"Brother, brother!!" The dragoness' voice was an exuberant trill within my head, much like a child who was pleading its parents for attention. I may have been annoyed under different circumstances, but no, for this find was simply too extraordinary.

The day I had received the egg which held an infant Suli was one I would never forget. I had shown kindness to the much too-large spiders in the deepest part of the forests, sparing them from the harm that everyone else seemed so intent on causing them and offering them a home during the bitter winter months. Suli had been my reward, and since her hatching, my constant reminder that oftentimes, patience and benevolence were key in avoiding unnecessary violence and bloodshed. I had guarded and kept her warm to the best of my abilities, assuring the crystalline egg was always within my sights and that it never grew too cold. There were times I doubted myself, thinking I had failed and that the child within was no more, but on one fine Tallsun evening, the little green finally broke free from her shell.

Her egg, as I recalled, had looked precisely like the one sitting nestled in a patch of ferns by the bubbling brook, alone and defenseless against the far too commonly cruel world. Suli had taken on a seemingly instant maternal liking to the diamond-like egg, pushing her nose into it and giving it a little shove, and making noises akin to purring that I had never heard from the little dragoness before. "He alive," she assured me after meticulously checking the egg over, "But very cold."

"And it is for certain another dragon?" I inquired, puzzled that I might be so blessed as to have found two of these spectacular creatures in a singular lifetime.

"Yes," she assured me once more, and when she went on next, there was a clear note of annoyance as she barked her command to me. "Now find wood!"

She was right; if the child inside grew too cold, then I knew it spelled nothing but certain death for the poor creature. It was up to us to ensure its, or his as Suli had said, survival.

Turning, I went about collecting what I could, choosing the largest of fallen branches I could find while Suli took to finding the smaller twigs for kindling, picking up what was on the ground, assuring it was nothing too fresh so that it would burn properly. After a few minutes, we had collected enough to begin a small fire, fueled by Suli's flame once the wood was set correctly. It crackled and popped as it burned, and soon, its heat became noticeable. Looking far more proud than I could ever recall, Suli clambered up onto the egg, wrapping herself about it as well as she was able. A soft smile pulled at my dark, scarred lips at the sight; perhaps the first true smile to have graced this tired face in months.

"He will be fine," I spoke aloud, assuringly, moving closer to Suli and the egg that she had seemed to claim as her own, "He will be just fine..."

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