Jesse's POV
"Alright, what is it?" Sheldon asked nonchalantly.
"Go look!" she said, pointing into the woods but not daring to go back herself. We stood up from our positions and crossed over into the thick trees.
There was a large nest, and sleeping in it was a tiny, scaly creature.
"What, just a dragon?" Sheldon asked, picking it up with his two fingers and thumb, holding it up to a reluctant Juniper. It stayed peacefully asleep. "Practically harmless."
"A dragon?!" Maya asked, alarmed. Juniper cautiously stepped into the group.
"Yeah, dragons are a bit of a threat... but when they're this small they don't really do much." Sheldon said, holding it out to Juniper, who backed away. She shook her head.
"Nope, no, no, nope!" she said, "I still don't like it."
The baby yawned, as it began to wake up.
"Shelly, you're gonna antagonize it," Darling warned. Sheldon turned it around, examining its fine scales. Its back shimmered in royal blue with red accents.
"Be careful with him," Magnolia said, "If I remember correctly, the dragon species with blue and red scales and gray fangs can be deadly. Can you see his mouth?"
Juniper whimpered and stepped backward a few paces. Sheldon gently adjusted the dragon in his hands to make its head face him. Cautiously, he put his finger to the dragon's lower lip and pulled it downward. He squinted.
"Is it dangerous?" Darling asked, stepping away as well.
"Hard to tell..." Sheldon said as he put it closer to his face.
"What do you mean hard to tell??" Juniper exclaimed, "Are the teeth gray or not gray?!"
"They're like... gray-ish blue... I don't know! I'm not good with color!" he said, lowering the dragon from his face. It gurgled a little.
"You know, it's actually kind of cute!" Juniper said, coming closer and smiling, "Hello, little guy!"
It gurgled some more. Sheldon gave a wry expression.
"Is it hungry?" he asked.
"It's gurgling?" Magnolia asked.
"Yeah... uh, it's okay, calm down, shh," Sheldon, patted the dragon, trying in vain to calm it down. It seemed to be choking for a moment, then threw up a gray substance onto Sheldon's shirt.
"It puked! It puked on me!" Sheldon said, holding it far away from his body. The dragon struggled to get out of his hands. Nightmelody stifled a chuckle in the background, just observing the action.
"Okay, okay, calm down little guy," Magnolia said as she gently let the dragon into her arms.
"Gross!" Sheldon said, trying to wipe the substance from his tunic. His blue eyes widened when it touched his hands.
"Grah, why does it hate me?!" he said, wiping his hands on his pants.
"Does that hurt?" Magnolia asked, rocking the dragon to sleep in her arms.
"Yes!" Sheldon grunted, making sure to get all the contents off of his hands.
"Then this is a highly dangerous species," Magnolia said calmly as the dragon yawned and its eyes fluttered shut, "He was trying to eat you."
"Eat me?" Sheldon chuckled, "But it's tiny."
"When it gets bigger it'll be more of a threat. It spits digestive fluids at things before it consumes them because of its sensitive teeth."
"Wait a minute," Lukas said, seemingly coming out from being thinking about something, "If there's a baby here, the mother should be close by, right?"
Magnolia thought for a moment, then nodded as if there was nothing wrong with that. Aiden sneezed.
"I haven't seen any signs of any other dragons besides that one though," Darling said, looking around.
"Juniper," I said, "Where were you when you saw the baby?"
"Back this way, follow me," she said, stepping into the dead, snow covered trees. I followed behind.
"Stay here," I informed the rest of the gang before continuing.
"He was just back here and—oh my gosh--!" Juniper exclaimed.
I gasped. There before us was a nest made of sticks and dirt. In it slept a larger, scarier version of the baby dragon. Its metallic scales were as blue as lapis and the red ones like fire. It lay sound asleep, its back gently moving up and down. The giant looked rather spectacular as it glistened in the light. Its huge wings guarded its body.
"When did that get here?!" I whispered.
"I don't know... I didn't know it was even here!" Juniper whispered, "We should tell the others... warn them."
We tiptoed back to the group, who were anxiously waiting for our return.
"There is a mommy," I said, "And she's huge!"
"We should go back and tell Caenis. He'll know what to do," Darling said. The rest agreed and we went back indoors.
"Caenis!" exclaimed Sheldon as he continued banging on the door after several tries.
"YAA!" Juniper shouted as she lunged her body at the door. She bounced off and stumbled backward.
"That's not working!" Lukas said.
"Can't you use your... feathers or whatever?" Nightmelody asked.
"I didn't bring any," Sheldon said.
"Can't you use your weapon powers and cut a hole through the door or something?" Juniper asked. He crossed his arms.
"Do you think I'm that dumb? The door will have a hole in it."
"Then put it back when you're done."
"With what?"
Juniper paused and thought. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then stopped.
"CAENIS!" she yelled.
Petra's POV
"...and I wish I was special... you're so very special..." I crooned as I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. I had been singing Creep for the millionth time because there was absolutely nothing else to do. I wasn't saying I was ungrateful, just very... very... bored. And maybe a little bit ungrateful. Just imagine how you'd feel if you just got out of slowly dying in prison to being locked away in a tiny room. It'd be pretty lonely. I softly sang to myself to keep me busy.
"There is... a house... in New Orleans. They call... the rising sun..."
Suddenly, the feeling rose up again. That horrible, panicked feeling that erupted from my head to my feet. I breathed quickly, making me feel lightheaded. I whimpered (I always thought I'd never be caught dead whimpering, yet here I am) and tried to keep in control. The blanket over me felt like needles, so I screamed and threw it to the ground. The room was spinning. I felt the wooden floor hit my face, which felt like it hurt much worse than it should have.
"Petra!" a smooth, warm said my name. I felt a tender hand touch my shoulder, and suddenly I was somewhere else. Every bad feeling left me and it felt like I was in my own little world.
"Everything is okay! You're with me now," the voice said in a dreamy way. It belonged to a boy with short, unruly golden hair that looked like it was unruly on purpose. He smiled at me, showing off his pearly whites and dimples on his cheeks.
"Who... are you?" I asked trying not to be tongue-tied just looking at him. His ocean blue eyes sparkled when they saw me. His jaw was at a perfect perpendicular angle below his ears.
"My name is Ethro," he said, his voice coming out much more clearly. Without a doubt, he was handsome, almost in sort of a magical way, making me feel at ease with him. The room disappeared like it was only us.
"Why were you afraid, Petra?" he asked like I knew the answer.
"I... it's something that I can't control... E-Ethro," I said. His face reminded me of a combination between Aiden and Lukas, just a little different.
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
"I've heard a bit about you; I've seen you before. I haven't known you for too much time, though. Come on over here."
He sat down on the ground and motioned me over. I walked toward him and sat. He was a little taller than I was, but just enough that I didn't have to look up to see him.
"So, what's been going on?" he asked casually.
"What?" I asked, expecting something a bit more.
"You know, what's happened lately?"
"I think you know," I said, slouching a little, "Haven't you heard about me or something?"
He shrugged.
"I can't say I know everything. I just heard a little bit about you, that something's wrong. Are you hanging in there okay?"
"I can't say I am," I sighed, "I just went from one prison to another."
I told him the whole story, from the fight with Nightmelody, to my time in Dead Character Land, to the panic attacks. He listened to every word and nodded occasionally like he understood what it felt like.
When I was finished he thought about it for a second.
"I know how to fix the panic attacks!" he said as he snapped his fingers, excitement spilling out of his tone.
"You could do that?" I asked, sitting up strait.
"Yeah, I think I could... I just need one thing to make the magic work."
"And... what would that be?" I asked.
"A quill. One of the magic ones they have around here. I'd get it myself, but I don't think I know these people well enough, you know?"
"Well, couldn't you just get to know them, then?" I asked. He shrugged again.
"I guess I could... but it'd just be a lot easier if you got it for me. I would be able to cure you much faster."
"Why do you need a feather to lift the curse?" I asked.
"I'm a little new at magic," he admitted, "but I know that there's a magic chemical involved in the power of the magic quill. If I just had that, I could use it to lift the curse off you! Think about it, Petra, I could heal you, just all I need is a magic quill. Are you up to the task?" He smiled hopefully and playfully nudged my arm.
"Yeah, that seems simple enough. No strings attached, just get the pen and give it to you?"
"Yep, simple. I can come back tomorrow if you want. You think you can have the pen by then, right?"
"Yeah, I think I can manage that."
"Awesome! Thanks. And thanks for lettin' me help you, maybe everyone will take me a bit more seriously when I'm able to lift a curse."
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, just people who think that they're better than me 'cause they're more experienced in magic," he gave a dismissive wave of his hand, "It's nothing really, just kind of bugs me sometimes."
He stood and wiped his hands together like he had something that he was dusting off them.
"Alright, I'll be here tomorrow when the sun is high in the sky. You think you'll have the quill by then?"
"Yeah, I think so," I said.
"Cool. See ya, Petra!" he said as he faded out of view.
"See ya... Ethro, right?" I asked.
"Yeah. Bye!"
He left me with a feeling of well-being as if I was already healed. I sighed, remembering his smile. Ethro. He seemed nice. I just hoped he would deliver on his promise, just like what he hoped from me. Together we would both give each other a favor.
I got up from the hard floor I must have fallen onto like I had woken up from a dream. Was it a dream? It felt too lucid to be a dream, it couldn't have been.
Either way, I knew that I had to get that pen.
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Hello there, reader. I must apologize that this chapter was posted a little later than the time I normally post; I just haven't been able to get to my computer until now.