Chapter Eleven: The Acquainted

He uttered curses as he palmed the ground trying to grip the smooth floor. Nothing in the pamphlet mentioned this. As he wildly kicked at the scaly beast, the creature only grew more aggravated. Cyan had an itching suspicion it understood him- it may have even been taught human language. As Cyan tried to recall the few words of Dragonic he had learned as a child, the dragon flipped him onto his back with a snap of its tail. Cyan hissed out in surprise before the creature crawled on top of him. Both of its large thighs were on either side of his waist as it straddled him in place. Its large hands wrapped around his neck. This time the dragon put more force into the choking. Cyan wiggled violently under him but the dragon put all its weight into holding him down.

He was unnerved now.

The dragon was no longer gradually attempting to drag out this affliction. It was determined to slaughter him. Looking into its eyes, there wasn't an ounce of focus left. Reptilian slits are completely focused on him. The spark of intelligence from before was gone and Cyan was struck with a sudden realization.

His dragon was suffering from madness and from the way it acted, it may be episodic or triggered. Palming at the dragon's face, he gritted his teeth in pain. He wasn't sure if the dragon knew what it was doing anymore, but Cyan begged it to stop. His little gasped noises erupted from the back of his throat went unheard.

Something in the eyes of the creature shifted ever so slightly becoming more human. Cyan thought he imagined it, but the grip around his throat lessened slightly.

Aiden felt a crushing weight of emotions flowing through him. He felt his mind blank for a moment and before he knew it, the human was beneath. Red-faced and bruised, a cruel sense of justice left him almost feeling prideful if not for the fact he could remember the last few moments. It was then his grip loosened as a wave of dizziness made it hard to focus. His head was pounding steadily as the drumming pain made it hard to keep his eyes open.

With a dry tongue, he licked his lips feeling nauseated.

He was now frustrated by his lack of memory. More and more time would pass and he would lose time. Blank pieces of memory that haunted his dreams as he recalls moments he was unaware if they were real or not.

His heart was beating so loud he couldn't even hear the gasps of the human anymore. His sudden attack had cost him too much that his body was starting to feel the effects of the fighting. He had wanted revenge, but now he just wanted to be free. He realized that he could barely hold himself up as his arms began to shake.

He felt tired.

He felt hot.

He felt too hot.

There was an itch under his soon that felt like he was burning. His flesh crawled as the flaring feeling began to spread like ants scurrying over his skin, nipping at him. The once cool touch he longed for was now consumed by the inferno hat he was melting in. He almost felt as warm as a human.

Whether it was rage or weakness, his arms began to give way though he refused to let go of the little solider's neck. He scowled at this tightening his grip once again so that his uncooperative fingers wouldn't lose their resolve.

He should kill the human.

He would kill the human.

He needed to kill the human.

Panting heavily, his eyes closed before they countered open in panic. He was slipping again. He had to regain control. His tongue lolled from behind sharp teeth as he panted. Against his will, his head dipped lower until he was nearly parallel with the you human's face.

'Such strange eyes he had' Aiden thought as he snarled again. Those eyes held no fear in them. In fact, they didn't seem to show any emotion. It was irritating and mocking. He had never met someone like this. Restless and heaving, Aiden began to violently shake just as he snapped at the air.

The creature snapped at the air in delirium. A sheer sign of extreme dehydration in a dragon as well as a mixture of other things. Cyan felt its grip loosen for a moment before it tightened again. He barely had a moment to suck in some air before he was choking again. It seemed the dragon's glossy gaze wasn't focused on him anymore but somewhere else. Of course, he couldn't be sure as his own vision was fading in and out from black to spotted colors. With the weight of the dragon on his body, it felt even harder to move.

His lungs begged for air.

As he began to lose all consciousness, he remembered one crucial piece of information from one of R. Draekos' radio shows.

Dragons, like any other predator, are territorial. Like that of legends, they love to claim things- it's is their design.

It was a stupid idea.

An impossible idea that tapped against his head like rain hitting a window pane trickling down leaving streaks of water. It was a stupid idea, but in theory, it might just save his life.

It was highly unlikely though.

The dragon's grip kept slipping giving him mere seconds to breathe before it tightened. Whether it was having an episode, confused, or have second thoughts, he hesitated longer than he should have as he thought through the repercussions of what he was about to do. If it didn't succeed, he would die. There was no way around that truth. Even though he was dealing with a powerful creature clearly upset with him, he knew there was nothing else he could do. Eventually, this monster would rip his throat out and freeze his body to store as a prize.

Once it gathered its resolve, Cyan would lose his window of survival. He was just worried the dragon was too far gone to recognize passive behaviors or see the signs of what he was trying to do. Cyan grimaced internally at the thought of being eaten. He had only heard stories of it, but he wouldn't be surprised if this beast did end up eating him: alive or dead.

Cyan closed his eyes and slowly began to relax his body. In his head he kept repeating a mantra he made when he was younger as his brother would beat the piss out of him. It was a silly thing to say in a time like this, but when he was younger, he was obsessed with poetry and writing. He had thought to be a writer and tell tales about magical worlds with giant beasts. Instead, he was hoping to live to see the morning.

'Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, and terribly human today. Nothing can touch you, unless you let it. Nothing can hurt you unless you want it to hurt. Allow this anger and pain to pass like dew dripping from blades of grass softly running its course until the sun shines again.'

Cyan's body grew slack so that the dragon would believe he was dead. His breaths were so minuscule, it would be hard to catch them. It was another part of training as soldiers to pretend to die. An ancient trick that old eastern warriors used when they were tricking an enemy into thinking you were dead. By nearly slowing down every muscle and even the heartbeat, most humans wouldn't be able to pick up a weak pulse if they didn't know where to look. Since dragons were super sensitive, Cyan could only count on the delirious state of this creature to trick it.

The dragon lowered its muzzle into the crook of his neck. Cyan schooled his expression to be absolutely blank as if death had touched him. The dragon pressed it's scary mouth against his skin and flicked its tongue out, lightly feeling the area. Cyan nearly burst out laughing since he was slightly ticklish. It took every ounce of willpower he had he remained still.

Its claws released some of the pressure around his neck.

Cyan wanted so badly to greedily gulp in a lungful of air; however, he took very small breaths ensuring he didn't spike up of his heart rate. It was by slight of chance the dragon didn't notice any of this. The creature moved its head from his neck and growled. Slowly, Cyan turned his head slightly exposing more of his neck in a submissive manner. His thoughts were nothing but him repeating his mantra to himself as if he were a broken record.

'I am not a threat. I am not something to fear. Please, understand that I will protect you, but you've got to protect me too. I am not your enemy…'

Aiden snapped out of the darkness as he felt the energy shift in the room. It was as if something stopped moving and the air was still. His fight or flight instincts lessened as the registered threat began to subside. He was aware the little soldier beneath him had stopped moving.

The human was completely unresponsive and submitting. He was slightly shocked by this stance.

Dead.

The words ran through his his head striking a nerve. The little soldier looked frail and harmless as he laid there like a rag doll. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that the human's chest was rising and falling slowly.

It was constant and rhythmic: forcibly composed.

A perfect example of controlled submission that Aiden didn't know humans possessed. This only made him more apprehensive. Though his snarls grew weaker between the exhaustion and his episodes, he was genuinely in awe at the gesture this human was making. He had never witnessed a human change their demeanor so quickly. It had not been but a moment ago this human was snapping and kicking for his life as it fought appropriately using that horrid device. Now, the little soldier had changed the energy replacing the heated wired spark of explosive negativity with sereneness. It made it hard for Aiden to fuel his own anger when there was nothing to ignite it.

His emotional responses were how confused as his scales changed colors reflecting his sour mood. His destructive behavior was now replaced with a more protective one that irritated him so. As his pale blue scales shifted to a neutral darker blue-grey tone, his desire to kill the human turned into making sure he remained submissive: especially if this was a trick.

The little soldier could be pretending, and the he could take him by force again using that irritating little metal piece to shock him again. Aiden snarled at this thought in hate. His instincts poked at him, demanding he take what is his and claim his territory. With the absence of a threat, Aiden hesitantly let his grip loosen on the little soldier. The human's thoughts were so weak he could barely register it. Aiden huffed in distrust considering humans were loud thinkers. Still, he couldn't sense any fight in the man anymore. Instead the humans didn't even flinch when he moved his head closer to get a better look at him.

He had left extensive damage on the human's body. His chest swelled with pride at knowing he defeated his enemy. Locking his dry lips in satisfaction, he could now put his energy into others things. Marking his territory and claiming this room for his marks.

His.

The possessive growl was directed at the Human so he understood not to challenge him.

Cyan remained perfectly still, not daring to provoke it further. He watched in a dazed sort of state as the Dragon scurried around buzzing with a strange type of energy.

Aiden was jittery. A new kind of vitality percolated through him. It demanded he use the excess adrenaline towards something else. In his fevered mind, he felt a buzz of urgency as the smell of other dragons seeped through the walls. He had to Mark his claim. Baring his teeth in anger, he couldn't stand the thought of someone taking what was rightful his again.

'Mine!'

'Mine!'

'Mine!'

In between the animalistic chant, Cyan let a sigh of relief watch his dragon shift further and further into it's own world. The claws around his neck didn't dig into the skin anymore. Feeling the weight of the creature against his pelvis, he couldn't help but groan a little. Daring a glance through his eyelashes, he observed how glossed over its eyes were. Its agile form was propped directly over Cyan's body. Its paid no mind to the fact that he was still under it. The Dragon's focus was entirely directed towards the expanse of the room as it radiated nervous energy.