American Dragon's Gem

You Again?

A teen was walking down the sidewalk. She looked like she was sixteen, but in reality, she was nineteen going on twenty. Her skin was decorated with scars, some being hidden under her hoodie. Sunglasses hid her eyes as she continued. 

The woman walked into Lao Chi's shop, looking around. 

Alaska, who was placing a VCR on one of the shelves came over to the woman. "Hello, can I help you?" 

"Yes, I was actually looking for you, Alaska. Can we speak in private?" The smaller teen was shocked that this person knew her name. "Uh...yeah, back here." 

The woman followed Alaska to the back of the store. Jake, Lao, and Fu were in the back, the dog of the three hopping out of the chair he was in and getting on all fours. 

"Woof." 

The woman took off her glasses and looked at Fu. "Relax, I know what you all are." 

Jake took a good look at the woman's eyes. The irises were gold, while the sclera was pitch black, the golden parts glowing as she looked around. 

"Who are you, young lady?" Lao asked her, curious and cautious. "My name is Shadow. I need the American, and Frost Dragons." 

"Frost Dragon? I like it." 

Shadow shrugged. "Figured you would. But I still need you two, one of my clan members is lost in this world. Their name is Swampy." She took out a picture of a boy with shaggy, green hair.

"Shouldn't you go to the police then?" Jake asked her, but Shadow wasn't having it. "Swampy, like me, isn't human. As the leader of the Blood Moon Clan and a Creator, it was my job to check on the worlds I created. Swampy was dragged in by accident and is lost in the city." 

Alaska then took a closer look at Shadow's eyes. "I feel like we met before." 

Shadow smirked and pulled out an antlered mask from her hoodie pocket, putting it on. 

"You're the one that warned us at the Dragon Summit! About a storm coming!" The woman nodded and lifted her mask. "Yep, now, let's get searching." 

Black smoke surrounded Shadow, Jake, and Alaska, and when the younger two opened their eyes, they were on the roof. 

"So, any ideas on where your friend might be?" The two dragoned up and Shadow shook her head. "Swampy is more like a brother to me than a clan member. Only a select few of my clan are like siblings to me." 

Shadow sniffed the air. "Ugh, I can barely smell anything in this city. How do you two live like this?" 

The two dragons shrugged and flew up, Shadow followed as she rode a cloud of smoke like a skateboard. 

"So, you're a 'Creator', what do you mean by that?" Alaska wanted to make some small talk, thankfully Shadow answered. 

"I create worlds. I created you, Alaska, you are special not only to this place, but to me. I always think of those I create like my children. I mostly do it to help with trauma I went through growing up." 

Alaska was a little shocked at that. "Do you have a favorite?" 

"No, I am not choosing between my kids. Sorry." 

A commotion in central park made the three swoop down and land in the trees. Trixie and Spud were bellow them, and so was a creature. 

It had shaggy green fur, claws, a deer skull for a head, and prong horned antelope horns on the head. It was terrifying to look at, but the creature was covering its ears with its hand like paws. It looked scared. 

"What is that thing?" 

Shadow looked to Jake. "That thing is Swampy. He's head scout in my clan, his senses are gonna be heightened more than normal due to the smells, sounds, and people." 

Jake, Alaska, and Shadow jumped down and Trixie and Spud freaked out. "Jake, Snowflake, who's that? And what is that?" 

Shadow answered quickly. "Name's Shadow. And that is someone I think of as a brother." 

The woman then pulled out a pair of headphones, too big for a human head and handed them to Alaska. 

"I'll do what I can to keep him calm and still. You two get the headphones on him, and Trixie and Spud." 

Spud was shocked she knew her name. "You know our names?" 

"Yes, you two keep other humans away from here. Things are gonna get wild." 

Smoke then surrounded Shadow, the plume growing to about twenty feet before a large creature was in Shadow's place, standing on its hind legs. It then fell forward to land on all fours, letting out a small growl. 

The creature approached Swampy with cautious steps. Slow, steady and quiet. 

Alaska went to the right and Jake the left as what they thought was Shadow placed her talons on Swampy's skull. Like a mother holding her child's face lovingly. 

"Easy, Swampy. You're alright." 

Alaska slowly flew over with the headphones, Jake meeting her in the middle and helping her place the headphones over Swampy's ears. 

The green haired creature slowly shrank and in its place was a boy. He looked younger than Shadow, but at least he had clothes on. "Shadow?" 

Smoke surrounded Shadow's form again and she was back to looking like a human. 

"I'm here, Swampy. We're going home." 

Alaska and Jake landed, and Shadow held Swampy's hand as she lifted her mask off her face. Her eyes weren't their strange appearance anymore, they looked blind, but not dead. 

"Thank you, dragons. For your help I leave this news; your brothers will return, but only when you least expect it." Smoke then surrounded both Shadow and Swampy and once it cleared, they were gone. 

Alaska was the first to dragon down. "That was surprisingly easy." 

Lao and Fu then came in after Jake dragoned down. "Jake! Alaska! Stop!" 

Fu was carrying a book, he opened it to show the same creature Shadow and Swampy were. "You two helped a Wendigo. Once you make a deal with them, you have to go through with it, or they'll kill and eat you!" 

"We just finished helping Shadow. She went home with Swampy." Alaska said to them, making the air a little lighter. 

"Alaska, you and Jake could have died." Lao started scolding. "Next time you see a Wendigo, don't make a deal." 

With Shadow and Swampy.

"I'm surprised you didn't make a deal with them to find me, Shadow." Swampy was walking with Shadow through a log cabin. 

Shadow huffed out a breath through her nose. "Of course not. I don't make deals with kids, I have too much of a soft spot for them." 

"Comes with having younger siblings, huh?" She shook her head with a smile. "Eh, most people don't normally bug me until they get teeth. It takes special people for me to open up to." 

"That's why you don't trust many people?" Swampy stopped for a second before catching up. 

"Yeah, that and bad experiences."