"Ohhh my god,” Theo yelped out, clutching the burning hand to his chest, as he jerked back from the dragon. He felt the slick heat of blood trickling down his wrist, eyes wide and startled as the little dragon curled up in front of him. The dragon just had just bitten him! He let out a startled gasp, and then scrambled backwards, clumsily getting to his feet as the dragon let off a soft growl. A few drops of blood had splattered to the floor below, Theo’s mind reeling, as his hand throbbed from the pain and heat of the bite.

Swallowing hard, Theo wondered what he could have possibly done to make the dragon bite him. Maybe it was like when a cat became over stimulated, and scratched someone? But Theo hadn’t seen any warning at all. No tail lashing, or angry sounds. He had been blissfully petting the surprisingly warm scales of the dragon, and then their eyes met. And after that, the dragon had just taken a big chomp onto his wrist.

At the moment, he was still reeling from the throbbing pain of the bite. He had never dealt well with physical pain, and it wasn’t any different in that moment. A soft whimper escaped his lips as he scrambled to get away from the little creature. The dragon made no move to follow after him, or even move at all, really. By the time that Theo had crossed the room and turned to look, he realized that the dragon was still curled up on the floor where he had left him.

Theo inhaled sharply a few times, his heart starting to beat faster, as if he had just done aerobics. His chest burned with a sudden heat, hand flying up to rest over his heart. “What the heck,” he groaned out softly, closing his eyes. He heard an odd growling sound from the dragon, and for a moment, his head swam.

His frame wobbled, and he floundered backwards for support, leaning into the counter behind him, half falling against it. His legs shook, suddenly feeling like jelly, eyes snapping to the wound on his wrist. Upon looking, his eyes froze, glued to the spot. The wounds had closed, and there were small, healed over scars in place of the wounds. What in the devil’s own hell was happening?

Heat burned in his chest, like a bad mistake on taco night. Or like he’d suddenly developed a massive fever. Thought raced to Bear Grills, and snake bites. Could the dragon have a venomous bite? Was he dying? His chest heaved slightly, frame sinking further back against the marble counter top behind him. The warmth raged through him like an inferno, the cool stone against his skin causing him to shiver.

It was probably just his imagination, but he could almost feel something crawling through his blood. His gripped his wrist as his chest was wracked with a sudden pain. His fingers tightened at the cloth of his shirt, and his vision sank into darkness for a moment.

And then it passed- and suddenly, it was like nothing had ever happened. The pain fled as quickly as it had come on. His pulse evened out, and he was able to breathe without feeling like his lungs were on fire. Cautiously, tentatively, Theo looked back at the dragon, as his limbs shook from a sudden weakness. He could feel sweat trickling down his back, and brow, the only proof aside from fatigue that anything had happened. And the scars.

He stared once again down at the bite mark around his wrist. He lifted a hand up, and traced his fingertips over the slightly lifted edges. They were faint, and probably not noticeable from very far, but all the same they were bewildering. He had been bitten, and then within moments, it had healed? And the odd burning sensation…

Theo shuddered, his heart sputtering in his chest one final time. He had thought he was dying. It had been a bit dramatic, but he had been in a panic, and in pain.

He took in a shuddered breath, and then lowered his gaze down to the dragon, who had apparently recovered also. He stared into that beautiful pair of amethyst eyes, and felt the sweat trail down his neck. He’d been bitten and scratched by strays cats around town, and even a bird or two. But this had been nothing like that.

He flexed his fingers slightly, and then frowned as the dragon slowly lifted itself to all fours. He half turned towards the counter, eyes still glued to the fresh, and slightly pink scars that covered his skin. His mind was racing. There was no explanation for what just happened to him, or why. “You can’t play twenty questions with a dragon, Theo…” he murmured to himself, bowing his head forward with a frustrated growl.

He needed some coffee. He wasn’t sure what coffee could do to help, but he just needed to do something. Inhaling sharply, Theo pressed the magic button on the machine, and waited for it to start a fresh batch.

As he listened to the gentle screech of the coffee machine as it started up again, Theo once again looked down to the scar on his skin. He poked the one closest to the palm of his hand, and frowned slightly. Oddly enough all the pain had gone. So the dragon’s bite hadn’t been venomous at all. But he hadn’t just imagined the burning pain, and the scars were proof he hadn’t lost his mind at all. At least not in this moment. His brows drew together in concentration, and he let out a sharp sigh as he shook his head. It wasn’t like he could ask the dragon what had happened….

“Theo.” A male voice cut into his thoughts suddenly.

Theo jerked upright, the hairs on the back of his neck standing upright. He whirled around, back pressing against the edge of the counter once more, eyes darting around the kitchen. Visions of a robber or other ne’er-do-well flashed through his mind. But a quick glance around the room showed no one but the dragon, and him. A ghost, then? Equally as awful, though maybe less harmful than a physical intruder.

He stared down at the dragon, eyes wide, as his heart slowly started to pick back up again. He met the dragon’s eyes once again, and watched the little creature cock its head to the side, and give a questioning chirp. But it didn’t speak. There was no one else there. If he was in a dream, now would have been the perfect moment to wake up.