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Dan Heng’s skin always had a tendency to dry out, but he only really noticed that on the Express. At first he assumed it was what the doctor doing his checkup at the Herta Space Station suggested - his incredibly concerning long-term malnutrition.
After all, it affected many other aspects of his body. Effects of long-term malnutrition, especially as a child, apparently included stunted growth. Which explains why Dan Feng’s robes always felt like they were a size or two too big despite them supposedly looking almost the same. And why Blade narrowly missed his head while throwing his sword at him once in the early days of his exile. The weapon wedged itself into the wall right above the top of Dan Heng’s head and the murderous bastard had the audacity to just stand there in shock for a second, blinking in disbelief.
It was enough time for Dan Heng to stab him and buy himself time to escape.
Pushing that unpleasant memory aside, Dan Heng had at some point come to a conclusion that he was, as Caelus once eloquently put it, built wrong.
His botched rebirth mixed with malnutrition resulted in whatever the hell he had going on, as in being below the height average for his species and having a bunch of health issues he wasn’t aware of.
Apparently his body not being able to digest milk properly was kind of a general Vidyadhara issue, but mostly a him issue. Bailu told him something about Vidyadhara usually being given milk from a young age so their bodies adapt and are capable of digesting whatever dishes in Xianzhou cuisine contained Puffergoat milk. And of course that was not part of standard prison rations, so Dan Heng could not digest milk-based products without severely regretting it later.
Another strange thing that he only noticed late on in his life was the fact he tended to sneeze around Jing Yuan. The general found it endearing, saying he sneezed like a kitten, whatever that meant. And it was in the kitten part that the issue had its core. Indeed, it was after burying his face in Mimi’s soft mane upon seeing her in person for the first time, Dan Heng discovered he was allergic to cat fur. Nothing serious, just enough to give him the sniffles and occasionally irritate his eyes to the point of tears.
He would be damned if it would stop him from practically draping himself over the lion whenever he had the chance. Mimi was precious and she adored him and he would kill everyone in the room and then himself if anything happened to her. Besides, this wasn’t anything some over the counter allergy medicine couldn’t at least partially mitigate.
Most of his issues were like that. Enough to be noticeable, but there were ways of dealing with them to the point of them not really being a problem. Plant-based milk, allergy medicine, avoiding certain fabrics and harsh lights…
So when patches of his skin dried out, the solution turned out to be moisturising lotion. Easy to get, made his skin not feel like it would only stop itching if he tore it off with his teeth, generally a good investment.
Now, Caelus did not know about this particular issue.
The reason Dan Heng knew that Caelus didn’t know was due to him running his mouth, as he often did.
He entered Dan Heng’s room for some reason that the Vidyadhara couldn’t remember off the top of his head. Something about digging through the Data Bank so he could win whatever petty argument he got himself into with March. Dan Heng did tell him to just look it up himself, but Caelus threw a pack of fish jerky at him as a peace offering and or bribe…
Damn him for knowing his favourite snacks.
And so Dan Heng was digging through the archive looking for whatever it was Caelus wanted to prove he was right about, happily chewing on a piece of dried fish.
Caelus in the meantime occupied himself by looking at Dan Heng’s shelves. It’s nothing the gray-haired man hasn’t seen before, mostly books and a few trinkets, and he trusted him not to snoop any further.
“Oh my~ Dan Heng, you shouldn’t leave things like that lying around.” He heard Caelus practically tease him from the other side of the room.
Dan Heng turned around on his chair because he had genuinely no idea what he was talking about. He hoped his unamused expression conveyed that clearly enough.
“I mean assumptions can be drawn… ” Caelus continued, eyes drifting from Dan Heng and towards a shelf near his bed. Said shelf was mostly empty, save for a few books he hadn’t yet put back in their proper place and his bottle of lotion. What the hell was the issue here?
“What are you talking about?” He said, a bit more hesitantly than he intended.
That was a mistake. He could practically see the mischievous spark form in those golden eyes.
“Oh you know~ So who was it? Jing Yuan? Oh Aeons, is the magazine with a ~special photoshoot~ actually real? Come on, share the good stuff.” He practically giggled.
Jing Yuan? Special photoshoot? What was he…
“Heh. Come.”
…oh. Oh-
He could feel blood rushing to his face, his ears burning up in embarrassment.
“Wha- No! No nonono it’s not- IT’S NOT LIKE THAT- Why would you even- It’s for my SKIN-” he sputtered out, nearly falling out of his chair.
“Suuuuuure.” Caelus’s shit eating grin spoke volumes before he broke out into a laugh.
Aeons take him out of his misery.
“No. It really is.” He finally managed to compose himself enough to form a coherent thought. He rolled up his left sleeve to expose his forearm and presented it to the man currently laughing at him.
Caelus wiped a tear from his eye and walked over to verify Dan Heng’s claim.
At least this time it didn’t break out into a rash, but there were a few patches of dried-out skin clearly visible on his arm. The smile dropped from his face as he took in the sight.
“...Damn. You should see a doctor about this.”
Observant as always.
“I already did. It’s nothing serious, the lotion is enough for it to not bother me.” Dan Heng said with a sigh.
Caelus looked at him, then his eyebrows scrunched up the way they always did when his singular functioning braincell tried to think of something. There was something cute about it, Dan Heng had to admit.
Then, as if a figurative light bulb lit up:
“...Is it a Vidyadhara thing? Not enough water?”
Huh. Was it?
“It… I don’t know actually.” Dan Heng admitted.
“I mean, water is a whole thing for you guys from what I’ve seen. Maybe you need to drink more water. Or like. Soak in a bathtub once in a while.” Caelus explained.
Huh. This actually had some logic to it. His skin did feel better after showers, but he assumed it was because he scrubbed off the dead skin layer. If it was indeed a water thing…
“...It could be worth a try. Thank you, Caelus. I appreciate your advice.” He said with a smile.
“No problem!” His companion grinned, clearly happy to have helped. “But was I wrong about the magazine-”
A ball of crumpled up paper hit Caelus square in the face.
“-Hey!”
“Yes you were. And you were wrong about your argument with March.” Dan Heng deadpanned.
He pointed to the computer screen, highlighting the exact article proving March was right. Caelus grumbled, but accepted his defeat and bid Dan Heng farewell, off to do whatever the loser of the argument was supposed to do. Knowing the two involved it could be anything from drinking Himeko’s coffee, through taking on cleaning duty for a week, all the way to covering for the winner the next time they do something stupid.
…He might have been wrong about the magazine, but hidden in the back of a shelf two rows below were some rather steamy novels of very questionable quality and Caelus would never let him live it down if he found out.
Aeons forbid a man has hobbies.
—
Surprisingly, the suggestion worked.
Running a proper bath once a week or so, allowing himself to just lie down in the water and stay there for like half an hour felt so good. He actually left the bath feeling refreshed and relaxed and his skin stopped drying out as much.
Add that to the list of things Dan Heng figured out about the Vidyadhara and his body solely by accident or through trial and error.
It became routine for him to take a proper bath like this every seven system days, letting the ambient wrap of Cloudhymn magic around his body unfurl. His tail couldn’t fully fit in the bath, its tip often left hanging over the edge, but it didn’t matter. It was pure bliss, a quiet moment he could spend with his head as empty as it could get.
Would he do it every other day if he could? Probably. But he knew that would use up too much water over time. So he had to follow some restraint.
Still, it was wonderful.
It felt right, the same way that breathing did.
He couldn’t possibly have thanked Stelle enough for their suggestion, so paying out of pocket for one monthly bundle for their gacha game would have to suffice.
—
It was great. Dan Heng’s skin was the healthiest it has been in… forever.
Until it wasn’t.
It’s as if the past three months of his skin not drying out all hit at once and he had to physically and consciously stop himself from scratching at it. No matter what he did, the itching didn’t stop, his skin covered in dry and flaky patches that refused to go away despite lotion and water having previously worked.
And to Mr. Yang’s and Himeko’s dismay, his Vidyadhara form gave him access to sharper nails and teeth.
The itchiness prevented him from getting a good night’s sleep, and it was just his luck that when he finally gave into the instinct to scratch at the offending area after yet another sleepless night, Welt was also awake. He walked in on Dan Heng sitting on the bathroom floor in complete darkness at three in the morning. A flash of teal eyes reflecting the dim light of the hallway was his only warning as to his presence before turning on the light. He was fully in his Vidyadhara form, sharp teeth almost biting into the flesh of his left forearm. The skin on his legs and near his collarbones was marred with nearly-bleeding scratches from claw-like fingernails.
They blinked at each other, frozen in place.
“...Dan Heng. What are you doing?” Welt finally broke the silence. It was less of a question and more of a bewildered statement.
And Dan Heng had approximately 4 hours of sleep total over the previous few days. It took him a few moments to actually process what was being said and form an answer. He moved his arm away from his mouth and just muttered “....it’s itchy.”
Welt just looked at him and let out an exasperated sigh, making Dan Heng wish he could just bury himself and never be found again. His tail wrapped itself around his legs when Welt approached, as if trying to hide the wounds. The man kneeled down next to Dan Heng and gestured at him to show his arm.
There was no anger in his eyes, just worry and the exhaustion of an old man who woke up to use the bathroom at three am and now had to deal with… this. So Dan Heng relented.
“... we’ll have to bandage this.” He said, eyes drifting between the different patches of skin that have been scratched raw.
“...I’m sorry…” Dan Heng pulled his arm away from Welt’s hand. “...I-I know I shouldn’t have-”
“We’ll talk about this later.” Mr. Yang said, stifling a yawn. “Wait for me in the hallway, I will grab the first aid kit.”
Dan Heng awkwardly shuffled out of the bathroom. The urge to just go back to bed was strong. To bury himself under his blanket in complete darkness and pretend this didn’t happen, to ignore the knocking at his door the same way he did right after the Luofu.
The wounds stung as the fabric of his pyjamas rubbed against them. Welt was right, they probably required bandaging, and there were some he hadn't seen yet hidden under Dan Heng’s shirt. On his shoulders. On his chest. A few on his sides and back. Even on his neck. It only now hit him just how many patches of skin were practically torn apart by his nails.
He let the cloudhymn envelop him again, a familiar embrace of a less-draconic form that fit him well, yet recently felt as if his skin was stretched too thin over him.
And it still fucking itched.
A few minutes later Welt emerged from the bathroom with a first aid kit and spare bandages. Just like after the Ambrosial Arbor crisis he ended up in the parlor car with one of the older crew members patching up his wounds. Funny how that works, enough for Dan Heng to nearly chuckle at the irony.
His head was slumped forward to avoid looking at Welt as he bandaged the wounds, cleaning them with disinfectant and wrapping up his limbs in gauze. He knew what Welt’s expression was. Probably anger that he’d do this to himself. Disappointment that he couldn’t just control his urges.
“You need to take your shirt off so I can bandage the ones on your collarbone.” Welt’s voice was level, not a hint of the emotions Dan Heng thought would be there.
He didn’t have it in him to fight, too exhausted, too embarrassed, too mortified to refuse. So he obliged. A sharp hiss escaped his lungs as fabric had gotten stuck to some of the deeper scrapes.
“...voi vittu.” He heard Welt breathe out at the sight. “Christ, kid, what… why?”
Dan Heng didn’t know what the first thing meant, but from the few times he heard Mr. Yang say Christ it was reasonable to assume it was an expletive in his native tongue. So his skin probably looked worse than it felt.
“...i-it wouldn’t stop itching… I-I can’t sleep, I just had to- to make it stop-” he managed to stammer out, his breath hitching as if on the verge of tears. Aeons, he probably sounded like a child.
A small noise escaped Welt, as if he didn’t know what to say.
“...I know you’re mad- I know I shouldn’t have-” Dan Heng felt the panic rise in his throat, his heart pounding in his ears.
A firm touched his shoulder, careful as not to aggravate the scraped skin nearby.
“I’m not mad at you. I’m just…worried.” Welt sighed, “You hurt yourself, Dan Heng… If whatever is happening is bad enough to cause this…” his voice trailed off, as if unable to find the right words.
Dan Heng just tilted his body to lean against Welt’s, ignoring the pricks of pain from his still-exposed scratches, and let out a shuddered breath.
He heard Welt let out a little noise of surprise. It was rare that Dan Heng would initiate physical contact, much less like this. He moved his hand from the shoulder to the side of Dan Heng’s head and held it against his chest.
They stayed like this for a bit, neither moving or saying anything. Dan Heng almost felt himself drifting off to sleep, but Welt’s hand slowly pushed him upright.
“...I know you’re tired, but I still need to bandage the rest, and I’d rather you be awake for it.”
“...okay.” Dan Heng breathed out, his voice barely above a whisper.
He doesn’t know how long it took, but after a while Welt handed him his shirt. Thankfully it was loose enough not to press against the bandages on his shoulders and torso.
There wasn’t enough energy in him to get up and leave for his room, so he laid down on the couch, his head resting against Welt’s body. He whispered a quiet thanks before he finally managed to fall asleep.
It still itched.
—
Dan Heng looked at his reflection. Seeing the bandages criss-crossing his torso and wrapped around his limbs, the dark circles under his sleep-deprived eyes, a hysterical thought entered his mind.
Fuck. He looked like Blade.
Hell, he even had his personality considering how irritable the lack of sleep had made him.
It’s been a few days since Welt helped him bandage up the mess he’d made of himself, and thankfully it’s all been healing well.
Underneath the dull pain and numbness he could almost ignore the itching.
Almost. It was still there, sometimes weaker, sometimes stronger, but generally manageable, or so he told himself. It was definitely better than it was the night he finally broke and tore through his own skin.
Still, he needed to change his bandages for clean ones.
Slowly, he unraveled the ones around his torso first, careful as not to rip them off in case they were stuck to the still-healing areas. Surprisingly, none of them seemed to do so, and he could feel surprisingly not-painful scabs brush against his fingertips as he removed the gauze.
Moving on to his arms, he started with the left hand. It was harder to undo the knot holding the bandage in place with only one hand, but he managed to get it loose and soon the wrappings joined their discarded brethren on the floor.
Also no sticking, as the wound has scabbed over.
…It was a strangely light scab. Weren’t scabs usually a dark red, the hue of dried blood? Now that he paid closer attention, the scabs on his torso also appeared pale, not all that distinct from the irritated, pinkish skin around them.
Dan Heng raised his arm a bit and leaned in to examine the scab closer.
It wasn’t pinkish. Rather it appeared translucent, just reflecting the colour of the flesh around and underneath it. And the texture was weird. Not as rough as a scab should be, and almost geometric, a strange pattern not dissimilar to-
His breath hitched as the connection formed.
Not dissimilar to the scales on his tail.
His fingers almost unconsciously traced the surface, and he saw the individual parts of the scab appear iridescent in the light-
Just like the scales on his tail.
Scales.
These were scales.
He had fucking scales growing from his skin.
His eyes shot up to see his reflection, but no, he didn’t transform without noticing.
And the scales were still there when he looked back at his arm.
He could feel something rising in his throat. Whether it was panic or hysterical laughter or a mix of the two, it got stuck and came out as a pathetic, trembling gasp.
Pulling off the remaining bandages without any caution, and sure enough, more scales where he previously scratched his skin raw.
What the fuck was going on? How? Why now??? Is that why his skin itched so bad-
Someone was banging on the door.
“Dan Heng! Open the door! I left my phone in there!” Stelle yelled from behind the closed bathroom door.
Maybe he was seeing things. Yeah. He was exhausted, surely a second pair of eyes would confirm this-
He unlocked the door, grabbed Stelle by the wrist, and yanked her inside while slamming it shut again. She collided with him with a surprised “HEY-” and suddenly both of them were on the bathroom floor.
“Dude, you could have just handed it to me.” Stelle said, scrambling to get upright “What’s the matter with you-”
“Stelle.” Dan Heng cut her off. He raised his left arm, directing her gaze to the shimmering patch of scales on the back of his hand. “Stelle. Please tell me I’m hallucinating. Please tell me these aren’t-”
“Are those scales?” She gasped.
Nope.
He wasn’t hallucinating.
He wasn’t seeing things, this was real, there were fucking scales growing out of his skin-
Stelle’s warm hands were suddenly pressed against his cheeks, her eyes locked with his. “Hey, breathe. We’ll figure this out.”
With a deep breath he removed her hands from his face.
“...Thank you. And apologies for dragging you inside like this, I just… I don’t know what’s going on… why this is happening…” he sighed, pulling his knees closer to his chest.
“I mean… It's probably a Vidyadhara thing.” Stelle suggested.
“That’s the only possible reason. It’s… Look I don’t know anything about how my species works outside of the basics. There was nothing about this anywhere.” he admitted with a defeated tone.
There was a moment of silence between them, before Stelle spoke up.
“Does it hurt?”
Did it? It wasn’t exactly painful…
“No? I don’t think so. It’s just… itchy. Less than before, but still itchy.” Dan Heng answered, tracing the scales on his forearm with his finger. They weren’t as hard as he expected them to be, still tough, but surprisingly pliant.
Stelle let out a hum. “That’s probably good. I don’t think they will spread, other Vidyadhara I’ve seen didn’t have scales. I mean aside from Bailu, but she didn’t have all that many. Maybe it’s a high elder thing specifically?”
“High elders do display more draconic traits… But why now?”
“No clue. You should probably tell the others though.”
He was about to say something in response, but Stelle placed a finger over his lips.
“And none of that ‘fine I will’ followed by you disappearing into your room and avoiding us. That trick only works once and you used it when you broke the coffee machine.”
Dan Heng blinked at her in shock before swatting her hand away. “It was an accident and I wasn't avoiding you-”
“Suuuure.” She said, theatrically rolling her eyes “Anyway, we should be within range of the Luofu’s reception. I could call Bailu about this if you want. Maybe she can figure it out?”
“... maybe.” He sighed. He had to admit he missed the little Dragon Lady. She was a kindred spirit in a way, also a result of Dan Feng's meddling, also existing in the shadow of his legacy, also trapped by the Preceptors because of who she was.
He wouldn't mind speaking to her again, even if she'd end up playfully teasing him about him being the younger of the two of them.
“Come on. Put your shirt back on. Family meeting time.” Stelle was suddenly standing up in front of him, reaching out a hand to help him stand up.
She pulled him up to his feet, and they went off together to inform the others of the new development. It was nerve wracking, of course it was. Dan Heng was terrified of the implications of the scales suddenly growing out, but at least the other crew members were relieved to have some sort of explanation for why he’d been feeling unwell.
March 7th said they were kind of pretty, which was a very March thing for her to say. Like little gemstones.
But if there was one thing that made him feel better, it was that they would figure this out.
Together.
—
Caelus worked their magic. One photo of Dan Heng’s arm and a few text messages to Bailu and apparently she started to scramble for a free slot in her schedule to call him.
It was one of those moments when the system clocks on the Astral Express somewhat overlapped with the Xianzhou Luofu’s day-night cycle, which meant Dan Heng didn’t have to deal with the call being made late at night. Not that it would have mattered, he still would have picked up, especially since Caelus went out of their way to arrange it.
The call came through early in the evening. He plugged his phone to the computer on his desk, and suddenly the screen lit up with the image of big, blue eyes framed with lilac staring at him.
“Dan Heng! Hi!” Bailu excitedly greeted him, waving at the camera. Suddenly the view collapsed, the camera pointing to the artificial sky over the Alchemy Commission. “Whoopsie.”
She must have knocked over whatever her phone was propped up against, and Dan Heng couldn’t help but let out an amused huff.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Bailu, even if it’s not in person.” He said as she readjusted the camera.
“It would certainly have helped with the examination! There’s only so much I can do with only a screen.” She pouted. “Anyway, let’s get on with it, I don’t have much time for this call unfortunately.”
“...Are you hiding from the Alchemy Commission again?” Dan Heng asked, his tone not too dissimilar from whenever he asks Caelus whether they went digging in the trash.
“They think I’m with a patient. Which I am! You’re my patient today! But yes, I’m not sure when they'll interrupt us. Your arm, if I may?”
Dan Heng raised his arm towards the camera and presented the scales. It’s been a few days since he first spotted them, and any signs of the wounds have mostly disappeared. All that remained were patches of iridescent scales. They weren’t clear anymore, not fully. Instead they started slowly taking on a teal hue, one that matched the scales on his tail.
He briefly described the conditions that predated their appearance and tried his best not to get affected by Bailu’s disapproving look upon him telling her where and how the patches of scales formed.
“Hm. They do look quite healthy…” She mused, “It is a bit weird they’re developing this late. Did you suffer from a nutrient deficiency as a child? You probably did if my assumptions about the conditions in the Shackling Prison are correct…”
Huh. Late???
“You are right about the… malnutrition. And I am fully aware of the effects it had on my development in the long term, but what do you mean it’s developing late? This is normal?” The slight panic rising at the information couldn’t be fully stifled.
“Yes. Mostly. Those among our kind who have scales on their bodies, myself included, usually develop them a few years after hatching. Yours growing out this late and in irregular patterns is rather unusual, but it’s possible your body just delayed the process until it was healthy enough to do it without harming itself. Simply put, you’re a late bloomer.” She explained, the last part hitting him like a brick to the face.
Aeons preserve him, at least Caelus wasn’t here to hear this. He could already imagine the barely-contained giggles and out of pocket comments.
“However…” her voice trailed off, “... draconic traits as strong as yours or mine are rare even among High Elders, especially since neither of us has gone through the proper succession rituals. My hatching and your rebirth weren’t exactly standard, so anything could happen.”
“...So you don’t know if this will get worse?” Dan Heng half-stated, hoping to mask the anxiety this whole situation continuously caused. He didn’t want Bailu to be worried about him, she already had so much to deal with…
“Considering the fact you already have a tail and horns, as well as the rate at which the recent changes occurred, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything drastic happening. For now you should focus on getting through your first shedding without damaging your scales. ”
FIRST?????
“Don’t worry Dan Heng, the first one is always the worst, since your body is creating the scales for the first time.” Bailu suddenly nervously waved her hands at the camera, as if to calm him and oh he said that one out loud. “I recommend hot baths, or at least a hot, humid environment so the old ones soften up and fall off without issue. Also you should eat more eggs and almonds to facilitate healthy scale growth. And obviously don’t scratch at them before they’re fully ready to shed.”
“I didn’t-” Dan Heng said before dropping the subject with a sigh. “Thank you, Bailu. I appreciate it.”
“No problem! I’m always glad to help you! Will you teach me some High Elder magic the next time you visit?” The joy in her voice was almost palpable, the tip of her tail swaying happily in the camera frame despite the heavy shackle at its end.
“We’ll see.” He chuckled at the sight.
She let out a delighted squeal in response.“I can’t wait! Also I feel like I forgot something I wanted to say-”
“...Dragon Lady?” a muffled voice could be heard from the distance on Bailu’s side of the call.
“Ugh. They found me.” She rolled her eyes with a pout. “Please inform me of any changes, okay? And get some more sleep if you can, you sound tired. Okay talk to you soon tell the others I said hi-” Her words were cut off by the call ending.
“...goodbye, Bailu.” Dan Heng sighed.
So that was a few revelations he didn’t know what to do with. But apparently the scales wouldn’t spread, so that was good news. Hopefully after they shed he’ll be able to mask them with Cloudhymn magic. All of them were on parts of his skin usually covered by clothes, but he didn’t want to deal with them. It did mean however that they would be there while he was in his Vidyadhara form…
…Ah fuck, he forgot to mention that the Cloudhymn magic altering his appearance felt weird recently.
He unplugged his phone from the computer, opting to just send Bailu a follow-up text with this information. Hopefully she'll see it soon.
At least he could make good on at least one of her suggestions as his healer for a day. Maybe it was just the dragon in him speaking, but a nice soak in a bath sounded like a good idea, even if it was a bit earlier than usual. Or at least a hot shower.
Dan Heng stepped out of his room with his pyjamas in hand, but was intercepted by March 7th on his way to the bathroom.
“How did it go? Oh and how’s Bailu doing? Did she figure out what’s going on? Are you going to be okay?” She barraged him with questions.
“I’ll be fine, March. It’s apparently normal, or as normal as it can get in my circumstances. And Bailu is doing well. She says hi.” He tried to calm her racing thoughts.
“Oh. Okay! That’s great!” Her expression immediately brightened. “Are you going to join me and Stelle for a slumber party? You did promise~”
Ah. He did, didn’t he? And March was staring at him with that expression usually only found on Ruan Mei’s cat cakes…
“Sure. Just let me take a shower first.” He gave in to her request.
“Yay! See you soon, I’ll grab some snacks!” She said, immediately running off towards the kitchen.
After entering the bathroom, he locked the door and began undressing. His gaze trailed over his reflection, darting between old scars and patches of shimmering scales. There weren’t as many of them as he initially thought, as some wounds ended up just scabbing over. But there were a few in spots that weren’t previously bandaged up, namely a small, barely noticeable patch underneath his right eye. Still, it was a strange sight, these iridescent spots spread across his flesh.
Would they have been there if he had more self restraint? If he didn’t tear through his own skin to stop a bone-deep itch?…then again, based on what Bailu said, there was little he could have done. They would have sprouted regardless, just because his body was finally healthy enough to do so.
That was one upside of this, he supposed. Confirmation that he was doing better than when he first boarded the express.
He took a deep breath and let the Cloudhymn around his body unravel.
The transformation was always smooth, like watching a wave wash away footsteps in the sand. His ears elongated, hair cascaded down his back, and his posture shifted to accommodate the weight of the tail.
Huh.
The hue of the scales appeared more intense, now fully matching the vibrant teal of his tail.
…March was right. They did resemble gemstones in some way. Like patches of jade melded into his skin.
Dan Heng brushed that thought away, gathering his long hair into a makeshift bun.
At first the hot water was an unpleasant sensation. His preference for cooler baths was, as he had learned, a trait typical of his species, developed to accustom their bodies to the cool oceanic waters that are vital to their life cycle.
After a while of letting the hot water flow over his body, the scales did start itching less, so the brief bit of discomfort was worth it.
Even if his skin did appear somewhat reddish-pink in certain spots as a result, a fact Stelle almost immediately pointed out when he entered March’s room that earned them a small splash of Cloudhymned water to the face.
Dan Heng would never admit it out loud, but he enjoyed March’s slumber parties. She always joked it was her way of dragging him out of his room to spend some time with people, and it was a rather effective method of doing so. He wasn't expected to interact or talk with the other two, but he found their presence to be comforting.
He took his usual place, propped up against a few pillows from March's frankly astounding collection and soon found himself indulging March's request to brush and braid his hair. If he didn't want her to have done that, he wouldn't have entered the room fully in his Vidyadhara form now would he? Besides, he brought a book with him for that very reason - March 7th and Stelle’s conversations made for excellent background noise for reading.
Stelle was sitting beside him, staring wistfully at the cookies March brought in from the kitchen, but unable to pick one up on account of the fresh, yellow nail polish still drying on their fingernails.
He looked down at the plate, took one, and proceeded to bite into it while staring them dead in the eyes. It was terribly sweet, so exactly as March liked them.
“Oh!? The betrayal!” Stelle gasped “To hurt me like this-”
He held a cookie up to their mouth with a gentle smile, which they gladly grabbed from his hand with their teeth. And they somehow managed to eat it without messing up the nail polish, which was astonishing.
When March started asking him about the conversation with Bailu, he tried his best to explain what he understood.
“So it’s a dragon thing?” She summed it up, finishing another small braid in his hair.
“...sure. A dragon thing. Let’s just call it that.” He huffed out in exaggerated annoyance. The tip of his tail was happily swaying on the floor, the sensation of March’s fingers brushing through his hair lulling his brain to sleep. Or maybe it was the hot shower that left his mind about as fogged up as the bathroom mirror. Or it was the lack of adequate sleep Bailu mentioned.
Who knew? Not him.
All he knew was that there was a source of warmth next to him and the lizard in his brain wanted to wrap itself around it.
And so he did, leaning against the warmth.
Stelle didn’t say anything to him using them as a makeshift pillow, already used to the fact he would just do that when he wanted physical contact. Besides, if they wanted him to stop, he didn’t get offended at just being gently pushed off or told to do so.
It was nice. Stelle was, as always, a veritable furnace, and he couldn’t help but hold onto his tail as he curled up with his head on their lap. His half-conscious brain listened to whatever March and Stelle were chatting about, content with the moment of closeness between him and his companions.
A quiet rumbling noise underlined the chatter, one that felt as if it was trembling somewhere in his chest.
“Dan Heng… are you purring?” March suddenly asked.
Was he?
…Oh.
He was.
His exhausted brain couldn’t muster itself to react in any meaningful way.
“...s’a dragon thing…i think…just need a quick nap…” he muttered out as the slender fingers in his hair resumed braiding.
He could deal with this later. For now he would just close his eyes for a second…
Was he mortified when the realisation he was capable of purring hit the next morning? Yes.
Did he want to sink into the floor and or whack Stelle for calling this situation “dragon puberty”? Also yes.
But they did also bring him almonds as a peace offering, which was a very Stelle thing to do. They always tried to be considerate when they felt they messed up. And he did offer to share some with them, so whatever bad sentiment was brewing quickly dissipated.
—
And despite all this, life on the Express went on. Days filled with all the little tasks needed to keep the ship and crew well cared for, planning out their route, and, specifically for Dan Heng, sorting all the random texts and pieces of information they came across in their expeditions. He still hadn’t finished categorising everything from Jarilo-VI.
There were a few bumps in the road, mainly whatever the hell that incident with the Knight Of Beauty and the True Stings. His head hurt for days afterwards from the hallucinations, and there was still a lingering smell of roses in one corner of the parlour car. Cleaning the Express at Washtopia was just the exhausting, but ultimately satisfying cherry on top.
They were currently within range of the Xianzhou Alliance, the Hexfleet’s ships following the same stretch of the Silver Rail as the Express for the time being.
Close enough to go on board the Luofu if need be.
Stelle actually went down there a few times, there were a few errands to run and requests for her presence. The latest one involved Heliobi, and Dan Heng was relieved she made it back safely, albeit a bit shaken by her encounters. And she made new friends, although that wasn’t exactly unexpected.
Dan Heng wasn’t exactly… keen on going back on board the Luofu, even if there were a few things he considered doing. He could walk the streets as a free man, but he knew his presence drew attention, especially this soon after the Ambrosial Arbor crisis and his ill-fated meeting with Bailu. Honestly, finding any excuse not to go was good enough. There was always something to do on the Express to keep himself busy with.
The others didn’t question his choice to stay behind whenever the topic of boarding the Luofu came up, they understood the difficult situation he was in, the…mess this whole thing was.
Waking up with a sore throat was a good excuse for himself.
Stelle was still down on the Luofu, likely on one of her “sidequests”, the others were focusing on their tasks on the Express, and Dan Heng’s throat felt like it was filled with glass shards.
Thankfully he didn’t have a fever or any other symptoms of a cold or flu, so Himeko let him get back to digging through the databank if he promised to drink hot tea and let her check up on him later.
The tea didn’t really help, the stabbing pain in his throat only aggravating whenever he swallowed anything and causing him to cough his lungs out, but he appreciated the effort.
At some point he migrated out of his room with a book and ended up on the parlour car’s couch with a blanket draped over his body. Mr. Yang was sitting nearby, drawing something in his sketchbook. From the glimpses Dan Heng could catch in the reflections of the parlour car’s windows, it appeared to be something resembling Xianzhou’s Ingenia.
He knew Welt was only here because he wanted to keep an eye on him. He wasn’t subtle about his intentions, but Dan Heng didn’t particularly mind. Welt’s presence made him feel less lonely, even if they were both focused on their own tasks and sitting in near silence.
The scratching in his throat unfortunately only got worse, even after another hot tea and some cough drops. And with it came a strange feeling in his lungs.
What did he even get sick with? He’s been explicitly avoiding people, so unless Stelle caught something on the Luofu and asymptomatically brought it onto the Express…
His thoughts were interrupted by his lungs deciding to give him another coughing fit.
But this one didn’t stop.
His throat just tightened, as if it suddenly blocked all airflow.
Dan Heng was doubled over, his book laying discarded to the side. He couldn’t catch his breath between the coughs, whole body heaving as he tried to get his lungs to keep any air in them.
Suddenly there were hands grabbing his shoulders and trying to keep him upright.
“Dan Heng! Christ, kid, look at me. Slow breaths, can you do that?” Welt was next to him, but he could barely see him through the tears gathering in his eyes. “In and out…slow breaths.”
He tried to steady his rapid, shallow breaths, to match his breathing to Welt’s, but the muscles in his throat seized and his lungs felt as if they were on fire.
“C-can’t b…bre-athe-” he wheezed out, his hand shooting upwards to claw at his throat, the skin on his neck feeling like it was tearing itself apart.
He felt the skin underneath his fingertips, marred by what felt like a cut, before his hand was grasped by Welt’s and pulled away.
His lungs were barely taking in air, every breath caught in his throat- why did it feel cold-
“...what the-…” he heard Mr. Yang’s voice followed by him yelling out Himeko’s name.
His vision swam, all senses disoriented and feeling lightheaded, as his breaths failed to fill his lungs with enough air.
Suddenly he was picked up, and Mr. Yang was yelling something about March running the bath.
There were holes in his neck trying and failing to take in air, dried out and sticking to each other and blocking his airflow-
“...-lips are blue-...gills-...fill up-...faster!-”
Dark spots filled his vision, heart beating loud and fast and he couldn’t breathe, one painful gasp after another-
His back hit something hard.
He was somewhere tight.
And his body was enveloped in water.
On instinct he seized up, trying to stop it from entering his lungs.
“...-lease work…”
A different instinct made him gasp for air.
Cool water flowed through his throat but it didn’t fill his lungs.
Painful gasps turned into rapid, shallow breaths.
Then slow, deep ones as his breathing steadied.
Why was he… was he underwater?
…how could he breathe…
Dan Heng reached towards his neck, feeling bits of sensitive skin that have opened up-
Gills?
He had fucking gills.
A scream got caught in his throat, coming out as a wavering whine.
He didn’t even know if he was crying, tears indistinguishable from the water in front of his eyes.
Why was this happening? Another one of those “normal” things Bailu mentioned? Did he just nearly die?
…Was this permanent?
Fuck. He was probably in the bathtub in the passenger car, there wasn’t enough space for him to properly move, he was trapped because air choked him, he was stuck and couldn’t run, his back was pressed against the cold, damp stone, limbs weighed down by chains-
“...Dan Heng?...Can you breathe?” A deep, muffled voice reached his ears.
There was a shadow over him, its form blurred by the water. It got closer, and its hand reached out towards him.
He grabbed the hand - Welt’s hand - and squeezed it tight. A hysterical sob tore itself through him, the foreign and yet familiar feeling of water filtering through his gills sending a wave of panic through his body.
“...we’ll figure this out…we’ll be with you…” another voice said. Probably Himeko.
He hated that the pressure of water felt calming, his clothes heavy and soaked through like a cold, weighted blanket pressing down on his whole body.
That it felt natural to some part of him.
But his mind was numb. Terrified and numb.
…
He was in there for hours before his body seized without warning. His head shot up from under the water with a desperate gasp as the gills sealed shut.
Slowly he sat upright, coughing up the remaining water from his respiratory system. His muscles ached from being stuck in the tight bathtub for so long. Wet clothes and stray locks of his long hair clung to his skin. He must have transformed at some point…
“Dan Heng?” He heard Himeko’s voice behind him. She was quieter than normal, her tone clearly laced with exhaustion “You’re awake…are you feeling alright?”.
…How could he be alright? He had gills for Akivili’s sake! He spent hours trapped in a bathtub and he nearly suffocated and he has no idea if this will happen again or if there will be more of these changes-
“...My throat doesn’t hurt anymore.” he answered, hand tracing the side of his neck. There were no cuts in the skin, no difference in texture from before the gills opened up. As if this never happened. But he knew they were there, some deep part of him feeling their presence the same way he could feel his tail even when it was shapeshifted away.
Dan Heng turned to face Himeko, ignoring the unpleasant pull of his stiff muscles. She was sitting on a folding chair with a book in her lap and an empty coffee cup on the cabinet next to her.
“...How long has it been?” His voice was rougher and weaker than usual.
“It started around 4pm, and it’s now…” She checked her phone. “5:40 am”.
He just let out a shuddered sigh.
“...I’m sorry for making you worry.”
Himeko placed her book next to the coffee cup and approached the bathtub. She knelt down to be level with him on one of the few dry patches of the tile floor and Aeons preserve him, half the bathroom was flooded because of him.
“It was terrifying for all of us, but most of all for you, I would assume.” She said, her voice that mix of stern and gentle she'd use whenever Dan Heng disregarded his own issues. “All that matters is that you’re not hurt, okay?”
She reached her hand out towards his face, and, after a hesitant nod from him, brushed away some of the wet strands of hair stuck to his face. Dan Heng didn’t know what got over him, but he leaned into the touch. He took a deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs, something that is a certainty and yet was so briefly taken from him by his own body.
“I have some fresh towels for you if you want to dry off.” she said, slowly removing her hand from his skin.
“...Thank you, Himeko…I think I’ll stay here for now…I’m sc-... In case this happens again.” He said, eyes avoiding her gaze. It didn’t feel like the gills would open up on their own anytime soon, his throat no longer itching and sore the way it was before. Still, better be safe than sorry, and there was some part of him that found the feeling of being submerged somewhat relaxing. It was most likely the part of him responsible for this mess, yet another burden inherited from Dan Feng that he couldn’t get rid of, but he didn’t have it in him to fight it.
“Besides, it makes my scales itch less…I think they’re finally shedding.” he added
“I understand. Do you need me to bring you anything?” She asked while standing up, concern evident in her tone.
“…No, I’ll be alright…Could you…take my clothes to dry?”
“Of course.” Himeko said with a gentle smile.
Manoeuvring his way out of wet clothes was a challenge, the fabric heavy and clinging to his skin, but in the end he managed to take off everything bar for his underwear to keep at least some modesty. He wrung them out as best he could, and Himeko took them from his hands one by one.
She grabbed the book and coffee cup on her way out and bid him a quiet farewell.
He was alone again.
Looking at the flooded floor, the least he could do was clean it up. He reached out with his mind, let the Cloudhymn flow and called out to the water on the tile flooring. It wasn’t anything graceful or sophisticated, just guiding the puddles like little streams towards the shower drain until the floor was mostly dry.
It wasn’t exactly easy to tell the passage of time in the bathroom. There were no windows, no clocks, but it didn’t matter. He ended up lost in thought, arms wrapped around his knees, his tail absentmindedly flicking through the water.
Some of the scales on his skin have loosened, and even fell off after he picked at them. To his dismay they didn’t reveal skin underneath them, just fresher, shinier scales. The fallen ones appeared paler and rougher than the ones on his body, but there still was some shine to them, like the underside of a pearl oyster.
He picked up the loose scales and placed them in a pile on the edge of the tub to discard properly later.
Over time curiosity struck. It was in his nature to gather knowledge, after all, something he always found himself drawn to.
He took a deep breath and slowly lowered himself into the water, just enough to cover his nose.
It was like muscle memory, the gills unsealing without any pain this time.
He hesitantly inhaled, his body offering less resistance than it should have considering he was purposefully trying to do what amounted to drowning himself, but the water didn’t go past his throat, filtering out through the gills. It felt stale, like stuffy air. Probably since he’s been in it for hours and hasn’t really replaced it.
With a slight pull he loosened the plug blocking the drain, letting water trickle down the pipe as new water flowed from the spout.
It felt weirdly natural to breathe through the water, and he wondered what it would be like to try it in a different environment, in open waters…
He didn’t know how to feel about it, mind still somewhat numb, not enough energy to do much despite the multiple hours he slept, or rather was passed out for.
But his body was used to sleeping on hard surfaces and ignoring the sore muscles stemming from it, so he found himself drifting off again, curled up on the bottom of the bath and holding on tight onto his tail.
—
March 7th was, understandably, worried about Dan Heng.
Seeing Mr. Yang running out of the parlour car with him in his arms, telling her to fill up the bathtub as fast as possible as Dan Heng wheezed and clawed at his own throat, tears streaming from his eyes and lips turning blue as the water climbed up agonisingly slow-
And then he was placed in the water until it covered him fully and he started breathing normally.
Or as normally as he could considering it was water he was breathing.
Dan Heng has been showing more draconic traits ever since March and the others witnessed his secret strength, and it was clear that many of them were not of his own volition. So it was March’s duty as a good Nameless to cheer her friend up during all this.
March ended up sitting on a folding chair in the bathroom and trying to entertain him with idle chatter, although, as always, he wasn’t much for conversation. They mostly just ended up watching one of Mr. Yang’s anime on her phone, March sitting on the floor with her back to the tub and Dan Heng peeking his head over the edge. She even let him braid her hair at some point, although only after he dried his hands.
She noticed that Dan Heng’s fingertips didn’t wrinkle despite him having been in the water for hours, a fact she pointed out to him. He just got that look on his face he had whenever he found something interesting and was taking a mental note of it for later.
Stelle was still off on the Luofu, informed of the situation in the “Astral Express Family” group chat and currently trying to arrange for a meeting with Bailu on account of this being an emergency. Himeko and Mr. Yang entered a few times to check on them, but it was mostly March keeping Dan Heng company.
He appeared exhausted, nearly dozing off on occasion, and March didn’t leave him alone beyond briefly disappearing into the kitchen to grab some tea and snacks. Even though he didn't have much of an appetite, he did nibble at the snacks and drink a cup.
After nearly knocking over the small pile of drying scales on the edge of the tub to the floor, March commented on how pretty they were.
“They look like sequins! Are you going to keep them?” She asked, mesmerised by the iridescent shine.
“...I’m not letting you use them for your crafts projects. That’s weird.” Dan Heng deadpanned.
He did leave the bath a few times to stretch his limbs, and once to throw the scales in the bin, but didn’t go far beyond the bathroom, citing his worry about the incident repeating.
“...It feels weird to leave the water…” he admitted quietly.
Either way, they have reached a consensus that him staying in or near the water was a good idea until they heard back from Bailu.
It was during their time of watching anime to stave off boredom that Dan Heng finally dozed off. Watching him sleep soundly under the water was… strange. The slow rise and fall of his chest, the movement of his gills with each breath, he seemed actually peaceful in some way.
March decided to step outside for a bit to report to the others about how he was doing and grab her phone charger. She ended up getting sidetracked, as she remembered she had a few teacups left in her room to return to the kitchen, which made her forget about the charger and forced her to backtrack, but just over half an hour later she was back in the bathroom.
She didn’t immediately see Dan Heng upon entry, the tub had a curtain blocking the view from the door, and if he was still asleep he was probably curled up at the bottom of the bathtub.
He probably wouldn’t mind her quietly sneaking a peek to make sure he was doing okay. It was her duty as a good friend, as his family, to ensure his well being after all! As long as she didn’t wake him, it should be fine.
As she got closer…no, she still couldn't see him. That was worrying, to put it mildly.
“...Dan Heng?” she hesitantly whispered, hoping that he was just asleep and positioned in a way that stopped her from seeing him clearly.
But Dan Heng wasn't in the tub.
No, instead there was a coiled, serpentine creature laying completely still under the water. Its scales shimmered an azure-teal hue, and there was a fluffy mane of teal and black fur around its head that continued down the top of his spine, all the way to the tip of a long tail.
The tail flicked as it stirred in its sleep, uncovering its face to reveal a curved, red marking under each of its eyes and forked horns on the top of its head.
…very familiar horns.
And the markings…
The colour of its scales…
Oh no.
“D-Dan Heng?” her voice was trembling, borderline hysterical.
She knew she wasn’t the smartest person on board. She knew she was often wrong about things, as annoying as it was to be proven wrong.
She prayed to be wrong this time.
Without thinking, her hand reached out towards the little dragon. It seemed to be longer than her whole arm, definitely not small enough to pick up with one hand. Should dragons be this small? The one at Scalegorge Waterscape was probably the size of the Astral Express…
Then again this dragon maybe was Dan Heng.
Soft fur tickled the tips of her fingers, as the dragon leaned into her touch.
It slowly opened its eyes and looked up at her, clearly disoriented.
“Dan Heng? Is this… It is you, right?” she hesitantly asked.
Please, please let her be wrong about this.
…Seeing the little dragon suddenly uncoil and start thrashing around in the water, staring wide-eyed at its own body and at her…
March 7th pulled her hand away, trying to calm her racing thoughts. The dragon - Dan Heng it was Dan Heng, he was a small dragon now what the hell - tried to scamper out of the bathtub, but the tub’s smooth, wet walls just caused him to slip and fall back into the water.
“Hey! I’ve got you, hold onto me-” she said, reaching back into the tub.
It was, as she found out, surprisingly hard to fish out a panicking dragon out of a bathtub. He kept thrashing around, and the water made him slippery. Dan Heng finally managed to grab onto her, probably once he calmed down a bit and realised her hands weren't there to squeeze him to death.
Small claws pricked at her skin as she pulled him out and yeah he was longer than her arm.
And terribly unwieldy.
The proportions of the dragon body were weird, and he felt fragile in her hands. As if she could easily hurt him.
She managed to settle him down on a towel and thankfully he wasn’t squirming anymore. Just frozen in place and trembling.
“Dan Heng? You can understand me, can you?” March tried to keep her voice level.
He just looked at her with wide eyes and did what she could only assume to be a nod.
Okay. That was…Good. At least his brain was still there.
“We should… We should probably tell Mr. Yang and Himeko…” she suggested.
Dan Heng made a noise of protest at that, something that sounded like a squeak. An honest to Akivili squeak. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and was clearly embarrassed about this, staring her down (or rather up at her) with what could only mean “Not a word”.
“I mean, they are going to check up on you at some point, so it’s not as if you can hide. And the sooner they know, the sooner we can find a way to deal with…this.”
He just let out a resigned huff, and March would normally have reveled in convincing Dan Heng that she was right, but considering the circumstances she wouldn’t gloat.
And well, she couldn’t argue with him when he was this cute.
That fluff, the short legs and kitten-like teeth - It took March all the restraint she had in her not to gush over him.
“Right, so…Can I pick you up? Squeak once for yes, twice for no.” she asked and tried not to giggle at the annoyed huff Dan Heng responded with.
He made a quiet little chattering noise and moved closer to March on unsteady legs as if to emphasise his answer.
“Okay okay, now how do I…” March wondered out loud. He wasn’t exactly easy to hold like this, all spindly and noodle-like.
“Aha! Don’t move.” she exclaimed as an idea formed in her brain.
She grabbed the edges of the towel and picked it up along with Dan Heng, who let out a surprised squeak at the sudden motion.
“Comfy?” she asked and received a huff in response as her companion-turned-dragon curled up in the fabric.
With her arms full of a bundled-up dragon, she opened the bathroom door with her elbow and headed towards the parlour car, as that’s where she last saw the Express’s responsible adults. And indeed, stepping into the parlour car she saw Himeko and Welt sitting together, probably waiting for Stelle to message back with any updates on getting Bailu’s consultation. She could feel the bundle in her arms squirm, as Dan Heng buried himself deeper in the towel. Was he trying to hide from the others? March knew he was probably feeling embarrassed, but they weren’t going to judge!
The only thing March could judge him on was being so darn cute like this. Almost as cute as Pom-Pom!
“Oh, March?” Himeko looked up at her from whatever she was working on at the time. “You’re back quickly. How’s Dan Heng doing? Is he still asleep?”
March held the bundle in her arms tight, taking an uneasy step towards her.
“So uh… about… about that…” A nervous chuckle escaped her lips as her brain short-circuited.
Himeko’s face flashed with concern. “Is something wrong?”
“No- I mean yes- I mean it’s weird but he isn’t in pain or anything- at least I think he isn’t-” The words spilled out of her mouth before her brain could actually gather her thoughts. “-He’s just a bit scared but who wouldn’t be in this situation-”
“March.” Mr. Yang stopped her. “What happened?”.
“He uh… He kind of… heturnedintoalittledragon.” She finally blurted out.
An awkward silence fell between them as March uncovered some of the towel, allowing for the dragon’s head to peek out, broken only by Himeko letting out a stifled gasp.
Dan Heng, yet again, tried burying himself deeper in the towel to hide from view.
“...I found him like this. And like, he’s still Dan Heng inside, he can understand what I’m saying and he freaked out when he saw himself…and uh…yeah…we don’t know what to do…” Her fingers absentmindedly reached towards the soft fur, and she felt Dan Heng actually lean into the touch, his little heart beating hard and fast.
She ended up sitting down on the couch and placing the towel on her lap, giving Dan Heng at least some stable ground to stand on, but he didn’t seem to want to move out of the wrappings.
“We should probably take him directly to Bailu…” Welt said after the initial shock finally wore off. “Are you alright with this, Dan Heng?”
He peeked out of the towel, sheepishly looking up at Welt, before making a hesitant little squeak, which March translated as him agreeing to the idea.
All that remained was letting Stelle know.
—
March 7th
Today is also March 7th~
<[Stelle.]
<[Stelle, are you there? Also is Bailu with you? This is important!]
[Yeah I’m here]>
[What’s going on? Is it Dan Heng?]>
<[Attachment: 1 image. Alt Text: a small cerulean dragon wrapped up in Welt's scarf. He doesn't look happy.]
<[We don’t really know how this happened. He just suddenly turned into a little dragon and we’re taking him to Bailu.]
[...]>
[Is he okay?]>
<[He’s generally fine, just a bit freaked out. And well, a cute little dragon.]
[He is cute I have to admit.]>
[Ok, I’ll let Bailu know.]>
[Try to avoid the main plaza at Starskiff Haven, there’s some street performance festival thingy going on. It’s a big one and it’s almost impossible to get through.]>
[Also it’s loud and crowded.]>
<[Ok ok. I’ll let you know when we arrive.]
March 7th has gone offline.
[Wait fuck I meant the exalting sanctum.]>
[Not Starskiff Haven.]>
[Avoid sanctum]>
[March]>
[Read my fucking message March]>
[Don’t go to the Exalting Sanctum starskiff haven is fine!!!!]>
—
And thus Dan Heng found himself inside a bag padded with Welt’s scarf. He mostly stopped freaking out about waking up with his body rearranged and fully covered in scales. This was just the culmination of bullshit he inherited from Dan Feng, what’s one more thing at this point? What’s one more instance of his body acting on his own, taking agency from him yet again?
He hated that there was some part of him that just knew this wouldn’t last. The part of him that tugged at his deepest instincts, the one that tore his throat open, the one that predated even Dan Feng. The one that made him into this.
His mind felt… dulled, for lack of a better word. As if some layer in his brain was gone, making his thoughts less convoluted and his emotions more direct. And he, surprisingly, didn’t know how to feel about it.
For now he just tried to ignore the way the bag shook with each step despite March’s best attempts at keeping it still. It was just her and Mr. Yang, as Himeko stayed behind to watch the Express with Pom-Pom, and probably to ease the latter’s nerves about Dan Heng’s “condition”.
It probably looked suspicious, as if they were to smuggle something on board the Luofu. In a way they were. His exile might be over, but here he was, brought on board and hidden from view as they made their way through the streets.
Hopefully the Vidyadhara Preceptors wouldn’t find out about this.
He knew his presence was a sensitive topic when it came to them. Some wishing him shackled in the depths of that hell again, some choosing to cut their losses and wishing him outright dead… and those who still thought Bailu unworthy of being the High Elder despite her part in the sealing of the Ambrosial Arbor. Those who wanted to shackle him not with chains, but a title he wanted nothing to do with.
From what he knew about his own kind… Wasn’t the power to turn into a dragon only achievable after numerous trials and rituals?
Dan Heng certainly hasn’t gone through any of those. The scales he could excuse as just his draconic traits being particularly strong, but this? Something was deeply wrong for this power to have manifested the way it did.
And if the Preceptors were to learn of this…
…He remembers a dream he once had. “Remembers” is a strong word, all dreams like this one are at best foggy and indistinct, more feelings someone else felt… But he remembers one image from it. Staring at his own face in the mirror. Or at least it was close to his face, a few minor differences making the reflection distinct enough. The robes he wore were heavy and uncomfortable, ceremonial jewelry weighing him down like chains in the Shackling Prison. Someone was brushing his hair. Someone else was covering up a mole on his cheek with white powder, drawing red markings under his eyes… He woke up with tears in his eyes that night…
Somehow he knew the person in the mirror was grieving something…
He brushed the thought away, distracted by how March’s phone kept buzzing at the bottom of the bag. She put it in there by accident and still hasn’t noticed.
The bag was open just enough for him to get some fresh air, and Mr. Yang's scarf was warm, soft and made him feel safe for some reason, so it wasn't the worst way to be smuggled on board, even if it was disorienting to feel movement without seeing where he was being carried to. It was getting a bit stuffy in the bag, so he managed to somewhat force the zipper to open more by pushing against it with his head.
The draconic body wasn’t as helpless as it initially seemed, especially once he figured out how to move his limbs without stumbling. This too felt like muscle memory from a time he never lived, but wasn’t that just his life at this point?
…Dan Heng was a Nameless. He chose his own path, one that followed the Express through the stars with the people he cared for… no matter what this was, he wouldn’t let it stop him from continuing on that journey.
… he knew the people he loved wouldn’t leave him alone with this. They were annoyingly insistent about it… and he appreciated that.
The others were talking about something but it was muffled by the incessant roar of the crowds outside. What little clothing he had on seemed to be affected by the transformation, vanishing from the bathtub along with his human form, and it appeared his hearing aids were no different, considering he could still hear everything. And “everything” included what sounded like a crowd and loud music.
“...did they — from starskiff haven — Stelle said…” He could barely make out what March was saying.
He burrowed himself deeper under the scarf to try and block some of the noise, and he could feel March clutch the bag more firmly.
This is how he finally figured out that a dragon’s senses are so much sharper than his own, as the sounds were somehow more aggravating than they should be. Normally he’d just turn down his hearing aids by that point, but alas they were… somewhere and his best way of getting a semblance of quiet was deep in the scarf, with only his nose…snout(?)… sticking out for air.
While this didn’t help with the fact he could smell everything much stronger now, his senses overwhelmed with the mix of spices, perfume, and general human smells, it was marginally better.
And suddenly something slammed into the bag.
It was sent flying as Dan Heng let out a yelp, crashing into the pavement of the Exalting Sanctum and causing him to tumble out a few feet away.
His body reacted on its own. Surrounded by so much noise, by crowds of people who could easily trample him now that he was lower off the ground than a Diting-
His legs started running, weaving between the feet of the people on the streets. Even as he could hear March panicking in the distance, as her voice faded away, drowned out by the crowd - he had to get away from here until he was safe-
Not knowing where he was running, desperately trying to avoid getting stepped on or kicked, twisting and turning and ducking off to the side, he was away from the main plaza. The crowd started thinning out, but he didn’t stop-
And he came crashing face-first into a pair of boots as he turned the corner.
“Oh?” A voice said above him.
A terrifyingly familiar voice.
Of all people-
Jing Yuan was suddenly kneeling on the ground in front of him. There was shock in his eyes, clearly some accompanying confusion, but also… recognition.
Dan Heng was mortified, frozen in his tracks as the two just stared at each other, unblinking.
A shiver came through his body. This is it, bury him on the spot, shatter the egg with a hammer, anything to end this nightmare-
chiu-
His head bobbed with a sneeze.
Jing Yuan finally blinked, a small smile forming on his face.
“You still sneeze like a kitten, my friend.” he chuckled. “Now how did you get yourself in this situation?”
Dan Heng, obviously, couldn’t answer beyond an annoyed huff. His nose threatened him with another sneeze, because of course he ran into Jing Yuan without allergy medicine and as an Aeon-forsaken dragon.
“We should probably get somewhere quieter.” The general reached out an open hand towards him, almost as if… inviting him to climb up his arm.
He just stared at the hand, hesitant to make any move.
“Unless you’d rather stay here, although being out in the open might not be the wisest choice for someone your size.” Jing Yuan reasoned. “And do not worry, I will inform Stelle of your whereabouts.”
Dan Heng didn’t want to make March 7th and Mr. Yang worried for any longer… maybe they’d run into them on the way to wherever Jing Yuan had in mind as “somewhere quieter”. Besides, if he’d contact Stelle… It was a better alternative to trying to avoid getting trampled.
He allowed himself to be scooped up and gingerly placed on Jing Yuan’s shoulders, a place usually reserved for little sparrows that for some reason flocked to the man. The general undid the ribbon in his hair, allowing the ponytail to drop and for his thick, white hair to almost completely conceal Dan Heng’s presence.
Another sneeze shook his body.
“Hold on tight, okay?” Jing Yuan said with fondness in his voice, but Dan Heng didn’t answer.
And they headed off.
—
It wasn’t her fault some guy wasn’t looking where he was walking and slammed into her! And yet March couldn’t help but feel guilty for losing her grip on the bag as she fell to the pavement, scraping her knee in the process.
Both her and Mr. Yang saw just the teal blur of Dan Heng’s serpentine body disappearing in the crowd. All that remained was the bag.
They couldn’t find him anywhere in the area. Thankfully it didn’t seem like anyone stepped on or kicked his small body, but that did little to ease their panic.
They’ve been looking for over half an hour, but there was no sign of him. They finally had to take a break from their search because there was blood trailing down March’s leg from the scrape on her knee.
“Dan Heng will be fine, March. He’s most likely staying away from the crowd, we’ll find him soon.” Welt tried to calm her down as he helped her bandage the wound.
“I hope you’re right Mr. Yang…” she wiped a tear from her eye.
While discussing their approach towards their continued search, March’s phone started buzzing. The screen was cracked from where it hit the ground as the bag was knocked out of her hands, and in the ensuing panic she didn’t have the time to check it.
[11 unread messages from: The Galactic Baseballer~.]
The Galactic Baseballer~
Current Status: Stelle (She/They)
<[Don’t go to the Exalting Sanctum starskiff haven is fine!!!!]
<[March did you land you were supposed to let me know]
<[Where are you guys????]
<[Dan Heng is safe.]
<[Jing Yuan has him.]
<[Go to the seat of divine foresight im omw there with Bailu]
Oh sweet Akivili!
March let out a huge sigh of relief. He was safe and untrampled and with someone they could trust! Even if Stelle could have realised their mistake sooner and helped them avoid this in the first place, the relief was enough to prevent March from being mad at her. For now.
She relayed the news to Welt, who visibly stopped tensing.
[Ok ok! Thanks, that’s good, we were so worried. See you there!]>
They managed to squeeze through the crowds and make their way to the starskiff docks. The guard on duty recognised them as guests of the Arbiter General from their previous visits and permitted them to board the starskiff to the Seat of Divine Foresight after they cited there was some urgent business between them and Jing Yuan.
It’s not as if Mr. Yang was lying when he said that, the situation was as urgent as it could get!
When the starskiff finally docked at its destination, March all but sprinted out of it, only really slowing down to wait for Welt. That, and because her knee hurt, but that wasn’t important at the time.
They had to wait in front of the door as someone went to inform the General of their presence before they were let in.
“Friends of the Astral Express!” Jing Yuan greeted them once they entered the building, “Stelle informed me you were the ones who brought Dan Heng on board?”
As often with those situations, March let Mr. Yang do all the talking. He was the responsible adult between the two of them, after all.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after him, General. This whole situation is rather unexpected…” Welt said as Jing Yuan led them to a side corridor, apparently to the palace’s private wing.
“I can only imagine. I was quite surprised myself, the gift draconic transformation is rare even among high elders, and usually requires a number of trials to be passed beforehand. Still, it’s not a permanent state, if that is what you’re worried about.”
“General Jing Yuan, if I may… How did you know it was Dan Heng?” March couldn’t stop herself from asking.
Jing Yuan just let out a quiet chuckle. “His predecessor shared that very same gift. Their appearances have always been rather alike, it would only be logical for their draconic forms to be similar as well. Even if Dan Heng is unusually small.”
“He is? I knew it! He’s tiny.” March immediately said, trying to ignore the look Mr. Yang was giving her.
The General didn’t seem to mind her enthusiasm.
“Quite. A dragon’s size can be altered with Cloudhymn magic, if I recall correctly, but even at their smallest they aren’t usually like him. Dan Feng’s draconic form was just the right size for Mimi to want to roughhouse with, much to his dismay…” He reminisced, before stopping at a door. “Ah, we’re here.”
The door led to a small courtyard resembling an open-air tea room. There was a tea table underneath a veranda, with Stelle sitting by it. She pressed a finger to her lips, clearly indicating they should be quiet, and pointed at the rather hard to miss white lion enjoying a nap in the warm rays of the Luofu’s artificial sun.
As adorable as that sight was, now that March looked closer… There was something draped over Mimi. Or rather two somethings.
One was the teal, serpentine form March knew to be Dan Heng. He somehow looked even tinier now that he was practically buried in Mimi’s fur, she was quite a big cat after all.
Right next to him was a creature that looked a lot like him, albeit a light purple instead of teal. It seemed to have much more fluff on its body than Dan Heng, and generally appeared bigger than him, nearly twice his size. There was something oddly familiar about that ornament on its tail…
Wait.
“Is that Bailu?” She half-whispered with a delighted grin on her face.
“Indeed that’s her. She was rather happy to see him, even more so that he too has the draconic gift. Best not disturb them, they’ve both had rather tiring days, haven’t they?” Jing Yuan answered, before offering the Trailblazers some tea.
Stelle apparently updated Himeko on the situation in the meantime, which must have been a relief to the Express’s navigator.
It was peaceful, and March couldn’t help but observe the two dragons contently snuggling with Mimi, who was purring up a storm, clearly enjoying the cuddles.
The two Vidyadhara awoke after an hour or two, neither changing out of their draconic forms. At least Dan Heng seemed happy to see the Express Crew, something akin to relief forming in his little dragon eyes. He didn’t stop snuggling with Mimi though, despite the occasional sneeze brought about by his allergy to cat fur. March didn’t blame him, she looked so soft, totally worth the sacrifice.
Mimi looked sad when her companions had to leave, but according to Bailu, Dan Heng’s transformation should wear off in a few hours if it was anything like her first one. It would be best for him to switch back on the Express, since the first time can leave one rather disoriented.
They bid the three of them farewell, gave Mimi a few scritches for goodbye, and returned to the Express with little issue. Dan Heng was carried in Stelle’s hoodie for safety, thankfully with no people slamming into them this time.
—
After a few hours, Dan Heng did indeed turn into a human form. He was a bit frazzled, but felt good overall, stating they probably shouldn’t expect any more surprises considering the severity of this one.
Little changed on the Express as a result of this, something he appreciated.
“You’re still Dan Heng. Scales or not, dragon or not, you’re still our friend.” Caelus reassured him, before adding “And you still owe me an Immortal’s Delight for losing that bet-”
He cut him off with a small splash of Cloudhymn to the face, for which Caelus tackled him to the ground.
…his draconic form proved useful in wriggling out of the hold.
And so they continued onwards to the stars. Dan Heng was just a dragon on rare occasions, a fact that quickly became the norm on board.
Whatever fate would bring upon them, they’d face it together, for no passenger gets left behind.