Sword and Snow

Emery

In the end, it didn't take them very long to finish processing the dragonblood, only a few hours into the night. Emery wasn't even sure they had passed midnight yet.

She and Avuri had chosen to remain where they had Cultivated for a little bit longer to check over their new bodies. The area had been cleaned by a burst of energy, but the damage was not anything like what Kord had produced. Instead, it looked like theirs had been a more tightly controlled blast. But after the three seconds to take in their surroundings, Emery ended up enamored with Avuri when she had turned around to actually see her.

Her wife's pale skin was dotted with pure white scales that shimmered when they caught the light. The pattern of the scales seemed completely random; there were patches here and there with groupings of a few scales in some places, while other spots were covered by a single scale on its own. Without any clothing, it was pretty obvious at a glance that not only were the scales scattered over Avuri's entire body, but they were also symmetrical, with her left side mirroring her right.

The sight was truly stunning. Emery had had to make more than a single concerted effort to avoid staring. Between Avuri's bare skin, the new scales, and her white-silver hair, the image of her standing there was like being struck by lightning every time she looked.

Avuri's new wings were similarly beautiful, the white scales covering them the way one would expect, more fully than they covered Avuri's body. Her horns were similarly white, looking like the purest ivory Emery had ever seen. And when she had gotten closer to examine them at Avuri's request, she found they were cold to the touch, even causing a bit of mist to roll off them without effort.

Emery had always thought of Avuri as an empress of ice, especially with the way her spiritual body looked. Seeing her now, without any of the regalia, but instead with the draconic features, Emery felt she'd need to add an addendum to her estimation. A draconic empress of ice was more accurate now. And even without the regalia, Avuri's entire form just emanated royalty and grace.

Emery's new form, in direct contrast, felt far more monstrous. When Emery had looked over herself initially, her father's humanoid dragon form was brought to mind. Her arms and legs were completely covered in black scales, with zero gaps. Similarly, the vast majority of her torso was covered as well. There were a few gaps, but having seen Kord's transformation, the gaps made sense. Looking over her body, it seemed as though the scales would have started in a similar harness-like pattern on her body as well, and then spread from there.

Still, all of her vital points were covered, which she supposed was good. Her hands and feet were also scaled over, though she hadn't gained claws like her son had. There were certainly sharp nails, but the shape of her fingers and toes were still rounded and unchanged.

When Emery was first looking herself over, she was half terrified to check her face, worried the scales would continue over the entire thing. Thankfully, they didn't - instead, the scales covered her neck up to about her jawline but didn't seem to travel into her hair. However, there was a patch of scales that began near her hairline and covered some of her forehead and the bridge of her nose. She thought it made her look angry.

Finally, she also had three new appendages. Two of them were horns. Unlike Avuri's regal looking ones, Emery's were more dangerous looking. They were made of a similar material, but were a dark, burnished black with an undertone of red. While Avuri's extended mostly straight upward, away from her head, Emery's rounded backward to trace the curve of her head before turning upward at the ends. In addition, they had several branches along the length, each of which were tapered like antler spokes, although they weren't very sharp.

And then there was the tail. The one feature that Emery didn't want.

She had played it for laughs a number of times, just saying that she didn't want a tail because 'reasons', but she was actually more concerned about it for what she believed to be a legitimate concern - balance.

It was common knowledge that plenty of animals with tails generally utilized them for a greater sense of balance. And when she had spent so many years learning how to move her body in combat, she was worried that the addition of a tail would ruin a huge swath of that work. She would need to relearn so many forms because of the new appendage either getting in the way, or throwing off her body's sense of balance.

Emery could admit to herself that, yes, a tail could have plenty of upsides as well, not least of which would be the improved sense of balance once she got used to it. But until then, she was worried that it would be a huge detriment, and a potential hindrance if she needed to defend her family sooner rather than later.

As the two of them got up and moved around to test their new forms, Emery kept taking breaks to hold and stare at the tail, torn about how to feel about it. It was honestly more flexible than she had expected it to be, given that it was sturdy and covered in scales. She was even able to wrap it around her waist and cinch it in there, which removed some of her balance problems but just felt weird.

She also didn't count on just how flexible her body would be even with the new scales. She had initially assumed they would feel like wearing tight, semi-flexible armor but it was more flexible than that. Hell, she felt like they were more flexible than regular clothing.

She and Avuri had walked around for a few minutes on their own before they finally came together in the center of their clearing. Both of them had processed their personal changes in a quick way, though they would both probably need more time to seriously take it all in.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Their first move upon meeting in the middle of everything was an embrace. Emery felt some of the tension leave her, immediately soothed by Avuri's touch. She whispered a quiet "I love you" in the silence of the outdoors, which Avuri responded to in similar whispers.

When they separated from the hug, Emery held Avuri by the shoulders at arm's length, looking over her new form. She smiled, her eyes ghosting over Avuri's face, taking note of the few scales that were now dotting it like freckles, before meeting her wife's eyes. "You are beautiful."

Avuri reached up to place a hand over Emery's on her shoulder. She smiled, taking the complement for what it was, but she also noticed the underpinnings that Emery left unsaid.

"Emery. So are you."

Emery smiled, but she sure didn't feel it. It wasn't a feeling so overt that she was disgusted with her new appearance or anything like that, but rather that she felt like her new form was designed for a single focus - combat - and nothing else. She had no doubt that despite Avuri's body being so aesthetically pleasing, it would similarly be deadly. Emery was disappointed that she looked so singularly dangerous.

Avuri must have been able to read the disappointment through their connection, or in the insincere smile on her face, because she leaned forward to rest her forehead against Emery's, while cupping her cheeks. She had to be careful, avoiding their horns from bumping into one another, and the position they ended in felt more awkward than anything else, but she still got the sentiment across.

"Ri, I just look scary."

"Well. I won't deny that you'll probably be intimidating on the battlefield. But that's nothing new for you, love." Avuri said, backing away so they could look into each other's eyes. And because their new horns were rather annoying to work around.

Emery looked down at the ground instead, able to see the front of her body and the way she was covered in the same black scales with that burning red undertone from neck to toes. She leaned forward, slipping back into Avuri's space and resting her face in the crook of her wife's neck as the feeling of dissatisfaction settled within her.

"Em, you have a tendency to get an idea in your head and not stray from that." Avuri said, giving Emery a strong, comforting hug. "Sometimes, that's a strength, but other times…not so much. You're stuck on what you saw right now, right? The nearly full body scales, the dark colors, all of that. But you didn't even take a moment to appreciate the details."

Emery had to lift her head up after that, as Avuri ran her fingers up and down Emery's sides in a rather suggestive way, staring at Avuri with a flat look.

Avuri just smiled back. "Did you realize that your scales are soft to the touch? Their texture is quite nice too. But even more than that, I think, right now, you're more you than you've ever been."

Emery had to take a moment to be sure she didn't react to that rashly, knowing full well that Avuri would never mean that as an insult. "How do you figure?"

"I'm glad you asked." Avuri said, with a lovely smile. She took a minute to pop a blanket from her storage ring and set it on the ground, then added two more for a little cushion, then sat down on them and offered Emery her hand.

When Emery took it and moved to sit beside Avuri, she instead found herself pulled into Avuri's lap. Her wife held her from the side tightly, still trying to be mindful of their horns. "For starters, sure, you look intimidating. Scary. Dangerous." Avuri began, squeezing Emery, as she transitioned into what she was actually trying to get at. "Like no matter what, if I have you on my side, you'll defend me without fail."

Emery snorted, but Avuri just continued. "Em, your scales may look scary, and I'm sure that they're effective at stopping harm, but they're also soft to the touch. Softer than mine, too. And certainly softer than Kord's, which are basically just armor plates. And I think that fits you so well. You are a loving, caring wife and mother. A massive pillar of support for our family. But also an absolute demon to our enemies. That's what I see in your scales."

Emery didn't really have a retort for that. The sentiment was blunt and maybe a little too poetic for her, but she didn't have any way to really argue with it. And she was happy that at least Avuri genuinely meant it. She could feel the sincerity through their link - Avuri wasn't just saying things to make Emery feel better.

"Also - and this may just be a personal thing from me - but…you're warm." Avuri said, tightening her squeeze and pulling Emery flush against her. "My horns may be radiating cold, but your entire body is just emanating warmth. And comfort. There is absolutely no one I would rather be here with, or anything I would change."

Emery could feel the dissatisfaction ebbing away as she was held comfortably in Avuri's lap. She was equally sure, once she let her emotions settle, that she wouldn't be as upset over her draconic appearance as she had been at first. It might needle her on occasion, but she had to admit that her new form wasn't ugly or disturbing - it just wasn't what she wanted after seeing Avuri's.

"You have to say that." Emery said, settling into her wife's embrace. She was sure that Avuri could feel her emotions settling, and hear in her voice that the retort had no bite.

"Like hell I do." Avuri said indignantly. "You know damn well that I will happily give you shit when I think it's deserved."

That was no lie. Emery had been at the mercy of Avuri's merciless teasing before for some of her more unique fashion choices. She smiled, thinking back to some of those memories.

"But you don't deserve any of that right now." Avuri continued. She nuzzled her nose into the scaled crook of Emery's neck, resting her face there, then practically purred. "You're so warm…"

That finally broke whatever spell Emery had been under, and she laid the side of her head against Avuri's. "I love you. Sorry for being so…like this."

"No apology necessary, love."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, just nuzzled against one another comfortably. Every time either of them shifted, it ended up with either one or both of them getting jabbed by their new horns, unless they were paying extra attention to them.

Avuri was the first to get fed up with it, letting out an annoyed sigh as she separated from Emery's side for the first time since they had sat down.

"I'm done with this. What was the technique to hide these damn horns again? I just want to snuggle with my wife, damn it!"