The Butterfly and The Dragon

Kirsi skipped through the forest, leaves crunching beneath her feet as the brisk air of early winter eddied the hair around her face and pinkened her cheeks.

A butterfly fluttered in front of her, its wings of brilliant oranges vibrant in the cold sunlight.

“Dada, look!” Kirsi pointed at the butterfly and her father hummed a disinterested reply as he trailed her.

Kirsi chased the butterfly as it flew away from her, clumsy feet tripping over roots hidden by thick undergrowth. The butterfly rose higher, hovering just out of Kirsi’s short reach. Kirsi’s brow furrowed together as it rose higher, desperate to feel the softness of its wings in her hand.

Kirsi scrambled atop a fallen tree, thick green moss covering rotting bark as the butterfly rose higher, reaching out to touch it. The butterfly was almost in reach when it fluttered highed and Kirsi lifted onto her tiptoes. The slick moss gave way beneath her feet and she fell forward, adrenaline pumping through her pounding heart as the ground rushed to meet her.

Strong, familiar arms wrapped around her waist and hauled her upward, halting her certainly painful demise. Her father fell on his back with a grunt as the weight of Kirsi’s body forced the air from his lungs.

Kirsi scrambled off of him.

“Dada, you okay?” she asked, tiny hands now alive with the oranges and reds of the butterfly, cold against the rough stubble of his face as she held him. She forced her face close to his, wide, innocent eyes full of concern.

“I’m fine, Kirsi.” He pushed her hands away from him and sat up.

His eyes glanced over her and his jaw clenched. He looked away from her and Kirsi’s eyes turned to herself, the pattern of the butterfly’s wings echoing over her skin.

She sucked in a breath, and closed her eyes, focusing on the colour of her mother’s skin. The familiar numbing tingle washed over her and when she opened her eyes, she had returned to her usual colour.

“I’m normal now, Dada, see?” Kirsi said, reaching out her hand to show him, but he would not meet her eyes. Kirsi’s chin tucked into her chest as she blinked away the tears.

“How many times have I told you not to do that?”

“But I just… I just tripped, Dada. I was scared. It’s all better now.”

She couldn’t always control the Change when it happened, even though she tried her best. Her parents warned her what would happen if anyone else saw her like that, and she worked hard to make sure no one ever saw it. Kirsi knew the neighbour girl had seen her once, when her face had taken on the shape of the kitten she was playing with. The girl’s shriek had echoed over the hills and raised many suspicions, but Kirsi had changed back to her usual features before anyone else had seen her.

“It’s not better,” her father snapped. Kirsi flinched, shoulders drawing up and lip pushing forward in a pout.

“No one saw anything, Dada. I didn’t mean to do it. I try my best to hide it, just like you and Mama tell me.”

“Your best isn’t good enough.”

The tears threatened to spill once more at her father’s harsh tone. Kirsi took a deep breath and forced them back.

“Tell you what. Let’s forget it happened and play hide and seek. Mama is waiting for me to return, and I shouldn’t keep her waiting long.” The smile returned to Kirsi’s face, and she nodded her head “You count first. I’ll go hide.”

Kirsi grinned and placed her hands over her eyes.

“One, two, three, four,” Kirsi counted as the crunch of her father’s footsteps faded. She giggled in anticipation. “Five, six, seven.” The footsteps stopped completely. “Eight, nine, ten! Ready or not, here I come!”

Kirs’s eager eyes swept across the baring forest, jumping from tree to tree, trying to catch a glimpse of her father behind one. She walked the direction his footsteps had sounded, spying an extra wide tree and something brown sticking out of the side at the bottom. She giggled as she ran toward it, popping around the side of the tree.

“Got you Dada!”

Her smile fell when she did not find her father behind the tree. Her brows came together, and she kicked at the piece of bark that had fooled her. She heard a rustle behind her and spun; the smile returning to her face. A bush swayed across the clearing, the remaining leaves a strong gust away from being bare. Kirsi skipped toward it.

“Found you!” she sang as she pushed her way through the bush, thorns cutting into her delicate skin. The spot behind the bush was empty, a hare tearing away from the underbrush at Kirsi’s disturbance.

Kirsi turned back to the clearing, lower lip pulling forward as she searched the clearing for him.

“Dada?” she called, eyes growing round. “Dada come out. I’m all done.”

The cold air pushed against her, through her woolen jacket and billowing her skirts. Her stomach churned and her chest drew tight as she walked the way his footsteps had sounded.

“Dada!” she called again. Silence greeted her once more, lip trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Kirsi looked everywhere as she continued in the direction she thought his footsteps had gone. It wasn’t like her father to leave her searching for him this long. She knew she had upset him when she had changed, but she hadn’t meant to do it.

Shadows lengthened and Kirsi’s hope of finding her father faded as fear rooted in her stomach with each hooting owl and snap of a twig.

The cold gnawed at her as she rubbed her arms with her hands, willing unfound heat back into her body. The pause between calls for her father grew further apart until her voice grew hoarse. Violent shakes wracked her body until she was forced to sit, doubled over in pain as her muscles grew rigid with chill and fatigue.

Tears streaming down her face as she huddled against a tree. The wind pricked at her skin, her fingers and nose numb from exposure. A wolf howled in the distance and Kirsi lay there sobbing and shivering until the sun fell from the sky and darkness covered.

Kirsi struggled to track the time as the night grew darker and the howls of the wind and wolves grew louder. She closed her eyes, willing sleep into her body to fend off the fear and cold, but each violent shiver and chatter of her teeth kept her awake.

A twig cracked around her, the direction of the sound lost in the wind as Kirsi pushed herself up on stiff limbs to peer around.

A figure emerged from the dark ahead of her. Fear flared in her chest as her heart raced and the unwelcome tingle of the Change swept over her. Her nose elongated and fur sprouted from her face as her eyes grew smaller and turned yellow. Her teeth sharpened and tongue widened until her face resembled the wolves howling around her. She growled at the approaching stranger.

“What a marvelous little creature,” the stranger said, stepping into a shaft of limited moonlight.

The woman was older than her mother, but not older than her grandmother. Harsh amber eyes fixed on her as Kirsi growled once more. A warmth emanated from the woman, encasing Kirsi in a warm embrace and stilling her shakes.

“Stop that. Show me your face.” Kirsi’s growling stopped and her wolf like ears pointed up as she regarded the woman in front of her. “Quickly now, I haven’t got all night.”

Kirsi willed the Change to take over her once more, tufts of hair falling out as her tongue returned to normal and white hair danced around her smooth face once more.

“Intriguing,” the woman said, grasping her chin and pulling her face to one side, then the other. “What else can you do, youngling?”

Kirsi’s mouth stayed closed as she watched the old woman, a golden glow about her skin.

“Do you not speak? What else can you do?”

“I-I’m not allowed to Change.” Kirsi mumbled. The woman’s brows furrowed.

“Why ever not?”

“Mama and Dada tell me it’s a secret. Only bad children Change.”

“Are you a bad child?” Kirsi shook her head. “I didn’t think so either. Can you do this?”

A scaly tail appeared from behind the woman, golden scales glinting in the sliver of moonlight. Kirsi’s eyes widened as she reached out to touch it. It flicked out of her reach before the tip flicked her nose, a giggle spilling from Kirsi’s lips.

Kirsi focused on the Change, a tingling beginning at the base of her spine until a scaley tail, light in colour and the scales uneven, extended from behind her. It curled forward, wrapping around the old woman’s tail.

“Impressive. Once more. Watch me.”

Kirsi watched the woman’s face morph, mini golden scales covering her face as her nose elongated, long slits replacing round nostrils. Small, white horns trimmed the length of her nose in parallel lines, climbing to the top of her head where two large, curled horns protruded from the top, longer and thicker than Kirsi’s arm. Whiskers and smoke curled from her nose; only the colour of her eyes remaining untouched, until Kirsi stared into the face of a dragon.

Kirsi’s eyes roamed over the dragon’s face, taking in every detail until thick smoke lifted from its nose in a snort. Kirsi closed her eyes, welcoming the tingle of the Change in her face as she focused on the scales and horns, feeling her own face change. When she opened her eyes, the old woman’s human face was smiling at her.

Kirsi reached up to feel the scales on her face, cold and smooth against her human hands. She felt the length of her snout, forcing herself to sneeze when her hands irritated the tip of her nose. Smoke flew from her nose and she watched it lift into the air and blow away with the breeze.

“Where are your caretakers, youngling?”

The tingling stopped in an instance as the Change receded and Kirsi’s human features snapped back into place. She tried to stop her lip from trembling as she thought of her father.

“Me and dada played hide and seek. When I tried to find him, he was all gone. I looked and called but he-” Kirsi’s voice choked with sobs, unable to finish.

The woman clicked her tongue, jaw tightening. She extended her hand to Kirsi, who hesitated before taking it.

“I do not have much, but you can stay with me. I think I will find your gifts very useful.”

“Gifts?” Kirsi asked.

“Yes, child. Gifts. You are a Changeling, and powerful for one so young. What foolish humans. Unaware of the precious treasure they possessed. I have one more question for you, youngling.” Kirsi’s eyebrows came together as she tilted her head at the woman’s unusual words. The old woman’s eyes sparkled and a small smile graced her lips. “Have you ever ridden a dragon?”