Gone Too Far

Evan was really, really not sure. He'd meant it in good fun, but that didn't mean it was in good fun. It didn't mean Straga wasn't actually, legitimately upset.

Realistically speaking, what Evan was doing was sort of stupid. Straga was a dragon, could take care of himself, and was several times more powerful than Evan even on a bad day. Even worse, he was (probably) pissed off. He'd just been laughed at, and every step Evan took out of the community center was only going to serve to make things worse.

Because Straga was getting bigger. He wasn't moving all that fast--he wasn't running--but he was growing with every step he took, his shape twisting as he grew, and grew, and... kept on growing.

Evan had thought he was house sized. But he was even bigger than that, just absolutely massive, and Evan had to swallow down a sudden surge of nerves as Straga finished his shift, settling into his dragon form.

"Straga!" Evan called out, slightly worried he legitimately wouldn't be heard over the sound of his shift. "Can we just talk?"

He was... oh dear. He was big. A part of Evan's brain was sort of stuck on that, stuttering and faltering in the face of something so much bigger than him. He didn't think Straga would step on him--not really--but the animal part of his brain, the part that had kept him alive for so long, had some very different opinions.

All those spikes certainly made him nervous.

"Don't maim them," Evan made himself say. So he was upset. Probably upset because he was being laughed at. He didn't think Straga would ever admit it, but he was certainly a proud sort of guy. "I was the one who brought it up. I just meant it as a joke. It wasn't supposed to..."

No, that was a shitty apology. He knew that much. So he tried again, his voice more calm and even now that he had Straga's intention.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Evan sure as fuck wasn't ruling it out. Straga's clan was kind of rampagey, and while he didn't think Straga would fly off the handle over something like that, he wasn't ruling out that Straga was going to go bulldoze a portion of the forest or something like that.

"You still turned into a dragon," Evan pointed out. "Which is new. Even when you're annoyed you don't normally do that."

Maybe he shouldn't be talking back to the giant dragon, but he was doing his best to just act like he always did with Straga. "I'm guessing you're not going to come back inside?"

He sure as hell was petty, and Evan rolled his eyes in response, his fear having simmered down to something easily controllable. He'd been in combat before. He could handle it, even if the instincts that simply came with being human were saying something along the lines of he could fucking step on you! really loudly in the back of his head.

"Do you not get to be in that form often?" Evan asked. "Seems like there's room enough on the island, but I guess it's a no-go in the city?"

"The same," Evan pointed out. "It's not like I can tell where he is or anything. Wherever I am, I'm just there, and wherever he is, he's just there. We're independent people. I guess it was weird the first few times I talked to myself, but I kind of got used to it. Who do I know better than myself?"

No one, that was who.

"Seems like a weird idea, just having big dragons hunting. I guess there's enough pray in the woods for that to be sustainable?"

Maybe they added more animals to balance things out?