"I told you -- told you -- you needed to leave that last crate alone. Didn't I tell you?"
"Oh, shut up and push, before I kick you."
"You just try it, you stupid lizard-- And I am pushing!"
"I do believe it would be more productive to pull, at this point."
Duo jerked up, looked panicked for a couple of seconds, and then grinned and leaned nonchalantly against his dragon's butt, as if looking casual enough could make it look less like it was sticking out of the cargo hold's wall. Deathscythe's back claws skidded on the floor a last time and went still.
"Uh. Old man G?"
"Mm-hm."
"... Aha. Haha. Ha."
"Oh, by the way, the rations you ate are coming out of your next week's meals."
"Hey!" Deathscythe started wriggling again. G tried not to make it too obvious exactly how ridiculous he found having a conversation with a dragon butt.
"Aw, man, he'll do his starved hatchling trick and make me hand over my own to compensate!" Duo complained, grabbing his tail and starting to pull. "He's always starving, it's not fair."
"It's your punishment for thieving," G replied. "Next time..."
"Ask you first?" Duo turned to give him an aghast look, and stared when he noticed G was entirely serious. "But you bitch every time we have to revise his meal curve upwards!"
The dragon and the boy tumbled to the floor as Deathscythe suddenly popped free of the maintenance crawlspace, ruining his indignation.
"... I was going to say, next time, don't get caught."
Obviously the rising quantity of food to steal would mean rising difficulties, and rising consequences; but G had faith that Duo wouldn't get caught a second time, not now that he was taking it seriously.