Hadrian curved and stretched Ali's thin fingers. As he did, the nails darkened and took curved sharp shapes. He was "substituting" the hawk's talons to Alia's finger nails.
The black hawk was huge, its wing span wider than Alia was taller. A single of its talons was as thick as two of Alia's fingers and about the same length. And it had eight, more than enough to distribute to his finger and toe nails.
As he did this, the hawk's talons disappeared. After thirty seconds of being mesmerized by it, he returned them to the black hawk.
This is good.
Hadrian thought.
I'm no longer defenceless. My strength is still lacking, however. The more vessels I find, the more I can reinforce a body of my choosing.
Hadrian ran his tongue over his teeth.
Mmh. If I get a dog vessel, I can get fangs and reinforce my teeth and jaw.
Thinking this, a smile crept up on Alia's face as Hadrian thought of all the possibilities.
If I leave the city walls and find a wildling or corrupted beast, I would stand a better chance against the mages.
Hawk Hadrian perched on top of a roof. He'd spotted a dog.
I can't let that woman distract me.
Alia Hadrian crossed her arms as hawk Hadrian observed the dog.
It must be some remnants of Alia making me feel compelled to help her.
Hadrian scratched the back of his head.
Would a little gold be worth it? Perhaps I should turn her to a vessel and liberate her of this life.
He watched as the brown short furred wild dog got closer, its snout constantly on the ground. You could see its ribs. It wasn't as big as the earlier dog.
One of the rat Hadrians scurried in front of the dog causing it to chase after. Once in radius to switch "main vessel" Hadrian tried the same tactic as earlier.
Through rat Hadrian he altered its sight and called at the dog's essence fog. The dog's jaws crushed rat Hadrian's skull before he could do much.
Alia Hadrian hands rose to her temples as she gritted her teeth.
The dog did not waste time chewing on the rat. At the spot it had killed the rat, there was an opening nearby in a wall.
Another rat Hadrian ran up and squeezed himself in.
As the dog feasted, this new rat Hadrian called at its essence fog. The dog's head rose with a growl as it turned to the opening.
With loud barks it jumped at the rat trying to get at it but even its paw could not fit through.
After thirty seconds the dog turned to run. A hawk landed on it with the weight of a teenage girl. The hawk flapped its wings chaotically, covering the dog's face.
Five seconds of this and the hawk leaped with a flap, flying away.
Dog Hadrian flexed his claws and jaws. He looked back at his tail and wagged it. Excited, Hadrian substituted its fangs and teeth to Alia Hadrian.
Alia's teeth took shape, her teeth and jaws getting reinforced. He also "substituted" the dog's claws together with the Hawk's talons, layering them together into Alia Hadrian's nail claws.
Not only were they sharper but stronger than before.
Alia Hadrian ran her tongue over her new set of fangs. Her jaw reinforced with that of the rat Hadrians as well, he felt he could break a man's skull with a bite.
Now I don't have to be too afraid of obtaining a human vessel.
As he thought this, his eyes constricted.
Through baby Hadrian, he saw their door yanked open and heard it clutter somewhere outside.
A familiar faced man got in and his eyes scanned the small room. When they landed on their leftover chicken, the man frowned and reached forward grabbing the startled Alia's mother who'd been yelling at him.
She was thrown to their campfire style cooking place where she'd boiled the chicken.
She had needed to do this to avoid the smoke filling their small room.
"I got word that someone suspiciously prepared chicken just as I was looking for mine."
"That was my chicken." Alia's mother cut in with a shout.
"From whom and when did you buy it?" The man questioned. Alia's mother's head hung low with no response.
"It cost me forty five copper coins." the man said, "three days. You have three days to bring me two new chickens or a hundred copper coins."
The man straightened his jacket, "Then we can solve it without involving officials and you won't get hanged for theft. The man's eyes studied the surroundings. "You could also try leaving the city." He said with a spit. "Good luck with that."
Tsk.
Hadrian clicked his tongue.
My actions are already coming back to harm this woman.
Alia shook her head.
I'm bound to make some powerful enemies. It'll be better if I leave sooner rather than later.
Alia rubbed the head of dog Hadrian. Its stomach growled and he sent it to finish eating the rat it had killed.
I'll help her on this matter alone. After that I shall be free of her.
When Alia got back, Alia's mother did not mention what had happened. You could see the sweat on her face as she prepared to leave.
"I'll be back." She said to Alia, "got word of some work I could do."
Alia nodded with her lips pressing tightly together. It was two hours past high noon and the sun still shone bright and hot outside.
After Alia's mother left, Hadrian wrapped baby Hadrian over Alia's back and left too.
He could not simply steal another chicken in the same manner since it would mean he would constantly have to have a vessel a hundred metres from it, and the man might question where the chicken came from.
If someone else came and said, 'My chicken's been stolen,' then blame would return to Alia's mother.
Right over in Palateer District, however, was a small bank. Palateer District was on the opposite side of the Barons road that led out to the city walls.
As Hadrian got further up, the state of building and environment got better. Even by Calos district standard, the buildings closer to the Baron's road were pristine looking; more brick than wood
His vessels moved unnoticeably nearby.
Dog Hadrian ran into another wild dog. This one was two heads taller, its black fur just as short; if not shorter, and its snout wide.
It sniffed at the air and dog Hadrian as it passed, not minding dog Hadrian afterwards.
Dog Hadrian didn't waste the opportunity and called at its essence fog. The dog turned to dog Hadrian with a whimper, its ears pricking up.
The growl came shortly after. It exposed its fangs before jumping at dog Hadrian. However, before landing on him, it was struck from the side by a fast large black hawk.
Having substituted the weight state of Alia and his new made twelve rat vessels to the hawk, the big dog was sent crashing against a wall.
Hadrian sent his rat vessels onto the dog together with the howl. As they held it down and distracted it, dog Hadrian grasped its essence.
Thirty seconds later, it had become Hadrian's vessel.
Alia Hadrian smiled, now he could layer his fangs and claws to make them three times as strong and sharp.
In his vision, misty information flowed up.
[ Basic lifeform : 15 ]
[ Basic sentient lifeform : 2 ]
This was something he'd learned to do so that he did not have to enter that space every time.
Crossing the Baron's Road to Palateer, Hadrian saw a procession of hunter cohorts making their way out the city to find their luck on some wildling or beast.
Palateer's streets were clean and made of bricks unlike in Calos district. These were not Alia's memories but his own. He had more than once waited for people leaving the bank to rob them.
It was a branch of one of the main city banks but it was still heavily guarded. Four men outside, swords by their waists and heavily covered.
There might even be a mage inside.
Hadrian thought. He didn't worry too much about this however.
He made his smallest rats scurry around the bank looking for an opening. He didn't find one. The walls of the bank weren't just bricks, but chalk coloured concrete.
No matter.
Alia's Hadrian's eyes constricted.
I'll come back later tonight.
As time passes and the sun set, Hadrian managed to make twelve new rat vessels and two more wild dogs vessels.
He had not been lucky with another bird, however.
The streets were still alive, if not more alive, under the moonlight and cool night air.
The bank was closed.
Rat Hadrian walked up to the door and with his authority over body and flesh, he substituted the rats bones to another and squeezed the rat through the slight opening under the banks double metal gates.