Dani Finds the Pets

Dani turned around and sat down to think after hearing the parrot.  It sounded like a barn because all the animals were there!  Then she turned and looked at her purple dragon, who was still staring at the camp.  It hadn't eaten the pets!  Someone had been stealing them, and keeping them here!

Dani needed to tell someone, and was about to head south back to town, when she stopped to think again.  Who was going to believe her?  She needed proof.

She looked back at the camp, and realized that the dragon continued to sit beside the rock, in full view of anyone who might be at the camp.  Maybe no one was there?  She took a deep breath, and slowly started to approach the camp, with the dragon at her heels.  Some horses neighed as she walked up to the first wagon, but there was, in fact, no one here.

Dani quickly scanned the camp.  The tents had many cages where animals were being held, and there were a couple of posts where some clearly angry dogs were being tied up.  As the animals started to make a ruckus as they noticed her.  Unsure of how much time she had, she quickly spied the cage with the parrot.  Dani quickly ran up to the cage, and walked quickly out of the camp, the purple dragon tight on her tail.

She heard some voices above the din of the animals.  "Hey, what's going on here?!"

Dani quicken her pace, not looking back, until she heard a large man, "Where are you going little girl?!  Come back here!"

The parrot sqwaked as took off running towards town.  She was just about to drop the cage so she could go faster, when she heard the man yell, "What's this!  Ow!  Get it off me!"

Dani stopped, and saw the purple dragon had turned, and jumped at the large man.

"Thank you."  Dani quietly said, as she turned, and continued to run south.  She didn't stop until she got close to the edge of town where some other children were playing.

The kids all squealed with delight when they saw the parrot, and rushed to town to tell their parents.  Dani continued to walk to town, wondering if the purple dragon was ok.

A couple moments later people started running towards Dani.  Dani quickly said she came across the camp, and that everyone's pets were being kept there.  Several men formed a group, and raced up to the rocky hillside.

Dani was exhausted that evening as she tried to eat supper.  She couldn't get away from anyone, as they kept asking her how she came across that camp.  All the animals that were missing were there, and there was much relief across town.  The men who found the camp said there was only one guy there, but he was clearly crazy as he said a dragon attacked him.

The next morning Dani found the dragon by her side as normal.  She gave it a big hug and looked it over to see if it was hurting from it's fight with the pet thief.

"Thank you for saving me."  She said.

A Mystery about the Town

For the next several days, Dani noticed many people were talking about not only missing cats, but dogs were starting to disappear.  Even a talking parrot, that stood outside the "Beer River Tavern" near the town square had disappeared one day.  People started wondering what was happening.  Some guessed that wolves were taking the animals in the night, back to the woods to be eaten.  Others suggested that people were stealing the animals, though they couldn't guess why.  Dani overheard one conversation between two older ladies as they discussed wizards, or witches had set up a camp nearby, and were taking the animals for their terrible spells and potions.

Dani had a sickening feeling start to well up in her stomach as she thought about it.  She noted everyday how big the purple dragon was getting, and remembered her conversation with Mr. Effert about it, and it was not hard to put two and two together.

One morning as they sat in her bed, she asked it, "So are you eating everyone's pet?"  The dragon only stared at Dani in reply with a blank, meaningless face.  She stroked it's neck wishing it wasn't the case, but it was hard to see what other solution could there be?!  Still, she didn't want to judge the purple dragon harshly.  It needed to eat too, it just didn't know better.

"You shouldn't eat other people's pets.  It's not very nice, and I know you're a good dragon.  Can't you find enough fish, or other creatures in the woods?

The purple dragon finally stopped glaring at Dani, and gently put it's head down on her ankle, unable to answer.

Later that day, Dani was playing in the rocky hills, north of town, when the dragon swooped by, tapping Dani on the head, and running further north.  Dani laughed at the silly tag, as that was the signal of the chase game they sometimes played.  Dani  ran after the dragon in an attempt at tagging it back.  It took her a while, but she finally was able to tag it's tail.  She quickly turned around, expecting the dragon to chase her.

The dragon didn't stay on it's feet, like it normally would in this game, but jumped up to fly over Dani, and tag her again.

"Hey, not fair!  You can't fly in this game!"  Dani called with a smile.  The dragon didn't always play fair.

The dragon quickly turned north again, and lead Dani further into the rocky hills.  The purple dragon ran so fast, Dani could barely keep up, and was starting to get frustrated with it, when suddenly the dragon stopped near a large rock, as if waiting for Dani to catch it.

Dani's dark skin glistened with sweat as she reached the dragon, and gave it a tap on the back, and sat down next to the rock to catch her breath.  The dragon just stood there... staring north.

"What are you looking at?"  Dani asked, as this focused behavior from the dragon was different than usual.  She stood up to peek around the rock, and saw several large tents, and a couple wagons.

Dani quickly sat back down behind the rock.  It was a strange place for anyone to make camp.  If there were travelers in the area, they usually were on the road by the river.  Dani had never heard of anyone staying up here.

Dani sat still for a while, as the dragon stayed where he started, staring at the tents.  She eventually drew up the courage to take another peek.

There were four tents, and two wagons.  She didn't see anybody, but there was several strange noises coming the the camp.  Dani closed her eyes and listened carefully.  It almost sounded like a barn, or farmyard.  Suddenly she heard a familiar noise.

"Quench your thirst at River Beer Tavern!  Two silvers will quench your thirst!"

Dani's new playmate

Almost every day after that first game of hide and seek, the purple dragon found Dani while she played alone.  Whether she was in the rocky plains west of town, the flowery meadow across the river (south of town), or in the rocky hillsides north of town, the dragon would fly in if she was alone (as she usually was).  They would play for hours all sorts of games Dani would make up, including tag, hunt and find, and hide and seek.

The dragon learned too, and Dani had to constantly adjust the rules so they both had a chance to win.  She enjoyed all her time with the dragon of course, and their friendship grew.

One time in the grassy meadow, as she was chasing the purple dragon after it found her in a game of hide and seek, the dragon suddenly stopped and stood still, as if listening.  Dani slowed down, breathing hard.  "What is it?  What do you hear?"  Suddenly the dragon jumped, and flew away quickly.  Dani sat still in the grass waiting. A minute later she saw Mr. Effert tall lean figure walking in the meadows towards her.

She held still, wondering if he saw her, but after a few moments, it was clear he was coming directly at her.  He called out to her, "Hello little lady!"

Dani flashed a smile in reply.  They hadn't spoke much since he told her the story of Mahina, though the story and picture burned in her mind constantly, and she wanted to hear more.

"What are you doing out here Dani?"

"Just playing with the flowers."  Dani replied, wondering if he saw anything.

"I thought I heard you playing with someone.  "Mr. Effert scanned the horizon, looking for Dani's playmate.

"Oh, the flowers and I were talking... just the flowers Mr. Effert.  Dani grabbed a pretty yellow near her and held it up for Mr. Effert to see.

"Ah!"  Mr. Effert exclaimed as he took the yellow flowers from Dani's hand.  "You know what kind of flowers are these?"

Dani shook her head, as she knew very little about flowers.

"These are yellow snap dragons"  Mr. Effert delicately pinched the flower between his thumb and finger.  "See how the flower looks like a dragonhead, and it's jaw is opening and closing?"

Dani watched in fascination.  It did look a little like a dragonhead!  "Wow!  That's beautiful Mr. Effert!  Can I try?"  Dani took the flower from Mr. Effert and gently squeezed the dragonhead, and started to pretend it was eating her finger.

Mr. Effert smiled broadly, adjusting the round skin tight hat he always had on his hat.  "You're quite a natural with that flower little lady, though, of course, it's a good thing that dragons don't eat people, isn't it.

Dani quickly stopped.  "What do... and I mean, what _did_ dragon's eat?"

"Almost anything... and I suppose they would eat a person too, if the circumstances were right."  Mr. Effert scanned the horizon again.  "Dragons ate whatever animals it could find.  Around here, I suppose mountain goats, warthogs, or fish, or birds mostly.  Whatever it could catch, Ah... that's what I'm looking for!"  Mr. Effert pointed off in the distance and stepped to go that way.  "You'll have to excuse me Dani, I need some moss I think I can find by those trees over there.  I've run out of rat poison, and will need that to make more.

"Rat poison?"  Dani asked as Mr. Effert walked away.

"Yes."  he answered.  "A number of people have been missing cats these last few weeks, and apparently the rats have benefited.  See you again soon Dani!"  He called out as he walked away.

Mr. Effert walked away, and out of sight, as Dani stayed where she was, hoping the dragon might come back.  When it didn't, Dani went home, wondering where the cats went.

A Reward for the Purple Dragon

Dani was so grateful for the purple dragon saving her from the mother warthog, she had a treat for it the next morning.  She woke up with the dragon sleeping next to her.  She regarded it carefully, and noticed that it had definitely grown in the last several weeks.  It was the size of a medium dog now, and she immediately looked up at the window.  The window wasn't huge, but the dragon was going to be able to still get in for a while... but what about after that?

She gently waked the dragon, and produced some ham which she had sneaked from dinner last night.  The dragon sniffed it, and quickly gobbled it down with one bite.

"What are you eating out there?"  Dani asked with a laugh,  "You certainly are not eating mother wart hogs, are you!"  The dragon just briefly licked its chops, and gazed back at Dani.

"Anyway, thank you for saving me yesterday.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  That mother warthog was just trying to protect it's baby you know... I'm glad you stopped attacking it.  You are such a good dragon."  Dani smiled as she stroked the dragon's neck and back.

After the dragon flew away as it usually did when it was time for Dani's breakfast, she headed out again to the woods, keeping a sharp eye out for mother warthogs and their young.

She played a game of hide and seek by herself.  She had a small, knotty stick, and would hide it behind a tree or next to a rock, and then pretend to look for it, as if she didn't know where it was.  On her third time looking for her stick, she was just about to "find it" in a bush she had put it a minute earlier, when it wasn't there!

Dani stopped, and looked more closely.  It wasn't on, under, or anywhere near the bush she had put it.

Pushing her dark hair out of her eyes, she looked around the area trying to figure out where her stick went.  Then there was a scraping noise near some rocks a few feet away.

"Hello?"  Dani called, as she walked towards the rocks, where the noise stopped.  She stepped around the rocks, and there was the purple dragon, with her stick at it's feet, looking at Dani.

A huge smile broke from Dani's face.  "Hi!"  She said.  "Well, now what?!"

Suddenly the dragon grabbed the stick in it's claws, and flew past a couple trees, putting the stick under some roots.  Dani chased it laughing.  "I see what you are doing!  Let me close my eyes this time, and you can hide it properly."

Dani and the purple dragon played this way for a long time that day.  It was very easy to find the stick, because, after hiding it, the dragon was always sitting next to it.  

"You are a smart, and good dragon."  Dani praised it, after having one of the best afternoons in the woods in her life.

Saved in the Woods

Dani had the image of Mahani and the Green Dragon burnt into her mind over the following days.  Dragons were just stories to her before the purple dragon showed up.  Now Mr. Effert had this wonderful picture, and story that made it all much more real for her.

She wanted to ask him more questions, but after his wonderful story, Mr. Effert started asking _her_ questions about why her sudden interest in them.  She didn't dare tell him about her morning visitor, and made up an excuse to go home.  She started to notice him more often when she walked the streets, and he always had a wink hello for her.

After breakfast one morning, Dani was playing by herself in a nearby wooded area.  She was jumping from log to log and singing quietly to herself, when she heard a noise behind her.  She quickly stopped and turned around to see what it was.  It was a warthog!

Dani froze for a moment.  She hadn't seen a warthog in this area before, and she didn't know what she was going to do.  The warthog was just standing there, gazing at her intently.  Suddenly Dani heard a squeal beneath her.  She looked down, and realized she was standing next to a baby warthog.  Dani quickly looked up again.  She was standing in the warthog's nest!

The mother warthog started grunting loudly, and kicked dirt.  It was clearly upset.  Dani slowly started to try to walk away, when the warthog charged at her!  Dani screamed, and tried to scramble up some of the larger logs, afraid she was going to get hurt by the huge beast.  Dani got herself up one, and was looking desperately for something larger to climb on, when the noises changed.  She braced herself, fearing it was just about on her, but the warthog wasn't charging her anymore.

Dani quickly glanced back.   The purple dragon on top of the warthog!  The warthog was now running in circles, trying to get the dragon off, which was digging its claws into the warthogs back, and nipping at it's neck.

Dani uttered in astonishment, then carefully backed away a safe distance.  She called, "I'm ok now, you can let the mother warthog go!"   The dragon promptly jumped off the warthog's back, and flew up and past Dani, and out of sight.

The warthog tending to it's wounds, and the dragon out of sight, Dani slowly went back home.

The Story of Mahina and the Green Dragon

Mr. Effert's eyes turned toward the painting on the table, yet seem to gaze on a distant memory.

"Mahina and the Green Dragon lived around here, though no one was sure exactly where.  They always seemed so busy that they were not seen very often.  But when they made an appearance in town, people loved to see them, and share news.  People loved the spectacle of the dragon when they got a good close look at it.

Anyways,  there had been a long period of rain.  The children of Lisdon would often go play in the rocky plains, north of town, as the rain would produce fun little streams they played in."

Dani nodded, she was quite familiar with this, as she and some of the other children still played in those areas.

"It never rained hard, so parents were fine and comfortable with letting their kids out to play.  However the rain turned horrible this particular day, and before the kids realized it... the little streams they played in became dangers, and were moving rocks, logs and debris down from the hillside.  The kids scrambled to climb the bigger rocks, and clung together, crying out for help, though they were too far for their parents to hear.

Soon even the big rocks were getting slippery, and suddenly one small child fell of the rock.  His friends yelled in horror, unable to grab him in time, and watched him flow away, when suddenly Mahina and the Green Dragon flew in, and grabbed the little boy out of the water.  The dragon quickly turned towards the rock, and grabbed three other kids with it's other claws, and Mahina told the rest to wait a moment.

That Green Dragon flew so quick... it only took a moment for it to fly to the edge of Lisdon to drop the kids safely, and fly back to grab the rest.  Mahina and the Green Dragon made three more runs to be sure to have grabbed all the kids and insure that everyone got home safely.  The parents, who were worried sick naturally, thanked Mahina and the Green Dragon over and over, and offered her gifts of food and money.  All of which she refused as they were heroes.

Mr. Effert's tale finished, he turned his gaze back to Dani, who had been standing next to him, engrossed in his story.

"She sounds amazing Mr. Effert!"

"She was Dani, she was."

Mr. Effert's Shop

Mr. Effert's shop was a haven of treasure as far as Dani was concerned.  It was off the beaten path, so it was never busy.  Her mom didn't come here often, except when in need of a household item like a new bowl for the kitchen, or her dad came here once to get some bonding materials when he was fixing his tools.  Dani was never really invited in before, so only got to get quick peeks as people came and went into his shop.

It was a dark and musty place.  There were tools of all sorts, mostly used.  The shelves were jammed with a strange combination of jars, bottles,  books and scrolls.  There were many old decorative items as well, strange painted figures on canvas and old animal skins.  Dust covered statues and figurines were sometimes placed delicately on a shelf, or table all by itself, and then there would be a jumbled mess of others in a container with others.

Mr. Effert's tall, lean figure lead the way through his small shop to a back room.  "Come Dani, it's back here."

Dani quickly followed and entered what clearly was a workroom.  The light was better, and it was not as dusty here.  Mr. Effert pulled a piece of canvas off the wall and laid it on a table where the light was better.

Dani stepped up to look.  It was beautiful!  The dragon looked very similar to the purple one (except of course it was much bigger!).  Clearly the painting was very old, but Dani could still see the scaled texture in the paint.

The dragon was flying fast, downward, clearly in a hurry.  A beautiful young women was riding the green dragon.  Both her and the dragon were focused on where they were going.

"It looks like they are in a hurry, is someone in trouble?"  Dani asked.   "Are they trying to help someone?"

Mr. Effert eyes open wide at her question.  After a moment of silence he burst out with a laugh.  Dani looked at Mr. Effert with a curious look.  Why was he laughing?

"Help someone?!  Dani, most people, when they look at this picture, seem to think Mahina and the green dragon are moving to fight someone.  Why do you think they are going to help someone?!"

"You told me they were heroes."

Mr. Effert's eyes turns to squints as he regarded Dani very carefully.  "Yes Dani, you are right.  They are going to help someone.  This was the time Mahina and the green dragon saved the children of Lisdon long before you were born.  Have you ever heard this story?"

Dani looked back at the painting.  "No, could you please tell me?"

What about dragons?

When the purple dragon continued to show up at Dani's bed every morning, she started feeling brave about it, and asked questions about dragons.

Her mom was revolted at the idea of dragons.  "Dragons don't exist, and if they did, they would probably eat you up alive!"

Her friends shared stories similar to the ones she heard.  The stories often centered around a horrible black dragon that took peoples money and treasures.  Often it ate small children.  The dragons in the story would have people who rode them, and the dragons were constantly fighting each other.  Sometimes the dragons were good, but that rarely seem to happen.

As she sat with the purple dragon each morning, there seemed to be nothing horrible, or bad about it.  They enjoyed each other's company.

She paid attention to a puppet show they was being performed in the town square one day.  The horrible black dragon was in it of course, and in this play, it was defeated by a women named Mahina and her green dragon.  She had never heard of Mahina before.

Dani got more bold about asking questions about dragons, and asked some of her neighbors, and other adults she saw regularly, deliberately avoiding her mother.  Most laughed at her childish questions, but Mr. Effert took her seriously.

"Dragons?!  Dragons mean power Dani, and those with power turn to evil." Mr. Effert told her. "However, there are exceptions.  Special people, like Mahina and the green dragon were heroes.  Would you like to see a picture of them?"

Dani's brown eyes widen with excitement.

The dragon comes back

The smile on Dani's face didn't go away until after she fell asleep.

Even though she thought she would never see that dragon again... finding that rock/egg on her dresser told her that it was real.  She didn't dream it.  And that there was a beautiful purple dragon out there.

Dani dreamed all night about dragons.  Dragons of different colors, including blue, yellow, white, green... all beautiful, strong and good like the purple dragon.  Except for the end, when horrible, wicked black dragon, whiched just snarled and said, "Hello Dragon Lady."  which caused her to wake up suddenly.  She quickly sat up to get her bearings, finding the morning sun just starting to come through her window.

She started to lay her head down again when she felt something next to her on her bed move.  Dani gasped as she looked, and found the same purple dragon laying there on her bed again, whom clearly woke up when Dani did.

A second later, unable to contain her excitement she grabbed the dragon and gave it a big hug.  The dragon seemed resigned to this, and let Dani hug it.

After a moment, the dragon struggled to get free, and Dani let it go.  The dragon than sat down there, letting Dani stroke it's neck and back.

"I'm so glad you back"  Dani told the dragon.  The dragon just returned Dani's warm gaze.

Since the dragon seemed so friendly, Dani inspected the dragon much more closely this time.  The dragon allowed her to inspect it's purple hued scales on it's back, and than it's underside, which were lighter on the bottom.  Dani felt it's feet and claws, which did seem quite sharp.  The dragon was so patient, it even allowed Dani to stretch out it's wings, and inspect them closely.

Dani was so immersed with this inspection of the dragon, that she didn't hear that her mother woke up.  Suddenly a rattle of dishes and pans from the kitchen broke her concentration.  The dragon seemed a little started.  Dani put her hand out towards the dragon in order to calm it.

"It's ok... you will be fine here."

The dragon relaxed a little, and let Dani stroke it's neck again.  The dishes rattled again, and Dani's mom called for her to get ready for breakfast.  The dragon suddenly jumped up, and flew out the window, like it did the morning before.  Dani called to it quietly, "It's ok.  I understand.  See you tomorrow!"'

Dani smiled all day.  She waved to her peers on the street.  She met the gaze of all her neighbors and politely told them "Hi", and "How are you?"  But most of all, Dani couldn't wait until the next morning to find the dragon in her bed again!

Did it really happen?

Dani spent the whole day in a daze.

She clung to her memories from the morning... ignoring everybody, and everything else that was happening that day.  She wandered the streets where other children were playing and she didn't hear they call for her to join them.  She only showed a cursory nod to some of her neighbors that said hello.

She walked to the forest, where she normally played by herself, and just sat on a log hugging her knees remembering the smooth warm skin of the dragon in her bed that morning.

Over and over again she questioned herself.  Did it really happen?

She found herself later on at a rocky hillside where she often like to throw rocks at larger rocks, or in a nearby brook.  Today she just sat in the shade remembering the dragons warm gaze at her.

After supper, she went in her room as she usually did.  Instead of playing with her doll, she just sat on the floor, and stared at her bed, thinking about it's cute little yawn when it woke up, and the way it stretched out it's wings before it flew away.

Her mom came into the room to help her prepare for bed.  "Dani, why is your dresser a mess?  You are usually so good about keeping your things clean?"

Dani thought this was odd, and walked over to her dresser to investigate as her mom put away her clothes.  The things on her dresser were messed up... spread around.  Plus it seemed there was just more of it!  Her dolls were still there, just knocked over, but there seemed to be more rocks.  Dani picked up one she didn't recognize, and held the flat, curved piece in her hand.  It had broken recently, and part of it was rough, and the other side quite smooth.  Dani compared it to some of the others, and many of them were the same.

Dani looked over the rocks again, and didn't see the large rock, with purple quartz.  She held up one of the larger pieces in her hand and held it up to the remaining sunlight where the purple quartz glittered with it's usual pretty colors.

Dani clutched the piece to her chest and a huge smile beamed from her lips.

The large rock she had adored so much was an egg... the dragon had hatched right here on her dresser last night!  It did happen!

Breakfast

Dani sat at the table staring at the bread and leftover ham on her plate.

"Why aren't you eating Dani?"  her mom asked.

Dani shook her head trying to get out of her daze.  She looked at her mother who was cleaning some dishes.  It was not a good idea to tell her mom about the dragon, Dani knew, and so she searched for some other reason to excuse her extraordinary quietness this morning.

"Nothing mom, still sleepy I guess."

She and the dragon sat together in the bed for several minutes after it woke up.  The dragon did nothing but stare at her the whole time.  Eventually she got the nerve and  reached her hand out to feel it's scales on it's neck and back.

The dragon continued to stare at her, but did lean into her strokes... much like a dog or cat might when it was being petted.  The dragon was very warm, and it's scales felt very smooth.  Not slimey, like a fish, but dry.

Dani continued stroking it for several more minutes, neither of them moving.

Suddenly there was footsteps in the kitchen.  The purple dragon and Dani both turned to look at the door for a moment, and then back at each other.

"Well now what?"  Dani whispered to the dragon.

After laying for another moment, and dragon stood up, and stretched out it's wings.  The clatter of dishes was coming from the kitchen and the dragon turned and looked at the door.

Suddenly the dragon leaped into the air, flapped it's wings, and flew out Dani's window.

Dani sat, stunned, staring at her window.

Finally her mother came into her room.  "Well Dani, breakfast is ready.  Why aren't you ready yet?"

Every moment from the morning encounter was crystal clear in her head... and Dani didn't want to forget a second.

She wondered where the dragon went, and if she would ever see it again.

Dani wakes up

Dani didn't wake up because of the sun in her eyes... like it usually did.  She blinked as she looked towards the window, and saw that the morning sun was just beginning to rise.

She didn't have a heavy blanket on, so she couldn't understand at first why she was so warm.  She discovered as she came to her senses, something was laying next to her.  It wasn't large... maybe the size of a large ball as she continued to lay there, trying to figure out what was going on.

She took a deep breath, and was about to sit up, when she felt the thing, whatever it was, breathe.  Dani froze and didn't move a muscle for several long moments.  The thing continued to breathe, and Dani decided it was sleeping too.

Dani very slowly turned, and moved the blankets so she could get a look at what had crawled into bed with her.

It was a dragon!

Dani froze again with both fear and awe.  The dragon continued sleeping, clearly breathing very deeply.  Dani knew it was a dragon right away because of the wings, and scales.  It was a dark purple dragon, with flecks of dark pink in it's scales.    There were stories about dragons, but Dani never thought they existed.  She remembered the puppet shows people put on in the town square often included fierce dragons who hurt people.  Her mom used to say if Dani didn't behave, the dragon would come and eat her.

This one didn't seem scary though... at least when it was sleeping.

Dani watched the dragon for several minutes.   .

The morning sun soon fell on Dani's bed, and the dragon slowly started to wake up.  Dani watched in fascination as his little mouth opened wide with a big yawn, and it blinked, and slowly turned to meet Dani's gaze.

Ordinary Girl

Apparently there was much special about Dani. She was an eight year old girl in a small hamlet of Lisdon who people hardly ever regarded. Her father worked a lot, and was gone much of the day. Her mother was home, but was always busy trying to make ends meet to take care of their quaint home.

Dani had few friends. She spent most of her free time playing by herself in a nearby wooded area, or a meadow outside of town. Occasionally she played with the other children in the town streets, but even the regular children hardly knew her name. They weren't mean, she was just reclusive and hard to approach. Even she knew it.

She had a small room of her own, with a small window that allowed some fresh air and morning light in. It was small, and high, so she couldn't reach it, or climb out it... but it woke her up every morning before her parents woke up, and she always had a few minutes to herself in that time.

She would often play with the few toys she owned, including a top (which made too much noise to play with in the morning) a girl doll, with a faded red dress she had made herself when she was younger, and a stuffed sock her mom made that kind of looked like a cat. She kept these on her dresser, along with a few other old coins and tokens she picked up when she played... including some pretty rocks, leaves, and dried flowers.

One particular rock (which she rarely moved as it was bigger than the others) sat on the backside of her dresser, and always caught a glint of morning sun with it's purple crystals. She sometimes just sat on her bed with the rock on her lap in the mornings feeling it's textures and admiring the colors.

When she heard her mother wake up, she always neatly put her toys and things neatly away on her dresser, and would join her mother for breakfast.

Dani was an ordinary girl... until she woke up one morning feeling something warm laying next to her in her bed....