#animus cursed

From a time when Rainwings still kept track of their children and mates, Lassina lived a lonely life condemned by her heritage and abandoned by her conniving parents. Expected to be treacherous and decieving, only one dragon in the entire Rain Kingdom trusted her fully and they were very close...

Despite their closeness, Lassina doesn’t quite love her enough to allow and be complicit in said dragon’s plot to murder Queen Fairest and Queen Connivance. Regardless of how she was treated, she would hate more to give them all the impression they were right about her; Lass being an ultimately good person at heart

Her flame was devestated to find her betrayal and cursed her into a Violet-Green Swallow, but didn’t have to heart to truly do her harm... which Lassina took advantage of to secure the sure “eternal” safety of the Rainwings from her love.

Bestie, she moved on and became a writer who detailed what her life was like and even preserved stories about her first love... but never released them and was very happy with her second love, a Rainwing male (bisexual gal, we stan)-

And it had been just their luck how this mirror allowed them their isolationist lifestyle, the glass showing them whatever they desired to see. From past events like that of the Royal Seawing Massacre to even what some random Rainwing was up to in the nearby village. Overseer could oversee those around them and with enough time owning the mirror, realized another thing it could do…

Removing the small gem at the bottom and holding it… it would allow the dragon holding the gem to cast a spell as if they were an animus themselves. But only one enchantment; It could be specific and long-winded or short as a sentence but all as long as it was one.

Overseer would admit, they hadn’t realized this caveat at first. They had squandered their first spell rather vindictively, under the impression it wouldn’t be limited spells and the roses lining the mirror were merely decor. No… these roses were the enchantment timer.

And right now? Finally, fifty long years later the roses were budding and on the cusp of blooming once more. Overseer knew just what to do this time, how to use their spell. This time, there would be no wasting it on cursing anyone but themselves. The them of fifty years ago was a moron, but now Overseer was wiser.

Before the nightwing’s eyes, the mirror’s rose buds opened into full bloom. The thorn-vines weaving between them and along the rim a mere afterthought as Overseer grabbed the small gemstone at the bottom of the mirror’s handle and twisted it out of its confines. The quartz crystal growths holding the enchanted stone snapping and breaking off easily against the force of their claws.

It all would’ve gone perfectly, they would’ve wished for their own lack of mortality and thus be able to get as many enchantments as they should please.

But Overseer didn’t account for her to still linger and re-find them.

The nightwing held still, as elongated rainwing-like claws rested threateningly on their throat. The dark claws tapping along a beat on their windpipe but still too close to their arteries.

They held still as a clawed talon snaked its way to their own and plucked the mirror’s small gemstone from it, a wing’s starry underside covering their other talon that still clutched the enchanted mirror.

The hybrid atop them hummed as she examined the gem in her claws, steadily gripping Overseer’s throat tighter as she used their body as her perch… the dragoness notably younger than them but much stronger. She looked like she hadn’t aged a day since they cursed her, but that wasn’t right. They had seen her through that glass at the edge of death, and had been so sure she died. Yet here she was, digging her claws into their throat and easily having the upperhand.

Luster spoke in her ever soothing voice, though her voice now only made Overseer’s scales prickle with unease. “My, what a precious stone you have here. A really special little thing, such a powerful little thing. Too bad you couldn’t use it right though, Over-dear. You nightwings, always needing to be poetic. Never watching your words.”

The hybrid watched their ex-partner’s reactions closely, watched how the old and powerless nightwing tried to threaten her. She tightened her grip on their throat and constricted her tail around their torso, firmly latched to them.

“What? Do you not enjoy this monologue? You seemed very fond of making your own the first time fifty years ago. Such a bore, but I caught your mistake in your curse. Poor Overseer, not used to animus magic nor its capriciousness. Should’ve been clear what you asked for, Over-dear. Now watch me as I do this cursing business right.”

The rainwing-nightwing leveraged herself to stand straighter and clutched the gemstone in her talon. “I enchant myself, Luster, to not just need to feed off the affections of other dragons but also be able to sustain myself off their blood and flesh indefinitely and from that blood and flesh to change into any dragon or form that I please.”

The hybrid looked at the gemstone, took her wing off Overseer’s arm and watched the mirror’s roses wilt and die in an instant. She looked at the horrified nightwing below her. And they spoke as if they were speaking to death (which in a sense, now they were). “Why… you could’ve undone your own curse, why did you build off it.”

Luster rolled her eyes, “Why ever would I have undone it? You gave me eternal life, your curse’s only specification was that to survive, someone else would have to love me. You didn’t consider that ‘the love has to be mutual’ or that love can be more than just romantic. But that is your oversight, however I am now more interested in seeing how my new modified curse works.”

The dragoness bared her new fangs, the canines visibly larger and sturdier than just ordinary rainwing fangs. “Thank you for everything.”

Overseer’s last moments were feeling those elongated rainwing-like claws finally rip into and pull apart the flesh and scales of their throat, as Luster’s maw opened wide and tore the rest apart.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Luster licked the last streaks of red off her claws, checking over and over for any sign of blood lingering on her still. She could see none.

The dragoness reached out with her newly cleaned talons and picked up the mirror, pressing the gemstone she’d used back into its handle and watched it reattach.

It had been—in her eyes—Overseer’s mistake to have done this clearly before her. It was like they were giving her a tutorial really on how to use it and what it could be used for.

The hybrid looked at her reflection in the glass, seeing herself. And then seeing her rainwing attributes melt away to show her her new form. A lovely nightwing looking back at her.