Chapter 1 : Morning

Fiona had a thin grimace on her face as she stood at the edge of the archway that led into the front siting room. Gazing into the room, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as her ears slowly pointed themselves straight back.

Situated in the far back corner of the room sat the subject of her attention, a motionless Tessa.

Although the mantis had been offered a room of her own, she had decided of her own accord to take up residence in this room instead. And was currently sitting cross-legged atop a large round, deep brown colored beanbag-like backless cushioned chair.

Originally a table had been placed in this corner and that was where Tessa had first set up her new home base. By gathering together many of the large potted plants from around the room, and setting them up around this table, she had built herself a nice, dense little jungle to sleep in.

Amused by this, Anton had bought her the cushioned chair to use instead of the table and she took to it immediately. And now content with being surrounded by her little indoor wilderness, she refused any and all of Mica's or the dark elves efforts to move her to her own more traditional room.

“What are you doing?” asked Mica as she came up beside Fiona.

“...Watching the bug.” mumbled Fiona in a hushed tone.

“Why? What is she doing?” whispered Mica as she peeked around the corner.

“Nothing. That's the problem. She's not even moving at all.” said Fiona in her same soft tone “She's just sitting there. Completely still.”

“...That's because she's still sleeping.” grumbled Mica as she took on an annoyed expression.

“It's like she's a statue. Can't even tell if she's breathing...” continued Fiona “It's so creepy... We need to get rid of her!”

“You're an idiot...” sighed Mica as she flicked at the tip of Fiona's ear with a loop of her tail.

“Ow! Dammit! Will you quit doing that!” growled Fiona.

“Nope.” said Mica smugly as she stepped around her and made her way over to the sleeping mantis.

Although it had only been a week that Tessa had now been living in the house, a marked difference could already be seen in her condition and demeanor. As she had not only begun to put on a bit of much needed weight, but she had obviously become quite comfortable around her new companions as well. This didn't happen immediately though, as for the first few days after her arrival she had remained overly alert to everything that was happening around her at all times, and no one had noticed her ever actually going to sleep or even relaxing in anyway. This soon changed however, due primarily to Anton reining in both Kianna and Mica who, while well meaning in their efforts, were clearly smothering the poor mantis with attention. This went so far as them not even wanting to let her go outside for fear that she may wander off and become lost.

Once she was given a bit of space though, Tessa began to behave more naturally and it quickly became apparent just how different from other people she really was. And one of the first realizations that was made in this way, was that the reason she wasn't sleeping was because she apparently wasn't comfortable with being made to lay down in a bed. Instead, when left to her own devices, she slept in a rigid upright state either while standing or, more often than not, while sitting down in a cross-legged almost meditative-like stance with her head lightly bowed and her four arms folded up in her lap, just as how she was currently positioned right now.

Another thing she really did not appreciate was being in a room with the door closed, this unfortunately included the bathroom, and this was more than likely the reason she preferred the open sitting room to any of the empty bedrooms upstairs.

But despite those rocky first few days full of misunderstandings, and once she was finally given a bit of freedom to do things her own way, Tessa now seemed to feel safe and happy enough in the house to regularly let her guard down and sleep in her strange manner.

Despite the fact that she was sitting upright, Mica could still tell that Tessa was indeed asleep due not only to her main eyes being closed, but also because when sleeping, her large insectoid eyes would take on a darkened appearance as she apparently shifted the many tiny lenses inside them inwards so that they were technically facing themselves. In this way they wouldn't pick up on any movement around her and were thus essentially closed.

Stopping just in front of the mantis, Mica slowly waved her tail back and forth over Tessa's head, right above her antennae. Having learned it was best not to startle the mantis by touching her while she was asleep, she and the others would instead use this method to wake her up by dousing her with a fresh wave of their scent.

Within moments Tessa's antennae began to rise upwards and wave themselves back and forth as she began to stir.

Yawning softly, Tessa kept her main eyes closed while her insectoid eyes brightened in a wave of color as the lens inside them shifted themselves outwards and became focused on Mica.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” said Mica with a smile “Ready to start the day?”

Tessa was still for a moment before she flicked her antennae back in a dismissive manner and darkened her eyes up again as she blatantly made to go back to sleep.

“Wha, hey! C'mon now, it's time to get up!” exclaimed Mica as she used the broad side of her spade to tap on the mantis' head between her antennae.

Annoyed now, Tessa scrunched up her main eyes before opening them up just enough to glare at the kiochi.

“You know, if you go back to sleep you're going to miss breakfast.” warned Mica with a grin “So you better get up if you wanna eat!”

Tessa remained still for a moment before unfolding her middle set of arms from her lap and using them to pat at her bent knees.

“No, I'm not bringing you a plate.” said Mica as her grin broadened “If you don't get up now then you're going to go hungry.”

Despite the fact that her facial expression never changed, it was still easy to tell that the mantis was now pouting as she folded both sets of her arms over her chest and middle in protest.

“Get as upset as you want to!” laughed Mica “It's not gonna change anything! If you stay in here, then you're not gonna eat!”

A thin, groan-like whine began to emanate out from the mantis as she vibrated her wings in annoyance.

“What's going on?” asked Kianna as she came around the corner and stopped next to Fiona “Why is Tessa buzzing?”

“Because Mica is trying to get her to get out of bed, and she doesn't want to.” answered Fiona “Apparently she's still tired.”

“Hmph, well if she didn't stay up so late chasing varmints, she wouldn't be so tired in the morning...” mumbled Kianna as she stepped into the room “Anyways. Guess what, Tessa! I've got a surprise for you!”

Turning to her, Tessa's eyes brightened once again as she flicked her antennae forward in intrigue.

“Check it out!” cried Kianna as she pulled a light green tank top out from behind her back and held it up in front of the mantis “Its the same color as you! So when you wear it, you'll still be-!”

The dark elf stopped sort with a sigh as the tank top was suddenly sliced in half, right down its middle.

“Seriously!? C'mon, Tessa!” said Kianna as she held onto the two halves of the destroyed tank top and planted her balled fists on her hips “You can't just run around naked forever!”

Folding her scythe away, Tessa crossed her arms back into place over her chest and middle before closing her eyes and turning her head away with an implied huff.

“...Honestly. How does a mute mantis even manage to pull off sass like that?” sighed Kianna as she narrowed her eyes “Who even taught you how to act like that? ...Was it Master!?”

“Why do you care so much if she wears clothes or not? It's not like you can even see her goody bits anyway.” said Fiona as she leaned her shoulder against the door frame “I mean really, if you didn't know any better you couldn't even tell she was naked.”

“Yeah, but if you did know better you could!” countered Kianna “Like if another mantis saw her they would definitely know.”

“...Okay, sure.” said Fiona with a shrug “What are the chances of her running into another mantis around here though? Slim to none, I bet. Honestly, I say if she wants to be naked then just let her be naked. Who cares?”

“Yeah... Normally I would agree.” sighed Kianna “But later today we're going back to Mr. Mokai's. And we can't take Tessa with us if she's naked!”

“Why not? That spider is another big bug after all.” said Fiona “Maybe he'll enjoy the show?”

“Master Mokai isn't like that! He's an honest, happily married spider!” exclaimed Mica “He wouldn't appreciate such disrespectful behavior! And also, Isabella will probably be there too. So yeah, Tessa definitely needs to be dressed.”

“...Okay, I'll give you the Isabella point. But the rest of that is nothing but wishful thinking on your part.” said Fiona before turning her attention back to Kianna “Maybe if we show her other mantises wearing clothes, she'd be more willing to try it too?”

“...Oh, that's a good idea!” said Kianna as she immediately reached back for her phone.

Seemingly ignoring the conversation taking place around her, Tessa yawned again before glancing at the phone that Kianna was now holding up in front of her.

“Take a look at this, Tessa.” said Kianna as she pointed at the images on her phone “See! These weremantises aren't exactly the same kind as you are, but they are all wearing clothes. And they look good with them on too. You could be just like them!”

Apparently intrigued, Tessa leaned closer and focused all her eyes on the screen in front of her. After a moment of staring, she flicked her antennae forward and began to use the tip of one of them like a finger to scroll down and expose more images.

With Tessa taking her time examining each and every picture, it wasn't long before Kianna's arm began to tire from holding out the phone. And when she finally began to droop from the strain, Tessa reached up with one of her middle arms and repositioned Kianna's limb back in its original place.

“Okay. Tessa, sweety.” started Kianna as she shifted her shoulder from side to side “I can't just hold this up for you forev-!”

Pointing her ears straight upwards in surprise, the dark elf stopped short before narrowing her eyes in annoyance as a still preoccupied Tessa absently reached up and pressed two of her fingers against Kianna's lips to silence her.

“...Why you rude little brat!” grumbled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back in full on irritation “How dare you!”

“Ha! Looks like she showed you who's the boss around here!” laughed Fiona as Mica chuckled in agreement.

“Hey. What's going on in here?” asked Anton as he came up from behind Fiona.

“Kianna's trying to convince Tessa to wear clothes, and it's not going too well.” chuckled Fiona.

“Ah, I see.” nodded Anton “Yeah, that does sound like a challenge.”

“It really is.” sighed Kianna “You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would you?”

“Hmm...” mused Anton as his expression became thoughtful “Have you tried bribery yet?”

“...No? Haven't tried that yet.” said Kianna as she looked from him back to Tessa “...What would I even bribe her with though?”

“Hm, well, something to eat would probably work best.” said Anton “Maybe a rabbit, or a chicken?”

“...When you say a rabbit or a chicken, you don't mean a living animal, do you?” questioned Fiona.

“Yeah, I do.” said Anton.

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“Okay, really!? Like you really think she's just gonna eat a live animal!?” exclaimed Fiona.

“I don't just think that she will, I know she will.” said Anton “What do you think she did with that raccoon she caught the other night?”

“...Wait! Are you serious!? Did she really eat a fucking raccoon!?” cried Fiona.

“Well, most of one...” said Anton with a shrug “Me and Mica had to clean up the parts she didn't like.”

“Ew! Gross!” groaned Fiona “Seriously! Why the Hell do we let this thing in the house!?”

“Yeah, that sucked having to wash all the blood off the porch. There really wasn't much left of the body though. Just part of the lower jaw, a chuck of pelt and a foot.” said Mica “And I'm thinking it wasn't that she didn't like those parts, but that she just got full. Otherwise she probably would've eaten the whole thing.”

“Probably.” nodded Anton “That was a pretty good sized raccoon. Honestly, I'm surprised she ate as much of it as she did.”

“Hold on! How did this twig even fit a whole ass raccoon in her stomach?” questioned Fiona “And when did this even happen? Because I don't remember her ever walking around with a beach ball belly!”

“It was a couple of days ago now. And you wouldn't have noticed anything if you were just looking at her torso.” said Anton “Her stomach isn't in there. It's in her abdomen.”

“...Okay? And where exactly is her abdomen?” asked Fiona.

“It's that long section of her body beneath her wings.” explained Anton.

“...You mean her tail?” questioned Fiona.

“Yes, that's it. Which while it does kind of look like a tail, it's actually an extension of her body.” said Anton “And it's where most of her organs are. Including her stomach.”

“Okay, that's fucking weird...” mumbled Fiona.

“Not really. That's how most arthropoda based people are built.” said Anton with a shrug “Even Mokai is the same way. His stomach is in his abdomen as well.”

“Yeah, note to self, never let your guard down around anybody who keeps their stomach in their tail.” muttered Fiona “Apparently they can fit way more in there than you might realize, and it turns out it's a great place to hide a body...”

Anton chuckled as he nodded in agreement and made his way into the room.

“Here, Kianna. Let me see your phone for a second.” he said as he reached out to her.

Dropping her phone in his hand, Kianna watched as he quickly looked up a video of people letting their big, white, pet rabbits hop around in their backyard.

“Here we go. Here, Tessa, take a look at this.” said Anton as he held the phone up to her.

Shifting her eyes forwards, the mantis stared with rapt attention at the frolicking bunnies for a moment before using just the very tip of her tongue to hungrily lick her lips.

“See those cute bunnies, Tessa?” chuckled Anton “If you let Kianna dress you up, and keep the clothes on the entire time we're out today. We'll go to a flea market and get you one to eat this weekend!”

“This is so fucked up...” muttered Fiona.

Tessa's eyes tightened as she continued to stare at the phone.

“...You can take the clothes off again as soon as we get home.” offered Anton “And that's a promise, you won't have to keep wearing them once we get back here.”

Tessa was still for another moment before she looked up at Anton and nodded her head.

“Excellent! Alright, Kianna. She's all yours!” smiled Anton as he turned to the dark elf and handed her back her phone “Have fun!”

“Oh, I'm going to!” grinned Kianna as she turned to Tessa and tapped her on the nose “I'm going to make you look so cute!”

The mantis had a tired looking expression in her eyes as she slumped her shoulders and let her antennae droop back behind her head.

-

Later that afternoon the group found themselves stepping out of a portal in front of Mokai's lodge.

As they all made their way up the hill to the entrance, Mica had an eager spring to her step while Tessa, who was still fidgeting with the lightweight, sky-blue sundress that Kianna had dressed her in, was lagging a bit as Kianna led her along by the hand.

“Will you stop messing with it.” chastised a smiling Kianna as she patted one of Tessa's middle hands away from her dress's strap “I know you're just trying to get out of wearing it by “accidentally” slicing it up with your claws. But you might as well quit that as it's not gonna work out for you, Missy! Cause I brought plenty of safety pins!”

Anton chuckled as Tessa let out a low annoyed sounding hum from her vibrating wings.

With her wings resting atop the dress that was wrapped around her torso, the buzzing sound Tessa had attempted became muffled quite a bit by the soft fabric, and wasn't nearly as loud as she had intended it to be. Thwarted by the object of her ire, Tessa glanced back at her wings before glaring down at the dress and lightly flexing her scythes out a bit before folding them back into place with a snap.

“I wish you would have let me cut your hair...” sighed Kianna “You would look so much cuter with a trim...”

“Yeah, let's not push the wild child with the built-in knife collection too much in one day, okay?” said Fiona “I mean honestly you should just be thankful that she finally let you put her in a dress at all.”

“Yeah, that's true. We are making progress, I guess.” said Kianna as she tried to adjust Tessa's uneven bangs as best she could “Baby steps...”

As the first to reach the entrance, Mica held the door open for everyone else and as soon as they all moved past her, she let the door shut on its own as she teleported back to the front of the line.

The room just past the entrance was a sort of lobby/administration area that sported some comfortable seating for any waiting guests, a small counter-top with offered water and coffee and a welcome desk. And to the left of this desk was a wide hallway that lead deeper into the building.

As it was already late enough in the afternoon to be past normal business hours, there was currently no one in sight.

Stepping up to the desk, Anton gave a button labeled “Call for Assistance” a quick push and looked about as a soft, doorbell-like chime rang out.

“If that's you out there, Anton. You guys can come on back.” came Mokai's voice from down the wide hallway “We're just down here, second door on the right.”

Following his directions, the group soon found themselves back in the same large sparring room they had used before.

Across the room from them, Mokai was busy arranging wooden training swords back into an armoire while a woman, who appeared to be half feline in nature, was sitting on the bleachers and running an oiled cloth across a actual steel sword.

“Some of these are getting pretty beaten up...” mused Mokai as he eyed the heavily notched sword in his hand “Remind me to put in for a half dozen of them the next time I'm making an order.”

“Yup.” muttered the cat woman with a nod.

Noticing Anton and the others entering the room via the eyes on the back of his head, Mokai twisted around at the waist and smiled in greeting.

“Welcome back.” he said as he turned his whole body around to face them “Good to see you all again... And I see we've got a newcomer as well.”

“Yes. A bit of an unexpected new addition.” said Anton as he turned to the mantis “This is Tessa, and she'll be Mica's new live-in training partner. We brought her along so she could watch the lessons and get herself familiar with Mica's courses. I hope that's okay?”

“Ah, I see.” nodded Mokai as he looked the mantis up and down “No, that shouldn't be a problem. So long as she's at least...”

The tsuchigumo trailed off into silence as he gazed at Tessa. Their eyes now locked with each other, he and the mantis both stood completely still as they seemed to be giving one another a long, thorough assessment. After a few moments of this, Mokai grinned and nodded his head.

“Hmph, yeah. Mica will definitely be able to learn a thing or 2 from this one...” he said “I'm guessing there's an interesting story behind her as well?”

“A little bit of one.” said Anton with a grin.

“Yeah. I figured as much.” mumbled Mokai as he began to lightly shake his head “Well, keep it to yourselves, Okay. We've already got enough drama surrounding your group as it is. No need to keep piling on even more.”

“Alright, fair enough.” chuckled Anton.

“And how are we doing today, Miss Mica?” asked Mokai as he turned to the kiochi.

“Good! Really good!” declared Mica as she beamed up at him “Ready to get started!”

“Eager then, good.” nodded Mokai “Well before we get going. Let me introduce you to one of my instructors. She'll hopefully be helping us with your lessons from here on out.”

Mica's eyes immediately jumped to the woman sitting on the bleachers. And she blinked as she realized that while the woman was still polishing the sword in her clawed, cat-like hands, she was also gazing right back at the kiochi.

-

Sitting with her long tail curled along her side, her paw-like feet planted on the seat below her and the sword resting across her lap. The woman had a casual and even curious vibe about her as she absently swished the tip of her tail and let her bright, golden colored eyes run slowly up and down Mica's length.

Though definitively feline in nature, there was little chance of mistaking her for a simple cat, no, this woman's linage had clearly come from far beyond the borders of civilization, and out from the darkest of the deep jungles.

She was humanoid in form and face, and had black-tipped feline ears sitting perked and alert atop her head, amid a sea of silk-like raven colored hair. The rich, bronzed skin of her face and torso was strikingly offset by the sleek coat of short fur that covered her shoulders, back, hips, tail and limbs.

This fur was a tawny gold in its base color and was overlaid with a series of mottled, dark spots.

These spots, or the dark patterns that adorned her fur, were reminiscent of ink dripped haphazardly upon paper. Blotch-like and nonuniform in their shapes, with each individual mark being unique in its design. In color, they were an earthen tone towards their centers and this darkened to a full black along their edges. Despite the brightness of her golden fur, these markings gave her a dappled, shadowy appearance that, even when sitting as she was in full light, left her with an aura of mystique and a sense of danger, which signaled that if she were to simply will it, she could easily turn aside and at any point, disappear back into the wilds of the world.

Without question, this woman was certainly no mere cat, she was an nagual, a werejaguar.

-

“Well, well, well...” said the werejaguar as she set the sword aside and silently sprang to her feet “So this is the famous Mica...”

Mica stood her ground as the taller woman sauntered up to her and smiled just enough to show off her sharpened teeth.

“I've heard quite a bit about you lately.” continued the werejaguar as she laid her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side “You've apparently made quite the impression... Nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“Oh really? I'm famous, huh. That's cool.” said Mica as she mimicked the werejaguar's stance “So what do you think? Do I live up to the hype?”

“I don't know yet.” said the werejaguar as she lifted her head out of its tilt “Still gotta figure that out...”

Dressed in a dark green sports bra and a pair of athletic shorts that left her tight stomach on full display, the werejaguar was poised and confident as she and the kiochi both stood facing one another and let their long tails each curl aimlessly about through the air behind them.

Clearly capable, and yet still friendly in her demeanor, the werejaguar was impressive in her own right, and Mica couldn't help but to instantly like her.

“Nadia.” said the werejaguar as she held out her hand “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mica.”

“Likewise.” said Mica as she eagerly shook the paw-like appendage “I'm looking forward to learning from you!”

“Good to hear!” smiled Nadia as she turned to Mokai “I can tell she's got some toughness to her, and probably an attitude problem. I like her already!”

“Excellent.” nodded Mokai “That's exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Having stepped a bit off to the side from everyone else, Kianna tentatively glanced about at the rafters of the roof before moving towards the shadowy hole that apparently led to the buildings upper story.

“Oh, Isabella! There you are! Hello again, sweety!” she cried as she spied the little girl's face peering down at them from the large darkened hole in the ceiling.

The little spiderling wasted no time in descending down the rope covered pillar and scurrying over to the dark elf.

Kianna dropped down to rest on her haunches and opened her arms out wide in time to scoop the racing little girl up into a welcoming hug.

“It's so good to see you again, sweety!” cooed Kianna as she nuzzled her cheek together with the little spider's “Have you been a good girl since we left?”

Isabella nodded her head enthusiastically before turning to her Father for confirmation.

“She has, definitely.” chuckled Mokai “She's even gotten better at making her bed every morning.”

“Oh that's good to hear!” said Kianna as she reached back to her bag “And since you've been a good girl, I've got a surprise for you...”

Isabella eagerly craned her neck as she tried to look around the dark elf and see what it was she had in store for her.

“Ta-dah!” said Kianna as she held up a brand new Dragon Force Warriors children's book she had picked up while at the mall “I hope you don't already have this one yet. It's supposed to be the newest one to come out so far.”

Isabella's eyes lit up as she reached out and took hold of the book before gazing at its cover. After a moment of stillness she turned back to Kianna and eagerly held it out to her.

“Sure, we can read it while your Daddy and Nadia gives Mica her lesson.” said Kianna as she stood up and cradled the little girl in her arms while making her way over to the bleachers.

Curling herself up into a little ball as Kianna sat down, Isabella settled herself in on the dark elf's lap before quickly looking through the pictures in her new book.

“So is this your way of trying to butter me up?” asked Mokai as he leaned in close to Anton.

“Huh, what?” questioned Anton “What do you mean?”

“The book.” said Mokai as he nodded to Kianna and Isabella.

“Oh, no. That was all Kianna's idea. As soon as she seen that book, she had to get it for Isabella.” said Anton “I hope that's okay? She's not overstepping, is she?”

“No, not at all. It's nice of her. And I appreciate it.” said Mokai “I was just making sure there were no ulterior motives at play.”

“Ah, no. I've already gotten everything I want out of you.” chuckled Anton “So there's no reason to try manipulating for even more.”

Mokai laughed before shaking his head.

“Fair enough.” he said as he turned to face Mica “Why don't we go ahead and get started then.”

“Sounds good to me!” exclaimed Mica as she immediately began to stretch.

For the next two hours Nadia ran through sets of simple maneuvers with Mica while Mokai watched and added bits of advice or recommendations at various points throughout the lesson.

For their parts, Anton and Fiona divided their attention between Mica's training and Kianna's antics with Isabella. While Tessa on the other hand, had kept her eyes locked to the lesson taking place before her. Having been seated right next to Kianna, the mantis had stayed completely still for the full two hours as she became focused with rapt attention on every little thing that was both said and done by the two instructors.

How much she was actually comprehending out of everything that was happening in front of her was anyone's guess, though Kianna in particular was just thankful that she had at least been distracted enough to stop messing with her dress.

Throughout their lesson, the mock combatants of Nadia and Mica steadily grew more casual in their conversational banter and it was easy to see that a friendship between them was quickly developing. And as their allotted time began to run out, the werejaguar made it a point to let Mokai know that she was definitely interested in working with the kiochi further, much to Mica's delight.

When they were fully done for the day, Mica, Anton and the rest of the group thanked Mokai and Nadia for their time and Kianna promised Isabella that she would see her again soon, as their next visit was planned for the same time that following next week.

Their goodbyes and thank yous said, the group left through another of Anton's portals.

“Well that was fun.” said Fiona as they stepped out of the portal and into the foyer at the front of the house “That jungle cat chick is pretty cool.”

“She is! She's a badass!” nodded Mica “She knows what she talking about too. That girl knows how to fight!”

As they made their way into the house, Tessa suddenly stopped short and went stiff before beginning to rapidly wave her antennae back and forth.

“Tessa?” questioned Kianna “...You okay?”

Without an answer, Tessa leaped straight upwards and flipped herself over in midair so as to be able to grab hold of the ceiling with all six of her clawed limbs. Crawling silently across the ceiling now, the mantis quickly shot forward and disappeared deeper into the house.

“What the Hell? What's gotten into her?” asked Fiona.

“She's probably just excited to be home. Cause now she can shred that dress into pieces...” sighed Kianna.

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense.” nodded Fiona.

“Don't worry, I'll try to stop her from destroying it completely.” laughed Mica before she suddenly disappeared from sight as she teleported after the mantis.

“Wait! Mica, don't go!” cried Anton though it was too late, the kiochi had already gone.

“What? What's wrong?” questioned Fiona as she and her sister both turned back to Anton.

Anton stood still for a moment as if he were listening for something, before dropping his gaze to the dark elves.

“Can either one of you sense them right now?” he asked softly.

The dark elves blinked in question before shaking their heads.

“No? What are you talking about?” questioned Fiona as she looked out into the house “Sense who?”

“Mica and Tessa...” said Anton as he locked eyes with Kianna “Can you feel their mana signatures?”

“...Oh, uh? ...No!” gasped Kianna as she pointed her ears straight upwards in alarm.

“Wait! I can't either! ...What is this? What's going on!?” demanded Fiona as she turned back to Anton.

“...The ward is down.” said Anton as he flared his aura “We're under attack!”