Dragonkin 4 You're my Mate? No thanks.

Part 1 Discovery

Plop! Drip! Splosh! The sound of water dripping on the damp hard ground resounds across the cavern.

Big fat droplets of cold water splash onto my eye lids. They wake me from my slumber. Putting my splayed hand above my face, I shield my half-lidded eyes from the water leaking from the cavern ceiling. My brain feels stuffed with cotton. Disoriented, I take stock of my surroundings. Turning my head, a throbbing pain emits from the back of my skull. May be a head injury? Dizzy, I close my eyes to regain equilibrium. Details are hazy and my head hurts when I think. Putting my weight on my elbows, my muscles scream when I attempt to push myself upright. Surrendering to the pain, I collapse back onto the ground. Taking big gulping breaths, I fight the rising nausea and try my best to recall what happened.

Where am I? What am I doing here? An empty blank remains in my mind. I have no idea why am I here and totally clueless about where I am.

Adjusting my eyes to the dark space, my eyes shift upwards. Huge gnarly roots dangle from the hard packed earth above me and groundwater oozes from the soil to flow along the roots before finally losing to gravity and falls onto the cold hard ground underneath me. I must be in an underground cave.

Manoeuvring myself to lie on my side, I grit my teeth against the heavy pounding in my temples. Goddess! The lemmings are surely doing a number in my head. It's like they're hosting a global rave party in my skull! Gasping for breath at the effort, I plant my palms squarely on the damp earth and hoist myself upright. My head spins at the sudden change in position, causing me to see stars. My sight threatens to black out. Sitting up makes the pain in my head worse. It feels like multiple colourful explosions are setting off in my brain cavity.

Poof! Kapow! The imaginary loud noise goes off in my head, each time triggering immense pain behind my eyeballs. My head feels like it has been squeezed into a winch and the pressure is building up. Damn. I think I have a concussion. Gorge rises up my throat and I suppress it forcefully. Blunt head trauma. I must have hit my head on something hard, my hand reaching up to feel my head gingerly, testing for and locating possible contusions. I don't come from a family of doctors and learn nothing. If I were a doctor, I would be treating my patients comfortably in my clinic instead of suffering in this forsaken place.

It is agonising but I finally locate my injury. A big raised bump swells from the back of my head. Hair plastered to my skull and my fingers which are feeling the injury, comes away wet. Belatedly, I realise my shirt collar and the back of my shirt are soaking wet, sticking to my skin. Unfortunately, it may not entirely be from absorbing the moisture from the ground which I had laid on.

Great. I'm bleeding like a pig too. At least my brain isn't spilling out like a split watermelon. I would need a helper to stuff my brain matter back into my skull in that scenario. And helpers are definitely a scarcity in these deserted parts, considering how far removed from civilisation I am. Head wounds always bleed copiously and appear more severe than the wound actually is. Thank the Goddess for small favours.

Trained in survival jungle training by my parents since young, these injuries are nothing. My Spartan parents don't believe in coddling their children. They believe they should let their children grow up independent and strong-willed. I can't remember how many times I have to patch myself back after running from a bear or defend myself from a lion. And it is due to this that I'm now not fainting or getting squeamish over my physical condition. I whisper a quick thanks to my parents.

Closing my eyes, I focus on my injuries, directing my healing powers to the more damaged areas first. Bit by bit, I imagine the skin cells on my bleeding head wound knitting itself close, and then shift my attention to my abused muscles. I force the strained tissues to regain its elasticity and form. Satisfied my muscles are back in top form, I turn my concentration to align my ribs internally. Parts of my ribs are bruised, fractured microscopically or broken. Must be the fall I've taken. Luckily none are badly broken to have punctured my lungs or chest. It would have taken my surgeon baby kid sister to put me back together.