Aytin had gotten used to waking up warm. After all, the fire in Faelon's belly was better than any hot water bottle.

  Something was different this morning. He was warm, yes. But the soft shape he was pressed up against didn't radiate the same heat that he remembered.

  It was also... smaller?

  He opened his eyes, squinting to make out shapes in the faint light. For the first time in what felt like a very long time, Faelon wasn't there to greet him.

  The pile of furs and leather blankets in front of him stirred slightly. Aytin reached out to pull them back, revealing Rina slowly blinking the sleep out of her own eyes.

  She looked around for a moment, and then smiled widely upon realizing that it was Aytin pressed against her. He could feel more than hear her soft purr start up as she nuzzled him.

  Aytin felt himself grin as he returned the affection. And that grin only grew as he recalled the previous night.

  'I never expected my first time to be... well... yeah.'

  And after everything that had happened over the past weeks, a part of him was still waiting for it all to come tumbling down again.

  The rest, though? The rest was perfectly happy to see exactly where this particular path led.

  "Good morning," he said, before giving a quiet yelp as the nuzzle turned into a nip.

  Rina stretched and looked down on him, a coy expression on her face. "Good morning."

  She rose, and the blankets fell away, and...

  Aytin worked very, very hard to push down the instinctive embarrassment that threatened to send him turning away. Instead, he forced himself to watch. That part, at least, wasn't particularly hard. And it had been kind of dark the night before.

  "Saza was wrong, you know?" Rina said as she hunted for her clothes.

  "What?" Aytin had been paying more attention to what she was doing with her tail than her words.

  "She said you are small." Rina looked over her shoulder and flicked an ear playfully when she caught him staring. "You are not."

  That did it. Aytin couldn't contain his embarrassment and Rina burst out laughing as he buried his head deep in the blankets.

  "Awww," she crooned, gently patting him on the shoulder. "Was it that bad? I didn't think so."

  "Noooo." His voice was muffled by the blankets, so Aytin peaked up to look at the other dragonette. She was smiling down reassuringly at him. "It was..." He struggled for the right word in wildling. "It was amazing."

  "Good." And then, a little more quietly, she added, "It was amazing for me, too." Rina gave him one final pat and then flicked the little jog in his horn.

  In retaliation, Aytin aimed a poke at her still bare behind, but the huntress danced away.

  "Hey! Later!" Rina scooped up his clothes and tossed them over. "It is late. We slept too much already."

  "Sleep? You got sleep?"

  His coat came flying and hit him in the face, sending him falling back with a theatrical grunt.

  "Put on your clothes," she ordered. "We can sleep more later."

  "Okay, okay." Aytin pushed himself out of the nest of blankets and started pulling on his pants. This time, he felt a lot less self-conscious about doing it around Rina.

  Soon enough, they were both dressed and at least marginally presentable. Rina led the way out, pulling the hut's leather flap back and letting in the bright, midmorning sun.

  The camp was a hive of activity. Wildlings moved around with a purpose. Many of the faces were familiar from the night before, although Aytin didn't know any by name.

  Breakfast had long since passed, but there were strips of meat laid out near one of the cookfires. Paired with some salted nuts from the cache, it made a decent meal. Certainly better than poorly cooked tirox.

  He was just sitting down to eat when the first of what would turn out to be a near endless stream of wildlings came over to pay their respects. At least most of them seemed busy. They only had time to mutter a "Companion," and bow. But a few tried to engage him in longer conversations.

  "The Matriarchs made their announcement," Aytin remarked as one particularly insistent supplicant by the name of Drav finally left. Aytin vaguely recognized him as one of the dragonettes who backed up Khrik the previous night. "It is good that we get up now. But we should have sooner."

  "That is your fault, not mine."

  He didn't bother with a response beyond a sigh. 'This is going to take some getting used to.'

  There was going to be an assembly of wildlings near noon. Volunteers from all of the nearby settlements would arrive so he could decide which ones would join him in service to the "Dragon Faelon." He should have plenty to choose from.

  Another shadow fell over Aytin as he tried to finish his breakfast. "There you are. I was worried that I would need to send a messenger to find you."

  "Matriarch Vozdi!" Rina was on her feet in an instant, but Aytin took the time to finish his bite before rising.

  "How can I help, Matriarch?" he asked after a short bow of greeting.

  The much older wildling didn't bother with any pleasantries. "Come. We have things to discuss."

  Without another word, she turned and strode off towards the same hut that they had used for their discussions the previous night.

  Aytin looked a question at Rina.

  "It is her way," she answered.

  Having managed to eat his fill between conversations with wildlings, Aytin didn't see any sense in delaying. Still... "How is she a Matriarch?"

  "It is her way," his companion answered. But she quickly clarified. "Matriarch Vozdi was a strong warrior. And a smart one. She is still both. But she is not..." The huntress searched for a tactful way to put it before finally settling on, "Not accepting of weakness."

  "She acts to me like Attalee."

  Surprisingly, the observation was greeted by a nod of agreement. "Attalee is the Matriarch's niece. Her sister's daughter."

  "Oh." There was some resemblance there, come to think of it. Although that sort of web of relations wasn't really unexpected in a tribe this size.

  'Do they get new blood, somehow? It's a big tribe, but not that big.' He made a note to ask about that. But later. A meeting with the wildling leadership wasn't the time for it.

  Inside the hut were three familiar dragonettes and one he didn't recognize.

  "Matriarch Nej?" Aytin guessed as the unknown wildling struggled to her feet. "Please, you do not-"

  "My legs still work," she huffed, confirming her identity and waving away any attempts to help. "Wings, too. I seem to have to remind everyone of that more and more."

  Onlo shook her head at the eldest Matriarch's stubbornness. "Do you want another visit from Healer Agon?"

  "This will not kill me. And the Companion of a Dragon deserves this respect."

  While the other two Matriarchs kept straight-faced at the pronouncement, Cue enthusiastically followed her example, practically jumping to his feet to give his own bow.

  Aytin returned the gestures and then offered a hand to the ancient looking dragonette. She at least seemed grateful to accept help returning to her seat in the cushioning furs.

  Once they were all settled, Aytin began, "Matriarch Nej, I am happy to meet you. And happy to see you healthy."

  She inclined her head in acknowledgment. "And I am very glad to meet you, Companion Aytin."

  "Now, what do you want to talk about?"

  "You have heard about the gathering?" At their guest's nod, Vozdi continued, "You will select your volunteers there. Ten huntresses, no more than sixteen others."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Nine huntresses," Onlo said, a sparkle in her eyes. "He has at least one picked out already."

  "Nine huntresses," Vozdi agreed, and Aytin struggled to keep his ears from instinctively flattening back in embarrassment. "What is your plan for them?"

  Thankfully, it was something he had discussed with Faelon.

  "We have some plans. But we do not know who we have to help us. We cannot plan and not know what we have."

  "I understand that your plans are still in the winds, but we would like to know them anyway."

  So Aytin briefly described a few of the possible ideas. Ambushing the brigands when they returned to the keep. Staging a crash site to draw Xantha to a battlefield of their choice. Picking off individual scouting parties until they had numerical superiority.

  They were the plans that didn't require overwhelming force. Consequently, most focused on surprise to carry the day.

  "Your ideas do not seem particularly honorable," Matriarch Onlo noted as he finished.

  Aytin had to admit she was right. Nor could he blame her. The wildlings shared many of the same beliefs as civilized dragonettes about battle, including a disdain for subterfuge.

  "We are not fighting honorable enemies," he pointed out. "They are traitors. Do they deserve honor? Do you give darklings a chance to defend themselves?"

  "You said these are not darklings."

  "No." He realized that in his rush to justify himself he had mixed up his translation. Taking a deep breath, he clarified. "They are traitors, not darklings. But those are close."

  Matriarch Onlo didn't look happy at this, but she didn't press the point.

  Deciding to steer the conversation elsewhere, Aytin brought up a request he had been meaning to make for some time. "We do need clay pots. Twenty or thirty small ones. They do not need to be good quality. They just need to hold some liquid."

  "When and why?" Vozdi asked, resuming her role as spokeswoman for the trio of elders.

  "Soon. I want to take some back with me. The rest later. Why? We use them to hold Dragon Magic." At their cocked heads, he said, "It is hard to say more. But I say the truth. We fill them with a small part of Faelon's magic and give them to fighters."

  That seemed to impress them, especially Cue. 'I can't let him see how Faelon fills them with his Magic. That might just cause a crisis of faith.' And spit-filled fire pots didn't sound nearly as impressive as handing out jugs of Dragon Magic. The weapon would be useful regardless of the plan they settled on.

  "We also give the fighters weapons. Bows, steel spear heads, knives." They wouldn't have time to train them particularly well with bounty in the cache, nor was Aytin a particularly skilled teacher. He planned to focus on improving the weapons they already used.

  "What about the rest? When will we receive the reward you promised? And the Dragon Magic to let us sleep through the winter?"

  Cue looked like he wanted to say something, but a quick look from Vozdi silenced him. Oddly, Matriarch Nej appeared at least a little uncomfortable as well.

  'A sympathetic voice in the Matriarchs?' He could only hope.

  "I understand you need the things to prepare for winter." 'And in case we die in the attempt,' although that part went unsaid. "We trust you with this. You send workers with us, and they bring back the reward."

  It wasn't like there was any point in holding back. While Faelon could carry the contents of the cache, that would just weigh him down. Nor did they need to worry about the tribe reneging on their word. Even if they weren't as honorable as he had come to believe, the tribe's reverence towards dragons would keep them faithful.

  When the elders seemed to accept that part of the arrangement, he went on to address the other part of Vozdi's question. "I will prepare the Dragon Magic for the long sleep before the fight. Faelon must bless the bark of..." He didn't know the translation for Heaven Oak, so Aytin just said, "The bark from one of the very, very large trees near the keep."

  The gathering suddenly went still, and an uncomfortable silence descended. They weren't quite looking at him like he had admitted to bathing in the ocean, but it wasn't far off.

  Cue was the first to speak. "The Heaven Oak grove... it is sacred. Going there is forbidden."

  Once Rina helped him understand the unfamiliar words, Aytin tilted his head in confusion. "Why?" Sacred certainly made sense. Heaven Oaks were put on the islands by the gods, after all. But forbidden?

  "It has always been forbidden. For as long as anyone can remember. The stories say that the Dragons ordered it so." That last caused the shaman to pause. "But if Dragon Faelon needs it..."

  Clearly, this was a difficult theological problem. Thankfully, it was one that was easily resolved. "I will show you how to gather the bark, Companion Cue," Aytin offered. "We must respect the trees, but Dragon Faelon will give his blessing."

  That seemed to satisfy him, but there were clearly lingering doubts as he slowly nodded his assent. The Matriarchs also deferred to their shaman on this, which was a first in Aytin's experience.

  As they had been speaking, the noise from outside of the hut had grown gradually louder. Conversations and the sound of dragonettes gathering easily penetrated the thin walls.

  "The young Companion needs to choose his volunteers," Matriarch Nej said, her ancient voice only slightly louder than the background noise. "There is nothing more of importance to discuss, and you must leave tonight."

  "We can leave tomorrow. We have enough time that one night is not a problem." And it had nothing to do with getting to spend another night in Rina's bed.

  The eldest Matriarch shook her head, though. "Unless you want to fly in the rain, it should be tonight."

  "Trust her," Onlo added. "She is never wrong about this."

  That was a different matter. And although Aytin was just a little wary of weather predictions after Xantha claimed that particular magical talent, he had no reason to ignore the elder.

  "I will not waste time then," he said, rising to his feet. "But if you have any suggestions for volunteers, please say them."

  Vozdi seemed ready for the request. "Huntress Rina will be able to help you. We trust her in this."

  Without even looking, Aytin could sense Rina would be glowing with pride at the vote of confidence. "I trust her, too."

  "Oh, we know," Onlo added with a wide grin, and this time Aytin couldn't quite stifle his embarrassment.

  "Tell us the names you select," Vozdi said, pointedly ignoring her fellow's antics. "We will prepare others to retrieve the items you have promised. Now go." She made a gesture of dismissal, and Aytin gave the assembled leaders a small bow before leaving.

  If anything, the central clearing was even more crowded than at the feast. It couldn't be the entire tribe, but a rough estimate put it at a little under half of them. Seventy, maybe eighty wildlings, and most of them unfamiliar faces.

  Most of them.

  "You talked a long time."

  Twisting, Aytin saw the speaker and smiled. "Hello Saza. What are you doing here?"

  The hatchling was standing near the Matriarchs' hut, apparently waiting for them to finish. She gave him a disdainful look and waved with a pointed stick that could charitably be called a spear.

  "I am here to fight!"

  "Aren't you a-" He stopped himself before he went any further. Instead, he asked, "Are you good with that spear?"

  She nodded profusely. "I am the best!" Saza proceeded to start stabbing at invisible targets, and she did seem to handle the spear rather well for someone her age.

  "You've gotten so good, Saza!" Rina gushed. "You've kept up your practice while your mom and I were gone."

  "Yeah, Aunt Rina! Every day!"

  "Then you're going to be a great huntress. But..." she trailed off, expression turning somber. "But you need to pass the trials, first."

  Saza's snout wrinkled in annoyance. "That won't be until forever!"

  "Only a few years. And if you keep training-"

  "I'm ready!" The look of righteous indignation on the little girl's face was priceless. Suddenly, something occurred to her and she turned to Aytin. "If Dragon Faelon says I'm a huntress, then I'm a huntress."

  It wasn't a question. And although dragon-ly authority might go far among these people, doubtless even they would balk at promoting a hatchling to the rank of huntress. Not that Aytin had any intention to try.

  "He could. But do you know that I have a sister? And she is a huntress?"

  The little girl shrugged. "So?"

  "At my home, it takes years and years of work to be a huntress. To show you and show other huntresses you are the best. My sister Lin wouldn't know how good she is if a dragon just says that she is a huntress."

  "I know how good I am!"

  "Are you sure? Don't you get better every time you train? That means you don't know how good you can be until you train lots more."

  Saza was starting to look like she might come around, and Rina took the opportunity to step in. "And all the other best huntresses are going to fight for Dragon Faelon. Me, your mom, Aunt Ness and Verk and Okoni. The tribe needs protecting while we're away."

  Finally, the little girl relented. "That makes sense."

  "And you know that most of the lookouts and huntresses are here, right? There's no one to keep watch. Anything could be sneaking up right now!"

  That did it. Saza waved her spear in a salute and took off with a shouted, "I'm on my way!"

  Both stifled smiles as they watched the girl fly off. But something Rina had said stood out to Aytin.

  "You said that Attalee will fight?" Ness hadn't made any secret about her eagerness to join in against Faelon's enemies, and both Verk and Okoni seemed willing enough. But Attalee?

  She had done her best to avoid speaking to him since the day Cue arrived in the camp. Aytin had figured that she would be returning to the tribe as soon as the chance presented itself.

  "We talked before we left. All of us. Attalee wants to stay. Ness, Verk, and Okoni, too."

  "Huh." There weren't equivalent ranks among wildling huntresses like the coppered, silvered, and gilded back home, but Attalee was skilled enough to at least be considered towards the top. If she wanted to fight, he would take her.

  That filled half of the huntress slots he had. At the same time, it raised more questions. "She say why?"

  "Attalee... she has lots of reasons," Rina said after a moment's thought. "She knows you have honor. She will fight."

  "She doesn't want to talk to me."

  "No! It is not that! She does, but she is..." When he didn't understand the word, Rina explained, "She is like her daughter."

  He blinked, then nodded. "I think I understand. She thinks she is the best?"

  "No. But yes. Attalee is proud. She sees what you and Dragon Faelon are doing for us. And she hears what Companion Cue says. But she doesn't want to let anyone else decide for her.

  "I think it is hard for her. She knows what we must do, but she doesn't know. Not inside. Do you understand?"

  Again, Aytin nodded. His sister Suuie was like that. Prickly, like a needlefruit. "I will talk to her when we go back."

  Then he looked back to the mass of assembled wildlings. Their conversations had quieted and most were casting glances their way. A few were outright staring.

  Aytin looked towards the sun to gauge the time, and then at the crowd. "We need to be fast to leave tonight."

  "If we are fast, there might be time for more than that." The words were accompanied by a prod to his back that none of the onlookers could see.

  "Then we will be fast," he whispered back before stepping forward to greet the crowd of volunteers.