12 Uncomfortable Lessons

As the food cooked Talian looked around the lair, his eyes sweeping over the sparseness of the cavern, with the only occupation seeming to have been done by the kobold. Glancing to Destorianaxe the elf shook his head, "Was no thought put into where your teacher would be staying?" The young dragon blinked a bit and looked around uncertain for a second before replying, "Is there something wrong with here?"

The elf dropped his face into his palm and grumbled under his breath, DG laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as he settled in near by, "Did warn you."

Talian shot a glare the draconic mans way, "You did indeed but it seems she has no idea about anything, which begs the question what you're going to do when she learns of what you've been up to."

DG grinned and shrugged seemingly unconcerned, "As the saying goes, can't uncook the rice. What's done is done."

Destorianaxe watched the back and forth before looking to her guide, "What has he done now?"

Talian grumbled, the tips of his ears turning a touch red, "He introduced himself to your kobold friend there."

Destorianaxe nodded, "Indeed then he took her out for some exercise, why would I be mad about that?"

Talian leveled an blank stare at her, his ears now completely red and the flush was quickly spreading to his face, "He took her out to have sex with her."

Destorianaxe tilted her head, "Sex? What is that?

Talian just groaned and buried his face in his hands while DG roared with laughter, "Elves are an uptight bunch Destorianaxe, sex implies I mated with her."

Destorianaxe lifted her head in alarm looking from DG to Stares at Skies Vast and back again, her yellow eyes flaring as a low growl rumbled in her breast, the draconic man held up his hands taking a step back, "Hey now, no need to get riled up, I did not force her. At her heart she wanted to lay a clutch and I helped her since it's unlikely you'd go out of your way to bring in a male for her as a companion."

Destorianaxe looked to Talian, she had to admit other than her own brothers advances the concept of mating was a fairly negative situation in her mind, but by the same time, she also knew what it was like to be lonely. Perhaps DG had merely given the kobold what she wanted still she looked to her new teacher, "Mating, as I have been exposed to it, was the suggestion that my brother would use me for breeding, is this sex he speaks of different?"

Talian sighed, by now the elf's face was looking like it could start spontaneously bleeding at any time and whispered, "This is not a proper talk to have."

Destorianaxe growled, "Then it IS the same?!"

DG sighed looking to Talian, "May as well get it out of the way old chap, though please leave the birds and the bees out of the lesson."

Destorianaxe turned her attention to DG, "What do flying vermin have to do with this?"

Talian sighed wishing the mountain would just swallow him whole, elven society hated talking about these matters, this was often something explained when you reached adulthood and sought a companion, not casually discussed between random individuals. Before he could even start another voice chimed in from the side, "It is different Goddess."

Stares at Skies Vast sat up on her cot looking at the trio, "Mating, sex, breeding... all same act. Intent is different. The act itself is completely natural, but the purpose is what makes it good or bad. Like you have told Goddess, your brother sought to force you to bear his children. That is bad. The Lord here gave me children so my line can continue to serve you Goddess and it is an enjoyable act between two people."

Stares at Skies Vast sighed, "Time not on my side Goddess, most my people live is ten winters. I've seen four. I will likely never return to tribe below, so Lord is only one I can seek to lay eggs with."

DG had a rather unsettled expression, "And here I thought it was my charm, why do all these local females wound me so?"

Talian finally having had a chance to breath with someone else explaining things to the young dragon turned a glare on the draconic man, "Would it kill you to shut up?"

DG laughed glancing to the elf, "It might."

Destorianaxe paid the two males little attention lowering her head to look at Stares at Skies Vast more easily, "You will lay eggs?"

Stares at Skies Vast nodded softly pressing her hand against her belly, "Lord is potent and virile. I should lay a few."

Talian couldn't help but chime in as he glared at DG, "Potent and virile? More like perverted and whorish."

DG stuck his tongue out at Talian and winked, "I'll take that as a compliment from a prudish elf."

Destorianaxe growled at the two then looked back at the kobold, "When they hatch, they will fight for survival?"

Stares at Skies Vast looked to the dragon and gave a helpless shrug, "Some what, but not like Goddess. Kobold life weak, not really predator of anything. Young are weak, can die to animals and even weather very easy. But fight each other... only later. Tribe resources limited, strong get first pick, weak help or die off. Is not pleasant thought but is what tribe is."

DG sighed cutting in, "The phrase is natural selection Destorianaxe, nature cannot support unlimited growth of any creature. Those that are born do deserve protection till they can fight for themselves but it is then up to themselves to survive. This means weaker, less capable ones fall to the way side, is just how life works. So be strong, or become someone else's property to be kept."

Stares at Skies Vast nodded sadly, "Lord says true. In tribe only way weak continue to survive is be owned by strong, they then provide. Hard life for weak, but better than dying."

Destorianaxe listened turning from the kobold and curling up on her bed, this talk of breeding and strong to weak brought up too many sour memories of her birth and early development. Curling up on her slab she rumbled softly, "If up to it, help teacher settle in."

The remaining trio looked to each other, with DG flashing the kobold a toothy grin which made the kobold shake her head, "Start to think skinny male right about Lord."

While Talian slightly frowned at being described as skinny he laughed hard at DG being shot down by the smaller female, "That one is a quick learner."

DG grumbled, "Shut it elf."

Time passed slowly, when Destorianaxe next woke Stares at Skies Vast was speaking quietly with Talian. DG seemed to have wandered off again which put her mind somewhat at ease. She still wasn't all that comfortable with the thought of DG and Stares at Skies Vast having a clutch of eggs together. Shaking her head she padded over to the pair looking over their shoulders watching Talian drawing on the stone floor with a whitish piece of stone, he would say a word then Stares at Skies Vast attempted to repeat it. Tilting her head the dragon leaned over the two startling both.

"Ack how does a dragon move that quiet!"

"Good morning Goddess!"

Destorianaxe nodded to the kobold then sat down behind the pair, "What are you doing?"

Talian coughed motioning to the scribbles on the floor, "I was teaching Stares at Skies Vast here your tongue."

Destorianaxe tilted her head, "Why would she need to know my tongue? It's not like I make a habit of licking her."

Talian blinked as Stares at Skies Vast giggled, "Goddess, he teach me to speak better."

Destorianaxe turned looking at the kobold, "Why did he not say such?"

Talian sighed, "I just had."

Destorianaxe frowned and shook her head, "So what does that task have to do with drawing on the floor of my lair?"

Talian motioned to the scribble on the floor, "Language is actually made up of two parts. What you speak and what is written. Written language allows histories and stories to be past on beyond an individuals ability to remember."

Destorianaxe stared at the elf, a little lost in his explanation, "The point of history?"

Talian smiled, "To reach new generations wisdom of ages past. In elven society our children are taught to read and write soon after they can speak. History teaches them the lore of their people, the successes, failures and warnings of what not to do themselves from the failings of those that came before."

Destorianaxe listened then tilted her head, "That is elven society, do we dragons have the same?"

Talian exclaimed, "Of course! Dragon tablets record great wisdom and spells, they're highly prized treasures of our elders!"

At first she found this talk rather dull, learning to read and write seemed bothersome until the elf mentioned it was a prerequisite of spellcasting which drew Destorianaxe's attention back to the lesson. Talian slowly explained to both dragon and kobold about the language that the wyrmling preferred they use, after a time this lesson branched out to include elvish and dwarvish, which he explained as being the language of the mountain dwelling dwarves to the north east, another handy language even if it appeared somewhat sloppy compared to the sharp angles of the elvish script.

Time marched on. From introductions on various races, it shifted to languages. Destorianaxe found she rather had little interest in the other races from Talian's perspective. The high and mighty elf was constantly comparing g everything to the Silvertree Empire, and with all others being beneath his people. Even the most basic concepts of another people were heavily laced with elvish disdain. Destorianaxe was starting to wonder if the elves liked anyone other than themselves.

Another constant was Stares at Skies Vast, with each passing week the kobold was getting larger and slower, at first the young dragon had thought that her kobold servant had been over eating but Talian had e plained this was a rather customary result of mating. Most bipedal species grew larger for months before giving birth. Kobolds and Lizardfolk were a bit different, while they did grow larger for a few months, it was only until they laid their eggs, where as humans, elves and dwarves tended to carry their young inside themselves until birth.

Destorianaxe found this revelation rather odd but was distracted by Stares at Skies Vast laying her eggs, they weren't very large compared to the eggs Destorianaxe herself had hatched from but it did explain how the kobold had turned rather spherical the past few months. Especially after the first couple saw two more eggs slither from inside the short reptile, carefully gathering them close Stares at Skies Vast had placed the eggs close to the fire pit area which, as the weather had been turning colder, had been kept fueled.

Talian explained that the baby kobolds would continue to develop inside the eggs and hatch in due course. Unlike the other humanoids, most monstrous humanoid babies tended to be ready to live as soon as they were born. Humanoid babies needed years of constant attention and care before they could even move on their own. It was apparently the trade off for the differences in lifespan. This confused Destorianaxe as she arguably would out live any elf, yet when she was born she wasn't helpless.

Talian grimaced and commented off hand, dragons were just like that. They were the exception to just about every rule. Especially ially when one considered their make up made them supremely versatile life forms, dragons could literally breed with anything alive. Unlike half elves, draconic blooded cross breeds were highly valuable to everyone. Destorianaxe tried to ask how such was possible but Talian evaded, claiming such knowledge wasn't his to share, more she should ask DG.

This lead to one of the most important lessons Talian would enlighten her with... Who and what exactly, was DG?