The day went normally, with me doing some gardening and planting my newly acquired seeds, mostly consisting of tomatoes and various leafy vegetables. I had never really gone for vegetables, and preferred meat over most things. However, when the technology disappeared, so did the low prices of meat. What was a normal everyday dish became a luxury as the price of meat skyrocketed, especially since the local wildlife kept stealing my chickens. I had given up on rearing those a long time ago.
The rest of the day consisted of getting random things done, including scraping some soot off the grill that I had built, doing some maintenance here and there, and finally getting round to measuring the windows to get some glass or at least some wood put in so that the rain would stop coming into the house. Measuring was too fine a term to be used, however, as my measurements consisted of knotted string, one for each window. It was now that I actually began to appreciate having units of measurement, but of course, it was too late for that...
Either way, with my first bit of the job done, I was at least able to get some decent sleep that night. The next day would be harrowing. It was not as if I wasn't scared. I was, but I had learnt to live with these things, especially with creatures large enough to squash you with nigh a second thought, flying around. I just hoped that things would go smoothly on the other end and there would be no loss of life.
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The next morning, the first thing I noticed was that this time, the dragon had taken a larger form and curled itself around me while I slept. It was quite comfortable and warm, actually, but untangling myself from the reptilian coils and lengths of the creature was quite a chore.
Of course, my flurry of activity woke the dragon itself, and it did the job for me by getting off the slightly sagging bed and waiting at the table. It seemed especially jumpy, eyeing the knife warily as I chopped tomatoes and some lettuce to make a sandwich for breakfast. It even eyeballed the hot water as I poured it into my cup to make tea.
"What's your problem." I remarked, not bothering to make it sound like a question.
The dragon snorted and continued watching me intently. "I'm worried. You'll be taking a big risk later. Much bigger than I'd like you to take."
I shrugged. "So?"
"I'm disturbed by how calm you are. I only know of two kinds of people who are like that: Those who are soon to die, or.... They're experienced enough to be used to it and know what they're doing. It seems to be more of the former, unless you're hiding something more from me..." The dragon replied, staring at me intently. I could feel it rummaging through my virtual mind, trying to see if I had buried anything. Of course, since I was in control of what it saw, it found nothing. The creature was scared, and it got worse as it watchd me remain calm and munch on my sandwich.
"Keep your scales on, lizard. At most, we pack up and go home if they threaten us. Nothing will happen." I replied, while filling up my bottle and shoving some extra sandwiches into a small leather bag, to eat later. "Besides, I'll be fine. Trust me."
"I trust you, but I still fear for your safety. If you don't leave when the time comes, I'll take you home myself, even if it means knocking you out." The dragon replied with a huff, as it followed me out the door.
"Won't come to that. I have enough brains to know when to back down." I retorted, while standing outside the door. "Well? Aren't you going to make yourself bigger? I can't be seen riding a winged alligator."
The dragon shot me an insulted look before taking its form. Of course, it couldn't tell that I was actually distracting it from the whole thing, to stave off its fear...
