Lisa rolled out of bed with the lethargy of a snoozing slagun and rubbed the crust from her eyes. She stumbled over the rug draped over the chilly stone floor and started rummaging around in her candlewood armoire. She decided on a sky blue dress with an open back and slits cut across her shoulders. It fell past her ankles, as always, and flared out as it approached the floor.

As she unbuttoned her nightshirt, her eyes stared into the mirror. Her hairstyle was cut short so that it would never blow in her pale blue eyes. Two wings arched out of her back and draped around her shoulders like a shroud of show.

As she looked lower, she sighed. Instead of the beautiful legs of humans, she has chicken legs. Where other girls have thighs, she has a puff of feathers. She knew should be fortunate that the rest of her bits are human, aside from her tail feathers, but she still tries her best to hide her taloned legs under long dresses and robes.

She fumbled around with the dress, because getting it to comfortably fit her wings is always a pain, but tucking in her tail feathers is much more uncomfortable. Once dressed, she ran a hand through her hair to straighten it before strapping a sword to her hip and leaving her utilitarian bedroom.

As she walked through the Violavine estate, she saw humans. Human maids, human cooks, human cousins, and none had chicken legs. Despite calling them chickens, she was the union of a human cultivator and an arctic roc.

Her father was a summit lord in a midsized sect until his bonded beast’s cultivation reached a level where it gained a human form and their platonic partnership drifted into the romantic. Internal sect politics caused her parents’ faction to break away and move to Convail.

As she left the main building and entered the courtyard she felt the gaze of several peers lock onto her. She knew that the decision to settle in Convail was still heavily argued among their faction and whispers among the younger generation always reflected the gossip among the elders. Normal humans wouldn’t catch the hearsay, but she inherited her mother's keen senses.

“I can’t believe we’re out here for the summit lord to hump his pet.”

“At least the heir is a beauty, plus charming her would instantly elevate your position.”

“Beauty? I hear she's all bird below the shoulders. Besides, the lass has an ice princess.”

Lisa rolled her eyes, it was nothing she hadn’t heard before. Aside from the few families that had true loyalty towards her father, most of their faction consisted of meager clans that thought leaving the sect would give them more advancement opportunities than staying.

She walked along the cobbled path of a large courtyard that was encircled by a wall of interlocked stone buildings with narrow arched passageways leading out. As she strolled along, she would occasionally pause to glance at a spar between two particularly well-matched fighters or study an archer imbue an arrow.

Her faction was well known for their beast companions, but most could only bond with smaller beasts. Some would choose birds that made for excellent scouts, messengers, and small game hunters. Others chose to focus on melee and use felines, canines, or reptiles to track, harass, distract, or lure their prey. Regardless, small-scale ambush tactics were what made their faction famous.

If the master-beast duo were lucky, they would be able to acquire rare natural treasures or alchemical pills to help their companion cultivate past the shackles of their bloodline and grow into a much more capable beast. They might gain command over their element, obtain a larger form, or even become an alpha capable of leading a pack.

As she made her way towards the exit, one of the hooligans stepped forward to block the archway with arms crossed. As he stared down at her, she quirked her brow.

“It’s been a while since our little snowflake faced a challenge in battle, why not join me for some exercise?” the blockhead grinned.

“Yes, it has been some time since any of you were able to challenge me. Unfortunately, I’m not in the mood for nest-watching today.”

He stepped aside and chuckled, “No? I get it, yer busy. Just like a brooding hen.”

Lisa’s eyes glinted blue as they distorted to become monstrous. Her pupils dangled like icicles suspended by a web of frost as her crystalline arteries emerged. The world seemed to brighten, as her vision expanded to include colors that went beyond violet and contrasting shades of color bloomed in her mind. With her new vision came increased clarity, as objects both near and far were focused simultaneously, allowing her to catch every detail.

“Fine then.” She said and drew her sword while walking to the sparring field.

As Lisa stared across the field, she felt her left eye twitch as the man twirled his sword with over-embellished theatrics.

“I thought you asked to fight,” she mocked, “not dance.”

“Oh? I guess I gotta save my victory dance for when yer lying in the mud.”

They closed the distance in a guarded stance when Lisa shifted into a lunge. Her taloned feet dug into the ground and allowed her to lean much further than any human would be able to without falling.

He batted her blade aside with a buckler shaped like an elongated oval that curved around his left hand and forearm

As he tried to use his handaxe to punish her overextended reach, she pulled with her talons while flapping her wings to fall out of his reach. As she landed, she felt the impact of a beast ram into her side, causing her to flutter her wings and roll with the impact. Mid-cartwheel, she saw the beast was a young bullgrel–a miniature bull with the jaws of a mongrel.

She landed with a spinning kick and used a taloned foot to clasp the beast's horns and launch it towards its master. As the duo collapsed to the ground, she fluttered over with her sword raised and pressed the tip to her opponent's throat.

“Asshole,” he growled, “you could have broken Charger’s neck.”

“Yes, and he could have ruffled my feathers,” she replied while walking away.

Once she was out of sight, she idly rubbed the bruise and turned her thoughts towards beast companions. It was different for her than the others, she couldn’t see them as simple pets with limited intellect. Her mother, though uncultured, far surpassed most humans' ability to learn and adapt. She couldn’t be sure how a bond would affect her either, as she was half a beast herself.

Her thoughts drifted back to her mother's words: ‘You will be able to shift fully in time. You only need to cultivate far enough.’ She wasn’t like therians, she was a nyx–the offspring of a human and a spirit. While rocs are thought of as beasts, they are closer to the mythical phoenix than a mundane falcon, and when her mother shifts to human form she becomes a spirit with the appearance of a human.

What this means for her, is that she can’t control her form freely until she cultivates enough power for her roc half to transform into a spirit form; similar to how selkie can transform from a half seal to full human when they become strong enough.

As she left the gates of the human compound, she finally felt the sun as it shined above the tall buildings. Her back arched and she stretched out her wings, feeling lighter. She strolled through the streets crowded with sectoids, nagas, and centaurs. She looked out from an arching bridge that crossed a canal and saw seafolk swimming about. A siren leapt out of the water with her fens and tail glittering in the sunlight before they quickly morphed into the feathers of a bird and she continued her journey in the air.