TBATE - Strings of Fate

5 - Finding Allies

--TESSIA--

"Kyu~!"

The stone wasn't a gem...

It was an egg!

Laying in a pile of shells, I saw the cutest thing I had ever seen in my life.

The first thing that had come into mind was that it was a dragon. It looked like Sylvia's dragon form, but at the same time, it didn't. It was all black. It kind of reminded me of a small kitten but with scales. It was sitting on all fours, studying at me with its head tilted to one side.

The sclera, which would usually be white in a person's eyes, was black, like Gramp's when he uses his second form. Its irises were a bright red. The pupils were sharp slits that would normally make it look menacing, but with the body of something akin to a small feline animal, it just looked adorable.

The most noticeable difference between a dragon like Sylvia and this little... thing was that it had two horns on its head. The horns looked identical to the form that Sylvia had taken before she revealed to me that she was a dragon. It curved outward around its head and sharpened into a point at the front.

Its head was shaped like a cat, but the snout was a just a little bit more pointed. The tail, though, looked exactly like Sylvia's tail. It was a reptilian tail that had two red spikes at the end. It also had small red spikes along its spine that matched the color of its eyes.

It didn't have wings, but two small bumps were placed where the wings should have been. I could see that its belly didn't have scales, unlike the rest of its body, looking more like leather.

The newly hatched creature suddenly let out a toothless yawn, toppling on its back after losing balance.

And in response, I was flushed with the overwhelming urge to embrace it.

"Kyu?" It locked its sharp eyes at me with intelligence that didn't match its appearance.

"H-Hi there, little fella! I'm Tess." I stretched my hand out towards it as if it were a dog that needed to know my scent.

"Kyu!" It jumped off the chair and onto my lap, gazing up at me.

I could feel my hands twitch as I suppressed the urge to squeeze it. Unlike the majesty and fearsomeness that Sylvia had, this creature was dangerous in a different sense.

Unable to hold in the urge, I carefully petted the adorable menace. The scales were surprisingly soft and the red spikes that ran down its back felt like rubber. I guess all young animals, whether they're people or beasts, were all squishy and soft. It started purring, closing its eyes.

I could feel the tension on my face melt as I let out a soft laugh. "Hehe..."

It rolled onto its back, asking for a more thorough rub. The belly felt like a very soft leather, making it very smooth to rub. I took a closer look at its claws and found it interesting that it looked closer to paws than actual claws. The only thing that was hard were its horns, which were surprisingly sharp as well. I couldn't help but compare it to the beak a bird would use to crack itself out if its shell.

"Aren't you just a cute lil' fella?" My smile widened while petting this adorable newborn, to the point where it seemed intoxicating.

After a little bit, I couldn't help but think of what to name it, which made me realize I didn't even know the gender of this mysterious creature.

"Kyu~!" Suddenly the newborn shot its tongue out and licked the underside of my left forearm.

"Ah!" I reflexively tried to move my arm back from the scorching sensation, but before I could, a glowing black light began enveloping my arm.