The Unbidden: A New World (1) (Short Parts)

Part 71 (End)

"Uh, yea, haha, about that," I started awkwardly.

"'Tis fine. She felt you weren't a threat to me, or my brother," it spoke.

I wonder if their memories are transferred down to their children ... that'd be a weird thing to experience, I thought.

"I see," I trailed.

"Well, do you, uh, have a name?" I asked inquisitively.

It pondered for a moment, tilting its head slightly before responding.

"I guess ... Hargen?" It said questioningly.

"That's what you called me while I was in my shell, I think."

Nice! I thought happily.

I was hoping the whole imprinting thing would work. It would've been kind of strange having to call it something different after all this time.

"You are correct," I affirmed.

"Are you a male or female?" I pressed.

It was rather important I knew its gender. If it was female, then Hargen would be a bit too masculine. Probably should've thought about that at some point, I chuckled to myself.

"I guess ... male? We can switch between genders if need be and are capable of asexual reproduction if there is no mate nearby," Hargen answered.

Such vocabulary, I thought, staring at him in awe.

Hargen seemed to notice this and continued.

"Dragons – well, true dragons like me – all retain the memories of our parents, and of our grandparents, all the way back to the beginning of our lineage," he said.

"So then how do any of you get killed by people at this point?" I tilted my head questioningly

I adjusted my position slightly.

"It is not as though we can access all the memories of our ancestors. At least, we cannot while young. As we age, we are able to access more and more at one time," he stated bluntly.

"If you have access to your mother's memories, how come you ran around attacking creatures, and why're you still exhuming fire?" I motioned toward his mouth, but offset my balance for a moment.

"I was feral until I saw you. You acted as a trigger to break that state. I still do not have full control over my body yet, and will not for a while. 'Tis akin to you humans and your offspring."

I shrugged. It made sense.

"Well, would you like to accompany me back to the lair? I don't think it'll be the best thing for you and I to be staying around right now," I motioned my head back toward the lair.

Hargen contemplated for a few moments before nodding. We travelled back at a leisurely pace, and while I could have just Blinked us back, I figured it would help to give Hargen more control over his body.

"Why didn't you eat me when you first hatched?" I asked.

"You smelled like charred rock," he said plainly.

Thank God, then, I thought.

"How long was I out, anyway?" I prodded further.

"I believe around two days."

It explained the growling in my stomach. I would've pulled out some dragon jerky, but all of my limbs were occupied keeping afloat. I had a feeling Hargen wouldn't care if he saw me eating some of his mother. After all, he ate her, too.

Man, that sounds messed up, I mused.

When we finally landed, I ate some dragon jerky, and Hargen gave me a look. It was hard to determine a creature's expression when you've never dealt with them before. I walked around the area and grabbed several pieces of wood to fashion standing torches. I placed them as evenly as I could so as to make a pathway to the lair.

"It must be terribly difficult to be unable to see in the dark," Hargen snorted in a childish manner.

I wasn't sure if responding sarcastically was appropriate, so I ignore him. Once set everything up, I foraged around for some fruits. I never had time enough to make anything besides dragon jerky, so my first bite filled my mouth with an exquisite taste.

"Might I have some?" Hargen asked.

"Sure," I went to hand him some food, but the constant flames made me think otherwise.

"I hope you don't mind," I said as I rolled the food onto the floor at his feet.

I spent the next several weeks working with Hargen to refine his abilities. He gradually got used to his body and before long was able to control his fire, fly, and move around with skill and precision. It was like watching a dog with the intelligence of a human and the agility of a cat all at once. We talked about various things during that time, but nothing important that I wanted to tackle, as least not yet. I felt as though once I asked all the things I needed or wanted to, that would be the end of it and I would need to separate and continue my journey.

I felt a longing to keep Hargen by my side. He may be a dragon, and might very well decide to eat me in my sleep one day, but I felt a bond with him. It may have been due to the connection I had from his mother's essence, or not.

Or, I could just be lonely, I thought, but laughed it off.

I'd gone this long without feeling lonely. Every night since Hargen hatched, I would make my way to the top of the hill the lair resided under and watched the sunset. It was quite literally the most peaceful moments I'd ever felt, even when he came up to watch with me. No words needed to be said during. A part of me wished I could keep the moment forever, despite not having the others I cared about around to enjoy it with.