The Greatest Gift Pt. 3

The fog outside the window spilled down the street, shrouding the morning in a translucent veil. Liz sighed and pressed her muzzle against the window, all the while glancing back at the crack in the wall across the room. Despite the presence of numbers crumbs – everything from tidbits from her gingerbread house to flakes of popcorn – outside of the home the human within seemed resigned to spend the rest of his life amid the darkness of his recess, alone and frightened.

The dragon gave a long sigh, drawing her mistletoe-patterned pink robes around herself as she padded over to the crack in the plaster. She kneeled down so as to better see within the human's domain, though the blackness eluded even her keen vision.

"Please come out." She begged, her tone pitiful and sincere. "I'm really sorry. I won't pester you any more – I swear."

Neither movement nor sound met her in response.

The giantess let loose another long breath, drawing back to shake her head. Her silky hair flew about distressfully as she slunk away to her couch, dropping her head into her hands as she fought back tears. She had terrified the human, had gone too far in her drunken state of power; and now he would likely starve – over the Christmas season, no less – deep in his realm of shadows.

A single azure tear dripped down the obsidian cheek of the woman as she gave a shuddering breath, sneaking a gaze back at the hole in the hopes something would emerge from within.

Alex didn't stir from his refuge.

A knock followed by the ringing of her doorbell brought Liz's attention off of her victim. She turned to see a pair of grins piercing through the window beside her oaken front door, the merriment radiating through the glass bringing a smile to the black dragon's own face.

Rising Liz approached the threshold, throwing it open with a warm "Merry Christmas!"

* * * * *

Liz scared me. Every time she took a step I could feel my heart drop; every time she opened her mouth to speak or even take in a breath I remembered my trip inside, my near-meal-experience.

But if the dragon scared me I was terrified by the pair of goddesses that entered the door frame on Christmas morning. The first was a vixen, clearly resembling a fox – though few Earth-bound foxes sported her coat of sky-blue fur. Likewise the second brought a chill to my spine, a titanic dragon of the same blue shade as her fellow arrival.

The three colossal women lounged about and talked for a short amount of time and, from the various side comments that flew about, I quickly gathered that the dragon was named Crystal while the fox went by Azara. Both worked for Liz though, due to their close proximity to the horrid black dragon's position, their friendship was truly bent on pleasure and not the business world.

Gifts went around, each giantess exchanging a single parcel with another. Liz received a t-shirt depicting a cut-out style drawing of a dragon weightlifting a pair of skyscrapers, a caption beneath reading "Strong in Bed, Stronger on the Street." I chuckled at the gift despite my caution, seeing the remarkable lust the hostess had for power; this was only intensified by her second present, a mug on which was branded the saying "No matter where you are the owner of this mug can see you. If you can't see the owner of this mug, you might be seconds away from death."

The other gifts seemed relatively boring and I hardly registered them; save, of course, for a t-shirt Crystal presented Azara. A bold yellow background depicted the far from heartening saying "Hey sexy, eat me like I'd eat a human."

My hopes of sneaking a Christmas cookie from under the nose of the dragon vanished as my stomach knotted itself into a neat bow, one that could have easily slipped atop one of the parcels.

"What the hell is that?" the blue dragon asked after the last of the wrapping paper fell away, nodding towards what amounted to a spec on the floor. Liz scooped it up and gave a weak smile, easily holding on one claw a neatly wrapped box as large as I was.

"I have another guest here." She admitted. "He's just a bit shy."

"Ooh," Azara purred "so you finally took an interest in someone? Who is he – I bet he's a wolf. You always liked wolves."

"I didn't take an interest in someone!" the dragon shot back, blushing slightly. "He's just a human."

She bit her lip at the words, seeming almost ashamed of them.

"Oh?" the vixen asked, clearly put out as she nestled her new shirt closer to her chest.

"He's sweet though."

"I'm sure he is."

"But… but I was a real bitch towards him."

Two heads shot back towards the dragon. Crystal and Azara exchanged quick glances before raising eyebrows.

"Does it matter?"

"It does!" Liz insisted. "Just because he's the size of a bug doesn't mean he should be treated like one! He's a thinking, caring creature who deserves a lot better than what I gave him. I acted like he was a slave and he's not – and now he's so scared he won't even risk coming out to get food."

"Where is he now?" Azara asked.

There was a sniffle from the onyx giantess and immediately the silver eyes of the fox fell on my hiding place, sending a shiver up my spine. The vixen rose and marched off and, in the distance, the sound of someone rummaging through a box could be heard.

I sank back as deep as my recess would allow, no longer able to see the room outside. Minutes later a door slammed and heavy footsteps reentered the room, accompanied by demands from both dragons.

"What in Hell's name do you think you're doing!?" they chimed in unison.

Then there was a crash, a force that sent a scream tearing from my lips. I felt the world shake around me as more bands followed suit and, all around me, the plaster cracked and crumbled.

Then light spilled in among the shadows, its blinding rays accompanied by a furry, bright blue hand that snagged me from amid the ruins of my home. A rush of nausea accompanied my sudden movement but, as quickly as I could, I shrugged off the twisting of my gut and the blinding haze of electric lighting around me.

I was suspended hundreds of feet above the ground, snuggled within the fur of my captor. I gazed up into the dark metallic eyes of the titanic monstrosity, shaking as I realized she was wearing her yellow t-shirt that admittedly was more than a little offensive to one in my position.

"What are you going to do to him?" Liz asked, her voice something akin to a threat. Horror lodged itself in my heart as I realized just how great her deep-seated desire to torture and devour me was.

"Apologize."

The order came from the vixen, an unquestionably authoritative demand. Liz blinked back surprise yet remained silent and stunned. I shifted my gaze towards her and was shaken as my azure captor forced me closer to the reptile's face.

"Apologize!"

"I'm sorry!" the obsidian titan wailed, near tears as she came closer to me. I felt her hot breath tickle across my skin and beads of nervous sweat broke out all along my body.

"I'm sorry I treated you like a slave! I'm sorry I nearly ate you! I'm sorry I made you fear for your life so many times and acted so uncaring and unsympathetic! You deserve better; a cute little guy like you shouldn't have to live his life so miserably. Please… please forgive me."

* * * * *

Liz had no idea what coursed through the miniscule victim's mind as he stared back up at her, his gray eyes a shadow of uncertainty. The orbs might have remained locked for an eternity if it wasn't for Azara, shaking her catch violently. He turned to her, clawing at the hand that held him as though he might pry the fingers apart and escape.

"Well?" she asked.

The dragon held her breath, not knowing how the encounter would proceed. What if the human didn't accept her apology? What if disapproving, rash Azara decided that, due to his lack of respect and gratitude, he should be the first to feel the pain promised by her newest gift?

"I won't force you to do anything." The fox growled. "But I do expect a bit of compassion from you. It's Christmas for heaven's sake, and this poor girl has thought more of you than I would have – and that's considering the fact that, if it were up to me, I would be feeling each of your little kicks going through my gut."

"I…"

"Not to me." The vixen instructed, spinning the human around in her grasp.

"To her,"

"Liz…" he began, his eyes closing as though he were pondering each syllable with the utmost care.

"You are one power-hungry bitch."

The words stunned everyone in the room, fur and scale alike seeming to stand on end. Then there was a quiet bout of laughter, the human sharing his mirth only with himself.

"But you can't help that, can you? You were born that way. Hell it's Christmas; I forgive you."

* * * * *

I gave a shout of both protest and shock as I was whisked from Azara's grasp, plucked up by the gentle hands of Liz. Tears of joy shone in her eyes as she lay down atop her purple sofa, pushing the carefully wrapped parcel in my direction.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," she whispered as I cautiously approached the gift. Taking a long breath to steady myself I stripped away the candy-cane ordained paper, reaching for the item within.

My hands withdrew themselves from the confines of the miniature box clutching a diamond that must have been the size of my brain. My eyes sparkled with astonishment as I brought the gem up before them, their gaze darting between the priceless jewel and the caring woman who had given it to me.

"I didn't know what you liked." She admitted. "But I decided this would make you more than happy. It's worth a pretty penny, let me tell you."

"But…" I protested.

"But I didn't get you a gift."

"Alex, sweety," Liz cooed "you forgiving me is the greatest gift I have ever received – though you could always do my nails again, if you insist on returning the favor."

"Sure," I chuckled "it should only take me about three weeks of hard labor – no biggie."

We laughed and settled down amid the pillows of the sofa, basking in the joy of each other's company as conversation sprung up again between the women. Soon I joined in and was surprisingly accepted, even by the less-than-human-friendly vixen.

The diamond's weight at my side gave me a constant thrill of joy, the excitement in knowing that, as long as I held the gem, I was as financially powerful as a dragon. Yet it was not the greatest gift I received that Christmas; far from it. Liz's taking me in, of freeing me of a life of fear and hardship, was certainly high on the list – higher than even my head-sized jewel.

But just being around Liz, a dragon that suddenly seemed so warm and inviting, ran laps around all the other gifts I carried away from the holidays – sentimental or otherwise. Perhaps it was just the joy of the season or some chaotic ghost of Christmas but, as the fog faded away outside to reveal the snow-covered grounds of the draconic neighborhood, I began to feel something more than friendship towards the dragon that had shown me so much kindness…

* * * * *

As she looked at the human Liz read every expression across his tiny face, taking in every slight detail that offered her access to his heart. What he felt, she shared.