Demesne Patron EX SS 10 - Riz and the Dragon (Patreon)

The cold stone walls of the Dungeon had never been more reassuring to Riz than now.

Outside, the dragon raged, and she could hear the ones on duty struggling to push out the creatures that were trying to enter through the air holes. Inside, there was only the sounds of people sleeping, or pretending to sleep at least, of quiet murmurs that might have been people talking quietly, and the occasional hurried footsteps of someone going to the lavatory. Even the echoes of people eating or playing or talking in the dining hall seemed muted.

Idly, Riz wondered if that was something Binder Lori had done.

In the alcove that her family had set up in, their few belongings in the corner, Riz lay in her bedroll and tried to sleep as she'd been ordered to do when Binder Lori had gone up to her own rooms. It was difficult. Her own memory and imagination were turning against her, and when she closed her eyes, she heard roaring winds, branches breaking, and the dull sounds of rocks and other things falling from the sky to land far too close for comfort.

Carefully, Riz quietly left her bedroll and stepped out of the alcove. She walked aimlessly, carefully avoiding the people who were sleeping out in the middle of the floor because they thought the alcoves were for storing things only, or felt they needed more space, or whatever color-brained reason they had for sleeping where people had to walk—

"Can't sleep?"

Riz nearly jumped at the sudden quiet voice behind her, and she whirled. "Don't do that!" she snapped.

Mikon actually looked apologetic. "Sorry. I was trying to be quiet."

"Well… you were," Riz finished weakly.

"Sorry," Mikon said, her small smile contrite. "Would you like some company?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

A shrug. "I'm not that tired yet either, I suppose."

Riz gave her a half-lidded look. "Well, I need to go to sleep. I can't walk outside so I thought I'd do a few laps of the levels."

Mikon nodded. "I'll join you, then. I need to go to sleep myself. We can get tired together. Though if you just want to get sleepy, you can try sleeping on my lap again."

"I think I'll try walking first," Riz said dryly.

"That's fair," Mikon said. "To be honest, I can't think of where I could sit down that would let us both sleep."

Riz rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's the problem. Aren't you embarrassed at all?"

"What's embarrassing about having you sleeping on my lap?"

"It makes us look like lovers," Riz said.

It was Mikon's turn to roll her eyes. "Oh how terrible. People think a beautiful woman is my lover. How can I stand the embarrassment?"

"Well, I'd rather not have Rian get the wrong idea," Riz said.

"He doesn't seem likely to get any idea any time soon, whether right or wrong," Mikon said dryly.

The two of them sighed.

"Come on, let's walk," Riz said, deciding the other woman's company wouldn't be too bad. She was far better company than Umu, who was like an aggressive little petbeast that hadn't gotten her teeth filed down sometimes.

They walked along the edges of the dining hall, where dinner was being kept hot in case anyone else woke up hungry. Over at the entrance, Lord Rian was standing guard with the night shift. Riz was tempted to go over there… but no. That wouldn't be appropriate. It was all right to flirt if they were stationed together, but going out of her way there… yeah, she'd never hear the end of it from her friends. Riz led them away from the entrance, and was glad Mikon followed her lead, though the other woman's eyes turned to glance at Rian as well.

They walked a circuit around the dining hall, back down to the second level, and back up again.

"Feeling sleepy yet?" Mikon asked.

"Maybe I shouldn't have taken so many naps today," Riz muttered.

She felt Mikon's hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring pat. "Well, you felt you needed the rest," Mikon said. "Do you want to try my lap again?"

For a moment, they continued walking in silence.

"…all right…" Riz sighed.

She had to admit, it had been comfortable to lie down on.

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As Riz lay down on her bed roll, her head on Mikon's lap in place of her pillow, she contemplated that she hadn't misremembered. The other woman's thighs were indeed very comfortable to lie down on.

She could have done without the hand gently stroking her hair like a child, but Mikon seemed to find it relaxing, so she allowed it. After all, Riz was getting to use her lap, so she decided Mikon could use her hair.

…

All right, having her hair stroked was making her sleepy…

Riz slept on softness, and when she closed her eyes, there was only the feeling of a hand on her head and the scent of a woman…

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In hindsight, Riz didn't think this through very well.

"Erzebed, are you going to introduce us?" she heard as soon as she foolishly opened her eyes.

Her aunt Milcarra was looking over them, one pale pink, almost silvery eyebrow arched parentally.

"This isn't what it looks like," Riz blurted out instantly.

The other eyebrow joined its sibling. "It looks like you invited someone home to sleep with you."

"Nothing happened," Riz said defensively. She tried to rise, only to find that there was a hand on her shoulder and another one on her head. She looked up and found Mikon asleep, leaning against the wall with Riz's pillow behind her head. "And don't be so loud, we have a guest."

"She's not a guest until you introduce her," her aunt said.

"You know who she is!" Riz hissed.

"She still hasn't been introduced." Her aunt was clearly enjoying this.

Riz quickly found the effect of her pleasant sleep fading fast as she grit her teeth. "I'm not waking her up. That would be rude."

Her aunt smiled. "I can wait."

Riz was never going to live this down, was she? Sighing, she closed her eyes, resolutely ignoring her aunt, and hoped Mikon slept for a little longer—

"Temporary Rian, wake up. It's time to work."

Oh, colors.