The scales felt smooth at times, rough on some parts, yet equally hard under her soft palm but she felt more and more excited as she moved her hand along his head.

“You feel warm.”

In response, she heard a grunt from him once again, as if he was approving what she said. Maybe it was mere intuition, but she swore she could feel the difference between his responses to her.

“Draven?”

He opened his eyes and looked at her and she could see her entire body’s reflection in that large red eye of his.

She offered him a gentle smile. “I was wrong, you are not scary.”

He slowly rubbed his head against that tiny palm of hers, being careful not to hurt her. He heard her continue, “Your wings are beautiful, so big. They must stir everything up around you whenever you fly.”

Something flickered in his eyes, and the next moment, Ember felt her body being lifted in air by an invisible force.

“What the—! Draven, are you doing this? Are you using your powers?”

In response, she received another grunt, and her expression brightened when she understood the meaning of it.

The next second, she found herself sitting on the graceful curve between his long neck and his torso.

Like an excited little girl, she embraced that neck, caressing and rubbing its scales.

“Wah! The view is nice up here!” she exclaimed while giggling.

She somewhat pressed her legs against his body in reflex, the way she would when riding a horse..

“What are you planning, Draven? Are we going to be flying with me riding you?” she asked in a joking manner. “Should I say ‘Giddy up’? Where are the reins and the saddle?”

He grunted in a response, and when his wings started to open, only then did she realize he was being serious.

“Wait, Draven, I have nothing to hold onto properly. I might fall down.”

In response to her complaint, she felt an invisible force surrounding her, making her sit firmly as if she was simply riding a carriage. She tried to wriggle her bottom and realized she was  stuck to her place with magic.

A childish grin spread across her face.

“Fly! Fly high! I am ready!” she said with the same enthusiasm as a little girl on her first outing.

As much as she was somewhat uneasy to fly without any physical item attached to her, she believed in Draven’s powers even though she could not see it. He turned his head to look at her as if to confirm whether she was ready.

Understanding his inquiry, she offered him a smile with her trembling lips as her body was shivering with excitement.

“I am fine…I guess…” she herself was not sure. “I’ll scream if I can’t take it.”

Draven blinked at her, and the next moment, his wings were outstretched at their fullest. Ember turned her head to look at them, and seeing them up close, they looked like curtains made of thick, tough black fabric.

‘Next time, I will ask him if I can touch his wings.’

She felt his body move down a little before taking flight into the air.

“Ahhhhhh!”

A happy squeal left her throat as she rode on her mate towards the sky.

The sudden rush made her instinctively close her eyes and embrace his neck, and only when she felt him steadily gliding did she dare take a peek at what’s below them. She realized they were flying relatively low, and she was able to observe the field of dandelions under them.

After a lap or two around the field, the distance between them and the ground slowly increased and Ember realized Draven was going to fly higher.

From just the view of the meadow, now she could also see the rolling hills surrounding the dandelions, as if it was hiding that field within.

With another mighty flap of his wings, Draven started to fly elsewhere, leaving the dandelion field behind.

Roar!

Just then, Ember found Draven letting out a mighty roar, sounding like a beast warning others to stay away from its territory.

He had turned his head to his left, but when she followed where he was looking, she seemed to have seen… birds?

Her eyesight was not sharp like Draven’s, but she could guess they must be shapeshifters from the feathered race, and Draven didn’t like to be watched by them. She found those dots-like images in the sky flying away.

Ember giggled and patted his neck, but she could not stop herself from getting amused by their reaction. A single roar from a Dragon was enough for everyone to run away as if their lives depend on it.

‘Poor people, they must have been terrified.’

Still, a bright smile remained on her face as she enjoyed the sensation of the wind brushing against her body. She felt like an adventurer from a novel. While most main characters ride animals like horses, she was more special because she’s riding a Dragon.

After riding for some time, her enthusiasm finally dwindled.

Ember was starting to feel tired and her throat ached after all that excited screaming.

“Draven, I’m thirsty…”

In response, the Black Dragon landed on the banks of a river. He helped Ember climb down using his powers. The moment her feet touched the grassy field below, she felt her legs turn weak and wobbly. Her body was trembling with all that adventurous flight. She fell on her knees, and without hesitation, laid on the ground flat on her stomach.

As she breathed heavily, she mumbled some words while smiling ear to ear.

“That was awesome.”

After some time, she rolled  around and laid on her back, but there was no Dragon in sight.

“Where did he go?” she panicked and sat up, only to find a handsome black-haired man walking towards her, carrying something in his hands.

The man was half-naked, having only a short animal hide wrapped around his waist till the mid of his thigh.

“D-Draven?”