The Water dragons, with their innate sense of direction and a series of resting spots, seemed to never tire of swimming for hours on end, day after day. As the newcomer in their group, I filled in for a missing male, my role being to guard the rear and ensure that no one lagged behind or got attacked. The waters were more perilous than I had anticipated, and we encountered colossal creatures, some of them hostile. It required me to intervene more than once.

On one occasion, a massive shark-like fish, a ruthless predator, chased one of our “sisters” until she sought refuge in a narrow underwater cave. The others were helpless, but I acted swiftly. Transforming into an Earth dragon, I sneaked up behind the beast. It had spines on its back, sharp and almost invisible, blending in with its skin, looking almost transparent like glass. I carefully avoided them and grabbed it by the neck. The beast didn’t stand a chance against an Earth dragon, and it didn’t even notice me until it was too late.

After the encounter, I asked the others if they wanted a piece of the shark, as it seemed wasteful to leave it there, but they all declined. So, I claimed it for myself. This meant I had to stay in my Earth dragon form for a while, but I didn’t mind. In fact, I saw it as an opportunity. I modified myself to suit the aquatic environment better. Despite the fact that I could produce my own oxygen, it felt unnatural to me. Consequently, I added gills to my neck and head, concealed by membranes, and streamlined my body for underwater movement. My head now resembled that of a Water dragon, only larger, while the rest of me maintained the size of an Earth dragon but adopted the colors of a Water dragon. I even altered my tail to mimic that of a shark. I looked formidable, and I took pride in that.

One of our checkpoints was the river in the jungle and the lake that I had visited before. I contacted Siveth through a vision connection, informing her of my impending arrival as a surprise. I also requested her to tell Erebus to join us. I owed him an apology for leaving without notice, and I had to inform him about Taranis. After a few days, we reached our first destination: the lake.

As the Water dragons relaxed in the lake, I seized the opportunity to rest on the shore. I was basking in the sun, enjoying the warmth on my scales, when Vexus approached me. He exclaimed in surprise, “What in the world are you?” I smirked and responded, “Haven’t you seen the offspring of an Earth dragon and a Water dragon before?” Recognizing my voice, he gasped, “No way! Is that you, Nox?” I nodded. “Glad you still recognize my voice.” He stammered, “How did you learn to transform like this?” I shrugged and said, “I picked it up along the way. It’s quite handy.” He backed away and said, “I have to tell Siveth about this. She won’t believe her eyes.” I assured him, “Don’t worry, I’m not a threat. And she’ll know it’s me.” He yelled, “She’s coming!” and I saw her head emerge from the water at the other end of the lake. I waved and shouted, “Hi Siveth!” She frowned and asked, “Who are you?” I said, “Siveth, that’s your name, right?” She said, “How do you know my name?” I said, “I know you very well, haha.” She didn’t appreciate my humor and failed to recognize me. In an instant, she was charging at me with fury, mistaking me for some abomination. I had a blast dodging her attacks. I was so agile, and she was so clumsy. Well, relatively clumsy. The Water dragons tried to calm her down, but she ignored them and behaved like she didn’t hear them saying, “Please don’t hurt him.” Soon enough, the tables turned. I found myself trapped in a corner, but I didn’t give up. I fought back with such force that she got frightened. For the first time, I saw Siveth flee, but it was all a ruse. She lured me into an underwater cave, then dragged me through a tunnel and vanished from sight. Then, out of the blue, she reappeared and bit me hard, attempting to tear me apart. But I changed my scales and skin to resist her assault. She couldn’t pierce me with her teeth, but she still managed to inject me with her venom. While she did so, I grabbed her and held her tight. I knew she couldn’t stay submerged for too long without air, and when she ran out of breath, I whispered in her ear, “They were telling the truth. It’s me , Nox.” Unable to speak underwater, she looked at me with a different expression. Then, she noticed the mark on my neck and panicked. She realized that she had been chasing me all along and that she was also running out of air in the middle of a labyrinth underwater. She gestured for help. I said coldly, “Sorry, not this time.”

Despite being poisoned, I was large enough to carry her out of there. So, I moved on, looking for an exit, but I was lost, and she became a burden. Disoriented and desperate, I had to stop and resuscitate her mouth-to-mouth, praying that she could lead us to the exit. She came to with a start and muttered something incomprehensible. I shook my head and said, “Save your breath. Just get us out of here.” She scanned the murky surroundings and picked a direction. I trailed behind her, but we soon hit another dead end. The water felt colder, a sign that we were going deeper instead of closer to the surface.

I decided to activate another modification of my body. I made my skin emit a faint glow, illuminating our path a little better. Combined with the enhanced underwater vision of a water dragon’s eyes, it was like switching from night to day. Siveth ran out of air again. I gave her another breath. She didn’t try anything funny, probably because she knew I could easily overpower her if she did. We continued like this for what felt like an eternity. I wondered why no one came looking for us or at least called out to us. Were we forgotten? Abandoned? Then we saw it: a patch of air above the water. We surfaced and found ourselves in a vast underground cavern, empty and silent.

I wanted to dive back in and search for another way, but Siveth insisted on exploring the cave. She hoped to find an alternative route out of this labyrinth. I doubted there was one, but I couldn’t persuade her otherwise. So we ventured into another maze of tunnels, some of them damp and slippery. I lost my footing and fell hard, snapping my horn in the process. I healed it quickly, but not before Siveth burst into laughter. I snapped, “Damn it, it’s slippery.” She said, “Haha, watch your step. Look where you’re going.” I said, “How can I? It’s too dark to see anything. I’m trying.”

In the shadowy depths of the cavern, I trailed behind Siveth, struggling to match her brisk pace. She had cautioned me to tread carefully, but the eerie noises and peculiar sights around us had captured my attention. Abruptly, a sharp twinge of pain shot through my hind leg as it unexpectedly sank into a concealed hole. A chilling pool of water and jagged rocks awaited me at the pit's base, their sharp edges cutting into my flesh like razor blades.

A gasp escaped my lips as I attempted to extract my leg, but it was lodged tightly. I felt a wave of helplessness and regret wash over me.

Noticing my sudden halt, Siveth pivoted around and queried, "Why have you stopped?" I whimpered in response, "My leg... I need help." As she approached, the sight of blood seeping into the water caught her eye. A frown creased her forehead as she said, "I told you to be mindful of where you step." I responded with an apology, "I understand now. Please, I need your help. I believe it's bleeding." The throbbing pain and warmth spreading around my wound confirmed my suspicion. But, in the back of my mind, I harbored hope that it was just my body heat.

Siveth shook her head disapprovingly, "Oh dear, this is going to be a mess." I queried anxiously, "Is it severe?" She explained, "Your leg has a deep cut." I craned my neck to inspect the wound and was filled with panic. "We need to free my leg before it heals around the rocks. It will be even more painful afterward." She nodded in agreement, "I understand. Let's do it."

She attempted to lift me using her body, while I mustered all my strength to push with my other leg. However, the exertion felt as if it was tearing my leg apart. I screamed, "Stop, stop! It's not coming out." She halted and suggested, "Couldn't you just shapeshift into a smaller form?" I responded, "I can't. Look at my belly." After a cursory glance, she said, "So? Just change the size of your leg. You can do that, right?" I explained, "I can't shapeshift when injured."

She then suggested two drastic options: "Then, we might have to amputate your leg, or you could heal it and then shapeshift later." Terrified, I rejected her proposal, "No, I won't amputate my leg. Let me try to heal it first." I focused on healing my wound, but the bleeding continued. Suddenly, I felt a bite.

Something lurking beneath the water had bitten me, causing me to jerk involuntarily. This sudden movement dislodged my leg, revealing a massive, glowing leech clinging to it. The leech, bloated with my blood and covered in cuts, had inadvertently aided my escape.

Siveth's response was immediate: "That's revolting! That's the largest leech I've ever seen." I retorted, "Could you help me remove it instead of commenting? It's still biting." I started to pry it off with my claws.

She leaned in closer and whispered, "Let me do this." Before I could object, she wrapped her lips around the leech that clung to my leg. A wave of disgust and horror swept over me as she began to suck on the slimy creature, inching closer to my wound. "Are you seriously eating that? That's repulsive!" I exclaimed, trying to pull away. She disregarded my protests and continued her unusual feast until she reached the end of the leech. Finally, the leech released its grip, and she swallowed it whole. She flashed a smile and casually remarked, "You know, these are considered a delicacy."

I stared at her in disbelief, "I'd prefer not to think of it that way. I'm still bleeding!" I pointed out, noticing the blood trickling from my leg. The damn leech had had teeth. She nonchalantly shrugged and offered, "I see. Do you want me to assist with that too?" She moved closer to me, seemingly about to lick my wound. I recoiled and quickly said, "No thanks. Don't touch it. I can handle it myself. Thanks anyway." I crawled away from her and concentrated on healing my leg. I muttered under my breath, "Why does everything have to be so painful? Damnit!" She followed me and commented, "Because you're careless when you should be cautious. You're fortunate to have the ability to heal yourself. Otherwise, you'd be stuck with your injuries." I chose not to respond, recognizing the truth in her words.

We resumed our journey, cautiously navigating the labyrinthine passages. It felt like an eternity before we finally emerged from the constricting maze. Our emergence was heralded by a cascade of water, which plunged us into a subterranean river. Drawing a quick breath, I gasped, “Where are we?”

My companion surveyed our surroundings with a grim expression. “Oh no, I recognize this place,” she murmured. I responded, “Good, then let’s retrace our steps.” She shook her head, her eyes filled with a mix of dread and determination. “We can’t. The river is fiercely guarded by a clan of Earth dragons.”

I assured her, “No problem. I’ll transform us into shadows, and we’ll slip past them unnoticed.” She eyed me skeptically. “You can do that even with that?” She pointed at my underbelly, where a small wound was still healing and evidence of a recent meal was visible.

I replied, “It’s almost healed. How far is it?” She estimated, “About fifteen minutes downstream. Perhaps you should take care of that first.” I suggested, “We should wait. Give it another half an hour, and I should be ready.” With a nod of agreement, she said, “Then let’s move slowly,” and we submerged ourselves in the river.

She surfaced only occasionally to breathe, her anxiousness to avoid the clan palpable. I didn’t press her for details. Until we eventually reached a dam, the barrier marking the territory of the clan. In a hushed whisper, she urged, “We need to get past this undetected.”

Glancing at myself, I reassured her, “Say no more. We can do it now.” I transformed both of us into a mist of smoke and shadows, swiftly floating over the dam. Once we were back underwater, I snapped us back to our normal forms. She panicked and gestured for me to return to our shadow form, and I obliged without question. We continued our stealthy escape, the current aiding our progress even in our untouchable form.

After passing another dam, the river seemed clear, and we reverted to our original shapes. She exclaimed, “That’s so cool! A bit suffocating, but still cool!” I responded, “Glad you enjoyed it. Can we head back now?” She grinned mischievously, “Sure, the last one to reach the lake gets a kiss from me!” I joked, “Oh, I’ll wait then.” She teased, “Really? If you wanted a kiss, you could have just asked.” I replied with feigned disgust, “No, I was joking. Sorry, but I don’t want it. Only Freya can kiss me.” With that, I propelled myself through the water, leaving her behind.

She darted towards me, but I was faster. I reached the lake and plunged into the water, narrowly missing a Water dragon lurking below the surface. I collided with Hydra, who was submerged deeper. I flailed my arms to push her aside, but we were both sinking fast, heading towards the rocky lakebed. I positioned myself to shield her from the impact, feeling a jolt of pain as my back slammed against the jagged stones.

Hydra looked at me with concern. “Nox! Oh no, are you hurt?” she asked. I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry. How about you?” I said. “I’m okay, but you… look at your tail!” she exclaimed. I felt a tug on my tail and saw a stalactite-shaped rock that had pierced through it. I groaned, “Oh, not again! I just healed!”

Siveth arrived and saw me in distress. She didn’t hesitate to free me, carefully pulling out the rock and avoiding further damage. I emerged from the water and began healing myself on the shore. Everyone stared at my wound, but no one said anything. Hydra asked me, “Where have you been all this time?” Siveth answered for me: “Stuck in an underwater dungeon, then a cave.” I added, “Yeah, we got lost in there.”

Hydra queried, “Do you mean the underwater cave under the waterfall of the lake?” I nodded. “Yeah, that one.” She said, “I see. I’m glad you made it out. We lost one of our brothers down there once, sadly.” I winced. “I wish you hadn’t told me that. I’m sorry for your loss. My condolences.”

Despite the ordeal, Siveth and I felt a surge of gratitude and pride for surviving. We could have lived there since we had water, I didn’t need to eat, and she could have hunted other leeches. She seemed to enjoy them. I shuddered at the thought of those creatures. They were like nightmares given form.