It began. There was pain, sheer agonizing pain. The girl immediately fell to the ground, her veins on-fire and her head feeling as if it were slowly and agonizingly pulling itself apart. The young man who was walking next to her turned around, his eyes instantly wide with worry. However, he didn't panic. He knew exactly what was going on.
"Just try and calm yourself," The young man instructed, kneeling on the ground next to her. "You need to be able to focus."
The girl writhed in agony. She would have screamed, but the burning sensation had spread to her lungs as well, silencing her. Instead, she turned just enough to be able to look at the young man next to her and mouthed a single word, help.
At this, the young man placed his hand on her right shoulder. Almost instantly, she felt the joint cool. The sensation didn't spread, but the small bit of relief did serve to calm her a little. She slowly attempted to rise onto all-fours, but the pain escalated with each bit of pressure she put on the ground, forcing her to fall once more.
"Just relax," The young man said once more. "Focus."
The girl gritted her teeth and called out in her thoughts. If you're there, you've got to help me! I can't do this on my own!
At first, there was no answer. Then, as if it were being spoken telepathically, another feminine voice answered her own. Use your powers, quick! The girl obeyed, tapping into the strange energy that she had grown so accustomed to in the past year. Her clothing slowly began to morph from fabric and stitching to leaves and small vines. At the same time, her eyes, skin, and hair each took on a different shade of green and all the plant-life around her began to go through a simultaneous growth-spurt. The pain began to slowly weaken as the young woman took on her new form. This brief release from the burning sensation gave her enough strength to rise to her feet.
The man stood up next to her, his expression one of relief. However, the concern in his eyes betrayed his true thoughts. "It isn't over, is it?" The girl asked him, fear ever-present in her voice.
"Just keep calm," The young man assured her. "It's almost over."
Right after he said this, the pain began to escalate once more, especially in the girl's head. Almost instinctively, the girl lifted her arm, willing a large vine to rise from the ground directly beneath her. The large plant wrapped around her form, encasing her up to her neck in a self-made cocoon just before her legs had the chance to give-way from fatigue. Despite the seemingly-tight hold that was being put on the girl, she felt far more comfortable now than she had been on the hard ground. She could now keep her mind focused on the splitting headache that easily trumped the combined strength of all she had had previously. You better still be in there! The young woman yelled through her thoughts. I swear that I'll never forgive you if you've left me!
The female voice responded, a bit weaker than before. Just hang on for a couple more seconds. I think it's almost over. It was at that moment that the girl's headache reached a painful climax. Never before had the girl experienced such anguish. Her head felt as if it had just been cracked open with chisel in order to make an opening for the burning magma that now rapidly filled it. She couldn't take it anymore!
Without a second thought, she willed another vine from the ground before her. The new plant rose several feet into the air above her, the end bristling with thorns the length of a normal person's hand. I'm sorry, The girl thought, tears forming in her eyes. I'm not strong enough! Closing her eyes tightly, the girl willed the huge creeper down upon her.
However, the blow never came. Instead there came the sensation of liquid dripping onto her face. The girl's eyes flashed open and focused themselves on the large shape that now filled her view. Whatever it was, there were ruby-red bumps all across the object's surface and the air around it was a strange-but-comforting warm. At-first she had no idea what was going on, when she felt another drop fall on her. She looked up toward the source and gasped when she recognized a stream of dark-red liquid.
Gradually, whatever had sheltered her from the blow began to move away, allowing the girl to see it in its entirety. There, standing next to her, with the barbed plant lodged in its right shoulder-blade, was a large reptilian creature. The beast's scales were a brilliant red with a dark-red underbelly, paying ode to the tremendous power that it surely commanded. The three rows of curved spines running down the creature's back were silver on the outer rows and gold in the center, instilling a sense of the reptile's royalty in those who beheld them. However, the most defining quality was the two great wings that rose from just below each of its shoulder-blades.
As the girl looked into the creature's eyes, she began to cry. These tears were not from fear or even the pain she still endured; these tears were tears of shame.
The reptile shook its head in response, a surprisingly gentle smile forming on its mouth. "It's alright," The young man's voice, while stronger and more defined coming from his new form, was full of understanding and compassion. "I asked you to go through with this. It's only fair that I share your pain."
The girl only shook her head at his kind words. Ever since she had met the young man about a year ago, he had always been the one to help her through these incidents that occurred thanks to her involvement with the Order. He'd brought her out of a fiend's darkness, taught her how to effectively use her powers, and (most recently) initiated her ascendance to what she was soon to become. The girl wanted, more than anything, to be as much of a help to the young man as he'd been to her. However, she knew that that would never happen if she didn't learn to rely on herself, to be able to shoulder her own burdens.
It was then that the pain suddenly began to decrease. Despite the overwhelming relief she should have felt, the girl panicked and called out to the formless voice aloud, "Wisteria! Are you still there?"
"Nope," The voice had gained a new-found clarity, as-if the owner were standing nearby.
Immediately, the girl spun her cocoon around, fully expecting to see the tall, ivy-covered frame of a certain crimson-haired spirit. However, her mouth dropped open as she found herself staring at what she thought was some kind of mirror. The young woman before her could easily have been her twin, albeit slightly older and taller. "Tada!" Wisteria said, spreading her arms with her palms up.
"You… you're me!" The girl said, almost speechless.
"Well, of course," Wisteria chuckled. "I do have half of your energy. It only makes sense that I'd look like you in my human form."
The girl paused for a moment, mulling this new information over. "But then…" She said looking down at the vines that encased her. "What does that mean for me?"
Wisteria smiled and began walking forward. "I have a pretty good idea," She said, reaching her hand forward. "But, let's find-out, just to be sure." As the young woman put her hand on the vines that formed the cocoon, the girl felt something like a bolt of electricity run through her body. All of her senses seemed to go numb at that moment, and the girl found herself in complete darkness.
Is this the void? She thought, her emotions unbelievably calm. Am I dead? It was then, however, that she began to feel a new sensation coming over her. The vine, it was still wrapped around her. However, the strange thing was, she couldn't feel it… but, she could feel herself in its grasp. It was as-if the vine had become a new extension of consciousness, a new part of her being. The sensation continued to spread. She now felt the wind blowing through the grass nearby and some kind of small bird resting on the branch of the nearest tree. It wasn't long before all plant-life in the surrounding area were within her new senses. The feeling was nothing short of rapturous!
However, the new feeling presently began to lose its momentum and the girl could feel all of her usual senses returning. As they did, she began to hear a faint voice repeating the same word over and over again. "I… Ir… Iri… Iris… Iris!" Her eyes quickly came back into focus and she saw the young man, once again in human form, standing in-front of her. His face sported a look of absolute concern and his hands cradled her limp head in their grasp.
Slowly, she lifted her head forward and smiled at him. "Yes Jace?" Iris asked, a coy smugness in her voice.
Jace' worry quickly receded into a slightly embarrassed smile as he heard the girl speak. "You see?" Wisteria said, now standing off to the side of the two, looking her new hands over carefully. "I told you not to worry."
Jace didn't answer her, he merely removed his hands from behind Iris' head and gave a relieved sigh. "Well," He said, taking hold of the outer layer of vines. "Let's get you out of this thing."
However, Iris merely shook her head. "Just step-back Jace," She said, confidently. "I've got it." Jace complied, leaving the girl enough space to unravel the intricately woven vine with surprising ease. As the rest of Iris' form became visible, it was soon obvious that several things had changed about her appearance.
The leafy dress she had been wearing just beforehand was now far more fluid and elegant. While its previous design had been, simply-put, a more organic version of her usual clothing; its new version was flowing, strapless, and, due to the far more intricate stitching, almost seamless. The garment's colors now varied depending on where one put their eyes. Near the top, the gown was a shimmering translation of its previous leaf-green, and, starting around the midsection, it began to gradually shift to an equally glossy iris-blue. The bottom-half also seemed to split similar to the flower it was attempting to mimic, it's five "petals" blooming downwards just above Iris' bare feet.
Iris' hair seemed to have returned to its original form, but was now slightly longer and gave off a bit more shine as the sun caressed it. The girl's skin was also back to its usual light-tan; except no blemishes were visible or expected. Her deep-blue eyes were the only features about Iris that hadn't seemed to change at-all compared to her human appearance; they were still as soft and kind as her personality.
"Well?" She asked. "How do I look?"
Jace gave her a quick up-and-down and then grinned. "To put it lightly, you look absolutely stunning," He said. "How do you feel?"
Iris stepped down from the vine. Several small blades of grass grew beneath each foot as it connected with the ground, growing as if for the sole purpose of cushioning her steps. Iris was quick to notice and giggled at the sensation. "At-one with nature, I guess." Jace began to chuckle with her, obviously glad that she was enjoying her new form.
Still off to the side, Wisteria smiled and rolled her eyes. "Well," She said, turning to the side. "I've got a few things I'd like to do now that I'm solid again, so I'll just leave you two love-birds alone."
Iris smirked as Jace spun around, about to protest. "Just let her have her fun Jace," Iris said, reaching forward and putting a hand on his still-wounded shoulder. Immediately, the skin began rapidly closing-up and the scaly, red armor he wore seemed to repair itself. "If I know Wisteria, she won't do anything too irresponsible."
An accepting sigh came from the young man's mouth as he turned back around. "I suppose you're right." He then held out his right hand which quickly morphed into its scaly, draconic form. "In the spirit of getting formalities out of the way," He explained, that same confident smile that Iris had always loved present on his face.
At first, Iris was confused about the seemingly random transformation. However, she gradually smiled and extended her own hand, willing it to shade into an off-white green. As the two unusual palms connected and locked, Iris suddenly felt another new sensation come over her. At-first, she had no idea what had happened, but then, a familiar voice echoed through her mind.
"Welcome to the Second Eternity Iris," Jace said, his words clear and his mouth silent.