The next morning I woke up with a beam of sunlight hitting my scaled face. At first it felt so warm and inviting that I just laid there soaking it up. I shifted a bit and then I felt damp. Morning dew from the cold night air coated my whole body. I slowly got to my four feet and shook myself, tossing the dew off me. I split my maw wide in a large yawn and looked around, seeing that Claw was already gone.

"I wonder where he took off to?" I asked myself.

I just stretched out my whole body, extending my wings out and flapping them a little bit to get the blood out into them. Once I was all set, my stomach told me with a loud grumble that it was time for breakfast. So, out of the cave I went in search for a meal.

I hunted for an hour or two, finding not very much to munch on till I happened across a set of tracks. It was made by a dragon, the print was unmistakable, I sniffed the track and smelled a fate scent of dove soap.

"Claw," I told myself.

He always smelled a bit of dove soap because he took a lot of showers at home. I liked to make an extremely nerdy joke of how after his shower and he'd come back online that'd he'd be a silver dragon and I'd still be a red dragon. Metallic and chromatic dragons don't get along in the D&D universe so it's a very nerdy joke. I followed the trail for awhile, over 3 hills or so and came into a clearing, seeing the big gray and teal dragon sitting on the ground with his back to me.

"Morning Claw," I said to him as I walked over to him.

He turned his head around to face me and I saw the his muzzle was covered with blood. I stopped and looked at him in shock.

"Morning Etoke," he said with a slight grin, he brought up a half of a rabbit, and took another bite out of it reducing it to a third, "Jussssst having my breakfasssssst."

I went up next to him and sat on my hunches.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Thisssss clearing isssss loaded with them," he calmly replied, still chewing, "I'm sssssure you can ssssnag a few for yourssssself."

I looked around the clearing in search of rabbit. Didn't take long for me to pick up the trail of one of the furry little creatures and I got down low and slinked off towards it. I pushed my way through the tall grass, closing in on my prey and keeping my back straight and low. Once I got within sight of it, and coiled my neck back and tensed my hind legs, coiling my whole body up like a spring.

'3,2,1,'I mentally counted down in my head, 'go!'

I launched myself forward violently, the rabbit never stood a chance as it was quickly caught in my maw and pierced with my pointed teeth. To be kind to it at least, I quickly broke its neck with my jaws so at least it didn't suffer. I trotted back to Claw with my kill and sat neck to him with it still in my maw.

"Very niccccce," he said as he looked me over, "Your form isssss getting nicccce and clean, good pouncccce and nicccce sssstrike timing. You are taking to the life of a feral dragon sssssurprissssingly well Etoke."

I just tossed the carcass of the rabbit into the air with a flick of my head and caught it again, rending it up to chunks in my muzzle and swallowing it then replying with a bloodstained smirk,

"Thank you."  

"Well, I guessssss we sssshould get a few more sssso we have enough to get usssss to lunch," he said, looking back at the tall grass.

"Yeah, I'm still hungry," I replied, my stomach growling in dissatisfaction with the one rabbit.

Claw and I both got to our four feet and slunk off into the grass. Wasn't long before I heard a loud thump with a lot of rustling grass. I caught the sound of something running for me, something small. I stood still and coiled my neck up. By the time the rabbit got close enough to realize it was running smack into another dragon, it was too late. My head lashed out and snagged it, breaking it's body with the sheer force of the impact. I reared up onto my hind legs to see Claw had done the same.

"Thanks for the spooked one Claw," I said out of the side of my rabbit filling muzzle with a smirk.

"No problem," he said back as he started to devour the rabbit.

I started on my meal as well, just enjoying the gamy taste much to my surprise. It was all the juices and raw meat pouring over my tongue and down my throat that just drove me to hunt a few more times. Eating three more rabbits till my hungry was quelled for the moment. I searched for a Claw and found him munching on his last rabbit.

"I think I'm good," I told him, sitting next to him, "I'm full."

He burped a bit before eating the last of his rabbit and looked up at me saying,

"I'm topped off to. I think that wasssss a good breakfasssst to sssstart the day. We'd better get going to the main cave and sssssee what Utoro hassss for ussss today."

"Right behind you," I replied with a happy grin.

We started back to the caves, stopping off at a small creek to wash the blood off us. I just dipped my face and claws into the water, washing the rest of the blood off my chest by rubbing a water soaked claw over my scutes. Once we made it to the caves and into the main chamber, we instantly so Utoro talking with a few other dragons. He looked like he was busy with something, but he turned and spotted us, quickly motioning Claw and me over to him.

"Fireflassssh Rainclaw, Etoke Coldfang," he said as he addressed us, "I have a job for you two. I'm ssssure it'll be ssssomething the pair of you are very familiar with. We have to sssship yesssterdayssss harvessstsss to the nearby town and pick up our earningsssss. You two will do that."

"Ssshiping duty?" Claw asked, "That'ssss kinda boring. Issssn't there ssssomething more ssssuited for a dragon?"

"You both are very well verssssed in human interactionssss," he replied with a cocked eye ridge, "Now the more time you wasssste here isss lesssss time for later."

"Yes Excellency," he said in reply, just lowering his head and turning to leave.

"Etoke," Utoro said as he turned to me, "Low profile pleasssse."

"No problem," I replied with a grin.

Utoro just raised his eye ridge again and gave me a look that I was missing something. Then it dawned on me.

"Oh, right," I said, mustering the will to say it, "Yes Excellency."

"That'ssss better," he told me, "Now go."

I didn't like saying that title, but his cave, his clan, his rules. I was a guest so I have to abide by his rules, as much as they bothered me. We went back to the shipping center, Claw seemed to know where he was going, so I just followed him.

"I don't know why he is ssssending ussss on thisss sssshipping trip," Claw muttered as we walked, "I don't ssssee the usssse in it really becausssse thissss issss sssssupposssssed to be all about you learning your dragon nature and accepting it. Thissss lookssss more like tempting you back to human comfortssss to me."

"I don't know," I just absent mindedly replied, "Might just be to break up the streak of dragon nature to better help me ease into it."

"With how you hunted yessssterday, I don't think you need easssing into it anymore," he shot back in reply, "What you need isssss to be over your head in it so you can really ssssee it for what it issss."

"I take things slow Claw," I huffed at him, "Remember, I have to go back home after thisssss."

The slight hiss that escaped my jaws made me snap my maw closed and look away.

"I know, but I want you to go home a dragon, through and through," Claw said, I could still feel his eyes on me, "That hisssss of your'ssss is coming in nicely, really ssssuitssss you."

I just glared at him and replied,

"I find it an annoying speech impediment. I don't like to just be hissing around on every S sound like some movie snake. I want to make sure my speech is clear and strong, I don't want to put people off just by opening my maw to speak any more than I do now given my looks."

"If you hung around dragonssss more, you'd not have to worry about that," Claw suggested, but with a slight sigh he said, "but I undersssstand  your reasssonsss. It was jusssst a note."

I just looked forward as we kept walking. I know he'd egg me on towards a more feral path at any given moment, but I had to stand firm on my ideals to stay on the course I wanted for myself. I didn't get a chance to really deliver a nice retort to his comment because as we passed between two large crates that were oddly spaced apart, Claw was tackled and rolled over by a 20 foot long, green dragoness.

"Got you Fire!" she shouted with utter glee, coiling herself around him. She was a rather elongated dragon, but not too much. Still enough to make a nice and firm coil around Claw's stocky body.

"Jussstia," Claw growled, "please get off me."

"Not till I'm done with you," she said back in steadfast resolve and a lot of happiness.

She just raised a paw, and placed it right behind Claw's left ear, just below his horn.

"Don't you dare," he growled.

All she did was smirk at him as she sat on top of his back. With a lot of vigor, she started to scratch and pet the back of his head, mostly using her claws to scritch behind his ears. I just stared at this whole scene in amazement and instantly Claw seemed to just melt. He was instantly reduced to hatchling it seemed, wiggling and groaning with pleasure from the attention, this big dopy grin plastered on his muzzle and his eyes closed from it all. He quickly started to purr, it was a deep rumble from his throat, like a massive cat's purr. Even his hind legs jerked a bit, just little kicks as this green dragoness just rubbed him down.

"There now," she said as she kept working him over with her claws, going down his neck and over his back, "you need to lighten up. You're all tense and always so tense, trying to be an unyielding wall. You need to loosen up and relax and that's what I'm good for."

Claw didn't say a word in reply; his deep purrs and little groans said it all. I never really saw Claw like that; he just seemed all serious all the time. To see him just reduced to pretty much a huge, scaly kitten by the efforts of this dragoness' claws made him look far more like an emotional person than the unrelenting feral dragon he likes to portray himself as. It wasn't long before she stopped and got off him. Claw just laid there a minute, sighing with content before his eyes opened up wide and he sprung to his feet, trying to recover his sense of reserve and look of stern authority. Too late mind you, the damage had been done.

"So, that's the dragoness you told me about," I asked with a sly grin, "You were right, she seemed to have you pretty well figured out. Knows right were your buttons are doesn't she?"

He glared at me, but all I did was smile right back at him. Seeing him just writhing around under her as she tickled him into submission was more than enough to give me a little smugness.

"I suppose this is your friend you talk about Fire," Justia said as she looked me over, "the one that you said is one of your best friends that you talk to on the internet."

The way she walked around me and eyed every bit of me just was enough to put me off, but I stood my ground.

"Yeah, that'ssss him," Claw replied, "On vacation; I'm sssshowing him the real dragon life."

"Real dragon life?" she asked in kind of a shocked and curious tone of voice, "I won't say this is a real dragon's life, I'd more or less call it how we have set ourselves up to live, just happen to be dragons is all. But I will say this, he's a handsome young drake, those colors are nice and strong, good body and muscle tone. His stance is very stiff though, looks like he takes after you there."

I huffed a bit and tightened my wings to my sides, not sure of how to take that remark.

"I think he could use a little loosening up," she said with a wry grin once more forming on her draconic face.

I started to back up a bit, not really sure about what to do in this situation. But before I could step back too far, she jumped at me and tackled me to the ground. I let out a roar in surprise, both of us crashing to the stone floor and rolling over onto my side as she quickly coiled her long body around me and gripped tightly. I looked up at her in shock and then glanced at Claw, who had a huge self satisfied grin on his face. I felt her claw slip to the side of my head, her claw tips poking the spot right behind my left ear, soon her other claw was behind my right. She gave me a grin that just made me fear what was going to come next, seconds later, I felt it. She started to scratch behind my ears, just working away at the scales. I couldn't help it, I groaned out a bit and felt something in my throat, a low rumble started and before I knew it, it was a fully fledged purr.

"Like that I see," she said with a very chipper smile as I looked up at her through half closed eyes.

I wiggled and writhed below her, just purring away like some large red cat. I was even kicking my left foot a bit. Before I knew what she was doing, I felt her tail tip on the sole of my right foot. I let out a long groan and couldn't stop myself from purring even louder, closing my eyes and loving the feeling.

"Oh my," she said, I opened my eyes up a bit to see her very happy face, "You really like your feet rubbed. They're nice and soft too; guess all that time in boots that Claw told me you wear has really saved your pads from being all hard and rough. They're really nice to feel and by the looks of it fun for you to feel as well."  

She coiled her tail around my foot and just stroked my arches and to the balls of my feet up and down and I was powerless against it. I just groaned and purred, just relaxing to the rock floor as she just sapped my will to stop the tidal wave of wonderful pets on my upper body and strokes on my foot. I just laid there as she finally stopped and got off my back. I didn't bother to get up, I just laid there and tried to use the cold rock to relax what was left of my tension away.

"That was your first real petting wasn't it?" Justia said with a lot of wry smugness creeping into her airy draconic voice.

All I could do was nod slowly and groan, my purrs starting to weaken and fade off into nothing.

"Well, I trust you enjoyed it," she said as she flicked her tail around behind her, "Maybe next time you won't fight it and just roll over for me, it'll make things much easier for me, if less fun."

She smirked a bit down at me and then just strolled off, swinging he tail around behind her which seemed to me as her way of showing how proud of herself she was. I just struggled to my feet and shook my head to clear it. She has amazing claws and that tail on my foot was wonderful.

"Told you sssshe'd get you to like being petted," Claw said as he bumped my shoulder with that wry grin on his muzzle.

I huffed in response and walked off down the path to the main square. I saw a small white dragon there looking over the manifests on the boxes and making notes on a clipboard. He was on two legs which was odd for this place, but he needed his claws I guessed for his work. His chest was all bulged out and his wings looked well used, even his forelimbs were just a bit smaller then his hind legs, so he looked like he was only on two leg when doing this work and four normally. This was confirmed when he put the clipboard in his jaws and fell over onto his 4 legs and trotted to the next box where he once more, reared up on two legs and looked at the manifest taped to the side of the box.

"Utoro told ussss we are to take ssssome boxessss into town," Claw said as we walked up to the little white dragon. He couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall on two legs and about 3 on four legs so he was short.

"Ah yessss," replied the white dragon, "They are all ready to go. Jusssst get a wagon and load them up. The recordssss have been made, all your'sss."

  With that, he scampered off, clipboard in his maw to what I guessed was more paperwork to deal with.

"Odd little guy," I remarked when he was long gone.

"Don't call him little when he'ssss around," Claw said as he reared up on two legs and picked up a large box, "He get'sss upssset and he'ssss a bitter."

I just looked at Claw in shock, but I just shrugged and made a mental note not to mention height around the guy, seemed only polite in any case.

Once I drug over a wagon and Claw and I loaded it up with about 15 wooden boxes filled with goods, I realized that the wagon was a pull one. It had a long bar at the front end of the drawbar that could only be used to push on, sort of like a team of horses but with two dragons.

"Itssss easy, if it issss jusssst annoying and long," Claw told me as I he got on the right side of the drawbar and picked up the push bar in his claws, "Just grab hold and pussssh, the town isssss at the end of a nice, well beaten dirt road. We'll be there in a few hoursssss."   

"You know," I said while I just took my place on the left side of the bar next to him, "The Ford could make the trip and she could do it faster."

"Their cave, their rulessss," he replied, "Bessssidessss, a little labor issss good for your back. Build up ssssome of thosssse musssclessss."

I just huffed a bit. I've been on construction sites with my Dad since I was 13, I know what hard work is. I just didn't see the need to do it when there were better options at hand. No need to bust your tail if you had something to make it easier on yourself handy. But never the less, I pulled the wagon. One step after another, out of the cave and into the daylight. The sun coming down through the trees over head, glittering along the leaves and shining on the ground around us as the wooden wagon creaked and shuttered along the beaten dirt road into town. It wasn't bad, It was just walking really with two dragons pushing on the same wagon. The road was nice and smooth for the most part and wasn't bad to push along. It was a nice, quiet trip.

Claw seemed to not really care for it, he'd huff a bit and stare blankly out ahead down the road. He just seemed like he didn't care to be doing something so mundane and I guess not 'dragonish' enough. I didn't mind, it was calm and quiet. I liked to hike and camp, so this was like a hiking trip for me, it had been so long since I had been hiking. As we walked, we just talked a bit, not about a whole lot, mostly about things he'd done out in the woods. Mostly out of him trying to liven up the boring walk with something more dragon like.

"One time, I wassss in the bussshesss, just doing my thing," he started, "when thissss brown bear came at me. I think I wassss using hissss bussssh. He wassss roaring and doing that sssstanding thing they do. He wassss big. Well, I didn't even have time, I just ran for it, trying to find a clearing to take off in, but thissss bear grabbed my tail in itssss teeth. I roared out in pain, thosssse thingssss hurt. I lasssshed out with my talonssss and tore into itssss faccce, gouging one of its eyessss out. It wassss jusssst enraged with bloodlusssst, probably mosssstly blind too. I rolled around with it and wassss able to chomp down on itssss neck, jusssst breaking itssss sssspine. Most excccciting crap I ever took."

"Well, I'll just make sure to sniff around for any bears when nature calls me then," I said with a chuckle back as he seemed to laugh himself.

"Where'ssss the fun in that?" he said with a smile on his long muzzle.

"Always the hard way with you isn't it?" I replied with a laugh and a smirk.

"Yep," he said in return with a grin.

He was always having to learn things that hard way.

"You know, that will get you into trouble one day and you won't be able to wiggle your way out," I told him seriously.

"It already hassss gotten me into lotssss of trouble," he told me, "I undersssstand it will one day lead me into ssssomething I won't get out of, but that'ssss fine with me. We all hit that bridge we don't come back acrosssss sssssooner or later. No point in just making it easy all the time, gotta have ssssome fun in the meantime."

"Taking the easy road all the time isn't good, I'll agree there," I replied with a lot of thought, "But neither is taking the hard road all the time. You have to balance the two and know which one is the better one to take in a given situation. Just because the road is hard doesn't mean it's worth the effort. You have to understand which is which."

"I know, but that'sssss jussssst not how I do thingssss Etoke," he told me, "I like thingssss hard, makessss me feel like I'm doing ssssomething."

"Your call Claw," I said to him in reluctant acceptance, "As it ultimately always is."    

We kept on pushing on the drawbar, pushing the old creaking wagon down the dirt road towards town. As the buildings got bigger as we went over the hill, slowing going down the slope, I could see it was a very small town, but had a nice busy look to it. It was much like Bunker Hill, thought I couldn't make out a sign that told me its name.

"Lac Cayamant," Claw told me as we neared the town's edge, "Named after the lake, thissss little town issss the clossssessst to the cave. The clan hasss a trade agreement with a few of the local ssssstore ownersss'. Trading goodssss for goodsss."

"That's pretty neat," I replied, our cart load just hitting the asphalt road, "I bet it keeps costs down for everyone."

"I guesssss," Claw replied, sounding pretty uninterested in it all while.

The feeling of the cool asphalt on my bare paw pads, it didn't hurt as much anymore to hit a small rock. I stepped on a few as we pulled our load into town, I didn't pay much attention to them. I paid more attention to the people as they looked at the two of us pulling a load of raw materials into their town. The eyes of the people, they just seemed to stare. I've felt a lot of stares before, but this seemed different. I felt unwelcome, it was a jolt to say the least. I lowered my head and my gaze to the road ahead as I helped Claw push the load towards the first store on the left side of the street, but I still felt the stabbing gaze of those eyes watching me.

Claw didn't seem to care at all, he just pushed. When we got to the curd in front of the little store, he let go of the bar and walked up to the side of the building on all fours, knocking on side door with his tail.

"The clan'sssss ssshipment," he said through the door, his voice being pretty boomy as he shouted at the wooden plank door, "We're here to drop it off and pick up our boxessss."
The door opened and an older man came out, he was pretty rough looking with his raggity beard and black hair, and kinda worn out clothes. He was by no means shabby, but he looked well worked. He looked us both over. I felt kinda out of place, standing on all fours, bare scaled in the middle of town. I felt my tail lower along the ground and my wings droop, but I held my ground and my tongue. I was just gonna let Claw do the talking.

"Well," the store keeper said, stroking his beard, "Let's take a look at what condition you've brought your product to me this time."

He seemed to grumble a bit as he walked over to our cart, like he didn't much care for us. I guess he wasn't the one that agreed to trade with dragons. Probably his boss or someone else. Didn't matter much to me, I just wanted to get this over with so I could leave.

"Look at this meat," he said, seemingly in a grumble, "I'll have to dry it out and make jerky out of it in order for it to be sold. It's not fit for steaks."

"You ordered one hundred poundssss of fressssh deer meat," Claw told him, "There it issss. What you do with it issss your bussssinessssss."

"That's not the point," he scolded, looking pretty upset, "We ordered one hundred pounds of quality deer meat, not this torn up mess. You beasts just ruined the meat by ripping the animal apart with those wicked claws and fangs of yours."

"If you didn't know we'd usssse them," Claw plainly said, "Then you wouldn't have assssked dragonssss to hunt deer for you. You want deer meat that'ssss been neatly sssslaughtered, buy tame deer meat in bulk. We provide you with deer meat at a very cheap price, take it or leave it. We have other buyerssss who would gladly take it."

The store owner grumbled, he picked up one of the boxes and took it inside. He came back with another box and put it on our cart, then took the last box he would inside. We took the remaining two boxes in for him, he seemed to grumble even more as our taloned feet made tinking along the tile floor.

"Watch the floor," he shot at us.

Claw just seemed to huff a bit. I didn't really care for it either, but it was his store. We just set the boxes down near the backroom and left with our payment. It wasn't very dignified work for a dragon, but it was needed. At least to me it seemed to be.

We hit a few more stores like that, trading meat and vegetables and that water of theirs to the stores in town all along the main drag. It was mixed results. Some people were nice and friendly, some just took our stuff and tossed the boxes of our payments back at us, seemingly wanting us off their doorstep as soon as possible.

"Claw?" I asked while we pushed the cart towards the last store on the main street of town, "If some of these store owners not like us, why do they buy from dragons?"

"It'ssss hard to ssssay really," he said, not really paying too much attention, "I think it'ssss ssssimple bussssinessssss. The Clan issss the cheapesssst provider of thissss kinda sssstuff. They want that good deal. Ssssome of the sssstoressss didn't come around at firsssst, till they sssstarted to ssssee all their bussssinesssss go acrosssss the ssssstreet. It'ssss all money with humanssss."

I just thought about it for a bit, it did make sense really. The best deal wins, simple business. If the clan had the best at cost price to the store, that would get passed along and the store could undersell the others. The only way to win was the buy from the same place to even the field, which meant the dragons won no matter which store out sold the other.

We dropped off the last of the merchandise, and turned to head back to the cave with our load of goods the stores gave to us as payment. It was mostly pre arranged. At each store, we left a paper on one of the crates. It was part of the paperwork for the shipment, but in it was the payment needed for the next order, so it was ready and waiting for the next shipment. It was mostly cheap, day to day living stuff, so it wasn't hard for the stores' to collect it all up and it was spread out over the whole town's stores, so it was easy to get a lot of stuff at once.

As we walked back out of town, I was just thinking about what was going on. My life seemed so complicated, with all the work at home, the class, the online social life, my lack of a real social life. I just mostly hid in my basement, safe and sound from a lot of pressures of my life. It suited me, but I always felt awkward when I went out of the house. I mostly just wanted to get done what I needed to do, then go home. But here, it was all so simple. The work was direct, it seemed to have focus, it wasn't that complex, but it was work all the same. And there was the sights, the sounds and the smell of a community of dragons, which really had been slowly sinking into my mind and begun to take root, far more then I would have liked to admit. In the middle of my thoughts, I felt something hit my back, just above my hips.

"Stay outta our town!" shouted some teenager on the street, "Humans only!"

He looked at Claw and me with hate burning in his eyes, everything about him just seemed to scream anger. His posture, the way his back was arched, his shoulders were all tensed up and raised, rolling them back to throw out his chest, even his head was angled forward into a glare. His fiery red hair, and dark clothes matches his mood to a tee.

"Jussst ignore him," Claw said, not even phased when a rock hit his left wing, "He does thisssss every time, no one lisssstenssss to him. He'sssss jusssst a sssspoiled brat. Daddy buysss all hisss emo stuff."

"Look at me when I'm talking to you lizard!" screamed the teenager.

He picked up a large rock, and tossed it towards us. I tried to just ignore him, but that rock hit me right on the back of the neck. All I could see was red. I don't even remember letting go of the push bar on the cart, all I remember was a feeling of burning anger welling up inside me, then the heavy weight on my chest.

"Calm down Farm!" Claw shouted in my face.

I looked up at him, and realized I was on my back in the street with Claw pinning me down. I was thrashing around trying to get free before I suddenly stopped moving as the moment passed. I looked around to see a large amount of people staring at me, the sense of shame filling me up, my tail coiled up out of instinct. I looked passed Claw to see the teenager had scrabbled up a light pole and was hanging from it. I didn't think he could have climbed it at all with its smooth sides.

"What the hell got into you?!" Claw shouted, anger was written all over his scaled face, his eyes just locked into mine, "You nearly mauled that kid to death! If I hadn't grabbed you when I did, you would have pouncccced on him and torn him apart in ssssecondssss! What issss wrong with you?!"

I just recoiled in fear. I couldn't stop myself, I just got so angry. I felt a well of anger just explode, time skipped for a moment, but I remembered moving, I remember flinging myself at....prey. With a horrible realization, I remembered what I felt and did in that moment. I remembered why I had done it, I felt it all. That teenager had insulted me, I felt like a smaller being then myself had dared to challenge me, and I was going to show him what the price of insolence was. I never would have done that before, but something had changed in me, was changing me. I couldn't stop it....and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"We're going back, Now!" Claw told me sternly.

I let my tail and wings droop, but I went back to the cart and I pushed it out of town, my mind racing at thoughts, ones I never thought I'd have.  

It was a silent trip back to the cave, neither of us could talk to each other. I had a lot on my mind, so much so that I really couldn't think of anything so say. I just had too much on my mind. Claw seemed to get over what he was wrestling with and finally find something to say halfway back to the cave.

"Farm," he growled, "You have no idea the damage you jusssst did. A lot of people ssssaw you lunge at that kid. It took a long time for Utoro to get thosssse people to let ussss walk into town, more sssso during the day when itssss far eassssier to drop off and pick up the sssstuff they need. They were told we could be trussssted, Utoro put hissss word on the line for you, and you broke it. I don't know what's going to happen now, maybe nothing, maybe they'll go back to jusssst allowing dragonssss to drop off and pick up ssssstuff at night, outssssside city limitssss. All I know for ssssure is that you really caused a lot of harm to their operation. You're gonna have to face the conssssequencessss."

I shuttered at the thought of what was gonna happen to me when we got back and Claw told them what happened. I imagined the look of fury on Utoro's draconic face. The more I thought about it, the bigger feelings of dread grew in my mind. I just couldn't stop myself, it filled me with fear. Then, a new feeling hit me.

'I'm a dragon....,' I thought, "I don't have to answer to him... I did what I felt like, and it felt good.... Power.... I have it.... Why not use it?...'

I turned and looked at Claw, studied his face. It was clear what he was gonna do, so I decided to do something of my own.

"Goodbye Claw...,"was all I said to him.

I let go of the push bar, and bolted. Claw tried to catch me, but I darted off into a clearing and took off at full speed, flapping my wings as hard as I could to out race him. I only looked back once, to see him still standing in the clearing.

"Farm!" he shouted to me, but I wasn't going back. I wasn't ever going back...to anything.