Now that Caldor didn't have to worry about being in constant mortal peril, he couldn't help but notice how attractive Idriseth—who he'd quickly began calling Idri in his head—was. Every time he looked at the dragon, it always hit him. The sharp, perfectly shaved jawline, the small, shiny scales that dotted the dragon's cheeks and nose, the deep, striking brown and green eyes, the high cheekbones, the fluffy-looking blond hair that Cal always got the urge to touch when he saw it....

To think just two days ago he'd thought the dragon was going to kill him with sadistic glee, and now Caldor's eyes always found Idri's lips whenever he got close enough, whether he wanted to or not. His life was turning out to be truly bizarre, but Cal didn't mind this kind of bizarre, at least.

The only problem was that Idri was staying suspicious and guarded, no matter what Caldor did. And Cal genuinely wanted to find out more about him, if simply because he was a dragon. That was incredibly interesting on its own. But despite Idri's silence, Cal was starting to pick up two unfortunate facts about him.

One—he was clearly very distraught about losing that spellbook. Every time Idri thought Cal wasn't looking, his expression turned just as miserable as before, if not more so. The dragon always covered it up immediately, but it was impossible to unsee. Of course, maybe Idri was distraught over something else, but Caldor was sure losing the spellbook didn't help at all.

And two—Idri was lonely. Despite how slow Idri was to share anything about himself, he seemed to gravitate towards Caldor's presence at all times, and Cal doubted it was due to his amazing charisma, or great hair.

Idri had even gone as far as to actively search for him once when Cal had gone off to explore the fort now that he could. When Caldor had spotted Idri watching him, the dragon had pretended he'd simply followed him to make sure Caldor wasn't trying to steal anything—which had stung a little, but it was par for the course by now—but Caldor wasn't buying it. He had seen the embarrassment in Idri's eyes when he'd caught him, so clearly it had been a lie.

Caldor didn't mind keeping Idri company, but it did make him sad to think about, especially since the dragon was not letting him get close, and therefore not letting Caldor try to make him feel better. Cal wondered if that was just because he'd stolen from him, or if this was a general thing with Idri and he treated everyone this way. Cal hadn't tried asking, though, knowing he would either not get an answer, or it would make things worse.

They were currently sitting in one of the rooms opposite the library, of which Idri apparently had several, but the one next to his bedroom contained his favorite books. It sort of made Cal wish he could read. Kyra had offered to teach him many times, but he'd always refused because he'd never thought it would be useful.

Most of his fellow thieves couldn't read either, and if they needed to leave a written message, they had their own symbols to use so no one else could read them, anyway. But being able to read now would give him something else to do other than think and eat, which would be useful.

He was currently doing both, eating some smoked ribs Idri had given him that were much more delicious than they had any right to be. The taste was something right between sweet and savory that Cal didn't think he'd tasted before. He would have to ask Idri for the recipe later.

Looking up from his meal, he risked a glance at the dragon. Immediately he had to resist the urge to smile when he saw the adorable look of utter concentration on Idri's face as he read yet another book. Cal wasn't entirely sure, but he thought the dragon read abnormally fast, at least from what he'd seen so far. He didn't have enough experience with it to know if it was impressive or not, though.

But gods, the rest of him sure was impressive. Among other things, Caldor longed to run his fingers over the metallic-looking wings. Had Idri had scales like this all over his body when he'd attacked Caldor? Cal could barely remember with how terrifying the experience had been, but now that Cal knew Idri wasn't going to hurt him, he wouldn't mind seeing his true form again. It would be incredibly strange to see it, but he couldn't help but wonder about it.

"I am open to lending you a book," Idri informed him all of sudden, his eyes suddenly locked with Cal's. Caldor managed not to flinch. He was getting better at hiding his surprise when Idri did something like this, but he was still not very good at predicting when Idri would do it. "I do not mind. Assuming that—"

"—I don't steal them, yeah," Caldor finished with annoyance, unable to stop himself. It was a fair comment every time Idri made it, but it was getting a bit tiring. But instead of getting annoyed, the dragon just frowned in confusion.

"No. Assuming that you want one. And that you won't eat while reading."

Caldor felt his cheeks heat up. The first time he'd decided to snark at Idri, and it had been undeserved. Dammit. "Oh. Um, well, I appreciate the offer, but I can't read."

If Idri had been confused before, now he looked like his brain had stopped doing its job for a moment. He blinked, frowning as he stared down at his book before looking up at Caldor again. It was sort of hilarious, but it did make Cal feel self-conscious.

"You...cannot read?"

Caldor shrugged. "Most people can't."

Once more Idri paused for a moment. Cal could practically feel him trying to think and understand this. "But...how is that possible?"

Cal had never thought to question this. It was just a normal fact of life. But clearly not to a dragon, seeing as how difficult a time Idri seemed to be having with this concept. "Nobles have teachers to teach them. Us regular folks don't. And we don't need it to live, so...."

Idri scoffed, his mouth forming an offended-looking frown. Cal was starting to think that this was a personal topic to him. "That is absolutely unacceptable. Reading is one of the great joys of life."

Cal almost had to laugh. This was about the most outrage he'd heard the dragon express so far, and it was due to being offended at the idea of someone not being able to read. He probably shouldn't try to convince the dragon he didn't care much about it, though, given how seriously he seemed to be taking it.

So instead, he decided to steer the conversation in a completely different direction. "You don't go outside much, do you?"

He had been only teasing, of course, but Caldor immediately regretted saying it when he saw Idri's face fall. The dragon immediately hid it, putting on a mask of neutrality, though he was now keeping his eyes firmly trained on his book.

"Not as much as I would like," Idri replied, his lips forming a small but very noticeable grimace. "Humans find my presence...discomforting."

Yes, Caldor could see why that would be, what with the horns and wings. But Idri really wasn't very threatening once a person got over the fact that he was a dragon and had access to magic. Some people wouldn't accept him, sure, but that didn't mean a lot of them wouldn't get used to the dragon once they got to know him a bit.

Caldor had gotten used to him. A bit too much, frankly, when he thought about it.

Unable to keep looking at Idri sitting there, shifting his wings awkwardly, Caldor knew he had to say something to cheer him up. He almost made a joke about him not finding Idri's presence that uncomfortable, but after what had happened just now, being as direct as possible was probably for the best.

"Well, I like you."

It was true enough, though he found himself questioning just why that was. He'd never been one to shy away from social interaction, but Cal couldn't remember the last time he'd got on so well with someone so quickly. And it was even stranger considering they'd not spoken that much, or in general done much yet.

For some reason, Caldor just enjoyed being around Idri, if only to stare at those beautiful wings and horns. It always helped him distract himself from some of his...less positive thoughts, as well.

He frowned as he realized Idri was once again looking at him as if he couldn't understand anything at all. Was it really that shocking?

"I see."

Caldor almost burst out laughing at the dry, suspicious tone. Though it wasn't really funny—it was mostly just frustrating. He hadn't given the dragon a good first impression to say the least, sure, but he'd done nothing since then.

Cal rejected that thought immediately. Idri had a right to be suspicious for however long he wanted to be, and Caldor should be a bit less impatient for once.

"If you want to be around people, you could visit a nearby town, right? I could go with you if you want and—"

"No!" the dragon cut in, his eyes wide. Caldor frowned, not sure what to think of that reaction, but Idri spoke before he could ask what was wrong. "I...I can't. They wouldn't accept me. Not like this."

Cal wasn't sure what the dragon was referring to exactly, but he assumed this was about his non-human features. And sure, originally, they'd almost sent Caldor running when he'd seen them, but that wasn't because of the scales and wings themselves. It was more about what he'd thought they represented, namely oncoming death and destruction.

"Have you tried talking to people, or are you just assuming?"

"I tried," Idri replied, a tiny tremor in his voice, firmly staring down at his book.

Well, that was a lie. But why was the dragon lying? Caldor felt like he was missing something obvious, but he wouldn't get to the truth by asking. And he couldn't pressure Idri into giving him an answer. Even discounting the fact that he was a powerful dragon who Cal couldn't really force to tell the truth, Caldor would just feel guilty for trying to do it.

Still, he wasn't ready to drop this. Idri could use some more company.

"How many humans have you met, exactly?"

Idri locked eyes with him for a second before ducking his gaze again. "...some." Then he sighed, closing the book with a loud thud and running his hand over the worn leather cover.

"You may have noticed there are not many dragons in this land, anymore," Idri said tiredly, looking at Caldor with sadness in his eyes. "If I draw attention to myself, there will be even fewer of us."

It took Caldor a second to figure out what Idri was trying to say. He wanted to argue that Idri was powerful and that he could just fly away if he wanted to, but Augerill had an entire army with a lot of archers. If the lord truly wanted to, he would probably be able to kill Idri. And the dragon had no doubt already long since put that together as well.

"But wait, didn't grabbing me draw attention to you?"

Idri sighed again, scratching the back of his head. "Unfortunately. But I thought you had the book still or at least had a way to get it. I thought it was worth the risk."

Caldor groaned, rubbing his eyes. So Idri had also risked his life to try to get back what was rightfully his. If anything, that just made this worse. This was exactly why Cal only stole from the rich or the irritating—anyone else was usually just minding their own business and trying to live out their lives in peace. Though it was still hard to believe that a dragon was a part of that group when Caldor thought about it.

"You don't happen to have another spellbook laying around here, huh?"

Caldor felt rightfully stupid for even asking that, and he expected Idri to throw a book at him for it. But instead, the dragon seemed to treat the question completely seriously as sadness once again appeared in his eyes. Though this time there was a spark of anger as well.

"No," he replied. "Without it, I can't...." He huffed as he trailed off, shaking his head. "No matter. At least this incident showed me how foolish I was to stop locking the doors."

Right, Caldor hadn't even thought to question why that had been the case when the dragon knew how to lock doors with magic. Although there were more doors here than Caldor could imagine. It would probably get annoying quickly, so he understood somewhat.

"Well, um, Augerill hadn't sent his army over here yet. That's something, right?" Caldor said, feeling very awkward suddenly. He wanted to apologize yet again, but he'd already done it so many times it felt silly at this point. Especially because Idri didn't seem to blame him at all.

Idri said nothing, only giving a small nod as he folded his arms in front of him on the table. He still looked miserable, but he also seemed more resigned to his fate now. And seeing that was even worse. It made Caldor's stomach twist. He wondered if this was just how Idri usually was, or if it was because of his spellbook being stolen. Cal certainly hoped it wasn't just the latter, seeing as that was entirely his fault, but he knew that without a doubt it played a part.

He needed to raise the dragon's spirits somehow. And almost immediately he thought of something.

"Here's an idea—you said you can't go visit humans." Idri sadly shook his head, keeping his gaze down before Cal could even finish. "But that doesn't mean you can't go outside."

Idri's vibrant eyes snapped to Caldor's immediately, a sort of barely hidden concern in them. He really didn't go out much, did he? But Cal was sure it would help. Whenever Caldor got angry or upset, a walk usually helped. Usually....

"I've hunted enough to have enough meat for the rest of the month," Idri argued, frowning in confusion. "Why would I go outside for no reason?"

"Just trust me."

Caldor had said that without thinking, only using it as a barely meaningful phrase, but now Idri was looking at him with suspicion again, clearly taking this as a literal request.

Cal could barely breathe as the dragon continued staring at him for a moment longer. But then Idri gave a nod. He still seemed guarded and was now avoiding Caldor's eyes again, but Cal would take it. "I suppose there is no harm in it as long as we don't go too far."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Cal wanted to joke that he was too lazy to do that, anyway, but Idri would probably turn it into a discussion on why Caldor wanted to go outside in the first place if he claimed to be lazy.

Something about that hypothetical situation was very charming, though.

"Great. Let's go, then!"

Caldor had wanted to take the lead, but he was still not good at navigating the large fort, and so he ended up following the dragon through the maze of corridors, definitely not staring at a certain part of Idri's body. Not that Cal could see that much through the black, layered robes the dragon wore, but he could see enough, and the thoughts he was getting from that were inappropriate right now, to say the least.

Sure, Cal wanted to make Idri feel better, but not like that. At least not unless Idri wanted him to. The dragon had so far given no indication to confirm that, but then he'd also not given Cal much indication in general. Idri just seemed either confused or suspicious of him at all times, and Caldor wasn't sure what to think of either.

But something about Idri drew Caldor to him, and it wasn't just his attraction. If Idri wanted to be friends and only friends, Cal would happily take it. There was just something magnetic about his personality that made Caldor enjoy the time spent with the dragon, even if they just sat around doing nothing.

Caldor sighed, his heart suddenly heavy. It was moments like this when he always had to stop and question just what he was doing here. He felt like he should be doing something about what had happened to his guild but...what was he supposed to be doing? Going out to try and find out if anyone from the guild survived was probably a fool's errand, both because he knew all of his fellow thieves could hide well, and also because if anyone saw him, he was risking death.

No, Cal had to stay out of sight for a good while longer at least, and as long as Idri would have him, this fort was about the easiest way to do that.

Caldor breathed in deeply as they stepped outside, the fresh air immediately making him feel somewhat rejuvenated. They were now in the courtyard, which was a place Caldor hadn't been to yet, and so a few things immediately stood out to him.

The first was the long vines of ivy growing all over the walls, in several places covering them completely like some sort of leafy blanket.

Another thing was the overgrown weeds growing all over the place, some almost as tall as him, while others slithering around on the ground and walls. He had already seen this place from above, but like this, during the day, it looked even less kept. But the dragon likely didn't care about the courtyard enough to cut some of this down, or perhaps burn it down with whatever fire breath of he had.

But then Cal noticed something else, and it had to be the strangest thing here—there were a few rows of rich, brown soil in the corner on his right. And much more shockingly, what seemed to be vegetables growing in that soil.

"You garden?" It came out more like a shocked exclamation rather than the polite question Caldor had intended, but Idri didn't seem to mind as he turned to him, a small smile on his face.

Had Cal seen him smile before? If he had, then definitely not like this, with how completely disarmed he was by how beautiful it made Idri look. Between that, the way the dragon's eyes shone in the sunlight, and how the wind gently ruffled his hair, Caldor felt like Idri wasn't even real with how stunning he was.

"I own a few human cookbooks, and most of the recipes seem to require vegetables. So this is my first attempt at growing some."

Cal blinked, trying to get a handle on himself. Idri was clearly expecting a reply, with the way he was now shily looking off to the side, and Caldor was more than happy to deliver. He just needed to pull himself together.

"Yeah, we're obsessed with that stuff," he joked, drawing a curious look from Idri. "I do love a good stew. I could help you make one if you ever want to. I have some practice."

Idri blinked at him and.... Were the tips of his pointy ears turning red?

"That...would be appreciated. The books do not offer much in terms of detailed instructions."

A dragon who liked cooking. That was far too cute a concept for Caldor to consider as ridiculous, even though it definitely was. He supposed he should have known after eating some of the food Idri had given him, though.

"Sure thing."

The dragon once again narrowed his eyes at him, but he said nothing as he began heading towards the large gate opposite them, easily walking through the weeds. Apparently, it didn't bother him that he might step on a thorn or sharp rock with his bare feet. Did dragons not wear shoes as a rule? Cal didn't think he'd ever seen Idri wear any.

Still, Caldor kept his mouth shut and followed, trying not to trip over a ropy vine.

Idri unlocked a smaller door that was a part of the large gate just as Caldor was catching up with him. The dragon once again gave him a look of suspicion as he arrived, but since it happened so often, Caldor barely even noticed. At least not until the dragon spoke.

"Why are you doing this?"

Cal frowned, looking down at himself automatically as if to confirm for himself that he was indeed just standing there and not doing anything else. "Doing what?"

"What do you want to gain from being here?"

Oh. Was that what Idri was thinking about whenever he was giving Caldor that look? Because it happened a lot. Cal supposed he should have figured that out by now, but the dragon hadn't brought it up since Caldor had gotten here.

But even though he deserved that suspicion, it did hurt to hear. Sure, Cal hadn't been here very long, but aside from stealing that spellbook to save his life, he'd done nothing dishonorable. Then again, Idri seemed suspicious of and worried about anything and everything. Maybe it wasn't just Caldor.

"Nothing?" Caldor replied, sounding as confused as he felt. Was Idri implying he wanted him to get out? "I'll leave if you want me to."

Idri's face softened as he dropped his gaze and shook his head. "I just don't understand." He looked up again, staring Caldor right in the eye with his usual intensity. "At first I assumed you sought to kill me—not that you would succeed—but since you haven't attempted to do so yet, clearly that is not it."

"Kill you?!" Caldor practically yelled, his eyebrows flying up. "What? Why would I do that?"

"Perhaps so you can take my hoard."

Caldor shook his head. "I didn't even know you had gold here." Though Cal couldn't say he was surprised by the idea. The fort certainly wasn't decorated modestly.

Idri studied him silently, his gaze cold and distant. But as ever, there was something vulnerable right beneath the surface. He really must have lived alone for a very long time to be this paranoid about strangers being interested in him. Caldor couldn't help but pity the dragon, even though he was still feeling sort of defensive over Idri thinking the worst of him.

"Of course I have a hoard. I'm a dragon, after all," Idri said in such a dejected and resigned tone of voice that it took Caldor aback. There seemed to be another, completely different issue hiding behind those words, but it would have to go unexplored for now as Cal could only focus on one thing at a time.

"Well, I don't plan on stealing from you. Or hurting you," he said firmly, narrowing his eyes. He felt angry all of a sudden, but he wasn't sure at who or what. "I just like being around you. Is that so hard to believe?"

Idri sighed, hugging himself with his wings as his gaze softened. "You are a very strange human."

Caldor couldn't help but grin at that. He wasn't even sure why, but the dry tone the dragon tended to use just always made him want to laugh.

He wished he'd met Idri under better circumstances, but then he never went outside of the city, and he would find the idea of meeting a dragon horrifying, so realistically there would be no other circumstances they would meet.

But the point was that Cal hated that he was giving Idri's fears validation. And since they'd met because Caldor had stolen from him, that wasn't a great way to show Idri that Cal could be trusted.

Idri sighed once again, his shoulders and wings both sinking as he did. "I...I want to believe you." He looked off to the side, the tips of his ears once again reddening. Caldor resisted the urge to smile when he saw that. "I quite like the company."

This time Cal did smile at him, unable not to. He was almost surprised at how relieved it made him feel to get a confirmation that his presence was pleasant to the dragon to at least some extent. He had wondered about it.

"But I am the last living member of my clan. If I die...." Idri shook his head. "I don't think a human can understand. Save to say I need to continue living as long as possible."

Caldor felt his heart clench painfully. He might not understand the intricacies of dragon society, but a clan sounded damned close to a family. And apparently, Idri's entire clan was dead. In hindsight, Caldor really should have figured out from when Idri had mentioned that most local dragons were dead, but he somehow hadn't.

Cal had never known his biological family, but he had just lost the closest thing he'd had to one, so he understood and related to those feelings perfectly. And the fact that Idri had gone through the same thing was more than a little upsetting.

"I'm sorry. For what it's worth." Caldor patted the dragon's shoulder by instinct, realizing only a second later that this was the first time he'd touched Idri in any way. They both stood there, frozen, staring into each other's eyes in surprise before Caldor managed to yank his hand away and scratch the back of his neck with it in embarrassment.

"No need. Most of them deserved it for killing humans for no reason," Idri replied in a surprisingly cold tone. But Caldor knew this move well, as he had both used it and seen it used many times before. Turning sadness caused by pain into resentment was usually a bad idea, though.

"That doesn't mean you don't miss them."

Idri said nothing, preferring to stare down at the grassy ground for a moment before turning to the door and pushing it open. He said nothing as he walked out, keeping his head down as he did.

Now it was Caldor's turn to sigh. Clearly Idri didn't want to keep talking about this, but Cal now had a compulsive need to help him. They would hopefully get a chance to continue the conversation later, though.

Caldor blinked rapidly as he followed the dragon, the sun's rays blinding him for a moment. It must have been later than he'd thought, with the sun slowly making its way to the horizon already. Still, it was warm and there should still be sunlight for at least a couple of hours, so that was no problem.

He smiled when he saw Idri stretch out his wings in the sun, the scaled appendages glinting in the light like precious jewels. They almost looked like they were glowing as light bounced around each scale and shone through the membranes between the wing bones.

Once again Caldor yearned to touch the wings, but with what had just happened, he doubted Idri would appreciate it. Especially not given that Idri had just told Cal he had been expecting to try to kill him. That was still a very difficult fact to swallow, but Caldor would try to accept it.

He would have to keep a distance for now, he supposed, and just enjoy the fact that Idri seemed to like him as well. Maybe not in the same way Caldor liked Idri, but he would take what he could get.

"So, do you often fly around here hunting deer?" he asked as he caught up with the dragon. He had been half-joking, but of course as usual Idri seemed to take it with the utmost seriousness as he shook his head.

"I can't afford to show my true form," he said glumly, drawing his wings close to his body, almost as if using them as a blanket against the somewhat chilly wind. "In a way, I'm grateful for the excuse to fly earlier. I miss it."

Caldor grimaced, wanting to hug the dragon to comfort him, but he resisted, knowing it would definitely not have the desired effect. "Those wings you have right now don't let you fly?"

Idri paused in his walk as he stretched one wing in front of himself, scowling at it with annoyance. "Useless things. I can't make them large enough to carry me, and I can't get rid of them."

Caldor wondered how that worked, but he was guessing the explanation was something to do with magic, and he wouldn't understand it anyway. And so instead he decided to use this opportunity to give Idri a much-deserved compliment.

"Well, I like them."

Idri frowned at him before looking back at the wing he was still holding in front of himself. "Why?"

"They're beautiful," Cal replied, shrugging. There was no better way of putting it than he could think of.

But as he stared at the wing, he felt a sort of compulsion to touch them overtake him. Before he could stop himself, he was reaching out towards the outstretched wing, his fingertips brushing over the smooth, metallic scales. When he realized what he'd done, Caldor immediately froze, his hand stuck where it was as he stared right into Idri's surprised eyes, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them daring to even blink. But then, a few moments later, Idri pressed the wing back into Caldor's touch. It was subtle, almost impossible to notice, but Cal couldn't miss it.

Finally feeling like he could breathe again, he gingerly ran his finger over one of the longer scales, surprised that it wasn't cool to the touch. It wasn't warm exactly, but given its metallic look, Caldor had automatically been assuming the wing would be cold.

He couldn't help but smile in awe as Idri stretched the wing out towards him. Each scale glistened as he did, sunlight making them look a shade brighter. They looked like they were made of actual gold.

"No one has ever touched my wings," Idri commented in a shockingly neutral way for what he'd said. He had one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows quirked up in interest, though, and seemed to enjoy it enough not to put the wing away, which reassured Caldor that he wasn't grossly overstepping Idri's boundaries.

"Dragons don't do that a lot?" Caldor asked, begrudging pulling his hand away. The pose Idri was keeping it in mustn't have been very comfortable, and he wouldn't force him to stay in it. Still, Cal couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment when Idri folded the wing, pressing it against his back right next to the other one.

"No," he replied, starting to walk again at a slow pace. There was a grove of trees nearby, breaking the unity of the grassy planes that were all around the fort. Caldor was assuming Idri was heading there. "Touching a dragon's wing is reserved for...someone with absolute trust. A damaged wing means a grounded, and therefore useless dragon."

"You're not useless," Caldor immediately argued before considering anything else that had been said. He hadn't even realized he might have read too much into what the dragon had said, but it was too late now.

"I did not—" Idri cut himself off with a huff and kept walking in silence. So, did that mean Caldor had been right to jump to that conclusion? He certainly hoped that wasn't the case, as the idea of Idri thinking this way made him more than a little upset.

They walked in silence to the trees where Idri sat down in the grass, leaning back against one of the thick trunks that were being bathed by sunlight. Caldor resisted the urge to touch his wings again as Idri stretched them out, letting them rest in the grass at his sides.

"I still don't understand why you are so eager to stay here. Does your family not miss you?" he suddenly asked as Caldor sat down opposite him, making the human flinch. Normally he would be glad that the dragon was taking an interest in him, but this was not something Cal wanted to talk about much.

"They're dead. As far as I know," he replied, deciding to just get it out there. And now this was true of both his original family and of the thieves' guild. Caldor shook his head. Hopefully, dragon conventions concerning what was appropriate to talk about didn't differ too much from human ones when it came to this sort of thing.

"I see," Idri responded, his voice sad as he lowered his gaze. "Is that why you are a thief?"

There was not a hint of judgment in the dragon's tone, and yet Caldor couldn't help but feel like he had to defend himself. "How do you even know that's what I do? I never said so."

"If Augerill is in any way similar to his mother, he would not send an amateur," Idri replied easily, apparently completely certain he was right. There was a moment of silence between them before Idri spoke again. "I do not seek to judge you. I simply wish to understand this angle of human society."

Cal couldn't help but chuckle at that. Idri sounded so sincere about it, as if he was a scholar, studying a new, strange species. Though Caldor supposed that would be exactly what humans were to Idri.

"Well, I'm not sure I'll be much help there," Cal admitted, sighing. He didn't want to talk about this, and yet he was a little saddened that he would have to disappoint Idri. "I mostly just mind my own business and try not to get caught."

He wondered if instead he should have said that he used to do those things. There was no way he could ever return to his old life, even if by some miracle Augerill pardoned him completely, and let him go back to Redreach. There was just nothing to return to.

He supposed he could just find a new city or town to continue his business, but he wasn't even sure he could go back to stealing on his own. He much preferred the organized way his guild had done things. He would just be told where to go and what to steal, and then someone else would handle the selling, and as a result, everyone got a little bit richer.

"I assume you got caught, then?"

Caldor would have gotten annoyed with the dragon for that, if not for Idri's interested tone. He was looking at Cal with such a pure sort of curiosity that it was impossible to get irritated with him. He clearly didn't mean anything by it.

Though now that Caldor thought about it, it was strange to have someone take interest in him like this. Usually, people tuned him out. Not that he'd ever let that stop him from talking, but he did realize it.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I don't usually take the time to do so, but it is very pleasant," Idri said with a content sigh before Caldor could reply to his question, completely changing the topic. "Though I still wonder if you will lead me into a trap at any point today."

Caldor tried not to wince. At least Idri was being honest, he supposed, though it kind of hurt to hear him talk like this. Cal was a thief, sure, but he did have some honor. Traps were not his style, even ignoring the fact that he had no interest in betraying Idri.

"You are very paranoid."

The corners of Idri's mouth quirked up in a somewhat sad smile. "I suppose it may seem that way to a human."

Caldor was fairly certain this would be paranoid according to more than just humans, but he decided not to argue. He knew he wouldn't win.

"Well, there is no trap. Or trick."

Idri's smile turned more genuine, though it was just as subtle as before, as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree a bit more. Cal's eyes immediately found Idri's lips, dark pink in the sunlight, a stark contrast with the golden scales dotting his cheeks.

At that moment Caldor was almost overcome with the urge to kiss him, but he didn't dare move. Even with his heart beating erratically, Cal just sat there, silently taking in the entirety of Idri without restraint now that he knew the dragon wasn't looking.

He let himself imagine what it would be like to press his lips against Idri's. To caress his cheek. To—

No, this was all he would allow himself, and he wouldn't go further. There was a very strong possibility Idri would want nothing like this with him, and Caldor was more than ready to accept that. And yet he couldn't help but daydream until he knew for certain. He wasn't sure how to bring this up and get a straightforward answer, though, seeing as all conversations with Idri tended to be on the difficult side.

Caldor sighed to himself as he ran his eyes over the dragon's wings. He supposed he would have to wait and see.