Emma slowly regained herself, drawing the straws of her consciousness together until she could form coherent thoughts. The newfound draconic mental strength helped her push away the lingering fear from losing her foot to the crocodile. It seemed so long ago, even if it happened just moments before. She knew all that had occurred during the merge from the dragon's perspective.

As her combined mind slowly formed into a single coherent entity, with one set of memories and emotions, Emma knew she wasn't the same. The haunting memories of her childhood, the first things to greet her when waking, were faded and grey. In their place were vivid images of hunting through caves, listening to the elders, and playing with the other blooded.

She gingerly remembered some old recollections but found them fractured and incomplete. The hard edges, the pain, and despair had left them, leaving something similar to seeing a movie long ago. She knew some people might have been afraid to lose part of themselves, but not her.

A wide grin spread across her dragon face, and she rose. There was no awkwardness or unfamiliarity as she stretched her new form—just happiness in the knowledge she had nothing to fear now.

She looked around the familiar cave, and more knowledge and memories clicked into place. One specific memory from her human time made her laugh, and she recalled when she and the others were with the Antraci tribe.

Dragons, extinct? She giggled before jumping into the water and disappearing into its depths.

--

Jake lay wrapped around the trunk at the top of the enormous tree. He was here most of the time, scanning the edges of the jungle for Insectoids.

In the last few weeks, the ugly monsters had attempted to retake the island numerous times, sustaining heavy losses at the hand of Jake. Finally, three days ago, the attacks stopped.

God, I hope they don't come back, he thought weary. He couldn’t take much more of this.

Although his draconic mind was capable of far more punishment than his human one had been, he knew he needed rest. He had been cooped up on the island for days, defending it, only going out by night to do some quick hunting. Besides the boredom, something else had started a week ago. He desired to leave! He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt an intense urge to spread his wings. To fly to the sea and disappear into its depths, looking for something.

"But what do I want to find..." he muttered to himself, knowing it wasn’t Mason, Emma or the siblings.Something else was drawing him, fueled by instinct so deeply ingrained it was like a constant nagging pain in the back of his head.

"You ok, Jake?" Melissa climbed up the tree, agile like a monkey.

The sight of her made Jake grin and forget the intense desire to leave for a moment.

"Sure am, just talking to myself! I told you that would happen after you change, right? You go all bananas."

Melissa looked at him, startled, then smiled. "You didn't, but that explains some of the things you did."

Her smile withered, and she climbed further up. Jake felt a slight shiver as she scrambled across him, following her with his gaze until she sat down on a broken-off branch stump close to his head.

"What's wrong?" Jake moved his head closer, staring at her unblinking.

"Tergin is back."

Jake's wings spread out wide, and his head rose, moving closer to her. "What?! He should be watching over Emma! Did something happen? Did he find Tir and Ter?!"

One of Melissa's hands reached up as if to stroke the side of his face, but was pulled back at the last moment.

"Stay calm, Jake. We don't know anything at this-"

"What did he say!" Jake resisted the urge to jump down and find the Antracii tribe Kobold to get answers.

Melissa cringed and looked away from him. "It was raining heavily, so Tergin couldn't see the details, but Emma got into a fight at the bog. Another Kobold attacked her and she fled into the swamp..." Melissa fell silent, staring at Jake, then she sighed.

"I am so sorry, Jake. She got caught by one of the crocs, Tergin said he could hear her scream from where he was hiding..."

The last part came out in a whisper, and Melissa's voice trailed off. Jake barely noticed anymore, he saw the image of a small, blue scaled Kobold girl play in the sea, and jump out like a dolphin.

"Did- Did he check if he could find anything? At night?"

Melissa nodded fervently. "He was searching all night, even risked swimming to the spot he last saw her. There was nothing."

Jake raised his head, a painful throbbing inside his chest and a burning itch in his throat. He looked up, but didn't see, didn't see the clouds that were gathering above, thick and black. All he saw was three Kobolds, huddled together in a broken down shop.

The pain in his chest began pulsating. He was alone! The only one left! Mason was gone, Sandra and Wilson were gone, and he failed to protect Emma, and now she was gone, dead!

He ignored the soft buzzing, Melissa asking him something, screaming? Instead, he opened his mouth and roared. Not the normal roar, the angry one he used when fighting—a roar filled with agony, pain, and loneliness.

Rain streamed down, pouring over him as he howled into the sky. Thunder cracked, lightning brightened the now pitch-black night.

It took a long time for Jake to calm down enough to realize where he was. With a shudder, he stopped roaring. Rain flowed into his open mouth, his head raised to the storm raging above.

What...? Confused, he looked around.

Melissa was huddled against the tree, holding onto the bark with her sharp nails.

Raging winds howled, pulling off leaves and small twigs while the rain that fell soaked everything. Lightning bolts struck the jungle beyond the island, blasting trees apart.

Jake shook his head, trying to clear the swirling mass of pain. He was dead tired and hungry as if he had not eaten in weeks. Between that and the splitting headache, he felt hungover. Mentally, he scanned his body and found a throbbing mass of power just below his chest, energy flowing out at an alarming rate. Something was drawing energy from him! He looked around and saw the dark clouds in the sky and surging waves with white foam, far too high for such a small lake. The storm! He was doing this!

Closing his eyes, he furled up his wings and took deep breaths. He had to calm down! Even if Emma was dead, he felt a painful stab at the thought; Mason was still somewhere! His friend might need his help! The thought of Mason, alive and well, made something click. With a suddenness that left him dizzy, the flow of energy stopped, and he slumped down, barely able to hold on to the tree.

With his scaly cheek against the bark, he looked at Melissa. She tried to force a smile, but he saw the barely hidden fear in her eyes. Above them, the torrent of rain eased up, the clouds stopping their chaotic churning.

Five minutes later, all that remained of the furious storm was a steely grey sky, drenched vegetation, and puddles of muddy water on the ground.

"I- I am sorry..." Jake's muttered voice was barely more than a whisper, but Melissa nodded. She took a shuddering breath and removed her hands from the tree, leaving deep marks. Sitting on the branch, she closed her eyes for a moment.

Then she snapped her eyes at him. "Damnit Jake, you-" Clenching her jaw, she shook her head and began climbing down. "Stay here. I will get you some food. If the insects attack now..." she let the sentence trail off as she tiredly scrambled down the slick wet branches.

Damn it. Uncoiling himself from the trunk, Jake struggled towards a branch wide enough for him to sit. As he listened to the soft wind and the drops of water dripping all around, he wished he didn't have to stay here on this island.

--

Sooooo good, Mason moaned as he stretched himself like a cat, his body brimming with energy. He felt energized after his afternoon nap, even more so than back at the volcano.

The protective eyelids slid across his eyes as he gazed into the distance. No matter where he looked, there was only sand and shimmering heat waves all around.

Feeling an itch, he rolled on his back and scooched around until the sand reached the infernal spot. After a second, the itch disappeared, and he rolled back to his feet. A thin red film lay on the ground in front of him, and he sniffed it.

Another one... Absently he scratched his jaw, peeling off another of the films. "Nobody ever said that Dragon's could get a sunburn."

His words sounded loud and harsh in the quiet of the desert. There was barely any sound, besides the soft howling of the ever-present wind. Feeling the loneliness draw in on him, Mason contemplated if he should sing before continuing. He had found that his voice had improved after becoming a Dragon, and the simple action of singing soothed his soul.

One of his ears twitched. Raising his head, he angled his head, focusing on the sound he thought he had heard. Then it came again. A soft, barely audible noise, roughly from the direction he was heading.

Surging forward, Mason jumped into the air, his wings unfurling mid-leap and propelling him forward with immense power. The sound came again, louder now—a soft scream of an animal in peril.

Lunch!