The sorceress listened as the dragon replied.  At first the beast seemed to remain angry, arguing that her victory had been unjust and that it would never submit to one such as herself.

Were familiars supposed to this ... rebellious?  Didn't the contract make them naturally more obedient?  This opened up two possibilities: the first being that the contract was much less effective on the dragon, the second being that this was the dragon's loyalty AFTER becoming more obedient.  Neither of those thoughts inspired confidence in the young mage.

There was a sudden change of appearance, the dragon appeared to calm down.  If the beast was capable of feeling sadness, then this is what it would look like.  As promised though, Canatrix decided to answer the question.

[color=salmon]"If you choose to address me as human because that is what I am, then you should also address me as mistress because that is my position to you."[/color]  The sorceress threw that reminder in there largely to give herself time to think about a response.

[color=salmon]"I'm assuming you know about the demonic invasions from the north.  One human kingdom was already overrun and three remain.  In about three months the demons are expected to launch their next assault.  If they stand together, the kingdoms could easily drive the demonic menace back to where they came."[/color]  The sorceress's tone suddenly changed from matter-of-fact to something resembling irritation.  [color=salmon]"I tried going around to each of the courts to convince them to work together.  Each one kicked me out or ignored me, knowing why I was there and choosing instead to prey on eachother in these dark times.  I figured having a dragon as my familiar would give my words a bit more weight and would allow me to more easily ... [i]convince[/i] them to hear me out."[/color]

Apparently more was required than being a powerful sorceress to convince others to work together for their own good.