Chapter 124: Better Days

"Leaving so soon? Bah!" Bracha said as she flourished around in the water. She was the only person still relaxing in the bath.

"Yea. We've gotta get up early tomorrow." Katrin replied as she and the others left the bath one by one.

"Ahhhh. Even Agni? After the fireworks you put on you're leaving me too? Cruel, very cruel." Bracha rested her head on the back of her hands as she spoke. There was a pleasant, content expression painted across her face. Her cheeks were rosy, from something other than the warmth of the bath water.

"Three hours of bathtime is a bit much, even for me." Agni said, choosing to completely ignore Bracha's "fireworks" comment.

The green eyed blonde smiled as she watched her company slowly leave her.

"They always go in the end." She said, accompanied by a sigh as she turned to face the empty bath by her lonesome.

After getting dressed they all thanked Agni and Katrin for the invite to an unusual, yet relaxing evening. Even Merri and Ariadna seemed to enjoy themselves despite being groped.

In the end they all walked back to the Mystic Tower, each talking about various things along the way. For Agni, her conversation was with Katrin and Dealla. Agni's initial impression of Dealla was someone who seemed to be reserved and distant. It wasn't until striking up a conversation that she realized they actually had many things in common.

Upon reaching the lounge of the chapel everyone went their separate ways. Gigi dragged Gates off towards the male side of the living quarters. Ariadna and Merri parted ways at their room and Katrin, Agni and Shula escorted Dealla to her door.

"I had fun. Thanks." Dealla said as she disappeared into her temporary sleeping quarters. She waved to the trio of companions before taking her leave. The sight greeting the dragon-kin was dismal to say the least. Dark, and empty room devoid of warmth. In some ways it coincided with how she currently felt.

Dealla took off her cloak and tossed it aside haphazardly, only taking note to remember where she'd left it. The day was taxing, she was still struggling with the weariness that accompanied first death. Luckily she would feel better tomorrow.

Dealla's thoughts were also constantly affecting her mood. Her obsession, Chloe, was often all that she could think of. Particularly being separated from her. That's why the unexpected invitation to a social gathering was exactly what Dealla needed. Even as Dealla plopped down on her bed, face first into the pillow, she felt a sense of separation anxiety. Normally this would be enough to keep her awake for hours, but today she was quite fortunate. She was far beyond exhausted and managed only to keep up by borrowing on the energy of others throughout the evening. Now, Dealla could feel herself relaxing wholly as she drifted off into a deep slumber.

Perhaps this was Dealla's reason for reminiscing about the past. Her mind quickly recalled her life as it used to be, before Adventia. Something about those days seemed so desperate, so important -- yet she couldn't place the necessity in hindsight.

In fact, everything about her past life seemed so...normal. Born in the strange purgatory of a rural town. Living an ordinary life as someone who watched from the shadows but rarely got involved -- normal. Military service which led to an exceedingly normal corporate work life. The same work life that would eventually take his life.

On the particular day of his death, he felt tired. Extremely so, he took a seat to allow the spell to pass. It was one of the last things he remembered. Much like how he lived his life, he checked out to darkness and silence. He vaguely remembered a few things and others much more clearly.

He vividly remembered the sound of his heart slowing to a halt, having been overworked for far too long. The sensation of tilting forward as his body fell forward like a rock. The sound of the impact -- a crunch noise -- which claimed his life as he lay broken and bleeding, the faces of coworkers full of panic as they gazed down at him.

Still, he didn't think it was a terrible way to go. Like most of his previous life it was exceedingly normal. To die from overwork? Throwing oneself so wholly into an organization that rarely values you? A sad tale to be sure, but one repeated across the globe on any given day.

Which is why he was pleasantly surprised to find himself alive when next he opened his eyes. In the body of a woman upon awakening, no less. Shortly thereafter he found himself in an even stranger situation -- a half human, half dragon woman in a world where magic, monsters and even monster girls existed.

"He" was no longer an appropriate pronoun. "She" had stout horns which curved around her ears to guard her face and cheeks. She had mahogany colored hair which trailed downward to the middle of her back and , at times was, unruly. She had brown eyes speckled with an unusual salmon color inside her slit iris, eyes that would occasionally glow with a strange golden aura when provoked.

She had pointed ears half covered in scales, the same kind of scales which graced her body in several places. Along the outer wrists and ankles, even leading up the length of her spine and ending beneath her shoulder blades. One of her most prominent features was her tail, long thick and scaled (130 cm, perhaps slightly less). The same tail which protruded from just above the hipline and occasionally got in the way of all sorts of things.

Her days were now filled with wonder as she slowly became accustomed to her new life and all the caveats associated with it. Avarice, it was the single word which accurately described the ruling force within her life at the moment.

This same force was one that held sway over many in her past life, a thirst for the material -- usually wealth. An ideal that would cause many to kill or steal, even from elderly and children in her past world. At times she thought it was the price she paid for living a callow life, and at times it seemed more like a blessing.

Despite this all she came to make friends and even found a place to belong. She even recovered something she had long since forgotten in the days of her youth -- a zeal for life. These thoughts rolled about in her mind until a single idea drifted to the forefront. If she wanted better days, she would need to reconnect with those who helped her to become the woman she was. Even as she slept, Dealla formed her resolve -- she would do what needed to be done to reclaim what was hers.