Chapter Four


Lilly reclined in her chair, the cream-colored egg nestled comfortably in her lap. As she reached the four-hour mark, she turned yet another page of 'Caring for your Dragon.' This section was on bathing and grooming. Apparently, there was more to it than soap and water.

Lilly's eyes began to sag. She saw something on the page about allergic reactions to bath salts, and she drifted off to sleep. She didn't notice the egg moving slightly as she closed her eyes.



Lilly awoke to something sharp pressing forcefully into her shoulders. She tried drowsily to shove whatever it was off of her, sitting up and blinking rapidly. That was when she noticed the eggshell scattered on the floor. All grogginess left her head immediately, and she whirled around. There, sitting cheerfully on the floor, was a tiny little creature.



Bright, wide green eyes blinked up at Lilly from a scaly blue face as the hatchling rose to its feet. It wobbled over to Lilly's feet, and collapsed, laying its warm head on her bare toes. Lilly, who still hadn't quite gotten over her shock, reached down to touch the Dragon.

Her trembling fingers brushed gently over the little Glenn's neck, and she could feel a strong, healthy breath filling its lungs. The Dragon gazed up at Lilly with love, and Lilly could feel a bond already beginning to form. She wrapped her hands around the baby's waist, and lifted it up onto her lap.

"Hey, there, little fella!" she whispered. "Welcome to the world!"

The baby nudged Lilly's hand with its snout, and wiggled into her lap.

"Cerulean Blue," Lilly said, inspecting the rich, brilliant color of the Dragon's scales. "I figured as much. You're going to like it here, little guy!"

The baby cooed indignantly, and waved its long, feminine tail.

"Sorry," Lilly giggled, covering her mouth. "Little girl."

The Dragon trilled with satisfaction, and proceeded to relieve herself of another pressing problem all over the living room carpet.

Lilly cringed slightly, and blew some escaped bangs out of her face. She scratched her Dragon behind the ears with one hand, and leafed through her care guide with the other.

"Here we are," she said, "the Hatchling Section." She proceeded to read the basic information to herself.

The first stage of your Dragon's life is the most challenging. As a hatchling, the Dragon will require constant attention. It cannot yet feed itself, and you will have to housebreak it as soon as possible. (Lilly had noticed this.) When it is not eating or sleeping, the hatchling is very curious and inquisitive. This curiousity can sometimes get it in trouble, so you will have to watch it closely. It is usually best to name the hatchilng at birth.

Lilly glanced over at the hatchling. It was chewing on the arm of the chair. She gently guided its head away from the wood, and gave it a large rubber chew toy that was sitting on the table. It was absolutely fascinated, and abandoned the chair to attach to this new curiosity.

She wondered what she should name her new friend. Kalifa wouldn't work, and that was her original idea. Neither would Morgan, and that was the only other idea she had. She watched the hatchling's voracious chewings on the toy, and wondered if she should name the Dragon Chomper.

Just then, Lilly heard a knock on the door. She quickly tucked the baby Dragon beneath her sweatshirt, and jogged up to the door to answer it.

She flung the door open to reveal Ivan, Maya, and Head Governor Legatus. They were all peering in at the room, looking around for the egg.

"Hi, Lil," Ivan said, entering the living room. "Head Governor Legatus said you were going to take your Care test today, and we thought we'd stop by to see you."

"Don't call me Lil," Lilly said dryly. "And, yes, the test is today. I'm going to need it."

Legatus, who was as of yet the only one who had noticed the eggshell on the floor, nodded. "Yes, Lilly, I believe you are."

"What do you mea --" Maya began, but she stopped. She was staring at the broken egg. She poked Ivan, who was looking extremely confused at this whole thing, and pointed.

"Lilly?" Ivan asked slowly, looking from the egg to something moving in his friend's sweater. Lilly beamed, and released the hatchling, who bounded onto the floor in a perky, hyper sort of way.

"Meet...uh, my Dragon!" Lilly exclaimed with a flourish. The Dragon looked just about as confused about the whole thing as Ivan did. What were these strange people doing in its house?

Maya, however, was very excited about the new arrival. She got down onto her knees, and waved at the hatchling. "Hello, little guy!" she laughed. At the Dragon's scowl, she quickly changed the gender in the sentence to "...girl!"

"What have you named her, Lilly?" Legatus asked, leaning forward with pencil and paper in hand.

"Uh..." Lilly began, "I really don't know...."

"Brainstorm!" Ivan cried, flopping down on the couch. "Let's see...." He noticed the hatchling gnawing away at the rubber chew toy again. "Chomper!"

"Chomper-ette," Maya added warningly.

"I thought about that," Lilly said, "but she won't be much of a Chomper when she's older."

"True," Ivan said, scratching his head. Legatus raised his hand.

"Lilly," he began. "Perhaps you should search your memories for the answer."

Lilly raised her eyebrow, but decided that it wasn't a bad idea. After all, the name should be special, right?

"Let's see," Lilly said absently, opening the box of memories stored in her mind. She seemed to remember her mother telling her some of the names that might have taken the place of Lillian.

"What was that one I liked...?" Lilly furrowed her brow in thought, until it came to her. "Lyrali!"

"Lyrali?" Maya and Ivan chorused, and Legatus nodded in approval.

"Lyra," Lilly said, pleased. She lifted the hatchling onto her lap, and looked it right in the eyes. "Your name is Lyrali. I'll call you Lyra."

The baby didn't seem too dissapointed with its keeper's naming job, and it took to a happy chewing on the chair again.

"It's pretty!" Maya said, sounding impressed. Maya watched as Lilly played with Lyra, leading the tiny Dragon away from the chair with the chew toy. Lyra seemed to have forgotten the toy ever existed, and was fascinated again.

Maya wondered what it was like to have such a close friend. She knew just from looking at Lilly and Lyra that their bond was unbreakable. She wished she could have such a deticated pet. She knew Ivan was probably thinking the same thing.

Legatus could tell what was going through the minds of Lilly's friends. He winked gently at them, and shooed them away so that Lilly could begin her testing. With his mind, he designed a portal just outside Lilly's door. He figured Maya and Ivan would like where it took them.

"All right, Lilly," Legatus said firmly. "Your test. It will cover everything you need to know in order to take good care of your new friend. There is no time limit - I have all day to sit here and watch you think. Here, go ahead when you're ready."

Lilly eagerly opened the first page of the test, to see it packed with both multiple choice and essay questions. She read over the first one.

You will be caring for a Glenn ______.
a) Gryphon
b) Lion
c) Dragon
d) Creature

Lilly raised her eyebrows, and circled C. This might not be so hard after all.



Lilly laid her head back against the stone. She had finished the test several hours ago. It had turned out to be quite a bit harder than she had thought, and she still had a bit of a headache. She found it helped if she went outside into the eternal twilight of her mountain.

Lyra was enthralled. It was her first time outside of the house, and she was inspecting everything from the trees to random blades of grass she passed. She was now looking over the rocks on which Lilly was resting. Lyra sniffed one smaller stone, and decided it was good enough to chew on. Lilly laughed, and pulled the Dragon into her lap.

"Lyra," Lilly whispered as the baby snuggled into her chest. "You're an angel."




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