The shaking and shivering fade away, and it stops finally with a steady exhale.

The dragon speaks in my head without verbal words.

"You were a mystery. Now that it has been explained, it actually should have made more sense to me.

They can hear you in the spirit.

You can sense me as a spirit being.

I thought you were some prankster, meaning to disturb my training visit.

Some time before you started thinking poetic, high energy spirit was projected onto your soul.

As the more powerful energy found your human energy and replaced it; you became more attuned to spirit beings.

Humans do not naturally live very long that way. Other factors aside once you have a body full of spirit....

You get eaten.

A spirit like the kind you saw me fight, comes and removes your soul and spirit.

The body either just dies or goes into a coma. Thought to be unexplained natural causes.

Once eaten, you are surrounded by the souls of others. Giddy in high power spirit energy. Laughing, singing and speaking fair words they are fade away happy. They consider it a pleasant death. It is considered a pleasant meal.

Some spirits have a practice of not creating the happy state. Eating weak spirits that end existence sad, scared and confused. Those kinds of beings are not permitted anywhere we dragons live.

Bringing you here was against the rules. Part of my punishment is being forced to only make a choice once. To make sure I consider consequences before acting.

I am allowed to try to save you.

You could not go back to your home. Part of my punishment is additional training and studying. I would not have free time to protect you.

I will let you think about these things for a bit. "

I snuggled as best can against her. She had been scary, but I never doubted her. Home was not a thing I expected to miss. Life is not guaranteed, there is always a risk.

She speaks again

"Every action to protect you is up to me. Survival will be yours to secure.

I am going to take you some place where time runs faster. I will be there for a bit, to make sure you are set up safe.

After I go, if you are in danger, I would hear your thoughts but it might take a very long time for me to come. Especially when I am in training and studying.

You would really need to take care of yourself.

I am only permitted to make one change to you (when we arrive there). To let you fit in better where we are going.

Are you ready?"

She has me climb her right side, and I lay on her back like before.

She leaps, and we are gone.