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Story and all characters (c) 2006 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.

• 10 -

It was past mid-day when I awoke, which I confirmed with a glance at the short shadows outside the cave. Adrian was asleep, still in the position I remembered. I considered myself for a moment, and realized that I felt good, as if I'd just had a full night's sleep. That energy his magic used was powerful stuff, apparently.

I stirred, and this woke Adrian, who also began to move. He shifted, and then raised his head, leaving his wing over my back for the moment.

"Ahhh... A lovely afternoon," he said, looking out at the bright sunlight outside.

"Yes, lovely..." But I was looking at him as I said it.

"Perfect to try flying, do you think?" He looked toward me, then, meeting my eyes.

I shook myself mentally and agreed, "Yes, that may be so. Would you like to try?"

"Very much." He stood and carefully folded his wings, taking time to make sure he did it right. He might not have needed to learn how to control the limbs, but he still wasn't used to having appendages like those, and was being very careful how he moved, not wanting to risk injuring himself.

I smiled and nodded, then rose swiftly and turned to walk alongside him to the cave's entrance. Adrian made a slow, steady pace, for despite his prior words and the familiarity with the sort of limbs he was using, he had no experience walking in that position, using all four of them. He seemed to be consciously thinking about his movements.

Pausing inside the entrance, which would have been difficult for two dragons to slip through at the same time, he looked at me and tilted his head briefly, indicating by his gesture that I should precede him. I did so, exiting the cave without hurrying overly much, maintaining a normal walking pace. He was watching me, watching the way I moved, and I wanted to be the best example I could.

I stepped out into the open, coming out of the side of that large hill the cave was in, moving past the large rocks at the narrow entrance and out onto the stones and crushed gravel that littered the clearing. The previous occupant had apparently made sure that his landing site wouldn't get overgrown by breaking up some of the larger rocks and scattering the debris about, and even now, little more than grass and flowers poked up through the occasional gaps in the rocky surface.

Looking back after I had cleared the cave's entrance, I watched Adrian following me out. As he came into the open, I turned and circled him, studying him as intently as he was studying me. For a moment I was almost embarrassed by such scrutiny from so beautiful a male, but once again I reminded myself that this was Adrian, and there was nothing unusual about him watchimg me like that.

"You are moving too stiffly," I said to him. "And holding your tail too high. Let it swing gently as you walk, and don't worry so much about how you move. It should flow naturally. You'll look funny if you walk like a female, anyway," I added, grinning at him. Adrian snorted at me and circled the clearing several times, and I noted that his movements were getting smoother. He still had his wings clasped tightly against his back and sides, but there would be time to correct that stiff posture once he'd learned how to use them properly.

As he moved, I marvelled at his assumed form... In the sunlight, I saw that his burnished golden scales were actually graded, darker where they disappeared under the overlapping scales and lighter where their edges lay atop others. They glittered with a faint iridescence that hinted of many other colors, depending on the angle of the light. Those scales covered a sleek, slender, serpentine body, so beautifully masculine that I once again had to fight down a feeling of unreality. Surely this could be nothing more than a dream. Soon I would awaken, and then I would curl into a tight ball and shudder with grief as this glorious hope was shattered, ripped away by cold, harsh reality...

I blinked and shook myself. Adrian was standing right before me, head level with mine, gazing into my eyes with a worried expression. "Nuala?" he asked quietly, seeing that he had my attention now.

I smiled and shook my head. "It's nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing..." he replied. "Is something worrying you?"

I looked away for a moment, then met his eyes again. "I was thinking this was too good to be true. That it had to be a dream. - Silly of me, I know, but..."

We shared a smile for a moment, and then he brushed his nose against mine. I nearly pulled away in embarrassment, but I knew that would only cause him to remark on it, and I held myself steady until he stepped away. "I feel an urge to try these wings..."

"Of course," I said quickly. "I'll show you what to do."

Moving to occupy my own patch of the clearing, I turned to face him and spread my wings, then swept them downward, hard, cupped to catch the air. It sent a hurricane-like force washing across the rocks, and a few smaller chips of gravel jumped and went skittering away. He copied me, doing little at first, but soon managing to generate a fairly significant wind.

I did this a few more times, then reared up and jumped while doing it once more, and suddenly I was airborne, flapping hard. And Adrian did likewise, though his timing was a bit off and he ended up simply jumping off the ground with great force, and then dropping back onto it again with a crunch of gravel on rocks. He shook his head slightly as I grinned down at him, and reared up to try again. This time he managed to get a half-length into the air and stay there for a couple wingbeats. As I circled, he tried again and this time he started slowly gaining altitude.

"Now angle your wings," I said, "and tuck your legs against your body..." He still had them outstretched, pawing at the air helplessly. It looked quite humorous, but I forced myself not to grin, and kept my voice calm. "Don't think about them. Only your wings, and the shape of your spine, from your nose to your tail... Those are the important things."

Once a hatchling gets off the ground, they tend to pick up the nuances of flight very rapidly. They needed to, if they were to avoid crashing, and land safely once they really got into the air. It seemed that Adrian was picking it up just as quickly, despite being a full-grown male who had never flown under his own power before, and he began circling the clearing at a low altitude as I called out encouragement. Later he would tell me that it was like when he had learned to ride a bicycle (which he described as a fairly expensive and complex contraption that moved on two wheels and could carry a human on its back). The salient point was that once he found the knack for it, he learned rapidly, and he never repeated a mistake as he tested the limits of this new mode of travel.

Suddenly a shadow passed over Adrian's form. He paid no attention, but I knew it wasn't mine, and I looked up... We were not alone! There, some distance above us, was another dragon. She was blue, lighter on her belly and darker elsewhere, and as she twirled upward I could also tell that she was one of the stronger females. I flew closer to Adrian, who finally noticed my distraction and looked up in time to see her perform a quick twist and roll, going into some rather showy maneuvers.

He was startled, and faltered in his flight, but quickly recovered. "Who is that?" he asked me.

I stayed close to him, though making sure our wings wouldn't cross paths. "I'm not certain," I replied, keeping my voice just loud enough for him to hear. "It looks like Torabella, but I thought she was already courting."

"What is she doing up there?"

"Showing off," I replied, my voice dripping with disdain as the blue dragoness laid on the charm, making loops and swirls in the air, banking and pulling hard turns, then diving and pulling up into another loop.

"But if she's..."

"Maybe she thinks you'd make a better prize," I interrupted. "And she hasn't even spoken to you yet." Adrian flinched at the bite in my tone, and I sighed... But I didn't know what else to say. He was gorgeous, and he didn't seem to realize it. I wouldn't be surprised if every uncommitted dragoness who saw him tried to make a play for his attention.

"So she's... [flirting]... with me?" he asked, stumbling slightly over the word of Common, which he had never spoken with a dragon's mouth until now.

"That's one way of putting it. Adrian, if she comes down... Greet her politely. But do not compliment her flying, or you'll never be rid of her. Avoid even mentioning it, if you can."

"I will keep that in mind," Adrian replied, and continued watching, though he looked down frequently enough to check his position.

I felt guilty giving him such instructions, as though I was trying to hoard his attention all to myself. But that was exactly what I was doing, wasn't it? Nevermind that I had good reason, that we were trying to cover a great secret so we could avoid suspicion and unwanted interference and continue our wonderful friendship in peace. That was all we wanted, wasn't it? To be left alone? Hah! I was so naive, then. I had no idea what I really wanted.

We started to drift out over the forest - circling in that one place forever might have seemed strange, and Adrian followed me when I straightened out. Torabella had worked her way lower, and now she swooped down below us, then looped back up and around, catching up and coming to a position opposite me, on Adrian's far side. I felt a moment of irritation when I realized she was at least as close to him as I was, but I tried not to let it show.

Adrian called out in the light, wonderfully flowing voice he'd inherited with this new form. "Greetings, Torabella."

Her eyes seemed to light up as she heard him speak her name. "Greetings, strange one! Dorani was speaking of you the other day in our main hall. I was quite curious to find out what a handsome and strong stranger like you was doing all the way out here, so far from home..."

"I see..." he replied simply, ignoring the implied question.

"Might I have the honor of knowing your name?" I could swear she was adding an extra little twitch of her wingtips and tail as she flew, and again I suppressed my irritation.

"I am called Adrianfarshallan. - I do hope you will forgive my lack of energy... Nuala and I only recently returned from a flight." His expression remained neutral, fortunately, and I almost smirked. I really felt quite proud of Adrian, quite pleased with his cleverness. That response had given plausible explanations for two things at once - the oddness of his flight, and the smell coming from me, which was no doubt still quite strong, despite the wind passing us. I could see her craning her neck toward us, toward him, though I didn't think about the lack of that scent on Adrian, and how odd that would seem if she happened to realize... She seemed a bit uncertain of what was going on, but fortunately, she didn't seem to notice that particular fact.

"I understand. Such flights are draining," she replied, then studied him more closely. "Did you have some hard landing?"

Adrian replied in a dry tone, "I blame the fact that I have not done this in a very long time." Seeming to agree, and yet, letting her believe what she would... I cheered silently for him.

I just couldn't keep silent any longer though. I pulled up a little and rose slightly to call across to her, letting my pride be heard in my voice, as well as a touch of artful humor. "And, of course, the fact that this was only my second flight ever... I nearly didn't release Adrian in time."

I sensed something from Adrian then... As though he were doing that human blushing. Though I'm not certain how I knew. His outward behavior seemed no different.

Torabella looked surprised, and took a few seconds to consider what she'd heard. No dragon would willingly risk crashing into the ground with wings at full spread... It would be too easy to pull a muscle, or suffer some much more serious injury, and then they'd be stuck walking for quite a while. By 'admitting' that we had supposedly cut it close, even with the excuse of my inexperience, I had implied that Adrian and I were very close indeed - quite attached to each other, so to speak. And that the flight had gone very well.

Finally she seemed to decide there was little she could gain by staying, and though I could tell she wanted to scowl at me, she managed to present the outward appearance of humbly accepting defeat. "I see. Well, Dorani... Farshallan, it was a pleasure to meet you. But if you will excuse my abruptness, I have a duty to attend to at the main halls."

She was leaving. It was such a relief. And yet, the relief made it that much harder to maintain the proper appearance. "Of course. Don't let US keep you," I replied, carefully maintaining a polite attitude as I flew along next to Adrian.

"Farewell, Torabella," he added.

As the blue dragoness dipped lower and picked up speed, winging away toward the mountain, I smiled in silent thanks that he had not shortened her name as she had done with ours.

After she was some distance away, Adrian spoke to me in a softer voice. "Well, that seemed to go fairly well...?"

I met his eyes, nodding in answer to the question he'd made of that statement. "Yes, I think it did." Then I frowned and looked toward the disappearing blue dot again. "But by the time I get back, she'll have recounted what happened to everyone who will sit still to listen - and even some of those who won't."

He snorted and took a moment to look around, locating the clearing and his cave, then banking toward it. "But on the other hand, for a test of my ability to pass as a dragon, it sounds like that was a success. That should be encouraging, so don't look so glum!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Adrian. She's just so irritating! All of them are. Smug, self-centered..." I stopped myself before I got carried away listing all the faults I found in other dragons. There were a lot of them, and I didn't want to waste any more of my breath on that subject. Instead, I lookd toward him and forced a smile. "How are you feeling?"

He grinned back at me. "Good! But I'm getting tired... I probably shouldn't overdo it, at least until I have more experience flying."

"That's just what I would have said." I noted that he was already dipping toward the clearing, so I said nothing more, and slipped back somewhat to watch him land. Or try to land, as it turned out.

Adrian apparently hadn't thought about the need to reduce his speed before setting down. When he realized he was still moving fairly quickly, and the angle of his descent was only accelerating him further, he tried to angle his wings to slow himself, cupping the air like he'd seen me do when I landed. But that only works at low speeds. Wings aren't built to take such sudden forces from that angle, and his buckled, forced backward suddenly by the rushing air. Thanks to his inexperience, he did the one thing a hatchling is taught to never do when trying to land - he tensed up, trying to fight the air and hold his wings in that position. As a result, when the backs of his wingsails slapped against his sides - a position they would be quite uncomfortable in, even without being forced - there was a sickening crack.

Even before his howl of pain reached my ears, I was already shooting down toward him. I would have screamed as well, but my throat was constricted in terror. I cursed myself for a fool. I hadn't thought about landing, even though that's the part of a hatchling's first flight in which an elder's advice is most vital. And now, because of my stupidity, Adrian's first landing was going to be a crash - and with a wing injury that had made a sound like that, I knew there was nothing either of us could do to avoid it.