Young Writers Society

*Dedicated to Messenger. I did give you warning. May the writing war begin!*

Sometimes I wonder how many people live their lives, completely unaware that there are mythical creatures living among them. I know about them, mostly because I am one. I’m a dragon; in fact I’m a descendant of the Jade Dragon. I'm a dragonoid, a human and dragon hybrid. I can look like a dragon or I can look like a human. I can even go in-between. How is this possible? Well, dragons can take many forms such as water, wind, earth, and fire. The most powerful of us could appear human, acting as protectors and advisors for the emperors of Ancient China. Of course this is the twenty-first century and there's no longer emperors to protect or advise. So after the last of the emperors, a few of those powerful dragons mingled with the humans and a new hybrid breed of human and dragon came about.

It’s really frustrating me how I haven't mastered my full transformation yet. I can get my wings sometimes, but it's hard. I'm more human than dragon; this stuff doesn't come that easy to me. I can breathe fire sort of. I'm not old enough for my water powers. I have my talons though, but it's hard to control. Sometimes I accidentally have talons and sometimes I accidentally retract them. All of this dragon business is very tricky stuff. I just have to keep working on it I guess.

I don’t exactly have people to help teach me how to do these things; I’m on my own with all of this. My dad was a dragonoid, but he’s been out of the picture since I was six. He taught my older siblings some things, but their knowledge is very limited. My mom can’t do anything because she’s mortal and she can’t know about us being dragons.

My dad had finally told her about being part dragon when I was six, and my mom divorced him because she didn’t want to be married to a “monster”. She asked if us kids had inherited the “monster” gene. He told her it wasn’t hereditary. He lied, the dragon gene is dominant; all of us kids are dragonoids. My dad tried to protect us, for he knew how rough life would be for us if mom knew.

Dad made us promise to keep this all a secret right before he left. As a reminder that no matter how hard it was to keep it a secret and to remember him by, he gave us each a dragons tooth on a leather strap. It could easily pass as a shark’s tooth, so mom wouldn’t have suspected anything. I wear mine all the time, that’s the last memory I have of dad; I feel like he’s with me when I wear it.

Dad, I thought as I mindlessly and habitually played with my dragon’s tooth that hung from my neck. I rubbed it's polished smooth surface between my fingers. Why did you have to tell mom? We could have all kept it a secret, and you wouldn’t have had to leave. I’m sure he had good reason to, but I wish he didn’t. Why did mom have to be so non-understanding? I sighed. Keeping this a secret has been so hard and trying to learn how to control my transformation is even harder. If he were here, he could show me how to use my powers. He’s not here though; I have to learn to use my powers and how to transform on my own.

I only vaguely remember him now. His chuckling laugh and his deep green wings have all but faded from my memory. My older brothers and sister tell me stories about him and all the fun they used to have together. Sometimes I ask mom what he was like. She says he was a good man. That's all she's ever said about him though. He's all but a mystery to me.

I wish I knew him better. He left when I was so young. I miss my dad.

I gripped the tooth in my left hand. There was no way I was going to let another day or year go by without knowing him.

I silently vowed to myself to find the father I barely knew.

I was going to find him. And I'm starting today.