Their Balance

Light burst forth from skin and scales in sparks like a shower of meteors. Like a gentle flare that grew stronger and stronger, it illuminated them from within. It pulsed with every heartbeat, every breath, until the light was so great it was all that could be seen.

And the light was warm. It was the gentleness of spring and the sweetness of summer. The kind of light that brought fruit to flourish, bearing sweetest nectar. That which coaxed wildflowers to bloom and turned the faces of new life towards the sky. The light of memory, and the fondness of nostalgia. Like the waters of velvet tides, carrying souls under endless skies. The delicate comforts of love blossoming where ice had once held dominion.

It changed them both. Without any further resistance, with the barriers falling, their shared tether poured mana between both of them. Their very forms were the raw clay unto which the new magic settled. Twin natures meeting and slowly intertwining in a dance. Black and white, obsidian and silver, ruby and emerald.

Eyna reached out.

She cupped his newly formed face. Marveling at him. She saw him. A dragon, yes. But a young man, also, now. He was both human and dragon. Coils of silver hair, like quartz spun unto silk, tossed over his proud and princely features. Sharp ears, fluttering at his head. Intense ruby red eyes, burning with white slivers in the center, that seemed to look straight into her.

The light was in her, just as much as it was in him. He saw her. The graceful gleam of her black horns, laced with gold, that swept up from her head. The scales that crystallized across her cheeks, the sharp draconic pupils within her beautiful, endless emerald eyes. Newly designed, and perfect beyond all measure.

They had found their equilibrium.

A curse and a blessing.

A dragon and human.

Both and neither.

Sthuna’s hands came up. Not claws. These were elegant hands with clawed fingertips. Graceful white scales patterned the structure of his limbs, but they mingled with a human visage. He curled his hands over hers. He could feel the warmth of her skin, the sweetness of her touch.

He nuzzled against her hands. Tender affection permeated in his every gesture. His eyes fluttered shut, just feeling her presence as his fondness fell upon her. His own touches were feather light, and soft as rain. His tail curled around her ankle, brushing against it. This was the dragon, a low hum building in his throat.

“Sthuna…”

She murmured his name like the first notes of a love song. The tender bud of a rose. Eyna ran her thumbs gently over the glinting silver scales that skimmed his features. Stroking his cheek. He leaned into her touch. The hum became a resonant purr, just like a true cat. His feline-like eyes slid open, locking on Eyna.

Burning red eyes never leaving her, Sthuna turned his head. He placed a kiss to her right palm. His breath was warm, blooming across her skin. He hovered there, studying her every reaction, her every movement, her every thought.

Eyna felt a flutter in her stomach.

Sthuna turned. He placed another kiss to her left palm. This one lingered. He brushed his lips along the rise of her heart line. His pupils flexed, dilating until their brilliant white - not black - threatened to devour his entire iris.

Her heart stuttered. There was hunger in those eyes. But more than that, a profound adoration beneath the intensity. Something burning so brightly she wondered if Sthuna knew, himself, how fiercely it consumed him.

Sthuna leaned in. This was the young man, consumed by a new flame in his hearts. Closer, closer still. Until his lips met hers.

He kissed her.

With need and insistence, and the profound desire to be closer to her.

It was sweet.

Very sweet.

But also a little clumsy.

Ah. Well. If she was being honest, it was very clumsy.

He pressed his mouth to hers. But Sthuna had no idea how to kiss. The touch was sweetly fumbling, more akin to him bumping his mouth to hers than kissing deeply. A dragon, in his natural shape, didn’t have the same sort of lips after all. And he didn’t appear to know what to do with them now that he did. Contrary to his sleek, almost… Masterful affection with the palm kisses and soft touches, this was very clearly awkward for him.

And his eyes were still open.

She peeked up at him, and caught him staring straight at her.

She couldn’t help it.

Eyna giggled.

Sthuna broke the fumbling kiss. He stumbled back, chest heaving. He held the back of one fist to his mouth, looking adorably disheveled. Eyna realized, much to her delight, that with his new shape she could easily perceive how flustered he was. His expressions were bolder, stronger, but just the same dragon he always had been.

Sthuna, the fearsome war wyrm, was blushing after his first kiss.

He looked flushed. But also deeply embarrassed. His tone was likely meant to be gruff when next he spoke, but it had a slightly shaky waver to it. “What? What is it? Why are you laughing?”

Eyna moved quickly, intercepting before embarrassment gave way to something more injured. She wasn’t mocking him. She was enjoying everything that he was. And she refused to let him put distance between them.

She closed the little space between them, cupping his face again. It was her turn to press her lips close. She murmured against them. “Was that your first kiss, Sthuna?”

He was turning a pretty shade of pink. “No.”

Eyna giggled again. “Yes it was.”

Sthuna’s tail lashed. “... wasn’t.”

“Oh? So you’ve been kissing other dragons, have you?”

“I-” Sthuna sputtered a little, “I-no. No, I - didn’t. Haven’t.”

“Mmm.”

Eyna pressed a kiss to his lips. A deep, honeyed kiss, caressing his lips with hers. She heard Sthuna gasp, felt her dragon react with astonishment as she guided him. He responded clumsily, but she didn’t mind. Her heart swelled with adoration for him, for his affection, for his touch, for everything that was him.

This second kiss ended slowly. As Eyna pulled back, Sthuna’s lips parted, as if to protest the lack of contact. Need and desire danced in his eyes. But his pride got the better of him. He huffed, a very draconic response, trying to find his bearings again.

Sthuna’s mind was racing, despite his efforts to appear unfazed. What did he say now? What did he do? She’d just kissed him better than he’d kissed her. And it would be a lie to say that he didn’t want to lean back in and demand more. Yet he was painfully aware of the difference between his kiss and hers.

No big deal, Sthuna. You’re fine. Keep it cool. Your hearts are going to even out. You are not going to die of heart failure right here and now after all of this.

He gave what he thought was an assertive expression. But with his newfound human face, his every thought was plain as day. He was so red that the tips of his pointed ears were flushed.

Eyna smiled.

Gods.

When she smiled at him like that… She was beautiful. He’d never seen anything, or anyone, as breathtaking as her. He ached, fiercely, to sweep his tail around her, to draw her close, to…

Was he allowed to do that? Would she react well to it? Would she-

Eyna answered the questions she saw in his eyes. She opened her arms wide. “Come.”

He didn’t hesitate.

He leaned in. Eyna had to guide his arms, showing him how to embrace her in this new form. But once he settled, it was perfect. Just… Hugging. He started to nuzzle at her again.

His nuzzling made her laugh. So he did so even more, right up against her neck, her shoulders, her cheeks. Eyna was laughing and laughing, and he decided right then and there that her laughter was his favorite sound in the world. He would pursue it forever. He would listen to it endlessly, and never tire of it.

This was his home.

She was all of his hearts.

And he was hers.