Admittedly, one thing I never thought I'd be, was a fugitive. Despite technically running away because I didn't want to get murdered by a mob. Though that might go for everyone here, really. I poked at the fire with a stick, nudging the logs around to keep them balanced. Mom moved the pot away from the heat as I did and stirred it a bit, with the smell of meats and roots filling the cave. We managed to find one sheltered from the wind, and Master Chronak and I had put wards up. Now he was snoring, oblivious to the world, and the rest of us sat around the fire in reasonable quiet. I know as far as I went, I was still having issues figuring out exactly what happened today.
Exir lay back, resting his head on his shield, which was wrapped in some blankets. Yimir was resting against my left side, and Exia my right, both looking deep in thought. I didn't exactly want to disturb anyone with my voice at the moment so... What were we going to do now? Where were we going to go? According to the sun, I noticed that we'd mostly traveled due East. We hadn't fully stopped until it was almost night, when we pumped the ella full of a ton of water from a nearby spring and set up camp in the cave. Now the huge beast was snoring a lot like Master was, laying on its side and blissfully happy regardless of the situation. I kind of envied it. Well, I think it might have been a girl, but it was hard to tell. They both had horns, unlike megama.
``Alright, the stew should be done...'' Mom quietly assured, drawing everyone's attention back to her almost immediately. It was... weird seeing her in armor, but she'd been wearing it since she changed after we got on the way.
Exia and Exir both eagerly awaited with their bowls, but Yimir looked a little more pensive, instead just resting her head against my shoulder. Regrets, maybe? We hadn't exactly talked a huge amount during the rushed trip here. I think all of us were in shock really. Mother dished out some stew to both Exia and Exir before gesturing them back a bit and away from looking towards Yimir with concern. Instead, she slid over next to her, herself, and rather directly put a bowl into her paws.
``You were brave today, Yimir. But if you have doubts, we can make sure you make it back to camp.'' I felt... conflicted, but didn't dare say anything as I looked Yimir over quietly.
Her eyes met Mom's for a long moment, then slid over to looking at me instead before ever so slightly, she shook her head. ``I... don't have doubts exactly. At least, not about coming. It's not that...'' Hmm? Mom waited patiently, with a softer smile on her face, as Yimir stirred the stew once before exhaling softly. ``I guess I'm in shock still. I can't believe my brother did what he did, and it shocks me even more that it led to all this. To people actually wanting to hurt Exes, purely because of an accusation that wasn't even true to begin with. It's... insane.''
Exir swallowed his bite of stew before sighing to that as well. ``Insane is a good word for it, actually.'' Heh. I guess I was just more used to dealing with people like that. It felt like a stretch on their part, to me, but... it didn't surprise me nearly as much as it should have, I think.
Mom nodded gently to her. ``Eat, you need your strength. If the capital doesn't get back with us by tomorrow morning, we'll be heading further East. To the jungle.'' The jungle? So that's where we were headed. The... Elves? That was their homeland, and where their capital was. Odd bunch, but if I recall, they were on vaguely polite relations with the Inaga. Wait, the capital?
Exia must have picked that out first and foremost, and beat me to it. ``The capital? Wait, them contacting us?''
Mom looked sheepish for a moment before smiling and nodding. ``It started as Chronak's idea. He wasn't about to let Exes' name get sullied and the Elders do nothing about it. So, he used his own transmitter to contact the capital without their decision. He told them everything that was happening, and the report that I'd given him about the Inaga meeting in secret.''
Exir paused, mid-bite, then swallowed quickly before frowning and asking, ``That meant... the double chime was... that was a wagon from the capital, wasn't it?'' Oh!
She nodded. ``They told us they were coming to do a full investigation, and urged us to try to keep the peace. Unfortunately, when the watch caught them approaching, the ones who wanted to put Exes on `trial' mobilized way ahead of schedule. So, we sent word that we had to leave for Exes' safety, and, well, left...'' So, this was their plan all along then. Get me out of the camp, then let the capital deal with it.
Yimir slowly frowned, however, which drew our attention back to her. ``But... that wasn't... a capital wagon coming...'' Huh? Mom frowned to her, giving a questioning look.
``It was coming from the direction of the capital though...''
Still, Yimir shook her head. ``No, I meant... It was hovering over the sand. And its mast flag had a gold trim. It was a royal wagon. Not a normal capital one...'' ...the fuck?
Mom looked surprised by that, eyes widening a little. ``That's... Why would a royal wagon be coming instead? Not for just a discord incident report.'' She lowered her head a little at that, and seemed to shift deep into thought instead. Yimir finally took a few bites of her stew in the meantime, then looked over to me instead as I dug into my own. Mmm, the spicy heat was still amazing to warm me up.
``I'm sorry, Exes...'' Huh? My ears perked as I looked back to Yimir, who studied my expression as I did.
``This... didn't really have anything to do with you, Yimir.'' She shook her head though, then rested it against my shoulder again. She was warm against me, and I flushed a little. This was... My eyes flicked to Exia, but she was looking concerned towards the other female instead.
Yimir exhaled, shaking her head after. ``No, I mean... I know now that you're...'' Her eyes flicked to Mom for a brief moment before returning to me again. ``...different. My Mom explained it to me, and about the problems in the capital... and our own camp apparently. When you froze... back in my tent... that was because I mentioned you being my First, wasn't it?''
I tensed at that, which drew Exia's attention. She slid her arms around my waist though, snuggling closer into my side, even as Exir stopped eating enough to glance over at us. Tch. I slowly nodded, deciding it was probably better to just be blunt. ``Yeah. The thought of sharing you with another male made me kind of ill. At the time though, I thought that... there was something wrong with me. So, I kept quiet about it.''
Yimir nodded quietly as she listened, until I was done anyway. Her left paw slid along and gently rested on my leg fur, even as her cheeks flushed a little. Huh? ``Mom told me about it, yeah. I... That's what I'm sorry about. Not talking things over with you. There was... so much that we should have discussed before I just sprung wanting to be your mate onto you. I guess I just... got excited. And thought I was cool and sophisticated for getting the boy I liked to be with me...'' She gave a little giggle after, and Exia smirked.
``I know exactly what you mean, Yimir. Though uh... you know that Exes, instinctively, is more like a Vulkus, right?''
Yimir paused, looking up at Exia with that, and I froze, suddenly uncertain what to do or say. In practice, we all said we were instinctively like Vulkus, but in execution... That wasn't really tested yet. Yet, being the operative word. A smirk played at Yimir's muzzle though, a moment later. ``You finally confessed to him, didn't you?'' Eh?! Was I seriously the only one who didn't know?!
Exia smirked too, then nodded. ``Guilty! He said yes.'' Uh... I looked uncertainly between the two as they stared at each other, and Exir slowly raised an eyebrow in their direction. Now it felt like I should have talked things through with Exia more too. Actually, probably sat them both down to talk about things...
Huffing, Yimir narrowed her eyes a little. Oh gods. If they attacked each other, there was no way I could stop them. Worse, they'd be attacking each other on my lap. ``Damn. And it was before I finalized things with him, thanks to my dumbass little brother...'' Uh... Yimir pouted for a moment before shaking her head. ``Fine. I relent First position then. Second is fine, too.'' I slowly blinked, mind wobbling in confusion, even as Exia gave a little victory pump with her right arm. Wait... what...?
``Wait, you still... are interested in me, even though you know I'm not like the other Inaga?'' I looked to Yimir as I asked, who perked and locked eyes with me again instead.
``I... am, yes. If you'll have me. I know I put you through a lot, thanks to my brother. Yeah, it was his doing but... he'd been antagonistic towards you for years. Mother and I should have talked to him long before it escalated to... this. After she told me all about, well, how your instincts were different, she told me that I'd have to choose. If I wanted to be with you still, I'd have to accept your instincts. Also, if I still wanted magical training... She'd... figured that was pretty much out too if we didn't patch things up with you.''
Exir snorted to that, and I shot him a scowl, which he ignored of course. ``You should have been there when Exes was going on about trying to arrange still giving you the magical training then, apart from your family...'' Her eyes widened a little at that, but then a softer smile played at her expression, and she looked back to me again, causing another huff from me.
``I... should have guessed. Exes has always been very honorable. But... I don't mind Exia at all. I still want to be with you, Exes. Maybe... I'm... like you guys too? I don't know. It's weird, and I've never really... thought about it.'' I looked to Exia after, but she just grinned and shook her head rapidly.
``I'm fine with Yimir. Mmm, though you're getting the hang of being alpha already!'' She winked as I frowned, but didn't let me interrupt. ``You just made sure to check in with both females interested in you, to make sure they were also interested in each other. That's a very responsible, alpha thing to do!'' I... seriously?
Exir gave a sagely nod to that, then a grin and thumbs up behind Exia's back. Ugh. Yimir saw and snickered before snuggling up into my side again, which spurred Exia into doing the same to my other side. This was... No, the day was already completely bizarre, tiring, and shocking. Piling on more of the above didn't really make it any worse. So now I guess I was in a relationship with both females? Were they also in a relationship with each other, then? I flushed at that, suddenly picturing-
His grin caught my attention, and I snapped to looking at Exir, even as he gave me a smug look that drew the attention of both females. ``He's totally imagining you two making out now.'' They both widened their eyes at that, even as I gave a jerk, heat flaring into my cheeks. That was... aaaaahhh!
``Ass!'' I hissed. My right paw flicked downwards, and my spoon whacked off his forehead a moment later, causing him to flail himself and fall over backwards in a rather exaggerated way. Mom was knocked out of her thoughts, raising her eyebrow and apparently entirely oblivious to the source of the girls giggling, my fuming, and Exir laughing while lying on his back. At least until Master rolled over.
``I'm trying to sleep! Keep it down, ya whelps!'' He rolled back over just as fast, and I pondered if he was actually awake, or just insulting us while sleepwalking. Entirely possible for Master.
I froze instead as both females slid further into my lap, drawing my attention downwards as they both shot me a wink. Uh... Then they slowly turned, brushing their noses against each other's. My breath caught as they gently kissed each other, and suddenly Exir was sitting up again, ears fully perked and eyes wide, watching them rather intensely. His right paw raised, and he gave me back the spoon without even flinching his eyes off them for a second. I'm surprised I managed to take it without actually looking, still staring at them in shock.
Mom whacked them both on their pressed together noses however, and they yelped, pulling apart again. ``Behave, or Exes isn't even going to be able to sleep tonight! I know of a lake coming up where we can take a nice bath, and you three can play around to your hearts' content there! But tomorrow!'' Wait, was my mom seriously arranging for a spot where the three of us could...
Exia rubbed her nose, then huffed. ``Fine... I guess we can wait.'' Yimir licked her nose off, going cross-eyed for a moment as she did so, after realizing Mom had booped them with the stew ladle, then snickered.
``I don't mind waiting. Besides, if he has too much trouble sleeping thanks to the tension, we can be really, really quiet about it! And no mess as long as we keep it inside of us, right?'' Exia grinned, and Mom rolled her eyes at that. Me? I swallowed uneasily and tried to stop from having some serious loincloth malfunctions in front of everyone.
``I t-think I'll be okay! Really!'' I looked away from them both, but they didn't look very convinced. Exir pouted, though.
``Tch, your Mom might be used to the smells but I'm not... Damn. I should have seen if Niva wanted to come too...'' That... actually was a little depressing if we weren't going to be going back to the camp. Actually... there was a lot of people that I wouldn't see again, if so.
Mom shook her head, however. ``If the capital does get back with us, that won't be too problematic. We might only have to stay away long enough for them to deal with the people wanting to hurt Exes.'' That would be nice. I... grew up with everyone there, and knew them all. Just leaving, especially without getting a chance to say goodbye...
She gestured down to my bowl, however. ``Eat now, though. We can talk more about what we're going to be doing in the morning. But for now, we all need to stay strong.'' Right. My stomach grumbled a little anyway, and I relaxed again, snuggled between the two females, before starting to focus on stuffing my face with stew.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mom was right in that it was a little hard to get to sleep that night. Both because of the day I had, and because two females snuggled into me on our combined bedroll. Yimir didn't have one, so Exia and I put ours together and we just snuggled instead. Space saving. Efficient! Really, really distracting! I was used to sleeping with Exia, but this felt... way different now. She was a female now instead of just my little sister.
I... wish we'd been somehow able to bring Niva too. Exir was the stoic type and just grinned and bared it, but... I could tell as he spent a bit longer looking at the three of us. I was pretty sure the last year or so, Niva had simply moved him out of the communal tent and in with her pack's tent cluster. They'd gotten... really serious. Like, go for official pack as soon as they hit fourteen, serious.
Sleep thankfully came after the adrenalin and hormones finally dwindled out of my system. I wasn't so certain it was `sleep' as much as I just passed out hard. It was a long, black thing, with little to no dreams as far as I could remember, and by the time we started to stir, the sun had already risen. Sleeping in was a rare treat, and I suspected Mom and Master had intentionally let us.
Mom was already making breakfast by the time we woke up, and Master Chronak was working with setting up a communicator by the looks of it, on a little tripod with a magical crystal array. Right. The capital. Exia sat up with a yawn, stretching her arms above her, but Yimir stayed snuggled into my hip, arms locked around my waist as she grumbled something about a few more minutes. Heh. We'd shifted about a bit in our sleep, and now her head was against my stomach instead.
Mom smiled to us all and nodded. ``Eggs and meat are almost done cooking. Let's relax for a bit while Chronak sets up the communicator.'' Right.
``Food, Yimir...'' She grumbled in response, and I chuckled, grabbing her under her arms and lifting her instead. She fussed, at least until I kissed her on the forehead, getting her to blush and open her eyes reluctantly towards me.
She snapped them open fully a moment later, looking around the cave for a second before blinking once, then again, and slowly relaxing. Ah, I knew what that sensation was like; waking up and for a moment, having no idea where you were. ``It... Yesterday really happened...''
``Yup!'' Exir stood and stretched, then gave a smile down to the three of us. ``We'll just have to deal with it. Besides, if the capital sorts things out, we might be back before you know it.''
Her expression softened a little, then she scrunched her paws up before resting against my chest instead. ``I don't... really care. I'm with who I want to be with. Where that is doesn't really matter...'' My turn to blush a little.
``But your family...'' I frowned a little to her, but she shook her head.
``They've been... increasingly more and more distant from me. Mom understands and at least respected my choice of wanting to pursue magic, but the rest... After what my brother did, I couldn't even look any of them in the eye anymore. They... agreed with him. It disgusted me...'' That was... a lot worse than I thought it was. I thought it was just Elith's opinion. Though, if a lot of them mistakenly thought I'd raped Yimir...
She kept going, though. ``I don't regret my choice. I want to be with you, Exes. You're my future. Not them... And they made me pick between them and you.'' And she picked me... That was the unspoken bit here. She picked me over her family. She gave me a warmer smile as we locked eyes, then leaned forward and gently kissed me, right on the muzzle. I nuzzled back into the kiss, and she gave another shiver, moving the rest of her body up against my chest. Yimir...
Exia pouted as she watched. ``Jealous! I didn't get a kiss!'' Heh.
Yimir slid back from me at that, then winked over at her instead. ``Oh fine. Just so you won't pout...''
My sister grinned, then slid over towards me as well again, but Yimir intercepted her and pressed up against her instead. Exia's eyes widened a split second before she got kissed as well, falling over backwards as Yimir slid on top of her. Well then... Exir grinned, having no qualms about watching them. Not that I wasn't watching them too... Part of me wanted to join, even, but... I mean, was that fair? I didn't want to interrupt really, and they deserved bonding time too, right?
They finally parted, a little string of saliva connecting their muzzles as they both flushed. Damn. Probably for the better though, as I was starting to stiffen in my loincloth... ``Mmm, there, you got your kiss too...'' Exia smirked at that, then they both snickered. Ugh. It had been inevitable really when Yimir and I started to hang out more, that she'd get to know Exia and my Mom too. Exir was a given, considering he was the one that introduced us. At this point, we were all friends. ...and then some in a few new cases. It looks like they were... exploring being more than friends too, by the looks of it. Which I was not only fine with, it made me feel... happy. For both of them. Vulkus instincts were... interesting, the more that I just embraced them rather than try to fight against them.
Mom gave a chuckle as she watched, starting to lay the food out onto dishes for us. ``Well food's ready if you're done teasing the boys. Best hurry up and eat, as we may have to move again depending on what the capital says.'' Right! Food...
I helped both girls up, and the four of us finally made it over to where Mom had set up the food. Mmm, scrambled eggs with a spicy tomato sauce, on grain bread. Good for dipping the bread or making it into a sandwich. Also useful because the sauce kept forever, the eggs had started dehydrated, and the bread had been wrapped. Everything kept quite well and when heated and rehydrated, tasted pretty good too. The meat was alchemically dried, but could be rehydrated with a bit of water. Once sliced and fried, it was quite tasty. A good breakfast!
Mom sat down to eat herself, and I couldn't help but watch for a moment, while chomping down a couple bites. Yesterday was... I'd never asked, really. ``What... was that yesterday, by the way? You and Sis were... wow.'' Exia smirked as she ate, ears turned to me to listen in, but Mom paused for a moment, looking surprised before looking up at me again. Golden eyes. A pretty much unheard-of color for an Inaga. Exia's eyes shifted gold in color too, before she started doing the weird stuff.
She paused for a moment after, giving a softer smile before nodding to me. ``I suppose there's no point in hiding it anymore. Originally, I hid my origins as to try to make sure you and Exia weren't ostracized for it. But I guess that didn't work out so well, in its own unrelated way.'' Origins? I just stayed quiet and let her continue, however. ``What you saw yesterday was a martial arts style called Flickerpaw. It's an ancient Inaga technique that involves dramatically altering your vita energy using alchemy, then training yourself to use it properly. The basic property of the techniques is generating fields of energy around yourself to manipulate yourself and your surroundings.'' Fields of energy? I remembered the crackling energy coming off Exia before she just... vanished.
Exia nodded twice at that. ``The most basic is accelerating or decelerating things around you, or yourself. Moving really, really fast, for example.'' That... I saw that, yeah. Well, no, I didn't see that. Kinetic manipulation... Actually, that explained a lot.
Mom gave a little sigh at that, then nodded. ``Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the technique has all but been lost. The only ones who still practiced it before me were the Jungle Inaga tribes, which are unaffiliated with Larid due to... differences in opinion. The instincts you're now aware of. Both tribes are filled with nothing but normal Inaga. The birth rate is also akin to a Vulkus, with far more females than males.'' Oh! Oh... Huh. There were Inaga hiding it the Jungle? And I'd never even heard of a technique like Flickerpaw before so...
Huffing at that, Master Chronak paused his connecting of wires to give a grumpy glare our way. ``Damn shame, too! That's where I hid out after exiling myself from Larid. Amazing people. Everyone's worlds happier than they are under Larid's egomaniacal paws. But with luck, the Inaga will have real change in the future.'' He sounded like he had a plan for exactly that. It probably had something to do with why he didn't get along with the current leadership in the capital.
After eating a few more bites, Mom nodded again. ``I'm a Jungle Inaga originally. My body's heavily augmented with Alchemy in order to withstand and channel Flickerpaw. Exia's also started down the path, with my own teaching. I was able to make her the basic starting formula myself, but I'd... hoped to visit my Master again someday soon and get him to mix the second, completing formula. It's far too complicated for me, and requires magic. Although...'' My ears perked at the mention of alchemical formulas, as did Exia's now.
``Oh! Now that Bro knows about it, he could mix it too!'' Mom hesitated before giving a softer smile and nod over to my sister.
``That he could. It'll be something to pursue once you're ready for it...'' Yeah, I didn't have a problem with that at all. Master, though...
He rolled his eyes at that and grumbled. ``Sure, trust the kit with the formula and not me. It's not like I'm going to use it to arm rebellion or something!'' We all stared at him for a long moment, before I blinked and just shook my head. Nope. Not even touching that one.
I frowned a moment later. ``Why are the Jungle Inaga hiding? I didn't even know there were Jungle Inaga.''
Another snort from Master Chronak. ``About four hundred years ago, they were struck from public record and acknowledgement. All for daring to go against Larid's wishes and not accept the essence patches. Larid's biggest kept secret...'' My eyes widened at that, even as my ears perked and rotated around fully to face Chronak. The essence patches again! I'd speculated he knew more about it after Mom... Mom...
I looked back to her for a moment, but she was just staring at her plate, looking distracted. Mom... was a Jungle Inaga. That's where Master had gone to hide out, and where he'd been. That meant... they probably knew each other long before she even left the village. And then suddenly, he shows up in our camp and... explicitly started questioning me about my aptitude for alchemy. ...she contacted him and called him there, didn't she? I'm the reason he was staying in the camp. He wanted a successor, and she knew I was pursuing alchemy.
His grin widened as he watched me, and he nodded. ``I know you're startin' to piece things together now, Exes. Still, thanks to the decree, Jungle Inaga were the scum of Aion. Your mother wanted you two to have a normal upbringing, which wouldn't have happened if she'd revealed the truth behind her origins.'' That... was true. I wonder if it might have been better to raise us in the Jungle though, now. Though, maybe Dad was the reason why she didn't.
``But, it'll become your problem soon enough, once I pass on the... title... to you. Modifying the patches for Larid is one of the jobs of the Grandmaster Alchemist. A job that I've intentionally neglected for three generations now.'' Neglected... intentionally? My attention drew back to him and I frowned.
``Is that... why you don't like Larid's leadership?'' I'd never, ever asked him that, and it felt taboo to do so, but... he grinned wider instead of getting angry.
``Damn right. Ever notice somethin' though? I stop updating the essence patches for three generations... and now suddenly there's all these `abnormal' Inaga running around, behaving like Vulkus...'' I... what? But that... If what he was insinuating... My eyes widened, even as my plate sagged. Exia had to reach over and grab the far end of it, pushing it back up again. The patches...
Mom nodded to that. ``You, Exia, and Exir got the Elven-made patches. Not the Larid ones. They're not as complete and only work for Inaga, but...''
``You'll have to see for yourself one day. The patches as they are... intentionally change the Inaga. It's one of the biggest secrets Larid has. For now... it has to remain a secret, however.'' Master nodded afterwards, and Yimir shivered, looking rather horrified towards him.
``I don't... The patches change us? They're the reason... no, the abnormal Inaga are the normal ones... and the normal Inaga are... the ones changed by the patch. Why would they... do that?! Why don't you just tell someone?!''
Exir shook his head, however. ``The capital's already having social trouble over the sudden influx of Inaga the patches no longer work on. They've passed it off as some `abnormal' unknown phenomenon that's natural in origin. What do you think would happen if it got out, suddenly, that it actually was all a giant conspiracy? You saw what happened in the tribe, and that was just a disagreement over one person.'' She winced at that, then lowered her ears a bit as she sagged. That... Yeah, that was true. If they knew that the Larid leadership was intentionally manipulating Inaga through the patch, Larid would tear itself apart. It might actually lead to straight up civil war.
``Why did they do this in the first place? If we're supposed to be like Vulkus, instinctively, why is that a bad thing? It works for Vulkus just fine...'' I didn't really... understand why they'd do this to begin with.
Master Chronak slowly shook his head, plugging in the final wires before standing upright fully again. ``That I don't know. The original change was done before the Demon War, even. Maybe the Demons did it and they just decided to keep it up. Maybe we were easier to manipulate and control that way. Or maybe, some female ruler after decided she didn't want to give power to the males and kept it up. That's what popular politics would jump to the conclusion of at the moment, anyway. But there's no written record of when it started, so your guess is as good as mine...'' Well fuck. That didn't help much. And... they would jump to conclusions.
``It's also not just the instincts,'' Mom added. Oh? She nodded up to me. ``It changes physical things too. It makes males smaller and females bigger and more muscled. It pushes up aggression and dominance in females, and submissiveness in males. Even further, it messes with our birth ratios, so that there's way more males than females.'' Oh. That was... Exir and Exia looked like they already knew all of this, but Yimir looked a mixture of stunned and horrified at the same time. I imagine I did too, though. Fuck... That meant...
My thoughts raced, and I slowly nodded. ``So... by not updating it, it doesn't work on as many Inaga anymore thanks to essence drift. You're trying to... force them to start implementing social changes.'' I looked to Master instead, just as he nodded to me and walked over our way again.
``Precisely. The more recent leadership I've had to deal with, that being the Queen and her mother before her, both knew about the issue. The Queen's mother was of the `traditional' approach. After thousands of years of this manipulation ongoing, nobody wants to put a stop to it and be the one to admit that it's happening. It would result in war, and more than likely assassination on their part, if not straight up public execution. The current Queen wanted to work with me to propose a different solution, but I trust her about as far as I can throw her. Which these days, ain't very far!'' A different solution?
The Grandmaster Alchemist position must be a lot more important than I realized. This is a huge problem, but still, the Queen and the entire Inaga government hadn't found a single other person who knows enough about alchemy to work on this? That didn't seem... That wasn't very likely at all. The only reason I can see is that they literally don't know how. But that would mean there was something more to Master's position than just a fancy title, wouldn't it?
We ate in silence for a long while as I thought things over. A couple days ago, I was just a twelve-year-old kit, wading bored through my basic school classes and studying advanced alchemy. Now... it felt like the world was opening up all around me. I was starting to realize that there were a lot of... problems that everyone was facing all over. Even my natural tendency to be pessimistic recoiled at the sheer, overwhelming shittiness of the situation.
We were interrupted about five minutes later by a soft beep from the console that Master had set up. Everyone perked, ears rotating towards it all around the fire, and Master Chronak stood, walking back over to where it was. That didn't take long... He adjusted the small screen upwards before peeking it over, nose twitching as he read. I felt a light spike of anxiousness go through me. Was everyone okay? Despite trying to murder me, it didn't slip my mind that we'd just injured a bunch of Inaga, and then the tribe's only two medical mages fled.
Master's eyes widened a little as he continued reading. ``Well shit. I wasn't expectin'... So, this message is even signed. Queen Calien's official magic signature. She arrived herself at the camp yesterday, and was surprised to find it a battlefield, as she calls it.'' Wait, what?! Why did our queen-?
``Ah. She's already granted us full forgiveness and immunity, particularly due to their investigation results. Sounds like she brought a full team with her. She wants to meet. Just us. Not in the camp, but somewhere nearby...''
Mom frowned, listening as she finished her plate off. ``Why? Why is the queen herself here? Chronak...'' The last bit sounded a little... accusatory, and I lifted an eyebrow, then looked back to Master, who looked uncharacteristically sheepish.
``Okay, so uh... maybe I should have just reported it right to her. Putting the initial report into the legal system may have been a mistake.''
Exir tilted his head too. ``You mean when you first sent them the message about something being wrong?''
Mom, however, slapped herself in the forehead. ``Chronak! The news offices have access to that outlet!'' she hissed. Eh?! Wait, why would that be a bad thing...?
Slowly tilting her head, Yimir looked between my Mom and Master curiously. ``So what, Laridia's news groups suddenly start doing stories on the tribe's troubles?''
Mom shook her head, looking annoyed. ``I hope it's as basic as that. But if the queen herself is out here dealing with the issue personally, I suspect it's something that's aggravating the current political climate. Maybe they got ahold of the story and spun it somehow?'' Why... would they even want to do that? Weren't news organizations supposed to like, report facts and what's actually going on? Was it really okay for them to be biased like that?
Master just cackled, however, sounding far more like his normal self now. ``Hope it's given the little brat trouble. So, we meeting with her then, or not?'' With that, he looked back to Mom, who hesitated, then slowly nodded. Well, this was... a thing. I felt way out of my league now but... I also started to realize that maybe his dislike for the queen went in both directions...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Predictably, the royal hoverwagon was already at the spring we were supposed to meet them at by the time we slowly pulled up at around suppertime. They'd said close to the camp, and we'd spent a good chunk of yesterday getting as far from the camp as possible. The wagon itself was off at the moment, with its legs extended and gently sitting in the sand. I found my eyes drawn curiously to it, mind whirling with interest as I wanted to know how it worked. I'd always wanted to get into mechanical alchemy, but that was something for after I finished tackling all of the medical studies. One staggeringly massive field at a time, Exes!
As the queen had promised, the only ones at the wagon as far as I could tell was herself, a small entourage of honor guards, and an equally small investigation team. I could pick the queen out almost immediately as we got closer, thanks to her fine purple clothing. She looked regal indeed, the closer we got, and I looked over the soft silks and gemstones she wore over herself. She was large. Definitely a Larid female rather than a Jungle female. Her outfit was a two-piece elongated loincloth and shawl of sorts that showed her stomach off, letting her belly button peek through as she casually strode towards us. The clasps were done in amethyst, and the entire affair was light blue and purple in color. The purple reserved for Inaga royalty that is. To my surprise, just like her eyes were. She gave a wave as we came to a stop, and was smiling quite benignly at us, throwing me off a bit. I was expecting either someone who was all business, or someone pissed off, like they'd just been forced out of their castle for two days, traveled through the plains and steppes in the sweltering heat, and had to try to quell a bunch of people who'd decided to murder each other. Or really, just me in that case.
Oh fuck, and she'd done it all in heeled sandals?! My eyes locked onto her inlaid sandals, with their ankle wrapping going up almost to her knees. She was somehow walking in loose sand with those! Two honor guards followed her as she approached. Both large females, and almost identically armed and armored with heavy looking plates, large shields, and even larger spears. They also had the same eye color and remarkably similar features. ...twins? I could tell they were honor guards because of the glowing runes visible over various locations of their exposed fur. Alchemical mana tattoos. A way to `cheat' using some kinds of magic, by storing mana artificially in runes.
The queen was young, looking about the same age as my mother was. In retrospect, the far younger female walking along behind the queen, trailing a bit to the right, looked about my age, if not a little younger. Her outfit was also a two piece and royal purple, but included far more blues and whites. She also didn't have much in the way of jewelry, like the elaborate ear hoops and studs the queen wore. Just two little amethyst studs at the base of both of her ears. Similar features and eye color to the queen had me guessing at her daughter, but I had... no idea actually. I only knew Queen Calien by name.
Other than those four, I only saw two other guards, and two Inaga that looked like clerks almost, with business attire on. Investigators, maybe? She took a very small team with her, and was very lightly guarded. I was suspicious almost immediately. ``Welcome! Thank you for coming!'' She immediately greeted Master Chronak and Mom, who'd both exited the wagon and went down to talk. The four of us stayed within the riding area, watching out the windows, as instructed.
``Eh, Umani's idea, not mine. I would have left your ass waiting and been sailing off an Elven dock by now if I had my way...'' Master admitted, causing me to wince. Well, he uh, clearly didn't care about her station, that was for sure. He was relaxed, however, offering her a dry stare of vague contempt, even as she smirked at his comment.
``Not changed in the slightest, I see. And this must be Umani. The current Flickerpaw grandmaster.'' Grandmaster...? The queen looked over to Mom, who wasn't smiling and simply nodded to her.
``I am, yes. There's no point in hiding that anymore, after the exit we had to make from the camp. I take it you were there, first?'' Mom also didn't appear to put much effort into airs with the queen. I was sweating bullets the entire time we were approaching, and I wasn't even going to be talking to her! Damn...
To my mild surprise, Queen Calien gave a long sigh at that, as the younger kit behind her pulled out a sizable notepad and started taking notes, by the looks of it. That looked... extensive. ``Indeed, we have. It was quite the mess, given your exit. Although numerous memory scans that we took gave us reason as to why you left in such a hurry. I... had barely believed Chronak's message before arriving. I didn't think it was... possible for tribe members to turn so harshly on each other like this. But we interviewed dozens, and got a lot of memory scans, and we're pretty sure we have a cohesive picture of everything, minus your own testimonials of course. For posterity at this point...''
Master snorted at that, then crossed his robed arms as he glanced over his shoulder towards us. ``You probably know more than we do then, at this point. Tell me you at least arrested someone... They were literally shooting hunting arrows at us. You don't incapacitate someone with a hunting arrow.'' Right. Those were the broadhead ones with the barbs and serrations. Our wagon had been, and still was riddled with the things. Quite visibly even, as we managed to pull up with that side facing them. Maybe intentionally.
Queen Calien gave a soft chuckle to that, then nodded. ``Three dozen someones, actually, to varying degrees of criminality. Including those who initiated this entire problem. Matriarch Irikis and her son, Elith, have both been arrested.'' Oh... they took Irikis too?! Yimir shivered against my right side, and I frowned, sliding my arm around her back. She snuggled up closer to me and shrank down a little more, barely able to look out the bottom of the window, like she was afraid to be seen.
``Why arrest Irikis? The most offense I'd think she responsible for is idiocy.'' Master looked skeptical as he asked, but the queen slowly shook her head.
``Disturbance of the peace and incitement of violence, as well as attempting to interfere with criminal justice, her full offense. She might have done the others by accident, but that doesn't make her any less responsible. I suspect her sentence will be less than her son's though.'' Oh. I didn't even realize that was something that could get you in trouble, but it made sense. I suppose you were at least partly responsible if you talked someone else into doing something bad.
Mom slowly nodded along, not looking particularly surprised by the information. ``That doesn't answer why you came yourself, though. You could have easily just sent an investigative team and a guard attachment.''
The queen glanced backwards at the younger Inaga, who perked and dug into her side satchel. Hmm? ``Oh, this is my daughter, Princess Nara, by the way. I'm having her accompany me so she can acquire more experience.'' Princess Nara. Huh. She pulled several larger sheets of paper out of the satchel and unfolded them into about newsletter size. In fact, that appeared to be exactly what they were, based on the headlines I saw. Uh oh.
She passed them to her mom, who sighed as she looked them over before passing them to Master. ``Look for yourself...''
He read the paper over for a stiflingly quiet almost thirty seconds before suddenly snorting and barking out a laugh. ``This is the biggest load o' bullshit I've heard in a while! I'm impressed!'' He passed the papers to Mom, who took them with a frown as the queen nodded slowly.
``Unfortunately, it's effective. Riling up the Male Rights Movement is a popular way to get a lot of newsletters sold. To both sides of the problem.'' Wait, the news offices were fucking privately owned?! Whose retarded idea was that?! Wait, Male Rights Movement? What did that have to do with...?
Mom gave the newsletters back a minute or so later, looking disgusted. ``So, because Irikis gave a statement protecting Elith, they managed to twist that into a young, abnormal male being assaulted, and a powerful tribal matriarch trying to protect the assaulter and condemn Exes...?'' Uh... Technically accurate, but they were intentionally focusing on all the wrong parts.
Queen Calien nodded at that. ``There's effectively two Male Rights Movements. The sane ones who just want a chance to feel out their new instincts and be treated with respect, and the less sane ones who want to string up all females in power and publicly execute them. As far as I can tell, the latter grabbed onto the story first and turned it into a young male being oppressed by a tribal matriarch because he's abnormal and interested in her daughter. Unfortunately, there's a counter movement, of course, to oppose both sides of the MRM, and they instead latched onto her defensive statement and claim Exes was raping her and deserves investigation instead.'' What the fuck?! Now I was a rapist in the city, too?!
Neither Master, or Mom, looked pleased by this at all, but the queen held her paw up. ``However, the big difference being, both sides in the city are perfectly fine with evidence collected through magical means. I've already pieced together pretty much all of the information I could ever need for the arrests, but if I could get a memory scan of both Yimir and Exes, I could easily smash apart both sides of the story that are causing civil unrest in the capital.'' Oh. That's why she wanted to meet us in-person.
Shifting to looking skeptical, Mom tilted her head to the queen, crossing her arms over her chest. ``You want me to let you cast magic on my son and his new mate?''
She got a nod in return, however. ``Yes, I do. I know neither of you trust me, but I need to assure you that all I want is to clear up all of this. Chronak already knows that the plan I suggested was, at its heart, to minimize the amount of possible bloodshed that this drastic change in culture and instinct is risking. This is actually no different from that.'' Her plan? Was that the new plan for the essence patches that Master mentioned? Not that... she'd come right out and say that's what it was about.
``I know you have no reason to believe that, but... what you saw yesterday in your tribe... that sort of thing is happening everywhere. I'm trying my best to get through this period of unrest with the least possible people hurt or outright killed by it, but... I need help. It's not been going well...'' the queen admitted, looking back to Master after.
He frowned, hesitating for a long moment before finally asking, ``Not been going well? Don't tell me...''
The queen sighed and nodded. ``It's unrelated to your news story, but four days ago, someone set off an alchemic bomb in one of the capital buildings. We evacuated in time, but it was a smokepowder explosive. Three females are hospitalized with breathing issues still...'' Oh... fuck. ``Radicals already made threats, claiming they did it in the name of male rights, and that more would be coming if we didn't start immediately changing major laws in the city, and nation.''
Master Chronak made a clicking noise, lifting one of his crossed arms up to rub at the right side of his head for a moment. ``Tch. Dumbasses. This isn't how you make things change...''
Queen Calien slowly nodded to him at that. ``I know, Grandmaster. But things are falling apart. I'm not asking you to help me with what I proposed. All I'm asking... is that you let me put out this fire before it spreads further.'' She turned to Mom after, then gave a little head bow, surprisingly. Mom looked a little taken back too, but she kept talking. ``And Umani, I'm a mother too. I'd do anything for my Nara, and... I know exactly how you feel and respect you. I'm here with almost no guards for protection also as a show of respect. If Exes were truly in danger, and you even suspected anything was amiss, I already know that you could kill everyone here before we even knew you were attacking. I have zero desire to harm Exes or Yimir.'' That was... a bold statement. I knew Mom was apparently a complete badass, but the queen herself seemed to know what Flickerpaw was, and had just estimated her four, highly trained honor guards were zero match for it. Though... the queen's daughter was right there, behind her. If Mom were to attack... I guess that was also a show of faith on the queen's part, for how sure she was that we weren't going to hurt any of them.
Slowly, Mom nodded. ``Alright. You're right, in that these rumors need to be eliminated. It won't do anything to convince the tribe, but... if we can convince everyone else that Exes didn't do anything wrong...''
She looked back at the wagon with that, an gave a gesture of her head. Ah! All four of us pulled away from the window, and after Exir and Exia slid down to the bottom of the ladder, Yimir and I slowly joined them. Queen Calien switched back to smiling towards us again as we carefully approached. From the ground, she looked a lot bigger... though I also noticed that she wasn't nearly as muscled. This close though... My inner mana was tingling as I looked her over. She was a mage, and at least a moderately powerful one.
``Ah, you must be Exes. I recognize you from a lot of the memory scans. Mmm, kit prodigy and young genius, according to many of the tribe members! Including several of the ones who wanted to kill you...'' Eh?! My eyes widened a little, as my cheeks flushed with heat. Serious?! Her smirk widened a moment later, and she giggled. ``And bashful! Oh, I like you! They said you were humble. Mmm, then Exir, your cousin, and Exia, your sister...'' Her eyes flicked down to where Exia's paw was holding onto mine a second later, and she didn't even miss a beat. ``...and mate! And Yimir, the runaway kit who's also your mate! It's very nice to meet you all.'' She was either really perceptive, or cheating using all of the memory scans she had access to. Maybe both?
I gave a little partial bow, uncertain of exactly how I was supposed to address the queen of our entire nation! For once, Mom's advice ahead of time to just run if she had to start beating them down, was not quite so useful now. The queen gave another snicker, and shook her head however, just gesturing me up again.
``We're hardly at court, Exes. But thank you for the pleasant greeting. I'm Queen Calien, as you probably heard. This is Princess Nara. We also have two investigators here; one of whom is a mind mage. We're only going to be examining the incident where you were attacked by Elith, and not going back any further than that...'' Her assurance was kind of nice, really, minus the bits where said incident also involved my first sexual experiences. I flushed a little, but nodded. A glance to my right at Yimir also showed her blushing, undoubtedly having come to the same conclusion.
She coughed lightly, squirming where she stood, even as the two other Inaga in clerk outfits approached from where they'd been over by the wagon. One was male and the other female... and I felt the mana coming from the taller, female one. She was the mind mage, then. ``Um, y-you're not going to uh, broadcast these or anything, right?'' Oh, uh...
The queen shifted to a grin at that and shook her head. ``I already got the gist of what you were doing from Elith's memory scan. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. If we do release these to the media, they'll be edited for censorship. But more likely, they'll only be available to the investigators, who are interested in obviously proving there was no rape, and another angle of Elith attacking Exes.'' Right...
I was a little uncertain as the female knelt down in front of me, tucking her paws into her lap and smiling up my way. ``Hello. I'm Vikka; a licensed mind mage working for the Laridia investigative offices, justice branch. This is just a shallow scan and only of a single memory, so it won't take long at all, and definitely won't hurt. It'll just be like you're remembering it yourself, in a really detailed way. When you're ready, just close your eyes and relax.'' Uh! Relaxing was going to be... hard... along with other things... if I remembered that in a `really detailed way'.
I swallowed uneasily, then exhaled. Well, there was no avoiding this, I guess. Closing my eyes, I tried my best to relax... at least until I felt a soft pulse go through me. Mana. Someone else's mana, specifically. It was flowing into me from the outside, like a scan, but directed towards my head instead. I let her in, feeling a more calming sensation drift over me. Assurance that it was okay and that she knew what she was doing.
It... went exactly like she said it would. Suddenly I really did remember everything about that moment. Every little hair of Yimir's fur as she kissed me, grinding down onto my lap. The light glowing off her from the window as she sat up, beaming down at me. The staggeringly burning shame I had felt at lasting less than a minute. Her gentle assurances that it was fine. Even the confusion and dysphoria over having to share Yimir with another male. The mage touched upon every little detail of the scene, all the way through me returning the favor to Yimir, with her very happy, pleased moans and chitters, then scream. She even got something I missed, in the warm grin Yimir shot sleepily back up at me as she lay partly upside down, looking absolutely drunk on the pleasure.
Afterwards was more... muted. I hadn't expected the startled sensation to shoot through me as Elith burst in from the right side of my vision and started to shout at me. I'd definitely raised my arms up into a yielding gesture, and he still stepped forward and hit me with the shield. The pain was... blank... however. Only the light impact of being hit and falling to the side, clutching my face. Then the similar impact of his paw on my back before I fell out of the tent and hit the sand.
My eyes slowly opened as she slipped backwards out of my mind. I felt a bit disoriented, but otherwise... Oddly, a glance downwards showed me just fine in the loincloth department. Had she... somehow blocked that reaction from me or isolated it somehow? That had been... interesting. I had definitely felt her focusing on looking for specific things, like when I yielded and raised my paws, and Yimir's expression.
Vikka smiled and nodded back to the queen, who returned the gesture and relaxed. ``Got the full memory. That was... about as far from rape as I've ever seen. I don't think Yimir's perspective is needed. We have most of her side from Elith.'' I exhaled, myself. There was something about being proven innocent, irrefutably, that felt really nice.
Queen Calien nodded to that and then smiled to me again. ``So exactly as expected. I'll go over it myself in a little bit, but there's a few other things to talk about first.'' Huh?
That got Master's and Mom's attention again almost instantly, and she turned to Mom fully before continuing. ``I know you were planning on either leaving Larid or returning to the tribe after we cleared Exes' name. I... don't know how far the conspiracy against Exes extended yet, however. The investigation of all the memory scans is going to take several weeks, more than likely. Instead, I'd like to extend a different offer. Your son is the up-and-coming Grandmaster Alchemist of Larid. Chronak's thought highly enough of him to entirely skip over the traditional ways of picking successors, and jumped right into teaching Exes directly. I may not always agree with Chronak's methods, but I do trust his judgement, and that... really does say something.'' I flushed again, lightly, as I listened, not entirely sure where she was going with this. Mom remained neutrally blank in expression, apparently content with just listening for now.
``That said, I'd very, very much prefer it if he were somewhere where I could absolutely guarantee his safety, and provide an environment where he could thrive. The tribe has been sufficient for such, but... given their outlook on magic, I can't promise anymore that it would be safe. Instead, I'd like to extend the offer for Exes to finish out the rest of his primary schooling and education as Grandmaster Alchemist, in the capital.'' What? My eyes widened drastically at that. She wanted me to move to the city?! I'd only been there once before, when I was four, and it was... overwhelming, to say the very least. ``Of course, he wouldn't be alone. I'd like everyone present to move there with him. I have extra rooms available, and would be hosting everyone directly in the palace itself, for optimal security.'' The palace?!
Princess Nara's ears perked at that, behind her mother, and she nodded rapidly. ``It's extremely safe there, and full of all the modern amenities. The position of Grandmaster Alchemist is really, really important, so...'' It was the first time I'd heard her talk. Her voice was softer and lighter than I anticipated, and she gave me an encouraging smile afterwards.
Master's eyes narrowed to the queen, however. ``You mean get him there so you can dig your claws into him and get him to help you where I refused, right?'' Uh... yikes. Queen Calien's smile softened a little, and she shook her head to that.
``The Grandmaster Alchemist's position has always been unattached to the royal family or national council. We've worked closely together from time to time, but I have no intention of attempting to manipulate Exes. I didn't try to have you brought back to the capital, after all, and halted the investigation after at least finding out you were still alive, remember? You could have simply told me you were leaving, you know...'' She shifted to a skeptical expression after, and Master huffed. Wait, he just up and left without telling anyone? She thought he was dead? I kinda wanted to laugh, admittedly. It sounded remarkably like Master.
Mom, however, was approaching from a different perspective. ``He'd have full education in the city? For any topic he needs or wants to study? Full room and board without accumulation? The ability for his mates to stay with him? Access to medical and utility facilities?'' Uh, whoa.
The queen looked surprised for a moment before relaxing again and nodding. ``Full education. Security clearance second only to me, so I don't imagine there's any topics he couldn't learn about if he wished. I've recently been remodeling the palace, and there are new, permanent rooms installed. Suites, where I plan to host you all. They're quite nice, and don't worry about accumulation. I'd hardly be establishing a stable future for our people if I charged Exes to do so. The rooms are large enough of course for an entire pack. As for utilities, frankly, I was hoping he wouldn't mind aiding in the medical ones. But yes, full utilities available.'' Mom struck a vicious bargain, even against a queen. She glanced to the side at Master with that, who rolled his eyes and groaned.
``I spent six years trying to get away from Larid royalty, and now you want me to live in the same building as them? Tch. Full privacy. If I find even one monitoring enchantment or device, an alchemy bomb is going to be the least of your concerns.'' Also yikes!
``Deal. Do you... accept then? If so, you can simply follow us back to the capital if you so wish, after we pick up the crew we left behind at the camp.'' Wow, she just... flat out accepted every term and condition the two of them threw at her without so much as batting an eyelash. My expectations for exactly what the `Grandmaster Alchemist' was just kept going up and up. There was no way that `True Alchemy', that was touted as what only the Grandmaster knew, was just advanced alchemy. Something wasn't adding up... It felt like there was a sort of exclusivity going on, and I kept waiting for signs of it to be artificial or elitist... and never got any.
Master nodded, and Mom looked to me after. Actually, they all looked to me, Exia, Exir, and Yimir included. Uh... I hesitated. Finish out my schooling not only in the capital, but in the palace? I... I missed the tribe already but... if I couldn't actually be safe there... Plus everyone would be with me.
Exhaling softly, I looked up to Queen Calien and slowly nodded with that, causing her to shift to a soft smile again. My own crossroads, I guess. I hoped, idly, that I made the right choice. If there was such a thing...
