After three months, Kai, the young dragon, had finally finished processing and organising his ancestral memories.

In them, he had become a back seat passenger, viewing the past through the eyes of his bloodline's matriarchs, experiencing what they had considered being the most critical moments, of their lives, and ultimately, deaths.

Memories and knowledge organised and stored; Kai finally felt himself start to dream as his body began the arduous task of rebuilding itself.

He dreamed of his hatching, the cave, the rabbit and many other things.

With his newly gained knowledge, Kai understood and noticed things that he hadn't before, and stray thoughts caused his consciousness to stir occasionally.

During these moments, where he was on the cusp of awareness, Kai would analyse his surroundings before the demand of his body to rest, returned him to his slumber.

At first, the young dragon had panicked, the vines squirming around his body that was stuck in a form of sleep paralysis, causing him to feel trapped.

However, the moment the dryad realised he was semi-awake, her ecstatic bombardment of words, often forming a face out of the roots to display a very human-like, smiling face, reassured him.

Explaining that she was taking care of her most prized subject, something that slightly irked the dragon, using the vines to keep him warm and regulate his temperature while feeding him fruits and water if she felt he lacked nutrients, somewhat reassured him.

Kai knew that a dragon's slumber was his kinds Achilles heel, a time where a dragon's enemies were most likely to strike yet, not only was he fit and healthy, the dryad seemed incredibly friendly.

Something that was alien, even if he had experienced it in memories, to the young dragonling.

He was still in a muddled stake, sleep and exhaustion clouding his mind and, not long after the dryad started asking him questions, to which Kai didn't have the energy, or state of mind, to respond. He returned to sleep.

Days continued to pass, Kai occasionally waking, each time feeling more alert and rested, sensing that his body was growing in size, strength and power.

The dryad continued to talk, usually about everyday topics like the change going on around her or the newest insect pest she had obliterated for attempting to nibble on her leaves, no matter if Kai was asleep or awake, creating a peaceful, almost lullaby-like sound to which the dragon found comfort as he rested.

At one point, Kai decided to test if he genuinely wasn't being kept prisoner and moved his front leg. Instead of resistance, the vines retreated, and the Dryad's attention snapped to him, cheering that he was finally ready to get up and that they could finally hold a two-way conversation.

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Unfortunately for her, with his fears laid to rest, Kai quickly fell back to sleep.

From the dryad's reactions during multiple tests, his doubts and fears slowly faded away. Instead, the warm, safe and comforting feeling in his chest grew.

Traditionally, it would have been his mother's voice, heartbeat, warmth and protection but to the dragonling that had nothing, he wouldn't have traded the dryad's company for anything in the world.

He knew that dragons did not have souls, at least in the typical sense when compared with other species, and so when they died, they ceased to exist.

It was often called the price for physical immortality. The mortal species had something similar to an immortal soul and reincarnation cycle, or so their gods told them.

Many called this the balance, which, once again according to the gods, existed in every aspect of life.

Every light had a shadow, evil a good, and power, weakness.

So instead of wishing for something that Kai knew was impossible, for the flow of time to change or his mother resurrecting, the dragonling nestled into the vines and released a low, content rumble.

This cycle repeated for months, his body finally found a haven to adapt and grow in response to his strength and experiences.

Typically, this would happen incrementally every time a dragon entered its slumber, every one or two years but for Kai, who had no parent or guardian to shelter him, he had to rest with one eye open, always ready to react to threats and so his body had never had to enter this state before.

The seasons started to pass, yet the weather and temperature outside remained constant, the surrounding towers keeping the forest locked in eternal winter, yet still, the dragon slept.

During this time, the dryad became increasingly frustrated that her protector slept so much.

Now the dryad finally had a subject she could converse with she desperately wanted to practice her social skills and find entertainment.

But as dryad wasn't facing any danger and the energy the drake, for that is what she believed her newest subject to be, was released while sleeping enabled her to grow in both strength and influence, she was reluctant to use force.

After attempting to rouse him a few times gently, she reluctantly accepted that she would need to be content with chatting to his sleeping form as she went about her everyday life.

It was six months after he organised his memories, a full nine months after he fell asleep, that Kai's consciousness once again fluttered to the surface.

His body was still demanding more time, something the immortal creature was more than happy to oblige, but as his golden eyes opened slightly and examined the dark chamber, something his dragonic eyesight did not struggle with, his head twitched back, and a feeling of unease settled into his stomach.

The voice that had met him every time, that droned on endlessly, turning it a sweet lullaby was shouting, screaming and cursing, at something in the distance.

Anger, fear and despair laced the dryad's voice, causing Kai's heart to contract as a strange feeling swelled inside of him.

While he felt no love or bond with the dryad, at least to his logical mind, the seed of affection, due to her care and actions, had sprouted, and his instincts started to kick in, flinging his drowsiness aside.

A long howl echoed down the tunnels, followed by a few more, the occasional yip, yelp and growl almost silent in comparison.

A hiss escaped the dragon's lips, carrying with it the putrid essence that his body had ejected during its transformation as he revealed a set of jagged, vicious looking teeth.

Dragon's were renowned, at least in the distant past, for their tempers when they had first awoken from a deep sleep. The fact that the one who had sheltered him was, seemingly in danger, only increased the sudden, raging bloodlust that emanated from his body.