Lucinda came awake to find she felt incredibly well-rested. The bed of flowers with its cushiony base; velvety petal blanket; and best of all, the pleasant flowery smells that lingered around it; was without a doubt the best bed she’d ever slept within. It was also the first time she’d slept in a proper bed with Marrow at her side since bonding with her. However, her well-rested state was still somewhat surprising considering how busy she had been pondering things the night before.

The offer posed to her by Varmia had been chief amongst the topics she had pondered – and she still felt no closer to a decision – yet she’d also found herself wondering about Grissa’s words on marriage. Previously, Lucinda had decided she was in agreement with them, especially considering how she’d reacted to her mother’s opinion on the matter. But after meeting Sevi and Prathin, a young couple who seemed so happy with their married life, she had been forced to reconsider things, and even concede that she was slightly jealous.

“You up?” Grissa’s voice called out. “We’ve got breakfast here.”

“Coming…”

Safely tucked behind the privacy screen – an opaque covering of grass that hung from the ceiling beside her bed – Lucinda hurriedly changed back into her petal clothes.

“How do ya like your leaves?”

“…My leaves?” Lucinda asked as she rounded the screen and caught sight of Grissa at the table. “Umm, Grissa… You’re naked…”

“It’s baths next.”

“Ah, yeah…”

Sitting down at the table with Marrow hopping up to occupy the seat next to her, Lucinda chose to focus her attention on the food rather than Grissa’s state of undress. The brazen Druid’s earlier question suddenly made sense, as she noticed the large, almost rectangular shaped leaves piled up on a wooden plate in the centre of the table.

Grissa grinned across at her. “It’s like bread,” she explained.

“Dryad magic, umm, cooking?”

“Something like that. Help yourself to the jams, I’m not too bothered.”

Lucinda did so, eventually selecting a dark coloured one that might have been blackcurrant. Spreading it across her leafy bread substitute, she resumed their conversation.

“I thought you might have slept elsewhere,” Lucinda said.

“Heh, I had plenty of offers. It’s best to tease ‘em on the first night, though. Get ‘em all worked up and desperate for more. It pays off, trust me.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“You meet anyone nice?”

“Umm, yeah, I guess so.”

Lucinda’s heated cheeks seemed to amuse Grissa plentifully. The older woman grinned at Lucinda for a brief time and then returned to her own food.

“You’ll have the place to yourself tonight. Don’t hold back on inviting someone over.”

“Right…”

“Bone?” Marrow sent to Lucinda as she took another bite from her jam-coated leaf.

“Oh, sorry! Waflaw still has them.” Lucinda ruffled Marrow’s head feathers.

“Waflaw!”

“Yes, I’m sure he’ll give you a bone if you can find him. I’ll be in the baths, and then with Sevi for a bit. We can play after that, okay?”

“Friend!”

After watching Marrow depart from the hut with a smile on her face, she resumed eating her breakfast.

A short time later, Lucinda found herself sitting in the toasty waters of the women’s baths, with Grissa sitting opposite her once more, and two new women sitting with them. A small swarm of butterflies had assaulted her during the short trip from the hut to the secluded wash area, yet had then diminished upon finding that the source of her nerves was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you members of the circle?” Lucinda asked of the two women, who had already introduced themselves as Dafula, and Dolomé.

“Not this circle,” Dolomé replied, who had medium length light brown hair and appeared to be around 40 or so.

“The Circle of the Sandy Shore,” Dafula offered. She had lighter and longer hair, and was perhaps a decade younger. “We’re situated on an island to the northeast. It’s small enough to not appear on most maps.”

“We don’t get many visitors,” Delomé added with a nod. “Too bad for them!”

“Too right! It’s always amusing being told by the ‘Wild’ circle to put on clothes. It’s not something we bother with back home.”

“The visitors we do get are usually quite happy with that fact!”

“Oh…” Lucinda released a laugh as a slight heat became evident in her cheeks. “That might take some getting used to.”

“Don’t let it worry you.” Delomé produced a comforting smile. “We always love entertaining new allies of nature, especially Shifters! Right, Sis?”

“Absolutely!” Dafula agreed.

“You’re sisters?” Lucinda asked. “Umm, you are Druids aren’t you?”

“Yes and yes! It’s true that Delomé is old enough to be my mother…”

“Our mother has taken it upon herself to single-handedly solve the lack of numbers present in our circle,” the older sister explained.

“And tried to recruit us to do likewise!”

“Another reason why visitors to our home enjoy themselves so much.”

Both women burst out into a vigorous bout of laughter. Grissa soon added her own, and then Lucinda too.

“This sounds like the place to be this morning,” a new voice called out; one that caused Lucinda to jolt upright as she recognised it. “Hi,” Varmia greeted as her eyes met Lucinda’s and a beaming smile spread across her lips.

“Ah… Hi,” Lucinda replied, her face flushing fiercely despite her best efforts to prevent it.

Varmia slipped into the bath without fanfare, sliding up next to Lucinda until their sides were touching. A wave of further greetings passed through the group as the young Druid settled in, while Lucinda’s pulse continued to rise.

“Not managed to take over the circle yet, Varmia?” Grissa asked in a teasing tone.

“Gran thinks I might be a bit young still,” Varmia replied levelly. “But when it does finally happen, the first rule I’ll change is to charge you rent for staying.”

“Heh, and I thought we were friends. Shame.”

“Oh… How did the gambling go?” Lucinda asked.

Grissa’s cheery smile faltered in an instant. “Turns out Waffles is good for something after all. Why didn’t you warn me?”

Lucinda could only laugh at the troubled expression worn by her friend, and Varmia didn’t hesitate in joining her.

Looking mildly annoyed, Grissa turned her attention to Varmia again. “Did ya see Sevi anywhere?”

“Should I have done?”

“Maybe. We’re getting our ears pierced. Quite a big deal for our trainee Cleric here. Right, girl?”

“I guess so…” Lucinda reluctantly agreed. “Rather that than… the alternative.”

“Sevi’s got a thing for pierced nips,” Grissa directed towards Varmia’s raised eyebrow. “Lucinda wasn’t keen. Big surprise, huh?”

“She’s not forcing you to go through with it, is she?” Varmia asked Lucinda.

“No… I’m looking forward to it, really. It’s just… Well, I guess it is a big deal for me. Clerics don’t get piercings…”

“Clerics also don’t bed… certain people.” A grimace passed across Grissa’s face as she stumbled over her words.

“Grissa…” Varmia wore an expression of utter shock. “Did you just avoid blurting out some sensitive truth? …Are you feeling okay?”

The inevitable embarrassment Lucinda had experienced as a result of the older Druid’s words faded somewhat as Varmia’s jibe brought her to laughter.

“I did… And I’m proud of myself. Wasn’t easy, let me tell ya.”

“Grissa, Lucinda,” Fi’s voice called out. “Your clothes are washed and ready for re-use.”

“Thanks, Fi. You’re the best.”

“I am,” Fi replied simply, as she moved away down the length of the bath.

“She washes them as well?” Lucinda asked, feeling suddenly guilty.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Varmia replied. “It’s as Gran says: To them, we’re children that need to be coddled. She did tell you about them?”

“A bit.”

I should find some time to talk with her, or Cro…

“Will you wait for me?” Varmia asked. “I’m already pierced, but Gran told me to watch over our special guest, and I’d hate to disappoint her.”

“Hah, doubt you mean that,” Grissa replied. “Fine with me though.”

“Sure,” Lucinda said while feeling a light flutter of butterflies in her stomach at the smile Varmia sent her way.

The bath proceeded in an uneventful yet still awkward manner. The two sisters excused themselves before long, though Lucinda managed to extract the respective species of their animal companions before they did. Unfortunately, neither Delomé’s orca, or Dafula’s dolphin were something she could acquire without spending a skill point on aquatic forms, even if there was some way for them to be brought to the gathering.

A short time later, Lucinda arrived at Sevi's hut with Grissa and Varmia beside her. The spider-loving woman was in, and appeared to have only recently awoken.

“Hi, Ladies,” Sevi said as she peeled back the grass covering the door. “Ready to get poked?”

“Good choice of words,” Grissa replied with a firm nod as she led the way inside.

“I’m just here to observe,” Varmia said. “And make sure no one dies a horrible death.”

All eyes seemed to turn to Lucinda in an expectant manner.

“I’m not falling for that…” she said, giving each of the three other women a quick glare as she did. Grissa burst into laughter, while the other two simply smiled.

The interior of hut was largely the same as Lucinda’s own, with the main difference being the lack of a second bed. The extra space provided by that lack was taken up by a larger table and additional chairs. Prathin was seated at it, with the remnants of breakfast laid out before him. As Grissa joined him, he offered a greeting of his own.

“Hey. Looks like its time for me to go take a soak,” he said. “Have fun.”

Once her husband had left, Sevi cleared the breakfast clutter to one side of the table, leaving ample room for the bundle she produced from a nearby satchel. Made from a dark leather, the bundle unrolled to reveal several pouches filled with stoppered vials, a collection of thin wooden stakes, and a large assortment of piercing jewellery attached via small holes in the interior.

A slight flush found Lucinda’s cheeks as she looked over the collection.

Some of these are for… nipples? Ah, so what?

Shaking the silly thought from her head, Lucinda sat down at the table between Grissa and Varmia.

“Okay. For Lucinda’s benefit, let me explain how this works.” Sevi pulled out one of the vials from her kit. “Thanks to this, there’s nothing for you to worry about. A few dabs, a short wait, and you won’t feel a thing. Then once the needle is through, and the piercing in place, I’ll heal you up, and all will be well!”

“…That doesn’t sound so bad. Umm, what if I use Wooden Flesh first?”

“Then I’ll have a very hard time sticking the needle through.” Sevi laughed quietly. “I recommend you choose something from these.” Sevi leaned over the splayed bundle and pointed to the first four rows. “I would offer you more than one… but, they do cost me something.”

“You might want to choose some of the studs. Much safer that way,” Grissa said. “Getting them ripped out isn’t fun.”

“But they’re not nearly as pretty,” Varmia countered, flashing a smile at Lucinda as she did. “Choose what you like the look of. I can even lend you a spare set of studs if you’re really worried.”

“Ah, thanks…” Lucinda replied.

Sevi soon applied her salve to both Lucinda and Grissa’s ears. Other than a slight coldness as it touched her skin, Lucinda felt nothing unusual, though trying to decide which adornment to choose proved a potent distraction. There was quite a variety on offer, ranging from the studs Grissa favoured, through simple hoops, all the way to large dangling ornaments. Despite the cat-loving Druid’s recommendation, Lucinda felt herself more drawn to the dangling sort, and had to agree with Varmia with regards to their respective prettiness.

“I think, these ones,” Lucinda said, indicating a pair that had two beads and a silver flower hanging from their respective hooks, with a gap between each part. The beads were a bright blue in colour and made from a semi-transparent glass-like material, while the flowers were splayed open flat, with a small blue gem in the centre.

“Let’s see…” Varmia said, as she removed them from the Sevi’s kit and held them up to Lucinda’s ears. Moving to stand behind her she queried the other two women. “Grissa? Sevi?”

“Not bad,” Grissa said.

“A lovely choice,” Sevi said with considerably more enthusiasm.

“And from me: Gorgeous,” Varmia added as she sat down, while a knowing smile played across her lips.

“There’s a mirror in there too. Take a look yourself.” Sevi nodded at her kit, before turning to set her tools upon Grissa.

While waiting for her turn, Lucinda tried on a few more pieces, but ultimately settled upon her first choice. The process, as demonstrated, did appear to be perfectly painless, and before long Lucinda received a physical confirmation of that fact.

“There, all done,” Sevi announced. “How do they feel?”

Lucinda turned her head to and fro, as she considered the question. The pieces of jewellery moving about as she did, was an interesting new sensation, but she soon decided it was not one that bothered her.

“Fine, I think. Thanks, Sevi!”

“Not bad at all, girl,” Grissa offered.

The expectant look of Grissa’s raised eyebrow brought a small burst of laughter from Lucinda as she took in her friend’s earrings. Despite being just small, round studs, they were quite attractive. While predominantly silver, a small glint of green emerged whenever they caught the light just right.

“Very pretty,” Lucinda soon concluded.

“The best part is that you can now go and buy your own whenever you see a new pair you like the look of!” Sevi declared with obvious enthusiasm.

“Or receive them as gifts,” Varmia added.

“About time for a morning swim, I think,” Grissa announced. “Who’s with me?”

“Ah, what about body art?” Sevi asked. “Prathin should be back soon, and he could draw up some sketches for those interested?”

“I’ll pass.”

“I’m interested!” Varmia said. “Lucinda?”

“Umm, yeah, a sketch might be nice to see.”

“Catch ya later then,” Grissa said as she departed from the hut.

“What are you two thinking?” Sevi asked. “Remember it doesn’t have to be an animal companion…”

“Definitely Marrow for me,” Lucinda said immediately. “I better call her over…”

“Did you find a bone?” she sent to her companion.

“Bone!” Marrow’s happy response revealed all.

“What else would we pick?” Varmia asked.

“There’s a lot of choice really…”

“Could you come to Sevi’s hut? Prathin’s going to draw you.”

“Marrow?”

“I’ll explain in a bit.”

“…or you could have permanent make-up like me.” Sevi indicated the dark additions to her face. “Or instead of a companion, why not a person you’re close to? If you have someone like that…”

“I’m back,” Prathin called out. “Was that a body art talk I caught the end of?” he asked as he moved over to the table.

“Sure was. Lucinda and Varmia are both considering it.”

“Great! Animal companions is it?”

“Too obvious?” Lucinda asked with a grin in Prathin’s direction.

The male Druid laughed loudly. “It’s usually a safe bet. It’s cool with me though. Whatever you think you’ll like. How about location?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’d like it to be fairly small, though.”

“In that case, I can run some ideas past you; See what you think.”

With Prathin’s help, it took only a short stint of discussion for Lucinda to settle on a potential location for her tattoo. Deciding upon what form the image of Marrow – who had turned up while the discussion was underway – might take also took some work, but she eventually ended up opting for the idea of her companion being drawn in mid-flight. Varmia meanwhile, made a point of not telling Lucinda where she planned to get hers added, though she did reveal what she wanted: Ingala lying on her back as if floating in a lake, with a clear emphasis on her cuteness.

“Great!” Prathin said, once he had been informed of Lucinda’s and Varmia’s requests. “I can sketch those up right now. Shouldn’t take too long. Once that’s done, I’ll give you some time to decide as to whether you want to go ahead with it or not; Or make changes to what I’ve drawn; Even new ideas. No need to rush things!”

“Then, this is a perfect time for me to borrow Lucinda,” Sevi announced.

“Ah, okay?” Lucinda replied.

“Stay here, Marrow,” Lucinda sent to her companion. “I’ll be back soon. Do what Prathin asks, okay?”

“Friend!” Marrow acknowledged.

“This way,” Sevi said.

The spider-loving woman grabbed Lucinda’s hand and led her outside of the hut without delay. Their destination turned out to be extremely close; Located just behind the couples’ temporary home, where a mass of spider webbing was visible. The sight was enough to bring a smile to Lucinda’s face.

“Your companion’s been busy,” Lucinda said, as she followed Sevi to the silvery construct.

Sevi giggled briefly. “I told you she prefers the dark. All last night she was up building herself a home here. And I did ask Fi for permission, in case you were wondering.”

“This doesn’t look like a typical spider home.”

In fact, the webbing appeared to be formed into a rectangular building that almost looked like an extension to the hut it rested behind. Lucinda had to concede that it was an efficient use of material, with the two branch-based walls on either side providing most of the structure.

“Ready to see her?” Sevi asked, pausing in front of the low opening at the front of the extrusion.

“Sure!”

Crawling through the opening behind Sevi, Lucinda was met with a dingy, but cosy room. The interior light level was quite surprising considering the material used for the roof; However, Sevi was quick to point out why that was.

“She made me add grass above to help block out the light,” Sevi explained. “Apparently it was unfair that me and Prathin had such a luxurious place to stay that wasn’t to her liking. Isn’t that right, Narpthi?”

Lucinda felt a small pulse of alarm as she watched the large black spider stir from its bed. There was no doubting the creature was friendly, but a giant spider was a giant spider. Even knowing what to expect thanks to Sevi’s body painting, the dark spindly form of her companion was a menacing sight.

“Of course, I’m teasing you. You know I love you, really.” Sevi said, as her spider companion swarmed over her to rest its body in her lap, while its legs splayed outwards. “This is Lucinda, Narpthi. She wants to borrow your form.”

The giant black spider spun to face Lucinda, giving her a good view of the large fangs it bore, and the multitude of eyes it possessed. In terms of size, it appeared much the same as the giant spider Lucinda was so familiar with, yet Narpthi’s fore and back legs were uneven in length, and extended further outwards behind and in front of her than her other two pairs.

Another pulse of alarm struck sharply, as Narpthi crawled atop her lap; the long legs extending upwards to curl past her.

“See, beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Umm, I guess,” Lucinda replied unsurely. “Beautiful, but terrifying?”

“Oh, what a compliment!” Sevi stroked her hand along Narpthi’s abdomen, while Lucinda was treated to a rapid flexing of the large spidery fangs before her.

Lucinda reached past Narpthi’s head, bringing her hand to the frontal part of the main body. Placing her hand gently down on top of the creature, it was encompassed by the soft spidery hairs she found there.

Shapeshifts Name Base Attributes Attribute Bonuses Base Level Rank Bonuses STR AGI END STR AGI END Giant Black Widow 32 43 27 1.2 1.4 1.1 9 1 Distracting Bite Distracting Bite (Giant Black Widow)

Apply intensely painful poison to a target with a bite.

Scales with Base Level and Spirit.

Cost: 15% Base Mana.

“It worked!” Lucinda exclaimed happily. “Thanks, Narpthi, Sevi.”

“You weren’t sure because you already had a spider form?”

“With other similar animals, it hasn’t worked… I’m not sure why exactly, but this form has a much higher Base Rank. Maybe that?”

“I’m glad I could help. Narpthi is too. Before we head back, there was something else I wanted to bring up.”

Lucinda’s attention fell upon Sevi as her tone suddenly turned serious.

“I ended up chatting with Grissa about you last night. I’m not sure how the topic came up… But, it did, and I had an idea of how I might help!” Sevi smiled as Lucinda’s expression turned to one of confusion. “I’m talking about dealing with overeager men. She said that was something you were worrying about.”

“Oh! Ah, I have been. Waflaw didn’t have much to say about it… Not that I blame him.”

“Well, my idea might seem a bit… unusual, but I’d thought I’d let you know anyway.” Sevi encouraged her companion back onto her lap, and then began petting it gently. “Narpthi is a black widow spider; A giant one. I’m not sure how it is for you, but my shapeshift provides an ability that inflicts a great deal of pain, despite only doing a reasonable amount of damage.”

“Mine’s the same.”

“Okay, that helps. Well, my idea is based around Narpthi’s smaller cousin. A normal black widow spider. They’re not a threat for anyone or anything past a certain size, but they still possess a very painful bite.”

Lucinda’s eyes went wide as she caught the direction Sevi was heading in.

“You think I should keep a tiny spider pet?” she asked.

Sevi smiled happily. “Yes, exactly! I know not everyone loves them as much as me… And it would take a lot of work… But, I think it might help!”

“Wow… Okay… Umm, I mean that makes sense I guess.”

“I actually tried it myself once. It didn’t go so well… Don’t let that put you off though! You remember I said Prathin and I don’t travel much? I didn’t put much effort into it, it was just a fleeting idea I had at the time. If you tried harder than I did, I’m sure you’d have a better chance!”

“When you say it didn’t go well…?”

“Oh, uh, well.” Sevi’s flushed cheeks were still visible in the gloomy den. “They’re web-building spiders, and she kept building a web in my hair – that’s where I was keeping her.”

“You kept one in your hair!?”

“It was fine until the charm spell wore off! But, uh, then I managed to get bitten…” Sevi grimaced. “You should try and avoid that part if you can.”

“I guess that’s what makes it an option, though?”

“Yes! If you could charm one enough times that it recognised you as a proper friend, and managed to stop it from web building… Some man gets too handsy, and you unleash an excruciating spider bite on them!”

“Hmm… Could that work in combat too?”

“Oh, maybe? They’re really weak little things… Any area spell, or impact to wherever you kept it would likely end badly. Their bite won’t work if the target is protected either.”

I had been thinking of attempting to train something with my innate ability… Though not really something so risky…

“What do you think?” Sevi asked.

“I…” Lucinda smiled at the older woman. “I think you’re a bit crazy, but maybe I am too, because I’m going to consider it.”

“Oh, that’s great! If you do give it a try, you just have to let me know about it! Come visit us, or send a letter if you can.”

“Sure, I will.”

Sevi smiled and nodded at Lucinda’s words. “Prathin had an idea too.”

Lucinda couldn’t help but giggle. “A snake?”

“Yes, a snake. A purple bush viper to be exact. He says they’re about shoulder-width in length, and like black widows, the bite is supposed to be exceptionally painful. He was really enthusiastic about it too. I’m wondering if he might give it a try himself…”

“Aren’t you two immune to poison?”

“Almost. But knowing him, he’ll carry it on him all the time… And with our plans to have a baby… Anyway, that’s for me to worry about. Shall we head back? I wrote a bit of information down for you. Descriptions, places you might find them, how to take care of them. Things like that.”

“That’d be great. Thanks!”