Marduk smiled, leaning down and pressing his nose into Hayate’s belly. The dragon exhaled softly, before raising his head to look back out over the crowd – keeping close tabs on Mordecai. [b]“I haven’t yet. But I do not want to lose either of you. …Climb on my back, and be quick about it. You’ve ridden a horse before, right? I am sorry I do not have my saddle.”[/b] He would lower himself, looping his tail around for the man to boost himself up.

This is not, for the dragon, an unusual proposal. Tarrying while Hayate followed on foot was stressful. Maybe they could continue to keep up with Mordecai like this, but if he didn’t have to worry about the Norman, he might even manage to catch up! He wouldn’t resort to trampling people, but he was quite capable of nudging them out of his way. His master could be an impatient man at times. 

He would wait long enough for the knight to make his decision, and then forge ahead into the crowd – either with Hayate on his back, or with the bag of armor dangling from his teeth. He wouldn’t mind carrying either one. Either way it would be only a matter of time until they encountered the sputtering Hebrew – Marduk nearly trampled him, with the way he burst out of the crowd! 
[b]“You found her?”[/b] He asks urgently, looking up to try to pick Rhiannon out of the sea of faces. It shouldn’t have been so hard; one white woman in a purged middle-eastern city. Come on. 
[b]"Wait, there she... is..."[/b]
And then, he heard her voice – intoxicating, and somehow surreal. She flitted through the crowd as if a dream! As he watched, something switched off in the dragon’s head. Wordless, he followed her with glazed eyes…