=>> Animal lover enthusiast tolerant.
Well, when it comes down to it, you'd rather deal with one of Cattelya's animals than a human, anyway. Beasts are simple enough to understand. A serpent, for example, basically just wants a sunny spot on a rock and a live mouse now and again, perhaps scaled upward for size. Lizards are similar. Dragons... can't be too different, right?
You burst through the kitchen in a cacophany of excuses and chattering and are out again with a few large, fresh, and dripping steaks before the servants have the time to gather their wits about them and question your presence.
You try not to think too much on the fact that you're rushing headlong into the forests to track down a predator many times larger than yourself. While carrying an armload of fresh and fragrant meat.
This can't go wrong in any way, right?
.... Less than ten minutes later, you realize that you have been flanked and circled by a pack of feral hounds.
Not good. Worse, in fact, than if they were wolves. Wolves might attack humans, but they are also easily scared off because they fear them. Dogs, by contrast, are familiar with man and so aren't so easily frightened away. Something that would have a wolf fleeing for the underbrush might have a dog leap for your throat.
Which that one just has-
It is interrupted by the snap of massive jaws closing down like a bear-trap, and only manages a sharp and surprised yelp before the dragon crunches further down, and swallows. It only takes another bite before the dog has disappeared and the hounds have bounded for cover as it thumps out before you.
.... It's certainly very big. Well, from a distance, it seems quite small and it's easy to misjudge size even with Tabitha on its back. Up close, the dragon seems quite large.
"Kyu?" it chirps quizzically, staring down at you, and you're reminded that if it could devour a large dog like that in two bites, it would take perhaps three for-
You get your trembling under control, and hold out the steaks.
"Kyuuui~" the dragon croons, nipping them carefully out of your hands as you breathe a sigh of relief.
"... I need to find someone, quickly." You say, trying not to think about how stupid you feel, addressing an animal like this as you edge closer to its side, looking for a handy spine or horn to grip and bring yourself up with. "Can-?"
You don't scream, as the dragon's head swings around and you hear teeth clicking together behind you. But it's a near thing. And then you're in the air, and come down on its back, breathing heavily.
The dragon chirps again before it starts to run, crashing through the forest before it comes to a clearing and leaps, beating its wings strongly...
And airborne.
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