Layla didn’t understand Maric’s words, not like she did Nimue’s but she did know he was ill at ease on her back. Today, she had no shenanigans up her wing though and with a shot, she was off but flying low over the tree tops. She circled the area where she had located the fire but it was now out and all was silent below the trees. The dragon roared her frustration, spewing forth a stream of fire from her mouth, smoke curling from her nostrils.<br/><br/>They cruised around the lake and the Tor but there was no movement, all seemed asleep when Layla went into a dive, settling in a field and crouching for the men to dismount.<br/><br/>Nimue was not here but her scent was strong as was the scent of men she did not count among Nimue’s friends. The trees were too dense for her to enter and too closely spaced for her to have precise vision from the air. Every bristle and scale was on quivering alert and she had not known such need for survival skills in her dragon life. Now, Layla was a full grown dragon and battle ready, in every sense of the word. She didn’t need to be trained as was the Black or hardened to such a life as was Maric. Layla was a dragon bred for war and her every instinct was working to full capacity.<br/><br/>She swung her great head around and wished the Maric was a dragon rider so that he might understand her thoughts. She wanted him to search and to go where she couldn’t. One of the knights with him, began to beat the bushed close by and Maric examined the ground. Suddenly, Layla’s head came up and she gave a roar and then crouched again.<br/><br/>The men leaped on her back and she soared to the Tor, where the Lady and the women of Avalon were under attack. They had escaped a few years back because the lord of the area was so wealthy that the raiders and been satisfied but now, the riches of Avalon were at risk.<br/><br/>For the Lady, she would die to defend the knowledge of Avalon and their acolytes. The raiders had no regard for the For the Lady, she would die to defend the knowledge of Avalon and their acolytes. The raiders had no regard for the Mother or even the Man/God. All these blue devils wanted was to kill, steal and destroy.