A Boy and his Dragon

Jiro smiled a bit then. "Are you? That's fun. I don't do so well in school." But that was mostly because the kids thought him strange. And his mind was always somewhere else. His visions mostly.

"I can help you do better?" Tan offered, because he wouldn't mind doing that and he actually liked learning. "What lessons are you not so good at?"

"Most of them," Jiro admitted. "I can do okay I just don't feel like doing school, you know? I don't like my classmates much. I guess I won't have as many here..." The town was so small he'd likely only have a few people in his class. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad then. But he wouldn't be worrying about school soon. "It's more fun to be a dragon than a person, isn't it?" He thought it would be.

"I like both," Tan admitted, he'd lived as a boy for a long time and only sometimes a dragon for lessons with his mum. "Both is fun, my human body is...heavier but it's more fun for other stuff. As a dragon I'm lighter and it's easier to do mischief."

"You like mischief," Jiro said. He was not much for mischief. He usually just wanted to be invisible and away from others. Mischief could get attention if you weren't stealth enough. "Uncle Ray says Mandisa likes mischief too."

"I only like mischief against people who are mean." Tan said, or his twin but they pranked each other all the time out of silliness. "Not worth it otherwise. I'd rather be lazy."

"I guess dragons would be lazy. Do you have your own treasure?" Jiro asked. It was rumored that dragons guarded treasure but no one thought it was silver and gold. That was for children's stories. Dragons had many different kinds of treasure like people did.

"Yes." Tan said, but he didn't tell what it was, or where it was. He wasn't that much for sharing right this second. "Don't you? Treasure is always fun to have."

Jiro thought about that. "I guess my treasure is...Uma," he decided. "My amaura. My dad gave her to me for my birthday the day he died..." He treasured her. She slept with him at night. He had to be careful because her gems were super cold. But as long as he didn't touch them, he was fine.

"You must be a dragon too," Tan said with a laugh, he was trying to not focus on the sad parts. "I hope she likes me, I don't want her to be mad that I've claimed you."

"I don't know that she'll mind. I have some of my parents and brother's fiends too but I haven't had the heart to really play with them much. I think I'll give them to my new family. They might appreciate them. Or I could set them free...I guess I'll ask them." He always understood fiends. Not just certain types. All of them. Which was not normal. Some humans, like all of five in all of history, were able to do that. But he didn't think much of it as he had visions too and that wasn't really normal either.

"Well I'm different. I'm not just a fiend and I'm not for battles. I'm a friend. Hopefully your best friend soon." Tan said and then floated into Jiro's lap and rested there. "I've never had a friend except for my siblings."

"I've never had any friends either except my big brother," Jiro said. But he was gone too. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't cry. He didn't want to get his tears all over his new dragon. His hands went to the dragon though and he started to stroke him.

"So let's be friends." Tan said as if it was that simple. "We can get to know each other. I won't leave you until you don't need me any more. And if you always need me that's okay too. I'll stay forever."

"I like that way that sounds. Forever." Jiro knew that the dragon would outlive him. But at least he'd have a family to return to when Jiro was gone. "It sounds like a long time." But he smiled a bit. He wanted a friend.

"It is a long time, but I have much of it and I think I'll like spending it with you. But only if you take care of yourself." Tan said, there was no part of him that wanted to watch Jiro kill himself. "So more food than just apples and we will do better at school and take care of each other."

"You sound like a parent," Jiro said with a chuckle. "I guess friends are supposed to care like they care though. So that's okay." He took a breath. "I can take care of myself."

"Promise?" Tan asked, he needed that promise. He floated up so he was nose to nose with Jiro. "We will be good friends, you know?" He said and licked at Jiro's nose for a second.

The forest was a spooky place after dark. Jiro wasn't supposed to leave the village once the sun went down beyond the forest but he didn't listen. They wouldn't notice.

He wasn't alone. He had Tan with him. He took Tan everywhere. Uma was just a baby. She was warm in her bed at home.

"Are we flying again?" Tan asked curiously, they usually did when they went to the forest. But he had to be sure. Just in case Jiro had something else in mind.

"That would be faster," Jiro said as he climbed over a fallen tree covered in moss. "I read today that there used to be a wind power place on the other side of the forest. Want to check it out?"

"sure why not. Direct me." Tan said as he used his control over the weather to make the wind pick them both up properly and forward. "Shall I be a boy?"

"Yes," Jiro said. He liked having him as a dragon most of the time but it felt more like having a normal friend when they were alone and Tan was a boy. It felt weird to fly with him anyway regardless of form but it was so much fun too. "It's supposed to be in that direction, in a windy valley under the mountain. Suppose we'll notice the windmills." If they still stood.

"Okay," Tan said and changed into his human form as they flew. Just like his mum he could change and have clothes on. Though no lace for him, that was lame. "I'm sure we can find the windmills." He said as he made them fly in the direction Jiro had suggested.

They did find them but they were no longer intact. There were once nine windmills. Only four of them stood tall and those were covered in moss and vines, showing obvious signs of decay, and looked eerie even from above. The other five were broken, with even two of them having fallen over and crashed onto the ground. Those two were showing evidence of nature taking over.

The building where the power had been processed and managed was still standing. It looked a right mess but from above it looked stable. The whole area was a bit spooky. It had once been the windiest valley in the region as it was so close to the mount. But now the wind was still. There was not even a breeze.