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When darkness fell, the monster came for him.
Chameleon shivered, hiding underneath a big banana leaf he'd thrown over himself. The other dragonets were long asleep- their quiet snores assembling into a multitude that was like a quieter version of the jungle bug cacophony. They tossed and turned, dreaming of gigantic fruit and hide and seek and whatever else, oblivious to their clutch-mate's predicament. Chameleon had never known the experience of a dream. He couldn't sleep long enough to have one. He sometimes wondered what they were like- the other dragonets spoke of them as if they were these exciting, confusing, captivating things. But that was the last thing on his mind right now.
The tightness of a full bladder gnawed at him, like a tiny splinter in his claw. He squirmed in place, switching positions every few seconds, bouncing his claw and lashing his tail. He had to pee. But he couldn't! The monster was waiting for him!
He couldn't go- wouldn't.
...Ok, no, he was definitely going. It felt like he was about to explode. Wait- he could just pee himself? ...No, no, he couldn't do that. It would be gross, and stinky, and worse, everyone would make fun of him. They already thought he was weird since he couldn't camoflage...
That was the thing about the monster. He always knew when it was around. Even if he couldn't see it, he knew it was there. It had... superpowers or something. Fear clouded his mind, and chills crawled across his scales. It had a sinister aura that pervaded everything around it.
What monster, you might ask? Well, it all started many moons ago... he started seeing... something, lurking in the shadows. Not in the daytime- just at night. ...Either the monster was afraid of the sun, or like a lot of the jungle animals, only awoke at night. He suspected the latter. He had a hard time imagining it would be afraid of anything.
He didn't know what it looked like. It stuck to the shadows, never revealing itself. He'd only caught glimpses... a beady eye here, a gleaming talon there. He knew it was horrible though. And big. At least, bigger than him. Much bigger. Maybe not bigger than an adult... but that didn't matter. It was sneaky, and never allowed itself to be seen by adults. Even when they looked right at it, it was like they couldn't see it. It moved quickly, sometimes impossibly so. And silently, never making a sound, even with its horribly long talons.
He didn't know why it hadn't eaten him. It'd been stalking him for so long... maybe it was having fun. Toying with its meal before eating it. Or maybe, his being frightened was what it wanted. Maybe it fed off his fear. Perhaps it didn't actually want to eat him... or maybe it did, and his fear was just an appetizer, and he was still dead. In any case, he'd no way to know. It never spoke, and if he had to guess, probably didn't understand dragon, anyway.
A lump ached in his throat. He was running out of time... any minute now he was going to pee, whether he meant to or not.
He stood up, the banana leaf sliding off him. The sight of many shadowed, vaguely dragonet-shaped lumps and stars twinkling beyond the frames of round windows greeted him. His heart pounded in his chest, his throat closing up on itself.
Chameleon wished he had someone who could go with him. But he didn't- he didn't have any friends. All the dragonets disliked him. They said he was weird, grouchy. He was always tired(cuz he couldn't sleep...), and couldn't camoflage, so he couldn't play their favorite games. He was grouchy- for good reason! Who wouldn't be grouchy if they couldn't sleep, and got tormented by a horrible monster every night? But they didn't care about that. The adults didn't like him either... they used to pity him, but after he'd woken the neighborhood up screaming enough times 'cuz the shadow monster was about to get him, they just regarded him as an annoyance. Now he was the problem dragonet nobody liked.
He crept toward the entrance of the nursery, trying not to step on any tails or heads or bodies. Almost tripping a few times. He peeked out the entrance way.
His neighborhood was a vast citadel among the treetops, spread over many huts and platforms and walkways. The dome of the sky stretched from pole to pole, dotted with millions of stars and the milky white slivers of the three moons. The entire place was cast in darkness. They had torches, but they got put out at night. Chameleon's sixth sense seethed lowly, like a bed of perturbed ants. The monster was about, but not upon him.
He darted into the night, nearly running. Avoiding the darkest spots. Heading for the river. His scales flashing in the moonlight like a giant green lizard. The village wasn't the worst spot, and the nursery was home safe, compared to the jungle. He was headed straight for the monster's turf. Right where it wanted him.
His heart leapt into his throat at that. He skid to a stop, and froze. Stop!! He screeched at himself. Don't think about that! Just move! Go fast and it won't get you!! He didn't believe that... he was pretty sure the monster could catch him no matter what he tried, but it got his feet moving.
He hadn't spotted it- yet. It didn't hide, exactly- just lurked. But when it did show itself, he was in trouble. Much of the time, he wasn't able to run away. Freezing on the spot. Besides running, it was his only defense- staying perfectly still, and hoping it mistook him for a plant or something. If that happened, he was waking the neighborhood up again. Then would come a long day- the adults short of patience for him, and everyone teasing him, trying to scare him and stuff.
He reached the perimeter of the village. Leaping off the platform, he soared down to the river. All the villages had rivers nearby. Theirs had a waterfall downstream, and was chock full of fish and snakes and stuff.
The frogs croaked like crazy. The bugs joined them, interrupted intermittently by a loud howl or roar or wail as a bird or jaguar or monkey chimed in. You would think things would quiet down at night, but it was actually the opposite. The jungle was louder at night. A lot of its residents only awoke at night, and they made darn sure you knew it.
Chameleon found the cacophony comforting; silence was unnerving, and the fact it was present told him the monster was keeping its distance. With practiced ease he avoided tree branches, even in the pitch black. Jumping down them like giant stair steps. The last he curled his tail around, and swung down, alighting on the forest floor.
His claws squished in the damp soil. It was a hop, skip and a jump to the river.
The sound of rushing water greeted him as he approached the bank.
The river was too big to jump across. Neither big or small. Some were barely more than a stream, while others were so big they had their own islands. Chameleon's village's river was between the two. Unremarkable as rivers go.
It was good to use as a latrine. Carrying business far away where it couldn't be smelled or stepped in. As long as you didn't live downstream. If anyone did, Chameleon was sure they hated his village by now.
With legs crossing he scrambled to the edge and relieved himself.
"Ahhh..." He sighed contentedly, a wobbly smile breaking across his snout. His scales rippled but didn't change color. He sagged, as if turning into goop like mud in a mud pie.
His reprieve wouldn't last.
When his bladder finally dried up, it hit him. His sixth sense for the monster broke from its steady baseline to heighten sharply. It was closing in.
He started to head back toward the village. But as he gazed into the inky black, he got a spike of fear.
It was there. Between him and the village.
He froze. Everything becoming very loud; he could hear his rushing blood, his pounding heart.
He started to hyperventilate. He'd never had to go toward it before. Only ever run away.
His claws tingled. Numbing as he became terrified. He took a step back. Then another. Stumbled. He couldn't fight it. He had to run.
Even if he was heading straight into its element, if he had to run all night, he had to run.
So he did. Turning tail and hurrying as fast as he could across the river.
Something was wrong. His fear wasn't lessening - it was increasing. This didn't make sense. It made no sense, it made no sense-!!
He glanced behind him. His heart leapt into his throat. He could see it now: those beady eyes, those gleaming claws. That toothy grin, that mangy pelt. Leaping between the trees, like a dragon. Matching his speed.
But looking at it meant Chameleon wasn't looking where he was going, and he crashed headlong into a tree.
Pain crashed through his skull. He tumbled head over heels. Then it stabbed through his back, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped, and was wracked with coughs, unable to breathe.
Chameleon's head throbbed painfully, warmth crawling down his temple. It felt like he was spinning. He tried to get his claws under him, get up, but he fell back down. He spread his wings and flapped, but they caught no air.
Brush crashed right next to him. He snapped his head in that direction. ...It's here.
Crunch... crunch... crunch. The clawfalls stopped. The monster was right in front of him. It looked down at him, grinning.
Tears welled in his eyes. He started to blubber uncontrollably.
He couldn't fight. He tried to get away, and failed. There was only one more thing he could do.
He opened his mouth, and screamed.
The three dragonets gazed down at the white-scaled Chameleon in awe.
"Woah! He changed color!" The leftmost one, Tangerine, poked one of Chameleon's talons. He didn't respond. His face was frozen in a mask of terror. He was out cold.
"If he could all along, why doesn't he?" The rightmost one, Agouti, cocked a brow.
"'Cuz he's a weirdo, and a grump," the middle one, Regal, declared. As if that were obvious, because it was. "He thinks some monster has been stalking him for weeks. Is it a stretch to think he would lie and say he can't camoflage?"
Agouti cooed in realization. "You're right! He probably just made that up. Dumb Chameleon. We figured you out, dummy! You're just a fibber!" He kicked Chameleon in the hindclaw.
"Why, though?"
"For the attention."
Tangerine snapped his talons. "You're smart!" He said to Regal.
Regal smirked and preened.
"Well, that was fun. Let's go back." Regal yawned.
"Should we help him?"
Regal glanced back at the unconscious Chameleon in disdain. "Naaah. Look, he's finally getting to sleep. You wouldn't want to spoil that for him, would you?"
No. "Good point."
The trio flew off.
Leaving Chameleon lying helpless in the dirt.