Poseidon let out a huge yawn and opened her eyes.
The rather bright light made her shut them again immediately. She squinted for a few seconds before opening them once more, twitching her ears and straightening her neck to look around.
What greeted her was the familiar brass dome, densely engraved with star charts and runes that gave off a faint, firefly-like glow in the dim light of the room. The enormous Furry Dragon wound beneath the dome like a fish swimming underwater, just as it had on most days over the past ten years.
Beneath her was a thick, plush rug, soft and warm. The air carried the mingled scents of books, wood, and stimulated magic power, all equally familiar, and she could not help taking a deep breath.
Then she caught the faintest trace of an exceptionally enticing, sweet, fresh fragrance.
It smelled like Mother Jiang.
Only a little more "pure."
She sprang up, propping herself upright to look toward the source of the scent. It was the large desk in the middle of the hall, where an irregular piece of green jade sat beside the Sky Monitoring Instrument's screen.
The fragrance seemed to be coming from it.
How could a stone have a scent?
Poseidon's head was full of questions.
"Awake?"
Little Jade's familiar voice came from beside her, sounding somewhat languid. "If you're awake, change back into human form and get dressed... You're a Legend's child, after all. What do you think you're doing, running around naked in public?"
Poseidon's gaze sharpened.
She looked down.
There was the familiar fine, soft fur. Very little blue remained, and even that was extremely faint. Most of it was white, neat and fluffy, extending from her belly all the way to her toes.
She let out a small sigh