In Part 2 (Ch. 6-17), Emilie found out what it means to be a true dragon, at least physically and magically. Keeping this a secret from her friends and society is something of a challenge, but she’s doing her best.
Thankfully, it hasn’t snowed or rained since Wednesday, so there shouldn’t be much ice on the road. Even so, I found a spell for thawing any ice that might be present. Again, Shannon’s waiting for me outside, so as soon as I drop the garage door, we’re off. “Chén’s Safe Path.”
“What’s that?” Shannon asks.
“It’ll melt any ice in front of me. So, I’ll need to be in front.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t melt snow.”
I shake my head. “This is just for ice. I don’t think the spell can tell the difference, but it takes a lot more magic for snow than for ice.” I also found out that part of the problem is that while ice is mostly just water in a simple pattern, snowflakes trap a lot of air and have a complicated pattern. And the more complicated something is, the more magic it takes to work with it. So, no working with snow.
“Go ahead, then.”
No snow on the roads in town, or on the road north… until we hit trees, anyway. They don’t have any leaves left but I guess they still provide some shade. Eventually there’s not enough road left and we have to turn around.
“No flying today, I guess,” Shannon sighs.
“Well…” I trail off, looking away.
It’s dark, but I think she’s glaring at me. “What?”
“I like using the park because it’s relatively safe and isolated, but any cliff would work, too.” We passed a couple of roadside cliffs already. The main issue is that I’ll be jumping out more than up and I’ll need to catch us before we hit any trees on the way down. Which only gives me a few dozen feet. It also means that coming back, I’ll be landing in a rather tight area.
Shannon thinks for a moment. “I suppose looking couldn’t hurt.”
We turn back and ride a few minutes until we reach a nice outlook. “Can’t see Blacksburg; good,” Shannon points out. Oh, yeah, that’s important. “Will this work for you?”
I put my bike aside and crawl to carefully peer over the edge. “Those trees are kinda close.” If I was big right now, I could probably touch them with my tail.
“What happens if you hit them?”
I already thought about that. “Lots of bad.”
Shannon is silent for a moment. “How bad?”
I take a deep breath. “I’d probably puncture my wings. Then fall and break them. And hopefully not land on you.”
Shannon doesn’t react for a bit before wondering aloud, “I thought Dragons were more durable than that?”
I think she’s talking about the fact that Dragons can regrow even whole limbs when they shift. Not that people know about the shifting part of the equation. “I wouldn’t stay hurt, but there would be a lot of pain involved. And if I landed on you, you’d still be squished.”
Shannon dismounts her bike anyway. “You’ll be fine. You take off just fine in the park. Although I think I’ll try landing on you while you’re in the air. Flight wand, right?” Which means she’s not entirely confident in me. But I suppose I can deal with temporary pain if I fail, and she won’t be in any danger… and the woods around us are clear, too. Relatively. I don’t think foxes are going to hurt her.
“Alright.” I move to a safe spot where I won’t hit anything or damage the road with my claws, and shift.
Before I finish turning around to take off, Shannon comments, “Can I just say that you look incredible?”
«Huh?»
Her face warms. “I didn’t really get why you liked Dragons so much. But seeing you like this—you’re big and strong, but I can still see you in there. You’re cute and gentle, too, and it shows. When Jess transforms, she’s just a bird.”
While I get the last part, I still haven’t seen my reflection. The biology of this form keeps me from blushing at her description of me, however. «Um, thanks,» I chuckle, embarrassed, before taking off.