Maxine laid in her bed while brushing her hand through Reena's hair. She had another nightmare last night. I wish I could just ask Madam Neshan to talk to her, but that might be a bad idea. She is having trouble just assimilating into my family. It's best that I just make her feel safe for now and work on her emotional issues after she gets used to us. On the plus side, she's learned how to understand English and Alliance common well enough. I just wish she could speak properly. Her difficulties makes me realize why Lucas always kept his responses short. While I'm thinking about him, he seemed rather excited to go on a hunting trip with me and Reena today. Perhaps, he wants to display his skill and strength to her.

Maxine was drawn out of her own thoughts when Reena started to stir and open her eyes. She immediately smiled at Maxine and hugged her. "Tank you, big sissster," Reena said in English.

"You're welcome and it's pronounced 'thank' you," Maxine corrected Reena and gently tapped her nose, "Now, let's get up. I think I smell breakfast."

Reena instantly jumped out of bed and tried to put on her new clothes with some difficulty. Her quills and extra limbs made it difficult for her to put on the clothes that Silkie had made for her. They were made from arachne silk, so Maxine had no concerns that Reena would tear them apart any time soon.

Maxine also got up and put on her battle garments since she was still in her full hybrid form. It only took the two of them a few minutes to get dressed and head to the dining table. When they got there, the table was already set and everyone had started without them. Breakfast was pancakes with maple syrup, bacon and eggs.

Not surprising, she saw that Lucas' expression brightened up visibly when Reena sat down beside him. Yeah, he's fallen for her and from how Reena doesn't rebuff him, she must have some affections for him as well.

"Those two have a healthy appetite," Hellen remarked as she finished off her breakfast.

"Reena's going through a growth spurt from the looks of it," Guan said and he smiled as he looked at Hellen, "It's probably due to the amazing meals that you've been preparing."

"Oh, you flirt," Hellen said with a smile.

"Breakfast is yummy!" Lucas said happily inbetween bites.

"I have to agree," Maxine said after taking a few bites, "You've really outdone yourself, mom." She didn't wait for anyone else' response as she swiftly dug into it. She needed the calories if she was going to take Reena and Lucas on a hunting trip. She knew that it could take a good part of the day to track down and kill any potential prey. And I don't know if Reena's parents taught her how to hunt or track without spiritual sense. Which means this might not be a successful hunting trip.

"Thank you," Hellen said with a pleased smile, "Now, when do you intend to leave?"

"Right after we are done eating," Maxine answered.

"Alright, then. I'll be talking with your father if you need me," Hellen said as she stood up from the table and headed towards Guan's training room.

"Understood," Maxine said before she finished off the last few bites of her breakfast and took her plate to the kitchen. Lucas and Reena had already done that and were waiting for her expectantly next to the spot that she normally creates her arch shaped portal.

"Heh, I see you two are ready," Maxine said to them, "So, which type of terrain would you like to go hunting in? Grassland? Forest? Dense jungle?"

"Forest," Lucas said firmly. That figures. He's the best at tracking when in forests.

"Just a second," Maxine said as she created the archway that lead to a dense forested region in the north America. That should do nicely and there should be a large variety of beasts that we can hunt. I just hope Lucas doesn't decide to hunt something too strong for him to take down on his own.

"Let's go," Maxine said as she walked through the arch and saw the dense foliage once she was through. Reena and Lucas followed behind her beside each other.

Almost immediately, Lucas got on all fours and started examining the ground. Maxine smirked at such antics and glanced at the ground around them. There were a few faint traces of ordinary animals, but most of them weren't any larger than a medium sized dog. It took Lucas a few moments to realize that.

"Now, before you get too excited, we're going to be hunting deer," Maxine announced, "I don't think Reena has ever seen one. So, let's show her what one looks like and how it tastes. Alright, Lucas?"

"Yep!" Lucas said as he took the lead to look for a game trail. He found one after a few moments and kneeled down on the ground.

"What do you see?" Maxine asked for Reena's benefit.

"Four bronze stage wolves based on the size of the prints, five deer-type beasts and one fox in the iron stage," Lucas answered as he pointed to the various faint imprints on the dirt.

"Very good, but you missed the shadow cat trail," Maxine said as she gestured to the edge of the tail, "It's understandable why you didn't see it. They have a tendency to traverse on the outside edges of any game trails to make it harder for humans to track them. They're also one of the few beasts that can conceal their energies, but typically, only the less intelligent members of their species choose not to."

"Wow, that's amazing, but why don't you track them by scent?" Reena asked innocently in serpent tongue after Maxine finished speaking.

"I don't know how," Lucas answered honestly.

"Here, I'll show you," Reena said as she walked up beside him and inhaled deeply as she slowly walked up and down the trail, "You must isolate each of the smells by finding each scent on the surrounding plants. Regardless of what animal it is, it always leaves a scent on the surrounding plants that it happens to brush against. It's how mom -" She choked back her words as tears formed in her eyes.

"It's alright to cry," Maxine said as she gently placed one of her hands on Reena's shoulder. Reena swiftly hugged Maxine and cried. It was almost as if Reena was waiting for her permission to cry, but Maxine took it in stride as she gently stroked Reena's head in an attempt to comfort her. Meanwhile, Lucas looked unsure of what to do. I don't blame him for his indecision. Perhaps, I could give him a hint.

Maxine mouthed the words, 'Give her some chocolate.' She knew that he had brought some along in the pouch at his waist.

Once Reena calmed down somewhat, Lucas pulled a piece of chocolate out of his pouch and presented it to Reena as he said, "Here. Eat this. It should make you feel a little better."

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Reena turned her head to look at the chocolate and examined it for a moment before opening her mouth. Lucas gently fed her the chocolate and Reena's face brightened up slightly. Oh, wait. That's the first time she's had chocolate. To her surprise, Reena was actually chewing the chocolate slowly rather than eating it like someone that hadn't eaten in three days like she usually does.

"It's good, isn't it?" Maxine asked as Reena finally swallowed.

"Yes, it is. Can I have more?" Reena asked with eyes reddened from crying.

"Yes, but later," Maxine said, "We still have a deer to catch." It'll be a good way to get Reena's mind off of depressing thoughts. Part of me wants to know what really happened to her parents. God knows that I've been tempted to take a peek at what her nightmares are just to find out what happened. Fuck it. I hope she doesn't get too upset when I take a peek.

"Okay," Reena said as Lucas got into position to follow the deer tracks.

"Alright, Lucas. Lead the way and remember you two, we need to be stealthy just in case the deer are close," Maxine reminded them. They nodded at her reminder as the three of them made their way through the forest.

When they finally caught up to the deer, Maxine gestured to Lucas to take down one of the deer. He gave her a surprised look. This would be the first time that she actually allowed him to do this on his own. After a moment, he came to his senses and slowly climbed a tree before jumping soundlessly from branch to branch to get above the grazing deer. When he was in position, he drew a small knife from his waist and leapt down on top of a large buck. With a fluid motion, he slit the deer's throat and kicked off of it's back before it could gore him with it's antlers. The beast bolted into the woods, but it only managed to run a few hundred feet before collapsing from blood loss. The rest of the herd scattered in almost every direction.

Lucas started to rush towards the downed beast, but Maxine swiftly grabbed him. "Do not approach it until after it breathes it's last breath," Maxine warned him, "Even at death's door, that deer can still kill you. One swift strike of his cloven hoof to your head is all it would take."

"Alright," Lucas said.

"But, beyond that, you've done very well," Maxine said approvingly, "Now, all we need to do is gut this big boy before we take him home. Do you remember how to do that? Or do you want me to do that?"

"I can do it," Lucas said as he readied his knife, "Is it safe to approach it now?" Maxine glanced at the beast and checked it's heartbeat with her spiritual sense.

"Yes, it is," Maxine said, "His heart stopped a few seconds ago. Oh! And be sure to share the heart and liver with Reena." Those are some of the tastier parts so long as they are eaten immediately after the animal dies and both are a good source of nutrients for their growing bodies. Although, if they were humans, they would want to slice and cook them an over an open flame first to kill any parasites. I would love to see any of those things thrive more than a few minutes in a hydrakin's acidic blood.

"Okay!" Lucas said as he ran forward with his knife and began gutting the beast. He actually made quick work of it and managed to preserve the hide of the animal in the process.

When he finished, he cut the deer's liver and heart in half and gave Reena a portion of it before he began eating it. If someone saw those two right now, they would probably run away screaming. They look like a pair of pre-teen murders with how much blood they're covered in. I'll need to take them to a river to get that blood washed off before we head home and I need to remind them not to eat raw meat of any kind in a public setting.

"Once you two are finished eating, we need to get cleaned up. Mom will be furious if you get any blood on her furniture," Maxine said. Lucas simply nodded and Reena was too focus on eating to really pay attention to her. While they ate, Maxine stashed the deer's carcass into her dimensional ring to be further processed later.

Still, they went to a nearby river and went for a short swim before basking in the sun on a large rock to dry off. Oddly enough, Reena fell asleep and Maxine didn't have the heart to wake her. So, she sat down next to her. Meanwhile, Lucas kept a look out. However, within a few minutes, Reena started showing the early signs of one of her nightmares. Damn it. I know I shouldn't do this, but I need to know.

With extreme care, Maxine extended her spiritual sense out and brushed it against Reena's mind to peek into her dreams. What she saw in Reena's dream made her jaw drop. Reena used to live in a village full of hydrakin and they were all staring up at a male azure-scaled dragonkin floating in the air. A few of the elders flew up to talk to the dragonkin, but were cut down in a bloody spray before they could even speak a single word. What followed next was a lot of yelling and screaming as her village was slaughtered. Her parents died protecting her and she only survived because a high elf got inbetween her and the dragonkin. Reena woke up with a start before Maxine could see what happened next. Holy shit! This is not what I was expecting. I actually thought the high elves were using Reena in some sort of scheme, but they were genuinely trying to protect her from that murderous dragonkin.

Reena was looking around wildly in a panic and calmed down somewhat when she saw Maxine. Maxine swiftly pulled Reena into a hug. "It's alright. You're safe. Nothing can hurt you while you are with me," Maxine said comfortingly as she stroked Reena's head, "I promise." Reena simply hugged Maxine tighter.

Lucas chimed in, "I'll protect Reena too!" He swiftly brandished his claws against an unseen enemy.

"How brave," Maxine said with an approving smile, "But right now, we should head back home. Only a truly foolish entity would dare attack it while daddy is there." And I can go have a nice chat with Allana Trenz about Reena's origins while mom looks after these two. She has some explaining to do.

With a wave of her hand, Maxine created an arch and the three of them went home through it. Immediately, she went looking for Hellen and found her reading a book in the living room. "Hey, mom. We're back. Is it alright if I go run a quick errand on Earth?" Maxine asked.

"Of course," Hellen answered, "Just try not to take too long. Reena is more relaxed when you're present."

"I won't be gone more than an hour," Maxine replied.

"Alright, have fun then," Hellen replied.

"Will do," Maxine said as she spread out her spiritual sense and almost immediately found Allana Trenz. She created an arch practically infront of the woman and walked through it.

"Oh, Ms. Levings. I hope everything is going well with young Reena," Allana Trenz said without loosing her composure.

"She has nightmares every night," Maxine said bluntly, "But you already knew that. I'm also quite certain that you know exactly why."

"I am," Allana Trenz said while looking guilty for the briefest of moments, "My clansmen were unable to save anyone else. Although, I'm rather surprised that Reena told you about what happened this soon."

"You should've told me upfront what happened," Maxine said angrily.

"I'm aware, but we had our reasons," Allana Trenz answered.

"Is that all you have to say?" Maxine asked.

"I don't know much else besides that Reena was rescued and brought here. The elders were very careful with restricting what I was allowed to know," Allana Trenz replied, "Still, Reena will need your protection for a few more months. After that, the one that committed those crimes will be dealt with." Okay, that's enough of a clue for me to figure out the rest.

"I'll hold you to that and I sincerely hope that you've completed all of your business on my world," Maxine said angrily, "Now, get off my planet. You are no longer welcome here."

"Why?" Allana Trenz asked.

"You misled to me about why you brought Reena here," Maxine explained, "And now, I'll have to worry about a murderous dragonkin coming to my world and causing havoc."

"He wouldn't dare so something so foolish!" Allana Trenz said swiftly.

"So, you do know who he is," Maxine said coldly, "But you're wrong on that point. If he's bold enough to slaughter a village infront of your people, he's bold enough to come to my world and cause trouble. You have until the end of the day to get off my planet. Am I understood?"

"Completely," Allana Trenz said with a hint of fear.

"Good," Maxine said as she created an arch and returned home. I didn't get all of the information, but I got enough to figure it everything out. I just need to prepare for this dragonkin's arrival. Although, I'm not entirely certain that he will come. He might be a bold son of a bitch, but he would have to be pretty stupid to start shit here with daddy around. Still, the possibility of that isn't zero, but I'm quite curious why he thought that he could get away with murdering all of those hydrakin. The Alliance has very strict laws prohibiting the killing of rare or endangered species, particularly sapient ones. If anyone were to be caught violating such laws, they would be thrown head first at the next galactic threat. It's practically a death sentence. So, that's what's going on! Those fucking high elven pricks! They didn't just want me to protect Reena. They wanted me to teach her how to speak Alliance common so she could testify in court as their star witness. And now, they know that I won't tell them to fuck off after I found out what that dragonkin did to her parents. At least, they're not trying to get me to do something that I would object to in the first place. Still, it would've been nice if they were upfront about it.