Colored paper flew off in every direction, waving through the air and slowly falling to the ground.  The room in question was bare of much furniture, hosting only a couch in the middle.  On the couch sat two people.  One was a young woman with long, blonde hair and a slender finger.  Beside her was an older woman with a curvy figure and long, brown hair.  The two sat on the couch, each with their own activity.  The young woman was holding and tearing open a small, wrapped box, while the older woman was intently watching her.

As the paper flew from the box, it revealed more of a small, tin box that had an assortment of figures on it.  Minutes went by as the woman was careful in how she took the paper off before throwing it behind her.  As more and more paper came off, more of the box was revealed.  Once all the paper had been torn off, she looked down at the tin and her bright, green eyes lit up.  As she examined it, she read “Lily-Rose Doll Cleaning Kit”.

“I’m sorry we weren’t able to get you much more, what with the moving and everything, but Happy Birthday, Lucy,” said the older woman upon seeing the brightly lit eyes in the younger woman’s face.  She cracked a small smile, though something about the gift in question had bothered her.

Taking her arms from the box, Lucy wrapped her arms around the older woman and nearly screamed out “Thank you so much, Mom!”.  She buried her head in her mother’s shoulder and muffled her way through a few more statements, explaining how much she’d wanted the cleaning kit she’d just received. 

Holding her daughter tightly, the older woman gently pat on Lucy’s back, though still filled with a little concern and doubt about the fist she’d gotten for her.  “You’re welcome, Lucy, but I really don’t understand.  I could have gotten you virtually anything for your 18th Birthday, despite the circumstances.  Why, of all things, did you want this cleaning kit for dolls?”  The woman let out a short sigh, wishing she could have gotten her something a little better for her.

She had originally wanted something great for the girl, but the circumstances simply wouldn’t allow it this year.  She’d gotten transferred to a new location with her job and they both had to move two days before the Lucy’s birthday.  It was always rough on Lucy when they had to move, since they moved from town to town so often, and she wanted to get her something really special for her birthday.  Although the cleaning kit wasn’t a super gift in her eyes, it was in Lucy’s.

Raising her head up a little, Lucy laughed as she looked into her mother’s face.  She’d been teasing Lucy for years about her obsession with dolls.  Ever since she was a little girl, she’d collected dolls that she had set up in her room.  There were many shelves that housed them and she never played with any of them.  Instead, she would spend her time dusting them off and cleaning them, making sure they were in top form.  The closest she got to ‘playing’ was talking to them at night, as if they were someone that she could let her feelings out on.

“Oh, Mom, you know why I wanted this!  My old kit was starting to wear down and I needed some new tools and cleaner if I’m to keep my little collection in tip top shape!  I know you’ve always questioned that hobby of mine, and things have been hard on you this year, having to move again and all, but this really is the one thing I wanted for my birthday.”

Her mother just smiled and let out another sigh at Lucy’s encouraging statement.  Although the girl would never admit it, she was the one who suffered the most from the moving.  They moved a few times a year, no portion of the company she worked for keeping her for more than that long.  She wasn’t sure if they wanted to get rid of her or just didn’t know the right place to put her, but she’d always felt bad for putting Lucy through so much.  The poor girl never even had a chance to make new friends, other than her dolls.

Knowing how much Lucy must have been pushing to get that out, she held her tightly and whispered into her ear.  “Thank you, Lucy.  I’m glad you like it.  I may not understand all of this, but as long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”  Despite looking like she was just saying that last statement to be nice, Lucy really was all that she had in this world.  Her husband had left them when Lucy was very small, and because of constantly moving, it was really just the two of them. 

As they were holding onto one another, their cutesy moment abruptly came to an end.  Off in the distance, somewhere outside the house, came a deafening roar.  The two of them immediately sprung up from the couch, nearly knocking Lucy’s new cleaning kit to the ground.  They looked at each other and then towards the door.  They weren’t entirely sure as to what the sound was, but it definitely didn’t sound good. 

Both of them rushing towards the door, they nearly hit the wall as they came close.  Their front door had a large window in the top of it, rather than a peephole, making it very easy for them both to look outside to see what had made that loud sound from earlier.  They looked and looked for several minutes, but didn’t seem to see or hear anything.  Looking at each other, they locked gazes and questioned one another the same thing.

“You heard that, too, right?”

Their heads shook as the sound returned.  It definitely sounded like a screeching roar, but nothing either of them had ever heard before.  In school, they’d been taught about most of the magical creatures that inhabited the world, but one thing they had not been taught was what each of them sounded like.  The only creature that was thoroughly taught, to the point of describing the roar and screeching were dragons, the fiercest beasts in the world.  Dragon roars, however, were quake-like and deep.  This sound was almost screech-like.

Under the assumption that this creature, if it was even a creature, was not a dragon, the two of them hurried outside, curiosity overtaking them.  As they came outside the house, they turned their head every which way, trying to find whatever it was.  All of the other houses were closed up, no one else coming out to see the source of this sound.  Under normal circumstances, who could blame them?  You get curious about a sound and you could get your head bitten off, or worse.

As the two women came out into the street, they looked down one way, seeing absolutely nothing.  Confused, they looked at one another and began to question whether there really was a sound at all.  As soon as their questioning started, however, it ended.  From directly behind them, the same noise made itself apparent again.  They both turned around and immediately fell to the ground, screaming at what they saw…