Blood and Scales [DragonSong]

[Fukurou]

"If it comes to it I'll use it. However, I doubt it will be needed." Rylzyr shut the notebook and rested his stony gaze on Ally. "If it puts any of your anxieties to ease let me remind you that I am here to help you, not harm you."

"Aaaand with that being said," Zaryn said as he stretched his arms out in front of him, popping his knuckles in the process. "Shall we get started?"

[DragonSong]

"Oh, I didn't think you would!" the dragon said quickly, though she couldn't help being a little relieved. "Um right. Yes. Let's get started." She looked between the two men. "What should I do?"

[Fukurou]

"We should get out of the streets, first and foremost. However," Rylzyr's ruby eyes swept over the dragon. "I don't think you'll be able to fit into my home. Perhaps we should find a place that can accommodate for all of us."

[DragonSong]

"One of the city gardens, perhaps?" Ally suggested with a tilt of her head. "They're usually pretty empty this time of day."

[Fukurou]

"Wellp!" Zaryn said as he clapped his hands. "You know what they: there's no time like the present!"

Rylzyr watched as his cousin turned and marched in the complete opposite direction of the garden. When he finally called out Zaryn's name, the tall warrior spun to face the others.

"The gardens are this way," Rylzyr said as he pointed behind him.

"Oh." Zaryn smirked and proceeded to walk in the right direction. "I knew that!"

The three of them made their way through the cobble stone streets. As the sun sank lower into the sky, the crowds of people started to thin out. Only a few people meandered through the park, taking their time to examine the way the setting sun glinted off of the pond's surface or to enjoying the crisp, evening air.

"So," Rylzyr said as he stopped in the middle of the garden's clearing. "Did you bring any extra components?"

[DragonSong]

The small dragon twisted to grab her pack again and set it delicately at his feet. "It's just the basics, really," she said with a small sigh. "Anything more...exotic, I didn't have much of. Ran out months ago."

[Fukurou]

"No matter," Rylzyr said with a wave of his hand. "Could you walk me through what you did last time?"

[DragonSong]

Ally nodded and launched into a rather lengthy and sophisticated explanation of her circle and the incantations she'd used. This was where she was comfortable- academia.

[Fukurou]

As Ally recounted all of her steps -- this time in great detail -- a large, leather-bound book and an elegant phoenix feather quill lifted from Rylzyr's satchel and hovered in the air by the mage's head. The book opened and the quill scratch away at a blank page, seeming to follow each and every one of Ally's words. Once the dragon was finished with her explanation, Rylzyr grabbed the book and the quill from the air and skimmed through his notes, muttering to himself in a foreign language as he jotted down corrections.

Zaryn leaned up against a tree and gave Ally a confused shrug as her eyes met his. Despite being able to understand what his cousin was saying, he felt completely lost within the flurry of magical jargon.

"Okay," Rylzyr said after several long minutes, sending the book and the quill floating out of his hands and into the air. He dug through his satchel and pulled out a pouch of what appeared to be salt. He spread the salt around the garden floor, shaping it into something similar to what Ally had drawn back in the jungle. As Rylzyr finished, he stood back up and and examined his work with a critical eye.

"Wait," Zaryn said as he walked towards the edge of the circle. "Isn't this what she tried last time?"

"Well, yes and no." Rylzyr scratched his chin as his eyes darted between his notes and the circle. "I changed the arrangement of the runes and used magicka salts as a base. I'm hoping that the salts will increase the power of the magic, -- they're quite potent and hard to come by-- but to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how much it will help. It's a start, though." He crossed his arms and looked up at Ally. "Is there anything you would like to add or change?"

[DragonSong]

The dragoness cocked her head and paced in a small circle around the design, murmuring to herself quietly.

"No...no, this looks quite advanced, actually." She blinked and looked back to Rylzyr, impressed. "You're really not an alchemist?"

Her eyes flicked over to Zaryn and she offered a small, dragonish smile. "I think he's right- I mean, this is all pretty experimental, but everything he's done should work properly."

She nodded to both men and murmured a heartfelt, "Thank you for all your help," as she took her place in the center of the circle, wings folded tight to her back and tail wrapped demurely around her body.

[Fukurou]

Zaryn beamed at her. "No problem, sweetheart."

"Wait," Rylzyr said as he walked to the other side of the circle. "Before we start..." He held his hand over a small runic symbol and sent a stream of white light cascading from his palm to the center of the rune. Ally could feel the tingling sensation of magicka creeping around her as the salts gave off a soft, white glow. Rylzyr nodded and backed away from the circle. "Now we may begin."

[DragonSong]

Ally shivered a bit at the feeling and had to resist the urge to preen her scales and wings. "Right." She shuffled in place a bit, then let out a sharp breath and nodded.

"Okay. Whenever you're ready, Master Rylzyr. I can begin an incantation."

[Fukurou]

"Hey, Ry." Zaryn walked up to his cousin and placed a hand on his shoulder. With worry coloring his eyes, he whispered into Rylzyr's ear in his native tongue, "what if this doesn't work? Could she die from this?"

Rylzyr turned to meet Zaryn, his gaze calm and confident. "There's always a risk, but I'm confident she'll come out of this fine. Besides, if I notice anything go wrong I'll disrupt the magic. I won't let anything bad happen to her." He turned his gaze to Ally and gave her a small nod. "We're ready."

[DragonSong]

Ally blinked as they spoke in that foreign language, wishing desperately that she could understand what they were saying.

She gave a brisk nod and a quiet huff when Rylzyr gave her the go-ahead. Closing her eyes, she began the incantation, shifting in place and flexing her claws into the earth as she felt power- hers and the mage's- crawling over her scales.

At first, nothing seemed to be happening, much like what had happened in the jungle. Then light started to gather around her, a soft glow at first that grew into sparks and flashes glinting off her scales until she was almost obscured by the light.

[Fukurou]

A blinding white light emanated from the dragon, illuminating the darkened skies and casting long shadows across the the gardens. Rylzyr stood alert and ready, his eyes dancing around the circle in attempt to catch even the slightest flaw in case he needed to disrupt the magic. Truth be told, all of this was a shot in the dark. Even though he has read books and alchemy he had only dabbled in it once or twice throughout his life. The whole setup was completely experimental with applications borrowed from other schools of magic. Still, it was better than nothing.

Hopefully.

[DragonSong]

The light flashed once, twice, three times, then Ally gave a soft cry as an odd feeling rippled through her- not quite pain, or even really discomfort, but it just felt odd.

Then the light faded and she slumped to her knees- oh thank gods, she had knees!

The now very much human girl looked up at Zaryn and Rylzyr, panting lightly, her choppy hair sticking to a thin sheen of sweat that covered her face. "I-" She coughed, then rasped out, "I think it worked."

[Fukurou]

"Hey," Zaryn said with a grin stuck on his face. "It looks like it did! Hopefully it'll stick this time."

Rylzyr crossed to the center of the circle with his floating book trailing behind him. Every step he took let out a dull cracking sound as the lifeless grey salts shuffled about under his feet. He stopped in front of Ally.

"How are you feeling?" the mage asked.

[DragonSong]

Curled in on herself, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her body in a rather futile attempt to afford some modesty. "Um, a little sore," she murmured. "But...okay."

Zaryn was right though. She just hoped this time the transformation would be permanent.

[Fukurou]

A small, friendly smile appeared on Rylzyr's face as he took off his long jacket and wrapped it around Ally's body, its velvety warm fabric swallowing her whole. The mage remained crouched in front of her as the phoenix feather quill scratched away in his book.

"Just okay?" Rylzyr said.

[DragonSong]

She clutched at the cost, huddling into it, and nodded slowly. "Sort of...out of it, I guess," she whispered, seemingly fascinated by her own fingers. "And- kinda weird. I got so used to having wings..."