"Blood Sign: The Heiress"

Chapter Six - When everything changed.

 No one slept that night. There was a strange feeling of danger and uncertainty that did not allow Kasaki to sleep a wink. Iona, trying to cheer up his comrade, ran around and cheerfully waved his arms. It helped, I must say, only so-so. Looking at the moon, Kasaki suddenly thought about what would happen next. Well, they wander through forests and meadows, so what? What should I do? Where to live when the cold comes? In general, their situation was so-so, even if Iona, being a simple child, did not understand this. Suddenly, something crunched in the bushes. Kasaki shuddered and jumped up sharply, Iona stopped and looked around. She practiced with the cloak for a couple of days and could do something, albeit almost nothing, but Kasaki was completely ready for battle. Silence hung in the air after the crunch of the branch. Kasaki peered into the bushes, and Iona turned her head like crazy. Suddenly, a wolf jumped out of a thick thicket. Growling and baring his teeth, he attacked Iona, knocking the girl down.

"Iona!" Kasaki shouted and, instantly appearing nearby, threw the wolf aside with a powerful kick.

Having made a couple of turns, the wolf, falling to the ground covered in dust, whined.

"Wolves? Is it really that mutant again?" Kasaki thought, looking around nervously.

Iona stood up, saw the wolf and squealed. Taking this as a call to action, three or four more wolves jumped out of the bushes. Kasaki scattered two of them at once, however, one managed to knock the guy down from behind and, pinning him to the ground with his powerful paws, began gnawing on his neck. Apparently it was a leader, his bite was so strong and his paws were so heavy.

"Don't get up!"

As soon as Kasaki felt fear for his own life, a small, gray tentacle tried to touch the side of the wolf. Turning to Iona, the wolf, baring his teeth that were in Kasaki's karma, growled without getting up from him. Iona swallowed and stepped back. Having shrunk, she seemed like a complete nobody to the wolf, and he, in search of food, pounced on an easy victim.

"Iona!" Kasaki yelled.

Having landed on the girl and immediately biting off a large piece of her, while the baby was crying, the wolf swallowed it.

"Paws off!" Kasaki exclaimed, blowing himself up.

"Crap! He gnawed at my neck!" Holding the wound, Kasaki, limping, ran up to the wolf and pounced on him.

Throwing the guy aside with his powerful paw, the wolf was about to bend down towards the girl, when suddenly he backed away from her. Stepping aside, the wolf suddenly contorted his muzzle as if he had eaten a whole lemon at once and fell dead. Looking closer, Kasaki saw a gray substance appear through the wolf's fur and completely absorb it. Soon, the wolf's body turned into a gray, shabby statue, which, after lying there for about five seconds, melted. Having turned into a gray puddle of decent size, the remains of the wolf rushed towards Iona at full speed. The girl, crying in pain, had long since lost consciousness and may have resigned herself to death. However, when the gray slurry literally flowed completely into Iona's wound and healed it, the baby came to her senses. Opening her eyes and standing up, she suddenly began to increase in size. Kasaki, being in painful shock, simply watched without blinking.

If before Iona resembled a five-year-old child, now she looked like a teenage girl. Short, tousled hair turned into neat, smooth hair that reached Iona's waist, into beautiful curls. A figure appeared, the hips became narrower, and small breasts appeared. The cloak grew in proportion to the girl, now it hung on her shoulders, the sleeves hung neatly, and cuffs appeared on them. The high collar became twice as short and tighter, and pockets appeared.

"And... Iona?" Kasaki whispered uncertainly.

The girl looked at herself in surprise, spinning around her axis.