The next morning, they all woke up early, quickly getting ready for the day. The girls released their Beasts in front of the cabin, before getting comfortable on the seats in the living room, taking up their meditative postures. Meanwhile, Andrew joined the Beasts outside, shifting into his combined form. Francesca took the lead as they headed towards the walls, taking them through a large gate and into a large, dark forest. Trees larger than any Andrew had ever seen before towered over them as they walked. Dense foliage covered the ground, rustling as the creature which inhabited this place moved about, carefully creeping around in an endless dance of life and death.

"Be on your guard." Francesca warned, moving to the back of the group, letting them take the lead. "The creatures here are some of the weakest that the Outside has to offer, but so are all of you. You don't have any advantage over them. Right now, your biggest advantage is the group. Stick together, work together, and grow stronger, until these creatures mean nothing to you."

All four of them nodded, continuing to creep through the undergrowth. Not long later, Andrew threw up his hand as he sensed an aura nearby. "I don't think it's noticed us yet." Andrew muttered quietly, trying not to alert the Beast as he slipped closer to a tree to try to hide his aura.

They all looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about?" Linda/Karen hissed back.

Andrew frowned, wondering why they weren't hiding. "Uh, the Beast? Right over there? Can you guys not sense it?"

"Not all of us can sense emotions, Andrew." Francesca commented. "That's just a Monkey thing."

"No, not their emotions, the aura. You can sense that, right?" Andrew asked, confused. They could sense auras, right? That was a Beast thing, wasn't it?

"What aura!?!" Linda/Karen asked incredulously.

"Maybe I'm using the wrong term for it… Uh, the sort of… halo? Feeling? Sense that every living thing has about it. I never really asked what they were called, but you guys know what I'm talking about, right?" Andrew asked.

They all looked at him, dumbfounded, before shaking their heads. Even Francesca looked confused. "Andrew, that- that isn't something normal." She explained.

Andrew blinked, then blinked again. "It isn't?"

"No." Francesca assured him in a firm tone.

Andrew looked around at the others. "You guys really can't see auras? Like at all?" They all shook their heads again. Andrew was stunned. He'd always just assumed sensing auras was a Beast thing. Why else would he be able to do it? His parents had never mentioned it, but they'd also never mentioned they could hear or touch things either. Andrew had just assumed it was a normal sense. He stood there, not entirely sure what to say while they all looked at him strangely. "Uh… okay, so- well, apparently I have an entirely different special ability, which… ugh, forget it, there's a Beast over there, alright?" Andrew finally gave up, just wanting to move on.

Francesca nodded. "Right, Andrew, you go high, Li Jing Mei, you move through the underbrush. The other two will circle to either side, ready to charge in when needed."

They all nodded and Andrew shot up into a tree, creeping along the limbs as he approached where he sensed the creature carefully. He made sure to stick to the dense bundles of aura as he did, before remembering it was pointless… the Beast couldn't actually sense his aura… probably. He was going to have to get used to that. Down below, Li Mei/Jing crept forward through the undergrowth, carefully picking her way towards the area Andrew had gestured too. Linda/Karen and Petunia/Susie circled to either side, keeping their distance as their forms didn't allow for sneaking, but ready to charge in the moment Andrew and Li Mei/Jing began their attack.

Andrew finally spied the Beast as he peeked through the leaves of the tree he was creeping along. It was a Squirrel type Beast, skittering around the base of a large tree. Andrew sent Li Mei/Jing patient waiting emotions as he got into position, finding a hidden spot on one of the large branches above the Squirrel. Li Mei/Jing slithered into a nearby bush a short distance from the Squirrel, tensing up as she waited for Andrew's signal. Andrew waited patiently, watching the Squirrel, waiting for the moment it was most distracted. As the Squirrel began to dig at the roots of one of the plants, Andrew sensed its eagerness and focus, immediately sending Li Mei/Jing an urgent go signal as he leapt out of the tree, claws out!

Andrew descended from above as Li Mei/Jing let out a roar, bursting from the bush, stunning the Squirrel. Its head jerked towards the Dragon in panic, before squeaking in pain as Andrew's claws ripped long, vicious tears into its skin! Its head jerked back towards Andrew as it jumped away, right into the waiting jaws of Li Mei/Jing, who bit down hard on its neck, jerking as she dragged it to the ground, wrapping her body around it as her claws dug into its body. As she pinned the Squirrel down, Andrew rushed forward, claws flashing as he dug them into any vulnerable area that was exposed. Li Mei/Jing continued to wrench the Squirrel's neck, trying to break it, but all the neck did was twist, the Squirrel basically ignoring it as it continued to struggle against her grip.

Andrew frowned at the dying Squirrel as blood poured out of it, wondering why it wasn't dead. Li Mei/Jing had managed to twist the Beast like a rag you were wringing water from, but all it did was squeal and continue to struggle, though its struggles became weaker and weaker as blood continued to flow out of it, until finally it stopped moving entirely, and its aura began to condense, focusing in on a small point within the Squirrel's chest. Andrew cocked his head, reaching out to cut into the Squirrel's chest with a claw, finding a small crystal glowing with the Squirrel's aura. "Huh… well that's convenient."

"What is?" Francesca asked as she approached from behind.

"Oh, I can see the crystal… its aura. Makes it easy to find." Andrew commented.

Francesca's eyebrows shot up. "That is convenient."

Andrew nodded, before turning to Linda/Karen and Petunia/Susie as they arrived. "Sorry for not leaving you two anything to do." He apologized.

Francesca shook her head. "I purposefully held them back. They wouldn't have been able to do anything to the Squirrel anyways. Their ability grants them a stretchy, rubbery body, which makes them immune to blunt force. These two wouldn't have had any way to hurt it."

"So that's why I wasn't able to break its neck." Li Mei/Jing nodded along.

"Exactly." Francesca nodded. "However, there's one thing you two forgot." She added, the both of them looking at each other, confused as to what she meant. "How did you know that Squirrel was something you could face? How did you know it wasn't some powerful creature that would make mincemeat of the both of you in a matter of seconds?"

Andrew blinked. "Uh… we- we didn't?"

"Exactly! You had no idea how strong that Squirrel was! Luckily it was weak, but you didn't even take the time to properly observe it before you rushed in!" Francesca scolded them. "Always observe your prey before you strike! You've all been taught what to look for in your training at home, right?" They all nodded. "Then use that knowledge! That's why you were taught it! This is how you learn to take calculated risks, instead of just risks!" She finished, glaring at them all, before letting out a sigh. "Come on, let's go find the next Beast, and this time, hunt it right."

*

Over the next few days, the group continued to hunt the Beasts surrounding the Base camp. Andrew's aura sensing was particularly useful in finding hidden Beasts, even more than his ability to sense emotions. Not all the creatures living in the Outside were Beasts. In fact, most of them weren't. And worse, there wasn't much difference between the emotions of a Beast and an animal. However, with auras, it was different. There was something more… substantial about Beast auras. As Andrew focused on observing Beasts, he even began to notice that stronger Beasts had even more substantial auras, though given different physiologies, it wasn't an exact measurement. A Bear would be much stronger than a Squirrel, even with the same aura. Still, it made figuring out whether a Beast was a suitable target much easier. With Andrew steering them away from the stronger foes and quickly finding the weaker ones, they were amassing a sizable amount of ability crystals.

Andrew had also shown a little bit of talent as a group leader. He could use he emotional communication to silently coordinate his three team members in each battle, keeping their prey unaware of their presence as long as possible. Combining both his emotion and aura sensing, he got a sense of what their prey was trying to do, and he knew exactly where everyone was, so he could tell when they needed to back off and when they needed to charge forward. In particular, he and Li Mei/Jing made a great team. The Dragon was an expert at sneaking through the underbrush, while Andrew could sneak through the trees. When they attacked, she would erupt violently, startling their opponent, which would leave them vulnerable to Andrew's ambush, following which they'd panic and fall under Li Mei/Jing's attack.

The other two were mainly used against stronger opponents. When Li Mei/Jing couldn't pin the enemy Beast down, the other two would take turns coming in like battering rams, keeping the Beast off balance while Andrew and Li Mei/Jing flashed in and out between charges, delivering savage blows with their claws. Linda/Karen's charges were particularly devastating. Goats had the ability to shift how gravity affects a portion of their weight, allowing Linda/Karen to push about half her weight directly towards their opponents so she could hit harder and faster. Petunia/Susie was less effective in battle, but her pocket dimension stored all their food and water, as well as the crystals, allowing them to go on longer trips. All in all, Francesca was very satisfied with her team, proud of how well they all worked together.

After such a successful hunt, they returned to the base camp, planning on resting for a few days while they absorbed the crystals they'd gained, before heading out again. Andrew headed to his room with conflicted emotions, carrying a bag of crystals. A part of him didn't want to absorb them. He knew he needed to be stronger, to grow so that he could defend Earth, but… wasn't he already weird enough? Andrew let out a sigh. He knew getting stronger wouldn't change much. He was already way too strong, stronger than any normal human ever could be. He just- he couldn't help but feel that he was leaving humanity behind, and where would that leave him? As just another random Beast, roaming the wild in search of power? Would he even want that kind of life? Andrew stared at the bag of crystals with a twisted expression, before letting out another weary sigh. Why even fight it? This is what he was.

He took out the first crystal, staring at it for a moment, before popping it into his mouth. The crystal immediately melted, the energy flowing into him as he closed his eyes, concentrating on keeping the energy from seeping away as much as possible. Absorbing an ability crystal wasn't a complicated process, but if you wanted the best results, you needed a quiet, secure place to concentrate while the energy did its work, or you'd waste a good chunk of it. Thankfully, at least at this level, it didn't take that much time to absorb the crystal, only about fifteen minutes or so. Andrew paused as the energy seemed to be absorbed rather easily, but then again, the crystals were weak, so he was probably just over thinking things. Andrew popped a few more crystals, spending about an hour absorbing them before letting out a weary yawn. It'd been a long few days and sleeping in the wilderness hadn't exactly been restful, so Andrew was exhausted. He was about to head to bed but a quick sniff of the sour smell he was giving off convinced him to take a shower first, somewhat regretting that he hadn't done so earlier.

Andrew headed to the bathroom in a daze, not even thinking as he grabbed the handle of the bathroom door, putting a bit too much force into nudging the door with his shoulder, barely registering the resistance from the lock before the door was knocked off its hinges, falling to the floor with a bang. "Oh, shit, so-" Andrew began to panic, apologizing, before freezing as his eyes went wide and his mouth fell open, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of a buck naked Li Jing who had just gotten out of the shower. They stared at each other, stunned, before Li Jing let out an ear piercing shriek, jumping back into the shower, covering herself with the curtain. "S-sorry!" Andrew yelled back, quickly lifting the door back up, wedging it in the doorway, before running out into the living room.

"What was that!?!" Zelda asked urgently, appearing out of nowhere.

"I-I-" Andrew began, before wincing as another crash came from behind him, the loosely placed door falling back down. "You- you should go help Li Jing." He muttered, gesturing over his shoulder as he flushed in embarrassment, before escaping outside. The moment he stepped out, a long, scaled tail whipped at him, sending him flying, tumbling across the ground. Li Mei growled furiously, glaring at him menacingly. Andrew groaned as he sat up. "Okay… I deserved that."

Li Mei huffed at him, as if debating whether to hit him again, when Francesca stepped in. "Enough, just stop it there. He didn't mean to do anything. Just let it go." She soothed the angry Dragon.

Li Mei's eyes cleared up as Li Jing connected with her. "He broke the door down to see me naked!" She roared angrily, fury eclipsing her normal shyness.

"It was an accident!" Andrew protested. "I just wanted to take a shower and I guess I put too much strength into trying to open the door… I-I'm usually better at controlling my strength… I don't know what happened." Andrew devolved into a mutter as he thought over what had happened, frowning, not sure why he hadn't been able to control his strength.

"Andrew, did you absorb any crystals?" Francesca asked, and Andrew nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "On average, each crystal of a comparable power will increase your strength by five to ten percent, depending on compatibility. How many cores did you absorb?" Andrew hesitantly raised four fingers. "That's at least twenty percent stronger than you were before! Of course you're going to have some trouble controlling it! You're going to need to be more careful from now on. Today it was just a door, but what if you were giving someone a handshake, or even a hug?" Francesca explained.

Andrew's eyes widened. "That- I-I'll be more careful." He nodded, bobbing his head up and down quickly.

Inside, Zelda quickly got Li Jing calmed back down and back to her room. She fixed the door as well, placing a layer of rock over the hinges to keep it up until someone came by with a better fix. Andrew hesitated a bit before taking his shower, feeling a bit weird about doing so. It somehow felt wrong to go back to doing what he was about to do right before he'd messed up. Due to this, he took as quick a shower as he could, forgoing the long comfortable one.

Once he finished, he hesitated, looking between his room and the living room before letting out a sigh and moving towards the living room, despite his exhaustion. He needed to talk to Li Jing now, before time made things worse. He walked into the living room to find the girls sitting together, the other two comforting Li Jing. Karen glanced at him with a smirk, radiating a weird smugness, as if she felt vindicated about something, while Susie glanced at him with a bit of disappointment. However, Andrew couldn't pay attention to either of them with the sheer amount of emotion coming from Li Jing. There was anger, which Andrew expected, but the bigger parts were frustration, hurt, and betrayal. Andrew didn't even know what to do in the face of all that. He couldn't fix it any more than she could. There wasn't exactly a male equivalent to seeing a girl naked, and even if there was, two wrongs didn't make a right. It'd only leave them both hurt.

Andrew hesitated, not knowing what to say, before simply projecting his feelings of apology and regret to Li Jing, letting the emotions speak for him. Li Jing jolted, slightly stunned by the sudden emotional communication, turning to look at Andrew. A slight surge of anger erupted from her, before it was stymied by the sheer honesty of Andrew's emotions. Knowing he was as apologetic as she was hurt helped soothe the pain slightly. The biggest issue was that she felt that Andrew had somehow taken advantage of her, and seeing that he didn't have that feeling at all drastically reduced that feeling. She was still frustrated over what happened, but she no longer felt betrayed. The simple emotional exchange had done more to convince her he hadn't done it on purpose than his words ever could.

Li Jing frowned at him, sighing lightly and shaking her head. Andrew grinned slightly, knowing she'd forgiven him. Karen looked between the two, frowning in confusion. "What just happened?" She asked, noticing the sudden shift in both their attitudes.

Andrew coughed awkwardly. "I just apologized. She accepted. It's still not great, but… it's better." He explained. Li Jing nodded slightly in agreement, returning to her usual, quiet personality.

"Oh, you did your Monkey bullshit didn't you!" Karen complained. "Smarmy, deceitful bastards. How do you even know those feelings were real!?! Maybe he just made them up!"

Andrew frowned. "That isn't how my ability works. If I haven't experienced it, I can't just make it up out of nowhere. Though… I suppose if I had experienced the emotion previously or sensed the emotion from someone else, I could send that but it'd take a bit to remember the emotion and put it together… even then, I think it'd come off as fake. It's hard to send emotions you have very little experience with. At least, at my level."

Karen snorted dismissively, obviously not considering his explanation very convincing. Andrew frowned, wondering why she had such a distrustful attitude towards him. She'd always been a bit antagonistic towards him, but she was like that with the other two as well, so he didn't think much of it, but now she seemed to be utterly against him, as if he was a completely unredeemable scumbag. He just didn't get it.

"Guys, we don't need to fight, alright?" Susie stepped in, trying to prevent any further argument.

Karen rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's pointless arguing with a Monkey anyways." She scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!?" Andrew exclaimed, offended.

"You know what it means!" Karen retorted. "You Monkeys are all manipulative, conniving bastards! The more you argue, the more you twist people, until they have no idea which way is up anymore and they have no choice but to fall into your schemes! Believe me, I know." Karen spat venomously, bitterness and anger radiating from her, stunning Andrew.

"I-I'm not- I haven't- that isn't-" He stammered, not even knowing what to say to that. How was he supposed to argue against someone who believed any argument he made was purely manipulative? That any emotion he sent was fabricated and deceitful.

"Karen, that isn't fair to Andrew! He's never shown any indication that he does anything like that!" Susie protested, jumping to Andrew's defense. Li Jing was frowning, looking at Karen weirdly.

Karen looked between the two of them incredulously. "What- he's doing it right now! He's the one who barged in on Li Jing in the shower, and now he's got the both of you defending him! He literally just walked into the room! Doesn't that seem weird to you? Before he walked in, you were completely against him, and then here he comes, waltzing in like his shit doesn't smell, and all of the sudden you're on his side!"

Li Jing shook her head. "That isn't what happened." She muttered quietly.

"Of course it is!" Karen protested. She looked between Susie and Li Jing, but couldn't find any support from them. Groaning in frustration, she got to her feet, stomping off. "Fine! Let yourselves be manipulated! But don't come crying to me when he lets you down the moment you really need him!" She pushed past Andrew, stomping into her own room and slamming the door behind her.

Andrew stood there, stunned, not even knowing how to react to all that. He hadn't even realized the depth of prejudice Karen had against him. She'd somehow buried it under a veneer of contention that she displayed towards everyone, only letting it erupt once he'd shown a sliver of indication that he was the person she had always believed him to be. Andrew wasn't used to being surprised by someone's attitude towards him, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He looked towards the other two, wide-eyed. "Uh… so that was weird. I- uh, I have no idea where that came from."

Zelda stepped in from outside, having just caught the end of the conversation. "It's unfortunately not uncommon. Some Clans abilities give them certain advantages that make others distrustful of them. It doesn't help when there are those who do use their abilities that way. I know you aren't like that, but… Karen may have had a bad experience with a Monkey that did abuse their ability. Just… give her time, and try to be a bit more careful. Don't do anything that makes her think you're being manipulative."

Andrew frowned. "I guess, but… if she's that distrustful of me, how are we going to work together out in the field?"

Zelda sighed, shaking her head. "I'll have a talk with her about that, don't worry. You guys should only need a few more days of hunting to gather enough crystals to get strong enough that you can be trusted to hunt on your own. Or, at least for you, with only one partner, so it shouldn't be much of an issue. Once you're qualified for solo hunts, you can go your separate ways and never need to deal with each other again."

"That doesn't really fix the problem though…" Andrew muttered in response.

"It isn't your problem to fix." Zelda retorted sternly. "You just focus on being a good person and try not to make any more major mistakes. It's Karen's responsibility to deal with her own issues."

Andrew hesitated slightly, before nodding in acquiescence. He supposed she had a point. It wasn't his responsibility to fix everyone, it just irked him that he'd run into yet another problem he couldn't do anything about. Zelda smiled lightly at him, before heading to Karen's room to talk to her, while he took a seat. He glanced over at Li Jing again, flushing as he remembered the initial cause of all this. "I, uh, sorry, again. I just wanted to actually say it, instead of…" Andrew motioned from his head to hers, back and forth. "You know."

Li Jing flushed, looking at the floor in embarrassment. "I understand." She muttered, before falling silent once again.

"Okay, let's just move past all that awkwardness, shall we?" Susie announced, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen in the meantime. "Andrew, we're having a party tonight and you have to come! You've been out this entire time, so you haven't met anyone! We've been telling people about you and they're all excited to meet you!"

Andrew raised an eyebrow at her. "You've been telling people about me?"

"Of course! Everyone is interested in the guy who can actually turn into a Beast! Oh, and when we told them about your aura sensing ability, they got so jealous! Especially when we told them how many crystals we'd gathered!" Susie announced gleefully.

Andrew got a weird look on his face, a strange sense of satisfaction and embarrassment coming over him. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about being popular with people he'd never even met before. It felt unnatural for some reason. "Is- is it really all that interesting? It isn't like my transformation gives me this huge advantage… kind of the opposite in a lot of ways, actually."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Susie rolled her eyes. "Of course it is! Do you even know how cool it is to actually be a Beast?!? To have all that power for yourself, not as something you need to access through someone else?"

Andrew frowned, flinching slightly as his mind went back to the past, remembering a certain event with eerie clarity. He shook his head. "It really isn't as great as you might think. If I was a normal Bonded, I wouldn't have lost control of my strength and knocked the bathroom door down. I wouldn't be forced to know exactly what all the kids at school felt about me. I wouldn't- I wouldn't have to make sure nothing can get me angry again, so I never make a mistake I'll regret." He finished a low, bitter mutter, staring at his hands blankly.

Unknowingly, he began to radiate a heavy, oppressive emptiness, full of depression and regret, choking the words in Susie's throat before she could even talk. He shrouded the entire room in bitterness, until a hand reached out, placing itself on his shoulder. He jolted, looking up to see Li Jing sitting next to him, giving him a sad, compassionate look. He felt her concern, and grinned slightly, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I'm fine. You just need to deal with the hand you're dealt, right?" He assured her as the field of emotion lifted.

"You call that fine?!?" Susie asked incredulously. "How'd you even do that?!? I've never felt that empty before! It-" Susie shook her head, shivering, unable to even put what she'd just felt into words.

Andrew frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Your emotions!" Susie exclaimed. "You literally just projected them to me."

Andrew's frown deepened. "No? I don't think I did at least…"

"I felt them too." Li Jing commented. "They were… dark."

Andrew's eyes widened. "So, you both felt them? At- at the same time?" They shared a look before nodding, and Andrew groaned, clutching his head. "Damn it! My ability got stronger too! Now I have to watch that as well!" He groaned in frustration. He then looked up at the both of them. "Sorry, I didn't- you shouldn't have had to deal with that. It- it's really not a big deal."

"Uh, no, that level of depression is a big deal." Susie countered. "That's a 'how do you even live like that' level of depression. I don't- what did you go through to even get to that point?!?"

"Nothing! It's- just forget about it, alright? I'm fine." Andrew replied, shaking his head, not wanting to talk about what happened. Nothing would change what he'd done, and he didn't want Susie and Li Jing to look at him the same way the kids at his school did… even if he deserved it, he didn't want to lose any more friends. Susie gave him a weird look, and Li Jing kept her hand on his shoulder, still looking at him with that same, steady concern, as if waiting for him to open up. Andrew glanced at her, almost wishing she'd be angry at him again, cursing himself and his ability, wishing he could just be normal. He'd done so well pushing all his problems away, and now, thanks to his ability going just a little out of control, everything was ruined. "Please, just forget it. It isn't something you can fix." He pleaded quietly, looking Li Jing in the eyes.

She hesitated slightly, before nodding and taking her hand back, but she still didn't return to her seat, and Andrew could sense her readiness to jump right back the moment he was ready to open up. Susie shook her head. "You're going to have to open up at some point. We're friends now. That's what we're here for."

Andrew grinned bitterly. "I'll keep that in mind." He replied, as he remembered Benjamin. Even his best friend couldn't stick by him after what he'd done. How could he expect these girls he'd only known for a couple days to be any better? “I'm going to get some sleep now. I'll see you guys tonight.”

*

"That's what you're going to wear?" Susie asked Andrew as he stepped into the living room, ready to leave for the party.

Andrew looked down at his clothes. "Yeah? What else would I wear?"

"Well, it's a party. You need to get a little dressed up, you know?" Susie explained, rolling her eyes.

Andrew looked down at his clothes again, before looking back up. "This is as dressed up as I get."

Susie looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "Really? You don't have any nicer clothes?"

Andrew shook his head. "I do not. I mean, you can take a look, but I'm pretty sure you're going to be disappointed."

Susie gave him a skeptical look, before heading to his room to go through his clothes. A few minutes later, she came out, throwing him a bundle of clothes. "Wear these."

Andrew hesitated a bit, before shrugging and heading into his room to change. "Hey, there's two shirts here!" He yelled out after a bit.

"Yes, wear one over the other!" Susie yelled back.

Andrew paused, looking at the two shirts in confusion. "How?!?"

"The short sleeve over the long sleeve, duh!" Susie yelled back, rolling her eyes.

Andrew nodded in understanding, feeling slightly stupid as he pulled the shirts on. Once he finished, he stepped out, throwing his arms out in presentation for Susie to examine. Susie walked around him with a thoughtful expression, before nodding. "Yup, this will do. Li Jing! You ready?" She yelled down the hall.

Li Jing stepped out of her room, wearing a nice but more conservative outfit. She nodded at Susie and they all headed out. The party was happening around a nearby fire pit. There were drinks, people could roast hot dogs and marshmallows, and there were a few games such as horseshoes and corn hole.

"Yo, Susie, Li Jing!" A guy greeted them lazily, raising a glass as they walked up. "And this must be the infamous Andrew! Bout time you showed up to one of these things."

"Yeah… who are you?" Andrew asked, waving awkwardly.

"Oh, I'm Sven." Sven replied with a grin.

"Ah, nice to meet you." Andrew nodded.

Slowly others began to arrive, everyone immediately coming up to Andrew to introduce themselves as they noticed him. Since he was the only new face, they all instantly knew who he was, showing various levels of curiosity and excitement the moment they saw him. Thankfully, Susie kept a lot of pressure off of him, using expert social skills to divert people away from his unique condition and towards more normal topics, like favorite movies or games. The conversations were kept light and easy.

"Is- is this socializing?" Andrew asked incredulously once they had a spare moment of free time, raising an eyebrow at Susie.

"Yup!" Susie nodded with a beaming smile.

"Why is it so boring?" Andrew asked.

"W-what?" Susie stammered, while Li Jing snorted, suppressing a laugh. "What do you mean it's boring!?!"

"I mean it's boring! It's the same conversation, over and over again! And it isn't even an interesting one! 'Hey! Nice to meet you! Do you like this super popular movie? Me too! What a fucking surprise!' What are you even saying with all that?" Andrew replied.

"It's small talk! It's what you do at parties! It's not boring!" Susie protested.

"Yes, it is." Andrew retorted, frowning.

"Well I'm sorry, but it isn't exactly possible to have a deep conversation with twenty plus people at once." Susie countered, rolling her eyes. "Small talk lets you quickly figure out who you do want to talk to."

Andrew paused. "Well, I suppose that's fair… it's still boring though."

"You- ugh, fine, whatever." Susie sighed, shaking her head. "Are you enjoying the party otherwise?"

"What otherwise? All you've let me do so far is talk to people, which… Well, I already explained that." Andrew replied.

"Just go make yourself a damn hot dog." Susie growled in frustration.

Andrew grinned, going to grab a skewer and a hot dog. After a moment's pause, he grabbed a few marshmallows as well, tossing them on another skewer, roasting both them and the hot dog at once. He then placed the hot dog in a bun, before smooshing the melted marshmallows on top and taking a bite. "Mm!" Andrew grunted, nodding slightly.

"Good?" Li Jing asked, frowning as she watched his little experiment take place.

"Nope! I regret everything." Andrew nodded back with a grin as he took another bite. He was in a weirdly good mood tonight, even though he probably shouldn't be. Something about being surrounded by people that not only didn't judge him, but even seemed to admire him… it just felt good. He knew it probably wouldn't last, but… for now, it was nice.

Li Jing burst out with a small laugh. "Then why are you still eating it?"

"I ain't no quitter." Andrew responded seriously, before shoving the rest of the hot dog into his mouth.

Li Jing rolled her eyes, still grinning as she made her own hot dog. Andrew threw another one on his skewer as well, making another, more traditional one for himself. "Ah, much better." Andrew muttered as he took a bite. "Ketchup is a much better option than marshmallow."

"Who would have thought?" Li Jing replied, her eyes twinkling slightly.

"Sheesh. You're snarky when you actually talk." Andrew teased her.

Li Jing flushed. "Rude."

"Honest." Andrew shot back. Li Jing huffed, shooting a glare at him. "Oh, come on, I know you aren't actually mad. Monkey, remember?"

"Unfair." Li Jing pouted.

"Life isn't fair." Andrew responded with a shrug and a grin. "Some people get to sleep in a bed every night, going to social events and partying, while others have to spend their nights in the forest, sleeping in trees, without even a pillow."

Li Jing frowned. "Don't you like sleeping in trees?"

"That's besides the point." Andrew waved dismissively.

Li Jing couldn't suppress another grin, shaking her head. "You're ridiculous."

"Aren't I?" Andrew agreed, grinning stupidly. It was nice to let his Monkey shine every now and then.

They finished their hot dogs, moving over to observe a few people playing corn hole. Susie had gone off to talk with a few of her friends, leaving the two of them on their own. Neither were exactly the social butterfly type, so they just stood on the edge, not really getting involved. Andrew sighed lightly, wondering just why he couldn't seem to get into any of this. It was like there was some sort of invisible barrier keeping him from actually connecting with any of these people.

He glanced over at Li Jing, wondering how she could actually be enjoying herself in all this. She was just like him, sitting at the edge, not really participating, but she was actually happy, and he couldn't figure out why. How could anyone be anything but bored by all this?

As the corn hole game ended, the winning team looked around, looking for new opponents. Andrew glanced at Li Jing. "Want to have a go?" Li Jing hesitated slightly before nodding, and they headed over to join the game.

"Oh, Andrew, sick!" One of the team exclaimed, a guy named Arthur. "Yeah, let's play!"

Andrew picked up the bean bags, while Li Jing headed to the other side, joining Arthur's teammate. Arthur took the first throw, before gesturing for Andrew to go. Andrew got ready to throw, before hesitating slightly, taking stock of the amount of force he used, before tossing it. The bean bag arced through the air, landing precisely in the hole.

"Nice shot!" Arthur exclaimed, before taking his next shot. They kept going, and each one of Andrew's tosses went directly into the hole, to the point that Arthur was slightly stunned. "Dude, how often do you play this game?"

"Uh, first time actually." Andrew grinned sheepishly. "I guess I just have a knack for it."

"Dude, I guess." Arthur muttered, shaking his head. Li Jing and the other guy, who Andrew vaguely remembered might be named Luke, took their turns, throwing the sack with varying levels of accuracy. They kept going back and forth, and each time, Andrew sunk all his sacks in the hole, until Arthur threw his hands up in defeat. "I give man, I give! Damn, that's just uncanny! You just made the same shot every time!"

Andrew shrugged helplessly, feeling the helplessness and frustration coming from his two competitors. "I don't know what to tell you. I just threw the sacks."

"I get it man, but damn! I mean, I thought I was good at this game." Arthur shook his head.

"Yeah… you guys can keep playing. No one would probably want to play me anyway." Andrew sighed, waving for Li Jing to follow him as he left.

"You were pretty good." She commented as they met up.

Andrew shook his head. "I think I have an unfair advantage. All this strength takes a lot of muscle control, and throwing is just muscle control as well. I've kinda been training my whole life I guess."

Li Jing nodded along. "Life is unfair. Right?"

Andrew was a bit stunned at having his words thrown back at him. "Yeah, can't argue with that." He replied, shaking his head and grinning wryly. "What should we do now? I can't imagine horseshoes will be any better than corn hole."

Li Jing paused, considering the problem for a bit. "Sit by the fire?" She offered.

Andrew put on a thoughtful expression, before shrugging and nodding. "Eh, sure, why not. I'll grab us some skewers and marshmallows." He quickly grabbed the supplies from a nearby table while Li Jing found them a seat on a log near the fire. He sat down next to her, handing her her own skewer and placing the bag of marshmallows between them, before pulling one out and impaling it, hanging it over the fire. He carefully roasted it, letting the skin turn a perfect golden brown before pulling it back. He turned to proudly show it off to Li Jing, before freezing in horror as she blew the fire off a completely black marshmallow and chomped down directly on it.

Li Jing noticed his look, freezing, a slight flush creeping up her neck. "What?"

"You- you eat your marshmallows burnt!?!" He asked, giving her a weird look.

Li Jing frowned. "What's wrong with that?"

Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "Li Jing, I know you're a Dragon, but charcoal is not food."

Li Jing rolled her eyes. "We're water Dragons. We don't even breathe fire."

"Which only makes your heinous crime against the sacred art of marshmallow roasting even more despicable." Andrew declared sanctimoniously.

"Sacred art of marshmallow roasting?" Li Jing asked, a hint of incredulity creeping into her normally subdued tone.

"Yes! Just look at this fine example. Perfectly browned skin all around, no hints of white or black to be seen! The acme of perfection!" Andrew displayed his own marshmallow for her to examine.

Li Jing raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that still your first marshmallow?"

"Yeah?" Andrew replied, confused by the sudden shift.

She pointed at her stick. "That was my third."

Andrew frowned. "Quality takes time, you know."

"Yet we both enjoy our marshmallows the same." Li Jing retorted, tossing another marshmallow on her skewer and sticking it directly in the fire.

Andrew took a look at his marshmallow, which had cooled down to a distasteful level by this point, and sighed. He popped it in his mouth, before grabbing another, carefully roasting it as he occasionally glanced towards Li Jing and her flaming creations with a slightly bitter expression. "Philistine." He muttered under his breath, only causing her to grin at him.

They continued to sit around the fire, roasting their marshmallows, when Li Jing spoke up all of the sudden. "You can call me Jing." She muttered quietly, a faint hint of embarrassment coming from her.

"Huh?" Andrew looked over at her, looking slightly confused.

"Instead of Li Jing. You can just call me Jing." Li Jing elaborated, the hint of embarrassment growing as a flush crept into her cheeks.

"Oh… okay." Andrew nodded, wondering why this seemed to be such a big deal for her. He didn't mind calling her Li Jing or Jing either way. He didn't even realize he needed permission… he was just used to calling her Li Jing. Suddenly, he felt a blaze of furious hate erupt from across the fire. He glanced over with a frown, and saw Karen staring at him with clenched fists and gritted teeth. He grimaced, shaking his head. *That's not going away any time soon.* He grumbled internally, trying to ignore it. It wasn't like he could do anything about it anyway. He just didn't get why she hated him so much.

*

After taking a day to rest and absorb the rest of their crystals, the group headed back into the forest, ready to hunt more Beasts. As they traveled, Andrew kept an eye on Linda/Karen, concerned about the ever present bitterness that seemed to be radiating from her at all times, punctuated by surges of hate directed towards Andrew. He didn't know how to fix it, and he was worried about her feelings affecting their cooperation during the hunt.

Andrew took a step back, leaning in to whisper to Francesca. "Uh, about Karen… is-is she going to be okay?" He asked nervously.

"She'll be fine, Andrew." Francesca assured him. "Zelda had a long talk with her. She knows she can't let her personal feelings affect her professional behavior."

"Uh… you sure?" Andrew asked, giving the seething combination of Beast and girl a wary glance.

"Yes Andrew. You have to learn to trust your teammates. Don't worry, she'll be fine." Francesca assured her.

Andrew gave her another hesitant look, before sighing and nodding. He began searching for suitable Beast auras in the surroundings, unconsciously looking for weaker than normal Beasts the first few times, but as Linda/Karen maintained her usual level of cooperation, he slowly got more comfortable, going back to their usual hunting behavior. Linda/Karen still had those bitter hateful feelings, but she obviously wasn't letting them affect their teamwork. *Guess I was making a big deal out of nothing.* Andrew thought to himself in chagrin.

"Wait!" Francesca announced as they were in the middle of collecting the crystal of their latest kill, a particularly thick shelled armadillo like Beast, closing her eyes in concentration. "I'm feeling some vibrations coming from the north. Andrew, climb up and see if you can see anything."

Andrew nodded, quickly scrambling up the tallest tree nearby, before looking towards the north. He frowned, as all he saw was a cloud of dust rising in the distance and a few trees shaking. He jumped down, landing hard, sending up a cloud of dust. "There's something over there alright, and it looks like there's a lot of it. Shaking trees, big dust cloud, the works."

"Shit!" Francesca cursed. "Beast Tide! We have to run!" She exclaimed, urging them to move.

They all began to hesitantly follow her. "What's a Beast Tide?" Andrew asked.

"A swarm of Beasts all moving together as one under the leadership of a powerful Beast.." Francesca explained as she began to pick up the pace. "The base camp is equipped to deal with them, but if we're caught out here in the middle of it… uh, well, we can return through the Bond, but Andrew doesn't have this recourse."

"Oh, so this is a me problem. Joy." Andrew muttered breathlessly.

"Yes. Can you move any faster?" Francesca asked impatiently.

"Man… I liked these clothes." Andrew groaned as he took a deep breath, suddenly transforming into his Tiger form as he burst through his clothes, picking up speed.

They all continued to run. The first one unable to keep up was Li Mei/Jing. "Return through the Bond!" Francesca yelled at her, and, after a worried look to Andrew, she turned to smoke, flowing off into the distance. Without her, Andrew became the slowest member of the group, struggling to keep up with the rest as they ran towards the base camp. A Tiger was faster than a Monkey or a human, but they couldn't match up to something like a Horse or even a Goat. Francesca was at a higher power level, so this speed didn't even come close to approaching her limit.

Francesca was continuing to observe the vibrations behind them, getting more and more nervous as they ran. "We aren't going to make it." She muttered.

"Uh, can I get a second opinion?" Andrew asked breathlessly.

Francesca grunted, trying to think of a solution, communicating back and forth with Zelda. "We can't make it back to the base camp, but there's a complex of caves nearby. We can hide inside." She finally replied, altering their course towards a nearby set of cliffs. Before they even reached them, Francesca stomped her hoof, opening a crack in the ground. "Go!" She exclaimed. Linda/Karen scampered down the hole, followed by Andrew. Petunia/Susie couldn't handle the uneven terrain, so she returned through the Bond, turning into a cloud of smoke and heading back to the base camp.

Francesca followed the other two into the crack, closing it behind them just as a swarm of Beasts thundered through. She let out a sigh of relief, before suddenly freezing as another tremor went through the cave. "No!" She exclaimed, focusing on the earth above them, keeping it stable. "They're trying to break through! You two, get away and hide! We'll maintain communication through Linda and Karen. Once it's safe, we'll come and find you!"

Andrew and Linda/Karen shared a look before nodding, heading deeper into the tunnels, taking the twists and turns randomly until even they didn't know where they were. Andrew shifted into his Monkey form, which was much better at navigating the tunnels than his Tiger form. Eventually they came to a stop in a random cavern, catching their breath.

"This is all your fault!" Linda/Karen growled accusingly.

"Yeah, well, it isn't like I can help it, you know?" Andrew retorted. "I'm sorry I was born weird."

Linda/Karen snorted, shaking her head. "Why are you even out here if you're this vulnerable? Why don't you just stay on Earth, like the rest of the mortals."

Andrew paused. "Dude, harsh… I never really thought about it, you know? I am strong, capable of absorbing ability crystals, sensing auras, all that. The fact that I could die just never crossed my mind. Besides, why do you care? Worst case scenario, I die, and you just return through the Bond."

Linda/Karen grunted, before ignoring Andrew. Andrew sighed, shaking his head as he settled in to rest, waiting for the Beast Tide to be over. "Francesca is back at the base camp." Linda/Karen suddenly announced. "She doesn't know whether the Beasts will chase after us down here."

"Even if they do, how will they find us?" Andrew replied. "We took so many twists and turns, I don't even think we could find ourselves, let alone them."

Linda/Karen shook her head. "You're forgetting about abilities. Who knows what these Beasts are capable of? It isn't like the Clans, where everyone either has this or that ability. The amount of different Beasts means that they could have access to hundreds of different abilities. It'd be more unbelievable if they didn't have the ability to track us."

"Oh… well, then, what do we do?" Andrew asked, frowning.

"Keep moving, stay ahead of them. They can't move any faster through the tunnels than we can." Linda/Karen responded, climbing to her feet and moving on.

"Oh, fun." Andrew muttered, rushing after her. They continued on for a while, before Andrew cursed. "Ah, shit! They're behind us!" He exclaimed as he sensed auras popping up behind them, nothing too high leveled, but at least half a dozen of them, doggedly following their path through the tunnels. "How are they catching up with us?" He asked incredulously, noticing their party was traveling at almost twice the speed they were.

"How should I know!" Linda/Karen exclaimed, sounding slightly panicked. "Just keep moving!"

"That isn't going to help! We can't lose them! All we'll do is tire ourselves out!" Andrew replied, looking around. "We need to find somewhere we can defend."

"How?!? My ability isn't any help down here! I can't charge in a damn tunnel!" Linda/Karen retorted.

"Well running isn't going to do shit! Just- I'll fight them, you just block them for me!" Andrew cursed. They set up in a slightly narrower tunnel, Andrew transforming into his hybrid form, which was smaller and more maneuverable in the tunnels, but uncomfortably more naked than he preferred in the presence of a girl.

"What are you doing?!?" Linda/Karen asked incredulously.

"I need to be able to move around you! Just- ignore it, alright?" Andrew exclaimed in exasperation, baring his claws as he waited for the Beasts to arrive. A few tense moments passed before they began to hear the sound of earth shifting from the passage way in front of them. The tunnel smoothed out as they arrived, all the obstacles moving out of the way. "Well, that explains their speed." Andrew muttered.

"Shut up! Get ready!" Linda/Karen cursed, feeling nervous as she shifted her stance.

The lead Beast let out a roar the moment it saw them, rushing forward with an eager gleam in its eyes. Linda/Karen braced herself, meeting the Beasts charge head on, letting out a grunt as it slammed into her. Andrew growled as he flashed forward, slashing with his claws at the Beast's neck, digging ragged furrows into its skin, causing it to let out another roar.

Before Andrew could even react, rock spikes shot out from the ground, piercing towards him and Linda/Karen. Andrew managed to dodge, barely, getting a few scrapes, but Linda/Karen wasn't so lucky. She was too big to be able to dodge, and the rock spikes dug straight into her. The entire tunnel was like a giant spike trap for her, leaving her completely vulnerable to the Beast's ability.

"Get out of here!" Andrew yelled the moment he saw her wounds. "You can't do anything like this!"

"No! You'll die!" Linda/Karen yelled back, full of concern.

"And if you stay, so will you! Get out of here!" Andrew replied bitterly, jumping in to claw the Beast again. "I was never getting out of this anyway." He muttered.

"You- Ah!" Linda/Karen began before crying out as more spikes impaled her. "Ugh, fine! I don't know why I should care about you anyway!" Karen cursed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll miss you too." Andrew grinned.

Karen groaned. "Ugh! I- just- try not to die. Please." She said at last, before turning to smoke, flowing away.

"Oh, yeah, I'll try real hard." Andrew muttered, shaking his head as he dodged more earth spikes, tearing at the Beast in front of him as he did. Without Linda/Karen, the Beast could focus on him alone, so the rock spikes became more accurate, leaving wound after wound on his body. Thankfully, his small form gave him just the edge he needed to win out, a devastating claw strike tearing out a large chunk of the Beast's throat, spraying out a fountain of blood as it collapsed.

He let out a small breath as he faced the remaining Beasts. "Alright. Who's next?"

The Beasts in front of him growled, but without the Beast with the rock manipulation ability, they had no way to pry him out of the cramped tunnel he'd set himself up in. Or at least, that's what Andrew thought, before a burst of wind shot from one of the Beasts' mouths, blowing him off his feet and slamming him into the wall of the tunnel behind him. The Beast paced forward, stepping on Andrew's chest, leaning in to crush it. Andrew let out a scream as he felt something burst out of him, and the world went dark.