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Shane woke up before dawn with a yawn and a stretch, when he noticed something on the floor by his door.

Too lazy to stand, he rolled across the mattress and stretched himself as far as he could go to grab it, then he flopped back over and flicked on his lamp, the light burning his eyes in the dark.

He blinked the glare away, and then sat up in shock.

It was a drawing. From Dustin.

The whole left side of the page was taken up by that charcoal dragon, surrounded by black fireworks and mist and clouds. The beast was wrapped in a cloak made of fire spilling from the mouth of the blue and green dragon that peppered Dustin’s walls, her shimmering form filling up the entire right side of the page.

The beasts’ tails were intertwined, and the dark dragon’s head was tilted away, eyes closed, like it was being burned alive. The blue and green dragon was staring right at it, with eyes so clear that the dark dragon was reflected in her pupils.

He had absolutely no idea how to feel about it.