My name's not Velseir

Chapter 21: [Changes]

Katorns pov:

I stared at my coms for a moment, too scared to actually open the messages. When I finally mustered the courage to read them I was greeted by two ominous responses.
"Call me as soon as you see this."
"There's been a development."
My heart sank after reading those words. I got ready faster than when going into battle and made my way to the door. I called in a favour and got a vehicle sent over as I didn't have the time to waste waiting for a public chauffeur. The drive to the lab was tense but short. Once I arrived I got out and thanked the driver before rushing straight to Irogana's office on the 3rd floor. I know she said to call her once I saw the messages but at this point I was too worried and wanted to see them immediately.

Once I had reached her office, her assistant informed me that she was in the treatment room and had been since before her assistant had arrived. I dropped a quick message to her via her coms and headed over to where she was supposed to be. I had just rounded the corner when she greeted me.
"you're here. perfect timing too." she said with exhaustion laced into her words. " you look better than before but still appear to be beside yourself. I suppose that's why you didn't call before coming here." A small smirk was seen poking out from beneath her drained exterior. She was right about me being besides myself with worry but that's not what I wanted to be hearing right now.

"You look like you have been awake for a ver (week) thank you for looking after them." I exchanged pleasantries out of courtesy but this wasn't why I was here. The thought that something had gone wrong was eating away at my sanity, all I wanted to do was see them, especially Velseir. " How are they?" I asked , trying to keep the unease from seeping into my words as I did so.

"They're stable now. it appears as though the procedure to stabilize velseir was successful however... his appearance is... not what it used to be. I will allow you to see him but please try and remain calm. The important thing is that he has gotten better."

"What do you mean he's not as he was?" her words spun around in my head. I was relieved to hear that he isn't in danger now but what does different mean for velseir? Instead of letting these questions plague me further I moved over to the treatment room door intending to enter. The simple task of opening the door seemed impossible until Irogana opened it for me.

Once inside I let my eyes scan the room for them. After a moment I found them curled up in the corner of the room atop a makeshift nest. It had been constructed from a collection of towels with one of Irogana's lab coats draped over their sleeping forms as a blanket. my heart was pounding in my chest as i approached them and i tried to calm my rising unease. softly i called out to them my voice barely above a whisper and i watched as they stirred awake. Kesey jumped up and came running over while Velseir who was still half asleep lazily stretched with his eyes still tightly shut. I petted Kesey as I observed Velseir as he woke from his peaceful slumber checking closely trying to find out what was different about him. I couldn't see what irogana was talking about. Why was she so worried about my reaction? What can't I see?

I merely had to blink to find out and finally did I understand why she was acting the way she was. He had ears on the top of his head. Not human ears but ones eerily similar to those of a Zedral. they had previously been lying flat on his head blending in with his thick fur. The ears weren't the only change, when he turned to look at me I saw them, his eyes were different too.

His once dark brown eyes were now completely red. Voided red and they sparkled with tiny flecks of gold. His gaze held my own drawing me me in with innocent curiosity and confusion. I felt as though I had fallen into an endless crimson storm.
"Velseir?" His name slipped from my lips more like a question than a call.

I thought I had seen all there was to see and that this was all that was going surprise me until he stood up. He stumbled over to me with all the grace of a newborn Vrin his balance thrown off by the new addition. Attached to his lower back as though the placement was natural there was a tail. A thick fur covered tail with a fluffy tuft at its tip. I was completely unprepared for all of these changes and my mind had finally gone blank.

I was brought back to my senses when I heard Velseir's quiet chirp. I never realised how relieved that small sound could make me before I stopped hearing it. He came closer wrapping his tiny limbs around my arm and I couldn't help but scoop them both up. I held them for a long moment with them sinking into my embrace.

"You reacted better than I had expected." Irogana's voice sounded braking the quiet calm of the room. I had forgotten that she was even there and it startled me. I tried to act as though I hadn't just flinched but received a knowing smirk in response.

"How did this happen and what is it that 'has' happened?" I questioned remembering the lack of answers I have received thus far.

"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" Irogana responded.

"Tell me both summarize it and I'll ask further on things I didn't grasp."

"I used silinorg DNA to displace and manage the conflicts between the DNA that was already there and those that had been transplanted. His current appearance is the aftermath of this procedure. It went well considering this is the first time I have used my genetics to help a patient."

"So you used him as an experiment!? How did you even come up with the idea to use silinorg genes in that manner?"

"As unfortunate as you make what I did sound essentially yes he was used as an experiment. The idea crossed my mind long after you had left and Velseir was crying again. He wanted more blood and I tried seeing once more if he only responded to my own. Five different species of blood had no effect on Velseir's craving but the idea formed after trying to feed him pure silinorg blood as his response to it was positive unlike the others."

"You gave him such a precious resource as a test?"

"That's blood was acquired privately and I could use it as I see fit. My birth giver was the one who submitted the sample at my request. Due to a common factor being established I decided to incorporate specific silinorg genes into the test. I have much experience when it comes to isolating individual traits and removing them however I had to take a page out of 'their' book when it came to combining foreign entities."

"Finally something useful came from that wretched waste of a race." All of what was said so far I understood but there were still something I didn't understand. "I understand that this stabilized his rapidly declining health but why has his physical appearance changed so much in the process?"

"In order for the procedure to work I had to leave in the shifter genes. I had hoped I could do it without them however that wouldn't have achieved the correct result. Once I had injected him with the serum and nothing happened I thought it was a failure. Although not long after I had begun looking for a plan B he began to shift. It was similar to a halflings pubescent shift. Half blood silinorg's such as myself are no different from pure bloods before reaching the age of 13. After that our bodies take on a more permanent form based on the intermingled race. I suspect that the transformation Velseir underwent followed a similar principle."

"So he is stuck like this?" I held Velseir close to my chest thinking about how overwhelming this must all be for him in such a short amount of time. How was the small creature handling everything I wish I could read his mind so I knew what he needed from me, or at the very least be able to communicate with him in some way.

Irogana's words were soft as she assured me that velseir seemed content with his new look even though it will take some time to adjust.

For the both of us.

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Hellooooooo darlings I hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless of it being a little late.

Please vote and leave a comment to give me motivation and make sure the next one isn't late too.