So, I can leave some sort of tracker, though my range is very limited. Perhaps it is likely to increase with one or more of my stats? More important to me right now is whether I can do anything with the mana while at a distance. I decide to check.

“Stay there again, River,” I instruct him, once more moving a little away. This time, I don’t go as far as five paces, only taking two big steps back. Able to feel the connection to the mana, I concentrate on trying to move it.

After a few minutes of trying, I conclude that I can move it, but that it’s far harder than when I’m touching River. I can’t go ‘into’ his body in the same way as I was doing earlier, so it’s like I’m trying to complete a 3D puzzle of a statue by feel. Possible, since I can ‘feel’ where the different pieces connect and their different shapes, but difficult.

I take a step back and then another. Each step multiplies the difficulty: by the time I’m reaching the limits I discovered earlier of how far I can be before I lose connection, it feels more like I’m trying to complete the puzzle of an amorphous blob rather than of a defined humanoid statue.

Still, when I return back to sit before River, I’m grinning. That I can do anything with the blob of mana from a distance is amazing: it indicates to me that over time I will be able to do Flesh-Shaping at a distance, something I’d been concerned might not be possible at all.

What else could this little blob be used for? Well, it could keep track of my Bound, though it would have to have a longer range for that. It could also potentially be useful for keeping track of enemies. Since Bastet, Kalanthia, and River have a version of Stealth, I can easily imagine that we might at some point encounter an enemy which uses ambushing as its strategy, jumping away to hide if its ambush doesn’t work, and then leaping out once more once we’ve lost track of it.

Or what about those worm-tailed things which spat sticky stuff at me after the encounter with the monster in the salt-caves? I can well-imagine that there are creatures which might use the underground as a way of popping out to surprise its prey, and then retreat back before the prey can react. If I could ‘tag’ the enemy, I’d know where it was about to come out, and take the creature by surprise instead.

Of course, that would require me being able to first ‘tag’ it, and then not be able to corner it. But if I can get better at affecting the mana inside something, I could potentially ‘tag’ a dangerous enemy, and then we play a game of keep-away until I’ve been able to disable or kill it via the mana invader I planted in it.

I imagine becoming more of a mage fighter – healing my allies and hurting my enemies from a distance which isn’t going to get me torn to shreds. Though I’ve kind of got used to regularly being in agony, I won’t lie and say it’s now my preference. Not to mention that, despite all the improvements I’ve made to my health pool and regeneration rate, I’m still barely less ‘squishy’ than Sirocco, and she’s an easily-injured bird! So fighting mostly from a distance would be good.

I’ll still need to get in close to ‘plant’ the mana, though, even if I get good enough at manipulating it not to need constant contact, I think to myself. Maybe a mount could help? I can’t prevent myself from wondering, the image of a knight on horseback skewering his opponent with his lance coming to mind.

Master! River’s voice interrupts my thoughts. I look at him, immediately alert from the urgency in his tone. Look at Bastet!

I twist around, hope and anticipation rising inside me. There’s only one reason I can think that might be the reason for his excitement. The sight that meets my eyes almost makes my jaw drop. I scramble to push myself to a standing position and stumble closer for a better look, almost tripping over my own feet. Apparently seventeen points in Dexterity mean nothing when it comes to being fully distracted.

Bastet’s evolving, there’s no doubt about it. She’s wrapped in a whirling cocoon of forest-green sparks matching the lighter shades on her coat. At least, I think they do: the sparks have completely obscured all view of her body. There’s a feeling of static in the air that makes my hair feel like it’s standing out from my body.

Everyone is watching; even Kalanthia is standing at the entrance to her cave. The cubs and Lathani are watching, rapt, as is Fenrir. Sirocco seems to realise something is happening because a sudden weight on my shoulder reveals that she’s winged her way from wherever she was before. I sense more than see River come to join me, standing just behind my shoulder.

We all just watch silently, the quiet of the day allowing us all to hear the soft whirring that the sparks make as they continue their frantic orbit around Bastet. Of the raptorcat herself, no sound emerges. I hope she’s OK, I think, worry grabbing at my throat. Darting a glance over to Kalanthia, I’m unsurprised when she senses my concern.

Fear not, Markus Wolfe, this is normal. Since the nunda seems disposed to be reassuring, I risk asking another question.

I thought Evolution meant a Core is created; why is there this…cocoon?

Your Bound has accumulated enough Energy. It has been drawn in to condense into a Core, but the pressure is such that it has subsequently exploded out of her. It is a good sign. I frown.

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How so? If Cores are supposed to contain Energy, then how is having Energy explode out a good thing? Kalanthia sends a sense of amusement to me.

Many things can go wrong when forming a Core. The creature’s Energy channels are insufficient for condensing a core so the Energy does not reach a tipping point and the creature never obtains a Core at all. The Energy gathered does not condense with enough force and the creature’s Core is formed flawed – that your Bound’s Core exploded out at all is a good indication that the initial stage of forming a Core has gone well. The Core is correctly formed, but the Beast does not have sufficient control and the Energy dissipates after the explosion; this leads to the creature being weakened temporarily, and not gaining the full benefits of Evolution.

This is why this cocoon is a good sign: the larnatis has controlled the Energy well enough to keep it from dissipating. She is now absorbing it slowly, using it to improve her body and channels. The danger now is that she does not understand her own body and limits well enough to appropriately affect her body. I have seen unfortunate Beasts post-evolution who reached for more than they were capable of and only half-transformed themselves, or badly transformed themselves. They never last long.

Wait, I say, surprised, Do you mean that Bastet could look completely different or something?

Evolution is a time of reshaping, Kalanthia explains. The wise use it to reshape their Energy channels and to refine their existing bodies. The foolish try to reshape their bodies into something which they were never intended to be. It rarely ends well.

I kind of regret asking – although her original words were reassuring, these were not. I hadn’t realised that Evolution was so dangerous. I thought it was more a case of being able to do it or not: from what River had said, I suspect that most lizard-folk either fall into the category of not being able to form a Core, or just not being able to gather enough Energy to do so.

Then again, Bastet’s sensible, practical, I try to remind myself. She’s not the kind of person – beast – who would reach for some dream of being a bird instead of a raptorcat. So far everything has apparently gone well; I can only hope that that state of affairs continues.

Slowly, the cocoon reduces in both density and speed of revolution. At first all I can see is a shadowy form inside it, no details. As time goes on and the sparks reduce further, details are revealed piecemeal.

By the time Bastet is revealed in all her glory, the final sparks are being absorbed into her skin. She stands there looking at us, an undeniably smug expression both in her body-language and coming across the Bond.

At first glance, it looks like nothing has changed. Certainly not any of the changes I was fearing. The raptorcat still has four taloned-paws and two wings, a plumed tail rising behind her and a sharp-toothed muzzle on her feline-like face.

However, when I take another look, I realise how much has changed. She’s bigger, for one. Before, she used to reach about mid-thigh on me; now she’s as tall as my hips. She’s grown proportionately, one reason I didn’t spot it immediately. Her wings are a bit bigger proportionately compared to her body than they were before, though I doubt this means she can fly.

Perhaps she could glide a little, or maybe simply reduce the impact of a fall. Or they could be pretty good weapons: with their new size and probable strength, I can imagine them being rather effective bludgeoning tools.

Her talons are sharper, gleaming in the light. When she opens her mouth to yawn a little, I see that her teeth are too. Her feather-fur is glossy, even healthier than before. I hadn’t realised how some of it was looking a bit scruffy until I saw what it looks like now. She’s holding herself more upright, a stoop that I hadn’t even noticed before now absent from her positioning. In fact, she looks…younger.

With hope making me almost breathless, I open my screen, navigating quickly to my Bound tab.

Bound – Companion – ‘Bastet’

Health units: 1300/1300

Mana units: 150/150

Stamina units: 460/460

Progress to Tier 3: 0%

Lifespan remaining: ~37y 1m

Bound – Dominate – ‘River’

Health units: 830/830

Mana units: 70/70

Stamina units: 300/300

Progress to Tier 2: 57%

Lifespan remaining: ~34y

Bound – Tame – ‘Sirocco’

Health units: 120/120

Mana units: 75/75

Stamina units: 190/190

Progress to Tier 2: 39%

Lifespan remaining: ~16y

Bound – Dominate – ‘Fenrir’

Health units: 1020/1020

Mana units: 20/20

Stamina units: 380/380

Progress to Tier 2: 35%

Lifespan remaining: ~25y

I focus particularly on Bastet’s new stats, though pay enough attention to my other Bound to see that they’ve all made progress towards the next tiers. The first thing I look at is her lifespan. The number written in that section lets me breathe a sigh of relief. I guess I won’t be losing her in a couple of years, no matter how much I try. And the fact that she gained another thirty-six years to live by tiering up is excellent to know.

Then I have a look at her stat points in more detail.

“Your health pool doubled?” I exclaim, then my eyes widen more at the next line. “And your mana pool tripled?!”

The raptorcat, in true feline fashion, just looks smug.