With the first sign of snow, the change of season was marked. A sudden snowflake that fell on her cheek made Kiyomi’s purple eyes look up towards the sky. She blinked at the snow that stuck to her eyelashes.The moment made a smile come to her lips; this was her favorite time of year. Primarily because the snow helped cool her hot skin, but also because it was beautiful.

Bringing out her hand from her cloak, Kiyomi caught a few of the snowflakes. She knew it wouldn’t be long until the ground was covered in snow. The dragon needed to get to a village, just in case a storm came. This thought made her feet move once more; her laced-up, knee-high, brown boots leaving footprints in the dirt as she went. She didn’t bother covering her tracks in that moment; she just wanted to get out of the open.

A village soon came into view, causing the dragon to sigh. She was starting to become cold and hungry. She knew this because her cheeks were starting to become rosey and her stomach growled.

The village was a perfect place for a nice warm meal and a comfortable bed; so, picking up the pace, Kiyomi entered the village. As she walked between two houses, a boy ran out in front of her. “Oh! I’m sorry!” Kiyomi said as she leaned down to pick up the fallen boy. “I’m okay.” He said with a smile. “I’m new here. Is there an inn here?” She asked him while she let go of his arm.

“Sure is!” The boy replied with a nod and a pointed finger towards a small wooden house near the center of the village. “Thanks.” The dragon girl waved at him with a smile and left him while he played in the snow.

As she walked by the the alley beside the inn, she didn’t see the demon staring at her. He had followed her through the highlands, and purposely led her towards the village. It was her scent that caught his attention. With a smirk on his lips, the man walked into the back of the inn before she entered, ready to make a move on his prey.

Walking into the inn, Kiyomi’s eyes glanced around. It wasn’t much: a few tables, a small bar, a few rooms lining one side, and a large fire pit in the middle of it all. An iron bar was across the flames of the fire pit, holding a freshly caught deer. The fixture took up most of the area in the inn and gave off the most light; although various horn lights also gave off faint glows from atop the pillars stationed around the room.

“Nice catch, Balin. Boy, can you catch a stag any day!” The voice made Kiyomi’s eyes move towards the pit. A older, large man congratulated a younger fellow beside him, patting his back in congratulations. For a moment, Kiyomi looked at the younger man. He was tall in stature, over six feet. His skin was tan, making his blue eyes more noticeable. A small scar was over his left eyebrow, as well, lending a mature air to his face.

This man made the dragon pause in her movements. Her eyes roamed his body, taking in his armor covered physique as well as the weapon on his hip, and then moving up back to his eyes. Just then, his gaze turned toward her, and he flashed her a smile.

“Oh no..” Kiyomi thought before hurrying towards the bar. She didn’t want to be noticed; not by him. The dragon was a shy girl, and she wasn’t one for talking to men; especially, when they were as handsome as this Balin character.

The young dragon reached the bar in a matter of steps and took a seat. The barkeep set down a mug in front of her with a smile. This man was maybe in his mid forties; not really young and not old either. His smile could cheer up any customer. “Good day, lass. Mine own nameth is Farkas. What wouldst thee liketh?” He asked in a weird language. Kiyomi looked at him and was about to speak when the handsome knight came up beside her. “A hearty meal and mead, Farkas.” The man looked up at the tall knight and laughed. “Yea, Sir Balin.” The barkeep filled up the mug in front of the young girl, and nodded at the request. He soon left to get her food; leaving the two guests alone.

The knight didn’t leave Kiyomi’s side in Farkas’s absence, though. Instead he sat down on the stool beside her; and, turning towards her, he held out his hand, “Balin Wallace. Not from around here are you?” His voice was smooth but with a rough edge. His presence drew Kiyomi’s eyes to look at him. “Kiyomi Silverstein. How’d you know?” The young dragon said as she held out her hand as well with a smile. The knight took her hand, but, where Kiyomi half expected him to shake it, he instead brought it to his lips and laid a kiss on her knuckles. “He has soft lips..” The dragon thought with a blush. When he released her hand, Balin started to speak again. “So what brings a vibrant beauty like yourself to this backwood village, Kiyomi?”

His words made the dragon blush more and take a drink of her mead. She cleared her throat before she replied. “Just traveling. My mother used to take me into these lands when I was a kid. Wanted to come on my own this time.” Kiyomi had been venturing out on her own lately, but she would always come back to her mother unlike her sister Eden. Eden wasn’t even healed yet and yet she already wanted to leave. In that matter, Katerina was loving that her daughter was finally home, even if said daughter had mixed feelings about the situation. The young, fair maiden wanted to find her other family, but she also wanted to stay with the family she had now. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to straddle that proverbial fence anymore. She would be forced to make a choice between the two.

But for now, and as the night went on, the Knight and Kiyomi talked. Kiyomi shared her interest in protecting people, animals, drawing and music. The dragon loved doing many things, most of all being with her family. Balin listened to her speak, interested. “That is why I became a knight..” He had replied. “I couldn’t imagine not doing anything, so I chose to protect people.” His eyes turned away from her then; thinking of an imaginary past. “I was in the last war against the dead. My friend… Weylin. “ He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink. “I wasn’t able to save him. They sacrificed him before I could..” There was a moment of silence between the two before he turned to her. “Well. It comes with the job. Just have to keep moving forward and save even more.”

Kiyomi couldn’t help but feel sad. She nodded to him then turned and stared down at her empty plate and mug. The sun was going down, and she needed to go to sleep. “I’m sorry about your friend. You did everything you could.” She said while standing. Her hand moved to his shoulder. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” She smiled at him then let her hand slip from his shoulder. “Yes. See you in the morning, beautiful.” He said his goodnight, making her blush once more. Kiyomi walked away towards her room, then turned as she reached the door to look back; he was staring at her. Balin smiled at her with a wave, and Kiyomi mouthed goodnight once more before entering her room.

As she closed the door, the dragon’s eyes continued to stare at the man at the bar. He seemed sad while looking down into his glass. “His friend’s death really hurt him…” Kiyomi thought before she shut the door entirely. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost someone dear to me…” She said softly to herself as she moved toward the bed.

Kiyomi’s hand moved up to her hair as she neared that bed, unpinning the braid around her head. She laid the pins on the nightstand beside it before sitting down, then let her long locks fall down her back. The once blonde strands slowly turned a shade of pink now that the sun was setting, causing a sigh to leave the dragon’s lips. After the changes she had gone through, her hair that had once been all pink all the time only turned pink at night. During the day, it stayed blonde. She loved her blond locks more honestly, but she dealt with the pink; she had to. Her mother and the witch had tried to change her hair back to blonde, but the concoction from Salem had been too powerful to fix.

After she undressed, the young dragon finally crawled into bed. The sounds of the incoming night crowd soothed her to sleep; for she was used to tavern noises thanks to her mother’s status as a traveler. Now, with five children, the wolf couldn’t travel as much as she used to. Kiyomi understood that. Katerina also understood her daughter’s need to travel, however. That is how the wolf demon raised her daughter after all: to love seeing new places and venturing back to the old ones.

While the dragon slept peacefully, Balban, the demon appeared in her room; standing at the end of the bed. His eyes roamed her; flowing from her pink hair to her soft jaw line and puckered lips. His silent steps soon moved toward her; and, when he stood beside her, he reached down and grabbed the blanket off. Soon he stared at the little clothes that Kiyomi was wearing; light, white shorts with a loose fitting, small shirt that tied down the middle. When the chill of the room hit her skin, her nipples grew hard and goosebumps formed. Balban’s pointed tongue licked his lips as he eyes stared at his prey.

Bringing the tip of his black pointed nail to her head, a thick, black line of smoke came out from it and entered through her temple. The once flowery dream Kiyomi was having was suddenly changed to something more to the demon’s liking. Balin entered her dream in nothing but a shirt and pants. The man ran towards her and took Kiyomi in his arms; his lips on hers as his hands moved about her body. It wasn’t long before the two were naked in the grass.

The smell that hit Balban’s nose as a result of this dream made a smirk appear on his lips. The dream did what he wanted it to. His hand moved from his side to undo the small bow that held Kiyomi’s shirt closed. A simple yank made her shirt fall open slightly. Leaning forward, he pulled the fabric apart to get a full view.

Balban didn’t wait another second beyond that to touch her. His fingertips traced her puckered lips before trailing down to her breasts. The tip of his nail moved over one nipple to the other. He played with them for a moment before he cupped one in his hand. A soft moan escaped Kiyomi’s lips; and, had the demon not possessed so much will power, he would of taken her right then and there.

Finally leaving her breasts, the predator moved down to her shorts; his actions slow. Balban didn’t want to wake the sleeping beauty before him. He moved open her legs slightly then moved her shorts to the side. The demon then took a moment to look at the naked woman; his eyes still roaming her body until they landed on her lower lips. He could smell the moisture between them; and, wanting to play with his food, he moved his hand down to those lips to insert a single finger. He instantly felt the wetness on it and smirked once more; his dream and his touches were working better than he imagined. Finding the small nub, the demon began to rub back and forth. This action made the dragon moan even more. “Balin..” She muttered in her sleep. It wasn’t long until the dragon’s legs were shaking and soon her climax hit her.

Kiyomi’s eyes shot open then; the events from before unnoticed. The demon had redone her shirt and shorts, and covered her before the dragon woke.The pink haired maiden looked around the room and down at herself; but, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, she sighed and fell back onto her pillow. “It seemed so real..” She thought to herself as her eyes stared up at the ceiling. “I even….” She shook the thoughts away and forced herself to close her eyes. She still felt so tired; and she hoped that she could return to her original dream for the rest of the night.

As the dragon fell asleep once more, however, the demon crept out of the shadows of her room. His tongue licked the tip of his fingers, still wet from Kiyomi. “You are mine,” he whispered to her in darkness; and then he vanished.

Hours passed afterward, allowing the morning sun to eventually shine through the small window of the dragon’s room. When the rays finally hit her eyes, she awoke. She felt well rested that morning, unlike the day before. She had grown so accustomed to sleeping in beds as of late that her body felt horrible when she didn’t, so the trip before this highland village was rough.

That said, Kiyomi quickly got out of bed with a yawn and a stretch. She put on her dark brown pants, followed by her loose, cream white, long sleeve shirt and a green vest. She tucked her shirt in her pants before she put on her boots from the day before; then finished up by attaching her bow and arrows to her back with a leather belt.

The young maiden looked in the mirror before leaving the room. Her hair was now back to its blonde, sunshine color. With a smile, she braided it once more and pinned it around her head. Traveling with her hair up was so much better, after all.

Exiting her room, Kiyomi’s purple eyes instantly looked around for Balin. The dream from the night before made her blush slightly. She forced last night’s thoughts away before heading towards the bar. It had felt so real to the dragon; she had never had a dream that intense.

When she got to the bar, she sat down and ordered from a waitress. “The barkeep is probably still sleeping.” Kiyomi thought as she looked around once more. There were some people passed out on the tables and one by the fire-pit. It must have been a good night for them.

After she ate her breakfast and had a drink, the dragon headed out of the inn. Just when she left, though, a note appeared before her. A sigh left her lips after she caught it, for it contained Eden’s writing. Opening up the note, she smiled. Her sister was all healed and looking for her.

With this knowledge, Kiyomi headed back into the inn and to her room. The desk in the corner had writing materials for her to use, even if the wooden chair was very uncomfortable for her. The dragon’s hand grabbed the quill after she sat down and started to write.

Eden,
I’m in a town called Winterhold. Just on the base of the mountains.
North of the ocean. I miss you! I can’t wait to go on an adventure with you!

Your Sister,
Kiyomi

Finishing the letter, Kiyomi folded the parchment and wrote Eden’s name on the front. The dragon held out her hand then; ready to send the letter she had written via a method she had learned from her mother. Katerina had taught her how to send a message through fire, but, in Kiyomi’s case, fire ended up being water.

A sigh escaped the woman’s lips as she stood from her desk after sending that correspondence. Maybe she could roam the area a bit today. She had to wait for her sister anyways; so, heading out of the inn once more, she decided to take a walk through the mountain area.

Hooves galloped below the wolf as she headed through the scattered trees. She was finally healed and needed to get out of the house. She loved being with her family, but she craved adventure. She also remembered that Kiyomi had left just a week prior and so was hoping to catch up to her before she got too far.

Eden’s horse, however, neighed and reared up along the way once it sensed the oncoming magic of Kiyomi’s letter. Her eyes widened for a moment as she tried to hold tight to the reigns, soothing her horse with a pat to the neck and soft voice. “Whoa girl.” It was right when Eden sat back up following this interruption that the parchment appeared in front of her. “Kiyomi?” She said aloud as she unrolled the parchment. She could tell it was her sister because of the warm-watered edge of the note; and, as she read the words of the letter, she realized she was close. “We can catch her…” she said aloud. “Let’s go Violet.” She called down to the horse before clicking her tongue; and soon Violet launched into a run, her hooves hitting up the snow in droves. The wolf didn’t notice as she hurried over the mountains, though, that she had dropped her note from her sister, leaving it lying in the snow for anyone to grab.

Regardless, Eden figured it wouldn’t be long until she reached the village. As she rode on the mountain trail, she saw an occasional trader cart. After another hour, she saw no one. “Didn’t Kiyomi say there was a town near here?” The wolf thought to herself.

Then suddenly a figure came into view; a knight. He was wobbling on a stick,trying to keep his balance on his wounded leg. “Hey!” He called to her, waving his hand as she passed by. Eden instantly pulled back on the reins. Her horse stopped and turned toward the man. “Are you okay?” She asked as she jumped off her horse. She was in a hurry but she couldn’t just leave a helpless man.

“My horse threw me a few miles back and I twisted my ankle, mind giving me a lift back to town?” He asked as he stepped toward her. With a nod, Eden led her horse to him. As she grew closer, however, his foul scent hit her nose, making her stop in her tracks. The wolf’s eyes narrowed while her hand moved toward her sword. “Don’t think so, Demon.” She said as she quickly drew that blade and unexpectedly slashed the knight’s stomach.

“Ah! Bitch.” Balban cursed as he stepped back, the blow hitting his armor. In an instant, he no longer looked human. His smooth tanned skin turned red, horns appeared on his head, and black thick nails grew out from his fingertips. The demon slashed at Eden in response, making her jump back as her horse neighed and ran off into the trees. “No way out now.” The demon smirked while eyeing her body. She was now his next prey.

The wolf came at him again with her blade from above, below, left and right; but the demon only laughed as he dodged every hit. “You’re good.” He said to her as he ducked under her sword. “But not that good.” His fist came up and hit her jaw, forcing her to fall backwards into a tree. He took the opening provided by that attack to kick the sword out of her hand, just before grabbing her throat and slamming her against the tree. Eden struggled against him after the impact, but after he slammed her against the tree two more times her head bounced hard off the wood and she lost her senses.

“How amazing you smell.” Balban whispered as he leaned forward, burying his head in her hair. “I bet you taste just as good.” The demon moved his free hand downward over Eden’s body now that he had total control over her; first over her breasts, then down her stomach and finally to his desired destination. Under her skirt were only leggings that put up no defense to his fingernail, and so he cut straight through. “Stop…It.” Eden tried to get out while still dazed by her head wound. “You’ll like this. I promise.” He growled in her ear. His finger moved between her lower lips and found the nub. Rubbing, he heard her moan in his ear. “Please…. No.” He nails dug into her throat with every word, making her wince at the pain.

“Mmm. That’s what I like to feel.” He said as he felt her wetness on his fingers. “Now lets try something else.” Removing his fingers, he undid the front of his black pants to grab himself. He moved her legs open more and slid himself against her lips. “The blonde one is naive.” He started with a sinister moan. “She'll be easy to crack. But you, on the other hand, will take some time. She’ll be my appetizer, while you’ll be my walnut that I can take my time cracking later.”

Eden’s daze soon dissipated with his words. “Blonde one?” She thought to herself. “Kiyomi!” The wolf growled; she could smell her on him. Reaching behind her back with her renewed strength, she felt her dagger’s hilt. It was sticking out between the tree and her back, so she grabbed it and brought it down on the demon’s hip. His roar of pain from the resultant wound echoed through the skies as he stumbled back. “Alright. If this is what you want.” He started to say as Eden removed herself from the tree. She was just about to grab her sword again, but couldn’t before a plume of black smoke engulfed her.

“There. There.” He whispered while walking over to Eden’s now collapsing body. The black smoke dissipated with every step, sapping Eden’s consciousness away until she laid motionless against the nearby tree. “You will be mine, soon enough.” The demon said as he took a knee beside her. He licked his lips as he moved his hand towards the bow that held on her chest armor, but stopped just short when the smell of his other prey hit his nose. “You’ll have to wait till later..” He smirked as he held his still bleeding side while standing back up. Blood seeped through his fingers onto the ground below by now, giving him an idea on how to deal with this unforeseen predicament.

Closing his eyes, Balban turned himself into the knight Balin once again. He continued his game anew, this time deciding to use his wound to his advantage. “Kiyomi!” He called as he saw her enter the trees before him. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay!?” She called over as she ran to him. She had no idea that her sister lay beside them, for all she could see was a pile of snow and the tree thanks to the demon’s powerful illusions.

“Orcs. They just passed through here with a girl! I tried… Ah… I tried to stop them.” Balin said to Kiyomi. “We must hurry!” He turned to start moving in the direction he said the orcs had went, his illusion making footprints in the snow directed deeper into the highlands. “But you're hurt!” Kiyomi said as she motioned towards his wound. “It's just a flesh wound. Let’s go!!” He said to her. “Okay.” She reluctantly agreed. Soon Eden laid alone in her own illusion. She was now back against the tree, the demon from before raping her. In this illusion, she never stabbed him, and she never got away.

Meanwhile, the demon sent a message with his mind to his brother along with an image of Eden’s location.“Moloch. I just left another one,” he said.
“I’m with one right now. I’ll get to her later. Good job, brother.” Moloch responded in kind. “Alright. Take as long as you want. She isn’t going anywhere.” The demon looked back once more over his shoulder, his eyes staring at Eden’s body. Soon, he would ravage her like he planned to do to Kiyomi.

Or so he thought. Despite the inevitable loss of innocence that Balban and Moloch had planned for the Silverstein sisters, they were not alone in that cold, unforgiving mountain range. Two others were combing the area, both related to me and both on a hunt of their own, personal design.

The first was a certain temptress who was well-known among the girls' family. She had been hunting Kiyomi after bedding her mother, and was just about to strike when Balban's scheme interfered. T'was not, of course, the demon or his brother that directly drove Adel away, however. Nay, it was Eden herself, for Eden was the woman that Adel had been searching for since meeting the Silversteins for the first time in Salem.

Long before Balin's treachery, when Kiyomi's hair was still a pale shade of blonde at night, Adel had become smitten with the emotional auras of Katerina and Kiyomi Silverstein. She grew obsessed with hunting them down because of the euphoric high they induced in her, and was fully intent on making one of them her mate. Yet the whole time she was searching for the dragon and elder wolf, she was actually looking for their relative Eden instead. The girl's energy had gotten on her sister and mother, contaminating them and drawing the temptress toward them like a fly to honey.

That was why Adel had so relentlessly pursued Katerina at first. She had tracked her all to the Winking Mermaid, constantly tempting her through dreams and illusions along the way much like Balban was doing to Kiyomi; and then, when the moment was right and her prey had been properly tenderized, she pounced upon the unsuspecting wolf. The only reason she left Katerina after the fact was because her presence had sufficiently removed all traces of Eden from the woman's aura. She no longer smelled of Adel's soulmate, and so the temptress willingly left her in peace to pursue her daughter instead.

When Adel arrived in the mountain range to finish that goal, though, her senses became overwhelmed by the real thing. An intense wave of euphoria quickly and violently flooded her mind, drawing her straight to Eden. She arrived just after Balban had left, finding her beloved trapped inside a nightmarish illusion.

Around then was when Moloch finally emerged from his personal dungeon. He had just finished using another girl as a meat toilet, and decided to leave her sobbing in a puddle of his own semen whilst he went off to collect the subdued Eden. On his way there, however, he stopped just outside of Adel's aura. He sensed her, albeit barely, and what little hair he possessed on that red-skinned body of his rose to attention from the feeling.

"Sorry, brother," he communicated mentally to Balban in his moment of hesitation, "but I'm not risking my neck for just another broad. You feel like dying? You go fetch her." Moloch returned to his hovel then, for once afraid thanks to the massive, psionic resonance that the temptress was giving off. Most wouldn't have seen it, too blind to observe her luminous aura, but those attuned to psionic energies would have been hard pressed to look at Adel in that moment. Her body was like a miniature sun, joyous and angry at having found her soulmate in a weakened and tortured state. She wasted no time in using that surplus of energy to sunder Eden's tormented vision, but the effort also permanently changed the girl's physical appearance.

Since she had been hunting Kiyomi and Katerina up until the point of Eden's discovery, Adel had focused almost of her attention on them rather than her true target. The cocktail of emotions that arose from that intense focus mixed together with Eden's proximity and state of being, creating a volatile concoction: one potent enough to permanently alter Eden the moment Adel touched her. She was changed, and made to match the temptress's mental image of her.

In that instant, Eden's eyes turned purple, her hair blonde just like her sister. Her height and physique also changed to look like her mother's in the same breath, giving her a more mature body-type while also maintaining a perpetually youthful face. The change was complete by the time she opened her eyes, at which point Eden looked entirely different to the outside world. To the woman who had caused the change, though, Eden looked like a goddess. Adel was well within her crush's personal space during that transformation, having wedged herself in between the girl's legs. She was leaning over her with her face right next to Eden's, grinning widely while wiping off the dirt and snow from her face.

~Darling!~ was the only thing she said in that moment, just as Eden finally emerged from the illusion of rape that Balban had put her under.

Eden’s reality drastically changed; the demon made the fight they had a daydream. The wolf didn’t get away; she didn’t stab him. Instead, the wolf was still up against the tree; helpless. His hands on her. Eden tried to struggle as much as she could, but she had no strength to. “Let me go..please” She begged. The demon only laugh making her turn around. The wolf could feel the tree cut into her cheek as he tore off her skirt. “No..” She cried even more. He soon tore off her leggings like their were nothing. Pain surged through her when the demon entered her. She had never once slept with a man; she was a virgin. The demon’s moans mixed with her cries echoed through the trees. Eden tried to get him off of her, but nothing worked. Her movements made him moan even more. Remembering her charmed bracelet, Eden tried with all her might to call for her mother. Nothing.
He soon pulled out of her and forced her to turn around to face him. “It’s the best when you whore’s are virgins. Now, let’s change this position.” The demon said as he gripped her arm. Eden was disgusted by the demon before her. She spit in his face then tried to punch him in the face. The demon just laughed and grabbed her wrist. “Play nice. You could enjoy this too.” That was the last of his words before he slapped her and threw the woman on the ground. “Never.” She said to him while trying to crawl back.

Her eyes looked up at the demon above her as he took off his pants. When he finished he lean down towards.Confusion set into Eden as she saw everything turn white. “Hello?” She called out, but grateful the demon wasn’t there anymore. Maybe her mother heard her call?
The wolf’s eyes blinked once more, this time coming back to her real reality. Her mind felt hazy. For a moment she didn’t know what was going on, all she knew was that she was attacked. Her eyes opened to see the woman before her. Her scream that left her echoed through the skies startled the animals around her; birds flew off out of their trees, and small animals went into their homes.
“No! Not again!!” She cried as she pushed off her attacker. She instantly got to her feet as fast as she could and took off running.
Due to her scream, the snow began to come down the mountain. She couldn’t hear the rumbling as she weaved in and out of trees. She was focused on getting away from her attacker.  Seeing a fallen tree ahead, the wolf leaped. In the chaos happening around her, the wolf didn’t jump high enough. When the once dark haired woman landed, she wedged her ankle between a pile of branches. “No! Not now!! Please.” She begged as she tried to remove her stuck ankle.
That was when the roar hit her ears. Turning to look over her shoulder, the snow falling down the mountain came into view. In a matter of seconds, the would would be under a mountain of snow. She screamed; fearing her death. Or would it be?

Kiyomi kept her eyes on the tracks ahead of them. “They didn’t even bother covering their tracks.” She noted as she glanced over to Balin.“ They don’t care who follows them; they think they are superior.” His face was serious as he finally dropped his hand from his wound; the bleeding had stopped. Worried, Kiyomi looked over at the knight. “I’m okay.” He reassured her. The young dragon blushed while she looked away.

After a few more miles, they finally happened upon the orcs. The orcs laughed together as they surrounded the girl. One suddenly pushed the girl around from one to the other. “Fresh meat is always nice,” one orc said and the others nodded; there was about eight in all. “Were supposed to bring her back to camp alive and unspoiled.” Another orc spoke then. He was against what most of the orcs wanted. “Were hungry now.” The tallest of the group said as he caught the girl. “One bite won't hurt… much.” They all laughed at his words.

The scene before her made Kiyomi act; she couldn’t take it any longer. Taking out her bow and an arrow, she took aim at the one that had the girl. “No! We need a plan.” Balin said in a hush whisper to her as they hid. “You have me. You don’t need a plan.” Her voice was confident as she pointed her arrow. Her finger brushed the carved wolf on her bow like it usually did. This time, her mother flashed in her mind; Katerina always had confidence and radiated power. “I can do this.” Kiyomi thought as she took a deep breath and let go of the bow-string. The arrow flew through the empty space between them and shot into the orc's head.

A dead silence fell on the group as they turned to look at their attacker. “Nice shot.” Balin said wide eyed. His hand instantly took out the sword from his hip. Without a moment’s hesitation, the knight rushed at the group. Kiyomi stayed where she was and continued to shoot; one orc down, second orc, third orc down. One of the orc’s hesitation would be his undoing. Balin use that to his advantage to stab the orc in the stomach.

“Kill her,” one of the few orcs standing said. As soon as he nodded towards his fellow orcs he rushed toward Kiyomi. The two orcs suddenly grabbed the girl to her feet and began to drag her away. “NO!!” Kiyomi hesitated for a moment, she looked from the orc rushing her to the girl. The girl's ear piercing scream echoed through the skies as she was dragged away.

The archer quickly made her decision, taking out one of the orcs holding the girl. She didn’t regret her choice even when she was hit in the stomach. The force of the hit sent flying back into a nearby tree. The wind was knocked out of her as pain shot through her chest and back of her head from the impact. “Kiyomi!” She could barely hear Balin call for her as her heart pounded in her ears. Her vision blurred but she could barely see Balin take out the orc that was about to kill her. The knight turned quickly; there was one more left. Balin dodged each hit before he sliced off the orcs head.

Before the body dropped to the ground Balin was at her side. “Kiyomi? Are you okay?” He asked her. As she shook her head, the dragon squeezed her eyes shut; trying to clear up her mind.”I’m okay.” When she opened her eyes, Balin wasn’t there anymore. Panic shot through her as she looked around. When her eyes looked down, she spotted him. “Balin!” She called his name as she fell to her knees beside him. “Balin?!” She called him again. His eyes opened to her and then closed once more. Kiyomi glanced over his body trying to see if he was hit again. A gasp left her lips seeing his wound from this morning. It was bleeding again and more than before.

The scurrying of animals and the roar behind her made Kiyomi look over her shoulder. “We have to get out of here. You have to get up! Balin!” At the sound of his name, Balin forced himself up. The young dragon helped and put his arm over her shoulders. Immediately, they started to run, following the trail off the mountain. As they tried to beat the snow, Kiyomi glanced around for shelter; panicked. The dragon wanted to transform, but she knew there wasn’t enough time.

“We won't make it!” Balin called over the roar of the avalanche. “There!” Seeing small house ahead in between some trees, the dragon pointed. “A house!” Kiyomi changed her course and headed towards the shelter.

With the snow just on their heels, the slammed the door shut behind them. Leaning against the door, they prevented the snow from rushing in. The avalanche had slowed its course, so the snow hitting the house didn’t turn it to rubble

Soon there was silence; nothing but their breathing was heard. “We made it.” Kiyomi gasped out as she glanced at the man standing beside her. His eyes locked with hers, and the knight gave a faint smile; he instantly fell to the ground. “Balin!…No. No. No. You will not die on me. Not when I just met you.” The young dragon pulled the man over to the fireplace. The one room shack was just big enough for a single family to live. The few windows it had were covered in snow, making the inside dark. Luckily, Kiyomi had dragon eyes; she could see through the darkness that surrounded her.

Kiyomi didn’t stop as she moved from one task to another. Seeing the broken down old bed, she grabbed the pillow. Laying it beneath him, she went to work with the fireplace next. Glancing around the room, she went over to the table in the small kitchen area. Breaking the table, she used the wood pieces as firewood.

The pot over the fire caught her eye, she could use that to boil hot water. Grabbing the pot, she brought it with her when she went to break a window. The dragon slowly scooped some of the snow into the pot. Replacing the pot over the fire she let to come to a boil while she grabbed the blankets from the small bed. One she used to lay over the knight. The other, she began to tear and put into the boiling water, then set to dry beside the fire.

Finally, she needed to close his wound. Looking around, the dragon couldn’t find anything she could stitch up the wound with. “Damnit!” She cursed as she sat beside him. In that moment, she remembered the pins in her hair. She could use one and then thread from her vest. Pulling off her vest, the dragon tore off a few loose threads then set to work.

The time passed faster than she expected. From the little sun shining through a hole in the snow by the window, the dragon girl could tell that it was mid day. Kiyomi had took off his armor, stitched him up and bandaged him. Before long, she was laying next to him while sharing the pillow. As she stared up at the wooden ceiling, she listened to him breath and took in his smell. “Hmm.. Kiyomi?” The young girl gasped as she sat up; surprised he was awake. Looking down at him she smiled, relieved. “Balin!? I feared you wouldn’t wake!” Her words made the man return her smile. “I’m a bit tougher than you think…” He grumbled as he began to sit up but winced. “You need to rest….” She gently pushed on his shoulder to force him to lay back. “Okay. Yes, Ma’am.” He said laying back while holding up his hands to her in surrender.

Laying beside him once more, they began to talk; he made up many stories and Kiyomi told him of her life by the Viren’s forest. With smiles and laughs, Kiyomi couldn’t believe the feeling that was growing inside her; she liked him. His fingertips brushed up against her wrist, touching her bracelet. “Where did you get this?” He asked. “Oh this?” The young girl brought up her wrist and touched the purple jewel. “My mother gave it to me. If I ever need her, I just call her name and she knows where I am.”

A smile crossed her lips as she stared at her bracelet. “Mom said she loved how it matched my eyes.” Kiyomi reminisced, then glanced over at the man beside her. “They are lovely.” He whispered as he leaned up on his elbow to stare down at her. “They are more than lovely actually. They are beau—-” Trailing off, he stared at her changing hair. “Kiyomi? Your hair?” His outburst made her sit up, her fingers came up and started to undo the braid. Her, now, pink hair fell down her back. “Yeah… About that. My hair changes once the moon comes out.” She sighed while she looked away.

“I won't lie, I have never seen someone with pink hair, but.” Sitting up, the knight reached under the dragon's chin to force her to look at him. “But, you are beautiful no matter what color your hair is.” His eyes stared into her purple eyes. “Kiyomi.. You really are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.” A smile crept on his lips as he glanced away then back at Kiyomi, his hand dropping in his lap. “No woman I have ever met could shoot a bow like you, or love their family the way that you do. You even go out of your way to help someone you barely know. Kiyomi, you have such a good heart, don’t ever lose that. Having that heart helps you see the good in people most people don’t.” He paused for a moment then took a deep breath. “It's what I like most about you…it isn’t just your beauty.” His eyes glanced away as his words sunk into the woman beside him.

Silence fell between them before Kiyomi finally said his name. “Balin.” Her voice made the man look at her. They stared into each other’s eyes before they slowly moving closer together. Their lips touched in a passionate kiss. His hands moved up and entangled themselves in her pink hair while Kiyomi’s hands laid on his chest. Slowly, Balin’s hands moved down her arms to her waist, and tugged a bit at her shirt.

Breaking the kiss, he pulled away to look at her. He wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Kiyomi's nod reassured him and he pulled off her shirt. Laying down on her back, Kiyomi stared at him as he looked over her naked breasts. “Balin.” His eyes moved up to her and she looked away, blushing. “I’ve never…” Balin smiled a little at her as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek.“It's okay. I haven’t either.” He was the one to blush this time. “Really?” She asked with a smile, her fear melting away. The knight answered her by bringing his lips to hers.

The young dragon couldn’t help but smile as she kissed him while her arms circled around his neck. He took this as an invitation to climb on top but the movement making him wince. “Are you okay?” Kiyomi asked breaking the kiss. “I’m okay.” He kissed her once more and then moved downward; removing her shoes and then her pants. The young knight soon moved back on-top of her. His eyes looked into hers waiting to see if she asked him to stop. The dragon nodded. With that, the knight kissed her once more as he entered her. He went slow as he felt her wince beneath him. Right after he hit her wall, she yelped, making him stop. “Are you okay? We can stop?” He said and was about to pull out. “No.” She whispered and took a deep breath. “Just give me a minute. I’ll be okay.” Her dragon body soon took her pain away.

Keeping the pace slow, the knight moved in and out. Their moans filled the the shack as they made love in front of the fireplace. To Kiyomi it was love, to the demon it was just sex. The feeling of him being inside a woman to spread his seed was all he wanted. Mostly the sex than the children.

When they finished, the two soon fell asleep. They woke up a few more times during the night to have more sex. The demon couldn’t get enough, until the morning came.

As the sun rose and the rays shown through the windows Kiyomi rolled over to snuggle up to the knight once more. Instead, she heard the clinking of chains. “What the-” The dragon thought as her eyes shot open. Looking at her hands, she noticed they were chained together as well as her feet. Before she could call Balin’s name, she saw him at the window. Her bracelet in his hand.

“You’re awake, my little dragon. It's time to walk into your new life.” His laugh was different then, more harsh than before. As he turned to look at her, his body changed to his red skinned, horned self. “What?!” Kiyomi stared wide eyed at the demon before her. “Yes. I am a demon, and, you are now my slave.” He smirked at her this time before he held up the bracelet. Demonic words came from his lips as he chanted his spell.

“Now.” The once purple jewel turned black from his power. “Let's make you easier to control.” His eyes closed for a moment before he walked over to her. The more close he got, the more the dragon moved away. “No, Sweetheart.” He wasn’t gentle anymore as he grabbed the chains that were around her wrists. With a yank, the demon dragged her back towards the nearest wall and attached her to it.

“Please! Let me go Balin!–” He cut her off with a shake of his head. “Balban.” He smirked at her while he moved back to look at her. Kiyomi’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at the man she thought was a knight. Instead he was a demon. His stature emitted power and strength. The way Balban stared at her was nothing like the night before. He wasn’t the sweet knight, now he was a demon and she was at his mercy.

But as you can imagine, dear audience, the couple to be did not go frolicking in the snow after the youngest of their pair awoke. Lovely Eden was traumatized from her visions, frightened beyond the point of reason; so when she opened her eyes, she only saw another rapist instead of a caring, if clingy, individual. The thought sent her running and hollering, throwing Adel off of her at the same time.

Contrary to commonly expected reactions in such a situation, however, the temptress did not treat this as a rejection of her advances. Still on her emotional high, she was instead blinded to Eden's actual thoughts. She believed that her beloved was simply playing "hide and seek."

~A chase through the snow? How exciting!~ She mentally exclaimed at the thought, and soon the two were running through the snowy mountains together. Yet the excitement of that so called "chase" was short-lived; for as the avalanche came down, so too did Adel's rosy imagination. Eden, the woman she loved most of all, got pinned in front of the onslaught of snow during her escape. The sight was enough to snap Adel out of her mania, replacing it with fear and uncertainty. And because of that terror, she stopped playing. Instead, she hastily closed the distance to Eden, grabbed her by the hip, and yanked her free ahead of the snow bank. The wolf was injured in the attempt, true, but left alive thanks to Adel's efforts and subsequent teleportation.

Meanwhile, Balin and Kiyomi were forced to flee from the same avalanche. The former had not intended for the event to occur, but, having kidnapped more than his fair share of maidens in the immediate past, he was more than prepared to adapt the disaster to his advantage. He was a cunning one, this Balin, having already prepared a hut with the intent of trapping his latest victim inside; and so the only thing the avalanche achieved in the end was to speed up his pre-existing timeline. Everything, in his eyes as well as his brother's, was still going according to plan, albeit a little out of order.

Yet despite the demon brothers' confidence, the second wanderer – the harbinger of their doom – was now approaching their first nest. She walked through the snow with purpose, pounding her boots in the white just before nightfall; and was eventually greeted by the same boy that had lured Kiyomi into Winterhold the previous day.  Unlike the dragon that came before her, however, Anabelle did not stop to talk to this urchin – least not until he tried to get her attention.

"Lady, you should get inside," he said, pointing in the direction of the hunting lodge he had sent the last poor soul while blocking the woman's path. "There's a blizzard coming and you don't want to be caught in it!" It is at this point that I'll be the first to admit that my daughter had always had a sort of disconnect with the outside world. She didn't actually hear the boy until he stepped in front of her, nor did she see him as a boy for that matter; because, for all of Balban and Moloch's skill in illusion, she was not fooled. Much to the detriment of the "boy" in front of her, she was also not merciful toward monsters that tried to trick her.

"You are no child, nor are you human," she proclaimed after a long silence in the presence of the evil one. The so-called human boy revealed himself then, knowing that he had been exposed. His skin shed to the same red hue as his masters, exposing his impish nature and his oncoming pride.

"And you're not very-" He tried to boast, but soon found himself without a throat to finish that sentence. My daughter's true form was already out in seconds, and the tendrils on her back tore the tiny imp apart. There was little more than entrails left on the snow after she was done, and she quickly turned toward the rest of the village once the snow was painted black with ichor to find even more of the demonic brothers' ilk lying in wait.

"So this is what is causing the disappearances," she remarked with an intense, piercing stare. "Looks like I'm bringing back a lot of trophies this time." Indeed, the highland village of Winterhold was not supposed to exist anymore. The actual village was destroyed years ago by the same demons that now inhabited it, and ever since then they had preyed on those that wandered too far into the mountains. The men among this group of unfortunate souls were tortured and put to work, whereas the women were kept as breeders to replenish the demonic stock. The imps who guarded the village were the children of those pairings, and they intended on making all three of the women nearby into mothers for their half-siblings.

Kiyomi was the latest addition to that brand of cattle, slowly being broken down by Balban who delighted in deceiving his women with promises of romance and sensitivity only to break them down with a harsh dose of reality. The latter's children intended on subduing Ana for the same fate, but destiny had different plans. This time, the poor unfortunate souls were the imps themselves, and they never stood a chance.

For all of Ana's quirks, from her lack of social skill down to her morbid personality, she is and was one of the most skilled hunters I have ever raised. The imps tried to suppress her with sheer numbers, but her violent retaliation overwhelmed their efforts. The tendrils on her back multiplied, growing mouths to feed upon her attackers. As such, they suffered a far worse death than the "boy" had, for Anabelle literally devoured their kind, leaving only the heads behind.

A lone imp managed to escape that night's slaughter, running away before the battle reached him. He knew the battle was lost, and would eventually freeze to death; though not before mumbling about the demon from the night his kind had been massacred.

"Demons we called ourselves," he had remarked just before the cold took him. "But she's the real demon in these mountains."

After that lone survivor passed, and while completely unaware of his trap's fate, Balban began digging out the snow from the avalanche that had encased his solitary cabin. He had chained Kiyomi up after making love to her several times throughout the night, and was now undergoing preparations to bring her to the breeding beds where his brother watched over the cattle. Moloch's message to him about Eden came during this time, but he had chosen to ignore it for better or worse. He assumed that whatever had come to release his second target was destroyed by the natural disaster that had pinned him in, and he wasn't about to cry over a single, lost wench. Instead, he focused on the dragon in front of him, finishing up his scheme just before she awoke.

 Kiyomi's distress following that moment of realization was like music to the demon's ears. He had completely removed the snow around the cabin while she slept and was now forcefully attaching her to the far wall. Her former bracelet had been corrupted in the same breath, changed in purpose to something far more sinister. For, now, instead of contacting her mother, the item would put out a signal for Balban and Moloch to follow. So long as either of them was alive, it would serve as a tracking device as well as a magical nullifier: one that Balban forced around Kiyomi's neck after transmuting it into a collar.

"Much better," he said, now tightening that abomination on the helpless dragon in front of him. It would prevent her from transforming or using spells; and the chains would suffice to contain whatever human strength she had left after the curse was upon her. And so, with his prey's undivided attention, Balban finally stripped naked and pressed himself against her still naked bosom. "Ah, Kiyomi, your tears are such a delicious sight. I like seeing that in every mother of my children. The despair makes the afterglow so much more arousing." Placing his hand against her stomach in an almost loving fashion, he continued. "You're already pregnant with my seed, my bride-to-be, so you'll be a fine addition to my stock. Still, I feel I haven't tasted you enough. I'll have to enjoy you more before my brother gets his hands on you and ruins that lovely womanhood of yours."

Balban's erection pressed up against Kiyomi's slit as he said that, his tongue licking the salt of her tears from her face at the same time. He would have raped her for the next couple hours had he been given the chance, but, before he could enter, an unexpected knock came at the door.

"Now what," he asked, irritation now suddenly dominating his voice. The demon moved away from Kiyomi without a moment's hesitation following that development, thinking that the person at the door was one of the imp's from the village with an urgent message for him. After all, the individual at the door smelled like an imp, and so foolish Balban opened it without even checking.

As my readers can imagine, that action did not go well for the first antagonist of our story. For instead of finding a small, red demon beyond that threshold, the false knight found Ana covered in the blood of several such demons. The sight took him a moment to register – and, once he did, he was tempted to strike. But the demon's hesitation cost him. Before he could do anything to defend himself, he was already impaled by a desert khopesh that had been driven straight through his sternum.

Ana's tendrils dragged Balban through that door screaming shortly thereafter, slamming it shut before several, nauseating sounds echoed back inside. His wails of agony were completely silenced in moments, and soon his decapitated head was tossed back inside to land at Kiyomi's feet. Anabelle walked inside the tiny shack afterward, thinking that there were more demons to be found. Instead, she only saw Kiyomi, and the girl's state was enough to pacify this violent daughter of mine.

"You are Katerina's daughter," she said with a blood covered face and that ever-present stare. "What are you doing here?" Anabelle was slow at the best of times, so it took her a moment to realize that Kiyomi was chained up and probably didn't want to be that way. The tears were her first clue, as was the lack of clothing. Eventually, she settled on searching her insides until one of her tendrils burped up the key it had swallowed from Balban. Then, with that implement in hand and her tendrils fully retracting, she finally unlocked the naked Silverstein, getting blood all over the chains in the process.

Kiyomi’s tears continued to fall down her cheeks. Knowing deep in her heart, the demon would never let her go. The dragon even tried to transform and use magic, but, it was no use. The collar on her next prevented the use of magic; she couldn’t free herself. She couldn’t believe he trained her mother’s bracelet with dark magic. “I will kill you for that.” She said, her eyes still burning from the tears.

Her thoughts ran wild; how could she get herself into this situation? What did he have plan for her? How could she not see behind his facade? “I fell for him..” Kiyomi thought as she averted her eyes from Balin. No, the demon before her was no longer the man she once knew, or was he ever? His true face and name showed how fully deceitful he was. She could tell he always got what he wanted, no matter what he had to do to get it.

Hearing the rustling of clothing, the young woman looked back at Balban. A gasp left her seeing the demon undressing. Kiyomi knew exactly what he wanted, something she would never let him have again. She tried to struggle to release herself from the chains as she continued to yell, “Please, stop!” Balban’s warm breath against her skin made her cringe. With his words, she couldn’t stop the anger that rose within her. How could that monster get her pregnant? How…could she let this happen? “I’ll die before I have your baby.” She spat out. His reaction showed that he ignored her. The feel of his tongue and penis made Kiyomi want to die in that moment. “Get off of me!” She tried to sound tough in that moment, but the tears that fell down her eyes told a different story.

The knock on the door made him stopped for a moment; the dragon was grateful. His words from earlier echoed in her mind. “His brother?!” Kiyomi thought to herself as she lowered her head between her knees. She was a mixture of emotions; fear, anger, disappointment and sadness. The dragon didn’t want life to go on; she didn’t want to know what was in store for her next. The meadow beside her house came to her mind, followed by her family. The young dragon decided she could escape there until they were done with her.

The feeling of defeat sunk in but was immediately silenced by the scream from Balban. The dragon sat up just in time to see the door slam; she stared wide eyed at the door. The sounds made the dragon push herself into the wall while silent tears fell down her face. Was this a friend saving her life? Or was this a monster that was going to kill her too? Her questions were answered when the head of the demon landed at her feet. Her breath quickened as she stared at Balban’s dead eyes staring back at her.

Kiyomi was about to scream, but it was caught in her throat when she saw the woman walk in. She was covered in blood. “How in the world did she do this?” Kiyomi thought to herself as she stared from the woman to the demon’s head. Fear rose within her once more, she didn’t know what the woman was going to do.

The woman spoke, mentioning Kiyomi’s mother. “How do–” Kiyomi’s words stopped when she saw the tendrils; her eyes widening once more. She forced herself against the wall and was ready for the attack, instead, there was a key brought forth. When the girl reached for her, Kiyomi flinched back. She was scared of this creature before her. She didn’t know what this woman was, or her intention.

The dragon’s arms suddenly dropped; freed from her shackles. Instantly, she grabbed her wrists to rub them. “Th- thank you.” She stuttered out to the woman before her. Slowly, Kiyomi stood, using the wall for support; emotionally drained. Taking a deep breath, the dragon pushed off the wall and moved around the woman. Her clothes still in the same place from the night before. In a moment, she was dressed; she couldn’t stay naked anymore.

“What will my mother think?” She whispered as she strapped on her weapons to her back. Tears filled her eyes once more, but this time she blinked them away. “That bastard got me pregnant. Now, I can never forget him!” Her voice rose with every word before her booted for kicked the head out the front door. For a moment, Kiyomi had forgotten the woman and turned to her. “Who are you and how do you know my mother?…” She paused. “You smell like someone I know?”

Before that point was a moment that Balban actually stopped to respond to his squirming captive. For the most part he had ignored the pleas for mercy, treating them mainly as seasoning for his upcoming meal. Yet he held a special delight for instances of resistance from his pets, so, when Kiyomi threatened to die before giving birth, he stopped to taunt her.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," he said just before inserting his demonhide tongue deep into Kiyomi's mouth. ~We'll just restrain you till you're broken of that silly freedom of will: drown you in aphrodisiac and mind altering drugs till you're nothing but a breeding sack of flesh begging for another dick in you or another baby to pop out. That's always my favorite part: when the fiery spirits like yours come crawling back for more.~

The demonhide was too tough for the girl to harm, for she had already been drained entirely of her strength by the cursed collar around her neck. As such, she could only sit there as Balban had his way with her mouth, even as he was about to penetrate her once more. Her life, it seemed, was over. No more warm fireplaces or tales of romance lay in her future. Instead, only unending sex and birthing stood there; and a demonic shepherd was leading her straight into that hell. At least until my daughter's knock came to save her.

Kiyomi was understandably afraid of the young woman's presence when she first appeared, especially after she so mercilessly dispatched the demon known as Balban. Few could expect any good to come from such a grizzly death, let alone from the one who delivered it. Ana was also clearly inhuman, not showing the least bit of concern for the blood coating her body nor the death she had just inflicted. Even the act of freeing Kiyomi seemed more like an issue of protocol and manners than genuine concern; even though didn't seem to bother the dragon in question.

Katerina's eldest daughter was instead more concerned with what the demon had told her moments prior. She was pregnant with his child; and, as such, an imp would grow in her over the coming months. Even if she killed that babe immediately after its birth, the scarring from the pregnancy would remain; forever reminding her of how a demon had had so thoroughly manipulated her. The desperate anger this realization generated was palpable even before she kicked her tormenter's head into the blizzard outside, though I'm sure that emotion was quick to be replaced by fear.

I've already said how terrible Anabelle was at maintaining socially acceptable behavior. She was far worse than I in that department, in fact, as evidenced by how she restrained Kiyomi almost on instinct upon the perceived destruction of Balban's head. Ana's tendrils lashed out at the collared dragon after she kicked that skull, restraining her in a bloody cocoon while an additional limb retrieved its prize from outside.

"I need that for the bounty," the young woman announced as her prey was immobilized. She shortly thereafter retrieved the head from her tendril and deposited it into a summoned bag that was already soaked in blood from various imp remains. Afterward, she sent that package away to some undescribed location; never once averting her gaze from the wrapped Kiyomi. Her tendrils ripped a hole in the dragon's dress right above her womb while this was going on, and slowly pulled the clothing away from that spot until the lone tendril had finished fetching what its master desired. Once that was done, and with great precision guiding its path, the appendage finally assumed the form of a needle and jabbed straight into Kiyomi's abdomen.

The pain would be brief, followed by a warm sensation as Ana pumped fluid directly into the young girl's uterus. It was a version of parvporan elixir that my daughter had taken earlier in the day, though one that would trigger an immediate abortion if applied so close to a fertilized egg. Thus, Balban's baby was eliminated from Kiyomi's body in an instant, freeing her of all responsibility from the previous night.

After that injection was finished, Ana retracted all of her tendrils once more. Kiyomi was now covered in blood just like her rescuer, but the wound to her stomach was already healed as if she had never been impaled in the first place. Even so, the act would probably have startled her into shock; regardless of how Ana tried to explain her actions after the fact.

"No more pregnancy means you can forget, yes," she asked the dragon without the slightest hint of remorse? "Well, now you can forget." Following that remark, Ana unbelievably switched to offering a handshake: a stark contrast to her former behavior. She somehow danced between the extremes of the social spectrum without realizing it; and, although she finally said her name at that moment along with an explanation of how she knew the young dragon, her actions did little to provide any comfort during this initial meeting. "Anabelle Yamauchi. You and your mother visited my home while I was asleep and got lectured by my mother for doing so. I heard your hair is pink because of that meeting."

Every time Kiyomi would go out on one of her adventures, she would come back the same way she left. The young girl didn’t know anything about love, or heartache. She had only knew those feelings through books and her mother experiences. After the elf, Jackson, Katerina took it hard, and wouldn’t leave her house for weeks. Kiyomi always wondered how she even got the wolf out of her slump. The dragon thought her mother was strong; the wolf had been through so much pain but still kept on going.Kiyomi didn’t want to go on living. She had been raped, and, now she was pregnant with the demon’s child. She didn’t want his child; she didn’t want an everyday reminder of this day. She had been deceived; how could she had fallen for it? “Mother wouldn’t have.” The thought echoed in her mind.After, the young dragon had kicked the head, she turned towards the woman. Kiyomi was silent after the stranger’s comment; unsure if she should apologize. The moment the woman’s tendrils came out towards Kiyomi, she gasped. “I’m Sorry!” She yelled. The dragon tried to step back to get out of the way of the tendrils, but she was too late.Fear gripped her and Kiyomi froze. She struggled against the tendrils that circled her. It was when the woman tore at her clothes, the dragon let out a scream. She wouldn’t let her touch her like the man before. “Let me go! Damn you!” She yelled at the stranger. When the needle appeared, her eyes widened. “No, no, no!! Please don't!” For a moment the dragon thought that she was about to die. The pain that ripped through her abdomen was nothing she had felt before. She was about to scream in pain but the pain suddenly turned warm. “What…are you..doing to me?” she asked while gasping.When she was finally let go, the young dragon fell to her knees. She was gripped by fear and couldn’t stop anything that would happen next. Upon hearing the woman’s voice, Kiyomi sat back suddenly. She was shocked as she stared at the stranger. Her first words, eased the dragons fear, but only a little. “No more… pregnancy?” She repeated while her eyes drifted away to look down at her stomach; surprised and shocked. It wasn’t until the woman before Kiyomi finally spoke that her eyes looked up. “Anabelle.. You’re … Natsumi’s daughter?” The dragon said while she stood.. “Thank you. You are a bit unorthodox…. But thank you for helping me. Now, I can go home..” She smiled at Anabelle then walked outside into the cool air. It was almost like she was energised. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath; her eyes slowly opened as she realized something. “I don’t want to go home… I can’t..” She said softly to herself. She didn’t want to share this with anyone, especially her mother. Tears filled her eyes as she looked around the forest. She couldn’t stay here. “Dammit..Why—” She was about to ask herself why she had fallen for a demon.Being lost in her thoughts, the dragon almost didn’t see the demon that appeared before her. This demon wasn’t like the one before; he was fatter, his skin seemed to be seeping an over amount of sweat. He only wore pants, and his lips were pulled back and all you could see were his fangs. “You… You Killed my brother!” He growled out before charging at her. Kiyomi didn’t react like she did before, this time anger fueled her. Jumping, she flipped over the demon and kicked him in the back. Before he fell, she grabbed his blade on his hip. “Ahh! YOU BITCH!!” He growled out as launched at her. Kiyomi was able to see his opening, and stab him between the legs. “You cu—-” He was about to say, but she sliced his throat. “Fuck you.” She cursed at him before stepping back, so he could fall onto the ground.Thinking he was dead, the dragon turned and walked toward the cabin. She needed to thank the woman and say goodbye.

Of course, any attempt at pleasantries like that ultimately proved futile. The only thing tangible that came out of their deliverance was that Kiyomi learned to tolerate the oddities of her savior for the moment; and even that patience was limited. The damage that her captor wished to inflict had already been done; her innocence was lost and, with it, her confidence waned. Balban, despite having the progeny of his legacy eradicated from the dragon, had managed to leave an invisible mark on her. It would continue to fester, even though half of the curse binding her had faltered in the face of his death.

Balban's brother, Baal, would soon reap the consequences of that hidden wound, but not before the dragon and serpent conversed a little more. Nay, Kiyomi was allowed to breathe for a time; to discover and comment on my Ana's identity. Although, it was perhaps not in the way she intended.

"She was the first that didn't abandon me." The one time that Anabelle answered the dragon's questions was when her relationship to me was called into question. There seemed to be some lingering doubt on the dragon's tongue, which led Ana to defend me against an imagined attack. To her, I was a mother by act rather than by birth, because, while everyone else around her had either abandoned or shunned her as a strange, mutant child, I had not. Ana didn't forget that, and so spoke up on my behalf when she needn't have bothered. All other things considered, she didn't speak anymore afterward; seemingly ignoring Kiyomi's concerns out of disinterest.

Baal's visit occurred only a few moments after that interaction, just as the defiled maiden was expressing her hesitation at the thought of returning home. Half of her power had returned thanks to the death of Balban by then, so she was able to fight back against this newcomer with a modicum of success. However, once again she fell for a demon's subterfuge.

Baal was playing with her. Even though his throat seemed slit, even though he was seemingly castrated, he just stood right back up after only a few heartbeats of healing.
 
"Brother always said he was the brains and that I was the stupid muscle," the would-be corpse spoke as its wounds closed with little effort. "But even I'm not stupid enough to turn my back on my opponent after a few cuts." Kiyomi had gotten overconfident, forgetting about the collar around her neck. She wasn't allowed to do that anymore, for now Baal was turning his black magic on her in the form of pain."We're demons, girl! You think we die the same as humans?!" The collar shone darkly with light of purest midnight, and soon the pain it caused turned to searing anguish and despair. "A curse upon you, swine. You don't deserve that dragon blood!"

And so, before Ana could react, Kiyomi's dragon spirit was stripped from her. The collar burned a brand in her neck, cursing her with the demons' magic and marking her as their possession. Baal had won his petty victory, but, as he would soon learn, a battle does not make a war.

The elder behemoth swaggered across the slopes, not having forgotten about the blood covered wench who had accompanied his newest acquisition. He took one look at Anabelle before sizing her up, and then approached her with that same lumbering stride.

"And you must be the true murderer of my brother," he called to her. "Though with so much blood, you probably also murdered my helpers. For that, you deserve a fate far worse than this cow." Ironically, he was making the same mistake that his most recent victim had. He underestimated Ana, especially given the sudden growling coming from her stomach.

My daughter, for all her oddities and her past of abandonment, was far from the fragile creature that Baal thought she was. She was formidable under the best of circumstances, with a less than subtle penchant for violence. Such was her nature given what lay beneath the surface of that human shell she had to wear in public. While I could get away with just discrimination and cruelty for my appearance, Anabelle did not have that luxury. Her true form would have her treated like a monster on sight, and she would be slain as such. That's why she chose to appear as human except under two circumstances: when she was tired and when she was hungry.

Baal thought to make an example of her when the latter was true. Perhaps his intent was to rape her to death, or maybe he just wanted to force her to pleasure his minions as a human toilet. In the end, though, his intent didn't matter, because, as soon as he drew near, Anabelle stopped pretending to be human. She leapt at him, and Baal, assuming that this was an attack by an average, human woman, attempted to manhandle her like any other. He severely underestimated Ana's weight with that action, however; so while he had been preparing for a mere 150 lbs at most, he was instead slammed by a massive quarter ton of weight.

Yelping on impact, the demon brother crumbled into the ground just in time for Ana's tail to spring forth. The long and deadly appendage constricted all around his torso, crushing his spine almost instantly whilst its owner's fangs dug deeply into his neck. He shouted in pain as my daughter literally began tearing chunks of flesh from his shoulder with her mouth, just before he was confronted by the same tendrils that had spelled his brother's doom. Only this time they weren't simply hydra like mouths. Instead, they were serpents, one and all.

Each venomous snake took turns removing organs from that still living behemoth. First went his eyes, then his ears, then his liver. They left his tongue and lungs till last, meaning he was screaming the whole time that he was literally being torn apart from the inside. And then, right after Ana had eaten her fill, she constricted one last time and burst the remainder of his entrails all over the snow.

For all his bluster, the demon died like a pimple on a teenager's face: a bloody one filed with bile and vitriol. Ana's scales had been so thoroughly doused by the meal she had made of him that they were now black as the foulest pits of the southern swamps instead of their usual crimson and white. T'was in that state that she released the body in her grasp – or what was left of it – and slithered off to find water so that she might wash herself of his filth. It seemed – at least for that moment – that she had completely forgotten about the dragon that still lay behind her.

Or was she really a dragon anymore?