Chard N’ Ekusu 
Pets of the Tickle Garden
By FurryBunnyj 

	It was a bright, sunny day in the wonderous land of Dragonia. All the creatures lived in harmony, and peace reigned. On this particularly fine day two Charizard brothers were walking on the winding path toward the DracoScion Temple, where they would train to become powerful dragon-warriors. The elder brother, Ekusu, had a blue tailflame, wisp-tusks, and black scales with a blue underbelly. The younger draco, Chard, had three horns on his head, orange scales and cream-colored underbelly, three spines along his tail and a yellow tailflame. Chard was happily walking along, following his elder brother with a smile on his face. Ekusu, meanwhile, had a stoic look on his face – almost as if he was determined to reach the temple no matter what the cost. Both brothers wore cloaks and boots and carried small rucksacks over their backs.

	“Just think, Ekusu,” said Chard, his tail wagging, “once we reach the temple, we’ll be able to train with other dragons! We’ll become stronger than we could ever dream!”

	“Yes Chard,” said Ekusu, a hint of impatience in his voice, “we’ve already had this discussion at least a dozen times before.”

	“I’m sorry,” said Chard, bashfully, “I’m just so excited! But remind me, why are we walking and not flying again?”

	“Because, we have to conserve our strength. Besides, one: simply flying would take the fun out of our journey. Two: we have to pass through the Everglade Forest to get to the DracoScion Temple anyway. And the trees in that forest are rather tall, little brother.”

	Chard nodded, and the two dragons continued walking along the dirt path, their large draconic feet aching more and more as they progressed. But, soon enough they reached the forest’s edge where they decided to take a break and eat some of their packed lunch: a couple of berries, some bread, grapes, cheese, and some water they collected from the nearby stream. After their brief respite had ended, Chard and Ekusu packed up and entered the forest. As it turned out, Ekusu had not exaggerated – the trees were very tall. So tall, in fact, that they very nearly blocked out all of the sunlight. There was just enough light to allow the plant life to flourish, despite the fact aside from the trees, there were few plants growing at all. There were a few varieties of flowers, and the odd berry shrub here and there, but otherwise nothing much to look at. 

	Even with the lack of sufficient light, Chard and Ekusu had very good eyesight, and managed to navigate the path without tripping over any roots or obtrusive stones. Eventually, the two drakes came upon a fork in the road and stopped to regard the situation. The path on the left seemed more friendly and inviting, what with all the woodland critters making noises from their concealed homes and the butterflies flitting about. Yet, to Ekusu, it seemed to be the longer road between the two. On the other hand, the path on the right was more gloomy, and seemed almost devoid of any animal life. To Chard this path was downright creepy, and should’ve been avoided if possible. But Ekusu thought that it looked shorter, and thus moved forward towards it. Chard, however, clasped his claw around his brother’s arm, causing Ekusu to turn around and look confusedly at his younger brother.

	“Big brother,” said Chard, a hint of fear in his voice, “I don’t think we should go down this path. Something seems off about it, don’t you think?”

	“Oh come on, Chard,” said Ekusu, rolling his eyes, “it’ll be fine. This path will get us to the temple much faster than the other one. Besides, we’re dragons! What have we to fear in this forest? We can breathe fire and have powerful claws and fangs to use as well. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

	“But brother, I - ,” began Chard, at a loss for what to say, “I just think we need to think rationally about this. That path you wish to take seems very suspicious to me. The silence and lack of animal life alone has ‘danger’ written all over it.”

	“Look,” said Ekusu, “this path is gonna get us there quicker. And the quicker we get there, the quicker we can start training! Don’t worry, we’ll  guard each others back If anything happens, ok?” There was a brief pause, during which Chard seemed to be contemplating his choices. On the one hand: he could stick with Ekusu and go down the suspicious path. On the other hand: they could split up – Ekusu would take the suspicious path and he, Chard, would take the safe path. But no, splitting up with Ekusu was an idea worse than simply taking the suspicious path in Chard’s mind. After a few more minutes of pondering, Chard let out a sigh before looking at his elder brother, nodding, and releasing Ekusu’s arm. Once he had nodded back, Ekusu squared himself up and then strode down the righthand path with Chard trailing along in his wake. 

	As they got further and further along the trail, Chard began to notice just how empty that particular part of the forest was. No birds nesting in the trees, no squirrels foraging for nuts, nor a creatures scuttling around on the ground. He supposed it just meant that the creatures were all well hidden and being particularly quiet today. Shaking his head, Chard continued to follow his brother toward the their goal. Eventually, the two brothers reached a section of the forest where there laid a rather odd patch of land that looked almost like some kind of garden. Yet the most bizarre thing about the garden was not its location, but rather what was growing in the garden itself – rows and rows of what seemed to be vine-stalks, growing straight up toward the sky. Furthermore, these odd plants only seemed to be two feet tall and bore no produce or blossoms. As such the two drakes took no notice of them, nor did they see the sign that was sticking out of the ground. It bore the image of a single shoe, surrounded by a circle with a line passing through at an angle, and also bore elegant, curvy writing above the image.

"Warning: This garden is protected by the beautiful DracoWitch, Soreena. All trespassers WILL be punished! No shoes allowed!"

	Chard and Ekusu, after briefly gawking at the bizarre garden, shook their heads and moved forward and began to walk through the garden. In doing so, they had trodden upon the vines causing them to stir. Suddenly, and without warning, the vines came to life and grew extraordinarily fast! Before either drake knew what had happened, the vines had snared their arms, stopping them in their tracks and making them drop their rucksacks. Chard and Ekusu thrashed and flailed about, trying to tear the vines so they could break free. But it was useless; the vines would not release their grip on the drakes. 

	“Grahhhhh!!! What the hell is this!?” Cried Ekusu, pulling on the vines, “What are these vines!?”

	“I don’t know!” Shouted Chard, “See, Ekusu!!?? I told you we should’ve taken the other path! I knew walking down this way was a BAD idea!!”
	“Oh be quiet, Chard!” Snapped Ekusu, “Whining is not gonna help us out this! Wha-? HEY!! GIVE THAT BACK!!” He bellowed, for the vines had suddenly taken his cloak away. A fearful whine let Ekusu know that Chard had just had his cloak confiscated as well. The two drakes continued to struggle against the vines, but to no avail. Chard and Ekusu found themselves suddenly full-on immobile, as the vines had suddenly wrapped around their ankles and tails. Then, much to the surprise of the drakes, the vines had started to remove their shoes! Chard was too shocked to move, whereas Ekusu was struggling now more than ever. He could see where this was gonna go, and he would have none of it!

	“Wha-NO! Stop that this instant you wretched pests!” Barked Ekusu, “DON’T YOU DARE!!” 

	“Oh please don’t, little plants,” begged Chard, “please let us go!” However, Chard may have just as well have been talking to a brick wall. The plants kept on going, never once faltering. Finally, the drakes’ shoes were removed and tossed aside leaving the vines free to remove their socks. This action alone caused Chard and Ekusu to struggle more than ever, desperate to escape their bindings.  

“NO!!” Yelled Ekusu, his body trembling with apprehension, “STOP THIS NOW!! YOU WILL STOP!!!” 

	“Noooooo,” moaned Chard, futilely wiggling about, “please little vines; please don’t take my socks off!” Regardless of the begging and yelling, the vines did not stop. First came their left socks, then their right socks leaving both drakes fully barefoot. Suddenly, as Chard and Ekusu continued to struggle, the vine began trembling and changing. Before their stunned eyes, each vine began sprouting what looked like small flower bulbs upon their tips. The bulbs were round and red with with white spots dotting them and a long white line circling it vertically. At first the bulbs were roughly the size of of an orange; not really anything to worry about. But within the span of a few seconds, the bulbs grew to the size of a large grapefruit and seemed to be splitting in half at the white line. However, Chard soon realized that he was mistaken in thinking that the bulbs were splitting in half; no, the bulbs were opening, almost as if they had……mouths? 

	Impossible thought Chard in horror, these things are like some kind of mutant venus flytrap!! He gasped. They’re gonna eat us!! Suddenly, he saw a bulb completely open its mouth, revealing sharp, pointy teeth and a long snake-like tongue. At this, the orange drake lost his composure completely, and began bucking around in his bindings like wild beast. Ekusu meanwhile had just decided to try and use his fangs to try attempt to rip the vines off, only to recoil and spit in disgust. The vines tasted absolutely repulsive – like a combination of boiled cabbage (without any salt), sweaty socks, and, to the blue drake’s bewilderment, cheese. 

	“UGGG!!!!” Yelled Ekusu, retching, “Oh gods, that is disgusting! Chard, whatever you do, don’t bite the vines! They taste – ”. But he stopped himself when saw how his brother was wiggling about then did a double take as he suddenly noticed the bulbs in front of him, mouths wide open and tongues slick with saliva. Ekusu felt his body shivering in trepidation as the vines wrapped around his ankles and spread his legs apart. They did the same thing to Chard who, by this point, had frozen in fear. With both drakes fully immobile, legs spread, the ‘venus flytraps’ maneuvered themselves in place around the helpless dragon bodies – one each near their armpits and feet, two near their bellies, and one in between their legs. Then, as one, the flytraps began sniffing their prey. 

Chard and Ekusu both closed their eyes, braced for the wicked plants to start bitting and devouring their flesh. But the pain never came. Instead, they both felt something long and slimy running over their body. The two drakes gasped – there it was again! Chard’s and Ekusu’s eyes flew open at once as realization hit them like a ton of bricks. The flytraps did not want to eat them alive, they simply lick their bodies! Suddenly, Chard gave a loud gasp and burst out laughing as the flytraps started licking his feet. Distracted by his brother’s predicament, Ekusu did not notice the flytraps starting to lick his feet. He too was sent into fit of laughs and giggles.

“EHEHEHEHEHEHE!! NOHOHOHOHOHOAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!” Cried Chard, franticaly shaking his head back and forth, “PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!! STOHOHOHOHP IHIHIHIHIT AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!!!” Bellowed Ekusu, trying and failing to pull his arms free, “AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! NOHOHOHOHOHOT FAHAHAHAHAHAIR AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!”

It seemed to go on and on and on, the tongues flicking over every inch of the dragons’ armpits, soles, and bellies. Then, the two drakes gasped through their laughing as the flytraps between their legs began to nuzzle their crotches. At this, ripples of pleasure began to wend their way through the bodies of the bound dragons. The both let a pleasured moan escape their muzzles before the laughing recommenced. All too soon, Chard and Ekusu found themselves fully erect before their plant-captors. Without hesitation the flytraps between their legs fully engulfed their cocks, winding their tongues around the sensitive flesh. Meanwhile two more flytraps popped near each of the two dragons’ feet. With a bit of adjustment, Chard and Ekusu found themselves having one flytrap lick their soles while the other began suck on their toes. As a result of these overwhelming sensations, the dragons’ laughing lessened. Finally, with the tickling at a more tolerable level, Chard and Ekusu (despite the pleasure) began to call out for help.

“Ooooooooh! No-ooohh!” Moaned Chard, feebly struggling against the vines now, “stttooooppppp. Eheheheheh. N–ah! Oh, but it feels soooooo good!!”

“Some one……ooooh………anyone, please,” begged Ekusu, his head reeling back from the pleasure, “help! Hehehe. Help us…..ooooh, please!”

But no came to help – no could hear their pleas anyway. Thus the cycle continued: the plants licked and the dragons moaned and giggled helplessly. Chard and Ekusu tried one last to call for help and, at long last, a voice answered their pleas.

“Well, well,” said the mysterious voice, “what do have here? Captives? In my garden?” It was silky, soft feminine voice. Suddenly, a woman appeared in a flash of green and violet light before the captive drakes. But it wasn’t an ordinary woman. No, there was something familiar about her. Meanwhile the same time the flytraps slowed their licking and sucking, but did not completely stop. This lapse in intensity gave the drakes a much-needed respite, which Ekusu took advantage of first.

“W-who are you!? What are you!?” Asked Ekusu, “You smell like a dragon, but you don’t have a tail! A-and what do you mean, ‘your garden’?”

“I am Soreena, and this is my garden,” said the woman, slowly walking over to the bound drakes, “I grew these babies and tend to them almost every day of my life.” She then glared over at Ekusu and added, “And for your information, blue-boy, I am a dragon. Well, more accurately, half-dragon, half-human woman. I am a DracoWitch which, incidentally, means that I can use very powerful magic as well as draconic abilities.” She stuck out her tongue at her captives, as if to say, ‘Ha! In your faces!”    

“Please,” implored Chard, “you must release us. We mean no harm here, we’re just travelers. We just wanted to get through to the other side of the forest. That’s all! I swear!”

“Oh but you did cause harm,” said Soreena with a sneer as the drakes’ eyes widen in horror, “you filthy lizards dared to trod in MY garden with those dirty shoes! I mean, did you not see my sign!?” The angry DracoWitch gestured towards the entrance of the area where the sign stood, weathered yet still intact. Chard gazed at the enchantress, eyes wide in horror, wie stil trying to ignore the sensations from the vines. Ekusu, however, scoffed and tried to protest but was cut short as yet another vine wrapped tight around his muzzle. Then, as if to make things even worse, the flytraps started up again. The drakes began to tremble and fidget as their bodies were assaulted once more. 

“Oh nohohohoh!” Screeched Chard, “nahahahahahahat agahahahahahain! Hahahahahahahahaha! Plehehehehehehehehehease!!!”

“MMMMPPPFFFFF!!!,” Grumbled Ekusu, his speech reduced to a muffle by the vines, “NHMMHMMHMMHMM!!! MNOOOOOOPH!!!”

But Soreena did not listen, for she was still upset with the drakes for desecrating her precious garden. She merely began to wave her hands and softly chant in a dialect unknown to either captive dragon; suddenly, two strange objects began to take form before the DracoWitch At the end of her mysterious incantation, two blindfolds fully materialized, floating above the palms of Soreena’s outstretched hands – one was cherry-red and the other was sky-blue. She snapped her fingers; the blindfolds flew over to and placed themselves over the eyes of the bound drakes: the red one over Chard’s and the blue one over Ekusu’s. With his vision gone, Ekusu began to fidget and utter muffled screams more than before, while Chard began shaking his head in an attempt to shake off the blindfold.

“Plehehehehehehehease!” Cried Chard, tears now gently rolling down his face, “Ihihihihihi beheheheheg ohohohohof yohouhouhouhouhou! L-let us gohohohohoho! We did not mean to desecrate you garden! Hahahahahahahahahaha! I s-swear to you, L-lady Soreena! W-we will leave and never bother you again! Ahahahahahahahaha!”

“Mmmmmmmm……….very well,” said Soreena, stroking a free flytrap that eased its way over to her side, “but only after your punishment.” This statement cause Chard to whimper meekly before Soreena continued, “you two will give nourishment to my garden, as your atonement.”

“Ahaha! Ihihihihi! I-I d-don’t understand! Hahah!” Said Ekusu, trying his hardest not to laugh, “Wh-what do you mean, ‘give nourishment’?”

“Oh it’s quite simple really. You and your brother will donate your ‘essences’ to my babies here.” As she spoke, Soreena continued to stroke the flytrap, which seemed to be purring, like a cat, as though enjoying the feeling. “That will be your way of apologizing for stepping on them with those filthy boots of yours!” 

Chard opened his mouth to speak, but gave a gasp as the flytraps once again sped up their work. Ekusu was lost in his frustration; muffled, yet furious giggles and grunts escaping his bound muzzle. But strangely enough Chard had seemingly surrendered to his plant-captors, relaxing in the confinement. And even more odd still, not once more did Chard ask to be released. The flytraps then switched tactics, so as to finish things quickly and receive their ‘snack’. The ones working on the dragon feet slowed to a simple pace (about two licks per – second) while the ones working on the dragon cocks sped way up, causing the bound drakes to struggle and moan once again.

Although time passed normally all around, for Chard and Ekusu it seemed to lag on and on. A few measly seconds seemed to be an eternity for the helpless dragons. Finally, after five long, drawn-out minutes, Chard and Ekusu felt a sensation building up within their cocks. Then, arching their backs as much as they could within their confinement, the drakes each uttered a deep moan before releasing the seed into the mouths of their plant-captors. Finally receiving their treat, the flytraps gulped deeply and enjoyed every last drop of the precious essence. The dragon brothers then slumped, exhausted from the tongue torment, their minds hazy. Looking to his left, Chard sensed that his big brother had already fallen into blissful unconsciousness. He, Chard, was feeling tired himself, but turned his head around as he heard the DracoWitch approached him. She began to gently stroke Chard’s head while she whispered in softly in his ear.

“Oh my,” said Soreena, as Chard fell into darkness of dreams, “you and your brother were such good boys, giving up your seed for my babies. I rather think they enjoyed how you two tasted. Especially – ”. Soreena’s voice trailed off as Chard, fully drained of strength, passed into the void of sleep and knew no more. 

Sometime later, although still unconscious, Chard could hear birds chirping, squirrels squeaking, and all of the other woodlands critters speaking in their natural tongue. Suddenly, Chard’s eyes snapped open and he let out a sharp gasp as he awoke from his nap. Breathing frantically, he moved his neck left and right, trying to get a better bearing on the situation. His eyes then fell upon his sleeping elder brother. Quickly but gently, Chard moved over and began to shake his brother.

“Ekusu! Ekusu, wake up!” Called Chard shaking the sleeping dragon’s arm, “Hey, come on now! Get up, big brother!” As he spoke, the orange drake lightly slapped his brother’s cheek, jolting the slumbering blue drake back to consciousness.

“Uuuuuuaggh!? Huh!?” Blustered Ekusu, looking around frantically, “C-Chard!? Wh-what’s going on!? Where is the DracoWitch!?”

“Whoa, whoa!” Said Chard, placing a placating hand on his elder brother’s shoulder, “Ekusu, relax! It’s ok now. Look! We’re not snared or even in that garden anymore. It’s ok, calm down.” Seeing that his younger brother was correct, Ekusu took a deep breath and took in his surroundings. After a brief moment in which he calmed down, Ekusu turned to face the orange drake.

“Where are we now, brother?” asked Ekusu, “And what happened to us?” It was transparently clear that the blue drake was still a bit on edge and very confused. Thus, Chard spoke gently, trying his best to answer his brother’s questions.

“Well, I’m not sure what happened after we…uh, released our loads, but I do know where we are. We’re on the other end of the Everglade Forest. Look!” Ekusu followed finger Chard was pointing and felt his jaw fall open in surprise. There in the distance, in all its ancient glory, stood the DracoScion Temple. They had reached their goal! Chard then noticed something fastened around Ekusu’s neck.

“Wait, what’s that on your neck, big brother?” He asked, pointing to the object in question. Ekusu looked down at his neck to see an elegant, sapphire-blue collar fastened around his neck, adorned with a beautiful polished silver coin tag. Upon further inspection, he found that the tag was engraved with simple, curved ‘E ’. Looking up to face his brother, Ekusu saw that he too bore a collar, this one cherry-red, around his neck.

“Chard, look,” said Ekusu, pointing, “you have one too! Why are we wearing these collars?” Chard gave a happy chuckle as he started to finger the tag on his collar, this one engraved with and elegant ‘C ’. He shrugged as he responded to the grumpy-looking, blue drake.

“I dunno, big brother,” said Chard, still smiling, “but I like it. Hehehe.” Ekusu snorted and scoffed at his little brother’s foolishness, but stopped short when a giggling voice spoke up.

“Well, I’m glad at least one of you like my gift,” said Soreena, appearing next to Chard in a flash of light, “they suit you both in my opinion. Don’t you agree?” As she spoke, the DracoWitch gently stroked Chard’s head, eliciting a cute giggle and making the orange drake wag his tail like a pup. “Thank you both so much for your help. I honestly don’t think my darlings have ever had so much fun. They were all so happy after you fed them, you know.

“You’re quite welcome,” said Chard, enjoying the stroking, “it was the least we could do after we ignored that sign, trespassed on your property, and tread upon your plants. And honestly, I enjoyed it too, mistress.” The young drake blushed and a gave a bashful smile to the DracoWitch as he realized what he just said. 

Ekusu huffed, crossed his arms, and looked away with his nose pointed in the air. Soreena giggled, seeing Ekusu try to put on a tough act. However, she could see right through his tough-guy charade and strode over to give the blue drake a few light pokes in the belly as she spoke.

“Oh come on now, Ekusu,” said Soreena, hugging his belly, “I know you enjoyed the experience and deep down, you know you enjoyed it as well.” After grumbling a bit, and blushing himself, Ekusu chuckle lightly and returned the hug. Then, Chard walked forward and voiced a question that was nagging at him.

“Emmm, excuse me, Soreena?” Said Chard in meek voice, the blush still in his face, “What happens now? I mean, we’re wearing these beautiful collars here. Does this mean that the two of us are your pets now?” Ekusu raised an eyebrow, flabbergasted that his little brother would ask such a question. Soreena, however, giggled at the young drake’s humbleness and submissive nature. She moved forward to place a warm kiss on Chard’s head before she responded. 

“Hehe, no honey, you’re not,” said Soreena, kindly, “while I did love playing with you two, I could never hold you here. You must go on to the temple to train. The collars are simply mementos to remember me by.” She kissed Ekusu’s head next before continuing on. “However, I would like it very much if you both could stop by and visit me sometime. You know, and perhaps help to nourish my babies some more?” The two drakes’ eyes widen as they were taken aback. But they nodded and wagged their tails in consent. Soreena then waved her hands and caused the dragons’ ruck sacks, cloaks, socks, and shoes to appear before her, stacked and folded in two separate piles. Taking their belongings back, Chard and Ekusu quickly re-robed themselves before setting off toward the temple. As they walked away, Soreena waved to them, and they waved back, confident that they would meet again someday.

Epilogue

Three years had passed since Chard and Ekusu had entered the Everglade Forest and wandered into that flytrap garden on that fateful day. Since then, the two drakes had become members of the DracoScion Temple and were now both Adepts in the order. Ekusu tended to devote himself more to physical training, i.e. sparring with the other drakes, learning more draconic magic, training with weaponry, etcetera. Chard, on the other hand, spent his time cloistered in the temple library, buried in the books and scrolls. While Ekusu was distracting himself with physical training, Chard found himself missing Soreena. Since coming to the temple, Chard and Ekusu had been very busy with their training and studies. As such, they had very little free time and virtually no opportunities to go and visit the DracoWitch. 

Chard shook his head as he picked up a scroll with details on advanced fire magics and opened it. He had just barely begun to read when he felt somedrake tap his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a dragon with two horns and a chocolate-colored scales standing in front of his table.

“Elder Vaeros wish to see you, Brother Chard,” said the dragon, “he is waiting for you in the alchemy wing.” With a nodded and a word of thanks, Chard rolled up and replaced the scroll before leaving the library. I wonder why the Elder wishes to see me Chard mused. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Chard walked down the hall and approached a door on the left. He pushed the door open and entered the lab, only find his elder brother there waiting as well.

“Oh, Ekusu,” said Chard waving, “the Elder summoned you as well?”

“Yes brother,” said Ekusu, gesturing, “here he comes now.” Sure enough, another dragon was approaching them from the other side of the room. Vaeros, like Chard and Ekusu, was a Charizard, but one of great age and wisdom. His scales and tailflame were both a deep, blood-red color and he carried long oak staff that came up to his chest. The Elder tender to use this staff quite a lot due to a wound he had sustained in a training accident many, many years ago. The red drake smiled as he set his staff upon the ground and addressed his pupils.

“Ah Chard, Ekusu,” said Vaeros, his voice deep, yet rich and comforting as always, “I’m glad you could come. Well, I’ll get straight to the point. Our stores of medicinal herbs and alchemy ingredients is running low. I thought you two could go and fetch some more for me.” Seeing the young drake about to inquire, he quickly added, “Before you ask, I picked you because, while you both are very devoted to our order and your dreams, you both tend to stay inside the temple too much. You could use some fresh air. So, will you go?” After a brief pause for contemplation, the dragon brothers bowed before their master. 
“Yes Elder. We would be happy to collect what you need,” they said together. Nodding in approval, Vaeros then presented the brothers with a scroll of parchment and two cotton satchels.

“Excellent! Well, here is the list of items we need collected and a satchel for both each of you to place your acquisitions. There is a nearby swamp south from here where you can find what you seek. Off you go then.”

With that, Chard and Ekusu bowed once before leaving the lab and then exiting the temple to head towards the swamp. Once there, the two drakes started to collect the items listed on the parchment. It wasn’t too long before they had over half the list collected as they moved deeper into the swamp. 

“Well,” said Ekusu, wiping his brow, “we almost have everything we need, eh Chard?” The younger drake nodded as he wiped his own brow.

“Indeed brother,” said Chard, “but it looks like we’ve cleared this area. I guess we’ll need to go farther into the swamp to find the rest.” Nodding, Ekusu strode forward and led the way, Chard following close behind. Ten minutes later, the duo came upon a pool of mud water that blocked off a section of the swamp – a section where there grew the remaining ingredients on the list. 

“(Sigh) Well, I guess we have to cross this dirty pool to get our query, little brother,” said Ekusu, bending down to unlace his boots. 

“Ewwww,” said Chard, “ well, I guess there is no other choice, is there?” Shaking his head, the orange drake hastened to copy his elder brother. Once the boots were off, the drakes sat down and began to slowly strip off their socks. One by one, four dragon feet were bared and placed upon the earth. After placing their socks in their boots and the tying those boot lace over their necks, Chard and Ekusu both strode forward, holding their satchels above their heads, and began to walk in the water. 

It was lukewarm and slimy, and also a little bit slick. It was also fairly deep, as it came up to their waists. Indeed, if not for their clawed dragon feet, the drakes would’ve fallen over several times. Suddenly, a tingly sensation in his feet made Ekusu stop briefly. But he shrugged it off and continued on. Chard, however, felt the same type of sensation and drew closer to his elder brother. 

“Ehhh, Ekusu?” Said Chard in a whisper, “Did you feel that? It felt like somethin was licking my foot!” Ekusu merely snorted and continued on.

“It’s nothing Chard,” said Ekusu, “just keep going. Our goal is in sight, little brother.” But Chard couldn’t ignore it, as it had now shifted to his belly. Then, both drakes burst laughing once more.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Cried Ekusu, “WHAHAHAHAHAHAT’S GOHOHOHOHOHOHOHING  OHOHOHOHOHOHOHN!!??” Through his giggling and laughing, Chard focused and saw that many of the swamp creatures, such as water snakes, frogs, and some fish no bigger than their hands had begun to lick their feet and bellies.

“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!” Cried Chard, “NAHAHAHAHAHAHAT AGAHAHAHAHAHAHAIN!!”

“CHAHAHAHAHARD!” Called Ekusu, “WH-WHATEVER YWE DOHOHOHOHOHO, WEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE CAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAN’T STHOHOHOHOHOHOP WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHALKING AHAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHIHIF WE DO, WEHEHEHEHEHEHE’LL SIHIHIHIHIHNK!” Nodding despite laughing, the two drakes gave it their all before they reached a point in the middle of the pool where they found two vines tied around a hanging tree branch. They each grasped a vine so they wouldn’t sink, but they could not lift their bodies away from the tickley tongues. Desperate they both gave one mighty cry to the heavens above.

“HEHEHEHEHELP!!!” They yelled, despairing that they would drown. Then, when they feared all was lost, they heard a familiar sultry, female voice. The drakes’ eyes widen as realization washed over them.

“Well hello there, boys!”