The pale morning sun peaked determinedly through the heavy grey clouds that draped across the sky, thin rays of light casting down and gracing the brilliant green grass below with its warmth. There was a slight, bitter breeze in the air, but not enough to chill, or cause any real discomfort. Karen strode across the field at the back of her mansion, with an excited spring in her step she was struggling to contain. She was dressed in riding gear, a dark pair of jodhpurs and high riding boots, and her hair was tied back in a long, tidy plait.

Diego struggled along a few metres behind her. He was carrying two bulky brown saddle bags, and a large - suspiciously large - joint of meat. At the far end of the field, Diego eyed the large stable that they were quickly approaching, warily. Diego of course had seen the warshee - it was quite hard to miss one - when he'd been let out in the field, but so far, he'd managed to get away with not having to go anywhere near it. He'd assumed that Karen had her own stable staff, not that he’d ever seen anyone else in the house, and it safe to say that Diego wasn't at all thrilled that he was going there now.

Karen pushed open the large wooden doors and opened the stable door wide so that Diego could enter easily, and quickly clopped her way across the large, airy open space inside, lined with a smooth cobblestone flooring, towards the stall itself which housed the warshee.

“You can place the bags down over there, Diego.” Karen said softly over her shoulder, gesturing towards the far corner, where all the warshee's tack was immaculately kept. “I want you to come and

meet Maloch!”

A warshee is a lizard-like species, a little crocodilian in its posture, in that its body and tail are very long, and its back very flat and straight. The warshee in question must have been at least thirty feet long and eight feet tall, as he straightened his legs and stared down at Diego, with large, suspecting eyes. He made a strange sound as Karen reached up and gently stroked down the bridge of his snout, resembling something between a hiss and a purr, vibrating deep from within his bulging throat.

A warshee's feet are a little more reptilian than crocodilian, with wide splayed feet. Coupled with its long legs, a warshee actually makes an excellent galloper, better than you'd probably give one credit for, considering their lumbering size. While most warshees are one or a mix of a dark shade of green, orange or brown, they can actually come in a wide variety of colours. In this instance, the warshee's smooth scales and ridges were flexed with bright, beautiful sea greens and shining blues.

In contrast to the crocodilian-like body, a warshee's head actually resembles that more of a snake, long, round and smooth, forming a nice little tip at the end of its nose, with two long slashes for nostrils.

The warshee was watching Diego curiously, cautiously. He had shifted his body so that he stood in between him and Karen, and now a verberating hiss was emanating from inside his chest, deep within his core. Diego eyed him back, narrowing his eyes and unconsciously puffing his chest out. As the warshee leaned in though, still hissing quietly, his forked tongue suddenly flicked out from his mouth, and tickling the top of Diego's head, and Diego couldn't help but stumble back. Karen laughed as the warshee shook his head like a dog with an itch and stepped backwards, then lowered his head down and towards Karen, who proceeded to scratch his chin.

“He's decided you're a friend, Diego! He says you're safe, but he is judging you.” Karen had stopped laughing, but a light-hearted smirk still remained on her face. “Maloch's giving me the look right now. He's saying, ‘who's this silly lizard that's scared of a li'l ol’ warshee like me?’”

“Little?!” Diego glared across the stable at them, and couldn't help but think that Karen might actually be right; there wasn’t much emotion to be gauged from the warshee's black, beady eyes, but there was definitely some attitude in the it's demeanour. He swung his long crocodile tail gently across the stable, directly towards Diego, who had to jump out the way to avoid getting knocked over. “He's huge! His stable is bigger than most people's houses!”

“Oh, don't listen to him, Maloch.” Karen crooned and moved her hand, so she was scratching the warshee's forehead instead. “He's just jealous of your beautiful long tail.” The warshee's back foot started to thump against the ground as a deep, crackly purr rumbled from his belly. “Yes, you like that don't you, don't you!”

Diego watched the two in absolute bemusement. He'd never seen anyone act in such a way around a warshee before, nor seen a warshee act so… calm. Although, what most bewildered him was Karen; he'd never ever seen act this way before. Although she obviously loved her petshees - they were well looked after and had entire rooms in her house dedicated to playthings for them - she'd never quite fussed or crooned or shown them this much affection.

“Diego! Maloch's saddle is behind you, can you take it off the stand and pass it over to me, please?” Karen asked, still staring longingly into the warshee's large dark eyes. There was something about them, they seemed so void and expansive and… empty, that you could almost feel yourself get lost in them, if you stared for long enough… “Oh! And bring the meat joint with you as well!” As Diego turned to do as she asked, Karen straightened up and gazed out the open stable windows instead.

As can be imagined, a warshee saddle is enormous, as to go over their enormous bodies, and heavy too. While resembling a typical riding saddle, a warshee saddle is made of thick, heavy leather with lots of padding to prevent the rider from chafing. It’s quite a bulky piece of equipment, and a little complex too, with multiple sets long buckled straps to secure the saddle underneath the warshee's soft belly, and straps to lock the rider's thighs in place as well, whilst also allowing enough manoeuvrability for the rider's calves and heels to guide the warshee, and flexibility for the rider to bounce in time with their mount's lopping strides. It's important that a rider ensures the straps are tight enough that they won't come loose, but also isn't too tight, and potentially hurt their warshee. The saddle itself also has quite a high back to it, to help position the rider and keep them comfortable; warshees are typically creatures of combat, used by the DA to carry their soldiers into battle, rather than being kept as pets, and the saddle's high back helps to support the rider when firing their weapons, and stop them from lurching about too much when a steady shot can be the difference between life and death.

At the front of the saddle, there are also a set of handlebars, which the rider can hold onto and lean over, a bit like a motorbike, if they wanted their warshee to break into a run.

Karen sighed and stretched as she stared out across the field, back towards her mansion. Her leather boots creaked as she flexed and straightened her legs. “It's been such a long time since I've been able to take Maloch out for a proper ride. I've been so busy with work, I think we both could use a good runaround... And of course, I've got the ever-watchful eyes of my wonderful neighbour Fairylin. I swear, every time I step out my front door, she's right there, watching my every move. The woman's so nosy! She's watching us right now!” Karen gestured towards where their two houses were. Without thinking, Diego stepped back into the doorway and peeked out; sure enough, he could actually make her out in the distance, Fairylin was standing at her juliet-balcony windows, and was staring directly at them.

“Diego!” Karen quickly ran over and pulled him back inside the stable, careful not to incriminate herself under Fairylin’s gaze. “Could you be any less subtle?!”

“Whatever do you mean?! I am nothing if not a man of subtlety, Karen!” Diego protested with a teasing pout.

“Uh-huh.” Karen rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't hide her small smile. “She’s just been getting on my nerves so much lately, I feel trapped. I can't even go out and ride my own warshee.”

“If anyone could look down their nose at a warshee, I think it would be Fairylin.” Diego agreed.

“Mmm… Saddle, Diego!” Karen suddenly barked, and snapped her fingers at him impatiently. Diego frowned - a frown Karen didn't see, as she had turned her back, and was tending to the warshee once more - but he did as asked, and heaved the great saddle onto his shoulder and brought it over.

“Warshee's can actually get a lot bigger than this, you know.” Karen continued, her demeanour shifting back as if she hadn’t said anything at all. “Big warshees, and I mean big warshees, can grow to be over a hundred feet in length!” Karen spoke excitedly as she started rubbing some sort of gel across the warshee's belly.

“What's that for?” Diego asked, gingerly holding out the saddle as best he could, without getting too close.

“Oh, it's just to - Diego, I need you to come closer than that!” Karen laughed as she noticed Diego leaning across the stall's half-wall towards her, but was still nowhere near her. “Maloch won't hurt you, the two of you are friends now.” However, Karen did cross the length of the stall, and took the saddle from him, and heaving it up in both of her hands. The warshee immediately crouched down low, and with a huff, Karen hauled it across his back.

“Good boy! Diego, can you put his food down for him, he's such a good boy!”

Although he wasn't happy about it at all, Diego slowly picked up the slab of meat and, holding it in his arms, sidled towards the warshee's mouth. The second he stepped into the warshee's line of sight, he felt the creature's gaze fall on him. His big black eyes seemed to stare right through him, and see everything. Diego swallowed as the warshee's eyes narrowed, and a low hiss started from the back of his throat again.

“He, uh, doesn't seem to like me very much.”

“Might help if you stopped teasing him with his breakfast!” Karen suggested cheerily.

“Oh! Right.” For god's sake, pull yourself together, Diego! He quickly placed the meat down in front of the warshee's waiting maw, and quickly jumped back as the creature's mouth opened, revealing two rows of long, pointy teeth, and bit down onto the meat. He bit straight through the joint; the bone in the middle crunched as the warshee flexed its jaw and tore through it.

Fuck that thing is strong.

The warshee seemed content now that he had his breakfast, for the time being at least, however Diego could still feel that ever-watchful gaze on him.

“Now, where was I… Oh yeah! The ointment, it just helps protect Maloch's belly against leather-burn.” Karen explained, crouching down as she started to secure the straps underneath the warshee. “Do you want to get those bags secured to the saddle?”

Um, no, not really. But, obedient as ever, Diego did as he was asked with a stifled sigh, taking up the large leather pouches and edging his way around the warshee. “Why do I have to do all this today? Don't your stablehands usually help you with this sorta thing?”

“I don't… have any stablehands?” Karen glanced over at him quizzically.

“You… Then who - do you clean him out yourself?”

“Of course!” Karen replied. “He's my one break away from my incredibly boring and pompous reality. And besides, I don't think I could trust anyone else looking after Maloch. He's… He's important to me.” Karen grinned as she watched Diego shuffle closer to her, and the warshee, head down. “Why are you so scared of warshees?” She asked, giggled slightly.

“I - I’m not scared, Karen!” Diego retorted quickly. “I just…” Diego racked his brains desperately. He didn't really want to tell Karen that the only times he'd ever encountered a warshee, it had been when he was crunching a giant warhammer into the side of its head whilst trying to dodge their ferocious bite. God, that was such a long time ago now… “They’re just, well, they’re very protective, aren’t they? Of their rider? I wouldn’t want to upset him, make him think I was hurting you or something.”

The warshee snorted then and bucked its head, as though he had understood everything Diego just said and was rolling his eyes.

“I think Maloch has already decided that you’re not a threat.” Karen said with a smooth smile.

Diego smiled back, slightly, and looked over at the warshee. It was true that he seemed calm and comfortable enough, yet… He was definitely picking up on Diego’s nervousness. And there was something in his stare, a curious sort of sadness in the creature's eyes…

You really can see right through me, can't you?

“You are right though, Warshee’s are very protective over their rider.” Karen said softly. “Luckily for you, I’m… not technically his rider.”

“You’re not?” Diego asked, cocking his head in confusion.

“No. Although me and Maloch have bonded now, his rider was actually my older brother.” Karen took a few steps forward, and stroked the warshee’s snout gently with the back of her fingers. He hummed softly in response. “My brother was part of the Karkshee Deployment and Maintenance division, specifically warshee training and breeding. I absolutely loved going to visit him at work, he used to take me out riding when I was small, and then he taught me how to ride by myself.” She smiled wistfully. She leant back against the stable gate and the warshee nuzzled gently against her stomach. “That’s where this boy’s from!”

“He’s ex-military?” Diego asked, eyeing the warshee now even more cautiously than before.

“Erm, yes and no. He never actually saw combat, did you?” Karen rubbed the tips of her fingers underneath his chin. “He was rented out to the RMD for military parades and the like - his bright colours made him a hit with the royals - but other than that, he was primarily for training and breeding. He was my brother’s bonded warshee, see, and he was never really well enough to join any of the combat divisions, so there was no separating them.”

“He wasn’t well enough?” Diego placed the bags down and sidled over carefully and stood next to Karen, but was careful to keep her between him and the warshee, and not to turn his back on him.

“No… He died a few years ago, medical complications.” Karen stared down at the warshee, her body angled away from Diego’s. “ And warshee’s bond for life, so, as you can imagine, Maloch here was inconsolable. He was so depressed, he wouldn’t eat, sleep, you could barely get him to move, never mind fight. He was retired from the KDM, and my family wanted to just sell him off to the meat factory, ‘we'll get some use yet out of the useless brute, even if it's just as pots of glue and tins of pedigree petshee chunks.’” Karen’s voice noticeably soured. “So, I offered to buy him instead… My parents made me pay three times the price the factories were offering.” Karen almost spat that last bit out. “And, it’s taken a long time, it’s been a long rehabilitation process, but Maloch’s doing so much better now!” Suddenly, she grabbed the warshee by the sides of his face and rubbed his cheeks. The warshee purred and his tail flicked up in the air in response. “I think we get along quite well these days! Of course, he’s not quite the same, he used to be such a mischievous little thing… But we’re getting there, aren’t we Maloch.” She smiled again, and Diego couldn’t help but smile with her. Karen had never been so open with him before, or so… real.

Karen seemed lost in her own thoughts for several long seconds before, suddenly, she excitedly said, “y’know, my brother named him Maloch after malachite, the mineral, because his scales are the same colour as the crystals.”

“That’s cool!” Diego replied genuinely. “Do you know much about minerals then?”

“What, me? No.” Karen laughed. “That was my brother’s hobby. Although the pictures he showed me of some of them were so pretty, they were captivating. I feel like you could lose yourself just staring at some of them… But no, I prefer animals to crystals.” Karen grinned. “Did you know that warshee’s can run up to ninety miles-per-hour?”

“No, I didn’t!” Diego laughed as the conversation suddenly veered. “That’s fast!”

“I know! It feels amazing to go that fast, high up on a warshee’s back, you can’t hear anything except for the wind, it’s so loud that you can’t even hear your own thoughts. It’s so… relaxing.” Suddenly, Karen’s face blushed red in embarrassment, as though she’d revealed too much. She moved away from Diego with an awkward laugh. “I’m sorry! I must be boring you! Listen to me, sprouting facts about warshees, and oversharing my family dramas.”

“No, it’s fine! You don’t need to apologise!” Diego laughed. “It’s actually really nice to hear you talking about warshees… You were so excited to introduce me to Maloch today, and you clearly have a passion for them.” Diego paused, thinking over his next words carefully. “It’s nice to see you not stressed out about work, or your neighbours, or weird DA politics. It’s nice to… finally be around you.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

At his words, Karen blushed even harder. She self-consciously brushed a few strands of hair in front of her face with her hand, trying to hide her heated complexion. And Diego couldn’t help but admire her a little; although she suddenly looked shy, her face was absolutely beaming. And he liked that he’d made her happy.

Maybe a little too much…

Diego’s feelings around Karen had changed a lot in recent days. She wasn’t quite the entitled, typical draconic snob that he’s taken her to be at all, and seeing her like this, with her admittedly expensive but well-worn riding gear, and her rescued warshee…

I… don’t really know who the DA are anymore, do I?

“Well, um, we ought to get going, really!” Karen said, trying to change the subject before she could embarrass herself any further. “Maloch’s been tamping for a good gallop!” With a gentle nudge to his side, she guided the warshee out of the stables and into the field. Diego followed a little behind them. The warshee settled into a crouch, his legs sticking out in such a way that Karen could use his knee to climb, and swing herself into the saddle with ease. As she busied herself, strapping her legs in place, she casually looked about, back towards the house.

“Don’t look now, Diego - I SAID DON’T LOOK!” She hissed as Diego - of course - started to glance around. “But she’s still watching us.”

Diego and Karen stared at one another for a few long moments, before they both burst out laughing.

“Ha! Of course she is!” Diego chuckled. “Well, you should get going before her eyes pop out of her head. Is there anything that needs doing about the place while you’re gone?”

Karen wiped a tear away from her eye and sighed contentedly as her laughter faded. Still smiling, she glanced down at him and cocked her head curiously.“Diego, you’re coming with me?”

“WH-WHAT?!” Diego spluttered.

“Yeah! What, you think I need all this food for myself!” She gestured to the two large saddle bags, then offered him her hand.”I thought we’d go for a little ride, stop for a picnic, then come home! Hop on behind me, there’s plenty of room!”

Diego visibly paled as he gawped at Karen’s outstretched hand, but she didn’t waver. The warshee, he quickly noticed, did not crouch for him, as Diego shakily took it, and she pulled him up.

“Wow, Diego!” She said, puffing slightly from the exertion. “You’ve definitely put on some weight! All good, of course! Probably muscle!” She added quickly. “And you really needed to, you were so skinny when - uhh, anyway…” Luckily for Karen, Diego wasn’t listening to her awkwards rambling. He slipped into the saddle behind Karen, eyes wide, his entire body as stiff as a plank of wood.

“Um, Diego, you might want to loosen up a little. It gets pretty bumpy.” She twisted round and tucked his legs into the straps, so that he was secure. “I’ll start slow, so you can get used to it. Can’t go galloping off with Fairylin watching us anyway, she might have an aneurism.” Karen laughed, and nudged the warshee with her knees. He responded immediately, taking a heavy step forward. Diego jostled about in the back of the saddle, and the sudden movement refocused him.

“Wait, wait! Shouldn’t we have helmets or something?” He asked desperately. Even though they were only walking, the warshee was large, and his long strides were quickly taking them out of Karen’s estate.

Karen glanced back at him, eyebrow raised. “Diego. If you actually manage to fall off of a warshee… Honestly, you kind of deserve to have your head smashed in!” She nudged the warshee again and he quickened his space, to the warshee equivalent of a trot. Diego lurched at the sudden increase in speed (which wasn’t really that much) and threw his arms around Karen’s waist. Karen’s face immediately started to blush red again as she felt Diego gripping onto her. Diego's face, on the other hand, was very much colouring the opposite way.

“What about reins?!” He shouted over the warshee’s thundering footsteps. “How do we steer?!”

“Hands-free! It’s all in the legs, Diego!” Karen laughed in exaltation, raising her own arms up in the air, which only made Diego grip her tighter. She liked that.

And as they reached the bottom of the hill and the estate disappeared behind them, with one final kick, Maloch broke into a gallop.

They galloped through the lusciously green, freshly-watered fields. The late morning sun was warm on their backs, which would have felt amazing, coupled with the dew droplets splashing against their skin as the warshee thudded through the grass, except that Diego was far too preoccupied with not dying, to really enjoy the experience. His eyes were screwed tightly shut, his muzzle crammed firmly into Karen's shoulder. As the warshee's pounding steps slowly gained in speed, like a heavy beating drum, Diego could feel his heart rate increasing in time, his anxiety was growing and spreading through his stomach and up into his chest as jolting memories flashed before his eyelids, of shouting, gunshots, the sharp sliver of a sword being drawn followed by a thunderous roar -

Karen could feel the tension in his body. She twisted her head, so that she could better be heard, and saw that his eyes were closed. Slightly hesitantly, she placed one of her hands on top of his tightly interlocked fingers.

“You're safe, I promise! Open your eyes!”

Although she had to almost shout to be heard over the warshee’s rhythmic thumping and the racing wind, her words were genuine, caring, almost soothing, her voice draping over his flashbacks like a soft blanket. Hesitantly, Diego opened his eyes, just a crack, and blinked the blurriness away from having them closed so tightly for so long. He looked out at the rolling green fields, all around them. They looked like they could’ve stretched on for hundreds of miles. Far off in the distance, he could make out small pockets of colourful towns, but they quickly disappeared from view as the warshee carried on his long, loping strides. Diego could feel the wind whipping through his hair - the soft spring sun wasn’t doing much now to keep the two riders warm, they were going far too fast, and the wind was biting. It stung against his skin but actually, it felt wonderful. With the mildew too hitting his face, it was so refreshing. Slowly he adjusted himself, leaning away from Karen slightly, but his arms still remained tightly clasped around her torso. He could feel himself relaxing as he took in the scenery and the serenity of it all, the crystal blue sky, the beautiful green fields. His body moved up and down with the warshee's movements as he adapted to the rhythm. Karen felt him relax too, and her face broke out into a huge smile, that she was glad he couldn’t see. She shouted something back to Diego, but the wind took her words.

“What was that?” Diego shouted, leaning back in towards her.

“I said, do you want to go faster?!”

“He can go faster than this?!” Diego shouted back in surprise.

Karen laughed. “Lean forward! With me!” Then she turned to face front, and slowly started to lean forward, lying low over the saddle until her stomach was practically flat against the warshee’s back. Gently, she pulled Diego down with her. Diego's stomach lurched as he suddenly felt the warshee speed up, those intrusive thoughts and flashbacks threatened his psyche at the edges of his mind, their shouts and cries teasing their way through his mind, when… suddenly, he couldn’t think of anything. The whistling wind screamed through his ears, and he could hear the sound of his heart beating inside his head, but that… that was all. The voices had been silenced. Even the warshee's footsteps had faded away.

It was so… freeing. The world whizzing past him, and he a mere passenger, with nothing but the sound of his own beating heart, and the roar of the wind against his ears. He lifted his head slightly, just as Karen started to unfurl her pair of elegant golden wings. He knew that she couldn't fly herself - if his memory was correct, a lot of the draconic species’ couldn't fly anymore. It was an ability that had become lost as technology advanced and wings had shrunk over lack of use, and were now more a cosmetic feature than anything else. As Karen’s wings slowly uncurled themselves away from her back, Diego realised for the first time that her wingspan was actually quite impressive; tip to tip, they actually spread wider than the width of the warshee’s thick torso. Almost immediately the wind caught them, and although she struggled to angle them correctly, angle them she eventually did, bracing into the wind. She laughed, a soft, ringing laughter that caught the wind and filled Diego's ears momentarily, before it was rushed away, and lost to the world behind them. He felt so light, so burdenless, like he could just keep on going and going, and never have to stop for anyone, not even himself.

Although he was still feeling some trepidation, Diego understood now, why these dragons, who may have lost their flight, but had certainly not lost the instinct, the desire, had taken to warshees so dearly. This, this must be how it feels, to see the world but not really be a part of it, to be beyond it…

*

Diego wasn't sure how long they galloped for, but the sun was high in the sky when he did finally feel the warshee slow down. As his thundering steps came back into audio, so too did his heavy breaths, and even its heartbeat, thumping against Diego's legs through his ribcage. Karen straightened up in the saddle and relaxed her wings - although she did not re-curl them. She flicked a stray strand of hair that had come away from her once-perfect plait out of her face, and gently nudged the warshee towards a little hilltop. There was a small cluster of trees atop the hill, and the tip of the hilltop looked out over the otherwise mostly flat or rolling land. The warshee finally slowed down to a walk as he heavily ascended the little slope, then stopped, beneath the shade of the biggest tree.

Karen slipped out of the saddle and went to tend to her warshee, but Diego didn't move. He couldn't believe he'd actually ridden a warshee, and enjoyed it, for that matter! After years of finding himself exclusively on the receiving end of a warshee's jaw, never in his wildest dreams did he ever see himself riding one. His heart was still pounding, but slowly the adrenaline started to fade from his system and the rest of the world came back into focus. His hearing was a little muffled, but he fiddled about with his ears, stretched his jaw and yawned, and his ears popped. Karen was talking.

“...Good boy, good boy…”

“Heh, thanks!” Diego turned his head towards her and scruffled at the back of his hair, with a big, proud grin on his face.

Karen stared up at him. She was petting the warshee on the side of his large head, and held a large flask of water in her other hand, which she was slowly pouring into the warshee's eager mouth. Her face was flushed from the wind, and her hair was dishevelled, and all in all she actually looked… cute. But her expression was one of pure confusion. “H-Huh?” She asked, trying to figure out if she'd misheard him.

“O-Oh.” Diego blushed as his stomach dropped and the realisation hit him, that he was not the good boy Karen was referring to. He could swear the actual good boy in question was staring at him, from the corner of his eye. There was very little emotion in those black empty orbs, but he could swear that the warshee was judging him.

“N-Nothing! Er, a-as you were, Karen!” Why in the flying fuck did I think she was talking to me?! Diego quickly tugged at the saddle straps that were holding him in place and wriggled himself loose, before swinging his leg over and leaping from the warshee's back. Considering that this was his first warshee ride, Karen was actually quite impressed. She smiled, and blushed a little herself as she went back to petting the warshee.

“You get points for that dismount, Diego, but I am not going to pretend I didn't hear that.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Diego quickly turned towards the remaining saddle bags and started to unbuckle them. “Are we picnicking here, then?” He asked, very nonchalantly. “Would you like me to set everything up while you tend to th… Maloch?”

“Yes, if you would. That would be a… a very good idea.”

Diego didn't look at her as he turned and took the saddle bags over towards the trees at the lip of the small hill, but he could hear the stifled giggle, and his cheeks burnt.

*

The view truly was beautiful. As far as the eye could see, there… wasn't really anything to see, and that was wonderful, just acres and acres of rolling green, soft fluffy clouds overhead, and small pockets of trees dotted around. Every now and then, when the sun glimmered off of its silver body and caught his eye Diego did catch a glimpse of one of the terraforming machines, going about its business and watering the fields in the distance.

“They must almost be done terraforming around here now.” Karen said as she followed Diego's gaze. She munched on a cucumber sandwich, and covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke. “Last I saw in the papers, this planet's around ninety-eight percent complete now.”

“Oh?” Diego replied politely.

“Yeah. It'll be onto the next one then, to terraform and colonise.” She chuckled softly. “With any luck it'll be even nicer than this one, and Fairylin will bugger off there instead.”

Diego almost choked on his sandwich as he stifled a laugh. That was the closest he'd heard Karen come to swearing before. He had to say, as he looked her over with her muddied jodhpurs from sitting in the damp grass, and her messy hair, her cheeks slightly pink still from being wind-chapped, and her wings still out, unfurled and relaxed, draped against the ground… He much preferred this version of Karen to the snooty, posh party planner that strutted around her mansion, irritable and usually on the phone, to the cause of said irritability.

“Oh, your drink's empty.” Diego said, noticing the empty glass beside her. He went to reach for a bottle of fruity cordial from one of the bags behind him.

“Hmm? Oh!”

“Would you like -” But as Diego turned back, he saw that Karen had already grabbed another bottle, and was pouring her glass herself. She didn't even really seem to notice what she was doing. She took a sip from her glass and turned back to the landscape around then, the purple juice staining her lips.

Diego smiled. Maybe it wasn't this version of her he liked. Maybe it was the real her.

“I have to admit, Karen, I've enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.” Diego said, filling his own glass instead.

“Good! I'm glad!” Karen replied genuinely, smiling across at him warmly. “I told you there was nothing to be worried about, Maloch will look after us.”

“Hmm.” Diego looked over towards Maloch, who appeared to be napping in the shade after his run. Well deserved. “What can I say, you were right. And this has been a nice change of pace from working in the house.”

“Ugh, tell me about it.” Karen sighed dramatically and slumped back against a tree. “Diego, I swear all I do these days is cater for snobbier and snobbier people, and give in to their ridiculous demands! I had a couple a few weeks ago, I was doing an anniversary party for them, who wanted someone to sculpt their likeness in ice, so that they could use it as part of some decor for their punch bowl, of all the things. They are some really pretentious people out there, with more money than sense.” She took another sip from her glass. “Mmm! Entitled, too! They didn't actually tell me that they wanted this ice sculpture until two days before the event! What am I supposed to do, snap my fingers and just make it appear out of thin air?! Absolute pair of pricks.” Karen laughed. “And I have to laugh about it, or I'll cry. This isn't the life I thought I'd be living, Diego, catering to the pretentious masses.” She looked back longingly at Maloch, who was still sleeping peacefully.

“No, me neither…” Diego replied softly, staring down into his glass.

She glanced back over at him, her mouth open as if to reply, but no sound came out. She looked away. There was an awkward pause then. Both of them felt it, and neither of them could look at one another. Karen fiddled with the buckle on her boot for a few moments, then cleared her throat loudly. “Huh! Maybe I should have asked you for help with the ice sculpture! With all your psyonics, I'm sure you could've magicked something together!”

“Oh, no I don't think I'd have been much help.” Diego said, forcing a laugh. “I doubt I could've built them a snowman. I've never been particularly tidy, with my psyonics or otherwise.”

“You don't say.” Karen murmured, eyeing his long straggly hair. Why Haven't I taken him to get it cut yet… And why do I kind of like it? She blinked then, and continued. “Actually, I was wondering if we could talk about that. Your psyonics, I mean?”

“Yeah..? Any reason why?” Diego shifted uncomfortably.

“Well… I mean, it's obvious that the information I got from the EAL was wrong. They said that you had strong psyonics, but enough to break a suppression collar? They're vetting process is clearly reliable.” She rolled her eyes, but leaned forward and smiled. “It hit me Diego, after that happened that, well, I don't know very much about you. And I'd like to get to know you!”

“Um, o-okay, sure.” He smiled faintly back at her. She seemed genuinely quite eager to talk to him, there was a curious gleam in her eyes that he felt bad about quenching. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, where you grew up, your family, what you were doing before you, erm, came to me.” Karen said quickly. “And your psyonics! I swear hardly anyone in the DA knows psyonics. Did you always have them?”

“I - Yes, I was always psyonically gifted.”

“When did you find out?” Karen asked eagerly.

“Oh I can't remember, I think I was around seven or eight? Long time ago now.” Diego answered dismissively,with a casual flick of his hand.

“How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?” Karen asked. “I don't know much about komodos, but I read online that you were an ageless species - oh, Is that weird, that I looked you up?” Karen laughed, a little embarrassed, and Diego laughed too.

“No, not at all. I would expect nothing less from something as prepared and organised as you.”

“Thank you.” Karen said, smiling shyly. “But that compliment isn't strong enough for you to dodge the question. Spill! How old are you?” She cocked her head as Diego hesitated.

“Oh, um, I’m not that old…”

“Can I guess?”

“Sure -”

“- One hundred?”

Diego chuckled. “No, not quite. Bit higher than that.”

“Higher?!” It was obvious in Karen's face that she'd expected her guess to be a bit outlandish, but outlandish the other way. “Two hundred?” She asked hesitantly.

Diego shook his head, still smiling, and pointed his finger upwards.

“Three - five hundred?! Surely you're not that old!” Karen gawped.

“Eh, that's close enough.”

“Holy… Wow, Diego.” Karen exhaled as she took in the man before her, seemingly in a new light now. “Five hundred years old… I can't even begin to comprehend that!” She laughed nervously, almost as though she was a little… intimidated by him now.

“I'm still the same guy, Karen, don't worry.” Diego laughed. “Age is just a number after all.”

“I… suppose.” She wasn't too sure why, but Karen suddenly blushed under his gaze. She glanced away, and tapped her nails gently against the side of her glass. “S-So, were you always a nomad? Who taught you psyonics?”

Diego hesitated for a few seconds, trying to figure out the best way to answer her question. He didn't want to tell her too much… but he didn't want to lie either. Finally he sighed.

“I was actually born in the DA. I had a great psyonic teacher here.”

“Really?! You were born in the DA?!” Karen looked shocked. “Wow. I thought these would be the simple, boring questions! Who knew that you were so full of secrets!”

“What can I say, I'm full of surprises.” Diego winked at her, and Karen blushed furiously. At her reaction, Diego's smile slowly faded.

What… What am I doing? I have a girlfriend! Two girlfriends!

“But I've been a nomad for most of my life.” Diego quickly continued. “Just travelling around, helping where I can, getting into trouble.” He laughed.

“By yourself?” Karen asked softly.

“Um, yeah! For the most part.”

There was a sudden longing in Karen's eyes. She looked over at Diego, intently, and opened her mouth as if to say something… and then changed her mind. She settled back into the shelter of the shade of the tree, trying to hide the red in her face. She decided to change the subject back to something seemingly safer. “So, growing up in the DA with psyonics… You must have been talk of the town!”

“Hah! You don’t know half of it.” Diego smiled, a little longingly, as he thought back. “A coralith komodo, and a psyonic user? I couldn’t go anywhere without somebody saying something. Although not all of it was good.”

“Why not?”

“Oh it’s… It’s just old DA politics, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Diego said quickly. “It didn’t help that I was the only one in my family that had psyonics either, when I wasn’t getting goggled at in the streets, I was getting ripped on by my brother.”

“Do you have many siblings?” Karen asked, smiling.

“Loads.” Diego laughed. “Growing up, there were eight of us, not including our parents, in a pretty small house. Me and my younger brother shared a bedroom, and I used to come home, arms full of scrolls and tomes of different spells and runes I had to learn. He’d give me such a death stare when I’d come home from school!

“Although, to be fair to him, the poor kid couldn't catch a break. I'd have to practise my psyonics at home too, and I'd be out in the garden, conjuring my first static bolts and shooting them at a metal target my dad had hammered into the lawn, and he'd glare down at me from the window, usually because he’d been grounded for the fourth time that week, usually for throwing tomatoes at me and asking if that makes him special too. We had to stop buying tomatoes. He was a proper little mischief maker, always telling tall stories about someone, usually me, trying to get me in trouble…” Diego stopped then, his mouth still open, ready to continue his story. But his heart ached in his chest. He glanced up at Karen who was watching him intently, but with concern too as she saw his demeanour shift. He waited for the fire, the anger to arise in his chest, which usually did when he thought about his family… But it didn't. Instead, staring into Karen's anxious eyes, he just felt… sad, and felt tears prick in the corners of his own. He glanced away and blinked them back.

Karen fidgeted slightly. She felt as though she’d overstepped, but wasn’t really sure how. She did know that she didn’t want to end their conversation like this, though. She could see how upset he'd suddenly gotten, and although she was still curious, she didn't ask anything else. Instead she said, softly, “You know, when I was a kid, I was jealous of my big brother too.”

Diego looked back at her, and she smiled gently. He smiled back too and, for a moment, the aching in his heart fluttered - just slightly - with something else.

Then, Karen stood up, stretched her legs and flapped out her wings. “Anyway, we should probably look at getting back. I'll have Fairylin on the phone to the police or something if I'm out too long! She’ll think you’ve kidnapped me or something.” She gestured for Diego to start packing up the picnic supplies, and as he quickly busied himself, Karen walked gently over to Maloch, and rubbed his snout. He yawned loudly, and purred deeply upon waking to see his rider.

“Oh, Diego. If there's still time later, would you mind popping out to town again? I've got some supplies that need picking up for our house party at the end of the week.”

“Is it this weekend? It feels like you've been planning that party forever.” Diego came over, grateful for the change in their conversation. He was still cautious of Maloch, but stood beside him with noticeably more confidence now, and placed the saddle bags down.

“You and me both!” Karen replied as she re-tightened Maloch's saddle, and then helped Diego re-secure the bags. “It'll probably be the most important event of my career. I'm hosting some of the biggest investors, directors and executives from across the divisions! If I get this right… Who knows? Maybe it'll be us moving away from Fairylin.” Karen grinned as Maloch crouched down, and she pulled herself up. “Ready to go?” She asked, hand held out, as before.

Diego swallowed, feeling a fresh wave of anxiety which was now coupled with a very heavy belly-full of food, as he realised he'd have to ride Maloch back to Karen's house. He did his best to push it down though, as he took Karen's hand.

“Always.”