A few days had passed, and I still had not found a name for my dragon. I've thought of a few, but he was very picky. Or so I thought he was. He seemed to ignore every name I mentioned. The only way I knew him to be alive was due to his tail twitching every so often as his scales baked in the warm sun. I hadn't gotten a reaction from him in quite some time, and I wondered if he was sleeping.

"Listen, I know you can hear me, okay? I can't keep calling you dragon. You need a name, just like every other living being." I wiped a hand down my face when I realized he was still ignoring my words. It wasn't uncommon for him to act this way. For the past few days, he's shown little to no interest in me, only checking in on me when my stomach growled from hunger. He would then leave for hours, and I would have no choice but to stay put, so he was able to find me. Also, I didn't want to get lost.

I only knew he cared because he brought back a carcass after hours of being gone, either a pig or deer. Once, he hauled back a moose, but he even struggled to carry it around. The moose had been close in size to him, and because he was so small and young, he landed in a heap of exhaustion, sleeping it off until the following day.

"Could you just let me know if you like any of the names I'm saying? Or else I'm just going to refer to you as a cat, and you'll just have to suck it up." I nearly cracked a smile when I saw his head swivel in my direction, and his eyes slit into thin lines as he examined my face.

He made his way towards me."Name." I was sitting beneath a tree, sheltering myself from the warm sun. Spring had made its way here fast, no snow littered the ground, and the air was already tainted with the humid air of summer. But the winter season still wasn't over, and winter's melt was just around the corner. I wonder if this island ever got snow.

The dragon circled the tree and peered over my shoulder, looking at the messy scribbles littering the paper. I sighed, moving on to the next one. "Naxan?"

I turned to look at the dragon who bobbed his head. "Good."

I cracked a smile. I was happy he didn't ignore me, but I also wondered if he didn't care what he was called, just as long as I was finally quiet—and not nagging him. I pondered for a moment, my smile faltering.

He caught my gaze and held it for a moment before turning around, lightly hitting his tail against my leg as he weaved around the tree to the other side. We've been making slow progress, our bond strengthening and forming more than a feeling. We could adequately communicate as well as we could, and he willingly approached me instead of shying away or growling at me. The only frustrating thing was it felt like I was talking to myself half the time.

Running a hand through my hair, I worked the knots tangled into the brown waves. My thoughts consumed me as I thought more of the dragon sitting beside me. He occasionally looked over at me, and I could hear his echoing voice as he repeated his name in his head. It was faint; he wasn't talking to me.

"Do you like the name, or are you just pretending?" I asked him, placing my fidgeting hands on my lap.

Tilting his head, his sapphire blue eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't pick up on. "Naxan likes."

A small smile made its way onto my face, and I nodded in contentment. Slowly bringing my hand up, I felt the sudden urge to touch his hardened scales. I placed a hand on his cheek, feeling the warmth radiating off of him in waves. I kept my hand still, hoping to not ruin the achievement of him allowing me to be this close to him.

Naxan sniffed my hand. I let him, enjoying our moment. "Smell funny." He commented, sniffing my hair as well. He blew the messy waves out of my face.

Well, there goes the moment. "I bathed today. I don't stink that bad." I pouted. Although, I did wish I had some soap.

"Soul smells."

I gave Naxan a look. "What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes, shaking out his body, and went to lay down in the sun. Stretching out his wings, he settled onto the warm rocks and folded them tightly against his body. He watched the scenery in front of him. "Hey, you." I stood from my sitting position, brushing leaves from my pants. "I asked you a question."

He snorted, turning away from me. He was silent before saying, "Smell funny."

I sighed. What does my soul have to do with the way I smell? What did that mean?

That night I lay in the same spot I had slept on for the past few days, huddled underneath a large tree. The nights got cold, but it was bearable. I watched as Naxan slept. I knew he was asleep because of the bond; it was calm and quiet. His thoughts didn't stir, but his ears occasionally twitched. I wonder what he was dreaming about.

I wish I could fall asleep, but my thoughts were running at lightning speed, and they wouldn't calm down. My hand wrapped around the stone in my pocket, running my fingers over the smooth surface. I shivered; goosebumps prickled my skin as a chill radiated up my arm and through my body.

Beside me, a twig snapped; something was in the woods watching us. I stood quickly, scanning the undergrowth before me. Even with the moonlight glow, I could barely see a thing.

"Naxan, wake up!" I called hurriedly.

The leaves rustled in a nearby bush, slight but noticeable. "Naxan!" I yelled louder. With his heightened hearing, one would think he would be able to hear me. Unless he could hear me, and he was sick of me to the point that this was his way of getting rid of me, letting a pissed-off creature maul me to death.

I knew this whole thing was too good to be true. A scream caught in my throat as the bush rustled again. Well, I guess I can say it was good while it lasted.

A doe and her fawn poked their heads out of the leaves, investigating the clearing. I let out a large puff of air, not realizing I had been holding my breath in a panic. Although they were no danger to me, did they not know they could be my dragon's next meal?

In an attempt to scare them away, I waved my arms in the air, but they didn't seem to notice me. Odd, they usually spook pretty easily. The scenery around me rippled, morphing into daylight. The sun was warm against my skin, and the taste of early autumn filled my lungs. Naxan was nowhere to be seen. It was just me alone with the deer family.

I whipped my head around as I heard whispers behind me, soft and subtle. The mother raised her head and sniffed the air, scanning the area with her watery brown eyes. The scene slowed to almost a crawl; everything around me was in slow motion. The doe took a breath of air, and someone launched an arrow from across the clearing right into her neck. The fawn watched as its mother sank to her knees. It bayed, an awful cry. Two figures stepped out from their hiding spot and walked towards their kill.

I recoiled as I recognized what the male was. A Rin. He looked human, but his eyes were glowing silver. The female was human, her eyes were sapphire, and she held no characteristics of a Rin.

"But what about the babe." The female asked, looking at the trees where it disappeared. That was the last we saw of the fawn.

"It's old enough to take care of itself now. Its mother would have weened it off in the next few weeks." The male said, pulling the arrow out of the dead deer.

"What a gruesome way to be separated from your mother." The female said. Her voice was so familiar.

The male Rin grasped the female by the arm; it was gentle and caring. Something I learned that the Rin was incapable of doing. "The world's tough."

The female laughed and looked up at the Rin. "Aren't you just full of sentiment?" Her laughter faded, and the trees disintegrated. A tornado of pictures flew in front of my eyes. The world stopped, and I was in the middle of a room with a cradle, a baby started to cry, and soon a woman came into the room, shushing the child. She soothed the baby with a song, humming I recognized.

"Mom?" I called out, but she couldn't hear me. The baby quieted down and soon was put back into the cradle. The sun shone through the window and onto my mother's form. The male rin stepped into the room beside her, and he held her in his arms as they watched the baby fall back asleep.

"She's quite the chatterbox for it being this early in the morning." The Rin whispered beside my mom.

My mom only hummed back, not letting her eyes leave me. "Mom, can you hear me?" My words were caught in a gust of wind as the walls were torn apart. I was sucked into another scene, one with chaos and darkness.

"Mom?" I called over the roaring fire. "Mom, where are you?" I ran around the burning houses, calling out in desperation.

"Delilah!" A male voice shouted as he ran past me. I followed after him. It was the male Rin I saw previously.

"Alec, what's going on?" She clutched the baby to her chest protectively, shielding it from the heat of the fire.

"The humans are invading. You have to get Navidean out of here, or she'll be killed with the rest of us!" He yelled, pulling her into the shadows and away from the chaos behind them.

"But what about you?" She cried.

He stopped and turned to look at her, "These are my people. I must fight with them."

"No, you could be killed. Come with us!"

"I will find you again, my flower." The Rin cupped her face softly. The exchange was short, he took her hand in his, and they ran together. She pulled his arm, but he was stronger and led her into the shadows.

"Wait!" I ran to follow them, but the shadows enveloped me, and I was sucked into another tornado of images.

My mother was nowhere to be seen. The male Rin, or Alec, was speaking to the crowd in front of him.

"You dare question me, your leader?" His voice was powerful. A few of the Rin backed away and bowed their heads, but there was one who remained. He got in Alec's face, "You were the one who brought that human into our clan. She probably led the humans to attack us!" A few murmurs of agreement circulated through the crowd, but no one dared speak louder than that.

Alec seemed to grow in size as he straightened his posture. "I'd advise you to adjust your tone with me, Jan. Remember who you're talking to."

"You're not fit to be our leader." Jan sneered in Alec's face.

"Then challenge me for the position."

"I accept," Jan said without hesitation.

My vision swam, and I was standing amongst a crowd full of Rin, watching the two males fight. They were both full of blood, a sickly dark red, almost black.

Jan snarled, his fangs dripping saliva. Something in his body snapped, and his skin peeled back, revealing sickly green scales like a snake. His arms and legs snapped into place, and he was on all fours. His head grew in size, and I couldn't even describe what kind of creature I was staring at. He was hideous.

I took a step back as he snapped his jaws together. Alec's shift was quicker, and his body sprouted oily black hair, covering his entire body which formed into something like a bear. His body was enormous, and his claws could definitely slice a human in half without any effort.

The two creatures collided together, fighting tooth and claw. Their pained screams echoed, but all the Rin did was watch as the challenge for the alpha position took place. The bear snapped his teeth around the scaly creature's throat and crushed it completely. He dropped the carcass and roared in victory. The crowd got on their knees and bowed their heads.

The scenery shivered, and I was back in the clearing sitting beneath the tree I had been sitting under for the past week. I let out a breath of air, running my hands over my face. What the hell was that?

"Those were my memories." A familiar male voice said from the shadows. He came into the moonlight, but I could tell it was Alec.

"You. Get away from me." I stood from my sitting position, moving away from him. I looked at Naxan, but he was sound asleep.

"Your dragon cannot hear us because you're still dreaming," Alec said, his silver eyes catching the glow of the moon, making them more illuminated.

I gave him a look, "Get out of my head!"

"I'm trying the help you, Navidean." My eyes snapped to his, almost getting lost in their tranquillity. I looked away, closing my eyes so I wouldn't be under his control. "How do you know my name?"

"That's your birth name, the one your mother and I gave to you as a baby." I shook my head at his words.

"Get out of my head!" I yelled. "This isn't real. Whatever you just showed me is a lie, a trick you monsters do."

He laughed, "There is so much you don't know, Navidean."

"Come on, wake up," I told myself.

"There's no use. The only way you'll wake up is if I let you."

I rested my head against the tree behind me, "Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Are you here to kill me in my sleep?"

"No, Navidean, I-"

I quickly cut him off. "Stop calling me that!"

He was quiet. Maybe he left. I opened my eyes but was met with a feeling of disappointment. He was still there, staring at me with his creepy eyes.

"Stop looking at me!" I scowled.

He smiled, his fangs poking over his lips. "What? I can't look at my own daughter?"

Daughter. "I am not your-"

"Yes, actually, you are."

"You can't be serious," I scoffed. "Get out of my head, creep, and stop feeding me your illusions."

He tilted his head. "Brave words to say to a Rin, little one."

I gulped, "Just... get out of my head. Leave me alone." There was no way this was real. Why did this Rin insist on choosing me to torment?

He sighed, "You're going to need my guidance when the final bonds break in your blood. You're going to change, and it's going to be painful. There are already signs of you changing. That's why I can now sense you."

"Change into what?"

"You've got half of my blood running in you. You're part Rin, but that side of you has been dormant until now."

"Will you drop it already?" I scowl.

He ignores me and continues. "That stone you're holding brings out the magic in you, correct?" His words sounded more like a statement than a question like he knew what he was talking about. "It also broke apart the bonds holding your dormant Rin blood, and now you're transitioning into Rin and dragon rider."

"Yeah, I already know I'm a dragon rider. The giant lizard behind you is proof of that." I shake my head, looking away from his silver eyes.

"I promised your mother I would always protect you. I am responsible for ensuring you have your abilities under control."

"You are not my father. Get out of my head and leave me alone!" I snapped, wanting this nightmare to end.

He was silent, and I could feel him watching me. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

My eyes shot open. I got up from lying down and looked around. The Rin was gone, and Naxan was still sleeping, the end of his tail flicking every so often as he dreamt on. Sighing, I got comfortable under my jacket and closed my eyes, hoping the Rin didn't show up to ruin my sleep again.