My name is Dangerous Proximity.
The first thing I remember, like most dragons, was it being dark, warm, and rather cramped. I wanted to break out of the shell, but at the same time, I could sense that the world outside was cold, different. So, I stayed in there for a while. After a few days, I heard cracking out there, and I got curious. I cracked the egg. Just a little, not too much. The air that met me was cold, but fresh. At first, I didn't like it. I shied away from it. But, later that day, I realized that all the other eggs had already hatched. Four little hatchlings were playing around me. Everyone was waiting on me.
That was when I heard the first voice to speak directly to me. I could feel my egg lifted into the air, but still steady as the voice said, Hello there little one. I could easily recognize the telepathic voice of a human, different from the telepathic voice of a dragon. There was a pause, where I considered saying something back, but did not. I promise it's nice out here. Maybe not as nice as it is in there, but nice all the same. The dragons out here will take care of you. And besides, you can't stay in there forever, or you'll die. I considered it. After a few seconds, I gave another peck at the eggshell. It cracked. I paused, but then threw my head up at it, my horns poking through the eggshell until there was a hole in it. I hesitated, but then climbed out.
I gave a frightened squeal as the other hatchlings jumped on me playfully, but something made them get off of me. I looked up, confused but relieved. A blue hatchling, a bit larger than I was, stood in front of me, sporting a large gray shield on it's tail, and a gray plate on it's chest and V-like armor above it's eyes. It's curled horns were pointed at the others.
I got up, and the hatchling turned around. In the background, the other hatchlings began playing with each other. Thank you. It was the only thing I could think to say to the other dragon.
No problem. It responded. It's my job after all. Going into a playful defensive position, it continued, When I grow up, I'm going to defend the clan like I defended you, just like Guard my Memories does! The other dragon charged me, but I leaped out of the way. Rising back up, the hatchling asked, What about you? I looked around. I was a Gray Dragon. I don't know how I knew, but I just knew. I was a Gray Dragon, and when I looked around, I didn't see any other Gray Dragons. After a few seconds, I saw one. Just one. She was looking out of the entrance, seemingly very lonely.
Like me, she was entirely gray, with four black 'boot' markings on her feet, a black head, and black line of spikes that extended all the way from her head down to her tail, with a spade shape on the end of her tail. Unlike me, she had wings, big light and dark grey ones. Her horns were a lot longer than mine, and the lighter scales on her underbelly were darker than mine.
Turning back to the other hatchling, I couldn't find an answer. As far as I could tell, some dragons just seemed to have more of a place here than others. Even at my young age, I knew that the clan just wasn't the place for me.
We all grew rapidly, and before we had even grown our wings, new eggs were brought in where we had hatched, and we were free to roam about the cave where the clan, Acinacem Clan, as it was called, was located. I could tell that three of the dragon eggs were Gray Dragons. All of them were gray, as mine had been, and were surrounded by fog. The human, Dragon-Hopeful was her name, was very partial to them, as I noticed. She would always come around asking how they were doing.
I didn't become friends with the hatchling. As I grew, so did my temper. We would argue about the smallest things, and in some ways, I almost regret it. If we hadn't, we might've stayed friends. In any case, I wasn't fond of any of the other hatchlings either, and they didn't like me.
Although nothing ever seemed to remind me of it, that stupid question still hung over me. What was I going to do when I grew up? Finally, I decided what I wanted to do. And I was going to do it before I grew up. I was going to leave. I waited without patience, knowing that my wings would grow in soon, and almost overnight.
After a seemingly long wait, which was probably only a few days, I went to sleep, and when I woke up the next morning, I had wings. The first one awake out of the other hatchlings, I took off immediately. I flapped my leathery wings, and got a foot or two off the ground. Already, I knew I was to be a good flyer. I glided to the ground, landing with a small squeal. This sound woke the other hatchlings, who all immediately took off as well with their new wings. The exception, of course, was the Nocturne hatchling, who didn't move at all during the day.
That day, I had planned to leave. Before I did so though, I wanted to be named. I could certainly do so on my own, but I was curious. Dragon-Hopeful always carried around a long, long scroll, and I knew that now we had gained our wings, she would be able to determine our gender, and thus name us.
She looked us over, even asked us to show her how we could fly. I could already fly higher and farther than the others. Finally, she began to name us. Using her human voice, not her telepathic voice, she started listing us off.
She went over to the legless purple and gold hatchling with blue eyes, gently resting her hand on the dragon's head. "Sunsong Amphiptere - Female. Name: Vengeance at Sunrise."
Next, she walked to the fiery red hatchling, putting her hand on his head. "Hellfire Wyvern - Male. Name: Red Sense of Burning."
Craning her neck, she looked to the Nocturne. "Nocturne - Male. Name: Downfall at Sunrise." She leaned in and whispered to us, "You can all tell him that when he wakes up."
Then, she turned to the Guardian Dragon. We had grown a lot since our small size as hatchlings. Now, Hopeful had to reach up to touch the top of the dragon's head. "Guardian Dragon - Female. Name:" She paused, her eyes looking to me for a second before they returned to the Guardian. "Guard my Life."
It suites you. I thought to her, trying not to sound like my normal, spiteful self.
She looked at me, but then back to the human. Thank you, Hopeful.
Finally, Dragon-Hopeful turned to me. She walked over to me slowly, and there was something in her eyes. I wasn't sure what it was, but she seemed almost sad. Hesitantly, she reached her hand to touch the top of my head, between my horns. I let her, and went to pull away when I saw that look in her eyes. As I went to move my head out of her reach, there was this small tinge of grief in her eyes. Despite my temper, I couldn't pull away after that. I let her rest her hand on my head as she said, "Gray Dragon - Female. Name:" She seemed to pause, but something told me that I was only imagining it. "Dangerous Proximity."
Suites you too. Guard my Life's voice rang in my head. I glanced at her, but didn't reply. As Hopeful's hand slipped off my forehead, she looked to where Guard my Memories, the leader of the clan, was watching. I saw her walk away in that direction, and I turned to the eggs. They had almost hatched by now. Two of them looked ready, while the last one was still cracking.
Later in the evening, I was walking past when I was suddenly startled. Out of nowhere, one of the eggs just hatched. It broke in two, and a very small brown and blue hatchling climbed out. Someone called Hopeful over, and we watched the first gray dragon egg hatch. I could see Hopeful scribbling madly at her scroll and mumbling 'Night Glory Drake' and 'Gray Dragon'. A few seconds later, the next gray dragon egg hatched, smaller than the other, and then a tanish-gold egg hatched. Finally, the last gray dragon hatched, leaving the second Gray Dragon as the smallest. In a matter of thirty seconds, all of them hatched.
Ever so predictably, all of the Gray Dragons immediately began fighting and squealing that high pitched squeal at each other, and then they attacked the other two. Hopeful quickly stopped the fighting, separating the hatchlings. However, after a few minutes, it became apparent that the three Gray Dragons were okay around each other, but not the other two. Watching these hatchlings, I suddenly had an idea. It can't hurt to hang around until these three have their wings. They probably don't want to stay here any more than I do. We could all leave together.
And so, I waited. Every day the three got bigger, though the last hatchling was still the smallest. Every day, when Dragon-Hopeful came, her face brightened when she saw me. I couldn't figure out why, but I never asked. She would talk to me sometimes, but I didn't know what to tell her, and I didn't want to get mad at her, not like how I got mad at the others. I got mad at the others because they made me mad. I didn't get mad at her because, well, I couldn't. She annoyed me sometimes, but I never found it in me to snap at her.
After a few days, I was nearly mature, and the hatchlings had grown wings the two older ones were a male, then a small female: Storming Silence, then Releasing the Storm. After them was the youngest, another male named Fighting in the Rain.
Once they had been named, I approached them.
Hey! I called to them as I walked up, my voice commanding and my head held high, showing off my superior height.
They looked at me, pausing before Releasing the Storm asked, And you are?
I lowered my voice as I got closer. My name is Dangerous Proximity. Look, I'm not going to sit here and go on about why I came over to you. Bringing my voice to a soft whisper, I said, I'm leaving. I think we should all go together.
Why should we go with you? Storming Silence asked, using the same soft whisper I had used.
Look around. Do you really think there's anything here for us? The other Gray Dragons left for a reason. I'm leaving for the same reason. We don't belong here. We belong somewhere else. Somewhere out there where the rest of them went. I paused. On another note, I can protect you better than if you leave later, without me.
The three of them looked at each other, then looked around, and then back at each other once more. They saw exactly what I saw when I had been a little hatchling. No Gray Dragons. We all knew that there had to be Gray Dragons somewhere else. And so, we made a plan. Or rather, I made a plan, and they all agreed to it. We would leave the cave that night, and head for the Alpine regions further from the cave.
I broke away, trying to keep anyone from finding out what we were up to. I waited, impatient, even hunted a bit to keep my mind off of the upcoming journey. Finally, about an hour before we were going to leave, I was watching out the front entrance when someone came up to me, sat down next to me. I gave them a glance. Guard my Life. Of course. Of all the days.
What do you want? I growled, shifting uneasily.
Don't leave. She said. I looked at her, my golden eyes narrowing.
Who says I'm leaving? I asked, trying to keep calm.
No one had to tell me. You haven't flown much today. I saw you pacing, and hunting. I might not have been your friend for long, but I can tell when you're being impatient.
I don't fly when I'm impatient?
No. You do sometimes. She paused. You're just resting your wings. That's how I figured it out. Guard my Life finally turned her head to look at me. It's not me that wants to keep you around, just to be clear.
I guessed that. I growled. You and I haven't exactly been on good terms lately. I paused, So why are you trying to keep me here?
I told Guard my Memories that I was pretty sure you were going to leave. She told me to talk to you. Personally, if I was the leader, I wouldn't want you around. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.
I looked away, out at the fast approaching night. You can't stop me from leaving.
Wrath of Storms. Guard my Life stated.
Confused, I asked, What is that supposed to mean?
Wrath of Storms was the first dragon Hopeful ever stole. She was a Gray Dragon like you, and she left as well. Not a lot of dragons here know about it, but I've heard Guard my Memories and Dragon-Hopeful talking about her. Hopeful never really got over her. She's stolen Gray Dragon eggs more than any other breed, but...
It hit me like a landslide. I finished her sentence. But only one ever stayed. That made everything make sense. The reason she looked so worried when I tried to pull away. The reason she was always checking up on the Gray Dragon eggs. The reason that she, personally, had been there to convince me to come out of my shell. That look in her eye that I hadn't been able to figure out was so clear now. It was the look of a broken heart.
Wrath used to come back, but things changed. No one here knows why, but she just stopped coming. There was a pause. Finally, she said, I know I can't keep you from leaving, but I can make you leaving be a means to an end. I want you to find Wrath of Storms. Rumor has it she's part of a large Gray Dragon group now, so they shouldn't be that hard to find.
And what would I do if I find her?
Tell her that you have a message from Hopeful, probably. She should see you if you say that. And then, I guess you'll tell her that she should start coming back or something. I don't really care how you do it. When I was little, I told you I was going to defend the clan when I grew up. Dragon-Hopeful is part of the clan too. This may not be how I pictured it all, but I'm defending her, just like I said I would.
I stayed silent for a few seconds. The minutes were ticking past, and it would be time to go soon. I glanced over my shoulder. I could see the other three dragons, conversing quietly in the background over a bite to eat. Every now and then, they would glance to me, waiting for our cue. I looked back to Guard my Life, saying, Fine. I'll see what I can do.
Proximity, I don't want you to give it your best shot and give up if you fail. I need you to find her, and not give up until you find her, and get her to come back no matter what it takes. Dangerous Proximity, do you promise me that you'll do that?
I promise.
Good. Guard my Life responded. There was another silence before she began, So when are you leaving? Wait. Don't answer that. I don't want to know. The less I know the better. She stood, walking away.
I gave them the nod. Everyone was asleep, except for a few choice nocturnal dragons, who weren't paying attention to them. It was time. We took flight, and were far from home by first flight.
We slept in a large group to deter humans from approaching us. Sometimes we would mess with towns, stealing cattle from farmers or flooding crops with our storms. We grew up, hunted and fought for ourselves. Sometimes things would get a little crazy, with all of our tempers being short, but we worked it out. I actually became rather fond of them all. And through all of it, I never forgot my promise.
Eventually, I told the others about my plan to find the group Wrath was in, called the Hostile-Wrath Gray Dragon Alliance, but not my reason. They agreed to find them. A few weeks later, we had been following the rumors of their whereabouts, and stumbled upon them. As it turned out, Wrath had her own family now, and they had allied with a Gray Dragon band owned by Hostility of Storms. The group was large, made up of only Gray Dragons. Many of them had been hatched in Acinacem Clan, as we had been, but there was only one dragon that I cared about.
It was a hard bargain to be able to speak with her, but I finally got a word in with Wrath of Storms. I told her the message, as I had promised Guard my Life. At first, she looked at me in disbelief, but then, I could see something change in her features. After a minute, she said that she would visit again soon. A few nights later, I saw her leave. When she came back the next day, I knew in my heart that I had fulfilled my promise.
It's been a while now since we left. I still live with the other dragons in the Hostile-Wrath alliance, but I check up on Acinacem Clan sometimes. After we four left, it was a long time before any eggs were stolen again. I felt guilty, but I had promised and I had come through, and that was where my obligations ended, or at least, where they should end. I tell myself that my future is here with the other Gray Dragons, but I'm not too sure. The other three all took mates, and have children now, but I could never bring myself to settle with them.
And so, I suppose, that's what my story ends, or at least, this part of it. My name is Dangerous Proximity, and I made a promise. I fulfilled it, but in the end, I myself do not feel fulfilled.
What a terrible end to my story.