Thinking it over, the dragon decided the woman may have had a point. Era did not consider herself large – in fact, the kin she had met had teased her for being a runt. But to one so tiny as the woman before her, it was an easy error to make.
That the woman had never met a dragon before made sense. It made her reactions honest. An odd thing occurred to Era. Under her breath, not really hoping for an answer, she asked, “You’re afraid of me?”
Era was hurt. She pouted as well as a dragon could and flicked her tail away from her mouth. “I did not do anything to your horse. If it left, than that is because it wanted to. You can’t blame me if you’re not a good rider.” Her tone could have been sharp, but it wasn’t. It was more…broken. She hadn’t meant to do anything wrong.
She turned her face away from the woman, but added apologetically, “I did not mean to frighten away your mount.” The dragon couldn’t seem to do anything right. It wasn’t fair! All she had wanted was a drink. And if her mother hadn’t chased her out of her territory, she could be home now. She would be studying or playing, not causing trouble. So really, it was her mother’s fault. A wave of homesickness crashed mercilessly over her.