Commissioned from the talented  lorelthebison, also featuring  cyberlightning!

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The road had been long and rough today. After collecting together wood for the fire, I was grateful for the chance to take some weight off and get some food in me. Richard, however, looked as though he could have continued until dawn. Perhaps there was some benefit to his training as a knight. Or more likely, simply a very well-maintained facade, and he was as grateful for the rest as I was. I set up a basic spit, skewered with the meat of wild horses I had managed to take down, and while we waited, Richard lay his armour aside and idly begun to pluck at the strings of his lute. He played a slow tune, no recognisable melody but still each note methodically chosen and played. It was a pleasant way to fill the evening.

"You're pretty good with that," I said as I tore off a bite of the seared meat. "Kind of...reminds me of my hatching." I leaned back and turned to watch the setting sun. "Surrounded by other dragons, but somehow still entirely alone. Watching them all fly off to catch their first meals, wondering why my own wings wouldn't work....feels a lifetime ago. Feels kind of surreal, remembering how difficult the simple act of flying was, now that I've done so much more...but I still remember. I still remember that weak little hatchling. I remember being alone, terrified, small...so small. I still...I still think of myself that way, sometimes. I think of that scared little hatchling, and I remember...that's me. I'm still...Richard?"

Richard kept his eyes on the lute in his claws as he played. His head was bowed, and I couldn't see his face.
"Richard, what's up? Hey...Richard!"
Suddenly he snapped back to attention, lifting his face to look at me. His eyes were ever so slightly moist, glinting in the fading sunlight. The tune suddenly stopped.
"You alright?" I asked.
"...yeah. I'm fine. I was just..." He turned to look at the sun on the horizon, and begun to pluck at the strings again. "...thinking of home."
"...you want to talk about it?"
"It's a long story."