Birth of the Dragon

Ryan
 
All Ryan could think about was collapsing on a bed as they left Alana. His phone showed 3am. No worried texts from his mother meant that she hadn't tried to check in with Sam's parents. He and Ryan had agreed to be each other's alibis.
 
His hearing sharpened at an odd sound. Frozen, eyes wide, Alex had stopped breathing.
 
"Dad?" The word broke through the silence like a crack splitting glass.
 
"Alex?" He instinctively reached out, pausing over her shoulder. She was shaking.
 
Hell. Ryan didn't have any experience with girls, especially ones as confusing as Alex.
 
She didn't move. Ryan wanted to push, but held back, not wanting to interrupt.
 
Psychic. Was that what she was?
 
He tried not to think about what he was, but the longer he waited for Alex to snap out of it, the harder it was to avoid.

What Renwyn had told him. He only had a few days to decide whether to become an elven prince -
 
Alex started breathing again. There was something far away and terrified in her eyes.
 
"Um, I," as she stumbled over her words, something Ryan hadn't seen from her before. "I, uh, need help. Um, specifically yours."
 
Ryan almost nodded, but caution told him to wait before agreeing to anything. "What's going on?"
 
The door swung open. "Alex! Did you hear it too?"
 
Ryan swiftly moved out of the way as Bash almost barrelled into him.

Taking a step back, Bash gave an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry, uh, what has Alex told you so far?"
 
"Nothing yet." Alex responded for Ryan in an exasperated tone. She regarded her brother with warmth in her eyes.
 
That warmth was gone as she turned to Ryan, avoiding his gaze and scratching the back of her head. "We need your help getting into the, uh, Elven Kingdom."
 
He clenched his jaw. He didn't know how to get into the Elven Kingdom. Which meant he would have to talk to Renwyn again.
 
"Why?" he questioned.
 
"It's uh," she hesitated again, "We'd rather not say exactly... But it's nothing to do with the elves themselves. Um." Taking a deep breath, Alex finally made eye contact with him. "Please."
 
Something gave a little at her expression, but he still didn't like it. "How do you propose we sneak in? I have no idea how to get there without Renwyn's help. If they know we're going in, they'll force me to join them."
 
"We've been shown where the entrance is. Thing is that we can't get through the illusions without an elf."
 
He was fighting to keep his eyes open. But if he agreed to do this, perhaps he could explore the Elven Kingdom in secret. See where his father had been all his life.
 
He looked up and nodded. "Okay, let's do this."
 
At once, their faces lit up. As Bash clapped a hand to Ryan's shoulder, Alex dropped the expression, though her eyes still sparkled.
 
"Thank-you, Ryan," Bash said, still grinning as he let go. "This means a lot to us."
 
He didn't bother mentioning that his reasons for agreeing were more selfish than they thought. Ryan had never had a sibling to share his thoughts with like Alex had with Bash. If he could help them figure this out together, he would. But no-one was there to help him figure out his own issues. He was going to have to take whatever chance he could to find out everything about his Father, on his own.

He nodded to Bash.
 
Alex's eyes grew wide. "Yes, sorry, thank-you."
 
Ryan's mind went empty, and after a brief awkward moment, he settled for a shrug and a half-smile at her.
 
On their way out, they passed Mel, Sam, and Selina in the living room.

"What's going on?" Mel asked.

Alex was already out of the door. Ryan didn't slow down as he responded, "we'll be back, don't worry."

Though he shivered slightly, Alex and Bash remained silent as they began trekking through the forest. It appeared as though they were deep in discussion, without talking at all. Begrudgingly, Ryan wondered why he wasn't invited, but quickly shook the petty thought from his mind.

Animals stirred as they walked by, Ryan's ears picking up their little heartbeats and frantic paws as they scampered away. Though he listened carefully, he couldn't hear anyone following them.

He tried to picture what it would be like to have someone to share his thoughts with. Renwyn had lied to him about everything, and he was Ryan's closest friend. Alex was something else entirely, but Ryan wasn't ready to discuss intimate details of his current situation with her. He didn't even know if she would care. His Mum wouldn't understand either.

Alex's hand brushed his as he caught up between them.

"Pfft, don't get us started on mothe- oh!" Alex clutched at her side as though something had interrupted her, and glared at Bash.

"Don't answer people's thoughts if they don't know you're listening," Bash told her.

Ryan clenched his fists, feeling exposed as he realised she had read his thoughts when they touched.

"What do you mea - oh." Alex looked away sheepishly. "I thought you spoke out loud, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, I ran into you," Ryan mumbled. "How far away are we?"

"We're not too far now," Bash responded. He moved to take Alex's arm but brushed Ryan's at the same time. "Have we told him what he has to do to get us through?"

Ryan halted. "Okay."

They stopped and turned to him, and Bash drew breath to talk. Ryan beat him to it.

"My father, who I have never met, is the King of the 'Realm' we're about to casually sneak into, of which I have no intention of running into unexpectedly. Can you two please stop the whole creepy twin conspiracy theory thing and tell me what I need to know?"

Bash kept his eyes cast down. "So you'll need to cross over and then you need to reach back and touch us to allow us through."

Ryan waited, but Bash didn't meet his eyes. "And?" he said quietly.

Alex exchanged a concerned look with Bash and finally met Ryan's glare. "Um, the... person that we spoke to, said that whatever has been stopping you from appearing to be an elf will wear off. Apparently most magic doesn't work in the Realm."

He blinked. "I'm not already a full elf?" He let go of his clenched fists and looked away into the darkness. He had wondered why his ears weren't pointed like Renwyn's were. "No, it makes sense..." Talking under his breath, he wasn't sure they could hear him. He turned back to them. "Will it hurt?"

"I'm not going to lie, it may," Alex responded.

He decided at this point he was too tired to care. "Might as well get it over with," he said, a little grumpier than he meant to. He brushed past them, thinking let's go as he did.

He heard Alex murmur, "well at least he seems keen."

They walked on until they arrived at a barren looking part of the forest. Apart from the closely grown bare trees, the place was deserted. Ryan couldn't even hear any animals. "We must be close," he said, and sent a questioning look at Alex.

Alex nodded absent-mindedly and folded her arms across her chest as though she was cold, murmuring to herself. "Something feels wrong here."

Ryan hesitated, exchanging a worried glance with Bash before turning to her. "What is it?"

She looked up at him with her startling blue eyes. Where he had been expecting coldness or disdain, he saw fear. "N-nothing." She gulped, and her voice sounded strained. "Come on, we're nearly there."

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked after a moment.

"I'm fine," she snapped, stalking ahead of them.

He went to reach for her, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Bash shook his head. "Best to leave her be."

Ryan went to ignore his advice, but thought better, nodding. "I don't know what's up with you two but I hope you find whatever you're looking for here."

Bash stammered for a moment before swallowing. "Thank-you, that means a lot to us."

A twig snapped ahead of them - Alex walking ahead, determined. He realised her school uniform had been altered somehow. It fitted her curved form better this way. He blinked and looked away.

Walking alongside Bash, he tried to keep his expression neutral. It became particularly hard when Bash asked, "would you say that Alex has been kind, or has she only snapped at you?" Ryan could hear the smirk in his tone.

Bash wasn't usually intimidating, but when it came to his sister, Ryan didn't want to test him. Still, the blush that spread across his face was impossible to control. "There have been a few times when..." Nope. "Well, she's usually not friendly."

Bash nodded slowly as they continued walking. "I'll leave this to Alex to fully explain to you once she's ready but for now just know we've had a rough couple of years where we've had to live a certain way to get by. It'll probably take a little while for her to break those habits but underneath all that she really is one of the kindest people you'll ever meet."

The thought had occurred to Ryan - that Alex had a specific reason for the way she was sometimes. He had only seen glimpses of her actual personality. Perhaps he should -

"If you two are done gossiping, we're here," she called out.

Alex stood before two trees. At first, there didn't seem to be anything different about them. But the higher he looked, the more patterns seemed to emerge in the bark of the tree, and eventually the branches. They wound together in an intricate, symmetrical pattern.

"Okay," Ryan said, still staring upwards. "How do I pass through?"

She kept her eyes on the gate as well as she spoke. "You need to step through completely and then you'll be able to reach back to touch us and allow us inside." She paused for a second and cleared her throat. "Um, if your elf side starts to, uh, take over... Bash and I will do our best to help, but neither of us know a lot about this yet so you'll need to fight whatever happens too."

With a shudder, Ryan's mind went to his previous 'transformation', when Renwyn had taken him into the forest and triggered the change with a bat's shriek. Something had been forced out of him, and now it was about to rear its ugly head once again.

"Well, okay then," he said, trying to sound confident. He hoped he wouldn't start crying in front of them. He glanced at Alex. "You two ready?"

Bash and Alex glanced at each other, sharing another private moment. Ryan looked away.

They nodded in unison and Bash said in his reassuring tone, "after you."

He took a deep breath, and stepped between the two trees. It felt like he was walking through a wall of water for a split second, before he came out the other side, in a beautiful new world. The vibrant green grass grew lush around him, with occasional flowers poking their heads. The trees looked larger and taller than before. The sounds came in a wave; crickets and birds and sounds of a town up ahead.

Bash's voice waved through the other side of the portal. "He's kind of cute, don't you think?"

Disoriented, Ryan closed his eyes to clear his mind, remembering Alex's warning about the change.

Alex scoffed. "He can probably still hear us, you know?"

Trying not to smile, he turned and reached back through the two trees. From this side, he could clearly see Alex and Bash standing there waiting, though they clearly couldn't see him. He reached forward and pulled them through.

As they came out the other side, they gasped and shivered.

A searing pain hit Ryan on his chest. He gasped and cried out as it grew worse, shooting spikes of pain inward. Putting his hand to his chest he felt his necklace searing hot.

Confused and in pain, he tore it from his neck and threw it away.

He sank to his knees as the pain subsided for a moment, before an even worse sensation washed over him. It was like his body was getting ready to throw up, while at the same time a shot of pain and adrenaline had him crying out again. He was on all fours as the world went out of focus for a moment, and yellow fur began to sprout all over his body. Fighting to keep it contained, his yelling became an animalistic sound that tore through him.

A hand was on his shoulder, and a voice spoke inside his mind, "Ryan. Stay with us. You promised you'd help us."

Alex.

The fur receded, but not before his ears started growing pointed tips. Painfully.

His hands were digging into the dirt, keeping him grounded as the pain faded into a dull ache. He gasped for breath, feeling like he had just run a marathon.

"Okay, I think I'm good." His voice sounded different to him; clearer and louder. As the aching pain faded, he found it quite easy to stand up. He felt the need to check his arms. No fur, nothing weird about them. But, like the rest of him, they felt stronger. He rolled his shoulders and felt a satisfying rush of energy. Opening his eyes, he grinned at Alex and Bash.

Bash couldn't stop looking at the area around them, seeming to drink up the sight of the beautiful forest. Alex, on the other hand, stared at Ryan curiously. "Ryan... Your..." she paused, and continued to stare.

He frowned and put a hand to his face. "What?"

"Your ears..."

He reached for his left ear and felt the strange new pointed tips. He swallowed, feeling the other side. "Wow." Suddenly remembering the necklace, he turned to where he had thrown it. "My necklace - it burnt me. It was a gift from my Mum, I've had it since I was a child." He glanced at Alex. "Was it keeping me from transforming?"

Bash picked up the necklace, rolling the tooth between his fingers. "I feel something strange from it, but I'm really not sure."

Alex shuddered and rubbed her arms. "We shouldn't hang around here, let's keep going."

Ryan stepped back. "I have no idea where I'm going so please, lead the way."

***
 
Selina
 
Selina was wrapped up in blankets on the couch. Her headache had started up again when she had seen Dakota. Now, she was avoiding being upstairs altogether.

The other two had joined her soon afterwards, and they had settled into a comfortable silence.
 
"This is all so messed up." Mel was sitting forward with her elbows on her knees, looking at the floor. During the silence, Selina had sensed a steady flow of fear, guilt, and jealousy, from her.
 
Sitting at her feet, Sam was also feeling a deep sense of fear, but there was also excitement and relief, and occasionally pity and sadness.

Selina figured since neither of them had mental abilities, they wouldn't be able to feel her. Usually she would respect their privacy, however with everything that was going on, she wanted to know that they were struggling just as much as she was. She needed something to show her she wasn't alone.
 
Sam sighed and leant back on his hands, stretching his legs out in front of him. "It really is, yeah."
 
"Are we just going to go to school tomorrow, like everything's normal?" Selina mused.
 
Sam rolled his neck to stretch it. "I am going to take a mental health day." When the others didn't respond, he continued, "Well think about it. It's about 3am now so we'd be going on less than five hours sleep and no-one really slept well last night either."

She sensed worry emerging in him.

"I'll do the same," she agreed. "The school texts my mum when I don't show up, but she doesn't even care."

Nathan might, though. She made a mental note to call him tomorrow.
 
"As long as I check in with Maureen, I should be fine to wag." Though Mel sounded confident, a thread of worry appeared in her emotions.
 
"So, how are you guys dealing with all of this?" Please tell me what you're thinking.
 
"I'm fine." Sam laughed and gave a rakish grin. "Getting into trouble, what's new?" Even if Selina couldn't sense that his emotions had just turned darker, he spoke a little too quickly.
 
"Are you sure about that?" Selina questioned. "Aren't you a vampire or something?" She doubted it - if he had been, her head would have been pounding.
 
This time, she could tell his grin was real. "Funny story that one. Turns out I'm actually a werewolf!"

Selina could already sense he believed it; at least, he wasn't feeling unsure or worried or any of the emotions that usually went along with lying. Still, she looked him up and down, not quite sure how it could be true.
 
Mel didn't seem surprised at all. In fact, she was in the middle of a yawn.
 
"What, next full moon you're going to go all Teen Wolf on us?" Selina said with a laugh.
 
Sam gave her a quizzical look. "I don't know what that means but I hope it's a good thing. How are you coping with all of this, Selina?"
 
Still so many questions left unanswered, Selina had grown frustrated every time she thought about Nathan and Jacob. They asked for so much, but offered so little. She closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again and saying, "Truthfully? I'm pissed off."
 
Mel snorted, while Sam gaped for a moment.
 
Concern and anxiety sprang to the surface of his emotions as he said, "you've not said anything about you not being human, do you want to talk about what's happening with you?"
 
The temptation to share was almost overpowering, but Selina didn't want to say something she wasn't supposed to and end up with an angry pair of assho - angels on her hands. Instead, she chose her words wisely. "In a few days, I'll have a choice to make. And I know next to nothing about it, yet I'm still expected to make a decision that will affect the rest of my life." And considering that becoming a Nephilim would mean immortality, she could be living with the consequences of that decision for a very long time. It all narrowed down to one simple, frustrating truth. "I don't know what to do."
 
Sam seemed to mirror her frustration, and she was pleasantly surprised to feel his sorrow and helplessness for her. "Scoot over a little, I'm cold."
 
He got up and adjusted the blanket, sitting on the couch beside her. Selina tried to ignore the jealousy now coming in waves from Mel's direction as Sam put his arm around her and she leant against him.
 
They would never be a couple again, not after their last failed attempt. But she knew that he cared for her in a different way; and she had never minded his presence. They had a sort of unspoken agreement.
 
Footsteps sounded, coming down the stairs. Ryan, Alex, and Bash entered the room, barely glancing at the others as they went past.
 
"What's going on?" Mel asked them.
 
"We'll be back, don't worry," Ryan said, before leaving after Alex. Bash gave them a reassuring smile before following.
 
Mel turned back to Sam and Selina, a questioning look on her face.
 
Selina didn't see Sam's face while she was leaning on him, but she saw Mel making eye contact with him, looking confused. His emotions had grown fiercely protective and she also sensed simmering rage. His voice was rough as he spoke. "We'll go looking for them if they're not back by the morning."
 
Mel yawned again, and through her emotions Selina felt an overpowering sense of exhaustion.
 
"We should all get to bed," Selina said, eyelids drooping.
 
Mel nodded and stood. "I second that. Night." Her voice was monotonous as she left the room. Something inside of her was angry and confused, and Selina was pretty sure it had to do with her and Sam.
 
"I'm going to stay down here," Selina said, "I can't be up near Dakota right now."
 
A sense of confusion and something else Selina didn't know what to call embroiled inside Sam as his gaze remained on the door. Eventually the emotions were replaced with fear and confusion; a common denominator for everyone over the last few days. "Um, I'm going to wait for them to come back."
 
Selina sat up and nodded. "Do you, I mean, want the blanket still, or?"

***

She was hovering over and through the house. Everyone's emotions were known to her; all of them in a state of dreaming. Some were peaceful, and others, like the one who held her in his arms, were strange and confusing.

A flare of clarity and pain intruded her mind. She opened her eyes to the downstairs living room. Sam was awake, she realised, as she sat up next to him. He smiled at her, then went back to watching the back door.

She mumbled something about finding a proper bed, before leaving to follow the source of emotions that had woken her. Her half-asleep consciousness slowly coming back to her, the range of her empathy withdrew. She had often found that when she was near sleep, she was a lot more powerful, though unable to focus or control herself.

Yawning, she pushed open the door to the room where she felt the pull. The emotions had turned oddly calm, and sad.

The room was dark, like the rest of the house, but she was able to make out a figure sitting on the bed.

"Alana, are you feeling okay?"

The girl looked pensively at Selina, a sad smile tugging at her lips. "Yes, I am."

She felt for pain and found it still lingering. Another reason for her to fear Dakota. Vampires. "What happened up there?"

Alana waved her hand. "Nothing I did not expect. I thought for a moment I could get her to listen, but then I remembered."

Selina shuddered. "Will she be like that forever now?"

"Of course. She was meant to be this way."

Her thoughts turned dark. How could Alana seem so sure? "I suppose you've seen all our fates," she said, half a question, half a statement, in a tone laced with dread.

Alana nodded slowly. "Most. I see more all the time." Her sadness grew, and with it came loneliness.

The question lingered, filling Selina with curiosity and desire, but it was too much, too soon. She bent her head and looked away. "That must be lonely." What was she doing? Hoping Alana would bring it up on her own?

"That's not the lonely part." If not for her emotions, then the look in her eyes told Selina she didn't want to talk about it.

She frowned, but didn't press it. Still, no longer tired, and hungry for answers, she straightened. "Do you know where the dragon is?"

"I think I heard something in the kitchen, maybe it's there. Want to look?" Alana perked up, calm overwhelming her.

Selina smiled. "Okay!" She stepped forward to help Alana stand. "Are you okay to walk on your own?"

Alana shrugged. "I'm a little woozy, actually."

Selina nodded. "I know." She was trying to not let it affect her through her empathy, but it was hard being so close.

They made their way to the kitchen, where Emerald was curled up on the benchtop, though it was hard to spot as it was behind some stacked pots in the corner. It raised its head and watched them approach.

"Hello, dragon," Selina said slowly, "can you understand me?"

It sniffed at her fingertips before pressing its head against her palm. The creature was happy.

Selina hesitated. She wasn't sure if she wanted Alana to be here when she asked the dragon. Instead, she bent forward and whispered to the dragon. "Dracarys!"

The dragon did not respond emotionally, but turned its head towards her as if drawn by her voice.

"It's so cute," Alana commented, love and pure joy filling her.

"How are we going to raise it?" Selina stared at the dragon, trying to get a sense of it. Nothing. Or at least, nothing she could understand. "I get that it chose us to do that, but is a baby really the best judge?"

"Well, maybe there's some sort of magic involved. Who knows what a dragon is capable of?"

"But what if... What if it chose wrong?" Selina turned away and leaned her back on the bench, looking down. "Everyone is turning out to be some kind of amazing supernatural creature..." She sighed. "I haven't told anyone this. But if I stay and help protect it, I'll stay human. If I choose to become something else, something better equipped at helping it, I can't stay. What kind of a choice is that?"

Alana put her hands on Selina's shoulders. "Choice is a lie. Whatever turns out is what was meant to be, one way or another."

Selina put her hand over Alana's and gave her a grateful glance. "Can you tell me one thing? I don't mean to use you..."

Alana smiled. "If I know I will tell you. I think sometimes that's why I'm like this."

Selina chuckled. "Thanks." She bit her lip, before continuing. "Will I be okay?"

Alana was deep in thought for a moment. "That's a tricky question. I believe so, but I haven't seen much of our lives."

Selina nodded. "That's okay." And her heart did feel lighter, slightly.

Alana had told Selina more, knowing less, than Jacob and Nathan ever had.

She had an answer.