Author's Note: I'll keep this brief.

Hello, all! I've been posting little snippets for the fic I had titled "the dragon child" before I realized that, if I was going to show my random ideas, I might as well post the actual story they related to! Thus, the other fic has become "the dragon child: snippets" so that I could upload the first part of the story they're based on. This is an OC-centric fanfic, with cameos from the Guardians, so if you don't like that sort of thing you'd best leave now—or, you could stay a while and see what you think. I do have a second part planned, after all.

As this is simply the fairytale/prologue/introduction, I won't drown you with info/trivia. (That'll be next chapter.) Just dive right in and tell me what you think!

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There once was a girl who was fascinated with the bizarre; she explored the mountains everyday with her sister, searching for new and exciting things to ponder over. She wrote stories and drew pictures about what she saw, and her parents encouraged her creativity. Constantly thinking about the world around her, it wasn't odd for her to ask questions about things other children her age wouldn't care about. She absorbed information like a sponge and was always looking to create something new from what she learned.

Her peers, however, weren't impressed with her insatiable curiosity; they teased her for being weird, ostracizing her from the others so that she was always by herself at lunch or on the playground. Lonely, she kept to herself afterwards, with the books and the environment becoming her friend. After even her sister stopped wanting to explore, she continued going out on her own, being gone hours at a time as she played by herself. Fairy tales of pixies and dragons intrigued her into "safari hunts" as she tried to prove that these mythical creatures still existed.

One day, this was proven true as she stumbled upon a cave out deep in the woods. There, she found a great and powerful dragon, guarding a large pile of gold and jewels that shone so brightly her eyes began to water. Many of the legends she had read about spoke of knights and thieves disturbing these creatures' slumbers, but she didn't want to kill it or steal its gold. She simply sat on the stone floor and watched the dragon sleep, barely containing her excitement at the thought of being right after all. Dragons did exist!

She left before nightfall—as she would get lost in the dark—and memorized the path to the cave. Every day for the next few months, she ran all the way back to the dragon's den after lunch, sitting on the ground and staring up at the magnificent creature. Too polite to wake it, she kept as quiet as possible, simply taking her notebooks with her to draw or write as her imagination still soared even in this cave.

One day, she had lost track of time as she sketched and left in such a hurry that she forgot her notebook! When she was gone, the large dragon lifted his head, smoke curling from his nostrils. He had been awake the whole time! Using his claws and a little bit of magic, the dragon looked through her book and saw how far her imagination reached. She had sketched strange creatures and written down odd dreams that even made the magical beast scratch his head. She was truly an odd little girl.

She realized what she had left as soon as she got home, and the next day she didn't even wait to eat lunch before she was running back up the path and into the cave. But this time, the dragon rose to greet her, the notebook dangling from his claw! Struck by awe, she listened as he introduced himself as Feninor and began to tell her stories of his vast lifetime, of fairies and elves and tree nymphs of old. He told her of his dragon brothers that were slain by knights, of the creatures driven from their homes as humans settled, and of the shrinking pool of magic left in the mountains. When he was done retelling his tales, Feninor gave her a choice.

"You may go back to your home, keeping these stories to yourself for the rest of your life," he said. "Or, you may leave your people forever and explore the world to create your own stories."

The girl was frightened by the thought of leaving her family, so she asked if she could wait to make her choice. Feninor allowed this, telling her that she would have until her seventeenth birthday to make her decision.

For years, she kept her discovery a secret, visiting Feninor in his cave and asking him all about the strange magics he knew. Even though she grew every year, she was always small compared to the dragon, and she could never hope to match his immeasurable wealth of wisdom. Although she was still alone when she was going through the daily motions of life, she always felt the warmth of his fiery spirit even far away from his cave.

The day of her seventeenth birthday, she managed to tear herself away from her family and raced up the path. Having had all of this time to make her decision, she had realized where her heart truly resided; she was distraught when she entered the cave to find it empty. No matter how loudly she yelled, she couldn't find Feninor. She couldn't feel his fire anymore. It seemed that her dragon friend had finally lost his magic and faded away.

As she cried in the spot she usually sat, a faint spark leapt from the pile he used to guard. Drawn despite her tears, she crouched down and tugged something from the gold: A large, weathered chest with a rusty lock. For a moment, she felt Feninor's magic deep in her heart—and then the lock crumbled to dust, and within the chest was a leather cloak that shimmered in various colors, a kaleidoscope of magic.

She took up this cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, and then she heard Feninor's voice one last time.

"You have decided your fate," he told her, the last traces of his magic now coursing through her veins. "With the last of my strength, I give you what magic remains in my scales. Utilize your imagination in ways that until tonight you've only dreamed of, for you hold in your heart the last of my fire. I dub you Dracawanri. Do not let yourself be caged by the fears of humanity, as I was. Be free."

An incredible transformation marked his words. From her heart his fire flowed through her body, filling her up with his magic. Although it hadn't been enough to sustain a large beast such as Feninor, it was more than enough for her small frame. Her blood began to boil as if the magic was too hot for her mortal body—and when it cooled, she found a mirror within the chest and looked upon her new body. Her ears were elfin, and when she smiled she could see the fangs of a beast. Her hair had flared out, curling up into the air like the flames of a bonfire. Whipping behind her was a tail, reptilian in nature and chartreuse in color.

Taking his last gift with a final goodbye, she stepped out of the cave and sealed it so only she may enter. She returned home and left a note, explaining she had left to go on a new adventure and would probably see them again, although she did not know how far off it would be. Then she climbed to the peak of the highest mountain, examining the starlit sky. She took her new cloak and snapped it out into a pair of wings before taking one last look on her old life—and then she let the air currents carry her across the valley and into the strange world outside.

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-Dragon