After leaving the village, heeding the elder's warning, he returned to the dragon in tears. Upon seeing the man they motioned for the man to come closer, allowing them to embrace her in a hug, hoping that that would help the man cope with what he had lost.

After much sobbing and remorse, the man wiped his eyes and looked at the creature, through the sadness he had shown, they had not left his side or pushed him off as the other villagers had so many times before. They were grateful for this kindness shown to them by such a "Terrifying and Ferocious" beast. They brushed the tears away and began to think of where they would go. They could not stay and intrude on this beast forever, and motioned that they wished to speak. She nodded in acceptance and rested her head upon the grass. Delving back into the abyss that was his mind, he found himself again in the cabin of which the woman resided. He looked over in the corner where they had sat and spoke before and saw her sitting and waiting for him.

She had a curiosity about her and was watching him to see what he wanted to discuss so urgently, and why he had come back to her in tears. Sitting down, he found himself at a loss for words, so she spoke out first. "What... Happened?"
He looked at the floor, finding the words that he could use without his sanity shattering once more.

"I-It's... All gone...."

She looked at him with a sympathetic gaze, understanding the pain of losing everything countless times prior. She stood up and crouched beside the man, enwrapping him within a hug, and attempting to soothe the pain in which he felt. She stood there for what seemed like hours, coddling this man and his sorrows.  Slowly removing herself from this embrace she glanced around, wondering if  there was anything more that she could do for him.
There then came a pause, much to her disbelief, as he had vanished, woken from his slumber. She immediately woke as well, caring for this man's well being and life, and not wanting for them to disappear completely.

Returning from this mindscape he sat, staring at the large creature once more. Knowing well that he could not stay forever, but not wishing to leave, he had to make a choice. He decided that he would continue to stay for now, leaving when he was prepared. Brought back to the present by movement beside them, he saw the dragon rise from the straw, trotting off towards the water's edge. He sat in the hovel almost alone then, looking around he spotted the egg. He inched over to it, listening closely to it, curious as to if he could hear anything.

Minutes passed with only silence in his ears, before a small noise was heard. It sounded like the snapping of a fire as fresh logs were added, crackling. Looking over it he noticed a small crack along the back of the shell and he looked closer, trying to see what was within. He was suddenly frightened by a bright blue claw poking through the split that he had been examining. He sat, watching it wiggle around, small squeaks coming from within, wondering if he should go get it's mother.

"No." He thought. "I can't leave this egg alone, in case the small one inside breaks free."

He slid back over next to the egg, continuing to watch it wobble and squeak softly, the claw retracting back within. A burning curiosity growing within him, he tapped the surface of the egg near the crack, spreading it very slightly, also looking within through the tiny claw-hole that was created. Peering within he suddenly spotted a single bright  blue eye staring back at him, and he began to smile.

The egg that he had been watching for what seemed like hours now had continued to shake well after dusk, the large dragon still not having returned. The crack on the surface was still slowly creeping along with every movement. He began to drift off to the soft chirping of the crickets in the night, pulling the egg in towards him and moving under the cover within the hovel. As if it knew what this meant, the egg ceased shaking, and shortly thereafter a soft snoring could be heard from within. The man followed suit, falling asleep to the low whistle of the wind in the distance and the light snoring from within the egg beside him.

The night was quiet, and the man woke among the midst of it, a warm breeze flowing through the overgrowth. He sat, the egg beside him, closer than ever just listening to the rustle of leaves and the sounds of the night around him. Listening close he heard a creaking, and turned to face the egg beside them. The crack had spread during their sleep, and it had now wrapped around the entire crown of the egg. Tapping it lightly small fragments fell off into the hay around them.

A bright blue glow could be seen through the crack of the smooth surface, the light spreading across the hovel, and as the sun began to shine through the trees, this glow grew brighter and brighter. The glow then started to fade, and the small dragon within could be heard squeaking softly.
As this creature seemingly woke, the crown of the egg shattered, raining small fragments of shell into the egg upon the creature. Squeaking in surprise the egg tipped over, the small beast audibly frightened. A concerned smile crept across the man's face, and he set the egg back upright, finally being able to peer inside properly. When he looked within the small creature was huddled under the pieces of shell that had fallen within the egg in the moments before.

He sat next to the egg, picking the small fragments out of the egg both slowly and cautiously, trying very hard not to frighten the small creature. Over the course of many minutes did he reveal the dragon in which they had only caught glimpses of in the days prior. It was a small creature, roughly the size of  a watermelon. The man stooped low and removed the creature from the egg and placed them upon the hay around them.

Once the creature was in the sun the man could view them much easier, the small dragon was a mix of vibrant orange like the fruits that dotted the some of the trees of the forest, a dull grey of the dusk sky and a deep blue that rolled like the waves of the sea. The wings also looked as if lightning had struck them and sent tendrils of electricity across them. These colors were odd however, one wing consisting of the the color of roaring flame and the other being the color of the rolling sky above the trees, while the majority of the body looked like the dark thunder-clouds that plagued the clear sky in the spring.  Other than this color difference, nothing seemed overly special about the beast, other than the curious blue glow that they had seen before it woke.

He watched the creature closely, as to make sure that it did not get injured in any way, and while doing this they noticed the whelp's eyes. The small dragon's eyes were different colors! They were opposite of the wings, the right eye being a dull blood-orange and the left shining with a bright electric blue. The small creature stumbled around, oblivious to the man's attempts to study it.

As it continued to blunder around the man noticed that whenever it stumbled it was caused by its right side, as if there was something hindering it on said side. Before he could examine it closer the whelp tumbled into a small puddle of water, and he rushed over to aid it.

Pulling the tiny beast out of the water he felt the water run off his hands, though it felt more like slime than water. He set them down, and looking back at his hands the water ran off like normal.
"Curious..." He thought, a chill  going down his back.

"What else do you have for me little guy?"

Almost as if responding to the question the dragon sneezed, sending out little orange wisps of light, they seemed to have a shape to them but the man could not identify it. He watched the tiny creature roam around for the better part of the afternoon, not discovering much else about the little being.

Having hushed them back into the matted grass of the hovel he wrapped his arms around them, feeling the beat of their heart under the slight cold radiating from their scales. They began to snore, the cold fading and falling into a slow sleep. Feeling tired themself after watching the dragon all day he drifted off , finding himself once more in the cabin in his mind.

The other chair sat empty, the woman having not returned yet. He sat alone, thinking for some time before inspecting the room closely. The decorations were normal, candles, pictures and other knick knacks, something stood out to him however as he picked up one of the pictures. It was not of him, but it was of the woman, and he sat not understanding why the room had such a picture.

He attempted to pick up another, beginning to fade from the world inside his mind. 

"No.... No!" He said frantically, wishing to understand more of what he saw.

Blinking awake he felt the slow breathing of the whelp between his arms and his chest. Not wishing to wake the creature he laid there, unmoving. He thought of the picture from the home and what it meant. He laid still, listening still to the chirping of the birds amidst the trees of the forest.

Closing his eyes he listened closer, hearing a faint breathing through the trees growing slowly closer. He recognized it, it was that of the large dragon, but not wishing to wake the whelp he continued to lay still. It was many minutes before the dragoness crept through the trees towards the hovel.

As she looked in she saw the man and the small baby dragon, causing a smile to creep across her snout. Her eyes met his gaze, and she sent a silent motion of gratitude to him, thanking him for watching the fragile beast. She spun around carefully towards the water, careful to not cause the whelp to stir and wake.

The man heard the large dragon lie by the water's edge, her breathing beginning to slow. Wishing to speak with her and look around the home more he closed his eyes once more, drifting slowly off to a deep sleep.

He opened his eyes to see the woman sitting in the chair, her face showing that she was thinking deeply. As he stepped towards the chair a board beneath his feet creaked, and she looked up swiftly, her face relaxing when she spotted him.

He sat in the chair, wondering where to begin.

"What happened?" He looked over at her.

"I had something to do..."

She paused, her sentence trailing off into the dark corners of the room. He decided not to push any further, instead deciding to look again at the pictures on the table beside him. His attention grabbed the frame which he had the night prior, and picking it up he observed it closely.
The woman looked over, and in spotting the man's confused expression she stated.

"Ah, those... The pictures show those closest to you. Whether you know it or not."

Faint blush filled his cheeks.

"Why her?" Echoed in his mind silently.

"Some things resonate deeper within you than you are aware of..." She said ominously, beginning to fade from her chair.

He set the frame back on the side table, understanding more now, but her words hung on his mind... "What had she meant?"

That thought echoed as he woke up. Finding the whelp also blinking awake in his arms he smiled softly, wishing for it to see its own family. He picked it up, placing it on the grass out of the hovel and directing it to the water ahead.
The creature looked at him curiously, but bounded into the bushes in front of him, emerging on the other side and looking around. The man followed closely, directing the dragon towards the shape of its mother on the water's edge.

It glanced at him once more, as if untrusting of this sight, before slowly creeping forward softly. Smelling the familiar scent of family however it picked up it's pace quickly, moving towards the female dragon with renewed vigor.

It squeaked in surprised when she turned to face them, which caused the man to grin slightly, now standing back close to the bushes and watching this reunion.

She spotted him out of the corner of her eye and motioned for him to come. He hesitated for a moment, before walking towards the water and the two majestic beasts, both scared of what she had summoned him for, and laughing silently at the small dragon bounding around its mother next to the small lake.

As he reached her she bowed her head. He understood this as a way of showing her gratitude for watching over her hatchling while she was gone. She closed her eyes and he felt rejuvenated, and he spotted a wisp of orange light circling his feet. He shuddered for a moment, but stayed put knowing that she would not harm him after thanking him for such an act.

The light drew shapes and symbols that he did not recognize, before disappearing near the tip of  his right hide boot. She opened her eyes at this point, and he noticed a spark of empathy cross them. He blinked quickly, turning away from her warming gaze.

He turned his attention to the small dragon who had taken to looking out at the surface of the lake. It seemed that his eyes were trained on the surface of the water, and he seldom stirred. The only visible movement was of his chest as he breathed in and out.

The small beast suddenly stood, taking a step towards the water's edge. Its mother called out to him, but it took another step, as if in a trance. The man rushed over and attempted to shoo the creature away from the edge, but he was too late, the dragon fell into the shallow water on the edge of the lake.

The water here was only a foot or two deep, but to a dragon who had only just hatched this could be deadly if the bottom trapped its feet. He reached out and pulled the whelp from the water, a slimy layer of water forming on the surface of the lake near to where it fell in.
This substance was exceptionally cold, but he did not think about this as he pulled the dragonling from the water. He laid the dragon on the grass, and realized quickly that he wasn't breathing.

The man quickly started pressing on the beast's chest as he had seen his tribemates do to each other before. He spent grueling minutes doing this, and all while the beast's mother paced nervously nearby, not wishing to disturb the man while he worked vigorously.

The dragon began to spurt water, slowly beginning to breath. The man saw life return to its eyes, a terrified look growing as it realized what happened. It stood shakily, moving towards its mother with wobbling legs.

The man sighed, glad that he remembered this technique from his old tribe, but unknowing as to how he knew how to do it properly. He looked to the water, scooping out some of the strange liquid.

It was very cold to the touch, more so than everfrost which formed on the winter solstice, the most bitter cold he thought someone could feel. It was curious that it did not freeze the water, he thought about this after dumping it back into the water.

His thoughts were interrupted by the dragonling, which had pounced back over to the man, leaping onto him. The female dragon looked upon this and the man thought he saw a spark of joy in her eyes. He didn't have long to spend thinking of this however, the small creature had leapt onto his chest, knocking him over into the grass.

He rolled away from the water's edge, not wanting to have to save the small beast again. The whelp bounced after him, as if it had forgotten the event only minutes prior.

"Why not, no use dwelling on it I suppose." He thought to himself.

The sunset in the distance suddenly seemed to hit the small creature, it stopped and yawned, tired from all the roughhousing. The man stood, and spotted the woman disappearing into the bushes towards their small abode. The man motioned to the whelp and they walked off after her. He crawled into the divet, setting the small beast in the dried grass beside its mother. It glanced at her, and back at him, and much to his surprise it crawled beside him, waiting.

He looked over, and receiving an approving look from the large dragon he scooped the tiny creature into his arms how he had the night before and  listened as it drifted off to sleep.

He smiled. "Dragons weren't bad creatures..." He thought as he drifted into a soft slumber.