The Final Storm (Part 3)

Ralem vs. his Dragon Side

The night before Ralem had done the energy therapy with Jaydon and he did it again in the morning. But this time Jaydon was wide awake and ready to be taken out of the stuffy room- claiming he felt claustrophobic. That morning was probably one of the best days in Ralem’s life.

            They had gathered around the table, talking, laughing. Jaydon was on the couch, which had been pulled up so he could see the family. The kids were completely enthralled by him and were asking him a billion questions. Jaydon was great with the kids, being extremely young himself. He wasn’t a huge talker though, especially when food was in question.

            Ralem was talking deeply to his brother-in-law, filling him in on Baroke-life when he looked over to find Sarah feeding his dragon with a spoon full of pie while the other kids put their heads to his chest just to hear the purr.

            Jaydon you are a ham, Ralem said sarcastically.

            What? My arm hurts, Jaydon said pathetically, but Ralem could see the wink from across the table.

            Ralem threw a green bean across the room to hit Jaydon smack in the forehead but the dragon caught it with a smirk, “Too slow.”

            “I thought your arm hurt,” Ralem retorted.

            Jaydon quickly settled his arm down, “It does. But I had to deflect the blow or it would have hit me on the forehead.”

            “A green bean? Seriously?” Ralem laughed.

            Jaydon considered the green bean, watching it wobble as he shook it from between two fingers. “Hey, anyone want a free green bean?” he asked, offering it to the kids.

            They all shook their heads violently. “You should eat it,” Sarah said, “You haven’t eaten anything healthy since you’ve been here.”

            “Yuck!” Jaydon said, letting the green bean drop to the blanket, “I hate green beans!”

            Sarah turned to Ralem, “So you’ve been letting him get away with eating nothing but unhealthy food all his life?”

            Ralem shrugged, “He’s never eaten vegetables in his life. I mean, he’s a dragon. At first he only ate meat and I didn’t argue with his diet. Besides, it’s not like he was getting fat.”

            “Yes. Dragons eat different foods than humans. Like pie,” Jaydon said knowledgeably, “That is a perfect offering for a great dragon like me.”

            Suddenly Taylor broke through the hubbub with, “How long are you two going to keep this up!” Everyone turned towards him. “I mean, how long you are going to keep pretending you’re a dragon!” A little pink crawled up his cheeks as he glared at Jaydon furiously.

            Jaydon growled, “I am a dragon.”

            Taylor got to his feet with an ominous screech and a hard glare. “Prove it,” he said.

            Jaydon tried to get to his feet but his legs were still immoveable. He shifted his elbows so his head was painfully erect and he glared daggers at Taylor, “What kind of proof do you need?”

            “I don’t know! Turn into one, I suppose!” Taylor said, frustrated.

            “I can’t!” Jaydon retorted angrily.