NOVPUBValeron didn't like consuming Life Maelstrom. Even though he was just a baby and had never faced any real danger, Valeron instinctively knew that his measly reserve of silver lightning was his lifeline.
That by using it, he could make himself or one of his parents faster and stronger in order to fight or escape. He had no problem helping Quylla with her research because he trusted her and because it took place in the Verhen Mansion.
Surrounded by his family and in the familiar environment of his house, Valeron felt safe and confident. Helping a couple of strangers in a weird cave was another matter entirely.
"Dad?" Valeron clung to Lith.
"Yes, son?" Lith gave the baby boy his hand and Valeron entrusted a spark of Life Maelstrom to him.
"Gods, I feel awful." Faluel sat on the nearest pile of gold while holding her head. "I'm so bad even a baby can't trust me further than he can throw me."
"I hear that." Ajatar exhaled sharply.
"It's not that bad." Lith replied. "Valeron didn't give me much Life Maelstrom. It means he doesn't think you are a threat. Also, he knows I can do this."
Lith took a deep breath and activated his emerald and yellow eyes. The spark of silver lightning grew in size, losing only a fraction of its potency.
"Let's test your theory right away." He gave half of it to Ajatar and the other to Faluel.
Both Lesser Dragons quickly sat down cross-legged and focused on directing the Life Maelstrom into their atrophied Dragon Eyes mana organ along with the world energy. Faluel's Apprentice Hands fueled her while Solus' Master Hands helped Ajatar.
At first, there was no noticeable difference from the previous attempts to reach Dragonhood. The world energy and silver lightning reached the atrophied mana organ, making it swell and develop faster, but that was it.
Then, Faluel noticed that the silver current smoothed over the imperfections in her life force and flowed solely through the solar bubbles.
As for Ajatar, the Life Maelstrom moved ahead of the world energy. It established visible connections between the Dragon Eyes and the neighboring still-atrophied mana organs while ignoring everything else.
"It's working!" Ajatar said. "The Life Maelstrom is drawing a road map. Not only is the process faster, but now I also know where to channel the world energy after I'm done with the eyes to awaken the rest of my mana organs!"
"I have Dragon Eyes!" Faluel blurted. "For the first time in my life, I have Dragon Eyes!"
Tears misted her vision as she felt a missing piece of her being finally falling into place. Until that moment, Faluel had never understood what it was and had grown so used to it that she had stopped caring.
Now her whole body brimmed with energy, and an inner fire was spreading through and out of her.
***
Verhen Mansion at the same time.
"What's wrong, babe?" Nalrond asked. "You've been rubbing your eyes for a while."
"They kind of itch." Friya replied. "I've been feeling weird for a few seconds now. Like there's a fire in my gut."
"Good gods!" Nalrond put his hand on her shoulder and activated his breathing technique.
"Do you know what this is?" She asked.
"I thought so, but I was wrong." He sighed. "You're not pregnant."
"You think I wouldn't know that?" She sneered. "I'm a Healer and an Awakened. I- Gods, the armor Dad made for you is a masterpiece, and so is mine!"
Friya knew enough about the Ernas Forgemastering techniques for her Dragon Eyes to see past a few of the cloaking runes of her Featherwalker armor and grasp its complexity.
"Since when is that new?" Nalrond stared at her in confusion. "Your father is a genius, and I've never doubted for one second that Orion hadn't done his best for you."
"It's different." Friya tried and failed to explain what she barely understood herself. "The runes are… gone."
"Gone?" He checked his armor, sighing in relief as it worked just as intended. "That's not funny, Friya. You gave me a heart attack."
"I'm sorry. I meant the weird feeling is gone." She replied. "Whatever it was, I miss it already."
***
"Gods, now I understand why so many Hydras killed themselves after failing to retain their Seven-Headed Dragon form." Faluel had just reverted to her original condition after running out of Life Maelstrom.
"I had Dragon Eyes for less than a minute, yet I feel like someone cut off one of my heads and can't regenerate it."
"I know how you feel." Ajatar patted her back. "But we didn't have enough world energy and Life Maelstrom to complete the process. Even if we did, we would have died of consumption.
"Neither of us received Mogar's help, and without it, we need to prepare a nutrient tank to sustain us. And that only after we finish mapping our life forces and can estimate how long the full transformation will take.
"On top of that, you also need to make similar arrangements for Friya as well. Your life force flows through her body, and it's likely the Dragonification process will affect her as well."
"Good gods, you're right!" Faluel jumped to her feet. "How could I forget about Friya? She is my Harbinger. I could have billed her!"
"Faluel, being greedy is natural for a descendant of Leegaain, but now you're just being ridiculous." Ajatar said while Solus laughed her ass off. "You can't ask Friya to pay you for the power she'll get from the transformation."
"I meant billed, not billed, you silly lizard." Faluel laughed too when she realized the misunderstanding. "Gods, it seems we both forgot about the Guardians altering our words for the babies' sake."
"Oh, right." The Drake's eyes widened in understanding. "You meant billed, not… You know what I mean."
"I do." Faluel was still giggling when she approached Valeron. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this meant to me. To us. I hope we can become good friends and that I'll earn your trust."
"Your welcome." Valeron liked the pretty lady better when her smile was sincere.
"No, it's 'you *are* welcome', Val. Not '*your* welcome'." Lith said.
"You are welcome." The baby boy echoed.
"I'm sorry, Elysia." Faluel bowed to her as well. "I promise I'll earn your forgiveness. I won't disappear again."
"No po." Elysia pouted, trying to act aloof.
"Do you want us to babysit the kids from time to time?" Ajatar extended his arms, and Lith handed him the baby despite Valeron going for another handshake.
"I don't trust you guys enough to let you babysit." Lith shook his head. "Not to mention Selia had many issues with Faluel in the past."
"That's because she was against me teaching her children magic, bringing them outside, and doing anything that wasn't reading stories and napping!" Faluel said in a huff. "I'm great with kids. It's Selia who's a spoilsport."
"Still, even if it came to that, no magic." Lith dismissed the objection with a sweep of his hand. "The rest is fine. You can start by hanging with the kids and getting to know them.
"They must trust you enough to feel safe while they are in your care."
