// bleh bleh // = thought speech

---

//Baby steps, baby steps,// Blackcole Dragis said. He laughed, watching his daughter fell on her bottom. The baby was in her human form for the first time, looking like a five year old. She was trying to learn how to walk.

Black, as he was called, laughed again. //Little steps, Silverscale...//

Silver glared up at her father. "Oh, I'd like to see you do better father," she grumbled. Her mind was obviously not that of a five year old human child. She wiped her silvery white hair out of her eyes and stared across the grassy forest blanket at her father.

It was true Black had not went in his human form for almost one thousand years. He was too used to his dragon ways to change suddenly, but he wanted his daughter to know about both sides of her history; where she had came from. Human and dragon, because as odd as it might seem to some people dragons really were humans cursed into their scaly form many, many years ago.

//Mind your manners,// Black said, flapping his wing toward the human dragon-girl.

THUMP.

The wind from Black's wing sent her flying, causing her to fall on her bum again.

"Father! I won't learn if you joke around!"

---

60 years later.

After watching the killing of her parents and many other of her kind, Silverscale, or Silver as she was mostly know as, set off alone and scared. Her parents were gone, leaving only the most cruel dragons behind; the ones who completely forgot their human ways.

Silver had to get away from that. She did not feel evil. She had a human heart, even if she had no real idea how to be a human. She could look like one, talk in their language, but how was she supposed to act around them?

Silver stumbled to the ground, her white and small dragon body tumbling a few times, like a human child trying to do a flip flop. She straightened up and looked around her surroundings.

FLAP!

Silver jumped, at least she jumped as best a dragon could jump, when suddenly a razor sharp end of a tail was at her neck. Her scales fluttered, making a musical clinking noise. With her bright blue eyes, she looked at her attacker.

It was a beautiful male dragon, around Silver's size, so just a child like her. He was copper in color, and his eyes were wide, as if he was just as scared as Silver was.

//What is your name?// the copper dragon asked.

//Silverscale Dragis// Silver answered.

The copper dragon seemed to relax a little, the images Silver was sending him with her words were what he wanted to see. He lowered his tail.

//I'm sorry. I had to make sure you still have your human heart. This is the territory for a clan of outcasts from all over... we're a peaceful group...//

Silver opened her mouth wide; her version of a smile. //I'm peaceful!//

The copper dragon growled, his laughing apparent in Silver's mind.

//Then welcome to our clan, Silverscale. Be careful of the human village. It's rather close. We only eat from the waters surrounding the area, so we don't give ourselves away to the humans...//

Silver nodded her head. //I can so do that!//

And with that Silver finally found a home where she could belong, but there was still a part of her that deeply longed for the world she should be a part of, her other half, her human side. For months and months, she moved a little closer toward the village, flying above the trees, trying to see human life, but too scared to go all the way to the village. Sometimes she changed into human form and walked as close to the humans territory as she dared, climbing and hiding in trees. She was very good at hiding, could stay up there for hours without making any sounds. She prayed one day that a human might come by and she would get a glimpse. It never happened, because she never got close enough to the humans.

---

Silver flew a few feet above the ground. The child dragon was playing a game with her fellow clan members. It was a hide and seek game. All the other dragons were in their human forms, hiding somewhere in the forest, while Silver was in her dragon form, trying to find them. Of course, she could search in her human form too, but this way was faster, especially when she could fly higher.

So far though she wasn't having much luck. A deep fog had settled in over the land, the weather about to take a turn for the worst, so Silver, even with her superior eyesight, could not see anything.

The dragon landed, letting her wings fold against her side.

If she were in her human form she would be pouting right about now.

//Where could they be? Maybe they are down by the pond?// Silver hesitated for a moment, because the pond was a little closer to the human territory, but she eventually decided it would be okay to go. Humans had never been seen at the pond before, so why would one come now?

With that thought in mind, she waddled toward the pond. When she got there, she saw nobody. She was disappointed, because it looked like her friends would win this game. Oh well, she thought.

Silver hovered a foot or two off the ground and flew to the water edge, and then dipped in, eating a fish or two. She then dived into the water and started to splash and play around.

" ... so that is why you need to learn to behave yourself. It doesn't fit a Prince to ..." Albert was holding a lesson in behaviour to Harri again, Albert was assigned to Harri some years ago when the King thought that Harri could use a helping hand. Alberts job is to teach Harri manners, strategy, etc. but mostly to keep an eye on him. Albert had no interest for the job at the start, but as the years went by he learned to love Harri like his own. Eventhough it was impossible to keep an eye on the boy, as he seemed to be as wild as possible.

They were in the library. No one else was around of course. ' I can't wait to get out of here. I wonder if Albert would shut up if I just threw my apple at him. That would be cruel. He is a good man. Besides the apple would probably break all of the old mans bones' Harri was thinking to himself, quite amused about his train of thought he chuckled a bit and leaned back on the chair.
" ... as a Prince you should know... Are you even listening to me Harri?" Albert had raised his voice, he didn't like it when he got ignored.

" Of course Albert! How dare you even propose something like that?" Harri stood up and seemed offended.

" Alright, go ahead and repeat some of what I said then. Should be easy enough." Albert put his hands together and crossed his fingers, waiting for Harri to repeat.

" Sure why not. You were talking about how, despite your best efforts, you are still trying to get me to say I love you. I find it flattering that you are so interested in me, but I have to say that, you are not really my type." Harri started walking towards the windows, but kept talking as Albert was behind his back, " Look old friend. You should spend more of your time around in the city. There you could find a lady to love, instead of focusing all of your energy on me."

Alberst was almost in shock as Harri opened a window. The busy sounds of the city streets was in the background. Harri looked down to the market place. The library was located on the third floor, about 60 feet from the ground.

"As you know Albert. I'm the Prince, so sooner or later I will get married of to somekind of princess, hopefully a beautiful one. You have to understand that I couldn't, even if I wanted to, marry an old man like you." Harri stepped up to the windowsill of the open window and looked at Albert.

" Come down from there! And stop all of this nonsense.Your father would have my head if you fell down!" Albert yelled and walked towards Harri to pull him down." I have no time for your teathrical speeches were you keep making fun of me."

As Albert was about to reach Harri, Harri brought both of his hands up to his chest and he tilted his head a little bit. With, what can be called a sad face, he said "I'm sorry Albert, but this can't go on like this." and as soon as he finished his sentence, he leaned back and fell out of the window. Albert screamed and rushed to the window. He put his head out and saw Harri hanging from the ledge beneath and laughing. Alberts heart was racing and he was furious, but deep inside he admired and loved the prince for all of his stunts. Albert waved to Harri and walked away from the window. He smilingly took a book and started reading from where he had left off, after alerting the guards of Harris latest stunt.

Harri smiled of joy and let go of the ledge. He knew that the guards would start coming after him now. It was his favorite pass time to make a fool out of the guards and by doing so he made a fool of the King. His father. So soon enough a couple of guards came out of the castle and pointed a finger towards him and yelling " There he is! Catch him!" Which in return made Harri run into the market place.

After a good hour of fooling around with the guards, which basicly meant humiliating them, Harri had taken a horse and rode out of town. He was thinking back to the guard who had pulled his sword to Harri in the streets. Harri had taken out his own sword and instanly swung it, putting the sword back afterwards. The guard had been disarmed that quickly and turned red out of shame.

Harri was heading out to the forest somewhat nearby. The locals had talked about a pond around there and Harri felt like going for a swim. The woods were somewhat quiet. No one seemed to be around, which was perfect for him. He rode his horse as fast as he could and then stood up on the saddle, letting the horse run towards the pond. When he reached the pond and the horse stopped, he jumped off and dove in with a loud laughter. His horse went a little bit away with Harris clothes and things and started eating grass. Harri came up with a big smile and looked around. To his surprise he wasn't alone. But what he was seeing was unbelievable. He just stared at the dragon playing around in the water, not knowing if it was hostile or not.

The sounds that were coming out of Silver's mouth might have sounded scary to anyone who did not know a thing about dragons, but they were really childish shouts of joy as she played around with the water, chasing fish and, diving in and out of the deep ends. She was so into her fun that she did not hear the sound of someone else diving in. Her first reaction would have been to freeze in spot, or perhaps to take flight. As it were, she continued to play not even noticing someone staring right at her. It was several more minutes until her nostrils picked up the unusual smell of human. She knew the smell well because she often got as close to the village as she could and those humans had a large variety of scents.

She narrowed her eyes, and sniffed, spinning in the water and looking around her. It did not take long for her to notice the fully dressed human not but a wings length away from her. Fiery fear filled the bit of her stomach. She had been seen! Would the human try and hunt her as a lot of her fellow dragons had been? Humans assumed all dragons were evil, and had no idea that some of them held dearly to their human half. Silver did especially. She loved the freedom that came with being a dragon. She could do most anything, play and have fun, but there was always a fear of being caught and hunted down, so a large part of wanted to live as a human did.

She was too young to die.

Her birth had only been one hundred years ago, for crying out loud! She was still seen as a baby to most of her kind. Silver didn't think she was a baby in human terms though. When she changed into her other form, it was not that of a youngling child, but of a teenager, maybe even a young woman. Silver didn't really know. All she knew was that her human form was not short, but not tall either; she didn't have anything to compare it to. Her body was slender, but becoming mature, based on the humans she had spied on in the village.

'What should I do?' She wondered to herself. 'Maybe I should speak to him? But then that will give away my intelligence.'

Perhaps giving away her intelligence was a good thing?

'But if I speak to him, my way of speaking might scare him!'

Silver was at a loss, and she was scared, though in the end, she realized her only choice was to reach out to the human, so that he wouldn't do anything that would cause her harm.

//Human... boy?//

Silver still had trouble telling human male from females just based on their outward looks, especially when they had clothes on.

//Please, let me go. Don't hurt me.// She shivered, her scales making clinking sounds. Too scared to move, she just stayed in the water.

Harri couldn't respond. The dragon spoke to his mind wich was confusing and intriguing at the same time. More so the fact that the dragon seemed to be more scared of him than he of it. Of course the fact that the dragon actually spoke was incredible too, but there were so many things coming at him at one time. Harri couldn't possible process all of it so fast. So in short he froze up. He couldn't be sure the dragon would even understand if he spoke.

Growing up the elders and teachers would tell him stories about how dragons were aggressive and harmful towards humans. This one seemed different from all the things he had heard. After what seemed like hours, which were just seconds, Harri started swimming slowly towards the dragon. He wasn't sure himself of what he was doing, but it was instinctive. He came close and softly put his hand on the dragon. " I am a friend. I won't hurt you." The words came out of his mouth without him realizing what he was saying. All he could do was to see if he would die in an instant or maybe the dragon actually could understand him on some level.

A friend? Silver could not believe her luck. She had just met this human and he wanted to be her friend. It was amazing. She had a full blooded human friend. She flapped her wings in the water, which was a happy gesture, but might seem frightening to the human. //I am happy. Friend? I like human friend.// Silver's voice bubbled inside the humans mind. Silver knew from experience that thought speech left a little tickling feeling in your head when you were in human form and a dragon was speaking to you.

//What human name? Human is boy human or girl human?// Silver really did not know how to tell the difference. She knew she was a girl, and her human body was different than the male's human bodies, but her new friend had coverings on.

//I am Silver. Do you know the stories on how dragons came to be?// Silver wondered if the human knew dragons could take on human form, or that they were once humans. What did his kind believe?