[ WP ] When everyone turns 18 , they receive a pet which is figurative of their personality . You 're the first person to receive a dragon ...

A little late to the party but here's my submission: 
 
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 Mus entered the Garden of the Gods through the rusty old gates. He turned to take one last look before the wrinkled old gatekeeper slowly hobbled to close the doors. Taking in a deep breath, and gathering his courage, he took the first step in his journey to attaining a Guardian Spirit. 
 
 It was a long standing tradition in his village. No one knew when, or how it started, or even where these spirits came from, but it was passed on to each generation from parent to child. The children of the village on their 18th birthday were sent through the gates, and into the Garden to look for the old shrine. There they would pray to the Gods, and if successful, they would be awarded a Guardian Spirit which would protect its host, and bestow upon them great blessings. 
 
 And so, as tradition dictated, Mus started his journey. 
 
 They say the garden takes a different form each person. Even if two people were to enter the garden at the same time, they would be instantly separated before they could notice, and each would see a different world around them. Each person's journey, and challenges would be different. Unfortunately for Mus, it seemed that the Gods did not particularly favor him, and his `` Garden'' turned out to be a steep forboding mountain. Dragging his feet up the path while cutting away at the thick foliage, he slowly made his way towards the top. 
 
 After what seemed like hours of huffing and puffing, he decided to take a break. He sat down on a nearby rock to grab a quick bite to eat. While looking through his pack he noticed a letter that was stuffed in between some of this things. He grabbed it along with one of the sandwiches his mother made him. He took a bite as he unfurled the letter to read. 
 
 It was from his childhood friend. The only one which Mus could consider to be his best friend. Accipiter was her name. She was, frankly speaking the complete and total opposite of Mus. Accipiter was loud, boisterous and physically strong, while Mus had always been quiet and meek person. It was quite surprising, especially to Mus himself that the two of them would end up as best friends. 
 
 It was what many could consider a boy's name, and of course, many would also consider it a strange name for a girl. She was quite proud of it how ever as it was the name her father had given to her. Those that dared to tease her about it were quickly set straight after speaking with her two friends `` lefty'', and `` righty''. 
 
 Mus on the other hand, was often picked on by the other children in the village. It was not as if the other children hated him in particular or felt any resentment towards him. They were just children after all. Simply, Mus who could never speak up or stand for himself, always ended up being `` given'' the short straw during their games, so to speak. 
 
 Somehow, these two managed to find their way to one another, and a friendship was formed. 
 
 He smiled as he read the letter. It was a short, sweet, and full of encouragement. She never really was that good with her words he thought to himself while finishing both the letter and the sandwich. Mus had felt rather nervous about the journey, but the letter from his friend Accipiter had given him the extra boost to continue his journey. 
 
 Many days of walking, sight seeing, and *some* resting... Okay, a lot of resting passed. Finally reaching the summit, there ahead of him stood a small shrine with an idol resting inside. It was smaller than he thought it would be. Still, he trudged on ahead. A combination of the hike, and his nervousness made his heart pound ever more frantically as he drew nearer. Legs still shaking, he crept up to the shrine, and kneeled before it. Just as he was about to clasp his hand and start the prayer, he remembered what his mother had told him. He took a moment to gather himself, and then set out to clean the shrine. He cleared away the leaves, cleaned the dirt with a cloth he brought, and then finally presented an offering to the gods: the pie that his mother had baked him in the morning. 
 
 With the preparations completed, he continued as tradition dictated, and prayed to the gods. 
 
 He prayed, and prayed, and prayed, hoping for something amazing that he could proudly show off to everyone in the village. He prayed for so long and hard, that he started feeling pins, and needles pricking his legs as they fell asleep. After praying for what seemed like an eternity, he opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing. No Guardian Spirit in sight. Not even a hint of anything nearby. 
 
 He sighed, and with his legs still asleep, crawled to a nearby rock to rest. He sat leaning against it, and opened his pack again, looking to grab another sandwich. Unwrapping it, and taking a bite he stared ahead at the idol. 
 
 Suddenly the idol flashed, a bright light temporarily blinded him. When his vision returned, the shrine was gone, and there standing innocently in its place on the stone stand... A rat. It was often said that the Guardian Spirit would reflect it's owners' own personality, and strengths, but a rat? What was he going to do with a rat? Mus was hoping at least for something like an Owl. 
 
 A wave of disappointment, and regret rushed over him. After seeing her return with a majestic Hawk Spirit, Mus who was feeling uncharacteristically competitive told Accipiter that when it came time for him to go on his 18th birthday, he would return to the village with an impressive Spirit unlike any other, a spirit so amazing, that even she would be jealous of it. One that he would be able to proudly show off to the village. She laughed, and replied that she'd be waiting at the gates for his return so that she could be the first one to see it if that was going to be the case. 
 
 Mus sighed, and got up. It was n't a very flashy, or impressive spirit, but it was still his spirit. He thought of all the teasing he'd receive once he returned, while cleaning off his pants. Suddenly Mus felt something stirring in the air. The hairs on his neck were stiff, as a strange wind blew through the area. His, and the rat's eyes were darting around searching for what could be the cause of the uneasiness. He picked up the pace, and moved quickly towards his spirit. Just as he was about to reach out and pick it up, something flew by with such force that it pushed him back onto his rear. 
 
 Regaining his composure, he looked back to where his spirit was, and there stood a dragon, or what resembled the descriptions of a dragon that he had read from books. It stood there eyeing him defiantly, with Mus' guardian spirit hanging from it's mouth by the tail. 
 
 Oh.. Oh no. Please do n't do what I think you're going to... 
 
 Before Mus could finish his thought, the dragon did exactly what he thought it was going to do, and swallowed Mus' spirit whole after throwing it in the air. Like catching a piece of candy in its mouth. 
 
 `` No!!'' Mus screamed out, which startled both the dragon, and himself. 
 
 He moved instinctively. It was n't a flash or impressive spirit, but it was still *his* spirit. Before he knew what was happening, he had tackled the dragon, and they ended up both rolling down the mountain, hitting what felt like to Mus, every single rock, stump, and twig along the way down. 
 
 Battered and bruised from the tumble, they slowly both came to a stop. Mus did n't know how long they had been out, but when he awoke, he laid there breathing heavily next to the dragon, which looked to be still unconscious. Everything in his body was aching. He rolled onto his stomach and took his time getting up. Grabbing a fallen branch nearby to use as a support, he made his way towards the unconscious dragon. 
 
 While standing over the creature that he had only heard of in the story books read to him as a child, the only thing he could think of was that maybe he should spend a little less time around Accipiter, as her personality seemed to be rubbing off onto him a little too well. 
 
 Picking up the dragon, he thought of his next plan of action. He had never heard of a Guardian Spirit dying before its master, so maybe there was a way to bring it back. After all, it was n't unheard of for a spirit to disappear temporarily, and come back later if it expended a little too much energy, or was hurt badly. Maybe the Village Chief would know something about this. After making some room for it, Mus threw the dragon into his backpack. Luckily for him, unlike in the 15 foot monstrosities that were described in his books, this one was only a bit larger than a cat. 
 
 He scanned his surroundings, and found the path leading back to the village. Thanks to the tumble they took, it looked like Mus had saved himself a bit of time. He figured he could get back before nightfall if he walked a steady pace. That's good he thought. At least it could n't get any worse from here he continued, and as if on cue, he felt something cold land on his nose. Looking up he saw that the skies were now dark, gray, and following that snow flake, were millions more lazily floating down. 
 
 He sighed. The gods really do love testing people did n't they.
