"Ah." I blinked a few times, collecting my thoughts. "There was... I made a new Kindlesprite who's acting as a Sculptor, and I named the Air Fairy Lyn. I also wanted to ask if you needed me to spend CP on anything... And how Loralei is fitting in..."

 

She seemed to be considering my words until I mentioned the Naiad, which caused her to burst into a bright smile. "Lor is a treat. She does get lonely easily, but it's nothing I can't handle given time. I was thinking of making a more permanent version of the Fairy's workshop near here, so they can work together more closely." She frowned a little, thinking.

 

I broke in as nonchalantly as I could. "So she hasn't made anything inconvenient for you?"

 

Corina blinked at that. "Huh? Not really. Most of my work at this point is corralling Minor Spirits, and I hardly need my hands for that. I enjoy her attention, and she's really helpful when she's satisfied. I did panic a little the first time she did- this..." She waved towards the Naiad.

 

Despite not even trying to exclude her, the oblivious Naiad's face was screwed up in intense concentration as she pondered the liquid orb in front of her. Occasionally a finger would twitch, but aside from that, she looked like a lifeless doll- or an unoccupied Avatar, even. A little creepy.

 

Corina just hugged her tighter, pressing their faces together. There was a little reluctance in her aura as she pulled away to continue the conversation. "Normally I focus on spreading my Domain when she's like this. But anyways, she's lovely. It hasn't been that long, but I think she'll fit in just fine once she's more secure."

 

I raised an eyebrow, remembering Mara's complaint. But, maybe Corina was right. I'd have to keep an eye on things for now. Not that I had any idea what to do if things went poorly. "Then, what's your impression of Lyn, so far."

 

Corina tilted her head thoughtfully. "Currently, she's floating between my and Loralei's Court, helping where she's needed. However, I haven't really had a chance to interact with her beyond reading her notes. She's either very shy or very aloof. Oh, but the clothing she makes is amazing compared to my old dress and the stuff we borrowed from you- No offense." She smiled guiltily. 

 

"None taken. The ones she made look good-" I broke off before I said something that might give her the wrong idea. "Um, yeah. I also wanted to ask-"

 

Suddenly, the water orb descended to the table. It hit with force, but instead of splashing everywhere, it deposited a pile of colorful string. Once it was completely empty, the water shot off towards the wall and entered a small cubby there. The cubby closed, leaving the room completely dry. But the one controlling it...

 

Just as I looked at Loralei, she blinked rapidly, as if her eyes were too dry. Then she smiled and turned in Corina's grip until they were face-to-face. "Done!" And without waiting for a response, she wrapped her arms around the Oread and kissed her deeply.

 

I felt a ferocious heat spread across my face and turned my attention away from them. Not towards the Kindlesprite; a staring contest at this point would be just as embarrassing. I spent a long moment wondering if the noises I was hearing were better or worse without seeing the source. Finally I heard Corina's breathless voice and looked up.

 

"Lor, Selene is here. Remember what I said?" To her credit, the Oread had the awareness to look embarrassed, despite the emotions overflowing from her aura.

 

Loralei blinked at her and tilted her head cutely. "No?" Then she turned and looked at me. "Oh, it's you! Why are you so far away, come and sit with us!" She bit her lip and patted the tiny sliver of couch they weren't using.

 

"No thanks, I'm fine right here." I was proud of the wry tone I used, completely masking my embarrassment. Probably. At least a little bit...

 

Her response was to try to get up- but Corina tightened her grip and hugged her. "No lewd stuff in front of Selene. It makes her uncomfortable. Wait for an invitation and don't touch without permission. Do you remember yet?"

 

The Naiad struggled weakly, then turned and pouted up at Corina. "But you said you'd give me a reward when I was done..."

 

"Oh, so you remember that, then." Corina rolled her eyes and smiled at me. It was meant to be apologetic, but it came off as rather elated instead. "I can keep her restrained indefinitely, but I don't think this situation will get any less awkward. If you want to stay-"

 

I was already standing up, pretending I wasn't a million shades of red. "No, that's fine. Just, um. If you think of anything you need me to spend CP on, call me. Um, when you get a chance."

 

Corina laughed. "Of course. Sorry about her-"

 

Loralei interrupted with an urgent tone. "Oh, wait! When are you going to add some male Creatures to the Dungeon? We only really need one, but it'd be nice to have a lot to choose from. Especially once our daughters are born."

 

Ah. It was obvious in hindsight.

 

Unlike the Rockworms, the Fairies, and even the Kindlesprites, the Nymphs couldn't repop properly as things were. I should have made increasing their population a priority a while ago. But I'd had some odd idea about only using Creatures that could repop on their own... Which I'd already spoiled the moment I made the first Nymph. This was an obvious mistake, and I should have tried to deal with it a long time ago.

 

I struggled through the self-recriminations in an attempt to actually consider the issue. Before I made much progress though, Corina cleared her throat to get my attention. Her aura was far less thrilled than before. Now, there was a strong tint of doubt and anxiety coloring it. She squeezed the Naiad in her arms for comfort, causing a pleased purr in contrast to my and Corina's moods. Really can't read the room, that one.

 

"Um. I've... already looked into this a little bit on the forums." Corina's voice lacked her usual confidence. She paused for a long moment, to gather courage if I was reading her aura right. She breathed out. "Umm... There's a few ways for Nymphs to repop. Obviously you can create a male Creature from a specific list. There's also..."

 

Reading her aura made it clear that she was stalling. She was afraid of something, and hating herself for taking as much time as possible to avoid talking about it. Seeing it from the outside made me want to cry. I looked away, only to find the Kindlesprite looking at me with concern. Ah, what a bunch of worry-warts I've made. Even if I had to be this way, why did my Creatures have to inherit it?

 

"Just speak. I won't blame you." My voice sounded so apathetic... And I found my face relaxed into the mask I'd perfected over the years. I hadn't used it so much recently, but somehow it came just as easily as ever. I wouldn't believe in someone else if they acted like I was acting.

 

But Corina was far less experienced with people than I. Another shot of courage laced her aura, and she skipped right to the part she was worried about. "I really didn't know, at the time. You asked if you and I could have children, back when you made me. I'm... sorry about how I acted back then. Being inexperienced is no excuse..." Her eyes had dropped again. 

 

Loralei, despite being squished by the much stronger Oread, didn't seem to mind that much. But she'd finally caught the heavy mood. She patted the other Nymph's arm, and began quietly humming a magic laden song. Instantly, Corina, the Kindlesprite, and even my own aura calmed down significantly. 

 

My Interface buzzed, and for once the feeling didn't make me panic. It was reporting a status condition, funnily enough.

 

 

"I've learned so much since then..." Corina spoke as if in a daze. Her eyes were suddenly wet with tears, but there was no sign of why in her aura or voice. "Apparently it's possible for a repop to trigger with a girl as long as you use a certain spell, but I don't know the details. Just that it has to be very specific. The variant that works with humans and Oreads is different from the one that works with humans and Naiads, for example... And it's also different depending on which of the two want to get pregnant."

 

There was a burst of emotion through her aura, before it calmed down again. "It doesn't have to be the spell. There's a potion made from Mandrake root that can induce pregnancy. But you'll need an alchemist or a witch to process it properly, and whatever other ingredients the potion needs. Each potion needs to be personalized to the individual it's meant for, so you can't buy them off the Market."

 

"I also learned recently... Mercenaries can be used instead of your own Creatures. But that would require a Party. I don't know why you haven't joined a Party. I was too afraid to ask." She leaned back into the couch, looking completely exhausted. "Five choices. Create a compatible Creature, acquire a Mercenary, Create an alchemist and Mandrake, or learn same-sex Conception Magic. Or you can Create all your Nymphs by hand instead of through repopulation."

 

Loralei continued singing through the entire explanation. Her voice was quite stunning, beautiful in a way that went beyond the magical fascination.

 

It should have been distracting, but a part of me was disturbed by it instead. The same part let a wry thought ooze to the surface of my Mind. Loralei was a truly fitting name. I sighed, returning my attention to Corina. "So the reason you didn't bring this up before is because you were afraid I would think you were harassing me again."

 

She cringed a little, but nodded.

 

That's depressing. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to be afraid of me." I couldn't even really say she was wrong to be afraid. Without the enforced calm, I'd likely be freaking out right now.

 

Technically something nasty was leaking into my aura already. But I couldn't really feel the emotions, just see them with my Perception. When I tried to force them back into the shroud around my Heart, they refused to be moved. I assumed that was the downside of the Song. If I could keep this calm forever, I'd probably take the option. But not being able to use magic was too steep a price.

 

I ignored the stain on my aura and turned my thoughts to Corina's choices. Conception Magic probably was the most efficient option. If it was one CP per spell, I could repop all of my Nymphs for just two to ten CP, depending on how many variants I ended up Creating. And assuming no complications.

 

However, even without the calm, I had logical reasons not to take that route. Even if they were realistically less important to me than the emotional reasons. Probably the only thing the Song changed is that I spent less time beating myself up for ignoring the best choice.

 

Or maybe the Mercenaries were the best choice? Presumably a Party member could send a human or something over, and then I could trigger repops without spending any CP. But since I didn't have or want a Party, that option was out.

 

As was Creating every Nymph. For the first one, it was necessary, but I'd rather be locked to a single member of each variant than make duplicates. At around forty CP each, it would be more efficient to create four humans and repop the expected way. The problem then being that I had no use for humans. My Kindlesprites and Fae should have been able to outperform them in every way. They'd literally just be there to be breeding stock. Not an enviable fate. Other Creatures would suffer the same problem, though perhaps to a different extent depending on their abilities.

 

That left the potion. It actually had the possibility of fitting well into my current layout. It turned the Nymphs into a type that would repop on their own, just like my Fairies and Kindlesprites. Additionally, the ingredients I needed would probably fall into the domain of a Spring Fairy or at worst a Dryad. If there was a type of Fairy that could act as an Alchemist, then it would have been natural to Create them eventually. If the Spring Fairy could be an Alchemist, that would be the ideal, but...

 

Well, I could just check for now. If there were no Fairy Alchemists, then the potion route would be pointless. I'd just make an Alchemist Creature that was compatible with the Nymphs, leaving no need for the potions. They could probably make something useful for combat or Market shenanigans.

 

 

There was a result. The alternate name of 'Potion Fairy' was promising, but as always, the lack of description was disheartening. I wanted to Create it now, but I decided to wait until I wasn't under the effect of enforced calm. For the moment, I turned back to Corina.

 

"It seems like a combination of Spring and Familiar Fairies will be the most effective method." I paused. I had no idea how to explain my thoughts about this situation. Honestly, it wasn't that big a deal. The real problem was that I was so... unapproachable. I didn't want that. It wasn't fair. Not to them or me.

 

For the first time in my memory, my thoughts felt clear. No worries or anxieties reared up to distract me. It was a moment of peace, doomed to end in just a few short seconds. But I wanted to clarify something before the dark emotions in my aura resolved themselves into a Tantrum. Even thinking about it was causing Loralei's spell to fail, as anxiety and loneliness overwhelmed the effect.

 

"I want you to be my friends."

 

I barely remembered the last friend I had. The last people I'd let close to me without fear or cynicism. Even though I liked the Creatures I'd made, I'd never opened up to them. Never asked for what I wanted. Even though I'd recognized it as the right thing.

 

As the calm failed, I recognized some of the darkness staining my aura. Not just fear or anxiety. Loathing at my own actions and at my own powerlessness. My disgust at Creating them for my own reasons; even a little shame that I still wanted them to like me despite my actions; a horrible fury at the unfairness of the situation; and so, so much more. Emotions I thought long dead and buried. It immediately ignited, and for a moment the air became cold as death-

 

Then I teleported away as planned, dragging the spilling emotions along with me by force.