Hey Sol!
Intrigued about all your OCs. How about Kai not feeling well and Lea's all in his face with too many questions and all, and she says something that could be dangerous for her as a younger dragon, so he has to correct her or lecture her or whatever, and is trying to hide that he's feeling worse and worse. And of course she notices and ends up taking care of him in her very Lea way.
Thank you for the prompt, Lis! ❤️❤️❤️
It has been some time since Kai shifted. Dizzy, nausous Kai and Lea being too talkative and nosy for her own good.
Two weeks without wings
The Donauinsel was almost empty that early in the morning.
A pale grey light hung over the river, the city still half-asleep behind the trees, and the long path along the water lay quiet except for the occasional cyclist cutting through the mist. It was the only time Kai trusted the place enough for training. Too early for crowds or curious people who might notice things they shouldn’t.
Lea jogged beside him with far more enthusiasm than the exercise deserved.
“So when exactly do I get to talk to them?” she asked, breath perfectly steady despite the pace. “Actual humans, I mean."
"When you are ready," Kai said.
"They aren't fragile wildlife I have to learn to approach!"
Kai kept his eyes on the path ahead. The steady rhythm of running helped, usually. Movement kept the tension under his skin manageable.
“Humans are fragile wildlife,” he said. They were part of nature, sure, but also arrogant and inventive enough they thought they could conquer it. Dragons were the ones defending nature and keeping it balanced.
Some dragons thought humans also needed to be managed. Others thought they were the biggest enemy of the natural order.
“That is incredibly rude,” Lea huffed.
They passed a row of empty benches overlooking the river. The water moved slowly beside them, dull silver in the morning light.
Lea hopped up onto the low concrete edge for three steps before dropping back beside him.
“But you live among them,” she insisted. “You go into cafés. You buy groceries. You talk to people.”
“I behave.”
“I can do it too."
Kai exhaled slowly through his nose. His back had been tight since they started running, a dull pulling sensation between his shoulders that grew sharper every few minutes. Two weeks without shifting had turned the familiar itch into something deeper—something that pressed against his bones as if they were remembering a shape he wasn’t allowing them to take.
He kept his pace steady.
“You will talk to humans,” he said calmly. “When you can hold your human form without thinking about it.”
“I can.”
“You stared at the cashier for twelve seconds yesterday and your eyes changed colours."
“She had blue hair.”
“That is not a reason.”
“It is a very good reason.”
Kai ignored that. “And when you can control your reactions.”
“I don't have any reactions.”
“You growl.”
“That was one time.”
“You growl when you are curious.”
Lea huffed. “Well how else am I supposed to express curiosity?”
“Not like a predator.”
They ran another hundred meters before she spoke again.
“So when?” she asked. “Weeks? Months? Years? Am I going to look like an old human lady before I’m allowed to buy a coffee?”
Dragons aged differently than humans. Lea was already couple decades old, but for dragons she was just a hatching. To humans she looked like a girl in her late teenage years.
Kai opened his mouth to answer. The world shifted slightly under his feet. It was subtle, the kind of dizziness that could almost pass for a misstep.
But the heat that followed it was not subtle at all. It surged along his spine, deep and heavy, a slow pressure spreading through his ribs like something stretching too tightly beneath them.
He kept running.
Lea was still watching him expectantly.
“Control comes first,” he said after a moment. “Humans notice everything. Tone of voice. Eye contact. Small movements. If you cannot manage those, you do not interact with them.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
She considered that. “Okay but what if I’m just… friendly?”
“You are not subtle.”
“I can learn subtle.”
“You asked the the courier on the phone if humans molt.”
“That was a legitimate question.”
Kai slowed slightly without meaning to. The ache in his back had sharpened again. It felt like something inside his spine was trying to stretch, the bones themselves protesting the shape he was forcing them to keep.
He rolled his shoulders once as they ran, trying to ease the tension.
It didn’t help.
Lea noticed immediately. “You’re running weird.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I am adjusting my stride.”
“You never adjust your stride.”
Kai kept his gaze forward.
The nausea arrived slowly, a faint, unpleasant wave rising under the heat in his chest. The air felt thicker suddenly, the early morning humidity clinging to the back of his throat.
Lea moved a little closer to him while they ran, squinting at his face.
“…Kai.”
“I am fine.”
“You said that before I asked.”
“I anticipated the question.”
She slowed.
He took two more steps before realizing she had stopped.
When he turned, she was staring at him with the kind of focus that meant she had already noticed far too much.
“You look pale,” she said.
“That is not possible.”
“You’re sweating.”
“We are running.”
“You never sweat.”
Kai wiped his hand across the back of his neck anyway. The heat under his skin pulsed again, heavier this time, like something pressing outward along his ribs. His stomach twisted unpleasantly with it, the dizziness returning in a slow wave that made the path blur slightly at the edges.
Lea stepped closer, peach blond locks glued to her face with sweat. She turned her head to the side in a questioning animalistic way, eyes narrowing into slits. “I can't rememver when was the last time you left us alone to shift.”
He said nothing.
She folded her arms. “Kai.”
He didn’t answer.
Her eyes narrowed. “…How long has it been?”
Kai exhaled, enjoying the wind in his hair and the short opprtunity of not having to move. “Two weeks.”
Lea stared at him. “Two weeks?”
“I have been busy.”
She stepped closer before he could react, her hand hovering in front of his cheek. Didn't dare to touch it, but it was enough. “You’re overheating.”
“That is an exaggeration.”
“You’re dizzy.”
“I am not—”
The ground tilted slightly under him.
He steadied himself before the movement became obvious, but Lea had already seen it.
“Yes, you are,” she said quietly. The teasing had disappeared completely from her voice now. “Kai.”
“I will shift later.”
“You can barely stand.”
“Nonsense.” He tried to start walking again.
The nausea rolled through him more sharply this time, the heat in his spine tightening painfully as if his bones were trying to stretch.
Lea grabbed his sleeve before he could take another step.
“Stop,” she said.
“I am fine.”
“You are not fine.”
Her grip tightened slightly, her expression suddenly very serious. “You always tell me not to fight it,” she said. “You said the body remembers what it is supposed to be.”
Kai closed his eyes briefly. The pressure in his back pulsed again, deep and insistent.
When he opened them, Lea was still standing there, still holding onto his sleeve like she had no intention of letting him pretend this away.
“You always tell us it's okay,” she said quietly. “It's okay for you too.”
Kai didn’t answer.
Lea shifted closer, still stubbornly anchoring him there on the quiet morning path while the city slowly woke around them.
“You can go,” she added after a moment, softer now. “We will be fine. Nothing bad is gonna happen.”
He wanted to believe her, but there was no way to be sure.
Anyone else wake up feeling nauseous if theyre up earlier than usual?? Like, usually I go to bed around 3am, and sleep until 1pm or so. But I'm going somewhere today with family so I'm up at 9am. And I feel really sick?? Its like my stomach doesnt want to be awake and moving yet. And this isnt new, its happened in similar situations before. Is this just me being weird or do other people experience it too?
