Forager

                One day, the wizard and all the little dragons were out in the woods. They were helping the wizard’s family replenish their pantry with all the sorts of things that grown in the woods in spring, especially morel mushrooms. Mushrooms are much easier to find when they’re almost the same size as yourself, so the wizard and his wife always greatly appreciated it when the little dragons helped. On this occasion, the day had pretty successful so far, and the wizard was teaching the younger dragons various useful tips about finding food of all sorts in the wild. Small dragons primarily eat things like bugs and worms, but there are loads of other food sources in the woods, if you only know where to look and what to look for.

                Around midday, Sandy and Gil were nosing about around the roots of a great tree when they came across a shiny, brownish-green egg about their size. 

                “Hey, that must be another dragon egg. You haven’t seen one from the outside yet, have you?” said Sandy.

                “No, I haven’t. So that’s what they look like, huh? And they’re always the same color as the dragon?”

                “As far as I know. It seems our eggs are usually white for a long time, then they change to a color related to the things around them just a couple hours before they hatch. I have no idea how that works. You don’t remember changing colour before you hatched, do you?”

                “No, but I don’t really know how I would have noticed. I don’t really remember much from before hatching.”

                “Yeah, me either.”

                The two sat, each lost in thought, for a few moments, when both noticed that the egg had begun to shake. They moved off a bit, to give the new dragon some privacy, but came back over to investigate pretty shortly after he was out of his egg. 

                “Hi. Where am I?” He asked in reply to their greeting.

                “In the woods. We’re all out here today, hunting for food.”

                “Who’s we?”

                “Us, the wizard, and a bunch of other dragons. Just a minute. Mr. Wizard! There’s a new dragon here!”

                The wizard came over in response to the call and introduced himself and the rest of the other dragons, who had also gathered round.

                “So, that’s who we all are. You can meet my family and the other animals later, if you decide you want to live with us for a while, like these other ones have done. Any other questions you’d like answered right now?” finished the wizard.

                “Yeah, lots. I don’t even know which ones to start with.”

                “Oh, don’t worry, we’ve got lots of time for answers. Why don’t you join us with our hunting? I’ll start by teaching you about these woods, and you can ask me anything else you want.

                The little dragon went off with the wizard and the others, and they all learned a lot that day about the forest and the things in it. The new dragon found it especially fascinating. Later, he was often found in the forest, and there was never any lack of forest food in the pantry as long as he was around. Accordingly, the others called him “Forager”. 

Starlight

                It was late one night, and Buster was still roaming around outside. He wasn’t tired yet, and he had always liked a clear, warm spring night for being outdoors. In fact, most members of the wizard’s household enjoyed such a night, and there were often nights for bonfires, stories, or stargazing. Tonight, however, Buster was the only one out, and he was enjoying the night and keeping an eye and an ear out for anything odd. He was very protective of his household, and he’d been around long enough to know that not all creatures were good.

                In the back of the house, just at the border of the woods, there was a small stream. Something about the splashing of the water didn’t sound as it usually did, so Buster began to walk toward it. There was definitely some small animal splashing into and out of the water. Coming nearer, he could make a small, dark creature that seemed to be trying to catch something on the surface of the water, and it was repeatedly falling in in its attempts. Getting closer, the animal was clearly a small dragon. Now, Buster could even make out the shining fragments of a dark eggshell nearby. He decided to sit and watch while figuring out how to introduce himself without frightening the small dragon.

                Pulling himself out of the water again, the little dragon shook himself, then sat back down on the bank to watch the running water and the little spots of light in it. He’d hatched on the bank a little bit ago and had been intrigued by the chattering of the water, as well as by the shifting lights on it. The small, white points of light in it especially interested him. Unfortunately, every time he tried to get close enough to really see or touch one, he fell in. After dragging himself out this time, he got the feeling he was being watched. Seeing a dark shape a little bit away on the other side of the stream, he tensed and inhaled with a quick hiss. 

                “Hey, it’s okay, I’m a friend. I just wanted to see if you needed any help,” came a voice from the black and white shape.

                “What are you?” asked the dragon.

                “A dog. I live over there with a couple of humans, lots of other dragons, and a few other animals,” replied Buster, walking up so he was right across from the new dragon.

                “Oh, okay,” he said, now back to being a little distracted by the water, since the dog didn’t seem dangerous.

                “What are you doing?” 

                “I’m trying to figure out what those shining things are. They’re fascinating.”

                Buster gave a small, not unkindly laugh – which is always a slightly strange sound from a dog. “Those? Those are reflections of those up there, and those are stars. You won’t catch them in the water.”

                “Ohhh. Amazing. What’s a star?”

                “The wizard could tell you that better than I can. I mainly know that they’re neat to look at, and that they can help you find your way when you’re lost, if you know them well enough.”

                “How does that work?”

                "Um, I can’t really explain that very well. Here, it’s getting late, how about if we go back to the house, and you can meet the wizard and ask him about all this tomorrow?”

                Very soon the next day, the dragon had a name: Gil, another word for “star”.