Woodstock knocked at Axarr's door, and hesitated before stepping inside. The woman beyond the door would often have a weapon in her hands when surprised, so that was always an adventure. Fortunately neither of them had hurt one another in their time together.

"Heyo," Woodstock said, "I have ... a surprise for you..."

Suddenly the door flew open, and the frizzy-topped vaguely feline general lept into view. "A surprise! For me? Is it cool?"

"Well I think it is," Woodstock said, with a grin. "Want to know how it got here?"

"I just want it, get out of the way!"

Axarr Madness lived up to her name, sometimes. Today was no exception. But when she jumped out of the doorway into the brightly lit hall what she saw prodded her to sober up and stop her eager jumping.

For there sat a small black colored dragonet, obviously young and recently hatched. He looked bored.

"That's... Woody that's a dragon," she whispered. Her whole demeanor changed all of a sudden. "You ... you brought a dragon to me?"

"I know you've been looking at them for a long time, and none of them has ever really been right for you." Woodstock grinned and cracked two of her hands knuckles. "But I think this one is. Now do you want to hear how he came to be here?"

Axarr waved at the young dragon, and he tilted his head a little. He was interested, but only in a kind of haphazard way. Not distracted by other things, just ... not remarkably focused on the goings on near by.

Woodstock told Madness of a clutch of eggs that had hatched recently on a distant Nexus world. It was no mistake then, that when a certain tall blue man stuck out his thumb outside the dragonry, the Caledrus with its improbability drive, picked him up.

Shard passed the little arrogant black dragon to Woodstock, begging out quickly and returning to his own universe post-haste. He knew he existed in the universe where Woodstock and the rest did - but he didn't want to meet that version. He shuddered to think about what things The Shardh got into...

So here was this dragon.

Woodstock said, "Shard told me that he hatched, and told his parents off, and then wandered right up to him wanting to be part of the Kshau Protectorate. I guess that's as good a method as any, of finding the right dragon for you, eh?"

Axarr turned with an impish delight in her eye, "you did?" The dragon jolted his attention to the present, and nodded once. "Good job! Lousy good for nothings, if they can't find the right people to bring to their own eggs!"

The black, whose name was Juth, stood up.

Now that's what I am talking about. Not human, are you?

"Nope, not a drop." Axarr laughed. "Come on in little guy. We can work out how much havoc you and me will have, once we get you a place to sleep."

As he passed Woodstock, the dragonet nodded at the four-armed Betelgeusian. Obliged. Not much, but I am obliged. You and that blue man have my gratitude.

".... Thanks," Woodstock said, as the door closed on the pair. Well, at last, Axarr had her dragon.

Keep Reading.

Not more than a few weeks after this hatchling came into the General's life, something else began to peck at her mind. Black Juth was aware of it too, only he couldn't place words to it.

Axarr finally did.

"It sounds like someone's knocking on my mind," she said.

That would be it, yes, Juth replied. Halfway interested, because the sound had been annoying him to no end, he said, What do you think you ought to do about it?

"Head to the Improbability Drive," she said. The little black tagged along - casual-like because he hardly wanted to seem like he was overeager about anything. The corridors near the Improbability Drive were well guarded - but no one would ever stop Madness from entering there. Especially not with her new dragon.

The interface for the drive had been modified slightly, one didn't have to use slide-rules or even a calculator to find a probability rating - one merely had to speak.

Someone probably had stuck a Babel fish into the matrix, which did the job of calculating and formulating nicely.

"I want to have whoever's knocking on my mind, here in this space with us." Axarr said.

Apparently that was a bit of a tall order for the drive, for it took several moments to gear up and turn on. When the 'it's okay - press this button now to start the drive' light came on, Juth hit it with a sound swipe of his tail.

***

Moments later, when reality re-asserted itself, there was not just one dragon sitting beside Axarr Madness.

There were two. Juth, of course. But also... a green wearing a cute hat had materialized beside him. She looked to be slightly older than a hatchling, but couldn't possibly be a full sized adult.

Oooh look at that! It's pretty! MINE! I'm going to keep it! She exclaimed, pouncing on Juth. The black dragon gave off a loud bellow, but was muffled by the green's slightly superior bulk. He's just adorable! And look at you! She turned on Madness.

"Isn't that special," Madness said with a grin. "Now I have two."

What are you talking about, I have YOU!

***

Then... what? A visitor?

***

After that Visitation?