Exhaustion

My body finally stopped growing, and now my humble clearing wasn't much more than a small hovel to me. Although I didn't feel as if I was burning now I still felt as hot as the pits of hell. I tried to lean into the cold stone face on the one side of the clearing, but I was exhausted, and it had been a long time since I'd been in this body so instead of a casual lean it ended up being more of a stumble slam. I slid to the ground slowly as my muscles protested angrily. I hadn't eaten enough today, and now this transformation had exhausted me beyond what my body to take.

My head felt heavy as it slowly hit the rock face, and slid down. My scales scraped down the rocks slowly as my head slid to the ground. It was cool against my skin as was the dirt on my belly. I simply didn't have the energy to stay standing anymore. I tried to listen for the two I'd flung first, but once my eyes closed I could no longer open them. I shifted so my wing wasn't under the weight of my chest, and pulled my wings in close.

What did it matter? Even if those two woke up they hadn't seen me change. The state of the other two would be more than enough to make them flee, and even if they came back they would find one weak wounded man if they found anything. It was a believable story after all. Running through the woods all night would explain the state I would be in by the time they came back.

A small figure stepped out of the trees, and raised a small fireball above her head. I felt like I should know her, but my vision was blurring from exhaustion, and I couldn't see her clearly with my eyes slowly closing.