Aspect nodded. "If we can find them, look at the rays," she said. "They may be on the bottom. We'll have to see. There's no rush, I had nothing really going on. I might even be able to teach you to fly out here if you want. The water is more forgiving than the ground about mistakes." She gave him a moment before nodding and diving back under the water. She skimmed through the water and it wasn't long before they found the corals and living rock again. Her large eyes helped her take in all the sights that she remembered from the first time. This time, instead of staying along the reef, she turned and swam in a straight line, parallel to the ground. At her pace, it wasn't long before the coral started to disappear and was replaced by smooth white sand.

This part of the reef seemed rather bleak, compared to the colorful and lively corals they had just left. Here it was mostly the sandy bottom and open water. She dived down and skimmed the top of the sand bed with her fins. She found the smooth surface of a ray and it kicked up a cloud of dust. She stopped and turned around, so that Drake could see. The small ray, barely larger than a large platter, spread its wings and took off in a flying action to another part of the sand, where it could reburry itself and remain undisturbed. She looked back at Drake, motioning that he could do the same with his wings if he wanted to. She surfaced briefly, enjoying the cool air on her face, and waited a short while before diving back down.

A large school of fish swept by them, several of them had to change direction at the last second to avoid hitting them. They were smooth and long and silver in color. Probably tuna. Several of them were her size or larger, all of them were swimming rapidly in one direction. After the school of tuna passed, she saw a pod of dolphins coming towards them. Their clicks, squeaks, and other assorted noises were audible under the water. There were several of them and they stopped to look at her and Drake. She stopped swimming and just hovered in one spot, watching them circle around them. She glanced at Drake, a smile on her face. A few of them were swimming close enough that he could reach out and touch them if he wanted to. 

They were spotted dolphins, slightly smaller and faster than their gray bottlenose cousins. Generally more curious too, which is why she wasn't really surprised that some came so close. There was a small baby with them, sticking close to their mother, a quarter of the size of the adults. It was cute, in a weird fish way. They stayed with the dolphins for a short while and slowly made their way to the surface. The dolphins followed them, staying near the pair, even after they broke the surface. They stayed with them for a long while until their curiosity wore off and they continued on their original course. She was a little sad to see them go. After they had gone, she flipped over and swam on her back. She looked up at Drake as she paddled leisurely along. "Are you ready to try out those wings of yours?" She asked him. "I'll be right next to you if anything happens. You'll be alright. Let your instinct take over."

Drake took Aspect’s offer of teaching him to fly in to consideration. If it was something possible, he would love to try, and from what he knew of others with wings, it should be something that he was more than capable of doing.

As they dove down once more into the depths, Drake was once again met with the intricate designs of the coral reefs, of the many fish. However, Aspect took them farther and farther out, and soon they disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a dull sand. In its own way, however, it was beautiful. Where the coral was a happy beauty, this area was more akin to a haunting. Despite his and Aspect’s warmth, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Aspect took a moment to find what she was looking for, but once she did, she was intent on making sure Drake saw it. And he did. The ray had wings, though a different kind than Drake’s, but the motions were mostly the same. Having messed around with his wings prior, he understood for the most part what he needed to do to get moving. And, the principle under the water should me similar to above, but with more force. This would be more than ample training to get in the air.

The sea lion moved to go the surface once more, pulling Drake along for the ride. Once more they broke the surface, and Drake took several gasps of air. It wasn’t long before they dove back down. As Aspect swam around, they ran into a pack of dolphins, which seemed intrigued with the two. While Aspect could pass as a sea creature, Drake was definitely from the world above. He wouldn’t be surprised if the dolphins weren’t a bit curious as to why a land dweller was in their world. Still, they seemed pleasant enough to interact with.

Finally, after enjoying the company of the dolphins, Aspect took them back to the surface. The dolphins followed for awhile, but grew bored and left.

Drake watched as they left, chuckling. “It’s amazing. All of it…”

Aspect nudged Drake along, though, with the swimming. “All right, then,” Drake said as he dove down, tucking his wings in. While underneath, he spread his wings wide, and flapped them around, forcing the pressure to catapult him forward. It works. Sort of… It wasn’t the most graceful at first, but within a few minutes he was swimming all around, and broke to the surface a few times with little issue.

“Wow…that’s…not too ad, actually,” he said aloud. “All right…the same concept, but more force…” He looked to the sky. I just hope this works… With a powerful downthrust and a massive splash, Drake launched himself several feet into the air. From there, it was a struggle, but he managed to stay in the air for several seconds before falling back down.

He hit the water hard, causing a huge ripple effect in the waves. It wasn’t long though before he was back at the surface, sputtering. “Well…it was a good attempt. I think I’m just tired.”

 Aspect looked at Drake with a smile. He seemed thoroughly enthralled with world hidden beneath the waves. There's more where that came from. She thought to herself. She had seen many different worlds through her various forms. All creatures had different ways to see the world, all of which were amazing in their own ways. She paddled leisurely along the water. After her encouragement, she saw Drake seem to gather his confidence. He tucked his wings in tight and dove off of her into the water. She casually turned over and followed him, keeping close by, but out of range of his wings.

She kept by him, close enough that she could reach him if he needed help. After a short learning curve, he seemed to be able to get the hang of it. He was slowly getting his confidence with his wings. It made her happy to see him become comfortable with himself. She understood how difficult it could be to adjust to something new, especially with something as personal as one's body. All new forms she took required some time for her to adapt to them. Whether that be size, strength, senses, or physical capabilities, all required adaptability, it was something she understood very well. She was proud to see him start to adapt.

She flipped her fins and surfaced with him, popping her head out of the water. She trod water in one place and nodded at his statement. She was partially surprised at how eager he was to fly, considering he had only just now become competent in the water. She stayed in the water and watched him spread his wings. He gave a strong downward beat and saw him gain a little altitude above the water. It wasn't anything impressive, but it wasn't bad for a first try. He fell back down into the water with a splash and she swam over to him. She playfully bumped his shoulder with her nose. "A bird can not fly in a single day," she told him. "But it wasn't bad for a first try." She got close to him so he could grip her fur once more and then headed back towards the shore.

She felt the weight on her back grow limp with fatigue. She didn't blame him, he'd had a long day and used a lot of strength with his wings. It would take time to develop the muscle properly in his human form to fly for an extended length of time. His dragon form would be better designed for flight, she'd try and convince him to shift tomorrow if he could. She went slower going back to shore than she had when going out to sea. She too was feeling the strain of using muscles foreign to her. It took a while to reach land, but when she got close, she glanced back to Drake. 

"We're back on land, Drake," she said. She got to the shallow water and rotated her back flippers around so she could walk back onto the sand. Once she was out of the water, she let him get off. She took a few steps and shook herself. The size and extra weight melting away. Dog. She didn't care if he saw her change forms. She felt herself shrink, turning into a large scruffy dog. She sat down in the sand and started licking the salt off her paws. "I don't know about you," she said. "But I think I'm going to sleep right here on the beach tonight. It's too nice to be trapped inside." She paused and looked up at him. "What about you?"

Despite his failed attempt at flying, he was far from discouraged.  Hearing Aspect's words, through, still made him smile.  It took a long while for them to return to shore, and during that time, Drake's fatigue did get the better of him, and he found himself in a half dozing state.  As they neared the land though, Drake's internal compass stirred, and he started to rouse himself from his half slumber.  Surely enough, soon Aspect was telling him that they were back on land.  

As he clambered back onto the land, the full feeling of his weight returned, and he almost feel over.  This is really rough, he thought to himself, groaning.  He glanced up, though, at the perfect time to watch as Aspect's form shifted into that of a scruffy dog.  Once again, Drake's instincts were to pet the creature, but he knew better than to do so.  Her transformation, though, was something to behold.  He knew his own was wreathed in fire, but that seemed like a different circumstance.  He wondered if he lacked the flames, if it would look similar.  

As she trotted onto the dry sand, Drake followed her up.  She sat down, and started to groom herself, posing Drake the question on what he was intending on doing from here.  He thought about it for awhile, and crossed his arms.  "It's been awhile since I've stayed under the stars.  I guess it couldn't hurt."  He sat down next to her, and flopped back on the sand.  He gazed up at the sky, and sighed.  "Today was a fun experience," he said.  They had seen a lot, and Drake had even learned to be more comfortable with his own body, which was leaps and bounds ahead of what he had felt just before coming here.

"Say, Aspect?" he started.  "Your abilities…how do they work?  I mean," he paused.  It was a difficult question to word.  "When I shift forms, there's…"  He closed his eyes.  "There's a sleeping dragon.  I reach out, and draw upon its strength.  I borrow its form for my own."  As such, he reached out towards the sky.  In an instant, his hand was encircled with a crimson flame, and when in subsided, there was a black dragon's claw, with similarly black scales trailing up his forearm.  "It takes effort to change, and change back…but holding it takes nothing.  Is that anything like what you do?" he asked.  "How do you know what you're changing in to?"

Aspect stopped licking her paws and watched as he came and sat down next to her. She saw how he'd looked at her the last few times she'd changed forms and leaned against his shoulder. "Go ahead and pet me," she said, half smiling and half sighing. "Most people want to when they see what I am. Doesn't matter if I'm a horsie, or a kittie, or a doggie, people want to pet me." She gave a full smile at this. Her ears relaxed on her head and her eyes went half closed as she listened to him speak, resting her chin on his shoulder. He said her name and she flicked an ear in his direction and opened her eyes.

She saw him staring skyward and followed his direction. She was asking her about her abilities. She thought hard about how to answer them, she almost didn't notice he'd closed his eyes. He extended his hand out, his skin becoming encased in flames, only to be replaced by hard black scales. She recognized the faint smoke smell now, it was similar to the dragons she'd encountered before. It seemed their ability to change was different than hers. He asked her some more questions and she found it difficult to put her answers into words for him to understand.

"My abilities are strictly genetic in nature," she began softly. "There isn't magic involved, nor a curse, or other sorts of witchcraft. I'm not a were-creature either. My mother was a true shapeshifter like I am, judging from my abilities, my father was likely the same. I can turn into any creature, living and extinct, only limited by creatures yet to be created, designed, or bred." She looked at him. He seemed very tired. "You say your dragon inside of you is asleep," she tried to be very delicate. "I wonder why that is? It seems to me like you aren't entirely accepting of this part of yourself and you wish to keep it suppressed. Why that is, only you can answer it. I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, that just seems to be the way it is."

"You say changing is difficult for you, and I understand why it would be. If you are reluctant, hesitant, or resentful of the dragon, it would be more difficult. It's hard to do things if you don't want to do them. You don't seem to like the dragon in most cases, which is why you keep it asleep. You reach out and take its form, and that is how you change. You force it, it seems." She was quiet for a short while before continuing, trying her best to navigate a sensitive topic for him.

"I understand your questions, and I understand why you ask them. You are very new to this shifting thing. We are both similar and different in that regard. I have one soul, but I have the potential to take on hundreds of thousands of bodies. You have one body, but your soul is split. You are both a man and a dragon at the same time, but you suppress one or the other, so you feel like you are only one at a time. You're a man now, but once some major stress happens or you get angry or hurt, the dragon instinct takes over? Am I right? It's a common thing with were-creatures, so I will assume its similar to you. Your hesitancy and insecurity around the dragon part of you are what makes your shifting so difficult."

She sat up, turning around to look at him. She put her paw firmly on his chest. "You are a person, yes. But you are at the same time a dragon. You are two parts of the same soul, different, but the same. Visualize them in your mind's eye, like as two pieces of rope coming together, becoming stronger, stronger than they would have been alone, woven together." She took her paw off of him and stepped back. "Once you accept the dragon, your shifts will be easier for you because you will not be forcing them to happen. It will be like water, fluid and easy, not like fire, with its quick snaps and pops." She changed form again. Human. She crouched down next to him, looking him in the eye. 

"It'll be okay," she said, ready to change at a moments notice. "I promise." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Now wake the dragon and let him be free."

Since he was given the opportunity, Drake gave Aspect a few pets as she gave her detailed response in what Drake had asked. As the information flowed, Drake took mental notes, trying to piece it all together into something that he could use. It was a lot, but the reality was that aspect was likely correct. He was apprehensive at best. The reasoning might have been complicated, but it was simple to grasp.

The idea of a fractured soul is something I had not considered. In fact, it might make sense. There are two souls, but what if neither are complete? Two broken halves that borrow on each other’s strengths rather than unifying into one harmony. He sighed. It was a lot more philosophy than he had expected for the night, but it was helping a bit, even if what was thought and said barely made sense.

However, on the practical side, Aspect was willing to help as well, despite the difference in how things worked. She moved from her initial spot, and turned to him, placing a paw on his chest. The whole situation felt a little surreal for Drake, though as Aspect shifted back into her human form, it started to feel a bit like when Lord Drae had unlocked his magical form. Aspect was intently focused, but welcoming.

Drake nodded, and stood up, dusting himself off. He stretched his arms to the sky, and then let them fall to his sides, taking a few deep breaths His heart started to beat a little faster in anticipation, and he started to feel nervous, however, when he saw Aspect, he felt more at ease.

He closed his eyes, and once more he felt his spirit confronting the sleeping dragon. Two parts of the same soul. He reached out, his hand touching the sleeping dragon’s head. Despite being all in his head, Drake felt the cool scales, hard as diamond. The dragon and I are one. Two sides of the same coin. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he could feel the dragon stirring. As he opened his eyes, the dragon’s eyes opened, a dark red iris matching Drake’s silver-green. Drake’s hand lowered from the dragon, and he took a step back. The dragon mirrored him, moving back on its own.

Drake smiled, and he could feel that the dragon was doing the same. No. That’s not entirely right. I’m smiling. We’re smiling. The same.

Drake’s eyes opened in the real world as flames wrapped around his entire body. The change itself was painful, as if everything in his body was breaking and reforming, which to be fair it probably was. Still, Drake kept his teeth clenched, driving himself through the pain as everything got heavier, his body gaining weight rapidly. Finally, though, it all seemed to settle, and standing before Aspect was a great black dragon, its crimson eyes glowing in the darkening light.

Well…this is something. He spread his massive wings, and let out a soft roar, as if testing what his vocal abilities were. There was another test growl, and then finally a proper dragon's call that echoed across the ocean. Then, all at once, flames engulfed the black dragon, though much weaker than the initial onces that Drake had summoned forth. The dragon seemed to fade, leaving Drake a few feet off the ground as he finished transforming back. Immediately, he fell to the ground, completely exhausted of his strength.

"Well…that took a lot…" he said, wincing as he tried to stand. "But, I did it. I really did it…" He started to laugh. "That was incredible! Amazing, really! I was huge!" He blinked, and realized he was missing something. "Wait…the wings are gone?" He laughed again. "Hah! They're gone! I can finally sit down without having to worry about them!" Of all the things, that was probably the most frustrating to learn.

"Aspect…I can't thank you enough!"

Aspect watched him consider what she'd said. She stood with him and back up after he stood himself. She saw him readied himself, and she made sure she gave him enough space to transform. Several of the dragons she'd encountered were definitely larger than she expected, she'd assumed he'd be no different. He held his arms at his sides and looked at her. She nodded in his direction and gave a small smile. This would be hard, but it would likely be downhill from here. She was prepared to help him in any way should could, and readied herself to change at a moments notice.

He looked at her, she could see he was nervous. "It's okay," she said quietly. She repeated it slowly until he closed his eyes. She tensed her muscles as he stood still, she saw him working through her words in his mind. Suddenly he opened his eyes and his body was engulfed in flames. She leaped back, then hesitated, remembering that the flames accompanied his transformation, and he wasn't actually being lit ablaze. She focused back on his form, watching him grow and lengthen. After a short while, the flames died away and before she stood a large black dragon, dark as pitch. Upon closer inspection, she saw the scales shine from within, like black oil on water. The dark red eyes were magnificent. 

She looked up at him and smiled. She watched him spread his wings, testing their full size out for the first time it seemed. They were similar to the wings he'd had in his human form, only much larger, but still just as beautiful. His entire form was beautiful. She watched him crane his head and neck and attempt a roar. First softly, and then louder. She actually had to cover her ears, but her smile only grew as she watched him take in his new form. Then as suddenly as they began, the flames appeared once more, though this time softer and smaller, and she watched the great dragon shrink back down to the size of a man.

She walked slowly up to him as the final flames died. She watched him stumble to the ground and fall on the sand. She stood over him for a second, realized that he was struggling, and then offered her hand. She pulled him upright, putting her shoulder under his arm. She looked at him, her smile returning. She couldn't help laughing with him. He seemed so surprised and happy and relieved all at the same time. "That was wonderful," she told him. "The dragon is more beautiful than I'd imagined. You're more…" She couldn't bring herself to finish, hoping he couldn't see her cheeks go pink. She was silent for a little while. "Don't mention it," she said. She glanced at him and then trained her eyes to a place further up the beach.

The entire thing was starting to wear a bit on Drake. Not only had they swam most of the day, but Drake had attempted flight and his first dragon transformation. He was feeling extremely fatigued, if not ready to pass out on the spot. So when Aspect called his dragon form beautiful, he was quick to agree, but seemed to miss the trailing off the woman and her embarrassment at almost stating something else.

That’s one problem down. he thought to himself, standing a bit on his own better. Now all I have to worry about it finding that woman. His thoughts once more turned to that predicament. The second soul that was searching for the celestial with black wings and raven hair. As usual, her name was just out of reach, like a long lost memory that refused to be found. That within itself pulled on his heart a bit, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Perhaps it had a lot to do with her, or perhaps her memory was linked to something more. The flames of destruction. The cries of death… They were unpleasant thoughts, which he shook away. His focus right now was with Aspect. He need not dwell on such negative things.

He looked to Aspect again, and smiled, but noticed her gaze was farther up the beach. Curious, Drake looked out, but his vision swam a bit, and he shook his head. I hope it’s not something bad. I don’t think I can fight like this if its bandits or something. He hoped that, at least in an emergency, Aspect could fight. If not, Drake could rely on adrenaline, but it wouldn’t last long with his current fatigue. But the chances of that having to happen were slim. Still, he was a little worried.

“Aspect? What’s wrong?” he asked, resisting the urge to yawn. “I can’t really focus….”

Aspect felt him start to get the strength back in his legs and let him go so he could stand on his own. She watched him for a second to make sure he was stable, then walked by his side on the beach. She wandered over to get the clothes she had dropped before going swimming with him, only to find that they'd been washed away or stolen. No matter, she didn't have anything of value in them anyway. She walked back to Drake's side as he was still making his way up the beach. She continued to watch the shoreline at the sleeping people in their homes. He asked her what was wrong, and she hoped nothing was.

"Nothing is wrong," she said, glancing at him. "At least I hope not. I didn't actually think you were going to roar like you did, especially with so many people getting ready to go to bed nearby. Most folks aren't terrible fans of dragons, I'm just keeping an eye out in case some people want to make a big deal about it. I don't think these folks are used to dragons." She looked at him again, a part of herself feeling bad. He was just expressing himself, getting used to the dragon half, and now she was criticizing it. "It was impressive though, I'll give you that." She gave him a tired smile. 

He appeared to be zoning out, so she just walked in silence. They found a small alcove on the sand, a small area lightly fortified by large rocks. She walked inside, looked expectantly at Drake, then changed forms. Cat. She felt herself shrink to the size of a house cat, a little dark red tabby. She found herself a soft spot in the sand, circled around a few times, then laid down. She watched him for a short while, still seeing he was out of it and lost in thought. She stood up, jumped up on one of the rocks and lightly batted his face with a paw for a second or two, careful not to extend her claws. "Drake…Drake?" She asked him softly. "Come back down to earth."

She stopped and sat there looking at him. "What's wrong? Something seems to be bothering you? Don't worry about the town people. If anything happens, I'll hear it and wake you up. You don't need to worry about them." She turned her head to the side, still looking at him. Her tail flicked lightly back and forth across the rock. He almost seemed to look sad, she couldn't tell whether it was the moon casting shadows or if it was real. She tried to catch his eye. "There's something bigger bothering you, isn't it," she asked him quietly. She stood up and walked to the other side of the rock, before jumping back down in the sand. "Let me know if you feel comfortable talking about it, I'll leave you in peace." She curled up on her little mound of sand and was silent.

As they walked with Drake lost in thought, they came across the alcove. Aspect seemed to deem it worthy of staying in, so the draconian didn’t complain. As Aspect made herself comfortable, Drake continued his thoughts, lost in the concepts of what his dreams could mean.

Finally, Aspect seemed to worry about him, and came to break him out of his thoughts. “Oh, Aspect…” he said. “Sorry. No, I’m not worried about the roars. Even if they come, it’s not like there’s an actual dragon here. And with my wings gone, I can always feign ignorance.” He smiled, and idly pet Aspect’s cat form. She shied away, though, under the assumption that Drake didn’t want to talk.

“I don’t mind talking about it, though I’ll warn you…It comes off sounding like I’m mad sometimes.” He cleared his throat. “This dragon form I have was only released recently. Bits and pieces are starting to come together with the more information I come across, but it’s still a jumbled mess in my head, so I’m sorry if it comes out wrong. I’ve been having strange dreams of another world. In this world, there’s a woman with raven hair and black angel wings…” He sighed, unsure of how to continue. “There are a lot of different dreams. Sometimes she’s in them, and sometimes she isn’t. But the one that occurs the most, is the one where that world comes to an end. She’s there with me, reaching out her hand…” Drake held out his own hand. “I can’t hear her voice, or see her face.” He closed his eyes, and let his hand fall.

“The way you described the dragon being a part of me makes sense. It is, and isn’t me, though. I think…this dragon is me from that world…a part of him surviving in me. And because we are the same, I can shift between these forms,” he looked over to Aspect and smiled. “I think the dragon longs for her, to see that she’s safe. Maybe if I find her, he’ll….I’ll be at ease.”

He was quiet for a moment, and stood up, walking over to where Aspect had laid. He sat himself down next to her, and starting to stroke her fur. “You have pretty fur…hair…uh…” He blushed. “I like the color of it.” He sighed. “Sorry. It’s a lot to deal with. But I do feel better talking about it. Thanks, Aspect…”