The morning sun was shining into the entrance of my cave. The campfire was not much more than a pile of glowing ashes in the pit. I prepared some breakfast for me and my visitor who was still asleep, recovering from his intoxication. I didn't know how much that young adult would eat, so I prepared the "standard" portion visiting adventurers taught me to make; I could always make more.

Everything was left on the table for the moment. I sat opposite the human and tried to wake him up with a gentle voice: « Good morning little guy, I prepared some breakfast for us. » He shuffled around, groaned a bit like a cranky teenager getting out of bed.

« I feel like a brick hit my head, he complained sitting and holding his head in his hands.
– A brick. You have a headache ? That's expected from an intoxication to dragonsbane.
– Dragons-what now ?
– Dragonsbane.
– Never heard of it.
– It's the common name of a toxic, putrid-smelling substance a human wouldn't survive given enough prolonged contact, I explained while serving breakfast on the table, I was worried you wouldn't make it, but I'm very glad you did. I assume they talked about it during your training, right ?
– Never heard that name during training.
– Huh, I answer stupefied, odd they haven't told you about this.
– Do you have something for that headache though ? It's hurting badly…
– Yep ! I prepared a little concoction during your sleep. I think it should be effective for your headache. It just tastes terrible. »

The young man grabbed the bottle and drank it in one breath. I was taken aback he asked some medication from me, a wolf-dragon he barely knew he once framed as an enemy of his kingdom to be slain, and drank it. I then told him breakfast was served on the table. Since he struggled with balance, I offered him my forearm so he could lean on it, walk across the room, and we sat opposite to each other. I resumed the discussion:

« I'm surprised you just drank that potion or accepted what I prepared without asking questions. Usually, dragon slayers would either not ask me anything or tell me their have enough in their stash fearing I'll poison them or make them have a bad time.
– Logical, the human replied, that's what they always tell us. Quote, don't accept anything from a dragon, they can only do bad things to you given the torment they went through dealing with you, if they survive. They can only seek revenge after being injured, end quote.
– I suppose most, if not all of them, would react like that. Yet here we are having an open discussion around a table and some food. Considering you declared me being the terror of your kingdom and I had to be dealt with a few hours ago, it's unexpected. By the way, the medication I gave you should be kicking in now. Feeling a little better ?
– Yeah, that massive headache is slowly going away, thank you very much, he replied munching on some bread.
– You're welcome, that's good to hear, I reply nearly finishing my plate and drinking a cup of water. By the way, I'm sorry to spoil the mood. Given your current state and your wobbliness, I don't think it's a good idea to head into the wilderness now. We'll see how you fare tomorrow.
– I don't intend to leave this place anytime soon…
– Really ? I slightly tilted my head in surprise. The usual dragon slayers I've seen wanted to speedrun their way out of here so bad, I thought you would do the same. At the same time, as you said, fear of the revenge a dragon has in store. You really aren't like the others that came before you ! I'm curious to know why. »

As we finished our breakfast, I collected the plates and stacked them aside in the kitchen. Only breadcrumbs remained, a quick wipe with a wet towel and they were ready for reuse; the water bucket and cup stayed on the table. I came back and listened carefully to the pensive young adult:

« It's hard to say, it's a conflict of situations between the training given and what I'm living. They tell us many things on dragons, how they supposedly behave, how mean they are to us and the kingdom, the whole lot you've probably heard a thousand times. Here I am in front of a dragon displaying the opposite behavior of what they drilled into our heads. You could be taking advantage of my vulnerability, hurt me, what have you, even straight up kill me if you wished. Yet you're kind, you worry about my well-being, you stayed awake the whole night to make sure I'm fine, you're treating me well and you go out of your way to make sure I'm comfortable. Of course I don't want to leave ! » A few seconds later, the man continued « I feel terrible, I'm dizzy but at least my head is not hurting as much thanks to your concoction. What a misery to be thrown into against my will…
– Hey hum… I know this whole ordeal is a bit much to process for you. I'll leave you you for a few minutes and take care of some chores and write a few letters. Don't worry, I'm still around in case you need me. We can talk again later just at the entrance of the cave if you wish. The weather is lovely. »

I got off the table, grabbed the bucket and emptied it on the burning embers of the camp. The sun was providing the much needed warmth and light. I returned the bucket filled with fresh water to the table.

A kobold arrived and used the "doorbell", a forged metal ring hung on some stone and that made a surprising amount of noise for its simplicity. He handed me a few letters: one was from a kingdom at the foot of the mountain, another from a kingdom further away and a few others from other dragons. I chatted with him for a while, discussing about random things. I thanked him for his precious service and handed him a pouch of golden coins. I sat on the same log I was on during the night and read the letters.

The first one from the nearby kingdom was a weekly digest of the news. They knew I would pay them a cordial visit if something caught my eye and I usually spent a lot of money while I was there. I was on good terms with its royal family, despite keeping my distance with others. The second letter from a kingdom further away just pretty much listed what was going on in their territories and the upcoming events, nothing extraordinary. The good news is they finally have sorted their internal affairs. Hopefully, it was for the long run.

I heard the human's voice from the back: « Hey hum… dragon ? I kinda need someone to talk to… if I'm not disturbing you…
– Yeah sure, let me just put those letters away in my office and I'll be back to you ! » I replied. After a quick hop in my office, I offered the human I still don't know the name of to discuss just outside the cave. Once on the terrasse, we sat together on some wooden chairs. He was very dizzy from his intoxication and sore from the physical effort. I wondered how many days he has been huffing that putrid substance while walking up the mountain, without questioning much what's happening to him. At least, he knew he was safe with me, and that's all that mattered at the moment.

He explained me why he « hated it down there », how miserable he felt and how the king wouldn't deliver fully on his promise of higher living standards for those choosing and training to chase dragons for « the well-being of the kingdom ». Some things were definitely better, yes, but not distinctively better than your average knight. He felt understandably cheated and was seething at the whole situation. Those who failed their missions repeatedly were met with various punishments, from humiliation to getting impossible "training". The human also explained me how he received the order to walk to my mountain because « that dragon is causing us misery » and he had to « teach them a good lesson with that blade » without telling him the nature of the coating. He felt as if the king was looking for a way to get rid of him despite doing okay, the feeling was reinforced by the non-disclosure of the nature of the coating. It has been a lot to unpack for him.

The morning turned into dinner time. I made something light for my little guest. He was surprised a wolf-dragon was able to cook something that tasty, as dragons cooking human food were usually unheard of. The human ate slowly though, nothing to be alarmed of; the world was probably spinning in his head and he was just taking his time. Once he was done, the usual dance of washing dishes took place.

During the afternoon, the little guy was feeling a bit better despite having puked a few times. When the headache came back in full force like an anvil was dropped on him, I gave him another bottle. I advised him to rest for a bit and that the next day his condition would certainly improve. While he took a nap, I went back to my letters and replied to some.