* * * * * * * 7 Year Time Lapse * * * * * * *

I bit into a piece of fruit and pulled it off the branch before spreading my wings and dropping off the branch I was perched on, letting the air pull my wings open and send me into a graceful glide. I flew down to land on a rock at the edge of a creek; it was a good place to enjoy some sun and get a drink while eating. I glanced at the paved path not far away and kept half an eye on the three aliens walking along it.

In an ironic twist of justice, about three months after the race of white aliens had wiped out the human race, a second race of aliens had returned the favor. Oddly enough, we could also understand this race as well. They called themselves the Kymari and were strikingly different from the first invaders.

They had a vague humanoid shape but stood about ten feet tall and were powerfully built. Their heavily-muscled bodies showed their strength, although they could move quite quickly when they chose.

All of them had dark green skin and black hair. Each strand of their straight hair was probably the thickness of a piece of spaghetti, giving it an odd flowing look when they turned their head.

For some bizarre reason, all of the dragonets had knowledge about both races of aliens, as if we had hidden knowledge or memories tucked away inside our minds. We had nicknamed those bits of sourceless information ‘Blood Memories’, for they seemed to come with our dragonet bodies.

These aliens were a race of fighters, peaceful only among their own species. They somewhat reminded me of the old-style Japanese culture, at least from what I understood from the old movies. They tolerated other races if they were on good terms or for trading, but that was about it.

This race tended to be the one that attacked any other aliens that stepped out of line or caused trouble in the area they controlled, which seemed to span across several galaxies. They weren’t a race that anyone wanted to attack since the Kymari would all band together in a fierce retaliation.

I examined the three walking slowly along the path. The males often wore some armor on their chest or forearms and tended to carry at least one or two weapons. I had never seen a female wear armor yet, although they usually carried a heavy knife on their belt. Every male I saw carried some sort of odd extendable spear that collapsed into a tube the size of their hand. A number of the males also carried some sort of energy weapon as well.

I preferred this race over the first one and was glad that they had displaced the white aliens. The Kymari had a respect for nature, and every city had dozens of parks inside. Not one trace of humanity could be found at this point. No building, car, tire, or piece of litter remained. The Kymari had erased all traces that humans had ever walked on this planet.

They had built sprawling, spacious cities that housed thousands of their kind, surrounded by high walls. They didn’t like to live as densely as humans did, which was a relief for us since there were fewer of them to keep an eye out for.

So far, they hadn’t realized that the dragonets were more than mere animals, tending to ignore us since we never bothered them and stayed out of their way. We still deemed it wise to avoid them as much as we could. We didn’t stray into the city streets and kept to the main park.

We all lived in the parks because strange and deadly animals not native to this planet now lurked outside of the city walls. Most of those creatures had been accidentally or intentionally released by the first white aliens.

The animals were fierce enough that the Kymari had built protective walls to prevent them from sneaking into their cities unnoticed. They were also dangerous enough to consider a dragonet a prime snack, forcing us to take shelter inside the Kymari city.

I spread my wings to catch the sun as I nibbled on the fruit that I had pulled from the tree. That type of tree had originated on another world, although the Blood Memories told me that the fruit was edible. The memories had proven to be reliable and trustworthy time and time again.

Thanks to those memories, I could name almost every plant here, whether it was native to Earth or not. I glanced around at the greenery as I chewed the sweet fruit; the Kymari had planted dozens of various types of fruit and ornamental trees, as well as leaving a number of the native ones.

This particular park resided in the middle of the city, and it was the largest one within its walls. It covered a huge area. It took me almost four hours to fly across it, and I wasn’t exactly slow on the wing.

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I glanced over as a Kymari child ran beside the three adults. Children were rare among that race and fiercely protected from any potential threat. Just one more reason to avoid them...

Hearing splashing and chirping nearby, I looked over and grinned as Drake’s fledglings played at the water’s edge. It was true, love would find a way. Whatever had been altered in our genes bred true as well.

The original dragonets may have hatched from huge eggs in the lab, but our eggs were smaller than a chicken’s egg. Every clutch always had two pearly-white eggs. Thankfully, the hatchlings inherited their parents’ intelligence and human heart.

Hatchlings were able to fly within about five days, although it took around five years before they were fully grown. At one year old, they were about as intelligent as a young adult human, which made things much easier for us.

So far, 24 had hatched since the lab was destroyed. The color of the hatchlings seemed rather random when compared to the parents, although the same colors appeared over and over. Red, purple, green, blue, gold, and silver in bright, shiny colors. Those with a red, green, or gold coloration were always female, while those sporting purple, blue, or silver were always male.

I didn’t have a mate; there had been far more females than males when we had escaped the lab. Although several in the new generation had reached maturity, it felt too much like robbing the cradle for my tastes to consider one of them. Almost all of the males had paired up at this point, and they faithfully remained with their mate. Several males hadn’t chosen a mate, but they showed no interest in pairing up.

Pairs seemed to form for life, as if it were written in our blood. Much like another race I have seen. I glanced at the four aliens leaving my view. The male Kymari mated for life, and if their mate died, they refused to consider another. The females occasionally remarried if their mate died and they were still young, but only after many years had passed to allow them to set their grief aside.

There weren’t as many dragonets as before; our numbers had dropped during our first year of freedom due to accidents, injuries, and wild animals as we had learned to survive in this new world. There were only 72 of the original dragonets left from the 108 who had escaped, although with the children, our numbers had finally climbed closer to a hundred.

I finished the fruit and examined the small fish that dared to eat insects near the surface of the slow-moving creek. Despite looking more like a miniature dragon, we favored fruits and plants.

Occasionally, we got a taste for fish or, more rarely, meat. Our sharp, retractable claws and teeth helped us land a fish up to half our size or bring a rabbit down. No bird was a match for us if we wanted poultry for dinner.

We were fierce enough that we could take on almost anything our size or smaller. Our speed in the air was impressive, and even on the ground, we were agile. We had a few tricks that even gave us an edge over larger creatures. We could breathe fire. Just like dragons.

It had been a learning curve when we discovered that little tidbit of information. The heat built up in the back of our long throats and could be released in a stream like a flame thrower or spit like a fireball. When I applied for that big scholarship in my fourth year of university, this is definitely not where I thought I would end up half a decade later. Going from a university student to a fire-breathing lizard was not in any of the fine print that I signed.

Mischievously, I dipped a wing tip in the water and flicked it at the two fledglings. They jumped as the cool water hit them.

“Hey! What was that for?!”

I grinned at their playful outrage. “No reason other than the fact that I wanted to.”

I jumped straight up into the air and beat down with my wings to build momentum as the two gave chase. I flitted through the tree branches and around the trunks in the high-speed chase with the ease of a bat. We were built for speed and maneuverability, although the two half-grown fledglings behind me still had the clumsiness of youngsters.

I weaved effortlessly through this part of the forest while the fledglings struggled to keep me in their sight. I noticed a large hawk flying by and made a swift detour to slash at its tail feathers with a fierce hiss. It swiftly picked up its pace and gained altitude as it attempted to leave the area as fast as possible.

A hawk as large as this one could potentially go after a fledgling, and I had lost too many friends among the dragonets during our first year in the forest to even consider letting an overgrown turkey harm one of our flock’s children. All of us were protective over any fledgling or hatchling.

I dove back into the tree canopy as the youngsters resumed their chase. A while later, I landed on a rock near their father. “Drake, please control your children.” My voice held humor, and I knew he wouldn’t take me seriously.

He blinked lazily from where he lay beside his mate. “Unless I am mistaken, you started that one.”

I grinned and flopped down as I spread my own wings in the sun. I replied, “You would be correct.”

The one fledgling landed on my back lightly, playfully exclaiming, “Got you!” His claws were retracted and didn’t pierce my scales.

I turned my long neck to gaze at him in amusement. “Considering I was lying down, if you hadn’t caught me, we would have needed to sit down for a long talk.”

His sister chuckled as he grinned and rolled off my back to land in the shallow water of the creek.

I turned back to Drake. “Any idea where the Morning Song is taking place tomorrow?”

He yawned. “Near the big oak in that field of flowers, just north of where the creek splits.”

I replied, “That is a good spot. We haven’t been there for some time. It might throw off our spectators.”

Drake’s mate snorted skeptically. She said, “I highly doubt that. They are quite persistent.”

I whistled a soft agreement with her opinion before we all fell silent as we enjoyed the sun’s rays.