[Thunder]

(WARNING: May contain Homestuck spoilers if you haven't finished Act 5! Also contains a guest appearance by one of my OCs, so it isn't -entirely- Homestuck xD)

Wasn't this some déja vu.

Of course, Jade was ecstatic about visiting the falls. It reminded her a lot of her old island home, which Dave, regrettably, had only seen while they were playing that gog damned death game called Sburb. Aside from finally meeting Jade, that trip hadn't been too much fun. The tropical island had fucking freezing snow on it (Dave really hated the cold), they had been busy running around collecting frogs to breed Bilious Slick, and worst of all, Jade had accidentally shot him dead as a doornail in their fight against Jack Noir.

Well, it wasn't totally an accident. Dave had known it was coming. It was the fate that time had spun for him, and evading it would've just plunged them all into another doomed timeline. He faced own his death to save everyone. Such was his duty as the Knight of Time.

Of course it ended happily, as Jade had corpse-smooched his dead body and revived him on Derse, where he then was able to complete his suicide mission with Rose and attained God Tier. And here he was now, in Evelon, running around another tropical jungle with Jade. Neither of them had any idea how they got to Evelon, nor did they quite know how to control transforming in and out of their animal forms, but they were alive and out of Sburb. As long as everybody was safe, that was good enough for them.

[Thunder]

Right now, Dave, in his Corbine form, was perched in the branches of a tree. Below him was a large, crystal clear pool of water that had a beautiful and powerful waterfall plunging into it, and Jade, who had been turned into a Lucain, was swimming around and barking happily in the water. The Knight of Time had to crack an amused grin at the sight, or however much of a grin he could make as a feathery asshole, anyway. Jade already acted quite dog-like in her human, post-God Tier form because of the fact that she had merged with her half-dog sprite, but her Lucain self was even more dog. The irony of it all was amazing.

"Dave!" she called up to him. "You should come down and play too! It's really fun!"

"Yeah, I don't think crows can swim all that fucking well, Harley," he snorted back. "I'm not a duck, man. Otherwise I might consider it."

"Awww, come on, Dave! Geeze, you're such a party pooper sometimes..."

[Thunder]

Dave sighed and looked up at the sky. It was a pretty warm day, not too hot or humid, which was the perfect weather for...a date? A friendly hang out? He wasn't even sure what this was, exactly. He would've loved to say that he was together with Harley in a couple's sense, but he couldn't muster the courage to say anything to her. Some kind of courage he had for a knight. He was hoping that he'd get a chance to at least hint at his feelings, but if she kept doggy paddling around the pool like that, he wasn't sure if he'd get to do much.

Still, there was one definite reason for them coming here. Supposedly, somewhere in Idalani grew a herb that they could turn into a drink and consume in order to give themselves better control of their transformations. They didn't know how to make the drink on their own, but they knew there was a Mage's Brewery in Evelon, and they had hoped that Kelloc, the wizard who ran the shop, could do it for them.

So this little stop at the waterfall was, in fact, just a break from their search. Even so, the search wasn't stressful at all. Jade loved exploring this new place, and Dave was happy to see her happy. And thank god they didn't have to deal with frogs or Jack this time.

[Thunder]

After a while, Jade got tired of swimming around and climbed out of the pool, shaking the water out of her pelt. Dave had to stifle a laugh at her matted, dripping fur. Her eyes were shining brightly with happiness, her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, and her tails were wagging a mile a minute, so she looked overjoyed and ridiculous at the same time.

"Finally done, huh?" Dave muttered. He swooped down from the tree and landed in a clump of grass in front of her.

"Yep!" Jade laughed. "Though it would have been more fun if you joined!"

"Harley, I repeat, I'm a not a fucking duck." But she just giggled and ignored his comment.

"Anyway, do you want to keep looking for the herb?" she asked. "Oh, but before I forget..."

She had placed her glasses on a rock nearby before she had gone into the pool. Jade picked them back up, and after fumbling around with them awkwardly in her paws, she managed to get them back on her face. She spun around to face Dave again and grinned, revealing pointy canine teeth instead of her usual bucktoothed smile. "It would be so much easier to do this if I had fingers and thumbs!"

[Thunder]

Dave could sympathize with that statement. It was really hard to hold anything with just talons and a beak, and many times, he was scared to death that his precious shades would fall off his face. He didn't like anyone seeing his eyes. They were a weird color- red- and he thought that people might give him weird looks if they saw them. He had considered showing them to Jade, though, as she constantly insisted that he reveal them to her, but again, he couldn't find the strength to do it.

"All right, let's go," he said. "You led last time, so I'll go ahead this time."

Jade nodded in agreement. Dave flapped his wings and lifted himself into the air, and then he zoomed off into the trees. If there was one great thing about being a bird, it was that he could fly, though back in Sburb, he had plenty of opportunities to fly anyway, on Derse and as a God Tier. He could hear pawsteps behind him as Jade followed.

[Thunder]

The jungle was thick and shady. There were a lot of difficult vines and branches that got in the way, and Dave had to be careful so he wouldn't fly into any of them. That would be uncool. Jade was better at navigating around the flora than he was, considering that she had lived on a pacific island and was used to this sort of climate. Thankfully, they hadn't run into any monsters yet. Some terrifying beasts had lurked in the forests on Jade's island, but they hadn't seen any here.

Even if there were monsters, though, they were pretty confident in their fighting abilities. They had retained their God Tier powers even after Sburb and had plenty of experience battling underlings in that game. However, in this new realm, some of their powers had weakened. Jade's in particular were not as OP as they had been since they were further from the Green Sun, the super-massive star that gave her lots of her god dog abilities. Dave's time manipulation wasn't affected as much as her space powers, as he lacked a power source like the Green Sun. But that girl could still pack a punch, even if she wasn't a God Tier. Several of their arguments had left Dave with a bloody nose and quite a few bruises.

[Thunder]

Eventually, the jungle cleared, and Dave and Jade found themselves standing on top of a cliff high above the rest of the rainforest. They could see miles and miles away, and the air was so fresh and the sun was so warm on their backs. It was nothing like the Land of Frost and Frogs.

"It's so pretty up here!" Jade gasped. Her emerald eyes widened at the sight. "This reminds me so much of home! Hey Dave, what if I moved here?"

"Yeah, and how are you gonna build your house?" he chuckled. "Put stuff together with your space dog powers?"

"Hmm, that might actually work. If I could find a vacant house and teleport it here..."

"Jegus Harley, I was kidding. I didn't think you were going to be serious about it."

"Oh, I was kidding too!" she exclaimed. "Err, maybe I was kidding? I don't really know now. The more I look at this, the prettier it gets, and the more I want to stay here..."

[Thunder]

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a rather loud rustling behind them.

Dave was the first to react. He whipped around and swiftly withdrew his sword, the Royal Deringer, from his Sylladex. It appeared in midair out of nowhere, and he caught it in his beak. Since it had only half a blade, it looked a little ridiculous, but he knew better than anyone that it cut through even metal like butter. Jade had sized it down so it would be easier for him to hold in his Corbine form. And Jade, presently, was glancing back and forth nervously from the trees to a rather large rock to her left. Presumably, she was planning to user her powers to drop the rock on whatever it was, if it was dangerous. She did have her guns stashed in her Sylladex in case, but they would be difficult to use in her Lucain form.

A huge Paragon ambled out of the forest and shook some leaves off of its head. Oddly, it seemed to have fine, thin fur instead of scales, and its legs had some armor plating attached to them. The golden spines on its back were sharp and intimidating, and an odd, purple mist was emanating from its claws.

[Thunder]

It didn't seem to have seen them yet. Jade stepped closer to Dave and whispered into his ear. "Do you think its dangerous?" she whispered.

"Dunno," Dave grumbled. "But why does it have armor? I don't think wild animals usually walk around with armor."

Then, to their horror, the Paragon swung its head in their direction and stared with its crimson eyes. Gog, Dave thought, they're as red as mine. But somehow, it didn't feel like the dragon was looking at them. Rather, it almost felt as if it was looking through them.

"That would be because I'm not a wild animal," the great Paragon growled in annoyance. The sound startled Dave and Jade. Even though they were talking animals themselves now, it was still somehow odd to hear other creatures speak. "You can put the sword down. I have no intentions to hurt you."

[Thunder]

Dave, with some reluctance, stashed the Royal Deringer back in his Sylladex, and it vanished from his beak. Jade relaxed more easily than he did; she was quicker to trust others than he was. She boldly stepped up to the Paragon, and even though its gaze followed her, it still didn't quite seem like he saw her.

"Sorry, mister," she apologized. "My name is Jade. That's my friend Dave over there. We were worried about running into monsters, so we just got a little shocked when we saw you. We didn't mean to insult you."

"It's fine," the Paragon rumbled. "And there's no need to call me 'mister'. You can just call me Tsugun. I have the feeling that I'm not actually much older than you two. My dragon form just happens to be particularly large."

"Your...dragon form? Does that mean you can take on another form?"

"Yes. I'm part of a race called the Dragonians. We're people who have the power to take on the shapes of dragons. This mist in my hands is my Dragonforce. Every Dragonian is born with a Dragonforce that gives them unique powers."

"But if you can shapeshift, then..."

[Thunder]

Jade spun around to face Dave. "Dave!" she barked excitedly. "Maybe he can teach us about how to turn back into humans! Or at least, he could help us find that herb."

"You don't know how to control your transformations?" Tsugun asked.

"Yeah, we've been stuck in these forms for a while," Dave replied, approaching the Paragon. "I mean, we've sporadically gone back to human form every once in a while, but we can't direct it. And I really don't want to turn into a person while I'm flying, 'cause slamming into the earth would hurt like hell."

The Voidbringer looked pensive for a moment before nodding. "I do have time to help you," Tsugun said. "I'm part of a nomadic Dragonian clan, the Alistars, and I was sent to scout this area. But there's still plenty of time before I have to report back to my clan. I'll see what I can do for you."

"Thank you so much, Tsugun!" Jade exclaimed. "We owe you one!"

[Thunder]

Tsugun stepped up to the edge of the cliff. "The herb you seek is called Metamorphose Grass," he said, "and you can indeed find it in Idalani. It's elusive, however, and I am not sure where exactly it grows here. If my sister were around, she could probably be of more help to you, but she has told me that it's a long, golden  grass that's fuzzy around the edges. I wouldn't know what gold is, of course."

"How come?" Jade asked as she walked up next to him.

"I'm blind."

Both Jade and Dave were stunned at this revelation. "Whaaaat?" Jade gasped. "But...how can you..."

"Do you see what's around my claws?"

"The purple mist?" Dave asked.

"That's my Dragonforce. I have a dark element Dragonforce, and it allows me to detect the positions of shadows. Of course, I also have better hearing than most, but my Dragonforce helps me the most."

[Thunder]

Jade frowned and gazed out across the tree tops. "But that means you can't really see this beautiful view," she murmured. "Doesn't that make you sad?"

"Well, I don't really know what I'm missing," Tsugun replied. "If you don't know what something is, how can you regret not being able to experience it? Color has no meaning for me, and descriptions are only somewhat helpful. I'm used to the way I am. It does not bother me at all."

He shrugged his massive shoulders and turned away from the cliff. "But we're getting off topic," he continued. "You wanted to learn how to control your transformations. I can tell you right now that the herb will only help you temporarily. If you really want to master transforming, you have to train your mind."

"And what does that involve?" Dave questioned. "I thought it was more of a physical thing."

"It is physical, but you have to focus on your body. Know what it's like right now, and then imagine yourself shifting to your other form. It's difficult to explain, but you have to sense every part of yourself. Take a deep breath and feel the air fill your lungs. Concentrate on your pulse. For Dragonians, transformation is very much a mental process, and it may be the same for you. Allow me to demonstrate."

[Thunder]

Tsugun took a deep breath and shut his sightless, blood red eyes. Almost immediately, the purple mist around his claws flared up and consumed his whole body. This alarmed Jade, who squeaked, jumped backwards, and nearly tripped over Dave in the process. "Whoa there, dog girl!" he shouted. His shades had nearly fallen off his beak, and he quickly stopped them from doing so with his talons. "Watch your legs!"

"S-sorry!" Jade stammered. She adjusted her own glasses, which had tilted during her jump, and they returned their attention to Tsugun.

Although the mist had swirled violently at first, it was dying down now. The large bulk of the Paragon had been hidden in the mist, and now it had seemingly vanished. As the violet screen gradually cleared, they could make out the outline of a person. A few seconds later, the mist had blown away entirely, save for the small amount that still lingered around the now human hands.

[Thunder]

The red eyes were clearly those of the Paragon's, and the thin, black clothes, with their red and gold embroidery, reflected the Voidbringer's markings. But Tsugun's human build, a muscular but skinny form, was not at all like his dragon form's bulk. And furthermore, while his dragon had black fur, he appeared to be an albino as a human. His skin was incredibly pale, and his shoulder length, spiky hair was snow white.

"There," he sighed. "It's complete."

"Wow!" Jade exclaimed. Her eyes opened wide behind her round glasses. "That...that was amazing! You're so cool, Tsugun!"

"Excuse me?" Dave grunted. "I think I'm the local cool kid around here, Harley. Thank you very much." And privately, he thought to himself, Well damn, if Harley gets the hots for this new guy, my chances of a date with her here are pretty much screwed.

Tsugun merely shrugged at her compliment, though. "I don't find it particularly spectacular. Transformation comes quite naturally to Dragonians. We've been doing it ever since we were children. If you two are having trouble with changing forms, then I'd presume that you aren't from around these parts. Am I correct?"