Chapter 9

Centare finally entered the room, his long black tail scraping along the icy floor. He inspected them closely, as if he wasn't quite sure how to react. His face went through a series of emotions, from amusement to unease. He finally seemed to decide on a serious and satisfied expression, seeming to be copied right off the scaly features of Brostiff's face. The blue leviathan paced around them now, inspecting their every move and taking great interest in their appearance.  The majestic blue nodded eventually, and Belkio sighed. The feelings he had now did not please him in the least; his eyes felt as if some water had gotten into them and blurred everything, his nose felt as if stuffed with leaves, and every sound seemed muted and distant. Brostiff motioned for them to sit down, and Belkio did so with relief. His head buzzed dizzily after the strain the spell had put him through, and a comfortable seat on the soft snow was welcome. Brostiff and Centare gave him a brief run-through of what they were supposed to do; mostly what to watch for, when to report, and how to escape if needed. Jerru listened alongside Belkio, and apparently, despite his shyness, seemed to enjoy the details of the mission. Belkio nodded and replied "Yes." or "Of course not." when needed. Finally, Centare and Brostiff had seemed to run out of tips or warnings to give them, and Brostiff rumbled, "It is now time for you hatchlings to get some basic training. We may be sending you off sooner than expected, but that doesn't mean you are to just take off without any idea of what might... befall you." he seemed to choose his words very carefully, as if he didn't want to reveal something that might frighten them. Belkio gulped. "Yes, Your Majesty. Of course we will train." Jerru nodded, "Of course." he mumbled. Brostiff eyed them one last time. Then he ordered, "Come then. We will need to make haste." Belkio and Jerru hurried after him in their new bodies, and found it rather tiring. What would have been a quick stroll out of the massive doorway, now became a long tiring jog. They reached it in good time, but in his true form Belkio could have made it twice as fast as he did now. Belkio turned his head at an "Oof!", to see Jerru on the floor, having tripped. Belkio tried to help him up, his new limbs confusing. He gripped Jerru on what Belkio took for his new wing, and pulled. He found his strength laughable, and felt embarrassed when Centare had to pluck Jerru off the floor and right him. After that, Belkio and Jerru were more careful, but that didn't prevent them both from having some trips and falls. Belkio, once, when running across a patch of ice, slipped and went barreling into Jerru, ending up in a tangled mess. Centare sighed and gently tugged them apart. "You'd better climb onto my back, or we'll take all day." he grumbled. Belkio blushed, and clambered onto Centare's lowered tail and onto his back. Huffing, Jerru joined him, and they sat patiently waiting for Centare to move. Suddenly, they felt him rising, and both gripped onto his scales tight. With a jolt, Centare started forward, and Belkio had to lean close to the black dragon in order to keep from tumbling off. The pace picked up quickly, and Brostiff and Centare hurried, regaining the time they had lost. They went through snowy corridors and icy halls, following Brostiff wherever he lead them. Finally, they exited the castle and reached an open, roofless field. Belkio gaped. No grass or rocks covered this field. The ground was coated in clouds, the soft mist from their undefined shapes encircling them in it's haze. Centare turned his head, and announced, "We're here. You may dismount." He lowered his head, and Belkio cautiously slid down, slowly putting his feet on the ground. Frowning at his small feet, he wondered how these humans hunted if they had no claws or sharpened teeth with which to hunt with? Grunting, he let himself fall on the gentle clouds, immediately feeling as if he were in a dream of some sort, and with the mist enshrouding his senses even more, he began to feel rather sleepy. Jerru appeared out of the fog, darting glaces at the clouds beneath his feet as if he expected them to give way. Belkio beckoned to him, then began to make his way towards Centare. Even through the fog, the large black dragon was easy enough to spot. Brostiff, however, was nowhere to be seen, and Belkio wondered where he had gone. Centare noticed them, and called them over, bellowing, "It is now time for you to learn more about your new selves. This is not permanent, remember, and within a month you will be returned to your true form. By then, hopefully, we will have some idea of what these creatures are like." Centare cleared his throat, the sound echoing in Belkio's ears. "First of all: your senses. I believe you have noticed the dampening?" he asked. Jerru nodded, and Belkio had the courage to ask, "When will the effect wear off?" He got a glance from Centare, who then replied, "The dampening is not going to wear off, unfortunately. It is the human's senses, as they are." Belkio's new heart skipped a beat. His senses were going to be this way for a month? A short time in a dragon's life, but now the occasion seemed to stretch on for months. Belkio felt a sudden rush of panic, but he fought it down. I have to do this! He forced himself to calm down, took a breath, and then nodded to Centare. Centare eyed him for a moment, then continued, "And your new limbs. You wings, as you have noticed, are now arms. And your legs have been reduced to two, with short useless claws." Jerru held one up curiously, and twitched it. Centare saw this and rumbled, "Not a bad idea. Try it yourself, Belkio." Belkio lifted one up, and waggled his fingers. Suddenly he received a SLAP and turned to see Jerru apologetically pulling his arm away from Belkio. Centare chuckled, then went on. "Now. Walking, as you likely already know, is different too, with the lack of some legs. Try it now." Belkio strutted along the cloudy ground, making sure not to trip. Jerru started after him, and managed to make it to Belkio without falling. "Good. Now try running." Belkio broke into a run, but his legs whacked together painfully. He stopped for a moment, then sped up again. For a while he ran, then slipped and went tumbling backwards. "Hm, I see you may need some practice." Centare looked thoughtful, as if already planning the lesson. Jerru now slowly ran faster and faster, until he was at breakneck speed. His legs, though tired and went numb, and he stumbled and fell in a heap. Centare lumbered over, his tail swishing back and forth. "Jerru, don't take such big leaps. Belkio, run with your legs wider apart." They both scrambled to their feet, and attempted it again. This time Belkio managed to make it farther without falling, but Jerru tripped and did a somersault. He gasped for breath, and Belkio ran over to help him, but Jerru whipped his head up and they smacked into each other. Both rubbed their heads, then stood up. With a heavy sigh, Centare instructed Jerru, "No no, don't run so widely Jerru. You need to keep them together, like this." He tenderly pushed them closer with his claws, each of which was half as big as Jerru. Jerru nodded, and squinted, then dashed out again. "Whaa!" Belkio sighed. This would take a while.

Chapter 8

Belkio shivered inside. Now? I thought we were to be trained first! But Brostiff seemed to be positive they should start their project without delay, and Centare for one, did not disagree with the mighty Cloud King. Brostiff motioned to them to follow, and led them through icy halls and snowy towers until they reached the most magnificent room of all. Belkio and Jerru gasped as they entered, for in the room it was snowing. The snow appeared to drifting out of the ceiling itself, and it glowed with a blueish tinge. Brostiff held his tail in front of them for them to stop. "Stay still." he ordered. With one hand, he took some of the mysterious snow in his hand, and mumbling some words Belkio couldn't understand, he crushed the snow into dust and threw it into the air. Sparkles of blue magic glittered through the air, and Belkio inhaled some by mistake. It felt cold, but warm at the same time. Suddenly he was tired. Extremely tired. Jerru looked worried. "Belkio, are you o-" he led off as he inhaled the magic too. Centare had remained in the doorway, away from the magic. Brostiff seemed to be unaffected by the magical dust, however, and watched as Belkio and Jerru grew sleepy. "Don't let yourself fall asleep. It will ruin the spell." he instructed them. Belkio strained to keep his eyes open, but all the weariness of his journey, his lack of sleep yesterday, and his muddled thoughts seemed to weigh heavily on his eyelids. Jerru looked similar. Belkio fought the sleepiness. I have to stay awake! he gritted his teeth.
And then it was gone. His strength returned to him, he stretched, only to find terrible agonizing pain in doing so. Did I tweak my wings hard? he wondered, before noticing that Jerru's eyes were wide in pain as well. He guessed that this too must be an effect from the blue magic, and tried his hardest not to call out. His whole body was wracked in pain, as if he had been beat by an Iop and then tossed off a cliff. He panted, and almost slumped to the floor. He was eternally grateful, then, when the pain receded, replaced by a warm glow inside him. He looked at the Cloud King; Brostiff nodded his head. The hard parts were over. Belkio renewed his strength and confidence with the blue magic's now-soft touch.
Then he shrunk. Belkio almost panicked, wondering if this was supposed to happen. Brostiff nodded encouragingly, so he guessed it was. His tail shrunk and receded, his long maw flattening, and his scales were replaced by skin and- what was it? Fur? His large eyes became small and piggish, and his wings folded into his arms. And all in all, he shrunk. Till he was little bigger than Centare's toe. He shook with fear, trying to remain calm. Then he spotted a creature not unlike him over to the left. Belkio gasped. Did he look like that? "I look disgusting." he mumbled under his breath. He quickly assumed that the other creature must be Jerru, for he had amber eyes like the dragon and he whirled around trying to look at himself.

They were humans.