FSE

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Warning: The following story is clean...

I guess...I mean, there's some blood (not overly-gratuitous), death and sadness (hopefully something emotionally impactful), but there is no sex or anything like that. Is death an adult-rated concept? I dunno...All I know is I'm trying out a new writing technique here, which is using parenthesis to add information (both regular and somewhat contradicting of the original point). See, I just did it :)

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The forest was as quiet and harmless as usual. Nothing ever happened in a forest like this. The sun was shining brilliantly, high in the air. It's noon position. The deciduous trees caused the light to appear in rough blotches upon the soft grassy ground, their bright green leaves perfectly ripe and fresh. A large stream (maybe more of a small river) ran rapidly on the left, the light dappling off its almost frothy surface. The trees ran in a hazy line on the right, jutting in and out in a thoroughly random pattern. The birds chirped, and small twigs broke beneath the weight of scurrying squirrels and chipmunks. A completely perfect day.

Michal was backpacking here. He was alone, of course, and wouldn't have it any other way. He had a radio, of course, in case of emergencies, but he had no intention of using it. If he wasn't away from humanity, he couldn't completely enjoy nature. All he had was some food, water, and some basic camping tools. No tents or sleeping bags, he was sleeping on his own back, under the starry sky.

He had been walking for a good four hours now (since he had woken this morning), and decided to stop for a meal. He sat down on the rocky shore of the river, facing away from it, and removed his pack. A look of disappointment suddenly crossed his face. He always left his things packed up during the night, and he had just grabbed the bag and left that morning. Due to this, he hadn't seen the torn strap on the main flap of the bag. All of his non-edible things had been pushed to the side, a large hole had been put in the bag (and organic bag, of course) that had once held all of his food. Only scraps remained now.

"That's a raccoons doing, if I ever saw it." Michal sighed to himself. He pulled the ruined back out of the backpack and dumped all of the scraps onto the ground. If the animals had wanted them, they could have them. He contemplated throwing the bag away too, but he wasn't one to waste things anyway. He unsheathed the knife that he carried at his waist (too big to be a casual knife, but still too small to be military issue) and cut the remaining fabric into strips, and returned them to his sack. Placing it back over his shoulder, he turned towards the water. To his great surprise and enjoyment, a silver fish was floating before him, just within his reach. He couldn't believe his luck.

Taking up a wide stance, with his hands spaced apart at the approximate length of the fish's body, Michal moved into a kneeling position. He began to actively relax his breathing, simply staring down at the unmoving meal-to-be before him. It simply sat there, tantalizing him. He waited no longer, and lunged forward, his hands shooting forward at the fish, who was now gone. It took a moment too long for that fact to register, and Michal found himself dropping face first into the cold water. When the fish had been floating there, he had thought the river to be fairly slow-moving, but in actual fact, it grabbed him quite firmly and began dragging him down with it.

The river hurt, to say the least. The water pummeled him against the rocks as the river deepened, and the water stung his wounds. He was constantly being flipped, jerked, tossed, and all sorts of other suddenly movements. It was certainly a rough ride. Michal suddenly found himself upside down, and then he was right side up. He took a ragged gasp of air, and began to cough and sputter when he realized when he was, in fact, still upside down. When he was sure that his head was above water, he took another breath, and began to cough and sputter some more when a bug flew into his mouth.

The water around him was already deafening to begin with, but it soon began to grow steadily louder as he bounced down the river. Something in his brain triggered, and he remembered reading about a waterfall on this river. A particularly large one, in fact. He vaguely wondered whether he had found it, and then, he was no longer in the water's grasp. He was falling though, down a very steep cliff.

"Yep, found it." Was the last cognitive thing he thought before hitting the water and suddenly losing all sense of his body.

****

An unknown span of time later, Michal regained a sense of himself. He was dry now, which was the first thing he felt. And it was odd how a river would suddenly end on a dry surface (it felt like Styrofoam against his numb back) and have so little light. Michal's eyes were currently closed, and from what he could tell, no direct sunlight was getting through his eyelids. So, he was inside something. Maybe he was dead after all, because this didn't make sense.

He thought it was about time to sit up and look around, so he did so. First, his eyes opened, and he saw the dark ceiling of a cave. He thought he could make out a glimmer of light in the direction of his feet, but he wasn't sure, so the cave was a deep one. He then felt his abdominal muscles contract, and he rose.

"Hey, take it easy," A voice said, and a large scaled paw, about as large as his entire torso, draped itself over him from the left. Michal hadn't seen its owner, but based on the enormous claws that adorned each of its four thick fingers (one appeared to be a thumb) he wasn't looking forward to it. The weight of the paw gently lowered him back down to the floor, and then lifted from his view. Much to his disappointment, the head of the owner did place itself before him. Then his disappointment was overshadowed by sheer terror. He wanted to scurry away, but his arms and legs were currently completely numb.

It was a reptile, obviously. Scales the size of lemons, each deep purple in color, occupied all space on the head, save for the eyes. Its eyes bore into him, and despite being filled with a universally recognizable concern, he was terrified of the thick red irises that stared at him. Its large nostrils flared as it inhaled, and then almost cringed as if detecting something foul. It swiveled its head down, resting about an inch from one of his wounds, which he could see was open and blood rising from it. A massive tongue extended from its lips and lapped the blood away from his wound. The sudden warm and wet contact sent a shiver up his spine, and with it, his limbs were suddenly usable. With a powerful lunge, he was in the farthest corner of the cave, as far away from it as he could manage. It looked up at him, a little concerned, and padded ever so slowly towards him. Upon her first twitch, Michal had his knees against his chest, watching her with terror-glazed eyes.

"St-stay awa-away," He stuttered. "Don-Don't eat m-me."

"Aw, I'm not going to eat you," It said again, its voice now coming to him as distinctly female. "Come on, not all of your wounds are clean yet."

"N-no, keep away." He said, as forceful as he could manage in his current state. It obviously wasn't particularly forceful, because she took another full step towards him, putting her practically above him. He broke down, his head going down and tears streaming out of his eyes uncontrollably. He was now incapable to form even basic words, and was so convinced that she was going to devour him that he couldn't think logically either. In the midst of his loss of all real thought, he had the very real instinct that he would have to fight her. His left hand slid down to where his knife should be, and it was still there. His hand clutched around it, and he was suddenly standing, and then lunging forward with the blade above his head. He saw her eyes for a moment, and they weren't panicked like she knew she was about to be hurt. They were still as calm and oddly soothing as ever, but his attack did not let up. He brought the blade down as hard as he could into the hide on its neck, but the blade simply bent to the side, and flew out of his hand as the kinetic energy was repulsed back to him. His body made no movements until the blade clanged uselessly against the floor, and then he dropped to his knees again. The adrenaline was now gone, and he told himself again that he was dead.

"Just...just do it quickly," Michal said, defeated.

"I told you, I'm not going to eat you," She said, and her head was suddenly next to his, breathing soothingly hot air against his cheek. He felt the pads of a clawed paw against his stomach, and he was lifted into the air. He was then deposited on top of her chest, as she was sprawled out on her back on the cave floor. Her arms came up over him in a soft embrace, and she continued to breathe her warm (and surprisingly fresh) breath across his face. With each of her breaths that entered him, he felt a little less fear, and within a span of five minutes, he went as far as to return the gesture, wrapping his arms as far around her neck as he could. They held this position until every ounce of fear had ebbed from Michal's body, and then he released his grip. As he pulled his arms away, noticing with intrigue that his arms were now dripping in a viscous liquid that matched the shade of purple in the dragon's scales. The area where he had had hugged her was now almost bleach white, but the space was rapidly closing as the color seemed to seep back into the space.

The dragon watched him shake his arms frantically to clear the liquid from him, and began to laugh heartily. As she did, her scales turned bright yellow in color. Michal was thoroughly impressed by this.

"You're a dragon." He stated simply. The gravity of this event still eluded him, which made it easier to have an intelligent conversation. AS afar as he knew, he was the first human to meet a dragon with the use of narcotics (he used to have some strange friends).

She nodded. "Very much so," She said. "And you are a human."

Michal chuckled. "You saved me from the river, didn't you?" He asked.

"I guess you could say that." She said. "I found you unconscious, floating down the river as I was drinking. I was lonely, and wanted a bit of company, so I brought you back here and began to clean some of your open wounds. I was expecting you to just run out anyways. I hope you don't think that selfish of me."

"Not at all," Michal replied. "I've been alone for a few days myself, with nothing but myself and the, err...raccoons, to keep me company."

She nodded. "This forest is mostly devoid of other speaking creatures, save for you and I." She said.

"Are there no other dragons around?" Michal asked.

She shook her head. "No, there are very few of us to begin with, and after our annual mating season, he spread across the globe, in order to keep ourselves safe from humans, should they stumble across one of us."

"Is your mating season soon?" He asked, hoping it wasn't too much of a personal question. She didn't seem to think so.

"It was a month ago," She answered. "I mated, laid my eggs, and then left, like all of the other dragons. He was a nice enough guy to talk to. A little less eager to socialize, more so to mate. A shame really, seeing as we barely get to see each other."

"I kind of know how you feel," Michal said. "I'm not terribly close with my family these days. I only really see them on holidays, and even then, only for a couple of days or hours."

The dragon smiled, but shook her head. "But you have other humans around you. It's completely different from being completely alone for an entire year. To not see a head or tail of your species at all."

Her scales changed to a darker blue color. She seemed to notice, but it didn't seem to affect her at all.

"How do you do that?" Michal asked. "Change the color of your scales, I mean."

"Oh, that? It's just the oils from my body." She explained. "Each scale secretes a colored oil to reflect my mood. They're bluish now because I'm a bit depressed at this point, but, if you cheer me up a bit..." She said encouragingly.

"Okay, let me think..." Michal said, trying to think of a universal joke that he could tell her. "The fifty-fifty-ninety rule: Anytime you have a fifty-fifty chance of getting something right, there's a ninety percent probability you'll get it wrong."

She cracked up. "It's funny because it's true." She giggled. As she slowly lost more and more control, her scales began to glow yellow again. Her laughter caused Michal to start up with her, and soon their raucous laughter echoed loudly around the cave. It took a few moments for their laughter to subside, but once they had, Michal sprawled himself out across the dragon's chest. She was thoroughly enormous, with enough room on her torso to comfortably hold a king-sized mattress. Her tone muscles were visible taut under her scales. With his ear against her warm chest, he could hear her powerful heart beating loudly within her. Her hands, which had been at her sides, now moved and cupped against his stomach, keeping him pinned there. He hissed and winced as just a bit too much weight was put on his ribs, and he felt the weight rapidly retract.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" She asked, concerned. Her scales went purple again, and then quickly to blue.

"No, I'm okay." Michal replied. He didn't like seeing her get depressed like that. He was obviously very important to her, and she cared very deeply for his safety, though (as he had only just realized) they hadn't even introduced themselves yet.

"You haven't told me your name yet." Michal stated.

"Oh, how rude of me," The dragon said. "People call me Jacki."

"I'm Michal," Michal replied.

"Michal," Jacki repeated. "I like that name."

"Thank you," Michal chuckled. "I like your name too."

Jacki said nothing, but her scales turned yellow again. It made Michal smile, literally seeing her happy. They stayed silent for a long moment, before Jacki all but ruined the moment by slowly picking Michal up and placing him on his feet, herself rising to a standing position. Michal had to crane his neck to see her face at this distance.

"It's late, but you must be hungry." She said. "Will you be okay here if I go out hunting?"

"Sure, I'll be fine," Michal said, and smiled. "Just don't be gone too long, okay?"

Jacki grinned back. "I won't, don't worry."

She padded slowly away towards the mouth of the cave, soon disappearing out of view around the corner. A rush of air was heard from the cave entrance as she took flight, and then Michal was all alone in her home.

He spent a good ten minutes rolling on the floor, trying to get comfortable, but ultimately failing. The rock was just too rough for his thin, sensitive skin. It was obviously no problem for the dragon's thick hide, but he had not been grace with such a skin. He looked to his left, and saw his backpack propped up in the corner opposite to him. At first he only considered it to be a pillow, but then he remembered the strips of the fabric bag he had. Those would be perfect for bandaging some of his wounds.

He crawled over to it and threw open the top. Most of his equipment had been washed out by the river, or rendered useless by the water, but seven or eight of the fabric strips were still pinned to the bottom of the bag by a heavy cooking pot. He picked them out and wrung the excess water out of them before wrapping them around some of his larger wounds with a comfortable firmness. Once he was done, he moved to retrieve his bent knife from the floor. He placed it in his pack, along with the rest of his equipment, and hefted it onto his left shoulder. It hurt a little, but didn't stop him as he walked outside of the cave and into the sunlight.

It was nearly sunset, with the sun impaled on the peak of a nearby mountain. He hadn't seen any mountains before, but he thought that he could make out the river that he had been swept down. He was on the top of a medium-sized hill, with a clearing of trees giving plenty of space at the cave's entrance. It was perfectly clean and kempt, leading Michal to believe that tending it was what Jacki did in her ample spare time. The river was only a short stroll away, and Michal decided to go for a drink.

As he reached the river, he saw another fish floating before him. But instead of trying to catch it, he picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the fish. It skittered away through the water as the rock sunk down next to it, and Michal felt content with his revenge, and knelt down for a drink. As he did, he removed the pack from his back and put it on the ground next to him. Once he was satisfied, he rummaged through the items one more time, had made sure that they were all completely useless and ruined. When he had confirmed that they, in fact, were, he tossed the heavy bag into the raging river, and watched it float away and out of sight. With a sigh, he turned and headed back up to the cave.

When he trudged back into the depths of the cage, he saw Jacki standing in the middle of the space, her head moving back and forth slowly. Her scales were the darkest blue he had seen yet.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and her head whipped around in surprised. She practically threw herself on top of him. Her scales brightened up instantly.

"When I came back and you weren't here, I thought you had left." Jacki said. "Your pack was gone, so I thought that you wouldn't come back."

"No, I was just getting rid of the extra weight." Michal replied.

"Good, because I don't want you to leave yet." She said, and then licked his face affectionately. He chuckled, and gently pushed her away by the snout.

"Well, I took two weeks leave from work, so I can stay here for another week. It'll take me three days to backtrack to my last camp and then hike back out of the forest."

"I can save you the time, and get you back to the forest's entrance in a half-hour."

"Oh, well in that case, I'll stay for another week and a half."

"Thank you," She whispered gratefully. Michal had never met someone with such a need for company, and it didn't feel right to deny her of it. Besides, he felt like he could use some company too, after nearly dying in the river. "I found you some food." She added, and then reached around to her back and pulled an entire buck from off of her shoulder. Michal didn't know how he had missed seeing that. The raw deer was placed between them, and Jacki expertly carved a piece off for him. She ever clawed the skin off and everything.

"I don't suppose you could breathe some fire and cook this, could you?" He asked.

Jacki chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry, the human stories about dragons are mostly wrong." She said. "We don't pillage and kidnap maidens. We just keep to ourselves."

"Hmm...A shame," Michal commented, taking a bite out of the deer steak. He had a brief thought that there may be harmful bacteria in it, but his hunger got the better of him. It was wet and slimy, but it was a little warm, and it was food. "Maybe humans would be a little better if we had another species to discuss with."

Jacki nodded, almost gravely. "We remember some of the wars you humans have waged. It was the reason our numbers were decimated in the first place."

"I'm sorry," Michal said, as if his single apology could sort out there problems.

"It's alright; most of us don't harbor a grudge against humans." Jacki said, letting a sad smile cross her face. "They just don't know any better."

Michal nodded, and crossed his arms across his chest. He cast his gaze to the floor. "I just wish I didn't have to put up with the fact that humans just shouldn't have the kind of power that they do. I wish I could get away from them."

"Then stay here, with me." Jacki said, almost pleading him. "We'll both be happy. We'll have each other for company, and we're far away from humanity."

"But they can come here any time they want," Michal replied. "They have planes, helicopters. There's no place on this planet where there influence cannot reach."

"It doesn't matter," Jacki said. "Please? If not for you, than for me?"

Michal sighed, glancing up at her. She was looking at him with something equivalent to puppy-dog eyes, and they worked on him. Her scales were purple again, concerned not for him, but for herself. Michal knew that if he turned her down and left, then she would be devastated.

But asking him to leave behind everything he'd ever known was a big deal. "I need to think about it." He said, hoping to deflect the question until later. "I'm still here for another week. Plenty of time to sleep on it."

She nodded. "I understand, it takes a lot of thought to leave a life behind." She said.

They ate in silence, until Michal's steak was gone, and Jacki carved him another. Once he was full, he watched as she jerked the rest of the carcass down her throat. It was both a disgusting and intriguing event, and it left Michal a little pale. He remembered how vividly he had imagined himself being pulled down into her belly like that, but watching it in reality was even more terrifying. He just needed to stay on her good side.

"It's getting pretty late." Jacki said, yawning widely and showing off her blood-drenched teeth to Michal. This didn't help him, and he felt like he might just faint. "Let's get some sleep."

She lay down on her side, with her belly facing him. After getting herself comfortable, she patted the floor beside her gently, urging him over. He laid himself down with his back pressed against her now full belly, amazed by the warmth that emanated from it. It was hot enough already, and Michal couldn't help but strip his shirt off. He closed his eyes, and as he did, he felt Jacki's arm slip under him, lifting him off the hard floor and cradling him like an infant, or even a teddy bear. He smiled, and nuzzled himself down into the space between her forearm and body, sinking into a comfortable position. With all of the excitement from that day, it took him no time to fall asleep.

****

The next week and a half passed on far too quickly for Michal's liking. They had spent most of their time lying in the depths of the cave, talking and asking questions about each other's lives. It was far too hot outside at noon to justify any physical activities anyway. Not that they hadn't had any fun outside either. Once the sun had set, and it had cooled down, they would go out and then race back to the cave. Jacki usually won (because Michal usually got lost), and even went hunting in the middle of the race, and she still one, even with a deer gripped in her jaws. They also went swimming in the lake that the river fed. It was only a mile from the cave, and was completely still, which Michal liked. He was keen on being carried away again. They'd frolic and laugh in the water until Michal could hardly walk. He'd found that Jacki had much more energy than he did, and he was always the one who would end the activity (usually by passing out from exhaustion).

And their friendship, their relationship, grew stronger with each passing minute. Neither of them could remember a person they had enjoyed spending time with more than each other. Michal hadn't put too much thought into staying with Jacki, he didn't need to. She was the friendliest, most beautiful creature he had ever seen. As their friendship grew, so did their physical attraction to each other. No longer did Michal feel embarrassed or ashamed to be naked in front of her, and had no problems stripping away his clothes during the warm nights. Neither of them tried to engage in any romantic activities, both satisfied with their current relationship, and not wanting to risk ruining it.

"So, you're leaving tonight?" Jacki asked idly, as she took a small bite out of her portion of the deer. She had detected Michal's feelings about her eating thing whole, and in order to make him feel more comfortable, only ate small pieces around him. "I'm going to miss you."

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Michal replied, smiling, but keeping his eyes on his own meal.

"What? You're staying?" She asked, delighted. Her scales shot to yellow instantly, and before Michal heard her get up, he was on his back, with Jacki pinning him down. She licked him affectionately all over. Michal had his shirt off, and giggled as the rough, warm tongue ran across his bare skin.

"Hey, stop it." He said. "You're slobbering on my meal."

She laughed, and backed off. "Sorry," She said. "It's just...no one has ever been so kind to me."

"Likewise," Michal said simply, shaking his steak free of her saliva.

"I love you so much," She sighed, throwing her meal away and opening up a spot beside her. Michal discarded his too, and climbed up onto her outstretched arm. From this perch, they could easily share a passionate kiss. Michal's lips touched her, and he felt a strong suction around his cheeks as she returned it. Her mouth was much larger than his, and their kisses were usually difficult to perform successfully. On their first attempt, Jacki just licked his entire face sloppily, and explained how that was how dragon's showed their affection. Michal took a while to explain the concept of human kissing to her, and then on their second try, Jacki engulfed his entire head in her mouth. They had only been improving since then, but the one they shared now was perfect.

"I love you, too," He replied, breaking the kiss. He felt Jacki exhale slowly, ruffling his hair with her sweet-smelling breath. She wrapped her unused arm around him, hugging him tightly against her chest. He wrapped his arms around her arm, returned the gesture as best he could. Hugging was also a difficult concept to practice, but they had gotten it just right. Michal definitely enjoyed being close to her, while not being crushed by her amazing strength.

"Come on, my love," She said. "I want to do something special for

you."

"Really? Like what?" Michal asked, following her as she stood up and walked outside. It was still high noon, and quite hot. It made Michal sweat just standing there. He watched as Jacki moved in front of him, and then sunk down onto her belly. She was watching him intently, and Michal suddenly knew what she wanted to do. He stepped forward, and pulled himself up onto her shoulders. He sat straddling her great neck, and once he was secure, she rose, slowly and carefully.

"Are you ready?" she asked, turning her head back to smile at him. He nodded, was given little time to reconsider, for Jacki lunged upwards, and her great wings flared out on either side of him. They caught the air instantly, and she pumped once, sending up above the treetops. She pumped again, and they went higher, and higher again. Soon they were high above the ground, soaring amongst the clouds. Michal chuckled, and reached out to run his hand through a passing cloud. It was such a clichéd thing to do, but it just felt right to him. He loved the feeling of being high in the air with Jacki, to just let her set a course, and enjoy being with her. She obviously did too, because her scales did not lose their golden glow.

It was perfect. The birds were singing. The breeze ruffled the trees beneath them. A helicopter grew nearer. Michal stopped. That wasn't right. Helicopters never came out here, there was no reason to. He turned around, and stared in shock at the intruder to their beautiful moment. It was a large transport chopper, clearly a military grade one, too. It sported a black paintjob, and two mini-guns were mounted on the nose. He watched in horror as they slowly began to spin, and then he was suddenly whipped around as Jacki turned. He heard the gun fire for not even a second, and then Jacki let lose a deafening roar. They began to fall, angling in towards the nearby mountain. There was a solid wall that rose in their path, and as loud as Michal shouted, Jacki did not change their course. They plowed straight into the ground, and Michal grunted in pain as he was thrown away from her from the impact. He hit the ground hard, a few feet away, and rushed to her side. There were six huge bullet holes in her chest and stomach, and her breathing was ragged. Michal was at a loss of what to do. He couldn't just pull the bullets out, but they needed to be removed. He heard the chopper approach again, and turned to see about seven soldiers drop out of the helicopters fuselage by rope. They circled around them, leaving them trapped.

"Step aside, civilian," One of the soldiers ordered. "We're under orders to terminate this creature."

"What? No! I won't leave her!" Michal shouted back, and spread his arms wide. He shot a glance behind him, and saw Jacki smiling weakly at him. It pained him to see her like that.

The soldier that had spoken to him held up a hand-radio, and said something into it that Michal could hear. He kept his head up, watching the soldiers like a hawk. Then he saw it, a glint of light off the lens of a rifle scope. A soldier was leaning out of the helicopter, aiming for Jacki's head. Michal didn't consciously move, he just did, and put himself between the gun and the love of his life. He saw the muzzle flash, and he whipped around. No new wounds had opened up on her body, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But something wasn't right. Jacki's scales dimmed to an endless black, and tears began to stream from her eyes. Michal looked down, and saw blood, his own blood, pouring out onto his hands.

She reached out to him, grabbing his shoulder and legs gently and rested him on the ground beneath her. She stared down at him in a loving way, but she was still crying. Michal himself could feel no pain, or anything else for that matter. He wasn't afraid anymore, nor was he sad that he had failed her. He seemed to be incapable of emotions now that his life was ebbing away like a catheter that was fully opened. He stared back at her with blank eyes, and tried to tell her that he loved her, one last time. But his mouth wouldn't work. So he lay there, listening and watching. But soon, his hearing begun to fail him, and as he heard the sound of guns opening fire, he could hear nothing. It was a very peaceful silence, as he watched bullet after bullet rip into Jacki's exposed flank. He watched her grit her teeth, and then roar out in pain, but she would not leave him. He couldn't hear her cries of pain, but he knew them to be very real.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bullets stopped. Jacki remained standing, but the oils that once clung to her scales were dripping away, leaving her once vibrant hide ghostly white. She suddenly collapsed, dropping on top of him, but he did not feel her weight. Her head landed next to him, and they stared lovingly at each other, for what they knew would be the last time. Michal watched as Jacki's eyes began to drift shut, and as they did, so did his. In his last moment of consciousness, he remembered the kiss that they had so recently shared, and the love that he felt for her occupied his last thoughts.

"I love you," He heard a hoarse whisper, his own, through his own ears.

"I love you, too," He heard her reply.

And then there was darkness.

****

Michal could have been gone for a second, or for a thousand eternities. But when he came to, he saw everything. He saw everyone and everything that was, that had been, and that will be. Every human, every dragon, every frog, and every tree. Anything that possessed life, it was made clear to him.

The plane of existence he was now in was boundless, and thoroughly impossible to sort out. Everything overlapped each other, overwhelming his unadjusted outlook on existence. But suddenly, something shone through to him. A bright glimmer, an infinity away. But he moved towards it, far more quickly than he ever could have imagined. He did not fly or swim, but simply moved, in the most pure sense of the word. He neared the glimmer, and as he did, it materialized into Jacki. But she was not bound by her original body anymore. He could feel her, flowing around and through him. Their spirits wove around each other, their deepest love for each other merging into an unfathomable mass of pure emotion.

"My love, Michal," She said, her voice pure bliss to him. "It's good to feel you again."

"It's good to feel you, too." He replied.

"Come, let us chose another body to inhabit." She said, and led him far, far away, where it seemed to be far less crowded with other souls.

"What would you like to be?" She asked. "Existence is endless. Anything you could possibly imagine exists in some place, in some time."

"I want to be a dragon, just like you." He said, and he felt her spirit brighten with happiness again. "But let's go to a different place. A place where humanity doesn't exist. A whole new world to explore, and call out home."

He felt her. He felt her merge with him, and a great display of light and pure emotion. She became him, and he became her. Now they would be together forever, just the way they wanted to spend eternity.

"I love you," He whispered, but there was no need to voice that feeling anymore. She was able to feel every scrap of love he had, as if it were her own.

"I'll always love you," She replied, and then a blinding light engulfed them as their new life was created around them.