piratefiction Chapter 7 Daenerys
Chapter 7 Daenerys
Contract Dragon: Shadowflame.
Status: Newborn dragon. Satiety: 80% (Good).
Body length: approximately 0.43 meters. Weight: approximately 2.8 kilograms.
Growth stage: Hatchling stage.
Abilities: Basic fire breath (hatchling level, improved control), weak dragon's might, scale armor defense, sharp claws and teeth, wing bud development (active period).
Intimacy level: 30/100.
Improved control.
Wing bud development enters an active period.
Will was thrilled.
Shadowflame's growth rate, especially under such rudimentary conditions, is already astonishing.
This is certainly due to the strength of the Bellerion bloodline, but it is probably also related to the feedback and resonance of life energy after the contract.
But this also means they need more, higher-quality food.
Relying solely on catching a few small fry in this minor tributary will soon fall short of Shadowflame's growth needs.
Moreover, staying near the waterways close to the slums increases the risk of being discovered.
Shadowflame's size is increasing, and its features are becoming more and more obvious, with its pair of wing buds being a particularly conspicuous target.
He needs a new plan.
A more secluded foothold with a stable food source.
The area around Braavos...
Perhaps we could consider those more remote swamps or rocky beaches near the boundary between fresh and saltwater.
There may be more fish there, and there may also be birds or small amphibians.
Or, venture deep into those older, larger warehouse districts in search of rats or something else?
However, there may be homeless people and gangs of thieves entrenched there, posing a considerable risk.
As Will pondered, he quickly cleaned up the leftover fish bones and traces, washed his hands and face with river water, the cold stimulation making him more clear-headed.
Shadowflame seemed to sense Will's thoughts. Instead of trying to spread its wings, it walked to Will's feet, nuzzled his leg with its head, and then looked up at him with its dark golden vertical pupils, as if asking:
Where to go next?
Will bent down and picked up Shadowflame.
Xiao Long obediently nestled in his arms, his body heat seeping through his clothes.
"We need to go somewhere else, Shadowflame," Will said softly, his gaze drifting down the misty riverbed to where more open waters lay, and perhaps also more unknown dangers and opportunities.
"Go find more food so you can grow wings to fly faster."
Shadowflame let out a soft gurgling sound, as if in agreement, and its slender tail gently curled around Will's arm.
The morning mist gradually swallowed the figures of the man and the dragon.
Only the sound of the flowing river continued tirelessly, as if bidding farewell to this strange pair.
Even in a foggy port like Braavos, the summer sun possesses a formidable power.
For several days, Will led Shadowflame downstream along the waterway, trekking towards the more desolate saltwater and freshwater swamps on the edge of the city.
They lived by the night, avoiding human habitation as much as possible, and barely managed to make a living by relying on Shadowflame's increasingly keen senses and Will's more and more skilled wilderness survival techniques.
Shadowflame's growth is visible to the naked eye.
Its body length has exceeded half a meter and its weight is close to four kilograms. The wing buds that were originally the size of a palm have now unfolded a small part, forming a pair of fledgling wings that are about the size of an adult man's palm, covered with a black, semi-transparent, tough skin membrane, and with a slender but exceptionally strong skeleton.
Although it is far from being able to fly, or even glide effectively, it can already slightly increase the hang time of a jump during short-distance flapping, or maintain better balance while running.
Its flames are also more powerful and controllable. Although it can still only spew out scorching air less than a meter away, the temperature is significantly higher, enough to instantly ignite dry tinder or scald the surface of a medium-sized fish.
The price was an astonishing amount of food.
Fish, frogs, water snakes, and even the occasional unlucky waterbird in the swamp became Shadowflame's diet.
Will himself mainly survived on fish, a small amount of plant tubers, and bird eggs, barely maintaining his physical strength.
Shadowflame seemed to instinctively know that Will needed more food to maintain his mobility, and would occasionally nudge the relatively plump small animals he had caught to Will with his nose, while he himself would gnaw on the more unpalatable parts.
Contract Dragon: Shadowflame.
Status: Rapidly growing hatchling.
Satiety level: 75%.
Body length: approximately 0.55 meters.
Weight: Approximately 4.2 kg.
Growth stage: Hatchling stage.
Abilities: Basic Flame Breath (Hatchling level, power increased), Weak Dragon Might (slightly enhanced), Scale Armor Defense (enhanced), Sharp Claws and Fangs (enhanced), Hatchling Wings (initial unfolding, unable to fly).
Intimacy level: 45/100.
Intimacy level steadily increases through joint hunting, sharing food, and spending time together.
Shadowflame had developed a considerable trust in Will, allowing him closer contact and even leaning his warm body against him when he was tired, making low, soothing snores.
But the innate arrogance and predator-like coldness in its eyes did not disappear; it was just much more restrained when facing Will.
That afternoon, they took a short rest at the edge of a swamp with dense reeds and murky water.
Shadowflame lay on a small, dry mound, intently tearing apart a fat water snake that he had just pulled from the mud.
Will leaned against a crooked, withered tree, taking small bites of a sour and astringent swamp berry, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.
From deep within the reeds, an unusual sound suddenly rang out.
It wasn't waterbirds taking flight, nor were they ordinary small animals darting about.
It was human voices, suppressed arguments, accompanied by staggering footsteps and the rustling of clothes scraping against the reeds.
Will tensed up instantly and gestured for Shadowflame to be quiet.
Shadowflame immediately stopped eating, raised its head, its dark golden vertical pupils contracted, and looked in the direction from which the sound came. It made a very low, threatening hiss in its throat, and its fledgling wings subconsciously opened slightly, assuming a defensive posture.
Will quickly picked up Shadowflame and shrank into the deeper shadows behind the withered tree, holding his breath.
The reeds were pushed aside, and two figures stumbled out, appearing on a small, relatively open, muddy clearing at the edge of the swamp.
The person in front is a young girl.
She was very young, probably thirteen or fourteen years old, with a slender figure, wearing a coarse cloth dress that was obviously ill-fitting, covered in mud and grass clippings, and the once gorgeous embroidered edges were now tattered.
She was barefoot, her calves covered in scratches and mud.
A rare head of long, silvery-gold hair was disheveled and covered with withered leaves, but even so, it could not conceal the exquisite, even otherworldly face beneath it—pale skin, purple eyes, which were now brimming with tears of fear, anger and exhaustion.
She clutched a tattered little cloth bag tightly in her arms, her knuckles turning white from the effort.
Following behind her was a young man, a few years older than her, also dressed in rags and looking haggard, but with a deliberate arrogance in his eyes that seemed out of place with his current situation.
He chased after them, panting, his face a mixture of impatience, annoyance, and a barely perceptible hint of panic.
"Daenerys! Stop! Where are you going? Give me the things!" the young man growled in a low voice, trying to grab the girl's arm.
The girl named Daenerys abruptly shook him off, staggering backward, a stubborn flame burning in her purple eyes: "No! Viserys! This is the last bit of valuables we have! We can't trade it all for those moldy breads and rotten wine!"