Serafima did not meditate for long.<br/>A jolt of a new energy woke her up, as she felt the regeneration of her weakened body pick up.<br/>Glancing towards Snow, who was covered in a white, frosty hue and steaming at the same time, it seemed that his own regenerative powers took over from the medicine, healing his injuries.<br/>Serafima raised her eyebrows in wonder - but why did her own regeneration speed up?<br/><br/>Checking her body, it seemed like the radiation influence on her body lessened.<span style="font-style: italic">~Something that would need years to fully disappear, magically disappears almost without residue?~</span><br/>She didnt believe such things<span style="font-style: italic">just happened</span>. It definitely had something to do with the dragon's healing process.<br/>As a self experiment, she cut her finger, and watched the wound slowly close up. There was no difference in her own healing powers, now and then.<br/>But then she saw a part of the blood drops evaporate, turn into silvery mist and converge towards Snow, joining the steaming ice furnace he created.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Energy? Magical Energy? ~</span>She pondered. So, in the end, was radiation energy also<span style="font-style: italic">magical</span>energy and you could extract it and use for yourself? Well, perhaps only dragons could but...<br/><br/>She felt the urge to research that right now, shutting herself in her laboratory for days and days until there would be a solution, becoming somewhat restless.<br/>Still, she decided against going out to seek any control rooms by herself, speeding up the process of their escape.<br/>Not able to sit still anymore, she decided to clean herself up first. Entering the bathroom, she slipped off her uniform, taking a shower to scrub off the sweat, dirt and blood from her body, taking the chance to freshen up, since there was no need to guard the dragon anymore, lest his condition grew critical.<br/>What is more, it would definitely take a while for them to reach any kind of checkpoint, after they left this pirate ship. Who knows how many days she had to go without food , water and bath.<br/><br/>As she let the warm water slowly flow over her body, clearing her mind of complicated thoughts for a little while, she suddenly frowned, thinking about her last exchange with Snow.<br/>Why did he have such a strange reaction, after she said she wasnt his fangmate? And what was that again with 'I could be your fangmate?!' Was that a dragon's life goal?<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"So troublesome .."</span>she murmured as she rested her forehead against the wall, resisting the urge to pound it a few times against the cool tiles. What she was most afraid of right now, werent the pirates, or not even the blood queen, still being a distant threat.<br/><br/>It was Snow, prancing around naively, not understanding a single thing, and now, without memories, not having the slightest care or understanding about the world. She discovered why a normally rational and cold blooded Norva could turn into an angry and irritated wreck after interacting with a hot blooded, irrational species.<br/>Dragon. Naive-Dragon. Irritating-Dragon.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Uuuuuurghhhhh..."</span>her head started hurting like it was splitting, just from the 'What to do with him' thoughts, so she quickly used some shampoo to massage it as if washing off the space dust residue could help her headache go away. That being said, as soon as she admitted word for word, being his 'alpha' or whatnot, she had accepted her responsibilities. Whether she liked it or not.<br/>Shrugging her shoulders, she had accepted part of his blood energy now, he had already helped her heal most of the radiation residue, and she somewhat marked him being a kind of alpha to him - and admitting it, meant for her that he was now part of her faction.<br/>The issue was, he was basically back to the moment he hatched from his dragon egg... a naive, uncontrolled fledgling, yet to understand what was right what was wrong. Trapped in a somewhat matured body...<br/><br/>Resigned, she sighed... she might as well try to at least teach him properly from scratch, this time around.<br/><br/>Having a cold temperatured body by nature, she turned the hot water off, to enjoy the cold water at roughly ten degrees celsius, while remembering everything that happened so far with snow.<br/><br/>Their first meeting - that he didn't remember - could not be said to be very positive. Then again, she<span style="font-style: italic"> had intended to kill him</span>that time. She still thought it was a mistake, bringing him on the radar of the Blood Queen. She had a voracious appetite, after all..<br/>Alas, her following interactions with the young shifter also did not lead to much understanding.<br/>Be it different races and customs, or understanding of the mind, they did not have much in common.<br/>Remembering the 'guide' on how to raise dragons, Serafima's eyebrows furrowed.<span style="font-style: italic">~Do I really need to do that?~ </span><br/>Then again, the shifter had only paid attention, after she marked him and physically punished as well.<br/>Everything else was just water running through a sieve.<br/>Also, he would get angry about random things, being childish on one side, while unreasonable on the other.<br/>Forgetting things.. And now losing his memories..<br/>This definitely tired her out in a major way.<br/>One thing she - and most other mental beings- hated was to repeat herself over and over again.<br/>And while his learned 'seduction skills' and his spoiled behaviour from being raised in a pleasure district were hopefully also forgotten for now, with that strange 'fang mate' thing hanging in the air, she dreaded them coming back very much.<br/><br/>...<br/>A small beeping signalized her that her scan was almost complete.<br/>Serafima stopped feeling pitiful about her fate, and got out of the shower, right into a nicely cool 15°C Atmosphere, and Magic residue swimming around. It seemed this would be the Dragon's natural habitat? It felt warm to her.<br/>While her energy reserves werent much, her skin regenerated itself from the grey and bleak tone to the nice caramel she initially posessed. Had there been a mirror, she would have noticed a small silvery hue around her, just like Snow's white one, but way thinner and smaller, barely noticeable, just as she left the shower.<br/><br/>Wringing out her hair and drying herself quickly, she put on a fresh suit (leaving the one she previously used to auto-clean in her spacebag), and just excited the bathroom, as she saw a strange scene.<br/><br/>The shifter was behaving like a guilty person running away, nervously fidgeting around the door towards the cargo room, halfheartedly calling out for her, but it seemed more like he wanted her not to hear..<br/><span style="font-style: italic">~Hah.. he really doesnt change.What is it now, that makes him roam around... How f-ing dangerous!~ </span>She almost swore innerly as she facepalmed.<br/>He was standing with his back to her, wrapped with his blanket and looking very much like a virgin running away before their first wedding night.<br/>A corner of serafimas eye twitched in anger and she could not help but raise an eyebrow at such a display.. since the person he was running away from should be..<span style="font-style: italic">her? Why even..?</span><br/><br/>She gave up on words. Once and for all, Snow's coremost personality seemed to be immune to words.<br/>Feeling almost relieved from this stress of having to think what to<span style="font-style: italic">say</span>, she just stretched out a hand, pulling the woolen blanket towards her, yanking the shifter back, as she turned him around.<br/>His injuries were anything but scabs now, and those scabs were in the process of falling down, as new and fresh skin was growing on them.<span style="font-style: italic">~ What a monstrous regeneration rate! ~</span>She innerly exclaimed in wonder.<br/><br/>It seems, it was time for them to leave the ship. Before a naked dragon wrecked havoc on it, drawing even more attention, or the famous 'cold blooded' Norva turned into an effing powder keg, just blowing up the whole thing.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"You sure you want to run...naked... and defenseless.. to the people that made you the way you were before I stitched you up?"</span>she said languidly, while using a towel to dry her hair a little more, then throwing the towel away.<br/>She kinda<span style="font-style: italic">wanted</span>for this moron to try and run around for a little, watching the show.<br/><br/>However, she actually wanted to be<span style="font-style: italic">stealthy</span>for now, because of the lurking danger. Who knows when the elite squad would arrive and then she would definitely have a big problem.<br/>She still had the connection with Snow for a while, so overpowering a somewhat  recovered Snow would be possible - even though she herself wasn't at her best at the moment.<br/>So, unceremoniously, she kicked Snow into the bathroom, zapping and pushing when necessary.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Now that you healed up all nicely, go and shower! Dragons dont need to be smelly, they should be at least presentable."</span>she muttered under her breath.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Or do you not even know how to do that anymore? Need some help or something?"</span>her face turned darker at these words, signifying it wouldnt be anything pleasurable of an experience if she had to scrub him up and down completely, making a squeaky clean dragon, but not caring about any kind of pain for the participant.<br/><br/>Should the shifter still be unwilling to shower by himself, she threatened to do just that, venting some of her grievances with him.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br/><br/>The freshly washed shifter was easier on the eyes, as he wore one of her uniforms, the exact uniform she had kept for him that time, before the attack.<br/>Any protests aside, she had also tied his messy long hair at his back, just leaving a few of the shorter strands in front alone. Cleaned up nicely, he almost looked like a soldier now. Almost...save the expression and behaviour, of course.<br/>Serafima mustered the shifter, sitting infront of her. His body somewhat adult, but his mind.. eh. Lets not think about that.<br/><br/>Serafima felt more comfortable standing next to him when he was sitting, because, while Snow had been just a little taller than her when she previously 'grabbed' him from his last master, he had always unconsciously walked a little scared and slouched, you can even say hunchbacked, like a subservient slave to please a master.<br/><br/>Right now, while he still had this childish turns between being brattily overconfident and meekly submitting, his body, supported by the uniform, had straightened up unconsciously.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">Or..</span>she thought suddenly -<span style="font-style: italic">maybe his spine had been damaged before, and because it was remodeled by acribic perfectionism, he is now naturally taller?</span><br/><br/>Frowning and snapping out of her thoughts, she used a bit of her power to 'zap' the dragon into attention and back to his seat.<br/>Being the kind of one-second-attention-span species she had to make sure he listened at least for that moment.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"While most of the people outside are not a big threat, at least for me, they are plenty in number. And where they are from, there are lots more of them! <br/>So - When we go outside later, you <span style="font-style: italic">are</span> to be stealthy as a shadow. If I so much hear a peep or a loud noise from you, I am wrapping you in that blanket and carrying you out like a baby dragon!"</span><br/>She crossed her arms infront of her chest, looming over the dragon.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"While alone I could deal with most of them, - with you in tow, its impossible." </span><br/>She continued:<span style="color: #FF4040">"And dont tell me about 'how you are a big and fearful dragon'- If you transform in the tiny corridors, feel free to do so- you will just be a dragon trapped in a tin can! They wont even need to target you with their anti-magic guns, just randomly shooting is enough." </span><br/>She snorted coldly.<span style="color: #FF4040">"Plus, it will attract stronger and more enemies. You might be able to deal with a few now, just because your body is a little bit bigger and stronger,<br/> but can you even use your powers and fly? By the way, do you remember that you just learned to fly <span style="font-style: italic">today</span> ..or was it yesterday?"</span><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">" Anyway - "</span>She loomed over his face again, baring her fangs:<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Let me spell it out once and for all for you: If you can't at least defend yourself while in human form, you are basically useless right now!<br/>So listen for once properly to what I said and dont endanger our lives!"</span>She snarled.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"And, if they try to talk to you and coax you with <span style="font-style: italic">anything</span>... Dont. EVER. Believe. Them!" </span><br/>Her instable mental state, and her fluctuating powers, fueled by the new kind of magic energy, made her zap the Dragon a few times, as she talked, but from what she had experienced, it would do him more good than harm. She still could not bring to do normal domestic violence like placing him over her knees and hit his butt!<br/>This in front of her was a 'kid' that was taller than her!<br/><br/>Then she calmed down, observing herself closely. Her kin did not show feelings or get angry easily. The anger they had was cold, not like what she had just done.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">~This is very untypical for a Norva. Could it be a side effect of the Blood mist and healing?</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">I very much hope it does not lower attention span and intelligence..~ </span>she unconsciously shuddered at the possibility.<br/>Not because of the transformation but... looking at Snow, it was seriously no wonder why Dragons, being so powerful and mighty, ended up being toys for her Mother .. and other cunning entities.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Alright," </span>she said in her normal, cool voice. She wanted to know how much he still remembered, but it seems that it had to wait until they were both safer.<br/>The confusion in his eyes made her believe that he himself was not even sure of what he knew...<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Lets go."</span><br/><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br/>- Outpost Raia - 245.1100334.9033123 - Galaxy Dagatz - Night.<br/><br/>A group of tired and solemn humans and dhampires entered the outpost. The injured were recieived by the affilated hospital, run by the local Dredef.<br/><div style="background-color:#808080; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;">Dredef: A race of Plant-like creatures, very faintly resembling a body shape of an elf -with a few more arms, resembling some branches- and the 'skin and hair' of a treant.<br/>A peaceful, sun-loving creature, in the mostly neutral Faction of the "Ancient One" Inhabits green Terran planets, and despite the 'natural' appearance, has quite<br/>advanced magical and technical civilization. They only pursue ecologist Technologies that can harmonize with plantlife.</div><br/><br/>But even the Dredefs could not save Alfred. As for Ayu... her fate was still unknown, half her body was wrecked and only the werewolf genes had kept her alive. Rose and Saya, the Dhampir and Alfreds' teenage granddaughter, both wore solemn,<br/>mature expressions on their faces. Losing people they were connected to, they had to grow up fast.<br/>Plus, both of them were now responsible for their respective guardian's duties..<br/>The two girls nodded to the rest of the lightly injured Dhampir warriors.<br/>"We..rest here. But keep up trying to contact the commander. And the rest." Her childish voice seemed mature, but forlorn.<br/>She did not even dare to call Serafima's name, because she did not want to think about the "what if..."<br/>Her hand was tigthly squeezed by Saya. Being the older one of the two, even though Rose was the stronger one and now in command,<br/>Saya was a quiet and already matured human girl, who understood other's pain better than her own.<br/>With the warriors gone, the girls didnt need to put up a brave front anymore,<br/>the two of them just looked at each other for a while, before quiet sobs echoed in the hospital room.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br/><br/><br/>Serafima moved infront of Snow, as they left the room, moving stealthily towards a suspected second navigation center closeby. The cargo room was still empty, but obfviously the exits on all sides had been locked down.<br/>It seemed that the pirates were quite afraid of her retribution. The doors could be broken, but they should also be heavily guarded. The corridors were definitely under surveillance.<br/>Luckily the cargo room should have good ventilation, meaning there would be a way to enter through the air ventillator systems.<br/>Looking around her, she saw the vents turning slowly, replenishing the stale air with fresh air from the conditioners.<br/>Picking the direction she needed, she tapped off from the floor, tapping on the wall another time, as she defied gravity, rising the five or so meters in the air, to reach the ventillators.<br/>Tapping the center of the rotating fan wings with her palm, she deftly punched it inside the air tunnel. A 'crack' noise and a little rubble falling down, signified that she had just snapped it in half. She could not avoid some noise in the process, but most of the Fan parts were lying crumbled inside the now formed tunnel.<br/>Peeking her head at Snow down below, she motioned for him to come up after her.<br/><br/>Then she froze, because she never had the chance to see - Wait, what<span style="font-style: italic"> were</span>his powers in his human form?