1
The pale moon glittered on the smooth lake while the chilly wind whistled through the reeds. A dark shape covered the moon for just a moment before disrupting the stillness of the lake as it landed. Two more shapes landed beside it.
The first flicked its ears and swished its tail. The second beat its wings impatiently. Still, a third eyed a duck on the other side of the lake and flicked its forked tongue over its jaws.
Indeed, these figures were dragons, some of the last of their kind. They were on an important journey to the land called Mountain, and needed somewhere to stop for the night to eat and rest.
The first dragon was the dragon of Night. He was a shadowy black with scattered silver scales on his underbelly and wings. He could blend into the shadows and breathe white hot fire.
He also had very sharp horns and teeth. His arms were bulging with muscles and his legs were strong; he was easily able to jump the tall cliffs that covered his mountain habitat. His large wings were equally strong and he was able to fly long distances in horrible weather without straining his muscles.
The second was the dragon of Ice. She was pale silver, like the moon, and her scales sparkled like crystals. She could not breathe fire but instead could exhale a deadly subzero freezing breath. Her whip-thin tail was complete with razor-sharp spikes and her neck and back was covered the same way. Her small eyes were beady and black, allowing her to be able to withstand bright light. Her claws were specialized to grip ice and her scales were also specialized to keep her warm in below-freezing temperatures.
The last was the dragon of Fire. His scales were thick and protective, and his wings were small but powerful. His head was full of horns and his scales always had a high temperature— matching his hot personality. He could catch himself of fire within seconds and was obviously

2 fire-resistant. His claws were long and extremely sharp, and his arms and legs were thick and strong. He could breathe fire and was always ready to fight.
A moment after the three dragons landed, a young boy stepped out of a clump of cattails.
The dragon of Fire hissed and crouched down, ready to spring at the first sign of trouble. The dragon of Night silenced him with a flick of his tail.
The boy had seen the mythical creatures land a few yards away from his small home. He stared at them in awe, mouth hanging open and eyes wide with fright and curiosity. When he didn’t say anything in greeting, the Night dragon began to speak.
“Greetings,” he began. “I am the dragon of Night. These are my companions, the dragon of Ice and the dragon of Fire. May I ask your name?”
The boy, still open mouthed and wide eyed, nodded.
The Fire dragon snorted but the dragon of Night went on. “What is your name?” he asked politely.
The boy swallowed and said quietly, “My name is Ryan.”
Only seconds after Ryan spoke, the lake rippled and a blue green snout with a black horn appeared out of the water. Following shortly after, the head appeared, as well as the neck and wing tips.
“Greetings, dragon of Sea,” the Night dragon murmured.
The Sea dragon dipped her head respectfully. She had bright green eyes that allowed her to see in the dark, and gills on the side of her neck that allowed her to breathe underwater. She

3 couldn’t breathe fire but had the advantage of being an excellent swimmer as well as being able to fly. She had webs between her claws, down her back and onto her tail, as well as most of the way down her neck and between the claws on her wings and her shoulder. Her tail was extremely strong and helped her swim against even the strongest currents. Her wings acted as fins and pushed her body through the water. She could fly well, but she preferred to stay in the water whenever possible.
“I’ve never seen a flying lizard before,” Ryan interrupted. “Are you from around here?”
“Flying lizard?” the Ice dragon shrieked, forgetting she wasn’t allowed to speak and had to be granted permission.
The Night dragon, now agitated by all the interruptions, flicked his tail across her snout.
“We are not from around here, but we need a place to stay,” he said calmly. “Can you give us a safe place?”
“Yeah, as long as I can call you Night, and the other lizards Ice, Sea, and Fire,” the boy answered.
Night sighed. It was not proper to be called by shorted names back where they had come from. But the wind that blew through the cattails was chilly, and they needed a place to stay the night. He opened his mouth to speak but before the words came out, Fire growled, “We will not take any shelter from a miniscule monkey that doesn’t speak respectfully.”
“Fire!” Ice exclaimed. “How dare you!”
Sea groaned. “Oh dear, not you too. We need a place to stay, but dragon of Fire is right.
He is a little monkey that doesn’t speak the right way. I’ve never heard the word ‘yeah’ before.”

4
“Silence!” Night roared, beating his wings and thumping his tail. The scales on his neck began to rise like they did on all dragons when they were cross. The three dragons stared at him in shocked silence. Night waited until even the croaks of the frogs were quiet and the wind was silent before going on. “We need shelter badly. Star told us if we made it to Mountain, we could possibly find more dragons. They could help us. Don’t you understand how important this is?”
Ice dipped her head, ashamed. Sea followed her example, though her tail flicked across the ground crossly. Fire sat with a thump, not even trying to make his scales flatten, and hissed,
“Sorry. I didn’t think this was so important to you.”
Night took a step back. Fire’s comment tore into him like a claw to his heart. These dragons were supposed to make it to Mountain in peace, becoming friends on the way. Now this strange place and this strange boy had torn them apart. Tail drooping and wings sagging, Night turned away from the group and walked away. Glancing back to make sure nobody followed him, he saw Sea sliding into the water and Fire with bright orange flames licking at his scales.
Ice continued to sit with her head bowed and wings folded politely. The boy was nowhere to be seen.
As Night plodded along, he gazed at the stars glittering above and the lake as still as glass. He didn’t notice when Ryan crept up behind him and said softly, “I know a place for you, dragon of Night.”
Night turned around and dipped his head in thanks. He let the young boy lead him through the tall cattails and muddy, wet ground and to an old barn. Inside, wood was rotting, which made it smelled like dead rabbit and there was brownish hay on a sagging loft. Night wrinkled his snout in disgust. At least it was sheltered and somewhat warm.

5
“Here you go, Night—er, dragon of Night,” Ryan said awkwardly.
Night shook his black head. “Night is fine,” he replied.
“But I thought—“
Night cut him off with a flick of his tail. Ryan’s shoulders slumped as he realized that
Night wanted to be alone. His feet dragged as he exited the barn. Night spread his wings and fluttered onto the loft. He lay quietly and listened to the creak of the old barn door as it opened and shut in the wind.
Suddenly, the door burst open and two men with long sticks stormed into the barn. Night sprang up and beat his wings. He hissed at the men before leaping off the sagging loft. He flapped his strong wings and soared out the huge barn door and into the chilly night.
There was a loud bang and Night’s rear leg exploded with pain. The pain frightened him and he lost his wing beat, causing him to spin back down to the ground. It must be the men’s sticks, Night thought bleakly. He set his weight on his leg, and let out an ear-piercing scream.
Without wanting to see the sight that must have been gruesome, Night took to the sky once more.
As the other dragons came into view, he screamed, “Fly, everyone! Get out of here!” Fire gave him a terrified glance before lifting off. Sea and Ice followed quickly after. There was another bang and Night saw Ryan with another man that held another pain stick. Ryan looked scared as the man pointed the stick at the flying dragons. It fired with a boom and heard the shriek of one of his companions. They flew faster and faster until the barn and the lake was far behind them.
“I will never, ever, trust a little monkey,” Sea declared. Night knew she was right, but what if they had to stop again on their way to Mountain?