Dragon Pride and Love: A Dragon's Choice

"Argos what on earth are you doing?" Tian hissed in exasperation as his huge body parted the screen of willow branches to expose his friend, who stood under a small waterfall wearing a muscular human form clothed only in long ebony hair.

"Bathing," Argos said lightly, ignoring his friend’s fuming as he stepped out from under the waterfall, water running down his golden skin.

"I can see that, but in that shape? The elders will punish you again if they find out," Tian said, his emerald eyes darkening in his anxiety as he shifted his amethyst colored body and tucked his wings in closer to his large body nervously.

"It wouldn’t be the first time. Besides I like this human form, you can feel such wonderful things with this soft hide. It is amazing how cool and soft the water feels and besides, there is far less of me to bathe in this form," Argos explained reasonably.

"What about all that silly hair, and besides where is your pride? You are one of the biggest, most beautiful dragons born this century. Your scales are such a deep ebony and no dragon has such beautiful gold markings, yet you persist in shifting your form to a human one. Keep this up and no female will have you," Tian retorted angrily.

"Have you ever taken human form, Tian?" Argos asked curiously, ignoring his questions as he picked a flower blossom off a nearby branch, breathing in the aroma.

"Of course not! You know the rules, we are not to take any form other than our own unless needed. Only you’re crazy enough to want to take it. It is so frail and rather unappealing, you can’t even fly," Tian scoffed.

Tian watched as Argos put the delicate flower down on the surface of the shimmering purple water and looked up at him. His friend’s bright gold eyes so different, yet in a strange way similar to his dragon eyes suddenly piercing Tian as he felt the full weight of Argos’s attention shift to him. He looked closely at his friend, wondering what he could possibly want from him, for whether he was in dragon form or human Tian knew his friend well enough to know he wanted something.

Argos’s absurd curiosity for other forms had gotten the young dragon into trouble on countless occasions with the elders, for it was forbidden for young dragons to shape shift without permission. Yet Argos persisted, moving through various animal shapes, often dragging Tian along with him. Unfortunately they were often caught by others in their animal forms because of their unique colorings, wildly different from the animal they were supposed to be. This new form was even more obvious, since there were no humans on Fire Island.

"Join me Tian," Argos said in a soft deep voice that could have never been produce in his dragon form, a voice that sent a shiver of delight through Tian.

"No, the last time I went along with one of your absurdities I had to listen to Elder Tosian lecture me for hours and he made me scour the gem room. I’m not the best at fire breathing like you, it took me days, Argos. No thank you," Tian said firmly as his claws buried in the black earth of the ground.

"Please," Argos pleaded, his strange human eyes glistening as he moved forward to put his hand with its useless black nails on Tian’s hard scales.

He could barely feel the warm hand on his chest, and yet he could feel Argos pulling at him despite that. He sighed inwardly, knowing that in the end his friend would win, he always did, but the thought of getting caught held him back. It seemed such a waste to shift into such a puny form, and yet there must be something that was good about it. Argos had been hung up on this form for far longer than any other and seemed to take every chance he could to shift into it. Curiosity warred with caution inside of him as Argos’s hand slipped up to his face.

"I promise you won’t regret it," Argos said with a smile.

"Very well," Tian relented.

Closing his eyes, he focused himself, forcing his body to become what he wanted. He felt the familiar tingling sensation flow over him as his body began to shift, flowing from his true self to a human form. When he finally opened his eyes he found himself looking up at his friend, who now was bigger than him once again. He looked down at himself, wondering what his human form looked like. Unlike Argos it appeared, instead of a golden bronze colored hide, his was a soft cream color and much more lithe and slender. He couldn’t help but wonder where his vivid amethyst coloring had gone and was rather disappointed until he looked up to see Argos holding a long wavy length of his hair that shimmered just as his own dragon scales did.

"Beautiful," Argos said, holding the soft hair to his lips. "I knew you would transform into something remarkable."

"You really have lost it Argos," Tian stammered, wondering what had gotten into his friend as he looked at the large body with hard, well defined curves that suddenly seemed more appealing than it had in his dragon form.

"Shall I show you why I like this form so much?" Argos asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the warm water.

The soft water surrounded Tian’s new sensitive skin, making him smile despite himself. He could feel the sandy bottom against his feet and smell the most wonderful fragrance coming from the flowers floating around them as Argos pulled him closer. He looked up at his friend in surprise when their bodies touched, amazed at how such soft a hide could hide the rock hard body of his friend. Curiously he ran his now soft hand down Argos’s chest, exploring the hard muscles of his friend’s body, marveling at the feeling.

"It is rather interesting, I would have never thought about how sensitive these fragile bodies are," Tian said in surprise.

"There are even more surprises, Tian. Would you like me to show you more?" Argos asked lightly even as his gold eyes held a hint of something more.

"Of course, since I’ve gone this far," Tian said, looking up at his friend, curious about what else appealed so much to his friend to risk punishment to transform into a human.

He was surprised when Argos lowered his face down to his and he felt the man’s lips press against his own. He stood still in the warm waters, listening to the splashing of the small waterfall and the cheerful song of the birds as Argos pressed his body close. Strong arms wrapped around his now slender shoulders as he felt a something warm and wet press insistently against his lips.

Tentatively he let the tongue slip into his mouth. He knew he should feel repulsed by the idea, and yet strangely a pleasurable tingling feeling flowed through his new body. Enjoying his friend’s warm, wet tongue as it explored his mouth slowly, he pushed his own tongue forward, playing with his friend until Argos finally let go up him.

Tian covered his mouth, looking up at his friend in surprise. He had certainly enjoyed what they had just done, but he couldn’t help wondering exactly how Argos had thought up such a strange idea. It seemed that his friend had been doing more than just shape shifting.

"It is called a kiss, Tian. Humans do it to show affection," Argos said softly.

"Kiss? Affection?"

"I have been reading quite a bit lately, I was looking for something," Argos explained, once again wrapping his arm around Tian’s waist.

"What where you looking for? You hardly ever study," Tian asked, confused.

The look in Argos’ eyes was something he had only seen rarely in unguarded moments, when Argos thought he wasn’t looking at him. It was an expression of longing in the dragon’s eyes that had always made Tian wonder what his childhood friend was thinking about. Now that look was openly displayed on the expressive human face.

"How to get closer to you. How to join with you," Argos replied.

"Join with me? What in the world are you babbling about? Dragons don’t join with each other," Tian stated uncertainly as something stirred deep within him at his friend’s words.

"I know even when we mate it is a complicated procedure and rather uncomfortable, done only to reproduce. That is why I wanted another form, one where I could become one with you, if only briefly. I wanted a form where I could give you pleasure, and show you how I feel. Dragons have no name for what I want from you, Tian, but humans do. Fragile, short lived as they are, they share their lives together with a special someone, unlike our solitary ways. I want that with you, Tian, I want you as my soul-mate, my partner. I have finally found a form where I can join with you," Argos said in a deep, soothing voice.

"You really are crazy," Tian stammered, pulling away from his friend weakly, unable to break the hold of the strong arms around his waist.

"Am I?" Argos whispered before bringing his lips down on his again.

Tian’s mind whirled as his felt the amazingly soft lips against his own again. His friend loved him? Dragons were solitary creatures for the most part, living apart from one another, coming together only briefly for gatherings and to raise young. The only time dragons lived in a community was the brief hundred years when the urge to reproduce set upon a dragon and they mated. Only then would they join the one small community of parents, children, and elder dragon teachers on Fire Island to raise their young. Once a hatchling reached the age of a hundred, both parents and young dragon left the teaching community to resume their solitary lives away from the island.

Both he and Tian would reach their hundredth birthday in less than a month, and they would part forever. He had avoided thinking about their parting and buried his sense of loss. Unlike the other dragons their age, neither of them had felt the eager anticipation to be away and alone from others, and instead of spending more time alone they had begun to spend more time together, clinging to the brief time they had left. Yet it appeared his friend had taken things a step further.

Tian firmly pulled away from Argos and stepped back from his friend, feeling anger, sadness, and loss war within him. He glared up at his friend, wondering why Argos would do such a thing. They would have to part in less than a month. It would have been better that he had not spoken of his feelings.  Joining now in human form, would only make parting more difficult. They didn’t need to become closer, but find a way to separate themselves.

"I’m leaving, this is foolishness," Tian said, turning and climbing out of the warm lagoon waters onto the soft black earth of the bank.

"Tian, you feel the same, why do you turn away?" Argos said in soft pleading voice that stopped him.

Tian turned to face his friend, amazed to see water leaking from Argos’s eyes. He had no idea what the water was but he could tell by the expression on his friend’s face that he was hurting. It was so easy to read the mobile face of his human form and the tones of Argos’s voice. He didn’t know what to do as he stood motionless, looking at his friend who had become more.

He watched Argos rise up out of the water onto the bank, his golden skin gleaming with water as the man once again wrapped his arms around him. He buried his face into the hard chest, unable to speak as he breathed in the musky scent that he would have never been able to enjoy in his true form. He felt water start to leak out of his own eyes as he thought of parting from Argos.

"Why are you crying? Have I misread your feelings for me?" Argos asked, stroking his hair.

"Crying? You mean the water leaking out of my eyes?" Tian asked.

"Yes, humans do it to express strong emotions, mostly sadness," Argos explained.

"Of course I’m sad!" Tian cried.

"You dislike the thought of being with me that much?"

"Of course not!" Tian said. pulling away.

Tian felt his friend’s hand gently glide down his body, creating a wonderful sensation on his skin as they began to kiss. Before he could protest he found himself lowered to the ground, blanketed with flowers and soft green grass. Closing his eyes, he found himself surrounded by his friend as Argos showed him the surprising sensations the fragile human body could produce, joining with his friend and forgetting for a brief time their future.

As he lay in Argos’s loose embrace listening to the splashing of the waterfall, the brief moment of peace they had shared began to dissolve and he felt his heart grow heavy. After sharing such an intimate and amazing experience with Argos the thought of parting with his friend became even more unbearable.

"Why are you so sad? Was I too rough with you?" Argos asked, concerned.

"Why did you have to do this Argos? It was hard enough to be parted with you, but now I don’t know how I will bear it," Tian sighed.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Argos asked in surprise.

"We are almost a hundred."

"And so..."

"We have to leave Fire Island."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Argos asked confused.

"We won’t see each other again," Tian replied, angry, wondering why Argos was being so dense.

"Why won’t we? We are just leaving the island. I for one will be glad to get rid of all these teachers ready to tell me what I can and can’t do," Argos said with a small laugh.

"But dragons live alone," Tian said uncertainly. "All the teachers say..."

"When have I ever listened to teachers? Once we leave here we are free to do what we want, and I want you. Don’t think for a moment that I’m going to let you fly off without me, you’re mine," Argos said firmly.

"But... dragons don’t... I don’t understand," Tian said confused.

"The world isn’t going to cease to exist because we choose to live together. The sun will still rise tomorrow, and everything will remain the same. I love you and you aren’t getting away from me now that I know you feel the same," Argos said causally.

"But dragons never live together," Tian protested, half rising to look down at Argos.

"Yes they do, here at Fire Island. Besides who is going to stop us? The only ones that can are us. The older a dragon gets the more suspicious and protective of their territory they become, combined with our very solitary nature we tend to live alone, but there are always the exceptions. It is hard to become close to another when you can’t even touch them, that’s why I began to search for a solution," Argos explained.

"I don’t understand," Tian said, shaking his head.

"I didn’t at first either, why we are different. Why we are so close when the others of our kind are not. That is where it began for me, Tian, to find out why when our contemporaries were drifting apart we were growing closer. I found the answer on the stone tablets hidden deep within the Gem cave, far beyond where we are allowed to go," Argos said with a smile.

"You didn’t!? If you were caught... Argos you are far too reckless," Tian gasped, shocked that his friend would go that far and risk so much.

The knowledge kept within the Gem cave contained the wisdom of countless generations of dragons. Most was kept from the young dragons, and only those that came to teach on Fire Island were ever allowed access to the deep recesses of the cave, where the most forbidden knowledge of their race was kept. For Argos to dare trespass into such a place was unimaginable. Tian couldn’t even begin to guess the punishment for such a transgression.

"I shape shifted into a bat, there are quite a few in the caves and with my black coloring I went unnoticed, especially when I first rolled in mud to cover the few gold marks on my body," Argos said with a shrug. "What is important is what I found. The reason why it is forbidden to shape shift."

"Well, don’t stop," Tian said, poking him with his finger when his friend paused.

"The more you shape shift, the more you become like the shape you take. For me I have been shifting since I discovered how by accident, and I have often dragged you along with me. At first I did it for fun and because I wasn’t supposed to, but after I learned that I could fundamentally change who I was by simply continuing to shift my shape I began to do it intentionally. I chose a human form finally because they are the closest mentally to dragons, yet are also social creatures. It is forbidden because of dragon pride, we are supposed to be the best creatures in the world with magic, intellect, and long life; to say that another creature is better than us would be unimaginable," Argos explained as he played with a long strand of amethyst colored hair.

"But why, Argos? Why didn’t you tell me? And why are you doing this? Why do something that will change your very soul?" Tian asked softly.

"I haven’t asked you to shape shift since I found out, but you had already felt the changes. We shifted into so many different animals that none of them left that much of an imprint on us, but they all had one thing in common. They are social creatures that lived together in groups, and that seemed to affect us both. Enough at least that the urge to be alone has not set upon us like the others," Argos paused, propping himself up to look down at him, his golden eyes intense and searching.

"If you don’t shape shift, Tian, these changes will eventually wear off and you can become a normal dragon again," Argos said finally.

"Normal... you mean I won’t want to be with you?" Tian asked, his mind whirling with the shocking information his friend had just told him.

"Probably, the tablet said only if you repeatedly take the same form for years will the characteristic of that form truly become part of the dragon. True dragons can’t live together for very long, except for specific periods in our life cycle, when we mate, and when we near the end of our life span. Only with the imprinting of another social animals will we be able to keep these feelings for each other and remain together, but we won’t be true dragons anymore. We will have changed a fundamental part of our dragon nature," Argos said seriously.

"Why did you ask me to take human form today then?" Tian asked, avoiding the unasked question that hung between them.

"Because I wanted to do this at least once with you. I have already explored this human body thoroughly and knew what kind of sensations it could produce alone, and I knew it would be better together with you. I wanted to share that with you. I know you well, Tian, and despite the fact that you feel a pull toward me you also have a lot of pride as a dragon. You would be a good upstanding dragon if it hadn’t been for me, and it is a real possibility that you will choose being a dragon over being with me," Argos said softly, closing his eyes.

Tian remained silent despite the fact his first impulse was to deny what Argos had said. He wanted to be with Argos, and he had in the past few years daydreamed about them never leaving Fire Island and somehow staying together. Now, as crazy as it was, Argos had found a way for them to be together, it just meant continuing to shape shift. Yet it was more than that, he would be changing the very dragon he was born to be, intertwining human characteristic with his own dragon soul, and it would probably be more than just the ability to stay with and continue to love his friend. How many more human characteristics would he pick up? He would never have children, nor become a teacher in his waning years, for undoubtedly they both would become outcasts.

Argos was right, it wasn’t such a simple choice for him as it was for his reckless, headstrong friend. Sighing, he snuggled next to Argos’s body, wondering what he should do even as he felt Argos stroke his head soothingly.

Argos was right about one thing, that being able to touch one another made him feel closer to him. He closed his eyes and wondered what the right thing to do was. He knew what the other dragons would say. His parents and teachers would be appalled that he was even contemplating going off with Argos and changing himself in such a way. Yet when he thought of flying away from his friend his heart ached. His un-dragon-like heart that wished nothing more than to be with Argos for the rest of his life.

Tian opened his eyes and got up off the ground, surprising his partner when he straddled the man’s naked body. He looked down at the wide golden eyes looking at him with such deep emotions that he knew where mirrored in his own emerald eyes. It was too late to undo what they had done together; it was too late for him to try to separate what was human or dragon, for he already loved his wild and reckless friend. He leaned down and kissed Argos, feeling his new body respond to such close contact with his lover.

"I will go with you, but promise me that we will remain dragons, if not in heart at least in body," Tian said.

"Always, my friend," Argos replied, pulling him down to him for yet another kiss.