Episode One

Colin trudged through the snow and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. The Adirondacks were often cold, but snow this early in the fall was rare. He hoped it would stop soon so he’d be able to get back home without too much trouble. He also hoped he’d return with more than rumors this time. Hopefully he’d have some kind of proof that he’d found the gnomes, a race of creatures thought extinct.

He’d been coming to the same clearing every few weeks for several months hoping to meet the strange creature who’d invited him back but had yet to show up. He’d said his name was Jerome. Jerome the gnome, Colin chuckled. Well, if he was indeed a gnome, as he seemed to be, and Colin was the one to bring him back to Brenton House, it would change a lot for him. He might finally be seen as more than just the youngest of the Kin, more than just a child. He might finally gain some respect.

When he’d first met Jerome, he’d been exploring the mountains in his dragon form. He’d assumed it was relatively safe since humans never ventured this far up the mountain, but Terrie had scolded him for recklessness, even though he hadn’t been reckless. He’d carefully thought it through.

Colin sighed as the snowfall increased and decided he’d had enough cold. He took a deep breath, reached into his core to access the power, and Sang the melody for Warm. The Songs of Power allowed him to access the elements of the Earth and then to control and manipulate them in different ways. Colin was the most talented with Air, but he knew enough Fire to keep himself warm when he was foolish enough to be caught in a blizzard.

If Jerome wasn’t there this time, Colin decided he wouldn’t come back again. It wasn’t exactly easy for him to come up here so often and it wasn’t exactly close to his home. Brenton House was situated in the central part of New York and coming here was quite a journey when he couldn’t fly in his dragon form.

Yes, Colin was a dragon by birth, but he’d trained long enough to learn his Song of Changing so he could Change into human form. It was a unique Song, all his own, and had taken years of training and education before he could attempt the Change. It had been a relief when he’d finally accomplished it, though, because it meant he could leave the dragon’s home at the Caverns in the Arctic and join Terrie in the United States.

Training with Terrie hadn’t been all he’d hoped, though. His mother, Terrwyn as she insisted on calling herself, even though everyone shortened it, was a strict mentor. All the other dragons said he was lucky, but Colin just felt trapped.

Hiking through the snow, Colin weighed which was worse; trapped at Brenton, or braving the snow to arrive at a meeting that might not even happen. It was a close call and Colin was close to calling it a failure and going home. He looked up at the forest around him and quickened his step when he realized he wasn’t too far from his destination.

The clearing was small and high on the mountain. In fact, Colin nearly hadn’t found it the second time he’d come looking. That was when he’d met the second gnome, a female, who’d told him Jerome couldn’t meet him but encouraged him to return every so often and maybe he’d eventually show up. Well, Colin wasn’t about to keep this up for another…

There was a soft glow coming from the opening of the cave. His breath caught in his throat as he stepped around the boulders blocking his view. And there he was, Jerome the gnome.

Episode Two

The little man moved so quickly that Colin wasn’t sure what he was doing until the glow suddenly disappeared. After a little more rustling around, Jerome stepped out of the tunnel.

He wore sturdy boots, clothing made of rough material, and had a hat on his head. It was not pointed, as Colin had secretly hoped, but covered his head and ears. He looked up at him with wide eyes on his bearded face. Jerome clutched the strap of his pack and took a step back.

“It’s only me, Colin. This is my human form.” Colin held his hands out in what he thought was a non-threatening gesture. Jerome walked forward and continued in a circle around him, studying him closely. “It’s, uh, nice to see you again. Jerome, right?”

Jerome gave a short nod and held his hand out. Colin leaned over and shook his hand. Jerome’s bushy eyebrows furrowed and he cocked his head. When Colin stood up again, Jerome waved him closer. Colin hesitated for a moment but Jerome beckoned again. He knelt down in the snow, curious.

The little man stepped closer and put his hand on Colin’s chest. Then he took Colin’s right hand and laid it on his own chest. Jerome hummed, his throat vibrating under Colin’s hand. Colin matched the sound.

“Tee hee hee,” Jerome said. Colin blinked at the contrast of his serious tone with such a strange expression.

“I’m sorry, I thought you spoke my language before. Do you understand me?” Jerome nodded quickly. “Alright, good. Well, how much time to you have today? I see you don’t have any children with you like last time.”

Jerome sighed and his shoulders slumped. Colin thought that meant he wouldn’t be able to stay long but when Jerome glanced up at him again there was pain and sorrow in his eyes. Colin was struck deeply. “Are you alright?” he whispered before he thought about how rude it might be to ask.

Jerome shook his head. “Homeless,” he whispered.

“Oh, no. Did something happen to your home? Are the other gnomes alright? Do we need to get help for your people?” Colin’s imagination was running through all the possible scenarios, most of them ending with him as the hero who saved an entire species. Jerome held up his hands. “You want me to slow down?”

Nod.

“Alright. Do your people need help?”

No.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Shrug.

“You don’t have a home to go back to?”

Nod.

Colin didn’t know how he was going to get to the bottom of what happened if Jerome wouldn’t talk to him. It seemed strange to him, since Jerome had talked to him before. So what had happened to the little man in the months since he’d last seen him? The other gnome said he wasn’t able to come to the clearing to meet him, so maybe he’d gotten in trouble?

“Something happened to you, didn’t it? With your people? Something that had to do with me?”

Reluctant nod.

Colin was struck by an odd sensation. He’d played a part in another being getting in trouble which resulted in him losing his home. Colin hadn’t often had occasion to feel guilt. He often felt angry when Terrie lectured him, but he never really thought he’d done anything wrong. This time had been a complete accident.

“Well, um, would you like to come to my home?”

Jerome lifted his head and clasped his hands over his chest. His eyes shone with an excitement Colin didn’t think he’d ever seen in anyone else in his whole life.

“Yes,” was the gruff reply.

“Alright, then. Am I to assume you’re going to be this talkative the whole trip back?”

Nod. Sigh.

“That’s alright, we seem to be doing just fine so far. Let’s get moving or we’re going to be in trouble with all this snow.”

Episode Three

Colin led the way out of the clearing and into the forest. The trees above blocked some of the snow so it hadn’t accumulated much yet, but it was getting dark quickly now. The longer it took them, the harder it would be. Colin had hoped he could get back to his car at the bottom of the mountain and drive home, but he was beginning to worry he wouldn’t be able to drive if the roads were closed.

Jerome was taking his time and Colin had to keep waiting for him to catch up. He stopped to study a plant, then he watched a squirrel climb a tree. Colin kept reminding himself that this was probably the first time the gnome had seen a squirrel, but he was getting anxious about the weather and the trip back home. He definitely did not want to get stuck on the mountain overnight in a blizzard. Suddenly, the comfortable prison of Brenton House was looking very desirable.

The sky grew darker and the snow fell. Colin lost track of how many times he stopped for Jerome and he finally had to accept defeat.

“Jerome, we’re not going to make it to the bottom of the mountain in time. I’m going to have to Change into my dragon form so we can fly back home. This is going to take a while, I’m not very fast with this Song yet. So, just keep an eye out for danger or anything, got it?” Jerome nodded and waved his hand but he was staring at something in the forest.

Colin sighed and walked a few feet away. He couldn’t Change while wearing clothes, so he undressed quickly, Singing Warm to keep the chill away. When he was finished, he’d be a dragon again and he take his pack with him so he’d have his clothes when he Changed back to human form. He was not looking forward to Terrie’s reaction when he returned. His mother could be so strict about certain things and she never stopped to listen to his explanations, just assuming he’d been foolish. Well, he really didn’t have another choice here. He couldn’t leave Jerome behind, not after he had offered him a home. And he was totally unprepared to spend the night on the mountain in a snow storm. Flying home was the only option.

When he started Singing his Song of Changing the cold hit him with a blast and he nearly stopped in shock. That would have been disastrous, though. Once the Song had been started, if it was cut off or interrupted there would be unknown consequences as the elements lashed out. Colin pushed aside his discomfort and focused.

This Song used Air, Fire, Earth, and Water to Change his body back to its original form. Colin had bronze scales and a handsome crest down his back. He was average in size for dragons and was rather proud of his wings in the Air.

Colin finished the Song of Changing and opened his eyes. It was still snowing but the forest looked different from his new perspective. The trees weren’t so big and the sky wasn’t so out of reach. Jerome was tiny, though. Colin snorted when he saw him struggling through the snow. Colin followed his line of sight to see where he was going and saw a pair of black bear cubs coming down from a nearby tree. He thought it was cute for half a second before his logic caught up to him.

Colin whipped his head around and found the source of his dread. The mother bear was just coming around a tree and caught sight of Jerome just as he crossed between her and her cubs. “Oh, no,” Colin whispered.