Steel Wolf

A New Blood Shadow

Lakish Baknel and Tanaya were lounging in the living room of their co-opted house across the street from the park.

"Can you function with only one arm?" Tanaya asked bluntly.

"Aye, Commander," he replied. "I may not be able to hold a shield or both swords at once, but you know how well I can sling a single piece of steel." He chuckled. "And, I'm sure you heard the comments about my one-armed pushups."

"I was thinking more along the lines of running, Lakish," she said. "Will you be able to keep up?"

"I haven't Shifted since the battle, so I can't say for sure. If you'd like, I can go into the forest and do some testing on it." He rubbed his nose. "I'll ask Gaspar and a couple others to go with me. That way, if we run into trouble, I won't be alone. They can also press me to challenge myself. If anything's amiss, Tanaya, I'll letcha know."

"No, we'll just wait until tomorrow night's Grass Moon. My first shift was the Crow Moon, last month. I had no control over shifting, as I hadn't done so before. The Blood Shadows were turned as the moon neared its lowest point. With all the instructions the Dark Mage gave me, I suppose he forgot that point. With what the Queen Mother said about him, though, he may not have said anything because he's an asshole."

The front door opened, Giselle walking in.

"Look who found me!" enthused the healer. A smiling Tandala stepped in.

"Great Deity! I'm so sorry I didn't seek you out, sooner, Tandala!" The giant warrioress was out of her seat in a flash, crossing the living room to grab her sister in a bear hug. Tandala wrapped her arms around Tanaya's neck in return, clinging fiercely to her heroine.

"When this body heard you had slain Alderus, Highness-Sister, this body was greatly relieved. She did not seek you until now, giving Your Highness time to rest from the ordeal. No offense is taken, Highness-Sister."

Giving the monk a squeeze and kiss on the cheek, Tanaya set her sister down.

"Mom and Dad say hi, and come visit when you can," Tanaya changed the subject. "You won't believe how big August has gotten!" Tanaya said, motioning her sister and Giselle to sit down. Sensing that "girl talk" was forthcoming, Lakish excused himself and strode out the door.

"Tanaya," began Giselle, "you're not acting like you normally do. You're not one for small talk. Even to your family. Something is bothering you. If you'd prefer, I'll step outside so you two can talk."

"It is no wonder the Queen's Guard has such a fine reputation. The abilities this body has seen amongst them are the finest ever witnessed. Their physical capabilities are well known, but this body feels that their mental statuses are exemplary, also."

"Great Deity..." Tanaya said in astonishment. "Am I that easy to read? No, Giselle. Stay, please. I've been wanting to speak to you both." She furrowed her brow and heaved a sigh, not knowing where to begin.

"Tanaya, what's wrong?" asked Giselle.

The warrioress took a huge breath, let it out slowly.

"The night before we left Pathwood Keep, Serenna and I were very intimate," she said. "For a long time. During that time, I...grew...for want of a better word. A penis just seemed to spring up. We played a lot, and experimented. It seems I can extend or retract it at will. Serenna said it was probably due to the Shift's effects on my physiology."

"That could very well be, and most likely is the case," replied Giselle. "Did it cause you any pain?"

"None at all. It was quite a pleasurable experience. Just unexpected." Tanaya heaved a sigh. "Also, I had a dream yesterday afternoon. It began like the others I told you about, Giselle. This time, though, the people who spoke to me in the forest were completely different. I went into town as usual, but this time my younger self beat the hell out of orc. It was Serenna, not Maylee that younger me saved and ran off with. When I followed them, after the Queen's Guard had passed, there were a boy and girl playing in the front yard of a large house. They both ran to me, calling me Mommy. It felt so natural.