Late Afternoon - Early Spring : Home | The Nest
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"DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!!!!"
-Huh?- Hearing Krystallo suddenly yell, I jolted my head up to look at her just in time for her tiny body to slam straight into my face. *Thump*
Gripping into the side of my snout, she lifted herself up and looked me in the eyes.
But the moment she saw me staring back at her, she froze.
"Haha, I think you're misunderstanding something…" Speaking somewhat gently, I did what I could to keep her from falling off my snout. "I'm glad you're worried about me though."
But she didn't seem worried about falling, immediately throwing her head to the side with a pout. "Hmph, I don't know what you're talking about!"
-How cute…- As a smile crept across my face, I gently let her down.
Mother seemed quite pleased as she watched Krystallo check to make sure I was fine one last time before returning to the nest as well. "It's good to see you both getting along."
She sounded like she was trying to reassure herself, but as the next few days passed, her lingering worries dissipated and we continued our new routine of sleeping, eating, and sunbathing.
It made for a truly enjoyable time. Krystallo and I would play around from time to time, and I felt like I was really learning what it was like to be a dragon.
However, after a few days, a question that continuously intruded my mind left my mouth. "Mom, when can I go hunting with you?" Every evening she would leave the nest and go get us some food for the morning, but even though I tried to hint interest at wanting to go with her, she only seemed to scoff.
But while she was in a good mood, and I thought it'd be a good time to ask, it was instantly shot down. "It's tradition to take you hunting on your 15th birthday."
-What?! I'm barely over one! Does that mean I have to just lounge around for fourteen years..?- My expression instantly darkened with sadness. -Is that just part of being a dragon?- But after some thought, I couldn't accept the inevitable boredom that would come from waiting. "I'm already over six meters tall… Does age really matter that much?"
There was nothing that could change her mind though. "Yes. Considering how fast you're growing, I may adjust that date, but…" Looking me up and down, her expression washed with a mix of stress and worry. "I'll think about it when you're at least big enough. Same for you, Krystallo."
Glancing over my wings, I looked at Krystallo sitting in the middle of the colossal foggy door entrance. -I guess she's pretty big for her age too…-
But she just tilted her head at me. "Why do you want to go hunting so bad?"
Tensing up just like Mother, the gentle, happy sway in my tail stopped and my posture straightened. "If I want to be able to protect you and Mother, I need to be strong!" -I won't deny that I also want to explore this place though…- Looking back toward the treeline, my eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Mother almost instantly shut me down though. "Sweetie, you should know from your knowledge inheritance that we get stronger as we age."
"But experience is still an important part of strength, isn't it?"
Turning my eager gaze to her, she quickly clammed up before letting out a sigh. "Haah, I'll think about it… For now, you two head back inside so I can go get your dinner."
-Awe…- "But.. the sun feels so gooood… Plus, there's only a few hours of sun left." Pouting a little, I gave her a puppy-eyed look to try and sway her.
But while I thought I was making ground on her, "Nope, not a chance." She spoke so bluntly it felt like I slammed into a brick wall. "It's way too dangerous to be outside without me around. If it's still light out when I get back you can eat outside though." Slowly warming up with her compromise, she smiled. "Is that alright?"
Reluctantly nodding, I headed inside with Krystallo and waited as Mother locked the door.
Thankfully, it only took about an hour for her to return, so we ended up going back out shortly after that, letting me eat and promptly fall asleep as the sun set.
But while I expected Mother to have dragged me into the nest while I was asleep, when I woke up, I found myself beneath a blanket of darkness. -Huh?- I was still outside.
Glancing toward Mother, I found her laying not too far away, still wide awake. -Is she letting us sleep out here tonight?-
Idly glancing around, my gaze turned to the sky, but while I did it without thinking, the moment my eyes adjusted to the light, they went wide with awe. "Woah…"
It was a view that simply took my breath away–a sight unlike anything I had ever seen, be it through a satellite, or even an observatory.
And that was all because of the colors. -Are dragons able to see.. other wavelengths of light..?- Unlike the dark, sparkled night sky I was used to, I found my eyes laid on an ocean of colors I couldn't even begin to describe–A sea of nebulas, stars, and distant galaxies lit by an indescribable glow.
When I was still human, I loved space, it was the best way to think about many theories because it was the closest thing we as humans could get to visualizing the concept of infinity…
But the sight that met my eyes that night changed that view entirely.
"It kind of looks like bwovver…"
Hearing Krystallo mumble under her breath, I quickly glanced back only to find her looking at the stars herself. "Hah…" It was quick to bring a flattered smile to my face, but… -As if…- Looking back up at the sky, I found myself unable to take her words as anything but a joke. -How could I look like something so enchanting…-
Ever since I started accepting the fact that I was a dragon, I had a lot of confidence, but it was nowhere near enough for me to compare myself with the endless sea above me.
Perhaps it was because I came from a world where we were beginning to explore that endless frontier, but space was something special to me in a way very few people could understand, even on Earth…
And seeing the sky that evening brought back a youthfulness that made my eyes gleam like a young child.
When I first reincarnated, my thirst for adventure was rekindled like no other, but as I looked into the sky that evening, that quickly spreading flame erupted into a blaze. -What is the outside world like? How will magic make this world look? How does magic work? Are the laws of physics still laws here?-
Questions ripped through my mind faster than they ever had before, yet unlike in the past, I didn't feel the slightest burden with it.
I was excited. With just a tiny peek of what this world had to offer through my knowledge inheritance, my curiosity had exploded.
And after countless years of it being run dry, the well that fueled my mind had finally been refilled.