You As A Dragon

[Esko]

Three years after the Great War...

 

The cloaked figure stood at the edge of the mountain cave, his cloak billowing in the wind. The moon was full in the sky, casting a glow over the warm-colored forest. Orange, red, yellow...who knew the shades of fire could be so attractive to the eye? In his one gloved hand was a wickedly sharp war scythe, recently cleaned of any blood. The other was shoved into a pocket. A tail the color of pigeon feathers swished slowly, back and forth. There was trouble up ahead, he could smell it. Well, not smell. Sort of. There was a black figure in the distance. Black with a glint of gold. Of course, he thought. She was paying them a visit. What could she possibly want from them now?

 

The wolf-tailed man gripped his weapon a little tighter as the Golden Wyvern drew closer. The dragoness was clad in all black, a stealth-suit of her own making. It was kind of annoying when she insisted she had to be all mysterious and go into hiding and whatnot. No, they would not identify her as the dragon of her previous owner. No, she did not need to burn all the scrolls her master recorded (she did anyway). No, she did not need to always travel at night in a stealth suit. But she was coming, and it was no use killing her.

 

"We got company." He called down the cave. His voice echoed as it traveled.

 

"Seriously, Wolf-Boy?" A female voice yelled back. She sounded pissed; he probably woke her up from her beauty sleep. "Who's it this time?"

 

"Our favorite Golden Wyvern." He heard no response, but the shuffling of bare feet on rock- and then talons. A short girl with black curls emerged, behind her a hefty magi dragon with mana dust crusted at the corners of his mouth. He was currently crunching mana crystals, like he always did. In front of them, the wyvern perched on the edge of the cave, folding in her wings and entering as the wind grew stronger.

 

"Tulvir. We meet again." She said, her fierce eyes peering from her black mask. "Harley and Deki as well. It's a full house."

 

"Furisa, you know we don't offer free hospitality in bad weather. It better be good." Tulvir snarled, slowly spinning his scythe in his hand.

 

Furisa smiled a little. "Well, why else would I be here? For tea and biscuits with you three? I wouldn't come here for you or Harley's five star cooking." Her smile faded, and not because of Tulvir's low growl. "No, it's a lot more serious than that....

 

"We're in trouble once more. And we're going to need dragons."

 

 

 

You As A Dragon

Cursed forever and ever

 

You're an average joe in the land of Galsriem. Whether you be a beggar in the slums or a well-known individual, you expected life to carry on as per usual. Whoever you are, you know or own a dragon or egg, most of you probably own a bunch and record what happens on magical scrolls. Other than that, there's not really anything special about you. Maybe you once tampered with mana and it impacted you significantly. Maybe you're an orphan. Maybe you're a bookworm who spends all their time in a library. But you never considered yourself to be even close to "special", much less worthy of an epic destiny.

 

However, there's trouble stirring. Mana is one of the largest natural resources in Valkemare. The unstable crystals come in a variety of elements, and usually it can only be harnessed in large amounts by dragons. Brave people traverse into the wilderness every day and risk their very hides to harvest it and sell it to any interested buyers. But lately large amounts of mana have vanished. Entire caves covered in the crystals are now bare. Miners may wake up one day to find their mana gone from their bags. But people are disregarding it as a warning. They have always had enough mana, why would they run out now? You're no exception. It may be better just to pretend it's not happening, or maybe you believe something else. But you never expected to be recruited to stop the mana decline. Even less did you expect the manner in which you were recruited...

 

Because now you're a dragon, entirely against your will. You have to adjust to your new body, your new senses, your new life. And probably save the world while you're at it. Are you ready?

 

It doesn't matter. You have to be.

 

There's no turning back.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Esko_the_Wolf

[Esko]

So you've been chosen.

 

Welcome to You As A Dragon 3, unrelated to You As A Dragon 2. This time, the roleplay is taking place approximately four years after the events of the first You As A Dragon. The Great War had only lasted a year, but had a large impact on human and dragon relations, ripping an even bigger rift between the two. Over the last three years wounds have slowly mended, but there's still tension between the dominant species of Galsriem- even though brave men and women still steal eggs and raise dragons. Humans would blame the dragons for the mana disappearance if it weren't for the fact that they don't believe it could run out. But to a few pairs of eyes who bother to notice, the rate at which it's vanishing is alarming. And that's why you're here. Like the majority of the human race, you've been oblivious to the problem/brushed it off until now.

 

But now you really can't be ignorant, even if you desperately want to be. You may have been strolling in the forest, or flying on your trusted dragon's back, or tending to your farmland. Maybe you were in school, or hanging out with your friends, or with your nose in a book. Whatever you were doing, you were interrupted by the sight of a cloaked figure with a war scythe. Grim Reaper, you might have thought. But then you were pinned by a Magi dragon, and that's when you lost consciousness. However, you were not destined to die. You go through a series of disturbing, creepy or outright terrifying nightmares. But no matter what, you end up being saved by a girl you never met before. It keeps confusing you until you plunge into comforting darkness. And that's when you wake up.

 

From the start, you feel weird. Your senses are different, and all these strange smells come to your nose. You see things differently. You can't move your arms and legs as well as you used to. Are you in Heaven? Hell? Some sort of Purgatory? No matter what you're thinking, you come to realize that you as a whole are different. You....are a dragon. You're in a cave with other dragons, most of them asleep while some are awake. You are all confused as to why. Why you?

 

You'll find out why. And you won't like it.

 

You woke up...

 

The location of waking may change, depending on the amount of new players, if our main group split, ect. At the start of this roleplay, our heroes will find themselves in a large underground cavern. It would be dark if not for the abundance of mana crystals all around. The entire ceiling is covered in these crystals. Small tunnels lead off to other parts of the cave, perhaps even outside. The largest of these tunnels leads to an underground lake. It's very cold, very deep and makes your scales/skin/fur feel nice and smooth. But it may not be a good idea to drink it; it's clean, but with very high levels of limestone. There are a few springs that are safe to drink.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Esko_the_Wolf

[Esko]

Rules

• Dragon Cave Forum rules apply. For everything.
• No character sheets here. You will be starting with an introduction post. This post must contain what your character was before they were attacked, being knocked out, the nightmares (if you want, keep them brief) and you waking up. Please tell me what kind of dragon your character is (OOC, or in character if you can weave it in there)
• We are in the world of Valkemare, so Dragon Cave dragons only, please. Alternate coloration and different accessories (horns, claws, fur...) are acceptable.
• Please, start with a human-turned-dragon. No more than two in the beginning. Since the title is You As A Dragon, I strongly suggest basing your first character off of you and using first person. If you're not comfortable with using first person, I understand. It's not required.
• If I deny your entrance, do not whine or argue.
• There's no specific character limit in general, I expect you to know your limits and not overburden yourself.
• NO. MARY. SUES. For God's sakes, we always hate them. On this topic, try to stay away from cliches. I understand that they happen, and it's okay. But it'd be wonderful if we could keep most things realistic.
• On the topic of realism. Yes, this is a dragon roleplay. Yes, not everything is logical. Yes, it's not real life. I GET IT. But if you expect me to let things like springy trees go by, think again. Yes, gravity exists. Yes, physics is a thing. It's fantasy, but it's not a Dr. Suess book.
• OPness is (mostly) not allowed. You might see a GoN appear once or something, but unless you have a good reason, OP dragons are off limits. And please, PLEASE don't give your human-turned-dragons great powers right off the bat. They've all got something a little different and I might introduce something later, but for now...
• Try to give somebody else a chance to post before moving on. It's annoying to post, and then wake up and find a roleplay advanced three pages. That person struggles to get back in, and ends up quitting. So, keep the pace reasonable, and know that there are slower posters. At the same time, if somebody is taking too long, I'll give the go-ahead to move on without them.
• I have a computer. You might have smaller screened devices. But if something looks too small on my screen, it's too small. No one-liners, even with writers block.
• Unless you have permission, no controlling other's actions.
• I hear that using Completed List dragons interferes with their acceptance. So no using them, please.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Esko_the_Wolf

[Esko]

Miscellaneous Things

This section will often be updated. Make sure to check back!

 

OOC thread

 

Characters

 

Character Spreadsheet!

 

The Story So Far

 

Our unknowing and confused heroes are currently waking up in the underground cave. Sleeping dragons (potential characters) are scattered around the cave. The farmer kid, Jess, was the first to wake up- and the first to flip. In her frantic rush she accidentally crashed into End of the Days, a Sunset dragon who's friends with Dusky the Alt Black. They're both rather pissed. I think. Anyways, Dalek -transformed into a Frill- and his Aeon friend Eon Ages noticed the fray, before Raptor was going to investigate....something. Our as-of-yet unnamed Pillow hero woke up and accidentally shouted. Oops! An ex-human Chrono Xenowyrm named Silver slammed herself against the ceiling and began growing flowers. Paige and Esprit converse with each other, and Jasmine tries to pronounce her friend's name- with no success. We don't even know what happened to Kayla and Coil just yet- but we do a post later. Jess is trying to walk while unintentionally broadcasting all her thoughts. So far, a very awkward start.

 

Outside the cave, Tonitrui explored their house in Werrin to find his owner dead and Jess's brother hiding behind some hay. He walked out of the window holding the boy and met with Esmeralda, who took her brother while Toni went to get his sister back.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Esko_the_Wolf

[Esko]

And one more reserve

[Esko]

The roleplay is now OPEN! Edited August 30, 2016 by Esko_the_Wolf

[Esko]

I was very thankful it was fall. The air was much cooler and sweat didn't roll down my legs like some sort of race. It did mean that everybody was in a rush to harvest what was left of all the crops, which meant there was more work expected of me, which meant that Dad hollered a lot more. I hated work in general; clearly some deity became drunk and sent my farming dad a lazy *** daughter instead of a hardworking one. Didn't help that we were one of the few farms in the remote little town of Werrin, so we basically had to help support the town. Great.

 

A talon tapped my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Tonitrui's snout by my face. "Personal space, buddy." I chuckled and gently nudged it away. I pretty much grew up with the bolt, though Esmeralda said he was still a mature hatchling- made sense, considering he was not full sized. His crescent-moon horns just reach the top of my head. Thinking of my oldest sister reminded me of the fact that she could go off dragon-charting, but I couldn't. Which made no sense, considering I was lazy and she was not. Maybe Dad trusted her not to get killed? It was surprising that he even let her go, considering that he had a grudge against dragons. He seemed to loath Tonitrui, even though he's like a brother to me.

 

Tonitrui handed me a peach. "Here ya go."

 

"Thanks, bud." I gratefully took the fruit and bit into it. The sweet juices splattered onto my tongue, and I ripped the chunk out and chewed. Peaches were my favorite. There was one tree that grew close to the mountains that Dad would never allow me by. I looked up at the peaks. Anybody who didn't live in these areas would be in awe at the beauty of the mountains, but I was used to seeing them. I never left Werrin, anyways.

 

I thought I heard a ruckus inside the house. Tonitrui lifted his head in that direction. Both of us were still. The slight breeze danced around us, carrying one small leaf. Then the back door creaked open to reveal a cloaked figure. Red flags went off in my head instantly. The first thing that came to my mind was Grim Reaper...was I about to die?! The figure walked towards us, a war scythe in their one hand. Was that blood on the blade?! I slowly backed away, but then a bigger form appeared, this one orange. Magi dragon. Magicians would stop by the town every so often, and their companions would be those dragons. This one clearly had too much pampering; its large belly almost touched the ground. Was Reaper Man one of those magicians? This was some sick trick.

 

Tonitrui's fins flared up, and he hissed. The bolt pounced and locked talons with the magi, sending an electric shock through it. It staggered, then regained focus and used a back foot to strike her friend's belly. It was a shallow wound, and Tonitrui did not give up. However, despite his valiant efforts, the bigger and more experienced magi overpowered the bolt. It threw him to the side, and just as he was getting up to keep fighting, he was knocked out with a strike to the head by Reaper Man's scythe handle.

 

"No!" I shouted, but I was quickly pinned against the ground, and I hit my head. Hard. My vision faded, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the form of Reaper Man standing above me.

 

 

----

 

I was falling. Tumbling in the sky, I fell toward the mountain peaks at breakneck speed, my stomach lurching like it was being tossed around wildly. Which technically it was, but that's beside the point. I hoped it was a dream, I really did. But it felt too real. The wind whistled by my ears and made my long black hair fly around everywhere. Now my back was facing the ground, and I could see the tallest peak out of the corner of my eye. I closed my eyes....and fell into someone's arms? I opened my eyes again to see a girl's face. Then the picture blurred.

 

I had more nightmares. I'll keep it brief. They all were situations where I should have been dead, and I was scared ****less, but then the girl would save me every time. Why? Eventually I plunged into comforting darkness, and I sat there.

 

And that's when I woke up.

 

----

 

My head hurt. Ow. Ow. Ow. Groaning, I tried to turn myself. I felt super weird. My arms were real hard to move now...why? I managed to stand up, and it felt like I had more body to control. My head felt heavier, like there was something on it. It took all my effort to walk foward...and then I bumped into a crystal. A mana crystal?! I read about mana in one of the books Esmeralda brought home. Well, I didn't read about them, since I can't read. I saw drawings of them in the book and Tonitrui told me all about mana. It sounded cool. And now I was able to look at one of them.

 

Wait. I saw a faint shape in the somewhat reflective surface. It looked like a bolt's head....wait a second. That's me.

 

That's when I freaked out. I reared back and ended up landing on my back, my limbs flailing. Draconic limbs, talons and all. I saw my tail on the floor. I roared -roared!- frantically, trying to get myself up. At last I succeeded. I stood, limbs wobbly, and I looked over myself again, over my long Eastern body. This had to be another nightmare. It had to be. I shakily took a claw and dug it into my scales. It hurt, and blood welled up fast. I freaked out again, shrieking until I accidentally rammed into another dragon...

[DuskOfTheStars]

Dusky looked up. The candlelight in her dark room - yes, she liked it dark - was casting flickering shadows.

 

She sighed, picking up the scroll she held and unfurling it. This particular scroll spoke of mana and how it affected Valkemare. A good read, if Dusky did say so. The green eyed human unfurled it to her last mark and began reading, repeating the words she read in her head.

 

The brown-haired girl brushed her hair back absently. The scroll only got more fascinating the more she read! Then she caught sight if a candle. It had melted to the line if indigo dye she put in candles ysed to tell time in her dark library.

 

"Caretaking and socialization time, eh?" The human kept her tone and mind poised and neutral, trying to avoid the dark feelings and wishes for death that rushed up in her.

 

The pale, averagely built human girl stepped out - only to spy a cloaked man holding a scythe. A overweight Magi slammed her to the ground telekinetically, and Dusky screamed. Then she was knocked unconscious.

 

Living for eons. Trapped in this land. Never seeing words or light again. Burning but never dying. Dusky's most vivid nightmares cane true before her eyes. And then she woke.

 

What...? How...? Dusky attempted to stand up, only to fall on her muzzle. Wait... muzzle?! She looked up. Black scales? Body looking like an Alt Black? She was dreaming... right? Right? Dusky attempted to get up again, only to fall flat again. Then she saw the mana crystals and the Bolt.

 

Nope. Not dreaming. Darnit. she thought.

 

Then someone yelled telepathically, "What by the GoNs is this?! Who are you?!" Next thing Dusky knew, a male Sunset was shaking her. End of the Days! But the Sunset didn't recognize Dusky.

 

"Who are you, Alt Black?"

 

Dusky tried to speak, but unintelligible growls merely came out. Gibberish. Then she remembered the telepathy. She wasn't sure how to use it.

 

"Dusky." Dusky was glad she had raised dragons and learned that they spoke telepathically. At least she could communicate...even if it was poorly. She growled - he cave floor was uncomfortable - wait, why did she growl?!

 

End of the Days glared. "Prove it."

 

"You were thief till you came. Penk tried make you her flunky but Vicious Aeon stop'd THAT. I dealt with after-math, and then Amber showed up. You sent her flee'ng. Happy now?" Dusky finished with a slight but false smirk on her lips. A smirk designed to hide her fear, her pain, her darkness. But it wasn't even visible to End. It was hidden by the low range of expressions dragons could makeveasily.

 

End looked around, eyes wide. He saw the Bolt nearby. "...alright, I believe you. Now stop telling my life story in front of other dragons!" The Sunset turned back to Dusky. "So. You don't know anything about actually being a dragon except telepathy - which you have a poor grasp of by the way -... or why you were turned into one."

 

"Sums it up. How you get here? I not near anyone when I knocked out..." Dusky shook her head. Even in this new draconic form, she still wanted to have eternal sleep, eternal peace... but she had something to figure out first.

 

End of the Days glanced furtively at the Bolt before transmitting. "Well... Amber Shining Magi returned. I think she knocked me out and here I am. I didn't look, though. Happy?" The Sunset looked slightly uneasy for a bit.

 

*WHAM*

 

"Yeooowwww!!" End of the Days screeched in pain as the Bolt smacked into him.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Dusky_Flareon

[Moonlight_Eevee]

I yawned as I finished stacking logs into a little corner in front of my house. Logs were always a good thing to burn to keep warm during the winter nights. Eon Ages stood next to me as he helped stack logs as well. "Why do we have to get these logs in?" Eon asked, sort of bored with this. "They help during the winter," I responded. "When it gets way to cold outside and I have to be inside, the logs provide excellent firewood." "Aha," Eon said. I looked over at Eon who stood there with a blank look on his face. "I think I might go for a flight then." "Clear your thoughts again?" I asked him. He nodded before he spread his wings and took off. I watched him disappear above the clouds before I decided to go back inside and take a nap. It had been a long day.

 

I looked around at my collection of books. It was great reading them during the winter storms. Books always made me happy to read and the words always seemed to teleport me to places I've never been before, traveling to new worlds, making new friends, doing heroic deed. Of course I always cried when the book came to an end. I went to to go to the couch, but I caught something out of the corner of my eye before I turned to see a cloaked man holding a scythe and Magi Dragon that tackled me into the side of my house. Tales of heroics entered my mind before I passed out.

 

"Ugh, my head," I said when I came to. Did I take my nap? If so, what was I doing on the floor? Everything was hard to move. My limbs didn't seem to want to obey me.

 

"Who are you?" I heard Eon ask. I finally lifted my head and turned my head almost completely around to see Eon standing there with a bewildered look.

 

"Eon, it's me," I responded. "Dalek." Eon gave me a puzzled looked.

 

"You sure?" Eon asked, shuffling his claws. I nodded before looking down at my green body. I blinked. Green body!? "Where's a reflection!?" I roared, stumbling as I tried to move as I tried to find the nearest thing that can reflect me.

 

"Here," Eon responded as he unhooked the some crystals hanging up and placing down in front of me. I gasped in shock as I looked at myself. I was a green and orange dragon I had frills coming out from my head. I gasped in panic as I realized I had became a Frilled dragon. "If you really are Dalek, then tell me something only you would know."

 

"Other then the fact I'm panicking?" I asked a bit testily. "When you do your precognition ability, the blue is darker then most Aeon Dragons. Eon raised his head to say something before we heard roaring. "What was that?"

 

"I don't know," Eon said. "These mountains echo like you said, not sure if it was close or not." I got up shakily to go investigate. "Where are you going?"

 

"To investigate," I said, moving about clumsily, which made Eon start roaring his head off with laughter. "Glad I can make you laugh." It was rare Eon laughed. When he did, he laughed hard. He pressed his body against mine to help me keep steady as we walked towards the source. A bolt dragon along with an alt black and a sunset were standing there, the Soulpeace looking angrily at the Bolt.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Raptor of Dragons

[AuraOfFloof]

((Welp, I lied. I wrote hella faster than I was expecting, so here it is already. About two hours in the making...))

 

It was just another average morning for me. Except, uh, I hadn’t had my coffee. And I was out. So I was half-asleep, walking around town trying to find somewhere with more coffee. After what seemed like hours (I can’t be too sure, I was half asleep.) of aimlessly pacing around, my Ridgewing dragons, Ducro and Idgvi, came to my assistance. They had just woken up, so they just kind of directed me around for a while. They eventually gave up, seeing it was pointless trying to get me to go anywhere. After another hour of reckless wandering, I finally found a cart. The young man there was selling coffee beans.

 

“Oh, could I get some of those?” The man got a bag out from behind him. A rather large bag too. He then said, “Only two gold for this. Have we a deal?” I thought to myself, oh yeah we have a deal. Gimme. But I had more manners than that, even in this state. I couldn’t resist the temptation and handed over five gold coins. “Oh, thanks so much!” I picked the bag up. Running back, I yelled, “Oh, it’s nothing--your offer was too generous!”

 

After a few minutes I got back home. I started to make a decent breakfast of eggs with a bit of bacon. I then brewed some coffee. My Ridgewings had gone out to do who-knows-what, so I actually had some time to myself…

...or so I thought.

 

As I picked up my cup of coffee to take a sip, I heard a loud banging at the door. Oh, what now… I dashed for the door. I opened it slowly, shouting hello while doing so without even checking to see who was at the door. In jumped a Magi dragon, who very quickly pinned me to the wall. “If you plan on killing me, could I at least have my coffee first?!” The dragon didn’t respond. My vision blurred suddenly. I could only see slight figures by this point. Two more had entered. I saw one of them, whom I believe was a girl, make some form of a magic gesture or something, and before I knew it I was asleep.

 

Nightmares pursued. I can’t really recall what exactly went on, but in every single dream the girl or the dragon, usually both, were staring intently at me… seemingly straight into my soul. I was scared. More scared than ever before. Well, at least I wasn’t being haunted by crazy dreams about coffee. That would really be something.

 

Eventually I woke up. I felt really hot, and something felt quite off. I looked around, all I could see was… mana crystals? It couldn’t be! Oh wait, those are on the ceiling. Wow, I’m an idiot… I was still really tired, so I just rolled to the side. I looked into a small puddle, only to see the face of… a pillow dragon? What the…I shook my head and took another look. There it was again. I tried to think to myself but I accidentally yelled out, “How did this happen?!” I covered my… muzzle… and blushed. Smooth. I realized I was in a cavern full of other dragons. I blushed even more, so much my entire face turned a much brighter shade of red. “Oh, uhh… hi?”

 

((*yyawwwwnnnnn* Well? How'd I do for a two-hour post?))

[Lemniscate]

((I'm sorry this is so rainbow and confusing ;_; ))

 

"Hmm. What should we name this one?" I asked Strange, picking up a newly hatched Pink. Inspecting the hatchling, Strange flew a circle around it and poked it a few times. She put a paw to her chin and gazed thoughtfully at the very confused hatchling before perking up suddenly.

 

"Aha! I know! You look like an oval, and you hatched in a C position. Therefore, I'm naming you Oval C!" She exclaimed, ignoring the hatchling's protests.

 

"Alright, Oval C it is then!" I replied, quickly marking it on my scroll. The unfortunate hatchling looked like it was about to protest again, before giving up and resigning itself to its new name. Its mother, Echinada, came over and whispered to it, likely explaining my odd naming tendencies. Shrugging, I turned to Strange and high-fived her.

 

"Is that it for today?" Strange surveyed the hatching area, looking for any eggs that showed signs of cracking.

 

"Yup! Head on over to NOOOO and get some food. She's on serving duty today, make sure you don't let her tell you about the tragedy of her potato." The Harvests ran the meal area and took turns serving the dragons, though some of them might have let their potato farming get to their head. NOOOO included. They sure did know how to cook though, even if their cuisine was a little potato heavy. At least they still provided meat and seafood for those who didn't eat potatoes. Who knows what would happen if they decided that everyone could only eat potatoes. I shuddered at the thought as I watched Strange dart away, sticking her tongue out at me as she did a loop in the air. Stretching my arms out, I yawned before jumping as I heard a crash. The distinctive voice of Sierra reached my ears, followed by the gentler voice of Taloss.

 

"GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME, WREN!"

 

"Sierra, please calm down! What did Wren do to you?"

 

Before I could intervene, I was knocked over by a panicking Wren. Rubbing my head, I was about to get up again before Sierra rushed past me, making me lose my balance and fall again.

 

"Help me, Silver!" Wren exclaimed, her voice becoming fainter as she tried to escape from Sierra.

 

Groaning, I finally got up safely only to be knocked over yet again by Taloss. He gave me an apologetic look as he raced after Sierra, trying to match her anger-driven speed. Sighing, I momentarily wondered if it really was worth raising all these dragons, before grinning and brushing the thoughts aside. A few bruises were worth the excitement of seeing dragons grow from tiny hatchlings to majestic adults. Besides, I knew they'd protect me if I were in any real danger. Brushing my pants off, I got up to call Thundering Seas. She was one of the best fliers in the cave, and seeing as I couldn't match Sierra's pace on foot, I'd just have to catch a ride. Whistling Thundering Seas' special call tone, I mentally breathed a sigh of relief as she came. I taught all my dragons to come when I whistled a signature call, something which took an enormous amount of memory but eventually paid off. Sure, I made mistakes sometimes, but it was a lot easier than trying to find a specific dragon in the cave. Besides, I recorded their call tones next to their names on my scroll just in case.

 

"What is it that you require?" Thundering Seas said as she landed.

 

"Could you help me catch Sierra please? I know usually Taloss handles her, but she seems to be especially angry today." I gave Thundering Seas my best puppy dog eyes, hoping she would agree.

 

"Very well. I shall assist you." She sighed, letting me climb onto her back.

 

"Yay! Thanks Thundering Seas!" I grinned, hugging her neck. Instantly, she took off, rushing through the air at amazing speeds. I squinted my eyes against the wind that kicked up, pressing myself lower to Thundering Seas' body. Soon, we caught up to Sierra and Taloss. When Thundering Seas pulled up next to Sierra, I whispered, "Do a loop and drop me on Sierra's back!" Obeying, Thundering Seas pulled ahead before doing a quick loop over Sierra. Letting go of Thundering Seas, I dropped onto Sierra, my weight making her flight falter. Wobbling in the air, she soon lost balance and crashed to the ground. Satisfied, I shouted a quick thanks to Thundering Seas before turning my attention back to Sierra. I was about to reprimand her before I noticed an odd figure holding a scythe. Getting off of Sierra and backing away, I called out for Wren. Before I could do anything else, an impact slammed into me from behind. Blacking out, I collapsed face first into the dirt.

 

Then the nightmares came.

 

Jerking awake, I looked around me in a panic. They were just nightmares, I told myself. Don't think about them. Don't think about the weird girl. Don't think about anything at all. I tried to push myself off the ground... except I didn't have any hands. Wut. Looking down at myself, I realized I was covered in glowing teal scales. Woah. There were also small white flowers attached to my tail, and I found that I could grow or shrink them at will. I was a Chrono Xenowyrm. This... this was AWESOME! Except for the part about not having hands or legs. That kinda sucked. Doing an utterly ungraceful roll to the side, I tried to inch around like a worm. Obviously, that didn't work well. Hmm... Xenowyrms could levitate, right? I concentrated hard on imagining myself floating upwards, only to suddenly smack into the ceiling. Pointy crystals jabbed my back, causing me to cry out in pain. Only, instead of saying ow, I kinda roared. Whoops. That was a bit loud. Being a dragon didn't help quiet my already loud voice at all.

 

At least I had a good view of the room from the ceiling. I didn't want to try and lower myself yet, knowing my luck I'd probably cause myself to smash into the ground instead. Without hands or legs to cushion my fall, it would probably hurt a lot more. On the plus side, now I couldn't break any bones except for my spine, skull, and ribs. Mostly cause I didn't have any other bones, but it still counted, right? Plus now I wouldn't have to deal with getting scratches all the time! Dragons scales are tough! Turning my attention to the ground, I finally noticed a bunch of other dragons. Great observation skills, Silver. I thought to myself. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh when the Bolt accidentally crashed into a Sunset, though I probably didn't look any better with my worm crawl and being stuck to the ceiling.

 

A voice startled me, yelling "How did this happen?" It seemed to come from a Pillow dragon. Hmm... that was a good question. Probably had something to do with that shady scythe dude. Spacing out, I completely ignored the rest of the Pillow's speech. Theories whirled around in my head, some being discarded and some being just plain strange. Try as I might, I couldn't construct a solid idea of what had happened with so little information. Wait! Could these... dragons... be in the same situation as me? The Pillow did seem awfully confused and agitated. I could ask... but I didn't want to talk to these complete strangers. Hopefully, no one would see me if I stuck to the ceiling. Yeah right. I glowed and grew flowers. I wasn't hiding anywhere.

 

((Edit: I'd normally use light blue or aqua/cyan, but I don't want to hurt anyone's eyes.))

Edited September 1, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[skwerl56767]

A Kyanite Pygmy scampered over to the bed, keen on nuzzling my hand. I adjusted my violin again before sighing and giving the little guy some scratches.

" Are you scared?"

" Scared? No. Nervous? Heck yeah." I let the violin fall in my lap, and looked outside the porthole in the caravan.

So many people... And it didn't help that I was wearing this short feather dress. Dratted costume designer...

" You'll do great!" The pygmy assured with another nuzzle.

" You've always been optimistic." I said, scratching him under the chin. He purred and gained a dopey grin. " But I'm nothing like the other performers. They had so much time practicing with their pygmies..."

" And you haven't?" The Kyanite gave me two big puppy eyes. " We're a team! We'll blow their minds! Now gimme more scratches."

 

I chuckled and kept scratching his head, and he shoved his head into my belly, purring. Coil is like a cat, just a scaly one that talks. But most of all, he's my friend, invaluable considering what role I was in.

 

I guess you could call us a traveling circus, though we prefer the term "orchestral caravan". We travel around Galsreim, playing theatrical feats of music meant to excite and awe, and so far we have been doing pretty well. Er, from what I can tell; I've only been here a couple of months, really. The whole business has a focus on pygmies, so every performer has a pygmy buddy to help him with his act, usually performing while he plays the instrument. It's like that with Coil and I. I run around with my fiddle, and he dances around and makes people laugh. I mean, I guess you could say he's right, that we're a team and I shouldn't be worried, but... This was my first solo act. What if I messed up badly? The instructor would have my head!

 

There was a ringing outside, and I heard the instructor's voice as he started the introduction. I let out another sigh, and then my throat tightened up. Coil sensed the tension and nuzzled more, purring loudly.

" We'll be the best! I'll even wear those sequin ribbons so people look at me the most."

" I wish I had your confidence." I sulked. " Right now I feel like-" I paused as the instructor outside was suddenly cut off. That was odd... He usually does this big, dramatic introduction, ending it by shouting the act's name, but he didn't do that. Heck, he wasn't as talkative as he usually was!

Then there was a shout. Not a good one.

 

I jumped up, Coil tumbling off my lap with an alarmed squeak. I looked outside the porthole, which was a bit awkward considering my bird-wing headpiece.

I could see the crowd, but not the stage we had set up. Everyone was running, alarmed shouts turning into screams. I saw the glint of metal, but I couldn't see the figure in this darkness; oh, why did we set up in a cave so we could have a lightshow?!

" What is it??" Coil asked, attempting to crawl up on the window sill and pawing at the wall with his back legs. I didn't answer him, trying to keep an eye on the glint, but it's like it teleported from one spot in the parting crowd to another, and every time it moved there was this nasty slicing sound and a shriek. I cringed and snatched up Coil, getting away from the window.

 

Suddenly my door burst open. Our firebreather, a tattooed guy with a Crimson Flare, gave me a frantic look.

" Someone's in the crowd killing people! You need to get out of here!"

" What?!" I gaped. " B-But... what about Dancing Sands!?" Really? My mind added. After all of that anxiety, you're worried about your performance?

" Forget your commemoration to Antareans, just go!" He grabbed my hand - almost making me drop Coil - and practically threw me out of the caravan. He then ran out to find his own pygmy and escape.

 

For a moment I just stood there in shock, the awful sounds of the escaping crowd berating my ears. People weren't supposed to make that noise. This was wrong.

" KAYLA!" Coil squawked in alarm and jumped from my arms, leaving scratches down them. I grunted in pain and was immediately going to scold him, but something struck me in the head. Hard.

I fell to me knees, groaning. I couldn't think straight. It's the murderer! He's going to kill me!

 

I opened my eyes and tried to clearly see what was in front of me. Orange. A dragon? Another performer? It was glowing, for some reason. Something was squirming in its jaws, lithe as a lizard...

" COIL!!" I cried out in fear, but whatever was behind me struck me again, and everything went black.

 

((EDIT: Fixed Coil's speech color. Also, isn't it nice that I didn't attack the magi girl this time around?

EDIT#2: Changed Coil's text color again.))

Edited September 1, 2016 by skwerl56767

[XiraCaster]

It was pleasant to finally be out of the house for once. Coming from a hefty family of eight...free time was scarce these days. Considering the fact that I'm the second eldest out of the children, majority of the responsibilities rested on my shoulders. And boy was it a heavy burden to bear. In the eyes of my family, I was regarded constantly as the "perfect" daughter of the bunch. Never to disobey orders, always having perfect scores in education and never to hesitate to work...but I never really wanted to be. Stress was always overbearing and don't even get me started on the anxiety that came with it. It was rare moments like these where I could just unwind and be myself without having to cope with the constant harping and agonizing amounts of tension that took place in the household.

 

I was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods that resided just a short ways behind my home. Actually turned out to be one of my favorite pastime activities- aside from sketching. Accompanying me on the walk was my closest and dearest companion, Esprit. Esprit was a Spirit Ward, not only that, but he served as an emotional support dragon for myself. However, I saw him like a brother rather than a 'service pet' because of the durable bond we both shared with one another. He's the only dragon that I held an actual connection with. His luminous, calming radiance always kept my worries, my fears at bay. Dispelling any negative energy that dared tried to plague my mind. Even understood me when no one else could pay the time to. He truly was remarkable.

 

"I wonder if we'll get to see a nice sunset today, the striking array of colors really do look lovely in the horizon about that time. Kind of reminds me of a painted canvas." I had pondered aloud, announcing my thoughts absentmindedly. Esprit gave a throaty rumble, his tail guiding close behind me in a protective fashion. He was always fearful that I'd wander too far or would find myself lost with no way to tell which direction lead back to home. Granted it was unnecessary, but it made him feel better knowing I'd be looked out for. "Who knows. Maybe I'll kidnap you again later and we can come back here to watch it together. Have you sit on the top most tree so you'll have access to all the glory." The ideal was enough to cause a mere smile to sneak its way upon my lips.

 

We had traversed quite a ways before the spirit ward abruptly halted in his tracks, forcing me to stop with him. His piercing gaze swept ever so slowly across the forestry, his scales instantly beginning to give off a warm glow to that of dying embers. Something wasn't right. He only did this when something threatening drew near. But what could it be? The prickling sensation of being watched tickled the back of my neck and in that instant the sharp, creaking snap of a twig or small branch sounded in our ears. Almost as if something heavy had treaded upon it. Though one thing was for certain- we were being observed. Alarmed, we turned around as quick as our bodies would allow, only to face a most...peculiar sight. Standing just a meager few paces away was a cloaked entity grasping what seemed to be a ...scythe? It was bizarre yet rather unsettling all at once. Though whatever the case may be, it was not welcoming in the slightest. A sickening snarl sounded from Esprit as his body blazed to life, illuminating like fire. He must of thought it was a demon of sorts, even I too pondered the same ghastly idea. But before the dragon could lunge at the defensive I felt a shattering, breathtaking force slam against my back, pummeling me to the ground. I gasped, the air completely leeched from my body as I laid sprawled out, face down into the earthen soil. Whatever the thing was it had me pinned, and it was heavy as all get-out. Twisting my head to get a look at my assaulter my eyes widened. It was a Magi dragon. Though my consciousness didn't hold out for long, for the moment I made eye contact with the creature I could feel myself slowly drifting away. The last thing my vision caught was a faint glimpse of a shimmering body hurling itself onto the magi before everything grew dark, and the world became still...

 

 

I was neither dead nor asleep, simply existing in an endless void of murky darkness. That is, until the nightmares came. The images, the thoughts, the scenes that played out before my eyes were horrendous, gruesome, and down right twisted to the very core. Everything that I feared, was haunted by or wished to never be was there, playing before me like some sick twisted movie...except that I could feel all of it, almost like it was real. What puzzled me the most, was that there was always this same girl, this stranger that I had never met before in my life, had always came to my rescue before any misfortune could befall upon me. A savior if you will. I couldn't wrap my head around it, nothing made any sense! Soon however that would be the least of my worries. For finally the onslaught of scarring imagery began to disperse and with it, the soothing blanket of darkness enveloped me once more. And never had it been any sweeter....

 

When I finally came to my whole body felt battered and worn. Even my head pounded as if I banged it against a wall one too many times. Though when attempting to move any limbs that's when things became more complicated. For starters, I felt exceedingly more weight holding me down than before. This was not just by the work of gravity alone either. I went to move my arms but only then could I feel something drag along with them- additional weight yet again. What is going on?! I opened my eyes to reveal that I was in a vast cave decorated and adorned with mana crystals of all shapes and sizes. Never once had I seen these alluring gems in the flesh, only have I heard about them in rumors. They were also the only light source available as far as I could tell. But if I took a closer look, blinking my dreary eyes, dragons of varying species were clustered along the cavern floor. Some were slumbering others alarmingly awake. Why was I here?

 

A wobbly, vain attempt at standing was made before I crashed down onto the cold, solid ground below, a loud thud echoing throughout the walls. It certainly didn't help that I already felt sore as it was. Glancing over to what should of been my hand I only saw a coal black, claw with raptor sharp talons. Attached to that was a wing, and just at the tips licking up towards the middle of the appendage was searing blue flames that danced in the drafted breeze. I could feel my heart sink to the pit if my stomach as I feverishly examined my anatomy further.

 

I had no forearms- or forelegs for that matter, they were connected to the fairly large wings that were haphazardly lying across the floor. Blue flames trailed and blazed along my spine, wings and....tail?! This could not be happening. Stumbling over to the closest mana crystal I could reach in the cavern, a sharp wail shrieked from my lips, or least one would have if it wasn't for the screeching roar that sounded out of my maw instead. I was overridden with shock and horror as my now cold, lightning blue eyes stared down at the reflection before me. What have I become?! My once human body was now transformed and altered into a Falconiform wyvern....but how??

 

Reeling back away from the crystal I ungracefully tumbled over my long, trailing tail, landing into a heaping mess onto the ground once more. It was a good thing I was further away from most of the other dragons. Oh how embarrassing I must have looked, though a handful of others appeared to be struggling themselves. I could feel my heart thundering in my chest, my breathing rapid and irregular as I struggled to grasp the concept of reality. The dancing flames along my form enlarged into a scorching, blazing inferno and then died back down into low flickering embers, cold to the touch. This would continue on for quite some time in the same reoccurring, erratic pattern. I had no control over my flames nor did I know how to harness them. I was a mess in all sorts of ways, with no certain way of knowing how to control this newly acquired vessel.

 

"Um, are you...alright? You appear to be...in distress." A familiar soothing voice broke through into my mind. Esprit! Looking up from my humiliating position on the floor I gazed up at the spirit ward with sorrowful eyes, a faint glimmer of hope flashing behind the blue orbs. "I....I can't really move w-well.. I stammered, a faint whimper escaping me. The male seemed to nod his head, assessing the situation. As he reached over to lend a helping claw he hissed, recoiling in pain as the flames found their mark leaving a temporary burn along one of his talons. "Tsk! Easy now....easy. We need to calm you down first before we can get you back onto your feet, alright? Steady, slow paced breaths...that's it!" The dragon exclaimed as I did exactly as I was instructed to do. Surly enough, the fire that snaked along my body faded and quieted down to where the temperature was cool enough to touch again. Though even that aspect of my new body stunned me. My muscles slacked and no longer did my heart feel like it was going to burst through my chest. It seems like the fire correlates to emotions, gladly noted. Finally, I was on my feet albeit shaky and unstable, but standing with the aid of Esprit of course. I allowed myself to lean against his frame, his gentle glowing hues reassured me to stay calm so I wouldn't scorch him again.

 

"Esprit....its me, Paige....I doubt you'd recognize me though.." I muttered. "Paige?! No no, it couldn't be...." His voice went silent, body rigid before he decided to test my outrageous claim. "If you are her tell me something that she and only she alone would know or tell." "Well, for starters I already knew your name without either one requesting for one. Parents bought you as a support for me though I see you as family rather than a pet. Plus, how else would I of known your owner's name? Need I prove more?" The spirit ward gave an amused snort before nuzzling my shoulder like he always did. "No, that will do. Your point has been made but I am surprised to say the least. How you transformed is beyond me but the fact that you're a fellow wyvern is definitely exciting!"

 

We exchanged a few more words in conversation. Turns out neither one of us knows as to why or how we ended up in this cavern, accompanied by other fellow dragons. Quite an enigmatic scenario it was. As we stood there, my gaze drifted lazily to the other conscious draconic beings. A bolt, an alt black, sunset, pillow, aeon, frill....and was that a xenowyrm on the ceiling? There were plenty others of course, but these seemed to stand out above the rest. Maybe because they're as awkward as I am? Either way, this was going to turn out to be a very, very long day.

Edited September 1, 2016 by DarknessDragon197

[ValidEmotions]

I was just finishing classes for the day; the last lecture actually let out about an hour and a half early. (I was expecting to be there for the full two hours and forty-five minutes but luck was on my side this time.) It was a windy day, my cropped brown hair frequently fluttering into my face. It's really the only thing I disliked about short hair, couldn't put it up in a ponytail or braid to stay out of my eyes. But, oh well.

 

The sun was shining, the air was good. All around, a pretty nice day.

 

Shifting my backpack, I reached around and opened the zipper, pulling free a small piece of parchment. My scroll was pretty lengthy, but I had a useful spell to minimize its size for ease of travel. I was studying to be a scientist, with dragon studies as a hobby. So, naturally, I got my hands on a lot of dragon eggs and took as many notes as I could. Of course, I had someone at my side as a trusted colleague. Though, I hadn't really picked anyone until recently.

 

The sound of beating wings reached my ears, provoking me to look up. Dragons were, although hesitantly, generally welcome on the campus I attended. Though, the smaller they were, the better. Sunlight caught orange wings and blue scales, illuminating highlights and creating an impressive backlight. "Have a good day?"

 

Meet Valst, my trusted colleague. His telepathic voice was always soothing, sounding like a quiet rustling of leaves to me. The Drake landed by my side, his antlered head reaching the middle of my torso. Nodding in reply to his question, I started for home.

 

I guess I should introduce myself a little. My name is Jasmine but I've been called Jazz or Jazzy before, and people who haven't met me in person know me best as Narvix - Nar for short. Feel free to call me whatever you like, I'll respond to either name. At 22 years old, I'm kind of short (reaching only 4'11") and I'm petite. Brown hair, brown eyes, black glasses. I consider myself kind of dull, really. I keep to myself and don't really bother with socializing outside of my few friends and family.

 

Well, actually, I'm afraid to socialize but that's a story I might not want to share. At least for now.

 

Anyways, I'm digressing. Valst and I were heading home, walking down a quiet and unpopulated street since I live kind of off to the side of the city. Suddenly, Valst stopped moving, his body grown ridged and alert. Naturally, I stop too, staring at him as a flicker of anxiety tickled my chest. "What?" I ask him.

 

The Thawk (as Tarantula Hawk Drakes are alternatively known), didn't respond with more than a low growl, his reptilian eyes pinpointing on something. Instinctively, my hackles began to rise and I turned to see what the threat was. When I saw it, my breath hitched in my throat and my heart skipped several beats.

 

It looked like the Grim Reaper, given the dark cloak and the symbolic scythe. Its presence made my skin pale, sweat beading at my forehead as I started to feel clammy. For all the right reasons, I became very afraid and the logical response would have involved running. But my feet were glued to the ground.

 

I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyways as something big tackled me to the ground. I barely had time to register the Magi holding me down, to recognize Valst's angry roar, before I lost consciousness. I hadn't even been able to scream.

 

I'm not sure of what happened next. All I know was that I had several nightmares. Or maybe it was just one nightmare with several parts. I don't know. But I screamed, I ran, I cried. Everything and anything that terrified me, I lived it in some twisted fantasy. There was a girl though, every single time.

 

When I came too, it was easy to tell I wasn't home. At first, I thought I was still dreaming, but the noises and the confusing images were just too vivid to be anything but reality. It took me a few moments but I eventually realized that I was floating in a shallow pool of water. It should have been cold but it was comfortable. Instantly, I thought about a possible heating source.

 

Shaking off my lethargy, I lifted my head. It felt weird though. In fact, everything felt weird, almost as if I... had extra... limbs...

 

Blinking slowly, I stared at the foreign appendage coming from my side. Stripes of two shades of blue and white decorated the soft flesh and, yes, I could move it with some thought. Is... Is that a wing? I swiveled my head on a too-long neck, looking at my other side. Sure enough, a matching vision filled my gaze. Partly submerged in water, I didn't know how to respond.

 

Part of me wanted to think I would say 'cool' to the strangeness. Another part just wanted to wake up back in my own bed.

 

Finally, the last part... The last part sent me into a panic.

 

I cried out, or tried to at least. A strangled sound emerged from my mouth - no, maw - and I flailed about as I stumbled out of the water onto dry cavern floor in an awkward mess of claws and limbs (which consisted of four legs, two wings, and a long tail). My heart was racing now, blood thumping in my eardrums. How am I a dragon! A Glaucus Drake!

 

The spiny ridges along my back were flared, I could feel it though I wasn't sure how. Awkward wings dragged along or slapped against the stone floor while my tail got tangled in my feet. Instantly I was sprawled on the ground, chin slamming the ground and causing pain to splash across my jaw. What's going on!

 

I wanted to cry from the sheer panic I was in, eyes wide and locked on the group of conscious dragons further ahead of where I was. It was hard to breath and my vision wobbled, fading at the edges before starting to lose focus.

 

Something touched me and I made another garbled sound, floundering again as I just couldn't control these wings! "It's okay, it's okay. Calm down."

 

I knew that voice. Valst. My Valst. Trying not to hyperventilate, I shot my terrified gaze on the Thawk, taking in the sight of his blue scales and orange wings. His side was pressed against mine, the bulk of his body only a few inches bigger than mine. Oddly, I estimated myself to be somewhere around 19 inches tall at the shoulder, based on my knowledge of Valst.

 

When I felt I could trust myself to talk without screwing that up, I opened my maw. "V-" My vocal cords didn't work right. Or, at the least, not the same as before. I couldn't say his name as easily as before but the Drake seemed to understand.

 

He smiled at me, a confused but reassuring gesture. "I know as much as you," he told me.

[skwerl56767]

I've had nightmares before. Nightmares about losing a performance, being kicked out of the band, being stuck on the streets of some village with no food or water. One awful nightmare where I had Coil with me, and we were stranded in the desert...

These nightmares? Let's just say that they were so bad, my mind blocked them out. I couldn't remember a thing about them when I woke up. But when I woke up, I was shaking so bad and having trouble breathing; it was obvious that I did not have a good night's sleep, so to speak.

 

I blinked and looked around, trying to calm my nausea and my shivering. I couldn't see much at first, so I tried getting up...

Weird. I was on my belly. I guess I fell forward when that thing hit me... what happened, anyway?

I pushed myself up with my arms, though moving them felt weirdly... I don't know, stiff. They bent forward perfectly well, but there was something wrong about moving them to the side. It felt like a rubber band was holding them to my chest.

Okay, also weird... I pushed my legs underneath me and tried to hoist myself up onto them, but my back stiffened halfway in the rise and I fell back forward onto my palms; the shaking didn't help, and I nearly lost my balance.

 

Okay, try again! I huffed, and pushed myself back up again. I swayed dangerously, like my legs were way too short for this, and they started to hurt. I gasped.

Good golly! Did I gain a hundred pounds or something?!

I fell back forward onto my palms, frustrated. Weird arms, weird legs, weird lack of balance... I heard a whimper and looked up.

COIL!

I broke out a grin and rushed toward the pygmy, and he shrieked as I tackled him and started snuggling. " Coil! Oh gee, I thought I lost you! That orange thing didn't hurt you, did it? Did it? No, not my Coily-foo..." I faltered.

Was... was something growling behind me? Right behind me?!

 

I jumped up in alarm, and in sync with it was a dragon's growl. Free from my grasp, Coil bolted behind something vitreous and glowing. I tried looking around, since I was having trouble standing, and my nausea came back in waves.

Oh goll... What was WRONG with my neck?! It felt like it kept on stretching, like it was on a pole or something!

I must have had the best expression... But right now I was too freaked out to think about what I might have looked like. I was trying to figure out why my neck felt so long and floppy!

Coil squeaked. I looked at him. Boy, I don't think I've seen such saucer eyes before...

" Coil?" I tried to coo, but instead it sounded like a strange growl. " Are you all right?" I tried looking around again despite the weird feeling on my neck, and spotted my violin. Oh stars! I could use that right now. I reached for it...

 

A dragon reached from under me and pulled it back.

" Hey!" I yelped, snatching my violin and hugging it to my chest. I fell back on my rump, but whatever that orange dragon was, it must have moved, because I didn't sit on anything... But again it let out that annoying grunt right when I spoke!

I huffed, looking back at Coil. I could see the tip of his tail behind... a crystal? How long has that been there? He was shivering a lot, from what I could tell. I was tempted to try and talk again, but I was worried about this dragon that was messing with my head. It must be what was scaring him.

" I don't know what you're doing... " I began, trying to address this unknown dragon. " But stop it."

" Grrrowwwww grrr...." Was the response.

 

I was freaked out. Really freaked out. And I was still shivering from those bad nightmares. So I did what I normally did when I was freaked out.

I stared straight ahead like I had seen a ghost, fumbled around for my violin bow, found it, held it really awkwardly like my hand was a bit too stumpy, and started playing a tune. It wasn't too bad. Until I heard a scream.

SCREEEE! The fiddle shrieked in protest as I whipped the bow over it, nerves on end and grimacing.

“ How did this happen?!”

CRASH! " Rooooaawrgh!"

" RAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

" AHHH!" I screamed. " AHH! AHH! AHHHHHHH!"

All I heard was roaring! Everything around me was roaring and shrieking! Some of it was inside my head! I couldn't get it out!

 

I clapped my hands to the sides of my head and kept screaming with the rest of them. I guess you could call it a herd-mind response: " Hey, everyone's screaming, let's join in the fun!". But really, I was panicking. And then I looked around.

More panic.

DRAGONS! Dragons everywhere! Gaping and panicking and running around! One was stuck to the ceiling! OH GOLL!

I hugged my precious violin to me and ran back over to Coil to snatch him up, even if he would try to wriggle away again. He let out a cute squeal of a scream, staring at my face. I whipped around to see what was behind me..

Wings. Attached to ME.

" AHHH!"

" Squeeeea!"

" AAHHHHHHH!"

Edited September 1, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Esko]

I desperately hoped these horns of mine didn't impale anyone. The last thing I needed was to become the accidental killer of a dragon. I realized that I didn't know a lot of these dragons's species. I knew Bolts, obviously. Magis, only because of their visits to Werrin. We never had any books or scrolls about dragons, surprisingly. I'm pretty sure Esmeralda's planning on bringing us back a few...Esmeralda. How would she react to me being gone? What happened to the rest of them? Toni? Kuno? Dad? I couldn't bear to think of what could happen to my three-year-old brother, or if he's even still alive. If any of them are alive. Even with all the times he pissed me off, I was concerned for Dad too. My gut wrenched with fear of the worse. I remember seeing blood on Reaper Man's blade.

 

"I'm gonna kill him." (I did not realize I broadcasted this)

 

Then I remembered that I collided with the orange and purple dragon. I was on top of him. I managed to roll off and tried to apologize. "I-I'm so..." I tried to word sorry, but it came out as garbled nonsense. The hell? I placed talons on my dragon-y throat and gulped. I remembered that Bolt spoke in something he called "telepathy". "Maybe I can do this 'telepathy' thing too? But how do I do it? Do I just think? Do I think 'I will say this' and say it? No, that sounds too silly. But does it work like that? How do I know when I do it? Does my brain buzz or something? Oh, if only dragons could speak like humans! Then I could actually apologize to the guy I rammed into." I accidentally broadcasted all my thoughts again without knowing, managing to get up on my feet. I felt a lot heavier than I should. My arms and legs felt like they couldn't take the weight. Maybe I should begin practicing. Yeah, that makes sense. I thought about moving my arm forward, and grudgingly it obeyed. However, it didn't land right and I ended up falling on my side. Again. I huffed and snarled, working on getting myself back up. I was already getting impatient. It was a lot like drawing already; you wanted your hand to draw one thing but it did something completely different and you had to practice and practice. I stood on my hands and feet and tried again. My front hand just barely landed flat on the cave floor, and I wobbled. Luckily I steadied before falling again. "My scales might fall out by the time I get used to this, with how much I've been falling on my side."

 

---

 

Moons and stars, she better be alive.

 

Tonitrui was looking through every nook and cranny in the small house to see who else died. It was hard for him to look away from the dead body of Jess's dad, large tears in the man's body from the scythe blade. A blend of rage and sadness swirled within the bolt. Nobody ever deserved this, especially not his sister. She's not your sister, remember. But she felt so much like one. He grew close to the tall, spunky, lazy, stubborn-as-hell farmer, closely resembling a sibling bond. He had to find her somehow. But first, he had to make sure the three-year-old was alright. Toni poked his head into the room that Kuno and Jess shared. Sure enough, the little boy was hiding behind a few rectangular bales of hay. He saw the dirty-blonde head of hair poking out from behind the blocks of straw.

 

"Kuno." His voice would ring in the kid's mind. "It's alright. It's me, Toni."

 

Kuno slowly walked out from behind his hiding spot, then ran into the bolt and hugged his serpentine body, crying. "A strange man attacked Daddy, Toni! Daddy got hurt!" He sobbed.

 

"I know, Kuno. I know." Toni slowly patted the boy's head, trying his best to comfort him. "We have to go, okay?"

 

He sniffed. "Will Daddy come with us?"

 

The bolt hesitated, trying to come up with the best answer. "Daddy can't come right now. He has to get better first, okay?" He got a nod in response. He exited through the window, not wanting the innocent pair of eyes to spot the bloody mess. Dark clouds slowly swallowed up the blue sky; a storm was coming. At the same time, Toni spotted a dark pair of wings, with a human form on top of it. Somebody was smart to ride a Storm Rider in the coming weather. And he knew that somebody. The strong dragon landed and the rider jumped off, in full riding gear. She took the helmet off, and chocolate brown hair fell down to her waist. Blue eyes scanned the area.

 

"Toni?" She aproached the bolt. "What happened here? You look worried." Her eyes flew open when she saw Kuno on his back, upset.

 

"Esmeralda..." Toni sighed. "We were attacked. Jess and I were working on the field when your father was attacked and K-I-L-L-E-D in the house. Kuno ran and hid.

 

The dragon tamer looked flabbergasted. "No..you're joking, right?"

 

"I wish I was."

 

"What happened to Jess?"

 

"Captured, I think. I was knocked out before I saw."

 

Esmeralda buried her face in her hands and regained herself. "Alright. I'll take Kuno, you look for Jess." Toni nodded. Esmeralda picked her brother up and hopped onto her dragon's back, securing him and speaking to him. She put her helmet back on and the dragon leaped into the sky, and he watched as it got smaller and smaller in the sky. Rain began to drizzle. How ****ing fitting. Toni crouched, then jumped into the sky, electricity sparking around him as he traveled in the clouds.

[Lemniscate]

After a while of observing the other dragons from the ceiling and (unsuccessfully) trying to hide, my mind started to wander. Now what was I supposed to do? I guessed I could try to get used to my new form, but I didn't want to go down to the other dragons. Sighing, I rolled over on the ceiling and stared at the crystals. They actually didn't hurt at all when I rolled gently over them, thanks to my scales. I entertained myself with some made up stories, playing various dramatic battle scenes in my mind. During a pause in my imagination, a subtle nagging began tugging at the corner of my mind. Hm? Realizing I had become completely unaware of my surroundings, I dragged myself back to reality. The moment I did so, I regretted it. Voices rushed through both my mind and my ears, roaring and panicking. It was loud, too loud. I couldn't make out a single word of anything. A sharp SCREEEE suddenly rang through the air, like nails on a chalkboard but a thousand times worse. The cave itself didn't help either, echoing and distorting the voices. Squeezing my eyes shut, I instinctively curled up into a small spiral. I couldn't block the voices since I had no hands or arms. Nor could I do anything about the myriad of screams in my mind. In the midst of all the chaos, I could feel my mind slipping back to the nightmares. No. Don't remember. If these other dragons could just shut up... shut up... shut up shut up shut up... SHUT UP!!!

 

Roaring as loud as I could, I opened my eyes again and forced myself to concentrate on going back to the ground. Of course, I smashed flat into it as I thought I would. It didn't matter, I welcomed the pain as a distraction from the overwhelming voices. Picking my head up, I caught sight of a dragon holding... something. I didn't bother to try and make it out. Forward. I thought, focusing all my will to escape into the thought. I rushed forward, slamming into the other dragon hard. I tried to scream SHUT UP at the dragon, but another harsh roar came out instead. My increased frustration only made me feel more cornered. If I couldn't run, then I'd have to stop the source of the voices. Whipping my tail around, I ruthlessly tried to wrap it around the neck of the other dragon. I could barely think straight, let alone concentrate on what exactly I was doing. I just wanted the voices to STOP. Stopstopstopstopstop!!! I hated being overwhelmed, helpless, and trapped like this. I wanted to strangle, to hit something, anything to ESCAPE. Unconsciously, the blue tendrils growing from my scales began to wrap around my eyes, head, and ears protectively. With some of the noise muffled, I slowly began to gain a grasp on my mind again.

 

Gradually, I let my body relax as I tried to even my breathing. Get a grip on yourself, Silver. Calm down. Don't think. Let your mind be blank. Letting go of the dragon and curling up again, I took shaky breaths and stared at my glowing teal scales. Alright. What can I improve on my response next time? Yes, concentrate on preventing this from happening again. Learn from your mistakes. Remain in control. That was a fluke, it won't happen again. Control. Calm. Now that I've regained those, I can focus on trying to block the voices instead of useless panic. Concentrating on my mind, I willed to voices to be gone. I managed to muffle the voices a little, but not clear them from my mind. Wait. Did I just attack a dragon? Oh no... it was probably angry now. Unwrapping my tendrils from my eyes, I took a tentative peek at my surroundings. Please don't let it want revenge. I didn't know how to fight as a dragon yet, let alone go anywhere without smashing into things.

 

((Well, Silver attacked Kayla and attempted to strangle her. Yay. Slight overreaction? Yup.))

Edited September 1, 2016 by Silverphoenixx

[Moonlight_Eevee]

I gripped my head with one of my paws as I leaned heavily on Eon. There was much panic and I can hear voices in my head. I went to say shut up, but roared instead. Easy Dalek a voice said in my mind. Eon? I asked, my voice broadcasting. What's going on? All dragons have the ability to talk to each other via telepathy, it is hard to gain control of. This lot is probably not helping you. I twisted my head, hitting him with the frills on my head that were now spread out. Sorry I tried to clear out my thoughts but the panic and roaring wasn't helping the fact that it was making my head hurt. There was fights that were going to break out and I didn't want to partake in any of them. Are they going to fight? Hopefully not, if they do, well, they'll figure out that an Aeon Dragon will be here to protect you, however, I don't think they will do to them stumbling around. Clear your thoughts and concentrate on blocking out the noise and stand on your own. With the help of Eon, I cleared out my thoughts, trying to block out any noise. It grew fainter as I concentrated. Then, Eon shifted away from me. I wobbled before falling on my stomach, legs wobbly from standing. I eventually shifted myself to be sitting down on my haunches. The frills on the side of my face were still out. I growled as I focused on closing them. Slowly, they closed, stopping halfway.

[AuraOfFloof]

((Sorry this one's so short, guys. Writer's block. Gonna cry now. ))

 

Heh, yelling at the top of my lungs wasn’t the best way to introduce myself. I started walking around in circles for a minute, eventually bumping into something, which kinda startled me. I looked down, and it was... a… bowl… of coffee? I put some thought into it. The hell? Hmm. Waaaaaait a minute… wow. Just wow. I can’t believe this. Well, I guess I… uhh… I can. But I’m not amused by this shenanigan. I glared at the bowl in an intent and annoyed manner for about five minutes, then started lapping it up. Wow, this stuff is good. It tasted better than any coffee I’d ever had in my life. ...still not amused.

 

I suddenly heard some rather loud noises not too far away. I jumped back a bit, somewhat startled. I then ran over to see what was going on, but I tripped on a rock and started tumbling down, eventually landing on a xenowyrm. Once I realized that my ass was on a dragon’s face, I scooted back to the point that it wasn't. “Oh, sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! I’m so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to sit on your face! Are you okay?” I continued to apologize, with no reason to stop.

 

((someone's char should get me to stop ))

Edited September 1, 2016 by Geometry Dash YouNoob

[TehUltimateMage]

((A post featuring someone not related to the cave mess at all, aka a returning character from YAAD 1. I'll have a new character posted for in a bit.))

 

I knew exactly who I was. Human.

 

I wake up every day hoping these claws and bright orange scales were a lie, that all of this was just some bad mana trip from breathing in too many fumes and that one day I'd catch myself sleeping in a pile of drool on my desk and go 'Well, wasn't that a weird dream'. But, this was no dream; not even a nightmare.

 

I used to be one of the greatest wizards in the land, or so I thought, who had sealed herself in the rocky crags of the volcano territory. I was one of those humans brave enough to examine the mana springs dangerously close and dangerously aware of the substance's less than savory effects on nonmagical beings. Some used to say that perhaps my less-than-safe mana handling practices and strange alchemical experiments were the cause of my gift in magic. Others said I was a joke in the scholarly community. I didn't really care about the rumors. I didn't go to town often, anyway.

 

Though, apparently I was a big enough deal, because someone thought it was a good idea to find me and assault me in the middle of the night.

 

That drek of a teenage girl and that pig of a magi set off a series of events which might have (almost) led to the destruction of an entire people. Both past me and current me would have cooked and eaten them both alive.

 

I am not proud of what I have done during the Great War. Even if I recalled it more clearly, I would rather not talk about it. Villages burned down, human and dragon alike slain and tortured, the sound of tears and the smell of blood... It was all a blur. I seemed to have enjoyed it at the time. Like frolicking in a ball pit, except in this case the balls were flaming corpses and crushed houses. Only through secondhand accounts after the fact did I find out what the war was actually about -- not counting the hidden motives -- a mass rebellion of the dragons against the humans, led by a single massive Golden Wyvern with a wolf's mask. He had rallied the three dragon kingdoms and had a formidable force... but one day, he vanished. With no leader, the war had no driving force left.

 

I do remember a stupid Moonstone knocking me out with the ball of its tail in some sort of final confrontation, and when I woke up with a searing headache worse than when I was first transformed (and a different kind of thirst for murder) the war had already ended. That was when my clear memories began, as if slapped out of some kind of stupor.

 

Four years have passed since then. They were relatively peaceful years for most people. Many people recognized me as the villain I was, so I returned back to the volcanoes, made peace with the Embers and carved myself a new lair. The old one was getting small, anyway. Magi dragons were much bigger than humans. My dragons started respecting me much less now that I was one of them, but a classic threat of a lava bath usually put them back into their places. My assistant, Qaksh, had set off on his own journey like many of the other dragons documented in my scrolls. Figures. That Magi was worthless anyway, especially since I could now do all his jobs myself, but he'd be back eventually.

 

Many others at the time had been affected by the transformation curse, I had discovered. Many were happier as dragons, while others barely tolerated. For me, being a dragon was an amusing experience at the beginning, but now the thrill of flying and setting things on fire had worn off, replaced with a general sense of disgust at the frilled shadow cast on the wall by torchlight. Leads to catch the girl, the fat magi, or the wolf-eared boy were next to nonexistent. Without any knowledge of the actual spell, there was no chance for me to even try to devise a counter-spell.

 

All I could really do was continue my research while I kept thinking about how to reverse the transformation. Fire mana shards were spicy, but could still be put to a variety of uses. Going through a bend at the back of my room to where the crystals I used were labelled and stored to fetch some for work, I was surprised to find the room pitch black. That was strange. Usually they glowed, especially the Light mana ones. Without a second thought, I conjured an orb of illumination.

 

Empty. Completely empty. All those samples, collected over the years...!

 

I screamed, my raging roar echoing through the caverns. Dragons stirred, although most of them stayed where they were, too lazy to go investigate their formally human master.

 

I just wanted to complain to someone but sending a messenger pygmy would take too long, so at the first chance I got I bolted straight up, out of the crater, and into the skies.

Edited September 1, 2016 by TehUltimateMage

[DuskOfTheStars]

The Bolt started broadcasting about "kill[ing] him". End growled viciously before slashing his claw at the Bolt but missing.

 

"What the ?! You aren't going to kill me before I kill you, Bolt! Identify yourself or else."

 

Then the Bolt made these garbled noises.

 

"What the... heck... are you trying to say, buddy?"

 

Maybe I can do this 'telepathy' thing too? But how do I do it? Do I just think? Do I think 'I will say this' and say it? No, that sounds too silly. But does it work like that? How do I know when I do it? Does my brain buzz or something? Oh, if only dragons could speak like humans! Then I could actually apologize to the guy I rammed into. the Bolt broadcasted.

 

End stared. "You don't know telepathy, right? Because you just broadcasted that for everyone to hear. Speaking of that, a few others are doing that with their thoughts."

 

Dusky looked up. She grunted, lifting her head and neck off the cold cavern floor. "Ow. Explains din. Head hurt. Echoing." The Alt Black's head dropped to the ground. She dragged a claw up towards her head. Forgetting she wasn't human, she tried to hold her head with her claw but instead hit herself in the head, causing a suprised roar.

 

She emitted a 'groooo' sound in pain. End smacked his tail into the ground.

 

"About telepathy... can I run anyone through the basics? It might help with spillover, and it'd do wonders for someone's grammar and understandability - their telepathic voice is choppy and, as humans called it, phonetic." End asked. He swished his tail on the ground, looking around the room. The Sunset was a little nervous - most of the dragons here seemed to be transformed. That was the only thing that could explain their, erm, incompetence at being a dragon.

 

"HEY!" Dusky roared telepathically into End's head.

 

The Sunset stepped back. "Somebody's a mite touchy..."

 

Dusky was angry at - and a bit upset by - the taunting, upset at her failures and a bit angry about being turned into a dragon. So when she transmitted next, she managed to make a choppy, awkward voice sound scary. "Stop. Talk'n."

Edited September 3, 2016 by Dusky_Flareon

[Pyrowings]

((Returning character for now. Editing with new char....))

 

I was sitting—or rather, lying—outside my (technically new) carriage, remembering a night four years back. I slowly stirred the cauldron of soup in front of me. Those three.... They really had no subtlety, but their transformation spell was rather refined... But just crude enough to show their inexperience. I shook my head, wondering yet again if I should have stayed with them—help them learn, watch out for them—instead of pursuing my own agenda—but war is hell, I needed to go, I needed to walk in the ruins and help the poor callowed folk... Or did I run away again, since I was at the source?

 

But we can only move forward, and that's what's going to happen this time too. I dribbled a bit of soup on my claw, musing that at least my little internal companion is more at ease, and licked it... Hm, needs more salt. After adding some and stirring a bit more, I left it to shimmer and flew into my carriage to grab a few pieces of fresh fruit.

 

"Tinselwings! Empyreal! Mira! Basii!" I projected the telepathy as wide as I can. "Dinner's ready!"

Well, Mira would probably decline. She prefers raw, fresh meat. Basii is a strict herbavoire, so he too... But it's much nicer to eat together.

 

"Pyro. Something comes."

The statement came and I looked up, alarmed. Mira was flying high overhead, her blue flames flickering in warning. I followed her flight to see a... Comet....? Whatever it was, it was a bright orange, zooming swiftly towards this direction.

 

"Go on, see what it is."

 

"...You don't think it's dangerous, whatever it is."

I could just imagine her narrow-eyed expression from her annoyed tone. I looked up at the thing again—hey, it was more gold than orange now.

 

"If it's flying in a straight line, then it isn't coming towards us at all. And if its angry, we have plenty of foo-oof!"

Tinselwings chortled as I got to my feet—so to speak—and dusted myself off with a roll of the eyes."Tinselwings! I'm talking with Mira right now. Plea—"

 

"I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy~" Tinselwings tried her most annoying mental tone. I was about to reply when Mira spoke again, surprised.

 

"It's.. It's Mage!"

 

"By all means, then! Invite her down for dinner," I replied, then flew back into the carriage to grab another bowl. When I got back, Empyreal and Basii were here, and Tinselwings was chanting "Food now!" over and over next to the cauldron. I ladled the soup in while only half-paying attention, mind open to hear if Mira did invite Mage or not....

 

"Greetings, Mage. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

 

Typical. I smiled to myself as I handed Tinselwings the bowl of soup, much to her joy, then prepared a bowl for Empyreal, myself, and Mage.

[ValidEmotions]

There was too much noise, both in my head and in my ears. I started to whimper, hunkering down against the cavern floor as much as I could to make myself even smaller. Valst pressed his warm body even more against mine, adding to the reassuring pressure. But it was still too much. I couldn't handle all of the shouting in my head and in my ears.

 

I didn't know how to shut it off though.

 

"Just try to focus on one thing." Valst's voice cut through the cacophony, soothing me like it often did when I needed it to. "You can learn how to block it out first, then learn how to direct it. Use me if you want to." His chest rumbled, making my side vibrate faintly.

 

I tried to do as he said. Really, I did, but it was far harder than it probably should have. I couldn't focus; I kept getting distracted by all of the noise. I want it to stop... Please make it stop... I don't want to be here, I want to be home... Vaguely, I tried to remember if dragons could cry. Probably not since smaller reptiles couldn't.

 

"It'll stop soon, I promise. Just focus and we'll make it home." But this wasn't some Wizard of Oz film. I couldn't click my ruby shoes three times and chant "there's no place like home" to poof to my front door. I almost snorted with derision at the thought. "Jasmine! I know you're scared but you need to try!"

 

Valst's growl brought me back to my present situation and I stared at him with wide eyes. He was right but I hated to admit when I was scared. It wasn't fair that he could read my thoughts so easily. Swallowing hard, I lowered my head and attempted to concentrate again. Slowly, almost unnoticeable at first, a few of the intruding voices faded into silence. There were still others but at least the noise wasn't so overwhelming.

 

Snuffling, I was startled by the sudden amount of information my nose picked up that I couldn't sort. I shook my head furiously, trying to clear my head and return my attention to the voices. Some of the others were angry and just as terrified as I felt but I was too difficult to match each individual thought with its source.

[skwerl56767]

At first I was screaming because I was freaked out. And then I began to feel better. Well... that's not a good way to put it. It felt good to let all of that panic out, but boy, were my lungs starting to hurt. I'm a singer, not a screamer!

Coil and I were still staring at each other, the shrill noise escaping from our lungs, before were were interrupted by a roar directed at us. We both turned our screaming to it.

" AHHHH-!"

Smack! The blur tackled me head-on, making both Coil and my fiddle fly into the air, the latter banging on the floor loudly in protest at the abuse. Coil scrambled but went nowhere, leaving long scratches behind him as he motored his legs, now squealing in terror at the massive blue creature that had pinned me: some kind of monster dragon with no legs.

 

Now I was back to screaming in panic, until it began to choke me. Let me tell you, being squeezed like an anaconda's lunch is not fun; I felt like the pressure was going to split me in half! I tried to squirm, and as a result I discovered a few new muscles in weird places on my body. Including a tail, it seemed. Yes, you heard me, A TAIL.

Slap! Slap! Slap! I started smacking the dragon's face with my tail, desperate to escape and unable to breathe. I tried clawing at its scales, but they were too thick! All of my other limbs were constrained! I could only rely on this - Oo, rather pretty - tail to distract the dragon. I tried biting it even, but it didn't work.

Gasp... couldn't... breathe...

 

Coil was hysterical, running around like a mad thing, so exhausted from using his lungs that his open mouth let out no sound. I was starting to grow weak, and the sounds of the other dragons began to fade...

No... NO!!

Some sort of innate reaction triggered in the back of my my mind, and my tail twisted upward and embedded its point between the enemy's scales, if only for a moment. I was astonished to find that the tip wasn't flexible, even though it felt so natural... I don't know if that sting is what caused the dragon to loosen up, but once it finally did I wriggled out just enough to aim a scratch at its face, both panicked and indignant, not thinking straight. I was about ready to give that thing a piece of my mind!

Wait a second... "Scratch"? Did I have-

 

Thump. My head turned and I saw something huge and fluffy tumbling toward us. Okay, so I might have stopped screaming for a moment, but I definitely started back up now. And then I had a mouthful of fur.

" Oh, sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! I’m so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry!" A flurry of apologies filled my head. " I didn’t mean to sit on your face! Are you okay?”

" What!?" I thought, not realizing that it was "out loud" and fighting with the fur smashing down onto my face. I tried to vocalize my panic as the suffocation went from being squeezed to death to being sat on, but it just came out muffled, like I was trying to eat a pillow.

Oh goll...

 

Whatever this fluff was, it quickly removed itself, and I gasped for air once again, one foot twitching.

Ugh... too much... in one hour... My lungs felt more squashed than a peach under the wheel of a horse carriage. With all of the excitement shaken out of me though, I began to actually think clearly for once.

Vision. I was in a cavern. " Gee, how long did that take?" I "thought" sarcastically. The cavern had glowing crystals all over it, like the one Coil hid behind.

Coil... Fiddlesticks... No, my babies! My dancing pygmy and worn violin!

I tried to push myself up, but was so weak from the encounter with the blue serpent, I just fell back down. I resorted to rolling over and crawling along my belly like a caterpillar, giving everyone an exhausted look. " Oh... everything is so much clearer when - your hand is orange!!"

 

I roared in alarm and sat up so fast my back cracked threateningly, causing me to wheeze out the last of the roar. M-My hands! My squishy white hands! Freaky and scaly and ORANGE! I mean, they were pretty, but they had claws!! Humans don't have claws! And the growling, that was me! I was roaring!

Oh, I didn't even want to see what the rest of me looked like... what happened?! Was this another nightmare??

Of course, I wanted to go back to some very loud screaming, but I was literally gasping for breath, and growing dizzy from depriving myself of air. So all I could do was pathetically wheeze until my throat grew too sore, in which case I ended up crying instead. Even worse, when I reached up to wipe the tears off my face, my hands - er, paws... - struck something sticking out of my face. A muzzle. That just made me cry more, knowing my face had extruded out.

 

The crying was weird, to say the least, like what a wild cat would sound like if it cried, but considering I was already in shock - and back to square one with shaking in fear - I hardly noticed it. I just let the crazy emotions overwhelm me and shuffled forward on my paws and knees - or what I thought were my knees - to retrieve my violin and hug it like it was a hatchling. I glanced down at the bow and cried even harder: broken. I had a freaky body, and my violin was broken! Not to mention Coil was hiding behind a crystal somewhere...

It's hard to bury your face into a wooden instrument, and with Coil out of sight I opted for the massive amounts of fur the fluffy stranger had, stuffing my face into it and moaning loudly.

 

((Wow, late-night writing leads to emotionally-distressed characters. Go me. I promise, my returning characters aren't this bad. ))

Edited September 2, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Lemniscate]

All of a sudden, a large mass of fluff obscured my vision. The fluff got in my nose, tickling me and causing me to sneeze. Or rather, I would have sneezed if I could breathe. The fluff seemed to realize this and move off of my face, letting me finish my breath and sneeze. ACHOO! Huh, dragon sneezes were... different from human sneezes to say the least. Shaking my head to get rid of the leftover pieces of fluff, I saw that the fluff... was a dragon? Had I just been sat on by a Pillow dragon? It started to apologize, or at least that's what I thought it was doing. The words all ran together because of how fast it was going. I guess I should say it was ok? But I didn't know how to communicate. I knew dragons used telepathy, but I had only ever been on the receiving end. Sure, I had pestered some of my dragons to teach me, but I didn't think it worked for humans the same way. I decided to simply stare at it in the hopes that it would get the message across. Halfway through my totally effective staring contest, the dragon I had attacked stuffed its face into the Pillow's fur. It was moaning... hopefully only from distress and not injuries? I didn't want to kill anyone yet, not until I figured out what had happened and who the "bad guys" were.

 

Now that the adrenaline rush wore off, I could feel a stinging sensation under one of my scales. I tried to look at it, only to find that look at your neck was awfully hard when your head wasn't flexible. I began making odd spirals on the ground in a futile attempt to actually move my head without the rest of my body, only to find it impossible. Dangit. Life as a dragon would be a lot easier if I actually had limbs. Like, even a neck would be nice. Resorting to using my flower-covered tail, I found that the flowers had changed appearance. While they had been white and bell shaped at first, now they were red and jagged, almost as if they had responded to my earlier emotions. Huh. That was interesting. As I recovered from my earlier rage, they slowly appeared to be wilting. Was that healthy??? Hopefully, it was only a response to my calmer mood and not some kind of sickness. Now that I was done inspecting my tail, I used it to determine the exact location of my injury. Gently poking my scales, I soon found the source of the stinging. Ow! I let out a small roar at the pain. The injury was bleeding slightly, turning the tip of my tail red. I tried to wipe the blood off on one of the crystals I could reach, but it was ineffective. Was there any water I could use to wash the blood off?

 

I didn't remember seeing any water in the main cave, but I thought I saw a flash of water further down a tunnel. I would have to levitate to it, or rather crash into the wall and then fall into the lake. Mentally sighing, I started to concentrate before suddenly stopping. Hesitatingly, I looked back at the dragon I had attacked. I felt like I should apologize, but for what? How could I explain what I had felt to this dragon? Besides, an apology wasn't good enough for attempting to strangle someone. The dragon would probably just become angry. Best to leave and spend some time by myself. I didn't want to interact with these strangers anyway. Making sure no one was in my way, I began to concentrate again. Whoosh! I rushed forward again. The wall of the cave began to get closer at an alarming rate. Stop! I desperately tried to concentrate on stopping myself, to great effect. I stopped immediately, startling me. The wall of the cave was mere inches from my face. Phew. That was a close one. Looking around me, I determined that the water I had seen was part of a large underground lake. It had a large, spacious cavern, free of sleeping dragons. There was a Glaucus Drake here, along with a Tarantula Hawk dragon, but they were relatively quieter and minding their own business.

 

I could practice levitating here, out of sight from the main group. But first, I would clean my tail and wound. Dipping my tail into the lake, I noticed it felt pleasantly cool. The blood on the tip of my tail washed away almost instantly, barely even coloring the surrounding water. I put the spiked part of my tail into the water, attempting to scoop some up. It worked, and I splashed some on my neck. The water was cold and refreshing, though it did sting a little when it splashed onto my wound. Shaking the water off of myself in a rather doglike fashion, I began to concentrate again. Maybe I shouldn't concentrate as hard? Would that help control my speed? I tried to imagine myself going slowly across the water. Lo and behold, I began cruising leisurely across the surface of the lake! Could I turn midway? I repeated the same process, resulting in a rather jerky turn, but a turn nonetheless. Grinning to myself, I attempted more maneuvers. Some of them failed rather spectacularly, but some of them also succeeded. Satisfied with my current progress, I stopped in the middle of the lake and looked down at it. The surface was surprisingly smooth, reflecting back an image of my draconic face. The tough scales had a few scratches on them but were fine for the most part.

 

I noticed I had flowers on my head, along with a few on my back. There were also interesting glowy patches between the intersections of my larger scales. Stretching myself out to my full length, I realized I was a fair bit smaller than a fully grown Chrono Xenowyrm. I had stolen a few Chrono eggs and raised them to adulthood, and I definitely wasn't the size of a full grown Chrono. However, I didn't appear to be a mature hatchling either. I guess I just wasn't full size? Oh well. Fully grown Chronos were HUGE. I didn't want to be that big. Hmm... Chronos could manipulate time, right? Did that mean I could do that? I probably wasn't ready to, I didn't even have levitating completely down yet. I guess I should continue practicing levitation first. Realizing that the two other dragons were still here, I began to feel self-conscious. Maybe I should find another place to continue practicing. Levitating out of the cave, I quickly darted into another tunnel. Maybe a little too quick, I didn't manage to fully turn in time and bumped my head on the side of the tunnel. Urk. In times like this, I really wished I could rub my head with my hands. If I kept up my pace of bumping into things, I'd have a concussion by the time this was all over. Sighing, I continued down the dark tunnel. It was rather small, and I was certain I would never have been able to fit if I were fully grown or actually had limbs. At least it was good for privacy. After a while of travel, I found myself in another cave. It was actually rather spacious, though it was covered with stalactites and stalagmites. I could practice levitating here until the other group figured out what they were doing and left, then leave by myself. It was better than having to deal with other dragons and figuring out what I had to do at the same time.

 

((Well I guess since I moved Silver to the lake cave, I'll have to opt out of the dragon pile??? Unless you somehow move Silver back.))

Edited September 2, 2016 by Silverphoenixx