Best Laid Plans of Dragons and Men

Mason opened and closed his mouth a few times, debating what to say. Finally he said, "Do you trust me?"

Izagor nodded. "Heck yeah! What's the plan?"

Mason still looked hesitant. "The safe play would be to go to town and call for a fast-response demon slayer team."

"That would be the safe play. But if that was your only plan you'd have flown us straight to town, not landed here," Izagor pointed out.

"I...do have a new plan," Mason admitted. "It could probably work, but it's dangerous. It's definitely not as safe as running away and calling for help, so I don't really like this new plan. You should talk me out of it and say that we ought to play it safe."

Izagor made a few experimental swings of the hammer to get used to its weight. "I should, but just tell me your new plan anyway."

Mason told her his new plan.

Izagor smiled. She raised the hammer and let it rest over her shoulder. "I like this plan."

--

Kurzadakathan was having the time of his life. It had been far too long since he had last been granted free roam in the mortal realm, not that time meant the same thing to demons as it did to the fool sorcerers who tried to summon them.

At the thought of the latest fool who had incorrectly wrote a contract with him, Kurzadakathan felt rage bubbling through the very core of his being—that insolent sorceress, Izagor! Such a pathetic, despicable lifeform! Abusing her contract to break free of the summoning circle had been wonderfully pleasing, and killing her had given him such grand satisfaction as he returned balance between the two realms. Since he was now roaming through the mortal realm, it was only fair that there ought to also be one less sorceress wandering around. Kurzadakathan was now pounding away at the remains of the building which had failed to contain him. He intended to keep going until the entire structure was nothing but dust and ash.

In some strange twist of fate, that foolish incompetent sorceress had somehow created an immensely strong summoning circle that had almost managed to contain him. Even as he had smashed through the defensive spells, the circle had reversed his power and almost banished him right there and then. He was now in a greatly weakened state—his current body was large and threatening, but it had nothing but brute strength, along with a basic cloak of fire for defence. It was infuriating that he had been unable to kill the two other mortals who had come across him—some random human and a random dragon—but Kurzadakathan was sure that soon enough he would recover enough strength to take a more deadly form. Soon he would march for that miserable human town he could sense nearby, and turn that to ash as well. Soon...

But not too soon, for first he had to finish destroying this house. Everything had to be destroyed, so as to restore the universe to its chaotic state of primordial perfection.

Out of nowhere, a tree branch dropped out of the sky and struck his head. Kurzadakathan reacted with rage, bending down to slam punches on the insolent branch until it had been reduced to cinders. Then he looked up and saw where the branch had come from—a dragon was rapidly flying away from him, but he disappeared past the treeline before Kurzadakathan could throw something back.

With infinite patience, Kurzadakathan tried to resume his demolition of the house, but less than a minute later another branch dropped onto his head. This time such an act could not be ignored; Kurzadakathan swatted the branch away and charged towards the dragon. He left the forest clearing, chasing after the dragon even as it turned tail and tried to fly away. The fires that surrounded the demon set the closest trees on fire, and he angrily batted aside any other trees which got in his way.

A human being (or other sentient creature) might have wondered why a dragon would fly so low and so slow instead of climbing high where the demon could not possibly touch it, but Kurzadakathan did not think in such a manner. Close...so close. He was quickly catching up towards the dragon, and Kurzadakathan reached his hands up to grab it out of the sky and crush the life out of it.

Just when he thought he could grab the dragon, the forest vanished and Kurzadakathan found himself running over sand, then suddenly there was seawater around his legs. The ocean hissed and bubbled around his lower limbs, quenching the fires around his lower body, but Kurzadakathan was solely focused on that irritating dragon. The dragon was flying out further to sea as if trying to bait him, but the demon decided that enough was enough. Raising two hands, he channelled magical power and created a huge swath of flame that he flung towards the dragon. The grey-scaled dragon barely managed to dodge this attack, but Kurzadakathan threw another fireball, then another, and then another. The dragon hurriedly kept changing its flight path to dodge, but it could not remain evasive forever.

Kurzadakathan was so focused on the dragon that he failed to notice a small figure pop her head up from the ocean, where she had been hiding behind a nearby rock cluster, and raise a long hammer made from metal which glinted.

--

Without much ado, Izagor slowly waded through the water until she was right behind Kurzadakathan's legs, which were now all cooled down from the sea water. She raised the banishing hammer and swung it with all her might against the demon's kneecap. Instantly an electric jolt ran down her hands, making her drop the hammer, but the weapon stayed frozen and embedded in Kurzadakathan's body. "That's for...uh...trying to kill me! Ha!" she spat.

The demon let out a high-pitched scream as it began to collapse, imploding towards the point of contact where the telanium-silver alloy had touched it. The flames on its upper body went out, and its limbs started to shrivel and wither even as the demon folded inwards. The hammer's head had vanished, replaced by sphere of blinding light—for one brief instant this brilliance outshone then sun, and then all of a sudden there was darkness and quiet.

Kurzadakathan was gone, and Izagor found herself standing in the ocean all alone. All that was left of the hammer was its handle, floating over the sea; the weapon's head had vanished along with the demon it had just banished. Izagor picked up the hammer (which was now just a stick) and stared at it, then she let out a soft laugh. "Haha...I didn't actually expect that to work."

Mason landed on the beach as Izagor strolled out of the ocean. He sat down on his haunches. "You did it!"

"We did it," Izagor corrected. She sat down on the beach, leaning back against Mason's side. It was almost midday, and the ocean was glinting beautifully in the sun. All of a sudden it was just a warm summer's day. She took a deep breath of the salty air as the sea breeze ruffled her hair. "First I got to be a human, then I also got to be a sorceress, and now I get to be a demon hunter. This is the adventure that keeps on giving."

Mason was almost lost for words, but he definitely agreed with this sentiment. "We just banished a demon! This is one hell of an adventure! It's...it's almost over, though. We've still got one last thing to do."

"What's that?"

"To change back, of course." Mason nodded back towards the forest, where there was a trail which led back to his house. This small trail was normally marked only by a series of wooden signposts, but Kurzadakathan's rampage through the forest had left a trail of fallen trees. "Before he broke out of the summoning circle, Kurzadakathan did complete the contract. We've got a whole bunch of transformation crystals to change us back to usual."

"Oh, yeah. That. Let's go do that, just give me a moment. These clothes are sticking to my skin. What's the point of clothing if it just absorbs water? Why not make clothes that are waterproof?" Izagor wondered.

Mason was no longer surprised when Izagor began to pull of her soaked clothing. "Don't ask me, I'm not a fashion designer. Should I bother mentioning that wet clothes or not, this is still not one of those situations where nudity is socially acceptable?"

"I'm immune to your judging, Mason." Izagor kicked off the last of her wet clothing, and she got to her feet. "Alright, let's go back to your house. We can...let's transform back."

Mason picked up Izagor's wet clothes (which were actually his wet clothes), but he had to toss them onto his back and balance them between his wings. He led the way back to his home. "I miss having hands..."

--

A drake who was not a drake and a woman who was not a woman sat together in the ruins of a destroyed house. In between them, a small pile of white crystals sat on the floor.

"Fifteen. Fifteen crystals made by that demon," Mason said, after counting them all. "But we only need one. You take one crystal and activate the spell—that'll turn you back to a dragon. Then I'll take that crystal and activate it a second time to transform myself back into a human."

With far more trepidation then she would have ever imagined, Izagor picked up one of the transformation crystals. The short walk back to Mason's house had given her time to calm down after the adrenaline rush from banishing Kurzadakathan, and now she was feeling indecisive again. "Alright..."

"As per the contract, the activation keyword is morphus." Mason nodded calmly. "Just hold the crystal and say the word when you're ready."

Izagor stared at the crystal she was holding, but she didn't say the word just yet. "So, Mason, what...what are you going to do? After we change back to normal, that is."

"Good question. I don't really have a plan for that. I've been meaning to have my house renovated, but now that it's been completely demolished I'll have to get it rebuilt. I do have the funds for that, fortunately. But I don't think I'll stick with professional sorcery; at the very least I need to take a hiatus from all this demonic stuff for a while. And you, Izagor?" Mason glanced away, and his neck crest drooped. "I suppose you'll just...fly off and keep travelling the world."

"I am. The open sky calls, and I miss the feeling of air under my wings. Although..." Izagor crossed her arms nervously. Her next words were said so softly that Mason wasn't quite sure if he had misheard her. "Mason, you could...come with me. If you wanted..."

"What did you say?"

Izagor snapped her gaze up. "I said you could come with me! I wouldn't mind a travel companion." She gestured to the pile of transformation crystals. "Look at all these crystals—think about what we could do with them! After we change back to our normal selves, I could carry you on my back and we could go see the world together. Or we could both be dragons—we could fly wherever we wanted, and I could teach you how to soar. I could take you back to my clan's mountain range so you could see my home and fly over the tallest mountains. Or we could both stay as humans and...and go see all the marvels of your empire! All your buildings and technology and clockwork—I want to ride a train."

"Izzy..." Mason began to say, but Izagor kept talking. She was babbling now out of nervousness.

"Unless...unless you don't want to do all that. I just thought that maybe...after everything that's happened, I felt like we had some...a shared experience. Like a connection between us."

"A connection?"

"I don't know! We've just had an adventure together, and I thought...it was fun and dangerous and exciting and new. I don't know if you felt that way too, but I...I like you, Mason. It's nice to talk with you. You're interesting with all your human ideals and opinions, and I just thought that maybe you might like me back... But if you don't like me, then I completely understand. I'll just...I'll fly off and we'll never see each other again. And you can go back to your mundane human things, being a sorcerer and all that; if that's what you want. But it's your choice, so let me know your answer. Make it quick and simple—Mason, will you fly with me? Yes or no."

Mason's neck crest had perked up. "Izagor, I..."

Izagor shushed him before he could say anything more. "Shh, don't...don't say anything yet. Just think about it for a moment. Don't turn me down right away." Grabbing the transformation crystal, she spat out the activation word. "Morphus!"

The transformation began to take effect immediately. Magic poured out of the crystal and into her hand, and Izagor could feel her whole body begin to shift and twist. It was the reverse of what had happened to her before—instead of pain, she felt relief as her usual form began to take shape. Scales erupted out of her skin, returning her usual sense of touch and sensation. Hair fell off her head in clumps, vanishing into dust before it touched the ground.

Izagor dropped down into a crouch as her arms and legs shortened, but then her tail extended out of her rear; how she had missed having a tail! She flicked her tail and heard the air swish around her limb. And when her wings stretched out of her back, she couldn't help but gasp in relief as she flapped her wings and felt the air move around her. It hadn't been an actively unpleasant experience to be human, but things just felt more right now that her usual draconic form was returned.

As the transformation began to wind down, Izagor felt the crystal slip out of her paw. She looked over her whole body, taking in the reassuring sight of things as they ought to be. Her reddish-brown scales were back, as were the light coloured splotches on her side. Izagor reached up and touched her face, feeling her neck crest and her usual pointed snout. Standing up, she realized she was back to walking on four limbs instead of two; she did a quick twirl to test her legs.

"Wow. Watching a transformation is quite a sight, even though I've done it myself." Mason had a shocked expression on his face as he looked over Izagor's new body (or her old body, rather). "Izagor, you're...a dragon! Haha, of course you are."

"I am." Being back in her usual body made her feel more comfortable and confident, but Izagor was still waiting for Mason's answer. Her tail curled around her legs. "Now, about my offer?" she asked. Izagor fluttered her wings, then she folded them neatly onto her back and sat back on her haunches. Impulsively she suddenly reversed this action, unfurling her wings to show them off—she had always been proud of her wings, and drakes liked a dragoness with a slender tail and good wings. Then again, Mason was a human who probably wasn't attracted to the conventional draconic ideals of beauty. Honestly, he would probably just reject her...

Mason nodded. "Yes."

Izagor let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Yes? So that means..."

"That means I'll fly with you." Mason opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if struggling to find the words he was looking for. "I'll...I'll fly beside you, or ride on your back, or whatever it takes because for everything you said, I agree. Perhaps I'm insane for thinking this way about a dragon, but Izagor you are incredible. It would be a great pleasure to travel with you."

Izagor laughed, then she walked over and hugged Mason. The mechanics of this gesture were different from how Mason was used to it—Izagor pressed her chest against his and flipped her wings forward to wrap halfway around his body, then she let her neck entwine with his. She said nothing, but the level of sudden physical contact said enough about her happiness.

Mason tried to return the hug, but he wasn't quite sure where he was supposed to put his wings. The partially-used transformation crystal was still sitting on the floor, out of reach. "I do need to transform back into a human first."

Izagor didn't let go. If anything, she tightened her hold and started gently nuzzling under Mason's chin. "Do you really? Why don't we just...fly off right now into the blue?"

"Because I need to go to town and arrange for my house to be rebuilt, then I need to write to both the Magician's Guild and the Royal Academy of Magic to tell them I'm going on hiatus from my sorcery. Then I'll need to pack all these crystals up, and we should probably search my house for the gold I keep stored here, as well as some clothes for travel and whenever we decide to roam as humans..."

"Mm. How responsible..." Izagor turned around and started rubbing her side against Mason's, savouring all the warm physical contact as she brushed her back against his underbelly. Any drake—even a human who didn't quite have every natural dragon instinct—could understand this particular offer.

In response Mason unfurled his own wing and grabbed Izagor, holding her still against his side. "Do tell—are you teasing me on purpose?" he growled, his voice a soft rumble that made a shudder run down Izagor's back.

"I thought that was obvious." After all the excitement and danger of fighting Kurzadakathan, not all of the adrenaline had faded away. Izagor pulled herself free and took a few steps away, then she bent down her forelegs and straightened her hinds. She waved her tail from left to right, and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that Mason's gaze was locked on her rump. Finally she raised her tail invitingly, sweeping it out of the way to give him an enticing look at her underbelly. "I was just thinking—before you transform back, maybe we should have a little fun since we're the same species. You can test out your equipment as it was meant to be used. Interested?"

"Surprisingly enough, I think I am." Mason moved forwards and placed a forepaw on Izagor's rear. "Izzy, you damn dragon. Look what you've done. I'm a human and I'm supposed to be attracted to women, but now you've got me thinking all these deviant things about you." Following base instinct, he started licking and sniffing at her slit, taking in her scent and smell.

Izagor let her tail slide between Mason's legs until the tip of her appendage reached his underbelly, where it quickly became obvious that he was becoming just as aroused as she was. She coiled her tail around his the tip of his growing erection, teasing and lightly squeezing it to coax it out further. "That's funny. I don't recall you making any complaints last night when we were doing this..."

"That was different. You were a human woman then, and there was nothing wrong with me getting aroused," Mason muttered, in between licks. He didn't sound displeased at all.

"From a certain point of view—mff!" Izagor gasped as Mason suddenly slipped his tongue inside her slit, using his oral musculature to explore her insides. "I said, from...from a certain...point of view, what we're doing now is less deviant than what we did last night, because now we're just two creatures of the same species satisfying each other's needs. Last night that was bestiality since I was a human and you were a dragon. But now we're both dragons, so this is just going to be normal sex."

By now Izagor was feeling quite ready for things to escalate a little further. She wasn't looking for a prolonged, slow courtship—right now what she wanted was a good quick pounding. She uncoiled her tail from around Mason's phallus. The drake took a few steps forward so he could mount her, resting his chest against her back and clutching his forepaws around her for balance. There were a few moments of eager, budding anticipation as his length kept poking her haunches, until finally his tip found her genital slit and he lined himself up.

Instead of pushing himself in, Mason let only the very tip of his erection touch Izagor's slit. "You know, I see your point, but it depends on whether you consider a person as a certain species based on their original body or their current body. If we take it to be based on original body, then what we're doing now is equally deviant as what we did yesterday since I'm always a human and you're always a dragon. However, that's not the case if we consider personhood based on current body. Yesterday you had a human body when we had sex, so arguably it wasn't deviant if I was attracted to you. It's normal for me to be attracted to other humans."