by T. J. Quinn
“Won’t I feel too much cold?”
“No, once you’re in your drogon form, the cold will be the last thing you’ll feel.”
“Very well, then. I’m willing to try,” she accepted, nodding. “Tell me how.”
“Picture a drogon in your mind and order your body to shift. That’s all you need to do,” he explained.
She frowned. “I’m sure it’s not that easy.”
He laughed and took a few steps away from her. "I'll show you,” he said, taking off his clothes and immediately shifting into his drogon form.
She never stopped feeling amazed with the powerful creature he could change into. Imposing didn't quite describe him. After the first impression, she no longer could compare the drogons with the dragons. The last ones looked more like huge lizards, but you could tell the drogons had humanoid forms. Their arms and legs, though sturdy and powerful, were shaped like the ones of a humanoid, as well as his chest and back, despite the brownish scales covering it all. Only his face, tail and wings were like the ones of a dragon, especially the ferocious snout and the sharp teeth she could to see in it.
“Now, looking at me, order your body to shift,” he said.
She nodded and looked at him, concentrating on the way he looked and following his instructions.
“Shift into drogon form,” she whispered to herself, never taking her eyes away from him.
Slowly, she started feeling her body changing, her clothes shredding to rags, as her body grew in all directions and her wings and tail displayed on her back.
Suddenly, she no longer was human.
“Wow… I did it,” she muttered, looking at her body.
“Of course, you did.” He nodded, closing the distance between them and nuzzling her neck. “You’re an amazing drogon,” he assured her.
She laughed out loud. “It feels a bit awkward, but I guess I’ll get used to it,” she said, with a scowl.
“Ready for your first flight?” he challenged her.
“I guess so. It’s the same procedure, right?” she asked him, trying her wings.
“Basically, yes. Just remember you’re bigger and heavier now and that you have a tail,” he warned her, jumping up to show her.
She nodded and tried to imitate him.
The first time, she couldn’t get higher than a few feet. He wasn’t joking when he said she was a lot heavier. She tried once more, putting more power in her wings and this time she was able to reach him.
“How do you feel?” he asked her, smiling.
“It’s a lot different, but it still feels great,” she admitted, smiling back.
“Let’s try to use your breath of fire,” he asked her.
“I have that too?” she hadn’t thought of that.
"Yes, of course, you do." He nodded. "Why don't you get rid of the rags of your clothes?" he asked her, pointing at the pieces of fabric lying on the ground.
“How do I do that?” she asked, with a slight frown.
“Just blow with all of your strength, pointing at it.”
She looked at him, sure he was making it sound a lot easier than it was, but she followed his instructions.
Like she had suspected, the first time she was only able to blow hot air, no fire at all.
“I guess it requires some practice.” He conceded, with a wide smile.
“No kidding,” she replied oozing sarcasm.
She tried once more and this time, she managed to blow a small flame. It startled her so much, she forgot to flap her wings and she almost fell to the ground.
“Eleanor,” he shouted, startled.
She regained height. “I’m alright. It just scared me a little,” she admitted.
“We can try it some other time,” he suggested.
“I’m alright. I can do this,” she assured him.
He nodded, but he clearly wasn’t very convinced. ,”
She blew once more and her flame came out a bit bigger. She was getting the hang of it.
After a few more times, she was finally able to create a flame powerful enough to reach the rags and incinerate them.
She was thrilled. “I did it… I really did it,” she cheered and he clapped his hands celebrating her victory.
“I knew you could do it.”
They landed near the fire and watched it disappear, when the fabric was consumed.
“Ready to go back?” he asked her, picking his clothes from where he had left them.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Remember to fly above the trees. It’s no fun to hit your tail against one of them,” he warned her.
“I’ll be careful,” she assured him and jumped into the air once more.
Flying in this form was definitely different, but it had its advantages. Her sight was a lot sharper, and she could see small things from a distance. She commented to Brynjar that was flying near her.
“Yes… and you also have night vision. Those are some of the things that make us such excellent warriors,” he explained.
She nodded and soon, they were landing back at the cabin. It was a good thing the place was built on a clearing. Otherwise, she was sure she would have bumped into something.
She only changed back into her human form when she was inside. The air was too cold for her to shift back outside.
“Did you enjoy the experience?” he asked her, handing her a tunic he had grabbed from a closet.
“Yes, it was fantastic, but I know I still have a lot to learn about my new body and its abilities.” She recognized.
“You’ll have your whole life to do that.” He comforted her.
She nodded and smiled, happy to have someone like him in her life.
Chapter 3
Despite the great time she had at the cabin, she felt dizzy several times during those days, but she had managed to hide it from him since the last thing she wanted was to ruin their trip. The dizziness never lasted more than a few minutes, so she figured it was just her body adjusting and she decided not to worry about it.
They returned to the palace just in time to receive Colborn and the new group of women. But the real welcome was for Nari, Gil Ra’s little girl. Everybody received the baby as a small miracle. Because that’s what she was. She was the sign people needed to believe there was hope that they would find a way to solve their problem.
They also received the information the women mated had been converted. The only one still missing was Gil Ra. Colborn was going to take his time to do it.
Brynjar was very pleased with the news and hopefully, soon the women would be pregnant with their children and if they were blessed by the laws of the universe, those babies would be girls.
The following morning, Eleanor woke up alone in bed. She knew Brynjar was receiving the new group of women and he had asked her to stay away from them. The ridges on her face were too obvious and there was no sense on scaring the women with that, at this point.
So, she decided to linger a bit longer in bed. She was feeling a tired that morning and she could use the rest that was for sure.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun was high in the sky and Brynjar was sitting in bed next to her.
“Hi… how did it go?” she asked him with a faint smile.
“It went alright. Again, the lizards did a great job choosing the women. I’m sure they’ll adjust perfectly,” Brynjar replied, but the frown on his face didn’t match his words.
“Then, why do you look so worried?” she asked him, straightening herself on the pillows.
“Why are you still in bed? It’s past meal’s time,” he asked her.
“I woke up feeling a bit tired and decided to get a nap. Nothing out of the ordinary,” she replied, jumping out of bed.
Perhaps she moved too fast, she wasn’t sure, but soon, she felt a wave of dizziness and before she knew, she was on the floor with Brynjar picking her up from the floor.
“The dizziness hasn’t stopped.” It wasn’t a question and she could tell he was furious.
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“It’s nothing important… surely just my body adjusting…” she tried to convince him, though she was starting to doubt her own theory.
He put her in bed and went to pick up one of the dresses Gil Ra had made for her. “Put this on, or I swear I’ll take you to the hospital naked,” he snarled.
She nodded, knowing that behind his attitude was a great deal of fear and concern for her. She went to the bathroom and just a couple of minutes later she was coming out ready to leave.
He took her straight to the hospital, while he was calling Colborn. Of all the doctors on the planet, he was the one with more knowledge on the human bodies. He and Erin, of course, but Erin was still learning to use their scanners and how to interpret the results of the tests. Everything was quite different from Earth.
Colborn was already waiting for them in his examination room.
“Colborn, how are you? How’s Gil Ra and little Nari?” she asked as she greeted the other man.
“They are great, thank you. That little angel has changed my whole life,” he admitted with a wide smile.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” she assured him.
“The chat is very helpful, but we’re here for more pressing matters," Brynjar grumbled.
Eleanor turned and cradled his face. “Please, love, don’t take things out of proportion. I’m fine, I promise you,” she told him, with all her love in her eyes.
“I can’t bear the single thought of losing you,” he murmured, kissing the palm of her hand.
“You won’t.”
Colborn cleared his throat. “Tell me what’s going on,” he asked her.
“I’ve been having these episodes of dizziness,” she started to explain. “The first time it happened, we came here and Oydis checked me but she wasn’t able to find anything wrong with me.”
He helped her to lay down on his examination table as he pulled up his scanners. "You're body conserves its human features, despite the conversion,” he said as he watched the images displayed on the screen.
“Yes, she told us that.” She nodded.
“That’s why she wasn’t able to see much. Her knowledge of the human body is still very basic,” he admitted.
“But you do see something,” Brynjar said, interpreting his friend’s expression.
“Yes, I do. I’m not sure what it is, but I do know this wasn’t here last time I scanned Eleanor’s body,” he replied, pointing at something on the screen.
“What are we looking at?” Eleanor asked, furrowing her eyebrows as a suspicion started to grow in her mind.
“This is your womb,” Colborn said, pointing at it on the screen.
“And what do you see that wasn’t there before?” she asked him, feeling her heart start pounding hard inside her chest.
“This here. It’s some sort of bag. It’s not very big, but I’m sure it wasn’t here before,” he explained.
She gasped. She had never seen it in real life, but she had seen a lot of videos on the topic to have a pretty good idea of what that was. But she wanted to be sure.
“What is it?” Brynjar asked her, startled with the expression on her face.
She shook her head. “Is Erin around here? I need her to help me confirm my suspicions,” she asked Colborn.
“Do you think she will be of help?” Colborn asked, with a frown.
“Yes, I’m sure of it. If it’s what I think, she’ll be able to identify the image,” she assured him.
Brynjar immediately pulled his communication device and called the other woman.
“What do you think it is?” Colborn asked, intrigued.
She shook her head again. “Let’s wait for her,” she wasn’t going to raise anyone’s hopes with a false diagnosis.
“She’s here in the hospital. She’ll be here in just a few minutes,” Brynjar said, ending the call.
“Perfect. We’ll soon see if I’m right,” she said, breathing hard.
“Do you think this, whatever it is, is the cause of your dizziness?” Brynjar asked her, taking her hand in his, clearly worried.
“Yes, if it’s what I’m thinking, then yes, this would be the cause of it,” she confirmed it.
Erin rushed into the room, through the window. “Decided to fly, a lot faster,” she said with a wide smile on her face, as she made her wings disappear.
Eleanor chuckled. “You’re enjoying your drogon part,” she teased her friend.
“Honey, you have no idea. The best thing that ever happened in my life,” she assured her. “So, what am I good for?” she asked, still smiling.
“Look at this, Erin and tell me if it’s what I think it is,” Eleanor asked her. “That’s my uterus.”
The other woman looked at the images displayed for a few moments and then looked at Eleanor, with a strange shine in her eyes, before she turned to look at Colborn. “Can you enhance that image, make it bigger or with better resolution?” she asked him, clearly excited.
“Yes, of course.” She showed her how to do it, magnifying the image and allowing them to take a look inside the small bag.
Both women let out a cry of emotion and hugged each other.
“What’s going on?” Brynjar asked, too nervous to keep waiting for answers.
The women separated and Eleanor looked at her soulmate, tears running down her cheeks, though her smile was bright and wide. “This, my love, is your unborn child,” she said pointing at the small white spot on the screen.
For a moment there was a heavy silence in the room, as both men assimilated the news.
“Are you sure?” he mumbled, astounded.
“Yes… now I am, and the symptoms correspond to a pregnancy and I haven’t had my period ever since I was converted, but I thought that was an effect of the conversion itself,” she explained.
“What’s the period?” both men asked, puzzled.
“It’s a natural hemorrhage all women in fertile age have, every month. It tells you that there was no pregnancy that month,” Erin explained.
“Our females don’t have that,” Colborn pointed out.
“Ours do. We’re only fertile once a month and our body prepares itself for a possible pregnancy. When that doesn’t happen, it disposes of the preparations in the form of the menstruation, better known as a period,” Erin explained it with a bit more details.
“And that’s a baby?” Brynjar asked, still mesmerized, looking at the screen.
“Yes. The bag you saw before is the gestational sac that is later replaced by the placenta,” Erin explained.
Brynjar turned to look at Eleanor. “You’re having a baby?” he muttered, clearly thrilled with the idea.
“We’re having a baby,” she corrected him, with a wide smile.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. "We're having a baby,” he repeated as if he was having trouble to believe this was actually happening to him.
She cradled his face and kissed him sweetly.
Colborn cleared his throat calling their attention. “You can do that later, please,” he scolded them amused. “You do realize what this means, right?”
“Yes, the legends were true and we actually can mate with other species,” Brynjar said, with a wide smile.
"Exactly. But this is also new for us." He turned to look at Erin. "We'll have to work on this together since you know more about your pregnancies and what they involve."
“Are you sure this won’t be a drogon pregnancy?” she asked him, with a slight frown.
“Yes. We develop an egg that stays inside the mother until it’s time for it to hatch. It’s nothing like what we see here,” he explained.
“Then, of course, you can count on me,” Erin said with a smile. “I believe there’s another doctor in this group of women you brought. We could use her help as well.”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” Colborn nodded.
“We’ll need to figure a way to provide her with all the vitamins her body will require to support the baby,” Erin inform
ed Colborn.
“I’m sure there will be no problem there. Her body should recognize the special needs and act in consequence,” Colborn replied.
“I wouldn’t like to take that for granted. There’s too much we still don’t know about the conversion to assume anything,” Erin pointed out.
“She’s right. We better cover all the possibilities,” Brynjar said, starting to realize what this pregnancy really meant. They were flying uncharted skies on this.
“Everything will be alright. Please, don’t overreact,” Eleanor said, caressing his hand.
He nodded, but she could tell he was worried. “How long are the human pregnancies?” he asked.
“Nine months,” the other three answered in unison.
Brynjar’s face was almost comical. It was a long time.
“It won’t be that long. Days here are longer than on earth. I’m not sure exactly how much longer, but that will make a difference,” she assured him.
He let out a deep sigh. “I guess it’s time to announce to the people our mating. And the future arrival of the heir,” he said with a wide smile, trying his best to put his worries behind.
“We could do multiple ceremonies,” Colborn suggested with a naughty smile.
“That’s the best suggestion I’ve heard in some time,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” Eleanor asked, intrigued.
“When couples are mated, they announce the mating to the rest of the population. That’s usually followed by a more private celebration where they gather their friends and family,” Brynjar explained.
“A wedding,” Both women shouted excited.
“What?” Brynjar asked surprised.
"What you just described sound just like what we call weddings, back on Earth," Erin explained.
“Well… you can call it as you wish,” Brynjar nodded. “We’ll get everything organized.”
“When do you think you got pregnant?” Erin asked Eleanor, returning to the main topic.
“No, no idea,” she replied.
"It was after the conversion. Not every time we copulate we're fertile,” Brynjar explained. "Only when we're on our drogon form,” he added.
Both women nodded, fully understanding what he meant. The second cock was the one able to get a woman pregnant.