"Well, there's one mystery solved."

Aurin shifts back. "This form's more convenient for most of my day to day uses besides commuting, though."

"Commuting being easier when one can fly?" he guesses.

"Yeah. Should probably learn to teleport one of these days, I guess, though it'd make Mother nervous."

"Is teleportation especially hazardous?"

"No, not really, but my dad died in a casting accident."

"Oh. Well then."

"And the aforementioned cousin, plus his mother, are willing to teleport us places. So it's not that inconvenient." Shrug. "What's your name, anyway, I'm Aurin."

"Sherlock."

"Pleased to meet you, largely on account of I'd be considerably more upset if I had landed someplace so remote that I didn't know where to find someone to ask for directions to such commodities as bathrooms and lunches."

"What do dragons habitually eat?"

"Oh, I usually just eat in human form. I had leftover lamb and potatoes for breakfast. If I had to I could just hunt things and eat raw meat - more efficient to do the eating part as an eagle than full sized - but you don't get much variety that way."

"Human food is available nearby. If it comes up. Although in this town at this hour you'd frankly have a better selection if you ate humans."

"Around here? Yes."

"Shit. Am I going to be mistaken for one? What exact manner of monstrosity do I need to be prepared to set on fire?"

"Assorted demons. Vampires are the commonest."

"...We have vampires, or at least something inclined to translate thereas, at home, and they can bite humans but usually find other species tastier, but since they got religion this isn't fatal to the meal. The vampires here have not got religion, have they."

"The vampires here have not got religion. We're nastily allergic to many forms of it, in fact. But, conveniently for you, we're also very flammable."

"I'm not going to eat you. You're much too interesting."

"I'm accustomed to vampires who won't eat me without permission because God says so," says Aurin. "Anyway, I can continue being interesting like so, can't I."

"Suit yourself. Personally I find boredom a much more compelling motivator than God."

Aurin stretches a wing, then the other wing. "God works just fine for my accustomed vampires. I don't have a ton of details about why, they're cagey about most of their theology."

"God has never done much for me one way or another, whereas boredom is definitely going to kill me one day."