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https://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment", "writing": "It had been years since I visited the capital, but it hadn't changed that much. Not really. Even as we approached, passing through seemingly endless fields of farmland with the huge walls looming over the horizon. Someone first coming here would see the huge walls and think of all the splendor within. Instead, I saw all the workers in the fields outside of the walls, and knew all they really stood for was division and the rather rigid caste system we Inaga had fallen into.\n\nGrowing up, it never really bothered me. I was just happy having food in my belly, a place to sleep, and my family. Now, with that sight looming ahead, I couldn't help but feel anxious. The sheer level of expectation I suddenly realized that sat on my shoulders. Grandmaster Alchemist. Exia and Yimir sat to both sides of me, on the edge of the wagon's passenger area as we watched. Now they depended on me too, entire displaced from our tribe thanks to everything that had happened. Yimir even gave up her family in order to come with me instead. That was...\n\nOur very brief stop back at camp was as awkward as I expected it to be. After our hasty, violent departure, then the subsequent visit by a large team of investigators who arrested a lot of tribe members, things were shaken and quiet. I just stayed in the wagon. It felt like it was my fault, and I'd already caused them all enough heartache.\n\nWhat I wasn't expecting was Exir to come back with Niva following. Which of course prompted teasing from me, given he'd left with the excuse that he was going to get `snacks' for the road. [i]Snacks[/i] indeed! He got some thermoses of frosty milkshakes, some jerky, some chips, and his mate! All for the road, of course. I knew she spent a lot of time in the capital, but I hadn't really looked into what until she explained that her mother had been preparing her to attempt to be one of Laridia's council members. She had a strong career potential in politics, it seemed. Her mother already liked Exir, and when he came back and apparently explained that he was moving into the palace, she all but suggested herself that Niva move in with him. As far as opportunities go, I'd say that was a pretty big one for her, yeah. Her family would be following the move into the city later in the following moons. Even more people leaving the tribe.\n\nNow Exir sat cross-legged to my left with Niva snuggled into his lap. He was watching me instead, however. ``You know it's not your fault, Exes. It'll be hard for the tribe, but they'll pull through. They always do.''\n\nYimir and Exia looked to me, each taking one of my paws, but I just sighed and shook my head. ``Fault or not, I was the catalyst. I just keep... running it all through my head and wondering if I could have done anything differently that could have ended... better.''\n\n``If anything, my brother was the catalyst, Exes. The only thing you were guilty of was being intimate and affectionate with me. That's definitely not a crime...'' Yimir squeezed down on my paw, and I closed my eyes, relaxing into the touch a little. I just wish that I knew the tribe was going to be okay.\n\nRelaxing into Exir's chest, Niva smiled softly to me as well. ``Yimir's right. It wasn't your fault. And one of the first things I'm going to attempt to work towards is getting more aid for our tribe. I'm... not old enough to hold any official positions yet, but that doesn't mean I can't pull some strings and see if I can get a relief package considered.'' That [i]would[/i] probably go a long way towards helping the tribe.\n\nSlowly, we passed through the massive gates to the city, right alongside the royal wagon. The queen must have been expected back or called it in ahead of time, because there was quite a crowd, cheering as she returned. The noise was... Camp was noisy and the constant chatter was comforting to me. This however... The city never quieted, and during the day, it became a cacophony, almost.\n\nNot to mention the sheer amount of [i]people[/i] everywhere. I swear there were more people in the crowd welcoming her back than the entirety of our tribe. And it wasn't just Inaga. I saw a lot of different species mixed in already, mostly towering above our much shorter people. Vulkus, Keld, and especially a couple of Gar in Demon form. They [i]really[/i] towered. Of course, I also saw a few Illan and Garkin, who were closer to our height and blended in better.\n\nMost of the focus was of course on the queen's wagon, and she waved from the driving area of it. Still, ours got noticed as well, and suddenly I felt... exposed sitting up in front like this. How many people in the crowd had read those stupid newsletters or listened to the propaganda and thought I was a rapist? What would they think when they saw the female I supposedly `raped' sitting next to me, holding my paw? Would they even recognize me, given I didn't think my picture was anywhere?\n\nIt didn't really matter though. Apparently, that `stopping for press posing and dramatic gate entry' was actually just `kill time until the guards fully mobilized for an escort'. Soon, we were actually entirely surrounded by honor guards, and green Vita drifted into the air around us as they escorted us, inside a barrier, into the courtyard of the palace.\n\nThe last time I'd been here was years ago, but I don't think I recalled the palace being a literal fortress back then. A double gate setup with magical barriers greeted us, and I could see the runes worked right into the brickwork of the thick wall as we passed through. Laridia itself was constructed primarily from reinforced adobe bricks, giving the entire city a sort of rustic, dusty red and brown feel. Even painted, they primarily used dry on paint layers of golds, greens, reds, and yellows. Even the cobblestone in the streets was rusty red in color, mixed with the brown of the dirt underneath.\n\nInside the palace however... They clearly had imported the stone for the walls. It was gray, and looked considerably heavier and denser than the adobe they had layered over it for looks. Metals were also mixed in here and there with the brickwork, giving an air of opulence and richness to the moderately sized courtyard. Columns to both sides supported an overhanging terrace with plants growing from ceiling gardens, and a grand fountain was plopped down right in the center, displaying dancing Inaga constantly vomiting water out of their mouths like some sort of rare aquatic tapeworm had seized hold of their guts in a stranglehold.\n\nOur filthy little tribal wagon stood out painfully against the obvious wealth around us, and it kind of made me ill. Maybe I should have went with the Jungle Inaga instead, after all. Well, this had the `security' down that I'd hoped for at the very least. I'd also been concerned for Exia and Yimir too. Well, Yimir. Exia could [i]definitely[/i] manage for herself now... Which depressed me a little now that I thought about it. Now she was the one protecting me.\n\nThe seven of us disembarked the wagon after we were inside. I immediately felt vastly underdressed. What I had assumed to be clerk outfits or uniforms from the prior two Inaga I'd seen actually turned out to be pretty common clothing. [i]Everyone[/i] was clothed! The most normal article appeared to be the tunic tied off at the waist with a belt, but some had a loose outer robe, scarf, or shawl they added to the look. Packs were also the norm, with side pouches on the belts, backpacks, or satchels everywhere. And here we were, filthy little tribals standing in just loincloths and half-cloths. It had been hot this morning, so Exia and I had only strung up the loincloth to the half loop directly under us, so we both had bare rears showing.\n\nIt didn't seem to bother most of the others, who followed the queen and princess towards the entrance to the palace. Tch. My social anxiety was tweaking something fierce now, and I flushed lightly as I headed after everyone, trying to suppress the urge to cover myself up. I hadn't... anticipated this. Yimir frowned as she walked, however, glancing about as I caught up next to her and Exia. ``Everyone here has so much clothing on... It feels a little... weird to be mostly nude now.''\n\nPrincess Nara gave a little giggle, then shook her head as she glanced back over her shoulder. ``Don't worry. We'll get you proper city and palace clothing once we get everyone settled in.''\n\nFrowning, Exia followed Yimir's gaze and sighed, watching several palace staff practically ogling us as we entered through the main doors. ``Ugh, they're staring at my breasts...''\n\nNiva seemed entirely unbothered, however. ``Eh, let `em. We're mated. They can look all they want, but no touching.'' She winked to Exir while proudly walking along next to him, and he grinned back, arm sliding around her waist and pulling her a bit closer with a squeeze. Tch. My ears lowered a little as I watched. It didn't take but a single sniff to definitely pick them up on each other.\n\nThe main hall was a momentary distraction, at least. Two stories tall, it extended back probably close to sixty meters before it capped in a large throne at the end, and half of a hollow, rounded table. The chairs were on the inside of the table, in the hollow area, and I assumed it was for Larid's council. The queen slowed before turning and smiling towards us instead.\n\n``Welcome to the royal palace. Excuse the few spots of renovation that's still ongoing. I've had to up security heavily, for obvious reasons, and there was a lot of... excess here and there that could be replaced with more modern utility.'' The emphasis she put on that felt strange, but I stayed quiet of course. Interrupting the queen seemed... bad. ``Regardless, I sent ahead last night to let them know to prepare your extra rooms, so they should be ready by now. They're on the third floor of the east wing. Nara, could you show them to where they are and introduce them to the utilities? I propose we let you all settle in, then take a more relaxed supper in the library, so we're out of the way to talk a bit more.'' I heard what she said, but a lot of it didn't fully register with me. I... understood the concepts, but the fact that I was `taking a supper' now suddenly was... foreign feeling.\n\nPrincess Nara gave a nod and bow to her Mom, then gestured to the right. The west wing, I presumed. `Wing' I heard was a building term that meant... side I guess? Those twin honor guards from before surprisingly stayed with and followed Princess Nara instead, keeping pace with her as she led us through a set of double doors, down a hallway, and to a large set of stairs. Oh gods...\n\nThat was... one thing that we didn't have in camp, or anywhere else in the plains really. Stairs. Walking on the hard stone of the hallways was rough enough on my legs and paws. Now they sympathetically [i]ached[/i] just looking at the stairs. The Princess of course took them no problem, dropping to all fours and just hopping up them two at a time, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Ugh. The guards followed her up, so we really had no choice.\n\nThey... were [i]not[/i] built for someone like me. I'd take a step up the stairs, left leg barely able to hold myself properly, then have to balance on my right leg for support as I shifted my left up and out, then onto the stairs I was standing on. I didn't have enough range of motion with the left to go alternating, and every time I had to support my weight on the left, it gave an angry throb all the way up to my tail. Having been last in our group, they headed up ahead of me at normal speed, with Mom stopping and frowning down from the top of the first flight. Tch. Exir and Niva didn't notice, chatting with Yimir as they went, of course. Exia stopped halfway up the next flight, ears perking, then frowning as she peered over the side while I struggled upwards. Ugh... fuck.\n\nMy cheeks flushed as I pondered if it might be better to just tip backwards and aim for breaking my neck while bouncing down. I kind of wanted to die now. Mom gestured with her head, and Exia scampered back down the stairs as I reached the second flight, sliding under my left arm and supporting that side of me almost immediately. ``S-Sorry, bro. I totally forgot...'' she whispered. Well at least she didn't scream it to the sky above.\n\nNot that it mattered much, as everyone was awkwardly waiting for us at the top of the third flight of stairs a good minute and a half later. Exir looked awkward as fuck alongside Yimir and Niva, and Princess Nara gave a little cough, cheeks pink now. ``Ah! Uh, sorry. I didn't realize you had a deformity. Uh, I mean, that your leg is uh... bad. Sorry! Um, let's just continue onwards...'' I stared blankly at her while she squirmed in place for a moment, then gestured to the two twin guards and headed through another set of double doors. Seriously? The guard on the left actually gave a little snerk, breaking from their prior rather stoic condition before her sister shot her a skeptical glance. They both nodded to each other, then followed after the princess, with us in tow.\n\nThere was an immensely awkward silence as we headed far slower down the hallway now and to a T split by the looks of it. The princess just headed into the split itself when there was a shrill squeak to the left. ``Nara! You're back!'' Eh?! The princesses' eyes widened, ears perking up for just half a second, before a white and brown blur smashed into her right side, sending her entirely off her paws and airborne before they both crashed down into a slide that made me, and everyone else, wince. The twin guards... didn't do anything though, even as an overly enthusiastic Illan female sat up on top of the dazed princess, tail bobbing its tuft every which way above her. ``I missed you! Why'd you have to go on that stupid trip to that dumb, dinky little tribal camp?! I've run you a nice bath to get the filth off you, and cleaned the toys so we-`` The princess gestured furiously to the left with eye movements and head nods, and the Illan froze on top of her, eyes widening a little before looking over at all of us staring at her. Wow. What an absolute, pompous cunt.\n\nShe opened her mouth again, then slowly closed it. Then opened it once more before releasing another shrill squeak and hopping up, only to dash away to the left again at a blindingly furious pace. That was... She was wearing a rather frilly white dress, complete with obnoxious bow on her head and tail, and I swore I saw a collar around her neck...\n\nThe princess slowly sat up, blushing now too again before coughing and apparently attempting to recover any diminishing scraps of respect she still had. At least in my opinion. ``Uh, s-sorry about that. That's my um, maid, Feeari. She gets a little... excitable.'' And rude. She stood after, dusting herself off before gesturing us to the right instead. ``You're down the hall from me, on the other side.''\n\nThere was quite a bit more activity on the other side, with maids and butlers cleaning the various rooms out. Several gave the Princess waves as she approached, and she gestured around the hall to all four doors around us. ``Four rooms. They're all identical, so it doesn't really matter who takes which room. They have all the modern amenities, and communicators on the wall next to each door if you want to contact palace staff or any other room.'' Oh boy. That would be fun to figure out how to do. Plus, I kind of noticed the rooms didn't seem as `ready' as the queen let on, with the flurry of activity and staff moving in and out of them, sometimes with furniture.\n\n``Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to contact a member of the staff, or call Mom using the communicators. Hopefully I'll see you all at dinner!'' With that, she hastily turned and headed back down the other way, leaving both of the twin guards giving skeptical glances to each other before following her more slowly. That was...\n\nWe watched her go, turning off to the right and entering a different room way down the hall, with the two guards turning and resting against both sides of the door. Right, that was... a thing. My ears lowered a little, and I turned back around to face the others again, who were looking equal parts as confused and vaguely annoyed as I felt. Well, a lot of annoyed in Master's case, but that was basically his permanent expression.\n\n``Well, that was... [i]helpful[/i]. I'd say she still has quite a bit to learn before taking over her mother's position. Useless twit.'' His tone matched his expression, and he rolled his eyes, looking back to us instead. Two of the butlers nearest us slowed to a halt. One was an Illan, and the other an Inaga... who was busy ogling Yimir rather blatantly. Tch.\n\nThe Illan at least coughed lightly, then gave us a softer smile. ``Sorry about um, the Princess. She's sometimes a bit absent minded. We can answer any questions you have of course!'' He was surprisingly cheery, at least until he glanced to his friend and twitched lightly. He gave him a light whack with his elbow, which snapped the Inaga male out of staring at Yimir's breasts and sniffing lightly, at least. Unlike Exir and Niva, Exia and Yimir didn't really have much of my scents on them at all. That [i]was[/i] one of our primary senses for detecting pheromone signatures.\n\n``Huh? Ah, right, questions! Did you uh, have any? We can help!'' I lowered my ears and tried not to sigh, but to my surprise, Exir gave an upwards nod towards him from his left.\n\n``Yeah, actually, I do have one.'' Hmm? Exir wasn't normally one to... My eyebrow raised a little as I watched him walk towards the Inaga instead, who blinked once, then lowered his ears, starting to back up now that the absolutely towering, muscle-bound Exir approached. Exir just... kept walking though, backing the other Inaga all the way up the wall next to the right-most closest door, with the Illan flailing to get out of the way of the two of them.\n\nThe hallway almost shook for a moment, and the Inaga looked like he was about to jump out of his butler outfit, trembling now as Exir's paw slammed into the wall next to his head. ``See, I'm just a little confused. Have been ever since I got to the capital really. Is it just us, or does everyone here seem to have the manners of a half rotted kargor left out in the sun? Is it a cultural thing to blatantly ogle and scent search every female you see, or is my cousin's [i]new mate[/i] an exception for you? Please, enlighten me...'' His tone was low, and he added a growl onto the end. I stared at him in shock, as did Exia and Yimir.\n\nThe Inaga male just stood there, shaking and looking absolutely terrified at Exir. ``Oh gods, I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't... I'm sorry!'' He whimpered, quickly ducking under Exir's arm and fleeing down the hall as fast as possible on all fours, mild smell of urine following after him. That was... Exir snorted, watching him leave before leaning off the wall and dusting his paws off.\n\n``Dick. Everyone at the capital is so rude anymore...'' He shot me a grin instead after, and I relaxed, giving him a smaller nod. He always did stick up for me. Exia and Yimir both blushed, watching him, before Yimir nodded and managed a little smile herself.\n\n``Um, thank you, Exir. Maybe we should get some more proper clothing on so people stop staring?'' I swallowed lightly, ears lowering as I looked away from them both. That was... Tch, what was [i]this[/i] now? Jealous of Exir now, Exes? That was kind of pathetic. He was just sticking up for me. I certainly couldn't have done that...\n\nThe Illan slowly lifted himself up again, having fallen over and scrambled backwards a little when Exir slammed the wall. ``Uh, s-sorry for my friend. He's... not so great around females. Um, is there anything I can do for you to help you settle in?''\n\nMom, who'd remained quiet throughout that whole little event, gave a little sigh, then nodded to the small Illan with a smile again. ``Yeah, how close are all the rooms to actually being ready for us? I notice the end two aren't done yet...''\n\nPerking at that, the Illan shook his head, lifting his paws up and giving a little assuring wiggle with both. ``Oh! No, all four are almost done. These first two are completed, but there were some issues with the furniture we were using with these others. We're just swapping them out now, then you're good to go!'' Oh, well that was good.\n\nMaster gave a nod to that, then simply gestured behind him, to the front left door. ``I'll just use this one then. Might as well unpack and take a bath before supper.''\n\nMom also nodded to that, then looked at the back left door instead. ``I'll take this one then. You kits can have the right side. For uh, sound reasons. It's a good three hours before supper, so get washed up and acquainted with the rooms.'' Oh, uh, right. I didn't think we'd be that loud but... eh.\n\nNiva perked at that, then glanced to the Illan instead before asking, ``The queen mentioned clothes. Are they in the rooms or...?''\n\nThe small Illan blanked for a moment, staring at her in surprise before perking. ``Oh, the queen must want to supply you with clothing! We... hadn't been informed. I'll get right on that first and foremost, and have multiple sets delivered to each room.'' He looked around at us all, right paw doing a little `tallying' motion, more than likely counting us up in his head. After, he took off at a blazing pace down towards the stairs we'd just came up from.\n\n``Thanks!'' Niva tried calling after him, then just scrunched her muzzle and shrugged before sliding up next to Exir again instead, grinning rather... warmly at him. ``Mmm, wanna go... check out our room, Exir? We have a while!'' Damn... Master and Mom had already turned around and headed into their respective rooms after the Illan had `tallied' them, but I suspected it was more to just sort of leave us to our own devices. I could at least tell what those two would be doing! Exir grinned back down to her and nodded, then pulled her close again before looking to me instead.\n\n``I'll see you at supper then, Exes. And uh... sorry about the stairs. I legit forgot...'' I relaxed a bit to him at that and shook my head, letting my ears flop back and forth a bit.\n\n``It's fine. A lot's been happening and everything's kind of moving fast so... yeah.'' Really fast. I felt less like a guest here and more like some sort of new pet or something that they were slightly embarrassed about and hoping didn't pee in the tent. And now insisted on dressing up in cute outfits... On top of that, my mind appeared to be stuck on repeat, playing the image of Exia and Yimir blushing and smiling at Exir over and over again. Tch.\n\nHe chuckled and nodded. ``I hear you there. Just try to take it easy and relax before supper. Slow things down a bit...'' Right...\n\nNiva smiled and nodded to that as well. ``And don't wear yourself out too much!'' She winked to us with that, then followed Exir into the back most room on the right as I tried not to groan tensely. Well, guess that left the front right for us. Yimir fidgeted lightly, and Exia looked to me before frowning a little.\n\nSighing, I gestured to the right-front door to my right. ``Well, shall we check the place out anyway? We have time to kill...'' They both nodded at that, with Yimir joining Exia in her light frowning, but I quickly turned around and opened the door instead, trying my best not to move mechanically. I knew I was tense, but it felt like I had to think about every single movement I did now, and was suddenly aware of all of my limb positions at once.\n\nThe room was thankfully a nice distraction, anyway. It was surprisingly large, though it helped that I had no idea what to expect or what we'd be walking in to. I heard beds at the capital were nice, but my jaw almost dropped as I saw the one dominating the back center of the room. It was huge for one; looking like it could fit at least eight Inaga on it. Circular, pillows were arranged around the top of it in a half circle, supported by a wooden backing to the mattress. Elegant covers spread out over it in browns and reds and golds, and it looked... immensely soft, even from here. To its left was a desk of some sort with a large mirror on it, and a whole lot of drawers to each side of the mirror. Maybe... to check your appearance or something? I was only guessing at this point, as further to the left was a big armoire with a full floor to ceiling mirror, which seemed like it could do the same thing. My paws felt weird on the purple carpet, and my muzzle scrunched up as I looked around the rest of the room, rotating in a slow circle as I did. To the right of the bed, in the other corner, the carpet gave away to stone tiles, then a lower, circular depression. It looked like an empty pool of some sort, with the drain and pump disks that I could see in the side. No exposed pumps and motors however. Plus, there were long, metal tubes sliding up and above one side of it, with disks at the top with lots of holes in them. Wait, I think I read something about those. Showers, I think? They'd spray water down on you to wash with. Sort of like a waterfall.\n\nThe back wall around the tile area continued the stone theme, momentarily replacing the wood paneling in that corner with stone plates and shelves. There were a ton of towels and shampoos on the shelves, which solved the mystery of what that corner was for. My eyes widened a little as I glanced past it to the right, though. Opposite the bed now at this point, I saw an open doorframe in the wall, made of the same color stone, and peeked inside, curious as to why we had a little side room.\n\nMy ears perked up and eyes widened as I saw three floor-based channels, half disk domes on one end, with a complicated series of pumps and nozzles on the disk. Oh! These were bathrooms! I read about them too, where they had a water flushing system, and nozzles that would spray your bits down with water and then air and stuff, instead of using sand and assigning some poor, unlucky kit to sand changing duty every couple of hours. Neat! That was... one duty... my leg mercifully got me out of. Ever since the first time they made me do it anyway and I ended up falling sideways into the sand bucket that I'd been carrying when my leg gave out... That... hadn't been a very fun time. Eye infections sucked.\n\nExia peeked into the room as well, past me, and a glance showed Yimir crouched down in front of the empty pool area, frowning and nudging the metal control panel with her paw. ``Whoa. I don't even know what half of this stuff is [i]for[/i]! Are these... bathrooms?''\n\nI nodded to my sister. ``Yeah, I think they're called toilets. They use water to `flush' the basins there, and that disk there at the back will spray you down with water, then dry you with air after you're done...'' Both girls perked at that, with Yimir joining us at staring into the bathroom area, ears raised to full now.\n\n``Whoa! I kinda wanna try it! Uh, E-Exes, could you help figure out the controls? I don't wanna screw up...'' Like I knew the controls myself. Still, I nodded, stepping aside as Yimir hopped up to the closest channel and simply took her loincloth off. Exia snorted as she watched, then grinned instead.\n\n``You're not fooling anyone, Yimir. You just had to pee...''\n\n``Shush! You don't?! It's been like, half a day!''\n\nSis shrugged absently as I looked the controls over next to Yimir, who got on all fours and over the channel. ``Eh, you get used to holding it when hunting. Though I might as well go next...''\n\nI nodded after a moment, mouth starting to open until Yimir just released right then and there. My explanation died in my muzzle as I felt heat hit my cheeks, trying not to look, but sneaking a couple glances as she shivered there, golden stream coming from her spade and splashing against the channel below. Given I was crouched down at the control panel, she was literally right next to my head...\n\nExia smirked as she watched us, and I turned even more red and looked away completely, muzzle scrunched. Ugh! I was such a pervert sometimes! It didn't take Yimir long before the stream lessened, then she released a few more splatters before exhaling softly. ``Mmm, s-sorry, I uh... really had to go.'' She sounded as embarrassed as I felt inside.\n\nSnickering, Exia slowly shook her head. ``You're fine, Yimir. And you know you [i]can[/i] look, right Exes? We're your [i]mates[/i] now. Plus, you can be curious about how females pee if you want to be.'' Ugh! I gave a low groaning whine and tried to resist burying my face in my paws.\n\nYimir smiled back at me however, butt still aimed towards the disk next to me. ``Exes, it's okay. She's right. You can look all you want...'' She gave a shake of her butt, little droplets sliding off her spade and landing under her. I flushed again and shifted a little, looking back to the panel with a cough. That was... hotter than I expected it would be.\n\n``R-Right... Uh, they're marked. And in order. The top one's flush. Middle is water spray. Bottom is air...'' I gestured to them as I went. I also noticed they were large enough to be hit by a back paw instead, so you didn't even have to turn around. I leaned back, letting Yimir reach her left back paw back and whack the top one, before the channel under her came alive with a gush of water. It was surprisingly thorough, and all three of us perked our ears up as the water rushed under her, heading for the drain at the base of the disk where her back paws were. We watched it circle around the drain with a whooshing noise, and I twitched my ears back and forth again, impressed. That was actually kinda neat to watch.\n\n``Wow, that was... kinda cool! Middle next for the water...?'' I nodded to Yimir, then turned and looked at the angled nozzle rather curiously. The water should be coming out of-\n\nIt blasted out with a surprising amount of force behind it, hitting her right in the groin between her tailhole and spade. She let out a startled screech and practically clawed her way into the wall opposite of the toilet, while I winced as the water blasted off of her butt hit me right in the face and chest. By the time my ears raised again, all I could hear was Exia's hysterical laughter, and I sighed, wiping at the water on my fur. Ugh! I hit the button again, turning the water off again before glaring at the nozzle for a long moment.\n\n``...oh, there's a dial on the nozzle. It looks like we can turn down the force of the water...'' I rotated it as I said so, water still dripping off my ears, and Yimir shakily coming back over, her butt soaked and dripping now.\n\nShe huffed, carefully turning back around after giving the offending nozzle a glare. ``I... alright. That scared the crap out of me! Is it less now...?''\n\n``It's either less or more... We'll try it and I'll adjust it after it's on. Just uh, try not to move...'' I was going to get wet again but this was for the best.\n\nYimir flushed and nodded my way, and Exia grinned, backing up into the doorway again instead and giving us a bit more distance, just in case. Tch. Hitting the button, I was a little disappointed when the water barely came out though. Ah, less. Yimir perked, then nodded as she looked under her legs at the water stream. ``That's a lot gentler. Increase it until it gets to me?'' I nodded, slowly rotating the nozzle until the water was splashing right up against her groin. She gave a shiver, backing up a little into it so it washed over her tailhole then down her spade. Okay, that was [i]really[/i] hot to watch. I felt myself stiffening again, but she seemed oblivious, giving a little shiver. ``Mmm, it's warm. And it feels really good! Might be... nice to use without needing to use the bathroom, even...''\n\nAnother snicker from Exia. ``You have a mate now, and I get his tongue or cock will feel better than that little water spray...'' Aaaahhh! And I was at full mast now. Yimir flushed pink at that, then stuck her tongue out to Exia.\n\n``Mmm, oh, I know that much. Exes is amazing with his tongue. I've never had such a massive orgasm in my entire life!'' I definitely should have chosen the `neck break' option back in the stairwell. I huffed, fanning my cheeks with my paw, and Exia grinned to me again. Her eyes drifted down a moment later however, and she readily ogled my fully extended length, slid completely out and over my loincloth. Tch. Brat.\n\n``Better give it a rest before Exes jumps you from behind, Yimir. What's the air option?'' Yimir perked at her mention and looked under herself again, this time grinning as she ogled my full length as well. I rolled my eyes, then hit the third button instead. Interestingly enough, it shut the water off first and foremost. Good to know! Air blasted out of the grated hole under the nozzle a second later, and Yimir shivered, the fur on her butt dancing in the wind, while little droplets fell down below her.\n\n``Oh, that's nice too! City conveniences are nice...'' She wiggled her rump and I looked away, ears lowering again. If this kept up, I might pop [i]really[/i] fast, just from [i]watching[/i] them.\n\nAll three of us took turns using the bathroom regardless. It was a little different to use when I was positioned over the channel instead, but not by much. It [i]was[/i] pretty convenient, admittedly. The empty pool was pretty easy to figure out too, and I ran and drained some water in it with the buttons on the panel. There were a few other settings that seemed to alter and control the nozzle strength for when the water was coming out the side holes, but I wasn't entirely sure on those. Otherwise, it was pretty simple to figure out.\n\nThe panel next to the door, however, was an absolute nightmare. There was an illusion display on it, and some sort of number system that would make numbers appear in the display. Plus a few other buttons that were color coded. We gave up playing with that after we accidentally, somehow, connected to a very angry sounding groundskeeper who yelled at us in a rather guttural accent.\n\nBy the time we'd given up on that, however, there was a knock at the door. Both girls slipped back into their loincloths, and I went to it and opened it. The same Illan as before perked on the other side, giving me a timid smile. ``Oh, hey again! I um, brought some clothing sets for you and the two girls.'' Ah! He had a cart with him, and for a moment, I wondered how he got [i]that[/i] up the stairs. Still... I gestured him inside, and he hopped in, rolling the cart along behind him.\n\n``I brought a wide selection, as I had no idea what you'd like or even what colors. Um, oh, my friend also apologized again. He didn't mean to uh, look at your female like that. He thought well, uh, yeah...'' That she was unclaimed. Yeah, I figured.\n\nI exhaled, then gave him a little smile, shaking my head. ``It's okay. It's an honest mistake.''\n\nThe Illan relaxed again, then returned to smiling before giving a nod. ``I'm... glad you're nice. The queen told us to be respectful and careful around abnormal males until we can understand them better. I... well, hope he didn't cause any stress.'' I blinked at that and tilted my head to him as Exia and Yimir slipped up to the cart, looking over the outfits.\n\n``You knew I was abnormal?'' A nod from him at that.\n\n``Uh, yeah. The queen sent ahead telling us to be on best behavior. My friend didn't... exactly think that one through though. You're Exes, right? The... soon to be Grandmaster Alchemist...?'' I blinked again, surprised by how much he knew, even as his ears slowly lifted up and eyes danced a little. Uh... Exia paused, glancing over my shoulder curiously at him, even as Yimir started doing a little dance, grinning as she looked over the clothes.\n\nCoughing, I gave the Illan a nod again, and he gave a little excited hop. ``Eeeee! It's nice to meet you, Exes! Oh! Uh, I'm um, K-Kada. I mean, nobody important. This is um, a side job while I study at the local academy. I just...'' A little smile started to play at my lips, but I coughed and tried to keep a straight face. The way he was squirming with his paws together... It was starting to get seriously adorable, admittedly. Exia smirked over my shoulder.\n\n``You've heard of my brother then?'' Her tone was a mixture of amused and teasing, and I rolled my eyes.\n\n``Yes!'' he squeaked. I jumped at the suddenness of it, and he clasped his paws over his muzzle before nodding enthusiastically behind them. ``Y-Yes, I have. Y-Your primary medical thesis on fluid delivery streamlining inside of the body was [i]amazing[/i]! You have [i]no idea[/i] how much you revolutionized alchemical transmutation!'' My ears perked up at that. I wrote that for my first exam for medical alchemy. I knew Master sent my results and dissertations in, and several had been new theses I'd done.\n\n``Oh, you read that? I thought they were just collecting dust somewhere in an archive or something...'' Exia scrunched her muzzle up at his answer, then huffed and went to looking at the clothing instead.\n\nHe gave a startled squeak, tail puffing at that. ``N-No! At least three of your dissertations have hit alchemy magazines! Clan Leizer in Keldonia, and Clan Trilian in Koramir have both acknowledged your work! Of course, up until three days ago when the story broke, nobody knew who you actually were! Grandmaster Chronak just had some mysterious, genius prodigy he was keeping secret!'' I swore my eye twitched at that. The fuck?!\n\nMy cheeks flushed with heat, and I coughed at that. ``I uh, d-don't really think I'm a genius or prodigy or anything. I mean... I'm honored though! For some of my work to have been taken seriously... The fluid transition and deep tissue scanning in particular, I really hoped helped someone, somewhere...'' That was what I'd wanted to do all... along...\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to him as his eyes got larger and larger, and he shivered. Was... he okay? Was this some sort of attack? I was tempted to check his blood pressure before he gave a squeak and danced in place again. ``Oh Gods, you're amazing! C-Could I have your autograph?!'' My auto-what? I blinked awkwardly to him, and he grinned, even as Yimir slipped over next to me with some sort of pair of shorts, it looked like.\n\nI just moved backwards a little and let her put them in front of me, then whisper to Exia before darting away again. ``I'm uh... actually not sure what that is. I'm kinda... this is only my second trip to the city. Actually, if you could help us climatize, it would be really, really helpful.'' I inwardly cringed, waiting for him to laugh, but he never did. Instead, he just gasped and rapidly shook his head.\n\n``Of course! I can answer anything you need! Or uh, try to, anyway...''\n\nHe spent the next ten minutes going over every detail of the communications panel. Turns out there was some sort of number directory. An index that was assigned to different people depending on what number you put in, and they were connected throughout the city to eight-digit numbers. Fascinating! I don't... know how the princess or queen expected us to figure that out by ourselves, but still amazing! The entire time, Exia and Yimir put different outfits up to me and were apparently discussing them. I... didn't really think I had much of a fashion sense, so I just let them do whatever as I talked to Kada. He was actually a really sweet guy, and extremely earnest.\n\n``So yeah, that's how the communicators work. The queen is undoubtedly going to get you all one...'' He showed me his while he explained. A wrist mounted thingy that had a projected Illusion screen. Just like the kind I made on the fly during medical exams to show outputs and images. Only it was... touch based, and you could control the inner enchantment workings by what you touched on the screen. Quite smart! Now I [i]really[/i] wanted to learn mechanical alchemy... That's what was responsible for this sort of thing, after all.\n\nI flicked through the menus on the device, then perked when I found a page listing information about the user. Kada flushed a little as I looked at his information, which included, surprisingly, emergency medical information. ``Err, sorry, I didn't mean to look at all this. I was hoping to find... ah!'' I pointed up to the number at the top of the screen. His comm number. His blush widened almost as fast as his eyes did.\n\n``You... w-wanted my comm number?'' He glanced back to me with that, even as I gave him his comm back and nodded.\n\n``You seem like a really nice person and I could use a friend in the city. Especially one who knows everything already. Plus, you're quite smart, and I wouldn't mind chatting with you more...'' I lifted my left leg up as Yimir carefully worked the shorts' leg around my brace, grinning after the two of them got the pair on me. Kada had blushed extra hard when they swapped my undergarments out a moment ago too, but it was just kinda... normal to me.\n\nHe wobbled, then grinned and nodded. ``Of course, Exes! I'd... be super happy to help! Call me on comms whenever you want or need! Um, though I might be sleeping sometime so uh, obviously I won't answer then, or if I'm not wearing it or...'' He started to verbally stumble again, but I held a paw up, smiling to him, and he relaxed and just nodded, bright green eyes dancing with energy now.\n\n``You've already helped a lot! Thank you, Kada. Once I get settled in better, I'll probably call you. Or if we have questions or anything. Though I might just send those via... message was it?''\n\n``Yup! It's an all-text based communication. Slower, but you can leave them for people if they don't respond right away...'' He nodded twice after, even as I held my paws out and let Yimir slip some sort of robe onto me.\n\nI grinned at that and nodded. I'd be getting a lot of use out of those, I suspected. ``Thank you again then, Kada. Though uh, didn't you have other clothing deliveries to make? You've been here for like, twenty minutes.''\n\nHe froze at that, eyes widening, before letting out another squeak. ``Crap! You're right! Uh, uh, uh, the entire selection there is for you guys, right! Thanks for reminding me! I'm gonna go deliver Flickerpaw Umani's next! Um, message me or call me! You're amazing! Bye!'' He was still shouting as he flailed out the door. Then flailed back a second later and shut it for us before I heard his rapid bouncing leaving again. What an energetic person. I wondered if all Illan were like that.\n\nPerking, I looked back at the girls, and Yimir giggled, looking me over. Oh, right! I looked down at myself, noting they picked out blues and silvers for me, it would seem. I had some sort of shorts, with a neat tie off in the center, a half-cloth underneath, and a robe that tied three times in the front, and had a rather nifty hood, combined with ear holes for me. ``You look amazing!'' she chirped, tail swishing behind her.\n\n``And you got a friend already!'' Exia grinned at that, and I flushed a little.\n\n``Well, he's obviously a nice guy. And smart. And extremely helpful...''\n\nYimir nodded to all three. ``And utterly worships the ground you walk on. He seemed a [i]little[/i] younger than us too. Chances are, he may have read your work and gotten inspired at such a young age!''\n\nI lifted an eyebrow to her at that. ``Uh, we're only twelve...'' It would be two years still before we'd even be considered young adults and able to form packs. We hadn't even finished primary school!\n\nShe gave a dismissive paw wave, even as Exia tried on some sort of chest wrapping over her breasts a little behind her. ``We're old enough to apparently inspire hero worship! Still, I think he'll be a good friend. He's at least able to keep up with you when you're nerding out...'' My ears drooped, and she held both paws up, huffing. ``Nooooo! You're adorable when you nerd out! I didn't mean anything negative by it!'' And the ears lowered a little more... Adorable? Seriously? What was I, two? Never mind that I just thought Kada was adorable and he was probably barely a year younger than me. Still, that's not something a guy hopes to hear from females...\n\nExia snickered, watching Yimir now instead. ``Paw in mouth much? You're not supposed to call a guy `adorable', you duffy. They're too sensitive for that. You have to use `studly' and `virile' and `powerful'...'' Sensitive?! My ears flatted back as I glared at her, but of course she didn't seem to notice. Yimir huffed, however.\n\n``I'm not a duffy, duffy! And guys can be other adjectives! Like the smart, sensitive, kind ones!'' Now I was almost certain my eye twitched.\n\nMy little sister rolled her eyes at that. ``I didn't say smart, sensitive, kind guys are bad. Just use... other adjectives. Damn you making me remember grammar class... Uh, but yes! Guys [i]like[/i] to be called certain things to boost their ego and self-esteem, duffy. [i]Statistically[/i] anyway, it's the older females that tend to go for the more smart, sensitive, kind guys. Younger ones tend to go for the studly, virile, powerful ones. That's why you use those words!'' \n\nI gave her a deadpan stare. ``Like Exir in the hallway?''\n\n``Exactly! Er...'' Exia glanced over at me finally with that, and I just blankly stared at her, ears flattened back. Yimir cringed at that, lowering her own ears too.\n\n``Exes! You... were bothered by that, weren't you?'' She turned to me more, even as Exia joined her in ear drooping, before putting back the robe she was trying on.\n\nI exhaled softly, then looked away from her. ``It's not... tch. I'm glad Exir was there to help, no. I never... could have done what he did. I mean, I know that. Of course, I was bothered by the male ogling you in the first place but that's going to happen wherever we go with you two...''\n\nExia's ears twitched at that, and she frowned. ``Eh? What's [i]that[/i] supposed to mean?!''\n\nI raised an eyebrow to her. Wasn't it kinda obvious? ``You're both gorgeous. Others are going to be drawn to that.'' It clearly wasn't what she was expecting, and she widened her eyes again, even as she flushed faintly. ``I'm... beyond lucky to have you both, and I don't... even know what I did to deserve you. I don't know why either of you like me, the overly sensitive nerd...'' They were clearly `young females'.\n\nExia slipped forward, suddenly sliding up against me and grabbing my left paw. ``Exes, you're my brother. I loved you... before I loved you, if that makes sense. For a lot of the same reasons. You've always been there for me. You... provided for me my whole life. I... used to think you were my dad when I was younger.'' Eh?! My own eyes widened at that, and she smiled again and nodded. ``You kept telling me about Dad, and... I knew you weren't, technically, but... You were always there for me. Even when it hurt you or you could barely keep up.'' She lightly touched my leg brace before leaning up and nuzzling me in the cheek. I shivered and nuzzled her back, relaxing against her a little.\n\n``I... just wish I could have done more. It wasn't fair you had to grow up without even knowing Dad.'' I squeezed her paw, and she shook her head, holding herself against me again.\n\n``You did enough. More than enough. And I knew you instead. Maybe... I'll meet Dad one day, and we can start from there. But... I'll always be [i]yours[/i], Exes. It was... natural to just start being [i]in love[/i] with you too...'' Our eyes met for a moment, and she bumped noses against me. Tch, the brat. In one moment, she could be annoying and put her paw in her mouth, and the next, mesmerize me with those eyes gazing into mine.\n\nYimir giggled, causing both our ears to perk as we looked back to her. She was blushing as well while watching us, and just shook her head. ``You two are adorable. I'm... envious. I wish that I could have grown up as your sister too.'' Given everything Exia just said, that had a lot of implications, and I found myself heating up even more as she slipped forward and pushed into my other side.\n\n``It's true though. I... find myself drawn to you for a lot of the same reasons. You didn't have any reason to trust me or think I was, well, actually interested that night. Everything I'd done up until then had been kind of... tch...'' Her muzzle scrunched at that, and she slowly shook her head as I frowned, holding a paw up to stop me. ``No, it's true. I don't have anything against Niva's skillset. A profession based around socializing, debates, and politics just... it's not for me. A lot of my flippant acting... the flirting, the admiring the players... I was emulating her. I wanted to fit in. Niva manages to be wildly popular and flirty, yet... real and personable in the next moment. To the point where she fell for and adores your cousin to no end. But I can't really do that...''\n\n``Yimir...'' Exia frowned, using her other paw to rub the female's shoulder, who just sighed. \n\n``I always thought I was going to be either just another hunter for the tribe, or maybe aim to simply find a mate and settle. Mom wanted me to become a powerful matriarch like her, with multiple males and an entire clan but... It's just not me.'' She looked back up into my eyes then and smiled again. ``You didn't see any of that though. Even though you saw me flirting and acting stupid and fawning, you still gave me a chance, and showed me another path that I could take with my life. You didn't have anything to gain by it. You were just friendly with me, when I never gave you a reason to be.'' She pushed up under my chin with that and nuzzled my neck, shivering.\n\n``Falling for you after that was a slower process. A... very slow process. I mean, two years and you didn't even hit on me once. Still, you were one of my best friends first. My brother kept trying to tell me you were a Demon and that just pissed me off and made me hang out with you even more.'' I snorted at that, holding back a laugh, even as she grinned against my fur.\n\nI couldn't help it. ``Something, something, we typically find our destinies trying to avoid them? In his case, he pushed you closer in attempting to make you give up on me I suppose.''\n\nExia smirked, leaning up to brush up against my ear before whispering, ``Neeeeerd.'' I shot her a look until Yimir nuzzled my other ear instead.\n\n``[i]Our[/i] nerd.'' I swallowed, and they both grinned, pressing back up against me again. ``It's true though. She did say statistically. Though if us being `abnormal' counts for anything, I'd say we're already against statistics.'' I suppose I could understand that.\n\nNuzzling the top of Yimir's head, I felt her shiver against me before I chuckled. ``So basically, because I was nice to you and trusted you?'' She whacked me in the shoulder with her paw, and I winced. Okay, she might not be the size of her mother, but she packed a wallop regardless!\n\n``You're bad! No, not [i]just[/i] because. It's the whole package, Exes. The fact that you were kind to me just because you could be, even though I'd... kinda been a stuck-up cunt to you before that... That told me... a lot about who you were then and there. You just taught me freely after too, just because you had the time. You're kind to everyone, Exes, and I... really like that. Plus, you're sexy and good looking, even if you don't think you are.'' Okay, now she was just laying it on.\n\nExia shook her head however, grinning. ``You might as well be Exir's twin, Exes. Same height, same powerful jaw structure, piercing eyes, sexy grin... You just don't have his muscles is all.'' Well...\n\nYimir's turn to snicker and grin. ``That's because his muscles are up here...'' She reached up and rubbed the right side of my head, not unlike how one would pet a plains strider, and I raised an eyebrow to her, getting her to blush again.\n\nStill, my sister nodded. ``She's right. You two complement each other amazingly well. Brains to brawn. Being intelligent is sexy too, Exes. It just takes a [i]far more sophisticated[/i] female to be able to see that in a male.'' She of course gestured to herself with that, batting her eyelashes, and both Yimir and I snorted and laughed, getting a pout in return.\n\n``I guess. It's hard for me to see, but I suppose you two can just keep whacking me and reminding me.'' I relented finally and let my ears lift a little. Yimir perked at that though, then nodded, oddly.\n\n``Actually, what you need most of all is self-esteem. I think... what Exia and I reacted to the... most in the hallway was Exir being an alpha.'' Eh?! I frowned, ears lowering again a little, until she held up both paws defensively. ``No, no! What I'm saying is, you could act the same way. Be the same thing. If we saw [i]you[/i] acting like an alpha... Well, what you saw with us responding to Exir was [i]nothing[/i]! We'd probably pounce you then and there!'' My eyes widened again at that, and I felt my cheeks heat even more, as Exia grinned too at that.\n\n``Oh, fuck, good idea! Exes being an alpha? I think I'd die...'' I assumed that was figuratively. ``Or probably need to change my loincloth...'' That one might not have been. I rolled my eyes at that, then chuckled.\n\n``I've... never considered myself that. And admittedly, I'm having trouble seeing your point here a bit. I mean, you already know I couldn't be a guard, Exia. The image I have of an alpha is someone... kind of the opposite of me. Big, strong, powerful, in control...''\n\nShaking her head, Yimir grabbed my paw with hers, then hauled me backwards instead. Eh? ``You're right, but not at the same time. In our minds, an alpha [i]is[/i] strong. Powerful. In control. But we already told you that you [i]are[/i] strong. You could think circles around almost anyone in the city, I bet. You're twelve and almost have a surgical degree. You [i]do[/i] have general practitioner and medical mage degrees. The average on those is age [i]twenty[/i], Exes. [i]Twenty-four[/i] for surgical.'' I... well...\n\nIt's not like I knew... why I was so good at what I did. It started off boring for me in a lot of ways. But things just... clicked. I could remember almost anything when it came to formulas and numbers. I could still remember Kada's comm number right off the top of my head. It's like I could... see it in my mind, and just pull up that image whenever I needed it. That's how all my studying went. I typically didn't need to repeat information to myself. Once I read it, I knew it. So long as it was magic, alchemy, or science things anyway. I was terrible with others.\n\nExia followed, and I snapped out of it just as Yimir pulled me onto the bed, causing both of us to bounce once before I braced myself, coming to rest on top of her. Uh... this was... She grinned up at me though, sliding her arms around my waist and pulling me down closer to her, even as my sister hopped up next to us. ``You've got huge brains, Exes. Practically unnaturally so. That's a strength if I ever saw it. Being in control and confident... that's something we have to work on. But it takes practice and repetition.'' I... guess that made sense, if it was like any other skill.\n\n``Lots of practice and repetition.'' Exia mirrored her phrase into my ear as she snuggled into my left side, keeping me pushed against Yimir while also rubbing my back with her paw. Mmm. ``You also missed some aspects about alpha that turns us on. Being caring, and helping others. Looking out for your females and supporting them. That makes them want to support you back, Bro.'' I looked to her with that, and she caught my muzzle in a soft kiss, getting me to shiver again, even as Yimir nuzzled my neck, kissing there too.\n\n``You've already got those qualities. So, I'd say, if we work on your confidence and self-esteem, you'll be an alpha in no time at all.'' Yimir nodded in agreement after, and I chuckled softly, unsure of how I ended up in this position now.\n\nAlright, I'd bite. ``Okay, so how do you think I should start?'' I extended my arms, pushing myself up a little as I gave a more quizzical look down at Yimir, with Exia now lying next to her. They looked to each other, then both grinned. I... probably would regret that question.\n\nExia licked her lips. ``Mmm, got any extra stamina tinctures you didn't pass off to Exir yet?'' Okay, my [i]muscles[/i] would probably end up regretting my question.\n\n``Uh...'' Sophisticated, brain.\n\nYimir nodded rapidly in agreement. ``Definitely get one. I'll get... a lot of water.'' Uhh... \n\n``Clearly, the best way to start would be assuring you that we're definitely [i]yours[/i]. And the best way to do that... is by making sure you take both of our virginities, and we're utterly saturated in your scents!'' Well, at least a [i]part[/i] of me wasn't frozen solid, staring down at my sister in shock, as Yimir slipped out from under me and ran over to where the bathroom was. Uh... sinks, right...\n\nExia pulled me down on top of her instead, eyes lidding as she started to undo my robe. Were they seriously going to do this? I knew we'd talked about it. I knew they were planning it for some fuzzy time in the future. But I guess my mind never really accepted that time could be `now' at any point. She slid my robe off again a moment later, before dragging her eyes over my bare chest again.\n\n``Mmm, fuck, one perk of wearing clothing is [i]taking them off[/i]. It feels like you're even sexier now...'' She giggled after, and I relaxed, snorting. Well, no, she was still Exia, the little sister I could always trust to be a giant perv, tease, and duffy. Though... a tease only applied if she didn't follow through, which apparently...\n\nOur wall comm went off, releasing a low chime through the entire room. Uh... great. I sat up, frowning over at it, even as Yimir popped her head around the side of the bathroom and glared its way. Somehow, she also found a giant water pitcher and a ton of glasses too. That was... a lot of water. Still... ``Uh... that could be... important...?''\n\nExia stared at it for another second, then looked back to me, expression blank. ``Nope! It can wait.'' Uh! She just grinned and pulled me back down on top of her afterwards. Right! I guess it could wait!\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "It had been years since I visited the capital, but it hadn't changed that much.  Not really.  Even as we approached, passing through seemingly endless fields of farmland with the huge walls looming over the horizon.  Someone first coming here would see the huge walls and think of all the splendor within.  Instead, I saw all the workers in the fields outside of the walls, and knew all they really stood for was division and the rather rigid caste system we Inaga had fallen into.

Growing up, it never really bothered me.  I was just happy having food in my belly, a place to sleep, and my family.  Now, with that sight looming ahead, I couldn't help but feel anxious.  The sheer level of expectation I suddenly realized that sat on my shoulders.  Grandmaster Alchemist.  Exia and Yimir sat to both sides of me, on the edge of the wagon's passenger area as we watched.  Now they depended on me too, entire displaced from our tribe thanks to everything that had happened.  Yimir even gave up her family in order to come with me instead.  That was...

Our very brief stop back at camp was as awkward as I expected it to be.  After our hasty, violent departure, then the subsequent visit by a large team of investigators who arrested a lot of tribe members, things were shaken and quiet.  I just stayed in the wagon.  It felt like it was my fault, and I'd already caused them all enough heartache.

What I wasn't expecting was Exir to come back with Niva following.  Which of course prompted teasing from me, given he'd left with the excuse that he was going to get `snacks' for the road.  Snacks indeed!  He got some thermoses of frosty milkshakes, some jerky, some chips, and his mate!  All for the road, of course.  I knew she spent a lot of time in the capital, but I hadn't really looked into what until she explained that her mother had been preparing her to attempt to be one of Laridia's council members.  She had a strong career potential in politics, it seemed.  Her mother already liked Exir, and when he came back and apparently explained that he was moving into the palace, she all but suggested herself that Niva move in with him.  As far as opportunities go, I'd say that was a pretty big one for her, yeah.  Her family would be following the move into the city later in the following moons.  Even more people leaving the tribe.

Now Exir sat cross-legged to my left with Niva snuggled into his lap.  He was watching me instead, however.  ``You know it's not your fault, Exes.  It'll be hard for the tribe, but they'll pull through.  They always do.''

Yimir and Exia looked to me, each taking one of my paws, but I just sighed and shook my head.  ``Fault or not, I was the catalyst.  I just keep... running it all through my head and wondering if I could have done anything differently that could have ended... better.''

``If anything, my brother was the catalyst, Exes.  The only thing you were guilty of was being intimate and affectionate with me.  That's definitely not a crime...''  Yimir squeezed down on my paw, and I closed my eyes, relaxing into the touch a little.  I just wish that I knew the tribe was going to be okay.

Relaxing into Exir's chest, Niva smiled softly to me as well.  ``Yimir's right.  It wasn't your fault.  And one of the first things I'm going to attempt to work towards is getting more aid for our tribe.  I'm... not old enough to hold any official positions yet, but that doesn't mean I can't pull some strings and see if I can get a relief package considered.''  That would probably go a long way towards helping the tribe.

Slowly, we passed through the massive gates to the city, right alongside the royal wagon.  The queen must have been expected back or called it in ahead of time, because there was quite a crowd, cheering as she returned.  The noise was...  Camp was noisy and the constant chatter was comforting to me.  This however...  The city never quieted, and during the day, it became a cacophony, almost.

Not to mention the sheer amount of people everywhere.  I swear there were more people in the crowd welcoming her back than the entirety of our tribe.  And it wasn't just Inaga.  I saw a lot of different species mixed in already, mostly towering above our much shorter people.  Vulkus, Keld, and especially a couple of Gar in Demon form.  They really towered.  Of course, I also saw a few Illan and Garkin, who were closer to our height and blended in better.

Most of the focus was of course on the queen's wagon, and she waved from the driving area of it.  Still, ours got noticed as well, and suddenly I felt... exposed sitting up in front like this.  How many people in the crowd had read those stupid newsletters or listened to the propaganda and thought I was a rapist?  What would they think when they saw the female I supposedly `raped' sitting next to me, holding my paw?  Would they even recognize me, given I didn't think my picture was anywhere?

It didn't really matter though.  Apparently, that `stopping for press posing and dramatic gate entry' was actually just `kill time until the guards fully mobilized for an escort'.  Soon, we were actually entirely surrounded by honor guards, and green Vita drifted into the air around us as they escorted us, inside a barrier, into the courtyard of the palace.

The last time I'd been here was years ago, but I don't think I recalled the palace being a literal fortress back then.  A double gate setup with magical barriers greeted us, and I could see the runes worked right into the brickwork of the thick wall as we passed through.  Laridia itself was constructed primarily from reinforced adobe bricks, giving the entire city a sort of rustic, dusty red and brown feel.  Even painted, they primarily used dry on paint layers of golds, greens, reds, and yellows.  Even the cobblestone in the streets was rusty red in color, mixed with the brown of the dirt underneath.

Inside the palace however...  They clearly had imported the stone for the walls.  It was gray, and looked considerably heavier and denser than the adobe they had layered over it for looks.  Metals were also mixed in here and there with the brickwork, giving an air of opulence and richness to the moderately sized courtyard.  Columns to both sides supported an overhanging terrace with plants growing from ceiling gardens, and a grand fountain was plopped down right in the center, displaying dancing Inaga constantly vomiting water out of their mouths like some sort of rare aquatic tapeworm had seized hold of their guts in a stranglehold.

Our filthy little tribal wagon stood out painfully against the obvious wealth around us, and it kind of made me ill.  Maybe I should have went with the Jungle Inaga instead, after all.  Well, this had the `security' down that I'd hoped for at the very least.  I'd also been concerned for Exia and Yimir too.  Well, Yimir.  Exia could definitely manage for herself now...  Which depressed me a little now that I thought about it.  Now she was the one protecting me.

The seven of us disembarked the wagon after we were inside.  I immediately felt vastly underdressed.  What I had assumed to be clerk outfits or uniforms from the prior two Inaga I'd seen actually turned out to be pretty common clothing.  Everyone was clothed!  The most normal article appeared to be the tunic tied off at the waist with a belt, but some had a loose outer robe, scarf, or shawl they added to the look.  Packs were also the norm, with side pouches on the belts, backpacks, or satchels everywhere.  And here we were, filthy little tribals standing in just loincloths and half-cloths.  It had been hot this morning, so Exia and I had only strung up the loincloth to the half loop directly under us, so we both had bare rears showing.

It didn't seem to bother most of the others, who followed the queen and princess towards the entrance to the palace.  Tch.  My social anxiety was tweaking something fierce now, and I flushed lightly as I headed after everyone, trying to suppress the urge to cover myself up.  I hadn't... anticipated this.  Yimir frowned as she walked, however, glancing about as I caught up next to her and Exia.  ``Everyone here has so much clothing on...  It feels a little... weird to be mostly nude now.''

Princess Nara gave a little giggle, then shook her head as she glanced back over her shoulder.  ``Don't worry.  We'll get you proper city and palace clothing once we get everyone settled in.''

Frowning, Exia followed Yimir's gaze and sighed, watching several palace staff practically ogling us as we entered through the main doors.  ``Ugh, they're staring at my breasts...''

Niva seemed entirely unbothered, however.  ``Eh, let `em.  We're mated.  They can look all they want, but no touching.''  She winked to Exir while proudly walking along next to him, and he grinned back, arm sliding around her waist and pulling her a bit closer with a squeeze.  Tch.  My ears lowered a little as I watched.  It didn't take but a single sniff to definitely pick them up on each other.

The main hall was a momentary distraction, at least.  Two stories tall, it extended back probably close to sixty meters before it capped in a large throne at the end, and half of a hollow, rounded table.  The chairs were on the inside of the table, in the hollow area, and I assumed it was for Larid's council.  The queen slowed before turning and smiling towards us instead.

``Welcome to the royal palace.  Excuse the few spots of renovation that's still ongoing.  I've had to up security heavily, for obvious reasons, and there was a lot of... excess here and there that could be replaced with more modern utility.''  The emphasis she put on that felt strange, but I stayed quiet of course.  Interrupting the queen seemed... bad.  ``Regardless, I sent ahead last night to let them know to prepare your extra rooms, so they should be ready by now.  They're on the third floor of the east wing.  Nara, could you show them to where they are and introduce them to the utilities?  I propose we let you all settle in, then take a more relaxed supper in the library, so we're out of the way to talk a bit more.''  I heard what she said, but a lot of it didn't fully register with me.  I... understood the concepts, but the fact that I was `taking a supper' now suddenly was... foreign feeling.

Princess Nara gave a nod and bow to her Mom, then gestured to the right.  The west wing, I presumed.  `Wing' I heard was a building term that meant... side I guess?  Those twin honor guards from before surprisingly stayed with and followed Princess Nara instead, keeping pace with her as she led us through a set of double doors, down a hallway, and to a large set of stairs.  Oh gods...

That was... one thing that we didn't have in camp, or anywhere else in the plains really.  Stairs.  Walking on the hard stone of the hallways was rough enough on my legs and paws.  Now they sympathetically ached just looking at the stairs.  The Princess of course took them no problem, dropping to all fours and just hopping up them two at a time, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.  Ugh.  The guards followed her up, so we really had no choice.

They... were not built for someone like me.  I'd take a step up the stairs, left leg barely able to hold myself properly, then have to balance on my right leg for support as I shifted my left up and out, then onto the stairs I was standing on.  I didn't have enough range of motion with the left to go alternating, and every time I had to support my weight on the left, it gave an angry throb all the way up to my tail.  Having been last in our group, they headed up ahead of me at normal speed, with Mom stopping and frowning down from the top of the first flight.  Tch.  Exir and Niva didn't notice, chatting with Yimir as they went, of course.  Exia stopped halfway up the next flight, ears perking, then frowning as she peered over the side while I struggled upwards.  Ugh... fuck.

My cheeks flushed as I pondered if it might be better to just tip backwards and aim for breaking my neck while bouncing down.  I kind of wanted to die now.  Mom gestured with her head, and Exia scampered back down the stairs as I reached the second flight, sliding under my left arm and supporting that side of me almost immediately.  ``S-Sorry, bro.  I totally forgot...'' she whispered.  Well at least she didn't scream it to the sky above.

Not that it mattered much, as everyone was awkwardly waiting for us at the top of the third flight of stairs a good minute and a half later.  Exir looked awkward as fuck alongside Yimir and Niva, and Princess Nara gave a little cough, cheeks pink now.  ``Ah!  Uh, sorry.  I didn't realize you had a deformity.  Uh, I mean, that your leg is uh... bad.  Sorry!  Um, let's just continue onwards...''  I stared blankly at her while she squirmed in place for a moment, then gestured to the two twin guards and headed through another set of double doors.  Seriously?  The guard on the left actually gave a little snerk, breaking from their prior rather stoic condition before her sister shot her a skeptical glance.  They both nodded to each other, then followed after the princess, with us in tow.

There was an immensely awkward silence as we headed far slower down the hallway now and to a T split by the looks of it.  The princess just headed into the split itself when there was a shrill squeak to the left.  ``Nara!  You're back!''  Eh?!  The princesses' eyes widened, ears perking up for just half a second, before a white and brown blur smashed into her right side, sending her entirely off her paws and airborne before they both crashed down into a slide that made me, and everyone else, wince.  The twin guards... didn't do anything though, even as an overly enthusiastic Illan female sat up on top of the dazed princess, tail bobbing its tuft every which way above her.  ``I missed you!  Why'd you have to go on that stupid trip to that dumb, dinky little tribal camp?!  I've run you a nice bath to get the filth off you, and cleaned the toys so we-``  The princess gestured furiously to the left with eye movements and head nods, and the Illan froze on top of her, eyes widening a little before looking over at all of us staring at her.  Wow.  What an absolute, pompous cunt.

She opened her mouth again, then slowly closed it.  Then opened it once more before releasing another shrill squeak and hopping up, only to dash away to the left again at a blindingly furious pace.  That was...  She was wearing a rather frilly white dress, complete with obnoxious bow on her head and tail, and I swore I saw a collar around her neck...

The princess slowly sat up, blushing now too again before coughing and apparently attempting to recover any diminishing scraps of respect she still had.  At least in my opinion.  ``Uh, s-sorry about that.  That's my um, maid, Feeari.  She gets a little... excitable.''  And rude.  She stood after, dusting herself off before gesturing us to the right instead.  ``You're down the hall from me, on the other side.''

There was quite a bit more activity on the other side, with maids and butlers cleaning the various rooms out.  Several gave the Princess waves as she approached, and she gestured around the hall to all four doors around us.  ``Four rooms.  They're all identical, so it doesn't really matter who takes which room.  They have all the modern amenities, and communicators on the wall next to each door if you want to contact palace staff or any other room.''  Oh boy.  That would be fun to figure out how to do.  Plus, I kind of noticed the rooms didn't seem as `ready' as the queen let on, with the flurry of activity and staff moving in and out of them, sometimes with furniture.

``Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to contact a member of the staff, or call Mom using the communicators.  Hopefully I'll see you all at dinner!''  With that, she hastily turned and headed back down the other way, leaving both of the twin guards giving skeptical glances to each other before following her more slowly.  That was...

We watched her go, turning off to the right and entering a different room way down the hall, with the two guards turning and resting against both sides of the door.  Right, that was... a thing.  My ears lowered a little, and I turned back around to face the others again, who were looking equal parts as confused and vaguely annoyed as I felt.  Well, a lot of annoyed in Master's case, but that was basically his permanent expression.

``Well, that was... helpful.  I'd say she still has quite a bit to learn before taking over her mother's position.  Useless twit.''  His tone matched his expression, and he rolled his eyes, looking back to us instead.  Two of the butlers nearest us slowed to a halt.  One was an Illan, and the other an Inaga... who was busy ogling Yimir rather blatantly.  Tch.

The Illan at least coughed lightly, then gave us a softer smile.  ``Sorry about um, the Princess.  She's sometimes a bit absent minded.  We can answer any questions you have of course!''  He was surprisingly cheery, at least until he glanced to his friend and twitched lightly.  He gave him a light whack with his elbow, which snapped the Inaga male out of staring at Yimir's breasts and sniffing lightly, at least.  Unlike Exir and Niva, Exia and Yimir didn't really have much of my scents on them at all.  That was one of our primary senses for detecting pheromone signatures.

``Huh?  Ah, right, questions!  Did you uh, have any?  We can help!''  I lowered my ears and tried not to sigh, but to my surprise, Exir gave an upwards nod towards him from his left.

``Yeah, actually, I do have one.''  Hmm?  Exir wasn't normally one to...  My eyebrow raised a little as I watched him walk towards the Inaga instead, who blinked once, then lowered his ears, starting to back up now that the absolutely towering, muscle-bound Exir approached.  Exir just... kept walking though, backing the other Inaga all the way up the wall next to the right-most closest door, with the Illan flailing to get out of the way of the two of them.

The hallway almost shook for a moment, and the Inaga looked like he was about to jump out of his butler outfit, trembling now as Exir's paw slammed into the wall next to his head.  ``See, I'm just a little confused.  Have been ever since I got to the capital really.  Is it just us, or does everyone here seem to have the manners of a half rotted kargor left out in the sun?  Is it a cultural thing to blatantly ogle and scent search every female you see, or is my cousin's new mate an exception for you?  Please, enlighten me...''  His tone was low, and he added a growl onto the end.  I stared at him in shock, as did Exia and Yimir.

The Inaga male just stood there, shaking and looking absolutely terrified at Exir.  ``Oh gods, I'm...  I'm sorry, I didn't...  I'm sorry!''  He whimpered, quickly ducking under Exir's arm and fleeing down the hall as fast as possible on all fours, mild smell of urine following after him.  That was...  Exir snorted, watching him leave before leaning off the wall and dusting his paws off.

``Dick.  Everyone at the capital is so rude anymore...''  He shot me a grin instead after, and I relaxed, giving him a smaller nod.  He always did stick up for me.  Exia and Yimir both blushed, watching him, before Yimir nodded and managed a little smile herself.

``Um, thank you, Exir.  Maybe we should get some more proper clothing on so people stop staring?''  I swallowed lightly, ears lowering as I looked away from them both.  That was...  Tch, what was this now?  Jealous of Exir now, Exes?  That was kind of pathetic.  He was just sticking up for me.  I certainly couldn't have done that...

The Illan slowly lifted himself up again, having fallen over and scrambled backwards a little when Exir slammed the wall.  ``Uh, s-sorry for my friend.  He's... not so great around females.  Um, is there anything I can do for you to help you settle in?''

Mom, who'd remained quiet throughout that whole little event, gave a little sigh, then nodded to the small Illan with a smile again.  ``Yeah, how close are all the rooms to actually being ready for us?  I notice the end two aren't done yet...''

Perking at that, the Illan shook his head, lifting his paws up and giving a little assuring wiggle with both.  ``Oh!  No, all four are almost done.  These first two are completed, but there were some issues with the furniture we were using with these others.  We're just swapping them out now, then you're good to go!''  Oh, well that was good.

Master gave a nod to that, then simply gestured behind him, to the front left door.  ``I'll just use this one then.  Might as well unpack and take a bath before supper.''

Mom also nodded to that, then looked at the back left door instead.  ``I'll take this one then.  You kits can have the right side.  For uh, sound reasons.  It's a good three hours before supper, so get washed up and acquainted with the rooms.''  Oh, uh, right.  I didn't think we'd be that loud but... eh.

Niva perked at that, then glanced to the Illan instead before asking, ``The queen mentioned clothes.  Are they in the rooms or...?''

The small Illan blanked for a moment, staring at her in surprise before perking.  ``Oh, the queen must want to supply you with clothing!  We... hadn't been informed.  I'll get right on that first and foremost, and have multiple sets delivered to each room.''  He looked around at us all, right paw doing a little `tallying' motion, more than likely counting us up in his head.  After, he took off at a blazing pace down towards the stairs we'd just came up from.

``Thanks!''  Niva tried calling after him, then just scrunched her muzzle and shrugged before sliding up next to Exir again instead, grinning rather... warmly at him.  ``Mmm, wanna go... check out our room, Exir?  We have a while!''  Damn...  Master and Mom had already turned around and headed into their respective rooms after the Illan had `tallied' them, but I suspected it was more to just sort of leave us to our own devices.  I could at least tell what those two would be doing!  Exir grinned back down to her and nodded, then pulled her close again before looking to me instead.

``I'll see you at supper then, Exes.  And uh... sorry about the stairs.  I legit forgot...''  I relaxed a bit to him at that and shook my head, letting my ears flop back and forth a bit.

``It's fine.  A lot's been happening and everything's kind of moving fast so... yeah.''  Really fast.  I felt less like a guest here and more like some sort of new pet or something that they were slightly embarrassed about and hoping didn't pee in the tent.  And now insisted on dressing up in cute outfits...  On top of that, my mind appeared to be stuck on repeat, playing the image of Exia and Yimir blushing and smiling at Exir over and over again.  Tch.

He chuckled and nodded.  ``I hear you there.  Just try to take it easy and relax before supper.  Slow things down a bit...''  Right...

Niva smiled and nodded to that as well.  ``And don't wear yourself out too much!''  She winked to us with that, then followed Exir into the back most room on the right as I tried not to groan tensely.  Well, guess that left the front right for us.  Yimir fidgeted lightly, and Exia looked to me before frowning a little.

Sighing, I gestured to the right-front door to my right.  ``Well, shall we check the place out anyway?  We have time to kill...''  They both nodded at that, with Yimir joining Exia in her light frowning, but I quickly turned around and opened the door instead, trying my best not to move mechanically.  I knew I was tense, but it felt like I had to think about every single movement I did now, and was suddenly aware of all of my limb positions at once.

The room was thankfully a nice distraction, anyway.  It was surprisingly large, though it helped that I had no idea what to expect or what we'd be walking in to.  I heard beds at the capital were nice, but my jaw almost dropped as I saw the one dominating the back center of the room.  It was huge for one; looking like it could fit at least eight Inaga on it.  Circular, pillows were arranged around the top of it in a half circle, supported by a wooden backing to the mattress.  Elegant covers spread out over it in browns and reds and golds, and it looked... immensely soft, even from here.  To its left was a desk of some sort with a large mirror on it, and a whole lot of drawers to each side of the mirror.  Maybe... to check your appearance or something?  I was only guessing at this point, as further to the left was a big armoire with a full floor to ceiling mirror, which seemed like it could do the same thing.  My paws felt weird on the purple carpet, and my muzzle scrunched up as I looked around the rest of the room, rotating in a slow circle as I did.  To the right of the bed, in the other corner, the carpet gave away to stone tiles, then a lower, circular depression.  It looked like an empty pool of some sort, with the drain and pump disks that I could see in the side.  No exposed pumps and motors however.  Plus, there were long, metal tubes sliding up and above one side of it, with disks at the top with lots of holes in them.  Wait, I think I read something about those.  Showers, I think?  They'd spray water down on you to wash with.  Sort of like a waterfall.

The back wall around the tile area continued the stone theme, momentarily replacing the wood paneling in that corner with stone plates and shelves.  There were a ton of towels and shampoos on the shelves, which solved the mystery of what that corner was for.  My eyes widened a little as I glanced past it to the right, though.  Opposite the bed now at this point, I saw an open doorframe in the wall, made of the same color stone, and peeked inside, curious as to why we had a little side room.

My ears perked up and eyes widened as I saw three floor-based channels, half disk domes on one end, with a complicated series of pumps and nozzles on the disk.  Oh!  These were bathrooms!  I read about them too, where they had a water flushing system, and nozzles that would spray your bits down with water and then air and stuff, instead of using sand and assigning some poor, unlucky kit to sand changing duty every couple of hours.  Neat!  That was... one duty... my leg mercifully got me out of.  Ever since the first time they made me do it anyway and I ended up falling sideways into the sand bucket that I'd been carrying when my leg gave out...  That... hadn't been a very fun time.  Eye infections sucked.

Exia peeked into the room as well, past me, and a glance showed Yimir crouched down in front of the empty pool area, frowning and nudging the metal control panel with her paw.  ``Whoa.  I don't even know what half of this stuff is for!  Are these... bathrooms?''

I nodded to my sister.  ``Yeah, I think they're called toilets.  They use water to `flush' the basins there, and that disk there at the back will spray you down with water, then dry you with air after you're done...''  Both girls perked at that, with Yimir joining us at staring into the bathroom area, ears raised to full now.

``Whoa!  I kinda wanna try it!  Uh, E-Exes, could you help figure out the controls?  I don't wanna screw up...''  Like I knew the controls myself.  Still, I nodded, stepping aside as Yimir hopped up to the closest channel and simply took her loincloth off.  Exia snorted as she watched, then grinned instead.

``You're not fooling anyone, Yimir.  You just had to pee...''

``Shush!  You don't?!  It's been like, half a day!''

Sis shrugged absently as I looked the controls over next to Yimir, who got on all fours and over the channel.  ``Eh, you get used to holding it when hunting.  Though I might as well go next...''

I nodded after a moment, mouth starting to open until Yimir just released right then and there.  My explanation died in my muzzle as I felt heat hit my cheeks, trying not to look, but sneaking a couple glances as she shivered there, golden stream coming from her spade and splashing against the channel below.  Given I was crouched down at the control panel, she was literally right next to my head...

Exia smirked as she watched us, and I turned even more red and looked away completely, muzzle scrunched.  Ugh!  I was such a pervert sometimes!  It didn't take Yimir long before the stream lessened, then she released a few more splatters before exhaling softly.  ``Mmm, s-sorry, I uh... really had to go.''  She sounded as embarrassed as I felt inside.

Snickering, Exia slowly shook her head.  ``You're fine, Yimir.  And you know you can look, right Exes?  We're your mates now.  Plus, you can be curious about how females pee if you want to be.''  Ugh!  I gave a low groaning whine and tried to resist burying my face in my paws.

Yimir smiled back at me however, butt still aimed towards the disk next to me.  ``Exes, it's okay.  She's right.  You can look all you want...''  She gave a shake of her butt, little droplets sliding off her spade and landing under her.  I flushed again and shifted a little, looking back to the panel with a cough.  That was... hotter than I expected it would be.

``R-Right...  Uh, they're marked.  And in order.  The top one's flush.  Middle is water spray.  Bottom is air...''  I gestured to them as I went.  I also noticed they were large enough to be hit by a back paw instead, so you didn't even have to turn around.  I leaned back, letting Yimir reach her left back paw back and whack the top one, before the channel under her came alive with a gush of water.  It was surprisingly thorough, and all three of us perked our ears up as the water rushed under her, heading for the drain at the base of the disk where her back paws were.  We watched it circle around the drain with a whooshing noise, and I twitched my ears back and forth again, impressed.  That was actually kinda neat to watch.

``Wow, that was... kinda cool!  Middle next for the water...?''  I nodded to Yimir, then turned and looked at the angled nozzle rather curiously.  The water should be coming out of-

It blasted out with a surprising amount of force behind it, hitting her right in the groin between her tailhole and spade.  She let out a startled screech and practically clawed her way into the wall opposite of the toilet, while I winced as the water blasted off of her butt hit me right in the face and chest.  By the time my ears raised again, all I could hear was Exia's hysterical laughter, and I sighed, wiping at the water on my fur.  Ugh!  I hit the button again, turning the water off again before glaring at the nozzle for a long moment.

``...oh, there's a dial on the nozzle.  It looks like we can turn down the force of the water...''  I rotated it as I said so, water still dripping off my ears, and Yimir shakily coming back over, her butt soaked and dripping now.

She huffed, carefully turning back around after giving the offending nozzle a glare.  ``I... alright.  That scared the crap out of me!  Is it less now...?''

``It's either less or more...  We'll try it and I'll adjust it after it's on.  Just uh, try not to move...''  I was going to get wet again but this was for the best.

Yimir flushed and nodded my way, and Exia grinned, backing up into the doorway again instead and giving us a bit more distance, just in case.  Tch.  Hitting the button, I was a little disappointed when the water barely came out though.  Ah, less.  Yimir perked, then nodded as she looked under her legs at the water stream.  ``That's a lot gentler.  Increase it until it gets to me?''  I nodded, slowly rotating the nozzle until the water was splashing right up against her groin.  She gave a shiver, backing up a little into it so it washed over her tailhole then down her spade.  Okay, that was really hot to watch.  I felt myself stiffening again, but she seemed oblivious, giving a little shiver.  ``Mmm, it's warm.  And it feels really good!  Might be... nice to use without needing to use the bathroom, even...''

Another snicker from Exia.  ``You have a mate now, and I get his tongue or cock will feel better than that little water spray...''  Aaaahhh!  And I was at full mast now.  Yimir flushed pink at that, then stuck her tongue out to Exia.

``Mmm, oh, I know that much.  Exes is amazing with his tongue.  I've never had such a massive orgasm in my entire life!''  I definitely should have chosen the `neck break' option back in the stairwell.  I huffed, fanning my cheeks with my paw, and Exia grinned to me again.  Her eyes drifted down a moment later however, and she readily ogled my fully extended length, slid completely out and over my loincloth.  Tch.  Brat.

``Better give it a rest before Exes jumps you from behind, Yimir.  What's the air option?''  Yimir perked at her mention and looked under herself again, this time grinning as she ogled my full length as well.  I rolled my eyes, then hit the third button instead.  Interestingly enough, it shut the water off first and foremost.  Good to know!  Air blasted out of the grated hole under the nozzle a second later, and Yimir shivered, the fur on her butt dancing in the wind, while little droplets fell down below her.

``Oh, that's nice too!  City conveniences are nice...''  She wiggled her rump and I looked away, ears lowering again.  If this kept up, I might pop really fast, just from watching them.

All three of us took turns using the bathroom regardless.  It was a little different to use when I was positioned over the channel instead, but not by much.  It was pretty convenient, admittedly.  The empty pool was pretty easy to figure out too, and I ran and drained some water in it with the buttons on the panel.  There were a few other settings that seemed to alter and control the nozzle strength for when the water was coming out the side holes, but I wasn't entirely sure on those.  Otherwise, it was pretty simple to figure out.

The panel next to the door, however, was an absolute nightmare.  There was an illusion display on it, and some sort of number system that would make numbers appear in the display.  Plus a few other buttons that were color coded.  We gave up playing with that after we accidentally, somehow, connected to a very angry sounding groundskeeper who yelled at us in a rather guttural accent.

By the time we'd given up on that, however, there was a knock at the door.  Both girls slipped back into their loincloths, and I went to it and opened it.  The same Illan as before perked on the other side, giving me a timid smile.  ``Oh, hey again!  I um, brought some clothing sets for you and the two girls.''  Ah!  He had a cart with him, and for a moment, I wondered how he got that up the stairs.  Still...  I gestured him inside, and he hopped in, rolling the cart along behind him.

``I brought a wide selection, as I had no idea what you'd like or even what colors.  Um, oh, my friend also apologized again.  He didn't mean to uh, look at your female like that.  He thought well, uh, yeah...''  That she was unclaimed.  Yeah, I figured.

I exhaled, then gave him a little smile, shaking my head.  ``It's okay.  It's an honest mistake.''

The Illan relaxed again, then returned to smiling before giving a nod.  ``I'm... glad you're nice.  The queen told us to be respectful and careful around abnormal males until we can understand them better.  I... well, hope he didn't cause any stress.''  I blinked at that and tilted my head to him as Exia and Yimir slipped up to the cart, looking over the outfits.

``You knew I was abnormal?''  A nod from him at that.

``Uh, yeah.  The queen sent ahead telling us to be on best behavior.  My friend didn't... exactly think that one through though.  You're Exes, right?  The... soon to be Grandmaster Alchemist...?''  I blinked again, surprised by how much he knew, even as his ears slowly lifted up and eyes danced a little.  Uh...  Exia paused, glancing over my shoulder curiously at him, even as Yimir started doing a little dance, grinning as she looked over the clothes.

Coughing, I gave the Illan a nod again, and he gave a little excited hop.  ``Eeeee!  It's nice to meet you, Exes!  Oh!  Uh, I'm um, K-Kada.  I mean, nobody important.  This is um, a side job while I study at the local academy.  I just...''  A little smile started to play at my lips, but I coughed and tried to keep a straight face.  The way he was squirming with his paws together...  It was starting to get seriously adorable, admittedly.  Exia smirked over my shoulder.

``You've heard of my brother then?''  Her tone was a mixture of amused and teasing, and I rolled my eyes.

``Yes!'' he squeaked.  I jumped at the suddenness of it, and he clasped his paws over his muzzle before nodding enthusiastically behind them.  ``Y-Yes, I have.  Y-Your primary medical thesis on fluid delivery streamlining inside of the body was amazing!  You have no idea how much you revolutionized alchemical transmutation!''  My ears perked up at that.  I wrote that for my first exam for medical alchemy.  I knew Master sent my results and dissertations in, and several had been new theses I'd done.

``Oh, you read that?  I thought they were just collecting dust somewhere in an archive or something...''  Exia scrunched her muzzle up at his answer, then huffed and went to looking at the clothing instead.

He gave a startled squeak, tail puffing at that.  ``N-No!  At least three of your dissertations have hit alchemy magazines!  Clan Leizer in Keldonia, and Clan Trilian in Koramir have both acknowledged your work!  Of course, up until three days ago when the story broke, nobody knew who you actually were!  Grandmaster Chronak just had some mysterious, genius prodigy he was keeping secret!''  I swore my eye twitched at that.  The fuck?!

My cheeks flushed with heat, and I coughed at that.  ``I uh, d-don't really think I'm a genius or prodigy or anything.  I mean...  I'm honored though!  For some of my work to have been taken seriously...  The fluid transition and deep tissue scanning in particular, I really hoped helped someone, somewhere...''  That was what I'd wanted to do all... along...

I lifted an eyebrow to him as his eyes got larger and larger, and he shivered.  Was... he okay?  Was this some sort of attack?  I was tempted to check his blood pressure before he gave a squeak and danced in place again.  ``Oh Gods, you're amazing!  C-Could I have your autograph?!''  My auto-what?  I blinked awkwardly to him, and he grinned, even as Yimir slipped over next to me with some sort of pair of shorts, it looked like.

I just moved backwards a little and let her put them in front of me, then whisper to Exia before darting away again.  ``I'm uh... actually not sure what that is.  I'm kinda... this is only my second trip to the city.  Actually, if you could help us climatize, it would be really, really helpful.''  I inwardly cringed, waiting for him to laugh, but he never did.  Instead, he just gasped and rapidly shook his head.

``Of course!  I can answer anything you need!  Or uh, try to, anyway...''

He spent the next ten minutes going over every detail of the communications panel.  Turns out there was some sort of number directory.  An index that was assigned to different people depending on what number you put in, and they were connected throughout the city to eight-digit numbers.  Fascinating!  I don't... know how the princess or queen expected us to figure that out by ourselves, but still amazing!  The entire time, Exia and Yimir put different outfits up to me and were apparently discussing them.  I... didn't really think I had much of a fashion sense, so I just let them do whatever as I talked to Kada.  He was actually a really sweet guy, and extremely earnest.

``So yeah, that's how the communicators work.  The queen is undoubtedly going to get you all one...''  He showed me his while he explained.  A wrist mounted thingy that had a projected Illusion screen.  Just like the kind I made on the fly during medical exams to show outputs and images.  Only it was... touch based, and you could control the inner enchantment workings by what you touched on the screen.  Quite smart!  Now I really wanted to learn mechanical alchemy...  That's what was responsible for this sort of thing, after all.

I flicked through the menus on the device, then perked when I found a page listing information about the user.  Kada flushed a little as I looked at his information, which included, surprisingly, emergency medical information.  ``Err, sorry, I didn't mean to look at all this.  I was hoping to find... ah!''  I pointed up to the number at the top of the screen.  His comm number.  His blush widened almost as fast as his eyes did.

``You... w-wanted my comm number?''  He glanced back to me with that, even as I gave him his comm back and nodded.

``You seem like a really nice person and I could use a friend in the city.  Especially one who knows everything already.  Plus, you're quite smart, and I wouldn't mind chatting with you more...''  I lifted my left leg up as Yimir carefully worked the shorts' leg around my brace, grinning after the two of them got the pair on me.  Kada had blushed extra hard when they swapped my undergarments out a moment ago too, but it was just kinda... normal to me.

He wobbled, then grinned and nodded.  ``Of course, Exes!  I'd... be super happy to help!  Call me on comms whenever you want or need!  Um, though I might be sleeping sometime so uh, obviously I won't answer then, or if I'm not wearing it or...''  He started to verbally stumble again, but I held a paw up, smiling to him, and he relaxed and just nodded, bright green eyes dancing with energy now.

``You've already helped a lot!  Thank you, Kada.  Once I get settled in better, I'll probably call you.  Or if we have questions or anything.  Though I might just send those via... message was it?''

``Yup!  It's an all-text based communication.  Slower, but you can leave them for people if they don't respond right away...''  He nodded twice after, even as I held my paws out and let Yimir slip some sort of robe onto me.

I grinned at that and nodded.  I'd be getting a lot of use out of those, I suspected.  ``Thank you again then, Kada.  Though uh, didn't you have other clothing deliveries to make?  You've been here for like, twenty minutes.''

He froze at that, eyes widening, before letting out another squeak.  ``Crap!  You're right!  Uh, uh, uh, the entire selection there is for you guys, right!  Thanks for reminding me!  I'm gonna go deliver Flickerpaw Umani's next!  Um, message me or call me!  You're amazing!  Bye!''  He was still shouting as he flailed out the door.  Then flailed back a second later and shut it for us before I heard his rapid bouncing leaving again.  What an energetic person.  I wondered if all Illan were like that.

Perking, I looked back at the girls, and Yimir giggled, looking me over.  Oh, right!  I looked down at myself, noting they picked out blues and silvers for me, it would seem.  I had some sort of shorts, with a neat tie off in the center, a half-cloth underneath, and a robe that tied three times in the front, and had a rather nifty hood, combined with ear holes for me.  ``You look amazing!'' she chirped, tail swishing behind her.

``And you got a friend already!''  Exia grinned at that, and I flushed a little.

``Well, he's obviously a nice guy.  And smart.  And extremely helpful...''

Yimir nodded to all three.  ``And utterly worships the ground you walk on.  He seemed a little younger than us too.  Chances are, he may have read your work and gotten inspired at such a young age!''

I lifted an eyebrow to her at that.  ``Uh, we're only twelve...''  It would be two years still before we'd even be considered young adults and able to form packs.  We hadn't even finished primary school!

She gave a dismissive paw wave, even as Exia tried on some sort of chest wrapping over her breasts a little behind her.  ``We're old enough to apparently inspire hero worship!  Still, I think he'll be a good friend.  He's at least able to keep up with you when you're nerding out...''  My ears drooped, and she held both paws up, huffing.  ``Nooooo!  You're adorable when you nerd out!  I didn't mean anything negative by it!''  And the ears lowered a little more...  Adorable?  Seriously?  What was I, two?  Never mind that I just thought Kada was adorable and he was probably barely a year younger than me.  Still, that's not something a guy hopes to hear from females...

Exia snickered, watching Yimir now instead.  ``Paw in mouth much?  You're not supposed to call a guy `adorable', you duffy.  They're too sensitive for that.  You have to use `studly' and `virile' and `powerful'...''  Sensitive?!  My ears flatted back as I glared at her, but of course she didn't seem to notice.  Yimir huffed, however.

``I'm not a duffy, duffy!  And guys can be other adjectives!  Like the smart, sensitive, kind ones!''  Now I was almost certain my eye twitched.

My little sister rolled her eyes at that.  ``I didn't say smart, sensitive, kind guys are bad.  Just use... other adjectives.  Damn you making me remember grammar class...  Uh, but yes!  Guys like to be called certain things to boost their ego and self-esteem, duffy.  Statistically anyway, it's the older females that tend to go for the more smart, sensitive, kind guys.  Younger ones tend to go for the studly, virile, powerful ones.  That's why you use those words!''  

I gave her a deadpan stare.  ``Like Exir in the hallway?''

``Exactly!  Er...'' Exia glanced over at me finally with that, and I just blankly stared at her, ears flattened back.  Yimir cringed at that, lowering her own ears too.

``Exes!  You... were bothered by that, weren't you?''  She turned to me more, even as Exia joined her in ear drooping, before putting back the robe she was trying on.

I exhaled softly, then looked away from her.  ``It's not... tch.  I'm glad Exir was there to help, no.  I never... could have done what he did.  I mean, I know that.  Of course, I was bothered by the male ogling you in the first place but that's going to happen wherever we go with you two...''

Exia's ears twitched at that, and she frowned.  ``Eh?  What's that supposed to mean?!''

I raised an eyebrow to her.  Wasn't it kinda obvious?  ``You're both gorgeous.  Others are going to be drawn to that.''  It clearly wasn't what she was expecting, and she widened her eyes again, even as she flushed faintly.  ``I'm... beyond lucky to have you both, and I don't... even know what I did to deserve you.  I don't know why either of you like me, the overly sensitive nerd...''  They were clearly `young females'.

Exia slipped forward, suddenly sliding up against me and grabbing my left paw.  ``Exes, you're my brother.  I loved you... before I loved you, if that makes sense.  For a lot of the same reasons.  You've always been there for me.  You... provided for me my whole life.  I... used to think you were my dad when I was younger.''  Eh?!  My own eyes widened at that, and she smiled again and nodded.  ``You kept telling me about Dad, and... I knew you weren't, technically, but...  You were always there for me.  Even when it hurt you or you could barely keep up.''  She lightly touched my leg brace before leaning up and nuzzling me in the cheek.  I shivered and nuzzled her back, relaxing against her a little.

``I... just wish I could have done more.  It wasn't fair you had to grow up without even knowing Dad.''  I squeezed her paw, and she shook her head, holding herself against me again.

``You did enough.  More than enough.  And I knew you instead.  Maybe... I'll meet Dad one day, and we can start from there.  But... I'll always be yours, Exes.  It was... natural to just start being in love with you too...''  Our eyes met for a moment, and she bumped noses against me.  Tch, the brat.  In one moment, she could be annoying and put her paw in her mouth, and the next, mesmerize me with those eyes gazing into mine.

Yimir giggled, causing both our ears to perk as we looked back to her.  She was blushing as well while watching us, and just shook her head.  ``You two are adorable.  I'm... envious.  I wish that I could have grown up as your sister too.''  Given everything Exia just said, that had a lot of implications, and I found myself heating up even more as she slipped forward and pushed into my other side.

``It's true though.  I... find myself drawn to you for a lot of the same reasons.  You didn't have any reason to trust me or think I was, well, actually interested that night.  Everything I'd done up until then had been kind of... tch...''  Her muzzle scrunched at that, and she slowly shook her head as I frowned, holding a paw up to stop me.  ``No, it's true.  I don't have anything against Niva's skillset.  A profession based around socializing, debates, and politics just... it's not for me.  A lot of my flippant acting... the flirting, the admiring the players...  I was emulating her.  I wanted to fit in.  Niva manages to be wildly popular and flirty, yet... real and personable in the next moment.  To the point where she fell for and adores your cousin to no end.  But I can't really do that...''

``Yimir...''  Exia frowned, using her other paw to rub the female's shoulder, who just sighed.  

``I always thought I was going to be either just another hunter for the tribe, or maybe aim to simply find a mate and settle.  Mom wanted me to become a powerful matriarch like her, with multiple males and an entire clan but...  It's just not me.''  She looked back up into my eyes then and smiled again.  ``You didn't see any of that though.  Even though you saw me flirting and acting stupid and fawning, you still gave me a chance, and showed me another path that I could take with my life.  You didn't have anything to gain by it.  You were just friendly with me, when I never gave you a reason to be.''  She pushed up under my chin with that and nuzzled my neck, shivering.

``Falling for you after that was a slower process.  A... very slow process.  I mean, two years and you didn't even hit on me once.  Still, you were one of my best friends first.  My brother kept trying to tell me you were a Demon and that just pissed me off and made me hang out with you even more.''  I snorted at that, holding back a laugh, even as she grinned against my fur.

I couldn't help it.  ``Something, something, we typically find our destinies trying to avoid them?  In his case, he pushed you closer in attempting to make you give up on me I suppose.''

Exia smirked, leaning up to brush up against my ear before whispering, ``Neeeeerd.''  I shot her a look until Yimir nuzzled my other ear instead.

``Our nerd.''  I swallowed, and they both grinned, pressing back up against me again.  ``It's true though.  She did say statistically.  Though if us being `abnormal' counts for anything, I'd say we're already against statistics.''  I suppose I could understand that.

Nuzzling the top of Yimir's head, I felt her shiver against me before I chuckled.  ``So basically, because I was nice to you and trusted you?''  She whacked me in the shoulder with her paw, and I winced.  Okay, she might not be the size of her mother, but she packed a wallop regardless!

``You're bad!  No, not just because.  It's the whole package, Exes.  The fact that you were kind to me just because you could be, even though I'd... kinda been a stuck-up cunt to you before that...  That told me... a lot about who you were then and there.  You just taught me freely after too, just because you had the time.  You're kind to everyone, Exes, and I... really like that.  Plus, you're sexy and good looking, even if you don't think you are.''  Okay, now she was just laying it on.

Exia shook her head however, grinning.  ``You might as well be Exir's twin, Exes.  Same height, same powerful jaw structure, piercing eyes, sexy grin...  You just don't have his muscles is all.''  Well...

Yimir's turn to snicker and grin.  ``That's because his muscles are up here...''  She reached up and rubbed the right side of my head, not unlike how one would pet a plains strider, and I raised an eyebrow to her, getting her to blush again.

Still, my sister nodded.  ``She's right.  You two complement each other amazingly well.  Brains to brawn.  Being intelligent is sexy too, Exes.  It just takes a far more sophisticated female to be able to see that in a male.''  She of course gestured to herself with that, batting her eyelashes, and both Yimir and I snorted and laughed, getting a pout in return.

``I guess.  It's hard for me to see, but I suppose you two can just keep whacking me and reminding me.''  I relented finally and let my ears lift a little.  Yimir perked at that though, then nodded, oddly.

``Actually, what you need most of all is self-esteem.  I think... what Exia and I reacted to the... most in the hallway was Exir being an alpha.''  Eh?!  I frowned, ears lowering again a little, until she held up both paws defensively.  ``No, no!  What I'm saying is, you could act the same way.  Be the same thing.  If we saw you acting like an alpha...  Well, what you saw with us responding to Exir was nothing!  We'd probably pounce you then and there!''  My eyes widened again at that, and I felt my cheeks heat even more, as Exia grinned too at that.

``Oh, fuck, good idea!  Exes being an alpha?  I think I'd die...''  I assumed that was figuratively.  ``Or probably need to change my loincloth...''  That one might not have been.  I rolled my eyes at that, then chuckled.

``I've... never considered myself that.  And admittedly, I'm having trouble seeing your point here a bit.  I mean, you already know I couldn't be a guard, Exia.  The image I have of an alpha is someone... kind of the opposite of me.  Big, strong, powerful, in control...''

Shaking her head, Yimir grabbed my paw with hers, then hauled me backwards instead.  Eh?  ``You're right, but not at the same time.  In our minds, an alpha is strong.  Powerful.  In control.  But we already told you that you are strong.  You could think circles around almost anyone in the city, I bet.  You're twelve and almost have a surgical degree.  You do have general practitioner and medical mage degrees.  The average on those is age twenty, Exes.  Twenty-four for surgical.''  I... well...

It's not like I knew... why I was so good at what I did.  It started off boring for me in a lot of ways.  But things just... clicked.  I could remember almost anything when it came to formulas and numbers.  I could still remember Kada's comm number right off the top of my head.  It's like I could... see it in my mind, and just pull up that image whenever I needed it.  That's how all my studying went.  I typically didn't need to repeat information to myself.  Once I read it, I knew it.  So long as it was magic, alchemy, or science things anyway.  I was terrible with others.

Exia followed, and I snapped out of it just as Yimir pulled me onto the bed, causing both of us to bounce once before I braced myself, coming to rest on top of her.  Uh... this was...  She grinned up at me though, sliding her arms around my waist and pulling me down closer to her, even as my sister hopped up next to us.  ``You've got huge brains, Exes.  Practically unnaturally so.  That's a strength if I ever saw it.  Being in control and confident... that's something we have to work on.  But it takes practice and repetition.''  I... guess that made sense, if it was like any other skill.

``Lots of practice and repetition.''  Exia mirrored her phrase into my ear as she snuggled into my left side, keeping me pushed against Yimir while also rubbing my back with her paw.  Mmm.  ``You also missed some aspects about alpha that turns us on.  Being caring, and helping others.  Looking out for your females and supporting them.  That makes them want to support you back, Bro.''  I looked to her with that, and she caught my muzzle in a soft kiss, getting me to shiver again, even as Yimir nuzzled my neck, kissing there too.

``You've already got those qualities.  So, I'd say, if we work on your confidence and self-esteem, you'll be an alpha in no time at all.''  Yimir nodded in agreement after, and I chuckled softly, unsure of how I ended up in this position now.

Alright, I'd bite.  ``Okay, so how do you think I should start?''  I extended my arms, pushing myself up a little as I gave a more quizzical look down at Yimir, with Exia now lying next to her.  They looked to each other, then both grinned.  I... probably would regret that question.

Exia licked her lips.  ``Mmm, got any extra stamina tinctures you didn't pass off to Exir yet?''  Okay, my muscles would probably end up regretting my question.

``Uh...''  Sophisticated, brain.

Yimir nodded rapidly in agreement.  ``Definitely get one.  I'll get... a lot of water.''  Uhh...

``Clearly, the best way to start would be assuring you that we're definitely yours.  And the best way to do that... is by making sure you take both of our virginities, and we're utterly saturated in your scents!''  Well, at least a part of me wasn't frozen solid, staring down at my sister in shock, as Yimir slipped out from under me and ran over to where the bathroom was.  Uh... sinks, right...

Exia pulled me down on top of her instead, eyes lidding as she started to undo my robe.  Were they seriously going to do this?  I knew we'd talked about it.  I knew they were planning it for some fuzzy time in the future.  But I guess my mind never really accepted that time could be `now' at any point.  She slid my robe off again a moment later, before dragging her eyes over my bare chest again.

``Mmm, fuck, one perk of wearing clothing is taking them off.  It feels like you're even sexier now...''  She giggled after, and I relaxed, snorting.  Well, no, she was still Exia, the little sister I could always trust to be a giant perv, tease, and duffy.  Though... a tease only applied if she didn't follow through, which apparently...

Our wall comm went off, releasing a low chime through the entire room.  Uh... great.  I sat up, frowning over at it, even as Yimir popped her head around the side of the bathroom and glared its way.  Somehow, she also found a giant water pitcher and a ton of glasses too.  That was... a lot of water.  Still...  ``Uh... that could be... important...?''

Exia stared at it for another second, then looked back to me, expression blank.  ``Nope!  It can wait.''  Uh!  She just grinned and pulled me back down on top of her afterwards.  Right!  I guess it could wait!

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