She squirmed inside the shell. She was too big! It was her time to break free. A shout sounded from outside, “She’s waking!” the familiar tones broke her out of a lucid state. Instinctively, she kicked out at the cramping presence. It gave way to her talons. With the strength of a hatchling, she tumbled out of the egg instead of waltzing out. Immediately she was caught up in a pair of soft claws. This was her mother.

“Hello my little Wind gift! You will be named Caelum.” Her protective presence emanated a proud aura. A smaller, furry figure walked up beside her mother. His skin became smooth with a covering over it and his stature grew. He reached out his hand and stroked her glistening wings. This was her father.

“She’s so beautiful! There’s not a flaw to be seen.” Fathers determined attitude rubbed off on her. She felt a need to make him proud.

Caelum remembered her birth as she began her transformation. She shifted from an ordinary looking, 10-year-old human, into a 4-foot-high dragon seamlessly. She had been born into her dragon form, it would always be easier to change into it, but today, she would become a wolf for the first time. A scream split the air. It was the scream of a Dragon discovering that Transformation was painful. The girl shrieked as her scales faded to the fur of a wolf. Panting, the 2-foot-high brown and silver wolf stood up and marveled at her beauty. “Father!” She exclaimed, a wolfish tint in her voice, “It’s beautiful!” She exclaimed, staring at the fur that had popped out of her scales. She attempted to stand up, instinctively flaring her wings, which were now none existent. Caelum face planted in a mud puddle in front of her.