The dragon growled a bit, deep in his throat. He didn't want this ungainly body. It was so weak, and land bound as well. There were more deficits to it, compared to his original form. "Why ever would I want to get used to this?" He waved his hands before him, then reached out to grab hold of the guardian's hand.

Somehow, with Reichet's much needed help, Riel clambered into the tree. He settled upon the slippery branch. The dragon cung to it. Without his wings, he was afraid to fall.

Once Riel settled himself onto the branch, Reichet pulled away so there was a comfortable, non-touching distance between the two of them. It took him a second to realize he'd touched the other without any hesitation. He didn't feel shocked or repulsed and nothing happened, but he held his hand out into the rain anyway to cleanse it. "You intend to return to your dragon form yes?" he asked quietly. "That is fine, but if you hate yourself now, that is also very sad."

The pale haired man leaned forward so the rain pounded gently across his skull. "of course I do." To be a true dragon once more was his only wish, his only goal. It was all that was left to him. "I know no other way to view this weak form. This ... frail me that can't even climb a tree without aid, or take to the skies." He knew of no way to change that. To change his views about his humanesque form, cursed with so many weaknesses.

Reichet sighed. It wouldn't be easy to change Riel's opinion with just a few words. Even though they were up in the air with the tree branch rocking in a light rhythmic way, it must have been nothing like flight. "But aren't there things you can do now that you could not before? At least appreciate that before it is also lost to you. Even if you have all the time in the world...some things just slip away and never come back.."

Riel shot a look at the nature guardian. "I know of nothing to enjoy in this form. Nothing that could make me want to remain as I am." He leaned back, taking refuge under the leaves and tightening his hold upon the branch as the tree swayed. His skin was so soft, nothing like his scales. Skin like the one he bore was so easy to break, so sensitive to everything. He really did hate it. "Unless there is something you could show me, I think my thoughts will remain the same."

Show him? But what could Reichet possibly show Riel that would change Hus opinion? He didn't even know if it was right to change this opinion, but it bothered him when Riel insulted the body he had now. "I don't know," he said with a sigh. "I am not the sort of person who can easily show others things. A lifetime as long as mine and I know so little. I do not know what it feels like to be a dragon so I can't see what differs now, but I know the human body is not as frail as it seems." There must be something Riel did appreciate now. Even if this was the result of a curse, nothing of the natural world should be hated.

"But what does it feel like to live in a body like that? What joys can it bring?" The dragon felt his shoulders twitch, where his wings would have been. Frustration made him want to roar out loud, to rear up and claw at the sky and the ground that bound him. Instead, Riel settled even more firmly on his perch. Grounded. Wingless. He couldn't help but be utterly miserable. His eyesight and smell were muted, compared to his dragon form. Still better then a human's sense, of course, his own were still lesser then that of a dragon's.

"A-ah well..." Reichet started hesitantly. He looked down at the ground, the sky, and then himself. "There's running and swimming, climbing like this and feeling yourself reach something so much higher up than yourself, using nothing but your hands. When you lay in the grass, the blades prickle your back even as they pillow you." The more he said, the stronger his voice got as he remembered smalls joys he'd once had with another. "Fingers and toes, hair, everything can curl and pull something closer. This sort of softness is also very...comfortable."

"I have no idea how to swim. Like this ... I'm afraid I would sink." Before he had been able to dive into any waters he wished. Using his wings to propel himself forward through whatever lake he chose had been pure joy, a pleasure he missed dearly. Slicing through water was a wonder. It was both a support, and something like air that could be passed through with ease. "Comfortable?" Indignation and twisting around nearly made Riel tumble to the ground once more. "I'm constantly afraid I'll be torn apart by the smallest things." It felt so wonderful finally speaking his fears aloud to someone else.

Reichet reached out when Riel tipped slightly, but he dropped his hand when he saw it wasn't needed. No need to touch without reason. "I understand the fear that you may be torn asunder easily. But is a human, a spirit, or a dragon any more fragile than the other? Aren't we just more fragile to different dangers?" He'd seen different beasts and fantastical beings, each with their own weakness, and he knew his own well enough. He also heard humans praise the things that others called their weaknesses. "Isn't there some kind of thrill in being small and fighting ton the too despite it?"

Riel snorted and shook his head. "I don't know my weaknesses, save the most obvious ones. " It made things extremely difficult. Not even knowing how magic would affect him near drove the dragon mad on occasion, when he was faced with the choice to run or fight for his life. "Ive become a coward since the change, when before I was the fiercest of warriors." Shame upon shame piled upon him at every turn. "So there is no thrill in battle, because there are none for me. I avoid them."

"Battle?!" Reichet shuddered a little at the thought. "I didn't mean it like that. I do not...find enjoyment in fighting. Though there is a natural order in it the thought so such things..." He just shook his head. "But there are other victories to be had and prizes that do not seem like prizes at all. Ah really, I sound old when I talk like this though!" He pulled at his hand and frowned. As he spoke, the rain started to lessen into the faintest drizzle. "I do not think my words are helping you."

The dragon sighed, more with relief then anything else. The rain was nice, but it made sitting on a tree branch much harder then it had to be. "Perhaps something more then words? A demonstration? " He glanced at Reichet. "You could teach me how to swim. I'm sure there must be a river, or someplace other then the lake, where you could show me."

Reichet twisted his head to stare at Riel. Demonstration? He supposed he could. After a rain, the water would be warm. "Alright...if you think it will help." He swung down from the branch and hung by one hand before he could wrap his arms loosely around the trunk. Most others would scream in agony, sliding on the soles if their feet, but his forest could not hurt him. "It's easier going down than up. Just shimy along the trunk."

Riel flexed his fingers and considered the drop. All it would take was one wrong move, and bones could be shattered. It might even be fatal. Even so, the dragon did his best to seem nimble as he fell down the tree, more then slid down. He ended up in a heap, looking at his red hands. "You made that look deceptively easy."

Reichet bit his lip and crouched down next to Riel. "Sorry. I guess such things are too easy for me." He wasn't human or anything like those fully in the physical world. He never forgot it, but he did forget to act accordingly. Without touching, he inspected Riel's hands. "I know some leaves you can put on that to ease the sting. You didn't terribly hurt yourself did you?" he asked with concern beginning to color his voice.

"It must help that this forest is as much you as you are." The dragon's shoulders hunched up, twitched. It was a habit he never could get rid of. Riel stood with a wince, and lifted his hands to poke at those curving horns of is. There were leaves and branches stuck in his hair, and he just couldn't seem to get rid of them.

He glanced at the forest's guardian. "It stings, but I should survive. Especially with those leaves you speak so highly of." Though of course, the dragon would never be able to find them without help. To him, the underbrush seemed remarkably similar. He knew what not to eat, and that was the extent of his knowledge of leafy things.

Reichet shrugged one shoulder. He didn't want to get into the line between him and the forest, or the rather fuzzy grey area between them. It was something not easily explained to those who never experienced it. He very carefully picked out a large leaf that had gotten impalled on Riel's horn. "Those leaves grow in the shaded spaces by the lake shore," he said, feeling a bit sheepish. He took an extra second to smooth out his hair and glanced between the lake below and the river leading up to the waterfall where he figured they could swim. Hesitantly he questioned, "should I go get the leaves by myself?"

The dragon cracked a smile. "Why that is entirely up to you, Reichet. This is your domain after all, your place to protect. I won't intrude into places you would rather I stay far away from." He glanced at his stinging hands. Riel flexed them with a wince. It really was inconvenient, having such soft and sensitive skin. It just made it so much easier to get hurt.

Reichet hesitated another second longer. "Come with me. I also don't want to leave you alone. I mean, I want you somewhere where I can watch! That is better than staying away," he amended himself, sweeping the words he meant under a lie. He trusted Riel even if he didn't want to. Gesturing for the other to follow, he said nothing more before turning to the path that twisted downward between sweeping branches and high underbrush. The path was nothing more than a deer path. Reichet might have run into one of the shy animals, but avoided even him when a stranger was near.

The dragon's lips twisted into a smile as he fell into step behind Reichet. He had to walk, head bent low, to kepe his horns from getting tangled into any branches. "Did I hear you correctly? You don't want to leave me alone?" Though the guardian had tried to hide it, Riel had still caught those words. The way the man had tried to hid it had only made it more obvious to Riel. The dragon couldn't help but stare at the forest. This, walking between the trees, was something he had never been able to do as a slender but large dragon.

"B-because I don't trust you to be outside of my vision!" Reichet didn't know if he was being convincing or not, but wouldn't stop trying ton get his lie across. He walked quickly without glancing back. Once they'd cleared the foliage though, his pace slowed to a crawl. After a steep but rolling hill lay the lake. Yards away still, but it looked close enough to touch. He stayed on the edge of the path, blocking the way off of it. He whirled suddenly, his eyes wide. "You stay here!"

Riel couldn't help but laugh. The guardian was so contradictory. One moment saying that he trusted the dragon only for as long as he could see him, and the next telling him to remain exactly where he was. The pale haired man shrugged his shoulders without a word. So long as he made no promises, he wouldn't be breaking his word. For now that the lake was so close ... Riel wanted to approach it, to dip down and look at the crystalline waters from which his companion had been born. It was curiosity, pure and simple.

Reichet glanced at Riel a few more times before hurrying down the hill. The light greens of the grass slicked against his feet as he hurried. They allowed him to slide down the hill as if it were a slid and a boulder below slowed him. A lavender flower poked up by his foot and he bent to say hello to it. "Why do you look so sad, dear?" he whispered. A giant drop shot down toward it and he held out his hand, catching the drop before it hit the flower. "I promise no harm will come to you." He looked up at Riel, just to make sure he was still there before disappearing into the large hollow under a bush.

Once the guardian was out of sight, Riel stepped carefully towards the lake. His eyes were ever on the ground, making sure that he stepped on not a flower, or a blade of grass. That was probably why it happened. From one rock to another, Riel leaped. At times, he felt like he was flying. And then ... the dragon slipped, right by the lake's edge. In fact, he tumbled into the waters and slipped under. It was surprisingly deep, so close to the edge. Riel's head bobbed above the water, before disappearing under again. Only white foam and splashing signaled where exactly the struggling dragon was.