Shara managed to get ahold of herself before anyone took notice of her. Long practice in the arts of stealth apparently paid off in that precarious situation.

Scott and Ashton continued to discuss his new power. Shara listened intently. It seemed her could use all of his senses to detect lies, spiritual corruption, and moral alignment.

"So, wait? You can tell if I'm generally the kind of person who follows the law just by looking at me?" asked Ashton.

"Not so much that, as whether or not you follow some sort of ordered nature to your existence. I haven't been able to get much practice with it, yet." Scott rubbed his chin. "I think it's more like, I dunno... If someone follows rules and restrictions regularly their spirits are more ordered, focused. They might smell like something good to me, too."

"Really? You can smell it if someone is law-abiding?" asked Ashton incredulously.

"I can't tell what actual laws they abide by, but I seem to be able to at least tell they abide by some sort of laws," agreed Scott. "It's mostly conjecture, though. I need a bigger sample of people to really get an idea of how well these eyes work."

"How do they smell if they break the law?" she asked curiously.

"If they just do whatever, then their energy is more fractured and incoherent. I guess they smell weird, or dirty, to me?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm not really sure if that's the scent of lawlessness or corruption though. The few people I smelled it on back in the dream world were all somewhat shitty people."

"You went around smelling people for justice?" asked the fox girl. "Really?"

"Couldn't be helped." Scott shrugged his shoulders. "Sonja and I were eating back in town, when several rough looking guys came into the tavern. They were pretty demanding, didn't want to wait to be served."

"And they smelled lawless?" she asked excitedly.

"Actually, despite how rough they looked and their mannerisms, they smelled pretty decent. Their spiritual energies were as coherent as one might hope but outside of being loud they were decent enough. Even left a tip." Scott tapped his finger against his nose briefly then said, "There was this guy in fancy clothes, though. He looked clean and reputable, but he practically gagged me with his stench."

Ashton practically bounced in her seat. "So, he was a bad guy?"

"Turned out, he was a slave merchant's son. He'd come to the inn because he had heard of a beautiful slave for sale." Scott glanced over to Sonja. She continued to work, but there was a certain perk in her hips now that she had been mentioned.

"Wait... you don't mean?" Ashton looked back towards Sonja.

"Yeah. He wanted to buy her." Scott snorted. "Once he found out that she had already been sold, the little shit tried to make me sell her to him."

"I take it you said no?" she asked him.

"I said no," agreed Scott.

"He took it well, I suppose?" asked Ashton.

"Absolutely. He didn't throw a tantrum or anything. He promptly paid his tab and left—" said Scott, only for the words to die on his lips. He made a face like he had tasted something nasty then flicked his tongue out a little.

Ashton looked at him curiously. Even Sonja turned around as he had gotten quiet.

"The hell was that about?" he asked curiously.

"What is it?" called Sonja from the kitchen.

"I was telling the story, and I suddenly had this ridiculously nasty taste in my mouth," said Scott.

Shara decided to chime in finally. "Well... maybe those eyes of judgment work on you as well?"

He looked at her briefly then turned back to Ashton and blinked. "Well, shit. Let's see."

"The sky is purple. Politicians are perfect creatures incapable of deceit. I was never fat—" Scott stopped mid-sentence and began to gag a little.

"Oh, fuck me sideways that's foul..." he muttered.

Ashton gave him a look that bespoke her disbelief. "You can't tell a lie anymore, can you?"

"Hell if I know..." He stuck tongue out and flapped it around in an effort to dispel the disgusting flavor.

"Sure seems that way." Ashton grinned at him then flicked her ears lightly. "I have so many questions, now."

"It makes no sense, though," he muttered. "I was being sarcastic. I've been sarcastic since this power woke up inside me and it was never like this..."

"How many outright lies have you told?" asked Sonja. She heard the microwave beep, so she took out the unbuttered, salt-free, popcorn that she was making to go with their meal.

Scott blinked owlishly then tried to recall his recent conversations. For that matter, he tried to recall the lies he often told himself inside his own head. "I... don't know that I have until now..."

"There you go," said Sonja. "You've been surprisingly open and honest since your return."

"Have I really changed that much?" he asked her.

"Yes," answered all three of his friends at the same time.

Scott slumped back on the couch. "I knew I was more confident than before, but it's... this..."

"Being a dragon changes you, I guess?" asked Ashton.

"Well, I was warned that my race was basically the local equal to a lawful good alignment in D and D... It would begin to change my personality, color it a bit more with each growth spurt." He sat quietly for a moment, but soon became restless.

Scott looked to one of his hands and gazed at the slightly curved fingernails. "The hell is happening to me..."

Ashton reached over and lightly took his hand, though her face reddened in the process. "Well, look at what happened to me? I was never so... aggressive before. At least, not like what happened in the office..."

Scott looked at her small hand as it tried to cover his and slowly closed his eyes. Changing his race did more than change his stats. He always knew that, but now it was directly influencing his mind.

He barked out a self-deprecating laugh. "What kind of a piece of shit was I?"

"Huh?" asked Ashton, confused.

He released a long slow breath then spoke while he looked at the ceiling. "Most people would be absolutely repulsed that their mind was being altered like this..."

"You aren't?" asked Ashton.

"No." Scott sat up and nodded to her decisively. "For the first time in longer than I can remember, I actually have begun to like my life a little."

He continued without allowing anyone else to speak. "I have a few friends now. I can actually be touched by a woman without bursting into tears."

Scott laughed a little, this time with a smile on his lips. "Hell, the voices in my head that have tormented me ceaselessly for years are struggling to find a way to get to me."

"The voices in your head?" asked Shara. She sat down next to him on the couch then leaned in a little too close. "You're finally getting a little relief?"

"I can't lie to myself without feeling nauseated or tasting something vile, so those lying bastards are finding it hard to break into my thoughts." Scott leaned against Shara slightly then nodded his head. "Guess raising my charisma to twenty-four might have helped, too."

Sonja nearly dropped her tray of wholesome snacks that she had been preparing. "Twenty-four?"

"Yeah. I figured that I needed more charisma for my magic and hoped it would help me deal with the shit in my head." Scott grinned at her. "It might have worked."

Sonja stared at him for a moment then snorted. It took Scott a moment, but he realized something. "Sonja... What's your charisma score?"

"Whatever... You shouldn't ask a lady a question like that," she said in a mild huff. She winced a little as the sigil on her back sent a spasm of pain skittering along her flesh. "It's not like yours is higher than mine."

"I have a ten point charisma modifier," said Scott lightly.

Sonja's eyes widened quickly as her shock became evident. However, they then narrowed and she turned away from him to attend to other matters. "How nice for you."

Scott did his best not to laugh when he heard her mumble, "I'm still prettier than him."

She grunted aloud and remained silent as she went about her business. She rattled pots and pretended to do many things to avoid admitting that she might have competition from him at last.

Ashton was suitably impressed by such a modifier as well. It was actually higher than hers, and charisma was her best stat alongside agility!

Shara shared a delighted smile with the room. It was nice to spend time with friends, even ones who recently realized that they might not be the most charismatic person in the room anymore.