InCorruption

Loud hollers of excitement filled the air, a large group of dragons bouncing back and forth. Several colorful spheres were tossed between them, the group engaging in an intense match of catch, with multiple balls to catch and focus on. Above this excitement rested a small cavern, where a spiral rest.

Vibrant green and purple streaks flickered across the dragon's body, who was hunched over a notepad, scribbling incoherent notes onto the page. It was filled with seemingly meaningless scribbles, and at the top of the page, the word "memories" was written out. The letters merged into one another, as if they had been shoved while writing. The writing suddenly concluded, the last sentence unfinished as they let out a drawn out, quiet sigh.

"Restart."

A moment passed, and soon the spiral was out of their trance, glancing down at the notebook in confusion. They had once again lost their memories, their mind filled with fog as they glanced around, taking in their surroundings. This was a regular, sporadic occurrence, which the Spiral was slightly aware of, but did not know how to prevent it. They simply took down notes regardless, since their memory was foggy and their brain cluttered without them, as it was now.

Once they had calmed their nerves, their body glitched forward towards a nearby opening, looking down at other dragons playing amongst themselves in a nearby courtyard. They found themselves yearning for those connections, and after a deep breath, they turned, exiting their home. Perhaps they would be willing to befriend them, they hopefully thought.

And so, they made their way outside, approaching the group slowly. It was a group of younger dragons around their age, continuing to play their game of catch. When the other dragons saw them approaching, one of the older dragons of the group yelled for them to stop throwing, turning to acknowledge them.

"Hi there! It was a little reckless to approach when were throwing so many things at once, but I like it! Would you care to join us?" They asked encouragingly, holding one of the spheres forward towards them.

"Yes... fun." The spiral quivered, their glitching growing more apparent as their nerves began to rise. The dragons standing around eagerly waiting for the game to continue didn't seem to care though. They were relieved.

"Well, it's catch, but you have to focus, since there is more than one ball on the field. It goes until all of them hit the ground at some point, which is pretty quickly. Makes it a heart-racing competition, don't ya think?" The dragon inquired with a smile.

"M..mhm." They nodded along before moving in with the others, who looked at the spiral curiously. They were quickly growing more nervous, glitching side to side. One of the younger dragons could tell they were nervous, trying to offer some comfort.

"You look really, REALLY cool." They whispered, to which the spiral peered over and cracked a small smile. Cool? Not... weird? They thought, seemingly lost in thought as the child tried to break the silence.

"What's your name? You look like a... Lightning!" They continued to excitedly babble on, trying to force conversation.

"Umm... I... Corruption." The spiral said, intensely snapped out of thought when a bright ball hurled past them.

"Woah! That was a bad throw, and the game wasn't even back on yet!" The dragon who had offered to let them join hollered out. The spiral looked at the ball as it flew on, and suddenly glitched forward, landing before the ball and catching it. The others gasped in amazement.

"That was awesome! Our team always lose balls because of that kid, and you just saved us one! How about we call you... Lightnin Fast!" Another younger dragon hollered out, the others cheering as well. "You can always play with us with talent like that!"

It was this game that made InCorruption realize something; their glitching wasn't totally bad, and that could be said for many traits others have. Though they continue to struggle with memory wipes and the inability to speak consistently, having a group that doesn't judge them has made a big difference.

As such, InCorruption has begun to use their glitching to help however they can. It has allowed them to maintain some control, which is something this spiral has needed for so long.