Ashton's gaze on the spider broke away when it was dismissed and the dragon's green human shaped eyes focused again on the demon. He thought Paxton might next ask him about his draconic powers since he'd been asking about the demon's abilities. He hoped, in futility, that Paxton would lose interest in talking about gold.
He was very wrong.
Immediately Ashton was on alert, alarms ringing in his head that drowned out logic, like that his gold was safe, that he didn't have to answer, that he could just walk away and not answer, lose the game. None of that occurred to him yet, just the threat that sat in front of him who wanted to take what was his like the Slayer who had cut into him with his cursed sword.
The transformation was almost immediate. Boy shifted to dragon, black clothes turning into hard dark scales, spiky hair turned into actual spines on the dragon's head as he uncoiled from the shape of a human. His long tail lashed against the nearby bookshelf, scattering books all over the floor and Ashton's wings opened, making him look twice as big as he was. The sound that came from his throat was big enough to fill the entire school as the dragon roared.
Snatching, he grabbed the demon to trap in a cage of obsidian talons on top of a pile of books and broken splinters from the chair Ashton had been calmly sitting in a moment before.
"Foolish thief!" he snarled, fire lighting his mouth from the glands deep in his throat. Silver mirror eyes with slit cut pupils glared down at Paxton. "You think to take my gold from me? Trick me to reveal my hoard?" brimstone heated air fanned out as he huffed. "I will not allow it!"