May screamed out loud and threw the basket of laundry in the air when Peter popped up from behind the couch in her study, her stripes flashing across her skin, eyes snapping orange as her tiger tried to come forward.
“May– stop screaming and oh god stop growling, it’s just me. What do you know about dragon shifters?”
“Peter Benjamin Parker.” A hand pressed dramatically over her heart, May pointed her other finger at him, forcing her shift back so she could talk clearly. “First you apologize for scaring the bejeesus out of me–”
“Sorry, May.”
“– and second, why are you asking about dragon shifters? No one has seen one of those in centuries.”
“Since the Great War?” Peter held up the book so she could see it. “Right? The last official sighting of a dragon shifter was during the Battle for the Valley, right?”
“Yes, the last official sighting was during the Great War, here in the valley, but Peter that was three hundred years ago. Do you think you saw one when you were out hiking? I’ve heard rumours that there is a big shifter in the mountains, but no one’s actually seen anything, which means its probably a bear shifter playing tricks on everyone else.”
“Three hundred years.” Peter sort of collapsed onto the couch, all long legs and arms sprawled around. “Why would someone get stuck in a shift?”
“There are only two reasons why someone is stuck in a shift.” May started picking up the laundry, scowling in his direction. “If they were forced into the shift to save their human half, or if they did something terrible in their shift and gave in to their animal half too much.”
“So if they were in danger?”
“You see it more often with the wilder shifts.” May balled up a pair of socks and tossed them at him. “For example, if you ever scare me like that again, I’ll drop into my tiger shift and good luck getting me out of it. Or–” a severe glare when Peter started laughing at the thought of his Aunt permanently fuzzed out into her tiger. “–or if you were in danger, I’d probably shift as well and not be able to come out of it until I knew you were safe, and probably for a few days after that as well.”
“Alright.” Peter flipped through the book. “So, the bigger the shifter the harder it is to move between forms, right?”
“Right. You’ve seen Avians burst into feathers and fly away at a moments notice, but bears and wolves take longer. My tiger takes longer than your Uncle Ben’s lion did because my shift is bigger.”
“So something– say a dragon? It would take a long time to shift up or down into his form?”
“…sure.” May narrowed her eyes at him. “Why the questions, Peter?”
“No reason.” Peter cleared his throat. “And the other reason for being stuck in a shift? For letting their animal side influence them too much?”
“Yes. But it would have to be something awful.” May clucked her tongue when she saw the stains that hadn’t come out of Peter’s shirt. “Murder, for example. Mostly wolves, sometimes bears. They lose control of their shift and kill another shifter, and alot of times they are forced into a permanent shift.”
“But mentally.” Peter frowned. “Wouldn’t it wreak havoc on a shifters mental state to be stuck in animal form?”
“Of course it does.” May met his eyes steadily. “And when they lose their mind, they are put down. No shifter stuck in their animal half is stable for longer than a few years at most.”
“Right. Well, thank you.” Peter hopped up and over the couch, heading out the door. “I’m going to head out to the woods for a while and–”
“Peter, wait.” May snagged his sleeve. “This obsession with the woods, the mountains, all these questions about dragon shifters. What’s going on?”
“I’m not– I’m not really sure.” Peter admitted. “But I think I’ll have some answers pretty soon.”
After Wade rescued Peter from going over the falls (so stupid, my goodness), the dragon deposited him right back at the campsite, shaking himself dramatically to get rid of all the water, and basically flinging Peter off his back in the process.
“Ow!” Peter hit the ground with a thump. “You didn’t have to throw me!”
I’m not a horse, you can’t ride me. Came the deep voice in his mind, the dragon’s only way of communicating.
“Right.” He brushed the dirt off gingerly. “Well for what it’s worth, thank you for saving me.”
Don’t like my food soggy. The dragon opened a mouthful of teeth and Peter was screaming before he could stop himself.
Shut up! If it was possible, it sounded like the dragon was laughing at him. I was joking. You don’t have an ounce of fat on you, i bet youd be stringy and get stuck in my teeth.
“Har Har.” Peter rolled his eyes and went searching through his pack for new clothes. “I doubt even dragon shifters eat people.”
I would if they were tasty enough. Wade huffed a breath at Peter. Why dont you scent like a shifter.
“Because I’m not a shifter.” Peter shrugged out of his shirt, frowning when the dragon huffed at him again. “Stop breathing on me, your breath is rank. And I told you before that I wasn’t a shifter.”
Why not?
“I just can’t shift.”
Why not?
“Hey, you know for an ancient dragon that’s been hiding in the woods for a while you’re awful pushy. I thought hermits didn’t like to talk.”
You think I’m ancient?
“No one’s seen a dragon in centuries.” Peter pointed out, giving a suspicious glance towards the dragon shifter before ducking behind a tree to change his pants. “And there isn’t a record of a dragon shifter being born for centuries before that.”
Your records are wrong, then.
“Well, how old are you then?”
I saw thirty winters by the time the Great War destroyed the valley. Its how I got my scars, what forced me into my shift. How many winters has it been since then?
Peter came around the tree, the dragon growling nervously when he saw the pity in the human’s eyes.
“The Great War was over three hundred years ago.” Peter said slowly. “That’s when you were forced into your shift? You’ve never been able to break it?”
You’re wrong.
“I’m not wrong.” Peter stepped closer, a hand held out in comfort when the dragon tried to shy away. “I’m not wrong. The Great War was over three hundred years ago. Have you been– have you been hiding this entire time?”
I’ve been trapped like this for three hundred years?
The dragon took a step back, then another, and then his wings unfurled and with a blast that sent Peter tumbling to the ground, he was airborne, and then gone.
For the first time in years, Peter didn’t mourn the fact that he couldn’t shift. Right now, he mourned the pain of a man lost in his shift, trapped in his animal half, hiding away from a world that didn’t even know he existed.
Well, that don’t work in the scene I’m doing it’s too cute not to draw.
DAWWW SO CUTE :>
they use human chairs but really badly
same
Wait elongated chairs y’all. Eight chair legs instead of one, they can lie down majestically and put their chins on the table like they were always meant to.
it was two weeks and four days and just a little after sunset when Peter saw the dragon again.
After the meeting around the fire, when Peter had learned his name– Wade– the dragon hadn’t made another appearance before Peter had had to head back to the village.
Peter had been home for all of three days before he packed up and went hiking again, and now he was back again, this time with a week’s supply of food and gear. He didn’t want to be around anyone this time of year anyway, not with all the mating dances happening, everyone shifting and showing off to attract potential mates or to entice their current partner into more rambunctious activites than usual. Peter didn’t want to be around it, not even a little bit.
May had assured him, just like she did every year, that he would get used to all the noise and the fan fare, that he would learn to ignore it like she had. After all, May had been almost thirty before she had met Ben, and she had survived nine mating seasons without attracting a mate so surely Peter could–
“Don’t.” Peter had said quietly, pleadingly. “You could shift. You could participate. You chose not to. I don’t even have the option of dancing for a mate. No one wants a mate who is only human.”
themusechronicles 