Air Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Five - Jae

Throughout dinner, Jae made sure to glare at Sun across the table. The table itself was large enough to seat twenty people, thought only three ever used it on a regular basis. Seven if the advisors came for an emergency meeting. Rare was the day when all twelve of the sons came home for family dinner.

Hyun always sat at the head, Sun always sat at his right like the good dog he was, and Jae liked to change his position up just to keep things interesting. That night, to keep on his father's good side and not give Sun a reason to throw him under the bus, he did the correct thing and sat to the left of his father.

"Dad tells me your wifey likes to dance," Sun said.

"Potential wifey," Jae corrected. "We'll see if her definition of dancing is the same as mine."

Sun took a bite. "I've seen her picture. She's gorgeous."

"Pretty sure our definition of gorgeous is different," Jae sneered.

His brother frowned. "Is this going to be one of those nights where I say the sky is blue and you'll fight with me just for the sake of starting a fight even though you know I'm correct?"

"No, not at all." Yeah, that was exactly what Jae was doing. Payback for Sun lying to him earlier. It was the only way to show he was angry with his brother without flat out yelling at him and drawing their father's attention. Hyun didn't seem to understand the art of passive aggression.

Sun did, though. "Okay, we can talk later, then. I should eat fast so I can get back to my research for the priests. We're studying maps from the time of the First Dragons. The Holy Book talks about some kind of special treasure there that is supposed to help with the ushering in of the Great Dragon."

"And we want to do that why?" Jae asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it's the Great Dragon," Sun said.

Rolling his eyes, Jae poked at the noodles in his bowl. "And the Great Dragon is only supposed to come at the end of the world. That sounds like a great time to me. Apocalypse! Tons of fun!"

"The Great Dragon is going to be the bringer of peace, heaven on earth. Those are good things."

"After all the suffering we're going to endure, yeah, just about anything will be heaven on earth." Jae narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You know I'm right. Why be in such a rush?"

Sun ate a few more bites of his food, before picking up his bowl so he could leave the table. "I have a lot to do in my office. Father, I'll stop by later tonight to update you on my findings."

Their father nodded as he absently stirred his own dinner. Clearly, he was lost in thought. What kind of thoughts was the part that concerned Jae. After Sun was gone, Hyun put his fork down and leaned forward, his hands folding in front of him. "Antagonizing your brother is not something worthy of your time."

"I know," Jae mumbled. "But it's fun?"

"Whether you like it or not, the Great Dragon will be coming. The beginning signs of His appearance are already here. This apocalypse you're so afraid of has been in motion since man was created and the Great Evil decided he wanted to destroy him." Hyun gazed at Jae and there was so much disappointment present in his dark eyes that Jae actually felt remorse for being so annoying.

He had to prove he could be serious when the time called for it. "I just want him to admit that when the Great Dragon comes it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. Once it's all done, I'm looking forward to His reign. Don't think I'll be witnessing any of it in my life time."

"Perhaps not His birth, but you are Touched. That isn't a coincidence," Hyun said softly.

"Touched?" Jae had never heard the term before.