Ok, so just a heads up, I don't intend for this story to be a multi-book epic or something like that. There are a lot of those on this site already and I know it's exhausting to write long stories like that. Especially since I am already doing one or two of this currently(check my profile). I want this to be a somewhat shorter, simpler story of family.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

Authors Note ( June 6, 2022) Edited this chapter for grammar and readability.

In a forest, located near a mountainous region some ways from Warfang, a very young hatchling was out alone.

The hatchling had been running as far as it could for a number of hours now. She had no idea what had happened, all she knew was that her family was nowhere to be found. Something had happened, but all she recalled was some kind of beast attacking her parents, and her parents telling her to run as they held them off.

She was covered in scratches and bruises; the end results of some tumbles and scraps she had while traversing the forest. By this point, however, she was beginning to tire. Her young body was close to giving out. She was not meant to be walking for this long, on her own. She had been wandering aimlessly, searching, perhaps in vain, for someone to helo her. After a few hours of running, however, she grew tired. Yawning a bit, she stopped to rest at the trunk of a tree she passed. After stretching herself out, she curled in on himself, her tears from earlier still drying. Slowly, she began to fall asleep.

Just as she settled in, however, footsteps nearby perked her ears up, followed by the growling. The hatchling panicked, as she heard sniffing from nearby.

She turned her head slightly, only to be met with a terrifying sight. A large, quadrupedal beast, about nine feet tall, with a canine-like features, stood mere yards away from her. The creature was covered in grey fur and had a canine-like muzzle and body structure, as well as a long flowing tail. What it was called, she did not know. The beast kept sniffing until it glanced up, its gaze following directly towards the young hatchling before it. With a ravenous look in its eyes, saliva slowly dripped from its mouth. It had located its dinner.

The hatchling yelped in fear and ran as fast as her tiny paws would take her. Too young to even think about flying, she attempted to lose it by running towards a patch of fallen trees, ducking underneath some fallen trees that the creature was too large to fit under.

This only bought her a few seconds, however, as the beast quickly navigated its way through the fallen trees and maintained pursuit. The hatchling was running on pure adrenaline by this point, running low on energy.

She cried loudly, beginning to run out of options. She continued to run as fast as she could, ducking under smaller crevices and trees, attempting to zig-zag her way through the forest.

But, it seemed her luck would run out. Soon enough, the beast had gotten wise. As she ducked under another rock formation sprouting out of the earth, bolting through it and sliding under an uprooted tree, she did not look back. For a moment, she stopped, thinking she had lost the creature, who had been too big to follow her under most of the obstacles she dashed under.

To her dismay, she was wrong. Within a few seconds, the beast peered out from the other end of the tree. Shrieking in terror, the hatchling barely had time to react before the creature thrust its paw behind her, preventing her from backing under the tree again.

The creature, more sentient than it first seemed, began to slowly inch the hatchling toward its central mass, clearly toying with her.

Before it could finish, however, something within the hatchling clicked, and a small, burst of purple light shot out from around her, stunting the wolven beast and knocking the hatchling back briefly.

Though the creature was dazed briefly, the hatchling was drained of most of her remaining energy from that reactionary blast. Her young mind unable to comprehend or replicate what she had just done, she just stared in shock for a bit, before recoiling in horror as she saw the beast get back up.

Snarling at her, the beast quickly re-positioned itself over the hatchling, who was too tired to move. Moving its paw over her back and wings, it held her in place. With that, it slowly began to open its jaw. Slowly lowering its maw, it reveled in its' prey's fear, as its body language was giving away.

"No!" The hatchling yelled, as she desperately struggled to move, but found herself unable to escape the canine's grasp. Crying one last time, she closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

But luckily for her, it was not to be.

Just as it was going to devour her, the beast was suddenly tackled by something large, releasing the baby dragon from its grasp. Moments after this, the hatchling felt herself be lifted up by the scruff and carried off by something else.

"She's not your dinner, vile beast!" A feminine voice shouted.

"Get the kid out of here!" A matured male voice yelled, as whoever had a hold of the hatchling bolted away as fast as they could. The hatchling could briefly make out the outline of a few dragons, of different colors engaging the beast as she saw the scenery rush by her in frenzy. Whatever the case, the hatchling barely had time to register what she was seeing as she faded from consciousness, her exhaustion catching up to her.


"Let's just get this over with." Spyro sighed, as he entered the office of the captain of the city guard. It had been a long day, attending to his numerous responsibilities and such. Some of which included giving training to new recruits for the cities' defense forces or attending to political matters involving the guardians or city council. In the fifteen years since Malefor's defeat, he had become a revered figure in the world, as had Cynder. Owing to his status as the purple dragon of legend, he was considered an important figure in dragon culture; and was expected to fulfill a plethora of duties in the city of Warfang.
Not that he had nothing to show for it, of course. He and Cynder had been awarded a modestly large house as part of the reward for their achievements during the war, such as saving the world and the like. Adding to this, he enjoyed a great deal of respect and influence, though he hardly flaunted it.

Suffice to say, he knew by now the guard captain would not have called someone like him this late in the day, after 'quitting time', if it weren't of importance. Eager to see here the report, and thus get home finally, the beleaguered purple dragon opened the door to the office.

The office itself was large enough to accommodate a few adult dragons. A sitting pillow was placed behind a large wood desk. Armor and shields decorated the stone walls of the room.

At the desk was a large, red dragon, with a yellow underbelly, and black horns. He wore a metal helmet over his head, custom fit to a dragon's head shape.

"Greetings, Spyro. A pleasure to see you again." The captain greeted Spyro as he walked in.

"Likewise, Captain Tarron. Now, I take it you have a reason for calling me here, after this long-ass day." Spyro retorted, in a playful manner. He and Tarron were good friends and shared a bit of humor in their conversations where they could. Tarron knew he meant no disrespect.

"Of course. I know you've had a busy day." The captain said, half playfully, but still means it. He glanced aside, briefly, however. "Well, maybe it is."

Spyro raised a brow. "Maybe?"

Tarron sighed. "Rumors have been spreading around the far reaches of the region. Rumors of a dragon wielding rare powers have been circulating for some time. Lately, some seers have reported sensing a dark aura radiating in their settlements, but when they go to investigate, they find nothing." Tarron finished.

Spryo looked at him, puzzled. "Alright, sounds troubling. But what do want me to do with this information for now? It just sounds like hearsay to me." Spyro replied.

Tarron sighed. "Nothing for now. But something tells me it may be worth looking into, soon. I will keep you informed if anything more comes of it. For now, I would not be too concerned, but I did consider it worth informing you, just in case."

Spryo nodded. "Thank you, Tarron." He said simply.

Tarron sighed again. "Right, you can get home now. I have plenty of more reports to file before I turn in for the night." He said, as he pulled out a paper from the side of his desk, and laid it out in front of him.

Spyro nodded. "Alright then, take care for now." He said as he turned to leave.

'Likewise." He heard Tarron finish, as he closed the door.
As Spyro proceeded down the halls, and towards the exit of the temple, the news circulated in the back of his mind.

"Just what could these supposed 'dark powers' be coming from. Is trouble brewing again? Or is there something more to it…"


In a trade outpost, just outside of the forest, a group of dragons, each of different color and age, were gathered around, near the entrance to the guard post. Each of them had been eager to hear of what the recent patrol had found in the forest. At the center of them, a young hatchling was asleep, curled up in the tail of a scout.

No one in the crowd was very certain what to do. The outpost they protected was one of Warfang's trading outposts, a place for vendors from the area to buy and sell their wares with others. The guards and soldiers here patrolled the area and kept the peace. Most of the soldiers here were young and lacked maternal experience. Yet, in the center of them, they had a young infant, nearly a newborn from their estimates. How and why she was out here, none of them knew.

As such, questions flew all over the place.

"Is that a hatchling?" A younger blue scout inquired.

"What's she doing here? Where are her parents?" Another female red dragon inquired.

At the center of the group, a somewhat older dragon sat with an irritated look on his face, a byproduct of being bombarded with questions.

He sighed and spoke up: "Guys, guys, calm it! I don't know the answers to any of those. I just found her out there, on patrol. Just wait for the captain, please, maybe we can figure it out then." The middle dragon, answered, with an exacerbated sigh.

Before anything else could happen, the group heard the doors to the guard post open, and a rather large dragon, with brown scales and a sandy underbelly, as well as yellow wings, walked out. The other dragons present nodded to him in respect, as he approached.

"Greetings, everyone. Now, what seems to be the problem? I have many tasks to-" He began, before he cut himself off, noting the sleeping infant dragon in the center of them, curled in the tail of the blue dragon before him.

"A hatchling?" He said, surprised. "What is she doing here? Loupin, care to explain?" He asked the blue dragon.

"Captain Silvus, I am not quite sure. I was out on patrol with some of the others when we found the poor thing, being chased by a wulver. The damned beast nearly had her for dinner, before me and the others saved her." Loupin responded.

Silvus looked over at the sleeping hatchling, and back to him. "Good thing you showed up when you did then. What exactly happened with the wulver?"

"The others managed to wound it and drive it off. I volunteered to bring the hatchling back here, while they finished the patrol and tried to find signs of her parents." He stated.

The captain sighed. "Alright. Report back to me when they get back. For now-" He began before he got interrupted by the sound of the hatchling yawning. Everyone went quiet.

"She waking up." One of the other soldiers nearby muttered.

The hatchling opened her eyes slowly. As her vision became clear, she grew alarmed at the sight of several large strangers huddled around her. Not being used to so many gazes hanging over her, and having no one familiar to comfort her, fright quickly overtook her young mind, as she shrunk under the gaze of the large strangers around her. Unable to do anything else, she began to cry and put her tail over her eyes in defense.

The adults around her panicked slightly, not having much experience with hatchlings. As her crying grew louder, everyone present looked at one another nervously.

"Uh, what do we?" The red dragon, Nova, asked, in a frenzy. Loupin tried to soothe the hatchling, but his efforts fell flat.

The guard captain sighed, and calmly lowered himself.

"Give her here." He said calmly. Complying, Loupin slowly unraveled his tail from the hatchling, gently picking her up with his paws, and handed her over to the captain, who sat on his haunches and picked her up slowly in one of his paws. He offered her a claw, which she quickly took and put in her muzzle, suckling on it. It was an instinctual reaction, similar to how infants of other species were pacified.

The rest of the adults present looked on with mild surprise. Silvus shot them a questioning glance.

"What? I've raised several hatchlings of my own before. The best we can do is try to pacify her as we figure out what to do…" He muttered.

Looking at the hatchling in his paws briefly, he turned his gaze back towards his soldiers.

"For now, see to your regular tasks, but keep an eye out for news of the hatchling's parents. I will see to having the hatchling looked after." The captain stated.

The rest of the soldiers nodded and left to attend to their tasks, while the captain indulged the hatchling for a bit longer. After a few minutes, she had calmed down enough to stop crying, having been pacified. Silvus sighed again.

"Better see about finding you a caretaker." He muttered. Releasing her from his paws, he slowly picked her up by the scruff. Thinking for a moment, he figured he should stop by the medical ward, and see if the medic could help.

With the hatchling in tow, he padded over, across the outpost, towards the medical building, which was a small, stone structure large enough for a few dragons to stay in. As he entered, he surveyed the inside of the building. Various herbs, remedies, and medicines were arranged on shelves, each with a specific label on them. The room itself was bit crude, carved out of stone, but in a way that made shelving and accommodation possible. The rest of the structure was filled with a few cots for patients, another two rooms, an office of some sort, and a supply closet.

"Serana, you here?" Silvus spoke, with the hatchling still hanging in his maw. She laughed slightly at the vibrations she felt from Silvus speaking.

"One moment." A soft, feminine voice sounded from the office. He heard what sounded like a few objects being pushed around before he saw a white dragoness, with a light blue underbelly and wings walk out of the office. She was a bit lithe in build, and small in stature compared to the captain.

"Greetings sir, what can I-" She began, as she cut herself off, caught off guard at the sight of the hatchling in the captain's maw.

"Oh my. Sir, what is a hatchling doing here, of all places?" She inquired.

Silvus sat the girl down and spoke. "Greetings, Serana. "Patrol found her and saved her from a beast. No one else here is really good with this kind of thing. I was hoping you might be able to help." He said bluntly.

Serana looked the hatchling up and down, checking her for wounds. " Poor thing must be scared out of her wits." Noting the nervousness in the hatchling's eyes, she shook a bit. "Where are her parents?"

"Trying to figure that out," Silvus said simply, before sighing again.

"I know that you are already busy, stocking your medicine and having to be on call in case of injuries, but… could you watch her, just for a bit? Not many of the soldiers would have any idea how to handle a hatchling, and I have too many duties to attend to, and don't have the time to look after her the way she needs." Siluvs sighed.

Serana smiled. "Of course. I can keep an eye on her for a bit." She said, as she offered the hatchling her tail to play with, which the girl smiled and started messing around immediately.

As she did that, Serana put a claw to her chin. "Hmmm, well we don't exactly have the facilities for a hatchling at an outpost like this, but I think I can accommodate her for a bit. Not much else we can do. I will have to adjust one of the cots over there, though." She began. She then turned her attention toward the hatchling.

"So, what is your name, little one?" Serana asked the girl, looking at her with a caring expression..

The hatchling stared up at her, with wide eyes. Serana was unsure if they would get a proper answer, given the very limited vocabulary young hatchlings exhibited.

After a few moments, however, the hatchling began trying to speak.

"C…cl…. Claire?" The hatchling stated, sounding almost uncertain.

"So she can speak a bit," Silvius noted, muttering to himself.

"That's a sweet name, dear," Serana replied in a gentle tone. Quickly, however, the hatchling's attention was diverted back to Silvus' tail, as she started playing with it again. Silvus let her play, knowing the attention span of an infant was sporadic. He diverted his own attention back to the medic.

Serana looked up at the captain. "She doesn't seem much older than four months. I doubt she will be able to tell us anything about what happened to her parents.' She began.

Before she could speak though, a low rumbling sound interrupted her. Both adults turned and look at the hatchling, who abruptly stopped playing, and began to cry. It took Sivlus only a few moments to piece together why that was.

"I think someone's hungry," Silvus said, sheepishly. Serana gave him a nervous smile.

"Poor thing probably has not eaten in a while." He noted.

"Um… what should we feed her? We have some food on hand, but most of it's a bit too large for hatching to eat. And hard for that matter. Not too well suited for hatchlings. " Silvus noted.

Serana thought for a moment. "Um, hold on, I think I still have a milk receipt I got from one of the passing merchants. If I recall, I should have some of the right supplies…" She muttered.

" Watch her for a second, please." She said, leaving the infant to the captain again. Serana left the room to check the supply closet. After only a minute, she came back out with some supplies and a bottle. Though dragons, as a species did not provide milk naturally to their young, many parents, found it easier to feed newborns a special milk formula to ensure they got the nutrients they required for their growth. Hatchling often had a hard time eating more 'developed' or larger foods.

"Good news, I have what we need, and found a spare hatchling bottle we had. Think from a vendor who left it or something." She noted. "Give me one second." She said as she left again to go mix the ingredients for the formula, on a desk in her office. The captain, meanwhile, continued doing his best to distract the little hatchling, who continued to cry out of hunger.

After a few minutes, Serana came back out, with a bottle of milk in her maw. She looked at the captain, who had a half-amused look on his otherwise stoic face, as the hatchling was lifted by his tail in mid-air, part of his attempts to keep her entertained. Calmly sighing, he passed the infant to Serana, who sat on her haunches and took the hatchling in one paw. With the other, she took the bottle and slowly began feeding the baby dragon. The hatchling griped the bottle in her mouth, drinking vicariously.

"I think I can take her from here, sir." She said, not looking up from the hatchling.

"Thank you, Serana. Take care of her, and I will be back later." Silvus stated, before leaving the building.

Soon after, the medic finished feeding the hatchling, who was starting to look a bit groggy. Noting this, Serana slowly rocked her in her arms, trying to lull her to sleep. The hatchling fidgeted for a bit longer before she finally started to stop squirming. Sure enough, the hatchling was fast asleep within minutes. The medic smiled as she gently moved over and placed her within one of the cots.

"Sleep well, little one." She said softly, as she looked over the sleeping hatchling.