CH 002: Names

(Day 1)

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"You really are a calm and kind one, huh? You didn't try to bite me at all." The redhead mused as he hummed in satisfaction :'Maybe it's another language, but the Omniverse or ROB gave me a skill to understand it? But then why do I hear it in English rather than my mother language? English isn't my mother language. Eh, whatever. It works for me anyway, so no need to complain.'

Wanting to quickly get rid of this feeling of unfamiliarity with his own body, he tried to stand up. Maybe walk a bit and see what he could do. But as he was just born, his feet were far too weak for him to immediately stand up. But thankfully, when the redhead saw his efforts of trying to get up, she smiled as tried to push him up from below :"Let me help a bit, little guy."

It was a little tough since he had just hatched and was still not used to this body, but thanks to the redhead and being a dragon, he finally managed to stand up. Albeit while trembling a bit. Seeing the black and dark purple dragon, which was just a little bigger than a baby kitten, the redhead chuckled fondly as she patted his head :"Good job, little guy."

Causing him to growl lightly in satisfaction, and rub his head against her soft hand. Pulling away slightly, he gently tried to step forward. But the moment one leg rose, the other immediately gave out. "Whoa, be careful." But fortunately for him, the redhead prevented him from falling.

Chuckling lightly, she picked him up with both hands under his arms :"You should be careful. If you hurry too much, you might hurt yourself." Causing him to smile in gratitude :"Gauw!" Seeing that he would respond in some way to everything, she couldn't help but grow even more curious :""Can you understand me, or are you just making random sounds?" She raised a curious eyebrow :"Hmm, I've read that Dragons are extremely intelligent, even smarter than humans and elves, so maybe you can actually understand me? Nod if you can."

'Elves, huh? Well, those are the most common races in fantasy worlds.' Ali immediately nodded his small head with a smile :"Gauw!" And Natasha hummed before gently putting him down :"Well, that's a dragon for you, I guess. What, you're just born knowing languages or something?"

Ali seriously had to give it to his new body. Even though he was born not even 10 minutes ago, he was already able to stand by himself. Even his difficulty had diminished a lot. Walking slowly around her, he rubbed his head and body against her, enjoying the physical contact as she chuckled :"You're a dragon, so why are you acting like a cat? You're one interesting dragon, you know? But well, I'm sorry, but I can't stay with you anymore. Alright, I'll have to leave you to yourself now. Bye."

As she got up, Ali stumbled a little before balancing himself. When he saw her walk away, he immediately followed after her. He stopped and sat next to her only when she stood in front of a dead wolf. Looking down, she raised an eyebrow :"Why are you following me? Go and... I don't know, live freely, hunt... whatever you wanna do."

'Gee, why don't you ask me to take over the world while I'm at it? I'm barely out of the egg, girl. Chill.' He deadpanned before rubbing against her leg again :"Gauw." Causing the redhead to curl her lips helplessly, an unsure look on her beautiful face :"You... don't think that I'm your mother, do you? I'm not a dragon, you know?"

Giving an "are you an idiot?" look, the baby dragon deadpanned :'Of course you're not a dragon. I can see that. And you obviously aren't my mom, unless humans in this world lay eggs. Dragon eggs at that.' Causing her to look away awkwardly :"I'll take that look as you saying no... then why are you following me?" And Ali, smiling, shrugged :"Gauw." 'Cause I likes ya, and I wants ya. So let's just get along.'

A thoughtful look appeared in her features for a moment, before she gently picked him up. He didn't know if it was because of his dragon nature or not, but he wasn't afraid even though it was like being held up on top of a 10 story building.

"Gauw?" She raised a questioning eyebrow :"Do you want to come with me? Even though you are a dragon, you're still just a child. I also haven't seen any dragons or nests around, so you probably don't have any parents. I don't know how you got here, but you're here in the end. If you're alone out in the wild by yourself, then you can come across pretty dangerous situations without anybody protecting you. So how about we become partners?

Having a dragon as a companion doesn't sound bad at all. And grown up dragons are all extremely strong, so it's not a bad decision for me at all. Even the dragons of the lowest Rank are extremely strong and at least comparable to B-Class monsters. And that is for the weakest dragons. So? What do you think about it? You get my protection, and I get a partner and a future powerhouse by my side. I think it's logically a pretty good deal."

She was right, it was the logical thing to do. Even with the wishes and his unique abilities, he was still at a major danger here. One, he was in an unfamiliar land, and a completely different world. If not careful, he could get killed without even being able to use his abilities. Two, he didn't have any knowledge at the moment. Knowledge is power, that was something he was very well aware of. Especially in a world of magic and sorts. Getting a partner would definitely help a lot in gaining the knowledge of this world.

Three, as she said, protection. Dragon or not, he was still just a newborn. Without proper care, he could die for many reasons. Being way too weak was one of them. So he really didn't have any reason to refuse her offer. After thinking about his situation and weighing the options for a few moments, he finally smiled and nodded :"Gauw, gauw!"

Hearing his affirmation, the redhead smiled. Sitting on a rock, she gently put him on his lap :"Happy to see that you're so excited about it. Now, what should I name you? We can't just leave you without a name. How about... Blacky!... Or not..."

The awkward smile immediately returned when she saw Ali's unimpressed look :"Then what...? Naming isn't really my thing... ahh... Draggy? Lizzy...? Ahh..." And so, she began to tell him a few of her ideas. Which, even though he appreciated, he still considered them awful.

Hearing no response from him no matter what she said, she sighed in defeat :"I give up. I can't think of anything that satisfies the picky you." Causing Ali to snap :"Gauw! Gauw gauw! (Picky?! Did you hear those names yourself?!)"

Seeing his frown, she sighed helplessly. leaning back on the rock, she hummed thoughtfully :"Then... what about instead of a nickname, I give you an actual name instead? I've heard that dragons also have names."

"Gauw?" His ears perked up. He honestly wondered if there was hope for his identity. Caressing her chin, she thought before speaking :"What about... Slathilia?" Catching his attention :"It's a unisex name, and it has a nice meaning. Majesty. It's honestly a pretty rare name, since I've never seen someone with that name. I've only heard of it in a book. And I personally like it too. So, what do you think?"

He didn't need to think, he loved the name. He always loved names that started with an "S" and ended with an "ia". He was a sucker for those names. So for him, this name was a godsend. He was sold the moment she said it. Immediately after she finished, and he thought to make sure, he nodded excitedly :"Gauw!"

Seeing his excitement, his wagging tail and happy smile, she couldn't help but chuckle softly :"Slathilia it is, then. Well then, Slathilia the Dragon, nice to meet you. I'm Natasha Scarlet, a human. Let's get along from now on."

When she raised her hand and pointed her index finger at him, he smiled as he gently grabbed it and shook it, imitating a handshake :"Gauw. (Please take care of me, Natasha.)"

"Hahaha, to think I'd ever be partners with a dragon. Mom will swoon when she hears about it. Then we should form a contract through Holy Magic." She chuckled to herself, but was interrupted by the sound of rumbling from Slathilia's stomach :"After you've eaten something. Well, you were just born, so you should be hungry. I'm sorry for rushing things. Hmm... I've heard that dragons can eat meat immediately after being born. Let me take out a piece of cooked meat."

Flipping her hand, the red ring on her pinky glowed, catching Slathilia's interest as a cooked piece of meat suddenly appeared in her hand :"Gauw?!" Causing Natasha to chuckle as she rubbed his back :"This is a Storage Ring my mother gave me. I can store anything nonliving inside. Also, the time inside is stopped, so the things that are inside will stay the same. That's why this rabbit meat is still hot. It's slightly more convenient than the Storage Box of Space-Time Magic, since that needs a bit of preparation, and this can be activated immediately since it has a Storage Box engraved into it."

He listened carefully, and looked at her Storage Ring with interest. His curiosity not letting him miss anything. But his curiosity was pushed away by the delicious smell. Sniffing, he almost drooled at the sight of the piece of meat. Natasha smiled and moved the meat closer :"Come on, dig in. You should eat and get some energy while we wait for the blood of the Horned Wolf to dry."

"Gauw!" Calling out softly, he took a bite and tore a chunk, smiling and purring in pure bliss as he enjoyed his first ever meal in this world. He didn't know if it was because of his hunger as a newborn, his new and extremely sharp senses of a dragon, or just that the cooked meat was actually just that delicious, but it seriously was one of the best foods he had eaten. So, without hesitation, he began eating his food happily. All while Natasha watched fondly.

Gently picking him up, she placed him on the rock as she got up, earning a questioning look :"*Muffled* Gauw?" And she patted his head :"Don't worry, I'm just gonna hang and drain the wolf's blood. We're then gonna need to dissect it. You just enjoy your food with ease."

"Gauw." Slathilia nodded, back to eating his food as Natasha rolled up her sleeves. He still kept watching her though. He needed to learn these things just in case. Raising her hand, a brown circle (not a sphere) with engravings unknown to him appeared in front of her hand. Letting out an amazed exhale, he watched in astonishment as a tendril made out of rocks came out of the ground, grabbed onto the wolf's leg, and hung it upside down. Letting its blood come out of its severed neck.

[1 Magic Circle Lv 2 Earth Magic: Entangle]

But Natasha wasn't done with the surprises yet. As the color of the Magic Circle on her hand changed from brown to blue, the speed of the blood flowing out suddenly accelerated sharply. Coming out at a fast, but not messy, pace.

[1 Magic Circle Lv 1 Water Magic: Water Manipulation]

Slathilia couldn't hide his amazement. Even if he knew about the wonders Magic could create, it was still so surreal when he saw it for himself. But well, he felt like this was going to be the tamest thing he was going to see in the future.

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(Today's Devoured)

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