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Story and all characters (c) 2006-2007 Yancarlo Ramsey. Please do not redistribute without written permission.

This is a work of adult fiction. If you get caught reading it, don't blame me.

• 2 -

Adrian was a mage! While all dragons are capable of using magic to some extent, only some are willing and able to fine tune their ability and learning to perform more complicated magics. I was not one of them. But Adrian had the skill, the talent, and the knowledge to manipulate these forces and bend them to his will. The manner in which he did this was one that many humans apparently found distasteful, though I found it simply baffling. He was a 'sex mage'. His focus, and his source of energy, was the act of mating, and a variety of things related to it.

I didn't understand, at the time, what it was he truly meant. Though I'd not yet experienced it, mating was said to be somewhat uncomfortable, in a physical sense. The pride and knowledge of the accomplishment - and, of course, the prospect of a healthy batch of eggs - were the main rewards. For humans, apparently, it was different. Despite his attempts to explain, it was to be some time before I understood just how great the difference was.

The fact that he was a mage wasn't the only amazing news. The books were safe! The other humans had not discovered the location of the cave, and he had never removed the books from it. In fact, he apparently had been living there for some time, never showing the place to anyone.

But he offered to show it to me. And I agreed, of course. I could hardly wait, but I feigned patience with his slow pace of movement. The rustling of my wings where they folded against my back might have given it away, though, because he did speed up somewhat.

Eventually we arrived, just as the sun set. The cave was just as he had described it. Adrian seemed to have a way with words, and his strange accent was beginning to fade. If I wasn't looking at him, I might have thought he was a young dragonet, one whose body was not yet large enough to deepen the voice significantly.

How was it that this place had remained unknown to the other humans? He'd not said exactly how it happened before, so I put this question to him as we arrived.

He hesitated a moment before responding. "Well... I've never brought anyone here, or told anyone about it. I always just say I live somewhere outside town. Everyone assumes I'm a hermit in some old hut. If they pressed for the location, I just acted defensive, and either they would back off, or I would leave and ignore the question."

"... And when they discovered you had knowledge of our language?" I replied, my head hovering just above him and to his right as I entered the cave.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "They questioned me, trying to find out where I'd gotten that paper... where I'd learned to write Draconic... where I'd gotten the book... but that, I would not tell." He raised a hand and rubbed at his ribs, wincing. "They beat me... but I would not tell. They would have killed me either way. And if I'd told them, those books would have been destroyed. Even the cave itself might have been [demolished], destroyed, for having been '[tainted]' by a dragon's presence," he scoffed.

I was silent for a time. I didn't know what to say. I had seen the wound on his head, of course, but I hadn't realized there were more. The thought of having such an easy to damage hide was not one I enjoyed contemplating, and I quickly discarded it to look around the inside of the cave.

Adrian lit a lamp, one which burned oil, and carried it with him, raising the flame until there was enough light for him to see, though dimly, as we proceeded within. I could see perfectly well, of course, even in pitch darkness, but I soon learned that he had no ability to sense the world at a distance without the presence of light.

Once past the entrance, the interior was large and roomy, perfect for a dragon's lair. I might have been able to spread my wings fully without scraping the walls, but I had no desire to test this. He had made changes, adding furnishings of the style humans seem to prefer, and a large, soft mat on which to sleep. I, of course, have always slept in a rounded depression in the rock floor at one end of my lair, hollowed out by countless years of abrasion against a dragon's scales. There was such a depression here, as well. This cave had been used for many years, whether by its former occupant or by a series of prior occupants. I wasn't certain which, as the scent of the last draconic tenant had wiped out any traces of his predecessors, if there had indeed been any.

The hooks carved into the walls were empty of anything resembling a dragon's possessions, though a few of the lowest had been made use of to hang various items that must have belonged to Adrian. Few of these were anything I could recognize, though I suspected even then that some of them were simply decorative.

"Well, this is it... Home sweet home. For the past three years, anyway. If you want to see the books, they're over here..." He moved toward one wall, which had a table against it with a chair in front of that, and next to it, a shelf... which contained fourteen large leatherbound volumes, clearly made by and for dragons.

The spines were labeled in familiar text, and I briefly scanned the titles. There was the human language book... There were three covering basic magic... but the rest held little interest. Several of these were histories, one of which concerned humans, while others were anything from a cookbook for unusual meals to a guide to making fancy jewelry out of a variety of rare stones and metals.

I grudgingly admitted that I could understand why the owner of these books had not returned for them. They were obviously copies of fairly common materials. While their destruction would have been shameful, it would not have been the sort of tragedy that the loss of unique, irreplaceable tomes would have been. They still had value, of course, as someone had expended the effort to create the bindings and inscribe the information, but that value was relatively low. Save, perhaps, to a human mage wishing to learn to read Draconic...

That thought made me reconsider my opinion of the previous occupant. It was almost as if they had been left here specifically for someone like Adrian to find. In fact, I wouldn't have put it past the previous occupant to have carefully selected these particular volumes to leave behind, perhaps in the hopes that some human might find them and study them. It would have been quite a gamble, but the only loss if it had failed would have been to their former owner - a loss he or she had apparently been willing to accept.

I mentioned this thought to Adrian, and he immediately let out a burst of that peculiar barking sound humans make when they are amused. "You just might be right about that, Nualadorani! I wouldn't be surprised either. Not at all." Grinning, he shook his head and gestured toward the books again. "Would you like to take any of these back? If they are valuable..."

"No. These are simple texts with commonly available information. Most likely copied from books present in the archives." I looked at him and let my jaw drop slightly, the closest I could come to one of his grins. "They will do far more good here with you than they would do sitting on a shelf next to several identical volumes."

He nodded, looking relieved. "Thank you, Nuala. I'd hate to lose these, even if they are simple. They've been invaluable in helping me learn your language, and some background of your culture..."

I looked away for a moment, slightly embarrassed by his unintentional faux pas. After a moment I spoke again, still not looking at him, pretending great interest in his furnishings. "Dorani."

"... Dorani?" I could hear the confusion in his voice.

"Yes. It is... less improper to use the latter portion of a common name than to use only the beginning."

"Oh. Dorani. I see." After a moment he started walking toward me, but paused just out of reach of my neck. For him, at least. If I had swung my head too far, I would surely have collided with him. But I knew he was there, and simply continued looking around while I waited for him to speak. "... I'm sorry. I've upset you, haven't I?"

I shook my head, bending it from side to side slightly at the end of my neck, a gesture I had seen him use quite often when replying in the negative. At first I intended for that to be my only response, but after a moment of silence I turned my head to face him. This involved being nearly nose to nose with him, simply because he was standing near my body and I had to face backward to look directly at him, and my neck can't bend back on itself any tighter than that. I looked at him for a moment before speaking. "The first part of one's common name, by itself, is often used between mates. - Friends often use some pleasing portion of the middle or end of the common name."

"Ah." He nodded slowly. "I hope you will forgive my error. And if you prefer, I will refrain from using any shortened form of your name..."

"It was not an error. That would imply knowledge of what is correct. For your ignorance, though, I certainly forgive you. After all, that is why we are both here, is it not? To learn what we do not know, to satisfy our curiosity?"

He smiled and nodded again. "It is."

I bobbed my head slightly, mimicking his nod. "Then there is nothing to be ashamed of, for either of us." I unbent my neck and looked around the cave again. And then added, a little more quietly, "And you may call me Dorani, if you wish."

His voice was also quieter when he replied. "Thank you, my friend."

We talked for some time after that, well into the night, on various subjects, from basic draconic magic to the reasons why humans would want to steal our art and jewelry. When I thought about it later, I was amazed at how easy it had been to forget that this person I was speaking to was a human. Not that I believed him to be a dragon, of course. It was simply that I stopped thinking about what he was, and only cared about who he was, and what he said...

I eventually curled up in the depressed sleeping bowl, making myself comfortable as I began to tire, and he sat on a cushion near my head as we continued to talk. But finally I yawned and began to stir. "I should return to my home."

He stared up at my wide jaws full of sharp teeth, then shook himself as I spoke and replied, "You are welcome to rest here, if you are comfortable doing so."

I looked at him, and hesitated. It seemed innocent enough. But did I trust this strange creature that I had known for a whole two days? The answer came to me suddenly, though it didn't make any rational sense. Yes, I trusted him. I had no fear of coming to harm here. "If you are comfortable having a dragon sleeping in your home..."

He nodded and smiled. "I am. I have no fear of you, Dorani."

I slowly settled back into place, tasting the air carefully. It was a bold claim, but I couldn't detect anything in his scent that would give lie to it. Should he fear me? I could easily kill him, or injure him... I might even do so accidentally, without meaning to. I thought it would sadden me, if he were to be hurt, especially by me... I would have to be careful not to let that happen. "Then I will stay. For now." I laid my head down and curled a little tighter around myself, spreading one of my wings over my head and body like a blanket while letting the other droop to rest against the edge of the bowl. My eyes closed slowly

"Goodnight, my friend," I heard him say. "Sleep well." And then he snuffed out the lamp, and I heard him undress and slip under his blankets on his sleeping mat.

To my later surprise, I did sleep well that night.