"Heya, Eri," I greet as I poke my head into my game room and see her watching an anime on the screen encompassing the cavern wall. I hold up the head I tore off of some guy with a bear quirk that threw a beer can at me while I was on my walk near Mei's territory, though the girl herself was absent for some reason. "I got you a new head for your Hoard!" My unicorn perks up and scrambles off the couch to run over to me, leaving behind the scene of a yellow octopus quirked person doing… something, to a buxom blonde woman in a shed. I'm not entirely sure what's going on there, but it feels inappropriate. Should I put on a child safety lock for the tv? I don't think it matters since she watched me kill a bunch of people when I got her, so it's probably fine?
"Yay!" She bounces on her feet and I can't help but laugh as I let it drop into her eager hands. I already swung by the local DAB branch so the lady with the preservation quirk could make sure it doesn't rot, so she's free to play with it whenever she wants and add it to the others! Yeah, I don't think there's a point in trying to keep the shows she watches child friendly. That term is really only meant for human children anyways, and Eri is going to be a dragon!
I shake my head in amusement as said future dragon runs off to her room to add it to her collection, a soft smile tugging at my lips. It's only the third head I've given her, counting Bastard's, but she always gets excited to add them to what will inevitably become a sizable Hoard. It kind of makes me regret that I didn't kill the half-breed and give its head to her. Well… On second thought, I don't think either of us could have stomached its presence in my Lair. Being around that thing was unpleasant on so many different levels.
I let out a sigh, once again lamenting the fact that I promised leniency on the pathetic excuse of a dragon. The weekly tithe that the DAB add to my Hoard is nothing to scoff at, however, and I'd be… disappointed if they were to try and withhold what I am owed in an effort to try and curb my desires, especially so if I were required to tear off Ora and Kami's heads as punishment. But then that means that I would be able to gift them to Eri to add to her slowly growing Hoard…
I shake my head free of the thought. No, I won't antagonize my minions simply so I have a reason to take their heads. I have plenty of people who aren't my minions that I can take the heads off of instead! In fact, maybe I should go out and search for a few good heads for her. She already has Bastard, some lady with an unhinged jaw that randomly attacked me, and the bear guy from today, so maybe I should visit a prison or something to see if anyone catches my eye? Or I could have the DAB find someone for me, but then they'd complain about how taking someone's head to give to their possession is 'immoral' and 'illegal' and 'murder'. It's really less of a hassle to just do it myself.
Before I can get to figuring out which prison I should visit though, I hear an unusual sound echoing through the tunnels. It sounds like… oh, wait. Yeah, I'd recognize Mei's cackling anywhere. But who's yelling at her?
I make my way back to the entrance, the distorted echoing becoming clearer the closer I get to the source. Yeah, that's definitely someone yelling at Mei while she cackles. Now that I'm paying attention, I can feel that the person doing the yelling is also a part of my Hoard! But there's something… strange about them. I frown as I focus more on our connection, trying to figure out what's different. Because I can definitely feel them like the other parts of my Hoard, but there's…
It's like the connection is… blurred, or, obstructed, I think? Like, I can feel one hundred percent that Mei is standing outside the cave leading into my Lair, that Himiko is somewhere off to the west and being particularly active at the moment, and that Hitoshi and Yui are near each other, but the person outside with Mei? All I can tell from their connection is that they're there, but not who, specifically, it is. Logically, I'm fully aware that it has to be Kyoka since Giran only has a calling card and isn't an actual part of my Hoard, so I can't feel him as much as the others. But according to my connection to my Hoard? Definitely something wrong with it, which is concerning on multiple levels. I hurry my pace to get there sooner so I can question her. If there's something that can mess with my Hoard, then it needs to be butchered with even more prejudice than what half-breeds deserve!
It doesn't take long for me to get to them, where I see that it is in fact Kyoka that's yelling at Mei, pointing with her jacks at a burning wreckage crumpled a few feet away from my Lair's entrance at the base of the overwatching cliff wall while gesturing wildly. I feel my eye twitch even as a chuckle escapes my lips when I realize what Kyoka is shouting about.
"-a good idea when you haven't tested it yet!?"
Mei just laughs and waves off her concerns. "Pft, I've built flying babies before, this was just a new one!"
Kyoka throws her hands up in the air, and I use the opportunity to take a deep sniff, trying to catch her scent without her noticing so I can figure out what's wrong. Because there's absolutely something off about her now that I'm close enough to see her directly. "Then why didn't you bring one of the ones that work!? We could have died! And how am I supposed to get home!?"
"Because I needed to test my baby, and you wanted to visit Boss!" Mei explains with her usual manic smile. My brows furrow when what's wrong with Kyoka starts to come into focus, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, because it doesn't make sense. Or rather, it doesn't make sense for her since she belongs to me. "And a little explosion like that wouldn't kill us, I've dealt with way more dangerous explosions from my babies! I'd rate this one as maybe a six out of ten."
Kyoka stares at her with her mouth hanging open for a few moments, moments in which I start to get annoyed over what I'm smelling. Because, despite the fact that she's mine, her scent is clearly saying something different! "Maybe I should have asked Himiko to bring me," Kyoka sighs, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes, she's a villain, but I'm prettysure she's not as crazy as you." Mei just cackles again in response, and I make my move while Kyoka is distracted.
I quickly shift to my full sized dragon from before darting my head forward and scooping the violette into my mouth. She barely has time to let out a cry of surprise before my lips close around her, cutting her off from the sight of the outside world.
I shift my tongue to move her struggling form where I want it and slowly lower my teeth onto her, making sure to put only the barest of pressure to avoid actually hurting her. Well, injuring, at least. A bit of pain might be good to make sure she remembers who she belongs to next time she decides she wants to let other people make a claim on her!
I ignore Mei's wide-eyed stare and gaping mouth as she stares up at me, too focused on making sure to mark Kyoka thoroughly. Hopefully this will get rid of any sign of the other claim whatever tried to do so left on her. I swear, if I ever find out who tried to mark my property…
I chew on the girl for a good five minutes, her struggling not abating at all. Actually, it seems to get stronger the more time passes, and I'm baffled to find that she's actually hurting me! I suppose that means that my insides are more fragile than my outsides. Good to know. Note to self, don't swallow anyone in a single gulp, always make sure they're either dead before I start to eat them or chew thoroughly. Anyways, after those five minutes are up I point my head at the ground and open my mouth, letting the saliva-coated girl slip out and drop to the ground in a pile of drool.
Kyoka definitely looks worse for wear; fang marks covering most of her skin, her clothes in shreds from where they pierced through, her hair a slicked up mess pointing in every direction, and a dazed, glassy-eyed look on a completely red face. I lean down and give the girl a full body lick that picks her up and causes a full body shudder that seems to break her free of her state just in time for her to catch herself on her feet. After taking a few minutes to gag and attempt to wipe my saliva off her and onto the floor - which is pretty rude considering it's dragon saliva - she looks up at me with a glare strong enough that my head flinches back, but a quick sniff confirms that she's completely mine once again, so I'm happy. Even if Kyoka might be a bit mad at me.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!? DID YOU JUST TRY TO EAT ME!?!?!?"
…Maybe more than a bit.
I scoff and look away, taking in the view overlooking the forest. "Don't be ridiculous, I wouldn't try to eat you."
"YOU PUT ME IN YOUR MOUTH AND CHEWED!!!" Her voice really can reach a pretty high volume, it's a good thing pain doesn't come easily to me or else I'd have to cover my ears.
I huff and turn my head back to glare at her. "Well maybe I wouldn't have had to if someone hadn't run off and let herself be claimed by someone else!"
She stares up at me, silent, for a few moments. "What the fuck are you talking about?" I blink at how… confused she sounds. Which doesn't make sense since nobody could have put a claim on her unless she agreed. Did… did someone trick her into letting them try to claim her? How fucking dare they! SHE IS MINE! MINE!! AND THEY DARE TRY TO TRICK HER INTO BECOMING THEIRS!?!?!?!? I WILL REND THE FLESH FROM THEIR BONES AND TURN IT INTO A MEAL TO FATTEN THEIR KIN BEFORE I FEAST UPON THEM IN TURN!
A growl builds in my throat as I lower my head to stare straight into Kyoka's eyes, causing her to freeze. "Someone tried to put a claim on you, and they couldn't have done so unless you'd agreed. So, I need you to tell me who, exactly, you've accepted offers from since we've last seen each other."
She doesn't react until I blink, taking a stumbling step backward before falling on her butt. She takes a shaky breath before letting it out slowly and swallowing. "I- I'm not sure? Aren't people like you the only ones who can do that… that claim thing?"
I frown, slowly shifting down to my preferred humanoid form as I think. Because as far as I know, she's not wrong. According to what Long told me, dragons are supposed to be the only ones that can lay a valid claim on an individual. Not even quirks are supposed to interfere with that. Sure, they can form bonds or connections or anything along those lines, but the claim a dragon lays supersedes all those. It does affect the soul, after all, and that's something another person's quirk isn't able to do. Affect the body or the mind, sure, but not the soul.
I let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping as I turn back to my Lair. I think I need some cuddle time with Eri after this emotional rollercoaster. "I have no idea," I admit to Kyoka as I start to walk, her and Mei following. Thankfully Mei is the kind of girl to take things in stride, and after figuring out that I did not actually decide to eat Kyoka, apparently decided that everything is fine. Which it is, mostly. Except for wherever that stupid claim came from…
"Maybe someone gave you a quirk," I joke, chuckling at how ridiculous that would be. "If they weren't careful, you might have exploded," I continue half seriously. Because forcing two quirks into a single body would be dangerous, doubly so if they weren't compatible. But there's no way to transfer quirks or something like that, so that's only a hypothetical. Oh well, I have time to figure it out.
Behind me, I hear Kyoka stumble, though I'm not sure over what since I'm only going to start installing the traps to my Lair next week. "Oh fuck."