As the meat cooked, Aster sat staring at the flames, lost in thought. Here she was…alongside a dragon and a knight in the middle of nowhere, and she wasn't worried or scared or anything but completely at ease and content! She was more comfortable out here with two people she hadn't even known before today than safe in her home, weaving baskets.

"Aster? Aren't you hungry?"

Draco's voice brought her back to earth. She turned her head and saw him gesturing towards the finished food.

"Oh. No, not too hungry. I'm sorry; I thought they were both for you two. I just forgot about my stomach."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Bowen shrugged and Draco lifted the rabbit. The dragon popped it into his mouth like a grape and swallowed absentmindedly. Aster smiled softly.

After a time, Bowen turned over and went to sleep. Aster couldn't drift off if she wanted too. She sat for a very long time, staring at the sky as the bonfire turned to embers.

Draco crawled over, half-asleep himself. "You haven't moved since dinner. What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

Aster shrugged and turned to look at his face. "An awful lot. Mostly about how much time you two have spent together. I realize I'm out of place out here; you're used to a different style of living. How did you two come to know each other as such good friends?"

Draco smiled and looked up at the stars. "Well, at first, we were bitter enemies. A huge battle ensued when he hunted me down. But one stalemate and a good idea later, here we are tricking villages for money and traveling the countryside." He grinned, chuckling.

Aster didn't smile, however. "And…he really wanted me dead?"

"No, just out of the picture. It gave him a fright when he saw how the plan was backfiring, and he told me to play along and leave you somewhere. I couldn't, though. I saw how badly you were hurt. Your own people did that to you?" he asked, alluding to her wrists.

Aster rubbed her arms and tried to keep her eyes from looking at the wounds.

"They…they follow our village leader without question. He doesn't like me that much…and we're really poor…so…"

"…So he offered you up instead of squeezing the townsfolk dry of their money?" he finished.

She nodded slightly. "Yeah."

Draco nudged her arm with his nose. "Well, I for one believe it was a good trade. Otherwise, Bowen would be gloating over his pointless money and our fire would be rather smoky tonight."

Aster turned back to the stars, smiling. "I guess I didn't have much going for me back home."

"No, just not enough. Out here…you have what you need."

She nodded slightly and eyed the constellations.

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Where do dragons go when they die?"

The question seemed to trigger something in Draco. He looked up, following Aster's gaze.

"Dragons…well, we have two possibilities. We can live out our lives and die, but our souls disappear. They're erased from reality, as if we never existed at all.

"But what all dragons aim for is that group of stars up there." He pointed one claw towards the constellation Draco.

"What is that?" Aster inquired, gazing at them.

"It's the dragon's heaven. Dragons who have earned their place up there are allowed to enter when they die. Their souls ascend and become stars. It's the greatest reward a dragon could ever earn," Draco explained.

"And you're named for it?"

He turned and gave her a small smile. "That's a name Bowen gave me, because he could never pronounce my name. It's easier that way."

"And he knows about the dragon's heaven?"

"No. Not yet."

"I see. Is it a secret?"

"I suppose, until I decide he needs to know."

She smirked and drew her knees up to her chest, clasping her hands around them. "It sounds better than the priest's heaven. To get there, they preach of purgatory and an eternity of fire if you don't achieve heaven."

"Well, the church is just a religion. Based on belief. You can believe whatever you want to. That's the beauty of free will," Draco commented, resting his head on his claws.

She accepted this and nodded. "Do you think belief makes things real?"

"I wouldn't know about that. But I do believe that I will right what I have done wrong in the past. It sounds like belief can help to achieve and make whatever you want real. But again, I don't know much about the subject." He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Draco? I know I'm keeping you awake, but can I say just one more thing?"

"Of course," was the reply.

"If I were to…well…you know what? Forget it. It's silly to talk about." Aster eased herself to the ground, her hands still smarting painfully. She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes.