Dragonology 101

Chapter 3

Summary: "I have never seen you this happy." She says in wonder between peals of laughter. And he knows that in all his seventeen years, he has never been this happy.

The second time Felix Rosier sneaks from the castle to visit an illegal dragon in the Forbidden Forest, he's prepared. He's wearing the most casual clothes he owns (still never intended for hikes through wild and thorny undergrowth) and brings his dragon hide gloves. He's alight with excitement and determination as they trek back through the densely clumped trees to the dragon's valley, and the wealth of good feeling makes him garrulous.

"You keep referring to the dragon as 'it'. Do you not know if it's male or female?" Felix asks Juniper as they push through the trees.

He can't see her face but her voice reveals amusement as she answers, "I haven't been able to ascertain that yet, no."

"It shouldn't be that difficult," Felix argues, keeping pace with her this time and assisting her in pushing past thicker clumps of branches, "there are some rather obvious markers."

He can hear Juniper's wide smile in her words even if he can't see it, "I'm aware. But it's harder than you think to get a good view of that area."

Felix rolls his eyes and adopts his most grown-up tone. "There's more than just genitalia. Females are larger and more aggressive than males, usually."

"Yes," Juniper responds, "but as I don't know exactly how old this one is I can't really compare its size to other dragons its age. And this being my first dragon I also have no baseline from which to measure its relative aggression."

Felix smiles, something that's been happening to his face a lot the past few days and his cheekbones have started to feel sore. There's something about the way she uses technical vocabulary and precise wording when defending herself from perceived slights that he appreciates fondly. And he finds the combination of a favorite subject and friendly banter to be exceptionally pleasant. All in all, Felix is in the best mood he's been in since before the summer holidays.

When they reach the gargantuan tree where Juniper has hidden the bag of animal carcasses, she shows him the boulder she's pushed up against the hole in the trunk. Behind it is a narrow, dark passage leading to a small cave hidden underneath the tree roots.

"This looks like it used to be a Red Cap's cave." Felix tells her as he lowers himself in after her.

"I wondered if that's what it was. I've read about them but I've never seen one before." Juniper bends down to heft the sack over her shoulder. "I don't think it can still be using it though. I was worried at first that animals might smell the meat and try to get in but I've nev- come off it!" She breaks off as Felix wrests the bag from her grip. "You know, I carried it just fine for a month before you were ever here. And it was heavier."

"Not the point." Felix says brusquely, turning his back on her. He reaches his free hand up, and using the tree roots as leverage, pulls himself and the bag out of the cave.

"The point is," Juniper grumbles as she climbs out behind him, "that you don't think I'm capable enough to do anything by myself." She stands up and faces him, hands on hips, eyes flashing, face twisted in a grimace. She might have cut an intimidating figure if she'd been a bit taller, he thinks. "What do I have to do to prove to you I can do stuff on my own? Save the school from cursed ice? Tame a dragon? Beat you in a duel?"

The second isn't strictly accurate and the last is a bit below the belt. But she's obviously irked, which he rarely sees, so Felix ignores the bait and opts to soothe her bruised ego.

"You know I don't think that. You proven yourself to be exceptionally capable at everything, except perhaps making rational decisions." She makes a feral sort of sound and he hurries on. "The point," he explains patiently "is that a gentleman does not allow a lady to carry heavy baggage, whether it is full of shopping or animal corpses."