Panic
And you wear your true form once more. You feel as though you had been
cramped for centuries; for a little while, you can do nothing but
revel in the pleasure of stretching your muscles once more after all
this time. When you finally stop and look around, you see that Dave
and Barbara are hiding in a corner of the room, clearly scared of you.
You also see the walls that now enclose you. For a second, the fear of
the minute before, the fear of this sealed chamber, returns; out of
instinct, you slam your great tail into the wall, opening a great
breach in it. Through this portal, moonlight shines, and illuminates
your form: that of a true dragon, clawed, fanged and winged. The light
ripples and plays across your shining scales and your pearly teeth, as
you open your mouth to have the pleasure of once again being able to
truly breathe. For a moment, you are overcome with the pleasure of
simply being yourself again, after countless years; however, your
reverie is broken by a mousy, scared squeak from Dave. He tries to
sneak past you, to the newly-created door. Barbara, however, stares at
your new body, marveling at the perfect beauty of your draconic form.
Looking into her eyes, you can see that there is nothing she wishes
more than to be like you are now... while in Dave's eyes, you can see
that he wishes only to be as far away as he can from you now.
You find yourself disgusted with him despite yourself. He has had you
as a friend since nearly the first day that you wore your human form,
but now that you have been revealed in your magnificence, instead of
being honored and awed at your presence, he seeks to escape from
you... You, who allowed him, a human, to draw close to you in
friendship... And a friendship with one such as you is not to be
forsaken lightly.
Barbara, however, has shining from her face such a look of jubilation
that you know that she properly appreciates what has transpired... And
you feel that as her reward, it is only right that you grant her wish.
All the power you need, you can take from Dave... and that shall be
his punishment, for forsaking you in the hour of revelation. Reaching
out with a single claw, you lift Dave from the floor.
As a dragon, there is only one way in which one such as you can draw
power from a mortal vessel such as this Dave... and this method you
quickly employ, lifting the struggling, squealing Dave to your mouth
and devouring him. It is only a moment before he has descended to your
belly and you have taken from him the power you need... or digested
him, as the humans would say. You now turn to the reverent Barbara and
grant her wish.
The magick energies which you gathered from Dave flow in gentle,
bright and shining arcs from your outstretched palms and surround
Barbara, clothing her in a beautiful radiance. Her form becomes
shrouded in layers of glowing white energy, and these layers of magick
quickly conceal her form completely from your sight. The spell binds
itself finally to Barbara, and the veil of pearly magick becomes a
shell of pearly matter. The glow of magick finally fades from your
palms, and where Barbara once stood, there now rests a single, perfect
egg... An egg that you know shall in the fullness of time allow
Barbara to emerge once more... as a dragon. You lift this egg gently
and take it in your arms. Cradling it softly, you step from the room
into the night...
As the walls close in, the fear that has been building up inside of
you bursts forth. Your panic clouds your mind, making you unable to
think. You know what is going to happen next, but you cannot stop the
change. You double over from the pain you feel, every muscle in your
body feeling as though it were on fire. You are only dimly aware of
Barb and Dave standing over you, asking what's wrong. Then, quite
suddenly, the pain is gone, replaced by an intense rush of energy.
Power courses through your blood, and you feel as though you could do
anything. Your human body cannot contain your brilliant energy; you
feel this form fade away...
