Enola

The warm afternoon sun beat pleasantly down on my back as I stretched my wings out around me. The grass was soft and cool beneath me, even with there still being a spot of bare dirt where that human had set up his fire... to cook my food...

I exhaled and tried to ignore the frustration returning at the thought. It had been three days since the intruder had bothered me, but the audacity of that uppity pipsqueak to rob me of food... Ugh. It was done, and there was no sense ruining a perfectly nice afternoon by thinking about some meaningless human who had more courage than sense. Really.

Drifting off into a nap was generally a bad idea, since without magic I had no way to warn me if something was trying to sneak up on me, but closing my eyes for a few minutes would be fine – I would still be able to easily hear anything trying to climb up the hill. The gentle warmth of the sun and the familiar smells and sounds were nice and peaceful. Thoughts of silly humans would only spoil the relaxing afternoon. Much better to just appreciate how calm and relaxing everything was...

~

"Hello again!" An annoyingly familiar voice broke through the icy panic of my dream, and dragged me from one nightmare into another. I frowned as I tried to wake up, already berating myself for having fallen asleep out in the open, and slowly opened one eye to look in the direction of the noise.

The human was back. And he was smiling.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I seem to have forgotten your name. Would you be so kind as to forgive me for having to ask it again?" The strange man sat down in the grass and began taking the pack off his back. "I am certain it was something pretty sounding, but try as I might, I just can't seem to remember it."

I narrowed my eyes at the man. "That is because I did not tell you my name, human."

"Well that explains it!" If anything, the man's annoying smile only grew wider. "And here I was feeling ashamed that I had forgotten the name of such a memorable creature as yourself. Still, I am quite certain it must be a pretty name, to fit the dragon it describes." He paused and brought one hand up to rest on his chest. "My name is Simon. May I ask for your name, mighty dragon?"

I stared blankly back at the man. What was this human's problem? "What do you want, human? I am in no mood for games. You are disturbing my nap." Which was yet another reason to nap in the safety of my lair, instead of out on the vulnerable hillside. No matter how good it felt to nap in the sun. I lifted my head up from where I had rested it on my hands, and swung it in his direction in what I hoped was an intimidating fashion. "And you are what we dragons consider, 'bite-sized'."

"I want to know your name, that's all. Won't you do me that small favor? Especially after I've been so kind as to tell you mine." Something in the man's expression was suddenly curious and focused, as if he was intently concerned with how I would respond. "One favor in return for another?"

"If I tell you my name is 'Go Away', would you leave?" The pleasantly drowsy feeling of the warm afternoon was starting to fade, and I was left with only the annoyance of a ruined nap.

The man's smile remained just as bright and annoying as ever, and his voice sounded even more cheerful when he answered. "There's only one way to find out!"

"...my name is 'Go Away'." I made a point to leave my mouth slightly open after I finished talking, so that the human would get a good glimpse at my teeth. My sharp, pointy teeth. That tended to scare creatures his size, so maybe that would get him to leave.

It did not.

"Impossible. No parents would have given such a magnificent creature such a silly name. Be honest – your name is Celeste, isn't it? Because of how only the stars in the sky can be compared to one such as you?"

The Elders had not exactly declared it a crime for a dragon to eat a human, but it was widely considered barbaric and uncivilized. Humans did not have much meat to begin with, and supposedly tasted awful. Plus it caused a huge fuss among other humans, and made it harder for dragons to attract riders.

It was also a sign that a dragon was deeply disturbed, if they could actually eat something that had been talking to them just a few moments before. That was a warning sign healers were told about in the Sea Guard – if a fighter went so far as to eat even a naga, instead of just killing the cruel serpents, it was a pretty clear sign the fighting was getting to them. Standard procedure if that got reported was to give the fighter a full once-over for any diseases or naga curses, and assuming everything came back clean, send them back home to get away from the stress and horrors of fighting.

So eating a human was strongly discouraged.

But it would be one way to shut him up.

"I have heard you humans sometimes make a paste out of red fruits, and season your foods with it. 'Ketchup', I believe it is called." I narrowed my eyes and exhaled heavily, blowing the human's hair back with the snort. "Do you happen to have any with you?"

"Fresh out, I'm afraid." The man's smile faded a little as he reached up and fixed his hair. "It doesn't keep very well on the road."

Well. So much for that idea.

"But I am certain I could bring some with me the next time I visit, if it is the desire of my good friend who goes by the name of...?" He trailed off expectantly, smiling again.

I sighed. He was only going to keep pestering me until he got my name. "...my name is Enola. Are you happy now?"

"Very much so, yes!" The annoying human practically beamed, with his infuriating smile growing even wider. "It is a pleasure to meet you Enola, and as I mentioned before, my name is Simon." He paused for a slight second, and the aggravating smile faded into a serious expression. "I have a warning for you, Enola."

The sudden change in Simon's demeanor confused me, and I tilted my head slightly. "A warning?" Was this little man threatening me? He did not seem to have any weapons on him that I could see – none of the great swords that human knights liked to swing around, or any of the long lances that could pose a threat to one of us. He did not even have a shield that he could use to defend himself with, if I decided to flick him into the trees like a bug. "What could you possibly have to warn me about?"

A sudden worry ran through me. Simon had none of the weapons a human would need to injure a dragon with... but he could still be a mage. With my mage senses dulled by the magedebt, I had no way to rule that out. Even a flimsy shielding spell would hide a mage from me. I felt a chill go through me as my imagination told me exactly how easy it would be for a mage to paralyze me, and how I would be completely helpless to do anything about it...

"Other humans." Simon's serious expression and tone remained, and I felt some of the nervous tension start to leave me as I realized the words were not the start of a spell. "I have learned that mages are interested in the land here – they believe there are magical crystals growing in it, and the mages want them. They have asked the king to get rid of you, so that they can take the crystals."

I narrowed my eyes at the human and snarled, trying to force away the chill I was suddenly feeling. Mage or not, he was not about to bully me into running. "If you think you can threaten me in my own territory..."

Simon held up his hands and took a half-step back. "I am not trying to threaten you! I am not with the king, or the mages, and have no desire to see you leave – I would like to try and help you, actually, so you and the king can both be happy without any fighting. I am just warning you of what they are planning."

Another growl left my throat. These humans were all the same – deceitful and manipulative, only out for themselves. If this one wanted to 'help', then it was because he wanted something of his own from me. He was no better than this 'king' that wanted to drive me off, or the mages that wanted to steal the crystals. If they even existed at all. No one had learned about the crystals in all the time I had lived here, so there was every chance this 'Simon' was making the whole thing up. "I neither need nor want your help. If a king or a mage tries to attack me, I will make them regret it for the short time that will remain in their lives. And if you try anything, I will do the same to you." I spread my wings out and rose slowly to my feet. Any chance of getting back to sleep was ruined. "I am going to go kill something now. I would strongly suggest not being here when I get back."

Simon started to say something else, but I snapped my wings out to the side and slapped him with the back of my wing. He yelped and fell over... and before he could recover, I began running. After a few strides I felt the wind gathering under my wings, and I leapt into the air, beating my wings to climb higher into the sky.