Author's Notes: I swear there will be an explanation of what's going on next chapter if I have to chase Nyx with a hatchet to get it.

He wasn't sure for how long they flew. All Amick knew was the stars above him spun until they seemed to blur together. Or maybe they were fireflies, though this really wasn't the season for it. Though it would explain how they seemed to move in sky, sometimes darting close enough that Amick was overcome with the urge to reach out and touch them.

Each time he tried though, Nyx was there in his head, thoughts sharp as a knife. Hold on. Hold on. He flinched each time it happened because each time the cut was cleaner, the knife sharper. It hurt. It hurt his head and made the shaking worse.

Because it was Nyx, Amick did what was asked, wrapping cold stiffened fingers back around the dragon's horns. Soon. This had to be over soon. This nightmare couldn't last forever.

The sky was blooming with sounds that resonated like a chorus or a dozen madrigals playing all in harmony. Or maybe it was colors? The sky was supposed to change colors right? Which meant it was morning. Had they been flying most of the night?

Amick laid his head against Nyx's scales, and tried very hard not to think. Maybe if he didn't think everything wouldn't continue to not make sense.

It was the shift of muscle underneath his legs that first indicated to Amick that something was going on. They were losing altitude. Amick wanted to ask where they were going, but it was hard to find the words. The wind kept stealing them from him. He really should have thought to ask before.

Nyx's backwinging stirred up snow. Snow? It was really too late in the season for snow. Frost yes, but not snow. Not unless they'd made it to the mountains that were over a kingdom away. Had they been flying that long?

Or maybe it wasn't snow. Maybe it was faerie dust like in the parades Amick was sometimes forced to ride in. Glitter and bits of colors paper in the air, but there was only white paper in the air now. White made sense if he was riding Nyx in a parade. It matched his scales.

The landing was gentler than Amick expected, probably because of the snow (glitter? paper?) that covered the ground. His fingers didn't want to seem to uncurl from around Nyx's horns. The dragon shook himself. That seemed to jar him free. Amick slid down the dragon's side until he landed in the snow.

It smelled of old lace, felt like sand and tasted like sugar. But it was cold, which seemed to be the only thing that made sense. Amick closed his eyes, curled into a ball and tried not to shake apart.

"Up." Nyx's voice was like rough velvet against his skin. He must have changed. Amick "You'll get sick if you sit in the snow."

No, he wouldn't. Amick wasn't moving.

Nyx sighed, his breath pluming in the air. Then he jerked Amick to his feet. The world swam in a sickening wash of colors. The dragon seemed to be the only thing that made sense, the only thing that didn't confuse his senses.

Amick wasn't aware of walking. His feet didn't want to seem to move in any sort of rhythm. Nyx must have man-handled him somehow because the next thing Amick knew they were inside.

"Where?" His voice came out rough enough that Amick almost didn't recognize it as his own.

"Sit down," Nyx ordered, pushing him towards the bed. Amick took one uncertain step before his legs gave way. He sat abruptly on the floor, ignoring the dust that rose up in shades of rose and green or maybe that was tastes of mint and sage. Nyx made a sound.

"It's my Aunt's place. I can see she hasn't used it in a while."

Aunt? The thought of Nyx having a family had never even occurred to him. It made sense. Dragons didn't just appear out of thin air. They came from eggs and eggs had to be laid. He'd just never thought about it before.

"Dragons have fairly large families. I'm sorry to say I'll have to inflict mine upon you at some point." Nyx moved around behind Amick while he concentrated on the feel of each breath as it entered his lungs and wondered if Nyx could now read his mind. "I should start a fire, but there's no time."

The dragon picked him up, put his cheek against Amick's and hummed. Amick could feel it in his bones. "I shouldn't have brought you this far. That was badly done."

"What's going on?"

"You're changing. It happens when... when dragons... well, it happens sometimes." Amick got the impression that the dragon had ended the sentence very differently than what he first intended. Nyx brought up one hand and slowly stroked Amick's hair. "You're lucky. You'll sleep through the worse of it."

That elicited a short bark of laughter. "I don't want to think about it getting worse. Everything is... different. All my senses are messed up."

He could feel Nyx's worry in his mind, muted burgundy tinged with regret. At least I know what he's thinking this way. There was a benefit. "It's going faster than I thought it would. Let's get you on the bed."

All he could do was stand there and shake as Nyx stripped him of his clothes and pushed him down on the bed. The blankets were musty and sweet and Amick tried desperately not to notice anything more about them. It was better if he totally ignored what his senses were telling him. At the very least, it kept his headache to a dull throb.

Seconds later, Nyx lay down beside him. He pulled a thick blanket over them both to ward off the chill. Amick laughed. "This is not how I wanted you in my bed."

Nyx's breath stirred the fine hairs at his temples. "You're going to regret saying that in the morning."

"We'll see." The shivers were lessening slightly, only to be replaced by a bone deep ache. "How much longer?"

"Could be hours," Nyx replied. "You should sleep."

There was a command behind those words. Amick could feel the compulsion to close his eyes and just give into darkness. He fought it just to be contrary, just long enough to hear Nyx growl in frustration. Only then did he give in.

Amick woke up, and kind of wished he had died.

It felt like someone had ground broken pottery into his joints and there was a low, dull throb in his head. His mouth tasted like ash. Amick tried to roll over only to have every single muscle in his body protest. He groaned, only to have the sound come out as more of a whimper.

Right. I give myself one minute to wallow in self-pity, then I am getting up out of this bed. And yelling. There will be definite yelling going on.

Until then, Amick put his head on the pillow and tried to breathe through the urge to cry. Why me? What is going on? What is going to happen to me now? What am I going to do now? It hurt that Nyx wasn't still in bed, wasn't there to be something solid and familiar. Amick was in pain and felt abandoned.

A little more than a minute later, Amick pulled himself together. He pushed himself up on shaking arms until he was sitting, then pulled the blanket around his shoulders. Everything still hurt, but Amick was doing his best to ignore it. What he couldn't ignore was the absolute rawness of his throat. If I am going to yell, and I am going to yell a lot, then I need to take care of that.

Beside the bed was a small table with a pitcher, basin, and small cup on it. Amick reached out and picked up the pitched. Water sloshed heavily in it. Gritting his teeth, Amick managed to pour water into the cup without spilling too much.

The first cup of water disappeared quickly as Amick's overwhelming thirst made itself known. The second cup of water soothed his throat, but went down just as quickly. The third cup was drunk more slowly as Amick's stomach reacted to the sudden influx of water with disgruntlement.

While he drank, Amick looked around. The cabin was small, but well made. Even he could see that. It was chilly inside - no fire in the hearth and Amick had no idea how to start one because his servants had always taken care of that but there were no drafts. The furniture was simple, sturdy wood. There was one bed, a bedside stand, a table, a chair, and a small stool. A rug made of braided rags covered the floor next to the hearth. Pots of various sizes hung on hooks near the fireplace.

Someone had swept the dirt off the floor. Amick vaguely remembered dust and the scent of disuse. Maybe. All his memories of the night before were jumbled. He did know that even now the blanket around his shoulders smelled musty.

He was naked underneath the blanket and his clothes were no where to be found. That was just not fair. Even he couldn't do righteous indignation with no clothes on.

"Kidnap me and then steal my clothing. One would almost think you didn't want me to get out of your bed," Amick said under his breath. His voice was still rough and scratchy, but at least now he could talk.

The pain was slowly receding as Amick moved. Maybe that's all he needed to do to feel better. Amick reached out a hand, stretching the muscles in his arm, and moving every joint in his hand. Then he froze and stared.

All of the spells etched onto his skin were gone. Every last one. The glyphs and straight lines had been completely replaced with wild magic: faint intricate patterns of whorls and circles. Even the color was changed. Gone was the dark indigo of a recently used spell and the paler steel blue of old spells. In its place was a color like the finest of sapphires, deep and rich and brilliant. The blue stood in stark contrast against his skin.

The longer Amick stared the more patterns he could see in it. Here was a deer, there a twining vine, and across his knuckles a tiny set of strawberries. Then he'd blink and the images were gone. Amick hadn't seen anything move. In fact, everything looked the same only the images were gone.

Amick pushed the blanket of his shoulders and then onto the floor. The evidence of wild magic extended down his chest, across his stomach, up the inside of his thighs and then continued on to places no one in their right mind would get a spell tattooed.

"I'm a wild witch," Amick said, just to hear the words out loud. His fingers skittered over his hip bone where the swirls seemed to form the image of a dragon in flight. "I am no longer a witch king."

It was time to find Nyx. Amick got to unsteady feet and pulled the blanket around him like a robe. Then with as much pride as he could muster, Amick headed towards the door of the cabin. Nyx couldn't have gone far.

Amick would get some answers out of the dragon. He was tired of not knowing what was going on.