Project iDragon

001: Lassie's Spirit Dragon

"MOM IS GOING to kill me for this," I muttered into the neck of my shirt. You know your day is going to be a fun one when you wake up to find yourself on fire. Unfortunately, it happened a little too often for my own comfort, and I was beginning to wonder when my family would notice the slight smell of charred fabric coming from my room.

One might find it difficult to believe, but it was easier to house train a dragon compared to teaching him to set things on fire outside. Maybe he understood that he didn't want to live in a pile of his own feces, but somehow couldn't get it through his dragon brain that a second story bedroom shouldn't smell like a campfire.

Behind me, Selphon made a soft clicking sound in the back of his throat like he was unsure what I was upset about. I shot him a heated glance over my shoulder and stuck out my tongue, before dumping the contents of an old water bottle over the cindering mess that was my bed sheets.

I could hear his tail dragging against the carpet as he cautiously wandered over and leaped onto the side of my bed so he could force one of those child-like apology faces at me. I turned away before I could catch a glance of those eyes. With his still largely disproportionate features, wrinkled leathery wings, and a voice like a mix between a bird and a puppy, there was no way I could stay mad at him.

Selphon hacked twice, and I turned quickly in concern, only to find him lowering his head to the bed and depositing a bar of soap onto the messy sheets. I allowed him a small smile and ran a finger over his dark ear frills affectionately. It was obvious he had stolen it from the upstairs bathroom, although when and how was still a mystery to me.

Either way, his strange apology did nothing short of bring a smile to my face.

It was exactly two months and a week since the day I found my best friend. Not that I would ever admit it, but he had saved my life - in more ways than one.

~

I was late getting home after off season band conditioning had run past dark - and even though the exact time slipped my mind, it was August so the darkness must have meant it was pretty late. Summer had always been a difficult time for me, considering I had grown up in a relatively cool climate outside of any major cities, and on that particular day, I remember it hitting me harder than usual.

The humidity, the flood lights - the sprinklers that made it so I was drenched for the walk home - it all added up to one very unhappy David. To top it off, the section leader had been on my case for the better part of the evening saying that my 8 to 5 was more of an 8 to 6, and that I had been marching wrong for the past two years (I really don't know who put that guy in charge, because he was wrong). His comments were swirling around my head like flies - or quite possibly, there were real flies buzzing around, it was hard to tell at that point.

Maybe I was distracted, or maybe I was tired, or blinded with the shadow of night -- or maybe it was some strange combination of all three, but if one thing was for sure, I was lacking that little voice in the back of your head that usually works to keep you alive.

That night, I relearned one very important, stupidly obvious, damn-why-am-I-such-an-idiot, common sense thing: always look both ways when crossing the street.

- even if you live in the suburbs and it's two in the morning.

Suddenly I was blind, but in a whole different way than before, like I was a sinner staring into the gates of heaven with no way to close my eyes. Rubber ran hot against the asphalt as an SUV swerved out of its lane, drunk or tired...I never did find out, because in that next moment, I was being struck down into the pavement.

Something hard collided with my torso, effectively knocking the wind from my lungs. My vision flipped upside down and for a moment, it felt like the world was inverted. A wheeze of air flew from my lips as I suddenly found myself flying up and away from the spot where I stood.

And then my head hit the concrete with a sickening crack.

There was no way to tell if the iron I smelled came from blood or tires, so I simply ignored it and waited for the end to take me. There was a sickening snap followed by the deep resonance of something striking metal. This is the end of me, I was convinced as I squeezed my eyes shut.

But to my complete surprise, the pain did not come. Had I gone into shock? That had to be it, there was no way I could have gotten out of there on my own.

If I hadn't already been lying on the ground, my stomach would have dropped right then as a momentary truth dawned on me. Was it possible that I was already dead?

No, that couldn't have been right, my head was in too much pain for me to be dead. Minutes passed like hours, and it took just as much time to realize that I was once again alone on that street. The car was gone...and I was fine?

Give or take a head injury.

I sat up slowly and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Random splotches still floated in front of my vision from the blinding, but then they were gone as well. In the place where I had been standing laid a dark, unmoving lump of flesh. My feet were shaky beneath me, but once standing I was able approach the creature, one trembling step at a time.

My vision was fooling me, I was sure. A large dog pushed me out of the way of a speeding car? What kind of Lassie bull crap was this?

The creature trembled weakly as I approached it; a low growl emanated from deep within its throat. A small crinkled snout hid under a pair of trembling ear frills that were about two thirds the size of the creature's head. Its eyes were shut, and completely hidden in the dark, but even so I could tell its body was shaking. My gaze traveled down the dark creature, taking in wings, claws, and a strong tail that ended in a plate-like something straight out of a Jurassic Park movie.

I took it all in, but I didn't understand.

But there was one thing I was sure of, the creature had pushed me out of the way of that car, and it was hurt.

My weight fell back on my right foot as I gasped, first in surprise, then in realization - or maybe horror. Its eyes flickered open, and they seemed to suck what little light existed in that moment and reflect it outward from a pair of orange irises. The creature rose to its feet, one limb at a time and hissed at me with a snakelike venom. I stumbled backwards another couple steps just as a pair of dark, limb-like structures rose from its back. Wings.

"Dragon." The word came out lighter than a breath, but as soon as I said it, I knew it was true. The small, dark creature was no dog - it was something much, much greater. It was a beast.

And it had saved me.

Suddenly the dragon crumbled forward, whimpering anxiously as one of its front legs gave out from under it. The creature's wings beat at the air in distress, causing small funnels of wind to lap at my face as I moved forward. "You're hurt."

From that point on, my life was forever changed.

A/N

Can we just appreciate the epicness of my babies up there. Drawn out by moonshadow8888 agh they're so wonderful. I can see it now. Madi stealing David's shako and glasses, taking pictures of David and Selphon after a Friday night football game.

Who's Madi, you may ask? Stay tuned for the next update to find out! Dragon love, my friends, it is the bomb. DavidxSelphon is the BROtp of the century.

This one is dedicated to sushimiya for keeping up with this story. Hope you keep reading!