The Mauling 3010

Mother always told me I would be special, boy was she right. I was born like everyone else, white all over. Dragons get their color later, but I was lucky enough to have wings of my very own! My mother was so proud, she gave me the name Desta. It’s supposed to mean greater or better.

Today is my very first day of school. Mother woke me up early to leave since I can’t exactly fly yet, but neither can she. She ended up an Earth dragon, my father was an Air dragon. I guess I take after him. He got killed in the Great War though. Mother never told me what it WAS exactly because she was really happy to get rid of me. I guess she left me to learn it all in school… Boarding school actually. We started walking and my bags were on her back. I’m still really small for my age so I can’t do it on my own. We can move faster this way anyways. Like I said, she can’t wait to get rid of me. After Father died, she got really cold and stopped laying eggs. Not that any of my siblings survived, they were never fed enough. I had to go out and hunt for myself. A few others did the same, some died, some ran off never to be seen again. I stuck around for some reason, I don’t really know why. I couldn’t just leave Mother all alone, and now she would be and there’s nothing I can do about it. We walked all day and I nibbled at berries I found on the way, being sure to steer clear of the poisonous ones. Mother just walked silently, her green tail swishing in the wind. I always wished to be the same color green as my mother, it was such a pretty color, like the gems I used to find in the rocks behind my house. I wished I could get my color soon… I wonder if anyone else already does. Finally we set up camp for the night, under a small rock shelf. I curled up on my own after rolling around in the dirt for camouflage. You know, because I match the moon and all, it’s not all that covert. The next day we would get there, my mother would leave and I would be all alone for once. I stared up at the stars and soon heard Mother’s soft snoring. I drew shapes with the stars and quickly decided that I was not going to sleep anytime soon. I got up and padded about. I sat at the edge of the cliff we were on top of. I wonder what my hide will look like when it’s not white… I wonder who my roommate will be, or if the teachers will be nice… Maybe I’ll be made fun of… Maybe I won’t even get a color… I wonder what my wings will look like, if they’ll be patterned with flowers or vines, or even something bold like flames. I hope it’s not too girly. Every Air Dragon gets a pattern on their wings, it’s unique to them. There’s a lot of different rules for the different types of dragons. Air Dragons get patterned wings, Earth get gorgeous spines. Fire dragons get elegant head tattoos and Water Dragons get pretty tail fins. The best part is the crest you get on your chest once you become a true adult. It marks a new start and a bright future. It’s also unique to every Dragon. It further defines who you are. My mother used to have a bright red heart over hers, but it faded darker after my father died… It was a sad day. I finally got tired and wandered back to my spot under the shelf. I curled up and waited for morning.

The next day was uneventful. We walked, ate, and walked some more until we reached a large mountain. We climbed the rocks in silence to the first floor. In the rock, neatly etched in was the Academy for Young Dragons. I started shaking with excitement. There was a little old Earth Dragon with four legs and two arms behind a stone desk. I went up and talked to her.

“Hello Darling!” She said cheerily, fixing her glasses.

“Hello,” I said sheepishly.

“Are you here to sign in?” She asked kindly. I nodded. “Great! What’s your name hun?”

“Desta,” I replied simply. We don’t have last names, just first ones. She ruffled though some papers and handed me a few. Good thing I wore down my nails before I got here. They were my schedual, cave number and other information about the school.

“Your room is on the fourth floor,” She said with a smile. I thanked the muddy brown lady and left to get my stuff. Mother couldn’t exactly get in the cave anymore.  She lifted my stuff onto the floor and said something I hadn’t heard in at least a year.