After striking the final blow on Gream, I stay on guard. But a moment later the darkness clinging to his warped form starts to dissipate. After twenty seconds or so the large scales fall off, leaving the corpse looking all the more misshapen. Now that the scales aren't covering the body, there are spots where his corpse looks visibly stretched out, or looks to have grown in unusual ways. For instance the ribcage clearly grew far larger, at such a rate that the skin over it couldn't keep up and became stretched quite taunt. I relax, my tail flicking out behind me, then I wince when the blade at the end clatters against the floor noisily. I use Tail Transformation to turn it back to normal.

Even without the scales and dark shroud he is quite large. The scent of his blood is rather strong, and a bit intoxicating. But before I can make up my mind to do anything about it, I hear an excited gasp from the tunnel into this chamber. For a moment, I suspect Lurlith but, he is still in the chamber with me. I turn to face the tunnel, shifting my footing in the growing pool of blood.

Suddenly a red eyed girl with vertically slit pupils and long pink hair runs into the chamber. Her figure is, not bad, I'd say she's a bit smaller than Lara all around, incidentally putting her at about the same height as me. She is wearing light leather armor that looks worn out in a few places, and has a bow and quiver of arrows on her back. Her initial focus seems to be on Gream's corpse, but as she is running through the room, her gaze shifts to me.

She runs in to tackle me, I slip in the blood and fall back with her landing on top of me. The way she is draped across me is, appealing, she nuzzles up against my neck before giving me a cute little love bite. On my neck? . . . "Uhh? Is she, trying to seriously bite me? Also, is this Addy?" I honestly can't tell if this is meant as playful nibbling, or hungry gnawing. Her position shifts, her hands moving to caress my chest, and her legs parting slightly to put my left knee between her thighs. "Uwaa?! Whoa whoa, slow down!" Her hands trail downwards, and I just now notice that she has fairly pronounced claws, though they don't do much more to me than her fangs.

Once her hands reach my waistline and start to grip at my pants I finally decide to put my foot down. "No! It's time to stop!" I loop my tail under her at one point when her writhing against me happens to leave a bit of space, then lift her away. She's breathing heavily, and clearly very excited about, things. "Is she, always like this?!" I take a few deep breaths, trying to collect myself, then my resolve wavers a bit. My tail's grip loosens slightly, as part of me wonders what exactly would happen if I let her have her way.

I manage to get a grip when Lurlith speaks up. "I'm fairly certain that's Addy. Though, her hair used to be red, and her eyes used to be blue. And no, I don't believe she has ever acted like this. I suppose she must be dealing with new emotions and instincts now that she's a monster." He takes a moment to clear his throat. I stand up and straighten out my clothes. Addy seems, almost content fondling my tail. Almost. "Would you mind, checking her status?" Aha, right.

"Oh. She's a vampire. She's got a status effect called 'Blood Frenzy', but at least not the World Skill Mindless Curse Gream had? So I guess it's temporary. Not sure how to snap her out of it though. I guess it, does something like put her in a near feral state? Since she clearly has interests other than just drinking blood." Vampires don't count as undead? Huuuh. "Ah, and she doesn't have any magic skills."

"I know how the latter point works at least. The theory is that magic skills require a faint trace of the essence of the monster they came from, and when a person becomes a monster, their own essence wipes away the pattern. Though magic items keep the patterns intact." He walks closer to wave a hand in front of her face. She, barely seems to notice him, being far more interested in me. "As for the blood frenzy. I, guess try to let her drink some of Gream's blood? If that doesn't work, we'll just have to figure something else out."

I nod and carefully set her down next to the fresh, still bleeding corpse. She seems torn between the idea of feeding on an easy target, or coming after me again, so I push her lightly with my tail to make it clear I'll hold her back if she comes at me again. She makes up her mind, cupping her hands under the blood streaming from the severed neck, lifting them up to her mouth once they're full, and gulping it down noisily. I relax with a sigh, and start licking blood off of myself, at least in the areas I can easily reach, so mostly my arms at the moment. I pause when I process one of his previous statements. "Hang on, does that mean magic items are monsters too?"

"Well, yes? Magic comes from monsters, after all. Magic item is a broad term for things like magic weapons, magic gear, magic tools, or magic accessories. But I believe they all count as monsters. I don't know all of the details personally, but you have to use Essence to craft them. Magic weapons especially need the magic type of the monster who's Essence they are made from. It's about the only way to allow the humanoid races to use the magic of high ranked monsters to decent effect. Unfortunately, magic weapons usually only have as much Essence as they start with, so they burn themselves out before long."

If that's a thing, why'd Meiron act like it was such a big deal? Did she just wish she could use magic to that degree herself? More to the point, I am going to abuse that information. If they're monsters, I should be able to make them pretty easily. Before I have the chance to continue the conversation Addy gives a satisfied sigh. When I look at her again, she's staring at me. She licks her lips, then bolts towards me again. I huff and whip my tail towards her. This time, however, she just sets her left hand on my tail, then flips over it and lands a short ways in front of me before leaning in close. She presses her face alongside mine, raising herself up enough to whisper in my right ear sultrily. "You smell, amazing~"

Then she plants a kiss on my cheek that seems, chaste compared to her earlier grinding. Though it is conspicuously right where Gream's tail cut me. She jolts and moans softly, then collapses against me. I just barely catch her before she falls further. "Eh?! What now?" I sigh and check her status again. "Uhhh. Well. Guess Blood Frenzy has been replaced with Blood Drunk. Geeze." I shake my head and lift her up into a princess carry. "Time to move on? I was considering snacking on the big fella, but it feels a little awkward now. Or maybe. I shouldn't eat cursed monsters, anyway?"

"It does seem a little, distasteful. But we should really do something about the body either way. Perhaps you could summon a fire monster to cremate it?" I nod and gesture for him to head back out the tunnel. Then I use my tail to snatch up several of Gream's largest scales, thinking they might be useful somehow and shift Addy to over my right shoulder. I create a pair of Bombs one of each fire and light at the E rank with five minute countdown self destruction skills, and roll them up next to the corpse.

I run out of the final room's tunnel, grab Lurlith with my right arm and lift him over my shoulder. "Sorry, but it's best if we move quickly. I dunno how sturdy this cave is!" I run back the way I came, using the remnants of my own scent as a guide as I go. Around halfway out, I come across the Radiant Holy Gel. Which is currently eating a giant centipede. I can't tell if it's the same one I encountered before, but either way now that I have a look at it, I wish I hadn't. Its numerous limbs are little more than bony claws with exposed muscle, and the body looks like a segmented rotting tree trunk. "Euch. Remind me not to let you heal me." The slime seems to tilt itself to the side, and I shake my head. "Nevermind that, time to get out of the cave. Lead the way, you can clear out the darkness as you go."

The massive slime stretches some tendrils out to drag the rest of the centipede into itself before starting to slide ahead at a surprising pace. I sigh softly, then give chase. Towards the end of our run, I hear a popping noise behind us, kinda reminds me of underwater firecrackers. The remaining darkness seems to fluctuate a little a moment later. Beyond that, I don't notice anything happening. We head outside either way though.

I set Lurlith down on his feet, and prop Addy up against a nearby tree. Lurlith dusts himself off, but doesn't comment on the rough treatment. Addy meanwhile seems to be grumbling in her sleep. "So, now what? You seem fine, so can we drop the third favor now that the other two are covered? I guess you'll also wanna talk to her, try to explain things a bit and say farewell?"

"You're real hesitant to go there, aren't you? I still feel like something is wrong here." He grips at his chest and looks down at himself. "And I've never heard of an elf with this sort of complexion. . . But, I'm not a doctor, and I don't think I'll die too soon, so I guess. I'll go back to Verteil to get checked out properly. I can pass on the news that she's still alive while I'm at it. This situation will be, hard for her family I'm sure. But, at least they'll know this way?"

"You don't, uhm. That is to say, you're not acting like monsters are bad exactly, but they'll still have that hard of a time with it?" I look between the elf and the former elf, with my eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Ahh. Well. Kind of? The Galleo family is a noble one. For the sake of appearances, they'll have to at least disown her." He scratches his cheek and grimaces slightly. "We elves don't in general have much of a prejudice against monsters, not even cursed ones, so long as they retain their own minds. But, several neighboring kingdoms take a firmer stance on both subjects. I don't know her family's personal opinions on the matter, but at least on the official level, they'll have to put on a show to avoid political problems later on."

"Oh. So it's like that then. That sounds like a huge hassle. Glad I'm not part of any political power." I shake my head and look back to Addy. "Any ideas how to wake her up? The scent of blood maybe, but drinking too much is what caused her to pass out, sooooo. . ."

"I can handle that. Just, be ready for if she acts feral again." I nod and set aside the scales to free up my tail. He approaches her prone form and sets a hand on her shoulder. A moment later, I feel a pulse of that wispy feeling, spiritual energy, I'm fairly sure at this point. She groans again and starts to stir. "Addy, it's time to wake up."

Her eyes open, then she squints almost immediately. Then she slowly opens them back up to process her surroundings her gaze naturally settles on him. It takes a second before a look of recognition appears on her face. "Mister Lurlith? What happened to your face?" There is an awkward silence, then he laughs quietly while shaking his head. He backs away to let her look around more. Once she happens across me she furrows her brows thoughtfully. Then suddenly she bows her head. "I beg your pardon for my earlier behavior! It was, terribly immodest."

Looking closely, it seems her ears are tinged slightly red. "Ahhh. You remember that then? Well, it's not really a problem. You weren't in control of yourself at the time." I relax my posture and wait for her to sort herself out enough to look at me again. "So, do you know what happened to you beyond that?"

She holds her hands in her lap, and considers her claws. "I, believe so. Some of the details aren't very clear. But I used too much essence." She leans forward again slightly, causing her hair to fall into her line of sight. She pinches a strand between two fingers to look at it. "Pink hair? My father isn't going to like this. . . Oh. I have bigger concerns than that, huh?"

Lurlith speaks up. "Yes, most likely. But, I already asked Tai here if he'd be willing to help you out. And it certainly seemed like you are already rather fond of him." He chuckles, and her face flushes a bit. "For that matter, I believe black hair dye has been rather popular with the young folks these last few decades, hasn't it?" She gives an irritated groan, and he eases up on the teasing. "Setting that aside, following a stronger monster seems like a good option, all things considered. Better than being on your own, at least."

"I suppose, I haven't really got any better options." She stands up, takes a moment to straighten out her leather armor, and bows in my direction again. "As such, if you'll have me, I'll be in your care for the time being, Lord Tai."

"Where'd the lord thing come from? I guess it's fair to consider me a lord among monsters, but it still feels weird. I certainly didn't introduce myself as such. Plus, if you're going to be all formal, my full name is Typhon. Though that's also my race. So, that could be a mite bit confusing?" I flick my tail around, then shake my head. "Well, don't worry about that. Just be casual about it. That'd be easiest."

She straightens back up and nods. "I'll try, if that is your desire." Seems like that might be asking a little much. "I am not certain how I can be of assistance to you though. Ordinarily I would be confident in my combat skills, but I have the feeling that you're much stronger than me. I don't fully understand how I get that impression, but I don't doubt it."

"Your skills should be a huge help. Er, I used Identify on you, hope you don't mind. But, it'd be great if you could teach me and some of my other allies a bit about those martial arts skills. Oh, and some of them might be better off learning archery, so that'd be helpful too. Plus, I imagine a vampire can gain some pretty decent skills. At least, everything I've heard about them gives a strong impression."

She has a shocked expression for a moment, before offering a broad smile, seemingly showing off her fangs. Her teeth are all a little sharper than a human's, though her canines are most pronounced. "So I'm a vampire specifically? I wasn't quite certain of what I was yet." She closes her mouth and rubs her tongue along her teeth. "Monsters learning martial arts skills sounds pretty dangerous, but I suppose if that is what I can contribute, then I'll try."

"Well, to be really specific you are a 'Lesser Vampire Pureblood'. Which, sounds both impressive, and not at the same time? Like the pureblood part is definitely important. I'd guess the lesser part is just because you're new, and an F-Ranked monster." I mutter the next part. "I'll have to learn more about vampires in this world somehow. . ."

Lurlith cuts in. "Well, if that's settled, I suppose we should head our separate ways." I tilt my head and look at him. "Sorry, I just realized it'd be best if I didn't know too much about what you're up to. I'll have to report everything I know about the situation. If much more than this gets out, it could be a problem for you, right?"

"Eehhh. Now that you bring that up, you probably already know too much. But, if it'll make you more comfortable, I guess it's fine if we cut things off between us here." I look over to Addy. She looks pensive, but takes a deep breath and nods. "In that case. Goodbye Lurlith. You should swing by to visit sometime, at least to give us an update on your health. Aah. Do you need to borrow the Radiant Holy Gel for your trip back, just in case, or would that be a risk for information leaking too?"

"I believe you just answered your own question there. Of course, I could just send it back before I get too close to any cities or towns, if you insist. But I'd rather not go through that again." The huge slime slides up behind him, apparently having recognized that it was mentioned in our conversation. Then it extends a tendril to pat his shoulder. His skin lights up with a faint golden glow for a few seconds, and his condition visibly improves again. It still leaves the dark skin tone, but now he only looks middle aged instead of elderly. "If that's all it takes, why did you swallow me last time?!"

It jiggles and waves the tendril expressively. "Ah, it says the healing fluid in it's slime requires as much contact as possible for the full effect, but the purification skills work fine as long as you're close enough." It twitches the tendril side to side then moves over next to me. "And you apparently did something to make yourself worse again between the two treatments. But, as long as you don't do it again then it has already healed you as much as it can for now. It wasn't sure what you did, but I'm guessing it was just further exposure to the darkness while we went deeper, and fought Gream."

"Alright, well I don't have much reason to go back into the cave. So I suppose there's no reason to bring it along. Since you suggested I visit again, does that mean you live somewhere here on Mount Shatel?" Ah, the mountain has a name? Didn't think to ask Lara about that. I nod, but don't offer any clarification beyond that. "Aha, right. Well, keep an eye out at least." He turn to Addy and bows. "I apologize that my and the other elder's mistake caused the deaths of several of our companions, and made you push yourself too far. Goodbye young lady. May Gadfell watch over you as you seek a new path forward." He turns to walk along a rough trail that'll take him around the mountain to the eastern side.

Addy takes a few seconds to collect herself before shouting after him. "It's unfair to blame yourself, you know! Nobody would want that." He pauses a moment, then continues along his way. She heaves a sigh, then mutters, "Goodbye." quietly enough that he certainly wouldn't hear from this far away. She stands in silence, and I figure she needs the time to herself, so I leave well enough alone. For a fair while. Until I notice light starting to creep up on the horizon.

I bite my lip, then muster the determination to speak up. "Addy. I know you need to think, but. . ." She turns to face me, her eyes are red. Well, more red? Point is, it's obvious that she ended up crying silently somewhere during the hour or so she was standing there. "Ahem. Sorry. The sun is about to come up. Vampires are usually weak to sunlight, right?"

She rubs at her eyes a bit. "That is a pretty common weakness for them. But I don't know if I have it?" She looks towards the horizon. "Should we hide in the cave until sunset then?" I set a hand on her shoulder, lightly, and shake my head when she looks at me again. "You have another idea?"

"Yes. A skill of mine, plus a detail Lurlith mentioned to me. Let's see, I guess, a parasol would make the most sense?" She looks at me questioningly, then I take a step to the side. I hold my hand out and a single drop of silver blood falls into my shadow. I swear I hear a gulp from Addy during that moment, but lets ignore that. A black handle emerges from my shadow, I reach down to grab it, and pull a black and purple cylinder up. I raise the ring of the central mechanism to extend the umbrella, then hold it out to her. "Here, a magic tool to protect you from the sun, I gave it another effect too, it can also store blood for you to drink later. Though we'll have to find out if you are weak to sunlight somehow, I think I'll ask a certain person I know, rather than putting you at risk to test it. She's a weirdo, but could probably figure it out?"

"You made a magic tool with your blood?" She stares up at the Parasol. "I think, I've heard of high rank vampires having a power like that. Familiar Production, or some such. What you did seems a little different though." Her gaze moves over to me. "You, are rather abnormal, aren't you?" I chuckle in response. She giggles and shakes her head. "Well, now I wanna try that myself." I hum slightly and quirk an eyebrow.

She bites her right thumb, then holds her hand out and squeezes her thumb with her index finger. A stream of blood drips down into her shadow, and actually disappears. It feels for a moment like her shadow is shifting, so I lean in closer to stare, but nothing further happens. "Dammit." She licks her wounded thumb while sulking at her shadow.

"Honestly, it felt like you were close. Huuuh~ How about? . ." I gesture the Radiant Holy Gel to 'stand' behind us, then step close to her so our shadows overlap. "Give it a shot now. Might be able to piggyback on my Monster Creation skill." She holds her hand out and squeezes her thumb again. This time only a little blood drips down, but the reaction is more noticeable. I can definitely sense something within our conjoined shadow. "Almost got it. Did you imagine a proper form for it? Preferably something you'd associate with a vampire already. And, make sure you keep the skills you grant it limited to how strong you're making it."

She nods and closes her eyes. After a few seconds I can tell its form has settled, but it still seems incomplete somehow. I start to wonder if I should add a drop of my blood, but then I get the impression of the last piece falling into place. Then a large black wolf rises from the shadow and approaches Addy. It sniffs at her, then rubs its head against her side. "Well, what do you think? How'd she turn out? It took me a bit to think of what skills to give her." She even specified a gender? Ah, well. Identify.

"Not bad. Didn't know Familiar was a monster type, but I suppose I'm not an expert on that kinda thing, yet. Curious what the Shadow Road does. The others are probably fine, at least. . . Hang on. How'd you make a monster at a higher rank than yourself? It didn't feel like you used any of my Essence." I identify her again. "Huuh. You have a unique skill now. It's called Familiar Generation. Probably even closer to my Monster Creation than the skill other vampires have. Still doesn't account for the Black Wolf having more essence than you do. I think? Unless that doesn't matter as much as I thought? Are you, okay?"

"A unique skill? That's amazing! Among my immediate family, only my grandfather and older brother have unique skills." Her eyes end up a little forlorn after that. Then she lowers her gaze. "Well, my thumb still stings a bit. Seems mostly healed already though." She rubs her thumb lightly and takes a closer look. "Likely not what you meant. But that aside, I do feel fine." She fluffs the large canine's ears. "I'd guess Shadow Road is the skill that came from my idea of her being able to travel quickly by moving through shadows."

I reposition myself to stand next to the Black Wolf, facing Addy. I scratch the wolf's back lightly, and speak softly. "Your excitement tells me that you want to talk about them, but when you realize you're doing it, you hesitate. You don't have to hold back. I won't mind if you excitedly talk about your family excessively, nor will I mind if you end up crying again because of your situation. If that's what you feel you should do, then you should just do it."

"Ahh. Sorry. It's just, mostly that it hurts a bit to think about my situation. Not to place the blame at your feet of course. And well, it would be improper to show my superior an overly emotional side of myself. . ."

"Is that a part of, Elven, culture?" I know it's a little harsh, but I emphasize the word 'Elven'. She looks shocked for a moment, but lowers her head rather than telling me off for it. Then, I decide I've gone too far. "Sorry for that. Shouldn't have gone there. But I just wanted to say, you should talk about them if that's what you need. Besides, I doubt you could be more improper than you were when we first met. . . Ack, shouldn't have brought that up either." She gives an embarrassed laugh, and I rub the back of my neck awkwardly. "For now, I guess we should head on over to my base. Uhhhmm. At this rate, we might need to build a whole town before long."

I take a moment to retrieve the scales. She doesn't say anything, but when I turn west to start walking she follows along with a kissing noise and a snap of her fingers towards the Black Wolf. The wolf barks excitedly and runs after us, and the huge slime follows on its own. The trip is much slower this time, though I do pick up the pace a couple times to see what they can comfortably keep up with. She is rather quiet during the trip, until we happen across the shattered remains of a large tree. "What in the world happened here?"

My cheeks flush slightly. "That was, me. I wanted to test how fast I could run, but my awareness wasn't keeping up with my body. So I ran into a tree. Horns first." She freezes for a few seconds, then giggles while shaking her head. "I know. But I have to push myself to figure things out. I even managed to adjust a bit. You'll probably have to figure yourself out again too. You might not be much different yet, but I bet if you rank up as a monster that'll change."

"Aaaah, yeah. Vampires are famous for subsisting primarily on blood. I think I'll still be able to eat regular food too. As long as it has essence in it? At least, I should be able to, from what I've heard. Though rumors aren't a guarantee." She stares at the broken and partially uprooted stump. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

"We're most of the way back. This was about where I first got up to, well, what might be my full speed? I kinda stopped trying to go faster after hitting the tree. But, I can keep my nose to the ground for anything worth hunting on the way if you wanna test it sooner?" I take a moment to sniff around, a couple things get my attention, one of them even smells like another Inferno Boar, but they don't seem close.

"I'm not hungry, er thirsty? Right now. I drank a lot of blood from that, beast thing, right? And I got a little taste of yours too." She has an unusual expression. Her pointed ears are angled a bit higher than normal, and she looks like she's trying to hold back a grin, but also biting her lower lip. I reach up to touch the nearly healed cut on my face. A moment later I drop my hand and shake my head, then nod and start jogging again.

When we get back to the Den, the others are already up and about. The woodworkers are all bustling about, starting the construction on a, barn, I think? The groundwork is certainly laid out in a larger area than the house, and it's set at one end of the fenced off area they were making before. They're, gonna need me to help with that, huh? Setting that aside, Kinu seems to be teaching Oct to herd the sheep, and Ginro is sparring with Lara. Probably trying to improve his skill in the Zalroz martial arts. Despite the fact that he should be stronger and faster than her, he seems to be losing, if the regular wincing and limp state of his left arm is to be believed. He still seems determined though.

Oct is the first to notice us, baying loudly for a moment before abandoning the training and charging over. Halfway through the distance he seems to hesitate while looking at the Black Wolf, before becoming even more excited to rush towards us. The Black Wolf hides behind Addy while looking at Oct suspiciously. I step in his way to prevent him from bowling the both of them over in his excitement. He manages to come to a stop just before running into me. I take a couple steps to cover the remaining distance and pet both heads.

"A two headed wolf? Did you make that too? It's even bigger than Veoul." Veoul? Oh, did she already name her? . . Wait, she named a monster at a higher rank? She still seems fine. That, doesn't line up with what Suna said about names at all. Oh well. Figure it out later. Looking between Oct and Veoul, I have to agree that Oct is bigger. Veoul is large for a wolf, certainly, but only about two thirds as big as Oct.

Kinu is reasonably close behind Oct. Her gaze trails over the other woman, then moves to the black wolf. "Can I train that one to help with the sheep too?"

Addy seems briefly flabbergasted by the question. Then shrugs and looks back to her familiar. "Are you okay with that Veoul?" She responds with a quick huff, then walks over to sniff at the golden haired woman. "I guess that's a yes?"

I grab Oct by two ears, one from each head, then stare them down. "Behave, play nice, etcetera. I don't want to hear about any playful mishaps, alright?" Their tail wags despite my attempts at being stern. I give a weary sigh, then let go. "Well, at least back off if she snaps at you over something." Oct runs off with Veoul and Kinu, back to the sheep pen. I turn my attention back to Addy. "Well, I'll take care of the important introductions real quick, then help with the construction." I wave my hand for her to follow, then walk towards Lara and Ginro.

I pause a short ways away to wait for their current bout to end. Which happens when Ginro lunges in to hit one of the pressure points on Lara's neck, only to have his hand caught and several pressure points on his torso to be jabbed. Which leaves him curled up groaning on the ground. Lara leaves him like that until he acknowledges his loss, then kneels down by his side and starts massaging him, starting at the sorest points. Addy speaks up to ask a question. "Is that, the Zalroz school of martial arts?"

Lara turns towards her voice, though she can't seem to focus on Addy very well. "Yes, yes it is. Though it's surprising you know it. It isn't terribly popular." She turns her gaze towards me. The difference between her middle distance focus on Addy, and the genuine focus on me is a little odd. "So, who'd you bring home this time Tai?"

"Ah, uhmm. How to summarize? I went to the darkness attribute infested cave near the mountain peak, killed a cursed and mindless monster in its depths, and helped an elf. He also asked me to look after Addy here, er Adrieth Galleo, since she managed to become a vampire from using too much essence in a fight."

She takes a moment to finish massaging Ginro, then turns back towards Addy. "Galleo? My great grandma on my mother's side is a Lamphe!" She stands back up and rushes over to grasp at Addy's hands, though it takes her a couple shots to grab them.

"Huh? . . Oh! Aunty Aimea! I heard she fell in love with a human and lived in Leusha for a few decades in her youth, but I never thought I'd meet one of her descendants from that affair. We're, practically cousins then? My father's cousin is your great grandmother. I'm, not quite certain what our relation is, but that's pretty close, huh?"

"W-what's going on here? Why does this situation feel slightly dangerous for me all of a sudden? I just thought, since you both are martial artists, it'd be good for you to cooperate."

Ginro suddenly jumps up and dashes over to the two women to bow in front of them. "Please, teach me!" He's, very enthusiastic now. What's even happening?

Lara shakes Addy's hands up and down a couple times before letting go and lightly pushing her to face Ginro. Once Addy focuses on him, Lara approaches me. "Well, that was surprising, huh? . ." She reaches up to pet my ears, I exhale softly, but don't resist. "By the way. I asked Ginro about your last hunt." Her right hand grips the base of my left ear, and the left pinches the tip firmly. "I've decided that you should always take somebody with a little common sense along with you whenever you go out." I feel a flash of pain like a strong static shock shoot through my ear and across the back of my head. "And, consult with them before doing anything, crazy." She raises herself up to kiss my forehead, rather lightly, then massages my ear a moment to clear up the pain. After that she shoves me lightly. "Now, go help put the barn together, they've been waiting for a few hours to get to work properly."

Chaos_Sinner777

But who is who? Oh, and Addy is meant to look like a more mature Krul Tepes. And another thing. I've been trying to write Tai as more, emotionally aware than I am. Any opinions on how that's working out for me? I'm, not confident.