Dominic vs. Altrea

He'd smile faintly, following behind her with a faint hum, looking around as they reached the village...he had questions but he wasn't sure how to go about asking them.

"You've kept this place in one piece, huh...?"

"I have, it's not very hard work. Hmmmmm, no point beating around the bush about it, I'm the only one left here. There were never many of us, but we were always able to take care of ourselves.... until sickness found us. I was the only one to survive." Altrea explained solemnly, leading him to the center of town.

"...hm, I know I travel a lot but...if you'd be alright with it, perhaps I could make some sort of move over here? Maybe help you stay less lonely since it means I'd be coming here after my journeys and such..." He'd offer, tone somewhat hesitant as he spoke

(I am...so sorry for the wait, I'd *thought* that I wrote a reply, but either it didn't send and I didn't notice or I...just forgot)

"Would you really? Of all the things I'd thought you'd say..." Altrea thought deeply about this as she gave her home another look over. "You're welcome here, Dominic. On one condition: only tell those you trust about this place. I'd rather not have it become a tourist attraction." She confirmed with a soft smile.

He'd listen to her words carefully, giving a small nod in confirmation as well as a gentle smile. "you have my word..."

"Good. I'll be here. I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave quite yet, so you can rest assured that anything you store here will be under my protection." The dragoness told him as she sat down and relaxed. She wondered if her guest had anything more he wanted to say to her, as she was unsure of what to say to him.

"Well, I look forward to possibly sparring with you again in the future, maybe even...uh, more-...but for now I believe I'll be on my way, thank you very much, Altrea..." He'd smile and turn to head off, unless Altrea had anything else she needed to say

(unless there's more you wanna do, I'm down to say that's a good stopping point!)

"Farewell, Dominic. Take care." The lone dragon of the mountain waved goodbye to her visitor, but looked forward to his next visit. Perhaps she could stand to be less cut off from the outside world, if there were more people as kind as him inhabiting it.

The End

(That was a lot of fun! Thanks for writing with me and for being as patient as you were with my vanishing, I'd be happy to write more with you someday if you'd like, maybe some longer adventure?)