Playing is Exhausting
After breakfast, Scarlet holds the jingling ball in her hand and asks, “So? Wanna play?”
“Before we do, could you show me how to walk?”
She cogs her head, “How to walk?”
“Yeah, I know how to walk with two legs but I have no idea how to walk with four.”
“Oh! So you haven’t even had your first steps yet!? I thought I missed it! Sure, sure, come outside I’ll show you!”
Scarlet then goes outside into the garden and transforms into her draconic form.
“Okay, so you start with your front leg and move it forward and also use your hindleg of the opposite side to move forward. Then you use your front leg on the other side and your hindleg on the opposite side. And if I walk it looks like this.” She struts around in a circle for a bit.
“Hmm…Why not do the front and back legs on the same side at the same time?”
“Because then all your weight is on one side and you’re going to be unstable. See, I’m all wobbly like this, but if I go diagonally like this, I still have a firm stance.”
“Hmm, I see. I’m ready to try!”
Scarlet transforms back into her humanoid form and giddily leads me back inside before pressing down between my shoulder blades. I then find myself blind, on the floor and surrounded by what feels like a blanket.
“Alright Rose, let me get you out of that pile of clothes first.” I then feel myself being picked up by Scarlet and put on the floor.
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Unbeknownst to Thoma Ahad, everyone else has also gathered around him to watch.
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Alright, I need to stand up first, let’s see if I can do it without the boost. “Unnnnngh~! Huff huff”
Okay…That still doesn’t work…Let’s do the boost then. “Gaah goo geh~!” feeling the boost in strength I try again and push through, managing to stand up.
“Great job, Rose! Now listen to this bell, try to move towards it.”
I hear a bell in front of me, so I try to do what Scarlet showed me. Right foot…Up. Okay left foot back also uuuup “Gaaah”
Ouch…I fell…
“It’s okay Rose, take your time. You can do it!”
I then get up again and push myself back on my feet. It’s really tough, it feels like I’m trying to weightlift a bear. Okay…Let’s try the other side maybe. Left front up…Okay. Right back up. Okay! Now, just…Move forward. Keep your balance, just like dancing. “Hnnnhg!”
I…I did it!
“Gaaaaah~!”
“Great job Rose! Try to keep going as far as you can!”
Okay, just do the same thing again…Yeah! I can do it. Right front up…Good. Left back up…Keep balanced! I did it again!!!
Rayla swoons, “So cute…Look at his little tail!”
“You’re so strong Rose! Can you do one more?”
My legs are already really shaky at this point but I want to push through so I try one more step.
Left front up...It feels like my legs have turned into complete mush. Right back up! “HNNNNNGHH!” I then feel a sudden boost in strength as I push through and take another step before my legs collapse under my weight.
“Great job Rose! You did three steps on your first try! You’re so strong!”
I then hear the ball right in front of me and feel it touch my face so I triumphantly bite into it and shake it around. The jingling sounds nice! The bells of victory!
“Do you think you can try again, Rose?”
I shake my head. I’m completely spent.
“Do you want to go bathe with us then? We wanted to try out the public baths.”
I think a bit then nod.
Rayla objects, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Scarlet. They don’t have mixed public baths.”
“And why is that a problem? Rose is a girl too.”
Rayla sounds apprehensive, “Well…Maybe he is in this form but in his human form he is a guy. If he turns back in the women's bath, people will think he’s a pervert.”
“So? If that happens we’ll just explain it to them. If that doesn’t work then that’s their problem. If they want to be wrong, they can be wrong.”
“I don’t think any of them are going to understand though.”
“Fine, I’ll just change sex and go with John and Rose to the men’s bath then.”
Ane sounds flustered, “Y-You can’t do that either!”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not even an adult! You can’t just go into a bath with a bunch of male strangers!”
“Okay? Rose isn’t an adult either, why is it fine for her to be in there but not for me? You’re contradicting yourself.”
“I’m really not…Come on Sher Aka, you say something too.”
“I don’t see an issue with it. As long as Thoma Ahad stays awake, there won’t be a problem and Scarlet said she’ll take care of it if anything happens. Worst case scenario, Thoma Ahad will just have to use our private bath for the rest of our stay.”
“Hmm…Are you okay with this Thoma?”
I think a bit and tilt my head.
“Does that mean you’re not sure?”
I nod.
“Sigh Me neither, oki…I guess you can come along for now just try to stay awake okay?”
I nod.
“Also, Scarlet, you need to put your wings back in if we’re going out.”
“Sigh Fine.”
I then feel that we’re moving and about five minutes later, Ralya tells me, “We’re going in now. Stay awake, okay?”
I nod.
We enter and I hear a bunch of women of different ages talk to each other and a pleasant humming sound.
“Okay Rose, I’m going to put you on the counter for a bit. I need to rinse myself.”
“Gao.” (Okay)
Scarlet then puts me on something slippery and cold and some women's voices speak up.
“My…Is that a lizard?”
“Did you get lost, little buddy?”
I then feel someone poke me as Scarlet says, “Hey, no touching! That’s my little sister, not some random lizard.”
“Little sister?”
“...”
“Wait! Is that what baby Lizard-Beastmen look like!?”
“Yes, she is three weeks old now.”
“Daaaw…So it’s a little baby?”
“Yeah, so please don’t touch her without asking first.”
“Of course! Sorry about that.”
Scarlet picks me back up, “Alright, now it’s your turn to rinse.”
She then licks me all over until Rayla says, “What the heck are you doing!?”
“Cleaning her before the bath.”
“How is putting your spit all over him cleaning!?”
“Unlike your kind, we have very clean spit. It’s so clean you could drink it! It even has slight healing properties.”
“Even so, other people didn’t agree to swim in your spit, so give him to me. I’ll rinse him.”
“Fine, but be careful. She’s small and blind.”
“I know…”
Rayla then picks me up and I feel something soft rub on my back.
“If the sponge is too rough just yell, okay?”
I nod.
“This is so strange…Knowing and seeing is one thing but having you in my hand like this…You really did turn into a Dragon…It’s hard to imagine you’re really in there.”
“Gao gah~”
“Pfft, yeah I know you are in there. But I’m still not used to it, you know?”
I nod.
I try to lick her hand to make her feel better but it’s full of soap water so I start to cough to get it back out of my mouth.
“One second, oki. I’ll fill a bowl with clean water!”
She then puts a bowl of water to my face and I rinse my mouth.
“Better?”
I nod.
Phew…This is exhausting. Being small is hard…
Rayla then picks me up to her face and rubs her cheek on me, “Sorry about that.”
“Gii Guh~” (It’s fine)
“Hey! Why do you get to rub your musk all over her when I’m not allowed to clean her?”
“Because one is socially acceptable and the other isn’t!”
“And who decides what is- Hey!”
I feel myself being picked up by what smells like Sher Aka, “Everytime you two bicker I will take care of Thoma Ahad. Now let’s go, there is an almost empty pool over there.”
We move closer to the humming sound and enter the pool.
Rayla sounds confused, “Hmm? I think I stepped on something. Kyaaaaaaaah!”
I then hear loud splashing sounds, “What the hell is that!?”
A gentle woman’s voice on the deeper end answers, “That would be me.”
“Huh?”
I can hear shifting sounds in the water.
“A-Are you a monster?”
Sher Aka gets really angry, “Don’t be rude! She’s obviously a person. Please excuse her, she’s from Berk.”
“I see…You certainly won’t find many of us there. My name is Korra, I’m a Neris.”
“U-uhm…Hello. Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. Many people seem to get scared of our centipededal lower half.”
“Kikikiki, I can’t believe how uneducated you are. Truly, Rose is better to stay with me than you.”
I then hear another splash and Rayla’s scent getting closer, “Uhm…Sorry about that Korra, my name is Rayla.”
“It’s alright, you’re forgiven. Feel free to ask your questions, I’m sure you have some.”
“Uhm…So, are you blind or is the blindfold a cultural thing?”
“Both. People on the surface are scared by our eyes so we wear blindfolds but we are also blind until we pupate. We see with xxx like a bat. That’s why I’m humming.”
“Oh, so that’s what that tune is. It sounds pleasant.”
“Yes, thankfully many think of it as pleasant. We can also see through the eyes of those that look at us but that would render you temporarily blind, so I won’t do it to you.”
“Wait…You can see through my eyes?”
“Yes, I’m very aware of who is looking at me because of it. That’s also why I can tell that that baby Dragon over there is blind.”
“W-wait, how did you know that he is…”
“A dragon? I am well traveled, so it’s pretty obvious. But don’t worry, you probably have your circumstances so I won’t tell.”
Scarlet answers, “Hmph finally someone that doesn’t call Rose a lizard.”
“Rose, huh? Is that her name?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Sher Aka interjects, “It’s a bit complicated. You can’t see color like this, right? You can borrow my eyes for a bit and take a look at him.”
There is a bit of a pause before the Korra says,“…That is a pretty massive curse mark. I think I understand why it might be complicated. I’ll return your sight to you now.”
“Thank you.”
“So, they are both male and female?”
“We’re not sure. Scarlet is very adamant that Thoma Ahad smells like a female of her race. But he also has his cursed humanoid form which is male, though we also don’t know what his original body is like.”
“I understand, that certainly seems complicated. You have my condolences.”
Scarlet answers, “It’s not that bad. She has us so she’ll be fine. Would you like to try swimming a bit, Rose?”
I nod.
Scarlet then picks me up and slowly lowers me into the water, “I’ll keep my hands right under you so you don’t need to be scared. Are you ready?”
I nod and feel myself being lowered in the water until Scarlet's hand disappears from my feet. Thankfully, floating in this body is pretty similar to floating in my normal one so I don’t sink but I’m still not quite sure how to swim.
“Oooh very nice you can float on your own already! Good job Rose! Does it feel nice?”
I nod but accidentally put my face underwater by doing so and breath in a bunch of water, causing me to cough and struggle as I start sinking. Thankfully though, Scarlet quickly puts me back above water and taps on my back to help me cough up the water.
“Are you feeling better, Rose?”
I tilt my head. I feel very exhausted.
“It’s alright, just relax in my hand for now.”
She then lowers me into the water again but this time keeps her hands high enough for me to rest on. I’m so tired…
My face is then suddenly under water, causing me to jet up and cough up the water. Looking around, it seems I’m in my normal body again.
Seeing this, Rayla almost throws herself on top of me and pushes me into the water until my nose is barely above the surface while looking around in a panic.
“I told you to not fall asleep, oki!”
“Sorry…I’m just so exhausted,” I say while leaning my head on her shoulder, almost dozing off again.
“You can’t fall asleep here, oki!”
“Huh? Oh…Sorry.”
Korra, the humming lady, seems quite fascinated as she says, “Now this is interesting.”
Taking a look at her, she looks like a normal human with long purple hair but instead of legs she has a black and red centipede body that curls under water. It’s probably at least ten meters long. She is also wearing a decorated blindfold that also partially covers part of her forehead.
Sher Aka then looks at Scarlet, “So, what are you going to do now? It doesn’t seem like Ms. Korra will tell on us and he hasn’t been discovered yet.”
“Nothing. I’m just going to enjoy my bath and Rose can go to sleep. Afterwards I’ll carry her to bed.”
She then swims over to me and puts my head on her shoulder, causing me to fall asleep.
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