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Leo

Elaria seemed a lot happier leaving the office than when she entered, which made Leo want to ask about it, but his immediate concern was for his own situation.

"So, what happens now?” Leo asked with slight concern, but the question was met with a bit of indifference as she waved him to follow her.

“Well, let's head to an inn first. There's only so much daylight left, and today was more than an experience to say the least.” Elaria said with exasperation, but still looked like she was in high spirits as her tail was perked up slightly.

Leo decided to start up a conversation as he followed her toward their new destination, hoping to ask a few questions that were on his mind. “Uh, thanks for covering for me. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble with your superiors.” He said with a grateful tone and an apologetic look, still feeling guilty about causing trouble for his new, and apparently only, friend.

Elaria took a moment before responding, her expression becoming somber. “Well you don't have to worry about me on that front, since I was relieved of duty.” She stated casually, but had a pained expression.

Leo's brow scrunched up with concern. “Wait, was that because of me?” He asked with a bit of shock, while feeling a little more guilty.

With a half hearted laugh Elaria told Leo ‘yes' and 'no’. Yes, he caused the injury, but no, he should not feel responsible for what happened. Her answer received a questioning look from him, so she went on to explain why she was let go, and as she continued to explain the laws surrounding her situation, Leo’s blood pressure spiked in anger.

Leo clenched his fists, sickened that something like that was even written into law. “They boot you out with nothing! And because of such a minor injury!” He yelled with no regard for the passersby that continued to look his way.

Elaria visibly cringed, and stopped to quiet the emotional outburst. “Shh, calm down. I understand the feeling, but that's just how it is. Besides, the head of the guard saved me when she let me keep the equipment. Now I can sell it and live off the coin while I recover.” She explained trying to placate him, before continuing to the inn.

Leo scowled at the ground before following her again. “That's, just not right.” The words were directed to no one while he tried to reign in his emotions.

When Leo looked around again, he finally remembered the concerning question that he wanted to ask. “Why are there only women around, or am I missing something?” He questioned a little dumbly.

Elaria gave Leo a look, as if he asked about something that was fairly obvious. “Simple, selarin’s have a ten to one birth ratio. Men are kept at home, or work in less public jobs.” She said casually, as if it was common knowledge.

A bit taken aback by the response, Leo’s mind started cooking up what implications that would have on their society. Would Gender roles be reversed? Since with so few males, they would be seen as the ones to be protected and sought after. Socially, women would be the more advancing and pent up sexually. Elaria’s actions, Glia’s comment, and all the stares suddenly made a lot more sense, as well as making him feel a lot more vulnerable.

Leo's lips curled into a bit of a frown, as he ran a hand through his short dark brown hair. “Huh… So do the other races have such an… Imbalance?” He asked, still processing the interesting bit of information.

Elaria eyed Leo with a questioning look evident on her face. “Yes, with the closest ones to a ‘balance’ being the dwarves and elves. Dwarves are two to one and elves are between three and four to one, but both have their own issues. Dwarves can only conceive one child once a year, and elves' conception periods are completely random from person to person.”

Leo's mouth went slightly agape at the response, mostly because yes, there were even dwarves and elves on this planet, which peaked his interest a little more than the 'fucked ratio'. “Huh…” He breathed with eyes wide in contemplation.

Elaria cocked her head slightly as she took a casual glance at Leo. “So, what are the ratios and conception periods for humans?” She questioned with interest.

“It's one to one, and almost any time of the year.” Leo told her with the same casual tone that matched her first, then she stopped walking, and just stared at him in complete disbelief.

“That's bullshit.” Elaria remarked, not really directed at anyone, and Leo simply shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

Leo decided to save any more questions for when they got to the inn, as Elaria seemed to have lost quite a bit of mental energy on the way. When they got to the inn, it looked like every other stone building around it as well, but it was single story, which confused Leo when they entered, because most of the space was taken up by a large dining area, a few dozen tables scattered about, and a kitchen with a bar being situated at the back.

The bar was manned by the first obviously male selarin that Leo's seen since entering the town, and he was a little intimidating. The man was two feet taller than Leo, with broad shoulders and squared features, literally, his jaw was nearly square due to his reptilian features. If Leo had to find a relation to a species back home, they would probably be somewhere between prehistoric and modern, as his build was sharper and a little more rigid, while his scales were smooth and firm, as the outlines of his muscles showed through, adding even more to the unit of a man.

The man had on a tight fitting short sleeve shirt that seemed to accentuate his build even further, While the man was polishing a glass mug, Leo couldn't help but equate the scene with a wise middle aged bar keep that was like a father figure to all who entered.

Initially most of the women in the establishment had a vague gaze that drifted toward the large selarin man, but as Leo and Elaria approached him from the entrance, all of them slowly shifted to Leo.

‘Knowing what I do now, I would have been flattered with an added boost to my ego, but I can't help but feel like I walked into a mini Jurassic park.’ Leo thought while being both aroused and deeply terrified at the same time.

Elaria approached the bar. “Excuse me, my name is Elaria and this is Leo. We would like to rent a room for the next two months.” Elaria said to the selarin who was built like a truck.

“The name’s Kesl.” Kesl introduced himself with a bit of a bassy voice, as he looked between the pair with mild consideration. “Single bed I assume.” He remarked as an amused expression broke through his stern visage, which prompted Leo and Elaria to both lighten a shade.

Elaria coughed before speaking. “ Er..Eh.. Well we would prefer two beds for the moment.” She said while glancing over at Leo with a look that he couldn't discern.

Kesl gazed down at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, and had a skeptical look to his dark green eyes. “Well sure there are a few rooms available, but one bed is about a third cheaper than two.” Kesl explained as he placed the mug underneath the bar top.

Curious about the currency of this world, Leo pushed to ask. “And, how much are they?”

“For one month the price is fifty copper for a single and seventy five for a double. Three meals a day included. ” Kesl answered, and Leo didn't think it sounded too bad, until he took a glance at a now distraught Elaria that said otherwise, as the guilt started to weigh on him for causing her predicament.

“Well take the single bed.” Leo stated with confidence, while thinking ‘I can just sleep on the floor I guess, it wouldn't be any different than the past two days...’

Leo looked over to Elaria who stared at him, mouth agape and as light a shade as when he carried her through the town. Leo was about to apologize for deciding what she should do with her money when she slammed a silver coin on the counter.

“YES, we will take a ‘single’ bed.” Elaria blurted out clumsily, a smile present on her face as her tail swayed excitedly.

A bit caught off guard by Elarias display, Leo stood there a little perplexed, and thought that she might actually want to do something more than just sleep, but noted that she wasn't going to be engaging in anything like that with her injury. So he brushed aside the optimistic thought as Kesl gave them their room number, and told them what floor it was on.

Leo’s thoughts shifted away from Elaria to what the innkeeper said. “Floor?” He asked while remembering that this was a single story building.

Kesl smirked. “Ah, it's your first time in Selaria, we get that reaction from newcomers every so often. While other races construct their buildings going up, we build downward.” He explained, but his expression changed from smug to confused at Leo’s reaction.

“Oh, that makes way more sense now.” Leo remarked, now understanding why most buildings were not more than two stories. If they could work and maintain stone to the degree that he saw while simply walking through town, then why not just build down instead of up.

“Well that reaction is new. Are you from the dwarven kingdom then? They are the only ones who work with the earth as well as we do.” Kesl inquired, but Elaria cut in before Leo could answer.

“As much as we would love to entertain each other's questions, I am somewhat exhausted and would like to shut in for the day. So I'll need Leo to help me down the stairs to our room.” Elaria said while nudging Leo in the direction of the staircase.

When Elaria and Leo got to their room, he went to take a seat on the chair next to the bedside table, while Elaria started removing her armor, and told him that she was going to rinse off in the bathroom's shower.

‘Huh, indoor plumbing?’ Leo thought whilst looking down at himself, recognizing that he needed a clean too, because hiking almost three days without a shower made him feel very far from fresh.

After a while of waiting, Elaria walked out of the bathroom in just her underwear, her slender frame accentuated by her smooth scales, while the tight fit undergarments sharpened her arousing form.

“Well that was refreshing, I had some dirt stuck in between my scales from our little ‘tumble’.” Elaria remarked while thoughtlessly crutching herself toward the bed.

Feeling that he was heating up at the sight of his half nude roommate, Leo elected to make for the bathroom before she noticed his bright red face.

“Huh, Oh. Sorry, I didn't know you needed to use it that badly.” Leo heard from an apologetic Elaria, who was just outside the bathroom door.

Trying to calm himself, Leo noted that she was very nonchalant about her open display. ‘If that's the norm because of that fucked ratio, then my lack of social skills in that particular area is going to take some time getting used to.’ Leo reflected while wandering into the bathroom.

There was a wide toilet, a sink with a mirror, and what looked like a large standing shower. There were also two bins on the floor by the door, both having a large rune, and one of them was glowing. Inside the bin with the glowing rune was the rest of Elaria’s clothes, neatly folded and packed in.

Leo cocked his head at the magical item. “Cleaning magic maybe?” He thought out loud.

Walking over to the shower, Leo noticed that there wasn't a water faucet. Looking at the side of the wall he saw a palm sized dial with a large number of small runes on it. Some runes lit up upon turning the dial, then a dense rain cloud appeared at the top of the shower. The water was initially cold, but the further he turned the dial, the hotter the water became, and the more of the runes lit up.

“Well that's cool.” Leo mouthed as he marveled at the apparently simple application of magic.

Leo shed his clothes, and placed them in the other magical laundry bin before hopping into the shower. After a much needed shower, Leo retrieved his clothes from the bin, which were now warm and smelling a bit fresh. Looking over to Elaria’s bin, he realized that a t-shirt and sweats were not very durable garments, so he would have to buy some new clothes, which meant he needed money. Leo sighed at the prospect of having to find a job in a medieval fantasy world, as his skill set was far from valued, but hopefully he could at least sell some modern concepts.

Leaving the bathroom feeling refreshed, Leo took up a seat on the chair once again, and glanced over at the bed to see that Elaria was laying on her side, sheets loosely covering her as she held a longing look.

Leo turned a bright shade of red, and gulped.

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