The Will to Burn All Part 3

   I flew to a landing nearby and it looked like a good place to camp out. As I dropped my bag and changed back I noticed I had a pain in my side. I looked down and there was a long gauge where the dragon had raked me with its claws. It wasn't too deep, but it caught me right between the ribs. Blood was steadily flowing from the wound. I opened my bag and found some bandages and wrapped it around my new battle wound.
   "I guess I have to stay here for awhile until this wound heals up a bit." I sighed. I didn't want to be this close to the dragon's lair but I'd have to make do with what I had. I started a fire and quickly fell asleep.
   Days had passed, and my wound was healing well. I was getting ready to pack up and get the hell out of the place when I heard a horse's hooves and the clank of weapons. I was curious and was going to warn the new comer about the dragon, but when I saw her dismount from the horse and let it go, I knew she was here for the dragon problem. My animal instincts told me to stay away from her, and I listened to them. But there was something about her, I wasn't quite sure what, but I started to follow her. I stayed far enough that she wouldn't see me or notice.
   She walked into the maw of the cavern. The cave got darker and I could see her outline. She hid behind rocks, and crouched like a large cat stalking prey. We were getting closer and when we arrived at the flame circle, she must've seen the size of the dragon, because she paused and seemed to have second thoughts about what she was doing. I could hear her muttering to herself, but I wasn't sure what she was saying.
   She looked up and down the cave walls, and just when I was sure she was going to turn around the girl pulled out two twin axes and used them to climb the rock face. I watched in amazement as she climbed onto the ceiling and clung there for moments. She pulled one of the axes out, and let go of the other.
   She landed right on the dragons back, a bit ungracefully, but I'm guessing that was her goal. The dragon, seeming to be unhappy about the thought of another intruder of its home roared a deafening roar and attempted to get the new comer off its back. The girl seemed to slip off but was able to grab a scale of the beast.
"D-DAMN!" She yelled. I hopped up from where I was standing, getting ready to help her, but then a sharp pain pierced my side, and I doubled over. I could only watch the girl's struggles. I cursed myself for being a fool and going into the cave in the first place and tried to get closer so I might be of some help.
   The dragon shook itself, throwing the girl off. She hit the ground with an audible thud, and almost rolled into the flaming circle. She quickly stood up and stared intently at the dragon. But that's all she did. I was confused and fearful for the life of this stranger. The dragon turned around and swiped at her with its paw. She was able to dodge it, but then just stood there, axe in hand and stared at the dragon. The dragon didn't seem amused with this game and swiped again, this time it came closer to the girls face as she dodged.
   I couldn't stay on the sidelines any longer. I ran towards the dragon, towards the girl. I got as close as I could.
   "Go under its stomach. It won't see you and it won't move fast enough to get you out from under it." I attempted to yell but a sudden pain in my side turned my shout into a more like a whisper.
   The girl seemed puzzled at a voice offering advice. "Who are you?" she asked to the air before she spotted me. The dragon turned once again toward the girl. Its tail was waving aggressively, too close to my comfort. I changed into a bird and flew out of its reach.
   "Move!" I yelled as the dragon threw a pawful of fury and claws towards the girl. Another wave of pain passed over my side, I flew back to where I was before and watched the battle.
   The girl was underneath the dragon. She closed her eyes and was doing something to the dragon, because her look deepened and the dragon roared with agony. It looked weak and started to sway. The girl started to hack at its belly and neck with her axe. The dragon fell, and I was almost certain she got crushed, but she somehow managed to get out from under it and she was slashing at the dragons face and neck. The dragon let out one last roar, and the fire circle dimmed down.
   The girl turned toward the entrance and started walking toward it and me. I sucked in a breath as I saw the dragon come back for an act of revenge. It gave one last swipe, and the girl sensing something wrong turned to face it. It landed, and I heard the girl scream. She stumbled out of the dragon's reach and cupped her head with her hands. I was worried. I got up and attempted to go to her, but another spasm of pain over took me for a few minutes.
   "Help!" The girl yelled, "Too much.. Too much...Blood..." and with that last sentence she fell over. I was extremely worried now. I turned into a bird and flew over to her, trying my best to ignore my pain as I did before. I turned back to my human form and held her head. Blood was everywhere. It covered her face and was falling into her eyes and down her neck.
   I'm not sure how I did it, but I managed to get her on my back and get her out of the cave. I took her to my campsite and cleaned her wounds and bandaged her up. I also took a look at my own.
   A day had passed, and my side was feeling much better. The girl hadn't woken up yet and I wasn't sure if I should move her to the city for some medical care. I was walking around the camp, cleaning up dirty bandages and trying to organize the camp a bit when I heard her stir.
   "How am I even..." she asked as she sat up. She stopped talking when she saw me. "Who are you?" she shouted.
   I tried not to flinch as her loud shout reached my sensitive ears and said simply, "I'm the one you saved you and got you out of that cave. I'm also the one who bandaged your wounds. Just call me Niki"
   "How'd you find me?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes at me.
   Trying not to feel insulted by her hostility towards me I said, "I was the one who spoke to you in battle and the bird you saw."
   "How is that even possible?"
   I gave a weak smile and said, "I'm a shapeshifter, you know about the stories of the Wizard Crystal? I found it and got the wish to transform into any animal or person I want."
   "Oh well that's understandable." she said. "But you're not the only one who found that crystal."
   Intrigued I asked, "Oh really?"
   "Really I found it too."
   "Prove it." I said. It came out harsher than I intended it to, but I really didn't like playing twenty questions with this girl.
She kept a blank face and stared at me.
   "Are you going to show me? Or do I have to sit here all day with you?" I soon regretted asking her about her power. My insides felt like they were burning, and it was a terrible pain, almost like my first experience in changing, but this was worse.
   "Just say when." she said smiling at my pain.
   "S-stop!" I managed to stutter out.
   "Or what?" She asked.
   "Or… or.. or I won't tell you about the dragon!" I yelled, trying my best to get the pain to subside.
   The pain subsided and I gasped in air, waiting for the sting to vanish from my insides. "I'm listening" she said.
   Well crap I was in some serious trouble. Honestly I didn't know much about dragons, just some rumors about them. Well heck if the Wizards Crystal was real, I was hoping this story would be too. "Ok, so since you don't seem to know… If you kill a dragon you get powers. And well, you killed it so, ya'know..."
   "What powers?" she demanded.
   All I knew was that you had powers. There was only one rumor that I remembered that even mildly explained what those powers were. It had something to do with shapeshifting. My best bet was to tell her my technique on how I change form. "Focus on the thought of the dragon," I said.
   The girl closed her eyes and seemed to be focusing hard. She started to shift. Her hands grew claws, her teeth grew larger and sharp, scales covered her body and wings appeared. It was intriguing to watch her shift. I had never seen myself do it and I had to admit it wasn't too pretty, but at least mine were pretty fast. The girl's shift didn't seem to hurt her or bother her at all, which made me curious and jealous at the same time.
   She was huge and the spitting image of the first dragon. The girl opened her eyes. She looked at her new form and stretched out her wings. "Excellent," she said grinning. "Well I must be on my way. I have a quest to turn in." And with that, she spread her wings wide and was getting ready to take off.
   Even though this girl tortured me, and my instincts were screaming at me to get away from her, I wanted to join her and make sure she didn't get into anymore trouble. I felt protective of her. And she was someone I considered a friend, even though I didn't know her name, and ya'know the almost killing me thing.
   "Hold up," I said, "I want to come with you. May I… umm..?"
   "My name's Vicora," she looked me up and down. "I guess you can come, but I wouldn't advise it."
   It was my turn to play twenty questions. "Why not?"
   "There's going to be a lot of violence." She responded.
   "Ok I'm coming." I transformed into a magpie. Vicora pushed up off the ground and started flying to the castle of the kingdom. I followed, leaving my empty bag, and taking only with me my master's pendent.