It had been a month since Maxine had kicked Allana Trenz off of Earth and to her surprise, there had yet to be any signs of the dragonkin's reaction to Reena's presence on Earth. She had expected something to happen by now, but there was nothing. This lack of action made her more concerned than anything else. It meant that the dragonkin were either much smarter than any of her previous opponents or they just didn't think it was worth worrying about a young, traumatized hydrakin.

Still, there was some good news for her to be happy about. Reena's nightmares had become less frequent. Now, she only had them every other night. Unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights and Maxine was in the process of gently stroking Reena's head to soothe her. Whatever punishment the Alliance unleashes on that dragonkin, it won't be enough to even the scales. I doubt he would survive whatever they have him do anyways.

Hellen opened up the bedroom door to peek in. She was still in her nightgown and had a worried look on her face. [Another nightmare?] Hellen asked via spiritual sense.

[Yes,] Maxine said, [And I wish I could get my hands on the bastard that's the root cause of them.]

[As do I and the high elves,] Hellen replied, [They may act superior to everyone else, but they also feel the need to look after the more vulnerable races. I believe they're the one that patroned the laws to protect endangers species.]

[Yeah, that sounds like something elves would do,] Maxine said knowingly, [Anyways, you should go back to bed. I've got it covered in here.]

[Alright, try to get some sleep,] Hellen said.

[I will,] Maxine replied as Hellen closed the door.

Once the door was closed, Maxine looked at her clawed hands. She had explained to Reena that she wasn't a hydrakin a couple weeks ago and reverted back to her base form infront of her. But, even with all of that, Reena still had a full blown panic attack and only calmed down after Maxine transformed back into her full-hybrid form. Maxine had maintained this state ever since to avoid a repeat of that. What's more is that Reena refused to sleep alone or with anyone other than Maxine.

However, a certain thought had been gnawing at her ever since she found out about Reena's village: Why had no one heard about other hydrakin when there was a village of them on another world? It had kept her up for several hours on multiple nights. She considered it was most likely due to high elves concealing their existence as a means of protecting them. It would explain their reluctance to share any information. That way it would prevent any accidental leaking of information by their less experienced members. Still, the appearance of individual hydrakin would have to be a rare event. For the high elves to have concealed them for this long is quite impressive to say the least. Unless, they've figured out the exact environmental requirements that are needed for a hydrakin to appear naturally and actively monitor the worlds with those conditions. And after one appears, they pick them up and bring them to a planet hosting a village within high elven space. That would explain why there was a village of them to begin with and that also suggests that there would be more than one village. Afterall, why would they place the entire population of an endangered species in a single location and risk their extermination if something horrible were to happen? But I still can't understand why they would hide the fact that the hydrakin exist from the rest of the Alliance. I'll just have to ask the high elven representative at the next Alliance assembly to find out their reasons.

She stopped trying to think about the reasons for the high elves' action since it was starting to give her a headache. Thankfully, she was given a distraction when her dimensional disc vibrated. She pulled it out of her dimensional ring and frowned. She had gotten two messages One was from the Alliance and the other was from Allana Trenz. The message from the Alliance was a notification of an early meeting to resolve a conflict between the high elves and dragonkin and it was happening in a month and a half. That message was something she was expecting just not this soon But the message from Allana Trenz angered her. The wording was apologetic, but it still boiled down to her asking that Maxine bring Reena into the virtual realm so that they could ask her some questions during the next Alliance Assembly. I was expecting this message, but it still pisses me off that they're asking her to do this. I don't even know if she will be able to even talk about it with me. Forget about talking in front of all of those people. At least, Allana's explaining why Reena needs to testify. They have literately no other source of information on what started the whole thing. If the high elves didn't have Reena, the dragonkin could easily twist the whole thing to make it seem like the hydrakin attacked him first and only get a fucking slap on the wrist for killing the rest of the village.

Maxine sighed in frustration and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, she was too worried about the upcoming Alliance assembly to fall asleep. Eventually, she just gave up and stroked Reena's hair to ensure her dreams stayed pleasant. It was several hours later that Hellen opened up Maxine's bedroom door and her expression became concerned when she noticed that Maxine had been awake before she entered.

"What's gotten you so worked up that you couldn't sleep?" Hellen asked.

"The contents of the next Alliance assembly," Maxine replied, "They want Reena to testify in a trial."

"Why?" Hellen asked, "What do they think she witnessed?"

"She witnessed the slaughter of her village full of hydrakin," Maxine answered, "And I only know because I peeked into her dreams when I couldn't stand not knowing what was tormenting her any longer."

Hellen just looked at Reena in sympathy. "No wonder she didn't want to speak of what happened," Hellen said.

"I don't blame her either," Maxine agreed, "But to ensure that the bastard is punished, she needs to. Otherwise, that creep can just say that the whole tribe attacked him first since the high elves don't have someone that was there or any functioning observation devices present when the fighting started." In fact, the high elven observation satellite had been heavily damaged less than an hour before the village was slaughtered. It's suspicious, but not damning enough evidence.

"That's unfortunate," Hellen said sadly and a few moments later as Reena's eye's began to flutter open, her tone became kind, "Good morning, Reena. Why don't you and Maxine get ready while I go make breakfast, alright?"

"Okay," Reena said groggily as she rubbed her eyes and walked towards her dresser. It was unfortunate that there wasn't much variation in the clothing that Reena could wear due to her physique. Maxine had a similar problem when it came to her battle dress since it needed to be able to adjust it's size when she transformed. Still, given enough time, Maxine know that Silkie could come up with several clothing styles for Reena.

Maxine got up herself and walked to the bathroom to wash her face. She really didn't need to look through her closet or dresser for clothes. Most of what she owned was in her dimensional ring. Unfortunately, like Reena, she didn't have a lot of options just yet due to her unusual body shape in this state. Maxine had a similar problem while in her full-hyrbid form, but thankfully, Silkie had come to their collective rescue. She had woven a few dresses for them that would fit them without being difficult to put on. It really was ingenius of Silkie to have it so that I just need to step into the dress, pull it up and tie the strings behind my neck and tail to hold the dress up. She even came up with a way to hide my underwear with the use of a pair of wide ribbons that I tie together into a bow above my tail. She really is a talented seamstress, even among the Arachne species as a whole.

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"Pretty," Reena stated as she saw Maxine in the soft yellow dress that Silky made for her, "Can Silke make me one too?"

"Of course, she can," Maxine said happily, "We just need to drop by her shop and have her take your measurements." I know that I'm spoiling her a little bit, but she needs a little pampering. And satisfying her desire to look pretty is done easily enough.

"'Kay," Reena happily chirped while brushing her hair and when she finished, she put a few small faux flowers in her hair. I'm glad that I bought those for her the last time I took her to Earth to explore.

"You look beautiful," Maxine complimented Reena, "Now, let's go show daddy. I bet he'll love it just as much as I do." Reena flashed a smile and ran out of the room towards the dinning room table. Maxine followed behind her.

"Oh? Is there a special occasion to have flowers in your hair, young lady?" Guan asked Reena as Maxine walked into the room.

[You were supposed to say she looked pretty with them in her hair,] Maxine admonished Guan via spiritual sense.

"No," Reena said as she looked up at Guan, "Do they look pretty?"

"Not as pretty as you, Reena," Guan said as he gently tapped her nose. Reena immediately smiled and hugged Guan's waist for a few moments before disengaging. She swiftly ran off. Maxine guessed Reena went to pester Lucas until breakfast was ready.

"And here I thought you were lousy with kids," Maxine commented.

"I have my moments," Guan answered simply, "Now, we best head to the table before those two bottomless pits eat everything."

"They're not that bad," Maxine said.

"Compared to you, perhaps, but to any sane being, they eat nearly five times as much as a human child can," Guan stated, "Maybe, you should take them to an eating contest. They would win due to the sheer volume that they can put away."

"Don't tempt me," Maxine said with a knowing smile. It would save some money on our food bill. Hell, if me and daddy were not so rich, we would definitely be feeling the drain on our finances. Still, this level of consumption isn't normal. Lucas normally eats three times as much as a human boy his age does. Perhaps, he's going through a growth spurt.

"In any case, you might want to go hunting again this week," Guan said simply, "The meat from those elk that you managed to take down is nearly gone." Shit, I thought a four hundred pounds worth of meat would be enough to feed us for more than two weeks. I guess not.

"Alright, but I better go alone this time. While those two are getting better, I'm simply more efficient when I hunt alone," Maxine stated and caught the scent of freshly cooked bacon, "And, it smells like breakfast is about to hit the table. We best get in there or mom will get angry at us for holding them up."

"Agreed, Hellen can be quite spirited when she is angry," Guan said simply and started heading towards the dining room.

Maxine followed behind him and saw that Lucas and Reena were already seated. However, they didn't not appear to be waiting patiently since their gaze was locked onto the kitchen doorway. She smiled to herself as she walked to the kitchen to give Hellen a hand.

She walked in just as Hellen finished filling the plates. She had her own and Guan's plates in her hands. Maxine gave her a smile and grabbed the other plates. Although, they were more on the lines of serving platters rather than plates.

She set two of the platters infront of Reena and Lucas before taking her seat. "So, what's on today's agenda?" Hellen asked Maxine.

"Well, I'm going to make some potions for Amanda's guild," Maxine said simply, "After that, I suppose I'll go hunting. Beyond those two things, I don't have a lot planned for today."

"Oh, then you don't mind if I take Reena shopping while you are out and about?" Hellen asked.

"Not at all," Maxine replied after taking a bite out of a sausage and looked at Reena out of the corner of her eye, "I bet it would do her some good to interact with people besides us."

"Will we look at dresses?" Reena asked innocently while pausing from eating her breakfast.

"I don't see why not," Hellen answered, "Just be sure to let me take a picture of the ones that you like. Silke might be able to make one that would fit you."

"Yay!" Reena said happily before she dug back into her breakfast. Maxine smiled at Reena's childish reaction. She even spied a small smile on Guan's face out of the corner of her eye.

Maxine shook her head as she began to eat her breakfast in earnest, but when she was halfway through, Guan talked to her via spiritual sense, [What are you planning on doing to that dragonkin?]

[If the Alliance punishes him properly, nothing,] Maxine replied simply, [If not, I will make his life a living nightmare. Death is too good for him.] I'm only making that poison because I know that there is a possibility of a backroom deal to make that murderous prick's sentence lighter or he finds a legal loophole that will let him walk away. I cannot and will not accept anything less than a brutal punishment after he orphaned Reena.

[Ruthless. I approve,] Guan answered simply, [Now, finish your breakfast and get to making those potions for your friend.]

[Will do,] Maxine said with a mental smile as she severed the spiritual connection and finished off her breakfast.

"Have fun," Hellen said to Maxine as she created and walked through an arch.

Maxine appeared infront of the Ice and Fire guild headquarters and walked inside. She frowned when she saw a 'young master' in opulent robes with an old attendant talking to the receptionist and from the looks of it, he was actually being polite. Which was rare.

"I simply wish to know what times Ms. Cinderson will be here," the 'young master' asked politely, "I have something that I wish to talk to her about."

"As I said before, I can't reveal any information about her schedule as per her wishes," the receptionist answered honestly and smiled when she spotted Maxine in her full hydra form, "But if you really must talk to her, she's standing behind you."

"Really?" the 'young master' said as he turned around and paled when she saw Maxine, "By the maker! You startled me!" His attendant merely looked slightly surprised.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you. I sometimes forget to change back when I'm not training," Maxine said calmly, but she kept both of them beyond arm's length. She still feels uncomfortable around men she doesn't know.

"It's quite alright, Ms. Cinderson," the 'young master' said while looking nervous and Maxine finally noticed a singular draconic horn that just barely extends out of his hair just above his hairline, "I'm Alistair Draken and as you've clearly noticed, I'm a dragonkin." He extended his hand out for a handshake, but Maxine didn't shake his hand. If anything, she was more guarded than normal around him since she was almost certain her was here to find Reena's location or threaten her into silence.

"Uh, hi. May I ask why you wanted to talk with me?" Maxine asked.

"I simply wished to announce my presence within your territory," Alistair Draken said, "As I'm sure that you are unaware, it's a social protocol amongst dragonkin or those that possess a draconic bloodline, like yourself."

"Thank you for enlightening me. I shall endeavor to return such curtesy should I ever find myself in the territory of a dragonkin," Maxine said, "Now, if there is nothing else, there is something that I need to attend to. Enjoy your stay on Earth." She didn't give him a chance to respond before she walked away and discreetly sent one of her spider constructs into his shadow. I know eavesdropping isn't the most effective means of spying, but it's the best that I've got. Unfortunately, by now, it's a well known tactic of mine. Honestly, I doubt that it will yield anything at this point since it's easily countered by using spiritual sense to communicate.

Maxine made her way to the back room where she performed alchemy for Amanda's guild and found a list of what they needed as well as a large stockpile of medicinal ingredients. It only took her a few moments to look through the list to make sure that they had all of the necessary materials in stock and began to work. It took her a few hours to finish her work. However, she wanted to do something else in this room.

With a wave of her hand, she spread out her spiritual sense to lockdown the room before she pulled out a few ingredients of her own, but instead of making a potion, she was making a poison. Now, what, specifically, shall I do to that dragonkin that murdered Reena's village? I could make a poison that causes his body to slowly rot over the course of several years. While cruel, it's not enough. Who knows how many people that prick has killed and gotten away with it. I need him to live a long time to act as a living example for others.

Maxine began to think of various medical conditions and one just popped into her head. That's just what the doctor ordered. It's sufficiently cruel while giving him enough hope to be cured so long as they hire an alchemist with skill near daddy's level. Although, hiring an alchemist of that level is stupidly expensive. It would probably drain whatever wealth he's gotten a hold of throughout his life. It's perfect. Now, all I need to do is convince Reena to testify and see how the Alliance deals with that murderous dragonkin.