Anne stared back at the enormous yellow circle of grass that Amaru left behind.

She looked at the dragon who had folded himself up into a human sized golden sea, growing brighter in her vision as he compressed himself into that small form.

She looked back at the place where a dragon had sat for long enough for the grass to change color. Her throat was uncomfortably dry, but she didn't feel as sickly as she had when they'd arrived. How could people have missed seeing a dragon that big? Why weren't they surrounded by cameras and soldiers?

"Let's go," the dragon suggested casually. "We have a long walk ahead of us."

The way he spoke sounded much more natural than it had when they'd arrived. His clothes that weren't clothes were still a little odd though.

"Too bad we don't have enough money to get a cab. I don't think they usually accept gold," she suggested half jokingly.

"Humans used to be quite fond of gold," the dragon agreed. "It's too bad that it's no longer an acceptable currency, I would like to try 'get a cab'."

"Try to get a cab," she corrected automatically. She couldn't quite bring herself to ask if he actually had a hoard of gold.

--

Chris wished that he'd been more specific with Amaru. Who knew how long the elder dragon considered 'a bit' of time to be. Mac was bustling about, packing up his many momentos of his life with the family that Chris had never met.

"You don't need to do that," he told Mac again.

"It's no trouble, and would need doing eventually," the little old man insisted. "You needed more room, and I don't mind giving up the space."

Chris had tried to move things to their original positions, but he had obviously failed, because Mac had noticed immediately. He sighed, and they both looked up when a faint knocking sound came from the door.

"I'll get it," Chris volunteered.

"Wait, I'll get you a mask," Mac argued.

"I don't need it," Chris pointed out.

"They'll need it," Mac pointed out dryly. "For peace of mind if nothing else."

Chris hesitated in front of the door. "Alright," he agreed.

Mac's door was relatively sturdy, but it didn't prevent Chris from hearing the familiar aggravated voice of a dragon demanding, "Open the door."

Chris opened the door to Mac's dismay, and stared blankly at the two figures waiting in the hallway. Anne looked scared and Amaru looked impatient. Chris turned his body so that he could glance between Mac and Anne. Chris held out his hand when Anne nervously edged forward. For a moment her expression looked hurt, but her shoulders stiffened and her face was expressionless when she held out the iPad.

Chris ignored the proffered tablet and said quickly, "Mac was getting a mask for me, but since he's home, you should probably put it on before you come in Anne."

Anne blinked at him, and then edged closer so that she could see past him, but Mac was already in one of the other rooms. He came back out a minute later, wearing a bright blue mask and waving several folded and very brightly colored pieces of cloth that appeared to have long tassels. Anne stared at him, open mouthed, and turned a very startled and questioning look toward Chris.

Mac didn't hesitate to push past Chris and place a bright green cloth mask into Anne's hands. "Don't worry, they aren't just cloth, there's a filter between the layers," Mac told her cheerfully as he held out a bright pink mask toward Amaru with a hint of challenge in his eyes.

The dragon took the pink piece of beribboned cloth with a curious expression and examined it carefully. Mac looked a little taken aback, but gestured to his own face and said, "Wear it like this, pinch the wire at the top into the shape of your nose.".

Chris stepped back so that Anne could enter. Mac's hands weren't empty yet, he still carried a yellow mask, and Chris shrugged and put it on without complaint when Mac turned to hand it to him.

Amaru followed Chris's example and then asked, "Why must we all muffle our faces?"

"They catch the germs I told you about," Anne replied promptly.

Chris interrupted Amaru's objection with, "It is currently a polite social accoutrement, like pants. All workers are required to wear them during their shifts as well."

Mac and Anne both gave him a fishy stare, but Amaru nodded.

Chris turned to Anne and asked hesitantly, "You seem to be feeling somewhat better?"

"I guess I am," she agreed with surprise, "but I'm really thirsty and kind of hungry. I haven't had anything since I left."

"I'll make you a sandwich," Mac announced and immediately headed for his kitchen.

"Broth," Chris interrupted. Mac halted and looked back inquiringly. Anne wrinkled her nose. "She hasn't eaten anything in a week," Chris explained.

"Has it really been a whole week?" she asked doubtfully.

"Six days," he replied neutrally. "Where did you go?"

Anne turned and indicated Amaru. "Out near the mountain to a place… he called it a pool, but it wasn't water, it was…" she hesitated.

"It was a place where many strings met, the wise usually reside near such a place, because most can draw energy from the pool," Amaru explained calmly. "I do not know if she can live long enough to reinforce her own pattern as you hoped, but she was eventually able to open herself to the strings and recharge."

"Speaking of recharging?" Anne added nervously as she tried to hand Chris the tablet again.

Amaru's gaze sharpened as he told Chris, "I would appreciate it if you could acquire a tablet for me as well."

Chris took the tablet and blinked at the older dragon.

"He really liked being able to search for weird information," Anne explained helpfully.

"Ah, well, I can't afford an iPad right now, but I already got you a phone," Chris told Amaru warily. "It is smaller but it can do internet searches."

"A phone, can it truly speak instantly with a person on the other side of the world?" the dragon asked.

Chris wondered how many ads the dragon had watched. "Almost, there is a small delay as the signals have to be bounced around the curve of the Earth. It is also expensive and I cannot afford it at the moment."

"I restricted the search results to, um, a more refined setting," Anne added quickly.

It took Chris a moment, but then he nodded. "Good idea, I'm sure that some of the suggestions are confusing enough without explicit content."

Anne nodded, looking relieved that he had understood, but Amaru objected, "I would prefer more explicit explanations of many things. Some of them were quite uninformative. That book of words was actually admirably organized compared to many of the documents."

"It was not the same meaning of explicit that Anne used," Chris explained.

"It's slang for pornography," Mac explained helpfully. "Not that the filters will keep everything out, but they help."

"Ah so," Amaru replied knowledgeably. "I would like to know how to filter out cats then. The documents that included them did not seem particularly refined or informative on the topics I requested."

No one responded right away, they just exchanged glances.