Apparently Mother and Father really did not expect us to find the trick so fast, because even Father made big round eyes when we bit his tail every time he raised it.

It was kind of hard when his tail touched the ceiling, but still manageable.

I got better at landing after the first few times, now I don’t even tumble on the rocks anymore. Thankfully my scales are pretty tough, or I would be hurting all over.

I wonder what the next game is gonna be though. We all got bored of the game when Mother and Father couldn’t raise their tails higher, and they stopped offering too.

I’ve seen Mother and Father acting agitated a few times together, flapping their wings and pointing to the sky with their heads, sometimes looking at us and exchanging sounds.

Are they trying to find a new game? I don’t really understand their noises, but I think they want us to fly out. I’ve wanted to try before, but Father and Mother wouldn’t let me or my sisters try.

The next few days were extremely boring. Me and my sisters tried new games, but they all got old really fast. So we kept bothering Mother and Father about it, and one day they finally gave us a new game to play.

***

Me and my sisters were equally apprehensive and excited for the new game. Mother was standing next to the opening, while Father was hovering close to the nest. Yes : the new game is flying!

For some reason Mother and Father look a little uneasy, and I have no idea why. But I need to focus. I am the first to try the game, and I can’t fail or I will hurt really, really bad. I don’t like to fail anyway.

I have seen Mother and Father leave the nest many times, but this time Mother was doing it slowly and carefully. She stood approximately 5 steps away from the opening, 15 steps for us. She looked at us one by one in the eyes, before facing the opening.

She took 3 steps while flapping her wings, a big jump accompanied by a strong flap, and she was flying. This confirmed what I knew. Mother flew a few circles in the sky before landing in the nest.

She took a moment to look at us, and I noticed the worry in her eyes. Father roared from outside, which made Mother blink a few times. She motioned for me to go with her head before taking a few steps away.

A little giddy, I went 15 steps away from the opening. As I faced the sky, I couldn’t help but stare at Father. Surely he will catch me if I fail?

No! I will not fail. I shook my head before focusing straight ahead.

Let’s go! Step. Flap. Step. Flap. Step. Flap. Jump! Flap! Flap! Flap!

Almost like a dream, I was flying in the sky. My apprehension and fear melted away as I relished in this new feeling. Expanses of green and brown below, blue and white above greeted my eyes, endlessly stretching to the horizon. I felt the warm embrace of the sun against my scales, and the wind washed over me like a tide. A multitude of smells entered my nose, each one giving me a different feel.

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As I put my focus below, I was stunned.

Never had I seen so many variations of the same colors. It was so beautiful, and I knew I could go anywhere I wanted.

I heard a roar behind me, and Father came up to fly next to me. Soon my sisters and Mother joined us. We exchanged looks and shared happy sounds. I was so happy. I love to fly and I love family.

***

The following days were by far the best. Not only can we fly whenever we want, as long as we stay close to the nest that is, but playing flying games is so much fun I don’t think I will ever grow bored of them.

The most popular game is catch. One of us is the hunter, and the other two are prey. If the hunter can’t catch a prey before Father or Mother comes back, they lose.

If you get caught, you become another hunter. Then it’s very hard for the last prey to escape two against one.

I’ve lost count of how many times we played catch. Every time I lose, I can’t wait to try new tactics. I tend to win more often, but I can’t underestimate my sisters.

When they both hunt me, they really get vicious and don’t hesitate to use their tails to hit me. One time I got a nasty hit to the head and almost fell in the big green. Thankfully it’s easy to stabilize in the sky.

***

As the days went by, I started to notice that the prey Mother or Father brought to the nest became smaller. Weird. Also, a few times when we were particularly hungry we devoured the prey until only bones were left.

I remember that never happened before. As I practiced flying alone in the sky, I kept thinking about it. I looked at the nest. From far away, it’s just a hole in a massive and tall rock.

A few trees were growing here and there on the rock. Some were small, some were big. But why were some small and some big? Why are we smaller than Father and Mother?

Out of curiosity, I went and landed near a bunch of trees. The area is above the nest and fairly large and flat, so it’s a good spot to take a rest. I approached the trees and examined them.

I came here two days ago, and they definitely got a little bigger. Could it be that the trees are growing? Hmm…

Then a flash of realisation hit me. But of course! The prey is not getting smaller, we are growing and becoming bigger! It all makes sense now.

That means we will grow as big as Father and Mother. But if that’s the case, food will become a problem. Maybe I can help Father and Mother catch prey?

With this new goal in mind, I flew down to the nest. Mother was half resting, half watching my sisters fly. The worry in her eyes has disappeared, but whenever she was in the nest she would always watch us closely.

As I landed, she looked at me with her head tilted slightly, a curious look in her eyes. After all, ever since I could fly, except for eating and sleeping I was always flying. Very different from my sisters who liked to take a rest every so often.

Now that I think about it, recently my sisters were no match for me in flying games, and so I spent more time flying alone.

I stood in front of Mother and started my explanation. I made jumping and catching moves, biting down and eating, accompanied by some roars and pointing outside with my head.

Mother watched me, confused at first, until she made big eyes at me. Satisfied at being understood, I stopped jumping and biting. Mother stood up and approached me, her eyes half closed looking at me strangely.

As she studied me closely, sometimes sniffing me, sometimes staring into my eyes, I was a bit taken aback. Do I smell funny?

Before the situation got too weird, Father came back to the nest, my sisters following him. Mother stopped her examination and called to Father.

She made similar motions to me, pointing at me and making sounds I don’t understand. Father made big round eyes at me, while my sisters watched curiously from the side.

Father silently stared at me for some time, before his gaze became serious. He started exchanging short roars with Mother, which grew in volume. Mother was getting a little agitated while Father would not budge.

I was getting worried. What on sky did I do? Mother and Father kept using sounds I did not recognize, and before I could figure it out Father loudly bellowed. It scared me and my sisters.

Mother retreated a few steps, her head hung low, staring at me worriedly from the side, but she did not argue with Father anymore. Father called out to me and gestured to the sky, before taking off.

I do not understand what happened at all, but at least the situation has calmed down. I took off and followed after Father, with no idea where this was going.