Through Smoke and Ashes

Thirty Two||Shapeshifter

"Shapeshifter," Naxan spoke as he saw what I looked like through my eyes. He then proceeded to complain about my terrible eyesight and how dragons were superior in this sense. "Stronger, faster, can fly. Twolegs are puny and weak."

I rolled my eyes, forgetting that Naxan was still looking through them. He hissed in displeasure. "Sick." I could sense that made his stomach upset.

"Weak in the stomach, are we?" I smiled, almost laughing out loud, but I kept my mouth tightly closed. I'm sure these girls were used to having dragon riders communicate with their dragons, but I still couldn't get over the idea of how we looked to them, talking to ourselves out loud or laughing randomly. In any other case, that person would be labelled a nut, and people would stay clear of that kind of crazy.

What came next was equally, if not more, as horrifying. A long dress with a wide skirt was brought out of hiding and held out for me to observe. The fabric and design looked expensive. Too bad it didn't appeal to my taste.

"This is mine?" I asked with hesitation. The one holding the dress nodded eagerly, moving closer to me so I could get a better look. My fingers lightly skimmed the fabric, and as I did so, the dried skin my hands were flecked with snagged the material. I pulled my hand back, grimacing. Something as expensive as this should not be worn by someone who could easily ruin it.

The women surrounded me, and with little of my cooperation, they put me into the dress. I was glad the corset was not uncomfortably tight around me, but it still felt odd to have my figure pressed into a smaller form. The dress slimmed down my upper body, pushing up certain aspects of my female characteristics, and the skirt widened at the waist, fanning out until the fabric touched the floor. I was used to wearing clothing that was loose-fitting and easy to move in, my figure being left to the imagination.

"Now, what are we going to do with that?" One of the women spoke up behind me. I turned to observe what they were looking at and saw their eyes pointed at my shoulder, where the fabric did not cover. A white scar that disrupted my tanned skin was on clear display for all eyes to see. I had acquired this scar when in the hunter's camp where they were trapping dragons on Aeberuthey. The captain had attacked me with his sword, cutting open my skin in more than one place.

"Leave it." I straightened in the mirror as I observed the battle wound. One woman began to protest, saying that a lady should not have battle scars shown on her body. I cut her off by turning around where I stood. I held out my arm where the black markings of my rider's mark imprinted on my skin. "I'm a rider, not a lady."

They were silent as they stared at the marking on my arm. I was glad this dress did not cover my arms, as I enjoyed showing off my mark to those who were skeptical.

I turned around and observed myself in the mirror. My rider's mark was on clear display, the black matching with the dress. Whoever came up with my outfit must have done this on purpose. I was thankful for the lack of colour. I would have disliked the idea of being in bright, colourful clothing.

The women got to work on my hair, pulling it up with pins. I was hoping this was the last step as I stood there in discomfort. I had been standing for some time now. My feet were aching in the uncomfortable heels I was placed in.

My hair took the longest to do. I normally had trouble doing anything with my hair, so I pulled it back into a tie for the day to keep it out of my face. They had the same idea with my hair but put it up in an elegant fashion. A couple of loose pieces fell around my head, but the vast majority were tucked away.

Now, I believe they were done with me. Finally too. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last. I watched as all three women took a step back to admire their handy work.