Finally, when Bree thought she'd tried Charlotte's patience enough for one day, she set her teacup down, having already paid for her tea and scones.

"Well, I think we have to go run an errand or two before we head back home," she said.

John nodded and stood up when Bree did.

"It was lovely having tea with you," he said. "We should meet up again sometime."

"We should." Bree smiled. "I'll text you later today or tomorrow, then? Once I've gotten a look at my schedule?"

"Sounds good," John said, nodding. "Let me know what works for you."

"I will." Bree smiled and headed for the door, trusting that Charlotte would come with her.

Sherlock watched the girls go, looking thoughtful. Humans were so puzzling sometimes.

Charlotte did follow Bree, staying close.

John looked at Sherlock.

"So what did you think?" he asked the dragon. "I know you have an opinion, you always do."

Bree looked back at Charlotte as they walked.

"So, how terrible was that?" she teased with a grin.

Sherlock was quiet for a moment. "They seemed well enough mannered," he said. "Fairly normal. They didn't call attention to themselves." He shrugged. "As there were no incidents, there was nothing to complain over about them in particular."

"I wasn't... displeased," Charlotte said slowly after a moment, considering. "There are many worse beings in the world to consort with."

"And the other dragon?" John asked. "Charlotte. I noticed you and she seemed interested in one another."

"That's one way to phrase it," Bree said with a chuckle. "Come on, let's stop at the grocery store on the way home, you can pick out what meat you want for the next few days."

Sherlock made a face. "I am not interested in her," he protested. "She is simply not displeasing, and not as aggravating as most others. But I am not interested in her. Really, John, just because you need things like companions and playthings does not mean that I do."

"Go to the butcher instead," Charlotte said. "The meat is better."

"I never said you did," John pointed out. "But I couldn't help but notice you paid quite a bit of attention to her, and she seemed rather interested in you in return."

"The butcher is also more expensive," Bree said. "Usually by a decent bit."

Sherlock just shrugged. He had paid attention to the other dragon, and it had been a mix of caution, interest, and making sure no one was going to cause trouble.

"The meat is better quality," Charlotte pointed out. But she didn't push the issue, she would be alright with meat from the grocer.

Finishing his tea, John paid for it and waited for Sherlock to be ready to leave. It wouldn't take long; the dragon wasn't a social creature by any stretch of the imagination, so he would be ready to leave very soon.

Of course Bree knew that, and she did make sure to go to the butcher when she could, but she couldn't all the time. Unfortunately Charlotte was just bad with human money.

"You'll get to go hunting when we go out to the cabin," she said to help placate the dragon as she headed for the grocery store.

Indeed Sherlock was ready to go within a few minutes, getting up and stretching out lazily before motioning for John to lead the way.

Charlotte hummed quietly in agreement. Hunting was an appealing thought.

"We should go, then," she said.

John headed out with Sherlock, heading back to the flat.

"So," he said, "are we staying here for the weekend, or going out to the country?"

"I was planning on leaving in a few days," Bree said. "I just need to grab some things to tide us over and things for me at the store, so we won't be long there."

Sherlock was quiet for a moment as he thought that over.

"Out to the country, perhaps," he said, wrinkling his nose slightly as they passed a couple. "Some fresh air is long overdue."

Charlotte considered for a moment before nodding.

"Alright," she said. "But we should be quick."

"Sounds okay with me," John said. "We just need to go back to the flat so I can pack a bag for myself and get some food to last the weekend for me, and we can go."

Bree just nodded, used to her dragon's impatient tendencies by now, and headed to the store. She was quick in there and paid for everything before heading back for their apartment.

Charlotte draped herself across the couch when they got back to the apartment, just sprawling out gracefully and waiting for Bree. Already, she was picturing her cavern out on the northern coast, carved into the sea cliffs and full of her hoard. She was looking forward to it.

A few days later, Bree loaded up everything she'd need and let Charlotte lead the way out towards the coast. It would take them a while to get there, since they'd need to take public transit for part of it, but she knew it would be worth the trip.

Charlotte was antsy on the train. Because she was a dragon and Bree her partner, they were given good seats, but the ride was still long and crowded. No dragon liked being confined, especially not for so long with so many humans, so she was glad to get off of the train again.

"We will fly from here," she said as soon as they were outside.

"Of course. Just move a little farther away so you have room," Bree said calmly, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder so they could get going. She knew Charlotte hated being confined, and they usually flew this leg of the trip anyway.

Bree just didn't want to startle too many people.

Charlotte didn't care about startling people, and casually began to strip off her human clothing. It would just be ruined if she changed shape while wearing it. Once she'd handed the clothing to Bree (she'd even folded it first), she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, releasing her hold on her human shape. Her form grew and twisted and rippled until a massive copper-colored dragon stood in her place. She slowly fanned out her wings, shaking them out some, and knelt down to let Bree climb up.

Bree had taken the time to store Charlotte's clothes in her bag, and she took a few seconds to just look. She had always loved seeing dragons, and she knew Charlotte didn't mind being admired for a few moments. Then she clambered up easily, settling herself on the dragon's back for the trip and finding a good place to set her feet to keep from sliding.

As soon as Bree was settled, Charlotte spread her wings and took off. It felt so good to be flying again that she did a quick loop around before heading for her cave on the coast. Even flying, it still took a fair amount of time to get there, and it was late afternoon when Charlotte finally backwinged and landed delicately inside the entrance to her cave.

It was a deep cave, carved straight into the cliff, and large enough that she didn't need to pull her human form back on to get into the main cavern. As she went through the tunnel leading to the cavern, she lit torches on the walls. The main cavern was large and filled with treasure. Most of it was coins, with the occasional jewel or trinket sparkling in the light. Charlotte knelt down again to let Bree off, and then promptly went to flop over and burrow into the mounds of coins.

Bree laughed a bit as she watched the dragon's antics, shaking her head and going to find her spot to settle in. Gold glittered all over, which was distracting, but she knew better than to touch before asking. She'd probably be okay, but it was always better to ask wen it came to dragons and their treasure.