Metamorphosis

Hello again, Lit!

Here is the second installment in Metamorphosis. Still no sex, but we'll get there, I promise. I appreciate any feedback, so feel free to leave a comment and rate. Again, this is my first submission, so bear with me as I learn and grow as a writer. Enjoy!

Xayna

*

I woke up with the sun the next morning, feeling rested and invigorated. I quietly moved to the edge of my home and took off, trying to make as little noise as possible. I flew in circles, trying to decide whether or not to wake up Taldon. Making up my mind, I turned toward the lake where I was supposed to meet Terrik-elda at noon.

I splashed around in the water for a while, but became bored quickly. I laid down and rested my head on my favorite protruding rock. I ran over the events of last night in my mind and still didn't understand what had happened. I remembered the music and I felt happiness swell inside me. I had never experienced anything so intense.

I laid in the sun for a while, enjoying the feeling of the water under my scales. Eventually, I heard Terrik-elda land on the ground behind me.

"Xayna," he said as a form of greeting. "I heard what happened last night." I scrambled out of the water and turned to face my mentor. "Are you experiencing anything unusual?"

"I'm not sure. I feel alive and energetic, but I haven't tested myself to know what else has changed."

"Then today, we test you. We will spar and I will ask you questions that you must answer. Come, we have much to do." Terrik-elda launched himself into the air and I followed. He led me to a clearing that could easily hold two full-grown dragons. "We will practice here so that if you fall, you won't land on trees."

"I appreciate your consideration," I replied. Without warning, he swung out to hit me on the head with his tail, but I ducked easily out of his way.

"Who leads a construct of dragons?" he demanded, moving forward and swinging his tail at me while snapping at my neck. I quickly dropped several feet, scratching at his soft underbelly with my claw.

"The Elders," I replied as I maneuvered around him. "The oldest and wisest of a construct, led by one senior member who officiates meetings and does most of the work to settle disputes."

"Good," Terrik-elda responded, lashing out for an attack that I countered easily. "You are still capable of performing the easy tasks. Now, I'll make my questions and my attacks more difficult."

The next several hours would normally have been grueling. However, I found that the demands on my body and mind were trivial and simple. As he made my practice more difficult, I found that I enjoyed myself more. By the end of the session, I was remembering and telling Terrik-elda facts in detail that he had mentioned in passing.

"We are finished," he finally called out. "Both your mind and your body have improved tremendously. We will monitor your progress and determine whether this increase in skill and memory are long term."

"Yes, Terrik-elda," I responded, bowing my head to him.

"Now, come into the clearing. I will tell you more about magic and how it works."

We both landed and I laid down, curling my head around to look at my mentor who positioned himself on his haunches. We maintained eye contact as he said, "Xayna, I am teaching you something very important today. Magic is an integral part of our lives and we use it during special events and ceremonies."

I blinked slowly, trying to keep my excitement from flowing through our Link. He continued without showing whether or not he noticed my enthusiasm.

"Doag wasn't the only being to mold us into dragons. He did most of the work, but different spirits gave us different gifts. Telesia was one of those spirits. She gave us the use of magic, which was incredibly generous of her. As you probably know, magic isn't something that we can just call upon at any time, even though we use it every time we breathe fire or smoke. Ceremonies are necessary and only during certain times can we access that power. The restraints that Telesia put upon us are to keep us from becoming overwhelmed with power and do harm to ourselves or others.

"When we use magic, it is always under Telesia's supervision and with her consent. What happened to you last night was undoubtedly her doing. She singled you out for reasons of her own and gave you heightened abilities, although we are unsure how long they will last.

"Several times during our lives, we ask Telesia to use her magic, apart from the ceremonies we hold to honor her. Mating and reproduction, mainly, fall under her command. When we mate we must go through an experience with our partner that bonds us more than we have ever experienced before. Several times, dragons have mated without meaning to and without wanting to. They eventually grew to love each other, but it was difficult for them to overcome the fact that they were forced to be together. Naturally, they rebelled, but eventually came to terms with what happened.

"Reproduction, however, has to have three consenting parties: the two who wish to create a new life and Telesia. The two dragons must be mated and go through a specific ceremony before Telesia will grant them permission. She is very fair and wise when it comes to such things." Terrik-elda paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "Do you have any questions?"

I paused, my mind racing. "What happens when Telesia says that the mates cannot have a child?"

"That depends on the severity of the situation. Normally, the couple simply waits a few decades or so and tries again. However, there have been a few cases where Telesia has destroyed the womb of the female so that they were unable to bear children at all."

"That's harsh," I muttered.

"The spirits understand things that we don't. It is best to trust the ones who gave us life."

"I suppose."

*

I practiced rolling away from an attack for the seventeenth time. "You're almost there," Terrik-elda encouraged. "Tuck your wings more, but be careful because you'll move more quickly. Try not to over-spin."

I grunted in annoyance and flew back up to the correct altitude. From there, I tucked in my wings and spun myself away from Terrik-elda's blow. I did exactly what my mentor encouraged me not to and spun too much. I flailed wildly, trying to catch myself before I landed on the ground.

"Xayna, concentrate," Terrik-elda chastised. "You can do this; you simply need to concentrate."

I almost complained about my body being sore and tired, but stopped myself. Terrik-elda was fond of making my work twice as difficult if I whined. I stayed silent and tried the maneuver again, this time hitting it almost perfectly.

"You see? When you concentrate, you can do anything. Again." I concentrated as much as I possibly could on my task and by the end of the session, I was able to roll away from an attacker with ease and fluidity.

"We are finished. You may go rest now." I had been dismissed and bowed my head to my forefoot before flying home.

While I was flying, my wings began shaking uncontrollably. A sharp pain seared through my body. I struggled to reach my cave, and when I did, I collapsed on the floor, my whole body twitching. Slowly, I regained control of my muscles and focused on relaxing them to relieve at least some of the pain.

I was almost asleep on the cavern floor when my mother flew through the opening. "Xayna," she murmured. "Good afternoon. How was your time with Terrik?"

I made a deep, rumbling noise in my chest. "It could have gone better. Since the ceremony for Telesia, he has been pushing me to do more advanced aerial movements and it tires my body. He didn't teach me much more today, though. We spent the first few minutes going over what he taught me about magic and then the torture started."

Mother walked forward and nudged my head with her snout. "He's only doing what he's meant to. You're lucky; Terrik-elda is one of the best mentors I have ever seen. He is better even than Alamant, my old mentor. Keep in mind that he is preparing you for the rest of your life. What he teaches you now is invaluable information to have."

"I know, Mother," I mumbled petulantly. "That doesn't mean that my body hurts any less, though." Mother sent amusement through our link and I couldn't help cheering up a bit.

"Taldon's parents have invited us to spend the evening with them. As soon as your father comes back from hunting we will leave."

Father brought back a deer for me and I thanked him profusely. Terrik-elda had not taken me hunting much and it still took a great amount of energy for me to make the simplest kill.

I tore into the meat, eating with abandon. I cleaned the carcass in record time, slopping deer juices everywhere. After I was finished, Father helped me clear away what was left. We moved the carcass to an area a small distance from our mountain and we scorched the left over mess in our cave before scraping it up with our claws and fanning it out of the entrance using our wings.

Once our cave was clean, Father jumped out, followed closely by Mother and then me. We spent the short flight in silence, circling part way around the mountain. We landed in the same order we took off in, Taldon and his parents sitting at the far end of their cave.

"Welcome to our home," Naroma-elda, Taldon's mother, said in greeting. "It is lovely to see you again."

"It is our pleasure," Mother responded cordially.

"Come, sit," offered Darna-elda, Taldon's father. "Make yourselves comfortable."

I stationed myself in front of Taldon and sat on my haunches. Creating a private Link between the two of us, I asked him how his day had gone.

"It was fine," he replied shortly. He looked anywhere but directly at me. I cocked my head.

"What is wrong?" I questioned. "Did I do something?"

"Yes," he growled in my mind. "You were at the ceremony and you got to experience magic first hand. I wasn't allowed to go and nothing happened to me."

"You're jealous?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course I'm jealous, Xayna. Why wouldn't I be? Telesia singled you out in front of the whole construct!" His voice was harsh and rough.

"But it isn't my fault!" I replied indignantly. "Your parents were the ones who didn't allow you to go and it's not like I asked to be singled out by Telesia. It just happened."

"Xayna," my father interrupted. "We are having a conversation that may interest you."

"We'll talk later," I promised Taldon before tuning into what my parents and his were talking about.

"Yes," my Mother was saying. "Doag got help from many people, including Telesia, but she wasn't the only or even primary contributor. Doag had the idea for our general shape, but Larenth, the patron spirit of the air and the beasts that fly in it, gave us wings and flight. In my opinion, he is just as or more important than Telesia."

"Why do you say that?" Darna-elda asked. "Telesia gave us reproduction; without her, our race would have died off at the very beginning."

"Doag would have found a way to let us mate, even if it were the same as animals and humans," Mother explained. "Without Larenth, our way of living would be completely different. We would have to find shelter on the ground and live as the common animals do. We can fly and walk on the ground; therefore, we are better than them."

"That is only part of the reason why we're better than animals," Naroma-elda interjected. "Dantus gave us intelligence and the ability to reason and think logically. Those abilities separate us, also. While animals are constantly trying to appease their instincts, we are contemplating life and death and creating relationships that make us happy. Thinking beyond what our body needs for survival is one of our most precious gifts."

"You are correct, Naroma," Father said. "And I am inclined to agree that our intelligence is our most distinguishing feature. Humans, also, have intelligence, but they are, in many ways, beneath us. They cannot use magic, for one. They are unable to fly and their lives are so short that their intelligence never reaches the same strength that ours does."

They continued their conversation with Taldon and I listening quietly. They discussed Ranna's small gift and harsh punishments if we didn't follow her commands. They thought she was correct to be harsh with us because it was morally wrong to kill animals slowly and painfully and our parents condemned those dragons who would be so cruel. Internally, I wondered if we considered torturing our prey to be cruel because Ranna said so or because of our own consciences.

After many hours of discussion, we left Taldon's cavern and went back to our own. My parents continued with their conversation and I made myself comfortable while I listened. I laid on the ground with my head resting on my forelegs. Slowly, their conversation became a low hum in the back of my mind and I fell asleep.

*

Time elapsed quickly. Taldon eventually relented and accepted that I had nothing to do with being chosen by Telesia and Terrik-elda taught me everything he knew about humans, leaving nothing out.

Some stories were more interesting than others. I didn't care much about the tales of their epic adventures where they traveled the world in search of a habitable area to live in or how their heroes saved them from animal attacks, wars, and all sorts of other threats. What interested me the most was how their society worked.

Apparently, human males and females worked together. They each had individual sets of jobs, but there were occasional cross-overs. Males tended to be the figureheads but women were a large part of their law making. They had gods and goddesses, but their names and duties were lost to history. Their lives were so short that their young were considered adults at the age of eighteen.

What disturbed me the most about humans was that they had no mates. Humans had an institution called marriage where two people of opposite genders would come together to create and rear offspring. Oftentimes, the marriages were used for political prowess or convenience. I could not imagine a society where two people didn't come together because of an exceptionally strong bond.

Not only did I learn more about humans, but I also learned more about fighting and hunting than all of my previous lessons combined. Most nights, I returned home after dark and would fall asleep almost immediately. Occasionally, I would be plagued with incidents where my muscles would give way to twitching and shaking. They were always painful, but I attributed them to the physical stress I was under. As my training became more intense, so did the episodes. I didn't mention them to anyone because I thought they were of little importance and since my parents were frequently gone to discuss their upcoming trip, they never saw one.

I made tremendous progress in a short period of time. I grew nearly five feet and my scales began to take on a glossier sheen. The Elders monitored my progress closely, often coming to watch me work with Terrik-elda and listening in when he taught me more about dragon history, magic, stories about the humans, or how society worked. They were never obtrusive; they sat or flew a short distance away and simply observed our actions.

After one particularly grueling day, Terrik-elda released me early. My wings began trembling on my way home and I knew another episode was on its way.

I collapsed onto the floor of my home cavern. My body shook and great waves of pain rocked over me. I could barely breathe as a burning sensation engulfed my wings, causing them to stretch out at peculiar angles. I roared in pain and fire involuntarily flew from my open mouth. My muscles tightened and released randomly and uncontrollably, making my whole body ache. I shook for a long time, but my energy was quickly depleted and I lay twitching on the ground, moaning tiredly. I had never had an episode last that long or be so intense.

"Xayna?" called Taldon's voice in my head. "I saw what happened. Are you alright?"

I blinked once, thinking about how to respond. I hadn't considered the episodes to be out of the ordinary, but thinking about it from Taldon's point of view caused me to see the irregularity of them.

"I am strange," I replied after a long pause. "I have these episodes at random and I can't do anything about them, but you've witnessed my great growth in all other areas. I don't know what to think. I'm loathe to tell the Elders or even my parents because I don't want to be seen as weak or for this to mar my great successes."

I looked up into Taldon's deep, blue eyes. He peered at me and sent great concern through our Link.

"How often does this happen?" he asked.

"At first, it was once every several weeks, but as time passed it has become more frequent. I have one every other day, and sometimes every day. I can usually feel them coming on and they only happen at night after I've spent a long day with Terrik-elda. I haven't seen this as a problem before now, though."

Taldon stood back and began pacing. "I think you should tell someone. Tell your parents, at least. The Elders probably know of how to help you. You don't have to go through this alone." He spoke with such conviction that he almost had me convinced.

My limbs slowly stopped quivering and I stood up. I closed my eyes and exhaled as my muscles protested the movement. "While that idea is very tempting, I don't wish to upset anyone, especially not my parents." I thought for a moment. "I'm certain this will go away in time," I lied.

"Do you really think so, or are you just saying that?" Taldon stood before me and blew smoke out of his nostrils, signaling his frustration.

"Xayna, you need help! What happens when these episodes occur several times a day and you can no longer work with Terrik-elda? What will your parents think then? There is no shame in admitting that you need help."

I lowered my head. "You are right. My eighteenth birthday is in three days and I'll tell my parents after. They already have a celebration prepared and I don't want their work to go to waste. You have my word."

"Good," Taldon said. "You're making a wise decision."

He stayed for a while longer, talking to me about what we had been learning from our mentors. As soon as my parents arrived from another meeting with the Elders about their new assignment, he gave me a meaningful look and went home.

*

"It's a celebratory hunt!" cried my mother. "Your father and I are taking you out to catch a mountain cat and maybe some deer." She moved her head forward and leaned her face against mine.

I closed my eyes and hummed contentedly. I looked over to my father, who blinked slowly at me. "Are you ready?" Father asked. To answer, I pulled away from Mother and turned to position myself at the edge of our cave. With a great leap, I extended my wings and threw myself into the air.

The thrill of flying was not yet lost on me. As I flew, I caused the air to split around me and glide over my back and under my belly; the sensation left me feeling powerful. I brought down my wings with great strength and angled myself toward the sun. I was weightless and free, able to travel to any destination.

Father and Mother soon flew ahead of me, leading me toward Dragon's Death, a mountain that I normally wasn't allowed to hunt on. "It is a special occasion," my mother said when I commented on our destination. "We're with you and we've decided that you can handle this."

I did a back flip in the air in excitement. My parents were beginning to trust me! Taldon wasn't able to go anywhere near Dragon's Death because of the fierce karnocs that lived in the trees. Karnocs were large birds with extremely sharp beaks that were fast and silent. Young dragons who were inexperienced hunters could easily be overtaken by the large flocks of the lethal birds.