The trilling of the school bell announced the end of another day at Trond school. Ursula and Sophia let out a small, relieved breath as they walked out of the school gates and headed back towards their training grounds at Axia’s smithy.

“Monday’s suck,” Sophia groused.

Ursula let out a dry chuckle, “You’ve said that for over a decade now – do you ever get tired of it?”

“No.” The blonde answered petulantly, “Because Monday’s suck.”

“Hey guys!” A familiar voice called out to them from the throng of students milling past, eager to get home.

“Oh great,” Sophia muttered before plastering a fake smile across her face. “Hi Mel!”

She beamed a smile back, “So did you guys hear about Empiro’s Enchanting?”

“We were there,” Sophia said.

“Wow really?” Mel’s red eyes widened, “Did someone really get blown through a wall? And someone mentioned that they were trying to steal someone’s enchantment. How could they do that?!”

Sophia bobbed her head, “Yeah, someone did get blasted through a wall,” she shot her partner a small grin, “And they were trying to steal the enchantment from me.”

The pair’s first friend took a few seconds to compute that sentence.

“Wait, your enchantment?! That’s amazing! What is it? Wait, but if you’re able to do something like that why’d you ask me for book suggestions?” Mel’s eyes began to glimmer and she choked back a sob as she turned away from them. “Why didn’t you tell me? Is it because I’m a bad friend?” The black-haired girl whispered, her voice already hoarse

Sophia let out a sullen sigh, “No. It’s because of the noble thing that we told you about earlier.”

Mel’s beautiful features narrowed in confusion, “But aren’t you trying to hide? Why’d you go out to the shop then?”

“Because we’re done hiding,” Ursula announced, butting into the conversation.

“Does that mean you’ll join my group?” The girl asked hopefully, her fingers interlocked as she batted her eyelashes.

“No.” The smith retorted brutally, “We still don’t want to go out of our way to make enemies.”

“We didn’t exactly do a good job the other day,” Sophia scoffed.

While Sophia was speaking Ursula noticed the barest hint of Mel’s eyes darkening at her reply, but the shadow was gone by the time she blinked to focus.

“Well, you’ll just have to teach me about enchanting if you’re so good.” Mel declared stamping her foot on the ground.

Sophia’s eyes flickered towards her partner who shook her head, “Sorry but I don’t think I should let any of my ancestor’s ideas go. They’re pretty much all I have left of my family.”

“No worries,” The girl replied with a smile, although both could see that it was strained, “I’ll see you both later.”

She turned around, her black hair fanning out and whipping close to their faces, and then stomped away.

“She’s definitely up to something.” Ursula commented.

“She’s a bit… simple but maybe she’s just upset.” Sophia reasoned.

Ursula shrugged her shoulders, but she tracked the black-haired woman until she was completely out of eyesight.

“We’ll find out one way or another.” Ursula muttered after a few seconds, “We’d better get a hurry on. Axia wouldn’t want us to be late.”

The tall teen put her hand out and it was quickly snatched up by Sophia. The pair huddled into each other, swinging their hands as they walked onwards.

This time of day there were fewer sex fiends on the sides of the roads though the teens could still easily hear moans emanating out of several outcroppings and bushes as they travelled.

Their arrival to the smithy was heralded with the typical heavy percussion of hammer on anvil and the roaring flame of the forge. Upon entering Axia allowed one last clang to ring out onto the armour she was working on before striding out of the fire, her glorious, toned body on display.

“New training today.” Axia said as she walked into the adjacent exercise room, a cloak flying off a peg and draping over her to cover her body.

As the two women entered the room, they noticed the mostly sparse room was now completely bereft of any object save for the weapons on the walls and the simple stone floor and walls had been replaced by glossy slate plates.

“Training with mental link, no spells other than strengthening,” The robed master blacksmith stated, taking a casual posture at the centre of the room.

“Shoulda realized she noticed,” Sophia mumbled as she focused inwards and felt her partner help snap the link together, the eyes gaining a ring of the other’s colour on the iris.

With a pulse of mana Ursula suddenly a large two-handed sword and shield in her hands while the bow Eyvor made from the Uloborid carapace appeared in Sophia’s. All shining with a dull blue ethereal glow signifying the weapons dulled edges.

There was a beat of silence.

With a dull boom, Ursula thundered forward, her feet chipping and cracking the hard stones underneath from the sheer strength of her legs. Her swing from above already begun the tall girl quickly reached her opponent. The bow let out a loud twang as an arrow speared into Axia’s lower gut, Sophia taking advantage of her smaller stature to sneak the arrow past her defender’s hips.

Axia however, was not idle, her best option of stepping into the swing was robbed by the arrow so she dodged to the side, partially breaking Sophia’s line of sight, and struck at Ursula’s hand with a bare knuckled fist.

Moving in complete sync, Ursula brought her shield to bare blocking the blow, while straightening out her body just in time for Sophia’s arrow to miss her midriff by millimetres and attempt to pierce their opponent’s stomach.

The briefest of smirks grew on Axia’s face as she batted away the arrow mid-flight using the same motion to strike at Ursula’s sword hand with a small burst of mana.

Realising their tactic ineffective, Ursula briefly disengaged dodging out of the way of Axia’s blow. Their eyes glowed as the teen lunged back in shield at the ready while Sophia used her magic to split the arrow in two mid-air both nearly scraping the sides of the polished armour adorning Ursula’s body blocking off both escape routes.

A fiery glimmer blossomed in Axia’s eyes as her mana flooded from her body and into the room and bringing with it an intense desert-like dry heat. Not even bothering with the arrows, the curt smith manifested a small shield of compressed fire on her hand, spanning the width of her palm. With a negligent flick of her hand, she angled the blade sending it slithering past her belly forcing Ursula to overextend. Her other hand took advantage of this weakness and chopped down towards the teens neck.

Ursula received the image of the attack from her lover but didn’t have enough time to dodge but she did have the opportunity to shift her helmet clad head into the blow dazing her but also jarring Axia’s fingers. She recentred her stance and viciously struck out with the flat of her shield aiming for her teacher’s barely protected stomach.

Another arrow forced Axia to her left leaving her in perfect range for Ursula to swipe at her with her dulled two-handed sword. This time the master smith was forced to take the full force of the flow with her compressed fire shield, her body not moving a millimetre.

“Adequate,” Axia intoned, her magic flaring as more mana was funnelled into her muscles.

Sophia saw Axia’s muscles tense and then Ursula was sent flying across the room into the wall, the magically reinforced slab cratering from the force as the air was forced from her lungs. Sophia letting out a gasp before she could stifle the pain flowing through their bond.

The tall teen slumped into the hole letting the human shaped indentation hold her weight, “Why do I always get sent flying?” She muttered pitifully.

While Ursula was lamenting her fate, the master blacksmith advanced on Sophia with imposing menace, her fists almost glowing with fiery mana.

The blonde gulped and looked to Ursula for help but found the teen watching on with sadistic glee. Trembling, Sophia pulled out two daggers and settled into a low crouch, mana slowly filtered into her long slender legs, but the glow was far dimmer than the other two occupants of the room.

The second Axia was in range the short blonde shot forward. Axia’s calloused hand crashed down on where Sophia should have been, but she had diverted her momentum slightly forcing the descending fist to miss. Her daggers flashed as she swiped them across the veins and tendons in the exposed hand only for the blades to be blocked by the shield of compressed fire.

The attack also left the green-eyed teen completely open to a follow up attack which her teacher capitalised on very quickly. A fist walloped into her head sending her sprawling across the floor, her large boobs cushioning the fall.

“Of course she doesn’t get hit as hard,” Ursula grumbled, though she gingerly rubbed her chest in a vain attempt to alleviate the phantom pain.

Although she couldn’t hear it physically Sophia squawked indignantly when the thought flitted across her own mind.

‘Sorry’ Ursula thought sheepishly.

Axia’s voice cut through their mental conversation, “Magic combat practice in the forest this weekend. Sophia – mana reinforcement. Ursula – reaction time.”

While letting their link fade the short elf nodded her head while the taller one quirked theirs questioningly, “How am I supposed to train my reaction time?”

An echo of a smile tugged at the corner of Axia’s lips as she raised her fists in a classic boxers pose, “Defend yourself.”

The blood drained from Ursula’s face, “S-Surely there’s something else?”

The sound of muffled yelps and pained groans emanated from the smithy scaring away the few customers that approached.

Several hours later, the sun was beginning to dip beneath the horizon casting the sky a vivid wash of purples and oranges. Ursula was lying on the floor in a sweaty heap greedily gulping down air as her mentor stood over her without a single drop of sweat marring her angular features.

Sophia was sitting in the corner of the large room watching on as she forced mana through her limbs and making them glow softly before recalling the magic, turning her body into a slow strobe light.

Ursula’s eyes shone with relief as the eagle animan headmaster stepped into the training room. Their expect teacher lowered her hands and gave the man a nod.

“Good afternoon you two. I trust you had a pleasant day at school?” He asked them warmly.

They both shrugged indifferently.

The old man chuckled, “Ahh teenagers, truly the epitome of communication. The reason for my presence is my procurement of a suitable residence for you both. If I may have your company for a few hours, I can show it to you.”  

They both gave off petulant grunts of affirmation, tiredly rising up from the floor like zombies.

The headmaster took in the walls littered with holes and sighed, “I enchanted this only last week. Must you destroy it so quickly?”

The muscled blacksmith shrugged and left the room, the steady sound of pounding metal soon echoing into the training hall.

“She certainly has a character,” The old man chuckled, “Come. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts.”

A cold chill had settled on the land when the party had left the blacksmith, their breaths fogging up in the twilight air. The teen were led along a smaller but no less maintained road leading towards the dungeon.

After ten minutes walking their surroundings shifted from the greys of the industrial district to the greens and browns of a area filled with flora.

“This is looking familiar,” Sophia commented.

“Hey guys!” A voice shouted from far away.

“Eyvor?”

“This is where she lives!” Ursula shouted, realisation dawning on her, “We just never come from this direction. But Sir her house won’t fit us.”

A mischievous grin tweaked his lips, the expression looking far too comfortable for him, “The place across from her will. Don’t worry I’ve ensured the bedroom is enchanted with suitable sound dampening spells. The other rooms, however, are not as fortunate so please keep loud activities within them to the minimum.”

The two elves blushed to their roots.

“T-Thank you for organising this for us Sir. I’m surprised the house was available.” Ursula stuttered.

The man’s cheeky smile dimmed somewhat, “This was the only way I get Rosalind to agree for you to leave – having some mature company nearby in the event of you requiring it.”

Their sister had finally walked up to them, a bright smile on her face, “So you two finally got a place to fuck freely?”

“Real mature.” Sophia blandly looked up at the headmaster who had the decency to look sheepish.

“Like you aren’t trying to get Tyr into your bed,” Ursula sniped back.

“If you can recall I can barely tolerate him and he, uh, he prefers company of a similar gender to him.” Eyvor muttered, finding a spec of dirt on the ground remarkably interesting.

“Oh, ohh,” Sophia comforted her buxom sibling patting her on the back.

Eyvor captured the hand and started to lead the small elf towards a house very similar to the one she currently owned. It was a simple, sturdy wooden construction, the roof giving off a slight sheen of magic to protect it from the rain. Inside there was a small kitchenette and living room with a single bedroom off from it.

“Not too different from my own just missing a bedroom.” Eyvor idly commented before a sly grin grew on her face, “Not like you two will need that.”

Sophia gasped and swatted the older girl, “Hush.”

“I know you guys came from a different world but your reactions to sex are just so innocent,” The dungeoneer cooed.

“Shut up!” Sophia groaned.

“Though with how much you two were going at it at the orphanage maybe I need to rethink that.” Eyvor thought out loud.

“B-But we didn-” The blonde began, her face flushing to a bright red, but she was cut off.

“-Honey, you may have muffled sound through the walls, but I was feeling the vibrations through the floor.” Eyvor wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “How hard do you two go at it?”

“Wha-No. Tha- I don-” Steam was rising from the enchanter’s head as her words tumbled out of her mouth, her hands trying to cover her face.

Their sister’s eyes began to glaze over, “I mean just getting absolutely nailed by her. Held down by her strong arms as you’re just used.” A full shiver went down Eyvor’s body.

“She’s mine,” Sophia expressed adamantly interrupting the girl’s sexual ruminations, surprising herself with the amount of emphasis she had.

Eyvor shook herself out of the trance, “Oh I know. You two have been together since you got here. But a girl can wonder sometimes.” She finished wistfully.

Ursula came in with the headmaster her eyes nearly screaming at Sophia, begging for the girl to save her as the old man was waxing on.

“Yes, these lands were actually the location of the original settlement of this city but since then it has obviously grown and living in such close proximity to the dungeon was not required to the same extent. The architecture is facinat-”

“Sir while we’d love to hear about it. We do have to get back to the orphanage for what will be our last dinner,” Sophia interjected, much to the visible relief of her lover.

“Right, I suppose I should be heading on my way as well.” The old man shot Sophia a grin.

“I’m willing to cook for everyone if you want. I have enough.” Eyvor offered.

Ursula, standing behind the eagle animan, shook her head rapidly and she quickly joined together their connection to send out, ‘If I have to hear the word buttress one more time, I’m going to explode.’

But the pure temptation of a meal other than gruel hooked within the blonde’s mind and she looked pitifully at her partner, ‘But food.’

‘I’ll cook you anything tomorrow.’ The blacksmith promised desperately.

Sophia perked up and strode to the door, “Sorry Sis, but we just can’t not have our last meal there with Rosalind. Maybe we should have dinner the day after tomorrow, after Ursy and I have settled in?”

Ursula rolled her eyes at the blatant greediness but held her tongue and followed her paramour out.

Back at the orphanage they were greeted by the dinner rush in full swing. There were still a few bowls and glasses of milk laid out for the stragglers, so they grabbed a few and settled down on Rosalind’s table at the back of the room.

“It’s time then?” Rosalind asked them, still focusing on her children happily digging into their food.

Sophia sighed, “Yes. The headmaster found us a place right next to Eyvor’s if you can believe it.”

They both saw their mother relax into her seat as a relieved smile made it onto her face, “We’ll say goodbye tomorrow morning. For now, enjoy your evening.”

Hearing the dismissal, the pair found an empty table and settled in, taking a moment to watch on as kids ran about the room shouting and running headfirst into furniture. The sheer noise reverberating through their bodies.

“Fuck. It’s weird but I will miss this.” Ursula muttered pensively.

Sophia hummed in agreement as she leaned into Ursula, resting her head on one of her boobs.

They remained there well until everyone else had gone to sleep.