<em>Oh, by the gods, that was fun!</em>Storm exclaimed.<em> Nothing felt so good as that!</em><br/><br/>"Did you have to have me with you?"  Karak asked, sullenly. "I've laready bathed today, and we still have days ahead of us before we reach home."<br/><br/><em>You could've jumped off.  I gave you the chance</em>.  Storm retorted.<em>I told you there was a good place for a soak, and you know I love swimming.</em><br/><br/>"Oh, yes, and I'm supposed to jump off you from that great a height?  The only place I could've landed safely was the water, anyway!"<br/><br/>Karak, a tall human, lithe and wiry for his race, dropped to his knees, his leather riding armor soaked as he drank from the lake.  His eyes caught the sight of glitterfish streaming by, a sure sign that the water in this lake was safe to drink.<br/><br/>"Well, I suppose that this is a good a place as any to camp out."  Karak moaned.  "I'd like to move on, but..."<br/><br/><em>I am not flying any more this night.</em>Storm, the great black dragon, said.  His speech was 'felt' in the mind of his rider, Karak.<em> I may be a dragon, but we're not gods, you know.  We do have our limits.</em><br/><br/>"Yes, yes."  Karak said.  "Well, I suppose I should pitch the tent, even though it's soaked, along with the rest of my clothes."  Karak grumbled.<br/><br/><em>No, you can use my wing tonight.</em>Storm replied.<em>They'll be stretched.</em><br/><br/>In truth, Storm was a young dragon, a mere seventy-five years old, and comparable to his rider's 20 years.  They seemed to grumble and compain a lot, but that was simply their nature.  They were a finely tuned team, and the telepathic words that Storm gave hiim was the ultimate proof of that.  Still, as young as they were, dragon and rider cut fine, grand figures by themselves, and an even more impressive one together.<br/><br/><em>We're not alone, it seems.</em>Storm blurted.<em>There, by that rock outcropping.  Maybe two marks left.  A solitary female.</em><br/><br/>Karak raised his head from the lake's water,and looked in the direction Storm indicated.  There, Storm was right!  A girl, it seemed, stood on the opposite shore.<br/><br/>"HELLO!"  Karak called, waving.  "Is this your lake?"