*Katerina's POV*

It was strange to wake up feeling warm. Normally I was shivering and had to wipe the morning dew off my face. I blinked into the darkness, disoriented. Where were the stars? Nor did I hear people moving around like I would if I had managed to find a cheap place to stay. There was just a slow, deep, air-rushing sound that vaguely reminded me of a blacksmith's bellows.

My mind finally caught up, and I looked around. The early morning light came through a narrow gap beside Rakota's shoulder due to how his wing was folded.

I slowly sat up, trying to figure out what I should do. The gap was narrow and too high up for me to squeeze through. Was I supposed to let him know I was awake in case he was just waiting for me to wake up? Or was he still sleeping? He probably wouldn't react well if I disturbed his rest.

I gauged the light outside and guessed it was about the time I normally rose. The dragons would be stirring shortly. There was just enough room to stand, so I stretched and rolled up my bedroll. I was just about to sit down when Rakota lifted his wing, letting the brisk air and light hit me.

He regarded me for a long moment, then said, "We'll be leaving early. There should be enough time for you to make bread if you want."

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll get started," I replied, unsure of what else to say.

A dragon behind Rakota – the female with a brighter red coloration – raised her head and blinked slowly at me. "Good morning."

I wasn't used to the other dragons speaking to me, and it took me a second to recall her name. "Er, good morning, Serepha. I hope you slept well."

"I did," she replied happily, although her gaze had moved to Rakota. She yawned and stretched her wings, seeming to forget about me.

Before any other dragons decided to become talkative, I began walking across the wet grass to the firepit. Diondin and Andar were still curled up, and from how their wings rested on the ground, their riders were still underneath. I rubbed my arms and stretched a bit more to limber my muscles.

I paused mid-stretch when I noticed steam coming from the firepit. A second later, several rain-soaked logs caught fire. When I glanced over my shoulder, Rakota was watching.

I inclined my head. "Thank you."

He blinked slowly but didn't reply. In an attempt to ignore his thoughtful gaze, I added more branches to the fire and went to get water. My eyes skimmed the lake surface as I approached, seeing ripples where minnows and small fish chased insects.

I was actually proud that my footsteps didn't slow as I got closer, although that was only because half a dozen dragons were nearby, and we had stayed by this lake several nights. I wasn't able to look away from the water, but that was only to be expected after having a recent close call with a naga.

As I walked away from the lake, I fought against the urge to check over my shoulder in case something was following me, although I knew there wasn't. Not when Rakota and two of the other dragons were absently watching me. I couldn't imagine a naga showing up without them reacting.

Diondin yawned and lifted his wing as I went by. I hid a smile when I saw Brandon was also yawning as he stumbled away from the dragon.

"Good morning," I said.

"Morn'in," he replied, covering another yawn.

I chuckled at the inelegant riser and went to get the bread started. By the time Brandon managed to make it to the fire, I already had the dough mixed and was just waiting for it to cook.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked as he looked for a dry spot to sit. Finding none, he turned a large piece of bark upside down and sat on the dry side.

"Very well, and I stayed drier than I would have in the shelter." I nodded at the heap of blackened branches off to the side.

"It takes some getting used to." He paused, then continued, "Dragons in general can take a bit of getting used to. Most will ignore you and prefer to be left alone, but some are willing to interact with humans. If you decide to work with them, they are much more tolerant, although it can take them some time to figure things out."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up from the embers. It was almost like he was hinting at something, but for the life of me, I had no idea what it might be.

He stared at the fire, oddly somber. "Remember to remain polite, and also keep in mind that most dragons have gone most of their lives without going near a human, so many of our habits and customs are foreign to them. It's a learning curve for both sides."

"I thought I was being polite?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to recall if I had made a mistake somewhere. His words were also strange. He had never spoken like this before, and I had a feeling I was missing something.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to imply that. Yes, you've been polite and haven't bothered the others, but I've seen some people accidentally insult dragons. I also just wanted to point out that dragons don't always understand or know everything we think they might."

"Like what?"

"Hmmm... One good example is that dragons pick mates for life. Many humans don't realize this and come from a place where divorce, remarriage, and affairs are common. Dragons don't understand how someone can give their heart to someone, then move to a different partner. And suggesting that a dragon should do this – or even worse, that a dragon's parents might have done this – is a huge insult that the person rarely survives."

"I can see that being a touchy topic. What else should I know about?"

"They value their honor, and their pride can make them a bit prickly at times." He shrugged. "I think the manners you've shown so far will stand you in good stead. Just make sure to apologize if you slip."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, turning my head to nod a greeting at Randel, who had just arrived.

"At least it stopped raining," he said as he sat down.

"I'm glad of that," Brandon murmured. "Flying in the rain isn't much fun."

When Randel took a drink from his waterskin, Brandon glanced at mine, which was almost empty. He untwisted the purification ring from his waterskin and passed it to me.

"Here. I can keep an eye on the fire while you refill that."

"Thanks." I had been hoping he'd offer since I was using both pots to cook bread.

When I reached the lake, Rakota was drinking farther down the shore. He ambled over as I refilled my waterskin.

"We don't plan to stop for lunch, Kat, so you'll want to make enough bread before we leave."

The nickname had me blinking, although I kept my wits enough to reply, "I can do that. I assume we're checking more villages for the mages?"

"Yes. We know where they turned off the main road, and there are only eight villages in that area. We should be able to find them today."

I nodded and closed my waterskin while wondering why he was so talkative this morning. First the nickname, and now this. I was very confused by the recent change in his demeanor, and it had me off-balance. Usually he just grumbled, gave orders, and left me to my own devices. I wasn't sure what to think about this.

"Is there anything we should watch for or do differently?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Just keep doing what you were doing. The mages couldn't have gone far."

"Okay. Uh, I better go check the bread and make sure Randel doesn't add too much wood to the fire."

"I'm going hunting. I'll be back soon." He spread his wings and simply seemed to lean forward as he began gliding across the lake, slowly gaining height.

I headed back to the fire, purposely keeping my steps from appearing hasty. I wasn't sure if the excitement of the possible battle today was to blame, but this was a side of Rakota I hadn't seen before. I shook my head and dismissed it. I had to make several loaves of bread before the dragons decided it was time to leave, and I was nowhere near as excited about fighting the mages as they were.

Serepha got up and stretched her wings. As she turned around and settled down, her gaze followed me, making it even harder to avoid rushing back to the campsite. To my relief, she didn't seem inclined to start a conversation.

One talkative dragon was strange enough. Two would be downright creepy.