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			Chattel Dance
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			The dragon dances through the rain, king of his band and first in line. Music beats strong, but the costume is heavy on his back, heavy with saturating rain, and he knows from years past that time has come to shed the skin and lay the dragon to rest. He molts and abandons a years' work, glittering green and flaming red pieced together in spare moments after work when he wasn't arguing with his girl. He discards a years' worth of memories along the road side in a pile of brilliant colors, just another of the many ephemeral facades. Dragon forever, he melts into the crowd to find his girl and his rum, already dreaming the next dragon.
			...