This certainly is, unexpected.

As I gaze upon what supposedly is my former body, I can't help but question how I am still alive or even conscious! One would expect that a magician would have a deep knowledge of such topics as metamorphosis, but give me a break! Even the most arrogant initiate would soon realize that there's much we don't understand.

As theories kept forming on my mind, Ignis seemed to relax a little, examines his wounds on the missing arm, and crouches to check on me.

"I can barely believe it's you, Flint. But at least you don't look like you are on the verge of death anymore, good."

SLAP

The big red hand came with such a force that it ripped a chunk of my face off. It made my head do a complete 360º turn. While this new experience was terribly unpleasant, the man, no, the demon in front of me is more than capable of ending me in a single punch if he wanted. And he wouldn't be wrong to do so.

"You IDIOT! You almost got me killed. I told you not to steal from Multum! He has way more power and influence than both of us! When you said you were going to get some stuff, I thought you would pay with money, not with our lives. The only reason I'm just missing an arm is that I was expecting to get robbed after we left the city."

While Ignis drowns my ears in complaints, I notice the chunk of my face that was gone slowly regenerating, and the ripped parts turning into water on the ground and slowly coming into my direction. If I had to guess, my body has turned into something quite like a water elemental, the kind that is a force of nature summoned by magicians who specialize in such, but I doubt it's that simple. Nonetheless, I shouldn't ignore Ignis right now. I can't help but look away with a disappointed expression. I really messed up this time.

"Uuhh, well, I know this doesn't help, but... I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have dragged you into this mess. I was in desperate need of that water essence crystal for reasons I cannot talk about now, and I ended like this. I'm just a head, and I can't use my magic, at least for now. So, I understand if you wish to leave me here to escape Multum's retaliation."

Ignis raises his brows a little. It seems that he wasn't expecting to hear that coming from my mouth, and to be honest, I did not expect it too.

"That was... a bit off. I expected to be arguing with you for a while. Perhaps it's not only your body that is messed up." He can't help but sigh while looking around in the isolation room. "Look, Flint, If I were to leave you, I should have done so way back. You are terrible sometimes, but you are also my best friend. So don't give up now! We can deal with this!"

I give him a small nod. It makes me happy to know that our unlikely friendship could survive this long. I hope to not disappoint more precious people to me.

"Thanks, friend. But how am I going to leave here with you? Like I said before, I'm currently powerless, and I don't think there's a water canteen big enough for me in this world." I crack a small joke to try to alleviate the tension, but perhaps a bottle would be the only feasible way to transport me.

"Come on, Flint, you are the magician here. Can't you figure something out? Even if I could transport you, I'm missing an arm, and there's no way I can protect you and myself like this." Sadly, that is a fact.

"I understand. With you here, I can try to focus and work something out, so please, keep an eye out for me!" I say with a determined smile.

"Roger that."

I concentrate, I try to replicate what happened before that led to the forming of my head. After a few seconds, I finally notice something. Small tendrils with the size of a thread, coming out of the inside of my head towards my neck or where it should be.

I can barely control them, but they seem to stretch endless through my water body, using the water around them to grow longer. I try to visualize my old body, stretching them to form a base for rebuilding my body. But alas, every time I tried to go further and start remaking my limbs, I couldn't maintain the form for long, and instead, they broke into water again and fell on the ground.

The splashed water once more came towards me like it had some natural attraction, fascinating as it was, at least that told me I wouldn't simply lose volume randomly and be unable to take a form in the future, or fix myself if possible.

I kept trying for some time. Ignis got bored and went outside to check things out. This isolation room was built in the middle of a forest close to the foot of a mountain, so it was well hidden, at least for now. But that wouldn't prevent Multum from tracking us again if given enough time.

By the time Ignis came back, it was dusk, and some hours had passed. He brought some fruits with him, there was plenty of food to get in the forest, and no animals here would be a threat to him, even with just one arm.

"So, any luck with that, Flint? If you can't figure something soon, we are going to have to find another way to take you out of here before Multum finds we are still here."

I sigh in defeat. This could well be like turning stones into water. I don't have enough time or experience neither with shapeshifting nor with water magic- Wait! Turning stones into water, maybe that's it! I don't need to turn into a human right now, just into something that can move out of here!

Once again, I focus. Getting the water tendrils to move has become much easier, but now I have another form in mind. I was always a fire magician, fire was my life, fire was me. I should seek familiarity in it to deal with this situation, for now. Taking that into account, the tendrils move, but this time, my head also melts. It's a strange feeling. Like I suddenly became blind and deaf, yet I can 'see' or feel everything around me within a certain range.

The tendrils form a long line with four smaller lines near the edges. This form is much easier to replicate than the human body. Also, it's one that I, for a long time, studied to further my skills. I probably know it as well as a human body.

The tendrils start absorbing more of my water body and form four small legs with claws. A long tail forms with the scaly body getting bigger. Finally, my head forms, similar to a drake. It's long and hard, with two small eyes and two small horns above it, the mouth filled with sharp teeth.

My old master would call this heresy, a fire salamander, made of water.