Life as a Dragon Chapter XI

Chapter XI: Revelations

I suddenly opened my eyes with a blush. The dream I just had was very vivid. My blush deepened as I thought of it. I looked to my right and there she was, Kerian, still sleeping. I was about to get up but an idea popped into my head. I growled mischievously and slowly rose, careful not to disturb her. I froze as my wing brushed against her side. Her tail twitched but otherwise she remained still. Sighing in relief, I turned to her and approached her neck, giving it a shallow but firm nibble. I quickly pulled my muzzle out of the way once the deed was done. She emitted something between a yelp and a roar and jumped in clear surprise.

<Good morning>, I tried to say, while laughing uncontrollably. Suddenly, out of nowhere I was tackled to the ground. My laughing stopped and I saw Kerian looking at me and growling, with her teeth slightly bared. I felt a tiny twinge of fear. Had I gone too far? My fear intensified when I noticed her teeth approaching my neck. I tried to kick her off but, before I could do anything, she quickly and lightly nipped my neck.

<Good morning to you too.>, she said, getting off me, but not before giving me a light slap with her tail.

I liked her tail.

I got up and, after stretching and popping a few joints, jumped into the air, after Kerian, to find a meal, courtesy of my stomach. We found some prey and quickly slew it, eating it on the spot. We rested for a while to let our stomachs handle the load. After some time though, I began to feel bored. I took a quick look at Kerian and found her still resting. I decided against taking the stealthy approach and outright pounced on her, trying to hold her with my weight. A brawl quickly started, with the balance tipping slightly in my favor. She struggled, but couldn't free herself from me. The advantage was soon lost when Kerian used her flexible tail to tickle me in the spot I was the most vulnerable. I roared in surprise and tried to evade it by shifting my position, but it was of no use, for she always found a way to reach it. I quickly got off her before I embarrassed myself. I was about to call her a cheater, but stopped myself as I realized I could turn the charm against witchcraft.

The fight went on through the entire day, except for the brief stops to catch our breath and to drink. Neither of us managed to gain the upper hand due to the little neat “cheat” Kerian had made up. I had tried it too and noticed it was also very effective on her.

Day soon turned to night, which was unfortunate. I really enjoyed the day I had and I felt a deep, lasting satisfaction. However, I was also dead tired. I don't think I had ever exercised so much and so intensely in one day. I looked around in the ever decreasing daylight, trying to find something for a night snack. I smelled a nice, beefy rat northeast of me. I quickly pounced on it and devoured it in two bites. Afterwards, I flew to our cave and quickly fell asleep from exhaustion.

I slowly woke up, but didn't open my eyes immediately. Instead, I let myself relax and feel the cold, rough floor and the warm air around me. 'Wait, warm?' I snapped my eyes open. 'Oh, Drakul.' I looked around and noticed Kerian wansn't with me. 'Strange...', I thought. 'I hope Drulkar has a good excuse for this.' I got up and stretched fitfully. Suddenly, I heard a heavy beating of wings and then a thump. That could only be Drulkar.

<Greetings, young one.> I looked at the larger dragon. <You might be asking yourself why isn't your dear one with you.>

'Whoa, dear one?' My eyes widened in surprise. <There's no way that...> Drulkar laughed.

<Young dragon, you might be denying it now, but it's only a matter of time until you two unite as mates. Surely you have noticed that feeling on your inside when you are close to her, or the way you stare at her tail. Even the way you act around her.> He looked at me in the eye, and I couldn't help but agree, even though I still couldn't accept I actually loved her and that one day we would do... it. But what he had said was true. I did stare at her tail a lot. And I liked it. But if I really did love her, there was a single, scary question I had to ask myself and, in the future, Kerian. Did she feel the same way I did?

She slowly opened her eyes, when she suddenly realized there was something wrong: the warm blue bulk that was Serkath was missing from her side. She had been half-expecting him to give her a good-morning nuzzle or even a nip to the neck like he had done yesterday. She didn't mind it too much, but she had to show he wouldn't “get away” without “revenge”. However, she had been worried she had scared him too much when she growled at him so close to his neck. He had begun to struggle more than what was expected but he didn't flinch when her teeth made contact with the scales on his neck. She liked his scales a lot. The dark blue was just perfect for her, even though it wasn't as vivid as her own green hide. He wasn't here though, so she'd have to forget it for now. Her eyes now opened fully and she realized she was in Drakul. But that raised a question. 'Why would Drulkar separate us?'

<Greetings, young dragoness.> She was startled out of her thoughts by Drulkar's growl. Noticing her reaction, he continued. <Worry not, for I will answer all your questions.> He took a deep breath. <It is time for you two to learn the full extent of your legacy.> Kerian cocked her head at this.<You have reached a critical point in your lives. You both have nearly completed your tenth cycle.>

<What's a cycle?> Kerian asked.

<It's what we use to measure time. I believe each cycle values eight human years.> Her eyes widened considerably, but Drulkar continued before she could say anything. <Be at ease Kerian, for you haven't been a dragon for such a long time. When I transformed you, you did start as a very young hatchling, but due to the maturity your human body already possessed, both physical and psychological, your aging was much faster. Soon, your current body will 'catch up' and then you will progress normally through the years.> He paused. <But I digress. As I already said, you have near your tenth cycle. This is extremely important, as it's at this time you will undergo your adult trials. But first I will lecture you on... ourselves.>

<As an introduction, I'll tell you this: We weren't always in this form. Ages ago, the first dragons appeared. They had wings just like us, but no forelegs. They could breathe fire but depended on its correct management to sustain themselves on the air, for the source of their flame was the same as what they used to make themselves lighter, to enable flight. With time, they grew forelegs, becoming more efficient at grappling prey and fending off competition.>

<When humans appeared, we were curious at first. However, that soon turned into fear as they started killing many of us. We tried to fight back, but they were very smart and elusive and could always find a way through our scales. Realizing this, we had no choice but to flee; and flee we did but, due to the panic, we lost track of each other and were separated into small groups, never to see each other again. I am sure the humans tried to follow us, but not even their craftiness could overcome our speed in the air. When... yes?> Drulkar stopped, realizing my questioning gaze.

<How do you know all this?> I asked. Drulkar lightly laughed.

<I was alive at that time. As in with a body. When I died, due to my...> He hesitated. <...actions, I was... promoted to guardian. I have been watching dragonkind since then. However, I do sense my end is nigh. I cannot explain it. It seems my duty is coming to an end. This realization was one of the reasons that led me to you.> I was about to ask Drulkar about it... <But that shall wait for later.> Aww... <As I was saying, we fled in different directions. I know not where, because I wasn't in this state at that time, but I do know they are still living, for I feel their life forces, just like I feel yours. But enough of this. I shall now teach you the way of the dragon. Our way.>

<First, you should know you shall live a much longer life than a human, if you do not fall ill or become mortally wounded. Our average life expectancy is two-hundred cycles, that is, one thousand six hundred human years.> My eyes widened. That long?! What was I going to do in all that time? Sensing my thoughts, Drulkar continued. <Worry not, for a dragon's life is... 'relaxed', for lack of a better term. That means you will not run around, always in a hurry and working like ants like the humans do, but like a snail. Everything is done at a slow pace, as you have probably already noticed.>

There are four possible phases in our life: hatchlinghood, your current one, adulthood, ancienthood and elderhood. Only a select, honored few reach this final phase, forever to be remembered as the true pinnacle of wisdom and strength in dragonkind. Each time a dragon is ready to transition to the next phase in his life, he will be given a trial, like you will... soon.> That piqued my interest.

<A trial? Like in a test?> I asked.

<Yes, Serkath. You will have to prove yourself worthy of being called an adult.> That definitely piqued my interest.

<When will I do this test? What do I have to do? What happens if I pass it? What if I fail it? Where...?> My head was full of questions, but they were interrupted by Drulkar's chuckle.

<Be at ease, young dragon, for all your questions will be answered in due time. There are things I cannot say now, but I will tell you this: have faith in yourself and you shall not fail. I will also advise you to prepare yourself, in body and mind, as your rite of passage will take a lot out of you.>

<There is another thing I would like to say, which is the reason why I have separated you two.> I cocked my head in curiosity. <And that's the mating season.> 'W-what?' I thought. <Yes, Serkath, as your tenth cycle draws near, so does your first mating season. I will lecture you on such. The first thing you should know about is, unlike humans, we cannot produce offspring whenever we want. There's a time for that and that's the mating season. Some time before this begins, Kerian will start to act very... friendly towards you. This is merely a preparation of what is to come. As you stray closer to each other, the bond between you two will strengthen and one day, the miracle of life will happen. You will embrace your loved one in flight and let gravity do its work, while you spill your seed inside Kerian’s body.> Drulkar looked at my flabbergasted look and chuckled. <If your mating is successful, which it almost always is at the first try, Kerian will become gravid. The eggs will stay inside her for around a tenth of a cycle, after which, she will enter labor. This will be a very painful for her, so I expect you to be near her, comforting her.

<Dragon eggs are very small, though quite tough, compared to other species. Their colors can only be a combination of one or both mates’ colors plus any shade of grey. Taking you as an example: your eggs can only be green, blue, black, turquoise, and so on.>

<Once the eggs hit the earth, it’ll be your full time occupation to protect them from hungry maws. Should you be successful – I expect you to – there’s no exact time as to when they hatch, but it’s on an average of three months. Your clutch can be as small as one egg, or as troublesome as five eggs.>

<Once the hatchlings break through their shells, the first thing in their minds will be ‘food’, followed by ‘parents’ and ‘brothers’ last. This means you’ll have to be extremely careful if more than one egg hatches at the same time. Put food in front of their muzzles right away or you risk them trying to eat each other.>

I opened my eyes and nudged Kerian awake. She stirred and rose. We exited our cave and looked for breakfast. Today I felt like doing something different. After we devoured our meals and waited for our stomachs to handle them, I got up and stalked towards Kerian. When I was close enough, I tackled her and pushed her into the nearby river. She roared in surprise as she splashed into the clear water. I dived right in and a mock-fight soon began.

The fight didn’t go for as long as it used to, because we became tired more quickly, due to the extra drag from being underwater and our need to surface every few moments to get a breather. But I enjoyed the challenge.

We decided to get our lunch underwater as well, because why not? Fish tasted differently from what I remembered as a human. They were much juicier and softer. I was going to include fish in my diet from now on.

As night drew closer and closer, I started feeling strangely excited. I enjoyed the feeling but I didn’t know why. Fortunately that didn’t prevent me from falling asleep.

‘It is time.’ A voice echoed inside my head just as I fell asleep.