A few days later, we had the cottage in as good a state as we could get it. I did most of the work, of course, but Zera helped where she could. Her contributions were limited by her boundless curiosity, sporadic energy, and lack of thumbs. She loved to play fetch, though, and she had a real talent for hunting down bugs and critter nests.

  The bugs she ate. The critters, she brought to my attention so I could carefully relocate them outside.

  I spent the early mornings and late evenings gradually working on the garden, tidying and trimming and pruning. Zera watched with an intense curiosity until I chased her away. Annoyed, she went back to studying her territory.

  Each day she ventured a little farther out, returning with interesting looking rocks and sticks. Soon, I’d need to walk the boundaries to make sure there wasn’t anything unpleasant I’d need to worry about. And I should probably mark it too, in case some unsuspecting adventurer stumbled into her territory.

  That would be awkward.

  “Hey Zera, guess what?” I said on the morning of the fourth day. Her head popped up from the middle of the rosemary bush, of all places. “We are going to town today. Are you ready to see some people?”

  She leapt gracefully out of the bush and came bounding up the path, stopping just in front of the door. She still wouldn’t come in without permission most days. An old habit that we were working on reframing.

  “I’m going to have you on harness and tether and it's going to be a little snug. I know it's not your favorite, but it's a new area so you are going to have to get used to it.” I held up the harness, which I ordered special just for her.

  The ones they used at the academy were reinforced with wire while this one was sturdy, braided leather. It took some sweet talking to get it added to an academy order without it being officially included in the inventory, but I managed to work something out with one of their employees who did custom leatherwork on the side.

  Zera eyed it curiously, giving me her I-want-treats head tilt. I held up the pouch of training treats and I swear, her eyes lit up. She stood perfectly still as I put it on, testing to make sure it was properly tightened before looping the lead through my belt. She could pull away easily if she needed too, as well as looping it back up around her neck if it got loose.

  I put a pretty light saddle bag on her back, then slung my own pack over my shoulders. I had enough money to cover what we needed, plus a little extra. The rest of my coin I hid very carefully around the cottage.

  “Come on, darling. Let's go get some supplies and make some friends.” As I set off down the path, Zera trots happily beside me.

  The trip into town ends up only taking a few hours, even with Zera getting distracted by butterflies. The closer we got to town, the smoother and wider the road we followed. We didn’t run into any other travelers, but there were wagon tracks and footprints in the dirt.

  Zera caught the scent of something and it put her on alert. She walked closer to me, watching the road with great care. I reached over, massaging the back of her head, and she started to relax.

  “You know what to do,” I said gently. “Eyes on the road, ears on me.”

  She nodded, bumping her snout against my elbow. I gave her a final pat, then tucked my hands back into my pockets. Soon, we reached the outskirts of the town.

  I had passed through Goldhollow a few times over the years, so I knew more or less what to expect. They had a fair amount of trade that passed through, plus goods of their own that local farmers, hunters, and crafters sold. I had no idea when their typical market days were, but hopefully there would be enough going on for me to get what I needed.

  There was only so much we could scavenge from the garden and I was not quite handy enough to make crafting materials from nothing.

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  “Keeping it simple today. Fasteners, wood, putty, glue, blankets, and food. Anything else can wait, unless it's a good deal.”

  She chirped.

  “Yes, we can get you some treats from the butchers. Meat and bones. Should probably get some snares too.” Even with the garden, we’d probably need to do a little hunting to keep everyone fed.

  There were two guards watching the main road and they watched me intently as I led Zera into the town. We got some other odd looks, but no one seemed too alarmed. The harness helped, and I made sure to keep my hand on the lead.

  Zera knew how to handle herself in a crowd, but it was better to be safe than sorry. And it made the locals feel better.

  “Excuse me, can you point me to the market?” I asked, directing my words towards a courier who was about to pass us by. He looked briefly confused, then concerned when he saw the drake, but his eyes eventually went to mine.

  “Continue down this way, and you'll want to take the next left. You can’t miss it,” he said nervously.

  “Thank you. And don’t worry, she’s trained and she will stay with me. Unless there are certain places she isn’t allowed. I'll admit, I am not super familiar with the town, if you didn’t guess.”

  “That should be fine, so long as she behaves herself. There are signs posted where companion animals aren’t allowed.”

  ““I will keep an eye out for those. Thanks for the directions and the heads up.” I bowed my head slightly to him and he nodded back before scampering off. Zera made a soft noise that only I could hear, probably disappointed that she didn't get to say hi. I patted under her chin and continued on, keeping an eye out for the next road on the left.

  A few minutes later, we reached the market. There were a few stalls scattered about the shops. Far from a full market day, but more than I had hoped for.

  I started with the repair materials, putting those odds and ends in the bottom of the bag, wrapped carefully in a sturdy little bag of their own. I really didn't want to have to repair the saddlebags on top of fixing things around the cottage.

  “Alright, now that's taken care of, it's time for food and blankets,” I said. My stomach growled. “Maybe lunch first, then fabric, then food to take home.”

  Zera snorted, startling some of the people nearby. I patted her head, giving them an apologetic look. I also noticed that there were a few kids watching her, trailing behind us with wide, curious eyes. Time would tell if their parents would let them approach or warn them away. Either way, it was their call.

  A stand selling meat-filled pastries and kebabs caught my attention, so I led Zera that way. She almost started leading me once she caught the scent. I placed one hand on the back of her neck to keep her from rushing him.

  “Hello there. I will have one of your wraps, and an all meat kebab,” I said, nodding my head at Zera.

  “Of course,” he said, moving slowly to fix the order. “I didn’t know drakes could eat cooked meat.”

  “If they have been fed it from a young age, absolutely. They don’t always like it, though. She prefers either way but the second she sees me eating something cooked, she has to have some.”

  “Okay. Would you like me to put her meat in a bowl?” He held up a bowl crafted from sturdy paper. “You can burn it or use it for compost when it's done. It’s technically edible too, though it doesn’t have the best aftertaste.”

  Zera stretched her neck out and gave it an intrigued sniff. The vendor kept his cool, watching me out of the corner of his eye. I looked between him and Zera, paying attention to her reaction. She didn’t dislike it, which was a good sign. I nodded to the vendor and he pulled the bowl back slowly.

  When she didn't react, the last of his tension vanished and he settled back into his usual role, losing himself in his work. He moved with a practiced ease, cooking chunks of meat in one pan for the kebab bowl and dropping a hunk of dough in another.

  The dough was flattened out and cooked lightly on both sides before strips of meat and vegetables were laid in the center. The chunks of meat were given a stir to ensure even cooking and he tossed some spices in. Zera started to prance in place, excited by the prospect of freshly cooked food. It made me smile, and I started to feel some of that excitement as I watched him carefully wrap the meat and vegetables in the dough, rolling it around in the pan until I couldn’t see what was inside.

  He expertly flipped my roll out of the pan and onto a plate similar to the one he’d shown Zera. He handed it to me, then ladled the meat into a bowl.

  “You can just stack them,” I said. “I’ll find a place for us to sit out of the way, so we don’t get in anyone’s way. These look amazing, by the way, and they smell delicious.”

  “There is a fountain around the corner if you’d like somewhere quiet to eat. And thank you, for your kind words. I hope my food lives up to them.” He waited until he was sure I had a firm hold on the bowl with its carefully balanced plate to let go. After years of wrangling drakes, this proved to be less of a challenge than either of us expected.

  “I am certain it will.”

  Zera followed me eagerly, and I only had to jerk her tether once to remind her to mind her manners.