This was all tumblr's fault…

Inspired by two posts seen within seconds of each other - one calling Gordon a Gremlin and Alan a Goblin - I got inspired to write Scott the Dragon, something that has been on my mind increasingly.

But mostly this is Yarol2075's fault for egging me on...

get (n.): early 14c., "offspring, child," from get (v.) or beget. Meaning "what is got, booty" is from late 14c

Scott sat atop the peak of the extinct volcano and watched the horizon.

"Sat" might have been an exaggeration. He hung in the air, clinging on with just one hand and one foot. The wind was teasing his hair and was just this side of refreshing.

He inhaled deeply.

The smell of salt was tantalising, and Scott breathed deeper, his enhanced abilities giving him more.

Fish.

Seaweed.

Algae.

The salt of the ocean.

His ears picked up the sound of the waves and he concentrated harder.

The heartbeats of the petrels nesting on Mateo.

The swish of the shoal of tuna.

The approach of a humpback, heavy with calf and surrounded by her pod on the way to Hawai'i.

Somewhere deeper down he could hear the scuttle of the unique crustacea that abounded on the undersea vents.

Once more Scott scented the air. He frowned. Something was coming. There were flashes of flame-red in the pale gold sunrise on horizon that were reflected in the water, and there was the faintest whiff of sulphur. His prescience was tingling but there was nothing solid yet.

Shrugging his free shoulder, Scott grinned to himself. There was a ball of mackerel that was attracting the blue fin tuna shoal he'd heard, and it was breakfast time. His stomach growled in agreement, and with a small push Scott launched himself into the air.

He fell down the side of the volcano until he could no longer maintain his human form safely, and with a blink of his eye he shifted into his dragon-self.

The silver dragon swooped up, using the layout of the volcano to soar higher before folding his blue wings and diving into the ocean after the large tuna. He caught two, held on in his mouth and one in his front feet and shot from the water, shedding water quicker by spinning as he rose and flew to the shelf on the volcano he used as his dining room.

Meal done, Scott dipped back into the ocean to clean himself before returning to almost the very top of the peak and hanging on as his human-self. The sun was almost fully risen, and the heat was increasing. Scott took a moment to bask in the light, ignoring the increasing feeling of imminency and just soaking up the rays.

Now, though, it was time for action. Time to get his climb in. He carefully and laboriously climbed down the side of the volcano, bare toes and fingers gripping the rough igneous rock outcrops only slightly smoothed by centuries of his climbing.

Halfway down the feeling increased. Something was going to happen, and soon. Forgoing the rest of his climb Scott part-shifted, using his wings and dragon claws to speed up the descent and rushing across the beach.

Overhead something streaked through the sky.

If it had been nighttime Scott would have sworn it was a shooting star. The flash of red-orange flame crossed the sky and hit the ocean with a brief explosion of light.

Without a thought Scott was airborne, his wings beating as fast as he could and his eyes fixed on the downed bird floating on the waves. If he wasn't quick enough the ocean would claim it before he got there, but his body was built for speed and within seconds he was there, gently plucking the bird out of the water.

Gently placing the bird on the beach Scott morphed, a surprised expression once he saw what he had.

The bird was a dull red-ginger colour, but Scott could see hints of blue-green on some of the feathers. However, the creature was not breathing, and Scott knew only one way to get him breathing again or else the bird would regenerate. It was clearly both injured and exhausted.

He breathed over the Phoenix, carefully controlling the exhalation so that the flame was concentrated, glad that he could still breathe fire in his human form. As hoped, the fire engulfed the phoenix and he kept it up until the bird stirred, his feathers brightening.

Scott stopped as the bird struggled to its feet. It was as tall as he was, telling Scott that it was still a youngling, and with a plaintive cry it shifted into a human with the brightest ginger hair and brightest blue-green eyes.

It screeched at him and Scott gave a half bellow-roar, causing the bird-man cock his head and slightly duck down.

'I'm Scott. This is my island. You are welcome to stay until you are healed or for however long you want.'

'Thank you. I fear I shall have to take you up on that kind offer. My name is John.'

Scott barely had time to catch the bird as he collapsed.