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LotsofEraserDust - Dr Voltabolt+ Selina — Description
Dawn broke over the seas as Laeon woke up, dusting sand out of his hair and clothes. The dragon was still slumbering away, faint traces of smoke rising out of her nostrils as she dreamt.

He clapped his hands togther and an explosive noise like thunderclap brought the dragon to an abrupt awakening.

"Yeesh, Laeon, there are nicer ways of waking someone up!" Gwyndian complained, shaking her head.

"We need to make haste. My own supply of magic dwindles, and I will need the Long Islands magic to replenish it." Laeon mounted her easily. Still grumbling dire threats under her breath, Gwyndian took off.

Laeon nudged her in the correct direction, not even suggesting they stop and eat. When Gwyndian looked back at him, his face was more ashen, more pallid.

He needs to learn to stop throwing his magic about, if he gets like this without it, Gwyndian thought, but she didn't dare voice her opinion out loud. Laeon had a decidedly determined blaze in his eyes, the kind that told her he would not respond to her.

Instead she coasted, sensing they must be near their destination soon. Sure enough, Laeon pointed to a cluster of islands gathered around an active volcano. None of the islands looked particularly long at all, so she wasn't sure what earned them their name, though it probably wasn't important.

"Which one?" Gwyndian asked.

Laeon closed his eyes against the glare of the sun on the water's edge and focused. "That one. Take cover as you land."

Obligingly, she landed in a large bush, flattening everything beneath her feet as she did so. All kinds of leaves and twigs poked into both of them as Laeon slid neatly off her back.

"That will help tremendously," he commented softly, scanning the area.

She spat out a mouthful of leaves. "I didn't know it'd be so prickly."

Laeon turned around, carefully looking around. "It's deserted, but keep an eye open."

"Keep an eye open for what?" she asked. Everything, apart from her messy landing, seemed quiet.

"The natives that live here. They have been charged with the task of looking after the magical artefact, and would surely not surrender it easily without a fight."

"So…you're stealing it from them." Gwyndian said.

Laeon refused to look at her bright, accusing eyes. "They have no use for it, whereas I do."

"Still stealing."

"If you want to put it that way," Laeon said coldly. "Then yes, I am."

"Okay." Gwyndian got to her feet. "Where now?"

"You surely don't think you can hide yourself well enough with that bulk you call a body? You'd be spotted from miles beyond."

"I. Am. NOT FAT," huffed Gwyndian. "But I suppose if you put it that way…damn I wish I remember how to do this properly…" Her voice trailing off, Gwyndian tried to recall what Grandfather had said on transformation.

Her form wavered, becoming hazy to look at. It snapped back from dragon to a humanoid figure, until, slowly at first, she shrank down, taking on a more human shape. Finally Gwyndian blinked open her eyes and appraised her new form.

Even like this, she was taller than Laeon, towering over him by at least half a head. This didn't include her horns, which, try as she might, would not vanish; neither did her tail. Her face was still very draconic; her eyes were cat-slits that glowed bright yellow, and scales littered her arms and legs.

"I don't like being human," complained Gwyndian.

"It'll do for a start," Laeon commented, turning away to lead them both down the path. It was unnerving to have her tall form behind him, but then, height wasn't everything, and he had never been that tall to begin with.

The only sound was the wind, the ocean on the surf, and the swishing sound of Gwyndian's tail as she dragged it across the sand, swiping it from left to right to cover her trail.

"Quiet!" Laeon hissed as she dragged her tail over a piece of driftwood, causing it to break up with an audible crack.

"You're not the one with a metre long tail…" Gwyndain muttered mutinously under her breath as she wrapped her tail around her waist in a desperate attempt to keep it off the ground.

They came upon a semi-buried cave in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. It was tropically hot, and though the sea was just a couple of metres away, the flourishing growth of the island meant that it was stiflingly hot inside any one of their lurid jungles.

Gwyndian had to crawl down on her knees just to enter it, while Laeon simply bent his back in a more dignified manner. Even stooping, her horns grazed the ceiling painfully and her spine felt tortured until the cave emptied out into a massive chamber where she could finally stand up properly.

It was as still as death, and had an odd, blue-grey lighting that gave it a rather underwater-ish feel. Even the air felt soggy and harder to move in, as if they were wading through water.

"There it is," Laeon sluggishly lifted a hand that had suddenly gone heavy and pointed towards the centre of the room. A sort of crude stone pedestal sat there, and on it was a grey-blue chalice that perfectly matched the colour scheme and mood of the room.

Gwyndian and Laeon moved forward slowly until they came to stand right in front of it.

The dragon peered inside the cup's contents. A dark blue liquid filled it near the brim, tiny ripples of movement appearing on its surface even though neither of them had touched it. It seemed that their presence was enough to disturb whatever magical potion lay within. Even with her limited magical ability, she could sense great power that leaked from it, and caused the environment of the whole cave to go all watery.

"What is it?" she whispered, suddenly feeling the need to remain very, very quiet. Even as she spoke, the ripples vibrated harder, yet it never sloshed over the side of the chalice.

Laeon began to speak in a dreamy, sing-song voice, reciting an ancient verse.
"From its dark depths,
There lies the cup of the blue seas
That gives unto its drinker
Freedom in movement,
The pull of the mighty ocean."

Gwyndian was about to comment that it was the worst poetry she had ever heard, when Laeon lifted the cup off its base and took a sip.