David woke up a few days later. Over breakfast, his parents didn't discuss anything from the conversation he'd overheard. It wasn't David's business after all. The child put it out of his mind easily. After eating, David went outside to find his best friend.

What was his best friend's name again? The question in his head made him pause. It felt like he was trying to touch his fingers together after spinning around. The feeling passed. Of course, his best friend was named Aiden.

Who else could it have been?

David skipped the thirty-minute walk to his friend's house. Aiden's house was smaller than David's but that made sense. Aiden lived alone.

Aiden lived alone? Again, David's head struggled to grasp a concept that should have been simple.

Of course, Aiden lived alone. He was old enough. At least to David, he seemed mature enough.

As David approached, Aiden stepped out of his house. Seeing David, Aiden's eyes narrowed. 

"Hey, Aiden." David skipped up to the older dragon. Aiden barely glanced at David.

Aiden's black hair hung a little bit too far past his ears. That made sense; Aiden lived alone. It was David's mother who always kept his hair trimmed after all.

Aiden wore his amethyst scales in long pants, and his shirt had long sleeves. Unlike David, Aiden didn't wear his scales skintight. David wrinkled his nose thinking about wearing scales that moved and twisted. He preferred his scales to be a second skin. That is what they were, after all.

Aiden frowned, "Look, David, you can't hang out with me today."

David's eyes widened as he stared at the taller boy. "Whhhy?"

Aiden bent his knees until he was at eye level with David, "Because... the people I'm hanging out with... I'm going to be hanging out with some girls." Aiden glanced to the side. 

"I've seen girls," David stuck his tongue out and started counting on his fingers the number of girls he knew.

"Trust me, David. You don't know about girls." Aiden stood up straighter and continued walking. 

The forest around them was still well within the area David was allowed to travel without his parents. He skipped along with Aiden.

After a few steps, Aiden turned to David. "David, you need to scram."

David blinked. "Whhhhy?"

"Look, David... the people I'm hanging out with can't have you going back home and telling your father about what they do." Again, the older dragon glanced away from David. 

"I won't tell. I promisssse." David enjoyed lengthening the word. He smiled, looking at Aiden expecting to be allowed to come.

"NO. David, just no." Aiden pushed David away and continued walking. 

Pouting, David rubbed his shoulder where Aiden had pushed him. He watched Aiden walk farther away until the shadows cast by the trees obscured the older dragon. 

Standing motionless, David tried to process what Aiden had said. For a second he thought of following his friend. Eventually, David shook his head and walked back towards the center of the dragon village. The houses were all different, and they were spread apart enough that it was easy to forget it was a village at all. David could lose himself in the forest and pretend he was all alone. 

Perhaps the birds should have served as a reminder he was not alone, but frequent noise mimics silence too well. 

After a few minutes of walking, David sat on the ground. He picked at the grass and leaves around him. If Aiden wasn't going to play with him what was he going to do? 

Soon, he forgot about Aiden leaving him behind. Running through stories of the Shape Shifters, gave him enough enjoyment. 

David started humming. His mind ran through the story his mother always told about how the Shape Shifters' home was a library. The Shape Shifter of Hope had built it to bring them closer together. No one had ever found that library. David wasn't quite sure what a library was, but his father said it had to do with reading. Wouldn't it be cool to find the library? Or perhaps just to learn to read. His father said few dragons knew how to read.

David's memory jumped to his mother telling him about the disagreements between Time and Hope. His mother had said that Hope wished for different things than Time, particularly when it came to Keepers.

"What's a Keeper?" David had asked.

She had smiled, her eyes bright, as if the question had reminded her of something she loved. 

"A Keeper is the voice of the Shape Shifters to the dragons and the humans. The Shape Shifters speak through them every once and a while." She had poked him in the stomach. "Your father's one, you know. He's the Darii of the dragons. He's an important person, leading us and all." 

David grinned at the memory but then focused on the present. Hadn't his parents brought up Keepers in their conversation the other night? He didn't think it would be fun to be a Keeper. Having something in your head. No privacy. David shuddered at the thought.

His eyes lit up. If he went home now, his mother would probably tell him another story. 

He jumped to his feet and started home. It was a nice day, and it couldn't do anything but get nicer. 

On his way home, David passed an unfamiliar boy, watching something in the distance. Curiosity caused David to slow to a stop. He glanced at the stranger. 

The stranger only looked a bit older than David. Certainly not much taller. 

The strange boy's blond hair stuck out at odd angles. He wasn't wearing scales. His brown clothes looked more like... spun wool or cotton. A human?

David froze. He had been taught to stay away from humans. Aiden said they didn't like things that were different. They were monsters, and they didn't like the dragons. David let his teeth sharpen in his mouth, half prepared to defend himself.

The boy glanced over his shoulder. His sky-blue eyes landed on David, and the young dragon's heart stopped. The blond-haired boy frowned but otherwise didn't acknowledge David. David wondered if he was invisible. Could dragons do that?

The human turned and walked down a narrow path that led away from David's house. After the human was out of view, David shrugged and continued walking home.

If not for the birds, he might have heard the screaming.