The Cure for Boredom - A Taron Sunwake Story
Chapter 8: Fighting Dreamer
Ta'Su had just left the Nurse's Office, having no serious injuries from Taron's attack earlier. Tired and sore, he was halfway to his room when he heard the softest of growls from behind him. He turned to see a great, blue creature standing there crouched down and ready to spring..
"So it was you that attacked that girl.. Interesting. Guess you're after me know, huh? This will be fun." He said as he pressed a button in each shoe, causing serrated discs to slide out of the bottom as blades erupted from the sides. He adjusted his eye-patch and grinned. "I was hoping to test these beauties out before Last One Standing came around."
The beast growled louder and charged, massive claws slashing at the youth. With a laugh, Ta'Su jumped up and flipped over the creature, blades slicing through several of the thick spikes on it's back. In anger and pain, the abomination glowed for a moment and then skated after the retreating Ta'Su, it's clawed feet slick with psionic energy. Every slash of it's claws was meet with the cutting steel of Ta'Su's air-tech, making it angrier and it's attacks more wild.
Then Ta'Su went on the attack. He slipped past the flailing arms and, bracing his hands on the floor, kicked the thing's chest, the serrated discs ripping through flesh and spraying dark gray fluid everywhere as the creature fell backward. It hissed as it struggled to it's feet, blood pouring from the ragged, gaping wound in it's chest.
"Get over yourself." Ta'Su sneered. "What little control you had had was lost, and you have not an ounce of grace or speed. You lost this fight when you chose to hunt me, someone who doesn't have to worry about the wards that prohibit fighting. You expected someone who would scream and try to run, didn't you? You need to..."
"Wake up Taron! C'mon, wake up already!" Kam said as he shook whose roommate, worried when Ammy's sharp legs and jumping hadn't done the job. Almost roaring, Taron jerked out of his sleep and wrapped his hands around Kam's throat, face twisted in anger. Surprisingly, Kam didn't flinch as crushing fingers tried to close off his windpipe. "Taron, let go, it was just a dream. You need to calm down right now before the wards recognize this as an attack against a student." He whispered sternly. "I'm your friend, so trust me when I say you are not in any danger."
After a few tense moments, Taron came to his senses and, horrified by his actions, quickly let go of Kamenwati's neck and backed up against the wall.
"I-I'm s-s-orry." He stammered, staring with wide-eyes at his shaking hands. "I.. I just.."
"Don't worry about it man, I get the whole 'It seemed so real' thing. It happens to everyone eventually. It happened to me for weeks after I.. left home. It's one of the reasons I didn't have a roommate until you showed up."
Taron nodded to show he had heard, but he was still obviously shook up by the whole thing. He had never felt so angry before, had never wanted to end someone's life like that. What made it worse for him though, was that his 'victim' had been Kam.
But why does that make it worse? He thought careful to hide his thoughts from Ammy(and anyone else who might have been listening). I should feel bad about, he is a friend after all.. but then again, how would I know? This might just be how friends feel after they hurt their friends.
"C'mon, let's get dressed and go to breakfast. We've got a big day to look forward to, since I get to see how I'm going to learn to fight without a weapon. It should be an interesting day." Kam said as he pulled the wall out so he could dress in private. Taron realized why it hurt to think about hurting his roommate as he moved to get dressed as well, and it was something that struck him like a falling mountain.
He had imprinted on Kamenwati.
Author's Note: In the imagined world of Agartha, gem dragons like Taron 'imprint' on certain individuals. In human terms: the find their soul-mate. This is the only person they will love for their entire life, no matter what happens. This can backfire though, because the feelings do not have to be returned, or the individual may not live as long as the dragon.
The means that imprinting was(and still is) something the dragon has no control over. It's basically the species way of continuing the species(which is a part of why Taron reacted the way he did).