“… Eating … and Drinking … and knowing what the hell is outside of this cave … and probably looking at a reflection, this body is straight up confusing, feels natural but I don't know how to move in it … and I need to look at my face … muzzle ? … Head, I need to get a good look at my head and see … ME.”

  *Rei thought to himself, each steadily more coordinated steps getting him closer to the entrance and into the wider world*

  It was a forest … that’s all he could figure out, a normal looking forest, like many he saw in his dreams and memories, what type of forest ? a dense one, there were so many trees that it was difficult to see anything but a green carpet of leaves, his cave was the base of a small hill that was … surprise surprise, also covered in trees and vines and plants.

  “Great …”

  -Rwei-

  “I’ll definitely get lost if I wander with no plan, I don't even have a knife to mark a path … wait …”

  *Rei missed a step, lifting one of his paws and looking at his talon like claws*

  “I do have claws … Why did I forget that … I didn't have those ?”

  *The young dragon shook his head and got back to walking, making sure to remember the appearance of the cave, and mark the bark of the first tree he came across before entering the green sea*

  “I’ll definitely lose myself, I'm totally trash at being aware of my location … I can get lost in a Mall that has only two directions to go … a dense forest like this with no trail ? …”

  *Rei compulsively marked the trees, mark upon mark keeping a almost straight like back to his cave*

  The ground of the forest was covered in packed dirt and dried leaves, with small plants and bushes growing on the sparse sunlight that got through the treetops.

  Sometimes, a massive tree made a clearing inside the forest, nothing growing around it’s root’s for lack of nutrients, the soil almost sandy as if the tree sucked all life it could out of it, leaving nothing for the competition.

  Almost none of the trees he passed though were fruiting, and animals were scarce, he could hear the noise of birds and all manner of criter’s, but it never seemed to get any closer.

  “Makes sense … Big predator that is making a lot of noise walking in twigs and leaves, they are probably giving me a wide breath … I really need to find a river or something …”

  It was at this time that the Young Dragon figured out that he had other senses he was ignoring.

  *What is this smell ? it is getting stronger and stronger, but I can't figure out what it is … have i been following this subconsciously ?*

  It was at that time that the wall of trees opened and the dirt and leaves' soil gave way to sand, the noise of running water assaulting his ears and the smell being as strong as ever.

  “I smell water ? … probably humidity but that’s still fucking usefull, YES”

  *Rei took of running, the constant walk in the forest making him more confident and secure in his steps*

  The sand was coarse, littered with small stones but that was no botter for his paws, the sound of water got louder and finally a river revealed itself.

  It was quite a big river, a shallow one at that, littered with big rocks that cut restricted the flow and offered a passage from one side to the other.

  A very small step made the noises of crashing water and a basing close by was, fenced with wooden stakes and woven branches in what appeared to be a fish trap.

  “Lucky”

  -Rokwe-

  *Testing the water with a paw, Rei jumped right in when the temperature didn't bother him, half walking and half swimming on the shallow waters towards the fish trap, taking some safe gulps on the way*

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  “Can’t know for sure this won't make me sick, but a fish trap means cleanish water, and i won’t lit a fire any time soon with this level of dexterity”

  The fish trap indeed had some nice fishes, some versions of a salmon, but colored amber to better disguise with the riverbed.

  “I don't recognise this … let’s hope it is not poisonous …”

  It took more time than Rei would ever admit to catch one of the fish in his claws.

  “Stay … fucking …STILL”

  -Raaaaaw-

  But the fish obviously didn't, but the anger did at least help with something, with each useless swipe that missed, Rei got that bit more coordinated, the less he thought about it and the more he focused on just GORING the annoying creature in his claws, the closer he got to it, and at the end, he finally did.

  “YESSSSSSSSSS”

  -ROOOOAAAR-

  “Fuck you you little shit, DIE DIE DIE”

  *He took bite after bite of the still moving fish, stuck in his tallows, until he ate the whole thing, the taste as sweet as his victory*

  “I’m still hungry …”

  But it mattered not, the fish trap only had the one fish, it was satisfying, but not even close to make the Young Dragon feel full.

  “I need to find more things …and probably find who put this here … probably when i’m confident that i can fight with all … this …”

  *Seeing that no other meal would present itself to him, Rei got back to exploring the region, still marking the trees whenever the last mark was about to be out of sight*

  The dragons nearby explorations netted him some more trees, but this time, trees with something that could be edible.

  “Are those … Palm Trees ? … in a Forest ? …Alright …”

  *Deciding not to question it too deeply, Rei now had a challenge for his noodle-like body. Could he even climb a Palm and get the sweet sweet coconuts out of it ?*

  The answer was a resounding yes, quite easily in fact, the long body and tail let him coil around the tree and not fall, while his front and back tallows got him more than enough purchase to climb it.

  With a bit more practice he could probably run up a tree instead of doing the awkward serpentine motions, but a success is a success and the fruit’s of said labor are Sweet.

  In more good news, it turns out, a dragon's jaw is quite powerful and flexible, he could just bite into the coconut and rip it out of the tree no problem, better yet, he didn't need his front paws to stay on the tree, he could eat them right there, safe and sound.

  And after a few minutes of puncturing a coconut, drinking the water, ripping it open and scooping the sweet meat with his claws, Rei was finally feeling full.

  “Now I just need to climb down …”

  *Looking down, a small bout of vertigo got him”

  “How the hell do I climb down ? … The way up would probably work for going down, but something in my mind is extremely adverse to going head first, and my way up absolutely wont work in reverse … Shit …”

  *With the new burst of panic, the decision was already made*

  Being stuck like a cat on a tree was just not to be, noises and grunt’s in the forest put the Young Dragon in high gear, the fear of falling head first and the exhilaration of basically running down a tree got his heart pumping, his full stomach weighing him down made his limbs pump that much harder and in no time, he was back in the River.

  “Alright, now I just have to find the tree and I'm back in my cave … FUCK”

  *Diving into the water, Rei finally saw what was making all those noises, a group of bipedal lizard people, small bipedal lizard people … with scales*

  “Are those kobolds ?”

  And indeed those were Kobolds, and they were armed with hunting bows and spears, and looking mighty annoyed at the fish blood you left on their trap.

  *I need to relax … I can't let them see me*

  Underwater, the Young Dragon coiled himself to the shadow of a big rock and focused on his racing heart, trying to slow it down and preserve air.

  “One … Two … One … Two …”

  *Rei focused on the beating tempo, how the blood pumped through his body, how it flowed, where it goes, how it comes back around, passing though his lungs, swapping out the gasses and going back around carrying the fuel and oxidizer to his body*

  “It would be nice to make use of every last bit of air like i combustion engine, the human body can’t cope with that, and most people have to breath not because of the lack of O2, but the constant increase of CO2, making the blood more and more acid to the point where the brain start to panic and forces you to breath, even if you still has a supply of oxygen available”

  *With eyes closed, Rei reflected on the respiration side of biology*

  “Electrochemical reactions are the basis of energy generation in a body, Mammals are Room Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, but they are not the most efficient at it … around 20% efficient, modern thermal generators start at a third and can go as high as 40% … and that’s pure combustion, hydrogen fuel cells can achieve a 50%, and using the waste heat as another energy source, it can go up to 60% or more … almost 3x more power out of the same fuel … it’s all about the right temperature for the right fuel and the right catalyst …”

  *Rei kept thinking about the chemistry of catalysis and how a body reacts to elevated levels of CO2*

  In the end, Rei stayed underwater for a long while, his heartbeats were slow and his body colder than normal, he was feeling stiff and weak, but felt that he had some more time before he HAD to surface.

  “This should be enough …”

  *Slowly getting his head to the surface, he couldn't see the creatures no more, taking the opportunity, he made his way out of the water, too bad he didn't look well enough*

  The Kobolds saw a sand colored dragon get out of the water, the Dragon saw said Kobolds, both looked at each other for what felt like minutes before everything got frantic.

  “SHIT”

  *Rei dashed to the rocks and forest, digging grooves on the sand and loose gravel before finding extra traction on the dirt of the forest*

  A thunk in the tree trunk next to his head answered the question of whether to keep on running or not.

  “THEY ANGRY …”

  The voice of an Australian man in his mind made the commentary for his panic.

  *His tree marks visible, his steps firm and quick, and now that he had almost no time to think or even see, he could feel a faint smell that compelled him to follow it, his claw marks also left sent marks*

  While Rei escaped, the Kobolds were frantically getting to their equipment, the Hunter outside of the water was confused, bow in hand ready to keep shooting while the Dragon was far aways still … but it had fled ?

  Confused by the situation, the hunter could only help his colleagues to arm themselves and keep the guard up.

  How did a dragon get there ? and a young one at that ? How did they not see it, why did it run ? Another tribe got to it ? Is his territory close by ?

  Those questions would be easily answered because a lot of trees had very visible claw marks and the tell tale scent of a dragon on it, any hunter worth their salt could follow a trail that clear.

  And the next chapter will be a changed POV to the Kobolds, that means personalities, where they live, what they can do, relationship with each other, and the dreaded NAMES.

  I really need to make Notes now … F-ck.

  Fun stuff all around and I feel like this chapter was bigger. [That’s what she said]