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Of course, he and Mother began to discuss Auron, the Gray Rat To the Copper his brother was rather like an oversized rat: quick, quiet, and vicious

Thus the pattern of his days was set

He s, rats, and the bit of hoof or tail that he could so shelf when the others were sleeping

How he longed to join theainst thean to shift and ru shelf, pursued by his brother’s angry yaps

He sat at the base of the egg shelf, picking up a stray ht the others in drea Would it be too ive hi to hihs escaped his body

He learned to differentiate his sisters Wistala was quick of tongue, Jizara long, elegant, and with a melodious voice

He avoided Auron The Gray seemed vulnerable, with a thick, pebbly skin instead of scales, but was fast and alert and hard to hear co on what he and the sisters hunted and the choicest bits of whatever Father brought back

But soon the Copper realized he only thought he knew unhappiness and longing

It happened during one of Father’s longer visits to the cavern Every now and then he spent a period between hunting trips inspecting every nook and cranny with eyes, ears, and nose Co but dark, Father nevertheless stuck his nose deep inside and drew a long breath He snorted out dirt andThe dragon-se, six-horned head lifted and turned "Ah It’s you"

Which wasn’t much of an answer

"What name I? I name how?"

"You’re not of the nest, cripple You don’t need to be naon in the lifesong"

That just made him miserable, and he lowered his head

"That’s no way to look, hatchling You’re unique, as far as oes None of my line of sires ever saw a second male survive You’re not of the clutch, yet you’re of our kind, and the cave’s so big Auron can drive you away, but not out, so to speak Neither scale nor claw, son nor stranger"

The Copper formed his next words carefully, and they came out better "You my father That prove me your son!"

"You h That’s your ot her brains, I expect you’ll survive at least until you leave the cave"

"To light?" The Copper knew that tidbit froerous place, and your wings are still a full clawset of winters off Look at your scales! Poor little blighter You need a bellyful of coin Follow on’s dangerous s Father approached a s in a small sink A dead trickle of water was thick with dried dark rasped the stone with his front sii and wrestled it out of the rock

"I’ve been irls so h as it is"

He stuck his head down the hole, and the Copper s he’d never experienced before: an aroma hard and rich and riff descend and flutter against his jaw and neck, giving a faint rattle

Father’s head cah! Why should I part with any to a wretched nothing? Cripple! Outcast!"

The Copper backed up, half-terrified and half-furious The gold smell made him want to leap and claw

Father tilted his head back and forth as though gauging distance; then he suddenly relaxed "Servesthat clinked Then his bristling scale relaxed and he gave a brief, satisfied prruold and silver coins, thick with sliet you started All there’ll be, I’et lucky"

The Copper sniffed a silver disk He needed its light, its brightness His obbled it down, and then the others, quickly, as though they were a nest of rats about to escape

Father’s feet stamped restlessly

"I suppose no harm’s done Auron won’t need it, after all" Father exhaled in a whoosh that flattened the Copper’s scale "Maybe we’ll have better luck with le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>