Several days passed in a similar rhythm, and I was slowly getting used to my new life. I experinted extensively with my Power and finally got to test so other things in the grove’s relative safety.
The Eserian Grove was certainly a much better place to maintain a form forcefully than the wild would have been. Maybe I went a little bit over the top and lost consciousness when I maintained the strongest Hnoll form almost 30% longer than it should have normally lasted, but it was more than worth it.
Learning more about my Power’s limits was crucial. That also included the limits of the other human forms I could shift into. It was necessary to understand their Powers at a basic level and learn about their limits as well as how much energy they drained during my transformations.
That worked out–more or less. Using the Power of other people while actually being in their form, looking just like them, was a little odd, but it worked out better than expected. Now that I had so space and peace to take a breather, I could think about my actions more thoroughly. And honestly, I would have done the sa. Nothing would have changed even if I’d been given ti to think about it.
Transforming into other human forms should probably have weirded out, or made feel disgusted, yet it didn’t. Maybe I didn’t feel that disgusted because the transformations were part of my Power. Or it was due to yet another fact; I wasn’t planning to do anything disgusting with those forms.
While people like the soldiers I’d killed would have used Shift for nefarious acts–I was certain of that–I was more curious about other things.
"If I can transform permanently into Accessible Shifts with a less nurtured Core than mine, partial shifts should be possible too... right?" I mused to myself.
My thoughts were possibly a stretch of the humanly possible, but since I could maintain my Blue Sli form permanently, why shouldn’t it be possible to stay in my main form and only transform part of my body into a Blue Sli?
Shift hadn’t provided with a lot of inherited information when I awakened it. Actually, the information I received was oddly sparse. Everything my parents and the few lessons I received at the Temple ntioned that instincts and mories would be implanted with the awakening of a Power. That did not happen–not exactly.
I felt like extending my experints in that direction, but there was so much to learn that I barely had any ti. After all, I still had to practice with my weapons, work out every day to stay in shape, and study the Eserian flora and fauna. And I did not want to neglect Fern either. She did not deserve an absent mate.
The days passed quickly, and I was happy to see that life in the grove was not all that bad. The fae were not exactly nicer to , but they acknowledged my existence. So even started to pray when we crossed paths, which was honestly worse than the minority who still glared daggers at .
Slling more like Fern certainly helped improve my standing among the fae, although I could not help but notice that my scent was the very reason the minority loathed . Whether they were jealous of my connection with Fern or they just didn’t like for being human, I couldn’t tell. Nor did I care.
What I cared about was to spend so ti with Kaia. She helped with so experints presented as gas, and... well, the experints were more often than not pushed into the background. Instead, we played and chatted a little, which was how I found out that I slled a lot more like Fern in the first place. And that Fern’s scent had changed quite a bit as well.
It was almost like our scents rged into one.
***
"The Hnoll scout patrols are more aggressive than before. The Elders are not yet worried since the Hnolls are moving north of us with quite so distance to the grove, but I am sure they found sothing." Fern exhaled in frustration, her back pressed against my chest. She made herself comfortable on , her tail swirling teasingly across my side.
"Elder Taria visited today," I responded, which shattered all thoughts of comfort.
Fern sat upright in an instant and turned to , eyes wide. "What did she want?"
"You worry too much, Fern. She’s not going to throw out." I calm my mate before she could imagine the worst.
Fern sighed in relief.
"Although she wants to fight. To grow stronger. I think she’s tired of having her people watch practice." I shrugged.
"They’re still watching you?" Fern asked, grumbling. "I should have gone to the Elder eting to rip them a new one."
I planted a kiss on her cheek, calming her a little. "Thank you, but I think they’re not wrong. It’s not a bad thing to be suspicious of . And it’s not like I wanted to stay in the grove like I was imprisoned."
"Right, you’ve been waiting for Elder Taria. To receive official permission to leave the grove. Alone if possible." Fern rembered.
"Exactly, and that’s what I got today. Permission to move around alone."
"You still don’t want to join you?" Fern asked, barely able to hide her disappointnt.
"Yes. Your presence would scare most monsters. I’m already worried about my scent doing the sa, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see."
Fern grumbled sothing in her mother tongue but agreed reluctantly.
"Just make sure you avoid the larger Hnoll patrols. If you find any odd-looking Hnolls, you shouldn’t engage them either."
"I know. I don’t plan to fight any Tier-2 monsters or mutants."
Yet.
Hopefully, that would change soon. Then again, I had yet to accumulate enough Essence to develop my Core to double digits. That was exactly what I was planning for tomorrow. To cross the first minor threshold. To push my Core to and past 10%.
That shouldn’t be all that difficult. Or so I hoped.
***
[A/N: Starting today, Shifter’s release schedule will change. You will receive two Chapters a day to read!
Also, a quick reminder: Shifter will go premium in a few days.]
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