Chp.15: The dragon's corpse

Haku looked at the place where his mother had left them. He had never been to the lakeside before. He had only seen it from afar, from the top of their cave.

Even though he was in a hurry and had to get to work, he couldn't resist the temptation to dive into the water. The fishes around him became frightened, but he was still able to grab one of them. It was slippery, but had a very savory taste.

While he ate the fish, he noticed that the water was barely up to his ankles. Which was strange, because he knew some streames that were much deeper. Looking out towards the lake, he noticed that the water in the distance had a darker color, a sign that it must be deeper. Apparently, Neytiri had left him and his siblings in a spot where the water was very shallow for several dozen meters. At first he wondered why, but then, when he looked again towards the center of the lake, he very clearly noticed long spines emerging for a few moments on the surface, and judging by how far apart they were from each other, almost certainly the creature that possessed them had to be at least twice as long as him and his siblings. Haku realized that if the land was teeming with dangerous animals, the water was probably teeming with more.

Even though it was unlikely that an aquatic animal of that size could reach him in the shallow water, Haku still preferred to go back to the beach. On land he felt safer. He looked at his siblings: most of them were trying to catch fishes, while some were chasing after lizards or frogs. They were taking their first steps as hunters.

Haku wanted to call them and explain to them how they had to behave if they really wanted to catch a prey, but unfortunately he didn't have time for that. Though a few days ago his plan had been to take his siblings out of the cave and teach them how to hunt, now the situation had changed. He lifted his head and sniffed the air, searching for that smell he'd made sure to memorize the day before. As soon as he spotted it, he walked into the forest.

However, he hadn't gone a few meters away before a sight he hadn't expected appeared in front of him.

Half hidden in the undergrowth there was a huge hole, and many trees around it had been snapped up, though the plants were rapidly growing back. And in the center of the hole there was a corpse. Despite it must have been dead for more than a month judging by its smell, it was still in perfect condition, as if time hadn't affected him... except for the head and part of the neck, which had been stripped down to the bone.

It was a dragon; it was impossible not to recognize it. The body was identical to his mother's, with two wings, a long tail and four clawed paws, and even though the bones were broken in several places that skull was unmistakable. Their scales, which were still extremely hard and were probably what had kept the body from decomposing, were gray with a slight tinge of red. And they were a real giant: Haku could easily get on their muzzle and lie down comfortably. They must have been even older than his mother, that was for sure.

Haku felt a shiver down his spine at the thought that that corpse was one of his kind, and that despite their size they had been killed. This reminded him once again that dragons, despite their power, were still just mortals. And the cause of death wasn't difficult to identify: looking at the broken bones of the head, Haku recognized the unmistakable marks of his mother's teeth. And after all, there was no creature in all the valley whose jaws were strong enough to crack the hard scales of a dragon to eat its flesh… except for another dragon.

"So it's true that she wouldn't mind eating us…" Haku thought. Apparently cannibalism was by no means uncommon among dragons. In reality, this didn't surprise him: he had noticed how many predators tended to eat their own kind after they died. After all, it was stupid to waste a food source, as prey were hard to catch. For a dragon it must have been even dumber, since they had a limited territory from which to draw food. However, among other predators this was only after their companion had died of other causes, such as old age or another animal; it was rare for them to kill each other. On the contrary, looking at the pierced wings and clearly broken neck bones, Haku realized that his mother must have killed that dragon. And by smelling the exposed part of the meat (at the base of the neck), he could recognize the scent: that was the meat that his mother brought to him and his siblings every day. Basically, the baby dragons had eaten dragon meat right up until the day they were born. This didn't disgust Haku, but it made him realize again how brutal and merciless was the dragon's way of life.

It was clear to Haku what had happened: his mother had killed that dragon and then slowly devoured them. The body was so large that she would have took months, maybe years to finish it, even despite the enormous size of Neytiri. After that slow stripping, what little she hadn't been able to eat ended up in the bellies of other scavengers, leaving only the huge skeleton that would surely havr been covered in earth and vegetation in a short time. And so the great dragon, despite their immense strength, would have been plunged into oblivion.

Haku looked at the huge skull in front of him, whose eye sockets were bigger than his own head. He almost felt like the dead dragon was watching him. And before he knew it he started a conversation with them. "So that's how it ended for you, mh?" he asked. "I guess it sucks. You were so big and powerful, and you sure terrified any creature when you covered the sun with your wings. Now what? What will remain of you?"

Haku didn't know why he was talking to a corpse, or if he was actually talking to himself, but he didn't care. Only that question crowded his head: now, what would be left of the great dragon? "A pile of bones, nothing more? Will this be your legacy? Is there anyone who will remember you?" he whispered. "Surely those who have seen you will remember you with fear for all their lives, but then? In a decade, or a century, who will still talk about you? Will there be anyone who will remember your name? Damn, is there at least someone who knows your name, or someone who ever knew it?"

Haku shook his head. "I don't want to die forgotten by anyone, like you" were his last words. Haku didn't want that to be his fate, but he knew it would have been so if he followed his mother's advice and teachings. He didn't know who that dragon was, or even just if yhey were a male or a female, but one thing was certain: living alone, sooner or later he too would have met a stronger enemy. And once he was killed, all that would have been left of him would have been nothing more than a handful of bones that would have soon vanished underground. The name, the deeds, the actions, the memory, all the good and bad experiences, everything would have been forgotten. An eternal oblivion, not different from a second death.

If Haku wanted to avoid that inglorious destiny he couldn't afford to live alone. At least that way someone would have remembered him, and he would have continued to live in their memories. He didn't aim to live forever, of course, but he hoped that at least his memory could defeat death.

While he was intent on admiring the monstrous corpse of the dead dragon, he heard a rustle behind him. However, he didn't snap like he usually did. He turned quietly to see Darbi emerge from the vegetation. "Are you here too?" he asked rhetorically.

Darbi remained silent for a moment, looking at the gigantic dragon corpse next to Haku. His eyes trembled a little. "That is..."

"Someone like us. Yeah. As you can see, even the strongest dragon can be killed" Haku murmured, kicking with his tail one of the bones, which crunched slightly. "Why are you following me? Didn't you embrace our mother's philosophy? Everyone thinks for himself?"

Darbi's body seemed to quiver for a second, then he lowered his head. "Haku, I... came to apologize. I thought about it all night and I realized that you were right. I acted like a coward and I didn't reflect well on my decisions"

Haku was quite surprised. He obviously planned to change Darbi's mind, but he didn't expect that his brother do it alone and so quickly, but instead it seemed to be the case. Haku wondered if it was because of that speech he had given him. Had he really been that convincing?

"Mother's philosophy is wrong. It's true, if we stay united we'll have to make a lot more effort to get food, but we'll also be better defended, more efficient, we'll be able to learn from each other and we'll be able to support each other" Darbi comtinued, and in saying so he looked at Haku fixed in the eyes. "So I'm sorry. You understood it right away and I not only backed down, but I also encouraged you to do the same. So... please, forgive me. I don't know what the future holds, but I want to be by your side. As brothers". He glanced at the corpse of the dead dragon. "We... we won't end up like that"

Haku let out a snort between amused and annoyed. "Were you listening to me?" he asked rhetorically.

"Only for a few minutes. I thought you were talking to yourself, but when I came out of the vegetation I realized you were arguing with… him... or her". Darbi shrugged. "It's not much different than talking to yourself, but I think this is more normal"

Haku laughed, knowing his brother was just teasing him. He was happy to hear those words. "I want to have you by my side too. You are my brother, and I will never abandon you" he said. "You don't have to worry, we will find a way. Together. Slowly, we will take all of our siblings on our side, and we will forge a new path. We will protect each other and we will defeat the absurd rules of this world. As brothers"

Darbi seemed to puff out his chest, but refrained from expressing his happiness. "Thank you" he said, then turned back to where he'd come from. "But you won't have to convince our siblings slowly"

"Mh?" Haku looked at the spot Darbi pointed to and his eyelids widened slightly in surprise. At least five dragon heads were sticking out of the vegetation and were watching them intently. When they understood that they were discovered, they came out.

"You should confide more in your family, instead of just using your brain, Haku. Sometimes all you need is a good argument and a lot of sincerity" Darbi said, amused by his brother's expression. "I talked to Tikka, Kotaru and Teramon about what happened yesterday, and I confided in them that you want to protect them. At first they didn't believe it, but then it didn't take them long to put two and two together and realized that taking your side it's the best choice. But they don't want to depend on you, so they claim to be able to help you"

"You… did you tell him what happened yesterday?" Haku asked rather confused. Recalling Darbi's reaction, he was surprised that his sisters hadn't shown any disappointment that their mother didn't love them.

Darbi let out an uncertain snort. "Well, yes... I told them how much we risked and that our mother told us what the philosophy of dragons is, and what you want to do" he answered. So he hadn't told their sisters that detail.

"And Keita and Kialandì?" Haku asked pointing to the other two sisters with them.

"Well, they joined us as soon as they saw us following you. When we asked them why they said they want to learn from you how to get by out here" Darbi replied. "After all, among all of us you are the one who knows the outside world best"

Haku let out a smug noise as he looked at the five sisters gathered in front of him. "Well, thank you for trusting me so much" was all he was able to say.

"Darbi is right, you should open with us a little more" Kotaru laughed. "You are the one who has helped us since the first time we ran out of food. You supported us when no one else did. How can we not trust you?"

"Yeah. You're our best brother" Teramon confirmed with a smile.

"Hey! I exist too, huh!" Darbi grumbled pretending to be offended.

"Sorry Darbi, but you're not quite up to Haku" Keita teased him. "You have shit instead of a brain"

Haku almost laughed as Darbi angrily lunged at their sister, rolling on the ground in a mock fight. He knew Keita didn't really believe in what she said and that Darbi knew it too, so there was no point in scolding her. They were just siblings teasing each other. These were the experiences he wanted to have forever. Not a solitary existence without any purpose except to survive, but a life spent together with his siblings laughing, playing, joking and making fun of each other.

That was a life that was worth to live.

He let Darbi and Keita play for a while, then decided they couldn't waste any more time. "Darbi, come with me. We have to get busy. Today we will hunt the most dangerous animal we have ever come across"

His brother looked at him confused, then his eyes widened as he realized: "Are you talking about…?"

Haku nodded. "Exactly. I will need all your help" he answered, then looked at their sisters. "You'll stay here. When we come back..."

"No way! We want to go with you!" Teramon protested immediately.

"Right! We have to protect each other, aren't you the one who say it?!" Kotaru exclaimed.

Haku snorted. "The animal I intend to hunt is very dangerous, and you are completely inexperienced. If you'll come, you will have to obey all my orders, is that clear? Are you still sure?"

"Mph! Do you need to ask? If we weren't sure, we wouldn't be here now" Tikka grumbled.

"Right! We want to learn from you!" Kialandì exclaimed.

Haku nodded. "Okay, then. This is what you'll have to do..."