The wind was howling around the dragon stone. It bore the fresh, exciting scent of rain and lighting, the smell of coming chaos. The wind whistled through the thousands of holes and tunnels that the dragons had bored through the rock. Many who had dug their lairs in windy places might regret it this night. But despite the drafts, all of the plains dragons who lived there were inside, sheltering from the wind and the rain that would soon follow it.

Serali however was not inside. She was perched at the highest point of the dragon stone, watching the storm approach. Cherval was sitting next to her, folding and unfolding his wings nervously. He had followed her everywhere these past months, explaining things, teaching, helping her begin to understand what dragon society was like. Though he had also warned her, "Plains Dragons are the most social of all dragons, you know. I've never heard of mountain dragons or even sea dragons living in groups bigger than a dozen or so. Dragon stone is probably the largest dragon community ever, and there's only around two hundred of us here. Nothing at all to compare with human cities with their thousands."

But now it seemed that one hundred and ninety-eight of the two hundred dragons were inside, and only Serali and Cherval stayed out to watch the storm. Serali was going storm flying tonight. She had invited Cherval, but he had agreed only to watch the storm. He absolutely refused to fly out into it.

Serali was not going to be held back by her guide's reluctance. As the distant storm drew closer and the display of lighting ceased to be a show to watch from a distance and started to be a play that you yourself were acting in, Serali spread her wings and launched herself off into the night. The winds buffeted her, blowing her this way and that, her flight made erratic and uncertain. She put all of her effort into gaining height, not caring to fight the winds for a specific direction. As she mounted toward the seething clouds, lighting flashed all around her, huge drops of rain splattered against her scales. Drawn by the metallic nature of her scales, a bolt hit her directly. She could feel the energy coursing over her skin, crackling all around her, and then passing over her, flowing across her scales as it continued on its journey down. Something about a lighting strike made time seem to stand still. Even though she knew that the stroke had been so swift that the eye could hardly catch it at all, she had felt and noticed each of the many individual discharges that made up what looked like a single bolt. It was a strange and exhilarating sensation.

Serali rode the winds for a bit longer, but as a passing gust brought her back over the dragon stone, she decided that she had enjoyed her self enough for this night and dropped toward the rock below. Cherval was waiting there, looking worried.

"Serali! You're all right!"

"Of course I'm all right. What would be wrong with me?"

"I saw you get hit by lighting!" He seemed startled by her lack of concern. "I was afraid that you'd be killed."

"That's utter nonsense, lighting couldn't possible hurt me. I've been hit so many times I've lost count."

Cherval blinked in surprise. "I've seen a dragon who was hit by lighting before. He nearly died of it!" He paused to think for a moment. "Maybe it's because you're a gold, and you have metallic scales."

"Perhaps. I see now why you didn't want to come with me though! You've been courageous enough waiting out here. Let's go inside."