She rests her head against the dragon's side, runs her hand over their scales. She listens to their gentle rumbling, feels the warmth of their form.
She feels no fear at all. though the dragon bears sharp claws and fangs and terrifying magical power, though they are feared across much of the world as the ultimate predator, as the immensely dangerous lords of the skies... she feels less scared than she's ever felt before.
Something about those scales, that warmth, is so very comforting to her. pressed up against them, she feels a familiarity, a security, she's never known before.
The dragon turns their head, looks back at her, and wraps their wing around her in a gentle hug. To see a gentle smile cross that snout... She can't help but smile back.
"You're remarkably relaxed. Have you spent much time around my kind?" the dragon says, each word resonating with an understated power.
The girl shakes her head. No. Never before; they're the first dragon they've ever seen. And yet... she feels a sort of gentle nostalgia, pressed up against them. A quivering in her heart. A tear in her eye.
"Hmm." The dragon makes a little chittering noise, lost in thought.
Without a thought, the girl begins to rumble, too. Lower than she thought she was capable of, yet it feels natural. Rrrrrrrrr.
The dragon's heart skips a beat. They know that noise. They turn their head to look at her once more; great, shining eyes wide and watery, their stoic spirit moved by the miracle they've now realized is occuring. That noise, that's-
She's glowing a little. Wisps of light spiral around her, a content, comforted smile on her face. For the first time in her life, everything is alright. Comfortable, safe, alongside a kindred spirit. Home, at long, long last.
And like a stubborn bud seeing the springtime light at last, she blossoms, revealing the majesty that had been within her all along.
Dark purple scales spread across her body, shining like polished jewels. Her face lengthens, her teeth sharpen. Her plain, brown hair turns to a beautiful, shining mane tinged with streaks of fluorescent purple; from the top of her head grow twisting, spiraling black horns; a smaller, pointier horn grows from the tip of her snout.
Her whole body grows and shifts, limbs reshaping, claws growing, a long-absent tail finally swishing behind her, plainly showing the joy she feels. From her back, huge wings sprout. To feel them, to feel the air against them, to feel them move and shift, makes her truly realize what is happening, what she is. There is a moment - an instant - of acknowledgement. What was left of her humanity shatters, swept away by that glorious sensation. She understands, now.
She settles into her new shape, still leaning against the larger dragon's side. They're smaller now - or rather, she's much bigger. The other dragon gently pokes her neck with their snout - rousing her from the trance of her transformation. She opens her eyes - now scintillating, metallic orange, pupils slit like a cat's.
"Why are you crying?" she asks the larger dragon. "Is something wrong?"
They shake their head, smiling. "Not at all. Miracles can bring tears to those who witness them, that's all."
She understands perfectly. A miracle indeed. She can feel the magic that saturates her, now; the massive strength of those muscles, the size and sharpness of those claws and fangs. All hers, - no, all of her. She is home, among kin, a wide sky above her.
The thought of that sky sends a shiver down her wings. Her oldest dream. As long as she could remember, she has looked at the sky, and felt a pull, a yearning. On horrible days, when the world felt like it was closing in, she would sit beneath the sky, and gaze upwards, feeling ever slightly closer to a place where she truly belonged. She looks up at it now, her wings reflexively opening slightly at the sight. It seems so much closer. That freedom she's always craved, finally within reach-
It's dawning on her now, beneath the larger dragon's gentle gaze. She's free. She's hatched, at long last. She's home.
For sometimes home is not a question of where, but what. And for this young dragoness, home is to feel the wind on her wings, and to hear the calls of her kin. Home is the flame in her soul and the comfort it brings.
Home is dragon, and dragon is home.
And she is so, so, very glad to be home.