7. -Diamonds

Grief clutched at my heart as we lowered my grandmothers body into the ground. The dagger that had been clasped in her cold hand was now resting in my clawed one.

My grandmother reached the bottom of the pit and landed with a soft thumb in the soil.

Without talking, Dorran helped me pile the dirt back into the pit on top of her unmoving body. Loose earth flew everywhere as we continued to scrape the mud back into the hole.

After the grave had been filled to the top we swiped the surface of the mound with our lizard-tails, compressing the ground until it was hard-packed and unmovable by the weather.

I looked around the clearing for flowers to place upon the grave, and my gaze instantly landed on the numerous bushes of wild roses.

That would be ironic seeing as she had sent me to gather some of these for her mixture, but while I was having fun flying she had died.

That brought even more tears to my eyes, I was surprised my eyes hadn't dried up after all the crying I had done. I slipped over to the closest one and, with my teeth, bit off the most beautiful, un-chewed roses that I could find.

They were a startling ruby-red and were completely flawless, not a single hole penetrated the petals.

I arranged the bunch I had collected like my grandmother had shown me to do with the bundles of healing plants that were now nothing more than ash among the wreckage of our home.

I placed them carefully onto the mound of dirt.

With a curved talon I scraped into the earth these words:

Here lay Fonda, healer to Menefer,

And beloved grandmother,

May her soul rest untouched for eternity.

By the time I had traced the last 'y' tears were cascading down my snout and pouring onto the grave. But there was something strange about the tears. They looked like liquid silver.

As the droplets splashed onto the soil, silver patterns spread throughout the entire grave.

They traveled right over the roses, turning everything in its path crystalline, until the whole grave looked like piles of diamond had just been placed there.

The engraved words remained in place and still visible. I stared at what I had done in awe.

It was beautiful.

I glanced at Dorran and saw that he was gazing at the fabulous sight before him. He sensed me looking at him and stared deep into my eyes, a confused look creeping across his reptilian features.

"How did you do that?" he whispered, still gazing at my eyes.

I shook my head in incomprehension and turned back to my master piece.

I heard Dorran snort softly and out of my perpetual vision, saw him extend out his left forearm towards the word carvings.

He tapped an icy talon on the letters and I watched in amazement as onyx crystal swam from the tip and flooded the words I had inscribed, making them stand out in black flowing writing, as if they had been written with an ink pen.

His eyes widened when this happened, obviously he himself didn't know what was taking place either.

As the spreading darkness ceased filling the letters, the gorgeous diamonded tomb glistened like a million bright white stars in the fading sunlight.

After all the grieving I had done that day my throat and eyes were sore and swollen. I turned to Dorran who was once again looking at me.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly after I had calmed down some.

I shook my large dragon head and gazed up to the stars that had just started blinking into existence.

"I will never be ok after this." I whispered, my eyes glued to the raging balls of fire that have always been suspended over my head, knowing that there would be at least one more this evening.

Dorran nodded, understanding my sorrow. He beckoned with a flick of his tail for me to follow him.

"Dorran….," his head turned back to face mine. I knew he could sense more-or-less what I was going to say, but he kept quiet and allowed me to continue. "Dorran, we hardly know each other, but now after one day I feel as if our fates are entwined somehow, and that we must stay together to face whatever destiny may be bestowed upon us." I spoke the truth of what I had felt, knowing that if we somehow, for whatever reason, did separate, that we, and many other people would be doomed.

He nodded his scaly head in agreement, "I have felt the same, so I'm guessing we listen to our gut feelings?" he asked with a hint of a smile playing across his long mouth.

"I guess." I replied, still thinking about my now dead grandmother.

"Ok, as long as we agree on that one thing, is it ok if we try something that will help us travel through the forest quicker and less hazardless?" he asked, completely confident in himself.

"Sure." I said uncertainly, wondering what he was going to try.

"Ok, stand back and think of something that makes you extremely angry." I did as he said and thought of the first thing that came to my mind and it made me furious straight away. The death of my grandmother.

Images of her crushed underneath the carnage flashed through my mind and hot, angry tears spilled down my face.

She was dead, she was never coming back.

I clenched my hands into tight fists and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I suddenly started vibrating once again, but not as wildly this time.

Then I seemed to shrink, my tail shortening until there was nothing of it left, nails shrinking, as well as all of the bones in my body.

My wings absorbed into my back, the skin knitting back over them.

I continued contracting until I had noticeable human features, hands, feet, head, all of me was back to normal. And luckily it hadn't been as painful as before.

I stood giddily onto my feet, wobbling like a new-born.

I was back to normal. I turned to see Dorran in his human form walk towards me, curiously and hesitant.

"What?" I asked looking down at myself. Nothing was different and when I had morphed back my clothes had reappeared from underneath my skin, so at least I wasn't naked.

I saw Dorran shake his head, dark hair flying everywhere as he did, and he continued to gaze into my eyes with his abnormal dark ones.

"Your…your eyes aren't green anymore." He stated and I glared at him. "What?" I stuttered for the second time in a row.

"They're silver." He muttered, never tearing his eyes from mine.

He pointed to a puddle of rainwater in the clearing and I walked hesitantly over to it. I knelt down and peered curiously into the water.

I gasped at what I saw there. My eyes were a startling silver with a blue-ish tinge. In contrast to my dark hair they looked as if they were sparkling.

I sighed and looked up to Dorran who was still looking at me.

"Dorran, close your mouth and quit staring at me like a fish out of the water." I stated, annoyed.

With difficulty he managed to, sweeping his dark gaze downwards, now staring at his shoes.

"Sorry…" he muttered, ashamed at himself because I could sense his feelings and emotions.

"It doesn't really matter." I muttered and stood up, brushing the soil off of my already dirty dress.

"What did you want to try?" I asked, changing the subject.

His face brightened noticeably and he stood back from me.

"Think of yourself as a wolf." He told me simply, as if it were no big deal.

I looked at him, trying to decide if he were crazy or not. I decided to just do as he said, only to amuse him.

I thought of what a wolf looked like, long muzzle, fur, teeth, and claws.

Suddenly, a perfect image of a magnificent silver wolf appeared in my brain, as if it had been waiting to escape.

"Got it?" Dorran asked, hearing my gasp.

I nodded, I think I had anyway.

"Good, now think of something to make you angry again." He said, watching me closely. I didn't want to think of my only relative that was now dead, but I knew I had to.

Once again the painful pictures flashed across the insides of my eyelids, making me have to try to not throw up.

I felt the now familiar vibrations wrack my body, making me feel as if someone had picked me up and was now pulverizing me for some reason. It wasn't pleasant.

I looked down at myself and gasped to see tough silver hairs erupt all over my body that was changing rapidly.

Once again my limbs elongated and my spine extended forming a shorted tail.

My nails grew and curved in, smaller than the talons had been, but still deathly sharp.

My nose grew longer and my ears moved up to the top of my head and expanded.

Razor-sharp teeth sprouted from my jaws and my neck extended a bit, throwing me onto all fours once again.

The vibrating stopped after my transformation was complete. After today, nothing would surprise me ever again.

I looked over at Dorran and saw that he had already morphed and was now a sleek black wolf. His fur shining in the moon light.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked, my voice sounding slightly like I was growling.

"We are going to go to the village I came from, and search for survivors." He answered almost silently. Grief and despair making his gravely voice crack.

Then It occurred to me, the dream I had had before Dorran had arrived to my house had shown a huge black beast running in the woods away from a vast fire.

And I had just realized that that beast had been Dorran in wolf form.

Things about Dorrans past are beginning to reveal themselves are they not? Hope you like this chapter, it was really hard to write so if there are a few mistakes please tell me and i will correct them :D

KEEP REVIEWING!!!!

- Firesilk :D

8th chapter will be up soon depending on how fast i can write:D