The next day, I don't try escaping, I am too weak from hunger and pain. It is just a matter of time before I die. I can't even partake in my species ritual of the final flight. I don't even have any family to offer me aid. Not that they would help me. I have mingled with humans and dragons alike. If I somehow made it home, I would be shunned and told to leave.

My mother would be forced to join me in the exile as is tradition. The fault of the youngling falls on the parents as well. At least I wouldn't be alone if she were to join me. Then again she might just leave me once we got far enough from the island.

But all of that was just a fantasy. I would never see my home again. I would die here in this cove. This prison. No one, not even the Red Death, knowing what happened to me. I was alone.

Finally, I smell him. The youngling has returned. I also smell fish, different than the fish in the stream. I quickly hide behind a boulder, watching the human. He tosses the fish in first. My stomach growls, urging me to hurry up and get it, but I keep still. I need to figure out what this human was doing.

He walks over to the fish and picks it up as he begins walking deeper into my prison. The youngling is looking around, searching for me. I creep to the top of the boulder, not taking my eyes off of him. He smells nervous again with just a hint of fear.

It doesn't take long for him to notice me. As soon as he does, I jump to the ground, keeping my distance and baring my teeth, growling. He holds the fish out toward me as if it was a gesture of good intentions. Believing this to be true, I foolishly retract my teeth and reach for the yummy morsel. As I get closer I notice it, the blade he had the other day. The one he was going to use to kill me.

I stepped back and growled, baring my fangs once more. "Get rid of it, human," I growl knowing he probably can't understand me.

But he seems to get the message and drops it on the ground. I gesture with my head for him to toss into the water. I am not taking any chances.

As soon as I see it hit the water, I sit up, content that the risk has been eliminated. I stare at the human and the fish, hunger taking over my other senses. He holds the fish out once more and I cautiously step forward, eager to fill my stomach. I retracted my teeth again, a sign of trust. The youngling speaks in a language I still do not understand, but I pay the nonsense no mind, I bare my teeth, grab the fish and eat it in two bites.

I lick my lips, savoring the lingering taste as I stare at the human. He still smells of fish and I am still hungry. I step closer to him, trying to find where he has hidden them. His body is small, so there aren't many places to hide the tasty food.

He stumbles backwards into a boulder, chattering away once more. I soon realize he didn't have any and that he must have given me all he had. I feel bad, realizing I need to share, so I regurgitate half of the fish and drop it in his lap.

I sit back on my hind legs and gesture for him to eat his half. It takes him several seconds to take a bite, but for some reason, he doesn't swallow. Maybe he doesn't know how? So I show him, by pretending to swallow as if I was eating something. He eventually swallows but makes some weird faces the entire time. Was this how humans normally ate? Did they always make faces when they ate? Wait, why is he showing me his teeth? Should I do the same?

I show him my gums the same way he is showing me his teeth, hoping I am doing it right. He stares at me as he sets his part of the fish down and stands up. He reaches out with one of his arms as if to touch me. I bare my teeth once more and growled before attempting to fly away.

I make it to the other side of the cove, where I warm up a spot and lay down for a nap. I look up at the noisy bird that mocks me with its ability to fly. I resist the urge to shoot her down, due to her unborn hatchlings. They'd never survive without her.

As the bird disappears from my line of sight I look down and notice that the human is sitting next to me. He no longer smells of fear. Curiosity has overpowered all other emotions. I decide to ignore him and curl up with my remaining tailfin blocking him from my sight.

I listen as he moves closer and tries once more to touch me. I catch him in the act, but he stands up, walking away as if he wasn't doing anything. I get up from my cozy spot and saunter over to the tree roots. I hang myself upside down and eventually fall asleep.

When I awake sometime later, the youngling is still here. He is sitting on a rock, holding a stick and dragging it through the dirt. I climb down and walk over to him. I watch as he makes a dragon in the dirt. I quickly realized it was me he had made.

Inspired, I stand up, walk over to the trees and rip a branch off of it. I begin dragging it around creating and connecting several lines. The human sits in the middle of my creation. I keep looking at him, making sure I am doing it right.

Finally, I am done, I drop the branch and stare at my work, feeling proud of myself. A feeling I haven't felt in a long time. I look over at the human, who is staring at it along with me. He takes a step forward, stepping on a line. I growl until he removes it.

He pulls his leg back and I stop growling. As if testing something, he steps on the line twice more, causing me to growl each time. The next step he makes sure to go over the line. He makes a gesture with his mouth like he did earlier, but this time without the teeth.

I watch as he carefully navigates his way out of my creation, getting closer and closer to me. Soon his back is right up against me. I snort to let him know where he is. He turns and reaches out to touch me. I let out a soft growl, warning him to think very carefully about what he is considering. He pulls back, rethinking his decision.

After a few seconds, he lowers his head, reaches out one of his arms and waits for me to come to him. I am now certain that he is part of my destiny. He had been in my dreams, dreams I've only begun to remember. The only problem is that he doesn't have weird legs, both of his were the same. Was he supposed to lead me to the one with weird legs? Does he get the weird legs later on? I needed to know. I've waited long enough. It was time I got my answers. Time I proved my species wrong.

I lean into his outstretched limb, hesitating only for a second, before placing my snout in his hand. He let out the breath he had been holding, as relief washes over the both of us. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Author's Note: Thank you to those who are reading and enjoying the story. Your reviews are much appreciated and cherished.

I know I just got back to this story, but I might have to take another pause soon. You see, my family and I finally got approved for housing in our area after being on the waiting list for almost a year. We got a place and will hopefully be moving in by the end of the month. We have a lot to do in the meantime. I will try and update can, but a lot of my writing will be put on the back burner for the next few weeks.

Anyways, I have the next chapter more or less done, I just have to edit it.

Until next time