#Dragon!Pierre x Potions Apprentice!Charles

[espithewarlock]

@your-littlesecret won some bonus points and requested dragons (everyone act surprised) so enjoy a little snippet from my Dragon!Pierre / Potions Apprentice!Charles fic!

and let it be known that if I offer bonus points it's not an empty promise!! I am both insane and highly suggestible 💚

☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

There was a certain level of chaos that Pierre had come to expect when Charles was working with potions. Most of the time, he became so completely engrossed with what he was working on that he simply…forgot to be aware of his surroundings.

More than once, Pierre had to save either a potion or Charles himself from disaster simply because Charles was concentrating a little too hard on the potion and not on what was around him. It was endearing, for the most part.

Charles was a natural at making potions. Where Pierre had to work and study and put forth years of effort, Charles simply understood. He was perfectly in tune with his magic and that translated into his potions.

(Perhaps their soulbond helped translate some of Pierre’s own experience. Either way, Charles was good in a way that made Pierre proud to both teach and love him.)

In fact, Charles got so focused that his natural air affinity tended to manifest itself in interesting ways. Sometimes, a sourceless breeze would swirl through the room, catching the curls of his hair while he was concentrating. Those little, harmless gusts were completely charming and Pierre’s eyes always softened at the sight.

Other times, the effects were catastrophic.

The first time Charles gained an air elemental form, he was working in the potions lab in Maranello.

They didn’t work there often, since the risk of Pierre forming a lair was too high. He needed to stay on the move and Charles was too stubborn to do anything but follow him. They still came back to Maranello maybe one week out of four to check on the store. 

Of course, it made a good place to keep some of their longer running potions that were in progress. While they would be perfectly safe in one of Pierre’s portable holes, having them on the material plane made it just as easy to pop back to the store when they needed to be tended to.

Charles was still only a journeyman, so Pierre didn’t allow him full, unmitigated access to his store of ingredients or to his recipe book. Unfortunately, Charles’ pout was near-impossible to resist, so Pierre occasionally allowed him to work on some of his more difficult projects.

One afternoon, Charles was concentrating very intensely on one of those projects. It was a potion of Critical Luck and took three full years to brew properly. Patience and precision were required in equal measure, and it was the sort of potion that would challenge even the most accomplished potions masters.

If it was successful, the result would be a small golden pearl. That would need to be dissolved in a goblet of fresh rainwater and consumed instantly to be effective. 

It would grant the drinker the best luck they had ever experienced for a full twenty-four hours. If they gambled they were guaranteed success, any negotiations would go in their favor, and anything within the limits of reality could become truth.

Pierre had a small stash on hand for himself that he kept absolutely secret. If anyone commissioned him to make it, he would calmly tell them that the brewing process took a full three years. That was usually enough to dissuade anyone from requesting it, since it was typically needed with more urgency than three years.

The ingredients were volatile at best, but it only required tending infrequently, so Pierre thought he was safe to allow Charles to add the three drops of manticore blood that were required.

He had his magic unfurled and could easily feel that Charles was doing the same to monitor the potion. Charles had the vial of blood in his hand, ready to be tipped over, and was waiting for the precise moment to add in the drops.

Unfortunately, he was concentrating a bit too hard and turned into an air elemental. What made it worse is that air elementals were made of, well, air, so the entire vial slipped through Charles’ hands straight into the simmering cauldron.

Pierre was very glad that he had Lewis ward the potions lab up to his highest standard. The explosion that followed would have leveled the store at the very least, if not the entire block.

Thanks to Lewis’ magic, not even the walls were singed. The same could not be said for Pierre’s face. 

He was covered in soot, head to toe, and had a ringing in his ears that was highly concerning. Thankfully his dragon blood offered him significant protection and Charles’ elemental form allowed him to escape the brunt of the blast.

Pierre sighed and didn’t even bother trying to wipe his face. He could feel Charles’ worry and concern through their bond, though the face of the air elemental in front of him was impossible to discern.

“I am going to go for a glide in the desert to get this soot out of my scales,” Pierre said shortly, “you are to meditate, my beloved, until you turn back into a human form. You will not touch anything in this lab until I am back.”

His soulbonded couldn’t respond in that form, at least not verbally, and Pierre felt his guilt and shame and acceptance though the bond. He teleported away without another word.

— — —

Once he was back in the lab, his scales polished to a shine, Pierre found Charles sitting with his arms around his very human knees in the very center of the floor of the lab.

“I’m sorry I ruined the potion,” Charles mumbled, ducking his head into his knees and hiding the flush on his face.

“I am more concerned about you, my beloved,” Pierre responded, kneeling next to him. He put his hand on Charles’ arm and moved it deliberately up to his shoulder, then tucked it under his chin to lift his head up.

He could see Charles’ gorgeous green eyes glowing with an apology that was about to pour out of his mouth.

“You are unharmed and that is all that matters to me,” Pierre said softly, “I know I was curt earlier. The ingredients can be replaced and all we lost was some time. We will start the potion from the beginning.”

“I’m so–”

“Your apologies are not necessary,” Pierre cut him off, “you have learned from this, yes? Then it was a valuable experience.”

Charles nodded, though he still looked miserable and unconvinced. Pierre kept his hand under Charles’ chin and leaned forward to kiss him swiftly.

“I did not realize you were so close to an elemental form,” he murmured, “we will practice that too and make sure you do not tap into it at…inconvenient times.”

The nod Charles gave was much more genuine, and he even graced Pierre with a small smile.

“We are done for the day,” Pierre smiled back and helped Charles off the ground, “what do you say we go to the Prancing Horse for dinner and a drink before bed?”

— — —

The second time Charles gained his air elemental form, they were not working on potions. Instead, they were taking a leisure day out in the desert and Pierre was currently participating in his third-favorite activity.

Napping.

He found a good, wide ledge out in the depths of the desert and let Charles climb onto his back while he lazily flew up there. Charles had his potions books with him, plus his own notebook for theorizing new potions, and happily leaned against Pierre’s side while he extended a wing overhead for shade.

While he loved the sun directly on his scales, Charles would turn red within minutes if he wasn’t careful. The thin membrane of his wing would provide plenty of shade to keep his soulbonded out of the direct sunlight, yet have enough light to read and write.

Plus, Pierre could curl his head around and press it into Charles’ side affectionately. He was rewarded with the occasional scratch on the top of his head or under the scales on his chin. It was an absolutely delicious sensation and he made no moves to hide the pleased rumbling in his throat.

He definitely wasn’t purring. That would be ridiculous.

Still, he was very surprised when the scratching was replaced with a strong gust of wind. He opened his eyes to see an air elemental sitting there, staring at his wind-formed limbs and a distinct feeling of confusion radiating from the bond.

“Well done,” Pierre teased in his rumbling, deep dragon voice. He knew that it wasn’t intentional on Charles’ part. Still, it was impressive and deserved a comment of praise.

He closed his eyes again and let the feel of the warm sun and the light swirling winds of an air elemental lull him back to sleep. Pierre knew that Charles would figure out how to turn back on his own, eventually, and it would be good for him to spend time in that form to familiarize himself with how to move and interact with the world like that.

— — —

Pierre was participating in his absolute favorite activity, pinning Charles to a bed and making him writhe in pleasure, the third time his soulbonded gained his air elemental form.

They were in the capital, partially for trade, partially for filling commissions, and partially for visiting Lewis. Once all of those were done for the day, Pierre dragged Charles up to the room in the inn that they had rented and proceeded to peel all of the clothing off of his body.

Having Charles moan and gasp underneath him was the absolute best way to end the day and Pierre made sure to end their days like that as often as he could manage.

There was a moment when Charles’ eyes flew open with a cry, then his face transformed into a mischievous smile. Charles’ form began to shimmer, then there was suddenly nothing but air underneath him.

A swirl of air breezed through the room, then Pierre felt a firm body against his back.

“I’ve been practicing,” Charles whispered, accomplishment absolutely flowing through the bond alongside his desire, “and I want to make you feel good this time, my love.”

Pierre felt Charles’ hands burning a trail up along the inside of his thighs and decided that he might just have a new favorite activity.

— — —

Before he met Charles, Pierre’s favorite activity had been gliding beneath the sands of the desert in his dragon form. Once he discovered the joy of Charles’ body, that became a secondary but still-loved activity.

Now, though, he could share that experience with his soulbonded.

As an air elemental, Charles could squeeze into the smallest spaces. Anywhere that air could go, he could go in that form. That included underground.

Now, Pierre could feel the delightful sensation of his soulbonded, the wisps of his air, flowing around him while they glided beneath the sands. Together. 

Charles would swirl around his body, as fast as Pierre’s lightning, while they chased each other and laughed and teased. It was a wonderful sensation, one that Pierre never wanted to abandon. His joy combined with Charles’ through their bond, and he could feel the lightness that Charles’ form gave him.

The chaos Charles brought to Pierre’s life brought so many other things along with it. An apprentice to share the joy of potion-making. An eager student that would challenge him to make his own potions better. A friend that would make him laugh and smile. A lover that would kiss him deeply. 

His soulbonded was everywhere around him.

Wherever their travels took them, in whatever form, the thing Pierre loved the most was having Charles right by his side. Exactly where he would always belong.

[espithewarlock]

I, somehow, finished another fantasy Piarles oneshot-that-probably-should-have-been-split-into-chapters and I have gifted it to the ever-lovely, amazing, and wonderful Sol (@duquesademiel)

I hope you enjoy reading about Shapeshifter Dragon Pierre & Potions Apprentice Charles! If you also like being insane about dragons (or have questions/comments/recipes) my inbox is open!

[espithewarlock]

also\1!!! is there perhaps a possibility of taking a smol look into the future of my beloved dragon pierre and potion student Charles? 🥺

💕

Hello Jully darling!! I am so sorry this took me a while but, well, you'll see. 🤭

This snippet will not make much sense if anyone has not read my Dragon!Pierre x Potions Apprentice!Charles fic, Bittersweet, That Glitter. (But you should read it because I'm very proud of that one ok thank you!)

“Pierre, the stock of nymph-grown flowers is getting low,” Charles mentioned as he was checking their potion supplies. He was inside one of the portable holes within the back room of their shop doing their monthly check-in on what they needed to resupply for the potion-eager residents of Maranello.

Recently, the demand for their resistance potions had significantly increased as the Hunter’s Guild accepted both more dangerous and more profitable contracts for their services.

Thanks to Charles’ former affiliation with the Guild, they had a standing agreement. Any components that they could provide to him and Pierre that weren’t needed to fulfill a contract would result in a discount on their potions purchases.

Sometimes, Pierre would even take out a contract with them if he needed any specific materials and either didn’t want to or didn’t have the time to harvest the creature himself.

Well, it was usually to avoid suspicion. Any reports of a fully grown blue dragon hunting anywhere near them would result in very much unwanted attention. They were incredibly careful after Charles essentially led his guild straight into Pierre’s lair unknowingly and he forced Pierre into revealing his secret earlier than he had intended.

Luckily, by staying on the move, they managed to avoid detection and were well-known as a traveling potions master and his incredibly talented apprentice. (Though Charles had intentions of trying for his mastery soon.)

Still, it meant that they had to return to Maranello frequently enough to check on their store and restock anything that was low. The increasing contracts for the Hunter’s Guild led to an increase in demand for all ten types of their resistance potions. All elemental resistance potions had the same base – water infused with three nymph-grown flowers – and those were not easily acquired.

On this plane, at least. Pierre had told him a long time ago that he could easily travel to the Feywild to gather more whenever they ran low. Typically, he would pop over there with a teleportation ritual and return generally between an hour and a day later.

Charles’ soulbond always felt weirdly stretched whenever Pierre was on another plane. He had requested to come along, once, and Pierre had shut that down in his no-nonsense tone that meant he absolutely would not be persuaded.

Sometimes he knew he could convince Pierre with a well-timed plea, or kiss, or pout, and others it was absolutely not up for discussion. That had been one of those times and Charles hadn’t pressed despite his curiosity of the Feywild.

Since fresh flowers were more potent, and Pierre could acquire them easily, they never kept too many on hand since they would lose potency the longer they sat in storage. It meant that Pierre was farther away from him than he would prefer more often than he liked, but Charles always made up for it by keeping Pierre in bed for the same amount of time that he was gone.

If that happened to be a whole day, well, he never got any complaints from his soulbonded.

So he was not prepared for what Pierre said in response. “Is there anything else we need while we are there?” Pierre asked calmly, though out of sight from Charles’ position technically underneath the level of the floor.

He stumbled a bit and rattled one of the shelves to catch himself, then set out a quick curl of air to make sure none of the bottles dropped to the floor and shattered.

“Beloved?” Pierre said, half in amusement and half in concern at the sound of shaking jars.

“When…we go?” Charles clarified. As soon as the shelves were back to their usual stationary state, he quickly hopped into his air elemental form to fly out of the portable hole and return to his human form.

Once he landed, he knew that he had an eager, hopeful expression plastered on his face. Charles didn’t care, since Pierre would be able to read that from the soulbond regardless. There was no point in hiding anything he felt from Pierre.

“Yes,” Pierre replied, giving Charles a soft smile, “you may accompany me to the Feywild. Unless you do not want to go?”

“Of course I want to go,” Charles professed. Pierre’s words were teasing and both of them knew it, yet he responded earnestly.

“Then allow me to finish this today,” Pierre requested, “tonight, we will talk through the ritual and the rules for being within the Feywild. If I am confident in your abilities, we will go there in the morning.”

Charles couldn’t help the spike of excitement within his chest and practically skipped forward to kiss Pierre quickly. His soulbonded indulged it for a moment, then broke away with a bit of a warning glance. Pierre did not like to be interrupted or distracted while they were brewing since the result could be disastrous.

As disappointed as he was to stop kissing Pierre, Charles did not try for more. It would only irritate him and he would have his fill later. He transformed back into an air elemental to return to the shelves and continue taking inventory.

— — —

Later, after they had eaten dinner and gone through the teleportation ritual extensively, Pierre did take him to bed. Once they were naked and sweaty, and Charles was breathless and satisfied, Pierre pulled him to his chest so they could cuddle.

After a few minutes, Charles’ breathing and heart rate settled to something resembling normal and he began tracing little circles onto Pierre’s chest.

“You mentioned some…rules earlier?” he prompted in the quiet of the room.

“Yes, I did,” Pierre agreed, “are you in a clear enough mind to remember them?”

It was, again, a little bit of a tease. Charles had a blanket of warmth in the form of a very satisfying orgasm draped over him, but his mind wasn’t hazy or foggy at all. “I will remember,” he promised.

Pierre pressed a kiss to the top of his head and hugged him tightly. “There are many beings that inhabit the Feywild that you will be unfamiliar with,” he explained slowly, “and their magic is tied to promises and etiquette.”

“The nymphs we will speak to tomorrow will take things very literally,” Pierre continued, “if you ‘give’ them anything as a figure of speech, the way their magic works means they can take it literally. So be very careful with your words.”

“I will,” Charles said instantly.

“I fear you do not fully understand me, my beloved,” Pierre said earnestly and tipped Charles’ face up so he could look into his eyes. “If you introduce yourself to these nymphs and tell them ‘my name is Charles’ they will take that as a gift and will take your name away from you.”

“As much as I love calling you my beloved, I do wish for you to retain your name, and to retain the use of my own,” Pierre murmured.

That was a little terrifying and Charles could see why Pierre had been hesitant about bringing him to the Feywild. “What do they call you, then, if you have not given your name?” he wondered.

“‘Dragon’, usually, since they can sense lies and deception,” Pierre shrugged lightly with a fond smile, “they consider lying to be extremely rude and offensive. If you break their rules of etiquette, then their magic can…obligate you to make it right. That debt can take on many forms, so do not lie and do not break any common rules of etiquette.”

“Like what?”

“They will invite us for tea and it is extremely rude to refuse,” Pierre explained, “but we will start one of our longer potions before we leave, so we can claim that we can only stay for a single cup since we must check on its progress.”

“Isn’t that also a lie, of sorts?” Charles wondered, “since we would be doing something deliberately to get out of an obligation?”

“It is…a convenient excuse,” Pierre said with a wave of his hand, “if we were invited guests then yes, that would be rude. Since we are arriving without notice or warning, it will be technically the truth, though one we have conveniently fabricated for our advantage.”

Charles’ head was spinning a bit, but he could commit these relatively simple rules to memory. He’d done much more strenuous things in order to stay by Pierre’s side and this was no hardship.

“No names, no lies, no rudeness,” he summarized.

Pierre laughed lightly and shifted to kiss him firmly. “You’ll find that it’s much more difficult in practice,” he said against Charles’ lips, “but I have confidence in you, my beloved.”

His confidence could be felt all the way through their soulbond and Charles wasted no time in rolling on top of him so that he could deepen their kiss. He knew that Pierre would, eventually, flip them back over, but that was part of his plan.

— — —

“Be very precise with your markings,” Pierre instructed while handing Charles the magically-enhanced chalk for the teleportation ritual. This was not Charles’ first time casting the ritual, but it was his first time doing it to another plane. 

Thankfully, Pierre had a focus that was attuned to the Feywild, which would remove the risk of the spell significantly. With such a focus, they were far more likely to end up where they intended, especially if Charles got all of the sigils in the runes correct.

He was diligent about copying the circle and all of its intricacies from one of their spellbooks while Pierre observed. Charles never felt like Pierre was hovering or intimidating. If Charles made a mistake, Pierre would correct him before the spell was cast, though he would also allow Charles the opportunity to notice and correct his own mistake before he offered any input.

It was the sort of challenge that he appreciated and the occasional glance (or check of the soulbond) didn’t give any sort of indication on whether he was correct or not.

Once he had double and triple-checked all the runes, Charles sat back on his heels and nervously gestured for Pierre to check his work. Pierre made a slow circuit around the entire thing, carefully studying Charles’ efforts of the last few minutes.

After a long moment in complete, stoic silence, Pierre’s lips curled into a grin and Charles felt a surge of satisfaction within the bond.

“Very good, my beloved,” Pierre said out loud and held out his hand towards Charles, “you will provide the magic and the incantation for us. I will guide it once it has been cast. Come here.”

Charles accepted the outstretched hand and used it to pull himself into the circle along with Pierre. He tapped into his core – a whirlwind with an occasional blue spark of lightning – with practiced ease and pushed his magic into the circle with a familiar chant spilling from his lips.

The magic connected and Charles felt Pierre’s arm wrap protectively around his waist as they began whirling through what Pierre called void space. It was the nothing that existed between and separated different planes, and could not be traversed without magic.

There were a few places that existed where the magic was ‘thinner,’ but those came with their own difficulties in traveling. In Pierre’s words, it was far easier to use their own magic, especially since he knew where they were going. 

When they stopped moving, Charles opened his eyes to a gorgeous world. 

Instead of the desert of Maranello, this world was lush. Trees and bushes were thick, bright green, and almost seemed to be coated in gold since there was so much magic practically dripping off of every branch.

They landed adjacent to a crystal-clear waterfall that was pouring into an equally clear lake. It stretched high up a rocky cliff face which seemed to have even more lush vegetation at the top. Charles continued to look upwards and the sky was a beautiful burst of color.

Yellows, oranges, and pinks streaked across the sky in the most stunning sunset that Charles had ever witnessed. It was more brilliant than anything he had ever seen in the desert next to Maranello or anywhere else he had traveled on their plane.

“Welcome to the Feywild, my beloved,” Pierre murmured right in Charles’ ear, “remember the rules we discussed and you will be just fine.”

He felt Pierre plant a soft kiss in the space just below his ear, then grabbed his hand to begin leading him around the lake. They approached the shallow part of the lake on the opposite side from the waterfall where several large rocks stuck out into the water.

Pierre did not waste any time in removing his shoes, rolling up the bottom of his pants, and stepping onto one of the rocks. Charles hurriedly copied him and together they eased their legs into the water.

It was cool and refreshing, perfect if he had been out in the desert sun all day, though a little too cool for the dense woods they seemed to be in. 

“Hello, nymphs of the Waveless Lake,” Pierre called out, “your favorite blue dragon has come with a gift, and a request, for any who wish to speak with us.”

The name gave Charles a moment of pause, then he realized that the waterfall was splashing into the water yet not creating any ripples. It was beautiful and strange and assuredly magical in nature.

Silence covered the lake, but Pierre did not seem worried. He was patient and calm, like the waters that were touching their legs. Charles waited alongside him, eager to see what would happen.

“Is this human our gift?” A light voice on Charles’ other side startled him just as a hand grabbed his chin to turn him away from Pierre.

There was a woman sitting next to him where there hadn’t been one a moment before. She had long, wavy hair that looked like reeds covering her light blue body. Her strange dark blue and gold eyes were studying Charles and he resisted the urge to push her away. Surely, if he was in danger, Pierre would rescue him.

“He’s only here as an introduction,” Pierre replied calmly, “this one is my soulbonded, my beloved, and will be returning with me when our business is concluded.”

“But he’s so pretty,” a new voice appeared on the other side of Pierre, “are you sure we can’t keep him?”

“Very sure,” Pierre retorted, “I also think he’s beautiful and talented and I will keep him by my side.”

Charles flushed red from the compliment as the first woman dropped his chin and laughed. He was able to twist his head to the side to see a near-identical woman there too. These must be the nymphs that Pierre had mentioned since they were eerily beautiful and almost seemed to be made of water from how their legs blended into the lake.

“You are no fun, dragon,” a third nymph popped out of the water in front of them with her arms propped on the surface as if it was a solid table instead of liquid, “you tease us with this toy and then won’t let us play with him.”

“Will you give us your name, human?” the first nymph asked him while batting her eyelashes coyly, “your dragon hasn’t even given us a proper introduction, yet.”

Pierre’s warning flashed through his head and Charles smiled back at her innocently. “I’m afraid my soulbonded is correct and I am his beloved,” he responded, “but I would love to know the name of a creature of such beauty, if you are willing to share?” Charles grabbed her hand to bring it up to his lips and kiss the back of it.

She giggled and Charles felt a flare of unbridled jealousy and possessiveness coming from the soulbond. He knew that it was…dangerous to tease Pierre like this, but it was payback for Pierre calling him beautiful.

“You may call me Sundew,” she said lightly.

“Mossspring,” the one next to Pierre added.

“Tempest,” the third nymph in the water smiled at him.

“It is lovely to make your acquaintance,” Charles continued with a small half-bow from his seated position, “and I believe my wonderful dragon has some business he wishes to conduct with the three of you.”

“Indeed I do,” Pierre picked up the conversation smoothly, “I am here to fulfill my end of our long standing agreement to check and reinforce your wards every time I am in need of any nymph-grown flowers.”

Charles knew that, technically, Pierre could harvest the flowers himself pretty much anywhere within the plane where nymphs were prevalent. However, the agreement allowed him to expand his collection of connections that he could call upon for favors or information, should that also be required.

“And, as a sign of my continued appreciation, I also have a gift for you three who have come to speak with us today,” Pierre pulled one of his bags of holding out from a pocket and reached inside quickly.

When his hand emerged, he was clutching three small identical vials. They were filled with a silver liquid so light that it was almost white and glowed faintly. “Liquid Moonlight,” Pierre said reverently, “one for each of you, as a gift.”

Instantly, all three were snatched out of his hand by the nymphs and they disappeared below the surface of the water.

Charles’ eyes narrowed. He had heard of Liquid Moonlight, of course. It was an illegal drug that was highly addictive and supposedly caused intense euphoria for the drinker. Anyone caught with it in their possession would be in a world of trouble, and anyone caught brewing it doubly so.

“What are you doing brewing illegal potions?” he hissed, “that is idiotic and we could–”

Suddenly, Charles found himself flat on his back with a very angry soulmate hovering over him. Pierre’s eyes were dark blue and he could feel lightning crackling in the air around him from his fury.

“You forget yourself,” Pierre growled, “we are no longer on your plane or your kingdom. Your laws have no meaning here.”

Charles instantly realized his mistake. He had accused and insulted Pierre with one question based on his own ignorance.

“Even if I am caught, what prison could hold me?” Pierre asked rhetorically, “I am personal friends with the strongest mage on the continent and he would struggle to contain me.”

Of course, Pierre was talking about Lewis. Charles knew the arcanist's power first-hand and the two of them had become close, especially following Pierre's year of attempted disappearance. Charles was well aware of both Pierre's and Lewis' levels of power and shuddered to think what catastrophe might happen if the two were to clash.

“I follow the laws to avoid detection and I do not get caught for the ones I do not follow,” Pierre concluded, “Liquid Moonlight in small doses for nymphs is nothing more than a strong ale for you, my beloved. Do not insinuate that I do not know what I am doing.”

As much as Charles wanted to cower, to concede and be contrite in the face of an angry dragon, his soulbonded was being particularly selfish and stupid.

“And what about me?” Charles retorted, “if I am caught and imprisoned?”

“You have an air elemental form, no prison could hold you. Not that I would allow them to take you in the first place.”

“The reputation of our shop, then,” Charles pointed out, “and my brothers, too. If they are caught with Liquid Moonlight in the back room while they are working, will you pay their fine or break them out of prison, too? You are not usually this thoughtless, my dragon.”

Despite being pinned to the rock at his back, Charles felt confident. He saw his words hit their mark from Pierre’s expression and felt his annoyance at their truth from the soulbond. Charles loved Pierre deeply, and part of that meant reminding him that not everyone was a dragon with hundreds of years of life experience.

“Oh, he’s feisty,” one of the nymph’s voices resounded in his ears. Charles twisted his head to the side to see who he thought might be Tempest sitting next to them casually.

“Are you sure we can’t keep him?” Sundew added as she set a jar filled with flowers next to Pierre on the rock and settled back into the water.

All of the anger vanished from Pierre in an instant and he backed off of Charles, then extended his hand to help him sit up. Once he was back upright, Pierre kissed the back of his hand in apology. 

“He keeps me humble,” Pierre murmured softly with a fond smile.

Charles and the nymphs all began laughing at him and Pierre rolled his eyes. “Slightly more humble,” he conceded.

“Dragon, will you and your soulbonded join us for a cup of tea?” Mossspring asked from the water.

“We have time for one cup, that would be lovely,” Pierre answered for both of them, “but then I must spend an hour meditating in my dragon form to check your wards, and we have a potion we must return to on our plane.”

All of the nymphs looked delighted at his acceptance and a table appeared straight out of the water. It was already set for the five of them and Charles didn’t have to move from his seat on the rock to reach his teacup.

Sundew grabbed the large teapot in the center of the table and began pouring generous servings for each of them. Charles was going to take a sip, but Pierre put his hand on his leg and gave it a quick warning squeeze.

They waited until all the nymphs had been served, then Tempest raised her teacup to the center of the table. “To you and your soulbonded’s continued health and happiness,” she said lightly.

“And to your good fortune,” Pierre returned while lifting his own cup. Charles copied him and took a sip once one of the nymphs drank from hers.

The tea was rich and fruity, perfectly sweetened and flavorful and made him feel at ease. Charles moved slightly closer to Pierre so that his soulbonded could keep one hand secured around his waist while they exchanged pleasantries with the nymphs.

Surprisingly, Charles found himself enjoying himself immensely and laughing at the stories that the nymphs shared. Once their teacups were empty, Pierre set his down with an apologetic smile.

“We thank you for your gracious hospitality,” he said while getting to his feet, “and I must hold up my end of our bargain to check your wards, if you will excuse us. Beloved?”

Charles took his cue and also got to his feet. “It was a pleasure to meet all of you,” he said with a sweeping bow.

All of the nymphs giggled, said their own goodbyes, and vanished into the water as quickly as they arrived. Charles looked at the stillness of the lake in curiosity and wondered what all was beneath the surface.

“They were…interesting,” he commented as Pierre led him away from the water a short distance to a good sized clearing.

As soon as they were out of sight of the water, Charles was not expecting to be pulled into a searing kiss. He melted into it and rivers of heat began to travel up his spine from the way Pierre’s strong hand was gripping his waist.

“You handled them well, beloved,” Pierre whispered across his lips, “but they are fools if they think they can try to take what is mine.”

Charles felt desire absolutely flooding out of the bond. He adored how possessive Pierre was over him and felt it amplified through their connection. It always made his head spin and he let out a slight whimper as Pierre pulled away.

“Later, beloved,” Pierre promised with another quick brush of their lips, “I do need to meditate and check their wards for a time.”

He was disappointed, but allowed Pierre to step away after one more lingering kiss. Charles always thought that Pierre’s transformation into his true form was awe-inspiring and made no effort to hide his appreciation as a blue dragon briefly stretched his wings, then curled up in what looked like a typical sleeping position.

Charles reached into his pocket for his own bag of holding, then pulled out one of his advanced potions books along with his notebook. Pierre kept giving hints that Charles would be ready for his mastery exam soon and he wanted to be prepared.

One part of the exam would be to demonstrate a potion of his own creation. That meant that he had to come up with an idea that was unique, and could be brewed in less than a day. Preferably, less than a few hours, though it depended on the panel of potion masters that were evaluating him.

As his potions master, Pierre was not permitted to be a part of that panel, nor was he allowed to give Charles ideas. If Charles wanted to talk through ideas theoretically, that was perfectly fine. However, he needed to prove that he could do it all on his own if he wanted to feel confident with earning the master title himself.

His favorite place to study was perched on one of Pierre’s forelimbs. Pierre would bring his head around and press it to Charles’ side while he was resting and Charles loved to gently scratch at the small blue scales that covered his head.

Pierre would never admit to it, but the deep rumbling that resulted always reminded Charles of a purring cat. It was the perfect noise for studying while Pierre opened his magic in meditation. Charles loved the feel of it and leaned forward to press a kiss to Pierre’s scales before opening up his notebook in his lap.

There was no other place he’d rather be.

[espithewarlock]

hello espiiiiiii 🤍🤍🤍🤍 for the wrapped thing, 20 and 30 pls? ✨

anything for you, sol!! 💚

20 - Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I reread my stuff constantly while I'm working on it. Every fic gets at least one reread in gdocs before it gets loaded to AO3 & one reread in AO3 before I hit post. After I hit post I am extremely unlikely to reread any of them, with few exceptions:

Love Comes Wearing Disguises (Baker!Pierre x Prince!Charles)

Coloring Outside the Lines (Ferrari!Pierre x OnlyFans!Charles)

Bittersweet, That Glitter (Dragon!Pierre x Potions Apprentice!Charles)

These three fall into what I call my long-form oneshots and I adore them so much. These are the fics that feel like me, like my signature works, and I'm thrilled with how each of them turned out. (The fact that other people like them too is, frankly, mind-boggling.)

30 - Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Probably that I work very well with prompts. 1016 week was the first time I had written works using prompts and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and the stuff I managed to produce for that week.

My PWFE is going extremely well, and it's something atypical for me but I'm enjoying writing it quite a bit. The prompt I got for that was very inspiring!

So I have plenty of my own ideas that I'm working on, and I'm also looking forward to more prompt-based challenges!

(And can I also add that I am continuously stunned by the outpouring of love & support from the Piarles community? It's so lovely to write in such a positive space.)