NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: The Little Hatchling
Fumu. Something about this situation feels...off. After talking to that pretty lady, I fell asleep (at least, that's what it felt like) and when I woke up, I could only see the same darkness as before. The only difference is that I regained the sensations of having a body, but I can't move. Everything feels really constricted, almost as if I got packed inside a can. Aside from the walls(?), I can feel some sort of liquid all around me.
Hmm. Alright, let's just retrace my steps first and figure something out later.
Ahem.
'Kay, so I died.
'Twas a not-stormy night for once, and I was hanging out by a mountain lake. Nothing particularly special for the occasion; just my lonely self sneaking away for some solace from the pest known as society. Living under tonnes of concrete and dirt gets really suffocating, you know, especially when you shove the rest of humanity in there.
Whenever I needed a break from everything, I'd sneak out to places like this and observe, well, everything nature has to offer.
This time, however, I took my mask off and took in all the sights and smells and sounds in their purest forms.
The clear water reflecting the gentle moonlight, only disturbed by the occasional ripple.
The light breeze brushing against the lush trees; the rustling leaves and branches conducting a wonderous melody.
The ambience of nature, mixed with the hooting of owls and howling of wolves.
The radiant moon illuminating the night sky alongside its faithful companions: the stars; the shining stars, ever-abundant and brighter than all else!
Who could ever forget them, the way they sparkle and shimmer, bringing the lonesome moon all the company one could ever ask for?
I always envied my ancestors who could take in such sights every day of their lives.
"Aaah, the stars look lovely tonight, don't they? Hehe, I always wanted to say that to someone. What...a.....shame."
After that, I took one last deep breath and closed my eyes for the last time. As corny as that line was, I really did like that view. Hope I never forget it. Unless, of course, I find something that tops it.
Welp, that's enough sappy shit for now.
After that, things went white, and I found myself face to face (if I even had one left) with a very pretty lady in white. She then explained to me how she detected my death (I detected that too) and that I was supposed to be born as one of her grandchildren rather than, well you know. Something something something, my soul got displaced just before I was created, something, something, something.
And then she told me that I would be able to live my next life as her grandchild like I was meant to. Well, I mean, I never particularly enjoyed that life to begin with.
The only things that kept me living were oxygen, water, and sometimes food. No one I could trust, no one I could rely on, and definitely no one I would consider family. And worst of all: I had to live as a male because there was virtually no support for people like me.
Because of all that, I gladly welcomed this new beginning. So long as one condition was fulfilled, I couldn't have cared less about anything else.
So, I voiced my one and only question to the pretty lady:
"Do I get to live as a girl in this life?"
"Of course, dear. You can live as a boy, girl, somewhere in between or even none of the above if you want. No need to worry about your body, either, yours will reflect your true identity."
Just hearing those two sentences alone made me happier than all my last however-many-years of life combined. *sniff*
Granted, the amount of happiness in that life was basically zero, no negative, waaay down in the negatives, so literally anything could top it, but still! It seemed that my happiness was visible to the pretty lady as well since she chuckled a bit and told me to live the happiest life I could...as long as I don't blow up the planet along the way.
Oh, I also asked her to not tell me anything about this world; I want to experience everything like a properly curious cat. After that, things went from white to black as I lost consciousness.
Aaand that about does it for a summary of how I ended up like this. Lotta non-existent talking, I know.
Mmkay, take a deep breath and- wait. Have I even taken any breaths since waking up? Can I even breathe if I'm submerged in this mysterious liquid?
.....
Eh, whatever, guess I don't need to breathe.
So from that recollection of memories, I figured out absolutely nothing in regard to escaping this moist prison. At least it's warm. I just wish I could move a little; I'm starting to get quite a crick in the neck.
Wait, neck? Hold up a sec while I attempt to shuffle around, aaand boom: I can just barely move my head. It looks like there's a small gap between the wall of this "prison" and my face.
Hmm. Surely I can't just smash my way out of this right? Considering the only thing I can move is my head and there's maybe 2 cm of play, I highly doubt I ever could move fA-AH-AHH-ACHOOO!!! *BONK*
Owie...I hit my forehead because of that. Who the hell is talking about me!? I literally just spawned y'know! Whoever you are, it's your fault that my head now...doesn't hurt?
Now that I think about it, I didn't exactly hit my forehead, rather I hit something that was attached to my forehead. Huh. You know what, the pretty lady also had some cool looking horns and wings and stuff, and if I'm supposed to be her granddaughter, shouldn't I have the same things?
Ooh, I can also see a teeny tiny crack where I bonked myself and a small amount of light shining through. Welp, not like I have any other ideas.
Let's get crackin' shall we?
Approximately 5 minutes earlier1Insert Spongebob narrator here
It is early morning at Dragon's Peak, home to many, well, dragons, obviously, plus a handful of unique individuals from other races. Overlooking a vast mountain range, the city of dragons, while considered a country of their own, is no bigger than a somewhat large village in population. In total area, however, Dragon's Peak is much larger than even a kingdom, encompassing virtually every mountain in the range. After all, said mountain range takes up nearly a quarter of the entire continent.
At the center of it all and on top of the highest peak lies the home of the royal family: the elder dragons. However, their primary residence is not the royal palace located at the summit, but a villa built lower on the mountain by a lovely lake.
Atop one of the many balconies the villa offers, four women are seated at a table, enjoying a light snack with some tea.
One of them is currently attempting to gather the attention of the woman sitting across from her with mixed results.
"...Silvie. Silvie! Are you even listening?" [Woman]
"Huh, what, yes yes, I'm listening, of course. What were you saying again?" [Other Woman]
It seems that Silvania ended up ignoring her older sister, Lunestia, while lost in her thoughts.
"Haah. I swear, Silvie, you've been way out of it recently. Are you that excited to have a younger sister?" [Lunestia]
"No, of course not. I mean, yes, I am excited about her, but my mind is occupied by other things as well." [Silvania]
"*JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII2If you somehow don't watch anime or the like, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5LO8NBLPo *" [Everyone sans Silvania]
"Hmph. Please do not look at me with such an accusatory gaze, dearest sisters. I truly do have many things on my mind." [Silvania]
"Really, then? Go ahead, share with us your thoughts. I'm sure we'd all be glad to help you sort them out." [Lunestia]
With a collective nod from her other two sisters, Silvania cleared her throat, placed her finger on her chin, and began to prove her innocence in this investigation of sorts.
"Let's see...I have so many thoughts that it is hard to categorize them all. I've been thinking about the results of my new fertilizer, the coming season and what flowers to plant, playing with our new sister, what the menu is for tonight's dinner, dressing up our new sister, feeding our new sister, bathing with our new sister, watching her sleep, giving her headpats, hugging her, cuddling her, maybe even kiss-" [Silvania]
Before Silvania could accelerate any further, one of her sisters took it upon herself to halt the rapid-fire obsession. Quite literally, in fact, by shoving a large slice of cake into the dragon's mouth.
Silvania's mouth was beginning to move so fast that any regular person would have immediately gotten their hand turned to ground meat.
"Okay, stop right there, Silvie. Any more and she'll catch a cold before she even hatches. Anyway, I, rather, we understand your excitement very well, but do try and calm down a bit, will you? There's no point in fantasizing about all that if you just overload her and make her hate you." [Unknown Sister]
"Hmph, you're one to talk, Elder Sister Solestia. I still remember when I was little and you did the exact same things to me that Silvie just described. And you never even gave me a break! The only time you ever did was when I stopped talking to you for a year!" [Other Unknown Sister]
While reveling in her past trauma, the third sister, Caelenia, puffed her cheeks while pointing out her older sister's irony. To her dismay, Solestia had no particular reaction aside from shrugging it off with a giggle and giving her a headpat.
"Now now, Caela, it's only natural for an older sibling to want to dote on the younger ones, especially since you were our first little sister. And in my case, I at least waited until you were 50 before giving you the full brunt of it." [Solestia]
Silvania, having swallowed the cake slice, opened her mouth to retort her sister's words. At the same time, Caelenia freed her head from the headpats to join the fray.
But alas, their efforts were in vain when suddenly-
*BANG*
-the door was forcefully opened, revealing a blue-haired maid running out of breath.
"Haah haah, for...give my...intrusion, Your Highnesses, haah haah, but...there's haah haah." [Maid]
"Calm down. Take a deep breath. Now, explain yourself." [Lunestia]
"*Cough, cough* Forgive me for my unsightly behavior, Your Highnesses, but we have an urgent situation! The magic detectors in the nursery have been activated and the heating elements are now running!!" [Maid]
By the end of her sentence, the maid was practically shouting. That, alongside her disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes only highlighted the severity of the situation at hand. And once they connected the dots, the sisters were in no less of a frenzy.
Caelenia immediately grabbed the the maid's shoulders, shook her around harder than a certain author's hands, and demanded further explanation.
Solestia, an unstoppable force, was about to bolt through the door but was met by an immovable object.
Lunestia, the immovable object, quite literally had her hands full holding her sister back.
And Silvania was...nowhere to be found. It seems she was quicker on the draw despite being the former youngest.
.....
It goes without saying that the entire villa was thrown into chaos once news of the new hatchling spread. Servants constantly filed in and out of the building, moving around supplies needed to prepare for the newborn.
Some would prepare sheets and blankets. Others would fly out to relay messages. A couple of them would clean the already clean bedroom because redundancy is a necessity when you pay someone else to do it.
And the final few would do...nothing really. All other duties are already taken care of, so these lucky ladies get to witness the princess' hatching live. As a side note: there was a large tail-wing-claws competition between the servants and coincidentally, the top three winners were maids.
After sending someone to inform the princesses, the three maids gathered in the nursery. The room itself is nothing spectacular: wooden floors, minimal furniture, and plaster walls with a cream paint color. No windows, but the few magic lanterns hanging in the corners are enough to illuminate everything. Again, nothing too crazy.
The only real highlight is the golden, scaly, and spiky egg lying on a cushion at the center of the room, surrounded by four orange crystals floating at the diagonals. Those would be the heating elements that activated in response to the small aura now leaking from the egg.
The egg itself is periodically shaking, causing the maids to hold their breath as they wait. Upon further inspection, one of them spotted a tiny crack near the top of the shell. A good sign of the child's health.
In the next moment, Silvania flew into the room so fast, one would think she teleported in. Once she saw the egg, of course, she made sure to slow down enough to not murder her little sister with a sonic boom.
A minute later, the rest of her sisters caught up and, much like the maids, they waited, and waited. and waited some more. With each passing moment, everyone in the room grew more and more worried over the lack of progress in hatching.
After ten minutes, Silvania couldn't bear it any longer and attempted to run over and crack the egg herself. Instead, a pair of hands caught her shoulders and held her in place.
The owner of those was a tall woman who just entered the nursery. Facially, she shares very similar features to the princesses. However, her face and overall aura are far more mature compared to the young ones.
Indeed, the woman's identity is-
"Mother! Mother! The egg! She's still...she hasn't..." [Silvania]
"Calm down. Take a deep breath. I know you're the most excited and probably the most worried, Silvie, but you must be patient here." [Mother]
Although Silvania was the only vocal one, all her sisters and even the maids looked very troubled and worried.
"Now, now. My mother informed me that this child is healthy and very much alive, just on the weaker side for some time. All we can do is simply wait." [Mother]
After she finished speaking, no one else could share their thoughts. If even she said it was alright, who could refute her?
The hatching proceeded, and the egg continued shaking. It would take another fifteen minutes of effort to finally show some progress.
More fractures started developing and propagating throughout the shell. With one final push, the top fell off, and a tiny head of white hair, pale skin, and six smooth, sharp, golden horns audibly popped out.
"Hnnnngg~ *POP*" [Child]
A slight struggle later and the little one freed one of her arms. And-
*POP*
soon enough, her other arm was free.
Normally, a dragon hatchling would be looking around curiously after hatching, perhaps even running around, but this one remains in her egg and struggles to keep open her droopy eyes.
Although they were and still are very concerned, witnessing this sequence of events left everyone with only one feeling:
(So...CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-) [Literally Everyone]
Kwaaaaa-ha-ha-ha! I've done it! I've escaped the prison! You'll never catch me alive, coppers!
Hah, hah...actually go ahead and catch me. I'm so freaking tired after that. It's also really warm in here, and it makes me feel extra sleepy.
BUT! I must push on! I mean, I can't just hatch and fall asleep without meeting my mom, can I? Not that I can even see right now.
Opening my eyes right now is akin to flashbanging myself, so all I can do is squint reeeeally hard. Fortunately, I don't seem to require any vision at the moment since I can 'feel' the presence of others.
Let's see (heh, get it?), there's a couple of maids, I think, standing by the wall, staying...no, attempting to stay calm and neutral, but I can sense a lot of adoration for me, I guess. Next, there's these four ladies at the front and something about them feels different from the others yet familiar to me, very...warm.
Haah, their presences also seem very similar to each other. Hm, I'm guessing they're relatives or something, and if they're here for my hatching, then I imagine I'm related to them as well. Perhaps, they're my siblings?
From left to right (my view, of course), the first one has a pretty calm feeling...on the outside that is. Within that shell is a bunch of sparkles and stuff. So, she's trying to hide her true feelings but fails to do so behind closed doors? I'll probably find out later.
Next to her is a perfectly identical copy aside from the color scheme. Twins, eh? Unlike the other one, this twin actually maintains the cool, calm feel inside and out. That being said, I can still sense the warmth and love from her. Ooh, yup, feels real nice. Hm, I think I found the most reliable one.
Third, we have a very sparkly one on our hands. No, really. Pretty much her everything is sparkling right now. Her eyes, her hands, her eyes, her legs, her chest, her eyes, her shoulders, and did I mention her eyes? Those are the areas with the most sparkles (take a wild guess as to which is number one), which I really hope equates to excitement.
And finally, my last sister is-GYAAAAH MY EYES!! TOO BRIGHT TOO BRIGHT!! Jeez sis, how excited are you!? Everyone else seems to be at least somewhat calm about this so wh-oh I get it. It's because she was previously the youngest and now finally has a little sister to dote on, isn't it? I think I can understand that sentiment. I feel like if I had a little sister in my last life, I might've had the will to live longer. Well, at least I know I'll get plenty of love. Just, uh, turn down the lights a little, please?
Heh, I haven't even found my mom yet and life is already way better than the last. I'd be satisfied for life with even just one of these sisters and no one else. Hope I don't get too spoiled.
...
Yeah that ain't happening.
*YAAAAWWNNN*
Oh boy, is it just me or is it getting hot in here? There's a new presence in town, and the source of it is the lady walking toward me. This feeling is...really warm, warmer than all the sisters combined. Really fuzzy, too.
I think I found the mother.
Before I even realize, my arms are already stretching out toward her.
"Mmmmmuu, muuuaa~3If anyone could enlighten me as to what a baby/toddler sounds like, I'm all ears. Ah, a dragon one, of course."
*YAWN*
Not good, I can't fall asleep yet, not until I've seen her face! C'mon eyes, hurry up and get used to the light! You too, Mama, faster, faster, walk faster!
"Muuuuu, maaa~"
Okay, I've made some emergency progress out of desperation. I can just barely keep my eyes open enough to see, except it's blurrier than a broken focus lens.
Whoa, Mama finally moved over to me and picked me up. Higher! Higher!
"Waaa-*Blub, blub, blub~*"
"Ah! Sorry, dear. I forgot to warn you before doing that. Here you go, nice and dry. *Pat, pat*" [Mama]
*Yawn* Aww, bath time's over already? Mama used some sort of water magic to wash off whatever goop was on me. It was really nice and comfy in there, too. Well, I'm dry now and wrapped up in a snug little cocoon of blanket.
And more importantly, I finally get to experience what a hug feels like.
And damn...does it feel good. Way fucking better than I ever thought. Warmer than a damn good bath, softer than the nicest fucking blanket, and fucking fluffier than the fluffiest fucking cloud! I could stay right here my whole life and be just fine. Heh, I bet Mama would even agree to it if I asked.
But I won't! Because I'm a responsible little kitten, or well, hatchling.
*YAAWWWNNN*
Ah crap, I can't hold back anymore. This 'bed' is just way too fucking cozy.
"Hehe~, you can sleep in just a moment, sweetie. I still need to tell you your name." [Mama]
Ah right, my name. Riiiight. I never exactly gave a shit about my old one, and when you combine that with my chronic loneliness, you get someone who quite literally forgot it. To be honest, I'm still not even sure I had one in the first place.
But now, I get to have a new one, juuust for me. Mwahaha! Alright, Mama, hurry up and gimme gimme gimme! Ooh, and make it shiny too! Hurry! Before I fall asleep and forget it!
"Haha, someone's excited, isn't she? Alright alright. Welcome to the family, Lucillia. You'll be in our care from now on. We're far from perfect so try and bear with us, okay?" [Mama]
...Lucillia...ka? I guess...that's...fine...by...Zzzzz.
