Prompt: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/g1nmyl/wp_everyday_as_you_jog_your_route_you_pass_an/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Sam enjoyed a routine. He took his break at noon on the dot every day. He'd jog the same route every day; going from the entrance of his office, along the riverside, past the houses. He'd pause momentarily halfway through the housing district, at the rundown mansion with the two stone dragons at the entrance to its ivy covered estate. He'd always liked the dragons. They were almost untouched by time, their smooth stone scales unmarred by scratches, the poison ivy only covering their long tails that wrapped the pillars they sat upon.

He always gives the one to the right of the gate a scratch between its eye ridges, and strokes the left one starting from its forehead down to the end of its snout. Sam would then sit down between the guarding dragons to eat his lunch, before jogging back to his office and returning to work.

This time, however, Sam was interrupted as he stroked the second dragon, feeling a sharp pang in the palm of his hand as he reached the end of the dragon's snout. He drew back, startled, and saw the dragon's eyes sparkle. He stared at his hand, which was bleeding, then looked back to the dragon, which had drawn its stone lips back, revealing long and pointed fangs, white as marble, except for the bright red stain of Sam's fresh-drawn blood.

He pulled a napkin from his bag, and gripped it tightly in his right hand, before pulling his phone from his pocket with his left and dialing his office.

"You've reached Samson Insurance, Sam's not in his offoce right now, is there a way I can help you today?" The chipper voice at the other end was definitely his assistant, Rose.

"Hey Rose, Sam here. Please cancel all my appointments for today, I need to go to the hospital. " Sam watched the stone dragon, unable to break eye contact as its long tail uncurled from the pillar, snapping the encroaching ivy covering it.

"Oh no! Do you want me to call ahead to the hospital for you, sir?" Rose's voice was still chipper, but was now slightly tinged with worry. The other stone dragon seemed to be coming to life now too, considerably slower than the leftmost one, which was creeping towards Sam, tail high and head low.

"No, no." Sam said hastily. "I'm walking over there right now, I can handle it."

He held his phone to his ear with his shoulder, and reached into his bag for another napkin, as the first was already drenched. He tossed the bloody napkin into the bushes, and the leftmost dragon suddenly started moving. Sam jumped in suprise, dropping his phone to the sidewalk with a clatter, causing the screen to crack. The dragon had bolted after the napkin, and was now burrowing its way through the bushes looking for it.

His hands shaking, Sam retrieved his phone from the ground and, speaking over Rose's now frantic questions, said, "I'm fine Rose, I'm fine. I was just startled by a, uh. . ." What could he say? It's not like everyone saw stone dragons move, ever. "A raccoon. . ." He finished lamely.

"A raccoon?" Rose asked. "Are you sure you'll be ok, sir? It's not that busy right now and I could-"

"Thank you, Rose." Sam interrupted her quickly. "But I'm ok." The dragon had sat up in the bushes, its muzzle now speckled with red. Had it eaten ths napkin? Gross.

"I had better get going to the hospital, now. Goodbye, Rose." He hung up after Rose's hasty farewell, and looked from the left dragon to the right, they were both standing upright now, watching Sam just as he watched them.

"I'm crazy." Sam said aloud, after several long minutes passed. "Stone sculptures can't move."

The dragon on the right laughed, a low guttural noise that reminded him of a hyena's cackle. "Sculptures can't move." It said, its voice low and gravelly.

The left one spoke next, its voice lighter, but still sounding like the creature was gargling rocks. "But dragons can."

Extended

Sam backed up, feeling overwhelmed, as the left dragon moved towards him, it's long, thin, whiplike tail flicking through the air. Sam realised that the way the dragon moved reminded him of a tiger he'd seen at the zoo. A slow stalk that would, at some point very soon, end in a leap and his probable death.

He held his hands in front of himself placatingly, and accidentally dropped the bloody napkin he'd been holding. The left dragon lunged, and Sam tumbled backwards, covering his face with his hands to avoid the worst of it.

He lay on the ground for what felt like decades, and then, hesitating slightly, pulled his arms back, and saw that the dragon was walking away, back towards the right dragon, which was still standing on the pillar, watching him. As the left dragon approached, the other began to stir, and lethargically faced its duplicate. The dragon with the bloody napkin passed it to the slower one, and the latter quickly swallowed it.

"What the hell." Sam whispered to himself, then froze as the dragons turned to face him again. But then, they bowed.

"Thank you, Mage Samson." The left one said, raising its granite head to meet his gaze, its stone-gray eyes sparkling.

"You have saved my brother and I from our burdened state, and now our veins run with magic once more." The right one added, it's gravely voice low and its tone respectful.

Sam blinked. "Mage? Magic? What are you talking about?"

The left dragon, a male, he now knew, tipped his head to one side. "Did you not know of the magic that runs through your blood?"

Sam shook his head. "Listen, Mr. Dragon. I'm anemic. My blood doesn't even clot properly, much less-" He stopped and looked at his palm. "Oh damn, I almost forgot." He scrambled to his feet.

"Where are you going?" The lower-voiced dragon rumbled.

"The hospital. Whatever you hallucinations are talking about I can deal with later. Right now, I need to get this wound clotted before I bleed to death, and *something* happened to the only spare cloth I had. . ." He pointedly didn't look at the dragons, and started jogging down the street to the nearest hospital.

He kept going for a few minutes before he started to feel dizzy, and sat down on the sidewalk to rest a moment. He glanced back the way he came, and was startled to see the dragons had followed him.

One of them looked to the other and spoke, in the lighter tones of the dragon that had first moved. "He'll never make it in this state."

"Definitely not, brother Cossux." the other purred. "But I know a way to fix that."

The first dragon, Cossux, stepped toward Sam, and began to change. He was fascinated, as the dragon's neck stretched, and it's stocky legs legthened. The in-between states were strange, but when it stopped in front of Sam it looked like an ordinary dappled stallion. The stallion lowered onto its knees, and its gray eyes met his own, sparkling with amusement.

"What the hell." Samson whispered.

The horse-dragon laughed, the sound even more frightening when it came from a horses muzzle rather than a dragon's snout, then nudged him gently with his head. "All aboard, Mage Samson." It purred. "Next stop, the hospital."

Sam stood unsteadily, and pulled himself onto Cossux, feeling a jolt of pain as he used his injured right hand, then gripped the mane in front of him.

"I'm ready." Sam whispered.

Cossux drew up to his full height, then set off at a odd pace, like a horse's canter mixed with a wolf's loping gait.

Sam glanced behind them, and saw Cossux's sibling was keeping pace beside them, but then he started to change too. Except instead of changing shape, the other dragon changed color. It faded from the tip of its tail to the top of its head, and soon Sam couldn't tell if it had ever been there. All he had to tell him that he wasn't hallucinating them from lack of blood was the fact that he was still riding on a dappled grey stallion that, as of this morning, had never existed.

it only took another minute before the stallion came to a stop in front of the hospital, to the clear shock from the receptionist inside, then kneeled down to allow Samson to climb down. When Sam clambered off, he almost fell over again, only barely catching himself on Cossux's outstretched neck, which he patted absentmindedly, and felt a twinge in his bleeding palm.

He stumbled into the hospital, and told the receptionist, "anemic. . . blood. . . help. . ." Before passing out on the tile floor.

I'll make a part three soon, It's time for me to go to work. Hope you like it :)