Fort had been so excited to have his wife back that he hadn't really thought much about what she had gained from the Nightmare beyond what she had shown her children. Sure, he had been curious while she was away what Noble would obtain, but the reality of that hadn't hit home until that very moment.
His wife was a Saint, and with that came a Transformation.
"Are you going to tell me what it is ahead of time or make me guess?" Fort imagined all the possibilities.
"I can't tell you. I don't know myself. I didn't want to try it in my dorm at the Awakened Academy in case it was large. Trying to explain mass destruction upon my sudden return would have been a tall order even for me." Noble shrugged.
"Come on, you must have at least some clue from the name or description," Fort prodded.
"A little, but I won't know until I try." Noble backed up. The new Saint was serious when she said that she was concerned about size. Some Transcendants became larger than PTVs.
"Are you ready?" Noble felt her heart beating so hard that she was sure it might come out of her chest. Hopefully, turning inside out wasn't her new form. That would be both useless and ineffective.
And speaking of things Noble didn't want to be…
'Please don't be a bee. Please don't be a bee…'
While the creature did have a stinger and was renowned for its delicious honey, Noble did not want to be an actual insect. Being Queen Bee was one thing, surely becoming a literal one was going too far!
For that matter, she didn't want anything that would need to burrow into the ground or that would be hideous to see. What if Fort didn't like the way she looked when she transformed? Would he tell her?
A flood of terrible possibilities overwhelmed her. Suddenly, she was less excited about showing off.
"I'm ready!" Fort broke through her musing, giving her an affirmative gesture as he bent his knees slightly.
That was a smart move. Should he need to duck or jump unexpectedly, he would be ready.
'I really hope he doesn't need to take cover…'
Noble gritted her teeth. Maybe she should have come out here alone instead of risking Fort's safety.
The man sensed her hesitation. "Are you stalling for effect, or is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Noble assured him, 'except I got inside my own head.'
"Will you at least tell me the name of the Transformation?" Fort's winsome smile was too much for her.
She saw no harm in telling him. "It says 'Resplendent Prism'…"
"Really?" Fort's back straightened as he relaxed. "That's wonderful!"
"Do you know what it is?" Noble was baffled by her husband's reaction.
"I have a good idea. Change quickly so we can know for sure!"
Fort's enthusiasm for Noble overruled her nerves.
Focusing on the runes, she channeled her essence into the change. Her body rippled.
Her body and arms elongated, becoming lighter even as they grew larger. Noble felt her bones grow hollow, and her muscles around her shoulders become stronger. Her legs grew talons as her knees bent backwards and folded into her torso.
As feathers grew from her body, Noble felt power surge through her. She had never been so aware of her own form, but now she could sense every cell in her body down through her fingertips and toes–not that she had either of those anymore.
Her eyesight changed. Noble's vision had always been good, but now there was a sharpness to it that went beyond the usual spectrum of color. It was not quite like her second sight, but shapes appeared different and more defined than they ever had before.
She opened her mouth to comment on the difference when her mouth morphed into a curved beak.
'Oh!'
Looking down, Noble's swirling eyes opened wide. Her body was covered in brilliant, shimmering feathers that seemed to glow in the light. Most of her was bathed in shades of blue and green, but her stomach had plumage of the most brilliant crimson.
Though she could not see it yet, her head was adorned in a brilliant crown of golden plumage. What she could view was the long ribbons of tail trailing behind her like the remnants of a waterfall.
"A Quetzal!" Fort exclaimed, laughing as he chased after the glorious creature flying overhead.
"What?" Noble's word came out more like a shriek than a word, but her husband still understood.
"A quetzal," he repeated, cupping his hand toward her, "you are a beautiful bird!"
'A quetzal?' Noble ran through her knowledge on extinct animals to find the one her husband had mentioned.
From her brief study, she knew the bird was native to South America during the dark times. Noble furrowed her brow.
If she remembered correctly, only the males of that species had long tails and such vibrant plumage.
Not that it mattered. She wasn't strictly a Quetzal. The Spell had called her a prism, whatever it had meant by that.
'Perhaps I'm vain, but I prefer the vibrant colors.'
Noble looked down. Was it her imagination, or had the feathers become brighter even as she had the thought?
'Hmm…'
Below, Fort was cheering wildly. He looked more like a man who had won an epic contest of old than someone in the middle of the wilderness staring at the sky.
But for him, this was greater than any championship. His wife was a Saint, and he was the witness.
"You did it! That's my girl!"
Seeing his joy, Noble filled with pride. With her new wings, she dove and extended her feet. Wrapping her claws around Fort's waving arms, Noble plucked her husband from the ground and maneuvered him onto her feathery back.
He held tight to her plumage as he made sure not to fall.
Before, he had been wary of the height, but just now he was jubilant.
"You did it!" Her repeated.
"We did it," Noble corrected him, her voice less shrill than before. "I would never have made it this far without you."
It was true. Fort had been beside her every step of the way. He had introduced her to the Dreamscape and had been the one to back her up when she wanted to enter another Nightmare. This victory was theirs together.
Fort chuckled as he examined Noble's iridescent feathers. "Wow, this is amazing. In all my thoughts, I certainly wasn't imagining this. You are a giant bird!"
"You don't have to lean so hard into the word giant. The dragon I fought last night was much larger!" Noble tilted up her beak. "Wait, what were you expecting?"
"I figured from the name it would be a bird, but before that I imagined something more…compact." Fort winced.
"When you say compact…" Noble flapped her wings rhythmically as she looked over her shoulder at her husband.
"You know, smaller. Perhaps golden and onyx, with a lovable face and a tail that could skewer your enemies." Fort averted his gaze.
"You…wanted me to be a bee?" Noble blinked. Surely he was kidding! "I did not want to be a bee at all!"
"Why not? Can't you just picture how perfect that would bee?" The blue-eyed man winked.
Noble did picture it. Suddenly, things changed.