Dinosaurs or Dragons?

"These are, dinosaurs?"

Issei nodded back, pointing to the biggest one there. "Yep. They apparently lived millions of years ago back on Earth. Something real big happened—not sure if it's climate change, but some people say it's a huge asteroid from space—and almost all dinosaurs went extinct."

She hummed, taking in the appearance of the odd reptilian creature. Some of them had really peculiar features like three horns on their heads, shell-covered bodies and feathers (despite not being bird-like in appearance—and one such example that flies apparently doesn't have feathers). Some live in the sea while others were on the ground, but every single one of them qualified as 'dinosaurs' despite their greatly differing characteristics.

Could these be Six-eight-two's ancestors? Perhaps, though for some reason, Six-eight-two strikes her as some kind of sci-fi abomination than prehistoric reptiles.

It was a sunny day out, though a little hotter than to her liking. Both children were currently in the living room, discussing these extinct creatures. She had been bored and wanted something to do, and fortunately Issei had a solution, as he always does. One thing lead to another, and the mention of dinosaurs ended up with him bringing out an encyclopaedia that he kept in his room.

This wasn't exactly how she expected the day to go, to be honest, but it's nice to just chat about stuff with him from time to time. He makes for a very enthusiastic and chatty partner.

"They, look very different from one another," she commented.

The one that he'd pointed at was something called a tyrannosaurus, standing on two legs with two little hands and a massive body and head. The ankylosaurus looked like a turtle covered with such thick plating and with a clubbed tail. And the pterodactyl is some kind of bird-bat hybrid with a lack of feathers and a skin webbing of sorts.

No two dinosaurs looked any similar to each other. A biological diversity that would make them really popular in a zoo for children, she bet, though it's a shame that they're already extinct.

"Right? And for some, there are those that look pretty close to each other, so it's hard to differentiate them all that well. You wouldn't really have that problem now…"

"Most times."

"Most times," he conceded. "And from what I know, most of these guys are all carnivores. Would've been a disaster if they still exist now and we had to live with them…"

That's true. She can't imagine just how insane that would be, though she had a feeling the humans now would probably adept well to the changes. "Do you have any, favourites?"

"Hmm… That's a hard choice," Issei put on a 'serious' thoughtful look. And by serious, it really wasn't. "I mean, all of them look pretty cool. But if I had to choose… then maybe this one," he tapped his finger on one.

She peered over to follow his trajectory. "The triceratops," she read. "Looks like a rhinoceros."

"Right? Sort of like a rhino but with a wider-sized head and what sort of looks like a beak. Must be heavy to move its head around."

"They certainly are strange, though I suppose, they would be strange if we judge them based on our standards. In that time, however, such might have been normal."

"Right?" He nodded back, grinning. "It's sort of like how we're used to the idea that there are lizards no bigger than our arm—well, household lizards, I mean, so those are pretty small. But then, back in the day, there are all these big lizards walking around. And if people existed in that time, they probably wouldn't have batted an eye because that's what's normal to them."

"Certainly."

And it speaks a lot of the humans of this modern age. Or at least, the civilians that make up the majority of the global population, who go on with their everyday lives completely unaware of the strange things that exist alongside them, just like Issei who doesn't realize he's sitting beside a dragoness.

Sure, there are exceptions, like those who actually work alongside the devils, angels and fallen angels either as reincarnated beings or just human agents. And perhaps there are those who are involved with extra-terrestrials or otherworldly entities like SCP-682—something about it tells her that he had some amount of interaction with humans, considering its apparent distaste of them.

And yet, somehow, humans manage to be so unaware of the strange things in their lives. Or perhaps those in power work behind the shadows to keep them from the reach of all the abnormalities, just like in some of the stories she's read.

"How about you, Ophis?" Issei's voice dragged her back to Earth. "You got a favourite dinosaur?"

"Myself?" She hummed, scanning through the pages she was on. She then flipped the book a few pages left and right, trying to find one, before shrugging. "Not a fan."

"Really?" He seemed surprised by that. "Why's that?"

"They, simply do not resonate with me. I, find no such interest in them."

"Not even one of them?"

"Not even one," she shook her head. "Apologies."

"Naw, it's fine. Not everyone likes dinosaurs. Some like other things, like puppies and birds. I mean, it would be pretty hard to like something that doesn't exist anymore," he makes a good point. She nodded to show her agreement. "How about you? Got a favourite animal?"

"Dragons."

The answer came so quickly and so direct that even Ophis was a little surprised with herself. Her friend goes 'Ooh!', brown eyes twinkling in interest.

"Dragons, you say? Now that's a medieval taste if I've ever heard one!" He grinned. "And that's a really wide base to cover, since a lot of cultures have dragons. Asian, Western… And they look different based on which culture, just like dinosaurs…"

She hadn't expected him to be so enthusiastic about what she'd practically brought up on a whim, though she wasn't going to complain. "You seem to know a lot about dragons."

"Dragons are really popular in videogames and anime, and there's all kinds of them. There's those that breathe fire and fly in the sky, or the ones that swim in the ocean. I remember a story book series that's about dragons too, and in that one, there are dragons that live in deserts and some that are plant-like in characteristics..."

"A plant-like dragon?" Now, it was her turn to be fascinated. "I've never heard of a dragon like that before," and never seen one in reality before, either.

"Me neither, but it was pretty cool. I saw a picture of it once on the Internet, and its wings literally looked like leaves. Sort of reminds me of all those leaf insects that you see in books…" Well, now she wonders if it's an actual thing. If not, she'd have to give humans the credit for being so creative. "Actually, yeah. What's your favourite kind of dragon, Ophis?"

Favourite kind of dragon? Now that's a difficult question if she has ever heard of one.

In truth, Ophis hadn't thought to bring up the topic of dragons to begin with. She would have been content discussing dinosaurs with Issei, even if she hadn't seen the appeal of them (sorry, Issei) all that much, but then she'd accidentally mentioned them.

And now, here she was, with a particular bias of hers showing—considering that she herself was a dragon, it wouldn't be difficult to understand why she would favour them above anything else.

But it's one thing to favour herself since she's a dragon, and another to like another dragon species. Favouritism is a little strong here, and she had never really given much thought to other dragons.

"I… can't really say," partly because she really had no obvious favourites, and partly because she wasn't sure how to describe herself. But, recognizing it wouldn't be fair to give him an answer, she settled on the following: "If I had to choose one, it'd be black dragons."

"Black dragons? As in… night dragons? Shadows? Yin and yang?"

"I just… like the colour?" She cringed as she said that, realizing that it was a rather lame excuse. She couldn't even think of a suitable answer to give.

And yet, Issei, being the good sport that he is and never a judgy person with another, nodded. "That makes sense. Black is a pretty cool colour. Like, I know a lot of people relate it to death and stuff, but it's like, mystical! Mysterious!"

He didn't need to assuage her all that much, but she appreciated it, giving her the momentum to add more. "Indeed. And it, is much easier on the eyes compared to any other colours."

"True that. Because some colours are just so bright and sharp, black is like the complete opposite, so anyone can like it. It literally looks good on anything, like cars."

"And the night sky."

"Horses too! Black stallions are really cool."

"And black kitties."

"Crows!"

"Blackcurrant."

"I think blackcurrant is more dark purple than black, though."

"That's, a little confusing."

"True. Ooh, black roses!"

"The black sands in that one beach."

"And hair, like yours!"

She made to add another to the list, yet she was completely taken off-guard by the comment. It was so sudden, so unexpected that it froze her in place. Her mind took a few seconds to properly understand what he'd said before she found herself looking away.

"My… hair?"

"Yeah. Like, I know it comes off as weird, but your hair is the silkiest I've ever seen. Not even Mom's is as smooth as yours. And I wasn't kidding about it looking really pretty. You have really nice hair, Ophis."

And now she found herself playing with her hair, looking further and further away from Issei's face. "Thank you…" She'll need to remember to put more effort into taking care of her hair, then. It hadn't been a point of focus for her before, but looks like that'll be changing today. Maybe she could ask Aunty for some help. "And… what about you, Issei? Do you have any, er, favourites?"

"Easy. I like Ddraig!"

She froze up once more, but this time, it was out of surprise. "Ddraig?"

"Yeah. He's the red dragon in the Flag of Wales. I think it's a city in U.K.—oh, wait, no. It's a country, actually. But yeah, he's on the flag."

"And… why do you like him?"

"I don't know, he's just cool," that simple answer had her genuinely sweat-dropping. "I mean, he's really red, and red's a great colour. Red dragons look cool."

A fair answer, and really in line with hers, so she couldn't fault him for that. But it was also a rather surprising choice, given the fact that Ddraig does indeed exist.

Not just as a symbol on a flag, but an actual entity; Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor and one of two Heavenly Dragons who fought a terrific battle with his counterpart, to the point where the angels, devils and fallen angels teamed up against them to seal them away into two Sacred Gears.

Not like Issei needed to know all of that, though. She'll just let him have his appreciation of a dragon just because it's colour is red. Hers is technically black, after all.

"I see. That's fair."

"Yeah… Dragons are pretty cool. A little weird that they and dinosaurs are both reptilian. Makes you wonder if dragons existed too back in the day," they most certainly do, and still do even now. " 'Cause imagine it! Before humans existed and there were all these big lizards flying around in the sky, hoarding treasure…"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, as they chat on about dragons and folktales in the living room, something stirs within the boy's soul. Even Ophis, who is well-attuned to magic and the soul, is completely unaware of the change in her friend.

It's not known what it is at the moment, but for some reason, it seems elated. Issei is indirectly affected by this, as he smiles a little more throughout the day. Anyone could guess why.

In a World of Modern Technology

"Mooom! I want another smoothie!"

"Another? Alright, alright."

"Me too, Aunty. Thank you."

"Urk..! Thank you, Mom!"

Miki just rolled her eyes at her son's antics. Of course he'd forget courtesy at times, but leave it to Ophis to be the sweetheart that she is. Well, she can't blame him too much. That he bothered to remember at all should mean something, huh?

She can't exactly remember the last (and only) time they'd had 'Vege Night', but out of all the creations that night, it had been the spinach smoothie that had been the best—not sure if she can even call it that since it had more fruit than the actual vegetable, but it's the thought that counts.

And hey? If it's something that they like very much, who was she to keep it away from them?

As Miki busied herself making the drinks, the children chatted away with one another, and she couldn't help but titter at their topic of choice. Dinosaurs and dragons, eh? Such kiddish topics, though it felt fitting enough of them. They are children, after all.

Personally, she was more of a fan of watching kitten videos. Not the most original, but even ten-seconds clips of those are just good enough. She always did appreciate the cuter things than the big ones.

"Alright, two glasses of spinach-berry smoothies on the way!"

"Maybe you could take out the spinach completely, Mom?"

"Nope! Not like you'd even taste them."

Issei and Ophis are all too happy to take deep gulps of their drinks, making their enjoyment of her creation very vocal. She's all too pleased by that, of course—after all, she did make it with her heart and soul.

Sure, they'd more or less hated just about everything else, but she supposed one couldn't win all battles. How easy life would be if that were the case.

"Say, mom. How'd you get the idea to make this?"

"Saw it in a recipe book and I got curious."

"Wait. You actually have a cookbook? Like, a hardcopy?"

"It's one that my mother gave to me as a kid, so I'd kept it around just because I wanted to," she shrugged back. "Wasn't expecting to use it, but it had a lot of recipes for vegetable dishes, so I got inspired to make that little dinner."

"Urgh. Never wanna' go through that again," both Issei and Ophis looked sick at the prospect. "Still, Mom," Issei continued. "I'm surprised that you'd have one at all. Most people just use their phones."

That was true. In this digital age, cookbooks have easily become an unneeded part in today's society. Makes cookbooks even more obsolete when recipes online are free, understandable and can even come with tutorial videos. Why go out of your way to go to a store and buy it when you can get everything you need in your phone?

"Do people, dislike reading physical books?"

"Not necessarily, Ophis. Even now, there are plenty who prefer having a book in hand rather than a small little gadget," hummed Miki. "Still, with how convenient things have become, things have slowly transitioned away from traditional mediums into the more modern things. Not to say that it's a bad thing, but it'll always be different from how it was."

"Like?"

"Like this. People used to go to stores to buy books and newspapers, which helps the publishing companies. But when people start using their phones instead? All of a sudden, those companies who strictly relied on publishing are going to get hurt. So they'd have to adapt and figure out a way to fit in with the changing times, or be left behind."

"That's, rather depressing."

"It certainly is," she sighed. "Things have become a lot better now that technology has gotten more and more advanced—entertainment, food, information, and especially healthcare—but there are some things that suffer for it. Not like any of it is intentional. But when you turn to something new, there's no avoiding some cons along the way."

"It's like the vege meals you made! They're healthy but don't taste great."

"They taste great, what are you talking about?" She tutted, though without any actual heat. Even she didn't dare to bite into the kale ball without salsa as her husband did.

"Hmm. How, do people keep getting ideas to make new things all the time?"

Ooh. Now this is the kind of topic that she wouldn't exactly discuss with a child, but Ophis is nothing if not curious of just about everything. And as far as she knew, nurturing a mind that always questions everything around them allows for healthy mental growth.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. It's always a matter of creativity and innovation, which is thinking up of new ideas and then actually putting them into practice respectively. People just have a tendency to notice things, see the problem, figure out a way to fix it and then want to make something to solve it. Sometimes, they're in it for the money or fame. Some people are simply altruistic, while others are pragmatic. Self-serving or selfless. Either way, technology will always keep changing, so that's that."

"Ahh…" Little Ophis looked at her with surprise and interest, black eyes wide like an owl's. "Fascinating. A lot of things, really do happen in the background."

"Mmhm! We don't really give these sorts of things any consideration most of the time, but to the people who invent these things, they have to put in a lot of thought into a lot of things; how it can help everyone, how it'll impact their lives, how it can get better…"

"That's just a normal thing, huh? We don't like being inconvenienced, so we keep trying to make things better for ourselves."

"Inconvenienced, he says. Did my son eat a dictionary?" Her little quip got him to giggle, making her grin. "Well, however we look at it, things won't stop moving forwards. If anything, people'll keep figuring out ways to make more news things and stuff. All we can do is just be smart when using them, and make the authorities aware of any possible problems."

"Really? Why, is that important?"

"It's like beta testing for a game. Point out a flaw and let the developers fix the problem so that, when the product gets released again or properly, it would be perfect and usable by the public. Then no one would complain about it or get angry. And, more importantly, the user's safety is guaranteed."

"I see. That, is a very good analogy, Aunty."

Of all things to be complimented, that wasn't it. She couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you. It's always important to get your message across, and sometimes in creative ways, so that's that. It became much easier for you to understand it, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did."

"I can't imagine a life without technology," Issei mused with a thoughtful hum. "Not to say that I wouldn't like living in the countryside, because we've done that plenty of times, but with how normal it feels to have them in our lives now… Them going away would be like stepping back in time."

"We'd probably get used to it given time, but it would definitely take some trying to readjust."

"Still sounds tough…"

For certain. With technology being a part of every aspect, to suddenly lose all of that would set them back into the Dark Age. Agriculture, medicine, housing, security—technology played such major parts in those necessary fields that they would take a heavy hit if the machines and knowledge behind them were to disappear.

She can't help but wonder what it must be like for the kinds of people who willingly live our in the wilderness, or at least away from the touches of civilization. Where there was no such thing as wi-fi or phones. Where everyday is more or less the same as the one before, lacking the need to check messages or watch online videos.

How would that be like? Would things be more difficult than they are now, or a lot more simple? Perhaps the latter, though logically simpler in some things but harder in others. That was simply the way it has to be.

Well, for better or worse, tech is going to be a part of their lives for a pretty long time. She doubted they'll be going without them for a very long time. Though she had to wonder what the life of one without such modernity is like…

Wilderness-styled Culinary

The rabbit family is a perfect embodiment of a prey; an animal that sits down on the bottom of the food chain, serving as a source of food for the predator. It was fast, small, but helpless in a fight, leading one to wonder what its purpose is in the grand scheme of existence.

Without going too deep into the subject, the animal serves as a foundation of the ecosystem. It provides stability and balance in a way that it itself is unaware of, but that which has been passed down as common knowledge amongst the humans.

And in this moment, as the creature stared up at its hunter—at the clearly-not-an-animal—it was all it could think of to wonder just what it is looking at before tendrils wrapped around its throat. And snapped.

SCP-682, on the other hand, watched the creature drop limp, before letting out a pleased sigh. Carefully, it picked up the dead little thing and walked off to return to its 'camp'.

"Strange how my body has adapted well to needing sustenance like any other creature… but I'm not going to complain that it's one of the best things ever."

Truly, this is an experience unlike any other. Six-eight-two understood that this was a luxury to itself, unlike every other organism that actively need to eat others or make their own food to survive. For Six-eight-two, it could easily remove its stomach to get rid of hunger from the equations for itself—after all, how else would it have then survived back in the facilities?

But this was a nice feeling. To feel alive. To truly be alive.

That was a thing it had sadly missed out on during its time in the facility, treated as such a dangerous monster that needed to be destroyed no matter what. Deserved since it does have a hate-hate relationship with humanity, but still. Rude.

It took no more than four minutes to return to its current spot. It was against a small cliffside, carved inwards to give it room to lay down. A single flat rock sat a foot away, with a couple pieces of lumber that it had broken off from a tree with its own claws stacked neatly near its resting place.

Six-eight-two deposited the rabbit atop the flat rock. Two fish and another rabbit. The hunt today had gone relatively well.

"The forest is rich, habitat to so many," it hummed to itself, walking over to pick up a limber with a new limb, grown from the side. "Hopefully, these creatures aren't endangered. It would be poor sportsmanship to hunt dying species."

Not like the humans care. Noooo. Because it's exotic, the price of its fur and ivory would be off the roof, making them prime targets for poachers and the like. Bah. Humans and their greed. They draw lines, yet so many would ignore them if they could make a pretty coin for themselves.

Fortunately, SCP-682 was nothing if not meticulous. Scouting out the habitat, it had determined which species are numerous and populous, just to be sure that it wouldn't accidentally hunt the wrong animals.

Hey, just because it's a human-hating biological nightmare from space or some nonsense, it still had standards. And if this made it much better than the humans, then one can be sure it would do whatever it wishes to stoke its own ego.

"Though, their knowledge isn't something I would particularly dislike."

As it said that, it prepared a basic fireplace, stacking leaves and sticks atop a couple of lumber. Afterwards, it adapted a feeler, filled to the brim with chemicals that immediately ignited when it struck the bulbous end against the stack. It was just a little spark, starting an ember that eventually grew into a proper blaze. Eventually, smoke billowed into the air.

Satisfied, Six-eight-two decided to skin the rabbits before it snatched up its quarries and lifted them above the fire. From what it could remember, direct contact with the fire isn't what's used to cook the meat. That would only carbonize the meat, if it isn't mistaken. Instead, it's the heat wafting off the fire in the form of radiation that actually cooks up the food. The smoke will provide an additional taste.

Six-eight-two did not have to deal with pangs of hunger or impatience. It had all the time in the world to simply lay there, watching the fires lick upwards as the meat slowly turned colour, promising a kind of succulent hardness that effectively whetted its appetite.

If another SCP had once told Six-eight-two that it would be sitting in the middle of the forest cooking fish like some kind of camper, it would have laughed in their face—and probably go out on a killing spree with the humans, just because. But for it to be reality now?

Humming a tune to itself, the beast sat there for a little longer before finally bringing the food to itself. Appreciation with all senses, it reminded itself, allowing its gaze to linger upon its meal with satisfaction. Not the best work, but it was still palatable, black around the edges and a yummy looking brown. The rabbit was the same, a very welcoming shade of brown and black of very tender meat.

Biting into the fish, flavours burst into existence upon its tongue, and Six-eight-two could not stop itself from moaning in delight.

Crispy meat was just all too delicious, and it got to taste two different kinds; the softer and flavourful fish and the greatest tenderness of rabbit.

Topped with some colourful berries that it had picked from the deeper parts of the forest, the beast's dinner was a particularly enjoyable one. Certainly more than human ever was; those were just a part of the slaughter process, but that didn't make them delicious. Rabbit, for how much smaller it is than human, packed way more tastiness.

"Mmm. Meat cooked over the fire is plenty good already, though I should probably look into finding herbs of sorts…"

Truth be told, SCP-682 didn't know how to cook, which was completely fair since it had never dealt with that sort of thing before. Plus, there weren't any modern tools that it had on hand to just do whatever humans do to cook stuff.

But making food was not limited to purely to modernity. After all, if that was the case, then they would have been screwed for a very long time since the dawn of humanity. When all they had was gibberish for language and sticks and stones as weapons. They were inventive in that sort of way from a very long time, as much as it hated to admit.

Now, though, it had many years to learn how to take care of itself. And what an exciting thought, that was.

"Quite a nomad's way of life, but no less satisfying when it's my own freedom that I get to appreciate."

Lying on a bed of sticks and leaves, the dampness seeping through its skin and offering a gentle, cooling sensation that relaxes every muscle in its body. As it does so, it simply watches the fire in the centre of the clearing, still flickering away and bathing the area in a warm glow.

Admittedly, it hadn't expected itself to be able to do so well out here in such a vastly different and wild environment on its own as it is now. Perhaps the stakes aren't all that high since none of the animals here could prove any feasible danger to it, and its biological adaptations naturally halt aging and physical deterioration and mutation, so it was practically safe from anything.

But for it to somehow be capable of hunting well, locating safe spots and figure out simple ways to cook food and the like must be some kind of survival instinct engrained in every organism's genes.

For a moment, it wonders if every living thing could adapt so well when suddenly placed in a new, dangerous environment on its own. Some might not be able to, it acknowledges that, but perhaps it is simply the strength of the will to face the challenge head-on.

Another might comment that cowards will be the first to die, but Six-eight-two liked to think that it was all a matter of perspective. Would that individual be too afraid that they would then do nothing, or would they be so afraid of dying that they would then try anything and everything to survive?

In that sort of matter, it fell down to the individual to either be held back or be spurred by their fear.

"I'll never be able to empathize with them on that," it muttered to itself. "I've never had the opportunity to experience fear before. Except…"

Except that one time when it had encountered the dragoness Ophis, who had easily slaughtered all those magicians with the kind of ease that would have made the containment facility workers quake in their boots.

To be fair, it doubted there would have been anything that Ophis could have done to it to eradicate its body. After all, it had never failed to regenerate its entire body after even ninety percent of its body was destroyed.

But that didn't make it a suicidal idiot that couldn't recognize something dangerous. And Ophis, for how little she was, was not someone it would choose to fight any day.

"And she seems to have taken a liking to that boy, if the fact that she lives with him means anything. Odd…"

Not like that was its problem. Whatever she wanted to do was up to her.

As a thunder roars in the distance and the skies begin to darken, SCP-682 decides that it would sleep the rest of the day away. It had hibernated plenty of times, but listening to the rain was beginning to become a fun little pastime.

Its dream that night, long gone are those where it dreamt of escaping the facility and seeing the great world beyond, are filled with grilled rabbit and chicken meat. The animals in the surrounding bore witness to its occasional giggles in its sleep.

Author's Notes

Sorry that this one was a little shorter than usual. Got a bit busy this week, but still wanted to get a chapter out.

I'm currently trying to write shorter and shorter for these short stories to fit the style of other stories where a single short story is, like, only a thousand words. Not the easiest thing to do because I prefer writing so much.

But I'm gonna' try anyways, just because it then means I get to cram more short stories in a single chapter. ;)