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Alionse didn't know when he had passed out or for how long, all he knew was that something was nudging at his foot. He shifted, trying to move away, but the nudging continued. Alionse frowned. What was it? He didn't have any pets. Was his father poking him? Sometimes he could be really annoying.

"Stop it," Alionse mumbled.

Instead of hearing his father's laugh there was a hiss followed by a shriek. Alionse's eyes snapped open and he looked down. A clawed hand was pushing at his feet, searching for him in an attempt to bury its nails into his flesh. Alionse quickly scrambled back. His breath caught in his throat as his green eyes widened in fear.

"How? They couldn't fit before," Alionse said to himself. Technically they still couldn't fit. The dragon could only get one hand in, but it was enough to terrify Alionse. He sucked in a breath and tried to calm down. The dragon's claw kept searching, reaching. Then he heard it - the sound of claws against rock. It was a scratching sound and for a moment Alionse tried to figure out what was going on. His mind felt clouded and he wondered if he might have hit against the mountain wall harder than he thought. His body had been pumping with adrenaline, trying to survive both falling and being attacking by dragons, so it's possible he could have been more hurt than he realized. He hadn't even realized he had passed out after all.

Alionse sat up and ran his hands down his body, trying to figure out just how banged up he was. He moved his arm first, the one that even in sleep had clenched around his sword. He could still lift his arm, it was sore and his wrist heart, but he could still use it. He checked his other arm. Pain lashed up his body as he moved it. He felt pain go through him and he grunted, clenching his teeth to had back his cry. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. It was fine. It just took him off-guard. He tried lifting it again. The pain was still there, but it was bearable. He could move his arm; he just had to make sure not to use it for anything important. It wasn't broken at least, possibly sprained or fractured. He hoped it was the former.

He leaned back and looked at the hole. The dragon's clawed hand was gone. Alionse sat there and wondered what was happening. There was still the scratching sound. He frowned and eyed the hole. He bit his bottom lip. It was a stupid idea. He knew it was, but he had to know, otherwise he would be stuck here for how long. Quietly, as quietly as he could be, he began to crawl towards the hole. His heart thumped in his chest the closer he got to it. The dragon had reached in there so getting this close meant it could simply reach in and bury its claws into him. Alionse tried not to think about that. Instead he moved even closer to the hole. Then stopped. He was there. He just had to peek his head in and then he could see what the dragons were doing. He could still hear the scratching noise, so hopefully that meant they were too focused on whatever they were doing to pay attention to him. Trying to keep his movements quiet and his breathing still, Alionse, clutched at his sword and slid his head into the hole.

When he peered into the hole it was like peering into a nightmare. Three of the wind dragons were there and they were clawing at the wall. Their bodies seemed enormous stuffed into the small hole - a hole that was covered in claw marks. Deep grooves were everywhere and they were still digging. Trying to reach them. With the three of them combined, together with the way their bodies moved, fast and determined, the progress they made were astonishing. The cavern that had before been only small enough to let him in, was now big enough to hold two of them complete and the third partly, but even now that was expanding. Their tails lashed behind them as they moved, hissing and growling.

Why are they so determined?

He tried to get a better look, to see just how much time he had before they carved through the wall to get to him, but what he hadn't thought about was just how bright he was. His purple skin and long pink hair flashed in the darken cave like a beacon. The dragons twisted toward him as one. Then they were surging forward, jaws snapping and clawed hands outstretched. Alionse scrambled backwards, raising his sword up and swinging, but the movement was cut short by the tight spot. He tried to move backwards, his head barely making out of reach of the snapping jaws. He was back in his little alcove, but still too close to the hole. he started to move back when a dragon's claw reached out. It scratched at the ground. Alionse twisted out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough. One claw caught at his leg, leaving a long gash.

Alionse screamed, but he made himself move. Hot tears pressing at his eyes with the pain, but he ignored it, dragging himself away from the dragon hand, until he had his back pressed against the wall once again. He watched as the hand moved, searching for him, but unable to reach him. There was another roar of frustration from the dragon, before it withdrew. For a moment there was only silence, not even the scratching from before.

Alionse quieted his breathing and he knew, just as he was listening for them they were listening for him, waiting, hoping he would be foolish enough to stick his head out again, but Alionse knew this time they would be ready. He didn't move, instead he just breathed as he pressed one hand to his bleeding leg. Vaguely, he wondered if he would die in this cave. The thought made his stomach twist.

No! I'm not going to die. I refuse! He felt his eyes grow hard with determination. He survived so far, he would have to, and that meant he needed to stop the bleed. Instinctively he reached for the bag he had been carrying, searching, only to realize he had dropped it in the air before. But at the same time he realized it he felt something. Another bag. Alionse frowned. Where had it come from. He lifted the bag, but it was caught on something. He tugged harder. Something dragged across the ground. Alionse frowned and crawled forward. The cave, the cave went deeper than he thought it looked like. He crawled forward into the darkness, a lump in his throat when he finally saw what the bag was attached to. A skeleton. Alionse gasped and scrambled back.

"No, no," he said, shaking his head. He closed his eyes. Stop it! Stop freaking out. It can't hurt you. Not anymore.

Alionse took a shuddering breath and turned back to the bag, ignoring the skeleton. He opened it and as he did he heard a noise. It sounded like cracking. He glanced at the hole, dread filling him at the thought that the dragons had finally reached him and so soon, but the sound didn't come from there, but in front of him, past the skeleton and somewhere into the inky darkness.

Alionse quickly looked in the bag as his hand clutched at his sword. There! Inside he found some flint, charcoal. If there was flint and charcoal there had to be a torch or a lantern. That's when he saw it. A half burned out torch, lying across the skeleton. Up ahead, the cracking grew louder. He stretched over the body and grabbed it. With shaky hands he lit the torch and as light filled the cavern he suddenly understood everything. In front of him two cracked dragon eggs sat and from them two dragons were crawling out. Their mouths open and closed as if searching for food. Alionse took a step back and as he did the two baby dragons' head swiveled in his direction. He raised his sword and as he did the baby dragons let out a cry and suddenly a gust of wind slammed into Ali knocking him backward and against the wall. Pain lashed up his back and he could feel his head growing fuzzy, but he shook his head wildly. If he passed out now. He gripped the sword and looked up, focusing. The dragons were almost on him. He swung wildly with his sword, scratching one, while shoving the flame into the other's face. The Baby dragons screeched and pull back. Unhurt, but nervous about what they thought as food attacking them. He was sure it would only take them a moment to regroup and attack again.

From behind him, where the hole was, the dragons screeched and the scratching grew more insistent. And Alionse knew that any chances he had had of surviving had just dropped.