Another aimless Sunday drive.. You've seen this city a million times.. You sigh as your car shifts into a higher gear, engine revving lower and quieter.. The half empty water bottle in the cup holder of the car door rattles every once in a while.

City block after monochrome city block passes outside your tinted window, but just as you grab the wheel a little tighter to turn home, your eye stops and flicks to the left. Just between two high rises, the vibrant green of a local park pokes through for just a moment. But just as the buildings begin to close off the view, something orange flashes. It bounds just out of sight. It's just enough to get one of your brows to rise. Your tires turn left instead of right.

Pulling up to the park, the grassy field is completely obstructed by trees surrounding a small public restroom building. A slow turn of the key lets the rumbling engine take a rest, and as your door opens, the sounds of joyful screaming children and dogs barking brings a subtle smile to your cheeks. You swear what you saw wasn't real. You've never seen one of these in person before, though everyone knows they exist.. You almost reason yourself out of moving any further forward, thinking you're just crazy.. until you hear the deep rowl of-

No fucking way.

Sprinting past the restrooms, then the trees, you start to see it better and better. The warm summer sun begins to lick across your face as the space between the trees grows wider and wider. You can just make out in the middle of the field, huge paws thumping against the pristine grass, as a dragon.. a REAL DRAGON bounds quickly across the field, leaving a group of a dozen or more children and dogs in the dust to give chase. Frisbees and footballs fly, but most people's gazes are affixed to the spectacle before them. A dragon.. playing with children.. trading licks with golden retrievers and labradors!

You dart over the worn concrete path till you finally reach out, grab the trunk of a thin tree and FLING yourself around the corner to emerge at the edge of the grass field, where you promptly realize that that graceful swing of yours actually sent you stumbling forward with way more energy than you anticipated straight out into the open! Your legs move as fast as they can, but your arms windmill wildly beside you until you've finally ended up with a mouthful of dirt and grass and a permanently green stained shirt.

...

You push yourself up a bit, knees still on the ground..

everything in your pockets has been strewn around in the grass..

you blink repeatedly as the sun blinds you from above..

keys.. pick those up.. grab your phone..

you're trembling.. out of either shock or embarrassment.. actually both..

...

Fucking- god damnit. Fuck me.. Such a fucking idiot. Moron. Fucking-

This was stupid.. Why the fuck were you acting like a five year old. Christ, what a fucking mess. Now you just look like a fool in front ev-

Thump.. thump..

Everything was quiet..

...

you could hear a leaf break off a tree and land beside you..

Something big blocks the sun.

You look up..

And your eyes meet with a glistening darkness surrounded by a brilliant blue. The eye of the beast..

With only a moment's hesitation, it leans down and shoves its head beneath your chest, lifting you straight up to have you sitting on your heels. The sun shines through the thin wing membranes, just barely revealing the intricate vein structure beneath the skin.. The vibrant green of the markings.. the heterochromic eyes.. the impossibly kind face that smiles before you.. It was magical..

but..

All eyes were on you..

You couldn't take it.. How many years had it been since you'd felt this happy for ANYTHING?! All just to make a complete laughingstock out of yourself by falling on your face like an idiot. You shouldn't have ever done done this. You're a fucking adult. Look at you.. Today could've been fine if you just-

"Woah woah woah.." Said the creature in a rumblingly deep voice.. Wait, WHAT?! It could TALK?! "Hey hey. Shhhhh.. There's no need to cry."

..
Hah! What? I'm not-.. Wait, I'm crying..?
Your wrist wipes across your right eye and confirms, revealing a glistening streak..

"Shhhhh.. Come here.."
The dragon leans down and licks both of your cheeks as your arms shakily hold in whatever awkward position they were in. "Hey! There's no need to be upset.. I'm here for you.. Maybe not specifically for you, but for people just like you..
..
You're not the first one to trip over themselves, you know.." it speaks with a chuckle. "But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, the ones that fall the hardest are the ones that need me the most.

..
I'm Ragnar!

What's your name, hun..?"


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Commission for  Shadow_the_Night_Fury