Paper boats were easy, once you knew how to make them. Folding in the right places. Making a perfect shape, then sending it out to sea. Child-like hands would fold them together then set them adrift, watching them float seamlessly across the water. It was a pastime Talon children often did. Then after a long day of play, they would return to their beds. But in the Dragon village of Dragontown Kumandra, there was much activity. Sisu and Pranee had shown Jarek to a place he could rest. With nothing else to do, the transformed human plopped himself down, partially because of his full stomach, and partially because he needed to rest after all that had happened. But for the two dragon sisters, they had other matters to attend to.

Shortly after, Amba and their brothers showed up.

"Is he alright?" Pengu asked.

"Don't worry, Pranee and I fed him and he's resting now," Sisu explained.

Pengu cast a glance at their house. His gaze was largely unreadable. Especially towards Amba. Though Amba could see things that escaped the notice of other dragons, even she couldn't read what her eldest brother was thinking.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Jagan suddenly asked.

"Well, why doesn't he stay with us?" Pranee suggested.

"You're just saying that because she wants to stuff him silly with pastries," Jagan quipped.

"I do not! I just think he would be better suited here," Pranee said defensively.

"Yeah right, if he lives here, by the time you're through with him he'll be so big he won't be able to get off the ground," Jagan chuckled.

Sisu likewise chuckled inwardly at the thought of an overweight Jarek too heavy to lift himself off the ground. There was one problem with that scenario, however.

"He can't fly. He doesn't seem to be able to do any sort of dragon magic," Sisu explained.

That alone made it harder to accommodate him. Jarek was like a fish out of water. He was thrust into a new form but left without the basic tools to survive.

"So? That means someone has to teach him right?" Amba reasoned, "Even though he's an adult I'm certain he still has to potential to use dragon magic."

There was always that, potential. Being a dragon reasoned Jarek could use dragon magic, flight, and whatever unique ability that was native to him. But that raised another question: who was going to teach him?

"I'll be his teacher!" Sisu piped up.

Her siblings looked at her curiously, and feeling all eyes on her the dragoness nearly shrank. But she kept her composure, keeping her size as large as she could.

"I mean why not? I'd be a great teacher," Sisu said in a rare display of complimenting herself.

"No offense Sis, but if I recall, you weren't even the best student," Jagan reminded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sisu demanded.

"Well, remember how you used to fall asleep in class?" Pranee recalled, "Those notes the teacher sent home to Ma and Ba?"

Sisu thought back to her childhood, and old recollections flashed back to her. She winced making a breathing sound through her teeth, "Okay yeah...I remember that. But I was just a kid then! Look, I found him so I think I should be the one to show him the ropes!"

Jagan and Pranee still looked unconvinced, but Sisu wasn't one to be deterred.

"You all trusted me once, so I'm just asking you to still trust me," Sisu said.

Her brother and sister looked to one another, knowing full well what Sisu was referencing. But this wasn't completing and using the dragon gem, this was something else entirely. It was teaching a human how to be a dragon.

"I'd say Sisu should go for it," Amba spontaneously exclaimed, "She's right, we did trust her, and it paid off."

Pranee and Jagan looked to her then back to each other, realizing their youngest sibling was correct.

"I think that's a wonderful idea Amba," Pengu said just as spontaneously as his little sister, "If Sisu wants to teach Jarek how to be a dragon, then by all means she should at least try it."

Sisu beamed proudly, "Trust me, by the time I'm through with him he'll be a lean, mean, dragon machine."

Amba gave a small laugh at her big sister's eagerness, but her eyes glanced over to Pengu. The same look was granted towards their house. Though he couldn't see the new dragon, Amba knew Pengu's gaze was towards Jarek. The more Amba studied it the more she realized what the look was. The look was uncertain. Perhaps Pengu was uncertain Sisu could handle her new teaching responsibilities or was it about Jarek himself. Amba admitted to herself, something about Jarek seemed odd. She wasn't sure if it was his character her perhaps his backstory? Either way, it was unknown for now. All they could do was wait and see.

XXX

Jarek rested for as long as he could. His food was long digested, nourishing his altered body. But still, he slept. It wasn't because he was tired, he was by all means too anxious to wake up. The dragon, Pengu, had laid out the facts: there was no reversing this. Or at least Pengu lacked the knowledge to do so. And that alone made him wary of awakening.

"Hey, Skippy? Wake up."

At least until a certain blue dragoness prodded him awake. He felt the sharp jolt, interrupting his snoring. Wearily Jarek opened an eye and gazed upon the visage of Sisu.

"Finally, the sun's already high in the sky. But I guess it's our fault for letting you sleep in," Sisu noted.

Slowly rising, Jarek stretched, feeling the cricks and cracks of his joints, "Guess so," He muttered.

"So I was thinking I could get you some fresh air, show you around the town," Sisu suggested.

Jarek sniffed the open air and licked his lips as he knew the telltale smell of sugar.

"Your sister baking again?" He asked.

"Yeah, since you devoured the entire plate yesterday, Pranee decided to make some more, "Considering your appetite Skippy, she's probably baking up a mountain.

Indeed it had been a day. After being told there was no hope for reversing his condition (presently), Jarek had retired to a spare room the dragons had. He remained in there, laying helplessly and aimlessly upon the floor. It was a nice room, with enough pillows and blankets to keep himself comfortable. He was given some soup for his meals, but other than sweets, he wasn't too big on eating. Honestly, he had lost track of time, so he honestly didn't know it was morning, but Sisu wasn't one to lie, that much he had heard, and had no choice but to believe her. As soon as he entered the main room, the smells grew all the broader, and there was Pranee, watching the oven.

"Hi, Sis!" Sisu greeted.

Pranee's ears perked up, even more so when she turned around and saw Jarek, "Oh Jarek! You're up!"

Sisu was momentarily surprised her sister didn't address her, and at the same time not so surprised as her sister's eyes locked upon Jarek.

"I put some more of the buns you like in the oven! I promise this time I won't burn them!" Pranee stated excitedly.

Sisu let out a little giggle at both her sister's eagerness and the double entendre she had just uttered.

Jarek wasn't quite sure of what to make of the dragon's eagerness, just cautiously smiled, "Thanks Pranee…would you mind putting that cream on again?"

"Sure! Creamy goodness coming right up! I'll even put some sprinkles on!" Pranee stated.

Upon the utterance of the word "sprinkles", Jarek lit up. His heart skipped a beat and his eagerness grew as a greedy and hungry light shone in his eyes.

Sisu picked up on that, "Okay Skippy come on, let's get you some exercise before you eat."

"That's perfect! It will work up his appetite!" Pranee cheered, "Trust me, Jarek's going to need it, I'm baking up, even more, so much Jarek's going to have buns out of his ears!'

The greed that had earlier shone in Jarek's eyes had transformed into a full-on gluttonous glint. Again, Something Sisu picked up on, swiftly grabbing the transformed human and dragging him out, all the while visions of buns danced in his head. Jarek was immediately snapped out of his thoughts as the sunlight hit his eyes, and he was greeted once more with the sights and sounds of Dragontown Kumandra.

"Sorry to drag you out of there, I just didn't want you to drown us," Sisu apologized.

"Drown you?"

"I saw that glow in your eyes Skippy, I could tell the saliva dam was about to burst, but I suppose it's going to burst anyway once Pranee's done baking," Sisu realized.

Jarek didn't respond to that. He knew himself well, and he knew what was coming, "So what's on the agenda today?"

"Like I said, just showing you around. You might as well take in the locale," Explained Sisu.

Jarek indeed took it in. As he looked about he took in exactly how many dragons were around. Kumandra had been without dragons for over five centuries. All that time they had been creatures of myth and legend. They had existed, but all that had remained of them were stone statues. Jarek had seen plenty of them on his travels. After all, Kumandra had once been a massive graveyard, The remnants of the departed dotting the landscape, a testament to the darkness within humanity. Jarek wasn't the philosophical sort, but it made sense. Humanity had darkness in their hearts, the dragons had paid for it. It was the darkness of the human heart that had put Jarek in his present condition.

Just thinking about Sayua made Jarek's blood boil. That Benturi witch betrayed him, left him for dead, and left him in the body of a creature that was foreign to him. And right now he didn't see the perks. Well, other than Sisu's sister, who seemed eager to bake for him. At least he had a sweet smorgasbord to look forward to after whatever Sisu had planned for him.

"Okay, so to start with the tour, we got eateries, shops, there's a park over there, the temple you saw yesterday," Sisu recited in order.

Jarek numbly listened to her, taking in the sights of the town, so much he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. If he did, he wouldn't have bumped into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Jarek was jolted to attention by a shrill and aged voice. He looked in front of him and gave a little yelp as he was face to face with another dragon. But it wasn't any old dragon. Well, old yes, but this dragon had seen better days. As previously mentioned, this dragon was old. Jarek could tell that right away. The dragon's form with lithe, even more so than the other dragons, bones pressing against the skin, a thin wired little creature. His fur was the color of faded seaweed, with visible wrinkles and signs of aging upon his face. But what Jarek noticed the most was the dragon's right eye. It was the color of murky water, and it quickly dawned on Jarek that it wasn't a real eye, it was glass.

"Sorry," Jarek muttered partly in surprise.

"Who are ya? Haven't seen you around before? You some kind of a newbie?" The old dragon shrilly asked.

"Well, I-"

"Speak up boy! You slow or something?"

"Easy Junghi," Sisu said politely cutting in.

The old dragon, Junghi as he was named turned his gaze towards Sisu, "Ah the Datu girl, should have known he was with you."

Sisu eyed the elder suspiciously, "Have you been off your pills today?"

"Bah, I only take them when I'm feeling off!" Junghi protested.

"Come on you know that's not how it works," Sisu chided, "Now go home and take your pills."

Junghi made some muttering sound and strutted off, continued to make sounds all the way.

"Who was that guy?" Jarek asked.

"Yeah that's old man Junghi, he was ancient even when I was a kid," Sisu stated, "He's not easy to look at I know," Leaning in, Sisu partially whispered, "And if you think that's bad, one time the glass eye popped out."

Jarek shuddered at that mental image and was even more surprised Sisu had made such a statement regarding Junghi, but she wasn't unkind in her statements, it was quite obvious that the old man had seen better days.

"I'm just surprised there is such a thing as an old dragon," Said Jarek.

"What do you mean?" Sisu inquired.

Jarek considered how to put his feelings into words, "It's just well...he was old."

"Yeah he was old, everyone gets old," Sisu said as a matter of factly.

"I just kind of figured dragons were immortal or something?" Jarek admitted.

Waving her claw, Sisu continued, "Nah that's a common misconception. We're just really long-lived, but we age just like everyone else, just takes a while for us to become old-timers."

Jarek was astonished. From the stories he had heard of dragons, they seemed almost godlike, and from what he knew, gods were immortal. But he supposed five centuries without dragons would do that. He reasoned if humans vanished for five hundred years, they would seem godlike to dragons. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but any absence could create a sense of wonder.

"Hi, Sisu!"

Jarek was jolted from his thoughts from a trio of voices. As he turned around he came face to face with three young dragons. One was yellow, the other orange, and another red. Each of these dragons had differing horns, all small and underdeveloped, but their manes, the one common feature Jarek had seen on all dragons stopped only behind their heads. Their chests lay open and tiny ears exposed.

"Balu! Tanu! Yeelu! How's it hanging my hatchlings?" Each time Sisu addressed the hatchlings by names, first the yellow, then the orange, and the last red, she slapped their claws in greeting.

"Going fine Sisu!" Balu said.

"Yeah, we heard you had a new friend!" Tanu added.

"Hey is that him?" Yeelu asked.

All three pairs of eyes focused upon Jarek, and immediately the new dragon was thrust with attention.

"So where did you come from?"

"Well, I-"

"What's that thing on your face?"

"It's my-"

"Wow, it's so rugged!" Yeelu stated as they rubbed themselves against Jarek's beard.

"Hey personal space mean anything to you?!" Jarek exclaimed as he pulled himself away.

"Geeze sorry!"

"Wow, Sisu he's kind of a grump."

"Yeah, a grumpy puss!"

Jarek looked offended, "Grump!? I'm not a grump!" Jarek protested.

Both of the young dragons looked knowingly at one another, before dissolving into a giggling mess.

"Okay you scamps get going, me and Skippy have something important to do, we can play later okay?" Sisu said moving the young ones along.

"Kay Sisu!"

"Have fun with your boyfriend!"

Jarek stood to attention at that last remark, "Boyfriend!?"

The three dragons were off laughing all the way, leaving a flustered Jarek to stew.

Sisu laughed herself, "Don't pay attention to those three, but you got to admire their youth, makes me remember when I was their age."

Yeah, right," Jarek said as he smoothed his beard back into place.

Jarek followed Sisu out of the town and up a winding path just outside it. He wasn't sure what the dragoness was doing? Before long, however, the path ended just at a cliff end.

"Take a gander at this Skippy," Sisu instructed.

Still irritated from the kids, Jarek peered down and gaped at the view. The entire spread of Dragontown Kumandra lay before him. The various colors of the different dragons moved about. It was like a kaleidoscope or a moving rainbow.

"Quite a view eh?" Sisu asked.

Jarek found himself lost in the activity below, "I'll say."

"Well, not that I've entertained you, I think it's time we get down to business," Said Sisu, her tone changing to a slightly less playful tone.

"Business?" Jarek repeated.

"Not sure if you guessed, but I didn't just bring you out here for sightseeing," Sisu explained.

That took Jarek by surprise for the moment. Sisu seemed very straightforward in her actions, never having an ulterior motive.

"About what?"

"Nothing bad mind you, but I think we should discuss the arrangements here," Sisu folded her front legs over one another as she made herself comfortable.

Jarek thought he should do the same, but he found himself maladjusted in trying to make himself comfortable. At last, he managed to get himself in a position that made interacting with Sisu appropriate.

"What kind of arrangements?" Jarek asked.

"The kind that involves teaching you the ropes," Sisu explained.

"Ropes? What are you talking about?" Jarek asked once more, being a constant source of questions.

"Look Skippy, I'm going to level with you. It's looking less likely we can turn you back into a human, and seeing as you are kind of stuck right now, I've taken it upon myself to teach you how to be a dragon," Said Sisu.

"Teach me? Teach me how?" Jarek didn't mean to ask so many questions, but Sisu's words were spurring them out of him.

"Well flying for one, and how to use our magic," Sisu clarified, "No offense, your first try at flying was kind of sad."

Jarek let out a tiny snort and rose to his feet, "Thanks but no thanks, I can manage just fine."

"Don't try to act tough Skippy," Sisu laughed slightly but not cruelly, "Besides, think about it. What choice do you have? I mean unless you want those little kids flying circles around you?"

Jarek's eyes widened slightly. He had to admit to himself, that was rather embarrassing.

Still, Jarek had to ask, "What's the catch?" He eyed suspiciously.

"Catch?" Sisu said confused.

"I don't suppose you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart?" Jarek's suspicion grew.

"That's the thing, I am. I don't want anything from you, I just want to help you. Trust me," Sisu said optimistically.

A short scoff escaped Jarek. It was trusting the wrong person that had gotten him into this mess.

"Let me ask you this Skippy, what else do you have to do? Do you want to just sit around doing nothing? Or do you want to make the most of your situation? I mean think about all the cool dragon things you can do! How many humans can say they were able to fly? Huh?"

Thinking further on it, Jarek had to silently admit that would indeed be cool. As much as he wanted to turn back into a human, and as much as Jarek held on to a lingering hope he could be turned back, he wasn't the one to be idle. There would be time for that when he hit it big. And so against his better judgment, Jarek said something he thought he would never agree to.

"All right, you've made your point. When do we begin?"

Sisu let out a little squeal of delight, "Great! We can start right now!"

"Now?"

"Yes now! Class is now in session, and I do ask you to call me "Ms. Datu" during class, we have to keep a good student/teacher relationship."

Jarek gave the dragon an odd look, "Can't I just call you Sisu?"

"That will ruin the authenticness of it! Come on just go with it!" Sisu stated excitedly.

And then Jarek found himself agreeing once more to something he never thought he would.

"Fine...Ms. Datu."

Class was now in session.

A/N: And now Jarek's quest begins.