《Genesis [Fantasy Adventure]》


 Chapter 1

    Today was a rather busy day at the little dive bar on the edge of town. I¡¯d been serving drinks and snacks non-stop since my shift had started a few hours ago, something I was rather grateful for as it kept my mind off of other, more painful things. It has been a year, but the ghost of that night still haunts me every day. I haven¡¯t been the same since then, life feels empty, and everything feels like it¡¯s obscured and distorted by static, growing worse every day.


    I had just placed down another beer for one of the regulars when someone approached the bar at the edge of my vision. Turning on the best smile I could manage, I turn towards them.


    Seconds pass before I register who is there in front of me, heart rate picking up as realization hits and the room seems to close in on me. I put down my palms on the edge of the counter, fingers digging into the wood as I barely manage to get the words out with a hiss, trying to stay in control. ¡°Markus. You¡¯re not welcome here.¡±


    He¡¯s dressed immaculately, as always, with the same false smile directed at me that he wore when apologizing for the accident. His voice is loud and clear, making sure others can hear him over the din of the bar. ¡°Oh, Ada, I didn¡¯t know you worked here. Quite the step down, is it not? Though, my dear, why would I not be welcome here? I don¡¯t recall visiting this place before.¡±


    His voice is grating in my ears as I bite my tongue to keep from saying too much. I couldn¡¯t keep talking to him, the memories were starting to flood back, the screeching of tires, the heat of the fire, the wetness of blood as she bled out in my arms. I take a deep breath, steeling myself as I look just past him, my eyes falling on the woman he was clearly here with, blonde and dainty, the exact opposite of Anya. Did he move on from his obsession after what he did, or was he just here to taunt me? I slowly exhale the breath I had been holding. ¡°You know why you¡¯re not welcome here. Your brother might protect you, but don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forget.¡± My eyes turn towards his, the venom dripping from every word I speak.


    He reaches across the counter and places a hand on mine, the disgusting feeling of his oily skin on my hand makes me want to snatch it away. ¡°Ada, dear, you wound me. Do you really still believe that what happened was on purpose? It was an accident, we both know that, everyone knows that. I am sorry that you lost your dear fianc¨¦e, and that you carried so many scars away from it, but¡­ wasn¡¯t it lucky I was there to call the ambulance? Most others would¡¯ve just fled and you¡¯d not be here either.¡±


    Incensed, I extract my hand from underneath his and lean forward. ¡°You are one sick asshole, you know that? Anya was my wife, NOT my fianc¨¦e, and you know that. That¡¯s why you did what you did after all.¡± My anger drips from my words, and before I can stop myself, my hand flies out and slaps him across the face. His shocked expression is priceless.


    My voice drops to a deep growl as I speak again, loud enough to be heard by the others sitting at the bar, their attention clearly on me. ¡°Leave. Now. Never come back.¡±


    The woman next to Markus finally speaks, the first time since they got here. Her voice is shrill as she screams at me. ¡°How dare you! Assaulting someone like Markus!¡± She tugs at his arm as she turns to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this rotten establishment, I am sure there are much better places.¡± She begins to stride out as Markus scrambles after her, his composure clearly broken.


    I take a deep breath as I survey the bar. It¡¯s quiet now, people are staring. What I did is only now starting to set in, alongside the memories of that night. My eyes widen, the silence is deafening. I need to go somewhere else, away from the people¡­ but I can¡¯t leave the bar. I turn from side to side before finally dashing into the back-room, fishing out my cell phone and making a call to the owner.


    It rings a few moments before Celine picks up. ¡°Hey Ada, everything ok?¡± Her voice is calm, concerned. I don¡¯t usually call her while on shift.


    I try to speak, but my voice forsakes me as only a pitiful sound escapes me. The line is quiet for a few moments as I try again to find my voice, with little luck. My throat is tight, the taste of smoke in my mouth as I gag a little, unable to breathe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I can, hold on for a few more minutes.¡± Her voice is reassuring as I respond with a small whimper, she knew what happened a year ago, she was my best friend after all. ¡°Take a few deep breaths and sit down, wait for me.¡± The line goes silent as she hangs up. I slump to the ground next to the door leading back into the bar. Drawing my legs close to my body, I remind myself to breathe in and out, slow and steady. The quiet din of the bar behind the door has picked up again. It¡¯s not as oppressively silent anymore, though the quiet murmurs remind me of the hospital, all the whispers and the pity in the looks.


    I don¡¯t know how much time passed before I¡¯m pulled back into the here and now by Celine squatting down in front of me, one gloved hand reaching out to me, a small soothing smile on her face. ¡°Hey there.¡±


    I take another breath and swallow before I manage to speak. ¡°Hey there.¡± I realize I have been crying, my mouth is dry and my cheeks are wet from the tears.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you¡¯re doing very well, Ada. I shouldn¡¯t have let you work alone, not today of all days. What happened?¡± She places her hand on my knee and soothes me a little with some gentle strokes.


    I shake my head a little as I stammer out his name. ¡°M-Markus¡­ he was here.¡±


    Celine¡¯s eyes widen at my words, her other hand tightening into a fist. ¡°I see, you should probably go home, rest a little. Today must¡¯ve been hard. Do you want me to take you? I¡¯ll just have to close up, it won¡¯t take long.¡±


    Considering her words for a few moments, I eventually shake my head, I don¡¯t want to burden her with my issues, she was already doing so much for me. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine¡­ probably. I might visit her grave before I go home¡­¡± I feel the sting in my chest, the heartache still as present as if it were yesterday.


    She considers me for a few moments, before she sighs and nods her head. ¡°Alright, but, please, if you need me, I am just a call away, alright? You don¡¯t need to be alone with this.¡±


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    A tight smile is all I can manage. ¡°I know, I¡¯ll try¡­ maybe we can watch a movie together sometime¡­¡± Even as I say it, it feels hollow, just like everything does nowadays.


    Celine stands up and holds out a hand to me to help me up. ¡°I¡¯ll take over for the rest of today, please stay safe, and the offer of my therapist is still open, you know? It wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    I take her hand and let her help me up, but I don¡¯t respond as I ease out the creases on my work clothes before grabbing my coat from the hanger nearby. I turn towards her and give another smile. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, yeah?¡±


    She shakes her head as she steps up to the door. ¡°Only if you feel better.¡± She opens it for me and motions me through, the concern is plain in her eyes, concern for little broken me. I don¡¯t feel like I deserve it, but I don¡¯t tell her as much.


    I make my way out of the bar, avoiding the glances thrown my way, and step out into the chilly night, a slight drizzle coating the road. Pulling up my coat, I start making my way through the little town we live in, to the graveyard where Anya is buried.


    The rain had gotten a bit stronger on my way there, but I don¡¯t mind; It keeps my thoughts from wandering as I make my way through the rows of gravestones, until I finally reach her. Tucked away into a little corner, underneath a willow tree, sits her gravestone, a rather simple one, with her name engraved on it and not much else. She never wanted more than that.


    I squat down in front of it and run my fingers across her name, recalling the good times we had together, how we met in a little bookshop in another town. The travels we went on, our first kiss at a moonlit pond not far from here.


    A small sigh escapes as my recollection continues: the day she proposed, despite our love being so different, our small and lovely wedding, the honeymoon and then, just a few short days later, she died. The accident, which really was anything but. Markus had been stalking and harassing her for a while. We had planned to move to another city soon, as we couldn¡¯t do much about Markus here, with the chief of police being his brother and all. We never expected him to go that far.


    My fingers trail across the contour of a knife fastened to my belt, one I¡¯d been carrying ever since the accident. Anya had gifted it to me for one of our camping trips a few years ago. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t quite sure what I planned to use it for. Clearly not its intended purpose, but maybe vengeance? Probably, though it wasn¡¯t really an option. Maybe as a way out. It was something I¡¯d considered on some days, like today, the ones where it all just seemed hopeless.


    I sit down on the stone, leaning back against the gravestone. ¡°Hey Anya, I hope wherever you are is a better place, if there¡¯s anywhere you are now, that is.¡± The tears I shed are washed away by the rain as I look into the sky. ¡°I miss you. Today has not been a good day. One of those days I consider joining you. But you wouldn¡¯t want that, you¡¯d want me to try my best to keep living. It¡¯s not easy.¡±


    The rain drowns out my sobs as I break down into tears, the reality of her loss so fresh on my mind, luckily the rest of the cemetery is empty due to the rain, there¡¯s no one here to disturb me. Eventually, my legs hugged in close, I manage to still myself a little. ¡°I¡¯ll try, my love, even if I am like this sometimes¡­ I just wish you were here with me.¡±


    My thoughts drift before they are snapped back into focus as something shifts. It¡¯s nothing in my surroundings, at least not anything visible. The static that I¡¯ve been feeling over the past year grows in intensity, washing over my senses, drowning them out for a few moments. I manage to fight through it, though. The static is still there however, it feels almost like it is pushing into me, causing me a little bit of pain, slowly growing in intensity the more the static grows.


    The static doesn¡¯t exactly feel wrong, despite the pain it is causing me, it feels familiar. Familiar in a way that I do not like, in a way that is quickly breaking down barriers I¡¯d built over decades. Barriers shielding me from memories I had long repressed, pushed away into the furthest corners of my mind.


    The first memories that come back to me are from before things turned bad, from when I was still very little. Memories of playing in the backyard, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends or with my mother, each of them happy, each of them ending with the same static as I am experiencing now, just less obscuring, and coming mostly from inside. When my mother is there, the static doesn¡¯t cause pain, she seems to teach me, calls it magic. Similar memories come flooding back, but they quickly turn darker. My mother disappears from them, then my father becomes unpleasant. The static is there in these memories too, it¡¯s always there, hiding me from his ire when he is drunk, its pain is better than that he¡¯d inflict on me. I age in the memories, my happy times turning darker and darker with every passing day, my body feeling more wrong the older I get, the magic slowly fading. Then, there¡¯s the day the magic disappears entirely. That day, my father dies. Spontaneous self combustion the news called it. I knew better, and I knew better than to tell them, I told him, about me, about feeling wrong, about the magic, he called me an abomination. Tried to make me disappear, just like mother. I didn¡¯t let him, burning what little I still had alongside him.


    More memories come and go in a blur, of teenage years living with fear, wanting nothing else but to not be me anymore, to finally be free of that body. Then they stop, as suddenly as the memories came, they are gone again. My consciousness returns to the real world, and I try to shove the memories back into the farthest recesses of my mind. It takes me a long few moments to realize I collapsed entirely to the ground, curled up into a fetal position, still shaking. The rain has drenched me, but I do not care. Instead, I grasp for the static, pulling it into me, the pain spikes alongside it, though its feeling is still familiar, safe despite the pain, and the more I grasp for it, the less obscured the world feels.


    I lay there for minutes, slowly recovering, I can¡¯t tell whether the magic is real, or just a fabrication of my broken mind, but regardless, it helps. Eventually, I manage to sit up, leaning back against Anya¡¯s headstone, and I start giggling. ¡°Magic, Anya. Can you imagine?¡± My words barely make it out, the giggles quickly replaced by sobs again. ¡°If only it were real. Maybe I could¡¯ve saved you. Or maybe it is, and I failed you.¡± My mind rages against that idea, if magic is real, and I had known of it, then why is my wife dead? Did I kill her, am I responsible for her death? My mind begins to spiral again, my memories tearing down the walls I am trying to build up again, clawing into me, slowly pulling me under again.


    What saves me is a loud rumbling sound, the thunder of lightning high up in the sky, but more visceral than anything I heard before, pressing into me on an existential level. My eyes are drawn upwards, where a giant black ball of lightning floats, its presence sucking up the light, darkening even the gloom of the storm. A tendril of lightning arcs from it and into the ground somewhere far away, and the rumble repeats, the visceral feeling returns. I have a hard time parsing what is happening, my mind is broken, and the sky broke alongside it. Not just the sky, I belatedly realize. It¡¯s not just the lightning causing the rumble, but the earth itself shifts beneath me, cracking, but not in the way of an earthquake. Like reality is breaking apart.


    My giggles return, it¡¯s the only way I know how to cope with this. With the end of the world. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if I failed you, Anya. I am sorry though, I am joining you today after all. I hope you forgive me.¡± Another rumble passes through me, taking my consciousness with it. The last thing I see is a crack in reality spreading across the graveyard, heading straight for me. I hope death by disintegration still lets me go to where Anya is.

 Chapter 2

    Some time later, I awake with a splitting migraine, the static of magic drowning out my senses as I lay on the ground. Pulling in the magic into my body calms the static, clearing up my senses as it did before. The pull of the magic causes me to squirm in pain, though it quickly subsides as more of it enters my body. Alongside it, my migraine starts to recede a little, the over stimulation having caused it in the first place.


    The magic inside of me feels different however, it is not just a small ember beneath my heart, instead it feels like a raging inferno encompassing my entire body. Though unlike before, it does not hurt me, the sensation of it feels right, natural, like my body needs it to live. It continues to squirm underneath my skin, it¡¯s hard to tell where the magic starts and my body ends, almost like I am one with it, and it is just waiting for a signal to follow. Almost like it is anticipating something, though I am not sure what, and as to what purpose.


    Eventually I start to blink open my eyes, and am happy to discover that the migraine seems to be slowly subsiding, luckily the light is dim and doesn¡¯t aggravate it again. There¡¯s only a little bit of moonshine breaking through the leaves of the tree, though despite the night, I do not feel cold. I slowly get up from where I was laying next to my wife¡¯s gravestone and take a look at my surroundings. The air, or ambient magic, I am not sure, has a taste to it that I can¡¯t quite place, and that isn¡¯t exactly a taste. I decide to ignore it for now, there are more pressing issues to consider.


    The willow tree seems to have grown a lot, it shadows almost the entire area now, where before it had barely reached above her grave. A small shudder goes through me as I try to figure out just how long I had been knocked out. That is when I notice that other graves seem to have disappeared, at least I can not find them anywhere nearby. Whatever happened before I got knocked out must¡¯ve done a number on pretty much everything it seems, maybe it gave the tree a little bit of a growth spurt. I sigh wistfully, my wife had wanted to nurture a tree in her death, so I am glad she got her wish.


    As I reach out to the tree to feel its bark, I freeze in place. My hand seems to have changed as well, not just everything around me. And it¡¯s not just my hand, I am quick to notice, but my skin and arm as well, and probably more. A slight shudder goes through me, the change feels so natural I didn¡¯t even notice. I try not to linger too long on that thought, and to instead assess the changes.


    The first thing that stands out is that my skin is starkly different, it is covered in a layer of tiny feathers, kind of like scales or the fuzz of moths, layered tightly enough to create a smooth yet soft sensation to my fingers.


    My fingers have elongated quite a bit and moved slightly further apart. The skin of my hand is much more capable of stretching, allowing for much greater flexibility, something that is clearly needed as I seem capable of moving the bones that usually form the palm area. As I flex them a few times, I notice that my skin seems to reflect light in different ways at different angles, as if the scales are some sort of prisms. It is a fascinating and mesmerizing phenomenon that catches my attention for a long few moments. It is so different and yet it feels like my skin should¡¯ve always been this way. My hands though seem strange to me, they do not look quite human anymore, yet they aren¡¯t so foreign I am appalled by them, they still feel like me.


    My arms and torso are in a similar state, they have changed but in ways that are not appalling to me, I am slightly more bulky and muscular, and I notice a much greater flexibility in my joints. Stretching my fingers, the movement comes to me naturally and without issue, and I can feel the muscles shift beneath my skin, they¡¯re different, almost squirming in their movement, but not entirely foreign.


    I glance down towards my legs and notice that they, too, have shifted, into a very digitigrade composition at that, and my feet have changed similarly to my hands. As I crouch down I can reach much lower to the ground than I could before, or rather, in a much easier manner; keeping the muscles in my legs tight and ready for action. Another feeling comes to me too, one that I follow out of curiosity, compelling me to get on all fours. It is an easy shift, more so than I anticipated even.


    It¡¯s also quite comfortable I note, as I step closer to the tree, my toes bury into the grass beneath me with an ease that belies their apparent lack of toe nails, something that is also reflected on my fingers. It doesn¡¯t seem to interfere with sensation or usability, so my changed body must be compensating for it in some way regardless.


    I settle with my back against the tree and wrap my tail around it. A tail I very much did not have before, and failed to notice, somehow, its movement comes easily to me, as natural as any other limb, moreso even somehow. And it is long, long enough to wrap around the tree and have the tip of it next to me. It is covered in the same little scale feathers as the rest of my body, and I can feel the strength teeming in it. I hadn¡¯t been exactly dissatisfied with how I looked or anything, though there had been a slight gnawing of there being potential for more, even after all these years. The changes my body underwent while I was knocked out are certainly more, a lot more, than I¡¯d have imagined even in my wildest dreams. And yet, the changes don¡¯t feel wrong, just slightly foreign and foreboding as the magic continues to squirm in me. It feels almost like the magic is merely waiting for an impetus to act, to change. Into what, or what it will do, is a mystery to me, however.


    As I consider the magic and what to do from now on, I relax more against the tree, and start to feel a soft warmth exude from it, and a gentle breeze caresses my cheek. I could swear I hear my wife¡¯s voice, though I can¡¯t make out her words; it pulls me out of my thoughts and my surroundings come back into a stark focus. That¡¯s when I notice a small shimmer pass through the air, it is too short to make out the exact shape, but it is soon followed by another. It doesn¡¯t take long to notice that there is some sort of dome surrounding the area around the grave. Slowly getting up, I stalk up towards the edge of the clearing, still on all fours as I do so, my tail trailing behind me. A small shiver goes down my spine as it loses contact to the tree, though it is quickly banished as another breeze brushes through my¡­ fur? I am not sure what to call it quite yet. The breeze seems to carry a soft reassurance with it, one that makes me slow down a little, and I glance back to the grave. It is still there, standing still and silent as it had before, yet I can¡¯t shake the feeling of not being alone, of her being here with me, and not just in the sentimental way either.


    As I reach the dome, I quickly notice that it seems to obscure everything outside of it, in some way that I can¡¯t quite comprehend. I still see what is outside, and yet it seems quite disconnected, like a mirage that flees the mind as soon as you focus on it. It is frankly quite unsettling and I move along the edge to see if it is this way everywhere. The presence I sense follows along, though it is so faint it almost feels like another trick of my mind, that is until another breeze goes across my body once more, as if to remind me that it¡¯s real. It¡¯s odd, I want to speak to whoever this is, yet I know that speaking would maybe break the spell, or just be futile in itself, so I hold my words for now, instead letting myself be soothed by this ghost of days past. Even if it is just an illusion, it helps my mind stay rooted in the now, somewhere I am aware that I am probably in shock, unable to fully process all that has happened yet, but I do not yet have the safety to think on it, the place I am at may have been my wife¡¯s grave in the past, but it is clearly different now.


    I eventually finish a full circle around the dome while lost in thought, no parts of it seem to be quite different to the rest, it is a perfect encapsulation of the clearing, shielding this place from the outside world. Or, well, keeping me prisoner, though I choose to believe it is meant to protect. Making my way back to the center where the tree stands, I reach a hand out and touch its bark, the warmth fills me once more, it feels almost like the magic inside of my body, yet it feels more soothing and calm, I do not taste this magic, like I do the ambient magic, and yet I want to know what it would taste like. I take a few moments before deciding what to do next, I need to know what is going on, and as reluctant as I am to break this spell, I know I can not stay here forever, eventually I¡¯d need to find food and water.


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    Opening my mouth to speak, to address the presence with me, my words come out a garbled mess as for the first time I notice my tongue has changed too, the failure at speaking is accompanied by what sounds like a giggle on the breeze, yet it is too indistinct to make out. I take a moment for a quick inspection of my tongue, which tells me that it is much longer and more flexible, almost like my tail, though not quite, it is much thinner and feels less potent in its strength. A sigh escapes me as I try to figure out how to speak with the tongue, and it takes me a few long minutes of different attempts before I find my voice again. While I do so, I also notice a few other changes to my mouth, it seems to have elongated a slight bit, almost like a cats snout, and my teeth are much sharper than before, though it¡¯s hard to tell if that is all that has changed with them.


    ¡°Well, I am not sure who, or what you are, but¡­¡± I sigh a little, trying to gather my thoughts. ¡°Your presence feels a lot like my wife did, and this is her grave.¡± I point towards it with my tail. ¡°So, yeah. I honestly have no idea what is going on, or what happened, and now I seem to be stuck here, and you¡¯re the only thing around so, if you can maybe help me get out of here?¡± A breeze brushes across my cheek again, it feels like an answer, but not one I can quite parse, it is reassuring though. ¡°I¡¯d love to talk to you more, though I am not sure how well you understand me, and I can¡¯t understand much from you.¡± My head turns to look towards the border of the little area I am in. ¡°Can you even bring down that barrier?¡±


    It takes a few moments before I get a response, which comes in the form of the barrier flickering a few times, before the outside world comes more into focus, the mirage like effect from before gone, though the barrier itself is still clearly there, a slightly indistinct haze in the air. Hesitating a moment, I eventually manage to break away from the tree and approach the barrier, the closer I get, the more details I can make out. The outside seems to be a wide open field of grass, a mountain in the far distance I can barely make out. It takes me a few moments to realize that it is, in fact, still the middle of the night, and yet I can see almost unimpeded, more colors and things greeting my vision than I had ever seen before. As I consider that, I am startled as a rabbit rises up out of the grass in front of me just outside the barrier, before hopping off, leaving a trail of burning grass behind as flames are expelled with each little hop.


    I stare at the embers for far too long, trying to wrap my head around what I just witnessed, the heat that is slowly dispersing into the air does of course not help my fascination, I can see each trickle slowly dissipate into the ambient temperature, until it finally is all gone. A magical fire bunny and the ability to see heat. I fight the urge to giggle at the absurdity of it, it shouldn¡¯t even be that absurd to me considering the other changes to my own body, and yet, seeing the reality of it in another living being and being able to use a brand-new sense is a stark difference. I take a deep breath trying to calm myself, no point in getting into this now, instead, I decide to test whether the barrier still traps me in here. Reaching out, I place a hand against it, and it appears to be quite solid, growing more opaque where I touch and with more pressure. My instincts tell me that I can¡¯t break through it physically, no matter what I try, the magic though seems to resonate with me in some way. My own magic squirms beneath my skin in response to the contact, wanting to¡­ I am not sure what it quite wants, it feels hungry, I feel hungry in a way that I have never before. Like the magic is a meal made just for me, the smell, which isn¡¯t quite a smell but some other sense, makes the saliva gather in my mouth.


    I cautiously retract my hand for the moment, I want to taste it, but I do not know how, or how safe it would be, nor do I know what is outside yet. Before experimenting, I decide to take another round around the barrier''s edge, to see what else I can spot, though before I start, I take a glance towards the tree in the middle. I had not noticed the thermal sense before, despite the warmth emanating from the tree when touching it. Looking at it now, it looks just as before, no special heat signatures or anything I can tell, maybe the warmth I felt was more of a feeling of safety? It¡¯s hard to tell, the magic might also be relevant in it. I shake my head and turn back towards the outside of the barrier.


    The moon is still high in the sky, its dim light shining on me. I observe it for a bit longer, considering my options. Trying to¡­ eat the barrier might not be a smart idea, but neither would be violence, I am fairly sure, though I can¡¯t exactly stay here forever, I will need food and water eventually. My head tilts to the side as I hear a rustle of some sort, that isn¡¯t quite a rustle. It is similar to the taste of magic, my brain processing a new sense in some roundabout way? I hadn¡¯t heard anything from outside the barrier before, even when the rabbit jumped earlier, which makes me more confident in it being magic. Turning towards the source of the sound, it seems to come from the other side of my little circle of safety. Instead of starting to move quickly, I calm my nerves, and quietly start making my way towards the source, my feet, or paws? Softly hit the ground, making barely a sound as I approach.


    Staying low to the ground, I finally see the source of the sound. Someone is outside of the barrier, the sight is too blurry for me to make out exact details, though I can tell that their hand seems to be placed on the outside of the barrier. I observe for a bit, the rustling grows in intensity, despite there being no visible movement. That is, until small cracks seem to spread out from where they touch, quickly covering the entire barrier. Slinking back, anxiety starts to grip me, clearly the cracks couldn¡¯t be a good thing for the integrity of the barrier, and this person had a clear grasp on their magic, assuming it is magic, which means I am at an unknown disadvantage, should they be hostile.


    Going through my options, I realize I don¡¯t exactly have many. I can try an ambush, but that would most likely destroy any chances at a conversation or help, the same goes for running, assuming I even can. Shaking my body, I raise myself up and settle down on the ground in front of them, preparing to greet them in the open. They don¡¯t seem to have noticed me yet.


    After a few moments of waiting, the cracks covering the barrier seem to pulse, it almost feels like they¡¯re expanding, though trying to watch them closely starts to cause me a headache almost immediately. Before I can look away, the barrier breaks apart, into thousands of tiny pieces, all without a sound, not even the magical kind, as if whatever magic was being done just vanished into itself. A shudder goes through me, breaking my fascination with the shards, and reminding me that I am not along anymore. My eyes snap back to where the stranger was standing earlier.


    Standing there is a woman wearing a long coat made from some kind of deep blue material; she seems to be quite a bit taller than me, even considering the fact of my reduced size now, she¡¯d have been taller than me before I changed, and I wasn¡¯t exactly a short woman before. She has short blue hair with a pair of black horns growing down from the top of her head, covering her temples. Behind her head floats a shifting fractal, similar to the final moments of the barrier, its form overall gives the impression of a halo. This one doesn¡¯t disappear on its own though, quickly starting to cause me another headache, so I avert my eyes downwards.


    Her eyes are surrounded in pale blue scales, which start at the base of a cute button nose, and after covering her eyes, start trailing off towards the horns, where they disappear. An old scar leads from the bottom of her jaw line all the way up to her eyebrows, crossing over one of her eyes, the scales hiding a good part of it, but not the entirety. Her eyes have a similar effect to the halo, though in a much less intense way, allowing me to meet them without shying away immediately. Much like the fractal kaleidoscope of her halo, her eyes are changing at a slow but consistent pace, the color and patterns I can see are never the same. I am so fixated on her face, and especially her eyes, that I don¡¯t even notice when she starts speaking, it takes her closing her eyes for a few seconds to break the spell they placed upon me.

 Chapter 3

    Mia


    The barrier crumbles as Mia¡¯s fractal magic finally takes hold, having taken longer than a barrier of this size would usually take, though even then, it hadn¡¯t been more than an hour.


    As it comes down, it reveals a small hill with a tree on it, a grave resting beneath it. The stark lack of a magical presence that natural treasures usually exude, and which would usually be the source of a barrier like this in the middle of nowhere, is quite a surprise for Mia. Something was wrong, but she couldn¡¯t place what. That is, until her eyes finally fall onto a creature, sitting in the middle of the grass in front of her, staring up at her.


    The presence it exudes is odd, almost non-existent. Even less mana leaks from it than from an old world rabbit. Even ambush predators like the shade leopards, which this creature does resemble in some ways, leak more mana unless they are actively hiding. This creature, however, was not making any attempt to do that. Instead it just sits there, looking up at her with its big eyes, a frankly massive tail swaying in the air behind it.


    Upon closer scrutiny, there are a few humanoid features to the creature, though they are mostly subsumed by the more animalistic parts. The skin is covered in some form of scales. It¡¯s an odd sight to Mia, not one she had seen before, almost like a mix between some kind of lizard, human and cat. Finally she meets its eyes. It doesn¡¯t shy away, and there is a clear curiosity in its eyes, more so than most beasts have, though while intelligent and even sapient  animals aren¡¯t exactly uncommon anymore, they do tend to have a very domineering presence to them.


    ¡°Hey there, little one.¡± Mia starts to speak in the common tongue. If the creature is intelligent, it should be able to understand her, the magic innate to the language allows almost anyone to speak and understand it, given enough long term exposure to the ambient mana.


    In reply however, the creature sitting in front of her just tilts its head, small red streaks passing across its scales as something squirms beneath. The squirming stops after a second, and the creature finally replies. ¡°Hello, I don¡¯t think I understand you.¡± It does not speak in the common tongue, the words instead take her a few moments to recognize. English, albeit one that has some peculiarity to its pronunciation, as if the mouth that forms the words is not made for them. She hadn¡¯t spoken English in well over two centuries, when the last of the people from her hometown died in battle, not long after the genesis.


    It takes Mia a minute to figure out a reply. ¡°I understand you. You speak English?¡± She takes a step closer and squats down, to get on the same eye level as the creature in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m Mia, and you?¡±


    The creature tilts its head again, considering her words, another flicker of colors goes across its skin before it replies. ¡°Ada, I¡¯m¡­¡± Ada hesitates for a moment before continuing. ¡°new here, just arrived, so to say.¡± Ada clearly doesn¡¯t trust Mia, she concludes, though it isn¡¯t surprising, they did just meet.


    Mia nods and reaches out a hand, palm facing up, for Ada to familiarize itself with her. ¡°Where are you from? I¡¯m from the kingdom''s outpost up in the mountains.¡±


    Ada considers the outstretched hand for a few moments before taking a step closer, looking at it more closely and giving it a little sniff. ¡°Your magic smells funny. It also looked funny when you used it, at least this one doesn¡¯t give me a migraine.¡± Ada grimaces a little and reaches its front paw, or hand? Mia isn¡¯t quite sure, towards its throat. ¡°Sorry, words are harder in this body than I thought. I¡¯m from a small town that¡¯s around here, it¡¯s¡­¡± Ada motions towards the north-east. ¡±well, was over there? I guess it¡¯s gone now? Just how much has changed?¡±


    It takes Mia a little bit to process what Ada had told her. It, or she? There was a slight feminine tilt to Ada¡¯s speech, but nothing quite distinct, probably due to the difficulties speaking. Ada had been a human before, probably. And wherever they are now, would¡¯ve been close to where she had lived before, not that that quite mattered with the genesis changing the geography to such an extreme extent.


    ¡°Well, Ada, have you been here long? The barrier I broke seemed quite sturdy, and I don¡¯t think you were the one to cast it.¡± Mia slightly inclines her head upwards to where the barrier had been, her eyes still staying on Ada¡¯s as she observes her.


    Ada tilts her head before shrugging her shoulders a little. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I woke up a little while ago next to my wife''s grave.¡± Her tail points towards a gravestone Mia had missed before. ¡°And well, I was changed! And there¡¯s magic now! You probably know that already though.¡± Her eyes move towards Mia¡¯s halo for a second before returning to her eyes, the movement elicits a slight bit of surprise from Mia. Most people never noticed it unless she was actively using magic. ¡°You used some after all. Not sure I should even be telling you this.¡± Ada rights her head as a few lines of color flow across her skin.


    Mia patiently listens as Ada talks, considering her words for a moment before speaking again. ¡°So, you were human before? Wouldn¡¯t be the only one that changed.¡± She points towards her horns. ¡°Though I¡¯ve not seen many with changes quite this extreme, not involuntarily at least. Most end up with some slightly different features, like mine. Magic can do more if directed to do so.¡±


    ¡°So, you changed your eyes to have that same magic in them? Wait, no, the exact mechanics aren¡¯t really relevant right now. I am¡­ a bit lost. The barrier, I think it was meant to protect me, though I am not sure who or what placed it.¡± Ada hops up from the ground, landing on all fours as she heads up the hill, her tail splitting in two and motioning for Mia to follow her. Though, she stops for a second at that motion, looking back towards the split tail with a curious expression, the curiosity intensifying as lines flow across her skin. There seems to be a differing pattern to them every time they show up. There¡¯s a quiet ¡°huh¡± from Ada before she continues leading them up the hill.


    She stops next to a gravestone that looks much less weathered than anything should be in this area; storms were relatively frequent here. ¡°This is Anya¡¯s.¡± Ada¡¯s voice has a clear note of hurt to it, though she looks back towards Mia after just a moment, her tails merging back together. ¡°I¡­ know I shouldn¡¯t, and probably can¡¯t stay here. I can taste the magic changing already from when the barrier was there.¡± Her eyes turn to the tree near them. ¡°I think the tree had to do with it, you came here looking for something, no?¡±


    Mia had come looking for natural treasures, but if the tree was it, then it wouldn¡¯t do much good. The closer they had gotten, the more clear it became that it was almost entirely drained of its power. It¡¯d take another century to recover at least. So, instead, she just shakes her head. ¡°I did, but there¡¯s nothing here for me, not anymore. You can come with me, you are right that you can¡¯t stay here, you probably won¡¯t last long this far out into the frontiers.¡±


    There¡¯s a slightly dejected look on her face, accompanied by yet another pattern of lines, before she gives a sharp nod. ¡°I¡¯ll come back eventually. She always wanted me to live to the best of my ability, regardless of what others think or say. Staying here would defy that. You said you¡¯re from a kingdom? In the mountains? What is it like? And¡­ how long has it been?¡± Mia chuckles slightly as she starts leading them down the hill again.


    ¡°A few centuries, it¡¯s hard to keep track of the exact time, especially with all the chaos in the aftermath of the genesis¡­ and well, as we grow older our perception does also change quite drastically, it starts to become a bit of a blur eventually.¡± She shrugs a little as her fractal magic starts flowing from her halo. ¡°The kingdom is¡­ not great. Has never been. But it¡¯s the strongest power this side of the great wastes. There¡¯s not much choice for me sadly. Try not to get tangled up in the mess once we get there, you don¡¯t have enough power for anyone to really care.¡±


    The magic stops flowing as it manifests in the air around her, solidifying and shifting her body into her preferred form, one mostly made up of magic as her wings stretch high into the sky, and a roar, both high and low pierces through the air, shattering its physical bounds as the magic in it tears apart any obstruction. Her little companion takes it all a little too well, most people are afraid when they see her draconic form, the blue luster of her scales proudly displayed. Ada though, seems mostly unaffected, the roar flowing around Ada as it reaches her, her eyes fixate on Mia¡¯s form a moment later, though the strain is clearly showing, it doesn¡¯t seem to originate in fear, more in the complexity of Mia¡¯s magic, and in appreciation of her form.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Ada


    I am still processing my new friend''s words when she starts leaking magic all over the place, the same kind of migraine inducing magic as before, but this time it¡¯s more manageable. Either I¡¯ve gotten more used to it, or there is a difference to how it works. Some of it comes close to my body and I get a closer feeling for it. It¡¯s not warm like the tree, but rather a dichotomy between heat and cold, switching between them at a rapid pace. Pulling a little at it, my body happily absorbs it, just like the ambient magic. As it courses through me it quickly is subsumed by the rest of the magic, making me wonder how it would feel like to someone else.


    My thoughts are interrupted when Mia lets out a roar, the sound just as contradictory as the magic it is suffused in, and as it washes over me I focus on absorbing some of it. It resists the attempt, only allowing me to eat a tiny wisp. The vast majority of it flows around me though, leaving me unharmed. I look towards Mia. The body she now has causes me a slight bit of discomfort, though it is also beautiful. Her scales are the same blue as the ones that had surrounded her eyes, and her wings are almost translucent, the membrane is covered in a myriad of tiny patterns, most likely from her magic. Sniffing the air, I can tell that her body has an overwhelming smell of magic, but there is still that same smell as when I smelled her hand, the smell of her body. I am not sure where the magic starts and where her body ends, but I can tell that this is her, just like her humanoid form is.


    As I slowly start pacing closer towards her, Mia cranes her long neck around. She is, overall, rather slim, though not so slim as to be a serpent. ¡°Get on my back, little one, I¡¯ll carry you.¡± Her voice is deep and the earth rumbles as she speaks. A thump makes me look towards her tail as she places it on the ground to form a ramp. I hop onto it and climb onto her back, my movements quick and sure, the extra balance my tail provides coming in quite handy.


    Settling on her back, I raise my voice slightly so she can hear me well. ¡°You said several centuries passed. I¡­ have been asleep since magic came back. I am, admittedly, a bit lost.¡± The words are still rather difficult to speak. While they are familiar, my tongue and mouth are not, straining them in the process.


    Mia lets out a small rumble in acknowledgement as she spreads her wings, and I can feel the air press down as she beats them, lifting into the air far quicker than someone of her size has any right to. I mutter a silent goodbye to Anya as Mia starts to gain more height. She replies to me in between the beat of her wings. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure whether that was the case, but thank you for confirming. When magic came back, that day is called the genesis now. It¡¯s been a long time, and society, or at least, the few surviving dregs of it, adjusted long ago and things have changed. A lot of people don¡¯t even remember the before, most because they were born after, some for other reasons. You¡¯ll have a lot of adjusting to do.¡± Mia accelerates and the ground beneath us turns into a blur as she rushes us higher into the sky and across the plains.


    When Mia finally evens out into a steady flight, I can appreciate the surroundings of us. The sun is slowly cresting the horizon far in the distance, illuminating a wide river crossing through the grassy plains. One thing I note though, is that the entire plains do not seem to have a single tree growing on them, except the willow at the grave. That is, until far in the distance towards the west, a massive forest starts sprouting out of the ground. I am not quite certain due to the distance, but it looks like it reaches all the way to the horizon in the south, and the mountains we are flying towards in the north. The mountains in the north seem to be the tail end of a mountain range, reaching all the way into the clouds and beyond. I assume that is where the outpost Mia had talked about previously is located.


    ¡°This is amazing, Mia, do you often fly like this?¡± I feel giddy and want to start prancing around on her back, but I stop myself, unsure of whether I can keep my balance with the strong winds buffeting us.


    Mia¡¯s voice is still a rumble, even more intensified by the direct contact with her. It feels soothing in a way. ¡°Whenever I can, there¡¯s nothing better than being able to fly.¡± A small giggle escapes me at the elation in her words, a giggle that turns into a surprised yelp as she banks to the side, spiraling downwards before steadying out again. Her body rumbles again in what I think is laughter.


    ¡°That was mean!¡± I grumble a little before speaking again. ¡°You said others have changed in appearance too? Is it common? I feel¡­ right, so I don¡¯t mind it, but it was a bit of a surprise! And it does take some getting used to!¡±


    It takes a few long moments until Mia replies to me, her voice considerate and slow. ¡°Yes, most people have changed, in fact. Though usually it is rather involuntary, and more often than not it is a change that is ambivalent at best. Very few people have changed in a way that feels right to them. The magic responsible for it usually is wild, and covers entire areas, changing people to its own whims. It is rare that the magic is so personal and, I suspect, malleable, as it was in your case.¡± She raises us higher into the sky, breaching the clouds and covering us in water vapor as she does so. Water vapor that curiously just flows off of me, barely any of the drops sticking to my new skin. A smile splits my face, revealing my teeth again, as the reality of my new body sets in.


    ¡°That¡¯s sad, I think I really like my new body. I hadn¡¯t felt any change be this right in many years. Though not that many for your perspective.¡± I giggle a little at that. ¡°Do people generally consider themselves still human? You seem quite¡­ draconic. Not that that¡¯s a bad thing! You¡¯re beautiful!¡± Heat rises into my cheeks as I realize what I said, though my worries are quickly dissipated as I feel another laugh rumble through her.


    ¡°Beautiful indeed! It took a lot of effort to be able to transform like this, but as you said, it does feel right! I am glad your transformation wasn¡¯t one of the less savory ones.¡± She banks slightly, turning towards a specific mountain peak. We aren¡¯t far now, having passed much more distance than I thought.


    We continue to fly for another few minutes before Mia starts slowing down, eventually coming to a halt in midair, about a hundred meters away from the mountain. I can feel her inhale beneath me, clearly taking her time so I can prepare myself for what is to come. Quickly I hunker down on her back and close my eyes, and just a moment later, she releases another roar, this time it feels slightly different, and when the energy finishes passing over me, I crack open my eyes again.


    In front of us, the mountain changes. A large, busy landing platform is revealed, cut into the side of the mountain. On top of it are several things which look a lot like planes and airships, though they don¡¯t seem very aerodynamic, more like what one would find in a fantasy book.


    Mia continues her approach after a spot is cleared for her to land, the people around the platform giving her a wide berth and not bothering us much, aside from a few curious glances. After touching down, Mia lowers her tail to the ground, signaling me to get down from her back. I quickly follow her wishes and walk up to her snout. Looking up into it I can see a hint of amusement in her pupils before I feel the magic that is partially making up her body start to retreat. It still feels odd to me, and the magic in my body seems to react to it in a strange manner, almost like it wants to leap out and change the magic Mia is using. I wrestle it down, though it is something to consider and ask about later.


    After turning back into her humanoid figure, her decency during the change protected by a gust of mist that engulfs both of us, she motions for me to follow her. She¡¯s oddly quiet for the moment, but I follow her regardless. The expression on her face seems a little strained everytime she looks around us.


    It doesn¡¯t take long before we reach a quiet corner, away from the other people, and Mia finally starts talking again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry little one but, I have something to take care of, report back and all that. I don¡¯t really want to leave you alone here, but you can¡¯t come along if we want to keep you safe for now.¡± Her expression is clearly torn, so I bring forward a tail, gently brushing it along her cheek.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand.¡± My actions elicit a small smile from her and she kneels down, brushing a hand against my cheek, which I can¡¯t help but lean into, the warmth of the gesture making me feel a little bit safer. I can see the patterns cross across my tail again, probably my entire body. They¡¯re involuntary and ever since I first saw them I¡¯ve been trying to find what is causing them.


    Mia¡¯s eyes follow the patterns as well, and she smiles at them. ¡°Happy?¡± She chuckles slightly. ¡°Since I can¡¯t take you with me, we¡¯ll have to meet up again later. Not here though, there¡¯s an inn in the city, the Shadow Hare. Meet me there in two hours, when the clock strikes twelve, okay?¡± I nod in agreement as she gives me directions to find the inn, knowing that if I try to speak my words will fail me, heat having risen into my cheeks, my entire skin actually, when she asked whether I am happy. I was. Sort of. And the patterns on my skin betrayed that fact to her!


    She chuckles again slightly as I don¡¯t respond with words, but eventually gets up on her feet again. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you later. Stay out of trouble if you can.¡± She waves goodbye as she walks away, and I return the gesture with my hand-paws.


    Once she leaves my sight, I look around myself. The corner we had been in was rather well hidden from sight, so no one was bothering me quite yet, but there were some crates around, so they would eventually come here. I decide not to try my luck with being found alone at the equivalent to an airport, and start making my way into the mountain itself. There''s a gate, but the guards only seem to care about who is leaving the mountain, not who is entering, so I am let through without issue and into a tunnel leading deeper into the mountain. It¡¯s time to go on an adventure!

 Chapter 4

    The trip through the tunnel is a short one. I quickly alight into a massive cavern, a cavern brimming with sound and magic. The magic doesn¡¯t feel the same as the natural magic I felt outside, but more refined and subdued. My eyes follow a wisp of it to a light enchantment etched into the ceiling of the cave. Almost everything and everyone here is leaking magic all over the place, but not the same way Mia did when she transformed; there is no intent behind the magic.


    Someone bumps into me and mutters a few words, making me realize that I am standing in the middle of the entrance to the town. I quickly scurry towards the side of the road. The houses are a mix of constructions and ones carved out of the mountain itself, or maybe they were molded by magic. Starting to make my way down the road deeper into town, I observe the people walking along the street around me. Most of them seem mostly human, with little features here and there, though some have none, and others are much more like me, more not human than human.


    Am I even human still? I was, until yesterday, but my body is very different now, and I don¡¯t feel as restrained anymore, like I can be who I want to be. Walking while pondering the question, I only notice the change in my surroundings when my head bumps into a wooden stand.


    ¡°Oi, if you want fruit, your master will have to pay for it!¡± A gruff voice accosts me from above, raising my eyes; I am met with the face of a just as gruff looking man, anger evident on his face from my carelessness. Does he think I am an animal? A confusing whirr of emotions goes through me at that, anger, relief, elation, it¡¯s odd, and more to consider later.


    I glance around, no one seems to care about his behavior, nor do they pay us any attention. Bowing my head in apology I quickly scurry away. Mia said to stay out of trouble, and getting in a fight with someone seems counter to that. The man doesn¡¯t follow me, just grumbling more behind me as I disappear into a nearby alley.


    Peeking out from my new hiding spot, I get a better look at the area I had ended up in. It¡¯s a wide open plaza, with many stands spread across it, selling all kinds of things, from food to jewellery and animal parts. Most of it exudes magic to some extent, some so little that I have to squint to even notice it, even with my much better eyesight now.


    Heavy footsteps approach the entry of the alley, armored boots. Soldiers. I can feel the magic wafting off of them, the amount of this weirdly unused magic in this place is starting to make me nauseous. The soldiers keep coming closer and I feel panic sneak through me, my senses are getting overwhelmed and I can¡¯t handle another encounter with potentially antagonistic people. Especially if they think I¡¯m some run away animal.


    Trying to hide, I start slinking back into the shadows, almost instinctively reaching out to the magic woven into my body. I don¡¯t notice it until the world around me goes blissfully quiet, the magic leaking all over the place becoming muted into the background as my skin shifts to match my surroundings, the magic in my body following suit. It¡¯s almost as if I isolated myself from the world, but concentrating for a moment brings the magic of a jewellery stand back into focus, standing out of its background like a beacon that would be so easy to follow.


    The soldiers appear in the entrance of the alleyway, one of them looks in my direction and meets my eyes, and yet it feels like he looks right through me. The group quickly moves on, nothing of note to be seen here on their patrol.


    With the patrol gone, I feel safe enough to explore this new state of mine. I reach out to the magic within me and prod at it, trying to figure out what it is doing. It responds to me, an answer that is foreign and yet familiar. The magic doesn¡¯t speak in words, and there is a weight, a purpose behind it. It is here to make sure I am safe. To make sure I am strong, if I wish. It wants me to be strong. It wants me to follow my path, because my path is its path. There¡¯s more meaning to the feeling, a meaning I can¡¯t quite parse. Not yet. I slowly retreat from the connection, lessening it. it¡¯s still there, always, I am fairly sure, I was just unaware before. It¡¯s there, waiting for me to call out to it. For now though, it knows to keep me safe, and for some reason, I trust it as much as I did Anya. Probably not a wise thing, but it does not seem like it wants to actively harm me.


    My attention turns back to my surroundings. The alley I am in leads to more alleys, deeper into the town, though my gaze turns up instead, towards the roofs. They¡¯re not all that high up, and I want to figure out just how much my body has grown.


    My paw touches the wall, and the scales on my hand respond almost automatically to my intent, latching into the microscopic imperfection, securing my grip. They easily release when I retract my hand. I place another paw and try to pull myself up, my muscles easily carry my body, and my grip holds true. A few seconds later I am on top of the roof, my tail swaying behind me. The climb had been easier than I expected, not even causing me to slip once. Looking over the rooftops, I am alone up here. Perfect to do some tests. As perfect as I can get, for now, at least.


    I crouch low to the ground and my hind legs flex, kicking off of the ground and propelling me forwards. My speed blurs the surroundings as I sail across several roofs before touching down without a sound, tail split and splayed wide behind me to increase my drag to slow down. It had been so easy and instinctual to split them that first time, and this time it had been as well; they almost had a mind of their own.


    My tails merge back together into one just as easily as they split, though as I do so, a small breeze brushes through the little follicles, alerting me to a small draft throughout the big cave. Raising my head I look around, trying to spot where the draft is going to, but I can¡¯t find anything. The best I can make out is a few concentrations of heat throughout the city. Putting aside that curiosity for the moment, I consider what else to test. I couldn¡¯t exactly go punch a wall, so a full speed test over a longer distance is in order. This time, it is not just my hind legs bracing against the ground, but my arms too, my tail low to the ground. I breathe in deeply, concentrating and scouting out a path ahead before I finally start moving.


    The start is a slight bit off rhythm as I find what works, but it quickly turns into a steady hit of paw against stone, only interrupted by the occasional gap between rooftops. The magic that is keeping me hidden is somehow also keeping the sound of my paws against the stone from leaking out far, so despite my gathering speed I am left unbothered. I continue moving, the air brushing through my scale feathers, exhilaration filling me, until I panickedly have to kick off to the side as I almost run into a stone outcropping on a roof.


    Tumbling to the side I curse a little under my breath but quickly regain speed, sharpening my attention. It¡¯s hard to react with how fast I am moving, as fast as a car on a highway. As I move I try to hone my attention more. My body is clearly capable of maneuvering at these speeds, yet my perception lags behind. It feels off despite the ecstasy it brings me. It takes another close call of me leaping over another obstruction before I realize that I probably do have a solution. The magic suffusing me is capable of filtering my senses, like a second brain only letting the important things through for me to fully consider. Why, then, should it not be capable of doing something similar here?


    I slow down momentarily as I reach out to the magic in me, and find it waiting as it had before. The communication with it is strange, and I feel that I do not need to command it in this way, that it will follow my will regardless. Yet, there is an element of it that seems almost, happy, that I reach out to it. It already knows what I want, and it is happy to provide, though part of it informs me that it will change me, as it did before. I admittedly had been surprised about the changes, and yet I am not at all reluctant to permit the magic to do more of its work. It feels right, the changes it had brought before.


    Slowing down a little more, I give my permission to the magic to do its work. It doesn¡¯t take long before I feel it start, something inside of me is squirming and growing, changing, there is a short moment of pain that is gone as quickly as it came. Shaking my head slightly, I look out towards the world again. There¡¯s no perceptible changes, but the magic assures me it succeeded, that it can do more, but it has little to work with.


    A curious statement, but for now I must see if it is right. I accelerate again, the world around me does not blur, instead it all remains in sharp clarity. Time doesn¡¯t feel slower, the airstream still crosses across my body as it did before, but my brain is capable of processing the information at a much higher rate.


    I come to a halt a few roofs later, slowing down at a less rapid pace than with my tail parachute. The magic had changed my brain. A small shudder goes down my back, yet I can¡¯t tell if it is one of fear or excitement. Maybe a mix of both. I¡¯d always taken issues with things affecting my brain, drugs of various types, medical and not, yet this felt different. This felt not like an outside influence, this felt like me becoming more.


    Yet, that wasn¡¯t right, was it? The magic is not me, or maybe it is? It suffuses my entire body, down to every single cell as far as I can tell, and  unlike almost everyone else I¡¯ve seen, it does not leak from me. It is inside of me, a part of me. Is it the same magic as out in nature, or is it its own offshoot? I ponder the question and the different types of magic I had felt so far, when the magic all around me starts to resonate. A moment later a bell tolls throughout the entire town, everywhere at once without a central source of the sound.


    Apparently, the time to meet up with Mia had come, though the magic of the clock is unsettling, invasive in a way that other magic hadn¡¯t been. It takes a few moments before the bell stops, and I start making my way towards the inn. I did end up relatively far, but the rooftops made it a rather straight shot to get there, so I wouldn¡¯t be all that late. Hopefully Mia wasn¡¯t going to worry!


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    Mia


    Mia steps out of the meeting room, annoyance wafting through her as the doors slam behind her. Her so-called superior had insisted on her agreeing to patrol duties for a week, since she came back empty handed from her expedition. He was lucky that she wasn¡¯t in a position to shatter his mind currently, so she just told him off for his audacity.


    She lets out a deep sigh as she makes her way into town. Civil unrest had been on the rise recently, unsurprising to her, though the failure of a monarchy, and the leadership they had cultivated, was very confused by it. Idiots. High on the power of their own magic while exploiting those below them. Of course this would happen sooner or later.


    Continuing her way down the streets, she makes it to the shadow¡¯s hare just in time for the bell¡¯s toll. The inn was squirreled away in an alley, slightly away from one of the big market places. The streets leading here had been rather full, many of the more destitute citizens walking around in the area, though this market was in a middle point between the slums and the well-off areas. Most of them usually avoided it, not wanting to be the latest target of the harassment of the guard. It was a sign that things were going to get ugly, soon enough. Ada had not arrived at the inn yet. Mia couldn¡¯t help but worry, the atmosphere was getting more tense by the minute.


    If the guards saw her here, they¡¯d start asking questions. She was, after all, supposed to be in the barracks. Not that she ever actually slept there, most of the soldiers were there voluntarily, unlike her, and they hadn¡¯t exactly a lot of respect for women. Mia starts to pace, her eyes looking between the entrances of the alley, waiting anxiously for Ada to show up, where was the little creature? Had she gotten into trouble? If the guard found her, there¡¯d be issues. They never took kindly to the more aberrant mutations.


    There¡¯s a rustling sound above her as a face appears in her vision upside down. A cute little snout with ruby red eyes looking at her own. ¡°Mia! I¡¯m here.¡± Ada had apparently found her own way around town. Relief floods through Mia as she raises a hand to the woman¡¯s cheek. ¡°There you are! I was worried. We¡¯ll have to get off the street-¡± She stops mid sentence as a patrol rounds the corner into the alley. They hadn¡¯t noticed them yet, instead starting to violently knock on doors, calling for the denizen to open the door for an inspection.


    ¡°Fuck, we can¡¯t stay in the hare, not yet.¡± She glances around and motions for Ada to come down. ¡°We have to go, there¡¯s a protest forming in the market, and the guard is on edge, and by the looks of it they¡¯re not planning to leave this one unpunished.¡± Ada follows her request and crouches low to the ground next to her, her presence is even less evident than when they first met, her eyes having a hard time locking onto her form.


    ¡°A protest? Or a riot? I saw several armed people walking down the alleyways on my way back here.¡± They start moving out of the alleyway into an adjacent street, Ada¡¯s voice is light and doesn¡¯t carry far. ¡°Just how bad is the situation in the kingdom?¡±


    Mia¡¯s expression falls a little. A riot was going to cause a lock down, and many people were going to get hurt. ¡°Bad, suffice to say. Most people are over being treated like lessers.¡± She continues to lead them down the road. No one seems to bother with them, they¡¯re all on edge, some are scurrying home, but many are heading towards the market. ¡°We¡¯ll circle back to the inn in a bit. I can¡¯t really get involved in this¡­¡± It pains her, but the powers that be wouldn¡¯t let her get away with it. Not yet.


    Ada looks up at her, her head tilting as she seems to stalk across the ground, the eyes that do turn their way, just glance over her, ignoring her presence. ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like this. You want to help, no?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll¡­ tell you later. When we¡¯re safe and in private.¡± She leads them down another street, away from the market. They¡¯re forced to take another few detours, through various side streets and alleys to avoid an increasing number of patrols, until they finally reach far enough away from the center of the commotion for the presence to lessen again.


    ¡°There¡¯s another inn we can stay at, it¡¯s not as nice but I don¡¯t think the riots are going to die down any time soon.¡± She looks back towards the way they came, the orange light of fire brightening the buildings. ¡°I¡¯d say we have to leave the town but at this point the port is most likely locked down already, and if they see me trying to leave it¡¯ll cause even more trouble.¡± She sighs, turning to Ada. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you got caught up in this.¡±


    Ada looks up at her, patterns go across her body for a few moments before she speaks. ¡°Don¡¯t be, I wish I could help though. I haven¡¯t seen much, but if this is how it¡¯s already gotten, then the situation can¡¯t be great.¡± She lowers her head in thought for a bit, Mia waiting patiently for her to continue. ¡°I want to be strong. People can grow stronger, yes? You said your magic took you a long time, so you didn¡¯t start out with it.¡±


    Mia smiles at her, the ambition and light in her eyes quite endearing. ¡°Yes, you can grow stronger, though the details differ for everyone, a good place to start is to go out and hunt. I¡¯ll take you sometime, I am not sure when yet.¡± She stretches before looking at their surroundings. ¡°The other inn isn¡¯t too far from here, we¡¯ll be safe there.¡±


    Ada gives her a nod and follows her as she starts walking. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t tell how strong you are, little one, your presence is oddly muted, even more so now than it was earlier today.¡± She throws her a curious glance, and is met with a proud smile, a pattern going across her body to match.


    ¡°The magic¡¯s hiding me! It¡¯s been quite nice, cooperative! Is it like this for everyone? The taste of the magic here is so¡­ different to what it is outside.¡± Ada skips a few steps with a small leap.


    Mia almost stops in her steps at Ada¡¯s words. ¡°That¡­ no. It¡¯s not like that for everyone.¡± They reach the inn before she can elaborate, and opens the door, motioning Ada inside. ¡°Let¡¯s get a room and talk.¡±


    Booking the room is a quick endeavor, the innkeeper not asking any questions about Ada, and a few minutes later they step into their room for the night. It¡¯s not exactly large, just two beds and a little bit of room in between. ¡°Here we are, I am not sure how comfortable the beds are going to be for you, but it¡¯ll have to do.¡± Mia takes a seat on one of the beds, and motions for Ada to join her. Ada quickly scurries up on the bed next to her and curls up into a little ball, eyes peeking up at Mia from underneath her tail.


    ¡°Magic! Tell me about it! You said it¡¯s different for you, yes?¡± The excitement is evident in her voice, and a veritable riot of lines goes across her skin.


    ¡°Ah, sure. You said it listens to you, and¡­ has some form of mind of its own?¡± Mia pauses for a reaction from Ada, a quick nod in confirmation. ¡°That is somewhat concerning to hear, I admit. Magic, as far as I am aware, is not supposed to be sentient, it¡¯s just another form of energy, something we can manipulate.¡± Ada tilts her head slightly in thought, before a short flicker goes across her body.


    ¡°Mother said that magic is malleable, but that a gentle coaxing is more effective than trying to bruteforce it. Something about different aspects?¡± Her voice seems a little unsure.


    Mia raises an eyebrow in askance. ¡°Your mother? Didn¡¯t you get trapped in the barrier during the genesis? Although¡­ there have been some that claimed to know about magic from before the genesis, and admittedly most people just ignored them, including me.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense, I only knew a little bit, as a child. Mother didn¡¯t get to teach me much before she died¡­¡± An expression of pained memories crosses across Ada¡¯s face as she falls quiet. ¡°It was real.¡±


    Mia reaches out a hand and gently pats the woman¡¯s head. ¡°I see, well, different aspects of magic do exist, I know that much, mine is attuned to fractal magic but I can brute force other spells if I must, but it isn¡¯t the same as sentience.¡± She brushes a few fingers across the top of Ada¡¯s head as she speaks. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some biomancers talk about the magic being eager before, but so is lightning. The only times that magic is sentient, or at least close to it, that I know of is during genesis events. When enough unbound magic gathers in one spot to create a spell of its own, without anyone guiding it.¡±


    Ada¡¯s head leans up into Mia¡¯s palm as she absentmindedly continues her caress. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right. When you transformed back to a person, I felt your magic. It felt like it wanted to do more, that it was incomplete.¡± Ada pauses for a moment before carrying on, unaware of the curiosity building inside Mia. ¡°Maybe if you taste my magic you can figure it out?¡±


    ¡°Taste?¡± Mia giggles a little. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t think I can taste magic.¡± Ada¡¯s expression droops a little in response.


    ¡°Oh, you smell it then? Or hear it?¡± Mia¡¯s eyebrow goes up at the questions.


    ¡°You¡­ no, almost no one can sense magic that isn¡¯t directly being worked into a spell, and even then, it is usually the physical manifestations that people observe. Can you actually taste the magic?¡± Ada¡¯s expression continues to drop, before lighting up again at the question.


    ¡°Yes! Some magic at least, some of it is more like a sound, other like light! They all are present in all ways but they tend to be biased to one or the other! As far as I¡¯ve seen so far at least! Your transformation tasted nice, but it had something missing! Like the spices in a dish!¡± Ada¡¯s head animatedly bobs up and down beneath her tail and Mia¡¯s hand.


    Mia considers her words for a few moments. ¡°Clearly your perception of magic is different, better, than mine. So, if it is sentient, maybe I haven¡¯t been able to hear it. But I am no biomancer, I can¡¯t just magic myself new senses. And I am not sure it is safe. The magic during genesis events tends to hurt a lot of people, or change them against their will. If the magic we use has its own will, and we stop directing it¡­¡± She looks at Ada again, the adorable creature looking up at her with her big ruby eyes, almost pleading. The magic had not harmed her, it had helped her, protected her, and seemingly cooperates with her, for now at least. How much harm could there be in trying to give it a bit more freedom? To coordinate with it? ¡°Okay, I will try to listen to it, see what it wants, if you complete a successful hunt with it.¡±


    Ada¡¯s expression lights up again. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll show you how nice it is! It feels trustworthy to me at least, it said it wants what''s best for me, that we share a path!¡± A big smile reveals rows of sharp teeth, designed to tear apart the woman¡¯s prey, in what Mia suspects would be a much less adorable display than Ada¡¯s appearance.


    Mia considers Ada¡¯s words for a few minutes, the two sharing a comfortable silence. It is only interrupted when a yawn escapes Ada next to her. ¡°Getting sleepy? I am not sure how exactly the barrier worked and can¡¯t tell how much your body has been able to rest since your transformation, but you¡¯ve also been quite active today, if I were to hazard a guess.¡± She grabs the side of the blanket and lifts it, motioning for Ada to crawl underneath. ¡°We can continue talking tomorrow, and we can start making plans as to our next steps.¡± Ada gives her a bleary nod, before crawling underneath the blanket, curling up into a little ball.


    Covering her in the blanket, Mia then moves over to the other bed, getting ready to sleep herself. ¡°Good night, little one.¡±


    ¡°Good night, Mia.¡± The voice is muffled by the tail and blanket, barely any movement coming from Ada.

 Chapter 5

    Ada


    The orb in the sky is back, its lightning thundering across the skies, shaking the very ground beneath me, the world shifts again, changes as I lose consciousness.


    My consciousness returns not long after. The orb is now different, tendrils stretching out from it, anchoring to the ground in the distance, one reaching down into the village. I can see the orb pulsing as I fade out again.


    Heat. There¡¯s so much heat. My entire body burns with heat, heat caused by an incessant buzz of magic suffusing all of me. I try to breathe, and I drown, a liquid cascading down my throat into my lungs. Yet I do not suffocate, I only burn more. Opening my eyes, I see only blackness, perfect darkness. I feel my body changing in agonizing pain, my bones breaking and being reformed, my flesh squirming like a million insects. I try to fade away again, but it is slow, so agonizingly long before I finally do, I can feel my skin burn away in acid as I do.


    I can see again when I next open my eyes. The sun is high in the sky, and I feel a hand on my cheek, an indiscernible whisper accompanies it. My wife is soothing my pain. She¡¯s done so many times, I love her, the only person I¡¯ve ever loved in my own little way. Regret joins her voice soon though, I try to move, grab onto her, but my hand meets no resistance. Tears stream down my face as the darkness takes me again, though this time, I know I will be safe.


    ¡°Ada! Wake up Ada!¡± Someone is shaking my body. Calling my name. The voice is all wrong though. It¡¯s not Anya, it¡¯s someone else. I lash out with a tail at the person daring to intrude on us. Tail? Why do I have a tail?


    I freeze as memories rush back to me, of waking up beneath my wife¡¯s grave. Of Mia finding me. Of going to sleep. Breathing becomes harder and faster as I try to get enough air into my body. I remember the dream, the pain, the burning.


    A hand touches my back, gently rubbing up and down. ¡°Breath slower, you¡¯re fine, you¡¯re safe. I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± Mia. The other person is Mia, I can trust her, I think, so I follow what she says, she hasn¡¯t failed me yet. I slow my breathing at her request, the panic slowly subsiding.


    I try to speak, but the words refuse to come out, instead I lean into her, my tail slowly pulling her closer. ¡°It¡¯s fine, little one, you¡¯re fine. You had a nightmare, you¡¯re safe now.¡±


    Shaking my head I want to say no, but instead I just push into her more, seeking the contact, seeking the safety of another person. My mind does not have the capacity to do more, the nightmare. No, the memories, still fresh on my mind.


    Mia takes the hint and lays down beside me, wrapping an arm around me and stroking a finger across my scalp, the sensation helps soothe me, calming my racing heart.


    She holds me for a long while, I do not know how long, I do not know when she managed to shake me awake, we only start stirring when the first light of the enchantments outside seeps into the room. Mia is kind enough to wait for me to move first, she stayed awake the entire time, holding and soothing me.


    ¡°How are you feeling, little one?¡± Her voice is low and gentle, filled with concern for my well being. Her arms are still wrapped around me, just like my tail is around her body. I take a few moments before answering.


    ¡°Fine, I think.¡± My voice has a slight crack to it. I am decidedly not fine, but I don¡¯t want to burden Mia with it. Everything is so¡­ different. It¡¯s weird how I didn¡¯t see it before now. My entire body has changed into something so removed from humanity, that people see me as some kind of animal. And somehow, I don¡¯t actually mind, I like it even. Even with all the changes I went through before, this is different, on a level that I couldn¡¯t even have dreamed of. And the changes, apparently, aren¡¯t even done yet.


    ¡°You¡¯re not fine, you can talk to me.¡± Mia¡¯s voice is so soothing, so kind. Does she actually care for me? Why? We¡¯ve only just met. I shift slightly to be able to look at her, eliciting a small smile from her. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard. I have plenty of nightmares, from the genesis¡­ and other things.¡± She barely whispers the last few words.


    I gather my thoughts before speaking, I have to know how much of this is¡­ normal. ¡°I was back there. The orb in the sky. It¡­ changed, it reached out to the ground like some kind of organism.¡± The nightmare was clearly a memory that I repressed, and as I speak, other small details start to fill in. ¡°Then I was in a¡­ cocoon I think? It was dark and I was suspended in some kind of liquid. The magic was there, it tried talking to me I think, but it couldn¡¯t. I felt my body break and dissolve.¡± Tears start streaming down my face and Mia pulls me into her, burying my face into her front.


    ¡°Oh dear, that¡¯s horrifying. But you¡¯re alright now, you survived.¡± I shake my head at her words. She holds me, her hands caressing my back as she waits for me to talk.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not over. I¡­ I think the magic didn''t finish. It said something about needing material. And somehow, I am not afraid of it, not anymore. I could feel my fear in the memory, but¡­ I am not scared; and I don¡¯t know why.¡± I didn¡¯t know but I had an idea. The magic had changed my brain before, so why shouldn¡¯t it have then? Was I even still me? Or was I just a puppet for the magic to control? ¡°I don¡¯t know what changed, if I am still the Ada that I was before, and if I am not¡­ does it bother me?¡± I barely speak in a whisper, too scared to give voice to the words.


    Mia, as kind as she is, doesn¡¯t answer immediately, letting my words settle for a few moments before talking. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you whether you are the you from before, but the you I¡¯ve met has been nothing but great so far. We¡¯ve all been traumatized by the genesis, to some extent, and there¡¯s more out there that can be just as bad. I¡­ understand you when you say you aren¡¯t certain, and that if you aren¡¯t, then it might just not bother you. Someone made a deal with me, a few centuries ago. A rather one sided deal that was forced on me. It made me despair for many years, trying to figure out whether I am still me despite the compulsion to do things I hate. And¡­ I eventually figured out that nothing in this world is absolute. I can¡¯t exactly act against the kingdom''s orders, not while the binding is in place, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to do things of my own volition.¡± She pauses for a minute, letting me process her words. ¡°I think your situation might be similar. You¡¯ve changed, but that doesn¡¯t mean all of you is gone. You still remember your past, the people in your life. The magic didn¡¯t take that away from you, it just¡­ changed your outlook a little.¡±


    I curl into her, and decide not to press the issue on her binding. She seems rather reluctant to talk about it. Instead, I keep the topic on myself and the magic for now. ¡°I remember, yes. But I don¡¯t know how much of it is me, how much of me will remain if I let it continue. I am scared of the changes, and I still trust the magic on a level that I¡¯ve only ever trusted Anya. I felt her. In the dream, after the cocoon. She was there. She assured me I¡¯d be fine.¡± I shiver at the thought, Anya is dead. Did the magic creep into my thoughts and use my memories to try and calm me? I start quaking as I begin to spiral, only for Mia to rock me slightly back and forth.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re okay. Magic can give new life to the dead, it¡¯s rare, very rare, but it happened before. But¡­ it¡¯s temporary, as far as anyone knows, unless specifically made to last.¡± Her fingers gently stroke across my scalp. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wish I could¡¯ve met her, you¡¯ve not talked much about her but you clearly care a lot, and so did she, no? Maybe that¡¯s how she was able to be there when you needed her.¡±


    Her words make sense, but also not, she¡¯d been dead for a year, how would the magic have been able to bring her back, even for a moment? The details don¡¯t matter though. ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t want to lose myself. Or maybe I do. I can¡¯t tell. People never made sense to me, so maybe¡­ maybe this is just how it would¡¯ve always been, and it really is just trying to help.¡± Maybe I am deluding myself, trying to find some reason the magic is not, in fact, changing who I am. Maybe, just maybe, it is merely letting me be free. ¡°Free.¡± I voice my thoughts out loud to Mia. ¡°I¡¯ve never been free. Not really. Society didn¡¯t let people like me be truly free. So¡­ maybe I can be free now.¡±


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    Mia hums a little as she continues the soothing motion of her hands. ¡°I hope you can be. You deserve to be. Everyone deserves to be. You¡¯ll just have to find your way to being free, and well, I¡¯ll support you, as much as I can at least.¡±


    I nod into her and remain quiet for a long while, eventually separating us slightly. ¡°I¡­ have to ask. I think. Why do you care? We¡¯ve only just met.¡± My voice is small and meek.


    She eyes me for a few moments, before nodding to herself. ¡°You¡¯re cute, and lost in a world you don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have much reason beyond that. There¡¯s potential, hope, for more, for you to be able to help change things. Your presence in that barrier was strange, a curiosity. And¡­ well, curiosities in this world tend to be special. So maybe I am selfish, hedging my bets in my favor, but I also saw a woman that needed help, and I wanted to help.¡± Her voice is quiet, somewhat shy, as if she¡¯s afraid I will pull away from her for admitting to her motives, as if she¡¯s ashamed of them. Instead, I wrap my tail close around her, and give her a hug.


    ¡°I understand. Thank you for telling me, and thank you for helping me.¡± Mia relaxes into my hug at my words, a small sound of escaping her that I can¡¯t quite place. We stay like that for a little while before she stirs.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get us some food, and then we can plan what to do next, staying in the city is probably not the best, but getting out could pose some problems.¡± She slowly disentangles herself from my tail before slipping out from underneath the covers. A riot of patterns goes across my skin as I notice her state of undress. I quickly look towards the wall instead and curl back underneath the covers.


    Mia chuckles slightly as she puts on her coat. ¡°If I had issues with you seeing me like this, I¡¯d have said so. Also, you¡¯ve been running around naked the entire time, though your body does have more¡­ natural coverage than mine.¡± I can hear the grin in her voice but refuse to turn around to get a better look at the scales I had spotted on her body.


    ¡°I¡­ hadn¡¯t even considered that. I don¡¯t feel like I need clothes. Honestly, the thought of wearing them makes me uncomfortable already.¡± A small shudder goes across my skin at the thought, I¡¯d always had sensory issues, but something tells me that they¡¯d only be worse now.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to wear anything, with how you look, most people aren¡¯t going to be bothered by it, sorry to say.¡± There¡¯s some more rustling before she continues. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes, any preferences for food?¡±


    I slowly turn my head to look towards her. She had her coat back on now and was looking at me, a small smile on her face. ¡°Do I really look that different? It¡¯s a bit hard to tell. As for food; no real preferences.¡± She gives me a nod and turns to the door.


    ¡°There¡¯s a mirror in the bath, you can take a look there, but yes, you honestly look more like a mutated leopard than a person? But also not entirely. I think it¡¯s cute, but there¡¯s plenty that would take issue with it, sorry.¡± She waits for me to give an acknowledgement before heading out the door.


    I take a little bit before crawling out from underneath the covers and towards the bathroom, curiosity having finally gotten the better of me. The mirror inside isn¡¯t particularly large, but it¡¯s big enough for me to see most of my body, sans tail.


    Mia had been right, my body had changed more than I thought, though I am not sure when that had happened. Although, with the proportions being as they are, my suspicion falls on when I switched to moving on all fours. The shift had felt so natural that I hadn¡¯t really paid attention to the details, so maybe it had changed my anatomy more than I anticipated back then.


    I consider my situation for a few more moments. On one hand I really liked the way I looked and it was very convenient, but I also wanted to know how much I¡¯d be able to shift around, and maybe find a middle ground that is usable as well.


    Decision made, I tap into that same feeling as I did before. It feels just as natural as I change from a quadrupedal stance to a bipedal stance, and with the mirror I can see my entire body shift. Underneath my skin my flesh pulses and squirms with a weird but not unpleasant sensation; my arms readjust their length to fit my bipedal form, though notably my legs stay mostly the same, the same digitigrade composition as before. The same applies to my face, only shifting so as to accommodate being on a bipedal body.


    The shift is quickly done, and I look somewhat more human now, my chest that had almost entirely disappeared present once again, though it¡¯s rather modest; and with the amount of scale feathers covering my body it doesn¡¯t feel like I need to cover up either. The shift makes me realize though that I can feel my body to a much more fine degree than before, and with a little concentration I can feel all the way down to the organs inside me. The sensation isn¡¯t super detailed, but I can tell that they¡¯re all working as they should, and that I have a few more organs that I had been missing before, though they do not seem quite the same as what I had read in the biology books in school, but at least I wouldn¡¯t need my meds anymore. There also seem to be some nascent organs that aren¡¯t fully developed yet, their purpose not quite clear.


    I consider shifting back to the quadrupedal form when Mia knocks on the door and steps inside the main room again. ¡°Foods here.¡± I can hear her move around past the door, and decide to not let her wait.


    Peeking around the doorframe I look over at her. ¡°Uh, hey, don¡¯t be surprised? I may look a little bit differently.¡± Mia looks over to me as she places down a basket on a table, and gives me a nod.


    I hesitate for a moment before stepping out. I did not think I¡¯d feel embarrassed before, but showing myself to Mia like this feels different. I feel more exposed than I thought and my tail comes around to wrap around my body. Mia just smiles at me and gives me another nod. ¡°That¡¯s much more human, if you¡¯re feeling shy then I don¡¯t mind if you borrow some of my clothes or shift back. But you¡¯re still covered in those feathers of yours, so don¡¯t worry too much.¡± She takes a seat at the table and motions me over. ¡°So, you can shapeshift?¡± I feel elation at her priority being how I feel, and not her curiosity. Joining her at the table, I let my tail drop to the side; she¡¯s right, I wasn¡¯t naked like a human would be.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I can do more than that too. My body feels like¡­ it wants to change, become better. There¡¯s some organs in me I didn¡¯t have before. Some of them are not developed yet either, but they don¡¯t seem like what a human would have.¡± I shrug a little as I look at the assortment of food Mia has gotten us.


    It¡¯s a rather normal meal, some bread and cheese, a bit of ham and an assortment of different fruits, though as I take a look at them, I notice something. ¡°Mia, nothing of this has magic in it, is that normal?¡± I take a slice of bread and put some of the cheese on it, I always liked cheese.


    Mia finishes swallowing a grape before answering. ¡°Yes, magic doesn¡¯t stay in dead matter for long, with some rare exceptions. There¡¯s ways to preserve it, though most don¡¯t bother, the benefit is too small.¡± I give her a nod before taking a bite, the bread and cheese taste good, yet it feels off; lacking, in a way. I can tell that it won¡¯t satiate me for long.


    I finish the slice of bread I had made before looking to Mia again. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is enough for me. My body is very insistent on this not being enough sustenance. And I don¡¯t think volume is going to fix it.¡± I tilt my head slightly as I take a few grapes and pop them into my mouth. My teeth might be those of a predator now, at least for the most part, but I can still eat just fine.


    She gives me a nod. ¡°Well, we can try and find you some food, when we¡¯re out hunting it¡¯ll be fine, we can prepare the food before the magic decays away. Now, as for how we are going to get to hunting, I¡¯ve given it a bit of a thought.¡± She waits for me to signal that she has my attention, and then continues. ¡°The airport is out of the question right now, it¡¯s been fully sealed off, but! There are some cavern passages that eventually lead out of the mountain. There¡¯s just¡­ a slight issue. No one has used them for a good half a century, as far as I am aware. They¡¯re mostly infested with various monsters and the pathways are unstable. The former isn¡¯t a problem since we plan to hunt anyway, assuming you can see in the dark?¡±


    I give her a slight nod before elaborating. ¡°I think I can, at least at night I had no issues. And I can see heat, and magic to an extent, not sure how useful either of those are going to be in a cave.¡±


    ¡°Should be fine then. The unstable pathways might be a problem though, since they might have collapsed and blocked off our route, and the passages aren¡¯t fully mapped out either, so it¡¯s easy to get lost.¡± She mirrors the tilt of my head as she looks me in the eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll probably be fine, but I want you to know the risks we¡¯re facing if we go that route. The other option is waiting here, risking your discovery; and I honestly do not know how long they will keep the airport sealed. It might be a few weeks.¡±


    We continue eating while I mull over the options, each bite making me more sure. I definitely would not be able to subsist on this food for an extended period, and I don¡¯t want to burden Mia. ¡°I think we should try the passages, I don¡¯t think I can stay here, and you don¡¯t seem very motivated to stay here either.¡± I smile at her as she gives me a nod.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll need to prepare some food, and you probably should shift back. Not that I don¡¯t appreciate your form as is. But it¡¯s safer if others think you¡¯re an animal.¡± Her eyes leave mine for a moment as she speaks, a curious blush rising to her face.


    ¡°Yes, I definitely can do that! I also want to try some other things but we can do that when we¡¯re safe and away!¡± I give her another smile before standing up and heading to the bathroom, readying myself to shift once again!

 Chapter 6

    Mia


    Ada had been quite excited about the bathhouse that Mia and her had passed on their way towards the tunnel entrances, so Mia had left her behind to go for a swim while she takes care of the supplies they¡¯ll need. Hopefully Ada won¡¯t get into any trouble, though she had talked to the owner, an acquaintance that she had a rather decent relationship with, and been assured that she¡¯d be taken care of.


    The past day had been quite a difference to her rather bleak recent years; the other woman was so full of curiosity and desire to explore her new world. Even the nightmares of last night hadn¡¯t been able to shake her all that much, though Mia had done her best to soothe her worries.


    A slight heat rises up in Mia as she thinks back. That morning¡­ She hadn¡¯t expected to feel quite this attracted to Ada, as she looks more like an animal most of the time, but when she shifted into that more humanoid form¡­ Mia shakes her head to clear her mind. Ada had lost her wife, and not long ago from what she could tell, and she¡¯d not exactly expressed much interest of her own yet either. And not to mention, she wasn¡¯t exactly in a situation where she could get into a relationship even if Ada was interested.


    Even a friendship is endangering her to a probably unreasonable extent, but then again, she was alone here, and Mia was the only one she knew. And maybe, just maybe, she¡¯d actually be able to break the curse; if what Ada said about magic is true, and Mia was fairly sure it is, then she might actually have a chance.


    Freedom. She¡¯d been hoping for a way for so long, and had only been disappointed every time, but when the day comes, there¡¯d be a reckoning, one befitting the woman that inherited the powers of the only dragon anyone managed to slay in the past five hundred years.


    She starts moving with more energy, heading towards the market. She has a few purchases to make before they can really start on their journey through the caverns, and most importantly she has to pick up a trinket she¡¯d asked a friend to make for her. They don¡¯t need all that many supplies, but Mia prefers to be over prepared than under prepared, and it¡¯s not like she has to worry about carrying everything, her dimensional storage ring was one of the largest.


    The detour to her artificer friend takes her to the merchant district of the town. It¡¯s as busy as always, plenty of locals and visitors mingling around the place. The uneasy tension of yesterday''s events is still everywhere; heavy patrols moving around the area, checking the identification of anyone that looks not quite human enough, or like they don¡¯t belong to the upper class. Mia herself has an easy enough time avoiding any controls, mostly due to them knowing her temperament, though that doesn¡¯t stop the guards from gossiping.


    ¡°What¡¯s she even doing here? Isn¡¯t she supposed to be out on another one of the king''s missions?¡± The guards don¡¯t even bother to keep their voices low, knowing that she couldn¡¯t physically retaliate.


    ¡°Heard they¡¯re supposed to be suicide missions, but she makes it back everytime, somehow. If you ask me, they should¡¯ve killed her instead of that curse.¡±


    Their voices fade as Mia enters the door of a rather nondescript shop, her magic lashing out and tearing apart an enchanted bauble nearby. She had gotten used to that kind of treatment over the years, yet it still makes her want to shed blood every time.


    ¡°Mia. I see your control is as refined as always my dear.¡± The voice of Valerie is as sweet as ever. She hadn¡¯t changed much in the last few decades, and they had left off on a rather cordial friendship after their breakup.


    ¡°I hope business has been well? I¡¯m here for the trinket I asked you about.¡± Mia looks over to her friend, a hopeful expression on her face.


    Valerie raises a brow at her, before turning and motioning her to follow. She remains silent until they step into her workshop, and the privacy magic fully encloses them. ¡°I¡¯d been wondering when you¡¯d come by. The amulet is done, it should keep you from prying diviners. Though I must wonder, is it finally time? Is the resistance finally making their move?¡±


    Smiling at her, Mia shakes her head. ¡°Not yet, but soon from what I know. No, this is for something else. I met someone and¡­ she might be the key. I might finally get out of serving this hells cursed kingdom.¡± The fractals in Mia¡¯s eyes change colors for a few moments, rapidly gaining in complexity before subsiding again. ¡°I might finally have my vengeance.¡±


    Valerie takes a few moments before finally replying. ¡°I am glad. I hope she can truly help you, this curse they placed on you is an unholy abomination they weren¡¯t even able to properly cast.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°If this really works out, then the resistance might finally have a way to topple this entire kingdom. And Celine will be happy to be out in the open again. She¡¯s been asking after you. Have you not talked since we¡¯ve broken up?¡±


    Mia freezes for a moment, sadness marring her face. ¡°I¡­ no, I was afraid. We were family, and I left you both. It just¡­ didn¡¯t feel right, not with the state I was in. I didn¡¯t want to give either of you any pointless hope. And I¡¯d only have endangered Celine. Ever since that incident they¡¯ve been keeping a closer eye on me.¡±


    Sighing, Valerie turns around and takes a small amulet from a box. ¡°I understand your reasons. It doesn¡¯t hurt less though, even after all these years. You know we¡¯d always be happy to have you back, though if you want to move on, then so be it.¡± She hands her the amulet and closes Mia¡¯s fingers around it. ¡°Be sure about this. The amulet won¡¯t last forever, not if they really want to find you. And if they do¡­ I don¡¯t want to think what they¡¯ll do to you this time for defying them.¡±


    Mia takes the amulet and gives Valeria a nod. ¡°Thank you, I don¡¯t think we can go back to the way we were. I am sure, as sure as I can be, this woman, Ada¡­ she¡¯s different. She doesn¡¯t feel the magic as we do. She can hear it, communicate with it.¡±


    Valerie¡¯s eyes widen at her words. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. It shouldn¡¯t be possible. Are you certain she¡¯s not lying?¡± Mia nods in affirmation. ¡°This might change everything. Mia, you need to find out if she¡¯s right, and if so, figure out how.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there really is a how. She made it seem just like another normal thing. Though her normal is quite different to ours I think. But it does remind me about the magic that some creatures can use. How it seems like it behaves differently to ours? Maybe it¡¯s connected, we still know so little about the Genesis, and the Genesis events¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and we both know it¡¯s because that shitstain of a king is scared of people becoming more powerful than him, so he outlawed it, sending his little mindbroken magehunter squad after everyone that might try.¡± Valerie slams a fist onto the table. ¡°You learn what you can, and then you break that damned curse on you, and when you do, we¡¯ll do what we should¡¯ve done centuries ago.¡±


    Mia grins at her and nods. ¡°Of course, though I won¡¯t use her. She¡¯s¡­ trusting, and nice. And she seems like she¡¯d want to help if I tell her about the resistance. At least she seems to have a distaste for what she has seen of the kingdom so far.¡± Her voice softens as she speaks of Ada.


    Valerie eyes her for a few moments after she speaks. ¡°You like her.¡± She giggles a little. ¡°I am glad. Hopefully she ends up being helpful then. I know you¡¯ve been reluctant to feel much for anyone.¡± Mia¡¯s face is covered in a slight blush at her words, but she nods in affirmation. ¡°Before you leave, I have a little something for your friend.¡± Valerie turns around and opens a drawer, taking out a little pouch and a ring. ¡°Storage ring, should be useful for her, even if she has one already. It¡¯s one of my best works, close to yours in capacity. The pouch has some preserved fruits from an infused tree Celine ran across a while ago, whether you share them is up to you.¡± Mia stores both quickly and gives Valerie another smile.


    ¡°Thank you, that might help us confirm a suspicion we had too. She¡¯s not been getting sated by normal food, so maybe she needs infused food, at least long term, short term she seems fine as is so far.¡± The two of them fall quiet for a few moments before Mia looks towards the door. ¡°I think I should get going now, I still have some supplies to get, we¡¯re getting out of town.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re taking the caverns, then be careful, apparently there¡¯s been some soldier¡¯s poking around after one of the resistance scouts got taken out. I don¡¯t think they know the way through, but it¡¯s best not to run into them.¡± Valerie leads the way towards the front area of her shop, the privacy barrier dropping around them.


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    Before she leaves, Mia turns towards her once more. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, maybe when I visit Celine? We¡¯ll pay her a visit once we¡¯re back from our trip, and you probably should take a bit of a vacation from this place, the unrest has been getting intense¡­¡± She leaves the rest unsaid.


    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s wise, I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± Valerie pulls her into a hug before finally letting her go, leaving Mia to finish her supply run around town.


    Ada


    Diving beneath the water I feel it surround me. The sensation is different to what it had been in the past, suffusing my feathers and yet pearling off of them easily. I dart around the rather large pool, much larger and deeper in the center than I¡¯d have expected of a bathhouse, my tail moving behind me to provide propulsion, similar to a snake. I had never swam this fast, and it is exhilarating, I am fairly sure I can keep up with a fast boat now. I finally emerge back from underwater, landing on the side of the pool, surprising a newcomer.


    She stares at me for a few moments before realizing that everyone else is calm; the other people at the bathhouse had been staring when I first joined them a few hours ago, though they calmed down after a little while. I am not sure whether I could really blame them, Mia told me that they¡¯d probably think I am a semi sentient monster, I did certainly look the part, and we didn¡¯t bother correcting the impression. She had made sure that the owner of the place keeps an eye out for any trouble though, leaving me to swim to my heart¡¯s content.


    I finish a few more laps around the pool, before Mia eventually returns, she¡¯s in the same state of dress as me, namely completely naked, unlike most of the other women here. As I make my approach, I get a better look at her, most of her body is covered in the same scales as her eyes. Although they don¡¯t do much to hide her curves, or muscles, they do seem to protect her modesty well enough. Though I feel like she wouldn¡¯t care if that was not the case, as she very much does not mind the glances the other women here are shooting her, she seems to almost preen from them as she sits down at the edge and submerges her feet in the water.


    It takes her a few moments before she finally notices my underwater approach, eliciting a different smile from her. She slips into the water as I get closer. ¡°Hey there little one. I got everything we need.¡± Her words meet me as I break the surface next to her, my tail hovering around the both of us underwater, its slight fluctuations providing me lift and stability.


    I tilt my head at her questioningly, I am not sure whether she wants to break the ruse, my unsaid question is answered by a slight shake of her head. ¡°Later.¡± She pats my head slightly and I can¡¯t help but lean into it. ¡°A friend of mine got you something nice, a snack that I think you¡¯ll like.¡± She relaxes against the side of the pool and motions me a little closer. ¡°I got everything else we¡¯ll need too, though we¡¯ll have to be careful, there¡¯s been some unwelcome sightings recently.¡± Her inflection changes slightly, hinting at there being more to it.


    She continues to pat my head as she relaxes a little while longer. It¡¯s not something I had expected to enjoy quite as much as I am. I stay in close proximity to her, slowly bobbing up and down in the water as I let the exhilaration of my swimming fade from me. As we rest I notice that many of the women seem to have trouble keeping their eyes on Mia¡¯s face, and something tells me it is not the halo behind her head, as none of them seem to be in pain. Obviously it still doesn¡¯t bother my companion, instead she just continues to relax; paying attention only to me.


    Eventually Mia turns to me and motions out of the pool. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± She raises herself out of the water, and then heads down towards the changing rooms. As I follow her my eyes get another closer look at her, and it almost feels weird that she doesn¡¯t have a tail, or wings, like this; and I am sure if I were to consult the magic in me, it would fervently agree. I make a note to ask her about the lack of those later.


    We make it to the changing room and Mia gets changed. As I wait for her, I realize that I hadn¡¯t really thought much of my lack of clothing, but I really didn¡¯t mind it while in this form. It just didn¡¯t feel like I fall into quite the same spectrum as I did before; it¡¯s like I wouldn¡¯t be surprised at a cat not having clothes.


    Mia takes her sweet time to get changed, not quite making a show out of it but also in no hurry to get done. Eventually she finally finishes and we head outside, towards a nearby building. I slowly get ahead of her a few steps and look back up at her, my mouth opening to ask a question but she motions me to stay quiet. ¡°Not yet. Once we¡¯re somewhere more private.¡± Giving her an affirming nod, I continue alongside her until we finally reach our destination.


    The building is an unassuming little place, looking just like any other warehouse we had occasionally seen in the town. Mia leads us towards a door and opens it with a key she takes out of her ring, locking behind us once she¡¯s made sure we¡¯re okay. ¡°We should be fine here, the wards on this place aren¡¯t perfect, but they¡¯ll keep most minor divinations out.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you have wings, or a tail?¡± The words spill out before I can catch them, I wanted to ask something else but the question just comes back to me when I spot a few scales peeking out beneath her shirt as she shifts.


    I get a little giggle from Mia. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect that one. And well, I am not sure? I only grew a few scales and the horns in this form, I don¡¯t know what really determines those things.¡±


    ¡°Well, it feels wrong. You should have a tail! They¡¯re great! And wings!¡± I bounce a little up and down. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s why your magic feels so¡­ weird. Like it isn¡¯t doing what it wants to. Are you restraining it, or is it because you can¡¯t hear it?¡± My head tilts questioningly, a pattern flashing across my skin.


    Mia stays calm and eyes me as I speak. ¡°I have some ideas why that might be, but it also might be because I can¡¯t hear it. I gather you¡¯d like me to have them?¡± I nod my head at her words, and get a smile in return. ¡°We¡¯ll see then, I certainly wouldn¡¯t mind them, and your tail does seem quite great.¡± She chuckles a little as she heads deeper into the warehouse. ¡°The entrance is a bit hidden.¡± She touches a section of wall and several runes light up on it, causing it to vanish a few seconds later.


    I take a peek into the newly revealed room. There¡¯s a few chests and a heavy gate sealing off a tunnel leading downwards. ¡°This leads into the tunnels, but first, my friend got you this little present.¡± She reaches into a pocket and takes out a ring on a chain. The ring emits a tiny amount of magic, much less than most other things in the city. ¡°I am not sure how well you¡¯d be able to wear it on one of your paws, so I made it into a necklace. It¡¯s a storage ring like mine.¡± She holds up her other hands, showing off a plain but pretty ring. Its magical signature is even less than the one she got for me.


    Stepping closer towards her, I prompt at her with my tail as I stretch my head out, offering her easy access to my neck. ¡°Put it on for me please!¡± She gives me a small smile and puts the necklace around my neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to use, just touch it and concentrate on what you want to put in or out of it. Here, try these.¡± She takes out a small bag from her own ring, one that almost makes me pounce onto her to get my jaws on as the magic wafts off of it, the taste and sensation of the magic is much different to any I had encountered before. This one felt nourishing, untamed, and my magic wanted to consume it, to make it ours. ¡°Ada? You okay?¡± Mia¡¯s voice breaks me out of the trance and I give her a slight nod of my head.


    ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect that. The magic from this is so different! And I really really really want to eat it!¡± My tongue almost grabs at the bag before I notice and reel it back in. ¡°I assume that¡¯s the snack you mentioned? I feel like you¡¯re right that I will very much enjoy this one! Can I have one now?¡± I give her the best kitten eyes I can, which, given my new anatomy, seems to be quite effective as her smile widens and she chuckles a little. She opens the bag and takes out a small fruit that resembles a grape.


    ¡°Just this one, okay? These aren¡¯t exactly common and we don¡¯t know how long it will last you.¡± My tongue darts back out and snatches up the grape, disappearing it into my mouth before I give her a sheepish nod. As I bite down onto the grape, I can feel the magic spill forth from it, mixed in with the juices. My own magic quickly moves to absorb it, causing me a sensation that is at least not entirely unfamiliar for me, causing me to elicit a slight groan of surprise and pleasure.


    Heat rises throughout my entire body, creating another pattern on my skin as I look up at Mia, whose face is likewise covered in a slight blush. ¡°Sorry! Didn¡¯t expect that one either!¡± My tail splits into several and covers my face. Mia glances to the side a little and nods.


    ¡°I knew that they¡¯re good but¡­ well, you¡¯re different. Just¡­ let¡¯s make a note for you to not eat these in public, shall we?¡± My tails slowly part and I give her a nod. I don¡¯t fail to notice the expression on her face though, which is a mix between curiosity, happiness and something I can¡¯t quite tell. Expressions have always been one of my weakest points, at least my skin seems to help with communicating my emotions to an extent, but others¡¯ are still a mystery.


    Eventually Mia hands the little bag to me so I can put it into my ring. It¡¯s an easy task as the enchantment seems to follow my intent without issue. She gives me a smile before turning towards the gate covering the entrance into the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. And, well, I admit I am slightly curious if this will happen again. If you want I can give you privacy for your first hunt, though we¡¯ll likely not encounter anything soon anyway.¡± She speaks as she lifts the gate to the side, the metal groans under the movement, and I scurry inside as soon as the gap is wide enough, using my tails to help push up against the gate from below. It is much heavier than the relatively thin bars would suggest. ¡°Thank you little one.¡± Mia gives me another smile and we hold it up as she steps into the tunnel entrance, lowering it slowly behind her.


    I turn towards the dark tunnels that now lay in front of us, giving Mia a glance before stepping forward. My eyes seem to be true to my rather feline form and filter the light to such an extent that I can easily navigate the darkness. The walls are only mildly colder than the air around us, so I am not sure how easy a time I would¡¯ve had navigating with my new thermal senses. Making a note to make sure to train using those while we are in the caves, I start to lead our way into the darkness, one tail close to Mia to make sure I don¡¯t lose her.

 Chapter 7

    We¡¯d been heading down the pathways of the tunnels for a few hours now, Mia occasionally directing me to take a turn, but otherwise we remain quiet for the most part. There¡¯s a kind of serenity to walking like this, just together with one another. It¡¯s a nice experience and reminds me of the times I went hiking with Anya, though the hikes were a little more exciting, being able to see a lot of nature and various critters; the caves aren¡¯t exactly dead, but the occasional lizard or bat just isn¡¯t quite the same.


    I turn to look towards Mia, her eyes are roaming around a lot of the time, almost like she can¡¯t see, and yet her steps are as sure as ever. ¡°What¡¯s the matter little one?¡± Her voice is low and quiet, barely travelling far enough to reach my ears.


    Scurrying over next to her, I lift myself with my tails to be able to whisper more easily. ¡°Just curious about how you¡¯re seeing. Or not seeing but sensing? I can¡¯t quite tell.¡± She nods with a small smile.


    ¡°Observant. It¡¯s mostly my magic doing the sensing, the vibrations in the air and the ground aren¡¯t that hard to detect, not anymore at least; just think of my halo as a sort of antenna. I could also produce some light, but that¡¯s not exactly the best thing to do if we want to stay undetected.¡± I tilt my head slightly at her words, my eyes moving to her halo, to me it was still bright, though it doesn¡¯t seem to actually shed any light, nor heat.


    ¡°Can others not see it? It¡¯s so bright to me.¡± Mia continues to move down the tunnel and I join her, this time keeping pace instead of going ahead.


    ¡°No, most people can¡¯t see or sense others¡¯ magic the way you do, at least not usually.¡± She pauses for a moment before continuing. ¡°I can hear water, our resting place shouldn¡¯t be too far then. We¡¯ll just have to follow the stream through a few more caverns.¡±


    I make a low sound in acknowledgement and try to listen for the water. It¡¯s quiet, and still rather distant, but it¡¯s there. I¡¯m not too sure about already resting, but Mia knows the caves better than me, and she might be more tired than me too, so I just follow her lead.


    The next time we stop is when Mia raises her hand and freezes in place, her expression twisted in concentration. I look around us curiously, trying to spot what has her on edge; the river is rather close by and we¡¯ve been following it for about an hour now, and the camp is still a few caves away.


    I almost make a startled sound when Mia kneels down next to me, one finger on her mouth to signal silence. Brushing my nose against her other hand I show her my understanding. She gives me another smile before pointing towards the side of the cavern¡¯s exit. It takes me a few long moments to pick out what she is pointing at, but eventually I spot it: some kind of octopus-like creature is hiding against the stone, probably waiting in ambush for any unsuspecting prey.


    While she can¡¯t tell me what she wants me to do, I can take a pretty good guess. We¡¯d been planning to get me the opportunity for a hunt, and here it is presenting itself. I give her a smile she can¡¯t see before quietly slinking away towards the water. The rushing sound of it should help me hide my steps a little better. My magic suffuses me as I move closer and closer to my target, the comfort of my camouflage brings with it a sense of serenity, like I am in my own little world, merely an observer to the outside world, watching what I want. That sense of serenity almost comes back to bite me. I barely manage to jump away to the side as a tentacle pierces into the stone where I stood just a moment before. The octopus has spotted me and designated me its prey, a game two can play though. My jump carries me all the way to the wall on the other side of the river, my paws shifting in but a moment to offer me the grip I need as I quickly advance alongside the near vertical cave wall.


    The octopus creature doesn¡¯t sit idly by though. With its ambush failed, it takes a few long moments to remove the limb from the stone before it starts to climb alongside the wall towards me, its tentacles easily sticking to the rockface. Its range is much longer than mine, as befitting of its size. A size I severely misjudged on my original approach, thinking it about the same size as me. Now that it is moving though, I can make out the entirety of the octopus¡¯ body; almost three times my size.


    The air ruffles through my feathers as I quickly approach my prey, closing the gap as quickly as I can. It doesn¡¯t take long before another tentacle comes piercing towards me, though this time I am prepared and dodge it with barely a deviation from my path. In turn, the octopus stops in its tracks, instead waiting for my approach as it rears up and lances two tentacles towards me this time.


    My magic does as it should though, and clears up my perception. Just as the attacks are about to impale me, I leap once again, this time onto my target''s appendages. My paws shift alongside the movement, growing vicious claws that tear into the flesh beneath them, giving me plenty of grip, and the first blood in this fight. My opponent though isn¡¯t defensive, it raises its body and lets out a wail without sound, penetrating deep into my consciousness and causing me to reel.


    When my head clears I am barely hanging onto the tentacle I had been running across, though I am not fully shaken off quite yet. After a quick assessment I can tell that the octopus¡¯ has several tentacles poised to strike the moment I clear its body. An opportunity I decide to give it as I release my claws, allowing myself to drop through the air. Only a moment later several tentacles are racing towards me at breakneck speed. Just before impact I reach out towards the wall, tearing into the stone with my claws to arrest my momentum as the tentacles crash into it right beneath me.


    I release my hold and jump onto the tentacles once more. Stuck in the wall- at least for a while- they present me with the perfect approach on the main body. As I get closer, the octopus raises itself for another wailing attack, but this time I am near enough to do something about it. My tail lashes out from behind me, splitting into half a dozen halfway through, each having grown serrated edges, allowing them to pierce deep into its body.


    I pull myself closer towards it with my tails. The octopus is squirming and bringing its tentacles to bear against me in a bid to stave me off. However, it has little success. I bury my claws into its flesh as I rip my tails free of its body and swing them to meet my opponents strike.


    Tail and tentacle meet in a bloody and painful display. Were my tentacles made of flesh and bone, and not just mostly muscle and magic, I¡¯d have broken my tails in that clash. Instead I get out of it with the last tentacles bisected halfway through, and a lot of pain on my end, one of them having grazed my side, almost making me lose my grip, my tails are battered and wounded, though if need be they are still usable. I shove the pain aside and close the last bit of distance towards the main body. The octopus has no visible eyes, but the wounds my tails left leave me plenty of room to expand on.


    My claws start tearing into its flesh, blood flowing around and onto me as I dig in. I continue until it finally stops squirming beneath my assault, its body going limp and falling from the ceiling; I hadn¡¯t even noticed we moved up in the cave. I brace myself against the impact, though it is cushioned by the mass of my victims body. My tongue licks across my face, lapping up the blood still staining my entire body. It tastes rich and much less metallic than I anticipated. It¡¯s a taste I want more of, a taste suffused by magic as I feel it flow through me. I scan my surroundings and yet find nothing, except one presence, but I know this presence is not prey, it is friend.


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    I let out a dissatisfied sound. The other presence is making noises; talking I believe, but it has to wait. My magic knows there is more left to do, it guides me, it lets me smell the truth. The blood is merely a conduit, a sorry excuse for what truly matters. My eyes turn towards the body of my foe, and I can see it, the glowing core of magic deep in its body. I can smell it, hearty and full of life, it smells of the earth itself, a smell that makes me salivate in hunger. I tear my way through its body and towards my prize. Its heart is so close thanks to my previous work, it only takes me but a moment. Unhinging my jaw I swallow a heart that is the size of head. It enters my body and magic runs rampant, and yet it is quickly starting to be consumed by my own magic, magic that wants to begin its work. But I can not let it start yet, there is more. The magic knows of it, but it is too eager to change.


    It takes all my willpower to suppress the magic''s desire for the moment. My claws go back to work, further up, towards the brain. It is another prize. It does not smell hearty, it smells sweet, like a dessert, and as serene as the rain. This, too, I swallow whole; and I know the magic will listen now if I wish for it to stay calm. I do not. I let it suffuse me once more, let it claw at my insides with the same burning desire as before. I feel my tails move on instinct, spinning and weaving around me; and then darkness takes me.


    Mia


    As Ada is assaulted by several tentacles at once, Mia almost reaches out to help her, though she hesitates. After all, they had decided that Ada should be hunting, and risk was part of that. It would not do if she helped her everytime she ended up in a bad situation.


    Mia¡¯s concern is quickly replaced by a different kind of worry, as she watches Ada deflect the tentacles in a reckless, almost suicidal, clash of appendages, just to then proceed to tear into the main body, drinking up the octofiends blood in the process. ¡°Ada, it¡¯s dead. Are you alright?¡± Mia ignites a light as Ada ignores her and continues to claw into the body, until she reaches the heart and swallows it whole. A shudder goes through Mia¡¯s body; they had determined that Ada likely would need fresh kills for her diet, but this type of focus is not the usual; it¡¯s a blood frenzy, not something most people experienced.


    And yet, despite the single minded focus on violence her new friend is displaying right now, she can¡¯t help but be proud of her for her first kill. It also helps that she doesn¡¯t feel in danger. Ada merely spares her a short glance, it feels different but just as charming to Mia. Ada¡¯s eyes have turned into slits and the crimson feels alive in a way it doesn¡¯t usually. However, that short glance is enough to convey to her that Ada still recognizes her enough not to attack her; not that she¡¯d have succeeded with that anyway.


    She continues to observe as Ada claws her way deeper into her prey¡¯s body, until she finally reaches the brain. It¡¯s an odd choice for her to go for it, brains tend to not be very mana heavy. ¡°We can cook the rest, it¡¯ll likely taste better that way.¡± Her words once more fill the silence, and aren¡¯t met with a response. Brightening her light, she steps in closer as Ada finishes gorging on the brain. It¡¯s a bloody display and her entire body is stained in the thick liquid still flowing from the octofiend, though it doesn¡¯t seem to bother her. Besides the occasional dart of her tongue lapping up the blood on her face.


    Ada stops for a moment as if she is searching for something. When she clearly finds nothing, her tails start to move. Despite their battered and wounded state they are still mobile. A black liquid starts to seep from the tips of them as they reach out and touch an invisible barrier in the air, coating it in the liquid. It quickly spreads, and before Mia loses sight, she spots a few connections form between Ada and the cocoon. It takes her a few long moments before she moves again, shocked by the display.


    The liquid is familiar, or rather, it is not a liquid, it is some form of organic compound, one that everyone that lived through the Genesis is familiar with. The same compound that sprouted in the skies and covered entire cities, consuming the unlucky ones, and changing the lucky ones. And here it is again, an occurrence she had only seen once in her life, summoned forth by someone she newly met, someone that had been stuck out of time. Summoned forth and woven into a cocoon at that, its outer shell pitch black with the occasional red veins pulsing through it.


    Mia extinguishes her light and sits down a few meters away, outside of the still gathering pool of blood. The fight had caused a commotion, and it is only a matter of time till unwelcome guests stumble upon them. She closes her eyes and spreads her awareness, stretching it thinner and thinner until she reaches the campsite they were heading for, covering just as much distance in the other direction. There is movement congregating for them. She could fight them, if need be, but causing an even bigger commotion would only lead to more problems. There are still a few minutes before the first beasts reach them.


    She opens her eyes and heads back to Ada¡¯s cocoon. She could leave her here. She won¡¯t, obviously, the girl was too trusting and likable to abandon her like this, even if there is more to her than she anticipated. Transporting the cocoon might be an issue though. The tunnels weren¡¯t large enough to accommodate her dragon form, and she can¡¯t use her rings to store living beings. Instead, she reaches into her magic and spreads it across the surface of the cocoon, slowly lifting it up in the air. It takes her a few long moments before finally separating it fully from the carcass, part of the cocoon having latched onto it.


    Telekinesis is not a magic she uses often, as it taxes her magic more than most, but she doesn¡¯t really have a choice here. She can only hope to have enough left over to seal the campsite once they reach it. Mia takes a last look around before starting to head towards the campsite. The beasts were closing in faster than anticipated, so she decides taking it slowly is not an option. She picks up the pace as she readies herself for a running fight.


    Her steps echo down the tunnels as she moves, making herself a clear beacon for the hunters. About two thirds of the distance, the first beasts finally catch up to her. It¡¯s a quick weasel-like creature that is quickly dispatched into a bloody splatter on the ground with a small exertion of her magic. By themselves, most of what is coming after them isn''t a threat. The sheer number, however, will pose an issue without access to her superior form.


    She dispatches the next few attackers just as easily, their remains offering a slight bit of distraction to her pursuers. Mia finally reaches the entrance to the campsite, a hidden door in the side of the tunnels, similar to the one hiding the entrance into the tunnel system. The magic is much the same, at least in this state, so a quick twist of her own lets her open the door for them. Stepping inside, she quickly pulls in the cocoon after her, placing it off to the side of a small pond in the campsite. The area isn¡¯t particularly large, just enough to accommodate a small group, though it does have a fire site with an air purification enchantment, left there by the group of scouts that initially found it.


    Turning around towards the door, she lets her senses expand a short way in either direction. The next attackers are still a few moments away, long enough to fully seal the campsite. Quickly getting to work, she directs her magic into a prepared enchantment circle around the entire cavern. Valerie had drawn it a few years ago, hiding and fortifying the place against any potential intrusion.


    The enchantment snaps into place just as a mole-like creature leaps for her jugular, its body crashing into the barrier instead of into her. There¡¯s a clear moment of confusion for the creature, surprise at the barrier as well as its prey being suddenly gone.


    Mia finally lets her body relax, the tension having crept into her during the chase, amplified by her concern for Ada. She turns towards the woman in question, or rather, the cocoon she is in and steps closer. It feels odd to her, to see this substance again. Even most Genesis events, outside the Genesis itself, did not have it make an appearance, and yet, here it is, called forth by Ada in a manner that seemed almost instinctual.


    She reaches out a hand towards the cocoon, but hesitates for a brief moment before touching its surface. She doesn¡¯t sense any particular danger from it, the entire thing seeming almost inert, if not for the occasional red lines crossing along it. Lines that do remind her of the lines crossing along Ada¡¯s body every time she seems to feel an intense emotion, yet these seem more like a heartbeat. She crosses the last few centimeters, placing her hand on the surface. She¡¯s met with warmth and a rush of lines crossing along the surface, forming a pattern she had seen before when Ada was excited for something. A smile creeps onto her face. ¡°You¡¯re still in there then, yes? Do I need to worry?¡± The egg remains inert for a few long moments, before she feels a pulse go through it, like the beating of a heart. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no, that you¡¯re fine. I have enough food for several weeks, but it would still be nice if you don¡¯t take overly long in there. It does make me worry a little.¡± She brushes her hand across the surface in a caress, and is met with another pulse, a slower more considered one this time, before taking her hand off of the cocoon. ¡°I¡¯ll go get settled in, I¡¯m still here.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Mia is used to traveling and being alone, so it¡¯s a bit of a surprise to her that she is feeling lonely now, a mere day after arriving at the campsite. Growing this attached to someone she just met wasn¡¯t something that usually happens to her either, and yet here she is, feeling lonely while wrapped up in a blanket next to the fireplace with a half read book in her lap.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll manage to get out of there soon.¡± Her eyes move to the cocoon just a few meters away. ¡°Though we aren¡¯t exactly in a hurry either. No one comes down here, and this place is well warded.¡± She leans back against the wall behind her, shifting underneath the blanket.


    The tunnels are mostly safe for her to travel, though only alone. The cocoon would take too much energy to move around with her. So she was stuck here, waiting for her companion to emerge again, with no idea how long that might take. She returns to reading her book, but gives up after a few minutes, her mind straying every few sentences.


    Letting out a sigh, she stands up and stretches before walking over towards Ada. She places a hand onto the shell of her cocoon. The warmth flowing through it is steadily pulsing, a clear sign of life. ¡°Hey there, I¡¯ll move you a little closer to the fire where my bedroll is.¡± She waits for a response but gets none. Ada¡¯s been unresponsive since shortly after they arrived, most likely unconscious while her body changes yet again.


    Lifting the cocoon with her magic, she quickly moves it over. The proximity will allow her to keep a closer eye on it, ready to respond if anything changes. She of course knows that¡¯s not really the reason why she¡¯s moving it closer to her sleeping place though. She places it down before taking a small sip of water. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get some rest, I didn¡¯t sleep last night.¡± She pulls her bedroll a bit closer so that she rests against the base of the cocoon.. Before undressing and slipping in, she reaches out and gently touches the shell. ¡°Good night.¡± Her hand drops away as sleep takes her not long after.


    The next day Mia wakes up with a slight start, nightmares having plagued her in her sleep causing her to forget where she is. Her eyes take in her surroundings before finally falling on the cocoon next to her. The magic she had readied fades as she remembers what happened, where she is. ¡°Good morning Ada.¡± Her voice is soft and quiet, the loneliness not taking long to return. ¡°I do hope you¡¯re still in there.¡± She holds out her hand, and with a short bit of concentration, a box with a few prepared sandwiches drop into her lap. ¡°I am not sure if you¡¯re worrying about me, if you¡¯re even conscious right now, but I¡¯ve got food and water here, so take your time. Maybe I¡¯ll read a story to you while I wait.¡± She quietly eats her breakfast, cleaning up by storing everything back in her ring, replacing the box with a relatively thick book.


    She glances over at the fire, its flames are almost out now, merely providing a pittance of heat, enough for the moment, but the light is not enough to read by. She summons a few pieces of wood and feeds the flames, the light brightening the cave again as she leans back against Ada¡¯s cocoon.


    ¡°Shall we get started? I think you¡¯ll like it. The author was born after the Genesis. She and her wife actually don¡¯t live all that far from here.¡± She opens the first page of the book, it¡¯s one she has read plenty of times, and adores all the more for it. She begins, her voice picking up, and her own loneliness forgotten, as she reads the story of a dragon, so mighty and grand, and yet so lonely in her mountain; how she sets out to find a partner, and eventually finds herself in a fae queendom, the place where she meets the one she sought. Not a dragon as she had expected, but the princess of the fae.


    Mia reads for many hours before the tiredness returns to her and her reading is interrupted by a long yawn, she closes the book about two thirds through. ¡°Well, we¡¯re not quite done yet, I hope you¡¯re enjoying it.¡± She places the book down to the side and places her hand on the cocoon again. ¡°You better be doing fine in there. Turns out this old lady took quite the liking to little you, so I¡¯d be rather sad if you were to disappear again.¡± She smiles to herself as she settles down to sleep again. ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t feel like this yet, but I am, and I¡¯ll still be if you ever do too.¡± A small sigh escapes her as she drifts off. The only reason she¡¯s being this open about her feelings is because she¡¯s fairly certain that Ada can not hear her. Pushing them onto the woman while she is still adjusting would be uncalled for, though it won¡¯t stop her from accompanying her either, or from deepening their relationship, just at Ada¡¯s pace and not hers.


    Ada


    Darkness takes me as my tails finish their weaving. I can feel the magic move throughout and around me. It is changing me, but the burn from my nightmare¡­ My memories are missing this time. Instead, it feels like a gentle embrace, suffusing me with warmth and a feeling of belonging. I feel something make contact with my new accommodations. Mia, most likely. She speaks to me, reaches out to me, and I want to hear, to understand, but I can not, not really, not as a human would, I merely sense her intent, her worry, and I respond to reassure her. The contact breaks not long after, and time loses its meaning to me.


    My consciousness is in disarray, I am me and I am more, and yet I am not, I am becoming more, and so is my magic, I am connected to it in a way I had somewhat anticipated, but not entirely. I can feel it as if it were me, I feel it devour the magic I have consumed, analyze it in its own strange way, take the bits it¡­ I want; and incorporate them to become more. And yet, it is not a fully conscious choice on my end, I realise after having made it, it is an instinct I maybe always had, and never knew, or it is one that has come with all the changes I have gone through, but it matters little, the magic works, and my consciousness observes.


    The cocoon is a gentle place, a place of peace and quiet, of warmth and belonging. It is a place where I feel safe; at least, knowing that Mia is there to protect it. I feel somewhat lonely, I can not tell how much time has passed, but I know Mia is still there, speaking to me, even if I can not hear her.


    Time returns to me eventually as I find myself half suspended in a thick liquid. The drained blood of the octopus creature I had fought, its magic depleted now, its nutrients gone. One part of me insists that I should feel disgusted by it, but I remember the taste of it, what it has done for me. How can I hate something so delicious, so useful? I raise onto my currently two feet and step towards the edge of my enclosure, the liquid¡¯s impedance easily ignored as it just slides off my skin, none of it sticking to me. Just a few steps and the membrane is there. It¡¯s organic, alive, and I can feel it still. It is a part of me, created by me and suffused by my magic.


    I form a claw at the tip of my finger. It had been instinct when fighting the octopus, an action that came to me as easily as breathing, and one I can also manually replicate just as easily. I barely have to touch the membrane with it, cutting through it like it isn¡¯t even there. I stop the cut a few centimeters away from the liquid. Grasping the edges of my cut, I pull it apart, revealing a dimly lit cavern in front of me. A small fire is burning in a fireplace nearby, and Mia is sleeping just beneath me, leaning up against the cocoon I had been in.


    Slipping out of the cocoon, I quietly step down onto the ground. Mia is beautiful like this, her face resting comfortably against a pillow, a few scales peeking out from underneath the sleeping bag. She has a few books next to herself, differing in size, though none of them particularly thin; a bit of guilt goes through me. I had left her alone here, and isolated myself from the world, causing her to be stuck by herself for days, or even weeks. I step closer towards her and lower myself down, unsure whether to wake her or to let her sleep.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The choice is taken from me after a few moments as Mia¡¯s eyes blink open slowly. ¡°Ada? Is that you?¡± Her voice is raspy with sleep, it makes for a beautiful sound.


    I nod affirmatively as I speak. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry I-¡± My words are interrupted as Mia raises halfway out of her sleeping bag, the lack of clothes not going unnoticed, and wraps me in a tight hug. I return the hug after a moment, and we remain in a quiet embrace for a while.


    Mia is the one to eventually break the silence. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re fine. And you don¡¯t need to be sorry, not about this. A warning would¡¯ve been nice, but you¡¯re still getting used to all this.¡± We break the hug, and her nudity comes into full view, a small surge of heat raising to my skin, and this time, I am aware of the patterns on my body, reflecting my emotions, my slight embarrassment, even though I know she is fine with this. The changes absorbing the octopus has caused are many, some from it, some merely finishing up what was still missing from the first time. One of the benefits is a change in awareness of my body, a decentralized nervous system is quite useful in that way.


    She¡¯s unbothered by my embarrassment, and takes a closer look at me while I try to figure out where to look. ¡°You¡¯ve changed, little one. Slightly bigger. Also¡­ I am fairly sure you did not have hair before. Though I think there is an argument to be had about whether tentacles count as hair.¡± She grins at me as I turn to look at her again, deciding to just accept her slight exhibitionist streak. If she is comfortable with it, then I will be too. She is beautiful to look at, the scales on her body are clearly imbued with a part of her magic, the patterns of them ever so slightly shifting over time, I like to watch those.


    I slightly incline my head in a nod. ¡°A lot of changes happened in there, the hair is only the most obvious one I think. And, as for the warning¡­ I am fairly sure I can decide whether to do this in the future, it was a necessity this time, I think, to finish what wasn¡¯t done yet, and it probably accelerates the process of absorbing the magic, and the other aspects of what I eat.¡± I sit back onto my haunches as I consider myself for a moment. The heart being the center of the magic made sense to eat, but I am still not quite sure why I also wanted to eat the brain so desperately. Obviously there was some magic in it, like in all parts of the body, but it wasn¡¯t comparable to the heart of the creature. Prodding at my magic is also of little help, it is not able to communicate in the way a human is, I can only sense an insistence on the brain being important, so I let it rest.


    While I am thinking, Mia seems to also consider my words for a little bit, she has exited the sleeping bag entirely now and sits cross legged in front of me. Eventually, she looks over at me, and slightly inclines her head. ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite something, we¡¯ll probably want to figure out what you can absorb and learn from the things you hunt, and if you can avoid the cocoon thing in the future¡­ there¡¯s a lot of potential here, and it honestly makes me want to explore more of my own magic as well.¡± She motions me slightly closer, and I gladly obey, my head leaning into her hand when she gently strokes her fingers through my new hair.


    ¡°Yours feels like it also wants to change. Not in the same way though, mine I think wants to consume, yours is just¡­ wanting you to change, and it as well? Through your own ability? It¡¯s odd, and I only get a slight impression when we are touching like this.¡± I lean further into her, settling myself against her front.


    Mia¡¯s arms wrap around my waist. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out, I know that magic isn¡¯t exactly static, I was much weaker when all of this began than I am now¡­¡± She falls silent for a few long moments. ¡°I¡­ wouldn¡¯t have gotten hurt like that if I had been stronger, like now. But I can¡¯t fix what they did to me, not by myself at least.¡± I lean back further into her, my tail wrapping around the both of us. ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe we can figure out how to break the curse¡­ Sorry. I¡­ there¡¯s just so much potential here, I couldn¡¯t help but be hopeful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, if I can help you, then I¡¯d love to do so. It sounds like it bothers you a lot, what they did to you, if you ever wanna tell me more about it, I am here to listen.¡± My tentacles wrap around the hand on my hand, and give her a slight squeeze, alongside my tail. ¡°But, for now¡­ I don¡¯t think I am strong enough, not yet. More hunting is going to help with that, I¡¯m pretty sure of that.¡±Mia hums affirmatively, and we remain cuddled up with each other for a while longer before my eyes fall onto the pile of books again. ¡°Have you been reading while I was gone?¡±


    Mia pauses for a moment. ¡°I was reading to you. I guess you couldn¡¯t hear it after all, it was helpful for distracting me from feeling a bit lonely. I¡¯d be happy to read them again, now that you can actually enjoy them too! They¡¯re some of my favorites, and I guarantee you''ve not read these yet!¡± I can hear the grin in her voice. ¡°They were written by a couple that was born after the Genesis, except the first one, that one was just one of them before they got married. I mentioned it while you were in there, but they live relatively close by, maybe we¡¯ll meet them sometime.¡± She points a finger at one of the books, and her magic flows out and surrounds it, lifting it in the air and towards us. ¡°I started with this one, it¡¯s one of my favorites. But, for now, I should eat something; if you¡¯re hungry I still got plenty for you too.¡± She reaches out and touches the book, making it vanish into her ring, just to replace it with a box.


    Opening the box reveals a few sandwiches and boiled eggs, and easy food to carry around and not so heavy as to be an impedance during combat. Mia reaches into it and takes out a sandwich, holding it up for me to take. ¡°You¡¯ll like it, though it doesn¡¯t have any magic in it, we do still have the snacks. Though you have them in the amulet¡­¡± She pauses as she speaks, and I can feel her shift behind me. I slightly turn my body to look up at her, and see her scrutinizing me. ¡°It¡¯s gone. Is it still in the cocoon?¡±


    Looking down at myself, I confirm that the amulet is not, in fact, resting between my breasts where it should be. I disregard the heat coming to me as I process our proximity and nudity, and instead look over towards the cocoon. The amulet has very little magic presence, but I¡¯ve grown familiar enough with it to sense it, concentrating for a moment I try to find it in the cocoon, just to find it inside of me instead. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I think I might¡¯ve¡­ eaten? It¡­ or absorbed it, like the Octopus creature? I think I can still use it, but¡­ it¡¯s gone¡­¡± Panic starts to rise in me as I realize I lost the present she had given me, even after all these years, the scars of my childhood come back to haunt me.


    Mia pulls me tighter into herself, dropping the sandwich back into the box. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s a tool, the form doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I let out a slight whimper at her words as her hand gently strokes across my belly. ¡°If you can still use it, then it¡¯s even better, no? Can¡¯t lose something that¡¯s part of you after all!¡± She continues holding me close to her as I slowly calm down again.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± My voice is quiet and subdued, but Mia seems to understand, and doesn¡¯t press the issue, just giving me an affirming hum before motioning to the box with the sandwiches.


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll help then, food always helps me at least.¡± She takes one for herself as I reach out and grab one myself. She has to lean back slightly to eat properly, which almost makes my tail pull her closer again, but I manage to restrain myself and we eat in companionable silence. The sandwiches are good, for normal food. A rich texture to each of the ingredients and the bread is nice and soft, though it is still normal food, it doesn¡¯t satisfy me the same way that the octopus did, or the little snacks Mia had gotten me. But, for now, I should be fine. My body has absorbed a lot of magic, even with the amount I expended in the cocoon, I still have a lot more in me than I¡¯ve had before.


    We both eat another sandwich before we¡¯re both done, and Mia stores the box again without getting up. ¡°How rested are you, little one? Was that like sleep for you? I¡¯m rested enough, though I wouldn¡¯t exactly mind another few hours.¡±


    I have to take a few moments to consider her words. ¡°I¡¯m not sure? I feel rested, but also not? My body is fine at least, but it feels like I¡¯ve been awake for a week. I don¡¯t know if I could sleep if we try.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try then, it won¡¯t hurt, at worst we lose a few hours, which isn¡¯t much of a difference at this point.¡± She releases her hold on me and opens up her sleeping back, before slipping inside it. I am unsure on what to do until Mia seems to notice and holds open the side of it, inviting me to sleep beside her, an offer I don¡¯t refuse. She¡¯s warm and cuddly after all, something I quite appreciate. I slip in next to her, turning to look at her, which earns me a smile. ¡°Sleepy after all? We can cuddle if you want.¡±


    ¡°A little. And I¡¯d like that, yes.¡± I turn on my side and shuffle back into her, my tail making it a bit more complex than I am used to. The solution I eventually end up with elicits a stifled sound from Mia as she tenses. When I turn my head to look at her she¡¯s red in the face but shakes her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry, just, be careful with the tail in the future, yes?¡± I give her a nod as a pattern of embarrassment flickers across my skin. I start to move my tail away when Mia wraps an arm around my waist again and pulls me into her. We lay there for a while before I can hear her breaths even out and her body fully relaxes; she¡¯s kind of cute when asleep. It takes me a long while before I eventually join her in her slumber.

 Chapter 9

    The thing I am laying on when I slowly wake up in the morning is so soft and warm, that I don¡¯t want to open my eyes, wanting to enjoy it for a bit longer. I am still drowsy from sleep when I finally blink open my eyes, just to be met with Mia¡¯s smile. Her hand is laying on my back, making sure I don¡¯t fall off as I somehow found my way on top of her during the night. ¡°Morning.¡± My voice is still drowsy and quiet as I cuddle deeper into Mia.


    ¡°Morning little one, seems like you really did need some rest.¡± Her voice is as quiet as mine, making sure not to stir me up too much, though her hand moves up my back and trails up to the back of my skull, where the roots of my new ¡°hair¡± are, the tentacles only have a cursory resemblance to hair after all, most of my skull is bare. The tentacles, much like my tails, have a bit of a mind of their own, and giddily wrap around Mia¡¯s arm, eliciting a small giggle from her.


    I bask in the contact for a long while, the gentle strokes of her fingers eliciting soothing sensations, especially as she brushes along their bases. Though eventually, my mind arrives fully in wakefulness. ¡°Mia, we have to go soon, no?¡± Squirming on top of her I position myself so I can properly look up at her, she sadly stops her caress and gives me a nod.


    ¡°This place is safe for now, but yes, if we want to get anything done then we¡¯ll have to get going.¡± She glances towards the cocoon next to us. ¡°I am¡­ not sure what to do with that though. We can try burning it maybe? Or do you have some way to dissolve it again?¡± I look over at the cocoon as well and try to ask my magic, whether it has an answer to the question. It¡¯s a hard question to pose to it, as it requires me to figure out a way to communicate my intent on a very primal level, an endeavour that is sadly not very successful, when I prod at it with the intent of consumption, I get a very energetic and vibrant response, it really really likes to consume things, to grow! But, it doesn¡¯t help me understand how to direct it to do so, or whether it even can absorb the leftover biomass.


    Turning back to Mia, I slightly shake my head. ¡°Don¡¯t think so, or if I do I¡¯ll have to take some time to figure it out, but burning is probably going to be faster.¡± She gives me a nod, and we take a few minutes before I reluctantly get off of her. It¡¯s unfair how warm and cozy she is! I crawl out of the sleeping bag we had been sharing and stretch my body, including all of my new appendages. I look back towards Mia again and catch her staring at me, a deep blush on her face.


    She quickly turns her head away and gets out of the sleeping bag herself. ¡°Ah. Sorry.¡± Her voice is a quiet mutter, her apology is kind of cute, though I am not sure why she feels the need, she has already seen me like this before after all, maybe it is the tails and she¡¯s being shy asking about them? I slightly tilt my head in thought, but decide to disregard it, she seems fine now, and if she wants to ask then she can, no need to press her on it.


    As Mia packs up her books and the rest of the little camp she made while I was out. I walk over towards the cocoon, shifting to my quadrupedal form as I do so. The outside of it is quite the same as the inside, the same type of biological mass, though it is smoother and harder. Less alive, really, not that it was very alive anymore when I left it earlier. I reach out with a paw and place it against the membrane, it is cold now, inert, any life and any magic that was part of it before has been absorbed or has dissipated by now. Forming a claw, I slice into it, cutting out a small section that I disappear into my ring¡­ well, myself really, now that I essentially ate the ring. I then cut out another, slightly larger bit, and carry it over to where Mia is refiring the fireplace. ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She accepts the piece I hand to her and inspects it for a few moments. ¡°This seems almost entirely biological, but how? There¡¯s no way you had enough nutrients to form that entire cocoon so fast, though it is similar to the material from the Genesis¡­¡± I look at it more closely, it is similar to what I saw in the sky in my nightmare. At least, I think so. I don¡¯t have much of a reference for it, so I just trust Mia on her assessment, an assessment that I am not sure makes me comfortable. Eventually, she throws it into the flames, and we see it ever so slowly catch fire, burning little bit by little bit.


    It takes us quite a long while to finish burning the cocoon due to its fire resistant material. We store the remains of the liquid that were still inside, unsure of what to do with it, as just discarding it is probably not a smart idea. At least, not here.


    Mia approaches the exit of the little hideout we are in before turning towards me. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. We¡¯re still quite high in the mountain, so we¡¯ll have to rest a few more times before we can exit, but it shouldn¡¯t take us too long. If we don¡¯t run into any issue that is.¡± I step up next to her and give her a nod.


    The wall fades away as she releases the enchantment on the campsite, and it reveals a passage throughout the mountain once more, one I am not familiar with. Sniffing the air, I notice the smell of some old blood; did Mia get wounded when she brought me here? I hadn¡¯t noticed anything inside the camp. ¡°Smells like blood, yours? Or something else? It¡¯s old.¡± I look up at her as I decide to ask her, to make sure that she is fine.


    ¡°Not mine, some of the critters tried to hunt us down, nothing I couldn¡¯t take care of.¡± She gives me a smile and seals the wall behind us once we¡¯re both in the tunnel. ¡°Your senses are quite something though, I don¡¯t smell anything anymore.¡± She begins to lead us down the tunnel, away from the smell of blood. ¡°We can try going for another hunt down here, or try to avoid any confrontations for now. Sound carries far down here, and most of the predators here hunt by sound, much like the octofiend you fought.¡±


    ¡°Oh is that what they¡¯re called? It didn¡¯t seem very¡­ fiendy. Very octo though.¡± A slight giggle escapes me as I bound ahead a few steps. ¡°If we get swarmed, we have a problem, no? The things down here, they¡¯re probably stronger than the octofiend too, yes? I don¡¯t think I can take on more than two or maybe three of those at a time, even if I try my best.¡± Mia continues to walk confidently down the tunnel. There¡¯s not much deviation to be had so we don¡¯t exactly need to stay right next to each other, other than to reduce our noise profile; but Mia seems fine with us being a bit noisy for the moment.


    ¡°I can take care of most things down here without issue, but I¡¯d eventually run out of energy. My magic isn¡¯t exactly limitless, especially if I have to protect my body. If I could shift into my other form, then I¡¯d be able to hold on for days with no issue, but there¡¯s too little space here.¡± She shrugs a little. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t take too many risks and make all that much noise it¡¯ll be okay. Your fight with the octofiend was quite loud. Most of the predators here aren¡¯t as resilient, or violent.¡±


    We continue on, Mia eventually catching up to walk in step with me though we mostly remain silent as we walk, just enjoying each other¡¯s company. We only stop to take a few turns here and there, due to tunnels that have been blocked by a cave in or similar, luckily Mia has a map so we don¡¯t actually have to explore them to know they¡¯re blocked.


    Eventually, I can hear a yawn from beside me, and my eyes drift up to Mia. ¡°Campsite is still a bit away, we had to take more detours than I thought. We should take a break, eat and drink a bit before we continue.¡± I give her a nod and an affirming hum as we continue until we reach another cavern. ¡°This¡¯ll do, let¡¯s sit.¡± She moves over towards one of the walls on the side, and summons a cozy pile of pelts; one that I quickly jump onto and settle myself on.


    Mia grins at me as she sits down and ignites a small light in the air, one that doesn¡¯t seem to carry very far. She brings out food and drink again, and we rest for a while. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll run into anyone else down here?¡± My question draws her attention and she ponders it for a moment.


    ¡°No, probably not, the networks are vast, and we¡¯re going to a rarely used exit. If we do run into anyone¡­ it¡¯ll probably be scouts of the kingdom, trying to map this place.¡± She takes a sip before continuing. ¡°Any reason you¡¯re asking? Or just curious?¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I shift to properly look at her. ¡°Not sure, something feels off, but I don¡¯t know what. It¡¯s like¡­ the natural magic isn¡¯t quite right, like it¡¯s been disturbed, but I don¡¯t know when, or by what, or if that¡¯s just how it is down here.¡± I shrug a little. ¡°The ambient magic in the city also felt wrong, much more so than here, but in a similar manner, so maybe it¡¯s just an after effect of that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not, best to keep an eye on that feeling, I¡¯ve had them before and they were right every time. I¡­ don¡¯t like that you have it though, and I don¡¯t. If it does hold true and something is wrong, that might be a problem.¡± She shakes her head and disappears the water bottle she¡¯s holding into her ring. ¡°Maybe a side effect of the amulet, or maybe someone managing to avoid my senses, too many possibilities. If you spot anything, don¡¯t hesitate to tell me, we¡¯re still in enemy territory after all, even if they suck at navigating it.¡± She gives me a slight grin at that. ¡°Let¡¯s get going again then? If we do run into anyone, assume they¡¯re an enemy, the resistance has not been sending anyone up here recently anyway.¡±


    I perk up at those words, though I obediently get off of the pelts. ¡°Resistance? Is that who made the map for you? And¡­ amulet?¡± I concentrate a little and try to pick it out, it takes a moment before I notice a faint trace of magic emanating from underneath her clothing, a different kind from what I¡¯ve seen before, except for the campsite, the campsite also had similar magic present. ¡°Oh! There! It¡¯s magic!¡±


    Mia stands and motions me along. ¡°Yes, they did, I have some friends in it; I wish I could do more for them, but the curse has been¡­ an impedance, not to mention the tracking. The amulet is supposed to help with the latter, at least temporarily. Once we¡¯re in the wilds I won¡¯t even need it anymore, no one in the kingdom would follow us there. Except the magehunters, but those guys are little better than rabid dogs¡­ which is probably an improvement, actually.¡± We continue along the tunnel as Mia speaks in a hushed voice, making sure it doesn¡¯t carry far. ¡°The resistance has been¡­ preparing for a while now, if we can help them, maybe we can actually change things around here. Not that you have to, mind you, but¡­ there¡¯d be a lot of people appreciating any kind of help.¡± I can sense there¡¯s some words unsaid there, but I leave it for now.


    ¡°I am not sure how much help I¡¯d be, but I am certainly no fan of this kingdom so far.¡± We walk as I consider what else to say, Mia patiently waiting for me to speak. ¡°Can¡¯t say I am exactly invested in anything here though, but¡­ if I can help, I think I will. Especially if it helps you. I¡¯ve never really been a selfless person, I don¡¯t exactly jump to any given strangers help, and I can feel that I am still drifting further away¡­ from caring about random humans, that is¡­¡± There are words still unsaid on my part too, but I leave them for now, not only because I am not sure how Mia will like those answers, but also because I am not sure of them myself, not yet. Humanity, after all, has always been an elusive thing to me, my body being so different now certainly is not helping with it either, and when I ate my prey? It¡­ felt different, primal in a sense. ¡°I¡¯ll help you, if you want me to. And even all things considered, I am not exactly a fan of the people being treated as they are.¡±


    Mia stays quiet for a little longer before she replies. ¡°Alright, you are going through a lot, so I don¡¯t expect you to just¡­ abandon everything to help, or to stop your own journey. Anything you decide to do, I will appreciate, regardless of the motivation.¡± She gives me a smile and reaches out a hand to pat my head. ¡°We¡¯ve all changed, after the Genesis, some more some less, some faster some slower. Take your time and become who you want to be, you¡¯re welcome with the resistance, I am sure, but they¡¯ve been working on this a long time, any newcomers will just ease the burden.¡± Her hand leaves my head as we move on.


    After a few more minutes, we reach another intersection, and Mia stops beside me. ¡°Hold on.¡± She takes a few moments with her eyes closed before she continues. ¡°The path ahead looks different to what it should; not sure if it¡¯s a cave in or something else though, it¡¯s¡­ odd. A detour is gonna take us a while though, but if it¡¯s a cave in, then we can¡¯t go that way, using magic to breach it is just going to destabilize the tunnel more. And the alternative¡­ either soldiers or some kind of creature I¡¯ve not encountered before.¡±


    ¡°I can still keep going for a while, and you know the threats down here better than me.¡± My eyes shift to the tunnel in front of us, it looks normal, just like all the others, the temperature is no different, and I don¡¯t notice any weird magic either. ¡°Don¡¯t know how much worth it is, but I don¡¯t sense anything magical that way.¡± My tail points into the tunnel as I speak.


    ¡°Cave in then, probably. Let¡¯s head around it, if you¡¯re still good then it¡¯ll be fine.¡± She starts heading down one of the other paths and I follow alongside her. The feeling of something being off ever so slowly shifts in the back of my mind, but my attention is on other thoughts, so I pay it no mind.


    As we walk, I continue to think about what I noticed earlier, I¡­ do not really feel very connected to how I was before, not in the I am human sense anyways, I do still feel the same way about Anya, that part, that core part of me has not changed, nor have other parts that make me, me. But, the parts around that, that made up the human shell of me? They¡¯re not exactly gone, but they¡¯re fraying at the edges, thread by thread they are being stripped from me; every step I take in this new form of mine, I feel more at home, more content with my being, more so than I have ever before, and with each of them, I feel less human.


    It¡¯s an odd realization to have, sure, other people were always a bit of a mystery to me, how do they tick? What are their motivations? But I always considered myself to be human too, at least in the vague sense that people seemed to define it, but now, it feels like a shackle, a set of ropes constricting me, and I am happy for it to fade away, even if I am not sure why. Maybe I have always been like this, shackled by humanity, and there never was an impetus for it to fall away, and now the impetus is there, or maybe it is the primal nature of magic stripping away that which we do not need. What exactly this will actually mean to what makes me, me, I don¡¯t really know yet, but, even with the next step I take, I feel my mind twist ever so slightly, giving in to the ease of how my body moves.


    I can feel the primal instincts slumbering in me, and I want to let them out. But I do not for I do not yet know whether I can be their master, I have felt them before though, their overwhelming desire to hunt, to consume. Not just during the fight with the octofiend, actually, but, before then, during the darker times, they are survival, too, and¡­ my eyes flick to Mia who walks beside me, clothed now, but I vividly remember her without them. There are other instincts too, subtle and muted, just like those things have always been for me, but they are there, in the background, a desire for company, for familiarity and intimacy, intimacy in many forms, really, emotional and physical; things we have shared already, I realize. A small bound enters my step as we continue moving, happiness filling me at finding someone that I can consider a friend, at realizing that she truly is a friend to me, one I can be myself around, that does not mind my shows of affection.


    That, too, is a thing that has changed, before there was only Anya that truly understood my desires, that my wants for intimacy aren¡¯t of the same nature as those of others, Mia seems to understand too, though I am not sure how much of that is my appearance, and how much of that is her understanding that I am different. Time will tell, really, but I feel more comfortable indulging in these behaviors now at least, not as much as I really want to be, but it is something I can feel is changing the fastest. The old shackles forged from reprimands and expectations reforged into an armor to bolster me against any foes, allowing me to indulge in the feral parts of my instincts. This armor is also something I know I can shed, one I can leave behind when with those closest to me, to be who I truly am. I do not know if that is what it will be in the end, but that is what it is becoming for now, though I suspect it is merely an intermediary, yet another separation until the day I am whole.


    I am ripped out of my reverie as my senses start to scream at me, magic is flooding all around us, twisting and turning, seeking. ¡°Mia! Magic!¡± Footsteps start to fill the tunnel in front and behind us as Mia¡¯s own magic starts to spill from her, pushing against that which seeks us.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve asked for a second amulet for you. Get ready for a fight, little one, they¡¯re not gonna go down without one, and I don¡¯t intend to either.¡± She pauses for a second as her magic brightens everything around us in its icy blue glow, yet it feels warm to me. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be out for the count after this. Take the map, and try to get us out of here when I am¡­ Celine will be able to help you, once you reach the woods.¡±


    I grab the map she summons and store it away, forcing myself not to think about her words, not to despair, nor to get up my hopes at hearing my best friend¡¯s name. I start to ready myself for the fight ahead, drawing on the magic to become harder to notice, and tapping into the new bits and pieces I have learnt, the new organs within me. The tips of my split tails shift into serrated edges, a clear liquid slowly seeping out of them, as magic begins to accelerate the blood in my veins, not to the point of causing damage, yet, but ready to give me a boost, should I need it.


    Our first opponents step into sight, heavily armored men with no discerning features, blades and shields in their hands, and I sense an appalling lack of magic from them, like someone stripped the very lifeforce of the planet from them. Lifeforce? I shelve the thought for later, and instead I draw on the primal side of me, on the instincts I am still hesitant to give in to, letting them slowly leak into me.