With no preparation in hand (except the little talk of encouragement) and no knowledge on how to talk with a dragon, the three decided to talk with the dragon again. Hans wished she was not being hard or simply annoyed, though he really wished he was just inside his own cabin on the Blackjack relaxing and not trying to convince a dragon and suffer possibly life-threatening injuries.

But he felt a little safer walking with Adeline and Ulster, both being the werewolves closest to his age and those who he had befriended since leaving Angla. Both also had specific skills that could make the negotiations a bit less awkward. Adeline, being the heiress of a trading family who happened to be Tragorian nobles, claimed and showed that she had experience when it came to negotiations, especially since she was responsible for the Anglan branch of her family's trading company. Adeline was charismatic and shrewd, but not manipulative. She was also brave enough to be part of the expedition crew despite her position.

Ulster, while he was less of a talker, was more of an academic with knowledge in cultures. If he could make sense of the Raptors, then he could try and surmise what the dragon's plight was so they could smoothen the whole talk. He did admit to the other two, while walking to the beach, that he had no business tact and could only spew out logic and facts.

Hans wanted more people to join them, at least for him to feel safe by the numbers. However, they all had their own reasons. He also had a feeling that many of them would flatly refuse. The Holdens would want to, since they already had an adventuring mindset. However, they were still busy trying to build relations between the Raptors and the passengers. Others, like Henrietta, would not be interested in talking with a dragon as they were more preoccupied with their engineering work maintaining the ship. The other passengers could also accompany them, but they had not met the dragon, and like the three, they would be petrified. Still, Hans started to wonder if he was thinking about this too much. He had no experience or useful skills, and he was volunteering as a passenger because he wanted excitement in his life. He had more than enough excitement, but he somehow felt it wasn't enough.

He still wanted to risk his life to find a new land, and the dragon could provide him with that. It was foolish, but he could not turn around, not after everything he had gone through.

They soon reached the beach and blew the horn once more. The dragon was circling around on the air before she landed. The gust of wind created by her landing still overwhelmed the three, even if they were more prepared than the first time.

"What do you need, little ones?" she said with a slight annoyance in her voice. "I would prefer not to be disturbed."

Hans readily let Adeline talk to the dragon, partially wanting to know her strategy. To his surprise, Adeline had a different idea.

"We apologize for the disturbance, dragon," said Adeline. "But let me be frank, for I know you have no such patience. We want you to be our guide. Help us find a safe passage through the sea. In return, we will ensure that whatever grievances you have with your people be dealt with."

This direct approach surprised Hans and Ulster, who thought she would try to have a conversation with the dragon first before opening her cards. Hans, especially, expected her to do what he thought noble people do: make long, elaborate conversation that talked about gossips, rumors, and anything similar. Hans was even prepared for its tediousness and Adeline simply threw that out of the window. Her request was so direct it sounded like a demand.

The surprise caused Hans to turn at her and said, "I thought we are here to talk terms, not demanding her to help us!"

"We have nothing to offer her except words and she knows it," said Adeline with confidence. "She respected honesty. I know she is."

The dragon was, of course, surprised and amused by Adeline's directness. So amused, in fact, that she started chuckling, which slowly escalated into a laugh. The three were a little taken aback by her laugh. It sounded so cheery, but still dangerous since it came out of her imposing appearance.

"Oh, I have never laughed like that for a long time," she said as she finished laughing. "You humored me, red-furred one. You really do. But if it was a serious remark, then you have a courage comparable to the Raptors of this island, and to the people of the land I chose to leave behind."

So...."

"But my answer is still no," she said as she returned to her serious expression. "You showed undaunted courage, but I have lived more than your ages combined and hurt more than you imagine. My choice remains, and I will stay on this island as the guardians of the Raptors."

"Then what can we do?" asked Hans.

"One thing. Consider my offer and get out of my sight," said the dragon with a growl. "I do not have limitless patience."

"And we can be as stubborn as you are," said Adeline. "I will stand my ground and swore by the name of de Rochefort family that I will finish my job and earn the rights to proudly wear the crest of my family. I will stay, and even die, until you change your mind, noble one."

"A very commendable authority, noble wolf," said the dragon. "And a stubbornness that, while foolish, a valuable thing to have. However, I know I will still outlive you even if you spend years trying to convince me. By then, I can tell you will be alone, for the others have moved on. And besides, even if you try to force me, I can show how easily that ship of yours sink like a heap of metal that it is."

Adeline's unwavering courage did not dissuade her, but the dragon was right. Adeline already lost in term of stubbornness. Hans felt that he could try and do a different approach by appealing to sympathy and let her understand that she was not the only one being unfairly treated, even if it could not compare.

"I can understand your reluctance to return, dragon," said Hans. "I understand the hostility of the people and the loss you suffered. I know that feeling well. Lycanthropes like me are ostracized simply because we walked two worlds. They are governed by their own fear, and I understand that. However, you can't be governed by it. You are far too great to be defeated by your own fear."

"Do not talk to me about fear, black wolf!" she said with an angry tone. "Your sympathy will not change them. In fact, in time, you will have no choice but to agree with them! Your opinion will kill you, just as those pitiful creatures waging a war upon each other simply because of dragons ruling the sky! In time, they will agree that we are the blight, and I refuse to die for their selfish reasons!"

"Then kill us if you have to!" exclaimed Adeline. "Kill us and be done with it! We will not move an inch from this spot. You cannot scare us anymore!"

Ulster realized the logical fallacy of that declaration, as did the dragon, who he could see let out a smirk. He sighed.

"Adeline, I don't think those are the right words to say to a dragon twice the size of a bear," he said, feeling defeated.

The dragon then ran towards the three and snatched them with her hand-like front claws. She then opened her wings and started taking off, causing the three to panic due to the abrupt change in altitude. They were quickly taken by fear from two factors: their paws dangling as the ground rapidly shrunk in size, and the razor-sharp talons that could easily rend flesh much like an eagle's.

Meanwhile, Jamie, who was talking with the crew near the Blackjack, saw the dragon flying above them with the other passengers. At first, he thought that the negotiation was a success, despite of thinking that it could be impossible. Then, he saw the dragon flying further away from the island and into the open seas, along with noticing that the three young werewolves he asked to talk with the dragons inside her claws.

Hans also realized that they passed the Blackjack and was the first to realize her intentions. He panicked and shouted, "Wait! I can't swim! You can't drop me here! Can we at least talk about this?!"

"There is no better time to learn while cooling your foolish heads," said the dragon. "Off you go, then!"

The dragon then opened her claws and let the three drop a considerable, but not fatal, height into the sea. Hans screamed the loudest as they hit the salty water. They were not prepared for it, so the fall was painful for them. They were momentarily dazed in the water before they floated to the surface. Both Ulster and Adeline started to swim to land, but then they saw Hans flailing around and panicking. Ulster helped Hans as they swam to shore, noticing that the sea was quite shallow and there was nothing to fear.

Jamie saw the dragon flying over them and back to the mountain. With a sigh, he said, "At least they tried. Did not think she would drop them in the sea like that, though."

Jamie wanted to help them, at least because one of them could not swim. But before he could, they already reached land. The werewolf captain approached them and, jokingly, said, "So? How did it go?"

"Almost drowned, thank you very much," said Hans, sarcastically.

"Well, we are lucky she did not just outright kill us," said Adeline. "Though for a moment there, I really thought she will."

"You expected her to kill us?" said Ulster in disbelief. "Adeline, I appreciate your charisma, but we are not in a play. Not everyone acts like the lady Charlotte."

"Sorry. I thought it was a good idea."

The heat of the tropical island was enough to make them dry before they returned to the ship and had a bath as they reflected on their experience. They dodged a fate where they would end up dead after doing such risky job. Hans, in particular, did not want that to be the case. He did not want to die for such reasons.

The three got to the lounge to relax with the music and tried not to feel too shaken by what they just experienced. The other passengers, especially those who saw what the dragon did to them, talked to them about their risky stunt. While Adeline and Ulster tried to be civil about it, Hans preferred to stay out of that discussion and drink his tea in peace. Still, Jamie approached him and sat across his chair, along with Adeline and Ulster after they excused themselves from the other passengers.

"Well, well," he said with a chuckle. "Got yourselves outmaneuvered by the dragon, eh? Never thought that would be possible."

"And I doubt we can convince her after this blunder," said Hans. "Sorry."

"Now that I think about it," said Adeline. "I was a bit too demanding to her. I can tell she appreciates it, but we might be pushing it."

"Ah, well, let me give you an advice, lady de Rochefort. You can expect her to behave like a lady in court. She is smart, tactful, and on top of that, she is a dragon. Your demands will be shrugged off as a joke and touching on her pain will only open a wound she is trying to close. On top of that, she's older than every one of us on this ship."

"So, what are we supposed to do? At this point, we already lost before we start," said Adeline.

"How about if you try and out-stubborn her? Sure, it sounds impossible, but I bet even a dragon has a soft side."

"You want to try that theory of yours?" said Ulster.

"I'm not much of a talker. I can certainly try, but don't expect anything."

"No. Leave the talking to us," said Adeline. "We can let you risk your life for something like this, Jim. You have a responsibility to keep this ship from harm and make the decision. This talk is just starting, and I am going to finish it. You two agree?"

Hans and Ulster weren't sure what to say except to nod their heads. They did not expect her to be so headstrong. Clearly, the dragon's rejection was considered a challenge by her. She wanted to try and make the dragon changed her mind or at least open up on her past so that they could judge whether it was worth it to cross the seas. Maybe that, due to her trauma, she exaggerated everything. She could respect that, but it wasn't the dragon's call.

It was also a way for her to talk with the dragon and train her own diplomatic skills. She had a feeling that it would be needed sooner or later. If she could convince the dragons with only words, she already felt like a winner.

"Heh," said Jamie. "That's a lady I like. Unfortunately, I can only give you a week. We are only supposed to be here for three days to explore and reconfigure the ship. We can still resupply with the help of the villagers, but more than that, I will have no choice but to take on her offer and go home. Some of the passengers have a short temper and they will not appreciate waiting for that long. I suggest you prepare yourself, or else we'll try this expedition without involving her. It won't be pretty, but it's much better than being stuck in ice."

Adeline nodded, already expecting it to be the case.

Hans wondered if it was the stupidest idea they ever had, though he did not want to give up just yet. Maybe it was because he still had a desire to see the land the dragons came from, or maybe he did not want to stay around doing nothing. Whatever his reasons were, he agreed to go with Ulster and Adeline, albeit with a slight reluctance.

As they walked through the village carrying camping equipment and through the jungle path (again, with the shaman's consent), Ulster, who started to ponder about the situation they got into, remarked, "I wonder if 'to out stubborn a dragon' will become a saying."

"To indicate what?" asked Adeline.

"Either an impossible task or being able to convince a stubborn person, depending on the outcome we got."

"Let's not talk about what saying to add in a dictionary before it even happens. Even if it happens in stories, it is a moot point now that we have a real dragon to deal with."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. It's just..."

"I know you feel this is stupid. I do think so, too. But that dragon is crying for help and even she don't know that. If she really doesn't want our help, why would she even bother coming down the mountain and heed our call? I bet she is testing us to see if we are really worthy."

"I never thought you are the betting type," said Hans.

"It is always a gamble in the world of business, Hans. You take a risk in every decision. Either you reap the rewards or lose everything. High risk, high reward. That's the way it is."

Hans acknowledged that statement with a nod.

"Nevertheless, I won't take unnecessary risks," added Adeline. "That dragon has shown that she will not kill because she respects us. I will not be doing this if there is not a sliver of chance for us to change her mind."

"I suppose that is a good reason out of any," said Hans.

***

The white sand beach on the other side of the island was always so beautiful to look at, especially if coupled with the light blue sea near it. The Raptor fishers again saw them, but this time, they greeted them and told them about the dragon, who had by them left the beach and back to the mountain.

They immediately set up a camp in the shaded area of the beach, with Adeline preparing the tent with Ulster while Hans prepared the fire pit. He had an urge to get into the jungle and hunt some food for dinner, but he did not want to risk it, especially since this was not the forest of his backyard. So, he sticked with the meat he brought with him from the ship. He soon considered asking the fishers about the fish and turned to look at them.

Unlike the Raptors living in the village, they were less constrained in clothing, almost to the point of being too exposed. Aside from some straps and minimal body paint over their already colorful scales, they wore only loincloths. Most of their 'clothing' were, in fact, their own feathers. Clearly, they wore that because it was hot on that island, especially on the white sand beach. Considering that the rest of their people were already wearing minimal clothing, which was one step above being completely naked, the fishers seemed to fit in quite well with the rest of them.

They were already getting ready to go out and fish, so Hans considered asking them after they got back. Instead, he returned to the fire pit and started a conversation with the rest.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Hans as he took some dried leaves around the camp.

"Nothing better than calling her down, I suppose," said Adeline. "Though I do wish she is not going to throw us back to the other side of the island."

"Maybe this time she changes her mind and actually offs us instead," said Ulster.

"The dragon is dangerous and intelligent, but it also knows control. She will be annoyed by our presence, but even she will start to respect our stubbornness."

"Maybe so, but even if she can restrain herself, will she even consider heeding our call? We only have one week, and we don't have the luxury of waiting."

"Maybe she's going to be annoyed and actually listens. We can be persistent."

"Persistent we can, but what's next? We are trying to convince a dragon, Adeline. A dragon! Humans or Lycans I understand, but a dragon as a bloody pathfinder? That's far too insane."

"Ulster, do me a favor and don't think about it too much. If you think this is a bad idea, you are welcome to get back to the Blackjack instead of whining here. It's not helping."

Ulster stopped complaining afterwards.

Hans kept silent, knowing that he had nothing to add to the discussion except starting it. However, he had a feeling that maybe the dragon did start to think about it, knowing how lonely she was. He could not depend on it though.

And with that, they chose to just take a breather before starting their work. At least the three could enjoy the beach now that they were already there.