The warm smell of the pine trees mixed with the distinct aroma of the fetid earth enraptured his nostrils. Unconsciously he hummed a melodious tune in his chest which proudly displayed his toned muscles and gave off a powerful aura from him.
The drake breathed in the intoxicating smell that soothed some of the soreness in his aching muscles and gave him more intensive to finish his task early. Still, he glided over the trees, admiring the beauty of nature for a little bit longer. It wouldn't do any harm to him anyway.
The forests underneath him buzzed with wild flora and fauna, which gave off a powering and serene quality to the air. It always managed to clear his worries and his mind whenever his nerves were acting up.
Yet the jittery sensation in his stomach, which appeared to be fueled with a strange concoction of happiness, excitement and other non-recognisable emotions, managed to retain its residual embers.
Gently flapping his huge bat-like wings, his pitch-black scales tinted with a bluish hue sparkling from the golden rays of the sun, he went to finish the task at paw. His mate needed food and due to her condition, the responsibility of feeding them fell solely on him and his son was still too young to hunt properly.
Speaking of his son, he should have woken up by now. The drake had seen his excitement for the past couple of weeks for their arrival, and he did not doubt that he would be jumping around like a frenzied animal at this moment, much like his own stomach was doing a few moments ago.
The black scaled dragon fluttered his wings with vigour and gained some speed. He flew past the trees over the forest and beyond the perilous cliffs that dotted the shores of his home. In a matter of heartbeats, he was over the sea surrounding the island.
He was going to do this quick and within a heartbeat for the sight which lay in his cave was beckoning him to come as soon as possible.
He looked around seemingly searching for something. His eyesight went to a school of fish swimming peacefully under the surface, uncaring about their imminent demise.
A small grin spread across his maw from their ignorance. He opened his mouth, his sharp fangs seemingly vanishing into his pink gums. His chest muscles contracted and started to fill the back of his maw with the explosive gas his kind was famous for, and a shrill sound started to build up. A moment later a bluish-white orb of plasma exited from his mouth and flew towards the water surface, heading straight for the fishes.
The orb pierced the water surface and exploded under it not even a heart-beat later.
Most of the fish, either dead or stunned, floated to the top.
The drake then swooped down and gathered them in his maw after eating a couple of them.
Soon he flew back to a cave on the mountain situated on the western corner of the island. He landed on one of the higher ledges in the mountain's base which was filled with numerous other caves, all of them inhabited by his kin.
Even before he entered the cave, he could hear the scheduled squeals and warbles coming from the inside, and that was without his sensitive hearing.
A smile broke through his face. Internally he was more than happy, especially from the sight of his first hatch smiling brightly for the first time in his life.
He entered the cave through the entrance, fish in his mouth and gave his all too familiar toothless smile (which looked rediculous enough with the fish in it) to the two cave residents.
One of them was another drakaina looking much like the male but with a lot sleeker body, indicating her feminine nature.
His mate.
His beautiful mate quietly watched their son's antics with amusement while her tail twitched now and then. Her jet black scales were tinted scarlet from which she gained her name. And even in the dark, she managed to look glorious without even an ounce of her natural beauty degrading from her age.
The other occupant of his cave was a small black blur busy in his shenanigans. If he didn't know any better, he would've missed him as something else other than his son. His first hatch. From his looks, he definitely inherited both his parents' looks, mostly his father's.
The sleeker dragon gave his a warm tired smile and beckoned him over to her side.
The larger male sauntered over to his mate's side and dumped all the fish he had in his maw and his gullet on the floor in front of her in two near piles, one of them smaller than the other. He softly reached her neck from her snout and gently caressed her scaled hide which managed to pull out a relieved sigh from her. His eyes trailed down to the little rock-like spheres on her left side, making his smile wider than it was when he arrived.
He ended his brief nuzzle and with a soft purr, he secured his position at her side. His tail gently brushing over hers, he watched his son's antics with amusement filling his eyes before he decided to announce his presence by pulling his tail a bit.
So with barely contained laughter, as was evident from his shaking body, he spoke in a cheerful voice.
"Calm down son. With the ruckus your making, the eggs will not hatch." And with that, he chuckled out loud from the predicted result.
The black mass in a frenzy-like-a-chimpanzee was barely able to contain his happiness and delight. His name was Toothless, which was quite ironic judging from the fact that he had teeth and plenty of them.
His excitement levels nearly reached the skies today. His toxic-green eyes which had been dull and lifeless from the time of his hatch, now burned with such a radiant warmth that appeared to infect his parents also, who were smiling at his antics.
He couldn't remember being any happier than he was at this moment. Not that he minded it right now.
His claws scrapped on the cool granite floor of the cave. High pitched squeaks of all frequencies jutted out of his maw.
He was so preoccupied in his head that he didn't even notice his father arriving through the cave entrance. Not even when his father dropped the fish on the floor with a wet and slimy slap resonating from them.
He only became aware of his presence when his father addressed to him in a cheery tone in his voice.
"Calm down son," Amethyst said. "We don't want any to hatch too early from all the ruckus you're making". What he said went past me for a second. Then he froze, now feeling terrified.
What?! His mind screeched, desperately trying to understand who said that or what that meant. When the sentence finally registered in his mind he let out a gasp out of shock, all his excitement and giddiness vanishing into thin air more quickly than a Little Biter gulps down a fish.
The cave suddenly became silent when the main noises filling it disappeared in a whoosh. Toothless became stock still and motionless. If his body wasn't trembling like he had a cold, he would've been considered a peculiarly shaped rock.
"T-That can happen?!" he managed to croak out.
From the edge of his vision, he saw his mother whack the back of his father's head with her tail. "Of course not, dear. You're father was just messing with you." his mother calmed his down while also reprimanding her mate.
"It was just a joke. Don't take it seriously." His mother added after giving his father a light glare.
His father managed to end his chuckling and apologised to him. "Sorry son, I couldn't resist the temptation. You were too busy in your antics that you didn't even..."
"When did you arrive?" Toothless butted in between his father's sentence. He now managed to see his father lying on his mother's right side with his head resting on his forepaws and tail wrapped neatly around his side.
"A while ago. Saw how engaged you were in your celebratory dance." His father replied with a cheeky smile that got on his nerves. But he ignored it as he was used to his father's hilarious and annoying remarks. However, there was one question that gushed out of his maw before his neurons fully processed the thought.
"The eggs will be okay, right?" His tone was too high pitched. He was still overly concerned about the eggs. And his body still occasionally twitched from the scare his father gave him a few moments ago.
"Don't worry dear, eggs do not hatch early due to noise." His mother reassured him.
After some insistence from her, Toothless calmed down a bit. Only a bit. An uneasiness still brewed in his chest.
His mother sighed, seeing his unease. "Come here, my first hatch," she gestured with her head.
With caution, he walked very quietly towards the seven eggs, afraid that they might break from a single noise. He made sure to make as less sound as possible.
He settled down on his rump beside his father.
His mother took one of his forepaws with her own and gently guided it towards one of the eggs. Still apprehensive his paw resisted a bit, but it was negligible as he was confused about the motives of his parent.
"Relax Toothless. You don't have to do anything. Just trust me." Scarlet replied to her son.
After what was probably an eternity of passed time, the palm of Toothless' paw brushed along the surface of the targeted egg. Feeling the rough hard surface under his dragonic palm, he finally succumbed to the overpowering itch to explore their surface.
Gently taking his paw out of his mother's hold, he began to stroke the egg with utmost care of a brother.
Scarlet let out a contented sigh with a soft smile grazing her snout. "See, they are alright. You should ignore your father's crude jokes."
Toothless just grunted in reply, completely mesmerised by the joy of touching an egg.
"I thought our kind could only bear six at a time" Toothless murmured after some time, leaning down to the rest of the hardened shells. They could be easily mistaken for obsidian, had their shape not been oval.
It's not...unheard of to have seven, my child. It just means we have a runt hatchling." Scarlet replied softly, nudging the smallest egg. The rest was a tad larger than my paws, but this one was very small. He noticed only now.
Toothless saw the concern in his mother's eyes.
"Why are you worried, mother?" he asked.
She hummed at the egg. "Remember years ago, my First Hatch, when you learned how eggs were made ?"
Eww, eww Ewwww!
He reeled back in disgust, shivering a little at the reminder. He glared at both the adults, still not forgiving them for ruining his innocent hatchlinghood like that.
Both chuckled in their own time. That simply added a scowl to his face.
"How could I forget," he replied in monotone. He really wished he could erase his memory. He still had nightmares about the particular memory.
He pulled away from his thoughts, lest his body inexplicably decides to vomit right then and there. Instead, he focused his thoughts on the eggs. A glance at his parents put a scowl on his face.
Both still held proud humour in their eyes.
"Speaking of forgetting, you should finish up your pile of fish when they are still fresh." His father informed him with a grin.
His stomach grumbled in agreement. His head darted out to the fish pile that laid in front of his mother. A single 'oh' escaped from his mouth.
How could I miss that?! He berated himself. His favourite cod was poking out of the pile as if it was beckoning him to come and eat them. And even with the nice pleasant fishy smell emanating from them, he was completely unaware of their presence. Had his father not reminded him, he would've remained unfed today. And his favourite cod would've got stale!
Toothless hastily went to the pile and dug his snout in it. A single glance to his parents bothered him the most.
Both still held proud humour in their eyes at his unnatural behaviour today.
"Back to the topic." His mother stated. Toothless grunted in response to signify that he was listening.
"Runts are made when one hatchling splits into two after the mother conceived." She explained. "All healthy mothers are supposed to bear six eggs, taking up all the room in the mother's tummy. But when one of them splits, there isn't enough room for them all. The hatchling will grow to be healthy as all will, but because the room in the mother's tummy is too small, the shell that forms around the hatchling will be smaller than it's siblings."
"But if it will grow to be healthy like the rest, why will it be a runt?" Toothless questioned with his mouth full of fish. He was a bit confused about what his mother stated. How could a healthy hatchling be still a runt?
"Son, manners..." His father warned him.
Toothless immediately gulped and swallowed the fish in his maw.
"The eggs do not grow, son. The hatchlings do. If the egg is not of normal size, then the hatchling inside will outgrow the egg and hatch before it's time. Runts like this one will hatch earlier than it's brothers and sisters but will remain smaller and more easily sickened because of its early hatching." His mother clarified.
That...makes sense, he supposed. The hatchling will be healthy, but due to its premature hatching, it would not grow as big as the others. The 'easily sickened' part bothered him though.
Toothless crooned in sadness with a pinch of worry. "So he might not survive, father?"
Scarlet gave him a warm nuzzle on his face. "There is always that risk my dear. Remember how your litter consisted of six, but you were the only to hatch. Our little boy" she playfully licked.
He shoved her back a little, half-heartedly. It has been a few years since he got over his hatchling stage, he now believed he was too old for her to still treat him as a hatchling. Nobody knew who put this idea in his brain.
"But you were too young to conceive properly, my mate," Amythest added. "We were lucky to be blessed with a child then. I do not doubt in my mind that if we can have a hatchling before it was your proper time, this runt will be as strong as the rest!" He declared rather proudly.
Toothless looked back at all of the eggs.
Even if one was to hatch sooner than the rest, he knew he loved them all already.
He never had a sibling growing up, so he always felt alone with no one but his parents to play with. Whenever he saw other hatchlings of his age playing with their nestmates, he felt the familiar pain of loneliness. He always wished to have siblings of my own.
His wish came true at last. He was thrilled when my parents told me that my mother was soon to lay more eggs.
He could just imagine all of the little hatchings now, annoying him by gnawing on his ears and tail and climbing on his back, trying to fight and take him down(it would be adorable to watch). But he could also imagine the happiness in all of their little hearts when they would play with him, with their big brother.
How they would cuddle with him during a thunderstorm, just like he did with his parents. How they would look up to him for guidance, coming to him whenever they needed help or pestering him to teach them something new and exciting...these images filled his chest with a comforting feeling he had never experienced before. He decided he liked this new feeling.
He couldn't wait for them to hatch. The little sisters he could taunt. And the little brothers he could battle with... and beat.
But there's also that runt.
He could feel waves of warmth coming from that tiny shell already. Toothless could tell even now he could never do such mean things to that one.
How could he? That undersized hatchling would be smaller than the rest, increasing the chances of getting bullied by his(or her) other brothers and sisters. How much he would let that one get away with all because of its condition. Weaker than the rest.
He felt so much warmth just by looking at them all. "Don't worry little ones. I will love you all equally." He softly hummed.
"I think I will sleep now. Laying eggs is just as tiring as I remember it to be." He heard his mother grumble.
He must have been absorbed in my thoughts for a while, seeing the sunlight fainter than it was previously.
Death Strikers were mostly nocturnal creatures, being one with the night. Unlike other dragons, they were active during the night, with their senses as sharp as they were during the day. They usually take a small nap during noontime, not like the other night animals who spent their time sleeping during the day.
His parents already had laid side by side. Seeing them getting comfortable brought a huge yawn from his maw. He decided to join them in sleep.
His father curled around his mother, covering her with his wing while his head rested on her shoulders, with their tails entwined in a spiral.
Toothless stayed on the opposite side of the eggs from them. He curled his own body around them all as if they were his own, and not his parents'.
'I will protect you all' was his last thoughts before he drifted off to dreamless sleep, unaware of the forthcoming events that will turn his life upside-down.
