"First, Tista's Divine Beast form, then your human side, and now Zoreth's hybrid form. How do you co up with all these weird nas?" Morok asked while confronting the Infirmary's readings for his wings with those of Zoreth's arms.
"Does Mogar talk to you like when it nad you the Father of All Demons? Besides, what does Arke an?"
"Respectively, I have a brain, no, it doesn't, and it doesn't an anything. If you don't like Arke, I'm open to suggestions." Lith snorted. "Do you have a working theory on Zoreth's arms or not?"
"I do, Mister Grumpy." Morok replied. "What if, unlike our wings, Zoreth's arms absorb the world energy more slowly, but they are capable of storing it? It would explain why the runic patterns cover only a portion of her arms and what she can do with Ryla's powers."
"That's…" Lith suggested the Tyrant's theory to the database, and the Infirmary perford a series of scans that confird it. "Brilliant?"
"Was that a question or a statent?" Morok crossed his arms, his lips curling up into a smug grin.
"Neither. It was utter disbelief."
***
Zoreth returned to the Vastor Household a week later, after Lith had taught her everything he knew and they had exhausted all the theories about her potential powers they could think of.
The Shadow Dragon hadn't discovered a single new bloodline ability and had made little progress with her shapeshifting skills. Spending so long in her Arke form had allowed Zoreth to perceive its energy, but she had failed to hear its lody.
No matter how many tis she tried, whenever she reverted to her Dragon form, she needed Baba Yaga's spell to turn humanoid again.
'Over ten days of hard work and all I got to show for it is a na.' She inwardly grumbled as she crossed the threshold of the Warp Gate while in her Arke form.
Vastor waited for the returning couple in front of the stone arch, and when Zoreth appeared, the height gap, proximity, and size of her bosom eclipsed part of her face to him.
"Bytra warned I had to expect so changes, but this is not how I pictured the new you." The Master took a few steps back to look only at the right eyes. "I'm flattered you chose this form for our reunion, but I'm a married man."
The other hybrids in the room joined on cue, whistling, cheering, and comnting about Zoreth's figure like she wasn't there. Tezka even howled in approval.
"Stop it, you jerks!" Bytra jumped to her wife's side, covering her with a heavy coat. "Zor didn't co here like this because she wanted to impress soone." She then wrapped the Shadow Dragon in a thick woolen blanket.
"If Zor goes back to her usual appearance, she has no way to recall her newfound Arke form." Bytra put a fur coat over the blanket. "She's going to look like this until she gains an understanding of her new body, and I'd be grateful if you avoided making rude comnts."
A scarf covered Zoreth's face so tightly that it felt like a muzzle.
"I expected better from you guys. You are all older than the Kingdom, for the gods' sake! Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman in your life?"
Nelia cleared her throat and stepped forward, waving to her own figure.
She was Tyris' direct descendant, and Vastor had forbidden her from leaving the house in her favorite human appearance because he was tired of fixing the chaos that followed her outings.
"Yes, Nelia." Bytra grunted. "We know you're hot. There's no need to rub it in our faces, thank you."
"I think it's better if we put an end to our prank, boys and girls." Tezka chuckled. "Bytra has gone full knight mode, and if we push her too much, I'm afraid our equipnt might fail us when we need it the most."
'I don't know why, but suddenly I don't find Zor's transformation so exciting anymore.' The Raiju thought as she growled and scowled around the room like an angry dog.
"First, thanks for your care Byt, but I assure you that the bad experience with Raum hasn't deprived of my sense of humor." Zoreth's voice ca out muffled from the several layers of heavy clothing.
"We have done and said worse after Nelia's pileup accident, and if this were about anyone else, we'd be on the other side, laughing our heads off. Second, Dragons are indeed weak to cold, but I'm not going to a polar expedition!"
The Shadow Dragon got rid of the extra layers of clothing and threw them on the ground.
"As for you guys, if you have sothing more to say to , do it now and let's move on, please. You have no idea how awkward this is for ." She sighed.
"It's awkward for as well." Vastor lowered his eyes, straightening the curls in his hair with the palm of his hand. It had gotten too long, but after being bald for decades, the Master couldn't bear to cut it. "I'm sorry for failing you, Zoreth.
"I sent you straight into a trap, and then I went into hiding when you needed the most. I wanted to co to your rescue, but I had no idea where to look for you and couldn't afford to split our forces.
"Anyone capable of subduing you and Bytra with such ease was a threat to all of us. I bided my ti to collect intel about our enemy, knowing that my caution might cost you your life. I'm sorry for what you had to endure at Raum's hands, but I don't regret my actions.
"I would have done the sa for any of us, and I expect you to act no differently if our positions were reversed. I chose Lith as my heir for my work so that the Organization can continue to work without , and his success in healing you proves right."
Zoreth looked at her companions, noticing that beneath their playful welco lay relief for her safety and sha for their inability to help her. Even Orulm looked troubled and avoided her gaze.
"You didn't fail , Father." Zoreth replied. "Our enemy was much stronger than you can imagine. My lost brother, Raum the Wonderer, planned to capture you all and destroy the Organization.
"Sending the others to look for would have been no different than offering them to Raum on a silver platter. Byt was foolish to escape the lockdown, but she had her reasons. It's thanks to her that I'm alive, so please don't punish her."
"Punish Bytra?" Vastor straightened himself up as if she had splashed him with cold water. "That's the last thing on my mind. She did what I would have done if soone had kidnapped Zin or the kids. I'm many bad things, but not a hypocrite."
Tezka growled in approval, his fur bristling with bloodlust.
"Speaking of Zin and the kids, where are they?" Bytra tried to cover Zoreth again with the heaviest coat she had, but the Shadow Dragon's furious glare stopped her.
"In the dining hall. They are giving us so privacy to discuss the details of Zor's kidnapping before we throw you a proper welco back party." Vastor said.
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