Chapter 40 – That Again.

It was over an hour later by the time they finally rolled out of bed, Crystal feeling almost as exhausted as when she had gone to bed the night before. It had been her first time, and she was so glad that it had been with Rachael. It wouldn’t be the last either, though it could well be a while if their lack of sleeping in beds thus far was any indication. To say that she had enjoyed it would have been an understatement, and she knew that it was the same for Rachael. There was a tingling and glow to their bond that was reinforcing that knowledge, however that actually worked. That, and the noises that Rachael had been making were still fresh in her mind, some of them had definitely not sounded human.

‘You realise that you were making the exact same noises as well...’ Spectre informed her.

No, that she hadn’t. The repercussions of it were niggling away at the edge of realisation, not quite fully formed yet. It wasn’t something that she was going to dwell on at the moment though.

‘The penny will drop soon enough,’ Spectre then added, sounding quite amused. Crystal just ignored the cat-fox.

Crystal felt the most alive that she ever had, and very happy. She summoned her armour to herself, then watched as Rachael got dressed.

“That’s cheating,” Rachael playfully grumbled, though she didn’t appear to mind the attention. “Oh yeah, and underwear for you.”

They got a few weird looks from others in the hallway as the left the room and headed down to the lower floor, but Rachael just ignored them, Crystal trying to do so as well. Breakfast, which consisted of oats and bread, was bland and plain but welcome, and soon enough they were standing outside of the inn.

“We’ll check with the wagon man about timing, then we should probably look at getting a few supplies,” Rachael said thoughtfully, her body just as radiant in the morning’s light. “Who knows when we’ll be able to reclaim the ones we had previously.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Crystal said with a smile, giving Rachael a quick kiss.

Even at this early hour the stables seemed to be quite busy, a crowd of people in its vicinity, seeable as soon as they left the inn. A number of the wagons that had been parked in the town square the night before were now stationed beside the stables, armoured people milling around them, and apart from a few that were checking the load, the rest appeared to be just standing and talking. The young stable hands were out again, feeding the horses and attaching harnesses. Another small group were standing by the owner of the stables, engaged in conversation. All but one of that group were wearing leather armour, the odd one out being a lady who instead was wearing some form of fancy brown woven armour that was embroidered with green and gold patterns, lions on the upper arms and across the chest. It actually looked quite nice. Crystal recognized the lady as one of the two wealthy ones from the town square the previous day, who had been wearing a red silk dress, her long hair now braided into a ponytail.

“So they do have composite armours,” Rachael commented quietly as they walked towards the stables.

The horses started to get a bit angsty as they approached, the stable hands looking startled and doing their best to calm them down. The stable owner looked worried, backing out of the way and moving towards the horses as the wealthy lady stepped forward, a smirk on her face.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the two whores.”

Crystal felt her mood instantly shift. She narrowed her eyes at the lady in annoyance and glared, letting out a quiet hiss. How dare she insult them.

“I’m sorry? I don’t believe we have any business with you,” Rachael said, the calmness in her voice strained.

“Have I offended you little animals?” the woman then said haughtily.

Crystals muscles tensed, and she could feel her magic starting to gather around her body on it’s own accord. Okay, she was definitely pissed off now.

deep breath

remain calm.

be the one in control.

Rachael blinked, flexing her hands, letting out a slow deliberate sigh, as she shook her head.

“Okay, what is your deal lady? We don’t know you.”

“This is no place for little thieves like you,” the lady stated, sounding apparently disinterested in life. “You won’t be getting taken out to the site, they don’t need your sticky fingers out there, not that we owe the Sebastian’s anything. But it’s obvious you took that cheap looking armour from our own site, so we will be taking it back, and then you can crawl back to whatever hole you came out of.”

She then motioned to the others around her. “Strip her.”

Crystal could not believe what she was hearing. Not this again. This time however she did not feel fear. Just rage, at how the touched were being treated, by stuck up nobles like her. Not to mention that she obviously had no sense of value. What Crystal was wearing was probably worth way more than the entire wealth of the lady’s family.

priceless.

“You don’t want to do this,” Rachael growled, as the ones around the lady drew their weapons and started advancing on them.

“Oh but I am. Worms.”

“Dragon,” Rachael stated sharply. “It’s dragon.”

Crystals vision went red as her magic exploded throughout her, her body feeling like it was on fire. She leapt at the lady, summoning her weapons mid air. Crystal landed right in front of her, her shield coming round and slamming into the lady, blasting her straight through the wall of the stable with an explosion of wood and glass. She then spun around, parrying the attack of one of the others, followed by a swift kick to the groin, launching him into the upper levels of the stables and then down amongst the horses, Crystal following. The man promptly collapsed, screaming in pain, and Crystal brought up her sword for the killing blow.

No, they’re innocent of her crime. She wasn’t a murderer.

Crystal stayed her blade, blocking an attack from another assailant with her shield, then counterattacking, her sword easily slicing through their armour and drawing blood. Rachael then appeared beside them, her punch sending them careening into the wagon with a sickening crunch.

Huh? Something didn’t quite look right.

Then as quickly as it came her magic went, her body visibly cooling down as a golden mist rose off it. The ones who had been standing with the lady were now all prone on the ground in various stages of agony, the rest of those present had given them a wide berth, nervously standing there with hands on their weapons. The horses had scattered, stable hands chasing after them.

Crystal dismissed her weapons, and stared at Rachael. Her skin had the glow that it had had the previous evening, but now she was also sporting large leathery draconic wings and a long scaled draconic tail, both formed out of her magic, shimmering with a golden hue. She looked powerful, dangerous, and oh so hot.

Rachael looked at Crystal, giving her a seductive smile. She then gave her wings a flex and a beat, before they faded, along with her tail.

“You had them too,” she then said, somewhat matter of factly, and with a hint of teasing.

Crystal blinked.

And paused for a moment, letting it sink in.

“So we really are dragons...” she finally managed to say.

yes.

deep dragons to be precise.

the first of your kind.

That... explained a lot.

Though as to what that fully entailed, she had no clue. She saw Rachael blink, with a brief flash of concentration. Had Warrior said the same thing to her as well.

She also quite liked the sounds of it too. “Deep Dragons huh.”

‘It’s been sitting in front of you this entire time,’ Spectre said as he sat beside Kitsune looking rather amused.

Yeah well, she wasn’t good at this kind of thing it seemed.

“Do you regret what we’ve become, of the changes the magic has had upon us?” Rachael asked, tenderly touching her face, a little worry in her eyes.

They were no longer human were they. But how different were they really, than say the Feral’s that Clocky had talked about, or from Fairweather and the rest of the crew who now had animalistic features.

bloodlines,

instincts.

both actually quite significant.

“No, not at all. Never,” Crystal replied to Rachael. She was the real her now. She didn’t want it any other way, and she would happily take the side effects with it as well. It was up to them after all what they made of it and how they let it effect them, instincts or not.

“Me neither,” Rachael said with a reassuring smile. She then looked up at the people nervously standing nearby, who had probably been watching their lack on interest in them with growing apprehension. “I suggest you help your friends. Oh, and take your hands off your weapons. We’re not going to attack you unless you provoke us first.”

There was some murmuring and shuffling, but at least most of them seemed to take their hands away from their weapons or sheath them.

One thing that was a bit confusing about it all was how Warrior knew of it. She definitely was getting used to her presence, choice or not, and while she certainly didn’t understand what the Ancients actually were, wasn’t Warrior sort of battle focused? If they were anything like the beings from the campaigns she’d played in then that focus would be their domain.

it’s complicated.

let’s just say that we too can be influenced,

and we will be more than what we once were.

more importantly, you both are my chosen.

If memory served her right, four of them seemed to have a direct interest in her and Rachael, including Velvet in that number. It was kind of scary. Especially the topic of Velet.

Crystal looked at the hole in the wall of the stable. “Should we see what’s happened to that lady? Think she was one of the Arwen’s?”

“Only as a courtesy. That %$@# deserved everything she got, irrespective of who she is. Though you did hit her rather hard.”

‘It looks like deep dragons don’t take insults well.’

Apparently not. Even Crystal was still smarting somewhat from what had been said. That was going to be a difficult aspect of what they were now, especially as violence was not always the answer. In her age, it never was, but now the rules were a lot different.

The found the lady on the other side of the stables. She had been blown through both walls, a trail of debris behind her. She did not look good.

“I didn’t mean to kill her,” Crystal said with panic. They were people like her, not monsters. Well, okay, that probably wasn’t true any longer, but irrespective, she still hadn’t mean to fatally would her. However, she had smacked her with her shield with apparently a whole lot of force, and the human body wasn’t made for that kind of punishment.

“Heh.”

Rachael knelt down to the lady, placing her hands on her side as they glowed. The glow seemed to expand, flowing into the ladies body. A few minutes later she took her hands away, as a couple of her people cautiously made their way around the barn.

“She’s stabilized. By all rights she should be dead, but it’ll be a while before she fully recovers. No where near as long as it should take though.”

The ladies eye flickered open, and she glared at Rachael.

“You’re a lucky one,” Rachael said with a cheeky grin on her face.

“I don’t need your pity,” the lady said as she spat at Rachael.

Rachael shrugged, and stood up. “Come, lets go. We’re no longer welcome here it seems.”

“I guess were walking then,” Crystal observed. Back to her initial mode of transport. “And no additional supplies either.”

“Seems like it,” Rachael agreed. “I doubt she was on her own in cooking this up.”

Word was probably already spreading of what had just happened, and given the influence of the rich that was one door closed. But as they say, another would open.

“Yeah, let’s not aggravate the locals any more. At least the bakery lady was nice.”

“That she was.”

---

And again...

Crystal sighed as the magic dissipated. It was going to be a while before she was going to be able to hold the magic without active concentration. She was able to summon a ball of light to her hand almost instantly now, but maintaining it was a different story altogether. Rachael had said that she was making remarkable progress in such a short space of time, but she felt that she still had a long was to go. As soon as she got distracted that was it, and there was a lot of distractions at the moment. One significant one in particular.

She watched with awe and a little bit of jealousy as Rachael hovered a dozen meters in front of her, the slow but steady beating of her wings keeping her in the air. It hadn’t taken Rachael long to determine how much power was required for the manifestation of the wings, and that they were more than just cosmetic. They were both ecstatic at the potential, but unfortunately only Rachael could reliably bring them out at the moment. She adapted to it like a natural, her maiden flight flawless, and it just looked right, seeing her like that. Not to mention that it just added to her appeal. Crystal didn’t think she’d ever get over how beautiful Rachael was, especially when other memories, like those of the morning, decided to come crashing in as well. She felt herself go flush at the thoughts, her magic dissipating yet again.

No one had bothered them when they had walked out of Cannonsgate, though many had watched. There had been some heated discussions between the other nobles that they had seen the previous day in the town square, and while a couple of the men had looked decidedly angry, they had made no move. News of the fight had spread fast. Crystal had felt nervous and unsettled, worried that they might try something, but the fear was unfounded it seemed. The stable hands were still rounding up the horses, and those that had been near the south eastern road had bolted again as they had passed. The horses definitely seemed spooked by them.

Then it was lots of walking. It was pleasant enough, the weather was warm and the company was the best, but they would be at it for while. The dirt road itself was in a decent condition, smooth without many potholes, and the surrounding terrain was flat grasslands that flowed into rolling hills further out. Small groves of trees were scattered across the landscape, pretty much the same as what was on the other side of the mountain according to Rachael. Definitely similar to what she had seen this far as well.

‘Oh don’t worry, there is plenty of variety in this land. Be grateful that you have the nice stuff at the moment.’

She wasn’t complaining that much about it.

It was early afternoon now. They were making good time, and had found some fruit in a grove of trees that the road had passed. There had also been the remains of some huts there that had long fallen into disuse, as well as a well that still had water in it. Likely a stopping point for when the road had originally been built, not that she thought it would have been necessary, but she wasn’t complaining. The water hadn’t been too bad either, Rachael having boiled the water in the well’s bucket with her magic just in case. It had cooled enough by the time they’d eaten. Crystal did wonder if purification was possible with their magic. It would certainly make things easier, and the alignment would fit with their magic, in theory at least.

They had both been training as they walked, Rachael testing some of the new limits to her magic while Crystal worked on the basics. It had slowed them a little at first, not so much now. Granted she was trying to master in a few days what others had spent years on, but she was feeling a little frustrated with her current bottleneck. She’d managed to give her magic form, but she felt like she’d made no progress in maintaining that form.

‘Why are you still concentrating so hard on it?’ Spectre queried from her shoulder. He’d hopped up there a while ago, apparently bored of walking and had been intently watching her creations.

“How else am I going to keep it there?”

‘Are you micromanaging it’s aspects?’

“Perhaps.”

‘Why?’

Because that how magic was done, wasn’t it.... Arrays and the like just made it easier...

‘Arrays help shape the form and purpose. That’s it. Magic is a living thing Crystal.’

That was the first time he’d called her by her name. She would have given him a curious look, but her position didn’t allow for that. The thought was there.

‘And you almost ignore the most important thing that I said. You’re so enamoured with your lover that you haven’t let what she said sink in properly.’

“I’m allowed to be...”

Spectre let out a mental sigh. This was the most talkative he’d been in a long while.

‘Yes, you are. I admit, she is definitely something else. Both of you are. You will attract a lot of attention. Perhaps you need to spend more time intertwined so that you get it out of your system for a while so that you can concentrate on the task at hand.’

“I... I...” That made Crystal go very red.

‘Magic is very new to you, but it is a part of you. An extension of you if you will. Do you recall what Rachael said about use of magic last night?’

“Something along the lines of working on my control.”

‘And? There was more to it than that. Your current approach suggests that that was where you stopped listening.’

He was right. She’d said more than that. Regulate it. Determine how much, how long, its form and where it manifests.

‘And that was it?’

Crystal was pretty sure that was it for the important aspects. She’d mentioned moving on to reinforcement after that.

‘Bingo. So, what’s missing from what she said’

What she was doing now. Rachael hadn’t said anything about having to maintain it, and Spectre had just said that magic was a living thing. She felt like a fool. She had misinterpreted what had been said, relating its use to what she had learnt from all of the campaigns that she had played in. But of course those rules were just a work of fiction. Rachael had in fact given her exactly the advice she’d needed, but Crystal hadn’t quite taken the right approach. She was very grateful for Spectre’s help, but Crystal couldn’t help feeling like she was being lectured to by a teacher. Nor did she blame Rachael at all. She couldn’t have known what Crystal was doing wrong, especially since she was also trying to learn about the changes to her own magic as well.

‘Rachael was right though, you have made remarkable progress, especially given your initial approach. That you’ve managed what you have is incredible. However, you’re going to have to start over. What you’ve been doing might be useful in certain circumstances, but for most of your uses, you’re going to have to take the other approach.’

“And how is it that you’re suddenly so knowledgable in magic?”

‘I’ve just been paying attention.’

Crystal was certain that wasn’t the full extent of it, but she wasn’t going to push the matter at the moment. A lot had happened in a short space of time, but even given that she still didn’t know anything more about the Arkchild, nor really about Angel/Arcane. She did wonder if she could learn anything useful about the cat-foxes by studying the nature of the bond between them. She had felt it when Rachael had her meditate on her magic, so it could be possible.

Rachael landed down beside her, wings and tail dissipating.

“You alright?” she asked, looking between both her and Spectre. Kitsune, who was perched on her shoulder, did the same. Crystal wondered if the two of them were talking as well.

“Yeah,” Crystal said sheepishly. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Rachael that she’d been an idiot.

Crystal stepped forward, and stretching, leaned up and gave Rachael a quick kiss. Rachael pulled her in for a tight hug. She’d be more than happy to just stay like that.

“You sure?”

“Umm... yeah.” She gave Rachael another kiss.

“Do you need some more help with the magic?”

“Spectre just gave me an earful. I’m good now.”

Rachael looked a little confused.

“Really,” Crystal said with a smile. “I’m banking on progress by nightfall.”

She was pretty sure they wouldn’t be at the site by then either, meaning plenty of time to practice.

---

By nightfall she had a dozen balls of lights floating around her, all with varying brightness, doing lazy circuits as they looked for somewhere suitable to camp for the night. Camp being a very generous term, given that they’d be sleeping rough just as they had both been when they’d first awoken, though this time at least they had each other. There was still no sign of their destination, as they’d anticipated, but Crystal wasn’t complaining. The day had been nice, just travelling with Rachael as she practised, especially once she’d had the breakthrough.

Her regulation of the potency of her magic was still a little off, as she was still trying to get use to the feel of it. There was no fixed scale. You couldn’t just use ten percent of your strength or anything. You had to gauge based on your senses, and it wasn’t just limited to the flow of the magic, but also the intended result, how you visualized it, and even your mood could effect it. Rachael had said that that aspect became instinctual quite quickly, but given the shear size of their potential, small amounts were actually a lot harder to gauge. But also that much more important.

Reinforcement was the next thing that she was going teach her, and regulation of strength was very important there. While there really wasn’t such as thing as too weak, as even a little bit of magic would help and make you better than you were, too much would burn you out very quickly if your body wasn’t use to it. And that was a key part of it too, your body got use to having the magic that it naturally got stronger over time, as well as residual magic being assimilated into it, amplifying the effect of reinforcement, and allowing the use of more magic. Rachael had had good control at her previous limit, but even for her now she was faced with unknown factors again. Which excited her from what Crystal could tell.

As Rachael had said, their bodies post completion were much more powerful than they had been before. Becoming Deep Dragons had changed them at a fundamental level it seemed, and even Crystal was picking up on that now. At the very least she felt a lot stronger than she had before, and she wasn’t tiring anywhere near as quickly from physical activities, but she knew there was more to it than that, both from what Warrior had said and what she could sense about herself. Magical activities were a different case currently, though Rachael was confident that her body would quickly strengthen to that aspect as well. As for getting all close and personal as they had that morning... that was just very involved.

Her accidental reinforcement that morning was actually a good sign, and Rachael was confident that she’d be able to do it with ease. Crystal had already experienced what it felt like, which made repeating the process that much easier. It was also much more instinctual now for them than it had been for Rachael previously, which again had been put down to their new nature.

They ended up making themselves comfortable against a large Oak that dominated the grove of trees in which it grew, a dip in the roots fitting them quite well. Spectre and Kitsune had been volunteered to watch, to which neither had made any noise, and they sat on either side of the pair, looking out into the grove. They had managed to forage a little food as the evening had dulled as well, which had sated their hunger for the moment. Crystal snuggled up to Rachael, letting her magic dissipate as Rachael’s warm arms wrapped around her, the night blanketing them in its shroud. She felt content, happy, and safe in her arms, a faint soft rumbling emanating from her.

“Your purring!” Rachael exclaimed with a giggle.

“Am not...” Crystal objected softly with a pout. She was though she realized, or something like it. “Cat’s purr. Dragons don’t. They roar and growl and hiss.”

Rachael gave her an affectionate squeeze. “It’s cute,” she said sweetly.

That just made Crystal blush and the rumbling resume.

They just lay like that for a while, the sounds of the nightlife a familiar backdrop. A gentle wind rustling the leaves of the trees, the occasional hoot of an owl as it watched for its prey. Crystal zoned it out, listening to the rhythmic beating of Rachael’s heart, in tune with her own, her thoughts wandering back to when she’d first met her. Was it fate that had brought them together or something more? Had Angel had plans already at that time? It didn’t really matter though, not to her. Rachael had always been special to her, and now she was hers. They were together, that was the important part.

“Love you,” she murmured, as sleep threatened to take her over. It was definitely more than just the simple liking and infatuation of teenage romances. What she felt for her went so much deeper than that. Of course there was their bond too, but that didn’t change what she knew about her feelings.

“Love you too,” Rachael quietly murmured back.