Ian woke up to dragon yawning in his face.

"Hey, bud," he said, rubbing the dragon's snout. "Sun's going down. Time to eat. Should we wake up Mavis?" Firecracker rolled his large, golden-yellow eyes. His human really did have some sort of affinity for the girl.

"I'm awake, Ian," her voice said from beneath the black wing. "Has the sun set yet?"

"Ah," Ian said, glancing to the west. "Yeah, mostly. No sunlight reaching the ground. Just the tops of the trees." Ian motioned to Firecracker, who raised his wing slightly. Mavis timidly peaked out from beneath the black tent and smiled.

Ian glanced up from his pack. "I don't know much about vampires, but how often do you have to feed?"

"About once a week, or so," Mavis said, standing up, and stretching her stiff joints. "It depends on what I've last eaten."

"And, when have you last eaten?"

"Three days ago."

Ian thought to himself for a moment. "Do you have to have human blood, or will other kinds suffice?"

"It doesn't have to be human, though some type of mammal is best." Satisfied with the answer, Ian nodded. "Ian, I know you're nervous about traveling with me. I can understand that."

"I'm not overly worried," Ian said. "I'm surely confident that you won't try to hurt me."

"It would be kind of stupid for me to do so, with your dragon, and all," Mavis mussed. Ian chuckled in agreement as he slid the crossbow into its holster on the saddle.

"Here, Firecracker," Ian said. The dragon strode over, curiously sniffing. "Down." Firecracker sank on all fours to allow the saddle to be strapped on.

Mavis walked around the dragon, looking at the beast's form. It was a graceful animal, though it was terrifying. Its wings were just as black as the rest of the body. Framing the edge of the wing was a long finger. Two more fingers were actually inside the skin that made up the wing, supporting the membrane, stretching it tight. A small thumb was on the outside of the wing, at the joint that would be a wrist in a hand, and had a claw tapering to a sharp point.

Firecracker rose up on his hind limbs, the saddle securely strapped in place.

"You ready, Mavis?" Ian asked, sliding on his cloak. Mavis nodded, and walked up to Firecracker, who sniffed her distrustfully. Ian helped her up onto the saddle, and swung himself up.

Strapping himself in, he felt Mavis' head press against his shoulder. Smiling, he tapped Firecracker's sides with his heels, sending the three of them into the air.

Ian looked around, hunting for a place to land. They had flown for a long time, almost all night. Ian was actually quite hungry, and was going to take Firecracker hunting. The dragon flapped his wings easily, maintaining a steady altitude. Mavis had seemed to grow comfortable riding on on Firecracker, for he sensed her uneasiness, and kept a constant speed and rhythm.

Ian whistled, sending Firecracker down to land. He alighted on the edge of a small cavern in the side of a mountain ridge. Ian slid off, Mavis following behind him. Sliding his crossbow out of its holster, Ian turned to Mavis.

"I'm going hunting," he said, retrieving a few bolts from his packs. "I'll be back in an hour, or so."

"Okay," Mavis said quietly.

"Firecracker will stay here, so you won't be alone," Ian continued. Mavis simply nodded, fearfully staring out of the mouth of the cave.

Ian stared at her for a moment, before turning out of the cave, and walked out into the forest.

The next night, Ian and Mavis flew along on Firecracker, heading north. Ian looked around, hunting for a human settlement. Suddenly, Firecracker growled, his body tensing.

Ian leaned forward, and asked quietly "What is it, boy? What's wrong?"

The dragonet snarled and angled downward sharply.

"What's happening?!" Mavis shrieked, her arms clenching around Ian's torso tightly, nearly squeezing all of the air out of his lungs.

"Ma-Mavis," Ian gasped out.

Mavis quickly to Ian's shoulder so he could breathe. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Ian said. "Firecracker is taking us somewhere. I don't know where, exactly."

Mavis was silent as she continued to cling tightly to Ian as they rode the dragon down.

As they neared the ground, Firecracker rotated his body and flapped his wings to control his landing. His clawed feet touched the ground gently, almost cautiously. Ian took one look straight ahead, and unclipped his safety straps. He glanced back at Mavis as he slid off the saddle. "Stay here." Mavis nodded.

Ian strode up to the gory mass before them, and kneeled down. The black-haired child, no older than ten, was covered in lines of red, blood dripping down her face from a cut in her forehead, as well as her arms. Ian placed his fingers to the child's neck, and felt the faint pulse. Looking at her clothing, which was made of tanned animal hides, Ian deduced that she was Native American.

Mavis strode up quietly behind him. "Is she dead?"

"No," Ian said grimly, looking around the surroundings. There were footprints leading into the forest. "We need to get her back."

"Back where?"

"To her tribe," Ian said, motioning to Firecracker to come near. "Mavis, you need to ride Firecracker by yourself."

"What?!" the vampire cried incredulously.

"Firecracker isn't strong enough to carry three people on his back yet," Ian explained. "You need to ride on his back, and make sure that this girl doesn't fall off. Walking her to her tribe is out of the question. I don't know where they are, and we don't have much time to locate them. She could die within a few hours."

"Where will you ride?"

"I can ride in Firecracker's claws. He's done it before, and it's more natural for him to do it that way anyway."

"Alright."

Nodding grimly, Ian gently picked up the girl.

"You two okay up there?!" Ian yelled.

"I think so!" Mavis replied.

Ian was clasped between two sets of pitch black claws, right below his dragon. Mavis sat in the saddle, the Native American girl lying in front of her, her head on Mavis' lap. Firecracker raced along right above the treeline, following the scent from the girl, for she still smelled like her people.

Firecracker roared, getting Ian's attention.

"What is it, bud?" he yelled.

Firecracker snarled and jerked his head forward. Ian looked ahead and saw several columns of white, wispy smoke rising up from glowing spots in a grove of trees.

"Mavis, hang on! Go, Firecracker, GO!" Ian yelled, urging his dragon to go faster. Firecracker's wings obliged, forcing them forward, picking up speed. Mavis felt the wind pulling her hair back, her eyes involuntarily squinting from the speed.

Down in the Native American camp, a woman with black hair had her face buried in her hands, weeping. Her husband sat in their wigwam, comforting her. Their daughter had been taken by a group of white men just the day before.

Suddenly, the people outside started screaming in terror, when a large shadow passed over the moon-lit ground. The woman's husband grabbed his bow and joined the other men outside, who were preparing to defend themselves.

"Ian," Mavis called down to the boy, who was still positioned in Firecracker's claws. "It looks to me like they're preparing to attack us."

"Nooo," Ian called up to the vampire. "I thought that they sent us a welcoming committee."

"I can do without the sarcasm."

Firecracker shook his head and snorted in amusement at the pair.

The dragon flew down slowly, ready to bat away an arrow if it flew near them.

Firecracker touched down cautiously, and released his human. Ian stood up straight and tall. A large Native American man approached him, a stern and slightly fearful expression on his face.

One can imagine Ian's surprise when the man, whom Ian presumed to be the chief, spoke near-perfect English. "What are you doing here?"

"I found a child out in the woods, bleeding," Ian said, motioning to the back of the dragon. "I loaded her up and flew around, looking for where she might be from."

The chief glared at the boy in front of him. Ian walked over to the side of the dragon, and gently helped the girl down, Mavis following. The chief's eyes widened, and a man and woman rushed forward, taking the girl from Ian. The chief stared at Ian for a moment. "Walk with me. We need to talk." Ian nodded. and followed, motioning for Mavis and Firecracker to follow.

"I thank you for returning my niece," the chief said. "I am eternally in your debt."

"It was no problem at all," Ian said.

"She was taken by some white men. We have had a few run-ins with them before. They came in from the west, and attacked us by surprise." Ian nodded grimly. Firecracker sensed his rider's discomfort, and nudged him with his large, scaly black head, which earned him a rub on the snout.

"I must ask," the chief said. "How do you control the black beast?"

"I befriended him," Ian replied. "I defended him when he was being attacked. When his attackers turned on me, he picked me up and placed me on his back and flew off."

The chief nodded. "I am Chief Abnaki. You are welcome to stay in this village as long as you wish."

"My name is Ian," the boy said, then gestured to his female companion. "This is Mavis." Ian the placed a hand on his dragon's scaly hide. "And this is Firecracker, my dragon."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Chief Abnaki said.

In the morning, Ian sat on the ground, Firecracker resting next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Ian noticed a small child peering out from behind his mother at the pair. Ian smiled at the child, and pointed at the dragon. The child nodded timidly. Ian stood up and guided Firecracker over to the child and his mother. The mother, seeming to trust the teenage boy, gently pushed her son closer to the dragon.

Firecracker, curious at this small human hatchling wearing the skins of a furry mammal, who seemed timid, sniffed the air around the boy inquisitively. It wasn't like Firecracker was going to eat the boy. There wasn't much meat on the hatchling for even a small snack.

Ian pointed to the spot of Firecracker's nose where the boy should pet him. The boy reached forward and placed his small hand on Firecracker's snout. The dragon closed his eyes and crooned in pleasure. The boy's mother smiled and came over to stroke Firecracker's head.

Soon, the dragon was surrounded by many human hatchlings, all petting the large beast. Firecracker enjoyed the massive amounts of attention he was receiving, his eyes closed in blissful contentment.

Eventually, the children's parents called them for the midday meal. Firecracker yawned and gave his human a small shove with his snout. Ian turned on his heel to face the ebony beast.

Firecracker batted his wings a few times.

"You wanna go flying, bud?"

The dragon shrieked lightly, making Ian smile.

Ian strapped himself in, and gave Firecracker a small tap with his heels. Firecracker pushed off while shoving with his legs, sending them high into the air. The Native Americans watched from below in awe as the boy rode the fierce-looking beast. Firecracker glided happily along, enjoying the leisurely flight. Ian felt elated too, as he had come to enjoy some would say anticipate, the sensation of flying. Everything from the height, which bothered him at first, to the speed, among many other feelings, all added to the blessed feeling of freedom he relished when in the air.

"C'mon, Firecracker," Ian said, after a while. "Let's go back." Firecracker happily complied, as he wanted to spend some more time with the small, human hatchlings.

That evening, Ian sat with Chief Abnaki in front of the fire, Ian's draconian friend perching on the ground. Ian was telling some of the tribe the story of how he and Firecracker became friends.

"And the this dork," Ian said, jerking his thumb at Firecracker. "Decided to swoop in and basically kidnap me, taking me high into the air." Firecracker rolled his eyes and huffed a breath of smoke at Ian. As if his human hatchling could have rescued his female family member without his help. The crowd laughed lightly in amusement. Ian sighed and continued his story.

"I climbed into the saddle, and we dove straight down. We angled and chased after the men. Since Firecracker is much faster than a horse, we caught up with the group easily. The leader dumped my sister off of his horse when he saw us coming. Firecracker grabbed my sister, and we flew back to the wedding."

Ian then quickly described the short battle that resulted, but intentionally leaving out the part of him currently being hunted.

Mavis came out from a cave nearby and heard a group of people walking by. They sounded frustrated by the tone of their voices, but she couldn't tell what they were saying. But one sentence came in loud and clear.

"I can't wait to go back and get us a new victim," a male voice said. "I wonder if our last little toy survived."

Mavis' ears perked up at this, and she snuck closer.

"I know," another voice said. This one was deeper than the first. "If she did, i'd like to find her. best time ever I had with her."

Mavis realized that these men were most likely talking about the girl that she and Ian found and rescued. Mavis stormed back to the native American village, desperate to warn everyone.