“Are you awake? Can you hear me? You have been sleeping for nearly two weeks.”

Today Snow woke up and stopped convulsing. Her body is having new fur, as the former one had fallen out, but luckily seemed to just have been for the transformation.

While blinking she starts to yawn. Her giant maw is filled with razor sharp teeth. Two rows on the upper and lower jaw respectively. What she bites with these will be cut and crushed. She might even be able to chew through granite with them.

“Are you still the Snow I know? If you are, please nod.”

While trying to comprehend what I try to talk about with Red she slowly nods. I take that as the sign to loosen the restrains a bit. Moving I hear her new muscles groan and her joints crack from being used without seizures.

Opening her eyes fully she cogs her head and smiles a bit. Yes, this is Snow, so I open the restraints fully. While Snow crawls out of the vat I start to clean up the mess inside. Biomass can be repurposed, so it goes right back into my Realm.

Standing tall she looks at her claws. She might be disappointed. Her tail was the next she looked at and saw the spikes gleaming ominously like a kind of sinister mace.

“Look Snow, it might not be what you have expected but…”

Shock flows over me as Snow closed her eyes and started to shimmer into a kind of shadow form. Her body was now made out of liquid shadow and shrunk slowly. Not much but I could see how it changes little by little. It seems to be a kind of new skill she has, as she seems to have her problems with it.

Seeing her becoming less and less I really want to process what I am seeing, but it is rather hard to even fathom. Can she now change her form willingly? That is something I need for my own Bodies. Experiments will be needed and I have to ask Snow about it.

Finally the transformation was finishing and the liquid started to seep into the new body. White hair below the shoulder blades, a kind of nose between a rat and a human, fur on the face and shoulders. On the arms are also fur on the front half until the wrists, becoming fully human hands with blackish gray fingernails. She has a rather big belly as if she is either pregnant or well nourished, but the rest of her body seems slender. Her legs go with the same style as the arms and are furry in the front and smooth at the back ending in human feet with the same colored toenails.

Her rat tail is still there. Fleshy and long enough to easily lie on the floor while she is standing straight. Eyes are purple and look mostly human. Her ears are a total giveaway, she is a ratkin, as those flabby things still are attached on the upper head. No human ears though, while I really do not think four ears would be that good.

“Sorry for the long wait. I had some… troubles while becoming my new form.”

Well at least she can still talk and is my Snow I cherish.

“You mean by the Mutation or the transformation right now?”

“Um… Both to be exact.”

She blushes a bit. Well she came back at least before the new Year festival. So I can at least smile without strain to the Farmers.

“Any problems with your new… you?”

“I think not. It is still hard to hold myself in a human form, but I should be able to stay like that for most of the time.”

“I was really worried about you. Thought you might go berserk. I am glad you are back.”

“I am sorry. I know you were there all the time. I remember being scratched behind my ears.”

She came to me and hugs me. Now I can see she is the height of about one and a half meter. I would say she has the proportions of a sixteen year old girl? Maybe older, but seems not to be younger than that. What age would that be for the Beastkin folk? I remember them growing up faster, but not every race is the same.

“Well you need now clothing it seems. Would not do for you to walk around naked.”

“Really? Well I never thought about it, but why do Humans wear clothes?”

“Lesser fur, weaker skin and they are ashamed of their own sexual organs.”

“...Humans are weird.”

“Yeah, they are. I was one time human. Twice to be honest, and can say they are rather strange in many things. Better to mimic their strange behavior, to mingle better. Otherwise they ostracize us.”

“Will do. I want to be with Null on adventures. Would not do to be a problem on our adventures around.”

“Thanks, Snow.”

I scratch behind her ear and she giggles while hugging me stronger. I really need to go out of Red and disassemble him. He was so long in the dungeon he started to wilt a bit.

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“Let us go back. Jump in the Portal?”

“Can I walk? I still have some problems with the body, and want to see if I can find a better balance.”

“Alright, but at least wear this cloth shirt and cape, so the Farmers do not wonder, why a naked person walks around our main street. I come with Ava from the other side. Red needs to rest a while.”

While letting go of Red she nods and I give her the clothing I have. Explaining how to wear them was rather easy. She was always a smart little rat, so nothing to worry.

I even gave her pants where I cut for now a hole for her tail. This should work for a while, but I need to get some boots from the farmers for her, as I do not have her size.

“Leafy? I am going outside. Snow came back and I want to go get her on the way.”

“She is back? Thank the Forest. So she was where the castle is being build? Can I come with you? I have not seen her for so long.”

Leafy is happy, too. She riddles me with semantic questions and seems to be relieved to hear nothing happened to her. As we start the walk I can already see a small silhouette coming to us. Sometimes hopping sometimes walking, trying different movements and some acrobatics are seen too. She seems eager to understand her new body. Maybe I should make a kind of parkour hall inside the castle for her to work on her dexterity and agility? Rewriting the sketches I already made is not a problem at all.

“Welcome back… Snow? You are Snow, right?”

“Yeah, I am back Leafy. Happy to see you again!”

“Lord, what happened?”

“Ah, Snow wanted to become more Human, as I might go to the Grasslands. She hurried the transformation and I had helped her. The whole thing was way too dangerous and I will not do that again, as I thought I lost her.”

“Aw! I was fully under control! Well mostly.”

“And that is why you will be not doing such a dangerous thing again. Mostly is not enough, when it comes to your life. For now there is no next time, as you have been too fast with your changes.”

“...okay…”

“And what happened now, Lord?”

“Ah, sorry Leafy. She asked me to help and I reluctantly helped her with this. Explanation about how I do not want to give. She is now able to mingle between Beastmen and other people easier. I did not want to deny her the wish to go with me on adventures, so that is the outcome.”

Leafy still did not really understand. Well I can not blame her. This is not even her real form, she is more a rat Empress right now. Queen is not enough for the muscles, size and claws I saw.

“By the way Null, I can put things in my Shadow now. Not much, but about so much as I use space in my true Form.”

“...True Form?”

Well Leafy got more confused, but seems like Snow can now even store things. Impressive! So wait, does that mean Darkness is not only absence of Light in terms of Magic but rather absence of everything? This would make some things clear and might help with going back, as I need to create a Tunnel and with Darkness as absence of maybe Dimensional boundaries…

…

“Snow you are back! And you have changed… Even more cuter than before!”

“Thank you Anna. How have you been?”

While the youths mingle with the new and improved Snow the Farmers and I work on the decoration of the House. Tomorrow is the new Year and we will have our festivities. Right now I captured one of the five Cockatrice and started to take him over. Right afterwards I pull the spirit out of him and start the processing of the body to make a totally ridiculous roasted chicken. Bleeding it and removing the innards I start creating a nice start for the whole thing.

The Women in the Village thought I was crazy as I requested so much filling to be made, but accepted my request anyway. The whole thing needs to at least bake through a full day to be edible, so filling it putting it in a empty shack and heating it to a high degree with Miasma while keeping the Oil on it was my work schedule for now.

The decontamination of the Cockatrice of residual Miasma will be hard, but I will do it for everyone here, as I am in a great mood right now. Snow has a strange problem I have to address in a later workmanship, but otherwise everything is so peachy, I would say the new year can come and we are all ready.

I know the Food will not rot as the bread needs extremely long time until it finally starts to get hard, so the meat will be edible for at least a Month before it starts to rot. Everyone has enough to eat for multiple days with this and should feel appreciated.

Even the newcomers start to relax and forget the Mana burn they have. Everyone has some bandages here and there, but no one cares, as they are all together and healthy.

…

Of course it was my privilege to make a speech. I never said it, but I hate speeches. Well whatever, here goes nothing.

“We all met in a rather troubled way. Destiny was not kind to you and mistrust was sadly everywhere. Albeit all those troubles you made it here to the Lost Village and became its residents. Many of you had lost people, and we need to remember them in our hearts to always have them by our sides.”

Some tears fell down, many had lost their family members, their belongings, their mementos and their livestock. It was a bleak time when I had recruited them, so it should be not forgotten what they already had survived.

“While you suffered a lot, I will try my utmost to give you respite. While all of you have suffered loss please look around and see what you still have. It was hard times, but for the rest of our families we have to be strong. Take your destiny into your hands here anew and try your best to regain your smiles. The ones passed would love to know you are still able to walk forward, not only for you, but also for who are still with you. The last Year is now gone, but as for our fallen, we will remember it and walk with hope in our hearts into the new Year.”

While hugging each other they understood, they are not alone. They still have each other. At first I thought them of Materials and experimental Objects, but they might be now a part of my Community… well a little bit.

After a while the first claps were heard, they notice my speech being over and all slowly started to clap. In the meanwhile I was building a large table in the front of the Mansion and hovering the grilled Cockatrice on its place. This thing must be close to a ton in weight. The filling is included obviously.

Finally everyone stopped clapping and I again call out to the People.

“And now we should eat. I have extra caught a special monster for the festivals and begged your Wives to help with the filling. It was hard to make, but hopefully it is tasty, as I could not test it before the Festivals because of its… size.”

Wondering what I meant, they were rather interested. Obviously the Wives already spread the word of what I asked them to do with so much produce of our Farms, so they have been ready for a surprise of mine for a Feast.

What they see outside the Mansion still shocks them to the bone. The Bird is bigger than an Ostrich, so it is understandable. I cooked a freaking Dinosaur!

Asking for help to cut the Cockatrice we realized early the skin was sadly not edible as it was extremely hard and leathery. Snow was the only one who could eat the skin and was elated. The Flesh underneath was way better. Tender close to melting and the filling piping hot made the festival a great way to talk, laugh and dance. Some instruments were bought by Belk and I saw some of their folk dances. Very simple and easy to understand, so Snow and I participated, while Leafy was abstaining. The Root do not have a new Years festival and just see the spring as the time of waking up for the plants. Still she was with us and drank tea at the side.

With this the new Year has started, and what it will bring I do not know. But I hope for the ones I cherish good things and for me new insights in going back.