Chapter 54

I walked with Hestia back to the main building, my Goddess petting one of my tails idly, "I don't mean to sound..." She hesitated, tilting her head a little, "Now I don't have the word..."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Just ask, I would only deny you an answer if I was sleeping, or had my mouth full."

"Manners are important." She said with a nod and a smile, "If you and Haruhime do get... and... you find a way..." She trailed off, her inexperience with intimacy, and her nature of being shy with such things making her blush as well.

"I'll know when I know." I said, "If it all works out, I'm sure I'll at least take a vacation." I closed the distance a little between us, and wrapped the rest of my tails around her far shoulder and hip, "You will always be my Goddess."

She leaned on me a little as we entered through the side door. "That means a lot, you know, with everything going on, its hard to keep in touch with you all."

"Your presence is all we desire. Though your hugs are welcome too." I said seriously, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Ha-chan was rather insistent I come to bed tonight."

Leaving Hestia with the blush that thought gave her, I walked past, towards the spiral stair that led up to the rooms. I spotted Wiene, peeking around the corner at me as I reached the top of the steps, her bright eyes blink-blinking at me as I spotted her. "Hide and seek?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head back and forth quickly, and walked towards me, "I have a question." She declared with her usual 'something important' voice. "What exactly, is family?"

"Walk with me, and yes, you may have a hug." I said with a smile, using the distraction my tails gave her to think on a good reply. "Did you want the simple answer? Or my answer?"

"What's the difference?" She asked, gathering up my tails carefully, mindful of my balance and her own strength, and hugging them all at once.

"The simple answer, is something you would find in a book. No extra information. But, my answer is a little different. And if you asked someone else, their answer might be different too." I replied, reaching over and patting her head, playing with her long silver-blue hair.

"Both!" She said with a smile.

"Well hm. The simple answer first then." I realized that the simple answer wouldn't really giver her any satisfaction, but I started anyhow, "Depending on where you start, family are the people who are related to you. Mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, niece."

"Does that mean..." I shushed her with a nose boop, making her eyes cross.

"That's part of the second answer. Just wait." I said, stopping outside my door, "For example, I have no mother, or father. I don't know if I have a sister, or brother. An Aunt, is a sister to a mother or father, and an Uncle, is a brother. I don't know if I have those either."

"So... You're an orphan?"

"Yes." For all I knew, I did have family here in this world, but that would open far too many lines of questions. "Bell has no mother or father anymore, but has a grandfather."

"That's... A father to a mom or dad?"

"Smart girl, yes." She smiled as I pat her head again, "Now, if some one has a child, they would be called a 'son' or 'daughter'."

"I think I know the simple answer now." She said, "I asked Mikoto too... And Ouka."

"Did you ask them the second question?" She shook her head no, "Then, here's my answer. Family doesn't mean you must be related by blood. Bell and I are good friends, but we have shared many things. Joy, sadness, anger, success. So I call him Brother."

"Welf calls you sister. For the same reason?"

"Mostly. He isn't one for hugs, but that is his way of showing he cares." I explained.

"I remember the lesson on hugs." She said proudly, "Ouka gives headpats. And Mr. Takemikazuchi gives shoulder squeezes. Welf just gives me nose boops." She pouted.

"I'm guessing, that you are asking because you don't have a mother or father?" I knelt down to look at her better, though her smile surprised me.

"Miss Hestia said that she would be my mom. And Bell could be my dad." She took my moment of surprise to boop my nose. "You're it, next time we play."

"Hey no fair." I said, making her giggle, "But, now you have your own answer."

She nodded happily, and hugged me as I stood up, "Thank you big sister."

"No problem. Now, go see if Chigusa is still reading, and ask if she will read you a story. Quietly, but no sneaking up on her."

"Okay!" And she was off, taking the steps down two at a time.

"Ko-san..." I head from the door behind me, as it opened up a tiny bit, "Being a big sister again?"

I could only see part of her face as she peeked around the door, that and one of her ears. "It's my job." I said with a sigh.

She giggled quietly and moved away from the door. Entering, I found that most of the lights were either off or really low, and that our bed had been rolled up and put aside. In its place was a small pile of towels and a couple of thin cushions. Haruhime herself was wearing her sleeping robe and probably nothing else. "I have something special for you..." She said shyly, taking my hand and leading me towards the pile of towels.

Dimly, I heard someone knock at the bedroom door. If I had to guess, it was roughly two hours later, but at this point, I could hardly hold a thought in my head longer than a few seconds. Haruhime had helped me undress, as was our usual 'before fun' routine. But instead of letting me give her a hug and well... She had told me, very seriously, to lay down on my stomach get comfortable, and not to fall asleep.

What followed was probably the best back rub I could ever remember getting. And still getting, two hours later. Right now, she was very carefully walking on my back, her little feet working on my shoulder blades with just the right amount of pressure.

And there was that knock again.

"Ha-chan..." I mumbled, at least, I think I mumbled that, it might have sounded more like 'haaaa.'

"Who is it?" She called out, not stopping her little one-two quick step on my back.

"It's me... Is it okay if I come in? Are you umm... busy?" It sounded like Hestia.

"k." I said. I was naked, on a pile of towels, but I was pretty sure I couldn't have moved. All my muscles felt like happy liquid. Even my tails were flat on the floor, each one limp and unmoving, though very glossy.

Giggling, Haruhime answered, "Yes it's okay."

The door opened, and I heard a quiet laugh, "Oh, that... Is she purring?"

"am not." I tried to sound indignant.

"Yes." Haruhime replied, "I used to do this for Aisha, when she got back from the dungeon. She said I wasn't quite heavy enough though."

"Just perfect." I said from under her, one of my tails managing to raise itself up a tiny bit, before flopping back to the floor.

"Well, um..." Hestia started, the noise of ruffling paper following a moment later, "I brought you a Rosetta stone, like you asked."

"Best Goddess ever." I said, sighing as Haruhime stopped her light bouncing on my back and stepped off me. "aww..." I pouted.

"Shh. I'm not done." Haruhime said. More paper ruffling, "I'll just put this on your desk my love."

"Thank you." I considered moving, just so I could look at Hestia, but found myself just... unable to put the effort into it. "Have... thing, in pocket..." I mumbled, "Forgot."

"Belt pouch?" Haruhime asked.

"Ya."

"Oh... Is this a... It's Wiene isn't it?" Hestia asked, "I will put this with the others." There was a pause, "You know... since I'm here, would you like me to update your status?"

"If you would like to." Haruhime said, her voice smiling in my ears, "And I think Ko-san wouldn't be able to stop you anyhow."

"Only if you keep going..." I mumbled, feeling my alertness getting even more fuzzy, "You said no sleeping... But... so comfy."

"Oh dear..." Hestia said, her clothes ruffling as I heard Her kneel next to me. "Such a demanding Child you are."

"Best Goddess." I replied, feeling a drop of something on my back, and a warm finger trace its way down.

"Flattery will get you... A status update." She said with a laugh, "I'll just leave your paper here, now Haruhime?"

Another ruffle, the familiar sound of Haruhime taking off her simple kimono, and a quiet noise of something far off, almost like the echo of a bell.

"Oh!" Hestia said after a moment, "You've done it." Her tone became more excited with every word, "I'm so proud of you, Haruhime, you're level two now!"

While the two of them had a very small celebration, I debated on how I should react. On the one hand, I was one really good eye blink from sleeping. On the other, Haruhime had just levelled up, and she deserved a hug or something.

My golden tail decided for me, and started wagging back and forth excitedly. Being almost as long as my leg, 'wagging' was more like 'flailing'. "Ack!" Hestia said as it swished against her.

"Sorry..." I mumbled, "rest of me is stuck to the floor."

"It's okay Ko-san, and you, stop ruining my back rub." The two of them giggled as my errant tail slowed then flopped back to the floor. "That's better." There was a ruffle of paper, "Oh... I seem to have... Well, I suppose since these were yours..."

"Hm." Hestia started, "You better be careful Kodori. Make sure you keep her happy from now on, or she might beat you up."

"Mikoto would do it first." I said with a yawn, "And I'd let her."

Haruhime didn't comment, though I could hear a ruffle of fabric followed by the sounds of someone standing. "I'll let you get back to subduing her. We can talk more in the morning." Hestia said with a laugh, "Though, I think Chime could hold her in place right now."

The two of them giggled, and I heard the door shut. There was a ruffle of paper again, and then more fabric. A warm hand pressed itself against my back, just above my tails, sending a slow current up my spine. "Yes, we can talk about it tomorrow." She said, tracing circles on my back, "But if you can manage to roll over, I'll continue."

I crawled back to conscienceness slowly, my entire body telling me it didn't want to. For the first time since getting put back together, I'd managed to close my eyes, and sleep, and the rest of me wanted more of it.

But nature was also awake, and... I had the end of a tail in my mouth.

Haruhime made a content noise from in front of me. Her back to me and tucked into my middle, I was holding her like a teddy bear, the tips of her ears just in sight at the bottom of my vision. Carefully letting the tail go and tucking it under my chin to try and dry a little of the drool off it, I gave my love one last hug, then started to get up.

As broken as I had been, my internal clock was right on time. Dawn was just starting to creep its way over the high wall in the distance, and that meant it was almost time to train. Not to leave Haruhime without something to keep her back warm, I moved my pillow behind her and went to take care of my morning routine.

Afterwards, I decided I'd waited long enough.

And looked in the mirror.

Something my father taught me, long ago. The next time you see someone you've know for a long while, stop and take a good look at them. Not just a 'glance' over the 'face you've seen a thousand times' but a really good look. You might be surprised at all the little changes that you just never bothered to catch on to.

That's what I did now, to myself. Comparing myself to the young woman I saw in the mirror the first day at the Hostess of Fertility.

It was still me. Though my hair was still short, my ears not quite as fuzzy. My eyes were still the same bright gold, but a single good sleep wasn't enough to get rid of the slight darkness under them. My body had changed a little too. Gone was the soft edged athletic build from the first day. The soft edges were gone, and near constant activity had given me an almost aggressive look, even as relaxed as I was now. Even my tails, no longer a single one, no longer 'normal' length. Knowing I was thinking of them, they tried to encourage me to brush them. Even Haruhime's golden furred tail was as long as the others now.

"But." I said to myself quietly, splashing some cold water on my face, "I am still me."

Realizing I was alone, and starting to think gloomy thoughts again, I dried my face and returned to my room quickly. That in of itself was depressing, being afraid of being alone. Something I'd done for years before I arrived here. But, I suppose that was because I didn't have to be alone here. Opening my room door and sneaking back inside, I spotted Haruhime sitting up already, blinking sleepily at the still dim room.

Seeing her in her usual 'one nudge away from sleeping in' posture made me smile. Because I had someone who would be happy to make sure I wasn't alone.

"Good morning love." I whispered, kneeling in front of her and wrapping my arms around her, "Ready for another day?"

"I don't know..." Haruhime said from beside me. "It feels too... restless."

We were going through some slow tai-chi forms. The only difference, aside from her weighted suit being a little heavier now, was that we were putting effort into it. Not like we didn't always 'put effort in' but if someone were to try and interrupt our movement, they would find that we were putting a lot of strength into it.

"For me, it is like I am pushing the energy as close to under my skin as I can. It strengthens me, toughens me, makes me faster." I explained, doing a front kick at glacial speed.

"But... It wants out... Like an animal in a cage."

"Too much. Relax a little, let a little out with each breath." I heard her adjust her breathing, and I moved to stand in front of her, "Ready?"

"Yes."

And, I hit her.

Not hard, obviously. With what most would consider normal strength, I punched her in the belly. I was ready to stop my attack mid way, but I could see her tense her abdomen in preparation, and when my fist connected, it felt like I'd hit a block of stone.

"Ow." She said as I moved away.

"It certainly felt like it worked." I said, shaking out my hand, "Though, I know you've been doing extra sit ups when you think I'm not looking."

"I know I'm not a fighter, but... I don't want to be a liability in case a monster gets past you." She rubbed her middle a little, "But yes, it was like... It moved to where you were going to hit me."

"Let's try something a little harder then. I'm not going to hit you, but I want you to move your magic to where our bodies connect." I settled back into a fighting stance, both hands forward, "Just simple blocking for now, when you have that down, we'll add a little more force."

And so for the next hour, we 'sparred'. It was more of a half speed fight, as I made the motions of punching and kicking, with Haruhime blocking my strikes with her forearms just as Takemikazuchi had taught her. A few times we had to stop, as she lost her 'grip' on the magic inside of her, but each time her arms or legs stopped one of my slow motion strikes, I could feel a little energy, just under her skin. Maybe Hestia was right? She really would beat me up if I made her unhappy.

"What's so funny?" She asked, her forearm brushing aside my punch.

"Just thinking, that I'll have to try harder to keep you happy." I said with a chuckle, "You're doing really well so far. Better than me at this stage, though, you've had a while with your own magic."

We separated and bowed to each other, Haruhime undoing some of the straps that held her weighted training clothes on, "But, this is your magic... sort of? And I'm not sure you could make me any happier." She gave me one of her smiles, and I moved to help her wiggle out of the rest of her training clothes. "Except... maybe... stay safe?"

I nodded, giving her a quick hug and sitting down to do some stretching, "I have no plans to do something like that again. I will also follow my own advice."

"Good." She joined me for the stretching, "Um... Did you look at your status?"

"No." I felt my spine pop quietly, "After you *ahem* subdued me," She blushed as I waggled an eyebrow at her, "I had the best sleep I've had in a long while. And this morning, I'd just forgotten. Sleepy Ha-chan hugs are the best hugs."

She giggled and grabbed my forearms, helping me stretch forwards, "And what's a Rosetta stone?"

I had to be careful here, as 'ladylike' and 'proper' as she was, she was no fool, and I wanted to keep my project a secret, "It was a stone that had the same thing written on it, word for word, in three different languages. This stone helped people who understood two of the languages, to understand and translate the third, which was a 'dead' language, not spoken anymore, with no one who knew it still alive."

"Ohhh, you told me that Lady Hestia gave you a 'Rosetta stone' for Koine, the local language." She leaned forward as I leaned back, still holding forearms. "Oh... That's a little far..."

"Sorry." I eased up a little, "Yes, and a children's book. Very important. I needed something to translate against."

"But, why are you trying to learn Hieroglyph?" We stood, Haruhime putting her weighted clothes away neatly.

"Research. I've got an idea, but without a little more information," A lot more information... "It's just that, an idea. But, unless I have a God or Goddess around to read it, then I'll never get it done."

"You're always trying to learn something new, aren't you? I love that about you." She smiled again, the two of us leaving the exercise room and heading to the back exit of the mansion.

"Actually, if you want to help me learn even more, could you help me with Eastern?"

"Oh? Well... I suppose I could." She took hold of one of her tails, then the other when it got jealous, and pet the ends, "Lord Takemikazuchi is a much better teacher though."

"You're much nicer to look at." I replied, petting one of her ears, "Now, lets go see about those trees..."

The pool and all the involved steps in building it were just about done now. The pool itself was laid down, waterproofed, polished, and the deck around it was also laid out, putting a two meter smooth marble area around it for sunbathing. The watershed was also pretty much done. It just needed a roof, and the pipes. That last bit would need a city worker, to direct us on how to connect it to our main water pipes, and to turn off the pipe so when we added our own connection it didn't just flood the place. We had our permits however, and aside from setting a time to do it, we would have no problem.

Both Familia were working on the watershed roof as Haruhime and I entered the area, Bell giving us a wave and grinning.

"All it needs is water!" He said happily.

There were various grunts and cheers of approval, "And people to swim in it." I called back. "Hey Welf? You get those screens done for the pipes?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" He grinned back at me, "Haven't put them on yet, if you wanna do that."

"Sure! Then if anyone knows how to... well, not kill plants by trying to help the grow, we can try and revive those trees."

Ouka, surprisingly raised a hand, along with Asuka. "We'll help." They said in unison.

"Good." I nodded, feeling a little warm and fuzzy inside. Despite the delay of what happened to me, the project was almost done. "Love?" I looked to Haruhime, who was also smiling, "Help me with some of the tools?"

Less than an hour later, we were done with the pool. Welf had measured things exactly, and Haruhime and I clamped the ends on the intake pipe for the pool easily. The watershed roof was simple, made of wood and clay tile, waterproofed by something I'd mixed, and ventilated by a clever idea from Marius.

The trees, struggling to grow when we had moved in, didn't look much better. But, with the steady hands of Lilly, we cleared some of the soil around the roots and put down the proper soil that Marius and I bought. The others, not good with plants, so they claimed, were able to fill buckets of water to help the new soil settle so we could pack more of it on before replacing the grass around them.

That left us around lunch time, so we headed back to the house for a quick scrub before eating.

Or I tried to.

"Boop!" Wiene said as she appeared in front of me with her monster speed and poked my nose. "You're it, remember."

The others, just a little ahead of me, all turned, mumbling, "She's it?" "Uh oh..." "Ten Valis on the little one."

"But Wiene." I said mock serious, pretending to ignore the crowd and rubbing my poor nose, "We have to clean up for lunch."

"Twenty on the fox." "Lilly will take that bet."

"Does that mean you won't have lunch until everyone is clean?" Clever girl was exactly out of arms reach of me, she knew of my unbreakable grip, and how fast I could be.

"It does." I said, smiling, "It would be rude to keep them waiting."

"Soooooo." She took a half step away, before leaning forward a little, "I guess you better catch me?"

"I'll count to three." I replied, taking off my shoes, "One."

Everyone sort of moved to the side, the dragon girl giggling and turning around, "Yay!"

"Two."

And she was running.

"Three!" Then so was I.

"The Children seem to be in high spirits again." Takemikazuchi said quietly, sitting next to Hestia, sipping tea in the shade of the front entrance, a gentle breeze wafting by.

The wind brought with it the scent of the city, as always, but also the smells of nature, the Hearthstone Manor a small green oasis in the district it was in.

"Is this how parents feel, Take? Watching their Children be happy?" Hestia replied, sipping her tea as well.

"GET BACK HERE!" Kodori yelled from around the corner of the entrance, her rapid footfalls like drumbeats.

"I don't wanna!" Weien yelled back, her smaller feet tapping the ground even faster to make up for her shorter legs.

They two passed in front of the Gods, one, a black streak with silver-blue hair, laughing merrily, and a taller black streak, with four black and one gold tail streaming behind her.

As Hestia's hair settled back down from the sudden gale of wind, Takemikazuchi replied calmly, "Yes, high spirits indeed."

That inky black robe she was wearing was made of tough stuff. And forming pockets wasn't its only other trick either.

"No fair." Wiene pouted as I carried her over my shoulder like a sac, holding one end of the robe closed while the rest of her was contained inside. With only her arms and head able to move, she was unable to continue the game of tag.

"Do I have to tickle your feet again?" I asked, my tails helping to hold her up, so at least she wasn't upside-down. I made a show of getting ready to put my free hand into the end of the robe I was holding.

"no..." She mumbled back.

"Good." I smiled back over my shoulder and finished walking towards the bath room. "Though, I'm really hungry now... Maybe I'll just nibble a toe or something since you're here..."

"No! Help! Kodori is going to eat my toes!" She tried to struggle, but the magic cloth simply stretched and warped instead of giving.

Fresh out of the shower, Mikoto walked out of the bathroom, "Kodori-dono, are you really going to do such a thing?" She was still towelling off her hair as she gave me a disapproving look.

"Save me Miss Mikoto!" Wiene cried as I reached into the robe and made a show of trying to find a foot.

"Kodori-dono. I will make you a little extra for lunch, if you spare Wiene-chan." Mikoto said to me seriously, then to the flailing bundle over my shoulder she said, "But only if you are extra quiet during your reading lesson tonight."

Wiene stopped, and so did I, as the dragon girl mumbled, "Okay..."

"But you still need to get clean." Mikoto said firmly. Then to me, "Make sure to get behind her ears."

"Ears are tasty too..." I mumbled, making Wiene start struggling again, while Mikoto and I shared a smile and evil laugh.

I had the impression I might have taken the joke a little far when I actually did nip at one of Wiene's ears. For the rest of the day she was trying to hide, while giving me the evil eyes. Even as I started to work on one of the tomes I had been lent from Ganesha's personal library, I could see her out of the corner of my eye, peering at me from behind the doorway of our 'meeting room'.

While I worked, slowly, painstakingly comparing hieroglyphs with the 'Rosetta stone' Hestia had made for me, Chigusa was sitting on the other end of the couch, quietly reading her book. Every so often, I'd catch her looking at me as I paused, wrote something down, then look away when I stopped.

This went on for most of the late afternoon. So I decided to test her concentration. Owning a tail, or five, in my case, meant I couldn't sit like most people. Sounds silly, but when you have almost half of your total volume slowly weaving about behind you, its hard to find a chair that wont risk getting a tail sat on when you plunk yourself into it. This meant most of my tails were taking up the middle of the couch, where a third person might sit. Haruhime's tail was currently over my shoulder, giving me something to occupy my hand with when it wasn't writing.

So, I let one of my tails stretch out just a little more, and rest next to her hand.

That's all. Just one tail, casually flopping the very end of itself up and down lazily.

After another few minutes, I moved it so it actually brushed her hand. Just enough to be noticed, timed perfectly with my scribbling down another note. Instead of looking over at me, she instead looked at my tail, and pet the end of it, almost like she was saying hello to it silently.

And like that, I encouraged her to pay more attention to my tails, then to what I was doing. My notes were in my (admittedly) sloppy Koine, but since it was technically a secret project, I didn't want her to put together what I was up to.

Eventually however, I think she might have gotten too focused on my tails, as the one I'd been using to distract her made the others jealous of the attention she was giving it. Though, clever girl, Chigusa simply moved just a little closer to me, and let them perch on her. Even as she read her book, she randomly pet my tails when they would try and get her attention.

Except it worked too well eventually.

"Captain." Ouka called out quietly, mindful of 'reading time'.

"Hm?" I looked up from my work, blinking away a little eyestrain and squinting at him from across the room. "Bell is captain right now, but yes?"

"Have you seen Chigusa... Oh, never mind." He said as he got closer.

Eventually my tails had distracted her from her book to the point where she started yawning, and now, the quiet supporter was being held up by my tails as she napped on them.

"I'll just um... It can wait, unless you wanted me to take her someplace else?" He said quietly, scratching his head.

"No need. Though if you needed her for something you might want to wake her before dinner." I replied, closing the tome and tucking the notes I had made away, "It's about time I got up. I'm sure the workshop has something in it for me to work on."

"Chigusa mentioned a shield, before..." He stopped himself before he could go further.

"I remember." I said with a quiet sigh, "Something I've been wondering."

"Hm?" He very carefully gathered the supporter up, his much thicker body almost making her vanish in his arms.

"When are the two of you..." I gave him a meaningful look as I went silent.

"The fox is wise." He said with a smile, Chigusa sighing contently, her first noise for most of the afternoon. "We are... Waiting. There is too much going on."

"I know the feeling." I replied, tucking my work under my arm, "Just remember, tomorrow isn't a promise."

"It's not like we don't know how we feel." He shook his head, "But... We just aren't as *ahem* loud about it."

I could feel my ears get hot, and the feeling didn't stop until it sunk to my collarbones. He grinned at me, then turned and walked off, cradling Chigusa in his arms.

"I should invent soundproofing... Yes..." I mumbled to myself in English as I walked back to my room to put the tome away.

I always had someone around. Be it me holding Chime as I went between buildings, Chigusa on the couch, Welf in the workshop, Bell in the kitchen... I only realized I was doing it when I noticed I was waiting for one of the girls to get up to go to the bathroom near the end of dinner time. Haruhime's amazing back rub had only given me a good night's rest, but it was only enough to give me a little footing against the darkness at the edges of my vision.

Dinner was a little more animated as well, people were talking to me, asking questions, making small talk. Poor Wiene was still giving me grumpy looks, but I bribed her with a cookie to get her to smile at me again.

"I'm wondering." I started, "Is anyone up for a bit of a walk tomorrow? I've got some things I need to do at the tower."

"Oh? What's on your mind Kodori?" Asuka asked, offering Chime a leaf from her salad.

"Well, if Welf gives his approval, I think the pool is done."

"It is." He said confidently.

"That means a visit to the guild for a profession... ..." I sighed.

"Professional." Marius offered.

"Yes, a professional to get our water pipes hooked up." I said, giving the soldier a nod of thanks. "We have the permit, so we just need the person." There were some nods.

"But that's not the tower." Bell said.

"No. I also want to visit Lady Hephaestus, and maybe see if there's something on the job board to do." I said, mopping up the last of my plate with a bit of bread, watching the crowd for their reaction.

It wasn't a good reaction. To be expected, everyone there was trying to think of a way to say it. That they didn't think I was ready yet. They were probably right. But I had to do something, or I'd never get back to fighting form again. Welf saved them, with an expected deflection.

"Oh? Going to see Hephaestus? What for?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Just a few questions. But first... What do you think She would think, of her?" I looked at Weine, who paused in her cookie nibbling to look at me.

There was a moment of silence.

"Lady Hestia, you know Her best." Takemikazuchi said, "She is your friend, even before you descended."

"Well... She's a good person." Hestia said slowly, "And isn't one to just... jump to conclusions."

"Not an anvil head, like some one Lilly knows..." Lilly deftly snapped a thrown crouton out of the air as Welf stuck his tongue out at her.

"But... You can't just bring her with you though..." Bell said, breaking a cookie in half and offering it to the dragon girl.

"No, but I think we should invite Her over for tea. Lord Miach, and Lord Ganesha know. Hermes knows, but the rest of the Gods..." I looked over to Lilly, "We need people who won't bring the torches if Wiene and the Xenos are found out. And I think we can trust Lady Hephaestus."

There was a moment of silence, until Wiene spoke up, "Why am I the only one who can be seen? Why not one of the others?"

I smiled, while most of the others frowned, Wiene was smart, and asking the right questions. "Because you are already up here, but, Gods aren't allowed in the dungeon." I gave Hestia a look, "The guild would get mad, and charge us a fine."

Hestia pouted while the rest of the table nodded. "But... What if we could get another up here?" Wiene asked.

"Wiene, you are lucky to be up here. Had Bell not insisted, at best, we would have made sure you were able to recover, and left you down there." Mikoto said firmly, "We know now, we were wrong to think so, but then, we didn't know anything about you or the other Xenos."

"Wiene has a point though." I said, "If we could get other Gods to see what is going on... But, do we even know others? Aside from Loki, who are an exploring Familia..."

"Don't worry Wiene, we will figure things out, and one day, bring your cousins up to see the sunlight." Bell said, patting Wiene's hand.

"Can I have a hug?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Bell when he gave her one.

"Well, I do have to visit Hephaestus." Hestia said, "Maybe you and I can go tomorrow?"

I nodded to her, and Bell spoke up as he let Wiene go, "And after we look for a little work in the dungeon."

"Lilly would like help with inventory."

"I am at your service." Marius said.

"Yay! Lilly doesn't have to carry all the things!"

"Ouka, you wanted me to look at your spear?"

"Armour too, got a bit on the back that feels a little scratchy."

"Could you look at my gauntlets too?" Asuka asked.

"Gauntlets are Kodori's thing." Welf replied, giving me a grin.

"We can get Chigusa's shield done too." I replied.

"Thank you." The supporter replied quietly.

Before everything descended into chaos about tomorrow's preparation, I gave Haruhime's tails a little tug, made eye contact and raised an eyebrow. She looked at me, puzzled, then perked up, nodding.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat meaningfully, the rest of the table settling. "Haruhime has an announcement to make, before we all go our separate way for the last of the evening."

I gave her tails another hug with mine to encourage her as everyone looked her way. Standing carefully, she swept her gaze over everyone, then said, "Last night, Lady Hestia updated my status, and I am now level two."

There were a collection of cheers, applause and whistles, with most of Takemikazuchi Familia standing and clapping. Over the noise, she tried to say "Thank you for your support so far." But with her bowing to everyone, and all the noise, it was lost to them.

After a moment or two longer, everyone settled down, "That's amazing Miss Haruhime." Bell said with a smile, "Oh! Now everyone is level two or higher!"

"Except Wiene." I said, but smiled, "But that's okay, she's strong enough as she is."

"Oh... I guess so, but well... She is still a secret." Bell replied, putting a hand on Wiene's shoulder, "If all this works out, do you think she can adventure with us some day?"

"She is strong, certainly." Mikoto said, "But she is a gentle soul. And would need to learn to defend herself before we brought her into combat."

Haruhime spoke up, looking at Wiene who was starting to look a little down. "It's okay Wiene. We won't make you fight if you don't want to. Our two Familia support each other, no matter what they wish to do."

"Thank you." Wiene said, smiling at Haruhime, "I like my lessons with Mr. Takemikazuchi... But I don't want to hurt anyone..."

"Being an adventurer isn't all about fighting." Marius said, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Sure, we fight. But we also learn. Support. Plan. If all we did was fight, we'd just be soldiers. As an expert soldier, I'll tell you, its no fun."

There were a series of nods, the dragon girl perking up again. It made me smile to see everyone warmed up to her. Now if we could just get the rest of the city to care, even a fraction as much.

Haruhime's hand on my shoulder cut off my start into the gloom in my mind, and when I looked she smiled at me. "Only smiles tonight." She whispered to me.

"As you wish." I whispered back, smiling.

"I suppose all that's left is a gear check before bed then." Bell said, "And dishes. Wiene, could you help me dry?"

"Okay."

Notes

Okay, dialogue ran a little long... So I suppose NEXT episode is where the action starts back up. Writing all gloomy is starting to get me down too. :( But I literally did it to myself.

See you in five days. :)