Cloud awoke to a very unpleasant alarm clock.
     His mother breathed poisonous tendrils of smoke in his face. "Do-you-know-what-time-it-is???!!!" She said furiously.
     "Uh... Probably not,"Cloud mumbled, trying to bat the smoke away. "I just woke up."
      His mother harrumphed and marched over to the empty food cavern. "You missed breakfast," she called.
     Cloud stretched and yawned. In an undertone, she muttered, "That teaches you to come back home late in the future."           Cloud padded outside, ignoring his mother, who was yelling, "Stay close!"
      Too late, he got another bucketful of water from the tree, who was apparently intent on drowning Cloud. Cloud kicked the tree and got a searing pain in his foot and more water in his face. He grumbled and ignored it.
      He took a walk through the woods and suddenly found himself again looking at the smoke of the human village. He watched as the thin tendrils reached the gray sky, emptied of its load last night. The trees rustled in the slight zephyr, dancing to a soft music.
     A squirrel chirped at him, disgruntled, as she tried unsuccessfully to pry a smushed nut from under his foot. She finally trotted away in disgust.
      Cloud closed his eyes. What was it that was pulling him to this place? River would explode if she ever caught him here, and anyway he didn't have anything to do with this place. It was just an outside land, uncharted, unknown.
      He shook his head and wandered back to home-at least he tried. He couldn't quite figure out where it was, because Star had appeared in his head, speaking the words she had last said to him when she left.
      It was the middle of the night, and the stars were twinkling happily, as if they didn't care Clouds idol was leaving. "Be brave," she said with a strained smile. "Don't back down from things you don't understand. They have a soul like you, Cloud Streak. One day you will lead an extraordinary life, better then I have ever had."
     A shadow flitted across her eyes, but Cloud had been too little to understand. All he understood was that Star was leaving and she was saying a bunch of mumble jumbo and that had nothing to do whatsoever with the fact that she was leaving.
     Star leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I saw a human friend," and again that shadow crossed her face, but this time her eyes were sparkling.
     Cloud gaped at her. "Rea-"
     "Shhh!" Star pressed a claw to her snout. "Humans are good and bad, like bittersweet nectar, but you need to trust them. They may save your life someday."
     Cloud gazed up at her, but tears would not come. She gave him a last look and flew away into the night.
     Cloud snapped back to life when he trod on a pointed stick. He blew fire in pain, accidentally setting a unfortunate tree on fire. Cloud jumped in alarm and tried to stamp it out.
      Home was a long way. Actually, he had no idea where home was, so calling was useless.
     He watched helplessly as the fire shot up the dry bark of the massive oak tree, shooting sparks in delight.
     Why couldn't he be a Water Dragon? Or a Plant dragon? But he was a sky dragon, and there was nothing he could do about it.
     Would moss work? He glanced around to no avail. This part of the forest was greener then even Evenings prize leaf, but it was completely devoid of moss.
     It would take him an hour to find even a single strand of the moist plant.
     When the fire engulfed about three fourths of the tree, it raced along one of the longer branches and touched another branch of an ancient pine tree. Cloud stared fearfully up at the entwining branches wrapped in fire, as if that would stop the other tree from burning too.
    No luck. The pine spread to another oak, and another pine, until Cloud was trapped in a circle of his own fire.

Drifting Breeze still could see the great shape bounding away from him. A dragon. A real, real, dragon.
It had considered him for s second, and did he see fear in his eyes? A dragon fearing a human? No way.
Drifting Breeze jerked awake from his moment of reliving  when he heard a bow shot arching to his left. He shuddered in alarm and ran toward it. Did the dragon get shot? He didn't want it to get shot. Somehow, he felt that the dragon wasn't evil. It just wanted... Something.
Jumping Fish had caught a rabbit, and a nice, fat one at that.
"Good job!" Drifting Breeze called.
Jumping Fish grinned, not at all surprised that a shadow in the forest just complimented him.
"Thanks! Let's go back. There's a lot of hungry mouths to feed, especially since winter is rising."
Drifting Breeze smiled. "Right. Come on."

Dark Shadow, the leader of the only tribe left in this forest, was hunting a deer when the forest fire spread. He had saw the young buck from only meters away, searching the thick forest with a keen eye.
As he did, he thought, as he often did, about his clan. This big forest used to be flourishing with different tribes who fought and traded and formed alliances. But another creature also inhabited this forest; the dragons.
Once, when the forest was human- infested, the toughest warriors would stalk dragons with a metal tipped- spear and a strong net. When they found one, usually a young one, they would chase it into a small space crowded with trees, then surround it with spears. The net would be strung up above, and on a signal they would drop the net and capture the dragon.
When Dark Shadow was a small boy, his father went out to chase a dragon. It was a Venom, he heard, that sprayed poisonous liquid everywhere. It hit his father.
His father, the chief, lay very sick. He survived, but he died when a dragon, an Earth, rampaged the tribe.
Dragon catching dimmed when news of the venom accident passed around, but it strengthened when a nomad tribe speared a Gold dragon.
But tragedy struck. The dragons, perhaps infuriated that they could be beaten by these humans, fought back. Dragons started drowning and burning camps, poisoning their food, taking away plants. Almost all the tribes died. Humans feared for their lives.
But all of a sudden, the dragons started disappearing, one by one. And suddenly, every single dragon was cleared from the forest. The humans, hesitant to hope for such a thing to happen, slowly rose out of their misery and thrived as one clan.
And now, Dark Shadow was leading them.
There! A glimpse of an antler told his instincts deer. Nocking the the arrow, the clan leader slowly sank to a crouch. He raised the bow and...
Flames shot out of the deer's head.
What?! Was this an omen?
But then he realized that the fire was rising behind the deer and spreading by every second. His tribe could be in danger.
The buck bolted away, leaving Dark Shadow to stumble blindly back to the warm tepees of his tribe.

"Could be of the dry season," Gliding Lake remarked.
"No. It rained last night. And that part of the forest is so rich, even in the snowfall it would stay green. It has to be something else. Not natural." Dark Shadow spun his knife agitatedly.
Broad Leaf leaned back idly, letting out a big sigh. "Then what is it?"
Floating Seed said, "Ask Slim Branch."
Broad Leaf snorted. " Slim Branch is crazy! She is the oldest person ever."
Dark Shadow gave him a look and said, "Broad Leaf, the fire is burning nearer every minute we tarry." He turned to Floating Seed. "Where is Slim Branch?"

Slim Branch was humming as she sowed a horribly misshapen moccasin. Dark Shadow entered the cluttered tepee, avoiding the low ceiling.
"Slim Branch," he said formally, getting straight to the point. " There is a fire spreading across our forest right now, caused by something unnatural. Do you think you know what.. It is?"
This was crazy. Slim Branch was the oldest person in camp- and the craziest. Slim Branch looked up at him and muttered something imperceptible.
"Please repeat that, Slim Branch."
The weathered woman cackled. "Oh, young men losing their hearing, isn't it?" She said in a high, mocking voice. "Go wash out your ears. What do you want?"
Dark Shadow sighed. "I already told you. And I am the leader of this tribe. You don't tell me what to do."
Slim Branch guffawed again. "Ooh, getting cocky!" She mocked. "Whatever. Information comes with a price. Get me some of the finest leather."