"Bring Lyra." Zared nodded at the door.
His intrigue for this female was increasing by the minute as he watched her do things her own way, with so much audacity.
But he didn't know that this was how Roxy was from the very beginning. She was a no-nonsense person who wouldn't tolerate anything. Despite the way she shows herself to the world. Deep within her, Roxy craved for someone to hold her and tell her she was doing the best just breathing.
Because her family never told her that, even once in her life.
That's why the child growing in her belly, even though he was a beast, already had some strong attachment to her, even before she knew how he was going to become after being born.
Malcor looked hesitant, but he scurried out. Minutes later, he returned with a female dragon-shifter.
Roxy expected an Amazonian warrior. Someone terrifying.
What walked in was disappointing.
Lyra was tall, yes. She had scales and horns. But she was thin. Gaunt. Her scales looked dull, lacking the shine that the males had.
Her eyes were sunken, and her hair was brittle. She looked at Zarek with adoration, but she looked tired just standing there.
The feminine part of Roxy throbbed just looking at her.
Her anger toward men stemmed from years of abuse that flared. She snapped at Malcor, trying to calm her rage.
"This is your strongest female?" Roxy asked in a sarcastic tone.
To the others, it felt like an insult, but it was just Roxy reining in her anger.
"She is fierce!" Malcor defended. "She can fly for days!"
"Fly?" She scoffed. "She looks like she's going to pass out just by standing," Roxy countered. She walked around Lyra, inspecting her like she was a matron at a boarding house.
The system scanned Lyra.
[Scan Complete.]
[Target: Lyra. Species: Dragon. Status: Malnourished. Calcium Deficiency. Iron Deficiency. Bone Density: Low]
"What do you feed them?" Roxy asked, her voice calm.
Zarek replies this time. "The males hunt. We eat the hearts and the muscles of the kill. We are the ones to protect them."
"And the females?" Roxy pressed.
"They eat the remains," Malcor said with a shrug. "They do not fight, so they do not need strength."
Roxy stared at them. Fuming as she thought, if that were so, why did Zarek give her the whole meat? Or was he just different?
"Are you all fucking stupid?" Suddenly asked, settling her gaze on Malcor. Before a laugh bubbled out of her throat.
The cave went silent, not expecting it. Malcor bristled. "You dare insult–"
"Yes! I dare!" Roxy shouted, throwing her hands up. "You idiots! You absolute, misogynistic lizards!"
At this point, Roxy was just using them as an outlet.
No matter where she went, Men would always be men, showing how disgusting they could be.
She marched up to Zarek, poking a finger into his rock-hard abs. "You wonder why your women can't carry your babies? Because you're starving them! You're eating all the protein and iron, and leaving them the garbage!"
Normally, they were meant to survive with only just meat. But during the pregnancy period, that wasn't possible.
"They do not fight," Zarek argued, growling at the finger she dared to use. "Why were the resources?!"
So we women waste resources now?
Roxy sarcastically laughed, "Because making a baby is harder than fighting a bear, you moron!" Roxy screamed. "It takes calcium to make bones! It takes iron to make blood! It takes fat to make the brain! If the mother doesn't have it, the baby takes it from her bones until she breaks!"
She spun on Malcor. "Your daughter isn't too weak because she holds on to her will to live. She's weak because she has anemia! Loss of blood! You're trying to build a skyscraper on a foundation made of toothpicks, and then you act surprised when it collapses."
At this point, Roxy knew she was just rambling nonsense. Because she knew they couldn't understand the modern words she spoke.
[Successfully Translated to the Targets.]
Thank you, System, I love you <3
Malcor sputtered. "This... this is nonsense! We are Dragons! We do not need–"
"Biology doesn't care if you're a dragon!" Roxy cut him off. "You can be a god, but if you don't put gas in the car, it doesn't run!"
They furrowed their brows at her words. Zarek watched from the side, mesmerized by her words and the way she moved.
This female was deserving of him.
He was going to keep her; she was his.
Roxy grabbed a piece of the cooked boar meat she had made earlier and shoved it into Lyra's hands.
"Eat it," Roxy commanded.
Lyra looked at the meat, then at her father, terrified. "I... I cannot. This has been reserved for the king..."
"I am the Queen," Roxy declared, her voice ringing with authority. She had absolutely had it. "And I say you eat. Right now."
Lyra looked at Zarek. The latter, who was still reeling from being poked in the abs and yelled at, gave a stiff nod.
All this audacity was all new to him.
Lyra took a bite. Then another. Her face lit up. She couldn't believe meat could be this delicious. Her cheeks brightened with color, tasting the food for the first time.
"See?" Roxy said, crossing her arms. "She's starving."
[System Warning: Clan levels fluctuating. Skepticism remains high.]
Malcor sneered, regaining his composure. "You think feeding them more will solve a thousand-year curse? You think food makes them worthy of the male's fire? This is peasant thinking. A delusion."
A vein ticked in Roxy's forehead.
"You think so?" Roxy smirked. She grabbed Zarek's hand and placed it on her stomach.
"I am a human," she announced, the word foreign to them. "I have no scales. I don't breathe fire. According to you, I am the weakest thing in this room. And yet..."
She looked Malcor dead in the eye.
"I am the only pregnant one. And I am not dying. Why? Because I eat properly. Because I take care of myself."
She stepped back, addressing the room.
"You want to save your species? Then you stop treating your women like garbage disposals. From today, the females' feeding is your utmost priority. The females eat meat. And we aren't just hunting anymore."
"Not hunting?" Zarek frowned. "Then what?"
"Farming," Roxy said. "Vegetables. Grains. Balanced diets. We are going to fatten these women up until they are strong enough to handle you big brutes."
Malcor scoffed loudly. "Dragons digging in the dirt? Absurd. It will never work."
Roxy smiled, already thinking of ways she could put this man to rest most peacefully ever.
"Give me one month," she challenged. "Give me your females. I will feed them my way. I will train them my way."
She leaned in close to Malcor.
"And when they are stronger than you, old man... You can eat the scraps." She then turned to Zarek. "Am I clear?"
Zarek looked at her, small, fierce form. A sudden fire burned his eyes as he watched her.
"You have one month," He suddenly declared.