On All Fours

[Rickter]

On All Fours
Glade 63rd, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

Roots and tree trunks were gnarled and covered in webs wherever he ran, but, for Lykos it was a bit of an unusual perspective to see them from. He felt himself running on not one but two pairs of feet, and his breathing had grown deeper while he charged through the covered floor of the forest around him. He was either hunting or fleeing from something, and his nose told him something familiar hung in the air all around him.

It was ozone. Well, the scent of it at the very least. What that meant he did not know, but when Lykos paused to stop, he checked his surroundings before he heard a noise, the classic snap of a branch as if whatever he sleuthed for were nearby. The wolf took off in haste, charging as fast as he could, determined to catch whatever had been avoiding him. He ran and ran, and ran until...

Until the thrill of the chase itself pulled him out of his slumber, and the wolf himself pulled into an eager rise from his bed. Lykos fell off a little frantic, surprised by himself when he'd hit the red rock stone floor. He was in his room as he had been the night before, though, the sunlight of the Sceptre still shone brightly through the window, making it difficult to tell the time of day or not. He'd also winced when he hit the floor and, unexpectedly, made a small yelp once it had settled in his rump.

That was just a dream, he realized as he looked around his room, just a silly dream is all. He had learned much in the past couple of days, from the lessons Lana and Lia gave him on magic, to the personal bit of practice he did in Lana's absence yesterday. All his furnishings were finely lavish to accommodate any needs he might've had, pillows and a couple of sofas, a table with a few chairs, and of course the vanity with a mirror and his reflection inside of it. He'd have to get dressed now that he'd stirred out of bed.

But... Hold on...

What is that!? He widened his eyes when he saw the reflection of a massive wolf in the mirror, a black-coated beast that beheld a mystified look at its own reflection. Is... Is that me?! Lykos looked down at himself to the best of his ability, realizing that he remained hunched over still, and finally connecting the dots when he noticed he could only see his two front paws in turn. He had those, with a muzzle and a nose, and he could also fidget his ears better than before. He was... undoubtedly a bonified wolf just now. Oh, fuck me...

He looked to the door when he heard whispering, as one of the servants of the citadel checked in on him, her eyes widening with horror as she pulled her head back out with a gasp. The slightly opened door slammed shut quickly after that, and the wolf literally tucked his ears downward before licking his muzzle quietly.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Hilana was not one to sleep in. The exception to this was if Raithen was still in her bed, in which case she might very well stay in there a little bit longer... especially if she might coax another round out of her Avialae mate. But without Raithen here, and plenty to do, the Vastiana was up and getting dressed, sliding her colourful skirt of yellow, red, and gold over her hips and securing it so that it hung there before her feet found her sandals and could be laced in. Her one-shoulder linen shirt was pulled over her head and she did up the ties at the back, essentially lacing herself in. Her long hair was brushed and bound up into a bun, and she was letting Tiaz climb up her arm while she checked on Fiya in her cloth bag. The steely-grey female was looking up at her, perfectly happy to come out. Though a sudden slam of a door outside of her own made the juvenile recoil, and Hilana drew her out anyway, letting her tightly grip and coil on her other arm. Tiaz was unbothered, far more used to loud sounds than his baby ‘sister’, but settled along Hilana’s shoulders anyway. But the girl lifted her head, and slipped out of her room, looking in the direction of the departed serva.

Well, something was going on. But no Sentinels were coming running yet... but Hilana had figured she had better get ahead of everything in order to keep things on an even keel. She headed to Lykos’ door, knocking briefly before opening it. Lia’s own door on the other side drew open, when Hilana was knocking, and her sister, her hair undone and her long scarf over her arm rather than draped cross-body, was standing there with the same concern on her face. Hilana tilted her head towards Lykos’ door, and Lia left her own room to join her in the hallway with a few hurried steps.

And both sisters could only stare at the enormous wolf. “Lykos?” Hilana asked, remembering how the wolves had gathered in Karnor to howl before they had departed the battleground at the crystal tree a few days ago. “Lykos? Can you understand me?” Some part of her wished she had Mesmer, but then again... scouring the Symphony of the Divine was absolutely asking for trouble, perhaps even more than one was by looking into their aura with Semblance. All the same, Hilana was pretty decent with her animal handling skills, but this...well. This was a really, really big wolf. In any event, she stepped through, calm and confident, and Lia closed the door, backing up her sister behind her. Where Hilana’s skirts were fiery colours, Lia had chosen softer, more muted pastels of purple and blue to enjoy, and she did not bare her midriff the way her sister did.

[Rickter]

Way to go, Lykos... He punished himself after the considerable minute spent hearing the patter of footsteps, as he figured the servant had likely been startled by the fact a literal wolf resided in his private quarters. Then again... he was a little on the larger side than a normal wolf. How did I even turn into this form? He pondered with a look down at his front paws once more, mulling it over when he was lost in his dream within the Land of Nod.

When Lykos had been running, or chasing, or whatever, he could've sworn he felt every fiber in his body react to the rush itself before adrenaline truly hit. If he had to guess, he had to have dreamt about running so hard, that he literally started to in his sleep.

Or perhaps... he just turned in his sleep? It's weird to imagine but somehow that was the only natural conclusion he could draw. Even so, the knock on his door raised his head with ears perked forward, a slight tilt in his head when he waited to see who would greet him next. It's just me! No need to be shy!

Sure enough, Hilana and Athalia were the ones to enter, their looks of awe met with an excitable beat of his tail against the red stone floor. Really, the extension from his butt might as well have been a broom or duster, that is if the place weren't so immaculately clean already of course.

"Rorowoo!" He vocalized eagerly though but a lot gentler than what he initially would've, determined to make sure they knew that he was indeed Lykos and not a wild wolf in the room. And I can't talk in this form! Great! At least they know I can understand them now. He reasoned with the corners of his maw tucked upward, a series of pants huffed from his lips while he hung his tongue to the side.

It was incredibly hot in this form too, hotter than what he would've been if he were in his human form. Don't worry, ladies, I'll figure out how to change back somehow! He thought in response to their awe, his rear end scooted from underneath so that he could sidle down into a lay across the floor.

Wow, it's actually cooler on the stone here! He realized as his tail kept wacking across the floor, his blue eyes rolling up to Lia and Lana as he sprawled out on his side. Lykos didn't realize just how large he really was until he felt the hind paws of his legs brush underneath the bedframe, while his front paws stretched toward the middle of the room as he was.

"Arrrwoo..." He huffed softly in turn, not sure how to relay any more information to them in his current state. Being a wolf was a challenge indeed, which led him to wonder, could wolves communicate with others some other way?

[Hilana Chenzira]

Lia had never really been around dogs aside from when she was a child, as her father hadn’t bothered keeping any in the estate. Hilana, however, had always had a couple of dogs around at the herding grounds that were more for helping to alert the crew that looked after the animals and to help protect them and the kids that were out there on the herding grounds. She hadn’t been allowed to have any in the house; it had been a challenge enough with bringing Risdra back after she had effectively stolen her some twelve years ago. But if something was yours anyway, and you just took it with you when you went despite the fact it was going to be a bribe to keep her in place, was it still theft?

She didn’t worry about it.

But Hilana loved animals of all kinds, and she had a good idea about the physiology of dogs and therefore wolves. “Come on,” she smiled at Lia, encouraging her inside. Lia closed the door behind her, and Hilana headed for the big Wolf. “So you are a Rathari, too. You are full of surprises, Lykos,” the girl took two of the cushions from the side of the room for her and her sister to sit on, and made herself comfortable by Lykos when he was laying down on his side. The steady thump of his tail amused the younger sister to no end, and even Lia was smiling about it now that she had gotten over the surprise of seeing the Lord of the Frost like, well, this. This, perhaps, explained why he sometimes wiggled a little bit when they were having lessons and he was doing well, or he was just happy.

He was attempting to wag his tail. That made so much more sense now.

Lia settled down on the cushion closer to Lykos’ head, and reached out to scratch carefully behind his ear. “Take two fingers and massage along his eyebrows,” the younger sister suggested to her elder. “Right here, like this,” Hilana demonstrated, using her pointer and middle fingers and beginning to gently rub along the Rathari’s eyebrows. “Just make sure you move with his head. We don’t want to accidentally poke him in the eye, do we?” she smiled down at the demigod. Lia did as she was bid, amused as anything by this. This was a demigod who was acting like an eager puppy on the floor. She had never seen anything like it, and in the Void, she had seen a lot of things.

But this was definitely something new, and it was in a good way. Hilana, in the meantime, ran her fingers and nails over the thick fur of the giant wolf’s ribs, beginning to scratch there and along his chest. “Big. Silly. Puppy,” the girl chuckled, smiling, her eyes soft, and not at all minding this as she rubbed the big wolf’s chest. He looked like he’d be fun to snuggle up to, much like she might one of her camels, but for now, she was just enjoying this. The serva would likely be off to warn the Sentinels, and so Hilana was already preparing for that. But for now, she could at least enjoy this moment before they figured out how to turn him back. All the same, Lykos had proven a quick study across the board so far, so surely... he would be familiar with how to do this, she was sure, once he got his mental faculties lined up. She didn’t quite know how this worked, despite the fact that she knew another Rathari, but this was fine. This was not the end of the world.

Fiya’s tongue flickered, trying to figure out the enormous heat source with the thick fur that wasn’t too far from her while Tiaz just relaxed his thick coils and tucked his head. He was used to far more jarring motions than this, and the incredibly lazy snake was not about to go anywhere.

[Rickter]

Lykos watched the ladies as they came to his side, joining him once they found seats on the cushions provided for him. "Arrroo!" He gently agreed when Hilana pointed out his heritage, admittedly, sharing a bit of that surprise as well after having awoken earlier. Trust me, I'm just as baffled as you are. He quietly mused to himself as he continued to lay there, admittedly curious about what the two were planning to do next. Lykos wasn't quite sure about the urgency of returning to his original form, but, that seemed less an issue when he watched the pair smile at him in turn.

Wait, what are you- Oh! His eyebrows rose before they relaxed into a state of pure bliss. Oooooooh! The feeling of their fingernails gently raking the skin beneath his fur was heavenly, enough to where he audibly groaned in delight while his tail slapped across the floor even harder. Yeah, whatever you do, don't stop doing that right there...

He figured at this point, what was the rush in turning back, when these two beautiful women were affectionately rubbing and scratching him up? If the perks of being a Rathari involve this? Oooooooo, yeeeeeah. He felt Lana's hands brush and pet his chest and ribs, somewhat tickling him even as he started twitching his hind leg in response. Definitely no big hurry to change back. He mused as he thought to lick at Lia's wrist, though, his ears noticeably twitched when he detected sounds from deeper within the citadel.

Oh? Well, change of plans, ladies. Looks like our little fun fest is gonna be cut short. Lykos knew from the click of leather boots on the stone that someone, a Sentinel most likely, was on their way to investigate what the servii from earlier had witnessed. He could only imagine what the poor bastard would discover, once they would open the door to find the sisters snuggling with a massive direwolf. Which brought him back to remembering how he needed to shift back into his human form, since it clearly seemed as easy as breathing to turn into his current form.

Wait a second, Lana, Lykos raised his head if only to look at the younger sister, why do I smell danger pheromones on you? His curiosity did get the better of him when he realized there was a snake coiled around her wrist, the little danger noodle lazily snug there as his nose whiffed its scent a few times. you're such a strange girl. Strange indeed but ever kind as she were brave, the wolf finally lowering his head back down to practically rest in Athalia's lap next. Though the cap of his skull practically covered the whole of her lap, allowing the older sister to continually brush her fingers behind the crevices of his pointed ears.

You both are making it hard to want to turn back. He admitted to himself with a brief lick of his maw, aware that the Sentinel from before had just about reached the door to his bedroom. Well, let's see how much trouble we're about to be in. The wolf mused to himself as he looked between the two ladies, and then to the door itself just before it started to open.

[Hilana Chenzira]

As Athalia watched his movements, she was doing her best to follow Hilana’s guidance and move with him if he moved his head a bit. She alternated between his eyebrows and his ears, and when it came to the ears, she massaged the base of them and lightly scritched the inside with her fingernails. Not enough to dig in, too firmly to tickle, but just the right pressure along the sensitive insides. It took a bit of figuring out and some assistance from her sister, but Lia was starting to get a bit more used to it. “Do you do this to your cat?”

“All the time,” Hilana agreed. “Risdra loves it. The dogs that were with the herding and livestock groups all enjoyed it.” She knew that Lykos wasn’t a dog, but still... strong, knowing fingers worked their way through his fur, and since he was enjoying those ministrations, the Vastiana was not inclined to stop. Though it did cross her mind that it might take some dissuasion to transform back, and this was not helping, but oh, well. It didn’t hurt to enjoy themselves a bit. It was nice to see her sister like this, too - part of what Hilana hated about being in the Tertian estate as a child was the lack of animals, and while they had the stables... it wasn’t the same as having pets around from time to time that she could enjoy. But Lia was adapting rather well to the massive head in her lap, and she tried scritching under his chin to see what sort of reaction that got.

But when there was a crisp knock on the door, Hilana turned slightly to look over her shoulder. “Come in,” she said as the door unlocked, looking at the veiled Sentinel standing there. “All is fine,” she assured the Vigil. “It turns out he’s also a Rathari and transformed in his sleep. There are no problems here. He’s fine, we’re fine. He’ll change back soon, he just needs to work through that.”

The Sentinel observed the sisters and the Wolf and the snakes, and eyed them behind his veil. Hilana’s assessment of the situation was pretty clear, and there was no issue or danger... but he would stay nearby regardless just in case. But in any event, he’d make the report to Sentinel Phocion. The door closed, the black-garbed figure vanishing from sight once again. Hilana returned her attention to Lykos.

“Look how big your paws are,” she leaned over him, the hand with Fiya wrapped around her wrist extending to find one of his forepaws, putting his paw against her palm and comparing the size. “Big feet,” she teased, tracing the toe beans with a finger. As nuts as she was with her snakes, the silvery female one on her arm was moving to check him out. He was far too big to be prey, after all, but he smelled strange to the serpent, who was used to Hilana’s lazy senior cat, but the wolf was a whole new animal.

"As fun as this is, we'll have to figure out how to help him transform back," Lia told her sister a bit pointedly. "He can't stay like this all day, he would be far too hot with this fur." That, and lessons might be a little more difficult if he was in this body. Plus he'd have to eat his food all mixed together in a bowl...

[Rickter]

His tail swept the stones eagerly while his tongue practically dangled out his maw, all while those sweet endorphins coursed through his brain from all the attention they gave him. Truly. Lykos was in a world of pure bliss right about now, one that he suspected would indeed have to end soon. But it was clear that he enjoyed it, and Athalia made a curious inquiry about Hilana's other pets. Well, actual pets. As much as the wolf would've liked to count himself luckily among them, Lykos knew he better not consider himself to be such, especially when he had much more to live up to in the long run.

If you ladies wanted to do this forever, I wouldn't be so against it honestly. Without a doubt he'd find his broken heart mended in due time, what with all the love and affection these two could give him in their spare time. Life wouldn't be so permitting though, as they all had their own duties and roles to play. Even so, Lykos did not disregard the fact the sisters both knew and enjoyed the time, as did he given he was on the reciprocating end of it all.

Then came the knock on the door that led him to perk his ears and lift his head, his blue eyes somewhat widened even if he still looked lazily at the Sentinel poking through. Hilana acted right on queue, of course, assuring the guard with an explanation as to what took place. He was a Rathari. Well, that did make sense in the end, albeit Lykos rather failed to recall that detail about himself. Perhaps that's why he operated with such a pack-heavy mentality, because in essence, he was literally living with wolf's blood in him somehow.

"Woof!" Lykos quickly barked in a soft tone, his tongue dangling out once more to show how playful he'd become to the Sentinel. When the veiled figure decided to leave them be, he heard the footsteps pace a little down the hall, but only to a point where he stopped to linger somewhere within the corridor. So he preferred to remain on watch then. That was fine. Lykos had no intention to stir trouble up for them, after all, he was an esteemed guest within the halls of their citadel.

The wolf panted as Hilana took one of his paws, comparing the impeccable size of it with her own bare hand. He was indeed a big boy, but a big good boy at the end of the day. Yeah, if I were any bigger, I could probably crush someone without meaning to! Not that he would, of course, since Lykos hadn't met anyone who actually made him want to do that. As he was now hurting others would only likely bring him further grief, and he certainly had enough of that going on in his chest already.

Hey! That tickles! He realized when Lana teased along the edges of his toes. You know what they say about boys with big feet, right? He mused to himself almost forgetting that neither of them could hear his thoughts, a funny and yet sad thing to realize after the fact of course. Needless to say, he knew that Lia wasn't wrong when he needed to figure out how to shift back, especially given the fact he'd get hot quickly if he stayed in his current form.

Don't worry ladies, I've already been mulling it over. He considered with a minor groan through his muzzle, his chin resting on Athalia's lap once more as his eyes moved from her to the snake investigating him. That danger noodle is checkin' me out! He chuffed through his nose momentarily as a result, the pheromones the reptile gave off tickled his nostrils as he turned his muzzle upward. He couldn't help but sneeze through it once more, before looking straight up to Lia with another smile across his maw.

Alright, alright, I'll try and focus on shifting back! Let's see... His facial expression grew more serious with a curious look toward the space past Lia, his attention clearly shifted on his thoughts when he reflected on how exactly he woke up in this form. He remembered running in his sleep but within that dream, he specifically recalled being on all fours. This meant during that run he felt the need to shift in his sleep, the problem was he didn't recall actually turning into that form when it happened. So...

He'd have to kickstart his muscle memory again, and let intuition guide him from this point onward. Alright, ladies, fun parts over now. He huffed with a turn over to rest on his belly, before the wolf stood on his paws in the center of the room. He was lucky his private quarters were spacey, otherwise, he'd have found it difficult to move around in. Let's see, Lykos noticeably looked down at his two front paws then, there's something about it being in the moment that makes it easier. I just need...

He needed to concentrate, for one, and picture the other form he wanted to shift in. When he sat down on his haunches his head bowed, his blue eyes closed as he focused on how he looked prior to the shift. Now came the intent. As intuitive as he hoped it would be the tension in his body led to nothing noticeable, no real reaction took place when he attempted to make the shift happen on its own. Well this is awkward... He admitted to himself as he tried once more, scrunching his face even as he pressed to make the change happen. And then finally it did.

The entire structure of his limbs snapped and shifted, and the anatomy of his body grew exponentially as he radiated more heat. Lykos fell further on his rump and somewhat onto his back, catching himself with a clawed hand as to keep from continually falling backward."Shit!... Ow." He murmured with a rather deep and hefty tone, admittedly surprised that he actually managed to make something happen. Though... He was still technically hairy like a wolf and his body was now almost twice in size. Clearly, he'd shifted to the wrong form compared to what he'd intended, and in doing so, gave the two girls a rather embarrassed chuckle before he rubbed the backside of his head.

"Well... We're getting there, to say the least." He admitted bashfully to the two.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Well, one thing was for sure, this would take some doing. And it was not something that either Lana or Lia could help him with. Hilana knew a Rathari, she'd occasioned to treat some from time to time, but she couldn't really teach or comment on the technique of transforming between their forms. That was some sort of mystical activity to her, and the best she could do was tell him to focus on what he wanted to become, and try to visualize it and concentrate. Maybe it was just like magic. For all she knew, maybe it was.

"Remember, think on your human form and then try to will your body to take it on," she offered, though how helpful it was was another thing altogether. This was the same as Lia trying to tell her what medicines to make from plants, or Hilana telling Lia what and how to work the weaves on the frame. It was unfamiliar territory, but both sisters were supportive nonetheless. Once he got up, Hilana gave his shoulder another pat and rose to her feet as well, extending her hands to Lia to help her up. The cushions were moved back to their original spot, and the Vastian women returned their attention to the demigod.

"You can do it," Lia assured him once he sat and started to scrunch his face up. Neither of them wanted to touch him right there in case they were distracting to what he needed to do, and Hilana and Athalia looked on. Fiya was making her way up from Hilana's wrist to her shoulders, where the much larger Tiaz was lurking as he usually was. The snakes were a constant, perhaps to his and Lia's discomfort, but Hilana was inordinately fond of them, and this whole realm apparently found reptiles sacred and treated them as holy. This was at least partially due to the worship of dragons, but Athalia was perfectly happy not having to interact with her little sister's snakes. She could respect them, but she was not about to handle them if she could avoid it.

When he took on another form and they looked at the even taller creature now sitting there on the floor, the women looked at him, then Lia flushed and looked up while Hilana's eyes hadn't traveled quite that far to look at the whole of him. "That's a start," she agreed. "And at least you can talk in this form. How do you feel?" she stepped up to him, closing the distance and reaching to scratch behind his ear. "You did good, Lykos. We'll get there." Hilana assured him, and Lia joined her, rubbing his shoulder, still a bit pink. Big feet, big...

[Rickter]

No matter the situation or circumstance, Lykos realized that he somehow had Lana and even Lia there to encourage him. Be it trying to learn more about himself, dealing with the grief his heart still harbored, or simply when he was overwhelmed and adjusting to reality. The sisters remained there if not to guide him, then to at least reassure him when it came to new or unfamiliar territory. Being a Rathari though, it should've been as natural as breathing just to turn into a different form.

While that concept remained sound, ideally, it was far more difficult to manage in practice. Needless to say, once Lykos at least managed to alter his physicality to a degree, well, therein lied some small form of success after he realized what had happened. Lia's reaction was rather priceless if not amusing to behold, when Lykos looked to the both of them out of his own embarrassment. Lana didn't seem to miss a beat, however, and came to his side before the other sister joined her.

Admittedly, the scratch behind his ear garnered more exuberant sweeps of his tail, which felt just as weird to have now that he was in this form. "Heavier." He quickly quipped when he looked down at his bare torso, admittedly surprised to find it still coated with fur also. Lykos realized that all of his body had been bare at that point, and well, having the anatomy of a wolf crossed with a humanoid figure? It was no wonder Lia reacted the way she did a moment ago.

Not that Lykos was ashamed of himself for it, truthfully, it was hard to even feel such a thing when the heat wracked your body. Having a fur coat in the South was extremely difficult! How other animals lived with it down here truly amazed him. "Yeah, I know." He agreed gruffly with a fold of his arms, and with his legs crossed over one another where he sat. The fact he had two beautiful women rubbing and scratching on him didn't help at all, in fact, he could only groan softly in a manner of delight while it happened.

"I didn't think I'd have two different forms, but this is all part of being a Rathari I would assume." This meant that, technically, he had three separate forms he could take. And while he figured out how to shift in and out of one of those forms, Lykos needed to focus on how exactly he looked prior to being a wolf. He'd gotten that done earlier when he imagined the transformation itself, now, he just needed to reverse it so that he could resemble a human once again.

"Alright, I think... I can get it right this time." He reasoned as he shifted to use one of his claws for support, pushing himself steadily onto his feet as the ladies gave him a bit of room to move. When Lykos stood tall he found that the ceiling hung lower, another of his size, and perhaps the tips of his pointed ears would brush it, to say the least. "Never imagined I could get this big!" He realized with a steady twist to the vanity, having to bend down somewhat to see his head and shoulders in the mirror. Lykos had to admit... even as a Lycan his reflection looked pretty handsome.

"Now let's see..." He focused on that feeling from earlier, that urging to change himself that he felt before, to transition his body into the image he held in his mind. It took another couple of moments before he finally started to feel something happen, and then the change became a more gradual one the three in the room could visibly see. Though it wasn't chilly enough to see steam, heat radiated from his body when the muscle in his limbs twitched and spasmed. The hairs of his fur coat looked a bit more finer before they started to eventually recede, and in doing so, Lykos began to shrivel back down to his regular size and dimensions.

After a minute of seeing the transition, the wolf found himself staring at his bare form once again, complete with skin and body hair rather than the fur coat he wore moments ago. "There. I think I've finally figured it out!" He enthused with a soft grin cast to Lana first, then to Lia with another hearty chuckle to follow. His tone never felt as menacing now that he was in human form.

[Hilana Chenzira]

When he said he was heavier, Hilana just rubbed his shoulder. “You’ve got more mass and muscle, and you’re definitely a lot bigger than you just were,” she chuckled. That was the truth of things. As solid as he was as a wolf, this was a hybrid of human and beast, and Lia’s colour was thankfully returning to more normal shade, and her younger sister couldn’t have cared less. She’d grown up with exposure to others far more than Lia had, but such was the way of things… and she didn’t regret it. Besides, she had eyes, and if Lia gave her the opportunity when she was free to go around the city without the crushing weight of their father’s expectations, well... Hilana was going to make sure Lia had a good time.

“Rathari have three forms,” the youngest sister offered. “They have their human form, their beast form, and their hybrid form, which you’re in now.”

Lia looked at her. “And you know this how, soror?”

“I met one in Tertium,” she grinned at her sister. “Except he’s a shark.” Her sister frowned at this revelation. Oh, Hilana... once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker. Still, all the same... she had to respect her courage, even if some of that courage was a devil-may-care attitude. “Shark Rathari, soror,” Hilana reassured her. “It’s fine, I was never in any danger with him.”

“Well, you have a tendency for danger and sprinkles of trouble,” Lia teased.

“I might,” Hilana admitted, but she was smiling all the same, and their attention returned to Lykos. “You’re really big up there,” she was looking up when he straightened, and Lia’s eyes almost went to the ceiling, a bit of colour returning to her dusky cheeks. While he focused and started to shrink down, the Vastii watched his progress. With the hair receding... he might have it. “You did it,” she all but cheered him on when he returned to his normal size, which was still nearly a foot on Lia and a full head over Hilana. “Is that better? Do you feel a lot of hunger now that you’re back in that form?” She wasn’t sure just how much effort it took a Rathari to move between shapes, but all the same, she figured he could probably use some breakfast.

Lia retrieved one of Lykos’ robes, and brought it over to him, blushing even more. Her demeanour was a contrast to Hilana’s own grin. The girl had seen what she’d seen, and she was not at all shy about it from the twinkle in her big brown eyes. She could only wonder, but perhaps, well, they could have a bit of fun. The girl was not shy, inasmuch as her father would have had an apoplectic fit about it, and the younger sister wouldn't have minded giving him another reason to have worked up an appetite...