"Dragon! Wait!"
Charlie shouted uselessly at the clouds, feeling a strange sense of loss at the absence of the silver-scaled creature.
He jumped slightly, when a hesitent brush of mind-speak met him.
My name...is Phantom
What the heck just happened?
His wings beat mechanically to either side of him, long neck curved slightly to compensate for his upper body dipping down from the weight of his arms...err... forelegs. He felt the air slide around him
Danny knew that he wasn't the one who had flown away, but he remembered doing it, though it felt like he was watching through a television screen or something. He searched his mind for something that would have made his body react that way.
The landscape still flashed under him, unnaturally fast if what the red-haired man...Charlie had said was true.
Something else intrigued him, though, something Charlie had mentioned.
Other dragons.
He simply commented on the fact as if it were an every day instance. He had mentioned a specific breed...something horn tail. Danny mentally shrugged, and turned his gaze to the swiftly-changing landscape below him. Rolling countrysides flew by, dotted by sparse trees and a few tamed animals, cows and the like. However, in the distance, he could see a rapidly-approaching city, something he figured to be the place where he had first landed.
Didn't really recognize it, but everything seemed different from an areal perspective.
As scattered houses started to flash under him instead of hills, Danny banked downward, or as much as he felt he could without taking a nosedive into the ground. In his peripheral vision, he saw a few people come out of their houses and point at him, turning to their respective family members or neighbors as he flew overhead, slowing down and skimming over the ground, following a broad road down rows of houses. He lowered his legs, trying to create enough drag to slow down before landing.
Unfortunately, his plan only worked slightly, the drag pulling him toward the pavement, instead of merely slowing him down.
Sharp, jarring pain lanced up his legs as he sprinted with his wings outspread, trying to lessen his momentum as much as he could without panicking. His eyes widened as a car pulled out of their drive in front of him, unaware of the strange creature heading right for it. Danny let out a cry of horror as he realized there was no way for him to properly maneuver with his wings spread. Instead of trying to draw them closer to him, the young hybrid in dragon-form simply leapt upward at the last moment, clearing the car with ease.
Gasps of awe went through the gathered people as he glided down toward the street, still a little shaken by the experience. Danny flared his wings far too early, his forgotten tail deciding to make itself known as the scythe-like extension caught on a storm drain, and plowed him face-first into the cement. His breath was pushed out of him roughly, leaving him gasping for air, hands unconsciously flexing as if seeking for something to hold on to while his world was unstable. Something tingled on the edge of his mind, but he ignored it, in favor for inhaling gratefully.
Wincing as the pain in his tail was made known, Danny stumbled to his feet (paws) and twisted his neck to see if any damage had been caused to his tail. It was still throbbing painfully, but seemed fine enough.
When the excited murmurs of people jolted him from his musings, his head jerked up, looking around at the people warily. None of them seemed to be dressed in weird-smelling cloaks, or holding a stick...well, one dude was, but it was more of a cane than a stick.
Remembering how he had contacted Charlie, he reached out with a bit of thought, intent on speaking with one of these people.
One or two of them widened their eyes and stepped away, but none initiated contact. Few even realized he was reaching out.
It must have been an odd sight to behold. A lanky silver dragon standing in the middle of a street, people forming small crowds on either side of the street, hiding in the shadows of buildings. Said dragon was looking around curiously, wondering why none of them reacted to his mental plea for contact. He heard shuffling footsteps behind him, and turned around, looking curiously at a young girl with dark brown hair falling about her face, dressed in a fuzzy blue robe and slippers, holding a plush leopard in her arms. She stopped when he looked at her, gaze slightly fearful, and doubtful.
What seemed to be her parents were pushing to the front of the crowd, obviously worried.
"Mister dragon?"
He gazed back down at the little girl, who apparently had taken a few more steps toward him.
"Uhm...Mister dragon, are you okay? You looked like you hurt when you fell."
He tilted his head slightly, reaching out with his mind in an attempt to send his thoughts like he did with Charlie.
And failed.
Apparently, she was simply curious. In response to her question, he nodded, hesitantly at first, but more self-assuredly as he swung his tail around to show her, careful to keep the blade away from her.
She smiled shyly, burying her face in her leopard before lifting it and speaking again.
"Mister dragon, are your running from a prince?"
Danny blinked. A prince? No... he was just running from...something. Uhhh... An irate red-head's mother, perhaps? But no Prince.
He shook his head negative, sitting down for a little more comfort. His wings slowly tucked themselves at his sides as she stepped forward a bit more.
Her parents watched her with growing apprehension, held back by the crowd, who were captivated by the reptile.
"Mister Dragon!" She finally said, shifting her stuffed cat to one arm and pointing at him in a childlike imitation of a mother scolding her child.
"Your princess will get lonely without you guarding her! What if a prince or knight comes and rides away without you there to be there!"
He stared at her for a second before deciding to play along. The girl was just too cute, frowning at him and berating him for not acting like a proper fairy-tale dragon should. Danny pretended to sigh in defeat, slumping his wings and shoulders, lowering his head slightly and making the best puppy-dog eyes he could at the girl.
"Thats not fair, Mister dragon." She stated, looking at him if she were reminding him to share the ball in a game children played.
He sighed again, averting his eyes and laying down like an obedient puppy, and placing his head on the ground, looking up at her.
She nodded approvingly, stepping forward to pat his nose with one little hand, saying happily. "Good, mister dragon! Now go guard your princess!"
He lifted his head, looking at her sadly, as if ashamed by something.
"Whats wrong?" She looked horrified by something, before looking around and whispering loudly up at him.
"Do you have a Princess, mister dragon?"
He shook his head, before placing it down on the ground to watch her reaction.
Her eyes filled up with tears, and for a second he thought the little girl was going to start crying thankfully, she wiped away her tears, standing up straiter and proclaiming loudly.
"Then I will be your princess, mister dragon!"
Danny bolted upright at that, mind whirling with the thought. NO! He could definitely not stick around and play dragons and castles with a little girl! He needed to find out what happened, and how he turned into a dragon!
But... he didn't want to crush her heart, either.
His orange eyes stared down at her, the flecks of gold shining slightly in the evening son. (One full day since I changed)
He slowly shook his head negative, before gesturing with his tail at his own height, before pointing out the strange winged-snake symbol on his chest and holding his tail at its height, as he stood up.
He let his tail hover at that hight as he brought it over her head, a good foot of space over her brown locks.
She stared at his tail for a moment before moaning softly in disappointment, hanging her head.
"I thought I would make a good princess."
Her leopard dangled in her hands, little fingers wringing at the spotted fur.
Danny stepped toward her, leaning his head down and nuzzling his shoulder in comfort. He let her wrap her arms around his head, closing his eyes at the feeling, completely unaware of the video tape recording his every move with rapt attention.
As he pulled away, he heard a dozen or so faint 'pop's, like he did in the alley where he had met Charlie.
He turned his gaze toward the noise, seeing similar outfits and sticks pointed in his direction, while others ushered the crowd into a large group a bit away from him. The little girl had since Vanished, he realized with a pang of disappointment. She was really nice, too.
He yelped in surprise, cursing his inattention when he found thick ropes binding his wings to him, and his legs to his body. His tail lashed around in anger, knocking one robed man into a building with a sickening crack, but missed getting sliced in half by a quarter-inch.
Somehow, they managed to slip a muzzle over his face, though how they got it to stay on, he had no idea. His eyes flashed with anger, head snapping toward the crowd as he heard the little girl's exclamation.
"What are you doing to mister Dragon!"
Danny sat a three bright red lights coming toward his face, just as he heard the reply.
As he sank into oblivion, limbs relaxing, the words echoed in his mind. Somehow, it didn't comfort him.
"Don't worry, child, we will just be taking him back home, where he belongs."