Three weeks later…
Diamond
Everyone had been able to more or less recover from the incident with the bandits six weeks prior. Now that they were all focused on being there for each other, everyone was moving forward. Luna didn’t mind Michelle and Amber dating each other, and actually didn’t even question it.
It was during a rest break that Amber finally completed the prototype of a special project she’d been working on.
“Diamond, can you come here?” she called to the wolf.
She grabbed the armor pieces she had made and carefully put them on, using her Gift to make some adjustments as she put everything together.
They actually would’ve bought armor for Diamond a long time ago, but her variable size made that a non-option for premade items, and custom items were out of their price range.
“First fit looks okay. Could you shrink a bit?”
The wolf shrank, and the straps in the armor pulled the pieces only a little closer together, but it wasn’t enough to prevent everything from becoming loose.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make armor to adjust for a smaller size anytime soon, but this is already a good start. Can you slowly increase your size? I’ll tell you when to stop.”
Diamond did as she was asked to, and the armor pieces spread out, creating gaps that expanded as her size increased. The straps kept everything secure, however, but they didn’t seem to be too tight or on the verge of snapping just yet.
Amber muttered to herself, “Hmm… I’ll need to work on some kind of durable fabric to put between the pieces. It won’t be ideal, but it’ll still be better than having completely unprotected areas like this. Or maybe an underlayer that slides out from the first…? Yeah, that sounds better, but it will require more than double the materials here…”
Diamond continued her gradual increase in size until she was told, “Okay, stop. It looks like twice your usual size is the limit of what I can currently create. Any larger than that, and it will start ripping apart. As for putting it on and removing it without any assistance, you might be able to do it just by shrinking in and out of it?
“Anyway, it’s still just the very first version, but now you have your own armor!”
Diamond’s tail wagged as she felt immense happiness from receiving the gift and being thought of so much. Her emotions became so much that something in her… came free, something that had been building up for a long time. Her mind and body went through a significant change.
She instinctively felt that she was capable of something new that she had never done before. She couldn’t use her mouth to speak the way the others could, but with her mind…
“Thank… you…!” she mentally said, feeling proud of speaking her first ever words. It was an odd sensation, like suddenly having an extra limb that she already knew how to use. Her voice was more of a magical projection than an actual sound, but it still came out as an ordinary voice.
The elf dropped the piece of leather she’d been holding and stared agape at her.
“Did you just… talk…?” Amber asked, flabbergasted.
“Y-Yes! I can talk now! Hello!”
She stared for many more seconds before finally processing the situation and breaking into a wide smile. She yelled, “Hey, everyone! You have to come over here! Something really awesome just happened!”
It didn’t take very long for the other three to gather.
“What’s up, Amber? Was Diamond’s armor a big success?” Sarah asked.
“Kind of, but that’s not what this is about.” Turning back to Diamond, she asked, “Do you think you can do it again?”
The wolf was nervous. It was her first time speaking with everyone, but she still managed to speak up. “H-Hello! I can talk now!”
Everyone was stunned just like Amber had been, but it wasn’t long before Luna wrapped her in a tight hug. “Diamond, this is amazing! This is so cool!”
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“Yes! I’m really happy!”
Sarah said, “Congrats, Diamond! Though, I do wonder how this happened.”
“It started on that day with the giant lizard, where I got hurt. I wasn’t me yet, but everything around me just started becoming more and more clear.”
“Do you think the goddess has something to do with this?” Amber asked.
Michelle shrugged uncertainly. “Maybe? But let’s focus on what we can figure out right now instead of that. We’ll go to a temple in Efrinteu when we can. We’re already in Nibuolos, and it’s only a few more days before we’re there. Meeting any of the gods is incredibly unlikely though, and it’s already amazing that it happened even once.”
Diamond announced, “I am so truly happy to meet everyone! And Mom, I am not a steed!”
“Huh?” Mom tilted her head in confusion.
“Some months ago, you called me a steed. I’m not just something for riding. I don’t mind giving rides, but I am so much more than that!”
She blinked. “I… Uh, you are definitely so much more than just a steed, I get that, and I’m sorry I said it. Um… You called me Mom?”
“You’re Luna’s mom, so you’re my mom, too?”
“Right… I need to… sit down…” she murmured, doing just as she said.
Diamond nudged her with her nose. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
She shook her head slightly and breathed out. “I’m not upset, just… really surprised. But I’m genuinely happy you’re here, Diamond. Welcome to the family.” She finished by pulling the wolf in for a hug.
“Yes!” Diamond wriggled out of the hug and licked Mom’s face.
———
Once everyone had calmed down, Sarah said, “We need to figure out what else has changed about Diamond. Is she just like the Awakened we know of, or is she still a part of Luna’s Gift? And if so, what happens if she runs out of mana?”
She froze. That’s terrifying to think about.
“Let’s start with the Gift stuff, first.” Mom suggested. “Luna, can you tell if there are any changes to your Gift?”
Luna was very excited to have a sister, and was wrapped around her. Diamond licked her cheek, causing her to giggle.
Her sister put a finger to her lip and said, “Umm… It’s like… not as much as before. That connection I had with Diamond isn’t there anymore. I can still make animals like before, but they won’t be as smart as Diamond is? There’s something different now. I don’t think I can make another sister.”
“Could you make an animal for us? We might learn something from it.”
“Okay.” Luna put her hands forward and created a rabbit.
It’s strange. I have memories of having numerous different forms before remaining as a wolf, but there were no thoughts or emotions whatsoever in any of my actions.
Mom looked between Diamond and the rabbit with an analytical gaze. “It somehow seems to have even less life than when Luna first received her Gift. And thinking back, Diamond’s behavior really did change a lot over the past few months.”
Diamond asked Luna, “Does it feel like I’m still a part of your Gift?”
“No. I can feel it with the rabbit, but you’re not there anymore.”
“Hmm…” Michelle considered. She then looked carefully at the wolf and also rested a hand on her. “Diamond, you’re not made of ice anymore!”
“I’m not?!” she asked in alarm, looking at her paws.
They spent the next several hours asking questions and seeing what they could figure out. They still had no idea how it had happened, but Diamond was now an Awakened, a more animal-like person.
Amber said, “Diamond, Awakened always have two abilities given to them automatically. One is your broadcast telepathy, which broadcasts your voice around you. If people don’t see your mouth not moving, they probably won’t even know it’s not telepathy they’re hearing.
“The other ability Awakened have is Astral Hands. Have you tried that yet?”
Diamond thought, and realized that she did indeed have that ability as well. She used it, and two human-like hands made entirely of water appeared floating in front of her.
Amber held one to examine it. Despite it being made entirely of water, her hand didn’t get wet at all. Diamond was also able to feel Amber’s hand touching her Astral one.
“This is amazing!” Diamond shouted. “Putting my armor on will be easier now, too!”
Amber chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that problem is solved.”
“What does ‘Awakened’ mean exactly?” she wondered.
Sarah explained, “It refers to anyone who isn’t bipedal, such as yourself. The term itself is inaccurate, though. A long time ago, it meant, ‘monster that is awakened to intelligence’, but they are people, not monsters, so it’s incorrect.
“People understand that now, but the term has been in use for so long that it’s just remained in people’s vocabularies. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a better alternative.”
That’s kind of annoying, but I’m glad to know that.
“We should probably eat lunch,” Mom said. “Any requests for your first ever meal, Diamond?”
“Uhh…”
———
Diamond devoured the food she’d been given. She had no idea what food was good, as she had never eaten anything before, so everyone worked together to make the best dish they could with what they had available.
“FOOD IS SO GOOD! I LOVE FOOD! AND THEY SAID THIS FOOD IS ONLY OKAY!? FOOD EVEN MORE DELICIOUS THAN THIS EXISTS!!!” she yelled as she ate. With her telepathy ability, she didn’t have to worry about not being understood as she talked and ate simultaneously.
———
After a hectic lunch, another quirk the group realized about Diamond is that she could speak every language that had been included in the ritual that had brought them to this world, even though she hadn't even existed yet.
Their best guess was that she knew them because she originated from Luna’s spell, so that language knowledge somehow carried over. But the weird part was that Diamond seemed to be better with them than Luna was, and no one was really sure why. Regardless, it was a good thing for her to know them.
It would also be a great help during school, which Diamond would also be enrolled in. Luna became extremely excited at having someone to go to school with.
Mom was also happy about it, because it meant Luna wouldn’t be going alone, like she had thought she would.
Ahh, I’m so happy! Everything is so exciting!
