RPOV

I looked back in awe. I had never seen so many Dragons at once. As we were flying over human villages, I saw people screaming and running inside. But they didn't need to fear us; we had a different prey in mind.

It became a little less daunting as several squads, and larger battalions started to split off in different directions. I had felt a little self-conscious. I was the only humanoid in the army, and I was riding the largest Dragon at the very front. It did make a statement though.

When I had arrived with Christian, I had seen some of the squad members looking confused. Eddie and Mason had met me enthusiastically, and they all greeted me politely, but you could see the question forming in their eyes.

'Was Dimitri crazy?'

I had looked at Christian expectantly, believing he would give them an explanation, but he was silent on the matter.

"That was some inspirational speech you gave there, Comrade. I knew you could put that sage wisdom of yours to good use."

Well, I didn't know if it was really sage wisdom telling we would haunt the nightmares of Snow Dragons, but it surely was poetic.

I could feel a chuckle emanating from his body.

"I was stuck with the weird ones who were actually disappointed that they wouldn't be working on the front lines."

I laughed. Yeah, I had noticed that too.

"I am sure they will be satisfied with killing the big shots."

"I just hope I made the right decision. The original plan was to force them back over the border. I placed our squad in danger and moved them beyond the border. I know that if we don't take out these leaders, the problem will keep coming back, but if these Snow Dragons can rally so many supporters, they are powerful and will not be easy to take down."

I stroked the side of his neck, and I felt his muscles relax underneath me. There was something to be said about Dimitri in his Dragon form, especially when I was flying with him. I could feel him respond through his body, whereas in his human form I had to rely on simply seeing his response. Not that looking at his human body was terrible, I am just saying this definitely had its advantages too.

"You made the right decision. It isn't just about being safe now. It is about not fearing for the future either. If we don't do this, we will always wonder when the next war will break out."

I could tell he agreed, and strategically he'd made the right call. He just felt guilty because he put his squad in even more danger, put me in more danger. But as long as I was fighting by his side, I would be okay.

After a few hours of flight, I noticed some Dragons were starting to lag behind. Dimitri also noticed, and he was scanning around to find a place to rest. He found a nice clearing with a stream next to it, to provide fresh water.

He landed, and the other Dragons in our squad landed too. I saw some were grateful for the break. I didn't think Dimitri was very tired, but then again, he had a very large wingspan so he could move faster with less effort.

I got off him and stretched my arms and rubbed my legs. Dimitri was wider than your average horse, so my legs were spread pretty far. Luckily I was agile, but I was still rubbing them to stimulate blood flow.

He noticed what I was doing and chuckled. I whined a little, and then a wicked smile came across my face.

"Maybe we do need to have a saddle made. It would make it a lot more comfortable."

His smile was replaced with a frown, and I heard Christian laugh beside me.

I looked around but saw that we hadn't packed anything. I had a bag of clothes, but other than that, there were hardly any supplies except the weapons they carried and a few bags of clothes for when the need arrived to transform to human. I was starting to get hungry. What would we do for food?

The thought had just formed in my head when a large carcass was placed at my feet. The poor deer's eyes were still open, and I could only imagine its last moments had been terrifying.

I saw someone had already made a fire and was roasting another poor animal.

Right, Dragons wouldn't need provisions. They would hunt and make a fire. Handy.

They were nice enough to roast me a piece of meat. I noticed some liked theirs rare; some still warm and possibly with a pulse. But some, like Christian and Dimitri, also cooked their meat.

I wondered if that was all we ate from now on.

I sat next to Dimitri eating my piece of meat. I wasn't overly close, to avoid arousing suspicion, but I also wasn't straying too far from him. I didn't know how he wanted to handle this. Did people here know we were together? I knew Mason didn't know, but there were also a lot of rumors going around, so I had no idea. Did he want to treat me like any other soldier in his squad? Would we have a little alone time from time to time? Did I have to sleep alone?

The last thought scared me the most. I was looking forward to spending some snuggle time with a warm Dragon. I knew we would be flying into cold territory. I had packed for those temperatures, but hadn't brought a tent or anything. I would freeze to death.

I saw some of the Dragons eye me curiously. It was as if they were wondering the same thing I was. What was I to Dimitri, and why was I here?

One brave soul stood up and approached Dimitri.

"Can I talk to you, sir?"

He was eyeing me, so I knew he wanted to discuss me. Dimitri seemed to notice this too, but stayed seated next to me.

"Of course."

I think the other Dragon meant in private, but Dimitri either didn't realize it, or he was purposely ignoring it.

The other Dragon was looking a bit uncomfortable. I saw Christian across from me watching expectantly. I think he was anticipating drama and wanted a front row seat.

The Dragon cleared his throat.

"I was just wondering what she was doing here? This hardly seems like a mission for her."

Dimitri raised his eyebrow. Well, the ridge above his eye covered in scales at the moment.

"I mean, I trust your judgment sir, but what we will be doing is dangerous."

I rolled my eyes. Did he realize how condescending he sounded? I heard Eddie and Mason chuckle behind him. They had seen what I could do, and I looked over to Eddie and Mason and they nodded.

"That is exactly why Rose is here. This is a different kind of mission. It doesn't require brute strength but finesse and the element of surprise. Rose fits perfectly in that scope."

I heard the Dragon murmur something about that he was surprised all right.

It seemed Dimitri wasn't discussing it any further and the Dragon walked away. I was getting up, trying not to be obvious about it. I walked over to Eddie and Mason and started a conversation. I felt Dimitri's eyes shoot a hole in my back. But whether it was because I was hanging out with Mason, or because he had sensed some mischief in me, I didn't know.

The Dragon was almost back to his spot next to the fire roasting a large deer when I turned around and started to sprint towards him. Like a good soldier, he responded although he didn't know how. After all, I was charging him head on. He could simply swat me away. Eddie and Mason started to fly next to me, and just like that I jumped from the ground to Mason and he pushed me toward Eddie, and from Eddie I jumped onto the Dragon's back, thrusting my sword lightly at the base of his neck.

"I am full of surprises," I said, still on the Dragon's back. He tried to get me off, but Dimitri had been right - Dragons couldn't reach there.

I jumped off him and sheathed my sword. I walked back to Eddie and Mason and high fived them. Well, they only had three Talons. They were laughing, and the Dragon looked stunned. He wasn't moving. I heard the others chuckle from behind. One placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well that answers that question now, doesn't it, Stan the Rigid?"

I nearly peed myself from laughing as I heard his nickname. He must be strong to be included in this squad, but apparently, he wanted things done a certain way. And I certainly wasn't it. But I could tell I had scored some points with the others.

When I turned around to Dimitri, I saw him shake his head, but there was a look of pride in his eyes. This had been the perfect ice-breaker.

"Rose is perfectly capable of taking care of herself as you can see. Eddie, Mason, and I have worked with Rose, to perfect her fly-and-jump. That, together with her powerful flame she has been learning to control with Christian, will see Rose as a good asset to our team. Now I know having a hybrid in our team will be a bit of an adjustment, but I am sure I can count on all of you to make her feel welcome and to help her where you can."

They all nodded. I was a little disappointed. I had wanted him to add a bit to his speech. He didn't need to profess his undying love or serenade me, but a little acknowledgement who I was to him would have been nice.

After we had eaten and rested, we prepared to fly again.

"You can fly with me if you want Rose," Mason said, but from the growl emanating from Dimitri, he didn't think that was a good idea. So he did want to mark his territory.

"Maybe later, Mason the Red. Right now we need speed to reach the Northern territories fast. Rose on your back will slow you down, and you are already one of the slowest in our squad. It makes more sense for me as the fastest to carry her."

Not that I complained, but I saw Mason was actually a little hurt. Dimitri was oblivious to Mason's reaction and bent down so I could climb on.

He took to the sky with the rest following. Mason and Eddie were behind a bit.

We were at the front, and the wind was at our back, so anything we talked about I doubted could be overheard.

"You hurt him you know?"

"Who?"

"Mason! He was just trying to be nice, and you said he was slow."

I felt him stiffen and I knew he hadn't realized he had offended him.

"I didn't say he was slow."

He couldn't see me as I was on his back, but he must have known the kind of expression I had because he sighed.

"I said he was one of our slowest flyers, and that is true. Having you on his back will only slow us down more."

"Maybe, but that is not why you said it. You said it because you were jealous and wanted to get him away from me. He looks up to you. You need to give him a compliment or something when we land."

I heard him growl, clearly not agreeing with me.

"Comrade? Is there a reason why we can't let them know we are together? I mean, are you purposely keeping it from them?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to act around you with all of them around. Am I just another soldier in your squad, am I your girlfriend? Your lover? Can we even be together while we are here? And where will I sleep tonight?"

I heard and felt Dimitri chuckle.

"You are over-thinking this way too much. Of course, you'll be sleeping with me. If we actually have time to do anything other than sleeping remains to be seen, because I will not make love to you while fifteen Dragons can watch. And when we are in battle, I need you to follow orders like the rest of them, but I have no problem with people knowing we are together. In fact, I think I will let them all know as soon as we touch down."

I could tell that 'people' actually meant Mason.

"Okay. Sure."

I leaned into him and wrapped myself around his neck as far as I could reach. I had moved a little down, so I was on a bit broader piece of his back. It was impossible for my legs to spread that wide so I was sitting side saddle as it were. But this way I could snuggle in very nicely and catch some sleep. We hadn't had much last night, and it was catching up to me.

I woke up when Dimitri started to descend. We landed at the edge of a town, and to my horror all Dragons, fourteen male and I noticed now one female, changed into their human form. And all of them were stark naked.

From somewhere in the back appeared a knapsack and human clothes were distributed. I saw the female look at what she was handed, and make her way over to me.

"Hey, I am Meredith the Dependable. These clothes are atrocious. I should have known better than to trust males to do the human clothes packing. You wouldn't have anything more appropriate would you?"

I took her hand as she offered it to me in greeting.

"Hey, I am Rose, and I think I might have a shirt that will fit better. But I think my pants will be too short on you."

Meredith checked out the difference in height between us and agreed, but was thrilled when I handed her the shirt. It did look good on her.

Once dressed Dimitri stood next to us.

"What are we doing here, Comrade?"

"We will stay in a tavern for the night. This is one of the last large human villages before we reach the Mountain range. After tonight it will be makeshift camps every night. So I thought we could stay here tonight. Let the boys have some ale. They will be much easier to fly with in the morning."

Meredith snorted.

"Yeah, if you don't count the hangovers. But at least they can't complain you are no fun as a General and working them hard and such."

"Exactly" Dimitri responded with a wide grin.

And with that, we moved towards the human village. It must have been quite a sight. Two women, and fourteen men total.

We entered a tavern, and I saw Dimitri walk over to the tavern keeper and negotiate some rooms. I wondered if he would get us a private room?

The other men walked directly to the bar and ordered ale. Lots and lots of ale. I saw Meredith was just as enthusiastic as the men. Maybe she was referring to herself as well when she talked about hangovers?

"Here Rose, I got you one too."

Mason handed me a large beer. I took it but didn't really know what to do with it. In the palace, we mostly drank water or wine. Beer was considered for town folk. I saw all the others down their drink and put their empty mugs on the table before ordering another. I took one sip and scrunched up my nose. It was kind of bitter, but I wanted to fit in, so I took the mug put the liquid to my mouth and drank. My god that was a big mug. But I drank the whole thing without breathing, and after I finished took in a deep breath and put the mug down on the table with a little bit more force than necessary. I was met with cheers all around, and a raised eyebrow from Dimitri as he joined us.

He handed a few people keys. I assumed they were for access to sleeping accommodations. He kept one, and I wondered if we would have to share our room with anybody. I also saw he had handed a key to Meredith, so maybe he was putting us girls together. I wouldn't mind spending the night with Meredith, but I certainly preferred Dimitri.

One of the guys handed Dimitri a beer, and he drank it. He wasn't sipping it as I did at first, but he wasn't chugging it down either. Somehow, Dimitri made drinking beer look sophisticated.

We settled in near the fire. I noticed it had a calming effect on almost everybody now the sun had set. The conversation was flowing nicely. Several conversations were happening at once, but all of it light. If I didn't know, I would have no idea we were soldiers on a mission. But then again, that is probably why Dimitri brought us here. One final moment of normalcy while we still had the chance.

I sat next to him. He wasn't engaged in any conversation himself, and I had just ended a conversation with Eddie and he had turned around to follow a different one.

Dimitri's hand slowly reached for mine, gently brushing his fingers against mine.

I leaned back a bit and turned to him.

"So how did Stan get his nickname? It isn't because of his… you know?"

I saw Dimitri look a little confused then a little shocked as realization hit him and then he laughed.

"No. No, nothing like that. He really is just rigid when it comes to procedures and such."

"So how did he end up in your squad? Most of the Dragons in here seem more… progressive and less rigid."

Dimitri nodded and looked over to Stan. I could more easily judge his age now that he was in human form and he seemed to be in his late forties. So did that mean he was in his four-hundreds? He was the oldest in the squad. Most of the Dragons were Dimitri's age or younger.

"That is exactly why he is here. We can think outside the box, and I have enough young people to undertake unique missions. But we need to have someone here that tells us when things are a bad idea. Sometimes I don't even see it. It makes you think about plans and strategies a lot better when there is always someone that tells you why they are wrong. It's saved us on more than one occasion. One of those occasions earned Stan his name. If he hadn't been so rigid, we would all be dead now."

Huh, never thought being rigid could be a compliment.

"So, am I sleeping in a room with Stan tonight?" I asked a little amused.

"No."

He lifted the key from his pocket.

"You are staying with me."

"Anyone else staying in that room?" I asked as I started to rub his arm, moving onto his chest, abs and down.

"No."

I could barely hear him; he sounded breathless.

I got up and stretched, giving people an overdramatic yawn.

"Well, I am heading off to bed. It has been a long day."

"Oh come on Rose, you didn't even have to fly," I heard Mason laugh.

"Yeah, well keeping my thighs securely wrapped around the General, certainly is exhausting."

Dimitri almost choked on the last bit of beer, and I saw some of them grin at him. I suppose we weren't fooling them.

"So are you sleeping with Meredith, or are you sleeping with the youngsters? They usually give us the crappiest beds. Something about their old bones needing a proper rest and better beds." Mason asked.

I laughed as I looked around. I knew the slightly older ones were picking on Eddie and Mason; I had seen their banter and jokes all day. But the only one old enough to have to claim a better bed seemed to be Stan.

"Nope, I have a different destination, Mase. I'll see you in the morning."

He looked confused, but I suppose the laughter of the others would soon enlighten him because Dimitri stood up and followed me.

"Just keep it down, you two. I actually want to sleep tonight, not listen to you two fuck."

I looked back to the Dragon who made the comment.

"But after this, we will only sleep outside with the lot of you around. And if you don't want to hear us fuck, I assume you also don't want to see us? So tonight might be our only chance."

He chuckled and another one actually said he wouldn't mind seeing it. Dimitri glared at him, and he quickly shut his mouth.

I walked up the stairs followed by Dimitri, leaving behind a group of laughing Dragons, bar one. Mason was pale and shocked, and I could see the horrible realization spread across his face. He really hadn't known - and now I felt bad for not telling him sooner.