Chapter 2
Instinct and self-awareness
Why had he done something like that? So reckless, so dangerous ... the answer was instinct, something inside me called me down and so it was, but now that momentum had vanished, I was alone, lost, sore and with no apparent way out of that exotic micro ecosystem.


When I regained my senses it seemed that the whole room had taken a 360 degree turn, I felt disoriented and numb, the fall had been glorious that impulse that had led me to do something as irrational as jumping from that rock was going to take my toll. Slowly I opened my eyes, it was bent, my back rested in an unconventional pose on a mossy rock, which was surprisingly soft, which must have been what dampened the fall enough not to make it deadly, the neck fell to lead close to the ground and my legs were extended to both sides of my body; I scanned my surroundings without moving since I still felt somewhat dizzy, from here down the fall looked much worse than seen from above, the only positive is that it was one of the areas with less projections. I tried to bend my body to get up but a pain in the dorsal area instantly paralyzed me, it was as if a dagger was stuck between the vertebrae, causing me to drop my dead weight again but this time I could not stand the balance on that rock so I rushed to the ground landing on one side, although this position was more favorable to lift, I still took time to self-regret, sob and let out little grunts of pain, feeling my heart hammering my ears. After a while I tried again, I flexed my legs first leaning on the front ones to get up on my hind legs too, I stayed for a while on my four legs, still, seeing if I could endure, the pain seemed to be less intense, but still I felt sharp pangs every so often.

Around me the forest was presented, in this perspective it became more shady and gloomy, the fact that being in a cave where sunlight did not enter added the extra shade provided by the bushes, trees and shrubs, being the only source of lighting that faint turquoise glow that the mosses emitted. There was no noise of living beings in there which was quite strange because that seemed like a sanctuary to conserve native fauna and flora, that absence of noise made me be able to perceive the cooing of the river that ran through the forest and was born In the waterfall, I didn't think about it anymore. I advanced towards the forest, being consumed by it, the good thing was that as I walked the pain slowly went away, it dissipated.

Soon I realized that I was not completely devoid of animal life, on the trunks of the trees, on the ground or among the rocks were all kinds of insects, then unknown to me. Advancing was quite complicated because the branches and roots were rising forming capricious bonds as if they did not want to let me pass, however my small size allowed me to circumvent that net and reach the river bed, a part of it still covered by the forest in gallery, I looked both ways, to the right the river seemed to narrow until its channel was lost by a meander; On the left, the river came brave, the sound of the water falling swiftly between rocks was noticeable, but there came a point where the water accumulated and lowered its rhythm causing it to lose strength.

It may seem stupid and somewhat irrelevant in history, but in this passage it was the first time that I became aware of myself , it was when I peered into the river, when I saw my reflection distorted in the water, it was then that I discovered who I was, how it was. It was something quite strange as if until that moment I was not aware of my own body, that it existed.

I stayed for a while contemplating my reflection on that undulating surface, at first I even got scared at that creature that looked at me so steadily from beneath the waters, I walked two steps to the left and the reflection moved with me, then to the right and still followed me, I opened my mouth showing the fangs in a threatening tone and the reflection returned the threat, of course we both got scared and took a few steps back; I slowly poked my head back and still saw that creature peeking at the same time, I decided to go one step further and bring one leg closer to the reflection, as if I wanted to touch it and he also seemed interested because he did the same, a small smile that was returned and at the moment when my forepaw touched the water, it disappeared, it vanished, my hand crossed the water as if nothing, dissolving that strange subject that inhabited it, I quickly withdrew it and approached my head sniffing for some sign. Indeed at the time the image of that golden head with emerald green innocent eyes and confused look was re-formed, with two small half-formed horns in its back part of the head still semi hidden by a pair of orange ears, with elongated and golden snout that rested on a jaw of a somewhat paler yellow which continued with a long neck, which was not completely smooth but seemed to be segmented, thin lines crossed it transversely being more spaced as they approached the chest area, this gave a sense of a color even more clear in the chest and abdominal area.

And there it was, a thought fell over my head like a slab, that was me. I was that reflection, I looked like that, something was born in me, it's called self-awareness, I had an image of myself and I started to think about it, it was no longer a creature moved by impulses and instincts, I had taken the first step towards reasoning, be aware of your own existence.

From there I began to discover many things about myself, I turned my head to get a complete view of it, I saw that from the back of my neck the surface was irregular, a series of what looked like small spikes protruding above of the golden scales that covered it. I stood parallel to the river to see my torso, still leaning on my four legs, I realized that I had a kind of membrane on my back that fell on it like a blanket covering up the tailbone area, that was something new. I concentrated on moving it, if it was part of my body I should be able to handle it just like the other members of it, so it was the first time I spread my wings, a feeling quite alien, like when you fall asleep at night from your arm and when you wake up you feel that it is not yours, because I felt the same as controlling that pair of strange golden membranes, but I felt good, I felt great, I was playing with them for a while trying to go up and down another, go up both and lower them, testing different torsion angles to see what limits they had, is one of my first happy memories. My first consciousness

That began to affect me, to make me think about many things, what am I? Who I am? Why did I notice a voice now inside my head? Of course, after self-curiosity comes curiosity and the creation of psychological complexity, questions, doubts, everything changes perspective, it was an abrupt change, so many thoughts They started bombing my head that I had to sit because I felt dizzy.

A sound of a branch splitting from the bushes behind me brought me back to the real world, I stood still for a moment watching the bush waiting for some response, for my part, I put the weight on my back legs and I instinctively placed myself in the position of attack or flight, the silence that was after that first rumor of leaves only managed to increase the tension, but to top it off soon they began to hear more noises from different parts, it was apparently surrounded and behind my back I had the river, the instinct turned to take hold of my body, my muscles tensed and I opened my jaws to show my fangs not yet too developed, my heart and breathing accelerated and the initial pain had completely dissipated, even while in attack position I took a few steps towards back until lost contact with the ground and knew that was on the edge the river, the noises were becoming more numerous and m More threatening, when trying to take the next step back I found that there was no more soil, so I lost my balance and rushed to the river, which was not too strong but was deep enough for me to crawl, even nervous and panting I struggled to stay afloat as I could, kicking and flapping my wings chaotically, the current dragged me down the river until the point where the river narrowed and the force of the water increased, unable to swim I tried to float but my forces were quite limited. I finally abandoned myself.

Today I remember that as an internal struggle, as I went from instinct to reasoning so easily and quickly, as the most primary needs and thoughts became important in times of stress, fear, danger and logical thinking totally abandoned your being, Feelings and reason seemed incompatible at the time.

When the current eased enough, she dragged me to a sandy shore where I lay still breathing shortly and coughing, expelling the water I had swallowed; I realized when I looked around that I was very close to the waterfall, its noise could be heard fiercely creaking against the rocks. And it was then, I noticed again, that call, that hunch, that instinct, that carried me and invaded me was stronger than ever, it seemed that he was calling me, pushing me and seducing me, he took my body for me and He took it following the river bed to the foot of the waterfall, this area no longer had vegetation, it was just eroded, irregular and wet rock partially covered by mosses.

To my forehead stood the imposing waterfall which, for some reason I completely, ominously and majestically overlooked the water fell incessantly, but no, at that time the wonders of nature were mere trivial, however, yes, somehow the sixth sense, instinct call it X, call it And it led me to find a small grotto behind the waterfall. Yes, a cave inside a cave is what usually happens. A more I approached the stronger the momentum was all heart, although I once inside surprised to see what looked like a small natural sanctuary, adorned small trees of pink leaves were arranged in two rows to leave in the middle of a corridor to the At the bottom of the cave where a huge willow with pink leaves rested on a larger pedestal, although some had a whitish color, the leaves moved unevenly, they were not being moved by the wind, they sang an almost hypnotic dance of seeing.

After a first moment of shock, I continued moving forward, being able to hear almost a little voice in my head that was calling me, when I went down the hall between the trees I perceived how their leaves and branches were approaching, at first I did not give importance thinking that they were hallucinations mine but when I felt something soft caressing my back I could not help taking a small jump, indeed those trees were not common, they had some motility of their own and some awareness, or at least a sense of curiosity, because in my opinion how they folded their branches to me, as their leaves caressed my back, my neck and wings, it was as if they were playing, as if they were puppies discovering something for the first time. This bothered me a lot at the beginning, a glimpse of my rational self yelled at me to flee from there, but the calm singing of that voice in my head and instinct told me that I should stay in that place, so, soon I got used to The pampering of the trees and their soft branches, I returned the game trying to catch their leaves or climbing the trunks, without much success, always moving forward, towards the great willow tree.

The difference in size between the willow that stood proudly and I was almost overwhelming, I looked up to admire it, this, unlike the smaller ones, did not move its leaves so energetically, these seemed to hang lead to the ground intoning a sway Very slight, I noticed how the voice inside me that urged me to leave was inevitably silenced by another.

- Come, come closer -

My senses betrayed me, a strange essence intoxicated me filling my nostrils causing my heart to accelerate, it was a torrent of vitality that filled me inside, my eyes narrowed hugging that wonderful and relaxing sensation. I climbed the steps of the collapsed pedestal on which the willow tree laid. Feeling increasingly heavy and dragged, I was so absorbed that I did not even hear the sound of the rumble of leaves so aggressive that it filled the echo of the cave, nor how the floor creaked under the willow tree to lift its roots, which it threw at me.

It was there when I half woke up, but it was too late, the roots and twisting branches of the willow had been wrapped around my torso covering my wings depriving me of using them, still slightly numbed by the effect of the aphrodisiac that secreted that willow I resisted in vain trying to get rid of those damn roots that imprisoned me, I knew there was no escape when they easily lifted me up in the air and dragged me inside that wicked willow tree. Among all that dell light was completely null, I had to be guided by the sound, but the lullaby of the leaves when moving only made it more difficult, besides the strange aroma was stronger than ever, which clouded my senses, I noticed how I they abandoned forces to fight until finally I was defeated.

I did not know if I had woken up or not, because although I opened my eyes I still saw everything dark around me, I was confused, numb and disoriented still gasping for air, I tried to take a big breath but something imprisoned my chest when I tried, I wanted to squirm or to move my head to see what it was but I did not succeed, I was completely tied, my tail and my wings were not operational, I was hanging with my legs and wings extended, no matter how much I pulled my front or rear legs there was no way, being completely blind I didn't know what was holding me against my will, seeing my uselessness in not being able to escape, I tried to hold on to reason and logic again, praying inside me to hear that little voice that resonated prior to, wanting to answer a thousand questions.
But what he answered was something else, something brushed the sole of my right paw, which made me let out a small sigh of surprise, since it was unexpected, that first brush was followed by more, all of them were slight and very brief passing from claw heel to the one that was on the tip of my toes, those strange caresses caused a strange response in my body, I began to gasp with every touch feeling as forming an annoying itch sensation in the sole of my paw, which evidently I tried to avoid whatever was touching the sole but there was no way I could never guess where it was going to strike, whatever it was it was agile, fast and very quiet, it moved without making noise between the willow branches and attacked again and again. The corners of my lips curved in a half smile without understanding very well why, while I kept letting out little broken sighs that eventually became muffled chuckles.

Soon another sensation stimulated the left paw causing me to lose my concentration on the right one, which resulted in a little scream drowned, in surprise, making me vibrate and move my ankles trying to push away that feeling that little by little filled me more and more with uncertainty and fear of the unknown, my gasps were audible when I felt like this strange being, or thing or whatever it was began to give passes more slowly through the soles of my two paws, had a very smooth surface, it felt like the tail of an animal but on the other hand the small hairs were like sticky, I noticed how with each pass some were stuck for a millisecond between the gaps of my scales which was horrible because when following their course these small “hooks” exerted tension and made the most notorious feeling, they also left my soles sticky which was not very pleasant. I deduced that they must be lianas or willow branches since I did not believe that any animal could survive in there. I clenched my teeth to think clearly and overcome this growing urge to laugh that grew in my chest and desperately wanted to escape through my throat, but fighting emotions is like telling a waterfall to stop and stop flowing, so the other pair of tendrils attacking my toes, the laughter flowed, they were sharp and choppy laughter mixed with several snorts and grunts, the vines tormented me with their soft spines making me notice each one of them, even if I resisted and I writhe no escape, all I got was to attract more attention from them, with their evil thinner extensions those vines could slip through my toes which got instantly contracted and curled but that was worse, trapping the vines between the toes made it easier for those damned lianas, making me yelp and splay back the toes allowing the vines to wrap and coil around them, there was really no escape for my poor helpless toes. As time went by my paws began to get filled with a sticky substance that lianas left behind, but I was too busy laughing while trying not to lose my sanity, they increased the pace and ran around my soles from right to left moving his thorns and hairs as a brush, which made me let out a laugh that seemed like a scream.

The same ones that danced between my toes soon began to climb up my legs, which meant a long torture for them since they used the hollow between my thumb and my index as a support for then go to my thighs which turned out to be a relief because they failed to get any reaction from me, I simply stirred them as I could when they began to push their soft tips or brush me with their spines. That moment of calmness didn’t last much since between those giggles a sudden roar, what made me throw my head back and arch my back was to notice how two vines stormed the small space where my wings joined my back, that was surprisingly sensitive, I was shocked at that situation, my wings moved uncontrollably tugging from the bonds and my body reacted excessively, the vines were becoming more abundant and began to cover all my back and wings trying to find more possible tender points but none turned out to be as good as the one mentioned, acting like a swarm of creeping creatures they moved at unison sweeping with their sticky hairs the scales of my neck coiling around it but thankfully didn’t choke me, looked like the willow didn’t wanted me to pass away yet, it wanted to play with me a bit more. Gradually the vines were slithering from my back to my sides pressing them rhythmically like a heart pulsing, until some lianas stayed in my pale belly and others crossed my sides from the armpits to hips, those spots weren’t as sensitive, it should have felt like a gentle massage which I could not enjoy since the torment suffered by my back and my paws was unbearable, my laughter echoed and resonated against the walls of the cave.

Couldn’t remember how much time it was but I soon gave up on trying to resist, I laughed heartily, releasing everything, no longer hiding it was too much for me, even if some of the spots wouldn’t get me so mad if they got tickled one by one being them all simultaneously assaulted drove me insane. I coughed often to catching my breath, noticing myself again as the forces were leaving me, dizzy from breathing so hard I was on the verge of collapse, however it seems that the branches and vines read my mind, because at that moment they slowly withdrew from my body.

It took me a while to get back to reality, since laughing so much my mind had clouded a little and it was difficult for me to breathe, however, there I was still, immobilized, panting and with the body covered with a sticky substance and full of clinking sensations, there was A few moments of calm and silence in which I could recover and rebuild my immature mind.

The calm did not last long, because suddenly something began to climb up my leg, it was something tiny and that first sensation got followed him more.

- No please ... but no ... - I didn't want to go through the hell of the damn lianas again

It was when I began to notice little legs walking up my legs and wrists at first they were only a few ones that made me shake trying to get them off but those tiny legs kept tapping up my thighs, down to my heels and up to my neck.

- Oh…gohod…ple-pleahase not again…ah! – My words were interrupted again as I decided it was better to shut my mouth.

Gradually more and more nasty sensations covered my paws again, couldn’t really tell what those creatures were but they were certainly increasing the number of them, they were coming from the vines that attached my limbs and spread all over my body, running aimlessly. My body twitched and I tried to keep it cool but it was just impossible when they covered it almost completely, there were millions of them stepping on my scales, running from side to side, when I felt this large amount of stimulus I exploded again, cursing aloud to the tree and all his lineage. What was on me were small insects, which had been attracted by the sticky substance that the vines had left on my body, it seemed that they fed on it, as they soon began to "sting" and "bite" my skin with its tiny mouths which wasn’t painful since my scales offered a good shield but instead it was pure torture, I could feel tingling sensations all over my body which made me shriek in laugher as they ran between my toes taking tiny bites to them, discovering that the base of my toes was a very sensitive spot, they were racing up and down my hips causing me to buck and bounce in place being firmly held down, the ones of the wings were very nasty that space was semi-covered by the wings which meant that once they got under that they wouldn’t be able to get out meaning endless tickles on that area. I could feel my eyes tearful due to the laugh, those itchy and tingly sensations were leaving me worn out, to the point that I began to wonder if I was going to get out of that situation, were they going to eat me alive?

And that was when, in the midst of all that chaos, I understood it, how that mysterious and exotic ecosystem worked; the willow that had me held was like the father or mother who supported their young, which were the smallest trees that had happened before, for this I had to hunt their victims which was not very difficult thanks to their weapons as the powerful aphrodisiac that emanated to attract unsuspecting little animals and their powerful lianas capable of immobilizing a dragon, then covered their prey with that substance to attract insects and devour what they had hunted to leave, it is not known if the bones or some remains that were digestible by the great willow so that he could distribute them to his hungry children , then ... the noises he had heard before in the river, were the animals that inhabited the forest, were hidden so as not to be attracted to the effect of the aphrodisiac of the willow, and instead of avoiding it I had gone straight to its trap

Those thoughts that tormented my mind only made it worse, my laughter already a bit desperate became acute and rampant, coughing and gasping for air, finding some difficulties for breathing, although I could not stand it that way for a long time since the weakness quickly snuggled me back in his lap, it would be of little use to understand the functioning of that whole ecosystem if it was not going to be able to escape from all forms.

The mind has several defense mechanisms against traumatic situations, the first of all is the fight, the position in which the body prepares you by releasing adrenaline, opening the bronchial tubes and dilating the blood vessels, accelerating breathing and heart rate, this formation It is a favorite for a flight or fight situation; The second response is fainting, given an impossibility of escape or success in combat, the mind cuts the connections, inducing in the organism a state of insensitivity and lethargy causing something similar to hibernation, in order to protect the integrity of the subject ... And I was that subject. My eyes were shutting down being unable to struggle, giving up my body to the will of fate

But then it was when a spark inside me ignited a small flame, it was almost unnoticeable but then gradually it was growing, getting bigger, stronger, shinning more and more. Among all that madness my fuzzy body could feel how it floated being powered by a source of heat that was coming from every direction. It was a rush of adrenaline that overcome every sense of my body, the whole perception of my outside world was replaced by the beat of my heart in my ears, the vision of flashing lights, the touch of warm tongues of flame. Among all that blur and fuzziness, I slowly came back to reality feeling stronger and stronger.
I had enough of that shit

With a potent twist of my body the branch cracked under me making me fall down hanging from the vines that were still holding me from the limbs allowing me to tear them with my claws that were now fully extended and ready to attack, the next objective was to release the wings, shaking and struggling wasn’t an option since I couldn’t bend back my body, instead I had a better idea, I spitted a flame.

As soon as it contacted the liana it immediately started to burn, the flame devouring the plant like a hungry predator, how ironical, now the tables had turned. Blue and red flames started to spread on other branches and leaves which seemed to annoy the Willow that shook them trying to put off the fire.

Once my wings were released, I eagerly spread them and took flight but the narrow space that the branches sewed was almost impossible to cross, but it was more difficult as I was seeing more roots and vines coming to attack me. My flying skills were practically null so I just flew the best I could and overall instead of dodging I fought back against the plant, spitting fire and using my claws and fangs to tear them apart. The smoke and the fire limited the vision and felt like there was no way out, luckily I found a small hole that seemed to connect with the exterior, so I rushed towards it but when I was almost going to make it something coiled around my ankle and tried to pull me back, I kicked in response and tried to fly away but then the fire splashed onto the vine and reached my ankle as well leaving me a mark that would come along with me till the day of today.

Now that I was outside that hell I had time to admire the masterpiece I created, the whole mighty willow was burning, smoke coming out from every direction and somehow I felt good, powerful even I spent some time flying around and throwing more flames at that big bunch of burning leaves and branches. But I had to come out the cave before the smoke filled the air completely and wouldn’t leave me breath, so with my new functional wings I made my way out and landed on the top of a rock on one of the rampant walls, watching carefully the waterfall that hid the cave and how the smoke from inside slowly reached the entrance of the hollow of the wall making the water turn dark grey.

It was time to leave and return to the surface, I had enough of that underground place.