Fear indeed ran through them both. Elidas could smell it in the air like an acrid tinge that tainted them. He looked at the dragon and gave a small grin. “Now Gargilian, behave. They are our guests and the next set of mortals to get back our birthright.”

The dragon, now known as Gargilian, narrowed its eyes and then nodded, lowering its great head towards Alda and Hadren.

“I smell something…” His muzzle came closer, and they both looked slightly panicked.

Hadren was calmer, though, reaching out to place a hand on Alda’s shoulder and stepping forward. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gargilian. I look forward to learning more about your kind and working with you.”

Alda felt comforted by the hand and peeked out from behind Hadren where the dragon was eyeing her in particular.

“I know that smell.” Turning its head sideways to look about the room. “There is one of my kin here. With her.” One great eye

coming down to stop in front of them, but it was clear he was focusing on Alda. “Tell me, mortal, where is it and how did you attain a youngling?”

With that Blue seemed to appear out of thin air beside her and startled her for a moment having thought it had left her when the shadows took them to Elidas. it seemed instead it had slinked into those shadows and masked itself with something Alda didn’t quite understand.

Blue cried out towards the larger dragon and Gargilian lowered its head, laying its great neck on the floor.

“Hello youngling. I see you haven’t learned to speak yet.” His tongue flicking out towards Blue who now stood in front of Alda with its wings unfurled and a stance that seemed to speak of being protective of them both.

She reached down and snatched him up into her arms. “Please don’t do that right now.” Whispering to Blue as it settled into her arms, eyeing the larger dragon. Despite it not being able to speak, she almost instinctively knew what he was feeling. It was odd, as if she had some connection to it that cropped up whenever it was close.

“I see.” Gargilian intoned. “He’s imprinted on you. I smell witch on both of you. Interesting.”

“Yes, a witch tasked me with keeping him safe.” Now that she knew this was a him, she didn’t have to refer to him as ‘it’. Holding him closer to which Blue almost purred and snuggled in closer. She wondered if he would ever get as big as Gargilian and the thought was intimidating. “Do you know what he is exactly?”

A thoughtful look came across the ancient, scaley face. “He is a wyvern, a distant cousin of my kind. They did always gravitate towards mortals. The last of their kind died out centuries ago, however, it seems now that not all of them did. If he’s this loyal to you already, it wouldn’t surprise me if you have a lifelong companion. Unfortunately, that will be a sad moment for him when you pass, as he is as long lived as I am.”

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And how old was that, exactly? She asked herself. “Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”

“Never ask a lady her age.” It quipped, and Elidas chuckled. “But if you must know, I am seven centuries old. Young, still for my kind.”

“Yet wise in years.” Elidas said with a tone that spoke of respect and deep-seated admiration.

“Well, I don’t know about that. But I think I know a few things.” Gargilian cracked a toothy, what she could only call, smile. She shivered upon seeing it and gripped Blue a little tighter. Her teeth were huge and very sharp looking, and her breath smelled fresh, of something charred and eaten half raw. She recognized that smell from the butchers.

Their conversation turned to the task at hand, Hadren asking all the questions where Alda faltered, knowing she wasn’t the main reason or person who should spearhead the entire ordeal. That didn’t stop her from being curious though, watching the three discuss things while she sat back and listened, holding Blue to her, who snuggled deeper into her, making cooing noises that were just too adorable.

“… It will require some fighting for sure.” Elidas commented, and Alda seemed to zone in on that, bringing her attention to them, where she had been zoning out for a few.

“Fighting?” The word came out high pitched. “I can’t fight though… I mean, I was never taught to fight.” She blushed and looked down for when Elidas pinned her with a look that seemed disconcerted by the fact she didn’t know how to fight.

“Yes. There will be fighting. If you can’t fight, just stay out of the way as best as possible. There may be some situations where you need to just hide until things are taken care of. The foes we go up against are clever and so you will need to be more so.” He came forward, hands clasped behind his back, and looked at her more closely, eyes shifting to Blue.

“He will be a liability unless you allow him to grow.” Reaching out to touch Blue, who hissed out of displeasure. Drawing his hand back, he smiled. “If you let him do that, he should be a good size by the time we even get to that point.”

“Let him grow?”

“Yes. Stop coddling him and give him a bit of independence. Wyvern whelps grow quickly unless you coddle them and then they stay small and childlike. They are known for hooking onto mortals and living long lives. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t grown yet at all.” A smirk then and again a glance towards Blue, who looked slightly disgruntled.

Alda looked down at Blue and pondered for a moment. “Should I just stop holding him and let him do his own thing, then?” Leaning down to detach Blue from her shoulder where he climbed to get away from Elidas. He gave a small sound of protest, but he settled on the floor near her feet and didn’t budge.

“It seems you have a faithful companion.” Gagliaon remarked, “Nurture that trust and you will for the rest of your life, no matter how short or long you live.” A serious face, if one could read the scaley visage, went with that statement and the large beast turned towards the shadows to lumber into them. “It was good to meet you mortals. Be careful.”

The great beast lumbered off into the shadows with less noise than one thought it should have made. Watching as it melted into them and eventually, with little more than the tip of its tail visible, vanished.