"How long until I'm an adult?" I asked the ocean and the cliff and the awful voice in my head all at once.
System: ONE HOUR REMAINING UNTIL MATURATION.
"You really had to use all caps?" I rubbed my wet cheek and tasted salt. My legs trembled like they belonged to someone else.
System: COMPLAINTS DO NOT EXTEND THE TIMER.
"Helpful." I swung my feet over the rock and tested weight like a novice tightrope walker. The tide pool below hissed, small waves hitting shells and glassy eyes of crabs.
"You can stand," the System said. "You cannot run yet."
"Great." I hooked my toes under a barnacle and pushed. My left knee complained. A sprig of seaweed clung to my ankle and I swore at it in a language I had never spoken as a human before.
System: THREE DAYS OF HUMILITY REQUIRED BEFORE MATURATION STABILIZES. POINTS REQUIRED TO CLAIM TRUE DRAGON BLOOD. FAILURE WILL COST LIFE-DAYS.
"Please stop sounding like an auctioneer," I muttered. I didn't know what a 'life-day' felt like, but I didn't want to find out.
A drop of salt slid down my face. I blinked and the drop caught in the sunlight and glowed faintly. I pinched it between thumb and forefinger. It pulsed like a tiny ember.
"Not a tear," I told it. "A malfunction."
System: TEAR IDENTIFIED. CATEGORIZATION: BIOLOGICAL SHOOT. RARITY: UNCOMMON. VALUE: HIGH.
I squeezed, more curious than cautious. The droplet hardened. My fingers left a
