**Crash**

Aimuzjon dashed her head outside of the small flap door she used. She looked to the right seeing the cart had fallen to the ground into pieces and then to the left.

Urial was standing, hand over her mouth, door partially open.

The old cart had fallen, the rock it was sitting on had shifted. It had fallen over and was cracked in multiple places. The inside of the boards were almost entirely hollow except for a strange orange dusting of mould.

“I think I bumped it”

Aimu’s entire body flashed a vibrant red colour, as she once again bristled her scales “No you didn’t.”

Will came running from around the outside. Wordlessly he paused glaring at the cart. Glancing at Urial. He stared for a moment, and walked away.

Urial hissed, “Does he hate me?”

Aimu tasted the air frantically. “No?”

Will returned with an old barrel and a broom, he started to pick up the wood. Dumping it into the barrel.

“Will I can get one of my ironing boards, and we can use it to hold the loaves. Then we can figure it out!” Urial followed after the man who wordlessly swept up the remains. “Look we can talk to a carpenter.”

“Chris.” He nodded, “I can’t afford one.”

“Well we can work it out. Look I’m sorry and-”

Will grabbed her shoulder and glared into her eyes. His entire body shuddered. “I am going to take a walk. Aimu lock up.”

“Look Aimu and I will go talk to this Chris, and we will get you a new cart! Or figure out what the options are!”

“Ya.”

“And it will be okey!” Urial flashed her brilliant smile.

“Ya.” Will walked off in a daze.

“He hates me.” Urial glanced at the dragon, slowly extracted her body through the delivery flap.

She rolled her eyes and lashed her tongue out. “He doesn’t hate you. Now can you help me?”

“with what?”

Aimuzjon held a key in her tail. “I lack thumbs. Can you lock the doors?”

***

Urial rolled the barrel full of the cart remains to the back lot. Locked both doors and handed the key back to Aimuzjon who promptly swallowed it.

“Umm... where does it go?”

“My stomach?” The dragon’s tone was that of obviousness.

“I mean...” Urial gestured with her hands, “doesn’t it make you sick?”

“I eat coal...” the dragon scoffed and started to walk.

Urial matched pace with the dragon, “So be real with me... does Will hate me?”

“For the last time. No. That cart meant a lot to him.”

“He seemed pretty angry. I think he hates me.”

Aimuzjon smacked Urial in the back of the head with her tail, then gently wrapped it around her slender waist, pulling the woman closer. “Will doesn’t hate you. He has done this before.”

“I guess...” Urial paused realizing they had walked some distance, “where are we going?”

“Well you offered to get him a new cart...”

Urial grimaced and dropped her head, “I don’t know if I can afford it I can barely afford food-” she froze and gently glanced at Aimu, “Anyways...”

“Yes you are mooching off Will. I don’t mind, and he doesn’t either.” Aimu gave her a gentle squeeze with her tail, “He doesn’t think like you. You need help and he helped.”

“but the money...”

“Money is just something William hoards until he needs it. Nothing to worry about. Still your beating heart.”

The duo walked in silence until the sharp smell of pine penetrated Urial’s nose. The carpenter district was closer to the walls near a gate out of the city. Raw logs came in, were chopped into wood. The sawdust and scraps was made into to charcoal and sold for heating homes.

Aimu lead the way. Her tail released Urial and moved to grasp around her arm.

The sign was well crafted. Using a combination of different woods to give the illusion of colour and depth. It was a stylized picture of a man sawing wood, and a woman nursing an infant. “Christopher’s Carpentry and Modania Minding.” Urial turned to Aimu, “Curious combination.”

A child screamed from a window, “Aim-moos here!”

“You may wish to stand back from the chaos-”