I was a bit hesitant to post this... It isn't as lengthy as the prologue, though it still has it's own backround...

Oh, and when I was saying colors, I was reffering to the color of dragon I was talking about. Thus, Gold dragon becomes a gold.

Chapter 1: Around seventeen years later

He stared out of the window with something close to disgust. This wasn't what being a kid was all about! A locked room, an annoying brother, a forgetful father... all of it added against him! Had he not locked the door, the annoying brother would be in by now. That kid was always bothersome, not to mention disruptive, rude, obnoxious, and, well, basically anything bad.

Of course, he was being a little too angry at the kid. Kyle, for that was the annoying brother's name, wasn't too bad. He was still annoying, though not as bad as he would like to believe. No, it could be worse... He could have two annoying brothers.

Hark coughed and observed his room with quiet contempt. The floor, a cheap wood, creaked even when not under strain. The few peices of furniture, a couch older than him, a bed, and a single computer chair. It was all quite a bit boring.

But what was he going to do? Crystal was waiting, and he had no way to get out. Dad would be watching... so he couldn't go out his door. Kyle would be watching his room from the backyard, where he was playing football with the other kids his size and age. There was no escape!

An idea jumped into his head as he watched a football player walk inside. The kid was about his size... and Dad wouldn't think anything of it... A sound decission made, he opened his door and walked out.

His room was on the first floor. This saved his a few annoyances. But how would he get past the other kids? The plan would work if... Yes! There was a car out there! He could just...

The football player walked into the kitchen, dressed warmly for the cold weather. The snow was falling, and all Kyle could do was play football! Those kids were crazy! As the player took off his coat, scarf, and hat, Hark stood in the corner. The player, seeing the wall instead of Hark, walked into the bathroom. Hark took the opportunity to "borrow" the items now on the table. The jacket was sweaty, and the hat looked like someone with lice had worn it, but it would do.

He walked out the door from which the kid had come. As Kyle turned to him, he thought for a moment that he had been caught. Still, he called out his planned words. "Yo Kyle! I'm leaving now! I'll see you later!" The kids nodded at him and said their farewells, Kyle adding his own. Hark waved and walked towards the car. As soon as he was sure nobody was watching, he slipped onto the sidewalk and ran to his destination.

There was a little park not far from his house. It was old and nobody thought to care for it, but it was still a good place if you got far enough in. Of course, nobody wanted to visit the park anymore. That's why he and Crystal always went there. That way nobody would see them. It wasn't like they were anything but friends, but people seemed to always get the wrong impression about that sort of stuff. Especially at the age of seventeen.

As he neared the meeting place, he went back to the events of the past few days. Christmas was done, and it was almost the start of a new year. 2005 was a good year, despite the fact that the government wasn't at its best. He hoped 2006 would be the same.

Crystal wasn't there yet. She was probably caught up in something too. With that in mind, Hark cleared a patch of snow off the dirt around a tree and sat against it. He tore off the jacket, hat, and gloves. Snow may be on the ground, but he was still hot. The cold didn't really bother him. Feeling like he was in a room temperature area, Hark let the drowsiness he had been feeling for the past feel days take over. With a small yawn, he hunkered down and waited for Crystal to show.

"Hello sleepy-head."

Hark opened his eyes and saw his mother leaning over him. She was so close, he could smell her perfume easily.

"Morning Mom." He replied drowsily.

Suddenly, the voice of his mother changed, and he heard it inside of his head instead of with his ears. Hark... it is time to see the truth.

"Wha...?"

Suddenly, a huge, silvery dragon's head was staring at him in place of his mother's. Panic overtook him, and he struggled to wake from the horrid nightmare.

When he opened his eyes, Hark felt like he was still inside the nightmare. For a moment, he was sure he saw a pink-tinted dragon in front of him, its head intently looking at him. Then, he blinked and it was like a lense lifted from his eyes.

Now, he saw Crystal standing in front of him, her eyes fixed on him intently. She blinked once, then smiled and let out a small giggle. "Hello there! You were asleep for quite a while... Were you having a nightmare?"

Hark nodded and got up, groaning. "I saw my Mom again. Then it all changed and got weird..." He drifted off and thought for a moment, trying to recall what he had just seen. There was his Mom and then... what happened?

Crystal giggled again and went on staring at him intently. "Must have been some nightmare. You were grimacing and then you started to move your hands and feet, like you were trying to escape." Hark didn't comment on it, but he was perplexed on why she didn't just wake him up. He shook his head in an impartial fashion and surveyed the park, letting his eyes rest on Crystal. She was a strange kid, though he wasn't sure why that was. She was just a little odd. Then again, so was he, so they were good friends. She had long brown hair that ended at her shoulders, her face small and slanted. Her nose was slightly smaller than normal, and her eyes shone with an untold intelligence. She always wore bubble gum pink clothes all year round, the shirt she was wearing today having a flower in the middle. She was slightly shorter than him, and she was smaller in build. Still, he didn't take notice of these things. He just considered her a friend, and that was all he cared about.

You see, Hark was a social outcast no matter what he tried. It was hard to find any type of friend. He blamed some of it on his brother, but other than that he just figured that he was different. He didn't know how or why, but that didn't bother him. Humans, he decided, were a race that should be dealt with as minimally as possible. So it was quite surprising that Crystal had stayed his friend for so long. Even more surprising, she shared his veiws on many subjects.

They had met during middle school. Back then, Hark had been massively unpopular. During one of the many fights he had gone through, Crystal stopped the bully before any fists were thrown. Since then, they had been able to continue being friends. Even after Hark had grown to be stronger and braver than a bully, Crystal still helped him.

Hark also helped Crystal, though not as much. He was smarter than her, or at least that's what he was told, so he helped her with any question on her school work. In the end, Hark was sure Crystal only feigned stupidity: She was probably smarter than him.

"So," Hark started, breaking the silence, "what was it you want to talk about today?"