Redeem felt like his head was being banged on like a drum. Blood pulsed loudly in his ears, and his bones felt limp and heavy.

Light shrunk his pupils and stung his eyes. But, despite all the pain, Redeem pushed through to crack open his lids and peer out at the world around him. Hues of green and blue flashed around him, eventually transforming and solidifying into familiar shapes. Unburdened by midnight shadows, the forest around looked wide and open. Either that or Redeem had been moved.

Water rushed nearby, irritating Redeems' headache as he came to. Redeem shook his head, trying to rid himself of his headache and also focus his pupils.

"So, you are alive," An irritated voice said, silencing the rush of white noise in Redeems' ears.

Redeem blinked, moving his forelimbs and hauling himself into a sitting position. Closer hues of purple suddenly barred his view of the landscape, and as it came into focus, Redeem instinctively began crouching.

"What are you doing?" The purple blob asked.

Redeem was still shocked by the sound of a voice in his ears. And even more shocked to hear the voice from a dragon-shaped blob. Despite the shock, Redeem recalled being chased and tackled. Irrational as it was to try to battle this dragon—especially when he had survived at her mercy whilst being knocked cold—his spinning brain told him that this was what he had to do to survive.

Obviously, he'd only been out for a few moments, and clearly, this was his chance to escape. Right?

[False]

With a battle cry that sounded like a strangled cat, Redeem lunged to try to tackle the much larger hatchling.

The purple dragon stepped back against the force but then easily struck back, thrusting Redeem away. Brain still rattled, the blue hatchling got up with a vengeance and ran at the supposed rival.

This time, the other hatchling was ready, and instead of fighting with her paws she used a seemingly magical skill. Suddenly, the ground shook, causing Redeem to stop dead and look around in confusion. All too quickly, purple gems shot from the ground like brambles and caged in Redeem, pointing inward.

Panting with effort and adrenaline, Redeem took in the cage of sharp minerals and then cast a stunned gaze at the purple dragon. She was glaring and crouched, with a sneer contorting her face. Lashing her tail, she snorted out a puff of hot air.

"Don't mess with me, runt," she snarled.

Redeem was taken aback. "That's not very nice."

Eyeing the purple crystals, Redeem collected his tilted vision and lifted a paw to touch the tip of one of the nearby amethysts. Before he could, however, they retracted into the ground, leaving nothing but a circle of disturbed soil behind.

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Redeem planted his paw and then tilted his head at the female hatchling, taking her in.

She was not actually a purple blob, but long-necked and strongly built. This dragon was close to the body type of the one Redeem had first seen, the one who had killed his family. Except she was covered in glittering and smooth scales of dark purples and violets. A number of differences were apparent after first glance. The female hatchling wasn't very long, and she was much more stocky than the comparably scrawny Wind dragon, but she still appeared agile. As well, her scales were smooth and round, making her much less intimating in that single aspect.

"What are you looking at?" She hissed, noticing the staring.

Redeem shrugged. "What's your name?"

"What?"

Redeem considered this and then shrugged.

"I want to know your name."

The hatchlings faced one another, Redeem appearing relaxed and his rival looking baffled.

"Miracle," she said, voice ringing.

After a brief silence, Redeem snorted and started cackling, rolling backwards into grass.

"What?"

"That's a stupid name!" Redeem giggled, limbs flailing.

"Well what's yours!" Miracle roared.

"...Redeem."

—silence—

Miracle's expression of anger turned to one of amusement. Suddenly she was sputtering with her own laughter.

Redeem felt his ears steam. "Stop!" He commanded.

Miracle growled with amusement. "Such a stupid name! For an equally stupid dragon!" She accused.

Redeem lashed his tail, stepping across the line of dark soil to close space between them as he narrowed his eyes.

"So, Miracle, why didn't you end me? You seemed pretty keen on it last night."

Miracle tilted her head. "Well ya, you were a stranger and you aren't my class, so, we are just… naturally enemies… don't you know anything?"

Miracle gave Redeem a look of genuine concern.

Redeem rolled his eyes. "No, actually my entire family was murdered, moments after I was hatched," he spat.

Miracle tilted her head back, taking him in again with considering violet orbs.

"My family was taken… so, I guess we are sorta the same… except, you are an elemental," Miracle said, turning away promptly afterward and shrugging.

Redeem stared after her, eyes bugging. It wasn't anything new for Redeem to feel out of the loop. For a moment he wanted to ask his system, but the prospect of getting answers from someone flesh and blood felt much more interesting.

"Elemental?" He asked, and in the same moment, a dead rabbit was dropped at his paws.

Miracle stepped back, eyes guarded. "Eat up, and get out of here. I don't need a rival for this territory."

Redeem took in the dead rabbit briefly, and then turned his eyes back to Miracle. "Wait… I have to leave?" Redeem struggled to follow.

Miracle snorted, wisps of hot air coming out of her nostrils.

"Right, I forgot… well… for now I will let you live, but things won't be so simple when we become fledglings. I don't want to deal with that, so I need you to leave, and find your own place to grow." Miracle sounded firm, and genuine.

The prospect of dying made Redeem gulp. Did dragons really think so little about taking each other's lives?

Redeem blinked away his concerns. "Okay, can we back up to what an elemental is please?"

Miracle made an increasingly annoyed face before saying, "Eat and I'll explain, and then you to get out of my scales."

Redeem nodded, and crouched to eat. Eating a cold dead rabbit wasn't as gross when you felt as hungry as Redeem did, but the process wasn't exactly pleasant. As Redeem struggled to figure out how to get past the sight of guts, Miracle prepared to explain.

Pacing, Miracle began, "Elementals are fire, water, rock, and wind. Those elements make up the contents of all dragons, but you specifically, being a Wind dragon, are an elemental."

Redeem swallowed a mouthful of raw meat and then eyed Miracle.

"So, what are you?"

Miracle paused in her thoughtful pacing. "I am an Amethyst dragon."

Redeem took another bite and shuddered with disgust at the sensation in his mouth.

"So… earth right?"

"What's earth?"

"Rock right?"

"Oh… well, yes, but my correct type is Mineral dragon,"

"Isn't that just... A rock ?"

Miracle summoned crystal from the ground again, this time at her paws. The purple crystal glinted in the morning sun. It was the same height as Redeem and so peaked a few inches below Miracle's chin.

"Does this look like a rock to you?"

"Yes,"

"Finish your food, and get out of here!" Miracle blazed.

Redeem flinched, and quickly chomped down more rabbit, grateful but annoyed. When he had had his fill, he stood up and spoke, "Thanks for the rabbit… Can you tell me one more thing?"

"What…" Miracle grumbled.

"What kind of dragon has red stripes down its sides, is all black, and eats other dragons,"

Miracle glanced over, suddenly still and silent. Redeem felt his system's presence appear in his head.

In unison, they both said.

"A Blood Dragon"

[A Blood Dragon]