I was thinking that maybe the dragon comes to the village is is very blunt, and awkward, and the villager takes a little pity on him when the dragon realizes he's hungry and can't exactly go hunting like he use to. He of course would be insulted, but this would give him somewhere to start. After that I could see them, say, camping or something, and they are attacked by bandits? Or even some dragons from his own clan that want him to return. He would change to fight off whatever we decide does the attacking, and then have one of those moments where the dragon is unsure if he's still welcome by his human companion. What do you think?