Naela slept through her first night with the duo easily. The exhaustion from her injuries had her falling asleep easily and waking up the next day. In the warm sunlight, she could see the two of them much better.
Doran had long blue hair flowing down his back, and he had dark blue eyes to match. His blue robes had little black markings on it in the shape of lightning bolts. He appeared to be in his early 20s at least. Though, Naela was uncertain about the ages of humanoids.
As for the fluffy friend who was getting way to close to Naela's face, she was a cat kin with fluffy white ears and a matching tail. She wore leather armor, and it was only then that Naela realized she had a dagger and a wand for casting spells.
"Wow," Ka'nesh said, "you look even more amazing in the sunlight. Now I know why Doran didn't wanna kill you."
The man in question clicked his tongue. "Don't be so close to it. You do know it's still a wild beast, right?"
Ka'nesh frowned and clicked her tongue right back. "Don't start clicking your tongue at me, man. And stop calling her 'it'. She had a name, remember?"
"She? Are we sure on that female verdict?"
Ka'nesh smirked and patted her chest with pride. "Of course, I am sure. Call it the intuition of Saraa'na."
The wizard rolled his eyes. "You can't just evoke your goddess whenever you please. That doesn't make your assertion more true."
"Of course it does!"
Naela watched the two of them bicker in front of her with profound curiousity. Even though many of the words didn't register, their intent remained, and their playfulness sparked something inside of the wyvern's heart. It made her feel a strange connection to them.
This would quickly become a sight she got used to while they roamed the forest. The two people she followed didn't dismiss her or tell her she had to leave, so she stuck by them. She studied them as they studied her. The days went by with them camping out during the nights and moving aimlessly in the days.
"I am so tired of this," Ka'nesh said one morning. "Are we going to continue roaming around? When are we going to get time for a proper bath? Do you even know where we are going?"
Doran rolled his eyes. "I do know where I'm going. We are almost there anyway." Doran smiled towards the wyvern. "Your presence has proved a great boon in this forest. You've kept the monsters at bay, haven't you?"
Naela was starting to understand more and more of their speech, but she'd still not attempted it herself. Recognizing the last words, she nodded her head. She was aware that many monsters and beasts avoided them because of her.
"Treating her like a potion to keep away insects is low, even for you Doran."
The wizard didn't answer, and they finally reached the destination. Near some jagged cliff edges there was a small ruin. Stone arches jutted out of the ground with moss growing from them. Pillars of a decimated building were broken with rocks littering the ground.
In the center of this structure there was an old brazier with a charred book inside of it. The wizard smiled and walked up to the blackened sconce, taking the book into his hands.
"Is this thing actually worth something?"
The wizard shrugged. "That is for our client to know. Though, they wouldn't send us into such dangerous lands for nothing. We will get a return on our journey, greedy cat."
Rather than bicker like usual, Ka'nesh shrugged her shoulders and grinned. "Greed is one of the truest emotions and a guiding light for many. At least my greed doesn't hide behind lies and sorcery." Ka'nesh looked towards Naela, the silent observer, with pity. "Though, this is going to be a problem. We were already starting to get used to having a scaly friend follow us around."
"About that, I have a proposal. We got what we came for, and we cleared the quest for the wyvern at the same time. The capital of the dwarves is far from here." He looked at Naela meaningfully. "You understand us, right? The way I see it, there are only two options. We can part ways here, or you can give us a ride to the dwarven kingdom. In return, I can impart to you a magic for transformation."
Naela didn't need to be asked twice. She lowered herself for the two of them. Even though their time together was short so far, the wyvern never felt companionship with anyone. She imagined going back to her previous way of life and hunting beasts or living in the wilderness like others of her kind.
The thought was unbearable and sent a twinge of pain in her chest. She knew if she didn't go with them, she'd regret it. When would she ever find other humanoids that were as understanding as this duo?
Both of them climbed on, and they set course for the dwarven kingdom. Every night they spent beneath the stars for rest, Doran started to fulfill his promise.
"The first thing you will need to learn is proper speech. I cannot communicate with you if you don't understand words. I imagine you have different biology, but I will accommodate. You don't have to sound out the words yet. Simple acknowledgments of writings will work."
Doran had a small book satchel attached to his waist, and even though Naela didn't understand it, she imagined it to be bottomless. No matter how many books or items he pulled out of it, there were always more. For teaching, he pulled out small books with painted pictures inside.
The man pointed to a figure that looked similar to Naela but much larger. "Dragon. That is what this picture is." He dragged his finger down towards the words. "And this is how it is read."
Dragon. Naela burned the image into her mind, including the word on the page.
"You are starting with that book?" Ka'nesh asked.
"Of course, every child loves reading dragons."