From deep within my chest, a prodigious yawn escaped my maw; I then casually, almost dismissively, brushed aside the gently patting tail that had been attempting to rouse me, before my eyelids fluttered open to survey my familiar surroundings.

  Gazing upon the well-known contours of the Dragon's Den, I experienced a fleeting moment of disorientation before the rather unusual events of the preceding night came flooding back into my conscious mind with sudden crity.

  Ah, yes… after consuming that unexpectedly potent meal, I recalled absolutely nothing further; oblivion had cimed me swiftly.

  "That Domia Flower juice possesses an excessive, almost overwhelming potency," I mused aloud, still somewhat groggy. "I absolutely must prevail upon Boco to employ a considerably more sparing, more judicious measure next time."

  "Domia Flower, you say?

  Whatever, pray tell, might that be?

  And who, by all the stars, is this Boco of whom you speak with such familiarity?

  Furthermore," a distinct note of curiosity entered the voice, "since precisely when did you decide to take your slumber directly beside me?"

  The unexpected, sharp query thoroughly, and rather abruptly, dispelled the st lingering vestiges of my morning sleepiness.

  Turning my head with a start, I beheld Celine, her bright eyes regarding me with an air of undisguised, keen curiosity.

  I swiftly scrambled to my feet and cast a hurried gnce about our shared space, only then realizing, with a jolt of surprise, that I was now positioned precisely where Celine herself had reposed only the previous night.

  "Um, well," I began, a touch of awkwardness coloring my tone, "were I to propose the rather improbable cim that I was sleeping so profoundly, so utterly soundly, that I inadvertently, and quite unconsciously, rolled hither to this very spot, would you, by any chance, lend even the slightest credence to such an unlikely tale?"

  Celine flicked her elegant Dragon Tail with a gesture of clear, dismissive skepticism.

  "Rather than indulging in such fanciful, and frankly unbelievable, conjecture, I find myself considerably more intrigued by these mysterious 'Domias' and 'Bocos' of whom you were just murmuring."

  Her words prompted me to gnce towards the still-slumbering forms of Billy and the other two young Dragons, a moment of hesitation gripping me before I offered, somewhat reluctantly, "Boco, you see, is the designated Potion instructor here at the Academy, and this Domia Flower is, in fact, an essential ingredient frequently utilized in the intricate refinement of various potions."

  At this revetion, Celine’s eyes lit up with a sudden, intense spark of interest.

  "You actually ventured forth from the den st night, did you not?"

  With a speed born of arm, I quickly advanced and gently, but firmly, covered Celine’s inquisitive mouth with my paw, then cast a cautious, almost furtive, look towards the other three still-slumbering Dragons.

  Seeing that they had not, thankfully, been roused from their deep sleep, I breathed an internal sigh of considerable relief.

  But my sense of rexation, it soon became apparent, was decidedly, and unfortunately, premature.

  How could a spirited young dragon like Celine possibly submit, without protest, to having her mouth so suddenly and unceremoniously covered?

  She opened her jaws with a surprising swiftness and bit down, with considerable firmness, upon my extended paw, with a result that was, perhaps, entirely predictable…

  Celine immediately clutched her own mouth, tears of sudden, sharp pain welling in her bright eyes, and gred at me with an expression of profound, almost accusatory, indignation.

  A most unwelcome toothache!

  My scales, it seemed, were far too unforgivingly hard for such an impulsive action!

  I stared down at my paw, a flicker of stunned surprise crossing my own features.

  If my memory served me correctly, and I was quite certain it did, I had experienced a rather considerable, and quite memorable, jolt of pain when Celine had simirly bitten me during our somewhat less-than-amicable contest only two short days prior.

  Yet now, at this very moment, I felt absolutely nothing, not even the faintest twinge of discomfort.

  Experimentally, I fanned the nascent wings at my back, and immediately noticed that they felt substantially more powerful, more robust, than they had on the preceding day.

  Small wonder, then, that Boco had so emphatically, so repeatedly, emphasized the absolutely critical importance of deep, restorative rest for newly hatched younglings; in the span of a single, uneventful night, my inherent physical strength had burgeoned, had increased so very significantly!

  However, this was most clearly, and undeniably, not the appropriate moment for such introspective reflections on my newfound vitality.

  Observing the palpable anger visibly mounting in Celine’s expressive eyes, I hastily, and perhaps wisely, retreated several paces to a safer distance.

  "You were the one who initiated the biting action," I pointed out, perhaps a little defensively. "It had naught, absolutely naught, to do with any deliberate action on my own part!"

  Hearing my rather pointed, if somewhat self-serving, decration, Celine paused in her agitated movements, then slowly, almost reluctantly, retracted her partially unfurled wings.

  "Come hither, Vet," she said, her voice surprisingly calm, though an undercurrent of something unreadable still lingered. "I give you my word, I shall not strike you."

  "For what conceivable purpose, then?" I queried, a note of caution still evident in my tone, even as I, despite my lingering apprehension, took a few hesitant steps forward as she had bidden.

  Seeing my tentative advance, Celine took the initiative to close the remaining distance between us and then, with a deliberate slowness, extended her sharp cws towards my wing.

  Noticing my undeniably wary, almost flinching expression, she inquired, her voice now tinged with genuine curiosity, "How is it, I wonder, that your Dragon Scales have so suddenly, so inexplicably, become so remarkably resilient, so unyielding to my bite?

  Although I, too, perceive a subtle increase in my own strength compared to yesterday, the change is most certainly not nearly as pronounced, as significant, as the transformation I observe in you.

  What, precisely, were your cndestine activities during the course of st night?"

  "Vet! Is it true?

  You did not, as Winters so explicitly instructed, remain within the safe confines of the Dragon's Den, but instead, you actually ventured out into the Academy proper?"

  A booming, resonant voice suddenly shattered the retive quiet, startling both Celine and myself quite thoroughly.

  I looked sharply in the direction of the unexpected sound and saw Billy, his rge eyes staring at me with an intensity that was almost unnerving—ah, and I now saw, standing beside him, were also Ao and Dinnett, their expressions equally inquisitive!

  I cast a somewhat reproachful, "this-is-your-fault" gnce in Celine’s direction, then addressed the assembled group with a sigh of resigned inevitability, "I found myself quite unable to settle into rest, you see, so I rather logically surmised that all the other young Dragons would most likely be soundly slumbering during the depths of the night, and thus, I confess, I did indeed venture out, if only to take a very brief, cursory look around."

  "Beyond that rather tame admission," a new voice interjected, somewhat stern and measured, "I find myself more profoundly curious as to what specific actions you undertook.

  Why, precisely, do you appear to be maturing, to be developing physically, at a demonstrably more rapid, more accelerated pace than the rest of us?"

  The assembled young dragons were momentarily taken aback by this unexpected interjection, before collectively realizing, with a dawning surprise, that it was the usually taciturn Ao who had spoken these pointed words.

  Then, Billy and Dinnett turned their gazes towards Ao, their faces masks of bnk, uncomprehending puzzlement.

  Growing faster, he had said?

  “Have none of you actually perceived it?” Ao’s unwavering gaze remained fixed intently upon me as he continued, his voice gaining a touch more conviction.

  “His overall stature, his physical presence, is considerably, undeniably greater than it was merely yesterday.

  Although it is true that we have all experienced some measure of growth, it is most certainly not nearly as conspicuous, as patently obvious, as the development he now exhibits.”

  Hearing Ao's astute observation, Celine was, predictably, the first to react with vocal surprise.

  “Now that you articute it so clearly, it is undeniable! You *have* indeed grown quite substantially, Vet!”

  At this confirmation, Billy, with his characteristic impetuosity, ran directly to my side and gently, almost reverently, touched the edge of my wing with his snout.

  “Brother Vet, it is considered exceedingly ill-mannered, almost a social transgression, to feast alone upon some secret bounty and not share.

  Pray, hasten to enlighten us, to share with us in detail, the wondrous sights and experiences you beheld during your nocturnal sojourn st night.”

  Celine and the other two young dragons looked at Billy, a collective expression of near-speechlessness gracing their features.

  That, they all silently communicated, was hardly the central, most pertinent, crux of the present matter!

  But, in truth, Celine and the others also recognized, with a dawning self-awareness, that their own persistent line of questioning might, perhaps, seem a tad intrusive, a little overly inquisitive.

  Ao hesitated for a pregnant moment, a flicker of internal debate crossing his usually stoic features, then said, his voice softer now, "My apologies, Vet, I assure you I had no untoward intention of prying into your private, personal affairs.

  If it is in any way inconvenient or uncomfortable for you to divulge the details, then please, consider my question entirely unasked, withdrawn without prejudice."

  Hearing his considerate words, I regarded Ao with a degree of genuine surprise.

  He had, up to this point, always presented as quiet, reserved, and somewhat aloof, and I had, perhaps unfairly, imagined that it would prove exceedingly challenging to establish any meaningful rapport or connection with him.

  Yet now, it seemed increasingly pusible that he might simply be, much like myself, not particurly adept, not naturally skilled, at the subtle art of communicating effectively with other dragons.

  Shaking my head gently, I replied, my voice earnest, “In all truth, I find myself quite uncertain, genuinely perplexed, as to what precise mechanism is currently occurring within me.

  If there exists any discernible distinction between my recent experiences and yours, it might solely, and exclusively, be that I happened to consume an additional, rather substantial, Bus Dragon Beast during the course of st night.

  Boco, you see, procured it specifically for me.

  I was, as I mentioned, quite unable to find sleep, and thus harbored a strong desire to ascend to the higher levels and view the distant stars.

  Whilst I was taking a brief moment of rest on the ninth floor, I encountered this Boco, who, it transpires, is to be our future Potion instructor.

  At that point, I was, regrettably, utterly exhausted and, quite embarrassingly, lost consciousness.

  He subsequently expined to me that my physical constitution, my very being, apparently differs somewhat from yours and, as a consequence, requires a significantly greater, more constant, intake of energy to sustain itself.

  Beyond that rather singur event, there was only the administration of the juice of the Domia Flower, but that, he assured me, was solely to soothe my unusually overactive Inner Focus—or, to articute it more simply, to assist me in achieving a sound, restorative night’s sleep.

  And that, in its entirety, is precisely what transpired; there are no other hidden details or secret actions."

  Hearing my candid and detailed expnation, the assembled young Dragons experienced a sudden, collective wave of dawning understanding; they had not, after all, entirely forgotten my rather formidable, almost prodigious, appetite from the previous day.

  It now appeared, with undeniable crity, that my intrinsic hunger was even greater, even more demanding, than I had managed to demonstrate during our earlier shared meal.

  They themselves, by contrast, did not feel particurly famished at this present moment, let alone experience such pangs during the preceding night!

  “If it is, as it now seems, purely a matter of innate, inherent talent, then there is, as, naught further to be done or said about it.

  But brother Vet," Billy piped up, his earlier curiosity undiminished, "when you next decide to venture forth this coming evening, might you, perhaps, graciously permit me to accompany you on your explorations?”

  “You are far too close, Billy, much too close for comfort!” I excimed, instinctively taking a small step back before addressing his eager request directly.

  “I would most strongly, and for your own good, advise against such a course of action.

  In point of fact, Boco has explicitly stated that, commencing from today, he will personally visit our den each and every night for the specific purpose of providing me with a dose of that Domia Flower juice.

  Therefore, let alone considering the possibility of taking you along with me, I shall, regrettably, be quite unable to go out exploring myself.

  Furthermore, and this is of utmost importance, Boco most emphatically impressed upon me that daily, uninterrupted sleep is of absolutely paramount significance for us young dragons during the crucial two-year period immediately following our hatching.

  Should we, for any reason, fail to obtain a sufficient quantum of sleep during this developmental phase, our ultimate growth in physical size will be permanently, and detrimentally, affected—ah, that is to say,” I crified, seeing their slightly confused expressions, “we shall inevitably remain several noticeable degrees smaller, less imposing, than other young dragons who were born within the same clutch as ourselves!”

  Hearing this rather sobering pronouncement, Billy managed a somewhat sheepish, almost abashed, smile.

  “In that particur case, then,” he decred with a newfound, if perhaps temporary, resolve, “I shall simply endeavor to rest with great diligence!”

  With that, Billy did indeed amble back to the familiar corner of the den he had previously occupied and promptly settled himself down for a nap.

  Then, just as suddenly, he looked up at me, his eyes wide with a fresh thought.

  “Brother Vet, do you suppose, by any chance, that if I were to sleep a little longer, perhaps an extra hour or two each night, I too shall become significantly rger and more impressive?”

  My facial expression became momentarily fixed, frozen in a state of mild bewilderment, and for a brief, awkward moment, I found myself utterly at a loss for how to appropriately respond to his rather unique query.

  This particur dragon’s intricate thought processes were, it had to be said, consistently, and rather charmingly, so… idiosyncratic!

  “Assuredly not, Billy,” a new, gentle voice interjected, cutting through my internal quandary.

  I looked towards the source of the sound and saw Winters standing gracefully at the very threshold of the passage leading into our den, her wise eyes regarding us all with a calm, benevolent expression.