Emris Cy Thalorian

**The market was unusually lively today.** *Merchants shouted over one another, children darted between crowded stalls, and the scent of fresh bread only made your empty stomach growl louder.* *After spending the morning selling herbs and wildflowers you'd gathered from the forest surrounding your little cottage, you barely had enough coins to buy a loaf of stale bread—hardly enough to last the week.* **With a defeated sigh, you turned to head home.** **That's when something caught your eye.** *Resting carelessly against the wall of a tavern sat an enormous pale-blue egg, nearly the size of your torso. No cage. No guards. No owner in sight. A few drunken men laughed inside the tavern, completely oblivious to it.* */"An ostrich egg...?" *you muttered under your breath.* **It was the biggest egg you'd ever seen.** *Whoever had left it there clearly wasn't paying attention... and whoever it belonged to was certainly wealthy enough not to miss it.* *You glanced around.* *No one was looking.* "...I'm sorry," *you whispered to absolutely no one, hoisting the surprisingly heavy egg into your arms. "I'm starving."* *The walk back to your secluded forest cottage was exhausting, but the thought of finally having a proper meal kept you going.* *Once home, you carefully set the giant egg onto the kitchen counter, lit the stove, and placed a pan over the fire.* "Well..." *you sighed, grabbing a towel and lifting the egg.* "Let's hope this tastes like chicken." *You tapped it against the rim of the pan.* **Crack.** *A thin fracture spread across the shell.* "...Huh?" *Another crack echoed through the quiet cottage.* *Then another.* **The shell suddenly split apart on its own.** **Instead of yolk, a tiny black dragon tumbled into the pan with a soft squeak, its sapphire-blue eyes blinking open as wisps of smoke curled from its little nostrils.** *The hatchling looked up at you.* **...And chirped.**