The Worst Kobold Chapter 8: Chapter 5 - Emberchild Ghazal Magehand Sneakgleam

Read chapter 8 of The Worst Kobold by Thalaas on NovelPedia.

There was an incredibly long awkward pause in the middle of the damp cave, containing one injured dragon and one very attractive nude kobold. Griffon just sat there for several long seconds after Fluke's jaw dropped. It had made an audible clunk as it hit the ground with enough force to send up a small spray of gravel. He tried to say something but it was unintelligible. More akin to a baby's babble than anything coherent. So she spoke first as she lifted her left arm. The prevalent scar on her face made a long track down her side, ending up just above the hip. “My scar’s not that horrifying is it, hmmmm?” she teased, trying to lighten the mood. There was a flash of light from the two rings on her left horn. It seemed to send sparkles around her face, giving her visage an almost starlight motif. Fluke became flushed with shock as he quickly covered his eyes with his uninjured left leg. And since his wounded right leg was lifted high? His head suddenly slammed on the ground, hard enough to snap his jaw shut with an audible clack. It made his teeth rattled and also sent up a shower of sparks as the fire seemed to jump off the ground for a split second. “Griffon! You’re... naked!” he said, without removing the clawed hand even though his eyes were still squeezed shut. “Observant, aren't we?” Griffon chuckled a bit at her friend. She had been expecting that sort of reaction but it still amused her. She thought she'd be more embarrassed but she'd been far more concerned about her friend's well-being, than to worry about some casual nudity. “Wh... why?” “You had a giant wound and I needed something to bandage it with. Had to make do with what I had,” Griffon shrugged as she twirled the sword once. Not that Fluke could see it. “And it took a lot of leather for your massive hide. Still, those straps are a lot thinner than I’d like." That fancy sword she pulled out of him made short work of her once prized vest and pants despite their inherent toughness. If one of the soldiers hit her with this weapon she'd have been cleaved in half, no matter how good her gear had been. “B... But... that was your griffon leather armor! Th... That was...” More stammering from the rattled Fluke. “You shouldn’t have cut it up!” “It was a small price to pay to help you, Fluke,” came the firm reply from Griffon. “Though I honestly thought it would be much worse. In fact, it looked like it was healing already.” More stuttering from Fluke as he tried to find words. “But...you’re naked!” he merely repeated as if she hadn't been heard the first time. “I am well aware.” “What... I shouldn’t see you like this!” “You’ve seen me in my scales before, Fluke.” Griffon took one of the branches meant for the fire and poked him in the neck with it playfully. Fluke didn’t notice the jabbing. “When we were hatchlings!” “Listen!” she said and gave an even harder poke with the stick. “I don’t know how you did it, Fluke, but you got us both out of there alive, even with a giant pigsticker in you!” Another poke of the branch at her friend. It snapped in two. Griffon just threw the half she was holding into the roaring fire. “So, if I gotta walk back home with my tail hanging out? I can live with it.” She picked up the other half of the branch and added it to the blaze. “And you can’t walk back all the way to the clan covering your eyes.” The worst kobold relented with a nod. Taking his front paw slowly from his face, he finally looked at her. More at her feet than anything. “Great,” Griffon said as she slowly rose. “Now let's start heading back and prepare ourselves. This is going to make for an interesting story when we get back home,” she said with determination. And with that? The worst kobold and the successful far scout began their long journey back to kobold civilization. “Congratulations, my boy!” A heavy hand clamped down on Prince Alexander’s shoulder. The strong had squeezed tightly, before letting go. An older man, with straight jet black hair with streaks of silve