Ninian trembled again, knowing that she had to get a hold of herself before she completely flew off the handle. It was times like this that she really hated being a female, and it took a lot of control for her to keep her human form. 'Of all the times I had to go into heat …' She thought to herself, rubbing her back against the tree she leaned on. It had happened before, as she was capable of breeding, but it had only come once every hundred years or so, and never before at such an awkward and inconvenient time. 'Couldn't it have waited until I returned to Paradise?' Ninian sighed, closing her eyes as her inner dragon fire began to surge and race in her blood, eager for release.

None of her current companions knew that Ninian and her brother were dragons, and Ninian had full intention of keeping it that way. Nils didn't have a problem blending in (he wasn't done growing, and didn't have to worry about this sort of hormonal imbalance yet, curse his furry little tail), and while Ninian was normally perfectly capable of hiding her heritage as well, her body had decided to throw a wrench in her strategy and went into heat. 'Not that I tried to avoid it at all …' Ninian flushed, her mind pulling up an image of the human male who was probably the reason her body had woken up in the first place.

Eliwood of Pherae … Ninian shivered in delight at the thought of him, a smile working onto her face as the thought of mating with the redhead jumped to the forefront of her mind. As soon as it had registered, however, Ninian flushed bright red and shook her head to dispel the image, ashamed that she had even thought of such a thing. 'No … no, he wouldn't do that … especially not if he knew …'

"Ah, there you are, Ninian." The familiar voice made Ninian's head jerk up from where it rested, her face flushing bright red as Eliwood walked up to her. He was dressed casually, hands tucked into his pants pockets as he smiled at Ninian. "I figured that I would find you out here; it's quite noisy in the camp." He stated, still smiling. Ninian didn't respond, but stared at him, face flushed. It seemed Eliwood was worried about her silence, because he looked at her more closely, crystal blue eyes worried. "Is something wrong, Ninian? You look flushed." Eliwood knelt before Ninian, voice obviously worried.

Inside her mind, Ninian was warring with two very different thoughts; her sensible, modest self was trying to tell her to get a hold of herself and talk to Eliwood like she always did, but her horny, sexually repressed dragonic half was screaming at her to jump on Eliwood and mate with him. "I ... I'm fine." Ninian squeaked after a moment, face red as was physically possible as she looked away from Eliwood. It seemed that he didn't believe her, because the next time Ninian looked, he was directly in front of her.

"You're face looks like it's burning; do you have a fever?" Eliwood's voice continued on in his gentle tone, a hand reaching out to brush against Ninian's forehead. The slight contact made Ninian shiver, and it took a lot of control not to moan out loud at the redhead's touch. Eliwood didn't seem to notice, because his hand slipped down Ninian's face to rest on her cheek. "If you're overworked, don't be afraid to take a break; nobody's going to think any less of you if you –" Eliwood's voice cut off as something wrapped around his wrist, stopping his hand while Ninian visibly shuddered happily, her flush fading. As soon as she saw what was holding Eliwood's wrist, however, her face returned to its previous color and then became even brighter.

It was her tail.

'Oh no … oh no oh no oh no no no nooo ….' Ninian moaned mentally, watching Eliwood as he stared at the tail in confusion, obviously trying to figure out where it had come from. Looking down at her lap, Ninian felt all of the hair on the back of her neck stand upright as Eliwood pulled his trapped hand out of her tail's grip, and began running his fingers down it, ruffling the fur. The sensation made Ninian shudder again, a weak moan leaving her mouth.

Eliwood seemed to have heard the noise, because he studied Ninian's face for a moment, smiling when she clapped her hands over her mouth to hide her moan. His fingers buried themselves in the fur beneath his hand, making Ninian moan again weakly as Eliwood began to scratch the skin beneath his fingers. "So this is yours." He stated simply, a chuckle leaving his mouth. Ninian looked up at him for a long moment, a flush across her face turning her cheeks pink as she nodded, waiting for the look of disgust.

It never came; instead, Eliwood seemed more amused than anything else, and he began running his fingers through Ninian's fur again. "You know, I never would have guessed that dragons were furred." He muttered, chuckling when he saw the way Ninian purred at the touch. Cocking his head to one side in a curious manner, Eliwood let go of Ninian's tail to lean over her, brushing her hair away from her face as she stared at him. "Well, at least this explains why Nergal is so desperate to capture you and Nils; he mentioned that humans couldn't open the Dragon's Gate." He mumbled, kissing Ninian's forehead as she blinked and registered what he was saying.

"You mean ... you knew?" She asked weakly, feeling her tail curl up around her waist. The kiss to the forehead was nice, and she swore she heard Eliwood chuckle under his breath as he settled himself beside her, making her heart beat faster. 'Why did I have to fall so hard for him?' she wondered as she looked at him.

Eliwood shook his head, still smiling. "I wouldn't say I knew, but it was a suspicion on my part." He admitted, running fingers through Ninian's hair. "It does make sense though, so it doesn't really shock me." After giving Ninian a tender look, Eliwood wrapped an arm around her shoulder when he saw her face turn downcast. "I'm not angry with you." He stated gently, leaning his head against hers. "I meant what I said; I do love you … this doesn't change my mind at all."

Ninian felt her heart jump, unconsciously nuzzling against Eliwood as he spoke. She liked his warmth, and as he basically said that he didn't care, a faint smile came across her face, and her tail slipped around him again. "I … I was just nervous …" Ninian mumbled, burying her face in Eliwood's shoulder to hide her embarrassed expression. Eliwood didn't say anything, instead opting to run his fingers through Ninian's hair as she went on. "It was just … I didn't know how anyone would handle it … dragons are supposed to be gone from Elibe, and the first one you encountered would have killed you if it hadn't died."

Eliwood chuckled again and nuzzled Ninian affectionately, not noticing the way she stiffened and flushed again. "You're obviously not that type of dragon, or you would have killed anyone that tried to harm your brother." He pointed out, smiling into Ninian's hair. "And … in all honesty, I never once asked you about this before because … I never think about it when I'm around you." Eliwood paused for a moment, and then pulled Ninian onto his lap. Smiling when she squeaked and looked at him, Eliwood wrapped his arms around her waist and bumped their foreheads together. Blue eyes stared into red for a long moment, silence settling around them both before Eliwood laughed lightly. "In fact, if it weren't for the fact that your tail's wrapped around my waist, I would have already dismissed it." He teased, finally stealing a kiss on the mouth as Ninian registered that her tail was indeed where the lordling said it was, making her flush slightly at the kiss.

Inside, her instincts were waking again, both sides utterly relieved that Eliwood had accepted it so well. Her dragonic half, however, seemed even more eager to mate than before, registering the redhead's scent as something that belonged to her. Opening her eyes to stare at Eliwood once the kiss had broken, Ninian felt her desire surge as he pulled her flush up against him and leaned against the tree, obviously content with his current position. 'Oh for the love of … TAKE HIM ALREADY!' Ninian's dragon half finally shouted, pouncing on her more modest human self to keep it silent. Ninian blushed at the statement, but given her current position, she was more inclined to agree with it, and finally gave in when Eliwood kissed her forehead again.

Sitting up more in his lap, Ninian stared at Eliwood for a long moment, tail uncoiling slightly and beginning to twitch behind her. Eliwood, confused, gave her a worried look. "Is something wrong?" He asked, only to find himself cut off as Ninian instigated the next kiss, face bright red as she let her hands slip into Eliwood's red hair. Stunned, he felt his body kick into gear after a few seconds of mental blankness, and kissed back, tightening the grip he had on the dragon girl to press her back against his chest, back against the tree.

Pulling away to breathe, Ninian stared at Eliwood with a bright red face as she panted, completely unable to excuse her behavior. Eliwood, however, simply chuckled again and pulled her back down for another kiss, apparently understanding and responding to the heat that was coursing through Ninian's body. Melting between his warmth and the fire in her veins, Ninian moaned, but epped a second later as Eliwood's tongue slipped into her mouth. A purr left her mouth, and she was only faintly aware of her tail beginning to wag.

The next time Eliwood let Ninian pull away to breathe, he was on his back with her sitting above him and staring, tail still wagging slightly at the sudden rush of affection. "Hehe … So dragons do go into heat." Eliwood teased, obviously amused as Ninian leaned over him again, her red eyes now slit-pupiled. Running her hands down Eliwood's front, she purred again as he moaned at the contact.

"You're not above it yourself~" Ninian purred, hands slipping beneath the fabric of her mate's shirt. Mentally thanking that he had decided to go without the navy blue tunic he normally wore, she slipped the shirt off of Eliwood, discarding the fabric as soon as it was clear of his arms. Still sitting on top of Eliwood, Ninian continued to run her hands down his chest, giggling at the way he moaned and flushed in response. Leaning in closer, she kissed him again, faintly feeling his body heat up before suddenly being gripped and flipped over.

Blinking, Ninian realized that she was now on her back with Eliwood over her, the lordling chuckling in a way that could only be described as very male. His hands gripped Ninian's wrists and held them to the sides of her head, but it wasn't a tight grip, and one hand slipped into Ninian's before much longer as he eventually settled himself in a comfortable position. "How long have you been wanting to do this?" He asked in Ninian's ear, kissing the shell as the dragon girl shivered happily at the contact. Eliwood faintly felt Ninian's tail wrap around his thigh as he came in for another kiss, the hand that had been holding her wrist slipping down her arm, stopping at her shoulder for a long moment.

His typical composure was long gone by this point, completely lost for the next several moments. Ninian faint growl of pleasure was met with one of his, both hands slipping down to her back to find the ties to her dress. Ninian seemed to understand, because she arched her back towards him, fingers rubbing the small of his back while her tail tightened its coil on Eliwood's thigh, the frill brushing against his forming erection. Moaning, Eliwood pulled away, panting for breath as his fingers found the first of the ties.

Ninian moaned as well, knowing that the sounds she was hearing were positive ones, and her hands returned to Eliwood's chest. He was well built, perhaps not as bulky as some of the other men traveling with their group, but she liked it all the same. Pressing her mouth to his neck, Ninian kissed down as Eliwood's fingers undid the first tie of her dress, the touch against her shoulder blades making her moan and nip lightly.

"You're sensitive …" Eliwood's voice was a husky growl, fingers still undoing Ninian's dress. When Ninian's response was a harder nip, he purposely ran his fingers back over her shoulder blades, relishing the way she moan and shuddered at the action. Slipping his hands inside Ninian's dress, Eliwood began to pull the fabric off of her body, smirking as she squirmed to help get rid of the clothing faster. Briefly wondering if heat was contagious, he pulled the seafoam colored dress towards him, quickly directing his own mouth to Ninian's neck as her chest was exposed as well.

"I love you …" Ninian moaned, arching back against Eliwood as he began licking and nibbling his way down her neck. She could feel her tail tightening its grip momentarily before uncoiling and brushing at the telling bulge between Eliwood's legs. Her reward was a growl and a bite at the junction of her neck and shoulder, but the shudders going down Eliwood's back told Ninian that he was enjoying every moment of it. Her own body was relishing every action as well, the heat in every part of her body making her squirm out of her dress, one of Eliwood's hands helping her discard it to one side.

Tenderly wrapping his hands around Ninian's waist, Eliwood lowered her to the grassy area beneath them both to look at her. Ninian stared back at him, face flushed and smiling. Eliwood's eyes softened as he looked her over for the first time, hands running down her sides and cataloguing every inch he could easily get to. "You're beautiful …" He whispered, leaning over to kiss the bite mark he'd left on Ninian's neck. "I don't want to lose you …" Ninian sighed happily, hands wrapped around Eliwood's waist, her tail resuming its original grip around her mate's thigh.

"I'm all yours …" She mumbled, letting their foreheads bump together as Eliwood settled himself above her again, propping himself up on his forearms. "I … I want to be with you … always …" Ninian knew she was certain; nothing had ever felt this good before, and Eliwood had already accepted everything about her and clearly wanted her just as much as she desired him. "Please …" Ninian felt her voice taper off, not certain how to ask for Eliwood to claim her.

A smile flickered across Eliwood's face, blue eyes showing a passion Ninian doubted was just a mere side-effect from their actions. "As you wish …" he murmured, kissing her gently as one hand slipped back to his pants. Gripping them, he went to pull them down when he smiled, fingers brushing against Ninian's tail. "heh … you're tails going to have to move …" he whispered in her ear, only to shiver at the feeling of Ninian's tail pulling down his pants for him, leaving them both bare.

That was when Ninian's nerves began to stir slightly. She'd never mated before; despite what most people thought, dragons were very strict with mating rituals. But … the look on Eliwood's face showed utter adoration, and he was obviously willing to take her. It wouldn't be fair for him to wait … especially not after Ninian had been the one who had started this whole chain of events. Smiling shyly, Ninian pulled Eliwood down for another kiss, letting her body shift so that it would be easier for him to thrust inside.

Eliwood didn't know what felt better; the fur on Ninian's tail rubbing against his thigh, sending shockwaves of pleasure up his body as the fur stimulated his heated skin, or the moist heat that was waiting for his erection to move forward just a little and join their bodies together. Still kissing, Eliwood finally pushed himself inside, moaning as the wet heat covered the most sensitive part of his body. Stopping at the feel of resistance, Eliwood pulled away to look down into Ninian's face, hands on either side of her head. Her red eyes looked up at his face, a smile forming on her face.

"Take me …" the moan left her mouth before Ninian could register it, her tail wrapping around Eliwood's thigh once more. Her instincts had completely taken over now; she wanted to feel Eliwood inside her, wanted the fire that had made her dragon blood surge into life to be stated. Gripping Eliwood's shoulders, Ninian braced herself for the pain that she knew would come the instant her barrier broke. "Mating always hurts the first time … I've been told." She mumbled, hearing a chuckle as Eliwood kissed her lips again, hips moving forward once more.

Ninian hunched up, whimpering as Eliwood broke through her barrier, nails biting into his shoulders. "Oh …" she whispered, trying to keep her body from rejecting the redhead's presence inside as he kissed her neck again, returning to the red mark that he had left behind before. Ninian's tail flexed again, tightening its grip on Eliwood's thigh as he pulled away and kissed at her eyes, having seen tears starting to form.

"I'm sorry … I didn't think it would hurt that much." He mumbled, a tinge of guilt filling him at Ninian's reaction. He'd known that there would be pain on her end, but actually causing it made him hurt inside. Kissing Ninian's cheek again, Eliwood grunted as her walls contracted slightly, sending a pulse of pleasure up his body. "Let me know when you want to go on …" He whispered, finally registering the pain of Ninian's nails digging into his shoulders.

"Go …" Ninian whispered, body trembling. Her dragon fire was boiling even more now, and it was demanding release in the most primal form it knew. Eliwood growled lowly, feeling her contract again, and thrust inside of Ninian's body again. The pain that had come the first time vanished, and Ninian moaned happily as the pleasure began to swamp her veins. Eliwood's responding groan made her arch her back, giving him an easier grip as he thrust inside her more and more, his pace increasing readily.

"Mine …" Eliwood didn't recognize his own voice at first, too busy claiming the dragon girl that was clinging to his body. Hearing the throaty growl leave his throat made a shiver run down his back, and whatever shred of rational thinking he'd managed to retain was gone. Ninian's responding moans and little noises drove him over the edge, and he began to thrust harder. "All mine …" Lowering his head again, Eliwood felt himself groan as Ninian bit at his neck the same way he had earlier.

"And you're all mine … my mate …" Ninian purred in response, hips tilting upward to guide Eliwood to the spot that he'd just grazed. The change in position resulted in him hitting the spot dead on, making a noise that was a mix of a scream and moan leave Ninian in a hot rush, face scrunched up. She was near the edge already ... "Eliwood ...!"

"Ninian …" Eliwood dug his hands into the grass beneath them, feeling his energy beginning to slack. The sensations running through his body were driving him blissfully insane, and the sharp jabs of pain from Ninian's nails digging into his shoulders a counterpoint that just made him go faster, body screaming for release.

It took only a few more moments before Ninian found the edge and went over, biting Eliwood's shoulder to keep from screaming as her lower body clenched around his length, dragging him with her as he released with a moan, spilling his seed into her empty womb before collapsing on top of her. Ninian panted, face red as she stared at the leafy canopy over them both, tail slipping away from Eliwood's thigh to rest on the ground. Eliwood was obviously just as tired as she was, if not more; he simply laid where he was on top of her, panting into her neck.

"… hehe … You … feeling more like yourself?" Eliwood finally asked after a good long while, brushing his sweaty bangs out of his face as he rolled onto his back, removing his body from Ninian's. Protesting the separation with a whimper, Ninian sat up and leaned over Eliwood, who was still panting from exhaustion. "Hi …" he mumbled simply, smiling when he saw the way Ninian giggled at him and shyly kissed his forehead. "Seriously … how long have you been waiting for me to … well …" the way Eliwood looked away showed that his normal composure had returned, making Ninian giggle more.

"… Long enough …" she admitted, finally lying down on top of Eliwood, enjoying the feeling of his bare body against hers. Tail resting across the back of her legs, Ninian continued, "But, like I said before … I was nervous; I didn't know how well you would take to me being what I am … Or how well you would take it if I merely asked you to mate with me." Eliwood laughed at that, wrapping his arms loosely around Ninian's waist so that they could look at one another more comfortably. Smiling, Ninian rested her head on Eliwood's chest, enjoying the thump of his heartbeat as it slowed back down to its normal rate. "I enjoyed this very much. Thank you for letting me … share something this precious with you."

Eliwood simply smiled at her, nuzzling her cheek. "The feeling's mutual." He mumbled against her neck, kissing the red mark from earlier. "I'm just glad your brother didn't try to come looking for you as well; I don't think he would have liked seeing us mating like that." He laughed lightly, although it was a serious concern of his; while he and Nils were on good terms, Eliwood doubted the young bard would have enjoyed seeing his sister entangled with the redheaded lord. Judging by the look that had crossed Ninian's face at Eliwood's suggestion, she wasn't too keen to find out what would have happened either. "It's safe to assume that he's a dragon too, isn't it?" Eliwood asked softly after a long moment of silence, staring up at the leaves and felt Ninian nod her agreement more than he saw it.

"He … he was the one who was worried the most about how you would all handle it." Ninian mumbled, burying her face in the junction of Eliwood's neck and shoulder. Her tail had begun to wrap around Eliwood's waist again, the position feeling natural. "If he had seen us … it would not have been pretty, especially not with my tail acting the way it is." At this, she glared at the fifth limb with a pout, as if it had a mind of its own, prompting a laugh out of Eliwood.

Silence settled over them for several more moments, Eliwood eventually rubbing Ninian's back as she purred and rested against him. The fact that they were completely naked didn't seem to register in Eliwood's head until a breeze brushed past them, making him shiver. "Come on … we should head back to the others." He mumbled into Ninian's hair, not wanting to separate from her. Ninian's responding sigh was equally unhappy, and she sat up slowly, her tail unwinding from her mate's waist before eventually vanishing as if it was never there. Eliwood still smiled up at her face. "We'll be able to spend more time together soon." He pointed out, kissing her forehead again as he grabbed for his clothing.

Ninian smiled, but then pouted again. "But not like this … we won't get another moment like this for a long time." She whispered, sad that their quiet moment had to end. Eliwood paused and looked at her in the middle of pulling on his pants, seeing the upset look on her face. Once he had pulled his pants up completely, he knelt in front of Ninian again and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"We've waited this long to be like this … it shouldn't be that much harder to wait for another time." He mumbled, smiling. A depressing thought came to his mind, sobering him. "And … if one of us doesn't make it through all of this, we'll have at least shared the experience once." Ninian shivered at what the statement implied, but she didn't try to fight it off as it was the truth.

"Yes …" She agreed, and mutely began to pull her dress back on as Eliwood restored his shirt. Letting her mate do up the back laces, she finally realized what about his smell was so familiar. "Are you around Fireflower often?" She asked as Eliwood redid his belt, prompting him to stare at her in confusion.

"Mother grows a garden of it back home. Why?" Eliwood asked, watching with interest as Ninian giggled and wrapped both of her arms around one of his. Standing on tiptoe, she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before whispering in his ear.

"Fireflower is the cure to Dragonsbane." She explained, smiling as she relished in the familiar smell that had always meant safety to her, even as a small girl. Eliwood nodded in understanding as they walked back, tugging his arm out of Ninian's grasp wrap it around her waist.

"At least we don't have to worry about anyone trying to poison you then." He commented idly, laughing loudly when Ninian gave him a playful shove and a laugh. Stumbling, Eliwood trotted back over to Ninian's side, only to tickle the back of her neck, resulting in a playful smack that he returned with a poke in the side. By the time they were in site of the camp, both of them were jogging, Ninian holding up one side of her skirt as she chased after her mate, playfully threatening to pin him down and tickle him when she caught up with him. Eliwood's response was to pause just long enough for Ninian to get close enough to grab his arm, only to trot away again, laughing at the look on her face as she laughed as well, still yelling at him to slow down.

… Perhaps there was a good thing to going into heat after all.

... Yes, yes, I know, this would SO not happen in the canon storyline, but oh well, I was bored and in a mood to write smut.

And before anyone asks, Dragonsbane is a mythical herb that was used to poison dragons. Think of it as the dragon equivalent of cyanide to pigeons or humans.