{{You want me to go among kobolds}} your blue-scaled lover asks you, in a tone that suggests that he just wants to confirm that you have, indeed, gone mad, {{to meet a confirmed mad-drake}}.
{{Well, I guess...}} you manage to utter.
{{Who claims}} he continues, {{that he talks to the creatures?}} He shakes his head incredulously. {{You got into some dragonsbane while I was away, didn't you?}} He huffs a plume of smoke. {{Oh, it's true!}} he cries hilariously, {{greens really are allergic to the stuff! It's not just a hens' tale!}}
{{I know nothing of your world, Dizzy}} you object, thinking him most unfair.
{{Indeed!}} he exclaims, {{so at the behest of a delusional amnesiac}} he rants, {{I am about to go and pay a visit to a mad arcanologist that says he talks to kobolds}}.
You lay your ears back, which is a gesture you find to be most amazingly useful at the moment. {{Dizzy-tail, I am not delusional, and these kobolds sound to be a lot like humans}} you say firmly. {{They also might know something about that cave, since it's on their land}}.
He coughs out a spout of flame, forcing you to dance quickly out of the way to keep from getting singed. {{They're kobolds}} he howls, {{they don't think. They don't talk. They don't own territory, but they just mindlessly overbreed in an area, paying no heed to their impact on the local ecology, until some other force intervenes to contain their numbers}}.
{{That's nothing that humans don't do}} you snap.
{{I should just rest my case at that, then}} he says exasperatedly. {{One kobold is harmless, even aesthetic}} he says to you more gently. {{My grandmother keeps a castrated one as a pet. I used to play with it as a hatchling, and I made-believe that it spoke to me because hatchlings are supposed to believe dumb things. You are not fit to fly, though, and you would be walking into an entire tribe of the wily brutes}}.
{{They haven't harmed Blunt-snout, and he sleeps among them}} you point out.
{{That's because he's crazy}} Dizzy fumes, {{and maybe normal things just don't happen to crazy dragons}}. He sighs painedly. {{Am I really losing this argument?}} he asks helplessly.
You repent of trying to pressure him. {{Dizzy, no, forget it}} you say quickly. {{It stopped being about going there a long time ago. I know you would fly into a typhoon just because it meant something to me. You know I know that, don't you?}}
{{Yes}} he grumps, his neck bent in a pout, although his ears are turned outwards as he listens.
You add, {{and I know you want to believe my story}}.
He drops his head, and he can't seem to look at you. {{I'm really very sorry I called you a delusional amnesiac}} he says.
You have to smile. {{I love you so much, I don't care if you never believe me}} you say. {{You're the best thing that ever could ever happen to me}}.
{{I love you, too}} Dizzy-tail says.
{{And we can find somewhere else to go}} you suggest encouragingly. {{Forget this guy, and maybe your tribe will take me in. If not, then we can find somewhere to be. The world can't be all that small}}.
{{Just a moment}} Dizzy-tail says, spreading his forepaws and moving his head thoughtfully, {{so you think, if we go and negotiate with this wacko, then we can keep this ravine as our haven for a while?}}
Upon him seriously asking your opinion, you decide to answer very carefully. {{It seems to be about protecting his kobolds}} you say. {{If that means he's mad, then it's a madness that works to our benefit. He seems quite sincere}}.
He huffs out a smoke-ring {{Well, sincere until the magic voices of these kobolds start telling him to make us into roast whelp}} he says skeptically, {{but I follow you}}.
You nod respectfully. {{I figure it's worth a shot if you do}} you say, leaving the decision in your lover's wings.
{{I just want to be clear on who is to blame if there is an issue}} he mutters. {{I'm trusting your instincts, here. I'll go with you, and you lead the way}}.
You lick his neck affectionately, and together, you turn to head toward the canyon that opens up south of the ravine, where the stream--fed by smaller tributaries that trickle from the seemingly endless mountains to the east--widens into small river. In the foothills below lie the kobolds.
You hope against hope that you are not leading your young lover into a strange, elaborate trap.