Early Morning Dragonhood (Preview)

Bzzzzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

Peter weakly opened his eyes. What… what the? He was laying on his side, looking straight over at his nightstand. His phone laid there, shaking away. It would stop and then start right back up again a second later.

He didn't know the time, but he knew it was far too late, or perhaps too early, for whatever this was. Taking his phone and checking, he only confirmed that. Three… way too early… uuuuugh, why didn't I turn this off?

Most importantly though, who the hell was setting off his phone?

The answer didn't take long to find out. It was from JD, one of his best friends. Apparently, he had, and still continued to, sent him a series of texts.

Why the hell is he…

Peter blinked a few times and opened his messages. He squinted, mouthing some of the words he was seeing. “Happy birthday.” “Hope you're well, bestie!” There were cake, balloon, and dragon emojis as well.

The sight made Peter smile, but only slightly. It was his birthday. It was very early on his birthday. He really didn't need this early of a wakeup call on his special day.

Though, considering his friend, did JD really intend for him to actually be awake right then? Maybe these were for when he was actually supposed to wake up in the morning and not to actually wake him up now.

That didn't really explain why JD was sending him these messages now.

Once Peter finished the last text, another one popped in. Heres your prezzie! 🎁 !!

Another text followed, but this one had a file. The file slowly downloaded as another word came in: Enjoy!

Peter stared at the file. It was slowly, slowly downloading. The longer he looked, the heavier his eyelids felt. He yawned. I'll check this out when I actually wake up.

But, just before he could shut his phone off, the file finished. It was a MP3 file. Weird “prezzie”... what the heck did he send?

Curiosity getting the best of him, Peter clicked on the file. Immediately, he was hit by the loud sounds of guitar playing and then foreign vocals. All of which were very, very familiar to him, even if he didn't know the words.

It was the opening song for Zenshu. That was an anime he, JD, and another buddy watched earlier that year. He recognized that song from anywhere, especially as the guitar riffs picked up and the energy of the song kicked off. He loved that song as he loved that anime.

But, why? Why did JD send him the theme song? He didn't get it. Was it meant to mean something? A clue for something bigger?

He was still too half-awake for this. Maybe he needed to be full-awake to understand what was happening. So, he decided to press pause, go back to bed, and give it a listen all the way through then.

At least, that was the plan.

At the moment he decided to do that, Peter's hand suddenly shook. Fingers twitched and throbbed, muscles pulsing. Then, his fingernails grew. They grew longer, sharper, and whiter. They looked like claws, dangerous ones in the gloom of the dark room.

Dropped the phone onto his bed in shock, the screen facing up and bathing the room is a low, hazy white. It allowed Peter to see that it wasn't just his nails, but his hands as a whole. Red scales were sprouting around his nails and spreading down his fingers, onto his hands.