Like Shaping Clay

She still had her eyes closed, trying to keep her focus. But Silver's proximity was comforting and his advice was so helpful. Like it always was. Quie let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding and willed the power that was focused on her hand to travel back through the rest of her body.

Almost as if Silver had cast a spell her arm calmed its shaking and a few patches of scales and fur began to crop up along Quie's arm. An almost visual path between the mostly formed claws on one hand, patches up the arm and through the chest and then back down the other arm to her left hand. That hand too began to turn grey and claw-like for just a few moments and then she couldn't keep it up anymore.

This time though she didn't shift into dragon form. Instead she leaned over and opened her eyes, panting heavily, and reverted fully back to human form. She was looking pretty exhausted after just the one prolonged attempt but it was promising.

"Well, that was... better? I think? At least I felt a little bit more in control of it. Maybe it was just you being close to me though," she joked and grinned at him before stepping back into position.

"The power is mine to control, not the other way around. I got it," she said proudly, though she was fairly certain it was going to take a lot more practice over the next weeks before it was well and truly under her control. But that just meant more time training. Talk about a real Silver lining. Ok, she wanted to kick herself for that terrible joke.

She really wanted to keep practicing. In fact she almost ignored his gesture and started again but ultimately her better judgement won out. She nodded and then walked back over with him to the bench. Quie' muscles were giving off a fatigued feeling like she had been lifting weights. All the tensing and flexing and shifting had started to wear on them a little. "Honestly my hands, especially this one," she said as she indicated her right hand, "are starting to feel really sore. Like i've been crushing rocks in them or something."

She held up her hands and they didn't look damaged in any way. Maybe she was just imagining the soreness? No, it had to just be the muscles adjusting to being shifted back and forth in such an unusual way.

Quie couldn't help but let out a sigh as Silver massaged her arm. Between the cold and the massaging fingers on her very tense and sore muscles it was heaven. "Mmm," she murmured as she sat there with he eyes closed and leaned her head on Silver's shoulder. "You're right of course. I'll try working on something else if I do more training today. I know wings will be useful but I think..." She trailed off as she opened her eyes and watched him pop another head out.

She couldn't help but laugh a little. "I don't think i'll be doing that one," she snickered, "but I was thinking about just shifting parts of my skin to scales and fur next. I can't protect the people I care about if i'm all soft and squishy. Wings and other fancier things can come after that." Her decision was in no small part thanks to Liun and his ice armor. She was by no means weak in human form but she was much more vulnerable without her scales and fur protecting her.

She felt like just sitting there in Silver's arms. It was comfortable and she probably could have let herself fall asleep. Between the coolness he was radiating, the exhaustion from her training and that warm feeling she felt just by being close to him it was really tempting. But alas she was there with him to train too and sleeping would be a waste of their precious time together.

"I understand it might not work that well until I get more control but I feel like my scales and fur are a really good thing for me to at least try for a bit. The way I use my ice magic is focused on the surface of my body too. Maybe it'll work easier for me than it did for you." As she said that she formed spikes of ice across her body except for areas where they might stab Silver. They remained for just a moment before she made them go away again.

"She does seem to like making sure everyone knows she is strong and not to be messed with. I guess I can't blame her, being the leader takes a lot." But Quie didn't want to start getting into her family stuff. That would make her think about all the work she probably had piling up while she was out there training and the day was too perfect to ruin.

"You know this is pretty nice just sitting here in your arms. Too bad we don't get more time for this sort of thing. I could just stay like this for a long time.... but I guess we are here mostly to train. I suppose I should try at least one last time before we call it for the day. Unless you plan to keep me right here." She smirked and then moved in for a deep kiss.

Of all the times for her to feel compelled by her sense of duty and her determination to learn this new technique. All she had to do was agree. To say she'd rather just relax there in Silver's arms and let that beautiful moment continue. But she had already had the thought about needing to try the shifting at least one more time and she wouldn't be able to put it out of her mind.

"Sorry, i'm stubborn sometimes and I really feel like I need to try this one more time today. Then we can head back and i'll get things situated so I can come over to your place. Unless some crazy emergency has happened that should be fine." At the very least she was going to need to check her email and get cleaned up from this workout.

She gave him one more peck on the cheek before slipping out of his arms, begrudgingly but firmly. Finish the work now, enjoy your time later. That was the standard she lived by. Admittedly she had a habit of neglecting the later part, but since she met Silver she was getting better at that. At least she thought so.

Quie stepped away to give herself plenty of space just in case. This time she didn't extend a single arm like she had been doing. She spread her legs a little, held out both arms and then closed her eyes. In her mind she focused on her scales and fur. That familiar, comforting weight. The soft feeling of brushing against her own fur when it was clean.

Beads of sweat ran down her face as she reached for that draconic core of her being. Probably the exact same core that drove her to be stubborn and protective. Where that deep passion came from. The passion for her family, her community, and... for Silver. There was a slight whining cough of a noise from her throat as the dragon in her wanted to roar but she was incapable of it. Patches of her skin along her arms began to take on a scaly appearance and were quickly covered by tufts of pure white fur. It spread across her chest and her skin and clothes were replaced bit by bit with fur and scales.

She stood there and defiantly held the partially shifted form, mostly covered in fur and sweating even more from the exertion and the heat, even as her legs started to wobble a little and she looked a little more unsteady. And then it was more than she could keep up so she had to choose whether to release herself into the full shift to dragon form or pull it back and drop back fully into her human form. Quie chose the latter and with a gasp of pain from her side she fell backwards onto the ground. Sitting there, in human form. She wasn't really injured as far as she could tell but she was holding her side where it felt like something might have tried to shift a little too quickly.