You As A Dragon

[Esko]

((Dragon pile's basically one dragon tripping on another while we all try to stumble around and then we're in a pile.))

 

 

All the noise in my head was too much, I didn't hear the dragon who tried to reprimand me. I heard jumbled amounts of screaming, yelling, ranting, yada yada. I would clutch my head, but then I would mostly likely fall on my face. Which would not be fun. At all. I toke my precious moments of standing to look over my new body. It reminded me of a thick sausage hanging from the tiny butcher shop a few cottages down. Only smoother and...prettier, I guess? I could never regard myself as "pretty" with a man's build, a big nose and a chubby face. But I guess my scales were pretty? Didn't make sense, but whatever. "Now to move everything else." My neck felt weird, but I tried moving it up and down. Slowly it obeyed; my jaw made it to the floor and I could move it back up. Maybe I could walk better now? Nope. I moved my right hand forward and quickly lost control. Reflexes did turn on, I think, since my other hand shot out to prevent a fall. One after another, I couldn't stop walking, for fear of falling again.

 

Stupid me, I would end up falling anyway. I tripped over an orange-y dragon who's head was buried in the fur of a super fluffy dragon. Reminded me of a giant *** pillow. I landed in a weird position, part of my serpentine body on the orange dragon with feathered wings and another part of me on the pillow-thing. "Great. Just ****ing GREAT. How did I even land like this anyway???" My long tail ended up reaching all the way to the dragon's snout, and was hanging off of it. I tried wriggling out, snarling and spitting, but unknowingly I sent out a strong electric shock....

 

 

---

 

When he was flying in a thinly clouded area, he saw something below. Toni flew lower to get a better look. It looked like a small amphiptere, translucent but with a strange cloudy murkiness to it. He'd never seen that kind of hatchling before. Curious, he spiraled down towards the ground until he landed gracefully in front of the little dragon. "Excuse me," Toni began, hoping this guy had some answers. "Have you seen a man with a scythe and a fat magi dragon around? Possibly dragging a girl with them?" He thought he saw the slightest hint of surprise in it's eyes, but not even a second later it returned that lazy, sleepy expression.

 

"Sorry, never saw anyone like that." The little guy curled up again, dozing...but Toni wasn't buying it.

 

"You know something." The dragon snarled.

 

"No I don't."

 

"I can tell you do."

 

"Your sense of telling is wrong, good sir."

 

"Excuse me?!"

 

"O-oh, is it ma'am? I'm sorry ma-"

 

Toni slapped his claws down on the creature's body. It squeaked and had a fearful look in its eye. "You will tell me, NOW!"

 

"I don't know anything!" It looked close to crying, it was so scared. Toni took the claws of his other paw and slashed the little dragon. There were tear marks, but...no blood?! As he watched in amazement, what looked like strips of excess material patched the "wound." The creature grinned.

 

"You see, you can't kill ghosts."

 

"Ghost...???" Toni barked in disbelief. The bark sounded like a clap of thunder. "I could touch you!"

 

"I'm....a special ghost." The thing grinned. He curled up to doze again when Tonitrui locked his jaws around its body. It suddenly looked alarmed.

 

"Hey, wait, what are you doing?!" It screeched.

 

"So I guess special ghosts can't teleport? Too bad." Toni mused. "I'm not letting you go until I find who I'm looking for. Your convincing scared-look when you knew you wouldn't be harmed just reinforces the idea that you're hiding something. You're a good liar. I won't let you out of my grip until you lead me there."

[ValidEmotions]

Oh no. Someone was coming towards me, their endless stream of thoughts growing steadily louder as I began to pinpoint them as the source. I was familiar with Xenowyrms of various types, including Chronos. I was familiar with how large they were but, only as a human. And, as small as I was while human, I was even closer to the ground as a Drake. The Chronos was massive and, despite being as clumsy as they were, the dragon was still very intimidating.

 

I started to cower, hardly noticing Valst as he seemed to stand over me. However, the Xenowyrm didn't seem interested in either of us, their thoughts running on and on about trying to levitate without crashing into walls. I pointedly ignored the thoughts about pain and blood.

 

Shifting my eyes, I started to watch the other dragon. They were as awkward as I felt when trying to move, making odd twists and turns in an attempt to accomplish something. When they entered the water, something tugged at me, a kind of longing that seemed connected to the cavern lake.

 

Of course... I'm a Glaucus Drake; they love to be in the water, I thought. Shaking my head, my eyes locked briefly with the Xenowyrm's and I shared their - her, actually - self-consciousness. She left quickly, slamming into the wall despite her efforts earlier. Valst relaxed then, repositioning himself on my other side. I flexed the claws on my forelegs, frowning as the sharp points made a scraping noise against the stone. Am I stuck like this forever?

 

I was beyond panicking at this point. I felt completely drained of energy or will, maybe both. I was tired from the overwhelming amount of stress my body and mind were undoubtably suffering. Accepting this as my new reality, I sighed again and rested my chin on the ground. My eyes found the chaotic group of dragons again, their invasive thoughts dimmed down to something much more manageable. Some were still shouting, panicking, but others had moved on from that and were gradually testing out their limbs or just getting into fights.

 

This is a mess...

[XiraCaster]

The cavern was in an uproar of chaos in a matter of seconds, or so it seemed. So many thoughts, voices and piercing roars clouded and bombarded my mind and ears. It was just too much! Make it stop, make it stop! Silence! I thought frantically as I feverishly thrashed my head from side to side to cease the tormenting noises. Though I was completely oblivious that I had telepathically broadcasted my outburst to everyone near. Or every other thought for that matter. I wasn't too clear on what was worse- the thundering, turmoil of sounds in my head, or the head splitting migraine that came with it. Perhaps both were equally overbearing, they certainly were linked after all. With a pained wail, which turned out to be more of a high-pitched shrill of a roar, I buried myself into the Spirit Ward in a desperate attempt to ease my suffering, hugging my winged appendages close to my chest in an act of comfort.

 

"Paige, Paige stop and listen to me! You need to focus, concentrate and everything will be okay. Trust me." His voice tore through my head louder than any other, though it all still sounded like a jumbled mess.. I could feel the soft membrane of his wings blanket around me, shielding me to keep my senses from being overwhelmed further. Though it came to realization that he was fairly larger than myself. Was I petite for a Falconiform? Concentrating came off as a wasted effort however. How could I focus at a time like this?! I could feel a significant increase in temperature and judging by the tensed posture of Esprit, he did too. It was either buckle down and meditate or risk frying my closest companion...

 

With an agitated hiss I forced my eyes to shut, fixating my attention to the thoughts that plagued me. By channeling my breathing and syncing both mind and body gradually each separate, unwelcoming voice began to disperse. Though a few of them remained however at a lower interval of volume. Least now it was slightly more bearable. Prying my eyes open I could see Esprit looking down at me with what seemed to be an amused expression. "Better now?" I only blinked in reply. Telepathy was all still new, so...different. Not to mention every thought I possessed was shared with everyone. Least what I could infer from the previous calamity. How could you sort thoughts from conversation? To have only a single dragon to talk to instead of a hoard? The answer, was still unclear.

 

Pulling myself away from the Spirit Ward I toppled backwards and landed on my back, wings strewn about in a rather un-glorified way. How do you control this thing?? Growling in annoyance I flopped over onto my rightmost side, my left wing making a distinct slap as it made impact the ground. I definitely had to be a laughing stock cause Esprit was just in an uproar of laughter. I tried to swivel my neck towards his direction to glare at him but even that felt strange, even heavy and sluggish for I wasn't used to having such an extended length. When I successfully rolled onto my belly my wings were kept splayed out, stretched to their full length across the smooth surface beneath. I had to admit, they did look stunning...From behind I could feel something swishing, dragging along the ground and come only to find that it was in fact my tail that yet again, I had no full control over.

 

"I'll be back, I'm going to find someone to help aid in getting you onto your feet and at least walking without collapsing every five seconds." And with that he turned away from me and padded away. As I looked closely, examining as to how he walked without forelegs I noticed that the claws that connected to an arm like limb along his wings also served for walking. The membrane of the appendages were folded neatly at his side as he walked....they didn't unfurl and jud out like mine did. Was I going to have to walk like that too? My neck only allowed me to observe so far. He was just out of range of sight and with a huff I rested my chin along the cavern floor in front of me and awaited his return.

 

Esprit had searched amongst the other dragons but none seemed to be a wyvern...except one. An Aeon. Though he appeared to be occupied with a Frill and he doubted he looked like he'd spare some extra time with another dragon. But, it was still worth a shot. "Pardon me for a moment Aeon. He addressed politely, sitting calmly on his hind legs. "Could you happen to spare a moment of your time? A fellow wyvern is having quite the difficulty trying to stand and walk on her own. I would try to teach her on my lonesome but...I think she could use all the help she could get. The Spirit Ward regarded the Frill with a curious glance before returning his attention back onto the male. "Your friend could join us if she'd like. Though if you're too busy I also understand. Seems there's a lot of dragons here that are struggling to function on their own accord."

[TehUltimateMage]

I was just a city boy. Nobody would want anything from me, or want to have anything with me. I was told that I was like a shadow, light on my feet and with a weak presence.

 

My older brother raises messenger pygmies. I'm not really a fan of them, but I guess they're alright. The small dragons get into a lot of trouble and they're such a handful, and every time I go to visit him I have to tag along to round them up or feed them or scoop their poop something. I don't really mind. He needs the help, since he's usually too busy to return to see me and our mom.

 

Right now was one of those times. He was out at the moment, and I had to watch his dragons for him for a few minutes while he raced into town to restock on supplies. He lived in a coastal town known for its seafood buffets and the many water dragon species living around the shore. His house was a simple cabin at the top of the cliff with more space for dragons than for human living, and there were always more than twenty of those little things flying about and chasing each other. I had to keep a close eye on the brightly colored Mysfits, especially, since they had a bad habit of vandalizing anything they touched. He had to place his scrolls in a cage to stop them from shredding his pygmy documentation.

 

"Hey Griffith, you alright?" A Heartseeker poked his head through the window, his chocolate sent wafting in. "Ral sent me back to check on you, but honestly I think he's just sent me back to make sure nobody set the house on fire yet. Trust me, it's happened before."

 

Ralph didn't only own pygmies, but also some other helper dragons like Pager, that Heartseeker, or Caft the Black Tea. The former for his herding habits, and the latter for her ability to attract and catch insects? Most of the information about dragons was foreign to me and I don't think I had the patience or ability to learn about all the different breeds and feeding habits. There weren't too many large dragons in the city, anyway, at least not in the one I lived in. So it was a treat to sit by the water and watch the Blacktips fly by with shrill caws and the leviathans surface for air.

 

Suddenly, the chatter of the pygmies in the next room went completely silent. A tingle went up my spine and I put down the bucket I was carrying. Something was really wrong. Did someone break in? The shadow of a figure with a scythe was cast on the ground, and before I knew it, I felt a pain on my head and Pager's roar before blacking out.

 

~

 

I was caught in a chocolate scented nightmare. My skin burned as if scalded with hot water, and when I screamed nothing came out. Time lost all meaning. I was falling, without falling, and things were burning, burning claws, torn flesh. Someone grabbed my by the arm and I shook loose, before they forcefully grabbed me by the neck and shoulders and plunged us both into cold water. Instantly, my muscles relaxed and my body went limp in the girl's arms.

 

~

The air smelled damp, sharp like a cave. It was a cave. I was in a cave, lying face down. I felt tired and every joint in my body ached, especially my wrists and my fingers which seemed to pulse with every heartbeat. My heart felt like it was racing even though I wasn't really afraid just yet, but panic soon rose to my stomach. The rough ground against my belly was cold but it didn't feel cold. Just unpleasant. Loud noises echoed off the walls and I covered my head with my hands to try and block them out but only succeeded in bumping myself in the face with... wings? Not hands. Wings. I covered my head with my wings but the action was useless since half of it seemed like it was telepathy from these arguing dragons and I could make neither head nor tail of anything. This had to be another one of those nightmares. I wanted to leave. Failing that, I wanted to cry.

 

The shouting continued, and a death threat lead to a fight that I wanted nothing to do with. Using my arms -- wings? -- to push myself off the ground and onto my feet, I stumbled too far and fell backwards. Adding to the wings, my sense of balance was all out of wack. Back onto the ground, I let out a groan which came out as a soft honk. I tried to grab my face because I was startled at the noise, but only ended up bumping my snout with my wings again. When I opened my eyes the world seemed weird and bathed in the glow of mana crystals and strangely everything was so large... Even the dragons seemed much bigger than usual. To stop my headache from getting worse I squeezed my eyes shut.

 

It was getting more and more obvious that I didn't have the body parts that I was used to, and as a test I tried to wave my tail and unsurprisingly, it responded. Nothing on my back though, which made sense since my wings were on my arms. All the parts of a wyvern, and there was only one wyvern I knew of that was so small. My brother would be rolling on the ground laughing if he saw me like this.

 

Someone commanded silence and it sort of worked, until others tried to command silence too and the room descended into shouting about shutting up -- but eventually it quieted down, peppered by roars of laughter at some intervals. Nobody seemed to have noticed me yet and my size probably helped with that. I was huddled in a corner, too, and at that moment I realized that corner was oddly warm, and smelled faintly of cocoa.

 

Pager? Even pygmies had telepathy, but I've never gotten the change to hear a Magelight speak. "Pager?" I tried again. If it was the scented red brute, then he must have been knocked out real good to have slept right through the yelling. Waking him up seemed like an impossible task, unless I pecked him in the eye. But if it really was him, it would be wonderful to at least have one dragon I was familiar with, if only a little. I tried to stand again, this time using my tail to steady myself, and with a clumsy duck waddle I made it to his face and began striking his snout with my own, like a woodpecker.

 

"Eh, wot?" the Heartseeker groaned, letting out a snort of hot air and swatting me aside and I stumbled onto the ground again in a heap. "It's not even bright outside yet. Let me sleep a little longer..." A pause and he, too, seemed to realize how odd it was to be in a cave without remembering how he got there. He snapped his eye open and examined me, before his eyeballs darted around the glowing room. He was probably too lazy to move the rest of his body. "Haven't seen you around before, and I know all my pygmies. Any idea where we are?"

 

I tried to tell him who I was, but none of it went through, so I just shook my head to answer his question in the negative. "Oh. Alright. Maybe someone over there does. Not one for conversation, are you? Then again, none of the Magelights I know are particularly chatty." He heaved himself to his feet and I shielded myself with a wing as he shook himself awake from head to tail, and when he unfurled his frills the cave was filled with a faint scent of chocolate. After the nightmare, I think the smell made me a little nauseous.

 

Pager seemed to realize I was pretty clumsy walking on both two legs and four, so he simply picked my up gently in his jaws. All of my senses screamed panic, as if him eating me was a real possibility, and I continued to struggle and let out pitiful honks while he brought me closer to that mess of dragons over there. He stopped near a pair of drakes, since everyone else seemed a little occupied, and asked them. "...Excuse me, but does anyone know where we are and what's going on?"

[ValidEmotions]

The smell of chocolate began to fill the nearby area and I crinkled my nose. The scent only grew stronger, causing me to give a huff of displeasure. I hate chocolate... Who brought chocolate to a cave?

 

"Excuse me, but does anyone know where we are and what's going on?"

 

Looking over, I blinked up in astonishment. What was a Heartseeker doing here? Oh gosh... I hope he didn't hear me.

 

Beside me, Valst moved, craning his neck to try and meet the dragon's eyes. "Your guess is as good as ours. Something has happened and none of us know what. We've all found ourselves in the same position; awake in a strange cavern with humans turned into dragons." I winced at his words, a pained expressing crossing my muzzle. Did he really have to voice it?

 

The reality of the situation seemed to press harder on me and I focused my gaze on the ground, leaving Valst to the conversation. "Do you remember anything that happened before waking? I think the born-dragons need to collect ourselves and figure out what's happening; the humans don't know how to use telepathy or move their new bodies easily."

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Eon looked over to a Spirit Ward dragon as it approched him. I was shakily on my legs, trying to figure out my legs and watched Eon and this Spirit Ward dragon hold a conversation in their heads. "Pardon me for a moment Aeon." Eon blinked and listened to what the Spirit Ward had to say. "Could you happen to spare a moment of your time? A fellow wyvern is having quite the difficulty trying to stand and walk on her own. I would try to teach her on my lonesome but...I think she could use all the help she could get." A fellow wyvern? Did that mean the wyvern was recently human? He looked back at me as I patiently waited for his next instruction. "Your friend could join us if she'd like. Though if you're too busy I also understand. Seems there's a lot of dragons here that are struggling to function on their own accord." "No, no," Eon said. "I'll be more then happy to help. Although my friend might have some trouble walking over there." I watched as Eon smiled at me. "Do you mind if you walk, or at least try to walk?" "Wait, we're going in the chaos?" I asked a bit nervous.

 

"You'll be fine, I promise," Eon said, before looking at the Spirit Ward. "We're ready." I nodded my head as I shakily put one paw and concentrated on moving my back paw. How to do this? I eventually got my back paw to move. It was little by little, not to mention weird before I really got moving. Only problem, I couldn't stop. "Help!" I cried out.

 

((It's annoying to write a post in phone))

[Sugar-Free]

"Alright...okaaaay...and I think that just about finishes it."

 

I pushed the eyelash into the inner corner of the highly-jointed doll's eye. The beautiful blond-brown lashes complemented the diopside-green eyes and golden blond hair. Careful not to lay a single finger on his face, I laid Algiers down and wrapped him tight, making sure there was nary a peep of his new-pink resin between the padded pillows and blankets. I set him down into his ornate faux-leather box and replaced the lid, slipping a certificate of authenticity inside. Another order, done for the day. Now I can go check on my precious in the back. I slipped into a pair of house shoes and stepped outside, bathing in the fall of the late evening sun. From my position, the golden rays of the sun anointed the many leaves of conifers, and washed out the coldness of their greens and blues. The sky was lazy and orange-red, purple-black clouds steadily drifting across the sky in no particular hurry, and the breeze was light and scented with smoke and early fall.

 

I took a walk to the back of my tiny cottage--which was really no more than a glorified workspace crowded with knicknacks--and found my personal gem: a Hellfire Wyvern egg, set in a padded stand that could be turned and rotated in many directions, sitting directly in the heat of the sunset. I stood behind it, careful not to interrupt the glow enveloping it, and laid my hand on it. Though not apparent, the egg brimmed with life and mana.

 

"Akichaaaaa~ I'm hoooooooome!"

 

Up the edge of the canyon outlook of our home came Chris, his feathered wings bounding him over and onto the grainy, sun-baked dirt. He trotted around the path of the sun's rays and next to me. The many glazed-gold scales on his body imitated the dwindling light. I couldn't help but smile as he arched over me, giving my hair a playful lick to rile me.

 

"Gah! Come on, Kuu, that's no way to treat a lady!" I fussed my hair back into position, and looked up at him, giving him a well-meant glare. His large robin's egg eyes creased into a impish display of a smile.

 

"You're not a lady! You're an Akichaa~ There's a big difference, ya know?" I couldn't conceal a snort--he really had no sense of courtesy! I bumped him lightly in the chest, "--Oof!" and decided to scold him.

 

"And let me remind you that you, sir, are no gentlemanly dragon! Who even says that to someone?" He let out several perky bursts of laughter before rounding around me, curling up his radiant form on the ground and inviting me to sit. And so, I obliged--I rested my back against his stomach and let my head fall back. There we would sit, as we so often did, watching shadows travel.

 

 

Let me introduce myself: I am called Akita, but by fairly few people. I'm not too tall, at around 5', and I have long brown hair and blue-green eyes. I don't go out into the world, and while I know much about it, I have very little experience with it besides my hobby and job: doll-making and customization. Even then, I avoid it at all costs, allowing my trusted companion Christopher to run orders and fulfillments for me. It's not like he doesn't benefit--he loves the travel as much as I don't, and the plateau above the vale, where we make our home, is rarely discovered and heavily protected by mana, meaning he is free to hunt and roam as he pleases without fear. But I know that, without these boons, he would still be here with me; with so little to give and nothing truly mine.

 

 

I threaded my hands through Chris's mane, soft as down and smooth as silk, as I watched his narrow face search the horizon for answers to questions I could not begin to fathom.

 

In truth, I don't remember why or how I had met this beautiful Antarean Dragon. Whether or not there is a real gap in my memory due to an outside source, it had always felt as though Chris had always been there, even if I was certain he wasn't. He was so young--his scales lacked the cast of orange that other Antareans seemed to gain in his age, and his feathered wings were still brilliant with the hues of twilight and galaxies. And yet, even in supposed youth, he towered over me, his shoulder was easily my height or so above mine. But his mane was so long and golden, I was certain he had to be older than expected; it lay permanently waved to the left in a waterfall. Unlike the seldom other dragons I had seen, his face conveyed leagues more than his telepathy alone. So many times I had looked into his happiness and solemnity and seen...a human. He plead that he was not, and our trust had yet to falter, but...sometimes...

 

"Mmmm..." Chris made a complex look on his face as I noticed him staring back. "Akichaa, you know I don't know how to react when you look at me with that face." I gave him a light smack. "Stop looking for my eyes, then."

 

He rested his head back down on his paws, a fake pout on his muzzle. "Aww. That's just mean. I kinda like your eyes."

 

Was it flattering? Yes, very. Was it welcome? Not...exactly. Ours was a strange and occasionally difficult relationship, just teetering between love and trust and a sense of odd foreboding. Even though I brought him closer than any other human or dragon, I was afraid to truly bond with him. Somehow, sometimes...I felt like our friendship was not our decision.

 

Chris sensed a movement in the sky and reached out to the stand, tilting it ever so slightly. I did nothing to stop him; his ways were odd and occasionally ethereal. He had once told me that the sky determined our fates, and had taken it upon himself to attune this egg and its delicate cargo to the synchronicity of the stars. I angled my head into his direction.

 

"Hey, Kuu...you ever wonder if this wyvern really is as blessed as that fortune told?" The egg had been a gift on one of my few trips upon Chris's back, far into the smoking hills of a distance mountain village. An elderly woman had paid for her custom Algiers with it, and had deemed it as the only Hellfire born in the high alpines. Regardless of its worth, it was a life in planning, and I could never do less than cherish it with all my might. Chris tilted his head.

 

"Mm...yep. Yeah, I believe it with all my heart. I can feel it." Chris was no fortune-teller himself, but I always figured that his connection to the cosmos made his answers more truthful. "But y'know? It...doesn't matter, does it?" He glanced at me, knowing my answer.

 

"Absolutely."

----------------------

 

I packed away the Hellfire egg in a homemade incubator. After dousing all the lights for the night, I took the doll pack and went back out to meet Chris on the ridge. He was flexing out his wings, feeling the currents. He turned to me and arched his neck down, seeing me off for the night. I ran my hands up and down his scales, feeling them bump and raise slightly on each pass.

 

"Be careful out there, okay? And maybe try to get home a little earlier next time." I strapped the box to his underside, securing it in belts. He pouted again, but I saw the little smile in the corners of his mouth. He knew I worried about him constantly.

 

"Awwwwkay...if you want me that bad, I can't say no." He went to turn to leave--

 

Thud. Thud.

 

"Ah! Akita, get down!" He bent down and around me, his head enough to shield my body. Around his girth, she spotted a dark silhouette, followed by--

 

"GYAAH--!" Chris threw his head for no discernable reason and struck me, tossing me off to the side. I recovered quickly, throwing my hand up in his direction--

 

"CHRISTOPHER!!!"

 

All at once, an orange blur fell upon me. My head cracked against the stone, once, twice--

 

((Writing the transformation next, if that's okay! I have to take a momentary break @.@ Posting my dragon form in the OOC as of now.))

[TehUltimateMage]

((Playing around with the Heartseeker's text color.))

 

"The last I remember was seeing the kid fainted and getting assaulted by the fattest Magi I've ever seen. I swear he was licking his lips while looking at me." Pager folded his frills self-consciously, trying to reduce the smell of chocolate in response to the Glaucus. Usually most people didn't mind it, but it seemed like there were exceptions. "...Sorry. Can't really control it."

 

He shuffled his front paws in silence, letting the Tarantula Hawk's words process.

 

"Oh, my GoN." Pager went slack-jawed in disbelief, and I tumbled out of his mouth and crashed onto the floor again. Ow... that was kind of a high drop. The Heartseeker, realizing his mistake, slammed his head down to my level with eyes wide in a panic. "Kid! Griff, are you alright? Holy trios, Ral's going to have my scales for letting this happen! We gotta find a way to turn you back!"

 

I just kind of shrugged from the cave floor, as well as I could shrug with different shoulder bones. It could take some getting used to, but it wasn't that bad. It's not like anyone knew I existed before I got turned into a dragon, anyway. The Heartseeker nudged my side with his muzzle, but I didn't really feel like moving. He was making a ruckus out of nothing, but even if I told him I doubt he would stop. "Oh my GoN, I think I killed him. Avatar Almighty, what am I going to do? Right, hide the body, he doesn't need to find out..."

 

 

~~~

 

Ah yes. Pyro. Exactly who I needed, and for once I wasn't sarcastic. Having already let out most of the anger into the skies on the way there (by yelling to space), I just rode the momentum until I spotted Mira. The Falconiform hesitated a moment, as if speaking to someone, and then invited me to dinner.

 

Oh. Seemed like it was time already. It wouldn't hurt.

 

I tilted my wings to draw a sharp circle around the spot where Pyro was cooking, went for a dive straight for the Silver, and spread my wings just before reaching the ground, slowing my body down just enough to buffet the gang with wind but not crash into them.

 

My shoulders ached and I was panting to catch my breath, but telepathy didn't need breath anyway. "It would be my pleasure to join you for dinner. Although, I do have other matters to discuss. Whether you'd rather wait until we're done eating to talk is up to you." (In hindsight, telepathy allowed for conversation while eating.) I raised my brow. "Stew?"

Edited September 3, 2016 by TehUltimateMage

[Pyrowings]

"STOP THAT THIEF!"

 

Banquo ducked under an arm and darted around a few more surprised people, holding a load of bread protectively. The merchant didn't quite have his skill or his size, so apart from breaking into the crowd, he had no other way of getting to him except maybe getting heard above the crowd, but Banquo already ducked out of sight of the main road. A twist here and a shimmy there, and he was in the backstreets with his prize. He took a few deep breaths and waited, counting to 10....

 

Once he was sure nothing was giving chase, Banquo grinned and broke off half of the loaf to munch, though he pressed his back against the wall while doing so, keeping a careful eye out for anybody.

He finished eating with no problems at all. Banquo frowned and looked around. The guy would want his payment, right? 2 weeks, splitting all the food he got in half for the other guy in return for the medicine. Still frowning, Banquo pushed himself off the wall to walk to the end of the corridor. The guy should have been here by now, shouldn't he?

 

At the end of the alleyway, he stopped and stared. A black figure with a scythe stood there, looking at him. Banquo felt a chill run up his spine and backed away, eyes wide. He... What is that figure?! What did it want with him? Banquo swallowed as the figure advanced, then pulled a dagger out of his belt. If it wanted him, he wasn't—!

 

Something hit him from behind, and he fell to the ground. The world darkened, and he felt himself falling..... Falling...

 

Nightmares. Of darkness, of death, of eldrich horrors. He was being squeezed, every shred of life, of happiness, of anything remotely positive being ripped and torn straight out of every fiber of his being.

But there was a girl, someone he's never seen before, calling to him at times, dragging him away at others. She saved him each time, but why?

 

Banquo awoke to screaming.

It was at the edge of his mind, but so close that he could tell where exactly it was coming from. He felt tired and heavy all over, not to mention just plain odd—for instance, there was an indescribable feeling that he had his arms raised when they weren't. He forced open his eyes... Wow! His eyes widened and he pushed himself up to see better. So many crystals of mana!

But he wanted to find out what the screaming was about, first and foremost. Offer help, if he can. With that thought, he tried pushing himself up to run to the source--and he promptly fell back down, smashing his jaw on the floor, hard. He groaned in pain, but he almost choked on his own voice--that wasn't his voice. And now that he thought about it, something was on his lower back, and he didn't like it. And where was his clothes? It was cold in this place! He didn't have any problems pushing himself up back then... Banquo took a deep breath, dreading what he would see.....

 

Oh no. No no no no nono no no no--Banquo gave a choked sort of inhale-growl-gasp. What?! How?! Why?! Banquo's mind flitted over all the things he stole over the past years, trying to think of something major that would provoke a powerful mage. He sank to the floor and groaned. What did he do? What could he do?... There! A pool of water! Maybe this was just an odd dream, another one of those nightmares, after whatever knocked him out in the alleyway! He ran-stumbled to it in a panic, ignoring the pain that came whenever he fell because of his determination to try and run on two feet. In fact, he was so focused on getting there, he didn't even notice the other dragons already there at the pool.

 

His reflection didn't show the rough red hair and sunburnt tan skin he was used to. Instead, a grey reptile showed in the reflection... Not completely white, the reflection showed a bit of color with... Urgh, pink eyes? Or wait, maybe they were more of a peach... Peach! They were peach! (In hindsight, the notion that he was suddenly a shadow walker and he was more concerned with the color of his eyes at that moment was amusing.) He smashed his head into the water a few times, hoping fervently that this was just a dream...

Edited September 3, 2016 by beiningtian

[ValidEmotions]

I instantly regretted even having the ability to think. As the Heartseeker visibly tried to diminish his frills, I whimpered in apology. He wasn't supposed to hear my thoughts. If I'd been human, I would have been able to hide my displeasure better. Stupid, stupid, stupid... The chant continued on in my head as I focused intently on my claws again, not wanting to feel so damn ashamed but unable to avoid it.

 

The Magelight Pygmy in his mouth was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, causing the Heartseeker to fret when he realized what he'd done. I watched as he steadily grew into a panic, believing he killed his tiny companion. Wincing when he decided 'hide the body' was the right course of action to take, I growled a protest. He's alive! There's no body to hide! At this point, whether I was broadcasting my thoughts willingly or not, I figured it easiest to just think whatever I wanted to say.

 

My thoughts seemed to be heard every time up to now, so it was the best solution I could work out until I mastered telepathy.

 

A blur of motion zipped by, startling me. Eyes widening, I jerked back, scrabbling with clumsy legs until I had managed to sit back on my spiny rump. (I quickly came to realize that wasn't a comfortable position for me.) Valst made a rumbling sound, something I recognized as the equivalent of a hum. We both watched the newest arrival as the dragon dunked their head into the water several times. Is... Is he alright?

[MyWhiteKnight]

(( I hope you are still accepting new members to this RP! ))

 

"Good day, Miss Minnie," the bright voice of an older woman called out.

 

"Ah, hello Mrs. Millson, how can I help you?" I scramble back an answer with a smile on my face.

 

"Lost in another one of your books, Miss Minnie?" she chortled. "How romantic of you. I do hope you find your someone special soon. Maybe you'll even get your head out of those clouds of yours."

 

"That is something I am sure my mother would be quite happy with," I smiled back at the woman. "What can I do for you today?"

 

And so my day wore on, like any before it, and any after. Or so I thought at that moment. You see, I worked in my family's apothecary. As the oldest child at home, it was my duty to oversee these things. With my older brother, a scholar in the capital, married and out of the house, that left me 'in charge.' My younger sister would be joining me after she finished finishing school, and my younger brothers stayed at home to tend our flock of white dragons.

 

That leaves my parents, who set up this wonderful apothecary. As healers, they both found their life's mission in helping others. My mother is a reputed mind healer, while my father works with the elderly, healing their ills and pains. Together, they make quite the pair, and, well, it leave me. Here. Alone. My whole family bonded with white dragons. All, except for me.

 

Of course, I got over the jeering and the horrible rumors and stories the girls at the finishing school used on me. It did help that I attended one of the leading schools for the bardic arts. However, even then, my family needed me more. Which leaves me, once more, in an apothecary, alone.

 

I watch with envy as couples with their dragons of all shapes and forms walk outside my doors. No matter where I went or who I met, those two things never fell in my favor, and so I could only read my library books, write my stories, and dream of the day that it will be my turn to find that adventure, and my purpose in life.

 

However, during all my musing, the shadows had lengthened and the day drew to a close. As I glided around the shop, between aisles and dreams in my head, I went about my daily chores. Lanterns were lit, shelves dusted, counters cleaned, and floors swept. While, at this point, I would lock up and go home, leaving the rest of the end-of-day activities for my parents when they returned from their day of healing, I chose to stay and read.

 

Words crafted an epic tale of love and adventure, of pre destined soul mates and heroic deeds that changed the course of a whole world. The carefully chosen prose drew me in deeper and deeper until I barely caught the metallic twinkle of the bells over the doors. As my parents did not announce themselves, as is their custom when they walked in, I thought it to my brother, for who else would visit an apothecary this late.

 

"Matteus, mother wants you to take some of the nightshade, spearmint, and desert aloe to the house. And please, don't play with the aconite this time," I idly commanded with a careless flip of the wrist.

 

Silence greeted my comment, which struck me as odd. My youngest brother, always the eager and social type, would have said something by this time. Instead, a sick sense of dread seemed to bury itself deep within my gut. An ethereal cold washed over my skin, as I became clammy.

 

"You're not Matteus, are you?" I said, voice trembling slightly as I slowly placed my book down.

 

"No. I am not," the simple response.

 

I hesitantly look up, brown eyes meeting the grim figure in front of me. Instead of a normal person, stood someone so ominous, it appeared to suck the light from the lanterns. A loud gulp slipped down my throat and I couldn't speak for a moment. Fear gripped my heart and I finally knew what my written heroes meant.

 

"W-what do you want?" I ask, praying my voice not to break.

 

"You," the creature hissed.

 

I gape at him, terrible thoughts sweeping through my mind and I'm sure my face reflected it as well. The old biddies who visited the shop spoke in hushed tones of what men would do to women, the pain and torture. Fear washed over my mind, as a hand went to my chest, as if to protect myself from it's scythe and unseeing gaze.

 

"Well, you can't have me," I spoke, plucking up courage from thin air. "You must be mistaken anyway. I'm not that exciting of a person, nor particularly skilled-"

 

"But you are what I need," the figure's cold voice echoed throughout the shop as it advanced.

 

Without a second thought, I ran forward with an impressive yell, swinging my book at it, hoping against hope it would go away. Instead, it dodged to the right and hit me on the back of the head with it's scythe. The world, as I knew it, went black.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Nightmares, so vivid and bright, loud and tangible, ripped through my mind. My family's deaths in horrific ways, blaming me for not doing anything while I could. Friends screaming and blood pouring from them. I didn't know what to do. Each time, I could not reach them. I could not help them, and each dream sent me spirally faster and faster through this purgatory of a nightmare.

 

I fell further, speed picking up, wind whipping my curly mane in my face as darkness overtook my senses once more. Water consumed my body as it sunk further and further. Any light trickling from the surface disappeared until I could see nothing, choking on whatever surrounded me, and passed out. I selfishly hoped it would be the last.

 

As the last of the light faded, a voice, so familiar, yet unknown chimed through my mind. While I could not make out the words, the sound and cadence lulled me into a peaceful slumber, all dreams and nightmares before fading into the background. As if by magic, I heard some words, it could have been sleep or rest, or something completely different. I don't know, but, as if enthralled, it put me to sleep, the last of my memories washed away by the sands of time.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Instead, I awoke with a jolt. Tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, eyes so heavy they wouldn't lift, I took painful breathes, the cool, crisp air filling my lungs. The only thoughts in my clouded, confused mind were those of relief, thankfulness that I was alive and out of that lake and my family alive and well.

 

Those words in my mind made my eyes snap open, which hurt even more. Colors were oddly vivid, intense hues and highly saturated colors blinded me, though they shouldn't. The first thing that became apparent - I wasn't in the shop. Instead, I was in some odd cave, somewhere I did not recognize (which didn't mean much, as I've never traveled much). I went to scream, and, instead, a high, trilling screech echoed out.

 

Hands went to cover my surprised mouth except they weren't hands. Claws, long and piercing, covered my muzzle? That is when I went into a blind panic and toppled over like an idiot.

 

I am sure a passer by, and, well, anyone watching had a great laugh at my expense. How often did they see a dragon flailing on it's back, wings askew, making distressed chirps and twitters like a melodramatic drama queen? Not often, I'd wager. yet, there I was, for who knows how long, flopping back and forth until my mind finally calmed down enough to link together the events.

 

A strange, robed grim like guy entered the shop. When I tried to defend myself, he hit me over the head. Horrible nightmares ensued, and now I am here. A dragon. I didn't even know what type of dragon I was!

 

Wait a moment, I thought, quickly going through the book of dragons. Wings? Check. Four limbs? Got those. Gemstone coloring? There's a few with those. Twittering and chirping? As the mental pieces of the puzzle came together, somewhat, I rolled back over onto my stomach and settled into a more 'natural' position. An idea popped into my head, but to be sure, I had to see myself.

 

I began to stand up and, painstakingly, wobbled over to an underground creek. All the while, I am sure the others enjoyed a hilariously inept dragon part two, electric boogaloo. It took some time just to get up and learn how to coordinate four limbs moving at once. Yet, I persevered and found a sapphire dragon staring up at me. I am sure the creatures especially enjoyed the third act of me passing out once more.

 

When I awoke, for real this time, I found myself still in a strange land as a dragon. With a huff of reality, and a puff from my nose, I forced myself up. I had to find someone, or something, that can explain what happened to me. I feel all sorts of minds pressed upon mine, words shifting, and the sounds of other dragons, both asleep and awake. I unsteadily wobble forward.

Edited September 4, 2016 by MyWhiteKnight

[MyaMouse]

Everest Blanchard

Today was a normal day for me and my sister Era. We got home after classes and ate leftover vegetable soup for lunch while doing our schoolwork. Shaking the yellow bangs out of my eyes, I sighed. Schoolwork was the worst. I was told I was stupid because I couldn’t read or write well, and I talked like a street kid (aka terribly). But even though it sucked, today was a pretty normal day. Mom was out, like normal, trying to get a job wherever unlearned women could. The dragons were all gone, sold or let loose after what happened to Dad. I missed Rainy and Moonshield and Xybia and everyone else, especially Horizon... Era looked at me, putting her chin between her hands. "You okay, Evvy? You seem upset. Let me take a gander… You miss the dragons?" I nodded. I was pretty shy and quiet, as opposed to the super friendly Era. She had plenty of human friends, but my only friends had been the dragons- especially Horizon, an Antarean hatchling my dad owned before the accident with my dad… ”Well no worries, Evvy, you’ve got me! And maybe one day we’ll see Horizon again.” She grinned, her wide smile showing her perfect white teeth. Era was the perfect daughter. I was the rotten son. I knew she was faking her grin just trying to cheer me up, though, so I let myself give her a small smile and nod. ”Eh, maybe you’re right. But I doubt that’ll ev’r ‘appen-”

BANG! CRASH!

 

Era Blanchard

In a second, whatever broke the window was on top of me. I shrieked, striving to scrabble away, but in the vise grip of whatever was holding me down, not to mention under the weight of the voluminous persimmon-coloured dragon that decided to land on my chest (an adult Magi just guessing from the color and size), my efforts were in vain. Mom was away, attempting to apply for a job again, and we lived far from our neighbors, so no one could hear me but Everest, and the boy was busy scouring the kitchen for a weapon.

 

"Just grab a fork or something! Or don't even use a- mmmph mmph mmmph!" I tasted the metallic flavor of dragonscale and leather as a gloved hand covered my mouth.

"It would be GREAT if you hurried it up, H," a gruff voice said from near Evvy, then a more feminine one came from behind me in the direction of the arm said, “Oh, shut up, Wolf! Restrain the boy before he tries to kill one of us!” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Everest charging at the dragon on top of me with a kitchen knife.

SMACK!

 

Everest Blanchard

The knife was knocked out of my hand as something hard collided with my ribcage, throwing my body across the room. I banged my head on the side of the countertop. Something wet and red dripped down the side of my face, but I didn't feel any pain. I was faintly aware of a voice saying ”And you thought he was a threat.” I couldn’t get up. The last thing I heard was a girl’s voice muttering a spell before everything went dark.

 

Suddenly, I woke up, floating in water. I couldn’t see the bottom, or the top... The water around me was crystal clear, and I could breathe. Weird. What had happened, and why was I here? I started swimming around, when I saw a brightly colored orange... Streamer? Tons of them, too. Was there some kind of party going on?

 

No, I thought. The streamers were moving towards me. One opened their mouth, and I saw stuff out of nightmares- it had rows upon rows of swirling teeth, each tooth an inch long at best. The whole creature was at least a foot long, and it was hurtling right towards me! I shouted -or tried to-, a stream of bubbles shooting out of my mouth as I tried to paddle away, but with no avail. After a good minute of dog-paddling away from the eel-y things, I felt something grab my hand and I was pulled up and away. It was the hand of a short woman with curly black hair in a bob, wearing dragonscale and leather gloves, dragging me out of the water. I tried to thank her, but she faded away, as well as the rest of the scene, turning into a lush, yellow-green forest. The sun was mostly blocked out by the treetops, and I wandered in almost complete darkness, when I heard the crunching of dry leaves underfoot. Something was after me. Growling. Suddenly, the creature following me leaped from the underbrush, landing on my chest. It had grayish, hairless flesh that smelled like rot, and was speckled with flaky black spots and rough, scabby sores; infected and... Oozing. They had flat, massive heads that were way too big for their chihuahua-sized bodies. I winced in disgust as it's snapping, howling maw was suspended above my face. I closed my eyes, shielding my face with my arms, when the monster was kicked off of my body. The same girl from before helped me up, a serious expression on her face. She disappeared like before, along with the scenery. I treasured the few seconds of limbo between each scene, before I was dragged into another hellish nightmare. Literally. Fires burned around me; geysers of lava surrounding my person. I screamed as one erupted near my toes. Pulled away again, right between two spewing geysers, scalding my sides. A man with bird wings, chasing me through a jungle; hiding away in a cave, shown to me by the girl! Being frozen in a giant ice cube, only to be thawed out by none other than the girl! Wolves, mouths foaming, chasing me, only to be vanquished by the girl! Demons! Dragons! Mages! Monsters! Ghouls! Gremlins! Harpies! Hellbeasts! Pulled away from the dreams every time, only to be launched into another, all ended by that girl! I fell into a rhythm- be dragged into a horrendous dream, allow myself a few seconds of panic, get pulled away from whatever was trying to hurt me. Rinse and repeat. At the end of it, my throat was sore and raw from screaming, but none of it had been real, had it..?

Had it?

 

Era Blanchard

After what seemed like an eternity, I awoke, heavy eyelids fluttering open. Gray. Damp. Poorly lit, illuminated with thousands of glowing mana crystals... I dimly remembered someone saying they were disappearing? Maybe this was where they were all being held... I held my aching head, but when my palm touched my temple, I felt the rough, annoying texture of dragonscale on dragonscale, similar to the feeling of rubbing your finger on paper, causing me to shout and tumble backwards. Did someone put dragonscale gloves on me? Why would they? Those are extremely expensive... Who would give up such a thing? And why did it feel that way when I touched my face? Soon my question was answered in the form of a teal-colored tail with a tuft of blue fluff hanging over my face.

”Undine?” I thought, unaware that my thoughts were public domain, staring at the color and trying to remember what Father had told us about Undines. It had been a long time ago...

"Now Era, Everest, see here. This is Rainy, an Undine I've raised. She's got teal scales -Ev, stop playing with Horizon- and a tuft of blue fur on her tail, see? She can make water float -Horizon, stop distracting Everest- and turn it into shapes. There are golden Undines too. They have teal fur and golden scales, but possess the same powers." I shook my head, getting back to my feet -all four of them- and concentrated on making a puddle from groundwater around us. The air smelled damp, there HAD to be water down here somewhere... but, try as I might, I couldn't even get a drop up out of the ground. Luckily, there were loads of mana crystals everywhere, so I gave up on trying to make a puddle and teetered over to an earth mana crystal, examining myself in it's glossy surface. I stared, incredulous. ”There's no way I'm a dragon. This is another one of those hellish nightmares.” I waved my lengthy tail, stretched my long neck, and flapped the gargantuan wings that were on my back, getting used to all my new limbs. A large, sharp dragon was near me, groaning quietly. It was a deep blue color, with icicles growing on it's snout and wings. Being next to it made me shiver. Ice. It suddenly sat up, aware of my presence.

"Ergaah?" it asked, then fell backwards.

'Galsish?' My eyes widened as my brother's voice resonated in my now oddly shaped skull. '-m ‘n Ice? Wh- n the name of t- GoNs is ‘appen-?!'

I held my ears, whimpering like I wasn't hearing my brother in my cranium...

'Evvy?! Why is Evvy in my head?!

 

Everest Blanchard

'Evvy? Wh- s Evvy in m- ead?!'

My ice-blue (ha) eyes widened as I heard my sister's voice in my head. ”Oh no, ‘earing ‘er aloud is enough,” I thought, not knowing my thoughts were currently on broadcast to all the dragons around me, including her. I would probably get a smack later. But how am I an ice drag’n?! It’s impossible! People have been try’n to make a spell that could do it for years, but no one’s come close! Though, there were rumours that the gold’n wyv’rn who lead the drag’ns in the Great War had been a human once… But that was all blasphemy, right? ‘e couldn’t have been human. No way.”

 

We were in a tunnel away from the main area. It was covered in mana crystals of all different shapes and sized and colors. It would have been beautiful if we weren’t sore from our ‘transformation’ and freaking out about telepathy. I really missed Horizon then. She would have loved it, pissy and confused sore or not. I got up slowly, unwinding my tail from my legs. I slowly took a step and fell on my face right after. Ice had spread out when I walked. ”OW,” I thought-yelled, sighing. Getting up again, I slowly made my way to the exit- it was only a few steps, but it felt like a mile. Having to coordinate four legs that make ice whenever they step without tripping and falling and slamming my face into the ground is like learning to walk for the first time- slow and steady and lots of slipping. Era was looking around the cave, observing the mana crystals- no doubt mentally sorting them by size, type, and shape. Era liked things to be orderly.

I rounded a bend and was immediately barraged with thoughts. I let out a squeak and stumbled backwards, shaking my head. ” ’oly Trios, what the ‘ell?!” I swore. I had only picked up a small bit of the mental barrage that just occurred, and most of it was screaming. ”Guess there are others like me ‘an Era…” I thought. Era’s head whipped around, and I saw the look of surprise and confusion on her face. I shrugged. ”If you’d come over ‘ere, you could take a listen, Heh, you probably wouldn’t anyway. Too obsessed with the crystals to even care about getting out. I thought, when she gasped.

 

Era Blanchard

A group of particularly large mana crystals was in the back of the tunnel. I skittered around them to see if anything was behind them, and found someone I’d never forget. A matured Antarian hatchling lay behind it, sleeping. ”Horizon! I thought, surprised. I sincerely doubted either of us would ever forget what she looked like. She stirred, and opened her eyes. She shrieked and moved back. ”Hey! Who’re you?! Where am I?! What do you want?! Damn Undines, always so entitled…” My green eyes widened. ”That’s right, she wouldn’t recognize me.. I’m a dragon now, I thought, my thoughts broadcasted to everyone around me. Horizon looked confused. ”Hey, are you okay? Your voice is all choppy.. hey, you aren’t separating your thoughts… Were you human-raised too? she asked. I shook my head, and was about to ask something else when Everest barreled into me. ”Everest!” I shouted exasperatedly, a startled squeak escaping my throat. Horizon looked just as startled as I was. ” ‘orizon! It’s me, Evvy! Something ‘appened ’an now me ‘an Era are dragons!” He launched into a full-on spiel about how much he missed her and what was going on and how they just woke up when she said, ”How would you be ‘Evvy’? Who even is that?” He looked absolutely crushed. I spoke up (thought up?), saying, ”It is us! We were transformed into dragons somehow! I can prove it! Evvy and I are twins and we are both 12. Evvy was your best friend since you hatched and raised you from an egg. You got that scar on your tail when Cyrin bit you for stealing his precious ruby. You need anymore proof?” Horizon looked dumbfounded. "You are Era! How are you guys dragons?! I shrugged. "We know as much as you do, 'onestly. We only woke up and figured out how to walk a little while ago," he stated calmly, but I could feel his enthusiasm.

 

((one long post to make up for infinite much smaller posts later on))

[XiraCaster]

"We're ready."

"Very well, this way." His tail flicked towards the generalized direction of the fallen wyvern. He kept a weary eye out for the Frill as they traversed back to his companion. She appeared to be making a decent attempt at walking, until she couldn't stop. Bounding over to the female's side he flanked her, directing and guiding her to ensure she didn't ram into anyone or anything. "It'll take some time, but you'll get the hang of it. He snorted, returning the Frill beside the Aeon. Directing his attention to the male he rumbled. "The wyvern is a Falconiform, be cautious around the flames...she can't harness their temperature let alone their intensity. As long as she's calm you can interact with her."

 

I was still laying across the cold floor, awaiting Esprit's return when newer voices resonated faintly in my head. Must be more dragons waking... I thought silently as I huffed and made another attempt at standing on my own. It almost was a success, had both 'forelegs' stretched and supporting my weight until my unstable wings gave out from underneath me. Where was help when you needed it? As if by a miracle I could see the Spirit Ward returning with what he looked to be accompanied by a Frill and a larger wyvern of some sort. Never seen its kind before so I would never of known the name of the species. Either way I was thankful that he found someone to help.

[Lemniscate]

After a longer practice session, I sighed and set myself gently down on the ground. I let my mind wander slightly to entertain myself, making sure to stay alert. What if I was missing out on important info by being here? The main group was learning too. For a moment, I toyed with the idea of going back. No, that would be too risky. I didn't even know how to talk to the other dragons. The other dragons were lucky, they had good friends aiding them in the sea of strangers and strangeness. They could learn from a familiar face and seek comfort, unlike me. Though I had bonded with a few of my dragons, I had never let one become so close to me. Did I regret it now? Yes, but regretting it wouldn't change anything. A familiar tinge of loneliness began to creep up on me, but I quickly distracted myself with other thoughts. How had I become a dragon? Sure, it was cool and fulfilled something I'd wished for since I was a small child, but why had someone even bothered turning me into a dragon? There were plenty more skilled dragon raisers out there, most of them tougher and smarter than me. That wasn't even taking into account how much skill, stamina, and power the spell to transform someone into a dragon took. Growling to myself, I shuddered as I imagined someone who could transform the whole cave full of used-to-be humans into dragons.

 

At least the person probably wouldn't want to kill us, that would ruin all their hard work. Why did they want us then? Human turned dragons were probably a lot less graceful and comfortable with their powers than regular dragons. It would be a lot easier to simply recruit the many wild dragons roaming the land. So why did they bother? Was it to bind us to them and threaten us to do their bidding? But if that were the case, they could simply offer gold or other resources to bribe regular dragons. If they had to power to turn humans into dragons, they could probably get away with stealing a few gold pieces here and there. Ugh. It just didn't make any sense. Would they even bother showing up to tell this messy group what to do? None of us even knew how to control our thoughts, from what I could infer. They all bled into everyone else's head. Every. Single. Thought. The plus side of every thought being broadcasted was that there was still relative privacy due to the incredible muddle of noise. Even my current thoughts were being broadcasted. I supposed I should try and stop them, but I didn't even know where to start. At least I had managed to muffle the noise.

 

How did dragons even do this all the time? Were they born with the ability to control their telepathy perfectly or something? Groaning in frustration, I plopped my head down on the ground. Huh. It just occurred to me how oddly natural moving around seemed. It was almost like moving myself around with my arms and legs taped together, except longer and more flexible. Although it was kinda annoying to simply be missing arms and hands, it seemed that I had gotten lucky with moving around. From what I had seen of the other dragons, getting accustomed to wings and dragon limbs was rather difficult. I, on the other hand, could move around with levitation. It was as good as flying, if not better. Suddenly, another thought popped into my head, causing me to smile. Ironically, I wasn't a Silver dragon. With a nickname like Silver, you'd almost take it for granted if I had become a Silver dragon. Laughing, I imagined the nightmare it would be to explain my name to strangers if I were a Silver instead.

 

"Hey, call me Silver."

 

"You mean you are a Silver, not call you Silver, right?"

 

"No, I mean you can call me Silver."

 

"Huh? But isn't that what you are?"

 

"Yes, but... just call me Silver, okay?!?"

 

Pffft, it was too funny. I sure was glad I didn't have to go through that. Though I might get some questioning stares from people who expected me to actually be a Silver. Oh well. Can't please everyone, can you? I indulged in a few more chuckles before bringing my attention back to more pressing matters. Such as, not broadcasting all of my thoughts to these strangers. Hmm. If I couldn't figure out how to be silent, I'd focus on trying to communicate a single thought to one person. I wasn't particularly eager to do this, but I supposed I had to. Alright. Focus on the dragon I attacked. Concentrate on them, and only them. Now, to perform the scariest part. Apologize. Narrowing my concentration down to the dragon's head, I focused on eliminating everything else. Forming a word in my mind, I imagined it alone going from my head to theirs. I acted as if I was saying the word loud and clear, except only mentally. "SORRY." I sent, trying to make it louder so it could be heard above the din. Once I thought I had sent it, I let out a breath and rolled onto my back. Phew. That was a lot of concentration. Maybe too much? But better safe than sorry. I was pretty mentally exhausted now, due to having to concentrate to levitate and block the voices. My recent attempt at telepathy didn't help either.

 

Hopefully, I would receive a reply and then figure it out from there. For now, I'd take a small break. I didn't expect being a dragon to be so exhausting.

 

 

[MyWhiteKnight]

I continued to wobble about, attempting to navigate life with four new appendages. First, my legs wouldn't move when I wanted them to, and then one wing would flop down and I would trip and flop to the ground on top of myself. Even after picking myself up, my other leg would try to move, but my tail swung around and hit me on the side, causing me to stumble to the side. Most the time, I valiantly tried to catch my balance, which had shifted more than I was comfortable with.

 

As I stumbled along the cave wall that appeared to never end, I caught snippets of conversation. Most were fluid senses of words and language that, at first, I couldn't recall how I could understand. Then, at that moment, a story my mother told me flooded my mind. She said that dragons could speak to each other telepathically, and did not need a spoken language since their chosen method of communication superseded the spoken word.

 

It made sense, then, why I felt like some were watching me. Then again, growing up the only child of a large family without a dragon, and being teased made me paranoid at times. I tried to calm my over active imagination, and focus. Indeed, it took enough concentration just to try and move let alone talk. Instead of trying to talk to everyone, I concentrated on my walking skills. One foot in front of the other, wings up or tucked against my body -yes that was better. As I more stumbled and less fell over myself, I observed the dragons around me.

 

All of these individuals lived here, and it amazed me. How me arrived, I did not know, but it appeared as if I was in dragon heaven. I tilted my head for a moment and watched everyone around me. I didn't know what to do or where to go, and a sudden wave of helplessness over came me. I sighed, or snorted to be more correct, and sat down to think. There had to be a way to at least talk to the others, and control it.

 

So, I concentrated and focused. I didn't know how to make the fluid messages of others, but that didn't mean I couldn't try. My eyes closed and my mind went blank, all I my thoughts centered around this one word, "HELLO!"

 

The amount of mental power needed to deliver that message was exhausting, and I didn't know if it even worked. I sat there, panting lighting, mind twirling, hoping I did alright.

 

Edited September 4, 2016 by MyWhiteKnight

[Sugar-Free]

Spinning, haze, a sense of directionlessness and a feeling of dread--this is my nightmare. All around, I can see her--a girl of nondescript--with thousands of hands grasping out for me. Near, but nowhere enough to reach, falls Chris, his arms tucked to his sides and his wings lame. Beneath, awaiting our arrival, is the black-hood and an obese Magi dragon, maw braced open to devour us. I scream, but there is nothing but a roar. The black fades outward into blinding white.

 

The thousand arms offer a silver thread. I reach out, in a split second--

----------------

 

My head jerked upward, reeling with remnant dreams. As the world around me lurches unsteadily to a stop, I stare until the blurriness fades.

 

But surely, was still dreaming.

 

The room...wherever it was, was flecked and splotched with a thousand colors, set against blue-blue grey...stone? I blinked and rolled my eyes, trying to clear my vision--

 

{Errrgh!}

 

The color seemed to saturate faster than my brain could keep up. The sudden rush of vibrance pushed through my eyes, coursing through my blood, into my nerves and spine, thrumming in my stomach like celebration drums. I shook my head and rolled my eyes again, willing the colors away.

 

This isn't right...wh....what's happening?

 

But then, as I thought that, the sounds came. Like a floodgate, my ears seemed to open an give passage to a million unfiltered screams and chatter. They abraded against my ears and cut into my mind, rendering all my own thoughts null. All was unintelligible, and were of such intensity that they warbled in their meeting, fighting for dominance in terror.

 

I thought I might break.

 

{aaaaaaAAAAAAAGHRR!!!}

 

Sickness rose up through my stomach and throat, and I tried to raise myself up to quell it. When I did, the ground seemed to fall before my very eyes, as if I were a titan. My torso felt long and wobbly, my head spun with vertigo, and my arms felt distance and detached.Where...where are my arms?! Am...I poisoned!?! I needed to stand--

 

And I collapsed, with no response or sensation in my thighs, knees or legs. My head rushed toward the ground, and I reached out in front of myself--

 

And was blinded by--WHAT IS THAT?!?

 

I pulled my hands away from the scaly, ethereal-gold splays. They disappeared as I did so, and succeeded in smacking my jaw back against the stone. I tried to push my body back up with my arms, and saw the crests of the two splays, seemingly conducting their own light, saddle up on each side of me. I froze, watching for them to move. For over 30 seconds, they remained as still as I. This...is sorcery of some sort...I'm poisoned. I have to be...

 

I tried to raise myself again. The strange, bent folds of golden-purple moved suddenly, and I grabbed for them. They flexed and I fell again, watching them extend into what appeared to be a dragon wing formation before me on the ground. As I stared into the shadowy glow of the wings, a secret realization came through me, rattling me to the core.

 

No. No...

 

I pushed it back, far away into the back of my head. Nothing of those thoughts would help me, and they were unreasonable, anyway. Impossible. Most likely a hallucination. I tried to focus on something nearer and base, something real and tangible like Chris would tell me--

 

"Akita! Akita, can you hear me?! Akitaaaaa!!" My eyes flicked around, searching and searching for the voice I could recognize from anywhere. "Chris! I'm here!", I shouted out through the clamor. {Krrryaaaagh! Aaaghyiiargh!} A screeching roar emanated from somewhere, seemingly from just in front of me. I started and shuddered. Was...was that a dragon?!

 

Everywhere, I found shimmering mana crystals, pulsing with energy as I had never before witnessed, dribbling streams tinkling so delicately that they seemed to resonate inside my very being, and mounds of small lizards, adorned in textured and metallic furs and scales, decorated with toy wings and...

 

A clattering of familiar talons bounded toward me. I weakly angled my head upward, and was greeted by a narrow wedge of a face draped in golden hair. I opened my mouth: "Christopher! You...you're okay..."

 

{Krryaaagh...urrruhah...}

 

I stopped. The sound had come again, rumbling against the flood of other howls and screeches. Chris's expression reflected my own surprise. He leaned down, touching his muzzle to my face. It stopped and I felt a small impact far away from where I knew my nose was. His head...it was...small?

 

"Akichaa? Is...is this really you?" I drew back and gave him an incredulous look. Now was not the time to be kidding around. Of course it's me, you moron! Chris winced and huffed a bit.

 

"Don't be such a meanie, Akichaa...I'm just asking..."

 

What? I thought. Did...no, he didn't hear me...pfft, that's crazy...

 

"Mmmmmh..." Chris pursed his muzzle together, tilting his head with a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah, actually I did. You're telepathizing all over the place right now." I gaped at him. Chris had never been able to hear my inner thoughts before, only the seldom expressions of dedicated telepathy we practiced. How now, I wondered, could he possibly hear them now?

 

Several shrill cries of near-intelligible voices rang in my head. I groaned, focusing in on where his voice was. I was out of practice, and the endless barrage from other sources was enough to deafen someone. "Chris...ugh, GoNs above, how do I make it stop?" He knelt down and lowered his head onto mind, resting his paws past where I could see. I felt nothing but the pressure of his smaller, less protruding scales of his jaw and neck, noting the lack of distinct texture feedback and the intense scent of oil and patchouli. It was loud, to say the least, but calming. It wasn't anything I'd ever put on him...What is that smell?

 

"Hey, Akichaa. Just listen to my voice, okay? You know how we talked when we were in that big display of Candelabra dragons this summer? Just...try to 'push' your thoughts out when you want to talk, and 'hold' them close when you just want to think. Okay? I know you can do this."

 

{Urrrrgh}. I pulled my palms back up to cover my ears instinctually. Cllllickckck... There was a sound of something not unlike chains running in gears, or coins being scooted over each other. It was...apart of me?

 

Chris bucked backward as my head violently jolted up and smacked his teeth together. The anxiety in my stomach rushed into my heart, causing me to feel hot and my chest to flutter. I pushed myself back up, seeing the wings where my arms should have been. I could feel the panic start to affect my lungs as I began to breathe faster; it was as if I was being overtaken by lead weights. Chris's eyes wers filled with concern as my eyes struggled to focus on him, darting between him--the lizards?--the crystals--the cold walls--the dripping springs--

 

"Chris. Get me out of here." He shook his head, confused.

 

"Out? Akichaa, I don't--"

 

"NOW. I-I don't feel safe! Ugh, I-I think there's something wrong--!" Darkness threatened my eyes with unconsciousness. I can't pass out...I..I might be dying...

 

"O-okay! Alright, just keep your eyes on me! Can you move?" I thrust the wings against the floor, heaving my body forward as I jerkily propelled myself. Chris shuffled hurriedly to the side as I did so, and after a moment of what I could only describe as hesitation, he took off at a light jog. I bounded after his golden blur, taking no concern with where he may lead me. My head flopped side to side, becoming more and more aware of the waking nightmare around me.

 

Those lizards...ones that would have dwarfed me before now were merely horse-sized at best. Ones that would have sat in my hand were almost like pebbles. These...these were not mere lizards. They were dragons, of so many colors and sizes that it dizzied me. Some slept unawares on the ground, while a few others toiled and yowled in confusion and anger. Why? Why are they all here? And...why am I?

 

A swell of bluish liquid spread out into the end of a long tunnel. The noise and clamor had not ceased, but quietened as we approached it. "Akita, we can rest here for a bit. I think this is probably a little better for you." When I met Chris at the bank of the lake, I held myself up, panting. The length of my body, which felt entirely too long for where my legs were, felt bruised and strained, and I could feel just how heavy I was all of a sudden. "Chris," I called him, "what happened last night? I...I can't gather my thoughts...my head feels strange, everthing's off scale, everything's too bright and things smell really strong..." I cleared my throat and shook all over, feeling a legion of unfamiliar muscles tense and relax along my extended belly. He situated back onto his haunches and looked into my eyes. I felt like crying. His expression was...strangely bashful?

 

"Akichaa...I don't want you to freak out, so I'm gonna let you figure that out yourself." He tilted his head toward the water. "Take a look. And remember I'm here for you if you need me."

 

I could hear the ominous tone in his voice. I followed his word and eased over the bank, watching a reflection flicker into view.

 

Before me, in the mirror of the lake, loomed the image of a dragon I had seen only in history books and children's tales: a Sunsong Amphiptere, its scales an eldritch yellow and cast in a ghastly shade. The eyes of the beast, piercing blue-green, followed mine in sync. When I recoiled, as did the massive arrow-head serpent, scales standing up in shock along the back of its head.

 

A peal of despair rung out, disturbing the still water and echoing down the hall. I screamed, as loud and louder than possible. I shook with the power of my primal roar, forcing all my disbelief, my fury, my sadness into this animal expression. My legless, coiling tail whipped and thrashed recklessly, causing Chris to sidestep and scurry about to avoid my tantrum.

 

I am a dragon. A Sunsong Amphiptere. This...is me.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[ReEvolve]

((Okay so my first roleplay... Sorry if slow replies. I am new, as you can see, but bear with me. This seems interesting. Also, was it meant to be past tense? Oops ))

 

 

I was walking back home. It was dark, despite the fact Aurax was high in the sky. My friends had ditched me, coming back from College after school. Oh well. They did this every week. I don't know how I didn't expect it, but I was a naive kid. I was wandering through the field, in grass knee-high. At that moment I just wanted to be at home, snuggled up in my room reading my book with Infynai curled around my shoulders. I began to walk faster. I don't know why, just I felt like something was following me. I just had a hunch. Aurax had disappeared behind a tree now, leaving me with Cirion, its much darker brother. I struggled through a rogue shrub, wondering how far away I was. I don't know what made me take a shortcut. I guess I thought I'd beat my friends at their own game. Alas, it was not to be. With a force that rattled by teeth, I was knocked to the ground. I tried to get up, but saw I was pinned by a magi dragon. To my left was a shady character, a grim reaper almost. Is this it? Am I going to die? I just felt useless. Not angry, not sad, not regretful, just useless. As the reaper brought his scythe down, reality faded away...

 

 

 

Darkness. Dark all around. Fragmented, hazy, as if I was watching it in a cracked mirror, I watch my nightmare unfold, helpless. I stumbled, reaching out. Faces of pain, horror, appear in the gloom, somehow darker than the pitch black. They were not only dark, they were... The absence of light. I tried to twist away, but they were closing in, surrounding me. One shape was more obvious than the rest. More... Significant, almost, as if it were important and my brain was pushing this image forward to me. He was a reaper, holding up a scythe which seemed other-wordly. I knew he was the one I needed to get away from. He felt almost real. I turned, stumbled, tried to push my way through. It was like trying to run through treacle. In fear, I stopped, twisted around. He stood there, unmoving, and slowly raised his scythe. This was the end, I knew. "No-" I began to call out, and then the girl appeared. I beacon of light in this eternal darkness. Everything seemed to freeze as I turned to her. She was staring at me and gradually moved away. I knew I had to follow her, and yet my limbs were not obbeying my command. They were filled with lead, heavy, still.

"Wait!" I cried, but she was gone. The dream dissipated into mist and I was left, alone...

 

 

 

A bolt of light sears itself onto my eyelids and I snap them shut again. Cautiously, I open them again. Mistake. Why was it so bright? I try to hold them open but the pain just increases. And my head. Oh my god. What had I done last night. I try to think back but could remember nothing. Great. Another friggin' hangover. Dad'll be so annoyed. I try to touch my nose, and scaly limb hits my face. Ugh, my dragon. I forgot about him.

"Gerroff. Stop that, I need to sleep." I grunt. I sound so guttural. It must just be the hangover. Oh my god, my ears. What happened last night? I open my eyes and am surprised by the lack of pain I felt this time. I could see basic shapes in front of me. I wave my hand in front of my face, and a scaled wing hit it again.

"I said geroff, Infynai." and again, the hoarse throat. Jesus, what happened last night?? Infynai is my beautiful, tiny, Dark Myst Pygmy. Completely black bar a deep blue ridge on his wings, and utterly incredible. I love him to the point where I would risk my life for him, but right now I needed to figure out what was going on. Something feels weird on my back and as I reach around something hits me. It feels like a long, thick tail. Surely Infynai's isn't that big? I twist round to scold him and... He isn't there. A tail hits me on the other side.

"Infynai..." I growl. Wait. Growl? Holy Taurak. I can see perfectly clearly now and I move my hand up to my face. A wing rises in unison. A taloned (holy Taurak), red (holy Taurak), muscled (holy TAURAK)wing. I looked around me again and felt, actually felt, my tail. This can't be real. This actually can't be happening. What did I take last night? I try to say my name. Try to remain human, even in this small way.

"Urd-" what I had spoken was not a word. It was a grinding crunch of a sound that hurt my ears. Then I remember. Dragons' vocal cords don't work that way. I feel like crying. All that comes out is a muffled screech.

 

 

I take a deep breath. My limbs are uncontrollable, at least for now, so I try to make sense of my surroundings.I appear to be in some sort of cave. The pink-purple shine of mana crystals catch my eye, and- my breath catches in my throat. It's amazing. There's more than I've ever seen in one place! This would solve our mana crisis... Pinks look different, though. Colours are slightly brighter, with reds purples more prominent, greens almost greyed out completely. The saturation was different, as if I was looking through a filter. I toss back my head and reach my tail forward. I'm not sure how - or why - I do these things, but it comes naturally. The tip of the tail scratches my head, in-between my horns (which, impossibly, I can feel). I begin to feel accustomed with my limbs. This moves like that, you can't twist that, you should move like this, and I began to feel almost... Calm. I long to break free and try my wings, to flap around and feel free, to soar above all things and to see the world from above. They are the one thing I haven't tried. The smallest movement of them would disturb other dragons. I decide it is safest not to use them. And so, content in my new body. I relax, close my eyes and try to nap.

 

 

Urddus

Sleep clogs my eyes.

Awaken

They are crusty and refuse to open. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth and there is drool creeping out of the corner.

Urddus!

I become aware of a voice in the back of my head. What?

I said wake up!

The voice becomes clearer. It sounds rude, impatient.

You'd be impatient too if you had been listening to someone's dream-thoughts for hours!

I reel back. Is it reading my thoughts?

It?? I'm a she, I'll thank you kindly.

Well this is new. Then I remember. Dragons don't use physical speech, they use telepathy! This is incredible!

Congratulations, bone head.

Good Cirion, why so rude? I just got used to my body, and now I have to get used to anyone being able to poke around in my head. Great. Could this get any better?

Consider me offended. I have to leave now, but don't panic. I'll be back soon.

Wai- I start to think. But already a presence has disappeared, a presence I wasn't even aware was there. I wonder who that was. But before I can contemplate on that too long, a crystal catches my eye. It is large and thin, and curved at the edges, almost like someone has shaped it. I can see my reflection in it quite clearly. I have to stop myself from laughing - no, roaring - in amusement. I have become a Brute dragon! Me, the puny bookworm! Of all dragons! I suppose I am a bit of a loner. And I am quite competitive. The more I think of it, my characteristics are quite similar to that of a Brute's... I try to turn, to get a better view of my body, and immediately crash my horns into a stalactite, and watch in horror as it goes crashing towards the floor. Simultaneously, my tail smacks into another dragon. I wince, preparing to be faced with a full blown roar of an ember dragon (I don't know how I recognise the breed, it just comes naturally), but it just sleeps on, oblivious. My sigh of relief is almost audible. As I stare around, I begin to notice other dragons. A Chrono Xenowyrm appears to have just slammed themselves into another dragon then curled up with itendrils stuffed in its ears. A pillow dragon is yelling about Aurax-knows-what and two dragons seem to be glaring at something. I quickly look away, not wanting to pick a fight with the agitated-looking dragons. In case you can't tell, I am very careful of what I do. I am used to being bullied a lot, so I try to avoid even the slightest action that might anger someone. There are lots of other dragons just sleeping, or beginning to wake up. One, a Nhiostrife Wyvern I think, is trying to control its huge wings. I cringe at the awkwardness and look away. Aurax, did I look like that when I woke up? I cringe again, wondering who saw me. No-one seems to know what is going on, and all of them look too awkward to be adult dragons. No, I think all of us are humans-turned-dragons. But who did this? And how? The magic it must have taken. There seem to be dozens of dragons resting in the cave. Is this where all our mana has gone? A million possible explanations swirl round my head, along with a flood of memories from last night. The Reaper man. I don't know how, or why, but he must have caused this. Has to have. More dragons begin to wake up, and the crashes became plentiful. I wrap my wings around my head, curl up and try to sleep again. Unfortunately for me, just as I am settling down, the Ember dragon falls on my exposed tail.

 

Great.

 

 

((Now all I need is for someone to play the Ember dragon If an Ember dragon is a no, feel free to change the breed and I'll change it too ._.))

Edited September 10, 2016 by ReEvolve

[Moonlight_Eevee]

"Very well, this way." Eon and I were grateful the Spirit ward helped stopped me before I ran into someone. Walking was weird. "The wyvern is a Falconiform, be cautious around the flames...she can't harness their temperature let alone their intensity. As long as she's calm you can interact with her." Eon and I nodded, before giving Eon a smug look. 'Hush up,' Eon said, glaring at me. I knew Eon had a thing for Falconiforms, hopefully this one would be an exception. Eon cleared his mind before stepping up to the falconiform. 'Greetings,' Eon said. 'My name is Eon Ages, Aeon Wyvern, and my friend over here is Dalek, Frilled Dragon. If she appears menacing to you, just try to ignore the frills on her face, she doesn't know how to close them.' 'Eon!' I said, blushing. 'Don't embarrass me!' He gave me a smirk before addressing his attention to the falconiform. I yawned and slowly laid down on my belly to keep myself from trying to walk without a guide. I studied the falconiform. I think she needed more help then I. I closed my eyes and tried to close the stupid frills on my face.

[Sugar-Free]

I sobbed. I sobbed, but no tears would come. Seemed like just another way my body refused to comply. The only thing I could see was a Sunsong with its head and chest heaving, and hear the sound of hoarse, broken screeching. Chris eased up beside of me, his body pressing against my side. He nuzzled his head into my neck, but I could not feel the soft of his mane or the coin-stiffness of his scales.

 

"Akichaa...I'm not gonna pretend like I understand what you're going through. I'm not gonna pretend like I get why this happened, and it is really weird for us..." He angled his head so that I could see his face. The sympathy in his eyes and brow was enough to coax a heaving cry out of me.

 

"But...it's not really as bad as you think. I mean, you aren't a monster or anything. I think you're really pretty like this!" I shook my head at the foolhardy honesty. At a time like this?

"Don't try to cheer me up, Kuu. I hate it when you do that."

 

A tiny gasp of revelation emanated from Chris. He pushed himself underneath my chest, causing me to right upward and instinctively coil. Before I had the chance to revel in my self-congratulation, Chris giggled and bumped me, making me flap my wings to steady out. "S-stop it, Kuu! Wh-what do you think you're doing?!"

 

"Something you hate~" He smiled as well as a dragon could and flitted around me, giving my tail a sharp bite. I barked at him and slapped the ground with it; he darted away, quick as a swallow. I knew what he was doing.

 

"Christopher! Don't think just 'cause you're tormenting me that I'm okay with it! If I was a human right now--" He bounded behind me and bit where my butt was in the past. My face would've flooded red. "CHRISTOPHER! YOU--!!!"

I wrung my tail in tight coils and flailed my arms, forcing him off of me. As I did, I noticed the floor steadily receding below--

 

"OH GONS! OH CRAP! CRAP!"

 

I stopped beating my wings and fell unceremoniously to the ground, feeling my belly collapse in twisty, uncanny ways. Chris quickly leapt from somewhere and pushed his face near mine. I looked like a complete fool, wings all spread out, head lying like a punished dog. "Akichaa, you okay?~ Looks like you took a tumble~" He feigned concern. I resituated upward and re-coiled, chest aching from the previous effort. I rolled my eyes at him.

 

"Ha ha. Yeah. No kidding. And no thanks to you, you turd!" Chris lifted a paw and threw his head to the side, laughing. I regarded him with a growing smile. He could be so annoying, it was almost charming. When he finally had his fill, he looked at me knowingly.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But you feel better, don't you?"

 

He wasn't wrong. Somehow, the long, limbless body of an amphiptere felt closer to being mine. Somehow, the almightily power in these massive wings felt like an extension I had never explored. It occurred to me.

 

"Kuu...I...I kinda flew a bit...a-and I can coil up like a real Sunsong!" Suddenly, I was very excited. Secretly, I had always wanted to know the freedom and beauty of being a dragon...and now, I was. I was a Sunsong Amphiptere, with her friend, an Antarean dragon, in a cave of other dragons of all shades and shapes. Chris seemed to read my thoughts and hummed a bit.

 

"See? I told you it wasn't as bad as you thought! It might even be better than being human!" He bounced around gaily, an incredibly satisfied look on his face as he became lost in his own world. "Ooooh, Akichaa...we can fly together now...we can explore all these places I really like...we can watch the stars atop the highest mountains without you passing out!...we can even touch the clouds and dance in the rain and skid over the ocean and--" Chris kept listing out his dreamy desires. I felt a little twinge of anxiousness in my stomach at the concept.

 

"Oooookay, Kuu, let's take it one adventure at a time! Right now, we're still in a light crisis situation." Chris stopped and pouted a little before perking up again. "Riiiight~" He sat back on his haunches and looked around as I began to think of out situation. Why, indeed, are we here? I never got the answer to that question.

 

"Hey, Kuu? Do you have an inkling of an idea as to how this happened?" I raised a wing and scratched at my face. It was weird without hands, but the new wing fingers seemed to behave mostly the same, though only the "wrist" was necessary. As I peered at him, he seemed to start all at once, his eyes widening for a moment.

 

"N-no! Mm-mmh! I'm in the same boat as you. All I remember is a big goldish-orange Magi dragon and some guy with a scythe before I was knocked out." I couldn't help but be suspicious. That was more than I immediately recalled, but it didn't seem to be untrue. Still...

"You wouldn't...lie to me, would you Chris?"

 

His face contorted into an indistinguishable show of emotion. "No! Of course not! I wouldn't lie to you, not ever!" He shuffled his feet and glanced down.

 

No good, I thought. He doesn't do well under pressure. I shrugged and pondered further into my situation. If he was lying, I'd eventually find out.

 

"Hm. Whatever. What we need to focus on is getting out of here and finding answers." I glanced down the hall, wincing at the remnant cries of confused dragons. "You suppose those souls back there might have some answers?" Chris seemed to recover from his...whatever he was going through...and nodded sharply. "Mmh! I think a lot of them are humans who became dragons, too. They talk like they don't know how to control themselves, and they're pretty obviously not hatchlings..." With that, I made my decision.

 

"Alright, Kuu. Let's head inward and see what's up. You with me?"

 

"Ah! Always!" His eternal smile returned. He took a few steps forward before looking back at me.

 

"Uh...Akichaa, do you know how to slither?" I looked at him while my mind blanked.

 

"....uhhhh, how do snakes do it?" Chris furrowed his brow and leaned his head slightly, shaking it a bit. "I...don't know...?" I held my wings up and examined my scutes, watching them roll a bit as I tried to control them. I lay myself down and hiked up my wings, willing myself forward. A couple of failed windings later and I eventually gave up. I didn't have the anatomy prior, so it was pretty alien to me. I put my wrists on the ground and clunked forward, bounding my wormy figure in time with my wings pulling me forward.

 

"Well...whatever. I'll ask someone in the main room. Come on, let's just get there."

------------

 

The two of us found ourselves back in the main lair. I noticed several, several dragons, like a big fluffball of a Pillow, a Spirit Ward flanked by an Aeon Wyvern and a Frill, and a hulking, massive brute of a dragon, to name a few.

 

"Agh...a Brute dragon, indeed..."

 

With Chris secure at my side, I coiled back up and flared out my wings, trying unwillingly to call some attention to myself.

 

"HEY! Anyone in here know how to be a winged snake? I'm gonna break a rib if I keep this up..."

Edited September 16, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[XiraCaster]

'Greetings.'

 

My icy blue gaze rested upon the elusive wyvern. From this range of distance I could make out his form distinctly. He was fairly large with glimmering, deep red and black scales but from my perspective his inner wings perceived to be almost...transparent to the eyes. Even the tips of the inner membrane contained a cyan coloration to them. Atop of his head and adorning down along his neck were slightly curved horns that were black just like his underbelly and lower wings. Though as I inspected further with my curiosity, he had coal-black patterns engraved into his scales that were a few shades lower than the other dark scales making them more pronounced above the rest...did the marks serve a purpose? As my eyes wandered back to his gaze I could see that his were cyan orbs that stared down directly on me. Had to admit, he did look to be quite an interesting wyvern. I had spent so much time analyzing this dragon before me that it almost hadn't occurred to me that he was addressing me further. Blinking, I focused myself onto his words once more.

 

'My name is Eon Ages, Aeon Wyvern, and my friend over here is Dalek, Frilled Dragon. If she appears menacing to you, just try to ignore the frills on her face, she doesn't know how to close them.'

 

I couldn't help but give an amused rumble of a growl, equivalent to that of a snicker at their quick exchanging of words that followed shortly after. From what I could observe they must be close to one another. Though I probably shouldn't have shown amusement considering the state and condition that I'm presently in. Unceremoniously plopped into a heap of limbs and appendages. And to top it all off, I was on fire. literally Ah yes, I was definitely going well with this first impression. Trying to focus on how telepathy functioned I trained my concentration on the Aeon before me who's name is Eon Ages, Eon for short I can assume, and began to hold my almost first successful conversation. Some bits could still be heard by others however. It wasn't exactly easy keeping it trained solely on one being and keeping it separate from thoughts as well as the mind of others.

 

"Hello Eon, a pleasure to meet you and Dalek as well. Though I'm sure I won't be too unsettled by her composure, though unless she becomes angry then that's another story." I glanced to the Frill and gave a gentle smile...though the frills did make her look intimidating to an extent. Turning back to the male I had somehow managed to pull my wings close to my frame instead of keeping them stretched out and taking up so much capacity. Even gave Eon more space to work with. I'm surprised that I wasn't a nervous wreck in all honesty. Usually when it came to new people I would grow terribly shy. I guess I'm more ecstatic and focused on having help than to be too caught up on what they thought of me. With a flick of my tail I continued to speak. "I'm Paige, Falconiform and my friend here that kindly sent for you two is Esprit, Spirit ward. Its nice to meet both of you. Uh...err...as you can see I'm not exactly stable just yet heh..." I gave a sheepish grin, flashing the somewhat small yet razor-sharp teeth ever so slightly that resided inside my mouth. Being a predatory species did have quite the features though if I wasn't careful enough, I could cause some serious damage to those around me. And accidents like so were never fun, especially when you're practically covered in searing fire at times.

[DuskOfTheStars]

End huffed angrily, turning away. And now for an Alt Black. One purple talon poked black scales.

 

Dusky shifted, feeling the touch, and raised her head. "Wh't?" she snapped.

 

End winced. "Look at me. Focus on me." he said.

 

"AM!!" Dusky roared telepathically. The voices and her headache really weren't helping her temper.

 

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" The Sunset stepped away.

 

Now count to ten... maybe twenty. 1...

 

2... 3... 4... 5... ****it, going to turn around on 10... 6... 7... 8... 9...

 

10...! The male dragon turned, claws clicking on stone. Sure enough, his counterpart had cooled down. Even if it was just barely enough to learn. "Let's take this from the top. Focus on me. Concentrate."

 

Dusky concentrated, fixing her attention on the Sunset standing in front of her.

 

"Think something. Something you want to tell me."

 

"H'w bout I cn't stand up?" As Dusky spoke, she noticed the other sounds were fading away.

 

"Good! Very good!" End praised. "You always were a sharp mind. Though you could do with a little less barb to your comments..."

 

Dusky was glad her splitting headache was FINALLY gone. However, the Sunset was starting to make her a little mad. Not that she noticed it. "How much you like it if you get turned into human?"

 

End started speaking telepathically, only to abruptly stop. His teeth ground. "...okay, you got me. Come on - can you try again?"

 

"Shut it." This time her voice fliwed a bit. Still a bit choppy, but understandable now. Ah well, might be time to try getting her moving. End decided he could worry about getting her telepathy polished off once she could stand and walk.

 

"Come on, try getting up?"

 

"Get you... I gonna get you..." Dusky strained, but her traitorous mucles refused to lift her off the ground. The dragoness resorted to anarling in anger at her failure. And at making herself look like a fool in front of everyone ELSE. And at the annoying Sunset. She'd only tried to get up to bite at him, but even if she coildn'y move...

 

"Oh man. Sharp intellect, poor athlete. This is going to be a headache." Then End of the Days caught sigght of Dusky's bared teeth.

 

"OI!!"

 

The Sunset stared. That Alt Black definitely had a volatile temper, like the human (crying one momennt, next pissed as hell? Yeah...)...this was going to be fun. He winced, and looked around at the mana. "Come on." he muttered to himself."Just my luck I have to teach a pissed off Dusky. And even better, she'll be bawling like a baby afterwards."

[Sugar-Free]

There was no answer from anywhere in the cave. Other dragons were interacting with each other, some lead by guides from what I could tell, being friendly and able to talk through their struggles. I backed up against Chris's side and shrunk down.

 

I felt stupid, thinking that anyone out there could hear me. I felt ashamed, that I could think anyone could care. These dragons probably already know each other. They won't want to talk to me. I shouldn't be acting so forceful just because I was happy for a second. I looked at Chris, who was gazing out towards the thinning mounds. Surely they'll notice Chris. They always do...

 

Chris had always had a way of being just quirky enough to be slightly off-putting, but so friendly and warm that anyone would approach him, without fear. On the few occasions I've even went into town, such as the Candelabra Celebration, everyone was so quick to coo and fawn over his scales, wings and mane. His disposition lend him to fast friendship, and people remembered him by name. I knew it was a penalty for my chosen anonymity, but it didn't ease the ache.

 

Why am I like this?

 

"Hey, Akita." I drew back into reality. Chris's head had yet to move, almost as if he was deeply focusing on something.

 

"Do...do you feel that?" I had no idea what he was talking about. I watched in his direction and closed my eyes, trying to find something, anything...

 

Am I supposed to? Is it because I'm not actually a dragon? Or am I just to stupid to tell?

 

"I'm feeling a lot of things, Chris. Is it a draft or something? I don't have hair or anything, so--"

"No," he stopped me, "It's...off. Like, it feels familiar, but...it doesn't feel...right?" He swayed his body a bit. I had noticed this peculiar behavior before--this was him trying to "align". I didn't see how it was possible, considering there was no sky nor stars above. But that was why he was so incredible; the fabric of reality was ever wrinkled, and I was sure he could feel the disturbances.

 

But...if that's so...

 

I looked directly at him, watching him undulate subtly to an unknown rhythm.

 

...then why didn't he feel those two strangers come?

 

 

 

[Lemniscate]

((Reposting as an alert. The more dialog I do, the more I realize I have absolutely no idea how to format it beyond a general guide of doing whatever looks good. Again, sorry for the rainbow. Sierra's color is a little bright in large doses, I might change it sometime.))

 

-----~Sierra~-----

 

Blinking her eyes open, Sierra groaned and rolled over. Where was she again? Had she lost another fight with a dragon? Pushing herself upright, she looked around and suddenly remembered. Chasing, flying, and a crash after some weight fell on her. Judging from what she remembered of the shape and size of the sudden weight which had landed on her, it seemed to have been Silver. But where was Silver now? A movement in the bushes signaled a panting Wren entering the small clearing, jumping at the sight of Sierra. "Ah! Please don't chase me again! I'm sorry for sleeping next to you and poking you with my antlers..."Wren apologized, nearly falling over herself. Collapsing into a pile, Wren simply took deep breaths in an attempt to recover from the exertion of fleeing from Sierra. "I came back after hearing Silver yell... she sounded like she was in danger." Wren continued after a few breaths, catching Sierra's interest.

 

"What? Where did Silver go then?" Sierra questioned, earlier anger forgotten in favor of curiosity. "And what happened to Taloss? Doesn't he usually follow me around to try and stop me? He should be here by now if that were the case." Sierra narrowed her eyes in suspicion, scanning the clearing. There were some depressions in the dirt and grass, one in the shape of a human, another vaguely similar to a Magi Dragon. Had another dragon attacked Silver? And what had happened to Taloss? Anger began to boil up inside her again, making her itch for a fight. She would find out whatever had happened and make them pay if they had harmed Silver or Taloss. "Hurry up Wren! I'm gonna head back to the cave and ask around. You follow too!" Barely waiting a second, Sierra instantly rushed back towards the cave, leaving a poor, exhausted Wren to drag herself back alone.

 

Rushing into the main cave, Sierra began impulsively assaulting the dragons with questions. Where was Silver? How long had she been gone? Had anyone seen any suspicious figures lurking nearby? What happened to Taloss? As she asked the last question, a tired voice sounded behind her. "I'm right here, Sierra. Calm down. No one can tell what you're saying at that speed."

 

Whipping around, Sierra widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing Taloss. "W-what?! You're right here? You didn't chase me this time?" She exclaimed, quirking an eyeridge skeptically. Realizing that she was still rushing her speech, Sierra took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Opening them again, she turned back to the dragons began to repeat her questions, this time slower and in a more level tone. "So, from the beginning. Have any of you seen Silver?" She asked, looking over the cave full of dragons. A collective no was the response. Frowning slightly, she continued her interrogation. "Well, how long have I been gone then? And did you guys see any suspicious figures while I was away?" The dragons shook their heads again and a few voices piped up to say that she had been gone for a few hours. Groaning in frustration, Sierra turned back around to Taloss. "Ugh! This is getting us nowhere!" She complained, putting her wings over her face. "Do you have any ideas, Taloss?"

 

"No, but Wren might have some." With that, Taloss pointed a wing towards an exhausted Wren trekking towards the cave entrance. As soon as she caught sight of Wren, Sierra dashed off again, returning with a very tired and reluctant Wren. Giving her a brief summary, Sierra wasted no time asking her for ideas.

 

"Well... we could try to find Silver with the help of the Magi dragons..." Wren suggested timidly, wrapping herself in her wings in anticipation of an outburst from Sierra. When it didn't come, Wren tentatively peeked out at Sierra and Taloss.

 

"That's a good idea. We don't have any idea where Silver is though..." Sierra mused, displaying an uncharacteristic calm. However, her usual energy returned within moments. "We'll just have to guess then! We can get some of the more life-energy attuned dragons to help our guessing. Of course, we'll need a volunteer Magi and dragon to be teleported. Anyone brave enough to step up to the challenge? This is gonna take forever..." She announced, whispering the last part to herself.

 

"I'll do it. Just tell me who to teleport there and back." said a Magi, waving his claws dismissively.

 

"Send me." A monotone voice said, almost immediately after the Magi. A deadpan Ember stared up at Sierra, its face almost bored.

 

"That settles it then. Alright, dragons that can kinda sense life force or whatever, go help them!" Sierra exclaimed, making vague wing motions towards the two volunteers. Keeping a close eye on the group, she soon noticed them discussing something before teleporting the Ember. After a short amount of time, the Ember returned, its face as expressionless as ever. It shook its head slightly, causing a murmur throughout the group. After a few more repeats of this process, Sierra noticed the Magi murmuring in a worried tone. What had happened? Had it found Silver?

 

Meanwhile, at the location of the Ember. During the course of the teleportation, the Ember had become so bored it had fallen asleep. As such, it was oblivious to the smack it had received from the Brute. Stirring slightly, the Ember rolled off of the pile it had previously been resting on, falling on the exposed tail of the Brute. The impact wakes it up, causing it to scan its surroundings impassively. No Silver. But many, many, confused, clumsy dragons. What was happening here? Taking no notice of the tail beneath it, the Ember sat down, squashing the tail painfully. Hm. This deserved a report. Taking one last scan of the surroundings, it observed the Brute as well before being surrounded by an orange glow. It appeared back in the cave, where it quickly began to converse with the group.

 

"There was something happening in the cave I visited... lots of dragons were confused and stumbling around, almost as if they were hatchlings. I couldn't stick around because of the teleportation timer, but you should send a Magi and another powerful dragon to investigate."

 

"I don't think I have another teleport in me, unfortunately. That's what I was worried about earlier. I almost didn't even have enough energy left to teleport you back at the end of the timer. I'm the only one who knows where I teleported though, so I guess I'll try one last teleport. Who should I send?"

 

"We need someone who looks powerful, but not frightening. They also shouldn't have a bad reputation. Ideally, they should be able to act friendly and calm so they don't scare anyone or start a fight."

 

"How about a Mageia? They're not exactly warm and friendly, but they're certainly powerful without being intimidating. Most of them are also pretty calm. Plus, they can teleport themselves back. It'll lessen the strain."

 

"That sounds good to me. I'll go check if any of them want to volunteer."

 

At that, the Ember wandered off and returned with a Mageia. A quick conversation ensued, resulting in the Mageia being teleported back to the cave. Unfortunately for the Brute, the Mageia was teleported directly above him, where it squashed him momentarily as it gained its bearings. It quickly resumed its levitation and stopped squashing the Brute, holding its head high in a distinct cover up of its previous accident. Clearing its throat slightly, it purposefully looked over the struggling group of dragons. Seemingly looking for something, it quickly disappeared into a tunnel as it failed to locate the object of its search. It repeated this process in various other caverns, each time spending as little time as possible in the main cave.

 

-----~Silver~-----

 

Somehow, I had managed to take a short nap. The voices were still persistent, though much more tolerable. I was about to curl back up and fall asleep again when I suddenly heard a familiar telepathic voice. No... it couldn't be... Jaq'lai? How had he found this place? What would he do if he saw me like this? I couldn't explain it or ignore it, and he'd be sure to teleport me back... What if word got out to my friends? What would even happen? It might not be so bad... but I couldn't be sure. Panicking, I looked around for places to hide. Spotting a deep but small pool, I took a deep breath and dove into it. I found that I could open my eyes underwater and use my glowing tendrils as illumination. Swimming deeper, I noticed that the pool was really just an underwater tunnel. If I stayed here, then maybe I could avoid Jaq'lai until I thought about this whole situation more. But... what if he didn't come back? Hm... I could always try and find a way out of the cave and go back on my own when I was ready. It wasn't guarenteed, but I just couldn't go back now. Not when I didn't have any time to think about the possible results. Shaking my head, I concentrated on keeping my thoughts to myself. Not that I knew how, but attempting to was better than not attempting to, right? Hopefully Jaq'lai hadn't heard or recognized my voice amongst the muddle of thoughts being broadcasted. At least the voices were good for hiding, if nothing else.

[ReEvolve]

((Changed to past tense as all you guys are using it. Also please let me know if I am progressing the story too much. I don’t mean to, so just tell me and I’ll hold off. I just tend to go on, as you may be able to tell from the mere 1185 words in this post, not including this OOC introduction.))

 

As I flicked my eye open (only the one eye, I noticed), the Ember dragon stared at me, glowed momentarily orange, then faded out of view. Was I hallucinating? Was that what the Ember could do? Or was something else helping it? Something friendly, or something… Sinister? My mind buzzed with questions. I shut my eye once again and-- *Thump*

What now? I flicked my head back and saw that a Mageia Xenowyrm had landed on top of me. I was beginning to get angry. What was I, some kind of bouncy castle? I opened my mouth to say something, to growl, to even roar, anything to get some peace, when the Mageia floated upwards looking indignant. It held its head up high, clearly trying to regain some of its previous elegance, and floated upwards. I snorted my laughter. It seemed to clear its throat, and I wondered if I would finally find out what was going on. Was the Mageia the one that caused all this? My mind buzzed with the excitement of finally getting an explanation. But no, it simply looked over us dragons, then glided off to another cave. I shook my head, and - being sure to tuck my tail in this time - settled down to sleep once more. This was too much. I’d begun to wish I’d never been born.

 

 

I stretched myself awake. I was dreaming about Reaper Man again. I tried to shake those memories out my head and they sunk to the back of my mind. I knew they'd be back again soon, but for now I was at peace. Well, I say at peace, but that was relative. I'd still not tried out my wings. Unsteadily, I got to my feet (were they feet? Did I mean paws?) and tentatively stretched out my wings. I’d miscalculated the length and ended up smashing them into a nearby mana crystal. Well done me. I quickly folded them back in again and looked around. No-one was watching. They were all busy with their own troubles. I waddled awkwardly over the twisted still-sleeping bodies of other dragons, and stretched my wings out again. That felt good. I hadn’t even realised they were aching, but stretching them out I felt so much better. I began to flap them like I had seen Infynai do so many times. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? Feeling myself begin to rise, I looked down. Nope. No no no. I realised I was several feet of the ground and lost my concentration in a blind panic. I went spiralling to the floor, just managing to miss a nearby dragon. I shook my head. I would not be doing that again in a hurry. Everything ached even more. And my head had begun to throb too. I suddenly became aware of the voices swirling around my head. There were dozens of them. Many seemed to be wondering what was going on, although some sounded like conversations. They were muffled and jerky, but I wondered if this was telepathy. I wondered if they were intentionally broadcasting their thoughts to me, but then decided against it. They seemed too jerky, too muted to be aimed at me. So they were, presumably unintentionally, broadcasting their thoughts to everyone. I had a sudden thought. Had I been broadcasting my thoughts to everyone?? I became very agitated. How did I stop? How did I broadcast to one person? I needed someone. Something. Where was Infynai? I needed his help. I was panicking, as if the reality of what had really happened to me had just sunk in. I was losing my mind. Help. Help. In desperation, I thought as loudly in my head as I could, picturing my little pygmy.

“Infynai. I need you. Help me. Please, Infynai. It’s me. Help me now, I beg of you. I’m losing my mind.”

I waited. I waited a long time. There was no response, and I was giving up all hope. I was spiralling rapidly into depression. And then, a familiar voice right in the back of my mind.

“Urddus?”

 

—Infynai—

 

It had been a while since I’d seen Urddus. I’d last seen him when he was heading to school. He’d scratched in-between my ears like he always did, and I’d nuzzled him back, like normal. Then he’d gone off to school and not come back. I knew this would happen eventually; I’d been told that whilst I would live forever, unless killed in battle, my human would not. Despite this harsh reality, I could not help but feel distressed at his disappearance. He’d raised me from a little hatchling. I was his, and could never truly be anyone else’s. I began to sink into despair, and had flown over the town at least a dozen times in search for him. I even asked his friend’s dragon, but all my attempts were futile. I had sunk onto the bed, giving up entirely, when I felt a tickle in the back of my mind. It was small at first, but grew stronger.

“me. Please, Infynai. It’s me. Help me now, I beg of you. I’m losing my mind.” I was now fully alert. It sounded like Urddus, it really did. I couldn’t believe my ears. He certainly wasn’t speaking, either. He was using telepathy, which humans couldn’t do. It couldn’t be him. I waited for the stranger to say more, but nothing came. I eventually risked contact. I grabbed onto a mental rope, and thought quite loudly. They’d seemed far away.

“Urddus?” I thought, and the relief in the stranger was obvious. I felt it flood through me, almost as if we our minds were connected, which looking back now I supposed we were to a certain extent. The connection could only be from Urddus.

“Infynai it’s me it’s me it’s me thank god I’ve found you please help me something’s happened help-” the choppy voice begun to fade. I thought quickly.

“Slow down! How did you find me? Where are you?” but the connection was weakening quickly.

“I’m in a cave. Lots of crystals. Mana. More dragons. I’M A DRAGON INFYNAI HELP ME! I CAN’T COPE CAN’T COPE-” the line was even quieter now. It was almost gone, but the panic was there, the blind panic of a sheep trying to outrun a lion, knowing nothing it did would save it. It was a helpless panic. I shuddered at the feeling.

“You? A dragon?? What?? Where’s the cave? How did you get there?”

“I can’t. Hold this up. Much longer. Talk to you-” and he was gone. But I had enough. I would search for the cave, and follow Urddus’s mind-lead. I had to find him. Had to at least get closer to make the telepathy easier; I knew he had only been able to contact me then through sheer desperation, and even so the connection had lasted no longer than 5 minutes. I knew it would take days, even months, to find him, but none of this mattered. I had regained something I hadn’t had since his disappearance: hope.

[Pyrowings]

~Pyro~

 

As I watched, Mage first did a few sweeping circles for lowering her altitude, but then folded herself up, streaking towards us. I raised my head in alarm--she was going so fast! Could she stop in time?--but just as I was about to call out, she opened her wings and caught herself, though we were hit by the wind that she gave off. To the side, Tinselwings gave a yelp, bowed over from the wind though unharmed. I turned back to look at Mage.

She spoke casually--yet... She looked surprisingly tired, even if she had just been flying from the volcano she called home.

 

"It would be my pleasure to join you for dinner. Although, I do have other matters to discuss. Whether you'd rather wait until we're done eating to talk is up to you." She looked at the cauldron quizzically. "Stew?"

 

"Ah, perfect, I was wondering if I could stop by for a chat myself," I said as I handed her the bowl of soup. "Yup. Fish caught from a nearby pond with chopped onion greens, salt, a dab of flour, and some mushrooms. Rest up, you look tired, did something happen to you today?"

 

I fanned my own bowl of soup before drinking--okay, so the fanning wasn't completely necessary--as I started to wonder about the conundrum of the vanished mana and the questions I would have to discuss with Mage. Mana was something I have a good amount of expense in--not even because of the fact that I'm a dragon now--but someone who would be constantly working with mana be better at piecing something as strange as this... Phenomenon... together.