Neil

The lesson with Jax had only lasted an hour but in that time I was able to learn the basics of channeling earth affinity mana and gained two levels in the skill as well. It seemed that having a teacher sped up learning a skill much more than compared to just experimenting on my own. I would have loved spending all day with Jax learning everything he could teach me, but sadly we didn’t have the time. Just after I learned how to raise large amounts of dirt into vaguely wall shaped piles, Yallia and Talass came back loaded up with bags filled with potions, food and water. Grabbing my pack I put a few of my personal possessions in it and then Yallia and I were practically shoved towards the edge of the mountain.

Just before Yallia and I started down the mountain we saw Hallice and Talass standing a few feet from each other talking in low tones. Talass had her arms glued to her sides and despite looking like she wanted to start crying her mother was stone faced and had her hands folded in front of her calmly. It wasn’t exactly a heartwarming goodbye I would have expected but judging by their expressions I could see that they were going to miss each other.

Holding it together long enough to turn and slither away Talass pushed past us and started down the mountain. Yallia and I shared a look and she pointed at Talass with a nod of her head and an expression that said ‘Well? Go talk to her.’

Sighing I started after her as Yallia fell into step behind me.

“So should we wait for a few hours before we take some of our stamina potions? Or just take one now?”

Talass sniffled a few times and wiped at her face before responding.

“We might as well wait until we get a little more tired, at the bottom of the mountain at least. The potions should last for about 10 hours but that’s still not enough time to get us all the way to the Chellack tribe, but we can at least make it as far along as we can and go the rest of the way tomorrow.”

“10 hours really? I was never able to get anything close to that.”

“Of course not, you might be a gifted amature, but your still not even close to as good at potion making as even a 10-year-old Lamia.”

“I know I actually had a 7 year old giving me tips the other day. It would have been embarrassing if they weren’t right.” Unsure of what to say next and Talass apparently unwilling to continue the conversation the two of us lapsed into a silence as we continue to walk.

We walked for over an hour, making it down the mountain and retracing some of our steps before Talass started flagging, even I was starting to feel tired. Hiking all night and heading right back out just a few hours later was starting to catch up to me.

“I think we...” I said just as Talass began to speak.

“I want to...”

“I’m sorry go ahead.”

“No please you first.” Talass said.

“I was just going to say I think we should have some potions now. I’m getting pretty tired and you don’t look much better.”

“Yes I think your right.”

“What were you going to say?”

Looking down she gathered her thoughts for a second before looking me in the eyes. “I wanted to thank you for coming with me. I know that you have no real reason for helping us, there is nothing tying you to us, or even your friend, but still you are helping all of us rather than simply leaving. I always knew that someday I would be married and I had hoped that my mother would be there with me, Shassala, or at least some of my other friends, but I am happy that I will have at least one friend with me.” She said her blue eyes holding my own.

Shocked I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn’t find the words. Her attitude towards me had thawed, but I still hadn’t realized that she thought of me as a friend. Taking a moment I said the first thing that came to my mind, even if it was a little trite. “You're welcome, for what it's worth I’m sorry you’re being forced into this marriage. I know I’m not exactly happy about being pimped out by your mother like this, I can’t imagine it being much better for you.”

“Is that what you think she has done today? Sold me like grain? She’s protecting me, ensuring that no matter what happens to my people I will at least will not only survive but thrive in a position of authority in another tribe. As for the marriage? It was inevitable that I would have to be married someday, I just never thought it would be so sudden. Still if my people survive then, this could be a boon for them, I may be able to strengthen the bond between our tribes and stop any fighting in the future.”

“It’s a lot to put on your shoulders, are you sure you're going to be ok doing this?”

“If it helps my people survive then I will bear this burden, and besides marriage and childbirth are a women’s duty I was always going to get married someday, I should consider myself lucky that it is to the son of a Chieftan. Many daughters who move to other tribes do not get such a match.”

“You don’t exactly sound happy about it, you must have dreamed of something other than this when you were younger.”

The two of us walked in silence and a I let Talass think on her answer for awhile longer still not getting the potions out of our pack despite our sedate pace.

After a few minutes she spoke again. “Those are just the dreams of a little girl, a child. What I really want now more than anything is to know that my family and tribe are safe, that the people I grew up with will not have to worry about being murdered for their land. I am willing to give up the dreams of a child for that.”

“I can respect the hell out of that Talass. For what it's worth I’m sorry you won’t get to see Shassala again or meet your father.”

“Thank you, but for now we should take our potions and hurry. Time is against us.”

“As usual, just once I would love to be able to walk places in a nice at a nice and leisurely pace. Not worrying about turning into a giant monster, or getting eaten by a giant monster, or any other crap.”

The three of us stopped and opened our packs. I looked at the water skin filled with liquid and examined it.

“What?”

DING

Legendary Potion of Stamina

This was hand crafted by the best potion maker of her generation. It will allow a person to exert themselves for up to 10 hours without tiring. After that they will need to rest and will suffer from the TIRED condition.

Just tired at the end? That’s not so bad, the first time I ever took one of these potions I thought I was going to die when it wore off. Looking at the other two I saluted them and then drank the potion, both the others following suit after a moment.

“Do you feel any different?” Yallia asked.

“A little I guess? I wasn’t that tired to begin with. We’ll still need to drink lots of water, worry about heat stroke and eat as we run so let’s start off easy for now and pick up the pace later.”

Talass led the way through the jungle and while we weren’t sprinting all out we still kept a steady ground eating pace. Talass assured us we should be able to make it to the Chelacks village tomorrow in the late afternoon if we maintained this speed. Then I would need to perform the blessings, and god wasn’t that a weird thought. Afterwards we get the key and we had two day to run back. Hopefully the Empire would treat the Lamia well while we were gone, and they wouldn’t find what they were looking for and leave, otherwise Yallia and I would have to chase them through the jungle in order to save her father.

After setting an easy pace for an hour Talass seemed to get impatient and despite what she had said earlier she increased her pace so much that I had to sprint to keep up. It was actually hilarious to watch as Talass’s hips wiggled back and forth at a furious pace, she looked like a stripper running a marathon. It was effective though and Yalia and I had to full on run to keep up with her. After running for almost 5 hours we took an abrupt left at the ruined city and started on a small game trail that ran around the city.

Hour after hour we moved forwards almost in a daze. A dozen times we stopped by a river and dunked our heads in the cold stream, then refilled our water skins added a potion to it that made it safe and then we drank until our stomachs sloshed as we ran.

Any doubts about the effectiveness of the potions had long since faded from my mind as the hours dragged on and we ran onwards and onwards with a single-minded determination. Still no matter how much we ran, how hot we got or even how thirsty and hungry we would get our muscles themselves never ached or even got tired.

The sun was lobg past its zenith and heading down towards the mountains when Talass finally called for us to stop. We were in a secluded clearing with a nearby waterfall coming off a small cliff, the waterfall was feeding a small pond which was draining along the base of the mountain and joining up with a larger river. The nearby trees were filled with fruits and provided enough shade that with a stiff breeze it actually felt cool.

“We’ve got a little time before the potions wear off we should get our camp set up before they do.”

My eyes locked onto the pool of water immediately and I dropped my pack to the ground opened it and began shoving food into my mouth as quickly as I could trying to make up for all the calories I had burned throughout the day washing it down with gulps of water. We had eaten as much as we dared while running, but not wanting to get a stomachache or vomit limited us to just small snacks and water, after 10 hours of running I felt like I could eat my own body weight in food and I had sweated out every drop of water in my body.

Deciding I could take out my bed roll later I began stripping off my clothes in-between bites of food.

“What are you doing?” Talass asked looking at me distracted from setting up her own sleeping area.

“Bathing, I stink.” Talass brow furrowed and lips pursed into a frown opened her mouth to complain but I cut her off before she could. “And unless you’d like to meet your in-laws covered in sweat you might want to do the same.”

Talass surreptitiously sniffed her armpit and grimaced, but it wasn’t until she saw Yallia pulling her own shirt over her head that her mouth snapped shut, her argument dying in her throat.

No sooner had I pulled off the last of my clothes than I waded into the water gasping as the cold water went up to my knees. Hesitating at the end of a submerged rock I took a deep breath and jumped into the water gasping as the freezing water covered my head. Swimming out and down I tried to find the bottom of the pond and any other rocks that could be sticking up. The bottom of the pond was a soft mud that my hands sunk into and I couldn’t find any rocks sticking up as well. Swimming upwards I broke the surface of the water laughing in enjoyment at the feeling of the cool water surrounding me until I felt an impact near me and water splashing over me.

Wiping the water off I looked up and saw Talass standing on the shore looking torn. I was about to wonder where Yallia was when her head broke the surface of the water sending droplets of water into my eyes.

“Watch it.” I said wiping at my eyes again.

“You watch it, I almost landed on you.”

“You want to get landed on?” I asked as I started channeling mana into the water and I began pushing myself to the edge of the pool. Climbing out I walked to the cliff and carefully pulled myself up the rocks beside the waterfall. Finding a rock that was hanging over the pond I looked down and saw both Yallia and Talass looking up at me. Running and jumping off the edge I curled into a ball just as I hit the water Splashing Yallia.

Smiling so wide that my face hurt I let myself drift through the water before kicking off the muddy bottom and swimming back up. Breaking the surface I shook my head flinging water everywhere. Yallia shook her head with a frown clearing away the water I splashed her with.

Laughing at her affronted expression I looked at the shore to see Talass diving into the water headfirst. I got a brief look at the smooth pale skin of her back before she disappeared underneath the water with a small splash her tail following the rest of her into the water. After a moment I felt her swimming underneath the two of us before something grabbed my foot. I had enough time for panic to take over my expression before I was pulled under the water.

It wasn’t a hard pull but the surprise was enough for my head to slip under the surface. Trying not to kick Talass in the face I stilled my feet but windmilled my arms in the water trying to get above the surface.

By the time I did I saw Talass and Yallia near each other, Yallia treading water and Talass was apparently able to stand on her tail and stay above the surface as her hands were still by her side. Yallia was smirking at me and Talass was gazing at Yallia while trying not to be obvious about it.

Annoyed at the Lamia I splashed her getting Yallia at the same time. Talass put her hands up to shield herself but Yallia just grinned. The cat girl caught at the snake girls' eye and nodded towards me. My stomach sinking at what I had just unleashed I took a deep breath just as the two of them splashed me so much I was certain they were using water magic. Not wanting to use my own magic I dover under the water and saw Yallia’s legs slowly kicking and Talass’s tail angled straight down to the bottom of the pool.

Swimming to Yallia I gently grasped her ankle and gently tugged down before letting go, swimming down I followed Talass’s tail reaching the bottom I grasped Talass’s tail and pulled but I might as well have been trying to move a tree for all the good I was doing. My lungs starting to burn I pushed off the bottom of the pool and swam upwards, eyes open to avoid crashing into anyone.

Breaching the surface I was able to take in a lungful of air before the water started splashing me again, directly in my open mouth. Coughing and sputtering I made my way back to the edge of the pool as the two stopped splashing me when it became apparent I had breathed in most of the water. As I tried to dislodge the water I felt a few hard slaps on my back that I figured must have been from Yallia, between the two of the only she could be that violently helpful.

When I finally got the water out of my lungs I turned to face the two and sat on the edge of the rocks that formed the natural edge of the pool, most of my lower body still in the water.

“That, is what you get for starting trouble.” Yallia said with a smirk.

“I didn’t start trouble, she did.” I said pointing at Talass.

“Who her?” she asked moving beside Talass putting her arm around her shoulders in a sideways hug. “Look at this face she wouldn’t hurt a mouse.”

Talass for her part was staring directly at Yallia’s breasts with an expression that I would best describe as two parts awe, one part wonderment and three parts embarrassment, if the blush going from her forehead to her own breasts was any indication. Not that I could blame her, with the cold water streaming down her body her nipples looked like they could cut glass. Of course beside Talass Yallia’s chest looked almost flat. Finally getting a good view of her breasts was enough to make me believe in a higher power. Almost as large as her head they were perfectly formed and incredibly perky topped with large nipples.

“Yeah, she looks completely innocent right now.”

Talass seemed to realize I was talking about her and looked up and away just before Yallia looked at her.

“You know if the two of you are going to be mean to me I won't share this with you.” I said as I reached into my pack and pulled out the last bit of my bar of soap.

“You won’t share your blue candy?” Yallia asked.

“It’s soap.” I said as I dunked it into the water and began lathering my body.

Yallia’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as the soap lathered up and I cleaned under my arms.

“I can trade for that.” And before I could ask another question she was out of the pool and rooting through her own pack. Talass appeared next to me as if by magic and the two of us looked at her hips and ass as they swayed back and forth as she searched for something.

Switching to Lamia I asked. “Enjoying the show?”

Talass elbowed me in the stomach but she didn’t stop looking.

After a moment Yallia thrust a bottle, that I unfortunately remembered; into the air she then jumped back into the pool.

“Is that what I think it is? I thought we finished it? Or threw it out, or threw it up.”

“You didn’t throw it all up, and I would never let it get thrown out. What do you say, fair is fair?” She asked shaking the mostly empty bottle of Kallaz.

Hesitating for a moment I considered what to do, did I really want to drink? I had seen what it had done to my parents, and alcoholism runs in families. Still, it wasn’t like there were liquor stores in the area and I would have the opportunity to be drinking all day every day, the bottle was mostly empty anyways, what was the worst that could happen?

“Sure, just don’t use all of the soap, I’m sure Talass would like to clean up before meeting her in-laws.”

I switched the bottle of alcohol for the small sliver of soap and took a drink pulling a face. Talass who had still been looking at Yallia more than anything else was treated to the sight of the cat girl scrubbing every possible spot that could need it as vigorously as possible.

“I think cleanliness is important to her people.” I said to the snake girl as I offered her the bottle. “Careful it’s strong and tastes terrible, and if you spill any Yallia will kick your ass.”

She looked at the bottle for a moment with a suspicious expression for a moment before taking it from my hand and putting it to her lips. When she lurched forwards with a gag I took the bottle from her and tried not to laugh too loudly.

“Don’t let him laugh at you he cried the first time he drank any.” Yallia said as she patted Talass on the back her body covered in soap. Talass looked mortified at the attention but Yallia didn’t seem to notice. I had another drink before handing it to Yallia as she passed the soap to Talass. Letting myself float in the water and relax I already felt my head start to get a little fuzzy as the alchol hit me.

Given how long Talass's body was she probably wouldn’t be able to clean everything but she could at least try.

Looking back at Yallia I saw as she drained the bottle in two gulps before dropping into the water with a sigh.

“Is that it?”

“That’s it.” She said treading water beside me.

A feeling of annoyance welled up inside of me and something must have shown on my face because Yallia quirked an eyebrow at me. “Don’t be greedy, I barely had any, and besides were all drinking on an empty stomach after running all day, it will hit you hard.”

Annoyed at myself for being upset as my head was already buzzing I just nodded.

“What’s wrong?” Yallia asked.

“Nothing.” I said looking away.

“That’s dog shit, something was bothering you, what was it?”

Probably because of the alcohol I started talking before I could stop myself.

“I was just thinking about my parents.”

“You're in a pool with two naked women and you're thinking about your parents?”

As I processed what she had said my mouth opened but nothing came out. “Seriously? This is why I didn’t want to say anything.” I said with more heat than I intended, although I immediately regretted it. “Sorry I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“No, your right, I pushed you to open up and then said that when you did, I’m sorry, what's bothering you?”

Taking a moment to get my emotions under control I took a breath and then spoke “For years I watched my parents fly into rages over absolutely nothing when they drank. They just absolutely screamed at each other over the stupidest shit. They didn’t usually yell at me, at least so long as I was out of the way, that was why I started camping, getting out of the house. I always promised myself that I wouldn’t end up like them, I’d stay calm, I wouldn’t drink. And now here I am drinking; again after it went so poorly the last time. Just a minute ago I almost snapped at you for drinking the last of your own alcohol, and a second ago I yelled at you for a joke. What am I thinking repeating their mistakes?”

“Calm down Neil, you just snapped at me a little and I already told you I deserved it. Whatever your parents were you're not them.”

“Maybe not but I think drinking makes me more like them, and alcoholism runs in families. Hell, I still want another drink now, even though I’m not really having a good time being drunk now.”

Yallia swam towards the shore and beckoned for me to follow. She indicated the shallow rocks and I sat on one of them still feeling annoyed, and even more annoyed for realizing that I was being illogical for being annoyed in the first place.

Rather than try to reason with me Yallia simply plopped herself down in my lap straddling me so that we were face to face.

“Are you drunk?” I asked.

“No just friendly. You’ve told me before you don’t like to drink and I ignored that, so I want to say that I’m sorry for encouraging you to do something that you didn’t want to do and you knew was a bad idea. Your first- and second-times drinking were with me right?” I nodded and she continued seemingly oblivious to what her close proximity was doing to me. “So now you know, you don’t just suspect you shouldn’t drink you have proof, and from now on I will support you in not drinking if that’s what you want, and besides you're not that bad so don’t worry about it any more ok?”

I nodded along in agreement barely paying attention to what she was saying and instead focusing on where our skin was touching. Looking at each other we started moving our lips towards each other's when a splash from beside us soaked us both and something small and soft thwapped me in the side of the head.

I swung my head to look at Talass my hand going to whatever hit me. Talass was regarding us both icily and had her hand outstretched towards me. “I left you some.” She said as my hand closed over the smallest sliver of soap possible, then she turned away and splashed into the water swimming away from us.

Yallia and I shared a look before she got off of me and splashed into the water after Talass. I gave myself a moment to let the cool water work its magic on my half erect cock before I followed them. By the time I got over to them I wasn’t sure how, but Yallia had not only cheered up Talass but was now play wrestling with her. Actually as I watched them I started to think that that was how she had cheered up the snake girl.

Talass who had been steeling glances at Yallia’s body since we had gotten into the water was now wrestling the cat girl, and despite the fact that I knew she was physically stronger and she should have been more stable on account of her tail touching the ground she was losing pretty badly. This had the effect of letting Yallia grab her body and run her hands over her. This seemed to be distracting enough that Talass was standing stock still and letting Yallia wrap her arms around her as she tried to gain enough leverage to throw the snake girl into the water.

“You winning or you losing?” I shouted to Talass as I dove into the water.

She looked confused for a second until I swum up behind her and held her arms behind her back, she looked back at me with a betrayed look on her face, until of course Yallia took the opportunity to wrap her hands around her hips, placing her head between her breasts as she swam in the opposite direction trying to get enough momentum to shift Talass even a little.

Pulling myself up I spoke softly into her ear. “It doesn’t look like your trying very hard to win.”

Talass looked back at me and she opened her mouth to respond, but whatever she was about to say died on her lips as Yallia pulled at her, instead a soft gasp and moan of pleasure left her mouth. Her eyes were half shut and mouth wide open, I felt her hand reach behind my head and gently pull my head towards hers.

I knew she liked girls, but I also knew that she wanted me to ‘bless’ her so I figured I could assume if she was initiating this she was probably ok with it.

Letting my head be pulled towards hers for what I intended to be a soft chaste kiss but she had something else in mind. Talass’s mouth was open and she led with her tongue, opening my own mouth she pulled my head into hers deepening the kiss. I expected it to be hesitant or shy, what it was instead was desperate, sloppy, and full of heat and need.

Her tongue pushed into my mouth, invading it with an intensity that startled me. I moved my hand to her cheek and tried to calm her by touching her face, it seemed to work and her tongue slowed. I was able to move my own tongue forwards and hers and mine intertwined more gently.

I moved my other hand across her body, along her stomach and slowly upwards towards her breasts, or at least I would have if Yallia’s head wasn’t already there her.

My hand followed along Yallias head which I realized that she was no longer in-between her breasts, but her mouth was now attached to one of her nipples and one of her hands was on the other, pinching and playing with the nub.

Talass broke the kiss moving her face away from mine and looking down at Yallia whose mouth was attached to her nipple like she was trying to nurse, Talass moaned in pleasure and screwed her eyes shut. I moved my hands slowly down her body feeling the soft skin of her stomach as my hands slowly traced down her stomach.

When I felt her smooth skin turn to small scales and I knew that I was getting close. Yallia’s head was moving faster and faster, and Talass’s moans were getting louder and louder to match.

“Are you ok with this?” I asked as I moved my hands down towards her slit.

Her breathing got louder and faster and she nodded, but I wanted to hear her say it.

“Well?”

After another moments hesitation she spoke so softly I almost missed it. “I’m ok with this, all of this.”

Moving my lips to hers our kiss this time was much softer to start with, lips meeting each other before slowly our mouths opened and the kiss deepened. As our tongues began to intertwine I moved my fingers down to her folds gently massaging her outer lips.

As I gently explored her sex with my fingers Talass broke the kiss in order to moan, moving my lips to the side of her neck I worked my way upwards to her earlobe. Gently sucking on it her moans got louder and louder until they cut off with a gasp her body tensing. I stopped kissing her and looked up seeing what alarmed her. Yallia who had been sucking on her nipples had slumped down and was in danger of sinking below the water.

Talass was able to hold Yallia’s head above the water, but not easily. I swam around her body to help her, and between the two of us we wrestled her to the shore.

“Are you ok?” I asked the semi-conscious cat girl as soon as she was laying on a rock.

“I’m ok.” She said rubbing at her face. “I’m just exhausted suddenly. I’m not sure what happened, it was like I just hit a wall.”

“Your potion must have worn off, damn I thought we had a little more time, and I didn’t think it would hit so hard.”

We got her out of the water, dried her off, positioned her on her bed roll and Talass helped her get her clothes on. I quickly through my own clothes on and headed towards the forest.

“Where are you going?” Talass asked incredulously helping Yallia get her pants on.

“To get some firewood. If we’re all that exhausted when the potion wears off then I’ll need to gather it now while I can still walk.”

Simply nodding she helped Yallia into her shirt, for her part Yallia was looking a little more alert after the initial exhaustion.

I wasted no time as I ran through the woods as quickly as I good gathering as much deadfall as I could. I managed to bring back three bundles of wood before I noticed that Talass was now collapsed on the ground beside a slightly more alert Yallia.

I got another 6 bundles of firewood giving us more than enough to last the night. The two ladies were sitting on the ground eating trail rations and looking only half asleep.

“Are you two feeling better?” I asked as Talass handed me my own food while refusing to meet my eyes.

“Much.” Yallia said between mouthfuls of food.

I was about to answer when a wave of tiredness hit me, my eyes drooped, my legs felt shaky and even my arms were barely able to bring the food up to my mouth.

Looking at me Talass took the food from my hand and placed it on the ground near me “Just rest a bit, it will pass soon.” She said.

Nodding I slumped down and waited for the feeling to pass.

By the time I was feeling better Yallia had gotten a small fire going and sat down between Talass and I, she was looking back and forth between the two of us. I was still recovering and Talass was hunched over herself staring into the fire, looking like she was trying to ignore everything around us.

“So is the rest of the trip going to be awkward like this now? Come on you two I thought you were going to get together anyways.” Yallia said to the two of us although I was the only one that understood her.

“It’s a little complicated Yallia, I don’t think she was expecting anything to happen with you.”

“Is it? We all got a little tipsy and blew off some steam, just talk to the girl. She’s probably worried about her wedding night tomorrow. I’d do it but I only know how to ask about food, and mountains.”

Looking at how miserable she looked I realized that Yallia was right, and as I did consider her a friend it was the least I could do.

Switching spots with Yallia I opened my mouth to speak when she beat me to it.

“I don’t regret it if that’s what your worried about, just the opposite. I enjoyed it, it felt good.” As she said the last part she looked towards Yallia who was tending the fire. “It just made me remember Shassala is all.”

“Really?”

She made a sound of agreement before continuing. “She was always the brave one, the one looking for adventure. She would chase after the hunters, go swimming with boys, or sneak out at night. The day she met you she and the others went up the mountain to see the sacred pool, but I think she was just looking for a quiet place to exchange kisses. I was so offended on her behalf, judging her for doing it, and being jealous of Kallix and Renther for having the opportunity to kiss her. I just couldn’t realize it at the time. I knew I loved her, I just always thought it was as a sister until now, and now whenever I think back on our time together.... how blind was I to not realize how I felt? The jealousy when she paid attention to boys, my own complete indifference to when they tried to flirt with me.”

“These things can be confusing sometimes, you're not the first person to struggle with their feelings.”

She finally looked up, but instead of looking relieved she actually gave me a suspicious look. “How long did you know I felt this way about girls? Was it obvious to everyone but me?”

“No, I don’t think so, Yallia actually thought you had a crush on me. I only figured it out a few days ago when she was walking away from us and we were both staring at her but, then it just kinda made sense.”

“I see, so Yallia, she likes boys and girls?”

“I guess, we’ve never really talked about it.”

“And you?”

“Just girls, I’ve never really had any interest in guys.”

“What about your tribe, are there any same sex couples there?”

“No, I don’t' think so. There are a few hunters who are... very close to each other, but they both have wives so I’m not sure. Now that I know it is possible there are a lot of people I am wondering about actually. When I was young, there were two women who lived next to us who were probably together.”

I had thought that this conversation would be awkward or difficult, but to be honest her curiosity made it more endearing, I could tell that she seemed to consider herself bisexual, and while I had never seen her check out any guys I was perfectly willing to trust her opinion on the matter.

As the sun went down and the alcohol wore off completely, the questions dried up as well and the three of us sat by the fire in silence. Before long we decided on the rotation for who would be awake as the others slept. I volunteered to take the middle shift, but Talass insisted she do it.

“It is the worst shift, and you two will need as much sleep as possible if you are to save my tribe.”

As Yallia had already fallen asleep I took the first shift and let Talass curl up onto her tail by the fire.

Before long I was watching the fire trying to stay awake.