Princess Iyuri shot her long, serpentine head past Tycondrius, brushing his chest. Then, she coiled around him to meet his gaze.
"But... but... I can breathe water?"
Tycon poked her chin, "Explain."
"I have... to suck it in, first? But then I can spit it out."
"Most creatures can do that," Tycon smiled politely.
...To prove his point, he inhaled... air and exhaled onto her face.
"Oh! A Minty Breath Weapon?!" Iyuri exclaimed, "Are... you a dragon too?"
Tycon held two fingers up and thunked Iyuri between the eyes, "I am *not*. Do not accuse me of such-- that is *quite* rude, hatchling..."
"Ohhhhh!!" Iyuri the Sea Snake Princess recoiled in mock injury.
"Also, you are still not a dragon."
"I'm... I'm not? What... am I, then?"
Tycon took a deep, halting breath to cool his rage.
Iyuri was a hatchling.
She was far more ridiculous than the other hatchlings he'd dealt with, as of recent... but despite her advanced bloodline and her Metal-Ranking, she was undoubtedly a child.
His anger was useless. Her careless remarks were due to her naivete.
Children are best to be *taught* what is correct... and it would behoove him to be more patient.
He unwrapped his mask and gazed upward at Iyuri, "You, young lady, are a Sea Serpent."
⟬ Iyuri, Gold-Rank Sea Serpent. ⟭
Iyuri stared down, her pupils closing and reopening, similar to how a human blinks... "O... oh. You're-- I like your face."
"Thank you. I quite like the color of your scales."
The snake recoiled with a gasp, "R-really?! Am I pretty for a dra--"
"--Sea Serpent," Tycon interrupted with a frown.
"Sea Serpent!" Iyuri nodded sagely, "I'm a Sea Snake! That makes a whooole lot of sense, actually!"
"I certainly hope it does..."
"So that's why I can talk to snakes?"
"...Because you are one, yes."
"Ohhhhhh... wow, you're really smart... Eh? Wait--" Iyuri flicked her tongue inquisitively, "Are... are *you* a snake, Mister Tycondrius?"
"Yes..." Tycon lowered his head and took another deep breath... "Yes, Iyuri. Yes, I am."
...
Tycon could forgive Princess Iyuri for challenging his integrity-- she did not know better. However, there were only so many instances of 'are you really?' that he could stomach.
Tycon transformed into his snake form and bid the hatchling Princess deeper into the cave. They traveled up and around the cavern tunnels-- which were far easier to climb by undulating scales rather than hand and foot.
They reached a spacious, far more open room, where Iyuri could stretch to her fullest without issue.
Why she did not wait for him in such an area baffled him. If he was a hostile opponent, she would have free reign to use her body to attack or to coil up defensively, striking at her leisure.
"Mister Tycon..." Iyuri snuggled in her coils.
"My title is 'Ivory Prince,' young lady," Tycon chided. "However, it is permissible for a Princess, such as yourself, to refer to me as Tycon-- without an honorific."
"OooOoh... You... you're really important. And you're really strong, too..." Iyuri cooed.
Tycon nodded his head. Iyuri finally seemed to understand just who she was speaking to.
"But why... are you so *smol*?" She asked.
...Tycon rolled his eyes.
It was an innocent enough question... but it was also an unintentional attack on his ego.
"My *size*, young lady, is quite normal," He sighed. "Depending on the species, female snakes tend to have larger forms than their male counterparts"
pαndα noνɐ1,сoМ "I'm huh-yooj," Iyuri hissed happily. "Oh! But... but... both of your forms are really, really pretty, Prince Tycon."
"Thank you," Tycon inclined his head.
Princess Iyuri's serpent form was also quite magnificent. With the luminescent moss, deeper in the cavern, he was better able to appreciate her body-- in a platonic manner, solely considering aesthetics.
She was twenty some fulms long, with shimmering blue scales, banded with deep, lustrous onyx stripes. She was certainly more lengthy than both himself and Shadow Snake Princess Ananta. In a century or so, Tycon wondered if she'd outgrow the Titan Snake, Isidor.
Her body was tall, for a snake, though her sides were more flat, better adapted for swimming in deep water. The fact reminded him of her prodigious strength and her respectable passive mana output. A sea creature such as herself needed to be at least Gold-Rank to contend with other ocean predators like Abyssal Sea Wolves and Leviathans.
Tycon shifted back to his human form and stretched his human body, relaxing on Iyuri's paddled tail as if it were a reclining chair. It was smoother than he expected... and quite comfortable.
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a gift suitable for a Princess: a portion of dry-cured ham made from wild boar.
"Shall we converse, young lady?"
Iyuri flicked her tongue, tasting the air... and her eyes widened as she stared.
Tycon pursed his lips, "Miss Iyuri?"
"N-nevermind! Um. Um... Um. It... it smells so gooOOod~"
"It is a gift," Tycon waved the leather-wrapped package, "However, I advise you to transform into your humanoid form before partaking. Humans and similar are better at tasting their meals-- the reason is complicated. Don't ask."
"Huh? O... oh," Iyuri blinked her eyes, "I... I can do that."
A small ball of worry blossomed in Tycon's stomach. In a previous campaign,traveling the Holy Country, he browbeat his Titan Snake friend and companion, Isidor, into taking a humanoid form. His best efforts resulted in... a strange, beardless, scale-covered dwarf.
Humanoid transformation was a skill that Isidor desperately needed to practice.
...At the very least, only Tycon would be privy to whatever massive failure Iyuri was going to present.
Tycon slid off of the hatchling's tail and gestured an open palm towards her, "Go ahead, young lady."
"A-alright..." Iyuri nodded. "M... ⌈Magical Girl Transformation!⌋"
She utilized a short chant to better cast her magic. That was clever of her.
With a burst of watery mana, the Sea Serpent disappeared in a cloud of thick, but gentle mist. When it dissipated... what remained was a human girl as tall as he was, her long locks split between blue and black streaks.
Her actual form looked... well enough.
To his surprise, she was not nude... She wore a burlap sack, holes cut out for her arms and head-- which was *not* appropriate attire for a Princess.
Tycon chanced to look down. Iyuri's curvaceous, peach-skinned waist and shapely legs were exposed to the cavern air.
...The Sea Snake Princess was far more resistant to the cold than he was... not that he would choose to go without trousers if granted the opportunity.
Thankfully, the sight of it wasn't arousing in the least. Iyuri was a child, even if both her snake form and human form was that of a fully grown adult female.
"Ta-daaa~!" Iyuri jumped up, her ample human bosom underneath her sackcloth bouncing... violently.
"Ow," She placed her hands on her chest, "These shake. A lot. How come your human form doesn't have these?"
Tycon shook his head. It seemed he had to spend a bit longer with Iyuri than he'd anticipated-- if just to teach her a few basic things about being a proper snake... and a proper human.
He summoned a set of clothes from his spatial ring. He'd have preferred Iyuri wear something that better fit her frame... or something that better behooved a Princess. His own clothing would do, if only for the sake of functionality.
As the hatchling was mostly unfamiliar with dressing, he performed a servant's work of assisting her. Her... parts were large and unwieldy and when he accidentally brushed her skin, she burst into laughter.
While her light voice was overall pleasant, after the third or fourth bout of giggling, it became tedious, and he insisted that she focus.
Iyuri's mood recovered quickly when he prompted her to ask her questions.
She asked why the ham tasted so wonderful.
She asked about Tycon's family and of the various Snake Reigns. She asked about what sentient creatures were and were not permissible to murder and consume from an ethical standpoint.
She asked why clothes were necessary and why certain sentients were so off put by nudity.
Iyuri blinked her overly large, childish eyes and danced her fingers against her collarbone, "Why... is my chest?"
"So large?" Tycon rolled his eyes as he finished closing Iyuri's sleeved shirt. Even after being lightly bound by bandaging cloth, her breasts threatened to burst free... so he left the top two buttons undone.
"It is rare for us and our kin to have complete control over our humanoid transformations," He explained. "This is... what is natural for you."
Admittedly, if Tycon was born with an affinity for shapeshifting like a Druid or Changeling, he'd have liked to be a slight bit taller.
"No," Iyuri shook her head-- while she held onto her chest to keep her extraneous parts still. "It's... thumping? And so fast. It doesn't hurt, though? ...And I like it."
Her eyes suddenly widened, "Am I gonna die?"
"Hm," Tycon casually observed the child's face, flushed red, "Worry not, hatchling. It is a natural occurrence. Your heart is beating quickly because I'm very attractive."
"Oh," Iyuri nodded. "Ohhhhh~! I get it! Mister Tycon, I'm in love with you!"
"Again, please refer to me as *Prince* Tycon," He corrected. "Or just Tycon, if you would."
"I'm in love with you! Tycon!"
"I heard you the first time," Tycon grimaced. "But thank you."
"Say it back, coward!"
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