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I awoke to find myself once again wrapped in the arms and wings of a dragon.

I stretched my neck to look up at the dragon's head which was resting only a few inches from me, the warmth of his breath washing over me with each flare of his nostrils. His ears twitched once in awhile but he was otherwise motionless, seemingly fast asleep.

I stretched carefully, not wanting to wake him. He likely needed his sleep as much as I did after the events of the previous day. I wasn't sure if the healing was complete or if there was any recovering that he would need to do, but either way was content to let the dragon sleep.

I ran a hand over my face and took in a deep breath, trying to gauge how I felt. Never before had I commanded that much power, had it at my disposal, but there were seemingly no ill after effects. If anything I felt rather good and well rested, considering all that had gone on. I shuddered slightly, thankful that my sleep was free of nightmares.

I glanced down at myself and felt the heat rush to my face as I was still partially naked. There were no bruises where there should have been, an odd thing. Perhaps the healing magic flowed back into me at the same time it was healing the dragon. I wasn't aware that such things could happen but then I was hardly a scholar of magic either.

That I was able to command such power without the use of the traditional staff went against teachings. Again, something that was stressed as the truth and was warned against turned out to be untrue. I worried that the ill effects that were discussed wouldn't turn up until later but the instructors at the college were all insistant that it would lead to instant insanity.

I yawned and curled in a bit tighter against the dragon and started my morning prayers, asking the Maker for guidance in all that was going on, what I was to do about dragons who didn't act like dragons and teaching that were coming up as false.

I finished and Teras was still sleeping. I watched him for awhile, watching his nostrils flare as he took in a breath, ears twitching, the odd rustle of a wing, all things becoming more familiar day by day. Very hesitantly I reached out and lay a hand on his nose and started to stroke it.

He took in a deeper breath and his eyes flickered open, then lifted his head to yawn hugely and look down at me, ears coming up full mast. "Erin! You are well? Warm enough?"

"Quite Warm, Teras," I told him and he nodded and lowered his head to rest just in front of me. I reached out to pet him some more and he started to purr quietly.

I grinned and shook my head and he made a questioning noise. "A week ago if anyone had told me I'd be doing this I'd have had them bound for being insane. Even after I agreed to help you I never thought I would wind up in a position like this.

"You know we're taught that dragons are evil and shadow touched and that's why I was so nervous and fearful of you at first. Now I'm curled up in your arms, petting you, and...I'm not at all worried that you're going to hurt me or are dangerous.

"My only real worries now are finding your child and finding out why the scriptures were so wrong about this or at least wrong about you. I don't know about other dragons."

He breathed out against me gently. "Mother and father were like me, my brothers the same. So was mate and my child. None of us evil, like book says. I don't know many other dragons but they not evil either, not like book says"

"Perhaps it was just your family or your group of dragons, Teras. I really don't know. I've never encountered a dragon outside of you and I don't know of any Sisters who have."

He lifted his head slightly and pushed it towards me, exposing more of his throat and chin and I took the hint and started rubbing, setting the dragon to purring all the louder. "I don't know," he murmured, "but I am glad you are not following book, at least in this."

"As I am, Teras," I said continuing to rub for some time. I stretched out and he opened his wing slightly, letting a bit of the draft in and I shivered, feeling goosebumps.

Teras snorted and drew me closer with his wing and I smiled and patted him on the chest. "A little cold won't hurt me any, Teras, though I am going to need clothes," I said, feeling embarrassed, then laughing to myself at my reaction wondering if it really mattered if a dragon saw me naked, male or otherwise.

He nodded. "I can fly back and get your staff and things if they are still there."

"True. Let me look at your wound first and make sure it's totally healed."

He nodded again and lay back for me to be able to get to it. There was no sign he had ever been struck by the bolt, I thought, as I ran my hand over the spot. I pushed on it a few times. "No pain?"

"No. Does not hurt at all."

"Well that's a wonderful thing, Teras."

He nodded and I leaned back, giving him the room to roll over and stand. The cave was quite chilly and I crouched down and wrapped my arms around my legs to conserve warmth. The dragon looked down at me in concern.

"I cannot leave. You will get cold and die!"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine."

"No!"

I looked up and he was shifting his weight from foot to foot head weaving slightly. I frowned. "Well, if you could get some wood and make a fire out of it I would do better."

He hesitated, then nodded, walking towards the cave entrance. He looked back "Stay warm!"

"I'll do my best, Teras."

He returned a short time later with a small tree in his jaws which he let drop onto the floor. Before I could say anything he used his claws to strip it and placed one rear claw down to hold the trunk and pulled up with his fore claws snapping the thing in two. I stared, amazed at his strength. What would have taken a dozen men some time he did easily in a few moments.

He turned and stacked the wood, glancing at me occasionally as if making sure he were doing it right, obviously mimicking what I had done to build camp fires. I nodded encouragingly and his ears perked as he finished, then very carefully exhaled a burst of flame which set the wood to burning.

"You are warm enough?" he asked turning to look at me.

"I'll be fine, Teras; the fire is plenty warm."

He nodded and padded over to me and lowered his head, sniffing at me. I felt myself blushing and patted his nose a few times as he drew back. He nodded once more and turned to leave.

"I will go fetch your things," he said, looking over his shoulder at me. "Stay warm!"

I shook my head and laughed. "Yes, Teras, I promise you I'll stay warm."

I stood in font of the fire, smiling happily at being fully clothed and at the clothes that hung from the line I rigged up to dry after washing them. Teras had been more than willing to return to my hut to fetch my washtub, board, and soaps, as well as another set of clothes.

The dragon himself was sitting in front of the fire a short ways away, watching me as I mended my breeches, fascinated with whatever I was doing as he usually seemed to be.

I bit off some thread and tied it off, and looked over at him. "I know we're loosing a little bit of time, Teras, but it's better that I have clean clothes and we rest rather than run ourselves into exhaustion. I'm sure the snows slowed the men up as well."

He sighed and nodded. "I am sure you are right. But now we have to walk back to that town and take that time again."

I closed my eyes. "Teras, I know--"

"I would not drop you!"

I opened my eyes. "I know that, I really do, Teras," I said softly, "but after you carrying me like that...I know you meant no harm but it was one of the most terrifying things that has ever happened to me. I'm not one for heights to start with."

The dragon whined quietly. "But I would never hurt you, I promise! I would fly slow, fly careful! Perhaps you could make something to hold yourself to me? A sat...sad..."

"Saddle."

"Yes! Saddle!"

"Teras, I don't know."

The dragon seemed to deflate and I felt guilty for not having faith in him. I trusted him, mostly, but the idea of flying was beyond frightening even before he grabbed me. Now the idea quite nearly turned my legs to jelly and my stomach into a solid block of ice.

I stood and went to him, laying a hand on his head and his eyes shifted up to look at me. I stood there and pet him for a little while and finally drew up the courage to speak.

"Teras...I g-guess we can try to figure out something but I can't p-promise you that I'll be able t-to do it," I managed to stammer out as my body took to shivering.

Teras sat back on his hunches and looked down at me, "I will make sure you are on tight; I will not let you fall..." He drew back, his eyes going wide. "You are scared!"

"Heights scare me, Teras. Then you g-grabbed me..."

He shook his head. "That was not the same! I would not grab you unless there was danger! Please, I would never, ever hurt you!"

I reached up and he lowered his head to be pet. "Okay, Teras, okay," I said soothingly not wanting him more upset. "We can try it. We just have to go slow, alright?"

He nodded and I sighed. "So how to make a saddle for a dragon?" I wondered. "I suppose we could adapt one of the saddles for the draft horses, make some leather straps. I'm just not that good at leather work, Teras."

He cocked his head and considered. "I think I have a...plan...drawing of one."

"One?" I asked, confused.

"A dragon saddle."

I blinked. "Why would you have such a thing?"

"Humans used to ride dragons a long time ago," he said. "My father used to tell me some of the stories. It was long, long ago, even before his father hatched."

"But dragons are shadow touched!" I blurted out before I could stop myself and he flinched back. I shook my head. "Sorry, Teras, it's going to take some time to unlearn all of that. I should say that we were taught that dragons were shadow touched and evil. No where in all our history is a story of a human riding a dragon and if there were they would be evil too."

Teras looking at me, hesitating before quietly asking, "If you rode me you would turn evil?"

"No, Teras, no such thing," I said but had to admit that there was a part of me that wondered. "You're not evil, Teras. You're a good dragon."

He perked up at that thought and nudged my shoulder gently. I patted him on the cheek and he made a low chuffing sound, drawing his head back and looking at me with ears perked.

"Where is this drawing?"

The dragon turned and walked to the far end of his lair, right up to the wall of the cave, and placed his claw on it. He muttered something in that language I recognized as his form of magic and the wall shimmered and then vanished right before my eyes!

"Well, that's one way to protect your treasure!"

He looked over and cocked his head. "Not much treasure, really," he said as he lowered his head shyly. "Just some things my parents gave to me and things I have collected."

"I'm sure it's wonderful, Teras."

He bobbed his head, then reached in and pulled out a couple of scrolls, put the wall back in place, and walked awkwardly on his hind legs to where I was standing and set the scrolls on the ground.

I carefully undid the bindings on the scroll and unrolled it, my curiosity growing all the time as I looked it over. The language was a common human dialect that I knew but was so old that the words were spelled strangely, some of them not even recognizable to my eyes.

"You...frown?" Teras said in a hesitant voice.

I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You frown as you are reading the scroll."

I jerked back in surprise, then laughed. "Oh! Yes, I do that sometimes when I'm concentrating. They used to make fun of me at the school for it."

The plans didn't seem overly complex though the amount of leather it would take to make it would be considerable as well as the metal for the rings and buckles. I closed my eyes, considering for a moment, then looked back up at the dragon.

"Well, I can't make one exactly like this; I'm not a smith nor do I do that much work with leather. I think we can improvise however, perhaps modifying a large horse saddle. I can use silksteel in place of the leather. It's costly but I think I have enough that we shouldn't need much more."

He cocked his head. "What is silk steel?"

"An enchanted cloth that sisters make. My cloak is made of it and I have ceremonial garb back at my hut made of it, as well as some cloth to make more or repair. It's said to be strong as steel. I'm not sure of that but it's far more durable than normal cloth."

"Oh!" Teras said, looking at my cloak with some interest, sniffing at it, then drawing back to look down at me, ears perked. "It smells a little different... not like your other clothes. Smells like you and...it!"

I felt the heat rise to my face at his comment and turned away. "Yes, well, I suppose we should head to my hut..."

He huffed. "It is a long walk..."

"I know, Teras, but-"

"I will not drop you!"

"Teras-"

"Please? It will only be this once!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep, deep breath, then looked up at the dragon.

"Alright. You can carry me."