Olivia Jean-Pierre's apartment felt like a carefully curated museum exhibit - "Modern College Student, Circa 2025." The small studio held all the expected trappings: a desk with a high-end laptop, a small kitchen area, tasteful decor that spoke of someone who'd read too many minimalist lifestyle blogs. Everything perfectly normal, perfectly planned.

Celeste Rawlins moved with practiced efficiency through the eastern lot of Millridge State Park, her footsteps nearly silent on the forest floor. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the path ahead. After her morning classes had finished, she'd decided to follow up on the unsettling energy readings from yesterday's reconnaissance with Erica.

The specialized isolation ward in Doyle Medical Complex was unlike any hospital room Ethan had seen before. The walls were covered with subtle geometric patterns that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles. Various monitoring devices surrounded the hospital bed, some familiar and others clearly designed for paranormal patients.

The blue glow of David's computer monitor illuminated his face as he stared at the Skype window, waiting for Morgan to accept his call. David had spent the last hour trying to focus on his physics homework, but his mind kept wandering to the town meeting tomorrow, the bizarre energy that he and Tony had witnessed in the park, and now Morgan's increasingly frantic messages about Melissa.

Hazel's fingers danced across holographic interfaces, cycling through various local online channels. Her search pattern was methodical, filtering through social media, local news feeds, and obscure internet forums. The displays - what she would have once called cyberpunk back when such technology seemed extraordinary, but now were simply her standard work environment - shifted with each query, breaking apart and reassembling data streams in complex geometric patterns.

The lecture hall buzzed with the low hum of students typing on laptops, punctuated by the professor's droning voice explaining object-oriented programming principles. Nathan sat rigidly in his seat, his enhanced senses picking up every tiny sound and movement around him. The once-familiar concepts now seemed trivial, almost laughably simple compared to the complex systems he'd interfaced with during his time away.

Celeste Rawlins pulled her jacket tighter against the evening chill, grateful she'd thought to bring an extra layer. October nights in Millridge were unpredictable—sometimes clinging to late summer warmth, other times plunging into winter's preview. Tonight was definitely leaning toward the latter.

The morning after the intense memory exchange with the mother dragon left Remi's mind buzzing with lingering sensations. Her bare feet tingled against the cool stone of the clearing, the rough texture grounding her as she processed the overwhelming input from the previous day. "It's like having a brain freeze without the ice cream," she muttered to herself, rubbing her temples.

David's gaming setup dominated one corner of his room, the dual monitors casting a bluish glow that illuminated his face in the otherwise darkened space. The rest of the room had gradually disappeared under the typical teenage chaos of discarded clothes, school papers, and empty energy drink cans. Posters for various games and sci-fi movies covered most of the available wall space, giving the room a collage-like quality.

Full Story begins next chapter!!!

Pre- Chapter Note - This is a prologue chapter. The full story begins in Chapter 02. So, this and Chapter 01 are the setup for the story.

Sunlight filtered through the ancient pines surrounding their clearing, casting dappled shadows across Remi's unclothed skin as she crouched behind a weathered boulder. In the weeks since emerging from the egg, her body had matured to that of a twelve-year-old, though such human concerns as clothing had long since ceased to matter in her day-to-day life with her dragon siblings. Her toughened skin had adapted to the elements, comfortable against both rough stone and mountain air.

Chapter 09

Warmth.

That was the first sensation—a gentle, encompassing warmth that seemed to cradle consciousness itself. There was no body to feel it with, no skin to register temperature, just the pure essence of warmth wrapping around awareness like a mother's embrace.

Forewarning:
This chapter is a bit darker than the last few. It deals with even more bullying and with death.
Please read at your own discression.

The nameplate on Ms. Thurnglad's door gleamed in the fluorescent hallway lights: "Student Guidance Counselor." Remi stood before it, his hand hovering over the handle as the morning bell rang in the distance. Through the frosted glass window, he could make out a vague shape moving within—probably Ms. Thurnglad arranging her ever-present collection of motivational posters and self-help books into their precise positions.

Preamble - I have now completely re-written all of the works I had worked with Sudowrite on. I no longer use it as a writing tool, only a story organizing tool. With my left hand healed I can now type again properly so I'll be able to write a lot easier. I am also returning to the online world but have permablocked where I got hated on for my prior writing of this. I will never author there ever again, and won't even lurk for their content. Their user base proved to be very toxic and the admins didn't care when authors were being harassed by readers. The reviewers were annoying but it was the DM's there that really got me.

Mirror Changed Chapter 11

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~Courtney~

The last week had been a frustrating lesson in patience for the dangerous and well dressed Courtney. Though ultimately vindicated by the others of her small grouping, she still felt angry at herself for losing the young magus in the local mall. She swore that the other Chosen had fled into the theater, but after making a bit of a ruckus she had been forced to give up. The threat of the breeders police force didn’t really scare her off. There was little they could possibly do that would more than inconvenience her.

Mirror Changed - Chapter 09

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~Jameson~

The pub was pretty run of the mill. High end set up masquerading as an old time Irish drinking hole. Wooden topped bar looking hand carved and well oiled. Mirror behind with plentitudes of liquors for the discerning customer on various shelves. The lighting was a dim amber, reminiscent of candleflame and oil lanterns. Tables in the corners and actual wooden barstools that were not bolted in place.

All in all not a bad pub.

And nothing at all near what an authentic pub of the old world would be like.

Mirror Changed – Chapter 07

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~David~

David sat on his couch. An old styled rotary phone in his lap. Not even one from the nineteen nineties. More like something from post world war two era. Coiled cloth phone cord and wooden casing. Old style brass and resinous plastic ear piece located in the proper place.