I am nervous about meeting the dragons, vaguely worried that they won't approve of me in some way, and a little bit apprehensive about how the other aviators might react to my presence, but I am not afraid here. I am back in Scotland, and regardless of the year and the existence of dragons, I feel like I have come home. Home, with these men who I love.

All in all, I am quite happy. Or I would be, if Laurence were not so obviously agitated over something about which I know only the vaguest of details. I really hate to see him like this, when he should only be excited about seeing his dragon again. I finish braiding my hair, and look in vain for a mirror.

"Does this look all right, Will?" I ask, depending on his honesty as well as hoping I might offer him even the smallest of distractions.