It was almost dark when Kay came to. Some few hours ago, he had fainted from terror of Zifara's heart wrenching roar. A passionate roar laced with core emotions. Who could have stood in ground in that blast.
Kay had felt like he was about to die. If it had not been the link between him and this little dragon beside him, he knew he would have surely died.
He was too weak. At only six, what could be amount to! He was considered weak even among the mortals!
He felt a faint throbbing pain on his arm. Two bloody holes were visible on the coarse wool of his arm. How did I get two perfect puncture holes? He wasn't stupid. He still retained the vigilance of a soul that had lived a long life. His memories were eratic and far in between.
He still remembered his parents names, Elizabeth and Admond. As for the memories of his past life, they have already been converted into energy by the hatchling.
And the other thing is he didn't retain much of Rune's memories as well, when the runes had attacked Rune's soul, Rune had put his mundane life's memories on the forefront. They acted as fodder. Even though he lost himself, his choice granted the new Kay with the most important part of his soul.
He felt the wounds with his left hand. The pain was bearable. He would make do with what reality was declaring.
The hatchling before him looked more solid and grounded. It no longer looked pitiful as it had before he lost consciousness. Dragons surely live up to the rumors, they grow very fast in the first two years of their hatching.
He stood up, looked at the debris in the chamber. It was a far cry from what it had been before that behemoth of a dragon went beserk, thought Kay.
....
The culprit to the two wounds on Kay were Grey's two sharp cannines.
When he got back, he had met with Zifara, who solemnly sent visuals into Grey's head of what had happened. Grey had felt the sadness and gratitude of what Rune had done to save her sister. He knew she would forever consider herself idebted to the late servant of hers.
As for himself, he didn't know what he felt, him and Rune were never that close. At least in Rune's eyes. But because Rune treated him well, and was his life's savior, he would go through hell if it was his last wish.
With churning thoughts, he had sauntered into the castle all the way to the egg chamber. Grey had felt a formidable aura from the young dragon before his eyes fell on it. As for the supposedly kid named Kay, there was no aura at all!
What? Is it dead? No, he is breathing? He must have fainted , after all, he is just a human puppy. Pathetic. Thought Grey to himself as his gaze roamed up and down the kid who lay in a fetus position on the rock floor.
Grey had felt drawn to the kid as if he had known him for his whole short life. He felt like protecting him. He softly padded on his four powerful paws to Kay's side and sniffed him. What an audity! No aura, not scent , not even an iota. Only the scent of poor quality wool perforated into his nostrils.
He had opened his maw and bit down on the arm, sinking his cannines into Kay's flesh and tasted his blood.
This way, he had marked Kay, no matter where he goes, he will always know his whereabouts, and vice versa. And they could communicate using thoughts if Kay grows more powerful.
After this, he had traipsed out into the forest. He needed to grow strong very fast. If Zifara migrates to somewhere, the nearby predators would move in, and he would be done for!
.....
Kay walked out the chamber into the castle passageways with the young dragon. It had hatched just that day but it was already on par with him in height. I'm too small! No! This dragon is no ordinary beast!
He didn't know that what he thought was unrefutably true. They adhered to the huge passageway as they made their way out into the dusk sky.
Kay was startled that so much time has passed. He had to get home as fast as he could before his parents got back home. He frantically looked around, not sure which direction to take.
At that moment.
Zifara appeared and wrapped both the hatchling and Kay with cyan blue light. She linked this light with a portal a few dragon wing beats away. She told the two to be careful.
But before she could send the two forth, the ridgeback wolf appeared in a burst of speed and entered the bubble of light. Kay recoiled with fear. If it were not for Zifara who calmed and explained everything to him, he would have bolted right there and then.
The trio appeared in the cliff cave. The Grey wolf unceremoniously sent Kay in his way, leaving him with the dragonling.
The two warily looked at each other. Both were predators. Even though Grey was just two years old, his strength was formidable in his own right. He wasn't a pushover.
On the other hand, the dragonling in front of him was by no doubt strong. Just its presence put him on guard. He didn't know what it was thinking. But if his mind serves him well, he knew a young dragon needs a lot of magic to properly develop. And the only nearest source he could think of were the magic beasts in this forest.
After some contemplation, he backed up and vanished into the night.
The dragon looked into the night until the wolf disappeared. Its vision wasn't yet powerful to penetrate the darkness.
It felt the link with its anchor growing thin. With the further the anchor went, the more restless the dragonling felt. But after some time, the thinning stopped. It felt vague emotions through the link, more of nervousness it thought.
Deep in the night, it sensed that wolf coming back. It moved slowly as if tired. The hatchling slowly came out of the cave into the valley.
Grey was tired, just killing this magic beast nearly got himself killed! Pathetic! I'm still weak! We are a bunch of weaklings!
He dragged the beast all the way into the valley. The magic beast was as big as an ox and far much stronger with the agility of an evolved tiger. It was a close call!
It dropped the beast in front of the young dragon, whose hunger flared upon seeing the beast. It gobbled the beast in large chunks, breaking bones and splaying blood everywhere. There was no finesse to its eating.
The dragon only noted the wounds on the wolf after it had finished eating. The wolf's coat was matted with blood. It was hurt.
Instinctively, it opened its mouth and blew a gentle gale of pale golden air. Wherever the air touched, the wounds partially healed, leaving the wolf astounded and grateful.
Thousands of miles away, Zifara sent a Gold Blood Stage magic beast through the portal to the cliff cave. She knew her sister needed magic to properly develop. She could have hunted superior beasts such as those in the Platinum Organ Refinement Stage, or even those in the Diamond Flesh Refinement Stage, but it would have done more damage than good to her sister. A Gold Blood Stage magic beast was already a gamble.