[michime]

Darius wrapped his arms around Tobias' body making sure to cover as much of his mate's body with his warmth.

"How would you like thick furs and hides as your winter clothes? I can bargain with a few trappers. You could wear the pelts of any creature you wanted." He looked down at Tobias' bare feet noticing they were slightly swollen from the pregnancy. "Or perhaps you wouldn't want shoes but some kind of slippers?"

[Regifortis]

"Ah...good point." Tobias thought about the very dull throb of discomfort on the bottom of his feet. "Maybe I shouldn't wear any shoes while I'm still so heavy with warriors and mages. I doubt I'll be walking long distances like this anyway," he concluded, patting his own stomach and flexing his free-hanging feet.

"Heh...I never thought any relationship I'd have would turn out to have ME be barefoot and pregnant." He pulled his King's head down to kiss him softly. "What a world!"

Neither of them commented on it yet, but Tobias was thankful that his King took the initiative to take him back down the mountain. He got to see the hallway of colored ice on the way back, too! Darius looked just as breathtaking in the soft glow: red and greens and blues and so on wrapped around the curves of his bulky musculature, making him look statuesque. He doubted his King could ever look even vaguely unattractive to him.

[michime]

Darius managed to maneuver one of his hands to the bottom of Tobias' feet and gently tickled the sole. "I would like you to keep your feet warm. Nights in the caves could get a bit chilly at times. Maybe a nice pair of socks or some fuzzy slippers?" He teased before he carried Tobias into the bedroom chamber.

"Let's get you all nice and toasty under the covers."

[Regifortis]

"Well, when you put it that way...!" Tobias jerked a little and chuckled at his King tickling him of all things. The more he learned about his mate's personality, the more it became clear that his mate was used to doing whatever he damn well pleased, no matter what others thought of him. "Some slippers would be nice. I just hope I don't wear them out."

He nuzzled Darius after he got settled into bed. "Feel free to cozy up to me anytime. Although..." He thought of the book they left by the spring. "I'm not exactly sleepy. Maybe we could read something? Like what Livian suggested, something about the beginning of Dragon Kings...? If I understood that right? I don't suppose you have any book like that in here, do you?"

[michime]

"I didn't bring you to sleep, cherished," Darius explained as he set his mate down in the middle of the bed. "You're getting bigger with every breath, Tobias. I would have you here and settled comfortably than walking around the cave system when your belly finally becomes too big for you to carry."

He smirked when Tobias brought up the books. "I'll bring several from the library."

[Regifortis]

"I didn't figure you did, to be fair," rebutted Tobias. "But I guess you're right. I'll be too big to move before I know it." He surprised himself with how casually he said it. The thought of being pinned down by eggs and whelps in a massive, stretched stomach would have terrified him just yesterday. Now it felt like just part of his life. And...

Images of his King caring for him as he became simply too big made him flush immediately. An impeccable mix of romantic sentiment and off-kilter lewdness.

"I'll be waiting for you," teased Tobias. He felt his curiosity growing at the sort of life his King lived for so very, very, very long.

[michime]

Darius stack of number of long, wide, very fluffy pillows behind Tobias' back so his mate could sit up comfortably.

"You're so beautiful like this," the ancient admitted as he eased Tobias' legs apart so the bulging belly could lay on the bed. "I don't want your belly to pin your legs." He explained before he pulled a warm blanket over those muscular legs. He pressed his ear to the stretched skin. "I can hear them moving around, the whelps at least."

When he finally managed to pull himself away from his mate, he made his way to the library. He returned a few moments later with so many books in his arms. He set the stack at the edge of the bed and picked up the bright red one. "The books are organized by color." He opened the one in his hand and showed the inside cover. "See this little dragon footprint in the corner? It's the volume number. This is Red Volume One." He explained before he gave Tobias the book. "Do you want anything else, cherished?"

[Regifortis]

Tobias felt his body sink into the bed, musclebound legs splayed and subtly lively belly able to rest its weight without straining his back. Such a lazy and comfortable position, one he wouldn't think of adopting in his old life. He felt every inch a pampered prince, by the King no less.

"This is perfect, cherished," answered Tobias. He patted the space next to him. "Let's read it together. If you don't mind, I'd like to stroll with you down memory lane, not just feed my empty brain."

He knew full well that his King would get very 'friendly' that way, and that was exactly the plan.

[michime]

Darius nodded before he climbed into bed next to his mate. He wiggled his way behind Tobias so his mate was between his legs. He draped his arms over Tobias' broad shoulders with his fingertips just brushing over the fattened nipples of the engorged breasts.

"My history is open to you."

[Regifortis]

Tobias felt himself relaxing all the more for his King. Darius braced his weight behind him, head right next to his left ear, fingers in range of his overly erogenous nipples, and cock dangerously close to his hole. Nothing about this experience would be unpleasant. And so Tobias opened up to the first page and began to read aloud. There seemed to be a short preamble.

"Esteemed scholar, my name is Perrin. I am recording our King's history for the posterity of the new realm of dragons, as well as keeping a reliable record. All words are dictated to me by His Majesty for complete accuracy. Sadly, I have disappointed our King in...personal matters, so I hope to redeem myself in maintaining His personal affairs. Perhaps another lucky fellow will know His company on better terms than I. Here begins His Majesty's narration."

Tobias felt a slight shiver as the King in question settled His head comfortably with a kiss on his mate's shoulder. "Make no mistake that my life began well after I was born, as well as the lives of all dragons. No one of your era, whoever you are, would know the exact details of how we all used to be. But I am living proof of what we were, and how we overcame that fate.

"In the beginning, we were nothing but shambling beasts. Our minds were clouded by lust and pride, guarding territory even in spite of survival. Our own bodies rebelled against sense and order, flesh shooting out in slimy appendages to grab objects of desire for the sake of base pleasure. Whether those poor creatures consented to any of it is unknowable. No law stood between us: the strongest males and females got what they wanted, and everyone else cowered before them or fought to be mates to them. Although 'mate' is not a term worthy of such a primitive relationship...or so I have been told.

"But the reason I can recognize any of this is due to one misty day when a voice spoke to me. I know not from where it came, but it whispered urgently of greatness and promise...but only if I accepted such a fate and removed that which kept me from progress. My lust-crippled mind struggled to understand this, day after day, yet the voice persisted."

[michime]

Darius listened to his lover read the words paying very close attention to the way Tobias' voice rose with certain words and dipped with others. He wouldn't interrupt his mate unless the man wanted a question answered. He pressed his forehead against Tobias' back and let the human continue reading.

[Regifortis]

Tobias had plenty of questions already, but he decided to wait and see if they would be answered as he continued to read. The tension in the story made him a little nervous, but the calm and steady breathing of his King of legend on his back reminded him of how it at the very least worked out in the end.

"I hardly understood it at the time, but nothing of the sort had happened before. By some biological standard, I might have been considered a defect for hearing such a voice. An illness of the mind plaguing me would have made just as much sense to the beast from whence I came. But the voice I heard neither obstructed me nor offended me. This voice had a power and warmth to it that I came to welcome in my brutish struggles for pleasure and power. And so as it whispered to me, I slowly started to listen. Even more slowly, I started to comprehend.

"My eldritch flesh became the target of scrutiny for the voice. How it leeched my true might, how pointlessly it overwhelmed my mind! I had never desired a clear mind, but as the idea came to me, I came to resent how I had no choice in the matter. Clarity came to me. The one glimmer of insight my mind could spark and protect, and that was how this voice I heard gave me instruction: rid myself of the bestial soul which gave rise to the chaotic flesh, and allow my true soul to assert itself.

"I lost track of time as I tried to understand it all; but the more I mused on it, the more I marveled that I could muse at all. The tendrils in my mind were akin to the tendrils that erupted from my scales. One could even argue they were one and the same. A fiery and desperate ambition to rebel came over me, and the once aimless instinct I had through all my days became my guide in this moment. No being could be allowed to overwhelm me. Not even myself. And so I started to push back.

"I find it difficult to describe the raw panic and battle-fury that surged in me side by side. To reject my own body for the sake of control itself seemed like losing control to a part of me. Even more distressing, the agony in every part of me was nearly overwhelming--" Tobias stopped to clear his throat, but more than that, he had to take a moment for himself. He almost felt embarrassed that he of all men was mate to someone who had struggled so tremendously just to have free will.

The big and warm left hand on his chest felt like the hand of a god...it all truly started to sink in for him. He had suspended his disbelief for how his King was childish yet deeply wise, ancient yet full of life. Now he had a clue to the true nature of the Dragon King...Tobias felt ashamed that he ever took his mate lightly. He took the hand into his own and squeezed it softly, before bringing it to his lips for a surprisingly reverent kiss. Tobias felt himself admiring his mate more and more every time he learned more about him. He made a silent promise to work to be a mate worthy of his affection.

[michime]

Darius kissed Tobias' shoulder and let the man read.  "I wasn't always this handsome or this thoughtful.  Dragons were dangerously feral in the beginning."  He explained with a gentle squeeze of his mate.  "We took and used whatever we wanted and our bodies were covered in tentacles.  I was the first to learn how to overcome the raw desire and shape my form into what you see now.  We couldn't use magic or even roar."  He pulled Tobias close enjoying the feeling of the man against him. 

"It hurt like hell changing from that to what you see now.  This doesn't even begin to describe what it felt like.  I'm glad I did it though because if I hadn't, we wouldn't have survived.  We had to be smart to learn to live among and around humans." 

[Regifortis]

Tobias listened to his King elaborate, but more importantly he paid attention to how his mate cuddled against him. He didn't notice any particular difference in how his King felt, even though this was the calmest moment of their day. And then his thoughts got flipped on their heads. His King always felt relaxed with Tobias. Sudden awe and insight in his brave mate notwithstanding, he felt better that their pairing continued to make sense.

"Even more distressing, the agony in every part of me was nearly overwhelming. Were it not for this voice within me urging me to keep my conviction strong, I imagine I would have surrendered. It still amazes me just a little that I did not surrender. I wanted control, I wanted power, I wanted things I didn't even understand yet. But this desire to grow beyond my body itself was something frightening enough to stall me. I had to accept it. I had to embrace the unspeakable pain of separation in this moment and take it on faith that it would soon end. And so I did.

"Again, these words I have learned from my dear human followers are not robust enough to explain the rest. I take this as a blessing that they will never know the horror I knew in becoming myself. The closest description I can find for the battle itself is imprisoning the bestial part of my soul and then casting it aside while simultaneously urging the eldritch flesh to find sustenance among its own tendrils. I was not to be host to such a parasite of might anymore. Even as helpless as I felt from the pain raking my body, some stubborn will kept me sane through it all.

"However, sane does not mean calm, as I have learned. I nearly lost myself in the thick of this struggle for self-actualization, ready to feel nothing but darkness and lust again. Only the faintest sound of the friendly voice reached me in that moment. I listened for it carefully, as it came closer and closer to me. I felt it build in my own throat. A greedy impulse compelled me to claim it, but that seemed to only drive it away. It was then I understood I had to let it happen. This prophetic voice built tension in my muscles, drawing air into my pressure-choked lungs, until it came bellowing out of me.

"All at once, everything came together. The tentacled flesh of my body was ripped off from the raw sonic force, and the haze of my mind was blasted away from the deep and resonant sound. I roared and roared until I thought I would go hoarse. But I never did. An incredulous recognition of my victory is what made me stop and notice myself. I felt heavy and yet nimble. Stupid yet wise. Adoring the land yet craving the freedom of the skies. I noticed my wings took the place of the flesh I rejected.

"I nearly took off to test them out when the tentacled mass came back for me. Out of desperation and fear and so much rage, I roared at it until it submitted. I knew that wouldn't be enough somehow, and so I willed it to go dormant forever. I expect they will remain dormant, but my followers and I have found a suitable container for them, out of respect for their discontent in seeing them. I imagine they will forget about them in time, save for any readers of this book." Tobias paused to clear his throat.

[michime]

Darius wrapped his hands around Tobias' belly placing them on top so he could feel the kicks and twists.  "Now you know what I was before.  You don't have to worry about the feral part of me.  It's locked away for good.  We were very careful with that."  He kissed the back of his mate's neck.  "We don't want tentacle creatures raging over the land."  He smiled widely as he leaned back against the pillows being Tobias with him.  "My little ones are inside you.  It wouldn't be possible without the change." 

He brought one hand up and gently raked his fingertips through Tobias' hair.  "It's so good to be the King."  He whispered into Tobias' ear.  "I get to be your mate, see you grow so big with the next generation.  I listen to you read and help you bathe.  It's perfect for me." 

[Regifortis]

An odd sensation startled Tobias, and seeing his King's hands soothing where it originated helped him put it together. Their children really were moving already. Little hands and feet and tails sometimes pressed against his massive stomach. The realization made him feel...'weak'. He couldn't explain it. He felt like he couldn't stand, pinned to the earth with a wonderful gift. The smallest twitch inside him seemed to flood him with an affection that felt familiar and alien all at the same time. Their sons and daughters...

"It's beautiful being your mate, my King," Tobias said, voice choked with emotion. "I'm so happy to be pregnant with your children, there's no words...!" He let his break from reading stretch on, resting his voice and marveling at how he was going to be a parent soon.

[michime]

Darius kissed Tobias' temple.  "Our children," he gently explained as they laid together, "you are just as much a part of them as I am.  Your belly is bigger than ever.  It's touching the bed now."  He was so proud and in awe of this moment.  He would be a father soon.

"Let me know when you want or need to move.  I'll carry you around," he offered with his forehead pressed against Tobias' back.  "We are going to be parents." 

[Regifortis]

Tobias felt a pleasure he would have called perverse yesterday at feeling his bare-skinned pregnant belly touch the soft silk. Without even trying, he just got rounder and heavier and wider, it seemed. He wondered if he would actually be able to move on his own tomorrow. And all because he was a mother to dragons.

He rubbed his stomach and swore that every inch of him felt the warmth of sentiment and intimacy. "It'll be interesting to be pregnant for the second time. Our children seeing me blow up like this. Again and again and again..." He felt his cock stiffen. "I should finish up this chapter."

He found his place and cleared his throat again, reading with a little more power and authority this time. Almost like he was imitating how his King would have dictated it. "Rejection of the 'feral' aspect of dragonhood, as I have deemed it, proved to have tremendous advantages. My once limited sex grew a twin with peculiar properties, enabling me to sire children in males and females alike. The thought of finding a mate was intensely exciting to me at this discovery: no boundary of biology existed for starting a family with someone I favored. But who did I favor?

"My attention turned to my brethren, still struggling under a delusion of satisfaction with tangled flesh and addled minds. I had to let them know the joy of reality the same way I had just found it. And so I became that guiding voice for them in turn, until they stood alongside me with magic and proud voices. Or at least, the ones that agreed to it joined me. It's a tremendous weight on my heart how I had to put down those who resisted, not even being able to calm them back into their previous state. They had no concept of the joy of magic, and now they never will." Tobias paused to feel the dramatic effect of the last sentence.

"I was eager to explore the world, and my renewed siblings and friends more than shared my sentiment. We committed every curve of the earth to memory and found creatures we couldn't have imagined. The one creature that stood out the most was humans, the weak and yet precious thinkers that came to be my loyal subjects. They introduced the concept of 'King' to us, and we all agreed it suited me. I became their King with unquestionable authority, and I started a long and challenging journey to building a bond of trust between humans and dragons. One may say it continues today, another may say it was a success since fifty years ago. But it all definitely started with our newfound desire to hoard."

Tobias spied 'Chapter 2' scribed in extravagant black letters and decided to stop there for now.

[michime]

Darius eased his hands to Tobias' breasts and gently kneed the soft flesh.  "You're so full of milk," he whispered when he rolled the nipples between his fingers and warm milk flowed out.  "They are so engorged right now that I'm worried they will begin to ache.  Can human breasts fill up like cow udders?"  He hadn't been around pregnant humans long enough to know what happened. 

He ran his fingers through Tobias' hair then kissed his cheek.  "My origin isn't the most breath taking ever but that's where I am from." 

[Regifortis]

"That's where you're wrong, my King," countered Tobias. "Getting past something so primal to become the King of the world is like a fairy tale. It's awe-inspiring." He put his hands over his King's hands that curiously played with his engorged flesh. "I'm beyond flattered that someone like me is mate to you. And I'm sure our children will be proud to have you for a father."

Tobias then palmed his own breasts, noting the distinctly feminine shape they now took and how that was only mitigated by how round and swollen they were getting. "Cows certainly don't work like this, I can tell you that much," answered the fat-breasted man. "They do feel a little sore after you milked them, my King, but I'm sure it will pass." He wasn't sure, however, if that would be any different as they continued to grow. His skin would stretch as far as it needed to, but was that to say it wouldn't hurt as well?

He nursed a spot where one of their many warriors playfully nudged him. If it hurt, then it was worth it.