2024-07-26 - closer to the Edge

Tasted Fire loved the nighttime.

But tonight was just too hot for it, and it was irritable. Its shell had become too small as of late, and all it could think about was meeting its friends who’d stayed by its shell during the Touching, who it had promised it would meet. It knew that it wanted to keep its promise, and every promise thereafter. It would be a great dragon, it knew. It didn’t know what kind of great dragon, not yet, but it had time. It had Turns upon Turns of finding that out, it hoped.

For only a moment, Tasted Fire stilled as Shayled spoke to it, to all of them. Then its fire flared sharply as it moved and squirmed in its shell. It didn’t want any of this any longer. It wanted to be free! But Hold, Gwillanth told it. Hold, wait for its siblings.

Did Gwillanth remember this unceasing need to be free? Did Gwillanth ever have this feeling? It had made promises, and it needed to keep them, and it was worried it wouldn’t. It barely listened to Shayled’s words. Not because it didn’t want to, but more because it didn’t understand them. It didn’t understand the weight of what Shayled said. For it, the egg had done nothing but been thrust around during the earthquake and sat under a tent to watch the stars.

It didn’t think it was meant to be loved or honored like Shayled no doubt meant. It had done nothing while inside its shell. It didn’t want to be remembered for surviving by doing nothing. It wanted to be remembered for its true feats of skill when it hatched. It would show Shayled, show all of them, that hide didn’t matter, gender didn’t matter, only what it did during life did.

Tasted Fire loved the nighttime, but it was surely ready for this one to be over.