“Dragon, become my partner!”

Raising his voice to be heard over the sound of your snores, Wenjah made the same demand he did every time he saw you.

You yawned, cracking open one massive eye. Pupil rolling around lazily to check your surroundings, your gaze finally settled on Wenjah. You shifted slightly in your nest, deeming him harmless and preparing to return to your nap that he had so ungraciously awakened you from.

Wenjah grit his teeth at your nonchalance, insulted by the lackadaisical attitude you took to such an important matter.

Ever since he’s been allowed to tame a real dragon, you were the dragon that Wenjah has ever wanted. Descending from a long line of knights who specialized in dragon taming, Wenjah’s combat training for such a task began from the very moment he could walk on his own, maybe even before that. Now, if he succeeded in taming a dragon, he could then begin the second half of his training: fighting alongside a dragon.

Typically, this task would’ve been a breeze for Wenjah.

There was just one issue. One large issue if you will.

Dragons were tamed by gaining their respect through a combat trial, but Wenjah has, unfortunately, chosen the largest dragon around.

The first time he challenged you, armor glittering and sword in hand, he was immediately flung out of the forest by a lazy flick of your tail before he could even finish his declaration of intent. It was slightly (very) embarrassing to have been neutralized so easily, but Wenjah made sure to mentally prepare himself for your ‘attack’ on his trek back through the forest to your nest.

However, despite his almost inhuman talent in combat adaptability, his next several attempts all ended in failure.

He learned how to dodge a sweep of your tail, a swipe of your claw, and a chant of magic by you, but a single sneeze would send him halfway across the forest. It took many, many treks through the forest before he could dodge all of your attacks and launch one of his own. But, attacking you came with its own set of problems. Dragon taming involved subduing the dragon nonlethally which meant the prospective tamer had to wrestle the dragon to the ground.

However, realistically, how was Wenjah meant to wrestle you to the ground?

He was barely taller than one of your claws!

Heck, it takes fifteen minutes to even climb all the way up to your neck! (He would know, he tried during one of his attempts and had gotten pretty close before you felt ticklish and flung him off.) But even then, he was expected to fit his arms around what might as well be a mountain and wrestle you to the ground?!

Not happening.

And not for a lack of trying, by the way. But, after the fifteenth attempt of trying to wrestle you to the ground, it was time to find another way to tame you.

Now, in his latest and newest attempt, Wenjah stood in front of you without his armor.

Staring at you for a moment longer, Wenjah lit up the campfire he had prepared while you were napping. Fanning the flames until he deemed them acceptable, he procured a cast iron pan, a cutting board, and a myriad of cooking ingredients from his storage pouch. A bucket of fresh water from a nearby stream sat next to him, ready to be used to wash vegetables, utensils, and his hands.

Once everything was set up on the makeshift table he had fashioned from logs and a clean cloth, Wenjah rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Granted, no one has ever tried taming a dragon by cooking for them, but at this point, Wenjah was willing to try anything.

To conquer the heart, the fastest path is through the stomach!