Page 116 of Nine-Tenths

Mostly I think about how dragons are so firmly interwoven into the fabric of human lives, and none of us understand howmuch.

Never thanked you for driving me to Dav's,I text Onatah in the middle of the night.

You did,Onatah texts back, which means, like me, she's probably having a bout of insomnia.But I take your text in the spirit of searching for an opener. What's up?

Glancing quickly at Dav, asleep beside me, I roll out of bed and pad down the hall to the hideous orange lounge, where my screen light won't disturb him.? 4 U.

Ask.

Why r drgns so separate? Have feelin Dav wld rather not live behind walls. He LIKES humans.

He really does.

I sink lower, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Dav hasn't come looking. Even though it's only texting, it feels like I'm cheating on Dav a little. But I want dirt on him that only a friend can shovel.

Dav hates walls, I agree.

First, you gotta know that Dav's young, okay?

?! He's 263!

Young.Which means he's enthusiastic about humans. Hatchlings love you guys.

Like kids like puppies?

No

Well, at least Onatah isn't into the pet analogy. Thank god.

So…?

We do best when we have a person. We're creatures of the air, and fire, and water. We’re all over the place until we find a human to be our ground.

So less like a love match, and more like a compulsion?Dav called it his 'stupid draconic instincts' and I'm wondering how much they had to do with us falling for each other. I asked Dav once why he liked me, and he'd given me the pretty line about caring, but it might also have been just because I was available to be the target of this instinct.

I'm okay with that. Humans have stupid instincts that want them to hook up at the biological level, too. Doesn't mean the relationship that grows out of it isn't as real.

Do you have a person of your own? Can I meet them?

No.

No, you don't have one, or no, I can't meet them?

Dav’s British.

Nice dodge.???

They all have sticks up their asses. They live in impenetrable mansions, separate and utterly unknown to the humans in their territory. Get me?

Something… something is so close to clicking…

0 I C,I text.

But I don't.

I wake to Dav draping the sofa-blanket over me. "You can sleep longer. You were up late."

"Couldn't shut off my brain," I confess, scrubbing my eyes. "Lots to think about."