Strolling through the Tolmeshal Forest was a giantess over 30 meters tall, with dark hair and mocha skin. She was a beautiful figure to look at both from her face and her physique. Her body had well-defined curves and her femininity was highlighted by well-developed breasts. Milly had gone out very early in the morning to look for her breakfast, as usual, and had found a group of neko hunters and although some had managed to escape happily she had been able to capture two who joined the humans she already had in the bag that hung around her waist. The giantess had eaten 5 humans already, but the large walk home had made her more hungry.

Milly's house was a fairly simple square shack-like construction made of wood. An opening that simulated a window could be seen through one of its side walls. Upon opening the immense door, the giantess left the humans and the nekos she had in a cage that hung from the ceiling. It had a well-crafted wooden floor and bars, and its very height prevented its prey from escaping. In the huge room (huge for humans of course) Milly had a bed and a table with rustic chairs.

"Hey little ones," she said with a cheerful tone as she deposited the prey that she had in her waist bag inside the cage, "For now you will have to stay here. We don't want you to escape right? "

"Fuck off, demon!" One of the humans yelled. Milly stared at him. He looked like a middle-aged man, black-haired with some graying features in his hair.

The giantess sighed and said:

"Why does there always have to be a rude one between the meal?"

Saying this, she caught the human between her fingers and suspended him in the air, above her face. Then she opened her beautiful mouth that to the human seemed an immense cavern wet pink. Deep in her mouth, Milly's uvula that preceded the entrance to her throat made a terrifying impression on the human and he began to shake trying to free himself from the giantess grip, which was useless of course.

"Let me go, spawn of the demon! You will be punished for this! ", the human screamed in her hand.

"You're right about a little thing." Milly said as she winked at him, "I'll let you go ... IN MY MOUTH!"

Saying this, the giantess released the human from her hand and fell into the huge open jaws with her feet first. The giantess then closed her mouth, imprisoning the human with her lips around his waist. Milly then sucked on it like it was a pasta noodle.

Slllllurp!

She began to move him in her mouth, but the cassock that the human was wearing did not allow her to fully enjoy its flavor, so, once the human was soaked with enough saliva, using her tongue, she brought it to the entrance of her throat and swallowed him with a loud Gulp! Milly noticed the tingling that the human made as it slid down her esophagus to her stomach, which was digesting the food she had eaten earlier. When the human reached his destination, Milly could feel him begin to hit the fleshy walls causing her that pleasant sensation that preys did when they were in her stomach. So she smirked as she put a hand to her belly.

"Wow! That was nice, although it didn't have much flavor. Could everyone move like that? ", she said winking at the two humans and the two nekos who were in her cage,

The little beings just looked at each other and exchanged a few anguished glances. The nekos, however, seemed more resigned to the situation, but still couldn't help but express sadness on their faces.

"Milly," said a little voice, "Down here."

The giantess turned her gaze to the floor of the hut where she could see a small figure, smaller even than a human. Milly crouched down to get a better look at her. She was a tomthumb with short dark blond hair, white skin, and a somewhat serious look. She wore fairly simple clothing consisting of a greenish blouse, apparently made of plants, which only covered her breasts, and a pair of shorts of the same color.

"Oh, Tina it's you." Milly said smiling, "How are you?"

"Fine. Sorry to interrupt your dinner", Tina said politely.

"Oh don't worry about that", replied the giantess, "I was about to finish anyway."

"Milly I have to talk to you about something, in private", Tina said as she cast a sidelong glance at the cage.

The giantess nodded and without another word extended a finger to the front of the tomthumb. Tina climbed onto her nail and sat on the immense fleshiness formed by Milly's fingertip.

The giantess then gently lifted her to the height of her chest, which to Tina seemed like the height of a 20-story building. She then opened the wooden door and headed out of the cabin to get some privacy.

Milly was curious about what her friend was trying to talk about with her. Despite the difference in size, Tina was one of Milly's best friends, always willing to listen to her, share opinions, and always worried about her. The feeling was mutual. Of course, Milly had taken on the task of protecting the tribe of tomthumbs that lived under her hut and that had earned her the respect, admiration, and even loving adoration in some cases, from all of the Alsumi tribe, but in Tina's case, it was a particularly friendly relationship she had with her. It was more… personal.

Milly sat with her back against the bark of one of the many gigantic trees that surrounded her cabin, bending her knees. Then she stretched out the finger that was holding Tina to place the little girl on one of her knees. The tomthumb then dropped off Milly's finger and sat comfortably on her friend's right knee.

"So Tina, how was your day?" Milly began speaking in a low tone so as not to overwhelm the little girl.

"Good Milly. Pretty good, you know. The usual, "Tina replied trying to smile.

Despite this response, the giantess could notice that her friend's gaze reflected a somewhat disguised sadness.

"Is something wrong Tina?", she asked.

"Listen, Milly, what I'm about to tell you might sound incredible, but I think we should consider it," Tina said in a muffled voice.

"I hear you", Milly said beginning to worry about her friend's somewhat sad tone.

“Nedret is coming today,” Tina continued. "Well ... at least that's what he said."

"Who is Nedret?", asked Milly somewhat confused.

"Oh right!" Tina said, putting a hand to her forehead, "I don't know if you remember. Nedret is a neera, a very good friend to Joanna. "

Hearing this last name Milly's eyes narrowed as it began to ache. Remembering Joanna was always something that caused her sadness considering that her disappearance had been partly her fault. All this time she had felt that she had failed her friend and the guilt she felt manifested itself in her eyes every time someone spoke to her about Joanna. Unable to put this feeling out of her mind, Milly always tried to avoid the subject every time she was told about her to avoid those memories, now painful, of her friend. She already knew why Tina wanted the conversation to be private. She did not want her prey to see that "sensitive" part of her behavior and use it against her.

For Tina, the sadness bad hidden on her friend's face did not go unnoticed. She had always avoided talking about Joanna in front of Milly not only because she knew the pain she caused her but because she felt sad too. For as long as they could live together, the old snackgirl had been a great sensitive and funny friend who brightened up their taciturn moments, but this time the situation required it.

"Listen, Milly", Tina continued, "I know you don't like talking about Joanna, but this time something has come up."

"I miss her so much Tina", Milly said in a small voice, "It was my fault, I couldn't do anything when that harpy ..."

"I know, I know", Tina interrupted, "I feel that way too. But Nedret says he has a solution. "

Milly frowned in disbelief as her eyes widened slightly.

"You're right Tina, I don't remember him. Who is this Nedret?"

"I already told you, he's a neera and a great friend of Joanna's," Tina replied, "Don't you remember when we had that conversation with her; in which she wanted to go live with a tribe of neeras?

Milly began to vaguely remember that moment. Then she realized where the question was going. Still, she couldn't hide the sadness that the memory of Joanna continued to cause. At the time, she was trying to convince her friend not to take risks in the jungle outside of her protection. What if something happened to her she would simply feel devastated and...

She was unable to continue this line of thought. She had to close his eyes to keep the tears from flowing down her face.

"He recently came back to our burrow taking a risk," Tina continued, "He asked to speak to Joanna because he needed to see her one more time. He knew that our elders had urged him to withdraw from the tribe before further hurting her, but… he just kept missing Joanna. "

The giantess then noticed that her eyes were moistened. He thought of her relationship with Yemic, all the vicissitudes, conflicts, and trials that had passed, and yet, after all this, their love had won. She was happy with the fairy and felt something very special for him. Hearing that Joanna had felt something like this for someone and that the unfortunate circumstances of her disappearance had truncated all of this reawakened that sadness that had been dormant in Milly's heart.

"I never thought that neera was fool enough to go back and risk being eaten even knowing that we had a neko who cared for our tribe. Fortunately, Calina wasn't around if not well… you know. "

Milly shook her head up and down in agreement.

"Then he said something to me that left me a little confused." Tina kept saying, "Nedret said he would come today and find someone who could bring Joanna back!"

At this Milly's eyes widened. Tina ignored this and kept talking.

"At first I felt sorry for him, Nedret was desperate and sad. I mean, if neither Calina, nor Xanthe, nor Remus could bring Joanna back how hoping someone who knew Nedret could accomplish something like that. So I told him that we had already tried everything, but he kept insisting. So I called him a fool and he told me that as long as there was hope he would be the biggest fool in the world, but he would bring Joanna back. "

Milly didn't know what to say to this. She had already resigned herself to the idea of r03;r03;never seeing Joanna again. She closed her eyes, apparently deep in thought. The tomthumb's face, her smile, and their moments together flashed through her mind like a shooting star. Unforgettable moments that she would have liked to relive.

"I don't know if I believe in Nedret but he doesn't strike me as the type of person who would make empty promises." Tina said ignoring her friend's pensive face, "So I think at least he has a plan. Well, that if Calina doesn't eat him first. "

Milly opened her slightly red eyes and fixed her gaze on Tina.

"I don't know what to tell you, Tina", Milly began, "I wish Joanna would come back and at least be able to tell her that I'm sorry and that I miss her so much. But I don't want to get excited and then suffer again. I can't, do you understand? "

Tina released a sympathetic sigh.

"Yes, I understand," she said, "but I thought you should know. You see, I don't want Calina to eat Nedret before he at least tells me what he's up to. "

"I get it," Milly stated, "If I find Calina, I'll tell her."

"Thanks, Milly," Tina thanked, "Okay, that's it."

Without saying more, the giantess extended the index finger of her right hand on her knee. Tina climbed onto it through the inside of her fingernail and they immediately started walking towards the log house.

"What if it's true Milly?" Tina asked her friend all of a sudden.

Milly sighed.

"I'd be really happy, Tina," she said smiling as she headed home.

************

Anguish, tension. Someone says that these things are what prey feel when they are chased by a voracious predator. And that was exactly what Jon was feeling at the time as he ran, hiding under every root and leaf he could find. Uncertainty was his worst enemy because it gave him doubts and if he doubted for a second he would end up in the belly of a predator.

A measured feminine giggle chilled his heart. He turned around to see a neko with blue hair, fur, and ears. Her golden eyes stared at him as her mouth began to salivate from the corner of her lips. Her gaze expressed the voracious determination to swallow him whole. Without waiting much longer, Jon reached out his hand and launched a magic chant. A massive column of rock raise just below the sole of the neko's left foot. This caused her to lose her balance, falling backward abruptly. The impact caused the ground around Jon to shake a bit, throwing the neera off balance but he managed to stay on his feet.

The neko was furious right now, at least it seemed so from the look she gave the mouse boy as he got up. Jon cast a bit of magic once more and a rock arch raise, wrapping around the neko's left foot, preventing movement. The catgirl then tried to use her hands to break the rock. At her desperate attempts, Jon smiled and turned his back on her.

Big mistake. The neko lifted her foot hard in a desperate urge to free herself and the arc of rock that enveloped her foot shattered into pieces. The rock weakened by the neko's hand gave way, splitting in half, throwing several chunks of rock into the air as her foot lifted from the force of the kick.

When Jon turned to look, he only had time to see a huge hand approaching him and wrapped tightly around him. The neko then carried it over her face. Observing Jon's unsuccessful attempts to free himself from her hand the neko closed her eyes and smiled.

"Damn, let me go!" The neera yelled angrily at her.

The neko didn't answer anything. She licked her lips and clicked her mouth as she opened it. Jon stared in horror at the huge abyss of pink flesh and saliva that was the neko's mouth and began to kick fruitlessly into the air. The neko then released him and plummeted feet first onto her wet tongue as her mouth closed plunging him into darkness. Jon tried to stand up but to no avail. The neko wiggled her tongue, unbalancing him and swinging him around. He couldn't see much, but he was aware that he had collided with the fleshy walls of the cheeks of the neko's mouth at least 10 times. The moans of pleasure that the catgirl gave as she tasted it were agonizing and horrified him more and more.

With a push of her tongue, the neko brought him to the entrance of her throat. Jon flailed then, waving his hands frantically in a futile attempt to grab onto something, but the slippery surface of the neko's tongue did little to stop his descent.

GULP!

The neko swallowed it whole. The last thing Jon saw of her mouth was the uvula hanging above the entrance to her throat; it was like the welcome at the beginning of her digestive tract. Jon descended the fleshy walls of the neko's esophagus until a sphincter of flesh parted beneath him and he fell abruptly into a fleshy-walled space. Despite being in total darkness Jon could hear very well the bubbling sounds that the stomach was making in preparation for the start of digestion. Jon then began to hit the walls of the stomach trying to cause the neko some illness or a gag reflex that forced her to vomit it.

Two muffled sounds were the answer to her desperate attempts to get out. The satisfied neko had patted her stomach in response to the pleasant flapping of her prey on her stomach. Ten minutes later the acid began to rise and Jon felt it tickle all over his skin as he sank. With a choking gesture, he reached a hand toward the acidic surface as it was consumed.

Suddenly his surroundings changed. From the total darkness of the neko's stomach to an intense light that made her eyes burn with glare. The fleshy walls were then gradually replaced by a compact metal room. The room had reflective glass on one of its walls that prevented the view from inside. Next to the glass was a metal door that slid open to the left as a humanoid figure entered.

"You almost made it this time Jon," he said smiling.

The neera with black hair and round, furry ears of the same color had covered her eyes to avoid glare. Slowly he began to open them to look at the figure that was standing erect in front of him. His unusual form was somewhat like a tomthumb with light brown hair and brown eyes, but there were many different things. This being had four arms, two on each side of its body, and it had a third eye on its forehead a little higher in the middle of the other two. He wore a kind of short brown jacket that reached a little above his navel and across his chest were two belts that crossed in the middle. Its purpose was to hold the sheaths of two swords that hung from his back. Two other such swords hung from the scabbards on either side of his brown leather belt.

The imposing figure approximately 5 inches tall corresponded to an efrii one of the most exotic and unusual races of small that existed in Felarya. This one, in particular, had a strong build reflected in the muscles of his four arms and those of his abdomen. He seemed to have trained physically for a long time.

"Oh, Jac'nur." Said Jon, "I'm useless right?"

“Come on Jon, give yourself some credit,” the efrii replied, “I have not met a neera who dares to face a neko. Almost everyone runs away. "

Jon sighed disappointedly. He got up off the ground and stood up while brushing off his clothes. He picked up his sword from the ground and tucked it into the sheath at his waist.

"Never, in this damn simulations, have I been able to defeat a neko," he said with a tone that expressed a feeling of annoyance and disappointment with himself, "And you tell me to give me some credit?"

“It's only been a year since you came Jon,” Jac'nur replied, “Many of us spent many years training in this. And yet we have lost many colleagues in the action. "

"I just think that by now I should have made at least some advance", said the neera in the same tone, "I have more or less learned to tame my magic. But it is still not enough. I don't know why our leader thought someone like me would be useful. "

Jac'nur simply smiled.

"Does it bother you to tell me it's so funny?" Jon asked, somewhat offended.

"You look so much like me before I got here," said the efrii, "I also was wondering that myself. But I found the answer. "

"Oh yeah?" He said, raising an eyebrow, "And what did you solve?"

“We are all useful in this organization Jon,” said Jac'nur, “We all have a purpose or some ability that makes us necessary and this place teaches you that. Have you seen someone here who is capable of mastering earth magic like you? "

Jon's eyes widened in amazement.

"Wait, do you think ...?" He began to stammer.

“I don't know,” Jac'nur interrupted, “I don't think it's just that anyway. Give yourself time Jon. If you're here, it's for a reason and I think you'll find out when the time comes. "

The neera stared at the efrii intently as his tail twitched and thought what he had said. Immediately a voice sounded throughout the room.

"Recruits Meleiss and Jon report to the communications chamber for orientations."

At this Jac'nur smiled.

"I think the moment may come faster than I thought," he told Jon with a smile.

When one heard the phrase "Temple of Hope" one would surely imagine a construction with endless corridors and rooms, made of stone, bricks, or something similar with picturesque old images on its walls and some archaeological artifacts and in the best case, it would include treasures. But what no one would imagine is that the temple in question was a modern construction, with grayish metal walls. A luminous trail of green color ran down the walls made of some type of led lighting or a sharp light source of that color. The floor was made of some semi-transparent material similar to thick off-white glass.

The multiple doors that had the corridor through which Jon was traveling had a circular structure the same color as the walls but surrounded by a green bar close to the frame of each one. In the center of each door was a kind of bright green gem. One of them lit up and the door in question slid open in a circular fashion until it opened a hole large enough for a person to pass through.

A brown-haired tomthumb emerged from the room. Initially, she didn't see Jon but then her gaze shifted to him.

"Hi, Erruna!" Jon greeted her first, "Hey, have you seen Meleiss?"

"How about Jon," said the aforementioned, "He's been in his room all morning."

"All morning?" Jon asked raising an eyebrow, "Doing what?"

“I don't know Jon,” Erruna said, “She is not my friend. And besides, it's not like I'm interested in what that crazy woman does. "

Jon didn't answer, but his eyes narrowed. Erruna seeing Jon's apparent annoyance said hastily:

"Okay, okay, sorry, but I just don't know what to call someone who starts talking things in the dark. And also scary things.

Jon kept staring at Erruna to see if the tomthumb was saying this intending to mock Meleiss. That, however, was not the case. Erruna's gaze was one of total certainty and assurance in what she had said. He finally looked away realizing the futility of arguing over something like that.

“Yes, I know,” he finally said, “Thank you Erruna. See you later."

"See you, Jon", the tomthumb said goodbye.

The neera then continued on his way to the room of his former mentor and friend. Meleiss was not exactly a girl with a friendly personality. Jon didn't know if what he felt for her was some kind of friendship or simply gratitude for saving his life when his mom's friend was about to eat him. More than once the sinister neera had told him that it was just another "mission" but even so Jon could not stop thanking her, which was bothering her. When asked who he wanted to partner with for his order missions, the answer was obvious.

For Jon then, it was difficult to adjust to the strange habits of his partner. She didn't speak much, and every time Meleiss did, she did so in a sinisterly wicked tone that made his hair stand on end. When she laughed, Meleiss did so with an evil laugh that more than once made Jon wonder what mysteries her soul was hiding, if she had any. Needless to say, Meleiss's personality was not to the liking of almost anyone in the temple. Her same weird, almost psychotic attitude made her withdraw from everyone. Before Jon arrived, Meleiss had no partner among her fellow magicians to carry out the missions of the order. Even her rescue mission had made her alone.

Jon stood in front of the circular door to his friend's room after walking a bit down the huge hallways. He touched the panel to the right, indicating to the tenant that he wanted to enter. Five minutes passed and then the door opened. The inside of the room was dark, like a neko's stomach. Jon could not distinguish anything inside it except the shadowy form of his friend approaching him emerging from the inside and that was only because of the white robe she was wearing, which was the only thing he could see in the middle of that darkness. Meleiss had her staff slung across her back and was approaching him with the same old smile. Wich means, sinister.

"Hi, Meleiss?" Jon greeted, trying to hide his fear.

"Hello, little pet?" said the neera, "The voice called us, eh?"

"Of course it does," Jon said raising his eyebrow, "Didn't you hear it?"

"Oh no no," Meleiss said with a tone that concealed embarrassment, "I was talking to my friend, and well... when you're with her you can't talk to anyone else. Her voice is strong you know? "

Jon had already adapted to Meleiss's crazy mentions of her imaginary friend. "No wonder no one wants to talk to you", he thought. The others saw this as a sign of their partner's dementia, but for the neera, it was kind of creepy. She spoke with such conviction that it seemed that her friend was real, but for Jon, the most uncertain was who this friend was. For the others, it was just the madness of the neera.

"Yes, of course," he said, making a gesture with his eyes that denoted disbelief, "Well, come on, they called us in the communications chamber. The Leader wants to talk to us. "

"Well isn't it a nuisance?" Meleiss asked as she walked into the hallway closing the circular door.

Jon just shook his head and continued walking with Meleiss down the hall toward the temple's communications chamber.

It was the only place where members of the Fist of Hope could speak to the outside or their leader. The temple building was known to have no exits to the outside. Not even the members of the order knew where it was located in Felarya. This gave it certain security because the outside was full of predators that consumed small ones. However, for some reason, the temple had never had such an attack. It was simply as if it was isolated from the outside which led to the assumption that the predators either did not know of his existence or it was simply somewhere they could not reach.

The communications chamber was an immense room accessed from a door made of transparent, double-paneled glass. The door opened and closed automatically by sliding its leaves when someone wanted to pass. It had a weight sensor that when walking on it opened the door to allow passage.

Jon and Meleiss went to a room at the back of the living room, which was guarded by two girls who greeted them when they arrived and opened the door for them. Upon entering the room it was illuminated and a kind of laser began to scan the figure of the two girls who had entered.

"First positive recognition. Meleiss, Jon. Authorization granted. Prepare for magical decontamination", said a female voice with a robotic tone.

A kind of flash of greenish light quickly invaded the room. It only lasted a second, and immediately afterward the laser scanned the two figures again.

"Second positive recognition. Meleiss, Jon, Authorization Granted. Have a nice day", the same female voice said again.

Immediately the room went dark. Light entered from the side as an access door opened. The door led to an immense room that had 3 pairs of side columns to the floor where a red carpet had been unfolded. At the end of the rug was a chair whose cushions were green with gold trim. On the walls of the hall were several paintings that by their appearance denoted epic battles between what appeared to be humans, elves, giant nagas, dridders, and other beings. There was one that was not a battle but rather a naga and a dridder shaking hands in a place that looked like a gigantic tree. They were undoubtedly allegorical to tumultuous moments in Felarya's history.

Jon always stared at these paintings every time he entered the Leader's communication room. The texture, content, and sensations that these paintings impressed were fascinating. Its vivid colors and sensations of movement seemed to relive those epic moments with unparalleled realism. Meleiss on the other hand stood impassively staring straight ahead. Although it was uncertain to say since the neera's eyes were so dark that it was difficult, if not impossible, to see what they were looking at. They reached the end of the corridor and although there was nothing on the chair, the neeras leaned down as they made a gesture with their hands lowering their heads. Then they returned to their original position and then something happened.

A blue flame manifested on the chair that grew to cover the height of the back but did not touch it.

"Welcome my children," said a thunderous male voice, "Hope once again needs you."

"What is it about this time?" Meleiss asked, pouting.

"Damn Meleiss!" Jon thought, "Why do you always have to be like this?"

However, the voice remained indifferent.

"Jon. You haven't reached the rank of battlemage yet, but I think you just need a little experience. You've spent a year perfecting your fighting arts and it's time you put them to use. "

Jon's eyes widened in amazement.

"Sir, but I've never passed the simulator test," he said somewhat confusedly, "Are you sure I'm ready?"

"You never know Jon," said the voice, "That is why I am sending you together with Meleiss. She is one of our most experienced battlemages. Your skills also complement each other very well and will be very helpful to you. "

"Okay sir," Jon said bowing in respect.

"Wow, more annoyance", Meleiss said in a seemingly disappointed tone as she crossed her arms.

Jon didn't consider himself a violent person but right now he just wanted to jump at Meleiss and shut her mouth. The impertinence with which the neera approached her Leader unnerved him.

"Meleiss," the voice continued, "Take good care of Jon. He is young and inexperienced. Teach him well. The disappearances of tinies in Negav have increased exponentially even in Pelnepi and although we do not know for sure if it is because of Dark Claw we have to investigate. This mission will allow you this. "

"What is this mission about sir?" asked Jon.

"One of our soldiers has received a request from a wild neera." Said the voice that came from the flame, "He wants us to recover a tomthumb girl who was abducted in Tolmeshal Forest."

"Oh, so she was eaten!" Meleiss said with a wry tone, "Full stop. Wow, it's the shortest annoyance I've ever had. "

The emphasis on the word 'annoyance' was entirely sarcastic and meaningful, but this time Jon didn't flinch. He had already learned to accept his friend's considerations about the missions of the order. However, for the neera, a question loomed.

"Sir, but did I think our missions were only carried out in Negav?"

"Our missions are carried out throughout Felarya, Jon." The voice replied, "But this mission is partly in Negav."

Jon's eyes widened, obviously confused. The voice then snapped him out of his stupor.

"According to this neera", he continued explaining, "The girl was kidnapped by a harpy who worked for a group of small traffickers. His job in addition to rescuing her is to find out if this group is related to Dark Claw. The first objective will be to go to the Tolmeshal forest and make contact with this neera. Once completed, you must return to the temple to receive further instructions. "

In the few years that Jon had lived, he had never gone beyond Negav or Nekomura. He had never been out into the jungle, and he was not very tempted to do so. A city neera in the jungle was a sure snack for any predator.

"Have you understood, my children?" asked the voice, changing to a more solemn tone.

"Yes sir," they both said in unison.

Despite Meleiss's always irritating attitude, she at least responded respectfully to her Leader to this question.

"Well, go with Erruna," said the voice, "She will open a portal near the meeting point with this neera. May Hope remain with you little ones!"

The motto of the order. At first, Jon thought it was just a slogan like all organizations have, but for some strange reason, it was always comforting to hear it from their leader.

Jon and Meleiss then withdrew towards the teleportation room, the only possible exit from the temple.

************

In a crack formed within the root of a tree in Tolmeshal Forest, a tiny creature moved impatiently from side to side. Nedret was a relatively young Neera who appeared to be in his early 20s, although his brown hair had little gray undertones near his round ears. His hairless tail flicked frantically from side to side as he waited. The neera only wore a piece of cloth that covered his waist and reached just below his thighs.

"Will they have accepted?", he thought as he moved from side to side thinking.

A dark brown-haired neera woman then entered her cabin. Her face of dismay was more than enough to know that she was worried about the male neera who was pacing around her room like he was a caged beast.

"Hello, Nedret," he said before entering, "May I come in?"

The neera did not reply. He just kept muttering to himself as if deep in thought.

"Nedret!" The neera woman exclaimed loudly.

The neera finally woke up from his slumber. He looked towards the opening to his room and saw the mouse girl watching him with a furrowed brow.

"Oh Reatli," Nedret said as his face flushed, "I'm sorry I didn't see you."

"And from what I see you didn't hear me either," snapped the neera with an expression that was divided between annoyance and concern.

Nedret just sighed a little tired and sat down, or rather collapsed on some kind of wooden bench in his room.

"You've been like this since you came back from the Alsumi burrow," Reatli said, "I'm really worried, just like everyone else."

"I heard something," replied the male neera, "Something very bad."

"What happened? Didn't they let you see Joanna? "Reatli asked as her face grew serious," I already told you, it was silly to go back there. Did you forget what that old tomthumb man told you? Joanna can't come live with us, she wouldn't survive and you'd just hurt a lot of people. I know that Joanna is a very good person, but… "

“It's not that Reatli”, Nedret interrupted her giving her a pointed look, “Besides, I already told you. It is my life and I choose to do with it what I please as long as I can live it. One day a neko or anything will eat me and then I will leave sad without having known anything that makes me truly happy. "

Reatli didn't say anything. Her face was one of genuine sadness and bitterness.

"So we don't mean anything to you?" He asked in a hurtful tone, "Aren't you happy here with us? Are we your friends? Are we your family? "

Nedret opened his mouth to reply but stopped to think better of his words. He needed Reatli to understand his views, but he had to explain it to her in a way that did not imply the misinterpretation that he no held contempt for the members of his tribe. Misinterpreting his thoughts was something that would just make him feel sadder than he was.

"It's not that Reatli, and you know it," he finally said with a gentle tone, "We have lived together, we have known many things and we have survived together. It's just that I have to live life to the fullest. Sometimes I asked myself what makes us completely happy? Many of ours have disappeared who knows how and they are not here to say that they could live as they wanted. So before I go I would like to be happy, I would like to do something that I like, I would like to feel love. "

At this Reatli opened her eyes beginning to understand what the neera was saying.

"I wanted to experience something like that with Joanna." Nedret continued, "She was a wonderful girl. Her naivety, her fragility, her kindness, and her constant joy liked me very much. I tried to get to know her more… intimately, but she wasn't sure. And now…"

The neera couldn't continue, he lowered his head and simply closed his eyes. Reatli's lips parted as he stared at his friend with wide eyes. Is it possible that in the short time these two met they felt something like this? Joanna was not a bad person. The only time Nedret had brought her to their tribe they got to know each other very well, they had struck up a certain friendship. The tomthumb's personality was wonderful, almost as if she had a kind of power that invited one to befriend her out of obligation. Although it did not cause much grace to the members of her tribe when a neko had come to pick her up, to take her home, revealing the location of her tribe with her scent. If the predator had wanted to, she would have eaten them all. Even though the girl had asked him not to, what guaranteed that she wouldn't come back for a feast later? Fortunately, the neko kept her word, but the wisest thing to do had been to change the location of her home a little closer to the hut of the giantess who lived in this forest and terrorized other predators.

Still, it was a risk, and Nedret knew it, to go to the Alsumi lair, but now he understood why his friend took the risk.

"I'm sorry, Nedret", she said somewhat embarrassed.

At this the face of the male neera became serious. He seemed more determined than ever in whatever he was thinking.

"Don't worry," he said at last, "I'll fix it."

"But I thought ..." Reatli started to say.

It was interrupted by a huge flash of light that made a thud. A huge luminous oval plate-shaped figure surrounded by white flames emerged from the opening that led into Nedret's cabin. Reatli flinched and screeched at the sudden appearance. She ran to the back of the room in terror and clung to the wall. Nedret got up and stood in front of the apparition.

"Nedret stay away from that thing!" Reatli yelled at him.

Two beings emerged from the bottom of the luminous plate, both neeras. The first was a young boy with dark hair and round, furry ears of the same color. He wore a short green vest and white shorts that had a single hole through which his tail moved smoothly. At his waist hung a belt with a sheathed sword.

The one that terrified Reatli the most was the second figure. She was a relatively young girl. Her hair, as well as her furry ears, were whitish with some bangs of bluish tones. Her skin was white, although somewhat grayish in tone. What was most impressive were her eyes as black as night. Rather it seemed as if they had plunged into absolute darkness. This neera wore a white robe with a green bar running down the bottom edge and across her shoulders. An immense belt crossed her chest and reached her back on which hung a staff made of some type of black crystal that had two demonic horns at the end. In the middle of the horns, a gem of the same color was erected.

As the luminous oval passed, it disappeared. Reatli was stunned looking at these two Neeras who had emerged from nowhere. Nedret, however, seemed unconcerned. It was almost as if he expected them.

"Wow," said the mouse boy who had emerged from the oval breaking the awkward silence that prevailed, "Erruna is quite accurate. We are already here."

"Sounds like it," said the blue-white-haired neera with a smile on her face, "I guess you must be Nedret?"

"That's right," replied the brown-haired neera as he smiled, "You must be the mages Sherav told me about."

"We are mages of the Fist of Hope." said the dark knight boy, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jon and this is Meleiss. "

"Well actually, I'm a mage, he's in training", Meleiss said with a sarcastic tone emphasizing the word 'mage'.

Reatli kept looking stunned as this scene unfolded. What surprised her most was the familiarity with which Nedret received these so-called mages.

"Oh come on Meleiss," Jon said, "Are you always like this or do you do it on purpose?"

The neera looked at him with a frown.

"What?" she said in a confused tone, "It's the truth."

Jon covered his face, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well then," Nedret started to say to break the previous thread, "Sherav says that you guys could help me with my problem."

"We'll do our best," Jon said with a sigh, "What exactly is it about?"

Until now Reatli had not dared to intervene. No doubt the sudden and unusual appearance of these two neeras had left her puzzled. But being ignored was too much.

"Hey!" She yelled somewhat furiously, "Nedret, can you tell who they are and what they're doing here ?!"

"Hell!" Meleiss said with her impassive wicked smile, "This girl isn't very smart is she?"

A wave of internal anger began to grow within Reatli at Meleiss's expression that presupposed an offense. Nedret observing this quickly intervened.

"Oh, I forgot," he said, "I introduced you to Reatli. She is a great friend of mine "

This expression made Reatli blush and her anger suddenly disappeared replaced by a warmth that calmed her.

Meleiss continued to show the same face with her irritating smile, but Jon, when he saw the half-naked figure of the neera, had a quite different reaction. All Reatli wore were pieces of cloth that covered her bottoms and breasts, but reached only a little above her knee and revealed part of her thighs. The mouse girl's breasts however looked strong and shapely and her rear curves with her tail hanging seductively through the cloth garment made Jon's heart race pumping blood to his face which immediately turned red as a tomato.

He looked away, embarrassed, fearing that the neera would notice his constant gaze.

"Well then," Nedret began to say, "I suppose if you are here, you agreed. The job which I need you to do is rescue a kidnapped tomthumb girl. "

"Yeah, we already knew that," Meleiss said, "What I'd like to ask is how do you know that that girl was kidnapped and not eaten?"

"The truth is that I do not know all the details, but the tomthumbs who told me confirmed that it was so", Nedret replied.

"And where do those tomthumbs live?" Jon asked.

"Not too far from here," said Nedret, "About a two hours walk away."

"Meleiss," said Jon, "could you take us with your magic?"

"Sure pet!", Replied the sinister neera, "But it would be too dangerous."

"Why?" Jon asked somewhat annoyed.

"Oh sure, I forgot!" Meleiss said coming back with her sarcastic smile, "This is the first time you've come out of your shell. In the jungle, you can't get too much attention or you would be eaten in ten seconds. If my friend helps us, we would be too visible a target. "

Jon said nothing to this, but Nedret looked at him with a face saying "Really?" The neera made a response gesture saying "Let it be"

“Alright,” Nedret said, “Let's walk then. If we leave now we can come back before dark. "

"Okay," Jon said.

Meleiss didn't answer anything, just sighed and headed for the door with apparent reluctance. Jon saluted the neera next to Nedret.

"Goodbye miss ...", he said hesitantly when he pronounced her name

"Reatli," the neera replied with a smile on her face.

"Right. See you later. ", he said sadly.

"See you," Reatli said in response to the greeting.

He was then escorted out by Nedret.

************

Calina, the neko, was currently stalking her prey. It was a tiny naga who had ventured near Milly's hut. He had been attracted by the scent of the tomthumbs that lived under the giantess house, waiting for some to come out to capture and devour him whole. It was real luck since he hadn't been able to eat anything for lunch. Either the neeras were getting smarter or they simply knew of his presence in those parts and did not venture out. The fact was that the stomach of the dark-skinned neko with black hair and tail rumbled like a factory in full swing begging for raw materials to work with. Her orange eyes then gleamed with anticipation of the food and she stepped downwind of the naga to prevent the wind from carrying her scent and running away. Then she lunged forward and grabbed the naga by the tail. It was a male with red hair with light greenish scales. An arboreal naga.

The neko brought him up to her face to get a better look. He began to writhe like a worm in Calina's hand as she smiled, licking the corner of her lips. However, in one of its twists, the naga reached for Calina's hand and bit her hard. The cat woman then screamed in pain and opened her hand causing the naga to fall to the ground. But the height was too high and the tiny being hit its head on the ground which sounded like a coconut breaking. He fell dead on the ground right at Calina's feet, who put her hand to her face to suck some of the poison that he had surely injected into her and try to spit it out.

However, it was useless. The neko began to feel the paralyzing effects of the naga's poison on her body that caused her knees to buckle as she fell to the ground. The poison in question was either fast-acting or simply injected enough to start working so quickly. Her body began to shake like a maniac as Calina rested her body on the ground. Her ragged and not enough breath made his brain shut down and he fell into unconsciousness.

_

_

When she woke up her vision was blurry. She could hardly move a muscle, but she could breathe with some difficulty. At least the muscles in her hands could move awkwardly. She tried to move, but then something happened. Her nose caught a pleasant scent. Her ears also picked up a squeak that made her belly start to gurgle. Neeras!

Calina chose not to move. In her current state, she couldn't effectively catch them like she used to. Better to let them get close and surprise them when they were close enough. The little voices of the Neeras saying unintelligible words reached his ears. At first, it was confusing phrases in her ears, but little was catching some words.

"Neko ... leave her like this ... you're a fool ...", the voices said.

They were considering whether to get close to her or leave her like that. Calina began to think that the neeras would walk away and unfortunately they would not enter her stomach that was still gurgling. But then something happened, one of the neeras approached her touching her hands trying to wake her up. Quickly Calina closed her hand, imprisoning the neera inside her. The neko then heard the surprised squeaks from the mouse as he struggled to free himself from her grip. She tried to raise her hand, but something happened. An unknown force grabbed her hand around the joint of her arm and confined her there preventing her from lifting off the ground.

With the effort her vision began to clear and then she saw what was happening. A tiny arc-shaped column of rock had seized the joint from above, preventing her arm from moving when she lifted it. Luckily it didn't impede her movement if she tugged on her arm and leaned back. But her legs were unresponsive. The paralyzing effect of the naga's poison still lingered within her.

"Oh, come on!", Calina said to herself, "Why is it taking me so much trouble to eat a neera? This day is killing my nerves. "

The little creature on her arm continued to squeal in horror, but his struggles against her fingers somewhat weakened by the poison began to take effect as he slid upward. Calina tried to tighten her grip a bit more, but she couldn't do much with her body as weak as it was. Her strong movements caused the deadly substance to spread even further through her body and concentrate on her arm, slowly preventing her from applying force. The neera on her arm finally poked its head out.

"Calina!" He yelled, "Let go of me now!"

The neko couldn't even speak, but she wasn't willing to let go of her prey. She was starving and hadn't found anything to eat. She had caught him so he would be her lunch.

"Calina!" the neera yelled again.

Wait? This little morsel knew her name. Who was?

Rumbling footsteps were approaching, a signal that a gigantic creature was approaching. Calina's sense of smell instantly sharpened and she realized it was Milly. The steps of the mocha-skinned giantess were closer. These mini tremors caused the rock that held her to her arm to crack, finally giving way as it fell apart. Calina wasted no time then and put her hand to her mouth in a supreme effort. Just as she was about to deposit the neera in her wet and eager mouth a small black ball hit her hand which began to hurt intensely. The spasm of pain sent the neera in her hand flying to the ground.

Although it did not fall from an impressive enough height, the little mouse got up quite sore as it looked at the neko with teary eyes. Milly then emerged from behind a tree. When the giantess saw the neko on the ground, she approached without noticing the three tiny figures that were near Calina.

"Hey, watch out!" Shouted a voice that Milly, fortunately, could hear, before lowering her immense foot that for the neeras seemed the length of a football field and that, furthermore, threatened to crush the three little ones. Two of the Neeras had crouched down shakily, but the third did not flinch. The giantess then moved her foot away to see the three tiny figures. Even so, she ducked down as she couldn't get to see them right from her height.

"Calina!" Milly said as she put a hand over her mouth. "What happened?"

The neko couldn't speak very well, but managed to form a single word:

"Naga ..."

"Oh hell," Milly said as she scooped up the dark-skinned neko with her huge hand, "Let's go to my house."

The giantess started to get up, ignoring the three tiny figures she had almost crushed.

"Hey!" One of the neeras yelled, "Down here."

Milly stopped her climb and fixed her gaze on the small figure. The giantess could perfectly hear the voices of the tinies since she was used to it. It was vital to listen to the Alsumi to avoid accidentally crushing them so her ear had been trained in perceiving the sounds of the tiny beings.

"And who are you if you can tell?" Milly said with a somewhat annoyed tone at the insistence of this tiny being.

"My name is Nedret." Said the little boy. "You must be Joanna's friend, Milly"

"That's right," said the giantess, lowering her tone of voice a little and softening her eyes, "Someone had already told me you are coming. A friend of mine wants to talk to you. "

"Tina I presume," said Nedret, "Could you take us?"

Milly sighed reluctantly. Then wordlessly extended the index finger of the hand in which he was not holding Calina. At first, the other two girls looked suspiciously at the giant's finger. But Nedret convinced them that it was safe.

Jon had never seen such a great and terrifyingly gigantic being in his entire life. Well, he had heard of some predators bigger than even a neko or a human, but this was too much. The imposing height of the giantess, the fall of her long black hair down her shoulders whose hairs seemed like huge ropes, her mouth that seemed the size of an ancient church, and her enormous feet that made the ground shake as she walked caused in the little It was a creepy sight.

Milly then paused for a moment and whispered to those she held.

“Little ones, I need to put you in my other hand. I have something to do and I need this hand.

"No problem", Nedret said gently.

Jon simply nodded, though he swallowed the huge lump in his throat as he looked at the giantess. Meleiss didn't flinch, she had an impassive gaze as she looked off into the distance. Milly placed the little ones in her other hand in which she held Calina's body. Then she lowered her greenish skirt with her other hand to the height of her knees and crouched down. The neeras in her hand felt as if her stomach were clinging to her head as the giantess descended. Then there was a sound like a watery torrent hissing somewhere. For the neeras, it was like the sound of a river cascading against the ground, flooding everything.

It didn't take long for Jon to realize what the giantess was doing, turning red as poppy as he turned his gaze upward. Nedret, in the same vein, started humming while looking up. The only one who did not seem to care was Meleiss who kept looking at the same place absorbed in her thoughts. His friend was used to seeing her like this from time to time; looking as if she had entered some catatonic trance. When Milly finished unloading her bladder, she pulled up her skirt again. Although he had a relieved face, Jon, who was looking up at her face, noticed that the girl's cheeks turned red.

It took her a short walk to get to her cabin. Short for the giantess of course it would have been at least 20 minutes for the little ones. The wooden door was open and inside were three beings just as gigantic as Milly. All three beings had the same shape, although different. From the torso up they were like gigantic naked humans, but underneath, their bodies resembled those of just as enormous snakes. One of the snake beings was a relatively young woman with blond hair and blue eyes. Its tail was a teal color with patterns that were in the shape of sky blue rings. The other was a woman a little shorter than the previous one with ginger hair, blue eyes, although a little darker than the previous snake woman, and some freckles that stood out on her face. Its tail had a beautiful combination of color in its scales in which dark green predominated, crossed by patterns of the same color as its eyes. Next to this last snake woman was a man of the same species. He was much taller and had black hair with some grayish strands snaking across his head, perhaps denoting his age. This man's tail was dark orange with some shades of olive green except those on his belly which were yellow.

When the giantess entered, the first to greet was the blond snake woman.

"Hey, Milly!" she said cheerfully, "You took a while. Ohh, that's a neko? "

"Yes Crisis, it's Calina," Milly replied, "She's sick. Ajab, could you check her out? "

The blonde-haired naga woman at this recoiled somewhat embarrassed and her face quickly reflected a worried expression. The serpent man rise and received the neko in his gigantic hand. On the other hand, Jon watched this scene scared and a little embarrassed. He had never seen such large breasts exposed especially of the snake woman who was next to the man. Being a young neera of civilization he had never seen so many naked women as he had seen in a single afternoon in this jungle. Although he had not seen such gigantic beings either which sowed constant chills in his body.

Nedret, on the other hand, seemed quite calm. As if he was already used to seeing these titanic beings every day. Meleiss continued with her sallow impassiveness, although her gaze was constantly turning, peering around her curiously.

"What happened to her?" Ajab asked as he continued to stare at the neko in his hand and felt her with his gigantic fingers.

"I don't know," said the giantess with an anguished tone, "When I found her she just said: Naga."

Ajab's eyes widened, inspecting the neko's body a little more hastily. When he looked at her hand he noticed the two bites holes the little naga had given her. Anyone would not have noticed this little detail, but for the giant naga, it did not go unnoticed. Thanks to the aura in Felarya that caused most injuries and illnesses to heal, Ajab's abilities as a healer were not very useful, but this was not the case. Calina appears to have been poisoned by a small naga. The treatment was not difficult in this case so he placed the neko on Milly's table by taking some plants from a bag that he had on his belt.

As Ajab attended to her friend, the sight of the giantess turned something annoying to the tiny beings that she had in her hand.

"I hope you three had nothing to do with what happened to Calina," Milly snapped in a voice that sent chills down Jon's spine.

Nedret then crossed his arms.

"Hurt her?" He asked in the same tone as Milly, "She tried to eat me! Besides, when we arrived she was already like this! "

Hearing this, the giantess's gaze softened a bit.

"Milly," Ajab told her as he continued to tend Calina by giving her some kind of concoction to drink, "Calina was poisoned by some small naga. She has bite marks on her arm. These neeras aren't guilty. "

Some Alsumi hearing the commotion came out of their burrow right on the ground.

"Hey Milly," said a young tomthumb who had come out, "Is everything okay?"

The giantess simply smiled.

“Calina is a bit sick,” she said with a motherly tone, “But she's better now. Hey little one, could you tell Tina that the friends she was waiting for have arrived? "

"Yes, of course," said the tomthumb with a cheerful tone. Then he disappeared through the entrance to the cavern.

"While we wait for Tina, is anyone hungry?" Milly said, smiling pleasantly.

“Oh!” Crisis said excitedly, “Yes, me. You have something to eat?"

"Yes, some humans and nekos," Milly replied, "Jissy?"

"Yes, thank you, Milly," replied the naga, "I'm a little hungry."

"Wow, you have nekos too!" Crisis shouted excitedly as her eyes sparkled, "Can I have them?"

Milly smiled in agreement. She places her hand on the table, to deposit the tinies she has, and opened the cage that hung from the ceiling. Jon had not initially seen the contraption when he entered the house. He was overwhelmed by the femininity of gigantic women who had not realized this detail. The giantess took the five members out of the cage. One of the nekos caught in the huge hand tried to cling to the bars of the cage while crying out in despair but to no avail. Milly then approached Crisis and loosened her grip so that the two nekos fell into the hands of the blonde naga.

The snake girl immediately opened her mouth sticking out her tongue a bit and pulled one of the nekos inside. Her lips then closed around the little catman's waist as his legs flapped in the air. Crisis then sucked it into her mouth. Slllllurp! He began to move it inside her mouth while smiling with her lips closed. The naga seemed to be ecstatic with delight as she tasted her delicious snack.

While Crisis ate Milly approached Jissy and handed her two humans.

"Hey Milly, are you sure?" The naga asked, "You won't have anything left for dinner later."

“Oh come on Jissy,” the giantess replied, “What kind of hostess would I be if I let my guests go hungry? Besides, your boyfriend is doing me a big favor by curing Calina. "

"Okay," Jissy replied, "Thank you, Milly"

Without further thought, she grabbed the two humans by the giant's hand. She grabbed one of the two and suspended it above her face as she smiled. She opened her mouth sticking out her tongue and deposited the human inside. Her tongue drew inward, drawing him further inward. Jissy closed her mouth in apparent satisfaction as she smiled.

For Jon the vision was apocalyptic. The screams of terror that the humans and nekos gave as they were sucked into the humid cavern that was the mouths of these gigantic beings made him remember that time when he was almost eaten by Iyo. The constant fear of being eaten had passed a bit thanks to the simulation tests he had done at the Temple, but this was different somehow. At least in the simulator, it didn't matter how many times it was eaten it always came back, but the thought of never doing so and suffering a horrible death while being dissolved by the stomach acids of a predator simply terrified him. The same terror that these humans and nekos were feeling right now. He looked away quite affected as he folded his round ears down in a futile attempt not to hear the screams. What Jon didn't know was that Neeras had a very well-developed sense of hearing. So no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop hearing the cries of the humans and nekos before disappearing into the mouths of these gigantic beings.

GULP!

Jissy and Crisis swallowed, almost in unison, the food in their mouths.

"Ahhhhh," Crisis sighed with satisfaction. Then she licked her lips to absorb the permanent taste of the neko in her mouth, "Delicious!"

She never got tired of eating nekos, they always tasted so good.

Without further ado they ate the remaining human and neko, swallowing them just like the previous ones. Crisis then put her hand to her bare belly:

BBBruuup!, she burped, "Sorry girls, these delicious little ones are moving around a lot."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jissy said cheerfully.

Milly, seeing the satisfaction on her friends' faces, smiled too. She liked that they felt good at her home. It was a good way to reciprocate their friendship.

"Already. I think that's enough, "said a manly voice," Now you have to stay a little time without moving Calina. The potion I gave you will slow down the poison, but you have to be still for a long time until its effects wear off. "

"Don't worry Ajab, I'll take care of her," Milly said relieved, "Thank you so much."

The male naga then put his things away and went to his girlfriend's side.

"So Milly, who are these little guys?" Crisis asked.

"Oh, they're acquaintances of Tina and…" Milly didn't follow.

"Joanna," Nedret said, finishing the giant sentence. Milly simply nodded closing her eyes.

"We don't know each other," said a female voice Jon recognized instantly, "But I think we'll get along well."

Meleiss had awakened from her impassiveness and returned to her usual face. I mean, sinister and with that evil smile.

"I liked those screams," continued the neera, "I love hearing them."

No one said a word. Crisis put her hand in front of her face as if she was somewhat puzzled without knowing what to say.

Jissy for her part simply looked at the little neera widening her eyes and Ahab frowned.

"Excuse me?" Milly asked, reflecting the confusion around her.

“Oh,” Meleiss said, “I just like it when someone yells like that. I don't know, it gives me a wonderful feeling. Do you have something else out there that screams like that? "

Jon's eyes widened. He couldn't stop staring at Meleiss as his mouth fell open. The cold way in which she had said such terrifying words made his blood run cold.

"Milly," said a little voice that broke the karma around her, "Were you looking for me?"

"Ehmm ...", said the giantess, turning her gaze to the ground and clearing her throat in a gesture of obvious discomfort, "Tina. Yes, I've been looking for you. Your guests have arrived. "

"Oh," replied the tomthumb, "And where are they?"

"In the table. Come on up, ”Milly said as she bent down to pick up Tina.

As usual, the giantess extended a finger and the little girl climbed on it. When the tomthumb was placed on the gigantic wooden table he saw the three neeras on top of it.

"Nedret," Tina said with a frown, "So you came after all."

"That's right.", Replied the brown-haired neera, "And I have brought the ones I spoke to. These are Meleiss and Jon. They are mages. "

"Well…" Meleiss started to say.

"Don't say it Meleiss!" Jon cut her off. Nedret simply laughed.

Tina arched a somewhat incredulous brow.

“Meleiss, Jon,” Nedret continued, “This is Tina. A friend of Joanna's. "

Jon began to watch the blonde-haired tomthumb growing incredulous towards them.

"And these two are the ones who will bring Joanna?" Tina asked in a slightly annoyed tone. "Are you serious Nedret?"

"Bring Joanna?" Said a voice not as booming as that of the giant beings, "That can't be."

Calina, thanks to Ajab's remedy, was now able to articulate words and was as incredulous as Tina. The Neeras couldn't see her face as she was lying far away with her feet in front of them.

"Why can't it be kitty?" Meleiss said as she closed her eyes and smiled, "Do you know us well enough to say that?"

"Listen to us before you dismiss us, please," said Jon coming out of his stupor, "Then you can make whatever decision you want."

"Good," Tina said raising her voice, obviously furious with disappointment, "Because if this is some kind of joke, you two will be Calina's food."

At this Nedret looked at Tina terrified and Jon clenched the muscles of his fists angry.

Meleiss for her part began to laugh. It was a small smile at first and then a shrill laugh.

"Hey," Tina said snapping her fingers, "Would you mind telling me what is so funny?"

“You,” Meleiss said smiling, “That bad girl show. It's so funny. And the threats… Wow, that was the best. "

"You think I'm kidding?" Tina yelled at her, "First this fool shows up saying he has someone who can bring Joanna back, and now he's bringing me a couple of… freaks?"

“Let me clarify something for you girl,” Meleiss said, “We came here to help save your friend just because our Leader sent us here. Not that I'm particularly interested in being here in the first place. It's a real nuisance to have to hear you screaming like a bitch at those who want to help you, but I will help you whether you want to or not. There's a lot more at stake here than your stupid little friend. And I'll tell you something else. If your friend neko tries to lay a hand on us, well… let's say I have a friend too who will make her unable to get up from that table ever again. You understand?"

The tomthumb lunged at Meleiss but Nedret stepped between the two.

“Tina!” The neera exclaimed, “Damn, calm down! Listen to them first, then do what you want. "

The determination in Nedret's gaze caused Tina to slowly back away. Meleiss just kept her usual expression. Jon, however, was not observing the scene. He could only look at the giantess who was standing watching them as her face twitched somewhat angrily. Milly's friendship with Joanna and the circumstances of her disappearance made her feel empathy with her friend who had also seen how the tomthumb was torn from her side to never see her again. Jon, noticing the changes in the giant's face, decided to go to her to calm her down.

"Heard me, please, miss… Milly right?" He yelled at her, "Please hear what we have to say before you get disappointed. Believe it or not, we have the means to bring your friend back, and believe me we will do our best. So please give us at least one chance. "

They all stopped talking and turned to Jon in silence. Milly stared into the little boy's eyes that shone with sheer determination.

"Okay," she said with a sigh, "Tina give them a chance. Let's see what they have to say to us. "

Without saying anything else, the three neeras and the tomthumb sat down where they were. Jon then started to say.

"Thanks. Well, we are battlemages of the Fist of Hope. An organization that was originally founded to protect the tinies in Negav. Our operations began in the city a long time ago, long before I entered. We have been hunting down a group calling themselves Dark Claw. From what we know they have kidnapped a large group of tinies to enslave them or simply sell them as food. "

"Wow, that's horrible!" Cried Crisis.

"Our mission is to rescue your friend, but it is also to find out if her abduction has something to do with Dark Claw."

"I understand," Tina said, "But your goal in my opinion is stupid. The little ones are the food of predators. It's natural, it's the food chain. I couldn't tell Calina not to eat tinies. They are her natural diet and I also couldn't tell Milly not to eat humans or neko or elves. It's natural. Anything that works against that is simply going against the natural order. "

"Maybe you're right Miss Tina," Jon said narrowing his eyes, "As I understand it your tribe is protected by Miss Milly isn't it?"

Tina didn't answer anything.

“Following that reasoning, what Miss Milly is doing is… how to put it? Unnatural"

"What?" Said Milly, "That's not the same."

"Oh yeah," Jon said, "As I said before, following Miss Tina's reasoning, it is the same. You prevent the nekos in the area from feeding naturally. "

Milly didn't like where this was going, but she understood the little boy's reasoning.

"The reason does not matter. The fact is that… ", she began to say.

"The point is when it happens to yourself or to someone who represents something to you, it's not the same anymore, is it?" Jon interrupted her, "But I don't criticize that Miss Milly. Despite everything, I agree with your way of thinking because there is something important. That 'natural order' that balances Felarya is what has kept our world safe. "

Ajab hearing this simply smiled as if he understood word for word what Jon was saying. The others stared at something confused.

“The natural reaction of a prey to its predator is to defend its life at any cost.” Jon continued, “And the natural reaction of the predator is to do everything possible to consume it if it is hungry. If it isn't, he wouldn't even bother to hunt her down. But all that, even so, is different when predator and prey are sapient beings. "

"Different?" Jissy asked, "Why?"

"Sapient beings are capable of self-awareness and therefore peculiarly feel death and power." Jon continued answering Jissy's question, "Sapient prey doesn't want to die because they love their life, they love life, they love to be. Do you understand? A predator that takes that away is… just horrible. "

“Wait so… it isn't.” Tina said somewhat annoyed about the path this conversation was taking and the effects it was having on her listeners, “Didn't you just say that it's natural for the predator to consume its prey? So it is just natural. Prey has to be consumed so that predators can live and feed. I don't see why it has to be any different with saplet predators ... "

"Sapiens," Jon rectified, "And I'm not saying that. I say again that you are right, Miss Tina. Although for the prey it is something horrible, it is something that has to be done if we want the balance to be maintained. I don't know if you've heard a fairly common term called the food chain. "

"I do," Milly said promptly.

"Me too," Crisis said smiling.

"We've all heard that," Ajab said, "But I think we're straying from the essentials. What makes you think you can bail out Joanna?"

"I'm getting there." Jon said as he smiled, "I'm telling you this before because you don't seem like bad people and it's always good to share our temple teachings with good people. But it is also necessary for you to understand why we will do our best to rescue your friend. "

Jon then stood up.

"I told you before that our goal is to protect the tinies, but that's a simple way to put it." Jon said solemnly, "Our goal is to protect the balance of Felarya by protecting the food chain. All right, I already said it. "

Nobody said anything.

"Sorry, but I got lost," Crisis said as she scratched her blonde hair.

"No only you Crisis." Milly said, "Me too. I still don't understand anything. "

"The food chain." Jon continued, "In Felarya it represents balance and it is very delicate. Every sapient being in our world has a place in it. But you know the funny thing about food chains. You gigantic beings devour the nekos, humans, elves, and other creatures which in turn devour us. "Jon blushed a little," And, it's a shame, but we tinies are lower in that food chain. "

"Hey, it's not our fault that you guys are so delicious and fun," Calina said while licking her lips.

Jon gulped before continuing as he glanced at the dark-skinned neko.

"Whatever. The point is that a chain always breaks at the weakest link. If at least one of those links disappears, the whole chain is affected. Or it just falls apart. "

Ajab then opened his eyes, finally understanding what the little neera meant.

"So like I said, our goal," Jon continued, "is to protect the weakest link in the chain. The tinies."

Tina then opened her eyes somewhat confused and at the same time somewhat incredulous.

"But, don't you think that is something complicated for little ones like you?" Milly asked with a somewhat tender and condescending tone, fascinated by the determination of the little neera who exposed these facts.

"That's right.", Said Jon smiling, "The goal is complicated and very big, isn't it? But believe me, it is necessary. Many use the tinies as if they were simple slaves or merchandise. If we let this continue the tinies will be wiped off the face of Felarya. Not to mention the despair and sadness that these heinous acts bring. If we don't stop it, all that hopelessness will destroy our world. That is why I tell you that if your friend is alive we will rescue her. And believe it or not, we have the means. "

Jon spoke these words keeping in mind that he had been through something similar. So his words were delivered with a determined tone that conveyed empathy.

A deathly silence followed the last words. Tina's gaze was fixed on the little dark-haired neera as her lips parted in amazement. Milly, for her part, watched this speech with interest and when she finished she closed her eyes. A small tear ran down her right cheek.

"Hey Milly, are you okay?" Crisis asked somewhat worried.

“Yes, Crisis. It's nothing, ”Milly replied as she wiped the tear away with her wrist.

"Miss Milly," Jon said, "I'm sorry to bother you. I…"

"Okay, little one," the giantess interrupted, smiling, "You've convinced me. How do you intend to help us? "

"Wow, that was faster than I thought," Meleiss said suddenly. "You are good with the tongue Jon."

"Don't worry about Meleiss," Jon told his listeners, "She is very good at magic, but bad at relating."

"Bad", Tina thought, That's a simple way to put it. It is awful."

"That's how little girl. I'm awful. "Meleiss said sarcastically," But you're not the first to believe that. And I like it."

Tina was stunned. This neera had… read her thoughts!?

"What was that?" Milly asked puzzled.

Jon put a hand to his face. He feels very uncomfortable.

"Meleiss," he hissed at the white-haired girl, "How many times do I have to tell you? Nothing to read the thoughts of others. "

"Oh sorry," Meleiss replied, "But I couldn't help it. This little girl has so much bitterness inside her that it was easy. You miss your little friend, right? "

Tina was silent for a moment. Ajab like Jissy and Crisis observed this scene with apparent curiosity.

"If you can see my thoughts then you will know the answer to that, right?" snapped the blonde tomthumb.

"Well little girl," Meleiss said, "Why don't you tell me then? How did it happen? "

Jon didn't know if the tone of empathy Meleiss had used was genuine or not. His partner almost always faked emotions which made her particularly irritating to many people. He sat down with his knees crossed again on the wooden surface as Tina began her story.

The dark-haired neera still felt happy. He had brought, at least, a little hope for someone.