He was heat and fire dripping melted rage from a dagger-filled maw. The ground around us was scorched and filled with the bones of warriors past. His tail flicked, breaking rock in two. I swore he smiled when I didn't flinch.
A serpentine tongue flickered over my cheek, tasting the sweat and ash that coated my skin. My shattered sword glittered on the ground, grinding into the stone beneath a massive reptilian foot. Great claws raked the ground with every step he took.
I stepped to the side as he moved around me, the ground trembling beneath his weight. Sly golden eyes watched my every movement. The drake chuckled. "You taste of fear, human." His voice was a knowing snarl against my back.
He circled me, expansive and impossible to escape. "Is that all?" I finally answered. His hungry chuckle bubbled in the air. "It's hardly fair, dragon. That you should taste me and I not taste you." I took a breath and forced myself to relax.
His curiosity was palpable. The great head tilted as I took a step towards one massive leg. It was he who froze this time. I caressed him, pressing firm and hard into the beast's scaly skin. My fingers explored, stroking his belly and back.
"They say you are an untamable beast. That you bring death and suffering to any who whisper your name." I wandered down his body as his eyes stayed upon me, steady and examining. With one bite he could tear my body in half.
"They say no mortal will ever ride you," I finally purred at him as I reached his tail. My hands stroked, firm and hard, upward towards the base. He groaned, a kind of strange snarl and growl that whispered over my skin.