…..:::::|. The Glorious Toot Spring.|:::::…..

The mineral rich waters were warmer than she had remembered from the morning. Perhaps it had only been her need to rest in them, now, which told her their comfort was more soothing than it had been before.

The Full Moons' festivities were indeed in full swing, bright with colours in the hall and plenty score patrons enjoying they’re play in the waters. If she'd been honest with herself, this was much more refreshing than she'd thought.

Too much had already taken place here in The Ladi and Halycind's mind had already been accosted way more than she’d expected. What with the chase, and Percival’s execution, and that dark man in the middle of the dark plaza.

The pools felt good. Very good.

Siin came to mind but she wasn't entirely sure why. She only let the memory of him capturing Marvynn travel through her head again. She couldn't rightly say she understood magecraft in its entirety. She'd only been born a wolf-spirit. She couldn’t produce flame from no where or use thin air to trap a man. About the most she could do was speak to her pack-mates in her mind. And even that was only in close range.

You should take that bathing robe off, pack-sister. Kodlaa's smooth playful tone slipped into Halycind's mind as she lounged with five others petting her skin in the warm pool waters. They like our colour.

I don't want to be touched, right now, sister. Halycind murmured mentally. Even her thoughts were languid in pace.

You seriously need to learn to seize your opportunities, Cash. Our jobs only get harder from here and you don't know when you're going to get the next one.

Even though Kodlaa's voice was an unwanted haunting, Halycind couldn't help but agree with her. If anything had taught her what life and death were, today's chase would have been it.

She took a large breath and caught the eye of a young Isam man smiling at her from across the pools. She'd seen him during the chase, minding one of the foreigner stalls in the Plaza's East Ward. She'd wondered if his had been damaged.

His small wave and short bow of the head let her know he was showing her gratitude for something done. She bowed her head in response. Then thought about herself, pulled up a tentative hand, and extended a wave in open acknowledgment.

See. That a girl. Saying hi won't kill ya.

How do I tell him I don't want him?

Sometimes a wave is just a wave. Kodlaa sighed. See the Isam girl sitting down next to him now?

Yeah?

That's his wife. They run that stall I was shopping earlier.

Oh. Halycind felt odd, scolded, and wrong for thinking his beckon was somehow, flirtatious. Oh.

Lighten up.

I dunno if I can, Kodi. Halycind sagged.

Well let me work on one of these boys for ya then. Sheesh, where's a mage when you need one?

Kodlaa.

Halycind’s groan took her head backward and she locked gaze on the moons. How ingenious a thing to open the roofs for patrons to view the magnificence that were Anteqwar and Qilla.

They loved each other. Eternally.

How'd they ever meet to decide that, though? How'd they ever get passed saying hello to one another as they passed each other in the sky?

Kodlaa was so good at speaking, Halycind had never given herself the chance to.

“Ooo, son of a Vellianaentriss florist, are ya? Aren't they the best in the world? Lemme sniff ya.”

Halycind watched Kodlaa play with her new companions.

“Oo you got a lot of pretty scents on you.”

She was so very good at mingling with others. Halycind cringed from the thought of sharing space too close. She scoffed at herself. She was so frisky innately, how could such a prude exist in the same body as one so viciously needy for touch.

Another thought of Siin and she was about to be done with her own mind.

“Oooh, your from Volliandre? I hear they don't got roads there.” Kodlaa tapped the nose of a sweet looking young maiden to her right. “How do you find your cute little way around?”

And she could mingle with anyone. Halycind turned her head away from the flirting wolvkin with a half smile and caught the gaze of the Isam wife of the man she waved to. She wondered how'd they'd met. A smiling nod passed her way and Halycind nodded toward her. Then she bowed to her in Ashok style. The Isam woman seemed more relaxed after that motion. Did she think Halycind wanted to take her husband away? Halycind stopped looking that direction and sank up to her chin in the waters.

“Yeah...I'm a warrior.” She saw Kodlaa say. “You like them types, yeah?”

Kodlaa’s cheek just brushed the girl’s face on her right and the young woman bit her lip.

Halycind heard a few murmurs from their grouping.

“Naah, we don't bite throats...less’n ya ask.” Kodlaa grinned to the young man scooting himself very close in on her left. “You askin'?”

All five of them nodded and Kodlaa growled a tiny playful growl as she shared nibbles for all of them.

Your growl is far too forced sister.

You hush your crits and take your learnin'. I got one of 'em interested in ya. And he hasn't heard ya speak so don't muss it up...or...you could nibble on what's behind ya.

Halycind turned and looked upward with a start to see him walking up far too close for her not to have noticed sooner.

His eyes were like cut gems staring down at hers; sparkling, strong, and steeled in their locked gaze. Those eyes, the shape of them, were sharp, heavily lashed and tipped at their outer ends like needles. His eyebrows were straight, dagger-like, resting confidently above those almond shaped gems. His nose a perfect little meaty thing sat just right in its place at the end of his fittingly strong enough bridge. His lips, a plumped pair, re-curved like the sultry shape of a bow.

They looked soft.

And she wanted to know how soft they truly were.

“I came to check on you, pup.” His voice was invasive, again, spilling onto her from those immaculately made lips.

Then everything from the day shot her upward to reach a hand backward to him in concern. “No. You need someone checking on you. You alright?” She took his hand--for aid was moving her on instinct--as he stooped into a flat-footed squat on the pools' edge.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

He wasn't in armours but he was clothed a-head-to-toe warmer than the flock near-naked in these pools. All she could rightly see was the blue and ruddy brown of his long sculpted neck half-enclosed at the top of his midnight blue attire.

“The Function doesn’t really…like it when you use any craft.” He said taking her hold with a couple intertwining fingers.

“Percival told us.” She said, a pout forming on her lips.

“You having fun?” He smirked.

“Not really.” Her eyes sort of wandered then rose back up to view him more.

“The chase?”

“Is that what we do…hunt your kind down?”

“Magecraft is..the most dangerous occupation in the world. Don’t let anyone tell you different. We were not meant to fool with the threads of what weaves life and death together.” His answer was serious.

She thought of the darkness earlier and a fear of it, of him, of craft all-together started to grow in her.

“Does it ever frighten you? That you'll end up like him?” Her eyes went back to looking him over.

“All the time, pup. All the time.”

“Sers, which do you?”

They both turned looks upon the server beaming bright brown eyes to the pair with a brass tray of recreational oddities splayed on its surface.

“Ah, no, sorry. I don’t actually smoke.” Siin graciously answered, nodding away the young halfwoman on toward other patrons. His half-grin and scrutinizing squint stared back down to Halycind. “See what you did?”

“Whuh--They just give that to you here?”

“Yeah.”

“Wha--they’re highly illegal.” Halycind was sore that the thought all their teachings of contraband and sense altering substances could just be usurped by arbitrary Gaennish rules.

“In every other place on the planet, maybe. The Gaennish do what they want.” He eased, squeezing her locked fingers happily. "Maybe that'll learn ya not to tease people."

"You're one to talk." Halycind’s grin belied her scolding as she turned around again to lean against the lip of the pool and his well-placed knee.

"Naah, I scrubs mah skin good soes I'm soft to the touch. Yeah, yeah?" Kodlaa mused to her group drawing closer yet on her.

A wide smirk grew on Kodlaa's heart-shaped face as she eyed her pack-sister and the mage, together. Then she turned to the lot in front of her. “Hey, watch this. You ever seen a wolf howl?” They all perked to brimming curiosity as Kodlaa shown face to the sky. Her chest rose with a large breath and in the exhale a smooth note, wolvish in make, sung towards the glowing orbs in the sky.

Her howl was matched and mimicked by not one but three other voices in the hall, including Halycind's forward leaning call. The giant room was silent for a full minute after their bellowing howl fell and the lot watching Kodlaa all shined amazement at her now moonslit glowing eyes.

Siin's hormones and the Function fought each other but his arousal was winning out. Anteqwar and Qilla, the two hunter moons, whose love knew no end had a way with the wolven ones he spent his early years with. He'd forgotten how pulling their collected song could be.

"Wow." One of the mesmerized females in Kodlaa's fold spilled mounds of sultry looks on the pink-haired warrior.

"Allurin' iddin't?" In fact the whole assemblage began to caress her in their astonishment.

“What?” Halycind's voice was deep. “Don't consider yourself Ashok anymore?” And it took her a second to turn to him; her eyes like the moons' light. He'd remembered this, vividly. Her eyes always seemed so deeply lit with burning moonslight when she howled. Siin violently fought the urge to kiss her.

“I--I wasn't born a wolf. Didn’t think it was right to pose.” He was being honest with her outside of himself; staring so intently. “I howled in my heart though.”

“I used to like it when you tried.” She was turning that coy grin and lit eyes away as she admitted this. howling had awakened something raw in her.

“Did you?” His voice was unsteady, low and growing in an anticipation he wasn't sure he wanted to show.

“I never told you?” She smoothed.

“No.”

Their voices were serious, heated. He took a solid think. They'd been holding hands since he stooped down. And he'd only now realized how long that'd been. He didn't want to seem uncontrollable but he also didn't want to break from her in this moment.

“You should mind your pack-mate over there. I think that lot’d be her full conquest for the night if you don’t stop’er.”

Halycind's chuckle was warm but close to teasing.

Heart's still got pump from the chase, sister...when you come down from that, you'll crash before you pound them all.

Aware of that, old biddy. Kodlaa barked, then she brushed the chin of the young man to her left. But immana toy before I conk out. Kodlaa went against custom and gave her pack-sibling an intentional stare as she haunted. More than you, dry-bones. You gettin' it on with him or what?

What, no.

Then why's his tail wrapped around you?

"Huh?" Halycind uttered outloud. She looked about herself to find Siin's tail smoothly wound around her left arm, softly leaning her closer to him.

Siin heard Halycind perk up, eyed the betrayal of his own appendage, and made a face. "Oh, I'm." He started as his tail unwrapped and stuffed itself someplace on his other side. "...sorry?" He was blinking a million times but neither unhooked their hands.

"You used to do that too when we howled."

He was shocked, Halycind hadn’t seem annoyed or perturbed or anything. Then he bore an expression of confusion.

"I did?"

"You did a lot things when we were young, Siin." She offered in a sultry tone. Her voice was now the one offering far too much for his attractions to refuse.

"Did you..." His pause was almost too long, but he had to know. "...like it?"

She tried to keep the coy to a minimum because the howl had put something in her belly she was seriously trying to mitigate. "You're a uh...dexterous individual...Siin Ynggrloch."

His grin was real but their moment was stolen by yelping in the pools and people being thrown in. Siin caught sight that one of the other wolvkin fighters had already been seized by a Gaennish woman into a full-on lip-lock as a result of that howl. He turned his head away, back to Halycind, but then thought of his own wants again.

A lofty tickling-giggle from the girl on Kodlaa's right took his attention and he was a slight thankful for the moment to breathe. "No, I don't got magin' in me. Me Ma gave me these and me Da gave me the gab." Kodlaa smirked pointing to her fangs. Then she pointed toward the mage trying to quell his arousals, holding the hand of the girl he'd come to see. "That'un does though. He's an aBn...a real one."

“Oooo.” One of them mewed.

“They're powerful.” The cute Vollilandre girl smiled.

"Yeah, wanna meet'im? Can't have'im though..I'm savin'im for someone special."

The whole gaggle of them pouted.

“I wanna meet him?” Another young maiden uttered.

They all nodded eagerly; bobbing in the waters.

“Cash! Get over here!" Kodlaa finally called out. Most eyes and heads in the hall drew their attention to the pair over by the back end. "You too, Ynggerloch! Get in!”

“Nono, head’s still spinning.” He started, waving with his unoccupied hand toward the beckoning wolvkin match-maker.

“She’s calling you.” He slid that beckon down to Halycind.

"You sure you'll be alright." Halycind was looking on him with a bit of a furled brow.

"You keep asking my well-being...I'll start thinking you care." He uttered smoothly.

She only stared at him with her lovely eyes and he could tell she was indeed growing a care for him.

“Don’t start a ruckus only a mage can fix, please." He sighed, deciding he truly needed to give his intestines a rest and more hydration. This was not the decision his body wanted to make right now but it was what he needed. So he urged her on. “Please.”

Halycind didn't quite know what to do. She wanted to say something but was stalled in thought. She wanted to make sure he ate enough and drank his fill, out of her sight. Was this the missing of an opportunity Kodlaa had spoken about a few moments ago? What was she to say?

“Go on, pup.” He jostled her fingers that were curled into his.

“Oh.” She sobered to the grasp and softly let him go. “Oh.”

She gave him a soft smile, real in its spreading, and he returned it, warmly.

She watched Siin rise and grip his gut again. His grimace turned away as he wiggled fingers in farewell to her.

She wanted to kiss every one of those digits, suddenly.

But he was unwell and that sorely worried her, also.

He really fancies you.

Kodlaa's voice was almost wholly welcome in the mire of Halycind's thoughts, but she needed to collect herself.

Oh...that's just the sauce. Halycind passed off.

That wasn’t the look of a charmer.