The Tale Of Two Stars [STORY]

My third original story! I hope you peeps enjoy this one!~

In which surprises can be found even inside a rucksack...

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The Tale Of Two Stars

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#StoriesByKyrie

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   There were several things that Aster was proud of, and being reasonable was one of them. Maybe it is not the right word. No, definitely not, but basically, he is reasonable enough.

   The young man was not a sceptical person. Well, maybe that is nor the right word. However, it does not mean that he would believe in everything that his eyes perceive. The mind works in mysterious ways, after all. Several times now, he had said to witnessed what some may call as anomalies. The unexplainable feelings that seemed to defy and sabotage the boundaries between science and fantasy. Like when there were times that he claimed he felt and experience the so-called Mandela Effect. Eerie, yes indeed, but Aster kept his foot down, claimed that his memory was not perfect, thus the contradiction of the what-he-knew and the what-he-knows.

   Then there was the illusory déjà vu, though again, it was because of his memory. A simple and falsifiable truth that has no evidence of it being wrong. However, compared to them, he had yet to experience hallucinations. The trick to the senses, particularly the sight. It would be an easy mistake to commit, true, but could be explained as easily.

   Not, in any way, having to have your entire belief in science be shattered in one fell swoop. And it all started with one rucksack.

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   “So,” Aster eyed his best friend critically, “explain yourself.” The young brunet said while he was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, and had his face explicitly show his irritation. It came out harsh, but he meant it to be just that- harsh. Better be up-front about the situation than to sugar coat his feelings.

   It was still early in the afternoon, just a quarter after 2, and his instincts told him of a wave of trouble coming in a form of Sirius, his room-mate and best friend. That, and the fact that said friend's bag seemed to make a purring, growling sound. This was not how Aster would want to spend his afternoon nor expected it to be, but there was no other choice. Sirius draws danger like a moth to the flames. And one time he had literally done that.

   Aster was already used to those problems, but the question now was what, exactly, is the problem.

   “It's a long story,” Sirius, who looked rather apologetic, mumbled. Barely audible enough to show submission, but loud enough for Aster to hear. It did not help that he was kneeling on the floor. Still, the apology sounded blasé, and his eyes were glued more onto the moving backpack.

   Aster glowered at him. There was something off. Something he was not telling, and the reason might be because of whatever animal was in that backpack. It was moving, and whatever sound it made was highly similar to that of a growl or purr. Definitely an animal.

   “I have the time,” came his reply. “Now, Siri, tell me what's in that rucksack and pray tell me why you brought it in.”

   “Um, don't get mad, alright? Let me finish my part of the story without you getting upset, and we'll have a deal.”

   Aster stared at Sirius' mischievous grin. It was his , or none at all. He knew that latter has an upper hand, with it being him and his curiosity.

   “Fine, but you better not leave anything.”

   “Okay,” he began, shifting from a downcast expression to a rather happier one. “So, I was just walking down the road on my way from the park when the little fella-” he motioned at the backpack-”swooped in and basically body slammed me. Mind you, he was light, but of course I was shocked, so I end up falling backwards. Anyway, in the end, it was dragon!”

   “Wait, what?” Aster furrowed his brows. Dragon? What on earth was Sirius talking about?

   “Let me finish!” Shouted Sirius. “Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, I asked him if I could stuff him in my backpack so that I can bring him here, and he agreed! But right now, he's feeling a bit shy, and tried to keep it closed… really though, inside this very backpack is a dragon!”

   Aster took deep breaths as he tried to reign his temper. There were times that Sirius would spout nonsense, but this… this one takes the cake, the three layers of it, including the frosting. He tried his best listening with an open mind- he really did- but there were limits.

   “Okay, now that our tall tales are done, tell me… what is that thing in your backpack?” He asked with his finger pointed at the moving rucksack. “Is it a cat? Another fox? Or the 17th squirrel this month alone?”

   No sooner as he had said that, the bag wriggled wildly. It looked as if it had seizures, bless all those poor people's souls. Then, it stilled. It quieted. Aster carefully made his way towards the now resting bag, when it suddenly burst open, startling him on what came out.

   It was a small lizard-like head that poked through the opening. From its eyes it was cautious and visibly nervous. It wiggled from within the confined space of the bag until it freed itself. Aster sat there with his mouth agape.

   The so-called dragon was covered with a mix of white, pink, and blue feathers from its head up to his rather short tail. His eyes were quite large, with the pupils a dark shade of green. Dark, emerald green. As with many depictions of dragons, this one was no exception- it had two horns on its head. They looked like small bumps, but they were definitely horns.

   “Uh, hello, little guy?” Aster greeted, though still unsure. The dragon responded with a sneeze- a cute sneeze, by the way- which made him spread his smaller than expected feathered wings. It then let out a light growling sound, a mix of a chirp, a purr, and a bark.

   “Like I said, it's my new pet dragon. Cute, right?”

   There it was again. Dragon. A word that he only encountered in the fantasy section of books. Fantasy, as in, not real. Fiction. His eyes widened before it settled back to a frown. He turned his head back to Sirius with a half-glare. “Dragons aren't real! They don't exist!”

   Sirius quickly pointed at the small creature and replied, “Then why is there one in my backpack?”

   Aster opened his mouth to react, but closed it. True, all evidence points that there was, indeed, a dragon. Questionable at best, but still a dragon. A small, cute, feathery dragon. Aster got up from the floor and dragged himself back to the chair and sat down. There were so many things went through his head, but none of them prepared him for this.

   He looked at the dragon again. “So…”

   “So?”

   “Why did you bring him here?” Aster gave him and the dragon a pointed look.

   Sirius shifted. “I thought that maybe we could keep him, you know? This house is pretty big for just the two of us, so maybe having a pet wouldn't be too much trouble. Besides, I think Arthur is well-trained!”

   “Arthur?” Aster raised a brow. “You named him-” he pointed at the ball of feathers-”Arthur?”

   Sirius nodded.

   “And, how are you sure that he's trained? As far as I know, he doesn't have a collar... oh sugar cookies, what am I thinking!? Of course, he doesn't have a collar!” He pointed at Arthur. “Who would even have a pet dragon with them in the first place?”

   “Uh, knights?”

   “Was that a question or an answer?”

   “An answer. Knights.” He said it with a proud smile on his face.

   The brunet closed his eyes and ignored Sirius' answer. Regardless of their differences, he does care for Sirius, and if he would be happy with a dragon for a pet, then a dragon for a pet he would get.

   “Siri,” he began, his voice low and- from Sirius' standpoint- scathing, “what do you know about raising pets, much less dragons?”

   “I… don't know.” The smile on his face dropped instantly. Not knowing that meant one thing for him. “I... um, I- ah! No, no… no.”

   Arthur, who looked as if he sensed Sirius' distraught, crept close to the raven-haired male and rubbed his head on the former's hand. However, it had the opposite effect, and Sirius began to cry his heart out. On the other hand, Aster tried not to laugh; Sirius easily cries at most anything, after all. Not that he wanted to reduce his friend into tears, no. It was just that he found it amusing. Call him a bastard, but to each their own.

   “Oh, Siri… I didn't say that we won't keep Arthur just because you don't know how to keep a pet, much less a dragon.”

   “R-really?” He raised his head and looked at Aster with hope. There was a chance, albeit a small one.

   Aster nodded his head. “Of course. But since you- we- don't know how to take care of a dragon, we need… help.”

   “From whom?” Sirius finally stood up, cradling Arthur like an infant.

   “It's a bit of a stretch, I it, but we really have no choice except to ask the local library for some aged-old book or something.”

   “Ah, yes. That makes a lot of sense.” He nodded. “So, when are we going there?”

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   Nocturne Valley Library, though old, stood firmly on its ground with pride. Come hurricanes, earthquakes, or any natural disaster, it had seen it all. It has seen some recently, and there was nary a crack nor dent from the inside out. Its survivability against nature aside, this was the only library of Nocturne Valley. However, it would be a deep injustice to simply say that the library is just that, a library.

   No, it boasts having the largest collection of books in the entire region. It has the answer to any information, no matter how obscure it could be.

   Ergo, there should be a section that has information of dragon-keeping.

   The boys, with their tiny dragon in tow, entered the library with ease. The plan was simple: Aster would check the west wing, and Sirius, the east wing. They would check the books from their starting point and meet back at the centre as soon as they had found some information, or after five hours, whichever came first.

   Now came the hard part: to look for the book about taking care of dragons.

   “I'm actually starting to doubt this,” Aster mumbled as he closed another book and added it to the reject pile beside him. “Sure, there's the medieval mythos, the epics, but I've yet to see a book where they actually keep a dam dragon!”

   “Quiet!” The librarian across the hall shushed at him.

   Aster ignored the old lady on the front desk as he resumed reading. Every book opened and page turned lessened his hope of ever finding the answer to his and Sirius' question. One hour became two, then three hours. Much like how he started, Aster closed the book on his hand and added it to the mountain of rejects. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

   “Okay, but now I know the many ways to slay a dragon,” he commented bitterly as he slouched forward, his head nestled on his crossed arms that were rested on top of the table. “I don't think I'll be able to get answers at this rate…”

   “Do you need help?”

   Aster looked up and saw the library help, Helena. Petite this girl was, she could carry a hefty amount of books with one arm. A possible side effect of being an avid reader.

   “Oh, hey,” Aster greeted, shifting in his seat, “what do you want?”

   Helena, who either ignored the rude remark or handled herself well against such a thorny greeting, smiled. “You seemed to be in need of help in searching for a particular book... so, here I am.”

   “Hmph, and I still don't know why there aren't any computers here… anyway, yes, I need help.” He lifted himself up from the table and looked at the brunette straight into her eyes. “Do you have any book that has details on how to take care of a dragon?”

   “Of course we do.”

   “I knew it, we came all the way to- wait, what?”

   “I said, 'of course we do',” she smiled. “Do you want me to get it for you?”

   “Ah, no… wait- um, y-yes… I-uh, um… yeah. Yes please.”

   “Alright then. Please stay here while I go fetch it.” She twirled around, her plaid skirt doing that spinning motion one often see in films, and walked away. Aster, in his lonesome, groaned.

   “Well that went well,” he murmured to himself. “I wonder if Sirius has any luck getting a book.”

   His thoughts were cut short when Helena arrived with but a single book. She gave it to him, to which he received it with both arms.

   “A curious choice, but I'm not in the position to ask. Hope you'll get what you're looking for.”

   “I-uh… thanks.”

   “You're welcome,” she gave him a smile before she walked off, carrying with her the half dozen of books that was piled around Aster. It would do no good if the pile would be left unattended, after all.

   Aster cracked his knuckles as he looked at the old book before him. The cover and the spine had several torn areas, and some pages have dents, burns, and creases. It was either well-loved to the point that this book was brought to almost everywhere, or that it was ignored by some monster.

   The raven-haired youth opened it and looked for the fabled 'dragon-keeping' page. Lo and behold, there it was. In fine print, it read, 'How To Take Care Of Your Dragon'.

   He quickly closed the book and got up from his seat. It was time to meet with Sirius and Arthur, and with good news, too. Aster smiled, if ever so slightly. It seemed that there would be an addition to their household. It would not be a grumpy cat or an energetic dog, but instead it would be a dragon. A baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless.

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The plot is based around the Writing Prompt below. It's not word for word, I know, but hey... if I did do it word-by-word, it'll be boring :smile_cat: