==Hi, everyone! I know I am posting this a day early, but my weekend is going to be super busy so I thought that it couldn't hurt. It's been ready for a few days, anyway XD To be honest, I don't really know what to do for the next chapter, but I don't want it to be major, anyway. If anyone wants to read about anything specific while Gorgan is a toddler, I'm more than happy to write it for you! I just need to know before I move on to the next phase of life.==

Martin Garrix - "Forbidden Voices"

Collateral Damage

Chapter 2:

Runt Of the Litter

The family of three stayed close at night. They were bunched together in the nest as a single unmoving unit. Gorgan was sandwiched in the middle, but he was more than comfortable. His mother snuggled him, and his father embraced her. There was never a discussion about adding a new member in the three years since the birth of their son, so Gorgan was the only one they had to cuddle. Nothing could have been better for the time being...Well, that was until the brink of dawn.

At the brink of dawn, Gorgan awakened. The Tomb was cold and somewhat dim. The sun hadn't yet broken through the thin sheets of ice in the unreachable ceiling, so naturally, Gorgan crawled out from Elapidae's arms. His parents might have not been ready to face the day yet, but he sure was.

This would've been the first time the conservative youngling ventured out by himself. Elapidae was always watching over him carefully wherever he went. She would barely let him do anything! Now that he was alone, he wanted to explore!

The independent reptilian toddler crawled to the edge of the nest. He knew the walls were taller than him, but he was more than determined to escape.

Soren and Elapidae were in deep sleep. When their son rustled against the twigs, they didn't stir at all.

Little Gorgan wedged his toes between the wooden fibers, grasped the prickly rim, and tried to pull himself over. His arms strained with the elevation...until his feet unexpectedly popped out and all his weight fell forward. The youngling did a complete somersault over the edge of the nest, head over heels, and landed flat on his back against the ice-covered floor of the cave.

Soren and Elapidae woke up because of the sound of him wailing in pain, but they couldn't find him. They confusingly noticed how the pocket they made for him was empty. Soren quickly looked over the edge to see Gorgan laying there helplessly. How he even got there was beyond him. So he picked the youngling back up and soothed him so that he would no longer disturb their neighbors.

The next morning, Gorgan woke up before his parents again. It was almost the exact same kind of situation, except a few sunrays were breaking through the ice. He tried wriggling from his mother's arms, but she tightened her hold and opened her eyes. "No, Gorgan," she groggily enforced, her eyes fluttering shut again.

The obedient youngling didn't move again. He was stopped before he even started.

When the tribe bustled with activity for the day, Soren said goodbye to his mate and offspring. He had to tend to his warrior duties for a few hours, but it was always the last thing Gorgan wanted him to do. He wailed and clung to him, not understanding why his father had to leave once again. His young mind thought he was leaving them forever, regardless of the continuous returns day be day.

"I mussst go now," Soren stated, giving his son one last squeeze.

"No!" Gorgan fought, doing everything in his power to hold on to him.

He chuckled and plucked his arms off his body. "Yesss. I will return sssoon," he persisted, passing Elapidae the squirming youngling. "Be good to your mother."

Gorgan cried louder at the sight of Soren walking away to join his fellow warriors. Elapidae sat down with him in her lap, using her skills as a mother to get him to stop kicking and wailing. "He will come back, little Gorgan," she soothed, rocking him back and forth as she tightly embraced him.

"Come back!" his desperately begged as Soren was greeted and followed the other males and females.

"Gorgan," she hissed, turning him around so that his face could bury into her chest. Her tender hands stroked him comfortably down his back and around his serpent head. "He isssn't leaving usss," she finalized as she nuzzled him.

His upset wails slowly quieted because of how secure Elapidae made him feel. The youngling eventually wrapped his little arms around his mother to fight his mental loneliness.

"Tell me, my ssson," she began, pulling him back to look into his defeated crimson eyes. "Why have you been trying to essscape the nessst recccently?"

Gorgan didn't say anything when he broke eye contact.

Her hand brushed the side of his snout. "You are too young to be out of the nessst by yourssself. You know that."

"But I don't like the nessst," he comaplained, dramatically crossing his arms in defiance.

"You'll be able to leave the nessst when you get bigger, but for now, you mussst ssstay with me."

He grimaced, unhappy with his current circumstances. Just because he wasn't allowed to leave didn't mean he had to listen. He would get out of here if it was the last thing he did!

On the third morning, Gorgan laid in the arms of his mother in silence. He had been awake for awhile, but he wasn't sure when to make his move.

The situation was slightly different this time; the cave was completely dark and colder than usual. What he didn't know was that a blizzard ravaged the outside of the Tomb, blocking out the typical morning sun. Naturally, the Hypnobrai stayed asleep. The sun was their clock. Without it, they couldn't tell time. Their bodies had acclimated to the presence of the fuzzy rays after decades of adaptation.

So without it, Gorgan thought he had woke up a lot earlier than he had been. His parents' breaths were slow and steady. They were dead asleep compared to the two previous nights.

The devious youngling cautiously slipped away from Elapidae. He watched her face to see if her eyes would open, but she never moved or reacted. Gorgan came face to face with the wall that had originally stopped him from getting out in the first place. He could recall what had happened to him before, so he knew he had to be more careful.

Kind of like a ladder, Gorgan stuck his toes between the twigs of the wall while also gripping the top rim. Instead of pulling, he applied pressure to his foot to lift himself. His other foot dug between the twigs, allowing his other foot to come out and stick back in at a higher place. He did this until his legs reached the top, where he somehow knew he had to climb over and do the same thing going down.

His tiny foot made it to the other side so it could dig into the outside wall of the nest. Once he felt completely supported, he slid his other leg over the edge and lowered himself until his free foot holstered itself back into the wall. Eventually, he stepped onto the cold floor and looked around the dark cave. There were no noises from inside the nest, or, in fact, from any nests surrounding him.

His crimson lenses adjusted to bring in more invisible light, but he was suddenly stricken with apprehension. It was so quiet and eerie. The nests were taller than he was, and there were so many of them. If he wandered away, it would be impossible to find his way back.

The thought of his mother came to mind. She was right. He was too young for this. But if he climbed back into the nest, he would probably wake them up and get in trouble. That was the last thing he wanted, so he walked away. He couldn't get in trouble if they didn't find him!

Nest after nest after nest, he got farther away from his sleeping parents. He wasn't in any hurry; he just wanted to stop feeling like he was aimlessly going in circles. Whenever his parents stood with him in their arms, he was able to see the cave from their perspective. There was much more than these nests; there were towering curved walls that had jagged patterns along the ice that layered them. The older Hypnobrai would also filter in and out of the area through a massive natural opening. Gorgan certainly hadn't ever gone that far in the Tomb, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that right now, either.

At one point, he followed a nest around its circumference and found that it was one on the outside, meaning there wasn't another nest waiting for him on the other side. A good ways out was one of the cave walls. In it was a large dark fissure that got slimmer as it crawled up the ice. The sight was something of nightmares for younglings Gorgan's age, but because it was silent, he was merely curious. If he couldn't hear the monster, then there probably wasn't a monster at all.

So he waddled over until he stood at the threshold of the fissure. It was an opening...his birthplace. He didn't know this, of course, but it was true. Gorgan had found Velsuki's medicine den.

The inside of it was even more obscure than the rest of the Tomb. When he stepped in, it was difficult to see anything at all. No heat signatures lightened through his reptilian lenses. He almost thought it was empty.

As soon as he turned around to leave, something rustled. The little youngling recognized the sound to be scales against the twigs of a nest and stopped. Someone lived in here?

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Gorgan saw the top of a little head pop up from nowhere. The nest was completely invisible to him, but there was no denying that someone saw him. Then just like he did, the hypnobrai youngling climbed over the wall of the nest and landed on the ground without a problem. This youngling was much better at it than Gorgan was.

He stared in awe. He'd never met another youngling before. He'd only seen them being carried around by their parents.

"Help?" she immediately inquired.

"Huh?" he confusingly sounded.

"My mother isss the healing sssnake," she explained. "Do you need help?"

"No. I'm exploring."

"Where?"

"Everywhere!"

"Ssshh..." she quieted him, pointing at the nest she came from. "They're sssleeping."

"Who?"

"My mother, father, and brothersss."

"Oh. I don't have sssiblingsss."

"Isss that why you're by yourssself?"

He nodded. "My parentsss are sssleeping ssstill."

"Then I'll explore with you," she offered, taking his hand and leading him away from the nest. "Our den isss huge," she whispered, taking him to a smaller area. "Thisss isss where the patttientsss go and where my mother keepsss her herbsss."

Gorgan felt another nest with his fingertips.

"My mother sssaysss all younglingsss are born in here, except for my brothersss and me. We were born in our own nessst."

"What about me?"

"Yesss. But sssick Ssserpentine alssso ssstay in there." She started climbing the nest again to get inside of it. "I like to hide from my father in here. It'sss fun," she claimed. When she made it over, Gorgan didn't move. He didn't want to climb again. He wasn't good at it.

"Come on," she urged, pulling herself over to look down at him.

"I don't like to climb."

"Why?"

"I fall."

"I'll help you." Her arms dangled over the edge, reaching for him. He wasn't sure at first, but she insisted. "You won't fall."

After a moment, he stepped forward and began digging into the fibers of the nest. When he got close enough, he took her hands and felt her pull. He went limp with the expectation that she was strong enough to do it herself.

"Ussse your feet," she groaned, straining to support his body weight.

He dug his feet back into the nest and kept climbing until his body hung over the other side. When she let go, he was allowed to find his own way down until they were both situated.

"Sssee? You didn't fall."

Footsteps suddenly entered the vicinity, causing the female youngling to duck and cover. Gorgan was frozen. He had no idea what to do or what was happening. "Cleo, why are out of the nessst?" a voice rasped.

The breath got caught in Gorgan's trachea. It was her mother. He just knew it.

"Cleo." Hands suddenly grabbed Gorgan and lifted him, sending terrified impulses down his body. The adult hypnobrai held him against her chest. "You cannot be in here by yourssself," she sterny hissed, turning him around.

Gorgan came face to face with the medicine snake who thought he was her daughter. Once she saw who he wasn't, she was dumbfounded.

The other youngling shuffled in the nest to stand up. Velsuki looked down at her. "Cleo? Who isss your little friend here?"

She shrugged.

Velsuki was so confused. Who was this youngling, and why was he in her den by himself? She quickly turned him around again to gaze at the pattern of scales on his back. "Ah, I know you," she voiced. "Why are you away from your parentsss, Gorgan?"

Gorgan blinked, petrified. How in the world did she know his name?

"He wasss exploring," Cleo answered for him.

"Oh? And I take it you were joining him?"

"I wasssn't sssleeping anymore."

"That'sss not an excussse. You both ssshouldn't be out on your own. You're too young. Isss that what your mother tellsss you, Gorgan?"

Gorgan unblinkingly stared with wide eyes, but he briskly nodded.

"Then I have to take you back before your parentsss wake up and wonder where you went." Before either youngling could protest, Velsuki reached down and lifted her daughter from the nest just to take her to the other one and leave her there. She didn't try to get out again. Instead, she just sat there. Gorgan helplessly watched over Velsuki's shoulder as his new friend faded away in the darkness with the growing distance between them.

The medicine snake unhurriedly walked around many nests to return him. It was almost as if she knew exactly where he belonged.

Eventually, she turned him around with her hands underneath his armpits and lowered him into the nest that had his still sleeping parents. Neither of them had moved since Gorgan escaped.

When he turned around to face her, she pressed her finger to her cold lips to indicate silence from him. Then she gently patted his head and walked away from him.

As soon as she went out of sight, Gorgan got back up and climbed the wall again, but only until his head could see over the edge. He then watched her approach that great fissure in the wall, bending over to enter in and rejoin her family.

He had been caught in the act, but she just returned him as if nothing happened.

Okay, so I'm pretty sure this upcoming week will be the first week I'll be back on track with writing consistently! Also, I just realized I never acknowledged the people who followed and favorited this story so far...SORRY! Thank you Moore98Luke, RandomDragon2.0, AuroraRain18, and The Mayor of Ninjago City for supporting this sprouting story. It means a lot to me :)