Idriseth landed near the forest he had been looking for, a heaviness settling in his chest. He knew that Caldor would want an explanation and that he would have questions. And while Idriseth would like to indulge his mate, the sooner they left the better.

It would upset Caldor, but that would be something Idriseth would have to make up for later. It was too dangerous to stay here for long.

"Will you please tell me what we're doing here?"

Idriseth looked over at his mate as he changed his form, shrinking down to Caldor's height. It was always so disorienting, going from having four legs to two due to rarely doing it over the last few decades, but the dragon was getting better at it.

"What I am doing here," Idriseth corrected him gently, taking his robes from Caldor when he offered them to him. Zarleth was a dragon—she was much more likely to be bothered by Idriseth's mostly human form than his nakedness—but the dragon would admit that wearing a layer of clothing did make him feel more protected, as ridiculous as that was.

Humans and their soft, delicate skin.... How they got around their everyday lives had always been beyond him, and surprisingly taking Caldor as his mate had not helped him understand it better, either. But knowing how easily even his somewhat human skin could be cut through, Idriseth couldn't help but worry about Caldor at all times.

That was why he'd brought him with him in the first place.

"All right," Caldor said, folding his arms over his chest in annoyance. Idriseth didn't like that look being directed at him. "What are you doing here? Who's Sarleth?"

"Zarleth," Idriseth corrected him immediately as he slowly got dressed, earning an eye roll from Caldor as the man put the spell book under his arm. "She is skilled at both magic and alchemy. I need to acquire something from her to cast my spell."

"Right, so why didn't you just tell me that earlier?"

Idriseth avoided his mate's suspicious eyes. Sometimes he wished Caldor wasn't quite as smart as he was. Of course, the dragon was thrilled at his mate's intellect—particularly how easily Caldor seemed to sometimes solve problems Idriseth would have agonized over—but it made it difficult to hide anything from the human.

"She is a dragon. I realize you do not quite know what that implies," Idriseth said with a sigh, finally managing to get both of his wings through the slits in the back of his robes. "My kind are not...friendly. Particularly to humans."

Caldor frowned, tilting his head. "Right...?"

Idriseth lowered his gaze as he finished tying his robes. "I am concerned she may kill you on sight. Or worse. Particularly because of my claim on you."

Apparently not very bothered by this, Caldor's frown simply deepened. At least he didn't seem as annoyed anymore, but he did look very confused by what Idriseth was saying.

"So why not just leave me behind somewhere until you get what you need from her?"

Idriseth sighed once again. If only he could have done that.... "I will not risk leaving you alone anywhere. If something happened, and I didn't get back to you in time...."

For some incomprehensible reason, Caldor laughed. As if this was something to laugh about. In general, the human seemed very unbothered by his own mortality and vulnerability, and Idriseth had no idea how he managed that. It was very worrying.

"Idri, I'm not just going to drop dead if you're not around for a few hours," Caldor said, making Idriseth shake his head. In general, he didn't mind how much his mate tended to joke around, but this was not a subject to find humor in.

"You can't know that."

"I've been doing fine for twenty-eight years," Caldor replied, raising an eyebrow, an amused smirk still on his face. How was he not understanding the danger despite Idriseth spelling it out? Perhaps he thought all dragons were as neutral as Idriseth, and that he was simply exaggerating.

Idriseth sighed quietly. This was his fault for not explaining anything to Caldor, of course, but he hadn't thought he would need to explain. Once he had his human disguise, there would be no need to worry about dealing with other members of his kind.

"It is my duty as your mate to protect you," Idriseth finally said, settling on that instead of a lengthy, unnecessary explanation that might not convince Caldor anyway.

"I'll be fine," Caldor assured him, waving his hand dismissively. There was an unmissable look of irritation in his eyes still, though. Idriseth really didn't like seeing that, especially because he was the cause of it. Idriseth didn't want his mate to be angry with him, but he supposed it was too late for that. "I can just stay out here until you're done with this dragon lady."

The dragon's eyes widened in alarm. "In an open field where you can be seen for miles? Hardly."

"So instead, I hide in the forest, where the chances of getting ambushed are much higher?"

Idriseth huffed. He realized none of this was ideal, but it was by far the better option. The forest would offer many more opportunities to hide, and that was the important part. Caldor wouldn't be able to fight a dragon in any situation, so knowing ahead of time about an incoming attack would be fairly useless to him.

"Wait, are you implying there might be more dragons here than Zarleth?" Caldor spoke again, finally looking at least somewhat concerned. Idriseth grimaced. He hadn't meant to share that worry with Caldor, especially since it was a very real possibility.

Zarleth wasn't known for being very popular, but all dragons tended to gravitate towards each other and live near each other, and he did know she had a mate, at the very least. It was entirely possible that Zarleth would be here alone at the moment, but there was also the danger that she wasn't.

Hopefully, Idriseth would be done with this quickly enough not to put Caldor in unnecessary peril.

"Well, either way, it will be fine," Caldor said before Idriseth could answer his previous question, putting a hand on the dragon's shoulder. His mate looked much less relaxed now, though. "I know how to sneak around, remember?"

Idriseth nodded. Of course, he knew that. He had no doubts that Caldor knew how to stay hidden and quiet, but what worked on humans might not work against a dragon as their sense of smell was much better. But as long as his mate stayed far away, his scent shouldn't be strong enough in the dense forest for anyone to notice.

Hopefully.

"I am certain it will be okay," Idriseth assured him, though he wasn't certain how comforting his words were.

Caldor patted his shoulder, smiling again anyway, though apprehension was still in his eyes. As much as Idriseth had wanted him to take this seriously, seeing his mate afraid was much worse. Caldor was usually very easy-going and didn't take many things seriously, which only made Idriseth feel more like he was failing at his duties.

He'd never had a mate before, so he was under constant self-inflicted pressure to get it right, and so far, he wasn't sure he was doing a good job of it. But he would do better. He had to.

"Right. So, shall we go and get this over with, then?" Caldor suggested, grabbing Idriseth's hand. The dragon stared down at their interlocked fingers, frowning. Oh yes, this was a human custom as well, wasn't it? He had read about this during his ever-ongoing research.

A smile tugged on his lips. He hadn't fully understood then, but now he was fairly certain he did to at least some extent. It did feel nice, though he wasn't sure why exactly.

In hindsight, it was surprising Caldor hadn't done it before, but then Idriseth hadn't spent much time in this form over the last few days and therefore had had no hands to hold.

"Yes, the sooner we leave, the better," Idriseth said, looking up at the dark forest before them. The sun was already setting, the trees casting long shadows, but there was still more than enough light to see everything clearly. Hopefully, he would manage to deal with Zarleth before that changed.

They proceeded to make their way to the forest as Idri subtly patted the pocket of his robes. As his fingers came in contact with the hard metal of the necklace, he both felt relieved to know he still had it and disgusted at the thought of trading it off.

The necklace was a token of his clan, made specifically for him before his hatching. Something he was supposed to wear with pride and honor. But he didn't wear it, partly because it was too large and its chain too long to wear comfortably in this form, but mostly because he'd never felt he had the right to show which clan he belonged to. If anything, it would only bring shame to it. But he'd always kept it close to him.

And now he would hand it over to Zarleth—someone who was from a completely different clan. Someone whose only chance of acquiring a clan token other than her own should be by killing another dragon in fair combat. But he possessed nothing more valuable to give to her, and he needed a transmutation stone. He very well knew that Zarleth wouldn't want anything from his clan's hoard, even if Idriseth could bear to give any of it away.

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At least she wouldn't be able to use the token to join his clan, though, because he was all that was left of it.

When they entered the forest, Idriseth sniffed the air, trying to pick up on a dragon's scent. He hadn't been here for many years, and so he wasn't entirely certain which way to go.

"Do you actually use your nose to find your way around?" Caldor asked him. Idriseth expected him to look amused, based on the tone he'd used, but his mate seemed more fascinated than anything.

"Yes. To some extent." Idriseth turned his head away from his mate as the scent of another dragon suddenly hit his nose. "This way."

He led Caldor deeper into the forest until Zarleth's scent got strong enough that Idriseth felt it would be too dangerous for Caldor to go any farther.

"Hide somewhere around here and wait for me. I shall not be long."

Caldor nodded, looking around in an almost careless way. Idriseth wanted to sigh. He truly hoped his mate wasn't taking this too lightly. But hopefully, it would only take a moment to make the trade, and then they would be able to leave.

"All right." Caldor nodded, begrudgingly letting go of Idriseth's hand. "Good luck, Idri."

Idriseth almost asked what luck had to do with this when he realized that it was simply a human saying. Even though he'd said nothing, he felt a slight sense of embarrassment settle within him. He clearly needed to acquire and read even more literature about human society.

"I will be back soon," Idriseth repeated. He seemed to be having a difficult time leaving Caldor alone. They'd been together for several days without pause, and it felt strange to separate.

Caldor didn't seem to struggle with this as much, as he gave Idriseth a smile and a wave before starting to search around for a hiding spot. Idriseth sighed, nodding to himself. Right, he needed to get going.

It didn't take long to reach Zarleth's shack, and while Idriseth was glad for that as it meant he would be able to return to Caldor soon, he couldn't help but feel annoyed about what he was going to have to deal with.

Idriseth ran his eyes over the weathered, wooden walls of the shack, and the ivy growing over them, going up to the roof and covering more than half of it. It was just a glamor, of course, with the intention of convincing humans that it was simply an abandoned structure. It was a very convincing illusion, but Idriseth knew that was all it was since he'd been here before. Not to mention that no matter how impressive the glamor was, no dragon would settle for living in these conditions. And very few humans, if any, Idriseth imagined.

Heaving another sigh, he walked over to the door and knocking on it before he could give himself more time to overthink. The door was the only feature that seemed out of place, as it was tall enough that it would comfortably allow a dragon in their erzah form to pass through, which made it almost comically large for Idriseth's current body.

He shook his head. He couldn't wait for Zarleth's snide comments about it.

And he didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing Zarleth's scaly, ruby form. Her perfect mix of dragon and humanoid form towered over him on two legs, her wings partly stretched out at her sides in what looked like a half-hearted attempt at dominance.

Not that Idriseth cared if she was trying to intimidate him—Zarleth's size, claws, wings, and tail would be more than enough to kill him if he chose to stay in his current form, without her trying to look more threatening.

He was almost surprised at seeing her erzah form, though. After being alone for so long and choosing to look mostly human, Idriseth had almost forgotten that most dragons preferred this. The erzah was the perfect combination of the convenience of having a smaller body and opposable thumbs, while also avoiding the shame most dragons saw in looking even a little like a human.

"Idriseth?" Zarleth flashed her fangs in what was definitely a grin, but it was almost jarring. Idriseth had gotten used to human smiles far too much, it seemed. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your..." she wrinkled her snout, "strangely human presence?"

"I need a transmutation stone," Idriseth replied, managing to keep his voice as neutral as possible. He didn't need to make new enemies out of still friendly dragons, but he was already getting irritated. What form he chose was no one's business but his own.

"Truly?" Zarleth narrowed her eyes at him briefly before a spark of amusement showed on her face once more. "And you believe I have one? They are exceedingly rare, you know."

"They are not rare. They are difficult to create. There is a difference," Idriseth corrected her, huffing. Of course, Zarleth was going to try to make this as difficult as possible, like always. But since he'd already been here a few times in search of rare ingredients, he at least had some idea of how to convince her. Which would involve flattery.

Oh, stars, trying to make himself sound at least halfway convincing was going to be a challenge. But he had to manage, for his mate. "I would have attempted to make my own stone, but as you know, I am...not as skilled at using magic as you are."

Despite having to get the end of the sentence out through gritted teeth, Zarleth didn't seem to mind as she grinned again, waving him inside.

"Ah, yes, of course," she said as she turned around, heading back inside toward the large, ornate desk with gold plating in the middle of the room. Idriseth frowned at their surroundings as he entered, taking in the dark atmosphere. There didn't seem to be a spec of sunlight anywhere to be found, the only source of light being a few candles along the walls and on the desk.

Idriseth squinted, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness as the smell of pleasantly sweet incense hit his nose and his bare feet touched an incredibly soft carpet. How Zarleth managed to get anything done in this environment was beyond him because it was already making him want to go to sleep, but he kept his comments to himself.

"Suppose I do have a transmutation stone," Zarleth said as she sat down at her desk, swinging her tail almost elegantly as she did. "What would you offer as payment?"

Idriseth glared as he reached the opposite side of the desk, its edge reaching almost up to his shoulders. It felt very bizarre, and the way Zarleth was looking down at him curiously as she leaned in closer was not helping in the least, but he ignored both as he took out his clan token from his pocket and put it on the dark wood of the table.

For a moment Zarleth gaped at it, her eyes wide with delight. Idriseth was certain that if he offered his clan token to anyone else he knew, they would likely be shocked and then refuse, but not Zarleth. He wasn't sure what her exact situation was, but her clan—the Adreth—had somewhat cut ties with her, so she didn't regard the clans in general as something to be respected.

Idriseth supposed they somewhat shared that mentality.

"You are full of surprises, aren't you?" she said as she picked the necklace up, the golden charms sliding down the thin, silver chain and glinting in the flame of the nearby candle. Idriseth grimaced as he ran his eyes over the charms themselves—a wing, a fang, and a circular spiral with spikes made of pure crystal, the symbol of his clan. It had been a while since he'd properly looked at his token, and the way his stomach twisted at the sight was exactly the reason why.

"I didn't get the impression you were intent on cutting your clan out of your life quite like this," Zarleth said as she ran her fingers over the crystal. "I am pleasantly surprised."

Idriseth sighed in exasperation. Somehow having her approve of what he did was every bit as irritating as having her argue with him. "Will you accept it as payment or not?"

Zarleth grinned again, her fangs shining in the candlelight. For some strange reason, it was a little disturbing. Perhaps because she was still much taller than him, even while sitting.

"Of course, I accept." With that Zarleth finally drew herself back, getting up, turning around, and walking away. Idriseth almost asked where she was going when he noticed the large chest of drawers, equally as ornate and dark as the desk, which Zarleth started to rummage through.

While dragons did use furniture for its practicality, especially when in their more humanoid forms, Zarleth's was strangely human-looking, like something he would have at the fort, except oversized. It made him wonder if she'd just made human furniture bigger with magic, or if she'd had some poor human carpenter make this.

"Ah, there we are," Zarleth said after a moment of silence when she turned around, shutting all of the drawers she'd pulled open with her wings before walking back to Idriseth.

He watched her clawed hand as she put the red, oval stone on the desk in front of him. Not waiting for any kind of permission from her he grabbed it, running his thumb over the warm, smooth surface and letting out a silent breath. Good, now all he needed was not to mess up the spell.

"You really should come by more often than once in a decade," Zarleth said, drawing Idriseth's attention back to her. He barely managed to hide his annoyed grimace at seeing her playing with his clan token, but he managed to quickly stomp out his building anger. He was the one to offer it, and she'd kept her word. He could feel magic radiating off the stone, so it was genuine, and therefore there was no reason to be angry with her.

"I live quite far from here," Idriseth replied, not really paying attention to her as he pocketed the stone. He was about to leave when she spoke again.

"Perhaps, but I am certain whatever human you are with wouldn't mind if you moved closer."

His heart skipped a beat. "There is no human."

"Oh please. You reek of humanity. And you look like...that."

Zarleth looked amused as she gestured to all of him from where she was sitting while Idriseth could barely move. He hadn't thought of Caldor's scent being something Zarleth could pick up on, but he had been foolish in hindsight. Of course she could smell it.

"No judgments, Idriseth. All of this simply made me realize we might think alike." She smiled. "You don't have a mate, do you?"

Idriseth frowned as his fear for Caldor was immediately replaced with confusion. And then, a split second later, his eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. No one had ever asked him to be their mate before Caldor, and Idriseth still wasn't sure the human grasped the full extent of what the word meant to a dragon.

And to add another layer of bizarreness to it, mixing colors was unthinkable. If he truly wanted to insult his ancestors, having offspring with someone who wasn't a golden dragon would be the best way to do it.

"No, I don't," he lied, swallowing down the guilt that immediately invaded his heart. "But you already do."

Zarleth tilted her head, her smile growing a bit sharper. "Yes. And?"

How could she just say that? How could any dragon consider mating with more than one person? But then what he had done would be equally as incomprehensible to his people as this was, wasn't it?

Idriseth looked away. He couldn't voice how abhorrent this idea was to him without being completely hypocritical. And it was none of his business, anyway.

"I'm not interested."

Zarleth sighed, but she didn't look very bothered, which was good. Idriseth hadn't come here to fight, verbally or otherwise.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me," she said with a shrug, grabbing a heavy tome off her desk and flipping through it. Idriseth took that as his cue to go, giving Zarleth only a curt goodbye before walking outside again.

As he closed the door behind him, he blinked as daylight assaulted his eyes again, but he kept going, not looking back for even a second. He needed to find Caldor and get somewhere safe to perform the spell. And then finally Idriseth could appear in a human town without causing a panic.

A soft smile appeared on his face as he thought about him and his mate exploring the human world. While he felt some trepidation about being around humans, the idea also filled him with a great deal of excitement that was difficult to contain. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this, if he ever had.

His smile suddenly fell as he suddenly picked up on a new scent. It was unmistakably a dragon, and someone other than Zarleth. But that wasn't what made the blood in his veins run cold and his heart beat erratically.

No, the frightening part was that the scent was coming from his left. As was his mate's.