Oh Shit Trundle! Actually Eh.

The dragon girl stares at you wide eyed, looking for some sort of reassurance concerning the man she just reduced to a crumbling pile of ash. Normally, you'd recognize this as a moment for tact. At this precise moment, however, you're dealing with a few things.

One, you've seemingly been transported into an actual fantasy realm.

Two, you're apparently still unemployed.

Three, the girl you had just bumped up to the top of your Netflix and Chill list is an actual for real deal dragon.

Four, probably no Netflix in this place anyway.

And Five, you just watched said girl reduce a man to the aforementioned crumbling pile of ash, and it smells exactly like fucking pumpkin pie. So, it's somewhat understandable when your response is a tad blunt.

"I, you...that was Trundle, he's, he was, he...you burnt him into goddamn cinders!'

The dragon shrinks in on herself, eyes pleading as she crushes her stuffed bag to her chest. "I-I-I thought he was going to hit me! I, was, w-was he good? Did I mess up? I'm n-not a monster..."

You are barely hearing anything she says. "You're a fucking dragon!"

She lets out a gasping sob, and that cuts through your stupor. You finally look down and see the girl trembling as she gazes up at you, blue and green flecked eyes quivering as tears run down her freckled cheeks. "D-do...do I have to go back to the cave now?"

Oh jeez. This is all too much; if you try to deal with everything at once you're going to explode your brain. Sort everything out by what's biggest, and deal with the most important thing first. Namely, the weeping girl who keeps asking if she has to go away, if she can't have all the things you dangled in front of her without a thought for what it could have actually meant. Fuck along now, other problems; you can always go insane later.

The girl has sunk to her knees at this point, her face buried in the doll that you're realizing is the most heartbreaking thing you've ever fucking seen. You carefully put your hands on her shoulders, the girl stiffening as she peeks her eyes out from the top of her stuffed bag. God, you hope you're about to sound reassuring. And that she doesn't incinerate you. "I...look, everyone panicked, not just you. He was going to hurt you; anyone would have reacted like you did. That doesn't mean you're a monster, it means you're a person."

The girl sniffs and nods a little, still quietly sobbing as she shifts forward to curl up against your chest, pressing her tear-stained face against your arm. "I'm good...I, I want to be good..."

You slip your other arm around her, trying to provide the comfort she's looking for. You can't help thinking, though, about what the girl told you about her life in the cave. Jesus Christ. "God, so all this time...anyone who came up would be trying to...and you'd have to...that's so awful."

You feel her nod against you, and realize you've got to find some way to cheer her up. "Hey, um, do you still want to meet my horse?"

The girl loudly sniffs, and you feel her slowly nod against you. You carefully lift the dragon up, an arm wrapped around her shoulder as you lead her over to where your palfrey is still racked. She gives a trembling smile as she lays eyes on the beautiful animal, trying to sniff back her tears. "Oh, she's pretty..."

"Do you want to pet her?"

The girl nods, hesitantly reaching out to lay her hand on the horse's mane. She stops abruptly when the beast whinnies in disapproval, apparently not entirely convinced she needs to play nice with an apex predator. The dragon's eyes start to screw up, and it's your horse's turn to freeze when she notices you giving her a look that should by all rights cause her internal organs to flee out of her backside. Don't start with this shit, you goddamn fucking horse.

Thankfully, just as the dragon girl starts to pull her hand away, your palfrey gracefully dips below and presses her neck up into her fingers. The girl laughs in sudden pleasure as she strokes the horse's silky mane, still sniffling and cheeks glistening but seemingly soothed for the moment. Alright horse, you're off the hook.

You all stand in comfortable silence for a while, the girl visibly calming down. Maybe it's time to move on. You clear your throat and suggest as much, prompting the dragon to turn to you and clasp her hands together, earnestly gazing up at you. "I..should we say a few words first? About Trundle?"

"Oh, ah, sure." Fuck.

The girl nods solemnly, turning to face the spot where what hasn't been blown away of Trundle's ashes scatter the ground. "I'm very sorry for what happened, Trundle. I wish I hadn't done it, really. I...I promise I'll do my best to be better."

She looks up at you; apparently it's your turn. What do you say about the guy who apparently had a big bag pre-labeled ASH SACK for what he clearly hoped was your gristly demise? Still, better take a swing at it, for her sake. "Trundle, I...I know you weren't nice, but I don't think I can say for sure you weren't good. Maybe. All I know is...well, I'll also do my best to be better."

The breeze chooses that moment to kick up again, picking up the last bits of Trundle and peppering you and the dragon with ash. She seems to take comfort in that, as if it's the man accepting her apology. You are pretty confident it's your manservant getting in a final 'fuck you' by trying to get his morbidly pie-scented dust into your eyes and mouth.

Either way, you decide as you climb onto your horse, pulling your companion up behind you to wrap around your waist, the girl seems to be okay now. Maybe you can spare some time to go crazy at how insane all of this is, soon.