Chapter 2: Food

Drinking water is akin to dumping a bucket of water over your head. My lack of elastic lips forces me to either submerge my snout against the current of the water or to fill my mouth with water then tilt my head up to let it fall down my throat. Both techniques nearly made me drown myself and gave me the pleasure of experiencing an incredibly violent gagging reflex.

I've counted a total of 5 times when my ceiling lamp turns off for a while until it slowly begins to shine again. In that time I've done little more than mope around, eat, sleep, and shit. Truly, a life like no other.

'This is embarrassing, I'm still rolling on the ground to get around because I haven't used the tail for more than bringing over a bug leg to suck on.'

Meals haven't been the most enjoyable either. The insects are massive relative to me and had shells impossible to pierce with just the gums in my mouth. My lack of teeth and meager strength meant that I had to push my small head through the openings intentionally made into the carcasses. Slurping up the rancid gut soup and actually swallowing proved to be a bigger hurdle than drinking medicine as a child.

My luxury lifestyle wasn't missing a thing. A mountain of diverse delicacies, clean running water, and the best part was that it's completely free. It was a bit lacking in the entertainment apartment, but nothing a little dose of theory crafting couldn't fix.

While it was clear momma lizard wasn't making a surprise entrance any time soon, whoever or whatever left me, or better yet the egg, in this cave didn't wish for its death. The current living conditions were lackluster for any prolonged use but it was clear from the processed meals and the small dugout creek, that at the very least they wanted me to last. Unless the culprit didn't know what would hatch from the egg, the lizard that would have normally hatched out would either be smart enough to understand its situation or had the instincts to manage its resources without much thought.

'Perhaps these species are like sea turtles who lay their young and then proceed to abandon all parental responsibility. Or better yet, there's a tragic tale as to why I'm here alone, never to see my heroic, scaly mother again, my mother who stormed a mighty castle to save little ol' me from the clutches of oh so greedy humans.'

Wiping off nonexistent tears, I realize that whatever the reason may be for my solitude, it doesn't change a thing.

I'm still alone. I still can't walk. I can barely sleep and the best part is that I don't even what gender I'm supposed to be. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between two red slider turtles much less a pupilless, black freak who's completely bare down there.

'This is getting stale, no gaming console or at least building bricks. Not even a toy for reptiles around, unless I consider chasing down my tail a pass time...'

While living a few days of doing absolutely nothing was fairly nice, I was quickly growing fed up situation. So with my food supply along with my patience slowly dwindling, I figured it was time to start acting on my respectable 17 years of very wise age to finally learn how to walk. While I was at it, might as well learn how to properly get water from my mouth to my stomach, instead of straight into my lungs.

Surprisingly enough, circling my little cave on all fours was fairly easy. I figured the tail would play a bigger part at higher speeds and sharp turns, not that I could do so in a cave barely twice my standing height and around 10 square meters of ground. Most of that ground littered with body parts and excrement. Though I didn't know what I would look like in my later years, I may never move fast enough to properly use the tail. Other than that, mastering the art of water drinking proved to be a much more difficult task.

It took a lot of trial and error to get used to the sensation of letting water flow down your throat uncontrolled. Unlike a human who had the throat muscles to even let them eat and drink in space, I doubt I'm cut out to be an astronaut. At one point it felt like my lungs decided to cooperate in my mission to drink water.

For the next few days, I just walked around and did my best to see what my new body had to offer. With my body feeling quite a bit stronger and more stable than at birth, I had a new options for entertainment. I started doing the classic prisoner trope of tallying down the number of days it's been since I've been born. Using my sturdy and of course black claws, that lined my finger and toes, I dug random holes and sometimes put them to good use by burying my unwanted baby waste.

Spent a chunk of time whipping the bug corpses along with the ground with my tail for no particular reason. I got the sudden urge to rearrange the bug bodies to reenact a certain comedic scene but ultimately decided against it. And no it had nothing to do with whipping something.

With my tally marks counting 9, I start digging a tunnel. But I'm no mole rat, so like any sane man, I started to dig up. At my current rate, my food would last at best 2 weeks, so it was time to face the sun again. Clawing against the soft dirt, I was left with a simple question.

'What do I do if this isn't Earth?'

My situation is abnormal enough and through it I've tried to convince myself that I'm just a mutated iguana on some remote uninhabited island. On Earth. But there was also the were high chance that I've been reborn on some different planet, hell maybe even a different reality. I tried to believe that I'm just some weird lizard, but every part of my body pointed to a single conclusion.

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'Dragon'

While I enjoyed reading, it was mostly to check up on drug prices and ingredients. But even I knew of the mythical dragons, said to be prideful beings of untold power and dominance. Breathing fire and driving human armies to ash. At least that was the image that came to mind when I thought of one. From my supposed wings to my long tail and even to my hopefully future sleek figure, everything pointed towards the fact that I'm supposed to be a flying reptile.

I don't think a dragon would do well on Earth. If this is another world, it's adds to the layer of how dragons would be view amongst intelligent species. I simply didn't know and that scared me. I stopped digging for a second only to then continue my journey upwards. Once again understanding that unless I plan to starve and bore myself to death I had to get a little dangerous.

Slowly but surely I made my way through the dirt that slowly mixed with gravel and small stones. I came to a halt when the ceiling above me softly collapsed on top of me. Through my rough estimates, the burrow I called my home was around 4 meters underground, which was surprising considering it was only a bit more than a meter tall.

Useless thoughts came to me because my expectations of a glamorous and colorful outside world was immediately crushed. Crawling out the tunnel, I'm met with a murky and mossy cavern. Massive eroded stalactites hanging off the ceiling. Countless small water ways joining and breaking off at different points. The ground nothing more than loose gravel. The humid air filling every nook and cranny of my lungs. I decided to come out during midday, or at least that's what I assumed it would be based on the brightness level of my makeshift lamp down in the small cave. The only source of light coming from one of the swirling pathways, all them interconnected with each other.

I carefully inch my way towards the light, slowly rebuilding my lost expectation for grand scenery. But with only a couple more steps left, I feel something prickle my senses. The sensation was felt, but I didn't physically feel anything. I didn't taste or smell it, and I was positive I didn't see or hear it either. I could tell something was around me but I couldn't tell from where, much less how. I started digging around, sniffing the air or concentrating on my ears but nothing. So I kept looking, going from one tunnel to another, never straying to far, at times losing the odd sensation. Minutes pass and with a final push of some dirt, I see the tip of it.

Unafraid of consequences, I rip out the white, almost transparent, stalk of the object only to be left in awe. Laying bare in front of me was a feather a bit longer than my tail. The shaft of it that ran through the entire length was a pale soft white color, giving off a soft glow that illuminated itself but nothing of its surroundings. In complete contrast, the fluffy but firm mane of the feather was a jet black color. It seemed to suck any and all light into it, determined to not be stained by any color. While both the white and black components of the feather seemed to be fighting for dominance, they complemented each other and appeared harmonious.

Holding the large feather in my paws, staring intently at it left me weirdly satisfied. The foreign feeling of sensing something without my five senses was multiplied tenfold, yet it was comfortable, natural even.

Stuffing the feather in my mouth, I dash as quickly as possible to the exit of the cave. At the the end, I'm given my derserveingly beautiful view of the world around me. Atop a mountain, just below the blankets of the clouds, a vast panoramic view of a rich green jungle opens up before me. For as far as the eye can see, massive thick trees filled with life and dressed in vines and moss cover the expansive lands and contrasted well with the light blue sky.

To end this short journey to the outside, I feel a stabbing pain travel from the tip of my tongue to the tip of my tail. Quickly spitting out the black betrayer, I begin to feel something swell up in the depths of my body.

'Rule number 1 of reincarnation, don't put random things in my mouth, no matter how pretty they are. Can't believe I fell to the basics...'

'FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK GOD DAMMIT PLEASE DON'T DIE, NOT LIKE THIS. I HAVEN'T EVEN ATE A DECENT MEAL YET!!! SHIIIIT WHERE THE HELL IS THAT CARPENTER WATER TO WINE BULLSHITTER WHEN YOU NEED HIM!!! FUUCCKK'

Feeling the pain of my insides churn to mush and my heart and lungs squeeze, ripping themselves made my death memories feel like wet dreams. My skin was being peeled, with my eyes bursting inwards, collapsing in on themselves. My nails seemingly regrowing as quickly as they flew off. Blood pouring out of every hole and limb. My skeleton shattering and tearing my muscles before reforming only to repeat the process.

In the midst of the world turning pain, I stop only to feel a lump of air working its way up my throat and another through my back side. In the next instant, a quiet and high pitch burp along with a soft fart, pop out of both end. With a clear mind I examine myself only to find that all the scenes of my body being turned inside out were hallucinations, though the pain experienced was definitely real.

'What. The. Fuck.'

I drop to the ground, drained beyond all belief of any strength. My heavy eyelids slowly closing. The last thing that I could make out was the patch of slightly blackened stone in front of me.