I was exhausted, my head against the air mattress.

The sound of air bubbles and waves hitting the bottom of the inflatable.

Then I remembered all my adventures but it was like the distant past yet not so distant but I was a young beast. A baby dragon

Seagulls circled my boat and I couldn't even lift my head.

The loss of one of my brothers... it was tragic... I wasn't strong enough.

I had no powers left.

Everything was like... asleep

As if part of me was still in the egg.

I had no idea where I was, but I could see a line on the horizon. It was land!

The sun was setting early, so we must have been at the equator. The heat was terrible and I was thirsty, very thirsty.

In the distance, I heard ships' sirens and their trail of steaming diesel smoke rising into the sky.

If they found me?

What would become of me? My siblings? The Russians? The Americans?

I didn't even have the strength to cast a "Feast" spell for water.

I had used all my remaining strength to drag eggs my size to escape.

To top it all off, I was feverish and dehydrated.

The sun was an anvil and, little by little, I was losing my strength and couldn't lift my head.

Then the sound was as if underwater and I saw a young island boy above me shouting in an unknown dialect "he's alive".

Then I felt myself rise, my eyes half-open, and he jumped onto the stern of a rather large white yacht.

A fat, white-haired, bearded man helped him aboard.

I was put in a blanket in the shade, then he took a blanket and mounted the 3 eggs.

Each egg was a different color and the scales on them were different too.

Then the "dad" or "granddad" took me like a baby in his arms and gave me a glass of water.

"He's an absolutely incredible creature or some species we don't know about but he looks like a newborn!"

"Grandpa... Grandpa...are we going to keep him? He looks so cute!"

Milo: "It's not a crocodile, it's much too big and the eggs are enormous... We'll just have to see how this little one behaves until it hatches."

I held my cup on both legs and swallowed the water as if it were the last glass in the world.

As soon as it was empty, I pointed to the plastic cup for more.

"Hey, you're clever!..." said Milo, smiling.

Oum: "Do you think the coastguard will take it?"

Milo: "I don't know, but I think our lives will change if I believe what I see is what I believe...".

"Wow Grandpa... you're the best.."

The water was doing me a world of good and, slowly, I was getting better, but I was exhausted and, like a baby, I clung to my savior's arm, rubbed my head in thanks and then fell asleep in his arms.

I was put on a cushion and stroked. I felt it was Oum watching over me.

I slept lightly but I heard her say

"Who are you? You really are a beautiful creature... Maybe you're an escaped dinosaur from Jurrasic Park? Or a secret lab?

He stood up and closed the door of the cage I was in.

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There were several empty cages and others with tropical animals?

Oum watched the military inflatable float away, carried by the currents.

"Grandpa, what if we puncture the zodiac? If the Coast Guard finds it, we might be able to trace it back to us..."

"You're right, Oum." Then he grabbed an oar, pulled the zodiac closer to his yacht and looked left and right. No other boats in sight, except a container ship on the horizon.

"Grandpa, where do you think the inflatable came from?"

"It's an inflatable from the Devil's Island War. Saint-Brandon where the whole fleet fought against the evil hydra...There are inscriptions in French, so, it must be from this area."

So you think they're dragons?

"There's a good chance, but we don't know much about them and there are only a handful. Four, I think, with one locked up in a maximum-security prison."

"Grandpa, do you think they're mean? Or are they going to be?"

"They're just like people... You've got good people, criminals and smugglers like us.."

"Are you going to sell them back?"

"Do you want to die?"

"You're scaring me, Grandpa.."

When they grow up, they'll get their revenge... and we're just a bunch of punks. Whoever catches them will eliminate us so as not to leave any witnesses... you know the milieu..."

"And what are we going to do?"

"Didn't you want a little brother? And M'A will be happy to raise little ones in the 'village.'"

The engine purred, and in a way, I calmed down a little.

I understood that we were going to a hidden place and that we wouldn't be sold, not immediately, and it must be a blessing in disguise to have stumbled upon these traffickers.

It was a chance to be seized, and I had to do everything I could to stick to the grandfather...

The night passed and it was the kid's turn to stay the course.

I slept like a sack of potatoes and the old man looked at me.

"Who can you be? What's your story? We don't want to hurt you.

The boy was swarthy, relatively light-skinned, but his grandfather had ebony-black skin that contrasted with his tput white hair and white chest hairs.

They must have been Malagasy or Mauritian or Reunionese, but the dialect was special, and only my dragon faculty allowed me to understand all languages, even what the animals said or wanted.

They closed the hatches and another boat approached.

A siren sounded.

The Coast Guard...

The military boat slowed down and threw its searchlight in the direction of Oum, who stopped the engine and raised her hands.

An officer said: "Probably tourists, it's late...let's go".

Then the boat restarted and continued on its way.

Milo climbed out of the hold.

"Did they leave?"

"Yes...it was a good idea, this tourist boat.."

The tension eased and they came back down to me.

Oum opened the cage, beckoned me closer and, like a child, I climbed into his arms and he carried me to the kitchen and placed me on the bench overlooking the black Indian Ocean night.

My claws weren't long, my teeth were still quite short, and my horns were little stumps that had just pierced the skin.

I wanted to speak, but only hissing and yelping came out of my mouth.

and I lifted my front paws so that he could take me in his arms.

"You like hugs. You look nice."

Then I began to purr in response to the kindness.

Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry, like a shock, and put my muzzle between his arm and his belly, as if to hide in a hole.

Milo came closer and I stretched out my arms to cry against him.

He caressed my neck, as if consoling a child.

He turned his head towards the eggs...

Then he opened a can of tuna, mixed it with milk and bread and handed me the bowl.

It was delicious and went down on its own.

Then he held my front paw and we descended to my cage.

"If you want to get out, call us!"

I confirmed with a little whimper.

Oum looked at his grandfather Milo, "Do you think he understands us?"

He pinched his beard and chin...

"Absolutely... it's not a varan but a dragon..."

"Do you think it could be a Lizaros? One of their young?"

"No...they are bloodthirsty predators and feed only on raw meat. Here, it ate like us and showed signs of affection. and unlike an animal it would have growled in its cage or when we approached. It will be easier for M'A and maybe our gods will come back for our people with the return of the dragons."