It was a good thing that they cleaned because it seemed that every Ancient in the area wanted to see the visitors the very moment they arrived. What sounded like a few sets of feet didn't account for the ones that were flying, the ones moving silently, and the multi-tentacled ones whose movement didn't make a traditional footstep-type sound.
From their thoughts, Cain could tell they didn't care that he had transformed into a World Dragon and that the system didn't count him as an Ancient anymore. In their thoughts, it was once an Ancient, always an Ancient. He didn't lose any of his abilities when he transformed, and he wouldn't lose any of the World Dragon abilities if he changed his shape back to that of an Ancient, so the point really was moot to them.
He simply was what he was, and the important part was that he was a father to a large number of half Ancient children.
Though the rest of Cyrene's children didn't have the powers that Luna did, they still carried on the bloodline, which made him a proper Ancient for eternity by their standards.
"Welcome to our world, Cain. We have been waiting and watching for so long that I almost thought you forgot about us." A woman with a body much like Luna's but with wings in addition to her four arms and shark-like teeth in her mouth greeted them as soon as she entered.
"Thank you all for the well wishes. Thank you all for looking after Misha for me." Cain replied, and the Ancients began to laugh.
"Other than chatting with her for a while, we really didn't do much. You have no idea how protective Nyarla is." The snake-bodied woman laughed.
"Even Hera couldn't get in to see her often, and she's the best at escaping detection." Another ancient agreed.
"Change shapes. You're making the humans nervous. They're Cain's guests, well, most of them. The Laughing God invited the Divine Realm one." Hera insisted.
As if to mock her, the room was suddenly full of Bunny Girls instead of enormous, monstrous Ancients, and Luna squealed in joy.
"This place is going to be awesome. I can tell already. We should do introductions. I am Luna, and the Lycan is Penny, and then we have Jen, Sabbat, Tena, and Solara, from largest to smallest. The one over to one side is Mariel. Don't let her fool you, she's only quiet now, but if you let her, she will steal your seat."
"One time, I stole your spot one time." Mariel laughed, making the Ancients giggle at the memory that Cain showed them.
"I see how it is. You have to be very careful little one. There are a lot of people here and even others with serpentine bodies. If you're not careful, someone might even wrap him." The female Ancient joked.
"You wouldn't dare. That's still my spot. Unless my mother is here, then I guess I will have to give it up. No, wait, I am stronger than she is now. That's still my spot." Luna declared.
Cain bonked her on the head to stop her ranting. "You don't get to call dibs on the spot. Cyrene was there long before you were large enough to be more than a bracelet."
"Well, it is good that you all made it here safely. Will there be angry humans following you through the portal?" One of the Ancients asked.
"No, they let us come through willingly. The Lycan that they have in charge of guarding the gate is a good guy, and he said as long as you didn't come through or try to attack them, he didn't mind if we left that way." Mariel explained on her Sect Master's behalf.
"That explains it. The cranky old guy is gone, and his successor is more reasonable. If we had known that, we wouldn't have had to keep someone stationed in the portal room for so long. It's a bit of a waste to have a Divine Realm Being simply floating around an empty building in case the humans go crazy again without anyone taking care of them." The Ancient replied with a hint of amusement and a glance at Hera, who had already stopped paying attention and was checking the books with Luna still wrapped around her.
"Now, do you think we can interrupt whatever Nyarla is hiding in her mind so I can go see my very pregnant wife?" Cain asked.
"Two more minutes until she said that we can go over there. She's getting everything ready for your arrival." Hera informed him, not looking up from the book she had found.
"You're flipping too fast. Haven't you done this before?" Luna asked, reading the book over her shoulder.
"I can't say that I have. Is this a thing with Lamia?" Hera asked.
"One Hundred Percent. If they're attached to you, expect them to take an interest in everything you do. So, if you're reading, they're reading. She will nod when she is done with the page." Cain told her.
"Interesting. I highly recommend this to everyone. The delayed reading pace is a minor inconvenience, but Lamia are quite warm and comfortable." Hera informed the others.
"Hmm, perhaps we can convince Cain's other children. There aren't enough to go around, though. Maybe we will need to make a schedule?" One of the Ancients pondered.
"Ancients really are an odd bunch, aren't they?" Mariel asked, looking between the identical forms of the transformed creatures.
"We had to hide here for a rather long time, and the Human Gods are still holding a grudge about the war, so we don't really meet new people. Plus, we can all read each other's thoughts, so we don't have many secrets. I am told that it might have led to a bit of an insular culture and a habit of oversharing." An Ancient replied.
"I can see how that might happen. If you hung around Lamia long enough, you would lose all sense of personal space, so being around only Ancients, it makes sense that the sense of privacy and personal information is near zero."
"Alright, two minutes are up, and everything is ready. Now we can all join the others at the Castle where Misha has been staying." Hera informed the room at the same time that Cain sensed Nyarla's thoughts enter the collective again, signaling that she had dropped the barrier around whatever she was doing.
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