Dragon Bond

Abandoned

Abandoned, banished, never to return. There were many ways he could put it but it wouldn't make a difference. Keith stared down at the sidewalk, hands stuffed into the pockets of his red jacket, as he walked along. 

When he closed his eyes he could still see his foster mother and foster fathers looks of complete rage. He had felt like something was different while he was at school, everything in him screaming for him not to return home that afternoon. He had stupidly ignored it and when he opened the door he was met with a phone in his face, the messages he'd been sending back and forth between a boy in his class blatantly showing on the small screen. Before he could say anything he was being shoved outside, falling backwards and hissing with pain as he hit his head on the concrete. 

Which leads up to where he is now, wandering the street a few hours later. Keith sniffed, his vision obscured with angry, unshed tears. He wouldn't let himself cry, wouldn't let anyone see him be weak and helpless. He was almost eighteen years old, he can take care of himself. 

Besides, he's been alone before, before they threw him into foster care anyway. Keith clutched his stomach as it rumbled loudly, telling him he needed to eat. But he had no money, he would just have to wait. He grimaced as he thought about looking for some leftovers in the trash, but he was too prideful for that. 

Keith sighed as he watched the sky beginning to darken into night, choosing to lay down on a bench and worry about where he would go in the morning. It took awhile of him just laying there staring at the dark sky before finally falling asleep. But it still didn't last long, woken up by the sound of the early risers starting their days as the sun began to rise. He groaned as he sat up on the bench, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he looked around. People were starting to get up for work, some getting into their cars to try and beat the morning traffic and some choosing to take the sidewalk to avoid it if their work was close enough.

 His stomach growled again, expressing his ever growing hunger. Keith groaned and stood, starting to walk down the sidewalk again. He didn't even bother to acknowledge a man that bumped into him, muttering a "sorry" before he was hurrying off again. Keith froze as he heard the sirens of a police car, coming closer and closer. 

He began to panic, thinking that his foster parents probably asked the police to look for him before they got into trouble. He didn't want to go back there, he couldn't. So he ran. He could hear the police drawing closer, yelling at him. 

"Hey, Kid! Stop!" One yelled into a megaphone. 

Keith swerved to left, going into the forest. He quickly hopped over the fence, ignoring the sign that clearly read 'DO NOT ENTER'. He never knew or bothered to ask why the forest was off limits to the town, something about a body or something like that. He kept running until he couldn't hear their voices anymore, stopping to lean on one of the massive trees, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He took a moment to look around, frowning as he realized he had no idea where he was.

 Keith leaned his head back against the tree with a sigh, trying to figure out what to do next. He froze when he heard rustling in a nearby bush, slowly looking over. He grabbed a stick off the ground, holding it in front of himself defensively in case it was something unfriendly. He clutched the stick tightly as the thing emerged. It was roughly the size of a house cat, but looked nothing like one. It had dark black skin, scales actually, and a long snout with glowing green eyes, a long tail lashing behind it and small ears pinned to the side of its head. 

"Huh...what the hell are you?" Keith murmured, lowering the stick to his side as he crouched down to get a closer look at the creature. 

He tentatively held his hand out, watching as the creature sniffed at his hand cautiously. Keith smiled slightly before everything turned to shit. The creature growled and some green liquid began to drip from its mouth before it bit deep into the boys hand, causing him to wrench it back and try to get away. He hissed in pain, the creature snarling before launching itself at him. Keith yelped and moved out of the way just in time, the creature clinging to the tree he had been against before turning to go in for another attack.

 As it attacked again, Keith raised the stick and whacked it out of the air, watching it tumble to the ground. His eyes widened as the creature instantly got up, but now it began to grow larger. Keith gulped and began to back away, the creature now as big as a Great Dane. 

It snarled and ran towards him, jaw agape to show off it's teeth, coated in the green liquid. Keith turned tail and ran, hoping he could keep ahead of it. He glanced around, desperately looking for a place to hide. His dark eyes landed on a small hole in a pile of boulders, quickly coming to a decision and running towards it. 

Before he could climb inside the creature pounced, catching the back of his leg in its sharp teeth, causing him to cry out in pain. He turned and used his other foot to kick it in the snout, the creature letting go and giving him enough time to crawl inside. He clutched his leg with his good hand as he attempted to catch his breath, the creature pacing outside for a moment before disappearing.

 Keith let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the wall as he tried to get himself to calm down. His mind and heart were racing as he tried to process what just happened. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, slowly turning to look and hoping it wasn't another of those creatures. It was a light, coming from the other side of the tunnel, which he was just now realizing was a tunnel. 

<p>He felt like he was being drawn towards it, like a moth to a flame, and before he realized it he was crawling towards it. After a moment he emerged into the forest, but it seemed different. It was much brighter, more colorful than the dull and dead plants he had seen before. Even he looked different, his pale skin looking healthier and his long raven black hair shinier.</p>

<p> He looked back towards the hole, expecting to see the pile of boulders, but instead it was a small cave in the side of what seemed to be a mountain. He gaped up at it before turning his attention back to this strange new forest, taking a deep breath of the fresh air that was provided. </p>

<p> "What is this place.." Keith huffed to himself, leaning down to pluck a bright blue flower off a bush. </p>

<p>He tensed as he heard a low rumble behind him. 'Oh not again..' he thought grimly, hearing the wingbeats of a large creature, the wind it created ruffling his hair. </p>

<p> Keith slowly turned around only to come face to face with the largest reptile he had ever seen. It had large rough scales the color of the midnight sky. It's eyes were a bright violet with slitted pupils. Large wings resides on its back where numerous spines stood on end. A cloaked figure stood on its back, looking down at him curiously. </p>

<p> Keith opened his mouth to say something, but never got to as he promptly passed out.</p>