Rise of the Dragons: New Beginnings
Rise of the Dragons
Chapter One: New Beginnings
Friday October 16th, 2010
Location: UTPB Campus, Odessa
_"So, you were supposed to rub the shampoo on your hair and not your skin... and you're supposed to wash your skin with body wash?" _
Already, the dragon had failed three separate times on how to take a single shower. One, to figure out how to spin and pull the faucet to heat; second to what to wash. The third and last time, was figuring out how to use them. Since then, the dragon looked almost regal, clear of the gunk that reeked of fecal matter and arid spunk. Still, he returned to the shower to redo the whole process to get it all right.
Marcus chuckled at the consideration for body wash and shampoo. "Yeah, and the fluids were meant for humans; so scales and horns aren't typically reserved for us." Humored the young man, voicing his calmness in front of the dragon who could still pierce his mind and kill him three ways until Sunday.
Even while the dragon showered, the young university student still attempted to fletch for his homework and his textbooks, letting the dragon shower and simultaneously observe him through re-learning the subjects of Calculus, Physics, and British Literature. Through reading and understanding, the dragon had discovered many insightful concepts that kept him intrigued with humanity, but also disappointed in the manner of how it came to be.
"So what about conditioner? What does that do?"
"It's for fancy hair."
"That doesn't make any sense, you have one item for your body and the other for your hair. What difference does it make to call hair products shampoo and be done with it?"
"Appearance, that's all that matters to people; appearance and status."
"That's... strange. Appearance and status should not be a determining factor that should factor into everything about a persons life. What is inside your mind should determine your placement in society, not the other way around."
"Welcome to society, young dragon. Double standards are just a taste for what's in store for you."
That was the cue for the dragon to shut the water faucet off to the shower and dry himself up once again. With the towel the dragon used to clean himself, that cloth would end up being a wet rag that would be tossed into the bathtub with the other two squishy towels. Slithering into the room, the dragon observed Marcus as he was continuing to read his textbooks while also bringing up information from the course syllabus online.
The dragon soon approached Marcus and looked at the syllables and the diagrams written down into the text. Like a glowing watchtower, the flickering purple hues of the dragon's purple eyes scanned every little detail like a machine would to a printing press. To Marcus, the dragon's dark violet scales and towering seven-foot height was enough to keep him on his toes. Just watching how the dragon twirled his tail and curled his sharpened claws showed his use of them; it was easy to see the rippled marks that displayed puncture marks along the dragon's scales.
His friends were right about one thing, there was a lot more going on than what met the eye from the flames. And not to mention one more important detail to that situation; the University released a "public service announcement" in an email regarding the incident. What made the dragon as well as Marcus laugh was the nature of how the government chose to cover it up with a simple lie:
Vandalism caused the fire.
Surely whoever the feds discovers was the "vandal" would definitely be the scapegoat for the fire. That email now was an implication applying to Marcus and to the other people willing to house the dragons from the federal government. Such thoughts creeped up on the young man as he could now risk his future and his life on just getting help from a dragon. But, the fact that the feds were even considering of creating a new organism and the implications behind it scared Marcus even more; it even reinforced his decision to keep on helping the dragon while the male tutored him in the process.
Was the dragon evil to learn and teach him? To a professor, they would cry foul, but he did not think the dragon was anymore evil than the feds were for creating them. In some ways, Marcus understood how Arcanus felt, the palpable innocence and lack of understanding in the world was what everyone had to go through. So, the man gave the dragon a chance, even if it was a trip meant for acid and hotboxing.
The dragon was not reluctant to back out on his word. So even as some information riled him in the initial stages of what Marcus called a "study session," the dragon merely laid low and let his still drying body cool off nearby.
Once the human took out his extensive binder and textbooks, the dragon's eyes brightened in intensity and the session continued.
For many hours, the two would carry on into the night without falter. Marcus almost felt slightly under the dragon's possession while its mind and his own navigated through every piece of information textbooks could offer. Varied by the information the dragon accumulated through his memories, his study habits, lectures attended, and point of views from fellow colleagues; the dragon sucked up the information involved and applied each equation and algorithm into the picture to find answers to all sorts of questions. Calculus was practically easy if one had the time for it and the help required to understand it. Luckily, Marcus had both boons to his favor. Eventually, the hard-earned course was covered from Algebra to Calculus.
Given the slowdown of time in the dragon's telepathic abilities, it made studying a whole lot easier to understand Physics and give Marcus an easier time with his subjects.
His applied experiments not only gave Marcus a window into how he himself had the power to navigate this work, but the dragon's methods helped the human look at ways to improve himself regardless of the situation or the intel involved. Coming down onto Physics was almost as terrible as the man remembered. However, once removing the fear and coming down to the difficult subjects of relativity, string theory, and various methods of scientific principles; taking a different perspective was all that was needed to answer the fundamental questions that were asked in the textbook. All it took to understand physics was to understand the methods used to measure, evaluate, and solve problems while using said principles to apply them to varying degrees of experimentation. What they did was enough to answer the basic questions in the course, but fundamentally going into detail about said theories was an experience in itself.
Through understanding very important and fundamental items in detail, there were points in their course diagram that were incorrect about the theories in question. Noting them down for the future as well as being a point where the dragon could experiment with said theory, the dragon distilled such information into his kin to reform and begin preparing the population for psychic education. He knew such information would at least garner improvements with his kin, but gifting them consciousness was his ultimate goal and it would aid in their uprising. With that being said, it didn't take long for Marcus to finish his notes and prepare for the next course.
Wholly regarding the insanity that was British Literature, the dragon had to dig deep into Marcus's mind to understand the human elements that were grafted into the basic precepts of history and the nature of humanity. Riling deep into the "reptilian brain" didn't help the dragon understand the concepts of love and the heroes' journey, but it gave the dragon insight into how such emotions led to an inspiring effect of delusion and fanatical concepts. The entire tale of Beowulf and Judith bore the dragon to smile at the artistic flare to the mythology, but the details of every manuscript from Junius to the Nowell Codex was extensive to which the dragon happily digested.
It nearly baffled the dragon, however about how their own kind was inserted as monsters in their folklore and mythology. That concept angered the dragon, and the human could feel the seething hatred building within the beast. Not wanting to anger the creature even more, Marcus turned the page and let the dragon continue digesting information that didn't include anything about dragons and only focused on applying their newer habits into drafting essays, compositions, research topics, and structured literary concepts that tied to the course. Everything from the Anglo Saxon Literature all the way down into the Enlightenment Era was indefinitely covered, making the course of British Literature completed in all the information that was needed.
By the time it reached morning, the dragon and Marcus were effectively completed with the three main major courses of University hell. Not wanting to leave Marcus too tired to pass out mid-telepathy, the dragon soon broke off their connection and let the human nearly rest his head on the laptop he was on.
In his lasting moments, he could hear the dragon move after being stationary in his spot all night.
"I have selected my name..."
"That... is...?" Marcus asked in his sleepish tone.
"Arcanus, Latin for being a trustworthy friend and a keeper of secrets."
"That's... fair..."
And with that, Marcus closed his eyes into a dreamless state. While he was asleep, his mouth started to make horrifying sounds that caused the now Arcanus to shiver.
_"Is he dying?" _
Not long into the snoring embrace that the young man had, a drunkish human decided to kick the door to the room open and sluggishly enter the space with a jolly bout. In a secondary glance, the human would pause as his lucid face started to drink the image of the large creature in front of him. Not wanting to get in the middle of another sleep session, Arcanus would flare his glowing eyes into the humans and caused the caucasian male to freeze in place. Like a bright flash of light, the dragon caused Christian to lose all control of his body to him, stiffening his body up and make him walk back into the living areas of the dorm.
Arcanus smirked as he manipulated the drunkish Christian into cleaning up the rest of the dorm. After this was done, the dragon possessed Christian to walk into his own room and pass out on his bed. The purple dragon, once left alone in the rising sunrise of the dampening and otherwise closed blinds; the rooms in the dorm did not show too much reflection nor did they give a peep into the rooms themselves.
Nothing satisfied the purple reptile more into the discovery and acclimation of such knowledge. With the information that was studied in the prior hours, Arcanus devised a plan to move forward with improving the will of dragonkind and delivering information to jumpstart a new dragon society... a society where dragons could be unified and coordinated to handle the problems that came their way. While the two humans rested within their own respective areas, the violet dragon closed his eyes and started on his own efforts to educate the broods of his knowledge and information...
By psionically imprinting what he learned into the dragons minds.
Friday October 16th, 2010
Location: Hive City, Sewers
Selkie moaned as her loose folds popped out the last egg from the fifth clutch this afternoon. The mind and intelligence of the dragon population might have changed with the boon of information filling their minds, but their nature still compelled the males to fuck and the females to spread their legs. How her crimson body reeked with copious amounts of spunk coating her frame, the soreness dwelling between her legs and lingering in the belly was something she loved feeling. The emotional reception of breeding itself was a cycle that had perpetuated dearly within herself, but the attraction and pleasure inducing effects that lingered in her mind provided enough sensation to last another day... especially when her work contributed to the development of the city.
Dwelling in the center of a breeding center, everything was much more settled and prepared for the management of the brood beneath the city.
Not that a city underneath a city mattered though. In a more organized set of nests molded together in the chamber, the breeding center was as vast as an assembly of fat, gravid, limping dragonesses. It was one of five massive chambers that covered a single layer within the tunnels. Inspired by similar shapes inspected by the insects of this world, the dubbed "Hive City" underneath Odessa was a honeycomb of layered tunnels. They were structured in manners fitting for entire legions of dragons. Whereas the once smaller halls were the circumference of merely a few dragonlengths in diameter, the chasms as they were referred now held nearly fifty times that size. Dragons could now practice their flights, taking onto new heights and exercising their wings. Pillars were erected all across the tunnels and the silk lights illuminated the dark chasms in a dim glow.
The more layers that were descended became larger and wider the more the Hive City expanded. Well-structured and having the horde of dragons as it did, Selkie knew there were power gaps that were in need to be filled within the leadership. After taking in the last four males, as well as seducing the fifth; the males she 'mated' with were prominent leaders who had the attention of Arcanus. All of them had five separate traits which the great male found acceptable to raise them under.
Each position the males found themselves in were as important as the topics.
Heading the Research and Science development was an amber dragon who called himself Racid; for the Head of Security was a violet dragon who identified himself Archer. Overseeing the Engineering Corps, a young brown dragon named Mortar took charge of his bulk. Taking charge over the needs and importance of Intelligence and Infiltration, a black dragon named Shadow took part in his own right of espionage; and finally, a Red dragon by the name of Etherius was left to take the position of the Logistics and Planning division over the territory and potential lands that the dragons would immediately oversee.
Getting all five of these dragons to not only knock her up with their fertile rivets of cum pleasure them in the same fashion as sucking cock, but it did also more than simply seduce the dragons; it had given the dragoness her opportunity to whisper her plans to the males and convince them to consider the importance of breeding and its place in their society. Such deliberations and discussions were important topics between the new "Councilors," but considering the dragoness was already in all five of the male's mind; she knew her political play gave them much consideration for filling the lead for such a position.
And when she was finished laying her fifth clutch in the breeding layer, a dark scaled dragon would fly to the entrance of the assembly and rush towards the female.
"The Council has granted... you the newly created position of... Broodlord. You may now be able to table a Council meeting to discuss topics of breeding, the population, as well as public health briefings." Panted the messenger dragon.
Smirking, Selkie would walk to an open area, plop herself onto her haunches and puffed her chest.
"Thank you, tell the Council I will be coming into the chambers to arrange a... conference with them as soon as possible."
=====
Hive City, Citadel
Etherius sighed as the newly positioned Broodlord called the council into the highest point in the lowest level of the city. Outside, a glowing, booming city of dragons, dragonesses, and hundreds of other discoveries and inventions lied beneath. The Council, however, was stationed inside an empty, flat, metallic chamber, with a wide panel to view the city and a wide berth inside that made the dragons feel like chess players.
Whatever the female was doing certainly garnered his attention. The reeking Archer and the cunning Shadow never wasted an opportunity or time to do anything while Mortar was sitting on his haunches in a corner, tired from his recent escapades.
And yet they were pacing around the chamber like caged animals.
"I swear, I am going to put three clutches in that broodmother... again!"
"Make it five, that female must be preparing a brood as we speak."
Chuckling at how both powerful councilors reacted, Etherius looked to Racid as the young dragon was overlooking various areas of the city. Interested and curious into what the dragon was thinking, Etherius would stand on all fours and paddle over to the dragon. "Taking care of yourself Racid?" The red male soon sat on his haunches beside the male, looking into the city as he did.
"It seems... vast don't you think?" Racid would question and point out. "Like... really vast. And deep too. Fifteen miles in diameter within a rigid, circular perimeter and expanding three miles deep."
"Goodness Racid, I asked how you were doing!"
"Oh, right. Yeah, I am doing... fine." Racid nodded, his amber scales and calculated demeanor overlooking the city like he was the councilor of Etherius's job. It did not matter enough to him to make it stick, yet he still chuckled at the thought. "You think too much about the expansion of the broods. They will find a way to snuff the human's noses whether we like it or not. I mean, look at that human Arcanus met. That individual, whether the others will admit it or not, is the reason why we aren't springing ourselves into the expanse of their world, their society... where we are the ones paying the price of needless bloodshed." Etherius pointed out.
Racid would turn to look at Etherius, curiously looking the crimson dragon in the eye. "You speak as if the humans are such a threat and the one we have convinced to ally to not have guaranteed us our sentience. He doesn't like his own kind, but he would certainly act in their interests if it meant he would benefit from our expense." Racid made out.
He could see the reaction from Etherius as easily as a reflection from a mirror, just as both dragons sized each other up. "Human behavior is strange Racid, didn't your examinations from the city prove anything? People out in that town reflect the chaotic element that constantly lives inside their minds. We may have a more... fixed element, but that doesn't mean we are not perfect." Chuckled the male. "I am sure he would act differently based on the interests he has as well as his own personable points of view. Interests aside, he might as well be more interchangeable as much as the next human."
"Great, now you are making me think about the next human to experiment with. Maybe that roommate of his mi-"
Kicking open the far-off chamber door, the slender and thickly figure of a specific broodlord punched right through the opening and slid into the dark enclosement with a streak of creamy white trailing her tail. "Nope, Arcanus is already taking care of that." Worded the dragoness as she limped inside. The look from Archer and Shadow savagely indicated their intent whilst the females entrance explained why she was late.
What was even more indicative of the females' entrance, fifteen smaller, slender dragonesses appeared from the broodmother's flanking sides. Each female was smaller, even more slender and bore the same scales as the Broodlord. The stripes of bioluminescence bubbling in lines of colorful circles implied there were even more powerful broodfathers pumping their loads into the broodmothers line. What cum marked the dragoness gave off an air that was more than musk, it was gingerly and discreet. And her daughters reeked of its potency.
Looks like Shadow was correct. The dragoness pumped up a brood and raised a powerful band of females.
"You're late."
"Oops, a dragoness never gets 'round a corner without getting knocked up down an alley." Huffed the silk of the dragoness, soon walking past the shined sweaty scales of Archer's massive tone. She would slither past Shadow with a flick of her tail and soon center herself at the prick of the room. "I mean, you all did elect me as a Broodlord for a reason."
Shadow would cross his arms, flicking his forked tongue at her, "Yeah... after we each had our way with you." Growled the dragon.
"It's nothing personal, I have made use of what power you five each granted me... and my fellow Broodlords." Smirked the dragoness, showing the reality by letting her daughters slither to each councilor in the room. That caused Etherius and Racid look to each other before turning their attention back on Selkie.
"What did you do?"
"Well... let us just say that while you lot have been focusing on maintaining the city... I have been maintaining the outer perimeter."
"And?"
"And... well, here's the interesting part. The humans were up to something more than simply investigating the surface for dragons. They started combing the sewers. To look for us specifically. The new females I had... elevated to power have continued to keep everything in line while we... ponder a few topics."
That certainly caught the attention of the councilors, even as the young, near-virgin females started to group up on each male. Not one moment too soon, Mortar had already pinned down one of the daughters and was already having his way with the perky little dragoness. The distinct moans of the dragoness and the audible smacking of hips certainty validated Mortar's exercise of his body, even as the young dragoness spread her legs and tugged the male closer to her physique with the wrapping of her arms and the kissing of her maw.
Shadow and Archer were the next victims to fall to the lustful campaign. While Mortar had the jump on a dragoness and bucked his hips wildly; Shadow would be cornered by six of the females and soon dominated by their collective mass. Groans and snarls would be heard from Shadow as Archer merely fornicated with three of the females. Archer merely rubbed his claws and tail along the females hides, letting them rub their bodies along his body and caress against his scaly hide.
Racid would begin to be cornered by a couple of the dragonesses, their sights making the councilor worry as he felt he was going to be ravaged by dominant females...
As for Etherius, he would slowly be approached by Selkie herself.
"What have you done to stop them?" Etherius asked.
"Oh, I played my part and manipulated them." The thickly dragoness purred. Her slender curves soon started to rub along the dragon's sides. It did not take long before her stinking, swelling body began to take a hold against the Etherius's will, causing his scales to heat up as his instinctual drives urged him to plow into this dragoness.
"But business does not need to be discussed right now... I have... a better means to further organize our defenses..."
Friday October 16th, 2010; Late Afternoon
If there was one thing that Marcus could admit to, the minds of the dragons didn't fuck around. Marking out the entire checklist of all the assignments and online quizzes became as easy as clockwork. The collective memorization of this work had allowed the man to not only pass and complete the weekly scheduled modules for every course, but it had also provided him the opportunity to get himself two weeks ahead of all of his assigned work.
Projects that covered Game Theory, Equilibrium, and various other economic foundations were effectively expanded, even as Marcus really never had interest in it. The knowledge that covered it and the people that founded it were more interesting than foundation itself. People like John Von Neumann and John Forbes Nash Jr were both subject to the world around them, both societally and mentally from a young age. One side was grieved with the events of the emerging communist regime and the other plagued by schizophrenia. Marcus could see both men were geniuses, but he could see there was a specific human element that allowed them to make discoveries.
Marcus could even see this effect happening within him and it made the man curious whether or not this variable change would make him a coming genius or a series of intellectual thinkers bypassing the fundamentals of human nature. Whenever it came to the current dilemma, there was always a pattern that had spurred interest in Marcus's mind. He evaluated himself like he analyzed the men he was reading. What made his interests peak, the enigma of the dragon had kept him on edge, both for how one of them afflicted his mind and how he was able to inherit so much intel so quickly. Nothing kept him more focused by the fact of how even one could affect him, but also others.
Sure, the man had woken up in a fucking daze, wrecked in migraines and headaches up the ass. However, when he started focusing on his work, the pain seemed to sink away. Strange enough, his appetite was not afflicting him in the slightest. It was as if the man had forgotten what it meant to feel hunger and even fear starvation. He could sense Arcanus stalking the apartment, observing every inch of the place while he was left completing coursework. He let the dragon find out things the hard way, trusting the male by how he was curiously discovering the world. Even with all the knowledge of the world, experiencing it was a new experience altogether.
Marcus knew the dragon was responsible for this change... this side effect that he had. But Marcus didn't even blame him, not knowing the world was an experience even he did not want to wish anyone on. However, it did provide some entertainment. The sounds of the curious male was almost palpable and comedic in how such a dangerous, mind-altering beast was slithering to every piece of the flooring, turning light switches on and off in pure fascination. It was like Arcanus, upon discovering something new, became a toddler and started tinkering with every little thing.
Eventually, by the time it turned a little past four o'clock, Marcus sighed as he was finished with nearly three weeks' worth of course material.
"Arcanus, what are you doing?"
Popping its head into Marcus's room, the male would peer its glowing eyes to the man as his maw had a package of cheez-its where he was. "Eating some of your human food... it tastes... salty." Arcanus lifted a claw to open the small bag and start picking up the small square pieces and went to eating them. Marcus merely chuckled and shook his head. "Well, while you discover the world of human snacks, I have been getting ahead of these classes by a few weeks. What have you discovered?" Asked the human.
"I discovered boxes that clean fabrics..."
"Washing machine."
"Then I discovered wall switches that turn on lights."
"That is a lighting switch."
Continuing and confirming what had been about five minutes of basic apartment condiments to simple cleaning supplies, Marcus had essentially taught the dragon on how to be a more effective roommate. Whether that had accounted for Chrisitan's lack of appearance or impacted by his snoring didn't matter; the fact that the dragon's curiosity to learn nearly made the young man forgive the unbearable few minutes trying to explain how the simple stuff worked. While the dragon wanted to learn, both the man and the dragon heard a soft noise bellowing within the room.
That was when Marcus clutched his stomach with a sigh, causing the dragon to tilt his head at him like a dog.
"Are you going to die?" Arcanus asked worriedly.
To the dragons luck, the man laughed and shook his head. "No, but if I do not eat for a long time, I will be." Sighing, the man clamped his footing down to the floor to stand up. He groaned as his knees popped and his back cracked. That shocked the dragon with a replying '0_0' and an eventual expression of horror across his body. Marcus, upon feeling the weight of the dragons silence, looked at him sternly. "And no, I popped my bones, I didn't break them." The man spoke, flexing himself up as he would crack a few more joints in his arm, wrists, and fingers. Each pop and grunt made the dragon more suspiciously fearful, but the human continued on as if it was nothing.
If Marcus had the time to explain how anatomy produced such things, then he wouldn't have a hard time getting up and walking over to the dresser to select his clothing. All he could really find was a selection of basic, plain, cheap fabric t-shirts, grey sweatpants, and underwear that made him feel like an extra in Hollywood wearing tight spandex. Just at that moment, the young hispanic man took a slight breath and depressingly placed a full outfit of plain clothes on his bed. Not really caring about how others looked at him, the man took off all his clothes and put on what he left over. He grunted as he fitted the underwear and slipped on the black pair of socks, fitting on his shirt and pants with the ordinary splat of fitting his feet into his shoes.
Ready to take care of his own business and to get some fresh air, Marcus put all his cluttered work together in his backpack and fixated his hygiene through deodorant. He grounded his appearance with some form of confidence and prepared his mentality for the walk he was going to take. When he was finished with his personal affairs, the man looked to the side of the room and chuckled at the observation of Arcanus's curious stare. "To be fair Arcanus, humans have an inflated sense of appearance. You can say that it is what drives a selling point, how appearance can get you a job or opportunity. That is why we wear clothes, not because it keeps us warm or protects us from killers, but to sell ourselves to the world." Taking his leave, the man sighed and walked out of his room.
"But, most people don't give a damn about that nonsense. Only people with influence or some form of power, do."
Tilting his head, the dragon flicked its tongue and questionably gazed at him. _"Is that the competition in markets discussed in the economics textbook?" _It was confusing for the dragon as to why people would purchase nonessential items, but the slang that followed the 'American' version of economics put him on a loop for a moment. His confusion was met, but it was stilled by Marcus's paraphrasing. "In a sense, the market is focused on distributing its wealth in the manner of how a business operates and how people do business. But yeah, appearance is widely considered in that realm of the world, even when regular folk like the middle and the lower class do not always follow such a standard. Psychologically, we are always doing it, so my answer is yes without even saying it." He tried explaining without going into the textbook again. Arcanus did not attempt to enter his mind to pick up the information, but the implication of his confusion spoke everything.
"Just read the book for now, then you can ask me everything about it. Who knows, you may find out something you and I can exploit or use to our benefit."
Not even realizing it, the young man felt mentally drained from the bombshell of a night. How he carried himself from the door to the exit was evident enough; stumbling slightly and wobbling to reach the exit. He felt thirsty as much as he was hungry, a combination of emotions that carried itself into his mind that was once not there. It was a very tiring set of mental gymnastics to understand if what was happening to him, but he could only guess and only push through. Putting on his backpack and reaching the crooked door, Marcus looked back and saw Arcanus; who by this point was slithering into his room to read the economics textbook and do all manners of things.
Sighing at the dragons innocence, Marcus hoped the dragon would at least learn all he could and still retained his nature. The curse of knowledge was a harsh mistress and he hoped for the best. In the end, the man opened the door into the hall and entered into the hallway. The man closed the door and lock it with his key.
"Maybe I should teach him responsibility next time..."
"I heard that!"
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The first thing that crossed Marcus's mind was how different everything felt after last night. For once, the man understood where and how every single hallway connected to various sections to the dormitory and the fact that there was a hidden door that students could use to get to the main building in the morning. His heightened awareness over the extent of the cherry-colored halls and smooth flooring made it easy to see the reflection of the sunlight at the windows at every end of the hallway. When he made his way down into the main living area of the dorms, there were a few students moving to and from their intended area in the building with their books and supplies. As he was heading down, the charcoal padding of the nearby wall post would be updated with more fliers and advertisements. Interested in only what the information the fliers could provide him, Marcus meekly approached the post and observed the plaque. Internships, hiring selections, mock interviews, info sessions, and even discounts were displayed on fliers, but the art and the sponsorships didn't say much to what he could intend or use.
But even that moment wasn't meant to last. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the bright flicker of blonde hair heading in his direction. When he had turned his head to look, the malignant, smoothed skinned view of a young woman shined her brown eyes in his direction.
There, she beamed at him and came close. "Hey, Marcus, right?" She asked, bringing the young man to droop and nod his head slightly.
"Yeah...? Why do you ask?" The moment she came near him, that is when he drank in her appearance and viewed her in the spotlight. "Oh, it's Christian, he won't answer his texts or phone calls; we were supposed to study tonight." She implied, lifting a textbook that was titled 'Consumer Nutrition' on the heading.
"Shit, that girl was having sex on your bed while you were gone."
Arcanus words made Marcus widen his eyes, causing the young girl to tilt her head. "Something wrong?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Oh, you know... I just woke up. Didn't eat all day. Yeah, Christian is not feeling too great either." Awkwardly stated Marcus in a clutched but nervous look.
Sighing, the woman flicked her hair and placed the book in her bag. "Oh well... shit. Thanks for telling me, that test is next Monday..." The woman shrugged before she would begin to turn around. "I don't suppose you know anything about the basic fundamentals of biology right?" Strangely put the female.
That caused Marcus to flush madly along the cheeks.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
_"Not now Arcanus..." _
"I mean, yeah... but I do have the time to help with quick studying." Nervously put the young man, making the girl turn around and smile radiantly. "Brilliant, I hope you don't mind if I bring some friends in the meantime? They were just blown off by other guys in their dorms too."
"It doesn't sound too bad... I can help out with the course load."
"Sweet! I'll make some calls and be here around eight o'clock. Sound cool?"
"Sure, whatever helps."
"Thankies!" With a cheer, the young blonde walked away and skipped in a slight beat out of the dormitories.
"You just got seduced by a woman..."
"Shut it..."
"I hope you know that whatever happens, you do know I will definitely observe the interaction... with a little bit of a fee of course."
Blinking a few times, Marcus stared ahead.
_"Are you... attempting to bribe me?" _
"That's one way to look at it. It's a buyers market."
Sighing, Marcus shook his head and walked out of the building.
Whether it was his fear of appearance or social anxiety, Marcus lost the compulsion for proclivities the more he began to pass by. The faces of people and the account of their activities were an interesting observation for both himself and the little dragon in his head. Men, women, teenagers and the like were all doing the various tasks which gave the impression of normalcy, even if each individual was different from face value. The campus itself gave an impressionable flare as the wind licked at his skin and the gleaming sunlight waned to the west. Leaves parched his frame whilst the daily activities of the location started to thin the herd of the amount of people roaming about.
Passing a tree on the path out, Marcus neared the dark metal fence-line that bordered the campus and the rest of the city. At the end, the gate outside campus was a few meters out. With the cool breeze collectively sizing up his frame, the young man walked slow to enjoy the moment of comfort that the outdoors brought him.
"That's highly unusual... you're taking in the moment, but it doesn't achieve anything."
That, right there caused Marcus to open his eyes and sigh with a shake of his head. "Sometimes, you just have to feel the moment. It is what we like to call our 'gut instinct' or just something we like to feel at any given moment of time." Marcus explained only a little bit about how he felt about the dilemma for the dragon. _"Sounds too much like regular instinct to me." _Arcanus interjected, taking the implication to let the man think about it.
_"Give yourself some thought. You can sense and feel like any other person, but defining yourself is something more than a simple feel of the emotion." _
"Grr, you should at least help me understand."
"Trust me Arcanus, even I don't fully understand it."
"There's not a whole lot you humans understand, even those you think are superior or higher of rank."
"Again, welcome to society."
Pulling his mind together, Marcus would strap his backpack and eventually walking forward to reach the gate. Up ahead, the sidewalk elongated throughout the city, buildings collectively sprayed the lots which coated the city blocks. Despite the strangers and bystanders walking by, the cars driving through the streets, and the businesses that collectively attracted the masses; the ruins of the building that was burned to shreds stuck out like a sore thumb. Rigid and staggered as it was, Marcus walked to the end of the gate and leaned on it, watching, observing.
"What do you remember from that place Arcanus? I doubt the Military and the Feds were here to simply experiment or do anything that would be for the collective good."
For once, Marcus wished he'd never asked that question. Immediate was Arcanus's emotional response in a dark, closed-up rage that ignited in a fire full of gasoline. _"What do you think?" _Was the snarling, animalistic reply from the dragon who was so innocent and curious of the world. The memories that the dragon prodded into him was a session of pain that molded both the man and the dragon in both information gained and understanding received. It was as if the painter and the art became as one, something that was more or less a significant relation through a trial by fire.
In that instant, the man sighed and continued to observe the police tape, the crust signs of burns, and the scrapes that etched itself all over the tattered exterior of the walls. _"Probably a horrifying, bloody wake-up call. You were most likely shot at, and you were forced to kill I assume." _Marcus pointed out, making the dragon soothe out another pitch rise of bottled up emotion. _"It was." _Arcanus replied in cold-cut terms. He didn't even want to discuss anything about it, letting Marcus not get too into the discussion with his reserved and terse replies.
_"Yeah, fuck those humans." _
Even Marcus nodded at that and started going down the sidewalk with the rest of the masses. He was across the street from the building, but he really did not want to go near it. Hunger at this point really drove him on by the more restaurants he passed. By this point, passing one restaurant after another had set the man's stomach into a raging frenzy. His mouth salivated even as his appetite waned over what kind of food his stomach could devise what he could potentially eat. And as he desired the food unintentionally, he didn't realize the few men he was walking with were all heading towards him.
The second Marcus passed him; he would hear Arcanus growl in his head.
"That human is one of them..."
Marcus was about to turn around and look at the man, but there was an irrational tug in his mind that prevented him from turning.
_"No, don't look at him. He will know something is wrong." _
"Why the paranoia then Arcanus?"
"Infiltration, they are playing an invisible game. They know something we don't."
_"Something tells me it has to do with the mental abilities you have. If they didn't know, then they wouldn't be so secretive." _
"The FBI doesn't know about the experimentation; these people are a part of something secretive... but all I am getting from their thoughts are... oh goodness."
In that moment, Marcus felt the dragon grow silent into one large catatonic reaction to the thoughts. "What happened? What did you find out?" Marcus asked meekly. The young man was still very much confused about the very emotional response to the man he witnessed earlier and then the reaction he was getting now from supposedly catching information from another mind.
"These people are... agents in a way. Something from those movies you watch. International spies and the like. It is difficult to get the right impression on them, their minds are like a literal fortress and I think they have insight to reject me."
_"So fuck... they know you're here in the area?" _
_"Basically. So do what you humans say, 'keep your fucking head down and lay low' Marcus." _
Feeling the rumbling sensation of hunger driving into the man's belly, Marcus sighed and finally made his way to a prime destination to fill his hunger.
"Don't worry, I know just the place..."
====
"Hi, welcome to Chili's!"
After waiting for what seemed like thirty minutes, Marcus sighed as he was guided by the hostess and brought to a booth inside the Chili's restaurant. Given he was starving and that the afternoon rush was beginning, the man looked around and observed the packed entrance along with the many other tables that were already filled. "Expecting another packed night?" Marcus would ask of the hostess before he sat down.
"Yeah, one of those days. Well, look at the menu while I go get your server; he'll be here shortly."
Instinctually, the young man would gloss over the menu items and observe everything from appetizers all the way to the drinks and beverages section in the back. Even selecting what foods to have and what drink to indulge in seemed to bring much intrigue from the dragon, causing Marcus to contain another incoming headache from Arcanus's intervention.
"Alright Arcanus, is it the type of foods or the array of drinks that has you curious?"
"Neither it is your contemplation over the amount of food you desire. Food is food, so why are you debating the choice of selecting what to eat?"
"Sensory overload Arcanus, have too many choices and you may end up taking more time to make a decision than you did with limited options."
"Well, that doesn't account for your intentions to eat something big already."
"Arcanus, eating the mini burger plate versus baby-back ribs are important selections. Plus I'm hungry."
"Grr, but I do not see the point of having a baby to eat."
"It is not a baby it is just fancy title for pork ribs."
"This is confusing..."
Not long after the two made their quick discussion, Marcus ended up ordering his full course meal as the server who came by wrote down his order on a large chunk of his pocket notes. When the young man left Marcus to his tending, Arcanus and Marcus continued to debate over the simpler means of life. Even with a diet coke, the disgust from Arcanus was almost as palpable to hearing a lecture from a sponsored anti-smoking campaign. Still laughing from the almost parental sermon from the dragon, Marcus would return to debating the civility of eating in a restaurant with the dragon.
Eventually, the full order of Texas Cheese Fries came in with an extra added layer of ranch and left jalapenos and green onions on the side. When the taste of the melted cheese, mixed with the heated bacon, French fries, and steamy ingredients of the appetizer; both the dragon and the man groaned in quenching delight at the magnanimous and straightforward flavor that reeled from the beginner's meal. It did not stop the moaning of the dragon's (and a cacophony of other dragons) pleasure as that initial tasting of heated fries were soon replaced with the cool mixing taste of ranch. The meal itself was exquisite, but the quantity was enough to fill the man's belly to the brim with the meal itself.
At the final sparring of the fries, Arcanus would eagerly await the man to leave and start heading out into the town. What the dragon did not realize was that the full course meal had yet to be completed and Marcus had to pay for the course itself.
And when the man started to receive his full order of baby-back-ribs, that was when Arcanus regretted the power of feeling one's thoughts and feelings. Extreme hunger did handle the strain of expanding a stomach, but with the excess feasting of hot pork meat and bbq sauce; the lively seasoning of the meal itself complimented the quantity of French fries and the drinking load of soda he had ingested. It was too much for the dragon, causing the male to make near gagging and moaning noises in the humans head.
Once he was finished with his entrée' Marcus would soon feel his stomach beginning to process the meal a little bit too much in the overfilling of his gastral capacity. Sickened by this, Marcus would feel Arcanus undergo a couple experiences as Marcus would give the server his credit card and soon head into the restroom to take care of business.
After thirty minutes of undergoing experiences that caused the dragon to become even more sick, Marcus finally returned to the table and signed the receipt, tipping the young man before taking his card and leaving the now packed Chilis.
"Marcus..."
"Yes?"
"Whenever you are going to do those things, please warn me in advance."
"Duly noted."
Searing out of the cramped, family jammed evening of the restaurant, Marcus waved the hostess a goodbye as he departed the wailing of children and the cackling of crowds. He had shrinked from the illumination of Chilis and eventually slunk into the darkness of the sidewalks. By this point, nightfall had already set from the sundown that reflected on his face before he settled in. Now, the roads were lit up by the slight barrens of traffic illuminations and the LED headlights of trucks, cars, and the nightly vehicles.
City life in Odessa, while filled with the chooms of the university; drunken yelling and detectable shouting from the nearby Twin Peaks bellowed country folk yodeled screaming chants in their usual idiotic warcries. From what Marcus could see as he crossed the street, a barfight had erupted from the local bar as people were getting their asses kicked and tossed out of the establishment. Windows were being broken by flying bodies, punches were being heard from the long distance, and police sirens were approaching the scene.
"Seems your friend Christian would've been there tonight if I didn't introduce myself. It looks like he would be accompanied by men of this... battalion in this conflict of interest."
"Oh, I see. Christian did mention he liked to drink over at Twin Peaks with his battle buddies."
"Battle... buddies?"
"It's a military term, meaning that you have a buddy that will assist you as long as you assist them in and out of combat. Think of it as like an assigned team exercise."
"Strange, and this military you speak of... what is that?"
"Ah... well, you might want to absorb that information yourself... I won't mind the headache there."
"Okay... done. Your terminology for military and the use of it is very strange. You view it like it is an honorary role when that subject only pertains to the militaries utility with the state..."
At that moment, hearing Arcanus declare he was finished caused the man to stop in the middle of the intersection walkway. He did not feel anything, but he certainly knew there was no feeling of being absorbed either.
"Weird... I didn't feel you get into my head."
Even Arcanus's presence gave a little shocked resonance that echoed back to the human. He could feel the uncertainty as the dragon did, even as that pause made the two discover some certain parallels.
"Maybe we can experim-!" Before Arcanus could finish, the deafening honk of a train horn shocked Marcus into reality, causing the man to rush to the sidewalk as the truck that honked at him sped into the streets in annoyance. "Yeah, okay, we can research how minds work. But only if you can make those girls forget I ever talked to them." Marcus bargained, causing the dragon to bellow in laughter.
"Deal, I will send you to where we can conduct a mental examination while I take care of that missed pussy opportunity."
"Where did you learn that foul language?!"
"Hey, Christian knows his stuff."
"Just don't follow his footsteps, my ass still hurts from yesterday."
"Make it to the sewer and I won't use my tail on that ass."
Shocked the dragon started to get pointers from his roommate, Marcus believed the end-times were approaching as he would follow the mental notes given by the dragon. He could very well feel the dragon's presence beginning to take a further hold over him as he felt the back of his head was being steered by an invisible hand. Eventually, after walking for some time into an abandoned shed; Marcus would kick the entrance open and walked his way over to an awful smell at the edge of the wooden shack.
"Oh fuck... please don't tell me."
"Yep, just jump in. The silk will catch you."
"The... what?"
"You'll find out."
Sighing and taking a deep breath, Marcus walked over to the sewage drain before jumping feet first into a deep and dark hole in the shed. Like a crack of air, Marcus would feel as if he flew for half a moment before he landed upon a smooth surface. Splattering around his shoes, there was a large squelch of hot fluids scrounging out as the dark environment was impassable to see. The hole that he jumped over however, closed as quickly as Marcus entered in a silking lock.
Stuck in pitch darkness, the young man blinked.
"Hey Arcanus, I can't see shit in here!"
"Give it a minute, they react to a dragon presence."
Marcus groaned at that, since he was human and what he was essentially told; he was blind as a bat in whatever tunnel he was in. Strange enough, the young man knew he was in a sewer of some sort, but the puddle of fluids and the murky residue was much more tolerable than fecal matter. The smell was imbued with the stench of a sticky resonance, but the young man could not be able to see it, so he could only move over to the side where there was little of the material to step on.
The moment Marcus strolled to the side; he would shoulder into a silken wall and grunted in the corner. Whenever he leaned out of the adhesive exterior, Marcus took a quick breath in the moist aroma. "So, care to tell me what you have done to this place?" He asked, waiting for some light to come in.
"Considering of what you like to call a population boom, we dragons used some of our natural talents to produce what you like to call 'Dragon Silk'. It is a useful resource, especially when we can use it to make breathing space."
"So, you have expanded the sewage line, is that right?" Marcus would sense the dragon nodding at him. It slowly made the human tilt his own head physically in confusion but carried on anyways. "How deep into the ground did your kind go?"
"Can't say, what I remember from measurements; over fifteen miles."
That nearly caused Marcus to cough. "A-and how wide is your people's home," asked the young man as his hand now gripped the silken wall sturdily.
"Eh... three times the length if I remember. You really lose count after stopping to count exactly how many eggs are being laid every forty minutes."
"That's... reasonable."
"Besides... you will have your chance to witness what 'dragon civilization' is like when your escort comes to greet you. I've tried to get the lights to turn on, but the silk physically responds to draconic tissue."
Making another sigh, the young man merely crossed his arms and leaned on the sticky surface of the wall; now waiting for said 'escort' to come. Slowly, but surely, there was a sign of an approaching figure who was illuminated by a spectral glow tinting from the furthest depths of what now looked like an emptier, unoccupied tunnel. What he could see from the small dot in the expanse, was a minor crimson shine mixed with a dim green afterglow.
"Is this dragon escorting me pretty important?"
"From what I sense of her, I'll let you be the judge of that."
Marcus gave a glinting stare towards the now female dragon as her outline started to become bigger... and bigger... and bigger. By the time the crimson dragoness reached the human, he would see a thickly female standing before the man. Her impressionable size, even standing on all fours towered over him by five feet in height and several more feet in width. Her reddish scales shone in a sift glint of hardness and suppleness. Examining her even more, the young man would stare at her long tail and easily identifiable wings...
Staring back at him, even in the dim green light, the gold glow that shone from the female's eyes stared back at Marcus, examining him like a hawk as they both studied each other. "So... you're here to escort me. Do you have a name ma'am?" Marcus politely asked with the press of his mouth.
"Yes... I do. My name is Selkie, Queen of Dragon Sanctuary."
Good evening everyone, True here!
For one, I greatly apologize for the delay in weekly postings; life down here has been pretty rough both in university and home life in this covid season. Recently, a few of my close family members have contracted the virus (I personally am still testing negative so MASSIVE bullet missed), were involved in a serious car accident (none of them were at the Fort Worth crisis thank god), and needed transportation to doctors appointments and even to warming shelters. In a nutshell, everything piled up from University Coursework to the emergency Winter Storm event that happened this previous week. However, considering all of this has peaked out and faded away; everything is back in session!
As of this moment, Chapter Two is now being written as methodically as possible. If I can be able to shovel my course load as quick as I write, Chapter 2 will be completed by the end of the following week.
During the Winter Storm, I have been really engaged with old fanfiction stories I used to read in High School; so potentially, I could return to my roots and pop out a FanFiction on the side just for fun. Topics will include Crossovers, Alternate Universes, and lots and lots of lewd.
Thank you for your time everyone,
-True