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Chapter 2
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Cuddly. I woke up nestled in feathers against the right claw side of a dragon. Never thought I’d describe a dragon as “cuddly.”
I opened my eyes. The dragon made its eyrie in a slump of land on the summit ridge of a mountain, about two hundred meters west of the peak. The morning sunlight streamed around the peak, lighting the cloud tops in golden hues and leaving us in shadow. A sea of clouds blanketed the land below us, more distant mountains poked above the clouds like islands on a mystic sea.
I snuggled back into the dragon’s feathers seeking warmth. The dragon shifted its wing forward, giving me a bit more cover. I watched the morning, letting my thoughts get lost in the beauty of the sunrise. The sun’s rays warmed the clouds, and they began to stir and rise in gossamer streamers and curtains. The world became shrouded in a mist of light. Then the sun crested the peak and shone upon us through the haze. The dragon shifted, opened its eye, and looked at me.
“Good morning, little one.”
“Good morning,” I replied.
The dragon stood, dislodging me onto the ground. It stretched and roared to greet the morning. The dragon curved its neck to look down at me where I sat on the ground.
“Now then, how about we get some breakfast.”
I shivered, “But I thought there’d be another game of chess.”
The dragon blinked, then laughed. “You are right, I did promise you one more round. But I expect we’ll both play better on a full stomach.”
The dragon scooped me up in a claw and took flight, soaring out over the clouds. We flew north. Soon enough, the clouds below us broke apart and we glided over wooded hills and canyons. The dragon circled down and picked a canyon with a picturesque waterfall at its head that tumbled forth in raucous fashion from a pair of high lakes. The dragon landed on a rocky outcrop near the base of the fall and set me down. I sat; I didn’t quite trust my legs to support me after the flight.
“Wait here,” said the dragon.
I gathered enough courage to stammer, “If I don’t?”
The dragon pondered. “Then, I guess you’ll have to find your own breakfast.” It turned its body to face down canyon. “Though,” it swiveled its head back, “it might behoove you to start a fire.”
The dragon took off down the canyon, flying low over the trees. I waited, wallowed in existential dread, and cried a bit. Then, I got up and built a campfire as the dragon had instructed. The dragon returned carrying the decapitated body of a lizard drake. It ripped a rear leg off the drake and set the leg down next to me. Then the dragon eviscerated the body, removed the liver, and set it by the leg.
“That’s about the best I can do with these claws,” said the dragon.
“Lord dragon, sir, are you going to eat me?”
The dragon looked up from dismantling the lizard corpse. “Actually, I was planning to keep you for a pet; assuming I win, of course.”
I cried a bit; I felt like a loadstone had been lifted off my chest. I pulled out my knife and cut the liver into strips. I set a flat rock at the edge of the fire, heaped the coals around it, then lay the liver strips on the rock to cook. I set to work cutting the lizard leg into something manageable.
“I suppose,” said the dragon, “this means you’ll need a name.”
“It’s Sarah.” I said.
The dragon looked at me, and for a second, I thought it had changed its mind.
“Well,” it said, “it is good to meet you Sarah. My name’s Yrog-erg. I don’t suppose you could save half of that liver for me?”
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To my chagrin, Sarah did not actually lose the sixteenth game between us. I was complacent, and promoted a pawn to a queen which deprived Sarah’s king of any legal moves, and, since her remaining two pawns were blocked, the game ended in a stalemate. However, I did decisively win both the seventeenth and eighteenth games, and thus I have a pet human.
Itadakimasu!
I chomped into some grilled lizard ribs. “Now then, little one, we should get you some necessities and something to wear for the masquerade.”
I brought my pet carrier out of my dimensional storage. I folded out the supporting gear so the carrier tipped back and folded open the upper third of the sarcophagial, wood framed, silk fuselage. I beckoned Sarah over and conveniently placed a large rock so she could see inside the Pet Pod™.
“I can’t carry you by claw all the time, so this will be your new ride. First, you sit there,” I indicated the diaper harness affixed to the back of the cockpit, “and tighten those straps around your waist. Make sure it’s tight; you don’t want all your weight on your neck and shoulders when I dive. The other straps on the side and crotch should be snug, but not crazy tight. Next, you’ll tuck your arms through the shoulder straps and connect them in the middle. Double check that all the hooks between the two sides are latched and the latches are secured by the retaining loops, then tighten the shoulder harness low, then at your sides. Last, move the headrest down and tighten it around the crown of your head. It doesn’t have to restrict all motion, but you don’t want your head flopping around if the ride gets bumpy. Also, don’t forget to attach the mask,” I pointed to the breathing mask hanging from the right side of the headrest. “It’d be bad if you passed out mid-flight. Understand?”
Sarah nodded.
“Then you’ll have to take off that dress. That skirt won’t work in the harness and I suspect you’ll want your dress intact when we get to town. I’ll have you fitted for a flight suit later, but for now, strip.”
Sarah looked up at me from her examination of the Pet Pod™, then stepped off the rock. She stared meekly at the ground as she undressed. She clutched her dress in front of herself and shivered in the cool mountain breeze.
“Relax, little one, nobody but us girls here. Now, in you go. There’s a pocket inside where you can stash your dress.” I held out my claws to make steps and Sarah scrambled into the pod. I taught her how to move the shoulder harness down and watched to insure she strapped herself in correctly, but even with everything cinched down tight the harness was too big for Sarah’s slight frame.
Oh well, it will do to get to town.
I closed the top of the Pet Pod™, gave Sarah a wave through the glass window, then moved around and ducked into the straps that would hold the pod securely against my chest. Once the pod was secured, I sprang into the air, eliciting a, “squeak!” from inside the carrier and flew north following a wooded valley. From the mouth of the valley, I followed an even bigger canyon down till it opened up onto the plains of Remi-trom Vale. There, where the trees gave way to grass, was my city, Tonerg.
I came in low, circled the city twice, then landed on the dragon pad in the center of town. I lowered the pod to the ground, ducked out of the carry straps, and tipped it back on its support rods. I tapped on the glass.
“You can come out now.”
I turned my attention to the mayor, who was waiting at the edge of the landing pad to meet me. The elf bowed.
“What can we do for your lordship,” he asked.
“Hello, Todd,” I replied. “Today, I’m here to collect sundries for my new pet.” I indicated Sarah, who, with a feat of dexterity, had managed to dress and was just now exiting the Pet Pod™. She trotted over to join us.
The mayor, Todd, sketched her a short bow, “How do you do, miss.”
Sarah looked flustered but gave a short bow in return. I nudged her gently toward Todd.
“Take Sarah over to Mindy’s and have a flight suit made, also get her squared away with the basics. Oh, yes, and she’s going to need a costume for Saturday’s masquerade. Also, send over Micheal; I want to discuss the tree harvest.”
“As you wish, my lord.” Todd bowed again and gestured to Sarah, “Follow me, please, miss.”
Sarah looked up at me, then turned and followed Todd.
