In freedom I willingly serve; Epilogue.

Matthew looked across the cave he and Thyna shared, his legs folded around a single black egg. He was constantly checking the egg's temperature to make sure that the egg was comfortable. He was happy with their current situation. It still felt like yesterday that they were flying for their lives, fearing death. He sadly remembered little of the flight apart from a few moments before he was lucid, but the feeling when Thyna brought them over the mountain was still lingering.

And now? Well, it looked like they found paradise, an abandoned cave system in a mountain large enough for their newly formed pack to grow into a clan and green fields at the base of the mountain, in the valley. Each day Thyna came back from the hunt; she was excited with the amount of wild gain she could hunt.

Matthew placed a hand on the smooth black surface of the eggs and smiled down at it. Their little mystery. There were two ways Thyna could have been gravid with the eggs, both almost impossible. In the end, Matthew felt like it was his child, too. Even if Gyrt was the father, it was still his and Thyna's egg. The prospect of being a dad filled him with pride, while the prospect that he had to raise another hatchling filled him with terror. Thyna had always been a handful when she was little. He wondered how one of her hatchlings could be like, especially when the hatchling was going to be raised wild and not like those poor dragons whose only one moment of freedom was before their death.

In his worries, he let his mind roam free, roaming until slowly his vision drifted, and they replaced it with the vision of flying across a forest.

“Getting bored," Thyna said through their mental link. She instantly recognised the mind of her rider when it joined hers. Since they achieved a state of singularity during her last heat, Matthew has been dropping in on her mind during the hunt. Not that she minded, she enjoyed having her love with her.

“Missing the sounds of dragons around. It is always so quiet when you are all off on a hunt." Matthew replied, humming as he took in the forest's scent. Experiencing the world in the heightened scenes of an apex predator.

“Well, you know you are happy to join in any time. I just don't understand why you insist on using English. We don't have to… I know what you are thinking."

Matthew took a moment to reply. It made him feel uneasy to know that in this state, any individuality dissolved. “You know why I don't like that state of mind." He spoke.

“Yeah, although sometimes I feel you would rather become dragon yourself if you could do so." Thyna quipped back, feeling how Matthew's mind turned and twisted at her words. She gave a small snicker, liking to tease her rider.

“Sometimes Thyna, sometimes I wish I could just tie down your mouth."

“Promises, promises love." Thyna said back to Matthew. The forest changed to a field, casting the shadows of five dragons on the grass plains. In the distance was a herd of unsuspecting bucks grazing on the open fields. Matthew could feel the hunger, the lust for the hunt rising within Thyna, and no words had to be spoken. The last bit of their individuality melted away to become one mind in two bodies, regardless of the distance.

They changed speed, breaking away from the pack. It was time. The scent of fresh grass and prey rushed strong on their nose while they closed the distance. The herd of deer caught on with the situation and bolted. But one could not outrun a dragon, especially when multiple dragons were now closing in from different directions and driving the herd together into the open. The climax of the hunt was them closing their wings and falling out into the sky towards the ground, claws outstretched like a hawk.

With a loud thumb and a cloud of dust they crashed into their prey. The deer shrieked and bleated in fear while the rest of the herd ran away in all directions. It all came crashing together when they sank their teeth into the neck of the deer and delivered it from its pain. The metallic taste of blood sprang into their mind, the lust for the hunt stilled, as it made the hunger increase.

Slowly their minds drifted apart again, becoming two unique individuals again. Slowly Matthew was brought back into his own world, panting while his heart was pounding in his chest.

“I wish I could join you on the hunt again." He said to Thyna. There was something about it, something that made his blood boil. Something that made him feel alive.

“When our little one grown up more, we can, I would love to ask some of the other dragons to watch over the egg…but…" Thyna said but was interjected.

“You can't lose a dragon or else, you don't get an effective hunt, I get it. Come back, hurry, I am starving."

“We will, just a few more and we are done." Thyna answered.

Matthew slowly let the connection ebb away to have his senses take over, and the first thing he noticed was a crackling sound in the cave. Something was happening and in panic, he looked around. Was someone there? What about the egg? In fear for his little mental adventure caused him to lose the egg. He looked down.

Shocked his eyes widened when he saw a cracks like a spider web had formed across the top of the egg down the sides. At the centre of the cracks the shell was moving out periodically, budging out before more cracks appeared.

In fascination he looked at the egg, it was not the first time he watched a hatching, but this was filled with more joy, more energy than he had ever felt before. A claw pushed through one of the sides, the dark scaled limb beyond stretching. The little dragonette within the egg broke open more and more of the shell, using its front claws to pry open bits and pieces of the shell. Eventually the eggshell had weakened so that it split apart with some help of Matthew.

The freed dragonette had black scales with red swirls around its small body. It was not like any dragon he had seen before. She was unique, not ever carrying its mother's scales. Their eyes matched, the dragonette looking up at him. He never knew what it was that made him sure that it was indeed his child, but something in the eyes of the little dragonette just told him that instead it was his blood.

“Hello, little one." He cooed softly to the dragonette, letting her sniff his hand and get familiar with his scent.

“Thyna, cave now." He called to Thyna.

“Matthew?" She said back, some undertones of worry in her voice. “What is wrong?"

“Our child has hatched." Matthew said with a barely restrained joy in his voice. He could not help himself while he gazed down at his child, slowly pushing her head against his palm. The reply he got from Thyna was not much a sentence, as it was a more bundled motion of joy. She would be home quickly.

In the meantime, Matthew was sitting with his child against his leg, looking down with a smile at her sleek body. It was tired and lay down with her scales still wet from the liquids from the egg, shivering slightly.

“Hold on little one." He said, pulling his shirt from his body and using it to start to dry off her scales from the liquid. Then, he carefully picked the little dragonette up and carried her to their nest, taking a few blankets along the way to keep the dragonette warm and comfortable against him. It was in this state that Thyna discovered the two. She left her prey at the entrance of the cave and rushed over to her love nosing him before anxiously moving down and sniffing her child.

Matthew slowly unwrapped the dragonette, protesting too much protest of the small dragon, who mewled loudly at being removed from the warm and comfortable spot. Then she looked up with interest at the new dragon in its vision. Thyna licked the dragon, an instinct that she did even though I already cleaned the dragonette from the mess that was hatching.

At first, the dragonette was squirming and tried to get away. Thyna allowed none of it. Then, as Thyna continued and finished, the dragonette put a paw on Thyna's nose, burbling happily while it examined his mother. Thyna curled around the two, forming a mother's embrace around her love and her child.

“She is lovely." Thyna said and a soft rumble.

“So, she is a little dragoness. A dream come true for you." Matthew cooed to Thyna while rubbing her snout. “You know what I am thinking."

“I always know what you are thinking," Thyna quipped. “And I agree, Mistica would be a perfect name for her."

Matthew turned his attention to the little dragoness once more, slowly rubbing her head with a single finger. “Hello little Mistica, I am Matthew, your dad."

Mistica burbled happily, Matthew was not sure she understood, although the pleasant fuzzy feeling her mind gave off emanated familiarity with what he said. He sighed happily, letting himself fall back against Thyna's flank. A daughter. The weeks of fleeing and searching for a home were worth it. They were safe; they had a well-fed pack.

Matthew gazed at the edge of their cave, seeing the other dragons peering into the cave, curious about the new parents. No one dared to disturb the happy couple, though.

This was peace, this was tranquillity, he never imagined his dream to unfold like this, but none the less he welcomed it with open arms.