As the words hit his ears Mirin nearly fell over. “What! Mina is taking her apart.”

“I know it looks that way but Mina isn't only beating up Lanora. She's fighting far too intensely and while that has given her the edge for the moment she's also beating up herself. She's pushing her muscles and bones to their limit fighting so savagely. However, if it wasn't for Lanora's healing capabilities Mina would no doubt have won this fight.”

“Are they in danger of losing their lives?” Mirin was a bit surprised whenever he heard a slight growl coming from Fera.

“Mirin I don't like being insulted like that.” As she spoke Fera turned her attention from the fight and focused entirely on Mirin and Maria.

Mirin immediately recognize his mistake and gave a nod. “I didn't mean to insult you like that Fera. I know you care for your sisters and wouldn't allow this to continue if you thought their lives were in danger. I was just over come with concern after what you said.”

“Apology accepted. As for your concern. Mina is going to need some time to recover if she continues fighting like she has been. While she hasn't sustained any one serious injury all those little injuries will add up in time.”

“Fera do you believe you alone can restrain Mina without seriously injuring her?”

“No. At least not at this moment if things are allowed to continue then yes. Though by then she'll already have suffered some fairly serious injuries.”

“How long do you believe she'll be injured?” As Mirin spoke her heard a massive roar come from behind him though he didn't look to see what it was. From the sound of it he assumed that Mina had given Fera another notable injury.

“It will take her at least a week to heal if we let things continue. All the minor injuries could add up such that it would take her an entire month to recover her full strength if the fight is allowed to continue until she can't fight anymore. That is assuming Fera can hold out.”

“I thought you said that Fera was winning?”

“Yes but that was before she let Mina take a swipe at her right eye.”

“What!” In response to the comment Mirin quickly spun around to find that Lanora had her right eye closed. “Did she lose it!”

“No, but she won't be able to see out of it for the duration of the fight even with her healing ability. If Mina makes use of that blind spot now she could do some very serious injuries. You don't need to worry so much though Mirin. Sora is plenty ready to step in should the fight get out of hand.”

“You mean you can see Sora?”

“At times. Only whenever she moves quickly and her life energy becomes particularly notable in her legs can I see her.”

“Alright, well then Maria if you'd please take me back to the observation area. I want to put some more energy into the barrier to make sure it doesn't go down.”

“Alright Mirin. Do you believe we should tell Dan about this though?”

“Yes I believe that we should.”

Dan was nearly out of his seat at this point watching the fight. Part of him was quietly hoping for the fight to be over with soon and even more so for Lanora to go down and just give up. As he watched what was going on though he doubted that happening as Lanora only seemed to be becoming increasingly angry. Some motion right next to him got his attention and he turned to see Maria and Mirin. “Is Mina alright?”

In response Maria gave a nod. “We spoke to Fera and she's alright for the moment but there is a problem. It seems that while she's beating up Lanora she's also beating up herself. She's pushing her body way too hard for it to be healthy. It's nothing to worry about but she is going to need time after this to heal. Even if we were to stop the fight now she'd need time to heal.”

“I. I see. Please don't stop the fight now though.”

It was impossible for Mirin to keep his curiosity down as he turned to face Dan. “That's surprising I thought you'd want us to end it as quickly as possible. Though we didn't intend to based off what Fera told us.”

“Mina's surprisingly passionate about this. While I am worried about her physical safety I also have to consider her mental health as well. I know for Mina to be fighting like she is now she must have really needed this release. So I want her to release it. That said I believe it'd be a good ideal to figure out how she came to be this way. I'm going to have a long talk with her once this is over. Besides after this I don't know if we'll be able to get someone else to spar with her.”

“Actually, I don't believe that'd really be a problem.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Lanora may be a matron but well you know what Lanora's ability is don't you?”

“She heals remarkably fast. I've seen it during this fight alone by watching her injuries close up.”

“Indeed. Lanora isn't the most experienced matron whenever it comes to fighting though. After watching Mina fight I'm certain some of the others would like to wrestle with Mina. Perhaps even Fera.”

“Wasn't Fera restricted from fighting with Mina for fear that her nature would overcome her and she may end up trying to kill Mina?”

“That's correct but from the way this fight is going. I believe she could handle it. More importantly I don't believe I've been showing Fera the proper respect.”

While Maria had been listening quietly she couldn't help but giggle at Mirin's comment. “She set him strait just a few seconds ago. I have to admit that Fera kind of surprised me though. I guess everyone has an ideal where they believe she becomes some old of control monster whenever she starts hunting.”

To this Mirin gave a slight nod. “At one time that's what she became pretty much. However, she's gained enough control that between her mutation and her self control she was able to earn the rank of matron. I believe she deserves more respect then I've shown her for that. Anyway.” Mirin went silent for a moment as he began to direct energy into the barrier that was protecting the area. “Let's watch the fight it sounds like they're slowing down.”

As Mina leaped away from Lanora she felt exuberant. Every muscle, fiber and tendon in her body was alive and full of strength. She had an opponent in front of her and her every instinct was telling her to attack and while she'd been struck a few times so far those attacks had been successful. Thus utter surprise filled her as she broke away from Lanora for a moment to regain her footing and reposition for an attack. As her leg impacted with the ground the muscle was made to tremble and Mina was forced to catch herself as the limb gave.

Rapid healing tended to grant one increased stamina regain as well as help with quickly repairing the body. This was normally an advantage but there could also be trouble with it. Even when you healed quickly the materials still had to come from somewhere once that supply ran out you were in trouble. As Lanora found herself gasping for air she realized that's what was happening. After this she knew she'd be far more hungry then normal but for the moment she didn't feel that. Her mind was blocking out such feelings. The exhaustion was there though it was thus fortunate for her that Mina seemed to be tiring.

Mina took in several deep breathes as she placed her leg back on the ground. Such rapid movement was quite tiresome even for her. So that while part of her wanted to push for the attack instinctively she found herself watching Lanora very carefully and working to recover her stamina. The physical exertion was showing beyond that as she struggled to regain her strength. Her muscles had been exhausted and even her bones were showing the strain of such exertion over such a long period of time.

Was this a good time to attack? As Lanora looked at Mina she couldn't be certain. Her eye was still injured so she couldn't see out of it and the various cuts she'd taken were still proving a problem. She was exhausted and it would be hard to press the attack. There was also the matter of what had happened the last time she tried to charge Mina. As Lanora looked at Mina in her exhausted state though she opted to take the risk and began to rush towards her. As she neared Mina she watched carefully for any signs that she was about to move.

Instead of trying to dodge or meeting the attack Mina took in another breath while paying close attention to Lanora. She wanted to recover as much of her strength as she could. So that it was only whenever Lanora began to drive her fist down towards Mina that she responded. Instead of going above the blow though Mina quickly moved forward moving under the arm. As she moved though pain shot throughout her thighs. The punch landed just short of her but the impact still struck her knocking Mina through the air though not doing any additional harm.

A sharp gasp escaped Lanora as she drove her fist into the ground and she turned to see Mina. She wasn't very pleased to see that she'd evaded and had already taken up a new position. It was clear that she was exhausted by the fact that she didn't attack her right away but how long would that last? Despite her exhaustion Lanora felt her heart speed up for a moment when Mina suddenly began to move once again.

With Lanora staring at her Mina finally opted to move though hardly at full speed. Rather she began to move at a pace even her exhausted body could hold aiming to move herself into Lanora's blind spot. There was no real surprise whenever Lanora followed her movements but for the moment that wasn't Mina's concern. She was just circling Lanora looking for an opening that called out for her to attack.

Maria could hardly believe what she was seeing such that she reached out and took hold of Joseph's arm. “Joseph do you see that? Do you see what Mina is doing?”

“She's circling her. I guess trying to keep her distance.”

“No! She's looking for an opening she's treating Lanora like a wounded animal and she's looking for an opening to deliver a finishing strike.”

“You mean Lanora is in danger?”

“I don't believe so it's just that. A keeper is actually stocking a matron.”

While Joseph didn't understand all the cultural issues with this entirely he did appreciate what was going on. “I guess the natural order is being turned on its head.”

Before Maria could say something she heard the sound of the ground suddenly being forced to endure a force it wasn't ready for. She immediately lapsed into the same mind set she used while running at full speed and turned to watch Mina. It was amazing watching the fight in slow motion. Mina had apparently just pressed off the ground and was now charging towards Lanora. She was moving fast but there was still enough time for either of them to act though given the speed with which Mina was moving Maria doubted she could stop.

Seeing another chance to knock Mina aside Lanora held her ground and waited. She remembered what happened the last time she tried to strike Mina like this. Mina had evaded and she'd paid for it. This time she was going to wait until there was no chance of Mina dodging and let her have it. As she watched Mina rushing towards her Lanora didn't even realize she'd opened her hand and extended her claws.

Maria watched the ground beneath Mina's feet being torn away noting the sound of each foot step whenever it reached her moments after the action. She saw a particularly large chunk of ground disturbed and realized that Mina had leaped into the air. That's when Maria noted Lanora moving. She saw her tense at the shoulder and suddenly her right arm was thrust forward clearing intending to meet Mina's charge head on. In her condition Maria wonder how well Mina would take such a blow and lightly bit down on her lip and sunk the claws of her left hand into the stone she was seated upon.

There was no hesitation from Mina even as she saw Lanora moving. Both of her hands reached out and took hold of Lanora's much larger hand. She then gave herself a sudden pull using the force to alter her direction and actually bring herself up and over Lanora's hand. The action happened in only an instant and was the difference between Mina being struck and avoiding the blow. It was an attack she couldn't have performed in her regular mental state as she quickly extended both her hands claws at the ready and thrust them towards Lanora's throat.

Horror and flooded Lanora's mind as Mina evaded her hand. She then felt a horrific pain as Mina struck her throat and she knew there'd been enough force behind that attack to break the skin. Fear for what was about to happen was suddenly removed as she felt a sudden relief as the pressure on her neck was suddenly removed and she heard someone call out.

“Fera help me with Mina!”

Sora had been watching the fight very closely indeed. She'd actually been closer then either of the combatants had realized constantly ready to step in if needed. At last she'd felt the need as while she doubted Mina was about to deal a lethal blow to Lanora she knew that it would have done some serious harm. Fortunately she had the element of surprise when initially taking hold of Mina and thus was able to get a good hold of her smaller sister's arms. Soon her hands were joined by Fera's who took control of Mina's right arm and leg while Sora held onto the left.

A horrific roar escaped Mina as she found herself suddenly in the grip of two matrons. Still lost in the fight she didn't even realize what she was doing as she began to struggle franticly against Sora and Fera. In her current condition there was no way that she could bring her full strength out though.

It was with relief that Sora gave a sigh and looked towards Fera. “She's too weak right now I can handle her.”

While Fera and Sora where talking Minerva had walked over to Lanora and slipped a hand behind her back and knees. As she brought herself to a standing position she held Lanora in her arms who was clearly quite dazed. “I'm going to get our sister away from here so Mina can begin to calm down. I imagine Lanora needs to eat quite badly now as well.”

In response Fera gave a nod and released her hold on Mina so that Sora could retake hold of both arms though it left Mina's legs free. “Alright we'll speak with you later. Make sure you treat Lanora's wounds as well. Mina opened up quite a bit of her.”

As Minerva began carrying Lanora away Sora turned towards the crowd and began to walk towards them. With each step she noticed Mina's struggles becoming less intense and Sora was made to smile. “You did really well Mina you can relax now.”

While Sora was coming towards them Mirin didn't know what to think. Dan had joined him standing up front but it was Mirin who spoke first. “Sora what's going on?”

“I thought it was time to break up the fight before Mina did herself some serious harm and Lanora as well. She's pretty weak as is.”

“I see that but that isn't exactly what I was talking about. Why is Mina calming down only now?”

“Oh that! She's established her territory or at least believes that she has on an instinctive level.”

Now it was Dan's turn to speak. “What! What do you mean she's established her territory?”

“I'm pretty certain I've figured out what was going on. For some reason Mina has been feeling an instinctive need to establish a territory of her own and to do that she needed to put on an appropriate display. It's actually not all that unheard of though it is kind of rare. Generally a sister will release this stress in little outburst of antisocial behavior. However Mina's always so worried about hurting someone that she didn't recognize this and held herself back so it sort of built up.”

After a moment more of silence Dan gave a nod. “Alright but I haven't heard of that happening.”

“Well as I said it isn't unheard of.” As she came over to the brothers and sisters gathered Sora still kept her hold on Mina. “Dan if you don't mind help comfort her so she can get her thinking normally again. Anyway, such behavior isn't unheard of but it is rare especially from a sister like Mina. It's generally brought on whenever one of us feels like we've been invaded somehow and we need a means to reestablish our territory. However, even more likely to bring on such behavior is the feeling for the need for more territory and privacy that often comes with pregnancy.”

While Sora had been speaking Dan had approached Mina and wrapped his arms around her waste as best he could. He had leaned his head against her right thigh and was rubbing her back whenever Sora's words reached his ears and he gave a slight start. “What? You think Mina is pregnant?”

“It sure wouldn't surprise me. This sudden build up of tension despite her regular hunting habits and all the good news as of late.” Sora couldn't help but grin as she noted the stunned expression on Dan's face. She didn't forget Mina though and began to relax her hold and set her sister down.

Mina didn't make any motions to move at first but continued to stand there as Dan held her. Her head then started to turn towards Sora but stopped and turned back towards Dan. She then slowly reached down and gently took hold of his sides and lifted him up so that his arms wrapped around her neck. As she did so her breathing began to return to normal. For a moment she just stood there holding Dan when her right leg was made to tremble and she suddenly collapsed to one knee though she made no sound.

Dan was take by surprise whenever Mina suddenly fell. Instinctively he tightened his grip on her only to have the motion come to a sudden stop. Uncertain of what had happened he looked towards her leg. “You're really hurting now aren't you Mina?” This time Dan felt a great deal of relief as he got a response. Mina slowly nodded her head.

With Mina holding Dan Sora once again picked up Mina though this time she more cradled her. Being careful not to make her lose her grip on Dan as she stood up. “Alright I'm going to take the two of you home.”

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

“So I'm guessing things like that don't happen often.”

A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she gave her head a shake. “No. Sisters becoming pregnant is rare enough as is. However, for the most powerful keeper we have to get pregnant and develop a sudden need to defend her territory or claim a territory now that's a rare thing indeed. To see a matron beat down by a keeper though. I think I'll look into the records to see if that's ever happened before.”

“Would you really say that Mina won that one?”

“Hm. Ah well I don't know. It looked like she was going to get in a serious strike there at the end but she did kind of wreck her body fighting like that. I mean she collapsed while just standing there and holding Dan. If that fight had been allowed to continue she'd been in even worse shape and Lanora might have still been breathing. I doubt either of them would be in good condition though.”

“How about we go visit Dan and Mina later on and bring them something to eat? I bet Mina's going to be hungry after all of that.”

“No doubt. I wonder who is going to take over watching the claimed Mina was taking care of.”

“I believe that your guess in regards to that would be better then mine.”

“Well let's see. Ever since what happened a few months ago the number of claimed has been on the low side. So they probably could be divided up amongst a keeper without many claimed to take care of. However, there was also some keepers reassigned due to the openings and I don't believe they'll want to give up their current positions. It seems likely that they'll be divided amongst the keepers rather then given to a single one.”

“That sounds reasonable. What will happen to Mina though if she really is pregnant?”

“A sister with a child can't be a keeper of claimed that's just too much work. She'll probably be assigned to keep watch in the market or town and handle special task that require more power then a guardian can typically bring but won't keep her away from home for long.”

“Even if the child is a brother?”

“Yeah the changes to a keepers schedule aren't so much due to the child being a sister. Rather it's to give the parent plenty of time to spend with that child. Of course the odds are that it will be a sister so she'll need lots of direction attention.”

“Maria have any of you ever tried to figure out why you tend to give birth to sisters rather then brothers even with such a low birth rate?”

“We believe that it was a design feature to keep our numbers low. Perhaps we weren't even meant to give birth to brothers. After all a single sister takes a long time to get pregnant and once she is she can't get pregnant against for some time. However, a brother could sleep with several women and while the odds of conception still wouldn't be great a brother traveling around the outside world sleeping around as much as he could has the potential to have horrible consequences.”

“Yeah though wouldn't most of the human mothers die during child birth?”

“Yeah, even our bodies can have trouble giving birth if we're below guardian stature.”

“That's another thing that troubles me. What would happen if you found out that a sister who hadn't earned the right had become pregnant?”

“Mina's situation has you thinking of all sorts of things today doesn't it?”

“Well it's hard not to.”

In response Maria gave a quick nod. “In that situation as rare as it is the sister would be allowed to grow to guardian size for the sake of the unborn child. It would be considered a blessing from the child and a wonderful chance as well as a reward for bringing a new life into our community.”

“I imagine that she'd be watched very carefully during this time.”

“Yeah she would have to be. As a sister that hadn't truly earned such status she'd have to prove to everyone she deserved it. There would be real trouble if it turned out that she didn't deserve it especially if she didn't care that she hadn't earned such status.”

“What would happen?”

“There is a chance that upon the child being born it would be taken away from her. She would then be forced to undergo the same sleep I did in order to regress her body size.”

“I see. Maria what would happen if a pregnant sister decided that she didn't care how big she grew? As she knew that as long as she was carrying a child within her none of you would do anything against her.”

A slight giggle escaped Maria as she gave a grin. “She'd be in for one hell of a surprise. We wouldn't force her to go to sleep as we wouldn't want to risk losing the child. That doesn't mean that we wouldn't restrain her though until the child was born and then starve her into a coma so that she reverted in size.”

“Ah so. I have a baby so you shouldn't cause me any undo stress wouldn't work?”

“It would put the child in some danger but we couldn't allow such a sister to do as she pleased. She could easily become a serious threat to the rest of the community after all.”

“Interesting. Maria exactly how do you enter into the coma you mentioned?”

“They're two basic ways to get into it. The first is starvation. As a final defense mechanism to avoid death our bodies enter into the state to keep us alive. The second method is something we really have to condition ourselves for and involves convincing your body to go to sleep. It's so difficult though to induce that often some degree of starvation is involved.”

“So what method was used on you?”

“I didn't resist whenever my sisters came for me and I tried to put myself into the relaxed mind needed to bring on the coma. However, I didn't do a very good job of it and I was extremely hungry by the time I finally managed to convince my body to shut down.”

“Are there any benefits to convincing your body?”

“Actually yes. In general the wake up is much easier if one puts yourself into the coma with a full belly. It also seems to sooth the mind so that we rest more easily.”

“Could you tell me anything else about it? Have there been any attempts to monitor your physiology while you're in the rested state?”

In response Maria gave her head a slight nod but it was a slow motion. “There have been but it didn't work out very well. During the sleep we're extremely vulnerable in many regards. A sudden burst of energy can easily awaken us cutting the sleep short and well we tend not to be in the best states of mind after being woken up.”

“I see. So a blood sample would be out of the question?”

“It'd be pretty risky to cause us harm in that state. As then we might wake up scared for our lives and starving at the same time. That's not a good thing especially if in that time we've developed some form of change. Magic can't really be used either as our bodies absorb such energies typically.”

“Typically yes but I believe you mentioned once that extremely well crafted magic isn't absorbed.”

“That's true. In order to gain such information though you'd have to be able to send energy into our bodies and then have it return after being affected by our bodies don't you?”

“Well the methods I know of do call for it but that doesn't mean all of them do.”

An amused giggle escaped Maria as she gave her head a nod. “That's true but we haven't found a method yet. So is this what you're thinking of doing for your next project? Finding a way to study us safely while we sleep?”

“I have to admit it has me curious. For a species to be able to go undergo such a transformation as what happened to you while you're asleep would be very valuable knowledge. I imagine it could be used to help you all a great deal.”

“You're probably right.” For a moment Maria said nothing but looked up towards the sky for a moment. “Joseph what you were able to create in the life bloom is amazing so I know not to underestimate your abilities but I will say that's quite a project you have in mind.”

“I suppose that it may be but I believe I can do it. Of course, I wouldn't mind hearing if you have any ideals of your own. What problem would you like me to try and solve?”

“Mm I'll have to give that some thought.”

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

“Ouch.” A sigh escaped Mina as she looked up towards the roof of her home and then turned her head towards Dan who was walking towards her with a sack. “I don't believe I should be trying to move much.”

“That's what Sora suggested.” As he spoke Dan placed the elongated satchel against Mina's neck and began to tuck it around and behind her neck. As he did so his hands were revealed to be covered by some rather thick gloves. “You know I wouldn't be using this on a human no matter how sore they felt.”

It was impossible for Mina not to grin as she made a move to place her hand against Dan's side. A sudden pain in her shoulder stopped her cold and she allowed her arm to settle back down. “It's not that cold.”

“Holding onto one of these could easily cause a human serious tissue damage in a very short period of time. Are you sure you're going to be alright?”

“Yeah they really don't feel cold to me but I can tell they're cool.” A sigh escaped Mina as she turned her head to look at Dan. For a moment she said nothing but her face turned into a wide smile despite her pain. “So have you been thinking of a name?”

“I might have a few ideals but nothing really concrete. I was so shocked whenever Sora told us what she believed was going on I didn't know what to say.” Before continuing Dan turned and headed back into the kitchen to get another satchel of chilled water. “After so much trying you'd think we'd settled on a name by now.”

“I suppose so. I just didn't expect to become pregnant so soon.”

“What about you? Have you any ideals?”

“I'm not really certain myself.”

“Hm you know.” Before continuing Dan walked back into the living room packing another satchel. This one intended for Mina's upper shoulder and back. “If it's a sister how about Dremera?”

For a moment Mina said nothing as she looked at Dan upon hearing her mother's name. Once he drew close enough she extended her arm and gently brushed her hand against Dan's face despite the pain. “I would like that.”

“Alright then. Now we just need a name encase we have a son.”

“Well how about Nathan?”

“Returning a favor are we?”

“Well while your parents probably aren't dead you haven't seen them in a long time. It seems appropriate though.”

“Okay then.”

A sigh escaped Mina as she raised up to allow Dan to slip the container underneath her. As she settled down she was careful to move slowly to avoid popping it. “Dan would you like to go visit your parents again?”

“Not if it meant leaving you.”

A slight purr escaped Mina despite her pain upon hearing this and she looked to Dan. “How about with me?”

“What has you talking like this all of a sudden Mina?”

“Well I've been thinking about the life bloom. While most are focused on what it would do to relieve our hunger there is also the fact that it would boost our ability to protect our forest. Given that I believe I could risk a journey to go and meet your family. If you would be willing to introduce me to them.”

At first Dan said nothing but considered Mina's words. “I've been dead to the outside world for so long I don't know what I would do. It would be nice to see them again though I can only imagine how they'd respond when they meet you especially once you grow even larger. The first order of business might be getting them to a location where they can't run away but won't hurt themselves either.”

A slight giggle escaped Mina though it was quickly brought to a stop as her side began hurting her. “Ow. Ouch. You really think they'd be that shocked at seeing me?”

“It wouldn't surprise me.”

“Knock knock.” Instead of actually knocking on the door Flora pushed it open and stuck her head inside. “How are you two doing?”

Mina made herself smile despite her pain as she looked at Flora. “Flora it's good to see you. Are you here to see how I'm doing?”

“Yeah I would have been by sooner but I had a few things to take care of before I left the combat grounds.”

“Oh? What was that?”

“I took some time to speak with our sisters about the possibility of you being pregnant and what we might need to do if that turned out to be the case. We already lined up a few keepers to take care of your claimed and saw to some other things.”

“Thanks.”

Before continuing Flora walked across the room so that she was standing over Mina. She then pointed down towards her stomach. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. I'm eager to know for certain myself.”

In response Flora gave a nod and placed her hand against Mina's stomach. “Mina have you noticed any changes in how much you want to eat as of late? Normally one of the best indicators of pregnancy is a change in our desire to eat after all.”

“No. I wish I had or I might have figured out what was going on myself. Flora do you know how Lanora is doing?”

“Last I saw of her she was doing fine. She's probably eating right now and trying to replenish what she lost during the fight. Now sense you're a keeper it seems unlikely that your eating habits would change as much as a guardians due to your greater mass. However, for there to be no noticeable change that's pretty strange. I wonder if it could be due to the life bloom though.”

While Flora had been speaking with Mina Dan had left the room and retrieved another cooling satchel for Mina. Now he chose to speak up. “That's possible after all just one fruit a day was enough to cause Maria to grow to guardian stature when combined with her regular eating habits.”

“Yeah.” For a moment Flora went silent and lifted her hand from Mina's stomach. “Given the amount of space in there and what's covering it I just can't feel anything. Taking Mina off the life bloom at this point isn't acceptable as if there is a child in there we don't want to risk injuring it.” After a moment Flora went silent and lowered her head to rest upon Mina's stomach.

“Dan couldn't you figure out exactly how much energy the life bloom I've been eating has given me? If it has given me enough that it should have triggered some growth along with my regular eating habits it'd offer some solid proof I'm pregnant.”

“I could give it a try Mina.” As he spoke Dan took a moment to place one of the cooling packs around Mina's massive right thigh. “Mina we have one more back in their for your leg but that's it. Are you sure you don't feel cold?”

“Yeah they feel nice actually.”

“It's amazing how much of a temperature change is needed to affect you girls. Flora do you believe you could do me a favor?”

“What is it Dan?”

“While preparing that pack I noticed we were low on frost powder. Would you be willing to bring some by later?”

“I'd be happy to.” A sigh escaped Flora as she set up. “Mina I wish I could tell you something but if there is a baby in there the baby is quite well protected. I can't be certain of anything at this point.”

“I guess we'll have to wait and look for other changes. It's a shame none of our sisters have a refined enough sense of hearing to be of help.”

“Well there was one.”

“Yeah but she died even before our time. My mother was only a child when she was around.”

“That's true perhaps we could have Fera take another look at you. After all during the fight you were pushing yourself to your limit and putting out a lot of energy. Now that you're fairly exhausted though perhaps she could see through it and tell you if there is a child inside of there.”

“That sounds like a good ideal.”

“Alright then I'll go get her assuming she isn't busy. I'll also pick up some of that frost powder for you and is there anything else I should bring back?”

Before Flora could leave Mina spoke up. “Some extra food would be nice.”

“Alright then.”

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

“So how are you feeling?”

Lanora couldn't see who was talking which told her immediately who was there. “I'm pretty sore still but feeling better now that I've eaten.”

“That's good to know but you haven't touched your water.” As she spoke Sora picked up the container of water that was setting next to Lanora and placed her hand against her back. She didn't comment as Lanora opened her mouth and she emptied some of the liquid into it. “I suppose it was a good thing that you were the one that went up against Mina. I know a few other matrons that would have been recovering for quite some time.”

“I suppose. How is Mina doing now?”

“I took her home she's recovering.”

A slight giggle escaped Lanora and she gave a sigh. “I can't believe this.”

“Can't believe what?”

“That I'm the first matron to ever be beaten by a keeper. Do you have any ideal how humiliating this is?”

“Beaten? Where do you get the ideal that you were beaten?”

“Come on Sora. I was down and she was going for my throat.”

“Mina didn't have the strength left in her to destroy anything vital or I would have stepped in sooner. Surely you don't believe I'd let your life be in real danger sister?”

Instead of commenting right away Lanora looked down at her food. “Then it was a draw.”

“No. The reason I stepped in is if Mina would have continued pushing herself like that you may have been severally injured such that it'd taken a very long time to heal. However, Mina may very well have died if I had allowed her to continue. Though it isn't being spoken of those who have talked of it agree that you won in the end.”

“Then what are they talking about?”

“How amazing of a fight it was and how inspiring it was to see two sisters with such power.”

A slight chuckle escaped Lanora as she listened to Sora. “Are you certain that you heard right? I'm surprised they're not talking about the sister that nearly defeated a matron.”

“Well there has been talk along those lines as well but of course there would be. While it was often believed that if Mina were to develop another mutation she could easily defeat even a matron for it to be revealed that she can challenge one even now as a keeper. It is quite remarkable. It's actually gotten several of the other matrons excited. I can't help but believe that once Mina recovers and has given birth she's going to be getting quite a few challengers.”

“Sora why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Being nice to me all of a sudden. You were one of the ones that wanted me to fight Mina in the first place.”

“Was I being mean to you somehow then?”

“You all seemed to be ganging up on me.”

“I suppose that we might have. However, you were the one that brought it upon yourself with your statement. I don't believe we were being mean to you though.”

“So you were saying you didn't want this to happen?”

“Of course not! I had no ideal that you would end up this badly injured and you should know that. Lanora tell me what do you have against Mina though?”

For a moment Lanora said nothing but as Sora made herself visible she felt she had no choice. “I suppose I don't really have anything against her.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Sora after I awoke from being punished and found out I had this new ability I was so excited. I was ashamed of what I had done and that I had to be put to sleep in the first place but my healing ability made me feel as if it had been worth it somehow. Then I learned that there was a position for a new matron one of them having passed on while I was asleep. At the same time though I learned that there was a sister who had gone to sleep voluntarily. The chance to become a matron doesn't come along often but as the only truly viable candidate I felt as if I'd been given a wonderful opportunity. At the same time though it put me into competition with Mina.”

“You knew you had to prove yourself and earn the matron position before Mina woke up. As sense Mina was a keeper before she went to sleep and did it voluntarily if she awoke with a mutation she'd have it for certain.”

“Yeah. I wasn't too worried though after all what were the odds of her waking up with a mutation? They're quite rare after all. Still, I worked at it and I earned the matron position a few months before Mina awoke despite some believing we should wait and see what came of Mina's experiment. It was fortunate for me that some felt leaving a matron position open while we had a viable candidate was too risky. As when Mina awoke it was incredibly obvious that she had gained a remarkable mutation.”

“I would have thought you were relieved?”

“Relieved? Sora how would you feel knowing that you'd been chosen for a position only because you got to the door a little sooner then someone else? That everyone around you thought you were the second best and just lucky to be in line first?”

“Lanora I've never heard our sisters talking like that about you. You earned the matron position while it was open that's all there is to it.”

“I know they haven't said anything like that or I haven't heard them either. You know it's what they're thinking though. Don't you remember the talks once it was realized how strong Mina was? They were those who wanted to have one of the current matrons step down or allow a special exception for Mina. It was fortunate for me that Mina didn't really push the issue as we all knew which matron would be asked to step down.”

“Lanora what makes you so certain it would have been you? You might be the youngest matron but you're not the weakest.”

“I well. It just seemed like I would be the likely person to be asked.”

“Given that you'd only recently earned the status and woken up? I doubt that but go on.”

“I guess perhaps the fear wasn't founded upon anything solid but it was still there. I was so relieved whenever Mina said that she wouldn't accept such a position as she wouldn't take from her sisters what they'd gained. Of course then she started talking about going to sleep again once she'd grown back to keeper status.”

“Yeah that surprised us all I guess it must have horrified you.”

“Yeah it did. I couldn't help but think what would happen if she went to sleep again and developed another mutation. If it was anything like her first one she'd be even more powerful then a matron and the pressure to allow her to become a matron would be all the greater. Then Dan came along though and she suddenly found a reason to stay awake. You know in some ways I viewed Dan as my savior?”

A slight giggle escaped Sora despite the situation. “I see. I never realized you had so many things to worry about but surely you realize that they were unfounded. Even if you were the one asked to step down you could always refuse.”

“Yeah and how would that make me look? Selfishly holding onto my position while someone more qualified is standing right there.”

“No worse then the wrest of us. Lanora you're not alone in this. I'm certain many of our fellow matrons felt that they should step down and allow Mina to take up their position. However, we all know what it's like to go to sleep and well we all know how long it would take to return to keeper stature from our current sizes. So of course none of us want to be the one to speak up and step down. You seem to be the one beating herself up over it the most though.”

At first Lanora said nothing but considered what Sora had said. “So you don't believe I”m the weakest matron amongst us?”

“No. I don't. Though before you ask. I won't tell you which matron I considered our weakest and I don't believe that she should have been the one asked to step down just because her mutation isn't quite as powerful as the rest of ours.”

“Then what criteria would you use?”

“Honestly I could never ask any of my fellow matrons to step down just to allow another sister to step up. After all it's not really something I believe I'd be willing to do myself.”

“Then what if Mirin asked you for a recommendation because they were going to ask a sister to do so?”

“I would have to denounce their decision and appeal to our sisters. It isn't even a fair question to ask one of us.”

As Sora finished a slight giggle escaped Lanora as she looked at her. “Well I guess I wasn't as alone in this as I thought I was. As the youngest though I've often felt like the most replaceable.”

“Don't be silly.”

A sigh escaped Lanora as she took a moment to snack on a small bit of venison. “You said that some of our other sisters were wanting to spar with Mina. Do you have any ideal what that's about?”

“I believe they just want to test themselves. It was quite a spectacular show after all.”

“How about you? Do you want to see if you can match up against Mina?”

“No thanks. I'd either end up staying hidden the entire time and beating on her while her guard was down or she'd get hold of me early on and do some serious damage.”

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

“Well can you see anything?”

“Mmm.” Fera was careful as she held Mina in her hand slightly tilting her sister from one side and then to the next looking for any sign of life energy within her. For the moment though that effort was proving futile though. “The problem is that you're not just exhausted you're also injured. Your life energy is actually quite active right now and due to its strength I can't really gather much information. Unless you want to know what's hurting the most.”

“I believe I can gather that on my own from how I'm feeling.”

A slight chuckle escaped Fera as she reached back into Mina and Dan's home to set her sister down. “Yes I suppose that you can. Are the ice packs helping anything?”

“Yeah they're offering some relief. It's kind of funny Dan keeps feeling of my forehead to make sure that he doesn't accidentally freeze me.”

“Ah that's sweet. Where is Dan though? From the way Flora was talking I expected to see both of them here.”

“Flora took Dan out to gather some supplies. Since I won't be able to go hunting for a day or two longer he's going to have to handle all the cooking.”

“Make sure he knows that this isn't the time to develop your tolerance to spice.”

“Ah Dan likes the spicy food but I think he knows right now wouldn't be a good time.”

A slight chuckle escaped Fera as she settled down against Mina and Dan's home letting the structure take some of her weight as she leaned against it. “Mina I don't believe you have anything to worry about. They're a lot of signs indicating that you're pregnant after all and after you and Dan spent so much time trying it shouldn't be surprising.”

“I hope so. I just wish that I didn't have to take out my instincts on one of our sisters. I asked Flora about it earlier but Fera could you tell me how Lanora is doing?”

“She'll be healed up by tomorrow unlike you.”

“That's good to know. I would go to thank her myself but I believe that I will need a few more days before I'm ready to do that. Hm oh Fera could you tell me what parts of me are the most injured?”

“Your legs especially the muscles right in here.” As she spoke Fera reached into Mina's home and ran her finger against Mina's thighs.

“So would you suggest focusing mostly on them?”

“If you mean keeping an ice pack around them then yeah. Though to be honest if it was me I'd just dip you in a bath tub and sprinkle some frost powder inside of it if you want to keep the swelling down.”

A slight giggle escaped Mina though it quickly came to an end as her side began to hurt her. “Ouchies. Dan was actually talking about getting me some pain killers earlier. Something that could perhaps be injected directly into the blood stream.”

“I guess the two of you decided against it.”

“Yeah. While it'd be nice to take the edge of my pain off if I'm carrying a son inside of me there is no way I can allow for such things. As while one of our sisters could handle such things easily a son might be killed by something powerful enough to ease my pain.”

“Do you believe that was a design feature?”

“Hm I don't believe our creators meant for us to be unable to use sedatives. Rather I believe it was a side affect to making us so resistant to harm.”

“I'd tend to agree with you. Still, it seems like they'd have some means of easing our pain. Perhaps something that we haven't found yet.”

“Actually I believe they did from some of the older documents we were able to get our hands on. Remember some of the old battle reports that mentioned past sisters being harmed?”

“Oh yeah they did mention things along the lines of making injured sisters comfortable. I always assumed though that means they were sheltered inside of the forest, given a comfortable bed, food and drink to help aid in their recovery. I suppose there could have been more to it. What do you think they'd use though?”

“I'm not really certain. Perhaps some kind of food? After all despite our endurance spicy food is still spicy to us and can even be painful.”

“Who are you kidding? There is no can be painful especially when it comes to you.”

While she didn't risk laughing Mina couldn't help but grin as she looked at Fera. “Okay you have me there I'm a big wimp whenever it comes to spicy food. They send me running for the nearest source of water to relieve the pain.”

“Hm a food that causes our pain to diminish. Well I know of a few food groups that I consider comforting but I haven't found one that takes away pain yet.”

“Neither have I though I sure wish I had.”

“So Mina have you and Dan talked about any names?”

“We've come up with two a boy and a girl's name.”

“Oh? Would you mind telling me what they are?”

“If it's a girl Dan wants to name her Dremera.”

“Ah! That's so sweet of him.”

In response Mina gave a nod and placed her hand against her stomach. “I was thinking we'd name the baby after Dan's father if it was a male.”

To this Fera gave a quick nod. “That seems fair. So are you hoping for anything in particular?”

“A healthy baby.”

“So no gender preferences?”

“Nope. Well perhaps just a little. Whenever I think about a son I actually get a little scared. I don't believe I could ever forgive myself if I injured my own child.”

“Like you need to worry about that. Mina you're far to gentle to harm your own child.”

In response to Fera's comment Mina glanced towards the wall. “I was so fidgety this morning before my fight with Fera my tail slipped a few times. You might not have noticed them but several parts of the walls have chunks of them torn out from where my tail smacked them.”

“So? That's just a wall.”

“What if I have a son and he'd been crawling behind me whenever that happened?”

“In that case your tail wouldn't have been flicking about in the first place.”

“I hope you're right.”

“So what if your baby takes after the father whenever it comes to food?”

Mina felt her lips lock up for a moment as she placed her hands on her stomach and looked down towards it. She had managed to adjust to a little spice so far but no where near what Dan enjoyed on his food. Fortunately he enjoyed none spiced food as well and was quite reasonable about it. A child on the other hand wouldn't be so reasonable though. “You wouldn't do that to your mommy would you little one?”

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

“You wanted to speak with me Carter?” As he spoke Mirin took a seat a short distance from Carter who was currently sipping on some form of juice.

“Hey Mirin yeah. Mirin do you remember the incidents with the kobolds we had a few months back?”

“With them attacking the dryad?”

“That's the one.”

“Yes we sent Fera to deal with their numbers but they become active again quite quickly. With all the good news though most of our sisters have forgotten this.”

“Yeah so I noticed and I don't want to be the one to remind them but that's still something we need to deal with. I've been looking into it myself a bit along with a few of the keepers and our other brothers but I've began to think we all need to take a more serious look at the problem.”

“I would agree with you. Just the fact that they resumed activity so quickly is cause for concern but preparing to grow the life bloom is holding many of our sisters' attention.”

“Yeah well during Lanora and Mina's little match I took the time to examine the area a bit. I figured the stress they were putting on the region would have some sort of an affect on whatever was going on there.”

“Did you find anything?”

“I believe that I might have. The life energy in that region is actually fairly weak. Which isn't surprising after a visit from Fera. However, the magical energy is roughly the same. I've also been getting some worrisome reports.”

“You mean from Kersara?”

“Yeah the activity of the aquatic kobolds has increased and unlike the ones in the forest we really can't measure their numbers. It isn't just that though. I heard one of the students Stella's son Allen talking about some time he spent with Pera. Apparently their recent efforts in the forest have been frustrated due to Pera's picky nature and the environment.”

“How so?”

“Well apparently despite Pera's efforts she's been having trouble finding truly fresh fruit that hasn't been attacked by insects. She also has stated that certain trees seem to be becoming sickly.”

“Well that's not comforting news.”

“Well that's not comforting news. You believe that this is related to the kobolds though?”

“Indeed I do. It wouldn't be the first time that something unpleasant took up residence in their din.”

“I wonder. Perhaps they were trying to drive the dryad off or kill her to keep her from noticing something. I believe that I'll ask a sister or two to accompany me and go speak with her.”

“I was thinking we'd consult the druids or orcs as well. Perhaps they've noticed something.”

“They've provided some information in the past so it could be worth while. What do you propose to do if we can't find any further information?”

“If we can't find anything more comprehensive then I'd like to have a few sisters go investigate the kobolds in greater detail. This time though I believe that we need to dig deep and investigate their lairs as well.”

“Now that's an unpleasant ideal.”

“Yeah I know. I was thinking that we'd have some of the guardians check them out though and provide them with masks similar to what they've been wearing in the tannery these days.”

“That would probably help but perhaps we should take a more noticeable hand in these matters as well. Instead of sending our sisters down into those tunnels why don't we just gather some of our mages and collapse the tunnels?”

“It would spare our sisters something unpleasant but I'm not certain it would be enough to get at whatever is causing this problem.”

“Do you have any theories as to what it may be?”

In response Carter gave a quick nod. “I'm thinking that we're dealing with something that feeds on life energy if what Allen was talking about proves to be true. Kobolds spread waste and destruction anyway so it's easy for them to attract such beings. Perhaps one of the kobold shamans reached a higher level of awareness then we'd like and magical power. That or perhaps a necromancer has taken up residence with them.”

A groan escaped Mirin as he heard the second option. “I hope that isn't the case.”

“Yeah the last time was problematic.”

“Well whatever we do this time I'd like to try something different. Normally we try to exterminate everything in the kobold nesting area in hopes of killing off the problem. How about we trying bringing something new into it this time though?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking we'd plant some flowers this time.”

“That could work I assume you're talking about the ever rest.”

“Indeed. Though I'm not certain the kobolds would be dumb enough to allow such a dangerous flower to grow in their midst and planting mature plants could be an issue.”

“Well it's a nice thought regardless. Perhaps we could develop some treatment that would allow the flower to grow and bloom quickly. We'd have to be careful that it didn't grow beyond the boundaries of the kobolds nesting ground though or to transplant some species that can handle the ever rest.”

“What do you want to do immediately though?”

“Kersara needs help that's an obvious issue that we need to deal with immediately. I believe we should have some brothers go to the beach to set up beacons that will alert her to the movement of sea life. We also need to dedicate some additional sisters to keeping the beach safe.”

“Where do you plan to get those sisters?”

“We'll just have to diminish the number of sisters we have patrolling the forest. That's really our only choice in this matter.”

“I'm not certain if I'd feel comfortable doing that during a time of war.”

“Do we have any other choice?”

A sigh escaped Carter as he gave his head a slight shake. “I suppose that we don't. Well actually there is one thing that I can think of.”

“What is that?”

“How about we make mention of our sea front troubles to the orcs and druids of the forest? They could help bolster the defenses on the beach front while not pulling sisters away from the forest itself.”

It was impossible for Mirin to keep from frowning at this suggestion. “Well it's true that they'd probably be willing to aid us. However, I don't like reaching outside of the community for help like that.”

“Well if you don't want to do that we could always create some sentries of our own. You mentioned setting up some crystals to keep watch on the beach by why stop there whenever we do have other choices?”

“Okay now that ideal I like a lot better. What exactly do you have in mind though?”

“I believe we should commune with the dryads and spirits of the forest as I'm certain they'd have a vested interest in protecting their home. If we give them a means of more readily doing so say a golem's body for example I'm certain they'd be willing to help us.”

“No bird spirits.”

For a moment Carter said nothing but then a chuckle escaped him. “I still believe it'd be easier to make use of the orcs though. After all mutual protection of the forest is one of the reasons we allowed them to continue living here in the first place. In the past they've been quite willing to help us as well.”

A sigh escaped Mirin as he shook his head. “I just don't want them to think that we actually need them so that they start making demands.”

“Come on Mirin. They're the reserve troops for when we need them. The life bloom isn't ready yet so we can't let our sisters grow larger to increase their power but we can call in the reserves.”

“Fine. Fine. I'll be on your side whenever we talk about it to our brothers and sisters.”

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

Maria had a wide grin on her face as she walked along side Joseph. Every now and them she'd brush her tail against his back causing him to speed up though other then the increase in speed he made no sign of noticing. “You've improved a lot Joseph.”

“Improved?”

“Physically you're a lot fitter then when you came to us.”

“Ah well it was unavoidable with you making me exercise every morning.”

“True. I just want you to know I'm proud of what you've achieved though.”

“Well I'm grateful for all the help you gave me in achieving it.”

“Even the poking you in the backside?”

A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he gave his head a nod. “Yes even the pokes in the backside though I'd prefer if you didn't do that.”

“Don't worry I won't so long as it isn't necessary to motivate you.”

“Mmhmm. So do you think Mina will like her surprise?”

“Of course! I swear the one thing she likes as much as she hates spicy food is sweet food.”

“So I'm guessing honey is one of her favorite treats.”

In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Yep.”

Before Joseph could respond he heard a door opening and looked towards Dan and Mina's home. “Hey Dan how are things going?”

“Just fine though I hope you weren't planning on surprising Mina talking like that.”

A grin formed on Maria's face as she gave a shrug. “Perhaps we don't have any honey for her. Perhaps I was talking about it just to throw her off and we're actually got a big jar of spices for her to eat.”

“She says she's had a bit over twenty four hours to rest and will stuff your tail down your own throat if you're teasing her and step past the doorway.”

“As if she should ever catch up to me.”

Dan didn't need to speak for her as Mina called out this time. “You have to sleep some time.”

Once again Maria was made to giggle as she stepped up to the doorway and Dan stepped aside for her and Joseph to enter. “Hey Mina you sound like you're doing better um you don't look it though.”

A slight giggle escaped Mina as she looked at Maria. “It still hurts to move especially quickly. Dan's been keeping me on ice though so the swelling hasn't been as bad as it could be. My right leg has really began hurting me though.”

While Maria and Mina spoke Joseph came up to Dan. “So how are you doing?”

“I'm doing alright. I'm happy that Mina is fine after a fight like that and it has been nice spending extra time with her.”

“I imagine so. Oh yeah congratulations Dan. I know it might be a bit early to say that but I bet you're excited about the prospect of having a kid.”

“You better believe it. I'm going to have to go and retrieve a few things once Mina is feeling better though. Brothers and sisters require different types of care and you really have to be prepared for a sister.”

“I imagine so. Though I've been wanting to ask. When do you start restricting how much a sister gets to eat?”

“That begins after the first few months after birth. While they're little and growing quickly they get to eat pretty much whenever they want as their bodies are growing and strengthening so they need the food. I think it's the only age whenever a sister gets to eat as often as she is hungry.”

Before continuing with her talk with Mina Maria glanced back at Joseph and Dan. “Which means pretty much every waking moment.”

To this Joseph gave a slight nod. “I see. So exactly what do they start off eating? I mean do they come out with teeth already?”

“Kind of. New born sisters get their teeth in fairly quickly which is probably why it's a good thing our sisters are so durable. Their teeth tend to come in within the first twenty four to thirty six hours while claws take roughly a week. Breast feeding is the norm though for young sisters though.”

“Here you go Mina. “As she spoke Maria set down a small jar of honey for her friend. She then retrieved a few apples and set them down on some cloth. She then picked up one of the apples and began to dice it up with her claws.

Mina was slow in moving her arm and picking up the apple slice before dipping it into the honey. Her body still hurt her a fair bit especially if she tried to move quickly but things were better then yesterday. “So Maria have you and Joseph been getting along?”

“Yeah though I wish that he would quit leaving food out and fussing whenever I finish it off.”

“He does that to? I had the same problem with Dan whenever we first got together. Have the two of you talked about it yet?”

“Yeah and he's quit mentioning it though I can tell it still bothers him from his heart rate and body language.”

“That's because I'm not leaving out food she's eating my reagents while I step away!”

A slight giggle escaped Mina and she called out to Joseph. “That's what Dan told me as well. It sure smelt and looked like food to me though.”

A sigh escaped Joseph as he looked towards Dan. “So how did you get her to stop doing that?”

“Well first of all never leave any actual food out. I'm pretty sure they both know better and are just using it as an excuse to annoy us but apparently if we leave food out at times and reagents at others they can't tell the difference and they don't want to be wasteful.”

“That makes sense but what do you mean by leave food out?”

“Effectively if you're eating on something don't step away from it for more then five minutes. If you're going to step away for five minutes store it away somewhere or dispose of it.”

“I'll have to give it a try.”

“Well it worked for Mina but I don't know Maria might decide to be even more difficult.”

“Would you like something to drink or snack on Joseph?”

“I wouldn't mind something to drink but I don't like eating in front of Maria. It makes me feel guilty knowing that she can't eat yet.”

To this Dan gave a quick nod. “Yeah I feel the same way actually.”

While Dan and Joseph had been speaking Maria had placed her head against Mina's stomach. After a moment though she pulled it away. “I can't hear anything but I suppose no one has been able to yet. Still, have you decided on what kind of crib you're going to make?”

“I was actually planning to go rather traditional and go search for some nice river stone to work with encase I give birth to a new sister. While I was going to examine the trees for brother's crib.”

“Make sure it's a good one. Mom says she had a heck of a time tracking me down once whenever I clawed through my crib as a newborn.”

“Oh it wasn't her. I remember looking for you as well.”

“Yeah she mentioned that though I wonder. I didn't really leave the main village did I?”

“Yes. Yes you most assuredly did and how I don't know. Your mother was positively furious though that no one saw a young sister leaving and did nothing about it.”

“Dang I must have really been moving even back then.”

“You've always been built for speed Maria I think your mutation just made that all the more obvious.”

A slight giggle escaped Maria as she glanced towards the kitchen. “How is Dan doing?”

“He's acting composed but I hear him when he leaves the room. Last night I could have sworn he started dancing once while in out bedroom.”

An amused giggle escaped Maria as she gave a nod. “So he's ready to be a father then.”

“He believes that he is but I don't know if he realizes that all comes with raising one of our sisters.”

“If it is a sister you mean.”

“Yes.”

“Well I'm sure he'll love every minute of it no matter what.”

“Yeah I believe so to.”

Dan and Joseph had gone quiet upon entering the kitchen though Dan retrieved a drink for both of them. After a short while of silence though Joseph spoke up once again. “So Dan what are your plans now that you're going to be a father?”

“Well I'm glad that our work together with the life bloom didn't last long. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the experience but I believe I'll want more free time to spend with my child.”

“So are you just going to be making potions then?”

“No and I don't want to go back to running the store now that I'm no longer working there. I was thinking I would go back to looking into ways to nourish the forest.”

“You never mentioned that before what were you doing?”

“Well effectively we were developing ways to transfer energy from the mystic plain into the surrounding environment to nourish the land without poisoning it.”

“How did it work out?”

“We met with some small success. We found that we could actually nourish a small portion of soil safely so that plant life would find it more suitable to grow in. There were problems though whenever we begin to push the amount of energy we were putting into the soil.”

“What happened?”

“The process itself worked fine but the conversion mechanism could only work so quickly. Eventually it became saturated and some raw mystic energy began to slip into the soil as well into the surrounding environment. So that in the end the process was deemed to not be viable as the damage to the environment began to out weigh the benefit if we were going to manage a reasonable area.”

“I see. So you're thinking about resuming your work on that?”

“Yeah. If I can find a better way to alter the energy it should work and after seeing what you did with the life bloom I'm hopeful that it can be done. After all the life bloom is dealing with many of the same issues we dealt with. What about you?”

“I was thinking of trying to develop a method to study the sisters while they're sleeping in hopes of gaining some understanding of how their mutations occur.”

For a moment Dan said nothing but glanced back towards the main room where Mina and Maria were. “That could be quite a worth while path of research I must say.”

“The same could be said about yours and honestly it sounds a lot more viable then what I have in mind.”

“Oh I don't know about that.”

“Well it sure sounds more viable to me perhaps I should put such ideals on hold and see if I can help you with your project.”

“The aid would be appreciated but I don't know. You did something remarkable with the life bloom so you might be able to pull it off.”

“I don't know. Dan are there any projects that could use more personnel?”

“Naturally. We don't want to fall behind the wrest of the world in magic or alchemy so there is always some kind of research going on. Our numbers are rather limited as well so we could always use more people. Could you really be happy signing on for someone's project though?”

“We all have to in the beginning and as long as the project is worth while I'm glad to help out. Any ideal of what's currently in the works?”

“One project that's been in the works for a while and has actually made some nice progress in an attempt to tap into the spiritual aspect of the forest itself in order to monitor what is going on. Sort of an attempt to develop a scrying mechanism that uses the plants of the forest to see everything that's going on inside of it.”

“I can see where that would be quite useful.”

“Yeah you know what the most annoying part of this all is though?”

“What?”

“There's such a device in the citadel. We know where it is and everything but we can't get to it. Mirin has actually been two doors away from it if the layout of the citadel is the same as the documents we found imply.”

“Well that figures. I guess such a piece of monitoring equipment would be quite valuable.”

“Yeah I've no doubt about that.”

“Hey what are you two doing in there?” As Maria called out she already knew the answer having been able to hear every word. However both she and Mina wanted their mates back in the room with them.

“Just chatting about some things Maria. Joseph and I'll be back in just a second.”

“Bring us some juice.”

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

“I'm glad that you could all meet with us today as this matter concerns the safety of the forest and thus all our safety. Recently we have noticed increased activity in the kobold nesting grounds and while we've taken efforts to diminish their numbers the level of activity hasn't gone down appropriately. We've also noticed increased activity from the sea such that the sisters we have stationed there have become stressed. Finally there may be some sort of decay moving throughout the forest and though its presence hasn't grown strong enough for us to be certain early indicators has caused us to be alarmed.

For these reasons we come to you today asking for assistance in insuring our mutual existence within this forest in helping to deal with the threat from the sea. We would also appreciate any knowledge you might have on this matter.”

Dokor set quietly as he listened to Samuel after a few moments of silence the orc spoke up. “Hey there is no need to be formal about all of this right? We may not all be brothers or sisters here but we're all neighbors and neighbors help one another out!” As Dokor spoke he gave a rather toothy grin though there was no maliciousness in it. “So the fish men are giving you trouble on the sea front are they?”

Crystella didn't bother waiting for Samuel to speak up as she responded. “Indeed they are. We would like to devote some extra sisters to the shore line to help them however we've been monitoring the kobolds as of late and don't want to pull sisters from the forest with a war going on around us. We've also began work on a rather important project.”