Silence descended upon the ravine, thick and absolute, broken only by the shallow, controlled breathing of the hidden ambushers. They waited, concealed amongst rock overhangs and dense ferns, eyes fixed on the narrow game trail leading back towards the river. Every nerve was taut, every sense straining against the heavy quiet of Tallenwood. William crouched beside Julia behind a mossy boulder, his +2 sword held ready but feeling woefully inadequate, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. Ambush protocol active. Threat assessment: Unknown stalker, high stealth capability confirmed. Probability of engagement: High. Optimal outcome: Swift neutralization with minimal collateral noise. He ran a low-level EMMA scan of the approach vector, seeking any tell-tale thermal or acoustic signature. MP: 126/136. Nothing but background noise and their own elevated biometrics.

  Minutes crawled by. The waiting was a unique form of torture, anticipation coiling tighter with each silent second. Then, a flicker. Not a sound this time, but a subtle shift in the dappled shadows where the game trail entered the ravine’s bottleneck, about fifteen meters away. Something small, moving low and cautiously.

  Target acquired! William’s mind snapped to alert, focusing EMMA’s visual enhancers. Movement detected... low thermal signature... biomass estimate: minimal...

  Roland tensed beside him, sword shifting fractionally in his grip. Jett, perched higher up among the rocks, drew his bowstring back with infinite slowness, arrow aimed unwaveringly at the disturbance. Julia’s hands glowed faintly as she prepared an offensive spell, likely Force Dart or something similar. Caspian swallowed hard, clutching his amulet.

  Then, the creature stepped fully out of the shadows into a patch of sunlight filtering through the canopy.

  And William’s jaw dropped. Every preconceived notion, every simulation EMMA had run based on ‘stealthy stalker’, evaporated instantly. He’d expected a large goblin scout, a gaunt forest predator, maybe some grotesque Tallenwood beast. He had not expected… this.

  It was tiny, no bigger than a large house cat. Its slender, serpentine body was covered in smooth, overlapping scales of purest white, shimmering like mother-of-pearl in the dappled light, giving it an almost ethereal glow. Large, intelligent eyes, the vibrant blue of a deep glacial lake, blinked slowly, taking in the scene with unnerving curiosity, not malice. A delicate, pointed snout twitched, nostrils flaring as it scented the air. Small, translucent, bat-like wings, clearly incapable of sustained flight, were folded neatly against its back. A long, elegant tail tipped with a tuft of soft white fur swayed gently, almost inquisitively.

  It was, impossibly, undeniably, a dragon. A juvenile. A hatchling, perhaps. And it was… adorable. Data point: Adorable. Tactical relevance: Zero. Emotional response: Significant cognitive dissonance.

  Around him, William sensed the stunned disbelief from the others. Roland’s sword lowered slightly. Jett’s bowstring remained taut, but the arrow didn't waver towards a killing shot. Julia’s gathered mana flickered uncertainly. Caspian simply stared, mouth agape. They had prepared for a monster, a killer. They were confronted with something out of a fairy tale.

  The little dragonet tilted its head, its large blue eyes fixing directly on William. It took a tentative step forward, then another, its movements fluid, graceful, utterly silent now on the mossy ground. It stopped just a few feet away, well within the bottleneck of the ravine, tail giving a small, hesitant flick.

  And then, a voice bloomed inside William’s head. Clear, distinct, yet utterly silent, not sound waves hitting his ears, but pure thought resonating directly within his consciousness. It felt… strange, intimate, like deciphering an alien network protocol that somehow bypassed all normal inputs.

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  < Apologies for the intrusion, > the mental voice sounded, surprisingly gentle, with a high, clear timbre that felt young but articulate. < Telepathy can be startling. Please do not be alarmed. I am… the one you see. >

  William stared, dumbfounded. EMMA! Analyze incoming transmission! Psychic protocol? Mana signature? EMMA’s interface flickered, displaying mostly question marks. Analysis: Unknown energy signature detected coinciding with subjective perception of non-auditory communication. Low mana expenditure from source. Protocol handshake: Failed. Data packet structure: Unrecognized. Completely new territory.

  < You saved me, > the dragonet’s thoughts continued, focused entirely on William, imbued now with a wave of unmistakable gratitude. < I was starving. The cold… the prey vanished. > An image flashed through William’s mind, shivering white scales huddled beneath a frosty root. < Then… the offering. Down the river. > Another image, the remnants of the boar carcass snagging conveniently near the bank. < Your scent was upon it. Sustenance. You saved my life. >

  William’s mind reeled. The offering… it had actually worked? Not as appeasement, perhaps, but as accidental aid? And the cold? Was this tiny creature, or its parentage, the source? And telepathy?

  Before William could formulate a mental question, the dragonet’s thoughts tumbled on, earnest, pleading. < I followed your scent upstream. I wished to express gratitude. And… > A wave of loneliness and desperation washed over William, clearly projected from the dragonet. < …and I hoped… perhaps… I am alone now. My mother… she perished shortly after my hatching. > A flare of intense, unnatural cold seemed to emanate briefly from the memory, confirming William’s suspicion about the frost zone. < I cannot hunt effectively yet. My strength is small. My powers are yet to develop. My wings are too weak for long flight. I cannot survive here alone much longer. >

  The dragonet took another hesitant step closer, its large blue eyes fixed on William, radiating desperate hope. < You showed kindness. Unexpectedly. You travel south, away from the worst of the cold, away from the… loud ones > (Goblins?) < May I… might I accompany you? I will not be a burden! I can… I can watch? I learn quickly! Please? >

  The raw, heartfelt plea from a creature of myth, an orphaned, starving baby dragon asking for help, hit William with unexpected force. Disbelief warred with a surge of empathy, overlaid with the screaming alarms of pragmatic risk assessment. Asset evaluation: Juvenile dragon (Ice affinity suspected despite 'fire' mention?). Abilities: Telepathy (Confirmed), Potential Cold Aura (Passive?), Undeveloped Flight/Combat/Hunting. Liabilities: Vulnerable, Requires Sustenance/Protection, Attracts Unwanted Attention (Extreme). Strategic Value: Unknown, potentially immense or catastrophic.

  While this silent, mind-bending exchange occurred, William was acutely aware of his companions watching him with growing confusion and alarm. He’d been standing stock-still, eyes locked onto the small white creature, his expression likely shifting through shock, concentration, and bewildered sympathy for several minutes. To them, he was having an intense, silent staring contest with a very strange, potentially dangerous animal. Roland was starting to shift his weight impatiently, hand tight on his sword again. Julia looked worried, perhaps sensing the unusual mental 'noise'.

  William finally shook his head slightly, breaking the intense telepathic connection, the mental 'voice' fading. He took a shaky breath, turning to face his utterly bewildered team.

  “Um,” he began, feeling heat rise in his cheeks, knowing how completely insane this was going to sound. He gestured vaguely towards the small, white dragonet, which was now watching the whole group with wide, hopeful blue eyes. “Right. Well. It's… a bit complicated.” He paused, searching for the least unbelievable way to phrase it. “Apparently… that's our stalker. And… it's talking to me. In my head.” He saw their expressions shift from confusion to outright disbelief. “Telepathically. Lost its mother and claims we saved its life with the boar leftovers.” He took another deep breath. “And… it wants to come with us.”