Party Reunion
“Well…That could have gone better” Rayla sighs.
“It could have gone a lot worse as well.” Sher Aka objects.
“Still…I knew she wasn’t going to be thrilled but it still annoys me.”
Leaning back for a bit, John answers, “I think she was right though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to stay with Rose too but I get her point of view as well. It’s true that we don’t really have a plan. We have goals and we think of ways to get to those goals efficiently but in the end it’s not like we have a real plan on where we’re going, where we’re staying or anything like that. We don’t have a base of operations like back in Berk we just keep moving around wherever quests take us. In comparison to her we’re really young and inexperienced too. To her we probably look like a bunch of homeless children doing shitty and dangerous work just to survive another day.”
“So what? Should we try to save up for a house or something? Or ask her for one?”
“I don’t know. Personally, I’d rather not rely on her too much.”
Sher Aka thinks for a second then answers, “Perhaps we should rely on her. Obviously not to the extent that we can’t take care of ourselves without her but now that we have this resource we should use it to better our living conditions. Not just for us and Rose but also to give her some peace of mind.”
“Do you have anything in mind, Sherry?”
“Well, for starters we should ask for better equipment. Our armor and weapons are starting to fall apart and let’s be honest they were never that great to begin with. We should also ask for dresses and jewelry for Rayla.”
“Why? I mean, I’d gladly have 'em but should that really be our top priority right now?”
“Of course. You’re a noble now, Rayla. And not a low ranking one either, you’re second only to the royal family. If you don’t look the part you’ll bring shame to the entire country of Blaze.”
“I…Never considered that. Good point.”
“Not just that you need to learn to act the part too. Thankfully your slightly arrogant side works in your favor but you st-”
“Actually I did go through an etiquette course already. It was part of my training.”
“Oh, that’s perfect then. Let’s see…What else do we need?”
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Waking up again I find myself in mama’s arms, “Mama?”
“Oh? Good morning Rose, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah…I dreamt that Rayla came back.”
“That wasn’t a dream, dear. She’s waiting in the tea room right now, do you want to meet her?”
“She is!? Yes I do!”
“Then how about we go see her together~”
“Gao!”
Mama then carries me over to the tea room where ane is waiting, she seems to be chatting with Scarlet. Oh! Even Sher Aka and John are here!?
“Ane!”
“Rose! Did you sleep well?”
“Gao!”
“Gao?”
Walking over to me with a book in hand Sher Aka says, “According to this it means something akin to yes. How are you doing Rose?”
Sher Aka then brushes through my hair with a smile.
Tears flowing down my face I rub my cheek on her hand and say, “I missed you all so much.”
Wiping some of my tears away, Sher Aka smiles gently, “We missed you too, Rose.”
John then walks up to me with a big smile, “Couldn’t have gone through all this with-”
Hiss
“Who are you? You’re not John!”
“It’s fine, oko. I know he smells different but that’s because of his new ability. John can now eat things, merge with them and transform into them. So he’s part bird, part weird cat monster and part demon now.”
Feeling a cold shiver down my spine I ask, “So you’re a demon now, John?
“Not fully but partially, yeah.”
“...”
“Do you feel like you want to eat me now?”
“No.”
“Do you think you’d want to eat or kill me when you transform into a demon?”
“I don’t think I would but I can’t know for sure until I try it.”
“Then can we try it now?”
“Uhm, I’d need permission first.”
Looking at mama expectantly she lets out a sigh and says, “One moment.” She then carries me to the door of the banquet hall, opens it and yells, “Manya! Come here for a sec.”
Auntie then comes over and asks, “What’s up?”
“Mr. John, wishes to test if it’s safe for him to be around Rose in his demon form.”
“Gotcha.” Putting herself between Rose and John she nods and says, “Go ahead, Mr. John.”
“Uhm…Are you sure? Don’t you want to call some guards just in case?”
Auntie answers, “I think I’m more than enough.”
Sher Aka interjects, “She’s right, John. From what I can tell she’s at least as strong as the King.”
“If you say so…I still need a shirt that’s a little wider around the top or something to cover myself though.”
Giving a bit of a smirk auntie answers, “Please, no need for feeling embarrassed now after the outfit you came here with. There are only women in this room, if you need to show your chest who cares.”
“Well…Alright then.” Loosening his shirt buttons John puts his arm around his chest then transforms into what looks like a purple woman with ram-like curved horns, glowing blue eyes and fang-like teeth. His hair also grew a lot longer and is now peach colored and wavy.
In a flirtatiously feminine voice he says, “One sec~” extends one of his nails to a more claw-like shape and slices a hole in the back of his pants, revealing a long purple tail with a heart shaped tip.
Putting his fingers in a v-shaped position he bends forward, puts his fingers over his left eye and says, “Looks like we’re all good~”
Everyone looks really shocked at this transformation. Rayla has her mouth wide open, Sher Aka has both her hands over her mouth and even I feel kind of uncomfortable. Only mama and auntie seem unphased.
“Oh~ Why the long faces? It’s still me~ Oh! Right, you wanted to see my transformation skill~”
Taking a look at Rayla he transforms into an exact copy of her.
“So, what do you think? Like mirror isn’t it~”
“Yeah…A surprisingly creepy mirror. Also there is no way my ass is that fat!”
“Hunny I do not embellish nor do I make you look worse, that ass has looked like that since the beginning. I’m surprised you even care, I expected you to say something like, ‘Oh my~ Now that I see myself like this I can understand why lesbians exist~’.”
“Please, I might be a little vain but not that much.”
“Hunny you have said before and I quote: ‘If a guy passes me up they would have to be gay’.”
“That was obviously a joke!”
“Right…A ‘joke’. The only joke here is that massive ego of yours! Speaking off, now that I am you I can fulfill my wildest dreams~”
Ane crosses her arms and shudders, “Eew what the hell are you talking about?”
“This. ‘Oh John, I’m sorry I was wrong’, ‘Everyone, I have realized I’m not the center of the world’, ‘Actually I now understand that while I am pretty it does not mean I should tell everyone about it and instead work on my inner worth’.”
“Are you done…”
“Maybe…But if you give me more time to think I can probably keep going.”
Letting out a chuckle I say, “You really are John.”
“Oh come on…Not you too? Why is me teasing Rayla the sole deciding factor for whether or not I’m really me? I have other traits too, you know.”
“Yeah but no one besides you talks to ane that way so that’s how we know for sure.”
Turning back to his demonic form he sighs and says, “At least I’m not under suspicion anymore~”
“So, can you turn into anything now?”
“No, I can only transform into beasts I have ritualistically killed and when I’m in this form I can transform into women I can imagine or a woman someone is attracted to.”
“Can you transform into me too then?”
“Hmm…I’m not sure. I have never tried to turn into a child before…Let’s see~”
Before being able to transform, auntie puts her hand on his shoulder,
“Don’t you dare ever, transform into Rose or any of my other family members.”
“Y-yes ma'am!”
“Good. I believe the show is over now. Turn back so we can eat and cut the cake.”
With a nod John transforms back.
“But auntie! I wanted to see!”
“I know love, but you’re not allowed to look at yourself like this until the curse is removed, remember?”
“Darn…I forgot.”
Brushing through my hair she adds, “That’s why you have us to remember for you. And if you really want to see yourself you could always let us remove your curse for you.”
“You can do that!?” Rayla asks in a slightly desperate tone.
“Of course we can, we’re just waiting for Rose to trust us enough to do so.”
“Really!? Oko! What are you waiting for!? You can finally be free of all that suffering!”
“...”
“Yeah but if I do that I’ll be weak like this all the time. I can’t defend myself like this.”
“You don’t need to defend yourself. We can take care of that!”
“You…You’re far too weak to keep me safe. Everyone else in my family is far stronger than you and even they can’t protect me. No one is strong enough to keep me safe. The only way I can be safe is by getting so strong I don’t need to be relying on others.”
“What are you talking about? Look, even if you think I’m too weak, you’re still a dragon princess. You have one of the mightiest militaries of the world at your family’s command and even though I think your father is a horrible person he is still immensely strong and would protect you, I’m sure of it.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that…My father is a genuinely evil person. He doesn’t love me or care for me. It was all just a lie…”
“What? I feel like I missed something major here. I know he’s overbearing but I’m sure he did it all because he loves you.”
“That’s because you don’t know him…And even if he did love me… He can’t protect me either. In the end we’re just small playthings to beings far stronger than any of us.”
“What? Where is that coming from suddenly?”
“I don’t want to talk about it…Mama, I’m not feeling well. Could we cuddle in front of the fireplace for a bit?”
“Of course dear.”
“Wait so you’re not going to explain?”
Mama answers, “I believe she made it clear she doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Leave it.”
“I…Okay…”
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