The woman said, "This is Daisy Chadwick."
She stopped staring at the tattoo and looked at the man's eyes. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Call me Bram." Bram looked over at Freddie. "And you're with Freddie Atherton, I see."
"Yes. He's my partner for the day. And I know we weren't supposed to sneak off, but I really wanted to see a dragon, and Freddie was nice enough to help. So if you need to punish someone, punish me. Not him. He did a brilliant job today."
Freddie finally pulled his hand from hers. She looked over and noticed his cheeks were pink as he said, "I was just trying to help you understand us better."
Bram grunted. "While I, more than anyone, want to help the humans better understand us, you two shouldn't have run away from the group."
Daisy shook her head. "We didn't run away. We snuck away."
Evie snorted and Bram smiled. It was the clan leader who replied, "Be that as it may, it's still against the rules."
She blurted, "Please don't ban me from ever coming back. I'm sorry I broke the rules, I really am. But to think I'd never see dragons again, or learn more, or even talk with one, makes me want to cry."
Bram gently patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Daisy. I think even if I tried to ban you, somehow you'd find your way back. Wouldn't you?"
She grinned as she swung her arms side to side. "Maybe."
He laughed. "You're very determined."
She jumped in place. "I just love dragons. And now I've met some, I just want to meet everyone."
Bram stared at her for a few seconds before standing up. "I can't promise anything, but you've given me an idea, Daisy. You'll have to accept whatever punishment your teacher has, but maybe you can come back again."
"Really?" She lightly hit Freddie's arm. "Then you can show me some more stuff. I'm sure there's lots I don't know about."
Freddie rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe."
Bram motioned toward the tall, blond man. "Kai will take you back to your group."
"When can I come back?" she asked.
Bram laughed. "We'll see, Daisy. But it's possible it'll be sooner than you think, especially if my idea works. You'll be one of the first to know when you can come back, I promise."
She put out her pinky. "Pinky promise?"
He placed his much bigger pinky around hers. "Pinky promise."
Releasing his finger, she jumped and turned to Freddie. Before she could think why not, she hugged him. "See, Freddie? Today was brilliant. And I can't wait for you to show me some other surprises. Because if I come back to Stonefire, you'll be my partner for the day. Even if you're a little bossy, and grumpy, you're still brave and fun. You're also my first dragon friend."
He murmured, "I guess that means you're my first human friend."
She hugged him tighter. The day had turned out better than she'd thought. Sure, she'd probably have some sort of punishment. And she'd have to convince her mum of how brilliant Stonefire was and list all the reasons why she should come back. However, she'd not only touched a dragon, but she'd also made a dragon friend.
It really had been the best day ever.
Epilogue
Months Later
Freddie stood near the entrance of the new cottages built on land near Stonefire but not quite on it, and wondered where the humans were.
His dragon stretched his wings inside their mind.They'll be here soon. It's still early. Why don't we take a nap?
And miss them arriving? No way.