“Damn, Dragon” Cara complained as he shot up into the air like some avenging angel. “In Dragon school, they must not teach you manners.” She put her hand on her hip and watched him disappear in the clear sky. Shaking her head, she went back in the cabin, much warmer in on her fingers and toes but much colder in her heart.<br/><br/>Cara’s studies kept her busy for the next few hours, taking care of the livestock a few more. She grimaced when she saw that the small black pony, Ribbons, hadn’t returned to the barn. She knew the gelding was hearty and had a thick winter coat, but he was too small to hold his own if wolves should come upon him. A nasty little voice in her head which sounded much like The Grand Dame sneered, “or one rather large dragon.” Cara refused to think about that and for some odd reason,, she didn’t believe that Dragon had eaten it. No, if he was going to do them harm, he would have done it the first time he stuck his head into the barn. Surely. Definitely. She hoped.<br/><br/>Night fell quite early as it does in the Artic and she built up the fire and curled up in a wingbacked chair with a book. Soon, she nodded off and dreamed of summer breezes, wind rustling in palm trees and the explosion of a car wreck! She awoke with a gasp, clutching the arms of the chair, looking wildly around. Her heart was thumping wildly. Nothing here made that kind of noise, nothing natural that is, everything in this world was padded by feet of snow. There were no neighbors, no one to slam a car door, it must have been the dream. Blinking, Cara looked around the cabin cautiously. She thought she could hear someone breathing. A serial killer. A rogue bear. A lost hiker. But no bill collector. Good thought. No bill collector.<br/><br/>One thing that being a witch had taught her was to have confidence and the power that spoken words had. Cara said,<br/><br/>“Opening the door to check outside couldn’t be any worse than what my imagination is conjuring up. Maybe that Dragon is back.” She jerked the door open and in fell a person with fair skin and long white hair  covered with some frozen blue goo.<br/><br/>Cara felt a prickly of power even though the person was inert. She  shook the shoulder, quite muscular and turned the form over, definitely male and definitely cold.  She pulled the quilt from the chair and covered him and then tossed another log on the fire. She went back to study this magical person. She had never seen hair so white, especially on one so young. Goddess, he was beautiful. She wanted to run her finger over his smooth jawline and over his full bottom lip. Cara nearly lost her balance when he opened his eyes and she started into the bottomless craters of black and diamond. She wasn’t fearful.  He seemed serene, as if he knew her and trusted her. In spite of the power that rippled through his body and through his spirit, he seemed weak and vulnerable.<br/><br/>“Hi, I’m Cara, You are at my farm. Where are your clothes? Are you hurt? Are you getting warm yet?” She knew better than to rapid fire the questions, but it wasn’t every day that a naked and gorgeous man just fell into your arms. Cara would have laughed at her own foolishness. The man was in peril of hypothermia not in heat.<br/><br/>“I’m going to check to see if you are injured, okay?” she asked, reaching for the edge of the quilt. When he didn’t move to stop her, she pulled it back just enough to check for wounds to his shoulders, chest and arms. She found some bruising and several small places that looked like small hail pellets had hit him but she didn’t notice any mortal wounds. Pulling the quilt tighter around him, Cara said,<br/><br/>“I’m going to fix a poultice and some hot tea for you. When you feel you are able, come to the sofa close to the fire place. I don’t think I’m big enough to pull you across the room alone. I will bring you a pillow and some extra blankets so you can be as comfortable as possible until you can manage to walk.”