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Blinking eyes peered down at Dani as she laid in the brown grass in the meadow. She laughed and rolled over and onto her feet and patted it playfully on it's nose. "OK, your turn!"

The dragon quickly turned, and flew into some nearby trees to hide. Dani started right away after it. The game they were playing was a combination of timed hide and seek. If she didn't find it right away, the dragon would jump on her.

Since the dragon was getting larger now, it was having a tougher time hiding from Dani. But it was clever sometimes, and Dani didn't want to waste anytime. Getting jumped on by a dragon, even if it was your best friend, still hurt a bit!

She ran through the trees, her eyes darting towards any potential hiding spot. The bushes had few leaves now, so they weren't likely the spot. Some thick trees seemed to be moving the the left of her, but it seemed more like wind movement. She continued to run straight. Past some large rocks, but none that shared the purple shade of the dragon and into a clearing.

She paused as her time was running out, scanning the periphery, and ran straight towards a large fallen tree. She leaped over the truck, ready yell a cry of triumph at her friend, but there was nothing there. Dani's shoulders slumped in disappointment. The dragon would jump at her the next chance it got.

She started to run along the edge of the clearing, when she heard it's footsteps coming towards her from behind. She turned around quickly enough to see the purple haze, and purposeful eyes as it rushed her. She braced herself as the dragon grabbed her from her torso, and pulled her toward the ground.

She cried in frustration, "Ugh! Where did you hide?!" She pushed the large beast off her and she got to her feet. "You were by those bolders, weren't you?!"

The dragon just watched Dani as she brushed the dead grass, and brown leaves off her clothes. Dani chuckled and stroked the dragon's head and neck. "My friend, you should give me a chance!" she teased the dragon, admiring it's size. Not as big as a horse, but getting close, Dani thought about they're past and future.

"That thief would have a hard time putting you into his cart today, wouldn't he?!" Dani continued. Months had gone by without incidence, and Dani, in some ways, was getting nervous. Mr. Effert had gone to check the dragonhomes shortly their conversation about them. But it was only supposed to take a couple weeks. His absence worried Dani.

The dragon sniffed the air, looked at Dani, and took off, as it did, when their play time ended. Dani watched it for a moment, taking a deep breath, and shaking her head in thinking of it as "play time". They were constantly challenging each other, pushing each other in their games. Dani had grown much in these times, in both mind and body, as the dragon grown. She was feeling more and more at home with the dragon, and wished their "play time" would last longer.