Pryte woke up feeling as though a weight was on her chest. She opened her eyes and saw Ruva’s head on her chest, with the rest of her body curled up beside her. She smiled for a moment before remembering where they were. At that point, her stomach seemed to clench tightly, causing her to begin shaking in worry.

Without Ruva opening her eyes, she reached out and hugged her tightly, easing her anxiety enough that her shaking subsided.

She didn’t know what she’d do without Ruva. After… being taken, they’d somehow managed to stay together over the past few months, finally being taken by the last slaver to buy them.

Pryte looked around again, marvelling at the house they were in. It was on a whole other level of fancy than she’d ever seen before, including the first slave house they’d been brought to. She turned her head again to look down at a sleepy Ruva and smiled.

“G’morn’n,” Ruva mumbled into her belly, causing her to giggle at the vibrations.

“Good morning,” she replied as Ruva slowly sat up and smiled at her. “I’m hungry,” she said as her stomach told her that it needed attention now that it was no longer tied in knots.

“Mmm, me too,” Ruva said, then looked around at the other girls in their room.

Pryte did the same, taking in the dizzying array of animal-kin that they’d been with for several weeks now. They were all rousing, slowly sitting up in bed. She could see that she wasn’t the only one who’d slept with a friend. In fact, the only people she could see that weren’t with someone else were the dwarf named Ella and the night elf named Imryll, or Immy for short.

She envied them for their courage. As a deer-kin, she was prone to being startled and wanting to be close to others. In fact, she even used to get teased that she was too clingy, a condition made worse by having been taken as a slave.

She started shaking again, her fears getting the better of her before Ruva could once more wrap her in a hug.

“Let’s go see if we can find some breakfast,” Ruva said with a smile that helped ease her fright.

Not trusting herself to speak, Pryte just nodded and scooted out of bed to follow Ruva.

“We should go together,” Collette said from the side, still in bed, though stretching as she worked to wake up more.

“Yeah,” Ruva agreed, nodding as she stopped by the door to wait for the others.

Pryte watched as everyone slowly got up, stretching and yawning. Some, like her, looked frightened upon waking, but fortunately they had their own Ruvas to help them through their moments of panic. Soon, everyone had gotten up and were ready to venture forth.

She was surprised to see that Immy took the lead, opening the door for them and stepping out into the crazy huge hallway. She looked around and saw that the predator-kin were also leaving their room, looking both alert and curious. She didn’t know why they’d all been separated according to their annoying “groupings”, though. They’d all gotten along quite well before now.

She smiled as Kuro waved at her and waved back as she approached them. The black-haired cat-kin was much older than them, but super nice. Probably because she was an adult now, already eighteen years old. She was only eleven years old, and Ruva thirteen.

“Did you sleep well?” Kuro asked once was beside them.

“Yeah,” Pryte said, feeling happier now that her other friend was with them.

“Good-good,” Kuro said, nodding as she took their hands and led them down the hallway after the others who’d already started walking. “So, what do you think of the clothes? Pretty nice, hey?” she asked with a great smile that showed off her cool pointy teeth.

“They’re amazing,” Ruva said, smiling as she played with the hem of her shirt with her other hand. “Even the sheets! It was soooo comfy!” she gushed, infecting her with her enthusiasm.

“I haven’t slept so well in…” she trailed off as she recalled how she’d come to be there, her countenance falling.

“And how about this place, hey?” Ruva quickly asked, gesturing grandly with her hand. “Isn’t it amazing? With how fancy everything is, there should be plenty of tasty food too, hey?”

“That’s right,” Kuro said, smiling at Pryte. “If someone can afford to buy all this, they can certainly afford good food!” she said, nudging her in the side with their linked hands.

Pryte nodded, somewhat encouraged at their words, but still a bit down. Even though their collars had been removed, she could still feel where it had been. A fancy home was nice and all, but she’d much rather be back at home with her family, even if her house wasn’t anything like the one that she was currently in.

She walked with her friends in silence as they continued to chat energetically, following the rest of the group. Instead of going to an eating area inside, Alex, one of the wolf-kin, led them outside again. She shivered a bit as her feet touched the cold stone outside, then smiled as Kuro picked her up to carry her.

She was still small for her age, not even coming up to Kuro’s ribs. Which made her glad, as she didn’t want to be a burden to her friend. But from her new height, she could see the others as they approached the pretty fox-lady who was sitting at a table with the other elf, Shae. She also spotted the other pretty fox-lady standing with the surprisingly nice demon ladies and wondered if they’d all slept in and were late.

Then the dark-haired fox-lady started telling people what to do, getting them to gather the chairs from yesterday so that everyone could sit. As they did, Pryte was super happy to see that the foxes had returned. So, once Kuro let her down again, much to her toes’ displeasure, she quickly made her way to the extra-pretty purple fox with six tails and hugged her tightly.

She’d been a bit scared of her yesterday, though, as the fox was taller than she was. But she’d soon fallen in love with her super fluffy coat and tails. Then more foxes had shown up to join in on the pettings. She’d been sad when they’d disappeared when it was time for bed, though. So, she was happy to see them all again.

She only listened to the others enough to make sure that she didn’t miss anything important, like when to go for breakfast. Then her tummy growled at her, reminding her that she was still hungry.

“Don’t worry, breakfast is almost ready,” the dark-haired fox-lady said from her side, surprising her.

Pryte watched as the fox-lady picked up one of the smaller foxes and began brushing its fur. Her eyes widened at the sight, and her hands came up to her mouth to cover her shock and awe. The little fox was sooooooooooooo cute as it sprawled in her lap, lapping up the attention.

Before she knew it, Kuro was there and picking her up, making her grumble in protest before she realized that her new master was standing behind them. Then she eep’d.

* * *

Joram smiled as he watched the kids play with the foxes, going unnoticed as he did.

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His [Improved Stealth] was getting pretty good to allow him to just blend into the crowd as he watched.

He was amused that the trio of “demons”- specifically since he’d only classify the succubus as an actual demon- were standing by Asami, who was sitting with a slightly frazzled Shae’ra. As for the rest of them, he was glad to see that they seemed slightly more relaxed as they either played with the adorable foxes, or watched the younger ones play.

He hadn’t had time to make breakfast yet because he’d been putting the finishing touches on everything inside. He’d gotten the wiring finished, along with the lighting, fans, electrical panels, and h-vac system. The only thing missing was the power source.

He was pretty sure that he could enchant the electrical panels but, once again, hadn’t had time to do so yet. Which meant that he’d probably have to use [True Creation] or something to get enough food for everyone in a timely manner.

Then one of the cat-kin noticed him and just about jumped straight up, though her tail certainly shot straight out and puffed right up. She quickly picked up a girl who was playing with Harumi before stepping back a bit as she stared at him.

‘Welp, guess she’s a cautious one,’ he sent to Avi as she laughed at the sight.

“Hi,” he said out loud, waving at them as Myra stood up with a kit in her arms. “Sorry, breakfast will take a bit longer than I’d hoped it would. Feel free to do whatever until then,” he said, then spotted Celys walking towards them through the trees.

He left them, glad to be away from so many shocked and, in some cases, terrified faces. As he stepped away, he quickly used [CleanseA], hoping that it wasn’t as needed as the thought it was.

“Good morning, Joram,” Celys greeted him when they were close enough to not have to yell. “I figured that you’d be needing help with breakfast,” she said with a smile.

Joram looked at the small army of women who’d come with Celys, and the two wagons of food and produce.

“I appreciate it,” he said, giving her a warm smile. “I’ve just finished up with the new mess hall, but haven’t been able to make anything yet.”

“The what?” Celys asked, looking a bit lost.

“Well, I figured that I’d need a bit more space to feed everyone. So, I made a new space,” he said, motioning for her to follow him.

It didn’t take long for the new mess hall to come into view when they passed the crazy huge sequoias. When they did, the women began chatting excitedly amongst themselves.

“I’d like to say that I’m not surprised at yet another ridiculous display. But I am,” Celys said, shaking her head and making him feel more than a little self-conscious as Ilyana joined them.

“That’s my boy,” she said, lightly punching him in the shoulder. “I’d expect nothing less from the one I chose to teach.”

‘Ha!!’ Avi laughed from his side.

“Sensei has taught me much,” he said, giving her a slight bow and confusing them all with the foreign word. “But seriously, I should only need another half-hour or so before the kitchen is ready to go. If you all want, you can set up inside while you wait,” he said, nodding towards the mess hall.

Celys nodded, then began instructing everyone on what she wanted them to do. Not being at all useful there, he made his way back into the mess hall and got to work.

* * *

“Seriously, he’s just insane,” Ilyana said once Joram had disappeared into the new building to the left of his house. “Are we sure that he’s only level seventeen?” she asked, looking back at Celys questioningly.

“I don’t know if he has a Skill to fool [Identify], but that’s what everyone who has [Identify] says,” Celys replied dryly.

Ilyana shook her head, still stunned by Joram’s ridiculous display yesterday. It had taken everything that she had to approach him as casually as she had a few minutes ago. Yes, they’d been getting along very well ever since he’d started coming by for lessons. But after yesterday, she was just… intimidated by what he could do. The clothes that he’d made didn’t even have seams!!

“I’m glad that he’s a good kid,” she finally said, shaking her head.

“I’m glad that I didn’t chase him away when I first learned about him,” Celys said, also shaking her head, though more ruefully than she had. “Could you imagine?”

Ilyana shook her head in denial. “No, I don’t imagine I’d want to,” she said, not wanting to think of what might have happened to them all if Joram hadn’t been there to help defend Kirkwall, let alone take care of the Dungeon.

“Well, enough of that,” Celys said briskly, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get to work. Those poor girls won’t get fed by idle chatter.”

Ilyana nodded, then turned to help unload the wagon closest to her, thinking of how proud she was of her apprentice.

* * *

Qyress couldn’t quite express how… shocked she was to see just how… caring everyone was. From Myra, who hadn’t done anything to them when she’d found them in her room, to Asami Miki who’d been idly chatting with them until the other girls had come out of the house, to the women of the village nearby. Kirkwall, if she remembered correctly.

Now, she was no great people-person who could look at someone and tell what their intentions were, but she could at least tell when people were more-or-less being genuine.

And those women were. Genuine, that is.

Not just yesterday, but today as well. They’d once again brought food for everyone, and were in the process of taking it into the new building that had popped-up over night. In fact, she was pretty sure that it had popped-up after they’d shamefully fallen asleep while watching Joram last night.

Thus reminded, her body reacted by trying to yawn, though she stifled it as best she could as she listened to the chatter amongst the villagers.

Most of what she heard wasn’t anything interesting, just normal talk amongst women. But then something caught her ear.

“… is what a [Hero] would do.”

“Would a [Hero] really buy so many women, and girls?”

“Everyone knows how heroic he is. Didn’t he save little Tara when the goblins attacked?”

“But that’s much different than buying so many slaves.”

“Well then, is everyone who buys slaves a villain?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Do you know of anyone else who’s gone and built something like that just for his slaves?”

“Well, no…”

“I think that he’s a true [Hero] at heart, if not in Path,” another woman said firmly, sounding almost taken with Joram.

“He did solo that goblin Dungeon that was in Overflow,” another said, practically swooning.

“Didn’t he have help, though?”

“From what Theril said, and you can trust that young man, they only helped him with the last room. Even saved his life, they did.”

“Well, you can be sure that Asami Miki wouldn’t stay with a [Villain], that’s for sure…”

Their conversation then went out of earshot, but left her wondering. Just who had bought her- them? From the conversation she’d overheard, most people thought of Joram as a [Hero], not something that she was terribly comfortable with given how the humans constantly sent those fanatics after her people.

But, once again, she was reminded that Asami Miki was someone important, someone whose judgement was seen as sound. So, going by what she knew, and what she’d heard, she began to hope a little bit that things wouldn’t be as bad as she’d feared they would be after having been bought by a human.

“Don’t worry about that,” Asami Miki said from beside her, causing her to jump a bit in fright. “He’s practically a [Monk]. You’d have to be very aggressive to even get a flicker of a response from him.”

Qyress’ jaw dropped at how forward Asami Miki was, then her face turned red as the words sank in.

“I wouldn’t-,” she began to say, but was cut off by Asami Miki.

“Wouldn’t what? Sneak into a man’s bedroom while he’s sleeping?”

Those words were so off the mark that she just about laughed, but had also struck home so hard that her wings came forward to hide her face.

“Don’t worry about it,” Asami Miki said again. “I’m sure that everyone will get along nicely.”

She peeked past her wings and down at the strange woman for a moment before speaking.

“Did he really free Shae’ra?” she asked quietly, still not believing what she’d seen.

“Yep.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“But, why?”

“He’s just like that,” Asami Miki replied with a grin. “That’s why I like him.”

“But why would a human do that?” she asked, still not quite believing it all, especially because he was a human.

“Maybe it’s because he’s not human?” Asami Miki said, looking thoughtful as her words nearly knocked Qyress over.

Then she felt a pair of arms hugging her from behind, shocking her into silence. Once she felt the ridiculous plushness of Fyrellia’s breasts press against her back, she relaxed again, her wings lowering enough to see everyone around her once more.

“Seriously? He’s not a humie?” Fyrellia asked, using the derogatory term for humans that was popular back home.

Asami Miki just shook her head at them as Arise stepped closer to the three of them.

“It’s not just what race he is. He’s just… different than anyone else I’ve met before,” Asami Miki said once Arise was standing with them.

“So, we’re not going to be sex slaves?” Arise asked, still dubious.

“Not unless you want to be, no,” Asami Miki replied dryly, causing Arise to blush and her frown to deepen.

Before the conversation could continue, Myra joined them, hauling along a cat-kin who in turn held the hand of a deer-kin, who also held the hand of a second deer-kin. Qyress was pretty sure that the little ones’ names were Pryte and Ruva, but couldn’t quite remember the new cat-kin’s name.

“Calm down little [Miko], you’re scaring the children,” Asami Miki said as she turned to regard Myra.

Myra’s jaw clenched a bit at the rebuke, but didn’t say anything about it.

“Gather the skulks, Asami! We have a sacred mission to fulfil!” Myra declared as she pulled the two little ones closer, motioning towards them grandly.

“What?” four people asked at nearly the same time, at a complete loss.