The Mythical Riders

By: Evie Sum

Chapter 1: Discovery and action

Alderria. A land that harbors witches, wizards, vampires, werewolves and more. But not Dragons. The majestic Dragons died out millions of years ago. Or so it was thought.

* * * *

I woke up with the sun in my eyes and my brother screeching.

"WAKE UP KAIYA! RISE AND SHINE!" Theo yelled.

"5 more minutes..." I groaned, eyes shut.

"Fine then... I'm gonna eat your pancakes!" He said in a sing-song voice.

"Wait no!" I cried. "I'm coming, ok? Don't touch my pancakes, you fiend!" His malicious laughter drifted up the staircase. I threw on a white shirt, jeans and boots and bounded down the steps, finding my pancakes safe and sound.

"Hahhh..." I sighed, my tail slightly wagging.

As we ate, mother asked, "Kaiya, can you make the daily contribution to the fresh-kill pile today?"

"Sure!" I immediately replied. I loved the forest anyway, with its enticing smells, lush greenery and beautiful scenery.

~Time skip cause I'm lazy~

After donning an elaborate bow and changing into a green shirt, black pants, boots and a deerskin belt, I was ready.

"I'm heading out now!" I called out.

Anyway, since we're heading to the forest, why don't I introduce my pack to you? Here in Silver Luna pack, we have a fresh-kill pile, in which everyone contributes at least one prey every day in order to feed the pups, as well as the ones who are too old or have disabilities. We also tried to maintain good relations with our neighboring packs so we can prevent wars. Well, keyword tried. Our closest neighbor, the Swift-stream pack, has vanished with no trace. When we sent warriors over to respond to their call for help, all they found were ruins of houses and markets. The people had all gone missing. The other packs have all moved locations for fear that they would be attacked. We, however, remained here, as our Alpha, Alpha Morris, saw no need to move. After all, water and food were plenty, and in case of danger, we could hide in the nearby forest.

Arriving at the forest, I shifted into my wolf form. I took a deep breath and started running, relishing the freedom. After running for a while, I started to actually hunt. Picking up a rabbit scent, I followed it to the edge of a clearing. Entering stalk mode, I pounced on the nearest one and bit its spinal column, killing it instantly. After stowing the rabbit away in a hole, I decided to hunt some more before going home. I walked deeper into the forest and stiffened. There was a new scent, at least a few months old. What is this? I thought. And why didn't the other pack hunters smell it? I cautiously followed the scent to a cave, cleverly hidden with vines and leaves. I would've advanced- if not for the pits.

Yes, the pits. I could smell them, as they held dozens or maybe more snakes. Not only were they snakes, they were poisonous. If they were on a horizontal line, I would've been able to jump across, but they were placed haphazardly, which made it harder for me to get through.

What do I do now? I could use my wolf form to sniff out the pits, but since there were so much, I would smell them everywhere. I resorted to carefully picking my way around the pits with my nose stuck to the ground. Then I slipped into a pit. WAHHHHHH!! Only with quick thinking and reflexes did I manage to grip onto the side. So, there I was, hanging by the tips of my claws, in a pit, with hissing, poisonous snakes ready to bite me should I fall. Are those pit vipers? (Pit vipers are one of the most dangerous snakes in the world) Sweating and groaning, with my front legs screaming in pain, I managed to claw my way out. Finally, I flopped out with sweat streaming down my snout and jelly legs. I made it past the other pits with little to no problem, as I was more alert and careful now. Knowing that whatever was inside the cave must've been very precious for there to be pits of danger noodles to be outside, I swallowed my fear and pushed through. What I found inside rendered me speechless.

It was a Dragon Egg.

The Dragon Egg was beautiful, with its fiery reds, oranges and occasional blues swirling on its shell. It was as big as a newborn pup (Think fat baby). I was in denial, thinking, Hey, a viper could've gotten me anyway. Maybe this is just a hallucination. However, almost instinctively, I shifted back to human and reached a hand out to touch it, only for it to burn me.

"OW!" I exclaimed, trying to pull my hand away. It was no good- my hand was stuck on the shell. The more I struggled, the more stuck my hand became, and the hotter the egg was. Soon, the pain was too much to bear. I almost started screaming- but the pain stopped. I freed my hand from the egg and cradled it close to me, checking for burns. Strangely, there were none. Instead, there was a dragon symbol (top pic) on my palm. It glowed silver before fading. Strange, I thought. I decided that it was too dangerous to bring it to the village, as who knows how my pack would react, yet too cruel to leave it pretty much defenseless in the wilderness. Therefore, I was going to visit it everyday, to make sure it was safe. It was a foolproof plan, since the cave was too well covered. The problem was going to be the scent... I decided on chasing every animal around so it would mask the scent. Hopefully. There was nothing I could do about the snake pits- I would just have to hope that no one discovers the cave.

Before heading home, I caught a few more rabbits that, along with the rabbit I buried, was sure to feed the pack for a few weeks. I trotted home and dropped the prey onto the small mountain that was the fresh-kill pile before getting crushed into a hug.

"Are you ok? Why did you come home so late? Did anything happen?" Rose started firing questions at me, ears alert and tail sticking up.

"I'm fine, Rose." I replied.

"Hmph! Don't do that to me again, you scared me! What would I do without my bestest friend?" She shot back, hands on her hips. Her tail visibly relaxed, but her ears still stood at attention.

"Sorry~ To make it up to you, wanna have a movie night?" I asked.

"YES!" She squealed, her tail moving a million miles a minute.

I chuckled, my tail wagging as well. When I got home, my family tried to crush my bones with a hug. After assuring them that, yes, I was fine, and yes, nothing bad happened, we continued into the living room for movie night. As we watched the movie, I felt conflicted. Rose was my BFF, and we never kept secrets from each other. I really wanted to tell her, but what if she tells Alpha? In the end, I felt a little bad lying, but I needed to keep the egg safe.

That night, we fell asleep on the couch with snacks all around us.

~Several days later~

I headed out to the forest again. Over the past few days, I had been taking the daily hunt, much to my parents' surprise. They, however, didn't mind, as it would mean that they had more free time to deal with their jobs. I picked up a deer scent and followed it to a clearing. I pounced upon a young buck that had strayed too close to the bushes and bit down until he stopped moving. Shifting back to human form, I dragged it to the cave. Setting it down, I walked in; and gasped.

The egg was hatching.

In front of my very eyes, a small, red dragon poked its head out. Its curious amber eyes glistened as it took in its cave. *Crackkkkk* and another piece fell off. As it emerged, my breath just stopped. It was simply gorgeous, with blues and reds and amber swirling on its scales. Somehow, I instinctively knew it was a female. Looking at me, it squeaked. And squeaked again. What? Finally, it uttered something comprehensible.

"Mwa ma?" I nearly cried; it was so cute! I sliced a bit of meat off the deer with my claws, walked forward and offered it. "You hungry, little guy?" I blinked. Where had the meat gone? I looked at the dragon and saw that it was licking its lips, eyeing the rest of the deer. I gave it to him. Now that the dragon has hatched, what should I do? I mused to myself, watching the hatchling devour the buck. I guess I have to keep coming to this cave, as it is too dangerous to keep it in the village. But before that, I need to name it.

"Hm... Sylke! Your name is Sylke." The hatchling looked up and tried to imitate me.

"Sy..ke?" It squeaked out. I walked over and started petting and cooing at it, tail wagging slightly. While doing so, my thoughts ran wild Now it's hatched. The top priority is keeping it healthy- we also need to keep it hidden. Am I up to the task? After debating for a couple minutes, I decided, yes, yes I am. It fell asleep, so I left to catch another buck to take back to the pack. I could see it tomorrow.

To continue reading the story, go to Wattpad.com and search up The Mythical Riders by KatsuraRokuya.