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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k0PobVi3hgyzg8zrro6...", "writing": "One shake, then two more. I exhaled, watching the last couple droplets of pee hit the sand under me before hopping away from the rim of the sand box and bouncing over to the water pumps instead. Pushing the paddle with my elbow, I watched with avid fascination as the gears turned and the arm thingy went up and down, then the soapsand filter on the nozzle bubbled with water as it came out. It always had a faint citrus scent when run through soapsand, I noticed. Still, I stood fully and washed all four paws with the water, making sure to get between my fingers and toes, just like my mom had instructed long ago!\n\nA female, maybe a few years older than me, giggled from two pumps over, causing my large, left ear to perk and rotate towards her, with the rest of my head following a second later. She gave me a grin, then nodded down towards my waist. Huh? Oh! A glance down showed me I hadn’t pulled up the draw string for my loincloth again, and my sheath and tip were sticking out of it. I perked, then pulled the loincloth up fully, making sure it was tucked in in the back as well, before grinning back and giving her a nod. “Thanks!”\n\n“Of course! Happens to everyone…” She shifted to a warmer smile and nodded twice to me before returning to the water. I watched curiously as she finished washing around the rim of her own plump swelling down there, before snapping out of it and turning back to the pump to turn the water off. Females always had that extra step of cleaning that was interesting to watch. As a boy, I only had to clean myself extra good during shower time, like that. Thankfully we had that bone thingy in us that let me just slide out of the sheath to do that. It would be a pain otherwise!\n\nWith that, I dropped back to all fours and bound out of the bathing tent, booking it quickly back to where our own was set up, and Mom. Well, as fast as I could with my usual wobble I had going. Our tribe had set up in the traditional circular fashion, with a good half of the tents dedicated to sleeping spots of course. Being a family, our tent wasn’t shared, and instead we got a smaller tent to ourselves closer to the central communal area. Cozy, but also harder to find than the huge shared tents.\n\nThankfully we’d been here a few weeks now, and I’d memorized where we were. Mom was still outside the tent, sitting on our log bench next to the fire. She gave me a happy smile as I hobbled up. I always had to adjust my movements for my left leg, compensating for the drift it gave me while running. It couldn’t bend as far or move as fast as other Inaga, which was… frustrating sometimes. Ever since learning to walk, I’d never been as fast or agile as others my age.\n\nShe watched me plop down in the sand and massage the leg for a moment before giving a softer nod. “Sore tonight?”\n\n“Not too bad, but it always gets twitchy after I run…” It was like the muscles weren’t used to the movement and spasmed and shook a lot in complaint.\n\nShe adjusted Exia, switching my new little sister to her left breast instead, and letting the right nipple, now pinkish red, take a bit of a break. I watched with equal fascination as I had to the water pump, leg now forgotten as I took in the sight of the newborn kit nursing. A little sister. I had… a little sister now. My emotions got jumbled as I stared at her, and I swallowed a newfound tenseness in my throat.\n\nDad was… gone now. It was still hard for me to understand. It felt like everything was changing now. I didn’t think it was fair that he had to leave. Even with it being four moons ago now, it still ached in my chest. And now, Mom had given birth less than a week ago to my new sister. Exia would never know what Dad was like, now. What would change, now that she was here?\n\nI looked up to Mom, and noticed how tired she looked. Giving birth wasn’t easy. I’d seen it enough to know it probably hurt a lot and was really tiring and messy. But she’d devoted almost all her time to Exia ever since, and I… was trying my hardest to be supportive and not feel like I was being ignored. A part of me was… jealous of her though. If Dad were here, would he be spending all his time with Exia too?\n\nSlowly, I looked up at the night’s sky instead, watching the stars twinkle far above. The moons hung overhead; the big one with its tiny little one spinning around it, and the medium one a further distance away, by itself. It kind of felt like our family now, and I gave a little shiver. Flopping over, I reached my paw up into the sky, moving it over where the single, lonely moon was by itself. That was…\n\n“Hey Mom? What’s up there? In the sky, I mean. Has anyone ever been up that high? Like, close enough to touch one of the moons or a star?” Maybe I was lonely too.\n\nMom didn’t answer right away, but a softer smile came over her muzzle as she slowly petted Exia’s head. After a few moments, she looked up to me again and shook her head. “Nobody’s ever been up high enough to touch anything in the sky, no, but we can see that far using special crystal devices and magic.” My ears perked at that. Magic! Mom was easily the smartest person ever, and seemed to know the answers to any question I could ask.\n\nIt was hard for me to not be curious, eyes flicking back up to the glowing orbs and dots in the sky. “I think I wanna try to be the first! Seeing what one of the moons look like close up must be amazing! Or a star! Do you think they’re something you can touch with your paws?” If I couldn’t be an amazing guard like Dad was, I wanted to be super smart like Mom instead.\n\nI saw her grin at that out of the corner of my eye. “I have no doubt you’ll do it if you really want to. As for the stars...” She paused, eyes softening before hugging Exia closer to her chest. “Our ancestors, and our elders, say that the stars are actually openings into the Great Beyond. That they let the brilliant light through in order to give us a glimpse of the splendor and let hope shine on Aion.”\n\nIt was hard suddenly to think of just one thing I wanted to know about. “Is... that like what the sun is? Why is it so much brighter? And what’s the Great Beyond like?” Dad…\n\nShe didn’t hesitate this time. “The sun is the Light of the Gods shining through to watch over us all. The reflection of the sun, the moons, is them watching us at night as well. And the Great Beyond is what’s outside of our Realm. It’s where the Gods reside, and where every spirit goes when they shed their physical bodies and pass beyond the stars. We know that there’s unending fertile plains, and a great city that expands beyond the horizon, with elevated slopes that houses the citadel of the Gods...” Her voice sounded almost wistful for a moment, and I swallowed again. She missed Dad too, I think. Her mate.\n\nI sat up again, watching Mom and my little sister for a long moment. “That means that’s where Dad is? He was called there by the Gods to help protect the city, right?” That’s what the Elders had told me.\n\nMom was quiet for a long moment with that, just holding Exia close as she nursed. It was… I hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye. The night our tribe was attacked by that Kargor pack. “Yes. The gods pick champions of great honor from everyone on Aion. That’s why being honorable and kind is so important, Exes. Your father was one of the best, and he did so well in protecting us that day that the Gods decided that he was needed in the Great City instead, to protect people there.”\n\nSlowly, my tail started to wag at that. Even if I couldn’t talk to him or be with him anymore, the fact that Dad was chosen for such a huge responsibility and honor! “Which is even more honorable, right? That means Dad is super honored now!” I looked back up at the sky, eyes tracing over the stars, even as my Mom gave another soft giggle of her own, watching me now instead.\n\n“Yes, it’s even more honorable. Which is why you have to study hard yourself...” Twitch. I felt myself physically spasm and wince, causing her giggles to repeat, a bit louder. Ugh! Her tail lifted from behind her, then hooked the big book sitting on the log bench next to her, sliding it slightly away from her hip and drawing my attention back to it.\n\nIt looked ancient, with the corners and cover worn and scratched. Our tribe’s giant, starter Alchemy book. Possibly the most boring, stupid thing I’d ever read. Finally, I just sighed in defeat. “Fiiiiine. I’ll go back to studying. It’s just [i]really boring[/i]!” I wish I could play with the other kits my age, rather than having to sit and read books and study all the time.\n\n“I’m sure your father would be proud of how smart you’re getting, though, Exes. You’ll do it for him, right?” Another swallow. She got me with that one. My muzzle scrunched, but I slowly nodded and stood again, walking over to where she and Exia was yet again.\n\nTo my surprise, she stood as well, giving me a softer smile. “Good boy. Now, I believe it’s my turn to use the bathing tent. I’ll be back in a little bit. Here, tend to your little sister for a moment…” My eyes widened at that, even as she lowered herself and slid the small kit into my raised arms. She adjusted my arms around the newborn, showing me yet again how to hold her. Though this time it would be without supervision… I cradled her against my chest, watching her give a sleepy little yawn and lick some of the dampness off her muzzle after. She was… so small.\n\nExia gave a few small sniffs towards me, seemingly finding my scents close enough to Mom’s to trust me, before just resting her head against my chest, snuggling in as I felt a bit of heat dance to my cheeks. Mom grinned as she watched, then nodded. “See? She trusts you already. I’ll just be gone a moment. Keep her warm…”\n\nI gave Mom a nod, who then walked gently away and towards the bathing tent where I’d come from a moment before. I gave a little shiver, then looked back down at the kit in my arms again. She rested there against me, yawning again before curling herself up against my fur. Her muzzle nuzzled the left side of my chest, and a little smirk played at my muzzle, wondering if she was disappointed at not finding a milk smell there.\n\n“Mmm, sorry, Sis. I’m a boy. There’s no nipple there to suckle…” I sat down in front of the softly crackling fire, letting the heat wash over us both as I tucked my tail around her too, for added warmth. She didn’t seem [i]too[/i] displeased, admittedly, and seemed honestly happy to be tucked up against me.\n\nI couldn’t get over how small she was, and how much she seemed to just… trust me. I swayed lightly as I held her, my right paw lightly tracing a thumb along her left cheek fur, and getting her to nuzzle back gently. My smile grew, and I relaxed. No, I knew I had to be strong, for both Mom and Exia now. But this… She was my little sister, and dependent on me. It felt like…\n\nI gave a start as her eyes suddenly… opened. Two large, sapphire pools, almost exactly the same color as my own, stared sleepily up at me. Kits didn’t open their eyes for several days after being born. This was… She looked up at me, looking startled by this curious new development she must have just discovered, and my smile widened. I brushed her cheek again, and she gave a little shiver before pushing more against me with her other cheek into my chest. Exia…\n\nI lost myself in her eyes for a moment, holding her close as she carefully took in my expression and details. I didn’t know how far she could see, so I leaned in and gave the top of her muzzle a little nuzzle, which seemed to instinctively calm her down. She made a little cooing noise, and I gave a little squeeze back, feeling that ache in my chest replaced by warmth. No, we’d be fine. I’d tell her all about Dad as she grew older, and make sure to always be there for her. Now, I knew I wanted to support her and Mom, and be a good big brother. She needed me, too!\n\nHer eyes closed again as she snuggled back against my chest, and I exhaled quietly, letting the warmth of the fire wash over both of us while waiting for Mom to get back.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nLife went on. From that fun age of two years, soon I bloomed upwards, eyes and mind opening as I did. It didn’t take me too long to fully understand that the world wasn’t a shiny, golden place of equality and justice, of course. Perhaps my own position especially. I sighed, pausing my pencil on the paper in front of me before looking off to my left.\n\nThey’d set up a hoop ball ring, and now a cluster of almost two dozen kits were noisily rampaging about in the sand around it, kicking and headbutting a ball around trying to score first. An audience had already formed; an equal mix of adults and fellow kits not in the game. Including easily a dozen females on the sidelines, ogling the players, who were mostly male. I only saw three female kits participating in the game itself, anyway. Everyone knew it was an amazing way to show off to the females in chance that one might pick you for either a night of fun, or something more permanent.\n\nMy muzzle scrunched, and I exhaled, looking back down at the lap board with my notes on it. Close to forty pages of alchemical and medical notation was slightly less impressive than kicking a ball through a hoop to most females, unfortunately. The mechanical metal brace on my leg would probably jam and trip me if I even so much as [i]thought[/i] about looking cool. Ours was almost the bottom rung out of all the nomadic tribes as far as wealth and exports generated. We simply couldn’t afford anything fancy for medical equipment or supplies.\n\nI suppose I should be thankful for my brain, at the very least. What my body lacked in functionality, I was a natural for alchemy, magic, and medicine. I scratched down a few more notes and looked the finalized work over. Master Chronak himself would be reading it over, which I’d find as an honor if I wasn’t so jaded to him at this point. The grumpy ol’ geezer was the current and only Grandmaster Alchemist of the entirety of the Inaga nation, so basically all of Aion. He suddenly, to everyone’s surprise, came to live with our tribe about five years ago, from… wherever he’d been hiding out before that. Something, something, not liking our current Queen? Which was… odd. I didn’t dare [i]ask[/i] him though.\n\nNow he was my master. …technically not that he was supposed to be as I wasn’t done with primary school yet, but he apparently just decided I could handle and go through advanced classes with him four years ahead of schedule. And what he decided went, as far as law went for the most part. So, here I was taking graduate courses at age ten. As far as that meant for my fellow kits, I was a [i]giant nerd[/i].\n\n“Bro!” My large ears perked up, elevating faster than my head did to glance up at Exia as she suddenly hopped into view around a set of shrubs in front of our tent. Eh? “Guess what?!” Oh gods…\n\nYup, she was naked again. She grinned to me before spinning around on her paws and bending over, giving me a perfect raised-tail mooning, which showed off her tailhole and spade perfectly, of course.\n\nWhap! I winced, and my lap board shook as my length sprang enthusiastically to life and impacted the underside of it through my loincloth. Of course, she was watching and waiting for that, and burst into a fit of giggles as she bound away again, her own loincloth snatched up in her muzzle as she fled. Damn it…\n\nWincing, I tucked my overly excitable little friend in again, then huffed, cheeks flushed. Ever since I’d hit sexual awakening a year ago, and my hormones went crazy, she’d found it [i]delightful[/i] to tease me and get ‘reactions’ out of me. Of course, to her it was just a fun, naughty game… I’d given up trying to chase her down at this point to scold her. She knew she was faster than me by far…\n\nI huffed again, after getting myself situation once more. Some big brother. My close cousin, Exir, started guard training this year, and admittedly, was just layering on the muscles. A lot of kits my age were. And here I was, mightily writing out a thesis on the use of advanced healing tinctures during kit birth.\n\nI guess it kind of felt like I was forced to be an adult. A perk for the tribe, anyway. I made money. With the number of medical potions alone I could mix in a single moon, I added almost a sixty percent hike to our tribe’s export gain. Not to mention payments from other tribes who would send Inaga our way because I was already capable of medical magic. But on the flip side, a lot of adults resented me for being valuable at the same time. I could kind of see why it was rare for an Inaga to pursue though, at this point, if this was the life of one in the tribes. At least I made enough that I could afford to get the brace for my leg imported.\n\nGlancing to the left again, I watched none other than Exir himself hop along two teammate’s raised backs and power bomb the ball through the hoop, earning an explosion of cheering from everyone around. Heh. He really was something, that was for sure. His team lifted him up and carried him in celebration, and several females along the sides screamed his name out and waved. Ugh. I’m surprised they weren’t offering to have his kits yet.\n\nMy ears sank back and I looked away again, glaring down at the papers in front of me. At this point, I just resented my body and wished it would get the hormone thing over and done with. Sliding the thesis aside, I shook my head to clear it, then just slid my math book over. Compared to Alchemy, basic math that we were going through in primary school was laughable. Boring, even. Of course, a lot of topics were like that to me now instead of Alchemy.\n\nI pulled the tied-off leafy sapling I was parked up against over a bit more, using its green plumage as a shield against the beating sun from high overhead. Those who didn’t actually do Alchemy or magic just didn’t understand, of course. It was like everything around us was comprised of a thousand different properties and pieces, and using Alchemy, I could literally see and rearrange pieces as I desired to make entirely [i]new[/i] things! Everything turned into a puzzle that could yield actual, useful results once solved! Most people just saw a tree I rested against. I saw almost a hundred different established elements that made up the various portions, all in various degrees. Changing one element within might yield different wood colors, or turn its cambium as hard as iron. With magic, and the right transmutative and reactive ingredients, I could change anything into practically anything else! Nobody around me knew what it felt like to rearrange something in the palms of your paws with your [i]mind[/i]. It… was worthless to them, but the most special thing in the world to me.\n\nMy eyes softened as I stared at the pages of the math book rather blankly. Of course, even some of the adults resented the fact that me, a little kit, contributed to the economy of the village so heavily. Master Chronak treated the place as his own retirement instead of contributing most of the time, which left it up to me to mix relevant potions and perform medical procedures. With his supervision anyway, for the medical stuff. But that would only be until I finished off the advanced anatomical study course and magical surgery studies this year. I don’t know why they… disliked me so much. Mom told me to just ignore them, but it was never that easy…\n\n“Yo, Exes! How goes the real work?” My left ear twitched, and I perked, looking over as Exir walked up to our camp instead. A glance showed me his team still celebrating in the background, and two females literally following him eagerly. Hmm… I recognized them but… I was terrible with names. I’d already seen them this year for medical checkups. They paused behind him and gave curious looks my way, but I just shifted my attention back to my cousin instead and chuckled.\n\n“Advanced medical thesis on kit birth done. It’s truly riveting if you want to give it a read in your free time, between flying power bomb goals…” I shot back, in my ‘stuffy Master Chronak’ voice.\n\nHe snorted, then laughed before shifting to a grin at me. “Hah! You saw that, did you? Risky play, but we pulled it off! If you’re done with the hard stuff, you should come watch. You know you can get our actual coursework done in like, ten minutes.”\n\n“It was still awesome, Exir! Don’t sell yourself short!”\n\n“Yeah, you’re team captain for a reason!” The two females chirped at him at that, with the green-eyed one on the left pouncing up and wrapping both arms around his left one. Leave it to Exir to get females actually actively pursuing him so blazingly readily and openly. Side by side, they were almost equal height, I idly noticed. Exir was… a bit odd for a male, in how large and tall he was. Usually, it was the females that were bigger.\n\nHe chuckled at that, then shook his head. “Team captain, yes, but my entire team is excellent! Maybe we’ll make allied tribe cup this year? But come on, Exes. Come watch. Besides, uh….” He coughed after and looked to the side, causing both girls to tilt their heads to him, even as I smirked. Ah, he needed homework help tonight.\n\nI gave him a nod without actually saying anything, and he looked immediately relieved. “Thanks, Dude. At least let me treat you to a frozen shake. This is supposed to be a celebration!” Right. The week was celebrating Allied Victory of a war two thousand years ago. But he wasn’t going to just let up, and I exhaled before nodding.\n\n“Fine, I’ll take a break and come watch. But you’d better win another game if I do. I’d hate to come all that way on my leg, just to have to laugh at you…” His grin returned full force at my ribbing, and I grinned back as both girls looked surprised again.\n\nExir however, just laughed. “You would too, you bastard!”\n\n“Right to your face.” I nodded twice in assurance before standing again and balancing on the brace. He grabbed my arm almost automatically on that side and helped my steady fully until I gave him a nod. With that, the four of us headed back towards the game area. \n\nWe’d almost made it the whole few hundred meters when Exir perked again as we walked. “Oh, right! Girls, this is Exes, my genius cousin. Exes, this is Niva and Yimir…” That was their names! I resisted snickering at his delayed, absentminded introductions, but Niva didn’t. The larger of the two, with the green eyes, grinned and nodded to him almost immediately.\n\n“Yeah, we uh, know Exes. Didn’t know he was your cousin, though! He’s uh, our doctor.” Yimir, the dark blue-eyed, smaller one, nodded along, flushing again. Exir perked once more, then grinned back at me, however. Here it comes…\n\n“Oh, right, you’re basically everyone’s doctor in camp. Guess you might know the girls better than I do, then…” Ugh! My cheeks heated up too, and I groaned.\n\n“I’m extremely professional when it comes to doctor duties!” It came out as a hiss, which only got him to grin further. Yimir actually nodded to that though, despite still blushing.\n\n“He actually [i]is[/i] very professional. I was kinda surprised…” I gave her a blank stare, which caused her to raise her paws up and wave them defensively as Niva laughed. Was that… Was that a compliment? I didn’t know if I should feel insulted there.\n\nStill, Niva didn’t miss a beat afterwards. “Mmm, you could get to know us far better too, Exir. Maybe later tonight?” Ugh.\n\nHis grin to me turned rather impish to her, and he nodded. “Mmm, if that’s an offer, definitely. But first, I have a game to win!” And back to being disgusted with life…\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nOf course, Exir had taken Exia off bench, apparently having taken my challenge of winning the next game seriously. I remember when she first tried out for the team, with all those smug smirks and laughs from the other players, two years her senior. But she’d taken to training under our mother when she was three, who was one of the best hunters our tribe had. It was… a bit strange that she always hunted solo, and I had [i]no idea[/i] what she was teaching Exia, but it was definitely… potent.\n\nNow, instead of smirks and laughs, the other team looked apprehensive when she was called out. I grinned, watching much closer now than prior. My little sister putting them in their place absolutely delighted me, and I couldn’t be prouder of her if I tried, admittedly. Still, she turned this into a true… spectacle.\n\nThe ball went low, a pass from the other team to one of their forward scorers. Both teams had two forward scorers, traditionally one of which was a captain, and a forward defender. Then three rear support to aid in passing and repositioning of the ball. Exia shined in her forward, aggressive position. The pass was intercepted when she practically came out of nowhere, driving her arm into the side of it and knocking it right into their own rear support, who bounced it twice before sending it right back to Exir, who backflip-kicked it out of midair. The other team’s defense barely dove up in time to intercept, and ended up taking it to the face instead of his arms.\n\nI winced, and the whistle was blown as he hit the ground clutching his face, blood already visible as he gave a shrill yelp and series of whines. “Shit! Pause on down! Nurses?!” The game had already ground to a halt, even before the referee called it on the side. Fourth injury today, by my count, and possibly the worst yet.\n\nNurse Ginna hopped up almost instantly and ran over, with the players clearing way for her to kneel down in front of the downed Inaga. She was four years older than me, though I worked with her quite often, especially during the birthing period. Sighing, I stood as well and dusted the sand off my loincloth before limping her way.\n\n“Tch. Ruptured a lot of blood vessels in your nose, that’s for sure. Might be a fracture. Hard to tell with- stop fidgeting! I’m trying to help…” Ginna huffed, even as two Inaga leaned down to steady and hold the fallen boy.\n\n“I assume you have regeneratives with you?” I asked as I settled back down next to Ginna, who perked and looked quickly over to me.\n\n“Oh, Exes! You were watching too? And of course! As often as everyone seems to get injured playing this…” I smirked at that, and she snickered, herself. \n\nLeaning in, my paws flared up with mana, glowing blue now. Ginna dug into her medical bag as I did, already pulling out regenerative salves. Which was good, as I’d left mine back by our tent, admittedly.\n\nMagic. It was another thing nobody here knew anything about. Even now, I saw the other players, and even the boy I was treating, shy away from the light. He outright leaned backwards, moving his muzzle further away from me, and the other players put some distance between us. Maybe it was different for city Inaga, but for the nomadic tribe Inaga, we didn’t produce many mages. Life here was… more practical I suppose. If it hadn’t been for my leg and lower spine having deformities since birth, I probably wouldn’t have pursued it either. Fear of the unknown, and all that.\n\nBut they didn’t know what it was like to hold magic in your paws. To change things, and see beyond what anyone else could using your own power. I… always wanted to play with the other kits and be treated normally, but… The boy relaxed as the energy coated his muzzle, and the bleeding stopped a few seconds later. I relaxed his nerves too while I worked, removing pain, even as I scanned along his bones. Even if it was something scary and unknown to them, it was useful. Even the most adamantly uncertain person I treated typically changed their mind once I got rid of pain, and helped them heal.\n\nI knew I liked helping others. That’s why I’d pursued medicine on top of Alchemy. Maybe… a part of that was to show them, personally, why magic was a good thing. To… prove it. Maybe to validate myself, and what I was limited to doing thanks to my body, but… I like to think it was largely because I liked helping people.\n\n“No fracture. Severe contusion of the nasal tissue though…” I reported a moment later, the areas under his skin literally glowing now in my vision. The bone scan would show darkened areas where there was damage, with severity leaning towards absolute black. Ginna nodded, slipping the regenerative salve to me before digging into her bag again.\n\n“Bruises I can handle, thankfully. I’m just glad I don’t have to run back to the medical tent for the bone kit…” I chuckled at that, spreading the salve over the top of his nose, before taking the applicator she gave me next. Basically, a fancy stick with an injection system and a soft nub for an end, that I slid into both his nostrils, releasing more of the salve directly into the blood mass.\n\nThat’s when magic helped more. The salve could be used on its own, but it took time for the latent energy in it to be released and relieve pain and regenerate damaged tissue. Now however, it flared with my energy, all activating at once. The boy’s eyes widened a little as his nose and muzzle started to glow, and I went about knitting the damaged blood vessels and breaking up the immense amount of blood that had already leaked out. Most of it could be fed right back, fresh, into his bloodstream, thanks to how recent the injury was. Older injuries would require it to be broken down into more base nutrients and put back into the digestive system instead.\n\n“Lucky you were watching, or he would have sat the rest of the game out…” The Nurse gave me a grin as she chirped it, and I flushed a little, rolling my eyes. For a year now she’d been rather insistent on ‘sounding my horn’ as she called it, usually to those we treated. I could only assume Mother had hired her at this point. She also wanted me to become more outgoing and social.\n\nIt only took about thirty seconds. I leaned back after, leaving his nose an overall pinkish color, but all but restored to how it was before. “All cleared up. Five minutes or so on ice, then you’re good to go…” He actually gave me a little smile and nod at that, now looking more bashful than uncertain, and Ginna helped me back up and standing.\n\n“Alright, you heard him. Ice pack and bench for this round.” The other captain was quick to help the boy to his paws again, who threw a salute and ran over to the sidelines where the other benched players were. I took the distraction to slip away quietly again, already uncomfortable with the crowd. Ginna pouted at me, and Exir gave me a raised eyebrow, but I just shook my head and moved back to the sidelines, plopping down where I’d been before, near Niva and Yimir. Exir had insisted on introducing me to every female there. I was kinda surprised they didn’t run fleeing after he left, and Niva and Yimir stayed sitting near me. Also surprising was that they didn’t mind idly chatting with me during the game. Niva was a daughter of one of the council families, so quite popular. Each nomadic tribe had three council members sent as representatives, and their families were always given perks and bonuses. Of course, if I had to put up with the paperwork and pressure of the position, I’d hope to have some perks and bonuses too. Yimir was from a humbler hunting background, but was best friends with Niva and part of the same social circle. Though, she definitely had the advantage of looks…\n\nThankfully tempering myself was as easy as a mental reminder every few minutes that neither female was interested in me in the slightest beyond being friendly and maintaining polite relations with their doctor and medical supplier… I’d learned that keeping my expectations low meant less disappointment in the long run. They both watched me curiously as I settled back down again, and I glanced their way, flicking an ear up alongside a tilted head, in our species’ universal questioning expression.\n\nYimir shook her head, then admitted, “Was just watching you use magic. I know you used it during the checkup a few days ago but… it’s just interesting to watch is all. What’s… it like, actually using it…?”\n\nNiva nodded too. “Yeah. Did it… hurt becoming a mage? I heard it’s not… pleasant.” Heh. Well ripping out half of your life force to turn into mana was definitely not fun. Still, I was… surprised at their seemingly genuine curiosity. Further surprising, a few of the other girls were turned to listen too, as well as a couple adults. Well, if it meant less people actually [i]scared[/i] of magic, I didn’t mind explaining.\n\n“Well, it was unpleasant, yeah. In order to become a mage, you take roughly half of the vita, or life force, inside of yourself, and convert it into an internal pool of mana, or magical energy. The body doesn’t… like that very much for obvious reasons. The ritual itself feels like your insides are catching fire, and for a good week afterwards, I was really sick. Like I’d had a bad infection. Nausea, fever, cold sweats, that sort of thing…” I got a lot of winces at the description of the process, then was distracted for a moment by Exia all but flopping against my left side, almost knocking me over.\n\nI shot her a skeptical glance, but she nodded enthusiastically instead. “Yeah, you were super sick for a while there! I was seriously worried!” She pouted, and I gave a little huff, looking away from her. She knew how to abuse those sky-blue eyes of hers, and I could hardly ever say ‘no’ to her as it was, without her secret techniques. Still, I thought… it was all worth it.\n\nI looked down at my paws, releasing my energy again and letting the soft blue light drift up and around my fingers. It was like a cloud of light, absently flowing and twisting as I commanded in my paws. Everyone’s eyes snapped down to the display in a second, watching as I shifted it about, then made a little ball of it between my paws. “For what it’s like… Like touching the stars…” I felt the soft warmth in my paws, almost mesmerizing as it swirled around right before my eyes.\n\nA few raised eyebrows, and I snapped out of it, feeling heat in my cheeks again. “I mean, it’s hard to explain. I direct it with my mind, and it’s… powerful to feel it changing or revealing things that I touch. There’s a sort of satisfaction I get when I can heal someone, or create something with my magic.” It made me feel useful. But that part I left out.\n\nNiva smiled softly and nodded to me with that, but Yimir was staring, almost entranced, by the blue light. I… knew that look to some degree. I’d shared it the first time I’d seen Master Chronak use magic. Like someone was holding a little piece of the unknown right in front of me on full display, and I couldn’t look away. I smiled a little, then slid the energy into just one paw, then reached forward and offered it to her.\n\nShe leaned back at first, shifting to looking surprised, and then curious. Everyone watching looked curious actually, as she reached her paws out and cupped them under mine, and I slid the energy into her paws. The spell was basic. A simple light spell that produced a little bit of heat as a side effect. An illusion, or phantasm technically, but exceptionally useful. Summoning it was instinct now, given the number of times I was too lazy to find a candle, or woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t feel like grabbing a lantern. Elven in origin, if I recalled correctly. They called it Faefire.\n\n“Faefire. It’s just a light source, for when I can’t be bothered finding a candle…” Exia giggled, and everyone seemed to relax at that. It [i]was[/i] pretty mundane. Still, Yimir held it in her paws like I’d just gave her some exquisite gemstone, or masterwork hunting knife. She felt along it and shivered, smiling as she shifted it from paw to paw. It was… nice watching, and reminded me of me quite a bit.\n\n“Brother [i]is[/i] remarkably lazy…” Exia shot me a wink, and I immediately scowled at her, only to get an eyelash fluttering in return, that had me looking away again, rolling my eyes over the heat in my cheeks. The brat…\n\n“Well, I think it’s amazing.” My eyes widened a little as I looked back to Yimir at that, who was grinning up at me. She nodded twice before passing it carefully back to me. That was… unexpected. I gave an uncertain little nod, but touched my paw against the Faefire, letting it sink back into my body and return the mana to me. Though it was overage at this point, as I’d already regenerated most of the trifle amount of mana used to make the spell.\n\nA grin from Niva. “Well, you know who to go to if you want to see more magic.” Eh?! Yimir looked just as surprised by the sudden playful barb, turning to give her friend a shove as her blush returned. This was so surreal. Today was… a very weird day.\n\n“Yo, Exia, you up?” She perked as Exir called for her a moment later, still over by the game area. R-Right! I was watching a game… My brain took a moment to switch topics, and I gave my head a shake to clear it, even as my sister slipped back to standing again.\n\n“Of course! Had to finish teasing my brother.” She winked down to me again, and I rolled my eyes, slipping back into the familiar routine at least of getting sass from her. Exir grinned and nodded, then gestured to her position on the field. With that at least, the game continued, and I was happy enough for the distraction again…\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nThey’d indeed won the game. And the one after that. Then lost the third. It was a pity Exia was getting tired by then. Mom had showed up for the third game, and it would have been nice if she’d seen her daughter kicking tail like she’d been. She had to be the fastest on the team, if not between [i]both[/i] teams! But [i]everyone[/i] was looking winded by then, so I guess it was expected. It was getting dark then, with torches replacing sunlight throughout the camp. I sipped one of the chilled shakes, cup idly glowing from my ice spell on it as I watched the final paw shaking between the two teams. Yimir’s cup also glowed, much to her delight, as she sat next to me and occasionally peppered me with more questions about magic while we all watched. I wasn’t expecting to meet someone with actual interest in it, and for the first two games, expected the punchline of the prank or joke at my expense to hit at any point. It never did though, and she seemed genuinely interested in the topic. Eh, I didn’t mind talking about it, so I guess it worked out in the end.\n\nExir and Exia came back over afterwards, and Mother gave them both a nod, sitting a little bit to my left. I had expected her to sit next to me like usual, but she didn’t tonight, oddly. “Good game, you two! Wish I’d gotten back in time for the first two, but the tribe eats quite a lot during celebration, and needed the extra meat.”\n\nExir grinned to her before moving between us and sitting down closer to me instead. “Yeah! Exia was [i]on fire[/i]! You should have seen her!” Exia blushed at the compliment, then shared an odd look with Mom for a moment before quickly looking away, suspiciously enough. I lifted an eyebrow, then winced lightly as she flopped against me again instead. Niva was instantly around the other side of me and snuggled right up against Exir, who grinned to her and gave a nod. Oh boy.\n\n“Well, I definitely wished I’d seen this now! But she and Exes will just have to regale me with it tomorrow. I’m kinda tired now…” She didn’t actually look [i]too[/i] tired, but she shot a glance over to Exir and Niva as she said it, so I gathered she was just giving them polite distance. Neither complained of course.\n\n“Of course,” I assured, looking back to Mom. “Did you need anything before…?” She cut me off with a raised paw and shake of her head, however.\n\n“I’ll be fine, Dear. I’ll see you both tomorrow instead. Don’t stay up too late!” She stood again with that, to both of our nods, and headed back to our tent. Hmm, Exia and I should probably find an excuse to leave the three of them alone, too. I glanced back to Exir with that, only to flush as I found him already kissing Niva. Well, he didn’t waste any time there! Exia and Yimir both flushed watching him, but I just rolled my eyes. I suspected homework aid would wait until tomorrow night now. Heh.\n\nI coughed lightly, causing both to give a start, and his eyes flicked to me, paw paused on her right breast as he did. He looked like a kit caught doing something naughty, which might have been exactly the case. Still. “Did you need anything before Exia and I go?” If I recalled what he mentioned this morning…\n\nHe blushed further at that, then coughed and nodded. “Uh, did you manage to mix up…?” I was already way ahead of him and dug into my side pouch, pulling out three lightly glowing vials of green fluid. Niva perked, looking curiously at them, but he grinned.\n\n“Fresh this morning. One a night only, and drink lots of water. They’re extra strength…” I can’t believe he went through the first five vials I’d gotten for him already. Rather potent stamina mixtures. For… fluid regeneration and stamina boosting… For when you had to do a lot of… exercise. The downside was they dehydrated like crazy if you actually used the fluid regeneration bit. I’d come up with the idea to add the fast-tracking water digestion bit in there to rapidly replenish, and admittedly, Exir with his ridiculous libido was a good test bed for my designs.\n\n“Mmm, perfect! Thanks, dude. Seriously, Exes…” I nodded as he took all three, then looked back rather heatedly to Niva and Yimir. Just another form of helping people, I suppose. Not that sexual matters really bothered me. The… broad range of things I had to deal with already as the tribe’s medical mage really had a way of numbing someone to that sort of thing. Niva flushed and pressed herself right up against Exir, grinning again before she looked over to Yimir and reached for her paw. Nope. Wasn’t even surprised by Exir’s two-at-once anymore, either.\n\nI stood with Exia, moving to give them more room, when Yimir surprised me, and them, by pulling back a bit instead. “I uh… I n-never said that I was going to join in, Niva. Um, plus I’m kinda tired so…”\n\nNiva frowned to her at that, even as Exir tilted his head. “Yimir, we talked about this… Here, just sit by me and…”\n\nExir shook his head to her, however. “If she’s not comfortable, don’t force her into anything, Niva. Relax…” The green-eyed Inaga pouted at that, but Exir pulled her closer again and she shivered, easing into him once more. Yimir looked more relieved than anything, and I was glad that Exir stood up for her. She looked to Exia and I instead, however, then slipped around the two still on the ground and over to us.\n\n“Uh, I know you were probably getting tired of all the questions today but… thank you for talking to me, Exes.” My eyes widened again at that, a bit, but she gave an earnest smile, and I relaxed a little. That was… okay. Tonight was weird, as I’d already decided, but not entirely unpleasant.\n\nExia looked to her for a moment, then glanced back to me again with a smirk, but I just shook my head slowly. “No, I didn’t mind. It was… refreshing to talk to someone genuinely interested. Normally I just blather on and on to Exia about it and drive her crazy instead…” My sister’s smirk shifted to a pout in an instant and she whacked my shoulder, getting me to snicker despite it kind of hurting. She was getting some serious muscle to her, too…\n\n“I like hearing about magic too!” Her defensive-sounding chirp was accompanied by pushing harder into my left side. I started to tip a little, and recentered myself to not fall over completely.\n\nYimir shifted a bit, watching the two of us with a grin forming as well. Uh… “Really? Not mind at all? If that’s the case… Could we talk about it some more? I mean, you’re not… doing anything tonight anyway, are you…?” I’d just assumed… But no, her question still caught me off guard a little. In that I hadn’t expected her to actually continue being interested still, but also because she undoubtedly already knew the answer to the question, if the way she phrased it wasn’t enough. Pretty sure my status as giant nerd and loser was known throughout the entire tribe by now. It just hurt a little to see someone reference it so blatantly. \n\n“You mean doing [i]someone[/i] tonight? Nope, Bro still doesn’t have a mate.” Exia was fast on the uptake while I still had the knot caught in my throat, and I rolled my eyes again at that. I’d have been further bothered by what she said, but the [i]way[/i] she said it made it sound remarkably more like an advertisement to Yimir instead of a fact stated. She never gave up…\n\nYimir perked and grinned though, then nodded. “Okay! We should give them some privacy though…” She gestured down to Exir and Niva, who were now laying down in the sand, kissing furiously. Making out? Yeah, that was more appropriate. Exir wasn’t so far gone as to miss the opportunity to toss a thumbs up back to us at the suggestion, though. Ugh.\n\nChuckling, I nodded to that, then gestured further in towards the community center. “Alchemy tent? The side area has all our magic books if you’re interested…” Yimir’s ears perked up fully and she nodded, moving closer to us as Exia detached with a smirk, then led the way…", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "One shake, then two more.  I exhaled, watching the last couple droplets of pee hit the sand under me before hopping away from the rim of the sand box and bouncing over to the water pumps instead.  Pushing the paddle with my elbow, I watched with avid fascination as the gears turned and the arm thingy went up and down, then the soapsand filter on the nozzle bubbled with water as it came out.  It always had a faint citrus scent when run through soapsand, I noticed.  Still, I stood fully and washed all four paws with the water, making sure to get between my fingers and toes, just like my mom had instructed long ago!

A female, maybe a few years older than me, giggled from two pumps over, causing my large, left ear to perk and rotate towards her, with the rest of my head following a second later.  She gave me a grin, then nodded down towards my waist.  Huh?  Oh!  A glance down showed me I hadn’t pulled up the draw string for my loincloth again, and my sheath and tip were sticking out of it.  I perked, then pulled the loincloth up fully, making sure it was tucked in in the back as well, before grinning back and giving her a nod.  “Thanks!”

“Of course!  Happens to everyone…”  She shifted to a warmer smile and nodded twice to me before returning to the water.  I watched curiously as she finished washing around the rim of her own plump swelling down there, before snapping out of it and turning back to the pump to turn the water off.  Females always had that extra step of cleaning that was interesting to watch.  As a boy, I only had to clean myself extra good during shower time, like that.  Thankfully we had that bone thingy in us that let me just slide out of the sheath to do that.  It would be a pain otherwise!

With that, I dropped back to all fours and bound out of the bathing tent, booking it quickly back to where our own was set up, and Mom.  Well, as fast as I could with my usual wobble I had going.  Our tribe had set up in the traditional circular fashion, with a good half of the tents dedicated to sleeping spots of course.  Being a family, our tent wasn’t shared, and instead we got a smaller tent to ourselves closer to the central communal area.  Cozy, but also harder to find than the huge shared tents.

Thankfully we’d been here a few weeks now, and I’d memorized where we were.  Mom was still outside the tent, sitting on our log bench next to the fire.  She gave me a happy smile as I hobbled up.  I always had to adjust my movements for my left leg, compensating for the drift it gave me while running.  It couldn’t bend as far or move as fast as other Inaga, which was… frustrating sometimes.  Ever since learning to walk, I’d never been as fast or agile as others my age.

She watched me plop down in the sand and massage the leg for a moment before giving a softer nod.  “Sore tonight?”

“Not too bad, but it always gets twitchy after I run…”  It was like the muscles weren’t used to the movement and spasmed and shook a lot in complaint.

She adjusted Exia, switching my new little sister to her left breast instead, and letting the right nipple, now pinkish red, take a bit of a break.  I watched with equal fascination as I had to the water pump, leg now forgotten as I took in the sight of the newborn kit nursing.  A little sister.  I had… a little sister now.  My emotions got jumbled as I stared at her, and I swallowed a newfound tenseness in my throat.

Dad was… gone now.  It was still hard for me to understand.  It felt like everything was changing now.  I didn’t think it was fair that he had to leave.  Even with it being four moons ago now, it still ached in my chest.  And now, Mom had given birth less than a week ago to my new sister.  Exia would never know what Dad was like, now.  What would change, now that she was here?

I looked up to Mom, and noticed how tired she looked.  Giving birth wasn’t easy.  I’d seen it enough to know it probably hurt a lot and was really tiring and messy.  But she’d devoted almost all her time to Exia ever since, and I… was trying my hardest to be supportive and not feel like I was being ignored.  A part of me was… jealous of her though.  If Dad were here, would he be spending all his time with Exia too?

Slowly, I looked up at the night’s sky instead, watching the stars twinkle far above.  The moons hung overhead; the big one with its tiny little one spinning around it, and the medium one a further distance away, by itself.  It kind of felt like our family now, and I gave a little shiver.  Flopping over, I reached my paw up into the sky, moving it over where the single, lonely moon was by itself.  That was…

“Hey Mom?  What’s up there?  In the sky, I mean.  Has anyone ever been up that high?  Like, close enough to touch one of the moons or a star?”  Maybe I was lonely too.

Mom didn’t answer right away, but a softer smile came over her muzzle as she slowly petted Exia’s head.  After a few moments, she looked up to me again and shook her head.  “Nobody’s ever been up high enough to touch anything in the sky, no, but we can see that far using special crystal devices and magic.”  My ears perked at that.  Magic!  Mom was easily the smartest person ever, and seemed to know the answers to any question I could ask.

It was hard for me to not be curious, eyes flicking back up to the glowing orbs and dots in the sky.  “I think I wanna try to be the first!  Seeing what one of the moons look like close up must be amazing!  Or a star!  Do you think they’re something you can touch with your paws?”  If I couldn’t be an amazing guard like Dad was, I wanted to be super smart like Mom instead.

I saw her grin at that out of the corner of my eye.  “I have no doubt you’ll do it if you really want to.  As for the stars...”  She paused, eyes softening before hugging Exia closer to her chest.  “Our ancestors, and our elders, say that the stars are actually openings into the Great Beyond.  That they let the brilliant light through in order to give us a glimpse of the splendor and let hope shine on Aion.”

It was hard suddenly to think of just one thing I wanted to know about.  “Is... that like what the sun is?  Why is it so much brighter?  And what’s the Great Beyond like?”  Dad…

She didn’t hesitate this time.  “The sun is the Light of the Gods shining through to watch over us all.  The reflection of the sun, the moons, is them watching us at night as well.  And the Great Beyond is what’s outside of our Realm.  It’s where the Gods reside, and where every spirit goes when they shed their physical bodies and pass beyond the stars.  We know that there’s unending fertile plains, and a great city that expands beyond the horizon, with elevated slopes that houses the citadel of the Gods...”  Her voice sounded almost wistful for a moment, and I swallowed again.  She missed Dad too, I think.  Her mate.

I sat up again, watching Mom and my little sister for a long moment.  “That means that’s where Dad is?  He was called there by the Gods to help protect the city, right?”  That’s what the Elders had told me.

Mom was quiet for a long moment with that, just holding Exia close as she nursed.  It was…  I hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye.  The night our tribe was attacked by that Kargor pack.  “Yes.  The gods pick champions of great honor from everyone on Aion.  That’s why being honorable and kind is so important, Exes.  Your father was one of the best, and he did so well in protecting us that day that the Gods decided that he was needed in the Great City instead, to protect people there.”

Slowly, my tail started to wag at that.  Even if I couldn’t talk to him or be with him anymore, the fact that Dad was chosen for such a huge responsibility and honor!  “Which is even more honorable, right?  That means Dad is super honored now!”  I looked back up at the sky, eyes tracing over the stars, even as my Mom gave another soft giggle of her own, watching me now instead.

“Yes, it’s even more honorable.  Which is why you have to study hard yourself...”  Twitch.  I felt myself physically spasm and wince, causing her giggles to repeat, a bit louder.  Ugh!  Her tail lifted from behind her, then hooked the big book sitting on the log bench next to her, sliding it slightly away from her hip and drawing my attention back to it.

It looked ancient, with the corners and cover worn and scratched.  Our tribe’s giant, starter Alchemy book.  Possibly the most boring, stupid thing I’d ever read.  Finally, I just sighed in defeat.  “Fiiiiine.  I’ll go back to studying.  It’s just really boring!”  I wish I could play with the other kits my age, rather than having to sit and read books and study all the time.

“I’m sure your father would be proud of how smart you’re getting, though, Exes.  You’ll do it for him, right?”  Another swallow.  She got me with that one.  My muzzle scrunched, but I slowly nodded and stood again, walking over to where she and Exia was yet again.

To my surprise, she stood as well, giving me a softer smile.  “Good boy.  Now, I believe it’s my turn to use the bathing tent.  I’ll be back in a little bit.  Here, tend to your little sister for a moment…”  My eyes widened at that, even as she lowered herself and slid the small kit into my raised arms.  She adjusted my arms around the newborn, showing me yet again how to hold her.  Though this time it would be without supervision…  I cradled her against my chest, watching her give a sleepy little yawn and lick some of the dampness off her muzzle after.  She was… so small.

Exia gave a few small sniffs towards me, seemingly finding my scents close enough to Mom’s to trust me, before just resting her head against my chest, snuggling in as I felt a bit of heat dance to my cheeks.  Mom grinned as she watched, then nodded.  “See?  She trusts you already.  I’ll just be gone a moment.  Keep her warm…”

I gave Mom a nod, who then walked gently away and towards the bathing tent where I’d come from a moment before.  I gave a little shiver, then looked back down at the kit in my arms again.  She rested there against me, yawning again before curling herself up against my fur.  Her muzzle nuzzled the left side of my chest, and a little smirk played at my muzzle, wondering if she was disappointed at not finding a milk smell there.

“Mmm, sorry, Sis.  I’m a boy.  There’s no nipple there to suckle…”  I sat down in front of the softly crackling fire, letting the heat wash over us both as I tucked my tail around her too, for added warmth.  She didn’t seem too displeased, admittedly, and seemed honestly happy to be tucked up against me.

I couldn’t get over how small she was, and how much she seemed to just… trust me.  I swayed lightly as I held her, my right paw lightly tracing a thumb along her left cheek fur, and getting her to nuzzle back gently.  My smile grew, and I relaxed.  No, I knew I had to be strong, for both Mom and Exia now.  But this…  She was my little sister, and dependent on me.  It felt like…

I gave a start as her eyes suddenly… opened.  Two large, sapphire pools, almost exactly the same color as my own, stared sleepily up at me.  Kits didn’t open their eyes for several days after being born.  This was…  She looked up at me, looking startled by this curious new development she must have just discovered, and my smile widened.  I brushed her cheek again, and she gave a little shiver before pushing more against me with her other cheek into my chest.  Exia…

I lost myself in her eyes for a moment, holding her close as she carefully took in my expression and details.  I didn’t know how far she could see, so I leaned in and gave the top of her muzzle a little nuzzle, which seemed to instinctively calm her down.  She made a little cooing noise, and I gave a little squeeze back, feeling that ache in my chest replaced by warmth.  No, we’d be fine.  I’d tell her all about Dad as she grew older, and make sure to always be there for her.  Now, I knew I wanted to support her and Mom, and be a good big brother.  She needed me, too!

Her eyes closed again as she snuggled back against my chest, and I exhaled quietly, letting the warmth of the fire wash over both of us while waiting for Mom to get back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Life went on.  From that fun age of two years, soon I bloomed upwards, eyes and mind opening as I did.  It didn’t take me too long to fully understand that the world wasn’t a shiny, golden place of equality and justice, of course.  Perhaps my own position especially.  I sighed, pausing my pencil on the paper in front of me before looking off to my left.

They’d set up a hoop ball ring, and now a cluster of almost two dozen kits were noisily rampaging about in the sand around it, kicking and headbutting a ball around trying to score first.  An audience had already formed; an equal mix of adults and fellow kits not in the game.  Including easily a dozen females on the sidelines, ogling the players, who were mostly male.  I only saw three female kits participating in the game itself, anyway.  Everyone knew it was an amazing way to show off to the females in chance that one might pick you for either a night of fun, or something more permanent.

My muzzle scrunched, and I exhaled, looking back down at the lap board with my notes on it.  Close to forty pages of alchemical and medical notation was slightly less impressive than kicking a ball through a hoop to most females, unfortunately.  The mechanical metal brace on my leg would probably jam and trip me if I even so much as thought about looking cool.  Ours was almost the bottom rung out of all the nomadic tribes as far as wealth and exports generated.  We simply couldn’t afford anything fancy for medical equipment or supplies.

I suppose I should be thankful for my brain, at the very least.  What my body lacked in functionality, I was a natural for alchemy, magic, and medicine.  I scratched down a few more notes and looked the finalized work over.  Master Chronak himself would be reading it over, which I’d find as an honor if I wasn’t so jaded to him at this point.  The grumpy ol’ geezer was the current and only Grandmaster Alchemist of the entirety of the Inaga nation, so basically all of Aion.  He suddenly, to everyone’s surprise, came to live with our tribe about five years ago, from… wherever he’d been hiding out before that.  Something, something, not liking our current Queen?  Which was… odd.  I didn’t dare ask him though.

Now he was my master.  …technically not that he was supposed to be as I wasn’t done with primary school yet, but he apparently just decided I could handle and go through advanced classes with him four years ahead of schedule.  And what he decided went, as far as law went for the most part.  So, here I was taking graduate courses at age ten.  As far as that meant for my fellow kits, I was a giant nerd.

“Bro!”  My large ears perked up, elevating faster than my head did to glance up at Exia as she suddenly hopped into view around a set of shrubs in front of our tent.  Eh?  “Guess what?!”  Oh gods…

Yup, she was naked again.  She grinned to me before spinning around on her paws and bending over, giving me a perfect raised-tail mooning, which showed off her tailhole and spade perfectly, of course.

Whap!  I winced, and my lap board shook as my length sprang enthusiastically to life and impacted the underside of it through my loincloth.  Of course, she was watching and waiting for that, and burst into a fit of giggles as she bound away again, her own loincloth snatched up in her muzzle as she fled.  Damn it…

Wincing, I tucked my overly excitable little friend in again, then huffed, cheeks flushed.  Ever since I’d hit sexual awakening a year ago, and my hormones went crazy, she’d found it delightful to tease me and get ‘reactions’ out of me.  Of course, to her it was just a fun, naughty game…  I’d given up trying to chase her down at this point to scold her.  She knew she was faster than me by far…

I huffed again, after getting myself situation once more.  Some big brother.  My close cousin, Exir, started guard training this year, and admittedly, was just layering on the muscles.  A lot of kits my age were.  And here I was, mightily writing out a thesis on the use of advanced healing tinctures during kit birth.

I guess it kind of felt like I was forced to be an adult.  A perk for the tribe, anyway.  I made money.  With the number of medical potions alone I could mix in a single moon, I added almost a sixty percent hike to our tribe’s export gain.  Not to mention payments from other tribes who would send Inaga our way because I was already capable of medical magic.  But on the flip side, a lot of adults resented me for being valuable at the same time.  I could kind of see why it was rare for an Inaga to pursue though, at this point, if this was the life of one in the tribes.  At least I made enough that I could afford to get the brace for my leg imported.

Glancing to the left again, I watched none other than Exir himself hop along two teammate’s raised backs and power bomb the ball through the hoop, earning an explosion of cheering from everyone around.  Heh.  He really was something, that was for sure.  His team lifted him up and carried him in celebration, and several females along the sides screamed his name out and waved.  Ugh.  I’m surprised they weren’t offering to have his kits yet.

My ears sank back and I looked away again, glaring down at the papers in front of me.  At this point, I just resented my body and wished it would get the hormone thing over and done with.  Sliding the thesis aside, I shook my head to clear it, then just slid my math book over.  Compared to Alchemy, basic math that we were going through in primary school was laughable.  Boring, even.  Of course, a lot of topics were like that to me now instead of Alchemy.

I pulled the tied-off leafy sapling I was parked up against over a bit more, using its green plumage as a shield against the beating sun from high overhead.  Those who didn’t actually do Alchemy or magic just didn’t understand, of course.  It was like everything around us was comprised of a thousand different properties and pieces, and using Alchemy, I could literally see and rearrange pieces as I desired to make entirely new things!  Everything turned into a puzzle that could yield actual, useful results once solved!  Most people just saw a tree I rested against.  I saw almost a hundred different established elements that made up the various portions, all in various degrees.  Changing one element within might yield different wood colors, or turn its cambium as hard as iron.  With magic, and the right transmutative and reactive ingredients, I could change anything into practically anything else!  Nobody around me knew what it felt like to rearrange something in the palms of your paws with your mind.  It… was worthless to them, but the most special thing in the world to me.

My eyes softened as I stared at the pages of the math book rather blankly.  Of course, even some of the adults resented the fact that me, a little kit, contributed to the economy of the village so heavily.  Master Chronak treated the place as his own retirement instead of contributing most of the time, which left it up to me to mix relevant potions and perform medical procedures.  With his supervision anyway, for the medical stuff.  But that would only be until I finished off the advanced anatomical study course and magical surgery studies this year.  I don’t know why they… disliked me so much.  Mom told me to just ignore them, but it was never that easy…

“Yo, Exes!  How goes the real work?”  My left ear twitched, and I perked, looking over as Exir walked up to our camp instead.  A glance showed me his team still celebrating in the background, and two females literally following him eagerly.  Hmm…  I recognized them but… I was terrible with names.  I’d already seen them this year for medical checkups.  They paused behind him and gave curious looks my way, but I just shifted my attention back to my cousin instead and chuckled.

“Advanced medical thesis on kit birth done.  It’s truly riveting if you want to give it a read in your free time, between flying power bomb goals…” I shot back, in my ‘stuffy Master Chronak’ voice.

He snorted, then laughed before shifting to a grin at me.  “Hah!  You saw that, did you?  Risky play, but we pulled it off!  If you’re done with the hard stuff, you should come watch.  You know you can get our actual coursework done in like, ten minutes.”

“It was still awesome, Exir!  Don’t sell yourself short!”

“Yeah, you’re team captain for a reason!”  The two females chirped at him at that, with the green-eyed one on the left pouncing up and wrapping both arms around his left one.  Leave it to Exir to get females actually actively pursuing him so blazingly readily and openly.  Side by side, they were almost equal height, I idly noticed.  Exir was… a bit odd for a male, in how large and tall he was.  Usually, it was the females that were bigger.

He chuckled at that, then shook his head.  “Team captain, yes, but my entire team is excellent!  Maybe we’ll make allied tribe cup this year?  But come on, Exes.  Come watch.  Besides, uh….”  He coughed after and looked to the side, causing both girls to tilt their heads to him, even as I smirked.  Ah, he needed homework help tonight.

I gave him a nod without actually saying anything, and he looked immediately relieved.  “Thanks, Dude.  At least let me treat you to a frozen shake.  This is supposed to be a celebration!”  Right.  The week was celebrating Allied Victory of a war two thousand years ago.  But he wasn’t going to just let up, and I exhaled before nodding.

“Fine, I’ll take a break and come watch.  But you’d better win another game if I do.  I’d hate to come all that way on my leg, just to have to laugh at you…”  His grin returned full force at my ribbing, and I grinned back as both girls looked surprised again.

Exir however, just laughed.  “You would too, you bastard!”

“Right to your face.”  I nodded twice in assurance before standing again and balancing on the brace.  He grabbed my arm almost automatically on that side and helped my steady fully until I gave him a nod.  With that, the four of us headed back towards the game area.

We’d almost made it the whole few hundred meters when Exir perked again as we walked.  “Oh, right!  Girls, this is Exes, my genius cousin.  Exes, this is Niva and Yimir…”  That was their names!  I resisted snickering at his delayed, absentminded introductions, but Niva didn’t.  The larger of the two, with the green eyes, grinned and nodded to him almost immediately.

“Yeah, we uh, know Exes.  Didn’t know he was your cousin, though!  He’s uh, our doctor.”  Yimir, the dark blue-eyed, smaller one, nodded along, flushing again.  Exir perked once more, then grinned back at me, however.  Here it comes…

“Oh, right, you’re basically everyone’s doctor in camp.  Guess you might know the girls better than I do, then…”  Ugh!  My cheeks heated up too, and I groaned.

“I’m extremely professional when it comes to doctor duties!”  It came out as a hiss, which only got him to grin further.  Yimir actually nodded to that though, despite still blushing.

“He actually is very professional.  I was kinda surprised…”  I gave her a blank stare, which caused her to raise her paws up and wave them defensively as Niva laughed.  Was that…  Was that a compliment?  I didn’t know if I should feel insulted there.

Still, Niva didn’t miss a beat afterwards.  “Mmm, you could get to know us far better too, Exir.  Maybe later tonight?”  Ugh.

His grin to me turned rather impish to her, and he nodded.  “Mmm, if that’s an offer, definitely.  But first, I have a game to win!”  And back to being disgusted with life…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Of course, Exir had taken Exia off bench, apparently having taken my challenge of winning the next game seriously.  I remember when she first tried out for the team, with all those smug smirks and laughs from the other players, two years her senior.  But she’d taken to training under our mother when she was three, who was one of the best hunters our tribe had.  It was… a bit strange that she always hunted solo, and I had no idea what she was teaching Exia, but it was definitely… potent.

Now, instead of smirks and laughs, the other team looked apprehensive when she was called out.  I grinned, watching much closer now than prior.  My little sister putting them in their place absolutely delighted me, and I couldn’t be prouder of her if I tried, admittedly.  Still, she turned this into a true… spectacle.

The ball went low, a pass from the other team to one of their forward scorers.  Both teams had two forward scorers, traditionally one of which was a captain, and a forward defender.  Then three rear support to aid in passing and repositioning of the ball.  Exia shined in her forward, aggressive position.  The pass was intercepted when she practically came out of nowhere, driving her arm into the side of it and knocking it right into their own rear support, who bounced it twice before sending it right back to Exir, who backflip-kicked it out of midair.  The other team’s defense barely dove up in time to intercept, and ended up taking it to the face instead of his arms.

I winced, and the whistle was blown as he hit the ground clutching his face, blood already visible as he gave a shrill yelp and series of whines.  “Shit!  Pause on down!  Nurses?!”  The game had already ground to a halt, even before the referee called it on the side.  Fourth injury today, by my count, and possibly the worst yet.

Nurse Ginna hopped up almost instantly and ran over, with the players clearing way for her to kneel down in front of the downed Inaga.  She was four years older than me, though I worked with her quite often, especially during the birthing period.  Sighing, I stood as well and dusted the sand off my loincloth before limping her way.

“Tch.  Ruptured a lot of blood vessels in your nose, that’s for sure.  Might be a fracture.  Hard to tell with- stop fidgeting!  I’m trying to help…”  Ginna huffed, even as two Inaga leaned down to steady and hold the fallen boy.

“I assume you have regeneratives with you?” I asked as I settled back down next to Ginna, who perked and looked quickly over to me.

“Oh, Exes!  You were watching too?  And of course!  As often as everyone seems to get injured playing this…” I smirked at that, and she snickered, herself.

Leaning in, my paws flared up with mana, glowing blue now.  Ginna dug into her medical bag as I did, already pulling out regenerative salves.  Which was good, as I’d left mine back by our tent, admittedly.

Magic.  It was another thing nobody here knew anything about.  Even now, I saw the other players, and even the boy I was treating, shy away from the light.  He outright leaned backwards, moving his muzzle further away from me, and the other players put some distance between us.  Maybe it was different for city Inaga, but for the nomadic tribe Inaga, we didn’t produce many mages.  Life here was… more practical I suppose.  If it hadn’t been for my leg and lower spine having deformities since birth, I probably wouldn’t have pursued it either.  Fear of the unknown, and all that.

But they didn’t know what it was like to hold magic in your paws.  To change things, and see beyond what anyone else could using your own power.  I… always wanted to play with the other kits and be treated normally, but…  The boy relaxed as the energy coated his muzzle, and the bleeding stopped a few seconds later.  I relaxed his nerves too while I worked, removing pain, even as I scanned along his bones.  Even if it was something scary and unknown to them, it was useful.  Even the most adamantly uncertain person I treated typically changed their mind once I got rid of pain, and helped them heal.

I knew I liked helping others.  That’s why I’d pursued medicine on top of Alchemy.  Maybe… a part of that was to show them, personally, why magic was a good thing.  To… prove it.  Maybe to validate myself, and what I was limited to doing thanks to my body, but…  I like to think it was largely because I liked helping people.

“No fracture.  Severe contusion of the nasal tissue though…” I reported a moment later, the areas under his skin literally glowing now in my vision.  The bone scan would show darkened areas where there was damage, with severity leaning towards absolute black.  Ginna nodded, slipping the regenerative salve to me before digging into her bag again.

“Bruises I can handle, thankfully.  I’m just glad I don’t have to run back to the medical tent for the bone kit…”  I chuckled at that, spreading the salve over the top of his nose, before taking the applicator she gave me next.  Basically, a fancy stick with an injection system and a soft nub for an end, that I slid into both his nostrils, releasing more of the salve directly into the blood mass.

That’s when magic helped more.  The salve could be used on its own, but it took time for the latent energy in it to be released and relieve pain and regenerate damaged tissue.  Now however, it flared with my energy, all activating at once.  The boy’s eyes widened a little as his nose and muzzle started to glow, and I went about knitting the damaged blood vessels and breaking up the immense amount of blood that had already leaked out.  Most of it could be fed right back, fresh, into his bloodstream, thanks to how recent the injury was.  Older injuries would require it to be broken down into more base nutrients and put back into the digestive system instead.

“Lucky you were watching, or he would have sat the rest of the game out…”  The Nurse gave me a grin as she chirped it, and I flushed a little, rolling my eyes.  For a year now she’d been rather insistent on ‘sounding my horn’ as she called it, usually to those we treated.  I could only assume Mother had hired her at this point.  She also wanted me to become more outgoing and social.

It only took about thirty seconds.  I leaned back after, leaving his nose an overall pinkish color, but all but restored to how it was before.  “All cleared up.  Five minutes or so on ice, then you’re good to go…”  He actually gave me a little smile and nod at that, now looking more bashful than uncertain, and Ginna helped me back up and standing.

“Alright, you heard him.  Ice pack and bench for this round.”  The other captain was quick to help the boy to his paws again, who threw a salute and ran over to the sidelines where the other benched players were.  I took the distraction to slip away quietly again, already uncomfortable with the crowd.  Ginna pouted at me, and Exir gave me a raised eyebrow, but I just shook my head and moved back to the sidelines, plopping down where I’d been before, near Niva and Yimir.  Exir had insisted on introducing me to every female there.  I was kinda surprised they didn’t run fleeing after he left, and Niva and Yimir stayed sitting near me.  Also surprising was that they didn’t mind idly chatting with me during the game.  Niva was a daughter of one of the council families, so quite popular.  Each nomadic tribe had three council members sent as representatives, and their families were always given perks and bonuses.  Of course, if I had to put up with the paperwork and pressure of the position, I’d hope to have some perks and bonuses too.  Yimir was from a humbler hunting background, but was best friends with Niva and part of the same social circle.  Though, she definitely had the advantage of looks…

Thankfully tempering myself was as easy as a mental reminder every few minutes that neither female was interested in me in the slightest beyond being friendly and maintaining polite relations with their doctor and medical supplier…  I’d learned that keeping my expectations low meant less disappointment in the long run.  They both watched me curiously as I settled back down again, and I glanced their way, flicking an ear up alongside a tilted head, in our species’ universal questioning expression.

Yimir shook her head, then admitted, “Was just watching you use magic.  I know you used it during the checkup a few days ago but… it’s just interesting to watch is all.  What’s… it like, actually using it…?”

Niva nodded too.  “Yeah.  Did it… hurt becoming a mage?  I heard it’s not… pleasant.”  Heh.  Well ripping out half of your life force to turn into mana was definitely not fun.  Still, I was… surprised at their seemingly genuine curiosity.  Further surprising, a few of the other girls were turned to listen too, as well as a couple adults.  Well, if it meant less people actually scared of magic, I didn’t mind explaining.

“Well, it was unpleasant, yeah.  In order to become a mage, you take roughly half of the vita, or life force, inside of yourself, and convert it into an internal pool of mana, or magical energy.  The body doesn’t… like that very much for obvious reasons.  The ritual itself feels like your insides are catching fire, and for a good week afterwards, I was really sick.  Like I’d had a bad infection.  Nausea, fever, cold sweats, that sort of thing…”  I got a lot of winces at the description of the process, then was distracted for a moment by Exia all but flopping against my left side, almost knocking me over.

I shot her a skeptical glance, but she nodded enthusiastically instead.  “Yeah, you were super sick for a while there!  I was seriously worried!”  She pouted, and I gave a little huff, looking away from her.  She knew how to abuse those sky-blue eyes of hers, and I could hardly ever say ‘no’ to her as it was, without her secret techniques.  Still, I thought… it was all worth it.

I looked down at my paws, releasing my energy again and letting the soft blue light drift up and around my fingers.  It was like a cloud of light, absently flowing and twisting as I commanded in my paws.  Everyone’s eyes snapped down to the display in a second, watching as I shifted it about, then made a little ball of it between my paws.  “For what it’s like…  Like touching the stars…”  I felt the soft warmth in my paws, almost mesmerizing as it swirled around right before my eyes.

A few raised eyebrows, and I snapped out of it, feeling heat in my cheeks again.  “I mean, it’s hard to explain.  I direct it with my mind, and it’s… powerful to feel it changing or revealing things that I touch.  There’s a sort of satisfaction I get when I can heal someone, or create something with my magic.”  It made me feel useful.  But that part I left out.

Niva smiled softly and nodded to me with that, but Yimir was staring, almost entranced, by the blue light.  I… knew that look to some degree.  I’d shared it the first time I’d seen Master Chronak use magic.  Like someone was holding a little piece of the unknown right in front of me on full display, and I couldn’t look away.  I smiled a little, then slid the energy into just one paw, then reached forward and offered it to her.

She leaned back at first, shifting to looking surprised, and then curious.  Everyone watching looked curious actually, as she reached her paws out and cupped them under mine, and I slid the energy into her paws.  The spell was basic.  A simple light spell that produced a little bit of heat as a side effect.  An illusion, or phantasm technically, but exceptionally useful.  Summoning it was instinct now, given the number of times I was too lazy to find a candle, or woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t feel like grabbing a lantern.  Elven in origin, if I recalled correctly.  They called it Faefire.

“Faefire.  It’s just a light source, for when I can’t be bothered finding a candle…”  Exia giggled, and everyone seemed to relax at that.  It was pretty mundane.  Still, Yimir held it in her paws like I’d just gave her some exquisite gemstone, or masterwork hunting knife.  She felt along it and shivered, smiling as she shifted it from paw to paw.  It was… nice watching, and reminded me of me quite a bit.

“Brother is remarkably lazy…”  Exia shot me a wink, and I immediately scowled at her, only to get an eyelash fluttering in return, that had me looking away again, rolling my eyes over the heat in my cheeks.  The brat…

“Well, I think it’s amazing.”  My eyes widened a little as I looked back to Yimir at that, who was grinning up at me.  She nodded twice before passing it carefully back to me.  That was… unexpected.  I gave an uncertain little nod, but touched my paw against the Faefire, letting it sink back into my body and return the mana to me.  Though it was overage at this point, as I’d already regenerated most of the trifle amount of mana used to make the spell.

A grin from Niva.  “Well, you know who to go to if you want to see more magic.”  Eh?!  Yimir looked just as surprised by the sudden playful barb, turning to give her friend a shove as her blush returned.  This was so surreal.  Today was… a very weird day.

“Yo, Exia, you up?”  She perked as Exir called for her a moment later, still over by the game area.  R-Right!  I was watching a game…  My brain took a moment to switch topics, and I gave my head a shake to clear it, even as my sister slipped back to standing again.

“Of course!  Had to finish teasing my brother.”  She winked down to me again, and I rolled my eyes, slipping back into the familiar routine at least of getting sass from her.  Exir grinned and nodded, then gestured to her position on the field.  With that at least, the game continued, and I was happy enough for the distraction again…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


They’d indeed won the game.  And the one after that.  Then lost the third.  It was a pity Exia was getting tired by then.  Mom had showed up for the third game, and it would have been nice if she’d seen her daughter kicking tail like she’d been.  She had to be the fastest on the team, if not between both teams!  But everyone was looking winded by then, so I guess it was expected.  It was getting dark then, with torches replacing sunlight throughout the camp.  I sipped one of the chilled shakes, cup idly glowing from my ice spell on it as I watched the final paw shaking between the two teams.  Yimir’s cup also glowed, much to her delight, as she sat next to me and occasionally peppered me with more questions about magic while we all watched.  I wasn’t expecting to meet someone with actual interest in it, and for the first two games, expected the punchline of the prank or joke at my expense to hit at any point.  It never did though, and she seemed genuinely interested in the topic.  Eh, I didn’t mind talking about it, so I guess it worked out in the end.

Exir and Exia came back over afterwards, and Mother gave them both a nod, sitting a little bit to my left.  I had expected her to sit next to me like usual, but she didn’t tonight, oddly.  “Good game, you two!  Wish I’d gotten back in time for the first two, but the tribe eats quite a lot during celebration, and needed the extra meat.”

Exir grinned to her before moving between us and sitting down closer to me instead.  “Yeah!  Exia was on fire!  You should have seen her!”  Exia blushed at the compliment, then shared an odd look with Mom for a moment before quickly looking away, suspiciously enough.  I lifted an eyebrow, then winced lightly as she flopped against me again instead.  Niva was instantly around the other side of me and snuggled right up against Exir, who grinned to her and gave a nod.  Oh boy.

“Well, I definitely wished I’d seen this now!  But she and Exes will just have to regale me with it tomorrow.  I’m kinda tired now…”  She didn’t actually look too tired, but she shot a glance over to Exir and Niva as she said it, so I gathered she was just giving them polite distance.  Neither complained of course.

“Of course,” I assured, looking back to Mom.  “Did you need anything before…?”  She cut me off with a raised paw and shake of her head, however.

“I’ll be fine, Dear.  I’ll see you both tomorrow instead.  Don’t stay up too late!”  She stood again with that, to both of our nods, and headed back to our tent.  Hmm, Exia and I should probably find an excuse to leave the three of them alone, too.  I glanced back to Exir with that, only to flush as I found him already kissing Niva.  Well, he didn’t waste any time there!  Exia and Yimir both flushed watching him, but I just rolled my eyes.  I suspected homework aid would wait until tomorrow night now.  Heh.

I coughed lightly, causing both to give a start, and his eyes flicked to me, paw paused on her right breast as he did.  He looked like a kit caught doing something naughty, which might have been exactly the case.  Still.  “Did you need anything before Exia and I go?”  If I recalled what he mentioned this morning…

He blushed further at that, then coughed and nodded.  “Uh, did you manage to mix up…?”  I was already way ahead of him and dug into my side pouch, pulling out three lightly glowing vials of green fluid.  Niva perked, looking curiously at them, but he grinned.

“Fresh this morning.  One a night only, and drink lots of water.  They’re extra strength…”  I can’t believe he went through the first five vials I’d gotten for him already.  Rather potent stamina mixtures.  For… fluid regeneration and stamina boosting…  For when you had to do a lot of… exercise.  The downside was they dehydrated like crazy if you actually used the fluid regeneration bit.  I’d come up with the idea to add the fast-tracking water digestion bit in there to rapidly replenish, and admittedly, Exir with his ridiculous libido was a good test bed for my designs.

“Mmm, perfect!  Thanks, dude.  Seriously, Exes…”  I nodded as he took all three, then looked back rather heatedly to Niva and Yimir.  Just another form of helping people, I suppose.  Not that sexual matters really bothered me.  The… broad range of things I had to deal with already as the tribe’s medical mage really had a way of numbing someone to that sort of thing.  Niva flushed and pressed herself right up against Exir, grinning again before she looked over to Yimir and reached for her paw.  Nope.  Wasn’t even surprised by Exir’s two-at-once anymore, either.

I stood with Exia, moving to give them more room, when Yimir surprised me, and them, by pulling back a bit instead.  “I uh…  I n-never said that I was going to join in, Niva.  Um, plus I’m kinda tired so…”

Niva frowned to her at that, even as Exir tilted his head.  “Yimir, we talked about this…  Here, just sit by me and…”

Exir shook his head to her, however.  “If she’s not comfortable, don’t force her into anything, Niva.  Relax…”  The green-eyed Inaga pouted at that, but Exir pulled her closer again and she shivered, easing into him once more.  Yimir looked more relieved than anything, and I was glad that Exir stood up for her.  She looked to Exia and I instead, however, then slipped around the two still on the ground and over to us.

“Uh, I know you were probably getting tired of all the questions today but… thank you for talking to me, Exes.”  My eyes widened again at that, a bit, but she gave an earnest smile, and I relaxed a little.  That was… okay.  Tonight was weird, as I’d already decided, but not entirely unpleasant.

Exia looked to her for a moment, then glanced back to me again with a smirk, but I just shook my head slowly.  “No, I didn’t mind.  It was… refreshing to talk to someone genuinely interested.  Normally I just blather on and on to Exia about it and drive her crazy instead…”  My sister’s smirk shifted to a pout in an instant and she whacked my shoulder, getting me to snicker despite it kind of hurting.  She was getting some serious muscle to her, too…

“I like hearing about magic too!”  Her defensive-sounding chirp was accompanied by pushing harder into my left side.  I started to tip a little, and recentered myself to not fall over completely.

Yimir shifted a bit, watching the two of us with a grin forming as well.  Uh…  “Really?  Not mind at all?  If that’s the case…  Could we talk about it some more?  I mean, you’re not… doing anything tonight anyway, are you…?”  I’d just assumed…  But no, her question still caught me off guard a little.  In that I hadn’t expected her to actually continue being interested still, but also because she undoubtedly already knew the answer to the question, if the way she phrased it wasn’t enough.  Pretty sure my status as giant nerd and loser was known throughout the entire tribe by now.  It just hurt a little to see someone reference it so blatantly.

“You mean doing someone tonight?  Nope, Bro still doesn’t have a mate.”  Exia was fast on the uptake while I still had the knot caught in my throat, and I rolled my eyes again at that.  I’d have been further bothered by what she said, but the way she said it made it sound remarkably more like an advertisement to Yimir instead of a fact stated.  She never gave up…

Yimir perked and grinned though, then nodded.  “Okay!  We should give them some privacy though…”  She gestured down to Exir and Niva, who were now laying down in the sand, kissing furiously.  Making out?  Yeah, that was more appropriate.  Exir wasn’t so far gone as to miss the opportunity to toss a thumbs up back to us at the suggestion, though.  Ugh.

Chuckling, I nodded to that, then gestured further in towards the community center.  “Alchemy tent?  The side area has all our magic books if you’re interested…”  Yimir’s ears perked up fully and she nodded, moving closer to us as Exia detached with a smirk, then led the way…", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Exes - Chapter 1", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "124" }