“Good morning, class!” Michelle chirped, “I’m not very good at this public speaking stuff, so you’ll have to bear with me.” A hand went up almost instantly, “Yes?”
“Is it true that you’re trying to prove that dragons were real?” a student asked. Michelle’s eyes lit up.
“Yes. But that’s not all.” She said, “From my recent expedition up north, we had proof that they indeed do exist!” The class went silent until a guy in the front snickered.
“What, did you find a dragon popsicle?” he asked. The class laughed.
“Yes I did.” She said seriously. Within seconds, one of the rolls of paper that Rosette had brought was unrolled, and a picture was attached to the wall behind her. The class gasped as they looked over a picture of a sleeping dragon encased in a block of ice, with Michelle standing next to it.
“Is this real? Or something photo shopped?” the same guy asked in aw. The smile broadened across her face.
“Oh this is real.” She said, “It was taken a month ago.” Yet another hand went up.
“What did you mean when you said you had proof?” a girl asked, “What happened to the dragon?” This time, Michelle turned red and stared at the floor.
“It, um, got away.” She said.
“What?” now it was the teachers turn to be surprised.
“The ice broke one night and the dragon woke up.” She said, “It killed two laborers and took off into the sky.”
“That’s impossible! There’s no way something that was frozen could come back to life!” A student yelled.
“I’m just telling you what I saw!” Michelle exclaimed, “Right now there’s a real dragon out there at this moment! Call me crazy if you want, but my research isn’t over! I’ll find it no matter what!”
As if on cue, the back door of the auditorium opened and a dark, hooded figure stepped inside. Everyone turned to look at the newcomer, but returned to the picture in front when they recognized the cloak. He took a seat next to Rosette and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“We have a latecomer?” Michelle asked, “You missed the best part!” Ryu’s hood lifted as he looked at the woman in front, but quickly dropped again when he recognized her.
“Ryu, what are you doing here?” She whispered, laying a hand on his arm. She could still feel the rock-hard scales through the thin cloak.
“I don’t know.” He muttered. His head turned and she could see small horns on the top of his head move under the hood.
“You haven’t changed back yet?” she asked in horror, “What if someone sees you?”
“I’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes.” He said. Rosette’s attention was directed back to the front when another student asked a question.
“So what was this dragon like?” A girl asked. Michelle stepped forward.
“Clearly misunderstood.” She said, “It was more scared of us than we were of it. What happened to the laborers was an accident.”
“What did happen to them?”
“There was a commotion, and a gun went off. It spun around and set fire to them.” She said.
“So this dragon is injured now?” another question from the middle.
“Regrettably, yes.” She said, “If it is truly the last of its kind, I want to find it soon so I can help it.”
“What happens when you find it?”
“It will be put under protection.” She said, “The endangered species act would still apply to it.”
“Would you try to clone it?”
“No, that is still a touchy subject. The animal would still need to be tested to know how to care for it properly.”
“So it would be experimented on?”
“Not exactly.” She said, “Tests would be done. But only x-rays and MRI’s. Non intrusive tests like that. In no way will this creature be harmed.”
“You say that now, but from what you said, it has already been shot.”
“That was an accident.” She said, “But it was the only way we could get this!” She held up a small vial of blood for the class to see.
“Is that dragon’s blood?”
“Yes, we ran some tests on the blood sample, and found some interesting results.” She said, “It is very reactive with peroxide.”
“What do you mean reactive?”
“It catches fire.” She said, “Other than that, the DNA is very interesting to biologists. They have no idea how to classify this creature. It falls between a reptile and a bird. It mostly resembles a dinosaur, but there are some characteristics about it that doesn’t make sense.”
“Like what?”
“There are small cells in the blood that no one has ever seen before. We have no idea about what their functions are either.”
“And what if you find it to be intelligent?” Ryu asked, making everyone turn their heads. Rosette cleared her throat.
“What do you mean?” Michelle asked.
“What if you found this dragon, and it started talking to you?” he asked, “What then?”
“A dragon a sentient being?” she asked, “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Why not?” he said.
“A dragon is an animal, kid. They can’t talk.” She said.
“How do you know? The one in Dragonheart could talk.” He said.
“He does have a point.” The teacher chimed in.
“This dragon can’t talk.” She said.
“Because you didn’t hear it talk?”
“Yes. It didn’t say a word.”
“Maybe it was too scared to say anything.” He said, “Maybe the rifle scared him off. Or maybe, it was all the people trying to tie him down.” The class went silent after his words and Michelle was shocked.
“First of all, I didn’t say the gun was a rifle, and second, I didn’t mention anything about trying to tie it down.” She said, “How would you know about that?”
“Lucky guess.” He muttered, “Humans are scared of what they don’t understand, and that would be a reasonable response to a frightened dragon, trying to get away.”
“What’s your name, boy?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. Ryu looked up and Rosette saw a mouth of jagged teeth smile from under the hood.
“You can call me Hiryuu or Ryu for short.” The class broke out in chatter.
“That sounds Japanese, is that where you’re from?” she asked.
“No, I was born in Germany.” He said, “But that’s not important.”
“If I’m not mistaken, your name means ‘flying dragon’.” She said.
“Again, not important.” He responded.
“You don’t look old enough to be in this class, Ryu.” She said, “Why are you here?”
“I don’t know.” He said, crossing his arms, “I just thought I should be here.”
“So what else do you know about this expedition?” she asked, Rosette saw a small puff of smoke from under his hood.
“Not a lot.” He said, “I am curious to know who actually had the gun that went off in the scuffle.”
“Is that important?” she asked.
“Not really, just curious.” He said.
“Well if you must know, it really was an accident. Dave didn’t mean to shoot.” She said. Rosette gasped.
“What was his last name?” Ryu asked. Rosette began to panic.
“Pegasus.” She said.
“We have a girl with that last name in this class.” The teacher said, looking at her book, “Rosette Pegasus.” Still Rosette’s head was spinning. She was worried about what he would do, but even more worried about what he might think of her now, knowing it was her father that had shot him. He was told several times that it was an accident, but she wasn’t sure exactly what a dragons temper was like. Without another word, Ryu stood up and quietly jumped over the back of the chair, then left the auditorium. Rosette hesitated for a few moments before chasing after him, with the class confused as to what was happening.
He was fast when he wanted to be, because once she came into the lobby, she caught sight of his cloak in the far end of the hallway, and then it disappeared through an exit and into the chilly air. Rosette broke out into the cold air, but he was gone.
Even if it was her last class of the day, she felt no regret leaving early. She jumped into her car and hurried home, hoping he would be there when she arrived, but her fears were confirmed when she burst in the apartment and he was nowhere to be seen. Her head full of worry, she racked her brain for a clue of where he could have gone, but nothing came to mind. She stopped, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes again, when they focused on Sparcy’s phone number on the fridge.
“Hello?” Sparcy answered. Rosette could barely let her finish.
“Ryu’s gone!” she cried.
“What do you mean? What happened?” she asked. Rosette spoke frantically.
“We were in class and he found out that it was my father who had accidentally shot him. He took off with out a word and I’m worried!” she said.
“Whoa, calm down for a minute! It was your father?” she asked.
“Yes, but it was an accident!” she said.
“I understand that, but do you have any idea about where he could have gone?”
“No, that’s why I’m phoning you! I’m worried about him, Sparcy! He’s not fully in his human form yet!” she cried, and wiped a tear from her face.
“Meet us downstairs. I think I know where he may have gone.” She said.
“Excuse me, but do you have a minute?” a tall man asked as Michelle exited the classroom. The teacher had hurried off to her next class, and the students had already dispersed, leaving her to put away her pictures.
“Sure, what can I do for you?” she asked.
“I’m Detective Gantz. I was wondering if you recognize this boy.” He said, holding out a photo, “I heard he was seen at this campus recently.
“I don’t recognize the face, but that cloak is sure familiar.” She said, “There was a kid in here a few minutes ago, asking weird questions. I don’t even think he’s old enough to be in University.”
“Are you sure it was him?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, officer. He was wearing his hood over his face, but he fits the rest of the description.” She said, “Why are you looking for him?”
“A truck driver up north picked him up in a snowstorm wearing that same cloak.” He said, “He disappeared into the blizzard after an argument, and wasn’t heard from since. The driver reported the kid to be injured as well.” Michelle caught his words and strange theories began to form in her head.
“Was it bad?” she asked, putting a worried tone in her voice.
“From what he said, it looked like the kid was shot or something.” He said, “I’m just trying to find him to see if he was alright. We just need to make sure. If it was reported, we need confirmation of the person’s whereabouts.”
“Where about was he picked up?” Michelle asked.
“A little south of Nakina. It’s amazing he made it all the way here by himself and injured!” he said.
“Yea.” Michelle muttered to herself, “Almost inhuman.”
“Where are we going?” Rosette asked, as she rode in the back seat of the sisters’ car. No one had said a word since leaving the apartment building.
“Did he tell you about the cottage we have?” Crystal
“Yes.”
“Then that’s probably where he is.” She said. Again silence until they pulled up next to the simple hut next to a pristine, frozen lake. Once she stepped out of the car, Rosette could see the footprints, spaced far apart, and heading towards the lake. She could easily tell that he was running.
In the distance, near the shore, Rosette could see a dark figure, but when she ran up to it, she found only his cloak, and huge, beast-like footprints, leading away across the ice. He was indeed was here. Bundling the cloak in her arms she pulled her own jacket around her neck and began walking across the ice, following the massive trail.
“Shouldn’t we go with her?” Sparcy asked her sister as Rosette began her trip. Crystal
“This is something she should do on her own.” She said.
The wind picked up once she reached the open ice, and his cloak flapped in the wind. She kept going in the direction of the trail, until the cottage became a speck on the horizon. Ahead of her, lay a barren icescape of white solitude. Drift snow began to blow in her face until her jacket was heavy with moisture, and soon after a chill set in making her shiver with every step.
Ahead, she thought she saw something approaching her from out of the swirling snow. She stopped to try and make out exactly what it was, but the cold snow stung her face until she had to turn away until the wind died down, and when she turned back, Ryu was standing in front of her in his dragon form, and looking very upset. She didn’t know if this was how a dragon would look angry, or if he was just disappointed, but he clearly didn’t want to be there. He turned to leave but Rosette rushed forward to stop him.
“Don’t go!” she called to him. He stopped and looked back at her without turning around.
“I thought I smelled something out here.” He muttered, “Thought I could eat something, but it turned out to be you.”
“What’s wrong, Ryu? Why are you mad at me?” she cried, the dragon lay on the ice.
“Your father was the one who shot me, Rosette!” he exclaimed.
“It was an accident! He didn’t mean it!” she cried, taking a step forward.
“I saw the fear in his eyes when he pointed that gun at me.
“He was scared, Ryu. He just wanted to protect his friends.” She said, taking yet another step.
“He feared me because I am different.” He said.
“He feared you because he didn’t know your intentions!” she said.
“And what if he was here right now?” he asked, “Seeing his daughter so close to a monster like me. He wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger!”
“He doesn’t understand you!” she cried, taking another step.
“But would he have time to understand? Would I be dead before he got to ask?”
“I wouldn’t let him! You’re my friend!” she yelled, Ryu drew back his head in surprise.
“You might be the only one who thinks that way.” He said, “This is no age for dragons. Humans aren’t ready for us.”
“Then live as a human! It’s not so bad!” she said, taking another step forward.
“I’m a dragon, and that’s how I should live, Rosette. We take human form to fit in and go unnoticed.” He said, “It’s not who I am.”
“Can’t you just be my friend?” she whimpered, “That’s all I want.” The air between them went silent as he stared into her deep blue eyes. She was close enough now to reach him, but she held her ground.
“Let’s head back, Rosette. Before you catch cold.” He said, turning around. She turned to follow her dragon friend across the ice.
Before they got ten feet from where they had stopped, a violent gust of wind blew snow into the air and within minutes they found themselves entrapped by a raging snowstorm. They found it next to impossible to continue on, so they had to stop. Ryu lay down on the ice and pulled Rosette under his wing to shield her from the storm.
“Rosette, put on the cloak.” He said. Rosette pulled the thin cloth over her jacket, which felt oddly warm and his scent filled her nostrils. She leaned back against his rough shoulder, and huddled into him for warmth.
“Ryu, I thought you were cold blooded?” she asked, “Why are you so warm.”
“I am a fire dragon, Rosette. “ He said, “I can give off heat if I want.”
“What, no kiss this time?” she asked with a smile.
“Not unless you want dragon breath, and a mouth full of fangs.” His toothy smile seemed comical, and she coughed as she laughed, making him worried.
“This is good enough.” She said, pressing against him. Ryu became even more worried when her grip became weaker.
“Let’s go.” He said, “Get on my back.” It took her three tries to climb onto his broad neck, but once she was up she again pressed against his body for warmth, and he began walking forward through the blistering snow.
Meanwhile, back on the shore, Crystal and Sparcy waited patiently in the cottage for them to return. They had just warmed a kettle of water, when they heard another truck pull up, and they went outside to investigate. An unfamiliar man and an odd woman climbed out of a police truck and the woman took a deep breath of fresh air.
“What an amazing place!” she exclaimed, “Just amazing!”
“Michelle, we came here for a reason.” The man said.
“Mr Gantz! It’s alright to stop and smell the roses, you know!” she said, “Or in this case, the wonderful trees!”
“Excuse me, can we help you?” Sparcy asked.
“Ah, yes!” Mr. Gantz said, “We’re looking for a red-haired boy. Have you seen him?” he produced a picture.
“Yes.” Crystal
“Really?” he said, somewhat surprised, “Do you know where he is?”
“Not at the moment, officer. Why do you need him? Did he do something wrong?” she asked, concerned.
“Oh no. I just want to see if he’s alright. I got a report that he was picked up somewhere up north and he was injured.”
“He was coming home to see us.” Sparcy said, “He was fine.”
“And what was his name, miss. It’s for my report.” He asked.
“Ryu.”
“And his last name?” he asked. The girls looked at each other.
“Last name?”
“Yes, he does have one, right? A family name?” Mr. Gantz asked with a raised eyebrow.
“We only have one name.” Crystal
“How is that possible? Everyone has a last name!” he said.
“We’ve never had one.” Crystal
“Alright, besides that, have you seen him recently?”
“Yes, just a few minutes ago.” Sparcy said.
“And you have no idea where he went?”
“Nope.” She said, “He’s probably gone for a walk in the woods.” By this time, Michelle had walked towards the lake and was gazing out over the smooth landscape.
“That’s an awful weird snowstorm.” She said, pointing towards a cloud of drifting snow, “It’s moving towards us!”
“Oh, my we’d better get inside!” Crystal
“Yes, let’s.” she said.
“We should be on our way then.” Mr. Gantz said, pulling open the door of the truck, “Sorry for the trouble, girls.”
“Not at all!” Crystal Crystal
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