Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse

"Alright," Delphi said, eyeing the creatures uneasily. "Lili, keep a crossbow trained on it when I climb on."

"I'll come with you so I'm at close range to its eye," Lili suggested helpfully.

The two girls approached the first dragon that had bitten Delphi's ankle and seemed to be the leader.

Lili set herself up a few feet from its head with an arrow nocked and ready to go.

Delphi carefully swung a leg over the creature, settling her tender ass onto its back and letting her hands rest on its scaly skin. It didn't move, other than its ever-flickering tongue, sensing the air.

Nothing ventured nothing gained… she thought.

"Alright," she called to it, "let's go big fella. Stand up," she gave it a gentle tap with one bare foot and one booted foot."

The creature rose to its feet.

"Let's go that way," she pointed and gave it a pat on the left with her hand. "Nice and slow."

The dragon took off at a quick trot, with Delphi bouncing along on its back.

"Woah," she called, "slow down there boy".

The dragon slowed to a walk. "Good boy," she patted his head like he was a dog.

She looked down at her foot and noticed there were no ill-effects from the dragon's poison that had landed there. She wondered if that was also part of the Chastain family's biological link to these war-beasts.

"Wow, this is pretty cool," she said, turning the beast back towards the waiting girls.

They all stood staring at her as if she had grown a second head, or even a third one.

"Well girls," she said, "this changes everything!"

"This could change the course of the rebellion," murmured Feifei to herself.

Delphi heard her. "100%. This is a historic day. Let's see if the rest of you can ride them with me around."

The girls all approached a dragon and climbed onto them. The beasts were as gentle as lambs.

"Let's go this way boy," said Ruby to the dragon she rode. "Good job, now go a bit faster," she tapped him, and he sped up. "They definitely take commands from us Delphi," she called.

"That's good news. Let's see if I hold the override command," Delphi focussed on the dragon Ruby was riding. "Stop right there," she shouted at it, and it pulled up hard. "Lie down," she gestured with her hands for it to drop to the ground, and it did.

"Interesting," she muttered. "Let's try this. All of you, stand up." The dragons stood. "All of you spit poison," she gestured to show the action, and they all spat big gobs of poison.

"This is how you get them to act in concert in an attack. Amazing…" Delphi shook her head. Her mind was spinning with ideas.

"Girls, we need to get out of here. We've wasted a lot of time today. The guards will be here any second and I don't want them to get wind of this just yet. We need to use this to our advantage with them after we get to Horsham tomorrow. We'll sleep in the local Town Hall tonight. Grab the horses and let's go."

"Delphi there are more dragons than we can ride," said Feifei. "Do you want to bring them all?"

"Let's just bring a few spare for now," said Delphi. "We can always return and get more; we're not very far from Horsham here."

The creatures they left behind retreated into the Giant Koala, pushing open the swinging double doors with their heads. Delphi rode her dragon over to the building and poked her head inside.

"The Giant Koala's their nest," she said as they all rode off. "It's full of eggs."

"Not as sacrilegious as a church at least," laughed Feifei.

They arrived at the Town Hall and tethered the horses behind the building, without any need to lock them inside or find high fences.

Delphi spoke to the lead dragon. "You all stay outside and guard us from danger. Look after the horses as well," she pointed at them. "Feel free to go off and hunt for dinner," she mimicked eating, "but don't eat the horses, and don't all of you go."

She had no idea how much he had understood. They'd find out tomorrow for sure. In the meantime, she planned to stay up and watch them. She needed to see what they got up to when she wasn't looking them in the eye.

After the girls had settled down to sleep in the main part of the Hall, Delphi moved into the side annex. She pulled back the curtain and opened the window. A full moon shone, lighting up the clearing at the front of the hall that faced the road. She had a good view of the dragons from here, and she could check on the horses through the back window in case there was any silly business.

She pulled up a chair and gave it a dust, sitting down on it gingerly. She had on a fresh skirt, and Ruby had applied some cream to her gravel rash, but it still hurt like buggery.

She was more than excited by today's development, though the irony of the Guerilla Girls using the hated tubiàn who had caused so much death and destruction, to seek their own freedom, was not lost on her.

A handful of the tubiàn disappeared, presumably to hunt, and the rest remained behind, leaving the horses blessedly undisturbed.

Before the hunters returned, she heard the sound of horses on the road. That would be the guards, she thought.

This, would be interesting…