By that time, the big moon had set, and it was very dark, and still they sailed. Aislin navigated by the stars, and that guiding sense had returned, letting her know which way to steer her little craft.

     By the time morning was touching the sky to the east, Aislin was so far away from home she didn’t recognize any of the scenery. Even the familiar mountains had changed, and behind her was a blank wall of water and fog.

     The wind had died down too, which was just as well, since Aise was very tired. She hadn’t slept since two nights ago, before her parents had found out about Oku. Had it really been so short of a time? She yawned and looked at the dragon, curled up asleep amongst her belongings. She wasn’t sorry she’d left.

     They had just enough momentum to get them to a good place to tie up and rest. It was a steep cliff, surrounded by jagged rocks, so close together she knew her father’s ship could never navigate it’s way through to her, just in case he found them while they were asleep. And if he did, she could easily outrun his fishing vessel. His ship was built for holding fish, hers for speed.

     The lake was huge, she knew, and it would probably take them at least a week to reach their destination; the sea. She yawned again, tightening the knot around the second rock she’d chosen to tie up to, two rocks so they would stay in one place and not bump into either one, far enough away from the others so that she wouldn’t accidentally crash into them.

     That done, she unrolled her blanket and wrapped it around her, curling up on deck. Oku joined her moments later, and they slept in peace until the sun woke Aislin several hours later.

     The girl sat up slowly, wondering at first if it had all been a dream. The sun was setting behind strange mountains to the west, and her bed rocked with the waves. No, it wasn’t a dream.

     She smiled down as the dragon stirred at her side, opening his eyes too and smiling at her. *Good morning,* he said, yawning, *Ready to move out
again?*

     Aislin thought about it a moment. The wind had not picked up since last night, and she was still tired. Lets wait until morning, okay? The wind should be back by then, and we’ll make much better time.

     Oku nodded, but her stomach complained. Aise giggled and the little wyrm chittered his version of a giggle too. *I caught a fish for my breakfast, this morning. Should I catch one for yours, too?* he offered helpfully.

     At first Aise was surprised, but then she figured he’d be good at it, those spikes were perfect for spearing a fish. Oku, who had been listening in on that thought process, beamed proudly. She agreed and he climbed the railing gleefully and splashed down into the water, disappearing for a while and coming up a moment later with a fish stuck on his first neck-spine, held in place by his little horns. It was the kind of the fish that her father caught in his nets, though much smaller, only about the length of her forearm. Fully grown, these fish could be as big as Aise herself. This one was a perfect size for dinner.

     Aislin helped him get it off, then made a little fire in the metal stove she’d found in uncle J’s cabin to cook it, adding a bit of dried herbs, also from the cabin, that she’d seen the sira use when he’d cooked fish for her. The dragon watched in fascination as she cleaned and cooked the fish, and tasted a little that his bond offered him. He decided that he liked raw fish better than cooked, and Aise giggled.

     The next morning, Aise and Oku were up and ready to go, the latter untying the lines Aise had used to tie up during their stay, and the former raising the sails. The wind had indeed come up during the wee hours of the morning, and was blowing steadily, the way it was supposed to over the lake.

     As they sailed, Aislin kept a careful watch for any ships anywhere nearby using yet another gift from the cabin, a long spyglass. Once or twice it came in handy, showing her tall sails on the horizon that she recognized as belonging to her father’s ship. She hoped he didn’t abandon his business because she left. It wasn’t too late, she could still turn back... but one look at Oku steadied her resolution and she sped away until she was well out of sight, beyond the horizon.

     Oku was as playful as ever, and kept Aislin from worrying too much. Between leaping from the mast and chasing fish, and being chased by a fish once, she didn’t know how he could keep it up all day. But at least it meant he slept soundly at night, she giggled.

     She also kept both of them busy, when Oku returned to the skiff for a rest, by teaching herself, and him, siran. She needed it to read the herbology book and know what these plants were good for, after all. And she thought it’d come in handy too. Her father had connections everywhere, and if he asked them to, they’d surely be on the lookout for his runaway daughter. That could be a problem. He’d tell them what she looked like, and her name, and they’d recognize her on the spot.

     The boat too, she thought. As soon as she could, she’d have to do something about that. But just now, she was content to read the books and play with her little Oku, and sail. It wasn’t until a day or two later, nearly a week into their voyage, that Aise began to worry.

     “Shra diya Ki kanu kaorryzee, Oku?” she asked one morning as they ate their breakfast. What can I do to hide, Oku? She’d learned quite a lot in her studies of the siran language, and practiced as often as she could until she was almost as fluent as a native speaker.

     The little dragon looked up from his meal and tilted his head curiously. After a moment he said *What about that prophecy-person that told your parents that you’d do such great things? She got you into this mess, right? And she’s supposed to be some sort if deity? Why not ask for help?*

     It was so simple Aislin blinked. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She wasn’t quite sure how to go about it, but she hoped that her silent mental plea for help worked.