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The Moon Prince let out a snort as he lifted his head off the ground, a low rumbling chuckle leaving his lips as he lifted the giggling child off the ground. The pull on his whiskers was a bit painful, but he ignored it in favor of listening to his niece’s tickling laughter.
“Higher Jin, Higher!” The red-headed little girl squealed.
If his lips could spread into a wider smile they would, but even in his dragon form they could only pull back so far.
“I’m afraid if I lift you any higher your mother will have my head.” He told her, carefully beginning to set her feet back down on the ground below.
The small girl let go of his whiskers, her cheeks puffed out in an adorable pout as she gave him her best puppy dog eyes.
“Please Uncle Jinshi.” She whined, her sea-green eyes shining up at him.
He blew a bit of air into her face, causing her to gasp then sputter a bit. One of his lilac purple whiskers coming to tickle her side making her squeak
“Don’t forget who taught you how to use those. I’m afraid those won’t work on me Ling-li.” He told her with a snort.
A whine left the young princess' lips, as she threw herself stubbornly on the ground, and glared up at him. He looked down at her with his big maw, a teasing grin spreading across his dark purple scales. Puffing out her cheeks, she turned her eyes away from him as she huffed out indignantly “If I was Aunt Maomao it would have worked.”
An un-refined squawk left the Moon Prince’s lips, his whiskers scrunching up by his nose. “Why you litt-” He began to scold her, before the clearing of a throat caused him to pause.
Both the Prince and the young Princess turned to look at Gaoshun, who gave both of them disapproving looks.
“My dear Moon Prince, my dear Princess Peony, do not forget why you are both here today.” He reminded the older man and young child sternly.
The Prince, still in his dragon form, and the princess still in her human form looked to one another then sighed. Both bowed towards the aid with a “Yes Gaoshun.”
Jinshi curled his large serpent-like dragon body around her small one. His large head resting on his large paws as he kept his head turned away to give her privacy.
“Do you remember what I taught you?” He asked her.
“Yes!” She replied confidently.
Out of the corner of his eye the large dark purple dragon saw a flash of light, which is when he decided to turn towards her. Instead of the body of a small human standing there, there was now a small pink dragon. Well…almost full dragon.
One of Jinshi’s whiskers went to tickle her under the chin as he said teasingly “You forgot your ears.”
Her eyes widened as the lips of her snout formed into a pout. “Oh, blast it.” She huffed, a small stream of smoke escaping her lips.
He watched her fondly as she closed her eyes tight, her cheeks puffing out again. It slowly began to turn into concern as she continued to strain herself, her ears flickering back and forth between her human ears and floppy dragon ears at an alarmingly fast pace. He was about to stop her, when a different voice interrupted.
“Don’t force the transition so hard, otherwise you’ll get stuck. Let the image gradually build until you reach full form.” A cool voice spoke.
The Moon Prince and the Peony Princess both turned their heads towards the newcomer. The larger dragon’s eyes softened a bit, while Ling-li backed up into his side nervously. The person who had joined them on the quad was none other than his newly revealed cousin Suirei. Her cool blue eyes watched them from the gateway to the courtyard, a book in her hands.
Gaoshun had stood up, but Jinshi raised a paw to block him from moving towards her. Once upon a time Suirei may have been dangerous, but she had worked at Lady Ah Duo side for years now without malice nor want for revenge. Instead, she wished to stay out of palace politics and live peacefully without the weight of being a Princess upon her. Not that the Moon Prince would ever tell her, but he truly envied her and wished he too could live the simple life. Maybe one day his brother would allow that, when his nephew, the Crown Prince, was just a bit older and not still a toddler, would he finally be free of the chains of palace life.
His aid looked up at him, but Jinshi just offered a charming smile in return before turning his attention back to his cousin. His amethyst eyes gave her a scrutinizing once over before giving a decisive nod. The black haired woman simply arched an eyebrow at his look which he offered a wolf, or well in this case, dragon-like grin at her. He laid his head down close to his startled niece, giving her head a gentle nudge with his snout.
“Hey.” He spoke softly next to her.
The light pink dragon turned her head slightly to him, her green eyes flickering nervously between him and Suirei.
“How about we let Auntie Suirei help us? She offers a different perspective on dragon transformation than your father and I. After all, she had to learn it all on her own with no idea what was happening to her.” He told her, a gentle smile on his face.
He watched as Ling-li’s green eyes widened in shock, turning to her seafoam green eyes to the blue eyed woman.
“Really?” His energetic niece asked breathlessly, staring at the newcomer in awe.
A teasing grin spread across his features as the small dragon took a few cautious steps towards her aunt.
“D-Did you really have to learn all these powers by yourself?” She asked.
Suirei narrowed her eyes at the prince, before turning to the princess, a soft look slowly melting her normally cold features.
“Yes, I did.” She told the Peony Princess.
A gasp escaped said princess lips, as she scampered towards her, circling her excitedly. A million rapid fire questions escaped the young dragon's mouth as she danced around the older woman. A satisfied grin made its way across the purple dragons face, as he stretched lazily.
“Well now, I’m sure Suirei can tak-” He began to say, only to jump up, his serpent-like spine arching up like a cat as Gaoshun sternly snapped “Master Jinshi.”
He turned his amethyst eyes to his aide.
“Surely you were not about to push your duties onto Lady Suirei?” He questioned the Moon Prince, arms crossed.
A small whine escaped the full grown dragon’s mouth as he began to plead his case to the man.
On a balcony high above the quad, the Emperor stood with his Empress and his best friend, watching the three dragon children fondly.
“The Moon Prince will never change, will he?” His red-haired Empress giggled, her coq smile hidden behind a fan.
On his other side, his best friend let out a delightful sigh. “I’m afraid he’s been causing mischief since he was first introduced at court.”
The Emperor only smiled, watching his two children with quiet contentment.