Hiya peepz! This is my newest (and second) story! Yes, I'm still writing Fallen Angel (those of you who've read it, anyways) I just wanted to get this one out there too. It's a brilliant plotbunny if I do say so myself, I can write about my favorite mythical creature ever! Also, as you may notice when you read this chapter, there will be more X-Men: Evolution characters in this story then there are in Fallen Angel! So read on, and please review!

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own XME. Otherwise it wouldn't have ended at season four.

Summary: Kitty has always hated dragons. When she meets a young dragon named Kurt, her views change entirely. But when disaster strikes the dragons, can Kitty save the beasts who have become her friends?

Dragon Hearts

1. Dragons

Kitty had never liked dragons. Ever.

So why she was living in a house with her grandparents, who actually liked dragons, was what she would never know. Her parents had died a while back, and so she was sent to live with her grandparents – dragon fanatics – while she, herself hated them. Dearly.

What was there to like about those awful creatures anyways?

They had sharp claws and teeth, and could rip a person in half if they had the mind to. There were varying breath weapons, but certainly all caused destruction, right? Their wings could knock somebody back at least a hundred feet, and their scales were harder than any metal ever encountered, and were as sharp as knives when ruffled.

Kitty made it her business to know everything about dragons, if only to prove why she hated them.

And this was what she occupied her time with, finding out information on dragons and using it to find more ways to hate them, when her grandmother had to come in and say the six worst words in Kitty's life (at the time)

"You're going to Dragon Rider camp!"

Kitty really wanted to say sarcastically, "No, really, what did you want?" But she realized with a sinking heart that the evil words her grandma had spoken were true: she was being sent off to live with the creatures she hated, and have to learn to ride one, even.

She groaned and rolled over on her bed, trying to ignore the bright sunlight streaming in through her attic bedroom, as if in some sort of final resistance to the fact that she was leaving for the detestable camp. She'd tried everything – begging, pleading, being super-nice, doing chores without being asked, and being on her grandparents' good sides, among other things…but to no avail. She was still going, and that was that.

Oh, how she loathed Fate.

When she felt she couldn't draw it out any longer, she rolled out of bed and pulled on her boots – she'd gotten dressed a while ago, but had burrowed back under the covers in a vain attempt to fool her grandparents into thinking she was sleeping. Whoever said that old people weren't smart?

Kitty retrieved her small pack from beside the door – it contained all her worldly belongings, which wasn't much – and trudged down the old steps, wincing at every creak; now her grandparents knew she was up.

She tromped into the small kitchen; her grandmother was sitting by the table, reading the newspaper. "Good, you're up. Someone from the camp is coming by at nine to pick you up."

Kitty growled under her breath, consulting the time-reader on the table – 8:54. Well, she was screwed, there was no getting out of it now…

She grumbled, but she still walked out the door and sat by the front step to wait. And sure enough, someone came along.

And Kitty's only thought was: Did they have to ride a dragon?

Kitty inched out of the saddle and slid down the dragon's back, landing with a thump on the sandy ground, managing to keep her footing but her face hit the dust a second later. She stood up, hacking up sand, standing a bit wobbly. Another thing to add to her list of why to hate dragons: when you got off of one, you felt as though the very ground was going to fall away beneath your feet.

The dragon, along with its rider (whose name Kitty had never figured out) flew off, and left Kitty standing there wondering first, where she was supposed to be going, and second, how on earth had she managed to get herself stuck at dragon-riding camp.

"Hey!"

She turned at the voice, seeing a tall girl with shoulder-length black hair striding towards her. "Erm, hi?" Kitty mumbled.

"You're Kitty, right?"

Kitty nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm Wanda. I'm new here like you. I heard you were coming today."

"Yay," muttered Kitty, falling into step beside the other girl.

"You don't like dragons much, huh?" Wanda pulled open the door to one of the sandy-colored buildings. "We get dragons tomorrow, you know."

"Ugh," grumbled Kitty. "You know they say that your mind completely changes when you bond to a dragon?"

"I've heard that. To be honest, I really couldn't care either way. My parents sent me here because they figured I'd have some sort of miraculous turnaround and not be totally sarcastic and prone to breaking their house." Wanda explained.

Kitty nodded. "I see. My grandparents sent me here because they're dragon fanatics and they think I'll stop hating dragons if I learn to ride one."

"Well, either way, we're going to find out tomorrow," said Wanda, crossing the hallway to a room. "You can room with me if you want; after tomorrow most riders usually go to their dragons' caves and stay there instead. So this place is just here for the new recruits."

Kitty gave a nod and said, "I don't really know where I'm going anyways, so might as well…"

Kitty walked into the room, looking around. Not much in it. There were two beds, on opposite sides of the room, and two small desks. Other than that, the room was pretty bare.

"Home sweet home, eh?" she muttered.

"Only for tonight," Wanda replied, choosing a bed. "We have the rest of the day to do whatever. Choosing starts tomorrow."

"Joy…" grumbled Kitty, not at all happy about the fact that she was going to have to ride a dragon. No, wait! Her brain pointed out that not everyone got chosen by a dragon! There was hope yet! Starting to feel happy for once, Kitty dropped her stuff on her bed. Either way, this place would only be her home for one more day.

She crossed to the window and peered outside; it was hard to see the rest of the camp, as it pretty much blended in with the surrounding sandstone, and the windowpane was flecked with grains of sand.

"Want to explore?" she asked Wanda, who looked up and shrugged. "Sure, I guess," the other replied, and they headed out of the room.

Kitty hopped down the steps, blinking her eyes against the bright sunlight, wondering vaguely if she'd ever get the scent of sand out of her nose.

There wasn't much else to the camp, just a couple more of one-story sandstone buildings lined up in a neat row. The desert stretched out along either side of the camp, in a wide panoramic view of never-ending sand. Across from the camp, separated by a yawning abyss, was a great plateau, pocketed with caves. The dragons' homes, Kitty assumed. She walked to the edge of the sheer cliff, glancing down out of habit. And what she saw took her breath away (though she hated to admit it, even to herself)

They were standing at the edge of a precipice, extending out over a great chasm, blanketed in shadows. Dragons of all sizes, shapes, and colors flew through the abyss, unbothered by the two humans that had appeared at the edge of the void.

After standing there a few moments, Kitty felt she had seen enough; turning, she walked back to the sandstone structure, Wanda trailing along behind her.

She looked up at the wide, blue sky, faint clouds crossing the sun's path.

Would she be chosen by a dragon?

Only tomorrow would tell.

Yup, Kitty hates dragons. We'll see if that changes, won't we? *smirk* Anyways, you know what to do! *points to review button* Review!

~ Shadey