Well...this is a first.
She carefully inspected the egg she came from—which she previously mistaken as a womb. The egg—now crack into pieces—was colored obsidian, with streaks of white and dark purple. It was bigger than her body by two times.
Splat.
Startled, she jumped back and instinctively scrambled away from the thing that suddenly dropped in front of her from above.
It looked disgusting, in a human's point of view. Mushy red meat mixed with fishes' intestines, all rolled up into a nice ball of slimy dragon saliva. It probably stank too, since it looked fresh and she spied a little fish still wriggling around.
But in her new dragon body's point of view, it was the equivalent of a large table full of delicious feast.
She looked up, and made eye contact with her mother's piercing onyx eyes. If she have a mirror, she reckon she might have the same predatory slitted eyes.
The large dragon gestured at the slimy food with her head, making a soft rumbling sound. Instinctively, she knew her mother was telling her to eat.
She looked back down at the...food, slowly lowering her head to have it an experimental sniff. It smelled...well, it smelled like raw meat and fish, except her scent seems to be amplified hundred times sharper than before. She gave a silent sigh before gobbling it all up in one gulp.
Eating raw food covered with dragon saliva wasn't the first time she ate something questionable and she guess it probably won't be the last.
It was...okay.
She hadn't really have the time to taste it properly since she gulp it down so quickly. Still, she was satisfied and content. The food settled heavy and warm on her stomach, strengthening her developing body.
She planned to survey the cave and her new family for future plans, but her lids started to droop again, and she didn't fight the heaviness that weigh on her body. She lay down, curling her wings around her.
It seems that even a baby dragon needs a lot of sleep.
(〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)
This time, she woke without anyone waking her up or someone making a loud noise. She feels infinitely better than before. She feels like she could fly and go on a run for thousands of miles without stop. She hadn't felt this good in a long time.
She stands up slowly, testing her control over body. It moved sluggishly, but it was to be expected.
Her mother was nowhere in sight, as were the other dragons. It was completely silent and empty aside from her. She found comfort in the tranquility and darkness.
She started crawling towards the large gaping entrance, bright sunlight streaming through and lighting up the dark place. The only problem was the sides were completely infested with wild thick, long vines that was tenfold her size. That'd be a pain to climb. She tried to let out a resigned groan, but it sounded more like a growl when it escape her throat.
It probably took her half an hour to finally lifted herself, and she would've complained about the pain and exhaustion if it wasn't for the sight in front of her literally taking her breath away with both unadulterated fear and awe.
And just as she thought she seen all life forms.
Impossibly gigantic dragons—even larger than her mother—with different varying sizes and colors you could imagine, all freely flying and weaving themselves around the impressive greenery mountains.
A sleek blue dragon that reminded her of a whale (only if it have two curved horns and rows and rows of sharp little teeth) suddenly bursted through the vast sea below, creating a fountain of waves into the air as it roared loudly, the ear-splitting sound echoing through thousands of miles away and scaring a group of red dragon birds that was perched nearby on an ancestral tree. An estimate of a hundred hordes of dark gray-white two-limbed dragons with odd long necks whistled through the thick, icy mist, nearly blending in if it wasn't for their glowing red eyes. A group of pure white, one-horned lizard-shape dragons dug through the ground, popping in and out below and effectively startling a few sleeping dark brown dragons that look similar to an armadillo, only with antennae. Small blue-green dragons with translucent scaly skin, probably a few years older than her since their size are a little bigger, squawked and pawed at each other without abandon from their own cave nests near her (it was almost reminiscent of an apartment with noisy neighbors).
Even the nature here seem to accommodate the dragon's needs. She have never seen tropical trees so...tall. And sturdy, judging by the way a few large adult dragons slamming against the trunks without even bending an inch. The fruits and vegetables here are also strange, as large as the average dragon themselves, but she shouldn't be surprised anymore.
This is, no doubt, a dragon's paradise.
Suddenly, her eyes caught the sight above her, where she could see ominous silhouettes of approaching dragons heading towards the large clearing at the center (almost like a stage) their bodies glowing in tandem like a loud flashlight midst the vapor mist. Familiar nine tails, glow-in-the-dark skeleton markings, she didn't need to guess who it was.
She could see the other dragons slowly taking notice of the new arrivals, quieting down. Or trying to.
This was the first time she saw her whole family(?) clearly in the light, and she noted some more eye-catching features in their body. They were long-limb, four-legged slender myths, reminding her again of foxes and jaguars. They have sharp talons too, the same color as their eyes.
"We arrived too late. The Green Mamba's nest has been completely destroyed. Only a few hatchlings have managed to survived." Said one of the largest Nine-Tailed dragon besides Mother. She assumed he was a leader of some sort, judging by his authoritative tone and leader-like position in the group.
Still, it was strange to see his mouth moving when she was still half-expecting to hear roars and growls but instead hearing words. Actual language she can understand.
There were numerous chain reactions. Some hiss indignantly, some growled with threat, and some, like her, only stared blankly because they have no idea what the hell are they talking about.
One of the older looking dragons with dark cyan spikes in their spine turned grim (wow, she was getting good at reading dragon expressions) and said with a raspy tone "it has nothing to do with us."
Suddenly, a young Nine-Tailed dragon behind Mother spoke up, boyish voice defiant "Elder! We can't just stand by and let—"
The said 'Elder' frowned "they are not our allies, young one. Meddling in a nest's inner war will only result in endless strife, not only for them, but us as well."
Ah. She gained a little bit of understanding here. It seems that even dragons have some sort of ranks and hierarchy in their 'nest'. And this 'inner war' was probably the same as 'rebellion' in human terms.
"But that's—"
"Enough," the Nine-Tailed leader shot the young dragon a look "do not speak of this matter any further. The Elder is right."
The young dragon's ears wilted, and Mother put one comforting tail on his head.
The Leader turned to the Elder once more, nodding before spreading his majestic wings and taking off without even a word. The Elder and a few other older dragons followed shortly. Where are they going? She saw them swooped down, eyes widening when the inconspicuous ground suddenly seem to shook and boom, a large opening cracked and the Leader and Elder smoothly entered. The ground closed up swiftly after they all entered as if it never been opened in the first place, not even a grass or flower misplaced.
"Moon child,"
Surprised, but thankfully she didn't showed any outward emotion when Mother suddenly landed just right beside her, the other Nine-Tailed dragons flying overhead and already slipping into the eerie darkness of the cave.
Mother frowned down at her "Four-Tails didn't stay with you?"
She just blink confusedly. Moon child. Four-Tails. What?
But Mother didn't seem to expect an answer, her frown deepen before abruptly turning outside, opening her mouth and letting out an ear-piercing bellow. It echoed, making a few dragon heads turned and the neighboring blue-green baby dragons to squeak.
A shrill cry answered back, and before she knew it, she could hear hurried flaps of wings.
"I'm here! I'm here! Four-Tails is here!" A panicked voice said below them, and she looked down, and see a black and grayish dragon with their distinctive markings but his tails...are only four?
Mother glared at him and Four-Tails shivered, with valid reason, as Mother's current intimidating slitted eyes can be terrifying.
"Why did you left her alone? She is only a hatchling. I specifically said to not leave her alone."
Four-Tails head seem to wilt like a dying plant, onyx eyes turning watery "I-I'm sorry, but the Snail Slicers called for help, and, and, I-I tried to help them—I'm really sorry, it won't happened again!"
Instead of being angry more, Mother exhale, and a black smoke just escape her nostrils. Four-Tails wilt even further at Mother's blatant disappointment, even his wings were drooping.
Taking pity on Four-Tails, she bump her head on her Mother's leg. Mother looked startled, as if forgetting she was there.
"What is it, Moon child?"
She opened her mouth expectantly, hoping to conveyed her intentions clear.
Mother blinked, before lowering her mouth and taking her by the scruff of her neck. Mother's wings spread, and they took off inside the cave.
Mother set her down gently at one of the warmer coves, tails lazily swaying.
She waited for Mother to get some fish out of the sea below, or even grab a bunch of fruits to feed her, but she was again proven wrong when Mother started to gag.
Splat.
The food came out of Mother's mouth. Directly from her mouth. There was even a bit of saliva clinging from Mother's teeth.
Even for a veteran reincarnator like her, this scene gave her a bit of a...pause.
She stared at the mushy meat and other unidentified substances in it, before slowly swallowing and chewing it carefully.
Mother seem happy just to watch her, so she continue eating the food. It's a bit too soft and bland for her taste, but she gave no complaints seeing as she was only a freeloader here. She can't even fly yet.
The food sat heavy and warm in her stomach as she let out a loud burp, laying on her back as she spread like a starfish.
She closed her eyes, feeling the familiar heaviness on her lids. She felt Mother's heat settling just behind her, further shielding her from the cold.
She could live with this. She'll survive, like always.
She fell asleep accompanied with dragons' distant roars.