One day, visiting my friends, I found them getting all ready to go out. They were dressed in their best clothes, or the best that still fit Orphela. She was changed, her face slightly chubbier, bags nested under her eyes. She was carrying her handbag, and he hauled a backpack.

“Hey, Terus, we are going to church, would you mind coming with us?” offered Dariel.

“I am afraid a dragon stepping onto a place of adoration would be seen as inadequate by the gods you worship.”

“But, Terus, you are not the dragon that dreams you, our dear Houndmaster would understand.” Began Orphela.

“I am not sure about that, Orphela dear. Yet I fear not the ire of gods, I am just reticent to disrespect them, out of respect for the believers themselves. I hope you understand.”

Dariel stepped up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I assure you, friend, The Houndmaster will see the man under the dragon.”

“I am dreamed by one who killed his potential followers by the hundreds. By one who enslaved the image of dozens so dead, so lost. He would receive Terus with open arms. Maybe he would respect Cirruin’s power. But there’s no way he would receive a caricature of the former, made by the latter,” I said, gently pushing his hand away.

“We are just going to ask the priest for a recommendation of breed. We want a dog that can grow along a child and be a faithful companion for him.”

“Or her,” added Orphela, giggling.

“I want a son, not a daughter,” Dariel muttered.

“It’s not like we can choose, ha!” Orphela retorted, and the sudden jerk caused by the laugh made her take a hand to her back. “If she’s a girl, though, I am putting her on a diet as soon as she pops,” she added with a bit of pain in her voice.

“In dragons, egg temperature and magic exposition have partial bearing on the sex of the hatchlings. Have you tried warming your belly, Orphela?” I suggested innocently.

“That’s not how men work, Terus.” Dariel said, carefree. He waved the subject away with a gesture and continued. “Will you do me the favor of accompanying us? You will see the priests are easygoing people open to new ideas.”

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I nodded. What had I to lose, if their friendship was not on the line?

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Past the uptight statues of sighthounds with their necks crossed lay the church of The Houndmaster. All sorts of dogs, big and small, wandered about the bare-dirt garden that surrounded the chapel. A veritable canid miasma flowed in and out every time the gates opened, even if for just a moment.

“Walk carefully, Terus, don’t step on their tails or toes,” Dariel indicated, and , interlocking his right arm with Orphelas left, they began traversing the little swamp of dogs.

I followed behind them, close up, shifting my legs from empty space to empty space to avoid disturbing the dogs.

Inside the chapel every piece of furniture and several of the walls were covered in leather, and all sorts of stuff, including the walls and the pews, were graced by a myriad of scratch and/or bite marks.

Over the altar, a platform ornamented in gold and silver, slept three small, wooly dogs, every one on their own leveled shelf.

The main priest, dressed in the colors of Zenvo and wearing a dog leash as a scarf, raised his right hand to salute us. This was a man in his forties who proudly carried a black, well cared for beard and a warm smile.

“What brings you here, Dariel, Orphela?”

They petted the shepherd dogs that had sit to their sides. Later Dariel would explain me this was a form of reverence, of showing respect by petting the priests most dear curs.

“Well, esteemed Priest Cornero, as you may see, I have entered the ranks of primigravidas some months ago.”

The priest laughed and extended open, welcoming hands towards her. “You and your funny terms, I will tell the library to forbid you from loaning out medical dictionaries!”

I shuffled my position with an empty space that had formed in front of my friends. The priest went pale for a second.

“You scared me, sorcerer,” he said a breath later, and punctuated the statement with a sigh.

“I am no sorcerer, but my friends here want to acquire a puppy that can prove a safe and faithful companion for their child.”

“And why do they need a man of your talents to speak in their stead?”

“They don’t, I do this out of respect and gratitude for them.”

I turned to look at Dariel, and by his stern stare, I knew I was doing wrong.

I retreated and looked for one of the free pews, one of those that didn’t have a dog sleeping on it. There I sat in shame.

“Pardon him, esteemed priest, he is from a far away, small town. His manners are not as refined as ours.”

One of the dogs woke up and started sniffing me, seemingly confused at the fact I didn’t smell like a man, but like a man smells to a dragon. It began growling soon after. The three adults present were looking at me. Had the child been not inside Orphela, it would also have, I am sure.

“it is clear I am not welcome here. I’ll be taking my leave. Farewell.”

I willed myself back to this very cave, and alone I sulked until , hours later, I disappeared.