The New Bond

[“The hatching of a dragon is something many people wish to see, but other than the riders of Arilon, a dragon hatching around humans is entirely unheard of or hasn't been recorded on paper.

Part of the reason is that the eggs of dragons that decide not to hatch wild only hatch for select individuals they deem suitable. Those deemed so are usually never found, have a good, or are already part of the organization of riders.

Do note, though, that an egg looking for a bond can sit unhatched for hundreds of years until it finds someone it wants to hatch for. This is seen in other similar exotic species that can be found around the world, such as thunderbirds, hydras, and even the more common griffin as seen in Karvum.”

-Creatures of the Continent by Henry Noerk.]

Aster

Making my way through the house, I spotted the egg still the same opaque black ice as before, but now I could make out a soft pale blue glow from inside. Standing still for a moment, I debated with myself. I was tempted to bring it with me so I could keep an eye on it, but the idea of bringing it into the water was enough to persuade me not to. I was also unsteady enough with my new limbs that I was scared I would drop them. I didn't care how tough the egg was. I did not want to rattle the tiny dragon inside.

Only after I was outside did I realize how big the difference in my hearing was. The sounds of the trees rustling and the wolves moving about were almost deafening. Was this how everything sounded to wolves all the time? It was enough to have me crossed-eyed

I waited until I could focus before I even took a step away from the house and started on as straight a path as I could for the river. After that, I would be able just to sit and wait for it to hatch.

“Aster! You’re Awake!” I was almost knocked off my feet as the black ball of fur nuzzled into me from the side, and I grabbed onto his fur to avoid falling over. “You look like us now!” He was ecstatic, almost more so than Kulni had been, his nose moving over the top of my head and my ears, making me try to lean away while still trying to hold on. Just how sensitive were my ears?

“How was it? Mother said you were okay, but you were asleep for so long. Is that why you

smell?” His snout winkled, and he stopped snuffling the top of my head.

Giving him my best death glare at the last words, I pointed to the river.

“Help me get there, and I’ll talk about it. I can hardly walk with this thing.” I gestured to my tail, which was waving from side to side.

Sandath let out a snort of amusement, his fangs showing in a grin only a wolf could produce, but he let me cling onto him as we made my way to the river. Once there, I stared in dismay at the ice that lined the corners of the fiver and readied myself for a cold bath, but as I dipped my hand in, it felt normal. Not cold but comfortable.

For the first time, I noticed my breath was billowing into the air, the heat from it slowly moving out and being met with the cold, but I wasn't cold at all, not from the wind, water, or just the temperature. Was this the bond allowing this? Could I even get a cold now? I mean, I did enjoy snuggling into my blankets on cold nights. I started to undress and waded into the water, shrugging. I wasn’t going to complain about it when I was about to take full advantage to get clean. I explained to Sandath everything that had occurred in the advancement and in the house while I got rid of the dirt I had gained while on the hunt.

He let out a whine, claws scratching at the ground and ice breaking it up as I brought up I'd be leaving the forest, but even he wouldn't argue when Mother had made a decision.

“At least it’s only two years from what mom said.” I shook my head, letting my hair fly about before dunking it under the water, using the current to untangle my hair while trying to avoid rubbing my ears. I’d accepted that I’d have to go while in the class advancement at some point. It felt like a done deal, one Kulni said, so I was just happy it was only for two years.

“I’ll have a lot to do until then. I want to get as many levels before I leave and maybe some new skills now that I can.” The water had me thinking more clearly, and I was trying to come up with ways to make the most of the time I had left in the forest.

“I'm going to miss you.” Sandath made a keening noise, and I flicked the water off my hand before rubbing the side of his head, trying to reassure him.

“You make it sound like I’m leaving forever. I’ll see you again, and it’s a while before I leave. We have all winter,” I reassured him.

He bobbed his head. “You still haven’t won our game, so you’ll have to come back.”

I couldn’t drag him in but was close enough to splash him with water, which I did. “I’m in the lead and have a second class now. You stand no chance.” I covered my face as he shook his pelt out. Now I'd smell like a wet wolf ugh.

“It’s unfair you get a second class so early. I still have to wait two years.” He griped

Snorting in disbelief at the comment, I stared up at him. “You’re what? Twelve years old. You’re lucky your timer is a year shorter.”

Grabbing my shit off the ground, I started to wash it in the water. If I couldn't get cold, I’d make the most of it. We continued to bicker until I’d cleaned everything and gotten out. Squeezing my tail out at Sandath’s reminder, I dressed but didn't bother putting my boots on as I tracked back to the house talking.

Our talking was interrupted when a brown wolf slightly smaller than Sandath trotted in front of him, holding what looked like part of a snake from her jaws, giving me a friendly look before she focused on Sandath. It was Numi, judging from the pattern in her fur. From the excited look she gave Sandath, I could tell she wanted to spend time with him even without being a part of their mental conservation.

I gave Sandath a shove, not that it moved him. “Go, I have to wait for the egg to hatch, and you can't fit inside the house. Enjoy yourself.” That earned me a lick on the face, which I sputtered from while he trotted off with Numi with only a parting yip of teasing from him.

Wiping my face, I made my way into the house, setting my boots by the door. The sound of something scraping caught my attention, and I made my way into the kitchen. What I saw was stacks upon stacks of butchered meat. More than enough to feed us for an entire week. Various animal carcasses littered the ground.

“Good, you’re back. You can help me, and feel free to have some while you help.” Kulni said, using a knife the size of her hand to skin a deer's leg.

“Why so much meat?” I asked as I took out the knife belted to my side and started on the body of a horned rabbit. So much for being clean longer than an hour.

“Your hatchling is going to have an appetite when they hatch, so the hunting party brought back a bit extra the past few days to make up for what it’s going to eat.” The reason was sound, something I hadn’t even considered, but if hatchlings were like other reptiles I’d read about from the books, they would eat meat right out of the egg. There was a lot, though.

The next few hours consisted of skinning and gutting the animals, then cutting up the meat into small cube bite-sized pieces. We moved the table to the main room, setting it up in one of the corners, tossing the unusable pieces and bones outside to some of the wolves who were nearby dozing. They snapped the pieces up with glee.

Then, the clean-up took place; it took less time, and the furs were stored by Kulni to be used later.

Once done, all that was left to do was wait. I was sitting on the couch next to Kulni, the egg right in front of me, reading a book on the known races, when she pulled an item out from the air.

“Your bond is special, to the point of being dangerous. When you leave the forest, people will see the mark on your neck.” She laid out a brown dyed leather neckband with a purple gem encrusted on the inner side and a simple clasp. “This is to help with that. Think of it as a late gift for your advancement.”

Identified it as I took it, I looked it over.

[Unbound - Collar Of Hiding - Epic - This collar grants the user obscurity from Identify and similar skills at the cost of the users' mana based on the person’s level and the used skill. Limited to 100 points. This collar also contains a rare hidden storage gem of 12x12 cubic feet. This item cannot be unequipped by anyone other than the bonded user. This item can not store other items above Rare quality. Requires contact to store an item.]

[Bind to this item? Note: Once bound, it cannot be unbound for 12 months.]

[Yes / No]

I looked at the item in wonder. There was no telling how she had gotten the item or if she had made it, but it was special.

“Are you sure?” I didn’t want to take something this valuable

“Yes, daughter, I’m sure. I have similar items like this one, but none of them suit you, and this also would psychically hide the mark. Knowing you’re using it will be enough for me.” She ruffled the top of my head with her hand, and I bound the item.

[You have bound the item: Collar Of Hiding.]

The feeling of mana leaving my body, binding to the item, was draining. I felt light-headed, my mouth suddenly dry, and my breathing hitching for a moment. Checking my mana, I saw that I’d dropped over three hundred points of mana in a moment. A stunning amount.

[Mana: 32/341]

I gulped. If I hadn’t classed up, I would have been out cold, regening mana and having it sucked out until the item had taken all the mana it needed to bind. I slipped the collar on with the help of Kulni, and after a moment of discussion, we settled on having the clasp on the opposite side of the mark. It was a weird feeling having it on, but also nice to know I’d have something of Kulni’s when I left the forest.

Moving over to the table with all of the meat, placing my hand on one of the cubed pieces, I focused on trying to store it, and after a moment, it just vanished. Rechecking my mana pool, I saw that the meat had only taken a single point to store. Trying to access a screen to see what was stored in the gem didn’t work, but I did get an innate sense of what was in it.

The cube of meat reappeared as I held my hand palm up, willing for it to do so. The cost was the same: one point of mana. This was going to be useful.

Tap.

Looking over, surprised, I saw the egg shake.

Tap.

I looked at Kulni, who was still sitting on the couch. She gestured me over.

“Don’t just stand there, come over here. It’s exceedingly rare to see a dragon hatch, and I’m not the one she’ll need to see first, but don’t help it get out, wait until it’s finished.”

I skittered over, nearly falling. Excitement and nerves, warring for superiority in my body. It was actually hatching. I watched as the tapping continued, the glow inside the egg now brighter. It shook from side to side. I worried that it’d fall off the table and crack, but even as much shook from side to side, it didn’t roll, staying upright.

Tap.

Was I really ready for this? I couldn’t raise a dragon. Would it even want me after it hatched? Thousand of possible problems coursed through my mind as I nervously tapped my foot, feeling my tail twitching sporadically.

Crack.

My mind seemed to blank as a line formed in the icy shell, and I watched as my bond hatched.

The Hatchling

The first feeling I felt was of cold and safety, and that was all I needed for the longest time. The world that I knew was small, cold, and comforting. I knew it would keep me safe, so I was content and floated, letting time pass.

That feeling, however, started to change as I felt a touch, the gentlest of mental prods that told me it was time to do more than float, and brought the first-ever question to my mind.

Why am I here?

As my thoughts grew, so did a new feeling. It was a feeling I couldn’t place at first, but as I thought on it, slowly, a word formed for it in my mind, and with it, the word’s meaning.

Curiosity

With that word, I realized I was curious, extremely curious, about what was outside of my egg. Because that was what was surrounding me, my egg. I started to move and squirm, pushing against it, but it didn't budge, so I used my claws to try to break it, but they just scrabbled off. I started to shove as hard as I could against my surroundings. I started to get angry when it still didn't do anything. Why wouldn’t this egg let me out? It was my egg! Listen, you EGG, you may be strong, but I'm stronger! I butted my head into it. Once, twice, and for the first time in my life, I heard a noise other than my own heartbeat.

Crack

HA! The sharp noise filled my head, and with the noise, a glow other than my own blue one. It was a small line, but it excited me.

The moment of pause broke as I examined the small line that had been created. With renewed energy, I continued faster, aiming my head at that line. Slowly, the line spread, longer and longer, until, on complete accident, one of my claws broke through the wall. Then, upon realizing my claws could fit out, one claw turned into three as I pulled at the shell. Pieces came off, breaking away until my entire forearm could fit outside. Yes!

Excitement filled my veins. Rocking backward one last time, I heaved my entire body forward, throwing my whole weight against the shell.

It held only for a split second before it shattered, and I fell through. Tumbling forward, I splayed across the ground, and for the first time, I felt warm and icky. My cold surroundings spilled out around me. Laying there for a moment, panting, I gain my breath before slowly getting my feet under me. Opening my jaws, I gave a mighty squeak.

I gazed around at the massive area, taking everything in.

Everything was so big! My eyes fell on something I recognized as I turned my head. No, it was someone. I had never seen them before, but I’d felt them before.

They were the reason I had broken free! My bond! They were weird-looking with no scales, but that was fine. What wasn't was how they were feeling: nervousness. That was the word for it, and I didn’t like that feeling. They needed to be as excited as I was!

I leaped at them, letting out a powerful squeal.