Dragons of Skylark: The Four Heirs

The New World and How I Fit Into it, so Far

     It was dark in the beginning. The only sounds were a soft scratching the occasional deep purr. The walls were thick, but fell away slowly the longer I pushed. The cracking sound that came with it was a sound of triumph, for a young one's first victory is entering the world. The second, is to survive it.

     I pushed my face into the crack between the walls and broke through the outer membrane. The pressure of the force around me poured out as oxygen entered my vessel. I became aware of two things. One, the sensation of dryness as the albumen dripped off my nose. Two, my hatchling gills peeling away from my body. There was something brighter out here. I shoved my nose against the wall and scrapped with the tooth on the end of my nose. It gave way, my head breach the surface. For the first time my jaw opened and my lung unfurled and drained the liquid that had kept me alive for my entire life so far. My thin, weak arms heaved once more at the walls.

     They fell. I scrapped, and crawled my way towards something. The scent of safety, I could feel the warmth ebbing off of another body. The instinct in my bones told me that was the place to go. My face hit something solid, something emanating warmth. The form was making... a noise. Yes, I think that's what those were called. A purring, tumbling, cooing sensation. The figure pressed against me again... their face... her face... and breathed on me gently. That was a breath. It was warm and I liked it and a sound escaped from me. A loud chrill. Her sound changed, a segmented rumble, she was laughing.

     "Hello Longtayle."

     A feeling swelled in my chest, it was so big and so powerful. She'd just given me something—a name—with every word that came to me the stronger I felt. This was my sound. The sound, the feeling, that was mine.

     "He's so beautiful, appropriately named."

     My head swung around, woah, a new sound! A new... name? My chest swelled again and this time I realized I was taking in a breath through my nose. Their scents hit me, both safe, both soft. One smelled of my egg the other of the ground beneath me.

     Their faces pressed against mine. This was where I was supposed to me. I was lifted and placed next to her body, next to more small ones. They were asleep, like we had been in our eggs. The struggle of breaking free was exhausting, and we had earned our rest. Her tongue lapped at the remaining fluid on my body. The other name's face pressed into the ground next to me, with his mouth open wide. My head dipped down and drank until I couldn't. Weariness pulled me down, the soft breathing of the others pulled my mind away to dreams.

     I drifting into rest knowing I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

     I quickly learned she was called muther, the other, pather. They are the ones who feed me and make sure I stay out of trouble. There are also others. They are bigger than me, even the one who hatched after me. I learn they are called siblings. The feeling between us is something only siblings have.

     The oldest is Seth, he knows all the words, and helps me if I get stuck. He's thin, but strong, and makes sure my other siblings don't pick on me. The next oldest is Ronan, he likes using his paws to push things, he's also very strong, more so than me. My last sibling is May, she is small and round and cries a lot. I don't mind.

     "Ow," I yelped, when Ronan's egg tooth jutted into my side. "Mum! It hurts."

     "You have to watch where you're standing, love. Ronan, try rubbing it off on a rock and not your brother." Mum pick me up by the back of my neck and places me between her forelegs. In the background, I can hear Ronan grunting and scrapping his face against a rock.

     I smell her tongue before it hits me, "I had a bath."

     "I'm just helping you open your eyes, darling. You'll be able to see your brother coming with them open."