TR C1: Uni

The Return
Chapter 1: Uni

It was just another day. I woke up late. Had to run to class while eating a sandwich. Left the lecture halfway through to get a coffee.

Would have been less boring if my friend, Ivan had turned up, but he didn’t. Opting instead to sleep in. Given how dry the lecture was, I couldn’t say that I blamed him.

By the time the class actually ended, I was well on my way to La-La-Land. I only got up because someone knocked into me and had me realise what was going on.

Groggily, I peeled myself off the chair, and dragged myself out of the lecture hall, intent on going back to sleep for the break. I could have sworn that there was a pair of dragons tailing me, but I was too sleepy to really notice it properly.

I found myself back home in my room in relatively short order. I couldn’t be bothered to prepare my lunch for later, and instead, pulled down the blinds and switched the lights off, before flopping into my bed.

I fell asleep almost instantly, and had the strangest of dreams.

I dreamt that I was a dragon again, or rather, whatever I believed myself to be back when I believed it. Haven’t had anything like that for a long time. I dreamt of flying, walking, eating…strangely mundane things. As if my brain was running a diagnostic on itself or something. As if it was testing to see if I was…really one of them in spirit.

Didn’t matter, though, since the only thing I really cared about was the fact that I woke an hour later feeling well-rested and ready to go.

So, I went and looked in the fridge…to find that I was out of food. Muttering to myself, I went and changed out of my house clothes, grabbed my car keys and made my way to the carpark, muttering to myself about running out of food on a Thursday, when I had bought my groceries for the week on Sunday.

I made my way into the hostels underground carpark, pausing to tap my card so that the door would open.

My car was easy enough to find. Most people drove white, black or red cars. Mine was a nice shade of blue.

As usual, I got into the small hatchback, and hit the engine start button.

The starter motor struggled valiantly with a rather painful whining noise, but the engine couldn’t start.

I stared at the dashboard in disbelief. “The hell? Dead battery in a new car?”

I tried again, cursing under my breath, only to find that the same thing happened.

Rolling my eyes and groaning, I popped the hood and stared at the offending machinery.

Obviously, staring didn’t fix anything. It just made me more annoyed. Hence, I stopped after a while, and went to the boot, digging round for my jumper cables.

However, before I could grab them, a cool and deep voice floated over from behind me. “Having trouble?”

I grabbed my cables anyway, and turned round, assuming that the person was another of the residents, who could probably bring his own vehicle round and give me a jump.

Instead, I turned round to find a dragon standing behind me. He had black scales, and green eyes. A mane of black fur ran down his back, and his underside was a gunmetal grey. His claws were white, just like the pair of horns that sat at the back of his head. His hands had five fingers like mine, each tipped with a small white claw. His legs were digitigrade, and he had three toes on each foot, each sporting a larger claw.

I must have been staring at him for a full minute before he actually responded. He seemed to be expecting it.

The dragon glanced at the cables that I was holding. “Ah, Your…battery is broken.”

I nodded. “It’s not working. Yes. I don’t suppose you have a car?”

The dragon smiled, but shook his head. “No, I do not use those metal boxes.”

I shrugged. “I see. Didn’t suppose you would, since you can fly.”

“Of course.” He replied with a grin, giving me a glimpse of his pearly whites, “However, I can still help you with magic.”

I Glanced at the cables, then tossed them back into the boot anyway. It was not like I had much to lose. “By all means. Thanks, of course.”

The dragon nodded, and I walked with him to the front of the vehicle, where the bonnet was already up. He looked round a bit, before I pointed out the battery for him. He placed a finger on each terminal and paused, focusing for a moment before letting go.

“It’s done, sir.” He added, as he looked round at me. “What’s the status?”

I left the bonnet up and got into the car, hitting the start button again. The engine started almost at once this time. However, something about the way he spoke to me made something in my head click. “Engine operational. Cleared for jump.”

Took me a split second to realise that I had said something that made absolutely no sense. Mentally scrambling to save face as I got out of the car, I added, “Er….nevermind that. I…say weird things sometimes. Sorry.”

He just snorted, slightly amused. “Think nothing of it.”

“Thanks all the same for the help,” I replied, as I shut the bonnet, “didn’t get your name.”

“Telaroth.” He replied, offering me a clawed hand to shake.

I took his hand and he shook firmly. “Keane.”

He cracked a smile again as he let go. “Happy to help, Keane. I’ll see you around, yes?”

I nodded, as he turned and strolled off. Interesting character, that one.

I decided that since I was driving, I’d might as well go and get something nice, and so I did. I drove round to a pretty good Pho place that I frequented. I was there so often that the cashier knew my order long before I said anything. Besides, I took longer than usual, as I took the long way so that the car battery would charge up enough to crank the engine again later.

“Rare beef with no onions?” He asked, grinning at me, “Your usual, right?”

I smirked and nodded. “Yes please. Get a Vietnamese coffee as well.”

He nodded, and I paid, then had a seat after having a bit of idle chatter with him, since there was no queue. The food was delicious, and I was famished, my ridiculous metabolism having chewed through the sandwich from that morning in relatively short order. On top of that, it was admittedly a pretty nice day. Blue sky, and a temperature that wasn’t freezing.

I eventually finished my food, and sat around while sipping my coffee for a while before thanking the shopkeeper and casher, then going off.

Thankfully, the car started fine. Seeing that I had some time to spend, however, I took the long way back too. I made a mental note to mention it to the dealer on Tuesday when the car was due for servicing. Perhaps I could wring a free replacement out of them, since the car was barely a month old. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Eventually, the day went past quite uneventfully. I went for classes, attended my group meetings and edited my reports.

However, that night I had the same dreams again, and I admittedly enjoyed them.

My next few days went along in a similar fashion, and for some strange reason, I kept running into Telaroth here and there. The lanky dragon seemed nice enough, and the impression he gave me was that he just wanted to make friends. I didn’t see anything wrong with that, and eventually, a few weeks in, I found myself having meals with him, grumbling to him about my classes, and exchanging stories. Telaroth seemed to have a bit of an interest in my field too, and would sometimes come to me with questions. Some I could answer, others I couldn’t. Sometimes he asked me strange things. Things about going faster than light. Sometimes I would blurt strange things out and apologise, other times, I would just shrug.

He even went with me for a few drinking sessions. Honestly, for something that’s supposed to be superior to humanity in most aspects, his alcohol tolerance was horrendous. I could out-drink him easily…although that really wasn’t something to be proud of. It was still hilarious to watch, though. His wings and tail would go all over the place, and he would insist that he was fine…until he walked into a pillar. I had to half carry him to my apartment and leave him on the sofa for quite a while before he recovered enough to go home.

Eventually, my workload began to ramp up as the semester progressed, and I went out less and less. I spent most of my time studying for various tests or rushing assignments. It was the norm, and I was used to it. However, this all seemed to come as a shock to Telaroth, who called me one day to ask if I was even still alive.

To be honest, I was a little amused, but his concern seemed genuine enough. I explained the whole thing to him, and told him that this was the norm for an engineering degree. I also told him that I was used to it, and apologised for making the poor sod worry.

He took it quite good naturedly, as he took most things.

I did my job as a student. I studied for my final exams for the semester, and ran round trading notes with people. It was nothing special. We were pretty much all in the same boat. I would study with Ivan and Rishabh, the latter of which was a genius. All he had to do was to look at a question, and he could do it. It was preposterous, but at the same time, he was more than happy to lend people a hand. He probably helped me to pass half of my four subjects.

Of course, I ended up introducing the two of them to Telaroth, since I almost always had a meal with him every week. He seemed not to mind them, and they him. Eventually, though, we stopped going out altogether and ended up ordering delivery, as the exams drew near.

The exams went as they did, which is to say that they were a train wreck as usual. I stayed on in the country rather than flying home for the one month holiday. Telaroth invited me to take a trip with him to the mountains, but things got complicated when he remembered that I lacked wings.

Eventually, I managed to coax him into taking the car with me. It even had a fresh battery, which I managed to get replaced under the warranty program. He didn’t seem to like my car very much, since it was in no way very big. Sure, the boot was massive for a tiny hatchback, but for a dragon that’s a full head taller than me in his biped form, it’s tiny.

I did what I could, which involved acrobatics with the seats, and eventually managed to get him to be comfortable enough.

The trip was quite nice. I brought my camera along and snapped photos, while Telaroth took his larger form and flew round the mountains. He offered to take me a ride. I went, and it was exhilarating. Too bad I couldn’t fly on my own. I did, however, get some awesome photos.

The drive back was mostly uneventful, with the conversation revolving around some rather banal topics, which was until Telaroth brought up The Return. It was something that I hadn’t talked about much recently, since all the fuss had died down quite a while back. The event itself wasn’t much. It was just what we called the day where the dragons suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They initially tried reclaiming the planet, but of course, with humans being humans, we resisted fiercely. There were a few wars, but nothing particularly major. Eventually, an agreement was made between the two parties, and it was revealed that the dragons were originally from Earth. A few months later, they began looking up those that were dragons in spirit, and turning them back.

Eventually, after talking about a few of the wars, Telaroth turned and regarded me. “I’m curious. What do you think of The Return?”

“What, the part where all of you popped back here out of nowhere?” I replied, relaxing a bit as the cruise control did its thing.

“Yup. What do you think? Should we have come back?” He added, turning to watch my reaction.

I paused to scratch my head and to lower the volume of the music. “Well, you guys started off here, so it’s as much your home as it is everyone else, and you have as much a right to come back as anyone else.”

“So, captain, what is your professional opinion?” He replied cooly.

“Er, well, in a first contact scenario….” I caught myself. “…the hell. Did you just call me a captain?”

He snorted and nodded.

“No, no, I was a corporal during National Service. Not a captain.” I replied, slightly amused.

Telaroth shook his head. “No, you were a captain. Just not in recent times.”

How he managed to dig that up, I didn’t know. I had dismissed those beliefs long ago. “Dude, corporal.”

“Senior Captain Tano’rath Daranakaan, of the Imperial Drakonian Armed Forces, black scaled, with grey underside like me. That’s who you were, and still are.” He replied, rattling the details off quite easily.

I had chills and shivers running up and down my back as he spoke, as if someone was walking on my grave. It took a while for me to calm enough to actually grip the wheel again. “I-“

Telaroth cut in, “No, no.” He raised a finger and wagged it in front of me. “Don’t deny it. You believed it once too. We come for all those of our kind or similar. It took us a while to figure out your kind so that reversion would proceed smoothly, but, yes, you believed the right thing at the time.”

My mouth worked, but I couldn’t really find anything to say.

“So, of course, you know by now what I’m going to ask you. Do you wish to revert? Arrangements will be made for you. We have even spoken with your immediate family already, and I am approaching you with their permission. We’ll help you to see to all your paperwork as well. What say you, Tano’rath?” He added, taking my silence to mean that he could continue.

“I…uh. Don’t know. How long do I have to think this over?” I replied, glancing at the black dragon.

He snorted and looked out at the road sign as we passed. “Take the next exit and follow the road. You have until we arrive.”

I glanced at Google maps on my phone, which was clipped in front of me. “…That’s…not our exit, Telaroth.”

He snorted. “It is ours now. You will join a dragon household if you change, and in your case, it would be mine. I’ll be your brother. Whether or not you continue on with relations with your human family is up to you. If you’re willing, we also have a position that you might fill. When you revert, your memories and knowledge will be returned to you.”

I took the exit, pausing to glance at my fuel meter. All good. “Right. What about my degree?”

“Well, you can carry on with it if you like, but I’m sure you’ll have qualifications, being a navy captain and all that.” He replied with a shrug, “What was it like, going out to sea?”

“Sea? I have no idea, Telaroth. I worked space side, not dirt side. Anyway, where are we going?” I replied, matching his shrug.

He snorted. “I see. We are going to my home, Tano. If you agree to revert, then you’ll meet your new family. Else, we’ll have a nice lunch and go back.”

I nodded. “How far?”

“Not much. Should be a few minutes. You should make your mind up by then.” He replied, shrugging again.

“That’s…not much time, Telaroth.” I replied, putting the cruise control on again, “and I’d rather muse over a coffee or a beer, rather than at the wheel of a mazda.”

“Well, you can perhaps do that later. When we arrive.” He replied, “We have no time to waste. The procedure takes time, and if you wish to go back to your hostel after that, you still have to….drive this car back.”

I nodded, as we came up to a large cave complex set into a mountainside. However, I noted that there were cables strung all over the place, and electric lights in the interiors.

“Where do I park?” I remarked, as I disengaged the cruise control and accelerated.

Telaroth snorted. “Don’t know. We don’t have a parking area because none of us have cars. Just…stop somewhere where it won’t block anyone I suppose.”

“…right.” I muttered, and parked the car by a wall. “So, uh, what do I do now?”

Telaroth simply pointed out the window. I turned to see several dragons of similar colouration to him peering into the car with mild curiosity.  “They’re expecting us.”

I glanced up and out the window…instantly wishing that I was driving a SUV and not a reasonably priced small hatchback. “…right.”

“So, what is your decision…captain?” Telaroth added, turning to face me. “Do you wish to revert?”

I blinked, reaching over to switch the engine off. “What happened to coffee?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.” He replied, still looking at me.

“I…” I ran out of words.

“You what?” he retorted, his eyes boring into me.

I dug deep, scrambling to figure out what I actually wanted.

“Come on…” Telaroth persisted.

“…Fine. Do it. I’m sick of missing bits anyway.” I replied with a huff, and killed the engine, having made up my mind.

Telaroth simply smiled as he got out of the car, motioning for me to do the same. I grabbed my keys and got out, and was subjected to the interest of the gathered black dragons.

Telaroth beamed up at them, and placed an arm on my shoulder. “Meet our new member! He is known as Tano’rath, captain of a ship of the stars!”

As one, they paused, and subjected me to their close scrutiny. They subsequently nodded to Telaroth, before dispersing.

“Quiet bunch.” I remarked, leaning on my car.

He smiled at me, obviously excited. “No, no! They’re going to talk to you after you change! It’s how things work here.”

I locked the doors, then looked to the dragon. “Lead on, then.”

I was brought into one of the caverns, where a bed was already prepared. Telaroth instructed me to lie down, while he went and spoke with another two of his kind before they came over.

He spoke. “You’ll be sedated, so remain calm. You’ll be woken when the changes are complete. Is that acceptable?”

I blinked and looked up at them, not quite knowing what to expect. “I guess.”

Telaroth nodded. “Very well, then.”

With that, things went black.