Chapter 2
We made it close to the fog that concealed our home and suddenly we heard the call that always brought us home but also under some sort of hypnotic spell. I tried to resist it but it was no use. I was as much under His control as the other dragons. We made our way to the crater where He was waiting for us. The others went and hid in their crevasses and hollows. I hovered above the crater and let Him catch the scent of the hatchling I was carrying.
"Night Fury, you will be the one to watch over it until the other humans come. But if the humans don't come within a year, you know what will happen to it." He ordered.
"Understood." I replied. 'She's not an it. She's a who like the rest of us.' I thought as I flew to my hollow.
The hatchling was waking up as I landed trying not to crush her. When she opened her eyes she started to cry. I panicked because if she didn't settle down, He would eat her here and now. I nuzzled her and tried to feed her. But nothing seemed to help. I was about to give up when I noticed she was trying to get out of the strange pelt she was wrapped in. I undid the bundle and watched as she started to crawl around. She cooed and giggled as she crawled chasing my tail back and forth. I couldn't help but laugh when she held on and I lifted my tail as she was just hanging there laughing.
I set her down and she made her way to my nose she ran her little hands around my nose then suddenly she stuck her hands in my nostrils. I pulled back and she made a sharp giggle sound. She put her hands on my paw and cooed. As she cooed, I looked at her with such affection, I could've sworn it was the same look I would have given my own hatchling if I had had one of my own.
The last time I held a hatchling like this was when Keena was lived with us on the island. We considered her to be a gift from the gods. She was gentle, and kind and understood us as if she was one of us. Though she had no wings or scales, she was treated as one of our kind and looked at with reverence. She looked at each dragon like they were her own flesh and blood. No dragon in need was ever turned away when they came to her. Her touch alone was warm and comforting enough to bring peace even in the most distressed of dragons. Sadly, when our home was threatened, she gave her life to create our home. For centuries we lived in peace until He invaded and desecrated the sanctuary Keena gave her life to create, and has been our way of life for three hundred years.
I cradled the small hatchling in my paws as she yawned and fell asleep. I sighed and nuzzled her cheek as she slept. She nuzzled deeper into my chest and cooed in her sleep. Then one of the Nadders came in and told me to be careful with her.
"And you know that this is only temporary. That as soon as the year is up, you have to hurry and get her out of here. You can't keep her forever."
"I know. I just want to enjoy what time I'll get to spend with her while she's here. Even though it's not forever, I want to feel like she's my own until I have to say good-bye. I just want to feel like a parent, even if it's not forever." I replied. I promised that as long as I was alive, the hatchling in my arms wouldn't be harmed while she was here.
As she slept, her features reminded me so much of Keena. Even her scent resembled Keena's. It was then that I remembered something I had pushed to the back of mind months prior. I had this warm spark flare in my chest during the night and didn't give it much thought. Only now did I think about it.
'What if that spark was a sign that Keena had been reborn?' I thought to myself.
