(Hi there, quick preface, all characters in this story are 18 or above, Janik is 18, and the dragoness is well into adulthood.)

“Oh no you don’t, this Spring is the one, Janik,” the tribesman’s brother said. “I’d rather not hurt you, but if it gets you out in the field, so be it. You will obey the Mother of Nature.”

The two tribesmen sat on the grass under the shade of the forest canopy, between the myriad tents.

Janik crossed his arms. “No animal is going to want me, and what if a carnivore comes out? What then? I won’t die tomorrow if I don’t join with another. I don’t need to feel good like you seem to.”

Janik’s brother, Kith, shook his head and clasped his hands together. “It’s not about you. It saddens me to see that you have neglected the animals of the forest. If you had ever taken the time to talk with one, you’d know they are as kind as the Mother has ordained, especially around this season,” he said, smiling to himself. “You’re a child no longer, brother. The Mother of Nature may be a nurturer, but she won’t stand to see her wishes disobeyed. And I’m not going to let anyone in my family be punished if I can help it.”

Casting his gaze to the ground, eyebrows furrowing, Janik pondered. Ever since he was a boy, the other children would tell rumors upon rumors of the passage of adulthood, what whispers they had overheard when their parents didn’t know they were listening. The elders were not transparent about the ritual, they only scolded that the children’s time would come. Supposedly, every Spring, the Mother of Nature would send the spiritually imbued animals of the forest into rut: the females would go into heat so they would be sought out by craving males. For the tribe, this meant that the eldest of the young would seek a partner: one of the talking forest creatures.

His father had always told him the animals of the forest were the most precious thing in the land, and that they were to be treated just like any tribesman. He had seen his father talk to animals of every kind and every size, at the edge of the village. The predators in particular frightened young Janik, so he could never watch for long and would hide back in his tent.

But now, being at the brim of manhood, there was a welling of dread and nervousness in his stomach.

“Hear me for a moment,” Janik began. “Are… are the dragons in rut along with the rest?” 

Kith nodded. 

Janik grabbed the back of his head. “A… a dragon would kill me. They’re larger than any man, and far more powerful. What if one of those things comes?” he asked. A sharp pressure bore on his chest, and Janik saw that it was his brother’s finger.

“Enough. Have some respect for the forest and its dwellers. There is no dragon or carnivore that is such a beast as you fear. They may have been blessed with different forms, but their minds and ours are the same. And this tribe remains grateful for their kinship with us.”

Struck with surprise, Janik struggled to understand why his brother spoke with such conviction about this. Janik wanted to believe him. His brother was older, wiser, and had done this before, but was joining in the Springtime that perspective-altering? How could any speaking animal be so impactful as to conjure such a sense of necessity in his kin?

“So I have to?” Janik asked, already knowing.

His brother only nodded again. “But that shouldn’t be the reason you do it. It makes me wonder what kind of person you’re going to be: would you rather be the one who faces this even when you are scared to your soul?”

Putting a hand on Janik’s shoulder, Kith wore a dim smile. “It is the most happiness you will endure in life. Nothing else will compare. The real danger of it is becoming obsessed,” Kith said.

“What?” 

Kith waved his hand. “Nevermind that. You haven’t even done it. There’s nothing to worry about. For now,” he said, regarding Janik with hopeful eyes. “Go.”

Janik squinted. “Right… now?”

“Yes. Go.” Kith patted Janik on the arm before he stood, making his way off into the village. Janik was left to stare off after him. Was that it? Kith had been a perplexing man at times, and Janik supposed this was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, his brother’s question had left Janik with a churning indecisiveness.

What kind of person was he going to be? The choice was obvious, but the willpower to make it did not come so easily. He had to steel himself. His brother was right. The Mother had made animals as she had made him. They couldn’t be dangerous, could they? It was just a child-borne, instinctual fear. 

He stood up, gazing out toward the treeline, where the meadow began. Dropping his loincloth right there on the ground, he was hit with a pang of self-consciousness, realizing others were around. Bah, he thought to himself. They’ve seen it all before.

If he was going to look foolish, at least he would be someone who braved his fear while doing it. This would be his last day as a young one.

Walking toward the swaying, almost treeless field, the urge to stop in his tracks became stronger the closer he got. But instead of thinking about it, he shunned it from his mind, focusing only on his steps, moving no matter how much dread filled him. Breaking out from the oakwood trunks, the Sun up high gleamed off of his skin, off of his entirely bare figure. The novelty of it filled him with excitement, even though he’d been naked many times before. This time it was different. This time there was an expectation.

Colored by the Mother with blue, the sky bore no clouds, as was strangely common this season. Amongst the blades of grass were petals peeking over, each flower bursting with reds, oranges, purples, and yellows. Stubborn trees stood lonesome here and there. Though he knew the sight from his childhood, even from last month most recently, the emotion it filled him with was new.

He kept his desire in mind. The only thing he had to do now was search. 

The boundary of trees from which he had emerged curved to his left, making a near straight line parallel to the direction he was facing: out and onwards. He scanned that part, leaning forward and squinting, trying to see past the conglomerate shrubbery. If he saw movement, it was the breeze blowing leaves, and nothing more for a while. He didn’t know what to expect, or even what he was hoping for. Would a moose be preferable? They didn’t seem the type to be hostile, but then again, their size was considerable. A wolf perhaps? It was a predator, but that shouldn’t matter if his brother was right. What if a fox came? Would that even… work? Smiling and shaking his head at himself, he tried to focus. Was it really as simple as waiting? Was there something he could do to draw something out?

That particular thought lasted for far longer than he would’ve liked, as the sun had moved to the other half of the sky in the time that had passed. He was sitting now, hoping his skin would not burn too badly after this. 

Rustling. It came as abruptly as that. In the time it took him to register it, it came again. Three counts of a man’s stride away, his head snapped to the forage, the green darker there, shadowed by the forest canopy. The burst of fear in his gut dissipated as he noted how light and small the sound was. It could have been no larger than a bird or rabbit. Something that tended to nestle in the underbrush, something that posed only the risk of snapping a twig. 

The whole bush shook. The one that grew as high as Janik was tall, the one whose branches ran thick, the one whose leaves let nothing be seen beyond them. He flinched when he heard a great crack like a trunk being split. Shaking again, the bush wavered wholly before it heaved toward him. This was the nightmare he had feared. A bear or a saber-tooth coming to devour him, to take his life from his body. No other beasts could be so large, not with the footfalls he heard now. 

Stepping away, his gaze was locked on the sight of two white legs clambering over the green and flattening it to the ground. He took in the size of the beast, and it took away his thoughts, his rationale, feeling only the pincers of panic digging in.

He didn't understand what he saw: the shape of it, the wings; it was nothing he had imagined. It cleared the bush and stood before him. Those eyes, even in the sunlight, were dark as the color between the nighttime stars. They were level with his own eyes.

It was a furred dragon of stark white, its feathered, angelic wings tucked against its back, a long tail waving side to side behind it. Bearing no claws, its forepaws more closely resembled that of a wolf's than they did of a dragon's. 

Staring him down, the creature wore curiosity plainly, tilting its rounded head. As much as the urge to sprint coursed through him, he knew it was the worst thing he could do. His brother was right, Janik had to believe that. And if he didn’t, he had to act as though he did. This was exactly what he should have been ready for, but even if he wasn’t now, even if the pit in his stomach roiled, and even if the carnivore’s eyes bore into his own, he had to abide by his brother’s words, he had to be strong for at least once in his life of hiding away from animals.

Janik stood his ground. 

"Aren't you a mouth-watering thing?" he watched it say. 

So it is a female, he thought. Her voice was decidedly feminine, although, in the oddest possible way, it was distinct, ringing true with the thrum of power.

The tribesman bowed his head just slightly. "Thank you, dragoness," he said. It was the only thing he could think of. Every other bit of his focus was on keeping his calm. The dragoness took a step closer to him, lowering its head and peering at his manhood, quite unashamedly at that. 

Even when he had been nude around grown women, he had never felt more self-conscious.

This is the animal? he thought. This is who Mother wishes me to give my essence to?

"You seem very sure of what you want to do here, human. Would you like to know my name?" she said. It struck him that her tone was almost… considerate. 

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, dragoness. I should've asked," he replied.

She lunged forward, and his whole body tensed at once, his hands balling into fists, his eyes shutting, waiting for teeth and claws to cut his skin open.

He felt a moist texture on his neck and chin.

"Vala," he heard, and then felt that wetness again. Opening his eyes, his breathing stammered, he saw her head under his chin, licking him with her broad tongue, her body so much closer to him. "And don't be sorry." 

“I’m sorry that you’re so afraid of me, human,” she said. “I wish you knew just how little harm I mean you. Just the opposite, actually. The Mother of Nature has called us here for happiness and sustenance.”

“I… um…” he tried, but couldn’t get anything else out. 

The warmth being lavished on his neck was so unique and, if he weren't so petrified, it would have been pleasant. His sensitivity seemed to bloom there, feeling the texture so vividly, the effect it had on him was so strange and difficult to grasp. By just the smallest margin, it soothed him. 

"You taste good," she said, moving to the other side of his neck, sweeping her tongue in languid strokes, sometimes dipping down to his collarbone. Something about her voice made him take in each and every word. He considered them, turned them over in his mind. She wasn't going to kill him. He breathed deliberately, slowly in, slowly out. 

"That feels… nice," he said, chanced a look down at her eyes, and saw her staring back intently.

"I'm glad, human. Tell me your name."

"Janik," he said. He had to do what she asked. It was natural to abide.

Her ministrations trailed down to his chest. “Mmm,” she hummed. It was so hot, her licking left pleasant after burns in its wake. It was almost overwhelming. His hands clasped the sides of her spade-shaped head. He stifled a gasp when he realized he had just touched her, but her retaliation never came, no scolding or look of anger, only a quiet coo from the dragoness. She was getting lower still, painting his belly. Tingles ran through his skin there. And then she reached a spot just above his groin, tickling his pubic hair, barely missing his manhood.

He gripped her. He didn’t know if he wanted her to stop, or if the sensation alone was too much. Either way, she let up, but instead of pulling away, she stepped toward him, nuzzling her head into his chest, her eyes closed.

“I…” he began but did not finish.

“Mmm, what’s that, Janik?” she queried without missing a beat.

He gulped. “I never knew dragons could be so affectionate,” he admitted.

The smile she got from that made him giddy inside. He was glad to have pleased such a powerful and gentle creature. He had become so much more relaxed now, getting used to being in the presence of a large predator.

“Oh, that makes me feel so bad. I’m about to ruin that statement a bit.”

What? He thought before his footing disappeared from beneath him, legs sent up in the air as she pushed him with her head. Landing on his back, some of the shock of the fall was softened by the lush grass.

Before he could recover, she was already on him, pouncing over his body so that she covered him, her forepaws on his shoulders, effectively pinning him. She was so heavy, bearing down on his torso, it was hard to breathe. With her head on his chest, she stared amusedly at his fearful expression. 

“I only have so much patience,” she said, “Plus, I like seeing you like this. Almost trapped, but at the same time, you could tell me to get off at any moment. Do you want me to get up? To let you go on your way?” she asked.

The question roiled in his mind. How could he be so scared of her yet so full of desire for this same predator? Why did being held down feel… good? 

“Mmm, I think you like being my prey, human. But from the look on your face, it’s like you can’t figure out why.”

And she was right. As little sense as it made to him, no matter how much his instincts told him to escape from the death that loomed so close, he found that he was able to push them down so long as he listened to her words. 

“But that’s okay. Everything’s okay, in fact. Because I’m here to take care of you,” she said, tasting his chest again. 

“You know, I got to feel you all over, haven’t you been waiting to feel me this whole time?” 

His head tilted up uncomfortably, eyes cast downward out of respect for the dragoness, and out of the shame for his bodily wants, he nodded.

“Ohhh… you must be burning up inside, it’s not healthy to hang on to lust for so long.”

As the dragoness shifted, he tensed, not knowing what to do with himself as she got to her forepaws, still straddling him.

“Feel me, human.”

This whole experience was so much, the prospect of touching a dragon, the inevitable end she was taking them to, even being in the presence of such a deadly creature. Hesitating a moment, he reached up toward her, letting his hands press flat against her chest. 

Her fur had certainly looked thick, but the sensation, the texture of it, was something else entirely. He could not have imagined such a soothing degree of softness. Beginning to rove down to her belly, and then back up to her forelegs, he couldn’t help but loosen up a bit, the tension in his body slipping away.

“It's nice, Vala. Thank you,” he said.

She said nothing but smiled in return.

A sudden urge came over him then. It made him feel emboldened enough to speak up. “Would you mind if we embraced?” he asked, feeling in his gut that it was okay to say, but at the same time, he felt a sting of fear and regret.

Tilting her head, the dragoness leaned to her side, starting to fall. Before he could react, she grabbed him by the waist, pulling him on top of her belly as she sprawled out on her back, feathered wings unfurled and all. When they became still again, he realized he was hanging onto her fur for dear life.

"Embrace me, then."

She had put them in a better position, that had been her answer to his question. With him lying on her larger body, it was far easier to lay his arms around her than when he was on the ground. He encircled less than half of the circumference of her mid-torso, but it was enough. Laying his cheek against her chest fur, he listened to a mighty, slow heartbeat. It must have been a massive thing. 

After having sat on dirt and stood on dirt all day, the comfort of laying naked on a bed of fur could have put him to sleep. But he wanted to enjoy the experience presently, to focus on it. With his eyes closed, he let his breathing be guided by hers, waiting for the rises and falls. His mind was pricked with shame. In the midst of his rambling thoughts, he noticed how nice his manhood felt in her fur, how the softness enveloped it. But shouldn’t he be thinking about it? It was what he had come there for. 

“You seem like you’re enjoying yourself,” she commented. 

“Mhmm,” he hummed. 

A few more precious moments passed, ones Janik savored before he felt the dragoness beneath him stirring. As he looked up, she had already been moving a paw toward his face, and going along with it, he let her put it under his chin. Now he had little choice but to see her. She coerced him so easily, but he didn’t care. He wanted this, and he was looking forward to where it was going.

“You should continue exploring me, human. I’ve given you a good cuddling, and now you owe me. So, go on. If I remember correctly, you left off at my waist.”

He sat up, purpose giving him energy. Disappointing her was the last thing he wanted right now. Scooting back on her frame, to her the place she had told him, he began running his fingers through her coat again. Taking it in at a nice pace.

“You’re too good,” he heard, but he kept working. “Doing exactly what I say. You already know what the reward is don’t you?” 

Of course he knew, it was obvious, but the fact she was saying it out loud made it seem as though it was special, as if it had not been guaranteed the whole time.

“Go lower,” she said, though he caught a hunger in her voice, one that flatlined the considerate nature of her previous words. Nonetheless, he did so.

“Lower.” He couldn’t go backward anymore. He had to turn around. 

When he did, he was met with her two open legs, their digitigrade structure fascinating to him. But more urgent, however, was the matter of what lie between those legs. Hands pressed on her crotch, above the prize he knew was there, he slid down slowly, not with the intent to tease, but out of sheer, nervous hesitation. It was just past his fingertips, all he had to do was…
 
He felt it. 

"That's it, human," she said. "Now stop going slow." The warning in her voice spurred him. He got off her. The grass was beneath his feet again as he placed himself before her. 

Being able to see everything so close up did something to him. This was why he had ventured out. Her slit was swollen and puffy, the bare, pink skin prominent amongst her white fur. It was not the first he had ever seen a woman, but still, being a virgin man, the novelty of the situation struck him. This was it. This would truly be his first time; he was going to be a man. Blood flowed to his loins, and he could feel his cock stiffening.

Stop going slow, he remembered, her voice in mind.

He practically cupped her muff, rubbing up and down. She rumbled a pitch higher than he would expect of any dragon. His maleness bobbed, almost pointing at her entrance.

"Janik," she said. Daring not to look up or cease his work, he listened.
"The Mother has called for us to join. My body, even, has called for your maleness to fill me. Can you feel how it burns to have you?"

The warmth was surprising, at first. Even on the outside, he could feel it, hotter than his own skin. His palm became wet with her fluid.

"All you have to do is indulge in me. Remember that word. Indulge. Let your instincts guide you, they know what this is." She paused. "Normally I would ask you to explore me thoroughly, but I'm in heat. There is nothing more I need than your essence."

In his short life, he had never been harder. It bordered on discomfort. All he could think about was cumming inside her. 

Riding the impulse of his bodily urges, he pressed his thighs right up against her. The tip of his manhood accidentally pushed against her lips. His breath caught, and his eyes were locked on the sight of their sexes. 

The head had popped in, wedged halfway. Was this how it was supposed to go? It already felt good, and with more of her tunnel so tantalizing close, he did not pause for long. Grabbing each of her splayed legs, he thrust with vigor. He watched his length disappear inside her, spreading her tight lips open. 

"Ohhh! Ohhhhh…" he gasped, the sensations hitting him all at once. 

With her walls as slick as they were, he slid in sinfully easy until his balls kissed her crotch. She really must have been in heat, because her inner flesh burned so hot, teasing his cock with a melting pleasure, a temperature so incredibly well-suited to his own flesh. And Gods above, how she clamped on him; not with the mercy of a steady pressure, but with torturously euphoric clenches, ones that seemed to massage his cock. This was heaven. How had he not wanted this before?

"Mmmm," she hummed.

That wasn't where he stopped, however. Vala had demanded his essence straight from the source, and she was going to get it. He owed it to her to prove himself in this performance. As he slid out, his shaft was already glossy with her nectar; it only roused him further. He kept his hips moving, pushing all the way inside again, her walls attacking his nerves, putting him in bliss, but alas he pulled out again. The first few times he repeated this, his strokes were erratic, shaky, and sometimes he would pause halfway in, closing his eyes, hoping it would be enough to keep him from blowing. But once more, her contractions would grip him so deliciously. It was like her body really did want nothing more than his seed. He wondered if sex was this divine for everyone. 

If he did not keep moving, it would spell an early end to their encounter. He was determined to last at least a little longer, for her sake. So he kept it up. Leaning forward, fully utilizing his weight, he began to pound his crotch against hers. She cooed, a unique sound that something like a bird might make. It felt too good to be true. Even watching it was an experience all on its own. His human cock speared in and out of her drenched, dragoness pussy, their mutual unashamedness on full display. They could be their most primal selves in that moment, enjoying only the beautiful, base pleasure of rutting. 

He wanted her so badly, even though he was fucking her, it was as if his lust had only grown.

“F- fuck…” he said. “You feel so good, Gods above.”

There was a noise he had been tuning out, he realized. It was a bit quiet, and it was coming from her. When he looked up, he saw the dragoness’ face, her maw agape, sharp teeth showing, her eyes telling a story of pure exasperation. And she was mewling.

The lack of composure struck him. Up until now, she had seemed calm and in control, and perhaps she was still in control. She had said to indulge.

Maybe he just needed to ignore composure for now. Indulging in her body, doing as she had told him, seemed like the best idea in the world. So he reveled in the milking clenches of her pussy, the raw, unbridled heat of her inner core, how wet she was for him, how the season of spring had made her body yearn for him, her flesh more plush and puffy to better suit his stiff cock. Her pussy was meant for his cock. It was meant to take his essence. And if he kept this pace…

He was getting close, he knew. Vala, the furred dragoness, was so attractive, and her body was so heavenly, by sight and by feeling; he couldn’t hold it back.

“Give yourself to me, Janik,” she said. “I want you to fill me, I want everything you have, inside.” Her voice dripped with lust.

Fuck, he thought. It was like she knew how close she was. Her encouragement only brought him closer. And the closer he got, the more he embraced what was going to happen, the faster he went. The pleasure kept climbing every time he hilted himself within her tight passage, each stroke stronger than the last, a pressure in his loins building. He was throbbing. He could feel it. It was all too vivid and he wanted more. 

He squeezed her legs hard without realizing it, too lost in his own amalgamous world of pleasure. Mostly lost. Although he knew what his climax would be like, he wondered if hers would come similar to human woman’s or if dragons were different.

“Are you almost there?” he asked, having thrown out regard for any sense of possible disrepsect.

“I…” she trailed off. “I am, Janik. But please… give your essence to me, nothing else matters,” she pleaded.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the final thrust was near. He took one last look at Vala, and for an instant, he made out every detail of her image: the highlight of the sun of her stark white fur, the gloss of her eyes, her cute dragoness face, and the indulgent expression she wore, calling for his release without words, promising a physical comfort. It made his hairs stand on end.

He hilted himself once more, and stopped, his thighs spasming and then sitting still. His butt tensed as he felt his cock, the one currently stuffed all the way in dragoness pussy, begin to throb with violent enthuse. Seed erupted from his tip, red hot as it coursed through his shaft, making a warm, sticky mess of her inner walls. As if her body could inherently sense this, her vaginal muscles seized up, then spasmed around him, milking his cock harder than before. Her digitgrade legs shook.

He saw stars for but a moment, and although it seemed to last on and on and on, it was only a few seconds of the greatest heigh he had ever been brought to.

So that’s what my brother was talking about, he thought as his orientation came back to him, fragment by fragment. As able as he was, he was an inexperienced young man, and though no longer a virgin, it was by recent means, and so he began to feel the repercussions of such a unique exertion. His thighs burned, and his manhood was overly sensitive now. 

Let go of her and let his upper body fall onto her belly. It was like a fuzzy bedmat.

“There you are, human,” he heard. “You’ve obeyed Mother. I knew you had it in you. By the Gods, I feel better already. Sustenance-wise,” she laughed. “I’m still quite hungry for you. You can blame my heat. Still, I thank you.”

“You’re-” he began, but was interrupted by a cough. Clearing his throat, he met her gaze. “You’re welcome. But… what do you mean by sustenance? You’ve said that alot.”

She sighed cheerily. “It means I don’t need to eat. You’ve given me all the energy I’ll need for the rest of the year.”

“What?”

She hummed. “I’m surprised you don’t know. The reason Mother commands us to join is so that predators don’t have to take the lives of prey in order to survive. If we did, it would be the end of the bond we all share.”

“That’s what this is all about? That’s why they make such a fuss about Spring?”

Vala nodded. “And since she made you in her image, humans I mean, you’re soul resonates with a magic that no other animal has. And the seed you just put in me is imbued with that magic. It’s incredible, and kind of beautiful. You performed the most intimate expression of love in the world, just to keep my life going.”

He blinked and shook his head. “Huh.”

“Nevermind all that. Really, it’s just you and me here. That’s what matters.”

Mulling over the myriad of purpose he had just had tossed upon him, he decided that now may not be the best moment to consider such things. He had a lifetime for thinking. But right at that second, he had a dragoness, one who was pleasant to be with, and kind (when she wanted to be).

“Is it ok if we lie here a while?” he asked.

She smiled. “We have all day.”