Mail Notification: Just a moment of your time

  Miss Smith,

  I understand that there is a certain level of friction going on between you and the crew I hired to work with you. At the moment, I am heading to a star dock in Captain Dagnit's ship to procure a new vessel. Both Pamulur and the captain have been left on the planet with supplies. As you can tell, I had a system receiver installed. When I procure a new vessel, I will return and we can part ways with Captain Dagnit.

  I have left instructions for them not to pursue you. They will remain at the river you have left them at. I would urge you to consider this as simply business and to put aside your emotions.

  Grant Pinok Yester the 3rd

  Zelda glares at the letter. Set aside my emotions. She fantasizes about biting the head off the oversized bird's head. After spending far too much in her indulgence. She starts to get up but winces. Not getting out of here by walking. The damage to her wings is extensive. Wouldn't be surprised if there were broken bones. She weighs her options. To continue fleeing or to return to the river.

  There is some crunching of the forest loam approaching her. Zelda looks in the direction nervous before growing annoyed. I need to expand my vision towards—

  A sword pins her wing down. A curse word escapes out of Zelda. Before she can zip the sword away a hand grasps the pommel and pushes it further into the ground. The hand doesn't let go.

  “About tired of you ignoring me.” Dagnit growls. The tablet translating her a moment later. Zelda just glares at the woman. It does not cow the cat. “Pamulur said I should be understanding and take my time, but I grow tired of that. You keep fleeing before I can finish talking to you.” More silence from Zelda. “You look even worse off than before, how do you expect to survive if all you keep doing is running away from things you don't like.”

  Dagnit sits down, her hand never leaving the sword pommel. It's going to suck, but if I pull away I could zip out after the sword tears through the wing. She starts to look further to move.

  “Is talking to me worse than tearing your wing further?” Dagnit says with a sigh, clearly seeing where Zelda's eyes were looking.

  “Whats there to talk about, we have an understanding.” Zelda finally growls out.

  “To hell we have an understanding.” Dagnit hisses back.

  “You're here on a job. I'm the job. If it comes down to exp or my life, its exp. Anything else you wish to make me understand or do you just hate that I stopped being your pet.” Zelda hisses out.

  Another glare off commences. Dagnit is the first to break it off looking up. It's awhile before she meets Zelda glare again. “I claimed responsibility for you, fed you and tried to guide you. You feel betrayed because I wasn't happy with you surviving. I was upset due to you deciding things on your own that impacted the entire crew.” Zelda glare at the cat intensifies. “Yes, I understand you weren't of sound mind. Yes I know that even if I knew it would cure you I wouldn't have turned it over if it meant the death of that Dragon.”

  “You already told me you don't want to kill them.” More venom from Zelda.

  Dagnit sighs, “The moment I received exp from your kill, I thought we were all condemned to die. Would you have been okay with us being slaughtered so you can live?”

  Zelda looks away, “That didn't happen.”

  “No it hasn't happened yet. Just cause one Dragon is looking to adopt doesn't mean the next Dragon you deprive of its kin will be so forgiving.”

  Zelda looks back at Dagnit, “Right back to the crux then. My survival doesn't matter. Why are you here? I know he told you to stay at the river.”

  “He doesn't care if you die out here, figures that will get you to a Return pad or you will grow from this.” Another glare, “Yes, I do actually care whether you die out here or not, Zelda.”

  “Says the one holding a sword in my wing.”

  “To prevent you from fleeing further to your death.” She hisses. She then softens her stare. “I'm glad you're going to live. I was just upset at the utter disregard you had for everyone's safety. Pamulur said it was a moment of instinct but doesn't change my anger at the moment."

  “Why didn't you just say that?” Zelda yells.

  “Cause you never let me get to that before you stop listening. You're frustratingly stubborn. Mister cow man was right on that.”

  Zelda's mood plummets, “I still want to kill them all.”

  “Even though you will be one.”

  “It doesn't dissuade me. They need to die.”

  “You said all.”

  “Of course I did.”

  “So you need to be ready for retaliation when you kill one. What's the point if you kill one and then the flock kills you.” Zelda frowns as Dagnit continues. “Look, your crusade is going to get people killed, specifically the ones helping you. You better be ready for war before you fire your next shot.”

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  “As if you will be there.”

  The cat frowns then her lips become wry. “You're mad that I won't be. Sorry, I don't want to die, Zelda.” Zelda starts to grumble when Dagnit pulls the sword out of her wing. “Good talk, well I'll leave you to your sulking.”

  “You could have warned me, and what do you mean leave me.” Zelda hisses in pain.

  “Oh, I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.” Dagnit purrs.

  Zelda glare grows once again, “Are you seriously messing with me?”

  Dagnit shrugs, then sighs. “I wanted you to understand my anger. I think you do now.” She looks up at the forest ceiling. “I am sorry, I made you feel like you didn't matter.” She then walks off.

  Damn it.

  -----

  Pamulur yells at Dagnit.

  The tablet translates, “What do you mean you left her there.” There is a pause. “Why is that still translating?”

  Dagnit has her canary eating grin. It causes Zelda to roll her eyes. “O it's still on cause our baby bird is still listening.”

  “Your theory that she can hear through her vision distortion.” Pamulur scoffs.

  “No other reason for her to rip out her knock out implant after Frankie suggested using it over trying to chase her down.”

  Pamulur rolls her eyes, “Sedative.” As the word translates Zelda zips to an open spot in camp. She is still prone and very injured. “You left her in this state?”

  Pamulur rushes over while Dagnit walks. They each take a side and start mending various surface wounds.

  “She added to this state.” Zelda growls out.

  The cat exclaims, “Selling me out are you. I'll find retribution soon, birdie.”

  Zelda rolls her eyes and waits for the healing. From pet to bird, is it because I have wings?

  “This is going to take a few days to finish.”

  “What wrong Pamulur, has corporate life sapped the mana from you.”

  “Her wounds are extensive, you are already out of mana yourself.” The rabbit glowers at the cat.

  “Healing magic is not my focus.” She says flippantly.

  -----

  Zelda laid next to the fire while Dagnit messed with setting up a rather elaborate tent structure. Pamulur was going over various scans she had done of Zelda. The doctor looks to the side and becomes visibly annoyed. A few more taps on her tablet and she walks over to a specific box. After a moment of rooting she pulls out a familiar sphere. She brings it over to Zelda. She looks at Zelda and decides on a foot.

  It annoys Zelda but she puts a four clawed foot on the orb. I have a heel claw now, no wonder Dagnit calls me a bird. She pushes the mana through, finding no greater resistance from using her foot than what she remembers from her hand. Definitely different from before. The orb goes black, but there is a small green glow in the center. Pamulur starts talking as Dagnit wanders over.

  “Ninety nine space, one life.” Zelda frowns at the ratio. I am supposed to change my body based off of such little life magic. Dagnit puts a hand on Zelda's shoulder.

  “Don't get discouraged, birdie, you have a space core. They will even out some after you start on the life.”

  Zelda grows morose, “The space core still hasn't grown.”

  Pamulur frowns at that, “Still? Perhaps it's different for Dragons. It's stable, you could try to create a life core if you want.”

  “I'll download some vid—” Zelda frowns, “I won't be able to understand them will I.”

  “I'm afraid you lost your ear implant when you lost your ears.” Pamulur explains to the further morosing Zelda. “In fact, I don't understand how you're hearing us at all.”

  “It's her eyes.” Dagnit chimes in. It gets an annoyed stare from the bunny. The cat ignores her and looks down at Zelda. “Don't worry, you have healing experts here.”

  Zelda looks up expectantly at Pamulur, but the bunny doctor only meets Zelda's eyes briefly before looking at Dagnit. “I don't actually have the aspect, Dagnit does.”

  Zelda mood returns to plummeting. She swallows her pride and turns to Dagnit. “Would you please teach me how to use life magic?”

  “Sure, birdie.” She walks over to the tablet and hits some buttons. She then makes more sounds. The delay between the tablet and what she said stretches. Before Zelda is convinced Dagnit turned off the program, the tablet speaks. “Set the delay to be longer, it's about time you learn Astaros.”

  “What happened to learning life magic?”

  Dagnit just smiles and says a few things. The delay further annoys Zelda.

  “I think you meant to say, ‘What happened to learning life magic?’”

  Zelda glare only makes Dagnit grin wider.

  -----

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  “You're not to start your core till you can heal this scratch.” Dagnit thrust her hand in front of Zelda.

  Zelda doesn't wait for the tablet before responding. Recognizing the repeated command enough. “Why not? Figured out pull the mana type.” Her Astaros still needed work.

  “Amateur, how are you going to know if it's pure if you can't even close a wound.” Dagnit scowls.

  Zelda frowns but waits for the tablet to confirm what she heard. She rolls her eyes and outstretches her foot towards Dagnit's hand. The mana pushes out and the wound starts to slowly close. Zelda runs out of mana before it is sealed. She glares at the scratch.

  “You're making them bigger each time.” She hisses in English.

  She receives a smack to the head from the cat, “Say it in Astaros. Of course it's bigger. I need you to get better at it.” The wound seals as Dagnit berates.

  Zelda huffs but she asks a different question, “Shouldn't Grant be back by now?” She gets ready to listen to every word.

  “I figure he is still working through insurance. That or he is getting something special made.” Zelda waits to confirm with the tablet. She smiles when she hears she was mostly right. So that's the word for insurance.

  She has a new question. She frowns as she thinks it through her new language. “Special made?”

  “Speak in full sentences, birdie. His ship is going to have to accommodate a Dragon. Now not a full size one but you're already bigger than you were before.” Dagnit says with a wry smile.

  Not by much. Only two hundred centimeters tall… Okay, that might be much. Zelda view pans out. Her tail was no longer mechanical but fully her own. The wings finally mended were longer than she was tall. Her neck had stretched almost long as her tail. Her nostril laid on top of her snout. A snout full of sharp teeth in front with grinding molars in back. Her tongue was longer as well. It was capable of grasping things. Not that I am going to get into the habit of doing such. Her body was fully scaled, the brown almost all black now with a few emerald scales interspersed. The only great patch of them was a emerald triangle on her chest. In fact the only human feature that still remained was a mohawk of brown hair that stubbornly claimed the middle of the top of her head before stretching down half her neck. Bleeding horse mane. Her legs force her into a rather t-rex stance. I don't even have the comically tiny arms.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Pamulur still hasn't seen sign of forelimbs. But all Dragons four legged.”

  Dagnit takes a moment to parse it. “‘Seen any sign’ and ‘Dragons are four’.” Zelda grouses at Dagnit not actually responding to her statement. “Say it.” Zelda rolls her eyes but does. “Good, birdie. As for your limbs, maybe you're not a full Dragon yet.”

  The words stir Zelda's heart for a moment. It causes a frown which raises a questioning look from the cat. She only responds with a “Nothing.”