From the moment I left the egg I was thrown into hell.
Every direction I looked revealed nothing. Nothing but an impenetrable darkness that smothered my eyes as if my scales had grown over them completely.
From the second my claws had touched the stone floor my instincts screamed in the back of my mind.
RUN.
I wriggled the rest of my body free and did just that.
No sooner than when my tail had left the nest a great booming crash had resounded behind me. Fragments of egg shell and rock hurtled through the air as if shot like arrows.
Several struck me leaving holes in my scaled hide.
A quick glance behind me held a sight of horror. A massive furred body stood where my nest had only moments ago.
An angry maroon pulsed from its body, lighting up a massive area around it, including me. It's eyes glinted as they took me in, Fangs of indescribable size parted to reveal the depths of it's maw.
The sonic wave from the thing��s roar cracked the stone under my feet and nearly knocked me unconscious. Blood poured from my ears and the pain and terror were all that kept my feet underneath me.
I felt rather than heard it take a step towards me, causing the stone to shiver under its mass.
Sheer luck was all that saved me from the behemoth. In my haste to escape, I fell through a break in the floor.
After several moments of unfettered plunging. The ground rose up to meet me.
It was not an amicable host, and I felt more than a little pain from the crash. Above me a second roar reminded me that I did not have the opportunity to rest here.
After several agonizing minutes of crawling I found another, far shallower hole in the ground in which I decided to hide.
I inspected myself, finding dozens of bloody holes and one leg that didn't seem to be facing in the correct direction, if it's matching pair was any indication.
Thankfully the bleeding was slow and the injuries seemed to be closing by themselves. The leg however, my instincts had told me to twist back around. Doing so sent me into a deep slumber.
I awoke to find myself preternaturally healed. Only my leg echoed any memory of the beast's wrath.
Relief quickly turned to hunger and thirst. My stomach felt as if it were ready to devour itself. The healing must have used up all of the fat I had grown inside the egg, and then some.
Tentatively I poked my head up out of the crevice and took in a deep breath in through my nose. The only smell I could identify was that coming from the coagulated splotches of blood that led away from my hiding place.
The clear path I had left behind left me with a deep feeling of dread. If something had found and followed this trail I would have been little more than a free meal.
I decided to pull myself out of the hole and walk in the opposite direction. Some time later I find myself up against a body of water, the hard stone gave way to gravil. I drank greedily, quenching my thirst.
With only hunger on my mind now, I wonder how I could possibly find something edible down here. Specifically something that won't eat me before I can eat it.
I consider for a moment, and all I can come up with is waiting by the water. If I get thirsty, it's likely that other creatures down here do too.
Rather than stand around in the open I dig a shallow hole and flatten myself into it. It took some struggling to fit my wings down into it, prompting me to slightly expand my temporary lair.
Despite the hours that pass with me moving only to breathe and blink, my patience proves indefatigable. In all of this time only a single monster is either close, or loud enough for me to detect.
The nearly imperceptible sound of small claws on stone is all evidence it gave of its presence.
After a short while it leaves, and I make my move. I stalk slowly towards where I believe I had heard it. Nose thrumming as I attempt to decipher what smell belonged to it.
I detect only the moisture of the water and stone dust at first. Until it hit me, a kind of gross wet stink filled my nose. Despite my hunger I almost walked away right then and there to find a new hunting ground.
But no, my stomach refused to allow me to abandon the possibility of a meal for the smell of it alone. Thus I followed the scent, slowly, carefully along through the cavern.
It led far from the water, through a break in what appeared to be the wall of the large space. In the new space I barely had enough room to stand up straight or turn around.
I was keenly aware of the feeling of being trapped. The possibility of being the hunted rather than the hunter crossed my mind and kept me on edge.
After passing nearly three of my lengths down the corridor I came face to face with the creature. Or at least what I had hoped was its face. I nearly jumped from the surprise but froze instead.
My senses sharpened on the creature, I took in quiet breaths to catch any changes in smell. I focused my ears to listen out for any indication of movement.
It didn't appear to know I was here, nor did it move at all. Gaining confidence I open my mount and strike. The creature reacted instantly, a weak green light came from a few patches of blotchy fur.
It revealed the form of the disgusting thing. Through a good guess my jaws were wrapped around its head, so I could only see half of it at best.
What I saw however revealed an emaciated creature with four stick-like legs. A thin, short body, and what appeared to be a halfway bitten off tail.
For a moment I felt sorry for the creature, it was in that moment that I also made a mistake. My jaws loosened by a degree and it wrenched its bloody skull out my grasp and latched its oversized teeth into the joint that connects my right wing to my back.
Pity turned to anger and I brought my left leg up and against its neck, resulting in a crisp snap. It fell limp, the glow dissipating.
Hunger took over instantly and I consumed the thing, skin, meat, bone, and all.
After somewhat satiating my need I consider for a moment why both of the monsters I've encountered were able to create light, and I wasn't. I considered whether it was just a part of my body I hadn't tested yet.
I stretched every muscle I knew of, searching for anything out of place. From tail to hips I didn't find anything. It wasn't until I had reached my wings that something changed.
A glow came from the wins. With the confines of the hole I couldn't properly inspect them. I could however see the light. It was jet black. Almost as if it was made from the darkness surrounding me.
But I could see the ground as easily as I could with the crimson or green of the two creatures. I stretched again, this time turning off the light.
My instincts whispered that I should sleep now that I've eaten. I settled down, in the lair of the creature I had just consumed, and slept.
Waking up I felt fantastic. Even so my body told me it was time to drink and eat again.
I found myself utterly distraught, how many times am I going to have to eat? It seemed like such a waste of time.
Despite my misgivings, I gave into the urge and trekked back towards the water, this time setting up my lookout in a new position.
Far more time passed before the next monster revealed itself. This one however I had seen long before I could either hear or smell it.
A far stranger light came from it. A mixture of red, yellow, and orange that flickered wildy as it walked. It was also much larger than me but not quite as large as the beast from the nest.
As it approached it revealed a glistening and smooth hide. It walked slowly but confidently, utterly unafraid of what could be hiding beyond the reach of its light.
Closer still I could hear an odd sound come from it, like its scales were loose and rubbed against one another with every step. Something about it both disturbed and angered me. I wanted both to run from it and attack it all at once.
My mind won out in the clash of desires and I buried myself in the gravil, quickly covering my entire body except for a single eye.