It said something about her that when she woke up again with yet another massive hangover and found herself in bed with Xanxus that she didn't freak out. What, she wasn't sure, but she wasn't about to ask when her head was pounding so much.

"Go back to sleep," said Xanxus without looking or removing his arm around her waist.

"Gladly," she groaned.

The officers (except for Levi who got roped into watching the base and Bel who was too young) went out to get smashed when Lussuria returned...with her new features.

Lussuria's smile hadn't abated once since the procedure, now that they were 100 percent woman...right down to that time of the month. Rosethorn had laughed when Luss complained about it and said "Welcome to the dark side of being a woman."

Seeing the former man getting hit on by both genders was hilarious... but not as funny as the expressions on people's face when they realized the new woman running the Sun division was in fact Lussuria.

Most of the Varia had adopted the same "don't ask, don't mention it" policy that they used with the other women (including Rosethorn) in the group. Namely that they were men until they were off duty.

As Rosethorn had commented to Timoteo the day she threw him out of Xanxus' office, there were no "women" in the Varia. After one too many female operatives were suddenly married off for political reasons only to end up as widows due to "mysterious" accidents, the official policy became "No Girls Allowed".

It was recommended that the females in the group write their gender as "neutral" and were quietly directed to the "private" bathrooms which were much, much smaller than the communal bathrooms used by most. The women were usually good about sharing those.

Naturally all those who ranked officer had their own private suites. The Elite deserved the best.

Rosethorn threw her insecurities out the window and snuggled closer to the source of heat. Something about Xanxus made her inner dragon a very happy lizard.

When she woke up a second time, it was to find the bed half-empty and her boss getting dressed. Seeing him without a shirt and only a pair of boxers caused several sensations to course through her blood.

One was embarrassment, however that was quickly replaced with quiet lust. Her dragon had made no bones of how she felt about the Boss.

Another was appreciation... Xanxus had many of the same scars she herself sported from a rough upbringing. And like Rosethorn he made it clear he didn't give a shit about who saw them. It was proof he had survived whatever the world tossed at him and came out swinging.

Then there was the quickly growing part of her that she had come to acknowledge as her Cloud-side. It, like her magic, saw something more than the simple lust and baser urges of the female watching a very interesting show.

The Cloud looked at Xanxus and saw it's Sky. One of the rare, rare few who was worthy of it's loyalty and power... that the Sky came in a very nicely shaped package suitable to match it was a bonus.

Xanxus POV

Xanxus was not oblivious to the fact he was giving his Cloud a show. He wondered if she was even aware she was purring, or the fact her eyes had slipped into the slit-form that her dragon often took.

She definitely appreciated the view. He kept himself from grinning... that meant his plans were definitely working.

He knew that from her past she was unused to positive physical affection... the way she reacted from Lussuria's surprise hugs was very telling. That she was so tactile around Belphegor and Mammon was actually a good sign. It meant she wasn't too far gone and could still be healed.

H put on his clothes and got ready to go to work. He could care less if she slept the rest of the day in his room.

So he was quite surprised when he heard a rustle of cloth from behind followed by the quiet surge of magic. He would have turned, except it was clear what had happened when he felt something scaly coiling around him.

Hexe had gone dragon, unsure of how to respond to the stimulus he was giving and deciding to let her inner beast do it for her.

The dragon definitely knew what it wanted. He could see the outright lust in it's eyes as easily as a human. He smirked, and ran a single hand down one of the horns on her head... the loud rumbling purr was very satisfying. The way her tail coiled around him in a very possessive manner, more so.

He smirked.

There was something deeply satisfying knowing that his Cloud desired him so much that even her dragon-side was this possessive of him. It meant that any chance of someone snatching her up for their own was next to zero.

The fact she had a Sky secondary was of little concern to him. She was his Cloud and no one was taking her from him.

As if allowing her dragon to make it's claim on Xanxus was a signal, Rosethorn became a bit more used to spending time alone with the man.

It wasn't an uncommon sight for her to be napping on the couch in Xanxus' office while he was in there...or for her to be in dragon form, with the Boss leaning against her while using her back leg as the chair.

Once Mammon even convinced them to do a series of recruitment posters...it had taken very little time to set things up for maximum effect.

Belphegor had taken great glee in buffing Rosethorn's horns and shining her scales until she was very impressive indeed. That she crooned with pleasure and happiness under the buffing cloth and oil had made the boy's day.

He adored Rosethorn...around her he could drop his Princely persona and be a regular kid. She treated him as something to be cherished, protected and loved...without being condescending about it or treating him like a child. She knew full well he had a brain and was often more capable than the so-called adults.

The poster Mammon had made to hopefully bolster their numbers with hopeful recruits that they could forge into Quality were a major success...both in the fact that they boosted their ranks and royally pissed off Sawada, who had been trying to poach some of the more promising candidates for CEDEF, which had long since become a joke under his leadership.

The only reason it was still even remotely effective was because of Lal Mirch and everyone knew it. Iemitsu was less than pleased, but what could he do?

After all, how could CEDEF possibly compare to a group that had an actual dragon on the payroll?

Xanxus not only didn't mind the fact she was starting to come closer to him...he was quietly encouraging it.

It was only a matter of time before she jumped him and then all bets were off.

Actually, there was a betting pool on when he and Hexe would get together already.

It was going to happen eventually, she knew. At some point she would have to go on a mission near England or the UK. Xanxus and Squalo were very good at least sending her anywhere away from that part of Europe.

So when a request from help came along the Varia-exclusive frequency (which changed at random to avoid being hacked) and she was the only one anywhere near enough to fly and aid the ailing team, the decision was easy.

Even if she felt the inevitability of being recognized and that her old life would try to reassert itself closing in around her.

She had put this off long enough, and this time she wasn't alone. Xanxus would never leave her stranded to these particular vipers... he, like the other Officers knew very well what she had gone through. As a sort of therapy to help the nightmares accidentally sparked by Nono's stupidity, Lussuria had her share what she went through with the others. Specifically the Boss, Squalo, Mammon, Belphegor, and Lussuria.

Levi was too devoted to the boss and resentful of the fact she often received more attention than him (never mind the whole embarrassment she caused in front of the boss) to be shown anything.

In all honesty the other Officers were sick of Levi, but the man was too hyper paranoid of the fact that he was easily replaced and often arranged accidents to avoid a similar fate that had befallen Ottabio.

Belphegor had, upon seeing even a fraction of what she had gone through because of "idiot peasants", hissed like a very angry cat and had become extra clingy for weeks after that, as if to assure himself that his big sister was still there and with him. That she believed him capable of handling seeing those memories had made the bond between them even stronger.

It was noted by Mammon and Lussuria that "Prince the Ripper" was a lot more controlled and came out far less since Rosethorn was officially made officer. Having her was giving Bel a stabilizing presence beyond what the Boss could create by being his Sky.

She flew in low, hiding under the cover of night...her dragon had dark scales and with her flying ability it was easy.

Seeing the stark relief on the faces of the squad, Hexe went straight into professional mode.

"What happened?"

"Damn magicals got the drop on us. No one told us the bastards had some sort of alert for Flames. Tried to wipe our minds when they realized we didn't have their sticks," said Midnight. He was a member of Mammon's division.

"Why am I not surprised. How many are out there?"

"Three. They're wearing the robes of Aurors, from what we were told of the group."

"Find a way to get up high and hide. These people have a severe inbreeding problem and won't think to look up. They have the worst habit of underestimating those they consider to be 'muggles'," said Hexe. "I'll deal with the Aurors. Did you at least accomplish the mission?"

"Yeah... we were clearing out when the bastards got the drop on us."

The second she saw who one of the Aurors was, she inwardly sighed.

Of course one of them would be Ron. Her luck was that crappy.

Oh well... it was time to show these fools that their "Savior" was no longer the weak child they had nearly destroyed.

Third POV

The first clue that things had gone absolutely pear shaped came when something flew out of the darkness in a near silent strike and sliced one of Rosen's arms off... it took several seconds to register the fact he was missing half his right arm, but when it did the man began to scream bloody murder at the sight.

There was an almost imperceptible sound of something flying through the darkness of the moonless night. Like some sort of creature hovering at the edge of their senses waiting for a chance to kill them off. Slowly. Quietly. Without a single warning until it was too late.

Ron spotted a flash of purple...and swore.

There was a quiet thump, and he found another member of his squad, dead on the ground.

He instincts barely warned him in time to turn...only to find himself facing familiar green eyes with an unamused expression.

"Rosie?" he said in shock. This couldn't be happening.

"It's Hexe now. You really should have minded your own damn business...five more minutes and the squad would have been gone and you wouldn't have to explain why your own is dead," said Rosethorn coldly. "And before you get any ideas, I'm not coming back. I was just the one closest to the distress call they sent out when you butted your heads into something you shouldn't have."

Ron's eyes fell on the outfit she was wearing. It was identical to the muggles who were risking the Statute with their soul fire. No one had any idea when they figured out how to use that ability, but it was something the Ministry couldn't risk. Not when the war almost exposed them.

An order to capture any soul fire users or erase the knowledge of it had been placed.

It took him a moment to realize Rosethorn had just used legilmency on him.

"You..."

"Figures. You people are so busy trying to pretend everything's normal that you've failed to see the ground is already crumbling around you. I'll have to tell the Boss that we'll need to avoid the UK for a while."

"Rosie, what happened to you?"

"I broke free of the cage you idiots were so insistent on shoving me in. I will not be the pawn of the English enclaves... you bastards can all go hang for all I care," she replied. She briefly turned to look behind him. "Get your men ready to leave. This country sickens me."

Ron was horrified to see the genuine salute from the men...clearly Rosethorn was their superior.

What had happened to her?