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Description
the second of the two pictures I had lined up earlier, once again connected to the au idea where Vader can turn into a dragon.
This is a direct continuation of this:
ardentaspen.deviantart.com/art…

When Luke came to, he was no longer in the forest. Not that he could tell from looking: he was still surrounded by darkness. But the sounds of birds and insects had vanished completely, and there was a metallic echo creaking around him. With a frown, the young Rebel attempted to move, to see where he was. A set of claws each as big around as him tightened reflexively, pinning him against armored scales, and the truth of his situation came rushing back to him.

In a panic, Luke kicked at the massive talons, desperate to free himself from the smothering darkness. They budged slightly, but the dragon did not otherwise move. His thunderous heartbeat remained steady and somewhat sedate, as did his breathing.
Was Vader asleep? Did he sleep?
Luke decided to take his chances. He couldn't, for obvious reasons, stay in the grasp of a dragon -- especially one that served the emperor -- no matter what fantastical lies it told.

That's all they were, he told himself. Lies. It simply made no sense otherwise.
There was a quiet discomfort hovering over his mind and settling cold and queasy in his stomach the more he protested, and he soon gave up thinking about it altogether as he set about carefully extricating himself from Vader's talons.

Once out, balanced somewhat precariously on top of the dragon's foot, Luke painstakingly inched up the heavy limb, wincing every time the muscles rippled beneath his feet. After several minutes of intermittent stops and starts, he pulled himself up onto a shoulder and reached up. The darkness, he realized, was not wholly natural. Vader's wings were folded down around them like a cocoon of sorts, blocking out most of the light.

Luke was almost positive that his uncontrollable trembling would wake the dragon, but Vader remained still. Luke held his breath and pushed at the wing nearest to him. It was heavy, far heavier than he'd anticipated. It took him a good four minutes to move it aside enough to see any kind of light. It took another two to hoist himself up and squirm through the gap he'd created, coming out to stand on the Sith's spine.

They were in a wide chamber made to look like a cavern, complete with rocks and moss, but there was metal along the floors and the ceiling. This was not real. But that meant that there had to be an exit somewhere. Gingerly, Luke eased along Vader's back, freezing in terror every time he heard the slightest sound. As a human -- or perhaps not human, considering he could shapeshift -- Darth Vader was impressively tall and frightening. But Luke might almost have found the armored giant a comfort compared to the staggering size of his other shape.

He did not let out the breath he'd been holding until both his feet were on the floor once again, though his trembling had hardly ceased. Instinct told him that to stay in an apex predator's den with it would be the height of folly, and so he began looking for another way out. The Force whispered around him as he moved, tugging on him in ways he'd never felt before. Which wasn't saying much, really, considering how little he knew.

Luke reached for the Force and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't dance out of his reach like it so often had before. Instead he found a warm, bright glow easily within his reach, somehow alive and calling to him. Luke traced the wall with one hand and reached out with the other as if he could physically capture the sensation.

"I am curious, little one. After you have left this private hangar and entered the rest of my star destroyer, what is it that you plan to do?"
Vader's voice broke over him like thunder, and Luke dropped into a crouch, covering his head.

He felt as if the swirling bright spot in the Force he'd found was a pool, and in his fright he'd fallen in. He felt more awake, more aware than he had been in a long time, as though he'd been shuffling through the world half asleep. A tugging sensation at his back broke through his thoughts and, afraid that Vader was trying to grab him again, Luke flailed with a squawk.

Claws smacked against the floor and small wings flopped over his face in a curtain of pale green and-

Wait.

Wings?!

Luke looked down at his hands, but only saw a dragon's narrow golden talons. He wasn't sure where all his limbs were, or where he ended and this creature began. He tried to take a step forward. One of the wings caught under his front right foot and he tumbled over with a cry of pained dismay.

"Luke?' Vader sounded supremely surprised.

"What did you do to me?!" Luke demanded frantically, "How did you change me into....this?!"

Vader uncurled and stretched for a moment before rising -- still outdoing Luke for size by a factor of nearly ten -- then reached out to scoop the smaller, struggling dragon up into the crook of one of his front elbows. He settled back again with a pleased rumble and curled around him.

"I have done nothing," he announced, "You have merely proven that I was not lying."

Luke was too overwhelmed to comment on that .

Description
the second of the two pictures I had lined up earlier, once again connected to the au idea where Vader can turn into a dragon.
This is a direct continuation of this:
ardentaspen.deviantart.com/art…

When Luke came to, he was no longer in the forest. Not that he could tell from looking: he was still surrounded by darkness. But the sounds of birds and insects had vanished completely, and there was a metallic echo creaking around him. With a frown, the young Rebel attempted to move, to see where he was. A set of claws each as big around as him tightened reflexively, pinning him against armored scales, and the truth of his situation came rushing back to him.

In a panic, Luke kicked at the massive talons, desperate to free himself from the smothering darkness. They budged slightly, but the dragon did not otherwise move. His thunderous heartbeat remained steady and somewhat sedate, as did his breathing.
Was Vader asleep? Did he sleep?
Luke decided to take his chances. He couldn't, for obvious reasons, stay in the grasp of a dragon -- especially one that served the emperor -- no matter what fantastical lies it told.

That's all they were, he told himself. Lies. It simply made no sense otherwise.
There was a quiet discomfort hovering over his mind and settling cold and queasy in his stomach the more he protested, and he soon gave up thinking about it altogether as he set about carefully extricating himself from Vader's talons.

Once out, balanced somewhat precariously on top of the dragon's foot, Luke painstakingly inched up the heavy limb, wincing every time the muscles rippled beneath his feet. After several minutes of intermittent stops and starts, he pulled himself up onto a shoulder and reached up. The darkness, he realized, was not wholly natural. Vader's wings were folded down around them like a cocoon of sorts, blocking out most of the light.

Luke was almost positive that his uncontrollable trembling would wake the dragon, but Vader remained still. Luke held his breath and pushed at the wing nearest to him. It was heavy, far heavier than he'd anticipated. It took him a good four minutes to move it aside enough to see any kind of light. It took another two to hoist himself up and squirm through the gap he'd created, coming out to stand on the Sith's spine.

They were in a wide chamber made to look like a cavern, complete with rocks and moss, but there was metal along the floors and the ceiling. This was not real. But that meant that there had to be an exit somewhere. Gingerly, Luke eased along Vader's back, freezing in terror every time he heard the slightest sound. As a human -- or perhaps not human, considering he could shapeshift -- Darth Vader was impressively tall and frightening. But Luke might almost have found the armored giant a comfort compared to the staggering size of his other shape.

He did not let out the breath he'd been holding until both his feet were on the floor once again, though his trembling had hardly ceased. Instinct told him that to stay in an apex predator's den with it would be the height of folly, and so he began looking for another way out. The Force whispered around him as he moved, tugging on him in ways he'd never felt before. Which wasn't saying much, really, considering how little he knew.

Luke reached for the Force and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't dance out of his reach like it so often had before. Instead he found a warm, bright glow easily within his reach, somehow alive and calling to him. Luke traced the wall with one hand and reached out with the other as if he could physically capture the sensation.

"I am curious, little one. After you have left this private hangar and entered the rest of my star destroyer, what is it that you plan to do?"
Vader's voice broke over him like thunder, and Luke dropped into a crouch, covering his head.

He felt as if the swirling bright spot in the Force he'd found was a pool, and in his fright he'd fallen in. He felt more awake, more aware than he had been in a long time, as though he'd been shuffling through the world half asleep. A tugging sensation at his back broke through his thoughts and, afraid that Vader was trying to grab him again, Luke flailed with a squawk.

Claws smacked against the floor and small wings flopped over his face in a curtain of pale green and-

Wait.

Wings?!

Luke looked down at his hands, but only saw a dragon's narrow golden talons. He wasn't sure where all his limbs were, or where he ended and this creature began. He tried to take a step forward. One of the wings caught under his front right foot and he tumbled over with a cry of pained dismay.

"Luke?' Vader sounded supremely surprised.

"What did you do to me?!" Luke demanded frantically, "How did you change me into....this?!"

Vader uncurled and stretched for a moment before rising -- still outdoing Luke for size by a factor of nearly ten -- then reached out to scoop the smaller, struggling dragon up into the crook of one of his front elbows. He settled back again with a pleased rumble and curled around him.

"I have done nothing," he announced, "You have merely proven that I was not lying."

Luke was too overwhelmed to comment on that .