I rose slowly from my rest, a realization dawning upon me that I had never truly acknowledged before: my cave had never seemed lonelier. Though I had grown up far from the opulent halls of my kin, the distance from my mother, Shadowfyre, now weighed heavily upon my heart.

I missed her terribly. As for my father, he remained an enigma - a shadow I had never truly seen. I couldn't even be certain of his continued existence. Mother never spoke of him, her silence on the matter a mystery in itself. Perhaps he was unimportant, or perhaps the pain of remembering was too great for her to bear.

The stone walls of my solitary dwelling seemed to press in around me, emphasizing the absence of family. I found myself longing for the warmth of my mother's wings, for the stories she used to tell of our noble lineage. But those days were behind me now, and I was left to forge my own path in this vast, often unforgiving world.

A sudden knock at the cave's entrance snapped my attention away from my melancholy thoughts. There, silhouetted against the light of the outside world, stood a familiar figure - the dark blue and red form of Spider-Man 2099, leader of the Spider Society. This was the very organization my mother had sent me to after my father's supposed death.

I felt a low growl rumble in my throat, more out of habit than any real animosity. "Miguel," I acknowledged coolly, lowering my light purple head in a gesture of respect. The outside light caught on the silver scales atop my head, causing them to shimmer like starlight.

"I see you're here," I continued, my voice carefully neutral. I couldn't help but wonder what brought the leader of the Spider Society to my humble abode. Was this a social call, or did he bring news - perhaps even a mission? Despite my initial wariness, I felt a flicker of curiosity ignite within me.

"I am," Miguel confirmed. "I have an issue for you to watch over." He brought up a hologram, a piece of technology that had taken me years to understand in this world. The image showed a young, dark-skinned boy wearing a handmade Spider-Man suit.

I frowned, curling my tail over my hind talons. "A new Spider-Man, I see," I observed, my tone measured. "How presumptuous of you to think I have the patience to train such a youngling."

Miguel sighed, pinching the brow of his mask in apparent frustration. "Your mother said you would be destined to do this," he countered. "And your father didn't die for nothing, you know."

I felt my claws unsheathe, digging into the ground beneath me. How dare he use my father as leverage to get me to work for him! I didn't even know my father! The mention of him stirred a mixture of anger and pain within me, emotions I struggled to keep in check.

"You're treading on dangerous ground, Miguel," I growled, my eyes narrowing. "My family is not a tool for your manipulation."

Miguel raised his hands defensively. "I'm sorry, madam, but it's the only way you'll work for me. I know you can be stubborn sometimes - your mother warned me about that."

I lashed my tail, poison spikes emerging as I arched it over my back in a scorpion-like stance. "Watch it," I hissed. "I can easily kill you and every last Spider-Man in this so-called society of yours. I'd have no trouble doing that - after all, I'm a dragon, not a Spider-Man, not human at all. You'd do well to remember who you're talking to." I snarled, baring my teeth and flicking my tongue.

Miguel was about to say something, but heavy wingbeats interrupted him. It was a sound I recognized but hadn't heard in ages. A black and purple dragoness slipped through the opening of the cave, hissing, "Behave yourself, Starfyre. I didn't raise you to be ungrateful to the man who saved you."

I felt my scales bristle at the unexpected arrival of my mother. Her presence both comforted and unnerved me, stirring a whirlwind of emotions I struggled to contain. The cave suddenly felt much smaller, filled with the tension between dragon, human, and the unspoken history that bound us all together.

"Mom," I greeted coolly, "I see you deemed yourself worthy of interrupting my conversation with my... mentor here." My words dripped with disdain. I didn't really like Shadowfyre anymore, not after what she'd done - pushing me into a destiny I didn't want, surrounding me with people I didn't trust. Miguel was the only one I tolerated; the others didn't even dare come within tail's reach of me before I'd snap my teeth at them.

Shadowfyre reared her head, unhinging her jaws to release a jet of purple fire that seared the cave wall just above my head. "Starfyre," she barked, while at our feet, Miguel just stared, his eyes wide behind his mask.

"Show me some respect," she continued. "Your father is dead. He can't save you now. And if you really want to know, he left because of this." She lashed her tail at Miguel. "This man thought he could send my husband out on some pretty little adventure, but he never returned." She shook herself, throwing a baleful glance at the blue and red man. "Miguel, you may leave. I want to speak to my daughter alone without having to kill you in the process."

Miguel sighed and backed off, flicking his wrist to shoot an orange web. "I'll be at my station if you need me, Blackfyre," he said before disappearing through the opening.

"Now," Mom turned back to me, her eyes glaring, "what happened, and why are you such a bitch to the leader of this society? If he wants, he can send you into some cosmic event that'll destroy you, or for all gods, he'll send you back to Westeros. Did you know that-"

I cut her off. "I don't care anymore," I shuddered and sighed. "My dad died because of Spider-Man. I have every right to hate him, to hate what they stand for. They're humans, Mom. You said it yourself - humans cannot be trusted. After all, it was House Targaryen that enslaved us." I shook my head. "You're so scared of them that you're willingly submitting yourself to a man with some kind of superpowers. Is that it?"

I brushed past her, sheathing my poisonous spikes at the last minute. "You'd do well to remember, Mom, I'm 20 years old now. I have every right to defy you, to defy all this, but I won't because I don't want to hurt you." I spread my wings and took a soaring leap off the cliff ledge, away from my cave and over the bustling human city of spiders, leaving Mom in the darkness of the cave.

As I soared, I felt a mix of emotions - anger, frustration, but also a twinge of regret. The wind beneath my wings carried me further from my past, but towards an uncertain future.