It's generally considered best whenever a young sister asks an adult about such smells though and a little problematic whenever she notices the change in a brothers scent. Fortunately thanks to our ears we tend to hear such questions and a sister knows to respond."

After a moment of silence a slight chuckle escaped Joseph. "I can only imagine how my mother would have responded if I would have asked her such a question in the middle of a large crowd. I'd probably have gotten a lecture about what not to talk about in front of people along with a very brief explanation and a promise of further information whenever I got older."

Now Kersara chimed in. "Ah that isn't good. Understanding is better then being kept in ignorance after all. At least whenever we catch a young sister or brother experimenting early we can say that they knew better."

"With that knowledge though and the difficulty you have in becoming pregnant when does such experimentation tend to occur?"

It was impossible for Kersara not to give a very toothy grin now. "Um well I actually ended up experimenting with a brother I like a great deal whenever I was just a wee bit younger then Pera. I can't say my mother was happy with me whenever she smelt me though. She set me down and talked to me about the dangers of becoming pregnant with such a small body and how while the probability was low the danger was also great and that I should wait."

Maria didn't give Joseph time to respond as she looked at Kersara. "Younger then Pera? Wow you were an early starter Kersara. Anyway, I guess your concern is somewhat grounded Joseph as Pera and Allen are around the right age for them to be considering sneaking off and exploring each others bodies a bit more then what they should be doing."

"Yet you didn't seem at all worried yesterday? Also isn't that excuse that them becoming pregnant is dangerous going to be flying out the window soon? With Pera and the others being allowed to grow they're going to be closer to the old guardian status which if I remember correctly is large enough to safely carry a child."

For a moment neither sister said a thing as they both seemed to consider what Joseph had said. It was Kersara whos poke up. "You have a point there. I suppose we'll just have to point out to them that while the risk is low there is a chance they'll become pregnant and they're not mature enough to handle that responsibility."

"Hm given that the danger to the health of the mother and child will soon be passing I guess that's the only reason they shouldn't be doing such things."

Once again Joseph found himself taken back for a moment but Maria and Kersara's words. "How about the fact that as children they shouldn't be doing such things to begin with regardless of the danger of having a child?"

A slight giggle escaped Kersara as she looked at Joseph. "Now I don't know about that. I mean if there wasn't the risk of becoming pregnant and having a child to raise why shouldn't they?"

"Because they're not mature enough to make such decisions." As the words left his lips Joseph couldn't help but notice the grin on Kersara's face.

"I don't know about that either. I mean I sure believed I was mature enough whenever I began experimenting with my brothers. Besides I know some very old sisters that are quite immature. Is it something that we can really put a numerical value on and say that they're mature enough when they reach this biological age regardless of mental conditioning."

Before Joseph could respond Maria gave a quick nod. "You know I agree with you there. I can't say I had actual sex until I met Joseph due to my small body size and being put to sleep but I did fool around with some brothers from time to time. How about you Kersara how big where you when you first had sex?"

"Ah well I was smaller then I should have been. I believe that's the main reason my mother talked to me as long as she did though. She really wanted to make it clear that I hadn't just endangered myself but I might have also endangered a young sister."

"Are you two serious?"

To Joseph's question Maria gave a quick response. "Yep. Also Joseph if you and I have a daughter you're going to have to face up to this. Every time we make love or someone else does our little girl is going to know about it. Going further if she's as curious as I was when I was young she's going to find out the truth very soon and begin to wonder about such things."

"Okay that's a bit of an unnerving thought."

For the first time since they had began talking Maria's smile was made to fade slightly. "Is it really that unnerving?"

Despite how awkward he felt Joseph couldn't help but notice the change in the tone of Maria's voice. She sounded concerned. "It's very strange and feels a little wrong."

"Joseph you know if we have a daughter you won't be able to hide it when we lay together. You won't be able to evade her questions and many times you won't even be able to evade her ears. I guess we should have talked about this before we became so close but."

Before Maria could finish Joseph spoke up. "It's alright Maria. It'll just take some getting used to I suppose. What are we humans though if not adaptable?"

"So how would you like to handle it?"

"I would. I well. I'm not really sure about that. Maria what happened when you became curious about the difference between brothers and sisters' bodies?"

"Oh well the sisters I got to see all the time so that wasn't a big deal. I will admit that I spent some time spying on our brothers though. I kind of think that's something that we all do at one time or another in our lives."

Now Kersara chose to rejoin the conversation. "Well it's kind of hard not to. I remember whenever I first became curious about our brothers bodies. It was just so easy to sneak around without them noticing and observe them. I mean Joseph I don't want to disturb you but the odds are some of our younger sisters have seen parts of you that you wouldn't like to think about."

Once again Joseph was made to feel more then a little awkward as he looked at Kersara. "Are you being serious?"

"Oh I'm being very serious. None of them would admit to it of course but well we are naturally inclined to stealth and you don't even have the eyes of a woodsman. So you're pretty easy pickings and it's not like Maria is around you all the time."

"Okay now I feel about as awkward as I ever have." As the words left his mouth Joseph felt himself beginning to blush as both Maria and Kersara began to giggle. "So how do regular brothers handle such issues?"

Maria, "Well most of them sort of accept the ideal as well. You do get to see most of us effectively unclothed most the time though not shaven."

"Yes but you have the choice to wear clothing."

"That is true but you don't have to disrobe out in the open or near any form of windows either. Clothes are an inconvenience to us in many situations just like having to be hyper sensitive about your exposure would inconvenience you."

"That doesn't mean the brothers are intentionally looking at the sisters though."

"Oh?" As she spoke Maria closed her arms together and pushed her breasts in making them appear even larger. She immediately noted as Joseph's eyes were drawn strait to her chest. "That appeared pretty intentional to me."

For a moment Joseph wasn't certain what Maria was talking about and then it hit him. "Hey now! I can't help it if you're going to do like that."

"Oh? Did it ever occur to you that sneaking around is as easy for a sister as that little glance of yours is for a human?"

"Ah come on Maria. You know that isn't fair you were right there in front of me."

"What exactly determines right there in front of you?"

"Well. I." A sigh escaped Joseph as he looked at Maria. "No matter what I say it's only going to end in another question from you isn't it?"

"Maybe."

Instead of getting flustered a slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he shook his head. "Can we continue this after I've had some more time to think?"

"Need time to get your battle plan set up do you?"

"Yes I'm afraid that I do."

"Well alright. We can talk about it some more later."

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"Mm this is nice." As she spoke Pera hugged Allen against her more firmly being careful not to bring him to the point of pain.

"Yeah it is but we can't stay like this all day. I think I can hear your stomach beginning to rumble."

A slight giggle escaped Pera as she gave a nod. "Yeah I think that's more of a growl though. I'm pretty sure she's angry with you."

"What? Why is she angry with me?"

"Well you are the one who has me pinned down so that I can't go eat."

At first Allen said nothing but simply looked at Pera as he considered what she'd said. A slight chuckle escaped him at last and he rolled off of her. "Well then there you go."

A sigh escaped Pera as she felt the weight of Allen's body leave hers. Part of her wanted to pull him back to her but she resisted. "How about we step outside and get a visual how much I've grown?" As she spoke Pera moved out of the little tent the two had been sharing and stood to her new height. Immediately she noticed the difference and was made to grin as Allen made his way out of the tent. She actually had to resist the urge to reach down and lift him up so he could see how much she'd grown more quickly.

Instead of standing up right away Allen took a moment to look up towards Pera's smiling face. He was slow to stand up because part of him wondered what would happen when he did. Pera could be excitable and while she did seem calm at the moment her tail was telling him another story. He wondered at times if she realized her tail flipped around when she was excited but had never bothered to ask her about it. As he stood up though the difference in size was quite apparent as he found himself eye level with her neck.

"Neat isn't it! I know you were below my eye level before but now you're looking at my neck. I bet by the time I'm done growing you'll be eye level with my chest or even slightly below it."

Finally Allen risked grinning as he looked up at Pera. "Now you'll have to be careful not to smother me when your chest starts coming in."

For a moment Pera continued to smile though that slowly faded as she realized what Allen had said. "What do you mean begins coming in!"

It was impossible for Allen to keep from chuckling as he noted how Pera's face changed. He had thought that would get a response from her. "I didn't mean anything but it I was just saying you'd need to watch out not to smother me in a few years."

"I've already began to fill out!"

"Um Pera are you sure you should be yelling things like that?"

"How could you not have noticed by now!" As she spoke Pera puffed out her chest a bit and placed her hands upon it. As she rested her hands on her chest Pera subconsciously gave it a slight squeeze in a desire to make it more noticeable.

This time Allen wasn't able to keep from laughing as it was clear his comment had annoyed Pera a little bit. "Well I suppose you might have already started."

"Oh you're going to pay for that one just you wait." As she spoke Pera removed her hand from her chest.

"Well he does have a point there." Terima had a wide grin on her face and made her way over to Allen and Pera. "Don't worry though we can't all be early bloomers like me." With those words Terima stuck out her chest and immediately noted the expression on Pera's face.

At first Pera was made to recoil a bit as she glared at Terima then down at her own chest. It was undeniable that Terima was blooming faster then she was however Pera wasn't about to say that out loud. "Keep those puffed out like that and I'm going to smack them off."

Immediately Terima was made to giggle though she did relax her pose. "Still Allen that's going a bit far. You should know better then to make such comments about us girls. Perhaps Pera should yank those trousers off and see how you're developing."

Allen felt his skin warming up almost immediately. "Um no. No need for that. That was entirely rude of me Pera and I promise to refrain from such comments in the future." As the words left his mouth Allen noticed Terima giving him a toothy grin and felt certain he'd said too much.

"Now that isn't a good sign! For him to refuse that quickly don't you believe you should examine him now? I mean if you're going to be together don't you want to know what your guy has in advance."

In response to Terima's comment Pera was made to giggle. "I suppose that it would be nice to have some ideal of what I have to look forward to in the future."

"Come on Pera don't joke like that."

"Hm just one little peak." As she spoke Pera began to walk towards Allen and extended the claws on her right hand making certain that he could see.

"Pera I would really prefer if you didn't do that." While Allen knew that he couldn't outrun Pera and wasn't willing to scream for help in this situation as Pera came closer he was becoming concerned.

Once she was back within arms reach of Allen Pera came to a stop and began to extended her hand towards his waste. Before she could take hold of his waste band though her face cracked and she found herself struggling to keep from giggling as she noted how tense Allen was. "Allen you should know I wouldn't strip you by force!"

Despite his resolve to stand his ground a long sigh immediately escaped Allen as he shook his head and felt his legs grow weak. "Okay you had me really worried there for a few."

"I mean if I really wanted to see you naked I would just sneak a peak while you were bathing or something."

"Hey!"

Once again Pera was made to giggle though this time she stuck her tongue out at Allen. "Well serves you right for commenting on my development."

"Yeah I suppose it did." A sigh escaped Allen as he gave his head a shake.

Terima couldn't help but grin as she watched Allen and Pera however her stomach soon got her attention once again. "Okay you two we've got two more days of good eating. Let's get to work. I want to hunt some clams up before it's time to eat this time and get them cooking. Maria and Joseph left a little while before you woke up so we there should be even more to go around."

"They left already? I was hoping to speak with Joseph some more."

While it wasn't much Pera did note the disappointment in Allen's voice. It wasn't surprising given that Joseph was one of the few people he could speak with while the sisters were eating. He probably didn't feel too comfortable speaking with the orcs just yet. "Yeah but don't worry. I'll make sure to keep you company from here on out." As she spoke Pera brought her tail up and wrapped it around Allen's waste.

"Thanks but I don't want to slow down your eating."

"Who said I was going to slow down? I'll just have to eat that much faster to insure that by the time your finished so am I. Though I would appreciate it if you would chew at least ten times before swallowing anything."

Allen couldn't help but grin as he forgot his previous disappointment. "Okay I'll take some more time to savor my food."

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

Alex set quietly as he glanced over his shoulder back towards the village they'd left. He hadn't mentioned it to Markus but they were finally far enough away that he could no longer feel the affects of the beasts. Due to their bodies draining the latent energy from the environment it made spells like teleportation extremely difficult and risky to use either into or out of their village. Given how bad losing just a little energy and ending up a few meters shorter or further then you wanted to be tended to be he couldn't risk such a spell there.

Markus for his part currently lay sleeping near the fire. In his right hand he held his sheathed sword closely to him. The weapon wasn't metal but had been crafted from one of the creatures of the forest. It was better then most steels he'd ever seen. Despite having taken the first watch though he began to stir relatively soon upon feeling the sun upon him and opened his eyes upon noticing the smell of something cooking. "Are you already working on breakfast Alex?"

"Not exactly Markus."

Markus's surprise upon hearing Alex's words was quite visible as he set up and looked towards his traveling companion. "What are you cooking up there then?"

"Something to ease our travels." As he spoke Alex gave the fire a few pokes with a stick to insure the flames stayed hot. He wanted his potion to come out just right.

"Uhuh? May I know what it is then?"

"It's known by a few different names but effectively it's a sort of mystic accelerant. Typically it's for when a mage knows they're going to need a massive amount of energy output but they don't have to worry about the duration of the spell."

As Alex had been speaking Markus had gone from surprised by his claim that he wasn't preparing breakfast to concerned. He didn't really need to ask why Alex was preparing a potion for a mage as it could mean very few things. "Are you saying that you're a mage?"

Instead of responding verbally Alex held up his hand and parted his fingers slightly. A small burst of light appeared between his fingers moments later and there hovered a cat's eye sized fireball for but a moment before vanishing. His grin didn't fade in the least as Markus stood up and began to walk over to him. "I don't intend on going back to serve those beasts. Once this potion is ready I'll use it and cast a spell to teleport both of us out of here."

"So you were the one behind all those magic crystals and scrolls?"

Markus's tone actually surprised Alex being far less excited then he believed he would be. For the moment though he brushed it off and looked at him. "Yeah I was. I can't say that plan went as I had hoped it would though."

"How so?"

"Well for one thing it was never my intentions to have someone pick me to gain my freedom. Rather I had planned to make my escape with the others but well they acted at a poor time. They got scared whenever some of their supplies were found and made the run early."

"So why didn't you join in?"

"I was exhausted simply put. I had used up most of my energy working on those scrolls and didn't have the energy to try to make an escape. So I simply waited behind and saw how things turned out. Fortunately I learned about you and had enough energy to prepare."

"You cast a spell on me?"

"Yes but don't go thinking it was a spell to convince you to choose me. Rather it was more of a spell that decreased your odds of choosing someone that didn't meet the same criteria as me. It seemed the safest way to go given the situation."

"So you got damn lucky."

"Well I like to believe luck favors the prepared and aren't you the fortunate one now? In just a short while I'll teleport us both to safety."

There was no immediate response from Markus as he looked at Alex. Part of him wanted to strike the man right now for not speaking up and allowing all those others to be tortured. They were two parts of him that told him not to for two different reasons. One being that he had no ideal how powerful a mage he was truly dealing with and the other that wanted to escape the forest. He didn't have long to listen to either of them.

"Finally!"

Nearly the instant the words hit their ears Markus and Alex heard an incredibly loud thump and turned in the direction of the sound. Both of them were made to recoil slightly as they saw the beast before them. Her fur was a deep black with tiny bits of gray mixed in though not quite visible in the morning light, her build was similar to sisters they'd both seen before but appeared somewhat more defined while her eyes appeared to be black.

The single feature that stuck out the most about her though wasn't her muscles or coloring. Rather it was the claws that extended from her fingers. They were oddly shaped though only slightly different from the other beast Markus had seen. While most sisters claws seemed to be made for cutting though hers seemed better suited for rending rather then leaving a nice clean cut.

Vera had a wide grin on her face as she looked at Alex and Markus. She'd been following them since they left the village knowing that it would mean missing our on her feasting. Now it seemed like that pursuit was over though as she looked at Alex. "You've been quite elusive and rather annoying prey Alex. I don't believe I've ever had to hunt a single target this long. Then again this is the first time my prey has been right in front of me and I've had to wait to eat it."

As Alex looked at the beast before him he could hardly believe what had happened. He'd been a few hours away from completing the potion and escaping only to have this happen. For a moment he wondered how he'd not noticed her but then his eyes had came to rest upon the jewelry she was wearing. At least she'd made her intentions clear as he opened his hands and quickly gathered energy around them. Within but a moment the air began to vibrate around his hands sending out sonic waves very similar to the crystals he'd created earlier.

The sound hit Vera like a hammer and pain filled her head. A low growl escaped her in recognition of the sound and then nothing more as she began to walk towards Alex. "That isn't going to work on me." Even as the words left her lips pain was there. Vera couldn't deny the pain but it was no where near intense enough to hinder her judgment as she opened her mouth revealing a marvelous set of razor sharp teeth. She had learned to deal with such levels of pain a long time ago.

It was tempting to gloat but Alex refrained from doing so. The creature seemed to believe he was trying to bring her to her knees through the sound waves. There was no such intention though as he shot a wave of energy into the fire. The affect was immediate as the magic interacted with the flames a massive wall of mystically infused smoke burst forth and quickly blocked out the light. Even before he was completely engulfed though his legs began to work and he was grateful they had as he heard an impact only centimeters behind him as Vera had tried to pounce him.

Vera was surprised whenever she missed Alex. It brought a smile to her face as she realized he truly seemed to be rather clever though she felt certain she could have struck him. All she would have had to do was lash out at everything around her. Unfortunately that would have also meant opening up Markus and she wanted to avoid doing that at the moment. She had no trouble realizing where the mage had began running though as she only had to follow the intensity of the sound waves he was emitting. Before she gave chase though a roar that seemed to resound throughout the entire forest escaped from her.

The smoke screen wasn't meant to give him long enough to escape Alex knew that it wouldn't. Rather it was meant to give him long enough to cast another spell. "Let the river flow and carry me swiftly through." As the words left his mouth Alex felt his own magic wrap around him and the world seemed to slow down as time began to warp around him.

Markus saw Alex burst free of the smoke and new immediately that this sister was playing with him as she emerged. He knew they could move faster then that. Instead of trying to stop them though a sigh escaped him and an emptiness born from more then hunger seemed to grow in his stomach. His plan to escape the forest depended on him having a partner to help him to do so. It was now clear that Alex wouldn't be that partner and he had no back up. All the time he'd spent teaching Alex about the forest had just been wasted as had his one freed claimed. He needed to set down and wished that he'd brought something to drink.

It was tempting to end the chase right there. It would have been easy for Vera to simply over power Alex and bring him back. She would have been allowed to eat sooner and could at least join in on some of the celebration. It was desirable but it wasn't what Vera desired the most. What she wanted at the moment was to see Alex's fear. To terrify him and cause him to give up in despair though she hoped to bring him back alive. She knew her sisters would want to deal with him as well for the pain he'd helped cause them.

There was no need for Alex to look back to know that the beast was still after him. He had been trained by Markus and had truly learned after all. He could tell by the sounds behind him that she was close behind him that his smoke screen had only bought him a few moments.

"Do you want to live?"

As the words reached him Alex felt his eyes widen. While he could hear the beast behind him these words seemed to come from in front, behind and to each of his sides. Yet he couldn't see anyone in front of him even as he ran. His stride didn't break though he realized despite the time magic he'd used while in the smoke screen speeding him up the beast was quickly catching up to him. Actually he had little doubt that she could catch him at any moment. "Who was that?"

"Do you want to live!"

When the words hit him again Alex was made to stumble slightly though he kept running. Even as he ran though he could swear he felt something brushing against the back of his neck. He expected any moment that he would feel something slam into him and he'd meet with the ground. At least with him running at such speeds though the fall might be enough to kill him. That was actually what was keeping him alive though.

Vera wanted to bring Alex back alive. She wanted to toy with him first and then let her sisters toy with him for what he'd done. She wanted to hear him scream and beg for the pain to end. That didn't mean she was going to let him escape though. So whenever she'd heard him speaking she'd prepared to strike and risk killing him if it sounded like he was casting a spell. It had been clear moments later though that it wasn't a spell he was trying to cast. "You'd better run faster then that or I'm going to eat you!"

"Yes!"

As the words hit her ears Vera forgot her footing for a moment and felt it slam into a root. The root was immediately pulped but it provided enough resistance so what was a graceful run quickly become a stumbling jog as she had to catch herself. A lopsided grin appeared on Vera's face as she suddenly felt very strange. Of all the things she'd expected Alex to shout that hadn't been one of them. The ideal that she'd scared him so badly that he'd actually went a little nutty was amusing but as she chased him that seemed a bit far fetched. She doubted she was scarey enough to frighten him that badly after all.

"Then open yourself to me and cast now!"

As the words hit his ears Alex felt like something had gripped his body. The feeling was sickening but incredibly strong. His instincts screamed out to him to reject it and push it aside as he heard the sound of branches being torn asunder behind him he turned around and extended his hand. He didn't need to cast a spell as he'd been sustaining the sonic waves he'd been generating before and now focused them into a single blast.

Vera could hardly believe it. Alex had actually turned to face her. The notion that he'd gone insane actually seemed a lot more possible now. Before she could truly finish the thought though she noted a ripple emerge from his hand and quickly rush towards her. Realizing the mage had cast a spell she couldn't help but grin as she prepared to push through the magic. A look of shock appeared on her face for but a moment as she felt the energy slam into her, overwhelm her mass and then separate her from the ground sending her flying back until she met with a tree.

Alex could hardly believe it. When the energy had first began to enter into him he had felt like he was going to explode such that he felt there was no choice but to release it. He hadn't really been thinking whenever he cast the spell at the pursuing beast but a wave of excitement ran through him as he realized the spell had affected her. That excitement vanished quite soon though as the voice returned.

"Run!"

While before the voice had seemed to be coming from around him now the voice seemed to come from within. What surprised Alex even more though was that he didn't even have to think about obeying. Before he'd even had time to realize what the order had truly meant his legs had began moving as had his lips as he moved to intone another spell. There wasn't time for teleportation the beast would catch up to him long before that but there was time for other spells.

Vera didn't know what to think truly as she felt her back slam into the tree. She heard a loud crack and felt the tree lean backwards. Her feet and hands pressed against it and she quickly pushed forward knowing full well the tree would fall. She wasn't harmed but the fact that a spell had managed to influence her like that was surprising. She wasn't certain what was going on but thoughts of playing with the mage had vanished from her mind as she resolved to deal him a serious injury if not openly kill him. Then she was greeted by only the smell of the forest.

Markus gave a slight jump as he heard a rather massive impact. Turning in the direction of the sound he couldn't quite see the tree fall but he could most assuredly hear it. A long sigh escaped him as he realized that Alex must be fighting the sister that had arrived. To Markus this only meant that Alex would be dead soon though it also made him wonder about what was going to happen to him. Silently he picked up a stick and began to poke at the remains of the fire that Alex had made to brew his potion in attempt to get it to burn a bit hotter. It was the cold season and he wanted to warm up a little.

Alex was blocking his sent. This fact alone filled Vera with an entirely new level of anger as she realized how much he was trying to escape. Of course, he was the mage that had created the scrolls to block scent so he had to know how to cast such spells. Now if he could evade her eyes and possibly her ears he truly had a chance at escape. Her old feelings of enjoyment vanished as she began to run more quickly her mind turning towards thoughts of the kill. She was even less happy though as she heard another spell leave his lips.

The ground beneath Alex's feet seemed to grip at his feet but only slightly as it yielded all the more when the beast hit it the ground would do far more then grip as the spell converted the solid earth to sludge. He had considered freezing the ground but the voice had told him otherwise. Those claws would easily tear through frozen ground and allow the creature to keep her traction. Sludge was a different story. No matter how graceful or firm her grip was the beast after him was still a massive creature. She would sink deeply into the earth and that would buy him all the more time. It was a tactic he could have never used on his own though for to affect the earth deeply enough and in a wide enough area he truly had to expend massive amounts of energy.

Vera growled. If this had just been a regular chase she would have actually been having fun. This wasn't a normal chase as this wasn't a person she could just let go. Thoughts of play and taking Alex alive had left her mind as she leaped into the air and slammed her feet against the first tree she came to. The sound of the tree cracking and crumbling where her feet struck resounded throughout the forest as Vera moved over the sludge that Alex had created. As she leaped into the air though she was made to feel sick to her stomach whenever Alex turned and released another burst.

Alex could have sworn he felt the creatures anger as his spell threw her off her intended path and sent her flying through the forest. He had already taken care of his scent and sound. Now he just needed her to lose site of him for a few moments. "Once I give her the slip I can leave this forest and this nightmare will" Alex didn't get to finish the thought as he felt something grip him by the heart. His legs kept moving but he soon realized something truly unexpected. He knew that he couldn't leave the forest.

A roar that seemed to make even the tree shudder in fear escaped Vera as she quickly bounded through the forest. Every muscle in her body was tensed prepared to tear anything she encountered to pieces as she quickly dashed back towards Alex. She didn't even notice as her shoulder slammed into a somewhat thin tree and pulped it in an instant. Another enraged growl escaped her though upon coming to the muck field Alex had created. Instinctively she took in several deep breaths hoping to pick up his scent again. When nothing came to her nose she quickly leaped into the trees and began to search.

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

"So you can't teach shamanistic magic?"

To Allen's question Coinus gave his head a slight shake. "I'm afraid not. It's not the same as your alchemy or your wizardry. In order to become a shaman one must convince the spirits to share their power with you."

"I thought there was some shamanistic magic that didn't require dealings with spirits though."

The orc couldn't help but grin as he spoke to the human boy. He had ended up setting down a little close to the beasts hoping to speak with them but had realized that wasn't going to happen while they were eating. The young male seemed to be good company though. "That's partly true in a way I suppose. The power you speak of is the power one learns to draw from their own spirit and the energy that flows throughout the natural world. However, while using this energy doesn't require any dealing with the spirits of the world that can greatly hinder your use of it if you've dealt poorly with them."

"I see. So what do you teach young shaman?"

"For the most part we teach them respect, basic combat skills and how to get in tune and communicate with the spirits. We may also introduce them to the spirits if we feel they're worthy. One must be careful when doing introductions though. A poor introduction can sour a spirits feelings not just towards the person being introduced but for the person that did the introducing as well."

"Sort of like if you brought a friend over to another friend's home and they ended up setting it on fire?"

It was impossible for Coinus to keep from grinning at Allen's rather extreme example. "Well that is one way of looking at it for certain. Friends tend to be more forgiving then spirits though. As hard as it is to open up relationships with most spirits its even harder to repair them once they've been broken. Trust is something that's very important amongst them and once lost it may never be regained."

"Why wouldn't they forgive you for what the person you introduced did though?"

"It is because they trusted your judgment in introducing that person. It..." Coionus went silent as Pera, Kersara and nearly every other sisters suddenly stood up and looked towards the water. He also noted Kelah had joined them. "I do believe our conversation has been cut short young Allen."

Before Allen could respond he felt Pera take hold of him and lift him from his seat. As he looked up at her face he noticed she was still watching the water. At first the ocean seemed to be perfectly normal but then he noticed a blue wave heading towards them. Concern that they were about to be hit by a massive tsunami was there but then her heard the sound. He heard the sound of thousands of teeth shattering and the sound of water splashing. The wave grew closer and as it did he noticed that it wasn't just pure blue water there were odd color abnormalities about it.

Kersara took in a deep breath as she noticed the size of the wave. "Pera take Allen inland and keep him safe." As she finished speaking Kersara climbed over the table and began to walk towards the water. Her muscles seemed to tense and her claws extended completely. She could smell the creatures coming now and she was amazed by how many smells there was to be had.

"Pera what are those?"

Terima didn't give Pera a chance to answer as she joined them. "They're kobolds or the water variety and they are so very many of them."

Kelah had a grin on her face as she looked at the young sisters and brother. "Okay kids quit standing around like that and get your tails to moving. Everyone get your weapons archers and flame handlers to the back of the line at least thirty meters! Everyone else find your partners and get formed up I want a line two teams deep extending to either side of me!" Now Kelah was made to grin as she readied her weapons. "I'll be the spear head."

"Oh really?" Kersara had a grin on her face as she glanced back at Kelah. Instead of commenting further Kersara pushed off the ground and began to dash towards the oncoming wave. The sound of her foot steps slamming into the sand was audible for most of the visible beach front despite the yield of the sand.

At first Kelah had no ideal what to say. None had ever dashed ahead of her like that but Kersara was rushing at full speed. She was so dazed that it took her a moment to notice that Razor had joined her. "Ah Razor, back of the line protect the ranged." Razor gave a slight snort in response to Kelah's words and began to quickly reposition himself as well as the rest of the tuskers. It wasn't the animals nature to wait in the back but they were trained to obey such commands. What the tusker didn't realize is why Kelah had given the order. She didn't want to risk one of the sisters deciding to open him up or one of his fellow tuskers.

Kersara had seen waves of kobolds like this before both of the land and water type. However, as the wave grew closer and it became how large it truly was she wished that she'd had another day of eating. Another day to put on some more mass and power. As in truth she couldn't remember the last time that she'd heard the sound of so many rushing towards her.

End Book 3