I’m with a male, I’m with a male! Junipor could barely contain herself. Her entire body was shaking with excitement. It was enough to make her head spin, the rush of anxiety and desire tied her stomach in a knot. Underneath those feelings she struggled from the layers of barely dormant fears and maddening trepidation.

She was skipping down the street without even realizing it. The Dragon kept up the pace to walk alongside her as they avoided the trail of excrement on the street. The smell was rancid, Junipor had to cover her nose until they made it past the market square.

The Dragon wasn’t nearly as intimidating without his armor, the traveling clothes he wore seemed plain by comparison. His jerkin and greaves were muddied and creased, which confused Junipor. If the Dragon could fly, why would his clothes be so worn? She wondered. Junipor noted the thought to question him later.

There were some things about him that remained fairly intimidating however. His amber iris’s seemed stark in the evening sunlight, and she found them entrancing to gaze into. Junipor struggled to keep herself from staring into them for too long when she addressed him. His primrose colored hair was also the most awkward shade of red she had ever seen, it made him stick out in the crowd. If he didn’t have wings, he would still stick out like a soar thumb. His wings were, weirdly, the least frightful thing about him, for they fit into the expectation of what a Dragon’s wings should look like.

Pharine’s weren’t naturally afraid of the expected, even if what was expected could be terrifying, they only hesitated when faced with something difficult to grasp. And even then Pharine’s were quick to re-assess, for the most part at least. Everyone knew of the Dragons of the Far West, and while one hadn’t visited the Isles of Fear until now, none of the townsfolk were frightened by his presence. The guards did take careful note of him, and many of the hunters watched him from afar, but the majority of people in the streets treated him like a far off wanderer and possible trader. He didn’t seem to harbor any danger or sense of violence, in fact the Dragon seemed intent on offering a civil countenance and peaceful demeanor. He walked carefully, almost gracefully, like how Junipor expected a noble to walk, and kept his wings tucked back.

Only once did he show off his wings, and that was to a band of Pharine children who scurried close by to marvel at his arrival. The children were excited to see the Dragon, and Junipor couldn’t help but laugh as he excited them.

Junipor intended to guide the Dragon all the way to the bathhouse, even though she had promised to take him to the tavern, but only got as far as the temple to the goddess when suddenly a disturbance caught her attention. Far off into the distance, a single groan of thunder echoed from the east. Junipor’s ears twitched upon hearing the sound, and she immediately paused her step. Her hands grew clammy, and her tail dipped to the ground. She wasn’t the only one, every other Pharine citizen seemed to pause their step. Children clung to their parent’s legs, hoping to hide underneath the protection of their mother’s tails. Merchants dropped silver pieces and shamefully tried to recount the coin. Huntsmen, long conditioned to survive in the wilds, even showed hints of fear in their stature. Junipor even noticed a musician by the fountain breaking his violin strings, much to the disappointment of the small crowd.

Only the Dragon didn’t seem to mind, or even notice the distant thunder. He was several steps ahead before noticing all the paralyzed Pharine’s. He turned his head to look at Junipor, who was struggling to order her legs to move.

“Ok, what is going on?” The Dragon wasn’t able to discern what he was seeing.

Junipor wasn’t sure if he could hear the thunder, then again she wasn’t sure how he couldn’t hear it. It was so loud it forced her to fold her ears back. Anticipating a cataclysm to break out at any moment, she looked over to the distance at the buildup of dark clouds. The seconds drew by awkwardly, the Dragon wasn’t sure what to make of the silence.

“Seriously, what is going on? This is freaking me out,” The Dragon asked Junipor.

She couldn’t respond, she held her breath.

Another grumble shook in the distance; without thinking, Junipor scurried to the Dragons side and clung to his forearm. Her entire body was shaking, no longer from anxiety or excitement, but terror.

The Dragon raised an eyebrow, “Are you…afraid of the thunder?”

“We need to get to safety!” Junipor’s voice was a high pitched shrill. Soon all the other Pharine’s were quick to rush to supposed safety. Huntsmen held onto their spears, but quickly dropped their knapsacks to run indoors. The musician abandoned his stringed instrument, and the crowd quickly followed suit. Only the merchants didn’t abandon their belongings so quickly. They made quick to collect their coins before running as fast as they could to their dwellings. Even the farmers wanted to abandon their mule driven carts and rush to the nearest shelter, somehow they summoned the will to force the animals to hasten their pace so they could quickly secure them.

The Dragon reached for his waist, expecting to find the hilt of his sword but found nothing. He swore in the open air realizing he was unarmed, “Whats happening, is the town under attack!” He expected the worst.

Junipor clung onto him tightly, “Boom booms! The goddess is angry!”

“Boom…booms?” The Dragons eyes wavered toward the distance. “Is this seriously about the thunder? Or is this just an elaborate prank for the Dragon newcomer.” He clearly mentioned himself.

A single bolt of lightning flared from the heavens, striking the fields just out of town. Junipor shrieked in terror from the sound of the blast. Because of her heightened senses, the thunderous implosion hurt her eardrums.

“Ok, I guess its not a prank, by the dragon lord i'm so confused. Its just a storm,” He paused to look at the Pharine’s panicked expression. Junipor had burrowed her face into his side, her knees were quacking in fear. “Is this a special storm? Or something?” He didn’t get an answer, only continued wailing as all the villagers abandoned the streets.

With a thrusting grace he scooped her up in his arms and made his way to the nearest structure. The church of the goddess loomed overhead, its doors were open and accepting many of the frightened townsfolk. No sooner had he carried her inside did the priestess take one final glance outside to make sure no one was behind him, and shut the door.

All the Pharine’s were huddled underneath the structural pillars, or shivering under granite tables. The bravest sat in the open, praying to the goddess for protection. The church was a fairly large structure, a robust cabin with several rows of seating facing a wooden statue to what the Dragon assumed was their diety. Junipor clung onto him, not wanting to let go. She found his warmth strangely comforting, and wanted to curl up in his arms.

The Dragon took up a seat close to the statue, he was surprised by how soft and almost luxuries the pillows on the benches were. “I heard Pharine’s were admirable warriors, not like this.”

“Boom booms bad,” Junipor shivered as another lightning bolt struck nearby. In truth storms were fairly common this time of year, although lightning was not. Pharine ears were incredibly sensitive to the reverberations of air currents that electrically charged bolts of lighting caused. The range of sound was painful for them, not to mention the weather phenomenon sparked a collection of fears. Pharine’s always held a superstition about thunder and lightning, assuming them to be the manifestations of a war in the heavens.

The old legend was that the Pharine Goddess was fighting an endless siege against a fallen god, who happened to be the very embodiment of suffering. Her very domain was on the verge of death by the fallen’s lashes of light. With each thunderstorm, the fallen god’s wrath spilled onto the surface of the living world. This was an old tale that held little sway to modern worshippers, but it was very much on Junipor’s mind as she cuddled closer to her protector.

“Its just a storm, I can’t believe everyone’s panicking.” The Dragon took in a deep breathe, Junipor could hear his heart beating in his chest. It was loud and powerful, it almost made her forget about the thunder…almost. “I guess it’s just a quirk about Pharine’s, who knew,” He ended his statement with a shrug.

The sound of rain pattered on the wooden roof, small drips were finding their way through aged gaps. As the rain leaked in small spitters and dabs, the Dragon leaned back with Junipor in his arms, waiting diligently for the storm to break.