She's far enough away from town now. Deep enough onto an isolated path in the hills, where nobody can see her.
She removes her clothes, neatly packs them away into her bag. Then, with a deep breath, she lets go of her human form.
Her shape warps, grows, lengthens, into that of a moderately large, quadrupedal, winged reptile. Graceful horns crown her head, a long tail sways behind her.
The two dragons rest in a forest clearing, spots of sun filtering through the trees onto their scales.
The green-scaled one, the one with a satchel bag, breaks the silence. Her words are a little unsteady; she's never held a conversation in her true shape before after all. Nobody else has ever even seen it.
"H-... hi. My name'ss, uh, Julie, It's... nice to, mmmeet another dragon. For the fffirst time." She's a bit nervous, a bit overwhelmed, just by the idea that there really are others like her.
The other dragon - the silver-scaled one - smiles. "Nice to meet ya, Julie. I'm Mika."
The two sit in further silence for a bit. Not out of pure awkwardness, but just... gazing at each other. She's pretty, Julie thinks. But... in a different way, than a human is pretty. Majestic? Strong? She can't quite find the words.
Mika smiles, shuffles a bit closer to Julie, grabbing her paw with a gentle grip.
"You only found out recently, didn't you?"
Julie is a bit taken aback. How'd she know?
"You talk a little funny. Like you're not used to your vocal chords. And I saw your flying. Needs more practice."
Julie sighs, a little embarassed, and turns her head away. "I live in the city, I... don't get to stretch my wings very often. I'm afraid of being seen, you see."
"Ah, I see. You haven't figured it out yet, on account of the worrying, and you haven't had anyone else to explain it to you."
"Figured it out?"
Mika chuckles. "That humans tend to filter out supernatural sights unless they're either looking for them or staring them undeniably face-on. It's part psychology, part the effect of magic on a mind unused to it's presence. "
Julie tilts her head. To hear 'humans' talked about as something seperate from what she is... it's not something she had considered before, but it makes sense. She... isn't human, yeah.
Mika continues. "So long as you don't start landing in the street and roaring at passerby, folks won't really notice you. They'll file glimpses of you away as a big bird or a passing plane; you're safe to fly around and be yourself in places like this forest. Probably can fly out here yourself, if you depart from an empty rooftop"
"... but what if they are looking for me?"
Mika smirks, her tail swishing. "In my experience, those who seek us out, or who do recognize what they're looking at immediately, are far more likely to be friend then foe - and are often not human themselves."
... "There are others like us?" Julie's voice is quivering.
"Yep. Not just dragons, too. All sortsa beasties, both raised in their natural shapes, or born to human families like you or me. No one knows why that happens, if it's something about, like, reincarnation or whatnot. But it does happen."
"You're... like me? Born as a human?"
Mika places a paw on top of hers. "Yes. But I'm not human anymore; and neither are you. Maybe we never were at all."
Julie knew this, but she had not yet truly, fully processed it. To hear another say it to her makes it all the more real. She isn't human. She closes her eyes, feels her scales and wings and tail, the cool breeze blowing on them, the kaleidoscope of scents suffusing the air, the flame flickering in her chest. None of these are human experiences; neither is the automatic flicking of her tail, nor is the instinct to hunt she indulges in when she visits this forest. Mika is right. She isn't human.
She opens her eyes, and finds herself looking into Mika's, a gentle smile on the silver-scaled dragoness's face. She's... beautiful. Bright eyes, elegant, slightly curved horns. Her frame is slender yet muscular, her tail tipped with a brush-like tuft. Her voice is warm and rich; her presence radiates a feeling of calm. Julie feels her cheeks and the side of her neck getting all warm and flushed. Why does she feel like this, looking at that elegant dragoness? Is this some kind of magic or a draconic sense she was unaware of? She can't make sense of her feelings. She takes a deep breath, steadies her quivering voice.
"You know other dragons, right? Could you... introduce me?"
The silver dragoness nods. "Of course. I think it'll be good for you, meeting more like us. A young flame like you needs a flock to guide them; I know how overwhelming the change and it's aftermath can be."
Other dragons... what will they be like, Julie wonders. Will they all be as kind and warm as Mika? She rests her head low, her chin laying lazily on the earth.
Mika is right, though. The changes have been overwhelming. She was so scared, at first. Of what was happening to her, as she felt her back distend to release her wings for the first time. She had keeled over, overwhelmed by the scents picked up by her sensitive new nose. Learning to control her shapeshifting and stop herself from slipping back into her true shape at inconvenient times; those first few experimental flights, unsteady and ending mostly in scraped scales and achey muscles. These past few months have been... messy, at the least.
But, with every day, her draconic form has only felt more and more like the real her. And here with Mika... she feels accepted for what she is, for the first time. Visible as a dragon at last, without fear; recognized as what she is by another like her, at that.
She shuffles closer to the silver dragon, and gives her another polite nuzzle.
Maybe she'll be happier as a dragon, after all.
