Joy spread its wings in Laurence's chest under the pile of worries and guilt. Days of separation and search had left an impact on him, stronger than he thought possible, and the relief, which he had felt upon seeing the well-known ruff and tendrils, has finally fallen upon him. He got off Elsie and headed toward the enormous silhouette already on foot, restraining himself from running by the strength of his will alone.

„Temeraire" he called, however unnecessarily; blue eye had already been set upon him. Before he could analyze the flash visible in the stare of his dragon, he said "Temeraire, thank God. I've been trying to find you for five days."

But Temeraire had not moved from his place and only gazed at Laurence; dragons around him were speaking, but he did not seem to listen. Laurence himself froze, confused at what to do next. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

"But you're dead" said Temeraire finally, fidgeting uneasily; unconscious of his movements, he had crashed some rocks under his talons.

That's when Laurence understood, what he had seen it the first moment in the eyes of the Celestial and what he had never seen before: fear. This 25-ton beast was afraid of him, not believing what was seeing. For one painful heartbeat, he was reliving the scene from year 1804; a dragon crouching on a hill, turning a chain in it´s claws, uncertain of a return of the one who had given it to him. He realized bitterly that the fear of the dragon from the period after he has just only hatched had come true by not only their own betrayal, but also due to the chaos of war.

"But I am alive" said Laurence, wanting to calm down Temeraire as soon as possible; his voice shook a little while saying this. "Of course I am alive, my dear; I'm here."

Only then the black head lowered down to his level and the warm breath immediately surrounded him. In Temeraire's eyes, fear melted in a sea of anxiety; the dragon was not trusting fully what he was witnessing with his senses and only when he put out his tongue, tasting Laurence´s scent, his expression changed. Until now, the man had stood motionlessly, submitting to the probes, impervious to the sight of claws and fangs, which should terrify any other person; after raising the beast himself, he put full trust in them. This trust was now bearing fruits, if only it wasn't for the cruelty of circumstances. He almost sighed when Temeraire finally reached out and, very gently, more gently than usually, grasped him and lifted up. The Dragon's eyes widened and Laurence felt the trembling of his body, caused by a quiet but vibrating roar. And then darkness surrounded him, once the dragon's body encircled him and Temeraire said:

"Oh, Laurence; I will never let you be taken away from me again."