((Keep in mind this story will be going through major edits in the future))

The Koanan encampment had a large marketplace on the north end, filled with open air shops and restaurants while a shimmering pond fed by the waterfall's winding stream acted as the centerpiece.

Aelwen had asked for directions from a few children, two being Koanan twins while the other was a tiny panther centaur (the torso of a blonde-haired girl with her lower body being that of a yellow Panther). While initially Aelwen thought the trio of kids would simply guide her to her destination, they instead followed her the whole way. Now they were virtually inseparable from their new friend. They talked and squealed among one another as they led Aelwen from store to store, showing her the various things they liked and wanted to buy.

Aelwen had a wonderful time browsing through the plethora of items. She bought a brush and comb first, making sure to duck behind a tent to fix her hair. She ended up putting the unruly mess into a nice looking side braid, one of the children offering a piece of string with which to tie the end.

The two Koanan children, despite being only five years of age, already possessed Shifter ears, streaks, and jewelry. They tumbled amongst each other in dragon form, biting at their ears when they got into a petty argument, while trotting around the pond on stubby paws. Their centaur friend followed them in fits of giggles, watching in amusement as they fought. Aelwen managed to calm everyone down by buying them candy sweets.

The attitude many of the people of the area had toward Aelwen varied greatly from person to person. Some welcomed her with open arms, even giving her welcome gifts. Others simply stared in disgust. One Koanan dragon tending to a woodcarving stand was so angry upon seeing her he looked about ready to blow fire in her direction. Aelwen quickly led herself and the kids away.

By the time night had fully enveloped itself over the land, Aelwen had purchased a dress, a flower vase, a set of utensils, a shoulder purse, a pair of shoes for her bare feet, a sun hat, a couple of interesting novels, and a comfortable pillow and blanket set.

However, there was one last shop, hanging at the edge of the clearing, that caught her eye. It was a circular tent propped up against a particularly thick redwood tree, the flaps wide open with magical holograms projecting sparkles into the air like fireworks. The outside was painted with random splatters, as if the artist simply flung the paint here and there without a care in the world.

The interior was even more interesting, as Aewen soon found out. It was a little art shop bursting with personality. Jars of paint lined the back wall, organized into stacked towers separated by kind and color. Several flower vases bloomed with bristly paintbrushes, while glues and crafting materials burst from velvet-lined chests. Each object the store sold was displayed as if they were the greatest treasure in the land. Even the interior walls were lavishly painted with royal, lush scenes of palace gardens and famous artists of old.

Aelwen brushed her hand against the brushes' tips. The store owner was the old man Sphinx she had seen a few times before. He gave a fanged smile and padded toward her from behind his low desk.

"In the market for art supplies, Ms. Liriel-Spawn?" He asked.

Aelwen was confused by what he called her at first, until she remembered the tendency of sphinxes to address others by their parent's names. In this case, while it may have sounded like an insult to the normal Shifter, in reality it was simply a formality in the Sphinx culture.

"I suppose. You have such a lovely shop here, that I could not help but to take a look within," Aelwen said, regaining her formal wording. "By what name shall I address you by?"

The Sphinx gave a happy chortle. "I am called Renos-Father, Parent of Three Cubs. You may address me Renos. We are having a sale today, if you have interest. Drawing pencils are half off if a book of sketching papers is bought with them."

Aelwen nodded, diving deeper into the store. The children, who had been quiet thus far, followed behind a bit before branching off and examining different things. The little Panther centaur girl conversed with the Sphinx, who laughed at her innocent questions concerning the nature of creating art.

The little sketchbooks were made of beautifully crafted paper, a soft fabric-like texture rubbed against Aelwen's fingertips. She took up a medium-sized one and grabbed a few graphite pencils, taking them to the checkout desk. Her eyes wandered around the canvas-bordered room. She would have stayed longer if she wasn't so eager to get back to her tent and set all of her new things up.

Renos took her few coins and nodded. The Koanan twins jumped up while trying to pull down the canvases above. Aelwen shooed them out before any damage was done.

Now that the shops were closing down, the children decided to finally say their goodbyes, dashing away on tiny paws back to their respective homes. Aelwen made her way to Shev's small bakery tent. The tall, furry-eared man joyfully greeted her, giving her a fresh meal of strawberry salad and buttered rolls. She thanked him, and headed to the guest tent.

After setting up her things in a fashion tailored to her tastes, she sat down on her bed and ate. She was silent, alone with her thoughts. With so many undesirable things to think about, this was a dangerous state to be in. Aelwen cracked open one of her new books. Wonderfully detailed illustrations depicted the muscle and bone structures of various dragons. Large paragraphs next to arrows marking various body parts relayed helpful information about the inner workings of the creatures. Aelwen absorbed both food and knowledge as crickets began to sing their repetitive songs outdoors.

Footsteps sounded outside. Aelwen looked up to see Gerel's face peeking through the tent flaps.

"Hey," he said.

"Usually one knocks when entering the abode of a lady." The corner of Aelwen's mouth rose in tandem with an eyebrow.

"It's a tent, my lady." Gerel strode in, sitting beside her. "Figured you'd be lonely. Thought I'd join you for a bit. How's it going?"

Aelwen shrugged. "Ehh," she groaned, closing her book.

Gerel nodded. "Yea. I get it." He sighed.

"Any news on the green dragon?" Aelwen finished up her last bite of the salad.

"Mom and the team are quitting work for the night. They are pretty much sure that his wings will have to be amputated. They're in horrible shape," Gerel said, scratching his head.

"What will that do to him? If he turns human, I mean." Aelwen flipped her braid over her back. "Will anything change?"

"Well, the wing matter comes from part of the human ribs and back vertebrates. Shoulder muscles too. His human form will have chronic back problems and won't have a full range of motion in his arms. Some skin might also be missing initially, but will grow back."

Aelwen it her lip. "That's not good... He'll still be in good health, though, right?"

"Hopefully. His leg was salvageable, and will be good as new in time." Gerel took a bit of buttered roll and popped it into his mouth at Aelwen's silent chagrin.

"By the way, I was wondering about your father..." Aelwen said. "While I know your mother is a head physician, I've been wondering if your father is the head of the village. He seems to be the one taking charge of the mission to restore the memories of the former rebellion leaders."

"Dad's not the leader of the encampment, that job belongs to Arwista. She's the chieftess. Dad, however, was the co-leader of the rebellion, along with mom. He used to fight alongside all of those people we're restoring. It was actually because of a fight with a witch near the end of the rebellion that he became blind. That pretty much took him out of the picture, and mom became the sole leader for a while until dad recovered. But by then, everything had fallen apart. I was just a kid when it all happened."

"He must have been very brave to face off with a witch like that."

"He ended up winning the fight, actually. Cut her head clean off, despite his face wound. It was incredible to watch, from what I've been told. Dad's an awesome guy. Too bad he's pissed at me." Gerel leaned back onto a tent pole, his arms crossed behind his head.

"I'm sure we'll convince him to let you go. You will be sorely needed during the expedition. Not only as a hunter, but as a good conversation partner and provider of entertainment!"

Two two teens smiled and giggled simultaneously, a sense of kinship rekindling between them.

"Hey, what's that?" Gerel pointed to the sketchbook sitting delicately on a low table. Four sharpened pencils sat in a row beside it.

"Oh... Well I used to do a lot of sketching in the castle gardens. It was always a favorite hobby of mine. I decided to go ahead and get a sketchbook to work in as a way to calm myself down if need be..."

Gerel swept up the book in his hands, flipping through the empty pages. "Hey! That's awesome! Can you draw me something?"

"Uhm, like what?" Aelwen took the book back, flipping to the front page.

"Like a, uh, guy. Me, maybe?" Gerel grinned.

Aelwen rolled her eyes. "You know what, I don't feel like drawing anymore."

Gerel guffawed, slapping his still-healing thigh. He cried out in pain once he realized what he'd done. Aelwen winced and waited for him to calm down.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yea. Sorry to burst the mood." He sighed.

Aelwen looked down, an idea suddenly blossoming in her mind. She blushed at the thought, but slowly liked the idea more and more.

Should I even suggest such a thing? I guess it could help in the long run... She thought.

"Hey, if you end up joining us on the journey, you'll have to learn how to act during a high society ball." Aelwen set the sketchbook back on the table.

"Good point. Not something I'd say I particularly want to learn, though." Gerel shrugged.

"Well, a big part of a ball is the dancing. If your leg is feeling up to it, I could teach you how to waltz when I'm not taking lessons of my own."

Gerel raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess so. Wanna start tonight?"

"Tonight!?" Aelwen cried. "It's getting pretty late."

"Well, to be honest I don't really want people to know I'm learning to dance. Especially my sister. I wouldn't hear the end of it. Besides, there's a place I know not too far from here that would be perfect. I've been wanting to show it to you anyway."

"Well, alright. Let me just get ready." Aelwen slipped on her shoes and tidied up her hair a bit.

The two slipped out into the night, the cricket buzzing growing louder.

"Shift into dragon form. It's much quicker to fly there," Gerel said.

Aelwen obeyed, quickly changing forms. She was amazed at how easy it was. Unlike the first time she had changed from human to dragon, this felt natural. It was a part of her being all along, and now that she could use it she almost felt more complete somehow.

The dragon spread her wings as Gerel clambered onto her back. She rocketed into the sky, a cool night breeze carrying her upward.

Gerel guided her a ways beyond the edge of the encampment, past some of the tallest redwood trees in the area. She flew over them with some difficulty, rising just over their tips.

"This is some kind of pocket dimension, right? How big is it, anyway?" Aelwen wondered aloud.

"We're nearing the edge, actually. If you go past the border, you plop right back into the regular world. The only way to get back in is through the waterfall," Gerel explained. "Oh! There! Land riiight there."

Aelwen made a shaky descent, pounding down onto soft grass. She lifted her head as her eyes examined the area in wonder.

It wasn't just a normal forest clearing. The trees surrounding the place were not redwoods like most of the forest. Rather, they were shorter, willow-like trees. Their sweeping leaves danced gently in the almost unnoticeable breeze. Little points of light sprouted from their branches in globular pods. They sparked in colors of blue, purple, and all of the tones in between. Lime green grass shaped like the silhouette of a spoon burst in long stalks from the ground, sweeping across the clearing. A pond in the center slipped into a stream, which arched around the edge and then dove into the thick of the trees and continued onward. The water was eerily glowing a light blue and laced with lines of deep purple.

"What is this place?" Aelwen breathed. "It's amazing!"

"My hangout spot. I come out here when I want to practice violin or just get away from everyone. That water is filled with glowing plankton, which makes it glow like that. The trees are rare phosphorous-based plants that sprout what look like the abdomens of fireflies. That's why they're called Fire-Point trees." Gerel dismounted Aelwen, walking towards the iridescent pond. He dipped a hand in, which became covered in the plankton and glowed like a dim lantern when pulled out. Gerel grinned, wiping his hand on Aelwen's front leg.

"Gerel-!" She jokingly shoved him aside, then wiped the glowing residue on the grass. She pranced around the beautiful illuminated area, taking in the wonderful sights. Her horns brushed against pods of purple and blue. Feet padded among strangely shaped grasses.

"You seem to know a lot about the flora and fauna here. Is that something that interests you?" Aelwen asked.

Gerel nodded. "Besides smithing and hunting, I really like studying animals and plants. You could say I'm kinda into Biology and other fields that involve how nature works."

Aelwen's mind flashed back to Jane Florence, and her irrational hatred for the field. She gave an internal giggle.

"That's very interesting. Do you plan on taking that on as a job when you get older?" She inquired.

Gerel shrugged as he wandered over to a tree at the perimeter of the pond. He reached behind it, bringing out a wooden box. Contained within was his violin. He put it to his shoulder, playing the same waltzing tune from the waterfall.

"This is the kind of music they play at balls, right? The one, two, three kind of thing?" He asked.

Aelwen nodded. She raised up on her hind legs, her body shaping itself into human form as her dress materialized around her. She looked up as she tucked her now unbraided hair behind her long ears. "That is the kind of music, though usually a bit more lively."

Gerel played a good bit of the tune over again, this time quicker. He snapped his fingers, and the instrument floated out of his hands, playing the same section over automatically. He sidled up to the bewildered Aelwen as the notes filled the clearing.

"Is that really something you can do with magic?" Aelwen asked, "That's-"

"Amazing? Yea. I actually invented that spell a while ago, when I was practicing and wanted to hear what I'd just played over again. I'm sure someone else has thought of it before, but I was still pretty proud of myself. In any case, should we begin?"

Aelwen took a deep breath. "Yes. First is the proper positioning."

She grasped her right hand to his left, positioning his hand around her waist. Her left fingers curled around his shoulder. Both stood stiffly, looking away from each other's eyes.

"O-ok, now move your feet from here to here, while I follow behind, and as you step, let your motions follow the one-two-three pattern of the music." Aelwen demonstrated for him. He nodded.

The two softly stepped from pose to pose, rigidly following the motions. The violin's tune played on in repeat.

Stars twinkled gently from above, framing the silver moon. The sky remained a hue of dark purple in a swiftly changing gradient of deep blue as it dipped to the horizon. Time seemed to stand still as the breeze came to a quiet stop. Even the crickets' chatter became only a whispered memory. Moonlight beamed through branches of pod-laden trees upon the two dancers.

The pattern became easier for Gerel to follow. Heartbeats attuned as muscles began to relax. Nimbly they circled their patch of grass with tip-toeing feet. Misty night air kissed blood-filled cheeks.

Aelwen closed her eyes, and let out her breath. She hesitantly let herself sink into his arms.

It had been so long since she had embraced someone last. The warmth of another human being in the cold air of a twilight past seemed so necessary at that moment. Something she needed.

Wordlessly, Aelwen pressed herself against her partner. He sucked in a breath in response. Chin hooked over his shoulder, Aelwen entwined her arms around him.

The music stopped. All was quiet.

Gerel hugged her back, his hands pressed against her spine as his brows lowered in concern. His fingers felt the haggard breaths of the unknowingly weeping princess.