Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 29: Eserian Grove

The first time I woke up, I was in a place I’d never seen before. The ground beneath me was as soft as clouds should be, and my surroundings were mesmerizing. Even though I couldn’t make out everything clearly, it felt as if the canopy overhead contained stars. The leafage shimmered just as brightly, and it even contained veins that resembled shooting stars.

Is that what the Godlands look like? I wondered, the smile on my lips growing wider as a divine beauty entered my vision.

Her face, elegant and otherworldly beautiful, stirred my heart, yet my brain failed to connect the dots. Somehow, I knew that woman. I knew her name and knew that I had been with her before, but my mind felt permeated by fog. Still, I pulled myself upright, ignoring the pain racing across my upper body, and reached out for her.

The divine beauty held my hand, her lips parted, but no words reached my ears. I could only smile back at her as she guided me gently back to the ground.

My wounds tore open again. I saw the blood, and all I could think about was one thing: I didn’t want to tarnish the Godlands with my blood. I didn’t want to show the divine beauty such a miserable side of mine.

So, I shifted into a Blue Slime. The pain faded from existence. Then darkness engulfed me once more.

***

Elder Taria stood beside Fern, arms crossed. She did not agree with the young fae’s decision and chided her for her rash actions. Fern should not have claimed the human boy. Neither should she have kept his existence from the Elders.

Fern knew that she shouldn’t have done it, yet she still did. All because he smelled funny. Elder Taria could barely smell it anymore. Fern’s musk was already all over the boy, which promised all the more issues with the people of the Eserian Grove.

A resigned sigh escaped Elder Taria’s lips when the human woke up for the first time. He reached out to Fern with a smile that meant more than a thousand words ever could, and Fern... Fern reciprocated the smile with one even brighter than his. She reached out to tend to him, only for the human boy to transform.

His human form dissolved into a Blue Slime.

But how could that be?

Elder Taria’s frown deepened. "Kaia wasn’t lying."

She had never truly believed that the girl from the Forest Folk would lie to the Elders, yet that was what Elder Taria had been hoping for. It would have made things–everything–much easier.

"A human blessed by the Beast Gods?" Elder Taria shook her head. No, that could not be it. There had to be another explanation, though she couldn’t tell what it was.

"The others won’t like this," she sighed deeply. "They won’t like him. But they will not kill him if the Beast Gods truly blessed him with their grace."

The Elder turned to Fern. "If he is as you say, they will come to terms with his existence. They may not necessarily like him, though that matters not. Regardless of their attitude toward him, you shall take responsibility for his actions. If he makes a mistake, you will be punished alongside him."

"I understand." Fern met Elder Taria’s eyes, determination burning deep within them. "I will take good care of him."

Fern knew the price she had to pay for her words and actions. She understood what she had done, even if the Elders didn’t think so.

Her claim protected Xavier. That left her with only one issue: how was she supposed to explain all this to him?

Fern’s heart hammered in her chest like a Frenzy Rabbit at the mere thought. It was uncomfortable, but not because of what she had done. No, she would have claimed him sooner or later either way. Xavier’s reaction and response to her claim, on the other hand... Fern was afraid of that. What if he came to hate her for what she had done?

***

I woke up in the same mesmerizing place I had dreamt about, though I only really noticed it after I transformed back into my main form.

My wounds were gone. There weren’t any burn marks, and I wasn’t covered in scars either. Unfortunately, my clothes did not fare nearly as well as I did. They were nowhere to be seen. Instead, I was covered in bandages that looked like a chain made of massive leaves. They felt heavy and were drenched in blood. Or dyed in it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The leaf chain fell to the ground, sounding almost as if the leaves were filled with liquid.

"They absorbed my blood?" I wondered out loud.

"Bloodclot Leafaar consumes the patient’s blood, absorbs its properties, and changes to stem the blood flow. They emit certain substances that help patients recover faster." A cold but informative voice rang out from the right. "But it seems we did not need to waste Bloodclot Leafaar on you. You recover fast."

My head snapped toward the unfamiliar voice to see a middle-aged woman standing in the doorframe. At least, I presumed the vine curtains to be the door, in a way.

The middle-aged woman looked relatively human. She had a greenish touch to her otherwise tan skin and wore a dress made of leaves, roots, and vines that perfectly accommodated her slime features. As I sat upright to greet her properly, I noticed that she was much smaller than I first thought. She couldn’t be taller than a teenage girl. That, however, did not make her any less scary. The glare on her face and those eyes that seemed to yearn for my death were scary as hell.

"Bloodclot Leafaar? I’ve never heard of that. Looks useful." I tried to start a conversation, pointedly ignoring the obvious hostility. "I am Xavier. Thank you for tending to me. I greatly appreciate that you–"

"That we didn’t kill you?" The short woman spat on the ground. "We wanted to do that. Honestly, you smell like trouble. If not for Kaia bawling her eyes out or Fern claiming you, I would have slit your throat myself."

I shuddered at the image forming in my head. There was no doubt about her words. She would have killed me.

"Great..." I muttered quietly. "Who is Kaia, though? I know Fern. Where is she? Is she alright?"

The massacre from before I lost consciousness surfaced in my mind again, and so did everything that happened to me and everything I did. I killed humans. The memories made me sick, yet I did not feel nearly as bad as I thought I would. Or should. It wasn’t like I had killed innocent people, after all. My victims had been soldiers, pigs who killed for fun. Disgusting people who would have violated an innocent woman and enslaved others just because they could.

"What’s with the soldiers?" I jumped to my feet even before the short woman could respond to my earlier questions.

"Why? Are you worried something happened to them as well?" She snorted.

"No." Her open hostility stupefied me a little. Maybe I should have expected it, but I did try to help them. I even protected the girl and her mother. Although I was the one who needed help later.

Anyway.

"I know those soldiers. They belong to Earl Nuer, and they came with a flying ship and a few dozen people. The half dozen I fought were only part of their force, and if they were here, the rest can’t be far away." I rattled off, keeping my grimace in check when the shorter woman glared at me even more fiercely. "Don’t look at me like that. I don’t give a shit about what happened to those soldiers. They kidnapped me after the Choosing and nearly starved me to death. They would have forced me into an Oath with the earl if I hadn’t escaped in time. That’s the sole reason I’m in Eserian in the first place. It’s not like I wanted to be here!"

Not that I hate it, I added inwardly. After all, I wouldn’t have met Fern if not for everything that happened to me. That would have been unfortunate.

Last but not least, it wasn’t like I hated living in the Eserian. It had been a rather enjoyable time. Days filled with danger, exploration, and adventure were exactly what I wanted after all.

The short woman regarded me for a long while without uttering a word. Her deadly glare softened ever so slightly, until she finally caved.

"The soldiers you’re talking about are dead. Fern is fine as well. And Kaia is the girl you protected," she explained, her voice a trace warmer than before. "You will be staying in this hut with Fern from now on. Fern claimed you, so your actions will be hers. Do not make a mistake if you don’t want her to be punished any further."

That said, the woman turned around to leave.

Countless questions flashed through my mind. I had no idea where I was, what being claimed actually meant, and much more. Yet, I asked something else entirely.

"What’s your name?"

The short woman didn’t slow, but I was certain I saw the corner of her lip curl upward.

"I’m Mear, Medium of the Beasts."