Mekelson remained in the Monastery for another two days, and Kreet kept herself scarce during that time - going out of her cell only when she really needed to. She caught sight of him only once, and that from across the grounds when the man was talking to the Abbot and didn’t see her.

“Well, he’s gone now anyway,” Karl was saying as the foursome had gathered in her cell the day after Mekelson had left. “Why are you so bothered by him?”

Kreet took another drink of beer that the Acolytes were now allowed. “He’s an Adventurer. I hate them.”

Brand slapped her on the back and beer spurted out of her nostrils, “I got bad news for you, Gator. You’re going to be an Adventurer when you get out of this place!”

She glared at him, wiping her snout on his robe. “Thanks a lot!”

“But good timing you have to admit,” Karl snickered.

Kreet looked at him darkly and growled.

“Well, it’s true though isn’t it? At least, that’s what you’re expected to do, right?” Vosa asked, deflecting Kreet’s ire.

“Not if I can help it,” she said. “Oh, I’ll go around spreading the Light of Pelor and all that, but I don’t plan to go digging around in caves looking for gold!”

“That’s what happened to your family, right?” she asked.

Kreet’s first reaction was to respond sarcastically, but she saw Vosa’s face was sincere and she realized she was angry for no reason. Instead she nodded, “Pretty much. It’s been a long, long time ago so I don’t remember anything much. Mostly I just remember my brother shoving me into a cubby and then a lot of noise and screaming.”

“I heard kobolds were really good at building traps for Adventurers,” Karl added. “You think you could do that?”

Kreet sighed, “I’d build them AGAINST Adventureres. But no - I wish. I’ve seen some of the mechanisms they built. Very clever, but I don’t think I could build anything like those. My clan didn’t. I don’t think we were smart enough.”

“Well those sun-glasses are pretty clever I’d say! I expect you have it in you, Kreet. You’re just too nice to build anything so… violent.”

“Sometimes I’m not so sure. I can get pretty angry. I wanted to murder that Mekelson guy, and he’d not done anything to me.”

“He’s an asshole,” Brand said sympathetically.

Kreet changed the subject, “So Vosa, what did you think of the rehearsal?”

“Oh, I thought it went well, Kreet! I can’t wait!”

“Neither can I,” Karl agreed, snuggling with his fiancee.

“Well you will wait, loverboy!” Vosa said, giving him a kiss anyway. “You’re not to see me at all tomorrow until the wedding the next day!”

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“I’ll manage somehow.” Karl said as he stood up and escorted Vosa to the door.

“Hey,” Brand said as he and Kreet stood up, “We still on for that bachelor party at the tavern tomorrow night?” Brand asked Karl. “You’ll be there, right?”

“Master says it’s okay, so yeah. I’ll be there,” Karl assured him.

“Don’t you dare make him do something he’ll regret, Brand. He’s got to live with me after, remember!” Vosa snarled warningly.

“Me? I’m the soul of respectability!” Brand smiled mockingly.

“Kreet, see that they don’t get in too much trouble for me, would you?”

Kreet nodded. Though she had never been close to the woman, she was beginning to warm to her as she got to know her better.

Kreet picked up the two chairs and stacked them back in the corner of her cell while Brand put the table away. “Brand, what do you do at a bachelor party anyway?” she asked.

“Oh, mostly male bonding things. Get drunk, ogle some women. It’s his last night of being single so it’s his last chance to live it up. I’ve got a couple of the tavern wenches already lined up.”

“And the Master is okay with that? They’re pretty strict on mingling you know.”

Brand sat beside her on the hard bed. “This is different. Karl’s doing the proper thing, getting married. As strict as they are, they can’t deny Nature too much either. As long as we don’t cause such a ruckus as to damage the Monastery’s reputation in town, they won’t mind. It’s not like Monks don’t occasionally sneak down there on their own anyway. I bet even the Abbot gets his wick dipped every once in a while.”

Kreet snorted at the euphemism. “I hope you don’t plan for him to do that!”

“Oh, naw… well, probably not anyway.”

“What about yourself? I’ve never seen you with a girl, Brand.”

Her friend shook his head. “You know you’re the only girl for me, Kreet.”

She slapped him with her tail, “I’m serious Brand. It’s one thing to promote celibacy here, but even if I’m not a human, I know it’s not a natural state. Are you just not interested in girls?”

“Oh, I’m interested enough. But Kreet, I really want to become a Cleric. When I first came here, it was my father’s idea really, but I’ve come to want it as much as he ever did. And right now would be a really bad time for me to spend too much time or effort on pursuing girls. The worst thing that could happen to me would be if I was successful! No, it’s best that I just stay a virgin, at least till I get my white robes. What about you? No hunky kobold men in your life?”

Kreet snorted again, “Fat chance. I’ve never even seen another kobold. Besides, I think I’ve been around humans too long. I don’t know if I’d even like them. I’m like you, I guess. If I really wanted to find one, I’d leave here and go looking. There may be something wrong with me, Brand. From everything I’ve read on biology and everything we see in our Nature studies, I think I should feel some desire to find a mate, but I don’t!”

Brand looked at her. “Well, maybe you’re still too young.”

“Brand, we kobolds are supposed to mature even faster than you do. Dammit, look at these hips! If they get much bigger I’m going to need my door widened! I could have been a mother twice over by now.”

Brand put his arm over her shoulder. “Gator, you’ve not even been around any other kobolds. Maybe if you ever get to socialize with them, nature will reassert itself. You’re not living a normal kobold life here.”

“We covet what we see everyday,” Kreet said, quoting an obscure text.

“What’s that from?”

“I don’t even remember,” Kreet admitted. “Just some philosophy text probably.”

“It’s probably true though,” Brand said. “You can’t desire what you’ve never seen. Give it time, Kreet. Once we get out into the world, things will change.”

He kissed her on the snout then and stood up to leave. “You’ll see. Now don’t worry about it. Goodnight Gator. I’ll come by tomorrow night and take you to the tavern.”

He closed the door behind him and didn’t see the look in her eyes. It was the second kiss she’d ever received in her life, and this time it was from someone she knew… and liked.

She touched her snout where his lips had been. “He’s never kissed me before,” she thought. She got off the bed and knelt beside it and began to pray, hoping it would dispell the thoughts that rose unbidden in her mind - thoughts that were at once disturbing and decidedly unnatural. But try as she would, it seemed the more she tried to erase them, the more lodged they became. She would have to tell the Master.