Dragon adventures

(I assume that we'll just skip to dawn...?)

Dawn broke the next day. Calclor's hands had hurt all over, which was really, really odd. Wondering how Ko was, he got out of bed, other things on his mind, so he didn't notice the claws that had grown out of his hand or the group of red scales on the back ofhis hand.

Kotona was already outside. The elderly one was watching as she went through her stances. Her blade gleamed in the early morning as she fought back against the pain. Each motion just aggravated her more, she finally lashed out at one of the training dummies and it toppled over. She paused, lowering her weapon before taking in a soft breath. The pain had ebbed, for now. She looked at her hand, clenching it tightly. They needed to get moving.

Looking out the window, Calclor saw Ko outside, with her polearm. She seemed quite different from last night, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
As he went outside to greet her, to put his hand on her shoulders, that's when he noticed the group of red scales.
"What on Earth?!" he exclaimed.

Kotona placed her Scythe on her back, taking in a cooling breath when she heard the exclamation. She bolted, coming face to face with him in just a matter of seconds. She saw the scales and claws, "Looks like I'm not the only one who's changing..." Her slit eyes held a thinly veiled tone of amusement. "Kid, let's face facts.. something weird is going on. We need to vamoose like now." She placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in to whisper, "The sooner we are away from people, the safer we will be until this is over."

"Actually, yes, we really should go. I don't know what's happening to me, but people will freak out if they see this." He held up his hands, the claws glinting in the sun. "These may come in handy however....."

Kotona was quick to gather up her things, politely declining breakfast in preferance to hunting later. She had other things on her mind, like that dream of flight. She shouldered her pack and sighed softly, looking out at the sun. Her eyes were shaded by the glasses she wore. She brushed her hair back, noting for the first time that her ear tips were pointed. 'Great... just what I need. ANOTHER new development...' She was eager to get on the road, already she was twitching to move.

Calclor left as soon as Kotona. Everything had started to itch, but was well aware of what it was. He had begun to change, like Ko, but was well behind. His feet practically hurt every step, and from this he guessed that his feet would be next.

Hours passed till the midday sun beat down on the pair mercilessly. Kotona paused, leaning against a tree as her arm hugged her ribs in pain. She could barely breath! It felt as if everything was pressing in on her body, even the tiny pinpricks of pain on her back and hands. She coughed slightly, revealing red when she bit down on her tongue with those new fangs. She shuddered, "Half a day in the least... two at the most.." It was the barest whisper, but it was all she could say through the pain.

As Ko leaned agaisnt a tree in pain, Calclor was getting annoyed by his shoes. He leant down to take them off, when a surge of pain hit him, and sharp claws burst through the boots. Quite shocked by this, he leapt back and almost rammed into a tree. Still remnants of the shock left over, he cautiously removed what was left over of his shoes. His feet were covered in red scales, like his hands, and he only had 4 toes. "Dear...... God."

Kotona looked at them with a surge of confusion. This boy wasn't in the group.... so WHY was he changing? "Kid.." She was breathless, but standing. "We need to keep moving. You look to be the faster of us so run ahead and try to find a cave or a good sized tree. An hour is all we have before I feel the next spasm will hit us both. And I fear that one will leave us both in too much pain to travel for a while."

She heaved a breath and used her own strength to keep herself on her feet. "Go."

He nodded and ran ahead on his new feet. he was well dis-oriented, but he quickly found how to move easily: by walking on the balls of his feet. He was moving well fast now, looking out for large, hollow trees or caves. He didn't have to go too far: he quickly found a small cave and marked it. He quickly ran back to Ko. "Hey..... whew.... I managed to find a cave."

Kotona smirked. "Let's move kid, we're in for one long night." She shot foward, not as fast as the kid, but still. She felt an overwhelming need to get to that cave now. Her back gave little spurts every now and again, but she focused on her run. They would not be able to travel until they were both finished... but then, it would be easier to run she wagered.

Calclor nodded, ready to run again. These new feet were great! He could faster than before, and the claws that tipped what was left of his toes were very handy as well. He reached the cave first, gesturing to Ko to come inside.

Kotona was there in a blink of an eye, taking the most shadowed part of the cave. "Don't start a fire." She growled out, her eyes glowing slightly in the darkness, "And get away from the entrance. No need to get spotted by wandering patrols. Explore this place, find tunnels if you must or find a hobby. We're not going to be able to move from here for a while."

"Eh? Why not?" he asked, "Why can't we lea-" A spasm of pain hit him, racking at all parts of his body, mainly his face. He yelled out, and when the pain went, he was exhausted. His eyes were very blurry and everything seemed distant. "Ko..... How much have I changed?"

Kotona chose a time to be a rather sagacious, or smart-alecy person. "Depends. Can you see your nose in front of your face.... if so. Congrats... you have a rather red, and scaly muzzle kiddo. Just don't bite me for being a smarta--..." She about screamed as pain shot through her back and legs. The distinct sound of tearing was heard as well as a soft shluffing noise. No words came from her quarter as something whipped the are and soft heavy breathing echoed in the space. Emerald eyes pierced the darkness.

"Ko? What happened?" His vision was starting to clear, revealing a red, scaly thing obscuring his vision slightly. It was hard to believe this belonged to him. He looked around, in the dark, until he met some emerald green eyes, that pierced the darkness......

A soft growl answered him as a cough answered, "Damnit.... It's too fast..." A set of foot steps echoed in the silence, Kotona walked out, a large set of wings adorning her back, nearly tearing her shirt apart from behind. Dark ebon claws tipped her hands as she walked, bare feet revealed that she had not changed much otherwise being a little paler. She leaned against a wall, "Well... so much for walking out of here." A soft vixen tail swished to emphasis the point. "I don't know if I can keep my mind, at least not at first kid. If I even try to attack, find a place to finish whatever's happening to us. I may not last much long with my human mind..." Fear tinged her tone as the emerald eyes blinked.

Looking slightly shocked at Ko's newer form, then thinking about what she said, he replied: "How do you know if you even will lose your mind?" His new muzzle felt funny, and he still couldn't believe it was a part of him. He felt rows of sharp teeth with his toungue, and his jaws muscles were really strong.

Kotona let loose a pained chuckled, placing her clawed hand into the dirt. "Because... that's part of the program little one. We were stolen, targeted, changed and forced to have the minds of beasts in order to finally be trained. I'll get my mind back, but you have to do three things. And none of them will be easy... if we play our cards right..." She gave a fanged grin, "I will be free by the next Lunar eclipse a few months from now."

"So what are these things I have to do in order to free you?" he asked, wincing at random pains that came and went all over his back.

Kotona tapped her claw on the dirt, revealing a set of steps. "The first is easy. FIND. Me." She chuckled waggling her wings, "Knowing my wanderlust, I'll be up and flying the second I lose my mind, so that's the first." She tapped her scythe next, revealing a jeweled charm. "Second is make sure this is returned to me. The reason Seshi returned to himself is the fact he saw the jewel he himself installed into the blade. Sadly, I was already midswing and couldn't stop in time...." She sighed before clearing her throat. And THIRD... make sure you have some food. That seems to ease the rage the others were in long enough to deal the final blow... though for me.... I'll just probably get chained and wait till my brain reboots..."

"Well, fair enough, sounds easy enough too, is this just going to be a one-shot thing or do I have to do it multiple times?"

Kotona actually looked relieved. "Just once, suffice to say, once I'm back in control, they'll never regain it. I'll make SURE of it..." She snapped her own fangs together. Her tail moved once, stirring up dust, "Now, I don't know what you yourself are becoming, but I do know that I am a mix. Every person in the Group had a base for the Genome manipulation. Mine was a mix due to the lack of any true solid DNA. Same for Seshi. His was wolf and Dragon... Mine... well.. we'll find out. And Soon."

"Ah, that's good. I really hope I can do it though" he said, a bit of doubt in him. A small spasm of pain hit him again, opting him to tell Ko something. "I feel another wave of pain coming, and it will most probably knock me unconscious. Can you.... well.... try to not go crazy? I don't really want to be dead when I wake up. Not trying to be rude or anything." He sat down, and he was lucky he had told Ko before. Because the pain had hit him just as he sat down. A scream, which turned into an inhuman roar, pierced the air. Wave after wave hit him, getting more and more painful. He could hear bones cracking, and the ripping of clothes. Then the pain settled down and he collapsed, his breaths uneven, and something red fell on top of him, before everything went black.