As you lean back in this dressing room, you need to think. How did you get in this situation that you're worrying about how you look in front of people?
Then again, you went with a bucket help for years on end so people wouldn't recognize your face... and, also, after a while, because it just made you feel safe.
...You wish you could say hat feeling the wind on your face was a relief, but considering the situation behind it, it's mostly just made you more uncomfortable. It's great to know that you can face down a dragon in open combat with nothing but a sword, a gun, a plan, fireproof armor, a trap...
Okay, bad example, but you considered yourself mostly fearless. Not *brave*, just fearless. Right now, you're undeniably afraid.
And it's paralyzing.

Then, you take in a deep breath... and exhale, right after. The heat of the pool seeps into the simple brickwork here, and you realize that... Well.
Out here, nobody really knows you. In a sense, that's freedom. No family history, no pity from people that remember you were a human once. So, instead, it's just... *you*. What are you right now. What you can do with all that. You look down at your body, your glittering scales... Is there not something beautiful about it, as well? You are careful not to let pride infect your thinking, but there is a certain level of self-love that you should permit yourself. If nothing else, Sarah considers you something worthy of loving.
She's the single smartest person you know. So... odds are she knows what she's talking about. Yes.
You begin to laugh.

How much longer are you going to sit here, trembling, at the thought of going into a bath? It's ridiculous. You stand up, and before you lose what nerve you managed to scrounge up, you push the door open, and close it behind you, a towel around your hips at least, as you walk past the crowds. This place may be included into the hotel, but you suppose it makes sense that the price tag is much more reasonable. You suspect this is how they keep their entire operation running. Exorbitant prices for their rooms, and a constant income from their bathhouse.
Thinking about the money side of things is just enough to stop you from thinking about all the stares you're getting, the children being pulled close to their mothers, and the silence that seemed to follow you as you entered. You don't let it slow you down, as you slink around the place. It's a sad fact of life that moving with anything resembling grace means slinking, now. You're just too long and... oddly flexible at the moment. Your torso is just made for it, and the tail only adds to it.
You look around for your people... and after a moment, you revel in the looks. At first it was scary, childish as it is, but...
Your scales glitter, your movements are graceful, your body is strong... Strong! STRONG!