Needless to say, my session with Faylin ended up—as always—with me lying battered and exhausted in the dirt of the open plain we were camping in and the wolf, standing over me with a self-satisfied grin. Even after the injuries that he had from the driffods he was a million times more agile and strong than I was. I really wanted to slap him but after trying to do more or less that very thing for the last hour, knew that I would get nowhere near him. I chose finally to ignore him completely and sulked over to where Ditri lay in the sandy soil, basking in the sun like a cat. I flopped down beside him and groaned as I hit a bruise. Ditri’s muscular girth rumbled in laughter at my discomfort. I slapped his dark green belly with an unsatisfactory thump and my arm ricocheted off his thick scaly hide. “You’d be sore to.” I growled at him. “I’m a dragon the size of a house, Lara dear.” He began patronizingly. “Faylin is the size of a, well a dog. So no, I don’t believe I’d be sore at all.” I tilted my head to fix my brown eyes on his gold ones that peered innocently from his green and blue face. “If you were a girl who had lived her whole life in the comfort of a home that was significantly larger than a dragon with a doting father who was always away and felt as if you should taught to be a perfect lady anyway and then you found out that you’re the fulfillment of some ancient prophecy and then you had to learn in a matter of days how to handle a sword, then yes you would be sore. You’d be falling over in a dead faint instead of merely lying down to catch your breath.” I spouted, glaring. “I beg your pardon, Lady Lara.” He relied, feigning being chastised. “And don’t even. Lady Lara sounds awful.” “Well then it’s a good thing that you’re not royalty, hmm?” Deciding that it was high time to change the subject, I gestured to the fading sun and the clouds that hung around it as it began to sink into the western horizon. “Shouldn’t we be leaving, or are we not going anywhere until tomorrow?” I asked. “It would be too dangerous to lie here in the open for too long,” the dragon began. “But it would also be a pity if our journey ended by my being shot down by a group of villagers.” “Meaning?” “Meaning, that we’ll be leaving in a few minutes once we finish gathering everything together. It’s best to travel this stretch by night to avoid any unexpected calamities.” I started to interrupt but he held me off. “We’ll be flying over the village of Deeme which hosts a very superstitious people, even more so than your own.” He explained, reminding me of the accusations that I was a witch that had led to this adventure. “Imagine what would happen if a dragon flew over them. There are many alchemical uses for dragon scales, teeth, blood, claws, heart, liver and such.” “Ah,” I said, suddenly comprehending. “So, we’ll go at half light and into the later hours to avoid being seen. Even if we are then we have the advantage that they won’t be shooting at us since they won’t be able to see us easily.” Ditri concluded.  “How many times have you done this?” I asked. “I happen to like my brother-in-law thank you very much and I visit him and Veilara often.” “What about Azteric?” I asked, barely able to remember the name I’d only heard once. “He lives farther south and rarely visits; he’s just a baby really.” Ditri replied, studying a ragged claw tip. “How old?” “He is thirty-two.” “And still a baby?” I asked incredulously. “Very much so” “Wow. So how old are you?” He sighed. “Haven’t we already been over this?” “Yes, and I still want to know.” “I could ask how old you are.” “Fourteen.” “I am three hundred and seventy-eight.” “Wow.” I repeated. I had expected maybe two hundred, but nearly four? “How long do most dragons live?” “For generations and generations.” Ditri replied vaguely “And now it is time to go, grab your things and inform our dear canine friend.” I stood, brushing sand and dirt from my clothes. “Are we stopping in Deeme?” I asked. “Why would we?” He asked, rolling over and rising to his feet. “I can’t exactly defeat the world with just this.” I gestured at the outfit. Ditri sighed. “I suppose.” he turned away and muttered under his breath. “Woman. Especially human woman; at least Veilara is sensible.” I pretended not to hear him but grinned, noting how much I had grown to like the dragon lord. “Faylin, we’re ready to go.” I called. He looked up from where he was relaxing and trotted towards Ditri.  Catalee and Narris were sitting together on a rock and also got up, the red hawk leaping into the air and Catalee bouncing enthusiastically after Faylin and Ditri. I put my sword away and again considered the shield, making a mental note to ask Ditri about it, though with my luck he’d probably dismiss it and tell me that he would explain its presence later. Once the sun had set we all climbed aboard Ditri and began to fly again. At first, I could make out shadowy landmarks and the ground rushing beneath us but soon it was to dark to see anything other than the stars which never moved as we flew on through the night. My eyelids drooped and I readjusted my hold on Ditri’s scaly back, telling myself not to fall asleep. Faylin had already and Catalee was curled up comfortably. Narris sometimes flew beside us when the air currents were right but most often she too rode on the navy blue back of Ditri. Finally, I could no longer hold the drowsiness at bay and drifted off.             Sometime during the night, I awoke and found that Ditri had flown much lower and then landed in the darkness.             “What are we doing?” I asked sleepily, crawling off his back and yawning.             “We are almost to Deeme and you said that you would need to stop in civilization soon so we have.” Faylin explained. “Tomorrow you can go into the town and buy whatever you need.” He grunted. “I hope that you realize that we are putting the state of the world on hold for you to take your little shopping trip.”             I shot the surly wolf a look that was part annoyance and part affection. “Felmath can darn well wait.” I shot back and turned to Ditri. “You don’t mind this do you?”             The dragon grinned toothily. “No, after all I made sure to give you some low quality jewels to trade with for just such occasion.”             I pulled out the small leather purse he had given me before we had left and nodded. “Thanks.”             “Now,” Ditri said with authority. “I am personally tired and only have roughly two hours to sleep before dawn.” He smiled at me. “After Deeme we will have only a little over a days journey before we reach Grinl, and hopefully, answers to a lot of questions.” He went to curl up in the protective covering of a stand of trees but I stopped him.             “Ditri, why did you bring that shield?”             The giant, blue and green head turned to me. “Because I have a feeling we’ll need it.” He said simply.             “But—“             “Tomorrow, Lara, tomorrow.”  The next morning I stood on the outskirts of the small town of Deeme. It was the first time in along time that I had been along and the first time in months that I had been away from Ditri, Faylin and the others. Breathing a sigh I stepped into the town and smiled brightly at the curious citizens. True to their farm life, the people were bustling around, buying, selling and generally enjoying the early hours of the day. I was used to sleeping in on mornings and spending my free hours in my father’s library, reading and writing. I yawned and rubbed my jaw. “Good morning,” I said quickly to one woman. “Do you know where a tailors shop or seamstress is?” She looked at me, hesitated and then nodded. “Yes, I’ll take you to there.” “Thank you.” I said and smiled in relief. We walked down the wide lane between two rows of buildings which made up the entire town. I was certain that if she had merely pointed in the right direction I could have found the shop but never the less, I followed. Opening the door to small but tidy shop, the woman nodded towards the counter. “Hello, sir?” I addressed the heavy-browed matron. “Do you have many traveling or work suits?” “In your size?” he asked thickly. “Yes, or close to it.” He shrugged. “Come with me.” Again, I followed and we came to the back of the store. “Here is what I have.” It wasn’t much. Three riding outfits which I immediately deemed far too large hung on a rack, along with an apron and a garment that I took to be a butcher’s outfit. I found myself wondering where on earth Faylin had discovered the outfit that I was now wearing. Finally I picked out the smallest of the riding outfits and figured that I could cut and change it here and there to make it doable. I certainly couldn’t stay in one outfit for the next several weeks or more. I paid the man and grinned as he studied the few jewels I placed in his hand. The woman who had led me here also stared. I knew that I needed an explanation and my smile broadened. “A relative killed a dragon and took its hoard.” I explained in a manner that pronounced it as a joke. They laughed but traded curious looks. Turning to the woman, i handed her a tiny amethyest as a tip. "Now where do you suppose i could find a bakery?"