Rebelling against our adoptive mother, me and my sister explore the caves to find...?

It's been two years since then- mostly just spent sleeping, eating, and eventually re-learning how to walk and talk. Not exactly the most interesting life, but such is that of a child.

...The skips in time haven't stopped, though.

There's never much of a rhyme or reason, sometimes it'll be a small amount of time like that first one, sometimes it'll be a few hours needing to be redone. Sometimes it'll be one blip of time being repeated multiple times in a row. It's incredibly frustrating, but by now I've started to go numb to it, for better or worse.

Honestly, the biggest struggle was the aforementioned walking and talking. Having the mental maturity of someone in their late 20's yet the physical faculties of an eight year old is very straining when you're beaming with energy yet have a hard time with articulating what you're trying to say.

Oh, right. Dragons mature fairly quickly-- kobolds too, for that matter. At least, in terms of the entire "newborn-to-teenager" section of your life. I'm expected to hit my equivalent of teens within the next few years-- where, unlike kobolds, I'll be riding the golden age of my youth until my 30's, ironically enough (I was 27 when I had passed into this life). Past that, it's slow going until I hit adulthood at the ripe age of 200. Apparently, I'll even be hitting a state of awakening when that time comes-- whatever that means.

Dragons live in the thousands of years, to be clear.

At least, this is what I've been told from Elioxus-- apparent dragon enthusiast that they are. None of these kobolds have ever seen a dragon before, for all they know a toddler dragon speaking with the intellect of an adult is normal. But still, all this is to say I've got a long time to be thinking about how I spend my life.

Provided I'm not killed, of course.

Speaking of the kobolds, though, most of them still continue to dote on me as the Pento of legend-- or at least, the reincarnation of such. On that matter, apparently they never had a name the legendary dragon of yore-- until now. Didn't mean to push my finger on the scale of history, but yet here we are.

I still feel weird being treated as a legendary figure, especially given I wasn't anyone special in my past life, and I don't really think I'll ever get used to it. Such is the hand you're dealt, I suppose.

"Pentoooo!! Arethon to Pento!"

A chirpy voice brings me back to the present, after spending so long reflecting. It's of Khil'nub, the young kobold who's been my older sister since I got here. I guess I shouldn't spend so much time reflecting in my youth. That's for the me of 200 years from now to worry about.

"Sorry, sorry."

"You've gotta focus!" They lean in to whisper. "Tonight's the night we're sneaking out of the village, remember?"

I'm still pretty sure this is a terrible idea, but there's a juvenile part of me that wants to see it through anyway.

To be clear, we're not going into the forests outside of the cave-- Mom has explicitly barred us from that. At least until we're older. No, we're going deeper into the caves. Why? ...Just 'cause we were curious. Or at least, Khil was curious. She's two years older than me, so she's probably starting to reach a rebellious phase, and she figured this wasn't leaving the cave, so it should be fine. She's not really dragging me along, given I'm also curious, but I'm a bit reluctant. The mystique of the deeper caves have always left me unnerved. Even still, I'm pushing past my anxiety, mainly just because I want to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble.

"Is that mom's spear?"

"Y-yeah." She's nearly falling over trying to carry it over her shoulder like mom does. "We can use it to look big and scary if anything comes up!"

I laugh as she struggles. "Hold it with both hands! You're not gonna look scary if you're falling over trying to carry it." She pouts, before doing so.

"Now let's go! Before mom finds out it's missing." She quickly moves to sneak out of the bounds of the village, only barely letting me keep up with her stride. I'm honestly impressed that she's able to move so quickly despite struggling with the spear just a moment ago.

Once we reach the border of the village-- or at least, what most of the members have decided upon as the border, apprehension begins to take over. 'Are we really going to do this?', the two of us wordlessly ask each other. Childhood defiance dies in the face of consequence, as it were.

"If you're getting cold feet..." I say, trailing off meaningfully.

"Cold feet?"

"Like, if you don't think we should do this."

"I do, though!" She pouts. "Mae's such a nag, always telling me what I can't do. I hate it!"

Calling mom by her first name. A classic way to reject the authority of your parents when you're young.

"But... this could be dangerous."

"Yeah? That's what the spear's for, dummy!" We laugh it off, both still nervous at the idea of doing this.

There's a rational part of me that knows I'm endangering a child, but a child part of me that's irrational and wants to do it anyway.

But, before I can make sense of my conflicting desires, Khil has already left to explore.

"H-hey, wait up!!" I rush to catch up, really hoping my wings come in sooner rather than later. I'll accept my chastising from Exgrave when me and Khil are safe and sated.

Having crossed beyond the borders properly, Khil's pace slows down considerably. Since her excitement has dwindled, she's taken a more steady pace as to not draw too much attention to any untoward cave-dwellers.

None of which we actually see. Turns out, caves tend to have a whole lot of nothing.

Moving further and further down the tunnels, it's getting increasingly apparent that our curiosity may not be rewarded. Both of us are honestly more relieved than disappointed.

Might as well make some conversation to pass the time, though.

But... what do we even talk about?

"Hey... Khil?"

"Yeah, sis?"

"Can I ask you something personal?"

She stops in her place, curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, what?"

"Do you have a dad?"

...

No- dammit. That's not how I meant to word it.

She laughs, caught off-guard by the question, though seemingly not uncomfortable.

"I do, yeah. I think Mae said his name was Crux? But he's a slave now, or whatever that means."

"Oh." How... grim.

"And I don't know anything about my real mom. She died before I hatched, so." She speaks with the casualness of someone who either doesn't understand death, or has had to come to terms with it as a regularity far too soon.

"What was her name?"

"Kerr, I think. People really liked her. Dad was trying to uh... umm... What's the word when someone hurts someone and you want to get back at them for hurting that person, again?"

"Avenge?"

"Yeah, that's it!" She beams. "You're so smart, sis. But yeah, I heard dad was trying to avenge her, and that's how he got captured and turned into a slave."

I'm floored at how calm she is about this-- it honestly pisses me off. Not at her, of course, but the fact that she has to go through all of this at such a young age. No tears, nothing. Just a simple fact of life for her.

I think she notices my anger, as she pats me on the head.

"If I'm not mad, you shouldn't be mad. I've got you, and I've got Mae, right?" She smiles.

Before I can respond, a weird wet sensation suddenly takes over my legs. Turning around, I realize a slime has bumped into me, partially submerging my back half with its body.

"Ahh! Pento!" Khil jumps in startlement. "Are you okay?!"

Well, I don't feel my legs dissolving, so I'd say I'm fine. I nod in acknowledgement, not wanting to scare her by presenting the alternatives being engulfed in a slime could have.

"It's just a slime. It's harmless... I think."

Still, it rushed in fairly quickly. almost as if in a hurry. We need to find out why before it finds us.

"Keep Mom's spear ready-- I think something must've scared this slime." The two of us struggle for a bit to pull my legs out of the slime, but we manage to do so.

"Should we even be here...? I think... I think I get why it's not safe being here now." She sticks close to me, starting to finally hit the 'consequence' phase of her defiance. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous too.

"Wait... which way's home?" No, wait. Probably shouldn't have said that. A paleness takes over Khil's face as she too realizes how lost we are.

We both freeze in place as we hear a low chirping noise.

Chirp. chirp.

Chirp chirp.

Chirp, chirp.

Then, the pattering of legs.

Pitter patter.

Several, several long legs.

Pitter patter pitter patter.

Getting closer.

Pitter pitter patter patter pitter patter pitter pitter pitter patter.

And closer.

And closer.

And closer.

The shadow of the creature is becoming no longer a shadow, and it is genuinely massive in size.

I think.

I think I'm going to wet myself.

Before we can even say anything, the giant spider bares its fangs, preparing to lunge for us.

...

...

...

But, I don't want to let Khil die. Sisters are to look out for each other, right?

I take a pouncing stance, ready to counter.

Yeah, I know, I'm out of my element here, but...

Well. I won't mince words here. It might be time for the new world. Sorry, Exgrave.

But, before I can get myself killed, a dagger flies past my periphery and right into the spider's head. It hisses and flails in response, giving us an opening.

"On me, children!" A voice rings out, firmly though quietly.

Turning around, we quickly realize that it's Mom, having found us somehow. The two of us rush to her side, preferring not to die if we can.

"Spear-- now." Khil quickly obliges.

Mom takes a running leap, plunging the spear directly into the spider's head with zero hesitation. It wails, attempting to throw her off, but she keeps a steady one-handed grip, refusing to let its attention divert from her. With her other hand, she pulls out the dagger from before, repeatedly stabbing into it until its protests are no more.

Caked in a pale blue blood, she pulls out both weapons and hops down to see us.

Khil moves to speak, but I cut her off.

"It was my fault-- I'm sorry..."

The two of them look at me, confused for different reasons. Then, Mom crouches down beside the two of us, smiling.

"The two of you are fine-- that's what matters right now. Trust me, with how many times I tried sneaking out as a kid, I can't be too hard on you two. Still both grounded when we get home, though."

We all laugh it off, the two of us just glad to be alive and not getting a deeper scolding like we expected.

"How did you find us, Mom?" Khil asks.

Mom points to the spear. "I put some tracking magic on this forever ago. It's all I've got to remember Dek'poi by, so I don't want to be losing it. " Khil shifts uncomfortably, guilt washing over.

"Dek'poi?" I ask.

"My husband. Tough shoes to fill, I think the expression goes?"

She sighs, looking towards the tunnel she came from.

"But enough of that. We need to get back to the village-- come with me." She pats us on the backs and moves to make the way back home.

...It takes not a few minutes for us to realize that even the great huntress Mae'poi is susceptible to getting lost.

But, she maintains an air of confidence as she strides, making a note of each dead end and detour in order to at least attempt making a mental map of the cave.

At one point, however, she stops us, placing one finger to her mouth in order to ensure our silence as she points towards...

More giant bugs. Just wonderful.

This time, they're, I think... Cicadas? I'm not really an expert on this sort of thing.

Still, she quietly gestures for us to step away, and we do so.

"If you ever see these things again," she whispers, "be as quiet as possible. I don't know how much harm would come to our village if the quakebugs were to stir." The two of us nod sagely.

Eventually, we find the way back to the village. Before we can enter properly, however, I notice that the slime never actually left us.

The three of us pause, unsure of what to do.

"Can... Can we keep it as a pet?" Khil asks.

Another pause.

Mae shrugs her shoulders as if to say 'Sure. Why not.' Either that speaks to the harmlessness of slimes, or the tiredness of Mom.

Either way, she escorts us to our hut, setting aside the spear in its typical place-- beside her makeshift bed --before crashing into slumber herself.

"Wanna draw on the floor before bedtime?" I ask Khil.

"Sure!"

She heads off towards our beds, but before I can join her I bump face-first into a very upset Exgrave.

"Where have you been?" They growl out. I lower my head.

"Just... exploring the caves." I meekly respond.

They place a palm to their helm. "Me and Mae'poi have your best interests in mind, you know."

"I know, I know." I dejectedly sigh out.

There's a part of me that would hope at least Exgrave would trust that I'm capable of making decisions as an adult-- but given how much of my mind has become more childlike, on top of the fact that I'm still new to this world, I'm honestly more inclined to let them treat me as if I were actually a kid.

Noticing this conflict, they continue. "There are countless poachers who would kill to get their hands on a dragon before their transition into adulthood. We can't have your corpse auctioned off on the black market if we wish to take over the world together."

Harsh, but fair.

"Though, while I would prefer not having to wait for the two centuries for your awakening to begin, it is still important that we choose our time wisely."

"Meaning?"

They sigh, patting me on the side. "Enjoy your second childhood while it lasts, Penelope. I only ask that you have the hindsight to not make any reckless decisions."

I smile, nodding.

"Wanna join me and Khil? We've been drawing ourselves as knights going on adventures."

They look confused, taken off-guard. "Um... perhaps."

The rest of the night was spent idly doodling on the floor in chalk-- Khil drawing herself as a dragon, me drawing myself as a kobold, and Exgrave embarrassedly drawing their plush rabbit after the two of us prod them to live a little and join in. They obviously felt very awkward trying to draw for the first time in who-knows-how-long, but I'd say they started having fun after easing into it.