Three days after being empowered by Adam, an apparition grade summon drifted through the darkness of the mine Askel called home.
Still coiled tightly as the empowerment worked in stages to trigger an evolution, the apparition approached until Askel sensed them and reared back. Despite a lack of physical change, her mind had already developed significantly. 'What is that?' she thought 'Did Master send food for me? He's so nice!'
"I have been asked to give you a message from your Master..." The apparition paused, unsure if the creature before it understood.
'A message? No food? Oh! Maybe he just wants me to know he's coming' the snake giggled internally, nodding her head enthusiastically.
"... Unfortunately, he says he has failed, he doesn't know what will happen to him. He says he may die and asks you to forgive the humans..."
'Master? Die? No,he can't!' She reared back ready to attack the liar trying to scare her.
"... He wants you to protect them, but understands if you can't stay and want to leave."
"Protect them? I'll consume them if they hurt him!" In the moment her anger exploded, her thoughts were forced across to the apparition.
"No! You must... Why, is your contract faltering? How are you defying your Master? Especially him."
"Not Master... Papa!"
With that, she lunged toward the apparition. It tried to defend itself, but was caught off-gaurd when the shadowy magic dissipated on contact and found its ethereal form suddenly corporeal and impaled by two massive fangs.
As she swallowed the creature, she felt her body absorb a warmth, which she tried to ignore whilst she fought to push through the new wave of drowsiness.
Despite her best efforts, she fell still, cursing herself for not moving when her Papa needed her, he had protected her, made her strong and she was too tired to help.
Several days later, she awakened fully transformed. The one spacious mine, now felt narrow and suffocating, but she didn't care, she forced herself through the shaft.
Then as darkness gave way to light, she found herself looking down on the camp, but it looked different and there was lots more people than before. To make matters worse she couldn't feel her connection to Papa anymore.
She spotted a man surrounded by guards amongst the crowd staring up at her and then she heard it.
"I thought it was a cave in. Askel, is that you!? Why did Teacher do to you?"
At the mention of her paper she shot down, hissing wildly as she tried to communicate.
'I wish I could talk! I need to find Papa!' then as if to answer her wishes, she felt that warmth spread through her again then she felt small and strange.
"Tell me where Papa is!" She demanded, when everyone started looking away. Then a woman ran over and wrapped her up.
"Whose Papa? We don't know who you mean." She asked, ever so slightly nervous as the girl blinked with double eyelids of a snake and turned her blood red serpent eyes on her.
"He does! He said his name. Teacher!" She yelled catching everyone by suprise.
Luckily the man surrounded by guards recovered quickly and walked over to her, kneeling in the mud to speak to her as an equal.
"My dear, Teacher is fine, we had to play a mean trick on him but he is ok and should be here in a couple of days no doubt to tell you himself. Wouldn't it be a nice suprise for him to come and find out how adorable his little girl is."
The girl stared hard and the man felt the weight of what it would mean for his words to be proven false. "Commander, send a man to town immediately, with emergency haste. Tell Halsan to get Teacher here immediately and order some proper clothes for the poor girl, but keep it vague we can't risk the suprise being ruined."
He then told the cook to get her measurements and give them to the soldier.
Askel played along, she knew her Papa was strong, she knew they couldn't hurt him... "Papa wouldn't leave me alone."
As she waited, she wondered though. She didn't know why they had to play a mean trick on her Papa, she didn't know when Master became Papa even though she was certain that was right, she didn't know what was taking him so long and she didn't know why she got so big or why she slithers in the sky now, but she was big and fluffy and she knew Papa would like that.
"I need to thank the nice lady to, she was mad at Papa, but I can tell she likes him lots. I wonder if she will be my Mama?"