For all its uncharacteristic impatience, Tessien was a dracoform, one of a variety of creatures that laid claim to the powers of legendary Dragons. It-Hart was unsure of the beast’s gender-was of a type known as a feathered serpent, the most common of the greater dracoforrns in the western hemisphere. Stretched out, it would measure ten meters of feather-scaled muscle, and its wingspan matched its length. Tessien was a dangerous beast, and had been her partner for four years of shadow business.