They reached a part with an overly steep wall of mountain granite at least several hundred feet tall at the edge of the mountains, which the dragon jumped with little difficulty, leaving the poor girl completely flabbergasted at the creature’s amazing physical prowess. But that being said, how in the world was she supposed to climb that?! The dragon then jumped back where Nina stood still after watching her at a loss of what to do, unable to climb the almost vertical wall, so he offered his back for her to climb onto. She hesitantly sat over his muscular tail and barely fastened her arms around him when he took off violently, taking Nina completely by surprise. She could only squeal her lungs out for the sudden thrill all the way up, which lasted only a second. They made it back to the ledge the dragon had previously jumped from in a single powerful leap.

  The ledge they landed upon was actually a gigantic rift on the face of the mountain that offered at least some amount of protection from the elements. The mountain itself extended several hundred feet above them before disappearing inside the clouds. Apparently, the dragon made its resting place inside one crack that was wide enough for him to fit with relative comfort. He littered the place with countless bones that belonged to small animals partially covered by a pair of filthy, smelly pieces of cloth, one over the other, that only the Gods know how many times was used to sleep on.

  The sight and smell of the place gave the poor girl the creeps. So the dragon rests and feeds in this place. At least there was no sign of his bodily needs! One good thing, however, was that she could watch the woods above the treetops. The clouds allowed enough moonlight to see the forest extending miles away. But her heart sank when she saw through the mist many distant blinking lights drifting through the forest. Nina counted at least a dozen lights and she knew immediately that those blinking lights were torches and that the Northmen were still looking for her.

  Now that she was finally safe in a hidden, secure place, she could afford to think calmly. The group that cornered her and Verkan in the hallways back in the village was of four Northmen, the other group that chased her through the forest, and that the dragon fought against also was of four Northmen. If each blinking light meant a group of four, then that means there were at least forty-eight. Without considering the four that Verkan killed, and the other four that faced the dragon, suggesting there were even more around.

  This isn’t an ordinary raid, Nina. Something is wrong. Very wrong!

  For the first time since this madness started, Nina comprehended the sheer magnitude of what was happening. On one hand, she was glad that she met the dragon and found a place to hide, but she was now completely at a loss for what she should do next. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t hide forever!

-“Stay here, I'll get something to eat,” the dragon spoke with a soft tone, interrupting her thoughts. He then jumped down the cliff, much to her dismay.

-“Please don't leave me alone!” Nina pleaded in vain. He was gone before she could even speak.

  He left me! He left me! That stupid dragon left me!

  Nina hastily approached the ledge of the cliff, looking down, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but the dragon disappeared into the forest. She felt dizzy from the height, retreating immediately to the safety of the rift. She took a deep breath to look down again, this time with newfound courage, and taking special care not to fall headfirst on the abysm. Looking from where she was, the fall looked a lot deeper than when she looked up from below. And to think that the dragon jumped it like it was nothing!

  Perhaps it was the fact that the Northmen were looking for her, or because she had no other choice but to put her trust in that strange creature because of it, but Nina absolutely hated being left alone. There was a small amount of hope in her heart that she desperately clung to. That was the only thing preventing her from falling prey to hopelessness. The image of her close encounter with the raiders still haunted her mind, filling her heart with utter disgust, and she allowed herself to cry in silence once again. Nina mentally chastised herself for her weakness; her mentor and that stupid dragon for leaving her alone. She cursed the Northmen for their unspeakable cruelty, and the Clan warriors for not being where they needed them the most. She knew she was only being childish, but she couldn’t help it, finally letting it all out with frenzied whimpering, feeling righteous anger for what was probably the first time in her entire life. The cold and rational part of her mind told her this was much better and more productive than helplessness and despair. This way she could let everything out of her system and think with a cool head later.

  She was going to need it.

-“I'm back!” the creature suddenly spoke, landing right in front of her, startling the poor girl to no end. Nina stopped crying immediately, frantically wiping her tears with her sleeves.

-“Please don't leave me alone again!” Nina lashed out, visibly angry. Even though the dragon went just for a few minutes, she wasn’t fond of being left alone like that again. Even if he was a stranger she just met and barely knew, he was the only company she had left.

-“I just went for some food!” the creature replied, showing her a pair of rather large vermin he had found.

-“I'm not hungry!” she countered fiercely, still mad at him, but the noisy growling of her stomach immediately betrayed her. You picked the worse possible night to dine lightly, girl!

-“But I am!” the dragon replied defensively.

-“Sorry,” the priestess apologized, lowering her head. It wasn’t in her best interests to start a fight with the dragon that saved her, especially not over something as silly as the food. She felt bad for getting angry with the creature that probably only meant well.

  The dragon didn’t reply, giving her a confused look before sitting right next to her. He then handed her one of the dead vermin he just brought that she accepted hesitantly. For such a fearsome creature, he seemed to have a soft side. He inspected his share thoroughly, sniffing it, when Nina interrupted.

-“Thank you”

   Nina thanked him for the unusual gift, although the dragon didn’t reply again, as if he was completely unaware of what he should say or do. Common everyday courtesies like saying thanks, or sorry, or even the most basic manners, seemed alien to him. Perhaps this was one of the few times he actually had the chance to interact with people. That wouldn’t be surprising since there were no other dragons like him and he probably had to live constantly hiding from people.

-“You are not the kind of dragon that eats people, right?” she asked, in part jokingly but also really wanting to make it sure.

-“Hell no! People’s flesh tastes horrible, pee girl!” the creature replied, what Nina interpreted, and dearly hoped, was just a poor joke. How in hell does he even know what human flesh tastes like?!

-“Err… that’s good to know!” she replied nervously, horrified by his response, trying her hardest not to freak out, while the creature just shrugged in response.

-“And could you please stop calling me ‘pee girl?’” she asked with the softest tone possible after gathering some courage to speak up.

-“But you smell like pee!”

-“I know! I just… I couldn’t help it, ok?!” Nina replied, embarrassed.

-“How should I call you then?” he asked.

-“By my name, of course!”

-“But I don't know your name, pee girl!” the dragon countered.

  Only at this moment that she recalled neither had introduced themselves yet. Nina suddenly felt dumb just for asking such a question when the dragon couldn’t possibly know her name. Well, it’s you who didn’t ask, you dimwit! A knight would have asked for my name after rescuing me! But she wouldn’t dare to say that to his face. But this is a step forward, Nina. If they were going to trust their lives to each other, it would be nice if they at least know each other names.

  Isn’t it?

-“Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Nina, Nina Valdir! Nice to meet you! And thank you for saving me!”

-“Well, nice to meet you too, Ninaninavaldir,” he replied, much to her annoyance.

-“It's Nina, just Nina. Valdir is my family name!”

-“Ok, Nina then,” the dragon replied. Nina didn’t find it funny.

-“You're supposed to tell me your name too!” apparently he had absolutely no idea how to introduce himself. Does he practice, or is he naturally this slow?!

-“My name? I don't have a name!” the dragon replied honestly, and her heart sank immediately.

-“You really don't have a name?! How did your parents call you then?” she asked, surprised.

-“What is a parentz?” he asked back, looking confused.

-“Your mother and father” she explained, but she had to explain further after watching him looking even more confused.

-“Your mom and dad! You really don't know?!” she asked again, incredulously.

-“Oooh, that! I never had any of those either,” the creature replied.

  She immediately felt immense regret for her previous thoughts. Of course, he wouldn’t know how to introduce himself! Because he never did! She also couldn’t help but feel utterly sorry for the poor thing, although the dragon didn’t seem to care. He was probably so used to being alone that it didn’t bother him at all. He wouldn’t want to be pitied, either.

-“I see”

-“You see what?” he asked curiously.

-“Nothing! I was just saying…” she replied frantically, realizing the creature had the intellect of a small child.

-“You’re weird”

  You are the weird one, dragon!

-“If you never knew your parents, how did you learn to talk then?” she asked curiously. He had to have learned somewhere.

-“The False Gods taught me,” the dragon replied calmly, as if what he just said was nothing important.

  What in the actual hell?! That’s impossible! There is no way that can be true! Nina paused for a moment, carefully analyzing what exactly he meant by THAT. What the creature just said was not only an affront to her faith, it was outright heresy. But she had to remember that she wasn’t exactly in the best position to call him out on it. Not only that, she herself was guilty of what could be considered “heresy”. It was her father who indulged her from an early age with all those forbidden books, and that her mentor turned a blind eye to. He didn’t seem to be lying, but there is the possibility he was just being made to believe that, so she would let it pass as the dragon just being ignorant, and that he was referring to an old religion, long lost in time.

-“Err... right! How did people call you then?” she asked again.

-“They called me ‘dog’ but I hate it! Don't call me that!” he lashed out angrily, baring his teeth.

-“I won't, I promise!” Nina replied, frightened.

-“Good! You're not mean,” the dragon replied, swiftly changing to a friendlier tone.

-“I have to come up with a name for you,” she replied, happy to de-escalate the situation. Even though she barely knew him, she felt she could put her trust in him. He already saved her after all.

-“That can wait! Now is time to eat! I’m starving! I brought these rabbits, you want some?” he spoke in an overly excited tone. It was rather clear he was hungry.

  Nina looked down at the small, furry mammal in her hands that was obviously not a rabbit, looking more like a weasel instead, but feeling it wouldn’t be nice of her to correct him. She also was starving. The soup from earlier hardly satisfied her, now needing to replenish her energies. She looked around to see if there was something she could use to light a fire to cook their dinner.

-“Yeah! I've heard rabbit meat is deli-” but to her utter horror, the dragon interrupted her mid-sentence when he tore off a huge chunk out of the dead varmint with his fangs.

  The dragon then introduced his large hand inside the animal’s carcass, ripping the guts off with frightening ease. Nina watched him swallow one of the many internal organs, and then extended his arm full of gore towards her, offering the rest.

-“Take all you want”

  The sight of the gory mess proved too much for her to handle, immediately turning away, violently throwing up what little contents her stomach had, much to the creature’s consternation.

-“Are you okay?!” he asked, concerned.

-“Yeah, I'm just no longer hungry” Nina replied dejected, wiping the vomit from her mouth with her gloves.

-“Good, I thought you were sick,” he replied, returning his attention to his prey.

  Nina watched him feed on the corner of her eyes, unable to look at the gory spectacle as the dragon ate the carcass clean, dropping the bones and the parts that weren’t of his liking down the cliff. She could only sit next to him, looking away and hugging her legs in front of her. She put aside the remaining critter, knowing she would need to eat it by the morning to gain enough strength to continue, but wanting to cook it properly and show the creature how it’s done. Judging by the way he completely devoured the vermin, he probably never had a decent meal in his entire life.