The next morning, things went by as usual. I ate breakfast, then headed to the makeshift classroom. It was going to be another day of teaching gatherers. Talissa didn’t show up like she had the day before. I guess she was satisfied that I was teaching the gatherers properly. There were only a few questions to answer, which made things go by smoothly. I was glad that today would be my last day of teaching the gatherers. I didn’t like teaching. It put too many eyes on me.

About midday, one of Talissa’s helpers came by to tell me that she wanted to speak with me. I could tell by the boy’s expression that it was urgent. Sighing, I put my lunch down and followed the boy. When we got to the elder’s house, Talissa was inside arguing with Amethyst about something. Part of me wished I didn’t have to go in, but I couldn’t exactly turn Talissa down. Slowly I walked in. As I did, both Talissa and Amethyst stopped arguing and looked at me.

“Ah. There you are,” Talissa said. I could still hear the irritation in her voice. Amethyst gave me a look of concern. I wondered what exactly I was called here for. After taking a drink from her flask, Talissa said, “I have asked for you because I need you and Amethyst to do another hunt. I know you did not have a great experience the other day, but it can’t be helped.”

I scratched my ear as I looked at her. She knew full well that I didn’t want to go out hunting again. I couldn’t stand the sight of the poor animal dying. Why was she making it a point to single Amethyst and me out to do these hunts anyway? Didn’t they have backup hunters? After a moment of thought, I looked at her and said, “I will do what I need to for the tribe.” Talissa seemed pleased to hear it, though Amethyst looked as though she was about to protest. Still, she didn’t say anything.

“Good, because what I need you two to hunt is a sprite. I am not expecting you to kill it. I would strongly suggest not killing it. The barrier is growing weak, and we need the magic of a sprite to reinforce it,” Talissa said. So, there were sprites in this world. I wondered if they were anything like what was in our lore back home. And if so, which one. Were they gentle beings who tended to the earth, or were they dangerous beings who attacked humans on sight? The more I stayed here, the more I learned about creatures that were only fairytales where I came from. It was both exciting and scary to think about it.

“Mother, we do not need a sprite. Our magic has worked in the past,” Amethyst said defiantly. Talissa gave her a look, then shook her head. I guess this was what they were arguing about before.

“For the past two weeks, the magic of the barrier has weakened. We do not know why, but our magic is no longer enough. We do not have a choice but to ask a sprite. The fairies are off for the mating season, and I do not want to ask a human for help,” Talissa said as she brushed imaginary dirt from her tail. I didn’t understand why Amethyst was so worried about asking a sprite for help, though I knew nothing of them. I guess I was going to find out.

“Don’t worry, we will find the sprite and be back soon,” I said. Then a thought crossed my mind. We were going to be leaving Kiena again. A bit of sorry washed over me. I hated to think of the look on her face when we told her we were leaving again.

“I hope so because if not, we may not have the protection that we have lived under for so long, much longer,” Talissa said before heading towards the door. Amethyst and I followed her out. I let out a sigh again as we headed back towards Amethyst’s house.

“How long will it take to find a sprite?” I asked. Amethyst looked at me for a moment. I could see the anger and resentment in her eyes. I wondered if she hated sprites as much as she hated humans. This brought back the thought that she knew that I was possibly a human. I mean, yeah, she accepted that it was in my past. But did that truly mean that she trusted me? People keep telling me that she likes me, and I know I like her, but did she trust me that much?

“It will be a two-day trip to their grotto. Then we must find one willing to help us. We do not wish to do this, but there is no choice. We do not want to see our people hurt anymore,” Amethyst said. I understood her thought about having no choice, but it still didn’t answer why she didn’t want to find a sprite. I decided it was best not to press the topic. If I were going to be on a two-day trip with her, it wouldn’t do well to upset her before we even begin.

When we got to the house, Kiena was sitting on the floor waiting for us. The moment she saw us, she sprang to her feet and ran over to us. I hated that we were about to put a frown on that cute face. I swear somewhere, some god or goddess was laughing at us right now.

“Little one, we have bad news. We have to go away for a while,” Amethyst said. The moment the words left her mouth, Kiena stepped away and tilted her head, looking at us. I swear I could see a tear starting to form already.

“Why, momma?” Kiena asked as she held her tail against her chest. My heart was hurting for her right now.

“We have to find a sprite. We need their magic,” Amethyst said. Kiena tilted her head again as she listened to what Amethyst said. She looked as confused as I was. Then she slowly nodded and looked at the floor.

“Why can’t I go with you,” Kiena asked. That one question broke my heart. I could hear the hurt in her voice. I knew it was going to be hard for her, but this time it felt different because her hurt, hurt me too. The little girl had grown on me, and in some ways, she felt like family to me. No, scratch that. She was family to me. After everything we had been through the past two weeks, she was family. They both were.

“We wish we could take you with us, but it is too dangerous. We just want to keep you safe,” Amethyst said as she walked over to Kiena and got on her knees so that she was the same height as her. Then she wrapped her arms around Kiena and held her there for a moment. I stood back and watched them with tears in my eyes. It was so beautiful watching them. It was something I wish I had had with my mom. If only I had been born a girl, maybe she would have held me like that.

“Coralin is coming back right,” Kiena asked. This threw me. Why would she ask a question like that? Of course, I would be coming back. I wasn’t leaving. And as far as I knew, Talissa wasn’t getting rid of me.

“Yes, little one. We will make sure that Coralin comes back. We would not let anything bad happen to her,” Amethyst said, looking at me as she did. I wondered if she was saying it for the sake of Kiena or if she was saying it more to herself. Kiena seemed to accept it, though, and ran over and hugged me. I hugged her back, wrapping my tails around her as I did. She giggled as they touched her bare skin. It did feel a little awkward since she had skin while all the other kids had fur. Not to mention that it still felt weird that we were hugging while naked. I didn’t know how nudists did it without feeling weird.

“I will come back. I promise,” I said, looking down at her. She smiled and nodded before going back over to Amethyst. Her tail was swaying back and forth at a steady pace.

After dropping Kiena off at Talissa’s, we headed to the border of the barrier. As per usual, I covered my eyes as she opened the barrier. Once we were on the other side, we started heading in a new direction than I had gone the two times before. I was partly glad that we weren’t going to the white forest. As beautiful as it was, the thought that trappers or Lamia were lurking around ruined my excitement about its beauty. I know it sounds pathetic, considering the whole world was filled with creatures like that. Or at least that is what I assume with everything I have learned thus far.

It had been a quiet trip for the first couple of hours. There wasn’t much to say, and I didn’t want to disturb Amethyst as she watched for possible predators, so I was the quiet follower. Twice we ran into deer. I wished I could stop to admire their beauty, but Amethyst kept going, so I followed. I was sure eventually I would have time to admire the beauties in this world. After all, as far as I knew, I wasn’t going anywhere.

The further we walked into these woods, the weirder it got. The trees were mangled and gnarled. I could only imagine the kind of creatures that lived here. It didn’t seem to bother Amethyst, though. It was as if she was used to seeing these kinds of things. I guess she had been here before. She still didn’t say anything as we walked. I guessed she was still upset about having to leave the village again. I could understand that, though. Between leaving Kiena and the fact that she didn’t want to be out hunting, she had a reason to be upset. Hell, I didn’t want to be out here, but Talissa seemed to think that I had to follow Amethyst everywhere she went. It felt like she was just babysitting me.

After about two hours, Amethyst suggested that we take a break. I was almost surprised when she spoke since she had been quiet for the trip so far. I looked for a place for us to rest while she went out looking for food. Despite how she felt about hunting, we did need to eat. I eventually found a decent-looking tree. It didn’t provide any cover, but it did offer some room for sitting and laying. I decided to put my claws to the test as I pulled at the bark. I was surprised at how easy it was stripped away.

By the time I was done clearing off a couple of spots for us to rest, Amethyst was back with a couple of rabbits. Luckily, I saved the bark that I had stripped away. Amethyst showed me how to make a fire with rocks. I was quite fascinated by it. I had never seen a fire be started with rocks before. We always had lighters or matches, but I guess those weren’t invented yet. With the fire started, Amethyst set to work skinning and cleaning the rabbits. I did my best to busy myself, so I didn’t have to watch the process. It was one thing to know that you are about to eat something. It was different to watch how it is made.

“The food is ready,” Amethyst said, though she didn’t need to. I could smell it from where I was, as if I was sitting right next to the fire. These heightened senses were amazing. I could smell things I had never smelled before. I walked over and sat down next to her, and she handed me my rabbit. I had never been handed a cooked whole rabbit before. It still saddened me to know that they had to die to provide us nourishment. Sometimes I wish I had grown up vegan. But then again. I didn’t know the vegetation of this world enough to be able to forage for my food.

After we had finished the rabbits, I showed Amethyst the makeshift resting area I had made. She complimented me for it, then laid down. I wasn’t that tired, so I just sat there and listened to the sounds all around me. I could hear the wind lightly blowing through the trees. Some birds off in the distance were chirping and singing. It was nice to hear nature at work. It almost made me want to fall asleep, but part of me knew that we weren’t going to be here long.

“I know that you don’t like leaving Kiena in the village alone, but I have wondered something. Why did you quit hunting? From what I heard, you were better at it than others,” I asked. Amethyst didn’t move to look at me. Instead, she sighed and looked at the sky as if she saw something that I couldn’t.

“We loved hunting. We would always make it a game with our sister. She wasn’t as fast, but she was just as dangerous. One day, mother asked us to go hunting just like we were asked many times before. But there were humans nearby. Mother said that we would be fine if we stayed in the trees until the humans left, but she was wrong. The humans were waiting. We stayed in the trees, but our sister wanted to prove that she could outsmart the humans. She wanted to be the one who caught our dinner. Before we could act, the humans had captured our sister. We tried to help, but our sister signaled for us to stay,” Amethyst said. I could hear the pain in her voice as she talked.

“Amethyst, that isn’t your fault,” I said, trying to comfort her. How could she be responsible for what happened to her sister? Her sister was trying to be better than her. Not to mention Talissa sent them out knowing that there were humans around. I could understand now why Amethyst had so much resentment for her mother. If it weren’t for her, Amethyst would still have her sister.

“We should have stopped her. We should have made her go home. But mother said that we needed to hunt. We didn’t have a choice,” Amethyst said. Then she started to cry. Slowly, I walked over to where she was lying and laid beside her. Cautiously, I wrapped my arm around her. I waited for her to push me away, but instead, she cried into my shoulder. I didn’t move, nor did I try to say anything else. We laid there for a while. I didn’t like hearing her cry, but something told me that she had been holding back for so long.

After a while, Amethyst stopped crying. As I looked at her, I saw that she had fallen asleep. It reminded me of nights that I had cried myself to sleep. I didn’t have anyones’ shoulder to cry on back then. My sister was too busy in her own life, and my parents wanted me to be something I wasn’t. with no real friends to speak of, I was left alone. When I was in public, I tried to keep a brave face. I couldn’t allow anyone to know that I was hurting inside. I think that was what Amethyst was doing as well. She had Kiena to look after and people who depended on her, so she didn’t have time to release her emotions.

It was an hour before Amethyst woke up. I just laid there for all that time, thinking about the differences in my lives. I had concluded that I wouldn’t have changed the fact that I had left that world behind. And although I was still getting used to this new body, I was happier than I had been in my entire life before.

“We are sorry. We did not mean to fall asleep on you,” Amethyst said as she sat up. Although you couldn’t see it, I could tell she was blushing. I shook my head.

“There is no reason to apologize. You were hurting, and I brought up a sensitive subject. Thank you for sharing. I understand now the problem you have with your mom. But you have to understand; there was nothing that you could have done,” I said as I looked her in the eyes. She didn’t answer verbally. Instead, she nodded before looking up at the sky.

“We need to get moving. There is still some daylight, and we have a long road ahead,” Amethyst said, changing the subject.

“Well, then I guess we better get going,” I said. We both went to get up, and something happened. Amethyst tripped over my tails and fell on top of me. At first, all I was aware of was the pain coursing through my backside. But in an instant, I became aware that she was now on top of me, chest to chest. For a moment, I froze. I didn’t know what to do. Then an urge rose within me, and before I could stop myself, I leaned up and licked her cheek. I know what you are thinking. Why would I lick her cheek? Well, not having human lips made it difficult to kiss someone. Amethyst just laid there for a moment. I was sure she was about to smack me, but what happened next, I could never imagine. Very slowly, she leaned down and licked my cheek. As she did, it felt like my stomach was full of butterflies.

Did she just “kiss” me?