Dragonheart: Of Dreams and Paths

Chapter IV: First Encounters

A sudden, soft noise, like shuffling fabric, reached Peter's ears, as he turned slowly. What met his eyes in the next few seconds defied all logic, and made him start to wonder if he'd somehow crossed the boundary between sanity and madness. Before him was a small collection of mountains, actually suspended in mid air! Impossible as it was, it only got more impossible as a creature dove among them. He couldn't quite make out what it was, until it abruptly soared closer. Suddenly it seemed to slow down and slowly flop sideways! With an audible growling groan, the creature suddenly plunged and crashed into the ground a few metres from his position.

A large creature that Peter could not mistake for anything other than a dragon, now lay not ten feet from him. He couldn't help but be mesmerized at how the sunlight gleamed like gold off of the creature's furry hide. The boy was somewhat reminded of Elliot, a character from a movie he saw once. But somehow he had a feeling that this was a completely different dragon. Then, unexpectedly, the dragon slowly lifted his head, and looked Peter right in the eyes!! The boy's heart sank upon his noticing of a fairly deep laceration, like a scratch, in the dragon's chest!! Frantic, the boy searched quickly, soon finding some aloe vera trees, managing to extract several of the leaves. Returning, Peter managed to hunt for and find two large stones, between which he crushed the leaves to extract the natural aloe vera compound, which he carefully applied to the dragon's wound.
"Easy, there!" the boy spoke softly. "I'm not going to hurt you!"
Initially scared at first of what the creature's reaction to his attempts to help would be, Peter was relieved to note that the dragon indicated it meant him no harm, and even appeared relieved; this was a sure indication that the boy's efforts to help his new friend were paying off. After treating the wound as best he could, Peter sat down near the dragon, and stared out over the vast expanse of Lake Michigan. A while of silence, broken only by the faint lapping of waves against the shore of the bluff, pervaded. The dusk soon gave way to a starry night, yet as the darkness fell, the boy's vision seemed to waver and fade...
...
Peter's eyes opened to find the morning light shining into his room. Getting up, he showered, dressed, and yet another journey preceded the same dull school day as so many before it had. Yet even though he focused on his schoolwork, the dream of his encounter with the dragon remained like a photograph in the back of his mind. And in a way, Peter found it to be a welcome distraction from the blur of everyday life. The boy was later playing some basketball alone at recess, when he accidentally lost the ball. Going to retrieve it from the grass just outside the outdoor court, he was stopped by Daniel. "Give it up, Wimpkins!"
Peter stood his ground. "It's my basketball right now, Daniel," Peter spoke calmly, looking his enemy in the eye. "And I'm not afraid of either you or Johnny."
Johnny himself then stepped out of the bushes. "Well, you should be, punk!" he growled. Reaching into his coat, he removed a pair of brass knuckles. "The ball is ours, and we'll beat you bloody if you don't hand it over!" The boy now knew he had no choice, and dropped the ball, which Daniel snatched when it bounced to his feet. But then he was kicked in the back, before both brutes began kicking him. Yet while on the ground, Peter managed to grab Johnny's left ankle, tripping his attacker. Yet the victory was short-lived.
Now, Peter thought, it was all over for him. But, just when Johnny's fist with the brass knuckles came down toward him, time seemed to stop for just a second. "You are not weak, Peter," the boy distinctly heard a voice whisper inside his mind. "and you DO have the strength you really need, so stand and FIGHT!" Peter's right hand twitched, before a flood of strength he never knew he possessed, surged through his body...
"GAAAAACCCCK...!!" Peter spun around while somehow rising to his feet...and he now had Johnny by the throat, lifting him right off the ground!!! Hacking, the boy stared, petrified, into his adversary's eyes, wondering just how on earth a young boy could have this kind of strength. But it was as if Peter read Johnny's mind."That's not for you to know, punk!" he growled. Then he spun...and threw the boy as if he were no more than a ragdoll!! Screaming, Johnny flailed as he flew 25 feet through the air to slam into the tower bell hard enough to get knocked out...and ring the bell at the same time!!! Luckily, thick grass on the ground below caught the boy's limp body. Fortunately, as Peter later found out, his adversary had only suffered a concussion, and minor bruising. But in Peter's mind, it was enough to drive the message home. Spinning, he clotheslined Daniel hard enough to knock him out cold as well. But Peter knew he didn't need to do anything more. Turning, he headed for the field, fully ignoring both the silence and the absolutely stunned expressions of all present there.
Returning home after a long day, Peter ate a quick dinner of two pizza pops and some water, then crashed on his bed. Sleep came to erase the fatigue and worry, as the boy drifted away...soon finding himself standing by the lake once again. "Hello?" he called softly. At first there was no answer, but then a low growl and shuffling reached his ears, alongside a new sensation: the gentlest touch of a clawed hand on his right shoulder!! Whirling, Peter again came face-to-face with the dragon, whose smile, at first creating feelings of unease for the boy, now made him feel welcome. Thankfully, his friend, due to the boy's hard work and perseverance, was by now almost fully healed. All that was left was one final herbal remedy Peter swiftly created with a final handful of the same herbs he'd been using since the beginning. It was odd. If this was a dream, how come he was aware of the passage of time required to prepare the remedy? Or how come he could think so clearly? He glanced over at the creature, who was looking at him with the same curiosity; did he have the answers?