Chapter Ten: The Exploration

Jane grinned as she skipped down the street. From what Nailah was saying, there were so many shops here, with so many things to sell; Silverfang however was being a bit annoying, which was killing her buzz.

"What made you ask about Atlantis? It was so, strange and sudden" Silverfang stated, which made Jane stop skipping and glare at him.

"I don't know, it just popped into my mind. 'Hmm, he knows a lot, let’s ask about Atlantis'. I don't really know where the thought came from, it was just there, and so it had to be asked" She replied, having lost her giddiness to skip, she simply walked at Silver's side.

"I think it was a cool question. I'd love to find out about the myths of home. The Yeti, the Lock Ness Monster, Shangri La, El Dorado, the lot of them" Eliot said, musing about Earth.

"Wasn't El Dorado the name of some guy that covered himself in gold dust?" Jane asked.

"Yea, that’s a point. But still, the others would be fun" Eliot replied before Nailah pointed out a shop.

"We are going there first, and replacing them terrible rags you call clothing" she told the group in a tone that would brook no argument, but she argued anyway.

"Hey, I am happy in this. It is a serviceable outfit" Jane told Nailah, who ignored her complaints and pushed Jane into the shop.

The woman at the counter when Jane stumbled into the shop had shiny skin, and strange, staring eyes. There was no hair on her hands, and on close inspection, several places of her skin appeared scaly, rather than the one piece look of human skin. However, she was friendly enough.

The woman grinned as she saw Eliot enter cautiously, immediately clocking him as a human. She didn't get humans in her shop very often, so she loved to play with them when she could. The human at the front, being pushed by the wolf girl, smelt strange, but she didn't dwell on it.

"She needs a dress, and I will get her in one of if I have to tie her down" Nailah told the shop keeper, grinning.

"What is with the sudden desire to get me a dress?" Jane demanded, paying little attention to the shop keeper, if she had her way they would be out of here in a flash.

"You would look lovely in a dress, and I will be dammed if I let you walk around in such scruffy clothes and waste all that potential" Nailah replied. Nailah herself did not suit a dress, so whenever she found a girl that did, she made sure that they wore one. The shop owner moved fluidly from behind the counter, and stood in front of Jane, and observed her figure.

"Yess, I have just the thing" She told Jane, rolling her s, making it almost like a hiss.

"Seems rather strange, this person" Eliot muttered to Silverfang, but didn't voice anything. Nailah was - in his opinion - too eager to pull her sword out and swing it around.

"Right thiss way, Misss" The shop owner announced, rolling her ‘s’ again as she lead them into a separate room.

"We are going to look for more manly things to shop for" Eliot told Nailah before she entered the room.

"With what? And anyway, you should stick around. It won't be long" She replied. Nailah then entered the room with Jane and shut the door.

* * * * * *

Beth was staying true to her word and treating Nehvna to a pampering session. Or at least, she tried to. When Nehvna saw how they were brushing their customer’s hair, she had to intercede, teaching them a few tricks she found convenient for Jane's hair. It didn't take long for the news to spread, and Nehvna found herself unofficially employed and working combs through people’s hair gracefully, and with no shortage of enjoyment. For Nehvna, there was nothing better than freeing a person's hair from the mess of knots, and cleaning the grease from it. After a couple of people had left with hair in a much better state than they had come in with, she found herself with Beth on her seat.

"This was meant to be a pampering, not you getting a job" Beth told Nehvna slightly irritated.

"It’s unofficial, and this is pampering. I love working with people's hair Beth, it would never get old or boring for me" She replied, working her comb through Beth's hair slowly, methodically removing all the knots without tugging on the hair itself. Beth had to admit that she was good at this sort of thing, but that wasn't the point, she still had a spa day planned for the girl. Beth then looked over at Avrion, who was sat on a chair in the corner, looking apologetic at everyone who offered her a glance, she had no backbone outside of a fight, which made things awkward at most times.

Beth hesitated for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons before speaking "So, I am just going to have this wonderful spa day by myself? It would be strange".

"Yep. You just go and have you spa, with your mud masks and your foot massages; I’ll work on people hairs here" Nehvna replied, finishing her brushing and leading the chair over to the sink to wash her hair.

"I know, but I was going to take you to the lovely Topaz Star's house. Her and her girls are amazing with their hands" Beth told Nehvna over the sound of the shower-head, making it sound like it meant more than just massaging.

"You can have your great stars, I am staying here with the hair, and that is final. But take Avrion with you, she looks like she is about to cry, and needs a good day out to cheer her right up. If it is at all possible. I am beginning to think she can't be cheered up, but I am prepared to try. Or let you try at least" Nehvna then switched off the shower-head, having finished with Beth's hair. She softly combed it through again, straightening the remaining knots and getting out the excess water before placing a towel over it and starting to dry one section.

"Fine, I’ll take your sulky girl out while you play with people's hair" Beth replied, slightly miffed but glad to have someone to take out.

When Nehvna was done with Beth's hair, the door opened, and a tall man in a black hooded cloak walked in. He eyed Beth, as if silently asking to talk with her, but before Beth could reply, he was accosted by Nehvna.

"My god, are you part hedge?" She asked in disbelief, his ragged hair spilt out from the cloak, and provoked Nehvna’s reaction.

"Ex-excuse me?" he replied in a confused tone, not quite sure how to reply.

"Your hair. I haven't seen anyone with it in that condition and I have seen a lot of hairstyles. Sit down, this is going to take some time" she told the man, ushering him into the seat Beth had just gotten up from and brushing her hands down it, doing a quick check before getting to work.

"I’ll take your girl out then, have fun" Beth said, clearly amused at the way Nehvna had handled the man.

"Sure, just be good" Nehvna told Beth, but was clearly focused on the man - who appeared very surprised at the way the events had turned - and his terrible hair. Beth was still giggling softly as she took Avrion out of her seat and out of the door.

"Now, let’s get to work on this" She said to herself, brandishing her comb like a weapon of war.

* * * * * * * *

Sean and Nena made their way up to the massive hall that sat on the top of a slight hill, overlooking the rest of the buildings with the large wolf-man in tow. He would clearly prefer to be with Silverfang and Nailah, but Sean convinced him to give them some space. The building they were moving towards gave a slight feeling of jubilation just by laying eyes on it, and problems - while not outright dissolving - had less weight. Sean could feel the effects as he moved closer to the building, and he was sure that Nena could as well. This was - like many things in his life, and like Taka assumed, considering how well he had agreed to Sean's proposal - something he had planned, so he didn't totally alienate Nena and so Nailah could have some peace. With the atmosphere here, it would be easier to reconcile with his daughter. However, as they approached the giant building there was a man leaning against the wall with a smile - clearly he felt the influence of the building - and disproportionate armour that was straining against his bulky body. The thing that stood out the most was the two large bull horns on his head, looked very sharp and very strong. Despite his intimidating look - the smile did nothing to lessen this - Sean smiled upon seeing him, which was not something Nena had seen him do a lot, so she relaxed, which in turn prompted Taka to remove the hand he had so casually placed on his sword.

"Hey Taurus. What brings you down here?" He asked, looking at the giant doorframe as he spoke.

"The Council demands an audience with you. They know you have found her, and they want to see her" Taurus told him with a strong, but not very deep, voice.

"Yea, well the Council can kiss my arse. They have no right to demand anything from me, and sending you down is very unofficial you know. Strange, considering how much of a stickler Aries is for the rules. And with them so out of favour right now, it’s amazing they had the nerve to try this" Sean replied, approaching the door.

"I told them that you would not be amicable to this route, but they insisted. I shall relay your message" Taurus explained, but Sean waved his hand dismissively - at the comment, not Taurus himself.

"Na, no need to rush back to that place, comes have a few with San" Sean offered. Taurus thought for a few seconds before replying.

"Very well. I have been meaning to learn more about your daughters anyway, so I guess I can start with the eldest" He looked at Nena and nodded, to which caused a smile.

"Always nice to have fans" Nena said before turning to Sean, who pushed the large doors open and stepped inside.

A very large man - over nine foot tall and a mind-boggling amount of pounds in weight - was walking around the hall, periodically booming with laughter, and carrying a Stein that could bath a baby in, had it been filled with water, and not the alcoholic liquid that it was currently holding. He then saw the door open, and turned to see who had opened it. When Sean and his small party walked though, the large man's face grew even jollier.

"WELCOME TO MY HALL!" He yelled, with such volume to burst a lesser man's ear drum. Sean smiled grinned and waved.

"Want to say that a bit louder San? I think they missed it in the Ampyras" he joked, walking up to the man - who appeared to shrink to a more reasonable size - and giving him a hug.

"You deserve such volume! You are a great man, worth of song and equally great volume! Any who stand against you are blind to your greatness!" San announced, his voice quieter, but still very loud. He did not seem to notice the vast volume he was speaking at, and neither did anyone else in the building. "And anyway, you know that things need to be much louder to get through the glyphs you daughter made!" he continued, swinging his stein, which had shrunk with his size, around before taking a deep drink from it. "Come, steins for everyone!" he finished, gesturing to a table behind him. Nena was almost gleeful as she walked over to the table. The men and women greeted her, and she was instantly sucked into the conversation, and aura of jolliness.

"I shall have a Stein of tea" Sean said, a clear smile on his face, but his regular calm seemed to eminent from him, as usual.

"Very well, a stein of tea for my friend Sean, a Stein of Krouberry for Taurus and a bowl of milk for Taka" San bellowed to his hall, dropping his voice at the last part.

Taka growled softly and bared his large canine teeth.

"Do not mock me, fat man" He warned San, but any reply was stolen away as, a few seconds later two women in attractive dresses and an abundance of mirth approached with the requested drinks, and then left again once the drinks had been taken. Taurus took a gulp of his drink and pure bliss crossed his face.

"It has been a long time since I have had this. The Council doesn't let any sort of drink apart from water in. It gets annoying. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go dance. It has been long time since I have done that as well" Taurus told the two, trotting off to a large area of the hall, where people where dancing around a fire that cooked a giant hunk of meat.

San watched Taurus go off to dance with a grin before turning to Sean again, his words interrupted by Taka.

"I'm going to go find someone. I shall see you later, Sean" He stated, overtly avoiding San before stalking off. San was not put off, and took a breath before retrying his statement with much greater success.

"Now, as I see it, you have brought several other people to this planet! Several, human people!" San's voice got lower than it was, but it still boomed.

"Indeed I did, and one of them is very important" He replied, rather cryptically before taking a drink from his stein.

"You mean you have found her!?" San asked, his voice increasing again in anticipation.

"Indeed. She is here, and she is on the Second Wall as well. I got a really bad idea as to how to how to break it though. Implimenting it might be a problem" Sean asked, looking into his stein. It was great tea, but then, San and his people where true artisans with all things liquid. San bellowed in laughter and then turned to the hall and shouted.

"Time for a celebration, a feast for everyone!” A collective cheer ran through the hall in reply to his bellow, but one of the attractive women approached San.

"Umm, sir. We don't have enough food stocks for a feast, we have The Ball coming up" She explained, and for the first time San lost his jolly look.

"I don’t like this news, bring me something else" he muttered - his mutter was on par with a normal speaking volume. The girl frowned at San.

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“What do you mean?” she asked him.

“I DO NOT LIKE THIS NEWS, GO FIND ME SOMETHING ELSE!” he boomed with extraordinary volume, sending the girl scurrying, he then turned to the hall again. "Scratch that, a feast for no one!" He bellowed again, and was met with a collective groan of disapproval. San's jolly look returned as two women - beautiful enough to make San's servers look plain and drab - approached.

"Hello Sean" The taller, clearly older one said. Sean took another swing of his stein before replying.

"Hello girls. How goes things?” The older one looked at the younger one, who smiled at Sean.

"We feed on the ones you point us at but currently the streets crawl less with their ilk, and so we come here. We just need to stand and feed off the residue" The younger one informed him. San laughed as they finished speaking.

"Trust you to have an entourage of two Succubi!" San laughed, clearly amused.

"Well, they are just like any other women. You feed them, treat them well and save them from someone who is trying to kill them, and they are like putty in your hands" He joked. Two swift kicks to his shins cut his laughter short however.

"Very dangerous putty that!" San put in, before laughing again.

"Well, it’s no fun if they are tame, right girls?" he asked the two Succubi, who appeared to be glaring at him in a playfully angry manner that made Sean chuckle. His face then changed, and he quickly added something else to his sentence. "So, where is the bone-head and his friend? Where'd ya send them?" He asked San, who tapped his nose.

"To work!" He replied, as cryptic as Sean could ever be.

* * * * * * * * *

Jane was amazed at the speed and finesse that she had been undressed with. She was not at all bothered by her state of undress, even in front of this stranger. She had an unfortunate amount of experience in being undressed in front of strangers, but she hoped to put that all behind her and move on now. The slithering shop-keeper started to measure Jane's height, which caused a great deal of confusion.

"I thought you said you had the perfect dress for me, so why do you need to measure me?" She asked, to which the woman smiled.

"I have every dress in here, for basic travel robes, to an ensemble fit the Kabals themselves. Not that I sell many of them" She said generally, marking down Jane's height, and beginning to check her width. The answer simply gave Jane more questions to as though.

"The Kabals? I have heard them mentioned a few times. Who are they?" She asked, feeling the tape measure around her breasts. This woman was a proper dress maker, not that Jane had a bust worth mentioning. However, it was not the dress maker that awnsered, but instead Nailah.

"There are four of them, or so the rumour says, and they are the reclusive, hermit-esque rulers of Ampyras - some say they are myths, since they have not been publically seen in an extremely long time. However, it has been such a long time since they have been seen, that people have begun to say that exceedingly loud noises or very overt actions can ‘wake the Kabals’ or can be ‘heard on Ampyras’. Which labours under the assumption that they are asleep and not just simply not there, and also that Ampyras itself has some sort of noise-reduction thing that is totally stupid. It also brings the rather sarcastic reply to people that ask their friend if they heard said extreme noises, in which the friend will reply they would ‘have to be on Ampyras to miss it’. Wither real or fiction, they hold sovereign over the Kabal Empire, which is only challenged in military and economical might by the Khani empire, ruled by the Kami of death Chaoz" Nailah lectured, giving an extremely long winded explanation to a simple question, and matching Sean for his ability to waffle. Jane looked brain-dead for a few moments, and so Nailah looked like she was going to go on, but Jane interrupted.

"Chaoz? Sean said something about him, said he sucked at plumbing" she put in, which shocked Nailah slightly.

"Ohh. Well. I guess he wouldn't be too good at plumbing, being the Ruler of a very large...I am not actually sure what the Khani call their collection of planets" She confessed, to which Jane raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"So, these Kabals, and Khanis stretch across multiple planets?" She asked. The snake woman had since scurried away to find Jane a dress that suited her, and matched her measurements.

"Yes, and then there is the Galactic United Union. They were kicking up a fuss a while ago, but the Kabals managed to push them back and raze their sector when the Khani came to assist them. The Kabals and the Khani have been allies for a long time, so maybe Sean is affiliated with one of them, in some way" she mused.

"So, is it common to 'own' a sector?" Jane asked - it was quite baffling to go from single planet existence to learning that the universe was in no way a quiet place - trying to get all the information she could. Translating languages was all well and good, but she wanted to know about the universe a bit more.

"Kind of. It is less common for a sector to have more than two official rulers, and more often than not they are allied with each other, but having sole ownership over a sector is rare. There is only two and them two are the Kabals and the Khani" Nailah continued. Jane thought about it for a while, and then another question sprang to mind.

"So...who owns Earth then?" she asked, hoping it wasn't a stupid question. Nailah laughed at Jane, but it wasn’t' a cruel laugh, it was more amused.

"No one. The sector is considered holy ground by the worshipers of Gaia, and so most people leave them alone. Not that humans would allow anyone to do anything openly in that sector anyway, with all them inter-planetary demolition devices" Nailah told Jane, looking as if she was preparing to explain more, if asked. However, the question asked was not the one she expected.

"What inter-planetary devices? We only have space rockets, and they are more for moving guys, not blowing things up" Jane asked, confused as to what Nailah was getting at.

"The things that you call nuclear bombs. What else are they for if not blowing the bollocks off the person that dares make a settlement on the planet next door?" Nailah asked. She was in no way ready for the statement that followed. A statement that Jane was clearly reluctant to give.

"Ohh, them. Yea. They were kind of used to kill ourselves. But then we realized how much damage they do, and now we just have them at hand and glare at each other with them, sort of like a standoff". From Nailah's facial expression, Jane knew that distain for the human race had just reached an all-time high.

"Wow. I mean, I know you humans where fond of killing yourselves, but that is just...I have no words for it" Nailah finished, shaking her head. Jane stood, naked and ashamed, in silence until the snake woman returned with a dress.

It was a deep green - the same colour as Jane’s eyes where - and had beauty in its simplicity. Jane instantly fell in love with it. It was an empty dress, there were no patterns or embroidery, and it was all made of one material. But from Jane's point of view, they would simply cheapen the dress, and take away from whatever it was that made it look so good. Jane was surprised at how much she liked the dress, considering she didn't like any sort of dress that Nehvna had tried to get her in over the years, and was visibly impatient to try it on.

"I thought you would like this one. It was just a hunch I had. Now, give me a second and I’ll get it on you" The shop woman said, slipping the dress onto Jane with as much finesse as she had taken Jane's old clothes with. The dress itself felt like it was made out of some natural cloth, something that had grown undisturbed, into a dress, rather than someone fashioning it. Jane felt at ease in the dress, which was strange, she hadn't felt at ease for a long time.

"This dress...its, amazing" Jane commented in a breathless voice, rubbing her hand down the skirt part.

"I am glad you like it. To any other it would be expensive, to the edge of ruin for some. But to you it is my gift. You wear it better than any I could have sold it to, and that alone is payment enough" The snake woman told Jane, who could not find the words to express how she was feeling, and so simply stood there with her mouth open like a seal awaiting food. Nailah rose from her seat and took Jane's hand, the earlier dispute all but forgotten.

"Come; let’s go see the boys, shall we?" Nailah asked, taking Jane out of the room.

As the two girls and the snake woman exited, they were greeted by Eliot holding Silverfang's hand and looking as if he was concentrating very hard. Silverfang looked equally concentrated, and neither heard Nailah and Jane approach.

"What are you two doing?" Jane asked, causing the pair to jump and turn to her.

"Dam, you snuck up on me" Silverfang exclaimed in the usual tone of someone who had just been snuck up on. taking deep breaths before looking at Jane's dress. His eyes just stared, and no words came from his open mouth.

"I did no sneaking, you were just not looking" Jane retorted, before seeing Silverfang's eyes. "And now you concentrate on my figure with equal gusto. Am I really so alluring?" Jane asked, approaching Silverfang and sliding her hands around him.

"Yes, you are the most alluring thing I have ever laid eyes on. Your allure is more than the alluringness of an alluratron 9000" He babbled before leaning down and kissing Jane softly.

"I love it when you babble, you mash words to make a dictionary cringe" Jane replied, feeling extremely content at the moment. A moment that was interrupted by Eliot.

"Well, unless you two wish to find a bed and consummate your new found relationship, I suggest we check out the rest of this district" Eliot announced, he was clearly in the know about how they felt about each other, which was a bit surprising for Jane, but she glared at him anyway for ruining the moment. Everyone else agreed with him however, and so they set off.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Nehvna had just finished the hardest hair-dressing she had ever done. Even Jane's hair didn't get like this man's, and hers wasn't even washed that often. Not that her ex-father would let her wash it.

'He won't be not letting anyone do anything again.' Nehvna thought, and then was quickly stunned by the confusing state of the sentence, and how cold it was towards Jane's father, regardless of how nasty he was. She quickly snapped back to reality and smiled at the now shiny haired man.

"Don't let it get in such a state again, it’s not good for hair this length" Nehvna commented, running her hand down the shoulder length hair.

"I shall endeavour to do so" The man replied, a sad voice, but with the will to bare it. He then stared into Nehvna's eyes, piercing black pits boring into her mind. "Now tell me, where is the Daughter of the Earth?" He asked her, his voice silent, and yet as loud as a volcano erupting. Nehvna opened her mouth to speak, without the action being run by her brain first.

"She is in this part of the city. I am not sure where exactly though, Sean might know. He knows everything. He was going up to the ‘San’s place’ last I heard" She told him, bringing a nod from the tall man.

"Thank you, I shall seek him out" he told Nehvna before turning to the door and entering onto the street, leaving Nehvna mesmerized for a few more seconds after his departure before she regained control of her senses.

"Wow, what the hell was that?" She asked herself out loud.

"That -” someone behind her said, making Nehvna jump, she forgot she was in a public place. Nehvna turning to see who was behind her, and saw a girl. She looked young, and was rather petite in stature. However, despite her bodily structure, she had a very commanding presence, and she appeared slightly regal. There was nothing in her eyes however, since they were covered by a strip of cloth, much like a blindfold. There was something strange - Sean level strange - about the blindfold, but she didn't dwell on it. San's planet was apparently very popular, so it was entirely possible that she was royalty from somewhere. And they had already visited three planets other than Earth, so what was to say the rest of the universe wasn't active as well?

"You have a sharp mind, I nearly cut myself with my little probing" the small girl commented, smiling softly to herself. Nehvna had no idea what probe she was talking to, and Sean had taught her not to ask if she didn't want a few more dead brain cells, so she asked something different.

"You made it sound like you knew what that man had done" Nehvna prompted, hoping for the girl to continue.

"Yes, I did. And I do. It was a low level mesmerisation. Suitable for people with little to no understanding of magic. The after-effects should have lasted for a while longer. You have a strong mind Miss" The blindfolded girl informed Nehvna. However magic worked in this universe - Sean had not explained that point yet - this girl was well versed in the art.

The blindfolded girl smiled to herself, which was strange, there was no reason to smile, Nehvna hadn't made any jokes that she knew of.

"No jokes my dear. But Sean has not explained how magic flows, because you have not asked. He is trying to lay off explaining without prior prompting. It is working well for him so far. You wouldn’t believe the avalanche he is storing up for when he can eventually explain" the blindfolded girl told Nehvna, seemingly very in the know about pretty much everything. She then sighed, and shook her head.

"That man, he searches for the Daughter with random people, but he could have just asked me. Never was too good at using them two orbs he calls eyes" she muttered, but loud enough for Nehvna to hear, which brought up a point she was meaning to ask, but felt awkward asking.

"Umm, if you don't mind me asking. I mean, sorry if it offends you but - " Nehvna verbally stumbled, before the girl tittered.

"You wish to ask about my blindfold, yes?" She asked which shocked Nehvna.

"Did you...did you probe me again?" She asked in trepidation, wondering how much bad stuff constant probing would cause.

"No, it is a question that everyone asks. And there is no 'bad stuff' attached to constant probing, I can probe you as much as I like, and it won't do you any harm" she told Nehvna, before thinking about her sentence and blushing. "Great, I just had to think of it like that, didn't I?" she asked Nehvna rhetorically. "In any case, I am blind. You might have guessed that. I was born blind, and I have never seen the world with eyes that where my own. But I see better than most, without them, and have never had them, so I don't know what I am missing. It can't be that good" she explained, to which Nehvna nodded, in fake acknowledgement.

"And you see with magic? Lovely" she said, making a comment to solidify her knowledge. A comment that turned out to be wrong.

"No, I just see. It’s the same way you see with your eyes. Now, seeing more than I see, that is magic" She said confusingly before heading for the door.

"You’re going to follow the tall man?" Nehvna asked, and saw eyebrows rise from behind the blindfold.

"And they say my mind is unreadable. Yes, I am. He means no harm, but can get into trouble sometimes" She said before grinning. "Want to come along?" she offered. Nehvna fought with herself for several seconds before nodding.

"Yes, I do" she muttered. Nehvna decided to stick with this girl, she knew a lot.