"I plan to leave Zaracona tomorrow morning," Valen says, as he stares at the dumbfounded expression on Garren's face.

“You can't be serious,” Garren starts “It's only been 2 months since you came to my village. What will Lin think?” A worried expression on his face.

“Lin will be going with me and before you interject, she told me that she will travel the desert after me if I leave without her,” a pleased chuckle escaping Valen's mouth.

Sighing loudly and slouching in his chair, the big Bear-kin inspects Valen with a critical eye.” It's not like I will stop you, just know that you will be putting Lin in danger.”

Nodding in understanding, Valen quickly changes the subject,” I need money,” Valen says, the Rune-crafted orc longsword materializes on the table.

"The sword won't be necessary," Garren says as he gets up and walks towards a cabinet. Opening it up, he retrieves a leather bag in his hand."Unfortunately, beastkin prefer to barter for supplies instead of using any form of monetary value. So I only have a small number of coins here to give you," Garren opens a pouch from his pocket and places a small stack of coins on the table in front of Valen. The majority of the coins are a dark yellow color, with a few white colored coins mixed in."Thanks to the collaboration of various guilds, a common monetary coin was created, and is used throughout Nostris." Garren begins to point at the Yellow coin" This is a yellow Nost, which is the lowest coin available," next he points towards the white one,"almost as common as the yellow Nost, the white Nost is equivalent to ten yellows."

Before Valen can say anything, Garren plops the leather bag on the table."And here is your kills," Garren opens the bag, revealing crystals of various sizes and colors." These crystals were taken from every beast you have killed and brought back to our town,"

Varen raises an eyebrow at the sight of the crystals” They were in the beasts?” Valen asks, confusion evident in his tone.

"Powerful animals that live a long life will mutate, gaining abnormal traits. These traits can be anything from a larger size to outright gaining wings."Garren explains as he starts taking the crystals out of the bag

"These mutations also form these crystals inside their body. They have the natural ability to absorb ambient Mana, thus are a key component in enchantments and potion making. They also sell very well."

Garren takes the various crystals and puts them in the bag and then pushes the bag and coins towards Valen."The crystals are yours since the beasts were your kill. The coins are payment for the meat you supplied the town when our population spiked."

“Huh……thanks, I guess,” Valen answers as he makes all of the items on the table vanish.

“The desert is long, and the dangers there are many, will you be able to travel through it?” Garren asks, looking Valen in the eye.

Valen only nods, a confident smile on his face.

Valen gets up and heads towards the door.“Till we meet again,” Valen says, as he walks out of Garren's home, passing Leona on the way out, a confused look on her face.

“What happened,” Leona asks, a sad smile on Garren's face. “He is leaving, and your sister will be going with him.”

"What! Why?" Leona asks, a panicked look on her face.

"Because he wants to see the world, and your sister wants to be by his side," Garren explains. "Now then, what is the reason you have come to visit me?" Garren asks, while his massive arms rest on the table.

Taking a deep breath, Leona tightens her hands, claws digging into her skin, drawing blood. "I….am weak," Leona squeaks, tears forming in her eyes,"cocky, angry, and….prideful," tears start to pour down her face, "please…..train me." Leona falls on her knees, head down, tears flowing from her eyes, while blood seeps from her palms.

Nodding in approval, Garren stands up and walks in front of the crying tigress.”Grendel bled more and cried less.”

Looking up, Leona finds Garren smiling down at her.”I will train you, but the first thing you are going to need to do is clean that mess your making. Belinda will kill me if she fi-.”

“Garren!” Belinda interrupts, walking down the stairs, staring at the beastkin on the floor.

“Why is she crying? What the hell did you do? She’s making a mess Garren,” Belinda yells, glaring at her husband.

Garren slowly rubs his face," I have the worst luck," he whispers to himself, a headache starting to form.

______________________________________

Lin and Garren stand before a large desert, hardened sand below their feet, the sun burning overhead.

Turning around, Valen takes one last long look at Geralyn, a smile forming on his lips as he remembers all the interesting things he has seen and done.

“Its super hot,” Lin interrupts his musings, looking up at him, some form of expectation donning her face.

Her white dress stands out from the desert floor, as the overly large sombrero sits squarely on her head, shading most of her petite little body.

“Your starting to get very spoiled,” Valen says, as he looks at Lin, an expectant smile on her face.

“Your the one who spoils me,” she quips, a cute pout donning her face.

“Yeah, maybe I should make you walk,” Valen continues, only for her pout to be replaced with a cheeky smile.

“Ohhhhhh, so we aren't going to walk,” Lin says, hands on her hips, waiting for Valen to do his thing.

"Ughhhhh, you're too smart for your own good," an exasperated smile forming on his face.

Valen walks towards the desert, his Mana reacting to his beck and call. More and more Mana starts to release from his body, covering the ground in front of him. With a force of will, reality bends and a dominating metal vehicle comes into being.

A Hummer stands before them, the silver metal sheen glinting off the sunlight, while it's massive black wheels stand firmly on the ground.

Lin stare's with open-mouthed amazement, her eyes wider than ever before." What is that?" She asks, tail frantically swishing under her dress.

"This," Valen gestures to the hummer," is a magical carriage."

Excited giggles escape Lin's mouth as she starts to jump with childish glee. Valen walks towards the passenger side and opens the door,"Get in Lin," Valen says, only for Lin to run full speed inside, her rump smacking on the leather seat, eyes roaming the insides of the car.

Taking the seat belt, Valen straps an amused Lin in and closes the door.

Walking to the other side, Valen climbs into the hummer, a new car smell prevalent inside. Strapping himself down, two sets of shades appear in his hand. Putting one on and giving a smaller pair to Lin, he grabs the keys from the sun visor and puts it in the ignition.

Lin watches as Valen takes a metal key and puts it in the carriage, her overwhelming curiosity barely contained by the seat belt keeping her still.

A beastly sound vibrates through the vehicle, Lin freezing up immediately, her ears twitching, searching for any hostile threat. Looking at Valen, a shit-eating grin is spread across his face. Pouting, Lin attempts to put a frown on her face, which becomes quite hard when the windows start to come down, and the sunroof opens up.

Lin listens to the hum of the motor, her ears twitching, interest peaking again.

“Here we go,” Valen shifts to drive and places his foot on the gas pedal. Lin freezes up as the vehicle starts to move, fear slowly going away as the wind starts to hit her face. Lin starts to giggle, the exhilaration of moving fast awakening something primal in her. As the meter on the dashboard passes 100, he finds Lin laughing, her head sticking out of the car window, her body freed of the safety belt.

If anyone was watching, they would find a metal monstrosity blazing over the ground, a dust cloud trailing to the sound of a child's laughter.

___________________________________

Stars cover the night sky, while the moon is hidden from view. No sound can be heard, except the howl of the wind as it passes through the trees.

As the howling sound continues, two sisters sit side by side with each other, breaking the silence of the night.

"What was that Saleena?" Saria asks, the two facing forward, their tails swishing lightly to the breeze.

"Some kind of metal carriage I think, except that it was moving on its own," Saleena explains, a frustrated look on her face.

Neither girl says anything more, their foul mood caused from the loss of a potential mate. A mate they have been stalking for two months, hoping for an opportunity to take by surprise, but such a time has never come.

A crackling sound is all the warning either girl gets as the branch supporting their weight falls to the ground, both girls falling with it.

Saleena rolls as she strikes the ground, quickly getting on her feet. Saria is not nearly so lucky, as she attempts to get up from her prone form.

As Saleena helps her sister get up, a Mana enhanced tail sweeps through the ground, striking their legs, and forcing the girls on the ground.

A black figure stands before them. A huge fluffy tail sweeps menacingly back and forth. The figure stares at the two Panthers with glowing green eyes.

"So a good friend of mine, by the name of Belinda, told me that my daughters were hunting for a mate." A sharp smile crosses the black fox-kin's lips." And now I hear that this man has escaped," Saleve says, disappointment present in her voice.

"He has magic nobody has ever seen before, and items that are outright unpredictable," Saleena counters, thoughts about her first experience with Valen at the forefront of her mind.

“Interesting, Belinda did say that my daughter's where after a unique mate, and that they will probably need my help,” a predatory smile don's her lips,”tell me, will he ever return here?” Saleve asks.

"He travels with Lin, the sister of Leona, and her only family left. I am sure he will return here for at least a visit, just so Lin can see her sister again," Saria explains, rubbing her bruised butt from the fall.

"Perfect," answers Saleve." It seems I will be busy training my daughter's for a few years."

Saleve's Green eyes glow menacingly as she stares at her daughters, their excitement as clear as the swishing of their tails.