Dragon Heart

Dragon Heart, episode 4

Episode 4

Asleep in bed, Johns panting and sweating once again, which can only mean one thing. Moving to inside his dreamscape, the dark ground's on fire with the same symbols and runes as before. The towering red dragon that spoke to him is also there, dimly lit and waiting patiently in the fire. It's eyes are closed, suggesting that its resting. John stares cautiously at it, he wants to say something and talk to the legendary being, but being unsure of what to say stays his tongue.

"Who are you?" he finally gets the courage to say out loud.

The dragon hears him and opens its eyes but doesn't move from its spot. It's deep bellowing voice echoing through the blackness, it says, "You need to become stronger John. Now wake up!"

John gasps for air as his eyes jolt open. Fully awake, he sits up in his bed and touches his left hand to his forehead. "Just how much stronger does it want me to get?" then catching something odd, Johns' eyes dart down to his right hand. Turning it over he catches a glimpse of a fading symbol made of light go out. He reacts fast and touches it with his other hand but is too late to feel or make out any meaningful details. Unable to make it come back, John whispers to himself, "What the heck was that?"

Sitting there entranced in thought, the door to his room then suddenly gets kicked down and he yells in surprise, jumping out of bed and up on his feet instinctively. He looks to the doorway ready for a fight but quickly realizes there isn't one as all he sees is Aeris.

Standing just outside his room with her foot that kicked down the door still raised, she walks into the room and menacingly glares at John in a not so subtle passive-aggressive way. Striding right up to him and showing no sign of stopping to not bump into him, John tries to back up but instead falls back onto his bed. Getting very uneasy now, John stutters, "A—Aeris, w—what are you doing here?"

Continuing until just half a foot away, she leans forward over him as a sweet smile suspiciously spreads across her face. Trying to make him feel as uneasy as possible, she proceeds to say, "You're late for training John. You do know it's not polite to be late for things you're supposed to be at, right?"

"She is really not happy," John thinks to himself in a mental panic. "I need to say something to calm her down while I can. The heck do girls like to hear when they're angry anyway?"

"I'm sorry I'm late," he manages to say, unable to think of anything better.

Crouching down in front of him so they're eye level with each other, she says, "Oh don't apologize to me, its completely fine. Don't worry about it."

"Wait really?" John comments in surprise.

Aeris continues to sweetly and innocently smile at him. "Really. Besides, there'll be plenty of time for you to be sorry during your training. You can scream and beg for mercy all you want then. But I can't promise that you'll receive any." Patting him on the head, she then stands back up and spins around, walking out of the room.

Sitting still and trying to let what she just said sink in, John then groans as he lets his head fall to the ground in despair.

Some time passes, and nowow ready for the day, John walks out of his room and hurries down the hallway. Aby meanwhile, down another corridor, nears the corner Johns approaching while carrying two cups of coffee in front of her. shes pleasantly humming to herself with her eyes closed, clearly confident enough in her recollection of the cabin to be doing so.

John slows down a smidge and takes another look at the back of his right hand. Staring at it intently, he searches his mind for any possible explanation. He may not have been able to get a good look at the symbol but he can still say for certain it wasn't anything like the symbols he's seen in his dreams. "I should probably ask Leo about it, see if he knows anything."