One steamy soak later, Cindy felt human again. But still nude. Well, she could easily fix that.

Cindy went back to the crystal ball room, opened a drawer in its pedestal, and took out a bejeweled gold bracelet and a miniature crystal ball about the size of a shooter marble. The bracelet snapped around her arm, but the ball nestled into her bellybutton where it immediately fused to the flesh. “Good thing I’m an innie.” She tapped a glyph on the crystal, and stepped through the slit in the air next to her.

Lionel rubbed his eyes with his claws. “And now you again?”

“Hi. Just came back for my clothes.” She started pulling them on.

“I am terribly confused,” said Lionel plaintively.

Cindy smiled. “It’s simple. You’re my dragon now, and I’m your keeper.”

Lionel blinked. “I am? You are?”

“Uh-huh, and I’m going to take good care of you.” She shouldered her knapsack. “Starting with a change in your diet.”

The dragon blinked again. “My diet?”

“How do you feel about chili dogs?”