Growing Up Fast.

After their fateful meeting that night just outside the village, Scarlet took a keen interest in Nik, and the two of them ended up becoming close friends. What Scarlet had said turned out to be true; she was quite literally acknowledged as Aran's favorite child, which showed how respected she was. Everyone knew of her prowess, and even as she had just entered her 13th year, she had already made a name for herself as a quite the accomplished hunter and fighter. She seemed almost destined to become one of the top fire-caste warriors once she reached adulthood. Aside from her combat prowess, her beauty was also bewitching, many young males had already approached her about becoming their wife after her proving, only to be soundly rejected. It still threw Nik how similar she looked to the star star goddess Lena he had encountered before reincarnating. Not just her face, but even her figure and even her mannerisms and slight gestures, she was a near exact match to the being he remembered. It couldn't just be pure coincidence, could it?

Anyway, Scarlet suddenly spending time with a scrawny kid like Nik quickly became hot gossip among the youths, earning him envious glares and jealous sneers from his male peers. Apparently, Scarlet wasn't very approachable to others, so the fact that she grew so close to Nik so quickly was quite the scandal.

When Scarlet and Nik were together, they'd go exploring outside the village. He felt completely comfortable around her, enough so that the naive youngling act he had developed over the years so he didn't stand out too much naturally fell away when she was around. He could finally just be himself, without fear of scaring her off with how advanced he was mentally, and she took the discovery of his true self in stride. He never told her he had reincarnated from another world, but she somehow just understood he was fundamentally different to all other kyn. The two of them would usually spend hours together every day, where he'd talk about all his ideas and plans, while she'd teach him about fighting and hunting. Nik had found from their fight, that the martial arts he had learned in his past life had not translated well with his new body; he was still a kid after all.

Scarlet was lively and vibrant, as fierce as any of the beasts she hunted. She was smarter than most would probably give her credit for, and they would often wax philosophy, which she was surprisingly conversant in. Being seven years older, he knew that she'd be taking her proving soon, although she seemed so confident in the outcome and never seemed to train for it.

What was the proving? It was a rite of passage for younglings at the age of 13, where they climbed the mountain, following the instinctual call all younglings had. They'd be gone for days, sometimes even weeks, but once they came back down they would be forever transformed and were officially recognized as adults and full members of the clan. 

"Aren't you scared?" He had once asked her once as they gazed at the sunset, from a treetop

"About?"

"The proving is a few weeks away," Nik said, "the other younglings from your generation are all busy training and preparing."

"It's basically a survival trial," She shrugged, "And no one's better at surviving than me. I even have the scars to prove it,"

"But what if you're not ready when it comes?"

"Then I'll be dead and we'll know I wasn't as ready as I thought I was," she smirked, "the thing all these other kyn don't get is that no amount of training and practice is going to prepare us for what we are going to face, our fate is in the hands of the ancients; only they decide whether we're worthy to live or not."

That was a pretty bleak outlook, but upon further thought, Nik decided it suited her to a T, she wasn't the kind of person who would fret over the future, she liked to let things fall where they may, in other words; she was quite lackadaisical… but things also somehow tended to work themselves out, so maybe she was onto something.

A month later, Scarlet, along with the hundred plus other younglings of her generation, began their proving and left for the mountains. Nik remembered seeing her off, the confident yet excited look in her eyes as she blew him a kiss before she and her peers disappeared into the forest.

It wasn't for another eight days that the first of them returned, and as time went on, more and more of them began to trickle back. There was always a certain amount of risk during the proving; it was very rare that someone came back from their climb unscathed, and it was all too common for initiates to not come back down from their climb, getting lost and dying on the mountains was an expected outcome for the unlucky ones. The proving was basically Darwinism at work; survival of the fittest, with only the 'strongest' of each generation allowed to reach adulthood and become full members of the clan. Only about a quarter of them are expected to return.

Scarlet returned over two weeks later, she was among the last of the survivors to return. The longer one stayed up in the mountains the less likely they were to survive, but those who manage to endure the longest often become the strongest of their generation. During her welcoming feast, she laughed at the stories of others who had come back before her, mourned those who did not return, and displayed the power of her fire blessing, she then declared her second name; Redgrave, same as her mother. After their proving, newly matured Kyn are granted a unique ability or technique known as a 'blessing', these are said to be gifts from the ancients and manifestations of the user's soul. From what Nik understood, kyn blessings were accompanied with physiological changes as well, and came in all types, from enhanced superhuman capabilities, to manipulation of the elements, to even evolutionary mutations. The second name was a personal choice for each kyn, taken upon maturity to reflect their fully realized selves; some picked made-up names, some took names that reflected their blessings, a few took on the names of fallen comrades or respected elders as a way to remember them. It was symbolic of them establishing their own identity within the clan.

After her proving, Scarlet didn't change all that much, but the difference was still evident. She had finished maturing, and her body had filled out completely, giving her a perfect hourglass figure, her skin had become an even deeper shade of red, her red horn had grown out, like it did with all adult kyn, blue hair had sprouted from the tip of her tail, and she had developed her mystic circuits, unique metamorphic markings on adult kyn following their proving. All in all, she had a much more mature aura about her, though that didn't do anything to curb her fiery personality.

Once the party had died down, and she returned to her yurt, she had allowed Nik to study her mystic circuits in private.

"It's beautiful," he exclaimed as he studied the markings that now ran up her arms and shoulders, they contrasted beautifully against her red skin, and in the shade, the circuits gave off a bioluminescent glow that made them look ethereal. It was mesmerizing.

"It's indescribable when it first activated," she commented dreamily, "it's like there's always been this missing piece of you that you never knew about, but then it finally clicks into place, and just like that; you're made whole for the first time in your life."

"That sounds intense," he mused.

"It was… enlightening," she said cryptically, staring intently at the stars in the night sky.

"You alright?"

She looked through him for a second, the pure blue set in deep black pools looked so distant and lost, then they focused on his, and she was back.

"Yeah, just, the experience can changes how you see things. Enough about me," she said, forcing a grin, "tell me about you, what've you been up to while I was gone? I hope you didn't get too lonely without my dazzling presence?"

Nik knew she was deflecting the question, but decided to give her the time she needed, for the rest of the night, the two of them laid down and watched the stars.

Even before her proving, Scarlet was one of the most skilled apprentice hunters in the clan, afterwards, it was like she'd become an idol. It wasn't just because of her newly awakened power over fire and prominent rise in standing among the fire-caste that made her so popular, but also because of her beauty. Scarlet had always been a looker, and her charm seemed to have intensified. She had a lean and athletic build, with long legs and strong arms, not to mention her generous bust and wide hips complemented by a narrow waist. Her elliptic face and big eyes were alluring, and her wild long vibrant blue hair paired with her red skin gave her a unique quality. She still attracted a following of wannabe suitors, all asking for her hand, but she rejected all proposals without exception or explanation.

With Scarlet now fully integrated into the clan social structure, she encouraged Nik to also apprentice in one of the castes. Though she was obviously partial to the fire-caste, she actually advised him to try for the earth-caste, honing his skills as an aspiring engineer into something more practical and concrete. With their new obligations, the time they could spend together was reduced, but they still maintained a close relationship; Nik was still the only person Scarlet seemed to genuinely connect with, and Scarlet was still the only person Nik could be himself around.

Then one day…

"Your proving is in just seven years, so we have time," Scarlet told him one day, "that's what all the other younglings like you are probably thinking, but you're different; your prep starts now."

"Alright," he acknowledged rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as she'd just barged into his room early in the morning to make that declaration.

"Willa," Scarlet called to his mother

"What?" she replied, from the other end of the yurt

"From today onward Nik will be living with me," she declared, "I'll raise him to be the greatest kyn in the clan."

Willa scowled at her, "I appreciate the offer, but I think he's fine where he is," she said, "his place, as a youngling, is with his mother,"

"He's special, and he needs someone special to look after him,"

"Are you saying I'm not enough?" Willa accused

"You know that as long as he's with you, he's options are limited," Scarlet scolded, glaring at his mother, "if I train him, I can improve his standing in the clan,"

"If you so desperately want a child, why don't you make your own?" Willa glared back, "I'm sure every male in the clan would love to mate with you, so stop trying to steal my son."

The two women glared at each other, obviously there was history between them and they didn't really care for each other. Nik thought about intervening to try and resolve whatever beef they had, but he ultimately decided against it; their rivalry was kind of fun to watch.

"Nik," Willa barked at him, "you want to stay here with me, don't you?"

From her tone, that was more of a rhetorical question than her seeking his opinion. She wasn't a bad mother, she indulged his eccentricities and let him pursue his interests most of the time, aside from Scarlet, she was the only other person who knew what he was even remotely capable of. The problem was that, although she tolerated his peculiarities, she just didn't understand him, and that somewhat strained their relationship. She also held secrets, Nik could tell, but he respected his mother too much to pry, but those secrets represented a wall between the two of them. Nik knew that someday they could learn to understand each other fully, but Scarlet and him already did. She was open-minded enough to nurture his creativity and ingenuity. Did Nik really want to wait to get to that point with Willa if he was already there with Scarlet?

"Sorry, mother," he started, already feeling guilty when he saw they utter shock on her face, "right now, I think it's best if I stay with Scarlet, it's closer to the smithy."

"I see…" was all she said as she walked away.

Hours later, Scarlet and Nik had finished clearing out his belongings and moving them to Scarlet's accommodations. Her place was not as large as Willa's, it was a hanging yurt on one of the higher levels of the village, built into the mountainside and overlooking the village square. It was just big enough to house one person comfortably… at a stretch, two could live there.

"Excuse the mess," she said as she led Nik inside, "I don't entertain guests."

"Not even father?" Nik asked

"We meet from time to time," she shrugged, "but he isn't exactly the type to stop by for small talk."

Nik felt a twinge of jealousy at that comment. He could count the number of times he'd met their father on one hand, yet Scarlet got to see him a whole lot more. Her status as their father's favorite was not just for show.

"So where's my room?" Nik asked as he surveyed the interior.

"We'll be sharing a room," she replied, "I don't have any extra space, sorry."

One section of the interior was cordoned off, and Nik assumed that was her… or now their room, the rest of the interior was open space, with racks against the walls holding up a wide assortment of items, from weapons to clothing. Going to the room, Nik set up his futon on the opposite side of the room from hers and went about storing away what few clothes and other belongings he had packed.

"From this moment begins the next phase of the rest of your life," Scarlet declared, slapping him across the back as he unrolled his futon. "Best be prepared, 'cuz I'll run you hard. We'll sleep together, eat together, bathe together and train together. When you aren't busy at the smithy, your every waking moment will be dedicated to unlocking the inner potential hidden inside you. Any questions?"

"Yeah, when can we go and eat?" Nik asked, moving had taken a good chunk of the day and had really worked up his appetite.

"Yeah, we should go and get dinner," Scarlet said, patting her own rumbling stomach, "Let's go, the hunters should've brought back some grub by now."

Sometime later, after a communal dinner of venison stew, held in the village square, Scarlet and Nik sat at the table in her yurt, with two cups of honey mead before them.

"Nothing like a good drink after a hearty meal," Scarlet sighed, still picking her teeth from dinner.

"Am I allowed to drink this?" Nik asked, it was syrupy sweet with a spicy aftertaste, unlike any alcohol he had ever tasted in his previous life.

Scarlet just shrugged, "I think it's fine. Alright, time for bed,"

Outside the yurt, night had settled in, the moons hung high in the night sky. Nik put away their cups and the mead, and followed Scarlet into their room, where they promptly began stripping.

Nik stared openly as her naked form entered his view, and she didn't seem to mind. Once he had settled into his futon, he discovered Scarlet had pushed her futon next to his, and now she was staring at him.

"Uh, hi?" he offered awkwardly

"Let's not make it awkward," she said, "we're both naked and we're sleeping next to each other, no need for it to be weird. Besides, nothing's gonna happen anyway."

Nik didn't know whether to be by relieved or disappointed by her declaration "of course,"

"I mean; you're still a youngling." she elaborated, "you're a child, I'm an adult. Anything happening between us would shame us both."

"You're absolutely right" he sighed, turning his back to her.

"But that doesn't mean something can't happen after your own proving," she cooed softly

Nik's eyes widened, he turned around to look her in the face, "Wh-what does that mean?"

She gave a playful smirk that he could just barely make out in the gloom, "Just something to think about," she stifled a yawn, "Well, goodnight."

That night, Nik found it difficult to go to sleep as her words danced in his mind with all the possibilities.

The next morning, they awoke at the crack of dawn, before the sun had fully risen over the horizon, Nik was still groggy from having a restless night, but Scarlet still made him do morning training for about an hour until the sun came up.

After their morning workout, they'd worked up quite a sweat, so they proceeded to the riverbanks near the village, where there was a communal bathing area had been established. It consisted of a series of small cascading waterfalls that emptied into a large pool basin at the bottom, before continuing on down the river. The waterfalls served as showers, while the pool underneath acted like a shallow bath, often visited by many wishing to bathe themselves and wash their clothing. At that time of morning, the bathing area was sparsely occupied, so Nik and Scarlet experimented with her blessing to create a hot shower by heating the water coming down the falls. Nik was already familiar with the sensation of a hot shower, but feeling it for the first time in this new world was a welcomed experience, if only they loofahs. Now washed of the morning and reinvigorated, they got dressed and proceeded to have breakfast.

After breakfast, Nik proceeded to the smithy, which had been built into the mountain, in a cavern connected to an underground magma flow. It was truly a sight to behold, furnaces and forges utilizing lava that flowed through a complex system of channels and pipes, powering ancient gears and mechanisms that aided the process of smithing and crafting. Nik figured that some of those complex mechanisms were used in the refining of orichalcum, and were most likely made from the strange metal as well. Once refined, orichalcum was a vibrant ivory colored metal unlike any other, it was particularly tricky to forge using conventional means, however the kyn apparently had a natural affinity that made it easier to work with. From what Nik could tell, orichalcum was at least several magnitudes sturdier than any metal he had encountered, plus it seemed to possess some other esoteric properties, which made him want to get his hands on some, but it was still too early for him to work with it.

When he'd first started, working at the smithy had proved to be taxing and strenuous, but once he got used to it, it was like he was in his element. Even if he couldn't use the miracle material, there were still an abundance of various mundane ores and minerals available to him, there were so many things he could make given enough time and dedication. It roused his creativity and innovation something fierce, especially when he got to work alongside other smiths and craftsmen of the clan. As an apprentice, he didn't have complete freedom to make whatever he wanted, but he was allowed to be creative with what he was instructed to make. 

Around the afternoon, after spending a few hours at the forges, he proceeded to the great hall in the village square, where the younglings received a basic rudimentary education on fundamentals like language, arithmetic, nature, the sciences, etc. The water-caste were responsible for the education and care of younglings, and consisted primarily of mothers. They were also the most proficient healers, utilizing fairly adept medical practices. 

There honestly isn't much they can teach him, so after about half an hour or so, he leaves the square, and meets up with Scarlet who would then personally train him until sundown, when dinner was called. They would then chat for a bit, before going to bed, and the day started all over again.

One morning, instead of going to the smithy, Scarlet took him on an excursion out into the dense forests that surrounded the village. Following the river, they came across a secluded grotto in which stood a large black monolith so overgrown with dense foliage that it was almost perfectly blended into the natural landscape. Nik had seen similar black monoliths around the village, though those ones were intact, this monolith looked aged and weathered. The monoliths were made of some kind of obsidian, the same glassy volcanic rock that Nik knew of from his past life, though this obsidian seemed different from the one he was familiar with, probably due to the unique environment that was the Gravelands.

"I found this place a few years back," Scarlet said, "while I was out on a hunt,"

"I wonder why this monolith was abandoned?" Nik wondered "Or why no one else has found it?"

Examining the monolith, Nik saw that the surface was covered in ancient script, similar to the writing on the monoliths at the village, though the surface of this monolith was badly damaged, with cracks cutting through some of the faded writings, while other parts of the script seemed to have been scratched over. Whatever was recorded on this particular monolith was essentially all but erased from history.

The monolith also didn't feel as active as the ones in the village. Those monoliths, that were cared for by the shamans of the clan, had an energy to them, that felt connected to the land, however, this ones was inert, dead. 

"It's the same writing I've seen on the old mechanisms at the smithy," Nik noted,

"Obviously, that's ancient script, the language of our ancestors," Scarlet informed him, "only the shamans of the spirit-caste are taught to read it －since they use it in their sorcery－, but every kyn can recognizes a few characters." Scarlet smirked,

"That isn't the coolest part though," she said as she placed her hand on the monolith, her mystic circuits reacted, and the glyphs that were still intact shimmered with the same radiance. There was a faint hum in the air originating from the monolith, as it was reawakened.

"This is…?" Nik said stepping back, he could sense a shift in the air current,

"These monoliths resonate with the power of the Gravelands, the same power that flows within us," Scarlet said, "You wouldn't notice with the ones from the village, but these ones have been forgotten, starved of that power, so you notice when they resonate once more."

"And we resonate with everything in the Gravelands?" Nik recited

"Yes, which is why this is such a prize," Scarlet explained, pulling out a knife strapped to her back, just above her tail. It was a dagger with a flat, square blade made of pure orichalcum, the alabaster metal took on a reddish luster in her hands.

"A Champion's Blade," Nik gawked, admiring the knife

"Thought you'd like it," she smirked ruffling his hair, "that knife was gifted to me by our father after my proving, in recognition of my greatness."

"Wow," Nik marveled,

"It's been inscribed with the same ancient glyphs by the shamans, allowing me to do this." Scarlet said as she flicked the dagger at the monolith. The blade sank into the surface of the glassy rock with relative ease, and then as she pulled it out, she was able to carve a smiley face into the monolith as if it were wet clay. She then handed the blade to Nik.

"It's supposed to be the greatest honor to receive a Champion's Blade," Nik said, inspecting it before handing the dagger back to her, "why would you give this to me so easily?"

"Because I have no doubt that you will claim one after your own proving," Scarlet winked, "plus, I don't really care much for ornamental status symbols; they're just trinkets,"

"That is no mere trinket," Nik commented

"I know, which is why I still have it on me," Scarlet said, "this is a weapon fit for a great kyn warrior,"

"I hope I can be a fine warrior like you," Nik said

"You won't," Scarlet said bluntly 

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," he sighed

"Don't get me wrong; you're strong, and good in a fight, but your place is not in the fire-caste, fighting on battlefields," she said, touching his chest gently, "Warriors like me follow, but you are meant to lead."

"You really think so?" Nik asked

She smirked, "Of course I know so, who do you think I am?"

"Uh, the greatest fire-caste warrior to alive?" Nik guessed

"The greatest fire-caste warrior to ever live!" she assured, pumping her fist in the air.

On their return journey, they were chatting casually, when Scarlet suddenly stopped Nik.

"What-?" Nik demanded, only to be silenced when she covered his mouth.

"Shh!" she shushed with a finger to her lips, she then pointed ahead of them.

Nik followed her gaze and examined the scenery before him, nothing looked out of place for a typical forest path.

Nik gave her a confused look, and she shook her head

"You still have so much left to learn." she sighed

Ahead of them, a deer broke through the brush, trotting on its way. Nik figured that this was what Scarlet had sensed, and that she wanted to hunt it, but she remained poised, her hand resting at her Champion's Blade, but making no move for the bow at her back.

Silently, Nik and Scarlet observed as the deer grazed on the grass, approaching one old tree stump that Nik hadn't noticed before. As it got close to the stump, the stump twitched only slightly before it struck. The stump's surface came apart, it's facade collapsing and deforming as the inner monstrosity pounced; about a dozen black spindly barbed tendrils shot out at the deer, ensnaring the startled creature in their grasp. The tendrils dragged the struggling animal towards the creature's main body, which was covered in an odd carapace made from pieces of the stump, the creature was large and amorphous with a dozen red eyes around its main mass and on its thicker tendrils. Nik didn't need to be told what this monster was, a mimic, a shape-shifting predator that was common in the Gravelands.

The tendrils around the deer began to constrict the poor creature, cracking bones and crushing its innards even as it struggled and cried, then from its main mass, a large maw opened up, as it began to devour its prey, ripping and tearing into the deer carcass with its flesh rending teeth and tendrils.

"Stay here!" Scarlet commanded, then jumped from their cover and charged the feasting monster.

Some of the mimic's eyes locked on Scarlet and it shot a few tendrils at her, but she drew her Champion's Blade and it instantly ignited as she slashed at the approaching appendages, cutting through them.

The monster let out a pain-filled shriek as its whole form undulated with outrage. It began to move, though, whether to attack or to retreat, Nik wasn't sure, but Scarlet didn't give him much time to find out, as from her other hand, she shot out a stream of fire at the monster burning it and enduring more of its screams.

Once she had gotten to its main mass, she leapt onto it as the mimic sudden sprouted long spindly legs and tried to scurry away. The monster tried to throw her off, but Scarlet grabbed on to one of its tendrils and drove her burning blade deep into its main mass, she then proceeded to stab it repeatedly about a dozen times, as she continued to burn its exterior with her flames.

Finally, the creature stopped struggling and collapsed, only then, did Scarlet allow herself to be thrown from it, landing not far from where Nik still watched.

"Mimics are vile, wretched things," Scarlet spat, "they hide using their deceitful powers and only strike once their unsuspecting prey has wondered too close. If we find one, we kill it as soon as possible, before it can change its shell and hide once more. Thankfully, it was only feeding, they are far more dangerous when they breed."

"These things breed?" Nik wondered, looking at the odd creature that still continued to shudder even as Scarlet's fire consumed its wooden carapace.

"They do," she sneered, "when they are ready to breed, they capture females and implant their eggs into them, then drag them someplace dark and damp to keep as the eggs gestate and grow inside their womb, before bursting from them. They then becomes the offspring's first meal."

"Ancients above," Nik cursed, that sounded like a horrible and lengthy experience for whatever female they caught.

"We slay them whenever we find them, so that no kyn suffers such a fate." Scarlet said, examining the remained, "It was a small one, probably on its first solo hunt. The rest of its hive is probably not too far away, and would've heard its cries. We need to leave."

"Shouldn't we wait and kill the rest of them?" Nik asked

"We?" Scarlet scoffed, "they can disguise themselves as almost anything, and take trained fire-caste warriors to slay; you are still an inexperienced youngling. When we get back to the village, I'll report this, send a team out to slay the rest of the hive."

As they left, Nik gave one more look to the slain beast, curious about its shapeshifting abilities and how he could exploit it in the future.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nik and Scarlet's days went on mostly the same, though there were times where Scarlet's responsibilities took her away from the village. The warriors of the fire-castes would often be sent out on one mission or another by their elder, beyond just hunting for food and slaying the occasional monster that was too close to the village, every once in a while there was a conflict with warriors from a rival kyn clan, and sometimes there were always encounters with the elves that lived at the border of the Gravelands. These events were few and far between, so life was pretty consistent in the clan.

A year after he started living with her, Scarlet introduced Nik to five other younglings from his generation; three girls and two boys. They were also going to be trained by Scarlet alongside Nik, as sudden as that was. Their names were Lok, Wen, Kite, Kaya, and Yzma. Nik suspected that this was a ploy by Scarlet to introduce him to more kyn his age to socialize with, turns out his mother was actually the mastermind of this particular plot, and Scarlet agreed. It was a bit of an adjustment at first to get them to work together, but eventually the six of them got accustomed to each other and became fast friends. Kite and Kaya were twins, a rarity among the kyn, and looked so much alike, it was sometimes difficult to tell one from the other. Lok shared Nik's curiosity and wanderlust, he was excellent outdoors, quite cunning and resourceful, though he had a bit of an ego on him. Wen was strong, probably the strongest out of all of them, and she knew it, but she was also very creative and liked to make things with her hands, she had also become an apprentice at the smithy, taking up the role of Nik's engineering rival. Yzma was a quiet girl but incredibly intelligent, with an inquisitive mind, and was fascinated by Nik's ideas.

As the weeks turned into months, and the months to years, the six younglings grew bigger, stronger and faster. Around 11 years they were pretty much at the height of their adolescence and were developing accordingly. Kite and Kaya still looked almost identical, especially since they liked to dress the same, and would often try to pass as each other just to mess with people. The only way to differentiate them were that Kaya's breasts -although modest－ were still evident, though it meant having to grope them to tell. Wen had really bulked up once puberty hit, she had gotten buffer from all the time she spent at the smithy, pounding iron, one of her horns had broken during a smithing accident, so she had a stump on her left temple. Lok grew taller but didn't really build muscle, he had proven himself to be an excellent beast tamer and hunter, having a way with animals that frankly baffled most others. Yzma was more of an intellectual, spending a good bit of her time with one book or other, sometimes she was off learning from the shamans, she had also grown into quite the beauty herself, with a refined noble grace that was a rivaled Scarlet's wild amazon charm. Nik grew like everyone else, building muscle from all the time he spent at the smithy, but not as much as Wen, he had cut back on his time at the smithy. He was still just as smart and inquisitive, and there wasn't any deeper change to his personality, as he was technically the oldest one there mentally.

They'd grown closer as they grew up, and grew to trust each other with their lives. Though, one thing Nik hadn't expected during puberty was this increase in libido. Mind you, Nik was always a bit lecherous as a kid, what young boy with an aged mind wouldn't be, but even he was caught unawares by it, sex was constantly on his mind, and Scarlet didn't helped things, she teased him almost nonstop with her sexy body that had barely aged a day from her proving; always walking around naked in the yurt, getting extra touchy-feely. Of course, she never let anything happen since he was still a youngling, much to his growing frustration. What made it worse was that, her knack for teasing seemed to have rubbed off on the other girls too, as they would do almost everything in their power to make the guys suffer.

In their 12th year, the younglings officially became initiates, and would started preparing for their proving. As is customary, Scarlet became the mentor for the six of them, responsible for preparing them for their climb, although it wasn't much different from what they had been doing for years now.

"Climbing the Sacred Pyres is the first turning point of your lives," she started, "it is where you enter into adulthood as proud members of the clan. This is not without risk, as the path ahead of you is littered with the fallen that came before you."

"So what should we expect when we make it to the top?" Kite asked

"I can't tell you that," Scarlet replied, "but your kyn instincts will guide you to your destination during your trials,"

Scarlet currently had her six students out with her as they explored the riverbanks, near the forgotten grotto. This was a favored place to train because it was secluded and private.

"I'm not here to prepare you for what you will face when you reach the end of your proving, I'm here to make sure you don't die on the way."

"And how likely are we to do that?" Nik asked

Scarlet gave a proud smirk, "always asking the questions no one else thinks about, that's my Nik." She gave him a wink, "to answer; you are all VERY likely to get yourselves killed without proper planning. The mountains are home to all kinds of monsters, like wild wyverns."

The younglings shivered, wyverns were no joke. Nik had seen a few from afar and the best he could compare them to was a velociraptor mixed with a pterodactyl. They were the alpha predators of the Gravelands that lived high in the mountains, but every so often, a few flew down to hunt. There had even been a few wyvern attacks in the village in the past, so the finest fire-caste warriors were said to be comparable to wyverns in strength and fighting power. An adult wyvern could grow to be about four times the size of a horse, and some even possessed abilities similar to kyn blessings, which made them even more dangerous.

"D-did you face a wyvern during your proving?" Yzma asked

Scarlet replied with a long and hearty laugh at the young girl's question, "Are you daft? As soon as I even suspected I was near a wyvern I hid."

"But isn't that cowardice?" Lok queried

"Listen kids, I know you hear all these stories about how 'a true warrior faces his enemies and fights to the end', and 'bravery is honor'," Scarlet lectured, "but there is also honor in knowing when not to fight, because if a battle is lost and you still refuse to give up, then that is no longer bravery, it is stubbornness and foolhardy, and it can get you or others killed if you are not careful. Yes, there may be kyn who can fight a wyvern in combat and survive, but it is foolishness for a youngling like you to hope to achieve such a feat without a blessing."

All of a sudden, everyone turned towards the forest, as they heard rustling of bushes. They gripped their weapons, ready for a fight.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the lovely Scarlet Redgrave," a voice called lightly, as a new arrival approached the group. It was another kyn, he had pale skin and a two horns with a forked tail. Nik vaguely remembered him as one of Scarlet's would-be suiters that approached her at her yurt a few months ago. What was his name again? Milk? Chalk? Something that ended in an 'lk' for sure.

"Merilk Rinsler," Scarlet acknowledged, "what brings you here?"

"A few younglings asked me to mentor them for their proving," he explained, "I thought I'd bring them out here and regale them with stories of how I faced off against a group of fierce wyverns on my own climb."

Scarlet gave a knowing look to her trainees, who giggled and snickered in response,

"Oh really?" she said, with poorly-feigned skepticism, "please regale us as well with such an epic tale, I sadly never faced a wyvern on my climb and would love to hear all about your heroic exploits."

"Really?" he asked

"Indeed," Scarlet bat her eyelashes at him, "I find such an incredible feat so… attractive,"

Merilk grinned smugly, then then took a deep breath before he started to recited his tale "So there I was, on my way up, when suddenly I came across five of the foul beasts—"

"I thought a youngling without a blessing couldn't face a single wyvern and live, let alone five?" Nik interrupted, "if you were on your way up the mountain, doesn't that mean you hadn't finished your proving, and so didn't have a blessing yet, so how were you able to fend off against such fearsome beasts all by yourself?"

The group entered another round of hushed giggles after his interruption. Merilk's eyes then turned to Nik, glaring at him scathingly.

"So, you must be the returner the clan has been talking about?" He said coolly, "The child of chief Aran and his reclusive sister? The one who has all those weird ideas?"

"That's me," Nik declared,

"Hmph, not much to look at, are you?" Merilk said, "You are chief Aran's son, yet you carry none of your esteemed father's excellence, not like lady Scarlet here," he then gave a smug teasing chuckle, "are you sure your mother didn't spread her legs for some other male to relieve himself and then pass the child off as Aran's?"

Before Nik could even retaliate, Scarlet's flaming fist backhanded the haughty young kyn and sent him crashing into the river.

"I would advise in future you watch your mouth, Merilk," She growled, cracking her smoldering knuckles, "you were welcomed as a part of the clan many years ago, but if the wrong person had heard your comment just now you could find yourself exiled, or worse."

The look in her eyes made it clear what he could expect from 'worse'.

"Out of respect of such a valiant warrior and wyvern killer, I will forget your crass slander against the chief's favorite wife. But the next time I hear such talk from you or those of your ilk, I will hold you personally responsible. Am I understood?"

Merilk grunted as he waded out of the river, soaking wet, "Very."

"Good," Scarlet smiled condescendingly, "now run along."

Merik quickly moved on with the kids he brought with him, leaving Scarlet and her small group on their own.

The younglings stared at Scarlet in awe and silent admiration.

"I want to be just like you when I grow up," Kaya said

"Sorry to disappoint, but you won't," Scarlet chuckled, "you'll have to settle for being the best version of yourself,"

Scarlet then looked over at Nik,

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Nik said, "I know he was just talking crap, you don't need to worry about me."

She studied him briefly, tussling his hair, "people can be stupid that way, as you well know,"

"I do," Nik nodded. He didn't appreciate the jackasses rude comment about his mother, and while he did enjoy watching Scarlet put him in his place, Nik still considered setting the guy's yurt on fire later that evening, with him still inside it.

"We should be careful of that one," Yzma then warned, "I've heard stories about him from my sisters,"

"What sort of stories?" Kaya asks

"He's usually very active around this time of year when the proving is near," Yzma said, "He likes to find gullible young girls to deflower."

"What?" Kaya said,

"Yeah, he got a few of my sisters that way," Yzma explained, "He'd hang around them for weeks leading up to their proving, then once they finally said yes and he got what he wanted, he left them. He seems to only have an interest in virgins and sees every woman he's been with as conquests, and he likes to brag about his conquests a lot. I've heard he's actually sired a few children already from his many dalliances, but he refuses to take the mothers as his wives."

"What a scumbag," Wen sneered, "how has he remained in the clan?"

"His skills as a warrior aren't just talk," Scarlet acknowledged, "his speed makes him a threat, even to me… not much of a threat, mind you, but still enough to give me trouble in a fight."

"And now he wants us to be his newest conquests?" Kaya scowled, "I don't like him,"

Scarlet snorted, "I wouldn't be too worried, he's pretty harmless outside of battle. Sure, he's annoyingly persistent, and his taken name may be a little shady, but he's only goes after easy targets. Let that be a lesson to you girls; who you give your maidenhood is your choice, be sure that your first partner is someone you feel is worthy of receiving such an honor."

The girls each nodded, taking what she said to heart,

"Now c'mon," Scarlet instructed, "it gets colder the higher you climb on the mountains and I need to make sure you don't all freeze to death."