MY BIG, FAT DRAGON

Warning: Only for fat Draggies

Flare awoke the next morning on his living room floor to hear voices talking over him. They weren’t his parents, but someone else’s, and there were a lot of them. He cautiously opened one eye a crack, and instantly shut it. He was completely surrounded by animals, and not just his house pets, but wild ones as well. Flare wondered why his dogs hadn’t protected him what’s more the voices seemed to be coming from the animals. Josie, the most faithful of his dogs, was lying on the floor beside him. A stag was talking to her, and apparently the conversation was about him.
“How do we know he’s the chosen one for sure? He looks like any regular human to me.”
“He was lifted clear off the ground by a comet of pure light. If that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is. Wait, shh. Listen, his breathing’s changed. I think he’s awake.”
Flare shuddered and closed his eyes tighter as a dark figure blocked the light coming in through his eyelids. He felt someone pawing on his chest. At that he got up and dashed into the nearest corner. All eyes suddenly turned on him. Although they were curious, especially the neighborhood stray cats, they gave him his space. They knew the signs of fear in a human, and they could be dangerous when provoked (rather ironic, don’t you think?) They just sat there and watched him, waiting for him to calm down. It took him about 15 minutes to do so, and even then he remained backed up against the wall. An old, battle scarred wolf stepped forward and approached him.
“Do not be afraid, Flare. We are your friends, not your enemies.”
“Who are you? And how do you know my name?”
“My name is Arkaliel, as for your name, that was Josie’s doing. It was at her request that we let you sleep.”
At this Josie stepped out from the crowd and joined him. She licked his hand comfortingly.
“How you feeling?”
“Well, except for a major headache, I feel fine. How do I know that this isn’t all a dream?”
Arkaliel again spoke.
“If this is a dream, then how is it that you find yourself in possession of a headache? I assure you, what happened to you last night was very real.”
“Ugh, what did happen last night? The last thing I remember was a blinding white light. I must’ve passed out after that because I can’t remember a single thing.”
Arkaliel and Josie nervously glanced at one another. They didn’t know what to tell him. Arkaliel tried his best.
“Um… no one knows for sure, but as soon as that comet hit you, every animal and plant on the planet knew it. Josie found you lying unconscious by what we think is the comet’s core, the only thing left of it. She tried to get the stone once she had tended to you, but there is come kind of invisible shield around it that prevents anyone from touching it. We think it was meant for you to have it. Do you know what it might be?”
Flare was shocked when he heard about the comet, and he had a pretty good idea of what it had left behind.
“Yes, I know what it is, and there’s a good reason why it won’t let anyone touch it, and no one should. The ‘core’ of the comet, what does it look like?”
“It certainly doesn’t look like something that should be floating around in space, that’s for sure. I wish I could tell you more, but as a wolf, my being colorblind prohibits me.”
Arkaliel hung his head in shame. Flare, who by now felt sure that none of the animals were going to hurt him, walked forward and put his hand on the old wolf’s shoulder. Arkaliel looked up in surprise. Flare slowly stroked his fur.
“Hey, don’t feel bad. I don’t blame you. It’s okay, besides, that’s all I need to know anyway.”
Flare walked over to the door and opened it. The scene that met his eyes was completely different than it was the other day. Vines and vegetation were completely covering the surrounding landscape, and trees had grown up everywhere, even straight through houses. Animals were also surrounding the house, and more were arriving by the minute. They all stopped what they were doing and turned and looked at him, all those that weren’t holding off the news crews that is. Except for them, not another person was in sight. Josie and Arkaliel appeared in the doorway behind him.
“Where is everybody?”
“They all left, what did you expect them to do when wild animals started showing up at their doorsteps and their homes began getting overtaken by greenery?”
But Flare wasn’t listening to her, for there, on the only patch of deck that didn’t have vines covering it, was a stone. No, not a stone, a jewel of some sort. It was the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever beheld. It was as smooth as something could be without actually getting polished, 10 times as brilliant as a diamond, and also bright orange with veins of blue. Perhaps the most dazzling thing about it was that it glowed, but not radioactively. The glow was unearthly, like nothing Flare had yet seen, yet he felt like he had seen it before, maybe in a dream he had. Even more mysterious, Flare felt like he was being drawn toward it. Arkaliel nudged him forwards.
“Go ahead, its yours anyway.”
“Don’t rush me! I’m going, I’m going.”
Flare walked over to it and bent down to pick it up. As soon as he touched it, it began to shiver and shake. Little cracks began appearing all over it, and it rolled about spasmodically. Then, all movement ceased, as the glow began to increase. There was a loud bang as the stone shattered, and there, in its place, was a little orange and blue Dragon.