RainyDragonSunrise

In the dead of night, four young boys wandered away from the comfort of their family homes, pyjama pockets filled with pilfered flint and steel, small hands wrapped around bundles of sticks and under brush from their yards. The new moon left the world encased in a darker darkness than on most nights, and only the stars lit the children's path. The normally rowdy, energetic boys stayed as silent as possible, not wanting to risk being caught outside by their parents, or any other member of the small community, for that matter. A twig cracked, the soft noise seeming to echo through the air, multiplying in the mind of one of the boys. "What wa