DragonHeart | Minsung

XI

Jisung huddled in the cave that he had hidden in. He could hear the clanging of swords, the grunting of both Minho and the assailants, and dogs barking and growling.

They were fighting.

He held onto his own small sword. He gripping it tighter as he grew even more tense, hands shaking and teeth gritted.

He wanted to be ready to fight.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to help Minho.

He knew that Minho wouldn't have a chance fighting alone against three opponents. Minho claimed to be a very skilled swordsman, but realistically, that would be a difficult task for any.

Jisung knew that he wouldn't provide a lot of help, still being a beginner. But two would be better than fighting alone, right?

He knew this, but he still stayed in his place inside the cave. He was frozen, too scared to make a move, like he had been the night before.

The ear-piercing sounds of swords clashing together soon came to a pause. They were replaced by a loud rumble and thumps that shook the ground beneath them.

Jisung heard a loud screech that echoed through the forest. At the same time he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his back. He felt like he was being stabbed, but when he reached back to find the source of the immense pain, there was nothing there.

There was yelling again, but that was quickly silenced. He heard crackling and popping before everything outside went quiet.

Jisung didn't hear anything from the three that had attacked them, Minho, or even the dogs and horses. He began to worry that Minho had been hurt or taken...or worse. He began to slowly make his way out of the cave, trying to keep his movements quiet.

The sight that he saw once he was out made his eyes widen, and he stumbled back in complete disbelief.

Towering over the frozen body of the woman stood a dragon, wings outstretched. The creature had blue armor-like scales covered it's body, with the exception of a softer lighter colored underbelly. Two long horns stood on the top of it's head, and sharp spikes ran from the top of its head down to the bottom of it's tail. The dragon had sharp blue eyes, which were staring directly at him.

The beast lifted up one of it's front paws and took a step closer to him. Jisung stuck his arms out towards the dragon, pointing the sword that he still gripped in his hands at it.

"Don't- don't come any closer!" He yelled, arms shaking, clearly lacking the confidence needed.

The dragon obeyed his command and stopped. In that moment he wished he had taken Changbin's lessons about dragons more seriously.

Jisung scanned the area, trying to think of a way to get himself out of this situation. He could still see the body of the woman, and after looking further he saw the bodies of the two men as well. He didn't see their dogs or horses, so they must have been spooked and ran off...or eaten.

His heart dropped when he realised that he didn't see Minho anywhere either. He hoped that he had gotten away as well, but he feared the worst. He was losing hope fast, beginning to believe it would be the end for him as well.

He brought his focus back to the dragon in front of him. "What the fuck did you do?!" He felt tears welling up in his eyes.

If this was the end for him, what would happen to his mother?

The dragon lifted its huge feet and began to extend it towards him again. Panic set in, and rather then freezing up again, Jisung finally lunged forward once it was close enough. It would be difficult to harm the creature because of the protection that it's scales provided. However, he managed to puncture the soft skin between it's toes.

Jisung let out a yelp and let go of the sword, feeling pain shoot through his hand. The dragon quickly pulled it's claws back away from him, taking the sword with it as it was stuck in the skin.

"Fuck!"Jisung grabbed his pain-filled hand with the other.

A rumble came from the dragon's chest. It brought it's own claws to its mouth and pulled the sword out with it's teeth, which was then spat back out onto the ground with a clang.

"Jisung..." The dragon finally spoke.

Jisung knew that some dragons could speak human-tongue, but it was still an unnerving sight. Especially unnerving when he realised that he knew that voice.

"I- it's me, Jisung...I'm not going to hurt you, so you can calm down..." The dragon said, tucking his wings away.

"...Minho? I-I don't understand..."

It didn't make any sense. How could Minho, a human, be standing in front of him as an ice-breathing, scaly beast. He must've been dreaming, or completely lost his mind. Maybe he had already died earlier and this was the afterlife.

"Just...let me explain." The dragon sat down, wrapping his tail loosely around himself.

Jisung was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that a dragon, a creature he was taught to hate and fear, could be standing in front of him. Let alone to understand what he was talking about.

"My father...my father is Nelreir." He started, and took a pause to think. "...your mother brought you to him when you were sick. You were dying."

Jisung had know that he was sick when he was a kid, but he had never been told the details of the ordeal.

Minho brought one of his paws to his chest. "My father decided to give you half of my heart...to save you."

That dreadful scar down Jisung's chest wasn't from a surgery, but from his chest being opened for the other half of the dragon's heart to be shared with him.

"We were so young, I couldn't pinpoint who you were." Minho said. "So once he died...I left Gimpo. I wanted to find you..." He paused again. "...and I did."

Minho took the palm of his paw and brought his one of his claws to it. He pressed into the skin, dragging the sharp talon down until beads of blood started to form from the wound.

As Minho did this, Jisung winced as he felt the pain in the palm of his own hand. There was no blood, no wound, but the pain felt real.

"My pain is your pain, and your pain is mine." Minho said.

"We're bonded, Jisung."

Jisung was silent, all of this was too strange to be real in his mind. All of this was happening too fast. It had to be a dream.

But it wasn't a dream; he never woke up.