I hope no one is from China around here because you're going to be in for a load of incorrect history *cough* wikipedia *cough* so bear with me
Darkness. All dreams started and ended in darkness. Whether it was a nightmare ringed with the creatures of old, or a fantasy you wanted to escape into, the darkness was always there.
It was never one to intrude, but it kept your mind ill at ease until it knew you were weak enough to be taken in by its oily blackness. Subconsciously I knew I was falling deeper into its welcoming arms.
"Shǒuhù jù lóng," I pushed against the world of shadows and forced myself to sit up. "Shǒuhù jù lóng, where are you?" It was Yeye calling for me.
"Up here, Yey... Oh." I carefully detached myself from Zhànshì, a stone lion set to guard the south temple from evil spirits. His ruby eyes had been over laid with a resin that prevented dulling and kept it as bright as the day he was stationed here.
"Shǒuhù jù lóng," Behind Yeye I saw a shadow stir and then a tall boy step forward, his face still lost in shadows. "Guardian dragon, you have a visitor. I believe he has come for you." The elderly monk smiled and waved the stranger forward.
Come for me? I didn't like the sound of that. The last time anyone had come for me... I shuddered inwardly. Lab coats, losing the smell of the ocean in a tide of antiseptics, and more importantly the blurry faces of my parents.
I clenched my fists together. Nobody could ever take me back there.
"I know how you feel," I glanced up and saw Yeye had left us alone in the temple courtyard, but I could still hear his low chanting in the background. Whoever this kid was he could never take me away from something so reassuring and familiar as this temple and its traditions.
"You couldn't know how I feel," I sighed and ran my hand over Zhànshì's snout. My fingers found all the grooves that time had etched into his face, warping his grimace into a snarl.
"Try me," The kid flashed me a grin and I stepped back in alarm. Laughing softly, he stuck his hand out. "The name is Sebastian and I'm a vampire. I found you using this," He quickly shook my hand and slung a backpack off his shoulders. Out of one of the pockets he drew a slim gadget and clicked a few buttons. "This is a program that helps us find more people like you and me-"
"What do you mean 'you and me'? And who is there more of?" A green globe flickered into view, complete with grid maps and blinking green dots. "What is this stuff?" Life in the temple had been kept simple and reliable; separate from the life of a Chinese child. After all, I was the 'Guardian Dragon' or Shǒuhù jù lóng, of the south temple... Wasn't I?
"Calm down-" Sebastian held his hands up in a placating gesture.
Suddenly it hit me. "You're one of them, aren't you? With the lab coats and cold metal." I stepped away from him, torn between finding out what he wanted and feeling fear in the pit of my stomach. Instincts won out.
"Aerith wait!" Sebastian made a grab for my arm, but I swung myself up onto Zhànshì's head. My slippered toes slid past his ears and I swung with the momentum, feeling the vampire's fingers connect with air.
The two of us were caught in a deadly dance: the water dragon twisting around the elegant vampire. Our eyes held each other for a long moment, neither of us daring to move lest the other lunged.
"Will you just listen for a second? We're fighting the same enemy!" His green eyes were narrowed and his chest heaving. "There's more people like us and we want answers too." He kept eye contact with me as he drew out his shiny device again. "You see these dots here?" I nodded and lowered myself into a crouch.
"Are these people dragons or vampires?" Unable to hold my gaze, he stuffed the item away and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"We're all different and I don't know what happened to your family, but if you want to find out what happened to them, then you'd better come with me." There was a candid truth in his voice that I couldn't fight. "Those dots are people ready to find the truth. They are just like us and we're all part of a group called the Mythological Creature Club. Is that what you want too?"
I nodded. I wanted it more than anything. But at what price did it come? I'd have to find out for myself.
"Good," Sebastian held out a steadying hand and I slid mine into his. "C'mon, there's a plane you need to catch."
"What about Yeye and the temple?" I stepped down from the lion's head and ran my tongue across my pointed teeth. "I promised I would bring good luck as their guardian. Only Yeye knows what I truly am."
"Then he is a wise man, but you are no fortune cat. If you want answers then you'll head for Virginia and a car will take you to the club house."
"Okay, let me say goodbye at least." He nodded and released my hand. It was then that we realized Yeye wasn't chanting anymore. In fact, the temple was deathly quiet.
We heard a pair of footsteps walking towards us and then a figure emerged in the gloom of the ornate overhang. "It appears your luck has just run out."
I hope it makes sense T^T
Finally I finished it! Thank goodness I totally skipped out on most Chinese history. I saw a ton of stuff on Wikipedia and my mind went into hibernation mode.
