Draconic Examinations

John awkwardly shifted in his seat as he waited for everyone to redress.

“You need to relax,” Senka said as she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s not like you saw anything but grass. And everyone knew the state of dress they would be in for this.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean it was any less awkward,” John lamented. “I was hoping that we’d show up close to where the original entrance is, not right next to the ritual circle.”

“That would have been the case if my calculations were more accurate,” Nephele interjected as she approached. “For that, you have my apologies.”

“Though in that case, you still would have appeared next to Estelle,” Verida added as she sat down across from John.

“That would have only revealed a little more than she already had.” Senka chuckled.

John, wanting to get away from thoughts of naked women he wasn’t involved with, turned his attention to Nephele and asked, “What caused your math to be off?”

“Could be a number of things,” the witch responded as she gracefully slid into her vine seat before letting out a sigh. “Honestly, we should have delayed things until Estelle and I could have done a more thorough examination. While there was little risk of any real damage being done, it would have allowed us to tailor the spell better. But in general, I think it likely has to be with the relative newness of the Kingdom. It’s still settling and generating some friction with the local mana. Using the gnoshrooms too might have played a part. More eddies from living beings disturbing the equation.”

Something tickled in the back of John’s mind and it caused him to think back to the natural barrier they encountered last week. “Did Cammie tell you what happened two Wednesdays ago?”

“Hmm,” Nephele hummed. “I believe she mentioned it. A corrupted natural barrier, right?”

“Yeah,” John said, mulling over how much to reveal. “There have been other weird things, and that might be what caused the issues.”

“Being vague about it isn’t going to give me clues, you know,” Nephele smirked. “But I suppose we are only newly acquainted and you’ve been more or less **** to give up a lot of information.”

“I consider that a fair trade for helping Kiera,” John said. “No, I think we got the better end of the deal. But, for anything more, I think it would have to be something everyone has a say in.”

“Say in what?” Vivian asked as she and the rest of the formerly nude girls approached.

“Whether we tell Nephele what we think caused the natural barrier, we met Teri in, to become corrupted,” Senka answered. “Along with all that entails.”

John saw Kiera flinch slightly and retreat into her hoodie slightly, and he hated that he brought up anything linked to Phantom Reach after everything she’d been through today.

‘Need to make that up to her,’ he thought. ‘The question is how?’

Putting thoughts about righting his wrongs aside, John asked, “Do we tell them? They might have some insight we’re missing.”

“More eyes, especially ones with unique views, couldn’t hurt,” Vivian muttered, biting her index finger in thought. “And our other major partner never said we couldn’t work with other people.”

“They were more concerned with limiting what we could do here,” Beth added.

“We’ve already told them a lot,” Aeolia remarked. “And we’re already pretty involved with what they want to work on. I don’t see a reason to not tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Estelle asked as she neared them, having just returned from the witches’ home.

“They may have an idea as to why the ritual was a bit more turbulent than we anticipated,” Nephele informed her fellow witch as Estelle settled into her seat next to her.

“Oh?” the peppy witch hummed. “Do you think it has anything to do with that odd gap in readings from last Sunday?”

“‘Odd gap’?” Vivian echoed, leaning forward slightly.

“Yeah,” Estelle answered. “We were checking the rate of outflow from the ley line and something blanked the tools we were using.”

“It happened close to 9:30,” Nephele added, her eyes moving between them all. “And for about an hour after that, we got no mana readings. What’s curious about it is we were doing other work at the same time and noted nothing amiss. Meaning whatever happened only prevented instruments from recording mana readings or, and this is my personal theory, it blinded anyone in the area from sensing particular frequencies of magic.”

Then, the pink-haired witch steepled her fingers as she watched them with half-lidded eyes, and asked, “So, what’s the story?”

“Full story?” John asked, looking at his party, waiting for any sign of objection. When none came, he nodded. “There is a group out there who goes by the name Phantom Reach working with some evil magic. Blood magic. And they’re trying to undo a seal on some Kingdom to gain more power. On Sunday, one of them attacked us, and after we pushed him to his limit, he began to draw on some outside power.”

“A foul, twisted power,” Verida continued, her tone sharp and bitter. “One soaked in blood and decay. It was only the intercession of my mother that tipped the scales back in their favor.”

“And what of the natural barrier event?” Nephele asked, her eyes narrowed in thought.

“That one’s a bit more speculative, but we know Phantom Reach did something Monday night,” John answered, suppressing the twisting guilt in his gut when he saw Kiera flinch slightly. “An attempt to breach the seal. From what we’ve been able to uncover, they only managed a split-second opening, but we think that was enough to screw up the formation of the natural barrier.”

Nephele and Estelle shared a glance, seeming to hold a whole conversation in the span of a few seconds, their expressions shifting through several emotions in quick succession.

“I don’t think that’s everything in play here,” Nephele said. “These bursts of power should be easily sensed, not obscured. Blood magic is messy, even when it only uses the blood of the caster or willing. It should leave the magical equivalent of a neon sign.”

“That’s something others we’ve spoken to think too,” Vivian revealed. “And not just these big events but others too went under their notice.”

Nephele leaned back in her seat. “Even the Order was hoodwinked, huh? Seems like interesting times are upon us.”

“Kind of exciting isn’t it?” Estelle remarked.

“And dangerous,” Nephele chided. “But getting involved with a new player on the board was always going to be, so this just adds a new flavor.”

“We don’t know if Phantom Reach is hiding the use of their power or if a third party is,” John said. “But we have a means to track them, somewhat. Or at least, a way to break through the anti-detection thing and know when they’re using the blood magic.”

“Not much you can do with limited resources,” Nephele muttered. “But at least you are doing something. We’ll keep an eye out too. Now, I think we’ve wandered away from what we were going to discuss. I think we should get to further exploring Kiera’s magic.”

“O-oh, right,” Kiera squeaked out, her cheeks lightly dusted in red. “T-that’s why we’re still here.”

She shook her arms out and pulled back her sleeves. In an instant, pale skin was replaced with blue scales interspersed with small crescent-shaped patches of green that John now noticed looked like waves. With a small effort of focus, John could feel Kiera’s aura shift very slightly, its undulations becoming slightly more rhythmic, like the tide lapping at the shore.

Nephele got up and approached Kiera. She knelt down and grabbed one of her hands, amping Kiera’s blush from a two to a seven. It jumped to an eight once Nephele began to trace her scales with her fingers.

“A seamless transformation,” the witch muttered. “Your normal transformations draw from samples of others’ auras, correct?”

“Y-yes,” Kiera replied, her voice pitched high.

“This,” Nephele said, tapping Kiera’s wrist, “isn’t too different, as I’m sure you can feel. Only instead of using someone else’s aura, you’re using a part of your own. A part changed due to your connection to Verida.”

“It is safe, correct?” Verida asked, concern evident in her tone.

“Perfectly so,” Nephele answered. “The best way to explain it is to think of your change like getting a tan. Verida’s aura has mixed with your own in a subtle way, deep in your soul. Because it’s slightly different from the rest of your soul, you can mantle it like other auras. And if my reading of it is accurate, I believe it can develop more. Be it from exposure to Verida’s soul or your own training is something I can’t say.”

Nephele let go of Kiera’s arm and drew back, the bluenette looking down at her arms with a contemplative expression on her face.

“D-do you know how this will get stronger?” she asked quietly.

Nephele shook her head. “Not really, no. Like all skills, only the trials of time can reveal that.”

Kiera let out a hum showing her acknowledgement of the answer but remained quiet, drawing her arms back as they changed back to normal.

“If that’s everything, I think we should go and rest,” Vivian said. “It’s been a stressful afternoon.”

“It has been an eventful day,” Nephele agreed.

“Did beat just sitting in the lab all day,” Estelle added cheerfully. “Actually being able to help people felt good. Do you guys have anything else we can help with?”

A part of John wanted to inquire about if they knew of any ways for his mom to gain magic, but he held his tongue. They likely couldn’t just pull out some potion and go ‘Here, have her drink this’. A day likely wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

‘Not like I can’t just hop on over to their place real easily now,’ he thought. ‘I think tonight calls for some normal relaxing stuff.’

He glanced over at Kiera, still unsure of what they could do to ease her mind. He really didn’t know all that much about her. Between her shyness, the holes in her memory and just the sheer amount of things that had happened since the restoration of her mind, she hadn’t really given any of them the chance to learn anything.

‘Kinda wish we just chatted about normal stuff at lunch,’ John bemoaned. ‘That could have given me something to work with.’

He was still racking his brain as they bid the witches and Verida farewell, the pair choosing to linger a bit longer to grill the goddess on the plant life near the clearing. As they made their way towards the newly formed pathway back home, except Vivian who had to claim her car and Aeolia who elected to accompany her, John heard the lightest humming coming from Kiera, some low and slow melody he didn’t recognise.

‘That could be it!’ John thought. ‘Now I just need to think of one she’d like!’

---

Kiera had remained quiet since returning to John’s house. Brenda had fussed over her, much to her embarrassment, but only for a short while before she hurried off to make dinner, insisting she relax and not help.

She felt wrong not helping, like she was somehow making things needlessly harder by not pitching in. At the same time, paradoxically, it felt nice that everyone wanted her to not strain herself. She couldn’t remember if anyone ever treated her so kindly. These conflicting emotions only inflamed her desire to find some useful way to contribute and her hands balled into fists, her normal nails biting into her palms.

‘Should I use that term?’ she thought, unclenching her hands and looking at them as she sat on the couch. ‘Nephele said my other state is as much a part of me as anything else, even if I have to use magic to make them appear. It’s as normal as Aeolia’s size changing, right?’

Still looking at her hands, she willed the transformation to happen. A rippling sensation like water streaming down her arms tickled her skin as they changed and Kiera moved her fingers around. There was no loss in dexterity and she glanced around for something she could pick up to see how that would go.

The TV remote was close, on the low table that separated the couch from the Television, and Kiera reached over to grab it. As her fingers neared the device, it trembled as if something was pushing it upwards. She drew her hand back and it stopped. Frowning in thought, Kiera slowly moved her hand back towards the remote.

Once again, as her fingers approached, the remote began to shake and Kiera moved her hand closer. The shaking grew stronger, and when the tips of her claws were about an inch away, the remote began to lift off the table.

Kiera held her breath as the remote bobbed in the air as if it was a boat on a calm lake. A memory came to the front of her mind, back before she noticed her arms had changed.

‘I was floating when I was fighting the golem, wasn’t I?’ she realized. ‘But didn’t that happen before my arms changed?’

Kiera tapped the remote, a vague memory of directing a rubber duck in a bath in the same fashion. It drifted a few inches away before it clattered back onto the table. Kiera glanced around, seeing if anyone had reacted to the noise, but no one seemed to notice.

She grabbed the remote and held it in her cupped hand, keeping it from floating with her claws. Then, she uncurled her fingers and let the remote begin to float. It lifted an inch or so from her scales, and after a moment of watching it bounce slightly, she closed her eyes.

Kiera focused on feeling her aura, looking for anything more than just the cosmetic change. It took her a moment, but she found it. The change was a subtle thing, something she wasn’t sure she would have noticed, but it felt like there were bubbling eddies rising from her hand, flowing upwards towards the remote.

With deliberate mental effort, Kiera willed her arms back to their human appearance, trying to maintain the floating effect. She felt the warmth of the transformation fade away, but a lingering heat remained and she cracked open an eye to see the remote still floating above her palm.

A sort of giddy elation rippled through her and Kiera couldn't help but giggle. Faded memories of discovering her magic came to the front of her mind, before her life had gone down the dark path it had. Of running around as childlike versions of people she knew, of being able to use their talents without the stigma of how some would have her use them for their own gains.

‘How can I float?’ she thought, excitement sending her heart racing, not unlike how it was when she was fighting the golem. ‘I think I was trying to emulate Aeolia but this is my own power, not something I took from her. Maybe if I think about her?’

Kiera tried to reenter the mindspace she was in during that fight, while keeping her attention on her aura. For a moment nothing happened but then she felt the sort of bubbling sensation that tickled her hand begin to flow around her whole body.

Suddenly, the weight of her body and clothes seemed to vanish and Kiera felt herself lift off the couch. The drain on her mana became apparent, but Kiera figured she could maintain it for a good long while like this.

‘Can I move like this?’ Kiera thought, and after a moment of thought, acted like she was under water, moving her arms about to create lift. She floated slightly higher but felt gravity pull down on her slightly, keeping her only about a foot off the seat. As she moved forward, she sank down until she was about the same distance above the floor.

Kiera opened her eyes and looked down as she floated in the living room, her legs dangling beneath her. After a moment to steady herself, Kiera tried to move, finding that she didn't have to actually move her limbs to propel herself. Instead, she slowly moved forward, as if a weak current was at her back.

“Well, that's a new thing,” Beth’s voice came from behind Kiera, breaking her concentration. Gravity fully reasserted itself and Kiera’s feet hit the floor.

“Shit, sorry,” Beth hurriedly said as the dark-haired girl jolted over to Kiera.

“I'm fine,” Kiera quickly attested. Her legs ached slightly from the jolt, but it wasn't anything to get worked up over.

Beth still gave her the once over, making her flush. “Still, sorry about fucking up whatever that was. Is that connected to what happened today?”

“I-I think so,” Kiera muttered, Beth’s attention draining away some of her confidence, worried thoughts about how useful this new development truly was running through her head unbidden. “I think it first happened before my arms changed, w-when I was training with Aeolia.”

Her fears abated when Beth grinned at her. “Looks like a cool power. Reminds me a bit of what I can do. Think you can dart around?”

“I don't know,” Kiera said hesitantly. “All I've done so far is float.”

“Guess that means we'll have to test it,” Beth proclaimed before her smile faltered somewhat. “If you want to, I mean.”

“I think I'd like the help,” Kiera shyly said.

“Help with what?” John asked as he came down the stairs, Candle riding on his shoulders and Senka trailing behind. The fox spirit yipped and leapt off John. She darted for the pair of girls and raced around their legs before pawing at Kiera.

Kiera was unable to resist the demand and she bent down to pet the spirit. Her fingers tingled as they passed through the spirit’s fur, but no more than the lightest zap of static electricity.

“I figured out something new,” she said softly before channeling her floating power. She began to lift off the floor, Candle following alongside her. The fox let out a cry of surprise and tried to run away. Kiera felt Candle’s movements, like ripples gently lapping against her, and she took the fox into her hands to calm her.

“Well, that’s not something I expected to see,” John remarked before a wide grin overtook his face. “But that’s so cool.”

Kiera flushed under his admiration, but managed to keep looking at John. “T-thanks. I think it just lets me float, l-like I’m in water.”

“Sure looks like it,” John muttered. “Your hair, clothes, even Candle’s fur are moving like it. Is that how high you can go?”

Kiera nodded, still petting Candle to keep the fox comfortable. “I think so. I didn’t do this with my arms transformed so maybe there could be more. I-I think I can use this to better move around while f-fighting. I’m positive I used this before my arms first changed.”

“I wonder if going dragon will amp its power?” John muttered before he shook his head. “Unless you want to, I think we can put off the experimenting til tomorrow. I think it’d be best to just relax for the rest of the day.”

“I’m okay with waiting,” Kiera said, letting her magic recede gradually, her feet lightly hitting the floor. “T-today’s been a lot.”

“Speaking of,” Senka smoothly interjected, “I believe John has an idea for how we can relax.”

“Well, I figured we could do something nice,” John awkwardly muttered, scratching the back of his neck. “I went looking at what’s close to the witches’ place and there’s an ice cream shop in that complex. I figured some of us could hop over there, pick up something and watch some movies.”

“I could do with a nice big milkshake,” Beth chimed in.

“I-I think that’d be nice,” Kiera said. “W-what sort of movies w-would we be watching?”

“Well, I was thinking something wholesome,” John answered with a smile that made Kiera’s heart ache. “How does Mary Poppins sound?”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.