Melting Heart: Becoming a Dragon

The trio rested for some time along the beach. Once Safraxi caught her breath she experimented with cutting new holes in the eel to see if its regeneration was still going or not, and even checked around in the water where she had shattered its head. It was good and dead. One point for Safraxi, zero for Aquixi!

Once that was done, the three of them carved up several huge pieces of the eel and made themselves dinner. There was more than they could ever manage to eat on their own, so they just left the rest out in the air for the scavenging birds that had begun to circle.

Tifse and Audirei got another chance to speak, finally, after the food was done and Safraxi had gone to set up the tent. Tifse still hadn’t admitted her feelings to her friend, and the conversation in her head was becoming more and more daunting by the minute.

“Go on, talk to her. I did talk to Rubis, and the deal was you had to talk to her too.” Safraxi prodded as she curled up inside the tent. “Believe me, you won’t like it if I-”

“I know. I know.” Tifse shut her eyes tight and steeled herself. Her stomach felt as if it was twisting around and knotting itself up on her guts. “A-Audirei, can we- t-talk?”

“Sure, what’s up?” The red fox stretched and patted Tifse’s head. She was still coated in bandages from when the eel swallowed her. Its thousands of tiny serrated teeth had done a number on her exposed fur, and she was coated in severe burns. She’d need to see a healer when they got back to the city. She still reeked of vomit and blood. The smell did help Tifse’s nerves slightly, at least. It was hard to be intimidated by someone who’d been knocked out by a goat and swallowed alive a few hours earlier.

“I um…” Her chest was so tight it was almost impossible to speak. The words were coming out squeaky and crushed sounding, her voice cracking with every syllable. “We didn’t come find you just for the eel. We didn’t know the eel was here until we-”

“I know you didn’t come out here for the eel.” Audirei wrapped an arm around the smaller fox and pulled her in tight. Tifse’s cheeks were burning as her nose was pressed into her crush’s side. She could smell more than just the vomit and blood scent from here, she could even pick up bits of her underlying warm earthy scent. “You and Arxet are too fresh for the ministry to be sending you out on a monster hunt alone like that. I just wanted to see what you and him were made of!” She cackled and pulled the smaller fox into her lap and buried her nose into Tifse’s fur. “Working with a real rider and dragon! What a rush! It was almost worth nearly being drowned and eaten!”

“Her name’s not-” Tifse was cut off again as she was dragged up onto Audirei’s lap.

“You like me, don’t you?” The red fox removed her nose from the rider’s fur long enough to whisper into Tifse’s ear.

Every strand of fur on Tifse’s body stood on end as Audirei’s whiskers tickled her ears and she spoke the words. This is what she wanted, wasn’t it? Why did it feel so wrong? She felt as if she was going to puke. “Audirei, can I ta-”

“Ssshhh.” Audirei began to rub under Tifse’s fuzzy cheeks and under her chin. “I can tell it’s hard for you to talk about. When Arxet’s large enough we could enjoy beautiful flights over the countryside together, watching the sunset from his-”

“Her name is Safraxi!” Tifse shoved herself out of the lap. “She’s a girl too! And she doesn’t use that old name anymore!”

Audirei seemed shocked for a moment, before starting to laugh. “Oh, I never thought you’d fall for that act. I could tell he was jealous of us before. You don’t think he can tell you only like girls? A rider bond is supposed to be a revealing thing. Arxet is just trying to keep us apart, you know how sneaky his type can be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tifse grit her teeth. “I know she- I would be able to tell if she was lying like-”

“You know what it means. I don’t want to bad mouth cold ones around you too much, I know you’re sensitive.” Audirei shakily moved to her feet to match Tifse. She was still weak after the fight earlier. “But you’re not like him at all. I can tell you’re a good person underneath. You just need some help. Once I help you we can be happy together.”

“Fuck. You.” Tifse grit her teeth and glared up at the red fox. “You and I- we aren’t-”

“Oh, come on. It’s obvious you like me. Stop fighting it.” She bent down to be at eye level and tried to wrap an arm around the smaller fox.

“Get away from her.” Safraxi was now looming over the pair, eyes screwed up with rage, and fangs bared. Her jaws were parted slightly, and a drop of saliva splattered across the red fox’s shoulder as she found herself staring up at the furious dragon.

Audirei shot up to an upright position again and simpered at the dragon. “Ah! A-Arxet, Tifse and I were having a private moment, if you could just-”

The fox was cut off as Safraxi clamped her jaws down over the fox’s head and began dragging her away from her rider, keeping her head just low enough that Audirei’s feet could try to keep up and keep herself upright.“Use that name again and I will bite down next time.” The dragon pressed down harder until she felt a trickle of blood on her tongue, and could hear the fox squealing in pain. Then she released her, letting her fall to the stony beach below.

Tifse didn’t realize she was holding her breath until the dragon dropped the fox. This was the same Safraxi that she had seen in the tunnels before, the one who had used her ice breath for the first time. This one was almost as different from the others as the nicer fox version Safraxi was. It was getting easier and easier to tell the difference each time. “S-Safraxi, thank you… I…” She was at a loss for words after the entire scene. Her little frame began to shake, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

Audirei stood and opened her mouth to say something again, but Safraxi shot her a warning growl, and she fell silent. “Take your boat and leave now, or I will smash it and leave you here.” Once the dragon was sure that Audirei wouldn’t try anything, she padded back over to her rider and wrapped her up in her wings. “It’s alright. I’m here. I won’t let her near you again.”

Tifse could sense another change in the dragon. It passed in an instant, it was fluid, one moment Safraxi was a goblet filled to the brim with rage, but someone had just poured it out leaving only cool air behind. “Thank- thank you…” She buried her snout into the soft leathery interior of Safraxi’s wings. The tears were pouring out from her now, and she wasn’t sure if she could stop them. “You- you really are all I have. I thought I could trust her. I was such an idiot!”

“Yeah, you and me both, Pipsqueak.” The way Safraxi said the diminutive was so different now. It was almost tender. There was no more of the venom to it that her words had started with, those weeks ago. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Tifse let it all out into her dragon’s wings. All of her stress, regret, pain, humiliation and confusion that she had suffered. She’d been crushed by loneliness for so long, so desperate for connection, but now someone who she had hurt was the one treating her with kindness. This wasn’t right. She didn’t deserve this. Safraxi deserved better than-

“Quit it. We deserve each other, pipsqueak.” Safaxi gently nipped at the fox’s ears before planting a few long slow licks over her forehead and face. Something in her draconic instincts was screaming at her that this was the way to comfort the rider. “I wasn’t any better to you. I was the one who wasn’t looking where I was going in the first place, right?”

Tifse sputtered out a few failed words against the licks and nodded. Why was she getting blushy again? “Well, maybe we can deserve each other in a good way, too?”

“Yeah. Let’s aim for that. Come on. Fishfood’s already getting out of here. We should too.” She shifted back down to her bipedal form and took Tifse’s hand. “I’ll put away the tent, and we can get back to town to sleep somewhere nice. If it means getting a proper night’s rest I’ll put up with Jadali again.”

“Y-yeah.” Tifse nodded and wiped her sleeve on her face in a vain attempt to dry her eyes. She was so coated in water and grime that she just smeared them everywhere though. “I’ll help with the tent, too.”

With the two of them working together the tent was packed in just a few minutes, and the two were able to set off to get back to Saris Fal. Safraxi even took a moment to strafe Audirei and clip the mast with her tail to almost capsize it. The rider and dragon cackled endlessly as Tifse watched the red fox struggle to stay onboard her vessel, as it rocked violently from the impact.

It was long since dark by the time they returned to the city. But neither really felt like sleeping. Tifse was still torn up inside from the events of the day. Even the thought of sleep right now sounded horrifying to her. She feared what sorts of dreams she might have if she tried.

“Want to know what I used to do when I got upset like this?” Safraxi rested her head on her rider’s little shoulder and made a few small licks at the fox’s cheek.

“Yeah? What is it?” Tifse sighed and leaned into the affection, staring out at the city from the hill the temple was built upon.

“Go and get piss drunk and get in a bar fight. Maybe even win one if I’m feeling lucky.” Safraxi grinned and scooted her head up further to get a better look at Tifse’s face. “We can buy a whole barrel, maybe two, just for ourselves! I bet it’ll take me a lot to get wasted in this body. Want to find out with me?”

Tifse considered for a moment as she rubbed her hand over Safraxi’s rough and scaly chin. “Fuck it. Sounds better than anything else I can think of.”

It had been too long since Safraxi had gone on a good old fashioned bender. The bar in Tanenville was too small, and her time in Fellrock too short. The opportunity had not presented itself in some time. Doing it alone also just wasn’t as fun. That’s why she made sure to go all out with Tifse.

The priests had (confusedly) directed them to a large brewery on the edge of town when asked, and there, for only a silver a piece, Safraxi had purchased two barrels of beer for her and Tifse to split, and a tiny tin cup for the little fox.

The two couldn’t really remember much of what came after. Safraxi could remember bad singing, gorging herself on food, and almost crashing into the temple on her return flight for bed. Tifse mostly remembered teeth and tongue.

The fox woke up feeling absolutely disgusting and sticky. Her fur felt strangely matted and stuck to her body, and her clothes seemed oddly stiff. She took a few sniffs over herself before realizing that she was simply coated head to foot in dragon drool. Her mouth was dry, and her head felt too small for whatever was inside of it. She wasn’t entirely sure whatever inhabited her skull was brains anymore after the previous night.

The next thing she realized was that her head was tenderly clamped between Safraxi’s lower and upper jaws as the dragon laid snoring above her. Tiamat’s tail, she must have really been wasted. With a grunt and a groan she slowly pried open the gates to oblivion keeping her in place, sat up and attempted to stand. She immediately regretted it as a hand flew to her mouth. She shot to her feet and rushed for the door, pushing past a strange orange-brown dragon standing outside and dashing for the latrines. She didn’t have time for introductions or to even think about the fact that there was a third dragon here now.

Safraxi grunted awake as she sensed Tifse emptying her guts through their link. It was possible for both not to sleep at the same time, but one being awake was certainly more likely to wake the other. “Fuck…” The dragon slowly and lazily licked the top of her mouth and gagged. Why was her tongue covered in fur? Her stomach wasn’t betraying her the same way that Tifse’s had, but she still felt sluggish, and her head soupy.

“Finally awake, are we?” Another mental presence prodded her from beyond the doors. It sounded familiar, but something about it was different… Stronger, more draconic…

“Idami?” Her eyes snapped all the way open at the voice, but she regretted it immediately, and returned to squinting. The magical light hanging in the common area between the stalls was far too bright for her liking. Once her eyes finally managed to adjust, she found another dragon peering over the stall doors to her room. She was orange, with a pale yellow underbelly, and earthy-red markings around her horns, which she had three of, and on her frills. The horns all pointed forward, one above each brow, and one from her nose. The new dragon’s scales weren’t nearly as shiny as Safraxi or any of Amjazel’s line. Idami would blend in well with dry stones in a desert, or a rocky mountainside.

“Yeah…” She pushed past the doors to lay down next to her niece. Safraxi couldn’t tell if the former-weasel was more concerned, annoyed, or relieved. “What are you doing out here, Arxet? Everyone’s worried about you.”

“S’not my name.” The blue dragon covered her eyes with a paw as the doors swung open, letting in light from one of the windows in the chamber between her room and Jadali’s, in addition to the ceiling light. “Not anymore.”

“Alright, what is it now then?” Idami sighed and rested her head on top of the other dragon’s.

“It’s Safraxi now.” She yawned and closed her eyes at the contact, relaxing slightly. She’d missed Idami. She was a little annoyed she’d been tracked down so quickly, but maybe it was worth it if no one else was here.

“That’s a pretty good name, Safraxi.” Idami lifted her head up, a more stern expression being directed down at her niece now. “So, what the hell are you doing out here? Everyone is worried sick about you.”

“I’m figuring that out as I go.” Safraxi shakily transitioned to her feet, and stretched. “Now if you don’t mind, my rider is hung over, and could use my help.”

“Hey, don’t just ignore me!” The earthy dragon shot to her feet as well. “I came all the way out here to help you! I should be with my mom right now, especially with how new I am, but we were worried about you, and Tifse said you needed help! And now I come here to find you wallowing in misery and booze, I’m worried!”

“The alcohol was a one time thing, it’s-” The blue dragon’s eyes narrowed some. “Did you say Tifse told you I needed help?”

“Yes!” Idami was growing exasperated. “She prayed to my mom a few nights ago and said she was worried about you, but you wouldn’t talk to anyone else, so your mom flew me out here to where Tifse said you would be.”

“That little…” Safraxi bristled at the words. “I’m fine! I don’t need help! We’re doing just fine!” Her heart was pounding again at the thought of Amjazel being nearby. She didn’t feel sick before, but she did now.

“Woah, woah, calm down.” Idami bumped her head into Safraxi’s, seemingly surprised at the emotional escalation. “Amjazel agreed not to try and talk to you unless you were alright with that. We aren’t trying to ambush you. Please though, she’s worried sick. Just let her see you, let her see you’re…” She glanced down over Safraxi’s fresh burns, missing scales, and gashes where the eel had bit her, “… alive. Tiamat’s Tail what happened to you?”

“My bitch of a sister failed to kill a monster, so I took care of it instead.” Safraxi puffed herself up slightly. “Tifse and I, with no one else’s help, killed it yesterday!”

“You mean the boiler eel?” Idami actually seemed stunned at the feat. “Aquixi was talking about how tough it was. How did you-”

“Pah, don’t believe her. It was a piece of cake. I just let it try to eat me, and killed it from the inside! Turns out it’s weak to ice!” Safraxi was happy for the chance to gloat. Everyone was so worried about her well-being, and she was out here killing monsters not even Aquixi the seasoned monster slayer could manage. “You have nothing to worry about with me!”

Idami studied her for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I’m still worried. You weren’t killed, but Rubis and Aquixi said you were in a state when you flew the coop. Rubis kept talking about how you didn’t seem yourself for a moment. And Tiamat is worried about you having an ice breath instead of fire breath.”

“Do you have it too?” Safraxi glanced down at her aunt’s leg, where her coldmark was once coiled around her forearm. The white lines were still there, but far smaller relative to the rest of her. What were once ribbons of white were now faint threads. She wouldn’t even notice it unless she was really looking for it.

“I don’t know, Safraxi. I’ve been too busy flying out here to make sure you’re okay for me to find out! I had to talk Mom into delaying my training for this talk! She even tried to talk me out of going through the transformation. Dragons have been talking, riders have been talking, priests have been talking. She was worried I wouldn’t want it anymore, or that I wouldn’t want the rumors surrounding me too.” She shook her head and huffed. “I didn’t want to let them win, though. I pushed for everything to go according to schedule, because I knew how it would reflect on you if I didn’t. Having a first generation ice dragon to take some of the hits for you might help too.” Idami growled in Safraxi’s face. “And now you’re not even taking me seriously! You’re dodging the question about how you’re doing!”

“Well I didn’t ask you to do any of that!” Safraxi growled right back. Her aunt was a first generation dragon, and thereby started larger than she had, immediately after the change. The two were actually roughly the same size. Safraxi was bulkier, but Idami was much longer, almost like a snake with legs. The two were on equal footing as they locked horns and glared in each other’s eyes. “I. Am. Fine!”

“And I’m not convinced!” Idami locked her horns with Safraxi’s and pushed her back a foot. “Talk to me, or you’re not getting rid of me!”

“Pfft. I bet you can’t even fly yet. All I’d have to do is fly away!” Safraxi cackled and pressed back.

“Yeah? Then why didn’t you just run away when you saw me? Admit it, you miss us!” The orange dragon dug her claws into the stone and pushed Safraxi even further back into the room. “They aren’t mad at you! We’re just worried!”

“You don’t-” The blue dragon mustered what strength she had after her night of revelry and plowed right through Idami, slamming her into a wall in the process. “-HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ME!”

Idami crumpled like a bit of dry parchment and collapsed against the wall. Her breathing was heavy and ragged, and she went limp as she was stampeded over. “Tiamat’s tail… go easy on me. I’m new.” She gasped out, quivering slightly.

Guilt ripped through Safraxi, and she dropped down onto her haunches by Idami. “I’m- I’m sorry. I wasn’t ready to be ambushed like this.” Her eyes drifted to her aunt’s face, and she grimaced as she found a small trickle of blood coming down. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry- I-” Without warning she had changed back to her fox form and run to the saddlebags. “I have bandages here, I’m sorry.”

“Safraxi- you-” Idami’s eyes went wide as her niece shapeshifted. “You can already-” Realization seemed to bloom in her mind when she saw that her niece was even in her rider armor still. “You were the red fox that Emren and Amjazel stopped in Cleninlod, weren’t you?”

The dragon-fox stopped short as Idami uncovered the lie. “Are you going to let me bandage that up?”

Idami hesitated, but lowered her long snakelike neck down to Safraxi. “You seem different all of a…”

“Don’t. Please. I get enough of this from Tifse.” She sighed as she tore a piece of gauze free and carefully applied it before going back over with the medical adhesive in her bag. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me either.”

“Even Amjazel couldn’t recognize you like this… she seemed so certain…” Idami sighed and rubbed her cheek against Safraxi’s fuzzy ears. “You’re a hell of a liar, Safraxi.”

“I know one other liar who’s got me beat.” She was suddenly a rat again, glaring past Idami.

The dragon turned to find Tifse standing in the doorway, tail tucked between her legs. “S-Safraxi, I-”

“Don’t bother.” Safraxi shifted back into her dragon form. “Just get my saddle back on. It’s time we moved on.”

“I’m not just going to let you two go out by yourself.” Idami stood again and padded after Safraxi. “I think Tifse was right to be worried about you. That shapeshifting doesn’t seem normal. Your coldmark is covering almost your entire face. You didn’t seem yourself for a moment! Just- just come home. Please.”

“I don’t have a home.” Safraxi turned away and took her stance to be saddled. “All that I have is my rider, even if she does go behind my back sometimes.”

“Well you have me too, whether you like it or not.” Idami huffed. “I’ll follow you on foot if I have to. I know you won’t just leave me behind.”

Safraxi sagged at the last sentence. Idami was right. She couldn’t just abandon her, even if Amjazel was here and ready to fly her back to Fellrock. Definitely not after she’d seen her switching between versions of herself. Idami wasn’t about to give up and ride back with her sister, Amjazel, either. “Fine, then I guess we’ll go on foot. But I’m not going back to Fellrock.”