"As your final mission to join the proud brotherhood of the Knights," his master spoke firmly, "you are to get the golden scale of the Dragon, Onew, who lives at the top of the mountain."

Taemin looked earnestly at his master, determination blazing in his blood. He has heard of this mission from countless of Knights, each story seemingly more exaggerated than the previous. They each spoke of dangerous endeavors and how the ferocious dragon had swiped them with his majestic tail or snapped sharp teeth at them. Nevertheless, each of them managed to claim a scale and honor themselves into becoming the pride of the country. Those that didn’t were those that never returned. Rumors had it that the Dragon had eaten them up for dinner.

"Now, Taemin, you have always been my favorite student. I want you not only to claim a golden scale; I want you to slay that dragon and bring the peace back to the Town," his master instructed. Taemin knew the citizens felt threatened by the beast, but never has he caught a sight of the creature roaming the town like a dictator. Offerings of meat were put up in a huge temple for the said Dragon in hope for peace. For as long as he could remember, the food was always eaten even though no one really saw the Dragon in town due to an in-place curfew. It was in the recent days that the Dragon stopped taking them, leaving all the meat to rot and decay. Citizens feared that the Dragon is no longer willing to hold up the deal, sending the town into a frenzy of fear that the Dragon would slay them all one fateful night. Understandingly, Taemin gave a firm nod of his head.

"Yes, Master."

Taemin set out on his journey as soon as he had packed his necessities. The mountain stood high and tall with no main route drawn for him. Every Knight had selected their own pathway and made their way tirelessly to the top. With his huge baggage, not to mention his heavy sword and shield, Taemin took on the mission with a determined heart. With each step he climbed, he encouraged himself to take another. He rested when he needed to, tying the ropes around the heavy boulders to take a nap before moving upwards again. It took him a full 3 days to emerge at the top, full of pride and honor. The top of the mountain was tipped, holding only a single lair. The external of the cave was silent and depressing. There were no animals and Taemin couldn't help but think about how lonely it would be to stay all alone in a place like this. Then again, Dragons are always able to take flight and do as they like, weren't they?

With a quick prayer, Taemin took careful steps into the lair, breathing hard the further he went in. The cave was wide and deep. Small rays of sunlight seeped in from little gaps of the huge cave. The cave was cold and damp, but otherwise silent. There weren't any bats or snakes, just solid walls and damp grounds. Then came a whimper, pained and loud. A deafening cry rolled soon after, roars of pain echoing down the cave. It wasn't much longer that a fellow Knight-in-training ran towards the exit with a huge glowing Dragon scale in both his hands.

"Run, Taemin! The Dragon is going to eat us both alive!"

"But-" Taemin started as another pained cry sounded in the distance. Before he could ask what had happened to the Dragon, the other Knight-in-training was already out of sight. Gulping nervously, Taemin took brave steps further into the cave instead of out. The cries were reduced to small whimpers, whining like a gigantic hurt kitten. Taemin followed the small but loud whimpers of the Dragon's frighteningly human sobs towards the center of the lair.

When Taemin finally caught sight of the Dragon, he let out an audible gasp. The Dragon had glowing golden scales that lit up the area, yet the creature looked anything but majestic while it cried, pitifully at one of its countless wounds. There were arrows littered across his glowing scales, a few spears lodged deeply into his blue flesh. Many scales were gone, probably from previous missionaries, leaving scabs of unhealed exposed flesh. Despite being so huge, Taemin could see the Dragon's protruding bones, clearly starved and hungry. His wings were bloodied by what seemed like a large stake dragged through the limb. The Dragon may have looked majestic in the past; it must have been so beautiful with all his scales intact, and his powerful wings carrying it; yet all that was left of the Dragon was its painful cries and broken body.

At Taemin's gasp, the Dragon snapped up and roared. Taemin flinched. He would have ran if he hadn't seen the Dragon so hurt just seconds ago. The Dragon roared again and Taemin stumbled backwards. The Dragon took a step forth, dipping his huge head down towards Taemin. Taemin squeezed his eyes shut. This was it. He was going to be eaten alive. What had he expected – a starved Dragon to let him go after invading its territory? Hot air slammed into Taemin as the Dragon breathed heavily on Taemin. The human was nudged backwards towards the exit before the Dragon straightened and roared again.

The Dragon... did not hurt him…? The Dragon… just didn't want anyone to hurt it. The creature never meant to kill or even hurt anyone. All that roaring, was just in hope of scaring the humans away without having to hurt them. Yet, it was the Dragon who got hurt instead. Taemin pried his eyes open fearfully only to have the Dragon roar in his face again. Taemin winced and scrambled to his feet, hands gripping into his sword for a sense of protection. The Dragon spread its wings out wide in attempt to appear intimidating towards the human only to let out a cry of anguish. The large creature stumbled and fell to the ground in a painful whine. It climbed back on its feet quickly and the glorified creature tried its best to get away from the mere human.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Taemin assured, the mission to slay the Dragon already abandoned. The Dragon stumbled backwards, falling back to the hard ground, and Taemin was quick to notice a jagged sword stuck down one of its muscular thighs. Another loud whine escaped the Dragon's throat, its huge eyes seeming to have teared up from the pain. "I'm not going to hurt you," Taemin repeated.

Onew the Dragon clawed his own chest, ripping out a single scale with a suppressed whimper and threw it at Taemin's feet. The scale was huge - larger than Taemin's face - and it glowed its beautiful golden. Blue blood dripped off one side and Taemin looked up pitifully at the Dragon's new wound from where he had ripped out his own skin. The message sent was clear: 'I gave you what you wanted, now please leave.' Taemin make the bravest decision in his life when he dropped both his sword and shield to the ground; opting to raise both hands above his head.

"Look," he announced. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Onew's wide brown eyes looked at Taemin in confusion for a split moment before nuzzling weakly at Taemin back towards the exit. The Dragon was completely defenseless. He lay on his side, head lulled over to the side tiredly. Taemin didn't even have to slay the Dragon - the poor thing was on the verge of dying by itself. Taemin lifted a shaky hand up and gently the beast. The Dragon's loud breathing ceased as Taemin pat its face carefully. Slowly, the Dragon started breathing again, slow and shallow, his warm eyes slipping shut and Taemin knows he has gained himself some of the Dragon's trust.

The gears in his head started turning. It wasn't that the Dragon hadn't been taking up their offerings. The poor creature couldn't fly. He looked like he was starved but he hadn't even attempted to hurt Taemin in the slightest. Even the other Knight-in-training left frightened but without a scratch. A large rumble erupted in the vicinity and Taemin jumped in surprise. The Dragon's throat vibrated in a weak groan and his clumsy body curled up slightly before Taemin finally realized the rumble was actually the beast's empty stomach.

Taemin left the Dragon's side to dig into his bag. Onew lifted his lids from the loss of touch and watched Taemin in silence. Taemin brought up a piece of bread. It wasn't very large – not enough to even fill Taemin's stomach, much less a starving Dragon's. Taemin threw the bread over to Onew and dug out his first aid supplies. Onew sniffed the bread suspiciously, its eyes getting crossed from examining the object.

"I'm sorry," Taemin apologized. "It isn’t much, but it is better than nothing, right?" With his sharp teeth, Onew picked up the bread daintily and swallowed it whole. His forked tongue slid out his wide jaws and giving Taemin a disgusting on the face. His muscle was as cold as the thin air surrounding them and Taemin was taken aback both by the action and the feeling of saliva covering his face. His jaw dropped open and his eyes widened like those of goldfishes.

"Y-y-you're... Welcome?" Taemin stuttered in a daze. Onew let out a roar, and Taemin jumped back defensively. It took him a few moments to realize that Onew was... laughing? That tilt of the sides of his wide jaw riding upwards, his huge beady dragon eyes curling up into slits, then there was the breathless roars of laughter escaping the Dragon's throat. Now, that is new - a Dragon laughing. Onew Taemin once again playfully and this time, Taemin wiped it off immediately. "I said it was fine; don't do that!" Taemin protested teasingly. The majestic Dragon seemed like a little puppy while it nuzzled its huge nose into Taemin's small chest. Taemin chuckled nervously, giving the injured beast a gentle pat between the eyes.

"You know," Taemin started softly, still patting the Dragon like it was a little dog. "All those stories about you have been so wrong." Onew gave no reaction and Taemin was starting to feel a little stupid talking to a Dragon. "But you don't even understand me, do you?" Taemin chuckled sadly. "It's also a good thing that you don't, so you don't have to hear the horrid things people say about you."

Onew gave a loud snort, nuzzling deeper into Taemin's flat chest. Slowly, the Dragon curled up its long tail to wrap around the petite human. His tail made Taemin stumble and fall so that he was using the Dragon’s tail as a cushion. Curled up comfortably, he slipped his eyes shut tiredly. Taemin gave a small chuckle. He could imagine the Dragon had been asleep before he was horribly woken up by the Knight who wanted his scale. Like a parent protective of his child, the Dragon was claiming Taemin as his own property, keeping the human by his side. With his humongous head against Taemin's chest and the soft pats Taemin soothed against his scales, the Dragon was quick to fall asleep, breathing heavily and occasional snores. 

I want to keep a pet Onew!

Updated Mar 9, 2014