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A Whole New Party

Part 15

For Engy

By Draconicon

Olfel stood watch, though it was hardly necessary, considering the whole cave was controlled by their master. It was more habit, keeping an eye on things, ensuring that the rest of the team slept well, and, he supposed, ensuring that he remained valuable-looking in the eyes of their new master.

Still can't believe this was how it all turned out, but...

The spiked lizard looked down at his hand. The scales that covered everything were definitely something that would take a while to get used to. They were as flexible as skin, but they had more...he didn't know, weight? Something like that, more heft and fullness to them than his skin had. It would take him a while to get used to moving with all the bulk that he had now. It was an upgrade, but an upgrade that would need some practice to use right.

Shaking his head, he put his hand back down over his lap, looking at the rest of his sleeping team. Two of them were sleeping off the fight, and the third? Well, he'd put Viola, Vincent, whatever they were calling themselves to sleep as soon as he had seen them. No point in waiting for them to do something stupid if they were not entirely under the master's control.

The master's control. He chuckled, shaking his head. That was something else that had never been anticipated. Another master, another person to call his boss. Considering he thought that he'd left that behind in the mountain, it wasn't entirely an unwelcome shift, but it was something that he'd have to get used to just like his new body.

One thing at a time. One thing at a time.

Olfel sighed. With the square chamber quiet save for the sleep-sounds of his companions, he didn't have much to do. The walls were bare, the floor was occupied by various bits of bedding and hot rocks - one of which was occupied with Kyo'Thar's damn pet - and getting to the door would require making his way between them. Not something that would be that hard, but he was tired.

Might as well read, he thought, pulling out one of the books that the master had offered. It was something about the history and politics of dragons. Not the most interesting of subjects, but it was something that would, at least, give him a basis for figuring out how to play his master as time went on. The more that he understood how dragons worked, the more that he would be able to predict what his master would want, and more than that, how he would be able to give it to him before he actually asked for it. The more that he did well, the better that the master would trust him, and the more that he'd listen.

Olfel hadn't left his darkness behind. Not entirely. He still planned to go along with what the master said - after all, he was Claimed, and he had little choice in that - but he still had his ambitions. With a different leader, he could go further than ever. Perhaps he might even set up a mini-kingdom for himself, though he doubted that he would be able to get away with that without his master finding out.

Of course, if I portray it to him as something good...

That was the trick of it, but to do that, he needed to know how dragons thought, what they valued, and all the other little things that were part of dragon culture that weren't even mentioned. The common knowledge part of things was always the hardest thing when learning a new culture, but Olfel had done it more than once before. He was confident that he could do it again.

He had managed to get through about a third of the small book by the time a groan interrupted him. Lifting an eye-ridge, he looked down to see that the gecko was stirring. The monk rolled onto his side, then the other side, then back.

"Testing your bruises?" Olfel asked, looking back at the book.

"Yes. They seem healed."

"Well, the master made sure to check you out with that."

"He is a good one."

"Kind of the active definition of platinum dragons. Good."

"...You aren't entirely happy with this, are you?"

"I'm not unhappy. I'm more...seeing what the opportunities are."

"You're not fixed yet."

...Note to self, watch the monk.

He lowered the book, giving the gecko a second glance. What had been Red-Arms wouldn't have cared if he was good or bad. Hell, they had a working relationship in the past, giving the monk someone to kill at regular intervals. However, if things had changed that much since his transformation, Olfel would have to re-evaluate his options.

"Not fixed?" he asked.

"You're not like me. Or Kyo'Thar."

"Heh, Kyo'Thar, no. He's a pervert, now."

"That isn't what I mean. He has different goals. His chi feels different."

"And mine doesn't?"

"Not by as much, no."

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm a late bloomer."

"Maybe..."

Regardless, it meant that Red-Arms, or whatever his name was now, would be watching him. That was something to be aware of, at least, but at least he knew it now rather than during his later schemes. He shut the book, scooting sideways on his bed, and the gecko joined him. There was the usual reflex of keeping a bit of space, but this time, the other man slid in a bit closer.

"Hey, hey. I know our master likes that, but -"

"It is not sexual."

"...Oh."

"Or at least, not yet." The gecko smiled ever so slightly. "He has given all of us something new."

"I'm going to wait for mine to show up, then."

"Are you eager?"

"Eager for what?"

"To serve."

"...I'm making it work, like I said," he admitted with a shrug. "I made my own deal. I'm going to get what I want, eventually. No need to push it or hurry it up."

"But you are content?"

"Enough, yeah."

"I'm glad."

It really was a different man next to him now, and if it hadn't been for the dragon assuring them that this really was the monk that he had traveled with for so long, he never would have pegged him for it. The seething pool of violence was nowhere to be seen. In its place was something almost like a mix between a puppy and a guard dog, someone almost innocent, but unceasingly devoted.

That would make any sort of treachery difficult. Not that he was planning anything for it, but it was good to know his options going forward. He revised a few of the tertiary plans that he had going in his head.

"I've decided on a new name," the gecko said.

"Hmm? What was wrong with the old one?"

"It's too much...the old me. The me I don't want to be. I needed something new."

"Fair enough," he said, shrugging. "What's this one?"

"Clover."

"...That sounds like a pet name."

"It feels right to me."

If it felt right to someone that could punch through a stone door with just their fists and nothing else, Olfel wasn't going to argue with it. Besides, it could have been something stupid, like 'Sticky' or something like that. He shrugged.

"Alright, Clover."

"You should see if you can find something new, too. Something that makes you feel right with this."

"Thanks, but I've always felt right with myself. I don't need anything different, just something more."

Clover looked at him as if he was being stupid, but Olfel was used to that. There were plenty of people that used to give him that same look when they weren't getting what they wanted out of him, and just as many that were now in a far worse situation than he was.

Eventually, the gecko got up and laid down again. They exchanged one more look before the monk fell asleep once more, his even breathing too regular to be faked. Olfel chuckled and went back to his book.

It was only after the fact that he realized that he hadn't felt even a hint of anger that he needed to hide from that stare. All he felt was bemusement.

Odd, he thought, and kept reading.

Kyo'Thar was the next to wake up, and the once-orc, now raptor, sat up with a groan. Almost instantly, the long-legged, chicken-sized monster that was the wizard's companion darted up from the hot stone to its master. Kyo'Thar yawned, petting the smaller creature's head.

"Welcome to the land of the waking," Olfel muttered, not looking up from his book.

"How long have we been out?"

"I'd say about four hours at this point."

"Would you like a break from being on watch?"

"In a minute."

He was pushing his luck, much as he would have enjoyed drifting off earlier. As much as he'd like being the master's new golden boy, he still need sleep. The new body had gotten battered pretty badly by Viola's rampage, and even though he had been healed, he doubted that he was going to get all of his stamina back without a long rest.

As he put a mark in his book, the thick-legged raptor got to his feet. The dinosaur gestured out, taking up his staff.

"Anyone else wake up yet?"

"Just Clover."

"Clover?"

"Red-Arms's new name."

"...Interesting. Suitable, I suppose."

"How do you figure?"

"He's soft enough."

"Hmm, point."

He shrugged. It still felt like a strange name to him, but if the monk liked it and insisted on it, he wasn't going to fight him over it. He liked his organs where they were.

The raptor wizard walked over to him, and the smaller reptile hopped over. It chirped at Olfel's feet, looking up at him curiously. The spined lizard shook his head.

"Well, at least you can't crow anymore."

"Rrrrrrrrrrrr-rrrrr-rrrr-rrrr."

"...But you can apparently sing." The spined lizard blinked. "That was something."

"He's been doing that for a while," Kyo'Thar said. "I don't know what it's about, but he's got this whistle that he's been practicing."

"...Hmm."

Olfel was hmming as much at himself as he was at the possibilities presented. The fact that he was tempted to see if the creature could be taught to sing properly was something that surprised him. He had never been that interested in the little creatures, the animals, the pets in the world, but this time, he was.

Perhaps there's more changing than I thought.

Shaking his head and putting a pin in that to examine later, he put the book down. He stretched his arms out, yawning once more as a wave of tiredness descended over him.

"Sleep," Kyo'Thar said.

"That's my line."

"You need it."

"So did you."

"Yes, and I got mine. Now, you get yours."

"What are you, the father of the group?"

"I would take that role, but something tells me that Vincent might be going for that, now."

The idea of the once-human, once-woman telling them what to do like a dad was...very strange. It wasn't impossible, but at the same time, it was not something that he had really thought about as a possibility. It was a little weird, too, considering that they had butted heads as often as they had.

Daddy Vincent...

The very idea was more sexual than he was ready to admit, but at the same time, there were stirrings through his little body at the idea. He put that thought out of his head, though. He would deal with his sexuality stuff later.

"Sleep," Kyo'Thar repeated with a poking finger.

"Yes, yes, I'm going, I'm going."

The spined lizard slid down, going to the warm spot that the raptor had vacated. Croon followed him, the small thing hopping on his side as he laid down. He turned to lay on his stomach, and the little beast followed along to his buttocks. And so he went, rolling and rolling and rolling as the damn thing treated him like a spinning barrel in water.

"Get...off...me!"

"Quiet, or you'll wake the others."

"Then call your damn pet back."

"Heh. Come, Croon."

And just like that, he was let be.

Kyo'Thar watched his bardic friend - friend, for once, rather than just teammate - and shook his head as Olfel took a good twenty minutes to actually fall asleep. He had hoped that there would be a little more trust there, but it wasn't too surprising. Olfel had always been among the most paranoid of them, just like Red-Arms - now Clover - had always been the most murderous.

And just like I was one of the most uncaring...

Croon climbed up his arm, hopping up to his shoulder and perching there. It was a little easier to keep him there now, particularly since there were stronger talons, less sensitive scales, and a lot less fluff to deal with. Less chance of sneezing every time that he turned his head. It was still strange to have a body like this one, what with the thick legs and thicker rump, not to mention the tail, but it was something that he was gradually getting used to.

The more we change, the more we realize we needed it.

He still wasn't entirely condemning of his past. He believed that he needed to change from the wizard that had secretly hated himself, and he was starting to understand that there had been something that needed to go when it came to the whole 'experimenting on the bodies of others' thing, but he was definitely not blaming himself for all the things that he'd done. Fighting back against a culture that was willing to see him banished and starve was nothing more than survival. Stealing some of the spellbooks that he had just to keep building up his skills to survive later? Explainable.

Kyo'Thar wasn't perfect, and he didn't pretend to be. He had things that needed to be atoned for, but not as long a list as one might have thought.

He crossed one leg over the other, idly petting Croon as he imagined what their new lives were going to be like. The dragon had Claimed them, and he could feel the connection that that implied. There were magical bonds between them and the dragon, not dissimilar from the bonds that connected wizards to familiars, or druids to their companions. It wasn't quite the same, as there was something to it that he felt could enforce a sort of obedience that was more unequal to what the other bonds were like, but it was similar. He could feel where the dragon was, and he could, to a limited extent, feel what the dragon felt.

Master's going to need help sorting out that little lump of emotions, that's for sure, the raptor thought. He's changed us all, but...he feels...less satisfied than I expected. What other goals did he have after that? Or did he have any?

There had been something different to the dragon in the open compared to what he was like here. Out there, they had been dealing with someone that didn't know what he was doing, what he needed to accomplish, how he needed to treat people. In the dungeon, they had been dealing with someone who, if not an expert at what they were doing, still had a fair bit of skill at the task. He had been a very different dragon to go up against that way, and Kyo'Thar wondered why that was.

Just as he wondered why the master was feeling so down on himself now. Was he feeling guilty? No, that wasn't quite the feeling there. If anything, it was more...confused.

Hopefully we get to talk to him again soon...

He shook his head, laying his staff across his lap. He was just about to get into a more meditative pose when Vincent started stirring.

The muscular lizard with the snake-like tail on the far end of the room sat up without a sound, looking back at him, and then at the sleeping others. Despite what the master had said, Kyo'Thar grabbed his staff, holding it tight and ensuring that he was as ready as he could be for anything. If Vincent decided that it was time to keep fighting -

But no. The lizard sighed, rubbing his head.

"I'm an idiot," Vincent muttered.

"Were you?"

"Am I, I think, is the better question. And...I hope not. Not anymore."

"You owe me two apologies, by the way," Kyo'Thar said, putting the staff down.

"Huh?"

"Two apologies. One, for trying to kill me."

"Definitely agreed."

"Two, for throwing Croon across the room."

The muscle-lizard glanced at the little guy on the raptor's shoulder. Vincent seemed to stare at it for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head in regret.

"I'm sorry. To you and Croon. I shouldn't have done that; all I can say is that I wasn't thinking at the time. I just...All I saw were more monsters to kill to try and get to the end before I lost."

"Not much of an excuse."

"Not much of an apology, either. I'll make it up to you, but for now...I'm sorry. Beyond sorry."

That was something, he had to admit, and a more ready apology than anything that he had gotten out of Viola in the past. Viola had always been one to jump forward and point out that she had done what she did for a good reason, even if it was really a bad reason. This Vincent? He was willing to take that hit on the chin and be accountable. That was already a massive step forward, as far as the wizard was concerned.

"Well...accepted."

"Good to hear it." Their former leader stood up, stretching. He was rather shocked to see just how tall Viola - no, Vincent, actually was. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of them, the other lizard was probably the biggest male that he had ever seen. "Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

"I'm fine. I have more to consider."

"The Master will probably call for us soon."

"If he does, we'll come."

And until then, he would study and consider. There were other things about their dragon master that needed to be pulled together, needed to be considered and studied before they could be of proper help.

After all, he had been given power, and he had been given attention. He knew that it would be paid for, eventually, and he wanted to keep that tap of power open for more. The better he did, the more that he ensured that the Master would see him as someone that was worth that attention.

He promised that I would always have that...but nothing says that I can't make sure that he remembers just how worth it that is.

Vincent stood up and walked out of the room, and Kyo'Thar closed his eyes to meditate. Croon hopped on top of his head, perching and nesting there as he did so.

Vincent was still getting used to his new body, but he didn't hate it. On the contrary, he found it quite capable for the various needs he had, able to move quickly and even silently when it was required. His new claws could have given him away as he walked the stony floor of the caverns, but at the same time, he felt like he could walk without letting them click. A little more difficult, yes, but still possible.

This body can do anything.

No, this body could do everything that he needed it to. The more that he played around with it, the more that he realized that it was built to be the perfect soldier for the dragon. He didn't know if Audron was looking for the perfect soldier when he had been created, but that didn't mean that it was any less true. Vincent would be able to take on and fight just about any monster and any warrior that stood before him, and he almost looked forward to the challenge.

But there was something more to it than that. Some ambition still lay within him, even though he had been given a new beginning. He could feel it stirring, and he knew that it would be something that the Master wouldn't necessarily be happy about.

I trained to be a general...and I still want to be one.

That meant that he needed an army. That army would need a target. And that target would involve people.

I doubt that Audron's going to want to think about that...

Considering what he was feeling through the bond with his Master at that point, he doubted that the dragon wanted to think about much of anything for long. There was this flitting feeling through the bond, something that made it feel like the dragon's mind was dancing from topic to topic, never able to settle for long, always trying to find something else to think about. It was...rather disorienting, in its own way, and he had a pretty good idea that he knew what the whole confusion was about.

It had been rather hard to miss, after all. Audron's lowered eyes, the stare down at the dick that Vincent had grown, all of the other casual looks that had happened during the transformation: they had all been the sort of thing that a man did when interested in another man. There was no getting around that. But the dragon wasn't willing to take that last step. Vincent was all but sure that the dragon had had attention from all the kobolds in the cave at this point, but it was one thing to look at the fat-bottomed kobolds and think of having something else. It was another thing to do that with someone like him, or Olfel, or the gecko, or Kyo'Thar. They were all unmistakably male, and all quite well-endowed in their own way.

It's going to drive him mad to keep trying to ignore that.

Maybe that was something that the back of the dragon's mind had picked out, something to ensure that he had his eye-candy no matter how in-denial he was. Vincent could feel his own cock swinging between his legs. Nudity had been the order of the day since the transformation, and the others were barely better than that. All of them had their bits on display, and -

And that meant that they had something that they could do for their master right then and there. The muscular lizard stopped in his tracks, lifting one hand to his chin as he considered the possibilities.

Hmmm...yes...yes, that would work...

Audron was always looking up and away, always trying to keep busy. But for the moment, he could tell that his Master couldn't really settle to anything. The dragon's thoughts were going every which way, trying to think of this, that, or the other thing. His mind was obviously spinning in circles, trying to think of the best way forward for them, but also try not to think about the results of the transformation and what it meant to him.

He needed to face it at some point, and while Vincent wasn't fond of the idea of an intervention, he knew something like it was needed. And with all of them naked, endowed, and ready to serve in some way...yes, that would work well.

And it would establish him as a good leader, someone that was paying attention, and more, someone that could harness the group again. All of those made the task well-worth trying, even if it was somewhat awkward.

He turned on his heel, heading back to the waiting chamber. He moved quickly, passing by several kobolds that hopped up and slapped his ass. He returned the favor with a quick swat with his tail on theirs.

Shoving the door open again, he slammed it against the wall. Olfel and the gecko jumped, and Kyo'Thar slowly opened one eye, looking quite irritated to be dragged out of meditation.

"Sorry for that, should I have knocked?" Vincent asked. "Want me to go out and do that again?"

"You already woke me up; I don't think there's a point," Olfel muttered. "What the hell?"

"I've got an idea."

"You've had too many of those. I'm going back to bed."

Before the spiked lizard could do that, Vincent reached out and grabbed his blanket. He gave it a hard yank, spinning the smaller lizard up and into the air, and then grabbed him by the tail, holding him upside-down. While Olfel yelped at the sudden shenanigans, the big lizard turned him around, facing him away so he couldn't use his hypno-vision again. There was no way that he was letting himself fall for that again.

"The Master would benefit from having us around," Vincent said.

"I agree; he feels...troubled," the gecko said.

"I've been feeling the same, Clover," Kyo'Thar said. "But I'm not sure just what is going through his mind."

"Oh, put me down, already," Olfel grumbled.

"Promise not to use your hypno-eyes?"

"Ugh, promise."

"Good."

Dropping the smallest of them and biting off a chuckle at his sudden yelp, Vincent looked back at the others. He clapped his hands together with a big grin on his face, something that was foreign, but felt right. Viola had never really celebrated her own brilliance very much; she always waited for someone else to tell her how clever she was. Well, he wasn't going to make that mistake.

"Master wants men."

"Obviously," Kyo'Thar said. "That's nothing new."

"But he doesn't think he should."

"...Why not?"

"Dragons aren't like orcs," Olfel muttered. "They've got a pretty strict set of rules. They call it 'tail-raising,' and they're looked at like deviants up there."

"...That's kind of...stupid."

"I agree," Vincent said. "But that means that he needs some encouragement to let him be himself. I think -"

"You don't know?" Olfel asked, grunting as he got comfortable in his blankets again. "Come back when you know."

"Keep talking like that, and I'll put you on my back and carry you as a pack."

"Try it, and I'll porcupine you."

"I've got stronger scales."

"Wanna bet?"

"Wanna try it out?"

"...Yep, you're still you," Olfel muttered. "Don't know how I thought you were anything different."

"Thanks, I think," Vincent said, shaking his head. "Anyway. I think that he was so focused on the Claiming that he forgot about what his feelings were for a while. But when he got me, he had a front-row seat to seeing me change. His eyes were glued to my dick and my ass. There was no looking away; I'll bet you anything that he watched all three of you change from a distance, and then spent a lot of time trying very hard not to think about the erection that he got from it.

"Now that he's gotten us all, he can't keep distracting himself. He's trying - we can feel it - but it's not enough. He keeps coming back to what he should and shouldn't be. Maybe he doesn't want to be a tail-raiser. Maybe he doesn't think he is one. Maybe he really isn't. But I think that he needs someone to show him that he doesn't need to worry if he is."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Kyo'Thar asked.

"I was thinking the four of us just walk in naked and show off a bit."

"...Well, I'm willing to try that," the raptor said, perhaps a little too quickly, but he stood up as he cleared his throat. "I think I have plenty to show off."

"Master helped me a great deal; I'm more than willing to allow him whatever liberties that he would like," Clover said.

Three out of four. They all turned to Olfel, and the bard sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I always said that I would not be the seductive sort of bard, and here we are, trying to turn me into one. Thank you. Thank you so much, the bunch of you."

"Is it seduction when the person has already been seduced, but merely needs to be invited to take it up?" Kyo'Thar asked.

"If you start with philosophy on me now, wizard, I swear to gods..."

"All of us are decided, then?" Vincent asked.

The group nodded. They were. He nodded back and waved for them to follow. They all knew where the Master was, so there was no need to go looking for him. They just needed to follow the bond to get to him. He was still feeling so conflicted in their heads, and Vincent knew that this was either going to spark a moment of panic for the Master, or it was going to give him permission to go completely crazy with urges that he had penned up for far too long. Whichever it ended up being, they were going to be there for him.

That was the big part of him that was different from Viola. Viola would have been willing to just up and leave as soon as she got the strength, willing to go back out in the world and try again. She would have looked down on the dragon and seen him as someone that she could beat down and take over. Vincent wanted to be loyal. What Viola had forgotten, in some ways, was that a general needed a king. An officer needed someone outside the military to tell them what to do.

And that was what Audron had become. A master. What Vincent would make him was a king.

The End

Summary: The Claimed have a moment to wake up and come together with what they need to do going forward.

Tags: No sex, nudity, cock awareness, fantasy, series, lizard, gecko, raptor, pet, wizard, magic, casual domination, size difference, impending sex,