Dragonmont

Tentatively, quietly, she clambered up towards one of the caves, following the smokiness and heat. She placed the sack of meat on the ground beside her feet, and peered slowly, carefully, around the cave mouth, ready to spring back if she was met with a blast of flame.

She felt her heart begin to beat faster as she watched the silhouette move towards her from the back of the cave. Slowly, she pulled one of the slabs of raw meat out of the sack, a small amount of blood tinting her hands as she very carefuly stepped round into full view of the cave mouth. She glanced to her right, to ensure she had left herself plenty of space to dodge into if the dragon charged or tried to burn her, then tossed the hunk of flesh as far into the cave as she could, hoping that it would help the dragon to view her favourably when it emerged. Also, if it used it's flames to cook the meat, she thought, it might shed some light in the cave, allowing her to discern if it was Caraxes or not.

Elsey realised that she had been holding her breath, and exhaled in relief, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Hello, Caraxes," she called, almost laughing at herself when she heard how formal she sounded. "I have more of that, if you'll come to me nicely."

Tentatively, but with sure footing, Elsey picked up her sack of meat, and took a single step into the cave, glancing behind her for a moment, to ensure she could still escape quickly if need be. She then looked back to Caraxes, watching him eat, gauging whether or not he would let her come closer, her hand on another piece of meat in the sack, waiting for him to finish the current one before throwing it over.

Slowly, Elsey took another step forward, forcing herself to breathe deeply and evenly, despite her trepidation and the cloying air. She calculated in her mind how long his bursts of flame were, working out the safe distance to maintain, before moving slowly closer. She didn't want to find out the hard way if he didn't like being approached while eating. She stopped a few steps from the limit of her estimated safe distance, and tossed another slab of red meat towards him, deliberately aiming for an equidistant point, to bring him further out of the cave, towards her.

"Caraxes, come here. I want to be your friend," she called gently, but with authority.

Following his gaze, she smiled.

"Hungry, are you? Alright then. I think we can help eachother."

She stepped forward slowly, eyes fixed on him, shoulders squared, drawn up to her full height. She shook out the rest of the sack's contents onto one side of the cave, then took several large sidesteps, keeping close to the opposite side, so that she would not be in the line of his fire, and also so that he would be able to see her as she moved closer. She surmised that a sudden movement would not go down well.

"There, that's all for you. If you eat that instead of me, I'll get you more."

She put down the empty sack, and moved carefully along the side wall towards him, checking before each step that she had somewhere to dodge to if her proximity angered him.

She was not sure where the urge came from, but she began to sing a soothing song she vaguely recalled.

Reassured by his calmness, she stepped up next to him and slowly, gently, placed a hand on his neck, stroking the deep red scales.

"Once you are finished eating, let's go flying," she said, with a smile, growing in confidence.

Snatching her hand back and pulling away, Elseyris stepped back, staring apprehensively at Caraxes' face. She backed away a little further, but did not retreat completely, watching his mouth in particular, gauging whether or not he was about to attack.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I did not mean to annoy you," said Elsey, soothingly, though with a tinge of scolding for scaring her. "But you're not getting rid of me that easily."

She watched him eat in silence, then, as he was almost finished, crept closer again.

If I get close enough, get onto him, he won't be able to attack me without hurting himself... Elseyris, you might be mad... Got to try. If I leave now, I'll only have to start all over again.

When she was up beside him, she placed both hands on the base of his neck, where it met his shoulders, and vaulted herself upwards, trying to swing herself onto where a rider would sit, legs just in front of the wings.

Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me.

"Stay still!" she commanded loudly and firmly, trying to ensure a secure hold on Caraxes' back.

"Good boy. Good Caraxes," Elseyris said firmly, patting his neck praisingly. "Now go! Fly!"

She did not have a whip with her, so instead she dug her heels into his side to spur him forward.

As they soared rapidly upwards over the mountain, Elsey couldn't help but feel immense pride as she clung to Caraxes. At the coast, she nudged him to even out his trajectory, and they sailed over the rocks in a wide arc, turning around to view the whole island.
Being airborne again filled Elsey with joy, the wind whipping her hair and her shirt, and she whooped excitedly.
Despite her elation, she was acutely aware of how much bigger Caraxes was than Nenyan, and that she was a little more precariously perched. With this in mind, she steered him towards the city, scanning the ground for the large space that would indicate the dragon pen that linked to the manse of the Master Saddler.