Continued . . . .

Ozzy chuckled and replied, "I'm sure that won't be a problem... but we'll still have a good place to be alone that won't be just the bedroom. After all, it's said that the quickest way to kill the 'heat' in a relationship is to put a TV in the bedroom. So that'll definitely be nice. Plus, when we eventually have kids, if we're still here, then they'll have someplace to destroy that's not the community area, hehe."

  Meg chuckled, and said "Yes.  Now, don't forget to take some munchies when you two disappear into your rooms, so that you don't have to come creeping out at the buttcrack of dawn.  We'll keep the rest of the party without you.  Big backyard BBQ receptions are good that way."

Fiona chuckled at Matt. "Going unnoticed has never been much of a problem for me... even without superpowers. And I really hope I won't have the centipede problem... two legs are quite enough for me, I think."

Ozzy grinned and said, "Thanks! And that's definitely a good thing, yeah. And no worries, I will, hehe. Hopefully I won't need quite so much once my body's done growing. Adding on this much mass takes a LOT of energy, apparently. Can't imagine why!"

  Meg chuckled, and said "With that in mind, and since I swear you've grown at least another inch since you got married, literally, I'm going to make sure you have a midnight snack."

Ozzy smiled sheepishly and said, "Yeah... the clothes are starting to feel a tad tight, I'll admit. I just hope Clarissa can adjust my ring. Otherwise I'm going to have to start wearing it on a chain around my neck!"

  Meg made a shooing motion, and said "If they're tight, go get out of them!  You don't want to rip them to shreds!"

Ozzy grinned and said, "Heh, all right. See you guys tomorrow sometime."

With that he headed inside as discreetly as a nine-foot-plus pseudodemon could, his grin threatening to bisect his skull.

  Meg headed inside as well, but she had a different destination.  She was going to cook some more stuff for Ozzy, since she KNEW he'd be wanting a midnight snack.  She hoped he liked turkey . . . .

  Matt nods "Sounds likely, yeah.  Same problems some people have when they have to think about tying their shoelaces.  Although, it seems that once you are 'noticed', in the metaphorical sense of the word, you stay noticed.  Once things get interesting around you, it doesn't tend to slow down."

"So, things are only going to get stranger from here on out?" Fiona asked as she let her tailfeathers shrink away again - feeling breezes tug at her butt with it was getting a bit annoying. "Or do you get used to it after a while, and nothing fazes you anymore?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:01, Mon 23 July 2012.

  "Eh, I was already sorta jaded and apathetic before all this came up.  So results may vary.  Still, from what I have seen?  Probably increasingly strange."  When crash landing UFOs ended up a baseline of standard compared to 'wedding between mutated boy wizard and recent catgirl bride',... Yeah.

"Well, supposedly the human mind can get used to anything... all I can do is try to roll with the punches and keep a positive attitude." She grabbed her cheeks between thumb and forefinger and pulled them up and outward, stretching her mouth into a rather unsettling-looking cheshire cat grin.

  At the very least, his current life situation meant an easy mastery of the blank deadpan stare (though having no facial features is sort of cheating).

  "True enough some days.  Sometimes even apathy works, because not caring that day means you aren't in a table flipping spiral of negativity.  Of course, that will only get you so far."

Fiona shrugged, letting go of her cheeks and allowing her mouth to go back to a more normal shape. "I'm not sure I could pull that off. Not being affected by anything that goes on around you..." Another shrug. "So far, nothing really bad has happened, anyway... just a lot of odd things."

  "Well, it probably wouldn't be very healthy to go around like that all the time anyways even if it was something that worked out.  Not caring about anything going on is probably a short trip to not caring about what happens to yourself."  Matt was attempting to avoid the whole brooding thing after all.  He didn't have a skylight jumping habit to go with it yet.

Fiona nodded softly, now giving Matt a small, but genuine, smile. "And I'm way too attached to being alive for that."

Looking around, it seemed that the party was winding down. "I should probably be heading home... it's getting kind of late. My aunt will be worried."

  Matt manages not to bust out laughing,  "Most people are, the trick seems to be not letting other tendencies get the better of that attachment."

  He nods, and gives a wave.  "Nice meeting you.  Hopefully it's not so late that your aunt will be that worried.  Unless you never told them you were going out in the first place or something."

By now, the sun had begun to set, and it was getting dark. But Fiona didn't want to ask Wind to fly her home; she wanted to fly herself this time. So as she walked away from the crowd, she closed her eyes and concentrated. The change was almost immediate - she began shrinking, and her arms fused into her wings, while her face grew large and covered in feathers. Within moments, she had transformed into a spotted owl that flapped its wings and took off. When she didn't overthink it, flying really wasn't all that difficult.

-> To somewhere

-> From suburbs

As Fiona approached the Kattakara place, she grew a bit more nervous again. "What do you think Meg will say? What about the other dragons?" she asked Wind, a little scared of the reaction her transformed state was going to get.

  Wind said thoughtfully "Megaira will not have a problem with you being transformed, she has a large house within her walls.  As for the other Dragons, we are always pleased to see more humans who like us rather than ones who waht to shoot at us!"

"Even if the humans are impersonating one of your kind?" Fiona looked around as she approached the grounds. She wondered if anyone was there right now - there had been talk of a funeral taking place today.

  Wind looked around, then said "I think most of them may be attending Mirage's funeral.  She was a founding member of the Legacy of Weston, and her death is a blow to all of the parahuman community."  The gate to the estate was open, permitting Fiona to walk in easily, and she could curl up on the lawn, either in the shade, or in the sun, and there was the pool as well if she wanted to swim there, or the beach down below.

Fiona walked onto the big, lush lawn, where she curled up in the sun and relaxed a little. It felt rather nice, now that she had more than enough room for her gigantic body. "Um... do you think we should go as well? I've heard of Mirage... just on the news and such, though."

(How big is the pool? I'd think that Fiona wouldn't quite fit into it...)

  Wind said thoughtfully "We can.  I can lead you carefully there, if you want.  Just, we'll have to walk past the anti parahuman rally."

Fiona nodded softly and got to her feet. "Let's go. I don't think they'll be able to do me much harm while I'm like this."

  Wind nodded, and said "Certanly then.  I can give you a tip, also, if you wish?  When not flying, when we want to move fast, sometimes we slither like a serpent."

Fiona looked around. "I think I'm a bit too big for that... I don't want to hit any cars." Out here on the street, there wasn't nearly enough room for her to move in any other way than in a straight line.

-> To Downtown Weston Streets
This message was last edited by the player at 13:06, Thu 02 Aug 2012.

-> From Downtown Weston Streets

Now that she wasn't ground-bound anymore, Fiona had to admit that being a dragon, even a gigantic one, wasn't so bad. Flying high above the town, feeling weightless despite her considerable mass, was quite relaxing, even enjoyable, and made her temporarily forget the life-or-death situation she had been in earlier.

Once she reached the grounds of the Kattakara mansion, she began circling, keeping her eyes open in case Meg or Lin arrived.

  Lin arrived first, simply appearing just beside the door.  She spotted Fiona, and waved as she opened the door to the house.

Fiona smiled and descended towards Lin when she spotted her. "Hi. Um... I'm not sure how much the others told you... but I'm Fiona, from yesterday. I woke up like this today and haven't been able to change back. One of Ozzy's dragons taught me how to fly."

  Lin nodded, and said "Megaira mentioned.  She'll be home afterbit, she needed to do a grocery run.  Ozzy's always been a good eater, but he's had a little ah, growth in appetite!  So she's grocery shopping."  She waved her hand toward the back patio as she added "Give me a few minutes, and we'll discuss it out there.  I don't think you fit in the house at the moment either."

"Well, I'm still elastic, so I could squeeze in through the door if I had to... but I'm not sure if there are any rooms big enough for me." Fiona slithered through the air towards the back of the house, where she landed and coiled up on the grass. "Um... what do dragons eat? Now that you mention it, I'm feeling a bit hungry myelf..." Aunt Judith's pancakes had been delicious as always, but for a creature as large as her, they were only a tiny morsel.

  Lin said lightly "Most either eat fish, or bamboo.  Some eat algaes, and some eat sunshine.  Depends on the type of Dragon.  You, on the other hand, need human food."

Fiona nodded her giant head softly. "One more reason to get back to normal as soon as possible... I don't want to eat you, or my aunt and uncle, into ruin." She chuckled a little. "I've got no idea why I'm stuck like this, though... or how to get back to normal. Can you help me?"

  Lin said "I can certainly make a try of it.  Mind you, being married to an Incarnate doesn't mean I have the power to make a God's doings work.  So we can see what can be done.  Your powers ARE from a Trickster-God."

Fiona bowed her head softly. "I would be greatly in your debt if you could help me... again." She felt slightly embarassed, having to ask Lin for help once more, and not having gotten a chance to pay her back. "What are you going to do?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:01, Mon 13 Aug 2012.

  Lin smiled, and took a seat on the patio furniture, and then said "First, I'm going to conjure you breakfast.  It is never wise to try and do work on an empty belly."  She sketched a couple Chinese characters in the air, although they did not leave glowing trails, and a man-sized platter, filled with stacks of pancakes as TALL as a man appeared before Fiona's nose.

Fiona's eyes widened. It probably wasn't a big deal for Lin, but for her, conjuring food out of thin air was a miracle. A delicious-smelling miracle, she found as her nostrils flared and sucked in the scent. She wasted no time wrapping her prehensile tongue around several pancakes at once and pulling them into her hungry maw; only after that first mouthful did she give Lin an apologetic look. "Sorry for my manners. Using a fork and knife just isn't feasible at this size."

  Lin laughed, and said "Actually, for a Dragon, you're using your manners.  Young ones will bury their faces in the pile of food and just chow down."

Fiona was already continuing her meal, and it wasn't long until the last stack of pancakes had disappeared into her maw. She licked her lips and smiled, looking rather content. "That was good... so, what now?"

  Lin said "Well, now you tell me what your dreams were before you awakened in this state, and then tell me what you've done so far to try and change yourself around."

"Well... I dreamed that I was flying. High above the clouds... and I think that there were some other dragons as well... so I guess that I must have been one myself. That's it, really." She furrowed her brow. "I've tried picturing my human form, the way I normally do when I change..." She closed her eyes and gave it another try, just to check if circumstances had somehow changed in the meantime.

  Lin cocked her head, and said "Normally the Trickster gods try to teach with their tricks.  What lessons can you take from this?"

Fiona scratched her head (stretching one forelimb rather long to do so). "I'm not sure. Being a gigantic dragon is rather inconvenient, but also kind of cool? Or... maybe that I should use my powers for good, to help and protect people, and become a hero."

  Lin said quietly "Most Chinese Dragons are guardians of some sort or another.  Perhaps the Trickster Gods wish you to follow this lead.  Perhaps to amuse them, or perhaps to teach OTHER humans a lesson about humillity.  So many humans don't even believe in the Gods anymore."

Fiona nodded softly. "Maybe. I... helped out a little at the rally, when everything went crazy. I'm not sure I taught the people there any humility, though... the mutants kept attacking me, even though they couldn't get through my scales."

  Lin said gently "The mutants are power-crazed.  But the normal humans can learn from that.  Perhaps that IS what the gods wanted for you."

Fiona looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke again. "So the gods want me to go and walk among humans, or at least show myself to them? As a living divine sign?"

  Lin smiled, and said "Think of all the trickster stories you know, Fiona.  Does that make sense?"

"Well... no," Fiona admitted. "When a trickster has an encounter with a human, they usually don't let the human know about it until afterwards, if at all."

She frowned, looking back at herself. "So you think the dragon form is meant as a symbol of sorts?"

  Lin nodded, and said "I think perhaps the Gods wish for Mortals to become less prejudiced.  After all, clearly you are Chosen by the gods for something.  WHAT, we don't know, but if they can take a young woman who was perfectly ordinary, and make her into someone extraordinary, they COULD do it to anyone.  The only real difference, Fiona, is that someone gave you powers to let your inner truth shine out for everyone to see.  HOW you choose to use the powers you've been given will show the REST of the ordinary mortals out there what you're made of, and how much they could make a difference, IF they try."

"But..." Fiona furrowed her brow. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would they give me the power to change my shape in the first place, and then take it away again? They could have just turned me into a dragon straight away."

 Lin held her hands up, closing her eyes, and said "The power is still there.  But there is something . . . different about you."  She rose, and stepped closer, pacing around before she spread her arms, rising into the air, floating up and over to land in the middle of Fiona's coils.  Then she opened her eyes.  They glowed a solid, deep emerald as she pulled on the power within her, and Fiona could FEEL the power, making her feel like every hair was standing on end as Lin turned her FULL power to sorting things out.  It felt . . .rather frightening to have a millennia old sorceress inspecting her minutely.

Fiona closed her eyes. She felt the magic coursing through her entire body, inspecting not only her physical presence, but the core of her very being. She tried to stay still, but the sensation caused her to shiver all over. "What... what are you doing?" she asked in a trembling voice.

  Lin said abstractedly "I'm LOOKING.  You're not purely human anymore, Fiona.  One, you're God-Touched.  Two, you've been mutated.  Welcome to the ranks of parahumanity even if your God-Touched is ever revoked."  She floated back over to the table, and sat back down, her aura of power once more fading away to 'nothing' as it normally felt, and she smiled at Fiona as she added "Something got through your scales.  Perhaps this is why you were put into Dragonform?  So that you didn't freak at something a bit closer to human, but still not all the way?"

Fiona's eyes grew wide, bigger than hubcaps. "I... I got mutated? But... but..." she stammered. "At the rally, there were all these mutants... I tried to contain them, so they wouldn't harm any more people, and they started clawing at me... but Ozzy said... if I'd gotten mutated... it would have happened at once?" Right now, she looked more confused than shocked, not quite believing what she was hearing.

  Lin asked gently "Think, Fiona.  What are your God-Touched powers?  So if you think, now, of 'relaxing' to humanshape and let your form 'snap back', what happens?"

After everything that Lin had said, Fiona now felt rather scared of trying to change back, and bit her lower lip softly. "I'll... change in my mutated form instead?" Another shiver ran down her spine. She didn't even want to think about what that meant.

  Lin asked her "Are Ozzy and Clarissa scary?  They're both mutants.  Hit by the mutagen.  Ozzy got mutated like you did, protecting someone innocent from another mutant.  There is no shame in that, Fiona."

Fiona paused for a moment, then nodded her head. "Y-yeah, you're right. I'll just..." She closed her eyes and exhaled softly (creating a gentle gust of wind). For a moment, nothing happened. Then her gigantic body began to shrink, rapidly growing shorter, like a noodle being sucked in. Her face grew slightly more relaxed as she felt this. As her head grew smaller, it also began changing, back towards a more human one.

Within a minute, the change was over. Fiona hesitantly opened her eyes. Her head, her arms and her upper body, they were all human again - the way she had been. She was naked, however - she hadn't gone to sleep in the clothes Lin had enchanted for her. From the waist down, however, it was a different story. Fiona now looked a bit like a centaur - except, instead of a horse, she had a leopard for a lower body. And not just a regular one - where its tail would be, it looked like another torso was attached, with another pair of hindlegs. Disbelievingly, she looked down at herself and ran a hand along her furred back. "Wh... what is - aah!" She hadn't noticed at first, but now she raised her hand to her face to give it a closer inspection. Instead of five fingers on each hand, she now had six - with fingernails sharp and pointed like claws.

  Lin gently reminded her "Mutagen got into you.  I don't know what your final, 'true' form is, but we will figure it out.  Don't worry.  None of the New Age Defenders will laugh at you or make fun of you."

Fiona looked up at Lin, her six legs shifting about uneasily. "My... final form? What do you mean?" Her tail was slightly bristled, like that of an annoyed or scared cat. After a moment, she noticed that she was naked, and quickly put her arms around her chest - only to prick herself with her sharp clawlike nails. "Yow!" she yelped and jumped up, at least with the front half of her body.

  Lin reminded her gently "Remember, you're a shapeshifter.  No matter what your body says is your true form, you're probably really only limited to your imagination's grasp, Fiona."

"But... well, I mutated... does that mean that this is my true form now?" She looked down at herself once more, at her extended feline body. "Whenever I change back to normal... I'll look like this?" A muffled sob escaped her. She closed her tear-filled eyes and concentrated. Slowly, almost reluctantly, her feline half shrank away, leaving only her human legs. Her hands shifted as well, finally leaving her completely human again.

  Lin said honestly "I don't know for certain.  It could be.  It is not an unhandsome form, Fiona.  I have seen far worse ones."

Fiona looked up at Lin. "You... you think it's beautiful? Really?" She closed her eyes and tried to relax again... but this time, she wasn't so lucky. Dark scales suddenly grew to cover her entire body, and her hair retracted into her skull. Her face... suddenly wasn't there anymore. Where it had been, there was just a large maw; as she opened it to cry out in horror, a long, prehensile tongue whipped out - and there were her eyes, INSIDE her mouth.

Her arms had no hands anymore; they now were tentacles, several feet long each. Her legs were completely gone; instead, she had a thick, serpentine lower body holding her up.

  Lin answered calmly "Leopards are always beautiful, Fiona.  That form looks more akin to the Midgard Serpent, with a few adjustments.  But, I will share a bit of a secret with you.  It doesn't truly matter WHAT your physical form settles down to, because the person inside you, your essence, is not unhandsome.  And you can MAKE your physical form reflect that if you so desire.  That's a wonderful gift."

Fiona was quick to change back to her human form this time, but once the change was complete, she burst out in tears. "What... what's happening? I tried to... to turn back, and..." She sat down on the edge of the porch, face buried in her hands as tears rolled down her cheeks. That last change had shaken her deeply.

  Lin came over, and leaned Fiona against her, just like her own mother would have.  She stroked Fiona's hair, and said softly "It's all right, Fiona.  Take a deep breath.  You've seen Andravian, now haven't you?"

Fiona embraced Lin and buried her face in her shoulder. This here was something that nothing in the world could have prepared her for. Where do you learn what to do when you turn into a strange, faceless monster? She softly shook her head, her face still against Lin's shoulder. "Who is that?" she asked, swallowing a sob.

  Lin held up her right hand, and a small illusion of Andy appeared.  First in his 'humanskin', then it morphed into the tall, bronze-black-and-purple Demon who had been Ozzy's best man at the wedding.  "Andravian.  Andy for short.  He's the resident Demon here in Weston, and a Bound one."  She still stroked Fiona's hair with her other hand.

Although she was still deeply shaken, the embrace helped Fiona calm down a little. At the sight of the illusion, Fiona just nodded quietly. She had met him, of course... but when she'd first seen the wedding party with Ozzy and Andy at the forefront, she had been quite scared, to say the least.

  Lin said quietly "I've done a little research on him.  Poor fellow, Andy's mother is human, like your parents.  But his father is, was, from a line of Fallen Angels.  They 'Fell' because they loved humanity too much, and wanted to protect them.  Andy has those same instincts.  That same need to protect mankind, even if it costs him dearly.  He spent a decade in Hell, because he had another Demon trying to take his body, and he wanted to protect mankind, more than he wanted to live his own life.  He was only 18 when Ozzy was forced to Banish him.  Now he's a much quieter, less boisterous, more somber soul.  He won't speak of his decade of Banishment to the others.  And he won't hear of apologies of any sort from Ozzy.  My daughter, Ozzy, Bill, and one other person went to Hell to find him and bring him back . . . and THEY barely recognized him when they DID find him.  You've seen him, although in a tux, in his natural form.  And he scares the daylights out of most people just because he's NOT human anymore.  He doesn't even bleed red."

Fiona stopped crying and fell quiet as Lin told her story. She slowly raised her head, looking up at the woman. When the story was over, Fiona let go and wiped some tears off her face with her hand. "I... I'm sorry. I should have realized... you guys have been through so much. I'm sorry for getting so upset... some of you have had it so much worse."

  Lin tapped her nose, and said softly "You're catching one of my points.  My other point is, that they're not going to be cruel or unkind to you because you have become a little less human than you were, Fiona.  The New Age Defenders will always accept you as you are, and your PHYSICAL appearance isn't the important part of you.  What truly matters, is in your mind, your heart, and your soul.  And they ALL know it."

Fiona nodded, and gave Lin a tiny smile. "I know. I just... need to get used to this, I think." She looked down at her nude body; out of habit, she covered herself up, although Lin was the kind of woman who had seen everything. "Um... why do you think that happened? Why did I turn into something different?"

  Lin tilted her head, sideways, and said "My best guess?  The mutagen in your system."  She stroked Fiona's hair, and asked her in a gentle tone "You do realize that you're going to want to wear SOMETHING that will change with you all the time for a while?"

Fiona nodded a little. "That would be nice... it's getting a bit chilly. Um... but I thought the mutagen just changes you once, and then it's done... or is it different for shapeshifters?"

  Lin admitted "I'm not familiar with how the drug works, and we don't know any other straight-out shapeshifters who are Mortal."

"So... something like this hasn't happened before?" Fiona asked. She closed her eyes and concentrated - and out of her skin, a shirt and a pair of pants simply 'grew' around her. When she opened her eyes again, she stared down at herself in wonder. "Wow... I didn't think that would work."

  Lin shrugged, and said "I don't know any other mortal shapeshifters.  The rest of those I know who shapeshift, aren't human in the first place!"

Fiona ran her fingers along the side of her shirt. "This feels so weird... it's proper fabric, but it's still a part of me, and I can still feel it all..." After a moment of inspecting herself, she looked up at Lin. "What are they, then?"

  Lin smiled, and said "Dragons, deities, other entities not human to begin with at all."

"Well, I suppose with the mutation I'm not entirely human anymore, myself..." Fiona sighed quietly and leaned back, allowing herself to return to her 'natural' form. Whatever that was now. Maybe this time it would be something a bit more pleasant...

  Lin nodded, and watched with her head tilted.

  Fiona felt her body shift, changing and stretching in different ways.  Wasplike wings unfolded from her back, and she found herself in possession of compound eyes, a wicked stinger, mostly humanoid torso, and four legs, with two bony, odd tentacle-like things growing from each wrist that looked like secondary stinger sets!  Her skin had shifted to a dusky brown shade as well, and she could see into the ultraviolet ranges easily.

Fiona felt dizzy, her vision suddenly fractured into hundreds of tiny images - not to mention that she was seeing colors she'd never seen before. She nearly fell forward, but her four legs allowed her to stay upright. "Whooaaa..." she muttered. "What... what am I?" She couldn't even blink now - she didn't have eyelids anymore! With her hands, she tried to feel all over her body, trying to find out what she had turned into.

  Lin said thoughtfully "This time it looks rather like a wasp or other similar insect, and human hybridization.  You have compound eyes, and big waspy-wings.  Want to sit down again?"

"Y-yeah..." Fiona's mind was quickly adjusting to the new form, and the many individual images were already starting to combine into one coherent picture again. She walked over to a chair and tried to sit down; but with four legs, that wasn't an easy task. After a few tries, she just sat down on the ground.

  Lin moved to sit on the ground with her, and said "You certainly are doing a lot of changing.  Are you doing it on purpose?"

Fiona kneeled down with her hindlegs and crossed her forelegs. It was as comfortable as she was going to get like this, she figured. "Well, I tried turning back to my native form... just to see if it would be something different again, since it had been before. But I'm still confused... I wasn't even thinking about insects or anything. Does that mean that... every time I try to turn back to 'normal', it'll be something different from now on?"

  Lin shrugged, and said "I don't know.  I'm not sure how, exactly, this drug works.  I do know it's interacting with your God-Touched powers.  What all that will do, I don't know."

Fiona turned her head around to take a look at her wings, which started fluttering rapidly, but she didn't take off yet. "Is there any way to find out what's going on? Or will we just have to wait and see?"

  Lin smiled, and said "The best person at gathering information is a seer.  Let me call an old friend who is a seer and see if he would like to try to divine what is going on."

Fiona turned towards Lin again. With her eyes the way they were, it was difficult to read her expression, but her voice betrayed her incredulity. "A... a seer? As in, someone who can see the future? I didn't even know that was possible..." She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "But if he can help us... then please call him."

  Lin nodded, and said "See the future, and an expert at divining information.  Let me give him a phone call.  He lives locally.". She dialed a number on her cellular phone as she waited for the answer.

Fiona nodded softly. While Lin was making her phonecall, she stood up and concentrated. After a moment, she began changing shape again. The compound eyes shrank away, replaced by her normal human ones, and the stingers on her wrists as well as her wings disappeared as well. From the waist up, she was human again. She kept her four legs, however; but now her lower half was changing into a leopard body, like she'd had before. Now that she was doing it on purpose, though, she kept it to just four legs. Much easier to get used to.

A moment after Lin got off the phone, there was a pop and a flash, and an old man that Fiona might've recognized as Ozzy's grandfather from the wedding appeared. He smiled gently at Lin and Fiona, saying, "Well hello there, ladies. Nice to see the both of you. You... I believe you were the unexpected guest to my grandson's wedding reception, yes? I am Oswald Gysbourne, Esquire. Now, Lin, you wanted me to have a look at the young lady, yes?"

  Lin nodded, and said "Yes, Oswald.  Would you please?  She would very much like to know what her final form will be, since she's been mutated."

Oswald smiled, and approached Fiona, offering her his hand as he said, "Now, Miss, if you would just give me your hand, I'll have a look into the future, see what you'll likely become."

Now that she had the chance, Fiona was somewhat hesitant. What if it was going to be something truly horrible? But after a moment, she slowly reached out and took the old man's hand.

Oswald gently took hold of her hand as she gave it to him, concentrating as he stared at the onyx orb on the top of his cane. After a few moments, he said, "I see... something almost resembling a kitsune's midform. Interesting. This mutagen seems to like giving females animal-like qualities. You may wish to talk to my granddaughter, Clarissa. She's apparently a bit of a seamstress, and you're going to need a bit of custom tailoring with three tails."

Fiona, still in her cat-taur shape, stared at the old man for a moment. "A... kitsune? You mean, like the japanese fox spirit? That's what I'm going to be?" That... wasn't nearly as bad as she'd feared. A bit of relief mixed into her expression, but she still felt a bit apprehensive about it all.

  Lin chuckled, and said "You may have an adventure getting there, Fiona, but it sounds like things will turn out well.  Thank you, Oswald, my dear.  How ARE those two doing?"

This message was deleted by the player at 15:17, Thu 16 Aug 2012.

Oswald chuckled and said, "I'm not one hundred percent sure at the moment, to be honest. I haven't looked in on our newlyweds all that much for, ah, obvious reasons. But I've not had any visions of great peril concerning those two, so I imagine they're fine, relatively speaking."

He then smiled and added, "Still, I am glad I had those papers drawn up for them. I've never seen young Oswald so happy as to when he was up on that altar with Clarissa."

  Lin chuckled, and said "You can check on them without actually peeking, dear.  Your KNACK is Seeing things."

"Adventure is right..." Fiona looked down at herself and considered how much stranger she had already looked today. "Um... do you have any clue how long it's going to take?"

Oswald shrugged and said, "I wish I could tell you exactly, but unfortunately the future is never set in stone. It can always be changed.All I can tell you for certain is that it will be soon."

Fiona couldn't suppress a cheeky grin. "Is that 'soon' by my standards, or by someone like Lin's?" Somebody who counted their age in centuries probably had a different perspective on the passage of time than a mortal being like her. (Although she wasn't sure she was entirely mortal anymore.)

  Lin chuckled, and said dryly "Living as long as I have, I've got a very relaxed view of time.  Raising a little girl?  Introduces you to z whole new world of 'how soon is now Mommy?' awareness on how slowly time can move for some, while for others it creeps, and for me, it simply IS."

Oswald chuckled and said, "Soon by your standards. I may be older than most, but I've remained in the world as much as I can, so I'm not THAT out of touch with the world today. No matter WHAT Oswald says about me."

He then smiled and clarified, "I should hope before the end of the month, at the latest. But it could easily be sooner."

"By... by the end of the month?" Fiona's eyes widened. "I hope it'll be sooner than that... I'm not sure I can deal with weeks of this. Although they say that you get used to everything." She ran a hand along the back of her leopard half. "I suppose I should ask Meg if she has a room for me... just in case I turn into something huge while I sleep. Again."

  Lin laughed, and asked Fiona "Speaking as the sorceress who enchanted the house, you do realize I LITERALLY put a house the size of the Forbidden City into that little house-shell Megaira bought?  It may look modest, but she has enough room for hundreds of people if she needed to house so many."

Fiona nodded softly. "Yes, Meg told me about that... but what about the rooms? Do you have bedrooms inside that can comfortably house a giant dragon, as big as I was earlier?"

Lin nodded, and said "There are several large courtyards that were designed to be big enough to comfortably house larger groups of people.  You see, I already enchanted the house to accommodate Ozzy as needed, and it will work for anyone else too.  So any room you take WILL be big enough for you, no matter how small it normally is."

Fiona's pose relaxed a little. "That's good to know." At least she wouldn't tear down any walls if she changed shape, no matter how big she got. But after a moment, her expression fell a little. "I'm going to have to tell my aunt and uncle. About what happened, and that I'm going to move here for now... although I should wait for Meg first. She doesn't even know about this yet."

  Lin nodded, and said "Give her time.  She did have a funeral to attend, as I did.  And she's out grocery shopping."

Oswald chuckled and said, "By herself? Poor girl. I saw how Oswald was eating at the wedding reception. And with a house full of other teenagers... I imagine you could literally feed an army if need be."

Fiona nodded softly. "Yes, of course. And... by the way, thank you for your help. And sorry for springing this onto you right after the funeral. I wouldn't have asked you for help if it hadn't been kind of an emergency."

  Lin told Fiona "You ask when it comes up, Fiona.  Don't fret about it.  And yes, Oswald, by herself.  You know my daughter refuses to follow human limits about things.  She already pushes her body in ways that only she can survive, and does it casually enough it makes ME shudder in sympathy pain.  Her tolerance for pain is truly frightening.  I don't think it helps that she heals the way she does.  I may have taught her too well to be responsible.  Childrearing is a difficult task."

"Um... what sorts of things does she do?" Fiona asked curiously. "She told me about flinging herself through space with her gravity control... does she do things like that a lot?"

Oswald chuckled and replied, "Believe me, I know. I've got two grown ones, and of course you know about Iris and Chuck. I just hope I do a good job with the two of them. One of my boys is a layabout, and the other one is paraphobic. Not exactly a good track record."

  Lin patted Oswald's shoulder, and said "Not all men are destined for greatness, Oswald.  Your grandson, on the other hand, seems destined to do great things and go far places.  Enjoy having two sons who are likely to live to a ripe, if mortal, span of years.  They will never know some of the pain that you and I have lived with for centuries."  She turned to Fiona, and explained "Modest as my daughter is, she probably hasn't told you she can give anything a magnetic field, she can then MANIPULATE those fields, and she can manipulate, generate and control localized gravity.  In addition to a healing factor that mus be seen to be believed."

"Actually, she has told me about all that. I'm not sure I want to see that healing factor in action, though... I guess it wouldn't be a pretty sight." She chuckled a little and looked down at her hand. "I wonder if my shapeshifting also comes with a kind of healing factor, like letting me grow wounds shut instantly... but that's not something I really want to try out."

  Lin nodded, and said "Megaira is also taking some basic mage lessons, but she does have a knack for innate sorcery."

"Oh!" Fiona seemed to perk up quickly at that. "Speaking of which... does the offer to give me some magic lessons still stand?"

  Lin nodded, and asked Oswald "Mind if I raid your library for books?  All of mine are in Chinese.  OLD Chinese."

Oswald chuckled and said, "Of course not. Feel free to take what you need, Lin. And if you need anything ordered for Fiona, let me know."

Fiona smiled softly. "I'd like to see your books too sometime, Mrs. Lin. I speak a bit of Chinese, myself," she said in accented Chinese.

  Lin chuckled, and said "Some of the oldest ones are on bamboo scrolls.  I'm fluent in most of the dialects that have existed in China in the last four thousand years plus.  I also tend to keep notes in ancient Chinese, which is also serviceable as a good code.  Oswald, you're a darling.  Would you mind ordering double sets of all the basic magical primers?  Megaira's got the energy levels from hells.  She already has her OTHER abilities, which she MUST use regularly, this will only make her worse too.  Good thing parahumans are openly around now!"

Oswald nodded, "Of course. Two sets of books. Anything else you need, while Im at it?"

"Um... how long do these things take to arrive?" Fiona asked. She fiddled with her tail a little and looked slightly embarassed to be asking that question; she didn't want to appear impatient. She had to admit that she kind of was, though - she was eager to learn how real magic was done.

Oswald smiled and said, "I can have it today, if you like. Teleportation magic somewhat expedites the shipping process."

"Oh!" Fiona was taken aback by that, and let go of her tail in surprise - she had expected it to take a few days at least, from whatever exotic location they were getting their supplies. "That would be wonderful, if you could do that."

  Lin chuckled, and said "Make it complete kits.  And the supplies for a proper workshop, if you please?  I haven't needed to order anything in so many centuries . . . ."

Oswald nodded, "Of course, of course. That can all be arranged. Heh, The old dog at the magic shop's going to think I'm taking on apprentices again. Chuck's a handful enough, though."

  Lin chuckled, and said "Tell him it's worse.  I have a daughter, AND a new apprentice."

Fiona blushed deeply at that. "I've, uh, always been a good student. I'll try to keep it that way for magic, too."

  Lin smiled, and said "Good.  I have the feeling you WILL be challenged."

Oswald smiled and said, "Magic has a steep learning curve, but so long as you apply yourself, you'll be all right. And if you have trouble, ask my grandson for a little help. I wish Chuck would try a little harder sometimes. He's so... afraid of it, almost, like he's certain he'll fail. And, well, with that attitude, he will."

Fiona nodded. "Don't worry... I'll give it my best." She smiled, her tail confidently raised high, but then paused. "Um, who's Chuck?"

  Lin said "Chuck is a young mage with a learning disability.  So he's a particular challenge to teach."

Fiona blushed, looking embarassed for asking about the boy. "Oh. Um, I can imagine." She started fidgeting with her tail again, feeling rather awkward. In her embarassment, she let her focus falter, and promptly felt herself losing her shapeshifted form again...

  Her form shifted and flowed, and she found herself becoming a ten foot tall werewolfoid form with claws and dripping pink foamy slobber.  Muscular enough to look like a body-builder, but with enough fur to put anything but a fur rug to shame.

Once again, going from four to two legs threw Fiona off balance for a moment, and she found herself on all fours. In her new form, however, that didn't really look all that out of place. "Whoa..." she muttered, in a softly growling voice, as she stood back up and inspected herself - only to back up quickly when she noticed what could only be mutagen literally dripping from her maw. She gasped and quickly covered her mouth with a frying pan-sized hand.

Oswald looked surprised for a moment, before saying, "Hmm. Oswald said one of the mutants he fought looked something like that. Perhaps it has a few different 'presets' it tends towards?"

He then added, "And yes, Chuck has a learning disability. He's also my legally adopted son. Hopefully I can get the boy the help he needs that he clearly has not been getting in the care of the government."

"I think there were a few who looked like werewolves, yeah... but I didn't really take a close look at them." Fiona concentrated and changed shape again, so she wouldn't accidentally hit Lin or Oswald with that slobber. Within moments, she was back in her human form; but this time, for some reason, she had four arms.

  Lin tilted her head, and admitted "Genetics and mutations are something that I am afraid my daughter understands better than I do."

Fiona looked down at her extra arms for a moment, but then just shrugged, as if saying 'eh, good enough'. "So... where is it that you're ordering those magic supplies from?" she asked curiously, while a pair of pants and a four-sleeved shirt formed around her. "I had no idea there were actual magic shops."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Mon 20 Aug 2012.

Oswald replied, "It's no surprise. After the whole 'witch hunting' craze back in the day, our people went into hiding. We tend to hide in plain sight, our magic giving us an edge in our mundane fields. My second sight allows me to truly see if a potential client is guilty or innocent of their crime, and how best to prove the innocence of those I accept. Having a perfect track record in court is easy when you can see the future, the past, or look remotely at the present. I also know a few midwives who use their healing arts to ease childbirth, and improve the health of both mother and child. Of course, there have also been illusionists who've used their ability to fool the senses to rob or cheat people. It all depends on the mage, and how they use their gifts. Well, except for in the case of infernomancy. That is an utterly, wholly evil practice."

Fiona listened curiously; it was a quite intriguing topic to her. "But... nowadays, most people accept and welcome parahumans. Shouldn't magic be becoming more accepted as well?"

  Lin nodded, and said "Unquestionably.  Daemonologists are better, but not a whole lot."

Oswald nodded, "It is, slowly but surely. But for now, most of us will likely remain hidden. Centuries of fear and mistrust of humankind at large does not go away overnight, Fiona. Especially those like me who are old, and set in their ways. There are many who still remember the days when we were hunted down and slaughtered. We magi have a long memory, and the days of Salem are still fresh in it. The fact that there are still those who would see us burn is not comforting, either. I'm sure you've heard about the extreme reactions people have had to Harry Potter. What do you think they would do if they came face-to-face with a real wizard?"

  Lin nodded, and said quietly "Being Immortal doesn't mean it feels any less bad to be burnt at the stake."

Fiona nodded slowly. Clearly, she had a lot to learn, not just about how to do magic, but also about her place in the world. "Well, I don't think they do that anymore... but I know what you mean. And I promise I'll keep quiet about magic."

Oswald replied darkly, "Apparently, we also don't mistreat or harm people just because they are different, yet that poor young person who could change colors is dead at the hands of anti-para extremists. Though I have to wonder what color bed sheets THEY wear to their meetings."

  Lin said darkly "People like that bring out the worst in me, I am afraid to say.  Lynch mobs make me want to stop them cold and make them UNDERSTAND why mages have been feared before.  And yes, Fiona, I'm strong enough, just from sheer age, to do it.  Merlin wasn't as old as I am.  And age brings power."

 A taxi pulled up to the house and the back door opened out stepping first Bill then Darren both dressed in matching black suits looking somber they both headed towards the house hand in hand.

Fiona stretched her neck as she heard the car and peered around the corner of the house. "Are you expecting guests? Two guys in suits just came in a taxi."

  Lin said thoughtfully "Megaira DID say she invited all her friends to live here if they need to."

"Oh, right." Fiona reeled her neck back in. "How many people live here, anyway?"

  Lin tilted her head, and said "Mmmm.  Meg, Jeff, Candy, Bill, Darren, Bella, Aaron, Ozzy, Clarissa,  well, looks like there's at least nine.  Maybe more.  Oh yes, Matt and his frieds, the aliens, that's four more.  Lots so far.  Not enough to even dent the real capacity of the house though.  The inside is also enchanted to accommodate oddly sized inhaibtants now."

Fiona listened curiously, but then paused. "Hold on... by 'aliens', do you mean, people from another country, or...?" The alternative seemed unbelievable - but then again, considering what had already happened around her since yesterday, maybe not so much.

  Archeirae poked her head out of the back door, and blinked, then asked Lin "Did you see where Ozzy put the arsenic-laced-burgers for me?  I know I see colors differently than the rest of you . . . "  She was about eight feet tall, with a long, silky coat of what looked like burnished bronze fur that seemed to switch between sable and bronze.  Her eyes were an intense metallic silver, and she had claws, and six digits on the hand she had wrapped around the door.

Fiona's eyes widened as she saw the feline, and waved her upper right arm. "Hey there... um, I don't think we've been introduced? I'm Fiona."

Bill and Darren entered the house approaching the group still looking rather somber. "Hi all we're back funeral was beautiful by the way. Dragon Fisr was really broken up not that I'm surprised." He stuck his free hand out to Fiona. "I don't believe we've met I'm !ill this is my partner Darren

Bill and Darren entered the house approaching the group still looking rather somber. "Hi all we're back funeral was beautiful by the way. Dragon Fisr was really broken up not that I'm surprised." He stuck his free hand out to Fiona. "I don't believe we've met I'm Bill this is my partner Darren

Fiona shook the man's hand with one of her lower ones. She looked like a pretty regular girl at the moment, except for the fact that she had four arms. "Nice to meet you. I'm Fiona. I'm still pretty new around here... and even newer to being a parahuman."

OOC: Fiona, Lin and Oswald are on the back patio at the moment, by the way

  Darren offered Fiona a weak smile, and a handshake, and he said softly "Pleased to meet you."

It was a good thing that Fiona had the extra arms right now; it made all the handshakes easier. "So, um, are you guys parahumans as well?"

  Darren flicked water and back, and said "Yeah.  Pretty much everyone here is parahuman, or not human at all."  He had his other arm around Bill's waist, and it wasn't a brotherly embrace.  Clearly, these two were lovers.

Fiona blinked as the boy in front of her turned translucent for a moment. "Um, what did you just do?" The romantic gesture between the two men, by comparison, didn't faze her at all.

"Yeah we go by Excelsior and Fluid. You may have heard about the stink some of the religious groups made about us  beingthe first openly gay superheroes. We uh kinda came out on tv."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 20 Aug 2012.

"Oh, right!" Fiona's smile widened a little. "I think I remember seeing you on... that was an incredibly brave thing you did. It probably took more courage than fighting a criminal mastermind."

  Darren nodded, and said simply "I'm the wet blanket of the two of us.  I turn into water.  And control it.  Are you the one that helped Meggers out with the nutjob's victim?"

"Um... if you mean the guy whose arms and legs had been cut off and switched... then yeah." A shiver ran down Fiona's back. She had been trying to forget about that.

"Thank you, it was easier than telling our parents though." He looked rowards the ground as he remembered his coming out to his Father.

This message was deleted by the player at 21:22, Mon 20 Aug 2012.

  Archeirae was watching the conversation, and she asked "Do we need to add one to the headcount for dinner tonight then?  And if she's staying, she needs to know which ones are the arsenic-burgers and which ones aren't.  Miss, I don't see in quite the exact same spectra as humans do, so I have to warn you, there's a plate of burgers made up, but they're marked, I think someone said with red saran wrap, so that nobody else eats them.  I need the arsenic, but I guess it's lethal for you?"

Fiona was grateful for the feline breaking the awkward moment of silence, but her question was rather bewildering. "I'm pretty sure it is..." Now that she had been changed by a god (as well as the mutagen), there weren't a lot of things about herself she could be sure about anymore, but she wasn't going to give that a try. "Um... forgive me if I'm being rude, but... what are you that you need arsenic?"

  Archeirae grinned, which revealed a lot of very sharp looking teeth.  "I am a sentient being from a distant planet.   Arsenic is an essential nutrient used in the sheathing of our neural pathways.  So it's a very essential nutrient in my species."

  Archeirae grinned, which revealed a lot of very sharp looking teeth.  "I am a sentient being from a distant planet.   Arsenic is an essential nutrient used in the sheathing of our neural pathways.  So it's a very essential nutrient in my species."

Fiona's eyes grew wide. "Oh, wow... I-I've never met an alien before. That's amazing..." She began craning and stretching her neck to inspect the tall feline, but then caught herself and offered a handshake. "I'm Fiona."

Soon, Fiona could see a blonde, slim-shaped woman wearing a white sleeveless top and blue jeans carrying what appeared to be several bags of leaves without a sweat.

Seeing Fiona, she dropped them off to the side.

"Hi there! I see you met Archeirae. In case if you haven't noticed we have a little bit of a cosmic crowd...of which I'm a part of. I'm Regina..."

Fiona waved to the woman that had just joined them. "Hi there. I'm Fiona... are you saying you're from another planet as well?"

"No, I'm actually from Oklahoma...though that seems like another planet most days," she replied with a chuckle. "No, I actually bumped into a starcraft's warp drive which gave me powers like a Para. I've been trying to help these folks out while they're here on Earth."

Fiona smiled softly and nodded. She couldn't hide the fact, though, that the feline alien still drew most of her attention. "I see... um, what other extraterrestrials are there around here?"

"Well...we have Archeraie here..Halkor and Azrith are around here somewhere...Halkor has blue skin and Azrith is a very tall lion-humanoid," Regina said.

"I see... is Azrith the same, um, species as you, then?" Fiona asked, looking up at Archeirae.

  Archeirae shook her head, and said "No, all three of us are different species.  We come from different worlds, each of us."

"Oh! I'm sorry." Fiona gave the feline a sympathetic look. "It can't be easy, living on a foreign planet, with no others of your species... how long have you been here?"

  Archeirae gave Fiona a weak smile, and said "I do not much miss my home.  I was guilty of the 'crime' they sentenced me to the mines for.  I just objected to the punishment."

"Oh geez... um, if you don't mind me asking, what was your 'crime'?"

  Archeirae said simply "I took up painting.  Landscapes and beach-scapes and forest scenes, even the night sky.  It was not my allotted position in life to create art, you see."

"Oh." Fiona looked silently at Archeirae for a moment, a little confused, but still sympathetic for the alien. "So... you fled here to escape your punishment?"

  Archeirae nodded, and said softly "My people have a government which assigns all things.  Your job, your occupation, your mates, your homes, everything.   I was not assigned the job of being a painter, or artist.  I took up the hobby in my spare time.  This is considered a crime on my home planet."

Fiona tried to imagine a society like that; it was pretty difficult. She wondered for a moment what kind of job she might be assigned. After a moment of silent contemplation, she gave the feline a weak smile. "I'd... like to see your paintings sometime, if that's alright."

  Archeirae smiled, and said "I would be delighted to show them to you.  I think we will have plenty of time."

Fiona smiled up at the tall feline, but then a shiver went through her body, one that she recognized; over the conversation, she had been completely distracted from maintaining her form. Those standing around her could see her skin suddenly turning white, her body shrinking and changing its shape, and suddenly there was an unexpected scent in the air. Where Fiona had stood, a porcelain mug was now sitting on the porch, filled with what smelled deliciously like coffee.

Bill blinked as the girl je was talking to just became a cup of coffee. "Uh why did she do that?"

Regina's eyes went wide as the newcomer changed into a literal cup of coffee.

"Um....that just happened, right?"

  Lin said thoughtfully "Shapeshifting.  And mutagen interacting."

"Um... guys?" Fiona's voice suddenly sounded, softer than before and with an ethereal quality to it. "What's going on? I feel weird, and I can't move..."

"A shape-shifter? On this world...?" Azrith snorted as he came in with the rest of them. "This world is stranger than any we've explored.."

"You are... Azrith?" the cup of coffee asked, still in that ethereal-sounding version of Fiona's voice.

Azrith turned his head curiously at the talking coffee cup, and nodded.

"I am Azrith...and you are..?"

"I'm Fiona... um, what do I look like? I changed shape, but I'm not sure into what, and I can't move..."

Azrith snorted, again looking at the coffee cup, puzzled by its peculiar question.

"Well....you look like a...receptacle for a beverage.."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Thu 23 Aug 2012.

The cup shook for a moment, making the coffee inside slosh back and forth; some of it nearly spilled over the edge. "A what?" Fiona asked, a bit louder, in a disbelieving tone.

Azrith tried to search for the words.

"A.....cup...I believe it's called.."

Before everyone's eyes, the cup began to twist and change shape, rapidly growing bigger. Within moments, Fiona was back in her human form, dressed in a shirt and jeans - only this time, she had a pair of raven wings, a long tail that looked rather like the one she had had as a dragon (only much smaller), and instead of feet, a pair of tiger paws. Her hands, similar to Archeirae's, now had six digits each; at least this time, she only had two hands.

"That was weird..." she stated once she had settled into a mostly-human shape and looked herself over. "I didn't even know I could turn into objects."

"Still getting a handle on your powers huh?" Bill asked with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry happens to everybody. Took me months to get used to how strong I am as Excelsior. Hell he got evapporated in the early days and we didn't think he'd pull himself back together."

"Well, kind of..." Fiona admitted, looking herself over, wiggling the extra fingers and coiling her long tail around herself. "I also... got hit with some mutagen. It seems to be doing some weird stuff with my shapeshifting. Um... who got evaporated?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:30, Fri 24 Aug 2012.

  Darren waved, and said "That would be me.  Codename Fluid."  He shifted to his fluidform again, and said "Freeze me, evaporate me, I just come back.  I melt, I condensate, I'm just a puddle of pest!"

"Oh!" Fiona reached out to try and touch the now translucent man in front of her. "That's... pretty neat, actually! But I bet evaporating must have been pretty scary the first time..."

"It was terrible thinking I'd lost him. This was before we confessed our feelings to eachother. And when I thought he was dead I was a wreck. Only time I ever got drunk was after that. I woke up in a dumpster. But when he came back to me I was so overjoyed that everything that had held me back didn't matter any more."

  Darren grinned, and wrapped himself around Bill, becoming a thin layer of fluid over him, then reforming himself beside Bill.  "In addition to turning into water, I command it.  I could make the water in the pool emulate me, and get up and walk off.  Yeah.  I'm a wet blanket at times."  He grinned at her, even as he was leaning against Bill.  It was plain, seeing them, that they were definitely a couple.

Fiona had to blush a little as she watched that. A small part of her wondered if she'd ever find someone who'd let her do that. "Wow, that's really cool. You're kind of a shapeshifter yourself like that, aren't you?"

"Yeah, they're cute in a young couple superhero-ish sorta way," Regina replied. "Good to meet you Fiona....guess we'll be seeing more of you, huh?"

Fiona gave Starshard a light smile. "I guess so... I'll probably be living here for now, at least until I've got my shapeshifting under control. In a normal bedroom, turning into something big while I'm sleeping would be... bad."

"Well....you're in good company with both myself and our Cosmic friends...seeing as I'm a former Air Force Colonel and they're exiles from another world. Take care Fiona...and if you need anything, just let me know.." Regina told her, giving her a wave and getting ready to head back to doing her share of chores if Fiona had nothing else to say.

"I'll do that. Thanks." Once Regina had left, Fiona turned her attention to Azrith again, now that she could get a better look at him and somewhat resembled her original human form again. "So, um... what was it like where you are from?"

Azrith put his head down.

"I....I don't remember as much as I should. I am a Prince in Exile. But from what I do remember...it was very nice. Free-roaming...there was nothing like my homeworld. And it would have been my death also, had it not been for Halkor."

"Oh, I'm sorry... um, why would it have been your death?" Fiona paused for a moment. "If... you don't mind me asking, that is. I don't mean to pry."

Azrith looked at Fiona, a somewhat saddened expression in his eyes.

"I was cast out by my tribe for crimes I did not commit. Truth was, the same people who wanted Halkor out of the way orchestrated the circumstances that contributed to my exile. Halkor met me with his band, and we've been travelling together ever since."

A t this point a blue skinned red eyed humanoid wearing gold and black robes stepped out of the house. Spotting Azrith and Archeirae he approached them. " Ah there the two of you are we need to discuss Sorian and his team we haven't hheard from them  since Barklees funeral. And frankly makes me nervous."

Azrith nodded at Halkor, then back to Fiona.

"Excuse me..." he said as he then made his way to his friend and Captain.

Fiona nodded a little as Azrith was called away, and looked around to search for Lin, if she was still nearby.

  Lin was sitting at the patio table, with Oswald beside her, watching everything with a serene expression.

In reply to Azrith (msg # 229):

Halkor took Azrith aside. "I think they might be planning something, I want to find them before they are ready. What do you say my friend ready to go on the offensive?"

  Archeirae had come along as well, and she listened silently.  Curious and interested, her ears cocking this way and that.

"I have been ready for a long time to take the fight to them, Halkor," Azrith replied. "Shall we take along the starborn woman as well, or is this strictly our affair?"

Fiona smiled softly at Lin. "There are a lot of curious and interesting people living here. I think... staying under one roof with all of them will be quite... educational."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:53, Mon 27 Aug 2012.

In reply to Azrith (msg # 234):

"We'll take her with us. I would prefer to keep it amongst ourselves but I'm not confident of our chances with just the three of us. Her abilities could prove useful as well."

  Lin smiled, and said "Indeed it is.  You shall receive quite an education."

Fiona nodded softly. "Um, by the way... did I really turn into a cup? And if I did, how could I still talk? And see, and hear?"

  Lin answered serenely "I don't know precisely HOW your abilities work, Fiona.  Just that they do."

Fiona frowned a little, but then nodded. "Well, it's good to know that Coyote made it so that I won't become blind, deaf and mute from an accidental shapeshift. Maybe it'll be easier to figure out once I know a bit of magic... although, seeing as he's a trickster god, probably not."

  Lin smiled, and said quietly "One lesson I can give you without any books or trappings.  You realize you speak of being a willworker.  The key to that, is honing your WILL.  You must believe in your ability to command the magic.  So.  Begin to hone the edge of your blade, the sword of your will."

Fiona smiled weakly at Lin. "That's easier said than done... I've never been a really strong-willed person, the kind that don't let anything keep them from achieving their goals... how do I hone my will, exactly?"

  Lin arched an eyebrow, and said "To put it in simple terms, get stubborn, Fiona.  Practice being stubborn about things."

"Oh." Fiona scratched her head. "Well... I've got a talk with my aunt and uncle to look forward to about moving here. I'm not sure they'll be happy about that. I guess that counts?"

  Lin held up one hand, and a sphere of jade colored energy formed over her palm.  She said softly "You see the sphere?  It is there because I will it to be so.  My will is powerful enough that the energies around us are bent under it's force, as light, and matter, and even time can be bent by gravity.  The will can be even stronger than gravity, as you can see in my daughter.  She can command gravity itself, albeit in a localized area only right now.  The most powerful force that mankind in general knows of is the black hole.  Make your will as powerful a the pull of a black hole, that inescapable, inevitable thing which all men know is the final fate of space.  Once you have honed your will to this, you can do anything."

Fiona watched the sphere with fascination. It looked beautiful. But Lin's speech captured her attention, and by the end of it, after a moment she nodded. "I'll give it everything I've got." Curiously, she reached out to touch the sphere in Lin's hand.

  The sphere was pure energy, and it TINGLED as she touched it.  Making her FEEL the power within that sphere.

"Whoa..." The hair on Fiona's hands - as well as on her tail - stood up as she felt the energy from the sphere. It didn't hit her like an electric shock, but she could feel a strong tingling sensation. The feeling was invigorating, in a way. "You're... incredibly powerful, Miss Lin. It's an honor to be allowed to learn from you. It's like getting private lessons on physics from Stephen Hawking."

 Lin smiled, and said "Take into account, I've probably got the most magical experience of anyone still living in the world, simply because I'm that old.  You grow in power as you age.  You also grow in strength of will.  I am well over four thousand years old."

"Oh." Fiona's face fell a little. "Does that mean I won't be able to do a whole lot for the next few... decades or so?"

  Lin shook her head, and said "No.  It just means that I'm really freaking old, so I can do a lot more than you'd expect.  Have you seen what Ozzy can do?  He's only sixteen.  What you first need to do is to determine what your talents are.  Then you specialize in those magics.  Now, first, what I want you to do, is sit there and close your eyes.  Feel the mana within you, and then concentrate hard on making a tiny dot.  Just the size of the head of a pin, on your fingertip, glow."

Fiona nodded softly. After being taught how to fly as a dragon earlier, she already had some idea how to find her inner energy, but being asked to imitate E.T. still made her chuckle. She raised her index finger in a fashion like the little guy from the film, then imagined a tiny dot of light forming on that fingertip, and focused on that image as strongly as she could.

  Lin smiled as she watched the mana moving slowly to Fiona's will.

Fiona could feel it working, the warmth flowing into her fingertip, but she still wanted to see. She opened her eyes again, though she tried her best to maintain focus as she looked at her glowing finger.

  Lin smiled, and said "This is why I said you need to practice focusing your will."

Fiona quirked her head. "What do you mean? I managed to do it, didn't I?"

  Lin tilted her head.  The spark had gone out while Fiona lost her focus.  She said "This is why we have new mages practice.  A lot."

"Well... does it get easier over time? Or do you always need to be fully focused to do magic?"

Fiona concentrated once more, feeling the magical energy inside her and guiding it to make her fingertip glow; this time, however, she kept her eyes open, so she could see what was happening.

In reply to Halkor (msg # 236):

"I will fetch her then," Azrith said. "If it wasn't for her, we would be lost on this world."

The exiled prince soon went off and found Regina.

"We....we are going to find those bounty hunters we encountered. We could use your help."

In reply to Azrith (msg # 259):

Regina set down the two large bags she was carrying, and concentrated, "shimmering" in her "costume."

"Ready when you are, Azrith."

  Lin smiled, and said "It does get easier with practice."

After a moment, Fiona dropped her concentration again. "Hmm... do you think it'll be easier if I let myself slip into my... 'natural' form? So I don't have to concentrate on maintaining my form at the same time?"

  Lin nodded, and said "That might help you.  It's not like a different shape will freak me out."  She sat back, smiling at Fiona.

"Alright, here goes..." Fiona closed her eyes, sighed softly and relaxed, letting her body assume whichever shape it wanted.

Within moments, her body began shifting. She dropped to all fours and started shrinking, her wings shifting from feathered ones to leathery membranes. But something odd was going on - she groaned loudly, feeling a momentary headache coming on. But it was less than a minute until the change was complete. Where Fiona had stood, a dark blue dragon was sitting, about the size of a housecat, and resembling the western image of a dragon, unlike the ones that were common around here. But there was something very unusual about it - it had two heads, each attached to its own long, serpentine neck.

Both heads opened their eyes, and blinked simultaneously, looking rather confused.

  Lin smiled, and said "Excellent.  Now, hop up here and concentrate on making the tip of your talons glow again."

"Um, hold on..." both heads said in unison. It was quite strange, seeing everything from two independent perspectives at once. Fiona turned first one head, then the other, trying to get used to the strange sensation. "Wow, this is weird..."

  Lin didn't rush her, she had plenty of time.

It took Fiona just a few minutes before she seemed to have little trouble with the two heads anymore; she was remarkably adaptive when it came to strange new forms, it seemed. With a few flaps of her wings, she flew onto a table and sat down. Her foreheads furrowed in concentration, she tried to summon up her magical power once more, focusing it into the tips of her claws.

  Lin smiled, and said "Excellent.  You're getting more used to this."

  His time, the magic appeared in dots on the tips of her noses.

The two heads crossed their eyes, feeling the magic flow somewhere rather unexpected, before looking at each other instead. That was a bizarre feeling right there, looking at her own face twice; but the more interesting thing were the glowing noses. She was like a two-headed, draconic Rudolph. Puzzled, she raised her foreclaws and poked both of her glowing noses.

   Lin chuckled, and when she poked the dots, they exploded in sparkles.  "Looks like your magic will be affected by the source of your gifts.  Your magic may be very unpredictable."

While one head snapped at the sparkles that slowly descended around her, the other turned and looked up at Lin. "So this doesn't happen every time someone tries to learn magic who's completely new to it?"

  Lin shook her head, and said "I haven't taken many students, as I tend to stay on the sidelines a lot, but no, this is not typical.  It normally takes YEARS for students to master this much, and they start much younger."

A car pulled into the driveway an old beat up sedan. Out of the car stepped a man dressed in a grey trenchcoat. He approached the door and rang the Bell

  Meg answered the front door, smiling as she said "Hello, can I help you?"  She was still dressed nicely from the funeral, but she did take care with her appearance.

"Umm hi. I'm one of Ozzy's coworkers? He may or may not have mentioned me coming by." He held out his hand. "I'm Harvey."

  Meg smiled, and said "Pleased to meet you, Harvey, I'm Megaira.  Do step inside, be warned, it feels a little funny.  He hadn't mentioned, but he DID have a lot on his mind last night, what with it being his wedding night."  She waved him in, clearly willing to listen to him while she finished putting groceries away.

"He's married now? He didn't mention he was engaged." He followed her into the house as she began putting away groceries. "You need any help with those?"

  Meg smiled, and said "As long as you don't mind, yes.  I need to put the meats into the walk in freezers, and the rest needs stuck in the pantry.  I can sort and shelve it later.  He wasn't expecting to be able to get married for another couple years, but I think you were there when he got mutated?  Well, his girlfriend got mutated too.  So they got married yesterday, after that happened.  Some evil bitch at the mall mutated Clarissa because Ozzy wasn't interested in her, and it pissed her off."  As she spoke, she led the way to the kitchen, and he could hear the faint sussurration of something rolling around, like steel ball bearings all over the place.

The two faces blinked in unison. "Are you serious? They take years, just to make their fingertips glow?"

  Lin nodded, and said "Most mages begin around the age of six, so they tend to spend a lot of time learning how to learn as they begin learning magic too.  You're an exception.  You're not a 'natural' mage, you're God-Touched.  Whole different animal.  Ask Ozzy sometime, or Oswald here could tell you.  I was an oddling myself."

"What about Meg?" one of the heads asked, while the other curiously looked around. "Is her situation similar, as far as her magic goes? Other than the excess energy, I mean."

  Lin shook her head, and said "She's another atypical student.  She's learning this and that, but not how you're learning it."

"Oh, I see." Both heads smiled a little regretfully. "That's a shame. I was thinking we might be able to study together. I guess there's no one else in a situation quite like mine, is there?"

  Lin frowned, and said "Megaira is different than you in that she literally generates so much energy, she MUST burn it off.  What magic she's learned so far is mostly to control how her own body generates energies.  Despite being an Immortal, I don't think having an energy overload feels GOOD.  Her abilities, her parahuman ones, literally cause her body to generate so much energy, she almost constantly has to burn them off.  Her magical energies are growing the same way.  I've taught her several spells that are high-energy consumers just so she can control the levels of energy in her own body.  Think of it almost like insomnia.  She can't sleep because she's too wired for sound, except it's energy and relaxing.  You two probably CAN study together, but you most likely will not be studying the same things at the same time.  You need to get used to handling energies at all.  She's been doing it for almost four years now.  She has to get to the point where she can burn off gross amounts of it at a time.  You need to learn to manipulate it first, without blowing yourself up."

Fiona listened, and nodded softly with both heads. "Alright. I was just wondering... it helps sometimes, having a study partner. So, um... what's the next step for me? Do we just have to wait until Mr. Gysbourne has the study materials for us?"

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 280):

He followed her into the kitchen and began putting the groceries away. "Yeah I was there. Tough break for the kid. His girl got mutated too? Wow I really need  to find that supplier"

  Lin nodded, and said "Pretty much, but it won't be a long wait."

  Meg nodded, and said "Yeah, she ended up looking like a little anime catgirl.  Would you like to see?  And Ozzy's still green and winged and scorption tailed.  Clarissa isn't reverting back either.  You should see them, they are a cute couple."  She was putting meat into one pound zippy bag lots as the canned goods rose up and floated into the pantry seemingly by themselves.  Meg asked, almost sounding like it was an afterthought "Ozzy DID tell you I was a para, didn't he?"

Fiona nodded softly with one head, while the other glanced into the direction of the house. "I think Meg is back now. I should probably check in with her about a room."

  Lin's eyes unfocused, and she said "She is, but she has company at the moment, so no need to rush."

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 290):

"How are they adjusting? I feel a little responsible for it, if I hadn't called him in that never would have happened." He watched the food float to where it belonged. "He mentioned, I am too but my abilities are more subtle in nature."

Fiona quirked one of her heads. "Is that a clairvoyance spell? Do you think I shouldn't disturb them right now, then?"

In reply to Mr. Witness (msg # 293):

  Meg smiled, and said "They're actually very happy with each other.  And I'm going to have to add some more soundproofing to their rooms.  They don't mind it at all.  He's an anime fan, she adores the way he looks now.  It's not something to feel bad about, honestly.  My abilities are . . . not as obvious as they may seem.  Not all of them, anyway.  What you see doing the cans is my magnetic manipulation.  I have to use my abilities to burn off the energy I create, so I utilize them for a LOT."

In reply to Fiona Reinhardt (msg # 294):

  Lin chuckled, and said "Mother's intuition, and my little friends are my spies at times.  One of the Dragons saw a fellow at the front door, and Meg's talking to him."

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 295):

"That sounds like kind of a hassle. I'm clairaudient and clairvoyant and I have an astral form. By the way is that your sister on the Patio?"

  Meg laughed, and said "I'm an only child, so that must be Mom.  We do look very much alike, except her eyes are green and mine are midnight sapphire.  I know she and one of the other paras in town were talking about things."

"Wow she does not look old enough to be your mother. She a para too?"

  Meg laughed, and said "My Mother is a four thousand and some year old sorceress.  She is remarkably well preserved."

"Oh wow. Thats pretty crazy. She looks JUST like you. Didn't know my parents personally."

  Meg grinned, and said "You think that's bad, you should meet my Dad.  He's the Incarnate of Zeus."

"That is one impressive family tree. Like I said never met my birth family. I was left on a couples doorstep with a note that said. 'Raise him strong, just, and wise.' Pretty wierd adoption if you ask me. I tried using my powers to find my birth father once all I got was a two day migraine."

  Meg smiled, and turned to face him squarely as she said "Does it really matter who your parents were by blood?  The real parents were the ones who raised you, and took the time to teach you ethics and morals and right from wrong."

"Not really anymore. After my adoptive Father died I felt like I needed to know. To fill the void to give myself some identity. But when I tried to find him I woke up on the floor with a searing headache. Haven't tried since but I've long since stopped worrying about it."

  Meg smiled, and asked "Want to stay for dinner tonight then?"

 He smiled at her a tad shyly."I would love to. What are we having?"

  Meg grinned, and said "Tonight's Greek night.  Traditional Greek fare like you've probably never had unless you've been to Greece.  I promise, it will be tasty."

"That sounds delightful" He told her with a smile. "Not much of a cook myself, I tend to not have the time or motivation to prepare meals. I usually eat out."

"Alright, I'll just go and say hi." Fiona couldn't hold back her curiosity about the visitor, and she took off and flew into the house, following the direction of Meg's voice.

When she arrived in the kitchen, the little two-headed dragon landed on the counter and waved to Meg and her guest. "Hi there!"

  Meg smiled, and waved back to Fiona as she said "I actually enjoy cooking.  It's one of the things I learned how to do as a child that were easy and fun, and my mother and I both had a lot of fun with it.  I also know traditional Chinese cooking, from a way long time ago to current."  She floated a tea-tray toward Fiona, and told her "Mom would probably enjoy some tea, I imagine you and Oswald would as well."

The housecat-sized dragon smiled and nodded both heads. "Mmh, indeed... I can never say no to a good cup of tea. It smelled delicious." While one head inhaled deeply and enjoyed the scent, the other looked up at the man next to Meg. "Who's your friend?"

"Umm, Hi? I'm Harvey, I uhh work with Ozzy." He looked to Meg. "Is this a common occurence?"

  Meg smiled, and said "That's Fiona.  She's learning her own powers.  Which include shapeshifting, and it seems to be very playful with her.  Most of the dragons you see around here will be the Oriental style, and those will normally BE Dragons, but they're in smaller forms."

Fiona nodded softly, but her expression suddenly turned somber. "Um, by the way... Meg? When you have a moment, I need a word with you in private..."

"I can come by another night if that would be more convenient?" He said in a voice that indicated he didn't WANT to leave but didn't want to interupt anything private

  Meg shook her head, and said "As far as I'm aware, there's no reason for you not to stay, Harvey.  It is my house, and I did invite you to stay for dinner.  I should mention that it's a lot bigger than it looks, so be aware that you could get lost if you want to wander around, but you're welcome to take a look around."

"I don't get lost one of the perks of being clairvoyant.  Let me know when your done. Just say my name I'll pick up on it. Don't worry I won't eavesdrop I can pick up on my name easily.  I want to talk with you more before dinner, Ozzy said theres a lot of people here so I'm sure dinnnertime is chaotic. I'll go have a look around. " He flashed a bright smile before he turned to leave

Once the man had left, Fiona sat down in a chair and changed back into her human form. She felt kind of silly with two heads right now. "I'm not sure if you've been informed, but... during the funeral, at the anti-parahuman rally, it seems like someone fired mutagen darts into the crowd, and..." She told Meg the whole story, about how she'd woken up as a giant dragon, up until she'd begun changing randomly. "So, what you saw just now, the two-headed dragon... that was my natural form just now."

  Meg smiled, and said "It doesn't change your scent, and it doesn't change who you are, Fiona.  If you would prefer to stay here, then we can get you settled into a room."

Fiona nodded and visibly relaxed. "I'd be very thankful for that. I'm afraid that I'll turn into something big in my sleep again... this morning, if I hadn't still been elastic, I'd probably have wrecked the house."

  Meg half smiled, and said "That won't be a problem here.  Mom and I worked together to ensorcel the whole house so that it accommodates for the different size of it's residents."

Fiona smiled softly. "If you can give me a bedroom that adjusts to my size, I'd be very thankful. I don't know if I won't wake up and find myself as big as a house tomorrow."

  Meg shrugged, and said "The whole house does it.  Since Ozzy's twelve feet tall, plus horns, MOST things in a human-built house aren't sized for him.  So we made it so the house will accommodate any resident's physical size requirements.  I asked Mom to come up with the spell, and she gave me the runes to do it, and helped me to get it cast correctly.

Fiona nodded softly. "Lin told me about that already... how does it handle shapeshifters, though? My room might need to be as small as a dollhouse one day, and as big as a regular house the next... I'm not even sure how big I can get."

  Meg tilted her head, and said "I'm not sure how to explain it, but for normal sized people, the house is as it was built.  Sort of.  There's a couple different layers there.  If you need more space?  Then you have it.  Things will be the right size for the biggest occupant of the room.  If you shrink down to an inch tall, your room, as long as you're the only one in it, will be sized to fit you at an inch tall.  Don't ask me how the magic warps the laws of physics to DO this, it just does.  My mother says that some things in magic just ARE, and they DO what they do, and you don't want to ask too closely about it, or your mind will break and leave you a drooling idiot."

Fiona listened attentively as Meg tried her best to explain things. "Thanks," she said with a nod. "Sorry for being so nosy... your mother is teaching me magic now, and I'm rather curious how it all works. Just show me which room I can take, then I'll leave you be."

  Meg nodded, and led the way, even as the cans were still floating into the pantry.  She led Fiona through a set of elegantly carved sandalwood doors, and into the rest of the house.  It was built on a Chinese theme, with tall doorways and elegantly painted murals on some of the walls, but many more of them were bare.  Meg paused by a door, tilting her head, and said "Here you go.  There's a window into a small courtyard, but not a window that goes to the 'outside' that is outside the front and back doors."

Fiona stepped into the room and looked around before turning back to Meg with a smile. "Thank you... it's beautiful. I'll be out in a minute for tea, alright?"

  Meg nodded, and said "No trouble.  I'm off to find Harvey now."

Once Meg had left, Fiona closed the door and sat down on the bed. Now that things had calmed down a little again, her natural curiosity was coming up again, especially about the magic that surrounded her.

With a natural ease, she transformed into the shape of an oriental dragon, much like the one she'd woken up as. It was funny how fast she had gotten used to her shapechanging ability - and now that she could change out of it at any time, she was rather enjoying this draconic form. Still coiled up on the bed, she then focused and tried to make herself grow larger and longer, while watching the room around her and the furniture.

Harvey had heard his name and returned to the kitchen to wait for Meg.

  Meg joined him in the kitchen a few moments later, and she said "Looks like Fiona is now a resident here too.  I did buy a house so I could offer all my friends a crash pad if they needed it.  I know Ozzy said you were taking the mutagen to be analyzed, can you tell me more about it?"  He knew that it was NOT normally a permanent mutation, so apparently Ozzy and Clarissa were two of the rare oddballs.  The stuff was designed to be injected intravenously, not into nerve or cerebrospinal tissue too.

"Well its usually taken intraveinneously where it enters the blood and attaches to the bone marrow where it starts inducing the mutation. It normally lasts about four hours."

  Meg shook her head, and said "Wow.  Sounds like nasty stuff.  I'm guessing your lab boys say it's addictive too?"  She was checking the canned goods as she talked, making sure she'd put the things in the correct places.

"Terribly so. And withdrawal coukd be fatal." He added somberly.

  Meg shook her head, and said "Nasty stuff that.  I'm glad neither Ozzy or Clarissa seem to be addicted to it then.  But they haven't UN-shifted from being mutated either."

"I would suspect they won't have to worry about it at this point. Though you can never be too careful. So, uh, mimd telling me a little about yourdrlf?"

  Meg smiled, and said "Well, I'm nineteen, I'm a parahuman, born with my abilities, some of them, others bloomed later.  I'm a Greek-Chinese American.  My father deals in Greek antiquities, my mother's mostly a stay at home Mom when she isn't being a sorceress.  I'm an only child, with hobbies in gravitics and electromagnetics, and I'm beginning to study recombinant DNA, along with a heavy dose of biology, and life sciences that will let me eventually give a couple of my friends the best present anyone could give a couple who can't have children of their own."  She checked the cans, and nodded, then added "Oh, and I should warn you, I do isometrics daily in a five gravity workout for an hour or so."

"Well like I said I was subject to the wietdest adoption ever. My mother passed away when I was young, cancer. Dad  was a cop, raised me right, my powers didn't turn on till I was sixteen. I worked as a cop aehile till Rocket found me. I work for masks inc mostly as an investigator, though I don't get along well with modt of my coworkers"

  Meg tilted her head, and said "You seem like a personable enough fellow, why don't they get along with you?  I know Ozzy didn't seem to mind working with you.  Do you mind if I start fixing dinner while we talk?  I have the feeling that Ozzy's going to be here for dinner, and he eats enough for two.  Of course, he's twelve feet tall now!  Have you seen him since the stakeout he did with you?"  She was getting some salad bowls ready, and some other things, and he saw the pots and pans moving easily.  All of her cookware seemed to be stainless steel or copper.  And if he looked, what almost looked like a trackless roller-coaster of steel ball bearings were zipping along a convoluted route near the ceilings.  Never once stopping moving.

  Fiona found that the room DID adjust to accommodate her size, no matter how big she got.  Of course, it certainly DID feel a little odd while she was resizing, and it along with her!

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 341):

"Certain ones consider me less useful then the rest of them, and I tend not to respond well to criticism" He told her frankly. "No I haven't. I have seen his new look though."

  Meg blinked, and said "Less useful??  Good gods, they're idiots.  I can think of a number of ways your particular talents can save LOTS of lives!!  You said clairaudience, clairvoyance and astral projection?  Those alone would let you observe someone from a SAFE physical distance, hear their plans, find out if anyone's in danger, if they were planning to do illegal things, save lives if they have someone kidnapped and held hostage, good grief!  I dare not let most people KNOW about my most powerful gifts.  If I did, I'd literally be hounded to the ends of the earth by greedy people who would want my abilities for themselves.  Anyone who doesn't think your abilities are highly helpful is an idiot."

If Fiona wasn't feeling it, it would almost seem as if her size wasn't changing at all; she had no point of reference inside the room for it. All she knew was that she was getting bigger, but soon she wasn't sure anymore how big she was; she just knew that she was a great deal larger than her human form.

"Hey, Wind?" she asked, remembering that she wasn't alone after all. "Can you come out for a minute?"

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 344):

"Yes but most of tem focus on the fighting part of the job after all we're more mercenaries then superheroes. I  mean I can handle myself in a fight, I'm a black Belt in three styles and I rarely miss but thats not good enough for some people"

  She felt the tingle as he separated from his 'hiding spot' on her skin, and took his two-foot long dragonshape.  He looked like a little garter snake to her at the moment.  "Practicing your abilities again?  Good idea.  The more you practice, the better with them you will get to be."

  Meg shook her head, and said simply "Anyone can choose to beat the living crap out of someone else.  It's WORK to do things that stop people from getting hurt.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!  And speaking as one who wields the cure?  Trust me, I don't LIKE needing my most powerful ability.  See, one of my powers, is regeneration.  Watch."  She waved a hand, as she rolled up her sleeve, and a wickedly sharp knife came spinning through the air.  She raised her arm, and he saw the knife slash it, bone deep.  And saw that slash heal to nothingness almost immediately.  She said quietly "The one I don't normally talk about, is that I can make someone else heal like that too."  Her arm was totally unmarked now.  She held it out for him to examine, if he wished.

Fiona smiled at the tiny dragon in front of her. "When I'm not afraid of being stuck like this, being a dragon is pretty fun." She was wearing the same colors as when she'd woken up this morning, and even had six legs; except for her size, she looked pretty much the same. Slowly, she uncoiled from the bed and started floating around the room. "I wonder how big I can get..." She focused once more, trying to become even bigger and longer. She hoped that she would never need to be this huge, but it couldn't hurt to know one's limits, right?

In reply to Megaira Kattakara (msg # 348):

"Well some guys can  be overlly  macho about some things." He flinched  at her  sudden demonstration. "You didn't have to do that, I would have believed you

  Meg shrugged, and said "The first time I did anything like that, I was too little to even realize I'd chopped my fingers off, until they grew back.  At that point, my mother decided I would be homeschooled.  I know while I was living at the condos, I cured a young man of his cerebral palsy."

"Still I'm sure it can't be pleasent." He was silent a moment before he asked. "So I was wondering if, maybe, sometime, if you wanted to, I could take you to dinner and a movie?"

  Meg smiled, and said "I'd be delighted.  Pick your night, Harvey." She gave him a smile as she began assembling Greek salads for everyone.

Harvey smiled brightly. "How about Friday night? I can be here around 7 to pick you up, unless you want to meet up somewhere?"

  Meg smiled, and said shyly "I'd love for you to pick me up.  Get the whole actual 'date experience' for the first time."

"Sounds great. Wait. First time? Seriously? Pretty girl like you?" He seemed honestly surprised before he added. "Not that theres anything wrong with that."

  Meg nodded, and said "Yeah.  I don't count hot chocolate from a sidewalk vendor as a real date, so this will be my first real date."

"I'll do my best not to dissapoint then."  He said with a smile. "Is dinner and a movie good or is there something else you want to do?"

 Meg shrugged, and said "I've never actually had a date, so I'm open to suggestions."

"Wel. dinner and a movie is pretty standard fare, alternatively we could try bowling or somewhere with dancing"

   Meg tilted her head, and said "Well, let's see how it goes, and if we both have fun, we try dinner and something else next time?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll be looking forward to it" He smiled at her leaning against the counter.