Chapter 5 - Part 1

Jason awoke the next day to a sound like a dog chewing on the carpeting. He felt barely rested and while not as stiff as the morning before certainly more sore. He glanced over at what was making the sound. A quick glance showed it was just a dragon rooting through the top of Jenna's pack, nothing to worry about. He rolled over and tried to find a more comfortable position where grass stems were not poking him through the sleeping bag. His eyes closed and he nearly fell asleep before he realized what he had just seen.


He rolled onto his back and managed to grab his sword while kicking free of the sleeping bag. He yelled what he hoped was a convincing battle cry and swung his sword up to strike the offending creature. The creature in turn gave him a very convincing look of irritation and went back to pawing through the pack. Since the dragon seemed to not be offering any immediate threat, and since he felt like an idiot brandishing his sword while being ignored, Jason lowered his arm.


The dragon, if that is what it was, was only about the size of a large house cat. It looked like a standard European style dragon, just in miniature. It was about three feet long from the head to the tail. The hind legs appeared to be a bit longer then the front making it look crouched even when it was just standing. Two small horns were at the back of its head, leading to a trail of ridges going down the spine. It was pale blue at the belly darkening to a nice royal blue on the back. The scales were tipped with purples and greens so the whole creature seemed to shimmer in the light. The wings were standard batwings, except they had very pale blue, green, and purple colored membranes. As he watched, the creature found a package of beef jerky and started tearing it open.


He heard Jenna mutter behind him, it sounded somewhat inquisitive so he went ahead and replied. "Just a dragon going through your pack. Seems harmless though."


He heard a sleepy "S'ok" and started to count to ten. He was on eight when he heard, "Dragon??"


"Just a little one," Jason shot his friend a triumphant grin and watched her try to jump up while still in her sleeping bag. She fell very near her pack and the dragon hopped back alarmed. The little drake ate all the jerky in three big bites and then moved to investigate the prone girl. Jason shifted grips on his sword, just in case. But after a couple of sniffs, the dragon started licking Jenna's cheek.


She managed to climb to her feet and scrubbed at the dragon kisses. "Eww lizard drool." She tried to sound annoyed but could not completely get rid of her smile. It only grew wider when the little dragon launched into the air and settled on her shoulder. It seemed to ignore her, despite sitting on her shoulder, and began to clean the remnant of its meal from its face.


"Jason? As cool as this is, the claws are starting to dig in. Do you think you could shoo him off?"


"I can try, but last time it just ignored me. I think it knows I'm not going to hurt it." He picked up his staff and tried waving it and yelling again, but the little dragon paid no more attention this time then the last time. It even went so far as to turn its back on him in apparent distain.


Jenna shook her arm, "The dragon is a 'him' not an 'it', I don't think he liked you insulting him. Let me try. Ok now, shoo." The dragon looked disgusted but kicked off and took flight. "Ouch, man those takeoffs hurt." The dragon circled a few times then landed at Jenna's feet.


"I think he likes you Jenna. Maybe you have a new pet." Jason set his staff back down and lowered himself to the ground.


Jenna's eyes unfocused for a second and then she looked confused. "It's weird. I can almost feel the little guy behind my eyes. He does like me. His name is. His name is something with an F? Fireon. That's it. His name is Fireon." The dragon seemed to smile and rubbed his head against Jenna's leg.


"How are you doing this Jenna? I can't believe you suddenly gained the ability to read minds. That's just a little too far fetched even for these circumstances." Not to mention how disturbing it would be to have her know what he was thinking at any given time.


"I don't know. I'm not reading his mind, not really. It's more like a weird sort of instant understanding. It's like he chose me and by doing so we gained a bond on some subconscious level. Maybe it's just the way dragons are here." She shook her head. "That feels wrong somehow, but not completely. I don't know exactly. I do know he's going to be staying with us for a while and it certainly can't hurt to have an aerial scout and native guide along for the ride." No sooner had the words left her mouth then Fireon bounced to her shoulder then took off. "I am going to need to need to work out some sort of shoulder padding though. He's worse then an affectionate lap cat with those claws."


While the newest member of their group circled above, Jenna and Jason rigged the leather coin pouch into shoulder protection then packed up the camp site. Seeing the end of the grass looming ahead had given them an extra incentive to get an early start and by the time lunch rolled around they were at the very edge of the trees. They found a small spring and refilled their water supply. Then they made a small fire and had a bit of canned stew with a fresh water base. After an hour or so of rest, Jason checked the staff again and they found their course had drifted a bit in the haste to leave the plain. They made the correction and were lucky enough to find an old game trail heading in roughly the same direction.


Fireon came swooping in before the trees completely closed up. He had blood and feathers on his face, evidence enough of a successful hunt. He landed on his new perch, and made himself comfortable. At first the trees were a pleasure. The shade was nice and cool and there was no need to hack as the undergrowth was mostly non-existent. But the ground was uneven, and the trees seemed almost alive. It was as if the roots rose up to trip them and branches reached down to snag their hair. And then there were the clouds of gnats. These tiny gnats got everywhere, in their eyes, in their ears, and in their clothes. Jenna produced a can of bug repellent, but it had no noticeable effect.


Several hours before sunset, they found a nice little clearing. There was a stream running through it and the sun actually broke through the tree tops to paint the ground in light and shadows. Even the gnats were less prevalent, and they decided to make an early camp. They set the tent up together and sprayed it down with bug spray to hopefully keep the worst of the gnats away. Then Jenna grabbed her small toiletry kit and claimed the first bath. When Fireon tried to follow, she rather sharply told him to stay put. Deep understanding or not, there are some things animals were simply not meant to know.


Figuring he had a little while to wait, Jason took the collapsible shovel and started digging a fire hole. It did not take too long and feeling ambitious, he decided to go ahead and make a privy just outside of the clearing. When he returned to camp, Jenna was still no where to be found. He decided to sort out some of the more dirty clothes so he could hand wash them in the stream and let them dry over night. He was getting tired of smelling like day old sweat socks. He pulled out the clothes on top and tossed them to the side and then dug deeper through the pack looking for more.


When he looked up, he saw the dragon sitting at the edge of the clearing, one of Jason's shirts in his mouth. As if he was waiting to be noticed, Fireon took off just as soon as he met Jason's eyes. "Hey come back here!" Jason shouted and took off after the fleeing thief. He led Jason on a merry chase. Jason was faster but Fireon could slip through spaces far too small for Jason. Somehow the dragon managed to stay just slightly ahead of him no matter what Jason tried. Finally, Fireon stopped on a small moss covered hill, shirt still in his mouth. "Drop it horn head. This isn't a game." The little drake opened his mouth and seemed to smile as he took off into the trees again.


Cursing under his breath, Jason walked over the small rise and reclaimed his shirt. It was only then that he realized the crafty lizard had led him completely around the clearing and directly below his current position was his best friend up to her waist in water. "Why that little..." Jason's curse was cut off as Jenna started to turn around and he had to flatten himself on the hill to avoid being spotted.


Even pressed to the dirt, Jason could still see Jenna, and for a moment all his brain would register was shock. Jenna had grown up when he was not looking. He had been swimming with her as recently as the previous summer and she looked much different now. Last year there had been little to show her gender, but now she had very pleasant curves both above and below the water. Standing in the water with her hair wet and straight, she looked like some sort of aquatic nymph. Then his mind kicked in and told him this was his best friend he was ogling. He snuck back down the hill before he did something stupid.


Making a more direct path back to the camp, Jason found the lizard sitting on the pile of clothes and grinning at him in obvious satisfaction. "I'll deal with you later you overgrown canary." The dragon hopped off the clothes, but never stopped smiling. Jason had just finished reorganizing his things when Jenna reappeared. Her hair was still damp and she was smiling ear to ear. "That feels so much better. Your turn Jason, and don't come back until you stop smelling like you slept in your clothes. On a dung heap."


Grumbling about dragons and quests and unsupportive best friends, Jason gathered up his clothes and soap and headed for the stream. He deliberately headed for a different area then the one Jenna used. No point in tempting fate or in this case in tempting drake. He found a nice little bend in the stream where it widened and deepened slightly. Taking a quick look around to be sure no one was watching, Jason stripped and waded into the deepest section. The water was cold but not too bad so he allowed his body to sink to his shoulders. He washed quickly but thoroughly, dunking under repeatedly to rinse off the soapy residue.
When he was finished he climbed out of the stream and quickly dried himself with one of his t-shirts before slipping on a pair of clean underwear. He grabbed the dirty clothes and began dunking them in the stream, applying liberal amounts of soap and then rinsing them out. As soon as he washed an item he hung it from a branch so it could start to dry. He was about halfway through with his clothes when he heard a noise behind him.


His sword was still clipped to the jeans he had been wearing so he scrambled to retrieve it. The noise got louder as he stood there. Whatever was coming, it was definitely heading his way and he doubted anything in these woods was friendly. He assumed his fighting stance, with his fear growing every second as the noise got closer. Finally the branches before him parted and he swung the sword back to strike. But what stepped through the trees was a short auburn haired figure.


"Damn it Jenna. You scared me half to death stomping around out there. I could have skewered you!" Jason yelled letting out a relieved breath. He was nearly shaking from the sudden adrenaline rush.


Jenna giggled in reply. "Oh look it's the Knight of the Tightie Whities."


"Oh very funny carrot top." Jason tried not to blush as he remembered his state of dress and began searching for a clean pair of pants to pull on. While he made himself a bit more presentable he tried to regain his mental footing. "What are you doing here anyway? It's my turn to bathe."


"Oh I saw you take the dirty clothes and decided that was a smart idea. I made sure to allow you enough time to actually take your bath. And if you had still been in the water, I just would have gone further down stream. Besides" she finished with a smirk, "you peeped at me. It's only fair."


Jason started to stammer his denials his face heating up when Jenna cut him off. "It's ok. I know it was Fireon just trying to get you in trouble. I sensed him as soon as he got close. Though you did stay longer then was strictly necessary now didn't you?" She continued, smirk still firmly in place.


Jason's stuttering excuses continued for a while before Jenna showed a bit of mercy. "I'm not embarrassed about it Jase. A girl likes to be admired now and again. Next time be a bit more careful though ok?"


"Not embarrassed? You? Jenna you used to wear your gym shorts under your school clothes so you wouldn't have to change in the girl's locker room. You got embarrassed the one time you tripped after the pep rally and flashed your panties at the cheerleaders. And they actually have a cheer called the 'Panty Flash'." Jason shook his head. It was almost like he did not know her any more.


Jenna shrugged, "Yeah I know. But it's odd. I feel a lot more comfortable here. Maybe I'll just stop wearing clothes all together. They are such a nuisance you know?"


Jason began to stammer and turned bright red again, before he caught the barely suppressed evil grin. "You should have seen the look on your face Jason."


Jason threw her a sour look and went back to washing his clothes. After a moment of soft laughing, Jenna joined him. She seemed to take great pleasure in waving all of her undergarments in front of his face just to see if he would blush again. Luckily, Jason had almost finished his washing and was able to make a quick tactical withdraw to the camp site before she scored any more points on him.
He got back and hung up his wet clothes on a nearby tree to drip dry over night. He pulled on the cleanest shirt he could find from his pack and borrowed a comb from Jenna's kit to try and make his hair behave a little bit. She had set up the tent and laid out their sleeping bags while he had been at the stream, so he started gathering and breaking up wood for a cook fire.

By the time Jenna had returned, he had a nice little blaze started and she took over the cooking duties. After a warm and generally filling meal of franks and beans, they got ready to settle down for the night.


Just before they entered the tent, Jenna spun around and yelled. "Fireon, you stop that this instant you bad dragon."


Jason looked and saw the dragon was in the process of knocking all of his clean clothes to the ground. Grabbing his staff he growled, "That's the last straw you little pain in the ass." And stalked over to tree where his clothes were hanging. The dragon seemed to be taking him seriously for once, because Fireon puffed himself up, wings spread and hissed. Completely undaunted, Jason swung his staff around prepared to knock the irritating lizard all the way back to the grass plain. He would have succeeded to but suddenly Jenna was in the way. There was no way to stop the swing but he was able to redirect it to the ground. The jolt of wood on earth shot up his arm and nearly made his teeth chatter.


"That's enough Jason. You aren't going to hurt him. He's just jealous of you because we're friends. If you are going to pummel someone, you'll have to settle for hitting me." Jason gritted his teeth and managed to not say any of the things he really wanted to say.


"And you" she continued, her voice growing colder. "You will stop this foolishness immediately. Jason is my best friend and I'm not going to let you keep playing these pranks on him. I don't care if you like him but if you want to stay here you will treat him with respect. If not you can leave right now!" The little drake's head lowered and he managed to look abashed. "Go on, apologize." The dragon, looking most put upon, hopped from the tree and got close enough to give Jason's hand a lick. "That's better." She walked over and gave the dragon a kiss on the head and Jason a kiss on the cheek. "You two are such men sometimes!"


Jason started to collect his clothes with Jenna's help. They were a tad dusty but they were fine once he brushed them off. It took only a couple of minutes to completely repair the damage from the prank. Seeing that there was little real harm done, Jason's temper eased. That is until he looked over and saw the dragon was sticking his tongue out at him behind Jenna's back. It was obvious that Jenna's words had had little real impact. The silly creature was just going to try to be more subtle. With a sigh, Jason went back to the tent to get some rest. He expected a long day tomorrow.

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