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Eggceptional Get Away: Fenris

Fenris had found a curious little shop on the roadside being run out of an old bar. He remembered deciding to check it out... But the tiger couldn't remember much more after that. He had apparently just woken up from some kind of nap and felt groggy as he opened his eyes and looked around. There wasn't much of anything to see. Wherever he was it was completely dark and cramped. He couldn't even really move. That was mildly concerning, especially since something felt off. Every inch of his body felt wrong, but unable to see or even budge more than an inch it was hard to figure out why.

Fenris forced himself to stay calm while he tried to figure things out. First step was figuring out where he was. He tried to shake his body to throw off the sense of lethargy so he could at least thinl straight. The act while meant just to wake himself up proved to have a fortuitous side effect. Whatever walls contained Fenris began to crack as his body was knocked against them. Realizing he could break out of whatever he was inside he shook himself harder as more cracks formed. Then the entire wall collapsed and light flooded in temporarily blinding him.

As Fenris' vision cleared he looked around taking in his surroundings. He was in a cave lit up with torches. Several objects throughout the cave caught the light from the torches, reflecting it and making the chamber seem brighter. These objects appeared to be made of gold or silver and were often encrusted with precious gems. They were built forming a circle around the entire chamber... And in the center of the chamber was Fenris.

He was sitting in some kind of nest made of straw, with hard broken fragments of his former prison sitting in a pile around him. He examined the nest and saw that he was not alone in it. There were two gigantic eggs sitting in the next on either side of him! The eggs were as big as he was! One was dark red and the other blue! He looked back at the remains of his prison. The pieces of it were colored orange and black... But he could easily identify them as the same material. That meant he had just hatched out of one of those giant eggs... Or maybe they weren't that giant if he had just come out of one.

Having taken in his surroundings Fenris now turned his attention to studying himself and seeing exactly what was wrong with his body. For starters, he couldn't stand up on two legs. He was stuck on all fours. He also no longer had fur. Instead his body was covered with orange colored scales with black stripes across them. His snout was longer than he was used to it being and he had small horns sticking out of the top of his head... He tried to spin around to get a look at his backside. He could see a series of spines going down his back and to his tail... But more distracting than that were the enormous (from his point of view) wings sticking out from his back!

He was a dragon! Or... Judging from the remains of the egg and the size of everything relative to him... A baby dragon.

"Roooawr?" Fenris let out a high pitched noise as he attempted to speak. He couldn't manage any words. He wasn't sure if it was due to his sudden change in species or age but speaking was currently beyond him. Inconvenient, but not entirely unexpected given his current circumstances.

But what exactly were his circumstances? As impossible as it may have seemed he was clearly a baby dragon now. There was no point trying to deny that fact. Instead he needed to focus on what it meant for him now. There were two other eggs there. Siblings? Well... He doubt that they would be true blood siblings. Perhaps they were naturally born (Or laid?) dragon eggs or maybe they were more people who had been transformed into eggs like himself. Either way the odds of them being related to him by actual blood were low. So what did that mean? Had someone snuck his egg into someone else's nest? If so could he even conclude the other eggs were even dragon eggs. He supposed he'd have to wait till their 'parents' showed up to figure that out.

He could try to make a break for it now while there was no one here. But his body was currently a frail thing. Even dragons were mostly helpless after first being born. He wasn't sure his wings would even work if he tried to take flight. So which was more dangerous? Staying here and waiting for someone else to show up? Or trying to crawl off on his own to explore. He considered the room. There were piles of treasure forming a circle around his nest. It was almost as if the treasure was being presented to him and the other eggs. If whoever was looking after the eggs represented a danger to him why do that?

He made his decision. Right now the best possible thing to do was to wait here and see how this plays out. Someone would have to be taking care of the eggs and meeting that person would be his best chance at getting some answers. Besides... Even if he had his adult mind he wasn't sure how far he'd get relying on his wits with an infantile body. Especially when he considered he had no idea what was waiting for him outside this chamber. No... It was best to just let events unfold naturally for now rather than worry about trying to take any action.

For now Fenris decided to busy himself with learning how his new body moved. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that he could easily walk and control his tail despite his age. He supposed newborn dragons were just a bit more capable than newborn tigers. He couldn't actually remember the events of his own birth... At least his original birth as a humanoid tiger, but he was fairly certain he hadn't been able to walk around or form complex thoughts on day one. But here he was now! And his legs worked great! His wings on the other hand... No matter how hard he flapped them he couldn't take flight. They just weren't strong enough. He wondered to himself how old he had to be before they would be strong enough to lift him into the air. One more useful detail he might be able to learn once someone else arrived.

Well over an hour passed before anyone came to see Fenris. It had given him more than enough time to get used to his body. When he heard the scratching of clawed footsteps moving along a cave floor he climbed to the edge of the nest to get a look at who was coming. It wasn't quite what he had expected. He had expected to encounter another dragon before anyone else... Instead the figure was much smaller. It was still scaled... And easily three times Fenris' size. But it was no dragon. The creature walked upright on two legs and had a scrawny looking body. It almost looked similar to a dragon but lacked anything resembling wings. Fenris was pretty sure it was a kobold.

The kobold carried a pointy stick that it held like a spear as it approached the nest. It slowly climbed up to it in order to peer inside. After a few moments Fenris saw the kobold's head move over the nest and stare down directly at it.

"Roawr?" Fenris did his best to greet the kobold.

"A new prince is haaaaaatched!" The kobold suddenly gave an excited shout. Fenris was nearly knocked backwards by the sudden shouting. The kobold yapped and hooted clearly pleased at having seen Fenris. But before giving the young dragon any clue on what any of this meant the kobold ran off. He had left as soon as he had come.

Well... That had certainly been a confusing and answered almost nothing. But... Fenris was pretty sure he had heard the kobold refer to him as a prince. That would explain all the treasure. It was likely some kind of offering. But if he was the prince... Who was the king or queen? Perhaps they would be the next one to make an appearance... At least that's what he thought... Instead it was more kobolds who appeared... But there were several of them this time! An assortment of colored scales, the kobolds rushed into the room circling around the nest and hooting and hollering. It was... mildly concerning.

The kobolds parted and a much older looking kobold approached the nest. He was old, relying on a staff to walk and wore a skull on his head. The kobold began to chatter strange words Fenris couldn't understand. Judging from the expression of some of the other kobolds he wasn't sure any of them could understand either. Fenris concluded it must have been some kind of prayer... And at the end of it the elderly kobold reached down a bony hand and touched Fenris lightly on the head.

"Rawr?" Fenris tilted his head and looked at the kobold questioningly. Did he just get baptized in some religion he knew nothing about?

There wasn't much time to focus on that... Two of the kobolds in the crowd suddenly lunged forward and lifted Fenris out of the nest. He let out a small squeak of surprise as he found himself lifted up above the heads of all the kobolds. From there he was carried through a series of tunnels and caves. Fenris tried to be aware of where he was being carried, hoping to form something of a mental map of the place. It was difficult to be sure. The kobolds carrying him seemed to change directions randomly. They would often start down one passage, turn into a side tunnel and then come back later into the same passage. Was there a reason to these seemingly mindless wanderings? Or did the kobolds just get lost along the way.

Eventually they made their way into a small chamber that had a large pot sitting over a burning fire. It was filled with bubbling water and Fenris barely had enough time to register what they were doing before the kobolds tossed him into the boiling cauldron. He let out a squeak of protest that got about halfway out when he paused in the water. It wasn't burning him. In fact, the intense heat of the boiling water was downright comforting. He supposed it made sense. If dragons really breathed fire then it was only logical they would be heat resistant.

Come to think of it? Could he breathe fire? Fenris paddled around in the water of the cauldron enjoying the heat. He forced himself to flip onto his back and float so that his head was aiming upward. Then he opened his mouth and tried exhaling. A bit of air came out but not much. Well it couldn't be that simple... Otherwise he'd burn something every time he breathed. There had to be something inside him that was used for it... Most animals were born with instincts on how to control their body. His instincts just weren't meant for dragons... But maybe if he just relaxed and let his body act on its own without too much thought...

Fenris closed his eyes... He felt an intense heat form somewhere in his breast. Then he opened his mouth... And fire erupted from it! It wasn't an intense fire or even a very big one. In fact the small fireball would have barely been big enough to light stove. But it was a fireball! His eyes opened and widened at the sight of what he had just done! He assumed he'd get bigger and more intense fireballs as he got older.

The kobolds in the cave with him didn't seem to mind the fireball. He supposed if they were used to taking care of baby dragons such sights weren't unexpected. They ignored him for several minutes before approaching the cauldron while wearing thick gloves that went up past their elbows. While wearing the gloves they thrusts their hands down into the water and began to stroke at Fenris' body. One of them had something resembling a sponge, but it was harder almost like a rock. It didn't take Fenris long to figure this out. They were giving him a bath. The gloves must have been to protect themselves from the heat. It would seem what qualified as pleasant warm for a dragon would be scolding for a kobold.

After the bath was complete one of the kobolds lifted Fenris out of the cauldron. He didn't try to struggle or squeak this time. It was pretty clear none of them meant any harm and cooperating was the best way to learn more about his situation. The kobolds brought out dried animal hides and wiped Fenris down after his bath. In the dim light of the torches in this room he would swear his scales were actually shining. Then they lifted him up over their heads and carried him out of the room.

Again the way they worked their way through the tunnels had no rhyme or reason to it. From the mental map Fenris was forming there seemed to be one central tunnel that ran through the entire area but they kept exiting and leaving it. In the end they brought him to an extraordinary large chamber. This one was packed full of gold and silver. However the offerings that had been in the nest chamber were absolutely pitiful compared to this. There looked like there was enough treasure here to finance multiple kingdoms! What could someone even want all of this for?

Then... Something beneath the gold coins began to move. It was something massive... Fenris despite having remained calm up until now felt a chill go down his spine as he realized the sheer scale of it. It was a dragon that rose from beneath the coins. The thing was bigger than most castles. Fenris had no idea how it would have even gotten through the tunnels into the room.

"What is it now?" A low female voice asked. As the gold coins dropped off the dragon Fenris could make out she was covered in gray and green scales.

"My queen!" A kobold that had not been carrying Fenris approached her. "A new prince has been born! He has already been anointed and bathed! We thought you'd want to see your new child."

"Is that all your wasting my time with?" The dragon seemed unimpressed. She slowly looked peered down at Fenris. "Doesn't look like one of mine." Fenris was pretty sure that was because he wasn't one of hers. At this point it was pretty clear after he had been turned into a dragon egg someone slipped him into her nest.

"But... He hatched among your most recent clutch!" The kobold tried to explain. "The first one too!" The kobold seemed exceptionally nervous.

"Well what are you bothering me with this?" The dragon sighed. "As I recall the entire reason I tolerate your continued existence is to take care of matters like this. Take him to his choosing and be done with it." Fenris was pretty sure he didn't approve of this dragon's attitude. Were he capable of speech he'd have a few words for her.

"Y-yes of course my queen!" The kobold squeaked. Without waiting for any further signs both that kobold and the two carrying Fenris quickly fled from the cave. He could feel the relief all three of them felt at being out of the chamber.

"You must forgive the queen..." The kobold who had spoken earlier addressed Fenris. "Your mother she has a lot on her plate. And well as you get older you'll find dragons are naturally wary of other dragons, even their own brood. There's only so much territory to go around."

Fenris listened intently as the kobold talked. He was finally getting some explanations on what was going on. In the meantime the kobolds were taking him through the maze of tunnels again and for now he had given up on trying to understand the routes they took.

"That's why the Choosing is so important." The kobold explained as they walked. "I'm not sure how much of this you can understand now... But it will affect you for the rest of your life. Once you're old enough to hunt for yourself you'll be banished from the lair... And from that point it'll only be you and your second." As he explained this Fenris was brought into a new chamber. This chamber resembled the one he had hatched in but without the treasure. Instead more nests had been set up. Each of the nests contained an assortment of eggs that were about half the size as the one Fenris had hatched from.

Fenris was putting details together. Dragons didn't care for their young long it seemed. At least not this dragon. So he would be kicked out as soon as he was old enough to fend for himself. Personally that didn't bother him that much. He had no intention of spending any more time than required near that rude large dragon. But there was the matter of what his second was supposed to be.

"My great grandfather was your mother's second." The kobold continued its explanation. "You see... When each new dragon is born they choose one egg from the kobold hatchery. They'll act as your second and lead your own kobold tribe when you establish your territory."

So that was what a second was. Basically it was a kobold general. Or... Fenris concluded that the other dragon probably thought of them more as servants. This wasn't ideal... But until he could do more on his own he was going to have to play the game. He could at least make sure he treated the kobolds kinder than the dragon who thought she was his mother.

The kobolds carried Fenris and held him next to one of the nest.

"I know dragons are intelligent. I've been told they can understand what's going on around them even from the moment they hatch. At least if the queen's boasts are to be believed." The well learned kobold smiled at this. "But I have noticed your eyes since you've hatched. You're taking in everything around you, studying. I don't know if that means she was right or if there's something special... But I do encourage you to listen carefully. Choose an egg. The kobold that hatches will be your second."

Fenris considered what was being told to him and he understood the importance of the situation. For now he had to choose. He looked between the eggs then his eyes settled on one. Most of the eggs were the same colors as various metals or gemstones. But one of them was just colored a dark brown. It was the odd one out. Just like Fenris was among the dragons.

He reached out a claw and touched the brown egg.

The End