Dragon Shifter

Hole Island

"There it is! There it is! There it is!" Autumn exclaimed as she pointed at an island up ahead. The dragons spiralled down and landed on a flat field of tall grass. I slid off of Eclipse's back and landed in a sea of green. The grass came up to my shoulders. I looked over at Autumn who's head was submerged in the grass. "I think I see a hole up ahead..." Runa said as she started wading through the grass. Me and Autumn quickly followed.

We reached one of the Whispering Death holes which led down into dark tunnels in the ground. "Who's first?" Runa asked. "How do we even get down?" Autumn asked. "Well we could tie this grass together to make a rope..." I butted into her conversation and said "it's much easier than that!" I clicked my tongue a couple of times, just like Autumn had done in the arena, and Eclipse ran over to me. He wrapped his tail around me and lowered my into the hole. Once I was standing on the ground he flew out again and sat down by Autumn. Autumn giggled and climbed onto his back. I heard Runa groan as she clambered onto Firefly.

Once we were all inside the hole we began searching for a good campsite. "We need something cozy, safe and secure, preferably with an easy escape route" I explained and Runa nodded in agreement. "Didn't you say the far side of the island collapsed and sea water flooded part of the tunnels?" I asked, thinking back to what Runa had told me earlier. "Yes..." Runa replied with curiosity. "Could you fly out of the collapsed tunnels?" I asked. "Yes" Runa said slowly. "Oh! We could find somewhere dry nearby and use that as an exit. Plus, no one will go over there because of the water and mess!" Autumn said as she caught onto my idea. "That's my sis!" I smiled at her. We both grinned and started racing down the tunnels. I heard Runa mutter under her breath as she followed us.

As we raced through the dark tunnels it gradually became warmer. I spotted some light up ahead. "We're nearly there" Runa said. We turned a corner and I saw that the tunnels had indeed collapsed and there was a large gap leading out towards the sea. Water glistened on the ground of the tunnels and waves rolled up against what was now a sandy beach. There was plenty of space to fly out of the gap, making it the perfect exit. "This is pretty good" I said with a grin. "Now we just find somewhere to set up camp" Runa said as she shoved past me and looked around. "What about that ledge up there?" Autumn asked as she pointed up to the roof of a water filled tunnel. "Let's check it out!" Runa said in excitement as she and Firefly leapt into the air. Autumn and Eclipse followed her, leaving me stranded on the ground. "Oh yeah, that's cool, I'll just fly up there on my own!" I called after them. Autumn looked down at me and laughed before flying back to pick me up.

We landed on a ledge that overlooked the tunnels. It was big enough to hold all of us, even the dragons, and it seemed very strong and stable. "This is perfect!" Runa said happily. "Now what?" Autumn asked. "You two are going to have to stay here for a while so I suggest we make some beds and gather resources" I told them. "Okay, we can use the grass to make beds. We could even dig into the cliff and make some sort of cave here. We'll need firewood, food and water, all of which can be found on the island" Runa said. "Okay, why don't me and Autumn find some food, water and firewood. Runa, you can stay here and work on the cave. Then we can all go and gather grass" I suggested. "Sounds good to me!" Autumn said as she hopped onto Eclipse. "Um no. Why don't you stay here and I'll go with Autumn!" Runa snapped at me. "It doesn't really matter, does it?" I growled at her. "Then stay here!" Runa snapped back. "Fine! I will!" I muttered. Runa nodded proudly and climbed onto Firefly. I watched them fly out of the gap and disappear above the rocks.

Once I was certain they had gone I shifted into a Whispering Death. Whispering Deaths have a special ability to tunnel underground at great speeds because of their sharp rotating teeth. As the six rows of teeth move backwards, it literally sucks in everything in range. This is called the Vacuum Effect and made them the perfect tunnelling dragon. I quickly set to work carving out a nice big cave. I even added a little secret hideaway room, just in case. I had finished within a few minutes. I growled as I thought about Runa. What could she be up to? It was clear that we were both battling to be in charge. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts and decided to make myself useful. I flew out of the tunnels and onto the tall grass where I shifted into my human self. I gathered huge bunches of grass before returning to the cave.

I heard metallic wingbeats and saw Eclipse and Firefly land in the ledge. "Wow! The cave is finished already?" Runa gasped in surprise. "Yep and I've already got started on the beds" I said proudly. Autumn ran into the cave happily and started checking it out. "Where should we put this stuff? I hope you made room for it" Runa said. "The food and water can be placed at the back and I set up a fireplace nearer the front of the cave" I told her proudly. After everything had been put away Runa and Autumn helped me make the beds. There was even enough grass left to make nests for the Razorwhips. We set up the beds and nests in the cave then sat outside on the ledge. The sun shone through the gap and lit up the tunnels. "It's so nice and warm" Runa smiled. "Yeah, I could go for a swim!" Autumn giggled. "Mmm" I hummed in agreement. "Well, why don't we?" Runa asked. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, the sea is right in front of us. Let's enjoy it!" Runa grinned and Autumn smiled. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up!" I said. "Okay!" Autumn said as she called for Eclipse. But Eclipse sat down and looked up at me. I could tell he wanted to talk. "It's probably a good idea if I have one of the dragons so I can actually get down" I suggested. "Alright, come on Autumn, you can ride with me and Firefly" Runa offered. I didn't know why Eclipse wanted to talk to me, maybe it was something important. Maybe he had news. Maybe it was about Runa. Well whatever it was, I wanted to find out. I watched them fly away then followed Eclipse into the cave.