Chapter 2 – Not Quite Right
The warmth of morning lava light filtering through the cave entrance woke me from the deepest sleep I'd ever experienced, like emerging from a cocoon of dreams.
For a moment, I forgot everything where I was, what I'd become, the impossible situation I found myself in.
Then I tried to stretch my arms and felt scales scrape against stone like tiny bells announcing my new reality.
T-Rex wyrmling with purple-red scales and parents the size of small buildings—that was me now.
"Good morning, little flame," Emberheart's gentle voice rumbled through the cave like distant thunder wrapped in velvet.
I opened my eyes to see her massive head hovering nearby, steam rising from her nostrils as she breathed like incense from a living altar.
"Are you ready to meet the rest of your family?"
Before I could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps—heavy, clawed footsteps—echoed through the cave like drumbeats announcing an arrival. Three shapes emerged from deeper passages, and I got my first look at my siblings.
The largest of the three was clearly the oldest, about eight feet long with perfect crimson scales that gleamed in the lava-light like polished armor forged from fire itself.
"So this is our baby brother," she said, his voice carrying a tone that immediately put me on edge like nails on a chalkboard. It wasn't cruel but .
"So that one who took so long to hatch."
"Be nice, Infernotail," warned the slightly long female T-Rex .
" Purple , ... colorful hatchling," male small size t rex beside observed, circling around me slowly like a predator studying unusual prey. "I've never seen scales like that before. Are you sure he's really one of us, Mama?"
"Blazefang!" The sharpest voice came from female t rex like lightning splitting the sky, and I was surprised to realize it was female and much larger than the other two—easily twenty-eight feet long. She moved with a grace that spoke of years of experience like a dancer who had mastered every step, and her scales had a silvery shine similar to Mama—like moonlight kissing water.
"That's our youngest brother you're talking about. Show some respect."
"Hello, little Rider Rex," she said softly, her voice like warm honey dripping from golden combs. "I'm Sparkwing. Don't mind your brothers, they're just curious. We all are siblings."
I tried to stand and managed it on the second attempt, which earned me an encouraging rumble from Sparkwing like applause from a gentle giant.
"Thank you," I managed to say, my voice still squeaky and uncertain like a rusty gate learning to swing.
"Can you beath out flame spark yet?" Blazefang asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer like a teacher asking a question to prove a point. "All of us could produce at least smoke by our second day."
I tried, scrunching up my face and pushing air through my nostrils the way I'd seen my parents do, feeling like a broken engine trying to start. A few tiny wisps of purple-tinted smoke emerged, so faint they were barely visible—like ghosts of real flames.
Blazefang's expression said everything without words. disappointment written across his features like a headline on a newspaper. " Not just body smoke is also weird"
I can feel troublesoem character of my newly acquited brothers. Diverting form i focused at outside.
Through the cave entrance, I could see hints of the world outside—strange light, unusual colors, and shapes that didn't belong to any Earth I knew, like glimpses of an alien paradise.
"I want to see outside," I announced, my new legs already carrying me toward the entrance before anyone could stop me—like a river rushing toward the sea.
"Wait, little one!" Emberheart called, but she didn't try to stop me; she watched like a mother bird watching her chick test its wings. "Stay close to the cave. Don't wander far."
I wobbled and stumbled my way to a ledge that jutted out from the side of our cave like a natural balcony, and what I saw took my breath away—like a punch to the soul.
This definitely wasn't Earth.
The sky stretched endlessly above me like a canvas painted by gods, a crystal-clear blue that was somehow more vivid, more alive than any sky I remembered blue as a sapphire held up to the sun. And hanging in that impossible sky was a sun that blazed not yellow, but brilliant blue-white like a cosmic diamond, casting everything in a light that was both familiar and utterly alien.
But it was the landscape below that truly amazed me like a revelation written in living color.
Massive trees,easily ten times larger than any Earth tree,rose from streams of flowing lava like it was water, defying every law of nature I'd ever known. Their bark was deep crimson red, almost metallic in appearance like armor grown from the earth itself, and their roots disappeared directly into the molten rock without any sign of burning, like they were drinking liquid fire. The contrast was breathtaking: these living giants thriving in conditions that should have killed them instantly like phoenixes born from flame.
Hanging from their branches were fruits that glowed like colored lanterns at a celestial festival. Some pulsed with red fire-light like beating hearts made of flame, others shimmered with golden heat like captured sunbeams, and still others flickered between orange and white like tiny stars dancing in the breeze.
I took a deep breath and nearly gasped at the sensation,like drinking liquid energy. The air here was so pure, so rich with oxygen, that it was almost intoxicating ,like wine made from clouds. Each breath felt like it was supercharging my tiny body. It was like breathing liquid power compared to Earth's thin atmosphere.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Sparkwing's voice came from behind me as she carefully positioned herself on the ledge like a guardian mountain settling beside a pebble.
"Those flame coconuts have been growing here for hundreds of years. The lava feeds the trees like mother's milk, and the flame-trees bear the fruits that help us grow strong."
"It's so different," I whispered, still staring at the incredible vista like a pilgrim beholding a miracle. In the distance, I could see other caves dotting the cliff faces like windows in a vertical city, and occasionally the massive silhouette of an adult T-Rex moving between the trees like titans walking through their domain. "The sun is blue, and the trees grow in lava, and the air tastes like—"
"Like power," Sparkwing finished with understanding in her voice like a sage who had walked the same path. "That's the high oxygen content. It's what allows us to grow so large and breathe fire. Your body will adapt to it quickly like a key finding its lock."
"Where I come from," I said without thinking, my words tumbling out like water through a broken dam, "the sun was yellow, and trees grew in dirt, and the air was thin and—" I stopped, realizing what I'd almost revealed like a spy catching himself mid-confession.
But Sparkwing just nodded sagely like an ancient oracle who had heard every secret.
"Don't worry. Many wyrmlings have strange dreams when they first hatch. You were more than three years inside your egg, probably had many dreams. In my hatching dreams, I was weirder than you—in my dreams I was an ugly old witch and whenever I found someone beautiful, I'd make them eat a rotten banana and curse them with eternal sleep. Heh... hee... Isn't that funny?"
"Don't worry, with time we forget those unpleasant memories—like morning fog disappearing in sunlight."
I stared at her, the image of a witch holding a cursed banana dancing in my mind like a ridiculous puppet show. I laughed along with her like a conspirator sharing a joke.
But questions raised in my mind like storm clouds gathering on a clear day: Could my human memories—planet Earth, that nerdy alone student, that crazy novel freak—could this also be a mere dream?
"Come," she said gently, her voice like silk wrapping around my doubts. "Let's get you some breakfast. You'll need your strength."
Back inside the cave, a small pool of crystal-clear water had been carved into the stone floor near one of the lava channels like a mirror set in volcanic glass. The heat from the molten rock kept it perfectly warm—like a natural hot spring—and as I approached to drink, I caught sight of my reflection for the first time.
The face looking back at me was definitely not human.
It was reptilian, with an elongated snout filled with tiny sharp teeth like pearls of ivory, large purplish amber eyes that gleamed like golden coins
But it was the coloring that really struck melike lightning hitting a tree—my scales weren't just purple-red, they were iridescent, shifting between deep dominate violet .
" Huh, why my scales are purple?unlike of mother and siblings " questions run through seeing my all over apprence.
Still I am beautiful in an alien way—like a work of art from another dimension—but I was also clearly different from my family's pure red coloration—like a purple flower in a field of roses.
"See, Blazefang brother, his appearance is totally different and his colors are weird," my second sibling name Infernotail observed like a critic analyzing a painting.
"Yes, he hatched late, and looks weird, different from us," Blazefang agreed like a judge delivering a verdict.
"Different isn't bad," Sparkwing said firmly, shooting a warning look at Blazefang like an arrow aimed at his conscience, who seemed ready to make another comment. "Different can be special. The old stories tell of wyrmlings born with unusual gifts who grew up to become great leaders."
"Or great disappointments," Blazefang muttered like thunder rumbling in the distance, but quieted when Sparkwing's eyes flashed with anger like lightning preparing to strike.
"What was that?" Emberheart's voice carried a dangerous edge as she approached with what looked like chunks of cooked meat in her jaws, her maternal fury rising like a volcano about to erupt. Even her gentle demeanor had limits—sharp as sword blades.
"Nothing, Mama," Blazefang said quickly like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I was just saying that Rider Rex will probably grow up to be great at... something."
The skepticism in his voice was barely concealed—like a thin veil over obvious doubt—but Emberheart chose to let it slide like water off a duck's back. She dropped the meat near us, and I caught my first whiff of properly cooked T-Rex food.
It smelled amazing ,like heaven's own kitchen. Rich, smoky, with undertones of spices I couldn't identify—like a symphony of flavors playing in my nostrils. My tiny stomach rumbled loudly like a miniature earthquake.
"Dig in, little flame," Emberheart encouraged, her voice warm as summer sunshine. "This is fire-elk, cooked with ember-pepper seasoning. It'll help you grow strong like iron forged in flame."
I took a tentative bite by my under developed teeth and almost moaned with pleasure like a food critic discovering paradise. The meat was tender and flavorful, with a warmth that spread through my body like liquid fire racing through my veins. But as I ate, I noticed something else—my siblings were all eating much faster than me, tearing into their portions with practiced efficiency like machines designed for consumption.
"You eat like a hatchling," Infernotail observed, not unkindly but with the tone of someone stating an obvious fact. "Too Small bites, like insect feeding on leaves haha"
"Tiny insect that suit on him," Blazefang support his comment trying to lowering me down.
"Blazefang." Scorchclaw's voice cut through the cave like a sword cleaving the air, and my oldest brother immediately went silent like a candle blown out by hurricane wind. Our father hadn't even entered the eating area, but his authority was absolute—like the law of gravity. "If I hear you use that word about your brother again, you'll spend a week cleaning the lava channels. Understood?"
"Yes, Papa," Blazefang replied meekly like a scolded puppy.
I continued eating, I caught glimpses of my family's dynamics like pieces of a complex puzzle. Scorchclaw was clearly the ultimate authority, but he ruled with love as much as power—like a king who remembered he was also a father. Emberheart was the heart of the family, keeping everyone connected and cared for like the sun that gives life to all planets. Sparkwing was the mediator, smoothing over conflicts and offering guidance like oil calming troubled waters.
And then there were my brothers. Blazefang, the natural talent who couldn't understand why everyone wasn't as gifted as him—like a star wondering why everything else was darkness.
As for that Infernotail, act like puppet of blazefeng , repeat after whatever blazefeng speak.
" Except two nasty brother , all over this family is not bad " i thought in myself.
After the meal, as my family settled down for their afternoon rest like lions basking in the warmth, I found myself staring out at the incredible landscape again. The blue sun was climbing higher, casting new patterns of light and shadow across the flame-trees and lava streams—like an artist constantly repainting his masterpiece.
This world was beautiful, alien, and full of wonders I could barely comprehend—like a living fairy tale. I had a loving family who had accepted me despite my strangeness—like treasures embracing a different gem. I was part of something larger than myself—a tribe, a territory, a way of life that had existed for thousands of years, like roots that ran deeper than memory.
Little bit Nervous and more excited this new world.
What kind of life I am going to live there.
If you ask my personal opinion , I not interested about hero, while by heart I am little soft character so no chance to be a villain.
Then only option is remain, I chose living as side character , just eat and sleep grow. Mate with beutiful T rex and having little lovely kids , thats ideal life I wish for myself.
Advance 20 chapter already published at patreon