[Open] It's cold cold cold

[grandspark]

Who: Rude and OTA
When: Throughout January Ieneur.
Where: Around Aefenglom.
What: Catch-all stuff. Including Rude discovering his tiny dragon form by accident and getting into shenanigans due to it. Adjusting to few more monster changes after last full moon. And one quest: Wet 'n' Wilde.
Warnings: Cute. N/A though he's a Turk so possible cursing and brute force are always possibilities left on the table. Can edit in more if needed.
Note: Default written in prose, but actionbrackets are fine!

I. Awkward Horns and Embarrassing Tail

The last full moon had brought about the final transformations to Rude's physical form and now he was left adjusting to the two great horns sweeping back from his head and the tail half with a mind of its own. The latter certainly gave him more grief than the former although he had various issues with all his prickly bits for one reason or another. The horns were simply the longest and he had to adjust to the weight and length of them as he turned his head and such. But as if his wings weren't trouble enough now he had the tail sticking out his rear to keep under control, too. He hated how it wanted to seem to curl around the closest warm thing whenever he stood still. Winter was damn annoying as a fiery dragon that loathed the cold.

He apologized repeatedly over the next few days for knocking things over with his tail as well as finding it wrapped around someone's leg once or twice. That was extremely embarrassing and he stammered more often than not when he had to de-tangle himself from another person's limbs.

II. Surprise! A Tiny Turk Troubles the Town

a. unexpected shift
Rude had been tailing his target for half a day now and he was growing tired of it. The cold made him one cranky dragon. In the back of his mind he knew that was what was really getting to him, not the length of this job or anything directly related to it. He had patience in spades when it came to certain criteria and doing a job right was one of them. But being out in this biting cold as a dragon that hated ice and wind and adored the heat of a fire up close was wearing his patience down to a thin wire. It also made him want to doze off whenever he stood still for too long which was as annoying as it was embarrassing.

So when his target ducked into a building with a suspicious nature to it, Rude grew impatient for the first time in a long time and looked for an inconspicuous way to spy on his target. Which meant not walking in directly after said target. It led him to the alleyway and discovering a small alcove that looked like he could squeeze through to get into a secluded part of the building. Only he was a big dragon these days and he didn't realize how small the entrance was until it was too late.

He was fairly certain he was stuck now. He didn't panic, that would be ridiculous, and oddly enough he sort of felt comfortable in the small space anyway like the walls were just hugging him. It was tempting to rest his eyes while he was--no! he had to stay awake and get back to work. Damn his stupid lizard brain. He began to wiggle around in his tight squeeze, a small frown forming on his features as he concentrated, and before he knew it the alcove wasn't so tight fitting anymore.

The black dragon squeeze through the alcove and through a window flap that was conveniently unlocked and hopped down to the ground. He looked up at the room he found himself in. It was spacious and...everything... looked so.... large.

He looked down at his hands and back up at the too-large room.

That's when he panicked. This was wrong.

After that it was only a matter of losing himself to the lizard brain that came with his new dragon self--and especially the flooding instincts bombarding him as a full on dragon in this shifted form. He was tiny. He didn't know what to do.

He fled the room in a panic and startled a bunch of shifty people upstairs in the main room as he raced around the building trying to find a proper exit. Eventually someone opened a door and the little black dragon ran out of it and scampering through the streets.

He was still running around in a panic without thought or sense of self whenever he bumped into his first person full on and was stunned by the impact. He shook his head clear and looked up, then yelped in surprise and ran off to the nearest hidey-hole he could crawl into and peered out in fright at the outside world.


b. cuddle me rudo
There was a small black dragon running around the city now, clearly lost and confused. And cold. His glistening scales were shaking from the chilly wind and stinging snow as he ran around helplessly making disgruntled noises and seeking undivided attention from passerby.

Though now small this dragon was the size of a rather large house cat--the type that was big due to its bone structure, not the floof of its fur. So when he crawled into your lap or you attempted to pick him up to comfort him, he was kinda heavier than expected at first. He didn't seem to notice or care about his size or weight situation--he was just interested in the warmth a person could provide with their presence.

If a person wasn't immediately willing, he would skitter around their ankles like a persistent cat or huddle beneath capes, long coats, and any blankets that were in fair reach. Again, he wasn't really concerned with his behavior so much as just seeking the thing he lacked: warmth.


c. asking for help
Of course, all good things come to an end. And in this case it was a very embarrassing end. Because eventually Rude's mind came back to him. It was a slow process, helped by the heat he gathered from various victims along the way. But eventually he remembered more of who he was and what had happened to him. Now he was embarrassed for his very animalistic behavior as a small dragon and he was a bit lost. Not in the city, but with how to change back to his normal self.

Not having performed the deed on purpose in the first place, he didn't really know where to begin to change back. Was it a one-off magical thing that dragon's possessed? Was it an ability he needed to learn? If he concentrated hard enough would he just...change back? What would that entail? He was almost afraid to try it, particularly out in the middle of the city. (He wasn't even sure what had happened to his clothing. Had he left it behind? Did it change with him? Would it reappear when he changed back?? Too many questions.)

The tiny Turk dragon began to head towards home in The Haven but he didn't quite make it all the way there. When he thought about it, he was too embarrassed to have Reno find out about his predicament.

Now he sat in the middle of the sidewalk with his tail flicking idly next to him as he peered up at passerby. It was strange looking up at people from below when he was used to looking down from up high all his life. He kept an eye out for fellow Monsters mostly and only moved whenever he spotted one he was fairly certain he had heard they possessed some sort of shapeshifting ability like this. Dragons and faes were particularly high on his list of people to ambush if he could. Though if a Witch approached him he wouldn't turn his nose up at the offer of help.

He would run to catch up to them or paw up at them to get their attention when they stopped and stare up at them with a fierce little expression. (He didn't really understand how cute he looked at this size, with blunted version of all his spikes and horns and big, round eyes and fat little tail behind him.) Sometimes he'd clear his throat before he attempted to speak.

"Can you help me?"

III. Wet 'n' Wilde

a. helping wing
The warmer weather outside of Aefenglom was a welcome respite from the wicked cold. So much so that Rude didn't even mind the wetness of the constant showers raining down and creating so much mud. He dressed appropriately--not wanting to ruin one of his finer suits--and wore something more casual for the trip out.

Although the best part about being a dragon for this trip was definitely the gigantic wings on his back. Instead of traversing the wet slopes and risking a mudslide as he climbed, Rude took wing and flew up the rocky terrain. It was so much better in the air anyway.

It gave him the perfect view to spot others traveling below and watch their slow progression. For those who looked to be having more trouble than others with the climbing, the big dragon swooped down to perch carefully on a stable outcropping of rock. He addressed the person in need with quiet aplomb.

"Need a lift?"


b. repairs
Upon reaching the Northern Outpost, the Turk got down to business with everyone else. Rude was used to doing the heavy lifting as the strongest member of his team back home and being a dragon here only made it that much easier. He had no qualms, therefore, doing a lot of grunt work. He helped lift the heavy barricades and put them in place just as readily as picking up a tool to build them in the first place. He was also knowledgeable in trap-making and readily helped build those as well as teach others how to make some of the easier ones.

There was lots to do and more than just the Northern Outpost to do it at, and with his wings he had an easy time getting around to help all over.

IV. Wildcard

[[Obligatory section where you can ask me to do anything else! Set up a prompt of your own for meeting Rude or talk to me (PMs or aisuyoukai are both acceptable!) for additional ideas you'd like to explore. c: ]]