claws rut the jungle blood . Power discovery

[number nine.]

Number Nine was quite familiar with powers, mainly because he had some of his own. He was able to move between forms at will, and he certainly wouldn't have been able to fly, if not for the mutated wings that had grown upon his back. He had learned over time that some within Palmclan weren't so fond of those with powers - it was hard not to tell by the occasional whispers - but considering Rhinestone had never said anything about it, he had just ignored it. After all, why let himself be made upset, if it was clear that Rhine wasn't creating that sort of environment? Of course, him having a few different powers also meant that he knew just how petrifying it could be when you discovered a new one. When he had first discovered his ability to shapeshift, he had been stunned and caught off guard, wondering if something was wrong when he had suddenly woken up one day in another body. In the end, however, that power had ended up being a godsend. Most within Palmclan didn't know of this fact, but Nine was trans. Without shapeshifting, he wasn't sure he ever would've figured out how to finally feel comfortable in his skin. Sure, he could've learned to present in a masculine way within his birth body, but getting trapped in a male body for a while had certainly expedited his journey of self discovery.

The frantic shout of Vaas's voice from Rhinestone was actually what had caught Nine's attention that day, the jaguar's flower covered gaze moving downward and pausing when he spotted the tiger crawling up, and out of a pond. He let out a soft intrigued noise, wondering if that was something new to the other. Letting his curiosity drive him, Number Nine came to a landing nearby, moving over to where Vaas was at a significantly slower pace than Rhine. That made sense, considering he didn't have the same number of strong feelings about Vaas that Rhinestonestar did. The thought made the warrior snort, before he shook his head and spoke up, "'Ey there, Vaas. Neat trick y'just pulled off there... have you ever done that before?" Seeing the neutral look on the tiger's face, Nine found himself wondering if Vaas ever realized what he had done. It seemed ridiculous that someone could just walk straight down into a pond without realizing, but... Nine had certainly seen weirder than that happen in the past. Partially because he was a bounty hunter, and partially just by virtue of being married to Lewis. It was hard not to be exposed to weird shit, when you were married to someone who essentially was a soul reaper.

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