Yes, Karltin was pleased. Very pleased indeed. He would wait until the dragon egg he possessed hatch and then he'd be the lucky owner of a baby dragon. He could make a fortune out of this! In many different ways, actually, whether by selling the baby dragon or by raising it and make it do whatever he told it to. Once out of the egg, Pearl, would imprint upon him without fail. Pearl's own human mind might not be in existence by then, rendering the process still more fool-proof. In fact, just brooding Pearl's egg would surely allow the hatchling inside to associate the warm, reassuring presence with him, offering Karltin a direct leeway to its adoration and affection. Perfect! What a genius idea he'd had, transforming himself. He just needed to sleep peacefully around the precious orb and give in to his new maternal instincts. It was worth the humiliation of being female for a while. And being so near the egg felt a whole lot nicer than expected. So warm and comfy... Karltin was amazed at how great it felt. He fell into a deep slumber, still marvelling arrogantly at his own genius. Indeed. But he had been too intelligent for his own good...
For Karltin had been absolutely right. Dragons did possess unbelievably strong instincts. Instincts they found it abominably hard to resist. But that held true even of transformed dragons! Karltin had overestimated his own mental abilities. So when he woke up, he was still feeling exhausted. He had slept too much and he was grumpy, just desiring to go back to sleep. But he was hungry. With regret, he dragged himself into his kitchen. Just a bite and he'd go back to sleep. He had an egg to keep warm and safe, damn it! He sniffed around. Potatoes? No. Bread? Maybe, with milk. But where was the milk jar? Pumpkin? Yew. Apricots? No thanks. Chicory? Disgusting! Meat? Yes, perfect! Meat sounded like just the right thing! Yum. Karltin was already drooling and he ate the whole ham in front of him, plus the entire dried mutton leg above him. He slithered back to his new bed, gnawing on the mutton bone for fun and because it sounded so relaxing to do so. He fell asleep again munching and licking it, the sweet taste still in his mouth.
The more he slept, the more his mind was receptive to dragon instincts, bending his will to obey him. And these instincts commanded him to sleep around his egg, reinforcing his mental transformation through a vicious circle. He got angry when the meat ran out (in record time, naturally) and he went out to hunt deer, dragging the animal back, so nervous was he at leaving his precious egg. If anything happened to it, she would never forgive herself! It was her pride and joy! The daughter within would be cherished and love so she had to make it until it finally hatched! She just had to! It was only after finishing the entire deer, bones and marrow included, did Karltin remember he wanted to sell the bay inside the egg, not love it as his own. He cursed himself, even though the following time he woke up, he found the notion of selling her precious baby abhorrent. Karltin then shook his head, attempting to organize his thoughts. This was... bad. Was he loosing himself? He hoped not. But with any chance, the egg would crack soon. Just three weeks to go. He was very smart, was he not? Surely he could resist the base instincts of a dragon. He went back to sleep wondering what sort of delicious prey he could get very quickly next. Maybe duck? Or geese? Oh, he'd always liked those... Roasted especially. But the raw venison had ben extraordinarily tasty. Karltin drifted off to sleep without realizing why he should find raw meat vile. Further letting his new instincts take over. But who would win in the span of three weeks? The dragon's instincts or his human arrogance?