Kai POV
By the time the dragon finally reached him, Kai was still trying to process what had just happened.
The system had actually given him information.
Not vague nonsense.
Not redacted garbage.
Actual information.
And, even better, he had gained a real skill.
Communication.
Kai could talk to monsters.
Maybe not perfectly, and maybe only under certain conditions, but still. That was more than enough to make his brain short-circuit with excitement.
Unfortunately, he did not get much time to enjoy it.
Something nudged his leg.
Kai blinked and looked down.
The dragon was beside him.
She pressed her head lightly against his leg, then rubbed against him in a way that reminded him more of a cat than a legendary creature. Her movements were careful because of her injured wing, but there was no mistaking the gesture.
She was being affectionate.
Kai stared down at her.
Then, almost without thinking, he placed his hand on her head.
The reaction was immediate.
The dragon sprang backward, eyes wide, claws scraping against the cave floor.
Kai snapped back to attention.
“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly. “Did I hurt you? Is there anything I can do?”
The dragon stared at him.
For a moment, she seemed unsure of what to do. Her tail shifted behind her, and her claws flexed against the stone.
Kai waited.
Then he realized the problem.
“Oh. Right.”
He slapped a hand to his forehead.
“I’m an idiot. You can understand me, but I can’t understand you.”
The dragon blinked.
“Okay,” Kai said, holding up one finger. “Let’s make this simple. Nod your head up and down for yes. Shake it side to side for no. Can you do that?”
The dragon stared at him for another second.
Then she nodded.
Kai felt a strange little thrill run through him.
“Great. That’s great.”
He leaned forward slightly.
“Are you in pain?”
She hesitated.
Then shook her head.
Kai frowned.
“Do you need anything?”
Another shake of her head.
“Are you sure?”
This time, she looked away.
Kai sighed softly.
“You know, I can’t help you if you don’t help me help you.”
The dragon remained still for a moment.
Then, slowly, she padded back over to him and lowered her head.
Kai took that as permission.
“Okay. I’m just going to check you over.”
He reached out carefully and touched her scales.
They were warm.
Smooth.
Alive.
Earlier, when he had first dragged her into the cave and started patching her up, her scales had felt cold beneath his hands. Too cold. At the time, he had been too panicked to think about it much, but now the difference was obvious.
Warm was good.
Warm meant improvement.
Kai checked the bandages first. The smaller wounds had stopped bleeding, and the wrappings were still holding. Her broken wing was still splinted in place, though he would need to replace the bandages eventually.
Then he carefully checked beneath her chest, searching for the heartbeat he had found earlier while making sure she was still alive.
He found it.
And immediately frowned.
Her heart was beating fast.
Very fast.
At first, Kai thought it might just be stress. She had been attacked, injured, chased, carried into a cave by a stranger, and woken up in an unfamiliar place. A fast heartbeat made sense.
But then it got faster.
Kai’s frown deepened.
“Your heart rate is really high.”
The dragon shifted beneath his hand.
Then she started squirming.
Kai pulled back immediately.
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”
The dragon rolled back onto her stomach and tucked her head close to her body, watching him with those bright golden-orange eyes.
Kai studied her for another moment.
“Other than the increased heart rate, you seem stable. The bleeding has stopped, your body temperature feels better, and you’re alert.”
The dragon blinked at him.
“I’ll keep checking on you until you’re ready to move. Is that okay?”
She nodded.
Kai smiled a little.
“Good.”
For a little while, the cave was quiet.
A thin beam of sunlight slipped through the hole in the ceiling, painting the stone floor in pale gold. Outside, the forest rustled softly, but nothing seemed close enough to threaten them.
Kai leaned back against the cave wall.
Then a thought occurred to him.
“Do you have a name?”
The dragon tilted her head.
Kai paused.
“You probably don’t know what that means, huh?”
She continued staring.
“A name is something people call you so they know who they’re talking to. Like me. My name is Kai.”
He pointed to himself.
“Kai.”
The dragon watched closely.
“So, do you have anything like that? Something someone calls you?”
The dragon lowered her gaze.
For a few seconds, she seemed to think about it.
Then she looked back at him with an oddly sad expression and slowly shook her head.
Kai’s chest tightened.
“Oh.”
He softened his voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
The dragon did not move.
Kai looked away, feeling strangely guilty.
“Well… I need to call you something. I don’t like just calling you ‘dragon,’ and saying ‘you’ all the time feels weird.”
Her ears, or what Kai assumed were ears, perked slightly.
“So, would it be okay if I gave you a name? It doesn’t have to be permanent. Just something I can call you for now.”
The dragon’s head shot up.
Then she nodded furiously.
Her tail thumped against the cave floor. Her tongue lolled slightly out of her mouth, and a bit of spit flew from her jaws as she nodded again and again.
Kai laughed despite himself.
“Alright, alright. I get it. You like the idea.”
She stopped nodding, but her whole body still seemed to buzz with excitement.
Kai studied her carefully.
If he was going to name a dragon, he had to do it properly.
Her scales were a bright scarlet red, warm and vivid even in the dim cave light. Her eyes shone like molten gold. The claws on her feet were glossy black, and the tip of her tail looked like it had been dipped in ink.
Even injured and exhausted, she looked powerful.
Majestic.
Beautiful, in the way a wildfire was beautiful.
Dangerous, but impossible to ignore.
Kai thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
“How does Ember sound?”
The dragon went completely still.
Kai blinked.
“Do you not like it?”
The answer came in the form of her launching herself at him.
“Whoa—!”
She was about the size of a medium dog, maybe close to a rottweiler, and Kai was absolutely not prepared for a dragon tackle. She hit his chest and knocked him flat onto the cave floor.
Before he could recover, she started rubbing her head and body against him, sniffing him excitedly while her tail thumped against the ground.
Kai lay there, stunned.
Then he started laughing.
“Okay, okay! I’ll take that as a yes.”
The newly named Ember looked down at him and nodded once.
Her golden eyes were bright.
Kai smiled up at her.
“Ember it is, then.”
She lowered her head and pressed it lightly against his chest.
Kai carefully rested a hand on her head again.
This time, she did not jump away.
Instead, she stayed there, listening.
For a moment, Kai wondered what she was doing.
Then he felt it.
His heartbeat.
Steady.
Alive.
Ember seemed to relax against him, as if the sound comforted her.
Kai’s smile softened.
“You’re safe,” he whispered. “I promise.”
Ember closed her eyes.
Kai had no idea that dragons were supposed to be proud, arrogant creatures who rarely showed affection to anyone.
He had no idea this behavior was strange.
He had no idea that a dragon accepting a name from someone was not a small thing.
As far as Kai knew, he had rescued an injured animal, helped her calm down, and given her a name she liked.
So when Ember stayed curled against him, listening to his heartbeat, Kai simply thought she was acting like a scared animal finally realizing she was safe.
And honestly, that was enough for him.