I climb on her wing. She moves it level so that I can walk the rest of the way to nestle between her shoulder blades. I gently lie on her back with my nose between my paws. The dragon cranes her head around to snort in my face.

I cough at the smokey, sweet breath that reminds me of the pipe my father used to smoke.

“Thanks for that.” I know she hears, even if she doesn’t know the words to respond. Her humor warms my heart through our bond.

She turns to walk inside the deep, black cave. She sends a fireball into the cave wall. A sticky substance on the ends of limbs twice as tall as I am burst into flame. She spits into each as they come into view, lighting up the grey stone and packed dirt beneath our feet. The walls are a smooth light sandstone, while the ceiling high above is blackened with soot. The cats hesitantly follow behind us, keeping a wide berth.

We pass by an enormous cavern with a large pool that glows from within, lit by some sort of shimmering light. The rocks along the bottom seem to be some sort of gem that shines an emerald green. The water face brightens to a reddish-gold as the dragon lights another large torch hanging over the dragon sized pool.

My eyes follow it as we pass by the water and enter a smaller cavern, but not by much. Within is a comfortable array of dark grey scales turned into what I would call nests. Large nests. Big enough to hold a dragon. The first is in front where the scales are strewn about in a mess. A second, larger nest is further back shaped perfectly into an oval. The last is a small but comfortable cocoon with what looks like animal fur in the center. For being the smallest. it would still fit twenty of me. The other two would hold forty or fifty of me. Comfortably.

My eyes finally catch movement. On the smallest nest in the back corner are three small forms. What I thought to be animal fur is actually three small dragonlings. They are perhaps only three times my size, with cute brown and black eyes set in angular faces. They have fur sprouting from their neck down that is slowly being replaced in certain places with black scales. Scratch that.

I nudge a scale on my ride aside with my nose, and underneath I find the same soft, downy brown fur. Huh. The scales grow over the fur, much like a second layer of protection.

The three little ones look like oversized bunnies running around in lizard shaped bodies with wings.

The largest keens to her mother, and she trills back. At the sound, the three bound up to their mother, running their jaws along hers in a sign of affection.

I feel like an imposter in a touching family moment. But the She-Dragon somehow feels this. She plunks a wing upon the ground and I shift to regain my balance atop her back. The three dragonlings clamber up the wing with happy trills and countless nudges as they each fight to reach the top first. A low grumble from mom sends them all ducking their heads with a small chirp from each. I chuckle inwardly. Momma reprimands are apparently universal.

They climb up slightly slower afterwards.

I don’t think about what is going to happen once they reach me. I’m too enthralled by the new world the dragon is allowing me to glimpse.

At last, they reach her back, but the top stops dead in her tracks as she spots me. A low hiss comes as she pulls back her lips to show sharp fangs, but a sharp chirp from the mother puts an end to that. The second bumps into the first, putting the little thing that is three times my size within paw lengths. She freezes, as if afraid. That's when I realize she is. Deathly afraid. Her eyes are wide and glowing.

The third dragonling bumps the second, who bumps the first, which sends the first bumping into me with a loud, shrill scream. I quickly back peddle so that she doesn’t squash me. She scrapes to a stop right before me. We are nose to nose. I decide to test fate once more, licking her nose and rubbing my jaw along hers as I saw them showing affection to their mother. Totally demeaning for a wolf to act like a cat, but who is going to tell?