Dragonkin, Part 1: Aurora

It was a quiet, summer morning; the soft sounds of chirping only interrupted by the soft crunch of shoes on the first floor. The sound faded as a young boy stepped into a large grassy clearing. The boy took a deep breath. Daniel loved the forest. The air was always cool and clean, and the tranquil rustles and chirps of the wildlife were always soothing. He turned his brown eyes upwards. Blue skies and a couple small, fluffy clouds were visible through the hole in the forest canopy. When he awoke this morning, he thought it would be terrible to let such a beautiful day go to waste. Daniel asked for permission to go on a hike. After multiple warnings from his mother, she eventually let him leave the house with a packed lunch and a water bottle. A weary smile spread across the boy’s face.  His mother could be so overprotective sometimes. She rarely allowed him to do anything on his own, despite him being almost seventeen. Daniel loved his family, but he needed some time to himself every once in a while.

Daniel ran a hand through his light brown hair; this was a good enough place to rest as any, he thought. He unpacked his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ate silently as he watched two birds converse with each other on a nearby branch. After downing the water bottle, he lay down in the middle of the grassy area and rested his head on his hands, watching the clouds go by. He sighed, content with being surrounded by all this natural beauty, and decided to rest his eyes for a little while.

Hours later, Daniel awoke and squinted into direct sunlight. Groggy, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked up and put a hand over his eyes to see the sun hovering directly overhead. For some reason, birds were no longer chirping.

"Ugh, how long was I asleep?"

Daniel continued to sit in his post-sleep stupor for a moment when he heard a soft, rustling sound in the distance, like trees swaying in the wind. Daniel thought nothing of it, but the rustling sound began to get progressively louder. Something seemed... wrong about the atmosphere, about the air, but Daniel couldn't put his finger on it. He decided it was nothing and closed his eyes, enjoying the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

Daniel's eyes shot open when he realized what was bothering him.

There wasn't any wind.

The boy jumped up, wide awake. He looked in the direction that the rustling sound was coming from, and it was closing in on him, fast. He could hear other sounds now: the deep thumping of heavy footsteps, the breaking of tree branches, and an occasional cluster of sounds that Daniel thought could be voices. He began to back out of the clearing, making as little noise as possible, as he prepared himself for whatever was about to spring out of the forest. But there was nothing he could do to prepare himself for what he was about to see.

Daniel could do nothing but stare as a huge, pink dragon, almost twenty feet tall, came tromping out of the forest. The dragon was looking back in the direction that it had came, laughing. Daniel could hear a voice from behind the dragon, but he wasn't really listening. The boy kept himself completely immobilized, hoping the reptile wouldn't notice him.

After listening to the voice for a moment, the dragon turned forward and happily jogged forward, but it abruptly froze when it saw the boy. The dragon squinted at him and cocked its head to the side. Daniel felt his blood run cold.

"Is that... Is that a human?" It asked curiously to no one in particular. Daniel noticed that its clear, soft voice sounded distinctly feminine. The reptile continued to study Daniel with large, sparkling eyes, remaining motionless aside from the slow rise and fall of its chest. The boy began to slowly back up, keeping his eyes locked on the dragon. The reptile's rose-colored eyes widened, a broad grin spreading across her face. "Ohmygosh it is!" The dragon squealed like a schoolgirl and charged at Daniel with all the subtlety of a freight train.

Horrified, Daniel turned and began to run back into the forest. 'If I could just make it to the trees...' he thought, hoping the forest could provide him sanctuary from the beast. The tromping of the dragon was getting rapidly louder as he neared the treeline.

'Almooost...' Daniel thought, putting everything he could into his legs. Suddenly, he felt a gentle force press into his back and scoop him up into the air. Daniel closed his eyes and tried to scream, but the motion forced the air from his lungs. The force swung him around in the air, and Daniel felt his body pressed up against something soft and warm. The material was squishy, and Daniel just sank into it. For some reason, Daniel thought he smelled strawberries.

"Cuddles!"  the dragon exclaimed with delight. Daniel opened his eyes to see that he was pressed up against the soft underbelly of the dragon, and she was gently holding him there with a claw while standing on her hind legs. Daniel felt his brain short-circuit as he tried to understand what was happening. He looked up to see the smiling face of the dragon looking down at him. "Aww, you are just so cute!" The dragon continued to snuggle him into its chest. The soft, warm skin enveloped Daniel's small body, and the dragon unfurled its wings and wrapped them around its stomach.

Daniel's senses were overloading. Sunlight shined through thin membranes of the dragon's wings, causing the world around him to disappear, replaced by nothing but a warm pink. The incredibly soft skin of the dragon cushioned his body, making it feel like he was sinking into a sea of pillows. The smell of strawberries assaulted his nostrils, and Daniel inhaled deeply, trying to take it all in. Daniel could feel, more than hear, a powerful, steady heartbeat pulsing through the dragon's body. Daniel gave up on trying to comprehend what was going on and decided to just enjoy it. He wrapped his arms as far around the dragon's body as he could and squeezed, returning the dragon's hug. He felt the dragon's body vibrate as it giggled, pressing him harder into her soft stomach.

This continued for a couple minutes, until they were interrupted by the sound of another voice and rustling trees. The powerful voice got easier to hear as the speaker stepped into the clearing.

"Honestly, Aurora, you shouldn't run so far ahead of me. It could be dangerous."

"I'm fine, Mom," the dragon rumbled, her voice vibrating the body of the small boy.

'Mom?' Daniel thought, a little worried. This apparently young dragon had been friendly enough, but how would an adult react to a human? Daniel only hoped that she wasn't hungry.

"Well, you should still be more careful. What if you trip and hurt yourself when I'm not around? You're still very young," The voice continued in a worried tone.

Daniel could practically feel Aurora roll her eyes."I said I'm fine, Mom. I'm not a baby anymore;I can take care of myself. And look what I found!" Aurora turned towards the voice and begin to lifted her wings. Daniel started to cry out in protest, but it turned to a strangled gasp when Aurora's mother came into view.

If he thought Aurora was big, her mother was gigantic. Her colossal body was more than twice as tall as her daughter, and Daniel figured she was more than sixty feet long, from head to barbed tail. Her midnight blue scales gave her a calm, regal look, starkly contrasting the warm pink of Aurora's body. She bent her enormous head down to examine what get daughter was holding, and her sapphire eyes widened a little when they locked onto Daniel's tiny body, nestled into Aurora's chest. Daniel stared back into the deep, crystalline pools, scarcely managing to breathe.

"Isn't he just adorable?" Aurora said affectionately, running a scaly finger gently through his hair. "I think he likes me."

"I don't know, dear," the mother said doubtfully. "He seems absolutely terrified."

"What? No!" Aurora protested. Daniel cringed as he was swept up into the air, Aurora keeping him wrapped safely in her claw as she brought him up to eye-level. Aurora looked at her little friend with pink, sparkling eyes, and asked, "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

Daniel was about to let her know exactly how scared he was of her, but the look in her eyes made him hesitate. She nervously watched him as she waited for him to answer, clearly afraid of what he might say. Daniel suddenly realized how vulnerable she looked.

He knew he felt absolutely terrified of her a few moments ago, and he still wasn't exactly comfortable around two large predators that still might think human was on the menu. But this enormous, beautiful dragon obviously cared about what he thought about her, and was being very gentle with him so far. Daniel wasn't sure why, but looking into those gleaming eyes, he felt like he could trust her. He gently shook his head, smiling nervously.

A brief flash of relief passed across Aurora's face, but it was quickly replaced by a confident smile. "See? He's fine," she said, turning back to her mother. The larger dragon still looked skeptical, but she just sighed.

"Well, what's his name?" Luna turned her gaze back towards Daniel.

"Uhh..."

"You mean you haven't introduced yourself yet?" Her mother asked, incredulous. Her face quickly grew stern. "I thought I raised you to have better manners," she reprimanded.

"My bad," Aurora said sheepishly. She carefully placed Daniel on the ground and released the claw around him. She then stood back up and placed a claw on her own chest. "I'm Aurora, and this is my mother, Luna," she said, gesturing at the dark dragon, who nodded approvingly.

"I'm D-Daniel," he stuttered nervously, looking back and forth between the dragons. "N...Nice to...meet both of you."

"Nice to meet you as well, little one," Luna answered kindly. "What are you doing this deep in the forest? Do you live around here?"

"Yes, I-- " Daniel abruptly cut himself off as alarms went off in his head. His instincts told him that it was a bad idea disclosing where he lived to two large predators, regardless of how nice they seemed.

"Uh..." Daniel tried to think of something else to say, but what? He glanced up at the dragons, at a loss for words. Aurora tilted her head in confusion, but Luna smiled warmly at him.

"I think I understand; you don't want to give the location of your home to a couple big, scary dragons you've only just met. Is that right?" she asked. Her voice washed over like a cool breeze, gentle and calming.

Daniel looked down, embarrassed. The dragon had practically just read his mind. He nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

"Sorry..." He mumbled quietly.

"That's quite alright, little one. I don't mind," Luna replied.

Daniel let out a little sigh of relief. He was worried he had offended the dragon.

"But how will I come and visit?" Aurora complained to her mother.

"Hush, dear." Luna gave her daughter a stern look. "Be polite. He doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to."

"But mom..." Aurora whined.

"No buts." Her mother said dismissively.

"But... But...." the younger dragon stammered. She looked desperately back and forth between Daniel, who looked blankly back at her, and her mother's stoic face. After a moment, she abruptly down and crossed her arms, a scowl plain on her scaly face.

Daniel almost laughed, but thought better of it. He'd never imagined what a pouting dragon would look like.

Luna gave her daughter a displeased look before sighing again. She had the attitude of a mother who was used to petulant children. She turned back to the human, who quietly watched the exchange with curiosity.

"Please excuse my daughter's behavior. She still is quite young, and she often lets her emotions get the better of her," Luna stated, making the last statement a little louder.

"I was just trying to be nice," Aurora grumbled, looking away.

"I suppose she takes after father in that way," Luna continued, ignoring her. She turned her full attention towards Daniel. "Anyways, I assure you that no harm will come to you from me or anyone in my family. I hopefully," she said, stressing the word, more for Aurora than for Daniel, "have raised my children better than that."

"Hey, I didn't hurt him or anything! I was really careful!" Aurora interjected.

"Were you? Tell me, how did he first respond to seeing you?" Luna asked, her tone level and didactic.

"He..." She stopped and looked over at Daniel, suddenly understanding. Breaking eye-contact, her gaze drifted to the floor, her voice much softer.

"He tried to run away."

"And how exactly did your respond to this?" Luna inquired, already suspecting the answer.

"I chased him down," Aurora mumbled. Her body now slouched a bit, guilt plain in her face.

"And how do you think this made him feel?"

Aurora kept her eyes glued to the ground and stayed silent.

"Well?" Her mother prompted.

"Terrified," Aurora mumbled sadly.

Her mother nodded. "So, what do you say to this nice young man?"

Aurora got up and walked over to Daniel. Despite her towering over him, she seemed very small at the moment. She stopped a comfortable distance away, and took a moment to make eye contact with him.

"Sorry I scared you," she murmured after meeting his gaze. "I didn't mean to, honest."

Daniel blinked at the dragon. What was he supposed to say? He glanced at Luna to see her watching him expectantly. She obviously wanted him to answer her daughter. Daniel gulped and looked back up at the pink dragon in front of him. She was looking at the ground again.

"I, uh... That's okay. I admit I was a little afraid of you, but I'm not anymore," Daniel stole another glance at Luna. She nodded encouragingly. "And I forgive you. So, uh....how about we be friends?"

The dragon looked up, wide-eyed. "R-really?" She asked quietly.

"Sure!" Daniel offered, gaining confidence. "I'll even come out to visit occasionally. We could meet here, or somewhere in the forest, and we could play or talk or whatever." Daniel didn't know how his family would react to seeing a dragon on his doorstep, but he was fairly certain he didn't want to find out.

"You mean it?" Aurora asked excitedly, her tail wagging behind her. Daniel nodded. The dragon squealed with delight and rushed at Daniel like a pink blur, sweeping him up in her hands. She proceeded to lift him up to her face and nuzzle him gently, purring like a kitten as she did so.

Daniel recovered from the swift movement after a moment and looked over to see Luna, smiling thankfully at him. Daniel smiled back and turned to embrace the snout of his new dragon friend.

This was going to be an interesting summer.