Authors Note: Despite the delay, here is chapter 3. I was actually considering dropping the story, but a friend gave me a swift kick in the butt and told me not to, so I got back onto it. Here you go.

Chapter 3

The tumult of that day was considerable, but a dragon babe yet unhatched has naught to worry about when considering what they will take with them on a journey of indefinite length. To be safe, she made sure there were rodents nearby that she could use when it came time to go, since from her understanding most of the work would be done in the air. As time came and went, though, an insatiable curiosity began to work it's way into her, and she could not go another minute without finding out why it was that humans took so long to leave on a journey.

She was becoming more experienced at it, so manifesting one of the various rodents nearby was quick. Immediately voices flooded into her sensitive ears. Ignoring the odd images the eyesight was giving her she focused into the conversation.

"…ure that you don't need it?"

"Come now Menëshai, how could we possibly use that?

"Well… Um… Maybe if you- "

"No, we'll be fine without it, thank you very much for trying."

"Okay… But what about taking a—"

This went on for quite awhile, Menëshai first pestering Vrael, then Ilúdör, then Vrael again. Over time it became apparent that the reason humans (or Riders, in any case) took so long to prepare for a journey was because first one person, then another, then another would come along and think they knew best and pester the journeyers about this, that, and the other thing while the Riders calmly explained, no, they didn't need one of those, and here was why not, and thanks for trying though, all the time somehow managing not to let the good Samaritan know that five people before them had already suggested the same thing. Finally though, it seemed as though the stream of do-gooders had ended.

"Vrael, I think the people have stopped coming."

"Quickly then, let's get out of here before more come."

And they were off.

The actual departure was so swift when compared to the preparation that the dragonling had no time to make sure there was a rodent in one of the saddlebags. Luck was with her, though, and she found one already there, but then the true challenge presented itself. Whenever it was allowed to think and move on its own, it would take off, destroying whatever it could, mostly food, as it had been doing before she took over. If let loose for long enough on its own, it would probably destroy the food and then eat itself right out of the bag, falling to its death. But she couldn't keep it under control forever!

In the end she forced it to build a cage to keep itself in, one deep enough in the bag so that it wouldn't be found anytime soon, but close enough to the surface so that she could still hear conversations. It was quite the challenge, as rodents do not have opposable thumbs, so all the work had to be done with its mouth. After considerable time was spent, she finally had it done, but while she was doing this the dragons had flown quite high up, higher than any birds would dare go. Her sight was gone, then, without a bird to control, but that was beyond her power. She tuned back into the rodent's mind, just in time to catch a conversation.

"Vrael, I now must ask. As we are no longer in public, why do you insist on taking that egg wherever we go? Think carefully, for if the reason you insist upon threatening the life of a precious babe is not wise, I will be sure that you are never entrusted with one again."

There was a pause, and an odd noise followed, what she assumed was a sigh.

"Ilúdör, I don't know what you would rank as a wise reason, so I will tell the truth. As you know, I have felt premonitions of late, and have tried many a time to divine what the future may hold for our kind. Before us lies a road with more forks than the norm. We are coming to a turning point where nearly anything might happen. The only thing I find consistent is that when I see myself, no matter where I go, no matter what's going on, I bring this egg with. Every single path, every single time, it is this way. And though I'm sure I could change this fate, I'm certain there's some kind of a reason behind it. And so I go."

Another pause.

"Well, that's good enough for now, I guess, but expect to talk about it again when we get back."

"I'm counting on it."

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By all accounts the journey must have been hard on both riders and dragons, but the dragon babe could either sleep or not. No exhaustion came from what she was doing, residing in this prison of an egg. So with no wants or needs besides knowledge, the trek seems to drag on and on. They flew all day at top speeds, and went straight to sleep at night after landing, with limited talking in the morning at night. In short, nothing interesting happened to help the time pass more quickly. The plus of this, though, was that they were at the remains of Inzilbêth in just days, as compared to the months it would have taken to walk, the weeks it would have taken on horseback, or the days added on had they taken the journey easily.

But once they were there, what would they do?

Immediately upon landing at the most recent of the remains, the dragonling found and took over a hawk, keen to see. Then, purely as a challenge, she went back and tried to take the rodents mind at the same time. At first, it was not incredibly challenging, but as the minutes went by she felt herself being mentally taxed not two times as fast, but at least five. And then it happened.

Then, solely by coincidence, both animals jumped at the same time. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. It was not unusual for an animal she was controlling to try on occasion to escape her grasp, but she could always reign them in with incredible ease, to lie and confuse their mind into thinking they were doing this of their own free will.

Unfortunately, this was the first time two animals at once had done it. She had the horrendously incredible experience of two different planes of vision, sight, sound, and smell both fighting for freedom and dominance over the other. Whereas before she switched from one animal to the other, never in both at once, now both were present fighting for control.

The result was incredible. It felt as if someone were trying to split her eyes into pieces, along with in her ears, nose, and other sensory organs. Pain beyond pain! It felt as though she were being stung and stabbed, shot and ripped, torn limb from limb! Such a thing is impossible to describe other than to say death would be welcome before it. Thankfully for her, as the agony mounted, it was quick to become too much for her fragile body to handle. Before long, she was swallowed by the abyss.

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Okay, there it was. I know it was kind of pathetic considering the wait, but it is more of a setup chapter for the next few to come. If you actually got to the end of this chapter without giving up, and are reading this, make sure you review!

Until next chapter...