Caleb grinned at her. “You can ride me.”
“R-ride you?” Kira stared at him.
“Don’t worry – it’ll only be for a moment. And I’ll make sure you don’t fall off. There’s nothing to be worried about.”
I think I’ll be the judge of that!Kira thought as she crossed the clearing, trying to make sure Caleb would have enough space to do what he had to do.
Once again, she watched the shimmer run over his skin, as if the light were shifting over him. And then, once again, Caleb became the magnificent black dragon she’d seen yesterday – all glittering scales, mighty wings, and long, tapering tail. His eyes glowed golden as he turned his head on its long neck to look at her, expanding his wings a little, moving his massive shoulders as if to make them shine in the sunshine. Kira had to laugh – if she hadn’t known better, she would have said the dragon was preening for her!
“Yes, yes, you’re very impressive,” she said, as she approached him slowly, though it wasn’t that she was scared of Caleb in this form. Fear was the furthest thing from her mind! Despite all his obvious power and strength, and the fact that he was, well, a dragon, Kira could tell he’d never do a thing to hurt her. It was more that she had absolutely no idea about how to go about riding a dragon, even if it was only for a moment or two!
“How do I, uh, climb aboard?” she asked, reaching out a hand to run it gently over the dark, slightly iridescent scales on Caleb’s side.
Warm. He’s so warm.
Caleb let out a low, soft growl, before lowering his shoulder. Kira understood what he wanted – she could climb up to his shoulders by clambering onto his front leg.
Well, okay. Here goes, I guess!
Gripping as well as she could on to his smooth scales, Kira hauled herself up. Caleb was so big and strong that she knew she couldn’t possibly hurt him as she put her feet on him, crawling her way up his leg to his shoulder. The back of his neck was just narrow enough for her to throw her leg over and sit astride him.
Beneath her, she could feel a steady vibration as she settled herself.
“Wait – are you purring?!” she asked in mild disbelief. Did dragons purr?!
Caleb let out a low, slightly embarrassed little sound, twisting his neck to look over his shoulder at her.
“Right, well, I guess you are then,” Kira murmured. She supposed that was just what dragons did when they were happy. Lowering herself so she was sitting forward over his neck and holding on as securely as she could, Kira readied herself. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Caleb let out another soft grunt, and in the next moment she felt the air rush past her face, a powerful whoomp! on either side of her as Caleb pulsed his wings, sending them both high into the air.
Kira gasped. She knew the first rule of being somewhere high up was not to look down, but this time, she couldn’t help it. She stared down at the trees below, cedar and shrub alike seeming suddenly very far away.
A dragon. I’m riding on a dragon.
The thought seemed utterly surreal. Kira wanted to laugh out loud – and so she did, as Caleb turned a small circle, back toward the cliff face.
“There!” She pointed, though she didn’t think Caleb could see it. “There’s the cave!”
And so it was – exactly where she remembered it being. It was a shallow cave with only a narrow ledge in front of it, so they’d have to be careful on landing. But Caleb seemed to be able to control his flight precisely, and he folded his wings as they got close, landing with all four feet arranged delicately on the small ledge.
Wow. That was a rush,Kira thought, as she shimmied her way down from Caleb’s back. One day she’d have to ask Caleb to take her out to one of those big dragon estates, and get the full experience.
Once her feet were back on solid ground, Caleb was shimmering and then shrinking before her very eyes, back into the handsome form she’d gotten to know pretty well the night before.
“I really think that’s going to take some getting used to,” she said, shaking her head.
“Understandable.” Caleb smiled at her. “I really hope I didn’t spring all this on you too fast.”
“No! No, it wasn’t that,” Kira reassured him. “In fact, I was just thinking about how I’d love to do that a little more one day. Flying, I mean. Well, if you wouldn’t mind, of course. I wouldn’t like you to think I think of you as my own personal transport system or something like that now.”
Caleb laughed, rich and hearty. “No, of course I don’t. And to be honest… I really liked having you up there. I’d love to take you flying properly one day.”
“I could tell from the purring you probably didn’t mind it,” Kira laughed.
“Right.” Caleb looked a little sheepish. “Sorry. The dragon just wanted to show how much he appreciated you putting your trust in him.”
“So… is the dragon like… something separate to you then?” Kira asked, as together they made their way inside the cave.