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The Crimson Claws looked like a maw with razor teeth, ready to bite the rainbow above. Reckless young dragons chased after each other, zigzagging between the highest peaks. Nothing about this landscape frightened them. They were invincible.
Their laughs echoed in the canyon.
Izuku stared at the dragons from a distance, mournful. The punishing sun had burnt his neck all day.
He had always been painfully aware of how small he was compared to other children, humans and dragon-shifters alike, but it felt worse here, hidden underneath the large canopy of pine trees, their branches stretching towards the sky in an hopeless attempt to reach it.
His reverie broke at the sound of a pack of adult dragon-shifters calling him.
Izuku bowed to them, hoping they wouldn't notice the poor state of his clothes or the bruises and dirt on his knees. They didn't mention it, only warned him not to stay alone in the woods. It's too dangerous.
Izuku blinked back his tears and obediently let his feet guide him home.
He stared at his shadow extending in front of him as he walked toward the sloping meadow encircling his home.
He pushed the door open quietly and immediately the smell of thyme and mint assaulted his nose.
“Izuku! My baby! What happened to you?”
“Mommy…”
He clung to her neck as she sat down to catch him in her arms, squeezing the sadness out of his trembling frame. At first, Izuku resisted by scrunching his face, but tears, round and big like marbles, rolled from his eyes nonetheless, and splashed on his mother’s apron.
“Mommy, they didn’t want me to come and play with them.”
The pressure in his forehead increased. Tears turned into sobs.
“Oh, my baby,” his mother murmured sympathetically, stroking his unruly green hair.
“I don’t understand,” Izuku hiccuped. “Kacchan - He-he pushed me! He said I was-” he closed his eyes in shame and murmured, “Kacchan said I was weak ‘cause I can’t catch up with them.”
The moment felt infinite, the wailing, the embrace, the sting of rejection.
"I don't understand. We played games before," he sniffed. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Of course not, my darling! You did nothing wrong." His mother cupped his face tenderly. "Kacchan and you - you’re just very different. Mitsuki told me he was forced to attend a very special ritual for young dragons, last week. Perhaps, that’s why he’s so bad-tempered.”
“Kacchan didn’t tell me anything...”
“His mother mentioned it yesterday to me. She didn’t give me any details."
"Is it supposed to be a secret?" Izuku guessed shyly.
"In a way, yes. Dragon-shifters are very private people, my darling. That’s why outsiders like us are forbidden to attend these events," she sighed. "As long as we live among them, we have to respect that and stay separated."
Izuku's lips wobbled, new tears creating rivers on his round face.
"But, I wanna be with Kacchan," he muttered, defeated.
His mother remained silent and cradled him against her chest.