Rhaana pranced along through the woods. Ever since she’d started chatting with Kyle, a usually very dull life had gotten much livelier. Most days she was left to tap away at an (until recently) poorly sized keyboard to access the internet of another world. Her only job was judging “sacrifices” for her father. Most were livestock, and they were invariably just fine. Quite rarely they were humans, in which case her judgement really didn’t matter. If she found them to be worthy, the

Kyle adjusted his tie nervously as he stood at a seemingly innocuous stretch of forest. He was in his usual date clothes, which meant a bow tie, slacks, and one of his few remaining nice shirts. With Rhaana as his girlfriend, he’d quickly found himself in something of a clothing crisis, as she had a bad tendency of shredding them in her eagerness to get to him or covering them with difficult to explain stains. He technically had a date with her today, but not for a few hours. He hoped that

Rhaana
sat sheepishly in the passenger seat of the car. She was still in her
human form, which meant that for once her blush was visible across
her entire face rather than just peeking between pink and rose
scales.
“I’m
really sorry about your bathroom…” she said, her voice a squeaky
whisper.
“It’s
okay,” Kyle said.
His
tone was less than convincing.
“I
sort of forgot I’d eaten a whole elk. We don’t use toilets back
home. I didn’t know I’d clog it.”
“That
was more tha

“Welcome
back!” chirped the hostess. “After what happened last time, I
wasn’t sure we’d see you again.”
Kyle
fixed his hair and laughed uncomfortably. He had a large box under
one arm.
“Well,
you know…” he said bashfully.
“Oh,
don’t feel self-conscious. Rhaana’s a sweetheart, and definitely
the prettiest dragon we’ve had in here.” She checked the dining
room. “This way, your table is ready.”
Kyle
followed as they approached the same table he’d been seated at
dur

A
female dragon with striking pink coloring crept with uncharacteristic
caution through the branching tunnels of the network of caves where
she made her home. As she was nobility among dragons, and divinity
among many of the superstitious locals, there was little in the world
that should give her pause or alarm.
From
the way she moved slowly and favored the strange bulging sack slung
from her neck and strapped across her broad chest, it likely had
something to do with her anxiety.
"Just
a

Kyle
awakened to the sound of sizzling, and curious but enticing scent.
He'd managed to forget where he was again, while sleeping, and so was
a little startled and confused by the fact he was laying atop a mound
of gold coins. Once he remembered some very curious circumstances had
resulted in him spending the night in a dragon's den, he found
himself mildly concerned by her absence.
The
light in the room was dim and danced with the telltale motion of
flame. As best as he could see in the shiftin

Kyle
adjusted his tie nervously and checked that he'd not jostled the box
of chocolates too much. He'd always been awkward--as evidenced,
perhaps, by the fact he had worn a bowtie and brought chocolates to
his first real date. Deep down, he knew it was a mistake to meet
Rhaana--she smiled as he formed the exotic name in his mind--because
there was no way he could possibly maintain the same wonderful
relationship in person as they'd managed on the phone and over the
internet. But even deeper
down

He sat at the table and checked his watch. He couldn’t have been early, because they’d seated him right away, but he’d been there for fifteen minutes and his date was still a no show.“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” muttered a voice with a thick Scottish accent.From the sound of it, she was apologizing less out of genuine regret and more out of habit. He got the idea that she was a busy woman and thus was no stranger to being late. But despite the impression her voice made, he still

Alice sighed deep as she turned her side. It was soft, it was warm, and a gentle shimmer filled her dreamy eyes. A distant happy chatter found its way to her, but she let it be as she slowly woke up. She thought about opening her eyes, but she decided not to. She was in no hurry anywhere. Finally, after the whole busy exam week, she was free. No classes, no tests, no places to be. She could just relax, take her time. World could wait, and she would let it wait. There was no better place to be be