A Dragon speaks on the 'Shine' that gleams from Dragon scales and the human heart...

Perhaps not everyone knows this...but a Dragon Shines. It's the scales, you see. Bio-armor. Bony plates. Or--my personal favorite--horny overlaps. Where is your mind? Umph. Humans. I speak zoologically, of course! Horny, as in a "sheath of protein encasing bone". A lovely hide, coat, cover of protein, hard as diamonds, smooth as ice, warm or cold depending on surrounding temperatures. Therein lies the Shine.

Ha! What that proteinaceous carapace does to light--! Why, it takes my Dragon breath away. Our sturdy but flexible exterior breaks light down. Splits the rays, if you will, parts the beams, reflects and skitters the particles over the surface, scatters them like sun on dancing water. S'not that we glow like a bulb, flicker like a torch, flare like a comet searing the night sky. Since it's derived, generated, spawned by an external source over which we have no control (although, indeed, some Dragons think the sun and moon rise and set on them! Not moi, of course) the intensity varies, colors fluctuate. To look upon a Dragon, be it in strong or wan light, is to look upon a rainbow in motion. A multihued activity. A continuum of luminosity! No, Dragons aren't multi-colored, but when light scampers about your form/shape/ anatomy, a single color takes on many tints/tones/hues. A glorious profusion. Why, we're as lovely as oil afloat on a puddle!

Dragon Shine, to put it succinctly, is without equal.

S'not to say that humans don't Shine. Take heart, my human friends (and it is all about that chaotic organ, you know), you do, indeed, have Shine. However, you tend to be less overt, explicit, blatant than Dragonkind. Even though we Dragons carry fire inside, it is humans who can claim mastery of the internal glow. 'Tis an entirely different kind of heat, you see. Ours derives from internal combustion, gaseous ignition, an incendiary explosion out of gullet and throat and jaws...your heat, however...well, it is less spectacular in display. But display it does. I have personally been exposed to this demonstration of inner human heat, fire...heart.

The human male (sometimes it is a female; let us not slight by gender), devoid of any hint of armor such as I bear, has been known to dash, hasten, scurry into the very jaws of ruinous flame (not, I must emphasize, a Dragon's flame) to save a friend, a child. A stranger. A noble action, dear humans. Gracious. Decent. Humans have been known to fling themselves into icy/freezing/brrrrrr water to the same purpose. And don't forget the warriors who thrust themselves between the sword/bullet/explosive and their fellow warriors to keep their companions alive. A Dragon can only shake his great head and marvel. After all, what other creature do you know who would do the same? Oh. Well, yes, on occasion dogs are known to do these things, but they, too, are generous creatures. And, yes, Dragons do these things, as well, but since there is no true danger (fire can't harm us and haven't I already discoursed on how well a well fed Dragon floats?) in all modesty I cannot label such actions as nobility on our part. But to put yourself in danger, to flaunt death or injury, for your fellow man--ah. That my human friends is Shine.

It manifests in other, less obvious/observable/apparent ways. Sacrifice can be and is expressed in many forms. A father working three jobs to feed his family. S'not like he can run out and snatch a bovine (cow) for dinner. Humans have such restrictive rules/laws/requirements even for so simple an act as garnering food. A mother going hungry so there is enough on the table for her children. But then a mother's love is sacrosanct. Or it should be. A human who offers to share their home with a friend who has lost all; or, more telling, the one who opens their home to a stranger who has lost all. I'll admit, this one would give a Dragon pause...we are territorial beasts, after all.

Even such small an action as giving books to poor schools, clothes to the needy, meals to the elderly, aid to the depressed, a hand to the fallen--in a Dragon's eyes, these, too, are noble acts.

Humans alone (all right, not all humans, but most, one likes to think/hope/believe) have this capacity to stretch their soul. Essence. Spirit. Makes for pretty tight skin in some cases, but never so tight that they would shed their skin as does a snake. Human skin simply stretches to accommodate/provide/make room for that inner bloat of character. That Shine.

Oh, the veritable beauty of it! A living flame/spark/ember within as hot as any Dragon's heated effusion.

Do you know what I love about humans? They Shine the most when times are tough/difficult/ hard. Such as now. Indeed--lift your head, gaze/look/stare about. The glare is almost too much even for a Dragon's eyes. Everywhere--glimmer and glint, glitter and gleam and glisten. Flash and flicker! Sparkle and spark. Shine. Is it a herd/band/pod of Dragons on wing? Not at all. It is the humans all about you.

Adversity? Misfortune? Hard times? Ho--Dragons and humans alike, we spit upon all harsh aspects of foul fate. Heads high, we fly (or walk, whichever one's anatomy allows) through the clouds and on. We survive.

After all, do we not Shine?