I stand frozen, as close to the heart of the forest as I deem safe, cautiously observing the tree. Amber runs up next to me, crunching footsteps echoing throughout the forest. I cringed. 'Shh! I'm sensing magic wavelengths coming from that tree!' I attempt to sign. Amber tilted her head quizzically. "What does that mean?" She asks, laughing loudly. The tree begins to bubble and morph.

"I said; Shh! I'm sensing magical wavelengths coming from that tree!" I hiss, frightened, and annoyed. I begin to draw my power to my fingertips. I feel a shiver run down my spine, As the familiar warm, buzzing feeling engulfs my hands.

"Oh." Amber replies staring wide eyed at the deformed shape the tree was taking.

"Don't just stand there! Get ready to fight! This could be a-"

"Why did you wake me up?" I hear a little girl ask. I return my gaze to the tree. It was just a tree nymph. Amber snorted loudly, in an effort not to laugh, and I shot her a glare. I am just glad that Claudia isn't here.

I imagined her smirk as she says, "Cough cough. Paranoid cough Dumb*ss. Cough." I blush, both with annoyance and embarrassment. I look up and smile.

"I'm sorry-"

"Eeep!" The little nymph shrieks, retreating inside her tree.

"What's her deal?" Amber asks.

"... Amber... Run!"

"What?" Amber asks, not moving. I grab my inattentive friend's arm, and take off. I attempt to channel a bit of magic into my feet so I can run faster, a technique I learned in PE, but it just pools there dormantly. I had never been good at grey magic.

The huge shadowy figure bounded between the tree's behind us. I glance back, only to see a blur, as the creature zig zags across the path.

"Not fast enough!" I grunt frustratedly, pulling Amber off the path and into the bushes.

"What are we doing?" Amber asks loudly. I hold a frantic finger to my lips peering through the bushes.

"Make something so we can run faster!" I hiss. Amber doesn't move, confused. "Now! There's something chasing us! Something huge!" Amber's eyes widen with terror. She gasps quietly.

"Oh no! The baby dragon! I have to find her before that thing does."

"Dragon?" I ask, unsure if I heard correctly. Amber nods vigorously.

"Uh huh. I befriended a baby dragon in the cave." Amber replies, looking this way and that.

"Baby dragon?" I murmur, unable to digest this new information.

"That's what I said." Amber says, taking off after a trail of broken branches, and large footprints. Eventually we come across a purple dragon, the size of a medium evergreen. It is slowly walking in a circle, with its eyes on the ground, whining. Amber rushes over to the humongous beast, touching its nose. "It's okay little one. I'm here now." The dragon's mood cheers dramatically, and she begins playfully nudging Amber. She approaches me, but I quickly back away. The dragon successfully interprets my message.

"Doesn't she have a name?" I ask, after mustering up the courage to speak.

"No. I haven't had time to give it any real thought, and names are important. Especially for dragons."

"I think she's what I saw." I say motioning towards the dragon. Amber nods in relief. I glance around the clearing, and gain sight of the heart. Claudia isn't here yet. "Why don't we come up with a name while we wait for Claudia?" Amber nods again becoming serious. "Were you the first one she saw?"

"Yes. I should be able to see her thoughts, and find her special power." Amber replies, putting her palm on the dragon's nose. The dragon stills. Both close their eyes. I watch, waiting. After a minute or so, Amber's eyes pop open. She rubs her head wincing. The dragon sits absolutely still, watching us with wide eyes. "All I was able to get was purple."

"Purple. Purple is the color of uh, opals," the dragon shakes her head. "Um, potionry, uh Circe? After the potion goddess?" The dragon shakes her head again, growling.

"Purple is for... Divination" Amber murmurs. The dragon wags her tail.

"Divination? Purple-"

"It was pale purple."

"Hmm... Divination. Orunmila. The God of divination." The dragon growls loudly.

"I think Divinity is pretty." Amber says. The dragon wags her tail again, jumping up and down.

"I think she thinks so too." I reply. Claudia touches down on her broomstick, landing head over heels, and rolling to my feet. Amber giggles, but I refrain from mentioning Claudia's need for practice. She doesn't take constructive criticism well. Claudia curses, before turning to glare at Amber.

"What is that?!" Claudia shrieks.

"That's my dragon. Her name is-"

"You don't have a dragon."

"Obviously I do, because she's right here. Pay more attention to your surroundings." Amber chastises hypocritically. I giggled, then become serious.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Baby dragons are a huge handful. They can't control their fire, they're huge, full of energy, and have to eat, all the time. That's just to mention a few problems."

"I can't answer that, because it's not a question."

"Well for starters, where are you going to keep her?"

"In our dorm room, where else?"

"How are you even gonna fit her through the door?! That thing is gonna eat Fiona!" Claudia yells.

"She won't eat Fiona." Amber replies.

"How do you know?" Claudia questions, not believing Amber for a second.

"Because I'm gonna feed her Mrs. Wordsworth first!" Amber grins.

"Girls-" I cry disapprovingly.

"Are you really?" Claudia interrupts excitedly.

"No, maybe just bite her a few times, or set her hair on fire." Both girls laugh evilly, continuing towards the heart of the forest.

"I jog to catch up with them. You can't be serious."

"Come on Eve, we were joking." Claudia replies causally implying that I am ruining all the fun, or at least that's how I feel. I knew I could never be as "fun", as my friends. Claudia got away with everything, but If I were ever to break a single rule... I recall the first and last time I skipped school with Claudia.

I am sitting on the swings on a sunny Monday morning. "Oh my Timendra, Claudia! I can't believe we're doing this!" I said, giggling excitedly. Claudia shrugged. "I don't know. I do this all the time. It's really no big, deal, and this park is lame." A little girl ran up to us. "Can I have a turn?" "Of course!" I said, jumping off that swing. the little girl tried to jump onto the swing, but she was too small. I glanced back. Her father was looking at a holographic moving picture of a basketball game. "I'll help you." I wrapped my arms around the little girl. "Step away from the child!" I heard a man's voice yelling. I squeaked, putting down the little girl. "Eve Callister! Put your hands in the air, and turn around slowly! I threw my hands up, turning. There were helicopters, and floodlights. Standing in front of me was an entire SMAT, or Special Magic, and Tactics, team. I glanced back, at Claudia, but she was gone. She left me! "Eve Callister, you're under arrest!" "But I haven't done anything!" "Then why aren't you at school?" "I am just skipping. Kids do it all the time!" I cried, tears forming in my eyes. "Obviously, you were plotting to kidnap that child for ransom." "No!" "Shut up, MONSTER!" a man growled, as he slapped handcuffs on me.

"You can't keep her in our room. If we were caught with Fiona, we'll definitely be caught with a dragon." I reasoned calmly.

"She has nowhere to go." Amber growels.

"Her parents are...?"

"I don't know where her father is, but I saw her mother killed."

"Fine. She can stay in our room for now, but we need to find a better place." I say, looking at Divinity with sympathy and understanding. Suddenly Claudia sticks her arm out in front of Amber, causing her to fall backward onto her butt. Divinity skids to a stop, whimpering. We have reached the heart of the forest. we are standing in front of a pentagon, formed of black candles. In the center of the pentagon, stands a terrified black cat.