Chapter 41 - How They Connect

The hands of time spun erratically and the passage of five years went by in a flash.

During this time, Aegis had grown steadily as a normal human would but that wasn't the only thing that grew; the tiny bump that had gone unnoticed on her head was getting longer and darker, bearing more resemblance to a horn.

As one would expect, Lancelot was worried out of his mind and Urusla faked that worry as well; after many months of keeping it in secret, they decided to have Reiki take a look at it now that she had reached the age of five with the horn no longer being able to stay hidden.

***

"Hmm," Reiki muttered as she used her clairvoyant ability on little Aegis, who was sitting on a chair in the grand bedroom.

Lancelot looked at them with a confused look while Urusla's expression was hard to read.

"You have pretty wings!" Aegis shouted cutely as she kicked her legs.

"Thank you, cutie." Reiki giggled and continued her examination, she surveyed every area if Aegis' body for over ten minutes but found nothing particularly wrong.

Halting her observation of Aegis, Reiki beckoned the couple to the side while Aegis ran off; Urusla shouted at her not to go too far as a genuine mother would.

"Well?" Lancelot asked, the worry still evident in his voice.

Reiki sighed, "I'm not sure, but all I know is she is some kind of half breed. Urusla, so you have any other species in your family?"

Urusla actually looked surprised at such an accurate deduction. Fairies and their clairvoyance, such a pain, she thought; but she nodded in denial to Reiki's question, saying if she did then she would not have known.

Another sigh came from Reiki but this time louder and longer as she sulked, "I'll have to do some research to find out what this being is, Urusla… do you mind me taking a sample of your blood?" She asked, the colour of her eyes returning to normal.

Flinching slightly, Urusla stuttered, "S-Sure…ahm, do you mean now?"

Reiki nodded, saying that she would come back later that day to take the sample and with that final word, she fluttered away while muttering words of annoyance due to a lack of sleep; She had totally fallen in love with sleeping as a strange side effect of her being deprived of it.

***

"Nyaaa!" the cute voice of a little girl shouted, followed by a genuine laugh.

In a medium sized house located in the north caste town, five year old Ichika was having some fun with her kobold parents as she made different jokes to entertain them.

Hours of fun and games passed and Ichika was asleep taking her midday nap, Kotai and Rikka were seated in their living room with a seemingly serious expression on their faces.

"Full moons are coming tonight…" Rikka said, her tone laced with worry as her ears dropped.

Kotai heaved a sigh before moving closer to her in attempt to provide comfort.

Influencing effects of the eyes along with thrashing claws and fangs weren't the only abilities kobolds possessed; once every month, when both moons are full, a kobold gets an insane boost in power which changes their appearance to that of a menacing nature making then look like a feral beast and it was this fact which brought on the worry to this kobold couple.

"Should we find someone to take care of her until the moon phase passes?" Kotai asked, regaining a strong stature while his wife would deal with the emotions.

Rikka's green eyes widened when she heard the suggestion, "That's a wonderful idea! And I know the exact person for the job!"

They immediately got up from their position and out the door they went, their destination: The south castle town.

***

Rikka knew that Ichika wouldn't be waking up in another hour so she would be relatively safe until they returned. She and Kotai reached the south castle town in about fifteen minutes; a few yards away from the entrance, Rikka recognized a house.

She stood at the gate with Kotai and called out, "Mao! Jin! It's Rikka!"

A few moments later, a tall woman with long blue hair emerged from the house and invited the kobold couple inside, Mao Ieshi was the name of this woman.

Inside the house, beautifully decorated with water patterns, Mao suggested a cup of tea which Rikka agreed to; while she went to prepare, Kotai found the time to ask some questions.

"I met them a couple years before I met you," Rikka explained, "They're immigrants from Langaryo kingdom."

Kotai's yellow eyes widened as he asked, "Are they living here without the knowledge of the king?! Illegals?!"

Rikka was about to answer when a snicker came from the stairs of the house, a bald, skinny man came walking down and added to the explanation; "No sir, we were permitted to move here since we don't have any dragon force so we won't disturb the power balance."

Kotai rounded his lips as he understood, in that moment Mao returned from the kitchen with a platter holding a teapot and cups, "So, what do you need my dear Rikka?"

Rikka poured a cup for herself and Kotai before saying, "Well, full moons are coming tonight… so we were wondering if you can take in our little girl while we camp outside the kingdom, we don't want to scare her."

Mao, who was pouring her own cup of tea stopped when she heard this and agreed instantly, "Sure, she can play with our little Aiko while she's here."

Kotai and Rikka breathed a sigh of relief, they both finished their cups of tea and turned to leave, saying that they would bring Ichika by when she woke up from her nap and Mao agreed.

***

After returning to their home, explaining the situation to Ichika then heading back to Mao's, dusk had came which meant that the moons would soon be out and trigger their transformation.

"Thank you for this, Mao." Rikka bowed.

Mao laughed as she called for Aiko, soon after, a little girl slightly taller than the average five year old with blue pigtails came racing down the stairs, she tripped and was about to go crashing into the ground when Rin caught her.

"Saying hello to your new and clumsy playmate, Aiko!" He said while nodding at Ichika.

"Hello, new and clumsy playmate, Aiko!" she explained, kicking off their friendship with a good joke.

Seeing that there would be no issue, Rikka thanked them once again before taking off with her husband. By the time they reached the forest, the moons were out full and as the light hit them they transformed.

Their fur and tails grew longer, their eyes went red and their claws and teeth became sharper and longer, protruding from their mouth and paws, truly a menacing appearance.

"Sigh, transforming is really a pain." Kotai muttered as he walked over to a tree, Rikka laughing in response.

***

Across the land in a expansive desert, a bright light flashed in the centre of the landscape before it changed it's appearance to that of an oasis; A few moments later a large rift appeared in the air and a little girl looking around twelve years old wearing a red grab stepped out, with flowing green hair and eyes, her expression bore excitement, as if she was about to start a long journey.

"Finally I left that cramped Gaikotsu base! Let's explore!" she said with blatant excitement in her voice.