Mhina opened one eye enough to see that it truly was time to get up, then unwrapped her tail from around her sleek body. The sun was really rather low in the sky, which meant night was almost here. Just enough time to hunt before it got dark. If she hurried.

With a yawn, Mhina forced herself up from her cozy stone bed, plodding tiredly to the mouth of her cave. She looked around, eyes still a little blurry from her recent nap. There wasn�t much to see from her cave. Most of the animals had long since left the area. The arrival of a dragon tended to clear out the community rather quickly. Small wonder, as some of the larger dragons could easily eat five or six times a day. Mhina, however, being a small dragon, didn�t eat much. Tonight, she thought, a good, meaty buck sounded wonderful. Now where to find one�

Mhina inhaled deeply, hoping to pick up the scent of one nearby. She was in luck, as there seemed to be a small herd of hornbeasts about two clearings away, by the lake.

With as many trees as there were between her cave and the lake, flying seemed pointless, so Mhina turned instead to creeping between them. This was one time that being low to the ground was definitely to her benefit.

A few minutes later, knowing that she was nearing the lake, and therefore the beasts, Mhina arced her path carefully so that she was upwind of them. Moving slowly forward, she got to where she could just see the herd.

There were four she-beasts- good eating, but not what she was after tonight. Nearby were three or four young ones. She paid no attention to them. Scanning the clearing, she finally saw it. There, a little ways back, was a magnificent stag. Any hunter, dragonkind or other, would be proud to bring that creature down. Completely oblivious to the impending danger, it was calmly grazing, looking up now and then to make sure his females were still there.

Glancing over her shoulder, she could see that the sun was setting behind her. That was a helpful coincidence. Gathering herself back on her haunches, Mhina took a giant leap and was airborn in an instant. Before the buck had a chance to register what was going on, she was on him, sinking her long talons into his back and closing her jaws on the back of his neck, snapping it cleanly.

The rest of the herd scattered, but Mhina was no longer paying any attention to them. She was focused on the buck beneath her. She closed her eyes happily as she tasted the first bit of warm blood on her tongue. Nothing in the world could compare to that first taste. It never got old. Working quickly, Mhina devoured most of the animal, leaving the bones for scavengers. She sat up daintily, licking off her claws.

The sun had set now, and the sky was a beautiful shade of purple, with just a few pink streaks left. This was Mhina�s favorite part of the night. Mostly, she loved the sunset. She was especially partial to the color pink, as her scales were differing shades of that very color.

As the last bits of color faded from the sky, Mhina decided that the warm night was perfect for a swim. Folding her wings tightly to her sides, she dove into the crystal clear lake. She shivered happily as she felt the cool water course across her scales. Making her way to the bottom of the lake, she chased a fish that was foolish enough to venture near her. In the middle of her play, she spotted something.

There was something sparkling in the moonlight that filtered down through the water. Forgetting the fish, she moved closer to investigate. Picking the thing up carefully in her teeth, she pumped her wings, sending her shooting to the surface of the lake and out. She flew straight for the plateau, where she knew the moonlight would be clearer, not blocked by trees. The rush of air felt cool on her wet hide, but it helped her dry off, and by the time she landed, she was nearly dry again.

With a frown at the amount of grit in her teeth, Mhina spat the object, and a good bit of mud, out on the ground. Brushing it carefully off with one clawed foot, she revealed a stone, about as big as a human�s hand. It was deep blue in color, with a few streaks of green, red and purple in it. Tilting her small, reptilian head, Mhina contemplated it. It was by far the most interesting thing she had found in quite some time, and she knew exactly what to do with it. She picked it up and was off again, winging toward her cave.

Mhina landed on the top of her cave, a rather large stone space, which she kept clear of vegetation for just this reason. Well, and for lying in the sun on occasion. Twisting her way down to the entrance, she carefully padded into the deeper section of the small network of caves. She had to pause on leaving the main chamber to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer light. Finally, she came to a small section of wall with smaller stones imbedded in it. Mhina pushed one of these stones, then stepped back as the wall swung out toward her.

The space beyond the door was pitch black in the dark, so Mina dropped her new stone long enough to breath lightly on a pedestal she knew was just inside the door. She didn�t bother to flame, just warmed up enough to activate the stone that sat there, which began to glow with a constant, pale blue light. Smiling happily to herself, she picked her stone back up and made her way to the back of the room, moving carefully between objects.

This room contained her most prized possessions. On the wall was a tapestry, hung there by the one human she had ever allowed to see this place, the Mage Kalyn Qui�lal. He had taken an interest in her when she was barely a fledgling, and had helped her to build her collection to its current magnificence. Even she wasn�t sure how that strange friendship had managed to work, not being one to trust humans, but it had, and that was what mattered. Now they talked quite frequently, and often showed off or traded new items. They were both especially interested in magical artifacts, and with her acute senses and attunement to magic, she could help find the items and determine how strong they were. Once Kalyn had brought her an old necklace, which had so much magic stored in it that he didn�t feel safe keeping it in his study. She could sense the magic emanating from it now, across the room, when it was safely locked in a metal box lined with shed dragonhide, which was a very potent magic shield, and therefore the reason many humans hunted dragons.

Amazing how often jewels were used in magic, Mhina thought. The one she had found tonight had been used in casting, which was the source of the discolorations. It hadn�t been used to store magic, and had been lost for some time, so much of the residual magic was gone, but it still contained enough to interest her. She placed it on a low ledge, between a small bottle of bubbling green liquid and a rolled map of the world as man knew it. She would have to show Kalyn next time he came by.

Glancing proudly at her fine collection, Mhina turned and began to make her way to the door, pausing to straighten a pile of books that was balancing precariously on the edge of another ledge. She put out the lightstone and stepped into the main caves, scratching at a bit of dry hide as she watched the door close. Convinced that the chamber was safely sealed, she made her way back to her sleeping area, a low depression in the cool stone and laid down, closing her eyes with a happy sigh.