Aunt Malora was an elderly woman, in her early fifties, however she aged well and appeared to be in her mid thirties. If it wasn't for the silver in her white streaks in her once flaming red hair and small weathered crows feet around her bright sparkling stormy grey eyes and her she could had possibly have passed for being even younger.  Malora always seemed to have something going on,  and she was a very neat, organized and well....very eccentric woman. Which might possibly be the one reason why she never gotten married. She always doted on Kate, and treated her like if she were own daughter that she never had and she absolutely insisted on picking out Kate's dragon for her graduation!  Not that Kate's family argued, dragons where expensive, and well Malora was a rather successful business woman who was more than happy to spend her money to spoil her niece!....however if they knew what sort of dragon Aunt Malora intended on buying Kate they might've just declined the offer and bought an old beat up car for Kate instead or maybe just a new computer with an IOU attached or something else to try and make up for it.<br/><br/>Aunt Malora always did things in her strange unique way, and she had a hat for every outfit and an outfit for everyday! Today was purple, Sitting at the banquet table  Aunt Malora was dressed in an all purple blouse and skirt topped with an wearing an enormous purple sun hat, which could have passed for a limp giant mexican sombrero as the rim extend and wilting like a giant flower petals past her shoulders.<br/><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Outfit and Hat</span></span><a class="postlink" href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/78/ff/62/78ff6298ef97b80423be090c022202ca.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/>Aunt Malora always seemed to be smiling, no body ever saw her smile lines as she never seemed to stop smiling for them to show. It was always a quiet secret knowing smile...only today that closed lipped secretive smile was curved just a bit higher than usual and her eyes sparkled a little brighter today.<br/><br/>On in her lap was a rather mysterious fancy but sturdy round black box that was embroidered with sparkling purple polished rhinestones. It sort of looked like a Vintage travel box for large expensive sun hats like the one she was wearing right now. It was the fanciest box in the whole place, most other graduates got their hatchlings in plane ordinary boxes or wooden crates or small kennels... and some just got a large egg kept a heated metal to keep warm.<br/>Aunt Malora had gotten a very, very special, and unique dragon for Kate and she had put it in a very special and expensive box. It was a called a Shadow Dragon, they were extremely rare and hard to find creature. It was not like any of the other dragons the young graduates were getting. Certainly those hatchlings were cute now, but in a few years they would be all hardened big brutes with horns and rough scales that ate way too much. The of course eventually could be taught to fly, but their was other means of transportation and you couldn’t always take them with you. If the graduate was really lucky and or rather really well off, their family might even get their young mage a fire breather or an ice dragon, or even a fancy asian dragon. Aunt Malora however wanted something far more unique and special... something that was docile, protective, cute and affectionate... something that wouldn’t try to eat the neighbors dog or chew on the trees or tear up the roof with their claws or have to be kept outside in concrete bunker or cellar to keep from burning the house down. Something lovable that could be kept inside, a dragon that was smart, entertaining, and maybe even helpful. Something beautiful compact and exotic.<br/><br/>Shadow Dragons were extremely rare... not only that, but they were extremely hard to find if they didn’t want to be, which made them even harder to catch.... The one she had been able to catch overseas was an extremely curious little fellow not much more bigger than a house cat in size. To say she caught him wasn’t really true, no rather he sort of just crawled into her large purse and ate all of the chocolates that she had hidden away at the bottom and then fell asleep... which was ironic because she had been looking for weeks down in south america trying to hire the locals to catch one for her.... and then there it was, sleeping in her warm black fur purse... no traps ... no elaborate spells... no hired mystical native hunters. The shadow dragon was beautiful, his soft scales that glistened like smooth black pearls. His eyes were small bright curious aquatic blue and he made the most delightful happy chirping noises.  She had been tempted to keep him for herself, but she was a really busy woman and she knew the little creature would be much more happier to be with Kate.<br/><br/>She named him Ebony Mist, for his beautiful shimmering black scales and the strange magical ghostly black aura that trailed moved around him like a black fog or smoke.<br/><br/>-<br/>It was getting the end of the banquet most all of the Graduates had received their dragons already, she kept a firm hand on the lip a large large beautiful round black box, set on the table so that the purple rhinestones glittered in the light.<br/><br/>Most of the young mages were receiving their dragons. But the  Aunt Malora kept the lid locked. Ebony she found could get into and out of just about anything! Fortunately he always came back...possible a day or two later with a shiny bobble of some sort, one morning she found all the lightbulbs along with a one of her silver broaches that she had left on the bathroom counter hidden under her bed after the dragon had clawed its way through the plastic kennel! Fortunately now his diamond sharp little claws had been rounded off and filed down so that he couldn’t scratch anyone, climb on the walls or the ceiling anymore.... or for than matter get out of the box that he was in right now.  He had been asleep for most of the graduation ceremony and the banquet, but now she could tell by the soft scraping sounds that he wanted out...<br/><br/>Aunt Malora glanced over toward Kate smiling at her as she pulled out little silver from her purse and unlocked lid, and raised just enough to slide a piece of chocolate chocolate inside. A happy bird like chirping sound came from with inside and she quickly shut it, locking the lick back up. The last thing she wanted was to little dragon trying run off to pick a fight with the little hatchlings would later would grow up to be big enough to eat him for a snack! No there were too many distractions and she didn’t want to let him out quite yet.<br/><br/>She glanced back over to Kate, smiling closed lip secretive smile. “He is a very special dragon,” she announced, “He doesn’t eat meat, well I am sure would try to eat anything, but meat will make him extremely sick,” she informed the young Mage who was sitting next to her. “He is extremely curious, and very smart....” she paused and then smirked and then lowered her voice so that creature inside the box wouldn’t over hear. “....smart for a dragon that is.... not like you or me... he doesn’t understand human things....he can be very dramatic... so don’t mention how.....S-M-A-L-L,  or call him a -B-A-B-Y,” she warned spelled out the words ‘small’ and ‘baby’ in a low whisper and then sat up speaking loudly into the box so that Ebony would be able hear her, “Because he is really LARGE for a Shadow Dragon, with FEARSOME CLAWS AND GIANT TEETH! ”<br/><br/>A small muffled chirping sound of approval replied form inside the box.<br/><br/>Aunt Malora smirked and winked at Kate, putting her hand over her mouth in order to keep from laughing. “He can eat some protein, like eggs and milk are alright,” she added and then began sharing the story how she had found him inside her purse...it took her a while to get to that story... as she had talk about how she had found the brand new how purples hat... and then switched the topic as to what she Kate planned on doing now that she had graduated or if she planned on to keep studying or if she wanted to go out and see the world...... Until finally they were the last ones at their table and most of everyone else was starting to head for the door.<br/><br/>At last, once they were alone, Aunt Malora smiled pulling out the silver key and opened the lid! The little dragon popped his head, his long swan like neck extend his curious blue immediately fixed up onto the sparkling chandeliers.<br/><br/>“His name is Ebony Mist,” she said as she affectionately clipped a long a long black leash on onto the beautiful silver chain collar around his neck.<br/>Ebony’s eye lids grew heavy Malora began stroking the top of his head and soon he completely forgot about the chandleirs.<br/><br/>“This is Kate,” Malora announced in a soft soothing voice as she passed the leash over to her Neice.  “You are going to stay with her now,” she informed him. Ebony thrummed dreamily and looked as if he if here going go right back to sleep as she rubbed his head, but Malora pulled back and slid a napkin full of juicy orange mango slices over toward Kate for her to feed him.<br/><br/><br/><a class="postlink" href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ul_Ru53m3AM/Ti7zAj-B3gI/AAAAAAAAAJI/tmPkaGMqVaE/s1600/emo+piercing+boy-emo-guy.jpg">[ img ]</a><br/><br/><a class="postlink" href="http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00786/Wyvern_Silhouette_786332x.jpg">[ img ]</a>