The Despoiling, pt 2

Two weeks passed after her meeting Gaia in that place that was supposed to be within her soul. During that time she learned everything she could from Catori and Tayen quickly. For some reason she felt rushed, like events and time were speeding up and she was being left behind. And the dream, the nightmare plagued her every night now.

She learned that the place she went within herself, within her soul, was a meditation void within her own mind where she could commune with her Wells of Magic. At least, in her case that was what Catori and Tayen called them. For them, for Animals in general, they were called Chi Wells though by their descriptions of what each was and did, it seemed like it was two different names for the same thing. They assured her it was not, something about resonance and magic and Chi being like oil and water, they can reside in the same containers but they will never mix.

The sphere of red sun-like fire was her Spirit Well, or Mind, and when she returned the next time she found she could sense her own aptitudes of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They were all mediocre before Gaia's boosts which oddly enough she could also feel.

The sphere of blue rippling power surrounded by seven spinning rings of water was her Well of Power, and she could sense that it was nearly as deep as an ocean, and there seemed to be two layers to it. A deeper vaster ocean that's depths she couldn't quite quantify, and then a shallower layer that evaporated away on a monthly cycle. The vapor would rise up, be caught up in the spinning rings of water, and condensed before raining back down onto the surface of that blue sphere to start the cycle anew.

Catori and Tayen had explained this to her in great detail. The vast ocean was her life-essence, or life-span. Any magic she used that cut into this power would irrevocably shorten her life. The shallower water was her life-force. Life-force was her own reproductive ability. Magic requires power and sacrifice, and she must be willing to pay the price for its use. She could, of course, also use life-force contributed to her from her husband or any male she was willing to breed with to obtain it. However, using her own reproductive power would render her sterile for a month while using a males life-force could result in pregnancy if not used, or miscarriage if not used quickly enough. Hlina still shook her head at that. Why would anyone use such a power if the cost was so high?

The sphere of yellow-orange power surrounded and shielded by mismatched clods of earth was her Soul Well. What she sensed here was her Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. All of them seemed rather average until her boosts from Gaia that made her constitution seem ridiculously high.

Tayen and Catori were very interested in how detailed her meditation void was, and her sensations in the differences in her Wells of Spirit, Power, and Soul. Apparently they could only distinguish that the Spirit Well was the power of the mind while the Soul Well was the power of the body, nothing more.

Her second time visiting her inner world she found two lecterns down on the floor to the side of the massive boulder that took up most of the space in the center of the cavern. On top of each lectern was a large tome. The first one she opened seemed to be about her. Weird statistical data; her name, the names of her parents, her birth date and age, her height, weight, and even her measurements!

Thank goodness! She was eighteen, but why the hell did she need to know she was six foot two inches tall, or a hundred and fifty pounds? She could have lived the whole of her life happily never knowing her weight! And why in the world did she need to know that her measurements were thirty-six, twenty-eight, forty-three, and that she had b-cup breasts? She didn't need to know that! No one needed to know that!

Then there were her titles. Daniel's Mother. Mother of Gaia's Champion. World Traveler. Alleged Demon Child. Alvas' Blessing. Wild One. Bounty Hunter Killer. Forest Shadow. Avenger of Blood. Wolf Stalker. Earth Daughter. Espowyes' Bride. Lady of Wolves. Gaia's Oracle. Some of them, nearly all of them gave little boosts toward her Charisma. Either toward a specific person, or people, or just a general boost.

The tome on the second lectern seemed to be a book of spells, skills, and abilities. Flipping through its pages taught her more about what she could do than what Catori or Tayen could explain or teach. In truth, the dokkalfar religious traditions may have included priestesses and shamans she did not know, but all of her abilities had a very shamanistic flavor to them, such as: Zephyra's Lighting. Zephyra's Storm. Zephyra's Mark. Brigid's Strike. Brigid's Lash. Brigid's Mark. Gaia's Landslide. Gaia's Molten Fury. Gaia's Mark. Lauma's Rest. Lauma's Entangling Roots. Lauma's Glade of Rejuvenation. Lauma's Balm.

They all looked interesting and very helpful, but as she examined the spells she noticed that she could only use three of them; Zephyra's Lighting, Brigid's Strike, Lauma's Balm. It made her wonder why. If she was Gaia's Oracle, then why couldn't she use Gaia's spells first?

It was a question that still plagued her.

When the nightmares came again, it was more regular and worse, if such a thing was possible. It came to the point where she was waking up with screaming terrors. She woke Chenoa and Espowyes until she finally gave up on sleeping. Three days without sleep and exhausted, she finally told Tayen and Catori about her dreams.

"It sounds like a spirit vision," Tayen said as she mulled over the details of the dream.

Catori nodded before adding, "I think you must follow this dream. Walk the path your dream is leading you in. Otherwise the nightmares will never end."

"And there could be dire consequences," Tayen added with a nod of finality.

She sighed in resignation and nodded. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was follow her nightmare down into that dark dank cave.

——(!)——

Two more weeks to prepare for her trek to investigate the cave, and in that time Chenoa gave birth. Two boy cubs and two girl cubs. They were so beautiful. All four were a spectacular mix of father and mother. Espowyes named his sons Bidaban and Hotaama, the names meant 'He was born at the breaking of dawn' and 'He is gray-brown'. Chenoa named her daughters Awendea and Hinto, 'She was born early in the morning' and 'She who has deep blue eyes'. Everyone celebrated Chenoa's safe delivery and the children's successful births for the next five days.

Five weeks after Hlina's meeting Gaia, she found herself leading Espowyes, Wanageeska, and two of the chief's counsel, Ahote and Enyeto, to the tree where Alvas was buried. They had already seen and left behind the small cave where she grew up and lived for fourteen years. After months of nightmares, memorizing the quickest path from the Howling Forde Lupus Den back to her cave had been simple. It shortened the trek drastically. It irritated her a little how much shorter it had taken to reach her cave than how long it took her to find the Howling Forde Lupus Pack in the first place.

"Your mother was a strong and courageous woman," Wanageeska said as he knelt in front of Alvas' headstone, "I wish I could have known her."

Espowyes and the others nodded agreement.

"Thank you," She mumbled as she knelt down on both knees and put her hands to the earth above her mother's remains.

Everyone remained silent until she stood up again, and then it was Hlina that finally led the party away with noonday sun high overhead. Not that they could tell really, the sun was completely obscured by the dense foliage of the forest. It was well into the evening when they came upon the old campsite where she killed her mother's murderers. Nothing remained there now but bones partially covered over by dirt, leaves, and pine nettles.

Espowyes walked the old campsite with Hlina as she told him the story of what happened. He nodded along, but then shook his head in astonishment that she had only been ten years old. That night they slept beneath the same large tree she slept under so many years ago. Early the next morning, with the sun just cresting over the mountain peaks they set out again, this time north and east.

Five days later they stood just within the edge of the forest letting its deeper shadows hide them as they looked out across fields of pasture, corn, hay, and wheat. Though she was only two, Hlina had very clear memories of the forest coming right up to the village when her mother took her and ran. Now, the forest had been cut back a mile or more from the edge of the village and the roots removed to make the farmland before them. Hlina didn't know much of her dokkalfar heritage, but she knew enough to know that this was not her people's way. They lived in harmony with the forest, or so her mother had taught her.

"We can not go any closer to the village," Wanageeska whispered as he peered across the vast open fields being worked by tired looking dokkalfar women wearing baskets on their backs that offset large pregnant bellies, or a pack in the front to offset wraps that held babies on their backs, "If we go any closer we will be seen, and once that happens there will be killing. Bad business killing Primes, even when they deserve it!"

Hlina nodded before replying, "If my dreams are correct, then we don't want to go anywhere near that village anyway. Follow me. I have traveled this path many times in my dreams."

It was another hour to skirt around the village and remain unseen, then they were running further north. To Hlina it felt like she was walking through her dreams again, deja vu was an ever present shadow looming in the back of her head. She walked through forested mountain valleys until they reached a place she had seen a hundred times or more. A valley floor littered with the remains of men. A few bones showed here and there, sticking out of the ground. In her dreams the bones were always on top of the ground in full view. She wondered at the differences. As she saw them now she could tell they must have sat on the valley floor, exposed to the elements and grown over for the last twenty years or more. What was the significance in the differences between dreams and reality?

"The significances is that those bones were the bodies of your forefathers," A raspy voice suddenly spoke directly inside her head, "The men that came to your mother's village later and offered their help in return for taking your mother, her mother, her mother's mother, sisters, cousins, aunts, and friends as their wives and women. They killed the men of your village all so that they could manipulate your foremothers into accepting them, does that not make you angry? Does that not make you hate?"

Hlina froze in place as soon as the voice spoke inside her head. Espowyes, Wanageeska, and the others came to a halt and stared at her. Espowyes was the first to ask, "Are you well my love?"

Hlina's mouth opened but nothing came out, the voice was speaking to her again, "If those men had not killed the men of your village then your mother would have married a different man. You would have been born a full human, or maybe, not at all. Your father would not have tried to kill you. Your mother would still be alive. Does that not make you angry? Does that not make you hate?"

Espowyes took Hlina's hand in his and her grip tightened immediately. Overcoming her surprise, she was finally able to formulate a coherent thought out of all of the images flitting through her mind. Some were hers, others were transmitting into her mind just like the voice.

"Of course it makes me angry," She answered so everyone could hear. Espowyes looked at her askance but Wanageeska held up a hand to forestall his question, "Of course I hate those men. How could I not? But I can not do anything about the past. I have new people now, and that is all that I need."

"Then," The voice hissed in a half scandalized tone, "Daniel means nothing to you now? He dies, that fat cow deceives you into dying too, supposedly so you can reunite with your son, she deceived you into letting her mark you as hers, and now, what? You don't care that she is using you? Or, that you might never reunite with your… Daniel?"

She could feel whatever entity was talking to her in her head, flitting around in her memories, trying to use them to manipulate her. Grimacing, she looked at Espowyes and Wanageeska and said, "We are close. Whatever is in the cave is evil. It's talking to me in my head. Trying to manipulate me. I think we must kill it."

Espowyes and Wanageeska nodded solemnly, and they all spread out as they marched on toward the lair of the voice she could distinctly feel was absolute evil. The feeling it left in her head felt like black oil. It kept taunting her, and she ignored it.

Wanageeska gave hand signals as they prowled the last miles to the cave. Hlina may have led them here, this may be her expedition, but now that it turns out there might be fighting to do Wanageeska, the chieftain, the alpha, was in charge. When they were a hundred feet from the cave it didn't stink like it had in her dream. It didn't look as ominous either. It made her blink in confusion.

Wanageeska made the hand signal for everyone to move in. Men first. She was to wait until they cleared the cave or returned and signaled it was all clear. Wanageeska led the way and disappeared inside the dark maw of the cave first. Espowyes followed and then Ahote and Enyeto. Time seemed to drag by. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. When the sun had finally settled on the tops of the trees on the western mountain peaks Hlina hissed. She was supposed to leave. Run away as fast as she could. Go find help, if they didn't return.

But where could she run? Where could she find help? Besides this was the calling of her dream. Her nightmare.

Growling as she tried to stomp out the fear that nearly made her legs turn to jelly, she started towards the cave. Darkness enveloped her. She walked deeper. Air swirled around her. It almost felt like creatures were moving to surround her but they neither touched her nor made a sound.

"Welcome, child of Gaia," The deep rumbling voice grated in her head so powerfully that she staggered and fell to her knees, "Everyone thinks that Gaia is the mother of all things living, and, to an extent, that is true. But life is an expression of the power of the Creator. Gaia is merely the conduit through which he works…"

There was a long pause that left her shaking and her head throbbing before it continued, "Gaia is a conduit. If the Creator is the personification of life, then I am destruction. I am the personification of death!"

Another long pause before it bowled triumphantly, "And you, you will be my conduit through whom I work!"

Hlina screamed.

Eight sets of clawed hands grabbed her arms and legs and stretched her out spread-eagle over the blackness.

"Espowyes! Wanageeska! Ahote! Enyeto!" She screamed as she wriggled and fought, "Run! Run away!"

Something slimy touched her lower back just above her buttocks, then again on her back behind her heart, and lastly the back of her head. There was the faint sensation of a net of utter darkness being cast over her Wells of Spirit, Power, and Soul.

Darkness consumed her…

——(!)——

Darkness receded. It was a dream. No, a nightmare, but it was over now. Tears burst from the corners of her eyes and filled her eyelashes before running down the sides of her temples and into her long curly black hair. The nightmare was so real, it had been real!

Memories plagued her groggy mind. Memories of hundreds of human men, dokkalfar women, and mixed children dead. Torn to shreds. Ripped apart with arms or legs torn off and laying upon the ground several feet from torn and disemboweled bodies. Those that didn't die were diseased and moved with the rigid slowness of near death, but not quite. Animal dens, burrows, and villages flickered through her mind like a movie run in fast forward. Most of what she saw, she had no idea of what animal species the hybrids came from, and then came the memories of the attack on her own Howling Forde Lupus Pack. Men fighting and dying. Women and children running and being caught and dying or becoming part of the diseased.

She felt her stomach heave and she had to turn her head and puke. There was a faint glimmer of hope though. A small memory. A sight of Chenoa and her mother with babes in arms running, disappearing into the forest. Hlina hoped, oh goddess she hoped, that more than just the few she saw had gotten away. She opened her eyes, they cleared, and she saw… the most brilliant emerald eyes she had ever seen in her life.

"Hello," A concerned looking chestnut face said warmly. He smiled shyly as he brushed long golden hair out of his face and behind an ear before he continued, "I'm sorry if you find this situation reprehensible, but you were near death and my only way of healing requires… intimacy."

It was only after he said it that she realized that he was… naked. Looking down her body she saw that she was too, and he was on top of her. Her small breasts were still just large enough to press against his chest, she could feel the rhythm of his breathing in the way his belly moved against hers, and she could feel… a fullness… inside her and between her thighs.

Her eyes opened wide and she started to scream and push him away before her body went rigid and darkness swept in again.

——(!)——

It was done!

Grimacing, I pushed myself up and withdrew from the Oracle of Gaia. She was a very beautiful woman, and the horror and outrage in her face when she realized what happened! Shaking my head, I vowed to never do such a thing again. Well, after Tampa, I thought as the young diseased bos'taurine girl came to mind. Hopefully Glenna was able to cleanse and heal her, and I wouldn't have to do this again.

Standing up, I reached into myself and found the Book of Transformation and focused on the shape I wanted to take. Quebracho grew and shifted new woodland fiber clothes into an alfari-style as my body took on the shape of a hybrid-fox.

"Shahad! Coella!" I called, looking at both.

They hadn't gone far after I defeated the four shadow wolves and the strange other world shadow that seemed to be half in my world and half in some other dimension. After banishing the shadow creature back to wherever it came from. The Oracle of Gaia collapsed. I collapsed as well, exhausted by the sheer amount of magic surging through my body from Seline. A few minutes later when I awoke, it was with my head in Coella's lap while Shahad knelt over me giving me kisses laced with honey nectar.

They nodded at my call and I continued, "Run back to the den ahead of me. Make sure that the bears don't need help at the southern wall. I will take this woman to the infirmary, and check on Huxian."

They nodded again and raced away. One flying two feet above the ground as insect wings beat the air behind her so fast that they were nothing but a blur, the other running so fast that her long furry white legs were a blur as well.

Tired, I moved much slower. I still felt drained despite the honey Shahad shared with me. Picking the dark skinned woman up I was surprised at how solidly built she was. The walk back was… exceptionally tiring. Upon reaching the makeshift hospital I laid the woman in my arms down on a pallet and searched for Huxian. When I found her she already had a baby suckling on each breast. I gasped!

"Move aside and let us work," A surly old bear mother growled as she pushed me aside and placed her hands on Huxian's belly. A warm glow enveloped her hands. I could tell it was healing.

"What's going on? What's happening?" I demanded as my confusion steadily turned into concern, and then dread.

"Well you do sort of look like you could be a fox. Maybe you are the father," The woman grumbled as she gave me a thoughtful glance, taking in my hybrid-fox face and head, "This vixen is in premature labor. They usually give birth fifty days after impregnation. She's only around forty days, and she has only given birth to two cubs… so far. If we don't heal her, and them, she may lose them all!"

"What can I do to help?" I asked.

"Do you have any healing ability?" The old bear woman asked.

"Yes. Some. Not much, but I will do what I can," I answered in more of a panic than I sounded.

Two more bear women came and took the cubs on Huxian's breasts just as the old woman between her legs caught another babe in her hands. It was more like she held and pulled with such a grip that I nearly yelled at her to stop lest she squeeze the infant to mush!

Despite my fear of the woman's grip on my child's head. It's head didn't pop like a squashed grape. Soon shoulders, then arms, body, legs, and tail were out and the woman was gently placing the babe on Huxian's belly. A twitch of a sharp knife and the umbilical was severed, and then the old woman settled back and prepared for another babe to be born.

The old woman looked up at me, her face grim. My mouth hanging open dumbly, I stared at Huxian. Her face was contorted in concentration and pain. Her breasts heaved with her ragged breathing. Her belly moved as it tightened down in contractions. Her thighs were open exposing her swollen sex where our next child would come from. The third babe on Huxian's belly stretched as if thankful to no longer be in such a tight and restrictive space. Another young bear girl, working as a helper to the older woman, gathered up the babes nursing and passed them to two other women before moving the third to Huxian's breast to bond and suckle.

"Well?" The old bear woman asked, her voice thick with irritation, "You said you had some healing ability. Are you going to stand there gaping like a fool or are you going to save your mate and children?"

"I…," I started to say, but then swallowed and started transforming into my arboreal-form.

It was the old bear woman's turn to look stunned before whispering, "You're not an Animal?"

"I'm a Druid," I answered as my chestnut colored skin took on a wooden quality, my long wheat golden hair flipped up taking on a resemblance of wheat, and my emerald eyes began to glow. It looked more like green smoke that slowly ebbed out of the cracks in my walnut seed-like eyes with irises that resembled camera lenses.

Pollen shot up from my hair and mushroomed out for some thirty yards. All around the grass became greener. Wildflowers shot up out of the grass, grew to full maturity, and bloomed. The old bear woman sighed as lines of exhaustion I had failed to see lining her face seemed to melt away. Huxian shifted, and she settled back down with a sigh. Even the other women that were attending sighed.

The babies in their arms quieted, and one of the helpers whispered, "I… feel… like I've had a relaxing bath and slept for a week!"

"Yeah," The other woman agreed.

"Yes, very good," The older woman between Huxian's legs said, "An area of affect healing and restoration ability. Interesting."

Looking at me sharply with a secretive smirk she added after giving an appraising stare, "Well, you just keep that up. I feel my own energy's being restored, and if mine are, so are your mates, and the babies. With your help they just might all survive."

"Thank you," I said with a slight bow.

She nodded, and then looked back at Huxian and prepared to receive another baby.

——(!)——

The bear den grew quiet except for the occasional weak cry. Huxian was sitting up now, and looking radiant. She had a babe on each of her swollen breasts, and I swear I thought I could see the tiny things gaining weight by the seconds. Two nursemaid's came and joined us at some point. I wasn't sure when. I was too consumed with worry over Huxian, and staring in amazement as she gave birth to notice. Both nursemaids also had a babe pressed to each of their breasts.

The old midwife that helped groaned as she stood up and approached me. She had nothing but smiles for Huxian and her litter but when she turned to look at me her gaze firmed. She was old, but she was still a bear of a woman. Looming over me, she was head, shoulders, and chest taller. Standing flat footed, she could bury me in her cleavage with each bosom propped on my shoulders. She was twice as wide, and built thick. She pointed a long black claw at my wooden chest and poked me as she said in an undertone meant for only me to hear, "What are you exactly, Druid?"

"I am the son of a villalfar Druid and nottalflar Moon Priestess," I replied simply.

"You're a Prime?" The woman asked disbelievingly.

I nodded.

"What has happened today should not be possible," She said as she looked back at Huxian and the babies, "I would not have believed it possible if I hadn't witnessed it."

"It still isn't possible," I said, "I am an abnormality brought about by the blessing of the moon goddess Seline."

The old bear woman nodded as she cupped her shin with her hand and continued, voicing her thoughts as they occurred to her, "There will be those that will fall down and worship you as a god for what you have done. They might even worship her…" She nodded towards Huxian and then looked at the children, "...and some will worship them. But for every one that will want to worship there will be one that will want to kill you, her, and them for what you have done, and what they are."

"You are not the first to have said as much," I said as I watched Huxian as she caressed one and then the other babe on her breasts.

The old woman nodded as she gave me another weighty gaze before proffering her hand and introducing herself, "Tell me your name young man. Mine is Eferhilda. I'm the shaman of Earthmother's Den. You have already met my apprentice, Orsa."

My eyes widened in surprise as I took her hand before saying, "I have. She's a remarkable woman. My name is Viridian Vale of the Valelands.

Eferhilda smirked as she looked me up and down once more. Her dark brown eyes were mysterious, as she said, "I think you can transform now into your natural form. The vixen and her litter will be fine. If you please, come with me and let me introduce you to my husband, Fyrsil. He is the chieftain of our tribe and this Den. Let us talk of… suitable… compensation for your valor and aid to our people today."

I nodded and shifted back into my alfari-form. Quebracho whispered sweet nothings in my ear as she kept me clothed, and then I followed Eferhilda into the cave.

——(!)——

Coella marched up the rise towards the makeshift hospital. Shahad was with her, and for once not hovering a foot above the ground as her wings beat the air, keeping her aloft and producing a soft buzz sound. Instead she walked on her hybrid insect legs, and rolled her hips with every step so that her slightly swollen abdomen, black with pulsing orange bands, whipped back and forth exotically.

"Is it my imagination, or has your abdomen grown in the few hours since we left your hive," Coella asked nonchalantly as she kept walking.

"It has," Shahad answered simply, not contributing more.

The fighting on the south wall had stopped by the time they had arrived. The entire army of the dead lay upon the ground covering hundreds of acres, seemingly actually dead now. She could only think that with the separation of the creature from the realm of darkness from the woman that seemed to serve as its link to the Verdant Realm, and it's being driven back and the weird tear in reality closed, whatever was driving these infected was gone and with its absence those that were almost dead died. With the battle over, the living set about the forest cutting trees and erecting pyres.

Coella and Shahad had somehow gotten drafted into helping. They helped as they could until they were too tired to lift or drag bodies anymore. Released from service, they stumbled to the lake, washed off dirt and blood, and decided to go find Viridian and Huxian. There were many men and women lying about with injuries. Some were still while others groaned in pain. Silent or still, the shamans moved around healing as many as they could. Other shamans examined those that were thought to have been infected with the undeathly plague, but one by one those that were under guard were released.

Coella saw Orsa in that mix. She was one of the examiners. Approaching Coella asked, "What's going on?"

"A blessing from Gaia," Orsa sighed exuberantly, "The sickness that was infecting our warriors has disappeared! We delve everyone to make sure, but so far whatever that plague was, it is gone now."

"That is a blessing!" Coella agreed adamantly.

"The creature of shadow that was connected to the dokkalfar woman must not be of this world," Shahad sent via pheromone transmission.

Orsa nodded.

Looking toward the cave entrance Coella excused herself, "We are going to find Viridian and that… vixen, and see if she is well."

Orsa gave her a peculiar look but nodded as she pointed the way, "She is that way. She was giving birth last I saw, but I do not know if that is still the case now."

"Thank you," Coella said and turned to leave.

Shahad hesitated but then sent, "You're a mighty warrior yourself Orsa. It was my pleasure to have met you. When you are done, please seek us out. We would enjoy more of your company."

Orsa nodded and smiled, and Shahad ran to catch up to Coella before settling into her highly seductive, hip swaying walk again.

——(!)——

Glenna gasped when she felt the infection covering Tampa's body suddenly start receding and then disappear. Maha and Bartlett both gasped joyously. They all had been sitting by Tampa's bed eagerly awaiting Virdy's return.

Of course Maha and Bartlett's joining her had been well after Glenna left them some hours before. Glenna feared that the house was going to be shaken to falling in on itself in their fierce mating. Bartlett and Maha had bellowed so loudly at their peaks that Glenna had screamed and threw herself over Tampa! Once things calmed down and they finally stuck their heads into Tampa's room, both of them were blushing so fiercely that Glenna nearly laughed even though she was blushing nearly as hard as they were.

"What's happened?" Maha asked.

"I'm not sure," Glenna answered with a shake of her head.

"Maybe Tampa's body is beating the infection," Bartlett suggested, "Maybe they both would have gotten well on their own."

Glenna shook her head at the suggestion, "I… do not think so. When I healed Maha it took everything I had to cleanse and heal her. Whatever it was, it was killing your wife and daughter as surely as a knife in the heart. It was winning. It would not just simply stop, recede, and disappear on its own."

"Then, what do you think has happened," Maha asked.

Glenna shook her head as her four hands probed Tampa with Delve, "I am not sure, but I would hazard to guess that lord Viridian has something to do with it."

Tampa's complexion was pale, but her eyes fluttered open. In a dehydrated croak she asked, "Mama, what happened?"

Maha cried as she hugged her daughter fiercely, but it was Bartlett who was the loudest in his weeping. Both Maha and Tampa were soon making squealing sounds as they tried to breathe beneath his hug. Glenna felt tears sliding down her cheeks, but she paid them no mind.

When Maha and Tampa finally convinced Bartlett to release them, they sighed thunderously and Glenna used her two secondary hands to hold up her breast as she offered, "I offer the manna of rejuvenation so that you may regain your strength."

Tampa gave her mother an askance glance. Maha nodded and soon Tampa was suckling like she hadn't eaten in weeks, and indeed she hadn't. An hour later Glenna stood up and straightened her garments.

"Please stay with us until your Lord's return," Maha asked as she gestured for her to make herself at home.

"Yes, I owe you and your lord so much!" Bartlett implored with huge expressive gestures, "Until my debt is settled please think of my home as your own. If there is anything you desire, you have only but to ask!"

"Regretfully I must decline," Glenna said with a shake of her head, "I want to join my lord. I fear he may need my assistance. If you would help, I need a guide?"

Bartlett looked at Maha and Tampa. They all seemed to share a silent dialogue with only looks, and then he turned back and answered, "We will all go with you. I know that he was sent to investigate the bee queen's hive. From there…"

He shrugged his shoulders, uncertain where to go from there.

"If he is not there," Maha continued, "The next nearest village is Earthmother's Den. We can go there."

Tampa nodded, her face set and firm. Bartlett and Maha had told her of his contract with Viridian and Glenna. She was startled at first but then nodded and accepted the terms of the agreement, and that was how Glenna found herself setting out less than an hour later. Bartlett with a massive double-edged axe. Maha with a walking staff, and Tampa with a traveling bag full of clothes and necessities.

Bartlett wore a heavy belt that was nearly a girdle that protected most of his abdomen with thick red, blue, and yellow plaid kilt on a field of deep forest green. The heavy belt left his chest and arms bare. On his forearms were leather bracers with heavy iron plates.

Maha was much different. She wore what could almost be considered a heavy, creamy yellow, country dress. The top clung to her broad shoulders and dropped low in a large open square that bared a fair amount of copious bosom. Beneath the bodice she wore a red leather corset that snugged up under her breasts to bind her ribs and waist all the way to her hips. The hem of her dress fell down to her ankles leaving only cloven hooves visible and the long haired tip of her tail that gently wagged back and forth as she walked.

Tampa was dressed similarly to her mother. Her dress had a low square neckline exposing very generous cleavage. It was a bright clean white sewn with wildflowers and lover's knots on the bodice, the leather corset she wore was cut in the same style as her mothers but was a buff color, and the hem of her dress fell only to her mid-calf. Her tail wagged as much as her mother's did, but in her excitement it would also lift up bringing her skirt up with it high enough to show the backs of her thighs and the bottoms of her buttocks. That is, until she felt the draft of air and then hissed and smoothed her skirts back down. Other than her clothes and traveling bag, a thick belt cinched tight around Tampa's waist had many hoops and hooks for carrying cooking utensils, a skillet, a pot, and other items she thought she would need for cooking. The weight of her burdens was significant, but she paid it no mind at all. Everything she wore clanged with every step like she was a pack animal.

Glenna and her party were not more than halfway out of the village when Tsukino and Usagi ran to intercept them and prostrated themselves. When no one said anything, Usagi looked up just enough to see if Glenna was looking at her. It was Tsukino that talked first, "My lady Glenna, Oracle of the Moon, I beseech you…"

Usagi glanced at her companion and gave her a fierce glare. Tsukino coughed, and then continued as if nothing had happened, "We… beseech you, please take us as Initiates. Our village hasn't had a shaman for many generations. We ask that you train us so that we may then one day return and care for our people."

Glenna hesitated, but then she felt a warm tingle in her head only a breath later to sweep through her body and give her shivers in euphoric orgasm. It felt very similar to the prayers when she had first arrived. The sensations coursing delightfully through her body. Arousing her to an insatiable sexual need. Leaving her body by her head. Making her almost painfully aware of every floating black hair on her head before the prayers were absorbed by the replica moon hovering over her head. From there, she was sure those prayers found their way to Seline. However, this time, all of the sensations were in reverse! An intense joy. A mind numbing delight! It was coming from her goddess, from Seline, and in that instant she knew what was expected of her.

"Arise Tsukino. Stand up Usagi," She answered, "Seline has accepted your offer. I will teach you the ways of being a moon priestess, and when you return you will establish a shrine to the moon goddess Seline."

"Yes my lady," They answered in unison.

Glenna started walking again, following Bartlett and Maha. Tampa walked with her and gently probed for information about the man she was betrothed to. Glenna answered her questions in an easy, sultry purr as she gave the young girl, easily standing head and shoulders taller, weighing glances. Tampa would make a good mate for Viridian.

Tsukino and Usagi fell in behind and quietly observed and listened. It was well into the afternoon now. It would be well after dark when they arrived at the bee queen's hive and later still if they had to travel all the way to Earthmother's Den, and the forest would grow more dangerous than it already was once the sun set.