*Hey guys, before you start the story, I have to rant a little. I have been in a rut lately and I almost stopped writing because of some crap. That I was hit with a little writer's block. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.*

Despite his nice dreams of an adventure, Derek was abruptly awoken from his slumber from a bright light outside his tent. He at first thought that it sunlight shining outside his tent, but the light was much closer and more white. Grabbing his hunting knife that was beside him, he hastily went outside his tent. With wide eyes, he nearly dropped his knife as he looked out at what was causing the bright light.

In the middle of lake, coming from the water, was a bright light. As he watched, the small bright light began to grow bigger and get brighter. He also noticed that the water was pulsating, at first slowly but kept on increasing. He brushed his hands over his eyes, trying to get the sleep from them as a look of confusion crept upon his face.

"What's going on? What's causing that bright light?" He continued to watch on as the water began pulsing at a faster pace until it began to lap against the shore. At the same time, the bright light began to get even brighter.

It all happened in an instant. The continuous expanding bright light suddenly disappeared. He looked at the water and noticed that it stopped pulsating, slowing down until it was unmoving. He looked around in the now clear water with an even more confused look on his face.

'What just happened? What happened to the bright light?' He asked himself, noticing that his questions were about to be answered. Several minutes later, the water in the middle of the lake sudden end was pushed up, as though something was breaching the surface.

"What the hell is that?" He speaks out loud as he looked at the breaching object. It was a dome shape object as wide as he is tall and and half his size tall, making an oval shape. The upper part of the oval sphere was like that of a bubble as the lower part looked to be the shape of an bed.

Derek's wide eyes widen even further as realization hit as to what that bed is.

"It's a cradle. But what is inside of it?"

He continued to watch as the cradle sphere began to slowly make it's way to shore, towards his location. As he watched the cradle sphere approach him, the top part of the bubble began to to disappear, making a hole at the top part of the cradle. The hole continued to expand as the cradle came closer to shore. As the cradle was about to touch the shore, the sphere disappeared completely. The cradle landed in the sand on the shore.

Derek slowly and surely moved towards the cradle, holding the knife in case he needed to use it. As he got close, he could help but think about what was in the cradle or why it was at the bottom of the lake in the first place. He did know that it must've been important to be kept in a secluded place. He got to side of the cradle and looked inside. As looked upon what was inside the cradle, his eyes widen in shock. He ended up dropping the knife as he let out a gasp.

"What is this?" He mumbled to him as to continue to look at what surprised him. What was inside of the cradle that shocked him was what looked like a girl. A girl who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old. But what shocked him even more is that this girl was no ordinary girl.

Her skin color is white as snow, as her hair was black and flowed like silk over her shoulders down her body. He continued to look at her from head to toe until he realized that her skin is covered in small, yet smooth scales that went all over body. He also noticed that large, slightly hard scales covering her privates. He saw that under jaw line was small yet pointed spikes. Her ears were pointed like an elf's. She looked beautiful to him.

Then he noticed the tail. At the base of her back which meets her bottom, a slim yet long tail flowed all the way to her feet. On her tail were hard bone like spikes protruding all around the tip of her tail. He wanted to rub his hand over the tail to see how it feels, but he didn't want to be rude.

Then he heard the flutter. He looked from the tail and noticed the wings, that were slightly fluttering a little, like on impulse. The wings were bat-like, leathery yet smooth. The wings color were white as her scales but the leathery inward part of the wings were slightly darker.

All in all, she was beautiful. But all these questions were popping in Derek's head. What is she? Why was she in the cradle and at the bottom of lake? Why was she put there? He lean forward and placed his ear over her chest to see if she was breathing. At first he didn't hear anything, but then it became clear.

He heard a heartbeat. He could hear her slight breathing. He stood up and looked at her. She was still alive and asleep. He continued to study her. He also noticed that on her hands were claws on her fingers. They were slightly longer then her fingers, but still sharp.

He jumped a little when he heard a gasp. Then he looked at her pale white face as she opened her eyes. Instantly he noticed her eyes were beautiful yet unique. Her eyes was a light blue, like sky blue with a speckle of light green in them. Her voice was angelic as she spoke.

"Hello."

He stuttered as he replied to her.

"H-hey. A-are you alright?" He could help but feel nervous around her, despite her odd appearance. She was mysterious. And he couldn't help but wonder why, but he felt protective of her.

She blinked her eyes and slowly sat up. Then she stretched her arms and crossed her legs. Her tail began to sway side to side. She look at him.

"I'm fine. Just tired and sleepy. Where am I?"

He looked at her looked at the lake then back at her. "You are at this mysterious lake in the heart of the Spine. I found you here. Your awakening was kinda intriguing."

She gave Derek a look of confusion. "How so?" He scratched the back of his head before replying to her.

"Well, you came from beneath the lake. That cradle was domed before the bubble disappeared and it all caused a bright light and the whole lake began pulsating. It was mystical."

She looked down, thinking about what happened. She knew that she was asleep for a long time, but she didn't know how long. Or wherever she is. But she now knows that she is in the Spine. The question she's continuously ask herself is why. Why was she in the spine? She up at him.

"Ok. At least I know where I am."

He nods. He looks at the rising sun and then looks back at her. "Well, I'm about to cook breakfast. How about you join me and we'll figure it out later?"

She nodded. "Alright. I'm a little hungry."

As though agreeing with her, her stomach growls. She blushes in embarrassment as Derek start laughing. "That answers that." He said while chuckling. He turned away and begin moving to the tent before he stopped dead in his tracks as he forgotten something. He turned back to her.

"Oops. I forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Derek."

She smiled and nodded. "Derek. Such a nice name. My name is Neira."

He reached to her, lending out a hand. "Okay Neira. Let's get you out of this cradle." She nodded before reaching over to grab his hand. As her hand was about to touch his, there was a bright flash. He let's out a yelp.

"What was tha-" he stopped himself as his eyes began to droop. Next thing he knew, he blacked out.

*Hey guys. I hope you like this chapter. And this chapter is to though who have been supportive. Don't forget to comment or vote if you wish.*