31'St century fantasy things part 1
31'St century fantasy things
The first part
By Thomas Walsh
This story was based of a roleplay that I made which didn't take off, I really liked the idea though and this was the result. Comments are always welcomed.
The cold night air stung my nose as I walked out the space port onto snow covered slabs, The atmosphere generator was creating a false winter. for weeks I'd been waiting to get on a shuttle and meet Istinu, the elf who was offering me a room to rent on the new planet. It had been a rough trip since being a dragon the humans thought best to just shove me into a cage and label it as 'precious cargo' rather than thinking of anything smart but then again with the cobbled rights dragons had you couldn't expect anything halfway decent to be done for you.
I'd heard that you couldn't just fly anywhere on this planet, it made some sense as you didn't want to accidentally hit the surface bubble that kept the active atmosphere around the colony intact but at the same time you'd have to be blind or stupid to fly out that far. I decided to ignore the rules for tonight and just claim I was uniformed, spreading my wings I took to the skies.
It was colder up there than below but the cool wind in my face was refreshing after being stuck in a cage for half a day, I didn't have to worry about actual luggage much since everything I owned was in a couple side-packs that I could reach at any time, even when flying. Checking a map I quickly found my new home on street 222. I'd never been very good at the touch down and snow was sent flying after I barely managed to stay standing.
Trudging through the oddly thick snow I knocked on the door of house 16, humans weren't being as big on names as they had been on Terra but it was probably because the project to colonise the planet was still in the early stages. I waited for a few minutes but no one came and I was getting cold. I knocked on the door again with a scaly red paw as I began to shiver, it felt like things were getting colder.
The door finally opened and an elven woman began yelling about the time until she noticed what was at her door, she was probably not expecting to be stood face to face with a dragon. She had fine, shiny blond hair coupled with a a thin figure and a well rounded but still well shaped face, she lived up to the elves reputation of being beautiful.
After explaining who I was she invited me inside while muttering about how small I was, the humans' breeding programs involving dragons had aimed to make us smaller and we had no place to complain since they were giving us food and shelter after the magic seal collapsed.
The years following the collapse of the magic seal, an ancient artefact that allowed us to make use of mana were strewn with calamity, as humans had chosen technology they were fine but the elves no longer had their magic and were forced under a human rule and the dwarves who's war machines were also magical in nature stopped working, they were also forced into the human empire.
Dragons however had remained hidden for years and watched as the humans' empire developed, it was when our numbers had dwindled to a shocking level we finally accepted we'd have to join the humans and gave ourselves up, the humans classed us as lowly beasts still but decided to save the individual breeds of dragons by using breeding projects, they were devious however and changed us for their own use, making dragons smaller and less deadly until we were as tall as the average person when sat and about as deadly as any other animal they knew of which was to say, not very.
It was only when news was leaked they planned to 'domesticate' us into pets that things changed, there was a small, short war between dragon and human where we got beaten into submission by the powerful technology the humans had. They decided we were simply too violent to be pets and after an agreement was reached they made laws to protect dragons before releasing us into their new empire on the new planet.
I shook my body as I followed the elf into her home through a small hallway, it was much warmer than outside and a warm fire was blazing away in the corner of the combined kitchen and living room. "Hey, you can collapse... well anywhere you'll fit, if you want" Istinu said probably being able to tell how tired I was.
I was very tired as well, I hadn't slept the previous night and the whole flight hoping I'd be able to sleep easier. "Your room's the first on the right" the elf said, handing me a digital key and pointing to a door in the hallway that lead into the house. Getting through the door was no problem since a dragon's front paws were as dexterous as any humanoid hand but the small room had a dresser, desk and a rather flimsy looking wooden bed with a window above it.
It didn't take Istinu long to guess the problem and she began apologising for the lack of space in my room. I eventually managed to convince her it didn't matter to a dragon by lying that I'd be able sleep on the floor and and still be well rested. She went to bed herself and I tried to stretch out on a rug so I could have my wings out but I really didn't have the space so I chose to curl up on the sofa instead.
A clock on the wall ticked by silently as sleep refused to come to me, I shifted every few minutes trying to get comfortable but it was futile, I finally gave up and decided to go for a walk when the clock had hit 5:30. locking the door was easy with the key that Istinu gave to me as it turned out to work for the whole house.
I could see a shop nearby and checking the map to see what it was got met with confusion as it wasn't actually listed anywhere on the key. With nothing else to do I decided to check it out, walking around the street corner gave me a good enough view to see it was a shop called 'd-stop: dragon supplies', seemed like the perfect place to go.
The shop was filled with the only thing most dragons ate and other supplies like food bowls and bedding, it even had toys for whelps so it was a pretty complete place. There was a dragon with very dark, shiny, purple scales asleep by a counter, I decided to let them have a few more minutes of sleep and browsed the shop in silence. Eventually I stopped and looked at the many tins of 'dragon chow' and attempted to decide whether I should pick a certain flavour or just buy them in the prettiest colours since they all had no actual taste to them.
"Looking for something newblood?" A female's voiced queried while thoroughly shocking me in the process. "Uh... just thinking what flavour I'll get, not that it matters" I stuttered while speaking not because the female had, frankly the most beautiful scales I'd ever seen but because she'd called me a newblood. New blood dragons were dragons that were older than whelps but still very inexperienced in most things. Even if you were smart though you remained a newblood if you were under 2 and a half dragon years.
For some reason or another we dragons had made a hobby of comparing human and dragon years accurately, At present it was decided there was about a decade to a dragon year which kind of worked since dragons reached adult-hood by about 1 and a half dragon years. I disliked the system however as I was exactly 2 dragon years and therefore a newblood.
"I'm Tal... I guess you have a name to share too right?" The dragoness asked rather bluntly. For a second I thought of keeping quite but I still had to buy some stuff and it seemed a good idea to stay in the shop keepers good graces "My name is Kame, I got here hours ago so please can I just buy some stuff and get home" I disliked begging and thankfully Tal didn't hold the act against me.
"You're on a government budget I take it?" she asked as she grabbed a few things from around the shop and put them on the counter. "Yes, I need a quick check-up and then I'm going to try and get a job tomorrow but you know how it is for dragons" I replied as I watched Tal grab more stuff.
"Well... good luck I guess but I'll let you know there's nothing around here for dragons to do, not sure if it's a newsflash but the humans only want to keep us safe to make themselves look good" while Tal explained I looked over what she'd grabbed. There was a few tins of dragon chow; a new bowl; some bedding; something called 'scale shine' and an odd, pink coloured ball.
I gave Tal a funny look for a few seconds which prompted her to explain "well it's no secret you're a tail biter, if your new you must have come by shuttle and that would drive any dragon mad". I had nothing to say in reply because she was correct, it had been a horrible flight and my tail was missing a few scales now but I'd have preferred it if she'd asked me first.
"Thanks for the concern but I really don't need this" I announced bluntly as I tried to grab I and take it back, Tal was quicker than me though and threw it through a scanner. I tried to find words but gave up however when she seemed to pay for it out of her own pocket.
"Just give it a chew, and don't swallow it" She instructed, throwing the now unpackaged ball at me.
It was probably instinct that let me catch It the first time and when I did it astonished me, something in the ball mixed with my saliva and turned it into a strawberry flavoured solution. Needless to say I wasn't complaining and it left me only able to say "Wow..." for a few seconds.
I paid for my things and Tal offered to help move the bulky bedding home for me since a weeks worth of dragon food was heavy enough as it was and also because she apparently had to close the shop for a few hours until her father came to take over for the day shift. I was mostly quiet on the way back whilst Tal tried to clue me in on local gossip about people I didn't know and things I didn't care about, I was feeling very tired again.
After getting the bedding off Tal and putting the food away for later I saw her to the door, thanked her and watched her leave. Checking the clock I realised it was now 6 In the morning. Deciding to make the most of the last few hours I had I moved Istinu's sofa to make room for the bedding, which I threw into a big, tangled heap which I practically dove into. Grabbing the included pillow I rubbed my head against it and eventually found sleep.
* * *
The next morning was greeted with the sound of something sizzling and a pleasant smell in the air. "Morning Kame, sleep well?" Istinu asked, what a bad question. "It was fine" I tried to reply as a long, drawn out yawn escaped my scaly muzzle while I tried to find my feet, it was futile however and I collapsed back onto my 'bed', covering my head with the pillow.
"I'll turn the solar blinds on, in future the button's on the wall" Istinu's offer was a godsend as the room was darkened heavily. It was probably a good idea to have watched her though. Some time after she left there was a loud beep followed by a message. "Hello Kame? This is your new resident doctor, Mr. Gjim, just making sure you know you're appointment at the senfeild veterinary practice is in one hour in case the jet lag is getting to you, might be a good idea to walk" the message ended with a second loud beep.
Managing to get myself up I checked my map and found I had precious little time to eat and would have to get something later, this was a hard choice since I'd not eaten in nearly two days. Thankfully the cold wind outside slapped my awake and I was able to get moving quickly.
The run to the 'hospital' had taken pretty much all of my energy and by the time I walked through the door I felt like I'd collapse. An elf quickly greeted me and took me into a back room, the place seemed to be very small at the moment. Mr. Gjin got me onto a sturdy steel table and began to check me over. "So besides possible jet lag have you experienced any problems" I didn't know where to start and my answer seemed a little shocking to the 'doctor'. "Well besides being flown here in pitch black darkness for eight hours; chewing half the scales off my tail; getting no sleep and not eating in two days I'm fine"
Gjin said nothing for a few seconds and continued his examination, opening my mouth for whatever reason, it seemed he regretted it when he smelt my breath as he nearly choked. "Okay so you're tired, hungry and have bad breath. Sorry but embarrassing question coming up, any trouble err... going?" It wasn't just embarrassing it was a terrible question period. "You don't really need to if you're not putting anything in" I remarked, trying to get it over with quickly.
After getting through the talk about things 'downstairs' The elf decided I was a little jet lagged and needed to eat but I was otherwise fine. I was glad to leave the building and get home. The walk was very draining though and I collapsed back into my bed when I stepped through the door.
When I next woke up something was tapping my side gently, "come on you big, lazy, scaly thing... I want my living room back" I
"I have guests coming over in a few hours so you have to move!" I was going to continue ignoring her until strong stomach pains convinced me to get up. I'd never actually had to dish out my own food but I really couldn't think of something easier to do, rooting out a good number of tins I grabbed the first and tried to open it, there was a problem however. My claws were severely rounded and couldn't grab the tin's pull tab. "This is a sick human joke!" I yelled, throwing the tin to the floor in frustration.
Istinu walked over to me and began scolding me for throwing the the tin as if I were a child, one mean glare seemed to make her change her mind however. I turned away and collapsed onto my bedding again with a hungry groan. Istinu returned to tap my side in no time and getting up I let out a hungry groan. "I'm sorry but I've not eaten in more than two days, I really..." I didn't finish as Istinu was pointing to my now full bowl.
"No hard feelings okay, if I had to go that long without food I'd be going mad too" I was oddly happy as she forgave me and wasted no time practically attacking the bowl, there was no dignity in being half dead. All though the stuff was tasteless it filling and after four tins of the stuff I couldn't complain, even if I did feel like I'd be sick.
After Istinu got a call from her 'guests' telling her they couldn't make it I had another quick rest we moved the stuff out of my room to make space for my bedding. We spent the rest of evening in the living room where Istinu was streched out on her sofa watching some telly while I gnawed on the 'flavour ball' that Tal had given me. I was very cosily led between the sofa and the fireplace on some old rug when Istinu's voice came from the telly.
Istinu explained she was a news reporter and she was currently working on some sort of protests that were going on for reviewed dragon rights since the current rights were only cobbled together and lacked security or in some cases even dignity. I quickly switched it over to something else though, I'd been on the new planet too short of a time to care.
Being careful of my wings I rolled onto my back, smacking my head on the sofa's wooden base by accident and making some sort of thud. One of my front paws rose for my head but was beaten when Istinu's hand began rubbing the spot I'd hit firmly, which was gently to a dragon. I seemed to fill with delight as she massaged my scales and ears, it seemed not all magic was lost.
She continued for a few minutes while a series of blissful and content calls escaped my throat, she had me intoxicated by her elven touch. "So you, a big; tough dragon are used to getting petted then?" the elf asked, grabbing one of my horns and pulling my head playfully. If it was possible for me to blush through deep red scales I'd be surprised, keeping my mouth closed as I didn't know what to say I just nodded my head until she let go of my horn.
She brought a hand down to caress under my jaw, "try not to stay up late or you'll never get used to the time zone here" she didn't really have to tell me but I tried to say okay anyway, it didn't help a blissful moan wanted to escape instead. We turned off the telly and went to our separate rooms saying good night, inside I went to work messing up the bedding to an acceptable degree before carefully unfolding my wings and laying on my back. I knew I wouldn't have too much trouble sleeping tonight as my heavy eyes closed for some peaceful sleeping.