To Reforge a Kingdom From the Past, One Looks to the Future (Open)

[Bunbun]

"Um... okay, I'll stay put. Try not to take too long, okay? I don't really mind what the clothing looks like, as long as it's something."

She watched as he disappeared into the other room, anxiously anticipating his return so that they could get started. There was also the fact that, though she'd never admit it, being alone in a place like this kind of freaked her out. Clearly, the Aerie was meant to be bustling with life and activity, so being entirely devoid of such gave it a certain eerie quality. She definitely would've tagged along if she had the option, but the Commons were clearly another area that she was barred from entering- not because it was dangerous, but because it was physically impossible to access. A little disappointed by this, Axia took to pacing around the small room at the bottom of the ramp, eventually settling down and curling up in the middle of the room.

The moment that Marakai stepped foot back in the room, Axia's eyes immediately lit up as she shot to her feet.

"Yeah, of course! I've been ready for this for as long as I can remember."

[Marakai Trin]

He smiled at her enthusiasm, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay. Well, the first thing you should know about doing this, is that it's almost purely mental. You can't force your body to change of it's own accord, so don't try...at best, nothing will happen. At worst, you will hurt yourself. So instead, you're going to close your eyes, and convince yourself you're inhabiting a human body... There are a couple ways I know of for doing this."

He uncrossed his arms, and walked to the far side of the room, behind her and still looking in the opposite direction - he didn't want her to be embarrassed if she succeeded and found herself naked in the middle of the room.

Still looking away, he continued speaking again. "I'll tell you the easiest way I was able to do it, when I was a child. This is also the easiest way to do it if you're under duress. Start by closing your eyes, and clearing your head. Imaging you're in a room, but you can't see yourself - basically you're a floating pair of eyeballs. there's only one door, but it's blocked by a mirror...looking into the mirror, imagine what you'd look like, if you were human. And then step into the mirror. Be the reflection you want to see."

He finally stopped to breathe, having to actually force his own body to retain its shape. Standing away from her, he looked down at his arms to see tiny black scales slowly fading away to show human skin.

He couldn't do that here....he was far too large for the Commons. He stood there, letting his body relax as he waited for her success or failure.

[Bunbun]

Axia mulled over Marakai's instructions in her head for a few seconds before shutting her eyes and doing whatever she could to follow them. She didn't notice the other dragon's partial transformation, as she was much too preoccupied with focusing on her own changes to worry about anyone else's.

What followed was a few minutes consisting of what appeared to be absolutely nothing. Despite Axia's insistence on making the transformation work, it didn't look like she was making very much progress, if any at all. Her biggest problem was trying to imagine what her human form would look like, which wasn't too surprising considering that this was her first attempt to change forms. Eventually, though, a blurry picture started to fade into view, and a power unlike any she'd ever felt before began to surge through her veins. Unbeknownst to her, the jagged scales covering her body were now lighting up in a multitude of colours, the lights being much more prominent than they'd been before. This was it... this was the moment she'd been waiting so long for, but never got the chance to make it happen. Excitedly, she envisioned herself reaching out towards the image...

...then the mirror shattered into pieces, along with the vision she'd created.

The surge of power Axia had felt previously suddenly morphed into pain, sending her body into uncontrollable convulsions. The light emanating from her scales started to pulse at infrequent intervals, increasing in intensity each time. Eventually, the light grew powerful enough to envelop the entire room, making it all but impossible to see what was going on.

There was another moment of silence, followed by a thud as Axia collapsed onto the ground. Taking on an entirely new form for the first time had taken a lot out of her, and she obviously wasn't used to standing on two legs.

The light filling the room finally cleared up, allowing Marakai to see Axia's new body. It looked to be roughly that of a young adult, or perhaps someone in their late teens. Her skin had a light tone- bordering on pale, though that could be in part due to the fact that she wasn't exactly feeling well- and her build looked rather delicate. Long, platinum blonde hair flowed down her shoulders, and although they weren't visible at the moment, her eyes had the same blue colouration that they had in her dragon form.

Her new body also carried a few anomalies; namely, her wings and aberrant scales. These features, though they were now reduced in size, persisted in human form for whatever reason. The wings sprouted from her shoulders, and the scales were scattered around certain areas about her upper body. They could be seen most prominently along the backs of her arms, though there were some that could be spotted around her shoulders and even a few on her neck, hidden beneath her hair.

She made no attempt to pick herself off of the ground, instead opting to lay there motionless. Transforming for the first time had hurt like hell, and she felt too drained to stand up- not that she knew how to.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai had turned around when the brilliant light emanating from Axia's form filled the room. His face was one of astonishment and shock - never had a transformation shown such a display of energy. That light was....what? What was it?

He heard a much smaller body hit the ground, so he knew she'd succeeded in her transformation, but he could see nothing with the blinding glare pulsing from her. His eyes were narrowed into slits, one large hand blocking the light.

Eventually, the light faded away, and even with the spots in his eyes, he could see her form, an odd - yet beautiful - combination of human and dragon. His eyes widened when she made no move to get up, and within a few quick strides, he'd made it to her, kneeling by her head.

He didn't care about her nudity, or the pile of clothes beside her. First things first - he had to make sure she was okay. He grabbed for her hand, lifting it delicately - she looked so fragile in this form. He could feel a pulse, strong and steady, in her wrist, and he let out a sigh of relief. He'd noted her eyes were closed, and after that display had automatically assumed she was unconscious.

"Axia...are you okay?" he asked, glancing from her head down to take in her humanoid form. He marveled at her wings, her scales...this form was nearly artistic, it was so beautiful.

[Bunbun]

"...mmmph."

Her response came in the form of an incoherent mumble, which wasn't really useful as an answer, but at least it would let Marakai know that she could hear him. She wasn't unconscious- not yet, anyway- but it wouldn't take much to change that. It was difficult for her to formulate a proper sentence, due to the fact that she was just barely staying awake and that her mind was overloaded by a constant barrage of thoughts. Somehow, she'd managed to transform... but she could have sworn that she'd felt something else.

Slowly, Axia began to familiarize herself with her humanoid form. The first thing she noticed was that her whole body was incredibly sore, which was partly due to her hitting the ground with no protection, but also because of the drastic changes that had taken place. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Marakai, noticing that her scales and wings were still very much present in the process. She couldn't tell of this was a good thing or not; it would be all to easy to accidentally hurt someone with them if she wasn't careful, but at the same time, she couldn't imagine herself without them.

...it hurts a lot, but I think it'll be alright. I don't know if I can stand up, though...

She moved her hand around a little, surprising herself with how potentially intricate the movements could be. Clearly, learning how to use this form to its full potential was not going to be an easy task.

[Marakai Trin]

"Here - I'll help you. It will take some time for you to get used to your form."

He reached to take her hand gently in his, his other arm moving to wrap itself around her waist. As gently as he could, he pulled her up to rest on her knees, and he looked into her eyes with a smile.

"You did wonderfully, Axia. You even managed to keep your wings - that's incredibly rare in a human form, at least during my time."

But then he glanced toward the pile of clothes he'd brought in for her, and grimaced. He hadn't accounted for wings when he'd selected clothing for her, though there were some open backed gowns that may suffice...he just had no idea how they could get them on her without destroying them.

"We may need to...experiment with different clothing, though. I didn't anticipate your form still having wings... But let's get you in one of the bedrooms for now, and you can rest if you're sore. We can figure anything else out later. Agreed?"

[Bunbun]

From the way Axia had seen Marakai hold his sword, she knew that he was being very gentle with her, only using the smallest portion of his ridiculous strength. It felt like it took him more effort to use less power than it did just picking her up. She was grateful for it, though- as dextrous as her new form was, it also felt incredibly vulnerable. She'd rather not have her spine effortlessly snapped in half, especially after she'd gone through the effort of changing to a humanoid form in the first place.

"...Oh, I wasn't really trying to keep the wings... or the scales, for that matter. It just... sorta happened."

She wasn't lying- her scales in particular had the potential to be a huge liability, so keeping them around was never something she was intending on accomplishing. As Marakai pointed out, the wings could also be a problem when it came to finding clothes. They'd likely tear through anything that was placed over them, especially in combination with the patches of her scales. In any case, it wasn't really something she could change, so finding workarounds to the problem wasn't a bad idea.

"Yeah, okay... I should probably get some sleep. I just don't want to end up destroying something."

Axia generally tried to avoid relying too much on the strength of others, but there was no way that she could walk on her own at this point. All she could do was sit and wait for Marakai to start moving.

[Marakai Trin]

He tightened his grip around her waist just slightly, and lifted her arm to move around his shoulders for support. He held her hand there, unsure of whether she could keep her grip.

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about damaging anything. There's plenty of beds, and no one to sleep in them...so I doubt anyone will care." He offered a small smile and stood, lifting her with him.

"Try to keep your feet on the floor. Use the distance to get used to your body while you're able to, and walk with me if you can. Okay?"

He took a hesitant step forward, and stopped, watching her feet to see if she would be able to follow him.

[Bunbun]

While it was true that if Axia ended up breaking something, there wouldn't really be anyone around to miss it, she still preferred causing as little damage as she could. It felt somewhat disrespectful to tear apart the possessions of the dead, and while the Aerie was barren for now, there was a chance for it to become populated in the future.

She squirmed around momentarily under Marakai's grip as she was lifted to her feet, obviously uncomfortable in her current position. Using two legs instead of four was an incredibly strange experience- disorienting, even- and if it weren't for the fact that she had someone helping her stay upright, she almost certainly would have immediately toppled back onto the ground.

Axia didn't say anything, telepathically or otherwise, but she did give Marakai a determined nod before staring intently down at the ground. Slowly but surely, she began to make her first step, which was more of a shuffle than anything else. Her foot hardly lost contact with the ground as it moved forward, but eventually it would slide into place next to his. Gaining more confidence, she decided to be a little more daring with her next step, this time getting her foot completely off of the ground before it abruptly plummeted back down. Her balance shifted forwards considerably, and for a moment she thought she was about to fall before remembering that doing so was essentially impossible considering how much support she had. There was a brief pause before Axia tried stepping forward again, her balance improving each time she did so.

[Marakai Trin]

When Axia seemed as though she would falter, Marakai tightened his grip ever so slightly on the wrist banging over his shoulder, and pulled her just a little tighter to her side. He wouldn't dare let her fall - he'd teach her to walk all over again if need be.

He smiled as she slowly but surely began walking with him. "That's good - you're finding the strength in your legs. In time, you'll learn to rebalance yourself with two legs, and without a tail." He glanced at her for just a moment, noting the intense look she had as she stared downwards, watching her feet.

"Here we are...do you want to try the door? I've got you - I won't let you fall." He offered her a gentle smile, and gestured to the doorknob with a nod. "Just grab the knob, turn it, and push the door open."

[Bunbun]

She was really starting to get the hang of walking on two legs, and the expression on her face showed this by softening significantly. There was even a point where she looked up from her legs and towards Marakai, opening her mouth to say something but instead letting out a small cry as she stumbled forwards. After that, she didn't say a word until they reached the door; whatever it was she was going to say, she had decided that it could wait for later.

"The door? That should be easy enough, I think. It's a good place to start learning how to use... hands."

She looked down at her free hand, twisting it around and flexing her fingers before extending her arm towards the doorknob. It made contact with the knob successfully, but actually getting the door open proved to be a lot more difficult than Axia had originally anticipated. Her fingers couldn't get a strong enough grip to turn the knob without sliding off uselessly. With each failed attempt, she grew increasingly more frustrated, not to mention embarrassed- everybody else made it look so easy. She refused to give up, though, and at a few points it looked as if she was more likely to tear the door off its hinges out of sheer determination than she was to actually open the thing properly. Eventually, though, the knob turned just barely enough to let the door swing open, which happened essentially automatically due to the amount of force that Axia was putting on it.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai watched her fumble with the knob for several moments, a patient look on his face. She would get it, so long as she was determined to succeed. And the look on her face, when he looked, told him she was very determined.

He smiled when the door finally unlatched just enough, and she was able to get it open. He moved one foot forward to nudge it open the rest of the way, and the door swung easily, silent as if the hinges and pins had just been oiled the day before.

"That's good. Believe me, it will get easier after some rest. The transformation uses alot of energy when you have to force it, but when you can simply will the changes to occur, you won't feel a thing. I promise."

He left his hand around her waist, continuing to support her, and his other lightly holding onto her wrist. He nodded down the hallway. "I'll just take you to the first door. I'm sure you're tired enough already...no need to wear you out further with any unnecessary walking, hmm?" Marakai offered a small smile and continued forward, moving slowly so that she could concentrate on her feet.

[Bunbun]

The door moved without much issue- pretty surprising, considering how old the thing supposedly was. It was a small wonder that the door worked at all, let alone without producing even a squeak. It was an intriguing anomaly for sure, but Axia decided that picking apart every last detail of the Aerie could wait until she'd at least gotten some sleep.

"Alright... I'm just glad that I learned how to transform here, rather than somewhere out in the wild. I'd be in big trouble if I accidentally wound up changing into a human in the middle of nowhere without knowing how to change back. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't be able to walk..."

She was content with the idea of idea of walking to the closest possible door, as long as it meant she didn't have to walk as far. Of course, the only way she was ever going to get better at it was by practicing, but there was only so much she could learn while constantly being held up. The last thing she wanted was for Marakai to have to carry her because she'd collapsed from exhaustion.

"Yeah... I don't really care what room it is. Any place where I can rest would be good."

When they started walking again, Axia's movements would be noticeably more sluggish, and she leaned more of her weight against Marakai despite her original plan to walk as independently as possible.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai allowed her weight to settle more upon him, offering a gentle smile. The poor girl must have been utterly exhausted, but he didn't mind.

"Well, when you've got your strength back, you can try and change forms again. The process this time should be much less draining, as you'll be returning to a familiar form." His hand hitched a bit higher up her side to better support her, and he slowed his steps to better match her pace.

When they came to the the door, he released her wrist just long enough to open it himself. He quickly took her hand again, hoping to catch her before she slipped. Then he gently ushered her inside.

Luckily, the bed was on the same wall the door was, and it took very little time to get her there. "All right, here you are, then. Do you...need help lying down? I would suggest laying on your stomach to avoid straining your wings."

[Bunbun]

"Hmm... I hope so. If it doesn't get any easier, then switching in between forms all the time might be a problem. But... I think I'd like to stay in this form for a little while. At least, long enough for me to get used to it. I don't want to end up falling over again whenever I shift forms."

She very nearly fell asleep a few times as they made their way over to the door, only jolting fully awake when she felt Marakai release his grip on her wrist. There was a brief moment of panic as she gave an instinctive flap of her wings and tightened her own grip on his shoulder, only relaxing it when his hand returned to its original position. Afterwards, she was calm once again, remaining so as they entered the room and approached the bed.

"I... I think I can probably do it by myself. I don't want you to have to... carry me."

She slipped out from underneath his grasp, taking the (thankfully) few steps required to reach the bed on her own. Her wings pumped a couple more times as she awkwardly climbed onto the bed, using her arms to drag the rest of her body forwards. A few minutes passed as she shifted around, trying to make herself comfortable. While lying on her stomach wasn't something she was unfamiliar with- it was quite similar to how she'd slept as a dragon, after all- but now there was the added difficulty of trying not cut cut herself on her scales. Eventually, she would settle down, gently nestling her head in between her arms.

"...mmm... g'night, Marakai."

She gave a slightly muffled comment, which made little sense considering the fact that it wasn't nighttime. Afterwards, she promptly drifted off to sleep, not even being awake long enough to wait for a response. Her sleep looked to be a rather fitful one, with her continuing to shift around despite the fact that she was clearly unconscious.

[Marakai Trin]

As she drifted off to sleep, the massive man cracked a soft smile, and straightened from the crouched position he'd taken beside Axia's bed. He turned towards the opposite side of the room, where a large cabinet stood solemnly as the only other furniture in the room, excepting a small table beside the bed.

He strode as quietly as a man his side could manage, moving toward the closed cabinet and cracking it's door open to look inside.

"Perfect," came his voice, lowered so that hopefully only be would hear. He pulled out a large folded blanket, and crept back to the bed. He unfolded it, and laid it over Axia's form, hoping to make her more comfortable.

"Dream of happy things, Axia." He smiled down at her, and then was gone.


Quietly closing the door beside him, he sighed. What to do now? He had the rest of the day, and didn't dare leave the Aerie while Axia was still figuring out how her body worked. The armory was sorted already, he'd counted the coin in the Treasury so many times that he'd started purposely making mistakes so the numbers would be different...

Ah. She would need food. Best start on that, then. Idly, he wondered what kind of an adventure it would be, teaching her how to use silverware...

[Bunbun]

Axia's endless shuffling seemed to calm down as the blanket was placed over her, placated by the warmth and cover it provided. Her dreams would be pleasant for the most part, though a subtle feeling a fear plagued them ever so slightly. In any case, it would be quite a while before she escaped from her dreams and returned to the waking world.

---

Several hours passed before Axia finally began to stir, which was a testament to how tired she'd really been. She woke with a start, immediately sensing that something was off before catching a glimpse at her arm and recalling the events prior to her falling asleep. That's right, she had a humanoid form... it wouldn't be easy to get used to waking up like that.

Deciding that she didn't want to waste too much time lying around in bed, she pushed herself up onto her knees, then turned herself over so that she was in an upright sitting position. Seeing as she was still without clothes, she pulled the blanket over herself so that a fair amount of her body would be covered. Afterwards, she stretched out her wings- as well as her newfound arms- and looked around the room, noting that Marakai was currently absent.

Marakai... can you hear me?

She attempted to call out to him telepathically, not really sure if he would be able to hear from... wherever he was. Perhaps she'd have to seek him out on her own if he couldn't, but that would cause a few issues. That would mean walking on her own, and if he wasn't in the Aerie, then there would be very little she could do. There wasn't any way for her to leave, after all.

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai had taken a chance to venture outside the Aerie. This was unavoidable - he'd went to the kitchens to try and put together something for Axia to eat when she awoke. Unfortunately, the spells of timelessness affected only the architecture and the furniture.

Everything else was only so much dust.

But he was used to having to hunt, and often. As a dragon of his size, he had to be in order to consume the vast quantify of food he needed to fuel his body. Finding and killing a large antelope on the plains of Adela proved to be a simple task.

And so, when Axia called for him, he was already inside the Aerie once again, and his response was short in coming.

Yes. I'm close by. Wait just a moment, I've got food for you. I'm assuming you're hungry, yes?

This assumption was in part from the vast amount of energy he'd seen her expend when transforming, not only in the change itself but also the massive display of blinding light.

He'd remembered something she'd said before, a mentioning that she was incapable of magic...but apparently she'd either lied - something he saw no reason for her to do, and so that idea was discounted - or she was simply unaware of the power sleeping within her. He intended to ask, in time.

But a moment later, the door to her room was opened, and Marakai carried in a large tray piled high with grilled meats of varying cuts. He had no idea how hungry she would be, so he may have overdone it a bit.

"Here. I chanced a hunt to get food for you. I'm glad I was able to get back before you awakened." He set the tray down at the foot of the bed, and one could just see the knife and fork settled on either side of the pile of meat, completely dwarfed by the meal.

"Do you feel better, after your rest?"

[Bunbun]

Axia was certainly glad to hear that Marakai was indeed nearby- she'd never particularly liked the feeling of being alone, especially in an unfamiliar place- and what was more, he'd brought some food with him. It had been quite a while since she'd last eaten, especially when including the time she'd been asleep. Driving herself to the point of exhaustion hadn't exactly helped with that, either. Although she hadn't paid much attention to it until this very moment, the fact remained that she was now incredibly hungry.

She gave the other dragon a huge grin when he entered the room, though her eyes seemed to be missing that distinctive sparkle they'd displayed earlier. Something about her was a little off, though only the most observant people would be able to notice any difference. In any case, she wasn't at all intimidated by the huge pile of food Marakai brought before her; even if her current form was that of a human, she still retained the appetite of a dragon. A particularly small dragon, granted, but a dragon nonetheless.

Marakai's final question gave Axia some pause. Was she feeling better? Well, she definitely felt well rested, and after having something to eat she would theoretically be back to her old self. However, there was something else that was bothering her, something that she couldn't really put into words. It felt like she was drained somehow, despite the fact that she'd just woken up from a long rest. Whatever it was, she didn't want to make Marakai worried by bringing it up, so she stayed quiet about it.

"...um, yes. I should be fine now."

She nodded, then leaned forwards slightly in order to pull the tray closer to herself. Her fingers idly wandered over the silverware, not sure how she was supposed to use them, or even what they were used for. Considering that she was unaware of the existence of her humanoid form until now, this probably shouldn't be too surprising. Unsure of how to proceed, but also unwilling to admit that she had no clue what she was doing, Axia tried to buy herself some time by continuing the conversation.

"Thanks for going out to get this for me, by the way. Did you get enough for yourself to eat?"

[Marakai Trin]

Marakai nodded, smiling warmly. "Good. Perhaps after eating, you'll have enough of your strength back for a proper tour of the Aerie. Also... I'll need to make it so you can come and go as you please."

He'd noted her grin, but also felt as though something was off about her. However, he didn't know her well enough to be sure of anything, so he didn't feel as though it would be pertinent to bring it up.

His eyes cast their gaze to her hands as they wandered over the knife and fork, and he was about to say something when she asked if he'd gotten food for himself as well. He offered but a gentle shake of his head before replying.

"No, I was seeking only enough for you. I wanted to hurry back in the event that you  woke early - I didn't want you to be trapped here. But not to worry - I can eat later. This is all for you." He gave a small smile and stepped back away from the bed. "After you've eaten, we can see about clothing you, and I've an idea of how that can be done. It'll take some searching, but I remember in the past there were Aeithirian elves visiting often, and there should be clothing of their make that would suit you. They've got wings as well...or, well, they did."