Mia smiled at Rhenakos when he understood and waved at Reva and Osiria too. It would take her some time but she would get used to all of them. “Toya said she would let Izzy come if Izzy did her rounds.” At that cue a portal opened up and Toya came in with Izzy by her side.

“You can come back after the party. Behave yourself or I’ll make you run fifty laps.” Osiria was so happy to see Izzy and Izzy ran over to Os to hug her. Though the glare at Rhenakos didn’t go unnoticed. Toya waved and stopped to look at Mia, “When she wants to learn to shift we have people who can help her. It will take time and she needs to understand it will hurt. I won’t lie, the shift drives some people crazy. Liz’s brother committed suicide after it. So… Decide what you would like to do. It’s rare and I’m not trying to scare you but you weren’t raised as a lycanthrope. You have no idea and that’s okay. All of my kids have lycanthrope blood.”

Mia was looking up at Toya curiously but she nodded as Toya left.

“Toya is just trying to tell you she cares about your well being… In her own Toya way.” Angela gave a smile and Mia got excited to see Alshaya and Everett.

They ran right over to her and Mia gave them hugs. Mia listened to the explanations on the kids and their relationships. Simone and Lewis looked rather dapper but that was because Simone always dressed them well for parties. Though by the look on Lewis’s face he was less than thrilled about monkey clothes. Janus and Lila looked half milk drunk but they were looking around.

Ezili and Lucas had matching sea colors since both of them loved the water. Osiria greeted Rex. “You guys, this is Mia. She is your Uncle Xeik’s friend,” Simone was being gentle. “Shaya and Everett have already met her. She is really skittish so please be careful.”

“Are your legs are better?” Everett and Shaya were huddled around her. Mia nodded but then also shook her head. “You can’t walk yet?”

Once more Mia shook her head but she gave them a smile.

“Well, we think you look pretty! Uncle Xeik dressed you up good!”

Mia smirked a bit and patted them on the heads.

Raile and his gang came in. Kali hadn’t even bothered to get changed as she just plopped herself at the table. “I’ll introduce myself to Mia when everyone is done scaring her.”

“We’re not scaring her!” Leilah bounced over with Nyssa and Piper behind her. “Hello, Mia! I’m Leilah and this is my husband Raile… These are our twins Nyssa and Piper.” They waved at her shyly. Kali made a face knowing full well those two weren’t shy, they could be little demons.

Vela came strolling in with Drake, “Sorry we’re a little late. Drake was helping me with my wing.” She stretched the prosthetic wing and her arms. She had on a short little white dress that dipped down and showed her curves. Almost made for teasing. “And, I had to dig through my clothes for something. This is all I had.”

Mia’s eyes got big as she had never seen so many wings on a person before. She waved Vela down and Vela came closer. “Oh… You want to see my wings.” Vela turned around and Mia hesitantly touched them.

“She’s really never seen this stuff before has she Xeik?”

There was a lot that Mia hadn’t seen, and through the evening she was introduced to a lot of new sights and sounds. Xeik was appreciative of how careful everyone was around her, respecting her social issues. Even Rhenakos and by extension, his offspring, were surprisingly well behaved around her. But the evening was to be short lived. With everyone that had happened to her throughout the day and past weeks, she tired out quickly and it showed.

It had only been a few hours, but Xeik excused himself and Mia, taking her back to his room in order to let her rest, leaving the guests and Angela to entertain themselves, not that they needed Xeik as entertainment.

Though, as it turned out….

Raile cleared his throat. “All right, then Simone. Usual bets are on. What are we wagering this time?”

Lewis rolled his eyes, “Again?”

The merchant smirked. “It’s a little harmless fun.”

Rhenakos sighed, “I’m going to regret this. Lost a lot on the last one. Two hundred silver on Xeik.”

The assassin glanced over, “Poor choice. Do you always make bad bets?” That earned a glare from the demon hunter. “Am I wrong, though?” Lewis opened up his coin pouch. “Four hundred on Xeik being oblivious through it all.”

Before the end of the night, Mia was using her little sniffer to recognize everyone. She put her nose to Vela and then made a face as she was wheeled over to Drake who was across the room. She put her nose to him and made another face before going back to Vela trying to confirm what she was smelling. She wrinkled her nose and looked at Xeik. “Ohhhh,” Raine got close to Vela. “Ohhh! I SMELL IT TOO MIA!”

“Keep your noses to yourselves!” Vela groaned as she went over to Drake and plopped herself on his lap.

All the excitement tired her out and soon Mia retired with Xeik.

“So! WHO WON THE BET WITH DRAKE AND VELA!” Raine shouted once they were alone.

“A BET?! What the fuck…” Vela narrowed her eyes down on the others.

“We always do bets. We’ve been doing bets since Lewis and Simone have come into the picture,” Kalina smirked a bit. “There was also a bet on if Osiria would take Rhenakos back after her pregnancy with Izzy. We all lost on that one.”

“Serves you all right,” Osiria smirked a bit up at Rhen.

Angela made a face, “I’m not allowed to bet again am I?”

“Hell, no.” Kali remarked. “You are a cheater. Raine can bet as usual. She won a decent chunk of the pot for Lewis and Simone.”

Simone listened and chuckled a bit. She got out her own coin purse and thought about it. “I’ll do two hundred on Mia having to do the first move.”

Leilah looked in her pouch and frowned a bit, “I only have fifty silver for betting because I think Xeik is going to realize he has feelings AND HE IS GOING TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE! I have faith in Xeik!”

“You are hopeless Lei…” Kali sighed a bit. “I got one hundred silver that this takes longer than a year.”

Raile took all the bets, and started to write down everyone’s bets. “It’s all fun and games, Angela, but you definitely can cheat. Gods and goddesses have too much pull in the world, and I don’t like being on the losing end of a bet I know I can’t win.” He tallied up the amount. “You went all out this time. THis is almost double the amount when we did Drake and Vela.” He sighed. “All right, Raine. Here’s your payout for the Drake and Vela bet. Lewis and Simone, your payout as well.”

Lewis waved his hand. “Redirect my winnings to add to Xeik being oblivious.” He looked over to Leilah. “I know full well what an idiot he can be.” He leaned back in his chair. “Almost as much of an idiot as Rhen sometimes.”

“I take offense to that,” Rhenakos replied.

“You were supposed to,” the assassin shot back.

Drake looked to Vela, “It was just harmless fun, wasn’t it?” He shrugged. “Can’t hurt. I don’t know them all that well, but bets are all over the place. What do you say? 50 silver on the mute woman?”

The festivities continued for several hours more, and the group enjoyed their time spent relaxing. Meanwhile, Xeik had tucked Mia in, who fell asleep almost immediately from her exhaustion. The healer wasn’t far from passing out himself, and found himself back in his hammock, sleeping peacefully until the morning.

Another week passed by, and soon it was time for Mia to start walking again. With the okay from Angela, Xeik helped Mia get to her feet in a special rehabilitation room, with arm bars for support. He made sure she was steady, and let her go. He knew it would be a hard process, but he was there to help her along should she need it.

Raine did a dance and got her winnings, “I’m getting good at this!”

“You have never been bad at it… Though you are still oblivious with you and Maalik.”

“MAALIK AND I AREN’T DOING ANYTHING,” she was bright red as she took off.

“See. Easy like pie,” Angela smirked a bit.

Simone agreed with Lewis, “Same here Raile. Lewis and I are pretty good at spotting these things now.”

“That’s because you two are damn near perfect,” Osiria groaned a bit.

“I wouldn’t say perfect but I’ll take the compliment,” Simone squeezed Lewis’s hand.

Vela thought about it and nodded, “I can chip in for that bet Drake.”

Soon Mia was up and trying to walk again. Thankfully Angela had gotten rid of any stitches and her feet didn’t look sore. It was weird having her feet be flat on the ground and she looked up at Xeik whenever she needed support.

Once in a while, she would fall and get frustrated as she sat on the ground. She puffed up at her face at Xeik and before long she was holding her arms up at him to help. “Should take her into the pools too! It will help! Hot springs will help relax her muscles too!” Raine came in and gave Mia some water. “I’m sure Aaya could use the exercise too.”

Mia got excited and nodded to Xeik that she would like that. She had been hearing about the hot springs around Elysia for some time.

It was impressive the amount of work Mia was putting into her rehabilitation, and she seemed super determined to walk again. By the end of the session though, Mia seemed exhausted. The hot springs sounded like a good idea to Xeik, and it seemed like it would be a good reward for all of her hard work.

“Good job, Mia,” Xeik said as he helped her back into the chair. “I think you’ve earned a reward then. How about we go to the hot springs tonight? I’m sure it will help your muscles relax after all the work you put in today. But first, I bet you’re starving.” Almost as if on cue, her stomach rumbled. Xeik smirked. “You don’t even have to tell me.”

In the past week, since her recovery, Mia had been allowed to eat more and more foods, moving away from her restrictions as she got better. In that time, they had discovered a lot of Mia’s likes and dislikes, but today was special. Since she tried her hardest, she was allowed to pick whatever she wanted, and between Xeik and Raine, they would get it for her.

Of course, this required Raine to help translate. With Mia distracted, Xeik went to Angela for help on what to do in order to help her in the hot springs, as well as do’s and don’ts. “Also…I…erm…have a strange question. I…I’ve never been to a hot spring with Ayaa…can you…erm…help me get something to wear? All I have are dresses…”

Xeik was beginning to learn almost everything about Mia. Including when she got hungry which pleased her since she didn’t have to do a dance anymore to let him know. Mia got big eyes as she thought about it. She didn’t know what hot springs were but it excited her as she nodded.

Mia was a fan of sweets but only of strawberries. So strawberry tarts, strawberries in chocolate, and especially strawberry shortcake. Mia would almost throw herself if she couldn’t have it at least once every few days. Raine had found out by accident at her welcoming party.

Mia was told to pick out healthy things and of course her strawberry dish choices. Angela perked up from her book. “Well… A light airy dress for both you and Mia before you get there. I have some cute dresses both of you can have. But you have to go into the springs naked. You’ll have to hold Mia up to as most of the hot springs here are natural. It will be a good bonding experience for you both. Take some towels with you to dry off with and make sure your hair is tied up.”

Thinking about it Angela smirked a bit. “Tonight is going to have a beautiful showing of stars and a crescent moon.” It was also very romantic. “Hold Mia close to make sure you can keep her up. Sound good?”

Xeik thought about it, and while he would have preferred having something to cover himself as Ayaa, he reluctantly agreed to naked. As for the dresses, he was appreciative of Angela lending him some, but he just hoped that they were tailored to fit. Much like Raine, Ayaa was not very…gifted when it came to assets.

Still, once the time came, Ayaa found herself in a pretty, if not short, airy dress like promised, pushing Mia along the pathway that was made to the hot springs. As Angela had suggested, her normally lengthy blonde hair had been tied up, using a set of sapphire gem encrusted pins, also on lend from the goddess herself.

In Angela’s words, it was indeed a romantic night, though that fact was mostly lost on Ayaa. The woman had grown in the years, alongside Xeik, but she still remained overall petit and rather dainty. Not that she couldn’t get things done when required, but that was mostly what Xeik was for.

“Ahh, it’s such a nice night out!” she exclaimed as they neared the waters. “It’s the perfect temperature! It’s great!” Ayaa sounded so happy. It was hard to explain, but as Xeik, he always felt as though he were stuck being a certain way. Always studying, or planning, or even working. It was almost like Ayaa was the only one allowed to cut loose and relax. It wasn’t that Xeik was incapable of it, more that the expectations that had been set upon the two in their minds was just…different. They were one in the same, but Ayaa just felt more like a free spirit.

“Here we are,” Ayaa said as she set their few belongings down. “Towels for when we’re finished, and a few snacks just in case.” She helped Mia up, helping the lycan woman strip down. “And next…me.” She was a bit nervous. Ayaa had only really been naked around Angela during some questionable check ups, though she felt there should be little reason for the nervousness overall. It took but a moment to take the dress off, and expose herself.

“And now, let’s get you into the water.”

Mia found herself in a similar airy dress. It would be good for how sticky Elysia could get. In her time adjusting she got comfortable changing clothes to go with the climate where before… She had to deal with the weather which was almost insufferable in the summer months. Mia got excited when she saw the fog and tapped Aaya on her hand to show her it. Angela had told them it was when they would get close they would see the fog.

Mia’s long platinum hair had been pulled back with pins of moons in different phases. Angela had picked them out because of her bloodline and let Aaya decorate them. Once Mia was out of her dress she lightly dressed and relaxed. She could see that Aaya was nervous and waved her arms as she covered her eyes. Aaya was different from Xeik.

Once Aaya was naked Mia put her hands down and smiled before nodding. She clung to Aaya as they got in the water. There was a look on her face as she felt the hot water on herself. Then there was a mischievous look on her face as she looked towards Aaya before splashing water in her direction.

Her baths the past few weeks had alternated between Aaya and Xiek. With Mia telling Xiek who she would prefer and when. She split her time evenly between the two and clung to both the same way. Once Mia calmed down she tugged on Aaya and pointed up at the sky. She was still mesmerized by the moon, which made sense for what she was.

The water was a nice change of pace for Ayaa. It had been some time since she was able to experience a hot spring, and almost immediately she could feel the waters soak into her own muscles. To Mia, this must have felt amazing. The surprise must not have lasted, though, as Mia playfully splashed water into Ayaa’s face, to which the other woman gave her a stern look.

“Hey now,” she said. “I don’t want to drop you.” Of course, Mia knew how to keep herself afloat if it came to that. At the absolute worst, she knew how to hang on the edge.

After her moment, though, Mia got Ayaa’s attention, and pointed to the sky. The healer nodded, “It’s a pretty night tonight. Those smaller ones are the stars. That large one is the moon.” She thought for a moment. “Lycanthropes are bound to the moon and its phases. It’s pretty to me, but to you…it must be one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen.” Ayaa was oblivious, though, that as she had started speaking, Mia had lost her focus on the moon, and instead looked at Ayaa, and only Ayaa.

Ayaa looked over, “Oh. There’s a shelf.” She smiled, and carefully maneuvered them over to the shelf, where she was able to set Mia down, and sit next to her comfortably. “There. I bet that’s a bit better than having to hold you the entire time. Gives yout he chance to feel the full effects of the springs…” Now that Ayaa could see Mia fully, and now that both of them were fully naked, she finally noticed the comparison between their chests. That caused a bit of a huff from Ayaa. It wasn’t that she wanted a bigger bust, persay…but there was always something about it that bothered her.