Albert and Hayes had already seen Yannie transform directly from a mandrake into a giant silkworm-moth caterpillar before. So even though they witnessed this scene from afar, they weren't particularly surprised—
—or rather, they'd already gotten all their amazement out of their system earlier.
The king cobra, on the other hand, found it utterly fascinating. He lay sprawled by the web-like gaps in the tree wall, staring unblinkingly for a long while before exclaiming with fresh curiosity and astonishment:
"Whoa. That woman can turn into both a bug and a flower. When it's gross, it's really gross—but when it's beautiful, it's genuinely beautiful. Hey, why isn't that guy transforming? Doesn't he have another form?"
The way he said it made it sound as though he knew something about that group of heart-harvesting mutant killers. Albert absentmindedly stroked the thick, warm fur on the cat's arm beside him and asked thoughtfully,
