Metamorphosis Ch. 02

As we neared the mountain, my excitement turned to trepidation. There was a reason that the mountain was called Dragon's Death. I had been told many horror stories about fully grown adults that had died unexpectedly from the dangers that lie in wait. My parents felt my worry through our Link and attempted to soothe me.

"Those stories are told to scare the young ones out of trying too much before they're ready," my father said. "The fully grown dragons that have died on this mountain have been careless and reckless. We're here with you and we won't let anything harm you."

I felt a little better as we neared the mountain. I began looking for signs of movement: the rustle of branches, the noise of feet crunching on the dead plants, and the sight of something running. We circled the base of the mountain, slowly making our way toward the top.

"I see something," I said. "I think there's a cat moving through the underbrush." I sent them a picture of where I was at. They flew up beside me and peered at the ground.

"I believe you're correct," Mother agreed. "Do you want to go for the kill since you were the one to find it?" Mother flapped her wings slowly to stay in place.

I waited to make sure that my prey was in sight before I dived. I tucked my wings in close to my body and angled myself toward the sleek, black cat. As it turned to look at me, I clamped my jaw around its neck and with a swift pull, the animal was dead. I crashed into the ground and tumbled forward, landing in a large pit of mud.

"Graceful," my father said sarcastically. Mother and I snorted and I stood up, my meal still between my teeth. "Good work, though. Nice, clean kill."

I sent waves of excitement and pride through our Link. "Your father and I spotted a small herd of deer not too far from here. If the noise didn't scare them off, we can kill a few for our own meals and then we can go back home."

I leaped into the air. My parents had already started off toward where they had last seen the deer, and I followed along gleefully. I watched as my parents swiftly killed a deer each before joining me in the air.

"You are good at killing. You didn't even fall over when you hit the ground," I said, admiring their skill.

They sent amusement through our Link. "All it takes is practice, darling," my father replied.

We were mostly silent on our way home. Sometimes my parents would point out something in the landscape that I may not have known about and I would occasionally ask questions about what I saw. Once we reached our cave, we set down our kills and dug in. I tore apart my wild cat, savoring its strong flavor.

Halfway through my meal, my limbs started tingling. Not now, I thought. Please, not right now. The tingling only intensified and I knew that I had to leave fast or else let my parents find out about my episodes.

"I'm thirsty," I said quickly. "I'm going to go down to the lake to drink."

"Oh, we'll come with you. I wouldn't mind a drink myself," my mother said. I walked toward the mouth of the cave, not intending to let my parents follow me.

"No, don't worry about it. Enjoy your meal. I'll be back soon." I took off quickly, not giving them time to respond.

Once I was out of view, I turned away from the lake and moved toward the clearing where Terrik-elda held most of my lessons. My wings started shaking, making flying nearly impossible.

"Xayna!" Taldon's voice called in my head. I heard him fly up beside me. "What are you doing? Are you okay? Your parents said you went out for water, but I figured you were having another episode so I came looking for you. Your wings are shaking. Are you alright?"

"Taldon!" I shouted, stopping his torrent of words. "No, I'm not okay. I'm getting to this clearing and I can tell that it's really going to hurt." I sent him a picture of my destination and dipped in the air. My wings were struggling to hold me up and I was falling quickly. I could see the area where Terrik-elda and I practiced and I angled myself toward it. If I had any luck, my wings would hold up long enough for me to get over the clearing and then I could drop the rest of the way to the ground. It would hurt like crazy, but I thought the pain I was currently experiencing would mask it.

I did manage to fly over the clearing before my wings gave out. "Xayna!" Taldon yelled as I dropped the last twenty or thirty feet. I hit the ground with a dull thud, but I barely felt it through the haze of pain in my brain. Lava filled my veins and intense pressure pushed on me from every side. This was so much different than any other episode. I curled myself into the smallest ball I could and roared in agony. My bones felt like they were breaking under my skin which tingled and burned beneath my scales.

The pain overwhelmed my mind. I must be dying, I thought. I wish I would have told my parents that I love them. I could feel darkness pressing on me. I tried to tell Taldon that I loved him, but everything went black and I felt no more pain.