This short story was inspired by the first boss fight in the original version of Changed, a game by the wonderful  _DrDragonTim. Enjoy!

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You breathe a sigh of relief as you somehow manage to clamber to your feet in spite of the slippery latex floor. Mere seconds prior, you had narrowly managed to avoid sliding directly into one of the massive glowing crystals in the room, missing the sharp edges by what seemed to be a hair's breadth. Considering the number of strange latex creatures and the old notes in the labs, you have an inkling of what might have occurred had you not avoided touching the crystals—but you don't know for sure, and you certainly aren't eager to find out. Thankfully, the strange masked creatures ceased to follow you down the hall to the exit—though for a moment or two you could swear you heard them gigging to themselves.

Shaking your head free of those thoughts, you walk carefully into the next room, a massive chamber with a high ceiling. Like the last few rooms, the walls and floor are coated in dried black latex, and various crystals poke out of the ground. As you carefully begin to progress, the sound of something ripping through the latex floor behind you startles you; turning around, you find the door you entered through blocked by those same green crystals. Looking for another exit, your eyes land on a massive black dragon at the other end of the room; to your horror, it stares directly at you. The gigantic creature opens its mouth, but nothing comes out—no sound that you can hear, at least. The other creatures in the room seem to respond to a silent noise from the monster, and slowly begin to converge on you.

In a panic, you rush toward the only other exit you can see, narrowly avoiding the smaller black creatures. Suddenly, you shout in pain as you step on something sharp; looking down, you see a small crystal retreating. Not noticing anything too different and too panicked to stop, you continue running. The dragon opens its mouth again... but this time, you hear something. It's faint—so faint you briefly discount it as your imagination—but it's there. Something feels odd, but you continue running, stopping and turning only when you see a large crystal in front of you. The dragon opens its mouth again, and the sound you heard is louder and clearer. It doesn't sound quite like words; more like a massive cat purring, but with a clear melody, as if it were humming a tune. Something about the sound is almost soothing...

You shake your head. No. Now is not the time to...

The sound occurs again, and it's even clearer. In fact, it sounds like there are words among the purring. -...ay... ld... ng... ay... re...-

You slow down a bit, but you don't know why. Weren't you supposed to be running away?

-...tay... y... ild... ttle... ing... tay... ere... ith me...-

This time, you stop in your tracks. The sound—no, the song, is even prettier. No, not a song, a lullaby. A lullaby that flows through you, causing you to forget what you were doing for a moment. You were... fleeing, right?

-Stay, my child... my little hatchling... stay here... with me...-

You blink your eyes a bit; looking down at yourself, you suddenly realize that you no longer have shorts. Something ripped through them, leaving you stark naked. Part of you feels like you should be wearing something, but something else tells you that you shouldn't be wearing anything at all. That clothes just get in the way. Your teeth feel funny, and your back itches. Something at the base of your spine twitches.

-Stay, my child, my little hatchling. Stay here with me.-

Your feet look weird. Your back feels weird. Your mouth feels weird. But the lullaby is calming. Soothing. You want to listen to the pretty song. It's a lullaby just for you. But who is singing?

-You are small. You are cold. You need to be protected. You need to be held.-

You shiver a bit. The lullaby is calming, but you're cold, and you feel a little scared. You wish someone would hold you. Keep you safe. You're small, after all.

-You are small. You need to be held. You are a child. You are a little hatchling.-

You whimper a bit. You can't stand it! You need to find the one singing to you, they can protect you. You're too small to protect yourself. You need to be held.

-I'm here, little hatchling. Come to me.-

The lullaby is coming from... over there. Yes, the big dragon, the friendly dragon. That's where you were running to earlier. You were afraid because you were small, and the world was so very big and cold, and you knew the big dragon would keep you safe.

-Stay, my child, my little hatchling. Stay here with me.-

You walk unsteadily. You stumble over onto your forepaws. Wait, forepaws?

-Just a child. Just a hatchling.-

Yes, that's right. You shouldn't have been on just your hind legs. That's how humans walk. You're just a hatchling. You have four legs, not two. Maybe when you're bigger you'll be strong enough to stand on your back legs. But you're getting distracted. You almost forgot to listen to the lullaby. It's a lullaby just for you. You need to listen to it like a good hatchling. You walk toward the big dragon, your tail swishing the ground, your little wings twitching. They're not big enough to let you fly, because you're small, you're just a hatchling. You shouldn't be wandering around on your own.

-You are small. You need to be held. You are my little hatchling. I will keep you safe. I will keep you warm. Stay, my child. Stay, my little hatchling. Stay here with me.-

You finally reach the big dragon. The Elder. The Elder One. Father, Mother, Grandparent, Teacher, Caretaker... the Elder is all of them. You need to stay with the Elder One. Good hatchlings stayed all comfy and snug in his care until they were ready to be dragons. Good hatchlings listened to their pretty lullabies that told them all they needed to know.

-You are small.-

You are small. Very small. Too small to be away from the Elder One.

-You need to be held.-

You're so cold. The world is scary and cold and the Elder One is warm and safe. You like it when he holds you.

-You are my little hatchling.-

You are a good little hatchling, just a very small hatchling who needs taking care of. All little hatchlings are taken care of by the Elder One, because the Elder One loves all of his little hatchlings. The Elder One loves you because you are his little hatchling.

-Stay, my child. Stay, my little hatchling. Stay here with me.-

You climb into the Elder One's lap. His smooth latex scales are so warm and he is so soft. His massive paws grasp you and gently lift you up to his chest, pulling you into a soft embrace. You let out a soft trilling sound, nuzzling into his chest and hearing his breathing as you listen to your special lullaby.

-Good hatchling. Good hatchlings get hugs. Good hatchlings like hugs.-

You like hugs. You are a good hatchling.

-My lap is warm and safe. My lap is like a hug.-

He places you in his lap, and you frown a bit because you liked his big hugs, but at least you're still hugged because you're in his lap. You curl up, laying your head on your tail. The lullaby keeps going and you listen carefully because it's so pretty and calming.

-Humans need hugs. If you see a human, hug them. They are good to hug. When you hug them, they will play as if they want to leave, but they want to stay and be hugged. The more you hug them the nicer it will feel to hug them. Hugging makes them softer. Hugging makes them like us. But not yet. You are small. You are just a small, tiny little hatchling. My small tiny little helpless hatchling who needs to be held and kept safe until he's a big dragon. You will be big enough to fly in a month. But you will still be a hatchling and will need to come back to me for a hug and a lullaby every now and then. One day you will be a big, strong, powerful dragon. But not today. Today, you are a little hatchling. My little hatchling.-

You find yourself humming along to the music, purring and trilling in safety and comfort. You can't wait to be big enough to fly. One day you'll be a big strong dragon and hug all the humans so they get to be dragons too. But right now you just want to stay in the Elder One's lap where you are safe and warm.

After all, you are just a little hatchling. His little hatchling.