David had been observing the Dereks for months now. There was a routine. Mr. Derek went to work in the morning and came back for dinner. Ms. Derek and David stayed at the house. 

It was a routine David got used to quickly. Perhaps too quickly. The past year he'd wake up in the middle of the night scared he would have forgotten everything about his life with the dragons. 

And there were the screams. They were random, but they were there and David didn't know why.  At first, he thought it was normal, that the screaming was just something the humans did. The Dereks never reacted to them after all.

But... that didn't make any sense, did it? Plus Ms. Derek seemed concerned when he mentioned them. 

Today David sat at the table, kicking his legs as he watched Ms. Derek cook. She talked about magic a little bit. Apparently, it was something she'd been reminded of by a man selling information in town. The term magic seemed familiar to David, but like other things recently he couldn't place it. 

Hearing a far-off scream, David pulled on the sleeve of his shirt. It had gotten easier to ignore the screams, but he wasn't quite used to the cotton. 

"We're going to have apple pie tonight." Ms. Derek said. 

The change in subject brought David back. He watched her finish preparing the crust.

"I'll have to go get apples." She glanced over her shoulder.

David sat up straighter. His eyes lit up. "Can I get the apples?"

The woman laughed. "Not by yourself, but you can certainly come."

David grinned, jumping out of the seat. Ms. Derek wiped her hands on her apron.

"Well, does that mean you want to?"

David nodded. "Yessss." He jumped lightly on the balls of his feet.

"By the Shape Shifters, David. You act like you have the life span of a fly." She smiled briefly then her lips turned into a thin line. The humor left her eyes. Raising a hand to her chest, she grabbed the counter for balance.

"Ms. Derek—" David's eyes widened. "Is everything okay?"

She met David's eyes after a moment and stood up. Her smile shaped itself more like a grimace. "Perfect, my little child, let's go get some apples for the pie." 

David studied Ms. Derek for a moment then bounced towards the door. Ms. Derek chuckled softly and followed her adopted child to the door.

***

Ms. Derek and David walked to the nearest store for the apples. It was wonderful to be outside. David wasn't allowed many places alone, and Ms. Derek rarely shopped when David could come. Normally she went late at night. The weather had gotten warmer, though. The flowers that usually bloomed around his birthday had long since wilted. 

David tried to count the stones that made up the cobblestone road. He tried to memorize them, so he'd know the way... home.  

He jumped a little bit and tried to keep his footsteps in between the cracks.

"David, what are you doing?" Ms. Derek asked. 

He stopped, grinned, and started walking normally. "Nothing."

She smiled and rubbed his head.

"Why, hello, Prudence Derek."

Ms. Derek glanced up, and David's eyes widened. The three women came towards Ms. Derek, carrying baskets of produce. They must have come from the store.

"You know that boy hasn't grown an inch since you picked him up out of the woods." Two of the women glanced at David. The tallest one was the one that spoke.

"Perhaps he's just going to be one of those short ones." The third woman, Sheryl, offered her opinion.

"We're just worried about you and the boy," the tallest woman continued. "You don't know where he came from, and, in our circles, people are starting to... talk." She glanced at David. 

He could feel his teeth sharpening in his mouth, and he fought the instinct to growl. If he opened his mouth, they would see his teeth. They would see teeth more suited to a dragon than a human child. David forced his mouth to stay closed.

Ms. Derek straightened her posture, keeping a hand on David's shoulder, "And is there something wrong with that?"

"There's just a lot of whispers. It isn't right you taking him in. There are rules, you know." The tallest woman said. "Anyway, a lot of whispers about your family." She glanced at David again. "Your husband is getting the brunt of it. Do you want him to lose his job?"

"I don't think those matters have anything to do with you." Ms. Derek said as she walked by the women. 

"That boy just isn't right. Hasn't grown an inch." Sheryl offered as Ms. Derek passed. 

Moving with Ms. Derek, David continued to stare back at the women. Seeing his gaze, the group laughed and continued walking. After they turned their backs, David turned away from them.

David's heart felt heavy. He wasn't normal... and everyone was catching on to that. If they figured out he was a dragon... the young dragon shuddered to think about what the humans would do to the Dereks. 

To distract himself, in his head, he ran through the names of the fruits and vegetables Ms. Derek would occasionally buy from the store. Most of the fruits and vegetables he had never heard of before. Others he had always known about but had never heard of the foods Ms. Derek made with them. He had learned the new words a few months ago, and it had been calming to use the names to distract himself from the screams. He hoped it would calm him now. 

A scream stopped David's thoughts. This time it was closer. 

"How many apples do we need?" David asked. 

"We only need seven of the reddest ones we can find." Ms. Derek seemed to have already forgotten about the confrontation with the women. "I'll let you pick them out." She smiled. 

***

After they got home, Ms. Derek went back to work on the pie. David chose to go back to his room. He closed the door behind him. 

David leaned against the door and stared at his own hands. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

He tried to imagine himself older. Or just a little taller. 

Nothing happened. He cracked open one of his eyes. He had no reason to believe that changing his age would be like normal changing. 

He didn't feel taller.

Then it felt like his skin caught on fire. He cried out. His eyes jerked open. He lost his focus, but the pain didn't stop.

He collapsed forward to the floor and curled up into a ball, bringing his knees to his chest. 

 A dragon cannot change their age. 

It was not the rules David had been taught in his father's voice. It was his mother's voice in David's head now. Over and over again, the difference between the dragons and the Shape Shifters ran through his mind.

A dragon cannot change their appearance. 

He squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to imagine the pain stopping. Anything else. He tried to imagine anything else.

A dragon cannot change into an inanimate object.  A dragon cannot turn into a plant. 

David grabbed his shirt with a fist. Why did this hurt? Why was he in pain? 

A dragon cannot shed their skin to become air. 

The Shape Shifters... they must hate him. 

Dragons are mortal. They can be killed. 

His mother's gentle voice in his memories did not make the pain go away. Why? Why? 

A dragon cannot change their age.

The memory of Life floated in David's mind. What had she said? Only the strongest dragons can change their age?

No, it wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. Dragons can't change their age. David curled into a tighter ball. He was trying to play a god, and it wasn't possible. He couldn't do it. He couldn't change his age. 

A reflex opened his mouth to cry out again, but he clamped his mouth closed, biting his lip. He didn't want to worry Ms. Derek. He didn't want her help; she wouldn't be able to help anyway. Just make the pain stop. By the Shape Shifters, David prayed for the first time in a long time. By the Shape Shifters, make the pain go away. 

"David, my child." It must have been Ms. Derek.

David felt arms around him. He tried to relax and focus on the feeling of the embrace, but he could only feel the pain. Someone screamed. It was the closest scream he'd ever heard.  

Was it his? 

Then the pain disappeared. It felt like he was flying, like he wasn't even touching air.