Falling to the ground, Mina's knees hit the impacted soil. Now no longer screaming, she began to tremble in complete fear and shock. If there was one silver lining in all of this madness, it was the fact that she was definitely alive. There was no other explanation for the rapid beat of her heart or the overwhelming sensation of crippling fear running through her body. It wouldn't have been so bad if she was able to look away from the frightening spectacle, but she just couldn't. In all its petrifying glory, there was something that she found mesmerizing.

The figure watched as the girl screamed and then hit her knees. He had used the last of his energy to deter her from coming any closer; friend or enemy he wasn't yet sure but he had to take precautions. Landing on an exotic planet, there were too many unknowns for him to be relaxed. Feeling himself reach his limit, he exhaled heavily and in an instant the flaming wings vanished as he slowly fell forward.     

Watching the wings disappear and the figure begin to fall forward weakly, a feeling of concern shot through Mina and she gained enough strength in her legs to leap towards him and catch his shoulders. Not realizing her own actions, she held his shoulders for a moment and got a better look at his face. He looked completely human, thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, a pointed nose, even pink lips... Suddenly nothing made any sense to her. What was she doing? What just happened? Why wasn't she running away now that she had the strength? Who or what is this being in her hands? Feeling her arms shaking as she continued to hold the figure up, she slowly let him down. He was now undoubtedly unconscious and made no noise or movement other than breathing.  

Within moments, the tables had turned and Mina now stood upright as the supernatural figure lay face down at her feet. Completely unsure of everything, she tried breathing in and out in an attempt to calm down. No one and nothing could have ever prepared her for a situation such as this one, but she knew becoming calm would be the first thing she needed to do.

"You're okay, you're okay," Mina muttered, trying to bring herself down. Looking around she remembered she was in the middle of a created depression; located in the middle of an abandoned field. The closest house in the area was her own. She moved her gaze down to the being on the ground and then at her own hands, remembering that she had touched his clothing. He wore a thick, robe-like outfit that was soft to the touch. Still looking at her own hands she realized she was cut up. She didn't remember when it happened and was confused as to why she felt no pain. Examining the rest of her body she saw that her arms and her legs were also cut up. Despite her small injuries she felt strangely fine. With her new revelations, she became a lot calmer.  

Looking once again back to the ground, she sighed heavily. She considered just leaving him there but... that idea made her feel empty. She knew that he wasn't human and that he possessed unworldly powers that could potentially kill her, but if he had wanted to kill her, he could have easily done it back then. He had spared her, and with that mentality she felt as though she needed to do something for him. Standing in her place for a while, a plan slowly began to develop in her mind. Thinking it over a couple of times she convinced herself that it was the best she could do.

"I'll be back," she said to the unconscious body on the ground. Finally moving, Mina walked out of the depression and then picked up the pace, running to her house. Taking in her surroundings, she realized just how dark it had gotten outside as she could hardly see five steps ahead of herself. Luckily, she was extremely familiar with the pathway and quickly made her way home. Taking her keys out of her pocket she unlocked the shed and its light searching for a flashlight. She then sprinted over to an old farming pick up truck. Jumping into the drivers seat, she headed back to the fields she had left.

Arriving quickly, she left the headlights on and with a flashlight in her hands, walked back into the place where the body remained. Pointing the flashlight on the figure, she walked closer.

 "Okay, let's do this." Putting down the flashlight, she then reached her arms out. She'd have to flip him over first so that he no longer lay faced down. Using all her weight, she managed to flip him over. He was tall, very tall, almost a full foot taller than her. Stepping on his feet to create an anchor and balance point, she pulled his arms toward her. 

"One, two, three!" Letting out a grunt, Mina pulled him towards her but as he moved forward, he fell right back down. "Okay, let's try this again... One, two, THREE!" Using more strength and power this time, she moved quickly and was able to get him to lean against her back with his arms around her shoulders. Mina let out a sigh of relief. She did it.  

After much struggle moving the man into the bed of the truck, Mina made sure he was secure and jumped down to retrieve the flashlight. Walking back, she saw a small silver bracelet glittering in the dark. Picking it up, she put it on her wrist and walked back to the truck.

On the way back, she drove carefully and slowly. The last part of her plan was to leave him in the shed; she wasn't going to risk having him be in the same house as her but she didn't want him to be cold. The shed was the best choice. That's as far as her planning went. Whatever happened in the morning, she decided to just face it then.              

- - -

A pair of dark brown eyes reflected the light of a laptop screen as slim bruised fingers continued to swiftly move about the keyboard. Mina was looking for answers, any answers. She just wanted to find something that was remotely close to the experience she just had. However, much like when she tried to find information on the 12 images she drew, there was nothing. It was to be expected though. If there were more experiences like hers, it wouldn't be so unusual. Staring at the screen, her eyes became unfocused and she slowly allowed them to close.    

Having dragged the still unconscious body into the shed, she was physically exhausted. Resting her head on her folded arms, she remembered the relaxed and serene look on his face when she covered him in blankets before locking him inside. All the heavy lifting she had done felt completely worth it. She was kinda like his hero. Smiling to herself, she was lulled to sleep by the sound of her laptop's fan.

- - - 

Hearing the sudden sounds of barking, Mina awoke with a violent jerk causing her to fall backward in the chair she had fallen asleep in. Letting out a groan of pain, she opened her eyes and rubbed her head. Standing up, she yawned and stretched out. Still in a daze, she slowly made her way to her bathroom and the sink. Washing her face and brushing her teeth, Mina went about her normal morning routine. It wasn't until she noticed the silver bracelet still around her arm that she remembered what had happened last night.

She quickly ran through the house and picked up her keys. Outside, she saw that the shed was still intact and even remained closed. Approaching it slowly, she remained cautious. She unlocked the door and braced herself for whatever would happen next. Pulling the door open, she ran to hide on the side of the shed. It was silent and still. Walking around, she peeked into the shed and saw the man still in the same place she had left him. 

The sensation of relief at seeing him still there was short lived as she then panicked, thinking that he was possibly dead.

 "I should have put him in the house!" She chastised herself, running into the shed. Putting her ear next to his face, she hoped to hear him breathe. After a moment, she felt his light breath on her ear and she smiled letting out a relieved exhale.     

Feeling a presence directly above him, the man's rested eyes finally opened. In his vision was the same girl he had first encountered. Seeing the side of her smiling face he felt relaxed. Trying to move his arms, the girl turned her head his way. Meeting his gaze, she immediately froze in her place.

"I'm sorry!" Mina said, thinking of how she had woken him up. Looking at him directly, she saw that unlike the encounter yesterday, his eyes were calm and clear. Not knowing whether or not he understood her, she keep chatting out of her own nervousness. "I hope it wasn't too cold, I would have let you in the house but after yesterday I was pretty sure you weren't human and I'm not naive enough to allow a complete stranger into my house." Moving her arms about as she chatted on, the silver bracelet on her wrist caught the attention of the man on the shed floor.

"That's mine," he uttered, pointing to her arm. Understanding the husky voice that came from the cloaked man, Mina became speechless.   

He spoke her language. They could communicate. Amazing... she was communicating with a foreign being.  

"I said, that's mine," he repeated, now eye level with her after sitting up.

"I- I am Mina," she responded, placing a hand on her chest in an attempting to introduce herself properly. 

Not replying, the man gently grabbed her wrist and looked at the bracelet. "That belongs to me. May I have it back?" Unable to find her voice, Mina nodded as he carefully removed it from her wrist and placed it on his own. After putting it on he inhaled deeply, regaining a bit of strength. With a determined look in his eyes, he attempted to stand on his own. Still too weak to do it himself, he let out a pained breath. 

"Don't move on your own! You're still not strong enough!" she yelled, trying to stop him from pushing himself. "You did kinda fall from the sky, you know..." At her remark he looked back over to her.

"You brought me here didn't you?"

Mina nodded. "I did. I didn't think it'd be right to leave you there. It gets really cold here at night."

"Thank you," he replied.

Hearing him thank her, Mina smiled brightly and felt a boost of energy rush through her. "So, you're not from this planet right? You're really an alien! You have supernatural powers too, I saw them... they're really scary, but amazing!"   

Not missing a beat, he answered her. "Yes, technically yes, and yes again... I apologize for scaring you, I couldn't sense your positive presence at the time."

"My positive presence?" she questioned.

"It's really apparent now but at the time, I couldn't tell at all so I tried to ward you off, but I overdid it." 

Mina smiled and waved her hands. "Don't worry about that! It's okay now that I know you won't hurt me, or at least you can't." Sitting down in her shed with an alien right beside her, Mina was astonished and excited. Everything felt so unreal but in a serendipitous way. Nothing exciting ever happened in the small town, but here she was, chatting away with a supernatural and unworldly being. It was unfathomable.  "So Mr. Alien, why are you here on this planet?"

"In your language, I would be called Kris," he responded, correcting her referral to him as 'alien'.

"I'm sorry. So Kris, what brings you here?"

Pausing for a moment, his brows furrowed together. "We were together... but now we are separated again.... We need to be together again?" A look of confusion was visible on Mina's face hearing his answer.

"You're here to meet someone?"

"I can't seem to remember... but I need to find them... We need to be together again." Trying to pull from his memory, Kris grabbed at his head. Entering the planet in such a violent way, memory loss seemed to be an after effect. It was fortunate that it was the only mental injury he had, but also extremely inconvenient. He knew there was a deep reason for his current status, but the details currently escaped him. 

Watching him fight to remember, Mina felt sorry and hoped to temporarily distract his distressed mind. "Well, while you're here, I'll be your greeting ambassador!"   

"You're an ambassador on this planet?" he asked, looking at the young girl.

Mina looked away from him, sensing his skepticism. "I greeted you first right? I made first contact, so I'm your greeting ambassador." Looking at his outfit, Mina felt more questions ready to spill from . "Did you need something to change into? I only ask because we don't really dress like that here. You might attract unwanted attention later."

"I should change, but first I need sustenance."

"Sustenance?... Food?" Mina inquisitively asked, looking at his serious eyes. "You mean you eat food?"    

"I do. All living beings require it," Kris said, slightly patronizing the girl's lack of understanding that although he was not from her planet he was still a living organism, similar to herself. 

"Right, I'm sorry. I'll be back with some food and water." Standing up, she felt a tug on the end of her shirt.

"Could you help me stand first? I don't want to be on the floor anymore," Kris said, frustrated with himself. 

"Are you sure? Don't you think you should rest a bit more?"

"I need to stand." 

Looking at his stern face, she could see the pleading in his eyes. "Okay." 

Reaching her hand out to help him stand, he grabbed ahold of it. As his hand held hers, his eyes began to glow and Mina saw a symbol on his bracelet appear. Seeing it glow, she let out a surprised gasp. Shinning right on his bracelet was the very same image that she had drawn so many times before. Looking at it now, she knew exactly what it was.

A dragon. 

- - -