Sky Shifters

"Hi, Skye!" I shouted to my friend in the distance, his lean silhouette outlined in black.

Skye turned to me, waving his hand and gesturing for me come closer. Smiling eagerly, I ran ahead of the lagging group of girls, ignoring their cranky glares and skipping ahead happily. It was nearly sunrise and we've spent the night camping as a whole class, a retreat if you may. And we were on our way back to our houses, having camped in the nearby park.

"Hey, Dawn." The blue-haired boy greeted with a warm grin. "Are you ready for the sunrise?" Skye's storm gray eyes lit up with excitement.

I beamed at my friend, wagging my finger at him while sticking my tongue out. "The question is, are you? 'Cuz you know I am!"

Skye shrugged his shoulders, hunching them up to his ears mockingly. I huffed in irritation, rolling my smaragd eyes at my best friend's typical behavior. He rolled his eyes in return and gestured to the breaking sky, the sun starting to peek over and into the horizon.

It was nearly sunrise, and here we are, still on the finite land of the terra planet known as Earth.

"We need to get ready for daytime," Skye said, checking his phone and groaning.

I smacked his hand away from the device. "No. Focus." I began to drag him towards my backyard, earning a curse from my friend.

My eyes quickly rested on the dark night sky. The canopy of stars twinkled weakly overhead, calling for us to put them to rest. I nodded meekly, smiling as the stars twinkled a thank you in a somewhat morse code-like pattern.

Skye and I passed several houses and a handful people, greeting the few active humans on the way. I glanced back as the sun peeked out even more. We were pressed for time. This is one of the reasons why I hate going to school retreats, it only makes my job harder.

A few moments passed swiftly, my white two-story house coming into view on a set of green rolling hills surrounded by a beautiful field of flowers. My family enjoys living close to nature, thus the more rural living space.

We arrived at my house at last. I jumped over my orange picket fence and landed on the grassy yard with a silent thud. Skye imitated and jumped over the fence in a hurdle jump-like fashion. I stood up straight and closed my eyes, breathing in and out in silent meditation.

The sun is almost up, and the sky is still dark. The stars are twinkling weakly, and humans are starting to wake. It's time to do my job.

My nose and mouth joined and elongated, forming a large maw. My shoulder blades cracked and stretched, my body erratically shaking as my form shifted and grew. I fell onto hands knees, my spine contorting painfully, forcing me to cry out a shrill shriek of agony. My hands and feet grew in size, my once rounded nails turning as sharp as a knife. The incisors in my maw grew jagged, the rest of my teeth adopting a similar shape. Something began to sprout on my back, adding an additional weight to my now scaly back.

After several painful moments, my vision - though black - seemed to darken. The transformation is complete.

"You ready, Dawn?" Skye's low voice resounded from the dark void. "The sun is almost up."

At those words, my eyes snapped open and landed on the formerly blue-haired boy. Skye was no longer there, but rather was a large, light blue reptilian creature. It was a peculiar sight, something an average human would not believe existed. A thing of myth. A creature of legend.

A Dragon.

Our alternate forms are often recognized as dragons by humans, though that is not what we are called. Our species is known as the Lightrons, a race supposedly long forgotten.