AN: So, here's a second short and sweet chapter for yas for the day. :)

Chapter 44.1: A Bloody Mess

A loud hiss echoed through the air of the old growth forest. Someone who had not seen the origin of the noise might have thought that a large serpent was in the area. The truth was quite a bit more comical.

"Must you roar so loudly?" asked Ashton while she clutched at her head.

Blackthorne turned his horned head to the side then unleashed a gurgling draconic laugh. "Serves you right."

Ashton clutched at her head then sighed. "Jerk..."

The dragon nodded at her then pulled his lizardly lips down in an approximation of a smile. The toothy expression would probably have given a small woodland creature a heart attack. "What did we learn?"

"Never go drinking with a valkyrie." muttered Ashton. Sonja had drunk far more of the Howling Flame Whiskey during their little drinking session, but her ability withstand it was incredibly high in comparison.

"Good girl." said Blackthorne.

The dynamic duo had set out for their training time. During the next four days they would live and train together in the wilderness. It had been Scott's idea. The girls all wanted to spend more time alone with him, and since they still had access to a four-to-one time difference it seemed like the best chance to share the wealth. Said wealth being his presence, of course.

Ashton pouted a little then sighed. "You're not being very supportive at all."

"You're leaning against me aren't you?" he asked her curiously. Sure, it was not the type of support that she had meant but it had to count for something.

Ashton patted at his scaled body then blinked. "Oh yeah..."

The dragon unleashed a low rumbling chuckle then pushed at her with his belly. "Hey, foxy lady. You're on."

"Huh?" she asked intelligently. Her attention was directed toward a group of large bear-like creatures in the distance.

She snorted then said, "Why is it always me?"

"You have better bait than I do."

Ashton started to laugh but quickly clutched at her eyes. "Ah, dammit." Once she managed to get control of herself once more she sighed softly. Her body began to shimmer lightly and soon she took on the form of a small golden fox.

"Oh, the things I do for EXP." said the cute little fox before she bounded forward. The air seemed to tremble a little as she passed through the illusion barrier that she had set up to hide the massive dragon. As far as the beasts up ahead were concerned, there was nothing around bigger than a rabbit or a small fox.

Blackthorne watched as the fox girl ran toward the massive beasts. They were not inherently stupid monsters, but they were also not smarter than the average bear. Most intelligent creatures would wonder why something much smaller than them would run toward them head on.

The moment the great horned bears took notice of the hung-over fox, they roared and gave chase. She immediately turned and dashed back toward safety.

Great thundering roars echoed through the forest as the bears raced after their dinner. Never did they suspect what was about to befall them.

Ashton leapt through the illusion wall just before a great voluminous gout of shadowy flame and electricity exploded outward to wash over the surprised creatures. The bears screamed in pain and panic as the fire burned at their flesh and spirit in unison.

The closest of the great beasts was charred heavily in the process, but the two remaining monsters were only wounded. Blackthorne had hoped for that. He leapt through the illusion wall and immediately set about using his massive weight to his advantage. He finished off one of the beasts with a rapid series of heavy clawing strikes even as he lashed his head forward to bite the back of another bear's neck.

Bleeding heavily, burnt in several locations, and desperate for escape the bears tried to wriggle free when Blackthorne fell atop them. He used his massive bulk to hold them down while Ashton returned to humanoid form. Her finger nails became clawlike, and her normally perfectly human canine teeth elongated slightly and formed true fangs.

The scent of blood caused her heart to race. The normally docile and business oriented girl growled loudly then tore into the exposed rear end of the closest bear.

Blackthorne held the badly injured monsters in place while Ashton finished them off. Each of the bears would have been a serious and deadly threat for a human at their levels, but the poor furry bastards had come across a dragon and a beast girl. The combination of a simple trap and overwhelming power brought the higher level beasts down in short order.

The barrier was reset afterward and they set about cutting up the carcasses for fun and profit. The meat alone would feed several families under their care. The fur and other parts could be made into blankets, or clothing and weapons.

"You know, this is disgusting but kind of nice." said Ashton after a little time had passed and they had finished their work.

Blackthorne nodded lightly then lowered his head down atop his forepaws. A deep breath turned into an overly loud sigh.

"Again? What's with you today?" asked Ashton. He had done that several times throughout the hunt. If her headaches had not been so terrible, she would have been greatly annoyed.

The dragon sighed again. "Nothing really..."

"Come on you overgrown handbag. Tell me?" asked Ashton.

"It's... complicated. Shara wanted to discuss things with me last night."

"Things?" asked Ashton.

"Relationship stuff. It took me off-guard."

Ashton nodded. "I see. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I just don't know how to deal with that sort of thing properly, you know?" Blackthorne avoided mentioning just how the conversation had gone. Some things he was simply not ready to discuss.

"Yeah. I do." said the fox girl, a wry smile upon her lips. "Affection is a hard thing to come by with you at times."

His glowing red eye turned toward her. "Am I really so bad?"

Ashton patted his side. "No. I've dated much worse."

"Seriously?" asked Scott.

"I've only had a few boyfriends, but the worst one was probably Jerry." she said.

"What made him so bad?"

"He loved sports more than me. So much so that I could stand in front of the TV during football season wearing nothing but socks and a smile and he would tell me to get out of the way."

Blackthorne eyed her thoroughly. "Impossible. If not for my issues..."

Ashton managed to laugh despite the ache in her head. "It was possible, and frequent."

The dragon laughed a little, but it was a sad laugh. "You know, I tried to date a little before I met you girls."

"I heard you mention that before, but..." she hesitated to finish her statement.

"Yeah, it's hard to maintain a relationship when every time a girl tries to make you deliriously happy, you end up crying like a disgraced televangelist." he said without a hint of humor in his tone.

"Well, we found a work around for that..." She said, before she lashed her tail to the side.

A soft chuckle echoed through the air. "True. I'm sorry about... you know, after."

"Don't worry. It had been a while since I had been that sort of sore... It was actually nice." She said, before she lightly caressed a few of his gleaming black scales.

"Why Miss Fox, are you trying to seduce me?" asked Blackthorne in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I dunno? Is it working?" asked the fox girl.

"Yes, but we should be working too..." said Blackthorne as a means of avoiding the obvious.

Ashton patted his side. "Well, don't forget what you promised me..."

"Don't worry. We'll have our quality time when we set up camp tonight." he said with more confidence than he felt. One of the reasons that he had decided to train with Ashton first was that she had a special capacity to excite him in the manliest of ways. It was practically a cheat code that allowed him to overcome his mental baggage. However, they did need to actually hunt and train as well.

The discussion about sexy time possibilities was cut short by the arrival of a small sounder of swine. Rather, a group of pigs with fish-like fins on their backs and cat paws instead of hooves.

Ashton went about her task of catching the attention of the porcine powerhouses. The shrieking hogs soon ran head long into a torrent of dark flames. Bacon was back on the menu!

"Isn't this a little too easy?" asked Ashton after she finished off the last of the hogs that Blackthorne had held down for her.

"Yes, but that's good. We need the meat for our people. The experience won't be as awesome, I guess, but it still builds up." said Blackthorne.

Ashton helped him drag the pork back to the other side of the illusion barrier and they began the process of cutting the carcasses. Blackthorne admired her skill with a knife, and she admired his lack of skill with his claws.

"You're a bloody mess." she said with a smile.

"I've known that for the longest time." he remarked dryly.

Laughter pealed through the forest once more as they continued their gruesome task. People needed food, and they needed experience. All the while, they grew just a little closer.