It is a good thing for the twins that Gunther knows the best way to get out of town without being noticed, and the Akwavi were thrilled to be running and jumping across rooftops (even the clinging-to-Gunther's-back part needed to get them up the walls). The urge to lean over the edges and spit down on people is strong within the girls, but they manage to focus on getting to Isolde enough to avoid any sticky incidents.

Isolde Nightshade, the town's senior witch, is sitting on the porch in her favorite rocking chair and knitting quilt squares when the youngsters arrive. The two otters drop to all fours and bound up to the porch, chirping, "It's happened, Isolde! We're adults now! Wanna smell?"

"Yeah, they're really stinky!" Gunther, in his ever tactful way, declares to the elder witch. "Overpowering, even when you're in a barrel with the pair of them!"

"Why were you in a barrel with them, Gunther Kettenrad?" Isolde asks, twirling her knitting needles between her fingers.

"Stalking a rat!" Gunther says proudly. He even holds onto his rough shirt with both hands as if he had jacket lapels to grip.

"Well, that's… something to address another time," Isolde notes, and turns to Nene and Bebe. "Alright, the timing is good. We can go appease the dragons right away," she tells them. The two otters squirm with excitement at the prospect!

"Dragons?" Gunther blurts, "We have dragons? Awesome! They can distract them and I'll use my dragon harpoon! I'm positive it will work! Absolutely certain!"

"Why would you even have a… " Isolde starts to ask, and then just shakes her head. "This is a secret, sacred ceremony for witches and Shrine Maidens only, Gunther. No men allowed."

"I'm not a man yet!" Gunther argues, "So I can still go!"

"You are a male, and that's enough," Isolde says. "Not even Morgan can attend these ceremonies. The spirits are very sensitive about these things, and are frankly a bit wary after being handled by Amelia the past few years… "

"Aw, please? I want to see a dragon!" Gunther says as he bounds up the stairs and even tries to smile innocently at Isolde. "I'll even … behave." The inflection on his last word was if he had said something almost unspeakable.

"Out of the question," Isolde states. "Now run along, Gunther! I have to lead the girls to the location and prepare them." The woman makes shoo-shoo motions with her hands and tail.

"We'll tell you all about the dragon, Gunther," Nene promises, but doesn't look serious about it.

Gunther even tries making huge pouty eyes at Isolde in hopes that she'll let him. When that fails, he turns around and walks back down the porch, muttering, "Never get to have any fun… " Of course while he's doing this he's developing a cunning plan. Time to raid the women's laundry to mask his 'male' scent, of course! Then he just has to follow them…

The Kadie's scent is already pretty well masked – he smells like female Akwavi musk from being stuck in the barrel with the pair. Isolde takes the girls into the Gnarly Tree, emerging a few minutes later. Each of them is carrying a folded white bundle, and the otters are practically skipping as Isolde heads for the Mint River.

Gunther sniffs himself several times to be sure. Okay, maybe a bit too much when he realizes he's getting some strange reactions physically. So … he waits for that to pass from a good hiding spot behind a tree, then darts through the underbrush in pursuit of the witch and the two otters. "No dragon escapes my notice!" he thinks. Never mind this has been going on for years; that doesn't exist in Gunther-Logic land.

Isolde leads the twins on quite a walk. At first they seem to be heading for the dam, but veer off to go around the mill and follow the shore of the reservoir. Luckily there are plenty of trees for Gunther to hide behind along the way. It eventually becomes clear that their destination is past the end of the reservoir, on the wild Mint River.

"A dragon at my doorstep!" Gunther fumes mentally given the proximity of the reservoir to the Wingnut territory. But then he may as well be fuming he wasn't just allowed to go. "No dragon is going to have my girls!" Why, he's so annoyed he doesn't even notice he's laying claim to them like a jealous male.

The witch brings the girls to a stop about a hundred yards upstream of the reservoir, where a natural-looking, boulder-circled pool has formed in the stream. "Alright, we can change here," Isolde notes, setting her own bundle down on a boulder and disrobing. The otters do likewise.

"Ewwwwwwww!" Gunther thinks as he realizes he's seeing a very naked Isolde. He also has this urge to scrub his eyeballs. The only saving grace is the naked otters (and maybe due to that scent clinging to him), he has something else to distract him enough that he doesn't get too queasy. He decides to keep a good distance from the event so he's not seen or heard … and tries to find a high tree to hide up in the branches of.

The women unwrap their bundles while Gunther gets a good spying position in a nearby tree. All three put on plain white shifts, slit halfway up the back for their tails, and then Isolde sits on the boulder and holds… well, it's rather phallic, and looks like it's carved from bone or ivory with lots of scales. She puts one end to her lips… and actually plays a little melody. It's a flute!

Gunther blinks. The Kadie then blinks again. One thing he never imagined was Isolde having anything shaped like that, much less playing it. He gets a sinking feeling he's now going to have nightmares from this … because, well, ew!

Nene and Bebe can't help but giggle a little bit, which earns them a stern glance from the witch.

As the music plays, the river actually seems to speed up, or at least the current shifts around a bit in the pool, causing waves to splash up. The two otters clamber onto boulders to lean over and watch.

Ooo! Now it's getting interesting. Gunther crouches on his branch, gripping it tightly with hands and feet. He looks like a squirrel ready to pounce, in fact.

Bebe suddenly laughs and nearly falls backward, with her face and chest soaking wet. "It licked me!" she claims. The swirling water seems to be bulging up into humps, and in the sunlight it looks like they're even covered with scales. Eventually, the pool is filled with what looks like a transparent serpent made of water, with an elongated semi-feline looking head. At this point, the otters jump in and start playing with it, riding-floating-surfing along the coils!

Gunther is annoyed! That looks like a lot of fun and he wasn't invited! Not only that, they seem to be having more fun than they have with him. He bristles. "No fair!" he thinks.

The dragon coils and spins in the pool, finally rising up from the center with Nene and Bebe clinging to its neck. It rotates slowly, until the head cocks and it looks straight at Gunther's hiding place. The creature's nostrils flare and its watery tongue flicks as if catching a scent, and then it's rushing over the boulders and heading for the tree, pulling the river (with Nene, Bebe and a suddenly soaked and angry-looking Isolde) along behind it!

"Eeek! thinks Gunther. Faced by a giant dragon and carrying no weapons triggers something rare in the Kadie: Self Preservation. He spins about and goes darting through the trees in the opposite direction!

The dragon gives chase, causing minor floods all over the place! It even gets ahead of Gunther and rears up in front of him! Dragged along, the otters squeal and chirp while Isolde chitters angrily!

"Hey!" Gunther says as he skids to a halt and stands there defiantly! "I was just making sure you wouldn't hurt them," he even claims. "I wasn't even that close!"

The dragon's head darts forward, stopping a few inches from the Kadie's face and making a loud sniffing sound. Of course, since Gunther is dry, the musk scent hasn't been washed off of him like it has the girls…

Gunther keeps his arms crossed and glares right back. "What?" he finally asks it angrily. The scent connection hasn't quite set in yet.

The dragon licks its lips and whiskers, and then swallows Gunther whole! He's sloshed and tumbled and spun about in the water, feeling like he's been caught under one of the water wheels – and then he's dumped out into a muddy puddle when the dragon turns back into water, which dumps everyone else in the mud too! What's worse, though, is that Gunther's pants feel like they've shrunk and there's stuff throbbing that's never throbbed before and he's practically buzzing!

"Blarghph!" goes Gunther as he feels like he's going through one of his own traps! The Kadie flails about like mad, even when he lands with a splat into the mud. There's a moment of trashing, then a chitter of panic! "It attacked me! It did something!" he complains loudly and starts pulling off his pants to check the extent of his injuries.

Oh no, he's horribly… swollen? Nene and Bebe practically tackle him, covered in mud and the remains of their ceremonial nightgowns. "Gunther!" Bebe yells. "What did you do?" Nene grabs the Kadie right in his altered place, and says, "Check it out! Gunther's a man now!" Isolde just stands there, hands on hips, glowering down at the whole pile of them. Her shift is plastered to her as well, but is miraculously mud free, for better or for worse.

"What, what?" Gunther blurts, squirming around … right up until he's grabbed, "What are you talking about? Hey, let go of that!" Of course it's then that at least what he's staring at makes some sense. He's seen his father naked before after all. So … now Gunther just blinks.

"Gunther Kettenrad Wingnut," Isolde says in a voice so chilled it's a wonder the puddle doesn't freeze. "That energy was meant for this seasons crops," the witch says, pointing accusingly at Gunther's groin. "And now it's wasted! At least it wasn't a full charge though," the woman says, shaking her head letting out a tremendous sigh (which causes lots of weird feelings in Gunther right now). "The girls will have to start all over! Are you proud of yourself, young man?"

"No! I didn't defeat the dragon and rescue them," Gunther actually answers. "I'm supposed to protect them, and … stuff! They're my friends." To Nene, Gunther whispers, "Uhm, you can let go of that, it is really distracting… "

"And can't you just get the energy back or something? This is silly!" Gunther adds in complaint and flops his arms up and down.

"No way!" Nene chirps. "If I let go, Bebe will grab it!"

"Get it back?" Isolde asks with a growl. "Not without losing one of my Shrine Maidens in the process! No… just… go find Parsley! She'll get you back to normal." The witch throws her arms up in the air, which just makes Gunther feel warmer (although the twins are already making him feel like he's got a fever).

"Wait, what?" Gunther blurts, "I won't go back to normal without help?"

"This is magic, Gunther," Isolde notes. "And you'll start hurting if your condition isn't taken care of – and I'm not letting Nene or Bebe do it. It's a job for a bunny." There's another sigh, followed by, "In a few years, you'll be grateful for it. Now go, while you can still walk at least."

Gunther flails his arms around for a bit looking worried, angry, and flustered all at the same time. When he finally collects himself, he pries Nene's hand off and pulls his pants back on. "I was just making sure they would be safe," Gunther insists to Isolde, though his voice is at least a bit quieter now. And … off he goes, hoping Parsley or someone else who knows the proper ritual will be around. Zahn's place is closest, of course … so there first!

By the time he makes it to his brother's cabin, Gunther feels like he's carrying weights in his pants. There's no answer to his knocks, but he does hear the sound of the elevator, and someone humming (or muttering) to themselves like a Lapi.

Gunther ducks behind something to hide his, er, condition. "Parsley, is that you?" he calls out.

"Gunther?" replies the white-and-blond doe, carrying a lunch basket in the crook of her arm. Parsley looks around, her other hand raised to start working the door combination. "Where are you?"

"I have a problem and Isolde said only you can fix it," Gunther says and pokes his head out from around the tree. "The river dragon, er, ate me and something happened… "

The bunny stares blankly at this explanation, then says, "O-kay. What's the problem?"

"You have to promise you won't laugh first," Gunther insists.

"I promise to take whatever it is seriously and not laugh," the doe says, crossing her heart with her free hand.

So … Gunther steps out from around the tree, tight pants and all. He flaps his arms up and down as he says, "See! This is ridiculous! And getting uncomfortable! All I did was spy on them, I didn't deserve to be hexed!"

"Oh… OH!" Parsley says, as things become clear. "That dragon. Well, I thought it would be a few more years, but… go wait in your cabin and I'll be right there."

"Just … hurry! It's getting worse every minute!" Gunther complains as he tries to scamper (it's more of a waddle now), back down the bridge and towards his own cabin.

It takes quite a while for Parsley to show up, as Gunther sits and waits, having to shed his pants while he was still able to. When the doe finally does arrive, she's got a basket full of glass bottles and other things, and all of it smells a bit odd. She's also out of breath from having run to wherever she got them from.

Gunther looks decidedly uncomfortable at this point and fidgets even more than normal. "What is all of that?" he asks as he eyes the basket and its odd collection of stuff. "And why do you need it?" he asks suspiciously.

"Well, it's probably best you not worry about that," Parsley says, using her soothing voice. She removes one of the bottles, and tugs the wax plug off, and then quickly stuffs a cloth into it. "Now, if you were older I wouldn't have to use this," she explains, keeping the bottle held at arm's length. "But you're young and being awake for what's to come might… affect you. So I want you to stick your nose into this cloth and take some deep breaths, okay?"

Gunther takes the bottle, but doesn't breathe from it quite yet. "You're not playing a joke on me, are you?" he asks suspiciously. "Zahn has gotten me a few times with bottle tricks… "

"It's just to put you to sleep, Gunther," Parsley says with a warm smile. "And when you wake up, you'll be all back to normal."

"And not tied upside down in public?" Gunther asks warily.

Parsley blinks at that. "No, why would you… ah… Zahn, right?"

"Right," Gunther says. He eyes Parsley for a bit, but eventually he does stick his nose to the cloth and begin breathing. Of course the slight wincing of his eyes probably means things have started to get a bit painful.

With each snort, the pain seems to go away, along with most of the rest of the sensation of having a body. For a moment, Gunther seems to be floating near the ceiling, looking down while Parsley sets out more jars and clothes, and starts to undress. Then things get hazy, and time sort of stops making sense. For what seems like a long time, Gunther dreams that he is the river, or the dragon in the river, or the dragon playing with Nene and Bebe (and for some reason Isolde). The terrible heat he's felt turns to warmth, and by the time he starts to wake up the pain from the swelling has been replaced by a pleasant ache.

"Gurgle ptheth," moans Gunther from where he still lays. It seems to take him incredible effort to force his eyes open. And even then it takes time for them to focus enough that he can start to make out his surroundings. "Things still ache," he semi-slurs.

"That's normal," Parsley says. She packing things away in her basket now, but hasn't dressed yet. The air in the cabin seems hot and humid, and it smells… well, Gunther has never smelled anything like it before, but it probably means he has to take a bath at the very least.

Gunther forces himself to sit upright. It actually takes him a few minutes before he looks down to see if he is, in fact, back to normal. "What did you do?" he mumbles as he casts a glance at the jars she's packing away.

Everything looks back to normal, at least. "I had to relieve the swelling," Parsley says, turning to smile at the Kadie. "Now, you're probably a few minutes from getting a really bad headache if you don't get some water and juice into you. So get dressed, go to the kitchen first, get lots to drink and then you can go take a bath while your cabin airs out."

Gunther rubs his head a few times, then manages to dress himself, grateful that everything fits again. "Uhm, thanks," Gunther actually says before he slips out of his cabin and heads right for the kitchen to drink a lot of water and juice.

Parsley catches him when he comes out, and asks, "Now, have you had enough of river dragons? Or are you going to try and see the Milk Run dragon too?"

"There are more dragons?" Gunther asks. "I must find them!"

The doe puts her hand to her forehead. "No… no Gunther. If that one catches you, do you know what will happen?" she asks.

"No. What?" Gunther asks and crosses his arms.

"It won't swallow you whole," Parsley claims, grinning oddly. "It will bite off your berries and turn you into a girl!"

Gunther actually rolls his eyes. "Riiiight!" he says, "If that has happened, I would have heard about it by now!"

"Oh?" Parsley says, getting a wicked look on her face now. "So, you can't think of any oddly masculine girls or particularly girly boys in Stonebarrow?"

"Are you saying Amy was a boy once?" Gunther actually asks.

"Of course not," Parsley says. "The dragons were afraid of Amy. I'm just saying… if you get in trouble with a dragon again, I won't be able to help you. Nobody will."

"Why not? You helped me this time," Gunther points out. "It's because you want to be mean, isn't it?"

"No! It's because I could help you this time," Parsley says. "The Milk Run dragon is more dangerous though." She then tries to think of something discouraging. "You wouldn't want to end up like… Emmett, would you? Or… uh… Djivan? You'd have to leave town with the gypsies… "

"Ack!" Gunther says, "Okay, no Milk Run dragons!"

Parsley nods once. "That's the spirit! Now go take a bath. You smell like… well, never mind what you smell like, because I smell like it too. Let's go hit the hot springs, okay?"

"Sure! Race you there!" Gunther says and then darts off like mad. He never really slows down, does he?

The Lapi girl takes a deep breath before following after. "Good grief, what's he going to be like when he really does grow up?" she mutters, then grins and remembers when she and Clover were the Shrine Maidens.

Those poor dragons…