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.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  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.

  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.