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12: Trust

And Evan was gone.

Sitting in his place was a dragon.

What?

An honest to God dragon.

Oh ...

Holy God.

A dragon!

Hannah stood there, eyes wide with disbelief and wonder, mouth gaping open, and she had to remind herself to breathe.

He shook himself slightly and then his yellow eyes latched on to hers. Slowly, slowly, he sunk to the ground, his impressive leathery wings folding together against his back, and his long neck settling into the grass.

She wanted to say something, but her mouth just opened and closed like a fish, no words finding purchase.

He was a dragon!

Holy crap.

She stood there as her emotions swirled relentlessly within her. She waited for the fear and terror, but as her initial shock faded away, all she felt was growing curiosity. Carefully, she reached out to test their bond again. Hannah held her breath and kept an eye on the beast.

The dragon huffed as their bonds connected and she was surprised when the muscles above one eye lifted upwards. The coil of lead sitting heavy in her stomach wiggled and loosened, and she felt herself relaxing. The bond was still there. It was still him. This was still the same Evan.

Relief washed through her.

This was incredible.

Amazing.

Was this the thing that put a wedge between them?

Somehow, she knew it was more complicated than a simple yes or no.

Slowly, still holding his gaze, she began inching toward the towering beast. Yellow intelligent eyes followed her movement, gauging her reaction, his long neck shifting only when she stepped out of range. Her eyes left his and she finally took a moment to take in this marvelous creature.

The lingering afternoon light reflected off his beautiful black scales, causing them to shimmer in deep iridescent purples and greens. Stretching out her arm, she gently placed her hand against the side of his body. His scales were hard and tough, but surprisingly smooth, and she was taken aback by the amount of heat radiating from him.

Holy ... I'm touching a dragon!

Slowly, she started towards his head, keeping her fingers in contact with his scales, letting them skim over their surface. Hannah ran her hands over his neck and made her way to his face. His gaze still followed her every move, but he was still and very quiet even as she reached his head.

Hannah ran her hand over his long face and snout as she lowered herself to the ground.

"Ev..." she began but then stopped as the enormity of the moment pressed down on her, sucking away coherent thoughts.

Those large yellow eyes, calm and patient, watched her, and she blinked and focused. He needed to hear this.

"Evan, you're beautiful. This ... this is amazing. I mean... you're a dragon!"

Her mouth stretched into a genuine smile and she began stroking the side of his face, feeling him relax against her. The power she had seen in his sculptured body earlier was now radiating from him. She could feel it calling her and drawing her in. Was he doing it? or was it something natural, for a dragon?

"Ev," she started, petting him, hoping to allay his worries. "Thank you for sharing this with me. I'm sure it was difficult. I saw how difficult it was and..."