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“Alright, sir. Just relax your stiff muscles and close your eyes.”

Doran sighed, still irritated from… well, from everything. Things hadn’t really been going his way for the past few weeks and eventually his bad temper began to stock up inside him and at some point the grumpiness just didn’t go away any more.

“Relax those shoulders. Yes, like that. Just let loose all that frustration.”

Somehow the last few weeks, maybe months even, had been bleak and miserable. Maybe it was the ever-present lack of warmth and colour. Winter was on the doorstep, most trees had lost all of their leaves and a cold wind haunted the streets outside. And of course it would rain mostly too. There would probably be no snow anytime soon, except for the few grayish brown splotches that would grace the streets with their ugliness. Lovely.

If that weren’t unpleasing enough, Doran’s job seemed to become more exhausting every day. Loads of work was piling up, turning into stress, which then became anxiety and that ultimately led to a long-lasting depression. And the common winter-depression turned Doran’s mood into a bluish-brown pulp of melancholia, anger and frustration. And this little emotion cocktail was gnawing like acid at his usual peacefulness until it happened that he eventually snapped like a dry branch beneath the pressure.

His coworkers, and probably Doran himself too, weren’t used to hearing him scream or shout. But when they had managed to tip him off with maybe one wrong or stupid question, Doran went off like a chimp with a machine gun. His colleagues were shocked and Doran spent the rest of the day apologizing profusely. Screaming was not his thing… screaming at someone felt a whole lot worse though. It made him feel like it was him who had wronged his colleagues, not the other way around. Perhaps it was just the stress getting to him. So maybe the screaming was a way to relieve his tension. Problem was that his little “hiccup” didn’t do much to calm him or maybe change his mood to the better, so he decided to just take the next day off.

“Now gently roll your head from side to side, loosen up your neck a bit. Feels good, right?”
“Mmm, yes.”

Well, but Doran didn’t really know where a wound-up Doran could go. After all, he was stressed sometimes, but never like this. He had been on the edge this time and he jumped far off it. A holiday was just what he needed, if he only knew how to spend it.

So after trudging through the cold streets, the wind sweeping through them in harsh waves, Doran had somehow managed to wind up at this spa and promptly decided to get a massage. A friend once told him that one thorough massage could work wonders, so he decided to give it a shot. So there he was, lying on a bench in a slight green painted room. There was a scent of lavender in the air and music was playing softly in the background. It seemed that therapist was about to start with the massages. How bad could it be?

Crack. Was that his back?
“Ouch!”
”Sorry!” the spa specialist said and grinned shyly. She was a young woman, probably in her early twenties, slim, dark brown hair. It was tied with a hair band behind her head and it smelled heavily of rose shampoo. She seemed to be from Chinese origins- she certainly had an eastern accent.

For a moment, she was just running her oil-covered fingers over his bare back, when suddenly-
Crack” It helps release tension.”
“Urgh.. I heard.”

His colleague hadn’t mentioned that a massage involved a ton of ramming-elbows-into-backs.
Crack!
“Ahaharg!”
Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea, but… through the pain and utter agony, Doran had to admit that he felt better. His back didn’t feel as strained as usual, as if he had taken a heavy, heavy backpack off his shoulders.

Next the woman applied some oil, smelling thickly of lavender, onto her hands and gently applied it onto his spine, rubbing it over his back. Doran’s skin rippled- the oil or cream was cold to the touch- but it did soothe his nerves. Doran took a deep breath and sighed. Not out of stress, but in relief. He hadn’t felt this whole in months!

Applying some other oil onto her hands, the woman began to squeeze her thumbs down onto his right thigh. She put pressure on his leg and wiggled her thumb around. Doran shivered and his other leg jerked.
“Hehe, that feels… so good.”
The woman gave a nervous chuckle,” Thank you.”

After massaging his right leg to pulp, the woman repeated the process on his left leg until Doran felt somewhat similar to jelly. Not that he had anything against jelly. Something as wobbly as jelly surely could have not a single worry in the world… What was he thinking?

Suddenly Doran gave a little squeak when the woman began to press her thumbs down on his bare feet.
“Sorry... did that hurt?” she asked and eased down a bit.
“Actually,” Doran said, his face slowly contorting into a wide, happy grin,” the entire opposite. I love it!”
“Oh! Ok,” the woman peeped with a squeaky voice. Doran wondered why she sounded so insecure. Maybe she was lacking the experience?

Can’t be, he thought and kept smiling goofily while she squished the sole of his foot, she can’t be a trainee. Otherwise I would not feel like sponge cake.

Chuckling, Doran gave his toes a little wiggle, but yelped when he heard them crack. It didn’t hurt. He was just not used to hearing his toes- or anything part of his body- crack. Must’ve been the massage.
“Huh..” the woman muttered, shortly disrupting her rhythmic, massaging movements.
“What is it?”
“It’s uhh.. it’s nothing,” she said half-convincing and kept massaging.

Ting… Ca-diinngg…
Only now did Doran notice the soothing Thai music in the background. Not that it had much of a melody, instead consisting of various different metals and tubes just going clink and ting all the time. It was like heaven to him- lazing around, having his feet massaged to death.

Were it not for that slight irritation by his knee. Doran frowned- what was it?
“Uh.. hm, huh,” the woman muttered and quickly hurried off, fetching a warmed towel, placing it over his waist and legs like a blanket. Something warm, but oddly scaly wrapped around his right leg, which made Doran jerk up in surprise.
“Whaah! What is that?” he squealed and stared at his legs.

At the end of the towel, Doran could see the tip of something thick and bluish, slowly curling and uncurling around his leg. It looked like a snake, a blue snake, which happened to find his leg quite comfortable. Just that snakes are not typically warm and attached to people’s rears.

“Howhoa what?” Doran uttered as realization hit him. The appendage uncurled from his leg and outstretched, dipping over the edge of the cushioned table he was lying on. Doran’s mouth hung wide open as the blue, scaled thing whipped from side to side slowly. He had a tail.

His gaze slowly wandered to the woman, who stood a few steps away from the table, her face a fiery tomato red. Nervously she was rubbing her hands together, applying another lotion on them. His tail flicked, making Doran jerk.
“It.. happens from time to time,” she stuttered, grinning widely,” Do not stress, please. You’re uhm.. your inner self.”

Doran nodded painfully slow, watching his tail slowly wrap around his leg again. Maybe that’s why he was so calm. It felt as if an aura surrounded him, an aura that was emitted from the depths of his heart, consoling, loving, warm. Perhaps it was his inner spirit- his skin tingled as the thought passed through his head. Doran slid back onto the bench, facing upward this time. The woman gave a nervous giggle as she approached him.

As she began to massage his feet again- which sent waves and surges of warmth to run through his body- Doran couldn’t help but wonder. What had she said moments ago?
“Soo this usually happens?” he asked, trying his best not to sound overly stupid.
“Erm, from time to time,” the woman said, while kneading his feet like dough,” It’s an old technique passed down from generation to generation in my family. You see, we aim for our customers to relax completely while under our care and sometimes the customer enters a state of.. uh, how to say… meditation, as it is in your case. This helps you find your inner peace and that triggers your true, inner self.”

“Huh,” Doran muttered, unaware of his blue-scaled ears slowly perking up in curiosity,” interesting.”
He closed his eyes, feeling the soft heat spread through his skin. Doran might be a scientist, but this… this kinda turned his world upside-down. This opened up an entire branch for scientific research possibilities! Oh, the endless ideas that suddenly popped into his head. Not that he cared at that moment though.
His feet felt strange. Mainly because they had been thoroughly kneaded for the past few minutes, but also- Just as he had predicted. With a thick grin, Doran stared at his paws as he gave his clawed toes a wiggle.
“Incredible,” he muttered, realizing that he had sat up in excitement. Just staring at his paws made butterflies swarm through his belly, he almost felt as if he himself could fly.

As the woman began to rub her oil-covered hands across his shoulders, Doran felt something tug and pull out of his back. He winced softly; the tingle reminded him slightly of having a thorn pulled out of his skin. Not a very comforting thought. A leathery muscle scraped his arm and when Doran turned his head, all the unpleasant fantasies died down. He could see the strong arm of a blue-scaled wing slowly stretching to its full span. A wing- now two wings. Did that mean that he actually could fly? Perhaps there was a tiny, tiny chance that this dream could come true. Doran’s overwhelmed head gave his wings a command, making them flap and Doran jump in surprise. They were twitchy. Very lively too.

In content, Doran let out a high-pitched yawn and stretched himself, similar to a cat, his limbs popping and cracking. Doran closed his eyes and felt his tail swish across the bench, the tip brushing the floor, a pleasant tingle present in his body. Gradually, he opened his eyes and blinked, suddenly greeted by a bluish spot in his vision. A snout. Doran took a deep breath and saw his nostrils flaring. A grin spread across his muzzle and he let his tongue hang out of his mouth, causing a drop of drool to run down his tongue. Oh, he was looking silly! And he loved it!

Squealing in delight, Doran began to wiggle and roll around. Surges of ecstasy were coursing through his veins, pumping him up with energy and excitement. If he didn’t move, he’d explode, he could feel it! Doran rolled off the bench, dropping onto the wooden floor, rubbing his back across the woodwork. He splayed his wings and purred softly.

“It seems to me that you’re feeling better?”
“Oh, indeed,” Doran muttered, his eyes fluttering. Had the room shrunk or had he gained some size? Stretching his neck, he looked at himself. His skin was blue- in his opinion, a very pretty blue- and it had toughened. His belly and throat- his neck had lengthened quite a bit- were covered in silverish grey, durable scales.

“You look like a dragon to me,” the woman remarked and kneeled down behind his head, running her hands through his mane. A MANE?! Doran yelped in surprise and his ears twitched, brushing against a bushy bundle of silky soft feathers, which adorned his head like a silver crown and graced his backline all the way to his tail with white down feathers. No wonder his tail felt so cuddly. It also seemed to have made a habit of wrapping itself around his leg.

The woman ran her hand through his soft mane and Doran could not help but groan in pleasure. She might, might not have petted a dragon before, but it felt incredible.
“I think you’re ready for a bath in our ‘hot spring’,” she said and chuckled as Doran’s face brightened in excitement.
“I’d like that,” he admitted and gently rolled back onto his belly, shaking his head wildly, which sent a few feathers to fly across the room.

Walking on all fours all of a sudden wasn’t as easy as he had thought. His first few steps were a bit uncontrolled and wobbly. It even happened that his front paws slipped to the sides and he smacked his head onto the ground with a squeal- though Doran blamed that mainly on the oil that the lady had applied all over his body moments ago.

But Doran managed to get his motor skills back under control in only a few minutes- well, it might’ve been half an hour too, but time seemed to pass quickly for Doran- and when he was sure that his tail wasn’t going to make him fall over again, he began to waddle towards in a proud gait. He took little steps and stuck his tongue out of his mouth, which made him look like an oversized puppy toddling across the room.

He couldn’t believe it. Less than 24 hours ago, Doran had lived through the worst day of his life. Who would’ve known that the next day would be his happiest? The corridor that led to the pools was covered with mirrors and Doran could not stop gaping at his new body. He admired his new form, even if his wings and tail were a bit twitchy.

Doran was so distracted by his new appearance that he didn’t notice that he was heading straight for the hot swimming pool. He gave himself a snobbish look in the mirror before prancing right into the water with a panicked squeal. There was a huge splash as he vanished in the steamy hot tub.

Underwater, his body seemed even bulkier and Doran had difficulties to maneuver underwater. When he finally resurfaced, he could hear the woman cackle with laughter. His cheeks fired up and he tried his best to hide his embarrassment.
“Sorry!” the woman admitted beneath the giggles,” but you seemed so occupied with admiring yourself that I didn’t want to disturb you!”

Doran muttered something beneath his breath and dipped his head back into the hot bath.
“Enjoy!” the woman said as she walked off. Doran swam around a little bit and noticed soon enough that he was creating relatively big waves. To him they seemed quite small, but for an averaged sized human they were quite rough. Doran grinned to himself, propelled himself upwards and flung himself violently into the water, resulting in a huge splash.

For the next few minutes, Doran sloshed around childishly, paddling though the pool by using his tail as a rudder. He thrashed through the water like a 4-year old, chuckling and squealing until it eventually came to his mind that it might not be such a good idea to trash the spa’s swimming pool.

“You’re having a blast, huh?” A male voice remarked and Doran spun around. At the edge of the pool, having his scaled legs dangle into the water, sat another guest. Unlike Doran, he still had a human stature.

Well, except for the dark, shadowy red scales that covered parts of his skin, the ebony black horns protruding from his head and the big paws that were gently stroking the water’s surface. A long tail swished across the floor behind him. He too seemed to be some sort of dragon. The wings on his back made that pretty clear.
“The name’s Sinclair,” he said and smiled, exposing a row of sharp teeth. Doran cocked his head at the unusual sight and grinned back.
“Doran,” he introduced himself and outstretched a paw,” Doran Eirok.”

Sinclair shook it with a chuckle. Propped up by his tail, Sinclair stood up and stretched himself. His hands were padded like paws and covered in the reddish black scales. He stroked his chin with a claw and eyed Doran curiously.
“Can’t say that I’ve met a fully grown dragon before,” he muttered and petted Doran’s chin gently. Even if the gesture seemed a bit weird, Doran had to admit that he kinda liked it.

“Eh, let’s say it didn’t happen purposely,” Doran asserted and climbed out of the pool. As soon as he stood back on the ground, he shook himself like a dog, trying to get the water out of his feathers.
“You got a massage, right?” Sinclair asked and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Did they change colour? They were golden now, but… Doran was sure that they had been green moments ago.

“Uhh.. yes I-“
“WHOOAAA! No way!” another voice exclaimed, slightly more high-pitched than Sinclair’s which made it a lot more annoying. Doran looked over his shoulder to see an anthropomorphic fox stumble out of the changing rooms. Even if Sinclair had scales and that fox had fur, Doran could somehow tell that these two were related.
“Pick your jaw off the floor,” Sinclair snapped angrily and a bit of smoke rose from his nostrils,” you’re being impolite!”

The fox’s ears drooped, angled low to his head and his tail gave an embarrassed flick.
“Arr, sorry!” he said and gave an apologetic grin,” but I mean… whoa, a dragon?! That’s amazing!”
Sinclair scowled and gave the fox a warning look.
“Don’t take him too serious,” Sinclair warned Doran, stepping protectively in front of him,” That… is no one other than my brother.”
“Ha, that rhymed!” his brother remarked and began to laugh. Sinclair growled and spread his wings to look more intimidating.

The fox whimpered and his chuckles died down. Sinclair seemed to have grown in size a bit, but maybe Doran was just falling for Sinclair’s illusion.
“My brother,” the fox said and grinned,” I mean, he is also a dragon-ish kind of fella, but he never looks as strong built and impressive as-“
“SHUT UUUP!” Sinclair growled and dropped onto all fours. Suddenly he seemed just as feral as Doran, which made him take a protective step back. What just happened?!

“Whoa whoa, easy, bro,” the fox said,” This is no way to manage your anger, hey?” Doran lifted a brow in curiosity.
“Oh, Sinclair… he had some trouble getting his emotions under control, so I decided to bring him to a spa and-“
Sinclair snapped at his brother, but slowly regained his composure. He stood back up and wiped a drop of saliva from his chin.
“Well,” Sinclair muttered,” I certainly never expected to end up like this.” He spread his arms and looked at his dragon self.

Then the therapist walked back in.
“Ah, I see you’ve made friends,” she remarked with a smile,” Sinclair and Robb? Your session continues.”
Sinclair cleared his throat and followed the woman in a somewhat calm gait. It seemed that his dragon form was ever-changing, depending on his current mood. Robb still stood next to Doran, waiting for his brother to disappear around the corner.

“Even if he doesn’t want to admit it,” the fox, Robb, began,” I think that Sinny actually enjoys his form. And it’s also a good mood-o-meter for me to measure how pissed off he is.”
“Hey!” the therapist shouted,” Robb, you’re missing the session!”
“I’m coming! Hey uhh, I overheard your name is Doran?”
“Yes?” Doran replied and gave Robb a curious look. The little fox was about to explode in exaltation.
“Could we… take a photo together?” he asked with a blush, putting on the biggest grin he could find,” I know my brother would never let me and, oh my, meeting a dragon?! How cool is that?!”

“Hehe, sure!” Doran agreed and bent low so that his head would be beside Robb’s.
“Say cheese! Ack!” Robb squealed in surprise when Doran gave him a surprise lick on the cheek, just when they took the photo. Rubbing his cheek, Robb looked at the photo with glee.
“This. Is. Awesome!” he said and pranced on-spot in excitement,” Thanks!” Robb gave Doran a quick hug before hurrying off to catch up with his brother.

Doran sat down onto the floor, his tail curling around his feet. Robb and Sinclair; quite the duo. Maybe he should pay them a visit later? He cocked his head in thought. Perhaps he could bring his own family along. He was sure they’d love it! When he imagined the baffled faces of his friends as they’d try to walk in huge dragon forms, Doran tried his best to hide a grin. His face contorted into a crooked laugh before he snorted and started roaring with laughter. He’d ask his family as soon as he’d get home.

Description
“Alright, sir. Just relax your stiff muscles and close your eyes.”

Doran sighed, still irritated from… well, from everything. Things hadn’t really been going his way for the past few weeks and eventually his bad temper began to stock up inside him and at some point the grumpiness just didn’t go away any more.

“Relax those shoulders. Yes, like that. Just let loose all that frustration.”

Somehow the last few weeks, maybe months even, had been bleak and miserable. Maybe it was the ever-present lack of warmth and colour. Winter was on the doorstep, most trees had lost all of their leaves and a cold wind haunted the streets outside. And of course it would rain mostly too. There would probably be no snow anytime soon, except for the few grayish brown splotches that would grace the streets with their ugliness. Lovely.

If that weren’t unpleasing enough, Doran’s job seemed to become more exhausting every day. Loads of work was piling up, turning into stress, which then became anxiety and that ultimately led to a long-lasting depression. And the common winter-depression turned Doran’s mood into a bluish-brown pulp of melancholia, anger and frustration. And this little emotion cocktail was gnawing like acid at his usual peacefulness until it happened that he eventually snapped like a dry branch beneath the pressure.

His coworkers, and probably Doran himself too, weren’t used to hearing him scream or shout. But when they had managed to tip him off with maybe one wrong or stupid question, Doran went off like a chimp with a machine gun. His colleagues were shocked and Doran spent the rest of the day apologizing profusely. Screaming was not his thing… screaming at someone felt a whole lot worse though. It made him feel like it was him who had wronged his colleagues, not the other way around. Perhaps it was just the stress getting to him. So maybe the screaming was a way to relieve his tension. Problem was that his little “hiccup” didn’t do much to calm him or maybe change his mood to the better, so he decided to just take the next day off.

“Now gently roll your head from side to side, loosen up your neck a bit. Feels good, right?”
“Mmm, yes.”

Well, but Doran didn’t really know where a wound-up Doran could go. After all, he was stressed sometimes, but never like this. He had been on the edge this time and he jumped far off it. A holiday was just what he needed, if he only knew how to spend it.

So after trudging through the cold streets, the wind sweeping through them in harsh waves, Doran had somehow managed to wind up at this spa and promptly decided to get a massage. A friend once told him that one thorough massage could work wonders, so he decided to give it a shot. So there he was, lying on a bench in a slight green painted room. There was a scent of lavender in the air and music was playing softly in the background. It seemed that therapist was about to start with the massages. How bad could it be?

Crack. Was that his back?
“Ouch!”
”Sorry!” the spa specialist said and grinned shyly. She was a young woman, probably in her early twenties, slim, dark brown hair. It was tied with a hair band behind her head and it smelled heavily of rose shampoo. She seemed to be from Chinese origins- she certainly had an eastern accent.

For a moment, she was just running her oil-covered fingers over his bare back, when suddenly-
Crack” It helps release tension.”
“Urgh.. I heard.”

His colleague hadn’t mentioned that a massage involved a ton of ramming-elbows-into-backs.
Crack!
“Ahaharg!”
Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea, but… through the pain and utter agony, Doran had to admit that he felt better. His back didn’t feel as strained as usual, as if he had taken a heavy, heavy backpack off his shoulders.

Next the woman applied some oil, smelling thickly of lavender, onto her hands and gently applied it onto his spine, rubbing it over his back. Doran’s skin rippled- the oil or cream was cold to the touch- but it did soothe his nerves. Doran took a deep breath and sighed. Not out of stress, but in relief. He hadn’t felt this whole in months!

Applying some other oil onto her hands, the woman began to squeeze her thumbs down onto his right thigh. She put pressure on his leg and wiggled her thumb around. Doran shivered and his other leg jerked.
“Hehe, that feels… so good.”
The woman gave a nervous chuckle,” Thank you.”

After massaging his right leg to pulp, the woman repeated the process on his left leg until Doran felt somewhat similar to jelly. Not that he had anything against jelly. Something as wobbly as jelly surely could have not a single worry in the world… What was he thinking?

Suddenly Doran gave a little squeak when the woman began to press her thumbs down on his bare feet.
“Sorry... did that hurt?” she asked and eased down a bit.
“Actually,” Doran said, his face slowly contorting into a wide, happy grin,” the entire opposite. I love it!”
“Oh! Ok,” the woman peeped with a squeaky voice. Doran wondered why she sounded so insecure. Maybe she was lacking the experience?

Can’t be, he thought and kept smiling goofily while she squished the sole of his foot, she can’t be a trainee. Otherwise I would not feel like sponge cake.

Chuckling, Doran gave his toes a little wiggle, but yelped when he heard them crack. It didn’t hurt. He was just not used to hearing his toes- or anything part of his body- crack. Must’ve been the massage.
“Huh..” the woman muttered, shortly disrupting her rhythmic, massaging movements.
“What is it?”
“It’s uhh.. it’s nothing,” she said half-convincing and kept massaging.

Ting… Ca-diinngg…
Only now did Doran notice the soothing Thai music in the background. Not that it had much of a melody, instead consisting of various different metals and tubes just going clink and ting all the time. It was like heaven to him- lazing around, having his feet massaged to death.

Were it not for that slight irritation by his knee. Doran frowned- what was it?
“Uh.. hm, huh,” the woman muttered and quickly hurried off, fetching a warmed towel, placing it over his waist and legs like a blanket. Something warm, but oddly scaly wrapped around his right leg, which made Doran jerk up in surprise.
“Whaah! What is that?” he squealed and stared at his legs.

At the end of the towel, Doran could see the tip of something thick and bluish, slowly curling and uncurling around his leg. It looked like a snake, a blue snake, which happened to find his leg quite comfortable. Just that snakes are not typically warm and attached to people’s rears.

“Howhoa what?” Doran uttered as realization hit him. The appendage uncurled from his leg and outstretched, dipping over the edge of the cushioned table he was lying on. Doran’s mouth hung wide open as the blue, scaled thing whipped from side to side slowly. He had a tail.

His gaze slowly wandered to the woman, who stood a few steps away from the table, her face a fiery tomato red. Nervously she was rubbing her hands together, applying another lotion on them. His tail flicked, making Doran jerk.
“It.. happens from time to time,” she stuttered, grinning widely,” Do not stress, please. You’re uhm.. your inner self.”

Doran nodded painfully slow, watching his tail slowly wrap around his leg again. Maybe that’s why he was so calm. It felt as if an aura surrounded him, an aura that was emitted from the depths of his heart, consoling, loving, warm. Perhaps it was his inner spirit- his skin tingled as the thought passed through his head. Doran slid back onto the bench, facing upward this time. The woman gave a nervous giggle as she approached him.

As she began to massage his feet again- which sent waves and surges of warmth to run through his body- Doran couldn’t help but wonder. What had she said moments ago?
“Soo this usually happens?” he asked, trying his best not to sound overly stupid.
“Erm, from time to time,” the woman said, while kneading his feet like dough,” It’s an old technique passed down from generation to generation in my family. You see, we aim for our customers to relax completely while under our care and sometimes the customer enters a state of.. uh, how to say… meditation, as it is in your case. This helps you find your inner peace and that triggers your true, inner self.”

“Huh,” Doran muttered, unaware of his blue-scaled ears slowly perking up in curiosity,” interesting.”
He closed his eyes, feeling the soft heat spread through his skin. Doran might be a scientist, but this… this kinda turned his world upside-down. This opened up an entire branch for scientific research possibilities! Oh, the endless ideas that suddenly popped into his head. Not that he cared at that moment though.
His feet felt strange. Mainly because they had been thoroughly kneaded for the past few minutes, but also- Just as he had predicted. With a thick grin, Doran stared at his paws as he gave his clawed toes a wiggle.
“Incredible,” he muttered, realizing that he had sat up in excitement. Just staring at his paws made butterflies swarm through his belly, he almost felt as if he himself could fly.

As the woman began to rub her oil-covered hands across his shoulders, Doran felt something tug and pull out of his back. He winced softly; the tingle reminded him slightly of having a thorn pulled out of his skin. Not a very comforting thought. A leathery muscle scraped his arm and when Doran turned his head, all the unpleasant fantasies died down. He could see the strong arm of a blue-scaled wing slowly stretching to its full span. A wing- now two wings. Did that mean that he actually could fly? Perhaps there was a tiny, tiny chance that this dream could come true. Doran’s overwhelmed head gave his wings a command, making them flap and Doran jump in surprise. They were twitchy. Very lively too.

In content, Doran let out a high-pitched yawn and stretched himself, similar to a cat, his limbs popping and cracking. Doran closed his eyes and felt his tail swish across the bench, the tip brushing the floor, a pleasant tingle present in his body. Gradually, he opened his eyes and blinked, suddenly greeted by a bluish spot in his vision. A snout. Doran took a deep breath and saw his nostrils flaring. A grin spread across his muzzle and he let his tongue hang out of his mouth, causing a drop of drool to run down his tongue. Oh, he was looking silly! And he loved it!

Squealing in delight, Doran began to wiggle and roll around. Surges of ecstasy were coursing through his veins, pumping him up with energy and excitement. If he didn’t move, he’d explode, he could feel it! Doran rolled off the bench, dropping onto the wooden floor, rubbing his back across the woodwork. He splayed his wings and purred softly.

“It seems to me that you’re feeling better?”
“Oh, indeed,” Doran muttered, his eyes fluttering. Had the room shrunk or had he gained some size? Stretching his neck, he looked at himself. His skin was blue- in his opinion, a very pretty blue- and it had toughened. His belly and throat- his neck had lengthened quite a bit- were covered in silverish grey, durable scales.

“You look like a dragon to me,” the woman remarked and kneeled down behind his head, running her hands through his mane. A MANE?! Doran yelped in surprise and his ears twitched, brushing against a bushy bundle of silky soft feathers, which adorned his head like a silver crown and graced his backline all the way to his tail with white down feathers. No wonder his tail felt so cuddly. It also seemed to have made a habit of wrapping itself around his leg.

The woman ran her hand through his soft mane and Doran could not help but groan in pleasure. She might, might not have petted a dragon before, but it felt incredible.
“I think you’re ready for a bath in our ‘hot spring’,” she said and chuckled as Doran’s face brightened in excitement.
“I’d like that,” he admitted and gently rolled back onto his belly, shaking his head wildly, which sent a few feathers to fly across the room.

Walking on all fours all of a sudden wasn’t as easy as he had thought. His first few steps were a bit uncontrolled and wobbly. It even happened that his front paws slipped to the sides and he smacked his head onto the ground with a squeal- though Doran blamed that mainly on the oil that the lady had applied all over his body moments ago.

But Doran managed to get his motor skills back under control in only a few minutes- well, it might’ve been half an hour too, but time seemed to pass quickly for Doran- and when he was sure that his tail wasn’t going to make him fall over again, he began to waddle towards in a proud gait. He took little steps and stuck his tongue out of his mouth, which made him look like an oversized puppy toddling across the room.

He couldn’t believe it. Less than 24 hours ago, Doran had lived through the worst day of his life. Who would’ve known that the next day would be his happiest? The corridor that led to the pools was covered with mirrors and Doran could not stop gaping at his new body. He admired his new form, even if his wings and tail were a bit twitchy.

Doran was so distracted by his new appearance that he didn’t notice that he was heading straight for the hot swimming pool. He gave himself a snobbish look in the mirror before prancing right into the water with a panicked squeal. There was a huge splash as he vanished in the steamy hot tub.

Underwater, his body seemed even bulkier and Doran had difficulties to maneuver underwater. When he finally resurfaced, he could hear the woman cackle with laughter. His cheeks fired up and he tried his best to hide his embarrassment.
“Sorry!” the woman admitted beneath the giggles,” but you seemed so occupied with admiring yourself that I didn’t want to disturb you!”

Doran muttered something beneath his breath and dipped his head back into the hot bath.
“Enjoy!” the woman said as she walked off. Doran swam around a little bit and noticed soon enough that he was creating relatively big waves. To him they seemed quite small, but for an averaged sized human they were quite rough. Doran grinned to himself, propelled himself upwards and flung himself violently into the water, resulting in a huge splash.

For the next few minutes, Doran sloshed around childishly, paddling though the pool by using his tail as a rudder. He thrashed through the water like a 4-year old, chuckling and squealing until it eventually came to his mind that it might not be such a good idea to trash the spa’s swimming pool.

“You’re having a blast, huh?” A male voice remarked and Doran spun around. At the edge of the pool, having his scaled legs dangle into the water, sat another guest. Unlike Doran, he still had a human stature.

Well, except for the dark, shadowy red scales that covered parts of his skin, the ebony black horns protruding from his head and the big paws that were gently stroking the water’s surface. A long tail swished across the floor behind him. He too seemed to be some sort of dragon. The wings on his back made that pretty clear.
“The name’s Sinclair,” he said and smiled, exposing a row of sharp teeth. Doran cocked his head at the unusual sight and grinned back.
“Doran,” he introduced himself and outstretched a paw,” Doran Eirok.”

Sinclair shook it with a chuckle. Propped up by his tail, Sinclair stood up and stretched himself. His hands were padded like paws and covered in the reddish black scales. He stroked his chin with a claw and eyed Doran curiously.
“Can’t say that I’ve met a fully grown dragon before,” he muttered and petted Doran’s chin gently. Even if the gesture seemed a bit weird, Doran had to admit that he kinda liked it.

“Eh, let’s say it didn’t happen purposely,” Doran asserted and climbed out of the pool. As soon as he stood back on the ground, he shook himself like a dog, trying to get the water out of his feathers.
“You got a massage, right?” Sinclair asked and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Did they change colour? They were golden now, but… Doran was sure that they had been green moments ago.

“Uhh.. yes I-“
“WHOOAAA! No way!” another voice exclaimed, slightly more high-pitched than Sinclair’s which made it a lot more annoying. Doran looked over his shoulder to see an anthropomorphic fox stumble out of the changing rooms. Even if Sinclair had scales and that fox had fur, Doran could somehow tell that these two were related.
“Pick your jaw off the floor,” Sinclair snapped angrily and a bit of smoke rose from his nostrils,” you’re being impolite!”

The fox’s ears drooped, angled low to his head and his tail gave an embarrassed flick.
“Arr, sorry!” he said and gave an apologetic grin,” but I mean… whoa, a dragon?! That’s amazing!”
Sinclair scowled and gave the fox a warning look.
“Don’t take him too serious,” Sinclair warned Doran, stepping protectively in front of him,” That… is no one other than my brother.”
“Ha, that rhymed!” his brother remarked and began to laugh. Sinclair growled and spread his wings to look more intimidating.

The fox whimpered and his chuckles died down. Sinclair seemed to have grown in size a bit, but maybe Doran was just falling for Sinclair’s illusion.
“My brother,” the fox said and grinned,” I mean, he is also a dragon-ish kind of fella, but he never looks as strong built and impressive as-“
“SHUT UUUP!” Sinclair growled and dropped onto all fours. Suddenly he seemed just as feral as Doran, which made him take a protective step back. What just happened?!

“Whoa whoa, easy, bro,” the fox said,” This is no way to manage your anger, hey?” Doran lifted a brow in curiosity.
“Oh, Sinclair… he had some trouble getting his emotions under control, so I decided to bring him to a spa and-“
Sinclair snapped at his brother, but slowly regained his composure. He stood back up and wiped a drop of saliva from his chin.
“Well,” Sinclair muttered,” I certainly never expected to end up like this.” He spread his arms and looked at his dragon self.

Then the therapist walked back in.
“Ah, I see you’ve made friends,” she remarked with a smile,” Sinclair and Robb? Your session continues.”
Sinclair cleared his throat and followed the woman in a somewhat calm gait. It seemed that his dragon form was ever-changing, depending on his current mood. Robb still stood next to Doran, waiting for his brother to disappear around the corner.

“Even if he doesn’t want to admit it,” the fox, Robb, began,” I think that Sinny actually enjoys his form. And it’s also a good mood-o-meter for me to measure how pissed off he is.”
“Hey!” the therapist shouted,” Robb, you’re missing the session!”
“I’m coming! Hey uhh, I overheard your name is Doran?”
“Yes?” Doran replied and gave Robb a curious look. The little fox was about to explode in exaltation.
“Could we… take a photo together?” he asked with a blush, putting on the biggest grin he could find,” I know my brother would never let me and, oh my, meeting a dragon?! How cool is that?!”

“Hehe, sure!” Doran agreed and bent low so that his head would be beside Robb’s.
“Say cheese! Ack!” Robb squealed in surprise when Doran gave him a surprise lick on the cheek, just when they took the photo. Rubbing his cheek, Robb looked at the photo with glee.
“This. Is. Awesome!” he said and pranced on-spot in excitement,” Thanks!” Robb gave Doran a quick hug before hurrying off to catch up with his brother.

Doran sat down onto the floor, his tail curling around his feet. Robb and Sinclair; quite the duo. Maybe he should pay them a visit later? He cocked his head in thought. Perhaps he could bring his own family along. He was sure they’d love it! When he imagined the baffled faces of his friends as they’d try to walk in huge dragon forms, Doran tried his best to hide a grin. His face contorted into a crooked laugh before he snorted and started roaring with laughter. He’d ask his family as soon as he’d get home.