One person was still more than enough. The first one was the hardest, Owain thought, because you hadn't had a chance to build up any level of numbness to the sight of death and the knowledge that you'd caused it. Not that it ever got easy... but this was probably a horrible line of thought altogether and for once, Owain didn't push for details, simply nodding in understanding.

He reached out to sling his arm across Kaoru's shoulders again. Because they were totally friends now. And clearly it was going to fall to Owain to educate his new friend concerning dragons and all manner of other heroic subjects.

"Well, to start with, there are many kinds of dragons. This is no mere Manakete I'm referring to, though, but the one-and-only fell dragon Grima, evil god of darkness and despair! See, he's the counterpart to Naga. Whose Brand I bear, remember?" He tapped his arm where the Brand was. "Anyway. The saga is long and convoluted and best told in installments, but the point is that if I can take on an evil dragon god, a squirrel doesn't stand a chance!"