-Over a month later. Morning. Growing Dragon POV-

Around one month into autumn, many leaves of yellow-orange tones adorn the tall ancient trees and the ground, but there's still green left in the woods. I moved through the healthy forest hearing the sounds of birds chirping, insects doing mating calls and rodents fighting in their lairs.

It's a problem when I have to spend days looking for a meal. Done with this place now, I'm moving down the mountain in a northwest direction, towards the wolf territory.

Routines are boring, but comfortable for living and the last thirty-eight days happened in the same manner. Hunting Rakats in their nests to extinction, by relying on my keen hearing and sense of smell, anticipating their movements. I hunted for them on both sides of the canal where they like living and any other creature until it became too much labor for the meal provided.

After breaking and sniffing every bush in the area, I identified one that had a strong aroma to rub on my body because coating with dirt every time was not very effective, and snakes could find me by tracking the blood. The bushes, not reaching a human waist have black branches with small leaves green above and purple below.

However, the taste is absolutely terrible, and I should have broken it with my paws instead, but it did help me ambush snakes instead of them doing it first. I cringe remembering the extreme bitterness left in my mouth for a significant part of the day.

The fragrance was strong enough to hinder my own nose, but I got used to filtering that smell and remained masked for half a day on a single coating.

There are other brown snakes like the first visitor found in these parts, and ambush them with the aromatic bushes. Some managed to get away while others were together and a little too dangerous for me back then.

There are a lot of brown things around here, but the lizards on the trees can probably change their colors. Still, It's hard to identify colors at night without some significant contemplation which I didn't do with that snake after our fight. I recall other brown things found while keeping the pace down an animal train too small to fit something my size.

I found water at the end of the canal, and I had to tunnel my way through dense stick-like trees only to find a puddle of muddy water with some creepy looking things around human finger-size swimming inside. The brown worms with claws at each end looked too disgusting for some reason and skipped having them for a meal.

With the winter approaching, it's safer to spend it at low altitudes, and it was time to move on anyway. I look behind at the area that fed me for over a month.

Feeding for a month to my heart's content would typically just get one fat, but my size increased explosively to almost human-chest instead. Another creature would indeed get fat, but not an animal that heals by increasing its metabolism and digests two-human-worth of food in only half a day.

The food looked unlimited at first since got full with just two Rakat, but increasing my proportions allowed more space in my stomach and appetite increased, demanding more sustenance in a looping manner.

Looking like a bloated lizard all the time, I had to find bigger Lair after just a few days, but in a place littered with boulders, it was not difficult.

Feels weird growing so fast, body weight and eye level increased rapidly, making me clumsy. I hear my paws making pounding sounds while walking and tail is whistling through the air as it sways.

The bones ended softer as consequence of rapid growth to match the faster muscle, then felt uncomfortable as wearing tight clothes along with the scales which contributed and irresistible cravings to munch on rocks appeared, but luckily this time no tooth was lost. The scales were not a priority so they couldn't catch up to my body's growth, and the distance between them expanded, decreasing my protection in the process, except for the hardened tips, but my size was sufficient to fight bigger predators like the snakes.

This growth sprout won't continue since my scales and bones started to harden, just like what happened after being born, then it seems this process will repeat. I noticed back then, and seeing it a second time confirms it, but being taller sure is wondrous...covering more ground with each step will get me down the mountain faster, but where to-- I stop my thoughts as a big shadow flies above the tree tops.

What a dutiful parent, and how envious that I'm not receiving all that free food, but there's enjoyment in hunting my own prey! And those Rakats taste unquestionably better than the bitter giant wolves. I recall the memories of the crater that feel old already.

It is a sunny day without clouds or too much wind, and the animals are making their usual sounds, indicating there is nothing out of the ordinary here, besides the dragon moving through the forest. I advance in high vigilance sniffing the air from time to time, stepping on soft ground and avoiding leaves or sticks that could produce abnormal noises.

I'm already far from the canal, but I don't smell any water nearby. Still, this is a great morning to explore the forest! I move onwards with adventurous spirit while admiring the smells of the woods.

After walking downhill for half a morning, and watching many animal trails, I concluded they are increasing in width as I approach the bottom of the volcano, indicating bigger animals use them.

I also practiced cannibalism, but eating those lizards is no easy task since I had to chase them on trees, all the way to the branches and corner them. Going up was easy with the proper grip from claws but lost my hold once, and fell on my back, five-human below, almost breaking my wings, but since it's autumn, there are a lot of leaves piled up. A memory of falling on the back as human triggered, and I started avoiding climbing trees for little food.

Comparing my delicate parts with regular reptiles who have a line horizontally down there while their elongated bodies vertical, mines are holes on each end of a vertical line segment formed with tiny scales and extends from the base of my tail to the lower part of my body.

As expected, the poop comes from the top hole while urine from the smaller one below and are both covered with scales which vary in size. I recall the inspections on my body that has every hole covered in scales somehow similar to the human-arm-length reptiles who piss and poop from the same hole

I think I'm male, but I don't see any parts visible like my human self and feels like a female sometimes. I concluded after analyzing the smell of other creatures in the forest while realizing the lack of human knowledge in this regard.

On another inspection to the opposite place of my body, my sturdy horns have grown bigger and thicker than human fingers with descending size rings. They don't seem like mere decorations growing on top of my head which curve a little outwards before bending inside again with an angle separating from the cranium, and protects the ears from horizontal impacts. Well, it's not like humans need horns or rush inside holes to bite prey with their mouths. I recall the body part that gets me tangled when sticking my head in tree roots.

I started smelling something wet in the distance and picked up my pace to get close enough to identify water among the strong dog piss scent.

I loved juggling as human, but because of my weak body, was forced to stop all exercises and I hope my dragon body never encounters such limitations. I ponder feeling the strength of my muscles and hear the whistling of the wind around my body, creating an echo between trees in the quiet morning.

Following the water smell which took precedence over piss, I stumbled upon an invisible wall.

How do I describe this? Oh yes, huge pillars of smells rising and making a wall that says 'you won't last long if you cross me,' but I don't think the wolves around human-waist size that Big Green hunted can produce this powerful scent, even my own piss can't... I wonder about the scale of the thing marking this territory from east to west.

I smell wet plants that way... is it a stream? I can't hear anything, so it's probably tiny or not running very fast, and I was hoping for it to be outside of that wall. It is understandable of pack animals to keep control of a river, and considering their sizes, a lot of water is needed, especially since they have to pee a river to make a wall of odor this large. I conjecture, observing the inaccessible zone for little gray dragons that can't fly.

Bordering the wolf territory on my way to the ocean, I started encountering green snakes that increased in size while small animals like Rakats decreased.

I guess these snakes are venomous since they try to bite me with their long fangs, unlike brown snakes who just grab to strangle me, but they haven't been able to penetrate my scales, and I'm not about to let them just to find out. I affirm the danger of letting unknown toxins into my young body.

Wonder how strong the acid in my stomach is to dissolve most hard things like spikes or thick scales and toxic substances like venoms are no problem either. I cringed, recalling how bad it is to poop things that don't get digested.

I took some rests after getting tired, and around the middle of the afternoon, a group of wolves inside their territory becomes visible through the trees.

Tricky to tell their size from here but if those trees are the same, and they should, then those wolves are a little smaller than me, around human-waist. However, even if I do fight and kill a separated wolf, his pack mates will probably come before I can eat or drag it away. I play scenarios in my head that don't end well for me.

Walking while turning my neck to the right will yield no result since those wolves are not my prey...yet. I desist any idea of confrontation with them considering there might even be bigger ones my parents aren't able to hunt.

Hmm, I remember miles, but it's hard to track distance inside a sea of trees where the most straight line ends in a few a few dozen humans away. If going by time and my walking speed, then I've probably wandered over ten miles to the West, but I'm too lazy to climb a tree to confirm with the volcano. I start to smell an animal trail, and by the scent location, it should be coming or going inside wolf territory.

I reached a wide path that looks more like a road a human would make rather than an animal trail and began inspecting. It's a concave road almost two-human-wide of black dirt with grass on the sides and curving around massive trees that also require two-human to hug.

There are many smells there, but I don't think a wolf made it, especially since they didn't look like wondering much outside their territory. Why is it so curved and smooth though? Animals have paws, and there are a few tracks, but unless an animal is flattening it, the other option is man-made. Not hearing anything coming, I look for a way with good visibility to watch over the curious road.

Not knowing how dangerous it is, I take precaution in finding a place close to the black road and wolf area with a good view of both. At a distance between ten-humans away from the road and wolf territory borders, I climb a tree, eight-hum high up into the foliage then settle on the thickest inclined branch pointing north. The upper part of the tree swayed from having a dragon climb on it, despite its massive trunk and leaves started falling in the south direction.

Well, since I can almost hug these trees now, falling is harder, and although it feels awkward somehow, there was no other choice since there are no boulders around. Doubt many animals can find me up here, but I should be careful not to put too much stress on this Y-shape log because falling in the middle of hungry wolves would be humorous. After confirming the stability of my foothold, and the direction of the wind, I start to relax.

My scent masking is still on, and those bushes are not hard to find where the sun shines just a little, but since I'm ignoring their fragrance in my brain, I have to use my eyes to find them. Becoming aware of their smell is the last thing I want since a predator might sneak up on me while I'm busy smelling aromatic plants. Why are their branches pitch black and smooth though? I don't remember anything from Earth like that. Having the right preparations, I hug the tree branch and watch the road while swinging the tail on the right side of the branch.

I was starting to fall asleep on the branch when a powerful snake smell coming from the wolf territory awoke me and immediately made my body vigilant.

What a potent snake smell! Either a massive serpent that I have yet to see or a few large ones that hunt together. I encountered a some that did that, and maybe they were couples or something, but I don't remember strong scents like this. I recall the serpent duos a month ago that easily surrounded and gave me trouble.

Good thing the wind in this area is coming from the north and picked the scent while it's far away, but maybe I shouldn't go down just yet...although the tactic to hunt snakes is ambushing them first. Any animal can get surprised when attacked, but predators who hunt with ambushes to avoid high risks, panic quite a bit when it's done to them, especially snakes who are very sneaky and relaxed about it. I determined while straining my ears trying to pick up sounds from the incoming the wind.

Why is there no sound coming along with the approaching scent? I could hear a Rakat heartbeat from outside their den focusing hard, and although this scent tells me the distance is less than twenty humans away, there is no sound. Ignoring the irregularity and proud of my preparation, I stay still on my branch.

It's always beneficial to have a better view of what you are hunting because another predator might be after the same prey and end up fighting over it, or simply to not lose sight of it when runs away. Making an animal run all over the place is worse for you since wastes energy chasing, and after their meat tastes bitter, tougher or with a stronger smell, but that's a luxury when you are hungry.

I start to see a shadow advancing between the trees from wolf territory, but visibility is terrible since the leaves that hide me, also obstruct, and the angle of view doesn't help to see far. The snake smell kept getting stronger then finally a head appears around the tree that makes the black road twist around.

Watching the strange green tree-log slide on the curved black road while displacing the dirt with its weight, and not making any sound felt very unnatural, like watching TV on mute.

WHAT...!? My body solidified staring at the beast calmly slither on the black road going around trees.

The giant green snake close to hum-waist in thickness passes in front of me without making any sounds until an elongated bulge almost my height appeared and upon closer inspection, five rows are slightly distinguishable.

...Those rows in its belly, coming from wolf territory can only be wolves, and I think my priority right now is not to piss myself or it could find me by the increasing scent. I determined unmoving and stared at the snake body still passing by.

That thing is dangerous, and If I had normal hairs, all the hackles on my body would have risen, but having scales apart from the fibers, just feels cold inside. I ate a few green snakes before while ignoring their increasing size when approaching west but didn't think they could grow this big, and now it's obvious why the black road is so smooth or curved...they are snake highways! The giant creature, perhaps full after a hunt is heading southwest to what it could be its territory.

Watching it heading towards the ocean on the west, I concluded that direction to be more dangerous than originally thought, and even if it's possible to smell it coming, escaping when it goes on a hunt will be hard since even the fast wolves just got eaten.

Smaller snakes are a little hard sometimes to detect since their scent blends with the ground to some extent, but that giant serpent had an overpowering smell that wolves, who are faster than me and specialize in sniffing prey should detect, yet they got caught. I imagine how forty wolves previously seen could bring such a beast down while it would require less of the stronger ones that mark the territory.

A fight between them would be entertaining, and there might even be displays of magic since that's probably the reason why this beast made no sound as it passed. I examine while watching the snake disappear from my sight, and remained unmoving on the tree.

If by any chance, the wind is not in my favor and I smell it too late, how to defend myself when can't even hear it? I picture the sneaky predator feeling my body cold.

I remembered on Earth some snakes that can't eat a prey whole just rip their limbs apart by trashing it around, but that thing will just gulp me in one go, and even if I'm a little clumsy walking, it's impossible to outrun it. I've come to the realization that it would be my end should those kind of beasts detect me.

Ahh! I get the feeling that shouldn't be so confident to assume there's only one of those either, and that would increase my chances of facing a fight that I cannot win, but this is a dilemma since my hunting grounds just got more walls. Remaining like a statue on the branch, I hoped to match its color as well. How much does the snake territory extend and how distant do they wander outside of it? Bigger snakes must eat larger prey, just like my current needs so they should be closer to wolves, but that one just went in a southwestern direction...not what I was hoping. I realize this forest has more boundaries than previously thought after encountering the giant snake.

Hmm... is that snake collecting food for the next hibernation? How far is Winter anyway and is it going to fall abruptly like some places on Earth? After wracking my head for solutions to my predicaments, only more questions piled up and the fear of food scarcity in winter adds yet another.