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Monday, 7th December, 2026

Naomi watched her reflection in the glass. She stayed still, as if waiting for the dragoness in the window to move. But of course she knew it wouldn't, not without her moving. She pushed her nose against the glass, and it felt smooth and cold. She winked at herself with one eye than the other. Then she held both eyes closed to see what she would look like and felt silly for thinking it would work. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed even though she knew she was alone in the house.

What had Alex said? “You occupy a particular spot in space and time. Nothing else can occupy that spot at the same time.”

It meant she existed and was aware of herself. It was so simple and obvious she wondered how she could ever not know this. It was only a couple of weeks since she was able to recognize herself in the mirror. Fourteen days ago. She counted out loud up to fourteen, watching how her lips moved in the glass. Then to a hundred just because she could, and she remembered almost all of them. He had been teaching her numbers and she found them delightful, each one was like a little bug she could jump on and gobble.

Yesterday she found a snake in the woods and felt bad for it because it didn't have any legs. The day before that she tripped on a rock that looked just like Alex's car but when he came home and she wanted to show it to him she couldn't find it again. Three or four days ago she found two crows in the yard and chased them but they flew away and left two black feathers that she tried to stick on the back of her head to see if Alex would notice but they kept falling off and she couldn't figure out how to keep them attached.

And two weeks ago she remembered running around, finding herself in the mirror and realizing “that's me” over and over again. And every time was like a different discovery, or a new discovery of the same thing. A room full of Naomis that were all her at the same time. That memory was clear but everything that happened before that seemed blurry, like trying to look through the bottom of a river. Like trying to smell a month-old trail. She scrunched up her face in concentration. (Alex always said she looked cute when she did that.)

There was one memory, or maybe a dream, that seemed to stand out. Like the blurry top of a distant mountain above clouds. Sights and sounds and feelings were all mixed together back then so it was hard to tell the difference between them all. She was in a room, or a box. A very small box but it held her and some comfort and familiarity. It was moving, and she was being taken somewhere. Somewhere unfamiliar and suddenly the box was filled with roughness and discomfort. The smell of... something. Fear started to leak in through the box's edges. And the feeling of an end to something. The end of... what? She tried to remember.

“Everything,” the dragon in the window said. She sighed. Sometimes her head hurt trying to absorb all this information. It always worried Alex when that happened (he always worried about her, especially when her wing hurt) but he said it was because her brain was getting stronger, like a muscle. Alex had said it was okay, she was learning fast, faster than he had learned all of this. Apparently he didn't start reading until he was five years old, and she was not even two yet. One day she would be as smart as him (or even smarter, and she smiled to herself) and she wouldn't need to ask him everything. It seemed he always knew the answers, and when he didn't, he asked Desdemona, which he called Des, the computer thing he wore on his wrist.

He said he was twenty-four years old, ancient. And he said that they would both live till they were eighty, maybe even longer. She tried to wrap her head around the enormity of that. Impossible.

Today was... she looked at the clock. December seventh. (The seventh of December, she reminded herself. That's the way he liked to say it, but the people on the TV said it the other way.) The seventh of December, twenty-twenty six. It had been two thousand, twenty-six years since... when? She'd have to ask Alex when everything started and how and why. Hopefully he'd know.

She looked towards the door, but it would still be a few hours until he came home. She plodded over to the TV and sat in front of it, looking at herself in the reflection.

“TV turn on,” she said, and the screen lit up. This was a show for human children that taught them things like counting. She wished people would make shows for dragons like her. (Meaning smart ones.) There were some video courses Alex had from work, but they weren't very good and she knew all of what they taught anyways. She watched the cartoon animals count balls and fruit for a bit then switched the channel.

There was that show about old boats Alex liked to watch, and all the men wore hats. Sometimes he asked her to watch it with him, but it was about as interesting as staring at clouds so now whenever it was on she made sure to take a nap. Sometimes the boats exploded and that was a bit more interesting. She was about to change it when something caught her eye. There was a flag on top of the boat (the ship, she reminded herself. He wanted her to know the difference) It showed a picture of a dragon. But (she looked closer) it looked different from her. The black dragon on the flag had an extra pair of legs. Sometimes in pictures and movies they had two legs and two wings like her, sometimes four but as far as she could tell they worked the same way. She would have to ask Alex about that. She watched for a bit, but the flag didn't appear again, it was just old men with hats talking about things that nobody cared about. One of the men said something to another: “Last I heard they took a page out of old Teak's book and marooned them on the Dead Man's Chest.” The other man seemed to get scared at that. Naomi tilted her head. She would have to ask Alex what it meant.

---

* * *

“They say that when you have children, you're supposed to treat them as adults. You're not raising a child; you're raising an adult. So if you treat them like children, they'll act like children.” Alex stood before a half-dozen interns who were listening to him. Most were older than him. One of Goddard Genetics “products” stood nearby, watching him as intently as the humans.

“Similarly, if you treat our dragons as animals, they'll act like animals. But we're not just making animals here. If someone wants a pet, they can go to an animal shelter and get a dog. But if they come here, and if they pay a hundred thousand dollars for a genetically engineered dragon, it better be a hell of a lot better than a dog.”

A few of the interns nodded.

“Azura,” he said. The blue dragoness next to him looked up at him, her eyes flashing like the jewels that gave her name. “I need you to get me your food bowl.” He held eye contact with her and spoke in a gentle but firm voice. One that allowed no ambiguity.

She paddled over to her food bowl, delicately picked it up with a foreclaw, put it in her mouth, and brought it over to him. She dropped it at his feet. A few surprised sounds came from the interns.

“Thank you, Azura.” Alex knelt and scratched her neck behind her jaw and gave her a treat from his pocket. “Welcome,” she muttered after swallowing.

He was told to give an “inspirational speech” to the new hires to get them excited about their new jobs. He was told to speak about new opportunities, and to use the words “cutting-edge” and whatever corporate jargon was fashionable. He was even given a stack of pamphlets to give to them. He had left them on his desk and simply talked to the new hires about what he had learned from his work, and from Naomi.

“Each of our products represents a massive investment, both for the company and the client. Goddard Genetics was the first company to create them, and we're still the best because every one is designed, grown and trained individually. Every single one is perfect.”

One of the interns spoke up without raising his hand first. “What do they do with the imperfect ones?”

Alex held eye contact with the young man long enough to make him fidget “Goddard doesn't make imperfect products,” he said slowly.

The man looked down and said, “right.”

Alex continued speaking to the rest of them. “Do you know how much Goddard Genetics spends on advertising every year?”

A few of the interns shrugged or frowned. Someone said, “ten million dollars?”

Alex shook his head. “Nothing. All of our business comes from word of mouth. That's because every product we make is an advertisement. You can ignore ads on TV or block them on the Internet. You can't ignore a friend who swears their dragon really understands them or can almost have a conversation with them.”

Another intern raised her hand. Alex nodded at her, and she said, “How smart are we talking?

Alex smiled. “Pretty smart. You'll be surprised when -”

“Alex!”

He looked around. His boss, Mr. Ferris was approaching.

“I'm talking to the new handlers,” Alex told him.

“Never mind that,” Ferris said. He took Alex's shoulder who shrugged him off. “A customer is here to pick up a product. He wants to see you.”

“Why now, and why me personally?”

“Ask him when you see him. I'll get someone to take of these.” He glanced towards the interns awkwardly standing and watching. “For now, lets get the product ready for out customer.”

Alex sighed internally, apologized and excused himself from the interns and followed his boss back to the pens.

“Who is this customer?”

“It’s Lucas Koskinen. Typical rich guy, he just showed up and expects us to be ready for him.”

Alex raised his eyebrows at the name. Lukas Koskinen was the man who originally commissioned the very same Naomi that was now living with Alex. Since she was “flawed” and therefore unsellable, Goddard had made a new version, producing what Alex referred to as Naomi 2. She was an exact duplicate of the one he had at his own home, with a small exception: she had six limbs, and they all worked. Like his own dragon, Naomi 2 was displaying a voracious curiosity and startling level of intelligence. It was too early for her to speak, but the squawks and chirps she made were sounding more and more human every day. And from the way she watched him work or speak to her, it was clear she was learning quickly.

Alex unlocked and opened Naomi 2’s pen. She looked up when she saw him, yawned and stretched her wings. Alex watched them carefully to see any sign of injury or flaws but there were none. She was still young and as such, covered in a thick downy coat of soot-grey feathers. She flapped once and folded her wings and looked up at him proud and elegant as a cat while a single grey feather drifted to the floor. He picked it up and, not knowing what else to do with it, put it in his pocket.

“Now, Lukas is a wealthy, powerful man,” Ferris said. “Treat him with respect and don't say anything that would offend him. No jokes either. He might not understand them. I tried.”

I train dragons for a living, I'm not afraid of a man, Alex thought. “I'll keep that in mind,” he said without looking back. To the dragon, he said in his friendly voice, “Naomi, someone is coming here to pick you up. We're going to meet him now.” She perked up when she heard him, and he wondered how much she really understood. He laid his hands out in front of her and she dutifully stepped forwards. He picked her up and gently transferred to a presentation box, a special crate that Goddard products were put in to deliver to customers. The sides could fold up for transporting them in a car or unfold like flower petals, leaving the dragon sitting on a cushion.

When they entered Ferris' office, a man in an expensive-looking black suit was turned away with his hands clasped behind his back, inspecting one of the framed motivational posters on the wall. A picture of Leonardo da Vinci that said, “Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.”

He turned to Alex when he heard the door open. “You must be Mr. Chapman. My name is Lukas Koskinen. I've heard much about you and your work.” His eastern European accent was slight, but he was well-spoken and deliberate with his words, like he was biting off each word as it left his mouth. He held out his hands and Alex shook it. He had steel grey hawk-like eyes and intense eyebrows that made it look like he was trying to undo a tangled shoelace and over them, transparent purple sunglasses in a thin frame, the kind that didn't do anything but look cool.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Koskinen. I'm flattered you've heard about me,” Alex said.

“I learn about everyone of importance in this company. I wanted to meet the man who has been raising my dragon.” He pronounced it 'drakkon.' “Her personality has been agreeable so far, I trust?”

“More than agreeable so far. She's still young but she's displaying the same kind of curiosity and intelligence that the best of Goddard's products have. I think she'll grow to be a very good companion.”

Lukas nodded. “I hope so. I designed her myself you know. I have always wanted a dragon.”

“So do I,” Alex said and smiled internally. When Naomi 2 moulted, her scale pattern would look the same as the scales on his own dragon: pitch-black streaks over pure white scales.

“Now. I will have a look at the product which I paid so much.”

“Of course, Mr. Koskinen,” he said. “She's right here.”

He set the crate down gently on Ferris's desk and opened it. He stepped back and let the sides fall away revealing a fluffy dragon sitting there, preening her feathers. She looked up at Lukas and they watched each other in silence. Her eyes flickered back to Alex, then she looked up at the stranger with curiosity in her eyes. She stood up and reached her neck out, flicking her tongue into the air. Lukas looked at her and his face held the same look Alex had seen so many times before when presenting products to customers: The same look new parents had when seeing their child for he first time.

“Beautiful,” he said quietly. Then he cleared his throat and, in a normal tone, “Very well done.”

“I'm afraid I can't take any of the credit, Mr. Koskinen. I'm merely a handler. The geneticists did the real work, and you of course, are the one who designed her.”

He nodded, still watching the dragon. “Call me Lukas, please.”

Alex opened his mouth to speak but it was the little dragon next to him who said, “Look-ash”

Lukas smiled, and his face lost its hard edge and he swallowed. It might have been Alex's imagination, but it seemed his eyes were glassy. He turned to Ferris. “Thank you for introducing us, Mr. Ferris. I'm sure you have other duties to attend to.”

“Well, actually...”

“I'd like as few people in the room as possible. For Naomi's sake.” He nodded down to the dragon.

Ferris looked between Alex and Lukas. “Of course. I'll just... get back to my duties.” He closed the door behind him.

Lukas sat down in Ferris's seat and stroked his dragon under her chin, and she closed her eyes. Alex stood there and wondered if he was supposed to leave as well or sit in the chair in front of Ferris’ desk. He sat down.

“Do you know how much I payed for her?” Lukas asked.

“No idea, sir,” Alex lied. Of course he wasn't supposed to know; he only knew because he had hacked into Goddard's database a few months ago to find out information about his own dragon, including the enormous cost.

“Twelve million, eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Lukas said.

Alex pretended to look surprised. “Wow. I can only hope she's worth it.”

“She has a special scale pattern underneath all these feathers. It's quite unique and special to me. I like my designs to be minimal. There is an elegance in simplicity, as I'm sure you agree.” He nodded back to the poster behind him.

Alex nodded, then said, “yes,” when he realized Lukas wasn't looking at him. He wondered where the man was going with this.

Lukas continued. “Some people go with exotic and gaudy colours to display their wealth, or just to be different. But I think a statement means more if it is less... obvious.”

He was repeating himself for some reason. “You made a good choice, then,” Alex said just for something to say. “Black and white can be... elegant, like you said. Sort of a more subtle, organic beauty.” For some reason he thought of the dress he saw Lily wear once so many years ago, and the way it seemed to shimmer and change colour as she moved.

There was another pause while Lukas stroked his new dragon. She seemed content and comfortable. From his experience, the dragons usually got along with their new owners fairly quickly, as long as the owner was calm. He had a feeling it took a lot to make Lukas anything other than calm.

Alex fidgeted in his seat, wondering if he was supposed to leave or stay. He looked at a box of Chai tea behind Lukas's chair. “Isn't it annoying when people say, 'chai tea?' because the word for tea in Russian is chai. Obviously you knew that.”

Lukas didn't seem to hear him. “Do you know who I am, Mr. Chapman?”

The question took him by surprise, and he paused before answering. He only knew who Lukas Koskinen was because he had hacked into Goddard's database and stolen the files to find out who made the order. “Mr. Ferris gave me a quick rundown. Once I knew you were the client of one of our most premium models, I looked up your name. I try to find out a bit about everyone I deal with, so I know if they're a good match.”

He was watching Alex, unblinking. His grey eyes were purple behind the sunglasses. “Then you know I am a businessman. I take struggling businesses and I make them successful. Always I am looking for opportunities. Some time ago, I saw one here, in this company and in these dragons.”

Alex nodded. “Ferris spoke of an angel investor who saved the company. If that's true, you saved my job, and possibly this company, so I thank you.” He inclined his head. If Lukas took it as a compliment he didn't show it.

“I am not only an investor, as of now I am a member of the board. In the future I will streamline this company when I am in control of it. I will improve efficiency and get rid of waste.” He nodded to the door where Ferris had just left. Alex raised his eyebrows. Koskinen Genetics? Doesn't have the same ring to it, he thought.

“But I didn't get to where I was because of chance,” Lukas continued. “I know when people are useful and when they are not. You,” (he paused just long enough for Alex to wonder) “are useful. I need skilled and intelligent people working for me. Directly for me, not just as a trainer.”

“I... I would be honoured. I can only hope I'd do a good job. I've enjoyed my time here, and...”

Lukas didn't even hold up an entire hand to make him stop. “Of course this is theoretical. I am not yet in control of the company. And there are many prospective people. I have only met a few of them.” He stood, putting Naomi 2 back in her crate. “But think about it. If I think you're a suitable fit, I will contact you directly. You may hear from me soon.”

They shook hands again. “Thank you, Lukas. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.”

---

* * *

He told the car to drive him home and the autopilot obeyed. Normally he preferred to take the wheel, but he decided he'd rather think about what Lukas had said and a possible promotion; he had been looking forward to daydreaming about it all day. Premature, of course, since there was no telling if Lukas was serious, but it was fun to imagine and he had nothing better to do.

He could have a placard on his desk that said, “Executive Dragon Wrangler.” Obviously the new position would come with a raise, and maybe he could have a big property, and Naomi could roam around and not be seen, and he'd never have to tell anyone about her... but even as he imagined it, he knew that was impossible and the daydream fell apart even as he was forming it. Naomi had already been seen by his neighbours and random people on walks. He was lucky to have escaped suspicion so far, but that's all it was: luck. And he knew it would come back to bite him, but it was always a problem for another day. It was so easy to ignore a small risk every day if you've been doing it for so long.

Once Lukas' Naomi 2 was matured and moulted, it would only take one person to see both of them, and they would say something, and Alex's luck would finally run out.

The simplest solution would be to simply tell Goddard Genetics what happened. He could apologize and see what they would say. They might appreciate his honesty and drop the legal charges for theft. He'd be able to continue on his life, but without constantly worrying about someone finding out about Naomi. He frowned. That was the best-case scenario but also the least likely. Goddard Genetics didn't get where it was by being lenient. And the fact that he had waited more than a year to tell them wouldn't go over very well. Besides, Lukas seemed like a very possessive man. He called her design “unique” and was obviously proud of her. Alex doubted he'd appreciate someone else having virtually the same design.

Far more likely was the worst-case scenario: he'd be fired, sued, and jailed and probably never have a real job again. He pulled out his phone and looked up the laws concerning corporate theft. Between 2 and 14 years of jail time. He had a feeling it'd be closer to the latter than the former considering the value of what he stole. And even worse could happen. He had stolen not just from the company, but from a very wealthy and powerful client. Fuck, Lukas would probably get the Russian Mafia to kill him. He searched the name and found Lukas Koskinen was a Belarusian politician who also owned a few natural gas refineries and lithium mines. His net worth was several hundred million. No wonder he had said “Do you know who I am, Mr. Chapman?” Only rich people said that.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He wondered what they would do to Naomi. He'd most likely never see her again. She might be sold to someone else, or even disposed of like was originally planned. The thought of that was like a cold, hard hand gripping his heart. He put his phone away and leaned back in the seat, staring at the roof of his car.

He could just give her away. But, logistically, that wouldn't work. She wasn't a pet, or a possession. She was a thinking, sentient being. And to him, she was...

He stared at the fabric on the roof of his car, as if the random shapes held an answer. The word he was looking for was so infuriatingly obvious he wanted to yell it at himself. She had said, “I love you” once before but he wondered if she really knew what she was saying. A few months ago he wrestled with the idea of finding Naomi sexually attractive. It had taken him some time to come to terms with it but in the end he relented and now there was something eerily familiar about this feeling now. But for some reason this was harder to admit than mere attraction. He shook his head. Maybe one day he'd admit it but not today and it wasn't important now. What he had to do was figure out what to do with her, and then he could get on with his life and career. One thing was for sure: he had to sit down with her and tell her everything. Then he'd decide what to do.

The problem was that it wasn't really his decision anymore. She was her own person, and he didn't own her. Not legally, and not morally. Naomi was already smarter than most dragons ever would be, but she was still ignorant about the world. A small part of him wondered if she would believe him if he lied to her and he felt bad for thinking that.

In some ways, she was teaching him. There were dozens of times when he didn't know the answer to one of her questions and had to look it up. When she saw the map of Mars on his bedroom wall he spent nearly an hour describing the solar system, and astronomy and spaceships, both real and fictional. They stayed up until dawn, asking and answering questions, until their throats were sore and they could barely keep their eyes open and eventually fell asleep holding each other, she in his arms and he in her wings. He smiled at the memory.

No. No matter what he did, there was no way he could give her up. Then the answer came to him and it was so blindingly obvious he wondered why he didn't think of it earlier. He could simply ask her what she wanted to do. He'd tell her where she came from, how he stole her away. He'd tell her everything, in as much detail as he could remember. Then ask her what she wanted, and whatever decision she made would be final. He wondered for a bit if this was simply cowardice on his part and decided not to care.

But what if she decided she wanted to be with someone else? He didn't think she would, but the possibility was there. She had never had the choice before.

He took the wheel and drove home, for once grateful for the distraction.

When he walked through the front door Naomi was sitting on the couch, watching Hunter in Darkness, a show she had never liked before.

“Naomi, come here for a moment.”

Sensing his tone, she came over and sat in front of him. The feathers on the back of her head perked up like ears on an attentive cat. She watched him patiently with bright, intelligent eyes. He could see his own reflection in them as they flickered back and forth between his own. And something else behind them. While there was always intelligence, now there was something more. A soul, he thought before he could stop himself. There was something intangible about what went on in her mind and the word “conscious” simply wasn't big enough.

“Naomi, where did you come from?”

There was a time when she would simply ignore complex questions like this. Then as she got older she would try to understand and fail. Her eyes searched his own. Her expressions were so clear and distinct they might as well be written on a page in front of him.

Inquisition. What does he mean?

Confusion. Is this a joke?

Thoughtfulness. I haven't thought of that before.

Finally she looked up and said, “I don't know.”

He reached forward and held her the edges of her wings in his hands and laced his fingers through the claws at the ends like they were holding hands. “I'm going to tell what I should have said a long time ago.”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

She watched as he told her about where he worked and what he did. And he told her how he had stolen her and why. Her eyes widened when he mentioned what they planned on doing to her, and her lip trembled when he said he took her from the incinerator chamber. He told her how he stole her and took her home. He told her what he thought would happen if he was caught.

She asked questions and he answered every one with perfect honesty without hesitating or second-guessing himself.

He spoke about how he raised her and bought food for her and watched her grow. He smiled when he remembered reading the weird unpronounceable ingredients on the bag of store-bought dragon food. “Tocoferols” he said, and he laughed when she tried to pronounce it: “Taco-ferals?”

Finally he told her about the time she lost her feathers and what happened after, and then he was silent. He stretched and looked at the clock and was surprised by how much time had gone by.

“Now,” he said. “Is there anything you wanted to ask me?”

She was looking at the paused screen of Hunter in Darkness on the television. “What's a dead man's chest?”

He looked back and let out a single chuckle. “That's not what I expected to hear. Uh, I don't know. Something to do with pirates, I think. Why do you ask?”

“Something I saw on the TV. They seemed really scared about it.” She frowned, thinking. When she did this, she pursed her lips. The black streaks above her eyes gave a close enough approximation to eyebrows and she narrowed them. Alex thought it looked adorable.

“Why do some dragons have...” she paused for a second and Alex saw her lips moving silently. “Four legs or two?”

“It's because Goddard originally tried to make them with four legs. But that's really, really hard to make. And they couldn't do it with you.” He winced, knowing how that sounded. But she didn't seem to notice.

She sat and thought for a long moment. She spoke the next words slowly, like when she was first learning to speak, but Alex knew it was because she was choosing her words carefully. “Why can't I fly?”

Of all the questions she could ask... “I'm sorry, I don't know. Your wing just came out that way.”

“Can you fix it?”

“I wish I could but... I don't know. It's just a part of you.” He reached forward and hugged her.

She muttered something into his shoulder, and he had to ask her to repeat herself.

“It's worse sometimes.”

He let go and looked at her. “It feels worse? When?”

She shrugged, a gesture she picked up form him and a difficult thing to do when supported by her wings. “Some days it hurts more.” She stretched out her bad wing a bit and winced. “Sometimes it's hard to walk.”

He took her elbow in his hands and felt the joint. Was it his imagination, or did it feel warmer than the rest of her body? Like it was swollen and inflamed. The scales were the same colour as everywhere else but of course scales didn't blush. He squeezed it and she drew a quick breath.

“When has it been like this?”

She tried to shrug again but only managed to move her body down a bit since he was holding one of her wings. “It's usually fine but recently...”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I don't know. You're always busy and I thought it was nothing. I'm sorry.” She avoided his eyes. “Are you mad?”

“Of course not!” he said with more force than he meant. Then more quietly: “I'm not mad. I'm just concerned. I don't want anything to happen to you. I...”

She looked up at him. “You what?”

“I... care about you too much to see you hurt.”

She looked disappointed, like she was expecting him to say something else.

“It might continue to get worse, unless...they might be able to operate on you at Goddard.”

She looked up at him, her face full of hope. “Really? They could fix me?”

“I'm not sure. When you were hatched you were too small to operate on. But they might be able to do something now that you're full-grown.” He took a deep breath, dreading what was coming next. “But if I brought you in, they'd never let me take you back.”

“Why not?”

“Because I stole you. They won't let me have you.”

“Would you go to jail?”

“Probably. And you would go to someone else.”

“I don't want to be with anyone else! I'm yours now.”

He smiled at that. At any other time it would have lifted his mood. “You were never really mine. I just wanted you to be able to make the choice of your own free will. To be honest I don't know what will happen if we stay together. I don't know how long you'll be able to stay hidden. But eventually you'll be found out and they'll take you anyway. I thought about all the different ways we could stay together but I decided to let you decide. If you want to stay hidden with me, I'll keep you as long as you want.” He swallowed and had to force the rest of the words out. “But if... if you wanted to, I would give you to them. Then you could be better. They would sell you to someone else but you'd be fixed. You might even be able to fly.”

When he said the word “fly” her face lit up. In that moment he doubted her. For a single, terrifying second, he imagined what it would be like if he never saw her again. Or if he saw her with someone else. Some stranger living with her, teaching her, loving her. His blood turned to ice water. Her pause must have only lasted a second but to him it felt much longer.

She shook her head. “No. I don't want to be with anyone else. Only you. Even if I could fly.” Her face was so stern and hard Alex had to smile as his worries dissolved like smoke. He gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and she returned it.

“But if you didn't buy me, who did?”

“A guy named Lukas. I just met him today.”

“Is he nice?”

“It's hard to tell. I only spoke to him for a few minutes. I think he likes me though. Which is good because from the looks of it he might be my boss one day.”

She paused for a moment; brows furrowed in concentration. He could practically see the gears turning in her head. “So if you're friends with him, and he's your boss, maybe you can tell him about me and that you want to keep me. If he likes dragons then he'll like me too. Maybe he'll let us be together!”

“I don't think it's that simple.” He thought for a moment. “But... hold on, that might actually work. Maybe once his dragon is older and he grows closer to her, he'll understand why I had to lie to protect you. And if I'm closer to Lukas, maybe he'll be more lenient. And I'll have a higher position, and I'll have something to negotiate with. I'll try to charm him and get him to understand. It's worth a try if he has a dragon of his own.” He ruffled her feathers. “You always have the best ideas. But in the meantime we have to be careful nobody sees you. Because if anyone does, they might come after you.”

** ** “I'd like to see them try,” she said. Her face grew stern and her normally bright eyes darkened till they were like cold iron. She looked at him and for the first time she reminded him of the great dragons of legend and myth. When she spoke there was iron in her voice as well. “Because whatever they bring, we'll be ready for them.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “That's Captain Ashbeard's speech from the last episode of Hunter in Darkness, isn't it?”

All at once the sternness was gone from her face and she was back to her usual, adorable self. “...yes.” she said sheepishly and glanced up at the TV. “I was watching it.”

“You're so adorable, Naomi,” he leaned forward to kiss her but she darted away. She crouched on her wings and looked up at him the same way she watched him throw frozen blueberries around the kitchen for her to chase. She launched herself at him, tackling him to the floor. She was light enough she couldn't really unbalance him but he played along and fell backwards with her on top, watching her wings to sure she didn't hurt herself. She straddled his waist and planted her wings on his shoulders, flaring them out to block his vision on either side.

“Now you're trapped,” she said.

“Oh no!” he said with all the seriousness he could muster. “I've been captured by a dragon – what are you going to do with me?”

She smiled at him, but it wasn't the smile she normally gave. She bared her teeth and the feathers on the back of her head folded flat down, like the ears of a wolf about to attack. She growled at him and he could feel the vibrations in his chest. Then very slowly, she leaned forward till the tip of her tongue touched his neck. Goosebumps ran down his body.

“I'm gonna do whatever I want with you,” she said into his ear in a low voice. Her tongue was cold against his neck when she licked him. She moved her snout down and took his collar in her mouth and pulled on it.

His fingers moved to the buttons without thinking. “No!” she said, her eyes fierce again. “I'll do it.”

He smiled, lay back, and let her continue. “Then if music be the food of love, play on,” he said loud enough for the TV to hear. Soft music flowed from the ceiling-mounted speakers, descending on them like a gentle snowfall.

“What's that?” Naomi asked.

“That's the opening line from Twelfth Night,” he said with a wink. “And it's the command to start my romantic music mix.”

Using her teeth, tongue, and the occasional claw, she managed to unbutton his shirt and he wriggled out of it.

“It would be easier if you didn't wear all of these clothes.”

“I have to wear them outside, or when I'm working!”

“But not when you're around me. There's no point.” She winked at him and started unbuttoning his pants. And while notes of piano and violin surrounded them, Alex's dragoness stripped him, piece by piece. She tossed the last sock away (she was always particular about him being fully nude when they had sex, like her.) Then straddled her human and wrapped him with her wings again, crooning softly. But this time her embrace was protective. Then she did something she had never done before and intertwined her claws in between his fingertips, like they were holding hands and placed them above his head. The knuckles on her wrists were rough from walking like the bottoms of her feet.

She bent down and gave him a slow, sensual kiss on his lips. She smelled of home and familiarity, like she had absorbed all the scents of everything he found comforting. One claw tip left his hand and ran through his hair to gently scratch his scalp.

When their mouths parted the look on her face was slightly embarrassed. She let go of his hands and he ran his fingers along her jaw. She licked his neck leaving a cold sensitive wet spot, looked down at him and her smile was enough to make his heart melt. He licked her back and she giggled. She lowered herself so that her scales touched his skin. Then they followed the movements they had done so many times before. Like an unspoken ritual, a sacred dance they knew by heart. Familiar but never, ever boring. This time for some reason was sharper, more vivid. Like seeing with glasses for the first time after realizing he needed them. He could make out every perfect scale on her face, each one was a note that made up the music of her body. When he looked into her eyes they were like a fractal, containing infinite subtle variations of itself, within itself. He could get lost in them and never find his way out.

But the carpet was rough against his back. “I think we need to move to the bed,” he said to her. She nodded and he picked her up while holding her against his bare chest. Thus embraced he carried her to their bed, and all the while she was looking up and watching him. He laid her down and she lay back, naked and exposed. Even though she was always naked, sometimes it seemed like she was doing it just for him. He had seen her like this hundreds of times, and even now, there was no word for her other than beautiful. Like a landscape of purest white, like fresh-fallen snow on gently rolling hills. Here and there punctuated by a slash of pure black as dark as a moonless, starless night. She was so beautiful he almost didn't want to touch her for fear of spoiling the perfect serenity of her. Was she always this beautiful? (And how many times had he thought the word “beautiful” just now?)

She looked up at him as he lined himself up with her. Her eyes narrowed as he slid inside and lay against her while they both let out a wordless huff. She was the perfect size for him, so that when he was all the way inside her it brought his face up to hers so kissing her was as automatic as breathing. A shiver ran up her body then she relaxed. She opened her mouth so they could feel each other's tongues. She tasted clean and sweet and slightly metallic. Her lips were as tactile and soft as any humans and slightly cool like skin after being in the pool, just enough to be sensitive.

He pulled his face away and looked down at her. They held each other, she in his arms and he in her wings, not moving, just savouring the moment together united by more than just flesh. He could stay here forever, feeling her scales against his skin and her heartbeat against his chest. Seconds passed unnoticed like leaves in the wind while music flowed around them like warm honey. A gentle breeze crept in from an open window and brushed against them as gentle as the touch of a feather. Naomi crooned and nuzzled his neck. He felt her throat vibrating against his shoulder and it sent goosebumps running down his body.

The next motions were automatic; so natural they might as well have been unconscious. He slowly withdrew and felt her tense, then she relax as he plunged in again and felt warmth and electricity spread from where they touched.

She yielded to his movements without needed prompting. Like she was connected to his thoughts somehow. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed him inside her, matching him thrust for thrust. He held the back of her head with her feathers between his fingers like blades of grass. The scales on the back of her head stood out just at the threshold of sensation, each a reminder of who and what he was with.

She was watching him. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth slightly open and pleading, like she was begging him to continue and knew better than to stop or even slow down. The look of lust on her face and the sound of her breathing heavily was as erotic as anything he had ever seen on screen or in person.

He steadily rocked against her, building up the pressure with each stroke and steadily moving towards the conclusion but not wanting it to end. He could feel his climax building and knew hers was approaching at the same speed. The first time they had had made love (there's that word again, he thought, but now it didn't seem as inappropriate) he was surprised when they orgasmed simultaneously and thought it was just a coincidence, or because it was a first for both of them and they were both excited. But then it happened the next time, and the next, and every time after that.

The feeling built stroke by stroke like being pushed off the edge of a cliff until a single bright white piercing note shone through both of them and they held each other with all limbs, her legs and wings wrapped tightly around him, his arms around her, and their mouths tightly locked they rode their mutual orgasms together and it was like a single climax shared between the two of them as their passion erupted in a culmination of raw, primal lust, and something else, something deeper that he knew existed but hadn't yet put into words.

Just as it ended he looked into her eyes just and she looked into his. Later he would look back at this and think to himself, this is the moment when he knew.

Eventually it subsided and they lay together, panting and regaining their breath. He rested his forehead against hers. Her scales were cool against his hot skin.

In wordless agreement they lay together, her nuzzled against his chest, one wing draped across him like a blanket. No words were said and none needed to be; nothing else could convey what was felt better than the meaning of the act itself. He listened as her breathing became slow and even. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest and somehow, remarkably, it was timed to his. He listened to it for a full minute but they didn't beat out of sync.

He could see the thin silver blade of the crescent moon through the curtains that gently swayed in the cool winter breeze. There was just enough light to show her silhouette. Enough to show her draconian figure, the hard angles of her wing joints and the smooth surface of her hips and tail like gently rolling hills of sand. The silvery light gently caressed her body, like it was hesitant to touch her fragile form. Even in this dim light her body was pure white. Like she was a part of the moon itself; untouchable and incorruptible. Warmth radiated off the two of them, trapped underneath the thin curtain of her wings. Just enough to keep the coldness at bay. He should close the window but for now he just wanted to lay here with her for a moment longer. And the next moment, and the next until forever came.

It seemed like the entire world was still and the only sound was her breathing as it played across his skin. He realized he was holding his breath and let it all out, and she sunk into his chest as his lungs emptied. He watched the quick little movements of her eyes under their lids as she dreamed and he just held her and thought about what they did and what it meant. Did she really love him or was she just designed to; in the same way she was designed physically? Maybe she didn't have a choice.

But when he thought about it, it's not like he had a choice either. Maybe he only felt that way because of what they had done. It was easy enough to see her for what she was: a beautiful, loving companion, and to declare his feelings for her.

But it was another thing to see past what she was. To realize what stood in between them and to declare it was irrelevant... it took a level of courage he didn't think he could muster.

He had felt like this once before. What seemed a lifetime ago but in truth was less than a year. When she had shed her feathers and the ability to keep herself warm, he had held her, offering his own body heat, and in return she offered herself to him. For a while he was able to resist and he had felt like he was on the edge of a precipice, teetering on the edge, and only the slightest breeze would have tipped him over to acceptance. In the end he had relented and accepted something he knew was true all along.

“I love you,” he whispered. He tasted the words as they left his mouth and felt the weight of them. Surprising how natural it felt. He said it again while looking down at her but no change in expression came over her face.

Worrying about it before seemed so laughably childish. And he felt guilty he hadn't admitted it earlier. He had loved her for a long time and knew it. He felt like Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a stone up a hill that never ended. And then realizing he could just let it go. He kissed the tip of her snout and watched the nostrils flare and wiggle. She smiled in her sleep.

He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against hers. Her scales against his skin was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt.

Tuesday, 8th December, 2026

When he woke she was still laying against him with her head on his chest. Her eyes twitched in her sleep and the corner of her mouth was slightly open. He looked up at his bedside clock. Still a few minutes until he had to get up. He reached over and turned off the alarm and she opened her eyes to focus on him.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning!” She grinned.

He sat up and checked his phone. A text from an unrecognized number:

Alex, please meet me in Mr. Ferris Office when you come in work. -Lukas Koskinen.

He smiled. Turned over to Naomi and showed her the text and remembered she couldn't read yet. “I think I'm getting a promotion,” he said. “Lukas wants to talk to me.”

“Are you going to be nice, so he likes you?” she asked.

“Of course. I'll be charming as I can be.” He got up and stretched and looked back at Naomi. She was sitting upright on his bed, legs tucked beneath her, wings folded like a leathery fan on either side. The warm morning light filtered through his curtains and surrounded her in a soft glow, making her look angelic and beautiful. Some part of his mind compared her to a typical woman who looks up looking dishevelled and bedraggled. Not his Naomi. Not a single scale or feather was out of place.

Of course there was more to her than just physical beauty. Something he had finally been able to admit last night. He thought about telling her, finally admitting what he wanted to say, but it was worth waiting until he could say it properly, not rushed before he had time to leave for work. He simply kissed the top of her head and said, “I'll see you when I get back.”

* * *

He told his car to play “Walking on Sunshine” but felt self-conscious and turned it off after a few seconds, When he got to work there was a security guard he didn't recognize standing outside Ferris's office. Weird, but he supposed Lukas was an important man. Or maybe it was just for show. He thought Ferris himself would do the interview and Lukas would be there, but instead it was Lukas and someone he hadn't met before who looked familiar for some reason. He tried to remember where he had seen him.

“Good morning, Mr. Chapman,” said the man he didn't know. “We haven't met, but my name is Dimitri Goddard.”

Alex's eyebrows raised. They brought the CEO here? No wonder he looked familiar. He had seen Goddard himself from a distance at a company Christmas dinner a year ago. Well, if he was trying to be charming, it wouldn't hurt to have the big boss there.

“Have a seat, Mr. Chapman. As you know, we're doing some restructuring within the company and we want to find out where you'll fit in. Now don't think of this as an interview. Think of it as a conversation. We just want to know more about you.”

“Like a date,” Alex said.

“Like a date. Exactly.”

Goddard glanced at a tablet he held. “I wanted to personally thank you on your work raising one of our newest products. Mr. Koskinen here took delivery of one yesterday and says she's very well-behaved.”

Lukas nodded without saying anything.

“You can thank our geneticists,” Alex said. “They're the ones building the foundation. I just build on top of that.” They didn't seem impressed so he decided this wasn't the time to be humble. “But I spend a lot of time with these dragons, getting to know them. Not all of them are agreeable at first, some are temperamental, some are shy, and some are just introverted. Every one is different. But eventually, I figure out what works for each individual. It really is like working with people. They're not that different from us.”

“You must have known this one would be different.”

“Well I knew she was a custom design, and if someone spent that much on her, she'd better be pretty good.”

He scribbled something down on the tablet with a stylus and paused long enough Alex started wondering. Why were both of them here? And why was the CEO of all people interviewing him? Didn't they have an HR department?

Goddard glanced at Lukas, who nodded. “Tell me, imagine you have a job here with some authority. Let’s say you tasked one of your employees with the disposal of a flawed product. Later you found that instead of following instructions, he had stolen the product and brought it home. How would you react?”

Alex looked up at the two men. They were both watching him. Goddard's face was set and stern, his jaw clenched. Lukas' eyes were like two flat grey stones behind his ubiquitous purple sunglasses. Alex opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

When he said nothing, Goddard read off his tablet. “AL/CA-02-0064/C. Female white dragon with black streaks on wings and legs. Shortly after hatching, was diagnosed with Dysplasia of the elbow, caused by Liebenberg syndrome. She would never fly and would develop a limp and eventually never walk. Surgery and stem-cell treatment was possible but it would have had to wait until she was fully-grown, so it was faster to simply make a new one. She was ordered to be disposed of.” He looked up at Alex. “But you didn't dispose of her, did you?”

He barely heard him. They couldn't know. How could they know?

Goddard turned the tablet around Alex saw a blurry picture of himself, walking with Naomi in the trails near his house. They were out of focus but still obviously recognizable and must have been in the background of some other photo. Stupid kids and their phones.

“Tell me, how many dragons that look like that are there in the world?”

Finally Alex manage to clear his throat. “What do you want?”

“First,” Goddard said, “I would like to know her condition. Can she still walk?”

“She...” he cleared his throat again. It felt very hot in the room. “She's doing alright. She can't fly and her wing hurts. Sometimes,” he swallowed. It was hard to make eye contact with them but he forced himself to look up. “Sometimes she says it's getting worse.”

“She says this? Can she maintain a conversation?”

How much did they know? “Yes. She's very intelligent.”

Goddard sat back. “You have to understand, Mr. Chapman, that you've put us in a very difficult situation. Firstly, Goddard Genetics prides itself on the perfection of our products. We can't have a flawed, broken product loose and diluting our brand. Second, you stole a very valuable item from us. We could get the law involved but we'd prefer not to.”

“But we will if we have to,” Lukas added, speaking for the first time, in a voice that could freeze blood solid.

Goddard glanced up at him and continued: “We want to do this cleanly and quietly. Simply bring her back to us and we'll take care of the rest.”

“What will happen to her?”

“That won't be any of your concern.”

He winced as if he'd been slapped. “And if I refuse?”

There was more force behind Goddard's voice. “You've stolen property from your company. If you refuse to comply the property will be seized and returned to us with or without your cooperation. And you will be charged and convicted, of corporate theft of more than twelve million dollars. Look at me, Chapman. You have a choice here. You can comply with our demand and get on with your life. There will be no investigation and you'll have no criminal record. Trust me, this is better than you deserve. I only ask for you cooperation because I don't want to get caught up in legal fees.

“Tomorrow you will bring the stolen product here and you will be laid off. As a reward for your cooperation, you will be given a substantial severance suited to your time here. You'll also sign a declaration promising that you will never work for one of our competitors for as long as you live. We'll grant you this one liberty: go home, and tomorrow you will bring the stolen product to us. I'm not being unreasonable, Mr. Chapman. Lukas wanted you arrested immediately but I want to do it quietly.” He looked into Alex's eyes. “Do I have your assurance that you won't try anything?”

“Yes,” he said numbly What else could he say?

“Good. You're making a smart decision. And just in case you're thinking of keeping her, or somehow sneaking away, I have one final point to make. I assume you want the best for her. I know she can't fly, and soon won't be able to walk. If you bring her to us, we can fix her wing now that she's an adult. Her new owner will be able to take care of her. However, were she to stay with you, she would suffer every day for the rest of her life. And eventually it would kill her.”

The security guard escorted him out the building. He brought him to his car and left him alone. He shut the door with a hollow thud and stared unseeing through the windshield. Seconds ticked by unnoticed, silent but for his own breathing. The dome light turned off to save battery. He punched the car's main screen, hard enough it cracked. Black liquid spread across the screen like ink spilled on paper. He hit it again and again till it was a crumpled mess of broken glass. People passed, glancing at him and he didn't see them.

He looked at his hand. Blood oozed from his split knuckles amidst pieces of glass stuck in his skin. The pain was nothing more than a distant, dull throb. He stared at his hand long enough for the blood to stop dripping while yellow and purple bruises stained his hand like dark rainclouds.

---

* * *

---

Naomi watched the door. Alex should be home by now. She laid down on the couch, winced as she folded her wing, and waited. When she heard the jingle of keys the feathers on the back of her head perked up and she jumped down.

The moment he walked in she knew something was wrong. It was in his face. He didn't look sad, or angry. He looked... like nothing. Like there was nobody there at all. She started to step forward but stopped when she saw his hand. It was covered in blood. He came over and knelt down and held her. He didn't speak, just ran his good hand over her head, through her feathers, and down her neck.

“I love you, Naomi,” he said.

He held his face against hers and she felt the tears moisten her scales. She braced herself on her bad wing, ignoring the pain in her elbow, and lifted her other wing to drape it over him.

He drew in a shaking breath and it came out as a heavy, silent sob as they held each other.