The night was windy, and as the wind blew, it lifted the strange, haunting chantings of the young woman in the black saree to the constellations etched on the sky.

Tiyasha's eyes were closed as she focused on her chanting:

Nobis quae offeramus

simplicitate cordis,

Si tibi videtur.

Draco , surge.

Shivam and Josh had their eyes open as they repeated what Tiyasha chanted. They had been doing so for probably half an hour, though Shivam couldn't be sure about that, for his wristwatch, that he was wearing, had stopped at 6:22 exactly. Maybe it was a coincidence. But Shivam felt that it wasn't. At 6:22 pm on her birthday, Aparajita had turned into a dragon. Maybe the timing was important. Maybe the stopping of his wristwatch signified something. But what? Damned if I know, Shivam thought.

Shivam tried to focus again on the strange ritual they were participating in. But the problem was that it was getting a bit frustrating now. How much longer was it going to take? The river chuckled in answer, as its dark waters rushed ahead. The crickers sang. The mosquitos danced inside Shivam's ears. Tiyasha had forbidden them to leave their positions. Shivam wondered whether he was allowed to flap at the bloodsucking mosquitos or not.

Shivam risked a look towards Josh and found that he was looking directly at him, wrinkling his nose in a weird manner. Maybe the mosquitos were getting inside Josh's nose and maybe he was trying to suppress sneezing. Shivam controlled his laughter with effort and tried to focus on the ritual. Maybe the ritual wasn't working because he wasn't concentrating. But he wished that he knew what the incantations meant. It was difficult to focus on something that you didn't understand.

The ritual continued. The wind blowed. With her eyes closed and her eyebrows set in a slight frown, Tiyasha continued her invocation. The wind rose, playing with her long dark hair that she had let loose. Seated on the apex of a triangle made of pebbles, at the centre of which bowls of fish and sacrificed blood were kept, her eyes closed and her hair flowing, her beautiful voice chanting a pagan invocation, Tiyasha did look a bit like a powerful witch then.

All of a sudden above her voice, a laughter was heard.

Tiyasha's eyes jerked open. Had she heard it right? It had sounded like the laughter of a child.

And then she saw it. "It's here," Tiyasha said. But she didn't need to--Josh and Shivam were already looking at it with astonished eyes.

A dragon had appeared, after all. A dragon the size of a french poodle.

In the moonlight its scales appeared to be dark red in colour. It had tiny bat-like wings, which didn't seem to be much good for flying. It wagged it's little tail as it gobbled up the fishes from the bowl, and then laughed in a childish voice.

Once it was done with the fishes, it turned it's reptilian head towards the those who had summoned it. Then it began toddling towards Josh happily.

"It's coming towards me!" Josh said nervously.

"It probably doesn't wanna hurt..." Tiyasha began, but before she could finish, the tiny dragon had jumped up on Josh's lap. It began to rub it's head on Josh's chest, as if it wanted to be petted. Josh patted it's head tentatively, and in turn it licked his hand.

"It's just like a puppy dog!" Josh declared happily.

"Did you summon me?" The dragon asked Josh.

"Wow, you can speak English?" Josh asked, and looked at Tiyasha with astonished eyes. Tiyasha smiled. It was obvious that the baby dragon had taken a liking for the kid. But she was also a bit dissappointed. A more capable witch might have been able to summon a fully grown dragon. She hoped this baby dragon would be able to help them out and tell them where Aparajita was.

"We summoned you together. My name is Josh," Josh said, pointing towards Shivam and Tiyasha.

"Oh. My name is Took. Can I be your pet?"

"Sure you can. You are so cute," Josh said happily and scratched the dragon's belly. The dragon giggled and then coughed up smoke, covering Josh's face with soot. "Sorry," it said.

Tiyasha and Shivam walked up to Josh and the dragon that had called itself Took. "Listen, Took, we summoned you for a reason. We need your help," Shivam said.

Took turned it's head towards Shivam, still complacently seated in Josh's lap like a lazy cat. "A Raiser. What do you want from me?" Took said, somewhat suspiciously.

"The girl I love turned into a dragon, because she's an Imoogi. I need your help to find her," Shivam said.

"An Imoogi! A human can't find am Imoogi!" Took said.

"Well...you are a dragon..." Tiyasha said.

"But I'm a baby dragon!" Took said in an offended tone.

"Look, Took, if you know anything that can help my big brother..." Josh requested.

"Then we have to go to the Forest of Falling Leaves," Took said.

"The Forest of what?" Shivam asked, sure he hadn't heard it right.

"The Forest of Falling Leaves. It's resident dragon grants wishes. But..." Took didn't finish the sentence.

"But what?" Tiyasha asked.

"There's a problem with that forest. I'll tell you once we get there."

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Author's Notes

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Hi friends! Do you like Took?

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