-Midnight. Hunting Dragon POV-

I lay comfortably in my lair after hearing the loud Roar coming from the peak of the volcano travel in the windless night to the forest below which made the critters quiet for a moment before resuming their activities. The Roar sounded angry at first but later changed into that of a goodbye before encouragement, as it was highly possible that she realized my determination to adventure and survive on my own rather than depend on the mercy of others to live.

Well... she did raise me with regurgitating food for a month and probably wished for me to defend myself up there rather than take this risk, but I thought differently. Maybe she ignored my desire to go hunt in the forest below because of the danger, but fighting stronger siblings over the food she brings is unacceptable for me. I recall my attempts to ride on her body before she takes off to hunt in the morning.

Though Big Red was even less dependable despite being the smartest around. His uncaring nature probably goes as far as to think he's doing enough allowing us to live while Mother seemed to be a young parent doing what she thinks is right. I concluded after observing their behavior.

Maybe she was raised like that and thinks it's natural just to fight your siblings over food, but I doubt other dragons take as long as me to hatch... probably because of my human soul. However, Isn't independence the primary objective of parents when raising children? Or does she think I wasn't big enough to fight those giant wolves? They shouldn't be the only food, but why does it have to be those bitter dogs? It is unlikely for her to come searching for me, even if animals are supposed to track their young by the scent, she lost that means, exposed to the intense smells of the volcano. I noticed my nose becoming clear of the foul smells of the volcano as time passes down here.

Farewell Big Green! May we meet again someday!... I thank her in my mind with a resolution to do it personally one day as a grown Dragon that would make her proud.

I sit through the night while eating crunchy Ants that don't stop coming for some reason and other spicy insects, that came out of the cracks to bite or sting me. Straining my ears enough to listen the ants walking and other insects crawl in the cracks, I paid attention to the outside for any dangerous animals that could pose a threat to my existence.

Woah, survival of the fittest down here too huh...? But it's expected since weaker animals in the food chain without packs, come out of their dens at night to hunt. I determined while hearing the dying wails and fights of animals in the forest. I don't listen to any Beasts that could be larger than me, and it might be possible to make this section of the woods mine, but I'm not sure about marking my territory with my piss... I ponder while scratching my scaly head if it would be worth keeping big predators out instead of making them my prey. If large animals avoid this place high up where the game is small and close to the dragons on top, then the little game won't be a problem and finding a source of water would take precedence, but I never saw father bringing the liquid from this side. I sniff the air but detect no humidity belonging to any deposited water.

I stay in the crack unmoving after being fed by the creatures that tried to kill me while waiting to recover enough before venturing out to find water, fruits or maybe animals bigger than insects. I quietly stare outside of my cave as far as the night vision allows for peering into the starry sky while being grateful for the excellent Dragon feature found on my first night in this world which I used to entertain myself on lonely nights.

I don't remember seeing the sky so bright at night with human eyes where even the Moon looked tiny, and maybe this world is so different that doesn't even have it? I remember the satellite that is necessary for the animal kingdom on Earth. Difficult to tell if it's midnight here without a Moon, or at least haven't seen one rise in the sky yet, but I think I'm going to sleep when morning comes. I decided to look at the stars illuminate the forest outside.

As the night advances, my sense of smell becomes sensitive enough to pick up insects and other animals by the tree line outside, a few dozen of my paces away.

Incredible! In but a short afternoon my nose has become a new tool for my survival, and the prospects of this are unlimited, especially helping me avoid powerful beasts with strong scents. I confirmed dying next to food will not happen after smelling so many things for the first time since hatching and decide to head out of my lair while enduring the pain that is keeping me awake in perpetual vigilance.

I thought that agony would go on forever, but I'm feeling much better now, and I'm thankful for the Ants to help me recover... though they did try to eat me all afternoon until the night, and only now they took a break. I remember the delicious Ant's flavor while licking the wound on my right forearm to clean it. Despite the mechanism to heal the body, the hard parts like scales bones and teeth take much longer to grow back, but it will take days to fix my broken wrist eating just ants. Limping out on three legs, I ponder how it was possible to be in one piece after becoming a chewing toy for my siblings.

A few steps outside of my cave, I stop and enjoy feeling the night breeze cool down my body to comfortable levels while overlooking the landscape bathed by the starlight.

It was hot, stuffy, and smelly in that cave filled with insect matter on the walls from my squashing actions. I lost count how many bugs came for my injured body, but maybe dragons taste ideal for them? I thank yet again the organisms that helped me survive thus far, even if they tried their best to kill me.

I stroll outside with quiet steps and hunt down anything alive while my damaged arm hinders my movement, then returned to the safety of my cave.

Can't stand up for too long before my legs tremble under my weight, and that's coming from a dragon that went on a forced diet by his siblings, but because of that, I didn't take further damage on the way down the mountain. Desiring rest with my exhausted body, I reached my cave, go inside then turned around and laid down facing the entrance with my tail to my right side. Exploration will have to be during the day because leaving the vicinity of my lair in this state, is too dangerous since the running difficulty might prove fatal if the need arises to seek refuge. I feel the sleepiness winning over my wrecked body and my eyes slowly closed.

...

-Three days later. Morning-

*GRUuuuul...* Rumbling echoes in the early morning through the forest.

It's a weak echo outside, but enough to scare away any critter I'm supposed to eat and inside the cave... keeps me from sleeping since it comes from my stomach. Unable to endure any more, I open the eyes, raise my head and look outside. Oh, the morning's here! Waking up to the dawn light that paints the brown tree trunks in front of my lair for the third morning.

Now I understand how Big Red feels... to sleep for days without moving, and even though in my case was to recover, it's a pleasant leisure I'm willing to indulge for a while longer, but I've reached my limit today. I mused how a Dragon's stomach growled like some angry creature who got its tail stepped on then decided it's time to get out of his Den and find food before it becomes a tomb instead.

Don't I know how stepping on my tail feels, even covered in scales the tail is a little sensitive, but its movements are mostly left unconscious until you need it, and it's annoying being aware of it at all times. I recall the neglected limb and sway it from side to side while getting up.

With all the fibers on the tip, how could it not be used as a broom to clean my lair? Though it was the only thing that could move from all the sore muscles, and it's also an excellent back scratcher for when those bugs try to settle down on my body... I really, need to take a bath, but I'd be lucky to find water to avoid dehydration. Tensing the muscles on my legs to get up made me tremble, but endured and with care not to step on my right paw, I went outside.

The flesh missing from my wrist is filling, the Scales are growing, and the bone is fusing, but a complete recovery will take a few more days.

I was lucky enough to receive many insect invaders, but Ants stopped feeding me yesterday... just how many did I eat? I walk out of the crack and take a deep breath.

"GRAAA!" I stretch my body in front of the lair.

It is truly a good den, neither the morning or afternoon Sun bothers me, and even with the tree line far away, only the sunset rays paint the cliff above my cave. I admire my current residence watching the sunlight beaming from an angle above it.

I already have a place to take refuge, and next should be water then find food, but even with my newfound keen nose, there's no detectable river nearby. I realize the lack of rain since my birth. Don't big volcanoes like these produce rain clouds? The water from the mountain must be accumulating and running elsewhere then. Observing the trees sway with the wind, I notice it's not blowing to me which is impeding my ability to sniff greater distances to the west.

Ants, bigger insects, and creepy crawlers are not enough since my healing body still needs vast quantities of food on top of the growth it has to do, so larger prey are a must. I limp towards the treeline for some twenty of my little steps and go through the bushes struggling to grow due to the lack of sunlight.

...

-Afternoon. Hunting Dragon POV-

"GHAAA!" I let another empty rock drop down in frustration. *THONK!*

This is ridiculous! Why am I, a Dragon eating insects for a living! Using the good paw to grip while pulling rocks over I managed to secure an incredible variety of insects from turning over almost every rock or tree trunk around, but I have grown tired of eating disgusting things with a lot of effort that barely sustains me. There aren't enough insects for a growing dragon who is still missing scales, so I must venture further from the safety of my cave to procure more or something that provides meat. I deduced the limited food supply while desiring to sink my fangs into flesh.

I take my time walking down the inclined mountain in a zigzag to avoid putting too much stress and getting my left limb worn out, before finding prey or predators.

...Maybe it would be best to wait until the wind shifts, but I have no clue when would that be, and if big animals don't come this high up, then there's free game for me. I walk over the crunchy colorful leaves as quietly as possible.

My paw fits at least four times inside a leaf, and they are excellent to collect morning dew to quench a little of my thirst, but it's noisy walking over them since there's hardly any grass or rocks to step over. I found it an issue to stalk animals that will hear me coming.

Judging by the trunks which a young dragon can hug, it has been a long time since that part of the volcano collapsed and spewed lava with ash this way, making the ground fertile.

Uh... There shouldn't be a need to worry about eruptions and down here is safer than being on top of it, but what kind of species raises their young in such hazardous place? Well maybe the hot temperature helps with the egg incubation, and the gases were not a problem, so I guess only Dragons? I look towards the top of the volcano thinking.

After strolling a while through the field of leaves, I finally encountered my first prey searching for its food on the ground.

The injured limb hurts when is one of the three legs supporting my center of gravity, but I'm afraid it could get broken again if I chase after that animal while doing sharp turns. I silently go behind a tree trunk to observe the creature at a distance of around eight humans.

Ahh!... I stare at the huge brown tailless rodent eating the insects under the leaves. What a great find, I think it's around the size of an umm... Oh! Fat house cat... Ugh, what a strange place to remember getting my human nail ripped off by one of those evil Cats and wonder if they exist in this world too. I recalled a painful memory watching the creature with long whiskers and smooth fur.

I don't eat those tiny insects because it's a pain to collect them and feels no different than eating dirt... not that I haven't tried that either. I sniffed the air, confirming its scent and others like it not far. It seems I found my food source and judging from the position of the sun, should be quite down the mountain and to the north so... north-west? Confirmed the food coordinates to find them again.

This animal is my first prey after insects and must not screw this up! I will be depressed for wasting energy and fail my first real hunt in this world. I recollect the thrill of a hunt as a human and becomes even harder to calm down.

Chasing it in my condition will be hard, stalking until falls sleep will just tire me instead and sneaking up to it will be impossible with the sea of leaves in between three-human or more distant tree trunks. I go through my human memories of hunts and fishing then run my right paw through the roots of the tree in the search for a stone.

Luckily I had a lot of rocks and free time to practice this in the crater. Grab a pebble in the right paw and sink my Hind foot claws into the soil while the left paw grips the tree. I launched the rock to alert it, make it unsure of the level of danger it faces and induces the need to seek safety in a non-panicky way like from being attacked by a predator.

*Thud.* The pebble landed in halfway between us and immediately raised its head to look around, then went back to dig out insects.

Probably not used to big predators in these parts and adapted to sniffing the critters under the leaves, didn't smell me coming, but I'm in no position to pounce long distances. Watching its reactions behind the tree, I determined, it will run away before I reach where the stone landed.

*Thud.* I repeated the process once more, but this time, it stopped its movements and raised the snout high to sniff the air for some time before sprinting away towards west.

The wind is coming from my right, so it had difficulty sniffing me out, but eventually bolted away. Hmph! As if you can escape the eyesight of a dragon! Watching it run between the trees under the afternoon light, I chased after it down the mountain.

It seems I have to do something about my scent, it clearly identified me as a predator. I do a mental note chasing while the trees become increasingly taller and more robust.

After a little of running after it, I forgot about any injuries on me and kept chasing the animal that fled in the straight line through the tall trees.

I don't think I experienced this pursuit as a human and it feels amazing! I'm chasing to bite it, and I will sink my fangs into its fur then taste the blood spilling from the wounds. Indulging in instinct, I continue my march between massive trees.

"HOUFF... houf." Moments later, I'm huffing exhausted, after losing the momentum and decided to use my nose.

Unable to keep up with the speed of the creature, I fell behind then resorted to tracking the scent of fear and sweat it was leaving behind.

That's what it means to be alive! I will get to your den, dig you out and eat you then-- oh crap I'm far from my den too. Well, whatever, I will do something about it after eating... maybe even climb a tree or sleeping in their lair. Getting caught up in wild instincts, I ventured into an unknown part of the forest and began wondering in high vigilance.

These trees look ancient, separated by more than five humans, tall by several and I can't hug them anymore... probably will have to pace around or two people can embrace them. I keep up on the trail while moving through the darkening forest.

I followed the trail west then north, to what looks like some wave of dirt toppling over some of these aged trees and found many Dens of the creature I was chasing.

Oh, now I understand... this is the canal where material flowed from the last eruption, which collapsed the West side of the volcano. I explore the carved earth with huge boulders, green mold and young trees growing along different kinds of weeds. Confirming the massive canal of several hundred-humans wide that is not visible from afar because of vegetation, I approached the mess of old tree trunks and earth with many holes then noticed the large rodents by the entrances staring at me.

I can't fit through the holes and with this many exist, they will just escape when digging, but if I stay around... eventually weak ones are bound to venture outside. I crouch down on a rock six-humans away and lick my bleeding wrist while pondering. The other solution requires a lot of labor and vigilance but will certainly provide results. I wait until the bleeding stops as the sun orange rays, visible in the canal indicate nightfall is coming.