If not for the time of year, Hueroc never would have considered the town at all. Ordinarily when going on a long flight it wasn't too difficult to find himself a secluded clearing or overhang to spend the night, but then, he usually didn't fly so far this season. The weather had turned cold and there was a sharp bite to the wind, enough that even he could feel the cold as he flew; it would be colder still tucked in against some trees, without exertion to keep his blood pumping, and the ground here too flat to offer him any shelter where his body heat could warm a smaller space, a little cave or crevice to keep warm. So he didn't want to, he preferred to keep away from the anthros at all costs--especially considering certain previous encounters--but here they saw few dragons, surely, here they would have no reason to dislike him, and if he asked for somewhere to spend the night they would have no reason to turn him away.

The sun was just setting as he circled over the village, and thanks to the weather there were only a couple of the bipeds outside, hurrying from one building to the next. At the sound of his wings and the thud of his landing they looked up, though to his dismay they didn't seem too happy to see a dragon: wide-eyed and likely afraid, that was what that usually meant on a biped, though he couldn't see their ears for a better indication, tucked under hoods against the cold as they were.

"Hello there!" he said, quickly, before they might think to run away, doing his best to sound friendly, though his anthro-tongue was a little rough. "I'm on a long flight and looking for somewhere I can spend the night out of the cold. Is there an inn here?"

One of them flinched visibly when addressed, and hid behind his larger companion. A little of her teeth showed, and her tail fluffed up, twitching back and forth, though his questions and intent had to be clearly peaceful, he was sure! It wasn't like he'd threatened to burn that inn down to keep warm by the fire of it. Still, there was a long hesitation before finally she said, "there's one a couple of blocks down, big blue building, you can't miss it."

Having evidently reached the limits of her hospitality, she turned at once and hurried away, the two of them nearly at a run. He huffed at their rudeness--he was trying his best to be polite and non-threatening to the little creatures, for once, and it didn't seem to make any difference to them! Still, "thank you!" he called after their retreating forms, and turning in the direction she'd gestured he prowled on down the road, keeping his paws out of the wagon-ruts. Even tightly furled to his back, the wind funneled between the buildings and tried to worm its way beneath them, trying to tug them away from his back, and he huffed, his scales rustling against the chill.

True to her word, the inn was not easy to miss: the largest building he could see in the town, lanterns on the stoop making its bright blue paint visible even in night. Another anthro stood at the door, and though his tail fluffed itself out as well, absurd-looking to the dragon, he didn't seem quite so intimidated by the presence of a dragon. Another lantern was clenched in one hand, evidently having just been used to light those on the porch, and he held it up a little against the dark. Without waiting to be addressed, the dog said, "well, and what'll you be wanting here? We don't get too many of your kind in these parts."

Hueroc tried to keep his lips and paws still, to avoid any baring of teeth, or digging claws into the earth, either of which the smaller creature might find threatening. "I'm only passing through," he said, doing his best to keep the natural growling accent out of his voice. "I was looking for somewhere to spend the night, out of the cold. Is there a room at the inn large enough for me?"

The anthro looked at him doubtfully, first up and down his body, then at the door: even crawling belly-down, wings tucked in tight as they could, he was unlikely to even fit through it, to say nothing of the wreckage of the doorframe and of the rooms within. "Hmm. Well I should warn you--we don't much care for your kind, around here. But I'd hardly turn away a paying customer, and we've had a dragon or too sleep here before." The dog relaxed a little. "You won't fit into the inn itself, but the stable has a room that'll suit you well."

The red dragon settled onto his haunches. He couldn't help but twitch his tail: a stable didn't sound so appealing, but so long as it was clean, he supposed it would do! "So long as it's warm and out of the wind, it should be fine. How much for the night?"

The dog thought for a little while, then said, "Forty, for the room, more if you want any food or drink, tonight or in the morning."

The number wasn't unreasonable, in his admittedly limited experience, so he bobbed his head in agreement, and turning he reached into a small pouch tucked under one wing for the payment. The bills gave his claws a little trouble, as always, but after a moment he managed to pick out the two he wanted. "There, here you are."

The innkeeper pocketed the money and gave a little half-bow, his tail relaxed again. "Thank you much. If you'll head around back, just give me and the boys a couple of minutes to get the room arranged. I hope the horses won't mind your scent too badly, but could you stand upwind of the barn while you wait? I want to see how they'll react."

"Of course." It was a good suggestion, so he circled to the side of the building, the good-sized stable with its broad double doors easy to identify. He settled down, upwind, and preened a wing while he waited, flexing them occasionally to keep them from getting too stiff; it had been colder than he'd liked, today, and even his body heat could only do so much when his wings were spread out so wide to catch the wind. He even spotted a well, and after sniffing into it briefly he dragged over a trough and worked the pump, carefully, a couple of times. Perhaps the water tasted a little wooden, from the old trough, but it was perfectly clean otherwise, and he lapped it up happily.

The dog came back to find him after a couple more minutes of waiting. There were now two more canines with him, similar enough in the face and what he could see of their fur for him to think them sons, or perhaps brothers. "Come on in, now, the room's ready," he said, gesturing with a hand, and ruffling his wings one more time he stood and came in behind them, barely having to duck to fit through the door: how nice for this building to actually be built closer to his size! At once things felt warmer, the stout wood keeping out the wind, and he stretched his neck happily as they guided him to his room. It was actually large enough to give him room to turn around, straw spread on the floor, even a large cushion occupying one corner--

Leather sacks, straps, and chains lay on that cushion, an ominous matte black against the light blue. The sight of the restraints brought out all his repressed resentment of the anthros at once, and he growled, his tail lashing back and forth. "What is [i]that[/i] for?"

The innkeep shrugged, almost apologetic. "I told you--we don't much care for your kind here. Just because this ain't dragon territory doesn't mean we don't have the old stories of rampage and fire. I know, you've paid, and you've been polite thus far, but if the town knew, if the mayor knew, we'd have fear, the sheriff running down with guards, maybe a riot if news of you got out."

That struck Hueroc as more than a little selfish, and unreasonable to boot: he hadn't done a thing to warrant such treatment--not to [i]these[/i] anthros at least--and there was no call for this! "I haven't scared or attacked anyone though! Can't you just tell them I'm a nice dragon, who paid for a room, and will fly off in the morning?"

"I tried the last time one of your kind stayed, she was so very polite, we had a nice chat about city life, and flight--enough to know neither of those things are for me! But in the morning we nearly had the village charging in wanting to drive her out, and she hadn't made a peep of trouble, just like you. Only way to avoid the fuss is if I can tell everyone we made sure you won't be causing us any harm. And if we get you hobbled and muzzled up tight, that will reassure everyone that we'll all be safe."

Again Hueroc tried to keep from baring his teeth, though he pawed at the dirt of the stable floor restlessly. "Look. I just want somewhere warm to spend the night. Nobody even needs to see me, and in the morning I'll get up and fly away and nobody will even know I'm here. There's no need to tie me up."

"Ain't nobody who didn't hear your wings just now," one of the other canines said. "Folk know a dragon's near, just not where, and they're sure to be asking if anyone's seen one. [i]Did[/i] anyone see you?"

The dragon couldn't help but sigh: not only had someone seen him, he'd asked about lodging. "Yes... and I asked them where I could find an inn."

"So everyone will know you're here; this is the only one in town."

Hueroc growled, and not quietly; somewhere behind him, out in the barn, a horse whinnied softly, and one of the dogs tensed. Seeing they weren't going to bend, and not wanting to have given them payment only to refuse to stay, he sighed, and came into the room. "Oh, fine. You'll come take this stuff off first thing in the morning?"

All three of them relaxed visibly, and they went to pick up the restraints. "Once you're up and ready to go, yes. Here, hold your head down for me," the first of the three said, and Hueroc sighed one more time before letting the canine muzzle him. Mitts went over each of his four paws, strapped into place, and each pair linked by short chains to hobble him: he could stand, and walk, but barely. Lastly they buckled his wings into sacks, pinning them shut against his back, and he huffed from the snug restraint, but though they were tight they weren't uncomfortable. He pulled on the cuffs briefly, but they seemed strong and well-made: evidently they took this seriously, rare occurrence as it might be!

They checked the buckles briefly, then stepped back. "There you are," said the dog. "We'll come get you in the morning, sleep well now." And with that they closed the door, followed by a thud and a rattle: had they just locked him in? He growled again, now muffled by the leather muzzle, and lashed his tail, but he supposed it didn't make that much difference considering the gear they'd already bound him in. He nosed over the mitts, and the buckles that held them on tight, and sighed. Hopefully they were trustworthy... The restraints seemed tough, and without claws or fangs, he might have more than a little difficulty getting out on his own if it came to that!

Not much now but to rest, though, he figured, and he'd been in much tighter spots than this in the past! Still, he nearly tripped on the hobbles when he walked to the cushion: the chains were quite short, strictly limiting his stride, and it took twice as many steps as it should have to reach the bedding. Once there he hopped clumsily onto it, then eased himself down on his side. It was more comfortable than he'd expected, so soft, almost fluffy, holding up well despite his weight and not at all unwelcome! He nearly purred, despite himself, and rubbing his cheek along the mattress he stretched himself, briefly, before settling down. Already his body heat was warming the room, and the whistling wind outside couldn't reach him in here. The leather sacking even warmed up his wings, insulating them from any chill!

After a long day of flying, even the tight bondage and any anxiety of having put into it somewhat against his will didn't keep him awake long. He barely even noticed, when he didn't try to move... and before long he was asleep, warm and comfortable and bound.

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Sequel here!

Just another sleeping bound Hueroc, nothing out of the ordinary here I'm sure! And he must be pretty used to being tied up by now, he didn't exactly put up much of a fuss x3 Looks pretty comfy too, not an awkward position, not too tight, just snug enough to keep him under control <3

Art by TheOwlette! Alternate bondage-free version is on FA here.