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Description
Dragon Chronicles - Dragon Slayers
Chapter 1

The name 'dragon' inspired Jack Barns, dragons were creatures of great strength and believed to be the wielders of the stongest magic.  Having the strength to lift their own bodies from the earth with their leathery wings.  Jack had spent all his life from the moment he could read, believing he would one day satisfy his mad desire of meeting a dragon.

Nineteen, six feet tall and lightly built, Jack appeared, by all rights, to be just an ordinary teenager.  One whom enjoyed spending time with friends and doing reckless things.
Well he did atleast do one of these, he did more than his fair share of reckless activities, such as wandering into the mountains near his hometown, where he'd climb unstable cliffs, secretly searching for a sign that his beloved beasts existed.

Not once in all his life had his logic faltered, he truly believed there were dragons, he knew they existed simply because his desire made it so.

Jack had begun studying Ancient mythology in College, his professor found a great interest in Jack's dedication the moment the student had handed in his first essay.

But now, Jack was sitting on a hill that gave a view of the winding rivers that eventually lead to the ocean, on the right was a heavily wooded area, only slight rises interupted the treeline.  Where as to the left there was a dense forest that ran along the foot of the mountain ranges and thinned until they reached the steepest part of the mountain, where only weedy and dry grass grew.

Jack had grown familiar with the passes and cliffs, spending a considerable amount of his teenage life in the mountains themselves.  His parents blamed this for him not being able to sustain any decent relationships with other kids his age, but they were powerless to stop him, he wasn't obsessed with video games or television, so they figured it wasn't that bad of a quirk.
As Jack gazed, he had the distinct feeling someone was about to sit next to him.  True to his instincts, someone did sit next to him, and not just any someone, the top student of his Mythology class.

"Hi" Was all Jack managed to say.  It wasn't that he had trouble talking to the opposite gender, it was that he never had gotten used to socializing with other people.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" the intruder whispered, her steel-blue eyes gazed towards the horizon, as if she could scare the horizon into opening and revealing all the answers to everyone's questions.

It took a moment for Jack to work up a reply, regretting every second he wasted.  He instead spoke without preparing the entire sentence "Life is beautiful, but I can't help but wonder... why?"

This was followed by a long and uncomfortable silence, both students tried desperetly to think of something to say until Jack opened his mouth, "I-I err... I didn't mean that... I'm not an emo or anything," he tried to remedy his obvious mistake.

She turned to him and smiled, "I know you didn't."

With that, she stood up and began to walk away, leaving Jack both stunned and awed.

"M-Melanie!  Wait!" he cried, scrambling to his feet, the Dragonstone amulet he wore all the time slipped out from under his shirt and bounced as he took a step.

"Yes?" the girl asked, turning her head enough so she could see Jack.

Jack's mind blanked and he felt stupid, this caused his cheeks to redden in embarrassment.

"Uh... sorry, never mind..."

Melanie nodded and walked away calmly, not mocking nor aiding him.

Jack lay in his dorm room, flipping the dragonstone between his fingers, feeling out its smoothed surface as he wondered about Melanie.  He'd met her the day he'd arrived at the College and had taken an immediate liking to her as well.

He stopped and examined the small gem between his index finger and thumb of his right hand, the smooth surface shone with the dimming light that filtered in through the curtains, reminding him of the day he'd found the stone at a surposed ancient Dragon eyrie.  An ancient place where dragons went to lay their eggs.
Back then the stone had been jet black, it even appeared to conceal a swirling mist within it's glass-like exterior.  Four days after he'd left the ancient site, he'd noticed that the gem had lost all it's dark colour, turning clear in his hands.

Jack had taken this as a sign, it was clearly an ancient artifact, made by someone who either knew a great deal of science or knew magicks of great power.

"One day I'll figure our what you were for..." He whispered.

So intent on the little gem he was, that he didn't notice his dorm mates enter the room.

"So when are you proposing to it?" Rick asked smugly before he moved over to his bed and fell down on it in a large heap.

Jack scowled and quickly reattached the gem to its string before slipping it under his shirt.  "I thought you guys had an essay to do?" he asked irratibly.

The other boys shrugged and gave cheeky grins, clearly they'd skipped the essay which was not something to take lightly around there.
Jack sighed and muttered, "T'is your funeral, not mine." before turning over to sleep.

Melanie prodded Jack in the side for the fifth time that class, it was unlike the dragon freak to sleep during a mythology class, and even more unlike him to be nodding off through the discussion of ancient magicks that called upon the information of the dragons he loved so much.

"Hey Jack, keep it together, this is your kind of class." she whispered, prodding him harder, between the ribs.

This prompted Jack to atleast try to keep his eyes open at the very least, which he did.  He could see Professor McCartney up the front writing on his whiteboard, something about Magicks, Sorceresses and Sorcerors.
None of the information made it past Jack's ears, he simply was unable to process any volume of information more than a simple command.

After class, Melanie dragged him off for lunch while other boys made dirty remarks along the way which only caused Melanie to growl at anyone she came into contact with on her way to the diner.

Propping Jack up against a window in his chair, she quickly ordered the usual and snapped her fingers an inch away from Jack's face, getting his drowsy attention.

"Hunh?"

"It's lunch time Jack, snap out of it." Melanie begged.

Jack just grunted obtusely before slumping against the window, his eyes still open and tracking the girl sitting infront of him.  He suddenly realized just how strange Melanie was, almost like last night's nightmares were just what he had needed to realize that.
All of a sudden, his mind wrenched into action as it began to process all kinds of things, like how the two teens had met, how Jack never saw Melanie outside of school campus except when they left the campus together, how she seemed to eat a lot more than her frame could support.  He truly wondered where she put all that food.

"It was another one of your nightmares wasn't it?" she asked, as the food was placed before them, their sugary shakes quickly followed.

"Enjoy your meal kids." the kindly old woman said with a smile before she moved away.

Melanie pushed Jack's shake up to his face, "Drink!  I need you awake right now." she demanded.

Though Jack's mind was now awake, he cleverly fiened being rejuvinated by his shake, slowly but gradually his pose perked up in the rough timber seat.

Melanie had skipped her drink and was eating her lunch, her eyes intently placed upon her friend.  She was worried for him, she'd learned about his nightmares one sunny afternoon as the pair had admired the sky out in the school grounds, and ever since had been worrying for his welfare.

"I'm fine, really." Jack said before taking a bite from his greasy cheese burger.  The kind that put fast-food resturaunts to shame.

"No you're not!  These nightmares scare you down to the core, I can see it in your eyes!  How can your friends help you if you shove us back and sink deeper into your mind's recesses to analyze the horrors yourself?"

Jack ignored her and slurped at his shake before finishing off his burger and started picking at the salad that sat between him and the fries.

"Say something!" she hissed angrily.

He swallowed his mouthful of salad and smartly replied, "That burger was delicious as always."

Something seemed to snap in Melanie, she gnashed her teeth and leaped across the table, putting her hands firmly around Jack's neck as she bashed his head repeatedly into the soft head rest.

Suddenly, there were men trying to pry the maddened girl from Jack, Mageret was screaming at everyone and Jack's face was going red.

It took three fully grown truckies to pry the girl off Jack and when they had her back down on her bench, Jack gasped for air, trying to tell the men to calm down.

"Jeez, she's like a freaking Gator!  Wrestles like nothing you'd believe!" one in dirty coveralls said, still clamping his hands around Melanie's arms.

"Hey look, the kid is trying to talk!  What is it kid?" Another said, his red cap had fallen during the struggle into what was left of the teens food.

"Let - wheeze - her go!" Jack gasped, waving a hand at the men.

The men gaped for a moment before shouting back at him, "WHAT!  SHE NEARLY CHOKED YOU TO DEATH!!!"

Margaret, the owner of the diner, had leaped over the counter and rushed in.

"Let the girl go!  NOW!" she bellowed, her right hand coming up and slapping all three of the men in succession.

Shocked by the response, they relinquished their iron grip on Melanie who glared up at them from her seat, looking a lot more dangerous than a normal teen girl.

"Yikes!  What the heck is up with her!?"

"I don't want to see your filthy butts in my diner again, now clear out, the lot of ya!" Margaret shouted.

The Truckies scowled but quickly gathered their things and left, rushing to their trucks in the parking lot.  The red cap still sitting on the table in the food.

"Now Melanie girl, what in gods name made you do that?  You two are friends, and Jack needs a friend like he needs a new dream."

"Hey!" Jack cried out in protest.

Melanie didn't answer, she pursed her lips but remained silent.  Margaret huffed in exasperation before throwing her arms up in the air and going out into the back of the diner, leaving Jack and Melanie alone once more.

"I'm sorry Melanie... but you know I'm no good with the whole confessing thing.  I'm not exactly-"

"-able to open up easily... I know.  But Jack you idiot, you need to realize that I won't laugh at you, I want to help, and I can't help if you won't help yourself!  So. Tell. Me."

Jack winced as he recieved a stubborn glare before lowering his head, his voice almost a whisper.

"It was different this time.  Someone... a man I think, he was tall but wasn't mascular.  He was standing over... a... I think it was a dragon and he shot it with a gun, shot it again and again and again and again..." Jack trailed off, he could feel the corners of his eyes burning as he struggled to keep the tears back.

"Jack..."

"And then he turned to me, looked right at me and said 'Give it to me or I'll take what matters from you.'"

Melanie began to reach out, to put her hand on Jack's shoulder but stopped.  What did matter to Jake?  More than dragons?  His whole life seemed to revolve around them, he'd even begun dedicating his entire future to proving they were real creatures, what on this planet or any other would matter more to him than dragons?  He'd already told her how his parents had disowned him one night when he came home late, battered and bruised with a police officer standing behind him, he'd been kicked out of home and had to stay at the community centre.

"What did  the dragon look like?" She asked, finally putting that hand on his shoulder.

"It was silver... maybe grey I don't know... it was dark and I couldn't make out much.  It had... a long unadorned tail and no horns.  Why?"

Melanie's heart seemed to stop, the world around her slowing and she looked down at the bracelet on her left wrist.

"Melanie?  Melanie?"

She suddenly came back to attention, the soft ringing in her ears beginning to fade as she spoke unsteadily.  "Have you ever seen a dragon like that?"

Jack shook his head, "No... I've never seen any fictional dragon like that."

"Was the dragon in your nightmare dead after this man shot it?"

"No, it was still breathing I think... why?  Why are you asking me!?"

Melanie shrank back, the first time she'd shied away from anyone around Jack and he was shocked that she did.

"Just... Just am."

And she left it at that, to Jack's relief the interrogation was over and they quickly finished up at the diner, dumping the trash and cap into a bin before paying and heading back to Campus.

Jack and Melanie had the rest of the day off and spent it out at Jack's favorite spot with some pens and papers as they looked out over the valley and drew together.  Neither of them would produce the next Mona Lisa, but they did produce some powerful art.  Jack's always seemed to include aspects of his life thus far and today was no exception.  The shame and fear he'd felt in the diner came into play in his drawing of the mountain ranges which he'd depicted with sad looking trees that twisted up between rocks and reached desperately up a t the sky, their branches thin with leaves, the roots looked gnarly and the bark etched from the fierce winds.

"Ah  there you are!" a voice said behind them, causing the pair to turn and look up as their teacher approached.

"I was a little worried about your class earlier today, Jack.  You seemed rather out of it for most of the session.  What's bothering you?"

Melanie's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the older man, he'd been interested in Jack since day one.

"Nothing... I didn't get much sleep last night because of my room-mates, that's all really." Jack lied casually, adding some more of those sad trees to his picture.

"Aha... Uh out of curiosity, why no dragons in this drawing of yours?" the man asked.

Now Melanie was getting even more suspicious, no one really payed attention to Jack's dragon insanity except to insult him, most of the other teachers had even made snide comments about him when he'd not been around, so why this teacher?

"I don't want to show them as depressive creatures." Jack replied simply, careful not to say too much.

"I see, well son, if you do need anything don't hesitate to drop by my office, I'm sure I can help out with anything you throw my way."

And just like  that, the teacher turned and left.

Melanie watched him leave until he was out of sight before turning to Jack.  "I don't trust him..."

"Melanie... he's our teacher!  I admit that he's freaking me out with his interest in me, but he's just concerned, that's all." Jack said calmly, not lifting his gaze from his drawing.

"No, there was no emotion in what he said, he just said it." she insisted, taking Jack's pen as he lifted it from the paper.

"Come on!  Argh... look, he won't turn into a killer machine just because he can speak without emotion showing.  Jeeze Melanie, what is up with you today?"

"I just don't think you should trust him so easily, look those nightmares, they-"

"MELANIE!  Climb off my back will you!?  For the love of whatever divine forces there are, will you just chill and let me do what I want to do!?"

He scrambled up, glaring down at Melanie.

"You are not my mother, I don't have a mother, she won't care if I vanish mysteriously or become succesfull.  Now, why don't you go off with some other girls and giggle about me behind my back!!!" and then he stormed off, leaving everything behind with Melanie staring at him in shock.

She made no attempt to give chase, just sat there until he was gone before she turned and looked over at the drawing he'd left behind, a corner was crinkled from when Jack had scrambled up carelessly but the rest of the drawing was intact on his notepad.
Above the mountains he'd begun drawing what Melanie believed was a dragon, he'd added what appeared to be sparkles to it and even begun drawing a small human figure on the dragon's back, clutching its neck.  The figure had an amulet dangling from their neck.

Description
Dragon Chronicles - Dragon Slayers
Chapter 1

The name 'dragon' inspired Jack Barns, dragons were creatures of great strength and believed to be the wielders of the stongest magic.  Having the strength to lift their own bodies from the earth with their leathery wings.  Jack had spent all his life from the moment he could read, believing he would one day satisfy his mad desire of meeting a dragon.

Nineteen, six feet tall and lightly built, Jack appeared, by all rights, to be just an ordinary teenager.  One whom enjoyed spending time with friends and doing reckless things.
Well he did atleast do one of these, he did more than his fair share of reckless activities, such as wandering into the mountains near his hometown, where he'd climb unstable cliffs, secretly searching for a sign that his beloved beasts existed.

Not once in all his life had his logic faltered, he truly believed there were dragons, he knew they existed simply because his desire made it so.

Jack had begun studying Ancient mythology in College, his professor found a great interest in Jack's dedication the moment the student had handed in his first essay.

But now, Jack was sitting on a hill that gave a view of the winding rivers that eventually lead to the ocean, on the right was a heavily wooded area, only slight rises interupted the treeline.  Where as to the left there was a dense forest that ran along the foot of the mountain ranges and thinned until they reached the steepest part of the mountain, where only weedy and dry grass grew.

Jack had grown familiar with the passes and cliffs, spending a considerable amount of his teenage life in the mountains themselves.  His parents blamed this for him not being able to sustain any decent relationships with other kids his age, but they were powerless to stop him, he wasn't obsessed with video games or television, so they figured it wasn't that bad of a quirk.
As Jack gazed, he had the distinct feeling someone was about to sit next to him.  True to his instincts, someone did sit next to him, and not just any someone, the top student of his Mythology class.

"Hi" Was all Jack managed to say.  It wasn't that he had trouble talking to the opposite gender, it was that he never had gotten used to socializing with other people.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" the intruder whispered, her steel-blue eyes gazed towards the horizon, as if she could scare the horizon into opening and revealing all the answers to everyone's questions.

It took a moment for Jack to work up a reply, regretting every second he wasted.  He instead spoke without preparing the entire sentence "Life is beautiful, but I can't help but wonder... why?"

This was followed by a long and uncomfortable silence, both students tried desperetly to think of something to say until Jack opened his mouth, "I-I err... I didn't mean that... I'm not an emo or anything," he tried to remedy his obvious mistake.

She turned to him and smiled, "I know you didn't."

With that, she stood up and began to walk away, leaving Jack both stunned and awed.

"M-Melanie!  Wait!" he cried, scrambling to his feet, the Dragonstone amulet he wore all the time slipped out from under his shirt and bounced as he took a step.

"Yes?" the girl asked, turning her head enough so she could see Jack.

Jack's mind blanked and he felt stupid, this caused his cheeks to redden in embarrassment.

"Uh... sorry, never mind..."

Melanie nodded and walked away calmly, not mocking nor aiding him.

Jack lay in his dorm room, flipping the dragonstone between his fingers, feeling out its smoothed surface as he wondered about Melanie.  He'd met her the day he'd arrived at the College and had taken an immediate liking to her as well.

He stopped and examined the small gem between his index finger and thumb of his right hand, the smooth surface shone with the dimming light that filtered in through the curtains, reminding him of the day he'd found the stone at a surposed ancient Dragon eyrie.  An ancient place where dragons went to lay their eggs.
Back then the stone had been jet black, it even appeared to conceal a swirling mist within it's glass-like exterior.  Four days after he'd left the ancient site, he'd noticed that the gem had lost all it's dark colour, turning clear in his hands.

Jack had taken this as a sign, it was clearly an ancient artifact, made by someone who either knew a great deal of science or knew magicks of great power.

"One day I'll figure our what you were for..." He whispered.

So intent on the little gem he was, that he didn't notice his dorm mates enter the room.

"So when are you proposing to it?" Rick asked smugly before he moved over to his bed and fell down on it in a large heap.

Jack scowled and quickly reattached the gem to its string before slipping it under his shirt.  "I thought you guys had an essay to do?" he asked irratibly.

The other boys shrugged and gave cheeky grins, clearly they'd skipped the essay which was not something to take lightly around there.
Jack sighed and muttered, "T'is your funeral, not mine." before turning over to sleep.

Melanie prodded Jack in the side for the fifth time that class, it was unlike the dragon freak to sleep during a mythology class, and even more unlike him to be nodding off through the discussion of ancient magicks that called upon the information of the dragons he loved so much.

"Hey Jack, keep it together, this is your kind of class." she whispered, prodding him harder, between the ribs.

This prompted Jack to atleast try to keep his eyes open at the very least, which he did.  He could see Professor McCartney up the front writing on his whiteboard, something about Magicks, Sorceresses and Sorcerors.
None of the information made it past Jack's ears, he simply was unable to process any volume of information more than a simple command.

After class, Melanie dragged him off for lunch while other boys made dirty remarks along the way which only caused Melanie to growl at anyone she came into contact with on her way to the diner.

Propping Jack up against a window in his chair, she quickly ordered the usual and snapped her fingers an inch away from Jack's face, getting his drowsy attention.

"Hunh?"

"It's lunch time Jack, snap out of it." Melanie begged.

Jack just grunted obtusely before slumping against the window, his eyes still open and tracking the girl sitting infront of him.  He suddenly realized just how strange Melanie was, almost like last night's nightmares were just what he had needed to realize that.
All of a sudden, his mind wrenched into action as it began to process all kinds of things, like how the two teens had met, how Jack never saw Melanie outside of school campus except when they left the campus together, how she seemed to eat a lot more than her frame could support.  He truly wondered where she put all that food.

"It was another one of your nightmares wasn't it?" she asked, as the food was placed before them, their sugary shakes quickly followed.

"Enjoy your meal kids." the kindly old woman said with a smile before she moved away.

Melanie pushed Jack's shake up to his face, "Drink!  I need you awake right now." she demanded.

Though Jack's mind was now awake, he cleverly fiened being rejuvinated by his shake, slowly but gradually his pose perked up in the rough timber seat.

Melanie had skipped her drink and was eating her lunch, her eyes intently placed upon her friend.  She was worried for him, she'd learned about his nightmares one sunny afternoon as the pair had admired the sky out in the school grounds, and ever since had been worrying for his welfare.

"I'm fine, really." Jack said before taking a bite from his greasy cheese burger.  The kind that put fast-food resturaunts to shame.

"No you're not!  These nightmares scare you down to the core, I can see it in your eyes!  How can your friends help you if you shove us back and sink deeper into your mind's recesses to analyze the horrors yourself?"

Jack ignored her and slurped at his shake before finishing off his burger and started picking at the salad that sat between him and the fries.

"Say something!" she hissed angrily.

He swallowed his mouthful of salad and smartly replied, "That burger was delicious as always."

Something seemed to snap in Melanie, she gnashed her teeth and leaped across the table, putting her hands firmly around Jack's neck as she bashed his head repeatedly into the soft head rest.

Suddenly, there were men trying to pry the maddened girl from Jack, Mageret was screaming at everyone and Jack's face was going red.

It took three fully grown truckies to pry the girl off Jack and when they had her back down on her bench, Jack gasped for air, trying to tell the men to calm down.

"Jeez, she's like a freaking Gator!  Wrestles like nothing you'd believe!" one in dirty coveralls said, still clamping his hands around Melanie's arms.

"Hey look, the kid is trying to talk!  What is it kid?" Another said, his red cap had fallen during the struggle into what was left of the teens food.

"Let - wheeze - her go!" Jack gasped, waving a hand at the men.

The men gaped for a moment before shouting back at him, "WHAT!  SHE NEARLY CHOKED YOU TO DEATH!!!"

Margaret, the owner of the diner, had leaped over the counter and rushed in.

"Let the girl go!  NOW!" she bellowed, her right hand coming up and slapping all three of the men in succession.

Shocked by the response, they relinquished their iron grip on Melanie who glared up at them from her seat, looking a lot more dangerous than a normal teen girl.

"Yikes!  What the heck is up with her!?"

"I don't want to see your filthy butts in my diner again, now clear out, the lot of ya!" Margaret shouted.

The Truckies scowled but quickly gathered their things and left, rushing to their trucks in the parking lot.  The red cap still sitting on the table in the food.

"Now Melanie girl, what in gods name made you do that?  You two are friends, and Jack needs a friend like he needs a new dream."

"Hey!" Jack cried out in protest.

Melanie didn't answer, she pursed her lips but remained silent.  Margaret huffed in exasperation before throwing her arms up in the air and going out into the back of the diner, leaving Jack and Melanie alone once more.

"I'm sorry Melanie... but you know I'm no good with the whole confessing thing.  I'm not exactly-"

"-able to open up easily... I know.  But Jack you idiot, you need to realize that I won't laugh at you, I want to help, and I can't help if you won't help yourself!  So. Tell. Me."

Jack winced as he recieved a stubborn glare before lowering his head, his voice almost a whisper.

"It was different this time.  Someone... a man I think, he was tall but wasn't mascular.  He was standing over... a... I think it was a dragon and he shot it with a gun, shot it again and again and again and again..." Jack trailed off, he could feel the corners of his eyes burning as he struggled to keep the tears back.

"Jack..."

"And then he turned to me, looked right at me and said 'Give it to me or I'll take what matters from you.'"

Melanie began to reach out, to put her hand on Jack's shoulder but stopped.  What did matter to Jake?  More than dragons?  His whole life seemed to revolve around them, he'd even begun dedicating his entire future to proving they were real creatures, what on this planet or any other would matter more to him than dragons?  He'd already told her how his parents had disowned him one night when he came home late, battered and bruised with a police officer standing behind him, he'd been kicked out of home and had to stay at the community centre.

"What did  the dragon look like?" She asked, finally putting that hand on his shoulder.

"It was silver... maybe grey I don't know... it was dark and I couldn't make out much.  It had... a long unadorned tail and no horns.  Why?"

Melanie's heart seemed to stop, the world around her slowing and she looked down at the bracelet on her left wrist.

"Melanie?  Melanie?"

She suddenly came back to attention, the soft ringing in her ears beginning to fade as she spoke unsteadily.  "Have you ever seen a dragon like that?"

Jack shook his head, "No... I've never seen any fictional dragon like that."

"Was the dragon in your nightmare dead after this man shot it?"

"No, it was still breathing I think... why?  Why are you asking me!?"

Melanie shrank back, the first time she'd shied away from anyone around Jack and he was shocked that she did.

"Just... Just am."

And she left it at that, to Jack's relief the interrogation was over and they quickly finished up at the diner, dumping the trash and cap into a bin before paying and heading back to Campus.

Jack and Melanie had the rest of the day off and spent it out at Jack's favorite spot with some pens and papers as they looked out over the valley and drew together.  Neither of them would produce the next Mona Lisa, but they did produce some powerful art.  Jack's always seemed to include aspects of his life thus far and today was no exception.  The shame and fear he'd felt in the diner came into play in his drawing of the mountain ranges which he'd depicted with sad looking trees that twisted up between rocks and reached desperately up a t the sky, their branches thin with leaves, the roots looked gnarly and the bark etched from the fierce winds.

"Ah  there you are!" a voice said behind them, causing the pair to turn and look up as their teacher approached.

"I was a little worried about your class earlier today, Jack.  You seemed rather out of it for most of the session.  What's bothering you?"

Melanie's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the older man, he'd been interested in Jack since day one.

"Nothing... I didn't get much sleep last night because of my room-mates, that's all really." Jack lied casually, adding some more of those sad trees to his picture.

"Aha... Uh out of curiosity, why no dragons in this drawing of yours?" the man asked.

Now Melanie was getting even more suspicious, no one really payed attention to Jack's dragon insanity except to insult him, most of the other teachers had even made snide comments about him when he'd not been around, so why this teacher?

"I don't want to show them as depressive creatures." Jack replied simply, careful not to say too much.

"I see, well son, if you do need anything don't hesitate to drop by my office, I'm sure I can help out with anything you throw my way."

And just like  that, the teacher turned and left.

Melanie watched him leave until he was out of sight before turning to Jack.  "I don't trust him..."

"Melanie... he's our teacher!  I admit that he's freaking me out with his interest in me, but he's just concerned, that's all." Jack said calmly, not lifting his gaze from his drawing.

"No, there was no emotion in what he said, he just said it." she insisted, taking Jack's pen as he lifted it from the paper.

"Come on!  Argh... look, he won't turn into a killer machine just because he can speak without emotion showing.  Jeeze Melanie, what is up with you today?"

"I just don't think you should trust him so easily, look those nightmares, they-"

"MELANIE!  Climb off my back will you!?  For the love of whatever divine forces there are, will you just chill and let me do what I want to do!?"

He scrambled up, glaring down at Melanie.

"You are not my mother, I don't have a mother, she won't care if I vanish mysteriously or become succesfull.  Now, why don't you go off with some other girls and giggle about me behind my back!!!" and then he stormed off, leaving everything behind with Melanie staring at him in shock.

She made no attempt to give chase, just sat there until he was gone before she turned and looked over at the drawing he'd left behind, a corner was crinkled from when Jack had scrambled up carelessly but the rest of the drawing was intact on his notepad.
Above the mountains he'd begun drawing what Melanie believed was a dragon, he'd added what appeared to be sparkles to it and even begun drawing a small human figure on the dragon's back, clutching its neck.  The figure had an amulet dangling from their neck.