Chapter three ~

~Leo~

It was nearly dawn when I reached the base of the Sears Tower.

Traffic was starting to pick up. Soon it would be rush-hour, and there would be no way to avoid people noticing me. I slunk around the base of the building, the thought finally occurring to me that I had no idea how to get to the top. I couldn't go inside...

I flexed my claws against the pavement in frustration, gouging the concrete as easily as if it were mud. I eyed the scratches with interest, and a simple idea suddenly came to me. I walked directly up to the side of the tower and stretched upward, reaching with my forepaws as far as I could go, then digging my claws into the metal. It was tougher than the sidewalk, but it still felt like climbing a tree. I pulled myself up, digging my hind claws in as well, and then repeated the process.

Growling in satisfaction, I was soon racing up the side of the structure in giant leaps, like a squirrel. My muscles burned by the time I made it to the top, but I shot over the edge and skidded to a stop... nose-to-nose with a dragon the size of a small airliner.

We both reeled backward in shock, me almost falling back over the edge, she almost taking out an antenna with her long, finned tail.

For a moment we stared at each other, and then I did what I had done for the old man - I laid down, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. Slowly, the dragon's look of surprise changed to one of excitement. She turned hear head away from me and shouted down a hole in the roof, "Hey guys! We have a visitor!"

My ears swiveled towards the sudden noises from below, which went something like this; *female voice* What do you mean, visitors?! *male voice* Whazzat? Whazgoinon? *Clang* *Second female voice* Awww, Raven, you ruined the batter! *first female voice* Sorry, it was in my way! Duncan, wake up sleepyhead, and stop snoozing in the chandelier! It's weird. *Thunk* *second male voice* Dude, not cool! I was trying to take a leak! * first female voice* Hah! Trying and failing, apparently. Come on, get out of the bathroom, Fiona needs us! There's someone up-top! *second male voice* Tell her I'll be there AFTER I finish my business!

I laughed a little, and the dragon rolled her eyes, good-naturedly. I sat up and watched the small army of odd figures emerge from the stairwell. A large white horse with brilliant blue eyes galloped up out of the hole first, followed by a small green dragon-like creature with acid blue accents and only one pair of legs. They were followed closely by a large black bird, a raven, I thought. They all lined up around the dragon, who was still curiously watching the hole. A moment later, a brown head of hair emerged, and a tall, gray-eyed teenager tromped up the ramp, tugging his shirt down around his waistline. "Everything exciting happens when I'm in the freaking bathroom!"

The raven nudged the horse's leg with her wing. "Not EVERYTHING..." she stage-whispered. The dragon glared down at them, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Shut UP."

I cleared my throat, which came out as a half-roar. It certainly got their attention. They all snapped their heads towards me, nostrils flaring, feathers fluffing and tails twitching. The dragon stepped forward, her skull longer than my entire body. She turned her head to one side, blinking at me with one huge, green eye. "So, you're a new changeling, hmmm? Have you come to join us?"

I gulped and nodded, tail flicking nervously. I was beginning to both like and hate the existence of my tail. It gave away a lot about what I was thinking, but at the same time, I was able to express myself so much better.

The dragon crouched, then spread her wings over all of us, covering the entire top of the tower. "Alright," she said, looking steadily at me, "Change, and we'll see how it goes."

I blinked at her. "Uh... what do you mean?"

She raised a scaly eyebrow. "You know, transform back into your human self?"

My eyes widened. "I can do that?! I thought I had to stay like this for the rest of my life!"

She chuckled. "No, just concentrate on how you looked as a human. It'll come to you."

I closed my eyes, furrowing my brows, trying to remember exactly how I looked in the mirror every morning. I heard an odd rushing noise, and opened my eyes, startled. I was surrounded by a wall of brilliant amber flames, swirling in a tornadic pattern around my body. I reached out to touch it, and then realized that I had my limbs back. Outside, I could barely make out a voice saying "Oh crap... we forgot to tell him to Change with clothes on..."

I looked down at myself and realized that when the light faded, I would be completely exposed to the world. Not that I wasn't proud of my form, but I didn't want everyone and their second cousin seeing my bare rear end hanging out over the edge of the second tallest tower in the country. The flames around me started to fade, and I quickly tried to imagine a pair of shorts on myself. Just as the last of the flames dissipated, something shot out of the pebbles that covered the rooftop, and twined itself around my waist, sprouting what appeared to be leaves. In seconds, I had a kind of hula skirt made of a vine with giant, elephant-ear-like leaves growing from the stem. I stepped back a pace, blinking hard.

For a moment, everyone stared. Then the small, green dragon turned to Leona. "This one has talent. I think we should let him in."