Having driven the dragon away, the warrior washed his many cuts and scratches with water and bandaged them with strips of cloth that he cut from his scorched cloak. The dragon watched the triumphant human from a safe distance, hunched down behind a wind-weathered rock so that only its horns and part of its head poked up over the ridge.

"Baiting another warrior, Gron?"

The green dragon startled at the voice and turned its head around to face the speaker - a rust-red fellow dragon, dusty with sand from its flight.

"Oh, eh, hi Raud." the green dragon said in some embarrassment, and gave the other dragon a friendly but distracted nod in welcome. Gron's tail twitched guiltily when it turned back to watch as the warrior clambered up the steep incline of gnarled rock to the cave.

"Really, girl, you're going to give us all a bad name." the red dragon said and slithered forward on his stomach to peer carefully over the ridge beside Gron as the warrior emerged from the green dragon's cave with a young woman in his arms.

The green dragon didn't reply to the charge but watched enrapt as the warrior carried the distressed maid all the way down to where he had left his horse earlier, before he had climbed up the hill to do battle.

"Carrying the woman is a protective gesture from him, very noble, especially since his leg pains him - you can tell that from they way he walks with a limp." Gron told the other dragon with the air of an expert. Raud replied with a neutral "Mmmm."

The warrior helped the woman up on the back of the skittish horse before he swung himself up behind her with practised ease. The green dragon made a wistful little sigh and asked with a dreamy air "Isn't he strapping? So noble and gallant?"

"What, the male?" the Raud replied, and puffed out a non-committing cloud of smoke. "I suppose so."

Gron sniffed and turned her head to give the other dragon an irked look. "You don't have a single romantic flame in your belly, Raud." she told him and glanced back to watch as the two humans rode off. "Do you think they'll fall in love?"

Raud raised his head a little, his nostrils half closed in irritation. He drew a breath to make a curt reply, but seeing the expression on Gron's face he let it out again in a soft sigh. He lowered his head down until his chin rested lightly against the hard rock and watched the humans silently. "Yes, I suppose they will." he said after a while.

"I think so too." the green dragon said with a dreamy air, following the two humans in the distance with her eyes until they rode out of view.

Raud raised his head and nudged Gron's shoulder gently with his snout where the warrior had nicked a few of her scales with his sword. "Really, girl," Gron said with concern, "one of these days you are going to bite over more than you can chew."

"Mmmmmmmm." Gron replied and flicked the tip of her tail lightly against Raud's, her thoughts elsewhere. It had been such a really magnificent hero this time. It was going to be hard to top. Maybe if she managed to steal a royal maid as the bait. Hmm - didn't the king of Libya have a daughter?