A warm breeze blew through the trees that were not quite like palm trees. A nearly recognisable beach with fine, white sand like baby powder and occasional outcroppings of bright red sandstone baked in the afternoon sun. The warm, clear water was occasionally punctuated by the spouts of far off, unknown creatures that trolled the deep and rippled by schools of fish whose size was measured in miles. It was a peaceful place, there were few predators on the beaches, and in general one would almost look for a lone figure sunbathing. This, however, is not what you would find on this particular beach.

    Almost a thousand feet across, yet only a few hundred feet wide, the tribal community of small reptilian creatures tended to live in peace and harmony. These small creatures delighted in the simple joys of life and family and rarely caused others harm. Instinctively, they knew their place in the world and were content with it. Along the beach, on the lee side of the largest block of sandstone that lay upon its side, there was a small family of these creatures. Dull bluish-grey, posessing both wings and four manipulable limbs, plus a nearly prehensile tail, the species was gifted with a keen interest in the world around them. Curiosity was infective, and the trials of true intelligence were not far off; These wondrous beings have even started to create basic tools.

    A tide rolled in, pulled by the single large moon in the bright blue sky. We had overslept, but as there were no clocks nor any means of timekeeping other than intuition and the movement of celestial objects, it was hardly of consequence. Yawning, I awoke and was rewarded with the smiling, bright crystal blue eyes of my mother. A gentle nudge and a quizzical look told me that the ocean was about to roll out, and that we should get ready for a fine breakfast of nature's kind gifts. Every morning and evening, the ocean brought us its bounty and beckoned us into its deeps; Already I have seen, from afar, some of our aquatic bretheren moving about in those salty waters. I stood up on my four tiny legs and surveyed the land: Grandpa stood proudly upon an outcropping of bright sandstone, watching the waters for some unknown and unseen threat. I had no doubt that he was more than capable of handling whatever situation could possibly arise. Mother was my next sight, as she was right next to me, her form dwarfing my own tiny size. The clan baby, I was. The next sight filled me with limitless joy, and also a slight sense of mischief. My older sister lay upon her belly still, eyes shut in the bliss of sleep. Looking up at Mother, I was given an appreciative wink. Yesterday, sister tickled me awake, and I've just been given permission to return the favor in kind. And, while doing so, ended up getting kicked by her claws. It was an accident, of course. I suppose, looking back on it from this life, that violence between members of my kind, could have existed. I assume though that if it did, I was kindly sheltered from it by the members of my clan. Indeed, I'd never even seen the slightest hint that anything amiss ever happened. There would be arguments, of course, but once Grandpa got involved, they were swiftly finished. He was the leader, and what he said, ended all arguments and was final.

    Where was I? Oh yes...after a gentle hug from my sibling, the hunger pangs in our stomach persuaded us to abandon play long enough to snack on the delicacies left for us upon the beach. Already, in fact, the beach was covered in thousands of my kind, finishing off whatever creatures were unlucky enough to end up stranded on this waterless and alien world. In one direction, there was the sea, where some of my kin swam and played, apparently having already eaten. In two others, there were many of my kind engaged in various activities, some of which I did not (and still to this day do not) comprehend, and, behind us, was the shaded forest. Consisting of mostly what I now call ferns and tropical trees (but strangely, nothing quite what I'd call a palm tree) the forest was oddly humid and warm, and was just a tiny bit uncomfortable to be in for too long. No instinct that I would call fear was triggered by the place, just a physical uncomfortability. Some of the adults that have visited the forest have gotten lost for extensive periods, and in fact a few have never returned. I was told that they perhaps found beach far on the other side of the forest, and decided to live there with new families. One of these adults, I hear, was my own father. Mind you, we didn't really ... talk ... per se, but certainly there was a form of communication, and it was developed enough to spread more than simple instinctual concepts. Anyway, after our meal, my sister and I played in the sun for a while, racing, building nests and taking turns playing "mother" while "father" would go to the shoreline and pick up interesting rocks, bringing them back to "mother" to feed the young with. It was great fun, but soon got to be repetitious. Our attention then turned back to that forest.

    Mother wasn't very fond of that forest, but had no quarrel with us exploring, assuming that we didn't venture too far inwards. She was not familiar with the interior, and was in no hurry to get aquainted with it. My sister, and I, however have been using the trees to practice flight in. My wing muscles were still rather weak, and I was yet small, lacking the endurance that a few scant years would have supplied. Sister was just older enough that I could keep up with her for short distances, and there, in the shadows of the canopy of the forest, we flew. At first, we kept close to the beach, where once in a while we would see mother keeping a subtle lookout for us, then we decided to seek a little thrill and explore deeper than we've been before. Flight looks easy when you're watching birds, perhaps, but for me it was always an exertion. It came naturally, yes, once practiced, but the strength to continue flight for more than a few minutes at a time came with difficulty indeed; My sister was certainly stronger than I was, but always managed to perch just ahead of me long enough for me to catch my breath and smell the odd bite of forest air. The brine of the sea was not as strong, and there always seemed to be a faint musk of some sort hanging there. Smiling, and spurring me on yet more, she dashed off her branch just as I'd recaught my wind. Hefting a heavy sigh of exhaustion, I leapt from the rock that I stood upon and chased after her into the twilit realm.

    I remember clearly being cautioned to watch where I flew, to look left and right and up and down, so that I wouldn't fly into any of my family, nor birds, nor any of the odd vines that dropped from the trees upon the sandy beach that we called our home. During flight, though, and especially while exhausted as I was, this bit of advice surely left as my eyes were clamped firmly shut for moments at a time, working on maintaining the rhythm that accompanied flight, and to force myself to breathe long, deep breaths so that I could continue. My sister had apparently decided to wait, as during one of my moments where my eyes were open, I saw her hanging upon a small cluster of vines oddly. Unfortunately, my kind had no use for, nor had heard of a net, so I was totally unprepared for the next shock: I was no longer able to fly! Certainly, I wasn't landed, and when I looked into my sister's eyes, I caught her emotions clearly. Shock, surprise, and fear. Panic gripped her, as if she knew what troubles we had landed into, but I confess all that gripped me was profound confusion. Wouldn't mother free us from this mess, once we called to her? It would certainly be worth the lecture to be freed. I called out, a nearly bleating shriek whose only effect I immediately noticed was to further panic my sister. I almost get the impression that she was asking...pleading...for me to stop trying to call for help. It was probably a good idea, but I wasn't a quick learner, and never got a chance to learn that lesson.

    Green. Mind you, my kind was a beautiful sea-green...just a tinge of blue in the scales, darkening with age until my grandfather was nearly a greenish-black, but the creature that confronted us was a hideous olive green. He had no scales, and his strangely formed limbs and head were mottled with stripes that seemed nearly yellow in that forest lighting. His large hands reached first for me, gripping me about the torso and pulling my bodily out of the netting, then stuffing me into a large woven cage. I was soon joined with my sister, though, as she was pulled out also. He was none to kind to her, having torn the membrane of her wing removing her, then as she pecked at his hand, he thew her to the ground, where she landed with a sickening crunch, then picked her up again and tossed her in the cage with me. Her body was bruised all along one side where she struck the ground, and her opposite wing bled freely, yet she was still awake and now, crying. Among our kind, it was more a whimper, but that said volumes to me and I joined in the crying, still confused and wanting to know what the creature was, and why it treated my lovely sister so horribly. I didn't even understand the basic concepts of violence at the time, so was about to get quite a lesson.

    Seeing brighter light again for the first time since I left the beach, I turned around to peek through the sides of the cage and got a glimpse of what looked like moving sun. Fire, too, was apparently a novelty for me. The cage was opened and my sister taken out first. I heard her scream out in pain, pleading for the ugly creature to stop doing what it was doing to her, and it only made odd grunting noises from time to time. I heard loud banging, and then a clatter like stone against stone as the moving sun vanished from view between the thin slits afforded my eyes from the woven cage. Then when the shadow moved, the sun was greatly diminished in ferocity. The great olive-colored hand was in the basket again soon, and I was treated to a view of the room briefly. The creature that held me was the same as I saw before, but we were in a small mud hut of some sort, and the moving sun...the fire in the center of the hut...had lain upon it some large stones, and upon those a large clay pot. Of course, at the time I didn't know what these items were, but in retrospect, I should've known what was going to happen next. Perhaps that's being too hard on the young creature. We are, in many ways, entirely different people, and I shouldn't judge her confusion over what I consider trivial matters of conclusion.

    Taken over to a small, low table and held down on my back with one hand, the creature took a bloodied rock with a very keen edge on one side in his hand, then pounded it against my wings; The membranes split easily for him, and he apparently neither noticed or cared for my cries of pain. He must've been deaf entirely to not offer to apologize for the pain he was causing. The rock struck again and again, stripping me forever of my ability to fly. With rough hands, he next grabbed me bodily and walked to where the flickering flame sat low under the pot. With one hand, he removed the lid (which, while the pot was clay...that lid was almost certainly a heavy black metal of some sort) and dropped me unceremoniously inside. There were other things, in that lightless hell I was dropped into, floating around in a foul-smelling water beside me. I felt my sisters limp form, but it was not yet lifeless. As the temperature slowly built up, fate threw her an evil blow: She awoke in time to, like me, slowly boil to death. I floated there in the water for an eternity, feeling my skin bubble away, hearing two voices cry out in the darkness...one of them mine.

    - Nova Vie -

    The four year old ran across the dining room of her grandmother's house, her mom yelled "Stop running, you'll hurt yourself!" ... too late. *SMACK* Forehead contacts the dining room table, and the youngster is down for the count. Picking up the small rubber lamb that came from...somewhere, and hugging it tight, she whispers, "Thanks Lawwie." Laurie, maybe? Not quite right. Even then, I had my "invisible friend" trailing me, going where I did, giving me advice... Not that it was good advice very often, but she learned from her mistakes, as did I, and it was always nice having someone around to talk to. The actual concept of "loneliness" isn't something I've ever been able to grasp, since I've never experienced it. When I went to church as a child, my little friend (who then, I thought was a funny looking angel) was always by my side. When I learned about the fae and unicorns, I upgraded her to "funny looking faerie" then. Finally, when I learned about dragons and the various types across the world, I decided the Faerie Dragon was as close as I've seen. It's still not quite right, but it certainly works in a pinch.

    A glorious sunny day, my little brother (who was 7 at the time) and myself (fourteen) were in the back yard playing as usual. I decided, after years of knowing it was better to not involve Lilly in mortal affairs, that my little brother should meet her. The meeting didn't go well, and to this day he thinks that I'm just a flake. Go figure. *wink* Things went well for a few years, but I've never been able to ignore her...she's always been there whether I liked it or not, and has been dispensing advice and moral guidance for as long as I can remember. Chatting with friends on the internet (specifically, in #blkdragon*inn on efnet, first...where I eventually moved to irc.draconic.com) I started realizing that for some of the people online, they really weren't playing.... sure, a lot of them were just plain nuts, but a few had...something...going. Something clicked, seemed right. It took a while to convince myself that I could be open with them about this, but as I'm a closed person from the get-go, I'm still fairly shy about quite a few things.

    To the point, I know, I know... One fine day, I was bored and at lunch, and thought.... "You know, Lilly, I know what your name is sort of....but I've never actually spelled it or have seen it. Would you show me?" ...and....she did. I sat there with a pen in my hand, set it upon a sheet of paper, and watched as it moved seemingly by itself. The writing scrawled out badly at first, but soon enough words started to form that made sense. "My name is Lilewyn." ...and it stopped. The following months, my dreams were stopped almost entirely as all I saw after laying down was Lilly's world, herself the only solid thing in a realm of shadows. Flying through the house, outside, reveling in the moonlight that caused patches of wooded areas and parks to become real to me, and the few humans that could see my true form.... The eyes of animals whose core contained something preternatural that could watch me, the ability shared by dreamers and children. But, I'm rambling again.

    After a few months, I gained the ability to sleep properly again and have my own dreams. After this happened, Lilly's been more solid to me, I'm able to touch her now as well as see and hear her. More importantly, a few rare souls have been able to do so also. Myself? I don't know if I'm a dragon or not, but I certainly feel lucky to be associated and share my world and soul with the one that is with me now.

    Love ya, Lilly.