FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Chapter Nineteen

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Alvaranox stumbled through the forest towards the water. Unsteady paws slipped upon mossy stones. His whole body shook. His forepaws ached and he could not recall why. Kirra's hand upon his shoulder brought a measure of steadiness to the dragon. She spoke to him but her words were lost on the dragon, little more than murmured syllables crawling through his mind.

Kirra coaxed him from the courtyard and into the forest in the hopes of leading him down to the lake to wash the dirt and dried blood from his paws. As soon as he began to walk the collar seized upon his mind. Kirra's voice faded out and his vision wavered. The world was made of paint and all the collars were bleeding together. Alvaranox felt the collar's power more than ever before. For the first time he felt the dam thing actively altering the images in his head, erasing things he'd seen in visions only moments before. The dragon's entire mind was a canvas upon which the collar painted. Each stroke of the collar's brush painted vivid new colors across faded memories.

"No," Alvaranox said, his voice little more than a plaintive whimper. "Don't do this to me."

The dragon tried to focus his thoughts, tried to hold his memories together. He had seen things only moments earlier. Why couldn't he remember them? He was flying. He saw the old city through Guardian's eyes. He dug a hole in the ruins. No. Not that! After that. He was with his mother. The grass was dry. The water was muddy. Wasn't it? But it tasted so fresh. Clean. The grass was soft.

"NO!" The dragon cried out, lashing his tail in frustrated anger. The spines caught in the trunk of a tree, embedded in the wood. The dragon yanked them free with a loud crack, splinters flew in all directions. The tree gave a creaking groan of protest as it leaned to the side, and then crashed to the stony forest floor. "Leave my head alone!"

Alvaranox grabbed at the collar with an aching paw. He tried to wrench the black thing from his neck, thrashing his horned head about. The dragon struggled to keep together thoughts he'd only just properly assembled, but the collar blasted them apart like a puzzle hurled to the floor. Alv tried to snatch at the pieces of broken memory but the collar was already reshaping them, reassembling them into another form. The more Alv tried to stop it, the more his head began to throb.

The dragon stumbled a little bit, caught his balance, and pressed a paw to his head behind a horn. "My head...It hurts."

"Alv!" Kirra's voice returned to the dragon, now clear as the bell the tolling bell. "You have to stop! Let it do what it has to do, Alv, please. Before it really hurts you. It doesn't matter if it hides your memories, because now I've seen them too! I'll remember for both of us! It cannot erase my memories! But you have to stop fighting it before it erases anything else!"

With the storm that roiled in his mind, it took Alv a few moments to process the woman's words. Then it took him a few moments later to realize Kirra's hand was on the collar. She couldn't get through to him any other way while his mind was being rearranged. Alvaranox did not know what Kirra saw in his head, if they'd shared the same visions or if she'd been granted insight into something else entirely. The dragon lifted his forepaw, turned himself, and put it on Kirra's shoulder. Unable to stop himself, the dragon shoved Kirra. He did not shove her hard, but she stumbled back nonetheless, bumping up against a tree. Her green eyes went wide and for a moment it looked as though she wasn't sure if she should be fearful or offended that the dragon just shoved her away.

"Alv," she said gently, rubbing the back of her head. "Was that you or..."

"Don't touch the collar," the dragon said, his voice a nearly monotone growl.

"That answers that question," Kirra said, straightening herself. "Alv, if you can hear me, don't fight it right now."

Alvaranox lifted his paw, staring at it in horror. "I'm sorry," the dragon said, as much to himself as to Kirra.

"Its not your fault Alv," Kirra said, walking right back to the dragon. "We both know that thing doesn't really like me. And we both know the feeling is mutual." Kirra moved to stand in front of him, beckoning with her hands. "This way. Don't fight it if it's going to hurt you. We need to get your paws clean so I can see how dirty they are."

For a moment Alvaranox just stared at the dirty paw print upon Kirra's nightdress. He hadn't meant to push her away. His foreleg felt tingly and half-numb as though he'd slept upon it too long. He recognized the feeling. It was the same feeling he used to get whenever the collar took control and made him act against his will. A puppet on the black collar's strings.

"Gonna cut those strings someday, Collar," Alv growled to himself.

The dragon walked behind Kirra, following the scent of water and the sound of lapping waves across the island. As he walked, he stopped fighting against the collar's effects on his mind. His mind felt like knotted rope, the collar was untangling some of those knots while tying others anew. Memories from Guardian's life drifted over his vision. Sounds and smells from her town teased his senses. Images of charred buildings and blackened bones were painted over with scenes of serenity and a happy daily life. The taste of muddy water, the feeling of dead grass crunching beneath his paws was once more replaced the clean, cool taste of a fresh stream and the softness of green grass and spongy moss.

By the time they reached the water, Alvaranox could scarcely even recall the nature of the dreams and visions he had. Yet he knew they were still there. So too was the knowledge that the collar had actively covered them up. That was new. Before, he thought all the scrambled memories and images he saw were the memories of other dragons. While they surely seemed true, now it also seemed as though the collar was...

"Making new memories," Alvaranox murmured. "It's shrouding my life, Kirra. Isn't it."

"Yes," Kirra replied, wading out into the water without bothering to remove her nightdress. "Come out here and let me wash your paws."

"I don't think it can cover everything up any more." The dragon began to wade out into the lake, cold water sloshing around dirty paws. Red earth began to dissolve, clouding the water. "All my life it has placed a shroud over my eyes. But ever since I was injured, since you used it to keep me alive, that shroud is tearing all around me. There are holes in it, Kirra, and I am starting to see my reality on the other side. The more patches it knits to hide me from my own memories, the more loose threads there are for me to pull."

Kirra knelt down in the water. Her nightdress clung to her where it was wet. With her hands, she rubbed the dragon's front legs beneath the water, gently removing all the dirt and grime she could. She looked up at the dragon with a scowl. "Don't make it angry, Alv."

"I think perhaps it should be more worried about making me angry," the dragon replied, snorting. He lifted his spines. "I think it is losing its control over my mind, Kirra. Just now, I could feel it actively altering my memories, covering some up and I think..." The dragon's muzzle scrunched, his eye ridges lowered. He pinned his ears back in fearful humiliation. He was not even sure his life was his own anymore. "Fabricating others. If it's been doing this for years, this is the first time I felt it, the first time I had a chance to try and fight back."

Kirra shifted herself around to start washing the dragon's other foreleg. "I think that's exactly what's it's been doing. You remember your mother clearly in your youth, right?"

Alvaranox nodded, licking his nose. "Yes. I remember the way she looked then, her scent, her touch. But I cannot recall when last I saw her, or how she looked as I grew older."

"Its possible you only remember her so clearly because the collar puts those images in your head." Kirra sighed, her hands going still on the dragon's foreleg. "I think I saw glimpses of your real childhood. It was..." Kirra began to rub the dirt from the dragon's leg beneath the water again. "Difficult. You lived out there, in that...place."

Memories flickered in Alv's mind. A dry streambed with a muddy basin. Mother dug in the dirt. The memory was nothing more than a flickering flame, snuffed out by the wind the instant it sprang to life. In it's place was a flowing stream. The dragon growled, trying to focus on the images as they faded. How did mother look then? He could not recall.

"Why would it do that to me?" The dragon whimpered, hanging his head till his green scaled chin sunk beneath the water.

"I don't know, Alv," Kirra said. She lifted one of his paws above the surface, inspecting it. Scales were broken and the skin of his pads was torn in several places, but she could not see any serious wounds. "I need to ask you something, Alv."

Alvaranox set that paw down, and lifted the other one. He turned it over for Kirra to inspect. Water dribbled from his pebbly scales. Kirra gently ran a finger along the puffy pink scar there. Thankfully digging up the box did not seem to have opened up the wound at all. Walking on his scarred paw pad had toughened the wounded flesh up enough to withstand the rigors of excavation. When she was satisfied that the dragon's injuries were only superficial, she let him set his paw back down.

"What is it?" Alvaranox asked, tilting his head. His copper eyes were unusual dull and did not pick up the morning sun's golden light the way they usually did.

"When you fly well beyond Asterryl, when you fly as far as the ruins you took me to." Kirra slowly pushed herself up to her feet. Her dress was nearly painted to her body but the dragon took no notice. Kirra lay her hand against the scales of his neck, concern etched across her features and shining in her green eyes. "What do you see?"

Alvaranox tilted his head, spines lifted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how does the world look to you. You called it beautiful, right? So what do you see out there, in the far moors?" Kirra gently rubbed the dragon's neck.

"It's wild," the dragon said, a smile drifting across his pebbly scaled snout. "It's green, very green. Gray as well. Lots of wild flowers."

Kirra nodded a few times, swallowing. "That describes the area beyond Asterryl, and beyond the farmlands and quarries. That fits the areas you go to hunt. But..." Kirra turned to stare at the ruined fortress that capped the island Alvaranox called home. "What about beyond that? Tell me about the lands all around the ruins you took me to."

"They're the same," Alvaranox said. His voice wavered ever so slightly when a hint of fearful confusion crept into it.

"Describe it," Kirra replied, her own voice tightening up.

Alvaranox's heart accelerated. What was Kirra getting at? His mind tingled. Was the collar altering things again? Had she seen something else through it? While he was lost in his visions, he had the faintest perception that Kirra was there with him, but it was not something he could consciously acknowledge at the time. Now he wondered just what she had seen that he had not.

"It's green, lots of rolling hills. There's a river that runs through the village, where the bridge is. It's one of the larger rivers in the area. There's a hill behind the fortress, it has large swaths of red heather that grow across it in fat lines. I know that hill well because I used to use it as a landmark. Its rare to see red heather, so I always remember it." While the dragon spoke, Kirra went silent. She tensed up, the dragon could almost feel her worry seeping into him through her fingers. "Why? Isn't that what you saw out there?" The dragon's voice trembled with fear and false hope. He already knew what the answer would be, and it terrified him. Yet he had to be sure. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?"

"No, Alv. It wasn't." Kirra's voice was soft and reverent yet forceful at the same time as though delivering the news of a family member's death. "It was dead, Alv. The land was dead."

Flickers of cracked red earth and broken black rock darkened the dragon's vision. He shook his head, closing his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The hills were brown." Kirra leaned her head against the dragon's scales, stroking his shoulder. "The grass was all dead, and all that was left of the heather was a few skeletal bushes. The only trees that weren't dead were the largest and oldest, with the deepest roots. Even those had already lost most of their leaves. The river was down to a muddy trickle, and even that was probably because of the recent rain. I think that bridge crosses a dry gorge half the year."

"No," Alv murmured, closing his eyes. He wanted to curl up and cry. He wanted to beat his head against a wall. He wanted to tear the collar from his neck, and he wanted to hurl the box in the lake. "Why...why would it..."

"I don't know, Alv," Kirra said, desperate to provide the dragon any measure of comfort she could. She rubbed his neck, tried to put her arms around it to hug him. "I never realized it until this morning. When you took me out there, it was beautiful at first, but the moors faded into a dying land. Once we were well past the moors, I didn't even see birds in the sky. I couldn't imagine how anything could live out there, let alone how you and your mother had survived those lands. It was all so..."

"Desolate," the dragon said. "You called it desolate. I thought you didn't like the wildness of it. I didn't realize that...that it wasn't there. You must have thought I was mad. Maybe I am mad..." The dragon slowly lifted his head. "Guardian."

"What?" Kirra pulled her head back.

"Guardian," the dragon said again, turning his head to look down at Kirra. "The female from those ruins. She wore the collar before me...she seemed so happy. She could scarcely remember her own name. I wonder if the collar molded her that way? I wonder if it drove her mad. If it didn't, she might have driven herself mad after she failed..."

"Alv," Kirra's voice was sharp enough to piece the dragon's scales. "You can't let yourself think like that. You can't worry about that now. We will get you through this. Alright?"

"Alright," the dragon said. He lowered his head and gently nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "I think we need to see Nylah. I have something I need to ask of her."

"I think that's wise, Alv." Kirra hugged his head, and then sloshed towards the bank. "Let me get my clothes on and my things gathered up."

Alvaranox turned towards the shore. "There's something I'm going to want you to do for me, as well."

"What is it, Alv?"

"I want you to fly back into the wilds with me." The dragon lifted a paw, tugging at the collar. "You can try and use the collar to help me see the world through your eyes."

Kirra pursed her lips, her expression darkening. She fiddled with her cream and blue nightdress, scrunching the fabric in the her hands. She did not seem to think that was a good idea, but the dragon was glad she did not argue. "Alright, Alv. If you think it would help you to see what's really out there, we can certainly try."

Water ran down the dragon's forelegs when he came ashore, his paws sinking into the soft sands. "Thank you."

Kirra smiled, rubbing the golden blotch at the end of his nose. "Of course. One thing at a time, though. Let me get dressed and we can go back to Asterryl and see Nylah."

Alvaranox nodded, and followed after Kirra. As they left the beach and entered into the small forest, the dragon noticed Kirra was barefoot. She picked her way carefully across the stone-strewn forest floor, opting for the mossiest patches she could to help cushion her feet. Alvaranox flicked his tail as he walked, watching her in silence. The leaves rustled above them as a breeze rolled across the lake, carrying with it the scent of water.

"You haven't hurt your feet, I hope."

Kirra glanced down as she lifted a foot and wiggled her toes. "They're fine. Not the first time I've wandered around barefoot. Finding my boots was hardly the first thing on my mind."

Kirra laughed to herself as she pressed on, but the dragon did not share her amusement. He growled under his breath as he followed her. His paws ached a little. "I'm sorry I shoved you, Kirra."

"I know," Kirra said, glancing at the dragon over her shoulder. Messy red curls swished around her head. "You already said so. I know the collar made you do it, Alv, there's nothing to apologize for. So there's nothing for me to forgive you for, either, but if you want me to say I forgive you, I do."

"Thank you," Alv murmured to himself, rustling his wings.

Alvaranox and Kirra soon reached Alv's fortress hideaway. They passed through the crumbling archway that once held the front gate, the portcullis long fallen to rusted ruin. Inside the courtyard, their eyes fell upon the box made of shadow. It sat just where it was when Kirra first awoke. Silence settled upon them like a thick, stifling blanket. Alvaranox stared at the box. The sides rippled. The air around the box churned. Alv blinked and shook his head, hissing.

"What is it?" Kirra put her hand on the dragon's neck.

"You didn't see that?" Alvaranox licked his nose, spines flared in alarm.

"See what, Alv?" Kirra held her breath a moment, then let it out in a slow sigh. "I guess that means no, I didn't see it."

Alvaranox growled to himself, staring at the box a moment longer. It took far more effort than he liked to tear his eyes away from it. He gently nudged Kirra with his muzzle after turning away from the box. "Go and get ready."

Kirra stroked his cheek, then nodded. "Alright." As she walked off to the dragon's sleeping chamber, she called back to him. "I don't suppose your collar would let me carry that box up to the highest point on this end of the island, and toss it as far as I could into the lake."

"That was what I thought I was going to do with it," Alvaranox said. "Instead I woke up here, staring at it. So no, I do not think it would allow me to let you do that."

Kirra vanished into the dragon's sleeping chamber. He waited in the courtyard to let her change in private. While he waited on her, he looked around. Already some of the thistles he'd mowed down only days earlier had sprouted anew. Resilient little things. This time he was going to let the spiny nettles grow and bloom as much as they wanted, even if it meant pricked paw pads. The dragon just had to be sure and avoid sitting on one. The thistle flowers in the bowl by the entry way still looked vibrant and colorful, the blue, red and purple blooms looked deceptively fluffy, beautiful despite their array of spines.

Kirra thought he was beautiful despite his array of spines, too.

Alvaranox smiled. Kirra thought he was beautiful. It was a strange compliment to make the dragon feel so good. Surely he would have preferred any number of other compliments. Magnificent, ferocious, handsome, all of them would have been more befitting of a male dragon, at least in that male dragon's mind. And yet the simply fact that Kirra thought he was beautiful had touched his heart then, and warmed it again now when the icy grip of the collar still lingered.

When Kirra returned, the first words out of Alvaranox's muzzle surprised them both. "Do you really think I'm beautiful, Kirra?"

Alvaranox's breath caught when he realized the foolish thing he'd just asked. Kirra was caught so off guard she actually took a few steps back, her eyes widening. She'd dressed once more in the green blouse and black breeches she often wore, along with the heavy cloak she used while riding the dragon. Her full, clattering pack was slung against her back, and she hooked her thumbs under the straps when she considered the dragon's question.

"Yes, Alvaranox," Kirra said, smiling. She didn't use his full name often anymore, it underscored her sincerity. "I do."

"Thank you," the dragon said. Alvaranox smiled, the pebbly scales of his muzzle crinkled up. "I think you're beautiful too."

"You...you do?" Kirra blinked, her emerald eyes widening. Her face flushed a little, heat rose in her ears.

"Yes," Alvaranox said, cocking his head a little. He was not sure what were appropriate compliments to give a human without offending her. Or sounding like some scaly old pervert. "For a human, your body has a lovely shape."

Kirra blinked, her flush growing even as she began to giggle. "A lovely shape?" She looked down at herself, smiling. "Thank you. I shall take that as a compliment."

Alvaranox licked his muzzle, growling under his breath. That didn't seem as though it had come out the way he meant it. "You have beautiful eyes, Kirra. I find them wondrous and mesmerizing."

Kirra stared at him a moment, lifting a hand to her mouth. Alvaranox smiled again, cocking his head. That had come out much better. Kirra's mouth opened and closed behind her hand as though she were fighting a series of yawns, and her face somehow grew ever more scarlet. "You...You really think so?"

"I do," the dragon said, lifting his central crests. "They are your most striking feature. They are like emerald windows to some wonderful place where even dragons can be beautiful." The dragon took a slow breath, and then repeated himself. "You have beautiful eyes."

"Thank you," Kirra said, her voice little more than a whispered murmur. She reached out and put her arms around the dragon's head when he lowered it for her. She pressed her face to his muzzle, stroking the back of his head just beyond his horns. "You can really make someone feel good about herself when you put your mind to it, Alv."

"Well don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to uphold." The dragon chuckled to himself. He lifted a paw, and gently rubbed her back. He had not expected his compliments to her eyes to have that effect upon her, perhaps that was a feature she cherished herself. Her fingers trailed down his neck, tracing circles over a scale here and there till they finally parted. Alvaranox smiled at her, and then glanced at the sky. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Kirra said. She smiled at the dragon, still flushed. She walked around the side of him, and waited for him to lay down before she attempted her climb. She was getting a little better at ascending the dragon, and soon settled in at the base of his neck. From his back, she peered at the box. The dragon's body rippled beneath her as he rose. Kirra swayed a little, stroking Alv's neck. "Do you think we should leave that thing here?"

"No one will find it out here," Alvaranox said. He padded to the end of the courtyard, and turned around.

"Maybe it would be better if they did," Kirra said, hunkering down in preparation for Alvaranox's ascent. "Especially if they could put it back where you found it."

A scowl twisted Alvaranox's muzzle. That was an interesting idea. Why had the collar forced him to bring it here, anyway? If he left it somewhere others could reach it, and then took to the skies, could they move it, take it away? Or would the collar send him to fetch it back? He did not think the collar would make him harm anyone to retrieve the box, but it wasn't as though he'd have too. He'd just yank it away from them and put it back wherever it had to be.

Where it had to be.

That was a concept he had not yet considered. Was there someplace the box had to be? The idea tickled at the back of his mind, as if it were part of some great mystery he was not yet ready to solve. If the time came when the box had to be somewhere, he would know, and he would put it there. Yes. That was easy enough.

Alvaranox was already in the air by the time he realized how frightening that concept was. The dragon wasn't sure which scared him more, the idea the collar might make him put the box somewhere specific or how easily it had twisted his mind into accepting that and moving on. Still, now was not the time to try and fight the thing's influence.

Alvaranox ascended swiftly over his island and then flew across the Lake of Teeth towards Asterryl. Neither of them were in the mood for sight seeing right now. Alvaranox still hadn't had much chance to talk to Kirra about what she'd seen in his head. He felt her there, in the back of his mind, he sensed her presence. Somehow she'd used the collar to see what he was seeing. Yet at the same time, he was not sure they had seen entirely the same thing. At the very least, the collar had already altered and erased some of Alv's memories of the visions. Perhaps because Kirra's influence had merged his real memories with those the collar spun in his head. The dragon growled to himself as he flew. He needed a drink.

Alvaranox headed straight for his home in Asterryl. As he had not been living there the last few days, the guard shack out front was empty. Alvaranox landed in the wildflower strewn meadow in front of his home, and lowered himself onto his belly to let Kirra climb off of him. The two of them walked across the meadow to the dirt lane that ran in front of the dragon's home. By now the mud was mostly dry, and it was hard to tell if anyone had stopped by the place while Alv and Kirra were away.

"Someone had better have fed Stupid Fish while I was gone." The dragon snarled, lashed his spined tail against the road. Chunks of caked mud and dirt flew into the air. "Or I am going to feed someone to Stupid Fish."

Kirra chuckled a little at the dragon's side. She trotted ahead of him and pulled back the hide curtains serving as the dragon's front door. "Smells nice in here. Someone's put up some fresh lavender and sage sprigs. So it's probably safe to assume they also fed Stupid Fish."

"It was probably Nylah," Alvaranox said, padding up behind Kirra. "I'm sure they made her do all the work. Poor Old Lady."

Kirra put her hands on her hips, grinning at the dragon. "The only one who tries to make Nylah do all the work is you, Dragon."

"Get mounted, Kirra," Alvaranox said, though there was far more mirth than malice in his voice.

"I think you like that idea far too much," Kirra said, giggling. She pulled the heavy hide curtains as far aside as she could so Alvaranox could enter his home. "Come on in, Alv."

Alv smirked at her as he passed, making straight for his bed of soft things. A heavy fatigue suddenly crashed down against him, as though the whole building had collapsed and pressed him to the floor. He must have been out there digging for the damn box all night. No sooner did he feel the softness of blankets and pillows beneath his paws then he was struggling just to keep his eyes open. He lay down, and curled amidst his many soft things.

"Kirra," the dragon said, laying his head upon a pillow. "I don't think I got any sleep last night."

"No," Kirra said, smiling from the doorway. "I thought not. Rest, Alv. I'll go and find Nylah and tell her what's happened. You sleep as much as you need, and when you're awake, I'll have Nylah here. We'll bring you some food, too."

"Thank you Kirra," Alvaranox said.

"You're welcome," Kirra replied, her body and her pack silhouetted by the light streaming through the front doorway.

"I mean it," said the dragon. He lifted his head, forcing his eyes to remain open long enough to say what was on his mind. "Not just for this, not just for now. Thank you for caring, Kirra. For being my friend when I truly needed one."

Kirra's smile brightened the room even more than the sunlight streaming around her. "It is the very least I could do, Alv. Someday I hope to do much more for you. But for now, just rest."

Alvaranox smiled back at her. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but whatever it was it made him happy to know she cared. He lowered his head back to the pillow, closed his eyes, and soon found sleep filled with dreams that were mercifully peaceful.

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Chapter Twenty

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Alvaranox awoke to hushed voices. The dragon lifted his head from his pillow. A warm veil of disorienting grogginess clung to him. He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but it certainly wasn't enough. The dragon tried to blink the bleariness out of his copper eyes, glancing up at the hide blankets that hung over his open doorframe. Streamers of golden light poured through the cracks around them. Alv supposed that was for the best. May as well wait until it was dark out before trying to get a full nights sleep.

The dragon pushed himself up onto all fours. His front paws throbbed in protest. While Alv was thankful he hadn't opened up his scar, digging through hard earth all night left his paws bruised and sore. He lifted his forepaws one at a time, unsheathing his claws. They were scuffed, a few were broken at the ends. At least they'd grow back just fine and sharp as ever. He set his paws back down, licked his nose, and padded towards the makeshift door.

The thick hide blankets covering the doorframe muffled the whispered voices enough to hide the words but not their identify. It sounded like Nylah and Kirra were talking with Davan. Hopefully that meant they'd brought him food. Even at frightening times dragons were always looking for food. Alv's belly rumbled at the thought of filling it. He paused at his water trough. The dragon sniffed at the water, glad to find it was freshly filled. At least they hadn't let anything go stagnant while he was away.

After slaking his thirst and licking beads of water from his pebbly scales, Alvaranox pushed through the makeshift door. As the dragon emerged into the afternoon sunlight, the conversation died off. The sunlight caused the golden patch at the end of his nose to glow, his copper eyes shone with a nearly matching hue. Alvaranox flicked his ears back, glancing around. He flared his nostrils, the scents of roasted lamb perfumed the air and coaxed another growl from the dragon's stomach.

"That had better be for me," Alvaranox said, turning his attention to the small table set up near his home.

"It was but then we decided to eat it instead," Nylah said, forcing a little playfulness into her voice. After all the years the dragon had known her it was hard for her to hide her worry from him. "You may as well have the scraps though."

Nylah and Kirra sat around the wooden table in simple chairs. Atop the table was a platter so heavily laden with lamb even Alvaranox wasn't sure he could eat it all. Davan stood nearby, his crossbow resting over his shoulder. The dragon doubted there was any current trouble in the town that could be solved with a weapon, but ever since the attack Davan had taken to carrying the thing around with him when he was nervous. The guard wore his usual on-duty outfit, his blue and gold surcoat looked freshly washed and without a crease. Seemed the man was all business whenever possible. Nylah was dressed as though she'd expected a heavy workload. The older woman wore a cream colored blouse with a few little pale blue flower patterns on the sleeves, and dark brown breeches that nearly matched her work boots.

"I'm fine," Alvaranox said, waving his paw for them to move aside so he could sit near the table and eat. "I don't know why you got all dressed up as though you were going to be working on me all day. I'm fully healed."

Nylah moved her chair and sat nearby. She folded her arms and glared at the dragon. The usual ferocity in her gaze was muted by the concern that flickered in her polished topaz eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, you bullying beast. Coming over here making us all move to accommodate your fat, scaly ass."

Alvaranox grinned at her a moment. He picked up a large slab of roasted lamb between his fingers, sniffed it once, and popped it into his muzzle. The dragon murmured happily at the rich flavor, then licked his nose after he sent it down his long throat. He lifted his spines a little as he peered down at Nylah. "You dress like that when you think you're going to have a lot of work to do. You never liked to wear dresses on days you'd have to command authority, or tend my wounds or illnesses. You also dress like that when you worry."

"I told her about the box," Kirra said, pulling her own chair up to the other side of the table. She plucked a small piece of lamb and nibbled on it as if just to preempt the dragon telling her she should eat something as well.

"I'm sure you did," the dragon replied, looking back and forth between the two of them. His gaze soon settled once more upon his former handler. "You should eat."

"I eat plenty," Nylah said, sounding like a petulant youth who didn't want to finish her vegetables.

"Today?" Alvaranox cocked his head.

"I had breakfast." Nylah looked away.

"With the sunrise, I suspect," Alvaranox said. He picked up a slice of lamb, and offered it to Nylah. "It is at least half way through the afternoon. Eat."

Nylah shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"And I'm not going to talk to you about any of the things you're going to want to talk about until I see you eat some food."

Nylah pressed her lips together, narrowing her hazel eyes. The dragon half-expected all her gray here to stand on end from the sheer electricity of her smoldering anger. He held the lamb out to her till she snatched it away, muttering something about smart-mouthed dragons under her breath. Then she made an elaborate show of taking an enormous bite and chewing it with her mouth open while glaring at Alvaranox.

Alv simply laughed, lifting his central crest. "You know, for such an old lady you sure can act like a bratty little girl."

For a moment Nylah weighed the lamb in her hand as if preparing to hurl it into the dragon's face. She sighed and relented, taking another bite. As she chewed she worked a few words around the food in her mouth. "How're your paws?"

"Sore," the dragon admitted. He lifted a paw and peered at it. In the sunlight the broken green scales on the back of his fingers, and the purplish bruises that marked his pink and black paw pads were far more evident. At least they hadn't bled any more. "But, as we all know, I've had far worse. They'll feel fine in a few days."

"Where did you get it?" Nylah finished off her lamb, and to the dragon's pleasant surprise, reached for another piece.

Alvaranox picked up another slab of lamb, much larger and far more rare than the piece Nylah selected. He glanced over at Kirra who shrugged. Alv was certain Kirra had already explained everything she could to Nylah, but that made little difference. Nylah wanted to hear it from the dragon's own muzzle. "From the ruins. The same place I was ambushed in. I didn't even know I was out there, until I woke up." He ate half his lamb, chewing it in thought. "I think I thought I was her."

"Her?" Nylah lifted a brow, wiping lamb grease on her breeches.

"Guardian," Alvaranox said, flattening his spines against his head. It was only days ago that he'd left Asterryl with Kirra, and yet so much had happened since then that it seemed like ages had passed. He could scarcely recall what Kirra now knew that Nylah didn't. "She was..." Alvaranox looked over at Kirra, swiveling his ears. "Did you tell her all this already?"

"Some of it," Kirra said, her voice subdued. Alvaranox hoped she wasn't falling back into old roles already. "But I don't know all of it, Alv, and you can tell it better."

"Assuming I can remember it," the dragon said. He turned his head, peering down at Davan. For a moment, the dragon wasn't sure how much of this he really wanted to divulge with Davan standing guard. He supposed he could ask the man to walk out of hearing range, but it didn't seem right. The two of them had fought together and shed blood together, and Davan had lost friends to keep the dragon safe. Alvaranox gestured at the lamb with his paw. "You want some food?"

Davan looked at the pile of lamb, then at the dragon. Then he looked at the two women who both shrugged. Alvaranox wondered if they'd already told Davan what they knew, anyway. For a moment the man seemed torn. Probably wasn't supposed to be snacking on duty. Finally he gave in, and set his crossbow down on the ground before picking up a couple slices of lamb.

"Thanks, Alvaranox," Davan said, waving one of the lamb slices at him. He used the dragons name now and then after Alv gave it too him, but he always used the full version. Perhaps the guard just preferred to maintain a formal relationship with the dragon he was in charge of protecting. Alv didn't really need his protection anymore, but the dragon appreciated having someone watch over his home while he was away. More so he appreciated having someone besides the collar to keep watch over him while he slept.

The dragon nodded, flicking his spined tail against the grass he sat upon. He turned his attention back to Nylah, just watching her for a moment. She met his gaze the whole time, her frizzy gray hair rustling in the gentle breeze. The scents of wildflowers and water occasionally tried to push out the smell of lamb, but the large platter of roasted meat won out again and again.

"Her," the dragon finally said. "Her name was Guardian. Not her real name, I'm certain, but that was what she called herself. That was what her town called her. She is..." The dragon lifted his paw, and tapped at the collar with a single unsheathed claw. "She is one of the other dragons who's memories I have been experiencing. So far she is the only one I have been able to identify though there may well be many others."

"How do you know?" Nylah hadn't finished her second piece of lamb, but Alvaranox couldn't bring himself to pester her about it. Kirra sat with her hands folded in her lap, silent.

"I took Kirra to the ruins. We were going trophy hunting." The dragon inhaled till his chest plates expanded. He let his breath back out in a long sigh. "While I was there, I had another vision. A hallucination. I saw the whole fortress put itself back together right before my eyes. And then...and then I was guardian. They used that name, they called her that. She was happy there."

Nylah listened to the dragon without a word. She brought the lamb to her lips, took the tiniest bite, and then lowered it back down again. She opened her mouth to ask a question, then simply closed it again.

Alvaranox licked at his golden spot. "Kirra and I went home. We swam, and drank, and then slept. I wanted to forget it, but it returned to me. I found myself flying over the moors with no memory of waking in the first place, and then I was Guardian. Her memories filled my mind so completely I was sure I was her. I loved that town and they loved me. They gave me treats. Every time I blinked I was in a new place. I saw men there. Men like those who tried to kill me, and they were digging a hole." Alvaranox closed his eyes, focusing on the memories. They drifted a little, fading in and out of focus, but he snatched at them, clung to them. "Then the whole place was burning. Guardian was hearbroken. I was heartbroken. Those people loved me and I had failed them. They were dying, and I could not stop it. All I could do was dig."

Alvaranox lifted his paw, staring at it as the others remained silent. He turned it over, flexed it and watched his thick pink scar crinkle a little. "Then I woke, and it was more than a dream. I was in the ruins, and I had dug a hole. And in that hole was a box."

"Kirra thinks it is a terrible thing," Nylah said, her whispered voice a dark tide that roiled with uncertain currents. "A dangerous thing."

"I think Kirra is right," Alvaranox said. He stared at all the lamb that was still on the platter, his appetite gone. "I wanted to throw it in the lake. I _did_throw it in the lake. Or so I thought. But the dreams took me, the visions filled my mind, and I felt Kirra with me. When I finally tore myself from their grasp, I was on my island, and I had brought the box with me."

"Whatever that box is," Kirra said, looking back and forth between the dragon and the older woman. "We have to get rid of it. Get it back beyond the moors."

"What is it you think it does, Kirra?" Nylah stared at the younger woman, shifting herself and tugging at the cream colored sleeves of her blouse.

"I'm not sure," Kirra admitted. "But I fear it...it..."

Kirra trailed off, and the dragon stretched his neck across the table to gently nudge her with his nose. "Go on, Kirra."

For a moment their eyes met. The dragon knew had seen something in his mind, and he suspected they shared those visions. But he did not want to say it first, lest Nylah think he'd inadvertently put ideas in Kirra's head. Better that she understand they both came to the same conclusion independently.

Kirra rubbed Alvaranox's muzzle, her eyes downcast. "The box brings the waste."

Nylah narrowed her eyes, leaning back into her chair a little. "What does that even mean?"

"It means the wasteland I see in my dreams is real," the dragon said, pulling his head back to regard Nylah. "And that box is connected to it."

"I think the box causes it," Kirra said.

"That seems like a stretch," Nylah said, though she did not sound as certain as the dragon would have liked.

"Whatever I was seeing in Alv's mind, through the collar, that box was there." Kirra stabbed her finger in the air, pointing at the collar. "There was a terrible wasteland, like nothing I have ever seen. It spread and grew like a parasitic vine, strangling the life out of the very world. And at the center of that waste was a box made of shadow. It was open, and heat and red earth and death poured from it."

"I saw that as well," Alvaranox said before Nylah could reply. "And I have seen it before."

"You have?" The look of surprise that registered on Nylah's face was quickly replaced by one of consternation. "And you never told me about it?"

Alvaranox growled, the pebbly scales of his muzzle crinkling a little as he scrunched his face. He flicked his ears back. "I do not feel the need to describe the details of every twisted dream I've had since my injury."

Nylah balled her fists up at her sides, her face going red. Angry lines set across her features. After a moment she thought better of arguing with the dragon, and tried to let her anger go. They were all wound up right now, sparking a heated argument would not do anyone any good. "Alright, Alv. But perhaps now is a good time to tell us about it."

The dragon thumped his tail against the ground, several spines caught in the sod. He tore them loose sending little chunks of dirt and grass flying through the air. "Very well. Do you remember some time ago, when I first told you I feared the collar was mixing up my memories with some other dragon?" Alvaranox flared his wing, pointed with one of his vestigial wingtip talons towards the meadow. "We were all out there, I was dozing in the sun."

Nylah nodded, combing her fingers through her frizzy gray hair. "I remember, Alv."

"One of the things I saw was that box." The dragon bared his fangs at the memory, flaring his spines. "I dreamt of the day I was collared, but so much about it was wrong. My age was wrong, half the time they were putting it on me, Asterryl lay in ruins. One moment it was humans putting the collar upon me, the next it was dragons binding me to this place." The dragon's voice trailed off, and he looked down at the grass beneath his fore paws. He unsheathed a single claw and carved a little rut in the earth. "For a time, I think it was even my mother putting the collar on me. Every breath it was someone different."

Nylah moved from her chair to stand alongside the dragon. She put a hand on his foreleg, stroking his dark green scutes. "It was just a dream, Alv."

"I know, Nylah, but the box was there." The dragon lifted his head a little, staring towards Asterryl as though he could see through all the walls and all the buildings and gaze into the heart of the city. Into the plaza where they bound him and put the collar on his neck. "In the dream, they pulled the collar itself from the box. And when the opened it, a wasteland spilled forth. The red earth poured from it like water, the heat that erupted seared the air. The opened the box and while they put the collar upon me, the box turned Asterryl into a blasted, empty ruin."

Kirra slowly eased up from her chair. She padded around to the other side of the dragon, and began to stroke his other foreleg. "I didn't see the box in the city like that, Nylah. But I did see the wasteland gushing out of it. In that dream, or vision, whatever the hell it was, I knew that box was spreading the waste like a plague, draining the life from the world like a leech sucks blood." Kirra's voice trembled. She lifted her hand from the dragon and thrust her finger at the horizon. "And I know, if you go far enough to the west, there is nothing out there but desolation."

"The wilds are an empty land," Nylah said, murmuring to herself. "That old bridge is one of the furthest roads beyond the frontier, but its also one of the only spans to cross that gorge, so people still have to use it. Not everyone wants to risk traveling through the greener lands because they're afraid of bandits, and they're afraid of Va'chaak."

"It's not just empty," Kirra said, her eyes hardening. Her voice took on an edge, growing sharper and cutting deeper with every word. "It is nothing but desolation, and death. There is nothing there, Nylah. Even the grass is dead and gone."

"It blooms in the spring," Nylah said, a little stubborn. "The further you go into the wilds, beyond the moors, the less rain they get. Everyone knows that. That's why travelers who take those roads always pack plenty of provisions."

"Did it bloom this spring?" Kirra moved to stand in front of Alvaranox. The dragon remained silent as Kirra pressed her point.

"I-well, I don't know." Nylah pursed her lips. "I'm not saying there aren't patches of land out there that are dead right now..."

"Beyond that fortress is a wasteland, Nylah." Kirra's eyes flashed with every bit as much anger and determination as Alvaranox saw in the older woman. All that inner strength Kirra drew upon in the hardest moments was welling up inside her again. "A desert like I have never seen. I would not have known it was there if I were not atop Alvaranox. And until I shared in his visions and dreams, I would not have paid it heed. But the earth is red, Nylah, red and lifeless along the horizon, and that is the wasteland that Alv sees when the Bell calls to him. That is the wasteland that pours from a box carved from shadows, and that is what lies beyond the ruined city Guardian could not save."

Nylah took a deep breath, and held it as long as she could. In the absence of a reply, Kirra pressed on. "We both hear Asterryl called The Line In The Sand, Nylah. We hear it called the Boundary."

"It's a frontier town," Nylah said, swallowing hard.

Davan spoke up, settling his crossbow against his shoulder again. "We're on the edge of the wilds. Of the rugged lands. Once you get past all those villages, and the quarries and the shepherds..."

"Once you get past them all, there are ruins!" Kirra whirled on Davan, practically shouting at him. She did not mean to get angry at the man, but no one else seemed to understand.

"Old fortresses," Davan said, nodding. "From the kingdoms that used to rule this land, long before Asterryl was much more than a tiny village. Held too much land though, they fractured and fell apart. Wars for territory and peasant rights and all that. Between all that, and the wildness and the monsters and the bandits..."

"Is what everyone thinks, because they know no better." Kirra waved her hand in the air, cutting the guard off. "Most of those places have been abandoned so long no one even knows who used to rule them, who used to live there. No one's ruled from a fortress or lived in a castle around here for generations. Off to the east? Where the other towns are? That's one thing. But to the west? There's nothing left..."

"Stretched too far..." Nylah said.

"Reclaimed by the wilds," Davan added, then gestured with his weapon towards the dragon. "That's what our friend here keeps Asterryl safe from."

Kirra turned to look up at Alvaranox. She put her hand upon the plates of his chest, her voice filled with bitter uncertainty. "Is it?" She leaned her head against the dragon's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "We're not some tiny, backwater village anymore. There are burned out villages in the wilds that bandits may well have ransacked. There are ruined farmhouses where the families were probably dragged off and eaten by monsters. But Asterryl is beyond that. Maybe when Alv was first collared, he really did keep it completely safe. But do you really think a bandit clan, or a pack of wild beasts is going to bring Asterryl to its knees now? If Alv's truly protecting anything now, its all those little villages and farms out beyond the walls. Asterryl is big enough to take care of itself now, and so was that city where Guardian lived."

"If you're saying we should set the dragon free..." Davan trailed off, glancing up at the dragon a moment. He wasn't really sure what was appropriate to say.

"I'm saying, something destroyed that city and its fortress and I don't think it was a couple of bandits or a pack of hungry beasts! It would have taken an army of bandits to sack that city without the dragon stopping them. But something destroyed that place, and whatever it was, even a dragon could not stop it. And before it happened, there were men in red and black cloaks digging a hole! Just like the ones that attacked Alv. And guess what was in that hole?"

Davan and Nylah both gave almost identical sighs. Kirra held her breath for a moment, and then did the same. She turned and leaned back against the dragon's chest, folding her arms beneath her breasts. "I'm not saying that someone is going to open that box, and a tidal wave of earth and fire is going to wash our city away. But I am saying that old city was thriving once, and the lands around it were green and filled with life. Now the city is in crumbled ruins and the land around it is dead. That is not natural, Nylah. I think Asterryl is the line in the sand because we are at the very edge of a wasteland that has ruined countless other cities. I think Guardian's city was that same line until they brought the box across it, and buried it beneath that city. Guardian was...she wanted to get rid of it, I think, tried to dig it but it was too late. Maybe it doesn't directly cause the wasteland but surely it must be linked."

"Then why would Alv bring it here?" Nylah peered up at Alvaranox for a moment, her topaz eyes flickering.

"I don't know," the dragon murmured. "I didn't even know I was bringing it here till I woke up, after Kirra dragged me from the vision. The collar had control of me for a while."

"What if you've got it backwards?" Davan spoke up again, tilting his head. He shifted his crossbow to his other shoulder. "The Collar makes you protect us, right?"

Alvaranox snorted, flicking his tail against the grass. "Whether I like it or not."

"Then maybe that box you're talking about doesn't bring the waste, but holds it at bay. Maybe the collar made you bring it here so that it can keep Asterryl safe. After all, if that last city is dead, it doesn't need the protection. Maybe your collar's just realized this wasteland is..." He gestured at Kirra. "Spreading, like she said."

"Then why would we see it vomiting up the wasteland in those visions?" Kirra bit her lip, narrowing her eyes. She shook her head in confusion, red curls swishing.

Davan shrugged, spun his crossbow around in his hands, and lay it over his shoulder again. "Hell if I know. This is a dragon and Handler thing." He grinned at her a moment. "I'm just trying to keep up."

Nylah murmured to herself, chewing on her cheek. "He has a point. Just because Alv sees it doesn't mean its true. If you were seeing Alv's visions, he might just be seeing some old dragon's nightmares."

Kirra looked down at her boots. Nylah had a point, herself. Then something else occurred to Kirra, and looked up again. "He can't see it."

"Can't see what?" Nylah asked.

"The dead lands." Kirra leaned her red-haired head back against the dragon's scales, looking up at him. "All those brown patches, those areas where the land looks dead. He can't see them. All he sees his the beautiful green mores he remembers from his childhood. To Alvaranox, those lands don't fade away the further into the wilds you get. In his eyes, they stretch on forever."

"What?" Davan blinked, tilting his head. Nylah put a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. She understood, but the guardsmen did not. "Why not?"

"The collar." Kirra said. "The collar doesn't let him see the world as it is. It shows him the world he wants to see."

Nylah stepped forward, and reached towards the dragon with a trembling hand. Kirra hadn't mentioned that part before. "Alv, I had no idea..."

"Neither did I," the dragon said. He tried to force a laugh but it made his voice shake. He clenched his jaw instead.

"Why would it do that?" Davan asked, trying not to stare at the dragon.

"To give him hope, I think," Kirra said, gritting her teeth. "So he thinks there's something out there he once loved that he can return to someday. And I think to hide his real childhood..."

"Kirra," Alvaranox said sharply. The dragon knew what she meant, and yet at the same time he could not grasp those memories. He struggled for them a moment, trying to recall unsettling images he'd seen only that morning. Yet the more he tried to remember, the more it made his head ache. "That's enough. You can tell Nylah in private, if you want. But thinking about it is making my head hurt."

"Alright, Alv," Kirra said, gently rubbing the dragon's chest plates. Anger and hatred flashed in her eyes as she looked up. For a moment, Alv felt hurt, had he offended her? Then he realized she was staring at the collar. Kirra was growing to hate that collar almost as much as Alvaranox did.

"I told Kirra I want her to come out to the wilds with me sometime." The dragon turned his head to look down at Nylah. "I want her to touch the collar, and see if I can see the world through her eyes."

"You think that will work?"

"I'm not sure." The dragon opened a wing, stretched it out and pulled Nylah closer with it. He lifted a fore paw and gently stroked Kirra's arm as she leaned against him. "It's happened a few times before. When I first took her to the ruins, she touched the collar and for a moment, all the green grass I was looking at was dead, and crumbling to dust. Then it was back to normal. I thought it was another malfunction, but, now I think I was seeing what Kirra saw. When we go, you are welcome to come with us if you wish."

"I think perhaps I'd better," Nylah said, stroking the inside of the dragon's wing. "For now, let's all try to keep an open mind. There's no need to panic or anything. Don't take this the wrong way Alv, but anything that Kirra has seen through your mind is hardly reliable information at this point."

The dragon rumbled in frustration. Nylah was right, and he knew it. And Davan did make a good point about the collar and the box. It sought the towns protection, and it made him fetch the damn thing. It was possible the box would somehow help keep Asterryl safe. And yet it still left the dragon feeling completely unsettled. Almost as much so as the realization that the collar was actively hiding aspects of the world from him. It was bad enough when he knew his memories were fading and changing. But knowing that the collar was actively altering them was even worse. To say nothing of its control over what he saw around him.

Alvaranox rarely felt so helpless. He was more a puppet to the collar than he'd ever realized. He wondered for a moment if his feelings for Nylah and Kirra were put there by the collar, as well. No. No, a hundred times no. They were his friends, and he cared for them. No matter how much he danced upon the collar's strings, his feelings were still his own.

The dragon had learned something else that morning. He'd discovered the stitches that held his patchwork memories together. He was still a puppet, tied to the strings of the collar and the bell but he was starting to resist the tug at the other end of those strings. If this kept up, he was going to get a chance to be the one pulling the strings. If Alv had his way, he'd yank the puppet master down and smash that bell into dust.

Flickering images of a happy childhood flitted through his mind. He heard his mother's laughter. He remembered the feel of soft moss beneath his pads. The taste of sweet fresh water while he was free. Sunlight glittered off his mother's golden markings. Alvaranox hissed, and shoved the memories from his mind. For once, he did not want to remember his childhood at all. Those memories were painful now. They were either complete fabrications, or a reminder of the wonderful life the collar's burden had torn him away from.

Alvaranox was not sure which was worse.

"Nylah," the dragon said, opening his wing a little to look down at her. She peered back up at him, pulling gray hair out of her eyes. "Do you remember when you asked if I wanted you to look into the collar, about any other dragons that had worn it?"

"Yes, Alv," Nylah said, nodding. "You didn't want me too."

"I changed my mind." Alvaranox snorted, thumping his spined tail against the grass. "Find out whatever you can. Any history about it, other dragons, where Asterryl got it in the first place. And...my mother. If you find anything out about her. Or...if anyone from any town has seen Rain lately. Or...any dragon..."

Nylah smiled at him, rubbing the scales of his belly. "I'll find out anything I can for you, Alv."

"Thank you." Alvaranox smiled at the two women, and then pushed himself up to all four paws. He glanced at Davan as well. "Now. I don't know about the three of you, but I am going to get spectacularly drunk tonight."

---

Chapter Twenty One

---

Alvaranox sat upon his haunches beneath the sheltering boughs of the massive oak tree behind one of his favorite pubs. The pub sat at the end of a winding side street that passed through much of an older district of Asterryl. It had been there nearly as long as Alvaranox himself, and as he'd taken to filling his belly with wine to forgot his problems, it became one of his favorite spots. The building itself was built from thick, sturdy oak beams that looked as though they could withstand any storm the would throw at them. All around the tavern, wooden arches carved with images of stags and boars supported overhanging eaves. Laughter drifted from open windows night and day. From the back door leading to the kitchen, the scents of roasting meats and strong drink tinted the air.

Alvaranox fancied himself a temporary conqueror whenever he claimed the massive back garden patio. Everyone else had to move out of his way. After all, a dragon needed room to sprawl out once he was properly drunk. At least now the servers knew to move all the furniture out of the way whenever the dragon showed up to drink. The last time they left them in his way Alvaranox had stumbled about in a drunken stupor till he fell over and shattered several wooden tables.

An old stone wall ringed the back garden. The wall was high enough to shield the patio from outside view, and the dragon wondered if the place was built as a more private gathering club before being converted into a public house. Layers of velvety green moss and shrouds of vines wreathed much of the wall. Only hints of rounded gray stones peeked out here and there. The setting sun bathed the world in shades of burnt gold that would soon fade to lavender and then darkness.

The pub was named The Towering Oak, for growing in the center of the back patio was one of the largest trees in all of Asterryl. Alvaranox was sure the tree was even older than he was. It was one of the few things in town that the dragon could watch grow without also watching it age and die. It was probably also the only thing in town that would actually outlive the dragon. Alvaranox hoped the old tree didn't mind him ripping off a few more boughs once he was settled down.

"Alv!" Kirra said once the crack of splintering wood had faded. "Stop that!"

Alvaranox waved the oak bough he'd just torn the tree at Kirra. "It was bumping my head. It don't want to scratch my ears."

"But you can't just tear limbs from their tree."

"I certainly can." The dragon tossed the limb at Kirra, and she ducked it, yelping. "See? I've torn that one, and now I'm going to tear this one off." Alvaranox reached out, grasped another low bough, and wrenched it away from the tree. The leaves rustled as he shook them at Kirra. To the dragon, the leaves always reminded him of a malformed human hand. "You see? It's easy."

"That's not what I meant," Kirra said, balling her hands up at her sides.

"Give it up," Nylah said from the table she sat at nearby. She'd already downed a half mug of ale, and a hint of froth clung to her lips before she wiped them with the back of her hand. "I've never been able to break him of that habit."

Alvaranox glanced at the tree. Scars and knots marked its trunk where he'd been ripping away the lowest boughs for most of the years he'd been coming here. As the tree grew, so too did the dragon. For every year that passed, he had to pull away a few more limbs in order to make himself comfortable beneath the old oak. Still, his abusive gardening didn't seem to have caused the tree any serious harm. He tossed the bough away, grinning.

"The tree is fine. If I've not harmed it yet, I'm not going to do so now."

"I doubt the inn keepers like you mangling their namesake tree," Kirra said. She moved to pick up the bough, carried it towards the wall and dropped it on the pile with the others. "They'll have to come out here and saw off that broken stub, now."

"Then they should have already done so. If they'd sawed off these limbs before I arrived, I wouldn't have to break them off myself." Alvaranox thumped his spined tail against the well-trodden ground. "And where's my damn wine?" He narrowed his copper eyes, glaring at Nylah. "How did you get your drink first?"

Nylah hoisted her mug into the air, a little foam sloshed over the side. "I went inside and got it from the bar. You, being too fat to fit through the door, will have to wait until they get some people to carry your barrel out."

"Fat?" The dragon tossed his head, scoffing. "I am not fat. I am appropriately sizable for an adult dragon. You're fat."

Nylah smirked at the dragon. "If this wasn't half full of ale, I'd hurl it at your head."

Kirra put her hands on Nylah's table, leaning over it towards the older woman. "You could drink the ale, then hurl it at his head."

"That is an excellent idea." Nylah took a long pull of ale, then wiped her mouth, grinning. "Besides, I need to get a drink in me first, so I can deal with a stumbling-drunk dragon."

"I should think you'd rather be sober, so you can dart out of the way when I fall over." The glared towards the pub a moment, and then called out. "Wine! It is not wise to keep a dragon waiting." He flared his spines, growling to himself. "I might not be able to attack anyone but I can damn sure make a mess of their back patio."

"You've already done that," Kirra said, gesturing towards the pile of oak boughs the dragon had torn from the tree. They'd been scattered about the back garden until Kirra pilled them all together. "You know, it isn't good for the tree for you to do that to it."

"And it isn't good for my mood to be kept from my wine, but that isn't stopping them."

"They are selecting an appropriate barrel," Nylah replied, a hint of a slur creeping into her voice. Alvaranox stared at her a moment. She'd eaten a little lamb earlier, but aside from that was drinking on an empty stomach. The dragon was starting to suspect she'd asked them for their strongest drink, or perhaps poured some whisky or rum into her ale. "Which likely means they're taking turns pissing into it."

"What?" The dragon jerked his head back, all his spines flared out. "I will light this place on fire if I detect even the slightest..."

Nylah burst out laughing before the dragon could even finish his thought. Kirra was soon laughing with her. The dragon's ears and crests flushed purple as he realized he'd been had by the Old Lady. "Oh very funny," he said with a snarl, heat still rising in his muzzle. Perhaps it was a little funny. He grinned at Nylah. "You're going to be drunk before I am."

"That, my dear dragon," Nylah said, punching her mug in the air. More dark golden liquid spilled out. "Is precisely the idea. Believe it or not..." She waved the mug around as Kirra stepped back to avoid the foamy droplets that flew from it. "You're not the only one significantly disturbed and upset by all these potentially terrifying discoveries. If you're going to escape them for the night be drinking your tail off, I certainly can't blame you. I thought I may as well join you." Nylah took a long drink, emptying the mug. She set it on the table, grinning at Kirra. "Then Kirra can take care of both of us while we're hung over."

"And what if Kirra's hungover too, hmm?" The red-haired woman folded her arms over her chest, grinning. "I wasn't planning on drinking water all night, you know."

"Then I suppose we shall have to nominate Davan as chief hangover curer." Nylah rose from her chair, and hoisted her wooden mug again. "Right. I'm going for another drink, and I'll yell at them to bring Alv's wine before his complaints ruin my impending inebriation."

Alvaranox watched Nylah cross the large back garden and vanish into the pub through the two sizable doors. Noisy laughter rolled through the doors while they were open along with the scents of the evening's meal. Smelled like they were cooking some kind of fish stew. Alvaranox licked his nose, wondering just how much of that they were making. When the doors closed, muffling the sounds and cutting off the flow of tantalizing scents, the dragon turned his attention to Kirra once more.

"Nylah's drunk already." The dragon grinned, perking up his ears.

"She's certainly sliding down that slope faster than I expected," Kirra said, shaking her head. Red curls bounced around her shoulders. "I hope she doesn't get too hungover, that can't be good at her age."

Alvaranox gave a growling laugh. He wasn't sure if Kirra was serious or jesting but it was funny either way. "Yes, poor Old Lady, can't handle her drink."

"She downed that mug awfully fast." Kirra pulled another chair up to the table and at in it. "Pretty sure she had them pour something else in her ale, too."

"I thought as much," the dragon said, grinning. "I should have had them do that to my wine."

"We already did." Kirra put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her head. "They're pissing in it, remember?"

"I'm warning you Kirra," the dragon said, hissing through his teeth. "I will light the biggest fire you've ever seen..."

"Maybe that's how Asterryl burns down," Kirra said, grinning to herself. "The Guardian Slave gets angry because someone pissed in his wine, and lights everything on fire."

Alvaranox growled low in his throat. That wasn't as funny as Kirra intended it. She didn't seem to realize just what she'd said, either, and Alvaranox decided against pointing it. After all, reminding Kirra that she had a habit of swallowing her own foot all the way up to her knee was like pointing out that the sun would rise in the east. And trying to get her to stop was just as futile as trying to convince the sun to rise anywhere else.

"Maybe the sun just burns it all away." Kirra's voice grew softer, half muffled as her chin slipped against her palm and her hand covered her lips.

"What's that now?"

Kirra pointed towards the western horizon. The dragon stretched his neck to peer over the roof of The Towering Oak. The setting sun wreathed the edges of the world and the drifting clouds in layers of brilliant fire. The very horizon itself looked to be burning. For a moment the dragon could imagine that Kirra was right. That every night, the sun settled upon the world and burned away another section of once-vibrant earth, leaving behind nothing but a blistered, cracked wasteland.

Soon the sun settled just a little further. The radiance of the red fire faded a little, leaving behind purple scars above the horizon. The edges of distant clouds glowed with a golden hue. Dusk's brush painted others in shades of pink and lilac. Alvaranox's eyes caught the fading light, reflecting all the colors of the sunset in swirling waves each time he turned his head. The dragon smiled to himself. Even in the midst of so much turmoil, the sunset over the moors was still beautiful.

Wasn't it?

"Kirra..." Alvaranox's voice was soft. The dragon's heart felt tight in his chest, nervous fingers squeezed it. "Do you see the sunset?"

"Of course, Alv." Kirra lifted her head, smiling at him. "Though the pub is in partly in the way."

"Is it beautiful?" The dragon looked down at Kirra, afraid the collar was showing him something else that wasn't really there.

Kirra rose from her chair and walked over to join the dragon. She leaned up against his side, stroking his shoulder and the scutes of a foreleg. Then he rested her head against Alv's scaly body, smiling up at him. "Yes, Alv. The sunset is beautiful tonight."

"Good," the dragon said, his usually brassy voice little more than a murmur. "I'm glad that's real, at least."

"So far the only thing we know that's been hidden from you is the desolation beyond the moors," Kirra said. She shifted a little, her red curls flattened against the dragon's scales. "There's no reason to suspect it's showing you any other illusions."

"There is also little reason to suspect it isn't." The dragon closed his eyes for a moment. He pictured the moors in his mind as he remembered them. Green and beautiful, an emerald sprawl dotted with blue-gray heather and splotches of brilliant color. Then he tried to picture it as Kirra said it really was. Brown, dry, and lifeless. He had trouble imagining it. The more he tried to think of it that way, the more the images faded in his mind. The dragon hissed in frustration, opening his eyes again. "I can scarcely trust my own mind, let alone my eyes."

"We'll get you through this Alv," Kirra said, rubbing the dragon's chest plates.

"Well don't you two just look all snuggly and lovey-dovey." Nylah stood a short distance away, holding two mugs of drink. Her cheeks were ruddier than before. She grinned as if she'd just caught the dragon and woman doing something illicit.

"And don't you just look like the village drunkard." Alvaranox snorted, but found himself smiling at his former handler. "Do you really need two drinks at once?"

"One of these," Nylah said, walking towards the group. "Is for her." She thrust the mug at Kirra, who stepped back just in time to avoid getting splashed with the sloshing ale. "The other one is for me."

"That's quite the deduction, professor," Alvaranox said, lowering his head to sniff at her drink. "What have you got in there, anyway?"

"Ale," Nylah said, shoving his muzzle away once she had a free hand. "With a hint of rum. And its mine, so keep your snout out of it."

"Smells more like rum with a hint of ale," the dragon replied.

"More of an even split, actually," Nylah said, then laughed at some joke no one else knew. She flopped into her seat again, gesturing at the door. "You wine will be arriving any moment."

"It had damn well better be."

"Or what?" Nylah said, a hint of playful challenge rising in her voice. "You'll tell the whole place to kiss your stones? You'll get drunk and piss all over the garden again?"

"Again?" Kirra perked a brow, giggling as she sipped her own mug.

"Last time..." Nylah began, before Alvaranox cut her off.

"That wasn't last time, Nylah." The dragon dragged a few unsheathed claws through the earth. "That was years ago."

"Years ago," Nylah started again. She leaned over the table towards Kirra as if confiding some great secret. Yet her voice was loud enough to carry all the way back to the tavern. "We were here, and Alv got ferociously drunk. He had to piss, apparently..."

"I'd been holding it all night," the dragon said, trying to defend himself. "They wouldn't let me leave. Every time I told them I had to go, they said one more drink, dragon! My cousin wants to say he drank with the dragon! My uncle has a story to tell you."

"That sounds unusually sociable for you," Kirra said, grinning at the dragon.

"Nylah said she wasn't going to let me drink unless I played nice, so I put up with their prattling as much as I could."

"The point is," Nylah said, wobbling on her chair as she waggled her finger at the dragon. "Alv got so drunk he began to forget where he was. Decided he wasn't going to hold it any more, so he'd better go off and relieve himself. Didn't want a bunch of humans watching, as you can imagine, and lucky for him there's a wall right there." Nylah pointed to the wall that encircled the back patio area. "So he walked around the wall, found a nice spot, and emptied his bladder."

"And?" Kirra took a longer drink.

"And, he was too damn drunk to realize that on the other side of that wall is the garden where the chef grew all his vegetables." Nylah laughed so hard her whole body shook, and ale mixed with rum spilled from her mug. "He pissed all over their tomatoes! And because the wall's not all that high, they could all see him standing there. They were yelling at him to stop, to go somewhere else, and he called them all a bunch of drunken perverts!"

"That's not how I remember it," Alvaranox said, looking away. He grinned despite the purplish blush tinting his scales. He could hardly remember how that night turned out. "I don't think I was right over their garden."

"You were," Nylah said, still laughing. "Then you tried to find your way back here, stumbled and fell down in the street, and couldn't be bothered to get back up!"

"It's called passing out," the dragon snapped before he realized that wasn't quite the boisterous defense he'd meant it be. Thankfully, about that time the back doors opened again and two heavyset men emerged carrying the dragon's barrel of wine. Both men wore green aprons strained with grease and spilled drink. One had long, shaggy hair while the other was bald but sported a scruffy beard. The dragon knew both of them as well as he knew any of the local bar tenders. He smiled as they approached, dropping his head in an approximation of respect. "Ah, at last. Thank you so much!"

"Sorry it took so long, Dragon," the bald man said as the two of them set the barrel down before Alvaranox.

"Oh, think nothing of it," the dragon replied, waving a paw in the air. "I hadn't even noticed the wait."

"Liar," Nylah called out, giggling again. "You should hear the way he's been..."

"Praising your tavern," Kirra cut the older woman off. "He just loves it here."

"That's what we like to hear," said the man with the shaggy hair. He helped his friend turn the barrel up on its end, then grinned at Kirra. "So long as he stays out of the garden."

Alvaranox narrowed his eyes, flicking his ears back. "Just open the damn wine."

"Sure thing, Guardian," said the bald man.

Alvaranox yanked his head back, neck curling into an S. "What?"

"I said, sure thing," the man replied. He pulled a tool from his belt, and began to pry the top off.

"You called me..." Alvaranox sighed, shaking his head. He glanced at Kirra to see if she'd heard the same thing. She shrugged at the dragon. "Nevermind."

The bartender gave him an odd look. Soon, the top popped off the barrel, revealing the rich, aromatic red liquid inside. The wine began to perfume the air immediately, hints of dark fruit, berries, and oak washed across the dragon's nostrils. The smell was almost enough to make Alvaranox forget what he'd just been wondering about.

Alvaranox waved his paw towards the barrel, grinning at Kirra. "You see, Kirra? That _is_how you open a barrel of wine."

Kirra opened her mouth to reply, but the bartender beat her too. "Only when you're serving it to a dragon." He laughed, and the shaggy haired man spoke up. "Enjoy! We'll send a server around to see if you need anything else."

"Don't suppose you've any female dragons to offer?"

Both bartenders laughed. One shrugged and wiped his hands off on his greasy apron. The other shook his head, grinning. "Afraid not. But if we come across any, we'll be sure to put a few drinks in her then send her your way."

Alvaranox smirked as the two men walked off. He turned his head to grin at Kirra. "I suppose I shall have to make do with you, then."

Kirra giggled. "Seems that way."

"At least you've developed into someone worth talking too."

"What do you mean by that?" Kirra put her hands on her hips, feigning anger.

"Oh, you used to be a terrible bore, Kirra. Now at least you can amuse me from time to time." Alvaranox unsheathed a single claw, flicking it towards Nylah. "Unlike the old lady. She still bores me."

Nylah glared at the dragon over her mug. "I should have asked them for a few spare mugs." Nylah gestured at the dragon with her cup, wobbling on her chair a little. "So I could hurl them at you."

"Have another drink, Old Lady," Alvaranox said, grinning. Then he flicked a wing open, pointing a talon at Nylah. "Kirra, do be prepared to catch her if she falls off her chair."

"If she falls off her chair, I think she's on her own." Kirra took a long pull from her own mug, laughing.

"Some help you are, you young upstart!" Nylah tolded her attention to the younger women, rattling her mug. Ale sloshed over the sides. "You'll do what I tell you, and you'll like it!"

"You haven't even told me to do anything," Kirra said with another laugh. "You _are_getting drunk."

Alvaranox let the two women argue and banter among themselves to turn his attention to his barrel of wine. He dropped his head down, inhaled the heady aroma, and then began to lap at the crimson liquid. The taste was heady and a little earth, laden with flavors of plums, dark berries and oak. Each gulp send another wave of warmth rolling down the dragon's long throat. Eventually he lifted his horned head, red beads clinging to his pebbly scales. The dragon licked them away and rumbled his approval.

"This is good wine," Alvaranox said, unconcerned if anyone was paying attention.

The back doors opened again and a woman in a simple blue and black server's dress emerged. She had darker skin than the average Asterryl resident, the dragon thought she probably came here from some other town. Her equally dark hair was tied behind her head with a blue ribbon, her sandals clacked a little as she crossed the back garden area to the dragon. Alvaranox tilted his head down to regard her, flicking his ears back.

"Yes?" The dragon was a little impatient. He didn't like being interrupted from his wine.

"Hello, dragon," the woman said, sounding a little too cheerful for Alv. Her eyes seemed to match the growing darkness though they looked as though they'd be blue in the light. "My name is Miyal."

"How exciting for you," Alvaranox said, snorting. He lowered his head to his barrel of wine and went back to lapping at it. When the woman just stared at him with a confused look spreading over her face, the dragon waved a paw as if to tell her to get to the point.

"Oh, you're going to get it now," Nylah announced, thrusting her nearly empty mug into the air as if celebrating some great victory. "No one interrupts his drinking without kissing his green stones!"

Kirra burst out laughing, and Miyal gasped in surprise, whirling towards Nylah, her eyes suddenly took up half her face. "What?!"

Alvaranox rumbled in amusement for a moment, flicking his tail. "Don't mind the Old Lady. She's drunk."

"Oh..." Miyal trailed off, glancing back and forth between the dragon and the older woman. Her mouth hung open a moment, and Alv could just about see her fighting back the words, this is not that kind of establishment.

_ _

"Tell you," Nylah said, peering into her mug.

"What?" Kirra asked, giggling.

"He's going to tell her to kiss his green stones," Nylah said. She attempted to whisper to Kirra but her voice was still so loud everyone could hear it. "That's what I meant. Not actually make her kiss..."

Kirra put her hand over Nylah's mouth. "That's enough out of you!"

Nylah seemed so surprised by the suddenly gesture that she didn't even try to pull away. Her hazel eyes crossed as she tried to stare down at Kirra's hand. For a moment she seemed unable to figure out what had just happened. Instead she just sat there silent for a moment.

"She's not usually like this," Kirra said. "In fact I'm not sure I've ever seen her get so drunk so quickly before..."

"Think she's got more whisky and rum in her mug than ale," Alvaranox said, glancing down at Miyal. "We received...unpleasant news today. And she needed to take a night off from thinking about it."

"Ah," Miyal nodded, smiling. "I understand. I hope whatever it is gets better."

"So do I," Alvaranox said, snorting. Truth was, Alvaranox needed the night off from thinking about anything as well. The dragon himself had seen Nylah get spectacularly drunk a few times before, but it had been quite a few years. Normally Nylah was quite stoic in the face of hardship or unpleasantness, but when she had a chance to forgot all about it for a night of drinking with the dragon, she was quick to take it. He glanced at Miyal again. "What did you need?"

"Oh, of course," Miyal said, smiling. She stared at the dragon, her eyes wandering his scaly form. "We'll light all the lamps out here if you like, so you're not sitting in darkness. And I thought you might be hungry, I'd be happy to have a big pot of fish stew and plenty of bread brought out if you wish."

"Yes, that would be lovely." The dragon waved his paw towards the door, sending her off. "Thank you."

The dragon watched Miyal head back inside. A yelp from Kirra drew his attention.

"OW!" Kirra yowled. "Let go!"

Nylah had Kirra's ear in her grasp and was twisting it sharply. Kirra squirmed nad tried to pull away, while Nylah held fast. "You listen here, young lady. You don't go around clamping your hand over your elder's mouth. We've important things to say, and you'd damn well better listen."

"Now you see why I keep my ears out of her reach whenever I can," Alvaranox said through his laughter. "She's got fingers like iron."

Kirra squirmed a little more, then snatched up the older woman's mug. Nylah gasped, and reached for it with her other hand, but Kirra lifted it up over her head. Before Nylah had a chance to grab Kirra's drink, she held it up away from Nylah as well. Each time Nylah reached for one with her free hand, Kirra moved it out of her range.

"Give those back!"

"Only one of them is yours!" Kirra said, working her head back and forth. "You'll get it back when you let go of my ear!"

Nylah took a moment to contemplate that. Then she very slowly released Kirra's ear, wiggling her fingers as if ready to snatch it up again at any moment if Kirra did not keep up her end of the bargain. Just as slowly, Kirra set the mug back down in front of Nylah. The older lady grabbed it with both hands, hopped out of her seat, then wobbled her way over to the next seat over. Now she sat directly across from Kirra instead of next to her as if that would keep her drink safe.

"It's my drink," Nylah said, staring into the mug. Then she gasped. "You've drank it all!"

"You drank it all, you drunken old betty," Alvaranox said, laughing.

"So I did," Nylah said, looking at the dragon a moment. "You'd best watch your scaly mouth, or it'll be your ear in my fingers next."

"I shall keep my head right out of your reach, then." The dragon inclined his head towards Nylah's mug. "Perhaps you'd like Kirra to refill that for you."

"Yes," Nylah said, thrusting the mug across the table. "I think she should."

Kirra smirked and took the mug. "Two seconds ago you didn't want me anywhere near it."

"I still don't, but if its going to come back with more drink I shall let you be it."

Kirra blinked, trying to comprehend that. "What?"

"You heard me," Nylah said, waving her hand. "Go on then, young lady. Fetch my drink."

Alvaranox lapped up more wine, then grinned at Kirra as she rose up. "Make sure its just ale this time."

Kirra nodded with a smile, and walked to the pub. She held the door open for the men who were coming out to light the lamps. They spread out around the back patio, and soon had a number of mirrored lanterns hanging from curved wrought iron poles glowing with a warm orange light. Behind them, Miyal and another man carried out a large pot filled with stew. They grunted with the effort of it, but soon set the iron put down in front of the dragon. Scents of roasted fish, potatoes, cream and herbs all wafted from the thick stew. Soon a few freshly baked loaves of bread were set on the table nearest the dragon as well.

"Here you are, Dragon," Miyal said. "I hope its to your liking."

Alvaranox sniffed at it, his belly growling. "It certainly smells as though it shall be." In the lamp light, curls of steam rose from the stew. The dragon glanced up at her. "How hot is it? If I burn my tongue, I shall hurl this pot through your wall."

Miyal only laughed at the dragon's threat. "Don't worry, we let it cool down a bit before we brought it. If it doesn't burn my tongue I don't think it shall burn yours."

"It had better not," Alvaranox snorted. He dropped his muzzle back to the pot, lapped at the stew a little. Then he stuck his muzzle into it, getting a few big hunks of fish and potatoes in his teeth. He chewed them up, and lapped more of the thick, savory broth. Dribbles of butter-colored stew ran down his scales as he rumbled a purr of appreciation. "That is good. Very good."

Miyal stared at him, grinning. "You've got it all over yourself."

"Welcome to dragons," Nylah said from the nearby table. She leaned over it, making a clumsy gesture with a hand. "Always getting it all over themselves."

Miyal quirked a brow, looking at Nylah a moment before turning her attention to the dragons. "Will she be alright? And shall I bring some napkins for your face?"

The dragon did his best to lick the extra stew from his scales, then admitted defeat in the Endeavour. "Perhaps you'd better. And Nylah will be alright. A hangover tomorrow morning will just keep her distracted from her worries a little longer."

Miyal nodded and returned to the pub to get the napkins. On the way she and Kirra passed each other. The two women gave each other a smile and a nod. Kirra set Nylah's mug down in front of her, a bit of frothy head sloshed over the edges. Kirra took a long drink from her own mug and set it down well out of Nylah's reach. The older woman sniffed at it, then took a drink. She scrunched her face up.

"It tastes funny."

"That's because it's just ale this time." Kirra ignored Nylah's grumbling, and turned around towards the dragon. "What have you gotten all over your face?"

"Fish stew," Alvaranox said. He spent a few moments sizing up both the stew pot and the wine barrel. The dragon considered rinsing his muzzle off in his wine, but he didn't want to cloud it up with stew. "That serving girl is bringing napkins."

"Napkins? You need an entire blanket to wash your face with." Kirra smirked, and sipped at her drink. "And its not nice to call her a serving girl."

"She serves things." The dragon snorted, lashing his tail. "What else am I to call her?"

"You could start with her name," Kirra giggled to herself, shaking her head.

"What do you mean, she starts the blame?" Nylah stared at Kirra across her mug in confusion. "The blame for what?"

Kirra and Alvaranox both looked at Nylah in silence for a moment. Grinning, Kirra reached out and poked the older woman's nose. "You've had just about enough I think."

"Nonsense," Nylah muttered, wrapping her arms around her mug as though surrounded by robbers. "This's mine."

"This is as drunk as I've ever seen her," Kirra said. She looked at her own drink, careful to take only small sips. She didn't want to end up as hungover as Nylah and the dragon were going to be.

"I've seen her drunker." Alvaranox lapped up a bit more of the stew, then licked his nose clean. "Not for quite a few years, though. Hopefully she doesn't curl up in the corner and pass out this time. And tomorrow...well, I suspect her body won't handle being hungover as well as it used too."

"I'll walk her home in a little bit," Kirra said, chewing on her lip. "I think it will be better for her to wake up in her own bed. And I don't want her to fall over and hurt herself on the way home."

"And what about me?" Alvaranox tossed his head.

"You're going to be on your own." Kirra plucked a pebbly from the ground and flicked it at the dragon. It bounced off the scales of his haunch. "I don't plan to be anywhere near you when you start getting all wobbly. I've no intention of being crushed to death by a stumbling dragon."

"You might not die." Alvaranox perked his frilled green ears, grinning. "You might just have a crushed pelvis."

"I've news for you, Dragon." Kirra searched the ground till she found another pebble. She flicked that one at his head. Alv closed his eyes and turned his head away when it bounced off of him. "If you should cripple me in some drunken stupor, then you'll be the one taking care of me for the rest of my days."

"Then I hope you like raw meat and wine, because you'll be eating the same things I do."

Kirra giggled, then waved at Miyal as the woman in the blue server's dress made her way up to their group again. "Hello, Miyal." Kirra looked at Alv, raising her brows.

The dragon did his best not to notice her expectant look. "Yes, hello, Miyal, who I shouldn't call serving girl."

Miyal blinked in confusion, then shrugged it off. She held out a large pile of towels to the dragon. "Here are your napkins. They're actually kitchen towels, but I thought them better suited to someone your size than a regular napkin."

"A wise decision," Alv said, reaching out to take the pile of towels. He set them down nearby, and then dunked his head right back into the bowl of fish stew. Muffled words drifted up from the dragon's buried muzzle between the sounds of lapping and gulping. "This is lovely."

Miyal grinned, wringing her hands. "I'm glad you think so." She turned to others. "Does anyone else want some food?"

"Sausages," Nylah blurted out.

"Sausages?" Miyal furrowed her brow. "I don't think we have..."

"I like sausages," Nylah said, as though she were holding a different conversation. "And tomatoes."

"I'll just have some of that bread," Kirra said, pointing to the loaves of bread Miyal brought out earlier.

Miyal fetched one of the loaves of bread and handed it to Kirra. "I'm afraid I didn't bring out any knives or anything."

"Oh, that's alright." Kirra tore a hunk of bread off with her hands and passed it to Nylah. Then she tore off another chunk and began to eat it. It was soft and fresh, with a nice crust on the outside. "This is very nice bread."

"Mrrrblegurrf," Nylah said, around a mouth quite full of bread.

Alvaranox lifted his head from the stew and licked his muzzle. Then he picked up one of the towels, wiping down his snout before he dunked his head back into the barrel of wine. He gulped down as much of it as he could before he finally had to lift his head for a breath. By now even the dragon was feeling the warm blanket of heavy drink draped across his body. His ears felt hot, and his body was beginning to felt delightfully sluggish. Alv pinned his ears back when Nylah suddenly cried out at painfully loud volume.

"By the gods!" Nylah screamed.

"What is it?" Kirra whirled towards her, fear twisting her voice.

"There's a dragon in my garden!" Nylah pointed towards Alvaranox, her eyes wide.

Alvaranox shook his head, grumbling under his breath. "Something is seriously wrong when Nylah is blind drunk before I am."

Kirra moved to Nylah's side and gently put a hand upon her arm. "And with little outburst, I think you've had enough. Come along Nylah, let's get you home while we still can."

"M'not finished m'drink," Nylah said, sulking and glaring at the green dragon as though this were his fault.

"You can take it with you," Miyal suggested, smiling. "We've plenty more mugs."

At Kirra's gentle urging, Nylah slowly got out of her chair. She wobbled a little, and then leaned in to whisper into Miyal's ear. "Wa'tchout for the dragon. They eat people yanno."

"You know damn well I'm not allowed to eat anyone," Alvaranox said, laughing. Nylah was fun when she was drunk. "She should be more worried about me drinking all her wine."

"You hear that?" Nylah asked, huffing. "He's going to wrinkle all your vines!"

"Come along, Nylah," Kirra said, giggling to herself. She gently tugged on the older woman's arm, getting her to follow along.

Nylah followed her to the gate in the back wall, then paused to take a drink. Then she looked around, gasping in surprise. "This isn't my garden!"

"No, it isn't," Kirra said, tugging her arm again. "But that's where we're going." She glanced back at Alvaranox. "I'll be back as soon as I've gotten her safely home, and into bed."

"Alright, Kirra." Alvaranox flared out a wing to give her a little wave. The gust of wind ruffled Miyal's blue dress around her as she stood nearby.

From the other side of the wall, Nylah suddenly exclaimed, "I have to go!"

"You should piss in that garden, Old Lady!" Alvaranox laughed to himself. "Then I can bring that story up the next time we drink."

"No, Nylah." Kirra's voice drifted over the wall. Then it grew louder. "No! Nylah, he was joking!"

Nylah muttered something about getting to piss wherever she wanted at her age.

Alvaranox grinned at Miyal. "You're lucky you have Kirra there to guide her back to her house or she really would pee in your garden."

Miyal folded her arms, grinning at the dragon. "Wouldn't be the first time someone did that, from what I hear."

Alvaranox pinned his ears back. "Heard about that, did you?"

"I hear you flooded out the entire garden!"

Alvaranox's muzzle flushed a little more purple. "I think that is an exaggeration. But, I had drank at least a barrel of two of wine."

Miyal peered into the dragon's barrel, still grinning. "Looks like you're about half way there, now."

"I was planning to get as drunk as Nylah," the dragon admitted, then chuckled. "But seeing her that way has me rethinking that endeavor. I will, however, be finishing off this delightful stew."

The dragon stuck his snout back into the pot, lapping at the last of the stew. While he ate, he felt Miyal's eyes upon his scales. He'd expected her to return to the pub again, but they'd probably assigned her to tend to all the dragon's needs tonight. Or perhaps more likely, they'd assigned her to make sure the dragon didn't break anything. He tried to ignore the fact he was being stared at while he ate. He was used too it at this point, after all. The woman was probably curious as well. Soon he was licking the pot clean.

When he was finished licking the pot clean, he lifted his head. He worked his tongue over the pebbly green scales of his muzzle and heard Miyal giggling at him. He glanced over at her, tilting his horned head. "Yes?"

"You missed a spot."

"Probably more than one."

"I'll get it for you, if you like." Miyal picked up a clean towel, and waited to see if the dragon wanted assistance or not.

"Very well." Alvaranox lowered his head towards her.

Miyal reached out with the towel, hesitant at first. She brushed it against the dragon's pebbly-scaled face a few times.

"You need not be too gentle." The dragon fixed his copper eyes upon the woman. In the lamplight Alv's eyes flickered and shone with vibrant fire. "So long as you don't poke me in the eye, or start roughing up my ears and crests, you aren't going to hurt me."

Miyal nodded, glad to know it. She began to scrub the dragon's face a little more, working the towel over his scales to wipe away any traces of stew that clung to him. The dragon leaned his head back and forth to help make it easier for her to clean him up. When she was done, she took a step back to admire her work, then smiled.

"All clean," Miyal said, tossing the towel over to join its dirty kin.

"Thank you," Alvaranox said, turning his attention back to his wine. Soon he was noisily slurping it up. While he drank Miyal gathered up the dirty towels and folded them, setting them in a separate pile. When Alv lifted his head for a breath, he noticed the woman staring at the pile of broken tree limbs. He licked beads of wine from his chin. "Those were in my way."

"Yes, I noticed you'd done a bit of pruning." Miyal walked to the tree, running her fingers over one of the old knotted scars that remained from a previously removed bought. "And not the first time."

"It is not my fault I continue to grow." Alvaranox flared his spines, flicking his tail towards the offending tree. "If I am to lounge and relax beneath this tree it needs to accommodate my increasing size."

"Are you still growing?" Miyal turned back towards the dragon.

Alvaranox gave that some thought. He looked himself over, shook his scaly body, and snorted. "Apparently."

"You mean you don't know?" The woman walked around the dragon, her sandals lightly clacking against the ground as she inspected him from all angles. "Aren't you an adult though? What age do dragons stop growing at?"

Miyal's questions were innocent enough, but they grated on Alvaranox's nerves. Perhaps it was the drink making him irritable. Perhaps it was just the events of the last few days. Either way, he struggled to keep himself from snapping anything insulting at the woman. She was only curious.

"I've no idea," the dragon said, gritting his sharp teeth. "I've been more than old enough to mate for many years if that's what your asking."

Miyal's face reddened enough to be noticeable even in the orange light of the nearby lamps. She swallowed, and the dragon grinned. That ought to shut her up for a little while. Enjoying the silence, he went back to drinking his wine.

"I just thought you'd know if you were still growing or not," Miyal said, wringing her hands a little.

So much for the silence. The dragon lifted his head, taking a deep breath. He held it, trying to calm the irritation that continued to grow inside him. Where was Kirra? She was supposed to be here to soothe him when the townsfolk started getting on his nerves. Wasn't that just like them. Glad to have their guard dog watching the gate and yet the knew nothing about the creature they tied to their post.

"I'm not exactly a fountain of knowledge when it comes to dragon lore," Alvaranox said, snapping his jaws for emphasis. "Your people stole me away from my life and my own kind, and locked me here to your town when I was still quite young. I've not had a chance to learn much about my own species aside from my own experiences growing up among humans. So forgive me if I don't know how old we are when we stop growing."

"Oh..." Miyal trailed off, staring down at her feet. "Do you want me to go away, Dragon?"

"Yes," Alvaranox snorted. Then guilt tied itself around his heart and began to drag it down as Miyal trudged towards the door, her shoulders slumped. "Wait. Wait. You can stay, if you wish."

Miyal lifted her head, glancing back at the dragon over her shoulder. "I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just...well, I've never seen you up close before. Or had a chance to talk to you."

People care about you here, Alv. Wouldn't you rather be cared about than feared?

_ _

Kirra's words prickled at the dragon's heart. He doubted Miyal truly cared about him, but the woman was certainly curious. Alv wondered if she'd in fact volunteered to be the one to serve the dragon tonight. She did not mean to upset him, and if Kirra was here, she'd be urging him to apologize. But Kirra wasn't here, so he didn't have to apologize. Of course, if Kirra returned and heard that he'd snapped at the woman, he'd never hear the end of it.

That was as good an excuse as any. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to...I have had a very bad night and day, and I am irritable." The dragon assured himself he was only apologizing to avoid getting yelled at by Kirra. "You may certainly stay, if you wish. "

"If you're certain."

Alvaranox wasn't, but he saw no reason to tell her as much. He lifted a paw and waved at it her, beckoning her to return. A smile lit the woman's face as she made her way back to the dragon and stood next to him. He drank some more of his wine as she looked him over again. She reached towards him, then withdrew her hand just before her fingers brushed his scales.

Alvaranox grunted. "Go on then."

"Hmm?" Miyal fiddled with her blue dress, trying to keep her hands occupied.

"I saw that. You want to touch me without the towel. So go on then." The dragon turned his head back to gaze at her, pinning his ears. "You may as well get it over with."

Miyal still seemed uncertain but proceeded thanks to the dragon's encouragement. Her hand trembled a little as she held it near the dragon's body. Before she could change her mind, she pressed the flat of her palm against Alvaranox's side, near his ribs, below where his folded wings rested. She drummed her fingers against him a little, then rubbed her palm over a couple of the broad green scales there.

"You're quite warm," Miyal said. "And not near as rough as I expected."

"I suppose that's a compliment," the dragon said, grinning. "Feel free to touch me where you wish while I drink my wine." Then he smirked, amending himself. "Well, almost where you wish. Don't go putting your hands between my hind legs without permission."

Miyal's eyes went wide enough that Alvaranox could finally tell for certain they were definitely blue. Her face flushed nearly purple, the orange light of the lamps only highlighted her blush. Just the amusingly embarrassed reaction he was hoping for. He even caught the woman's eyes flicking down for a few moments before she forced them away. While she was too tongue-tied to respond, he dunked his head back into his wine barrel and returned to his drink. He left it to her imagination whether he'd actually give permission should she ask for it.

As the dragon drank, Miyal set a hand upon one of his folded wings. She ran her fingers back and forth against the sensitive membrane. Alv's wing twitched a little, the sensation was actually rather nice when she rubbed it. When she just brushed her fingers over it, it tickled his wing.

"Your wings are very soft."

"Sensitive, too," the dragon said from inside his wine barrel. "They have to be able to feel the air currents."

Miyal nodded, stroking the edge of the dragons wing a little more. When he extended it for her, she grasped one of the talons at it's tip, tugging it back and forth. Alvaranox shivered, that felt quite odd. Why was it that humans were always tugging on things? This woman was working his wing talon around, and not that long ago Kirra was yanking one of his tail spines back and forth. Thankfully she stopped fiddling with it before the dragon had to bite her.

Miyal walked around his body, and the dragon folded his wing against himself again. Now and then he turned his head to watch her examine him, then went back to his wine. Miyal crouched down to look at the curved black spines tipping his long tail. Just as she reached for one, the dragon informed her they were anchored to the bone. She could touch but he didn't want her wrenching them about.

Miyal came around the other side of him, and soon put her hand upon his foreleg. She rubbed the broad scutes that protected the front side of it, grinning up at him. "Your legs are like a snake's belly."

"Not sure that's the way I'd put it," the dragon said, licking his nose. "But yes, our limbs and chests are protected by plates. Those upon our limbs are a bit like a snake's underbelly, while our chest plates are a little more segmented."

Miyal gently touched the dragon's chest, rubbing one of the plates there. Then she ran her finger through the seam that separated two of the protective armored segments. As her wings wandered the dragon's chest, she noticed the thick, puffy pink scar that marked his belly. Alvaranox heard her gulp as she caught sight of it.

"Don't worry," Miyal said with a little grin. "I won't touch the scar. Does it still hurt?"

"From time to time, yes." The dragon lifted one of his paws, trailing the pads of a single digit over the scar. "If I move the wrong way, or exert myself too hard. Sometimes after a lot of flying it aches. Nylah and Kirra tell me it has healed well though. They think dragons heal faster than your kind."

"I'm glad for that, then," Miyal said, her hand resting on the dragon's chest as she looked at the scar. "I hope it feels better soon."

"Thank you," the dragon said, a growling chuckle rising in his throat. "So do I."

"Oh!" Miyal suddenly giggled. "Look at your paw pads!"

"Hmm?" Alvaranox lifted one of his paws, turning it over. He blinked at it a few times, unsure what had caught her attention. It didn't help that his head was starting to swim from the wine. "What about it?"

"They're all pink and black!" Miyal giggled again, resting her hand against the dragon's upturned paw. Then she traced a finger around one of the black markings in the pink pad. "Just like my kitty's paws!"

"Like your..." Alvaranox growled. "You're comparing me to a cat? My pads are far more mag...magnified...magnifikus? Better than a cats."

Miyal grinned at him, still rubbing one of the markings. Her touch tickled a little bit. "Now who's the one who's drunk?"

"Oh, shut up," the dragon muttered, setting his paw back down. "Usually people notice the gold spot on my nose before my paw pads."

"I noticed that, but I didn't even know you dragons had pads like a cat." Miyal fetched herself a bit of bread, nibbling on it while they talked. "My brother keeps a couple of lizards as pets, and they haven't got pads like that."

"Dragons aren't lizards," Alvaranox said, peering at his reflection in the wine. It getting dangerously low. He blinked a few times, the wine wobbling in his vision. "Don't tell anyone but I may be getting drunk."

"You've been downing that wine really fast while I was touching you."

"Aww, look who's making friends!" Kirra's voice announced her return. She smiled at the sight of Miyal and the dragon chatting happily together.

"This is your fault, Kirra," Alvaranox sat, patting the wine barrel.

"Your wine is my fault?" Kirra picked up her mug from where she'd left it, glad to see the dragon hadn't helped himself.

"My drinking it too fast is your fault."

Kirra took a drink of her own ale. "How is that my fault?"

"You weren't here to advise me otherwise." The dragon snorted at her, flaring his spines. He ignored Miyal as she giggled at their banter.

"You wouldn't have listened to me anyway." Kirra punctuated her words by thrusting her mug at the dragon, grinning. "Because you're a stubborn old green scaled salamander."

Alvaranox glared at her, then lashed his spined tail. The spines tore little ruts in the ground. "Oh, kiss my green stones you red-haired harlot."

Miyal gasped, then giggled as though she wasn't sure if the two of them were actually insulting each other or just having a bit of playful fun.

Kirra took it in stride, sipping her ale. "You wish I was drunk enough to do that, Dragon."

"Liddle more wine and I'll..." Alvaranox trailed off for a moment before he rediscovered his train of thought. "Drunk enough for both of us."

Kirra smirked. "I shall keep that in mind. That probably means it's time to get you home, as well."

"I am not near drunk as..." Alvaranox trailed off again, staring at Kirra. "You're pretty."

Kirra burst out laughing, even if the dragon's drunken compliment made her blush a little. "Oh, yes you are. You've damn near emptied that barrel while I was away. Besides, you've booze stashed in your home, I know it. If you're going to drink till you pass out, wouldn't you rather do so in private than out here where everyone can see you?"

"You have a point," the dragon said, murmuring. He licked his nose, then flared his spines at Kirra. "Wear a hat and no one will notice."

"What?" Kirra blinked, then patted the top of her head, red curls springing under her hand. "Hey! Very funny, you slimy newt. Finish your wine. It's time to get you home."

"You're not the boss of me," Alvaranox murmured, growling under his breath.

"As your Handler, I may disagree." Kirra drained the last of her ale, then set the mug on a table. She placed her hands upon her hips, fingers hooked through belt loops on her breeches. "It is my professional opinion that it's time for you to go home. I wouldn't be doing my job well if I let you embarrass yourself out here again. You can finish getting sloshed back in your home."

"Oh, very well," the dragon growled. He turned his head towards Miyal. "She never lets me do anything."

Alvaranox pushed his head down into the wine belly and lapped at the last of it. By now the dragon felt liquid warmth seeping throughout his body. He felt full from all the wine, and his head was starting do more spinning than swimming. Perhaps Kirra was right. He wasn't exactly used to drinking this much. And even when he was, he often ended up uncomfortably hung over the next day. At least with enough sleep and water a dragon could get over a hangover fairly easily. He licked at the bottom of the barrel, and then lifted his head. Red wine dribbled from his snout.

"Alright, Old Lady, let's go."

"I'm not the Old Lady, Alv," Kirra said, waggling a finger at him.

"You sure boss me around like the Old Lady does." The dragon rose to all fours, wobbling a little. He stumbled to the side and bumped into a table, knocking it over. "Who put that in my way?" Alv lashed his tail, and the spines shattered a wooden chair. "Damn it! Kirra. Someone keeps putting things in my way."

"Walk this way, Alv," Kirra said, patient as ever. "And say goodbye to our hostess tonight."

Alv took a few unsteady steps towards Kirra, then turned his head to grin at Miyal around his body. She'd wisely backed away when the dragon started wobbling. "Goodbye, Blue Dress."

"Sorry about the furniture," Kirra offered. "And the tree."

Miyal laughed, and waved at the dragon and woman as they crossed the garden patio towards the gate. "Don't worry. We always get reimbursed for whatever he drinks, eats, and breaks. Hope he's not too hung over tomorrow!"

"Me too, since I'll be stuck dealing with him." Kirra waved goodbye, and then saw Alv starting to turn his attention to one of the back windows. "Alv, whatever you're..."

"Hey, Old Lady, watch this..." Alv turned his rump towards the window, hoisted up his tail, and waved his hind end at everyone inside.

"Alv!" Kirra said, trying not to laugh. "You're terrible. And you get worse when you're drunk." Kirra put her hand upon his nose to get his attention. "Now quit flashing your stones and follow me home."

"Spoilsport," the dragon murmured as he followed after Kirra.

Alvaranox padded along the cobbled streets of Asterryl behind Kirra. By then it was getting a bit late, and most people were either already home or out enjoying themselves in a tavern. The streets were mostly empty and anyone upon them made sure to give the unsteady looking dragon a wide berth. Moonlight painted the town in shades of silver, and street-side lanterns at intersections and across a simple bridge added layers of wavering orange glow to the night. As they drew nearer the edge of town, Alv spotted a familiar alleyway.

"Oh," the dragon murmured. "Perfect."

Alvaranox turned away from Kirra and padded into the alley. He swayed now and then, bumping up against the narrow walls. Kirra ran after him. "Alv! Where the hell do you think you're going!"

"I gotta piss, Kirra."

"Then go in your usual spot when we get home. Alv, get back here!"

"Everyone else pisses in this alley, Kirra," the dragon said as if reciting some historical fact. His voice rose as he kept talking. "I get piss all over my paws! It's disgusting."

"What does that have to do with...Alv!" Kirra came to a stop, hands on her hips. "Don't you even think about it! Just because you stepped in theirs doesn't mean they need to step in yours!"

"I think it does," the dragon replied, his voice increasingly slurred. "Besides. This bar blender teases me drinking."

Kirra tried to sort through what the dragon just said to figure out what he was trying to say. Something about a bartender teasing him for drinking. Just as she figured that out, Alv came to a stop just in front of the stoop behind one of the taverns. The tavern's back door was ajar, light and laughter spilled from it in equal measure. Yet that did not stop the dragon from emptying his bladder all over the allyway, nor did it stop him from giving a satisfied sigh in the process.

Kirra turned away, shaking her head. "I'm never letting you get this drunk again."

"Good luck with that, Reddy." Alv laughed to himself as he pissed. When he was done, he shook his hind end a little, and then continued down the alleyway. "M'goin' around. Someone left a piss puddle here."

Alvaranox grinned to himself as he wobbled down the alleyway. He came out at the side street, and tried to remember where he was. Which way was his house? That way. Yes, that way. As he started that way, he laughed to himself about what he'd just done. If he couldn't inspire fear in anyone, he could at least spoil their alleyways and gardens for a while.

"You're going the wrong way, Alv." Kirra suddenly stood in front him. She must have really dashed down the other street.

"Are you sure?" Alvaranox looked around. There was a large willow tree nearby. A happy looking mural was painted on the side of a house. "This looks familiar."

"That's because it's Nylah's house," Kirra said, giggling. She put her hand upon his nose. "Come on Alv. This way."

Alvaranox followed after Kirra as she lead him back towards his own home again. With a bit of urging and coaxing, Kirra was able to keep him on the right path this time. Eventually they reached his house, and Alvaranox stumbled through the hide blankets that covered the entryway. He paused halfway inside, the blankets draped across his wings as he stretched his neck to get a long drink from his water tough. When he'd added plenty of water to the wine roiling around in his belly, he slunk over to his soft things and flopped down onto the blankets.

Kirra followed him inside. "There. Now you're home." She tilted her head. If he wasn't going to ask for more drink, she wasn't going to bring it up. The dragon's eyes looked a little glazed over, anyway. "You're not going to wretch or anything, are you?"

"I never did that..." The dragon licked his nose, then amended himself. "From drinking."

"Alright, then." Kirra laughed, and fetched another few blankets, gently spreading them out over the dragon's back. "If you think you're going to, do try and get outside first."

"Yes, yes," the dragon muttered, dragging over a pillow to rest his head on.

"I'll let you be, then," Kirra said, stepping back. "You probably want a chance to sleep alone for once, so I can go sleep in my own house."

Alvaranox was quiet a moment as Kirra walked to the door. Then he lifted his head again. "Kirra."

"Yes?" She turned back around.

"If you promise not to roll over and crush me, I'll let you stay."

Kirra watched the dragon a moment, a smile soon brightening her expression. She wasn't sure if the dragon was making a joke, or if he was simply so drunk he'd gotten it all mixed up. It was clear, however, that Alvaranox was asking her to say with him without having to embarrass himself by asking directly.

"Alright, Alv, I'll stay with you."

"Thank you," the dragon said, laying his head back down on the pillow.

Kirra walked back in, and began to undress for the night. She pulled off her boots and set them aside, then quickly stripped down to her undergarments. Alvaranox seemed too drunk to really notice, and he'd already seen her naked anyway, so any embarrassment she might have felt was minimized. She fetched herself a simple cream and blue nightdress she'd left in the Handlers quarters, pulled it on. As she began to make the bed in that room, Alv called out to her.

"Kirra."

"Yes, Alv?" She peered out the doorway to find Alv watching her.

"You can sleep here, if you want. By me. Like on the island." He licked his nose, and lay his head back down on his pillow. "If you want."

"You already said that, Alv," Kirra said with a little laugh. She pulled the blue and cream blanket and a pillow from the bed, and returned to the dragon's sleeping chamber. She laid out her bedclothes alongside the dragon. "You're awfully drunk. You're not going to roll over onto me in your sleep, are you?"

"Not unless I have a bad dream." A hint of a smirk suggested he was joking. Probably. "Thank you."

Kirra settled down next to the dragon, pulling her blanket over herself. "For what?"

"For staying." The dragon closed his eyes, sighing against his pillow. "I miss you when you're gone."

Alvaranox never would have admitted that if he was sober. Nonetheless, his words left Kirra smiling even after the dragon fell asleep. She scooted up against him and lay her head against his green scales, then let the dragon's breathing lull her to sleep.

---

Chapter Twenty Two

---

Alvaranox awoke sometime night the next morning. It was a slow awakening, his mind lingered in the grasp of dreams that fought against their gradual fade. Images of green grass and greener scales remained even as he opened his eyes. He'd been dreaming of his childhood again. Or was that what the collar wanted him to think was his childhood? The dragon made no effort to focus upon the images, he knew more he reached for them the more they would withdraw. For a little while, he remained on his bed, the blankets Kirra draped over him the night before.

Kirra. Alvaranox lifted his head from the royal blue pillow on which it lay to look back alongside himself. At some point in the night he'd extended his wing over his guest. Alvaranox withdrew his wing to find that Kirra was still there, if cleverly disguised as a lump in his bedding. Only a few stray red curls hinted at who lay curled beneath the blue and cream blanket. The sight made Alvaranox smile.

The dragon watched Kirra sleep for a little while, contemplating the friendship that continued to grow between them. She was no female dragon, yet then again neither was Nylah. Nylah was certainly the best friend Alvaranox had. Perhaps, given the uncertainty of his past and childhood, Nylah might be the best friend Alv had ever had in all his life. Yet the more time he spent with Kirra, the more she threatened to eclipse that mark. Alvaranox was not thankful for his injuries, but he was thankful for the fact it gave him a chance to see who Kirra really was. Beneath her stumbling uncertainties lay someone who was increasingly capturing the dragon's heart.

Alv snorted, flaring out his spines. The dragon did not like the way his thoughts were going. He should not tease himself with things he could not have. The dragon sighed, flattening his crests back against his head, and slowly rose to his feet. He shook off the blankets draped over his wings. One of them piled against Kirra. She stirred in her sleep, murmured something incomprehensible, and went quiet again.

Quiet as he could, Alv padded to his water tough. The dragon was happy to find he did not feel especially hung over. A faint, full ache thudded in the back of his head, his belly felt a little unsettled yet that was the worst of it. He was quite thirsty, though. The lovely taste of red wine the night before had turned rotten and sour in the back of his mouth. He lapped up as much water as he could, the cool liquid quenched his thirst and helped wash away the lingering unpleasantness in his maw.

With his thirst quenched and his mouth tasting better, Alv pushed himself out through the hide blankets. The sun was already high, and the brightness made the dragon's copper eyes hurt. The dragon squinted till his eyes were visible only by the golden glint that flashed between slitted green lids. He opened a wing and stretched it forward to shade his head till his eyes stopped aching. The brightness also made his head pound a little harder, but it faded along with the pain in his eyes. When he could see comfortably, he folded his wing back.

"Morning, Dragon." Davan waved at the dragon from nearby. He sat in a wooden chair around the same table they'd all eaten lamb at the day before. The oilskin tarps that surrounded the nearby guard shack were all tied back today, and the shack was empty. Davan was in his usual uniform, his blue and gold surcoat looked freshly washed and crisp atop his chain mail. His crossbow rested against another chair while a plate of food sat on the table before him. "How ya feeling? Not too hung over, I hope?"

Alvaranox grumbled to himself. "Hello, Davan." He licked his nose. Davan had been there the previous evening when Alvaranox decided to go and get drunk, so he wasn't surprised the guard was asking. Though he doubted Davan was the only one who'd caught word of the previous nights misadventure. "Who all knows I was drinking so heavily last night?"

Davan scratched the stubble on his chin. His face crinkled a little with his grin. "Pretty much everyone in town. Kinda hard to miss a big green dragon stumbling around, making a fool of himself and shouting in the streets."

"Wonderful," Alvaranox said, snorting. Then he cocked his head. "I don't recall doing any shouting."

"Everyone talks loud when they've been drinking. And when a dragon starts to talk louder, it sounds like yelling to most folks."

"What was I yelling about?" The dragon tried to recall what all he'd done the night before, but his recent memories were as clouded by drink as his childhood was by the collar. "Never mind. I'm better off not knowing." He glanced at the guard shack. He hadn't really expected them to leave someone here once he was healed. "Are you stationed here permanently now?"

"More or less." Davan poked a bite of sausage with his fork and stuck it in his mouth. As he chewed it he shrugged, then gestured to his plate. "Hungry?"

"Always, but I shall attend to that soon. Your entire meal would be little more than a snack." The dragon scratched at his neck with a wing tip talon. "Tasty as it looks."

Davan nodded, and ate another bite of sausage. He waggled his silvery fork at the dragon. "Enjoy your night with your Handler?"

"Yes, I did," the dragon replied. Then he saw the smirk creeping across Davan's lips. He pinned his ears back, lifting his central crest. "Oh, very funny. Nothing illicit occurred!" Alvaranox lashed his tail, hissing. "Don't know where you guards get all your dirty rumors from, anyway."

"Just asking," Davan said, laughing. It seemed anyone who spent more than a few days around the dragon seemed to think they got to tease him about whatever they wanted. "Not that I care if you and her are...you know. Doing things. Whatever it takes to keep Asterryl safe. Besides, I couldn't blame a creature in your position. I'm sure male dragons have needs too, and Kirra is a..."

"Davan, the next words out of your mouth had better be a kind friend, or you're going to be wearing the rest of your meal on your head." Alvaranox flicked his tail against the dirt road, spines kicking up chunks of earth.

Davan held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, one step too far. Guess we haven't reached the bawdy tavern talk level of friendship yet."

Alvaranox sighed and turned away from the guard. As he padded around the side of his home, he called back, "Get mounted, Davan."

Davan's voice and laughter followed the dragon around the corner. "Or maybe we have!"

Alvaranox chuckled to himself. Davan had his amusing moments when he wasn't acting like a stuffy, irritating guardsmen along with the rest of them. The dragon supposed he should be happy that another human was feeling comfortable enough around him to make jokes like that. He was joking, right? He didn't really think that he and Kirra...Alvaranox growled as he stalked towards his grove turned latrine. Half the town probably thought that lately. Alvaranox didn't really care what they thought of him, he was already their guard dog, what did it matter if they thought he was some scaly old pervert? But Kirra? The last thing he wanted was for Kirra to get the sort of reputation that might mark her with humiliating colors for the rest of her life.

As the dragon returned the rest of yesterday's wine to the water table, he tried to clear his mind. No sense dwelling on things like that. Not when they had far more important things to worry about. Like that black box sitting on his island, and the fact the collar seemed to be wrapping his childhood in shrouds of false comfort. Oh, yes. That was what he wanted to think about first thing in the morning. Suddenly the idea of Kirra being labeled some sort of witchcraft using dragon's whore was the last unpleasant of his thoughts.

"This is going to be a lovely day, isn't it." Alvaranox muttered to himself as he walked back towards his home, and Stupid Fish's trough. "Got to think of something better to occupy my mind. Something funny. Like the Old Lady getting drunk out of her dress last night. Yes, that was funny!"

Fragments of memories began to assemble themselves in Alv's head again. Especially from the time before he got stumbling drunk and lost on the way home. Nylah had actually beaten him across the finish line in the inebriation sprint. Something he hadn't seen her do in quite some time. She'd gotten damn near incoherent by the time Kirra walked her home. Alvaranox burst out laughing when he remembered Nylah bursting out about sausages.

"Poor Old Lady probably feels like she's got a boulder crushing her skull this morning," the dragon said as he reached Stupid Fish's tank. "Not that you'd know anything about that, Fish. Wonder how you'd handle it if I poured some wine into your tank?"

Stupid Fish's water had cleared up again and the fat, silvery fish peered up at the dragon from below the surface. Long silver whiskers probed the sides of the trough, and the emerged from the water. Stupid Fish waved his slimy silver whiskers in the air, demanding his breakfast. Alvaranox scooped up a few pawfuls of fresh, dry grain, and poured them into the tank. The fish floated about, sucking up some of the grains as they sank beneath the water. Then he turned his tail to the surface to gulp down other bits of food that settled to the bottom. When it was all gone, the fish returned to the top of the trough, flicking his whiskers out to ask for more.

"Always grain for you, isn't it," the dragon murmured. "Let's see what else we can find for you to eat."

Alvaranox spent the next few minutes searching around the copper-piped water collection troughs and barrels, looking for something the fish might consider a treat. He nosed around some piles of wooden debris, turned over a few old boards. Under one he found a long earthworm slinking about, and beneath another he found a couple of fat black crickets. Alvaranox speared each of them with a claw tip, and deposited them one by one into the barrel. The fish probed each of the sinking insects with his whiskers before sucking them up. The worm sank all the way to the bottom before its writhing, crawling motions caught the fish's eye. Then Stupid Fish turned upright again to suck the worm up from the bottom of the trough.

"Yes, you like your worms, don't you." Alvaranox chuckled, swiveling his ears forward. "Be a good fish, and I'll find you more later."

Alvaranox made his way back into his home. Davan was still eating his breakfast, and Alvaranox made sure to completely ignore the guard's wave. He pushed his way through the hide blankets and found Kirra awake and dressed. She'd pulled on the flowing red dress she wore when they went into the market together. Her hair stuck out at every conceivable angle, and her green eyes looked bleary. She smiled at the dragon and gave him a little wave.

"Morning, Alv."

"Morning, Thistle," the dragon said, grinning as he settled onto his haunches.

Kirra looked down at the dress wrapping her body. She tugged it back and forth. "I thought we agreed this made me look like a wildflower?"

"That was before you showed me how beautiful thistles can be." Alv licked the gold spot on his nose, grinning at her.

"Oh..." Kirra trailed off, a blush tinting her cheeks. She padded forward, and gestured for the dragon to lower his head. When he did, she placed a little kiss against his nose. "In that case, thank you!" Then she stepped back, twirling in place for no reason other than simply happiness. "Besides, its one of the only outfits I'd left here that was clean."

"I like it," the dragon said, thrumming in his throat. The little kiss made him feel warm under all his scales. Then he snorted. "Though it's hardly suitable for dragon riding."

"Perhaps not," Kirra said, searching about for her shoes. "But it is suitable for walking through town back to my home. I'm going to heat some water for a hot bath after I get something to eat. Where am I supposed to be riding you too?"

Alvaranox's spines drooped a little, his wings sagged against his sides. "That ruins. Or somewhere out there."

Kirra found her shoes, and settled down onto the dragon's bed while she began to pull them on. "You want to try seeing it already, do you?"

"No sense hesitating." Alvaranox dragged his tail back and forth across the floor. The spines added a few new scratch marks into the well scuffed wooden paneling. "I feel like the sooner I know what all is happening to me, the sooner I can start fighting it."

Kirra nodded, pulling on her other shoe. "Makes sense to me. What about Nylah?"

"If she's not too hung over to get out of bed, I shall ask her to join us." The dragon laughed to himself, then glared at Kirra. "Speaking of which, why did you let me get so drunk last night?"

"Oh no," Kirra said, waving her finger at the dragon as she rose back to her feet. "Don't you even think about pinning this on me. I couldn't have stopped you from drinking even if I had every guard in Asterryl stand between you and the pub! You'd have barreled your way right through them! Or at least shoved them aside with as much force as the collar would allow."

"I'd have flown over them, actually."

"You see? You're already thinking about how to keep drinking." Kirra giggled as she made her way to the door. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Alvaranox pushed past her, then used his tail to keep the hide blankets aside for Kirra. "I didn't do anything too embarrassing did I?"

"Well..." Kirra tailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

"Never mind," the dragon said with a snort. He followed her out and let the hides fall closed. "I don't want to know."

"Among other things," Kirra said, ignoring him. There was entirely to much glee in her voice at the dragon's embarrassment for Alv's liking. "You hoisted up your tail and flashed your balls to the entire pub."

"I did not," Alvaranox snorted, wincing at that idea.

"You did, and you said watch this, just before you did it."

Alvaranox pinned his ears back, hanging his wedge-shaped head.

"Then you got lost on the way home, and ended up nearly in Nylah's garden."

"Wouldn't be the first time," the dragon said, huffing.

"Oh!" Kirra burst into giggles. "And let's not forgot how you yelled something about having piss all over your paws, right before you went and...well...left a puddle of your own all over an alley behind some poor bartenders establishment."

"He probably deserved it," the dragon said, grinning.

"He deserved no such thing, and you know it." Kirra poked the dragon between his nostrils. "It's alright though. I'm sure it will come back to haunt you as the stories spread through town."

Alvaranox scowled, baring a few fangs. "That isn't fair. Everyone else in town gets to get drunk and stumble home in relatively anonymity. I have a few drinks and the whole town sees it."

"That's because you're the size of a small house," Kirra said, giggling.

"More the size of a carriage, I think." Alvaranox tossed his head. "Perhaps not even that large."

"The point is, anyone in the area is going to notice the large green dragon stumbling about the street. Especially when he's announcing to half the town that he's got to go and relieve himself."

"Doesn't mean they have to remind me about it."

"So does that mean you're not going to tease Nylah about last night?" Kirra tossed curls of red hair over her shoulder, grinning at the dragon following her.

"That's different." Alvaranox flared out one of his wings, sweeping it towards the town. "I don't think these gawkers should get to tease their guard dog. You and Nylah may tease me because you're my friends. Perhaps even Davan can get away with teasing me. It's far more embarrassing when some random, sweat-drinking, beer-swilling townsperson walks up to me and asks if I made it home or if I passed out in the garden again."

"There, there," Kirra said, turning around to stroke his check a moment. "No one likes a cranky, hung over dragon."

"I'm not hung over," the dragon said, flattening his ears out at the sides of his head. "Not especially, anyway."

"I'll get you some herbs at my house," Kirra said, making her way down the lane again. "Unless you'd rather get them from Nylah."

Alvaranox grunted, folding his wing back against his body. "I think I shall let you check and see if she's awake yet. If I tap on her glass or trample her new roses, I'm likely to get a plant pot smashed over my head."

"You'd hardly notice it with that thick skull," Kirra said, giggling. She fidgeted with her red dress a little. The hem swished around her ankles while she walked. "I've plenty of herbs though." Kirra tossed her hair again, looking back at the dragon with a smile. "You know you're as welcome to visit my house as Nylah's, right?"

"Yes," Alvaranox said, his voice softening. "Though until recently, I did not have the sort of..." The dragon trailed off as he padded after Kirra. After all that had happened between them lately he felt a little embarrassed to bring up the fact it wasn't that long ago he didn't even trust the woman. The dragon growled to himself, lifting his spines. He shook his body, membranous black-marked wings rustling. His scales clicked and rattled a little. "Let us just say I shall be more comfortable coming to you for help than I was when you first took the position."

"Glad to hear it," Kirra said, her cheerfulness balancing out Alv's general grumpiness.

The dragon followed Kirra into the city. Newly constructed buildings lined the street around him as they passed through the outermost distract. In the distance the grating sound of wood being sawed and the pounding of nails spoke of yet more fresh construction. Somewhere in the back of his head Alv heard a bell toll. Stupid thing seemed to enjoy reminding him he had protect the town no matter how large it grew. Which made him wonder about the box. He shook his horned head, trying to clear out that image.

Alvaranox and Kirra soon passed through older districts on their way to Kirra's house. They stuck to quiet streets when possible. Even so the dragon had to put up with a few "Out for a walk?" and "How's the hangover?" questions. Alvaranox did his best to ignore them or keep his insulting replies to a minimum of crudeness. Along the way the dragon made Kirra stop and buy him breakfast at a bakery. The building stood alone, painted in shades of cheery red with murals depicting all sorts of delicious looking treats upon it. Alv feasted on honey cakes and sausages wrapped up in flaky pastries. Kirra ate a couple of the sausage rolls, and then they ventured on to her house.

Kirra lived in a small house towards the southern end of Asterryl. The house sat upon a long street with only a few homes and plenty of expansive yards and gardens. The dragon thought the house's thatched roof made it look as though it were wearing a straw hat. Somehow, that seemed oddly fitting for Kirra. Also fitting was the fact she'd painted all the walls a pleasing sky blue color that didn't match any of the other houses in the area. Kirra always found a way to stand out. Dark beams rose in an arch above the front door. Leaves were carved into the beams, and the end of each was cut into a swirl like the end of a vine with nothing to cling to.

A few large, flat rocks embedded in the ground lead the way from the street to Kirra's front door. A trail cut through the grass around the side of her house. She had a large, sturdy wooden fence that surrounded her large back garden to keep out rabbits and other creatures that might feast upon the many herbs and other plants she drew in the garden. At one back corner of the fence a large willow tree grew, and at the other stood a couple of towering pines. Beyond the fence a line of smaller trees sprung up along the bank of a little creek down in a gully. The entire back garden was on a very gentle downward slope which helped prevent her home from flooding when the creek rose.

"I'll be out back in a moment," Kirra said, giving Alv a little wave as she went inside.

Alvaranox padded down the trail along the side of his house. He peered in through a window to try and see what she was up too but caught no sight of Kirra. The window gave him a view of the room she called her den. Alv always thought that a term more appropriate for beasts than humans, but it did seem somewhat fitting for a room where she went to relax. There was a recliner and a sofa, both covered in green fabric and cushions that bore plenty of patches. Despite the wear they still looked soft and comfortable. A curved desk took up a portion of the room, plenty of art supplies strewn across it. Several easels stood nearby. One wall was lined with shelves completely overflowing with books. More books were arranged on the floor in tall, wobbly stacks ready to topple over at the slightest mention of a breeze. Another wall was covered in artwork, from simple sketches to elaborate drawings and expansive paintings. Several of the drawings were of Alvaranox, and so was one of the largest paintings.

When Alvaranox felt like he'd invaded her privacy enough, he continued onwards to her back garden. He came to the wooden gate and found it locked. Unlike the door to his own home, this one was clearly not meant for dragon paws to manipulate. He stretched his neck over the face, and spotted a small deadbolt. A simple mechanism but not one he could easily grasp from the other side, let alone by trying to stretch his foreleg over the fence. He'd probably end up leaning too much weight on the fence and toppling the whole thing over.

The dragon backed all the way up towards the road, and the bound forward. He sprinted towards the fence with his claws half unsheathed for extra purchase in the grass. Alv tore up the sod as he sprinted, blades of shredded grass fluttered through the air in his wake. When he drew near enough, Alvaranox leapt off his powerful hind legs and propelled himself into the air. To make sure he had enough altitude he flared his wings and beat them a single time. He rose well over the fence and folded his wings again. He landed well beyond the gate. In fact he landed too far beyond the gate. The dragon overshot the trail which turned towards her back door, and instead landed in a large compost pile. His paws sank through the top layers as he slid forward, getting muck all over his feet and spreading half rotten leaves and vegetable rinds across the ground. He stumbled forward, claws tearing muddy ruts in Kirra's yard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kirra called out from the back door.

The dragon turned back towards her, peering at his muddy paws. He gave the woman a sheepish grin. She couldn't have sounded more like Nylah if she tried. "Playing in the mud?"

"You're playing in my compose pile and making a mess of my garden." Kirra glared at him a moment, then shook her head, laughing. "No wonder Nylah's always complaining."

"Nylah only complains when I'm not around to amuse her." The dragon lifted his green paws one at a time and shook them off, then wiped them on a clean patch of grass. "The gate was closed."

"And you didn't think to call out for me to open it for you?" Kirra padded across the yard, several rolled up towels cradled in her arms. She pulled one free and bopped the dragon on the nose with it. "You silly beast. And don't think I didn't catch you peeking into my den."

"How did you..." Alvaranox snorted, pulling his head back. "I like your art."

"Thank you," Kirra said with a smile. "I'd be more embarrassed about you seeing that big painting of yourself if you hadn't already been stealing glances through my sketch book."

"Hardly stealing when you're sitting right next to me."

Kirra smiled and walked towards the back gate in her fence. "I'm still flattered you want them to use my drawings for your new door carving."

Alvaranox pinned his ears back. "You are still the only one who's truly captured my image accurately."

Kirra pursed her lips. "I suppose it takes someone who cares about you to see how lonely really are sometimes."

The dragon scrunched his muzzle, glancing away. Images of Rain flitted through his mind. He swallowed, and soon found those images replaced by Kirra on the beach, or sitting in his home, sketching him. The dragon smiled at Kirra a moment. "Not always lonely, anymore."

Kirra smiled back at him, blushing just a little. She stuck the towels under an arm to cup his pebbly-scaled cheek for a moment.

"Besides, I was going to add that you're the only one who's properly depicted what a spectacularly magnificent and sexy dragon I really am." Alvaranox laughed to himself, flaring his wings out.

"Spectacularly vain, anyway." Kirra grinned at him, then went to open the back gate.

"It's not vanity if its true," Alvaranox said, padding after her.

Alvaranox peered around Kirra's garden a little bit. Much of it was taken up by rows of herbs she cultivated. Alvaranox was a little hesitant to admit he actually recognized them now. There was a row of plants with three-bladed leaves, vines with distinctive blue-tinged stalks, bushes with flowers that looked like the white hats of some elder sage, smaller plants he knew had black roots, and much more. He knew them all from the weeks he'd spent ingesting them every day. Threeblade, Bluestrand, Sage Blossom, Black Arrowroot, and more beyond that.

"So this is where you get all your herbs from," the dragon said as he walked through the back gateway. It was scarcely large enough for him to fit, but he tucked his wings and squeezed through while Kirra held it open for him.

"It's where we get some of them." Kirra closed up the gate after the dragon passed through. "Nylah grows them, and quite a few other healers in town grow their own. And there are more for sale in the market. Some of the rarer herbs we have to search for. I didn't use to grow anywhere near that many. We used up most of our supplies on you, so I decided to start growing them myself. Trying to grow some of the rarer ones too, so that I won't have to go wandering the lakes and creeks if you get sick or anything. Some things are a lot harder to grow than others though. Nylah's shocked I was able to get that arrowroot growing."

"Isn't that the one that nearly poisoned me?" Alvaranox snapped his jaws, curling his tongue in distaste.

"I prefer to think of it as the one that saved your life."

"I suppose that's a nicer way to look at it." The dragon flattened his wings against his back, turning his head to peer over himself. "I shall resist the urge to scythe them all down with my tail. The blue vines, that's..."

"Bluestrand, yes." Kirra beckoned for the dragon to move out of the way. She closed the gate when he did so, and picked up her towels again. "That's the one that helped give you extra energy during the day."

The dragon pinned his ears back. "Isn't that also the one that...well..."

"Caused you to become aroused at embarrassing times?" Kirra giggled and stuck her tongue out at the dragon.

"I was going to say tasted like bile," the dragon grumbled, glancing away. "But yes, that too."

"At least I've got that to tease you about," Kirra said, making her way towards another fenced off area behind her home.

"What have you got up here?"

"My summer bathtub," Kirra said, laughing. She opened up the gate and showed it off to the dragon. Inside was a large, hammered copper tub standing upon four thick legs. Nearby was something resembling an enormous copper bucket sitting atop a stove. A large pipe led towards the tub. "I bought this at the market last year. I've a smaller tub in my home, with a pipe to drain the water out, but I have to heat it with a pot over my hearth. Takes forever! And in the summer its nice to bath outdoors. I just had the fence put in around it so no one's watching me."

Kirra set her towels down in the dry tub, and walked to a pile of wood. She began to pile the wood into the basin at the bottom of the stove. "See, you put wood or coals in here, and it heats the water in here." She tapped on the big copper receptacle. "It's usually filled by the rain, but I can fill it manually if I have to. Then you open up this pipe, and it fills your tub with hot water. Pretty ingenious, really."

"You bought that at the market?" The dragon pushed his head through the smaller gateway, looking everything over. The cleverness of humans did impress him once in a while.

"Yes, paid extra to have it installed and everything. There's a coppersmith from one of the other towns who visits now and then selling all sorts of things. I couldn't fit it anywhere in my house, so I had this little spot built." Kirra grinned at the dragon, then stepped away from the stove and water heater. "Go on then."

"What do you mean?"

"Do your thing." Kirra waved at the pile of wood under the water heater. "You know, with the fire. I didn't bring any fire starting gear down with me."

"You're not going to complain about the flames being too large this time?" Alvaranox cocked his head, rustling his left wing.

"Not unless you set my fence on fire." Kirra started to laugh, then went silent. She glanced between the fence and water heater a few times. "Don't set my fence on fire."

"I'll set you on fire," Alvaranox said, grumbling. He pawed at the trail, then took a breath. He exhaled, squeezed his fire glands sharply, and spat a tight stream of liquid fire into the wood piled beneath the water heater. Kirra shielded her face with a hand, turning away from the heat radiating through the air. Alvaranox clapped his jaws shot, cutting off his fire. "There. How's that?"

Kirra dropped her hand from her face, smiling. Fire crackled beneath the large copper pot. "Perfect. Thank you!"

"You're welcome-hey!" The dragon yelped in surprise when Kirra pushed her hands against his nose and tried to shove his muzzle back out through the gate way. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to get a little privacy." Grinning, Kirra shoved him again. "This isn't swimming, this is bathing. I'd prefer to do it in private."

"I fail to see the difference."

"Which is precisely why I don't want you peering at me like some lewd old monster watching an innocent maiden washing herself in the local springs." Kirra pushed harder at his head until Alvaranox pulled it back.

"I am not a lewd monster," he said with a snort, then chuckled to himself, flaring his spines. "And you are far from innocent."

"Not the point, dragon," Kirra said, just before shutting the gate to block out his view.

Alvaranox waited a few moments before he lifted his wedge-shaped head, peering over the top of the square-shaped fence. "You know I can just lift my head and peek over the fence, don't you?"

Kirra was wise enough not to have removed her clothing yet. Instead she was laying out her towels alongside the tub while the water heated. "Since I don't expect a dragon to have any common decency, I'm hoping you'll at least have the politeness to keep your eyes to yourself."

"I suppose I could consider it," Alv said, without pulling his head back.

"Otherwise I shall have to tell Nylah you were acting like a big scaly pervert and watching me bathe, despite my objections." Kirra straightened up, grinning at the dragon. "She'll twist your ears so hard you'll be lucky if you can ever unravel them."

The dragon winced at that idea. He licked his nose, shaking his head. "Better than a kick in the stones, I suppose."

"Oh, now there's an idea."

Alvaranox narrowed his copper eyes at the woman. "You'd never do that. You're too kindhearted."

"Not really something you want to challenge me on, is it?" Kirra smirked at him, tilting her head. "Besides. I'd just have Nylah do it."

Alvaranox flopped onto his haunches, curling his tail as if to protect himself. "The Old Lady would, too."

Kirra laughed from inside her fenced-off bathing area. "So, that's settled then. You'll keep your eyes to yourself, and I won't say a word to Nylah. My water is nearly ready. Why don't you go down to the creek and wash all that muck off your paws?"

Alvaranox glanced at his paws. Bits of mud and rotting leaves still clung to his pebbly scales. "Not the worst idea I've ever heard. Don't be too long in that bathe, though, we've still got a lot of flying to do."

"We can always go first thing in the morning," Kirra reminded him, her voice mixing with the new sound of water pouring against the copper tub. "Nylah may not be up to it today, anyway."

"Then she shouldn't be drinking so much, should she." Alvaranox walked around the side of the bathing enclosure, resisting the urge to peek over the top of the fence.

"I think she might argue that with you," Kirra said from within, laughing. "Or at least try and shift the blame."

"Just cause I was drinking did not mean she had to do the same," Alvaranox said, padding beyond the fenced off area. "I wasn't pouring the ale down her throat. Or the whisky and rum into her ale, for that matter!"

Alvaranox left Kirra to her bath and her laughter, walking towards the creek. From behind Kirra's yard there was a long, gentle slope covered in soft grass. A few old gray boulders worn smooth by ages of wind and occasional floods marked the slope. Pale lichen clung to the rock here and there. Nearer the water a line of trees grew like a natural fence along the shore of the creek. At the bottom of the little gully Alvaranox walked along the trees until he came to an open spot on the shore. The shoreline and creek bed were a little rockier there, though most of the rocks were rounded and smooth. A few stands of reeds waved alongside the stream, and further out submerged green fronds swayed back and forth in the current.

Alvaranox picked his way through the smooth, rounded rocks lining the shore. Layers of slick algae painted them green. The dragon didn't want to slip and bang himself up on the stones, so he was careful as he choose his footing. The odd feeling of slimy algae was amplified by the still-tender scar that cut across the meat of one forepaw's sensitive pad. Alvaranox settled both his fore paws beneath the surface of the water at the edge of the stream. The water was cold, chilling his forepaws a little as it burbled over green scales.

For a few moments Alvaranox just stood with his front feet in the water. Sunlight sparkled against the water where it roiled over sunken stones. A dry leaf swirled on the surface, trapped in a small eddy. The dragon swiveled his frills ears, letting the soft sounds of babbling water calm him a little. Flashes of his silver in a pool just down the shore drew his attention. A school of tiny flash darted back and forth, their miniature silver scales catching the sunlight whenever they turned.

The dragon turned his head, trying to keep the movement slow. He didn't want to scare off the little school of fish. Alvaranox focused on the fish, flicking his flight membranes closed to mitigate the glare of sun against water. Each little silvery fish possessed a set of thin tendrils. The fish waved their whiskers nearly in unison as they swept from one side of the pool of water to the other.

"Ah," Alvaranox said, smiling. "You're all a bunch of Stupid Fish! I could catch a few of you and put you in his barrel to keep him company, but the old bastard would probably just eat you."

The dragon laughed to himself. Trust Stupid Fish to practice fish cannibalism. That fat silver lump sucked down anything that moved. Besides the insects the dragon sometimes gave him as a treat, Alvaranox had even seen the fish gulp down a small frog that had decided to bathe itself in the wrong water barrel. The fish might enjoy grain and bits of fruit now and then but he was certainly an opportunistic predator whenever he had the chance.

Alvaranox licked his nose, grinning at the silver school of fingerlings. "I wonder if any of you tiny bastards are related to my friend, Stupid Fish?"

Do you always talk to yourself?

Rain's voice echoed in his head. It was so clear, so vibrant that for one beautiful moment the dragon actually thought she'd returned. He jerked his head up and looked around. The motion started the fish and the school darted away upstream. Alvaranox's heart sank and have gave a pitiful groan. Of course she wasn't here. But her voice sounded so real. Growling to himself, the dragon trudged out into the water and flopped down into its cold embrace. The chill quickly sank beneath his scales.

Do you always talk to yourself? Rain asked him that before, and the collar must have plucked the memory from his mind and made it fresh and clear. Alvaranox had been so embarrassed. Till then he'd barely even noticed the habit. The dragon had been talking to himself since his youthful days when he was first collared and had no one else to talk too. He had to try and stave off the loneliness somehow. Had to learn to practice their words so he could tell others what he wanted so he wouldn't have to rely upon his horrid first Handler. If anyone had ever pointed it out to him before, he hadn't taken notice. But when Rain asked he was sure his whole muzzle must have flushed as purple as the highlights in her scales.

I think it's cute. Her follow up comment made it all worthwhile.

"I'm glad you like it," Alvaranox murmured to himself. He closed his eyes, let the gentle current rinse the compost muck from his body.

When Alvaranox opened his eyes, he saw Rain reflected in the water. She peered back at him from the surface in place of his own reflection. Her muzzle was much more slender than his own, blue but tipped with purple. A purple line, almost like a mask crossed over her eyes, tinged her ears. Her eyes pale, like silver rain.

Hello Alv. She sounded cheerful.

"...Rain?" Alvaranox murmured, lifting his head. Rain continued to watch him from what should be his own reflection.

Who else would it be?

_ _

Alvaranox stared into the water a moment. His fire glands tingled as anger rose in his belly. He slapped a paw against the water. Rain's face broke into a thousand droplets, but when the surface calmed again her visage pieced back together.

Don't do that, Alv. It's uncomfortable.

_ _

Alvaranox lifted a wet paw and gripped the collar. He tugged at it, and Rain's face tipped back and forth. "This isn't funny!" The dragon snarled, rearing up onto his hind legs. He dropped back down, slamming both front paws into Rain's image. As soon as her phantom face was gone, the dragon turned away and stormed out of the stream. He shook himself off, hissing. "Damn you, Collar! When I get you off my neck I am going to smash you into a thousand pieces! Then I'll put those pieces in that black box and drop it into the deepest part of the lake where no one will ever, ever see you again!"

Alvaranox took a few steps up the slope towards Kirra's house when he saw the shadows from the trees moving. They wavered back and forth as though the trees that cast them were swaying in the breeze, but the air was still. The trees did not move and yet the shadows wavered. Alvaranox closed his eyes and shook his head, hissing through his teeth. When he opened his eyes again, the shadows had stretched across the grass, and twisted themselves into the silhouette of a dragon.

"Stop toying with my head!" Alvaranox snarled, grabbing the collar. He wrenched at it to no avail.

Don't put it on him.

_ _

The voice rattling in his head froze the dragon's blood. He dropped his paw back down, gasping. For a moment, frayed curtain shrouding Alv's memories was pulled aside, and he recognized that voice. He recognized the black dragon's face as it rose from the twisting shadows. A face and voice he knew only briefly as a hatchling, and one the collar hid from him every since.

You cannot put that collar upon him.

_ _

The voice was his father's. For the span of only a single heartbeat, Alv's father stared at him from the shadows. He remembered his father's eyes. Blue. So rare for a dragon, so striking against his black scales. He remembered that his father loved him but his father was never there. A wavering image faded in and out of his vision. His father was slender for an adult male, especially compared to the powerful, healthy mother he was always dreamt of.

All at once, those blue eyes pierced into Alvaranox's, his father's voice was a claw that pierced his head, his heart, his soul. Take it off, Alv. Take it off.

_ _

A gust of wind kicked up, and the shadow image of his father dissolved into black smoke torn from Alv by the breeze. The shadows all retracted to the trees that cast them, and their faint movements once more mirrored those of their creators. Alvaranox felt frozen. The dragon's heart stuttered then refused to beat entirely. His lungs seized and the dragon clutched his chest with a paw. Gaping, he struggled for air but found himself unable to draw breath for long, painful moments. The dragon's lungs burned and his head throbbed by the time he finally pulled in a ragged breath. His heart gave a single, forceful beat. Gradually his breathing came easier and the dragon's heart returned to a natural rhythm.

With his vision swimming, Alvaranox stumbled towards Kirra's bathing enclosure. As he made his way up the slope, Alvaranox felt the collar trying to shroud his father's image once more. The sound of his voice began to fade into the darkest recesses of the dragon's memory. Alv snarled, refusing to let go of the memory. He clung to it like a rat to timber in a flood.

"No!" The dragon growled, shaking his head. "That is mine! My memory, you cannot have it! Let me remember him, you horrible thing!"

"Alv?" Kirra called out from inside her fenced off area. "Who are you talking too."

"Finish you bath," Alvaranox snapped. "We're going!"

"Going?" Worry crept into Kirra's voice. "Where?"

"To the moors! To the ruins!" Alvaranox lashed his tail against the ground, tearing out huge chunks of sod with his spines. "To the gods-damned wastes! Anywhere that this damnable collar is hiding from me! I need to see the real world, Kirra, and I need to see it now."