Alice

After Cynthia got to her feet, I looked at the two assassins. "What do you want to do with them?" So far, the girl was very nice to me. I even acted extra friendly. Though she seemed stressed now that she knew I was associated with Oswald. Which at least told me something about that old man. I could probably use his position and status as a way to get out of trouble if I got caught in the future. Since honestly, sneaking out was so much fun.

She looked at the pair for a second, "I... can we leave them here? The spiders can handle them right?"

It seemed she did not want to watch them die, which I could understand to some degree. Even thinking about eating them, made me shudder a bit. I nodded, "I have no problems with that, they were the ones chasing after you. Which means you get to decide what to do with them." The poor girl was still in shock over everything, which was fair.

She looked down at her baby, "I... I don't want to be like them. I don't want Drake to suffer... I want to leave them with the guards, but then they'll ask questions. What should we do?"

I shrugged, "Like I said it's your choice. It's probably for the best, to leave them here and let the spiders take care of them. A trade for their injured and dying."

She blinked, before looking at me, "A trade? What do you mean?"

"Well, I came out to pluck a few of these spiders. If they fought with three men, and chased them off. It's likely a few are almost dead. I want to make a quick stop by Oswald's to drop them off." She didn't seem to understand, so I continued. "The longer we stand here, the more likely they are to wake up. The spiders can probably deal with a couple of assassins in their nest. They'll probably want their own justice carried out. Let them take care of that, and we leave."

"W-we can do that? They might die." She looked towards the door.

"So? They tried to kill you. They tried to kill such a cute little guy too. The way I see it, you don't try to do something to someone else, unless you can accept them returning the favor. If you want I can snap their necks and it won't be a problem anymore."

Her eyes went wide, as she paled. "N-no thank you. Let's... let's just go please."

I nodded with a smile, "See? You are nice." I lead us through the alleys, where there would be less traffic. I was happy to have seen everything from above, and the best part about this was that none of my escort died. We spent a good twenty minutes circling a few times, where I found five dying spiders, and three already dead. I picked them up, using my wings to hold them to me. They tried to struggle a little, but with my combat form, they couldn't leave so much as a scratch.

After that was done, I climbed a building to see if anyone was still walking the streets. It seemed there were very few people. I climbed back down, and picked up Cynthia. "W-what are you doing now?"

"There are a few people walking about. It's better if we aren't seen. I am carrying you to Oswald's quickly, then we'll head to the church like I said earlier. Unless you want to run more, I do think you're exhausted. Let me help you."

She nodded, agreeing to let me carry her and Drake. Which I did, sticking to the shadows. Drake was a good baby, happily drinking and staying quiet as we traveled. Soon we arrived by the side of Oswald's place. Cynthia was holding her nose as I set her down. "Stay here, I'll be right back. If anyone comes, just scream and I'll be right there. She nodded, as I climbed back into the building through the walkway. Dropping off the spiders, I decided to test something that has been bothering me.

I ate a lot of hearts at the church when I first got here. Thinking back, even a heart from a snake was enough to help me get stingers. What changed from then and now? I ate one of the dead spiders, tearing into it to eat it's brain and heart. Taking care not to make much of a mess. Nothing happened, and I wondered if it was because the spiders were too weak. Then I took a still living one, and started to eat it. I felt the change go through me, to my hive. I could make workers that were able to spin thread now. It couldn't be the number, since I would have felt something by eating the first.

Then I smiled as I realized what I needed to do. I had to be the one to kill what I ate. My hive, and I counted as one. Which meant that I could use them to kill, but ultimately we had to do the slaying. The old one must have known, since he kept bringing me things that were barely alive. It explained so much, given that he could have just killed things and let me eat them otherwise. Yet, if the old one knew that much I wondered where he was. I left the hive with orders to kill the living spiders, and break them down. If this worked the way I think it did, I might be able to do more later.

Sneaking back outside, I quietly climbed down to Cynthia. She stood there, as I picked her up again. "Now we can say that you were with Oswald, and I am taking you back to church because it's so late."

Cynthia nodded, "Thank you for saving us."

"You already said that." I started walking, "I do appreciate it though. We're friends now, so I count this as a win."

"Y-yeah, I'm happy to call you a friend. Was... was it hard fighting those men?" She looked a bit better now that she had five minutes to herself before I came back.

"It was harder to not kill them really. People have such soft squishy skin, that breaks too easily. I have to focus really hard not to squeeze too much. Thankfully I haven't killed anyone yet. Do people usually pass out when their legs bend the wrong way?"

She paused for a second, "Yeah, most people probably would. I know a few things about self defense, but I never really liked fighting..."

"I can understand that. I used to hate it as well." This seemed to make her smile.

"You? I hardly even heard you take down two assassins. What made you like fighting? Why did you hate it?" She looked up at me, seeming curious.

It was nice that she was starting to bounce back from everything, though this might not have been the first time this happened to her. "I grew up outside the walls. Where it's kill or be killed. I had someone watching over me when I was much smaller, and they taught me how to fight and survive." It also helped that anything I killed went to making me stronger.

"Oh? Someone like your father or mother?" She gently rubbed Drake's horns, as if to ask if I was like him.

Thinking about it, I realized I probably wouldn't be considered a hybrid. I shook my head a little, "No, any fathers or mothers I might have had, all died when my village burned. The one that trained me, was merciless and calculating. Even now I don't think I could fight him and win. He dragged me through the forest, forcing me to fight creatures bigger and stronger than myself. The only times he moved to help me, was when I was about to die."

"You poor thing... you went through so much." Cynthia did not seem to know what to say.

I looked down at her and smiled softly, "Don't feel bad, it was because of him that I survived. I also feel deep down, he cared to some degree. Though, I think he just wants to die by my hands."

Cynthia looked confused by this, "You, think he wants you to kill him?"

I nodded, "Yep, he always smiled when I tried to attack him. I could never scratch him though. I know he's out there somewhere, probably dragging something for me to kill when he gets back." It didn't matter where I ran or hid, he always seemed to know where to find me.

Cynthia just went silent after that, probably not knowing what to say. It didn't bother me, since I was able to focus on staying out of sight for most people that were traveling at night. Even avoiding some guards by standing in the dark shade of an alley. It was nice that everyone I saw, was not able to see too well at night. If I needed to escape with my hive, then I could do it much easier during the dark.

We got closer to the church, and I saw a small crowd of people gathered around Eric. There was someone at the top of the stairs, talking about how my stinger saved Eric. That it was a 'gift' from Bo'chi. I pouted a little at this, because I never knew someone named that. Still, it would cause trouble to enter the front door. I sighed a little, before circling around the back without being seen. There was a small stone wall that I was able to easily hop over. I found two priests gardening small glowing flowers. They looked up to see me, and seemed shocked. Though I felt the surprise was more from me carrying Cynthia and her baby.

One of the men approached, as I let my mask fall away. This made the priest smile, "Welcome back, daughter of Bo'chi." I just tilted my head at this. Cynthia tapped my shoulder as I started to speak. I looked at her before setting her down.

"Hello, and greetings. I am Cynthia Catswell. I believe my grandfather is the current Father of this church, correct?"

The priest looked to the other one, "Please tell the father he has guests he would very much like to see." The other priest nodded, and quickly moved inside the church. "I was not aware you were to arrive. The Father thought the worst might have come. We heard of what happened in the fire kingdom. A true tragedy, and we are sorry for your loss. Is there anything we can get you?" He then turned to me, "I believe Eugene is already getting hearts for you, daughter of Bo'chi."

I started to say that I wasn't any Bo'chi's daughter, but Cynthia lightly held my bicep. "A wet nurse to nurse my child please. I'm afraid I am unable to feed him anymore tonight, and he's very hungry. We were saved by this daughter, I believe my son may have been chosen by Bo'chi."

The priest stared at Cynthia for a moment, before looking at Drake. She moved slightly so the moon's rays would glint off Drake's scaled arm to reveal the crimson scales. This caused the priest to nod wide eyed. "Of course, forgive my rudeness. I will guide you to the Father right away. Please follow me."

The priest seemed to want to hurry now, and we made it into the stone and wood church. I actually enjoyed how the door frames where tall enough here, that I did not need to stoop or slouch to go under them. A few priests were going about their business, but stopped for a moment when they saw me. They bowed in reverence before continuing with their tasks. I felt a bit uncomfortable with being an object of worship. We were led through halls, before finding Eugene leaving a room. He bowed towards us, before waiting in front of the door. "The Father is ready to receive you both. Have you been asked what else you need." Cynthia nodded, and I followed as well. Just wanting to not be looked at so strangely.

The two opened the doors for us, as we stepped into the large room where the Father sat behind a desk. Warm crystals hung from the chandelier above, letting warmth and light fill the room with an almost sacred feeling. There were soft shadows, and a soft pleasant smell that made the room feel like the safest place to be in the entire church. There were paintings that hung on the walls, the frames made to blend with the surroundings to make it seem as if the paintings were a part of the walls itself.

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"Mimi, darling. Welcome back to our humble church. It is wonderful to have your presence here on this night. And Cynthia, I had not seen you since you were but a child clinging to your own stuffed doll. Now you stand before me as a woman, and a mother. When I heard the news of your parents. I was upset beyond words. Please forgive this old man for not sending someone to try and help you. I only heard the news last week, and I am greatly relieved that you made it out, and found your way here."

Cynthia tilted her head, "I thought her name was Alice?" She looked at me, before turning back to the Father.

"It is? Is it not?" The Father looked at me as I moved to the corner of the room, I was clearly interrupting an important reunion, "Hearts please. Mimi goes by Alice too."

This caused the Father to smile warmly as I sat in the corner. "Of course dear." He looked back to Cynthia, "May I see my great grandson dear? I promise, that all children are sacred in the eyes of Bo'chi."

Cynthia nodded, clearly not wanting to talk about what I just said and did. She set Drake on the desk, gently peeling off his blankets again. The Father frowned at the stains of blood he saw, but said nothing. Only taking in the dragon human hybrid. Drake was a healthy baby, less than a year old. His arms and legs covered completely with crimson scales, save for the finger tips that were black. He had small wings coming from his shoulders and falling past his thighs. They were crimson on the back, with yellow on the front. Drake's belly was human, while his chest was a yellow scale and skin mixture. The boy held vivid crimson eyes, and had a completely human face. Save for the scales on his cheeks. He had two black horns protruding along his hair line, going behind his ears. His hair was a golden yellow, and seemed rather soft.

When the Father went to touch Drake, the infant grabbed the finger while babbling and kicking happily. The Father smiled, as a knock came from the door. "Father, the wet nurse that Cynthia requested is ready. Please allow me to take him."

The Father looked at Cynthia, then nodded as she covered Drake back up. "Of course my son, do not let the mass know Mimi is here, or about the infant. I must ask them some questions."

"Of course father." The door would open, and Eugene bowed to me once more. He softly took Drake out of the room, gently closing the door behind himself.

Cynthia started to tear up, "I never thought I'd make it grandfather. We had been running for over a month, whispering wolves attacked us. Then the guards at the gate were killed." She covered her mouth with her hand, crying now.

The Father pulled Cynthia into a hug, tearing up a little as well. "You have done well my dear." He was rubbing her back, "Let it all out, you are safe here. Nothing will happen to you, or your son while you are here." He would softly sush Cynthia as she clung to his robes.

"I'm so sorry, everyone died because of me. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." She was actually sobbing now, which made me feel uncomfortable as I looked away from them. Cynthia was hiccuping, as she cried. Which helped me understand she was maybe just barely hitting twenty, maybe even younger.

"There, there dear. None of this was your fault. It was foolish to have an affair with a dragon, but I cannot fault you for being young and loving another. Not when the same family that proposed to you, only wanted to have ties with this church through you. It happens often, that a family will hire a soothsayer to predict who will succeed or fall. To make marriages based on what they hear, to keep their power or grow stronger."

Cynthia would sniffle, as she nodded. Before looking back up at the father.

He was staring at the door, his lip bleeding a little from having bitten it. "You did nothing wrong dear, and you will be safe. I will make sure the family that harmed my own, shall come crashing down."

There was a knock at the door, and the Father smiled, as if nothing happened. "I brought the hearts for the daughter of Bo'chi."

"Come right in, Harb! Give them to her, and return to your duties please."

Harb was another priest that came in with a small cart of hearts. I quickly took them off and set them around me, not really feeling like eating after what I saw. Harb bowed, before and after giving the hearts to me. Taking the cart away.

Cynthia did a small bow towards me after the door closed, "Thank you for saving me from the assassins again... I shouldn't have shown you this."

I waved a hand to show it was no big deal. Though the Father tilted his head, "How did she save you dear? What has she done exactly?"

Cynthia held her shoulder, before gesturing at the blood stains on her cloak. "I don't know how... but she healed me. She brought me back from the brink of death. She also stung Drake, when his scales were turning black. She saved both of our lives, grandfather." She smiled at me gently, her voice full of appreciation.

The Father would scratch his chin a little, wiping away any of the blood from his lip. "I see, I never heard of someone being able to stop a dragon from falling apart. Though that may be, because Drake is a hybrid dear. She also saved another man's life. You don't know him, but he's outside talking about her. People are starting to take interest in the monster that can grow a man's arm back."

Cynthia nodded, "I thought I heard a crier. Though, did you know she's able to stop Wyvern poison?"

The Father looked at Cynthia with wide eyes, "You were poisoned!? How?"

She held her shoulder a little tighter. "They may have poisoned Drake as well, but it could have been the blood loss. May we talk tomorrow grandfather? I want to check on him. I think you might want to talk to Alice as well." She walked towards the door, as I opened a jar. She smiled at me again, before turning back. "One last thing, she's not supposed to be out at night. She made me promise not to tell anyone, you can make sure the priests don't spread more rumors?"

The Father nodded, as Cynthia left the room. "Consider it done, sleep well my child." The Father would shuffle back behind his desk, before sitting down with a heavy sigh.

I managed to enjoy the pickled hearts for a few minutes. The silence interrupted by the soft sounds of me swallowing the hearts whole, and drinking the brine. I somewhat understood what just happened, but really felt it wasn't my issue. Cynthia was a friend for now, and I got her somewhere safe. Because the Father was her grandfather, that meant he was thankful to me. Naturally, I couldn't accept them into my hive. Mainly because I had no intention of building an extra nest here. Though it would be a good backup if needed. If I found myself spending more time here, then I would. The main issue was how uncomfortable I felt with everyone looking at me with reverence. It was creepy, and made me shiver.

The Father seemed to finish his own thoughts, before looking at me. He was not smiling this time, his age showing. His brow covered in folds, as he put his hands together on the desk. "Mimi, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my daughter, and her child. Can you understand what I am saying now?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I learned a lot about words and stuff after getting here. Lots of background conversations." I flicked my ears, to let him think what I said was the truth. I probably did not want to tell anyone about how I essentially stole a copy of Robert's memories.

He smiled a little at that, while I worked on another jar. "I see, you are quite smart then. Can you tell me why you saved Cynthia and her child dear?"

I paused, looking at the brine left in the jar. I hadn't really thought about why I did it, just that I could. "I heard her calling for help. I was already planning on exploring. Then one thing led to another. I don't think I need a reason, do I?"

The Father laughed lightly, "I suppose you don't dear. Do you know who Bo'chi is?"

I shook my head, before taking a swig of the brine. I really didn't care about who these people worshiped, or why. Though it might help to understand why they kept looking at me like that.

The Father looked at the door, before opening his hands to look at his palms. "Bo'chi was a human that lived among monsters dear. He respected them, and they respected him. When he died, he ascended to become a spirit. His beliefs were that all children are sacred, and the disabled should be helped regardless of race. These are the core rules we have, and what we follow."

"Are you asking me to join? I don't want to." I interrupted.

The Father seemed a bit taken back by this. Blinking at me, before softly chuckling. "No dear, I am not trying to convert you. Faith only works, when it is given willingly. You are a monster, that has performed miracles. You have saved a mother and a child. You fought with the captain of the guard to save a dying man. In the eyes of the church, you are considered a daughter of our guiding spirit. It is our duty to serve and shelter you as best we can. If you are hungry, we shall feed you, if you are thirsty, we shall bring you water. If you need to hide, we will keep you hidden. It is against our beliefs to fight our fellows, or harm monsters and beasts. Though we will act in defense of others, or to save lives."

He seemed to stop talking, to let me take in what he said. Which just made me pout, because it was simple enough. He was basically saying I should be helped if I need anything. As long as I don't want them to kill anyone. Basically friends, and it was mutual because I had no plans on killing anyone for them. "I get it, where are you going with this?"

"You do? We aren't asking anything from you in return. Are you okay with the title?" He sounded overly nice.

I just sighed softly, finishing my brine. "Yeah sure, can you ask the others to stop bowing to me. It creeps me out."

The Father nodded, "Absolutely! I'll make sure the priests know to be a little more casual in your presence. If you don't mind me asking, how many times can you heal someone?"

I narrowed my eyes at his question, letting it linger for a moment. Swallowing the heart, I smiled at him innocently, "Six times in total. I used one on Cynthia, and three on Drake. That makes four in total Father. I learned how to count from Richard, using my fingers." I held up the fingers in question. "One, plus three is four, which leaves two left. I can make one every day if I'm well fed." I wasn't going to tell him I could actually use my healing stingers three times each, making the total nine. Nor was I about to let him have an idea how fast I could recover them. I regretted not being able say I could do less. Though I told Cynthia how many I used on Drake.

I watched the father scratch his chin, swallowing a bit of drool. He looked at me, while I smiled innocently back. Eyeing me with a bit of greed. "I see, are you willing to help some more people tonight?"

I covered my face with my hands, "Oh no, I can't! I'm supposed to go outside tomorrow. Wyatt said I can be his sister if I go with him. We're already brother and sister now, so I can't let him down. What if he gets hurt? I need to keep a couple for him, in case we play fight again."

The father raised a brow, as I peeked at him through my fingers. "You call what he did, play fighting?" He seemed a bit concerned.

I nodded, "Yep~ It's only playing until someone loses an arm. Wyatt said he wouldn't fight with me anymore though. We get to fight monsters outside to bond. He said it should take a few weeks or a month even! How many days is that?"

The old man slumped in his chair, as he forced a smile. "Thirty dear, that's both hands, plus your feet, plus two more hands." He seemed experienced with explaining simple things at least.

I opened and closed my hands three times, "Wow! That's a lot! Richard said, I can't count my feet since I don't really have toes." I showed him my foot to make sure he ignored how well I could talk earlier. I wasn't sure if he was playing along, or if he wanted to believe our first meeting was the limit of my mind. Maybe it was a reflex when someone started talking like this. Either way he seemed to no longer want to press the issue.

He leaned back in his chair, "It's such a shame, really." I spoke too soon. "You could help a lot of people by stinging them. I won't force you though. We could use the coin we might get to buy lots of hearts. Fresh brains and hearts as well." He tapped his desk, looking at me.

I looked at the empty jars, pretending to look sad. "Really? I like fresh hearts and brains. The fresher the better! Can I eat the rest of the body too? I don't get to eat living things with Richard."

The Father leaned forward, "I'm sure we can make something happen dear. As long as you don't eat people. I am certain those same people you help, wouldn't mind if you were given a few pets to play with."

Now we were talking, it was tempting. Though judging by the glint in the man's eyes, he was just as greedy as me. We both wanted something, and while he stood to benefit a lot from me healing the people he brought. I stood to benefit in ways he likely couldn't imagine. Worst case, I can always leave him alone while he grows more desperate for my stingers. Especially if I felt he was cheating me, though I recently made a friend that could keep that from happening. I smiled innocently back at the father, "I'll do it, but I want shiny rocks too. Coins! I want the coins as long as they are fair. I want Cynthia to count them before giving them to me, and you can't tell Richard or Oswald. I'm not supposed to sneak out!"

The Father gave me a bitter smile, as he seemed to realize what I just did. Letting out a small laugh, he clapped his hands together. "You got it dear. Whatever you want, and I am happy to have you any time. Please let me know when you are back, some people can't wait too long."

I nodded back, "Okay~"

After that was done, and I said my goodbyes to Cynthia who gave me a hug. I managed to make it back to my room with a few hours before the sun rose. I quickly moved about to make sure no one knew I left. Oswald was in his room dozing from what I could tell. Richard was still asleep in his bed. I laughed a little seeing he was still snugly tucked in. Then I headed down to the kitchen remembering something extremely important. I forgot the leftovers!

I grabbed them, before heading back to the hive to sleep. I was going to be spending quite a bit of time with Wyatt. While I did look forward to it. I felt it was something to deal with while a little tired. He was probably going to ask me a thousand questions with really simple answers. With those thoughts going into the hive, while they worked on the leftovers. I closed my eyes to sleep until someone decided to wake me up.