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Description
Ifondel stood at the top of the mountain and surveyed the landscape surrounding her home.  She stretched her wings and sighed.  It had been days since her mate had departed, and their eggs would hatch any day now.

She looked to the sky.  “Kalda,” she whispered, thinking of her mate’s bravery.

Ifondel closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind.  His ebony eyes, dark yet warm and welcoming.  His crimson scales, harder than diamonds, beautiful as polished rubies, and each individual scale had a trim of the darkest blue Ifondel had ever seen.  His claws and horns were like ivory, stark contrast to his nearly ebony body.  His muzzle was like a crocodile, teeth showing even when his mouth was closed.  His legs were strong and muscular, his neck long, his shoulders broad, and his wings strong.
Ifondel sighed.  She adored her lover’s wings.  The membranes were opaque, and black as night.  They were large, strong enough for him to fly, and flawless.
A rustle from nearby drew the dragoness from her thoughts, and she turned around to investigate, and noticed a suspicious shadow near the entrance of her den.
Knowing that nothing she or Kalda knew personally would be there without greeting her first, she lowered her head and growled, moving towards the possible threat to her unhatched chicks.
A growl reached her ears that was not her own.  Knowing the sound, Ifondel snarled.  She opened her mouth, and released a deafening roar, shaking the bush the intruder hid in.
When she closed her muzzle, a whimper reached her ears, and she watched it scurry away, though she was unable to tell exactly what it was.
Though satisfied that she had protected her eggs, she entered the den to check on them.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Kalda’s eyes stared straight ahead, hoping for any sign that an animal would come near.  His hunt had taken longer than he had hoped, as prey was becoming scarce.  Winter was coming, and few animals would be about this close to the first snowfall.  He’d spotted a few deer earlier, but they had been too small to feed himself and his mate, Ifondel.  While they could go days without food, they needed to have something to keep up their strength.
He caught movement in his peripheral vision, and crouched low, his form hard to make out in the almost absolute darkness.  Kalda slowly turned, and found himself staring at a large deerlike creature, a loner in this tiny wood.  The beast was large, and his horns were massive.  It was bigger than they needed; dragons had surprisingly small metabolism, and the eggs should not hatch for another day or two.
Kalda readied himself to pounce, knowing what the beast was; it was nothing more than a rogue elk.  As soon as the massive deer came within range, he leapt at it.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

As soon as she had entered the cave, Ifondel knew to expect trouble.  She heard a strange shuffling noise from further into the den, and increased her pace, enraged at this threat to her offspring.
Ifondel came to the large chamber that served as the den, and the first thing she saw was the undisturbed nest, where two precious, orange eggs were hidden.
She circled around the nest, and found that all sides were undisturbed.  On a hunch, the dragoness carefully dug through the leaves, branches, and twigs to expose the shells, and turning them proved that nothing sinister had happened to them.
Ifondel carefully placed the debris over her eggs again, then curled around the nest to protect them from harm.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Relieved that his hunt was over and that he could return home, Kalda gripped his prey in his powerful forearm, then took flight.  His wings carried him over the trees, the branches blowing from the force of his wingbeats.  He could see small creatures scurry away, and flocks of birds separated to allow him to pass.
The landscape passed quickly, and the mountain he called home soon came into view.

“It’s amazing that only elves share our gift of sharp eyes,” Kalda said to himself.

Something, not four miles from the mountain, caught his eye.  It was small and distant, so he couldn’t make out exactly what it was.  He didn’t like the look of it, and flew right at it.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Ifondel awoke when she heard a strange rustling.  It sounded like plants rubbing together, with something hard under them.  She looked around, wondering where the noise was coming from, then returned her bewildered gaze to the nest she curled around, realizing that the noise was coming from there.
The twigs, branches and leaves were moving, and a small cry came from under them.  Ifondel knew what that meant, and began digging up the nest, more careful than she had earlier.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

As he neared, Kalda relaxed, the object turned out to be nothing more than a large stone, and he passed it by.  He landed on the mountainside, and used his talons to climb up the slope, carrying the deer in his jaws.
A rustling sound reached his ears when he came to the opening of the den, and a cry sounded.  He was surprised, but thought he knew what that meant.  Kalda crawled through the cave opening, following the sound.
When he reached the large, round chamber, the first thing he saw was Ifondel.  He stared at her for a moment, her dark blue scales lined with frostlike white, her silver horns and talons, her blue wings, lined with silver, and her muzzle, much like his, but smaller.  And the white star on her forehead.
He sighed, his mate was beautiful, the most striking dragoness that was ever seen.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Ifondel noticed her mate standing behind her, and moved her wing to show him the source of the crying.  Two tiny chicks, one a bright, sapphire blue female with silver-lined scales and bright blue eyes, and the other, a male, with scales just barely brighter than his sire’s, lined with gold.  His eyes were as blue as his sister’s.

“How long ago?” Kalda asked Ifondel.  He approached slowly, awed by his offspring.

“Not ten minutes,” Ifondel said.  “I have never seen the gold lining before!”

“This is a good sign,” Kalda said, nuzzling his mate affectionately.  “Silver and gold are rare.”

Ifondel nuzzled the young female, then the male.  “What shall we name them?”

“She is as lovely as her mother,” Kalda said, and Ifondel nuzzled her mate.

“Kalura,” Ifondel suggested.  “For gold is precious.”

“Roxa,” Kalda said.  “For silver has its luster.”

The young chicks looked up to their parents, almost like they already knew their names.  Roxa cawed, and raised an arm to bat her mother’s nose.  Kalura looked up to his father and said something that sounded like his name.

Description
Ifondel stood at the top of the mountain and surveyed the landscape surrounding her home.  She stretched her wings and sighed.  It had been days since her mate had departed, and their eggs would hatch any day now.

She looked to the sky.  “Kalda,” she whispered, thinking of her mate’s bravery.

Ifondel closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind.  His ebony eyes, dark yet warm and welcoming.  His crimson scales, harder than diamonds, beautiful as polished rubies, and each individual scale had a trim of the darkest blue Ifondel had ever seen.  His claws and horns were like ivory, stark contrast to his nearly ebony body.  His muzzle was like a crocodile, teeth showing even when his mouth was closed.  His legs were strong and muscular, his neck long, his shoulders broad, and his wings strong.
Ifondel sighed.  She adored her lover’s wings.  The membranes were opaque, and black as night.  They were large, strong enough for him to fly, and flawless.
A rustle from nearby drew the dragoness from her thoughts, and she turned around to investigate, and noticed a suspicious shadow near the entrance of her den.
Knowing that nothing she or Kalda knew personally would be there without greeting her first, she lowered her head and growled, moving towards the possible threat to her unhatched chicks.
A growl reached her ears that was not her own.  Knowing the sound, Ifondel snarled.  She opened her mouth, and released a deafening roar, shaking the bush the intruder hid in.
When she closed her muzzle, a whimper reached her ears, and she watched it scurry away, though she was unable to tell exactly what it was.
Though satisfied that she had protected her eggs, she entered the den to check on them.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Kalda’s eyes stared straight ahead, hoping for any sign that an animal would come near.  His hunt had taken longer than he had hoped, as prey was becoming scarce.  Winter was coming, and few animals would be about this close to the first snowfall.  He’d spotted a few deer earlier, but they had been too small to feed himself and his mate, Ifondel.  While they could go days without food, they needed to have something to keep up their strength.
He caught movement in his peripheral vision, and crouched low, his form hard to make out in the almost absolute darkness.  Kalda slowly turned, and found himself staring at a large deerlike creature, a loner in this tiny wood.  The beast was large, and his horns were massive.  It was bigger than they needed; dragons had surprisingly small metabolism, and the eggs should not hatch for another day or two.
Kalda readied himself to pounce, knowing what the beast was; it was nothing more than a rogue elk.  As soon as the massive deer came within range, he leapt at it.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

As soon as she had entered the cave, Ifondel knew to expect trouble.  She heard a strange shuffling noise from further into the den, and increased her pace, enraged at this threat to her offspring.
Ifondel came to the large chamber that served as the den, and the first thing she saw was the undisturbed nest, where two precious, orange eggs were hidden.
She circled around the nest, and found that all sides were undisturbed.  On a hunch, the dragoness carefully dug through the leaves, branches, and twigs to expose the shells, and turning them proved that nothing sinister had happened to them.
Ifondel carefully placed the debris over her eggs again, then curled around the nest to protect them from harm.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Relieved that his hunt was over and that he could return home, Kalda gripped his prey in his powerful forearm, then took flight.  His wings carried him over the trees, the branches blowing from the force of his wingbeats.  He could see small creatures scurry away, and flocks of birds separated to allow him to pass.
The landscape passed quickly, and the mountain he called home soon came into view.

“It’s amazing that only elves share our gift of sharp eyes,” Kalda said to himself.

Something, not four miles from the mountain, caught his eye.  It was small and distant, so he couldn’t make out exactly what it was.  He didn’t like the look of it, and flew right at it.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Ifondel awoke when she heard a strange rustling.  It sounded like plants rubbing together, with something hard under them.  She looked around, wondering where the noise was coming from, then returned her bewildered gaze to the nest she curled around, realizing that the noise was coming from there.
The twigs, branches and leaves were moving, and a small cry came from under them.  Ifondel knew what that meant, and began digging up the nest, more careful than she had earlier.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

As he neared, Kalda relaxed, the object turned out to be nothing more than a large stone, and he passed it by.  He landed on the mountainside, and used his talons to climb up the slope, carrying the deer in his jaws.
A rustling sound reached his ears when he came to the opening of the den, and a cry sounded.  He was surprised, but thought he knew what that meant.  Kalda crawled through the cave opening, following the sound.
When he reached the large, round chamber, the first thing he saw was Ifondel.  He stared at her for a moment, her dark blue scales lined with frostlike white, her silver horns and talons, her blue wings, lined with silver, and her muzzle, much like his, but smaller.  And the white star on her forehead.
He sighed, his mate was beautiful, the most striking dragoness that was ever seen.

~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~

Ifondel noticed her mate standing behind her, and moved her wing to show him the source of the crying.  Two tiny chicks, one a bright, sapphire blue female with silver-lined scales and bright blue eyes, and the other, a male, with scales just barely brighter than his sire’s, lined with gold.  His eyes were as blue as his sister’s.

“How long ago?” Kalda asked Ifondel.  He approached slowly, awed by his offspring.

“Not ten minutes,” Ifondel said.  “I have never seen the gold lining before!”

“This is a good sign,” Kalda said, nuzzling his mate affectionately.  “Silver and gold are rare.”

Ifondel nuzzled the young female, then the male.  “What shall we name them?”

“She is as lovely as her mother,” Kalda said, and Ifondel nuzzled her mate.

“Kalura,” Ifondel suggested.  “For gold is precious.”

“Roxa,” Kalda said.  “For silver has its luster.”

The young chicks looked up to their parents, almost like they already knew their names.  Roxa cawed, and raised an arm to bat her mother’s nose.  Kalura looked up to his father and said something that sounded like his name.