Chapter 9: Healer Rilla, a Crisis, and a Transformation Discussed

When Janet woke up once more, she surged up off the lake’s bottom, breaking the surface in a magnificent leap. With a powerful downstroke of her mighty wings, she once more soared into the skies. With careful beats, she flew back towards the crater edge where her quarters were located. She landed on the balcony, and resumed her Elvish form. Then as she walked into her bedroom, she had to support herself against the wall at the shock of seeing the devastation. “Did I do this?” she asked herself out loud.

“Yes, you did,” a gentle voice answered her from the doorway to the common room. Janet looked up, startled. The voice belonged to a woman of indeterminate age wearing healer’s robes. “Do not worry child. It is the natural result of the dissipation of the Chrysalis’ Cocoon. There is, however, some other damage which I believe only you should repair.”

Janet finally saw that this woman was blind, yet was staring uncannily, unerringly straight at her. Then what the healer had said sank in. “What do you...” she started saying, when a sharp memory suddenly thrust to fore of her mind—Her tail hitting something solid, knocking it off the balcony as she flew out. As her eyes refocused on the present, she saw Anika standing behind the healer. Another thought struck her as she looked around, realizing someone was missing. “Ellis!” she cried out in abrupt pain. She rushed toward the door, just barely restraining herself from literally throwing the other two women roughly out of the doorway, though she forced her way through rather rudely. Anika barely caught her as she fainted at the sight of Ellis’ unconscious body on the couch.

Janet slowly came to, something tugging at her right arm. Turning her head that way as she opened her eyes, she saw that Guardian was trying to pull her over to the couch. Getting quietly to her feet, she walked over, and then failed to suppress a sob as she saw the dressings wrapped around his head.

“Ah. Awake at last, I see. Good,” the voice startled her. Whirling around to face the direction it had come from, she recognized the healer. “Let’s get to business, then.” And she walked over without one false step to stand beside Janet.

“How bad is it?” Janet asked her in a shaky voice.

“My name is Rilla, by the way. As for Ellis’ injuries, a very nasty cut at the back of the head, and the fact that he hasn’t woken since. No other damage than that, now. However, had he been human, he would be dead!” the healer answered.

“I ... I ... I almost k-k-k-killed him?” she managed before a wrenching sob broke free, stopping her from saying anything else.

Rilla gently took Janet in her arms, allowing her to cry for a little while, and then told her to calm down. When Janet couldn’t control her tears, Rilla took a step back, and then slapped her hard across the face. This angered Janet, who finally got herself under control. She threw a dark look at the healer. “That’s better, but still not good enough. When I called you child, I was referring to the age difference between us. I did not know I would have to take my words literally. Anger is bad, and self-pity is worse, but he needs your love, right now, not the others. Take a hold of yourself, girl!” the blind woman said, shaking Janet slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Janet finally got her emotions in hand. “You’re right, um, healer. I am sorry.” She wiped the tears off her face with the palms of her hands, then went to dry them on her breeches, but stopped herself just in time, remembering how she had healed Guardian. She reached for her Focus Stone, only to find it wasn’t where she usually wore it ... and that, in fact, she would have ended up drying her hands right on her thighs, as she was still naked. “Excuse me, ma’am, but have you seen my Focus Stone? Oh, there it is!” she said, calling it from the wreckage of the bed which she could just see through the bedroom door. When it reached her hands, she kept it hovering between and above them, not yet letting it touch her tear-dampened palms. With a mere flick of her eyes, she undid the wrappings of the bandage around Ellis’ head, then, concentrating on her feelings for him, she lightly touched her hands to the Focus Stone, which she immediately followed by pressing her palms gently on the sides of her lover’s head.

As her hands touched him, she felt herself grow cold as her energy flowed through her out of her hands and into Ellis, healing him in a brilliant flash of moon- and platinum-platinum-colored light. Her concentration and effort of will drained her to the point of exhaustion once more, causing her to stumble. Had Rilla not caught her, Janet would have collapsed on the spot.

“Perhaps you should have eaten something first, child,” Rilla said gently as she pulled her to a chair by the table, where she pushed a tray of food in front of Janet, bidding her to eat. As Janet ravenously dug into the fruit and buttered bread set before her, Rilla went to examine Ellis’ wounds. She found not even the slightest traces of a bruise, let alone the dangerous gash in the back of his head, or the shattered ribs, the latter of which she had made absolutely no mention. “You definitely need proper training, girl. He had a few injuries which would have taken care of themselves, once the head wound was dealt with. You must learn to use all your abilities to their fullest potential. You could be left to learn on your own, I suppose, but that could prove rather unhealthy for you, not to mention just as dangerous to everyone else around you.

“Yes, I think I will have you join the novice classes to begin with. We’ll see from there. You will come to me at dawn, in two days’ time, at the Guildhall, understand?” she asked, only to be answered by a slight thump as Janet’s head bumped into the surface of the table, seeing as she had fallen asleep. “Really should have eaten before you started this, girl,” the blind healer muttered to herself as she lifted the younger woman with a strength surprising for her size and carried her to a couch across from the one on which Ellis rested. Rilla then used a minor Cantrip spell to write a message for Janet, instructing her to meet Rilla at the Healers’ Guildhall, at dawn, in three days’ time, instead of two, giving her time to recover.

Anika walked in on them this way, asleep on the couches, the next morning. She noticed the message Rilla had left on the table. “Well, looks like Janet’s about to become very busy, soon!” she whispered to herself.

Ellis stirred at the sound of her voice. “Anika? What happened? I remember standing watch outside, turning at a noise from the bedroom ... no ... A roar ... The windows almost literally exploded ... then the most beautiful Dragon I’ve ever seen flew out ... And then something hit me in the head, knocking me into the wall and off the balcony. Was that Janet?”

Anika nodded quietly. “She hit you with her tail. By the way she reacted when she came back, she didn’t realize it was you at the time ... in fact, she didn’t seem to remember much of what happened after she emerged.”

“I didn’t,” a small voice interjected. They turned to find Janet awake, curled up in a ball on the couch on which she had been sleeping. “All I knew was that I was thirsty and that there was water nearby. I remember the feeling of my tail hitting something, hard, but I didn’t feel any concern about it at all. I didn’t realize it was you until after I got back and saw the mess in the bedroom, and that you weren’t there. I am so sorry, Ellis. I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear I didn’t.”

“None of this nonsense, Janet!” Ellis said when she started crying with heart-rending sobs. “Something like that happens to all of us upon emerging from Chrysalis. It’s different for everyone, some better, and some worse. As a matter of fact, I almost ate someone, not to mention the fact that I devoured half of a herd of cattle before. If Lady Killian hadn’t happened by at that very moment, that farmer would have joined the missing half of his cows.” He sat down and pulled her into his lap, tucking her head under his chin. “Now, come on, hon. Cheer up.”

“Yes, you should cheer up, little sister. Especially considering the contents of this message Healer Rilla left for you.” Anika walked over and handed the note to Janet.

“What’s it say, Janet?” Ellis asked.

“‘Janethavarael Hai Draconia, thine attendance of novice classes at the Healers’ Guildhall is hereby required forthwith. Thou shalt present thyself in mine office one hour after dawn two days hence. This request has been placed before the High Council, and has been approved. Until such time as thine abilities and knowledge of the Healing arts have been tested and gauged, thou shalt attend the novice classes consistently and without fail. Once we judge thy training to be completed, you will be released to the Warriors’ Guild, to be trained in the arts of Battle. When they have judged thy warrior training complete, to the Magic-Users shalt thou go, there to learn the Art of Spell-weaving, properly, not from instinct. Quite likely these two Guilds will assign thy lovers to assist thee, with testing to be taken with their student members. Once the Magic-Users are through with thee, thou shalt be sent to the College of Rogues, there to be taught the arts of the Bards. Eventually Lady Killian will take up thine education herself, teaching thee etiquette, and other such arts of the nobility. Thy lovers will be joining thee for these two last stages, at the College and with the Lady. Very little of the education thou shalt be receiving throughout will be entirely easy, but neither shall it be impossibly difficult. Thou doth seem like a bright young Dragon, and I think thou shalt have gone through this in next to no time, or so it will seem. A uniform will be provided at each step of the way. Thou shalt not be required to wear these, though it is encouraged, as most other students and novices and whatever else they will be called are obliged to wear them. Of course, thou shalt be provided with compensation, to be based on the current wage scales, which are based on ability and rank. Ellisanavriel has been providing for thee so far, but that cannot be permitted to continue. His generosity is greatly appreciated, I’m sure, and most definitely well meaning, but thou must also learn resource management, and if thou doth ever want children, then a hoard must thou raise.” It’s signed Master-Healer Rilla of Eyrie Draconis.”

“Looks like they have big plans for you, love. Think you can handle it?” Ellis asked her teasingly, challenging her to do her best.

Janet looked him in the eye and nodded grimly. “I know I can do it. Here’s what I’m wondering about, though. Is all of this really necessary? And, if so, why?”

“Janet, somehow you were infected with blood magic that was turning you to the Dark!” Anika interjected. “You need to learn how to defend yourself. This won’t be the last attempt on you, by far. We still don’t know how the spell got to you.”

Janet looked up with a look of horror dawning on her face. “Guardian!” she exclaimed. She turned back to Ellis. “At the cove, remember? I found him unconscious on the edge of our wards, halfway in the water, just before we left. He woke up when we were almost three-quarters of the way back, with no sign of trouble, but for some reason, I felt uneasy about it.”

She turned again and called Guardian over to her, getting up off Ellis lap. After a quick but thorough scan, she found no signs of damage from the spell that he had been used as conduit for.

Meanwhile Ellis went into the bedroom and used a nice spell he knew. With fluid motions and quiet words, he wove a spell to repair all the damage in the room. When that was done, he called Janet and Anika over to inspect the results.

Janet, not yet clothed, since her emergence, stepped between the other two, grabbed their hands, and ran to the bed, dragging them with her. She started rubbing up against each of them in turn, creating a very arousing sight and feeling, and then jumped onto the bed, settling herself in an inviting position.

Anika and Ellis also somewhat horny after all the recent worry, quickly stripped each other with frequent kisses, and then joined her on the bed.

They started caressing and kissing each other, then Janet whispered something to Anika which Ellis did not catch. They placed themselves in a sixty-nine position, licking at each other’s labia, sucking and nibbling their clitoris. Then Janet, who was on top of Anika, thrust her ass in the air, shaking it slowly at Ellis, physically inviting him to join in the fun, then verbally. “Well, lover? You just gonna sit there?” she asked him in a sultry voice.

He got to his knees on the bed, then, taking a firm hold of her hips, he slowly penetrated into Janet’s pussy, thrilling her very much. He had been rocking his hips back and forth, thrusting in and out of her cunt, for nearly ten minutes when he felt Anika’s tongue on his testicles and his erect penis, which was coated in Janet’s vaginal fluids. The sensation this sent coursing through his groin was incredible, starting a chain reaction as he ejaculated deep inside Janet’s pussy. The feeling of his sperm hitting the wall of her uterus caused Janet to orgasm, and, as she had been eating Anika out at the time, Anika came too.

“Now we try something a little different,” Anika exclaimed. She withdrew Ellis’ dick from Janet’s cunt, sucked him off a few minutes, and then guided him to Janet’s anus.

Thinking what the heck, why not, he slowly thrust his cock into her, stretching her rectum and eliciting a mixed groan of pleasure and pain. He asked if Janet wanted him to stop, but she shook her head determinately. He once more started pumping his shaft in and out of her body, this time slowly so as not to hurt her overmuch.

She buried her face in Anika’s crotch, eating her soul-sister out. When she felt Anika return the favor, though, she went ballistic, coming more powerfully than ever before.

The feeling of Janet’s rear hole tightening around his penis as she clenched her buttocks in reaction was nearly enough to send him soaring too. Then Anika started probing his own anus as she munched Janet’s pussy. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, making him come.

His ejaculation hitting the insides of Janet’s rectum caused her to climax again. This orgasm went beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She collapsed in orgasmic-bliss, but managed to rouse herself again soon after. “Do you want to try it?” she challenged Anika.

Anika nodded and they switched positions with Janet now on the bottom, and Anika on top, facing the other way. Again they played with each other a bit, before letting Ellis enter Anika’s pussy. It didn’t take all three of them very long to come, as, by this time, they were aroused to the point of ecstasy.

Janet pulled his erection out of her big sister’s cunt, sucked him off to another orgasm, and then pointed his dick at Anika’s back passage. He slowly penetrated her anus, stretching her rectum, which in turn elicited a cry of painful pleasure and pleasant pain from Anika. He’d only thrust in and out a few times, maybe a dozen, when they both came again.

They fell apart, and then Anika brought her mouth to Ellis’ still erect dick. She sucked him off to a final ejaculation, the seed of which she shared with Janet, as Janet had done with her the first time they had all slept together. Then the girls resumed their sixty-nine position, working each other to another mutual orgasm. They sucked the come out of one another’s pussy, which they shared with one another, then with Ellis.

Pleasantly oblivious of everything but their partners, they climbed under the blankets, then, cuddled in each other’s arms, they fell into the weary, peaceful sleep induced by post-coital bliss.

That evening, Anika woke Ellis and Janet gently. She had woken nearly two hours earlier, to find Ellis and Janet tangled together, limb crossing limb. They had turned to one another in their sleep, wrapping themselves together.

Anika knew she would likely never be quite as important to Ellis as Janet was, although she herself would always be a close second.

She was startled to realize she didn’t mind at all. That, in fact, she was totally happy for Janet, without the slightest hint of jealousy. This proved to her how important they both were to her.

“Come on, you two; time to wake up, you lazy sleepyheads. Dinner will be getting cold if we don’t eat soon.”

Janet sat suddenly up with a gasp. “Ellis! I just had a very strange dream. I was standing in front of a big golden egg. I think it was Lady Killian’s egg. Then I started hitting it with a knife, breaking it open. But instead of a hatchling dragon inside, I found what seemed to be a human baby. The dream sort of became a blur, except for flashes of the baby as it grew up. It went through Awakening, and Chrysalis, just like one of us ... a Reborn Dragon. Oh, and all throughout the dream, I felt a presence that was somehow familiar. I just remembered who cast that presence.

“I’ve felt twice before. The last time was during my Chrysalis, while I was supposedly asleep. I was in some sort of misty white world.

“Anyway, the first time I felt that presence, you were there too. You remember? On the shore of the lake?”

“You mean the Goddess? Arissa?” Ellis asked her wonderingly.

Janet nodded. “I think she was trying to tell me how to help Killian’s egg hatch. And I was wondering about something else.

“Could Killian be able to mate with one of us? Could a dragon like her successfully mate with one like us and produce viable offspring?

“I think Arissa is telling us how to permit that hatchling to become a full part of our society ... I mean, think of this. Killian is respected because of her vast pool of knowledge, and her superior wisdom, true? Both things that come naturally to any intelligent creature of her great age—Things acquired through the growth process, correct? She is too old to worry about offspring, but the hatchling will eventually be an outcast, maybe even from its hatching. And doesn’t her kind of dragon mature more slowly, taking a few score of years before their bodies are mature enough to actually produce eggs? And where would it find a suitable mate?”

Ellis nodded, seeing her point. “I think you’re right. We should tell her.”

“Can you get me in to see her?” Janet asked him.

“Unless she’s at Council or out hunting, she stays with the egg in her quarters. But I believe Anika can get us admittance, and I think we should all go together. Think you could do it, beloved?” he asked, turning to Anika, who, seeing the facts as well, nodded in agreement. “Well, now that’s settled, let’s go eat. Then Anika can go work the magic of personal connections. Alright?” The girls nodded, and then they all did just that, heading to the common room, where a succulent meal was waiting for them.

As they ate in companionable silence, Janet seemed pensive. When they were done, Anika left to request an audience with Lady Killian, and Janet asked Ellis if they could go flying again.

When he agreed, they went out to the balcony, where they both assumed their Dragon forms. Janet was stunned when she realized how much larger she was than Ellis, in this form. “Is this normal?” she asked him. “I mean is a female Dragon usually larger than a male?”

“No, it’s not the norm. Male and female are usually about the same size. Some females are larger than the average males, just as some of the males are smaller than the average females ... The difference has just never been so extreme.” He was not embarrassed or ashamed, which startled him a bit. He started to say something else, but was interrupted by a bark and whine from Guardian.

“Oh, Guardian! Ellis ... I’d totally forgotten about him!” she said mournfully. “How am I going to carry him around, without any chance of his coming to any harm?” she asked him.

“Well, since you didn’t have any trouble shifting to Dragon form, I guess draconian form shouldn’t be much harder.” Ellis enacted his own words, transforming into a humanoid dragon, slightly larger than the average man.

Janet quickly recognized this form as the one Anika had taken the first night they had slept together. It looked like a cross between an Elf and a Dragon. Janet, thinking of how she transformed into her current form, did the same for this third form, visualizing a humanoid version of her Dragon form. When she had assumed this new form, rather easily, she realized that she was still somewhat larger than Ellis, and that the forms were anatomically correct ... down to their genitals, in proportion to their body sizes. They stood in an upright bipedal position. They could have been reptilian humans, snout, claws, fangs, tail, and all, except for their wings.

Janet could not stop herself from looking Ellis over rather appreciatively, nor her gaze to return to his groin for a long moment, and then turned away, flushing in embarrassment. Instinctively, she conjured two loin cloths out of the air, then handed one to Ellis, who put it on with a rueful smile, flashing his rather sharp fangs.

Janet stepped back inside their bedroom, picked up the Mynkathi cub, then came back out on the balcony, where she stepped up onto the guard rail, from which she leapt into the empty space beyond, snapping her wings open to catch the air and the updrafts she could sense nearby, carrying her and her passenger up into the bright sun-filled afternoon skies, gently flapping her wings to accelerate, twisting her body and tail this way and that to change direction, turning rather lazy circles around Ellis, as he rose into the air as well.

Their coloring in this form was an exact match for their Dragon forms. She was impressed by the maneuverability, speed, and overall grace of movement provided by this hybrid form, the ability to carry something in ones arms without accidentally clawing it or tearing it apart ... not to mention other features she figured to ... exercise ... later on.

As they assumed a formation of flight, side by side, with Ellis slightly to the fore, Janet called to him. “Maybe we should go into the city. We could get some kind of harness made so I could carry Guardian in Dragon form, and then you could show me where I am supposed to go tomorrow morning, and I can maybe pick up this uniform I’m being ‘encouraged’ to wear.”

“I guess that would be a good idea. Well, then, follow me, Janet!” he called out, suddenly pulling in his wings and going into an all-out dive, falling toward the city below.

She followed him, though she kept her wings slightly extended, then, as they neared the rooftops, they both extended their wings once again, pulling out of their dives and coasting just above them. Ellis led them to a flat rooftop—one it seemed was used often for the purpose of transferring to the level of the streets below.

They resumed their Elvish forms, as well as more appropriate clothing, and then Ellis guided her down a lengthy set of stairs, which opened on the main street. Taking her hand in his after she put Guardian on the ground, Ellis guided her through the slight crowd to a tannery, where they put in an order for a harness to which, at the tanner’s advice after hearing their idea, they could hook a basket of some kind large enough and robust enough to carry a full grown Mynkathi or two, let alone Guardian. The harness itself, he explained, would appear when needed, and would grow or shrink to accommodate the wearer.

The Elf also suggested that perhaps a certain magical item he was aware of would be better, and more useful to Guardian himself ... a strange collar that would allow some animals of some intelligence and sentience to shape-shift. He hesitated, and then proceeded to say it had been for his father’s familiar, but an unfortunate encounter with a demon had rendered them both comatose for the past twenty years.

Janet looked down at Guardian who was sitting at her feet, wagging his tail, seemingly having understood what the tanner was saying. “So ... You want to try this collar, hmm?” she asked him, getting a sharp yip of interest in reply. “Well ... Might we have a look at this collar? It seems my protector is interested in it.”

With a nod, the tanner went up a set of stairs in the back room, presumably to his apartments above. He came back a few moments later, carrying a brightly decorated wooden case. He set it on the counter and opened the top, revealing a beautiful collar.

When Janet hesitated, he gestured for her to go ahead and pick it up. She did so reverently, and then went down on one knee to place it around Guardian’s neck.

His form immediately blurred as she stood up, stretching and changing into a humanoid.

When the transformation was complete, Guardian was now an Elf, about seventeen or eighteen years in age, his hair the same coloring as his fur had been. He stood nearly six feet tall, with a lean athletic build.

He wore an amulet on a fine gold chain around his neck ... and nothing else. He was completely naked. The tanner, seeing the transformation his mother had once told him would occur in his lifetime, quickly closed up his shop, then came back to the three and rather rudely turned Janet’s face around so that he could take a close look at her eyes. He quickly let her go, backed off a pace and knelt down on one knee. “Forgive me, My Lady,” he said. “I did not recognize you. And I am sorry for the lie I told you about the collar. You see, my father was a magic-user, but my mother was High Priestess of the temple of Arissa in one of the major Elvish communities—One which, unfortunately, fell to agents of the Dark over thirteen years ago.

“My mother used an artifact that used her own life-force to transport her through the barriers that protect the Isle. She died telling me what had happened and why she had brought the collar here, to me. You see, she was also a powerful seer. She foresaw our meeting. The collar is a holy artifact. She told me that, when I met the one the collar was meant for, I would know.

“When you walked in, today, I had a feeling the time had come. It was intended to work only for the Chosen Protector of Arissa’s Representative. I beg your forgiveness, My Lady.”

“Your caution is understandable, I think. Now, please, get up.” She was startled by all of this.

“N-n-n-n-need c-c-c-clothes.” Guardian interjected.

“Yes, you most certainly do!” Ellis said with a laughing glitter in his eyes. He conjured up some clothes to his size, a match in style to Janet’s clothing.

Having seen them both dress and undress before, Guardian quickly got these on in proper order and condition. Janet, an idea coming to her, unclasped her Focus Stone from her shoulder, then, holding it in her fist with one of the points of the star-shaped crystal sticking out, she touched the amulet at his neck, then the clothing as well, somehow instinctively linking the clothing to the amulet, so that Guardian would have the clothing whenever he returned to this form.

Returning the Stone to its place, Janet looked up to see everyone looking at her in surprise. “We can’t continually be using up some of our strength conjuring clothes for Guardian, and this way we won’t have to. And, besides, we still have to get to the Healers’ Guildhall, and I don’t know if Healer Rilla will allow him inside, especially as a wolf. I mean, they likely have to keep the place extremely clean. They wouldn’t want anything carrying any germs inside. Maybe this way they’ll let him come with me. How is he supposed to protect me if he’s not there?”

“Of course, you’re right. Well, how much do we owe you, fine sir?” Ellis asked the tanner.

“You misunderstand, milord. The collar was to be given, not sold. As for the harness, consider it a gift. I am a member of the island’s militia. If ever you have need of me, I will come.”

“Thank you, um, you did not tell us your name. It will be hard to call for you if I don’t know your name, wouldn’t you say, Ellis?” Janet asked, in a somewhat humorous tone of voice.

“Oh, forgive me milady. My name is Collanyral, at your service, My Lady, My Lord. And, milady, should you ever need a dress or any kind of special clothing, please, come to me—or rather, my daughter. She has been earning some money of her own, of late, selling some designs for clothing she has drawn. She is also an excellent seamstress. And she has yet to reach her Awakening, though I am expecting it to come soon, in two, three years or so. Her mother was also of that temple I mentioned. She, unfortunately, did not make it out alive. Verissa is the light of my life, nowadays.”

“Thank you for the offer. I may take you up on that, someday soon—two of us, in fact. You see, I may be getting married soon. And a dear friend of mine may be too. We’ll see soon. May I meet her soon?” Janet asked.

“You probably will, tomorrow. As I said, she does the tailoring as a means to earn a little money for herself. She is entering her novitiate at the Healer’s Guild Hall, tomorrow morning,” Collanyral said. “I’m afraid she is a little out of sorts, right now ... the excitement has been keeping her up the last few days.”

Janet gave Ellis a worried look. “Maybe we can help. She won’t be any good to herself if she falls asleep in the middle of the class, on the first day, now will she?”