" , she said, And her eyes rolled forward as she tried to peer down her long snout at the small, dark hole above her nostril. Eragon laughed and splashed a handful of water at her. Then, to soothe her injured pride, he said, "No one will notice, Saphira. Trust me. Besides, even if they do, they'll take it for a battle wound and consider you all the more fearsome because of it." She returned to examining herself in the lake. The water and her scales reflected off each other in a dazzling array of rainbow-hued flecks. "That would look exceedingly ridiculous." "Mm-hmm." He nodded, on the verge of laughing again. She sniffed. "No doubt," he agreed easily. "But then, teeth don't grow back." He pushed himself off the rock and made his way up the shore to where he had left his boots, stepping carefully to avoid hurting his feet on the stones and branches that littered the water's edge. Saphira followed him, the soft earth squishing between her talons. , she said as he pulled on his boots. "I could. Do you want me to?" " --