Heather’s breath came in ragged gasps as she ran through the night, the dark silhouettes of her friends and neighbours all around her as they fled from their homes. Overhead the sound of great wings tearing the air echoed like a thunderbolt and the night sky was suddenly lit in brilliant orange fire. The flame revealed a monstrous shape, huge almost beyond imagining, a pointed head flowing smoothly into a streamlined body, a long spiked tail waiving almost lazily, the tip lost to sight as the flame faded.
That something so massive could fly seemed impossible, but to see it twist and turn in the cool air made it seem almost graceful, completely at home in its domain, master of all the lands of this world and a living nightmare for those people currently fleeing into the woods. Heather dove head first into the shadow of the forest, taking a momentary comfort in her brief respite, in the safety, however temporary, of this hiding place. Looking back she saw the few remaining villagers desperately try to increase their pace, the creature above them making one final turn before beginning its descent.
Its target was obvious immediately, a young man at the very end of the line, tall and fit, his long hair flying back behind him as he ran. Another jet of fire split the night and Heather felt her heart freeze in her chest, recognising the man, the look of terror on his face so different from the usual calm, controlled image she associated with her husband. He was barely twenty feet from her, from safety, but she knew he wouldn’t make it, too often had the creature practiced this sport to make such an elementary mistake. And in that instant she made up her mind, getting her feet underneath her she leapt forward, covering the remaining distance faster than she would have thought possible, bundling him over with a strength born of desperation.
For an instant she thought she had done it, that she had saved them both. Then the world was enveloped in a dark shroud as something closed around her body, gripping her tightly. With a jerk she was lifted off her feet, the wind rushing past so quickly she felt her exposed legs being bent sideways by the force. Above and all around her was blackness, an occasional suggestion of movement but nothing else. Finally she looked down, and saw far below a thin silver line, cutting across the dark land like a knife wound and she realised she was looking at the mighty river a few miles from her village.
The scale of it shocked her, followed quickly by the realisation that she was being carried to her death and the exertions of the last few minutes was too much. She passed out….
… and woke resting comfortably on what felt like a hard but warm bed, a gentle wind caressing her body. Her mind swam as she struggled to remember where she was, how she'd got there. Suddenly it all came rushing back and her eyes snapped open, and the sight that greeted her was without question the most frightening of her young life.
Not five foot away was a monstrous golden eye, the black pupil locked on her as she jerked upright. The skin surrounding the eye was made up of what looked like dull red scales, although some distant part of her mind realised that the skin she was standing on felt far softer than she would have expected. As she adapted to the scale of the creature before her, she could make out the curve of the head, tapering away from that terrible eye down into a narrow point, a faint glow just visible at the end of the snout the only indication of the fire contained within this living nightmare, and finally she allowed herself to acknowledge the word 'dragon'.
The rest of the body seemed to flow from the head, the perfect shape for splitting the skies, narrow and streamlined, though with a creature of this size even a narrow body had to be ten feet across at it's narrowest point. She was standing at the end of the dragons back, just before its hind legs with the long neck curved round to place the head almost directly over its right wing. At the edge of her vision she could just make out the end of the long, spiked tail as it moved slowly back and forth.
A low buzzing rose around her, seemingly penetrating her and causing every muscle and bone to vibrate in sympathy. She groaned and fell to her knees, the buzzing destroying her balance as it grew louder. Thankfully after only a few short seconds it faded rapidly until it was almost unnoticeable, lost in the background.
“Hush child, there's nothing to fear.” said a voice, deep and rich, seemingly coming from every direction at once, enveloping her like a blanket.
“Who, who said that?” Heather asked, looking around her.
“Look up”
Heather's eyes were drawn upwards, back to that enormous eye, and to the only conclusion possible. “You?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
The great head nodded slowly, the eye narrowing slightly as the dragon sensed the terror welling back up within Heather once more. “Relax my dear, you are not going to be harmed, I give you my word.”
Suddenly, Heather was consumed not by fear but by a terrible anger, fury rising through her body in an unstoppable tide. “Your word means nothing, everyone knows what happens to those that are taken in your hunts!”
“And what might that be?”
“Don't! Don't play your games with me, I have no wish to spend my last moments pandering to your cruelty! Get it over with, kill me now and I hope I choke you!”
The voice in her head sighed softly, “I have been alive for almost a thousand years and in all that time I have killed only one of your kind, and then by accident rather than choice. I simply have no need of food, not in your sense of the word at least.” The dragon paused, sensing Heather's rage building. “Why do you find that so hard to believe?”
“Why?” Heather screamed, “Because if it were true, why do you attack us? Why do you hunt through the villages for your victims, why do you toy with them before they're taken? And why did you TAKE MY SISTER?” The last came as a raw, animal yell, Heather's entire body shaking with fury as her eyes cast around for a weapon, anything she could use against this monster. And froze as something entered her mind, she could feel it searching through her memories, the sensation like an itch behind her eyes as the dragon looked through her most personal moments, her most intimate thoughts.
Eventually the contact faded and Heather found herself able to move once more. She glanced up and saw for the first time that golden eye closed, the head bowed as if in sorrow.
“I am sorry, I did not know that she was not alone, her mind was open, receptive, I thought... ” The dragon tailed off, seemingly lost in its own thoughts, and in that moment Heather felt her anger melt away, leaving only the deep, bone-numbing sorrow she'd known for the last two years, ever since this creature had taken her elder sister from her, leaving her alone and lost in the world.
“I, I don't understand” Heather said “are you sorry for taking her, or for killing her?”
“Killing her? I have told you nothing but the truth since you awoke and I have told you I do not kill. No, she is alive and well, in fact she is in better spirits than she ever was on the plains. But if I had known....Sit back down and I will explain as best I can.” Heather, lost for words, complied, settling back down on the soft, warm skin of the dragons back.
“As I said, I have no need for food in the way you think of it, but that does not mean I do not hunger. I was born human, but twisted, tortured and changed into this shape. Created for one purpose, to destroy, to be the final piece in a dark and terrible plan to wipe the race of man off the face of this world. For reasons that I still do not understand, something went wrong and I was born not as an obedient servant but as a thinking, reasoning creature. I turned on my creator, killing him and his army, their fear, anger, hatred all feeding me, sustaining me, allowing me to grow.”
“As the years passed I started to regain some of my humanity, and the way in which I was forced to live, terrorising others to continue my own existence sickened me. I needed to find other ways of creating the energies I needed to survive and finally discovered that way in your kind. I watch and wait over a village, so high in the sky that you would never see me from the ground. I enter minds and search for those that have lost hope, that have lost their way in the world. Then I take them and offer a simple deal. In return for what I require I grant them extraordinary long life and health, slowing their bodies so they age at a tenth of the speed they would otherwise do. I teach them how to lead, give them a purpose once more, then eventually return them to their world, use them to shape and guide humanity towards something more, something better.”
“When I found your sister she was consumed by grief, walking like a ghost in this world, waiting for something to claim her. She told me she was waiting for death, fortunately I found her first.” The dragon stopped for a moment, as if collecting its thoughts. “I promise you, I did not know she had anyone here, because she did not know you were alive. I am powerful, but I am not God, I cannot know everything and if she believed you were dead, that is what I believed too. She thought the fire that claimed your parents took you too, had no idea you were looking for her, or that you saw me take her. For that I am sorry, but I cannot undo what has been done. I can, however, offer you the same choice I gave her.”
“Come with me, help me shape this world and see your sister again. Or I will return you to your village, your memories altered leaving you with no memories of what happened here.”
Heather looked up, and for the first time stared long and hard into the golden eye before her, searching for truth, for answers. And yet, in the end, what choice did she really have?
“What is it you want from me?” Heather asked.
“Your laughter.”
“I don't understand.”
“As I said, dark emotions could sustain me and so I assumed that lighter ones could as well. I was right, but with one condition. Anger, fear, hatred they all have one thing in common, they are all base emotions, they act instinctively without conscious application from you. I have found only one way to create a similar effect with lighter feelings, but those that have accepted my bargain have assured me it is quite painless, even enjoyable. Do you understand now?”
“No,” Heather said, “but let's get on with it.”
“Lie down on my back, your head in line with my wings. Now reach out with your arms as far as you can towards my sides. The same with your legs. Hold still.”
Suddenly Heather found herself unable to move, attached spread-eagled to the dragons back like a fly trapped in a web. Strangely she didn't panic but instead relaxed against the warm flesh.
“We will speak again after we arrive, for now though relax and trust me to keep you safe.” The dragon said, it's voice fading slightly as it finished its instructions. It gathered itself and with one fluid motion leapt into the night sky.
Looking back from her enforced position down the length of the dragons tail, Heather saw a cliff top rapidly receding into the distance, a few solitary pinpoints of light showing the torches that the dragon must have lit for her benefit, as it had no need of additional lighting for itself. Either side of her the huge wings moved gracefully through the cool air, an occasional burst of light coming from beneath them as the dragon turned its head and flamed to create its own thermal currents.
Gradually Heather became aware of a gentle itching sensation covering her body. It slowly increased in strength until she consciously had to fight the urge to squirm. Suddenly the itching exploded into fast, light tickles on her helpless skin. Starting at her neck it moved rapidly down her arms to her fingers, back up to her armpits and down her rib cage, over her belly and on down her legs to her feet, then back up until it arrived back at her neck.
Held immobile there was nothing she could do to escape the tickling. Instead she did the only thing she could do, laugh.
“Eeeeee-e-e-e-hee-hee-hee, nonono, please, that tickles, stoahahahahahahahahah!”
The tickling feelings started to flow over her neck, chin and face, causing her to squeal as it probed the sensitive flesh. Gradually it started to move downwards, collecting itself into an area about the size of her palm as it skittered over her collarbone and down her body, finally coming to a rest on her belly about an inch above her navel. The skin directly under it was being tickled mercilessly now and Heather's laughter was becoming more urgent, especially with the threat of it rolling down the short distance to her belly button, a spot she knew was extremely sensitive.
Gradually she felt her body shift, and realised that the dragon was slowly dipping it right wing, starting a long, lazy turn. As it did so she was horrified to find the tickling moving, rolling over her body like a ball down onto her ribs. She held her breath and her laughter in, hoping that it would roll off her completely, but just as it reached the edge of her skin, the dragon started to level out, leaving it firmly placed over her ribs as the tickling increased.
“Eeee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Aa-ha-ha-ha-haa! Eee-hee-hee! Heeaaah heeeaaah heeahahahahaaaa! Please! Doon't! *Do-o-o-o-oon't!”
As she lay there, helpless to fight back against this unseen tickler Heather suddenly realised that she didn't want this feeling to stop. An odd mix of excitement and anticipation came over her as she found herself wondering where this ticklish ball would go next. Almost immediately she got her answer as the dragon banked back to its left and started to rise, the ball rolling back down her body for the few seconds it took for the dragon to come back to level flight, the ball ending up right over her belly button.
For a moment she thought it was just going to stay there, perched over that inviting indentation and once again she found herself wishing it wouldn't. Just as the thought crossed her mind the ball seemed to flex downwards and moulded to the inside of her belly button before vibrating faster than she would have believed possible. It was if a thousand feathers had exploded inside her navel and she was immediately lost to her laughter.
“Aaaah! Aaaaah! Aaaa-haa-haa-haaa! N-n-n-n—nnaaaa-haa-haa-haa-haaa! Nnnnnaaaaa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! Eeeeeeeee-heeheeheeheeheee! Aaaaaeeee-heee-heeeee! Eeeaa-haa-haa-haaa-heee-heee! Aaaaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-haaeee”
Heather's mind reeled from the conflicting messages shooting through it, her body screaming for mercy, for release, for some form of respite from this assault, while another part of her wished for nothing more than for this feeling to continue forever, luxuriating in its touch. Ultimately though the human body can only withstand so much and as her vision started to turn black she felt the dragon once more tilt under her as it gained yet more height, the ticklish sensations once more rolling downwards, over her hips and her down her legs, spreading out as it went, causing her to giggle as it past over her thighs, squeal as it caressed the backs of her knees. As it reached her feet it started to stick to her flesh, spreading out and down, covering her soles and toes like a second skin. Once more the dragon levelled off and Heather suddenly found herself begging, though not for anything she would have ever guessed she wanted before today.
“Oh please yes, please tickle me there, tickle my feet, I want it, I, I need it, please I Aaaah!”
The tickling sensations hit every part of her feet at once, all over the sole and between her toes, racing over the back of her heel and over the tops of her feet, sending her into fits of laughter, her cries splitting the night air.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Plee-e-e-ease s-s-s-sta-a-a-a-ha-ha-ha-haaap! Eee-hee-hee-hee! Aaaa-ha-ha! No, dohohohohon't sta-a-hahahah-ppppp! Pleasedon'tstahahahahppp! Eeeyeeeaaeaaaeeeaaaaeeee nnnnn--n-not the-e-e-e-e—toesssssss-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Eeeeeaaaaaggghh! Waaaahahahahaha!"
Finally Heather could take no more, her voice gave out and her eyes flickered closed as she fought desperately to stay conscious, to experience just a few more seconds of this terrible, wonderful torment. Just as she was about to drop into the abyss, the tickling force vanished from her feet, the tickling stopping completely as she lay gasping for air. It took almost five minutes for her to recover, her body still wracked with giggles and aftershocks of her experience.
Just as she was regaining her senses, she felt the dragon head steeply down for a few seconds, then pull up quickly as it settled onto what sounded like rock, its talons clicking as it touched down. It settled down and suddenly Heather found she could move again, the long neck reaching around again so that the dragon could look at her. It didn't speak, just stared for a moment, it was all the conformation it needed that Heather would be staying here, would follow the conditions of the bargain, anything to experience that feeling again.
That something so massive could fly seemed impossible, but to see it twist and turn in the cool air made it seem almost graceful, completely at home in its domain, master of all the lands of this world and a living nightmare for those people currently fleeing into the woods. Heather dove head first into the shadow of the forest, taking a momentary comfort in her brief respite, in the safety, however temporary, of this hiding place. Looking back she saw the few remaining villagers desperately try to increase their pace, the creature above them making one final turn before beginning its descent.
Its target was obvious immediately, a young man at the very end of the line, tall and fit, his long hair flying back behind him as he ran. Another jet of fire split the night and Heather felt her heart freeze in her chest, recognising the man, the look of terror on his face so different from the usual calm, controlled image she associated with her husband. He was barely twenty feet from her, from safety, but she knew he wouldn’t make it, too often had the creature practiced this sport to make such an elementary mistake. And in that instant she made up her mind, getting her feet underneath her she leapt forward, covering the remaining distance faster than she would have thought possible, bundling him over with a strength born of desperation.
For an instant she thought she had done it, that she had saved them both. Then the world was enveloped in a dark shroud as something closed around her body, gripping her tightly. With a jerk she was lifted off her feet, the wind rushing past so quickly she felt her exposed legs being bent sideways by the force. Above and all around her was blackness, an occasional suggestion of movement but nothing else. Finally she looked down, and saw far below a thin silver line, cutting across the dark land like a knife wound and she realised she was looking at the mighty river a few miles from her village.
The scale of it shocked her, followed quickly by the realisation that she was being carried to her death and the exertions of the last few minutes was too much. She passed out….
… and woke resting comfortably on what felt like a hard but warm bed, a gentle wind caressing her body. Her mind swam as she struggled to remember where she was, how she'd got there. Suddenly it all came rushing back and her eyes snapped open, and the sight that greeted her was without question the most frightening of her young life.
Not five foot away was a monstrous golden eye, the black pupil locked on her as she jerked upright. The skin surrounding the eye was made up of what looked like dull red scales, although some distant part of her mind realised that the skin she was standing on felt far softer than she would have expected. As she adapted to the scale of the creature before her, she could make out the curve of the head, tapering away from that terrible eye down into a narrow point, a faint glow just visible at the end of the snout the only indication of the fire contained within this living nightmare, and finally she allowed herself to acknowledge the word 'dragon'.
The rest of the body seemed to flow from the head, the perfect shape for splitting the skies, narrow and streamlined, though with a creature of this size even a narrow body had to be ten feet across at it's narrowest point. She was standing at the end of the dragons back, just before its hind legs with the long neck curved round to place the head almost directly over its right wing. At the edge of her vision she could just make out the end of the long, spiked tail as it moved slowly back and forth.
A low buzzing rose around her, seemingly penetrating her and causing every muscle and bone to vibrate in sympathy. She groaned and fell to her knees, the buzzing destroying her balance as it grew louder. Thankfully after only a few short seconds it faded rapidly until it was almost unnoticeable, lost in the background.
“Hush child, there's nothing to fear.” said a voice, deep and rich, seemingly coming from every direction at once, enveloping her like a blanket.
“Who, who said that?” Heather asked, looking around her.
“Look up”
Heather's eyes were drawn upwards, back to that enormous eye, and to the only conclusion possible. “You?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
The great head nodded slowly, the eye narrowing slightly as the dragon sensed the terror welling back up within Heather once more. “Relax my dear, you are not going to be harmed, I give you my word.”
Suddenly, Heather was consumed not by fear but by a terrible anger, fury rising through her body in an unstoppable tide. “Your word means nothing, everyone knows what happens to those that are taken in your hunts!”
“And what might that be?”
“Don't! Don't play your games with me, I have no wish to spend my last moments pandering to your cruelty! Get it over with, kill me now and I hope I choke you!”
The voice in her head sighed softly, “I have been alive for almost a thousand years and in all that time I have killed only one of your kind, and then by accident rather than choice. I simply have no need of food, not in your sense of the word at least.” The dragon paused, sensing Heather's rage building. “Why do you find that so hard to believe?”
“Why?” Heather screamed, “Because if it were true, why do you attack us? Why do you hunt through the villages for your victims, why do you toy with them before they're taken? And why did you TAKE MY SISTER?” The last came as a raw, animal yell, Heather's entire body shaking with fury as her eyes cast around for a weapon, anything she could use against this monster. And froze as something entered her mind, she could feel it searching through her memories, the sensation like an itch behind her eyes as the dragon looked through her most personal moments, her most intimate thoughts.
Eventually the contact faded and Heather found herself able to move once more. She glanced up and saw for the first time that golden eye closed, the head bowed as if in sorrow.
“I am sorry, I did not know that she was not alone, her mind was open, receptive, I thought... ” The dragon tailed off, seemingly lost in its own thoughts, and in that moment Heather felt her anger melt away, leaving only the deep, bone-numbing sorrow she'd known for the last two years, ever since this creature had taken her elder sister from her, leaving her alone and lost in the world.
“I, I don't understand” Heather said “are you sorry for taking her, or for killing her?”
“Killing her? I have told you nothing but the truth since you awoke and I have told you I do not kill. No, she is alive and well, in fact she is in better spirits than she ever was on the plains. But if I had known....Sit back down and I will explain as best I can.” Heather, lost for words, complied, settling back down on the soft, warm skin of the dragons back.
“As I said, I have no need for food in the way you think of it, but that does not mean I do not hunger. I was born human, but twisted, tortured and changed into this shape. Created for one purpose, to destroy, to be the final piece in a dark and terrible plan to wipe the race of man off the face of this world. For reasons that I still do not understand, something went wrong and I was born not as an obedient servant but as a thinking, reasoning creature. I turned on my creator, killing him and his army, their fear, anger, hatred all feeding me, sustaining me, allowing me to grow.”
“As the years passed I started to regain some of my humanity, and the way in which I was forced to live, terrorising others to continue my own existence sickened me. I needed to find other ways of creating the energies I needed to survive and finally discovered that way in your kind. I watch and wait over a village, so high in the sky that you would never see me from the ground. I enter minds and search for those that have lost hope, that have lost their way in the world. Then I take them and offer a simple deal. In return for what I require I grant them extraordinary long life and health, slowing their bodies so they age at a tenth of the speed they would otherwise do. I teach them how to lead, give them a purpose once more, then eventually return them to their world, use them to shape and guide humanity towards something more, something better.”
“When I found your sister she was consumed by grief, walking like a ghost in this world, waiting for something to claim her. She told me she was waiting for death, fortunately I found her first.” The dragon stopped for a moment, as if collecting its thoughts. “I promise you, I did not know she had anyone here, because she did not know you were alive. I am powerful, but I am not God, I cannot know everything and if she believed you were dead, that is what I believed too. She thought the fire that claimed your parents took you too, had no idea you were looking for her, or that you saw me take her. For that I am sorry, but I cannot undo what has been done. I can, however, offer you the same choice I gave her.”
“Come with me, help me shape this world and see your sister again. Or I will return you to your village, your memories altered leaving you with no memories of what happened here.”
Heather looked up, and for the first time stared long and hard into the golden eye before her, searching for truth, for answers. And yet, in the end, what choice did she really have?
“What is it you want from me?” Heather asked.
“Your laughter.”
“I don't understand.”
“As I said, dark emotions could sustain me and so I assumed that lighter ones could as well. I was right, but with one condition. Anger, fear, hatred they all have one thing in common, they are all base emotions, they act instinctively without conscious application from you. I have found only one way to create a similar effect with lighter feelings, but those that have accepted my bargain have assured me it is quite painless, even enjoyable. Do you understand now?”
“No,” Heather said, “but let's get on with it.”
“Lie down on my back, your head in line with my wings. Now reach out with your arms as far as you can towards my sides. The same with your legs. Hold still.”
Suddenly Heather found herself unable to move, attached spread-eagled to the dragons back like a fly trapped in a web. Strangely she didn't panic but instead relaxed against the warm flesh.
“We will speak again after we arrive, for now though relax and trust me to keep you safe.” The dragon said, it's voice fading slightly as it finished its instructions. It gathered itself and with one fluid motion leapt into the night sky.
Looking back from her enforced position down the length of the dragons tail, Heather saw a cliff top rapidly receding into the distance, a few solitary pinpoints of light showing the torches that the dragon must have lit for her benefit, as it had no need of additional lighting for itself. Either side of her the huge wings moved gracefully through the cool air, an occasional burst of light coming from beneath them as the dragon turned its head and flamed to create its own thermal currents.
Gradually Heather became aware of a gentle itching sensation covering her body. It slowly increased in strength until she consciously had to fight the urge to squirm. Suddenly the itching exploded into fast, light tickles on her helpless skin. Starting at her neck it moved rapidly down her arms to her fingers, back up to her armpits and down her rib cage, over her belly and on down her legs to her feet, then back up until it arrived back at her neck.
Held immobile there was nothing she could do to escape the tickling. Instead she did the only thing she could do, laugh.
“Eeeeee-e-e-e-hee-hee-hee, nonono, please, that tickles, stoahahahahahahahahah!”
The tickling feelings started to flow over her neck, chin and face, causing her to squeal as it probed the sensitive flesh. Gradually it started to move downwards, collecting itself into an area about the size of her palm as it skittered over her collarbone and down her body, finally coming to a rest on her belly about an inch above her navel. The skin directly under it was being tickled mercilessly now and Heather's laughter was becoming more urgent, especially with the threat of it rolling down the short distance to her belly button, a spot she knew was extremely sensitive.
Gradually she felt her body shift, and realised that the dragon was slowly dipping it right wing, starting a long, lazy turn. As it did so she was horrified to find the tickling moving, rolling over her body like a ball down onto her ribs. She held her breath and her laughter in, hoping that it would roll off her completely, but just as it reached the edge of her skin, the dragon started to level out, leaving it firmly placed over her ribs as the tickling increased.
“Eeee-hee-hee-hee-hee! Aa-ha-ha-ha-haa! Eee-hee-hee! Heeaaah heeeaaah heeahahahahaaaa! Please! Doon't! *Do-o-o-o-oon't!”
As she lay there, helpless to fight back against this unseen tickler Heather suddenly realised that she didn't want this feeling to stop. An odd mix of excitement and anticipation came over her as she found herself wondering where this ticklish ball would go next. Almost immediately she got her answer as the dragon banked back to its left and started to rise, the ball rolling back down her body for the few seconds it took for the dragon to come back to level flight, the ball ending up right over her belly button.
For a moment she thought it was just going to stay there, perched over that inviting indentation and once again she found herself wishing it wouldn't. Just as the thought crossed her mind the ball seemed to flex downwards and moulded to the inside of her belly button before vibrating faster than she would have believed possible. It was if a thousand feathers had exploded inside her navel and she was immediately lost to her laughter.
“Aaaah! Aaaaah! Aaaa-haa-haa-haaa! N-n-n-n—nnaaaa-haa-haa-haa-haaa! Nnnnnaaaaa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! Eeeeeeeee-heeheeheeheeheee! Aaaaaeeee-heee-heeeee! Eeeaa-haa-haa-haaa-heee-heee! Aaaaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-haaeee”
Heather's mind reeled from the conflicting messages shooting through it, her body screaming for mercy, for release, for some form of respite from this assault, while another part of her wished for nothing more than for this feeling to continue forever, luxuriating in its touch. Ultimately though the human body can only withstand so much and as her vision started to turn black she felt the dragon once more tilt under her as it gained yet more height, the ticklish sensations once more rolling downwards, over her hips and her down her legs, spreading out as it went, causing her to giggle as it past over her thighs, squeal as it caressed the backs of her knees. As it reached her feet it started to stick to her flesh, spreading out and down, covering her soles and toes like a second skin. Once more the dragon levelled off and Heather suddenly found herself begging, though not for anything she would have ever guessed she wanted before today.
“Oh please yes, please tickle me there, tickle my feet, I want it, I, I need it, please I Aaaah!”
The tickling sensations hit every part of her feet at once, all over the sole and between her toes, racing over the back of her heel and over the tops of her feet, sending her into fits of laughter, her cries splitting the night air.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Plee-e-e-ease s-s-s-sta-a-a-a-ha-ha-ha-haaap! Eee-hee-hee-hee! Aaaa-ha-ha! No, dohohohohon't sta-a-hahahah-ppppp! Pleasedon'tstahahahahppp! Eeeyeeeaaeaaaeeeaaaaeeee nnnnn--n-not the-e-e-e-e—toesssssss-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Eeeeeaaaaaggghh! Waaaahahahahaha!"
Finally Heather could take no more, her voice gave out and her eyes flickered closed as she fought desperately to stay conscious, to experience just a few more seconds of this terrible, wonderful torment. Just as she was about to drop into the abyss, the tickling force vanished from her feet, the tickling stopping completely as she lay gasping for air. It took almost five minutes for her to recover, her body still wracked with giggles and aftershocks of her experience.
Just as she was regaining her senses, she felt the dragon head steeply down for a few seconds, then pull up quickly as it settled onto what sounded like rock, its talons clicking as it touched down. It settled down and suddenly Heather found she could move again, the long neck reaching around again so that the dragon could look at her. It didn't speak, just stared for a moment, it was all the conformation it needed that Heather would be staying here, would follow the conditions of the bargain, anything to experience that feeling again.
