Tate froze for a few moments because he was so stunned.
"I can see that I was right, and I have shocked you."
She reached forward and put a little more food on his now empty plate, then sat back and continued. "All dragons have a human form, even the dragons on your side of the barrier."
"I've never seen a dragon take human form in my realm." He interjected.
"I have my suspicions as to why that is, but of course, it is not something I can go there and confirm. Let's just leave it at my suspicion that that ability was sealed in them and the younger generation has now lost all knowledge of it. As I said all dragons have a human form but it is true that not all dragons can access it, even here."
"When is a dragon able to take human form?"
"After the third ascension."
"Ascension?"
"Do you call it something else when a dragonline goes through the third change?"
"Ah, we call it metamorphosis."
She nodded. "It is a form that is locked until the third year out of the shell. Once a dragon reaches maturity in their basic form that is when they may take on a human appearance if they wish. This leads me to why you perceive me as so young. A dragon would be able to look at me and immediately ascertain my age, not precisely, but it's easy for a dragon to sense such things. I'd say most who have guessed my age over the last hundred years have been within fifty years of being accurate. I realize that humans are born into that form and grow in it linearly. However, dragons manifest this form once and whatever is created is what stays. This has always been my appearance ever since I took a human form."
He nodded, he thought he was doing okay keeping up with her explanation. It was fascinating, to say the least. "Okay, but why take a human form at all?"
She hummed and looked like she had to think about it. "There are many creatures in this world but I guess humans are the strangest. You are strange and yet you are not. All sentient creatures have the ability to take a human appearance if they so wish. A human form is surprisingly useful. In the case of dragons, it is smaller and more compact. It also allows us a universal form of communication. All creatures in their human forms speak a common tongue, but dragons in dragon form can only understand fellow dragons. It is the same for any kind of intelligent creature in the wider world. What is so odd about humans is that you are the base pattern for all creature's secondary forms but you have no secondary form yourselves. You are what you are and there is no deviation. Historically humans were looked down upon heavily, enslaved often, and used as a food and energy source. You are seen as a 'base' species. You also lack any special talents or skills that can surpass those of other races."
He could hardly believe her words. The things she spoke of were things he'd never thought of in his wildest dreams.
"Humans were separated from the rest of the world for a reason. Much of it has to do with pity. I'm not sure what your history says but here it is written and known that your species was on the brink of extinction. I was there when the decision was made to put aside a small piece of land for your kind, a preserve if you will. Our king put up a barrier to protect your kind from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, a few dragons did slip through, these dragons did not have good intentions. I know you view dragons as your allies and sometime in the past the true reason for their presence must have been lost not only to humans but to their own descendants as well."
"What were their intentions then?"
She sighed. "That I cannot tell you, not now at least. I'm not sure how this is all going to play out and I don't want to give you any information that might ultimately hurt humans if and when you and your companion return. It might be for the best that such information is lost to you. Looking into a few of your memories it appears that what you and the modern dragons living in your realm have going is not a bad thing. I don't think the decedents of those dragons have any conscious malicious intent."
He still had questions about this subject but he couldn't pin them down to ask because his mind was racing so fast.
She leaned forward while he was distracted and touched the black markings. He heard the sizzle of skin burning but he felt no pain. She drew her hand back slowly and he saw deep red marks on her fingers. On impulse, he grabbed her hand and examined it.
"I'm so sorry," He started to say but she waved him off.
"Not to worry, I was the one who touched you and I knew that would probably happen. Now watch."
Confused he looked at her, she made a very obvious gesture with her eyes toward her hand. He got the message and looked down at her burned skin.
He watched as her hand shimmered and claws shot out of her fingertips, light green scales covered her hand. Just as quickly as they appeared they retreated and the red marks were gone.
"As long as we can partially transform we can quickly heal such inconvenient injuries. As I'm sure you know, in dragon form we are quite hard to kill with a direct attack. It takes a powerful force to bring us down. In human form, we are more fragile just like a normal human which is why we have this safeguard. As long as we can make even a half transformation we can heal any wound. If the injury is dire we can fully transform. This even works for severed limbs and other destroyed body parts. If we can transform into our full form we can mend our human appearances, it may take a while but it will mend."
"Does it work the other way?" He couldn't help but ask because he couldn't help but think of Aquana. If she'd had this ability to take human form would she still be alive?
She looked at him a bit sadly, and he wondered if she'd seen that part if she knew. He tried to remember if he'd been using an ability at that moment, but he couldn't remember.
"It does not." She said simply. "Once a dragon dies as a dragon there is no coming back from that. The same is true of losing a limb or scars. Transforming into a human will not heal them in their true form. You must always remember that these human forms you see and touch are just shells, they are made up of pure magic. Our bodies as dragons are where our hearts, organs, and minds truly lie. Major damage done to the physical body is irreversible."
He nodded, he thought he understood. "Why are you telling me all this?" He couldn't help but ask after a silent pause.
She chuckled humorlessly. "Didn't you want to know?"
He had wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about dragons, all the things he thought he knew about them was only the surface he'd come to realize. He wanted to know more. He had to wonder how she knew he'd wanted to know. He wondered if there was more to her abilities that she was not telling him. He wondered if he could trust her.
At last, he came to the conclusion that trust had no place here. It wasn't like he was being forthcoming either. Even though she claimed to know his other abilities he'd not trusted her with them himself. He'd yet to decide if he wanted to trust her and based on that it made sense that she might feel the same way.
"Can you tell me more about your realm and the dragons who live there?" She asked. "As you may have guessed I have seen and been able to deduce a good bit through the glimpses into your memory but there is still much I'm unsure of. If I'm to know what gaps there are in your knowledge, and what gaps need to be filled to complete the tasks ahead of you. I will need a fuller understanding of how dragons and humans coexist in your realm. I also want to make sure that you have the ability to mingle with the dragons of the Nest and the outer tribes should you need to. Those marks will have to be the first to go, I know you don't see them that way but anyone who sees you or your companion will already associate you with the underbelly of our society. Add to the fact that your marks are turning against you and well, let me be blunt, if they are not removed and treated eventually they will kill you. We need to move quickly to get them off of you."
He almost touched his neck then moved his hand to touch the marks on his bicep at the last moment. He swallowed hard, the thought of getting rid of them made him uneasy. They had been a part of his body since he was five, they were his tie to Aquana, his last link to her, to his old life.
She gave him a surprisingly understanding look and then said. "Tell me about your realm, and while you're at it tell me about her."
He looked up at her surprised. Forcing down his nerves he began to speak.