A month passed and there were fewer accidents.
The wyverns bartered with the injured, old and rehabilitating ones.
The latter, three unfortunate women, including a male without family, scraped skins, collected bamboo and made traps together. The three of them watched over each other against the dangerous raptors.
At night I was wrapped up under the protective wings but I had nightmares that my parents were asleep or absent and that I was being pulled by the tail or legs to be eaten.
With my system I learned that I had the ability to breathe fire. Obviously, I took this skill along with a paralyzing breath. Without lighting, the breath was poisonous.
I came out of the cave, watched by Mother, and practised spraying a stinking, poisonous flammable liquid.
Mother stepped aside, horrified by the smell and looked at me sternly.
"PArdon MAman... MIR DEFENSE TRANCHANTS"
She understood that it was to defend me against the carnivorous predators called "Trenchants".
Then I took a wood and surrounded it with dry moss and bark cord and dipped it in the product of my throat and then I took two white quartz-rich stones and struck them.
I immediately had sparks that instantly set my first torch on fire.
This unlocked my fire-making skills, like the ones I had for fishing, thanks to the traps.
I held the torch and had the first fire.
Mum screamed and ran away.
"MOMMY DON'T BE AFRAID. GENTIL MIR!!!"
And I beckoned her to come closer.
The flame was small
"FIRE" is "FIRE!!!"
"Mommy don't touch. FIRE BITE!"
But she felt the heat and did not touch the flame. She was too scared.
Mum : "DANGER!
"NO MOM... FIRE CHASING SHARP NIGHT".
She thought about it and said to herself that I was right.
Then: "MUMMY HELP MIR TAKE WOOD... FEED FIRE EAT DRY WOOD".
It was hard for her to understand but after repeating it a dozen times, taking dry wood to feed the fire.
It was exhausting to repeat over and over again.
I wanted to cry... and I was afraid of having a short life... but I thought about it and told myself that dragons must live a very long time. Unless they were killed...
And here, the traces of wounds and arrows were a new proof of what I was saying.
Then Dad and my siblings followed me to see the flame.
Grandma and the other two wyverns saw cautiously.
And I shouted: "FIRE!!!"
"FIRE PROTECTS SHARP
FIRE WARMS COLD
FIRE COOK EAT
FIRE SMOKE FISH MEAT KEEP TIME OUT".
I showed the three wounded tinker wyverns how to make fire with dry moss, fire slime, wood and flints.
My young comrades all had fun making fire and soon every cave was lit.
At first there was chaos with the hissing and screaming of fear, but gradually there was no more fear.
Then I explained how to make torches with dense grass mesh, animal fat and finally the candles.
Hemp was stretched between bamboo and cooked animal fat was poured over it.
The remaining fat was devoured with great appreciation.
I also showed how to tan the skins, preserve them and how to fold and store them.
Soon the wyverns were making their alcoves to store their possessions and everyone was having fun with the useful items.
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Soon there were spearheads to defend entrances, doors to protect against predators, sometimes it was just a rolling stone.
Everyone had their own fire and torches.
Then the fish was dried and the first salt shaker was built to preserve the meat and smoke it.
The temptation was enormous because the salty, smoky taste drove the wyverns crazy.
But Daddy Alpha was scolding and the whole little world began to obey.
I held on to Dad. He was catching on fast now.
He realised that these reserves would get us through the winter without starving and the fire would save our fat reserves and not burn too many calories.
Spears and gates would provide protection from predators.
The "invalids" were now respected for their contribution to the nest.
In winter, there would be plenty of time to keep busy with torches and candles.
We got our first molts but kept them to make lanterns to protect the candles from the wind.
The weather began to cool and we went in search of elderberries and honey.
Dad helped me to make a kind of cooker with a hollow slab and a stand, but at 3 metres tall, I was beginning to be self-sufficient, my brother and sisters being only 1.5 metres tall.
We found wax and honey, which drove the whole tribe crazy... the smell of sugar, and then... honey cooked with elderberries... An antibiotic jam!!!, imperishable to make bandages, to heal sickness and pneumonia.
Slowly, we began to have a kind of tribal treasure. We even had sticks filled with cobwebs to make dressings and poultices.
Various poppy and opiate seeds were introduced, followed by dye and war paint.
The males went crazy when their females painted them with white and ochre colours to make them even more fearsome.
Then it was winter and all the galleries were enlarged inside to join up and form a troglodyte colony.
We had a fire, a supply of fish, bacon and salt. Of course, this was not enough, but it was a great help in hunting.
The dinosaurs slowed down or went into hibernation while we were in great shape, more united than ever and Dad and I were the little and big tribal leaders.
A large room was enlarged and the hunters gathered there and with the language, derived from English with hissing, reinforced S's, they reached the technological level of the Sapiens.
A revolution, separating our tribe from the animal world forever. Even though we were intelligent monsters.
Thus, all had access to the "primal system", which was still very far from the human systems given by the gods.
There were so many gaps, but now we had to establish our territory and chase away intruders, like the griffins and eagles that continued to be active in winter.
That's when I expanded our arsenal
The most effective was the hunting net.
Four to eight stones were tied with leather straps to form a kind of net in which the wings of the enemies would get tangled. A strap held by the other leg and double-tipped spears held in the tail to slice sideways in mid-air.
Spears attached to the back to skewer enemies.
and stone bombs in a net to be flipped over to stun but above all to stun the fleeing prey.
Gaiters were put on the legs to save heat but above all to avoid stupid wounds from a prey turning around or trying to skin the wyvern. They were made of dried, fire-hardened boar skin with rabbit skin reinforcements.
For Dad, a kind of sock had been made to keep his tail warm and prevent exhaustion.
Soon, the rain and wind forced us to stay in our caves where it was nice to live.
The wood reserves were sufficient and in winter, when the weather was good, we could still dig up a few trunks and bushes here and there.
That day, the blizzard was painful and half of the colony was already dying.
Dad: "I, Alpha, would like to thank Mir and his big head. Our lives are better and soon our suffering will be over.
HISSS HISSS HISSS and CLAP CLAP CLAP did all the wyverns with their tails.
But 15 adults including 3 HS and 20 small ones... it was little for a village but a lot for the stomach.
A month passed and I left with dad and mum to hunt.
Croa stayed on her back to learn too and my sisters stayed to tinker with Mamy wyverne.
The little "Blanche" that I had saved followed me everywhere and she could climb on her daddy who accompanied us on the hunt.
We had made a map of the area on stone and we marked out the hunting and renewal zones, a sort of fallow land so that the prey could renew itself.
But this hunt was dangerous and we had to kill and hunt griffins that had come close to our area.
They had certainly exhausted their territory and were leaving to explore others.
We had to watch out for their beaks but also for the claws on their front legs.
We would fall if we used our front legs.
Our back claws were more powerful but the griffins could eliminate us by tearing our wings.
The length of our tail was an advantage and the poison very powerful.
There were 4 of us adults including mum and we flew in close formation with our spears/harpoons attached to our backs.
I also had a few spears on Dad's back, which I could throw with speed.
It was then that I saw with horror 6 adult griffins charging at us from below.
Big mistake
"DAD! BACK TO THE SUN!"
And we kept our formation, which worried the griffins
They were about 20 feet long but with legs as wide and big as ours, well, I'm talking about mum and dad.
Their head was that of a white eagle and their beak had little ripples in it, like saws, so that they could shred and cut their prey.
But while they had the claws and hindquarters of a lion, their front legs had very long, piercing eagle claws.
They would clamp their prey on their claws and it was always the end for the victim. Not to mention a horrible death with the belly torn apart, beak after beak.
SKRREEEEEEE!
said the griffins, flapping their wings vigorously.
To them we were cold and hungry lizards, and especially weak. We were their meal.
But as explained, Mum and Dad and the others charged forward 4 by 4 with their spears beyond the reach of the griffins' talons and with speed...
We were above them, on patrol, and the speed saved us from running out of breath, and the spears impaled three of the griffins, who screamed in pain and surprise.
I threw smaller spears but managed to get two into another griffin.
Three of them stung and the other two wounded were panic-stricken.
"BOLA WIRE" I shouted.
And the two males stretched a rope and the net got caught in the talons of the last intact griffin.
Mum and Dad slit the throats of the other two with the spears in their mouths, sideways.
It was a carnage!
The whole tribe was called to collect the 6 slaughtered griffins.
I decided to keep the skins, beaks and feathers and their monster crystal for later.
Dad : "We are going to finish the nest of griffins?
I started to think... but it was dollars to my eyes.
"NO... we are going to... Raise the griffins and sell them!"
Mum didn't understand... but it was too vague, and I wasn't ready yet but I had plenty of ideas in my head.
It wasn't that I wanted to rebuild a civilization, but I was having a great time building a tribe of monsters and bringing them up to a human level. Plus, I loved every member of the tribe. They were aunts, uncles and brothers to me and Blanche was making love to me but the others also saw me as a powerful male for later.
I didn't doubt it for a moment...
Of course, I forgot that fire makes smoke, and in winter, smoke can be seen from far, far away.