Greetings riders. Today I have the second part of Mazu's Hatchling Adventure. He meets a new friend in the woods and discovers a few knew things that he never seen before. I ended up having part 2 to long so I had to split it into 2 parts again. I hope you don't mind and enjoy this snippet inside this story.
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Mazu's Hatchling Adventure
Part Two
by: K.M. Jenkins
Darkness. All he saw was darkness. There was a presence, though. A female voice. It called to him occasionally. It was warm and bright. Her voice calmed him when panic set in and all he thought about was breaking free.
Time meant nothing to him. His days blurred into weeks within the small sphere that held him prisoner. He did not know how time worked; everything seemed the same, no matter what he did. But that voice was always talking and giving him pictures into the world. Colors would take root in his mind and images appeared. The voice would tell him what each thing was and how excited they were about him one day seeing it for himself. He longed for the day the female spoke of, but it seemed to never come.
As the days grew longer and summer came upon them the sights from the sky infiltrated his mind the most. She loved flying and showing him the world from the eyes of a dragon. Each day he grew stronger and the connection to the female amplified. However, something else tugged at his mind telling him it was almost time.
Almost time for what though? He thought. Dread would fill him all over again when the images of the world would disappear. He struggled to see on his own and all he saw was a stone wall filled with darkness. Why can’t I get free? His restlessness surrendered to his will and the day came when everything changed.
A crack chipped away on the outer wall of his prison. It grew with each movement he made. One claw slid across the surface, forcing the shell to scatter at his touch. He felt glee for the first time. Happiness filled him at the eagerness of finally being free.
He raked his claws across the crack and it fell further away. Light broke through the darkness and blinded him for the first time. Mazu blinked away the tears. Then he plunged his head through the crack and rolled from his nest onto the earthen floor with a thud. He shook himself off and unraveled his flailing limbs. Took a moment to collect himself before he took in his surroundings.
The first thing his eyes locked on was the boulders that surrounded the clearing that he called home. He remembered these trees from the female’s mind. She showed him everything in front of him to prepare the way. But he didn’t care, besides the fact that he could breathe fresh air for the first time in his life. “I’m free!” he yelled into the void. But his mouth only made a gurgling noise in his stead. He reached out to the female voice only to turn and freeze. There was another dragon lying near his nest. He crouched to the earthen floor and waited to see what the fellow dragon would do. But from the look of it, she was sleeping. Then he slid over to her to get a better look.
Mazu was inches from her face and rested his nose against hers. Then he felt the connection that was in his mind grow. This was the female who gave him all the memories of the outside world. She was the one who kept him sane while he wanted to go mad. That is when he figured out who she was. She was his mother, and that is why they were bonded. He felt warmth form deep in his chest as he looked at her for the first time. She was beautiful. But she wasn’t the only thing he wanted to see now that freedom called.
Mazu turned his head towards the massive trees that circled the clearing where he found his home. He crawled over to the trunk of one and sniffed it. It didn’t smell that wonderful, but it brought character to his home. Wonder why they are so big? Are they all this big? He wondered.
Once his curiosity with the tree subsided, he looked around to see that there were large rock formations that surrounded the nest and held things in place. Mazu didn’t know if it was intentional to have the rocks locking him within as his shell was broken away at his feet. But he didn’t stick around to find out.
He slid across the ground, sniffing the dirt as he went. A gust of wind blew dirt in his face, and he turned his head to take in his mother sleeping soundly on a large rock formation that curved with her body. She was enormous. Mazu was tiny compared to her, and she was asleep with her eyes closed. Guess that is my cue to adventure, he thought.
Once he reached the far-off tree that looked different from the others, Mazu froze. He wondered to the base of the tree and sniffed it to take in its scent. However, it didn’t smell the same as the other ones nearby. This one was special. He could tell from the energy coming off it. Mazu contemplated what it could mean until he heard a noise farther off into the wooded area.
“What was that?”
His eyes peered around the tree but didn’t see anything. “Guess that means I have to check it out,” he chuckled to himself. Mazu scooted back on his hind legs and perched himself high enough to climb over the enormous roots at the base of the tree. They were as thick as his thighs as he jumped over the top and landed with a thud on the other side.
Quickly, he looked around to make sure he didn’t wake or alert anyone to his presence. Then he moved forward into the brush, looking for any sign of life. It was a few yards in when he saw a bush bounce around. A small creature jumped out in front of him. When it locked eyes on him, it’s eyes grew wide as balls and it made a screeching sound. Then turned and ran away with a white cotton tail jumping up and down on his rear end.
“What in hell-fire was that?” he pondered.
Mazu sniffed the ground where the creature stood moments before but he didn’t recognize the smell. Probably because he never seen one of them before. He wanted to see another one again one day. “I wonder why it was so scared? I did nothing threatening.”
Another noise came from far off in the distance drawing Mazu’s attention forward. He stuck his nose to the ground like a normal grey hound and started wondering what he would find.
It came out of nowhere. A creature so big it made him feel tiny-tiny. It stood on long, thick legs with grey stone feet he assumed were hooves. The creature had wide white-brown sticks coming out of its head and a weird short tail that flicked up when it looked around. Mazu stayed in the underbrush, knowing his presence would alert the creature and send it fleeing into the woods. “For some reason, I scare these things in the woods.”
Mazu lowered his belly to the dirt and peered through the long grass in wonder. The enormous nose of the creature lowered to eat the grass. It chopped away not realizing that Mazu was nearby. He wanted to know what kind of creature it was but kept himself quiet, hoping to get to watch it a moment longer. Then he remembered how his mother would send images and words to him when he was in his shell.
Then Mazu reached out to the creature to see what kind of mind it possessed. As he connected with the creature its head shot straight and dashed around in all directions. It knew someone was watching him now and Mazu hated alerting the creature but he had to know what it was. But what surprised him the most was the intelligence the creature possessed.
“Hello…is someone there?”
Mazu blinked back surprise. The creature responded to his tug on his mind faster than Mazu was expecting. Perhaps it is a magical creature such as myself, he pondered. The elk turned its head towards Mazu’s direction and its nostrils flared. He could smell danger faster than he could find it. The elk stopped its hoof in irritation and reached out with a blast of mind magic and slammed hard into Mazu’s inner thoughts.
“I know you are there! Show yourself!”
“Only if you promise not to run…” Mazu stated softly.
The elk snorted, stopped its right hind foot and tilted its head.
“Fine. Come out and I won’t run.”
Mazu felt excitement as he slid forward from under the tall grass. The elk stepped back as it tilted its head to take him in. It didn’t run like it promised but it didn’t seem thrilled with his appearance.
“You’re a hatchling…”
Mazu snorted at him.
“Yes, I’m a hatchling, but what are you?” Mazu laughed.
The elk snorted and thrashed its head at his reply. Then he looked Mazu in the eye and seemed to smile in his own way.
“It’s been a long time since hatchlings have been seen in this world. Forgive me. You took me by surprise...”
“Yes…yes. But what are you?” Mazu pushed.
The elk tilted his head and snorted again.
“Aww…yes. I’m what humans call an elk.”
Continue on to Part Three!
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I hope you enjoyed this insight into Mazu's story and I look forward to bringing you the 3rd part this next month.
Until next time,
~ Katie
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