Sacrificed to the Dragon (with Protocol)

[InactiveCoffee]

@Protocol


--Here is our thread! I can add the plot if need be--




Brigit MacLeod sat in the reception area of the Dragon Affairs office, tapping her finger against her arm, and wishing they’d hurry the hell up. She’d been sitting for nearly an hour, and with each minute that ticked by, she started to doubt her eligibility. If she didn’t qualify to sacrifice herself to one of the dragon-shifter clans, her younger brother would die; only the blood of a dragon could cure her brother’s terminal illness. A woman dressed in a gray suit emerged from the far doorway and walked toward her. When she reached Brigit, the woman said, “Are you Brigit MacLeod?” She nodded, and the woman turned. “Then follow me.” This is it. Brigit rubbed her hands against her black trousers before she stood up and followed the woman. They went down one dull, poorly lit corridor and then turned left to go down another. The woman in the gray suit finally stopped in front of a door that read “Human Sacrifice Liaison” and turned the doorknob. Rather than enter, the middle-aged woman motioned for Brigit to go inside. She obeyed, and as soon as she entered the room, the door slammed shut behind her. A man not much older than her twenty-five years sat at a desk piled high with folders and papers.


~~Two Weeks Later~~


Brigit stood with her parents in front of the well-guarded entrance to the clan’s land. She knew someone from the clan would arrive at any minute to take her inside, but saying goodbye to her parents was harder than she’d imagined. She was a grown woman, for crying out loud. Yet as she looked from her mom to her dad and back again, she realized this might be the last time she ever saw them, unless her assigned male granted her privileges.


The last two weeks had been a rollercoaster of events as she had explained to her parents that her brother's life was saved. Her father looked upon her now with eyes that shone with unshed tears. "I wish you had told us, Bridge." he managed to keep his voice from breaking, using the nickname she had had since she was small. Brigit smile warmly and wrapped her arms around the older man. "I'm a grown woman, dad. This way, Alex will have a good life and he will be healed of his cancer." she chirped, trying to keep her emotions in check. "If all goes well, I'll be back in six months to a year." she added, releasing him from the hug as she turned to her mother.


The stout woman pulled her daughter into an embrace, her shoulders rumbling with sobs. "Call as soon as you are given permission. I know they said six weeks and then if you're... male? ... grants it. Call us for any reason, baby girl." she blubbered and Brigit gave her that same warm and strong smile she had given her father. She nodded, "Yes, mom. I will. I promise." she said, trying not to become emotional. She needed to show strength to these Dragon-Shifters, and she wasn't fully sure how they would view an emotional farewell to her parents.


She waved them off, wishing them well, and then turned to face the well guarded gates. Her suitcase sat at her feet as she made a mental check of herself to make sure she was still presentable. Thankfully her mother's tears hadn't gotten her shirt wet.

 

[Protocol]

"Don't run away from this." The words, said weeks ago, still sizzled with power. Aiden flinched. His gold-red scales shimmered in the morning son as he twisted midair. The clan's alpha, Logan, had imbued the order with power when he told Aiden of his 'duty' to the clan. Never had Aiden hated the part of himself forced to obey as he did then. He hadn't even been running, but apparently procrastination counted. The dragon had wanted a little time to himself before everything was flipped on its head.


He folded his wings tight against his body as he dove towards to clan's side of the gate. Pine needles crushed under his paws and released a heavy aroma that made him sneeze. He shifted, revealing a tall, naked man with fire-bright hair; not just on his head. Leah, his cousin, shoved him behind a tree, out of the poor human girl's sight. "What are you doing?" she screamed.


He rolled his eyes. "I'm only a little late. Calm down."


Leah's eyes widen, face turning red. Her expression clearly said she thought he was an idiot. "No! Why did you show up naked?"


Aidan opened his mouth, closed it, and blinked. As a shifter, one learned early on to lose any sense of modesty they had. It wasn't always practical to shift with clothes around. He didn't see what the problem was. Were humans so easily offended by skin? He wouldn't know, having spent the majority of his life avoiding them.


Leah sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Stay. Right. Here." She turned on her heels towards the guard tower, presumably to get Aidan clothes. Another factor of being a shifter. The clan had clothes hidden all over the territory. He peaked out from behind the tree and caught a glimpse of red on the other side of the gate. It was a woman. She was beautiful, for a human. Though she looked a little short. In comparison of dragons, all humans seemed short. Aidan was seven foot four himself. He squinted at the woman. She must be Brigit.


Leah returned, shoving a pair of draw string pants and a loose shirt at him. "You're not supposed to make any sexual advancements for three days," she stressed. Aidan snorted as he pulled the clothes on. Like he wanted to tumble with a human anyway. He didn't see where his cousin was going with this. "Showing up naked might be misinterpreted as sexual harassment." A few strands of dark hair fell from her braid and she brushed them back in a frustrated gesture.


Oh. Well that would be the human's own dumb fault for making assumptions. Leah grabbed his arm and shoved him bare foot toward the gate. He pulled his arm back, snarling at the other dragon-shifter. His nose scrunched as they reached the gate and the guards moved to open it. "She smells like sadness." It wasn't just hers either. He could smell several distinct sets of tears. He didn't feel any pity for her. She had a choice. He didn't. All 'sacrifices' were volunteers.


"English," Leah snapped. She smiled at the human. "Hello. I'm Leah and this is my cousin Aidan. He's the one you'll be bound to during your time here." Leah made an exaggerated head nod to Brigit's bag.


Aidan raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms.


"Be a gentleman. Carry her bag," Leah hissed. Oh, so Leah could speak Dragon. It was only him who was forced to speak English from now on.


He reached to take the bag, barely looking at Brigit.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Brigit shifted from foot to foot nervously as she waited for whomever it was that was to collect her. She took several deep breaths, quelling the nerves that threatened to tighten her stomach so much that she'd lose what little she had managed to eat that morning. When they finally opened, she witnessed two dragon-shifters that approached her. The female spoke, the male merely sort of just... stood there.


She gave a nervous smile to the dragon-woman, "Hello. I'm Brigit." she introduced herself, looking between the two of them. So this dragon-man was the one she was contracted with? He was certainly tall, and most definitely not an eye-sore. Then again, there weren't any dragon-shifters Brigit could think of that weren't beautiful or handsome.


She stood straighter, her meager six foot feminine stature still dwarfed by the dragon-shifters. It felt a little weird not being the tallest in the room this time around. That was a trait she had come to be used to, as much as she despised it sometimes. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad since dragon-shifters were all so tall. She could finally be the short girl. 


The thought made her laugh softly, and her cheeks warmed. "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. I had a funny thought, is all." she said quickly, shaking her head slightly as she forced herself to calm. "I'm gonna be the short girl. That is a first for me." she giggled lightly. She blinked when the female hissed something she didn't understand to the other, clearly confused. She wondered what it was she had said, as the male, Aidan, reached for her bag without really looking at her.


"Uhm, it's nice to meet you, Aidan." she ventured, her focus turning to the dragon-man that she was supposed to... Her mind shut down the thought roughly, and Brigit had to swallow down the embarrassment that threatened to turn her cheeks pink again. "Thank you... for getting my bag." she offered, surprised that she hadn't had to carry it herself.


This feels a little short, but with my emotional state it's what I squeezed out... If there isn't enough for a good response, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to edit it and add a little more substance to it. x.x