“You'll always be my big girl though. Besides at least your speed improved while you were asleep.”

    To this Maria gave a slight nod. “Well yeah and I'm grateful for that now. I sure didn't like it when I first woke up. The first thing I did was plow into the cave wall.”

    Both Maria and Flora's attention was drawn to Mira who was made to snicker. “Sorry it's just I'm remembering her trying to stop and slipping on the loose gravel.”

    In response Maria glanced back at her sister. “Laugh it up and just wait until you slip up. I'm not going to hold back on teasing you.”

    “Okay just don't hope too much. After all my body won't be changing much for a while now.”

    “You'll eventually have your body altered enough that you'll make a mistake. Perhaps you'll be the reason we have to get a bigger door next time.”

    A sigh escaped Flora as she reached up and placed a hand against her forehead. “My that was embarrassing. I don't know if I approve of you two keeping track of one another's more embarrassing moments though.”

    In response Maria gave her hand a slight dismissive wave. “Don't worry about it mother it's all in good spirit. I just hate that right now I have so little ammo.”

***********************************************************************************

    “How is it going in there? Did I pick the right size?”

    “Yeah, it's just this is a little awkward.” As he responded Joseph was buttoning the pants Maria had brought for him. He'd been quite surprised whenever she'd shown up with a fresh change of clothing and insisted that he put them on. He'd thought his traveling clothes was alright but apparently she didn't think they were. As he had placed the clothing on he'd noted the difference in the materials. What she'd brought him was clearly a good bit tougher then what he'd been wearing though it wore loosely on his frame. It also didn't trap heat nearly as well.

    Maria had a wide grin on her face as Joseph exited his work shop and closed the door. Joseph was of moderate height at roughly one and three fourth meters tall making him appear positively tiny compared to her sisters. His hair was deep black and had grown out a bit since his arrival. Maria was made to chuckle as she noticed how the very end of his hair began to curl she imagined it was quite curly whenever allowed to grow out. His eyes were a rather soft brown while his complexion was that of one who'd adopted the alchemist life style and didn't see the sun that much.

    “Um Maria what are you looking at?”

    Instead of responding right away Maria reached out and took hold of a few strands of Joseph's hair. “You need a hair cut.”

    “Huh? OH yeah. I suppose I do I just.”

    “We'll take care of that whenever we get back.”

    In response Joseph gave a slight nod. “So um you do hair cuts?”

    “Well yeah. Our fur in general stops growing at a certain length depending on where it is on our body. That holds true except for the fur or hair on our head. It actually doesn't stop growing. I like to keep mine cut short as you can tell but some of my sisters like to let it grow out.”

    “Why keep it cut short?”

    “It's annoying whenever it gets caught in some branches or I come home and have to pick a bunch of leaves and twigs out of my hair.”

    “I imagine that would be bothersome. So where do you want to go today? I really don't know the area and I don't want to risk going where I'm not welcome.”

    Before speaking Maria raised a hand and pointed behind herself. “Just pick any direction other then back that way and you'll be fine. I'm here with you so I don't expect any trouble.”

    “Alright, Maria if I see any plants on our way that I could use in the workshop would it be alright if I retrieved it?”

    “It depends on the plant. I'll have to take it by storage and make sure you're not asking for something incredibly rare. It isn't likely you'll find any such plants around here though so I imagine you'll get to keep whatever you pick.”

    “You seem to have given me a good stockpile of rare plants.”

    “Those aren't rare to us.”

    “Ah I see. Well then, this way it is then. Why did you giggle just now?”

    “Oh no reason.”

    “Please tell me.”

    “Well sense you said please. That path isn't as easy as you might think. You'll get quite a work out if you go that route though I don't know if you'll get very far.”

    For a moment Joseph was tempted to change paths but after a moment gave a shrug. “I believe I'll stick with it anyway. You said I was in terrible shape for traveling in the forest and I need to start somewhere.”

    “It's your choice.”

***********************************************************************************

    As Joseph leaned against the tree his legs felt like they were made of rubber, sweat was pouring off of him and he found himself gasping for air. It took a considerable amount of effort to look further up the rocky path. He wasn't surprised to find Maria grinning from ear to ear as she waited for him. As he struggled to regain his breath though he was actually surprised by something. He found himself actually looking at Maria and much to his surprise noting how pretty she was.

    From head to toe Maria was covered by a thin layer of fur. The fur on her stomach, crotch and inner thigh was pure white and he imagined as was her bottom. Outside of that region she was a mixture of yellow and black stripes not unlike a tiger while the very tips of her ears were white as was her fingers from the knuckle up and tail tip.

    Her body was somewhat small despite the extra height she had put on something that he would have to ask her about but as he looked at it he realized something. Maria's body wasn't the body of a child. Even at her current size each breast had roughly the same whiff of two fist put together palm facing while her hips flared out nicely from her waste. It was hard to make out but whenever she would move or bend at the stomach he could also clearly make out her abdominal muscles. The same went for her biceps whenever she'd pull her arms in.

    Her eyes weren't shaped like any beast he'd ever seen and they clearly weren't human. Rather they seemed a cross between a human and a cat. They were a far brighter sapphire blue then he'd ever seen any human have.

    “So Joseph having any regrets that you chose this path?”

    It actually surprised Joseph when Maria spoke to him and he had to give his head a quick shake to bring himself back to reality. “Huh? Oh! Well I'd be lying if I said that I didn't. You weren't kidding when you said this path was difficult.”

    “Well relatively difficult.”

    “Yeah you seem to be doing just fine. I still notice this path is somewhat worn as if it's traveled often. So I'm guessing your people must use it for something.”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Yep now if you could only guess what that something was.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he quit leaning on the tree and began to make his way up towards Maria. “Maria I've been here for a while and it doesn't seem like I've really talked to you. I've asked you a lot of questions but do you think we could just talk.”

    “Sure! What would you like to talk about though? I'm afraid I'm not well versed in human affairs.”

    “Hm well let me think. You know a few nights back I heard some drums playing. What kind of music does your people tend to listen to?”

    “That kind of varies.”

    “Okay what music do you like?”

    “I love wind instruments especially the flute. I tried to learn to play one myself but I never really had the patience for it even now. Fortunately a few of the brothers know how to play and are often willing to do so. It's just such a relaxing sound. At times I like to play it in my head while hunting.”

    “Hunting? That's not exactly the type of activity I picture a flute accompanying.”

    “Oh but the way the music flows.” As she spoke Maria shifted her position placing her hands and feet on the ground. Her legs were pulled up close to her body and her toes pressed firmly into the stone she was on as if she's getting ready to pounce. “It's so much like the stock. Moving silently towards your prey, circling them, finding out their weak points the whole time they're relaxed having no idea that you're there.”

    “Oh so you prefer the stock more then the pounce?”

    “They both have wonderful appeal. The stock just last so much longer.” As she was speaking Maria moved towards Joseph being careful not to make a single sound. She was made to chuckle when he took a few steps back clearly weary of her intent.

    “The stock is when you examine your target, decide if they're fit prey or perhaps even too strong. The energy slowly building and waiting for the release of the drums.”

    “Tha.” Joseph didn't get to finish as Maria became a blur to his eyes. Before he could find her again he felt something brush against his face and could hear some chuckling. That was only what he noticed first. As he went to move forward he found that he couldn't and then felt something brushing against his throat. He realized that it was Maria's fingers second later. She'd been nice enough not to extend her claws.

    “Your heart makes very good drums. You should hear how it's going now.”

    “Maria you're frightening me right now.”

    “Mm I'm not going to hurt you just teasing you a bit. Relax.”

    Why wasn't she letting go of him? Joseph didn't have an answer for this though he knew it would help him relax. Instead of asking her to release him though he took in a deep breath and tried to do as he was told. Much to his surprise he found himself calming down though Maria's finger continued to travel across his throat as he was trying to do so.

    “So what kind of music do you like?”

    “I believe my favorite instrument would be the violin.” 

    At last Maria released her hold on Joseph and took a few steps out in front of him. “Hm you know I've never heard one of those. Heck this is the first time I've even heard the word so of course I haven't heard one. What are they?”

    As Maria stood in front of him Joseph didn't know what came over him. He felt his arms twitch as did his entire body and before he knew what was happening he'd reached out to take hold of her. Much to his surprise his arms slipped under hers and before he knew what was going on he found himself trying to lift Maria off the ground. Much to his surprise he found that he couldn't despite her smaller size.

    “Heavier then I look aren't I?!” A delighted giggle escaped Maria as she looked back at Joseph and stuck her tongue out at him.

    “Blast it but that doesn't mean I can't pay you back.” Once again Joseph began to move. One hand began to move over her stomach his fingers moving frantically searching for a ticklish spot while the other was removed and went for her ears.

    A slight gasp escaped Maria as she quickly pressed off the ground the moment she had some room to jump. It was easy to remove herself from Joseph arms as she leaped into the air and over him. As she landed behind she locked her arms behind her back. “You're going to have to be faster then that!”

    Instead of respond verbally Joseph quickly spun around and once again tried to take hold of Maria. Unfortunately he only grasped air this time as she dodged to the side. He got another surprise though whenever something soft smacked him in the face just lightly. The impact wasn't much but it was a distraction and it left his nose feeling funny.

    Maria was made to grin from ear to ear as she gave Joseph a quick smack with her tail. He'd actually surprised her whenever he'd tried to pick her up so she'd allowed him to catch hold of her. Now she found herself playing with him in much the same way she'd play with one of her brothers. She'd instinctively restricted the use of her arms so that her only offensive weapon was her tail while her legs were used to evade.

    It was nearly preposterous how fast Maria could move. While the first time she'd evaded him she had really been moving now she was just side stepping. At times she didn't even do that. Several times she'd just waited for the last second to duck under his arms and raise herself up so that she'd be standing next to them. On top of that each time she dodged Joseph received another quick smack from her tail.

    “You know this is usually a group effort.”

    “Huh?”

    Maria gave a slight chuckle at the puzzled look on Joseph's face. “So where is this coming from? I thought you were scared of me.”

    “I think it's time I moved past that.” As Joseph spoke he moved forward and once again tried to grasp Maria. He got a surprise though whenever he received a ear full of tail tip. The soft fur and rapid movement insured that he had to take a moment to itch his ear.

    “I'm glad to hear that.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he finally stopped moving and took in a few breathes. “You're just too fast.”

    “Ah you're done already?”

    “The violin is a string instrument. I can't really tell you what the sound is like though without knowing what you've heard before.”

    “Can you play it by any chance?”

    “No I never learned.” As he finished speaking Joseph quickly spun around and attempted to take hold of Maria again. This time he was surprised to find she'd already moved and he received a quick smack on the top of his head from her tail.

    “And you like it? Maybe one day I'll be able to hear someone play one then.”

    “Yeah maybe.”

    “Joseph I hope you don't mind me asking but I'd like to know. What were you working on that caused you to run from your employer?”

    At first Joseph said nothing then a sigh escaped him. “I complain about you all not trusting me but how much trust have I shown you? Okay then I'll tell you. Currently the Gale king and the Bock kingdom are involved in a war. I was one of the alchemist in service of the Gale kingdom and I had developed a plant I believed would help win the war.”

    “Was it some form of poison?”

    “No. You see one of the major factors in war isn't just having more troops it's sustaining those troops. So it's wise to provide them with plenty of supplies and even things like healing potions. The plant I'd develop would have done that. You see it's fruit was a natural healing potion as effective as just any type you'd find on the market.”

    “Oh wow! Are you serious?”

    “Yeah but there was draw backs.”

    While Maria had meant for this to be a casual conversation she couldn't hide her excitement now. Joseph probably didn't realize it but he'd hit on a nerve. “What kind?! Was it poisonous if you ate too much? Did the fruit lose its strength over time? Did it cause negative mental effects? Tell me!”

    “Um Maria you're hurting me.”

    In response to Joseph's comment Maria's heart skipped a beat. As she looked down towards her hands she was shocked to find that she'd taken hold of Joseph and lifted him off the ground. Even more to her surprise her claws had extended and she could see that he was bleeding. “Oh no.”

    Joseph gave a slight sigh of relief whenever he felt Maria retract her claws. Before he could comment though he felt himself suddenly lain across her shoulder. One of her arms wrapped around his legs while the other held his waste. Then he found himself suddenly accelerating back towards the village. “Maria what's going on?”

    “I'm taking you back to the village now I need to get those wounds treated! Joseph I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hold you that tightly.”

    “What? It isn't.”

    “Quiet! Just hang on and we'll get those wounds closed up.”

***********************************************************************************

    “Are you okay now?”

    In response Joseph gave a nod as he took the cup from Flora and drank a few sips. “Yeah I'm alright. I didn't realize that Maria had injured me that badly.”

    “She didn't mean to.”

    “I know. I know she didn't I realized that the moment she started carrying me back here. I didn't realize that her claws had cut that deep into me actually.”

    “Joseph I hope you don't mind me asking but, what were you and Maria talking about? She doesn't normally get that excited.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he looked up at Flora. “We were just talking about my past research.”

    “It must have been some research to get that kind of reaction.”

    “Well I was proud of it but I never thought anyone would respond to it that strongly.” A sigh escaped Joseph as he reached up and placed a hand where Maria's claws had cut through him on his right side. “Those claws can do some real damage.”

    “That's what they're meant to do. Joseph would you mind telling me exactly what this project of yours was?”

    “Promise not to do me like Maria? Her claws cut pretty deep yours might be fatal.”

    “You have my word.”

    “Before I left my former employer I was developing a special kind of plant. The fruit it produced had the same properties as a standard healing potions and in some cases better. However, there was some unforeseen side affects.”

    As Flora listened to this her eyes were made to widen and she felt them dilating to let in more light. Her heart rate began to speed up and she felt her muscles tensing as her excitement began to rapidly build. Instantly it became clear to her why Maria had gotten so excited. “I. I see. Just what were these harmful side affects you mentioned?”

    “It's the plant itself. I didn't realize it when I only had one in the lab but after I had grown a few I found out there was a problem. They allow energy from some of the mystic plains to bleed into the world. If there's just one or only a few it isn't that dangerous but if they were grown in numbers that would be needed to oh say feed an army. Well the effects could be disastrous.”

    “Do you mean if grown using regular methods? What if they were spread out like around a forest?”

    “I'd be afraid to do that. I don't know what would happen with the plant in the long term after all. There could be unforeseen side affects and if they're not monitored they could spread without anyone realizing it. The king didn't want to hear that of course and insisted I produce enough to feed an army. Even if it wasn't for the energy they let loose into the world I couldn't produce that many without finishing my testing.”

    “Joseph. I need to step out for a moment.” Instead of waiting for a response Flora stood up and made her way to the door. Part of her wanted to take hold of Joseph and find out just how this plant had been produced. However, she'd promised that she'd keep control of herself.

    As Joseph watched Flora leaving he didn't know what was going on. The way she moved was extremely tense as if her body didn't want to leave the room. On top of that as she moved away he could have sworn he heard a slight growl coming from her.

***********************************************************************************

    What was going on here? Joseph had been surprised by Maria's response to telling her about his work but Flora had nearly floored him. A sigh escaped him as he grasped the side of the hammock he'd been sleeping in. Just when he'd began to get use to sleeping in one something happened that wouldn't let him wrest easy. His curiosity had been peaked and he wanted to know what was going on. Realizing that sleep wouldn't be coming soon he finally rolled to his side and stood up.

    As he stood up though Joseph didn't know what he was going to do. It was too dark to go for a walk and he didn't know what came out in the forest during the night. He didn't want to wonder around Flora's home either at least not with them all asleep. Fortunately a solution to the problem revealed itself.

    “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

    Instantly Joseph recognized Maria's voice though he couldn't see her in the darkness. “Yeah, I've been wondering about something ever since our walk.” Joseph was a bit surprised whenever he felt something brush against his hand before taking hold of it.

    “This might be telling you a bit much but with what you told us I believe it might be worth the risk. Joseph do you remember how small I was whenever we first met? I know I'm still small now but even you noticed my growth.”

    “Yes, you said that you couldn't tell me more about that.”

    “I'm sure that you've noticed how strictly we must follow our diets. This actually serves a very important reason. You see the size of our bodies is affected by how much we eat and how often we eat.”

    “You mean you get larger the more you eat?”

    In response Maria gave a slight nod. “It isn't just that. I guess I'll tell you everything I can right now. Listen carefully and don't interrupt. We do mature and develop like you humans do but that doesn't decide how much we grow. Rather the amount of energy we take in regularly decides how large we grow and it's constantly affecting us. If I were to start eating twice as much as I am now and eat it regularly you would notice a significant increase in my scale.

    That isn't to say we eat one big meal though and put on several centimeters. It must be sustained over several weeks or months to have a noticeable affect. This of course creates a problem. If we were to just eat until we felt content again and again then our bodies would keep growing so it would take more and more food to make us feel content. Before too long we'd be so large that we'd strip the forest of all its natural resources and well that wouldn't be good.

    So we're forced to ration what we eat. The size we're allowed to obtain depends on several factors. Our current resources, if we're considered stable enough to handle such a body and a few other things I won't go into. As you can tell I'm only allowed to eat so much so that I remain relatively small by the standards of my sisters.”

    “Why are?” Before Joseph could continue he felt Maria's hand cover his face.

    “Didn't I tell you not to interrupt? I'll tell you but just listen from here on out until I tell you to speak again. I went overboard suffice to say. I let my hunger overcome me and was constantly snacking. I soon grew well beyond most of my other sisters and had to be confronted. I'm just glad I went along peacefully. You see there is a way for us to return to a smaller scale but it's not exactly pleasant. It takes a long time and well I can't tell you about that now.

    What I can tell you is this. The amount we allow ourselves to eat isn't enough. At most we can only sate our hunger and from time to time on very special occasions eat until we're content. No sating isn't the right word for it. Even those times we can sate our hunger are rare. Think of when you eat with us and think about how much you've seen my mother and sister eating. Do you really believe that's enough to suppress their hunger?”

    “I never thought of it but no. Now that I think about it. None of you seemed to eat all that much.”

    “Just sating our hunger can be enough to make our bodies grow just very slowly. Those years we can allow ourselves to sate our hunger are thus years of plenty during which we believe we can all afford to put on some extra mass. The other years though. It hurts.”

    “What does this have to do with my research though?”

    “Joseph how much nourishment do you believe a plant like you described could provide? It could relieve so much of this hunger that when I heard about it. It was hard to contain myself. Of course now that I've calmed down and have had time to think I've come to a few realizations. You didn't even tell me how much nourishment the plant needs to thrive.”

    For a moment Joseph said nothing as he bit down on his lower lip. The words wouldn't stay in though. “It requires no more nourishment then an apple tree of the same scale.” As Joseph responded he wasn't very surprised whenever he felt Maria's claws pushing into his skin though he was relieved when it didn't break it. She was controlling herself.

    “I. I wish I hadn't asked you about your research before you came here.” As she spoke Maria began to remove her hand from Joseph's. The whole time she was pulling her hand away though she wanted to take hold of his throat. To make him tell her how the plant had been made and how it can be made again.

    “At least I know why now.”

    “Joseph do you think you could share this plant with us? It would mean so much to my people.”

    “Maria, I can't. I can understand why you'd want to know how to produce the plant but now that I know something about your bodies. I just can't hand over that information. It's powerful enough as is in the hands of a species like yours I can only imagine what you could do. It isn't just that though.”

    “I. I see. Trust is very important when it comes to such matters. Even my people understands the importance of trust and how precious it is. What if I agreed to see you safely out of the forest in exchange for the knowledge?”

    “No. It isn't just trust though Maria. I was surprised whenever I found out the plant let mystic energy bleed into this world. What other surprises might it have in store? I need more time to study it and find out its properties.”

    “I understand. Anyway, now you know a bit more about my people.”

    “Yes. I now know why your people guard this forest so closely.”

    “I guess that means we both have a better understanding of one another. I'll see you in the morning.”

    As Joseph felt Maria release his hand completely he felt her tail brush against him seconds later. His eyes had adjusted to the dark but he still couldn't see her as she made her way out of the room.

***********************************************************************************

    It was hard for Joseph to eat as he watched Maria, Mira and Flora eating their breakfast. Apparently Flora hadn't been at home the previous night at all. She had killed a tusker and prepared it for breakfast while they'd been sleeping. Yet as massive as a tusker looked to him when he compared it to Flora and Mira it looked to be less then a piglet. They weren't even going to eat all of it though. He hadn't noticed it at first but the portion these ladies allowed themselves was indeed tiny.

    As Maria chewed her food she took her time to enjoy it as much as she could. Already half of her breakfast was gone. “Mom I'll bring home lunch today if that's alright.”

    “That would be fine Maria but is there any particular reason?”

    “Yep! I noticed some mushrooms earlier that I want to use in a stew.”

    “That would be wonderful but what type where they?”

    “Just some ah whoops.” A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she waved her right hand in the air. “Never mind.”

    In response Joseph glanced at Maria. “What is wrong?”

    “They're highly toxic to humans. It's been a while since I've cooked for anyone that was so vulnerable to toxins and I tend to forget such things. Hey I know! How about I go and catch us some blue scales instead?”

    In response Flora gave a nod. “That would be delicious. However, I'm going to go and kill something myself just in case.”

    To this Maria gave a quick nod. “They can be rather hard to catch.”

    “Um Maria if you don't mind. Could I come along?” Joseph actually found himself grinning as he looked at Maria. “I have no idea what type of fish you're talking about so I'd like to see them. I'm also curious as to why you'd have trouble catching any.”

    First giving her head a quick nod Maria took a moment to eat a bit more of her breakfast. “Well the problem is finding the blue scales. They're quite rare so it takes a fair bit of effort to find enough to make a decent meal. They're about this big to.” As she spoke Maria held up her hand and placed a finger just below her wrist. “About the size of my hand.”

    “Wouldn't you only need three or four then?”

    “Yep and that's the problem. Like I said they're rare. Mm this isn't exactly the time of year to go hunting them either.”

    “Why are they so rare?”

    “Ah well maybe rare isn't the right word. You see they blend into the water extremely well thus the reason we call them blue scales. It isn't just difficult to see them though it's also horribly hard to smell them. They don't have much of a scent. They have such a wonderful flavor though it's well worth it!” As she finished speaking Maria's tongue flicked out and ran along her lips.

    Now Mira chose to speak up. “I just hope you have better luck then I did when I went hunting for them earlier.”

    “Yeah, I'll do my best to bring back enough for lunch but Joseph. I don't want to be mean but I don't believe I can bring you along and have a chance to get enough for lunch. I'm going to have to check several lakes and streams and that's going to require me to move quickly.”

    “Ah okay. Not a problem.”

    “Though if you'd like, I could carry you on my back. Remember I'm going to have to move fast though.”

    “Ah no thank you. I remember whenever your sister gave me a ride here and that you were moving even faster.”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Okay then I'll see you later. If you'd like I can come and get you if I find enough. At least that way you can see them before they're cooked.”

***********************************************************************************

    As Joseph set at his work station he found it hard to watch the reactions going on before him. What Maria had told him the previous night was still playing in his head. Her species grew larger and more powerful the more nourishment they took in however to keep from growing so large they stripped their homeland they had to keep themselves in a state of near starvation. How hard was it to go through life always being hungry?

    It wasn't unheard of. People died of starvation regularly after all. Maria wasn't in the same situation though. Her people were surrounded by food and could obtain it easily. Rather they had to force themselves not to eat. What kind of discipline did it take to ration your food like that?

    What made it nearly impossible to focus on his work though was the thought that he could help them. The amount of energy stored within the alchemical plant would allow them to eat far more frequently without outstripping their resources. At least it would for a time. However, if they let themselves go too much wouldn't they just outgrow those resources as well?

    Of course there was the chance that at large scales the hunger was less painful. He had only began to consider that recently so he had yet to ask Maria if that was the case. However, even if that was the case there was many concerns to prevent him from just handing over such knowledge.

    What affects would the growth of his plant have on the local forest? He had only recently discovered the way it allowed energy to bleed into the world after all. For all he knew it could have even more disastrous affects. Was the fruit truly safe to eat or would constant consumption result in something negative? Would it affect Maria's species the same way it affected humans?

    Then on top of all that he had to worry about the danger Maria and her people might pose. They were already a powerful species. Powerful enough to protect the forest for hundreds of years. Now he had an idea of why they had never expanded beyond the boundaries of the forest.

    Their home was a much desired expanse of land. It was fertile and brimming with natural resources. The resources that they needed to sustain themselves. If they were to venture too far from their forest they would find far less suitable land. Land that couldn't sustain them. Perhaps that was the only thing that kept them from reaching beyond the forest and claiming the entire region for themselves. It simply wasn't suitable enough. Would that change whenever they had the ability to sustain themselves even away from their forest?

    A hissing brought Joseph's mind away from these thoughts and towards the flasks he'd been warming up. Much to his dismay he found one of them had began boiling over. Almost instinctively he stood up and took hold of a pair of tongs. As he removed the flask from the flame he gave a slight sigh and glanced down at the burner to see how much had boiled over. “Well this flask is ruined.”

    Maria sighed as she busied herself slipping on her necklace, anklets and bracelets. “Blast it I almost forgot to put these on. If I had entered into the workshop while Joseph was still working I could have ruined all his work.”

    Flora smiled as she glanced back at her daughter. “I'm sure he wouldn't have been too upset. I think he'd be rather interested in finding out exactly how it happened more then anything else.”

    “Oh like that would be any better.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Flora as she moved towards her daughter and looked into the sack she was packing. “You're going through all this trouble just to show him a fish.”

    “It wouldn't be any trouble if I'd thought to bring these along with me. I'll be back in just a bit.”

    Joseph couldn't help but groan as he looked at the vials he'd been working on. He'd been so distracted that he'd lost several potions so that the day's output was only three quarters of what'd liked it to be. He didn't have time to be too distracted though as he heard the workshop door being knocked on. It was actually such a surprise that it took him a few moments to respond. “Come on in.”

    As Maria opened the door she glanced around the room. She could smell where the potion had been spilled earlier. “Did something go wrong?”

    “I have a bit of a boil over. What's in the sack?”

    “Just what I promised to show you. I managed to do quite well and dropped the others off with my mother.” As she spoke Maria held out the satchel being careful to keep it level.

    In response Joseph gave a slight nod and walked over to Maria. “You didn't have to go through all the trouble of bringing it back here.” Joseph was actually a bit surprised when he looked into the satchel for two reasons. One was that the satchel was full of water apparently Maria had decided to bring the fish back alive. The second reason was how difficult it was for him to make out the fish. “How did you catch that?”

    “Neat isn't it? Their scales aren't actually any solid shade of blue rather they adapt to the water around them. You have to look for the movement of the water as the fish swim or catch them in the shallows if you want to find them.”

    “This is quite impressive. I've never seen a fish like this.”

    “They're absolutely delicious! My mother likes to eat hers boiled in a soup but I honestly prefer mine raw.” As Maria spoke she felt her stomach growl and actually had to resist the urge to go ahead and eat the fish. It was a good thing that her mother expected her to bring it back or she would have.

    “I wouldn't mind studying one of these when I have the time. It's been fascinating to learn how their scales adapt to the color of the water like that.”

    “Well if you set up the equipment I might catch one for you later.”

    “I'm not sure if I have the time for that.”

    “Oh? You're planning on leaving us soon then or your preparations are taking that much time?”

    “No. It's not that. You've told me that I could prepare to leave if I wanted to. However, what if I wanted to continue the research I was doing under King Gale?”

    “You mean that plant you spoke of?! You'd like to continue researching and developing it here?!” As Maria spoke she could barely contain her excitement.

    Before continuing Joseph couldn't help but take a few steps away from Maria remembering what had happened last time. “Well I can't continue studying it right away first I have to make another plant to begin my studies again. You see when I left the Gale kingdom I couldn't take the plant with me so I burned it before my departure.”

    “You want to grow another one though!?”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “Yes I would like to continue studying it. While I believe the life bloom could be dangerous I also believe it could be very beneficial not just to your people though to mine as well. That said this doesn't mean I plan on allowing you all to use the plant. Maria I just don't know enough about your people.”

    As Maria listened to Joseph she couldn't help but feel somewhat saddened. She had hoped this meant Joseph would in trust them with the plant once he felt it was safe but that didn't seem to be the case. “Why would you want to begin work on it again here then?”

    “I believe that I may be able to trust your people.”

    “Really?!”

    “Please don't cut me open again.”

    This last statement actually served to calm Maria down again though she was made to chuckle. “You might teach us how to grow? I believe you called it the life bloom.”

    “Yes I might. One way or another I devoted a lot of my life to developing that plant in a way you could say that it became my life. You can probably tell that I never left my lab for very long and it was only when I had to. To be honest I hadn't really thought what I was going to do once I made it to the other side of the forest.”

    Maria's smile was back in full force now as she looked at Joseph. “You mean you're thinking about staying?”

    “I can't be certain but from the few of you I've met I believe I may.”

    “Yay!” At this news Maria couldn't help herself and nearly pounced Joseph. Instead of grasping his sides like she had done before she quickly wrapped her arms around him pinning his arms to his size as she hugged him. “I'm so glad to hear that.”

    Joseph was made to exhale sharply as Maria hugged him but fortunately it wasn't so tight to make it impossible to breath. “I am going to have to learn more about your people though.”

    “I know and that will take time but I kind of doubt you're going to be able to regrow the life bloom in a single night.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “No. If only I could but it's just not that simple to create an artificial life form. Even if it is a plant.”

***********************************************************************************

    “Um what's going on?”

    Maria grinned as she noted the stunned expression on Joseph's face. They'd planned to be getting things ready whenever he arrived to make explaining things simpler. “We're getting ready to move back into town. You can use this house as your own from here on out. Also if you'll come with us we'll show you the way to one of the village's main districts.”

    “What do you mean?”

    Instead of waiting for her sister to explain things Mira walked over to Joseph. “Joseph this isn't actually our family home. This is a halfway house of sorts where newcomers to the village live with one of the residents for a while to insure they don't get into trouble. Haven't you ever thought it was strange how you never see anyone else but us?”

    “I well. Yeah. It never occurred to me that this wasn't actually your home though. I just thought you all lived very spaced out.”

    A slight giggle escaped Mira as she shook her head. “Not quite. Didn't you wonder about those drums you've been hearing at night?”

    “Well yeah.” A sigh escaped Joseph as he put a hand on his forehead. “Just how far away is the main village?”

    “Oh a bit less then a mile.”

    Before Joseph could ask another question Maria came up to him and took hold of his hand. “You're permitted to go into the village market now which means you don't need us here anymore. You'll be able to come into town and pick up whatever you want to eat or retrieve your own alchemical supplies. We'll show you the way to the market.”

    “I. I see. Well I'm glad that you all trust me to come further into your village but still. Um.” Before continuing Joseph took in a deep breath. “Will I see the three of you around still.”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Of course! We'll be coming by to check on you from time to time and besides. I meant it when I said I'd like to get to know you better Joseph.”

    Once again Joseph found himself at a loss for words as he looked at Maria. “Maria I'd like to get to know you as well but what caused this change in behavior?”

    Now Flora chose to speak up. “Joseph we have to be careful of those we allow into our village. Ever since you've came here you've been earning our trust. At first you had to ask Maria for everything you needed but you never stole from us or tried to take extra so we stocked the shelves. Now you've been working with fully shocked shelves and you've been honest about where the materials have been going. You've also shown know inclination to the type of behavior that gets people killed here so we're trusting you to come into the village. At least we trust you enough to roam around the market district. This will give you a chance to meet more of our sisters as well and better learn of us if you should want to.”

    “I see.” A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he rubbed his forehead for a moment. “I have to be honest. This is rather sudden and I'm kind of nervous.”

    Once again Maria chose to speak up. “Try not to worry too much. After all how much can you learn about us if your life revolves around just two buildings?”

    It was impossible for Joseph not to blush upon Maria asking this question. “Do you realize how much of my life has been that way?”

    “Ah well I do know alchemical studies can be quite intensive. Fortunately for you you're going to have to come into town and deliver the potions you make. So there is no real way to get out of interacting with us.”

    “True. Huh hold on a moment. Don't you all tend to hunt for your own food?”

    “Ah well all of us don't have a family to share our meals with at the moment. So rather then see our kills go to waste we take them to the market and leave some of them there. Say for example I killed a tusker I might bring a good eighty percent of the animal to the market and let one of my other sisters have it. You'll also have a chance to interact with some other humans as well.”

    “Other humans?”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Yeah! You're not the only one we have living here after all.” A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “Just don't let those that have grown hostile miss lead you.”

    “You mean people that are currently claimed.”

    To this Maria gave a quick nod. “Joseph I'll be honest with you. You've reached a point that many don't go past. You have yourself a little home, you have yourself a career and you have some freedom. What you choose to do with that is up to you however this doesn't mean we trust you entirely.”

    “I understand. With greater opportunity comes greater chance to fail.”

    “Yeah but.” Before continuing Maria reached out and took hold of both of Joseph's hands. “I really want to trust you even more then what I already do. I hope we can become friends and if you're wondering. A friend would help a friend move on in life and that includes leaving the forest if they desire to.”

    “Huh?”

    Now Flora chose to speak up once again. “Joseph you shared some of your secrets with us and we've shared some of our secrets with you. Neither of us are a real threat to the others survival but if we go much further that could change. You already know how our bodies respond to nutrition and while that's something many don't know it's not really a threat. You just know one of our strengths. We know that you were developing a plant that could help that strength greatly but we're not going to force you to share how it's actually made.”

    “I'm thankful for that.”

    In response Flora gave a nod. “Soon though you could learn something that would make you dangerous to us. Before that time comes you're going to have to make a choice. We can either see you safely through the forest and to whatever exit you desire or you can remain here.”

    “I. I see. Well that's nice to know. Though to be honest now that I've decided to resume work on the life bloom here. I would really hate to leave so sudden as it would require me gathering up all.” Joseph didn't get to finish as he felt Flora's hand cover his mouth.

    A slight chuckle escaped Flora as she looked down at Joseph. “You're already thinking of reasons to stay with us?”

    It was odd but Joseph felt his pulse quicken as Flora smiled at him. “I well. I do plan on setting up shop here and I don't exactly like the idea of moving.” Once again Joseph found himself silenced though this was due to him receiving a quick smack from a tail. The impact didn't hurt but it made him blink and shut his mouth.

    “You don't have to explain.”

    Once Flora removed her hand Joseph gave a slight nod. “Alright. Flora would you tell me what made you decide that I should be given this chance though?”

    “To be honest we let everyone in the market area once they've gone a long enough time without doing something foolish. This doesn't matter if it's because of fear or trust as long as they don't do something stupid they can at least be allowed that far. However, those who are only allowed there because they're too scared to do anything aren't in quite as favorable of a situation.”

    “I. I see. Wait didn't Maria just say few reach this point?”

    “Yes she did and she was being entirely honest. I was talking about being allowed into the market though. What Maria was talking about was being allowed to live alone if you desire.

    “Ah well that's something to be proud of I suppose.”

    “Now I have a question for you. Have we been passing your tests?”

    “Huh? What do you mean?”

    “Now Joseph don't play stupid with me I don't appreciate it. I know that you've been testing us since we brought you here.”

    In response to this Joseph was made to grin and gave his head a slight nod. “Ah well. It wasn't really intentional but when Maria went and retrieved my note book for me and nothing was amiss I came to trust you far more. You seem to value alchemical knowledge but you didn't take that knowledge from me.”

    “Well we aren't thieves.”

    “You've treated me well since I came here and haven't rushed me while working in the lab. You said that I could leave whenever I wanted and while I realize the odds of me making it out are pretty low you never took that freedom from me.”

    To this Flora gave a nod. “Is there anything else?”

    “Well I have been living with you for a while now. I like to think I've learned something about you all just by being here. In all honesty though what helped the most is whenever you didn't try to force me to show you how to grow the life bloom.”

    Now Flora was made to sigh as she shook her head. “Joseph you don't have any idea how hard it is not to. Whenever we told our sisters several of them wanted to try and make you give up the secret but the majority over ruled them.”

    “I appreciate that. However, I can't say I agree with everything you do.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Flora as she placed her hand atop Joseph's head nearly engulfing it as she did so. “Well that's to be expected! Anyway, come on and we'll show you the way to the market area.”

***********************************************************************************

    Joseph felt more then a little awkward as he walked towards the gathering of buildings holding a crate in his hands. It had been three days since Flora, Maria and Mira had shown him the way to the market and this was his first solo trip there. He'd managed to hold off by eating some of the food left behind in his  hut telling himself that he didn't want it to go to waste. Now he found himself having to journey into the market and in truth he had no idea what to expect.

    “Hi there! You look a little loss. Could you use some directions?”

    At first Joseph had been made to jump the voice seeming to come out of nowhere. As he turned to face the owner of the voice though he was surprised. What he found himself looking at wasn't her face but rather her crotch. The surprise was enough that it took him a moment to turn his head upward. How something so large could sneak up on him was beyond him but he knew that she had. “Um yeah. I was wanting to make a delivery.”

    Instead of asking him what kind of delivery the beast girl took in a few deep breaths of air. She could smell the potions inside of the crate. “Okay you'll want to take those to storage. Would you mind if I picked you up?”

    “Um no bu.” Joseph didn't get to finish as the female slipped an arm underneath him and easily lifted him into the air so that he was actually a bit higher then her head letting him see over the crowd.

    “Do you see the building that's all closed up?”

    At first Joseph said nothing as he looked around. Soon he caught onto what the lady was talking about as he noted one building standing out from all the others. It wasn't due to the design rather all its windows and doors were closed tight while the others were open. “Yes I believe so.”

    “That's the one. If you get lost on the way there just ask another one of us for help.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “Thank you.”

    “No problem.” As she finished the beast girl lowered Joseph back to the ground and carefully set him down. “You've been living with Flora haven't you?”

    “Well that depends. How many Flora's live here?”

    “Her daughter's are Maria and Mira. Hey why are you blushing?”

    “I um just realized. I don't know her last name.”

    A slight giggle escaped the woman as she waved her hand. “Ah don't worry about that we don't have last names.”

    “You don't?”

    “No we sort of remember one another by scent and family connections. My name is Alexa by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you Joseph.”

    “Like wi. Wait how did you know my name?”

    “Oh we're quite good at keeping track of such things. I heard about you from Flora and recognized you by your scent.”

    “I see. Well thank you Alexa.”

    “Not a problem.”

    “It's too rough there is no way they could wear that.”

    “What do you mean it's too rough? It's fine. I swear you want to treat every human like they'd melt if water fell on them.”

    Tera gave a sigh and shook her head. “Listen Nora I'm telling you that the material is too rough for a human to be comfortable in. They don't have a layer of fur to protect their skin and their skin is no where near as tough as ours.”

    “I know that I'm not stupid and I'm telling you that you're wrong.”

    “Why do you have to be so stubborn? I've told you this before and I've been right nearly every time. The clothing you make is strong but it's not comfortable for humans to wear.”

    While Tera's track record was indeed better then hers Nora just couldn't back down. “You're not right all the time! So I've made a few mistake and overestimated what humans could tolerate. I'm not some idiot that never learns from her mistakes.”

    “You could have fooled me.”

    “What did you say?!”

    “You heard me.” As Tera spoke she took a step towards Nora a clearly indicator that she wasn't scared of her. She wasn't surprised whenever Nora met her advance.

    “I ought to tear off your ears for saying that!”

    “I'd like you to try. It'd give me an excuse to smack you around.”

    “You're only acting so tough because you know I can't fight you here.”

    “The same could be said for you. However, no matter how badly I thrash you it's not like it'd would prove I'm right. So how about we put these clothes of yours to a test?”

    “Fine but it can't be anyone we know. That way the other can't say they were playing favorites.”

    “What are you talking about? What do you propose we do then?”

    Now Nora was made to grin as she clearly knew something Tera didn't. “Can't you smell that?”

    Joseph had been rather surprised to hear the shouting come out of nowhere. While he'd missed the first part of the conversation he'd heard enough to feel he should get away from the building. He had just began to speed up his pace whenever he felt a hand land on his shoulder nearly engulfing it.

    Tera had actually been surprised that she hadn't noticed the new scent earlier. She'd realized why a short while later though upon coming closer to Joseph. She remembered his scent from Flora's visit whenever she came to get some clothing. “Hi there. I hope you don't mind but could you help us for a moment?”

    This time Joseph remembered to look up upon facing the woman. He was a bit surprised though whenever she wasn't as tall as Alexa. Rather he guessed her to be as tall as Mira which meant she still positively dwarfed him. “I. Um well I was going to drop this off and.”

    “Oh! Don't worry it should only take a moment of your time. Please I'd really appreciate your assistance.”

    To this Joseph gave a slight nod. “I. Well what do you need help with.”

    “My friend and I are clothiers believe it or not and we're working on a few outfits. We're having trouble gaging what a human would find comfortable though so we were hoping you'd try them on. Please? It should only take a moment of your time.”

    Joseph had heard enough of the conversation to know what he'd just been told wasn't entirely true. However, he found it hard to say no to a woman when if he'd kept his head level he'd probably be looking at her belly button instead of her eyes. “Alright then.”

    “Wonderful!” As she spoke Tera reached down and placed a hand under the crate Joseph was packing. Before he could protest she lifted it up. “I'll just carry this for you. Now please come on inside.”

    Nora had been listening to insure that Tera wasn't tainting the test subject. She was glad whenever she didn't but she doubted Tera would. They argued about things and at times had come to blows but they were still friends. “Hi and welcome. So you're the one that's going to be helping us?”

    “I guess that I am.”

    “Okay then.” As she spoke Nora moved forward and held out a matching shirt and pants. “Please try these on and let us know what you think of them.”

    It was immediately clear to Joseph that these clothes were meant for work and hard work at that. This was confirmed upon taking hold of it and feeling of the material. A shiver ran up his spine though upon feeling of the material and noting how rough it was. “Um would you happen to have a dressing room?”

    To this Tera gave a slight nod. “Sure, but I don't see the problem. You humans are so self conscious about your bodies.”

    “Ah well not all of us are. I just don't have a soldiers build is all. Anyway, I'll just go try this on if you'll point me in the direction.” As Joseph was speaking he really just wanted to tell them both the material was too rough. Just holding it in his hands made him shiver and he could only imagine how much it would itch.

    Tera just shook her head in response to Joseph's comment. “Personally I like my guys healthy and cuddly but anyway. The changing room is in the back of the shop there.” As she spoke Tera pointed towards the back of the room.

    “Okay, I'll be back in just a second.”

    As Nora watched Joseph heading towards the back of the room she turned to Tera speaking in a tone far too low for Joseph to hear. “This isn't fair.”

    In response Tera lowered her voice to match Nora's. “What?”

    “He's clearly not a worker. He's an alchemist you can smell it from the crate he was packing and all over him. He's soft skinned even by human standards that outfit was meant for someone working in tougher conditions.”

    “You're already making excuses? I swear you can be impossible at times. Besides what conditions are you talking about exactly?”

    “Well someone who accompanies our sisters when they go out searching for herbs. That or those who work on refining and need protection from chemicals.”

    “Protection from chemicals? Oh like an alchemist.”

    In response Nora was made to grimace as she noted the grin on Tera's face. She'd slipped up and Tera had used it against her. “Well fine then.”

    As Joseph stepped out of the dressing room he felt more then a little awkward. He'd just put on the outfit and he was already having difficulty not tearing the clothes of as they were already itching them. “Well it's a little lose on me and.”

    Before Joseph could continue Tera spoke up. “Is it comfortable?”

    “Um well. I don't believe it is.”

    “What's wrong with it?”

    “Well it really itches for one thing. There is.” Once again Joseph found himself cut off.

    Tera couldn't contain herself as she looked at Nora. “Ha! I told you.” Instead of continuing to taunt Nora Tera turned to Joseph. “Thanks for your help. This stubborn fluff for head wouldn't listen whenever I told her a human wouldn't be comfortable in such materials. You can change back now if you'd like.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod and entered back into the dressing room. He was hesitant at first as he noted Nora scowling however it became clear she was looking at Tera and not him. “So the two of you are clothiers?”

    To this Tera responded as Nora clearly wasn't in the mood. “Yep. Though we've only recently started and are still learning actually.”

    “Why clothiers? I don't mean any offense but you don't seem to wear very much or um well anything.”

    “Well at times we like to dress in pretty clothes as well but yeah for the most part we don't wear them. They are other humans living here though and they need clothing unlike us. Plus I think it's rather enjoyable.”

    “Enjoyable how so?”

    “It gives me a chance to be creative and artistic! However, since what I design has to be functional as well there is another degree to it. I find that it's a wonderful way to express myself.”

    In response Joseph gave a slight nod as he listened to Tera's explanation. “Well then thank you for the lesson.”

    “Lesson?”

    “Yeah I'm rather new here so I have a lot of preconceived notions to remove.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she nodded. “Ah I see what you mean now. You're trying to learn about us then. Well then I'll give you a little information. Yes I enjoy hunting and yes I tend to hunt quite a lot myself. A good deal of the fur I use in making my clothes I retrieve myself. However, we do have other hobbies. Hunting isn't exactly a difficult task for us and we need other ways to spend our time.”

    To this Joseph gave a quick nod. “Is that what this market is for?”

    “To a large extent it is. You'll find out more once you make your delivery. Speaking of which if you'd like I could walk you there.”

    “Aren't you worried about customers?”

    A sigh escaped Tera as she shook her head. “Not really. This building is more to store and show off what we've done then to actually bring in customers. You're few and far between.”

    “Huh? Do I have something that was bought here?”

    “Why do you ask?”

    “You said you're whenever you were speaking to me. It made me feel like you were talking to me directly.”

    “Ah well. I'll be honest. Yep that shirt you're wearing was made by me.” As she spoke Tera reached out and took some of the fabric between her fingers. “Flora came by a while back and asked if I could make something for slow traveling through the forest. I already had something on hand so she left with this.”

    “Ah I see. I'll have to repay.” Now Joseph once again fell silent as he felt his cheeks warming up. “Oh damn. Now I feel stupid.”

    “How come?”

    “I just realized I have no idea what you people use for currency.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she placed a hand on Joseph's head. “Let me get you to the alchemy shop. You'll learn quite a few things there.”

    “Alright then.”

    Dan gave a slight sifh as he checked over their inventory. It had been a rather busy month and they were running into some problems. They were short on iron and copper which was slowing the others in their research. Unfortunately gathering such materials could be difficult. He hated the idea but it seemed like he was going to have to ask some of the ladies to go and make a bit of a deal to secure more of the metals. At least they didn't need anything exceptionally rare.

    “Hey Dan how are things going?”

    Dan was actually caught off guard when the cheery voiced reached his ears yet he didn't jump. Having lived amongst these ladies for so long he'd almost grown numb to them showing up out of no where. “I'm doing just fine Tera. What brings you here today?”

    “I was just showing someone the way here.”

    Now Dan was interested as he looked up and towards the door. “Really? Well it's been a while. Who it is?”

    As Tera stepped to the side Joseph stepped into the room. He was surprised by what he found. The room was quite large with several chairs and tables all around it. The only exits from the room was the door he'd came through and one at the back of the room which clearly led into a large room as it was dark. This door was blocked by a rather heavy looking desk with one section that clearly opened up. It was far from what he expected from here. The most surprising part though was he found himself looking at another human.

    It was clear to Dan that he was the first human Joseph had seen here other then himself. “Damn you are new here if you're that surprised.”

    “Ah. Sorry about that. I just didn't expect to meet another human here!”

    To this Dan gave a quick nod. “Yeah I felt the same way. Tera either come in and shut the door or leave and shut the door.”

    In response to Dan's comment Tera quickly stuck her tongue out at him. “You're not the boss of me mister.”

    “Yes but I am currently in charge of the alchemy supplies which includes this building.”

    “Ah well you got me there.” Instead of leaving Tera proceeded into the room and shut the door behind herself. As the door was shut the room remained lit due to several illuminating crystals that lined the walls. “I believe that I'll stick around for a bit.”

    To this Dan gave a quick nod and reached under the desk. He then produced a necklace, two anklets and bracelets exactly like Maria's except the chains were much longer. “Please put these on then.”

    “Sure thing.”

    As Tera came over to the desk Dan turned his attention back to Joseph. “Well I imagine you have a lot of questions so let's get things started. Shall we?”

    “Um sure.” As he spoke Joseph proceeded over to the desk and placed the crate down.

    “Okay I'll just give you the basic details and you can ask what you want after that. This is the check in station for alchemical raw materials and products. We store a certain amount of everything here before being moved to a safer location or used. This counter is manned at all times day and night in case you need to come in for something and it's late. So feel free to come by anytime.

    We also keep track of who has brought in what and who has taken out what. It's important to keep track of who's running up a debt and who's building up their credit. Speaking of which I should probably check yours. Please state your name and who you've been living with.”

    “My name is Joseph Liut and I've been living with Flora, Mira and Maria until recently.”

    In response Dan gave a quick nod. “Okay just give me a moment here.” As he was speaking Dan once again vanished beneath the desk. This time he came up with a rather heavy book which he quickly began to search through. As he looked through the book he took a moment to look at Joseph and note his surprise. “We like to keep records.”

    “I. I see that. Well that's not what I was expecting.”

    Tera had been quiet for a while but chose now to speak up. “It's not like it's our doing. The brothers insist quite heavily though on keeping detailed records rather then just relying upon memory. We try to temper them whenever we can but they can be so sensitive about knowing who is doing what.”

    “I see. Tera, um could you tell me anything else about your brothers?”

    In response Tera gave a quick nod. “They oversee most of the alchemical research, materials and supplies. They also keep track of most of the raw materials we bring in. Well at least they keep track of many of the materials. They like to make sure the food supply is holding steady.” A sigh escaped Tera as she placed a hand on her forehead. “It's exceptionally tedious.”

    “It must be bothersome always reporting in.”

    “Oh! Not for me!” A slight giggle escaped Tera as she shook her head. “I meant for them. I don't know how they stand to spend so much time reading over reports on pray, plant life and what's in storage but they do.”

    “Huh? So they're like your civic planners?”

    In response Tera gave a quick nod. “Yeah! That's a good way of putting it! They can be a little pushy at times but we know they have our best interest at heart. Our brothers have seen us through a lot of lean times with as little hardship as possible.”

    “I see. Is there anything else you could tell me.”

    “Nope!”

    “Why not?”

    “You're not allowed to know much more.” As she finished speaking Tera quickly stuck her tongue out at Joseph.

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head and looked at Dan. “Do you know more.”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “Yep. Okay I found you. You've been pretty consistent in delivering healing potions, you've also started delivering food preservatives as well. You've been removing some materials from storage. Not a lot but fairly frequently. So in the end your rating is.” For a moment Dan grew silent as he took his time to look over the records once again. “We need to get you fitted.”

    Before Joseph could even respond Tera spoke up. “Yay! You mean he's already earned enough credit?”

    “Yeah which is pretty surprising.”

    As Joseph found a chance to speak up he chose to. “What are you talking about?”

    To this Dan looked back at Joseph. “Well I take it you've noticed how currency isn't a major thing here. Rather you could say trust and respect are the currency here. One way of earning that respect is by giving more then you've taken and well you've given a lot more then you've taken. Enough that you've earned some extra privileges just don't think that these are concrete.”

    “What kind of privileges and what is this fitting you're talking about?”

    Before speaking Tera placed a hand on Joseph's shoulder to get his attention. “A new outfit! Well part of a new outfit actually. Basically it lets those that don't know your sent yet know that you're a person who can be trusted.”

    “I see. So I take it one can't just have one of these outfit made.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Dan as he took hold of his shirt collar. “I'll tell you this. If Tera or one of the other females caught you wearing an outfit with this marking and knew you hadn't earned it you'd be in serious trouble. I won't go into the details of what they might do but most don't try stunts like that.”

    “I see. What about the females then? You don't seem to wear much.”

    “Of course not! It's based on how big we are.”

    “Huh?”

    Before speaking Tera removed her hand from Joseph's shoulder and bent at the knees so she was closer to eye level with him. “The more mature and trust worthy you are the more you're allowed to grow. Up to a point at least. It's a physical statement that you're capable of handling a larger stronger body. If you're not deemed responsible enough you have to keep yourself at a smaller scale so you're less of a threat.”

    “I see. Has it always been that way?”

    “For as long as I or my mother have been alive. Now as for your clothing. That began as soon as we started bringing humans into our village.”

    “So this trust. It isn't set in stone is it? I could lose well whatever position I've earned couldn't I?”

    “Yep! OH and if you're wondering it tends to be harder to regain what you lost then when you first earned it.”

    “I see. Is that why Flora's daughter Maria is kept so small?”

    A sigh escaped Tera as she nodded her head. “Maria is a nice person and she didn't mean any harm. She went overboard by such a huge margin though. I mean she really went beyond what was reasonable she let her desire to quiet her hunger overcome her and was becoming really dangerous. I. I don't really think she should have to stay so small though. She came back to us willingly and she's been nice since then and in control.”

    “You sound like you and Maria are good friends.”

    In response Tera gave a nod. “Yeah it's probably why I didn't notice you right away. I smelt Maria on you so stranger didn't kick in right away.”

    To this Joseph gave a nod. “Do you think you could tell me some things about Maria later?”

    “Sure as long as it isn't something I believe you should be asking her yourself.”

    “Thanks.” As Joseph spoke he turned his attention back to Dan. “Dan could I ask you some questions as well? You're the only other human I've met so far so I have quite a few things I'd like to know.”

    “I'll answer what I can.”

    “I guess my biggest question right now is why are you here?”

    “Ah I should have knew you'd ask that. Okay I can give you some of the details. I was claimed a few years back while in the forest. You see I was part of an expedition to gather some very valuable plants. I knew it was dangerous but the pay I was being offered was really something else. At the time I didn't really think about it as theft as I didn't consider the forest dwellers a true nation. The group I'd come into the forest with was mostly torn apart whenever they were confronted.”

    “Why torn apart?”

    “When told to restore what they'd taken, leave their armor and weapons and get out of the forest they chose to attack instead. Apparently the ladies that found the search party didn't feel the guards were worth retrieving. I wasn't killed though because I tried to speak with one of them before the guards attacked.”

    “You mean you fought them?”

    “Yeah I did. As I had at least tried to communicate in the beginning they didn't kill me. Probably didn't hurt that I wasn't really a combatant. Anyway, I was brought back here and given an assignment as one of the claimed. I realized my situation so I didn't try to escape and worked off my debt so to speak. Eventually I earned my life back and was given the choice to try and leave.”

    “So why are you still here?”

    “I um well. As I mentioned I actually out rank you even with your upgrade. I've kind of worked my way up to a reasonable level of respect and it's not like this is a bad place to live. That and well I fell in love.”

    “What?”

    A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she looked down at Joseph. “Dan here is the mate to one of my sisters.”

    “The mate? Exactly where does that put you?”

    In response Dan was made to grin. “Ah well. Okay you need to know this. If you find one of the ladies giving you an abnormal amount of attention and getting somewhat physical unless you're interested in her at that moment do not respond. You're not claimed so you have the right to say no but you don't want to risk giving her the wrong idea.”

    “Just what are you saying exactly?”

    Instead of waiting for Dan to speak up Tera chose to. “Um well you see. As you can guess we're not exactly like human females. Our instincts are a little stronger and well when stimulated and encountering a male that seems receptive to the attention we tend to lose control.”

    Instead of letting Joseph ask another question Dan spoke up. “If you tease one of them while they're stimulated there is a good chance you could end up raped if you're not serious. It's that simple.”

    “What?! You have to be joking?”

    “I am most assuredly not joking and it has happened. Even if you're not claimed you have to be weary of this.”

    “Why didn't Flora or any of the others tell me about this?”

    “It's well. It's not exactly something they think of very often. Tera I really feel awkward saying this around you. Would you like to explain it?”

    In response Tera shook her head in the negative. “I'm not exactly a human so I don't believe that I could. Besides it's kind of interesting to listen so go ahead.”

    To this Dan nodded. “One thing I've learned while living here is the ladies are a lot closer to their animal instincts then a human is. Whenever one of them becomes stimulated past a certain point they'll often search for someone to lay with. If they encounter a male they find pleasing they'll approach him and if he responds positively that's all the confirmation she needs.”

    “How much confirmation is needed?”

    “Physical contact is more then enough at times just the wrong statement can do it though. So if you're not interested in one of them and you find yourself receiving their attention just don't respond or better yet make it clear you're not interested immediately.”

    “I see. Alright then, what did you mean by mate though?”

    “A mate is basically like a husband in our society except for some slight differences.” A sigh escaped Dan as he reached up and scratched his head. “You sort of give up your right to say no to certain things in exchange for having exclusive rights to a female and a few other benefits.”

    “I see. So if she becomes stimulated you can't say no?”

    “If Mina was to come up to me after I'd been awake for two days strait, had a head ache, was sore from climbing the entire time hadn't eaten in twenty four hours I still couldn't get away with saying no. That said I don't believe she'd force me to perform in that condition. Actually, Mina would probably be pretty pissed off if she saw me in that condition.”

    Before Joseph could response Tera spoke up. “You're damn strait she would be! She'd be ready to kill someone!I'd say more then one person most likely.”

    Now Joseph chose to speak up. “So that doesn't bother you?”

    In response Dan shook his head. “Na. I gave myself to Mina along time ago on a far deeper level then just physical. Besides it isn't like it's a one way street or anything.”

    “Dan you said you came here as one of the claimed. Do the claimed have the right to say no?”

    In response Dan shook his head. “No they don't. If one of the ladies decides she wants one of the claimed for herself they're only two ways he can get out of it. One of the sisters or brothers have to stand up for him or he could always end his own life. That isn't exactly common though.”

    “Why is that?”

    Now Tera chose to speak up. “In general forcing yourself on one of the claimed is seen as pretty damn embarrassing. The idea that you're so sorry that you have to resort to physically forcing a male is just plain insulting. About the only time a female would force herself on one of the claimed is if she wanted to have some rough fun or planned to kill him anyway. We kind of have to be careful with you humans otherwise you break so easily and the slightest touch of our claws can be lethal to you.”

    Instead of waiting for Joseph to ask another question Dan spoke up. “How they kill someone that they feel is deserving of death is pretty much up to the lady.”

    “I. I see. You're comfortable with this?”

    “Once you learn more about them you'll see why it doesn't bother me as much as you probably think it should.”

    “But you were claimed! One of them could have taken you at any time! I know you said they wouldn't kill you but still.”

    To this Dan shook his head. “No. Not really. Every group of claimed has an overseer that watches them and keeps track of how well behaved they are. They're job is to punish, protect, provide for and instruct the claimed under their care. If you behave and try to do as you're told they're quite good at protecting you.”

    “Are you kidding? That kind of situation is ideal for abuse! Human history has proven that again and again.”

    In response Dan nodded his head. “Yes human history. However, they aren't humans. Joseph how easily do you think Tera there could tear us both apart?”

    “I um well. It probably wouldn't take her a second.”

    To this Tera gave a slight chuckle and extended her claws. “Ah I wouldn't do that to you two.”

    To this Dan nodded. “I know Tera but still it helps make my point. Joseph they already have power over us the moment we enter into their forest. If that alone was enough to provoke them to violent or cruel behavior you and I would be a lot worse off then we are now.”

    “Well you do have a point there. So just what type of lady serves as such an overseer?”

    “You lived here for a while. Mira is still a little low ranked to serve as an overseer last I checked while Flora could easily do so.”

    “I see. So what was Mina?”

    “Well Mina was my overseer.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he covered his forehead for a moment. “I swear this is hard to take in. I spent so much time with Flora, Maria and Mira that I guess such things slipped my mind. It's making me feel kind of sick.”

    In response Dan gave a slight shrug. “I felt the same way to be perfectly honest for a long while. I can't say that I got use to it but they're things that let me accept it. Surely this isn't the first shocking things you've seen. I remember being horrified at how they tore apart my companions upon their choice to attack.”

    “I. I haven't thought about it in a while. When I first encounter Maria she nearly killed a soldier. Well she gave him the wound that would kill him later. Then when she chased after me I remember her voice. She sounded so happy as if the person she'd just severally wounded didn't mean a thing to her.”

    “I bet he did mean something to her. Most likely she felt that you'd bring her more amusement then killing him though so she chased after you instead. If you'd stayed behind you'd most likely seen her rip apart everyone there except for yourself.”

    For a moment Joseph said nothing but closed his eyes and remembered back to their first encounter. “Maria was almost laughing whenever she tore open the soldier's chest piece and cut through his skin.”

    “Don't forget things like that. Especially if you have a chance to leave.”

    “I suppose I shouldn't. So what made you decide to stay? At least I assume you had a chance to leave.”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “Are you sure you want to know.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Like I said Mina was my handler. At first I was terrified of her and she was quite authoritative and intimidating. I was kept with several of the other claimed and she kept a close watch on all of us. After a few weeks though I found the way she treated me becoming different. She started talking to me not questioning me or telling me what to do but actually talking to me. She didn't seem to be watching my movements as often and started trusting me to work by myself.

    Of course this pissed the others off. They thought I was spying on them and some started to make my life harder. At least that happened until one of them intentionally broke a vial containing a potion I was working on. Things had been broken before and Mina had taken it in stride but this time she got mad. I thought she was going to tear the guy's arm off. She didn't go quite that far but she did deliver quite a beating to most of the people in the room.

    Then that night I found my sleeping arrangements had changed. I was moved to a different room. It wasn't larger but they were fewer people in there. This is when I started to learn what trust meant to them. They were claimed like I was but they were the trusted ones. Mina had seen that the others were beginning to view me as a threat so she'd separated me from them. The next day I got up my nerve and instead of waiting for her to talk to me I went over and started talking to her.” A slight chuckle escaped Dan as he gave his head a slight shake.

    “It sounds like things were going well. What happened next?”

    “It got harder to get my work done! Mina turned out to be far more affectionate then I believed she'd be. It was hard to get a minute to myself to do some calculations. Then a few days after I finally forgot myself and actually began to lecture her about why she couldn't be bothering me while I was working. It was only after she stood up and I was reminded of how big she truly was that I realized I might have made a mistake. Instead she apologized and left me be. Well that made me feel like a jackass so I apologized a short while later.”

    Once again Tera chose to speak up. “You hurt her feelings you didn't just talk to her!”

    Now Joseph was quite surprised as he looked at Dan. “The claimed can get away with yelling at one of their keepers?”

    “It really depends on the keeper and who the claimed is. I got away with it as Mina was fond of me and a few other factors. Mostly because Mina was fond of me though. Anyway, as I spent more time with Mina I got to know her better and as I learned more about her people I came to understand why they work the way they do.”

    “I see. So did anything ever happen to make you fearful?”

    “Of course it did! I guess the worse came after I'd been claimed though. Several of the claimed tried to escape and I don't mean the lowest ranked ones either. Several of the trusted claimed and others got together and making use of items they'd taken tried to escape into the forest. It actually caught me off guard as that night I wasn't in the same room as the others.”

    “Where were you?”

    “Mina had kept me out late checking on storage and seeing if the records matched up with what was actually there. It wasn't. I guess I should have known something was up as when I told Mina she just told me to keep counting and make sure I got everything.” A slight chuckle escaped Dan. “I kind of thought she was picking on me making me do that when I was so tired.

    Anyway, I did as I was told and when I got back I saw all the others along with several other ladies. The women were acting strange. I mean really strange with the way they were playing with the escapees and well even with Mina standing next to me I was scared of what they might do. Mina reached down picked me up and told me I'd be sleeping with her that night.

    I didn't sleep a wink that night. I could hear the screams in the other rooms. Up until then I didn't think any of the girls would actually force herself onto an unwilling male but that night I learned they are conditions.”

    “Did you see any of them again?”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “Yeah though I was the only one in that room for a good while. The next day I saw several of them they were cut up pretty bad in most cases, some had broken bones and all of them had deep bruising. Three of them I didn't see anything but from the way the others looked I can guess what happened. They were real quiet after that night.”

    “Do you think that running is the only thing they did?”

    Now Tera spoke up instead of waiting for Dan to answer. “Most likely not to get such treatment. Those keepers you saw that night had basically decided they didn't want to kill them. That said they felt they needed to hurt them on a level far deeper then physical and were probably trying to break their spirits.”

    As Joseph listened to this he gave his head a slight shake. “Tera I don't mean to talk to you like you aren't here.”

    “It's alright it's not like I mind. You don't know everything about our people after all so you're not going to fully understand us. Hopefully as you come to know us better you'll see the reasons for such actions.”

    “I'm not sure if I could ever see how someone could enjoy killing another sentient being.” As he spoke Joseph gave his head a slight shake.

    “Well did you feel any sympathy for those soldiers?”

    “I well. I don't believe they deserved to die just for entering the forest. Maria could have given them a little display as a warning.”

    In response Tera gave a slight shrug. “Why should she give them such a warning when they're invaders within her home? Besides you didn't give me much of an answer so I'm going to ask you a question. How upset are you that Maria was going to kill those soldiers?”

    “I. I'm not sure how to answer that.”

    “It seems to me that you're not very upset at all. If you were truly upset by her actions would you have just forgotten them? Wouldn't you have confronted her about it and at least tried to show her how such behavior is wrong?”

    “Well that is true. I didn't say anything about it to her but.”

    “Do you think that she'd get upset and harm you if you confronted her about it?”

    “Well no.”

    “It seems to me that you aren't nearly as concerned about those soldiers as you want to believe that you are.”

    Where had all this come from? As Joseph looked up at Tera and noted the tone of her voice he could almost feel a change in her. It was a change that he didn't find comforting. “You do have a very good point there. I suppose I feel that I should be more upset then I really am so I at least try to act that way.”

    “Why do you humans try to force yourself to feel things that you don't feel?”

    “Because we believe we should.”

    In response to this Tera just gave her head a slight shake. “Anyway, if they hadn't been claimed they would have just been killed.”