HoloJourneys

by vanderblast

A fateful encounter with a fluffy sheep inside a castle dungeon, begins a journey that will change the world. In a world of magic, swords, magical spirits and endless possibilities, Anon, sets forth on a journey with his friend Watame to see everything this world has to offer and to find their origins. The journey won't always be easy, but together, they can always make it through.

37. A Beach of Lessons, Magic, and Prizes

After helping Frala and Korla push the cart that was much heavier than it looked, up the slightly slanted road, you park the mobile restaurant outside the saloon and begin delegating jobs to the lionesses. Botan and Nula are sent inside to grab the kitchen knives you used earlier, while you inspect the remaining contents of Kiara's food cart by lifting up one of its countertops. Thankfully, between your pack, the supposed pirates that bullied Kiara out of some of her food earlier in the day, and yourself, there seems to be enough drumsticks, seasoned chicken breasts, and even shredded chicken to feed everyone inside, including your friends. There are even plenty of plates made of a hearty paper that look to be fashioned into the shape of a boat.

When Botan and Nula return without Kiara, you take that as the orange clad girl's approval to go ahead and do things your way. You basically promised to pay the girl back what might as well be a hundred times over, so you might as well make full use of her supplies at your own discretion. With Riki, Bransha, and Bree, helping you, cutting the thicker pieces of chicken into bite sized pieces is a total breeze. A high functioning lioness assembly line then forms without words, chicken is cut, then a disposable holding plate is filled with saucy and delicious contents by Frala, and then Nula, Botan, and Korla help bring them inside and provide the hungry people of Shallah with a well deserved treat. More than once did you have to keep Bransha and Botan from further sampling the merchandise. Soon, the stock of food is completely gone, and you can hear the sounds of happy people getting their first filling meal in months from beyond the saloon doors.

With your latest task done, you decide to take a small breather. You let yourself slink down with your back against the cart's side face where the proud logo of Kiara's business is painted. Your fight with the offspring of the sun spirit was intense to say the least. You also can't help but wonder how much she was holding herself back too. The parts of your skin that were almost singed by her flames still feel warm, even after you used your own liquid based healing spell on those areas. You've GOT to try to get her to fight alongside you, and maybe even join you on your journey. Her presence would surely be a win for Undine and Sylph. She is practically their niece after all. It's also becoming harder and harder not to notice how deflated both spirits are after they got the impression that their sun-based relation apparently does not want much to do with them, or perhaps more specifically: you.

"Try not to worry a lot about it, you two." You speak up at the two elemental rulers who seem to be having their own conversation through exchanged glances. "Kiara seems pretty prickly, but if she and Pomu are friends, she can't be all that bad, right?"

"My rainpuffs have always had a good eye for friends." Sylph nods, trying her hardest to see the bright side as you're suggesting. "I think we're both just a little surprised is all. We would expect her kinda attitude from servants of some of the other spirits, but not Aska."

"Aska was always so warm and caring. It just seems strange that one of her daughters holds a clear disdain for her." Undine laments, voicing what seems to actually have both sisters concerned. "Or perhaps…that's only what I remember of her so far."

"The whole memory loss thing makes knowing what we know a lot more complicated don't it?" The wind spirit droops slightly, her wings now still and angled towards the ground as she is actually standing on the ground for once.

"But doesn't that make it so you can experience a bunch of cool stuff for the first time again?" Bransha asks as she takes a seat cross legged beside you, the balls of her knees knock against your stretched out leg when she descends. "I know if I forgot what stuff tasted like, I would be out there trying every single kind of meat there is."

The lioness' question is actually surprisingly profound, and effective at that, as you can see both Undine's and Sylph's smiles return slightly. You smile at Bransha and put a hand on her wild and messy head to give it a few pats.

"As long as you're not trying to steal it, that is." You snicker to bring a brighter mood back to things. "You'd think you all would have learned your lesson after you tried to steal from me."

"We have had incredibly bad luck trying to take food from people who happen to have spirit powers." Botan chuckles as she lowers herself down and sits next to you, her one knee kept upwards for her one arm to rest on. "Maybe Anon's right."

"I am definitely right when it comes to not stealing from others." You say sternly as you take your hand off Bransha's head, who lets out a barely audible whine at your touch going away.

"But didn't you promise that girl you were going to steal from pirates to pay her back?" Korla asks, grinning at the fact she has potentially caught you in a trap.

"That's completely different." You snap as you cross your arms. "They stole from others first, and are constantly stealing from the people of Shallah."

"So all the treasure you said you'd use to pay the screeching girl back, actually belongs to the people who live here?" Bree joins in with a wide toothed grin as she lowers herself down to sit with her sister. "You might be more like us than you think, Anon~ Which is great to me."

"There is nothing shameful about taking what you need when you have the strength to do so." Frala remarks, exemplifying her point by flexing one of her impressive arms across her body.

"I plan to give a lot of it back to the people who live here too!" You say defensively.

"But not all of it?" Riki asks in a sing-song tone.

"You should always charge for services only you can provide…" You fall back on the advice Harold once gave you. "Besides…I'm sure not ALL of it belongs to the Shallah people…no one will even notice if I take a bit of gold for myself."

"If you need a spot to hide it, I have a secret stash on the island you can use." Nula offers with a sly smile.

"Okay. I'm ending the conversation about theft right here. I don't think it's very becoming of a summoner to be so okay with stealing." You start to chuckle.

"But if you need tooooo, we would never stop you, summoner." Sylph grins, the pep coming back into her wings as they seem to flutter to bring her a few inches above ground.

"Agreed. In this case specifically, we know it would be for a just cause." Undine joins in.

"We'll keep this between us." Botan snickers. "No one besides us has to know the details."

"You're doing it for the good of the pack, so of course it's fine by us." Bree shrugs. "We'll even help carry some of the loot if you want. I'm sure they got a ton of it on our own lands. So actually…if they leave it near our old hunting grounds, doesn't that mean it belongs to us anyway?"

"They've been using our land anyway. If anything, we should take all they got as payment for the privilege to even step on its dirt." Frala says with a fierce grin.

"But then we won't be able to tear their flesh." Bransha whines. "So do we charge them, or kill them for what they've done?"

"Both." Botan says without batting an eye, which for some reason makes you burst out in laughter.

"You don't need to charge them if you kill them." You say between breaths as you slap the ground next to you to quell your mild hysterics. "They're dead. We can just take what they got. Which by the way, I know it's a lot to ask, but let's try to aim for as nonlethal of blows as we can with them. Okay?"

"But-" Korla starts, clearly ready to argue, but you will not entertain it, not on this subject anyway.

"That's final. When we eventually battle the pirates, it's not to maim them, it's to free the people here, and get back your lands. If any want to surrender, let them." You say sternly, which causes more than a few heads to droop slightly. "You heard it from the natives, it's likely that some of their families or even friends are part of these crews. Some might be just going along with all this to save their skin, or even keep their loved ones safe. We need to be able to recognize the difference between them just trying to defend themselves, and outright trying to kill us. If they're going for blood, you can too. That's pretty much how I operate anyway.."

When the pack looks to be more understanding of this point of view, their expressions soften somewhat. Still, you aren't about to rob this pride of some well deserved revenge on the people who drove them from their home and hunted their kin.

"But that doesn't mean you can't wail on them to your heart's content." You add with a quick wink. "I'd personally love to see you all bashing pirate heads with claws and magic. That sounds pretty fun the more I think about it."

"Then let's get right into the lessons." Riki almost demands, clearly in brighter spirits along with the rest of the pack now that their inner most instincts can be satisfied at some point in your quest. "The sooner we learn to use our own mana properly, the sooner we can take back our home."

"Here isn't exactly the best spot. Besides, I don't really know the first thing about teaching others magic. Once you have a specific element in mind you want to work with, I can help there…if it's water or wind that is. Polka and Flare will probably be a much bigger help for getting you all started." You offer, not fully confident in your own abilities as a magical teacher.

"Well I want to use water, like you can." Riki says with firm decisiveness.

"Me too!" Bransha chimes in, likely having similar intentions as her blond and very forward pack mate.

"I'll be better at water magic than both of you. You're both as slow as turtles when it comes to swimming. As the fastest swimmer, I'm obviously going to be better at using water magic." Bree says with proud confidence.

"Turtles actually can swim quite quickly-" You start to correct the younger lioness on how her insult was off base.

"You can only swim a little faster than us because you're smaller than both of us." Bransha taunts her sister with an almost devilish grin. The look in her twin sister's eyes when the more endowed one of the two uttered those words, made Kiara's powerful sun magic look absolutely dim and cold in comparison. When Riki puffs out her own chest and adds a triumphant giggle in response to Bree's seething, you can sense that another cat fight is about to erupt.

"Why don't you prove it to me!?" You blurt out, your voice cracking somewhat from the sudden panic as well as desperation to hopefully mediate the situation. "W-We could have a small race in the ocean when we go see it? Winner gets uhh…"

The eyes of the entire pack hone in on yours as their rounded, fluffy ears twitch as they hang on your every word.

Crap…now instead of keeping those three from clawing at each other, I put myself in danger instead. Why am I so quick to open my mouth sometimes? I need to give them an answer though. What would be a prize good enough for these instinctual driven women? They just want to eat, fight, or mate. Which doesn't leave me a lot of options…eat it is.

"The winner gets a personal meal prepared by yours truly." You settle on the option that is most likely to keep yourself intact. "How's that sound?"

"If it's anything like the breakfast you made us. I'm going to race too." Korla instantly throws her hat in the ring.

"Can we request you to make something specific?" Riki asks.

"If it's something reasonable that I can find ingredients for. Yes." You reply.

"And you'll eat it with the winner?" Nula asks, her own interest piqued.

"If you really want me to, sure." You shrug. "I'll just make enough for two I guess."

"So the prize is a date?" Botan asks from her seat next to you with a slight grin. The realization about what you just offered makes your stomach jump slightly. The alpha lioness' smirk widens as she gives you an almost sultry stare. "Count me in too."

"Let's hurry to the sea!" Bransha beams as she grabs your sleeve and hoists you up to your feet as she rockets up to her full height. How easily the girl who is a full head shorter than you is able to pull you not only takes you by surprise, but impresses you too. The idea of heading back to the ocean also puts a small smile on your face, one that the short stacked girl seems to be interpreting in her own favor as she gives you a happy, fanged smile of her own.

You have to admit that the eager and competitive nature of these feral cats is infecting you in a way that you don't really mind. You're about to run off with Bransha leading the way, when you hear sturdy footsteps against the wooden floor of the saloon's entryway.

"I really can't thank you enough for what you've done." Kukai's voice seems to voice as he continues an already in-process conversation.

"Like I said, I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand to people in need." Kiara's voice comes next, sounding almost too accommodating.

"And you're sure I really can't pay you back for any of it?"

"I won't accept a cooper for it. It wouldn't feel right to charge you." Kiara responds immediately in a sweet voice. "The world could use a little generosity in it sometimes ya know."

Generosity my ass. I can only assume that Kiara has conveniently left out the part where this entire meal is being charged to me at a small fortune. I guess it is a little fitting that someone connected to the sun spirit can't help but try to brighten things up a bit. Still, I can't help but wonder if she's doing that for the sake of the Shallahan people, or her own ego.

"You really do have such a quaint little country. Maybe after your little management problem is taken care of, I'll think of opening up a permanent KFP location or two here." The orange haired girl goes on to say.

And there it is. She's just buttering up the locals…She is truly a girl who can strike at any opportunity, that's for sure. Hopefully I can make her see that helping me reach the sun spirit is also a beneficial opportunity for her. First I need to actually pay her back before she'll give me any lessons, and that means beating this "Captain Blackfin" into the dirt. But maybe this is a chance to get a little "extra" out of my deal with Kiara…

"I think that's a great idea, Kiara." You loudly say to inject yourself into the conversation and instantly grab the attention of both the savvy entrepreneur, and Kukai. "You were telling me earlier how you wanted this trip to be very fruitful for your business, which after we drive out the pirates who are causing problems around here, it'll be a perfect place to start up a little side branch of yours."

Kiara looks a bit confused over your words for a second, and before she has a chance to form a rebuttal, the sound of Pomu's wings flapping against the wind breaks her concentration as the forest fairy flutters next to her friend and wears an extremely bright smile.

"You want to help us fight, Kiwawa!?" She gasps at Kiara, who can now only put on a fake smile because of the cunning trap you set for her. "This is gonna be so awesome! You and me, fighting side by side! I got some awesome moves to show you too! Anon has been helping me learn how to fight, and Lady Sylph has been teaching me how to get better with my fairy magic! I can't wait! This is gonna be so cool!"

"Y-Yeah. Why would I pass up the chance to fight bad guys with my gal Pomu…" Kiara nervously replies with a dash of politeness. Once the forest fairy becomes even giddier and starts flying around the rest of your friends while bragging about the sun spirit's battle prowess, Kiara uses the opportunity to stare the sharpest daggers you have ever felt upon your person at you. This may be a slight setback on the idea of getting her to warm up to you more, but you feel more than justified after you just watched her try to pass off as overly generous when she was willing to scorch you and your pack to cinders just at the idea that you would steal from her.

You give the servant of the sun spirit a coy smile in response to her intense glare, which looks to make one of her eyebrows twitch slightly. If she wants both treasure and fame from your endeavor, she's going to have to work for it. Besides, having her on your side is a great boost to your chances for victory. The girl could easily take on an entire ship of pirates if she wanted to. You'd be a fool to not take this chance to bolster your own forces, and speaking of…

"Excuse me, Kukai." You start to move things along, and when the tanned man who is probably only ten years your senior looks at you, you can't help but notice a true glint of hope in his eyes. When you met you could tell that while a joyful disposition was part of his default, he was straining to keep up a brave face in front of his people. Now, that optimism was completely effortless, which sparks a bright pride within you.

"We'd like to go down to the ocean for a bit, is there a spot you know where we might not be in the sights of any of the pirates belonging to Blackfin's crew? We're going to start some magic training for the day, and it would probably be a good idea if they don't know that someone is preparing to take them down." You go on to explain.

"I was just telling all your friends while we ate that I have the perfect place for you all to lay low while you figure things out." Kukai happily says as he walks up to you. "I have a place of my own along the shore that's out of the way of prying eyes. Come on, I'd love for you all to see it. It's been in my family for generations."

Kukai walks around you to lead the way, with Watame and Nene giddily skipping to follow. Their pure excitement over seeing the ocean again almost distracts you from one last thing you should do before you go any further.

"I just need to run back inside the saloon real quick, I'll catch up." You abruptly say as you turn and jog back towards the wooden building. "Don't worry about me getting lost, I can find you guys real easy if Undine and Sylph are with ya!"

Without giving anyone a chance to answer, you face the saloon's entrance and push yourself past its flowing doors and the scene inside further lifts your spirits. People; old and young, all smiling and looking to be full of energy. It's amazing what a delicious meal packed with protein, carbs, and secret sauces will do for a person. You spot Marline sitting at the same table you left her at earlier, and walk up to the elderly woman, who greets you with a warm smile.

"I just wanted to say goodbye, and thanks for welcoming us to your home. I know things are tough now, but it won't be that way for much longer, I promise. I can already feel how beautiful and wonderful this country is, and I'm going to give it everything I have so that you, and everyone else can enjoy it as you are meant to again." You say with breaming conviction and resolve as you kneel down to meet the elderly woman at eye level with your hand pressed against the table top to support you.

"I only wish I could convince a young man with so much life ahead of him like yourself to not dive into such danger for our sake, but I can already tell that once your mind is made up, that's that." Marline says with a light chuckle.

"You'd be right. For better or worse, I won't back down from doing what I think is right. Thankfully I got some of the best friends in the world to help make sure what I'm doing is the right thing, so you don't have to worry too much about me."

"With Nene by your side, I have no doubt about that. The girl absolutely adores you." The older woman says, which brings a slight tinge to your cheeks. Marline's grin widens slightly at your slightly shy expression, and she continues. "She may not have been raised here, but it's clear that she has a love for this land already. Which reminds me, I didn't give you a clear answer to the question you had earlier."

"Oh? Oh! About how your trees grow from sand. Then Nene just said that the tree just…was, and that's all there is to it?" You recall the original outburst you had that likely caused enough of a commotion for the old woman to find you in the first place.

"Everything that makes Shallah what it is, simply is." Marline then answers, but the statement might bring more questions than answers. "You can feel its life within your very soul when it reaches out to touch you. One need only listen to what Shallah has to say, to hear its voice."

"It has its own voice huh?" You try to work through the deeper meaning of what Marline has just told you. You think back on your stay in Pomu's forest, and how you could practically feel the suffering the trees there were enduring because of the witch's foul magic. Was that not simply a form of empathy because you have a distinct love of nature? Were you actually able to feel a soulful connection to it back then?

"Don't try to force the answer. Just let it find you." Marline giggles and gives your head a soft pat, filling you with a sense of comfort. "I think you might have better luck if you go out and experience more of Shallah for yourself. If you take the time and listen to everything that's around you, the answer will make itself known to you."

"I'll do just that then. Thanks Marline." You do your best to not dwell on the deeper meaning behind a landmass having its own voice and stand up.

"Such a strange spark of a man you are. Please be careful, won't you?" Marline then asks, her curious expression quickly dropping at the idea of you losing your life.

"Always am." You say confidently before you can let yourself dwell on the fact that you have a tendency to run straight into danger sometimes. Marline seems to buy into your embellishment and her wrinkled cheeks flatten out somewhat as she smiles. When you turn to leave things on a bright note, you are met with a few of the younger children now standing in front of you, their small heads looking hopeful, but full of slight uncertainty.

"Can you really help daddy get home?" A little girl, her brown hair parted down the middle, asks you apprehensively. The way hers and the eyes of the other kids watch and hang on your every word, reminds you how their families have been broken apart by the tyrannical pirates. Their way of life has been disrupted. Forced to live in a way that is not fit for a child. A child living in a country like this should be enjoying the sun and the waters, not being hungry and scared they will never see their parents again.

An idea suddenly comes to you on how to truly convince these unfortunate souls that everything will turn out alright. Bending down to one knee, you give the two children in the front of the group; a boy and a girl, a comforting smile and place your pinched together thumb and forefinger behind their heads.

"I sure can, but I'm gonna need a little help first. You all know how wishing on stars works right?" You begin, and when you are met with shy nods, you continue as you subtly bring some mana into your fingertips. You pull your arms back in front of you to reveal a simple silver-white star shining atop each of your pointer fingers. The children's eyes widen at this display of magic and sleight of hand. "Normally you would have to wait till full nightfall, but it looks like these two little guys were with you the whole time! Here, take them and tell them your name, and a wish."

You gently give your celestial creations to the two children in front of you who hold the multi-pronged shapes curiously within their cupped hands. Deciding the kids needed a little extra assurance, you will both glittering stars to sparkle ever so slightly, as if they were calling to their holders, asking to be told their deepest desires.

"My name is Lorli, and I wish…" The girl starts in a low whisper when she brings her star close to her face. "I wish for my daddy to come home, and…and live with me and mommy again."

"My name is Tito, and I wish for the mean pirates to leave everyone alone, so I can play on the beaches again." The little boy makes a much simpler wish, but not one that is any less heartfelt.

"Now put your wishing stars close to your heart." You instruct both children by demonstrating holding both hands over your chest. "And they'll do the rest."

When the little boy and girl do as you ask, you subtly give both stars an extra bright shine when they come into contact with the clothes the children wear; a soft burst of light streams through the cracks between their fingers before disappearing entirely. When everyone wonders where the wishing stars have gone, that acts as your cue to begin the next part of this comforting performance. After standing up to your full height, you create a much larger star of your own that floats above your one hand, which helps gather everyone's attention once more.

"Now this, this is the light your wishes made. Thanks to this, I'll have the strength to make your wishes come true, watch." You say with a genuine air of gratitude and encouragement. When you then bring the celestial body to your chest to repeat the act the children performed, you lower your left hand down and utter the second spell in a whisper so low that only you could hear it. When the star made from your own mana touches your body and dissipates in a display of sparkles, the veil of light from the second spell outlines your figure, giving the illusion that the two were connected.

"Now I have the strength of fifty men! So those pirates better watch out and get ready to apologize for all the wrong they've done, because I'm coming for them!" You say proudly as you strike a heroic pose with your knuckles pressed against your waist.

When you look down at the awestruck and ecstatic faces of the group of small children, you feel an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. This is but a taste of who you wish to be for the world, someone who can bring hope and light where it was once dwindling. You won't let their faith in you go unrewarded. The adults and elderly in the room also seem to be captured by your starlit display, with a few looking like they truly believe in the magic of wishes for the first time since their whimsical childhoods. With spirits lifted and promises made, you take that as your cue to exit, and walk proudly towards the saloon doors, your body still coated in the light from your spell.

"Lorli, Tito." You say with your back to everyone when you reach the doorway and raise a closed fist up high. "I'll definitely make your wishes come true, so hang on just a little longer." Then, with further resolve, you exit the saloon and stoically make your way down its simple wooden steps back onto the main sandy road where Flare, Polka, and Botan had apparently been waiting for you.

"Looks like someone has been showing off." Flare grins to greet you.

"I haven't even begun to show off yet." You scoff as you take the half-elf's light teasing in stride and walk past her as you let the light from your spell fade away.

"We were starting to think we would end up waiting here until after the sun set." Botan remarks as she and the other two girls begin to follow you. "What did you still need to do in there anyway?"

"I think I know exactly what he was doing." Polka smiles as she speeds up to walk next to you, to which you meet the fennec's happy eyes with a satisfied look of your own. "Yup! Looks like you knocked 'em dead. Good work, Anon."

"I am getting pretty good at just improvising an inspiring performance when I need to." You modestly boast. "Now who's ready to see the ocean again? I can tell where Undine and Sylph are, so let's go!"

With you leading the way, the four of you race down the sandy streets of Shallah towards where your internal compass is leading you. You take the corner that begins the steady decline and quickly reach the spot where you and Kiara had your battle just a little while ago. A few patches of sand along the ground are singed a faded black from where the sun spirit's magic, while other spots sport a slightly darker shade of beige due to where your own water magic landed.

"You and that new girl really went at it, huh?" Polka asks as you all jog past the battlefield. "Most of us were pretty surprised to hear that Pomu ran into somebody she knows all the way out here."

"To think she's also a servant of the great sun spirit too. Although…when Pomu told us that part, Kiara was practically sulking about it." Flare adds.

"She seems to have some…sore feelings about all that, but I'm hoping she'll come around to helping me soon." You say as the hill you all speedily go down begins to flatten out, and the cool sea air hits you square in the face, instantly giving you a sense of calm and forgetting all your troubles involving the spiteful sun servant.

A small wooden fence that comes to about half your height marks the end of the road you're on, where a small rectangular sign lays staked into the sand in front of it that reads: This Way To Kloko Beach ➡

Before you follow the signage's instruction and head down the road to your right, you stop and take in the view from the choice perch that the fence keeps anyone from falling off of. The setting sun paints the once blue skies a relaxing orange, and the ocean that sways ever so gently in the distance reflects its pure radiance. When you look further south along the coast, you can make out the shapes of the main port of Shallah, and all the ships that must be docked there. This serene scene has a slightly bitter taste to you now.

"There are a lot of ships there, Anon." Polka mentions, with a mild apprehension in her voice. "Do you really think we can really stand against all that?"

"I know we can." You firmly answer. "I may not know just how strong most of these pirates are, or what HoloX gave them, but there's no way I'm backing down now. We will free the people of Shallah and give them back their land."

"You've done the impossible once already, so I'm more than fine getting your back on this one." Botan shrugs gives you a respectful smile. "The whole pack is behind you too."

"And don't forget me." Flare adds as she bumps your arm with hers. "We took down ancient demons together, so a bunch of ragtag ruffians should be no sweat."

"Geez…when you all put it that way, you make me feel silly for questioning it." Polka chuckles, her bright demeanor brought back.

"Demons?" Botan raises an eyebrow. "Those are real?"

"Hoo boy!" Polka exhales as she turns and wraps her arm up and around the lioness' shoulder. "That is quite the story, and a day where I worked WAY too hard."

"Oh like you were not fed a good meal before it all went down." You scoff as you turn away from the eye catching horizon. "If only we all could get a massive mana boost like that."

"Meal?" The lioness' interest is now even more piqued. "What kind? How much meat did it have?"

"I uhhh…" Polka suddenly blushes, not expecting to have to explain intimate kitsune soul feeding to your new friend.

"But if what Watame told me is true, Anon." Flare chimes in as she taps her chin with one of her index fingers in thought. "You somehow had enough mana to summon Sylph after your fight with Botan. After your resonance AND that intense of a fight, you should have been running on fumes. Something you did seemed to replenish you enough to summon a great spirit. If that isn't a sudden major boost, I don't know what is."

Now it was your turn to be as red faced as your circus clown. Just how much did Watame tell Flare about what you and the sheep shared last night? You suppose those two do share a lot with each other…specifically you.

"I-I don't know that for sure!" You try to stave off the question. "It could have been a fluke for all I know."

"Well maybe if you're lucky, you'll know for sure someday." Flare says with cool confidence that makes your heart skip a beat as she walks past you, the ends of her ponytail brush and tickle your face thanks to the wind, giving you a strong waft of her unique scent. You can only watch the half-elf strut off downhill that will eventually bring you to the shoreline with flustered awe. Okay, now you NEED that half-elf soon. Maybe Sana will actually help you with that moon thing you bragged about this morning…you'll need to be asleep to talk with her though, which means you can't give Flare the date that will melt her heart for at least another day…crap.

"I can see why the rest of the pack feels threatened by that one." Botan says to you and Polka. "I guess we'll all just have to try harder then. Oh well. Tell me more about this meal you got though? Did Anon make it?"

"Kinda…It's certainly something only I can make." You sigh as the three of you follow the half-elf down the sandy incline whose ends corner to take you closer to the shore. Along the way, you explain how Polka can feed directly on your soul, but of course omit the details about how yours is the only one she wants to take bites out of. The topic still makes the fennec a little embarrassed when it's brought up with newer faces, but Botan's calm and accepting expression seems to lessen the pain for Polka.

"That's actually really nice." Botan says afterward, seemingly touched by how you and Polka are connected. "You two can interact on a level no one else can. I think that's pretty cool. I hope your legs give out less as time goes on though, Anon."

"That should stop happening soon…" Polka sheepishly confirms as she presses two of her index fingers together in front of her. "Which by the way…Anon?"

"Yup. You got it." You answer the fennec, already knowing what she is asking for. It had been a few days since she last fed you, and after the stress of last night, you assumed she would be in need of a snack soon. "Maybe after magic lessons tonight? I also want to ask if you'd be willing to help the pack get started. You and Flare are the only reasons I was able to get control of my mana in the first place. I know you can do the same for them."

"Sure thing, Anon!" Polka nods happily. "We can try to get a feel for what type of mana each one of them has a natural knack for."

"And at some point, Anon and I will do a round of two of our normal training." Flare mentions from the front of the line.

The idea of practicing your magic next to the ocean itself puts a big stupid smile on your face. You felt slightly more powerful when you only waist deep in the desert oasis. What could you be capable of when within the ocean itself? You can't wait to find out.

The hardened and worn sand of the road quickly begins to soften under your boots. The sounds of the low tide coming in and out from the shore that lies just ahead fill your ears, and almost unconsciously, you begin to quicken your pace. Stepping into the vast openness of one of Shallah's beachfronts is both liberating and satisfying. After so long of thinking about it, you are finally here! Your eyes then are pulled further north along the coast, where you see speckles of figures a few miles down. There, you can feel Undine's and Sylph's strong presence from within your heart.

You practically sprint down the coast with Polka, Botan, and Flare not too far behind, and you are soon met with a very welcoming scene. Nene and Watame, both with their footwear held in one of their hands by their collars, are standing in the sea that only goes up a little past their ankles, but the small ebb and flow of the calm tide brings the water against their shins every few passes. The lioness pack is stripped down to their underwear similar to this morning, and are doing various leg and body stretches across the sand, and you are instantly reminded of the contest they are about to have. Undine and Sylph are happily watching over Nene and Watame and turn when they notice you approach and give you a hearty wave. The water spirit's smile couldn't be brighter right now, and you can relate. Being back in the presence of the ocean just makes you feel more complete.

"Hey everyone!" You happily shout when you get within earshot. "Where are Pomu and Kiara?"

"Hey Anon!" Watame beams as she hurries through the water to meet you. "We're finally back at the ocean! Can you believe Kukai actually lives here!? He has that cute house over there!"

When you manage to pry your eyes off your beautiful sheep and face inland, you spot a humble wooden home about a mile from the shoreline behind a small field of sand dunes. Likely shaped from the sturdy trees that are local to this region, the house that expands sideways instead of upwards actually looks quite roomy from the outside. You spot the dim glow from interior lights past the two glass windows that give the home eyes to look at the outside world with.

"And I thought my old home was pretty close to the beach." You chuckle as you are slightly jealous of the purely shorefront real estate. "Is that really where we get to stay?"

"Yes!" Nene answers as she skips to join your conversation. "Kukai said there is more than enough space for all of us. Pomu and new orange friend are there now. Said they needed some time to catch up, so Nene and friends played out here until you came."

"Well they can have their privacy for a bit, since we got a few more fun things planned for the day. Hey girls! You ready to learn some magic!" You call out to the lioness pack specifically, and your voice seems to break them all from the internal psych ups they seem to be giving themselves.

"Sure thing! After we find out who's the fastest swimmer." Frala answers with gusto as she crosses one arm over her opposite bicep and pulls inward to really stretch the one limb; her impressive biceps flex and enlarge slightly with the motion, which makes you swallow involuntarily.

"And what exactly brought this on?" Flare asks you, but from the look on the half-elf's face she already knows this is somehow your fault.

"It started with just a few of them expressing how much they'd like to be able to use water magic…like me." You sigh.

"Then Anon offered a personal meal to the winner, so that's why I'm in this race too." Botan says as she unzips her skirt the couple or so notches it has left and slides the small article of clothing down her legs, causing you to snap your head back forward.

"A meal cooked by husband!? Just for Nene!?" Nene gasps as her emerald eyes ablaze with a fierce fire. "Nene will swim too! She fast swimmer!"

"Not another one!" Bransha and Bree whine in unison. You also see Riki kick the sand up in front of her in anger.

"Are you sure you're not fit to be a pack leader?" Botan asks flatly. "You seem to already be familiar with dealing with your own harem."

"Just get in the water if you want to start this race…" You pinch the bridge of your nose, not wanting to admit the alpha lioness might actually be onto something in that regard. Stll, even if you can handle it, that doesn't mean you WANT to deal with the constant bickering and obsession with hierarchy that these feral women seem to have.

"A contest to determine swimming prowess, how exciting!" Undine claps her hands in quick succession, clearly enamored by the idea. "Summoner! We shall both preside over this."

While the competition that you proposed was merely a way to keep some of the younger lionesses from getting into another scrape with one another, you have to admit that the water spirit's excitement over it is spilling over into you now..

"Alright, everyone who's racing, get in the water far enough so that you need to float." You announce for the competitors to begin entering the ocean that is quickly sporting a purple sheen thanks to the twilight sky. "Undine and I will go about a mile down shore, and whoever gets to us first, wins."

"I'll announce when they can start for you, Anon!" Watame volunteers with a raised hand.

"Thanks, Watame." You thank your sheep for her help while you quickly get some of your own clothes off. You'll be damned if you made it all the way to Shallah's shores only to have to wait till tomorrow to feel what it's like to swim in its ocean. After tossing your shirt to the side and kicking off your boots, you begin to slide your pants down your legs, only to be stopped dead by a suddenly flustered fennec.

"Oi! Oi! Slow down there, pack leader!" Polka snaps at you as look up at her, slightly confused. The circus magician then takes off her signature belled hat, and begins rummaging through its contents. You stand somewhat impatient with your pants held halfway down your legs, as you wait for the fennec to find whatever it is she's looking for.

"There it is!" She chirps as she pulls out something rolled up and places her hat back on one of her ears. "Here. I know you've been excited to come back to the ocean, so I made these for ya. They should fit just right."

When you take the object from Polka, you instantly realize they are actually rolled up shorts made from a material you don't quite recognize. It feels lightweight, absorbent, and even a little stretchy. You unfurl the folded up legs to reveal a jet black pair of shorts that look like they should cover just about down to your knees. On the right side of the bathing wear is a pattern of silver-white stars in the shape of the Aquarius constellation.

"You made this, Polka? For me?" You ask, slightly taken aback by the sudden gift.

"It took a few tries to replicate the material just right, but when it comes to doing stuff for my friends, there's nothing I can't do!" Polka says with pride. "Just wait till you get in the water too, it should be dark enough to show off the special effect I added in."

Before you can begin to temper your response, you wrap your arms around your fennec and give her a big hug. Polka jumps slightly at your sudden show of gratitude, but quickly eases into it and returns your embrace.

"This is perfect, Polka! I never thought I would get to have a pair of shorts like this. Only really skilled tailors can make this stuff, and even then, it would be really expensive too! You're the best!" You start to babble as you give the fox another tight squeeze.

"A-Alright alright! I get it!" Polka giggles as some of the air is forced out of her mouth. "Now why don't you try them on so you're a little less…compromised while holding a really pretty girl in your arms? Yeah?"

Your sudden distraction at receiving a physical gift for the first time from one of your friends ends, and you realize your traveling pants are now resting around your ankles. Your cheeks flush slightly at how you can practically feel everyone else's eyes on you, so you part from Polka and immediately put your feet through the holes of your new swim trunks. After pulling them up to sit comfortably at your waist, you tie the white drawstring in a simple knot and test the fit.

"So? How'd I do? Are they good? They look good." Polka eagerly waits for your assortment.

"They feel pretty good! I bet I could even fight while wearing these!" You happily say as a wide grin paints your face. "But you know, there's only one way to truly test these."

Without waiting another second, you dash for the ocean, giddy to see how this style of swimwear actually holds up. The water that you dive into is a delightfully refreshing cool temperature, but still warm enough from the sun's rays through the day that you aren't cold. Your swim trunks are handling the water wonderfully, and a small glow from below suddenly distracts you. The small stars that Polka patterned the pant leg with are glowing!

"No way!" You exclaim as you grab the one side of your shorts and try to hold them flat within the water. "Polka! You're amazing! How did you even come up with this?!"

"I just thought it was about time you wore something that shines like you do!" Polka calls back from the shore.

Polka really outdid herself with this one, and I didn't even ask for it. I don't know if it's possible, but I'll try to make my soul extra tasty for her tonight. I'll also need to find her a gift at some point too, and one for Watame, and Flare, and Nene, and Pomu too. Man, I better hope these pirates are hiding a motherload of treasure somewhere. Either way, I need to start making these girls feel as special as they make me feel. I'm sure something will come to me.

You wade past the small pulses the tide sends to the shoreline until you are chest deep in water. It has been far too long since you felt the embrace of the ever moving body of water that stretches for untold miles across the earth. You feel completely content and at peace when you submerge yourself underneath and begin to swim further down the coastline.

When you come up for air and let yourself swim forward at a leisurely pace, you notice Undine happily floating beside you. Even though she is intangible at the moment, you can see the water spirit thoroughly enjoying the mere scenery of the ocean she helped create. Why should she have to wait till tomorrow to enjoy this fully? You sure didn't wait, and she shouldn't either.

Taking a deep breath, you dive underwater as a small wave begins to bump against you, and begin to focus your mana. You put your lesson with Flare yesterday into practice and try to feel the natural mana of the ocean around you. A familiar sensation begins to rush alongside the mana around your body, and you can feel the power necessary to complete the summoning.

A bright flash of blue light erupts from your being, and the sudden exhaustion you feel prompts you to breach the water and take a much needed breath of air. As you pant and regain your bearings along the gentle current, you hear a small series of splashes from behind you. There is Undine, in the flesh and completely surprised.

"Summoner? Why did you suddenly?" The water spirit questions you briefly, to which you give her a sure of yourself smile.

"We've never had a chance to really go swimming together yet, so I didn't want to put that off any longer." You chuckle as your attention gets caught by something behind Undine. When you look past her, you see a majestic finned tail covered in royal blue scales peek out of the water. "Is that your tail? I don't think I've seen you with that since Polka made us into a street act back in Lu'Shalador."

"Oh my, I suppose it is!" Undine giggles as she looks over her shoulder to behold her own finned appendage. She then makes a couple quick spins to try and get a better look at her sealegs, which is a little uncharacteristic for the normally stoic water spirit, but it is incredibly cute to see. Undine then gives her physical form a true test and dives underwater, and then seconds later, rockets out and manages to leap about thirty feet into the air before spiraling into the water in front of you, making a big splash.

It's hard not to be caught up in Undine's giddiness, as you laugh while shielding your face from the resulting displacement of water. She comes back up a second later and whips her slicked hair behind her head. You don't think you've ever seen her look this carefree before.

"Do you think we traveled far enough to be an appropriate finish line for the race now? I would very much like to see who is a quick swimmer among your pack." Undine says with a childlike excitement, which reminds you that you have a few things left to do in the day and twilight is quickly turning to moonlight.

"I think so." You happily answer and turn towards where you can see everyone who is ready to race gathered in the water a mile down the shore. "Hey! We're ready whenever you girls are!"

You then watch everyone in the water scramble to form as even a starting line as you can make within the sea, and wait for Watame's signal to begin from her spot on the sandy beach.

"So, summoner? Who do you want to win?" Undine asks you with a slight smirk.

"I told them earlier, I'm not playing favorites with them." You try to shoot the question down.

"If you say so. We shall let the victor claim that title then." The water spirit shrugs as you both watch the competitors take off at the sound of Watame's shout to begin.

You can only make guesses about who is who from your current position as the girls swim their hardest through the water towards you. True to her own boasting earlier, Bree is a pretty fast swimmer, as you see a distinct head of black hair bob up and down through the water alongside a blond one. As you are hooked on seeing who will come out on top, something from the horizon catches your eye; a swelling wave begins to roll towards the group.

"Is that? But it's low tide…how?" You ask, befuddled at the sudden shift in the current. When the water spirit next to you looks particularly proud of herself when she finishes twirling her one index finger in a slow circle, you know you found the cause.

"If someone wishes to compete for the sole attention of my summoner, I think the challenge should be a little more…challenging." She then says playfully to explain herself.

The water spirit's sudden mischievous mood has you snickering like an idiot. Your entertainment is then doubled when you hear some excited and nervous cries of the swimmers as the wave crests over them. The thing looks to be over ten feet tall! You watch three bodies immediately turn and dive into it before it can crash down over them, the rest however, can only be helplessly swept away and washed ashore. How a mere thought from Undine created such a powerful wave to appear along the sea is nothing short of inspiring. She looks particularly proud of her work as she wears an almost devilish grin when the defeated cries of pretty much the entire lion pack reach both your ears.

"I hope none of them were your favorites, summoner." Undine remarks as her tail makes a soft splash against the water behind you both. "Let's see who managed to get over my first hurdle."

"First? What else do you have planned?" You ask with a keen interest, to which the water spirit only answers you with a sly narrowing of her eyes and a grin she seems to have picked up from Watame. You decide to let it remain a surprise and focus your attention back on the race, from about half a mile away you can see that Nene, Botan, and Bree still swim feverishly toward you. When yours and Nene's meet for a flash of a second, her legs begin to kick harder, and her strokes look to gain more vigor. That's the champion of Ursol for you, and you might be silently pulling for her to win this. A dinner date with her actually doesn't sound all that bad now that you think about it.

With about a quarter mile to go, Undine creates the next watery challenge for the competitors; a small whirlpool that forms in front of the racers thanks to a twirl of her tail, and a flicker of magic. Bree's panicked and frustrated scream pierces your ears when she is faced with her next aquatic obstacle, and you can only watch as she, Nene, and Botan try to power through its centripetal force. All three girls look to be giving it all they have to overpower the isolated current, and you can see the distinct orange glow of Nene's mana flicker from her heels as she begins to swim faster. Bree looks to be trying just as hard to leave the minor trap Undine had set, her toned legs and arms battling for dominance over the sheer might of the ocean. You are actually more than impressed by the lionesses' tenacity, hers and Botan's. They may not have the blessing of a primal god to empower them, but they are giving it their all and are refusing to just let the swirling current take them.

"Come on you guys! You can do it! Keep pushing!" You suddenly start to cheer all three girls on. The combination of your rousing voice and pumping arm seem to ignite a fierce fire within Nene's and Bree's eyes, and add even more strength to their strokes. Even from here you can see how deep Bree digs her arms into the water to help propel herself forward, it seems to come naturally to her too. Maybe there is a water magician after all under all that feral angst she has.

Through sheer force of will, Bree closes the gap between her and Nene as they both breach the perimeter of the whirlpool. The lioness is determined to be the victor, but unfortunately for her, without the force of the cycling water to hold her back, Nene's power makes her shoot forward like a missile as soon her body reaches calmer waters again. The Champion of Ursol's own leg power creates waves on both sides of her as she rushes toward you with incredible speed. As Nene gets closer and closer, you can see she will clearly be the winner, and you can also see that she doesn't seem to be wearing anything over her chest…Yup, Nene is swimming completely naked as far as you can tell right now, and her eyes on locked on their target; you.

You start to try and swim out of the way of her warpath, but Nene's momentum is already too great, and she collides with you with great glee.

"Nene is winner!" She shouts with her head above water when she traps you in a powerful bear hug to act as her crossing the finish line. The girl's swimming tackle plunges you both under the clear water that is now shimmering with a pale white light thanks to the rising moon. With you floating on your back beneath the waves, you feel Nene's ample chest touching yours, and despite everything telling you to not open your eyes while submerged in saltwater, other forces make an extremely convincing case for doing it anyway.

Prying your own eyes open, you behold a magnificent sight; Nene bare chested, slightly floating above you with her blond hair falling upwards towards the surface. She wears an ecstatic fanged smile in the wake of her current victory, and her hands quickly find their way around your stomach to pull her back into you, not seeming to want to let go of her prize. Despite how enjoyable this position may be, your eyes are beginning to sting, and your lungs are in need of some more air, so you swim both of you back up to breach water.

Nene fills her chest with air and proceeds to giggle in triumph, while you run your hand hard over your eyes in an attempt to get some of the lingering salt out from them. It still kinda hurts, but it was easily worth it, but now it is time to be a gentleman.

"I declare Nene Momosuzu the winner of the race!" Undine then wades over to the two of you and holds up one of Nene's hands towards the sky. "That was a magnificent display of swimming."

"I was so close too!" Bree growls as she slams her fist against the water's surface and proceeds to run her nails through her hair in frustration.

"Don't feel too bad, Bree." Botan consoles her pack-mate as she paddles herself leisurely towards her. "The fact you were able to almost keep up with Nene is impressive. She has pretty intense looking mana…it's a little different than others too."

"She was using what!?" The black-haired lionesses screeches. "So she cheated!?"

"And what was with that crazy wave!?" Bransha's voice comes next as she swims towards you from the shore, with the other lionesses following behind her.

"No one said Nene couldn't use power of Ursol." Nene defends herself as she keeps one arm hooked around your neck, which seems to more than aggravate some of the more jealous demi-humans.

"And I figured you all deserved a little more of a challenge." Undine adds in playfully. "It was also very entertaining to watch. I was particularly proud of the whirlpool I made near the final stretch."

"That isn't fair though!" Riki whines next as she looks at you to step in. "Come on, Anon, give us a do-over."

"Sorry girls, I gotta agree with Undine on this one. It was more fun to watch with her giving the race her unique touch. Besides, think of it as an early lesson about water magic. The sea is a fickle mistress at times. One moment it's incredibly calm."

"And the next it can be a raging storm." Undine finishes your thought.

"But it must be respected. No matter its mood. Once you understand that, you can begin to tap into what it takes to create the waters with your own mana." You finish up the impromptu lesson, which seems to satisfy a few of the lionesses, but not fully of course.

"You all would have lost to me anyway." Bree sticks her tongue out at the other girls before looking back at you with a pout. "Don't I get anything for being cheated out of first place? And why the hell were you giving us a hard time this morning for wanting to take our shirts off for a real bath, but you're fine with the human girl being all bare for you!?"

"I was just about to bring that up." You say diplomatically. "Nene…why are you naked?"

"Nene is not naked, she has underwear on still." The bubbly girl answers, seemingly sure this would erase your concerns. "Nene took off dress so she wouldn't be weighed down. It not great for swimming."

"Go get covered please." You ask straight faced, trying your best to not let your eyes wander in front of the pack.

"Okay! Nene looking forward to meal with husband soon!" Nene chirps as she finally lets you free and begins to swim back towards the shore. You are silently thanking the heavens that you are no longer in contact with that girl. Even after finally having a release for everything you've pent up recently, these women seem to reignite that fire all too easily. Well, you now have a dinner date to look forward to with Nene at some point at least.

"As for you, Bree, I think you proved you're the fastest swimmer in the pack just like you said. How you refused to give up and fight against the whirlpool was pretty cool to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a natural knack for water mana." You try to quell the smaller lioness' anger, and it seems like your song of her praise goes miles for her, and her expression immediately brightens.

"So teach me water magic!" Bree squeals, her eyes wide like saucers with excitement.

"Slow down. First we need to see what comes naturally to all of you. Polka can help figure that out, so if you want to start learning magic, it's time to get out of the water." You command lightly and the pack begins to obey, turning their sights toward the darkening beach.

Still not content to cease her playtime just yet, Undine twirls one of her fingers around once more, and you can immediately feel the sea around you fall under her control. Another pulse of the tide builds up from underneath you and begins to carry you forward, growing inch by inch with every passing second. Bree and Botan are immediately taken along for the ride, a bit surprised at first to see a five foot wave suddenly behind them, but when they see your relaxed smile, they just seem to accept their fate. It only makes sense while in the presence of the great water spirit within her own domain, that you are subject to go where she wills you to at any given moment. The azure surge continues to grow as the rest of the pack are taken by its swelling body. When you reach only ten or so feet from the shore, Undine allows the wave to continue its natural life cycle, and its whitening crest begins to plummet downward with you at the top. The exhilaration you feel from the drop makes your chest leap, but you can't deny the pure and simple fun you feel in your heart. A chorus of laughs, screams, and splashing water echoes in the night when you and your pack crash into the sandy shore.

Washed ashore on your back, you feel the receding tide's waters break away at the sand underneath you, causing you to sink slightly. You look up at the stars starting to glimmer into appearance one by one and let out a deep, content sigh. When you thought you would want to just look up at the sky all night, something even more beautiful cranes into your vision; Flare.

"It looks like someone is extra showy today." She teases. "Can't say I expected you to have enough mana to summon Undine after Kiara worked you over earlier."

"My only regret is not challenging you to some sparring before I did that so I could completely wipe the ocean floor with you." You tease back. "You were right when you said I could use the waters around me to help with my magic. Even when I was near empty, the sea gave me just what I needed."

"I'll say!" Sylph chirps next to you, now completely intangible. "Give a girl a little more warning the next time you yank her solid legs from under her."

"Sorry, Sylph." You apologize. "But I didn't want to make Undine wait any longer to be able to kick up the water with her feet…or tail in this case."

"Aww I'm just messin' with ya." Sylph jabs your arm lightly. "I'd never want to rob my big sis of a good time. Plus, I haven't seen her with her tail in who knows how long! Lookin' good sis!"

Still in the ocean in front of the backdrop of the starlit sky, Undine happily waves and continues to leisurely swim in the shimmering waters. It feels great to see her get to relax and be who you know her truly to be. You wonder how you managed to summon her in a different shape than normal too. It could be any number of things really; summoning her within the ocean itself, your strengthening bond, your own powers increasing, maybe all the above.

"We're gonna go play with Undine while you guys do magic practice!" Watame heads into the water about shin deep with Nene, who is thankfully dressed again. You couldn't even get down to your underwear without Polka stopping you, how did Nene sneak into the ocean completely topless?!

You sigh the question away for now and try to focus on the now; getting your pack equipped with magic so they can really bring the fight to those pirates with you.

"First things first. We should try to figure out what everyone has a natural affinity for…" The fact then dawns on you that you have no real clue how to do that.

"Anon?" Flare asks with a smug smirk as she crosses her arms. "Care to continue?"

"I don't exactly know how…" You shamefully admit. "Should we just get the pack to try to bring out their mana first?"

"That's an obvious first step, but a good one!" Polka says a bit more encouragingly as she walks over to the dry spot on the beach and motions for everyone to follow her. In an open area of sand, delightfully visible thanks to the light of the moon and stars, Polka sits down cross legged and invites everyone else to do the same.

You take a seat on the cooling sand opposite Polka, where Bransha and Bree hastily take the open spots on your left and right, pushing Riki and Nula out of the way to do so. The rest of the pack quickly take their own seats to form a relaxed circle on the beach, with Polka, Botan, and Flare sitting opposite you.

"So! You all know a little bit about mana, right?" The fennec starts with a simple question, to which the lionesses give simple nods. "Good! Now have any of you brought it out before and tried to make anything?"

"Not really." Frala waves off the notion. "We didn't have a need for magic spells back home. Our claws and bodies are more than enough to help us survive."

"Understandable." Polka nods in response, although the look on Flare's face tells you she is desperately holding back a comment about along the lines of: Why would you NOT try? Magic is the best thing ever! I'm so good at it without trying. Look at me with my perfectly tanned legs and pointy ears and my unfairly bombastic and in your face….let's just stop there.

"Everyone has a natural color to their mana, and that can point to what type of magic should come easier to you." Polka continues to explain.

"Is that really how that works? I guess I never really thought about it." You remark.

"Yup. When we first started, you were trying so hard to force water and golden light mana, we didn't see what would come naturally to you." Flare recalls your earliest lessons together, and how your first success actually came from the circus fennec suggesting to try to picture starlight instead of pure light.

"Anon is kinda a special case." Polka comes to your defense slightly. "We now know he has a clear gift for celestial magic, but water came to him pretty easily too once he could actually use his mana properly."

"So what do different colors mean?" Korla asks a question you yourself have.

"Well my natural mana color is purple, which is often associated with conjugation magic, and guess what? I'm amazing at that!" The circus magician proudly states as she creates a small red juggling ball in her gloved hand.

"But I can make stuff too, and my mana isn't purple. It's gray." Botan remarks.

"What kinda material is most of the stuff you make?" Polka asks back.

"Mostly metal." The alpha lioness replies.

"That's why!" Polka snaps her finger and makes the ball she holds disappear in a small puff of purple smoke. "I bet your creations are really sturdy and even complicated on the inside."

"I got a lot of my stuff at home I could show you. I hope those pirates didn't break it all." Botan smiles at the explanation and the compliment, and you can already see how the two are becoming fast friends. Polka sure has that effect on people.

"What about Flare's natural mana?" You pose the question. "I don't think it belongs to a specific element, does it?"

"Flare might be as special a case as you are, Anon! Go figure right?" The fennec chuckles at her clear joke about yours and the half-elf's bond with one another. "Hers is a pure gold like I've never seen before! They used to say that people born with that kinda mana have an insane amount of magical potential. So in addition to just being smart, talented and an amazing friend, Flare has the great magical stuff to go with that."

"Do you think that's because I'm…well…" Flare begins to ask as she is likely battling with the idea that a lot of her magical talent comes from her lineage, specifically the fact that she comes from two different peoples.

Polka goes to open her mouth to respond, but you already know what the answer is, or rather, what it should be.

"I think you're as good as you are because you've worked your ass off to be the best you that you can possibly be, and you never stop either." You start to speak before the fennec can get her own words out. "Your mana could be gold, silver, or rainbow, you'd still be the unstoppable force that's gonna help me be the best summoner this world has ever seen."

"Anon…geez…" Flare happily says in a hushed voice as she holds a hand to one of her cheeks to keep their change in color a secret. You give the half-elf a bright smile that helps ease all her worries. A tender moment cut all too short by two particularly feisty lionesses that sit next to you.

"So what's the best way to do that?" Bransha asks aloud. "The best way to draw our own mana out. I wanna know what I'll be good at."

"That's the wonderful thing about magic, it works in so many ways!" Polka cheers. "Magic truly works when something powerful sparks it, be it an image in your brain, or a feeling deep in your heart. But! We can also give you guys a little jump start too!"

"Really? How?" Flare asks, clearly intrigued by what the fennec instructor means by this.

"I'll explain. Anon, take Bransha's and Bree's hands in your own. This will be a good lesson for you too." Polka says eagerly as she points to both lionesses at your sides.

While you can feel their fanged smiles without even seeing them, you resign yourself to your fate and hold out a hand to each of the girls, who gingerly touch their palms against yours and grip you rather tightly. "Okay. Now what?" You ask dully, while Bransha seems to be taking full advantage of the forced skinship and is running her fingers up and down the top side of your hand, the tips of her nails tickling your skin slightly.

"Try to feel the mana within both of them. Close your eyes and concentrate. When you think you feel that essence that fuels our magic, try to pull it out." Polka says, as if it's so simple. "At the same time, Bransha, Bree, when you feel Anon tug your mana, try giving it a push yourselves. Now give it a go."

Feel the mana within them? You think to yourself as you close your eyes and try to feel anything from within both your feline companions. I'm not really sure how Polka expects me to do this. I only just managed to pull mana from the waters, and I'm pretty sure that only works as well as it does because of my pact with Undine. Feeling another person's mana is also something I've never done on purpose yet. I've really only felt when things had a really sinister or unsettling mana…wait…could finding mana in a person really be as simple as feeling what vibe they give off? It's worth a shot.

You try to clear everything out from your thoughts, and only let yourself focus on the two girls who hold your hands. Bransha and Bree, prideful, quick, free flowing, but also temperamental and fierce. A very familiar sensation makes itself known to you deep down within your very being, and you envision yourself reaching into a still pool of water that you can't quite see into. When you feel as though you grabbed hold of something, you open one eye and see the familiar glow of blue mana shining through the hands of both black haired lionesses.

"Well look at that! The twins got an affinity for water! Do I know how to pick a demonstration or what?!" Polka half-teases, but the pride in her voice is clear to you.

"This…is our mana?" Bransha asks in astonishment as she raises her arm with her hand still intertwined with yours, in front of her.

"And it's blue like Anon's!" Bree points out, particularly proud of this fact. "We can do water magic, Bransha!"

"Hear that, Riki?! Anon is gonna teach us water magic, in the ocean~" Bransha lays the taunting on thick, taking her magical affinity as some sort of sign she and her sister will suddenly be favored by you over the rest of the pack. The blaze in Riki's eyes fills you with a slight dread. These girls are really relentless towards each other! Which normally wouldn't be that big of deal, but it's entirely your problem when YOU are the cause of the infighting. Time to play mediator again.

"Well now! Maybe Riki will be joining us!" You blurt as you unclasp your hands from both lionesses and reposition yourself to walk on your knees into the circle and over to the curly haired lioness. "Let's see what kind of mana you'll start off with, Riki. Take my hands."

Riki's jealousy is instantly cooled down when she is presented the chance to hold hands with you, which comes as a relief. She places both her hands on top of yours and you try to replicate the process of bringing the lioness'' mana to the surface for her.

I don't think I feel the exact presence of water mana within Riki, but I definitely feel something a little familiar. It's almost…refreshing? But also sharp. I'm not quite sure I can make much else out of it, but I think I can help get it to show itself. Here goes nothing.

You open your eye tentatively again to be greeted with a pure white glow emanating from both Riki's palms that you immediately recognize as ice mana.

"And Riki's got ice! Not sure how you managed that as a mountain lion from a tropical island, but that just means you're extra special!" Polka gives you both two thumbs up.

You're half afraid the fair faced lioness would be disappointed, but she actually looks pleased with herself. She doesn't seem willing to let go of your hands either….

"You two can keep water." Riki directs her comment at the twins who mocked her just seconds earlier. "Anon can do that type of magic perfectly fine on his own. I'd rather provide him with something special and I think the power to make ice will complement his fighting style perfectly. Let's make ice sculptures out of those bastards that took our home from us, Anon. Then I'll show you what a sunset looks like from my favorite spot, and we can make some real magic~"

"Okay! Who's next?!" You recede your hands which are starting to grow considerably sweatier and look to the pack for the next volunteer.

Frala was next to take her turn. Her hands were incredibly powerful and callused, but you felt strangely safe with her. Her mana was revealed to be a solid brown which is associated with earth. The idea of watching someone learn earth magic excites you greatly. You can't wait to see what kind of spell Frala creates for herself.

Nula, who could barely keep her face pointed directly toward you, had a mana that was colored like a clear mist. Polka was particularly interested to see someone with a natural talent for illusion magic. You brought up that maybe Pomu would be the best person to try and help Nula hone her skills, being an illusionist of sorts herself. The idea that you wouldn't be teaching her seemed to sadden the silver-haired lioness slightly, but you managed to get that smile back by promising her that she can practice her spells on you.

Korla's natural mana was a bright pink, which Polka explains to be a mixed bag of sorts. While it marks a speciality in healing magic, that isn't limited to just spells that heal wounds and remove pain, but to all life itself.

"That's so awesome, Korla!" You exclaim, the process of finding so many different kinds of natural mana in one place more than revs up your magical engines and curiosity. "Since you looked after the pack before, it's perfect that you can help patch them up when they get scrapped. I can show you my water based healing spell if you want. I was able to create it myself after experiencing what it felt like to be healed with magic, so maybe you can do the same."

"I'd really like that, Anon. Thank you." Korla says with affectionate eyes as she gently releases your hands from hers. "With you helping me, I can help protect our pack."

"We're all gonna protect each other." You correct her slight as you give her blond and lush head of hair a firm pat and rise to your feet. "Alright! Now it's time to get some real practice in."

"You're gonna show us how to make big waves like you and the water spirit can!?" Bransha springs to a full stand.

"You will all need to start with something more simple first." Flare now takes the lead of the lesson. "Now that you feel what it's like to bring out your own mana, you're all going to practice making mana coats with it. It's not terribly flashy, but it's a technique that'll easily save your lives."

"And the better you get with them, the quicker you can mold that mana into your own spells!" Polka adds with bright enthusiasm to give the pack something tangible to be excited for.

"I can help you guys figure out how to do that too. It's pretty easy once you do it once or twice." Botan says as she gets up from her relaxed sitting position on the sand.

"Now this is a class!" The circus fennec nods happily. "Never thought I'd be helping give magic lessons on a moonlit beach, but I kinda dig it."

"If we do this right, this beach will be lit up with all our different colors too!" You say, excited to see what such a scene might look like in person.

"Let's split up into groups. If we pair each of the pack up with someone who knows their particular mana affinity well, I bet they'll catch on quicker. So since Anon is a self proclaimed expert on water, he gets Bransha and Bree. I can work with Riki and Frala, Polka with Korla, and Botan can help Nula. Sound good?" Flare proposes, to which everyone immediately agrees.

You motion for Bransha and Bree to follow you back towards the ocean where you prefer to stand ankle deep in its waters as the lazy tide moves in and out. With your back to the horizon, you stand firm in front of the pair of sibling lionesses and inspect them. Their black strapped shirts were still wet and clinging to their chests somewhat, and both girls' toned and milky legs are still on full display with their jet black underwear just barely hiding their precious areas. This might make it a little hard to focus…just think of it as training for your magical concentration.

"Alright, first I'll show you both what a real water mana coat looks like. I'll try to explain what I'm doing as I go." You begin your lesson and cross one of your arms over your body with your closed fist pointing upward. "So first of course, is reaching in and pulling some mana out of your body. It's second nature to me now, but when I was starting out, I needed to really concentrate on what exactly water meant to me."

"What it meant to you?" Bree immediately asks skeptically. "It's just something you drink and swim in. What else could it be?"

"It's a lot of things to me. The sea was always comforting, and…kinda the closest thing I had to a friend for a long time." You lament somewhat, the memories of your childhood as an outcast stand out fresh in your mind, and you just continue to voice how it felt. "The sea never tried to push me away, it always just stayed there for me, its tide almost passing as conversation for me. I…used to tell it things I would be too embarrassed to talk to my dad or uncle about. Geez…it must be kinda sad to hear how your pack leader was all alone like that."

The downcast tone of your speech along with its content turns more than a few other heads your way. Botan and Nula were beginning to practice not all that too far away from you, and you can tell the others have stopped their introductory lessons to listen to you.

"You? Lonely?" Botan asks with genuine concern. "Have you not had the sheep around for most of your life?" The alpha lioness then extends her chin to further down the coast where Watame, Undine, and Nene still play gleefully in the shallow waters.

"We only met not too long ago." You shake your head. "She was my first real friend too. Before I met her and Undine, I wasn't very liked where I grew up. My dad found me floating in a basket in the sea and took me in. Somewhere, some superstition started about how children abandoned by the sea bring calamity. So I was kinda an outcast for a while. The villagers…just saw me as some…thing. A thing that could only bring misfortune on them, a thing that will never belong and shouldn't even be around."

"Well you'll always belong with us…" Bransha stops you from dwelling further as she walks up to you and gives your upper chest a light bump with her fist and flashes a comforting smile. "I admit I wasn't exactly thrilled about having a human for our pack leader, but you've shown you can feed us, protect us, and you even want to get us our real home back. Plus I like how you look. I don't think I could have imagined a better man to lead us."

The compliment does well to make a slight flush come to your cheeks. You may have barely known these girls for more than a day, but you somehow already know that this isn't just the smaller lioness' way of kissing up to you. You've formed several strong bonds right almost at first sight after all, Watame, Polka, Undine, and this appears to be no different. It almost even feels instinctual.

"And if anyone tries to call you cursed or make you feel small, they'll have to answer to me." Bree remarks boldly with her fist clenched in front of her, and you immediately notice the shine of blue mana molding around its shape and hardening. You look at her with a mix of mild astonishment and pride.

"Bree, that's it! You formed a mana coat already." You say excitedly, the affirmation of the affection you feel from these lionesses combined with the prospect of one of them already beginning to get a handle on magic squashes the brief sadness you just felt.

"Huh?" Bree mouths as she looks at you questioningly, and then her eyes slowly trail to her fist that still glows a shimmering blue, the mana slowly shifting and molding over her skin. "Woah…Hey! That was easy!"

"Okay! So whatever you were feeling just a second ago, what was that? If you can capture and remember that feeling, you can use it again and again to form and even strengthen your magic." You go on to instruct, making sure to capitalize on this moment before the fresh emotions have a chance to vanish.

"I was just thinking about how I'd slug anyone who dared talk bad about you." The lioness shrugs.

"There's more to it than that, Bree and you know it!" Bransha turns from you to accuse her sister. "How did you want to slug them?"

"I…I thought it would be cool if I surfed on a wave of water and punched some guy's lights out who was being mean to Anon…" Bree says almost embarrassed by the sudden daydream where she plays your hero.

"And the feeling you get when you surf I think is what you should hone in on." You say as you try to brush off how flattered you feel at the imagery the lioness put in your head. "The insane rush you get when riding the waves and how supported you can feel with it carrying you. That same water that can carry us untold distances also can be an impressive force."

"Well of course the ocean is strong. When you try to stand against a wave, you sometimes get knocked down no matter how hard you try to stay standing. That's a game we used to play a lot at the beach on our island. We would see who could get hit the most and not fall down." Bransha finds herself working towards more of her own personal connection to water and you immediately notice a small glimmer form over her fingers. "The view of the big blue sea from home…and there's this awesome spot on top of one of the mountains that lets you see the horizon stretch forever."

The shorter lioness then seems to pick up on what you were aiming for, and suddenly stops to look at her closed hand. She closes her eyes and concentrates, and in a few short seconds, mana can be seen completely covering her hand up to wrist as it hardens slightly.

"And that also shows how even just the beauty of the waters can help fuel your own magic!" You declare proudly. "That's one of the coolest things about it; almost anything can help it come to life! It's flexible, just like we are. Let your very essence guide you on how to pull your own magical potential out into the world!"

"Now where have I heard something like that before?" Polka teases as she has already made steady progress with helping Korla make her own mana coats.

"He must have stole it from the writings of some great magician." Flare joins in.

"If it's stolen, my teachers stole it first. So I can't be held responsible for what may or may not be an Anon original." You fire back with a wink to both the half-elf and fennec.

"So now we can punch through boulders and walls easier!?" Bransha asks, her tail swishing back and forth, tapping the surface of the shifting sea with each pass.

"Not only that, but try something like this." You say with a grin as you gather mana within your hand and turn towards the horizon. With a fist full of mana at the ready, you pull your arm back so your fist is parallel to your waist, and then in tandem with a hard step forward, you deliver a hard punch into the empty space in front of you, which propels a large pulse of water through the air. The lionesses watch with keen interest as your simple spell flies through the air as it loses momentum and eventually falls into the sea.

"Awww isn't it cute to see how Anon has made his first water spell go from a dribble that only travels ten feet, to a moderate splash that can go twenty feet?" Flare playfully teases as she looks to be preparing a spell of her own. "Frala, Riki, watch closely. I'll show you how a REAL spell goes."

You make a large frown at the half-elf as she struts up beside you, a light chill can be felt in the air that emanates from her hand. The white light of ice mana covers up to Flare's elbow as her brow furrows in determined concentration. She gives you a superior smirk before she makes a quick jab forward in time with a step of her own within the water. From Flare's closed fist comes a burst of white magic, and a barrage of five icicle shares come flying out to soar over the tiny waves.

The simple and likely deadly display of magical strength has you awestruck at first. Flare had never used ice magic like that before, and just when you thought the show was over, you see the half-elf cock her other fist back and her face strains just a little harder. A light brown glow stutters and slowly becomes stable in the half-elf's opposite hand. Then, with another hard and more focused stretch of her arm along with a twist of her body, Flare punches forward, and from her fist shoots a head-sized ball of craggy, clumped together earth. You can only watch in shock as the hardened dirt sphere flies and eventually lands into the ocean with a loud plop.

"That was…earth magic…wasn't it?" You ask, the green of envy thick in your voice.

"Sure…Sure was!" Flare huffs while trying to disguise her heavy panting. "How could I expect Frala to have faith in me as a teacher if I couldn't do it myself, right?"

"Then why don't we give our students more of a practical demonstration then?" You say, calling the half-elf's bluff. "A quick duel. Spells only. Just like we said we were going to do once we got here."

"If you really want to get embarrassed in front of your pack, sure." Flare retorts without missing a beat, her cocky smile tells you that she thinks she's invincible when it comes to facing you. "Just don't try to pawn them off on me after you lose."

"Oho! Then why don't we make this one more interesting!?" You take the bait Flare set and start to feel yourself growing heated. You turn and take a hard stomp to bring you closer to the half-elf, the water splashes against both your bare legs as you look into those confident, and rebellious orange orbs of hers dead center.

"Giving me a shot to take MORE from you!? You know I'll never pass that up!" Flare's voice raises and the stare you both share might as well be conducting electricity in the air.

"First one to get knocked on their butt and get fully soaked has to be the little spoon tonight!" You propose in the heat of the moment, not caring for your choice or words or who hears them.

"That all? Come on, Anon. Make it worth my time." Flare continues to goad you. "You know you like me being your big spoon~ So how about we play for something a little extra? First one to get knocked down has to give the other an extensive massage? My leg muscles sure could use a good stretching. I'll want to be extra limber for when I get to take Soul Quill for its first real battle in my hands. So, how's that sound?"

The way Flare's tone quickly became dominant and sultry, has you focusing with every ounce of your willpower not to let her see you sweat. You may not be "physically" pent up anymore, but you are still mysteriously pent up in some way over this coffee-colored, half-elf, and the way the starlit sky reflects off the ocean waters that gently sway forward and backward against her voluptuous legs is only making that ten times worse.

Damn her! She knows exactly what she's doing too…I almost want to lose. No Anon! You're thinking about this the wrong way. You never got to feel her touch for yourself when you did your Rite of Ascension together. Sure, getting to caress and fondle those wonderfully thick legs of hers would be a treat, but wouldn't her giving you service instead be a much better treat? Best of all, you'll not only have the pleasure of receiving your own massage, but you'll have the pride of winning over her.

"I think you're going to be undoing every single knot I've built up in my shoulders for the past month, tonight. So let's do this!" You say with fiery resolve, as the thrill of the coming fight as well as your rivalry ignites your passion for one another.

"Here they go again…and they were getting along so well lately." Polka sighs as she motions for the pack to come out of the water and join her on the sidelines. "Hey! Watame! Nenechi! Undine! You all should probably get out of the water now. Anon and Flare are gonna spar again!"

"Okay!" Nene chirps as she and Watame quickly exit the water, their hiked steps splashing themselves with a fair bit of water.

"Good luck you two!" Watame says to the both of you as she passes.

Undine is next to come towards you, and when the water becomes too shallow for her large tail to help her swim through, it reverts back to her human-like legs and she places a soft hand on your shoulder before walking past you. "Remember the goal of this challenge, summoner. Use the ocean to your advantage. The sea can hide mighty threats beneath its dark depths." She whispers low enough for only you to hear.

You nod and give the water spirit an appreciative smile for her advice. With her watching and believing in you, you can't wait to show her what you're capable of on her home turf. Now it's time to psych yourself up and come up with a game plan.

"Hey guys!" You hear Pomu's voice chirp from the beach. "Kukai's house is soooo cuuute! We got everything set up for a beachside sleepover."

"Oh hey, Pomu. Kiara. Kukai." Polka greets the two girls and your host. "You're just in time. Anon and Flare are about to have another duel."

"Is Anon sure about this? It's been a long day and he already fought Kiara earlier." Pomu asks the fennec, clearly concerned for your well-being, or possibly even your pride. Even at the mention of her, Kiara was strangely quiet as she watched you and you Flare separate an even twenty paces from each other.

"Hold on? What kind of duel is this?" Kukai then asks, appropriately nervous. "They're not going to hurt each other, are they?"

"Nope! This is one hundred percent normal for them! They love each other too much to actually want to hurt one another." Watame says joyfully, eager for the show to begin.

"And it's just gonna be the two of them getting out some of the tension they're too shy to act on with spells." Polka says a little smugly. "Flare rarely gets hit anyway, so don't worry about it."

"But what about Anon?" The Shallah native feels the need to ask.

"Oh he'll be fine." The fennec waves off the concern. "Even if Flare blasts him good, I can patch him up. Hey! That would be a good way to show Korla how to do a real healing spell!"

"We can practice on Flare instead when she loses." Korla spitefully corrects the circus magician.

"I'm pretty curious to see what the half-elf is made of. She might be the one to beat for our next contest." Botan remarks as she crosses her arms and focuses on the watery battlefield.

"Go get her Anon!" Bransha cheers over the sound of the tide going in and out.

"Guess we got to put in a good show now!" You shout to Flare from your position opposite her. "Not getting cold feet are you? I'd be willing to accept a surrender! And all it would cost is your big spoon position!"

"Cold feet with you? Ha!" Flare scoffs. "But that's not a bad idea. Here it comes, Anon!"

Deciding to start your match now, Flare outstretches both her open palms forward, and a misty stream of freezing air begins floating towards you, icing the water's surface as it travels. Before the chill can reach you, you jump towards the ocean, its waters now reaching up to your shins. Flare simply turns her body slightly to allow her icy spell to continue to follow you, but you won't just keep avoiding her, now it's your turn to strut your stuff.

You touch your wrists together so that your hands are opening outward towards your target, and with a great push from your mana, you unleash a torrenting gust of wind that parts the waters it travels over. Your spell meets Flare's head on, and pushes the freezing air back as it scatters its cooling touch into the wind. Digging deeper into your mana reserves, you give your spell an extra push, your hands pulse with a bright green light as the force of the wind you produce grows faster, you'll knock that half-elf down with just one blast.

When the gale force you create blows over Flare, you are half-surprised that it managed to connect, but you'll gladly accept the early victory. Unfortunately, Flare stands completely firm against your winds, she doesn't even budge an inch! You halt your spell and focus on your opponent, ready to act at a second's notice to respond to her counterattack, but the half-elf just stands there, and even from this distance, you can see her smug smile.

"Not bad, Anon!" Flare compliments you genuinely. "You might have gotten the jump on me if I wasn't expecting you to push me backward the first chance you got. It's a good thing you gave me the perfect idea to keep myself from falling over."

You look over at her confused for a second, but then something shines along her legs against the moonlight. A thick layer of ice, almost in the style of an armored shin plate, glistens amidst the ankle high waters the half-elf stands in. The girl had actually formed ice around her legs to secure her to the sand!

"That's…that's genius…" You say in awe, before your smile widens. "And it's so cool! You need to teach me ice magic soon, Flare!"

"Get good enough with wind and water, and maybe I will." Flare taunts you as she gives her legs a short kick to shake off the excess mana and lets the ice around her legs shatter. "You need to start proving you're ready for the next level. For Undine, Sylph, and all the other spirits' sakes, I need to push you to become a true master of their gifts. So try taking this on!"

With her competitive spirit blazing, all it takes is a mere thought for a ball of fire to flicker to life within one of Flare's hands. She holds it up, its orange light brightens the area around her, and it grows to be possibly bigger than your head! The half-elf then winds up for a pitch, and then throws her fiery weapon in an arc towards you. When the fireball hits the height of its travels, Flare snaps her fingers and it explodes, raining several smaller fireballs down upon you. Your first instinct is to dive into the water, but midway through your movement you stop yourself.

Shit! That's exactly what Flare wants me to do! I'll lose the duel! I'll just have to defend myself instead. I can do this! I got the whole ocean at my back. There's no fire hot enough to burn me!

With attacks to block at all angles from above, you point both your hands upward and exert all your magical strength to create the biggest shield of water you can. An azure disc molds itself from the air and thin trails of water from the sea surface begin to flow upward and add themselves to your defense. The first fireball collides with it, fizzling out and cutting a clear hole through your spell, you concentrate to repair the damage, reaching out again to the mana within the sea you stand in to become part of your own.

The indigo barrier that floats and swirls over your head manages to keep the intense heat of Flare's spells at bay, but they are only the beginning of your problems. A flash of green is caught in the corner of your eye, and you turn to see Flare mid-cast of another spell. She chops the air sideways in front of her, and launches two sharp crescents of green colored wind your way.

A snap decision lets you hurl your outreached arms downward, commanding your cycle of water to come crashing in front of you like a rushing waterfall to block Flare's next attack. The gallons of liquid create an enormous splash against the wet sand, separating you and Flare with a wall made of azure and white, but you know this won't be enough to keep the blades of wind at bay. The green scythes tear through the makeshift water shield and continue to soar towards you, but you have shifted your mana so that your arms are covered up to your elbows in silver-white light that hardens with your command.

Your eyes lock on to the crescent about to strike home and bring your charged fist against it. Your arm reels back slightly from the collision, but you were able to punch the first blade of wind into nothing. Then, in a swift follow up, your opposite fist jabs forward and connects with the second one, marking the third spell of Flare's you've successfully neutralized. Although you can't see the half-elf just yet, you know she's already preparing another attack. The only questions were, what will she try to use next, and from where?

The sound of feet splashing point you back towards the shore to your right, where you now see Flare begin to close the distance between the two of you. This time her hands shine with a pure blue, and with your back to the sea, you can make a guess as to what she'll try next.

"I got you now, Anon!" Flare exclaims as she holds both her hands slightly apart and an orb of fast moving liquid forms between the light in her palms. "Your newest fashion statement gives you away!"

You look down and see that the constellation pattern on your swim trunks are still shining brightly in the night, and want to kick yourself for forgetting you're glowing just as bright as the stars above right now. What's worse is that Flare has strategically positioned herself to pressure you further into the ocean until you're forced under.

Dammit! There's barely enough water where Flare is now to get her slightly damp. I can't believe she was able to keep track of me behind all that water. I bet even my starlight mana costs gave me away too…I need a way to turn this around, literally. Undine said to use the ocean to my advantage, but I need to get Flare back in it again. Wait! If she used my celestial magic to keep track of me, maybe I can use it to distract her! This might be a long shot, but I think I can do this! Alright Anon! Time to show off your special gift! I sure hope this works.

Sending all your mana down to your index and middle fingers, you raise your arms and position your thumbs over the nails that now spark with starlight. The new stance and spell preparation takes the half-elf by surprise, and her own spell casting is held in place for a few seconds as she tries to guess what you're about to do. A grin flashes across your face as you can see Flare scan her internal catalog for any information on the spell you're about to unleash. She can try, but this is brand new, even to you.

You flick the front two fingers of both your hands hard, and four lights soar over the shallow waters like shooting stars, each one taking their own flight path to flank the half-elf on both sides. Each star stops with impressive precision at each location your mind envisions for them, one floats an inch away from Flare's cheeks on both sides, while the other two take sentry positions halfway down her torso. You give the half-elf a smug look when she tries to read your eyes for what your next move is, and her own eyes widen.

Flare changes her target and divides the water she has conjured into both her hands before unleashing them upon your light show. As she does this, you cut the celestial shapes off from your mana and let them fizzle into nothing under her torrential reaction. Good, that's exactly the reaction you wanted, time to really bring it home.

"Not bad! You're just too quick on the draw sometimes, Flare!" You playfully compliment as you sprint diagonally towards the shoreline while drawing more bright mana on your fingertips for everyone to see, especially Flare.

When you and the half-elf lock eyes again, her body tenses at the sight of the spell she had just repelled, able to be cast once more at your command. As you run to bring yourself within a straight shot of Flare, you let loose a series of finger flicks at her, sending a beautiful arrangement of thumb sized stars at her. With no spell of her own demanding her to stay still, Flare jolts to the side as she lets loose a flurry of her own, of a windy variety. She couldn't have known, but that was the perfect way to possibly see through your bluff…IF you hadn't thought of this scenario already. With what can almost be described as second nature, you guide your soaring stars to fly off course as they are "hit" by Flare's winds. Your showmanship has more than paid off already, as you now stand on equal footing with the half-elf, with the shoreline to your right, and the sea to your left. Now either player in this game has a positional advantage, but you are quickly running out of mana, and your heavy breathing is clearly giving you away.

"Nice try, Anon." Flare pants slightly as she welcomes the slight reprieve from your spell casting halting for now. "I didn't know you could already replicate something like the Stellberna spell with your own mana, but I'm impressed! If I was anyone else, you might have gotten me."

"If you were anyone else, you wouldn't have been fast enough to deflect each and every star I threw at you." You return the compliment while you slowly continue the second part of your strategy. Focusing on two separate sources of magic at the same time has pushed you to your limit. Now it's time to see just how far you've come thanks to Flare. "But just so you know, I'm about to win this!"

"Not unless you can stop this next one." Flare chuckles lightly as she begins to charge another water spell within one hand, and wind in the other. "This is gonna hit you like a typhoon, but I'll make sure you land nice and safely in the ocean. I need you in one piece to give me my massage after all."

"Funny you should mention the ocean. I think it's time you had another lesson about the waters from the summoner of Undine himself. Tonight's lesson: Many things can be hidden within the sea's depths, never assume you know what lurks beneath." You confidently lecture, which causes the half-elf to look down and see that the water is strangely still around her. She then looks at you and her jaw drops when she notices the light blue glow pulsing around your own feet from under the tide that gently rolls back and forth around them. Having been using your own feet as a conduit, you have been slowly conjuring a spell of your own that no one could have expected you to pull off.

You bring your one leg out of the water and hike your knee up high, the glow around your feet radiates in the night air. Before the half-elf can retaliate, you stomp your foot down back into the sea, and your spell is unleashed. Flare can only watch helplessly as the water she stands in begins to violently twist and turn, already threatening to shake her off balance. The sea level rises around her, reaching past her knees, and with that, it was time to enact part two of your spell. You dig your other foot into the soft sand and twist it in the direction of the ocean's endless blue, and the bright shine from your mana reaches its bursting point as you kick your leg straight upward out of the water, creating a three foot wave that rushes towards the half-elf who cannot hope to escape its path. The water curls and crashes into Flare right at her shoulderline, and with the impact, takes her completely within its white crest.

When the water recedes and becomes part of the natural current of the ocean once more, Flare is seen sitting on her butt, soaked, and looking absolutely shocked as she wipes her hair away from the front of her face. It takes a second for you to actually register what you just accomplished, but a smile so bright that it could put the moon to shame stretches across your face when you realize what you've done.

"I did it…" You gasp as you try to catch your breath. "I actually did it! I beat you, Flare! I finally did it!"

As you almost feel like jumping up and down like a small child, the rest of the world begins to come back to your senses. The cheers of the onlookers on the shore reach your ears and you look to see your lioness pack roaring in your victory, while Pomu and Watame jump and cheer for you. That entire time, it was like you couldn't hear or see any of them, all that mattered to you was focusing on Flare. It's both a blessing and curse how tunnel visioned you two get for each other, but you think you can live with that. You jog over to the half-elf and offer her a hand to help her up. She looks up and you see swelling pride in those orange gems of hers as she takes your hand firmly.

"I can hardly believe you actually got me there." Flare chuckles as you both work in tandem to pull her up to her feet. "Since when could you get your mana to work anywhere besides your hands and chest?"

"Since just now. You know, accepting my challenge when I'm in the ocean AND full starlight? That was a bold move, and you paid for it." You reply smugly.

"Yeah yeah, you won your massage, but you know what?" Flare says as she pulls you toward her so that she can whisper her next words into your ear, which makes your spine tingle slightly. "I don't really consider that a loss~ and you know what else?"

"W-What's that?" You try desperately to keep your cool.

"Our duel isn't over yet." The half-elf declares which activates your fight or flight instantly, but before you can move, she lets go of your hand and presses both her palms against your shoulders and shoves you onto your back. Your fall is thankfully cushioned by the damp sand and the waters, but you feel a firm weight on your waist that keeps you from getting back up. Flare is straddling you while her face wears a particularly mischievous grin. While you more than enjoy the position you're in for a brief second, your eyes widen when you watch freezing air begin to waft from the half-elf's fingertips.

"F-Flare!? W-Wait! Hold on! I-I-I don't have any mana left! A-And I won the contest already!" You try to plead, not sure how you can get out of this compromising situation.

"You did, but we both know our duels don't stop until somebody surrenders." Flare purrs as she brings her icy hands slowly towards your bare chest. "Two little words. 'I. Surrender.' That's all it'll take, Anon."

You bite your lower lip as your body shivers with both fearful anticipation, and the dropping temperature of the air around you. You do NOT want to concede. Your pride demands that you don't let the half-elf take this victory away from you. Not wanting to take this completely lying down, you reach up and grasp both Flare's arms and try to impede their advance. Her position above you lets her put the full weight of her body behind her press as she advances inch by inch. Her grin then flashes with an almost evil curve to it, she is absolutely loving this…and some strange and very questionable part of you is as well…

Flare's palms making contact with your pectorals makes your skin so cold that it feels as though it is burning. You buckle and try to dislodge the half-elf from you as you scream for mercy, but she does not relent.

"Say it, Anon! Say uncle!" Flare laughingly demands as she continues your icy torture.

"I don't wanna!" You shout back, gritting your teeth through the pain.

"Then it's just going to get colder!" Flare argues as she expands her freezing touch further down your body.

"Flare! Stop it!" You snap as the frosty air dancing over your skin begins to tickle. "This isn't fair! I thought we were done!"

"That's your fault, not mine." The half-elf retorts. "You were the one just acting all high and mighty when you told me to not let my guard down. Well who's mighty now?! Me! Now if you want this to stop, just surrender. Surrender AND promise me a leg massage."

"Wha?! Oh you are such a sore loser!" You bark as you try in vain to shake Flare off of you.

"Oh I'm pretty sure I'll be a very happy loser by the time this is over." Flare argues with sultry confidence as she sends her spell further past your abdomen, and stops it just short of your waistline. "Last chance. Surrender and promise to give my legs a well deserved pampering, or things are about to get very, very cold for you."

"F-Flare?! You wouldn't!"

"Unlike you, I don't need to bluff."

"Okay okay! I surrender!" You say though panicked breaths as you watch the white air halt its advance down your body.

"Annnnnd?" Flare coos, prompting you to continue.

"And you'll get your damn massage…AFTER I get mine." You concede, but you'll be damned if you let Flare set the pace.

"Deal. Now there's just one last thing I'll be taking, since I did win our duel after all." Flare's tongue shortly grazes the front of her lips as she looks down at you. With her hands still pressing you to the shore bed, she leans forward and steals a quick kiss from you, just like she has been doing at the end of each practice you've had together since you set off for Shallah. Satisfied for now, Flare lifts herself off you and struts towards the rest of the group, leaving you in a mix of a flustered warmth, and physical chill from the lingering effects of her icy spell. You groggily flip yourself over and let the marginally warmer waters help stave off some of the cold with their movements. While you do feel a slight satisfaction in outdoing Flare initially, you feel deflated at the fact she turned the tables on you instantly and you couldn't do a thing about it.

While you try to let the tide wash away the feeling of defeat, a pair of footsteps splash against the water's surface toward you. You lift your face out of the dark waters to see Pomu, Undine, and Sylph all smiling at you.

"Way to go, Anon!" Pomu congratulates you. "You finally got a win on Flare! I know you've been working so hard to get one of those too."

"I was thrilled to see that you took my advice to heart as well." Undine says warmly. "Your mastery over the waters is growing more by the day. I am so proud of you, summoner."

"Thanks guys, but I kinda goofed when I blew everything I had on that last spell that only knocked Flare over…I didn't even think about how I might need more mana afterwards." You say downcast.

"True, you should have known Flare would have wanted to keep going, buuuuut you did nab yourself a pretty sweet prize anyway." Sylph tries to comfort you.

"Don't forget, you fought Kiara earlier, and I know that couldn't have been easy. The fact you were able to do that much AND summon Lady Undine shortly beforehand is amazing!" Pomu adds on, clearly impressed with your accomplishments for the day. "That little thing you did with those tiny stars, they really had Flare sweating. What were they gonna do anyway?"

"Fly around, and look pretty." You laugh and push yourself off the wet, sandy ground. "But don't tell Flare that."

"Oooo, craftyyyy" Pomu smirks. "Lady Sylph was right, you'd make an excellent fairy."

"Well when you have two particularly pesky fairies basically attached at your hip, you're bound to pick up a few things." You play down how comfortable you've grown with the forest girls' sense of humor and give your body a much needed stretch. You watch all your friends begin to gather around Flare where Polka gives her a nice plush towel to dry herself off with. You could use a good drying off too, and maybe a hot shower of some kind, your chest still stings a little from where Flare laid on the ice magic extra thick.

Even though you still ultimately lost the actual magic duel with the half-elf, the way your pack looks at you doesn't make you feel like you did. Their proud, fanged smiles greet you when your damp feet step onto the plush sand and instantly become speckled by its grains. You were so caught up in the fight that you forgot that it was originally meant to be a real demonstration of magic for your pack to learn from, and by the looks of Bransha's and Bree's faces, they enjoyed what they saw.

"You were amazing, pack leader!" Bransha exclaims, looking as though she was barely holding that in before you got into earshot. "The way you just kicked the water at her and it just went like Whoosh! And then it knocked her on her butt."

"What about when he made a giant shield to keep him from getting burned!?" Bree joins in with her mild fangirling over you, which seems to more than repair your ego for the night. "You made it look so easy, Anon! Can we really get that good too?"

"Of course you can. You all can." You say truthfully. "You're all already on your way to being able to make your own spells. Next comes practice, which we'll pick up tomorrow. How about we all practice right here in the morning?"

The lioness demi-humans all give excited cheers at your proposal in addition to quickly swaying tails behind them. With that, everyone goes to take a relaxing sit by the freshly lit bonfire with the others, but before you can go any further, Korla's strong hand stops you. Before you can question the blond lioness, her paw pressed against your chest begins to glow a light pink, and her face contorts to strained concentration.

"Korla, I'm alright you don't have to-" You protest, not wanting the girl to stress herself when you don't have any physical wounds to mend.

"You were starting to get frostbite. I'll fix you." Korla cuts you off as she slowly glides her hand over the irritated parts of your skin. To both your physical and emotional satisfaction, the more maternal lioness seems to have already mastered the healing technique Polka taught her, as your body starts to feel warm with its regenerative energies. Having done all she could muster, Korla removes her hand from you and tries to hide her heavy breathing from you. "All done. Now your chest is back to its normal shade. It suits you much better than red."

"Not only that, you managed to take some of the soreness out of my arms too. Thanks Korla." You exclaim and without thinking about it, you give the lioness a brief hug. Korla's body tenses slightly at the unexpected show of affection, and before she can formulate a response, you free her and walk past to tell everyone about how one of the pack has already casted their first real spell.

"Well what did you expect from a student of Omaru Polka?" Polka says matter of factly as she tosses you a towel of your own to help dry yourself off. "If I could offer a mild critique to you and Flare though. Neither of you bothered to explain HOW you were casting your spells through that entire fight."

"That's more Anon's territory…" Flare tries to shift the blame on you as she embarrassingly looks away from the fennec. "I made sure to show off ice and earth magic and HOW it can be used in a fight."

"I'm more than ready to cross swords with you if you don't want to rephrase that…" You groan, not appreciative of the implication that you weren't providing a substantial example for your pack.

"Nope! Stop! Hold it!" Polka injects before Flare can verbally accept your challenge. "No more of that tonight. We got a big job ahead of us, and we need to be in tip top shape. Your sword tango can wait till after we're done."

"You just want to make sure Anon is still awake enough for you to snack on…" Flare mumbles under her breath.

"Oi! I heard that!" Polka snaps back as she points to one of her fluffy pointed ears. She then quickly takes off her hat and digs out Flare's custom pajamas, and throws them at the half-elf, nailing her square in the face. "Now go change before you catch a cold. You too, Anon."

After having your own pajamas thrown at you, you and Flare walk up the beach inland towards Kukai's home like scolded children. When Polka is well out of earshot, you and the half-elf share snickering laughter together.

"You know you shouldn't tease Polka about that stuff." You chuckle. "She's still pretty sensitive about it."

"She teases us all the time. It's only fair we dish it back every once in a while." Flare shrugs.

"She calls us out quite a bit, doesn't she? It's not like we're doing anything wrong." You begin to agree and get slightly annoyed on how often everyone seems to put their nose into yours and Flare's shared business.

"Exactly. We just train really well together. It's only natural we get super into it. It's also sometimes the most fun I've ever had…"

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so, and speaking of our duels." You grin slightly as you and the half-elf reach the front door of Kukai's modestly built wooden beachfront ranch. "Someone owes me a massage, and I got quite a few knots for you to work through."

"As long as you stay awake long enough to do my legs, that's fine by me." Flare remarks as you hold the door open for your beloved half-elf.

The interior of Kukai's home is the essence of tropical comfort. The smell of the wood that covers the walls and floors fill you with a natural ease similar to the homes in Bjornholm. To your right a small singular step separates one part of the house from the other, leading to be a simple kitchen that is equipped with a circular table that can seat four, cabinets, a countertop that is fashioned into the shape of an "L" that runs against the far wall, and finally a standing ice box. Although you could probably eat after the intense exercise you just had, it is probably safe to assume Kukai barely has enough food to feed himself, so you tear yourself from the idea of investigating the kitchen further and focus on the rest of the house.

The other side of the house looks to stretch for a length that could easily accommodate five or even six different rooms. The immediate area alongside the entryway is a cozy living area, complete with a four cushioned sofa whose legs are simply fashioned from what looks like any old wood, is placed between two simple circular table stands that each have their own light source; a curious looking rock of some sort that radiates a soft yellow glow. You feel compelled to inspect the craggy object further, and Flare giggles are your childlike curiosity.

"You've seen lamps like that in the elven kingdom too, silly." She gets out between her cute laughter. If she wasn't so damn adorable, you might almost be insulted. "The glowstones there are just much more refined and smoothed out. The elves also tend to enchant their casings in a way that makes them float midair, giving off the look of a magical spell."

"You don't say." You remark with intrigue. "Now that you mention it, these look like they were just plucked out of the ground or mined from a cave. Isn't it awesome, Flare? A rock that just gives off light that you can also just shut off. I hope we can find a whole mess of these someday. I bet I could even make some jewelry out of one. My dad taught me a little bit…even though I of course wasn't great at that either."

"If you want to practice and give it to me after…I wouldn't mind." Flare encourages your impulsive whim, and in doing so, cements your desire to see it through, but that also comes with its share of anxiety.

"If I'm going to make you something, I'd want it to be perfect." You say as you pull yourself from the comfortable glow of the small table lamp and look over at Flare, her hair still damp and parted in thick strands that run behind her alluring figure, where her moist clothes hug her more predominant features in a way that does more than excite you. You feel your face heat up slightly as you try to stave off the strong urges you feel, but you simply can't look away from the half-elf's face. It feels more than rude to entertain such desires in someone else's home, so you think of a quick way to cool things down. "Should we check out the other rooms? There's probably spots for us to change in."

The idea of Flare changing….yup. That's a great way to cool things down, Anon. Real smart.

"Before we do that, you should let me massage you. It'll be easier with how you're dressed now anyway. Lay down on the couch, you want me to get your back, right?" Flare says with no shortage of color in her cheeks.

"Yes please." You answer with heightened enthusiasm as you do as Flare asks and flop yourself down on the forest green cushioned couch, making sure to lay the towel Polka gave you first. As you let yourself relax into its firm but soft cushions, your flustered thoughts are shoved below in favor of enjoying your prize from finally beating the half-elf in a competition. "Anytime you're ready. Don't be afraid to really dig into my shoulder blades too. I think I might have pulled a thing or two slightly during my fight with Botan."

"Of course, pack leader." Flare says teasingly as she takes off her damp gloves, and drops them on top of the towel she let fall to the floor. "Now tell me if this hurts too much."

You simply nod into the seat cushion as Flare's touch against the bare skin of your back electrifies your body in a way that is all too welcome. She clumsily tries to pull on the skin around your left shoulder blade, but fumbles before she can get a good grip on you. After a few more attempts that get closer to actually kneading your tired muscles, she suddenly stops. When you are about to lift your head up to question her, you feel her weight suddenly against your butt. The frills of her white dress brush and tickle your exposed skin, and then you are suddenly bombarded with a wave of pleasure caused by Flare's palms pressing against the middle of your back and slowly dragging themselves upward until they reach your shoulder line. The sensation of your tired muscles coming undone strand by strand feels heavenly. Flare then digs her hands further into you, and this time pulls them down your back, curving them inwards to let them run along your spine, which makes you exhale involuntarily.

"W-Was that too hard!?" Flare gasps, suddenly nervous that she might have hurt you in some way.

"Do that again, with my spine please." You almost beg to help quell the half-elf's concern. You can feel her body relax a little more behind you and she repeats her motion upward, making sure to apply a little extra pressure when her fingers run alongside your vertebrae. As her hands travel, she begins to clench patches of your skin, which really pulls and kneads your muscles in a way you never experienced before. It was as though the stress was being physically removed from your body every time Flare wraps her fingers around your skin.

"Yup. That's the stuff." You sigh happily as you turn your face so that your cheek is resting on the couch, and all you can see is the dark green of the back cushion.

"Just so you know, I don't really know what I'm doing." Flare meekly says as she continues to fold your skin over itself, which hurts slightly, but it's a very pleasant kind of hurt. It is as though your muscles need the pain to recover and feel even better. What a strange but oddly addicting sensation.

"Could have fooled me. This feels incredible." You moan slightly with a goofy smile across your face. The compliment seems to give Flare more confidence, she puts more of her weight into your massage, and starts to press the bottom of her palms into your back, unraveling bundled nerves that have built up from everything you've been dealing with lately. The half-elf then presses hard against both areas surrounding a section of your spine and a loud crack breaks the peaceful silence. It was although a pleasure switch was just flipped, and you almost fall completely limp in relaxed bliss.

"Oh my gods! That was great." You exhale when you get some of your breath back. "We have GOT to make this a regular thing. I had no idea how badly I needed this."

"That's because you don't give yourself enough time to relax. Our dad's taught us better than that." Flare says as she begins to gently massage your shoulders.

"The past th-TWO fights I was in were really not my fault." You argue. "I didn't have much of a choice."

"That's usually how it goes for us, huh? Still, if I could have been there, maybe you wouldn't have had to work so hard."

"If you were there, Kiara would have been knocked flat on her ass." You chuckle at the idea.

"You really think a servant of one of the great spirits who can use the power of the sun is someone I can beat so easily?" The half-elf chuckles as she continues to rub the crinkles out of your back, likely expecting you to just be exaggerating her strength to flatter her.

"Flare, you can beat up anyone. You're unstoppable." You drunkenly reply. "With you at my side, I can take on anything."

"I feel the same way about you." Flare says softly, and her hands stop their generous treatment. You turn over halfway to be met with those stunning amber orbs looking down on you with pure attraction. She holds some of her hair behind one of her pointy ears and bends herself forward. When your faces are mere inches apart, she whispers "I'm the only one you're allowed to lose to, okay?"

"Does that work both ways?" You whisper back playfully.

"You're the only one I'll allow myself to lose to…in certain things." The half-elf purrs with a sly smile as she traces small circles on your back with a single finger, making your heart jump, and your hormones spur into a light frenzy. "Now flip over. The winner was promised an extensive massage after all."

"Okay, but no ice magic this time. My chest has had more than enough punishment for one day." You comply while setting a simple ground rule. You then quickly shift yourself to lie on your back, and you both immediately realize how extremely different this simple change of position has made things. Flare now sits snugly on top of your stomach as she almost absent mindedly begins to feel the top of your bare chest with her fingertips. Her eyes, wide and ablaze with that same anticipation you remember her having when you both shared your first kiss at the top of the Talonclaw's highest peak. You swallow hard as she begins to explore your body more, as she looks unsure how to proceed.

Before you can say anything or maybe even offer her advice, Flare presses her palms against your upper pectorals and starts to pull the skin upward towards your neckline, making you wince in pained pleasure. The half-elf starts to work her way down inch by inch, kneading your skin hard enough to give your underlying muscles and nerves a much needed loosening up. After she presses down on your abs a few times, Flare bends down slightly to grab one of your arms and brings it closer to her so that your hand is open in her direction. She begins to press her thumbs into your palm, which results in a sharp pain, but the feeling of the release is more than worth it. Flare makes sure to knead each one of your finger joints, and your knuckles fill the room with a satisfying crack.

When Flare releases your one arm, you pull it back and give your hand a few testing flexes, it feels so much more flexible than before. Then, the half-elf starts giving the opposite arm and hand the same treatment, which makes you want to sink down further into the couch and just drift away.

"Someone looks like they're enjoying themselves." Flare coos, clearly happy that you're happy, as she gently lets your other arm fall back to your side.

"You have no idea." You stupidly say, as all other words escape you right now.

"I…I might have a slight idea." The half-elf retorts bashfully, and when her rump shifts ever so slightly down towards your waist, you instantly know what gave her that idea, and your mind is brought back to full alert. You can practically feel the fabric of your latest swimwear stretching out where your slight wardrobe malfunction is occurring.

"Sorry about that…" You say, red faced. "I can consider this massage 'extensive' and we can get changed an-"

Your embarrassed babbling is then suddenly cut off by Flare grabbing both your wrists, and then slapping your hands firmly against her thighs.

"Oh no. I haven't gotten my massage yet. You promised to do my legs." She says with an air of dominance, which more than takes a few of your breaths away.

"And I will. Let's just swap spots and I'll-" You start to say again, and your hands start to caress and fondle Flare's deliciously meaty thighs all on their own.

"No. I think I'll stay riiight here. I like the view." Flare cuts you off again as she brushes her hand softly over your chest.

"Not as much as me." You grin back, your brain already taking its cue to just turn itself off for now and let things happen as they should. The tips of your fingers dig into Flare's plump flesh as a small exhale escapes her lungs. You begin to run your digits up and down the sides of her legs, putting extra pressure on them to really break apart and thin the stress she has stored in them.

After only a few passes of your slight pampering, Flare looks to be trying to hold something back. Her face scrunches and a few tiny beads of sweat glisten along her forehead. She presses both of her palms against your abdomen and scooches herself back slightly until she is stopped by your own protrusion.

"Damn Polka." Flare almost growls. "She did TOO good of a job on your bathing suit. I can barely concentrate on my legs when you're dressed like this. And this!" The half-elf remarks as she bumps her ass backwards, causing a powerful sensation to shoot up through your whole body. "This is even more distracting!"

"Like any of that is really my fault." You huff, but still continue to grope and knead the half-elfs thighs as you work up to her hips. "Maybe it's YOUR fault for being so naturally good at massaging me…and straddling me with that butt of yours sure as hell didn't prevent this situation either."

"I don't hear you complaining."

"Me either, miss 'I think I'll stay riiight here'." You imitate Flare's earlier tone.

"How about I shut that mouth of yours up?" Flare snaps, looking down at you with a fierce mix of annoyance and passion.

"What are you waiting for then!?"

"Nothing!"

Flare then leans down and locks lips with you, almost crashing your foreheads into one another in the process. The tension from the rivalry you two share explodes as it finally has an outlet for the first time in what feels like forever. Immediately both your tongues try to wrestle each other down in an attempt to clear the way to invade their respective homes. Your hands dance across each other's bodies, and you wrap your arms around Flare's back to pull her further down on you.

As you continue to assault each other with fierce and wet kisses, your bodies begin to bump and grind against one another. Flare hops up ever so slightly so that she can position herself to bring your clothed member against her garden that is shielded by her panties, and you both moan into each other's mouths. The half-elf bucks her hips against you a few times, and as you begin to move your own hips to reciprocate, the sounds of light footsteps coming up to the front door causes you both to separate in a panic.

The two of you look at each other, and then the doorway, there are only so many precious seconds to cover up your lewd act. Flare swings her legs over you to get off the couch, where she quickly gathers the pajamas you and she were supposed to be changing into, and takes you by the hand. She opens the first door she finds at the start of the small hallway of rooms that sits connected to the main living area. You are whisked inside and close the door behind you, leaving you both in total darkness. The room doesn't feel larger than a simple broom closet, and you are pretty sure your shoulders are bumping against a shelf of some sort, but you can't really find a reason to care right now, not when you're nose to nose with Flare. She seems to feel the same way, and the excitement of almost being caught infects both of you, and you immediately begin making out once more.

You get lost in your own dark world as you hold the half-elf in your arms and she assaults your cheek and neck with kisses. Time becomes lost as you ignore everything else to better focus on planting your lips against that delicious choco colored neck of Flare's. Both your hands grow bolder, groping and exploring both your bodies with earnestness. You decide to add another well deserved victory for yourself and take a big heaping handful of one of Flare's boobs, and even through her slightly damp blouse, it's heavenly soft and practically melts between your fingers. Flare returns the sudden fondling in kind and takes her own handful of your bulge. Instinct then demands that you crane your head and lightly nibble one of Flare's pointed ears, which makes her let out a soft yelp, but she quickly falls more into your embrace, wanting you to play with her more. Trapped in the throngs of pleasure, you barely register the closet door creaking open as the light from the living room creeps into your private sanctuary.

"I wonder what's taking Flare and Anon so long. Oh well! I bet they decided to just snuggle up and go to sleep. Good thing I volunteered to bring their stuff back from the beach! I'll just leave them in here…so I don't….uhhh…." Pomu says to herself as she stands slack jawed in the entryway.

There you and Flare were, tangled up in one another, the tips of one her ears between your teeth, and her leg wrapped around your waist. You can only imagine how much your face and neck are covered in light red marks caused by the half-elf's fierce kissing, but by the look of Pomu's face, you have to guess the answer is: a lot. Nobody says a word, and the fae uses her free hand to slowly close the closet door with you and Flare still inside, her expression unchanging.

"I don't know why I thought I should put Flare's and Anon's stuff in the closet…" Pomu chuckles to herself. "I'll just uhhh, leave them in the bedroom one door down. They're probably just asleep in there, so I'll be extra quiet. Then I better head back and let the others know…"

The fae awkwardly stumbles down the hallway and the sound of your weapons dropping to the floor fills the house. You want to chastise Pomu for being so careless with your things, but to be fair, she did you a favor by pretending she didn't see what you and Flare were up to.

"Okay! Leaving the house now! Gonna go tell all my friends, and Lady Sylph and Undine! That Anon and Flare already went to bed! Yup! It's bedtime for everyone! Gonna come right back and go to sleep and wake up like nothing happened! Cause I didn't see anything weird! Mhmm!" Pomu announces as she marches down the hallway and makes a point to loudly open and close the home's front door.

When you are sure Pomu is actually gone and no one else is around to peep on you, you carefully open the closet door and check that the coast is indeed clear. You motion for Flare to follow and you both skitter to the next room down where all your things should be. A dimly lit glowstone lamp lights the room just enough for you to see the large, simple bed that rests against the wall at the middle point of the room, and the wooden nightstand to its right that houses the light source. An assortment of pillows and heavy blankets lay longways on the floor along the far side of the bedroom, likely enough to comfortably sleep three or four more people.

With only so little time before your privacy is intruded upon again, you and Flare begin to change into your pajamas. It is somewhat of a relief to get your damp swim trunks off, and the couple of glances you caught Flare sending your way more than strokes your ego. You happily return the favor when you manage to look over just in time to see her wiggle her pant bottoms over her hips. Unfortunately, you find your lower heat reignited at this sight. It's a good thing you have won yourself the position of big spoon tonight.

The front door of the seaside home can then be heard creaking open, and you and Flare both dive into the white sheeted bed. Like two early teenagers who snuck back home after curfew, you and the half-elf pretend to be asleep, and with your comfortably pressed against her backside as you hug her waist, you wear a convincing and blissful smile.

"Are you sure they're asleep, Pomu?" Polka's voice comes from the hallway, clearly suspicious that something is up.

"They were all snuggled and fast asleep when I left them. Anon pushed himself pretty hard today, he's probably beat." The fae answers convincingly.

"Didn't he promise to feed you though?" Botan directs her question to the fennec.

"Anon will feed Nene. Nene won race!" Nene thinks she corrects the lioness.

"Where's there more food?! Is there more!?" Frala asks, almost scared that she is somehow missing some elaborate buffet.

You and Flare can barely hold in your laughter at how disgruntled the fennec is getting with the questions and the misinterpretations. Poor thing is probably ornery at this point from looking forward to snacking on your soul and being denied so far…you've been there in a sense. You keep your eyes forcibly shut when the footsteps approach the room you are in, and once it is seen that you and Flare are likely asleep, everyone hushes their voices and begins to traverse the house more quietly. After you register a few bodies settling down in the rolled out blankets along the floor, you sense one of them to undoubtedly be Undine. She will more than likely have a smug smirk or two to send your way tomorrow. After the glowstone is turned off for the night, a body surprisingly comes onto the bed from the side your back faces, and the mattress sinks a bit more under their weight. Before you can entertain the idea of faking a sudden awakening, you feel Polka's arms cradle around you.

"I guess one more night won't kill me. Just remember, first thing in the morning, you're mine, Anon." Polka whispers into your back, but you don't give her any sort of response, you are supposed to be asleep after all. "And another thing." The fennec continues as she breaks her breath right against your ear. "You breathe differently when you're actually sleeping, so don't think for a second you two are off the hook from me. Night night "

When your body tenses up slightly, Polka is satisfied with the knowledge that she caught you red handed, and lowers herself back down and cuddles into you. The exhaustion of your day begins to hit you like a tidal wave as your eyelids grow heavy and close for real this time. It was quite an eventful day to be sure. You finally reached Shallah, you gave a people who have been without hope a reason to see the light again, and even fought and made a deal with a servant of the sun spirit. Not to mention you helped get your lion pack started on using actual magic. That alone fills you with such pride, but not as much pride as you got from finally beating Flare outright in a contest of magical skill. You can be certain she will just try harder from now on, but so will you, and while you want to simply bask in the half-elf's beauty and let yourselves fulfill desires that have been building up for some time, that can wait until you masterfully construct a date worthy of her and what she means to you.

Hopefully you can talk to Sana tonight and ask if she could do a small display with the moon for you when the time is right. What if she asks for a time? At this point you probably can't focus fully on a date with Flare until the pirates are dealt with, so you resolve to deal with them as soon as possible. Tomorrow you'll find out more about this fleet they have, and how to best reach the prisoners they hold. From there, it should be a piece of cake, right?