Submission (#760) Approved

+5 shards (prompt)
+4 shards (404 words)

: +9 shards

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Alorus had never quite taken the time to document exactly how his shifted body had changed over time. He hadn't really noticed the change to begin with; it had been so gradual. However, when he stopped to look over himself in front of a mirror, he had to admit... things had changed.

Some had remain the same; the amount of horns, for one. The singular, long horn he'd been granted a while back, remain as the single one on his head. No other spikes had joined the fray, and that, coupled with long fringe of hair and his long, near lop like ears made him have an almost elegant look about him. It had at first bothered him, since he'd always thought shifted forms had to look deadly, and Akiko had smiled at him, telling him that creatures could look elegant and be deadly at the same time. One didn't quite exclude the other.

But no, it wasn't physical look at that had changed. His teeth had grown no longer, his claws not more crooked, and he had not obtained spikes or further horns.

It was his size that had changed.

The difference had been so gradual he'd barely even noticed, but now, in front of the mirror, and he tilted his head this way and that, it was obvious to him. He looked himself against Kiru's shifted form, and while he did not dwarf the other shifter, the size difference was near comical, given the opposite was true for their unshifted forms. Kiru had more than once carried Alorus on a shoulder with little to no effort, and now, in shifted forms, he looked down on his friend, rather than up. It was an interesting change, no doubt, and most likely brought upon by the near mastering of the skill, he was sure of it.

Long gone were the days where he lost control, and long gone were the days where he struggled to main a shift for long periods of time.

He now shifted easily, in and out, and did it as easily as he breathed. He had no doubt, that if his parents had been alive, they would have been very proud of him and his accomplishments. Now, with a look back upon everything he'd managed, he had to set his sights onto the next thing, and he needed to figure out if forger... or warrior would be the next path.