Aeryl and I found something strange, and...perhaps It was a bad idea to touch it

Now, I see how it feels to be an earth dragon, and him, a wind wolf! It's quite the experience frankly.

Art made by Joannazelle , a super talented artist! ( https://www.deviantart.com/joannazelle )

The dragon turned into a wolf is  Aeryl-Dragonlink , a dear long-time friend of mine!

So...Aeryl and I actually met on an rpg site a loooong time ago, and we figured it would be cool to actually write the story of this comission! You'll find down there the point of view of Remus. If you're interested by Aeryl's writing and point of view, you'll find it here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56479456/

Enjoy!
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Jungles are rich environments, full of life and action. You just didn't have to see it to believe it : you had to hear it. The jungle dwellers are hidden in the mists of thick steam, under the water of fertile rivers, atop their tall trees...sometimes they're even right in front of us without us noticing, hidden among the verdant colors of this place, camouflaged. If we couldn't see them, we only had to hear them to realize just how much life this place was brimming with. The exotic birds were constantly singing at the top of their lungs, their voices lost among the melodies of their fellow creatures, in a chaotic yet not devoid of beauty. I may have lived in a forest myself, but it was temperate, and in a much different style, far less noisy and. It was a far wilder place than I'd ever seen before, and I regularly stopped along the way to take a deep breath, close my eyes and listen to the parakeets and parrots singing. During one of these brief pauses, I looked behind me.

"Don't dawdle, Aeryl ! We're almost there !"

I replied, half impatient and half teasing. The disadvantage of dragons like him was that it was much harder to move around in dense, condensed biomes. The poor air dragon had to suffocate, both from the ambient heat and humidity and from the lack of space. Since we entered this jungle, he must have caught countless branches and vines. I was much more used to it than he was. This was my country, after all, and I had a slightly slimmer body than my coat would suggest: slipping in and out of narrow spaces, playing eel between the roots, was my daily routine. That's why he hired me to guide him on his mission, and also because of my... "special skills".

Tearing off various vines in my path with a few sharp fangs, I made my way through the sweltering jungle, revealing a new place before my eyes: a clearing, which let in the sunlight. It hadn't been made by nature, but by intelligent beings who had built around it. Nature had reclaimed the place over time, but there were still traces of civilization here and there: flagstones on the ground, broken by roots, irregular, collapsed walls... And above all, a main stone gate, a few meters away.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The green of my legs, as well as my torso and ears, began to glow intensely. I was connecting with the roots of the soil and their long galleries stretching for miles. I could feel everything that lived under the ground, and they were giving me some very interesting information. After a while, I found what we were looking for: I could feel a strange magical vibration near some of the roots, they were detecting a strong energy, and this was surely what we were looking for.

"It's official : under our paws lies what you're looking for!"

__________

"It's got to be this way ! Apart from tearing out the slabs and digging, I can't see how we're going to get down... But I might have an idea how to open this door ! The parchment tells us how ! Let's hope the mechanism still works..."

Luckily, Aeryl was there.
His approach and ideas were more subtle and ingenious than mine. I wasn't stupid, far from it, but I had...much less patience. If it hadn't been for him, I'd have already started using earth energy to force the door open.But I think I would have shocked the poor dragon. He'd be the type to be terrified at the idea of damaging ancient and sacred places. I understand, to a lesser extent. But for my part, I'm more interested in what the ruins contain.

"In case these mechanisms don't work, I'll just have to... 'create' an entrance for us."

I replied, stressing all the same that I was ready to use my methods, if nothing worked.In the meantime, I let the expert in enigmas and secrets do his thing.I could see his gaze darting back and forth to the parchment, then to the various images, and starting to press on breakthrough surfaces. And in less than two or three minutes, the door opened with a loud bang. The mechanism, though functional, was very old indeed. I hoped it wouldn't close behind us as we descended.

"... I think we've got our access now. Wow. Hah... I always get the shivers at times like this ! H-hum... can you feel anything around here ?"

I smiled at him.
If we had one thing in common, it was our attraction to the unknown and the mysterious. Discovery motivated us both. Perhaps that was one of the reasons we got on so well. As I approached the entrance, I closed my eyes again, taking a deep breath.The same light as earlier, though lighter, began to appear on my white coat.

"Hmm...This is definitely the right track. Energy doesn't just pass through stone and earth. I can feel it going up this passage. Whatever it is, it's waiting for us !"

With carefree gusto, I set off down the stairs with a light, confident step. Every time I put my paw on the ground, I left a small luminescent mark on the floor, which illuminated the dark corridor for a few seconds before disappearing.I was, however, the biggest source of light in these parts : we were so close to the source of this magic that my body could feel its presence continuously from here. At this point, I didn't even need to concentrate to detect it.

After a short stroll down the stairs, I found myself deep inside the temple. It must have been some thirty or forty meters underground.
Here and there, I could see roots protruding from the slabs on the ceiling and walls: nature had reclaimed its rights. Or have these creators always coexisted with nature? It's hard to say; some people let the flora mix with their buildings, out of respect for the forest. In any case, this place was bursting with magical energy, so much so that I could feel the roots and branches drunk with the essence.

It was almost indigestible...but that explained why I had felt so much energy from the surface. The room was quite spacious, forming a large hall whose main path was emphasized by imposing columns on either side.The torches had long since been extinguished, though there were still a few cracks, but there was still one source of light illuminating the darkness : it stood at the far end of the room, on a pedestal.

Here it was…

A stone, shaped like a drop… or an egg ?
I couldn't tell. On the sides, two vine-like forms unwound this jewel, which was transparent. A hollow artifact ? One could indeed perceive that inside it, multiple colors twirled, red, green, blue, purple… these shapes twirled within the object chaotically, sometimes gently, sometimes erratically.
One could almost sense a personality, an identity in each of these colors.
It wasn't a single magical energy, but several !

It was a catalyst, surely. An empty shell, drawing energies into itself! For countless years, this artifact must have passively absorbed all the energies that brushed against it.It was a rarity...normally, every magical object is associated with only one form of magic, and this relic held a little of everything inside.It was a thing of great beauty.

I approached the stone without taking my eyes off it, almost hypnotized.Immersed in my reflections, and in admiration of this jewel, I no longer paid attention to what was around me, or even if Aeryl had followed me.

"It's strange, it releases a great energy, and yet… It seems empty… Waiting for it to be filled… Maybe..."

I instinctively brought my paw close to the artifact.
Much of my understanding of magic came through my sense of touch, and I was learning a lot by inspecting artifacts through this process. Their energy, their warmth or coldness, the tingling sensation some gave off on the pads...However, this was clearly not the best approach when discovering an unknown object in a lost temple.

The brilliance of my fur increased in reaction to so much energy, and without my noticing, filaments of green energy began to unravel from my paw to come inside the artifact.

"What the-"

__________

"Wait ! We don't know what it d- !"

Unfortunately, it was far too late for me. I could hear my colleague's warnings, without really listening to them. But it wasn't until I saw him put his hand on it that I snapped out of my state of admiration. Regaining my grip on reality, my first instinct had been to pull my paw back... But it was stuck, fixed as if with glue against the object... and Aeryl now seemed to be stuck with me.

I was so absorbed in the artifact's mystical energies that I hadn't even noticed my own energy flowing inside. I could see it sliding down my paw to get inside, and part of it leaving directly against Aeryl's paw. Inside this egg, the dragon's blue blended with my green, creating a brilliant, almost blinding cyan orb. And suddenly… this energy also began to flow into me.

Suddenly, I was trembling like a leaf, my whole being enveloped by a powerful magical energy. I could feel my body, inside and out, twisting and changing. My hair fell to the ground, replaced by smooth white and green patches. I felt as if my skull was trying to get out of my head, pressure being felt… Two specific points, where horns were starting to appear, before others followed on the sides of my jaw. my dense coat was giving way to plated, smooth skin, my warm blood was starting to cool, and even if I couldn't see it, I could feel some kind of extensions in my shoulders, as if my bones were growing into new shapes.

Aeryl's panic was transmitted to me the moment I turned my gaze towards him. I was facing something quite different from Aeryl, but yet it seemed to be… him?

"R-Remus, are you… ?!"

Before he could finish his sentence, a small blast of magic hit us both. Our paws finally let go of the object, which now seemed to be pushing us back with one blow, as if its powers had been abused for too long. I ended up a few feet further on, stopped only by a nearby pillar. I ended up on the ground, a large cloud of dust and dirt covering my build, which was much more imposing than usual.

I struggled to my feet, looking around until I saw my friend's face on the other side of the room. or was it him ? Had he lost his wings ? No, more than that, it wasn't him. It was another wolf. Yet he hadn't seen anyone else come in.
"But what… who are you ? I've mistaken you for..."

...I stopped dead in my tracks, noticing a number of very disturbing details. The blue-cyan and white color of his coat, similar to that of the dragon, but it was far from stopping there. While it could have been mere coincidence, the presence of the patterns on his shoulders, and that of a thin red ribbon on him were telltale signs.

"...Aeryl ?"

My first reflex was to approach, when suddenly I caught something rather large against my muzzle. Surprised, I recoiled instinctively, before realizing I'd caught myself a wing, all green… MY green. My eyes widened in shock.

"...Oh no... nonononono !"

I spun around, moving my new wings with noticeable clumsiness. I looked as deft as a newborn becoming aware of his body.

"...My coat, my tail, my body, I… I'm not me ! I mean… I'm me… I feel like I'm me, but different, not the same.
What....What happened ?!"

The center of my torso began to glow intensely again beneath a brand-new plate of bark scales, vibrating erratically, underscoring my state of panic. It seemed our bodies hadn't been switched : I was still Remus, with my abilities, but my being, my species, had been altered… and not just me.

__________

"... Remus ? I-I really wasn't dreaming? No... what could have happened !!!"

After a few turns on myself, looking almost like a dog chasing his tail (although, this time more like a dragon chasing his tail, and looking more panicked than amused), I froze in place and stared at the wolf. He'd recognized me, it was definitely...

"Remus ! ... It's you, isn't it ? It's me, Aeryl..."

"Yeah, it's me ! And...And that's...That's you, Aeryl… Aeryl the dragon… Oh boy, that's very… VERY disconcerting"

I approached closer toward my friend, with a clumsy gait. My body was much wider and taller than I was used to, and also a little heavier compared to the slender wolf I was. One of my wings was half-folded, and the other dragged a little on the ground, deployed. Learning to use extra limbs wasn't easy after all. Once in front of him, I raised a curious paw, slowly moving one of my claws close to his nose, before giving him a gentle squeeze.

"An Illusion ? No, this… this is real. I think… I think we've swapped species ! At least, that the artifact did !"

I glanced at the object, a little further away from us. It seemed to have calmed down, no longer glowing the way it had when we'd first come in. It had lost its colors, completely empty, almost as transparent as an empty glass. I put my paw on it again, which might seem like the worst idea EVER. But the object seemed empty, perhaps deactivated?
Once again, I could feel some of my energy penetrating the object. But this time, the flow was vastly different. Only a tiny fragment of my energy had been sucked into its interior, barely visible. Instead of being sucked in like water when pulling the cork out of a barrel, my energy was sucked out in tiny, almost imperceptible droplets.

"Maybe we could use it again to regain our form, but we'll have to wait until the artifact fills with energy again. In the meantime… we're stuck like this for a while."

With a sigh, I turned back to Aeryl. I began to shake a little, having trouble getting used to this new body.

"Brr… I'm super cold all of a sudden. How do reptiles survive without fur ?" I asked my mate. I felt almost
anesthetized : my sensitive pads were replaced by smooth, scaly paws, the blood in my veins was icy, and I could feel drafts of outside air passing over my new wings. Feeling new limbs I'd never had was such a strange sensation !
Lowering my gaze, I noticed that my chest was glowing with the same intensity as usual, the only source of heat I felt inside me. That's one detail that hasn't changed, at least. I could still feel the earth's energy flowing through me, and my back plates felt like they were made of tree bark. It didn't feel like a silly body swap either. I wasn't in Aeryl's body, and he wasn't in mine. It was as if… we were living in an alternate reality, what we might have been in another life, born of a different mother, a different whole species ! Dread and shock now gave way to growing curiosity.

__________

Aeryl seemed already immersed in his theories. I was closer to the daredevil adventurer who enjoys collecting magical artifacts, than to the scholar who wants to understand the ancient world and preserve it. I let him have that pleasure. And with a bit of luck, he'd come up with a solution faster than mine.

"... Our soul. Our magic source. It manipulates it. This artifact... it can swap our magical imprint... and makes us change species. And... that would mean that whoever did this, he or she wanted to master some of the primal magic powers. And pretty much succeeded."

“Almost” was a pretty big step ! I don't know much about history, but my great sensitivity to magic helped me to understand it in all its complexity. It's perhaps the only known object that can do that so far. I could have made a hell of a lot of money out of it… if I wasn't perfectly aware that Aeryl would want to keep it for himself, in his great collection of magical objects safe from malevolent paws.

Unfortunately, this little analysis wasn't helping me to warm up, and my friend noticed for a moment.

"Pff- hahaha- ! Heh- s-sorry, sorry ! It's just... nervous ! Hem... Uh, if we're really, totally the different species... we- uh, dragons have more affinity using surrounding magic. I instinctively use little layers of air to regulate my temperature, but it has its limits... I confess I'm not sure what to tell you about earth magic."

A whole lot of good that does me... However, if we do indeed still share the same elemental affinities, it could be that my abilities are identical, or only slightly altered. After all, my torso still glowed with the same earthy energy. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the ground beneath my feet. My mind tried to reach beneath the hewn flagstones and connect with the pure, raw soil. Feeling the roots and subterranean fauna beneath our paws, I took a deep breath before part of my scales glowed. The earth's energy began to warm me a little, my blood heating up slowly but surely.

“Phew ! It's alright, it's all better now. At least I still have my affinity.”

I looked at Aeryl, thinking that for him, too, it must not be a piece of cake... I was so wide, and my senses were less sharp... Not only must he feel much smaller and frailer, but he must be assaulted by his senses.

“Hey, uh… If you've got a bit of a headache, close your eyes and try to concentrate on one smell at a time. Catalog them and put a name to them, slowly, it helps not to get too overwhelmed. And if it does not work... stick your snout in a bit of dirt and it'll pass.”

I said that without any desire to tease him, or any ulterior motive. Smells that are too strong are easily aggressive, and protecting your muzzle was important when you were starting to get a headache.

With my clumsy movements, I lay down on the ground, scattering a large cloud of dust around me. I stretched my new wings a little more, gradually getting used to their width. Everything was longer, my neck, my legs, my tail- it was as if a giant hand had stretched me from every extremity. It was a strange sensation, but quite unique. The room seemed much smaller than when we'd arrived. Instead of folding my wings as any dragon would have done, I left them fully stretched and on the ground.

“Well, I guess all we can do now is wait... I should have known that following you on your adventures would be no walk in the park. But this is record-breaking. It's quite an experience being a dragon. It's all very well being part of the dominant species, but I prefer to keep my fur on... But I assure you, you look much better as a wolf ! At least you won't have to take all the branches !”

I replied, this time with my wide, teasing smile.

__________

Aeryl took a moment to test my method. I saw his flank, who swole up and down at the fast rhythm of his respiration, slow down slightly. It must have been a violent change, so many smells to process... At least he'll be able to think more clearly. He had the opportunity to listen attentively to me talk about my feelings on this...surprising experience, as well as to my little joke. Of course, he wanted to show off and growl in displeasure, but he was as in control of his body as a puppy: his tail wagged from right to left. Someone loved compliments, but couldn't take them! I refrained from teasing him about it, though, as he'd already been through enough for one day for me to continue making fun of him, even if it wasn't very mean-spirited.

He decided to retort in his turn anyway, wanting to keep the ball in the center:

"Hehehe... at least we're even now ! And be careful, my big nimble paws allow me to catch you from anything if you tease me back, even with your big scales, as long as we're like this !"

I could imagine that. The dragons were imposing, but the advantage of being smaller and faster was that it was possible to attack from unexpected angles. It was risky, and a big dragon paw could send you flying to your grave, but with concentration (and above all team spirit, there's no way you can take on a dragon alone), it was doable! Wolf-eryl (now that's a good nickname!) disappeared from my field of vision for a moment, facing the artifact.

"Say... would... would you be willing to let me have it?I know we've come this far together, and I could never have found it without you... but I want to study it so badly! It's... just incredible how it could be designed... I-I'm sure there's so much to it!In exchange... you can collect all the magic crystals that have condensed in these ruins, I know you have a use for them, and you can even get a good price for them..."

"Oh, go ahead, it's all yours ! I prefer to sell magic items that at least wait for authorization before taking effect. If I start changing species with the clientele, it's not likely to please everyone."

There was no way I was going to keep anything too unstable in my store. What I was doing could already be dangerous in its own right, even illegal, so I had to make sure I didn't give in to all those who would like to see my store closed. Besides, Aeryl saw in this object a cultural value more valuable than what it was worth in gold. The dragon had always been very curious and almost as much of a collector as I was. Working with him was a pleasure, but it was always complicated to share the spoils afterwards. Here, at least, we were sure who was going to pocket what.

As I was lost in my predictions, seeing what I could salvage from the temple, I felt two hairy paws grip my longer-than-usual draconic neck.

"... Thanks for everything, Remus. Heh... you're not so bad as a dragon either, you know... but hey... I'd clearly rather keep my wings !"

I was a little unsettled at first. I was no stranger to physical affection, quite the contrary, but I was more often its initiator than its recipient. Showing affection to the people I love, and teasing the more embarrassed and introverted with a few teasing touches to take them out of their comfort zone, to test them... But I wasn't used to being given some in return. I quickly relaxed, however, feeling the cool breeze from the blue wolf around us. I returned the hug with my big paw, bringing it close to rest gently on his back. A few light roots lightly entwined his fur, a soft, living, comforting warmth relaxing both his muscles and his mind.

"I'm the one who thanks you, Aeryl... Let's do it again whenever you want ! Once we've returned each other's form, we can plan another expedition for next time !"

As he positioned himself to rest a little, I settled down next to him. Raising my wing, I placed it over him to act as a little blanket. If you're going to have wings, you might as well share.

Being a dragon does have its advantages.