A Dragon's Tale

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

"Duck!" Before I have a chance to find the defenseless little bird that seems to be grabbing someone's attention, I'm knocked off my feet. One of the many dragon's around here, glides right through where I was standing.

Ooof. That was a close one.

The wet grass that I landed on, seeps into my clothes making me shiver from the slight chill. Funny I still get cold as the dragons idea of fun is seeing how many times they can blow fire out of their various orifices.

Charming, I know.

Blowing the hair out of my face, I try to get my arms from under me, but it's no use. Whatever knocked me down must have still been on me. I wiggle my toes and my fingers and figure I'm still winning with no broken bones. All the medical shows I've watched have told me to stay still and wait for help so I don't risk hurting myself worse. After taking a quick peak around, I might be waiting for awhile.

"I'm sorry, Meredith Grey." I whisper before I start wiggling my butt out of whatever dumpster fire that has landed on me. After good five minutes, I'm free and standing. Glancing back I see that something didn't land on me, it was someone. Not just any someone, Derek the self proclaimed dragon whisperer, who also happened to be the size of a professional linebacker. He's also my best friend.

And he's out cold.

His chest is still moving up and down, so at least I know he's still breathing. Take a little lap around his body trying to spot any injuries, crossing all my fingers that he won't need the hospital. I mean I could probably get him there if I had to, but it would be... difficult to say the least.

Taking another look around, I try to spot anything that would help me drag him, but the odds weren't looking good. It would be so much easier to get to a hospital if I had a car, but those lasted all of a week once the dragons decided to make our town their new home. The threat of random fireballs was almost enough to choose exercise over those blessed four wheels, but those winged overgrown children decided for us once they started using our basic transportation as target practice.

I mean I can't really blame them, moving targets are a lot more fun. The other residents would hastily disagree especially after the first few unfortunate targets not only lost their cars but their eyebrows as well... and a little of their hair. I don't know why their so upset, the patchy look is in, I've heard.

Derek starts twitching and begins groaning. "Are you deaf, Liv, or just stupid?"

"You're rolling around on the ground like a dog in heat, and you're insulting ME?"

"It's not an insult, just a simple question." I give him a blank stare. "Duck, Liv. What do you think that means?"

I give him my best "duh" face. "Is this a trick question? A duck is a cute little bird that hangs out at their version of a bar, the pond, with the other quackaholics." I roll my eyes at his audacity to question my intelligence.

"Liv, I don't even know... I- I truly... just next time you hear someone yelling duck, hit the ground okay?" He stumbles to his feet.

"Okay?" Derek's such an oddball, but it's easier to just go with the flow with him. He's a Gemini.

He begins to wipe off the dirt off his clothes, so I glance down at my own outfit. There's patches of green all over my favorite David Bowie shirt. The disgrace. If there wasn't a possibility that Derek could have a concussion then I'd push him back down for utter disrespect of one of America's sweethearts. At least I would attempt to knock him down, that man is as solid as a house and heavier than one. Bowie would appreciate the thought though.

A flash in my peripherals breaks me out of my Bowie depression. I hear a deafening roar before I feel the searing heat of the stop sign a meer ten feet away before it becomes metal soup. The shock glues my feet to the pavement. My hands fall to my face then to my hair because I cannot pull off the patchy look.

"Come on you goof. Let's go before he comes back." He snags my hand out of my hair tearing a few strands in the process, like I have plenty to spare in these risky times, and tugs us towards the nearest cul-de-sac for cover.

The whole neighborhood is basically a ghost town by this point. When the dragon's first appeared, the residents were pretty split on what we should do. Half thought we should try to exterminate them because letting four ton dragons fly around the Valley just seemed a bit irresponsible. The other half thought we could live in harmony with them and try to incorporate them in our normal day-to day lives. Like they were average household pets.

Then there were the outliers like me and Derek. We thought that violent extinction seemed a bit harsh but domestication seemed a bit ignorant. Do we have all the answers? No. Do we think those were both stupid reactions to our version of Hogwarts, minus the wizards... and the flying broomsticks... and th- you get the point? Yes.

Anyways, their plan of action turned into a weird combination of both perspectives. First trying the whole domestication thing using violence to force submission. The more they tried, the more dragons showed up as backup like war was afoot. There was a point where it was argued that there were more dragons in the town than stars in the sky. Needless to say, the plan was a failure. Shocker.

Soon people started to just leave. One family after the other moved out of the Valley to a "less exotic neighborhood." Most of the houses are abandoned now, and the dragons pretty much have free reign. Derek and I kind of love it though. It's pretty peaceful-- at least until your eyebrows get barbequed off your face.

Just a few handfuls of people stayed, me and Derek included. Oh and the dragons, of course.

Derek still has a firm grasp on my hand as we approached our favorite abandoned house we dubbed Khaleesi Kingdom. It made sense since Derek swore up and down that he could communicate with the dragons. That and we may have a small obsession with a certain HBO show.

The house itself was pretty nice with a sunken living room with the softest gray couch mankind has ever felt. The owners must have really been in a hurry to leave, if they left a couch made from god's tears and literal happiness. The house was also pretty large, it kind of felt like a castle, fully equipped with hidden rooms, a library, and it's very own elevator. It was kind of a no-brainer that we claimed it as our home base.

Since the dragons had essentially taken over the area there wasn't a lot of competition on reality purchases, that didn't stop the brokers from getting this place buyer ready though. The security in this place was laughable at best, so we come and go as we please without raising any suspicion.

We are living the good life.

With a deep sigh, I make my way over to the couch for my favorite time of the day, nap time. Dropping on to the plushy surface like a sack of potatoes. Closing my eyes, I wiggle around to find the best position for my mini coma until I feel something scratch my nose.

"Derek stop, you know what time it is." My nose gets scratched again. "Derek Reginald Taluca! Go Away!"

"I thought we talked about using my full name!" His voice sounds muffled. That's strange.

My eyes fly open, realizing that he's in a different room and couldn't possibly be the one that's scratching my nose. I'm greeted to a person no larger than the size of my hand... and she's floating. I squeeze my eyes shut because surely I must be dreaming. After counting down from three, my eyes spring open and take a relieved breath when nothing is there. I curl back into a cozy ball on the couch before I hear familiar heavy steps gliding into the living room.

"Hey Liv..."

"UGH WHAT" I snap completely exasperated at the fact that my nap is becoming shorter and shorter by the second.

"Oh nothing, just thought you would like to know there is a fairy hovering above your head."

My head snaps up and am met with the same figure I thought I saw before. A woman glistening in silver light wearing a Flapper dress in the same hue. Her wings flap faster than a hummingbirds as she watches me just as intently as I watch her. With a heavy sigh, I rub my eyes of the sleep they so desperately want.

Well, there goes my nap.