I really shouldn't be up this late.

The dragon lowered his head and narrowed his eyes dangerously, flicking his tongue like an angry serpent. "Get away from Tino," he warned. Ivan did little more than shake his head.

"Tino is not yours," he said in an unnervingly calm voice. "I have come to take back what you have stolen from me, and if you value your life, you will let me have him." Tino wasn't sure what to make of this. Ivan was claiming him now? Why? He wasn't sure if he should expect any different anymore at this point.

"If you value yours, you will leave!"

"Temper, temper," Ivan grinned as if he were amused. "You dragons are all the same. I suppose there is no helping your nature, is there?" Tino backed away as he noticed that Ivan was starting to shift and change. His body morphed smoothly into a new form resembling Berwald's, though it was blood red with a tan belly. It was like a mirror image, and he copied Berwald's stance. "I guess we will have to work this out the only way you will understand."

Ivan suddenly lounged at Berwald. The blue dragon turned just in time for his shoulder to absorb most of the impact before turning his head and biting at the red dragon's neck. Tino yelped and hobbled backwards until he was a safer distance away and watched the fight in horror. There were ear piercing roars and bone shattering blows exchanged between the two, but no matter how much damage Berwald dealt to his opponent, it didn't seem to matter. Ivan took a slash to the belly like nothing. In fact, he was actually laughing! Berwald held his own for a while before getting knocked to the slippery ground and backing up a few paces to catch his breath.

Ivan and Berwald circled each other on the cliff ledge in the rain. Tino felt his heart pounding in his chest at the adrenaline from watching the two fearsome beasts. Every roar sent a chill through his body, and he felt trapped as he backed into the cave with no way out. All he could do was stay out of the way.

"His eyes are mine," Berwald hissed through labored breaths.

Ivan scoffed. "Typical. If you really care so much for those amethysts, then you can have them. All I want is Tino." That came as a surprise to both the Finn and the blue dragon. "If you give me the boy, I will give you your precious stones."

"What do you mean by that?" Tino asked in rising panic. "Y-you're going to take me, but leave my eyes?"

"Exactly." Ivan turned to gaze at the boy with his bright identical violet orbs. "Your eyes cause so much trouble for you, don't they? You can be so much more without them. I can give you new eyes, and a new life." The dragon's neck turned to look back at Berwald, who seemed rather lost. "As for you, wouldn't it be so much easier if your treasures didn't have to be fed and cared for? This deal will give everyone what they want. Tino will be free to go, and you will have the peace you had before this started. What do you say?"

Tino ran Ivan's proposition over in his head. Obviously the dragon would take it, but could Tino? Could Tino really give up his eyes? Ivan said he would get new ones, but would losing his old ones hurt? Would that pain be worth the freedom he would gain? He thought about what it would be like to walk through town without people staring and murmuring and to be without constant trouble befalling him wherever he went. What it would be like to have real friends, and even a family. To be more than an object or an outcast. Yes, he could take this deal. It could be his way out. It could be his salvation! The boy cleared his throat to give his answer.

"No…" Tino blinked and looked to Berwald who was staring at him with his fiery blue eyes. The blue dragon looked a little dazed, his stance not quite as confident as it had been, but he said his answer again firmly. "No."

"But why?!" Tino shook his head in disbelief.

"He can't have you," the dragon replied. "No deal."

Ivan lifted his head. "And why is that? What reason do you have for keeping the human? He only gets in the way of your prize."

"He's mine," Berwald positioned himself strongly. The uncertainty from just a moment ago was replaced with determination, the same kind Tino saw the night before during his fight with the shadow people. "He is my prize." Tino didn't understand what he just heard. Wasn't Berwald being so possessive of his eyes the night before? Why was he suddenly saying it was Tino he wanted?

"Your prize? A human?" Ivan was just as perplexed as Tino. "He is nothing more than two amethysts to you. It would be like finding a diamond in the mud and wanting to keep the dirt caked on it! He is worthless to y-" The shape shifter was cut off by a feral growl.

"NO," Berwald barked angrily. "You cannot have him or his eyes, Tino is MINE!"

There was a tense moment before Tino heard a chuckle rumbled in Ivan's throat over the sound of the rain. It grew until he was laughing in an almost childish way, so unfitting of the massive form he was taking, finding amusement in something the other dragon had said. "Is that so? You actually value the human the same way you do his eyes? My, my, you are a strange one. To think you, a monster of greed, actually cares for another living thing…" Ivan's voice dropped spitefully. "Pathetic."

Berwald's anger flared. He roared as he pounced forward with teeth barred, making Tino take another step back in fear. This was exactly like the night before. Berwald was in a rage, ripping and clawing at his enemy in a flurry of blue scales and powerful claws, and Tino could do nothing but watch. Ivan responded with equal vigor, knocking Berwald nearly off the cliff with a powerful swipe of his crimson tail. He went to finish the job when Berwald opened his mouth, revealing a growing glow in the back of his throat. Fire shot from his mouth, aimed for Ivan's face, and the red dragon fell over backwards in an attempt to get away. A strangled pained yell told Berwald that it hurt him, so he quickly did it again. Ivan backed away and roared in retaliation, pushed back by the flame sizzling with falling rain. He didn't seem able to make his own fire.

Berwald had to breathe eventually. When the stream of flames stopped, he was surprised to find the menacing creature he was fighting had turned back into his pale human form, crouching to avoid the heat. "You are as much of a dragon as I am," Ivan spat as he stood back up. Thunder cracked at that moment like a foreboding omen, and a purple malicious aura surrounded him. "Doing all of this? For a human? Absurd! That form is too ill fitting for a wretched creature like you." There was a flash of lightning, and when the light cleared, Tino saw Ivan with his hand outstretched to Berwald, who was suddenly frozen where he stood. Something was happening to him while the thunder rolled through the sky. Ivan chanted something in a low mutter and the purple aura surrounding him glowed brighter with every word.

Tino gasped as the beast's scales shifted and changed. His body shrunk while his hind legs broke and bent in the opposite directions, his neck shortened, and his horns shriveled up until they weren't there. Berwald's body turned color, from blue to peach, and his snout flattened. His painful roar melted into a scream echoing off the cliff, and his new body fell onto the muddy ground in a heap. He didn't move for the first few seconds, just panting as Ivan let his arm drop and his spell was done. The Finn couldn't help but rub his eyes to see if what he thought he was seeing was true.

The dragon was now a man.

"Berwald?" Tino rushed to his side the best he could and dropped to his knees. The new man with bright blonde hair sticking to his face in the rain winced and looked up, and they locked eyes with each other for a long second. He looked so confused, so shocked, and Tino wondered if it was the same expression on his own face.

"There," Ivan said in one breath. He looked a bit drained, but he composed himself and walked forward. "That is much better, isn't it?" Berwald glared and struggled to get up, only to fall back down when his limbs moved so differently from how they were used to. Ivan grinned, his purple eyes laughing at the vulnerable body on the ground before him, and Tino shivered.

"W-what did you do?"

"I merely gave him a form that matches what he is inside," Ivan answered simply. "Weak, small, and pitiful."

"Get away," Berwald demanded, though his voice was no longer as booming as it had been. Ivan was unaffected.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" The man struggled again but with no avail. The moment he was able to shakily get onto his knees, he was pushed back down with Ivan's foot. He toppled onto his back and groaned in pain when he hit his head on the hard rocky ground.

"S-stop!" Tino stood up and got between them. "He's already been defeated; don't kick him while he's down!"

"Why do you care? Is seeing him with a human face changing the way you think of him? Remember, he imprisoned you."

"No, he…!" Tino shook his head and tried to come up with something to express his reasoning. Berwald fought so hard for Tino just now. Not for his eyes, but for him. There was something more to Berwald's actions than Tino first thought.

Ivan didn't give him time to explain. "He lost, so you are mine." The tall man gestured for Tino to come forth. "It is time for a new beginning. Isn't that what you want?"

After seeing Ivan's terrifying display of power, Tino no longer wanted to go with him…but it looked like he had no choice. He turned around to see Berwald reaching for him and saying his name, his fiery blue eyes the only recognizable feature from the beast he once was, once so fierce and powerful now pleading and desperate. Tino wanted to go to him and make sure he was okay, but Ivan pulled him by the arm and led him away. He struggled to be free, but the shape shifter's grip was strong. Tino was right back where he started: in the hands of something far more powerful than he could ever hope to escape from on his own. He was getting sick of being so useless.

"Where are you taking me?" he demanded. "Where are we going?"

"Not too far," Ivan answered. Thunder rumbled a few miles away. "You will like it, little one. It is along the river, the exact place your eyes come from, and where they will return."

"T-Tino…" Berwald's weak voice called. Tino looked back just before losing sight of him. He felt growing sorrow inside him with every limped step he took away from the former dragon that was the only one that had ever cared.

OOO

It was cold. This was a chill like Berwald hadn't ever felt before. It bit his bones and wracked his body with shivers from the moment he woke up, drenched in the rain and laying on his side in a puddle. He vaguely thought back to just before he passed out, right after Tino left, and he opened his eyes to see the entrance of his cave. It was a lot bigger than he remembered.

The dragon shifted to get up, but something was wrong. When he looked down he realized he wasn't a dragon anymore. His blue scales were gone and replaced with squishy pale skin, which did nothing to keep him warm or keep out the rain. There were no claws on his hands, only thin nails. His legs bent in a different way than he was used to. He couldn't feel his tail. Berwald was human.

The man struggled to get up despite his fatigue. He didn't know how long he had been out, but it couldn't have been too long. A wave of dizziness hit him when he sat upright. He moved his legs experimentally before attempting to use them. When that didn't work, he got on his hands and knees and was able to shuffle forward in a crawl. He felt completely helpless, which wasn't something a dragon often felt. When he finally made his way out of the cold rain and into his dry cave, it was all he could do to lift himself onto two feet using the rock wall to lean on and hobble inside.

Berwald found his home empty. Utterly bare. It was no different from walking into a vacant cave, even though his ceiling still glittered with his once precious loot covering the floor in heaps. That proud feeling he had when he gazed at his wonderful treasures was nowhere to be found. It was like he lost everything, from his possessions to his own self, all because the one thing he wanted the most was gone.

The man wobbled across the floor until he stumbled into his pelt bed. The fur felt softer than it ever had before, and he curled up in the covers with a long sigh and waited for them to warm his bare body. None of this was enough to comfort him, though. All he felt was dread and remorse.

During the fight, Berwald had made a revelation. This whole time, he focused on Tino like he never had any of his other jewels. The dragon never had a favorite before, and he spent a great deal of time wondering what it was about the human that was so special. Why was it so important to keep him alive and safe? Why was it so rewarding to see him happy? Keeping Tino wasn't like keeping any of his other treasures. Rare jade didn't need to be fed. Silver didn't speak or walk. Tino could laugh and smile, and Berwald liked it when he did that. Tino's touch made Berwald feel warm like none of the other jewels in his collection could.

Objects were all he ever knew to bring him happiness. The dragon would look over his horde of glitter and gold and feel the same pleasure in the sight he always did. But looking back to Tino, those feelings shifted and changed. He didn't know what to make of it. He realized he didn't quite know what to make of Tino, either.

Ever since he obtained the human, he wasn't sure what was going through his own mind anymore. He was fixated on those hypnotic amethysts. Every trinket was only important because of the quantity of other trinkets he owned, like how a grain of sand is insignificant unless it is with thousands more like it, but it felt like Tino wasn't quite like the other things he owned. Was that it, then? Was Tino so different that he wasn't part of his horde? But Berwald had the desire to keep and protect him like the rest of it. Every sapphire and bracelet had his undying protection, and he would fight to the death over the ownership of each silver coin. That is how it was, and whether or not it made much sense, that is how it would always be. Berwald was a dragon. It was in his nature.

However, he was surprised to find the sheer amount of emotion that overwhelmed him when his amethysts were stolen by the shadows in the night. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced. Berwald always got mad when someone was foolish enough to think they could get away with swiping his treasures, but this was different. This wasn't just anger, this was something else that clawed its way into his throat and latched on like icy fingers. It was…fear. Berwald hadn't felt fear in a very long time. His reaction was strong, and it didn't end until the apparitions were gone and Tino was safe in the cave again.

Then Tino refused to smile. Nothing Berwald said or did would help. In fact, it only seemed to make him worse. Berwald had gotten frustrated and left. Why was he so worked up over a gem?

The shape shifter's words finally answered his questions. When he offered to separate the two, Berwald couldn't imagine those amethyst eyes meaning anything to him. He found himself repulsed at the idea. When he imagined the shape shifter walking off with Tino, Berwald began reliving the same rage he felt the night before when the shadow people attacked. He realized then that it wasn't Tino's eyes he wanted to care for and protect.

It was Tino. It was little Tino, who was so mysterious and coy, who's face lit up with wonder when he saw something new, who slept with his mouth slightly parted to let out relaxed warm breaths, who's laugh the night before had resonated sweetly through the cave and within the dragon's heart. It was simply Tino.

Berwald wanted Tino.

Berwald…loved Tino.

The realization came too late, and Berwald's heart broke when he saw Tino being taken away. The boy had looked to him for help, but Berwald was powerless. Now here he was, a shell of his former self, grieving over what he never knew he had within him. Dragons weren't supposed to fall in love with anything but treasure. His unnatural love for Tino was his downfall.

…No…no, that wasn't right. That didn't feel right to him at all. The will and determination was still inside him. The need to protect and defend was stronger than ever. Even as he was, as pathetic and weak as his fragile human body stood compared to his former glory, he still felt the need to rise and take action. He never felt so driven before. The only thing holding him back was his human body.

Yet Berwald still felt like a dragon.

The man took a deep breath as he made his decision. The covers were thrown back and he got to his feet. It took a lot of concentration, but he was starting to get the hang of walking with new legs by the time he reached a specific pile of gleaming metal on the other side of the cave. He reached down and pulled on a ruby encrusted hilt, and with a sharp tug, the buried sword came free. Its sharp edges and smooth metal was like a mirror when Berwald brought it to his face. A man with sharp features stared back at him; his glowing eyes the only thing holding back the fire burning within.

Berwald's love for Tino wasn't a weakness. No, it was the exact opposite. Tino was Berwald's ultimate strength. For him, he would scale a mountain. For him, he would face an army. Not for any old jewel, not for a pair of amethyst eyes, but for the one whose smile was Berwald's world.

For nothing but Tino.

I feel there should be battle drums playing as people read the last part.

This story is quickly coming to the climax! Secrets will be revealed, and the two will face their ultimate tests of bravery, strength, and loooooove!

(There were a lot of people asking if Berwald was going to turn into a human at any part of the story, and now that he has, I feel like the next hot topic will be if he turns back into a dragon by the end. I will answer this question the same way I did the last one: WAIT AND SEE. ;D)

Thanks for the love and support, guys. I love you all.