:: http://www.geocities.com/dragynmistress ::
:: By Jennifer Vromant			   ::
:: jen_vromant@yahoo.com		   ::
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Spoof - Chapter 15

The girl rode across the beach upon a white mare.  The sun shone warmly on her back and the water splashed the mare's galloping legs.  Her senses were filled with the sea and the wind.  She watched a shadow glide across the sand and looked up to find its source.  A large dragon glided effortlessly across the sky.  Suddenly the horse reared and the girl fell into the water.

The coldness shocked her out of her dream.  She opened her eys and saw grey.  The mountainsides were drenched and the sky was still clouded, but it had stopped raining.  She shivered from the cold, then remembered where she was.

A large wing covered her and kept her dry.  Her eyes traced the small veins in the leathery wing and the dragon's head lay heavy in her lap.  She lightly ran her fingers from the bridge of its nose to its brow, feeling the smoothness of the reddish scales.  Its breathing was strong and steady and it reassured her.  She leaned back againsts its stomach and shivered again.  She tried to will the cold away with her mind and closed her eyes.

She slept again and dreamt of home.  Her father worked their little farm all day and her mother cleaned the house or helped farm.  Her brother took care of the few cows they had.  Once a week a man would come by to collect any extra milk from the cows.

Her father belonged to the Dragonwatch community with most of the local farmers.  They couldn't afford to lose any crops or livestock to dragons.  She tensed as memories invaded her dreams and she remembered what they had done to the last dragon they had caught.