Ouroboros Ch. 02

"You need to change for me, Boros. I can't help you unless I know what you are. Feel what you are."

"Who are you Gabrielle. How do you know so much about my kind?" he asked, not hostility, but definitely wary.

"I will tell you, soon, but before I do, just know that my questions will become much more personal and intimate before you find out."

"Why do I need to change for you?" Bros asked. He had only done it a handful of times and only when he'd had to to save his life.

"You have shifted before, haven't you?

"Only when I was forced to, Gabrielle."

"When was the first time?"

He almost didn't want to answer her question, the memories it stirred up were still like open sores on his conscience. "When I was thirty-seven." Boros replied grudgingly.

"From what I know, that is very young for one of your kind.What precipitated the change?" she she asked curiously but unrelentingly. Boros didn't know how she did it, but she dragged it out of him.

"I was being attacked by a group, they had found me in the woods and came upon my from different directions. A witch was leading them, but there were two werewolves, a wizard, and nine humans with guns. The wizard held me immobile, the humans emptied their firearms into me, and when I was almost unconscious the werewolves moved in to tear me apart. My body felt like it was burning up from the inside out and it felt like I melted and reformed into something more, I was definitely taller. My wounds were healed and the wizard could no longer hold me in place. I moved so fast," Boros whispered.

"The humans were reloading, so I went for the wizard first. It was like, as soon as I decided where I wanted to go, it was instantaneous. I grabbed him by the head, I was going to head butt him, when I pulled him toward me it just popped off. I don't know how long I stood there, with his head clasped in my hands, before I actually saw my hands. They, and my arms, were scaled and my fingers ended in claws." He shuddered.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to, after almost forty years, have a different body? If I was able to, I probably would have gone into shock. But my body went into autopilot. I systematically butchered the humans, just staying out of the reach of the werewolves until I was finished. Then I turned on them. They were fast, and it was more of a fight. "Boros stated, "But not much. Once I had killed them all, I went after the witch that had threatened my life."

"What did you do?" Gabrielle asked intently.

"The same thing I did to the wizard. I pulled off her head. The next thing I knew I woke up in the woods covered in blood with bodies all around me. It took me a little while, but I remembered what had happened. I was horrified at what I had done. Before that, I'd fought to the death. But nothing i'd ever done had come close to the violence I did that day. It's different when you trade blows with an opponent and you draw on your experience to strike and evade. Knowing that you are better and even more ruthless can be a soothing balm to help mitigate the fact that you've taken a life." Sam nodded, knowing what Boros was talking about.

"But when you can do what I did." Boros shuddered. "I could have incapacitated them, I could have tied them up, I could have even broken their bones so that they couldn't come after me. I never considered any of those options. Not until days afterwards."

"You're forgetting one important thing Boros." Sam said. "They came after you. It didn't sound like they were trying to take you alive. They came to kill you." Sam stood up and walked around the table to Boros, resting his hand on the shoulder of the man he hadn't known for twenty-four hours yet. "You felt something else, didn't you. When you were cutting down your enemies. What did you feel?"

Boros choked out a sob, ashamed to say it outloud. But Sam's grip tightened painfully on his shoulder, he would have an answer. "It was.." he searched for a word, "thrilling."

"It's okay, Boros." Nancy told him. "You didn't do anything wrong, especially with what Gabriel told us. They would have killed you, desecrated your body, and taken everything you were." Nancy stood up too. "I don't know about you, but in my book, that's evil."

Her voice was soft, but still audible to everyone in the room, "Like I said, that was an incredibly young age for you to have been able to manifest a second form." Gabriel said. "That's probably why you passed out."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"All dragons are incredibly powerful. Their bodies don't just absorb magical energy from their aspects or elements. They are a wellspring of magic. When dragons no longer walked the land, magic in all of it's forms was weakened. Some of the ancient civilizations that thrived during that time died out because magic was so fully incorporated into their everyday life." Gabrielle explained. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "We are going to far afield from what we need to discuss." She looked at boros. "While I would like to answer all of your questions, we don't have time for that." she silenced Boros when he made to interrupt. "There will be time later." she insisted.

"Sam, Nancy. I want your word that everything we've discussed here today will remain between us. We can't have it be known that a dragon once again walks this world. It would be disastrous." They both nodded and spoke their agreement to keep silent. "Boros. I told you I wasn't being spiteful by not welcoming you to my territory. I gave you some reasons, but there is another, besides some much needed training which is yet one more good reason. You are a power in your own right but without a territory or subjects. You'll need both before the preternatural community would accept you."

"But why?" Boros asked downspirited.

"It is very simple, dear." Gabrielle answered sincerely. "There isn't anyone who can control you. If you can't be controlled by the ruler of the territory you belong to then no one else will feel safe with you around and that insecurity will spread like a disease. If this wasn't the case I would happily take you home with me, place you under my wing and my tutelage and help you become all that you could be." She sighed wistfully and shook her head. "But it cannot be."

Boros stared at his hands as they sat palm down on the table. If he had stayed away, he might have stayed content. But he had been deceiving himself. He didn't want to stay sequestered away and alone anymore, he wanted to live his life. He wanted more than he'd had now that he saw some of what there was to be had. These last several weeks while he had been working toward getting himself registered he'd dreamt of the new life that might be open to him. He'd sat for hours at a time, people watching. The host of emotions he had seen, more than anything else, had sparked a hunger inside of him. There was one emotion above all he yearned to experience. Love. And if he ever wanted a chance at it he would need to be where other people are. Boros made a decision as he stared at his youthful looking hands. He would do whatever it took to never have to hide again.

"Gabrielle." he asked, and she startled. He must have been churning things over in his head for longer than he thought. "What would you suggest? I know you said you couldn't help, but You have more experience in these matters than I do. What should I do?"

"He can stay here with us." Nancy enthused. The idea having just come to her. "He could be our liaison to the preternatural Consuls.!"

"WHAT?" Sam, Gabrielle, and Boros exclaimed.

"Think about it, It's perfect." Nancy explained. "Sam and Gabrielle both agree that you have the most powerful aura of any being they have ever encountered. You, Boros, have said that you have been fighting off aggressors for almost your entire life. That gives a person a certain edge, especially in a political arena. Gabrielle and I can recommend some helpful learning material and could certainly answer any questions you might have. But the main thing, what really counts, is that you'll be safe, well safeish."

"I don't follow." Sam admitted.

Gabrielle laughed and smiled at Nancy. "It's perfect. Sam, he would be a representative from the Bureau of Preternatural Affairs. The whole of human law behind him, which would make even the most powerful among us hesitate. But then he's also this uber preternatural power that hasn't been seen in eons. Those that would have challenged him, at least the sane ones, would still pause for the first reason. He's working for the humans." she laughed to herself again. "But it goes deeper than that. If this mostly all powerful being is working for the humans and promoting their agenda then they might ask themselves if the human way of doing things isn't completely boulderdash."

"Um." Boros interjected, immediately seeing something. "This does sound like a decent idea, at least for now. But there is something I would like to say straight off. Please don't take offense Nancy."

"I'll try not to, but usually when someone says that they are planning to be offensive." she shrugged. "What did you want to say?"

Boros knew from other's reaction to him and not just what these people had told him how heavy his voice could weigh in a sensitive decision, so he made his voice firm and unwavering in its tone. "If we do this, I will not be used to push an agenda I don't agree with from either party. I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but for exactly the reasons you both are describing I won't be pressured into giving weight to the proposals I carry. There's one more thing."

Both nancy and Gabrielle looked a little less enthusiastic. "I will only 'liaise' verbally or with any documents I have had a chance to fully review. And anything that I am apart of that requires signing, I get to look over and make suitable corrections before signatures are witnessed to make sure any documents I bring to the table hold true to the spirit in which it was made. I WILL not be a part of political chicanery." Boros firmly let them know.

Then the laughing started.

Sam was almost literally busting a gut. "Chicanery!" he wheezed. "Oh God!" he continued on with both Nancy and Gabrielle staring at him like he was unhinged.

"Ill agree to that." Nancy said.

"So will I. But I have a few more suggestions for Boros." Gabrielle agreed.

Sam's carrying on stopped abruptly. "Nancy, you know the higher ups won't agree to it."

"They don't have to." Nancy told sam. "I am the regional director. Appointments for diplomats are completely at my discretion. Not only that, but they have to be recognised worldwide at every level. The Bureau of Preternatural Affairs is not a US Government agency, it is a Homeworld Agency.

Sam gawked at her.

"Sam, didn't you do your homework before you signed on with me? There are only fifteen preternatural regions in the entire world. I am one of fifteen people who can make sweeping decisions affecting interactions with non-humans. Besides the UN, there are only five people who can overrule a decision I make, and to do that they have to have a consensus." she shook her head. "Sam, I value your loyalty, but you really need to start thinking things through instead of always relying on your instincts. What did you think you signed up for?"

Completely serious, Sam replied, "To keep you safe. Does anything you just said change that in any way?" he asked cocking his head.

Nancy laughed. Not a womanly laugh, it was more the titter of a teenager. "No, I guess it doesn't." she answered demurely giving him a knowing look.

"Nancy and Sam can iron out the details of her wonderful idea with you later." Gabrielle told Boros. "I really only have a limited time here, I have to be back in Miami by two o'clock to hear petitioners."

"You're still doing that?" Nancy asked. "I thought that you had stopped doing that after everything with your new status was cemented."

"Of course not Nancy." Gabrielle responded. "Unless something of real urgency came up I have heard my petitioners once a fortnight ever since I assumed my position, well over a millenia ago."

"That must be quite the job." Nancy shuddered. "How do you make the time?"

"It's not so bad. Sure, when I first instituted the policy there were hundreds who came to me with grievances or asked for judgements. Now that I've kept up with the practice, it isn't anything like that. Usually no more than ten or fifteen petitioners. The important thing is that I can keep my finger on the pulse that beats throughout my territory. For the most part everyone is content, or at least not too unhappy."

"Since you are pressed for time, I won't ask. But sometime soon, I'd like to talk with you about that. I think I see some improvements that could be made to our own system with a practice like that." Nancy said.

"I'd be glad to discuss that with you Nancy. But for now, let us focus on our friend. About that, can I ask some questions of you about some parts of his position as liaison?"

"Of Course Gabrielle."

"I am assuming that it is a formal appointment?" Nancy nodded to Gabriel's question. "So, he would be allowed a staff? Is that correct?"

Nancy grimaced. "Yes, technically. But our budget is only so large." she considered it. "Without running the numbers, I believe we could finance two additional positions."

"Oh, no, you misunderstand me." Gabrielle tried to pacify her. "It's just that I have an idea." Then to Boros she said, "I still need to see you change. We keep getting sidetracked on that issue." she frowned, "Do you have any objections?"

He could think of plenty of objections. But they were all hollow. Well except for one. "Um, I am kind of fond of these clothes, and since I didn't bring anything to change into I'll want to take them off when I um, change." It was definitely not one of Boros' more eloquent moments.

"So?" Sam asked "Just take em off then."

Gabrielle and Nancy rolled their eyes. "He hasn't changed." Gabrielle commented to her.

"No, he really hasn't." Nancy agreed.

Boros looked at them both quizzically.

"It has to do with being a shapeshifter." Gabrielle explained. "To them, well most of them, there is no such thing as modesty. Some of them," she shot a meaningful glance at Sam, "Seem to have a difficult time understanding why other people don't like being nude in public, or having someone's lover admired when they are nude." That last comment had an edge to it and she said it archly.

"How about we stand over in the corner and turn around?" Nancy asked.

Boros wasn't that much more comfortable with that. "Why don't we go to my hotel? I have a suite. You could wait in the sitting area and I could change in the bedroom. I have a pair of shorts that would fit my other form and everyone would be happy. And if not, I will be."

They talked about it for a while more when Boros said flat out that it would take less time for them to go to his hotel than if they kept discussing it.

So all four of them acceded to his wishes after Gabrielle extracted a promise that once there he would change. And Boros agreed.

***

"I don't understand the big deal." Sam complained as they walked to Boros' hotel.

"He's shy Sam. He's lived alone for most of his life. Before that he was raised as a pure human. The idea of stripping in a room of people just isn't something he's comfortable with." Gabrielle explained to him. "Shifters, well most shifters, don't have that hang up because they've been around people like them all of their lives. It's normal for them, par for the course."

"I still don't get it." Sam insisted.

"Think about it as a cultural difference then." Nancy offered him another option. "His culture isn't casual about nudity, it's considered a taboo for him." she offered Sam an alternative scenario, absurd as she could think of. "What if in his culture it was common practice for men greeting each other to, instead of shaking hands, they shook each other's penises? What if unwillingness to do that was considered an insult and he was forced to challenge you. To the death?" she smiled innocently up at him. "Would he be wrong for expecting something like that from you? Would you be wrong for being unwilling to indulge his cultural peculiarity? Even though you'd be dead if you didn't oblige him?"

Sam was quiet the rest of the short walk to the hotel. But Boros, having heard everything they said, had trouble not laughing at the consternation he saw in Sam's face as he forced himself to think the situation though.

***

"How did you afford this?" Nancy asked Boros when she took in the view from the balcony in the sitting room. They were in Boros' suite just below the last penthouse floor.

Boros thought back to how he filled his time when he was on his own and smiled. "I spent my time alone well." he said noncommittally.

Nancy, having gotten a sort of feel for the man let it drop.

"Gabrielle? Nancy? Sam? Would you like anything to drink?" Boros ask trying to be a good host.

"What've you got?" Sam asked?

Boros nodded toward the full bar that had come with his suite. "What would you like?" Sam wanted a good bourbon straight, Nancy opted for ice water, but Gabrielle asked for a spiced rum with orange juice. He obliged, but the thought of how it would taste churned his stomach. He elected for a shot of vodka with a shot of vodka to chase it down to settle his nerves followed by a beer to sip.

"Alright Boros. You've been a polite host but we came here for a reason." Gabrielle settled down on the armchair. "Why don't you go into your bedroom and do what you came here for, the rest of us will get comfortable and wait for you to come out." she said politely. "But if you take too long, don't think I won't come in there and drag you out!" she laughed as boros was already making his way to the double doors off to the left of the sitting area.

He couldn't help but blush at the thought as he closed the doors. This was going to be a new experience for him. Nobody alive had ever seen his half-form. He hadn't even practiced doing it for himself, when he shifted it was a scary, alluring thrill. The only reason he was doing this was to get Gabrielle's help. She steadfastly refused to answer anymore of his questions until she had seen him change. Aside from seeing what kind of dragon he was he couldn't think of any other reason for her to need to see it for herself. He had even offered to describe what he looked like and how it had felt, but that wasn't good enough for her. She said that she had to see it, had to feel it.

Boros began to undress. His movements were slow and precise as he prepared himself for what he was about to do. He had never attempted this when he hadn't been in life threatening danger. After he had removed all of his clothes and they were neatly folded on the bed he walked naked to the dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts that had some good stretch to their waist. Placing them on the bed he stepped away from it a few feet so that he was in the center of the clear part of the room.

'Here goes nothing.' Boros thought and worked at lowering the oneway veil in his mind that he kept in place. The energy that poured into him was different that he remembered, it flowed into him stronger and more swiftly, and much more potent. It was like he was a mostly empty tidepool and now the tide had come in and was filling him up until he was as one with the ocean of power. He used that energy to lift the restraints on his body somewhat, he didn't do it fully. His instincts told him he wasn't ready for that yet. The little he'd done was enough and suddenly the reservoir of power his body could hold increased significantly.

That wasn't the only change. His six foot body grew another foot and a half. His body's musculature writhed and almost seemed to inflate and his skin ran with a combination of gooseflesh and the sensation of pins and needles, similar to how an asleep limb feels when you restart the circulation, as scales flowed up through his skin. The entire process was almost painless but the most disconcerting feeling was in his lower and both sides of his upper back. At the top of his buttocks it felt like his spine was slipping out of his body as his tail grew. His wings weren't much better. I was as if a piece of coarse rope were being pulled slowly out from beneath his skin in two places. It was very uncomfortable and felt like it should have hut, but didn't.