Drake's first real deflection of the magical blast left him more surprised than anything.  But his real shock came when Iris started to clap, instead of attack.  The draconic blood boiling through his veins wanted nothing more than to take full advantage of the situation and attack her, but Drake forced himself to calm down.  The transformation took a lot out of him, and although he was't completely exhausted, he definitely felt spent, his quick and shallow breaths giving it away.

"So…this is the dragon that I saw when Lord Drae awakened my power?" Drake asked, not really directed at Iris.  He looked over his own claws, forcing a grip a few times.  Everything seems to work.  It looks bulky, but it's not hard to move at all.  He tightened his claw into a fist, and smirked.  "Not what I expected, but I'm not disappointed."  

He looked up to Iris as she asked him the question.  "You can do that?"  There's a lot of different kinds of magic, aren't there.  He nodded.  "Yes.  If you would, please show me how I appear."

She watched him and grinned when he asked if she could actually show him. "Yes, I can," she said brightly. As soon as he gave the go ahead, she shifted, her body changing fluidly as she became, for all intents and purposes, Drake, right down to the scuffs on his boots. Iris-Drake flexed the claws that had become his hands and smirked. 

"Not bad," she even sounded like him. "This is barely scraping the surface. I can feel that now. We will have to do more to draw out your true power," Iris-Drake commented. Something sparked in the crimson eyes, and a smirk painted Iris-Drake's lips that borderline scary. 

"I think I know how we are going to do that…" she said confidently. Iris-Drake backed up again several paces. "How better to determine your true powers, than to fight yourself?" she asked with a grin, before she took a ready position. 

As Iris changed, her body mirroring his own, Drake couldn't help but stare in wonder.  The power of magic was something to be inspired by, and all of the new things Drake had seen as of late had shown him that there was far more to magic than he could ever have imagined.  As Iris showed off Drake's new form, her features a perfect mirror of his own, he couldn't help but shiver at the uncanny accuracy.  It was one thing to see yourself reflected, it was another to see yourself standing physically before you.  

"This is…unreal," Drake said, looking Iris-Drake over.  "It's…perfect…"  He blinked.  "My hair…does it really look that messy?"  A frown crossed his face.  "I'm going to need to fix that…"  He sighed, shaking his head.  More work.  But Iris wasn't done with him yet, and that made him smile.

"Oh?"  Drake smiled, his eyes wide with anticipation.  Iris-Drake's smile may have been sinister, but true Drake's smile was nothing short of battle hungry, and raring to go.  "I'm ready then!" he said, his voice with a draconic underlay.  As soon as Iris-Drake took a stance, Drake pounced.

Everything about his new draconic form seemed to be wrong.  Or, to put it more accurately, Drake's perception of what his limits used to be, versus where they were now, was completely wrong.  What should have been a full strength kick off for a human, was instead a full strength kick off with enhanced strength, causing Drake to launch himself at Iris-Drake and completely overshoot her, slamming into the wall.  

"O-ow…" Drake muttered as he stumbled up, propping himself against the wall.  "W-what…what happened?"

As Iris changed, her body mirroring his own, Drake couldn't help but stare in wonder.  The power of magic was something to be inspired by, and all of the new things Drake had seen as of late had shown him that there was far more to magic than he could ever have imagined.  As Iris showed off Drake's new form, her features a perfect mirror of his own, he couldn't help but shiver at the uncanny accuracy.  It was one thing to see yourself reflected, it was another to see yourself standing physically before you.  

"This is…unreal," Drake said, looking Iris-Drake over.  "It's…perfect…"  He blinked.  "My hair…does it really look that messy?"  A frown crossed his face.  "I'm going to need to fix that…"  He sighed, shaking his head.  More work.  But Iris wasn't done with him yet, and that made him smile.

"Oh?"  Drake smiled, his eyes wide with anticipation.  Iris-Drake's smile may have been sinister, but true Drake's smile was nothing short of battle hungry, and raring to go.  "I'm ready then!" he said, his voice with a draconic underlay.  As soon as Iris-Drake took a stance, Drake pounced.

Everything about his new draconic form seemed to be wrong.  Or, to put it more accurately, Drake's perception of what his limits used to be, versus where they were now, was completely wrong.  What should have been a full strength kick off for a human, was instead a full strength kick off with enhanced strength, causing Drake to launch himself at Iris-Drake and completely overshoot her, slamming into the wall.  

"O-ow…" Drake muttered as he stumbled up, propping himself against the wall.  "W-what…what happened?"

This was going to be fun. As soon as she took her stance, he pounced. And it went about as she had expected. She relaxed as he completely overshot her and crashed into the wall behind her. She shook her head as she walked up to him, losing his façade and taking her own with the exception of the draconic claws and strength. 

"You didn't take into account your new strength. Had you been acting on your normal human strength alone, you would have come at me easily. But your dragon strength, was a lot more than you anticipated and a lot more than you knew you needed to gauge and control," she said as she reached out to help him up. 

"For now, I think we need to work on your control. We'll go back to sparring once you have a better idea of what it is you are capable of," she said. She reached out to the ground ahead of them and large stone pillars came up out of the ground with a rumble. "If you use this power recklessly, you are going to be capable of serious destruction," she told him. With a roar, she channeled the strength Drake had into a punch that completely decimated one of the stone pillars. "So precision and control are going to be key."

With Iris' help, Drake found himself back on his feet. The reality was setting in that his new form was much, much more different than what he had previously been accustomed. The raw power alone was something that he could feel a considerable difference in, but reigning it in would take a concentrated effort, something which Drake would require time to learn.

As Iris explained what went wrong, and called off the sparring match, Drake couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened. Perhaps, somewhere deep down, the awakened dragon was itching to test itself out. But Drake nodded to Iris’ statement and the reasoning behind it.

"So control then," he said as he watched Iris obliterate the stone pillar she had summoned. Drake walked up to another stone pillar, and touched it with his new claw. It was a strange, novel sensation to even touch something with his draconic claws. The size difference alone set things in a different scale, and threw him off. The tips of his claws, razor sharp, scraped against the stone, leaving small marks. Even the black scales, supposedly tough as iron, had their own unique feel to them. After a moment of taking in this new sensation, he made a fist, and with the lightest of taps, hit the pillar. With his eyes shut, he tried to focus on the feeling of his new muscles, how they tightened and loosened, how they reacted to the impact.

Drake opened his eyes, and hit the rock again, this time a little harder. Once again, he traced the sensations down his arm, forcing a memorization of the muscles. And again. Each strike harder, each time memorizing the vibrations course through his arm. Finally, with one last punch, the pillar cracked. Drake paused, and smiled as he looked to Iris.

“It’s taking a little while, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now.”

"That's good, because once you have an idea of what your upper body can do, you need to calibrate your lower half," she said. She took a ready stance before she ran through the pillars that were placed like obstacles, turning and dodging on a dime, with extreme speed and accuracy before she launched herself up into the air in a flying kick that completely crumbled the top of one pillar, before she landed on the top of a second like it was nothing. She panted however. It was draining mimicking magical abilities that weren't inherently her own. With a snap she reappeared beside Drake and let the adaptation drop until she was just standing there beside him as herself. 

"You see? And this is only a tiny fraction of what you can do. Imagine becoming the dragon completely. Wings and breath and all," she said. "It would be a sight to see. Dragons are tricky though. I don't want to say they are easy to corrupt, but they are easy to forget themselves and just be savage. There are a great many of these beasts who are incredibly intelligent, but their rage can be all consuming," she warned. "And there are very few things that can stand up to an enraged dragon."

Drake watched as Iris showed off more of what his potential could be.  Already he was trying to get a feel for the newly formed muscles in his legs, and how they would react to such a fast paced transition of directions.  As Iris popped back beside him, and resumed her original form, though, Drake found himself wondering just how far he could go.  As if to answer his question, Iris spoke of potentially assuming a full dragon form.

That's not something I had considered.  Even now, I'm terrified of the sleeping beast.  And the concept of losing myself to it…  Drake shivered.  It was one thing to see the dragon in his mind's eye, it was another to imagine being devoured by it.  "Thank you.  I'll…I'll keep that in mind, for future use."  He turned back to the stone pillars, and tried once more to focus on the control of his body.  

For at least another few hours, Drake trained under the watchful eyes of Iris.  He was starting to get the hang of his strength, and just what he was physically capable of.  However, the form was starting to wear on him, and he felt more than just fatigued.  Okay…change back.  He closed his eyes, and let his mind go back to the dragon.  He imagined himself releasing the borrowed power, and letting it go back into the dragon.  Flames encircled where his skin had scaled over, changing back into the tanned flesh that he was accustomed to.  

His muscles felt sore, but he could feel that they had retained a great deal of the strength that his partial dragon form held.  So that's permanent then.  Good thing I was able to train and get the hand of it here….  

As the form fully released, and Drake was back to being, well, mostly human, he took a deep breath.  "Thank you, Iris," he said.  "I think I need a break, though." 

Iris kept a close and careful eye on Drake throughout the hours he trained with her, relaying all information back to her master as he went. He seemed quite pleased. 

When Drake finally wore himself out, which had taken a lot longer than she had expected, she gave him a small smile. "You did progress greatly. The more you practice the easier the change will be. In time you may be able to fly with the dragon's wings once you get used to using its powers," she said. 

When he said he needed a break, she nodded. "Of course, my master believes you deserve one. Come," she said motioning for him to follow her as the training room once more became smooth and normal. 

Once out in the main library, they were met by Lord Drae and Magnus. 

"You look like you've trained hard," Drae commented. "Thank you, Iris, you may tend to your duties. I'll call you again when I need you," he said, dismissing Iris. The Avatar nodded and looked at Drake. "Good luck," she wished him before she vanished. 

Drae motioned for Drake to join him and Magnus. "You look like you could use sustenance. Care to join us?"

As requested of him, Drake followed Iris as they left the training area.  So I can potentially use wings when I get more control? he thought to himself.  That's an…interesting thought.  It's a good thing I'm not terrified of heights.  Once more he entered into the main library, and even a second time he was taken away at the sheer concept of what knowledge it contained.  A part of him wondered if anyone had ever gotten lost in the library before.

"Thank you," Drake said as Lord Draw commented on how long Drake had been training.  He smirked, "It's thanks to Iris that I've been able to get this far."  As Iris started to leave to tend to her other duties, Drake did a slight bow.  "Thank you, Iris, for your help.  It's more than appreciated."  

As Lord Drae motioned for the draconian to join, Drake all but hopped back from his bow.  "Of course.  I would be honored to join you.  Thank you," he said, starting to follow Magnus and Lord Drae.  "Really…I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate all of this."