"I think I might be cursed," Cody whispered. Starlight's expression turned hopeful.
"You'll see, sometimes you just need a little push to reach your true form," she said carefully, trying not to startle him further by reminding him of the possibility he could lose his humanity. When the gang finally crossed into a clearing, a dark mist seemed to seep out from the trees and engulf them.
Their skin felt burning hot, but the warmth wasn't painful. For some reason, their blood started to boil faster than usual. A few minutes passed with silence until every single student started changing right where they stood. All of Cody's clothing felt tight and restrictive, and he first realized what was happening when he felt a set of reptilian claws tear through his boots.
He flinched back, tripping over himself before landing on his tail. Yes, a long lizard-like tail! Cody tilted his head up towards Wade, who was now standing over six feet tall. He had a pair of solid brown horns growing out of his hair and had grown a pair of hooves on his feet that tore through his shoes. His hands were covered by the same keratin, fusing together into forehooves that restricted his dexterity. And most impressive was the massive pair of bat wings sprouting from his shoulders- the bony part of his wing arms were covered in thick black fur.
Wade looked down at Cody, who was laying dazed on his scaly belly. With curiosity, the pegasus-like boy knelt down and used one hoof to tilt Cody's chin upwards to meet his gaze.
"So what type of magical creature did you become?" Wade teased. But as he studied Cody's new form, the pegasus boy couldn't help but stare.
Wade's breath hitched as he observed Cody's scales gleaming a vibrant scarlet red, or at least what was showing underneath the large holes ripped in his clothing. He estimated about half of Cody's body was scaled now, and the other half was still skin. Similar transformations had rippled through every other member of their party, with everyone gaining different features.
Cody lifted his leg and marveled at it. One of the soles of his boots had completely torn off and he could feel the wet grass under his scaly foot. He stood up on his own and started assessing himself further: there were small spikes running along his spine, claws on all of his fingers, and the scales seemed to stop around his stomach and chest.
And then he realized what he'd been forgetting... A long, flexible tail that extended two feet past his rump! He gasped and reached back to grasp it, flabbergasted. Wade grinned widely when he saw this.
"A dragon," he said with awe. "You turned into a dragon! Almost a dragon. We still have some human leftovers, I see."
The rest of the campers had gathered around them by this point, each commenting on the drastic changes. Starlight's wings had grown even larger, her insectoid face becoming more prominent as well. The shy girl hovered near Wade, who wrapped one arm around her shoulders while the other rested on Cody's. The dragon boy leaned subconsciously against him, wanting reassurance from someone familiar after such an intense change.