The Dragon Queen of Thelvadore

We continued for a moment longer, the silence gently carrying on, but without any awkwardness. Lucy was obviously lost in thoughts, sometimes glancing my way, sometimes seemingly staring into the far distance as she worked through what I had said.

Eventually I sighed, giving her a shrug. “Anyway. That evil nature is far more apparent when you look at my true form. Even with all my training and all my control over myself, I can’t quite keep it from leaking into my presence a little.”

I left it unsaid that, on paper, I might be able to fully suppress it, but that even Vuthe didn’t do so most of the time due to some very deeply engrained draconic instincts and pride. Truth be told, I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel about that when it actually came time for me to appear publicly in my true form, but as with so many other things, I decided not to worry about it for the time being.

“But couldn’t you at least bring us to the edge of the cursed lands?” Lucy asked eventually. “Just so we can escape this persistent darkness?”

I shrugged again, glancing past her and at Cecily. She was our current leader, and I wasn’t exactly keen on pissing anyone off by potentially stepping onto anyone’s toes in regards to authority. True, the adventurer didn’t strike me as the sort to care much about having authority, but you couldn’t ever know. And why book trouble when not doing so didn’t cost me anything?

Before Lucy could even speak up to repeat her suggestion, the swordswoman stopped and turned to us with a shrug. “I don’t see a problem with the idea. It’s not like dragons are this impossibly rare sight, at least not this close to the Dragonfang Mountains. I do agree with some caution, though. The last thing we need is to start a panic somewhere. Just because dragons aren’t too rare around these parts, doesn’t mean they’re common either.”

I nodded at her logic, then glanced back at the Catgirl. Lucy was positively brimming with excitement at the idea, which made me giggle. As it did so often, her tail dancing energetically behind her drew my attention for a moment. Truly adorable.

“Alright,” I began, “I don’t mind stretching my wings a bit. It’s been far too long in any case. That said,” I turned my attention fully on the courier practically bursting with energy. “I do feel like I need to warn you. Dragons normally don’t take kindly to being asked to act like a mode of transportation. Most are very picky about who they let ride on their back. You are quite lucky that I’m about as exceptional as they come.”

She nodded fiercely, to the point I was genuinely concerned for her neck, but didn’t say anything else. I sighed again, unable to keep the smile off my face at the sight, and took a few steps back, stretching my arms this way and that. When I finally made some distance between us, I glanced back at them over my shoulders.

“Please don’t scream or run or whatever when you see me. I’ll try to keep my aura reigned in, but it still might be a bit much. Especially you, Lucy.”

Again, only a nod greeted me, and Cecily took a step forward to stand partially in front of her companion. With my two companions forewarned, I returned my attention to myself, and closed my eyes, willing myself to change into my true form.

Similar to my first time assuming this form, it came to me immediately, to the point that it might be more accurate to say that I returned to it, rather than to assume it. Of course, that wasn’t entirely true, and there was a whole host of nuance attached to it, but the feeling remained. And it took me quite some effort of will not to repeat the actions of the previous transformation and let out a primal roar. I don’t think my companions would appreciate that, if only for their continued ability to hear things.

The black smoke that engulfed me quickly dissipated, revealing my draconic body. Stretching languidly, instinctively taking cues from cats, I shook myself once, then turned my head to my two companions, glancing down at them, and snorting softly at what I found, black smoke billowing out of my nostrils.

Lucy was utterly slackjawed, to the point I was concerned for a moment that I might have given her a heart attack and her body simply hadn’t caught up with her yet. Even Cecily seemed utterly stunned, despite the fact that I couldn’t see her face. Her body language was tense, although not in the same way I’d imagine a trained fighter to be when ready for a fight. Even with her obvious experience, it seemed that my true form might be a bit much for her to work through immediately.

“And? Am I meeting your expectations?” I inquired, my low voice rumbling out like a small earthquake, one massive draconic eyebrow raised in inquiry.

After another moment of silence, I lowered myself to the ground, instinctively placing my wings on my back, and my paws under my massive body, my tail gingerly wrapping around myself like that of a cat. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest how similar the mannerisms were. While I had never specifically put it into words, I had kind of accepted the display of dragons from many other fantasy universes, where they very much acted like their far smaller, feline counterparts. It just… fit in my mind.

“Are you kidding?! Of course you do!” Lucy finally said, her face split by a truly awe-inspiring smile. Finally having gotten over her initial shock, she more or less bolted closer to inspect me. I could practically imagine her teleporting from place to place around me like some overly energetic anime character, trying to take everything in all at once.

Her comment, and the sight, made me chuckle, the sound a deep rumble that rolled over the trees. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“You weren’t kidding about your presence, though.” The one to speak was Cecily, equally finally escaping the clutches of the initial surprise and stepping closer.

Even with the mask hiding her face, it was clear to me that she was a bit more reserved in her reaction. Not entirely left unbothered by it, but certainly far more in control of herself compared to a certain Beastkin woman.

“And I’m already doing my best to keep it all bottled up,” I agreed with a faint smirk.

Given the shudder that ran through the other woman, that smirk might’ve looked a bit more aggressive than I intended it to. Maybe I should work on my draconic facial expressions. Or, perhaps, that was simply a reality I had to accept.

“Well then. While I don’t particularly mind being the center of Lucy’s attention, perhaps we should move out before anything else decides to take an interest in me.”

Cecily nodded her agreement, then wandered over to the courier still entirely engrossed in my scales, to rip her out of her reverie by pulling at her sleeve. The woman jumped a bit, but quickly caught herself.

With a bit of my help, both of them managed to make their way up on my back. At first they wanted to use my wings as handholds, but the peculiar membrane was far less helpful than both of them had anticipated. Despite the fact that I could use it for flight without any issues, trying to climb along it mostly ended with them slipping through like smoke. I chuckled at the sight.

After my two passengers were finally seated, I rose from the ground and stretched my wings wide. Then, before anyone else could speak, I flung myself into the air with a powerful leap and took off. Lucy’s energetic and utterly thrilled voice rang out in a loud cheer, all the way until we reached some more altitude allowing us to observe the ground beneath.

The edge of the cursed lands weren’t that far, although given the forest separating it from the city of Thelvadore, it would’ve taken us at least a few hours to cross on foot. Maybe even a day or two. It made me wonder just how long Lucy and Cecily had been on the run from the beasts that had been chasing them. Perhaps I ought to ask for the complete tale in the future.

With my airborne capabilities, however, that had changed, and quite drastically so. If I were to hurry, I could probably get from the center of the city to the edge of the perpetual twilight in about two or three minutes. Granted, that would be without having to worry about anyone on my back, or potential collateral by a boosted start, but it still meant that we could cover the distance in less than half an hour.

And while I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to stretch my wings a little and do some flying, I also didn’t want to take too long, just in case someone–or something–was watching. Therefore I didn’t waste too much time before I started descending again, spending only a few more minutes flying in slow circles for my passengers to enjoy the ride.

Approaching the inside edge of the perpetual twilight, I touched the ground softly, instinctively able to make use of my draconic body and all its peculiarities in regards to the surprisingly swift and agile motions I was capable of. Unsurprisingly, Lucy was kind of dismayed about the swift end of our little flight, pouting mightily as she began climbing off my back. I couldn’t stop another low chuckle rolling off of me at the sight, soon returning to my hybrid form and giving her a warm grin.

“Don’t look so dejected, I’m fairly certain this won’t be the last time you can fly on my back,” I said as I moved closer, giving her a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

Cecily had already turned away, examining our surroundings, likely trying to find her bearings. Lucy and I spent another moment chatting, by which I meant that I listened to her energetic explanation on how it felt for her, before the adventurer finally caught our attention.

Following the same formation as previously, she started leading us once again. After only a few more minutes, the world around us shifted as we passed the edge of the cursed lands, light quickly returning. Within only a handful of steps we went from perpetual twilight to a sunny midday, with the sky mostly free from any clouds. I blinked a few times at the sudden influx in brightness, not yet used to the sensation in my new body.

Lucy and Cecily didn’t seem to be bothered too badly by the sudden change, simply continuing at the same steady pace that they had travelled at previously. Given that I had spent the longest in the realm of continuous darkness, I wasn’t too surprised to realise I had the hardest time to adjust, rather I was more surprised how quickly I was able to do just that.

Not that I would complain about that, of course.

The swordswoman acting as our impromptu leader and escort for the travelling courier seemed to have already found her bearings quite quickly, adjusting her heading just slightly before leading us further with the ever steady pace I had already gotten used to seeing.

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