Dragons Games Update/Next work

I've got an idea for a Halo short story, Sangheili's are a classic, especially in the ODST time period something could work there. While I ponder, have an update on the next Garchomp story, taking up right after the last one. 3591 words. Not much but I haven't had time to edit just yet.

This wasn’t the first time Jim had limped his way to the sick bay, so the first aid staff didn’t need to know what he’d been doing to earn such a beating.

After they disinfected his cuts and applied a few band aids, one of the staff flashed a light in his eyes after Jim clutched his head as a headache rolled through his frontal lobe. “I think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew this time, Jim,” the woman said, clicking her flashlight off.

“I just need some aspirin,” he replied, waving an arm.

“Oh really? Tell me your date of birth, then.”

“Easy. It’s March, uh, seven– I mean eighth! Two thousand– no, nineteen… eighty… something? I think?”

“It’s as I thought. You’re lucky your symptoms only seem to be mild, but I’m positive you’re suffering from a concussion.”

Cassidy gave him a concerned look from the other side of the room, the dragoness sitting on the very edge of the couch placed there, her long tail coiled round one of her stout legs. The sick bay reflected the campus budget, combining both the waiting and operating room into the same space. There was a patient’s bed in the corner that looked like the most uncomfortable thing in the world, a bin full of old magazines by some chairs, and a potted plant made of plastic. At least it was quiet, Jim’s ears were ringing from just the wind alone on their way up from the field.

“Cool,” Jim said. “so can I get outta here, or…?”

“Absolutely not. You’re going to lie down for a while, and I’m going to call your parents and tell them what has happened. I know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is no, you won’t be playing anymore sport until I deem you’ve fully recovered.”

“How long will that take?”

“A couple of weeks, perhaps a month without sports, to be on the safe side. That’s for you own good.”

“But,” Jim started to protest, but the nurse held up a hand, shaking her head like a chiding mother. He supposed he wouldn’t be any good on the field with this killer headache, but it still felt horrible to be sidelined, that stupid Charizard was probably laughing it up at his expense right now.

The woman turned to Cassidy. “Make sure he doesn’t go wandering off while I’m gone.”

“He’s done that before?” the dragoness asked, her curiosity besting her worry.

“They all do. I swear that game drives the boys crazy.”

“You don’t get it, Miss,” Jim said. “you’re not a Mythic.”

The Garchomp giggled behind her hand as the nurse shook her head, the woman closing the door behind her as she left. Jim got to his feet, eyeing the patient bed with a frown. There wasn’t even a sheet on it, it was like a dentists chair.

“You heard the nurse,” Cassidy asked, Jim looking round to see her patting the space beside her. “No walking around.”

“Yeah yeah, I heard.” His feet dragged as he made his way over, turning round and flopping down on the couch next to her. The leather was cool where it touched his skin, creaking loudly as he shuffled to get comfortable.

“Did you really?” Cassidy asked, tilting her head. “She said to lie down, that’s sitting.”

“But you’re…” he gestured at her, taking a second to try and word it lightly. “but so are you.”

“So?” she chuckled. “Lie back, use my lap.”

She tapped her left thigh, her flesh rippling with the movement, visible even through her skirt. “O-Okay,” he stuttered, turning his back on her as butterflies swarmed in his chest. Even though they were an official thing after what she’d said in the bathroom, he was still nervous about being so close for some reason.

He draped his legs over the opposing armrest, lowering his head until his scalp touched her leg. Despite being made of scales, her flesh dimpled wonderfully as he laid back, like her leg was a giant, off-blue pillow.

“This is ni– ow.” He went to look up at her as he spoke, and his forehead bumped right into one of her thorns that poked out of the scales above her knee.

“Right, watch out for my thorns,” she warned, a little late, but Jim didn’t care. “Things always get in the way.”

“They’re not so bad,” he said, reaching up to rub one between his fingers. With his head on her leg his prior reservations seemed to have departed, or maybe the concussion was messing with him. Either way, their texture reminded him of those plastic prop skeletons one would find in a science lab, the horn giving just a little when he pushed. “they make you… you, does that make sense?”

“N-Not really,” Cassidy replied, breathing in sharply like she’d seen a ghost. He titled his head up at her, releasing his hand.

“Sorry, did that hurt?”

“No,” she said. “That felt good. No one except me touches them, and your fingers are softer than mine…”

He guessed they might have been packed with nerve endings if his dragon anatomy was anything to go by. “Please, do it again,” she said.

Jim reached up again, his strokes growing more elaborate the more she encouraged him. Humans had sensitive spots, maybe this was a Garchomps equivalent, if any of her expressions were to go by.

He soon draped an arm over his eyes as he rested, Cassidy returning the favour by running her claws through his hair, pressing just hard enough against his scalp without cutting him. For a while they just sat there, his head on her lap as he enjoyed her company. His head cleared up just enough for the whole situation to dawn on him.

“This sucks,” he blurted out, shaking his head. Cassidy stopped stroking his scalp. “Th-The whole concussion thing I mean,” he added quickly. “I should’ve just moved out of the way, now I’m out for the next couple of games at least.”

“You need the rest,” Cassidy said. “you’ll just make it worse if you go out and get smacked around again if you haven’t healed properly.”

“But the guys need me,” he said. “and I need them. Without the games I’m just… some dumb guy who can’t think straight. The sponsors’ll look right over me.”

His head sagged to the side as he sulked, his frustration only growing as he hit his head against the thorn again.

“Don’t start with that,” Cassidy said, gripping his chin in her scaley hand, turning his head so that they were eye to eye. “Even the national players get knocked out every once in a while. You’ll bounce back, you just need to relax.”

“But-”

She cut him off as she pressed her mouth against his, her tongue slipping between her triangular teeth and entangling with his own. She locked him in an upside-down kiss that made him dizzy in more ways beside the concussion. She demonstrated the flexibility of her tongue by lapping at his palate at angles he hadn’t thought were possible, her saliva melding with his as she tried to make her snout and his mouth compatible. Her flexible neck writhed like a snake as she animated her kiss, her crimson scales drawing his gaze further down to her bust, hanging tantalizingly above his forehead at this angle.

If her kiss wasn’t a sex act, then he wasn’t the Mythics left wing, his spine arching as she lapped at his throat. When she finally noticed he was struggling for oxygen, she relented, pulling back with a big grin on her face, their lips connected by a few lingering strands of saliva.

“There, relaxed yet?” she asked, grinning as his red face.

He nodded silently, all his worries seeming to have melted away. “W-Where’d you learn to kiss like that?” he asked.

“Internet,” she said, not deigning to add anything more.

The door whooshed open, the couple looking up to see a trio of faces staring back. Jim and Cassidy’s expressions were like two kids being caught behind the bleachers smoking dubies, not because they were ashamed of their feelings for each other, but just by sheer surprise along.

“Evening, you two,” Isaac said, grinning stupidly at the duo. “Bout time you made a move Jimmy.”

Even though Cassidy had been the one to initiate, Jim didn’t correct him, looking over to see Matty, Gavin, and some of the other Mythics behind Isaac. A couple of them had a few black eyes and a share of bruises, Isaac himself sporting a nasty cut on his left cheek. “The heck happened to you guys?” he asked.

“We had ourselves a major tussle after you got sent off,” Isaac explained. “Didn’t you see?”

“Oh, right,” Jim said, his memory like fog slipping through his fingers. “Thanks for getting that Charizard off me.”

“Fucker got me good,” Isaac said, pointing at his damaged face. “but not as bad as we got him. He stumbled right off to his coach and never came back.”

“Good riddance,” Matty spat. “If we hadn’t gotten him, I reckon the crowd would have eventually. They weren’t happy even after he left.”

The Mythics piled in, each one politely nodding to Cassidy, Jim raising off her lap to slap hands with his teammates. He told them about what the nurse had said, and how he’d be out for a while. “No shit, you got some major whiplash back there,” Isaac said. “at least you got a dragoness to keep you company. Thanks Cass, by the way.”

“For what?” she asked.

“For hooking up with this knucklehead, he really needs this.”

“You’re a dickhead,” Jim grumbled. “Anyway what happened with the game? Did we win?”

“We were up by two points at full time,” Matty said. “After we sent that orange dick packing we whipped it back, got the win.”

Jim sighed with relief, they hadn’t been knocked out of the season. With any luck there wouldn’t be anymore Pokémon axillaries or whatever the term was, hopefully Mr. Bahril could do something to make sure of it.

“You guys shouldn’t be so mean,” Cassidy chided, the Mythics grunting in confusion as they turned to her. “You’re all going on like beating that Charizard up was a good thing.”

“Well he started it,” Isaac shot back. “It’s called the humans league for a reason.”

“Yeah, he charged Jim down on purpose,” Matty added. “What else were we supposed to do?”

Cassidy folded her arms. “Nothing,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Jim asked, when she didn’t elaborate.

“Do nothing,” she said again. “Protest. Don’t give the ref, crowd, or anyone a game, that would have gotten a reaction. If you’d all refused to play, the Charizard wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and Jim wouldn’t have ended up here in the sick bay.”

The boys exchanged confused looks between each other, some of them coming to terms with Cassidy’s logic. “Well whatever,” Isaac said with a shrug. “What’s done is done. I reckon we should celebrate for such a close win!”

The boys nodded in agreement, Isaac asking Jim if he wanted to go, but Cassidy put her hand on Jim’s shoulder, clearly not on board. “You all look like you’ve just finished a tavern brawl, and you want to go out? Jim needs to stay and rest.”

“Doesn’t have to be today,” Isaac replied. “Maybe tomorrow? Supposed to be a nice crisp sunny day, perfect for a beach party.”

That got everyone in agreement, the Garchomp turning her eyes up as she considered it. “Can I invite the drama club?” she asked.

“Is a Froakie’s ass watertight? Fuck yeah invite the ladies out, time to get some.”

“It’s a very strong maybe,” Cassidy continued, turning back to Jim. “we’ll see how you feel first, right Jim?”

“I’m down for some beach volleyball or something,” Jim replied enthusiastically.

“Jim,” Cassidy growled.

“Alright, fine, rest first,” he relented, his cheeks burning as a couple of his friends snickered at the one-sided argument.

“Fresh, salty air will do you good, dude,” Isaac said, he turned and waved an arm, like a general rallying his troops. “Alright boys I think we should leave these two to it, let’s go get changed.”

One by one, the Mythics filed out of the room, Isaac flashing Jim a wink as he was the last to leave. Cassidy reached down her top when they were all gone, her hand disappearing up to the wrist in her bountiful cleavage, Jim giving her a sideways glance that was a mix between alarm and curiosity.

Before if he could ask if he was dreaming, her hand came back into view, her phone clutched in her claws. She caught him staring and giggled. “Where else am I supposed to put it?” she asked, but Jim couldn’t think of anything witty to say, watching as she flicked open the casing. “I’ll see if Kendra wants to go, she’s been looking forward to a break for a while now, and it’ll be fun trying out that swimsuit you picked out for me.”

The memory of their shopping spree felt like the epitome of nostalgia, his scalp tingling as the realisation that he no longer had to imagine her in that thing, that it would become reality not to long from now, so long as he kept his concussion in check.

“You can say that again,” Jim muttered. He lay back down on the couch, his male urges fuelling him on for a swift recovery.

2

Jim only threw up three or four times the following night after his father drove him home, but the purifying of his system made him feel loads better, and his growing anticipation of a beach gather with his two favourite clubs drew him crazy as he stayed cooped up inside. Cassidy sent him a text asking if he was good to come, and after relaying the news to his father, the old man frowned before answering.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, not in your state.”

Jim felt like a kid again, like all those times he cursed in front of his parents, or committed some other grave sin that had earned him a grounding in the past.

“But all my friends are going,” he said. “Including Cass.”

That got his dad’s attention, the odl man peering up at him over the lip of the newspaper he was reading. “Really? Well… I guess that would be fine. I’ll drive you down, you’re not walking all that way.”

Jim hadn’t told his father about his new girlfriend, but perhaps he didn’t have to, parents had ways of figuring things out without blatant explanations. He texted Cassidy that he was on his way, his thumbs hitting some wrong letters but he didn’t care, hitting the sendbutton.

After packing some essential and dressing up in his favourite pair of board shorts, they got in the car and rolled out of the driveway. Isaac had been right, the sun was shining through a cloudless sky, a little on the bright side, but that was nothing a pair of sunglasses couldn’t solve. The streetside palm trees waved in the breeze as they drove toward the coast, the dense urban areas giving way to the commercial areas and the waterside parks, the ocean coming into view after another turn.

The white sands looked brighter than normal in the harsh light, almost like someone had upped the gamma correction on every single grain. The water was an aquatic blue, clear enough he could spy colourful clusters of seaweeds at just the right angle. The waves were rough, lapping at the swimmers lingering in the shallows, while people on surfboards cruised along the water further out.

All of this was framed by the Rainbow Isles, large bubble-shaped islands blocking parts of the horizon, the closest one maybe two hundred meters out from the mainland. They were pristling with palm trees and tropical ferns, and while some off them had wooden docks coupled with small fishing huts, they were otherwise untouched paradises.

The car rolled into an empty parking spot, Jim waving his father goodbye as he made his way down a ramp toward the beach, passing a family trying to desperately clean their bodies of sand using a showerhead. He scooted by a pair of Gardevior’s, towel and bag in hand as his flip-flops stepped into the sand.

There were people in both directions, the beach packed with humans and Pokémon in a roughly even amount, but Jim had spent enough time with the drama club to pick out the distinct individuals, and after a short wander up the coast he saw some familiar faces.

Amelia and Jasmine were laying down on a pair of towels sunbathing, Isaac and Matty nearby trying to chat them up. He could see Kendra was passing a volleyball to Gavin, the two going back and forth in a game of catch. Unlike everyone else, the Typhlosion wasn’t wearing swimwear, wearing a loose shirt and knee-long shorts that were billowy enough to protect her from the heat. Most of the Mtyhics and drama club were gathered nearby, the humans and pokemon mingling as they shared a pile of golden chips between them, the paper wrapping threatening to blow away with each gust of wind. It looked like Jim was one of the last to show up.

The sun not doing his headache any favours, he dropped his gear next to Jasmine, the Sylveon waving up at him in greeting. His arrival quickly spread, his friends coming up, the Pokémon asking how he was feeling, word must have spread about his brawl with the Charizard.

“Here’s the man of the hour,” Isaac said, slapping Jim on the shoulder. “I should be thanking you, man, I’ve never been around so much Poké-puss before, look at what the Lapras is wearing!”

“The only way you’ll get to see any,” Jim added with a chuckle, Isaac shooting him a frown.

Something caught Jim’s attention, and he looked up to see Gavin pass the volleyball over to someone else. He recognised the Salazzle immediately, Sasha sporting the smallest black bra he’d ever seen, the material lacey and revealing, her teardrop-shaped breasts fighting against the tight straps. Her stomach was like a magnet to his eyes, he'd seen her belly before back during her introduction rehearsal, but it was on full display now, and he was surprised to see there were pink lines decorating her midriff, perfectly mirrowed to either side of her belly. They curled in exotic shapes across her stomach, almost like war paint, following the natural curves of her hourglass hips, drawing his eyes down to her navel and groin as if that was their very intention, to entice. They disappeared beneath the black waistband of her swimwear, the patterns hooking like arrows that literally directed the viewer to her privates. Her two-piece bikini was the exact same shade as the dark parts of her scales, making her appear like she wasn’t actually wearing anything.

Both Jim and Isaac stared like idiots at her, and Sasha winked at them as if she had sensed their combined gaze. “That Salazzle’s going to make me act up in a minute,” Isaac mumbled, echoing Jim’s thoughts.

She moved their way, volleyball under on arm as she placed one foot in front of the other like a model walking down a runway. She chucked the ball at Jim, but he’d been too distracted by her hips, the thing bouncing off his head with a quiet donk sound, the young man blinking like he’d just woken up. She hadn’t thrown it hard, but it still almost sent him reeling if Isaac hadn’t ben there to catch him.

“Here’s the dragonslayer,” Sasha chuckled. “I wish I had been there to see it, I heard you gave the Charizard quite the thrashing.”

“Ah it was nothing,” Jim replied, taking Isaac by the arm as a wave of dizziness came and went. “Fell like a sack of potatoes.”

“You, or the dragon…” Isaac murmured.

“I’m going to work on my tan, care to join me, Jim?” Sasha put a hand on her shapely hip as she nodded behind her. “You can tell me all about how you dominated someone twice your size.”

Jim opened his mouth to reply, but Sasha squinted towards her right. He turned to look that way, and his jaw dropped even lower than when he saw Sasha in her bikini.

It was Cassidy, and she was wearing that swimsuit he’d bought her all those weeks ago. The green material covered her waist, stomach and chest, and nothing else. There was less of her visible compared to Sasha, but her flush, scaley hide was only the more enticing by its concealment, each individual scale glinting as they caught the light, she shined like a freshly waxed car.

The spandex was so tight it looked like it was painted onto her, the subtle paunch of her belly perfectly outlined, the edges of the swimsuit creasing into the natural folds of scales where her legs joined to her hips, creating an alluring v-string that covered her crotch.

The inner surface of her thighs were open to the air, soft but muscular at the same time, the subtle thigh gap between her thick legs forcing Jim’s gaze onto them, the young man’s expression the exact same one he had when he saw a boob for the first time.