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“I’ll be out in a minute!”

The one known as Shelby Grant yelled that out. The young woman with dirty blond hair and a fierce personality, even if she had a sensitive side deep down. Now, why would she say such a thing, and to who? What was she even doing?

It’s…complicated.

Shelby was holding some folded clothes in and on her bent left arm, her right hand occupied with closing the door behind her. It was the sandy wood one, the one to her bathroom. Again, it was like it was built at an office building as opposed to a home in terms of sleekness, but that only went to show how well she’s kept the place afloat…with Sybus.

Oh Sybus…the sweet, sweet handsome ghost drake…

It’s been about ten or so weeks since they became mates, and already, these days were starting to be the best of her life. She was happy, enthusiastic, and now more bubbly than before, even if she was still rather closed off. Those at her job picked up her renewed vigor and more positive outlook of the world right away, and yet, despite the questions about the tweaks to her overall behavior, she couldn’t answer any of them.

Why? To others, it made no sense at all, and to her, it was crystal clear. She was in love…with a dragon.

First of all, that would undoubtably send red flags her way. It was just too early in the integration to just…openly say that she fell in love with a dragon, and…let them…

No, they’re ridiculous. This was right! She was happy, happier than she would ever be with a man! And yet, it was apparently their species that mattered. Not that she had much of a social life already due to her private isolation, but if it came out that a dragon courted her, her view of the world would go right into the gutter, and she’ll likely get depressed about it. She knew Sybus would do anything to halt her tears from flowing underneath her eyes, so she didn’t acknowledge the subject.

The other reason was more…personal. She was mated to a dragon, but not just any dragon, a ghost drake. Being open about who she was in love with would make Sybus completely open and paint a target on his back. If dragons from the Old World saw him as the spawn of Satan, she couldn’t even fathom what the ones from today’s society would think. Dragons may try to secretly try to kill him, kill them both for ever having association with the sugary-white scales. Poachers may see his hide as exotic and try to harvest his body for what they thought would earn them a fortune in the form of diamonds. It was just horrible.

She couldn’t do that to Sybus, so they agreed to keep their bond and his existence a secret to all. Despite the inherent risks of living with her, he didn’t care, for she was his mate, and a dragon had the duty to defend the one that held their heart at all costs. It was a truth she didn’t want, for she never wanted to see him get hurt for her sake, but that was just the dragon way.

Shelby even decided to neglect writing his name in the tax report next year. Sure, the I.R.S. was awful, but she would rather risk getting arrested than reveal that Sybus was a ghost drake, let alone unveil that she was in love with a dragon to begin with…but enough of that.

The human loved Sybus to pieces, with all of her heart. Sure, he was overbearing at times, always by her side and worried about her well-being upon the slightest knock against a wall or a counter, a small cut, or something as unlikely as a cooking burn or a stubbed toe.

At the start, she said something along the lines of, ‘Don’t baby me Sybus! I’m fine!’, but she quickly got used to him caring for her. The drake understood. She’s never had somebody who cared about her in that way. It would make complete sense that she would be a bit defensive about it, always so critical of Humanity’s male sex. She had some baggage she didn’t want to repeat from…before.

Now that she had Sybus by her side, her inner mechanisms acted involuntarily, and as such, she lashed out. Even if Sybus saw the reasons as to why, it hurt her so bad to see him apologize. It came to a point where the woman decided to forget acting against his wishes to see her happy, even if he was a bit handholding at times.

Besides, life was bliss with him. Whether back from a day at work, or just snuggling in bed or the couch, being with him was so pleasant. She let him rub his neck and snout against her, nuzzling her lovingly. Feeling those scales on her cheeks and neck was just so, so nice. The licks were also really kind and sweet of him, even if it left a bit of slobber on her. It was something she’d take any day.

And the kisses, by God the kisses. They were pure magic at its earnest. His maw upon hers and his tongue tangling with her own was simply something beautiful. Whether it was a small and quick peck on the cheeks or a long session filled with intimacy, she valued each and every one with the drake. Just the act of tasting him was something to behold.

And his way with words…God was he sweet. He would always speak in such a way as to make her feel like the best creation in the universe, calling her beautiful every chance he had…and the act of calling her his mate made her heart flutter. He was truly a gentledrake.

The paws and tails were no exception. He would hold her all the time, tenderly and with passion, his limbs strong, but soft and warm upon her nevertheless. It was simply amazing.

Even just talking and eating with him was a pleasure. Regardless of whether they had anything to say or not, perhaps things could be best expressed in actions. And Sybus loved her cooking, either praising her for such a delicious new food, or finding a familiar one to gobble up once again. He even tried to assume table manners for her, even if he didn’t have a human’s hands and clawed toes instead of fingers.

And, well, there was also the fact that he was still suffering D.T.S.

The Dragon Transition Syndrome led him to be tired a little bit earlier, and as such, they spent less time awake with each other except on the weekends. He also had a few headaches here and there when she tried to teach him how to read. It appeared that he knew some human words when written, likely because of road signs from his constant travels before their matehood, but he never knew how to read or write everything else.

He was basically illiterate.

But Sybus made the change, selflessly using his time trying to understand the English language instead of constantly showering her with lathers and rubbing. He began to understand some simple words and the alphabet in some ways, but he was still grappling with it.

Also, despite her food tasting amazingly on his taste buds, his body realized that it wasn’t used to this type of consumption, leading to frequent trips to her bathroom. While he could acclimate with urinating in a human’s toilet bowl, he had to take the rest of his business in the nearby forest outside. After all, his ass would just crush and destroy the toilet itself if he ever attempted to sit on it. As much as she wanted to get a plumber to install a dragon latrine in the house, even she was a little bit paranoid of others getting suspicious of their bond and had to regrettably leave her washrooms as is.

Speaking of which…

Shelby walked in here not because she needed to get rid of any waste, but because she wanted to take a shower. She just got back from work and Sybus, once again, aimed to cuddle with her.

And then…oof…

Shelby was…not well. She acted and functioned like normal, but there was something seriously…off about her. For one, the nausea. It came out of nowhere, like a boxer tried to give her a wild haymaker. No word of warning or even feeling a rumbling for a while, it just…came out. Only when it was about to happen did she run to the bathroom to vomit. It was…rough to say the least.

Sybus was worried sick about her. He would pamper her even more and do anything to keep her out of potential danger, even if he actually didn’t know how. How the hell do you expect him to drive a car? While she wanted to protest, she’s gotten irritated by these sudden bouts of expulsion too. The thing was that it started happening just a week ago or somewhere around there. It’s only been about ten weeks since they began their relationship as mates, and now she was queasy?

Why…w-why was this happening to her?

Hmmmm…

It was likely a stomach bug that’s been floating around. Perhaps she caught it and the illness infected her insides to make her intestines sensitive, but then…why didn’t anybody at work get it? When she came in to spend another day at the job, her coworkers noticed right away that something was wrong. It happened about twice so far there, so they were concerned, even if otherwise she was as bubbly as ever. It just didn’t make sense.

And…why was she so…hungry? She would eat dinner with Sybus, and then…she would still feel famished? It…God, Sybus even volunteered to go out hunting for some deer for her a lot of those times. He didn’t have to do that! Her beloved didn’t have to spend his precious time for her sake! It didn’t matter that they were together, this was just too much!

B-but…why…w-why did she…want it? The venison? What was so…good about it? Sure, it was tasty before, but it felt more like a substitute for beef, even if it was leaner and lacked the fat from bovine meat. Why did it…suddenly taste…good, like the best thing ever? She thanked Sybus for it, obviously, but that didn’t explain the behavior. The human gobbled up the spaghetti she made with it, always wanting more despite already going out for seconds, almost way more than what her stomach could even handle.

Perhaps that was why she was vomiting, with her body being compelled to consume as much as possible, overloading her systems to the point that it would rather have it out than in…_hmm…he_he…

Shelby would always giggle at Sybus getting meaty sauce stuck on his snout while trying to eat it without a fork. He said that the acidic taste of the red fluid reminded him of the sharpest of berries, and the deer meat on his tongue was always delicious, which was why he likely ate the hearty pasta with gusto within her presence despite making a little mess, but…no, this…hunger shouldn’t happen! But…it did. Why? She didn’t know.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that Sybus stuck to her side everywhere, always making sure she was the best she could be. Again, Sybus was a dragon, and a dragon always cared for their beloved, even if it went too far. Regardless, after so long alone, she let Sybus do his gestures of love all the time. It was nice to feel this cared about from the one she loved in equal measure. His concern was warranted, for she didn’t know what was happening to her either.

And so, she needed to shower after this day of tasks to get her paycheck. While Sybus drained more money due to the larger amount of food and her ailments, she could care less, especially since the drake left on his own volition to hunt for the two of them to have some food despite the risk of being caught by the dragons that despised his race.

Sure, for humans there were hunting laws, but since it was early in the integration, people were more…lenient on dragons hunting since it was their culture after all, and didn’t give them as much of a limit as Humanity had. Besides, there were more pressing issues for the government to worry about.

She needed to clean. She was evidently a bit sweaty and her long hair of a muddled brown mixed in with faded gold was greasy, becoming a swamp that was difficult to have well-kept without some shampoo, and so, here she was.

She called out to her mate, telling him that it wouldn’t be long. Given how much heartfelt worrying he felt towards her, she had to unfortunately leave those loving paws and wings for some daily hygiene and tell him that it wasn’t going to be forever.

Her bare feet touched the cold white tiling on the bathroom floor, the smoothness felt with every patch of skin on it. The woman lowered her elbow and dumped the clothes on an empty space on the bottom to wear them instead after she discarded her dirty ones.

She needed to turn on the faucet to the shower. It needed to warm up, as it always came out frosty cold at first. The human curled her right arm to grab the shower curtain on its side with her curved hand. Once she felt the solid and rough cloth hooked up by a horizontal pillar of metal over it, she pulled it to the right to remove the last barrier to entry. Shelby then bent down to twist the red knob a bit, squeaks sounding out. The water began to overflow from the spicket, splashing into the tub. However, it soon stopped when the woman pulled the pin on top of it, freezing the flow and redirecting it to the showerhead. It took a second, but eventually, the sounds of water impacting the bowl were less noisy and more…comforting.

Then, it was time to remove the articles on her body. The human began with the ones on her top half. First was the long sleeve. She pulled the fabric over her arm with the opposite hand, folding it up like a carpet. With them bent over her shoulder blades, Shelby lowered her hands to grab the hem before pulling it up and over her frame. Once relieved of the piece, she let it fall to the floor next to the clean ones, the sleeves inside the shirt. Her t-shirt was next. It basically skipped a step for her as she effortlessly yanked it over her head and piled it on top of her previous covering. Then she removed her bra. The black fabric that covered her protrusions were strapped on her back. As such, she hinged her elbows, the arm joints rolling in their sockets as she felt the clasp that held them up and holding them over her mounds. A click later and she took it off with the strap in her right hand’s fingers, tossing it over to the mishmash of cottons.

Now, her upper half was completely bare.

Now all that was left was her lower one. They were substantially easier to remove overall, but held more steps. She gazed down as she hooked her fingers into her belt buckle that held up her jeans. She had undergarments underneath for the cold weather outside, but they could be taken off with her pants. With a clink, she slipped the metal pin out from the manufactured hole and loosened it with her jeans. She then began to unwrap it from her waist, the tightener unraveling and wobbling with silvery chink sounds. With the belt now out of the pants, the woman dropped it onto the other clothes, thankfully not making a loud noise like it would on solid flooring. After that, it was quite simple. She plainly pushed her thumb on the inside of the rim and forced them down, the woman lifting her left leg to get one part out while she stood on the other, and repeated it with her opposite limb. Heavier than the rest on their own, it plopped onto the other dirty pieces of the outfit. Now, all that was left was the one on her privates, coming off like her pants and her bra. Shelby bent her right thumb like a chain link and slid it underneath the strap on her right leg, the skin tight underneath it. Without further ado, it lost its strength as she slipped it over her leg, raising it to allow her other one to do the rest, the piece finally being discarded.

Now she was naked.

It was perfect timing too, as the shower water was now warm. Steam began to fill the room, making the place somewhat cloudy. Still, it was easy to see. However, before she jumped in…

She gazed at the corner of the tub and saw…oof…

The bar of soap was pretty much totaled, now just a chip of fat that water could just disintegrate.

Whelp, time for another.

She then bent down to her cupboard underneath the sink, a squeak from the hinges coming out, viewing the solid cardboard boxes that held each individual bar, but then…

Oh…

She saw it…them. They were thin pieces of plastic that hid technology underneath. The handheld objects were also in manufactured containers like the rounded blocks of soap but were slimmer. Her hazel eyes were stuck on them for a moment. Nobody would know their true value unless they were of the female sex. The devices always foretold a possibility the likes of which she prayed were never true, that her efforts to avoid such a future were at full effect. All of those men before obviously gave her concerns that they gave her something that would be held over her head as they left her, or she them, a tether that she wanted to be forever severed, but never could, regardless of how one tried, for it was a bargaining chip, a prison for over a decade.

Thank goodness such a thing never came to fruition. Shelby always used them each time after laying with another. It was not just to quell fear, but to spit back at their faces, to silently tell them that they lost, that they never controlled her, that she was free from their grasp, never to be held in their hostage ever again. It always gave her a sense of satisfaction.

But…now what? She was with a person she truly cared about, and he her, Sybus, so…what purpose did they have now? Shelby Grant cut off her womb from the universe permanently, so what good were they now? She could never have children, so what was the point of them?

Her put some thought into it, and found she only knew of one, which was to spite them, spite them all, to tell them that she was loved, that they were all fake, illusions, for it was the last nail in the coffin for their demise in her mind. There were no more names to forget, no more bad memories, for now, it was a yell at their faces, to tell them that Sybus stole her heart, not them.

So…why not? Why not turn away at their failure to give her happiness? They were terrible people. It only made sense that she gave them a personal farewell. As such, there was only one thing left to do before her shower.

She grabbed the packaging for a soap bar and stood up straight. With her dexterous hands, she peeled away the box through its thin flaps and tossed the useless container into a nearby trash bin. She then stepped over her tiles and to the tub, the woman bending down to drop it where she usually places the bubble-covered source of sweet smells and cleanliness. Then, there was the last thing she wanted to do before forgetting about all of it in after her wash.

Shelby returned her visage to the dark undercarriage of cabinet doors underneath the sink bowl and took the closest of the boxed devices out from the shadows. Her eyes of homey planks stared at it and stood up straight, her head bent down at it as she felt the hollowed board in her hands, mindlessly turning it around and whatnot.

She gave a soft nod as a little smile formed on her face. It was time to let go of the past that Sybus saved her from.

“What the hell.”

Right. Like the soap, she thrusted her thumb into the designed folds to rip it from its contents. It was effortless and gave her no trouble. Then, she snaked the item out from its confines, getting rid of its box with a throw into the bin.

It was long and cylindrical, yet flattened, the piece of technology all white except its smaller edges. The one was rounded while the other had a blocky prism tongue, a clear piece of removable plastic covering it. Closer to the angled part but still near the center was a rectangle that was white with blue borders, a screen.

Yes…these were reminders of memories she will forget soon enough now that Sybus was by her side…

With her tool, she sought to use it for the last time. As it cradled in her right hand, she then turned to her last destination before the shower, the toilet. With her other hand, she meticulously used her fingers and nails to lift the top lid up to the tank, revealing a bowl with clear, sterilized water. The woman then turned around on her feet before bending her legs in a squat into it. She then took her left hand, and with a click, the strong clear cap came off into her palm, which she released underhanded into the place with the worthless boxes.

Now, all she had to do was use it.

She looked forwards as she pointed the shaped end in between her legs, feeling the cool and previously untouched plastic on her nethers. Then, with nothing left to do, she relieved herself. She usually did this anyways before a session of body cleaning, so this was nothing new, but the meaning it had was different.

However, just like that, she was done. Her body had nothing left to give, and it was forgotten like those terrible men from her previous life without Sybus. She then removed it from herself, her gaze catching her own internal fluids on the end, seeping into what was obviously going to be a lost cause, nothing.

She gave a hollow chuckle. What a worthless thing. The woman would soon forget these, and her life was all the better for it.

Shelby then stood up from the bowl and didn’t flush it. She wouldn’t want her flesh to be scorched off by lava coming out of the showerhead after all. The human would have to do that afterwards.

Now, her shower was perfectly heated up for her.

The palm unconsciously placed the piece of tech on the sink, the part where she urinated on it facing the inside of the crevice while putting the majority of it on the flat edge as to not get it to fall into the bowl, but to also allow her excess waste that fell from the end to be easily washable. The woman then turned and lifted her legs as she stepped over the wave of tub’s end and pulled the curtain to cover herself.

The working woman cleaned herself, like every other day, but now…this was no ordinary day, no, it wasn’t.

Shelby then…opened her mouth, not to talk, but to sing. It was embarrassing in front of people, so of course, humans were internally conditioned to feel more private with their sounds with water running as to obscure their voice.

“Fell in love with a girl...~”

“...I fell in love once and almost completely…~”

“…She's in love with the world…~”

“…But sometimes these feelings can be so misleading…~”

It was soothing. She loved that band to pieces, both Jack and Meg…the guitar crunchy and the tunes roughly produced, but that was the point, for it was to show the explosive and abrasive side of music.

Sybus didn’t get it, always saying, ‘How can you like this? It’s just a bunch of noises scrapped and scraped together! And it’s so loud and scratchy on my ear holes!’. His mate couldn’t blame him for that. Sybus was a dragon moving over to a mostly human world. The drake’s auditory senses weren’t accustomed to such things.

Humans however, were a different story. They weren’t hatched, but were born, hearing the thumping of the heart of their mother while in the womb, and concept of the beat being engrained in their very soul. The egg didn’t provide such a luxury. However, that was okay. Riding a bike meant you were bound to fall off a couple of times before you got the hang of it. Her partner would come around, and if he didn’t, then she wouldn’t know what to do.

However, her singing and personal chanting in the tune faded to nothingness as she finished. It was all quick and to the point, as any shower should be. After the session and letting the droplets begin drop off her flesh, she wanted to scrub herself as she concluded. Now the place was foggy with steam, her mirror covered white with the gaseous water vapor. She would have to turn on the fan to suck it up and open her door before it made her walls all musty.

It was as routine as ever.

She lifted her feet, legs, and then body over the tub’s edge after turning the red spicket and pushing the pin down, letting the water flow out before dying immediately. Now on the tiles once again, the balls of her feet on the shower rug, she sought to put on her new set of clothes, but first, a good dry. Her hand took the towel hanging on the silver to her left and pulled it down from it like a rope. It was a little difficult to see with her matted hair sticking to her face, but she knew this room like the back of her hand. First, it was the back. She held the rough and abrasive fabric behind her and rubbed it hard on her spinal column, working her way down until she got to her behind. After which, she did the same but for each of her legs, her thighs all the way to the ankle. Then it was now onto the messiest part, the hair. Like she wished to create a powerplant of static electricity, she pushed it hard against her head in a battle with friction, aiming to soak up the water droplets from it. Afterwards, her hair was a maize field, but with her fingernails acting as a makeshift comb, she straightened them enough.

Okay, now the clothes. Upon hooking her limbs into the holes and crevices, she threw them on her once-bare body and began to reintroduce them one by one until they were to inevitably end up like the other ones tomorrow. Her nose smelled the faintest tint of dry sheets and detergent, a sweet fragrance coming from it. It was all similar except she had bed clothes since, well, she wasn’t planning on going out anytime soon, and it was about nighttime anyways.

Now, all she had to do was flush her toilet to replace it with clean fluids, but before she did that…she…

Shelby…didn’t know why she did it. It must’ve been something instinctual after all of her messing around earlier in her years, after the sadness and anxiety spawned by those excuses for men. The woman had to do something else first before…i-it was…

Once clothed with the room still obscured, she drifted her right hand in the air to pick up the device she left uncaringly on the sink, almost uncaring of the...w-what…i-it…

She grabbed the rounded end, and…j-just as she was…a-about to throw it out…

Shelby saw. The air escaped her lungs in a flash as she let out the biggest gasp of her life. Her hand became numb…she dropped it. It clacked onto the floor, bouncing a bit until it was now flat, and it faced her…like reality.

What…w-what did she… w-w-what did she see?

What, whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat…

Her…she…h-her heart was in her throat, she…her eyes shrunk as her body froze up.

W-What…

She bent her legs, transitioning from the soles of her feet to her knees and kneeled on the floor. Her…h-her body…her hands…they were…i-it was like they were coated in snow outside…like they threw her into the Artic to fend for herself…alone. The hands jittered with her erratic heartbeat, her breaths coming out labored and her right fingers feeling lifeless.

She then lowered them to…t-to…t-to grab it…

T-The round end was facing the right, a-and…

Shelby held it up to her face, and saw it, the screen.

Two lines…perpendicular…to each other.

F-FUCK!!!!!

She one-handedly shook it in desperation, to somehow prove that it was just the steam covering her vision, that it was a mirage produced from her mind, doing so vigorously. Her windpipe felt like she swallowed her own heart.

N-NO!!! No, nonononononononono…

She waggled it so many times, and…and…they were still there, the crossing lines were still there, and they were still the same.

A croak cracked out of her paralyzed vocal cords, her mouth agape. Her voice was gone, stolen from her like those wasted years before Sybus.

S-Sybus…

The hand removed it from her eyes.

No.

She removed her left hand from her side.

No.

The open palm then slowly moved towards…her stomach.

No, no, no, no…

She slipped underneath the covers of her shirt and long sleeve, and…i-it…h-her belly…i-it…

It wasn’t…soft and malleable, but…firm…and taut.

No. God no. I-It…no…i-it…i-it couldn’t…she…he…they…t-they…

She squeezed out a few more breaths. Her whole body felt like she saw an actual ghost, one that wanted to eat her soul, a spirit that wasn’t the drake she loved.

Shelby began to hyperventilate.

N-No! It…i-it couldn’t_…! It…it’s not…n-not…possible…no…i-it…_

God…oh God.

W-What…w-when was…her…? Was it…

November…

Then…

It hit her…like a derailed train never meant for her.

A car slipping on a patch of ice, rolling to demolish her.

A bear…ravaging her body to pieces…

A shotgun blast to the skull…

A hammer banged against her head to splatter her brain behind her…

It…s-she…_S-Sybus…_h-he…h-her…

Her eyes clouded up.

S-Sybus…

Her hands fell onto the lifeless tiles.

Sybus…

Sybus…

S-Sy…

Her body chilled up like she was in the dead of winter, no clothes, no warmth or protection, nothing.

S-Sy…bus…

She removed her hand from her layering and…

S-She…she shakily raised her hand from her abdomen. Shelby began to bring her palm to her face, over her mouth, the bend of her thumb and index finger under her nose. The woman had to stop herself from screaming.

Then…a choke…then…another one.

Again, one more, then…

The floodgates opened. Her already moist eyes were now drowning. She didn’t just cry, she sobbed, sobbed hard. Her grip on the device was loose as the strip with her stench on it touched the flooring, her back of her right wrist on her knee. It was bent down towards the tiles, her long hair falling over her scalp like something to hide her from the world, hide her from the truth. The bathroom became covered with her tears, the ones that came from her stinging eyes.

It…t-they…h-he…s-she…

The truth, cold-hard truth…came…

S-She…w-was…mortified…terrified…afraid…scared…a fucking mess.

She…w-what even…was she? W-What was happening? Why was this happening? What…

Sybus…_h-he…_her…now…they…t-they…

They.

They…they…they…they…

N-No…i-it couldn’t…S-Sybus couldn’t…no! He couldn’t have…s-she couldn’t have…

God!

Oh God!

O-Oh…m-my…G-God…

Sybus mated her in November.

November, November, November…

He…she…they…

Sybus…

Sybus.

Sybus!

Sybus!

SYBUU-UUS!!!

Sybus.

Sybus…

S-Sy…bus…

S-Sy…

She was destroyed. Everything shattered around her. Nothing seemed to matter.

Her life…h-her fate…

It was struck by but a singular fact that ripped the fabrics of reality, one that felt like it shouldn’t have happened, a paradox.

What was that truth?

She had a soul inside of her body.

(…)

The kitchen was lit up by the lights above the raised granite island, as glossy and speckled as ever. It was the beginning of the night, the windows portraying the dancing stars amongst the darkness, the lightbulbs providing clarity on the white snow outside, snowflakes falling aimlessly onto their brethren to pile up into a greater whole, a bigger picture. However, there was something about it that was different.

How?

On the other side of the island, in front of the room’s refrigerator was the ghost drake that was Shelby’s beloved mate.

Sybus Grant sat on his rump in front of the massive rectangular container. He could feel the winter’s breath on the inside of its confines. However, it wasn’t just what was inside of it that made him plop his rear on the cold ceramic, no, it was…something else. The drake had a nervous face on his maw, his scaled brows giving a view of concern.

Why?

Sybus was a dragon. Now, that very much was obvious, but that meant one thing and one thing only. He wasn’t a human, so he didn’t know how these…things functioned.

It was simple. He was planning on getting his mate a drink once she left her…uh…shower…and he was about to make it a nice and cool one with some ice, but…there was a slight problem with that.

He didn’t know…uh…how to get ice. The imperfectly shaped cubes were inside of the refrigerator, he knew because Shelby showed him. But then came the problem, he…didn’t know how to get them out. The human just said that he could get them from the outside, but…b-but how?

He could just barely recognize the word “ICE” in green on the left door, but…

Okay, now, he could get help from his mate, but that would mean he would appear incompetent! He’d be embarrassed! The drake didn’t want to give off the impression that he couldn’t do things on his own and look like a fool. Besides, she was cleaning herself…somehow…but still! She was handling what she felt was a…uh…private matter.

He knew that their matehood was still young and she still had to realize that their bodies were no longer…uh…unfamiliar with each other, but for his mate’s sake, he decided to let it work itself out in due time. Then came the issue of handling this situation by himself…she made it appear so easy!

As a dragon, it wasn’t. He had never done this before! It just…sat in front of his face, what… What could he possibly be able to do with his paws?

Bahamut…

This was…rough…

“Uh…”

He mumbled to himself. What…w-what could he do? The water in the cup lied untouched to his right on the counter. The sink was something he saw Shelby use all the time, b-but…

He began to raise his right paw from the flooring and to his maw.

“H-How do you…work this thing again?”, he asked himself as he slipped his middle claw into his mouth and in between his teeth, confused and anxious to look like a screw-up in front of his mate…his beloved Shelby…

What to do, what to do…

Bahamut, tell me what to do! I…

Wait.

He felt…something, something with his powers, of the mind and spirit.

The paw returned to the floor from his teeth. Sybus felt…distress…anguish…confusion…sadness…fear, all-consuming fear.

He felt it right behind him, in the hallway to his left.

B-Bahamut…what…

S-Shelby?

He snaked his head around to the right while scooching a bit on the kitchen. The bright blues saw…B-Bahamut…i-it…i-it was his mate. Her hair was a mess despite having just washed it, she was uncoordinated as she placed her left hand on the edge of the stone island to stabilize herself, but it felt like it barely did anything. Her legs were shaky and wobbly. All in all, she looked like a terrible, terrible mess. In her right hand, arm looking like it was paralyzed otherwise, was this thin and weirdly shaped stick of unnatural color and a sense of drain within her. Her neck was hunched over towards the ground, her beautiful hair shielding her face.

Her body looked dead.

His heart fragmented into several pieces.

B-Bahamut!

Shelby!

Don’t be this way! Why were you…?

“S-Shelby?”

No answer, no response. He felt internal suffering within her…like those men before had broken her all over again.

No! His mate!

Shelby!

“ Shelby! ”

He immediately got off his rear and got on his four legs as he began to run opposite to the counter and the fridge. The ghost drake went into a short gallop, his body becoming semi-translucent as he began the short dash. Sybus phased through the island effortlessly and aimed to get to her as soon as possible, to hug her, to kiss her, to do anything to stop these emotions from hurting her.

A dragon never wanted their mate to feel pain.

He stopped her undead walking as he clacked on the floor, his claws impacting the greyness almost to a scratch, his body becoming solid once again with his beloved. He faced her, his starry eyes filled with sadness and concern for the one held the closest to his heart.

“Shelby!”

Sybus called out to his mate despite being right in front of her. His neck stretched to get a better look at her, to try and shield her from the universe around them in this tense moment, but still, no answer.

“ Shelby! ”

Nothing, for he called her again with only silence in return, her head still down, almost at herself.

“Shelby!”

His heart was cracking apart even more.

N-No! His Shelby! She shouldn’t be this way! He couldn’t fail at being her mate! Not this early! Was he…w-was he a failure?

“ Shelby! Bahamut, please! ”

His voice seemed to have no effect again. As such, his protective instincts got physical. Sybus slipped his rump onto the kitchen tiles and slipped his forelegs underneath her arms, to hold her closer, to shake her out of this grief.

W-What was happening to her?!?!

No!

“ Shelby! ”

Her name was called again, but not even that got her to flinch. It crumbled her will down to dust as lead was dumped into her throat, aiming to burn her from the inside, but no, it didn’t matter. The truth was eternal, like their relationship, but nobody cared what her soul felt…except him. Who else would care besides Sybus?

S-Sybus…

It made her body just want to shrivel up and die seeing Sybus so concerned for her, yelling her name to tell her if she was okay.

No. She wasn’t fine, not now, no, not now…

God…Jesus Christ…_how…h-how had it come to this? It was _impossible, inconceivable, she…he…

Shelby began to slowly raise her head, but not enough to meet his eyes. Her eyes were so blurry with her tears, it was like she had cataracts.

“Shelby! Please, Bahamut, please, say something! ”

His heart was pounding, his lungs going into overdrive, afraid that something horrible had befallen Shelby, likely from her sickness that’s been ailing her. Her stared at her, waiting for an answer to her suffering and…a-and…

She spoke.

“S-Sybus…”

It came out in a tone that was shaky, without any good foundation, and was paved with horror and depression, for the voice wasn’t one from an angel, but one who had just…given up, one who was…lost.

“I-I…”, she began, but with no clear path.

How could it be clear? Nothing was simple now. Everything changed. Despite all of that, the drake held onto each and every word she spoke like his existence depended on it.

“I-I…I…”

Again, just quiet mumblings of words, rocky like a malformed hill.

“I…I…I…I…”

She shook her head.

G-God…

“I…you…me…I…”

Him?

What…was…?

Was he…a…bad…mate?

“S-Sy…bus…”

His name.

“S-Sybus…”

It came out again like a broken record.

“S-Sybus…I…”

Truth…truth whacked her in the face.

“I-I…I’m…I…”

She paused. Her soul was imploding on itself.

“Sybus…I’m…I’m…I’m…”

W-What?! She’s what?!

Bahamut, make her suffering stop! Bring her from darkness! Don’t do this to her! Do it to him! W-Why…

However, the course of their lives changed forever.

Why?

She raised her head up to his eyes with a sniffle, gazing up at his own stars of a set orbs at his lengthened height, revealing something that broke him the most. Her chocolate eyes were marked by pinkness and dried streams went over her cheeks, darkening her skin like a rainy day.

Why? Why was this something that changed everything?

Because she said it…two words.

“I-I’m pregnant.”