Wasteland Saviour - The Becoming - ch4
#5 of Wasteland Saviour
Finally agreed on the list, just as Fox had written it, we made to leave only to be stopped by an old man wearing some kind of toga.
Fox laughed and stepped forward, gripping forearms with him while my mouth gaped a little, "He... he is not... wow." was all I managed, overawed by the power the being had radiating off him.
"How are you old man?" Fox asked brashly.
He scowled at her and I felt his power build up, "You would dare talk to a GOD like that?" he bellowed, his presence growing somehow stronger with each word.
Fox stood her ground, "I will talk to anyone like that, no matter who they are." she said, matter-of-factly.
The god laughed, his power subsiding, "And a damn good thing you do too, did you know there is a tribe out there" he gestured into the distance vaguely, "who actually worship me? On their hands and knees and everything... I can't stand them." he told her. All of a sudden his vision slid past Fox to me, "Well well well, what have we here? Mother has been at work I see."
I don't know why, my power had begun to pour out of me, surrounding me in its presence, offering protection, until he mention Mother. "You know Mom?" I asked him, a little out of stride.
"I have known of the Mother and the Child she bares for all of my existence. My question is, why do you seem to carry so much of her power within you?" he asked, sounding a little perplexed.
Grinning now, my voice seemed to be controlled by another as I answered, "I am mothers little Kitten, she bares my weight no longer."
After a few moments of silence Nicols said from behind me, "Good to see things can still sneak up on the old bugger. Why don't you two run off and I will catch him up to speed on the latest events?" he said with a chuckle.
"'Latest events' are just what I needed to see these two about, well, I was just here for Fox, but it seems someone else is taking a hand in events." the God said, finishing up nodding at me, "I will be back shortly Thane."
Fox led him and me back to the injured dragon, still sleeping, still stirring around in my mind.
"I don't come to earth, without the aid of a thane, lightly any more, you must realise that Fox, but I have to warn you, this trip will not be easy. There is more going on in the region you once knew as 'Europe' than you can imagine, but know that if any of their gods raise a finger against you, I will come down with a vengeance." he explained to us.
Fox smiled, "And furious anger?" she asked. At the Gods stern nod we both almost broke into fits of laughter, but my new vulpine friend recovered first and apologised, "Sorry, something from an old life. I have chosen who will be going, they have agreed, I still have my knives that you gave me, we will not be going unprepared."
The God sighed, "For the task ahead strong one, you could take the whole of your camp and you may still be unprepared. Mother has better vision in such things than I, if she is sending her daughter along, and don't think for a minute she didn't foresee all of this, then it means you not only have a chance of pulling this off, but that it will take some serious power to do it."
I contemplated the meaning of his words a moment, "That doesn't mean it will be easy though does it?" I stated rhetorically, the God only nodded.
Keeping their attention on me, I walked over to the dragon, leaning down close and putting one paw on her nose. Her mind rose to meet me, filling in around me and somehow flowing into me in a way that just fit.
Turning back to look at the pair, jaws agape, staring at me. I said, "I do not care if it leads to my death, if she says her friends and family are being enslaved, I will go."
Fox nodded soundly. The God sighed, "Very well. Your chosen companions will be quite suitable. The pair of youngsters I gave Graiea's powers to are still growing into them, but they are already strong in other ways, your other choice of soldier, the changing one, he has been following the Mother's calling of late, he will suffice. It is the half person I worry for, she is not as strong as the rest of you, protect her Fox, protect her and let her grow too." he said. "The one thing that I still wondered about was how you plan to get them all there, including their provisions, you have but two dragons. But with this little one you will be ok." he said, looking to me.
Fox too stared at me, "What? I can't teleport us all there unless I know where to go or have already been there." I said defensively.
The God laughed, pacing up to me. I stood up and stepped away from the still slumbering dragon. The god poked his finger into my shoulder, "You are the daughter of the oldest of the Gods, girl, in time you will likely become a God yourself. How can you be so dense." leaning forward he whispered, "Just will it, like you do with everything else, will yourself to be a dragon and you will be. Sorry about the theatrics, a God has to live up to his name."
His words shocked me, 'my power could do that?' I thought with surprise. Deciding, since a God had told me, it must be true, I stepped to the side a little and thought, 'Be a dragon.'
Power flared around me, pouring over me and through me, making me at once bigger and pushing me forward. My neck stretched, my tail thickened and a pair of midnight dark wings sprouted on my back, their scales pouring like an avalanche over my body, painting me a dark black that shimmered green at different angles.
Three pairs of eyes looked up at me.
Fox was wide eyed, her mind completely open and broadcasting, ~"Wow."~
The God just stood there, a smug, 'I told you so.' look on his face.
Harnyth looked up at me happily, her mind radiating a love so deep over a connection so strong I could not help but return it, ~"I love the new look."~ she said sleepily.
Leaning down to her, I nuzzled her neck, ~"Get better quickly, we have dragons to save."~ I told her encouragingly.
"Now get back down here so we can finish this conversation, I am not talking to you while you are up there." my second favourite God said.
I laughed, the sound more like a roar and let my power bring me down to my normal shape, my 'kitten' shape of course, the last of me that thought it was still human died to those wolves.
"Now that is settled," Fox said, "when do you think she can fly again?"
The God laughed, already walking away from us, "When the Mothers Daughter can use her wings properly I would say is a fair time frame for when that poor thing can get herself off the ground as well. Good day to you, and don't forget to pray!" he said with a chuckle, making his way back to the briefing room.
"Keep this just between us ok?" I heard Fox start saying behind me, "But for the record, I used to be male as well. I know a little of what you're going through." I turned in shock as she made the confession.
"I... I never would have guessed. You are tough, sure, but those are aren't tough didn't survive." I tried to explain my feelings and failed, "What I mean is, its good to know I am not alone."
We leaned in close and hugged then, which is when I felt the blades under her shirt. "You carry weapons all the time?" I asked her.
"These ones, yeah. They are too dangerous to leave laying around. Thorista gave them to me to help with a big fight, I guess he never wanted them back. I warn you though, don't handle them, they will harm anyone not of my blood." she explained.
I nodded, eyes wide. For all he seemed to be a crotchety old God, he sure cared for these people.
~"Can you two keep it down, I am trying to rest."~ the convalescing dragon told us, and we snuck away with a bit of giggling.
-
Two more days of rest saw Harnyth up and able to fly again. I had worked at flying myself, with the dragons comments constantly in my head.
As I sat and watched Drath and Fox converse back and fourth it was Harnyth that pointed something out to me, ~"We are not like that, they talk back and forth, they share a low level connection, but nothing like"~ she reached down the link between us, our minds touched, I could feel all of her, and I knew she could feel me the same way, ~"THIS."~ she finished.
I nodded, ~"Also, they don't have this."~ saying that I pulled power, but I pulled hers too, it was so much like my own and it was almost as intense.
~"I am still coming to grips with that, as a dragon I am not sure I am comfortable with it, but I don't think I am a dragon any more. A dragons nature is to fight magic, resist it and repel it, now I am a great big source of it and I am still working out how to use it."~ she confessed.
Mentally hugging her close, drawing her mind nearer mine, I tried to show her everything I had learnt about my power. Her head snapped up, ~"You mean I could..."~ she began and all of a sudden, standing where the dragon had been, was a dragon hybrid, standing on two legs... two shapely legs, completely naked. She blinked a few times, got a silly looking grin and went to take a step.
My power flowed quickly out to grab her, she just laughed. I felt her draw something from my memories and she opened her mouth, "So that's how this thing works? Interesting. Slow though, I prefer..." she said out loud, ~"This."~ her thought finished.
"Talk out loud for others, not everyone can hear mind-speech. Besides, you have a pretty voice." I told her, my ears colouring a little at making such a comment.
Striking a pose she said, "Of course I do, I am a dragon, ev..." she began but I saw her face fall, "I... I am not really a dragon at all any more am I?"
I ran over to her and caught her in a hug, "No, no you're not. You are not a dragon any more in the way I am not human any more, we are more, and I like to think there is a reason for that." raising my paw to gesture to the people of the camp, just waking for their first meal, "I would give everything to keep them safe, and no doubt you feel the same way about the dragons we are going back to save." I tilted her chin up to look into her eyes, "Our old kin need us to be strong, need us to be more than we were, so lets be that for them."
Her eyes lit with an inner fire, it was similar to the one burning in me and I reached out tentatively with my fire, offering her its warmth. She did the same and I felt as the two combined, flaring brightly, mixing our purpose and enhancing it, making it more than we dreamed. "There are more hands at work here than ours or the Gods, I think." she told me, "I feel.. I feel like we are meant to be together, does that sound odd?"
I hugged her harder and dared to kiss her once on the neck, "Of course not, dear one, of course not."
"So now you both can do it? That will make life easier." Fox said, coming around the corner and picking up on the nude draconic looking girls nature, "Will mean one less dragon to have to watch out for over there. Are you two ready?" she asked.
We looked at each other still, nodded our agreement and turned, "Ready to go." we both said at the same time, breaking into giggles at the duet.
"Everyone else is waiting on you, hope your wings are up to this." she hinted at us.
With that we both changed, together, feeling our bodies flow out into the large quadrupedal form that all humans would recognise as a dragon.
~"So who is on who?"~ I asked Fox.
"I ride Drath, you two, since you are bigger, can carry either of the other groups yourself, I am having Jessup shift to his lightest form and he will triple up with Siren and O'Brian. I checked the weight and together they weigh about the same as Bri and Ryst, I never believed how much training they did, but seeing their muscle mass now I can believe it." Fox explained.
I looked at Harnyth, ~"You want three or two?"~ I asked her.
She looked amused, ~"One week ago I would not have let any of them on my back, but your fire, K, I feel so much for them now."~ she said, just to me. Then to Fox, ~"I will take the three, Kitten might have the same load, but it will be settled better with just two."~ she explained.
We met with Drath and the others, had them put the straps on us that would keep them safe and allow us to carry extra gear. In no time we were all mounted up and ready to go.
~"Love, you are the leader here, show us where we have to go to help your friends."~ I sent to Harnyth.
With a roar she rose into the air, pumping her wings heavily and made for north. Drath looked at me and I caught a feral grin on his features before he did the same.
~"Time to go be hero's."~ I said, with no particular target for my thoughts as I rose into the air and headed after the two pairs of wings still beating for altitude.
Again, damn him, Nuku Valente and his damn game are chewing me up, but I finally found some music that just gets me in the mood for this, Smashing Pumpkins :3