Tawera scowled.“My memories of her have faded, and I have wondered if I loved her as much as I thought.I recall a sweet girl, but her features escape me while my brother’s face is distinct, especially my last view of him.My thoughts of Aroha are more nostalgic than full of love.Does this make me a bad man?”
“No.”Nyree gulped at the rush of satisfaction his words brought and decided the safest course was to change the subject.“What happened while you were walking?Was that you who I saw flying across the bay?”
Tawera winced.“I’m so sorry.That was an accident.I know better than to show myself in my taniwha form to those who don’t understand.It won’t happen again.”
“It’s all right as long as neither of us makes a habit of flying in front of others.What I want to know is what made you visible?”
“I am trying to tell you.”
Nyree rolled her eyes and waited.
“I had a sudden yearning to fly through the mountains and explore.The full moon approaches.”He shrugged those broad shoulders again, and his black hair shone under the sun.“Perhaps that is why… I found a private spot and disrobed.After I hid my clothes, I centered myself and pictured my taniwha.My shift was slow, much slower than I recall, and the pain.It was much worse than amereto the head or ataiahaacross the shoulders.”
A flat stone club across the skull or a staff whack on the shoulders, Nyree interpreted as Tawera continued speaking.
“I’d hate to get stuck between forms.When I was a child, my mother told me tales of this.The taniwha trapped between forms and ended up a monster.Hiswhanauexiled him to a cave high in the mountains, and he had to scavenge to eat.When he started killing innocents who wandered too close, the tribe’s warriors had to kill him.That was the last thing I wanted—to inflict this responsibility on you.”Tawera had lost his teasing, and his expression was somber as he met her gaze.
Nyree shuddered.“That sounds horrid.For his family to force him out.That must’ve been difficult for him.”
“You have never heard of this occurrence?”
“No, but my mother and her brother always told me I must never try to stop shifting once I started the process.Never, under any circumstances, even if it meant a human spotted me.I guess that is why.They never told me if we got stuck, it was possible to become trapped halfway.”
“Perhaps they did not wish to scare you,” Tawera said.
“Maybe.Carry on.You pushed through the pain and shifted to your taniwha form.”
Tawera darted a glance her way and seemed sheepish.“I’m frightened to tell you because I may have caused trouble.”
“What did you do?”
“Once I shifted, I was still in pain.It wasn’t as bad—not bad enough that a short flight was impossible.Before I knew it, I’d flown over the sea and discovered I’d lost the strength I took for granted.Trapped as I was, training was impossible, which caused me problems with fitness and weak muscles.”
Nyree stared at him.“What happened?”
“The flight exhausted me.I knew I wouldn’t make it to the shore before I fell into the sea.I saw the ship, and I crashed on their deck.The ship wobbled with the force of my landing, which created a wave that took the humans by surprise.”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“I do not think so,” Tawera said.
“All right.What happened next?”
“I decided it would be best if I shifted back to my human form.This change was painful but not nearly as bad as the first one.My theory is,” Tawera said with a frown, “that the pain came because of my lack of shifting.The transformation from human to dragon and back is like a muscle that one must exercise to function correctly.”
“That makes sense,” Nyree said.
“Once I’d shifted, I explored the ship.Most people were ashore, and it was easy to wander at will.My curiosity,” he said, his nose wrinkling and the corners of his eyes crinkling as he poked fun at himself.“It has always caused trouble for me.And food.The flight made my belly rumble with hunger, so I followed the aroma and discovered a huge bounty of food, waiting.”
“A buffet,” Nyree said in a faint voice.“What did you do?”
“I didn’t know what most of the foods were, so I wandered around and tried the items.A man dressed in white came from a kitchen.He saw me eating.I must’ve startled him because he dropped his tray.”
“He saw you?”
“Not at first.The man noticed the food lifting off the trays and disappearing as I placed it inside my mouth.Ernesto was with him and stayed to speak with me.”
“Oh,” Nyree said, her eyes wide.“What did you do next?”
