It's nearing that day. It's surprising that I remember it, considering it was only last year, and that I tend to forget a lot of things. I have my own birthday marked on my events list along with everyone else's because it never occured to me to need to remember it. But that day is coming. Anyway, I just got to thinking about it, and I thought I'd put something down on paper.




There were three of them, all born in the same year. The eldest, the Cat, mature and responsible, but affectionate. Always affectionate. The youngest, a wolf. Social, yet asocial, bound by loyalty, hardy and enduring. Between them, a feirce dragon, reckless and violent in all things, yet so warm, so bright a blaze was he. As younglings, they played together, ate together, and slept together, never apart. As yearlings, they added sparring and fighting to the list. In all things, they were always together. Yes, there were occational squabbles, as there are in all friendships, and as they grew, each became distinctly aware of their differences. The Wolf became sly and watchful. Her fangs always covered, but her jaws quick to strike and when she struck, she struck for the throat. Any amount of slander of pain she could endure, as long as she assured herself of that one strike. Unbreakable, truely too wily to be tamed. The Cat delved into knowledge, learning, always learning. He learned ways to heal the body and soothe the mind, and he learned ways to break them. But the Dragon grew ever feircer and ever stronger and ever bright. He rose a pinnicle of light to the others, and he shone down from the height of his acheivements and roared, but to the cat and the wolf, he was still just Dragon, and they were still only Cat and Wolf. Nothing had changed between them really. The games had gotten deadlier, but nothing had changed.

However, things had changed, not on the outside, but within the hearts of the three. Cat loved the Dragon, but he had eyes only for his she-Wolf, and although she did not really want anyone, she humored him. We both humored him out of devotion to our leader and to our friend. Then THEY came. They deemed we were old enough to work, and we were. Cat, Wolf, and Dragon, what a team they would make. Each of us suited to our own, and each of us ready to use our differences to guard each other. But this work required only one. Wolf was the one do to do it. She could handle it. She had been conditioned since childhood to withstand it. She could do it. She could strike. Politics got in the way, and THEY sent their prized Dragon instead. Out he marched onto the battlefield, and came back with the head of his foe and reduced to tears.

The Dragon left us. He was unable to cope and took himself away. Still, we loved him. She Wolf may not have wanted him, but she cared for him more than just in duty. THEY should have sent her. Heck, they should have sent me. Anything would have been wiser than Dragon, whose heart still burned with the compassion that drew others to him because that fire had died in us long ago. It doused the fire and broke him.

Dragon has left us. Wolf has introverted into a hard and wily fox. Cat continues to advance into knowledge, but what he knows cannot sway THEM. They shouldn't have sent the Dragon. Not for the work of a snake.