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Alli's school is not a terribly interesting school. It is, as far as Alli is concerned, a perfectly boring and average school in all possible respects. But some alumnus went and made themselves a bunch of money, and apparently they think it's a good idea to spend some of this money on "improving the cultural exposure of today's youth". (Alli has never met the alumnus in question, much less heard them speak, but she persists in picturing this spoken with a haughty British accent.) What this means for Alli is that she and a number of other 'deserving students' are being shipped over to France for free for a week. Alli's not quite sure why she counts as deserving- because her mom's single, maybe?- but she's hardly complaining. It's a free trip to France, after all.
In her usual style, Alli packs an hour before she has to leave and ultimately makes it out the door only ten minutes late after forgetting at least three vitally important items (her eyeliner!). But she makes it through Pearson security with plenty of time... well, more like barely enough time. But the important thing is, she's safely ensconced in her seat when they take off.
Once she's gotten her bag stowed and her legs rearranged in a doomed attempt at comfort and generally considers herself suitably settled, she turns to her seatmate. "Is your brain doing an Eeeeee France! thing too?"
lyonhearted
lyonhearted
"Hah, yep."
A mildly awkward pause ensues, while Alli casts for something to say. "Soooo. Go Fish?"
A mildly awkward pause ensues, while Alli casts for something to say. "Soooo. Go Fish?"
lyonhearted
Cards ensue. Alli continues to be quite bad at them. By the time they're finished, it's late enough that Alli is falling asleep despite the airplane seat. So she apologizes to May, puts the cards away and curls up for however much of a nap she can get.
Upon their arrival, everyone is shooed into a waiting bus by the chaperone. He reminds everyone a few times to "try not to fall asleep, if you can stay up it will help you adjust". Most of them wind up napping on the bus regardless, Alli included; she's something of a jetlag zombie at the moment.
After a drive of an hour or so, their stuff is dropped off at their hotel. The chaperone doesn't let them off the bus. "No naps!" he reminds them. "We're going to spend the day exploring some local historical sites. Give you incentive to stay awake."
So, first stop: a nearby field, which apparently was the site of a battle or two during the Hundred Year War. There are various placards up indicating historians' best guesses at important locations, and some old weaponry (both original and replica). The chaperone herds them all off the bus. "Come on, everyone! Time to explore! Walk around, look at history, take it in! Just be back on the bus by noon, okay? Then we'll head to lunch."
Alli gets off the bus reluctantly. She was napping, damn it. But exploring time it is.
Upon their arrival, everyone is shooed into a waiting bus by the chaperone. He reminds everyone a few times to "try not to fall asleep, if you can stay up it will help you adjust". Most of them wind up napping on the bus regardless, Alli included; she's something of a jetlag zombie at the moment.
After a drive of an hour or so, their stuff is dropped off at their hotel. The chaperone doesn't let them off the bus. "No naps!" he reminds them. "We're going to spend the day exploring some local historical sites. Give you incentive to stay awake."
So, first stop: a nearby field, which apparently was the site of a battle or two during the Hundred Year War. There are various placards up indicating historians' best guesses at important locations, and some old weaponry (both original and replica). The chaperone herds them all off the bus. "Come on, everyone! Time to explore! Walk around, look at history, take it in! Just be back on the bus by noon, okay? Then we'll head to lunch."
Alli gets off the bus reluctantly. She was napping, damn it. But exploring time it is.
maybeso
A field. How stunning. May actually managed an hour's nap on the airplane, but that was it; she's running on very low sleep, lots of solitaire, and the promise of lunch.
Historical sites. Right. Great. Field! Yay. She wanders, sticking within line of sight of Alli for lack of any better source of field trip buddy, and tries to read placards.
She's wandered into the fieldier bit of the field after a while, going around a little knob of earth that was the site of the blah blah yada yada something, when she kicks something hard. She looks at her shoes; near her left foot is some kind of necklace. Seems like a good candidate for the lost and found. Responsible Guest Of France, that's her. She picks it up.
It shocks her.
Historical sites. Right. Great. Field! Yay. She wanders, sticking within line of sight of Alli for lack of any better source of field trip buddy, and tries to read placards.
She's wandered into the fieldier bit of the field after a while, going around a little knob of earth that was the site of the blah blah yada yada something, when she kicks something hard. She looks at her shoes; near her left foot is some kind of necklace. Seems like a good candidate for the lost and found. Responsible Guest Of France, that's her. She picks it up.
It shocks her.
lyonhearted
Alli is too brain dead to be paying much attention to anything, but she's been attempting to amuse herself by reading the placards in both French and English and looking for differences. She's heading towards May to read the placard next to her when she notices May start. She yawns and walks over. "You okay? Still have all your teeth?"
maybeso
"Yeah. If I fall over on the grass I should be okay, if grassy. And if I sit down in my chair now I'm just going to pass out and the teacher will have to push me, so." She pockets the necklace.
maybeso
"Me too, I got even less sleep than you," May yawns.
This yawn becomes abruptly more intimidating when she suddenly turns into a dragon.
She's a smallish, low-slung thing, no taller than she normally is - just longer and more horizontal and sinuous. She's oriented so as to be hidden from everyone but Alli (and anyone who might imminently be about to emerge from or approach the porta-johns) by the little hilly bit they've gone around.
May snaps her jaws shut and makes a high-pitched alarmed noise and falls over, tail flailing, one wing trying to unfold but getting snagged on the edge of her horn.
This yawn becomes abruptly more intimidating when she suddenly turns into a dragon.
She's a smallish, low-slung thing, no taller than she normally is - just longer and more horizontal and sinuous. She's oriented so as to be hidden from everyone but Alli (and anyone who might imminently be about to emerge from or approach the porta-johns) by the little hilly bit they've gone around.
May snaps her jaws shut and makes a high-pitched alarmed noise and falls over, tail flailing, one wing trying to unfold but getting snagged on the edge of her horn.
lyonhearted
"Aaaaaaah! C'est quoi ce bordel?!" Alli yelps, stumbling backwards. "Merde! Merde merde merde merde." It takes a second for the adrenaline to kick in so she's awake enough to do anything but swear, but once it does she takes a deep breath. She disentangles the- dragon?!- wing from her horn and then points at her. "You- you- just. Stay put for a second." And she sprints back around the hill.
"Mr. Hayden! Mr. Hayden! May and I will be right back, okay?"
"Mr. Hayden! Mr. Hayden! May and I will be right back, okay?"
Mr. Hayden looks at her rather sternly. "Mme. Lyon, you know you cannot just go wandering off without supervision. Particularly with Mme. Swan's special needs."
lyonhearted
Alli growls with frustration and casts for an excuse. "It's- an emergency. A girl emergency. We'll be right back, I promise!"
Mr. Hayden turns about seven shades of red simultaneously. "Don't take too long, Mme. Lyon," he manages to squeak.
maybeso
May is in a slightly less tangled heap on the ground, looking at her claws.
She blinks at Alli when Alli returns. "I'm very sleep deprived, but you'd think I'd also need a head injury to see this kinda thing, which would also explain why you're so alarmed."
She blinks at Alli when Alli returns. "I'm very sleep deprived, but you'd think I'd also need a head injury to see this kinda thing, which would also explain why you're so alarmed."
lyonhearted
"You do not have a head injury, and I'm alarmed because you are extinct. Supposedly. Apparently not? Whatever. I give you sleep deprived." Then she recollects herself. "Why are we talking about this? Time to hide, before they see you."
She regards May for a second. May was clumsy to begin with, needs a wheelchair clumsy, and changing shape is clearly not helping at all.
...screw it, cat's out of the bag anyway.
Alli grabs May's front feet, hauls them over her shoulder, and heaves. Despite the fact that the dragon is noticeably larger than she is, and probably outweighs her by quite a lot, this doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest. They end up in something vaguely akin to the fireman's carry, or as close as someone Alli's size can get with someone May's new size. "Okay. Off we go, try not to move too much."
And May is summarily dragged over behind the porta-johns, tucked behind them with some extra trees in the way for good measure. Here Alli deposits her, breathing hard. She looks down- her feet have turned to paws, for better purchase on the soft field turf. "Well, there's my workout for the day," she pants.
She regards May for a second. May was clumsy to begin with, needs a wheelchair clumsy, and changing shape is clearly not helping at all.
...screw it, cat's out of the bag anyway.
Alli grabs May's front feet, hauls them over her shoulder, and heaves. Despite the fact that the dragon is noticeably larger than she is, and probably outweighs her by quite a lot, this doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest. They end up in something vaguely akin to the fireman's carry, or as close as someone Alli's size can get with someone May's new size. "Okay. Off we go, try not to move too much."
And May is summarily dragged over behind the porta-johns, tucked behind them with some extra trees in the way for good measure. Here Alli deposits her, breathing hard. She looks down- her feet have turned to paws, for better purchase on the soft field turf. "Well, there's my workout for the day," she pants.
maybeso
May allows the dragging. "Extinct? Excuse me? If I don't have a head injury what in the hell am I? Oh my god your feet."
lyonhearted
"You're a dragon. Congratulations. If I wasn't halfway to a panic attack this would be really insanely cool, but that gets to wait till later. Okay, first things first. Well, half a thing first." Her feet fade back to their original sneakers. "Looking human. Looking human is very much step one. Do you have a necklace with you? Somewhere, anywhere? Please tell me you have a necklace. If you do not have a medallion we are in so much trouble."
maybeso
"I - I found one. I put it in my pocket, which I no longer have, oh god I'm naked what the fuck Alli -"
lyonhearted
"Thank everything. Okay. First, you are a dragon, dragons are not naked, you'll have clothes when you're human. Just- focus on that, okay? Focus on being human really really hard. And whatever you do, don't ever damage that necklace."
maybeso
May looks at her forelegs. And concentrates.
Ice-blue scales melt away, denim and pullover fade in.
She feels in her pocket and pulls out the necklace, which has a stylized dragon on it.
"What in the fuck?"
Ice-blue scales melt away, denim and pullover fade in.
She feels in her pocket and pulls out the necklace, which has a stylized dragon on it.
"What in the fuck?"
lyonhearted
"Ooookay. Thirty second version. Mythological creatures are real, but we hide as humans. If you have a medallion, like that-" she points at the necklace May's holding, "then you can turn critter to human and back. Kids of critters are born human and stay that way unless they get their own medallion. So... I guess you had an ancestor somewhere who was a dragon? But then you- found a medallion. And poof, instant dragon."
maybeso
"Now that I've turned back am I still screwed if I lose it? Somebody must have dropped it, it was on the ground."
lyonhearted
"Yes. Yes, you are very screwed, you will be a dragon. Do not be a dragon again, please. One haul-the-dragon dodge-the-mundanes hide and seek was enough, thanks. Even with Nemean strength you're heavy." She eyes the medallion. "And don't worry about anyone else. If that belonged to someone, it couldn't have turned you. One to a person and all that. Whoever used to own that, they are very dead."