Lucinda couldn’t claim to be an expert on Druid circles, though she was working on it; however, there was one fact from her life in Kloip that she felt likely held true elsewhere: namely, that the older people were often in charge of things. That fact, combined with the noticeable lack of a certain person’s presence at the gathering, pointed to one conclusion.

“Yalia?” she asked of the woman who had emerged from the lake, as she rose to meet her.

“A youngster with wits, marvellous,” the woman said with sincerity. She smiled warmly at Lucinda, prompting an immediate, similar response. “And look at you!” Yalia’s eyes took in Lucinda’s form. “Such a pretty youngster to boot!”

It was the sort of situation that had often led to a slight colouration of Lucinda’s cheeks, yet the woman’s compliments only evoked feelings of gratitude.

“Thank you,” Lucinda replied. Holding out one hand, she continued. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Well mannered too!” Yalia exclaimed with obvious delight. “I think we’ll have to keep you.” She grinned widely. “But,” the older woman continued, glancing down at Lucinda’s still outstretched hand. “A handshake simply won’t do.”

Lucinda had no time to protest, as the circle leader stepped forwards and engulfed her in a surprising embrace. She was suddenly glad that not everyone wore as skimpy an outfit as Grissa. Yalia’s was a modest one-piece item of a mossy green shade that looked like a very short-skirted dress, rather than something for swimming in. That it provided plenty of petal-material for Lucinda’s hands to land upon instead of skin was still welcome. However, the greeting turned slightly more awkward, when Yalia pulled back and then planted a single kiss upon her forehead.

“Welcome, Lucinda,” she said.

The intensity of the woman’s words combined with her recent action finally managed to bring a light flush to Lucinda’s cheeks, though that didn’t stop her from returning another smile. Yalia then turned to the other individual present.

“Gelrior,” the Beastmaster provided. “Also glad to have been invited.”

“Another new face.” There was no doubt how pleased the circle leader was with that fact, especially when she proceeded to dish out another hug, and a kiss to the man’s cheek once he’d stooped sufficiently. “Gelrior,” Yalia continued. “I’d love to hear all about you, but our special guest takes priority. Would you mind…?”

“Say no more,” Gelrior replied good-naturedly. “Ladies.” With a sweeping bow, he and his lions departed.

Lucinda waved her recent companion away, and then sat back down in the grass at Yalia’s insistence.

“What a charming young man,” Yalia said. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay.”

“Then, in that case: How are you finding our circle?”

“It's incredible!” Lucinda beamed a smile at the older woman. “Really, everything is amazing. The clothes, the food, the buildings, the people… The animals!”

Yalia released a slow chuckle in response to Lucinda’s enthusiasm. “It warms my heart to hear you say that.”

“Umm, there is one thing I’m wondering about though… Are there no old people here?”

Another more powerful laugh emerged from the circle leader. “We always welcome new nature inclined people here with open arms. However, I do sometimes find myself wondering if perhaps they are more interested in certain perks that the classes provide. It would seem I have nothing to fear in your case.”

“Ah, okay? Which perks, exactly?”

“How old would you say I am? And don’t be shy, it’s not a sensitive topic for me.”

“Oh… Umm, you look maybe early 40s?”

Yalia graced Lucinda with yet more laughter. “I see you chose to spare my feelings all the same! Although it can be hard to judge these things. From my recent experience, I think upper 40s would be more accurate. But, neither is anywhere close to my real age.”

“…It isn’t?” Lucinda examined the older woman more closely. It was true that she had a few streaks of silver in her otherwise blonde hair, and sported a fair number of wrinkles upon her face. Yet, just as with Mirabelle, it was impossible to see her as anything other than a 40-something-year-old woman. “…Is that one of the perks? How old are you really? Ah, sorry…”

“I’ve already told you, I don’t mind.” Yalia reached over and gently patted one of Lucinda’s knees in a reassuring manner. A grin quickly spread across her face. “83,” she said.

Lucinda’s eyes flew wide. “Really!? You look… You don’t look it…”

“It is a rather nice perk. Alas, if only it wasn’t limited to the physical… Not that I’m senile just yet!”

“I don’t think I would have noticed if you hadn’t said anything.”

“More of those lovely manners, I’m touched. I do so hope you still feel the same way in a few days time.” Yalia beamed a smile at Lucinda. “…Back to the point I was trying to make: You perhaps see what I was implying?”

“That people might become Druids – or Shifters? – solely so they can keep looking young.”

“Exactly right!”

Lucinda’s gaze wandered over to the more populated tavern area as she considered Yalia’s words. There was no denying how she felt about having such a skill. A choice between ageing, and not, wasn’t really a choice at all to her young mind. However, a sudden spike of alarm shot through her as the implications of such an ability found her.

“What level is it unlocked?”

“35. And just so you don’t get the wrong idea: we're not longer-lived than other folk. It’s primarily cosmetic.”

Phew, I guess Waflaw isn’t an old man after all…

“…Primarily?”

Lucinda’s question seemed to amuse Yalia greatly.

“If I were to become lax in a certain womanly duty, my granddaughter might suddenly find herself with an aunt who is close to 20 years her junior.”

“Oh… Wow… That would be…”

“Most inappropriate,” Yalia interrupted. “Fortunately for her, I have no intention of doing so. I’m far too old, even if I don’t look it.”

“That is fortunate… But, umm, I’m a bit confused. Waflaw said there aren’t many Druids…?”

“I can see how that might puzzle you.” Yalia nodded sagely. “It is a fact; One that has deprived me, especially, of sleep over the years. However, like with my previous example, the ability to have children later in life does not necessarily equate to more children overall. That the towns and cities remain an alluring alternative to our lovely forest plays a large part too. Why my own daughter chose another life for herself at the ripe age of 14 no less; With the blessing of me and my husband, naturally.”

“I see. It’s nice that you gave her a choice.”

“I had a feeling that might please you. Your mentor crammed quite a bit about you into the letters he sent.” A quiet chuckle met Lucinda’s sudden frown. “Nothing bad or overly personal, rest assured. But, enough to know your situation is not unlike my granddaughter’s. Have you met her yet?”

Yalia motioned towards a young woman who Lucinda recognised as having been in the water since she’d arrived. She had been considering introducing herself to her, much as she had with everyone else, though she had to admit the giant otter that appeared to be the woman’s companion was one of the cuter animals in the area.

“Not yet,” Lucinda replied.

“Now might a good time to remedy that.”

“Ah… Did you know my grandmother? I never met her… but, she was a Shifter too.”

“Hmm, I may have. Some additional information to jog my memory might help.”

“Her name was Tessa. My mother says our looks are similar, all three of us I mean. Umm, appearance and… physically.”

“Hmm… Tessa…” Yalia’s expression turned thoughtful, while Lucinda’s remained hopeful; At least until a frown appeared on Yalia’s face. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t believe we met.”

“Aww… Okay.”

“However, before I became the circle leader here, I did travel around on occasion. In other words, she may still have visited while I was elsewhere. How about we ask Fi later? She and Cro have been here for who knows how long, and are both far, far older than I.”

“They don’t look it either…” Lucinda replied, a faint hope reappearing within her, while another question sprang to mind. “Oh! Do you know about a battle between dragons near Prilemia’s capital? I think it was a long time ago…”

“You know, being elderly does not make one all-knowing.” Yalia’s tone was severe, but then revealed itself to be playful once her expression softened into a smile. “I can’t say I recall any such event, and sadly that’s not something that would interest out dryad friends. Matters outside the forest are irrelevant to them so long as they do not affect it. Sorry, I’ve not been much help.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay!” Lucinda hastily replied, feeling a sudden bout of guilt. “I was just wondering…”

“Do you have a particular interest in dragons? Such things usually don’t end well for us.”

“Umm, well, I met this dragon. A blue one, in the mountains. He told me about some battle, and it seemed important.”

One of Yalia’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Deihg’Bruagar?” she asked. “You met him? And spoke to him?”

“I… yes… I know it sounds hard to believe, but…”

“No, I do believe you,” Yalia interrupted. “I’m just amazed, that’s all. He doesn’t usually deal with humans, other than to eat them. Or so I thought.”

“How do you know him?”

“Why, I met him too, of course. It wasn’t the happiest of meetings… Hmm, tell you what, why don’t we save talk of this for later? Perhaps during the feast tomorrow? There we can both share our respective meetings.”

“Ah, sure.”

“Wonderful. Now, how would you like to meet my granddaughter at last?” Without waiting for a reply, Yalia turned towards the lake. “Varmia, Dear. Could you come here?”

With a series of steady strokes, the young woman emerged from the lake and came to stand before her grandmother. The giant otter, who was a fair bit larger than Lucinda’s lynx form, followed behind her partner, brushing up against her bare legs with plentiful affection.

“Hey, Gran,” she said. “What’s up?” Varmia smiled and nodded at Lucinda.

“I must greet our other guests, and check on preparations for tomorrow. Could you keep Lucinda company? She’s our special guest, as you might recall.”

“Oh, hey,” Varmia said as she greeted Lucinda more thoroughly. She faced Yalia again. “Sure, Gran. Leave her to me.”

“Wonderful. Well, Lucinda, I’ll leave you to it. You two should get along well; Vamia’s only recently become a Druid herself after having lived away from us since birth.”

The circle leader bade a brief farewell and then departed, leaving Lucinda alone with her newest acquaintance. It was obvious that Varmia and her were of an age, though Lucinda suspected there was at least a year or two between them. Like many of the people at the gathering, she was in great shape; A fact made clearer by the skimpy, bright white outfit she wore, that was only slightly more modest than Grissa’s, and seemed to contain a bust that was even more pronounced. Standing just shy of Lucinda’s marginally below average height, Varmia’s appearance was otherwise very close to Yalia’s, with the same blonde hair, kept short; hazel eyes; and pleasant smile; that all combined into a pretty package.

“She’s mostly right,” Varmia said once Yalia was out of earshot. “Recently means a little over two years though.”

“I’m still finding it hard to believe she’s 83…” Lucinda replied, prompting a responding laugh from the slightly older woman.

“Imagine how I feel! She looks almost the same as my mum!”

“That is weird.” Lucinda held out a hand to the owner of the giant otter. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Such formality.” Varmia grinned widely. Her eyes then travelled across Lucinda’s body slowly. “Gran hugged you, right?”

“She did.”

“Perfect.” Varmia’s face seemed to light up. “I’ll do the same then.”

Once again Lucinda found herself suddenly embraced by one of the circle’s Druids. Unlike the previous time, there was nowhere for her hands to go but on flesh, though she tried not to let that fact bother her. A few seconds passed, then with her arms still wrapped around Lucinda’s mid-back, Varmia reared back enough to grin at her.

“Nice to meet you too,” she said with an overly formal tone, before quickly planting a kiss on Lucinda’s forehead. A rapid heating of Lucinda’s cheeks was an inevitable by-product of the hasty action. “It’s a family tradition,” Varmia said as their embrace ended. “And I’m practising for when I take over the circle!”

“…That makes sense, I guess,” Lucinda said as she matched the other woman’s continuing grin. “You lived with your mother before?”

“Yep. Almost ended up as a Wizard like her.”

“Oh! She’s a Wizard?” A single beat of laughter escaped Lucinda’s lips. “That’s different…”

“I think you mean crazy. Who sees all this and decides to waste their time studying instead?”

Varmia waved a hand through the air to indicate their surroundings, and Lucinda could only agree with the sentiment.

“It still wasn’t easy leaving her though… Or my dad. Same for you, yeah?”

“Yeah…” A slightly sad frown spread across Lucinda’s face. “… I almost became a Cleric of Hefnopt.”

“Oh, shit… Seriously?” Varmia’s expression turned suddenly amused. “…I should have skipped the hug. You must be freaking out with all this! I mean, my parents were a bit… repressed. But, Clerics? And of Hefnopt… Damn.”

“Ah, yeah, it’s been… interesting. I’ve spent a lot of time blushing since I got here…”

Varmia threw back her head and laughed. “You poor thing.” A playful grin reached her lips, and then she nodded emphatically. “Okay, Gran left me in charge of you. Which means it’s up to me to make sure you get used to things here.”

“Ahh… It does?” Lucinda suddenly felt quite nervous.

“Oh yeah.” Varmia’s intense smile quickly brought more redness to Lucinda’s cheeks. “That can wait for now, though. Have you met the kids?”

“No…?”

A single note of annoyance emerged from Varmia as she shook her head from side to side. “That’s why I need to be in charge here! When Gran’s sleeping no one does anything…” She shook her head again in obvious frustration. “Not your problem… Let’s meet them, they’re going to love you.”

If not for the actions of the dryads, Lucinda would have wholeheartedly agreed with Varmia; Instead, her agreement was simply moderate, in that she wasn’t entirely convinced that the lack of organisation was a problem. However, she knew full well how limited her knowledge of the situation was.

“Hope you’ve got some good shapeshifts,” Varmia said, as she led the way along the lake’s shore towards where the trio of children were still playing.

Having already guessed the other woman’s intent, Lucinda nodded confidently as their gazes met, while forcing herself to put her desire to try acquiring a giant otter shapeshift aside for the time being.

“Oh, and what’s your companion?” Varmia continued.

“A bearded vulture. She’s already introduced herself to the children.”

“Mmm, I’m a fan of birds too, you know.” Varmia’s subsequent grin was unexpectedly pronounced. “Especially the cute ones…” Lucinda didn’t fail to notice the way the other woman’s eyes roamed over her once more. She smiled back politely while wondering if she was reading things correctly, and wondering how worried she should be given Varmia’s earlier assertion. “Mine’s called Ingala. And before you ask, Lucinda the Shifter, I only let good friends pet her.”

Lucinda’s unhappy frown was met with a quiet spurt of amused laughter. Trying not to let it bother her, she sought out her animal companion.

“You ready to play some more, Marrow?” Lucinda sent as they neared their destination.

“Friend! Play!”

A silly question really…

Marrow wasted no time in abandoning Emalin’s companion and flying across the lake to Lucinda’s side. Of course, her intentionally low flight over the water’s surface didn’t fail to attract the attention of the children splashing around within the clear liquid, which in turn made it easier for Varmia to call them over.

“Hey, kids,” Varmia shouted. “Come say hello to a Shifter!”

Consisting of two girls and a boy, the children were also of differing ages. Varmia’s announcement was met with two excited replies, and silence from the youngest girl of the group. But, all three barely hesitated before scurrying out from the shallow water they’d occupied.

“Hi!” the oldest girl of the three greeted with an eager smile.

“Hello,” Lucinda replied, smiling at each of the three in turn. “I'm Lucinda, the best friend of this playful bird you've already met. Her name's Marrow.”

Marrow released an uncharacteristic chirp upon being named, that seemed to amuse the trio greatly.

“Introduce yourselves to Lucinda, why don’t you,” Varmia said.

“Me first!” the oldest girl cried out immediately, bringing a chuckle from Varmia that Lucinda soon matched. Neither response seemed to faze the girl. “My name’s Natenza! I’m 11 and I’m going to be a Druid!”

“Not a Shifter?” Varmia gasped in mock surprise.

“Nope,” the girl replied without hesitation.

“I’m happy for you,” Lucinda said, offering the girl a warm smile.

“Next up,” Varmia prompted.

“I’m Quiln. …I want to be a Ranger,” the boy said.

“He’s 9,” Natenza helpfully supplied.

“That’s a good choice too,” Lucinda agreed. Having noticed the third child was painfully shy, she decided to try and encourage her. “And how about you?” she asked, kneeling down to bring herself level with the smallest of the three, while making her expression as gentle and friendly as she knew how.

“…Ivi,” the girl revealed in a near whisper.

“It’s short for Ivirna,” Natenza said. “She’s 6.”

“What a lovely name that is,” Lucinda said to the youngest girl. “What do you want to be when you grow up, Ivi? A Druid? A Ranger? A Shifter?”

The girl met her eyes for a second before looking down at the floor again.

“A dragon…” she said.

Lucinda couldn’t help but laugh quietly at the girl’s words.

“Ivi! You can’t become a dragon!” Natenza exclaimed.

“Can!” Ivi replied wilfully as she pouted in the older girl’s direction. “Qil said!”

“Well, he’s been fibbing! You can’t become a dragon. If you could we all would!”

The two girls looked angrily at each other, while the boy glanced between them with a slightly reddened face. Lucinda struggled to suppress further laughter.

“Tell her Quiln!” Natenza exclaimed.

“Uh… But, Yalia said…” the boy stammered.

An annoyed growl from the older girl triggered a sudden outburst of laughter from Varmia. She regained control of herself shortly and then spoke. “Let’s leave that for later, yeah? Don’t you want to know what shapeshifts Lucinda has?”

Lucinda smiled as three excited pairs of eyes snapped to her, though she couldn’t help but imagine that a lot of her forms were things the trio had likely already seen, be it in animal form, or from the local Druids.

“Dragon…?” Ivi asked quietly, prompting a huff from Natenza.

“Ivi…” the older girl warned.

The temptation to reveal she did have such a form was strong, but Lucinda knew it would spoil the surprise Yalia’s earlier suggestion had paved the way for. Instead, she decided to throw out some suggestions based on what she’d not seen since arriving at the circle.

“How about a nice fluffy sheep?” Lucinda asked, directing her words towards the youngest girl.

“You have a sheep form…?” Varmia’s voice was incredulous.

“I get experience from ranking them up,” Lucinda offered in explanation. “And why not?”

“Hey, whatever keeps you happy.”

Turning back to Ivi, Lucinda raised an eyebrow at the young girl. “What do you think?” she asked. “I’ve got others…”

“’Kay!” Ivi replied suddenly.

Smiling as another shy glance found her, Lucinda then shifted into her sheep form. Just a few seconds later, she was resting on all fours with a thick coat of wool covering most of her body. Tilting her head towards the shy girl, she let out a prolonged baa, which brought an amused series of giggles from the girl’s lips.

“Go on then, Ivi. Tell us how fluffy she is,” Varmia encouraged.

The youngest of the three children overcame her shyness in the blink of an eye. Rushing forwards a few steps, she threw herself into Lucinda’s fluffy coat.

“Mmm, fluffy!” Ivi announced happily.

“Can we?” Quiln said.

“Of course you can,” Varmia replied. “Give us another ‘baa’ if you don’t mind, Lucinda.”

“Baa,” Lucinda replied without delay.

In short order, two more bodies were pressed against Lucinda’s sides. It was a strange experience, yet she really didn’t mind at all; Even when Varmia unexpectedly joined in with the hugging.

“I take it back,” Varmia said. “This is great.”

“Yeah!” Natenza agreed. “…Can we cut some off and keep it?”

Varmia’s sudden laughter shook Lucinda with its intensity.

“I don’t think she’d be okay with that. And it doesn’t work like that anyway. It’d disappear once she shifted back.”

“Aww…”

Oh, it would? I suppose it’d have too…

After shifting back to human form, Lucinda strongly considered demonstrating her giant spider form for Quiln. She was sure he’d appreciate it, but she was also sure Ivi wouldn’t. Instead, she settled on revealing her donkey form, whose loud braying was enough to send the two younger children into fits of laughter.

Choosing something for the older girl wasn’t too difficult either. Lucinda recalled all too well the period of her younger life where she’d been enamoured with the majesty of the equine beasts that she so often saw about the streets of Kloip. Not that her appreciation for their form had diminished much since.

“Oh! She’s beautiful!” Natenza cooed, as Lucinda revealed her pure white horse form.

“Isn’t she just,” Varmia agreed, her grinning gaze firmly locked on Lucinda’s closest eye. “And so pettable too.”

“Can we ride her?”

Varmia laughed sharply as she walked closer to Lucinda. “What do you say? Fancy giving these scamps a ride?”

Standing in front of her, Varmia began gently stroking Lucinda’s equine face just above her nose. The suddenness of her action caught Lucinda by surprise, yet the pleasant, relaxing sensations that spread through her body, as a result, were hardly unwelcome. A brief span of seconds passed before Lucinda nodded an agreement.

“Come on then, Nat,” Varmia said. “You can take Ivi with you.” A single syllable escaped the boy’s lips before Varmia continued. “You’ll get a turn too Quiln, relax.”

Yalia’s granddaughter soon helped the two girls up onto Lucinda’s back. The feeling of having them there was about as bizarre as Lucinda had expected, but she was more than willing to endure some discomfort to please the two of them.

“Okay girls, make sure you keep hold of her mane. Just not too tightly, or Lucinda won’t be a happy horse.”

“Got it!” Natenza replied with obvious eagerness.

“And Lucinda, don’t go too fast. You’re a bit too large for them still.”

Lucinda offered an agreeing snort in reply.

“We ready then?”

“Yes!” Natenza and Ivi replied.

“Okay. Off you go.”

With her expansive field of view, Lucinda could see Varmia clearly even standing by her rear legs as she was, yet the sudden slap to her rump still managed to catch her off-guard. She released an involuntary whinny before she knew what had happened, but hearing the two girls giggling happily was enough to forestall any annoyance that might have arose.

She began moving forwards slowly, allowing her riders to get comfortable with the experience. Keeping her steps roughly in line with the lake’s edge, she gradually increased her pace to a slow trot that seemed to amuse the girls further. Taking them around to the other side of the lake and then back again, both Natenza and Ivi were greeted by – and greeted – those their journey took them past.

“How was it?” Varmia asked once Lucinda had returned to the starting location.

“Amazing!” Natenza replied.

“Ivi?”

“…’Mazin!” the younger girl added.

“And what do you say to Lucinda?”

“Thanks!” Natenza said, while Ivi replied with a similar if quieter word of gratitude.

Once both girls were back on solid ground, Lucinda provided a similar service to Quiln, who was joined on his journey by Marrow. The same trip around the lake brought more happy laughter from the boy, and others at the gathering; and then more words of gratitude upon their return.

By the time Lucinda was back in human form, there was no mistaking the sudden onset of night. The three children were quickly ushered off to bed, leaving Lucinda alone with Varmia once more.

“I think they like you,” Varmia said.

“It was a lot of fun…” Lucinda replied. “Even with someone touching me so much.”

Lucinda’s accusation brought no guilt to the accused’s face. “Aww, come on. It’s not like it matters when you’re in animal form. I’d be fine with you cuddling me in giant otter form.” Varmia grinned widely, and then shrugged. “But, I’d be fine with that in human form too…” Her words did not fail to make Lucinda blush. “Ah, I’m starving. Want to get some food and chat some more?”

“Won’t it be too dark soon?” Lucinda asked, glancing up at the sky.

“Not with Fi and Cro around.” Varmia raised a suggestive eyebrow in Lucinda’s direction.

“Umm, then sure. I would like to hear more about how you became a Druid…”

Over drinks and nibbles by the side of the lake, Lucinda did indeed learn such things. The reasons for Varmia’s decision mirrored Lucinda’s own in a number of ways, although the revelation that the older woman’s choice had been partially based upon the anti-ageing skill Yalia had mentioned came as a surprise. Naturally, Lucinda was sworn to secrecy on that particular point. In response, she then revealed much about her own past, while leaving out the less agreeable parts, as usual.

The role of Fi and Cro in beating back the darkness of night turned out to involve more plants, as wherever there were people, small flowers that emitted a pale blue glow sprouted from the ground. It was a rather impressive sight, that only served to further increase Lucinda’s appreciation of the Druid circle, and add a pleasing atmosphere to her continuing conversation.

“I think I’ll head to bed,” Varmia announced long after they'd finished their supping. “But first, I need to say a few things.”

“Oh?” Lucinda raised an eyebrow in response to the intense stare that was sent her way

“I want you to join me tonight…”

“…Ah…” Lucinda’s face flushed fiercely. “I…”

“Before you say anything, let me finish. You’re gorgeous, tons of fun, and great to be around, okay? I know with your background things like bedding people of the same gender are almost unthinkable for you. But, whether you’ve been meaning to or not, you’ve been sending me signals that suggest you’re not exactly against the idea, even if you won’t come out and say it.”

“That’s not…”

“Ah!” Varmia interrupted. “Don’t try and deny it. I’ve been flirting with you since we were introduced, and not once did you even attempt to stop me, or chastise me for my ‘wicked ways’. Most of the time you even smiled! Things are different now you’re a Shifter. Especially here. Don’t let those insane rules stop you. That’s why you became a Shifter, isn’t it? To be free?”

“…It is… I… Ah, it’s not that simple!”

“You’re wrong. It is that simple. Come with me, give it a try. Then you’ll know for sure. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Lucinda couldn’t think how to respond, though her flustered state did little to help her. She had spent considerable thought on the matter since her conversation with Grissa a few days prior, but she had also failed to reach a conclusion. Despite her willingness to go against the grain with her class choice, doing so for what Varmia was suggesting, was far harder.

She’s right… I am curious… But…

“We can be discreet…” A silence stretched between them as Varmia stared into Lucinda’s eyes. “Think about it, okay?” Her serious expression gave way to her appealing smile. “I’ll leave the offer open…” Lucinda’s heart was beating so heavily in her chest she feared it might be audible. After patting Lucinda’s leg in a far more intimate manner than her grandmother had, Varmia rose to her feet. Her eyebrows twitched upwards as a grin spread across her face. “See you in the baths tomorrow?”

Without waiting for a response, the wilful woman headed off towards the women’s huts. Her unacquired giant otter scampering along beside her.

The baths… Ah, crap.

A few minutes passed before Lucinda felt up to calling it a night herself. Offering a quick pet on the head to Marrow, she stood and began in the direction of her own bed.

“…Ready to sleep in a flower bed, Marrow?” she sent to her companion.

“Flowers!”

As was often the case, Marrow’s simple but enthusiastic reply didn’t fail to bring a smile to Lucinda’s face.