Unfortunately, Kilani knew that none of her fellow tigers would understand or accept Kilani for trying to raise a child of their sworn enemies.  For that reason alone, Kilani had to find a secluded sanctuary where she and the unborn dragon could live freely and in harmony, away from prying eyes and wicked intent.

It took some time and effort, but eventually Kilani found the perfect refuge for herself and her new charge.  Knowing that Princess Kiriad would send out scouts to look for her after she didn’t return, Kilani felt that her best bet would be to seek shelter somewhere in the northernmost expanse of the Dragonlands.  None of her sisters would dare venture into that territory to look for her, and she felt that the dragons would be too busy believing that the egg had been kidnapped.  That would hopefully keep dragon search parties up north of the Jory and Taryn mountains as well. 

With their new home surrounding them, it came time for Kilani to choose a name for her new charge.  To her, the choice was simple – the child’s name would be “Chuki”, a name meaning “A gift from my enemy.”  Kilani found the humour in such a phrase, since her “enemy” turned out to be more than that in her final minutes.  Not only was she more like a friend, she was also the one who helped Kilani realize her destiny.  So, it was in honour of Azure that she chose the name.

Days turned into months, and months turned into years.  Chuki’s egg had hatched in that time and Kilani took care of her adopted daughter as if she were her own.  Never leaving the sanctuary, the two of them thrived within the paradise they shared together.  Kilani raised Chuki to be a playful, peace-loving dragon – something neither dragon nor tiger had ever seen in a long, long time.  In this cozy, little world Kilani had created for them both, she had already achieved her ultimate dream – dragon and tiger were united in peace and harmony.

Unfortunately, Kilani and Chuki’s bliss would not last forever.  Both tigers and dragons had spent the years Kilani and Chuki were missing searching for their respective charges.  But while Princess Kiriad eventually called off all search parties believing Kilani to be dead, Queen Oscura would not give up. 

Her persistence eventually paid off.  Oscura had used every means necessary to find her daughter – search parties, bounty hunters, scryers.  It would be the scryers that would eventually pierce the veil of hiding and discover where Oscura’s daughter could be found.  When the queen found out that one of her flea-ridden enemies was secretly raising the child as her own within the Dragonlands, Oscura seethed with anger...