Streele

As a hatchling, Streele was not the most normal. He wasn't weird either. The best way to sum him up is that he was creepy. His family had no clue why their son was the way he was, he just happened that way. Nobody in Sornieth could figure out why. His family was the most normal family you could ever encounter. But their son.. He was a different story.

You'd find him sitting in the corner of his room. Just sitting. Maybe reading a book about the history of Sornieth, or teaching various stolen familiars to dance. But some days he'd just sit.

Just. Sit.

"Streele, honey," his mother calmly inquired one day. "Why do you just sit and stare? I find it quite creepy. Perhaps you can come down and join me and your father for a game of chess. Does that entice you?"

As always, there was no answer. Streele's mother carefully walked across the room to Streele. His eyes were glued on her as if she were a scorpion stalking closer.

You see, Streele's family was completely aware of Streele's sitting-in-a-corner-and staring habit, and it freaked the heck out of them. Sometimes his eyes would follow them across the room-if they happened to be in the same room as him-and the family member would hurriedly leave. Despite being his family, they were terrified.

Streele's mother reached her son, and even though she was treading carefully, she cupped his face in her talons and asked, "Can't you just be a normal hatchling? Just once? Please, for the love of Shadowbinder, Streele."

And Streele looked up at her. And he hissed. And his jaws opened wide as if he were going to swallow his mother whole.

His mother screamed and left.

Streele smiled a wide smile, so wide that it seemed the corners of his mouth reached his ears. It was a smile not easily forgotten.

Hmm, perhaps that was it. Perhaps Streele loved to trick. To tease. To make others worry about him so much that when they tried to help, their hospitality appeared not to be welcome. It made his parents want to exalt him, throw him at Shadowbinder and make him be taken away. But his pitying (and scared) parents kept him. And when he grew, he didn't change. Just got creepier.

Finally he left. Left the lair, left the clan, joined another flight completely.

But every dragon knew. Knew his name. Knew exactly why he was well known.

It was because in the corner, there was always lurking..

Streele.

Written by BiscuitTheDog