Lights, Camera, Dragon!

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. But when Tanis became the runaway star of Marvel’s latest blockbuster, dragons were in. I knew this was my chance to finally make it in Hollywood—as a dragon.

Unlike Tanis, who had landed a role as her dragon self, I had only been auditioning in my human form. For years. A toothpaste commercial here, a murder victim on a police procedural there, but nothing that would propel me to stardom.

Rumor had it that Tanis had transformed mid-audition and signed a deal that same day. Rumor also had it that the studio just wanted to save money on CGI, or to cash in on being the first film with a real-life dragon, no matter who it was.

Whatever. I still admired her.

Tanis wasn’t the first dragon to reveal herself to humans. That distinction went to the unassuming Paul Brown, a dentist in Dayton, Ohio. And the rest of the world had had the last two years to come to terms with the fact that dragons walked among them.

About half a million more dragons had come forward in the meantime, but no one knew for sure how many were out there. Not even me. We’re a secretive bunch, obviously.

I admired Tanis not only for her boldness. She was also a damn fine actor. And absolutely gorgeous. Okay, so maybe I envied her a little too.

In full dragon form, Tanis was about half the size of the Burbank Bus I was currently riding. In other words—she was hot. Her horns had an elegant kudu curl, and her scales shone an unusual plum-purple painted with green iridescence. Like a jewel beetle.

That very same metallic purple-green flashed in the corner of my eye. A girl seated in front of me on the bus was wearing Tanis’ own line of nail polish. I recognized it instantly—I had bought a bottle myself.

We turned a corner and there was Tanis again. Her long, glossy fangs smiled out from a billboard advertising some cryptocurrency or another. “Be a part of something LEGENDARY,” it boasted.

Normally I wouldn’t mind seeing Tanis’ face everywhere. It usually filled me with something like awe. But today, she made me anxious. Her intense gaze seemed harsh and judgemental, like I could never compare to her.

I skirted my eyes away from the billboard and mentally rehearsed the sides yet again. I didn’t need to consult the script anymore but I still held the pages in my lap, rolling and unrolling them nervously.

My agent had been over the moon when she had brought me the audition. Walt Disney Studios was looking for a dragon.

The casting call was comically broad. No look, gender, age, or any other feature had been specified beyond “dragon.” Nothing about scale chroma or wingspan or fire breath. Humans still had a lot to learn about us.

Though, I supposed I should be grateful that they hadn’t cottoned on to conventional dragon beauty standards yet. No one would be interested in my stubby horns and boring, ordinary red scales...

I shook myself and sat a little straighter. No—I could do this. This was my chance.

The bus came to a wheezing halt and I realized with panicky excitement that we had arrived at my stop. The girl with the Tanis nail polish got off the bus too. Was she here for the audition? Was that old man? Or that mom with her teens in tow?

Well, I’d know soon enough.

I took another peek at the address on my phone and hurried down the block. It was still early in the day and pleasantly sunny, but I was sweating by the time I pushed through the door of the casting agency.

My nerves only ratcheted higher after I signed in and took a seat in the waiting room. There were only about ten other actors, which was good for my chances. But they all looked so much cooler than me, even in human form, which was bad.

In any other circumstance, I would’ve been thrilled to meet so many dragons. Yet I couldn’t help but eye them as my competition. I wondered how they would look as their true selves, sizing them up.

A burly guy with a red beard—a gold dragon, maybe?—caught me staring at him and I ducked my eyes sheepishly.

I waited. I ran through the script in my head again. Someone else was mumbling the lines to themselves. The room smelled vaguely of burnt coffee.

“Oh my god, Danielle?! Dani!”

My head snapped up at my name being called.

“Tom!” I squeaked in surprise and jumped up to give my old friend a breathless hug.

“What are you doing here—”

“Why didn’t you tell me—”

We both cut each other off and laughed. God, but it felt good to see a familiar face.

Tom and I used to perform improv together at the UCB and had become fast friends. But when the comedy club had closed its doors a few years back, we’d lost touch.

He looked the same as ever, with his signature swoop of blond hair and a playful smile like he was about to tell you the corniest joke imaginable. I looked harder, trying to picture him as a dragon, but came up short. He was eyeing me too.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Tom said. He waggled an eyebrow, and his headshot.

Reluctantly, I pulled my own headshot from my bag. Tom snatched it away before I could change my mind and pushed his photo into my hands.

His scales were a frosty azure blue, just like his eyes, highlighted by a subtle silver sheen. Horns thick and curved like a ram’s. The quirk of his smile revealed sword-sharp fangs. He was stunning.

“Oh wow, Tom,” I breathed. The relief that I had felt at seeing him again was swamped by yet another crush of nerves.

“Cute!” Tom said in return, almost convincingly. He handed my photo back a little too quickly. “You could get horn extensions, you know. Everyone’s doing it these days.”

Before I could respond, my name was called again.

“Danielle Adams? You’re up,” an assistant announced, poking her head out from an adjoining room.

Damn being first in the alphabet. I should choose a different stage name, I thought to myself as I gathered up my things, and my courage.

“Good luck!” Tom said cheerily and pressed me into another quick hug.

I stammered out a thanks before hurrying over to where the assistant was waiting. She smiled kindly as she held open the door but looked me up and down like she was thinking, “This is a dragon?”

No, that was just pre-audition jitters talking. I took a deep breath. I could do this.

I strode into the room—shoulders back, big smile—but stopped short with a gasp. My headshot slipped from my numb fingers and fell to the floor.

There, towering over me like a statue carved from pure amethyst, was Tanis.