Strange dreams plagued Enzo throughout the night. Half remembered friends meeting up at a bar after work… Talking Alyssa into trying Skyrim, and her reports back the next day… His favorite breakfast spot, D’s Diner…

He awoke before dawn, less rested and more confused than when he went to sleep. A headache gnawed at his mind, and he ascended into the main chamber of the cave to find Talwen staring out at the sea again.

“Morning. Everything okay?” he asked as he walked past her.

“My heart is heavy,” Talwen responded, not looking at him. “My beloved would welcome the sunrise every morning. It became a ritual for us. Now it is a ritual I follow alone.” She cradled the egg close.

Enzo nodded and left her alone. He gathered the two jugs and moved through the crisp morning to the creek near the cave. After satisfying his thirst and filling one of the jugs, he continued on to some near berry bushes and filled the other jug. Morning chores finished, he returned to the cave and found Talwen placing the egg back into the fire.

“Now that you are awake, I will be leaving,” she stated. “I hope to find whatever new predator is here and eliminate it. I will return in no more than four days.”

“And if you don’t?” Enzo asked as he set the jugs into the recess near the entrance to the cave.

“You’ll know about it,” she responded. “I doubt anything in this forest can defy me, but I will burn everything down before I die.”

“Fair enough. Good luck then,” Enzo said.

The large red dragon stepped to the rear mouth of the cave and dove off, her wings spreading and catching the wind. Enzo watched as she ascended into the clouds and sighed. I wish there was something I could do to help her. Maybe Tobias knows more about the culture of the dragons, and can teach me something useful.

He turned from the cliffs and returned to the berries he’d gathered. Not much, compared to the wonderful breakfast Olena makes, but it’ll have to do. He ate quickly, then returned down to his room and set to organizing things.

With the light from his new torch trick, he was able to fully assess the room. The walls were still barren, but against the back wall stood a bookcase and a small desk. Enzo stored the ledger, sticks of charcoal and the remaining coins into the desk, then arranged the new clothes onto the spaces of the bookshelf.

He returned back to the main room of the cave and deposited the rest of the goods in the pack onto the ledge that had been chiseled into the wall. The sword, tucked away into its sheath, lay near the firepit. The skillet rested by the jugs against the wall. All that remained was the rope and his bow and arrows, and he had a plan for those today.

With the pack now empty, he gathered the egg from the fire. It was lukewarm to the touch, and seemed to have grown a bit bigger while he was away. This thing is as big as a watermelon, he thought, and immediately another phantom memory came to his mind. Watermelon slices as big as his face, so tasty after a day at the park…

Enzo shook his head to clear the memory. Why does this keep happening? Where are these memories coming from? The pressure began to build in his head again and he dropped the line of questioning again. He looked down at the egg in his hands and was enamored with the way it shone in the fire light. Dark red veins now scattered across the shell of the egg. Wait. Is this thing close to hatching? Talwen never said how long an egg will take to hatch. It better not hatch while she’s gone.

He slipped the egg into his pack, then shouldered it. Next, he willed a layer of heat to cocoon the egg in the pack. With the egg swaddled like this, I should be able to keep it warm without having to stay in the cave all day. He monitored things for a few minutes and confirmed it was working as intended before he grabbed his rope and set off for the day.

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This is the first chance I’ve had for time to… think about Ranta. I miss him so much. He used to love flying over the ocean and watching the sun rise. Tears gathered in Talwen’s eyes as she glided above the clouds. The sun warmed her scales against the chill of the wind at this height. It was invigorating, normally. Today, she just felt alone.

I cannot mope forever, she thought, trying to mentally shake off her grief. He would have wanted our child to survive. I did what I had to do. I will have my revenge, but the child must come first. Soon, my love, we will return and properly mourn you.

She turned from the ocean and instead glided back toward the Spine. As a youngling, her own father had first shown her the range their clan called home. The mountains seemed so much larger back then, but I suppose I was much smaller as well. She drifted among the peaks of the lower mountains that neared the coast and pondered.

A great Eisbar from the northern regions were known to be vicious and territorial, but it is much too warm for them here. What could be so dominating that the major prey has either fled or been eaten? At least I know where to start.

She flew northwest along the coastline, much further north than could be visible by the humans in the village before descending beneath the clouds. Talwen sharpened her mind and her senses, dismissing all other thoughts. These mountains are my home, I know the cave systems by heart. I will start with the largest, and move on from there. She landed on the first peak and snaked her way around it until she discovered a small opening in the rock.

Beneath her, opened an enormous cavern. Anything within would never suspect an attack from above. She deftly slithered her lithe body through the opening, folding her wings tight against her back. Once through the small opening, the passage opened to a ledge that overlooked the main cavern. If it is empty, this perch will be my base. It will be hard for a hunter, be it human or otherwise, to notice me here. At a minimum, I can rest easily.

Talwen scanned the cave floor and found nothing of interest. Still, she leapt from her perch and landed lightly. A brief gout of flame to the back of the cavern confirmed nothing hid in the nooks and crannies she couldn’t see or fit into. Satisfied that this cavern was empty, she walked to the main entrance and leapt into the skies again.