Relaxing on my golden throne was fun, yes, but sometimes even a being as mighty as I must venture out into the open sky. Today was one of those rare occasions.

The sky’s openness was perhaps the only positive aspect of being outside of my cavern.  The air was thin and wispy. The bitter cold of the atmosphere raked my scales with icy talons. Worst of all, my prey hid beneath a canopy of green so dense even my eyes could not pierce their leafy veil. I huffed a jet of flame. Perhaps I would try again in a month or two when the leaves began to fall.

With a single mighty flap of my magnificent wings, I sent myself hurting back towards my mountain. Of course, it was the largest in the range; just a hair taller than its neighbors. No humans lived within a half day’s flight from my mountain, and for good reason. Which is why I was understandably surprised when I discovered one such creature pierced upon a boulder just outside of my cave.

With my magnificent eyesight, I spotted the puny creature long before it spotted me. It rested with a hand behind its head, the other holding a pipe, seemingly unconcerned by the smoke pouring out of the rocky maw behind him. Its demeanor did not change as I approached. In fact, the creature smiled when it noticed me.

What an inappropriate attitude when sitting right in front of a dragon’s home. Humans were supposed to fear me. I could crush mountains with my tail, rend castles with my claws, and my breath was hot enough to melt steel. I was a dragon.

I slammed into the ground in front of it, sending stones flying in all directions. Surprisingly, none of them disturbed the human perched upon the rock. It put the pipe to its mouth and took a puff before saying, “I was wondering when you’d get back Malnik.”

It took all of my willpower not to roast the impotent fool right where he sat. That, of course, didn't stop me from threatening to do just that. I had the advantage here.

“You’re not going to do that because I have something to trade.”

***

My breath came heavy and fast, my legs moving as quickly as they could. My left hand clutched an unpolished wooden case, practically the only thing of value in the old coot’s house. My right searched my pocket for a tiny slip of paper about the size of my thumb. I knew it was in there, but with how quickly I was running it kept slipping from my fingers.

My pursuers were nearly upon me, their descriptions already spent. I didn't have time to stop, and I didn't have time to run. It was all over, those creatures were nearly upon me. Creature was all I could really call them, for they were almost beyond description. Almost. I wasn't going to try though. The old man was not playing around.

I triumphantly pulled the description from my pocket, nearly stumbling but catching myself. I held the slip of paper up, tiny words recorded on thick sheet. It was good paper. Reliable. As I ran I held it up to my face and read. The words were tiny, illegibly so. But that didn't matter.

Words spilled from my mouth like a waterfall. It was as if I had swallowed a million flies, and they all decided to come out at once. The words flew through the air, twisting and swirling past me and towards the gravel path beneath my feet.

I didn't bother to see if it had worked, the angry shrieks behind me were enough to tell me that much. Never the less I continued my sprint, racing towards town. A mobility description would have been nice about now. I never had the money for something like that though. Hopefully, that would all change when I opened the box.

I swiftly stuffed the blank sheet of paper into my pocket. It was useless now. I had hoped I wouldn't have to use it, descriptions like that were expensive. Oh well.

The forest soon gave way to fields, and I could run no longer. Luckily for me, I had a friend waiting. He sat on a stump in broad daylight, legs crossed and reading a book. I resisted the urge to berate him, now was not the time. Besides, I was exhausted.

“I see you used my description.” He said, a grin curled across his feline muzzle, “Does that mean you’re ready?”

“We need to hide.” I gasped. Priorities first, uncomfortable banter later.

“You’re no fun you know that?” He said, tail beginning to swing. I hated dealing with Kinjur when he was like this. No, scratch that, I hated dealing with monsters.

Kinjur pulled two slips of paper from his pants. The words tumbled from his mouth, wrapping themselves around us before fading. I looked down at myself, but nothing seemed to have changed.

“Let’s go,” Kinjur said before I could react, pulling me into the field behind him. Grabbing his hand always felt strange. The fur and pads rubbed against my palm in a distinctively inhuman way.

The grass-like crop (don't judge me I’m not a farmer) rose nearly to my waist, tickling what little of my legs were exposed. In the distance, I could see a barn, which we seemed to be heading towards. You never knew with Kinjur though.

“What did you do?” I whispered. It was unnecessary, but then again who knows how well those things could hear? Probably very well.

“Guess.” He looked back with another feline grin plastered across his face.

I looked down at myself, but couldn't see a difference. It was probably something that would help in our current situation, something that would help us hide. It wasn't invisibility, there was no way Kinjur had acquired a description like that.

We walked slowly across the grass-stuff, careful to make our tracks look like one not-so-careful person. Hopefully, Kinjur had walked the field before I arrived. That was what he had been supposed to do anyway.

The field. I realized, before stuffing my nose in my armpit and inhaling. Yep. I smelled like grass. Specifically, the grass we were currently walking through. Kinjur was reliable, I had to give him that.

“Did you get the old man’s descriptions?” He asked, as if to make idle conversation.

I nodded, starting to recover from my sprint, then realized that he couldn't see the nod. “Yes. I did.”

Suddenly Kinjur’s ears perked up. “We should probably run now.”

And so we ran. The small farm approached fast, and soon we had slipped into the barn. It was large, dank, and smelly. Perfect for hiding. The animals didn't seem to take notice We ascended the ladder into the loft as swiftly as we could manage, slowed slightly by the box.

The exterior walls of the barn were warped with age, creating small cracks to look through. However, I left that to Kinjur, and instead inspected the box.

The little rough compartment was, of course, locked. A small interior lock that couldn't have been too complex. Even so, it might take a couple minutes to get open. Luckily we probably had some time.

“They’ve exited the forest,” Kinjur whispered, his tail slowly sliding back and forth.

I just nodded, despite the fact that he couldn't see the gesture with his back turned to me. The lock was turning out to be trickier than expected.

“They look confused,” Kinjur reported.

With a final click, the lock disengaged. I slowly opened the lid. It was unlikely to be trapped, but caution was a virtue, especially in this case. A small wire stretched from the top of the box to the bottom. I carefully cut the string, before opening the box all of the way.

The trap was a small striker next to a pile of paper. If it had been set off it would have destroyed the contents of the box. Burning descriptions were not fun. That being said, the descriptions themselves were a sight to behold. Large sheets carefully folded into a neat stack. Each filled with words to the point of near blackness. They were probably complete descriptions. I held my breath and closed the lid.

“What are they doing now?” I asked, glancing at the half snow leopard.

“Sniffing around the edge of the field,” Kinjur whispered back, holding very still. Not even his tail twitched. “There’s one looking this way. Probably trying to spot us.”

I stiffened. Surely they couldn't know we were here? Otherwise, they would already be on the move. No, they were probably Looking at every barn in sight. That didn't stop me from sitting as still as possible. Who knows how good those monstrosities’ eyes were?

Kinjur let out a breath, “They went back into the forest.”

***

With shaking fingers I pulled the sheet from my pocket. It was smooth as glass, the lettering swooping and swirling about the page in an incomprehensible dialect. It was all I had left. With it, I would destroy them all. I would track them down and trample every last one of them. I did not care about the consequences. Not in that moment, nor ever again.

Sounds from down the hall. There was no time left. The pain faded as I focused. It took all of my dwindling willpower. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe.

The sheet turned to ash and dust in my hands, words swirling from the smoke and forming around me. They swirled about me like a great swarm of almighty insects preparing to suck my flesh from my bones. Even as the last traces of parchment fell from my fingers the words swooped towards me.

I welcomed them wholeheartedly.

Before my very eyes, my legs twisted and reformed, swelling with muscle and bone. Sharp claws adorned my new paw-like feet and scales lept from my skin, armoring me from head to talon. From my back burst leathery wings, each new finger sporting a menacing claw. The hall grew around me as my hands shifted into taloned paws. A long, scaly tail ruptured from my pants, sending what remained of my clothing flying. Now the hall was far too small. But now I had the strength to deal with it. Boards cracked and splintered as I let out a ferocious roar through my sharpening teeth. Horns grew from my head, long and devilish. I shook off the remains of what had once been my home. The buildings around me continued to shrink as my neck extended and I found myself comfortable on all fours. Soon my head was level with the chimneys of my once-neighbors.

I let out a mighty roar, wings flaring wide as I grew ever larger. Soon it felt as if the burning city was nothing more than a very large anthill.

***

I felt it. Like something deep within my soul rousing from a deep slumber. Fire. It felt like fire. I had spent three years as a human, but now I had two days to find the dragon described before it truly returned, and I was consumed by the flame once more.