The short trip to the lake turned out to be more fortuitous and mellow than Henry had dreaded. After the magnificent display of his abilities to the baboons, he could feel fewer eyes were on him. They had come to fear him. Most animals and beasts would. Even the small harmless ones ran at the sight of him. And so, Henry walked in an ostentatious manner with his head held high. 

But his bravado ended once he reached the lake. The still unmoving waters brought back the memories of yesterday. It was certainly the epitome of serenity at a glance but Henry knew better. All manners of monsters most likely lurked in the waters. He glanced around, searching for any rivers or ponds annexed to the lake. It didn’t take long for him to find one. Or rather, there were a lot of rivers flowing in or out of the lake. The closest river was just a few yards away, leading downstream 

Henry followed that river alongside its bank. He took care not to tread too closely to the lake. The intermittent ripples he saw were a clear indication of the numerous monsters residing in the lake. He was slightly impressed that the monsters could be so subtle despite their viciousness and ferocity. He saw a bird landing on a lotus pad to get a sip of the water. Without a warning, a tongue of sorts shot out from the waters and dragged the poor bird into the lake. Henry felt his skin crawl. He muttered a few words of gratitude in his heart for his luck at that time he trod too close to the lake.

The river eventually led him to a pond. Henry’s beamed at first but after a closer inspection, his smile turned upside down. He could see small fishes in the pond but he couldn’t see the bottom. To test the depth, he tossed a stone into the lake, not before finding cover behind a fallen log lest something popped out of the pond after he threw the stone. The stone hit the surface and made a small and light splash. The pond was shallow. Henry breathed a sigh of relief. For assurance, he threw another stone into the lake. He waited for half a minute. Nothing came out of the waters. Only then, he approached the pond. 

Initially, he took only a sip. The water tasted just like he expected. It was a little salty but nothing too foul or absurd to turn him away. He then plunged his whole head into the water, drinking in gulps. The fishes swam away at his erratic behaviour. It was still morning but it had already been a long day, not counting the day before, which was hectic in its own right. As he pulled his head out of the water, an idea struck him. Not just an idea but also a desire. Step by step, he submerged himself into the pond. He had to take a bath, especially after sleeping in the foul-scented cave and battling his way through a small horde of baboons that enjoyed shitting on the spot and throwing their dung at their enemies or prey. Henry reckoned he would smell like a turd if he wasn’t already so used to that smell. Taking a bath or a shower at least once a day was his routine when he was a human, or so he remembered. Obviously, animals didn’t share the need for a bath but Henry couldn’t help it. A good portion of him remained a human at heart. He needed to feel clean.

Henry slipped. The bottom was slippery. He flipped over and his body plunged completely into the pond. He tried to swim but he didn’t know how to swim with a Dragon’s body. He frantically paddled his way back to the shore like a dog. He gasped for breaths when half of his body was out of the pond. Though the pond was shallow, it was still deep enough to submerge him completely. He was a quadruped. He didn’t know how short he was by human’s measurements but using the nature around him as the standard, he was very short and small. This small pond alone could fit around thirty of him.

Fucking hell…

He swore as he lay on the shore with rasped breaths. He was once again hit by the harsh reality of his circumstances. He had claws. He could breathe fire. His skin was tough. But the smallest of things could also get him killed. In the end, he huddled close to the shore and washed himself by splashing the water on his back. Every short while, he would try to swim but it always ended with him drowning. He remembered how reptiles swam from the television crap he remembered consuming. He tried to imitate those movements but it wasn’t easy. He knew how to move but moving his limbs in accordance with his mind was difficult. Still, he didn’t give up. He would try swimming, retreated back to shore when he started drowning and resumed practising once he gathered his breaths.

Henry repeated this routine for quite some time. Hours must have passed but he didn’t care. Not like he had anything else to do. The sun was past the summit when he decided he had practised enough for the day. As he thought about how to dry himself, a strong gust blew past him. He felt the cold but no shivers ran across his skin. If he was still human, he reckoned he would have felt a chill and sneezed. Nevertheless, it still felt wrong to be walking around dripping wet. As natural as it was, he wiggled his whole body like a dog, ridding himself of the excessive wetness. 

That was… easy?

It surprised him. He thought he would have difficulty in drying himself but the movements came so naturally to him. If only swimming came naturally to him too, he muttered longingly in his heart. 

He didn’t know exactly how much time had passed but looking at the sun, he knew at least hours went by. Yet, he didn’t feel the least bit hungry. When he wondered about that, he realized he ate an amount equivalent to half of his body. It would be weird if he got hungry again after consuming that much food.

As he was about to set out from the pond, his sense of danger cried out loud. He immediately spun his gaze around rapidly.

Give me a fucking break!

Henry was thankful that he ate in the morning, though he hated that trouble came after he just finished cleaning himself. The bushes remained unrustled wherever he looked. There was no sound of twigs snapping. There was no sign of any monsters or animals near him save for the small harmless rodents scuttling about. He cast his suspicions to the pond but there were only faint ripples created by the fishes. He had been in the water for more than an hour. It didn’t make sense that whatever it was would only attack him now. There was nothing in the trees either. No leaves fell from the branches. 

A large shadow loomed over him then. Henry cast his suspicions to the sky, just in time to see a large bird swooping down on him. The talons darting towards him was so sharp that they glinted. Henry threw himself out of the way at the last second. He quickly turned around to face the large bird, which was an eagle with four wings and unleashed his fire breath. However, only a puff of smoke and a small spurt of water spewed out. 

Are you kidding me!?

The eagle came around and dove back down for another swoop. Henry bared his fangs and snarled at the eagle, lowering himself into a stance to pounce. But the eagle swerved off the straight path and veered around Henry before launching itself at him. Henry tried using his tail but his control over his tail was abysmal. The tail only lightly tapped against the eagle as it cut across his back with its talons. Henry gritted his teeth to endure the pain. Though it hurt a lot, no blood was drawn. The centipede’s sickle claws were truly sharp. It had been the only monster that managed to hurt him. It was fortunate that the eagle’s talons did not scratch the parts where the scales were missing. He wondered if they would ever regrow.

The eagle squawked at Henry, baffled over his unwounded state. It was angry on top of its confusion. Its pride was hurt, or that was how Henry interpreted the eagle’s expression.

As Henry braced himself for the eagle’s next round of swoop, the eagle’s wings began to glow a faint red.

What the…?

The eagle then beat its wings hard, sending projectiles in the forms of wind-moulded blades at Henry. He dove out of the way as the wind blades carved into the ground where he had stood.

Magic, that was the explanation that came to Henry’s mind. Of course, there would be magic, Henry gathered. If there were Dragons, there would certainly be magic. These two things came hand in hand. He should have expected it. It was just that his mind was so occupied with various other matters that he didn’t think of such a simple factor.

Wait. If there’s magic in this world, does that mean I can use magic too?

Henry’s contemplation was cut short as the eagle prepared to throw another round of wind blades at him. Henry didn’t know if the wind blades could pierce through his scaly hide but he rather not find out. At least not through suicidal methods like this. Though his inner voice told him to fight, Henry baulked at the voice and ran into the trees. The eagle followed. Henry had hoped the trees would hinder the eagle’s movements greatly but it didn’t. The eagle skillfully navigated itself through the tight spaces as it gave chase. The consolation was that it did hinder the eagle a little but not enough to lose the eagle.

It was a laughable situation. Henry hadn’t expected his ultimate weapon would be rendered unusable due to his human desire. He had initially chalked the cause up to drinking water but that would not make sense. A Dragon’s biology couldn’t have been so flawed that satiating a basic need would put one of its defence mechanisms out of commission. Therefore, he surmised it was due to him drowning and water getting into the pipe that it wasn’t supposed to. As he ran, he tried to cough out the water he had swallowed down the wrong pipe but to no avail. He was running too fast to do it properly but he could not slow down nor stop. Otherwise, the eagle would catch on to him.

Since the eagle could use magic, Henry thought of the possibility that the eagle had tricks other than the wind blades. As if to prove Henry’s suspicions, winds began surrounding the eagle like a forcefield. The eagle’s speed picked up and it ploughed right through the tree branches without batting its eyelids. It caught up to Henry in no time. 

Deciding that it was futile to keep running, Henry stopped in his tracks and spun around, flinging a rock at the eagle. The rock bounced right off the wind barrier and broke into pieces. The eagle squawked and threw wind blades in response to the rock he tossed. Henry flattened himself on the ground and the wind blades went past him over his head, cutting through the trees behind. Henry rolled out of the way as the trees collapsed to the ground. Before he could gather his bearings, the eagle threw another round of wind blades. Pouring strength into his limbs, Henry hopped off the path of the wind blades. He landed into a tumble and he kept rolling forward until he reached behind a small boulder. 

The wind blades smashed into the boulder but unlike the trees, the wind blades did not cut through the boulder, though it did carve out one-fifth of the boulder. Henry seized this chance to clear his throat. He breathed deep and coughed harshly. A spurt of water came out from his mouth along with a puff of smoke. He was not a water Dragon, that was for sure. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have trouble swimming. Before he could cough out more water, the eagle flew around the boulder instead of bulldozing through it.

Fuck!

It was no use running or hiding. Henry realized he had to fight but his opponent had a huge advantage. It had distance and the mode of attack that complement its other advantage. He wrecked his brain to find a solution. Somehow, the trees came to mind. 

The trees it is. 

As the eagle threw wind blades after wind blades, Henry dashed to the tree closest to him. He dug his claws firmly into the trunk and proceeded to climb up the tree. He thought it would be hard but it wasn’t. He was naturally strong and his claws ensured him a firm grip on the tree. The eagle squawked at Henry as if it realized what Henry was trying to do but nothing changed. The eagle was still sticking to its routine of throwing wind blades at Henry. The wind blades cut through the trunk and the tree began to fall. Henry took the window of the moment the tree slanted. He scuttled up the slope and leapt to another tree. The eagle’s wind blades followed him and cut down the tree he jumped to. Henry repeated the same thing. Taking advantage of the slope the tree offered as it collapsed, he was getting closer and closer to the eagle.

Henry expected the eagle to move as it saw him approaching from a distance away but the eagle didn’t. Henry guessed that the eagle was probably putting faith into its wind barrier. In the same sort of way, Henry was making a similar gamble. He saw the rock getting smashed into pieces by the wind barrier but he wasn’t the rock. The centipede’s sickle claws were the only thing that managed to wound him but even then, it was a shallow wound. He hoped his hide would at least be tough enough to prevent any fatal wounds. Though he didn’t want to find out how tough his scaly hide was in this manner, it wasn’t like he had a choice. This was the wilderness. It was only right that he played and danced to its tune. He only had himself to rely on.

Eventually, Henry got himself close enough. He leapt off a falling tree, felled by the wind blades and plunged towards the eagle. It was the moment of truth. The eagle was confident in its wind barrier as it flew towards Henry in hopes to shred him up. Henry closed his eyes and let his body ram into the wind barrier. Blood splattered in every direction and a gruelling cry resounded from the clash. The outcome wasn’t ideal for Henry but neither was it ideal for the eagle. The wind barrier flayed a few of his scales off and slashed through his hide but that was the extent of the damages as the spell waned drastically, enough for Henry to break through without major injuries. The eagle tried to fly away but it was too late. Henry had grabbed onto one of its wings and together, they both fell to the ground. 

An excruciating amount of pain permeated through his body but he gritted his teeth to withstand the pain. He couldn’t afford to slacken now. The eagle was already attempting to take flight but he pounced on its back and trapped its wings under his limbs. Before Henry could bite into the eagle’s throat, it unleashed a huge gust of wind from its body that almost threw Henry away but he held on. With a huff, he tore off one of the eagle’s wings and the eagle cried loudly in agony. It flashed Henry a blazing glare and threw a point-blank wind blade but its movement was too obvious, leading to Henry swiftly dodging it with a sidestep.

The eagle screeched miserably like metal being grated. It crawled desperately but with Henry’s claws trapping its leg, it wasn’t going anywhere. It swiped its wings at Henry but to him, it was merely like being slapped with a pillow. Even though it wasn’t hurting him, it did get annoying. And so, Henry grabbed the wing the eagle was slapping him with and tore off that one too. A piercing screech filled the air but Henry silenced it by sinking his fangs into the eagle’s throat. A retching gasp was the eagle’s last words before it shuffled off its mortal coil. Henry exuded a deep breath and rolled over to his back, panting. But he quickly rolled back on his belly before nausea set in. Unlike when he was a human, he could not gaze at the sky when he was lying on his back. He could only gaze at his front but just upside down. 

Henry pushed himself up but the pain stung his joints and he fell back on his belly. Blood started to cloud his vision. He touched his head and brought his claws to his gaze, the amount of blood staining his palm shook him. He glanced back and saw the red that dyed his back. His scales were scattered all over the ground. As much he wished to just doze off right here and now, he couldn’t. His blood would surely attract predators and upon witnessing his state, the predators would not hesitate to pounce. 

Goddamn it…

Left with no other options, Henry resorted to dragging his wound-riddled body back to the cave. By a fortunate twist of fate, he safely reached his abode without being attacked by any monsters. Not to say there were no monsters that tried to attack him. There were a few. It would have been the end of him if he didn’t manage to recover his fire breath before the first ambush. After a few charred carcasses of the poor sods that came into his path, no more monsters approached him.