“Yeah. I've heard that before.” A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head.
“Of course. If you're truly as upset by our methods as you seem to be you could go around trying to convince us to treat the claimed differently. You're not a claimed yourself and as long as you're respectful in your methods and follow the rules I don't see anyone harming you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Well yeah!” A slight chuckle escaped Tera as placed a hand on Joseph's shoulder. “Now the question is are you going to do so or are you going to admit that you're not as upset by what I've told you as you pretend you are.”
For a moment Joseph was silent then gave his head a slight shake. “Put up or shut up is it?”
“Of course! You either act and go for the kill or you don't.”
In response Joseph gave a slight nod and took in a deep breath. Part of him wanted to be outraged, he wanted to go speak with every person he could and try to convince them some practices were wrong. However, the truth of the situation hit him. The part of him that wanted to speak up was silenced by several that didn't. Some felt it was dangerous, some didn't want to act without more information and some of him really didn't care. “I guess it's time for me to shut up.”
A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she gave a nod. “Anyway, Dan what is Joseph here up to?”
“Tera he's advancing fast but not that fast. He's a four as you should expect.”
Before Tera could response Joseph spoke up. “What is a four?”
This Dan chose to answer. “When you first came here you were a one you were allowed to request items but you had nothing in stock, when the shelves were stocked you became a two, a three's allowed into the village and makes direct visits here. As a four you're permitted a better supply of materials and more respect.”
In response Joseph gave a slight nod. “Okay though I have to ask. What do you mean by respect?”
It was hard for Dan not to grin as he shook his head and pointed at Tera for a moment. “A three can be led around by a female like Tera there and you'd be expected to submit. Now she'd have a lot more explaining to do if she injured you and could be in trouble herself.”
A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she looked at Joseph. “That last part isn't really such a big deal. Honestly you might end up regretting the change in rank.”
“Why is that?”
“Oh you'll see.”
“Okay then. What do I have to do to progress to the next stage though?”
It was impossible for Dan not to grin. “You have to learn about them and prove you have what it takes to function in their society. You're in for quite a trip.”
Even Joseph couldn't have missed the tone of Dan's voice or the way he was grinning. “So someone that just made trips between their work area and here would never reach rank five?”
To this Dan shook his head. “It isn't possible to reach rank five without the endorsement of several of the females. In order to do that you have to get to know them. I'm going to give you a bit of warning now. Don't play around with them.”
“Huh?”
“Some of the people that have been brought her have tried to manipulate their way out of here. There might have been a few cases of it working out but I haven't heard of any. Those that I do know of haven't ended well.”
“What happened?”
“As you can tell most of the sisters know one another or at least know of one another. So if you lose the trust of one you tend to lose the trust of the others and that's very hard to gain back. If you really mess things up it can be impossible.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
A sigh escaped Dan as he took hold of the crate Joseph had brought. “Now I need to get back to work. I have to get this cataloged and into storage.”
To this Joseph nodded. “Yeah, I don't really need anything right now so I guess I'll be getting back.”
“Oh no you won't.” As she spoke Tera took hold of Joseph's arm. “You're coming with me.”
“Huh?!” It was impossible for Joseph not to be alarmed as he looked at Tera.
“You're new outfit silly!”
“Oh!” Immediately Joseph felt his skin warming up as he shook his head. “I feel stupid now. I plum forgot.”
An amused giggle escaped Tera as she released Joseph's arm. “I'm sure your mind was on other things. Anyway, come on back to the shop with me and I'll see what I can do. Don't worry I won't let Nora try to dress you.”
***********************************************************************************
“I can't believe you're not going to let me modify your outfit at all.”
As Joseph looked at himself in the mirror he gave a slight sigh and turned to Tera. “The tabard works so well though. I can just put it over whatever I'm wearing whenever I come into town. Then when I'm in the lab I can take it off so I don't ruin it.”
“Yeah, yeah I felt like being a little creative though. There isn't much I can do with that.”
As Joseph listened to Tera he actually found himself grinning. She'd apparently thought he was going to let her get creative with his clothing. He had sense enough to ask her all of his options though and found that there wasn't any particular way to wear the symbol. For this reason he'd gone with a simple blue tabard that would match most of his clothing.
“Tera could you tell me where this symbol came from?”
“Well the original is what our elder brothers still wear today. We modified it once we started bringing in people from the outside to show there standing. You can think of the hand as us opening up to you. The more fingers that are extended the more open we are.”
In response Joseph gave a nod. “Okay, but I already have four fingers extended. Surely that isn't all there is to it.”
“Of course not! Once all the fingers are extended in an open greeting you start getting your claws. It's only after you've extended all your fingers and earned your claws that you've gone as far as you can.”
“I see. Just how far is that though.”
“Any human with all their fingers extended and claws would have the same level of respect and authority as one of our elder brothers.”
“What?”
“Hm?”
“Tera I don't know much about your society but from what I do know I thought your elder brothers were quite high ranking.”
“They are silly! They're just as high ranked as the highest sisters. They just have different spheres of authority.”
“Are you serious? That's like a peasant being able to earn the same rank as nobility. Hell it's like a slave having a chance to earn the same rank as nobility.”
A slight giggle escaped Tera as she looked into Joseph's eyes. “We don't limit what you can become based on who you were born as. I can't say that it's going to be easy to earn your claws though. Joseph you've progressed with remarkable speed you do realize. Flora had mostly good things to say about you though and considering what you did for Maria really fast tracked your advancement.”
A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “What about the life bloom?”
In response to this question Tera took in a deep breath and felt her eyes dilate. “Do not bring that up.”
Joseph was actually quite surprised by how cold Tera's tone had just become. So much so that he found himself taking a step away from her. “I'm sorry.”
“Joseph just mentioning that plant is like waving a steak in front of a hungry beast. A beast that has absolutely no fear of you whatsoever. I was one of the sisters that felt we should push to get that information in case you're wondering.”
“I won't bring it up again.” As Joseph spoke he watched Tera stand up and turn away from him. She placed her hand against the wall and moments later he heard some rather noticeable cracking. As he looked at her he couldn't help but notice the muscles in her back expanding as her body grew tense. It was fairly clear she was trying to calm herself down.
“We aren't thieves and we aren't mindless beast. We aren't needlessly cruel.” As she spoke it was hard for Tera to keep herself from growling. “Joseph there isn't a sister here that didn't want to force you to give up that information. However, to do so disagreed with many of our rules of conduct. Laws you might call them. Enough of us felt that staying true to our ethics was more important then forcing you to hand over such information. That said no one here is going to mention that plant to you as it's too hard to think about.”
As Joseph listened to Tera he felt remarkably stupid. He'd seen Flora's reaction when he'd mentioned the plant to her and after words. She'd just barely been able to retain control of herself when he'd first brought it up but she'd seemed fine after words. She'd never mentioned the plant again to him and he hadn't thought anything of it. It made him glad that he'd encountered someone as composed as Tera or he felt certain that he'd be in trouble.
Joseph wasn't moving and that was a good thing. As Tera took in several deep breathes she forced herself to forget about her hunger. Her body began to relax and she finally noticed how her hands had become clinched fist. She'd squeezed the wall so hard that she'd crushed the wood. “Damn it. I'm going to have to fix that.” As Tera finished speaking she gave a sigh and stood up.
“Well Tera, thanks for everything but.” Joseph didn't get to finish as Tera spoke up.
“I bet you're hungry. I know that I sure am and it's time for me to go eat. How about I show you to the dining hall?”
At first Joseph was going to say no but he noticed a pain in his stomach. “Some food would be good but what exactly do you have there?”
“You never can tell really. Lately Steven has been there cooking and from the smell I bet that he is there today. They'll be plenty of options. Let's go.”
“Alright.”
They were several things the ladies enjoyed eating that provided too much meat for them to eat for one meal or even for a day. Given that few of them had families like Flora to spread the food amongst and they didn't want to waste their kills something had to be done. Now there was two ways to deal with food one couldn't use without wasting it. It could be brought in for preservation and storage or it could be brought to the dining all. As the food stores were rather high at the moment most was going to the dining hall.
When Joseph had first entered the market area he had thought it crowded. It wasn't anything compared to the dining hall though. There were beast girls all over the place many of them Tera's size. He was getting the feeling that roughly three meters tall was fairly normal for their species. From time to time he'd note one that was closer to four meters tall and at times those that were smaller.
“Hey Tera who's your friend?!”
In response to the voice Joseph turned around to see a massive female approaching them. Her fur was solid black while her eyes were a bright green. What really surprised him though was her scale. While she wasn't much taller then Flora or maybe as tall as she was clearly much larger. It seemed to him that the massive female had more mass in her forearm then he had in his entire body and he knew that her thigh far surpassed him in width.
“Can't you tell?”
“With all this food and people around? It's kind of hard to listen to my nose.”
“Hm good point. This is Joseph he was living with Flora for a while.”
“Oh! Well it's nice to finally meet you.” As she spoke the female reached down while at the same time bending down and took hold of Joseph's hand. “My name is Mina.”
“Please. Pleased to meet you.” It took Joseph a moment to realize that Mina was shaking his hand as he felt her thumb alone holding his hand in her massive one. “Would that happen to be Dan's Mina?”
“Yep! So you've already gone and spoken to my mate?”
“Yeah we talked for a while.”
“Did he have good things to say about me? He better have.” As she spoke Mina lowered herself so that she was closer to eye level with Joseph. It was clear to her this didn't comfort him as it only served to establish how much larger then him she was.
“Well um. He said that you were a very carrying person when it comes to those that you consider worth carrying about.”
“Oh did he?”
“Not in those exact words no but that was the image he gave. At least the image he gave to me.”
A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she released the hold she had on Joseph's hand and put it on his shoulder. “Well you got it right. Come on relax! I've heard good things about you to.” As she spoke Mina once again brought herself to a standing position. “I bet you two came here to get something to eat. Come on let's get some. The smoked basilisk should be ready by now.”
“Smoked what?”
“Basilisk.”
“As in the turn you to stone with a glance basilisk?”
“Yeah! What other kind are there? They're a little tricky to find and kill but if they're cooked right they taste wonderful.”
“How do you get a basilisk to cook?”
“Hm well. Let's walk while we talk.” As she spoke Mina gave Joseph a little nudge with her hand and began to progress further into the room. “First you have to know where they can be found, then you have to find out where they are exactly I used my nose, ears and eyes. Then you have to sneak up on them, then well from that point on it's up to you. I personally prefer to sink my claws into their neck severing their head before they can look at me but I understand not everyone has claws.”
“You mean you killed it?”
“Yeah it's been a while since I had a basilisk to eat so I went out hunting this morning. Fortunately I was able to find some time away from work to go get one. If you haven't had basilisk before this is your lucky day.”
“Um what exactly is your job?”
“Didn't Dan tell you?”
“He talked about you working as a keeper.”
In response Mina gave a quick nod. “Yep!”
“I see. Doesn't that mean you should be watching some people now?”
“I am.” In response Mina reached down and slipped a hand underneath Joseph's rear. She then easily lifted him until his eye level was roughly the same as hers. “You see those people over there.” As she spoke Mina pointed towards a group of six men. “Well they're the claimed I'm currently keeping an eye on.”
It didn't take Joseph long to find the men amongst the group they stuck out though not just because they were human. Much to his surprise the beast girls were giving them a pretty wide bit of space to sit in and none of them seemed interested in going over there. Even more shocking though was he recognized the uniforms. “Those are soldiers from the Bock Kingdom!”
“Indeed they are. We always get a lot of new claimed during wars whether it's people trying to escape into the forest, trying to pass through the forest for whatever reasons or people trying to secure some resources.”
“I see. Why isn't anyone going near them?”
“Um well they've been working in the tannery.” As she spoke Mina used her free hand to rub her nose. “It's kind of hard for us to go near them.”
“Huh?”
“Oh foods ready!” As she spoke Mina quickly sprinted across the room not bothering to set Joseph down as she ran. She could tell Tera was right on her hills but so where several others. Fortunately she wasn't just strong she was fast too and she made it to the counter before her other sisters.
Steven grinned as he looked up at Mina. “You know I would have saved you some.”
“I know but I didn't want to have to fight the rush.”
It took Joseph a moment to realize what had happened as he felt like he'd left his stomach several meters behind him. As Mina set him on the ground he actually had to reach out and find something to brace himself against. It was only whenever that something spoke that he realized what he was leaning against.
“You'll absolutely love this.” Mina didn't think anything of Joseph bracing himself against her massive thigh. Rather she quickly retrieved a plate and more forced it into his hands then handed it to him. She then picked up two more.
Joseph was glad when Mina didn't begin walking the moment she handed him his plate rather she gave him a few seconds to recover. As he began to follow behind Mina he glanced down at what he was holding. Was he really about to eat basilisk. “Mina is this safe for humans to eat?”
“It sure is! Well if cooked right. Like I said I brought it in very early this morning. It takes several hours for the meat to be prepared properly depending on the method you use it can take even longer.”
“I see.” As Joseph listened to Mina it actually surprised him how he was following her. He felt like a kid waiting to see where his mother was going to set down so he could set with her. Before he could say something to excuse himself though Mina spoke up once again though it wasn't directed at him.
“Hey Honey I got your food.”
Dan smiled as he glanced up at Mina. Currently a rather thick book set before him one that he promptly closed and placed to the side. “Thanks Mina but you didn't have to.”
“I don't mind. We have some company to eat with us though.” As she spoke Mina placed the food she's gotten for Dan in front of him while her tail nearly wrapped around Joseph and nearly pushed him to the seat she meant for him to set in.
It actually surprised Joseph to see Dan though it wasn't nearly as surprising as the power he felt in Mina's tail. “Um hello Dan I didn't expect to see you again today.”
“Oh I'm here about everyday. At least for lunch I like to prepare dinner for Mina myself.”
To this Mina responded first. “Which I do appreciate.”
A slight chuckle escaped Dan as he looked past Mina and Joseph. “I see you went with the tabard.”
“Ah well yeah. I felt like having the mark stitched into my clothing would be a bit bothersome.”
“I can understand that.”
At first Joseph was going to ask Dan something else whenever he noted something behind him. While he couldn't see it the presence was hard to ignore so that he slowly turned to look behind him. What he found nearly made him fall from his seat. Not more then a meter away were three beast girls of roughly the same size Maria had been when he first met her. They were all three looking at him intently.
“Hi mister!” Pera wore a massive smile on her face even as the human had been made to recoil from her presence. She'd noted the marking on his tabard as he'd been walking around with Mina but hadn't recognized the scent. This had peaked her curiosity so a few of her friends and her had come to investigate.
“Um hi there.”
“I don't know your smell and I don't recognize you are you new here?”
In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Um yeah. I've just started coming to the market district within this last week.”
“And you already have four marks?! That's neat! Most are threes long enough for us to have their scents known. You must be really nice and helpful to have four marks already.”
“I do what I can.”
“So what do you do?”
“I'm just an alchemist is all.”
In response Pera gave a quick nod. “Neat! You smelt like an alchemist but I couldn't be sure sense you're setting so close to Dan. He always smells like potions which is probably why Mina licks him so often.”
It was impossible for Joseph not to notice Mina twitching. At first he wasn't certain why she was until he looked at her and realized she was trying to keep from laughing. Upon looking past her he found out why. Dan was blushing visibly and clearly trying to focus on his food rather then the conversation at hand. Joseph wasn't surprised to find that he was blushing a bit as well upon hearing that.
At first Pera said nothing expecting Joseph to respond whenever he didn't she spoke up again. “So Mister what is your name? My name is Pera.”
“I'm Joseph.”
“Oh the one my mommy has been talking about? You're the one with the plant.” Before Pera could continue she felt something cover her mouth and found herself looking up at Mina.
“Now Pera they are things we don't talk about in the public. Now unless you want to tell me where you heard that from you'll not bring it up again.”
When Mina removed her hand Pera gave a quick nod. “Yes Mina.”
“That's a good girl.”
For a few seconds Pera was quiet she then turned her attention back to Joseph. “So Joseph what are you working on now? Are you making more health potions, preservatives? You smell like preservatives I think. Hey do alchemist know how to make candy?”
“I um well. I'm working on a little of both really and some of my own projects. As for the candy yeah I suppose we know the basics.”
“Really?!”
“Um well nothing fancy.”
“Can you make some quillo lumps? I haven't had them in a really long time and would love some!”
“Some what?”
Before Pera or anyone else could speak up Dan spoke up. “They're basically soft chewy candies that pretty much amount to pure sugar. I can't eat them they give me the worse head ache.”
“I see. I'm afraid I don't know how to make those.”
“Ah! Darn!” For a moment Pera was made to pout whenever she suddenly turned her head to the west as did all her friends. “Yay! Bye Joseph we'll talk later our food is ready now!”
There wasn't time for Joseph to say goodbye as the three girls quickly leaped into the air. He was rather surprised whenever they actually made it to the support beams in the roof and began to quickly run along them. They weren't as fast as Maria but it was still fast enough to make him dizzy.
It was hard for Mina to resist giving Dan a good lick after what Pera had said. She resisted though for the sake of their company and glanced over at Joseph. “Well I hope you have experience dealing with siblings.”
“Huh? Oh no. I don't have any. At least I don't have any younger siblings.”
“Really? Well you're in for an experience.”
“Um why exactly?”
“Those three of course.” A slight giggle escaped Mina as she pointed back towards the direction the girls had went. “You're lucky that they're more focused on food then anything else right now or they would have began to really question you.”
“They didn't seem so bad.”
Once again Mina was made to chuckle. If she hadn't broken the flow of questions by forcing Pera to be quiet she knew Joseph would still be answering them. He'd learn that soon enough though. “You haven't touched your food go ahead and give it a try.”
“Sure thing.” As Joseph spoke he took a moment to cut a portion of the meat away. As he placed the basilisk in his mouth he didn't know what to expected. He was quite surprised by the taste. “Mina this is wonderful!”
“I know! It's quite healthy for you as well if prepared right. I can't leave out that last part.”
“Who'd thought a creature so dangerous would taste so good. I have to say though. I don't think I'd be eating this anywhere else. I would probably be a lot better off selling the body to an alchemist shop then eating the meat.”
“You're probably right but we don't have a shortage of such things around here.” As she was talking Mina easily glided her claws through the meat cutting it up into several tiny sections. She then took a piece of the meat no bigger then the top of her thumb and tossed it into her mouth. “It's nice and savory.”
As Joseph watched Mina eating and those around him something became very clear. They were careful to take their time and each bite was broken up by plenty of conversation. Upon stepping in he had realized this was a social affair but now he was beginning to realize how important of one it was. The only people that seemed to be eating quietly were the claimed which he noted Mina glancing towards every once in a while.
“So are you ready to eat?” As she spoke Stella reached a massive hand down and gently ruffled the hair of the little boy clinging to her massive leg. His little feet were currently placed on her foot as he had insisted on her giving him a ride while they walked to the dining area. Now that it was time to eat though she hoped that he wouldn't give her any trouble.
In response to Stella's question Allen glanced up towards the massive female. A massive smile crossed the young boy's face and for a moment he clung all the more tightly to Stella's leg before releasing. “Sure mommy.”
As Allen released her leg Stella reached down and slipped a hand under his rear and took her seat having already set the plates down. She then placed little Allen atop her massive right thigh which provided him with plenty of room. She was aware that someone was watching her but she didn't pay him any mind at the moment. It wasn't unusual for newcomers to be surprised.
Joseph could hardly believe what he was seeing as he watched the female setting herself and the young boy. The young boy didn't seem the least bit concerned as he set on the woman's thigh and even seemed quite content. Given what the boy had called her the entire thing was too much and he quickly looked at Dan. “What is going on?”
It was clear to Dan what Joseph was talking about. He'd been quite surprised upon seeing something similar for the first time as well. “A mother is taking her son out to eat and as there isn't any seats high enough for him he's setting in her lap. Well on her thigh to be precise.”
“Is she actually his mother though? Surely you wouldn't claim a child.”
“You mean Stella and Allen? A child can't really be claimed depending on its age. Whenever one of the ladies finds a child lost in the woods or ends up killing or perhaps claiming the parents the child enters an odd state. That child right there might not be able to contribute anything right now but despite that he outranks you as he's being brought up here. At least in a since of the word in some ways he's a rank five and in other ways he's not even ranked.”
“You mean he's considered a full member of the community?”
“Exactly.”
“So she isn't actually his?” Joseph didn't get to finish as Dan spoke up.
“Careful! With what you're about to say. She's his mother in every way that matters and you don't want to say something that might offend.”
In response Joseph gave a slight nod and took in a deep breath. “I guess this isn't the place to talk about such things.”
“Yeah we can discuss it later.”
Despite the oddity of the situation Joseph did his best to turn his attention away from the site before him. He couldn't help but listen though and looked from time to time as he noted the beast girl helping the child out. The child was positively dwarfed by her massive frame. So much so that one might have thought the child a newborn if his scale was compared to that of the one he called mother. He seemed quite content to set on her thigh though and eat his meal while she ate hers.
***********************************************************************************
“Sorry to make you leave early.”
“It's alright. I know that the girls can really take their time while eating. It took me a while to adjust to their eating habits as well.”
“I guess they want to spend as much time enjoying their meal as they can.”
To this Dan gave a quick nod. “Pretty much. They can't eat a whole lot so they make eating as pleasant of an experience as they can. Thus all the talking going on while eating and how much they cut up their food. A female that has an unpleasant meal whether it's due to bad company or food can be extremely temperamental for the wrest of the day.”
“I take it the company is the main cause of a bad meal.”
In response Dan gave a quick nod. “Yeah, Mina has come home before after a rather difficult lunch. I was actually kind of nervous until I remembered who I was dealing with. I just had to let her complain for a while until she calmed down enough to realize how silly she was being. Fortunately dinner went over well and she calmed down before the end of the day. It helped that none of the claimed she was watching at the time tried anything.”
While they had been speaking Dan and Joseph had made their way back to the alchemy shop. Now Joseph found himself standing just inside the doorway leading into the storage area. “I hope Mina doesn't get mad at me for taking you away early.”
“Na she understands that this is my job. I'll have to make it up to her later but that's fine.”
As Joseph was standing in the doorway he found his eyes falling upon the necklaces, bracelets, and anklets he'd seen Tera wearing earlier. A part of him wanted to pick them up and inspect them but he resisted. “Dan could you tell me what this jewelry is for? I've seen Maria wearing it and now I saw you have Tera put them on.”
“They perform an important function and that's all I can tell you right now.”
“That's not much information.”
“It wasn't meant to be.”
A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head and turned away from the jewelry. “Hey Dan when I came in here before you seemed kind of distressed. Exactly what was going on?”
“Ah we're running low on some materials and it's getting kind of frustrating.”
“I see are they particularly rare?”
“Here they tend to be. Not so rare for most other regions though.”
“So why don't you just go and get them some more? You're human after all I'm sure no one would think something strange was going on if you were to stop in an alchemical shop.”
A sigh escaped Dan as he nodded his head. “That would be easier I admit but Mina would never go for it.”
“What?”
“Joseph do you remember what you were told about having a chance to leave at one point?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever wonder why you were only given a chance to leave with an escort but no mention was made of additional chances once you were given the first?”
“I well. No I never actually thought about that. That does seem quite strange the more that I think about it.”
“I'll make this simple. Joseph I'm not allowed to leave the village without one of the girls escorting me. Generally I'll go into the forest with Mina from time to time and at times we go to the edge of the forest. I can't go beyond that though unless she's with me and taking Mina into a human town would be rather difficult.”
“What?!”
“Just what I said. I accepted that whenever I gained the fifth rank.”
At first Joseph said nothing as he looked at Dan clearly trying to guess if he was being serious or not. After a few moments he resolved that he was and the question came. “Why aren't you allowed to leave?”
“The females deem such things as unnecessary risk so we're not allowed to take them.”
“That isn't right.”
“It shocked me when I first heard it but try to look at it from their point of view. They can go hunting, take on armed soldiers, face down numerous wild creatures and eat nearly anything without really putting themselves in danger. We run into a lone nut with a dagger and have an unlucky moment and we're dead. For that reason we're not permitted to take certain risks no matter how much we may want to. That's the price you pay whenever the women grow so fond of you.”
“Does this apply to every male?”
“It applies to every human male that lives here.”
“So what about that child I saw? What if he wanted to grow up and leave the village?”
A sigh escaped Dan as he shook his head. “That'd be hard. I don't believe the females would allow him to leave in all honesty. Well no that's miss leading there is one way to leave.”
“Which is?”
“Well in my case I'd have to be able to defeat Mina in a one on one fight.” A slight chuckle escaped Dan as he shook his head. “That's the price I pay for being her mate though. If a male ranked five or higher wanted to leave and he didn't have a mate he could leave by besting a female like Tera. Unless his rank exceeds seven of course.”
“What happens if their rank exceeds seven?”
“I think having to beat Mina would be the best you could hope for. You'd probably have to deal with someone even more capable.”
“That's insane! So you can't ever leave without Mina's permission and presence?”
In response Dan gave a quick nod. “Yeah that's what it amounts to and I accepted that.”
“What about her? Can she just up and leave whenever she wants to because she's stronger then you are?”
In response Dan gave his head a slight shake in the negative. “No, I'm afraid that she can't. I said that being a mate to one of the ladies is like being their husband but it's not entirely the same thing. How many husbands do you know that have the physical advantage over their wife one of them has over us?”
“I really can't think of any. Not whenever I think back to what Maria did to those soldiers and she was so small.”
In response Dan gave a nod. “As part of our agreement Mina agreed to protect me and well I agreed to let her protect me. It's kind of frustrating at times as even if I felt I could handle a threat if Mina felt the risk was too great I wouldn't be permitted to take it.”
“I see. So the only reason I'm allowed to walk to my place of work through the forest is I haven't reached a high enough level to require that level of protection.”
“No. You're wrong. The reason you're allowed to work away from the village is because they dominate this entire area. You're close enough to the market that they can pretty much insure you're safety. Anyway, here are the supplies you asked for.” As Dan finished speaking he placed a large container atop the desk.
“I see. Well I'll see you later.”
“Have a nice evening.”
***********************************************************************************
“Quit it Pera you're being annoying.”
“What are you talking about I'm not doing anything?”
Allen couldn't help but glare at Pera for a moment as he itched his ear. He knew she'd just stuck her tail tip into his ear and withdrew it before he could catch her. Unfortunately he couldn't say that as a matter of fact due to having a sister on either side of him. He could of just yelled for his mommy of course and had her break up things but that wouldn't have been very sporting. Instead he tried to focus on the game in front of him and readied his marble.
A slight chuckle escaped Pera as he once again brought her tail behind Allen. She needed to wait for the right moment to tail him and mess up his shot so that she focused on his thumb. As she saw it beginning to work she quickly drove her tail tip towards his ear. She was a bit surprised whenever she didn't get his ear but he got her tail.
As Pera had been about to poke him in the ear Allen had turned around and opened his mouth. He'd actually managed to catch hold of her tail with his teeth and was now able to see exactly who the tail belonged to. The moment he'd confirmed his suspicions he released her tail and quickly withdrew something from his pocket.
“Ah well you got.” Instantly Pera was made to go silent as she tried to pull away from Allen. Unfortunately for her she wasn't quite fast enough and she couldn't escape the cloud of powder. The suddenness of it made her inhale sharply and instantly she felt her eyes watering up as she inhaled the strong oder. “Ah!”
It was impossible for Allen not to grin as Pera began to rapidly run her hands over her nose clearly trying to clear away the powder. Physically he knew he wasn't anywhere near a match for any of his sisters even those of his age and Pera was older then him. So he had to learn to make use of other weak points if he was going to pick back when they picked on him. Their noses was an easy victim as he watched Pera working frantically to get the powder off her nose.
Stella had a wide grin on her face as she watched her son and several of his sisters playing marbles. The game had of course been reworked so the sisters wouldn't dominate too easily and at times the boys did win. Of course picking at one another was a regular event in such games. “So Mina how are you and Dan doing?”
“We're doing wonderfully! He still hasn't given up on trying. Actually I think his resolve has only improved over the years.”
“Resolve and stamina are two different things.”
A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she shook her head. “Well that is true but at least his resolve hasn't wavered. You know we're not the only ones watching the kids playing.”
To this Stella gave a quick nod. “I believe you said his name was Joseph. He's quite interested in my little Allen. That isn't surprising though.”
“I think he's more surprised by Pera's behavior right now. She really should just go and get some water.”
“That would mean stepping away from the game and leaving her sisters there. That's as good as a loss.”
“I don't believe it would be. I doubt Allen would let them tamper with the game just to hinder Pera even if it improved his odds of winning.”
“You really think so?”
“I sure do.”
“Ah thank you. It's wonderful that you think so highly of my little boy's honesty.”
“He's a good kid.”
A slight chuckle escaped Stella as she shook his head. “Yes he is. That said I think you overestimate his honesty.”
While Stella and Mina were talking Pera found herself having to take her turn. As she held the marble between her fingers and readied herself to shoot she found herself struggling. She'd gotten a good width of the pepper Allen and blown into her face and the scent was still heavy in her nose. It made her eyes water and it made it hard to focus. Despite that she had to make sure she only hit the marbles she was allowed to knock out of the circle.
“Here you go.”
For a moment Pera grew still and glanced over at Allen. She was surprised to find he was holding a small bottle of water out to her. It was such a surprise that it took her a moment to take it from her and begin to wash her nose off with some of the water. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem.”
It was impossible for Stella not to grin as she watched her little boy. “Ah that was so sweet. I swear if Pera picks on him anymore during this game after that I'll go over there and tie her up with her own tail.”
A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I'll talk to you at lunch Stella I need to get going.”
“Where are you off to?”
“I need to check on my bunch and make sure they haven't done something stupid.”
“Here? You've got to be kidding me. Surely they know everyone here is watching them.”
“I'm not sure they do to be honest.”
“You did make it clear to them that with a war in full swing they're expendable right?”
“I did my best to impress that fact upon them but I don't think they quite got it.”
“For their sakes I hope you're wrong. I'll see you later.”
“Joseph!”
Before Joseph could respond or even see where the voice had come from he felt something wrap around his upper arms. Moments later a pressure engulfed his upper body and he was lifted off the ground. Fortunately the pressure relented before it became painful but for the moment he couldn't move his arms in the least. It was during this time though that he realized who was holding him as he glanced at her hands and noted the solid white tipped fingers. “Maria it's good to see you again.”
Before continuing Maria released her hold on Joseph. “You to! Well turn around and have a look at me.”
Instead of questioning what was going on Joseph did as he was told. He was a bit surprised to find that Maria was only slightly shorter then him now. “Wow! You're earning your height back pretty quickly.”
“Not as quickly as I'd like but yeah I'm making progress.”
“Did you find a way to fast track it?”
“Huh?”
“Ah it's nothing really. I've been learning that there are ways to fast track my advancement in the community even though I didn't know about them before hand. I'm wondering if you managed to find a way to fast track yours as well.”
“Ah yeah to an extent.”
“Really? That's good to know.”
“You actually helped me regain some of my height to be honest.”
“Me? How did I do that?”
“You helped give me a reason not to over eat and risk being punished again.”
For a moment Joseph said nothing as he felt his face warm up slightly. “I'm glad to hear that. So what are you doing in the market?”
“I came here to speak to Tera then I heard you'd been stopping by every few days in order to eat at the dining hall. I'm surprised that you haven't been coming here everyday though the food is quite good. We can't eat a whole lot so we focus on making what we can eat very enjoyable.”
In response Joseph gave a nod. “Maria this might not be the time to ask this but I've been thinking and wondering. Does having a larger body decrease your constant hunger?”
“Yeah it does! That's one reason we're all so eager to earn larger stronger bodies. That said there is an issue.”
“The larger you are the more food you need to sustain that body.”
“That's one of them but not the primary one.”
A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “I thought as much. To reduce your hunger to the point that it's no longer a problem you would have to grow larger then the forest can sustain.”
“If all of us were to try and achieve that point yeah. It wouldn't be long at all before we stripped our homeland bare and besides. It's not like they are many places that can provide the resources this forest provides.”
While Joseph was glad Maria had answered his question part of him regretted it now. Before hand he'd thought his plant might only be a temporary fix for them. Now he knew that it would be a far longer lasting fix. “So just how large would you have to be to quiet your hunger?”
“That actually varies from female to female all of us feel it but with different intensities.”
“How intensely do you feel it?”
A slight giggle escaped Maria as she shook her head. “I believe that I feel it far worse then normal. Like I said you before I had to be punished for consuming more then I was allowed to and growing far too large. I had a lot of reasons not to do that believe me but. They just weren't enough to stop me at the time. Anyway, enough about me. Do you have anything planned for today?”
“Well as you already know I come into town to eat. I was also going to stop by the alchemical shop and speak with Dan for a while that and Tera wants to see me.”
For a moment Maria felt her heart rate quicken as she heard the last part. “Why Tera?”
“I seem to have volunteered myself to try out some clothes they've been working on.”
A slight giggle escaped Maria as she calmed down. “Oh I bet you're going to love doing that.”
“Well it isn't as bad as the first time I came in. Tera is pretty good for making clothing feel comfortable it's just. I don't like it when she gets too artistic.”
A slight giggle escaped Maria as she noted the expression on Joseph's face. “Now I want to see what she's trying to make you wear.”
“It's rather embarrassing at times.” Before Joseph could think of what to say he felt a hand press against his chest. Moments later he realized that Maria was touching his symbol.
“I see you're coming along nicely.”
“Yeah but I still haven't gotten that fifth finger yet.”
“You should be glad you've progressed this quickly. Come on let's walk to the clothing store while we talk.”
In response Joseph gave a quick nod and began to walk while Maria followed alongside of him. “Maria how long does this mark normally take to earn?”
“That's pretty iffy to be honest. Years isn't surprising but that isn't so much do to the difficulty of moving from rank one and up. It's due to the fact that most people who come here are brought in as claimed. It's pretty hard to move past the claimed status as it's seen as you having lost your life to us.”
“What about Dan? He seemed to move from claimed to unclaimed very quickly. At least from what he told me that's how it seemed.”
“Dan managed to earn the trust and respect of Mina very quickly. That really helped him out. Earning the trust of your keeper is a major step as they themselves are pretty well respected in general.”
“It seems like a lot is based on earning the respect of the females. How does one earn the respect of the brothers?”
“Well it's mostly due to the respect of our brothers that you're where you are now. You do that by working and contributing to the community and its well being. Once you started working as an alchemist you began earning their respect.”
“I see. Maria when you first talked to me about this you said there was no such thing as a useless human. Could you give me an idea of what you meant?”
“I meant just what I said. We can make use of nearly anyone even if we have to be rather forceful about it.”
“So tell me this. Are any of the claimed ever trained in a profession?”
To this Maria gave a quick nod. “Yep they are! Though it isn't exactly easy. Most claimed have to depend on the skills they come in with. If one is trusted enough and diligent enough he can request training to be moved away from what he's currently working on.”
“I see. So if I had been brought in with no skills I could have been stuck working in the tannery and maybe later been able to request alchemical training?”
“Um well. In theory yes.”
“In theory? That isn't surprising to be honest. Alchemy takes quite a lot of study just to become competent in and you obviously expect me to earn my keep. So is there something that would be a more likely request?”
In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Yep! There is. Keep in mind most unskilled claimed and even some of the annoying skilled ones end up in places like the tannery. We kind of dislike it there.”
“I imagine so. I've noticed how sensitive your noses are.”
A sigh escaped Maria as she gave a nod. “We really hate that place but it's needed for certain things. I mean really hate it. The vast majority of us can't even stand to go near it. Mina is something else for being able to supervise thosw that work there though even she keeps her distance.”
“How does she watch them then?”
“The vast majority of the time she just keeps an eye on the building or ear and makes sure no one tries to sneak out. She'll also check in whenever she hears something she thinks is strange or dangerous sounding. It hasn't backfired on her yet though honestly even sticking our heads into that building is more then many of us can stand.”
“Can you stand it?”
“I would need really good motivation. I nearly go to choking whenever I check inside of there.”
As Joseph was listening to Maria he had already realized the tannery would be a great place to store materials for an escape. The smell would keep most of the beast girls away as Maria had just confirmed and he doubted that those that did go inside would want to do a careful search. Humans found such places unpleasant to be in Maria's species hated it. “You know you didn't tell me what would be a more likely career to ask to be trained for.”
“Inscriptions are a possibility.”
“Huh? As in magic inscriptions?”
To this Maria gave a quick nod. “Yeah! We have some mages amongst our brothers and at times they make use of such items.”
“You don't mean you actually teach them mage craft though. You're talking about them just making the special ink and drawing in the symbols that will later be empowered and guide the magic right?”
“You got it.”
“Huh, that is an interesting field.” As Joseph spoke he knew he'd be thinking on this later. The females such as Maria were clearly avoiding certain jobs and coming in contact with certain substances. He didn't know exactly why at the moment but it was clear that they were. He had to assume that for one reason or the other they didn't want the ink for the inscriptions exposed to themselves or perhaps they didn't want exposed to the ink.
“Hey you two!” Tera smiled as she noted Maria and Joseph walking towards her shop. “You're just in time.”
Maria was the first to speak up as she approached her friend. “Hey Tera how are things going?”
“Great now that the two of you are here!”
Immediately Maria perked up as she looked at Tera. “What do you mean the two of us?”
A slight chuckle escaped Tera as she took a step closer to Joseph and Maria. “Well I couldn't help but notice while you were walking next to Joseph you two are about the same height. Now I know you're not the same shape but you could still help me.”
Maria didn't wait for Tera to finish as she spoke up. “I am not testing your clothing. You can just forget it.”
“Oh come on Maria! It'll be fun.”
“For you!”
“Ah you know I would do it myself it I wasn't too big.”
“No.”
A sigh escaped Tera before a slight grin formed on her face. “What are you so scared of?”
“That you're going to make me look like an idiot by putting me is some incredibly silly clothing.”
“Ah don't be such a little chicken.”
“I know what you're trying to do. It's not going to work.”
“Ah! Come on surely there is something I could do to convince you? It'll go twice as fast and that means Joseph will be able to speak with you all the sooner.”
While up until now Tera hadn't managed to say anything that would get Maria's interest now she had. “Blast you! I still don't want to play dress up.”
As Joseph spoke up he placed a hand on Maria's soldier. “It's no big deal this shouldn't take very long.”
Before responding Maria bit down on the tip of her thumb for a moment as she struggled to think of what to do. “Fine. Fine I'll help with your outfits. I swear though if you make me look foolish I'll kick your tail.”
A slight giggle escaped Tera as she looked at Maria. “Now that's awfully big tal.” Once again Tera found herself silenced as Maria seemed to more vanish then anything else. It was only when Maria spoke that Tera realized where she was.
“You may be taller and much larger then me but I'm much faster then you are.”
“How? Wow! You're that fast?!” As she spoke Tera spun around. She didn't see Maria but she wasn't overly surprised that Maria had once again moved behind her.
“Yes I am.”
“I knew that after you woke up you were faster then you'd been before your punishment but I didn't realize that you were that much faster. Just how fast are you really?”
“I think the rate at which my body accelerates is easily five times faster then what it was before I was punished. My new top speed is probably three times faster.”
“You were a lot bigger then. Of course.” As she spoke Tera quickly moved towards Maria attempting to take hold of her friend with both hands. She was quite surprised whenever her arms were fully extended, her fingers were closed and the only thing she had in her hands was air.
“Of course what?” A slight giggle escaped Maria as she easily dodged Tera's movements. “You know my speed isn't the only thing that improved. So did my reaction time.”
“Well blast! I still don't believe you can kick my tail though.”
A slight giggle escaped Maria as she placed a finger against her cheek. “You and I could find out later.”
“That could be fun but I'm not sure if it would be permitted. I could seriously injure you if you're wrong.”
“I'll ask my mother about it later and she'll decide if it's safe enough.”
Once again Joseph chose to speak up. “Hold on you two. You're just talking about a friendly little wrestling match aren't you?”
Now Maria was made to grin as she looked at Joseph. “It depends on what you consider friendly. Our bodies are quite effective at healing themselves as long as we don't deal a lethal blow.”
As Maria finished speaking Tera chose to speak up. “It's just a bit of fun but we tend to be rougher then humans. We do have natural weapons after all. It's just that certain females aren't allowed to fight others as they could end up killing them on accident.”
“I see. So I guess Mina isn't allowed to fight many people.”
A slight giggle escaped Tera as she shook her head. “Mina wouldn't even be allowed to fight Flora!”
“Are you serious?”
To this Maria gave a nod. “Mina underwent a mutation a long time ago. Before I was even born. Her body became abnormally large not in regards to height but in regards to her muscle mass. She became far stronger then her size would indicate.”
“Maria could you tell me a bit about these mutations?”
“I suppose I could. There is a certain event. I can't tell you what the event is but suffice to say that it's very unpleasant for our bodies. During this event though we run a chance of developing a mutation or our bodies altering themselves to be more powerful. Now it isn't exactly the norm for this to happen and how drastic the change will be no one can be certain but it does happen.”
“I see. You said this event occurred whenever you were punished earlier though. Does that mean Mina was punished?”
In response Maria shook her head in the negative. “No Mina wasn't punished like I was. Mina is well Mina did something kind of strange. Whenever she was still very young she asked for permission to prepare for and then undergo the event.” A slight giggle escaped Maria as she shook her head. “Dang I wish I could tell you its name it'd make explaining this a lot easier. All well.”
“That's alright. You can volunteer for it though?”
“Yeah you can. It's something of a ceremony to be honest. You're set aside from the others and for the next few weeks to months you do the very thing we've forbidden ourselves to do. Then you willingly submit to what is ordinarily a punishment. Of course there is no guarantee that you'll develop a mutation and given how unpleasant it is most would never volunteer. Mina is something of a special case as she developed not just the will to undergo it but the desire.”
“Maria from what you've told me this punishment is quite unpleasant. What made Mina decide that she should undergo such a change?”
“I wasn't alive back then Joseph so I don't know what type of person Mina was back then so there is no way for me to go into great detail. I believe that she did it for her sisters though. When Mina underwent this change it was during a time of famine. You see when we are in the punishment state we don't take in nearly as much energy. So by choosing to put herself into that state during a time of famine Mina insured that everyone else would have more to eat.”
“But just one person. Surely she didn't make that big of a difference herself.”
“She probably didn't but it's something she felt she had to do for the good of her sisters and brothers.”
“I see. It sounds like Mina is quite a carrying person. I've met with her a few times and she's struck me as quite kind for the most part. Then I see her dealing with the claimed though and how she looks at them whenever she believes they're about to defy her.”
To this Maria gave a quick nod. “Mina does one of three things. She either cares for you a great deal, feels nothing for you whatsoever or she would rather kill you then let you live. There is really no space between any of those for how she feels. Though how much she cares can change.”
“That seems rather risky. Given how Mina treated me when I first met her I wonder how she felt about me then.”
“She was nice to you wasn't she?”
“Well yes?”
“That meant she already cared for you. She'd already decided she liked you because you were contributing to the community, you had been honest with us and you'd made some very good impressions.”
Immediately Joseph wanted to mention the plant. After all surely him denying them that plant would have given Mina a reason to greatly dislike him. However, he remembered what Tera had told him and kept his mouth shut. “So would you say she doesn't care about the claimed?”
In response to this Tera spoke up realizing that she'd be a bit more qualified then Maria who hadn't been awake for a while. “In the time I've known her Mina has proven quite willing to play big sister to the claimed even upon their first day of being brought here. It's after they do something to lose her trust that she starts treating them like animals and if the animal doesn't produce she's quite willing to kill them.”
For a moment Joseph was silent as he considered what Tera told him wanting to insure he thought it through. “Tera I can't help but find that unnerving. It makes it sound like she could decide that her little brother wasn't worth taking care of just because he accidentally broke something.”
Now Maria responded. “Ah you're taking it entirely the wrong way. The reason the claimed get such treatment is she doesn't know if they're worthy of that protection yet or not. So she protects them as a sort of act of good faith. If they prove worthy of that faith it's pretty hard for them to lose it if they prove they aren't worthy of it though she immediately decides they aren't worth worrying about.”
“Hm that is a different way of thinking about it. You did mention before that by yelling at her Dan actually hurt her feelings before and he was claimed back then as I recall.”
To this Tera gave a nod. “Yeah and believe me she was quite upset. Now that's enough talking. Come on you two it's time to help me with my designs!”
***********************************************************************************
It was impossible for Tera to keep from laughing as she leaned against the wall. Her fur had been stained red in a few areas due to her blood. She'd have to work to get that out later but a few claw marks had been worth it. It was clear to her that Maria was still quite annoyed as she walked out of the building which made it even harder for her to stop laughing. Maria had given her fair warning though and she'd chosen to ignore it. It'd been worth it though after all the injuries Maria had dealt her were only superficial.
“I can't believe she did that!”
Joseph walked silently a few paces behind Maria. The moment was still being played in his mind. Tera had asked Maria to close her eyes and extend her arms, Maria had done so. He'd started to chuckle when he realized what Tera had put on Maria. Then Maria had opened her eyes and saw what it was. The outfit had been destroyed and before he could blink Maria was on Tera going absolutely ballistic. “I take it she did that on purpose.”
“A special head piece to protect my head? A cushioned but guard for whenever I fall down oh and padded gloves? And. And.” Maria grew silent as her tail twitched violently. “Mira had something to do with this I just know it!”
Now Joseph was certain of why Maria had gotten so mad. He remembered the story Mira told about when Maria first woke up and how she slammed her head into the cave wall due to not being able to control her speed. It was also quite clear why Maria was so annoyed. Tera had actually gone through the trouble of making a special outfit just to make her mad. “Maria don't you think you might have went a little over bored back there?”
“No!”
“You cut Tera up pretty badly though.”
“Not bad enough!” As Maria yelled she realized her mistake and took a moment to take in a deep breath and calm down a bit. “Don't worry Joseph I gave her a lot of little cuts but I didn't really go deep. She'll be healed from those wounds in just a few minutes.”
“I see. So your species heals very quickly?”
“The vast majority of us do.”
“Huh? So some of you don't?”
“Ah whoops!” Immediately Maria forgot her anger as she looked around and noted several of her sisters looking at her. She was relieved whenever none of them seemed angry though some of them did shake their fingers at her. Most of them just shrugged and gave a dismissive wave.
There was clearly a slight change in mood in the environment one that Joseph noted. “I take it you just told me something that you shouldn't have.”
“Um well. Yeah I did.”
Before Joseph could respond a voice interjected. “Don't worry about it.”
In response to the voice both Joseph and Maria turned to see Stella approaching them. Allen wasn't with her at the moment though she was still keeping an eye on him or an ear to be exact. She could hear him playing with some of the sisters. “It's not like that's a major deal. Would you like to know more Joseph?”
“Well yes.”
To this Stella gave a nod. “You probably know about the possible mutations in our bodies since you've been spending time with Maria. At times these mutations come with a price though. A few of us have slower then normal healing abilities.”
“I see. Does Mina have such a slowed healing ability? She seems quite strong even compared to the wrest of you.”
In response Stella shook her head in the negative. “No Mina heals just fine from injuries. That is whenever she is injured.” A slight chuckle escaped Stella as she looked to where her friend had gone. “Mina so damn hard to injure I can't remember the last time someone actually managed to hurt her body.”
“So someone has managed to damage her body?”
“Not someone really. Some of us could injure her and some of us could beat her fairly easily but none of those that could have had the desire to try. The last time she was injured was whenever she had to face several opponents at once.”
“I see but. Do you have other larger sisters else where? I haven't seen anyone in the market yet that looks like they could match Mina in strength.”
A slight giggle escaped Stella as she shook her head. “Well I most assuredly couldn't beat her! This is the market though not the entire village.”
“Yeah but it seems like quite a few of you spend a lot of time here. It is after all an important social gathering place. From what I've learned of your social ranking four meters seems to be the height at which you can achieve maximum rank. So I was thinking it might be the maximum size you allow.”
“Hm you're right about a few things. Four meters is the height at witch a females body no longer represents her social standing. Keepers like Mina and Flora are actually higher ranked then many of the people here even if their bodies don't show it.”
In response Joseph gave a slight nod. “Ah whoops sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. My name is Joseph and as I recall you're Stella.”
To this Stella gave a slight chuckle. “It's alright we don't worry about such things too much. Anyway, I need to be going my little boy is about to start looking for me. I'll see you two around.”
As Stella turned to leave Maria focused her attention back on Joseph. “Anyway, let's go and eat.”
“Yeah that sounds good. We have a bit of catching up to do. It's been a while since I saw you. I thought you said you'd be coming by to visit me.”
“I meant to! It's just that I've been rather busy to.”
“Oh? Perhaps you could tell me about what you've been doing.”
“As long as you don't ask anything I can't answer I'd be glad to. You already learned something you weren't suppose to know today.”
***********************************************************************************
“Hey could we talk for a moment?”
Joseph actually gave a slight jump upon hearing the voice. It wasn't because of it being unexpected or Joseph being distracted. Rather it was due to it being male. This also brought him to turn around rather quickly were he found what he immediately recognized as one of the claimed standing there. “I suppose so. What's on your mind?”
“We've noticed you getting along with these beast as of late. It's something else isn't it? They say that there not animals and here they are keeping up prisoner like slaves. We say the wrong thing or do something they consider out of line and we get a beat down. Then if they decide they want to have some fun with us we can't even say no. Struggling just makes them go rougher on you.”
“It sounds like you got it rather rough.”
“Humph? Me? You don't think they'd do the same thing to you?”
“So far I've found their company quite enjoyable.”
“Is that so? Just wait until you do something to piss them off and see how quickly they turn on you. Or better yet just wait until they're done playing with you.”
“If that's all you have to say I really need to be going. I have to get home.”
“Home?! Man you are lost if you think whatever they put you in is your home. This forest is our prison not our home.”
“I'll be going now.” As Joseph spoke he turned not carrying to hear what else the man had to say. As he walked away he was a bit surprised whenever the stranger didn't say anything but seemed to retreat back to wherever he'd come from. As Joseph walked away though he couldn't help but wonder just who his handler was and whether or not he had sneaked out.
***********************************************************************************
“Good morning sleepy head!”
“Gah!” It was all Joseph could do to keep himself from falling out of the hammock as he gripped the sides. Immediately he noticed laughter and looked up at Maria's smiling face as she looked down at him. “Maria? What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit you but you were asleep so I decided to wait around. You sleep a lot longer these days then whenever we first met.”
“Ah well not normally. I was up late last night.”
“Oh? What were you doing?”
At first Joseph was going to tell Maria but then he remembered some previous happenings. “I'm not sure I can tell you.”
“Huh?! Come on Joseph you can tell me. You have permission to leave whenever you want after all and besides I like to think we're friends.”
“I know but. The last few people I've mentioned this to have had rather strong reactions.”
“Hm now you have me even more curious. Come on tell me.”
A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “I've examined my notes carefully and I'm ready to resume making the life bloom. I just need to go into the market and pick up some materials. I also made a little something.”
“Really?! It's about time you started those studies again. So this means you're going to be staying for a while?”
In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “I know I mentioned I might resume my studies a while back but now I've made up my mind.”
“Hey wait. Didn't you say you were already working on a personal project?”
“Yeah I was. That was examining my notes though. I didn't exactly make the life bloom entirely by myself. It was a team effort, however this time around it's going to have to be all me so I need to make sure I understand what I'm doing.”
“Huh? But didn't you say you left the Gale kingdom so they couldn't make the plant? If it was a team effort it means that others can do it to.”
In response Joseph shook his head in the negative. “I highly doubt it. I might not have done all the work but a pretty big chunk of the knowledge and work was mine. If I felt my work would be easy to duplicate I would have taken more drastic steps.”
“Yet you believe that you can duplicate the work of those that aided you?”
In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Indeed I do though. I was thinking about asking Dan to help me out a bit.”
“OH I see! So you've come to trust Dan enough to let him help you?”
“Well yes. They are some things I can't avoid anyway. Dan keeps track of what materials I request so he's going to know something about the life bloom regardless of my efforts. The only way around that is if I went out into the forest and gathered the materials myself.”
“You know I could help you gather the materials you need.”
“Huh?”
“I have free time you know. I could take you out into the forest and you gather up the materials you need. That way Dan wouldn't know what you had me retrieve for you. That or I could gather up some of the materials so he wouldn't know everything. They may be some things that I can't find.”
“Maria are you serious?”
“Of course I am! You think I would joke about something like that?”
“Well no. It's just not what I expected.”
Before speaking Maria took a moment to stick her tongue out at Joseph. “Well then I'd say you have a lot more to learn about me. That or you underestimated what I'm willing to do for a friend.”
“I guess I did. Thank you for the offer Maria but for now I think I'll just ask Dan for what I need. Also I need to go into down and drop off a gift.”
“Okay, let's walk there together.”
“Sure. Maria if you don't mind they are some questions I'd like to ask you. While we walk.”
“Sure.”
“Well the first question is. Would you mind stepping out while I get ready?”
“Oh!” A slight chuckle escaped Maria. “Of course I would mind. I want to watch.”
Joseph felt his skin warming up as he noted the grin on Maria's face. He tried to say something but his lips wouldn't move apparently paralyzed by the shock of what she'd just said. Fortunately for him he didn't have to say anything as Maria turned and made her way out of the room. As she walked away though he couldn't help but notice her firm pert rear and how her tail was actually lifted allowing him a better view.
“That said I'll step out anyway so you don't feel awkward.”
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“Maria I've been here for a while and I've began to wonder. Just what does the majority of you do? I know you have the keepers but what are the other jobs.”
“Hm well they're a few I can't tell you about. However, we have gatherers. These shouldn't be mistaken for hunters though. These go out in search of a specific target that it takes special knowledge to identify. We also have guardians once again though these shouldn't be mistaken for just hunters. All of us like to hunt. Guardians are ones that go out and take care of a specific threat.”
“I see. So are the guardians larger then four meters?”
“No, my sister Mira is a guardian.”
“So a keeper is expected to be more powerful then a guardian?”
In response Maria gave her head a quick nod. “Yep they are. You see they're not called keepers just because they take care of the claimed we bring in. They're also expected to maintain the peace within the market.”
“I see. Hey! When I first heard Tera and Nora talking one of them said something about not being able to fight in the market. Did that have something to do with it?”
“Yep! If they had started fighting one another there a keeper would have stepped in and broken up the fight. Of course with most keepers breaking up a fight means smacking both women around so much that they can't fight anymore.”
“I see. Um Maria do you and your sisters have a prison system?”
“Indeed we do. Though they're rarely used.”
“I see. Just what type of crime would get one of your sisters sent to your version of prison?”
“Hm let's see here. Assaulting a brother could get that or worse, theft depending on what was stolen but that's rare for us, harming one of your sisters without good cause could do it as well. Especially if the injuries were considered far too extreme but that's rather hard to do.”
“Because you heal so readily?”
“Yeah. More then likely the punishment for beating up a weaker sister would be an even more severe beating for you. Now killing a sister or brother out of malice doesn't bring on a prison term. You're killed for doing that.”
“What about an accidental death?”
“Give me an example.”
“Okay, let's say that Mina was trying to break up a fight. She uses too much of her strength and accidentally kills one of her sisters. What would happen?”
“Oh that would be terrible! Mina would be absolutely tore up if she killed someone that she didn't mean to. She's worked so hard to learn to control her strength.”
“That's not exactly what I meant.”
“Hm well. We all know how strong Mina is and a lot of people respect and admire her including our brothers. If Mina slipped up and used too much of her strength while breaking up a fight I can't see her being executed but she would be put under supervision.”
“What kind of supervision?”
“She'd be barred from interacting with anyone weaker then a guardian until she learned to control her strength again. Dan would probably be the exception. I doubt anyone would try to separate him from her. Mina is so careful to control her strength though I don't think such a slip up could really be called a criminal act.”
“Okay what if a sister failed to control her strength and accidentally killed a rank five human? One that wasn't as well respected as Mina.”
“Oh that would get you in trouble! You could be put through some intensive training and if you failed. You could be forced to undergo the same punishment I did and reduce your body.”
In response Joseph gave a slight nod. “So you take such slip ups quite seriously.”
“We have to if we're going to interact with humans. If you can't manage a powerful body then you can't be trusted with it. If you refuse to give up the body you can't handle and continue to endanger others you can and probably will be killed.”
“I see. Maria I've been told a few times you came back willingly whenever you went beyond what you were allowed. What would have happened if you didn't come back willingly.”
A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “I would have been killed for posing too great a threat to my sisters and brothers. I didn't mean them any harm even back then but my scale posed that threat.”
“Because you would have eaten too much?”
“Yeah and don't even suggest that they could have let me remain that size. That wouldn't have been just to our other sisters.”
To this Joseph gave a slight nod. “Maria you've mentioned that Mina is very well respected yet she's limited to four meters tall. What makes one of you suitable to grow even larger then that?”
“A very powerful mutation is one of the requirements.”
“What?”
“Those that are allowed to grow even larger then four meters all have a mutation. This means that not only are they more powerful then average because of their size they also have something special.”
“Mina has a very powerful mutation from what I've scene though.”
“Indeed she does. There also has to be a need for one though. In other words one of current ones that have grown to that scale has to reduce their body or be killed. As none of them have died and none of them have done anything to cause them to be punished they haven't been any openings.”
“Ah I see. Is there any other way to gain the right to such scale?”
“Um well you could probably dethrone one of them so to speak.”
“How would you do that?”
“While only at the maximum size you're currently allowed you'd have to beat one of them in combat. This would prove that you're so superior to her physically that you should be allowed to take their spot. Of course I've never heard of such a thing happening so I don't believe it's possible.”
“From what you told me it doesn't sound very likely. Still, I don't know if it's impossible given what you told me about the mutations in your bodies. However, doesn't that mean that most of your strongest are those that had to be punished at one time or another?”
In response Maria gave a quick nod. “It's odd but one of the most unpleasant things we can experience is almost required to achieve one of our most powerful bodies.” A slight giggle escaped Maria as she shook her head. “I suppose that means that one day I could try for such a position.”
“Yeah. Does anything help determine the cause of such mutations?”
“Ah well. Nothing that we've really been able to discover despite the efforts of our brothers.”
“I suppose if they did discover what caused such mutations you'd all be receiving them.”
“Hm you know I actually remembered something. I think Mina was going to try to be one of our first sisters to defeat a matron.”
“Matron?”
“The title we give to those who've been allowed a body beyond four meters tall though they are titles even higher then matron. After all she did volunteer to undergo what we normally call a punishment in hopes of altering her body. She probably would have underwent it again if she hadn't met Dan.”
“Why wouldn't she go through it after meeting Dan?”
“Sorry! I can't tell you that.”
A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “Blast it. I wonder if she would have developed a secondary mutation if she'd underwent the punishment again.”
In response Maria gave a slight shrug. “Probably not but who can say? The fact that she volunteered for it once is something else though.”
“So Maria why haven't I seen one of these matrons?”
“They guard things that are more important to us then the market. I imagine you've heard about them though.”
“I've heard about monsters in the forest large enough to eat a grown man in one bite.”
“With or without chewing?”
“Huh?”
“Did the stories say whether they needed to chew or not to eat a grown man?”
“I don't remember that!”
“Ah well. I wanted to know how big you humans think some of us are.”
“Are some of you big enough to eat a full grown man without chewing?”
In response to this Maria stuck the very tip of her tongue out at Joseph. “I'm not going to say.”
“Something else I'm not allowed to know?”
“No, I'm just not going to tell you.”
“Hey now! Every other time you've refused to tell me something it was because you weren't allowed to. Now you're going to start not telling me things because you want to keep me wondering?”
“Yep!”
“Come on Maria that's not very nice.”
A slight giggle escaped Maria as she looked at Joseph. “Deal with it.”
***********************************************************************************
“What is this for?” As Mina held the small bit of cloth up she noted several straps and a rather thick piece of material in the middle. For a moment she thought it looked like something that would go on the elbow but it wasn't cupped quite right for that and if that was the case why would Joseph had only brought her one.
“It's for your face.”
“Huh?”
“I don't mean like covering your face. Well I do actually. Here let me show you.” As Joseph spoke he held up his hand for Mina to give back the face guard. As she handed it back he pushed his fingers against the padded area. “There's some particles in here that do a really good job of filtering air. Generally it's used to block toxins but I've adjusted this one a bit so that it's even better at keeping out certain scents. That way you can go down to the the tannery and not end up choking to death.”
“Oh! Well thank you! That's a bit unusual but thoughtful Joseph. Just going inside of the tannery saturates my fur. I'd be able to smell it all over me once I left.”
“True but couldn't that be solved with a good bath after you checked inside the tannery?'
“Hm that is true.”
“If you don't like it that is fine. Still, after what I've been told about the tannery I thought it'd be a good idea if you could check inside of it once in a while. You don't have to go there everyday just slip on that mask and check it out once in a while.”
Mina was quiet as she retrieved the mask from Joseph and looked it over. She really hated the idea of going into the tannery and she wasn't certain the mask would block out the smell. “I guess with this I can't really justify not checking inside the building. It would be safer if I did as well but.” For a moment Mina was made to shudder. “I hate thinking about what would happen if it doesn't work.”
“I thought about that as well so I brought this as long.” As he spoke Joseph reached into the crate Maria had carried for him and retrieved a small yellow bottle. “I assure you the scent in here is as strong as anything as you'd find in a tannery.” As he spoke Joseph began to open the bottle to prove his point. Before he could remove the cap though his hand was engulfed in Mina's and Maria's.
It was impossible for Maria to contain herself as she held Joseph's hand. “Don't do that!”
“Huh?”
“I could smell it the moment you began to remove the cap.” As Maria spoke it was a struggle to keep from closing her eyes and trying to shake off the scent. The smell had been far stronger then she'd been ready for.
While Joseph had known the ladies had a very strong sense of smell he was surprised to see both of them responding to the smell. Mina's right eye was closed and her teeth were partly exposed while Maria's expression kept changing. “Sorry about that.”
Now Mina was made to shake her head. “Joseph, I don't know if this is a good idea. If I put on that mask and it doesn't stop the smell of that bottle when you open it.” For a moment Mina shuddered and placed a hand on her stomach. “I already feel sick. I really don't want you to open that bottle.”
“Mina I assure you that the mask will block the smell.”
“No. Don't open it. I'll just take your word for it.” As she spoke Mina retrieved the mask and gave her head a slight shake. “Never open that thing in the market!”
For a moment Joseph was made to jump as for a moment Mina looked deadly serious. “Uh sure.”
Before Joseph could say anything else Maria spoke up. “Joseph believe me you have no real idea what a scent like that is to us. It felt like my nose started to burn whenever you removed the cap. If you want to see some of us in a really bad mood open that up. You'll probably end up losing whatever hand is holding the bottle.”
“I didn't realize your sense of smell was that strong. I'm sorry.” Even as Joseph spoke he realized that he'd just found a weapon against the ladies. Though he didn't know how effective it would be in all out combat it was clear that it had quite a profound affect. It made him wonder how many had tried to use their own noses against them and if it would truly work. “I'll destroy the contents of this bottle as soon as I can.”
To this Mina gave a quick nod. “Thank you! Oh my head.” A sigh escaped Mina as she lowered herself to a seated position and placed a hand on her forehead. She'd actually gotten it a bit worse then Maria as the wind had been blowing in her direction.
As Maria watched Mina sink to the ground she spoke up. “Would you like for me to go and get you some cold water?”
“Well yeah, no no. I'll be fine. Just give me a few you don't need to trouble yourself.”
“No trouble I'll be back in a second.”
***********************************************************************************
“So what made you decide to make Mina that mask?”
“I was just trying to do some people a favor.”
In response Maria gave a quick nod. “So you decided to help us out by making it so we could search the tannery? Well making it easier on us.”
“From the way I see it I've done the claimed and you all a favor.”
“Oh? How did you do the claimed a favor?”
“I really doubt that they can escape through the forest and well I imagine being brought back whenever you're already claimed has quite a steep punishment. It seems far more prudent to wait until you're no longer claimed and then try to make your escape without any hindrance from you all. After all you wouldn't hunt down an unclaimed trying to escape.”
“That's an interesting way of looking at it. How do you think giving that mask to Mina will keep others from trying to escape though?”
“I'm not sure if it will but whenever I first learned of the tannery I realized something. That building would be the perfect place to hide things that they don't want you girls to find. You avoid it on your own and you even avoid those that work there for a while after they've come out.”
A sigh escaped Maria as she nodded her head. “It's common knowledge amongst my sisters and myself that the tannery is a major liability. It's just so hard for us to go in there though. Would you believe that at times someone is forced to check it out as a form of punishment?”
“I'd believe it. Often the least pleasant tasks are used as a form of punishment. So do you think that Mina will use the mask to check the tannery more often now?”
“Yeah I believe that she will. She's far too devoted not to now that she has a means to make the experience less painful for her. That said, I doubt she'll be checking it more then once a month even with the mask. I can only imagine how she's going to work up the nerve to put on the mask and go in there for the first attempt. You do realize that she's going to be quite mad at you if that masks fails horribly?”
A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he nodded his head. “Yeah I realize that. However, I'm quite confident in my design. That masks is something that alchemist actually use while working with very toxic reactions that produce a vapor. If I can trust masks like that to protect my life I can trust it to protect Mina's nose. I am curious about something though. Why haven't your brothers provided you with such materials before?”
To this Maria gave a slight shrug. “I don't know. Most likely no one has ever thought of it. I know I wouldn't have thought of wearing a masks.”
To this Joseph gave a nod. “It would be like me choosing to put on a blind fold because there was a very powerful light source blinding me.”
Giantess World
