[ WP ] When everyone turns 18 , they receive a pet which is figurative of their personality . You 're the first person to receive a dragon ...

We are only what we make of ourselves in this world, nothing more. 
 
 Some people aspire to greatness, while others wallow in the misery of their own innate inadequacy. Most accomplish nothing in their lives, content to only do what is easy. They never grow, never push their limits. And in the end, they never amount to much. 
 
 In most worlds, this is a common - if often hidden - truth. People are lazy, never wanting to become all that they can be, and they hide behind masks of adequacy for the duration of their pitiful lifespan. There are no obvious markers, no signposts indicating that any given person is a slaking bottom feeder. No way of telling the great from the pitiful, at least not until all is said and done. No judgement until the Judgement. 
 
 Here, it is different. 
 
 In my world, everyone knows who and what everyone else is. Nothing is hidden, and once you are marked you are marked for life. Here, on the 18th anniversary of our first breath, our nature manifests itself and separates from our flesh for all to see forever more. 
 
 You see, on our 18th birthdays, down to the minute, a... change occurs. A portion of our bodies changes instantly, rapidly becoming the animal or being most becoming our personality. The slugs and bottom feeders have familiars that are just that: Slimy, crawling eaters of shit that do nothing but clean the refuse from the boots of mankind. Their slime is worn on their sleeves, and no one ever gives them the time of day. Worse still are the leeches and tics, the ones who actively draw on the resources of their fellow man. While some keep their familiars hidden, I suspect more than one politician has a tapeworm that they do n't want anyone to find out about. 
 
 Some try to kill their familiar, to hide their true nature, or even to simply run away. Of course, such attempts are futile, causing the creature to manifest anew... which as I was about to find out was NOT a pleasant experience. 
 
 As I woke on my 18th birthday, my belly was full the fire of change. Today was the critical day that would decide my fate. I knew I was better. I am superior than these pitiful people that call themselves my `` family.'' My mother had me before she manifested, calling forth a pitiful mouse. True to her kind, she had another on the way before I was even 2. And no father to be seen. Of course. 
 
 My little brother was staring at me wide eyed at breakfast. He was only a few years younger than I was, but his naivety was expressed in his every movement. I bet he will be something pitiful. Maybe a deer. If he changes his outlook and becomes a bit more curious maybe he will get a fox. Then, he could at least appear as a predator instead of prey. Not that he could make much of it anyway. 
 
 `` Hi big bro. Are you going to school today?'' He plaintively asked. 
 
 `` Damn little bro, could your eyes get any bigger?'' I sneered. `` You are going to end up with one of those little nocturnal monkeys on your shoulder. Or those fish in the deep ocean. You do n't want to have to drag around an oarfish, do you?'' He was so pitiful. So innocent. So... useless. Why did I have to be born into this family of weaklings? 
 
 My mother, 8 months pregnant ( AGAIN ) finally pulled her girth around the doorway from the bedroom. She looked like she wanted to say something about the way I was treating my brother, but could n't work up the courage to put the words together. Damn this place is pitiful. I shot her a sneer and said `` Nah little bro, I'm not. It's my 18th, no one has any obligations on their 18th. You know that.'' Dumbass. People like him get chewed up and spit out. `` I'm gon na hit the town. Got ta live it up with some real folks before I lose my shit. See ya!'' I twisted my body out of my chair and made a beeline to the door. Like hell I would stay here, or go to a shitty school filled with bottom feeders on a day like today. 
 
 I hit the town running and met with my buds ( most of which were playing hooky to hang with me ). Everyone knew I was going to be a kind apart from these losers. They just wanted in on the action, front row seats to the sight of a lifetime. We stalked the town, hopping from bar to club and back again. No one here gives a shit about how old you are, so long as you have a line of credit. Hell, my buddy Bob even threw in a free shot or two for my birthday. Not that I would want to spend this evening in a state of anything but buzzed. 
 
 At 7:40, my crew made its way to the old abandoned construction site. Place was supposed to be a new skyscraper, but some schmuck at the top of the social pyramid got caught with a fucking botfly as a familiar. Fucking disgusting. So the abandoned project left me with a big open space, perfect for whatever giant might leap from my flesh. I counted down the minutes to my big unveiling. 7:49. GOD could this hurry up. I needed show the world what I was. I needed to take control. 7:53. Wonder what my other friends would have as familiars. Steve was probably going to be a lynx or something, smarmy bastard. Gerald already got a dog. Makes sense. Lots of brute force, not a lot of brain. Good at following orders. 7:57. Only a couple of minutes now. At 7:59 I suddenly felt a lurch in my stomach. My guts themselves felt like they were filled with fishhooks, all tugging toward my navel. 
 
 *You. Yes. You will do nicely to bring me into this world. * 
 
 I heard a voice in my head. Was that supposed to happen? I had never heard about it from anyone else. 
 
 A dark chuckle erupted from between my temples. *No Child, this is not like the summonings you have seen before. I am more. MUCH more. * 
 
 Despite my gut feeling as if it were being rent from within, my heart soared. I had something truly greater than these puny people, something that could talk! I WOULD be king! 
 
 The voice began again with a deep rumble 
 
 *Of course. Your disdain for others was a perfect catalyst for my being. As well as your fury. Yes, you will do nicely. * 
 
 My arm spasmed and shook as a scaly texture took form in my flesh. What was merely pain before took on new life, and shook me to my very core. My changing arm flailed, and knocked away Greg, who had come too close. He was sent sprawling, despite being nearly twice my weight and having the manifestation of an elephant. I fell to my hands and knees and vomited bile and alcohol, along with a few specs of what I suspected to be ash. One was even still burning before it was snuffed out by the vile puddle under me. I stood again against my will, my now taloned arm lashing out again. This time, it struck with purpose, knocking Greg against the side of the building and leaving a bloody smear where his head had connected. Greg's eyelids fluttered and went dark. Gerald turned and tried to subdue me, loyal till the end. He was met with a quick death, as my taloned arm moved faster than I could react to pluck out his heart. Steve, in his infinite wisdom, tried to flee. He fell as well, tripped and skewered by the tail that was rapidly growing from my spine. 
 
 `` WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!'' I screamed aloud. `` I NEEDED THEM TO START MY NEW WORLD!'' 
 
 *They are as nothing* The voice shook me to my very core *I need more nourishment than your feeble form can provide me. * 
 
 It was then that I knew true fear. As I stalked toward the fallen body of Greg, newly fanged mouth agape, I knew what was to come. Greg's eyes snapped open, and as he screamed his final breath my consciousness faded to black. 
 

