TLOS Overgrown dragonfly
Author note: My main story has totally jammed and I can't seem to get it loose again. So I'm now posting a side-story here. I made this a long time ago but I never really saw any reason to post it here.
I always wondered how a pair of dragonflies raised a dragon so I've created this. This is only them meeting Spyro. If you guys like it then maybe I could make this into a full size story.
The legend of Spyro
An overgrown dragonfly
Chapter 1 an egg by the river
A pink dragonfly was sleeping in their mushroom.
A small sound outside caused her eyes to stir and her sleep to fade.
She blinked with her eyes a couple of times before rising up and buzzing her lazy wings a bit experimentally.
The dragonfly was a pink female, she was only just over fertile age yet and still very young. Some of the other's still called her a girl sometimes.
However all those who did that were females. That was because the pink dragonfly was considered to be one of the most beautiful dragonflies in the swamp so the males were much too busy trying to impressing her.
But she never was impressed by all of that. She knew to whom she belonged to.
After getting her wings back in form she yawned and looked around a bit dazed.
The mushroom was folded everywhere. It formed a sort of circle like a hive. The flaps that separated the different compartments were soft and they could be damaged by the dragonflies if they weren't careful. There were sacks of spores near the ends of the folds but since it was winter those were closed.
The entire inside was beige in colour and had a strange scent but she had gotten used to that.
She floated out of the mushroom now but as soon as she left the safety of their home she could feel the sharp breeze of the cold morning air.
The sharp morning air felt sharp against her thin body and lowered her body temperature by a few degrees already.
However none of the matter for her as she floated down and saw a blue dragonfly already outside.
He was hovering just outside of the house and seemed to be watching something on a large leaf.
"Good morning Flash" the pink dragonfly said gleefully.
"Morning Nina" he greeted her.
Nina smiled and floated down to join him and watch over their most precious possession.
On top of the large leaf lay a small object.
It was a tiny yellow orb, about the size of small seed.
It was covered in sticky white goo that kept it from sliding off the leaf
"Our first" Nina said smiling.
"That's right Nina, our first" Flash agreed.
Nina looked towards him and then back again towards the small yellow orb.
Despite having been there for a couple of weeks already Nina could still barely believe that it was actually there. Their own child, their own larvae.
"I wonder how it will be." Nina though fantasizing.
Their own larvae. To raise their own child and prepare it for the world. For her to be a mother.
It was just such going to be such a wonderful experience.
Nina had always wanted to become a mother. Ever since she came of age she always wanted to be a mother one day.
"How do you think it will be" she asked to Flash. She didn't have to say what she meant as that was obvious.
"I don't know Nina, but I think it will be great" he said.
"I think so to" Nina agreed.
She continued to stare at their egg with wonder. It just was so special for them.
"Hallo there" Nina was a bit torn from her fantasy as a dragonfly approached them.
He was quite large, slightly larger than Flash was and also more bulky. However his light was rather a weak gold instead of the brilliant yellow it had once been. He was starting to get a little old. But he still looked fit and strong.
"Hallo Valo" Nina said gleefully.
Valo had always been a close friend of Flash ever since he hatched. Kind of like a big brother as Valo was a few years older. He was also the one who had introduced Flash to her a few years back.
Since then he had become a close friend of the both of them.
"You two sure spend a lot of time by your egg don't you?" Valo asked rhetorically.
"Hey what else do you expect, it's our first" Nina repelled.
Valo chuckled like he found it amusing "Yes, but watching it all the time and ruining your own life won't make it hatch any faster" he reminded them.
"We just want to make sure nothing happens to it" Flash said back.
"We're dragonflies, what could you do? To watch it al the time is just a waste of your time" he said.
Flash was silent while he growled something "You're right there Valo" Flash said discontent.
Nina giggled at it as she found these scene's always amusing.
Flash always was the smart one with everyone. One of his most enjoyable hobbies was having the last word in a self made discussion.
And Nina was mostly the unlucky victim for that discussion.
Flash was smart enough that he could win an argument against everyone, that is; everyone except Valo.
Valo could beat him around every time. And mostly he didn't even need to bring up all that many arguments to do it with.
Nina had always found it highly amusing to watch Flash get beaten by him. However while she tried to copy Valo to beat Flash as well she still got beaten every time for some reason.
Valo had just the charismatic and sly talent that Nina lacked to beat Flash.
Nina always tried to find a way to beat Flash herself but in the end she lost it.
"Why don't you two come to our place after about an hour" Valo suggested.
"It will give you something to do other than stare"
Nina had to think about it for a second. Did they really want to leave their egg?
But she only had to think about it for that single second "Okay Valo, we will" she said "Right Flash?" she asked turning to him.
It was pointless to just watch it. They rather could just do something.
"Sure" Flash said.
"Okay then, see you then" Valo nodded and he flew back into the village.
When Valo was away Nina kept watching their egg.
"Are you sure we will be able to handle a child?" she asked to Flash.
She wanted a child more than anything but she also had no illusions about how tough it was going to be.
No, Nina was perfectly aware that raising a child was a tough thing to do. Something you needed to be able to do.
"I mean, look at Twinkle she can barely manage it to Flare in check and she always seemed way more assertive and caring than I will ever be" Nina said.
"I don't know if I can manage a child" she said worried.
"Oh Nina, you worry way too much" Flash said jaunty waving his hand to amplify his point.
"You should just enjoy it, you have always been caring so you'll be fine" he said to her.
"Yes, but-" Nina protested but Flash but put his finger to her lips and wouldn't allow her to say something.
"And that's end up story" he said.
Nina nodded in understanding.
"I think that I'll go and clean up some folds" she said.
"Okay" Flash said.
Leaving Flash behind Nina flew up and flew into the folds.
Because the folds were closed there wasn't much to clean up so Nina just removed some dirt from underneath.
The mushroom was not dirty at all but Nina just wanted to do something. She felt very confused and needed to be alone for a little while and get her thoughts a bit back in line.
As she cleaned up the half imaginary dirt Nina just kept thinking about their child.
It had been the greatest day of her life when she had laid the egg. It was physically maybe not the best day she ever had but still the most beautiful moment in her life.
She knew she would keep that memory with her forever. It was never going to leave her.
Just the thought of it was enough to permanently anchor itself. Her laying an egg.
An egg that was going to hatch into her very own child.
Nina had never believed herself to be capable of being a mother. Yet this time she had to be capable. She was going to be a mother, whatever she liked it or not.
Nina now imagined what their future child might look like. Since laying the egg she had been trying to construct the child in her head. It was so prominent in her thoughts that it needed to have a form.
Learning it eat, learning it manners. Just educate it. Nobody had ever taught her how yet she had to be able to do it all.
"Hey Nina" she looked to see Flash enter the mushroom cap a few stripes away from her.
"Yes?" she said.
"Shall we go now?" he asked of her.
"Okay" Nina said a bit absent.
However now Flash didn't move down as Nina expected he would and stared at her with a highly amused face.
"Still can't get it out of your head eh?" he asked her.
"What do you mean?" Nina said pretending to be ignorant.
"You can't stop worrying about our future parenthood" he said grinning broadly.
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Nina asked surprised still keeping up her ignorant act.
"Heh, I don't know, maybe it is written on your forehead" Flash said grinning.
Nina just looked away but couldn't help chuckling.
Nina again couldn't hide anything from Flash. No matter how hard she tried he always got the better of her.
She never could keep him in the dark nor win an argument from him. He was just too good for her.
"No, it just keeps coming back" Nina admitted seeing it was pointless to deny it.
Flash now fully floated up into the cap and moved closer.
"Don't worry Nina, you're going to drive yourself insane with it" he said.
"You will do fine and you will be a great mother" he stated.
Nina was about to open her mouth again but Flash silenced her just like before.
However this time he didn't do it so gently as he put his entire hand against her mouth.
"And I don't want to hear anymore of this!" he said stern like she was the child.
Nina however gripped his hand in a hard vicelike grip and moved him away.
"I can't make promises" she sneered.
"You better do it right now" Flash said grinning.
"Or else what?" Nina said defiant.
Suddenly she let out a started yelp as Flash pulled her antennae "You don't want to find out" he said ominously.
"Alright, alright, I promise" Nina said almost whimpering from the pain.
"That's better" Flash said grinning wickedly as he released her.
"Just don't worry so much, okay Nina?" He said a bit more softly.
"Okay then" Nina nodded.
"Let's go to Valo then" Flash said and without waiting for an answer he glided down out of their mushroom.
Nina let out an amused giggle and then followed him.
Flash was right (like always), she would do fine as a mother.
"Hallo there" Valo greeted as Nina and Flash arrived at his mushroom.
"Hallo" The two said in unison.
Valo was floating about the height of the cap and looked in a very gleeful mood.
"I see you two finally could let go of your egg" he said joking.
"And it was about time you finally did" he added.
"Well, we won't allow anything to happen to it" Flash said half ominously.
Nina slammed her hand against her head as she knew what he was trying to do.
"Yeah, just why are you two so bent on looking at it all the time?" Valo asked.
However too bad for Flash, Nina was not going to allow the two males to opportunity.
Nina shrugged "You just never know"
"Yeah, but nothing has ever happened before so why should something happen now?" Valo asked her.
Flash was about to open his mouth but again Nina beat him to it.
"It's just our first one, we want to make sure nothing happens t it" Nina said back.
"If you want that" A new female voice suddenly joined the conversation.
Now a blue female dragonfly flew out from underneath the mushroom cap and joined the three other's talking.
She was of a slightly thicker build than Nina was but not thick in general. She was a pretty common dragonfly.
"Good morning Lys" Nina said politely to the blue dragonfly.
"Good morning" Lys said to both her and to Flash.
"So, are you two looking forward to when your egg hatches?" Lys said almost like it was a rhetorical question.
It was obvious that she had already heard the conversation just now.
"We sure do" Nina nodded.
"Well it is also a very exciting moment" Lys said agreeing.
"I can still remember the day that our egg hatched very well" she said already seeing the image in front of her.
"Yeah, what is he doing right now anyway?" Flash asked.
"Oh, he's sleeping" Lys answered gesturing up towards the mushroom.
"After we fed him he right away went to sleep" she said grinning.
"Sometimes I'm thinking that he sleeps too much" Nina said grinning as well.
"Oh, it's normal, you will discover that soon enough" Lys said her gleeful grin turning into a malicious sneer.
"And when you do you'll thank nature for it" Valo added.
"At least then you have some time of your own" he said almost like he was whimpering.
"That sure doesn't sound like a fun experience" Nina giggled.
"Oh, you'll get used to it after a while" Lys shrugged.
Now Valo crept closer to Flash and whispered something to him.]
He did it softly enough that neither females could hear it.
"I see" Flash said chuckling.
"What?" Both females asked curious at exactly the same time.
"Oh, nothing" Flash shrugged innocently.
"Well, we have a few vermolla's prepared for you" Lys said hoping the get the mood a bit jauntier.
"Gladly" Nina said happy.
They floated down and Nina spotted a small pile of the berries lying behind the mushroom.
Nina reached out and picked one up in her hand.
She took a small bite from it as to still be able to talk.
Vermolla's are so small that Nina could hold one in her hand while still being able to close it. They barely have a seed and were a cherish red colour.
The fruits had a sweet but strong taste and Nina liked them very much.
Flash, Valo and Lys now all picked one as well and began eating.
"So, how are you two doing with you're little one?" Nina asked them gesturing up to where he was sleeping.
"With him? We're doing fine, he sometimes can be quite the handful but he is nothing beyond what we can handle" Lys smiled.
"And what kind of things does he do what makes him a handful?" Nina asked.
Lys shot her a sharp look but Nina just grinned "You know, boy stuff" she said a bit vague.
"Could you give an example of that?" Nina persisted.
"Well, it's hard to say" Lys said a bit unsure.
"Valo now came in between "You know, there is that time when he ripped open about 4 folds" he said.
Lys shot him a sour look to which Nina and Flash chuckled.
"He ripped open 4 folds? How does a larvae manage to do that?" Flash asked bewildered.
"You don't want to know" Valo said like a warning.
"Maybe we do" Nina said.
"Well he by some accident ripped open one, and while trying to fix it he ripped another one and while fixing that one-" Valo started.
"He broke them and then the cycle began all over again" Flash finished for him.
"Until we stopped him" Lys said exasperated.
"And thank you so much for enlightening them" Lys said sharply to Valo.
"All for you sweetheart" Valo said lovely.
With that all four dragonflies laughed and talked some more. However with Nina the subject of parenthood never ceased.
"By the way Nina" Lys said after a few hours.
"Yes?" Nina said.
"Have you two been thinking about names?" she asked.
"Well a little bit-" Nina said looking towards Flash.
"We're not really sure yet"
"But do you two already have some ideas?" Lys demanded to know.
"Well, we thought that 'Sparx' might sound nice" Nina said.
"Sparx?" Lys repeated.
She looked a bit confused "That's not the most usual name" she said as she couldn't figure out how it mixed with the names of Nina and Flash.
"Well, I don't like it all that much" Flash said a bit angry.
"Well, I do" Nina said a bit stern.
"But I don't" Flash repelled.
"Oh, I get it" Lys said chuckling.
"Well you two better hurry it up" Valo said "Your egg could possibly hatch very soon"
"What? It can" Nina exclaimed.
"Well, this is about the normal time it takes for an egg to hatch. However it can vary greatly from the individual" Valo said like a professional.
However Nina could see he shot a couple of smug gazes towards Flash.
"Lumor was hatched 5 days later than usual and I know that Flare hatched 3 days before the usual time"
"Oh, so you never can say for sure" Nina said again stopping the males from getting into another discussion.
"But anyway I think you two should go home now" Lys said as it was starting to get late.
"Yeah, I think so to" Nina agreed.
The two dragonflies flew up a bit higher and went a small distance from the mushroom.
"Why don't you come join us again tomorrow?" Lys suggested.
"We will" Nina said smiling
"Bye" Nina waved.
"Bye" Lys said back.
Nina now flew back home with Flash by her side.
"When do you think Sparx will finally hatch?" Nina asked him excited.
However Flash shot her back a strong annoyed look "We haven't yet decided to call him Sparx Nina" he repelled.
"Well, he will be called that if you can't come up with a better idea" Nina shot back.
"You still know mine" he said.
"Yeah, I sure do" Nina said rolling with her eyes and talking with a matching voice.
"What? Just what is so bad about it?" Flash asked with a mock hurt.
Nina growled at him "It's just so, lame"
"Lame? How so?" Flash asked.
"Never mind" Nina wanted to end the conversation before Flash had any chance to use his stronger arguments and she would lose it.
Nina and Flash ate a few butterflies to make themselves satisfied and then relaxed somewhat.
The sun was already setting on the horizon and they were arguing in the tall grass that embraced the river near their mushroom.
"You still insist on it?" Nina asked grumbling in irritation.
"Hey, you are pretty stubborn on it yourself" Flash said back.
Nina was about to reply when suddenly she noticed that Flash was looking away from her and seemed focused on something.
"What is it Flash?" she asked.
"Look over there" he said and pointed towards the river.
Nina looked to where Flash was pointing to.
Down in the murky waters she indeed spotted something floating on the river.
It swayed a little from the movements of the water as it came towards them.
It was still very far away but Nina could tell it was not just another fallen off mushroom cap.
It was also rounded and purple, that was all she could make out.
"What is that?" Nina asked both to herself and to Flash.
The two dragonflies kept watching as the thing slowly floated towards them.
Nina hid pulled the long grass a bit closer to her as she felt scared.
Many dangers lurked in the swamp. Blub Spider, frogweed and other creatures. The dragonflies were defenceless so caution was always taken when they saw something they did not know.
The thing ran ashore just in front of where the two dragonflies were hiding and did not move.
Nina was the first one to take a peak from the long grass to see what thing had arrived in their village.
On first sight it didn't appear dangerous. It didn't move so Nina concluded that it was not alive. But that still gave her no indication of what the mysterious object might be.
She got a little closer to it, driven by its mystery.
As she inspected it more closely she recognised the underside as a mushroom cap. That meant that it at least must have not come from very far.
Because of the way it had come floating up to the river she concluded it was a sort of floating device for whatever the thing inside of it was.
She turned her eyes to it now, whatever it was someone had let it float down the river.
The thing inside of the cap looked like a purple ball, well not exactly a ball because it wasn't round but rather had an ovoid shape.
Becoming very curious Nina left the shelter of the high grass and floated up to the thing.
Flash didn't stop her and went along. Since it didn't really move they concluded it also wasn't dangerous.
As they crept closer Nina could see that it was not plain purple but was slightly dotted with darker and lighter spots.
The thing moved still a little in its mushroom cap, the setting sun reflecting on its surface.
She now looked a bit puzzled towards Flash but he could only give her the same puzzled look back.
The thing was big, far bigger than they were but it looked harmless enough.
However that still did not ask the burning question about its identity.
Nina moved her hand towards it a bit scared but as it didn't move she touched it.
The thing was hard yet smooth. Like it was hardened with a sort of layer.
She moved her hand along its surface while she turned to Flash.
However just as she was about to ask her question she was startled and let out a surprised yelp.
Flash's face instantly looked towards her "Nina! What's wrong?" he asked highly alarmed by her cry.
Nina's face looked mortified as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Nina?" Flash asked concerned.
"I-I-I I felt it move" Nina managed to bring out.
Now, slowly but surely Nina diverted her gaze from Flash back towards the purple thing, as if fearful of what she might see.
Luckily when she saw it the purple thing was still the same.
There was nothing to indicate that it had moved from its position.
"Maybe you just imagined it" Flash suggested.
However Nina shook her head "No, I'm sure of it" she said strongly "It moved".
Driven by curiosity she began to caress it again.
At first nothing happened and as Nina kept rubbing it she was starting to wonder if maybe indeed she had just imagined it.
But then suddenly it moved again and because this time Nina kept her eyes on it very well she spotted the top side move upwards for a second.
She managed not to yelp this but her hand was shot back from it.
"W-what is this?" Flash stuttered.
Nina also didn't know but before she even could think about it the thing moved once more.
The top side now moved upwards again and this time they heard a sound pierce the silence.
When the pike on the end had retreated again Nina looked towards the point that kept coming up and was shocked to see a crack in it.
The crack was small and the purple colour of the object made it difficult to make out but Nina was certain that it was a crack.
And she also was certain that the crack wasn't there before the sound.
The thing then moved again and this time the top side came higher than ever before.
Nina and Flash watched in awe as it went up so much that the egg looked distorted in shape. However that was nothing as they suddenly both yelped in unison when a golden point pierced through the material.
The point right away got back into the main object but Nina was sure she had seen it.
The thing now also no longer kept lying still and began shifting onto the mushroom cap where it was held in place.
Now the top side move again and the same golden point came out but this time they spotted also something else coming with it.
However it disappeared so quickly that before they could identify it.
The thing now started shaking more violently and all of a sudden the top side was completely ripped open and thing came out of it.
Nina and Flash both gasped and flew a few metres back in shock.
"What in the name of?" Flash managed to bring out.
Nina was so stunned she could say nothing.
The thing that stuck out of the purple ball was covered with some sort of gross slime that they had no idea of. It was slightly beige in colour but mostly transparent.
But they could definitely see the colour of the thing underneath the slime. It was purple, the thing was purple. A lighter tone of purple that the ball was but it was also purple.
On the top of the thing that stuck out there were the two golden points that they saw before.
As if they weren't stunned enough the thing now suddenly also let out a sound.
It sounded like a filthy squeak bit that it made sounds was more than shocking enough.
If it made sounds and moved then it had to be something alive. It hadn't responded to anything they did to it before but it had to be something alive.
The sound that it was making was foreign to Nina yet it pulled a string deep inside. What kind of string she couldn't tell yet but she could sure feel something hurt.
The thing started making the squeaking sound now constantly and it now moved around, completely independent of the ball.
Suddenly the ball itself moved once more and now the back side started protruding just like the upside had done before.
The thing started to make struggling movements and it looked to Nina that the thing was trapped inside the purple ball.
For her that was the final piece of the puzzle.
"I-I know what that is" she somehow managed to bring out.
Flash didn't reply but Nina just pretended he did "I-I-It's an egg" she said.
"Egg" she heard Flash mutter to himself.
The egg was enormous! If fitted the right way they could even squeeze two adult dragonflies in it.
It was easily 20 if not 30 times the size the size of their own egg.
It also didn't look like their own egg at all. Their own egg was round and covered with white goo. It also was much softer than this thing's hard shell.
Yet Nina knew for certain it was an egg. She still had no idea of what species the egg belonged but at least she knew what it was.
The two kept watching in awe as the creature continued to wrestle itself out of the egg.
It also kept making squeaking sounds all the time. It also spun its head around very often.
Suddenly the creature let out a cry and backside of the egg broke.
Out of the newly created hole came a long, thin and flexible rod it seemed.
It was almost a bit like an abdomen but much thinner, well; thin in comparison to the rest of the body for what they could see.
But to Nina it didn't look like an abdomen at all. It was so thin and moved around like it didn't have a shell. Also it had a weird yellow thing on the end to what she was clueless of.
It didn't take long for Nina to notice that the thing on the end had the same colour as the things on the top.
Nina's curiosity kept being stimulated as it was almost a guessing game.
Slowly hints were given as more and more came out of the egg.
She concluded that the thing that came out first was the head. Seeing it moved around and had those things on top.
As she tried to imagine it a little older it was believable that those things were going to grow into a sort of antennae.
However with that theory there was a serious problem.
All the creatures Nina had ever seen had eyes in their head. Sometimes the eyes looked different but they all had eyes. However this creature had not.
Yet it had the thing had something that might be a nose and a mouth. Those two things were also always on the head.
The contradiction on the head made Nina all the more confused and it wasn't going to become any less.
"Wheep, wheep" the thing kept making the sounds for some reason and also it kept moving around its head.
It kept moving inside the egg and suddenly the front side now started cracking.
It soon broke and a long thing came out.
It wasn't as long as the thing on the other end and also looked thicker.
Nina floated around in a wide circle to inspect it more closely and saw it was it had a thick end.
The thing had 3 small appendixes' that seemed to have a sort of membranes in between.
Despite not knowing all that much yet Nina concluded that this was the front side and the long rod on the opposite end was the backside.
Judging by its design she concluded that this then was a hand.
However mostly a creature always has two hands instead of just one.
As in response to her thinking the front side moved again and the whole widened what caused another one shout out.
The egg now had 3 large holes in it. Also noticing that the creature let out a cry before bracing itself against it.
Cracks started spreading now all over and two large ones ran from the holes in the back and front to the one on top.
When they reached the top there was a loud 'crack' and the egg fell apart.
The individual pieces fell into the river and floated downstream.
The two dragonflies watched as the mysterious creature now had officially hatched.
However despite now being free of the egg it just continued to lie down on the cap while making its familiar sounds and movements.
Now that they could have a good look at it Nina and Flash were all the more stunned.
Flash moved further back from it. Nina did as well but something about this creature kept her interest and prevented her from leaving.
The thing was so strange.
It was no dragonfly, that much they knew for certain.
It had a large thick shape; it was unlike any creature they had ever seen before in the swamp.
Now that the full body was revealed Nina concluded that the thing was a tail. There were some lizards out here and those had a tail.
However the thing didn't look like the lizards here at all.
It was much thicker in build. A lot thicker and while it had a tail, that was nothing like the snake like tail of the lizards in the swamp. This creature's tail was much thicker; it was something in between of a lizard's tail and an abdomen.
Also the things on its head she guessed at antennae or possibly horns. They were hard and rigid from how they pierced the shell. There were a handful of deer living in the swamp and those also had horns.
However it looked even less like a deer. The thin lizards in the swamp were still the closest match Nina could find to it.
Now that the creature was fully hatched they could see it was purple all over but had a golden belly, tail end and horns.
Floating to the side of it now she spotted that it did not have two arms like she thought but four. Just at the side where the tail was connected to the body there were 2 more arms.
She quickly guessed the purpose for that. The lizards also had four arms on which they could walk around since they couldn't fly.
She just concluded that this creature could walk as well.
Nina's curiosity was just so great that she couldn't resist floating a closer to inspect it more firmly.
She now spotted two tiny things on what she had concluded to be its back. The strange things were a totally new thing to her.
Lizards had nothing like it, their backs were straight without any frills on it.
Yet this thing did have some things on it. On the sides of its back were a set tiny things. They looked like some sort of limbs but they clearly were different than the four limbs on the underside.
They were shorter than the other limbs and like the rest of the body covered in slime. Nina had no idea what the two things were or what purpose they had but they looked far wider than the lower limbs.
However just like the lower limbs they also had membrane. Although with the larger size of them there was far more membrane.
As she looked at its back she also spotted a string of dots along its back.
"W-What are you?" she asked.
Suddenly the creature moved its head into her direction and Nina floated back a bit in fear.
Flash hurried to her side and held her closely in his arms to protect her.
However for some reason, after the initial shock was gone Nina wrestled herself loose from Flash.
Flash didn't hold her very well as his awe was much too great.
The creature now made his squeaking sounds again and more high-pitched. Nina found them strange yet also her heart pounded from it for some reason.
"Be careful" Flash managed to bring out as Nina once again got closer to it.
Now that she was close again she spotted what the eyes must be. However for some reason she did not know they were closed and the creature somehow didn't seem to be capable of opening them.
"Hello" Nina said to it carefully.
The creature squeaked in response what did give Nina an indication that it could hear her.
Because of its closed eyes she knew it could not see her but at least it could hear her.
She moved yet a little closer and the thing moved its snout closer.
It couldn't see the pink dragonfly yet it for some reason could still trace her.
Nina stopped when the head of the creature was less than a few centimetres away and held her breath.
The creature moved its snout closer to her and she heard a sucking sound.
Nina could feel the danger she was in very well. If it attacked her now she was going to be eaten for certain. From this close there was no way for her to get away in time.
Yet the creature seemed to have no interest in eating her and after sniffing her it moved it's had back.
It let out another sound now.
Like an instinct was driving her Nina followed the creatures head and stretched out her hand cautiously.
The creature seemed to be tracing her as she moved closer but with its eyes still forcedly shut Nina couldn't tell for sure.
When she touched the creature it felt slick from the beige slime on it but Nina was very surprised by how warm it was.
She had never expected it to feel like this. However it felt very pleasant to her. The purple creature just felt so warm.
She for some reason started to rub her hand against the creature's back just as she had done on the egg.
As soon as she started the creature made more sounds.
However these sounds were different than the ones before. These ones sounded calmer and more contend rather than the scared sounds and helpless ones it had made before.
Nina still found the creature behave very awkwardly but as she was caressing, feeling it she started to understand.
This thing was just a baby. It had only just hatched and was a sort of larvae. It might be more than twice her size but it was still only a baby.
And as it was baby, the thing that it seems to keep looking for all the time must of course be its parents.
Nina kept caressing it and felt a soothing feeling, deep inside her heart.
It was magical, something that felt like the feeling she always wanted to have. A thing that she had dreamed of.
The creature now let out a different sound as it seemed it shared her feelings.
It sounded a bit like growling but far softer and slower than anything Nina had heard before. Growling was a sign of aggression but she knew that the feeling was not one of aggression. She of course didn't know anything about it but something in her told her the creature liked being petted.
"Nina, let's get out of here" Flash said scared.
However Nina didn't hear it. She kept caressing the creature's back and the creature kept making happy sounds in response.
Suddenly her arm was pulled away and she turned to see Flash looking at her with a scared look in his eyes.
"Nina, let's get out of here" he said again.
But Nina didn't reply. She looked back on the creature that now stirred without her caressing it.
Its sounds got sadder again now that she wasn't caressing it anymore.
Nina found the sounds to be intolerable. Her heart felt like it was ripped out her chest as she heard the creature whine.
"No Flash" Nina said.
"We can't leave it here" she said trying to make herself sound strong.
"What?" Flash exclaimed veering his head back like Nina had gotten insane.
"Just look at it" Nina said gesturing towards the slimy purple creature.
It shivered somewhat in the cold and moved upwards like trying to stand.
However the undeveloped legs quickly gave way and it barely even got up.
"It's a baby, we can't leave it here Flash" Nina shook her head, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"It's helpless and defenceless, if we leave it, it will die" she said now tears rolling down.
"We can't take it to the village" Flash protested.
"Look at it! There is no way we can get that thing all the way ashore and even if we do how are we going to get it on land" he pointed out trying to be rational.
"We can't leave it here Flash" Nina kept to her point.
"What are you thinking Nina? We can't take that thing to the village" Flash said.
"There has to be a way Flash" Nina begged tears rolling down.
The creature again made a feeble attempt to get up but it never worked. Its legs were still much too weak to support the creature's weight.
Nina's eyes and heart were so drawn towards it the helpless purple.
The creature kept squealing and stirring, it also kept crying out, most likely for its parents.
"Maybe, if we get everyone's help we could-" Flash muttered mostly to himself.
However Nina took the chance right away "Yes, you go and get the other's to help, I will look after it" she ordered Flash.
However Flash looked at her and gestured to the creature. He didn't say something but the look in his eyes was more than adequate to get the message across.
Nina glared right back at him, her eyes wet but not giving in.
The two dragonflies kept up the staring contest but this time Flash felt himself being defeated by her.
"We can't leave it" she said to him to break the stare.
"Okay then" he said to her "I will go and get a few of them to help" Flash said.
Nina nodded but didn't speak as her tongue seemed dry.
Flash flew back towards the village and quickly disappeared.
Nina watched his blue glow disappear into the distance and then turned her attention back to the purple creature.
It had now shifted position and was lying curled up into its mushroom cap like it was a nest.
Nina kept looking at it like her eyes were glued to the helpless figure in the cap.
Now it slowly seemed to calm down a little but it kept making the squeaking sounds.
Nina just felt so much pity for the creature.
Hoping to console it a bit she floated a bit closer towards it.
The creature lifted up it's head and made curious sounding squeaks.
It was clear that he was aware of her presence, even though he could not see her.
She stretched out her hand again and began caressing its back once more.
The creature bended its head back down and made the same content growling sound again.
Nina really started to feel happy now herself.
As she caressed it's still slimy purple body she could feel the creature's scared and helpless feelings.
The creature was scared and lost. It could not see and barely had any idea of what was happening in the world around it. Completely in a world were nothing was familiar.
The tiny baby was alone. All alone.
"You poor thing" she muttered to herself sadly.
The thing let out a soft growl and suddenly it shivered.
Nina was still feeling amazed by how warm the creature felt. It just was something she had never experienced before.
It might be because it just hatched but it had already done that so Nina still didn't know why it felt warm nor did she know why it was shivering.
She floated towards its head and began petting it now.
The thing kept making sounds and curled up even tighter, trying to make itself as small as possible.
It shivered again but Nina had no idea why it did that all the time.
"Flash, get here soon" she muttered as she began to worry.
The creature was now fully curled up tight. It couldn't get any smaller than it was now but that didn't stop it from trying.
It kept trying in vain to bend its undeveloped body even more.
It also kept shivering for no reason.
Now not just occasionally but it now was shivering non-stop.
Its squeaks now turned into squeals as it seemed to be begging for something. It now also started to make digging movements with its tiny paws.
Nina started to become more worried than ever.
Just what was wrong with it? Why did it constantly shiver?
"Maybe it was just normal to do that for this creature" Nina thought but the sight of the creature clearly told her otherwise.
Something was definitely wrong.
"What in the hell?" Nina turned her gaze away from the creature for a short moment to see that Flash had returned.
Behind him she saw the blue and yellow colours of Lys and Valo, both looking shocked towards the thing that was shivering inside the mushroom cap.
"Quickly" Nina pressed as the creature needed help fast.
"Huh? But?" both of the two new dragonflies said confused.
"There is no time for explanations, something is seriously wrong with it" Nina said.
"What? But?" the two protested.
"Please, we can't let it die here" Nina begged them.
"But what is that thing?" Lys demanded to know.
Nina glared at them angrily for asking questions while it was obvious something was seriously wrong with the creature.
"There is no time for explanations!" she repeated sharply sounding deadly serious.
Valo still looked like he was about to ask a question but Lys nodded in understanding.
"We'll help" she said.
She turned her eyes towards Valo and looked him sternly in the eye.
"Let's do it Valo" she said.
"Um-" Valo looked to Lys, to the egg, to Nina and then to Flash before repeating the circle another time.
"Okay then" he nodded after having decided.
"Alright then-" Nina floated up to the edge of the mushroom cap where the creature lay in and grabbed it with her hands.
"Let's push this thing to over there" She said pointing towards the high grass where she and Flash had been hiding.
The three other dragonflies were still unsure and looked to each other as if waiting for one to take the lead.
Lys was the one that took that lead as she floated down and joined Nina.
The mysterious creature now seemed to notice that there were more dragonflies around as it lifted up its head and moved closer to Nina and Lys.
Lys visibly stiffened as the creature's snout came closer towards her but kept strong and didn't flee.
"Don't worry Lys, it won't harm you" Nina assured her.
However Nina could not see if those words had reached Lys as her posture didn't chance at all.
She looked up fearfully to the creature as it kept its nose a few centimetres away from her.
The creature indeed was big, Nina did not deny that. It was easily over twice the size of an adult dragonfly. However Nina felt no aggression coming from it and she also felt no danger from being this close.
The only thing she felt from it was the naivety of a little child and a fear of being alone out here.
However Lys didn't seem to share that opinion as she kept staring at the huge creature in fear.
Nina now looked up and saw that Flash and Valo still were floating above them. Looking scared to what the creature was going to do next to Lys.
Now the creature took a few sniffs at Lys. Or at least that's what Nina figured it was doing.
The tiny holes in its nose moved and she heard a sucking sound coming from it, similar to when it was examining her.
Lys stiffened even more and seemed to be made out of rock as the strange creature checked her out.
However after sniffing her the creature laid its head back inside its mushroom cradle and relaxed.
Lys let out a deep sigh and her posture softened again. She now also panted slightly as it seemed she had been holding her breath.
Now Nina spotted that Flash and Valo were also joining her. As if the creature's harmless examination of Lys finally convinced them that it wasn't dangerous.
Now the four dragonflies all grabbed the mushroom cap and when they did the creature again lifted up its head.
It examined the two new males but the examination was shorter than the those he had done on the two females.
"Push!" Nina said like an order.
On her command the other three buzzed their wings loudly and the mushroom cap began to move.
It moved rather slowly but it did move.
Nina pushed and pushed the thing along towards the shore.
The high grass was about a metre away from their position but with the cap grinding against the mud here it was a very tough job to push it.
Also, feeling the movement the mysterious creature now was moving inside its cap.
Nina could see it was scared. She was not exactly sure what gave that away but she just knew it.
It also kept making its high pitched squealing sounds while moving around blindly. It also didn't stop to its stirring.
Slowly but surely the four dragonflies pushed the creature towards the high grass and when it finally refused to move they let it go.
Nina was panting from exhaustion as pushing the thing was heavy but they had done it.
However as she looked towards the other three she got an annoyed but also questioning look back.
"What now?" nobody asked it but it was written all over their faces. The one of Flash in particular.
Nina quickly worked her brain over trying to find an answer to the question everyone, including her, had on their minds.
She looked towards the purple creature that still lied in its mushroom cradle.
She knew it was huge and heavy; even all four of them had no chance to lift it up. If they wanted it to move than it had to do so by its own strength.
Hoping to trigger that Nina grabbed the ledge again and flapped her wings hard to turn the cap around.
Flash quickly grabbed the ledge as well and helped her turn.
Moving the creature even more was tough for Nina as she was already tired but together with Flash she did it.
When the creature's head was towards land Nina floated around and came to its front side.
She gulped and hoped she could do it.
"Come on now" she said waving her hands into an encouraging way.
The creature lifted up its head but gave no indication of moving.
It just looked at her, or at least pointed its head in her direction.
Nina stretched out her hand and rubbed the top of creature's head with it.
"Come on, it's time to take your first-" Nina thought quickly about what word to use.
"Steps." she said after a while.
The creature didn't seem to be able to understand her as it just kept making squeaking sounds.
"Come on now, little, one" Nina said having trouble getting the word 'little' out of her mouth.
She kept encouraging it to try and climb out to move towards the shore.
However the creature seemed not to be able to understand her as it still didn't stand up or do anything of the sort Nina requested.
Now suddenly it hit Nina what might be the problem. The creature had just hatched so maybe it just couldn't understand what she was saying.
It could hear her but it didn't know what she meant.
Having kept her cool the entire time she now started to panic a little, if she could not communicate with the creature then how was she going to get it ashore?
"So, now what?" Flash now asked her.
"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Nina snapped impatient.
What could they possibly do? The creature was way too heavy for them to lift and it could not understand a word they said. Just how were they going to make the creature stand up and walk out?
"Maybe we could give him and hand in getting up?" Lys suggested.
"Then it might understand what we want it to do"
Nina snapped with her fingers "Yes, that could work" Nina she said grateful to Lys.
"Why don't you pick him from below and I will try to pull him from here" she said.
None of the dragonflies had any arguments on that plan. They all got underneath the creature's tail and put their hands against its rump.
With a grunt they all started pushing it out and Nina grabbed one of its tiny horns and started pulling at it.
The creature led out a painful cry from the pulling force on its horn. However it did seem to understand what they wanted it to do.
Slowly it started to rise up from its mushroom cap.
Nina watched with large eyes of joy as the creature climbed to its feet.
However after only getting up a few centimetres the creature's legs seemed to lose their strength and it fell down again.
The four dragonflies that were pushing him from below only escaped by the tiniest of margins as the creature's rump got back into the bowl.
"Well that didn't work" Valo said, stating the obvious.
"What else could we do?" he asked Nina with a very serious tone as she was mostly the one with the ideas.
"I don't know but we have to try something else" Nina said a bit aggressive.
"Like what?" Valo snapped at her.
"We can't just lift this thing!"
The creature let out a few loud squeals as it heard them arguing.
To Nina it was a strong reminder that they could not leave behind like this.
"Let's push it a little further" She suggested now.
"Say what?" Valo exclaimed at her.
"It's totally stuck in the mud, you can't possibly think we can push it any further" he said.
Nina shot him a very angry look "Are you saying we should just leave it here to die!" she shouted angrily.
"Well, no but we can't take it to the village" Valo argued.
However Nina wouldn't hear any words about giving up "We won't leave it here!" She said imperiously.
"Alright then Nina, we will push it further" Flash came in between to settle the discussion a bit.
Nina did not talk further and just floated back to rejoin the other's in trying to push it a little further.
As she came she was met by a sour look from Valo but she just ignored him.
"Push!" she ordered and all the dragonflies flapped their wings to the maximum in trying to push the creature further up the shore.
At first the mushroom cap didn't move but as they pushed it harder it slowly started to grind against the sand.
The movement was very tiny and the effort needed for it was enormous but it did move a little.
"Again!" Nina commanded.
With a moan the four dragonflies pushed again and the cap moved another centimetre.
"Again!" Nina commanded.
The dragonflies pushed again and the cap moved a bit more.
Nina kept giving the signs and slowly but surely the mushroom cap approached the shoreline.
However as it went Nina's wings were started to burn from exhaustion.
Pushing the mushroom cap through the thick sticky mud of the swamp was so difficult. It was like the thing was glued into place.
The sun slowly sank behind the horizon and the four kept pushing the cradle slowly towards the shore. However as the cap got a further out of the water each time it became harder and harder to move it.
Each push required more effort than the one before and moved the cap also moved less from it.
However the dragonflies never stopped until Nina was sure they could just simply push it no further.
She didn't need to say a word as everyone noticed it and they all let go of the ledge together.
All four were panting deeply and had trouble keeping themselves aloft with their aching and burning wings.
"Come on you guys" Nina encouraged, she was completely exhausted but her body seemed to burn on a newly found energy source.
"We, can't, push, it, any, further, Nina," Flash panted in exhaustion.
"I, think, this, is close, enough," Lys said pointing towards the shoreline.
Nina looked to the distance between the land and the creature and concluded indeed they had almost made it.
Only the tip of the mushroom cap was still in the water and it stood on the edge of the shore.
Even with its tiny legs the creature could stand up here and keep its head above the water.
Now Nina looked again towards the creature into the cap but it wasn't responding anymore.
However Nina could see it still shivering. However while it shivered it did not move anymore.
That the creature was not moving anymore felt highly alarming to her and filled up her body to the brink with energy.
She was going to safe this creature; there were no if or how about it she was going to safe him! No matter what it was going to take!
"Let's overturn the cap" she suggested thinking quickly.
"Are you out of your mind?" Valo complained panting.
"Come on now, we're almost there" she said her voice full of energy.
Nina's determined and energized voice was sharply in contrast with the grumbling and tired voices of the other dragonflies.
Valo and Lys looked doubtful towards each other but Flash allied with his mate "You're right Nina, we have come this far, we have to finish it" he said nodding.
"Flash" Nina said smiling.
"You're right, Nina, we can't let it die here" Lys agreed.
Valo still looked reluctant but a harsh look from everyone muzzled him and refilled his energy supply.
Nina took the initiative and grabbed the ledge of the mushroom cap.
The other three soon followed her example and waited for her command
"1, 2, 3, Push!" Nina counted and then the four dragonflies gave it their all and moved the cap.
The creature shot up and started squealing scared as the cap shifted positions.
However the cap only moved a few centimetres upwards, nowhere near enough.
"Come on, put some muscle into it!" Flash shouted patronizing.
"Come now, put everything in!" Nina encouraged.
"1, 2, 3, Heave!" she shouted.
Now the dragonflies doubled their effort and gave it every ounce of strength they had in their tiny bodies.
This time, slowly but surely one side of the cap rose into the air.
The creature yelped in fear as it suddenly fell out of the cap and landed in the shallow water.
However as soon as it hit the water it started yelping and thrashing blindly. Splashing up large amounts of water.
The creature looked truly in panic as it was struggling inside the river.
Despite her aching wings Nina floated down to help calm it down a little.
The creature now didn't seem to notice her presence in its panic about being in the water.
Nina slowly now stretched out her hand, being careful to not be hit by the creature's wild movements.
As soon as her hand contacted the creature's warm body she started petting its back again.
She felt the creature's panic through the touch. It truly was afraid but Nina tried her best to assure it that water was nothing to be afraid of.
However Nina was suddenly violently thrown sideways by what she felt was a hard blow to her back.
"Nina!" Flash said alarmed and he quickly rushed up to her.
Nina recovered in the air but moved a bit awkwardly as Flash approached her.
Nina moaned a bit in pain as a jolt of it was sent down into her body with each movement of her upper right wing.
"Are you okay?" Flash asked caring as he saw Nina moving her wings a bit awkwardly.
"Yes I'm fine Flash" she said her jaws clenched a bit from the pain.
"Nina" Flash said softly.
Nina ignored both Flash the pain in her wing and descended back onto the still panicking creature in the hope to calm it a bit.
However just as she was moving Flash grabbed her hand.
"Don't come near it" Flash said as a warning.
However Nina didn't even hear it. It felt like she had to help this creature now. As if a powerful deep instinct was driving her.
She didn't even reply to him and pulled her hand lose while flying up to the creature again.
She had a bit of problem flying straight as she felt a defect to the left but she just ignored that as she approached the panicking creature again.
She reached out her hand once more and started petting the creature's back again carefully. This time she made sure to keep away from any of its trashing limbs.
"Just calm down" She said soothing "It's okay"
She closed her eyes and felt herself detach from her body as she started rubbing the creature, trying to calm it down.
"There is nothing to be afraid of here, you're safe with me" she said softly.
Despite that the creature could not understand what she was saying it did now seemed to settle down a little.
Although it did keep splashing a little bit.
"I'm here with you now, there is nothing to fear" she reassured it again.
The creature now stopped splashing completely and simmered down.
Nina was now convinced that she had calmed it so she moved back from the creature a bit.
However as soon as her hand left it the purple creature started trashing again.
Nina quickly put her hand back and got back to caressing it.
The creature also calmed down again.
It gave a few happy squeaks to her as in glad for her not leaving it.
Nina smiled at it and now again tried to let go.
However as soon as the contact broke the creature panicked again in the water so Nina right away got back to petting it.
Half following the mysterious instinct in her Nina flowed up to the creature's face while never letting her hand go of it.
When she was in front of it she energetically rubbed its head. She looked towards its muzzle and saw it curled up into what she guessed was a smile.
Smiling as well Nina moved a bit further back from it so that now she only was petting its nose.
The creature let out a sad whine as now only a small portion of its body was rubbed.
"Come" Nina said in an inviting voice.
Flash and the other's watched in amazement as the creature dragged itself a few centimetres through the mud with its paws in order to get closer to Nina.
Now Nina having moved rewarded it with a few large rubs on its head before moving back again and only caresses its snout.
The creature now did another pull, digging its feet into the sticky mud of the swamp and moving another two centimetres.
Nina now rewarded it once more before moving back what caused the creature to again crawl towards her.
Nina now kept guiding it, the creature moved only very slowly but now it did move as Nina kept petting it and it wanted more.
The creature now even started making a sort of giggling sound. Like the crawling and rubbing was some sort of game to it.
Nina gave a few rewarding rubs to its head before moving back again.
The creature now made the last few drags out of the water and now its full body was on the land.
"Good work there, good work" Nina compliment cheerfully.
She rewarded the creature with a few full rubs from its head all the way down its back and even its tail.
"It's only a little further now, let's go" she said.
The creature let out a clueless squeak and Nina smiled to its ignorance.
Flash, Valo and Lys kept watching in awe as Nina guided the creature towards their mushroom.
Flash looked at her with awe but also with worry. The creature had hit Nina once before and they still had no idea what it was.
He was going to keep an eye out for any signs of aggression towards his beloved.
Valo and Lys only had awe on their faces.
Nina petted its nose again and the creature kept following her.
Nina now felt so in love with the mysterious purple creature. Even though it never talked nor could see her it still did seem aware of her presence.
The creature just felt so innocent and clueless to her. She even found herself able to use the word cute for the strangely formed lizard.
The thoughts kept circulating in her head as Nina guided to creature.
The mushroom of Nina and Flash was only about 1, 5 metres from the river side but with the tiny movements the creature made it seemed to take forever.
However their mushroom now started to come closer and closer as the creature kept following the pink dragonfly.
However just as it had almost reached it the creature fell down on the ground and started making tired squeaks.
Its breathing was very fast and Nina concluded that it was completely exhausted from the climb.
Clearly; dragging itself towards their house like that was a very tough effort for the newly hatched creature.
"Come there little one, you have almost made it" she encouraging.
However the creature let out a few sad sounds and Nina spotted tears running down.
It started crying and whining in front of her. It didn't want to move even more.
She floated up closer towards its snout and brushed the tears away with her hands.
"Don't be like that" she said softly in trying to console it "You're almost there, just a tiny bit further"
Nina moved her hand underneath the snout of the creature and began rubbing it.
The creature let out a strange set of sounds that Nina could not identify but she felt that they were positive.
She now floated back towards the front of the creature and rubbed its soft nose again.
"Come on now, 1, 2, 3, go!" she encouraged.
The creature indeed put its paws against the earth and dragged itself another centimetre.
"There you go" she said rubbing its entire head.
"Good work, now let's do that again" she said moving back.
She caressed the snout once more and the creature dragged somewhat further. Hoping to receive another rub on its entire head as it really seemed to like that.
Nina had to put a lot more effort into it than before but somehow she managed to make the creature drag itself the few extra decimetres and towards their mushroom.
As soon as the two had reached their mushroom Nina went down its entire side and rubbed it firmly.
"Good job there" she complimented it and rubbed its body again "Good job, I'm very proud of you"
The creature let out a hiccup at her talking before lying down.
It curled up into a ball again and it seemed to fall asleep right away.
Now with the creature safely at their mushroom Nina let out a tired sigh and suddenly it felt like her entire energy supply vanished.
Her world went blank and her wings stopped moving.
"Nina!" she heard Flash shout vaguely.
She felt herself being picked up and forced her eyes to open for a little while longer.
As her eye lids slowly opened she spotted Flash holding her with a very worried look on his face.
Tears were in his eyes, although Nina was not sure from what.
"I'm fine Flash really" Nina assured him before he asked her.
However Flash shook his head in denial and Nina also felt that she was lying to him.
"I am just very tired" she admitted to him.
"I understand Nina, you just go and rest" he said softly.
However Nina wouldn't allow something like that.
"But what about-!" Nina cried looking towards the purple creature that now lie curled up.
Flash shook his head "You just rest now Nina" he demanded of her "Don't worry, I will take care of it" he assured her.
This time his voice had more strength than it ever had before and Nina felt that he was right.
"Please, protect it" she said to him as her energy supply shut down.
"I promise" she heard Flash say.
With the creature now safe she allowed her tiredness to take hold of her and while still in Flash's arms she drifted off to sleep, her body spend from one purple creature.
As Nina fell asleep she had no idea of the consequences her actions were going to have on their lives. She had no idea of what was still going to happen today. Also, it would take over 13 years for her to learn how important her determination today was going to be to the survival of the world.
So what did you guys think about it? should I continou on it?