Your Monster learned Charm!

After a few water skins and cloth rags, I was cleaned of the odd ooze that had followed me from my "egg." Donning now ill-fitting clothes, I find my old burlap cloak went with me into that strange state; it was now laying inside the pearly black orb I had pulled myself from, coated is that same gunk.

"Well... nothing is washing that out." I say, still adjusting to my new, higher pitched voice; I recognize it... it was one of Madness's many voices...

I walk with Ashes and Gabbie to the little camp just off the road. Once amongst the rest of the party, they look on in confusion and relief; Cilla's face taking on an annoyed, concerned apperance.

"Gods; you promised to stop scaring me like this!" She says, eyeing me up and down; pulling me into a hug. "Now I have to redo so much paperwork..."

"Sorry I... melted?" I reply. "What even happened to me?"

Zana, seemingly happy to see I'm not a pile of goopy sinew; pulls out two of my older scales, one from my recent incident, and another from my use of Final Form. "Well, from what we can tell; your body **** itself to rapidly Evolve, so that the sudden imbalance of Light and Dark wouldn't make you... pop. According to what you've told us, you're immune to being suddenly stripped of Life by **** based means; due to Ariel's protection, and your body slowly killing itself would have just activated your transformation... so, your body; rather than dying, effectively shut itself down, reverted to a basic form, and gathered up the Dark from the surrounding envoirnment in a large enough quanitity to regain it's equalibrium."

I stare blankly; whatever Evolution I had just gone through seemingly missed my brain...

A yawn is heard from the Shy Sharpshooter's hat, as Trix pops out from behind it. "In common, lass. Your gabbledy-gook is sending me sleepward."

With a blush gracing her cheeks, Zana simply explains. "His body changed instead of exploding."

"Oh. Well, that's good." I say, before looking over my newer, slim body. "But why did it make me so... Ariel-y?"

"Hey! That had better be a compliment!"

Ashes hands me some jerky as she passes by, taking a seat with Zana. "Well, the Ten Elements; with two exceptions, have... sexes, I suppose is the term. Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Dark are masculine, and are easier for men to use. Water, Wind, Ice, and Light are feminine, and easier for women to use. Life, and **** are both as neutral as can be. When something is infused with an Element, even a weapon or piece of furniture, it will gain some traits of it's Element's sex. An ice-infused sword will grow lighter, more slender. A fire-infused axe will increase in bulk, and weight..."

"So, because I became infused with Light... I became more feminine?" I ask.

"Yeah. I mean, you already have a Light soul, and your two species are Dragons, which are beings associated with Life, and Fae, beings associated with Life and ****. Having that Dark infusion was pretty much the only thing keeping you from being a one-to-one copy of loud-and-pretty over there." Says Ashes, pointing at the Alm on Gabbie's staff.

A flash of golden light, and a flurry of feathers later; Ariel is stamping about next to me. "Say that to my face!"

"See! You're like twins now! Except... Monsters still taller."

"Why you!"

After Cilla fixes my documents, and the following divine retribution of Ariel; in the form of several attempts at avoiding dirty words while insulting someone, we've packed and started back on the road. I take a look over to my egg, now dissolving into seeming nothingness; leaving behind a goop-coated burlap cloak. The march to Bludbag is swift, and relatively uneventful; baring one little thing.

Zana, slowing her Boomstick to float alongside me; as I remain at the back of the group. "Hey, Monster..."

"Is it... still big?" She asks, her cheeks practically glowing with a rainbow-hue blush.

My cheeks burn at her question, and a stirring occurs down below.

I wink, and pat her on her rear gently. "Oh, I'll show you tonight..."

Not saying a thing, the Shy Sharpshooter bolts up and forward; hiding the bursting array of colors on her face.

Now... how do we get past a gate consisting of two massive rocks?