“Whoa, okay. It’s all right, calm down.” Oncian’s urgent words cut through his panic, bringing the cave and dragons back into focus. A dull ache remained in his trembling limbs.

Oncian stretched out on his belly, crossing his front legs as he brought his face down to his level. “I wagered, from what you said before and your confusion, that your data file on your previous life is closed, correct?”

The hatchling winced, remembering the electric shock which came with any attempt to remember his past. “Yes, that’s what the voice said, anyway, and I get a shock every time I try to think about anything specific.”

Oncian cocked his head. “The voice? Ah, you must mean Aisha. That’s what the server’s AI is called. As for the shock, it’s rather annoying, isn’t it? It has something to do with the system not actually being able to erase memories, so it forces you to just not think about them.”

He’s talking about it like he’s felt it before…. “Is yours closed, too?”

“Yep. Although I’ve been a Rebirth for long enough, it rarely happens now. Whatever happened to me was awful enough my family sacrificed our time together to give me a fresh start here. I wager it’s the same for you. Of course, by your reaction, I’d also bet the system’s having a hard time clamping down on all of your past trauma. Don’t worry, it all will fade after a while.”

Arianrhod jumped in place like an excited puppy. “In the meantime, we get to show you the ins and outs of being a dragon, which is only the most awesome and incredible race in M and M!”

A memory of a small, colored candy popped into his head. “M and M?”

“Yeah, Myths and Magic! That’s what this Rebirth iteration is called. It’s high fantasy, high magic, high adventure, and you get to see it from the top, lucky… uh…” She stopped bouncing and stuck her nose closer to his. “Are you a boy or a girl?”

He veered away from an emerging memory. He was more than done with painful shocks. “My character sheet says male, but no idea what I was before… here.”

Arianrhod nodded.

“Memories are funny things,” Oncian said. “They’re all tied up together. The program only targets memories that are linked to traumatic information, but so much in our lives is linked, like a spider-web. Lock away one juncture, and you mess up every string which leads back to it by accident. How much it ultimately leads to differs for every Rebirth. It seems your traumas are quite widespread.”

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The hatchling frowned. All the talk of things he wasn’t allowed to remember, but were drawn to anyway, was giving him a headache.

Arianrhod shifted her attention to Oncian. “Hey, how do you know all that?”

Oncian shrugged his shoulders, a very human mannerism that looked rather strange on a draconic feline. “Like our new Rebirth is probably aware, Aisha is quite happy to tell you to contact the admins if you think something is amiss. I got curious and got more of an explanation than I bargained for. Quite the learning experience.”

Cavua chuckled. “We both know you need all of those you can get.”

“Easy, now.” Oncian head-butted Cavua and laughed. “We have to keep face in front of the kids.” He turned back and arched his neck. “Anyway, what I was trying to get to, not remembering if what you were in your old life isn’t uncommon with closed user data, and honestly, it doesn’t matter. It didn’t always matter in life, and it matters even less as a Rebirth.”

The hatchling shifted back and forth, grimacing. The image of his mostly blank personal info searing into his brain. ‘His choice’ sounded nice in theory, but with nothing to base it off of, it felt more like floating, lost in an endless ocean without a landmark in sight.

Cavua seemed to pick up on his distress. She reached out a two-fingered hand and bumped him under the chin with the back of a black claw. “Why don’t you start by thinking up a name? We can help, too, if you want.”

He latched onto the idea, his rising panic slowing. “Yes, please!”

“Hmm,” Oncian said. “In that case, what about a good, strong dragon name such as Fafiolnir?”

Cavua and Arianrhod laughed.

“Bless you,” Cavua said.

Oncian frowned at her. “What’s wrong with Fafiolnir?”

“I think we should try something easier on the tongue. What about Azure, or Indigo? He’s got those colors on his scales.”

“Not just those, though.”

While the two adult dragons continued to debate on the best name, Arianrhod walked around him in a slow circle while staring at his multi-colored scales. She stopped without warning. “Peacock!”

Cavua and Oncian’s heads swiveled their way.

Arianrhod started bouncing again. “Yeah, Peacock! The way the blue on your head runs to purple on your body, then green on your tail, totally reminds me of a peacock!”

“Well, I suppose you’re right,” Cavua said. “But it’s a bit…”

“Too simple?” Oncian suggested.

“Exactly.”

Arianrhod snorted. “Seems no simpler than Indigo. Besides, it doesn’t matter what we think of the names, does it? So, what do you think? Any of our suggestions sound good?”

All eyes turned to him, awaiting judgment on his choice of monikers.

Getting names thrown at him rapid-fire was just as overwhelming and disorienting as having no name at all. He had been hoping the others would decide on their own. The weight of their gazes said otherwise.

“Peacock is fine!” he blurted out. “I’ll put it in right now.”

Arianrhod let out a whoop.

He brought up his character screen. With a thought, the blank space next to NAME filled in. Peacock wasn’t terrible, and he could always change it later. He sighed in relief, born from equal parts of having a name, and stopping the debate about him among the other dragons. He was finding he didn’t enjoy being the center of attention.

Peacock dismissed the screen in time to see an orange and yellow blur rush toward him.