suppose you could do one or the other."
 
"I'll feed yer animals," offered Saffron. After all the trouble she had caused Erbrow, it felt good to do something useful.

She stifled a yawn. Even if she could help, she wouldn't work forever. How long could dragons go without sleep, she wondered.

"But after that, if ye don't mind, I'd like to catch a mite o' sleep. This night 'as been really tirin'."
 
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