Cat was stunned. In fact, that was a tame way of putting how she was feeling right now. Caeden had gone from dealing with the monster horde with ease to throwing around with progressively stronger and stronger attacks that shredded massive portions of the monsters charging her specters and relieving the pressure on her constructs.

None of that even compared to what followed. A monster larger than any Cat had ever seen before charged through the jungle and glared down at the nest with hate-filled eyes. It was so large its eyes were above the rocky plateau that the dragons huddled inside.

She could hear them crying out in draconic once the false-dragon showed itself. She couldn't understand the language, but she didn't need to to recognize the despair in their voices. All the dragons here, so willing to fight the monster horde, had lost the will to resist once this one had appeared.

Cat could not use aura, which meant she had no access to investigative sense. She had no way of knowing what the gigantic monster's IP was. But she could guess. Both its size and apparent strength dwarfed the others that had come before, and Cat knew from Caeden that the strongest of those attacking them were close to 20,000 IP. Based on that, she knew that this false-dragon was beyond Caeden's ability to fight.

Maybe if the giant had shown up at the beginning and Caeden had thrown everything he could at the thing, but Cat doubted that would have worked either. It was a moot point because Caeden had to be nearing his limit. If not physically, then mentally. Using so many powerful attacks in such rapid succession was bound to be tiring.

In defiance of that, Cat watched as Caeden stood atop the nest almost directly over her head, facing the pseudo-dragon head-on. He had changed from his golden form over to the nightmarish formshift his Sharp shroud gave him, but that fell away as well while he seemed to prepare an attack, possibly one of his new techniques.

Cat worried that he wouldn't have time to activate whatever ability or mnemonic he seemed to believe could harm the monster, and she was ready to send every last specter she had to buy him time. The approach of this giant had caused all the smaller monsters to flee, after all. But Caeden was ready for that as well.

The enormous false-dragon only made a single step into the clearing before a rain of endless spikes slammed down on its ape-like face. Caeden was using all the thorns he had been creating throughout the battle. They had become such a feature of the sky overhead that Cat forgot they were there. Now they were coming back into play to spectacular effect.

Of course, the thorns weren't very impactful on the massive monster. It seemed confused and slightly afraid, as the attacks were dealing damage, but it was only receiving surface wounds. Cracked scales, simple cuts, nothing deadly. And that was all the thorns would be able to achieve. They were simply too small relative to the pseudo-dragon's bulk.

None of that mattered after Caeden's next attack. The thorns dried up, tens of thousands expended to buy a few seconds of time. Just as the monster flicked its tail out in a devastating attack and Cat was worried Caeden hadn't bought enough time, he launched his technique.

The golden lion launched out, the face tall enough to fit Caeden's body in its jaws. The air rippled at its passing, and it slammed into the base of the monster's long, flexible tail. Biting down with shroud-formed jaws, the lion severed the limb and carried on, dragging the tail with it before it slammed into the ground and dissipated. Caeden had simultaneously thwarted the attack against him and dealt a devastating blow to the monster.

Cat stared in awe. Somehow, in the time since they fought under Black Reach, Caeden had ascended to a whole new level of power. Meanwhile, Cat hadn't improved at all. The gulf between them continued to grow ever wider, and she didn't know how to make up the difference.

What could she possibly do to reach that height?

{}

Caeden woke up to a rough tongue licking his cheek slowly, over and over. A casual check of his aura senses indicated that he had only passed out for a moment. If the pounding headache that bordered on a migraine was anything to go by, he hadn't had that much time to recover. If it had been long at all, the natural regenerative effect of his shrouds would have had him recovered, at least physically.

The licking had an obvious source. Caeden's newly bonded half-dragon was staring down at him from his chest when he opened his eyes. The slit pupils contained both concern and curiosity, which matched the sensations leaking through their bond. The little baby monster had spent the entire fight nestled around Caeden's neck, completely oblivious to the fight he had tangentially participated in. Now, his tiny consciousness, so newly formed, contained a question and a request.

He was hungry.

Caeden had enough presence of mind to realize that he had no idea what to feed a half-monster half-dragon abomination formed from the tragedy of an entire race. He also realized he was currently lying atop the home of the only group of people who might be able to give him an answer. And he had just visually, spectacularly, saved all their lives.

"Well, time to see if I can hit them up for some tips." Caeden groaned, sitting up, holding a hand around the baby hatchling to keep him from tumbling off Caeden's chest and quite possibly off the side of the plateau. He had passed out in a precarious position.

Checking his reserves, Caeden found he was still completely tapped out of both shrouds. He had the bare scraps that had regenerated in the past minute or so that he had fallen unconscious. Without his shrouds, getting down from this height was a daunting task. Instead, he decided to call for help.

"Hey!" He yelled over the side at the top of his lungs. "I could use some help up here!"

Moments later, familiar wingbeats revealed a riderless spectral pegasus that alighted down next to him before kneeling, obviously waiting for him to embark. A quick ride to the ground found Cat next to the lime green dragon from before, as well as several others.

Communication sense was capable of translating body language along with verbal words, but Caeden wasn't proficient enough to do anything more than get a gist of how these dragons were feeling from their stance alone. Despite that, he could easily tell that the lime-colored dragon was feeling sheepish while the others were somewhere between elated and distrustful. Overall, he felt like he got the picture.

To head off any dissent, Caeden spoke as soon as he landed. "I've never intended to harm or participate in actions against any dragons. I have nothing against your people, and I'm sorry for the injustices my people have forced upon yours. I'm not expecting anything from you or yours for defending this nest outside of some information."

Immediately, the lime dragon nodded while the others recoiled in shock. No doubt, hearing those words spoken plainly and truthfully by a shrouded was the exact opposite of what they expected. Caeden had a suspicion that the lime one had expected him to demand something of them in return for his protection. Now that he hadn't and professed that he didn't intend to, he was feeling some remorse over his judgment.

Caeden wasn't expecting any miracles from these people. He doubted the dragons as a race would ever have anything but mistrust and hatred for the shrouded. He couldn't blame them. But he hoped that they were at least open-minded enough to recognize that the shrouded weren't a monolith and that all their number weren't evil. He would settle for them ignoring him and Cat instead of attacks and open hostility.

That proved to be an accurate guess, as the other dragons all grumbled and griped among themselves and seemed to castigate the lime dragon for 'trusting a shrouded,' but ultimately, they left without offering up any resistance to his presence. Saving their lives and the dignity of one of their number went a long way to fostering tolerance.

After they had all moved off back into the many caves burrowed into the plateau, the lime dragon finally turned to address Caeden. "Thank you for helping us. You did not have to."

Caeden shrugged. "It was the right thing to do. I don't want to be the kind of person that can walk away from as situation like that and still sleep at night, so don't feel like you owe me much. Those monsters might be a challenge for dragons since they're designed to fight and kill you, but they're not that bad for us."

"You still say that after facing Salderian, one of the principle curses laid on my people?" The dragon challenged.

"Ok, you have a point there. That one was a bit more than I could normally handle. Actually, a lot more." Caeden conceded. "But I just so happened to be in a position to hit it pretty hard there, so I don't think you'll have to worry about that one for a while. Honestly, I'm sorry I can't help more, but I have my own people to find since they're lost on this continent too, and none of them can speak draconic like I can. I can't stick around."

"I expected as much." the dragon nodded. "In fact, I expected you to leave before the fighting began. This is a boon for us; no dragon can dispute that. Despite our people's dark history, we dragons are an honorable species. We would not bring harm to one who protected our very lives. If there is any help we can supply, please ask." Caeden felt a slight edge to those words, an implicit warning to keep his demands within reason. He also felt that this dragon wouldn't take no for an answer. Caeden's defense of their nest had incurred a debt. No doubt, the dragon abhorred the idea of owing something to a shrouded and wanted to discharge that debt as soon as possible.

Luckily, Caeden already had an obvious solution. "If you answer a couple of questions for me, I'd call us even."

"Then ask. I will do my best to answer." The dragon dipped his head.

"Well, first of all, how do I feed this guy?" Caeden lifted the half-dragon, currently wrapping itself around one of his arms. "He's hungry. A full monster bonded to one of my people would subsist off our shroud, but he's feeling actual hunger. I think it has to do with him being half dragon. Any ideas?"

The dragon shifted uncomfortably. "He is hungry? Already? This...This is close to a secret of my people. I don't think-"

"I promise I'll only tell my close friends and ensure they don't spread the information beyond themselves. I will never use the information you give me to harm dragons unless it's in self-defense." Caeden interrupted, heading off any concerns or reservations. He was beginning to really like truth speech. It let him clear the air in a way no one could argue.

"That…It is a fair compromise. Very well. It is very young for this one to do so, but your hatchling has formed the beginnings of his appetite."

"Ok…" Caeden waited for more.

The dragon sighed. "You shrouded have some misconceptions about dragons. One of those is how our races work. You think that we are born into the draconic race that one of our parents is. This is only partially true. Dragons are born to the race of one of our parents, but we do not stay that way. Sometime after every dragon hatches, they will form their appetite, the things that they wish to consume. That can be anything. From air to the earth to certain specific metals or chemicals. That appetite shapes our bodies as we grow. Many dragons maintain the same race as they take up the same appetite as their parents, but some change entirely, becoming new or different dragons in the process."

He glared at Caeden. "This is a deeply held private secret of our people. It is the only reason several of our races did not go extinct after the Crying of the Shattered Shells. If the shrouded leadership learned of this, they would no doubt form some horrible countermeasure. Do not. Tell. Anyone." He growled out the last bit.

"I won't," Caeden promised easily. He had no intention of helping the highest levels of the CA with anything ever. They had refused to heal his uncle just to get a bargaining chip to control him. He had nothing but disdain for anyone involved with that.

"So I just need to figure out what he wants to eat, and then he might change later on?" Caeden clarified.

"Just so. Keep in mind his growth will focus around whatever he eats. So be mindful of his appetites." The dragon warned. "I cannot say this was a negative experience meeting you, but I'm just as happy to see you go. Goodbye, shrouded child. Safe journeys." The dragon ducked his head in a bow.

Caeden nodded back. He hadn't expected anything more. "Thanks for the help with the little guy. I'm glad I could help." He turned to leave before whipping back around. "Actually, one last thing."

The dragon tensed as if he expected Caeden to lash out. "Yes?"

Caeden found his reaction almost funny. After all, Caeden could do little to harm him. "Can you point me in the direction of the desert on this continent? That's where we're going."

The dragon let out an obvious sigh of relief. "Of course. Head that way. There's a small mountain range beyond the jungle's borders, and past that is the vast Araki Desert." He raised a claw to point off into the distance.

"Thanks. Best of luck." Caeden waved before jumping onto the Passenger Brute Cat had summoned. There was nothing more to say. The dragons wanted them to leave, but Caeden and Cat's defense had made that a rude thing to do. They couldn't voice their displeasure, but Caeden didn't want to test their goodwill any longer than he had to. It was best if they moved on as quickly as possible.

That plan was almost immediately put on hold as the hatchling poked its head up to sniff the air barely a few steps later. They hadn't even fully left the clearing. "What do you want, kiddo?"

Climbing up Caeden's arm, the baby half-dragon looked over the side of the Passenger Brute before looking at Caeden and letting out an adorable chirping sound. He hopped slightly before looking down again. Following the little dragon's gaze, Caeden saw he was looking at the slowly discorporating tail of the giant false-dragon that Caeden had severed.

"Seriously?" Caeden looked at his bonded half-monster in disbelief. Another little hop was his answer. "Ok, have at it."

The hatchling jumped, chirped, and ran down the side of the Brute, diving mouth first onto the side of the tail that was almost as tall as the specter.

Caeden looked at Cat and laughed. "Apparently, he likes to eat monsters."