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The dark, heavy clouds finally let loose their frigid load with the gray of day. Jasper had dreaded this. Hardly did the wind rustle the fat flakes that came down in thick, silent sheets, but that was a small comfort. It covered the landscape rapidly, distorting trees with its weight. A long, wide road was deepest with it, a great swath cut through the forest on either side from millennia of wandering mountains like the one that casually trudged through the meters of snow. The magnificent beast snorted, his thick hide impervious to the cold that turned his bellowing breaths into a thick fog clinging around the vegetation on his back. He moved at a leisurely pace, shaking the snow from his head and tusks once in a while.

"Why in hell would you come this way, Randel?" Jasper muttered to himself, knocking the shocked saplings on the dragon's back free of snow and shoveling it over the edge. "How could you not know it was a bad time to go through a pass? Of all the dragons, mine's the one with the dud instincts. When your trees die, don't blame me! I did tell you!"

The great Tunk'ta groaned softly as though in response, a sound felt under the human's feet and through his chest more than heard by his ears. He shook his head and continued to grumble. "At least all this exercise I didn't feel like doing keeps me from freezing to death. I thought you cared about me, but I see we still have some issues in this relationship to work out."

As suddenly as a walking hill could stop, the dragon paused and hesitated, his head swaying side to side. Jasper raced through the trees and slid to a stop at the upturned edge of the dragon's shell near the head where he had planted a fruit sapling- the only thing he had planted. The thick neck of the dragon vanished into the blanket of snow fall, but it swayed and shook with a trilling sound.

"What's the matter, Randel? What do you sense, buddy?" he called out to his Bonded as though it could respond.

Pointing his head down, Randel turned and plowed his way through the frozen vegetation with a single-minded purpose despite Jasper's protests. The cracking of the trees was deafening even with the muffling blanket of snow as the mountain powered his way through spaces too tight for his immense body. Slowing at the side of a ravine wall, there were many bumps covered by snow but one in particular had Randel's attention.

Hurrying down the dragon's craggy neck, Jasper approached the bump that his Bonded blew the snow from in a great, hot breath. When it first revealed a pair of blue tinged pointed ear tips, his eyes widened. The snow was gone in but a moment so the dragon's breath ruffled long dirty blonde hair. Jasper exclaimed to himself upon realizing it was an elf woman, completely buried and barely alive. Her clothes were hardly more than rags. Shrugging off his cloak, he turned her over to reveal a face gaunt and blue, numerous bruises all over.

Wrapping her up, Randel remained still as Jasper climbed back up onto his expansive back, watching him with a great, green eye. Under a drooping tarp tied between several trees, he laid her out on his bedding and wrapped her in that as well.

"You're a good boy, Randel," he muttered under his breath. "Don't know what drew you over, but I bet she'll be glad you did."

Randel groaned and grunted, making his way back up to the road of his own volition much more slowly than his march into the uncharted while Jasper set his camp burner out and began gathering the snow. After he had boiled the water, he poured it in some containers and under the blanket with her. Throwing another blanket over his own shoulders, he hesitantly continued his task of keeping the snow off his Bonded.

The night closed on them all too quickly. Trusting in his dragon's senses and intelligence, Jasper had to surrender and lay beside the young woman. Questions burned in his mind while he examined her as best he could in the dim, wavering light of the small burner. Now that he looked, there was no way she could be a pure elf. The dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose were pronounced against her paleness, only disappearing under the dark bruises and only a H'elfling could have those. An old, small scar just through her right brow prevented the hair from growing there. He couldn't be entirely certain as the elves never seemed to age, but she appeared quite young.

"I'll bet it's slavers," he grumbled bitterly under his breath. His racing mind was no match for Randel's gentle swaying, though. All questions would have to wait until she woke up, anyway.

***

The morning dawned dreary and crisp, the snow storm over. Randel continued his steady pace across the landscape, plowing the road as he went.

Jasper blinked awake and rolled over to check on the H'elfling, but she wasn't there. Startled, he sat up and noticed the shine of eyes watching him from the pile of blankets pressed against the thick bush at the furthest corner still covered by the tarp.

"Oh! Good morning! I'm really glad you're awake. I didn't know if you'd make it." She was silent. He smiled reassuringly and reached into his pack, pulling out some dried meat. "I'm going to bet you're mighty hungry. Would you like to eat?"

She didn't move. The pearlescent shine of her gaze did not waver. He sat with arm outstretched for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, well, I guess we'll just save this for later then. Let me know when you want it.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Jasper. Jasper Dukensen. And this" he patted the ground beneath them "is Randel. He's the one that found you."

Still silence met him. Tiny puffs of breath left the opening in the pile so he knew she was alive. It was mighty cute. He had to smile and quickly glanced around his dragon's back to hide it. Noticing the thick snow around them, he let out a low whistle. "Glad the storm's over. I've got some work to do."

Fishing out his shovel, he began the task of clearing the beast's back. Every time he turned around, the pile of blankets had moved to watch him and he had to turn away to smile.

An hour or so had passed before he had gotten most of the snow off his dragon. Returning to the makeshift shelter, he turned the blaze up on the small burner to warm his hands and rub his scruffy cheeks. "I don't know about you, but I'm not used to the cold here. I was born in Dalhale, before they got conquered by Mardarow, but it's along the growing belt, so it never got like this. Randel's instincts have taken me all over since then, but this cold just pierces me to the bone." When she still did not respond, but squirmed uncomfortably, he perked up. "Ya know, I think I could use a piss break." He left the shelter, traveling down a well worn path to the dragon's head. "Randel! Whoa, buddy! Whoa here, Randel!"

A long groan reverberated through the beast's entire body. All that weight required effort not only to move forward but to bring to a stand still. With a deep breath that sent a great cloud around them, the dragon halted. Returning to the shelter, he smiled at the woman. "You can keep the blanket, in case you intend to leave. I'd rather get another one then find you near frozen again." With that, he tossed a self made rope ladder over the edge but didn't use it, instead vanishing with a back flip.

After a moment, he heard Randel grumble and start turning around to go back the way they had come. Surprised, he peered around the trunk to see his dragon indeed leaving him behind. He wasn't fast, but each step was many of a human's. "Randel! Randel, what the hell?!" Shaking his head, he finished his business and trotted after in the path his Bonded had cleared.

Walking fearlessly under and between his dragon's legs when he caught up, he paused in curiosity. Randel trilled to the woman who stood between his tusks, reaching up to stroke his nose. The fleshy tendrils along his jowl wriggled and wrapped around her wrist and felt her face, pushing the blanket back, and Jasper couldn't help but admire the long ears. She smiled at Randel and murmured something under her breath that Jasper could not hear.

"Wow! Randel really likes you!" The woman startled and backed away as he approached. He noticed and stopped, not wanting to scare her off. "He doesn't usually like other people. He's definitely never left me behind for someone else. You must be special." Though a flush of color showed on her cheeks, she still did not respond. "Uh, well, if you'd like, we can drop you off at the next town. You know, just so you're not stranded out in the middle of nowhere."

Her eyes darted about to take in the deep snow that surrounded them. Randel trilled loudly, stepping back so that he could flop a few tendrils over Jasper's face and shoulders affectionately. Finding himself entangled in fleshy, writhing vines, he was taken by surprise. "What...? Randel! Randel get off me, you overgrown lap lizard! Yes, yes, I love you, too, now get... Randel, it's cold and you're drooling on me! Ahh, and now I'm slimy. Oh, gross. Dragon spit is so hard to get out."

The H'elfling giggled, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it.

Withdrawing his head, the dragon looked down at him with an eye that shimmered with amusement and turned around again to continue his journey.

"Oh, I see how it is! Love me then leave me!" Jasper threw up his hands, then sighed and shook his head. "Well, that's our cue. He's not going to wait for us."

Nimbly, he started to climb up a tendril protruding from under the shell, indicating the rope ladder for her. They were soon back under the tarp, huddled around the small fire. The girl covered herself again, hiding her face, though he could see the reflection of her eye shine while she cautiously watched him.

His stomach grumbled. Or maybe it was her stomach. He offered her the chunk of dried meat again. This time, she accepted. It was gone almost before he had sat back. "I'm sorry I don't have more. I was hoping to spot some wildlife, but something about a small mountain thundering through tends to cause most animals to flee."

Still, she remained silent. He nodded patiently, his voice gentle. "I can understand not trusting people. Not a lot of folk out there as loyal as a dragon."

Her eyes turned to the fire, staring at it for a few more silent moments. Jasper figured they would spend the rest of the trip in silence when her soft voice surprised him.

I... suppose I should thank you."

"What?"

"I should thank you," she repeated a little louder. "F-For saving my life."

With a little smile, he shook his head. "Oh, ha, well, don't thank me. Thank Randel! He's the one who found you. I never would've gone into the woods the way he did. I've never seen him do that for anyone else. You must be special."

Again she blushed, shaking her head a little while her eyes returned to the dancing flame.

After a moment, Jasper tried to keep her talking. "Well, hopefully whatever town we find on the other side of this pass will have some warmer clothes for you. Probably don't want to be traveling in those slippers."

Her eyes shot up and narrowed, pulling her feet under the blanket. "I have nothing to pay with..." she started suspiciously, but he interrupted her, shaking his head.

"That's alright because I wasn't going to accept any payment, anyways. Turns out, Tender's rarely need money because the state just reimburses the shop. Funny how stumbling on this guy hatching solved all the problems that led me into the woods. He was so much smaller back then. I'd never seen a naked Tunker before. They look so alien! That's why they sleep in the ground for a few months. Then they come out looking almost normal. Have you ever seen a dragon hatch?" She shook her head. "It's... quite the experience. Especially one already the size of a small house! Though, if I hadn't come along, he probably wouldn't have survived since there was a Sabered Drawg waiting for him."

She peered at him skeptically. "You fought off a Sabered Drawg?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Well, I, uh, distracted it! Got it just in the right spot for Randel to fall out of his shell and crush it. So, uh, I helped!"

She smiled with a scoff of amusement, shrugging a shoulder. "I guess it counts. I can't imagine it was a safe situation."

"Uh, let's just say it certainly got my heart rate up," he chuckled. Though she smiled politely at him, silence fell between them once more while she stared at the flickering burner, lost in thought.

After a long pause, he tried to brighten her mood. "Is, uh, is there anywhere we can take you back to? I don't have anywhere to get to in any hurry, and I can usually convince Randel to go in a direction I'd like."

She took a slow breath, shaking her head. "I... have nowhere to go back to."

"Oh. I'm pretty familiar with that feeling." Taking a deep breath, he continued somberly when she stayed quiet. "My mother made pottery and died when I was 6. My father raised me as a baker, before he grew ill when I was 12. Then the army marched onto our land and just... threw us out, like trash. Since he was already in poor health and the drifter's life is not kind, I had to try to find my own way soon after that. It, uh, wasn't an easy journey. If it wasn't for Randel, I don't know where else I would be, but it certainly wouldn't be here, talking to you."

Another long moment passed before she opened up. "I... lost my parents when I was a toddler, so I don't really remember them. I was raised by my uncle, but he grew ill suddenly, and we lived too far from town to get help in time."

"I'm so sorry. Maybe he wasn't your father, but it sounds like he stepped up to fill the role. When was this?"

She let out a melancholic sigh. "Just this summer. I left him on a hill overlooking a pond. Thought that might be appropriate."

"It's hard to figure out what to do after they're gone. I assume things went downhill from there to end you up out here?"

She nodded. "I tried to find work. Honest work. No one would hire me. I sold my own sword first, then his. I tried to get work at a tavern but the owner wasn't looking for honest labor, so I... was really hungry and tried to steal from him. He caught me and sold me to the first slaver who passed through. That was... I don't know, last week, I guess. Everything's been a blur. They forced me to take something, and I've barely been able to think. I just... knew I had to get away. They were... talking about sending me off world."

"I knew it was slavers," he grumbled to himself bitterly. "That's really common practice for them. I hate having to deal with slavers, but they have a habit of using Tenders to sneak slaves across borders, and I've been approached more than a few times. There's nothing they could pay me to do that. I'm sorry you had to go through that. How did you get away?"

"Um," she started softly, her eyes on the small flame, "they thought I was asleep next to the fire so I, uh, kind of set everything on fire." Jasper almost laughed, drawing her attention, peering at him curiously. "What's funny?"

He shook his head, trying his best to hide his smirk. "Nothing. I just... would've loved to have seen it. A slaver camp going up in flames. Serves them right."

A groan from the dragon reverberated through his body, causing the ground to shake under them. At the first hint of vibration, Jasper was gone, racing through the saplings to Randel's head before the beast had even finished making his sound. Returning, he smiled in his disarming, roguish manner as he ducked under the tarp. "Well, it's not much of a town but looks like it's big enough for a trader's shop. You should probably stay here. I'll bring you something warm. I'll be back in a Glimmer!" Bowing to her, he front flipped off the side of Randel's shell this time as the dragon slowed to a halt.

An hour was all he needed. Returning to where he had left his charge and ride, the only reason he knew the dragon apart from the landscape was just knowing there hadn't been a rocky hill there when he had arrived. His dragon had fallen asleep, burrowed into the snow. Coming around the mass of the dragon, he stopped and cursed under his breath. Footprints in the snow told him a detailed story. She had wandered off and someone had followed.

"Damn it, Randel!" Kicking his dragon's armored snout felt exactly like the boulder it appeared as. Cursing loudly, he limped to grab his hunting bow and took off after the tracks. He knew they couldn't have gone too far and, sure enough, it wasn't but a few meters he found where her stalker had subdued her by a bush.

Now, he needed caution. The woods were sparse with wide open spaces, but the snow was deep and the man was weighed down, so it didn't take long to find his prey. Years of living on the road and needing to feed himself paid off in this moment. He managed a long distance shot through a leg, staggering the large man. Using the element of surprise, he rushed forward.

The man was still trying to recover when he found another arrow between his eyes. "What the...?"

"Don't move. I'm taking her."

Before Jasper even knew what was happening, a particularly sharp sword had sliced his bow in half. Only by stumbling back was he saved from being gutted from another whistling swipe of the blade, but now he was trapped by the snow. In that moment, as the man rose and towered over him, he realized he might have taken on more than he could handle, his heart racing.

"Fuckin' little village prick, trynna be a hero," the man snarled at him, brandishing his sword. He was of Rider descent- immense, bald and brutish.

In a bid to stall, Jasper put up his hand, trying to back away as best he could. "Whoa, whoa, no, no! I, uh, I was just passing through. Ah, I'm sorry, sorry! If you have a claim to her, you know, I didn't know. Uh, I was just in the area, just a drifter..."

The enormous man narrowed his eyes with a cruel twist of his lips. "Oh good, no one's gonna miss a vagrant."

A terrible sound had been building in the distance. Raising his sword, the cracking of trees and the shaking of the earth caused him to pause and glance over his shoulder, his mouth falling open upon the sight of snow exploding and trees crumbling before a hasty hill with jaws open and eyes locked on him even as far as he still was.

"I may be a vagrant," Jasper smirked confidently, pulling up his sleeve to show the mark of the Tender, "but I travel in style. Oh, have you ever seen an angry Tunker?"

"Grun," the man cursed, spitting at Jasper, and started limping away, glaring over his shoulder as he retreated before the tank. Standing over his Bonded and the girl with effortless care, Randel let out a roar that echoed and shook snow from the branches all around them, burying the slaver and forcing him to crawl out of the pile.

Jasper took a long breath of relief, looking up at the dragon's armored, dirt encrusted belly. "Oh boy, Randel! I'm sorry I was mad. You are the greatest friend a man can have! That was a little out of my league."

Gathering himself, he checked on the H'elfling. She had been drugged again, her eyes rolled back in her head and incoherent. "Fucking slavers," he muttered sourly, scowling to himself as he lifted her into his arms. With care, he laid her under the shelter, instructing Randel to continue his journey, skirting the town and disappearing back into the wilderness.

It was late when she started to show signs of coming to. Jasper was beside her with water. It took her a while to shake the effects of the drug, her shining gaze fixated on him while her pupils were particularly dilated.

"Are you feeling better?" he questioned with concern. She still did not answer so he poured her a cup of a simple stew bubbling over the burner, offering it to her. "Are you hungry?"

Finally, her eyes turned down to the food. "You... you've saved my life... twice."

He suddenly felt hot, grinning sheepishly. "Oh, really? Ha, and here I thought that was Randel. He keeps saving the both of us!"

When she did not respond to that, he pursed his lips and instead offered her the pack of items he had gotten for her. She curiously peeked through it. "I figured you'd need more than just clothes to make it on your own."

Her eyes shot up and she leaned forward, almost as if to stand, about to reject his gift.

"You could wait until morning to leave," he teased.

"No, it's not that. I just, I couldn't possibly..."

"You're either taking it or you'll be stuck with me just to survive the winter... unless that was your intention?"

Her mouth snapped shut. She sat back and stared at the pack in her lap. When she attempted to thank him, he once again cut her off, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"You know, speaking of surviving the winter, and considering we've been able to get along thus far, I don't see any reason not to share my ride for a while... at least until you decide to hop off. Though, it would be nice to have a name to call you."

It came out of her in a quiet rush, as though she were hurriedly signing a contract. "S're. My name is S're."

"Oh, exotic," he whistled. "Is that elven?"

She shrugged shyly. "My Uncle told me my mother's great-grandmother was Balkan. I guess it's a family name. It's their tradition that every other generation, the first daughter be named that."

"Do you have a last name?"

She shrugged again. "If I did, my uncle never spoke it."

"Well, then, just S're, welcome to my humble abode. I know it's not much, but it's better than walking."