Beauty packed a picnic lunch for herself and her father the day before they had agreed to go to Obsidian's forest together, both eager and nervous at the same time about their arrangement and hoped her father liked Obsidian. So what if he doesn't? He wouldn't stop you from seeing Obsidian... would he? She realized she didn't have a straight yes or no answer to that question, though she knew it was a risk she would have to take. Obsidian had said it would cause trouble for them not to meet and she had no reason to disbelieve him.

Moving from the coast in California over to the wooded mountains in Colorado had seemed strange before she had met him and if someone had told her prior she would find herself faced with a fairytale situation because of it, she doubted she'd have believed them. After all, at almost eighteen on her last year of high school, fantasy was something she read on her leisure time and had used it as a way to get away from reality since eight years old when her mother shattered her happy world by saying she was leaving her and her father. Nine and a half years had come and gone and the pain at that betrayal still hurt and she wondered if her father would ever recover. She'd tried to encourage him to go on dates and stay out of the way when he'd bring a lady friend home, though his few relationships hadn't gotten passed the courting period for one reason or another.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing and answered it. "Hey Dad, where are you?"

"Stuck in traffic near Telluride. The good news is I got a contract to produce and sell furniture based on my designs through a few places over in Montrose. The bad news is that it's at least four hours back home because it took us longer to draw up agreements. I know I promised we would take a trip out to see your friend today, but it's going to be dark when I get back."

"I'm disappointed you won't be able to make it back on time, though I'm also really glad your efforts were met with success. Call me if you have to stop and rest somewhere, okay?"

"Will do. You have a good day, dear."

"I'll do my best." She sighed when the connection was cut and put her father's half of the food back in the fridge. She headed out to the markers and walked down the path to where Obsidian waited for her in the main clearing. "Hi."

"Your father couldn't make it, I presume?"

"No, he was stuck in traffic somewhere near Telluride. At least he got promising business contracts out of the trip."

"Being able to progress is certainly a good thing. I am glad to see you regardless."

She felt a smile creep across her face. "Same to you, Obsidian. How is Naga?"

"Last I saw her, she said she would be in her part of the forest for a while on her new clutch of eggs."

"How long does it take for basilisk eggs to incubate?"

"At least 70 days with the right conditions, though her last clutch took three months longer than normal to hatch due to an early winter."

She nodded. "What's her mate like?"

"Corbin? He's a decent fellow, though he hasn't left their domain since his eyes were damaged beyond repair in battle and he lost his eyesight because of it."

"It's nice that Naga didn't let that stop her from choosing him."

"Basilisks don't let something like physical appearance or deformities change who they want as a mate. Other species do from what I have heard, though they may not realize they're limiting themselves." His tail twitched as he watched her set out her picnic. "Do you have anyone special in your life, Beauty?"

"Just you and my dad. Maybe after high school things can change, but I suppose that depends on what I decide to do once I graduate."

He nodded. "Any idea if you will want to continue your education?"

"I've been thinking about it." She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed slowly. "Though I'm not sure what I should study if I do. I mean, it's not like there's s field for magic anywhere. The closet subject these days is considered paranormal or medieval studies."

"There used to be schools for such things, though I'm not certain if any more still exist now. If they do, they're in hiding like us."

"Finding you was serendipitous, but I think my chances of stumbling across one of them isn't very high."

"It isn't impossible, though you are right. I have not seen a magician of any kind in these parts for many centuries."

"I'm surprised one hasn't shown up now that an outsider like me has been talking about things they shouldn't know about."

"Thankfully for both of us, they usually leave the protection of enchanted places to whoever lives there. Magicians have only intervened when beings like myself have threatened the outside world."

"You mean like when there were dragons?"

"Oh they're still around and they didn't nearly cause as much trouble as stories would have you believe." He chuckled. "In fact, the tales of kidnapping maidens came from jealous men who couldn't stand the thought that human girls had found happiness with creatures who could blend in amongst them when they chose."

She blinked in surprise. "So some people have dragon blood?"

"Yes, as well as wolf and unicorn and merfolk to name a few. Humans have long been considered desirable mates by creatures considered fantastical by most, though it has been so long that a great many of their descendants don't remember their heritage."

"Do you think I could be one of them?"

He gave his familiar purr-like sound. "I would not be surprised at all, Beauty."