as they transform back in a shower of rapidly evaporating sparkles, they start to cry. their body feels loose and wrong now that magic no longer leaps from their fingertips. the soul gem is hot to the touch and they nearly burn themself clasping it in their hands trying to transform again, trying to feel truly alive and themself again.
they shout curses at the sky, angry at the universe and at the mysterious creature that granted them this taste of magic and then took it away. they pause to take a breath and hear a voice from behind them.
"you didn't mean all those things you said about me, right?" asks what they now recognize as the bestower of magical power
"wha-?" they reply, whirling around
"it just needs to cool down and you can transform again."
"it's not permanent?"
"it's not permanent, and that's a good thing. it erodes your .. sense of self to stay transformed" the creature says, picking its words carefully before vanishing into the night.
they keep crying softly into the night, craving more than just the short transformations they get.
FIN.