The New Chimera

Later that night, Carmen heard a knock on her door. “Come in!” She yelled, not looking up from her phone. She was texting Anna about how everything had gone once Anna got home, and she was savoring every word. They could have done it over telepathy, but it just felt…better doing it over text. More real, in a weird way.

It might not have been as good as seeing the chaos with her own eyes, but this was the best she was likely to get at the moment; Anna had forbid Carmen or Lilith from coming home with her, not wanting to give her family two huge shocks in one day. She had said Eve was fine, but Eve had sensed the danger present in being in Anna’s home without Lilith or Carmen and declined the offer.

“Hey, kiddo.” Kirdin said, shutting the door behind him and just sort of awkwardly standing near the door. “I, uh, have a request for you.”

Carmen had Lilith shoot Anna a text saying that Carmen would be busy for a moment and turned her attention to her grandfather. “Oh?” She said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a first. Do tell.”

He fidgeted, not looking her directly in the eyes. “Well, I saw what you did to those beasts, and then to that girl, um, excellent work, by the way, and I was sort of wondering that maybe if you were able to turn things that powerful into those little puppies if maybe it would also work the other way around?”

Carmen frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I see no reason it wouldn’t work, but I can’t make an army that way, if that’s what you’re thinking. Well, not immediately. Think of it like just giving them the Racial Class and altering their appearances to match. Eve tried to do something like that to Fluffy, but it looks like he’s going to have to go through the normal growth period of his species before he shows any signs of being altered.”

“What race did she make him into?” Kirdin asked curiously.

“We ended up going with an advanced form of monster wolf called Plague Wolf. He’ll eventually become immune to disease and poison and will be able to suck it out of others. Then he’ll incubate it inside his body, letting him mix and match traits of those diseases or poisons at will, and secrete them through his claws and fangs. Honestly, it was less about the combat utility and more about making Fluffy live way longer and making his life and Anna’s life better by removing sickness from it.”

Kirdin nodded approvingly. “We’ll have to start keeping a few around the place, they sound handy. But I don’t want you to make an army or anything.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously, once again failing to look her in the eye. “I was wondering if…if was, uh, possible to…um, turn your human parents into dragons?”

Carmen froze, working that over in her head. “I’m…don’t see why it wouldn’t be. Why?”

“Well, I was thinking that training your parents would be a lot easier if they had a better base to start with. A-and they’d also be able to bond with Siph a little better because they’d be able to share that side of her life as well.”

It was a compelling point, but…“Is this about the race difference again?” Carmen asked, narrowing her eyes.

Kirdin waved his hands in front of him frantically. “No, no. Well, alright, it’s a little bit about that, but only a little. I just think it would make things way easier on them.”

She scrutinized his face, trying to decide how truthful he was being. She hadn’t known him long enough to get a really good read, but she was coming to learn that she really didn’t have to try that hard to know what he was thinking. He was an awful actor, and an even worse liar. And so, she was pretty confident that he was telling the truth. “And you’re fine with the fact that you’ll basically have to raise their dragon sides yourself? They’re not going to know how to do anything like that.”

He paused. “It…should be fine. And I’m sure Siph will pitch in too.”

“Do any of them know about you asking me this?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to make sure it was possible before I brought it up to them.”

Carmen thought about that for a moment longer. “It’ll probably take a ton of Mana, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Although, I’m going to give the condition that they’ll have to be able to learn humanization within a month. Otherwise it’s going to be too big of an impact to their daily lives for it to be a good idea right now.”

Kirdin frowned. “Usually we take about 10 years to learn that but…they’ve already got the minds of adults and this new system should speed things up dramatically. I…think it’s doable.”

Carmen sighed. “Alright. If you get their permission, I’ll do it.”

Kirdin let loose a sigh of relief. “I appreciate it, kid. I’ll go talk to Siph now.”

He quickly fled the room, leaving Carmen alone with her phone once again. She let Anna know that she was back and immersed herself in the beautiful mess that was Anna’s current situation once again.

---

Siph gave her father a skeptical look as he knelt before her. “Stop buttering me up. What do you want?”

“I was…maybe hoping that you would help me persuade your spouses to let your daughter turn them into dragons.”

“No. They’re perfectly fine as humans. Stop letting your racism get in the way of my relationship.” She said, glaring.

“It’s not that!” He protested, then, seeing her face, amended that statement. “Mostly not that. I was thinking that this would make their training a lot easier, and it would help the three of you bond, because you can share a new aspect of your lives together. Plus, they’ll get the added bonus of our non-finite lifespan right away, so they’d go back to the prime of their youth now instead of having to wait until whenever humans get their longevity increases.”

Siph clicked her tongue in annoyance. He was right, and she hated that. She was sure this all came from not wanting his daughter to be in love with humans, but she couldn’t deny any of his points. And now that she was thinking about it, there were…other…benefits. Apparently, Familial Bond had made the two of them just as attracted to her dragon form as they were to her human form, but they couldn’t figure out how to do anything meaningful when they had such drastically different sizes.

But it was the prospect of making them young again that was the real attractive part of it all. She felt guilty about having a body that hadn’t aged a day since she hit her prime while her spouses were stuck with bodies that were already showing their age.

She contemplated that for a full minute, drawing out the awkward silence for as long as possible. Then, she sighed. “Alright, I’ll talk to them. Go to bed, I’ll let you know when they’ve made a decision.”

He gave her a smile. “Thanks, sweetie.”

She left the room and went back to her own. When she opened the door, she was ambushed by Jessica, who sidled up to Siph. “Where have you been?” She whispered seductively. “We’ve been waiting for you, you know.”

Siph smiled and gently pushed her wife off of her. “I’d love to play, but we have to take care of some business first.”

Jessica shrunk away, instantly back in serious mode. Siph really loved that about her wife; while her wife loved to romp around, she never let it get in the way of anything. If there was something that needed to be done while she was relaxing, Jessica would get that done without any fuss and only then go back to what she was doing.

“Of course. Do you need Mike as well or is this something that just needs me?” Jessica asked.

“Well, it concerns the both of you, so yeah, we’ll need him.”

“Hear that, honey? You don’t have to be kicked out of our room until we finish!” Jessica teased, walking to the bed and giving her husband a kiss.

Mike rolled his eyes. “So, what’s going on?”

“Well, dad just asked me to come talk to him, and he wants me to convince you two to let Carmen turn you into dragons.”

There was a brief pause as the two digested that. Then, Mike spoke up. “What’d you tell him?”

Siph sighed. “I told him I’d try. Not because I’m unhappy with you or anything, these past few months have been some of the happiest of my life, but because I think it’ll make you guys happier.”

Jessica nodded, grabbing her husband’s hand. “I feel confident saying that we both trust you on this, but is it alright if I hear your reasons first?”

“Of course it’s alright.” Siph replied. “The biggest reason is that it’d make you two young immediately, instead of having to wait. I think that you two deserve that, perhaps even more than me, and I don’t like being the only one able to enjoy a youthful body.”

Mike smiled. “It’s fine to be patient about this sort of thing. If that’s the only reason then you don’t need to worry, we can wait.”

Siph paced back and forth in front of the bed, agitated. “But what if something happens while you wait?” She asked. “I don’t know much about aging, but I know that your bodies break down and sometimes will just give out with little warning. There’s only so much Lilith can do if she can’t get to you in time.”

“Hey, it’s OK.” Jessica soothed. “Both of us are perfectly healthy. It’s not until we’re older than we are now that something like that really becomes a danger.”

“But it’s still a risk I don’t like taking, and there are other reasons. Mike, I know you don’t like not having the power to protect our daughter, and this’ll help stop that. Dragons get stronger faster than humans, so you could probably be powerful enough to actually help within a couple of years.”

Mike sighed. “You got me there.”

Siph blushed but continued. “And I know the both of you were frustrated that the difference between my dragon form and you two was too big to do anything, and that wouldn’t be an issue anymore. And, I could show you two how fun flying by yourself is, and we’d be able to go hunting together and…” She trailed off, watching as Jessica shared a nod with Mike, then walked over and placed a hand on Siph’s arm.

“We’ll do it. We’ll be able to look human like you anyway, so I’m honestly having a hard time seeing a downside.”

“Well…that could take a little bit to learn, but yeah, you will.”

Jessica gave Siph a quick kiss. “That’s fine. Now, with that settled, are you up for some fun?”

Siph smiled. “I’m game as long as Mike is.”

“You know you two can do it without me, right?” Mike chuckled.

“So, you’re saying you don’t want in?” Jessica asked.

“Let’s not get hasty.”

Siph laughed. It may have come from a Skill, at least at first, but she couldn’t deny that she well and truly loved these two. And, for what seemed like the millionth time, she gave silent thanks to Kali that she was able to meet them.

---

Jessica gripped her spouses’ hands tightly, emotions a turbulent mix of excitement and apprehension. She had said yes to Siph’s proposal last night, and while she was confident then, she was less confident now that the time had come. She was, in a sense, discarding her humanity. That was a big leap, but…it was for the best. What kind of mother would she be if she couldn’t even begin to help keep her daughter safe? What kind of wife was she if she was unable to truly

understand her wife?

And she had to admit that a part of her was really looking forward to this. The past couple of months had been a dream come true for her; she was finally able to prove the existence of something more to her husband, and then explore it together with him. And when Siph had come along, things had just got even better. Now, she was diving further into the supernatural and drawing closer to her spouses at the same time. It was everything she could have wished for and much, much more.

Those thoughts helped keep the anxiety at bay. She gave Mike’s hand a reassuring squeeze, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek. “It’ll be fine.” She told him, smiling slightly to try and appear confident. “They said it’ll be a month tops before we learn humanization. As long as we work hard, we can be back to these forms in no time.”

“I know…it just feels weird, you know? Like I’ll be…different after this, but not in a normal way.”

Jessica squeezed his hand again. “Lilith went through an even bigger change and she’s still the same as ever. It’s just your nerves talking.”

Siph hugged the both of them tightly. “As much as it pains me to admit it, it makes me really happy that the two of you are willing to do this. I have so many things I want to do with you now that you guys will have bodies capable of doing them. Not that I haven’t enjoyed the past few months more than I ever dreamed possible, I just…”

Mike pulled her a little closer. “Don’t worry, we understand. We’re excited to try things with you too.”

The hug lasted a moment longer before Carmen cleared her throat and the three separated. “Do you have any requests as to what type of dragon you want to be? Mama’s acidic, but that doesn’t mean you two have to be.”

“I’ve always liked the snow, so is there some sort of ice option?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah, I can handle that. Dad?”

“Um…if I say earth or ground would I still get wings?”

Carmen laughed. “Yes, you will. I take it that’s what you want?”

Mike nodded. “Yeah.”

Carmen motioned to the large empty space in the middle of the room. “Whoever’s first, please step up.”

Jessica looked to her husband. “I’m fine going first or second.”

“I think I’ll find it easier if you go first.”

“If you want, I could put you both to sleep right now, and wake you up when it’s done.” Carmen offered. “It would be quick and easy, and you wouldn’t have to worry about waiting.”

“That sounds nice.” Mike said.

“Agreed.”

Carmen snapped her fingers, and everything went black.

---

When she awoke, she felt better than she had in years. Her body responded just a touch faster and moved like it weighed almost nothing. There were none of the residual aches or pains she had grown used to ignoring, and she felt like she had enough energy to run for miles. She stretched her legs and yawned, a small puff of cold air escaping her jaws. She stood, giving her wings room to air out and enjoying the breeze they caused.

And it was around then that she remembered what had just happened. There was a moment of surprise as she realized that she was able to move like she’d been born in this body, but that was quickly written off as just a perk of Carmen’s magic. She twisted her head and gave her new body a look; she was just slightly smaller than Siph’s dragon form and covered in beautiful white scales that twinkled in the light, much like fresh snow did.

Shuffling to her side drew her attention, and she glanced over to see a handsome brown dragon looking her over. He was, if she had to estimate, barely larger than Siph’s dragon form, and his scales had a luster to them that reminded her of polished rock.

There was a cracking sound as a drop of ice hit the floor, and she realized a moment too late that she had started drooling at the sight of him. Her mind was racing, thinking of all the new avenues that this opened up for their night life, but she forcibly stopped herself. She couldn’t pounce on him yet – her daughter was here, and she had work to get to. They could have fun times after the day was over.

“You two look great.” Siph breathed, entering the room from a dragon-sized door behind them. She was already in her dragon form and was followed by Kirdin, also in his dragon form. Jessica wasn’t exactly sure how, but even ignoring the two’s size difference, she was easily able to tell them apart. Was it the face, or the slight color difference with their scales or…?

She was interrupted by Kirdin letting loose a happy laugh. “Nice work, Carmen. Alright, you two come with me, I told Carmen we’d get you to learn humanization before the month was through and I intend to stick to my word. That means we’re going to have a bit of a boot camp to get you up to snuff, so there’s no time to waste!”

He turned and marched back through the door, not giving them any time to react.

Carmen, looking much smaller than Jessica expected, motioned for them to follow him. “It’s best you get started. Nuwa’s whipped up some training areas on the surface, and the faster you get used to your new bodies, the better. You’re kinda freezing the area around you, mom.”

She hadn’t even noticed, but Carmen was right. Frost was forming on any surfaces near her, including Carmen’s clothes. If she was capable of it, she was sure she’d be blushing, but fortunately it didn’t look like dragons could blush. “Sorry, sweetie. I’ll get it under control.”

Carmen gave a dismissive wave. “Need I remind you that I’m more resistant to cold than you are? If it doesn’t bother you, there’s no way it could bother me. I can just change clothes as soon as we’re done.”

“I’m not…doing anything, right?” Mike asked nervously.

Carmen laughed. “You’re fine. But, seriously, you better hurry if you want to catch up to grandpa. He’ll probably give you a earful if you’re late.”