6 "Maybe... maybe we did need help..."

"How much does Hina know?" Aurelia asked softly, whispering into Emily's ear.

"Know about what, exactly?" Emily's voice was a murmur as well as she walked them down a hallway, another Hellfire spell muffling her footsteps. If you looked at her clothes- white sundress and cute stockings with boots- without taking in her blue skin or black eyes or feathery wings, she was just some cute countryside girl who lived in a forest cottage... but, disgustingly, her wings, eyes and skin color meant that she could never live with the others in this nation. That was why they planned to leave, if Aurelia understood correctly.

"How much does she know about how bad things are for non-humans? I mean, I know you must have told her... but does she get it? Does she get what could happen if she was captured somehow?"

"She knows," Emily answered immediately, but it was a few moments longer before she finished the thought. "I don't think she fully gets it, though, if you know what I mean. I mean, usually, heroes come from that other planet in particular, Earth or whatever, and I'm pretty sure Hina is no exception. On Earth, women can easily get most jobs, in a lot of places, and things like rape are illegal, and that's a law that they enforce. I don't think it's going to sink in for Hina until she sees what's going on for herself..."

Aurelia smiled knowingly. "You want to protect her from that, though, don't you. Honestly, are you okay sharing her with me? It's clear that you love the girl, and I don't want to cause any problems..."

"As long as she doesn't stop loving me, and she doesn't seem like the type to do that so easily..." Emily turned a corner, searching for any indication of a library. "I don't mind sharing. You figure half of anyone important and just about every male hero have a harem, it's not like it's frowned upon, and you saw the look on Hina's face as well as I did. Clearly, she's thought about it at least once or twice."

"Well, in that case..." Aurelia smirked. "What do you say, next time there's a good chance, we team up on her?" Emily snickered quietly, conveniently coming across a pair of double doors with a brass sign over the frame reading "Library: Keep Quiet!". She stepped inside, looking around as Aurelia did the same... but it was really a perfectly plain library, in most senses. The only notable difference was that the aisles were labelled with plaques reading things such as "theory", "elemental", "Illusion", and so on. Hopping off of Emily's shoulder, Aurelia returned to full size, so that she could carry a few books in the small satchel at her hip.

"What do you mean, exactly, by teaming up on her?" Emily raised a curious eyebrow, lingering by the door once she'd silently closed it behind them.

"Well, since she seems like such a sub, I say we hug her from in front and behind, wrestle her out of her clothes, and use both of our tails with her pinned between us~" Aurelia giggled. "It'd be a sweaty mess, but I think it sounds like fun, personally~" Ugh, she was getting a little turned on just thinking about it... Aurelia silently said thanks that she'd worn shorts under her dress, since usually she only wore panties underneath.

"It does sound like fun," Emily agreed. "Next time there's a good chance, then?"

"Next time~"

"I wonder how she'll feel about the whole, clothes being forced off, thing. I mean, I wonder if she likes it rough," Emily clarified, laughing almost silently. "Now, let's look for books. Beginner stuff, let's just choose out a book each, to start. Tomes last quite a while, with as many spells as they tend to be filled with. If you see anything that poses a threat, shout for me, right away." She was already moving off, headed toward an aisle labeled "Telekinetic".

Spell tomes were generally very short, for books, containing somewhere between five and twenty spells. The rest of the book would be filled with practice methods, ways of strengthening your casting... and then, in most tomes for beginners, there were also a few chapters on how to focus on holding onto your Mana, and diagrams to help. It didn't seem like Hina would need such help, considering how well she'd done before, but she should still start with beginner tomes while she learned the basics.

"I bet this would interest her..." Since she was a summoned hero herself, Aurelia thought as she picked up a tome titled 'Conjuration for the Fool' and flipped through it. The beginning spells were for things like small birds, or rabbits; nothing useful in a fight, and nothing that would stick around for long. Toward the end of the book, though, there were a couple of spells that required a bit more skill, the most complicated of which was summoning a Nekomata.

"Isn't that one of those cat girl spirit, things...? That's more advanced than I thought, but the book does start out simply enough... I hope this isn't a bad idea." Upon closer inspection; there were more spells than the usual, and more advanced than some; this was a book that anyone at any skill level could pick up and likely learn something. Deciding that this was a good book to take, then, Aurelia stowed it in her bag and headed off toward the aisle she'd seen Emily walk down.

It happened in a flash, and Aurelia was stunned. The library doors burst open, and she could hear other doors slamming open, somewhere. Standing in front of a bookshelf directly across from the doors she'd entered through, Aurelia was forced to dodge as two crossbow bolts rammed into the wood just over her head, listening to loud curses and shouts through her pointed ears.

"Damned DEMON!" A voice thick with rage screamed. There were soldiers charging forward, and she didn't have much time... archers were aiming, ready to turn her wings into Swiss cheese should she try to fly away. Thinking fast, Aurelia turned and bolted down an aisle, then leapt, climbing the bookshelf at the end. She gasped out loud as an arrow pierced her thigh, but managed to open the window at the top of the shelves and throw herself out anyway. She caught herself with her wings, panicking. The guards had only said 'demon', and not demons, so it was possible that they only knew about her... but, how?!

"Down here!" Aurelia focused past the red haze in her eyes and looked down. Somehow, Emily had already left the building, and was hunkering on the wall, again. Aurelia tried to land beside her, but tripped, fell... over the wall. There was mud at the bottom of the wall to cushion her fall, and Aurelia groaned as the arrow was forced further through her leg. Everything was a blur, a haze... and there was more screaming, now, more angry knights in the distance, getting closer...

"They said... demon... didn't see you," Aurelia slurred. Her leg didn't hurt, at all really, but she could tell that she was losing a lot of blood.

"Hang in there, Pervert Demon," Emily sighed. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the world, mud and grime splashing over Aurelia and Emily, and she fell unconscious, the hole in her leg screaming pain, suddenly.

~~~

"Here are your... partners," said the elf, dumping Aurelia and Emily in the dirt. His skin was like bronze, his hair a mess of blonde curls. Toned, lean body, and with deep blue eyes... objectively, the elf was a real looker, but Hina felt no attraction for him.

"What happened to them?!" The badger girl, naturally, had more important things on her mind.

~~~

How strong was the elf? He was able to walk with a girl on each shoulder as he led Hina toward a border town, or so he claimed, that was more friendly to non-humans since they were so close to Mir and conducted trade with them. As they walked, he explained. His name was Aerendyl, and he was a bastard half-elf, son of some noble or another and a commoner in central Starria, the primarily human kingdom they were trying to leave. Elves weren't viewed the same as demons, so his life had only been somewhat rough. The man had sensed massive amounts of Mana being used, which turned out to be the imperial soldiers tracking down a Devil and her companion, who they weren't supposed to talk about.

This had led him to Cloularth Abbey, where he'd met Emily, and practically dragged her out of the library. Going back for Aurelia, he'd been too late, as the Succupixie flew herself out the window, lucky that there was only one arrow embedded in her body. The knights chased the two Demons outside, and Aerendyl caught them by surprise. With Emily's help and his powerful magic, they'd manage to crush the knights; "Only because they weren't expecting me, though. Had they been better prepared, I'd have known better than to step in for even a moment. As it was, I didn't want to leave anybody to die."

So, once the knights were nothing more than corpses, he turned to find that Emily had collapsed as well; apparently, two stray crossbow bolts had pierced her chest. "Elves are famous for their healing abilities, though, and the bolts missed her heart... probably could have repaired a heart, but it was certainly easier this way. So I snapped your pixie's arrow and your Devil's bolts, ripped them out and healed up the wounds. I cast a spell to replenish their blood, but it takes time, so these filthy girls should wake soon.

"Now, we're headed toward Lop, a town just a few hours away from the border. They have a few inns, and baths, so these girls can clean off. Clothing stores, too."

Hina listened to all of this in silence, but once he'd finished, she spoke. The lights of a town were visible, through the trees; though Cloularth Abbey was situated in Central Starria, that actually meant the center of the continent, not the nation, and the border was less than ten hours walk from it. It was considered safe from attack and a good spot to situate the capitol near because of the Fae Forest.

"Thank you... but why are you helping us, Aerendyl? If you're expecting some sort of reward, I'm afraid we don't have much to offer."

"Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to help out some cute girls? No, sorry. I'm not hitting on you, I have a bad habit of making bad, flirty jokes." He laughed, and Hina realized she was starting to like this guy; like a buddy at school, though, in a way that was anything except sexual.

"I used to be a guy, and those girls... I don't know if they're into guys, but they're BIG into me, so that's not a good answer either way~" She laughed, her furry tail flicking against her calves. She was half joking too, since she wasn't sure exactly what Aurelia thought of her, but she made the joke anyway.

"You... used to be a guy? That's a story to hear, some time. No, I helped you because the humans in the Capitol got scared of me, and when it's humans, fear leads to hate. They chased me off, and I've been sort of a wanderer for months... I guess I just felt bad, seeing how you were getting the same treatment that so many others do, but I saw that for once, I could actually do something about it. I promise, I'm not going to try and get any of you on your knees, I prefer flings with cute village girls who'll miss me for months." His tone was playful, and he cast a smile back at Hina as they walked into a street, lined with houses. On a porch to the left sat two human men, drinking merrily... and all they did was wave, raising their bottles.

"Oi! Them girls hurt?" One of the men called.

"Not anymore, good sir!" Aerendyl offered a dashing smile to the men. "Dirty and tired, but not at all injured. I'm headed to the Salis Inn with them, so they can rest and bathe!"

"Then a good morning to ya!" The man shouted back cheerfully, and Aerendyl continued leading the way. Hina followed... he was a guy, but she wasn't going to get any kind of a hero crush. Even so... what a fucking bro.