Catalina was in dragon bliss she was in Claytons vault and there was pile and piles of gold, silver, precious stones and crystals. She had accidently crushed a few and maybe a few had ended up in her mouth and crushed and eaten.

“Catalina! Where are you?” Clayton’s voice boomed.

“Opps, I didn’t do it Clay, really,” she said as she flashed to where he was.

It always made him nervous when she started a conversation with that sentence. “What didn’t you do Catalina?” he asked her quizzically.

“I didn’t eat no sparkles’. But they were yummy can I have more?” she couldn’t help herself.

Sighing he rubbed between his eyes with his human hand, she always gave him headaches. “No Catalina you can’t eat the sparkles’ and you know you shouldn’t have been in there in the first place.”

Her small dragon mouth pouted, “so I shouldn’t have accidently crushed some as well?”

“Stay out of the vault and be good and I will get you some sparkles’ that are your very own,” Clayton said talking slowly, patiently like a parent to a small child.

“Squee” she rushed Clayton and gently rubbed the side of her head against his midsection, trying to be gentle with her horns and not really succeeding. “You called me Clay?”

“I did? oh yes, I was thinking we need to get some practice in for when you need to shield me. That way you don’t get hurt if we can help it,” Clayton told her thoughtfully.

“Don’t worry Clay if anyone tries to hurt you I will crush them and then eat them for you. It is better if you tenderise the meat before you flame cook it,” she told Clayton solemnly.

“Umm, I am sure it is,” he replied uncertainly.

“But Catalina will never hurt the protector of the Stone of Destiny,” she said sweetly.

“But I don’t think it is a good idea if we practice fighting, coz if I hurt you then I would have to crush and flame cook me and I don’t think that is a good idea.”

He could feel the dull throb turning into a full blown boom, boom, boom between his eyes, which was annoying since he never had headaches until Catalina had become his protector.

“Is Clay ok, does you need me to flame cook someone,” she asked feeling his distress but not knowing the cause.

“Do you need…” he corrected her, “no I am fine Catalina but thanks.”

“Ok so no practice,” she said hopefully.

“No, we need to practice,” he said firmly and led the way to the clearing by the waterfall…