//------------------------------// // Tickle Training // Story: Who's the Toughest Dragon? // by StarkyShy //------------------------------// A few days later, Smolder walked down the halls, pouting and grumbling to herself as her eyes scanned around her, trying to find something. Sandbar noticed the grumpy look on her face as she stomped by. “Uhhh, hey Smolder! You alright?” “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Smolder nodded, trying not to look so upset. “Hey, have you seen Gallus around? I need to talk to him about something...” Sandbar pointed back towards the dorms. “Yeah, he should still be in our room…” “Perfect, thanks!” Smolder gave Sandbar a quick hug before rushing off with a renewed vigor in her step. Back in the dorms, Gallus sighed in boredom as he laid down in bed. With no tests to study for, there was nothing left to do for the day. As he closed his eyes and relaxed his body for a quick nap, he heard a knocking at his door. “Yeah yeah, I’m comin’...” he grumbled as he rolled out of bed to the door. “Wait, Smolder?” “Hey Gallus,” Smolder said, casually walking into the room. “I wanted to see you for something, you busy?” “Nah, not really.” Gallus shrugged. “Whatcha need?” Smolder closed the door and locked it behind her. “Oh nothing much...just revenge.” “Wait, what?” As Gallus turned, he was suddenly tackled. Smolder lifted him up and threw him back onto his bed. As he tried to get his bearings, she leapt up and landed on top of him, nearly knocking the air out of him. “GAH! What the-What is WITH you?!” Smolder sat down on his chest, leaning forward to pin him down by the shoulders. “I told you, this is revenge!” “For what!? What did I do to you?” Gallus tried to throw Smolder off, but lacked the leverage. Smolder started growling. “You know what you did! You made me lose that toughness contest! “Wha-me?” “Yeah, you made me lose when you kissed my foot and stuff. That’s like, totally cheating!” Smolder explained, her orange cheeks showing a new shade of red. “Oh for the love of-” Gallus muttered to himself. “Are you really that upset over this?” “Uh, YEAH? Dragons are supposed to be tough and strong and awesome and stuff!” Smolder leaned closer, pushing Gallus’s hands away with her feet. “Alright listen, Smolder, I’m sorry that you lost or whatever, but that’s not really my fault, is it?” Smolder sat up straight, crossed her arms and huffed. Her knees pinning Gallus’s shoulders to the bed. “Yeah? Well I’m still tougher than you, so how about that?” Gallus sighed as he tried to wriggle out, but Smolder still had him pinned. After a few moments of laying there in awkward silence, Gallus looked up at her. “Is that it? Are you gonna do anything else?” “Nuh-uh. I can sit here all day if I want!” Smolder toes started to curl and uncurl, gradually shifting closer to Gallus’s talons. “...Smolder, get off of me.” he said, starting to get annoyed. Smolder seemed to hesitate before speaking. “...Make me.” Gallus silently looked back and forth between Smolder defiantly crossing her arms and her feet practically rubbing up against his hands. “...Alright.” With such easy access, Gallus’s fingers started skittering over her soles. “Eeeehahahahaaa! Oh no!” Smolder burst out into a giggling fit. Her toes started to curl, but she didn’t seem to leave her spot. Gallus started smirking as his fingers slid down her arches, watching her squirm on top of him. “Oh yes!” More and more squeals came out of Smolder as she tried to move her feet away. Her attempt to defend her feet while still staying on top of Gallus led to her losing her balance and falling backwards. Now that the weight was off of him, Gallus sat back up and sprang into action to retaliate. He wrapped one arm around her ankles to trap them, then started sliding his fingers down her feet. “Nooohahaha! G-Gallus stahahahap!” Smolder started pounding on Gallus’s back as she tried to yank her feet away. Now that Smolder’s feet were now at his mercy, Gallus continued to make her squeal. He fought through all the punches as his claws lightly scritched against her heel. “C’mon, Smolder, I’m barely touching you!” Smolder tried swinging harder at Gallus, but the light touch of his claws made her fall on her back again. “Naaahahahaha! I cahahan’t taaake it!” Gallus chuckled, even if she was gonna hurt him later, it was still worth it to hear her giggle like that. “I could keep tickling you like this all day...” “Hehehehehe...C-Can you?” Gallus was about to walk his fingers up to her toes when he paused. “What’d you say?” The shock of hearing Smolder ask that made him drop his grip on her ankles entirely. “That’s...that’s the real reason I came to you…” Smolder grumbled, looking away as her cheeks started to redden. “Cause I...need your help.” “With what?” “I...I want a rematch against Ember, but I need to get tougher first.” She slowly turned back to Gallus. “And, you know, since you’re the only one that’s tickled me like that…” “Mmhm?” Gallus smirked. He knew what Smolder wanted to ask, but he wanted to hear it out loud. “So...can you...keep tickling me like that?” Smolder quickly crossed her arms again in a huff. “F-For training, of course!” As ridiculous as it all sounded, there was no way Gallus was going to pass up an opportunity like this, especially if Smolder was straight-up asking him to tickle her. “Well, since you’re asking so nicely, I guess I’ll help you with your ‘training’.” Smolder sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness! So, uh...how do you wanna do this?” “Well, let’s start with this.” Gallus said as he put Smolder’s feet on his lap. “All you gotta do is keep your feet still. If you don’t...well, I’m gonna be a whole lot meaner.” “Pff, that’s it? That’s easy!” Smolder scoffed, flexing her feet in feigned confidence. With a display of his wiggling talons, Gallus smirked. “We’ll see about that…” He started his fingers off at her heels, slowly sliding up towards her toes. “Eeeep!” Almost immediately, Smolder bent her knees to try and pull her feet back. She quickly realized her mistake and tried putting her feet back in hopes that she wouldn’t be penalized. Gallus smirked, it was barely a second before she pulled away. “Easy, huh?”   “S-Shut up…” Smolder grumbled as she felt the burning in her cheeks intensify. “That just...caught me by surprise, is all…” “Let’s just call that strike one, then...” Gallus picked up where he left off, expecting Smolder to retreat again. Smolder let out a squeal through clenched teeth. Her fists pounded on her own legs, trying not to pull them away this time. Continuing his trek upwards, Gallus made a stop at her arches, making his talons walk from side to side. “C’mon, you gotta be tougher than that if you wanna beat Ember.” “Gaaaah I knooooow!” Smolder let out an anguished growl. In order to distract from the growing urge to pull her feet away, her arms started swinging wildly, hitting whatever was nearby: her legs, the bed, the pillows, the bedpost, even the wall. Gallus’s talons honed in on the balls of Smolder’s feet next. Each finger took turns giving it a light scritch to get another giggle out of her. “You know, Silverstream was right. It’s really cute seeing your toes wiggle.” Gallus’s little comment seemed to make Smolder’s toes start wiggling faster. “Eeeheehee...S-Shut uhuhuhuhup!” Smolder’s fists pounded on the bed harder. Her legs kept trembling, her knees bent ever so slightly, trying not to pull back. With all the attention her toes were begging for, how could Gallus resist? He happily had his fingers dance against her curling toes. “NAHAHAHAHAAA!” Without even thinking, Smolder yanked her feet away. “Ahahahaha...ah dangit.” Her toes curled up against the sheets once she stopped giggling. “Strike two…” Gallus said in a half-playful, half-menacing tone. “Better not pull them away again.” Smolder reluctantly put her feet back onto Gallus’s lap, all the possible punishments Gallus could give made her shiver. Gallus’s wings popped out from behind his back. With a wicked grin on his face, they slid down the center of both her soles. The sight of the gryphon’s wingspan made Smolder gulp. Gallus took his sweet time having his feathers approach, each agonizing second was spent trying to mentally prepare. Once they made contact, Smolder started flailing again. Even her tail was now slamming against the mattress. “HAHAAAHAAAAAAAA! “Woah, haven’t heard you squeal like that before…” Gallus chuckled. Once his wings reached her heel, they slid back up her feet. Once they reached her toes is where Gallus really planned to drive her crazy. The tips of his wings flicked against her toes, trying to get under and in-between at every opportunity they could. Smolder could feel the feathers moving upwards. She grabbed a nearby pillow in preparation. Once they got to her toes, she buried her face in the fluffy pillow, muffling her screams of laughter. Eventually, her toes stayed curled up, trying to lock the feathers out. Gallus’s easy solution was to just skitter against her arches until her toes exposed themselves again. Still muffling herself, Smolder fell onto her back again. The pillow also served to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Coochie coochie coo, Smolder…” Gallus taunted as his wings swiped under her toes. “Your soft feet are just perfect for tickling...” Another squeal was suppressed by the pillow as Smolder finally pulled her feet back for a third time, curling herself up in a ball. Gallus shook his head, “Uh-uh, that’s strike three. You know what that means.” He grabbed onto her ankles, bringing them closer to his chest to plant a kiss on her sole. The familiar feeling of Gallus’s beak on her foot made Smolder throw the pillow at him. Her laughter was now at full volume. “AAAAAHAHA NOOO! NAHAHAT AGAAAIN!” “Ahhh, your feet are so soft…” Gallus rubbed his cheek against her heel, feeling the toes curl against his head. “Cute, too!” Smolder tried to sit up to pry Gallus’s talons off, but each attempt quickly ended up with her helpless on her back again. “GAAAHAAHAA SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUHUHUHUP!” “Oh, and your toes, too! Can’t forget about them! Especially with how ticklish they are, how much they wiggle against my wings, making me want to tickle them more…” Gallus gave each of her toes a peck as he spoke. Tears began to form in the dragon’s eyes. She slammed her fists against the bedsheets, trying to yank her feet free. “NOHOHOHO! NOHOHO MOOORE!” Gallus nuzzled up against her soles, fingers idly wiggling against her toes. “How did such a tough dragon get such cute ticklish feet?” “AAAHAHA I CAHAHAHAHAN’T! GALLUS PLEHEHEHEAASE!” Smolder begged, her voice starting to crack. “Alright, I think that’s enough ‘training’ for today.” Gallus gave her soles one more quick peck before setting them back down on the bed. Smolder was still giggling on the bed long after Gallus had stopped tickling. “Eeeheehee...it still tingles…” “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” “So...can we do this again tomorrow?” She cleared her throat, trying to act cool again. “Just so I can keep up with the training, of course!” With a playful roll of his eyes, Gallus nodded. “Yeah, I can train you again tomorrow.” Smolder sat back up and tackled Gallus again, but this time she laid down on top of him, nuzzling her head against his fluffy chest. “...Thanks…” “Aheh, no problem, but do you mind getting off me?” Gallus nudged her a few times to get her attention. “...Smolder?” All Gallus got was a tired murmur in response. Smolder had fallen asleep on top of her in a startling amount of time. With a reluctant sigh, Gallus pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as he closed his eyes. An hour later, Sandbar returned to his room, ready to relax in his own bed and read some comics. “Hey Gallus, are y-” Upon seeing Smolder asleep on top of Gallus hugging her, Sandbar quietly closed the door. He shook his head and sighed as he headed towards Yona’s room. “...I gotta stop walking in on these things…”