Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:53 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia nodded and smiled up at him. She wanted to stay with him and she showed it by hugging herself to him. Mia tilted her head at him and blushed. He was right that Angela seemed to know the right moves but she wasn’t upset about it. It let her continue to sleep with Xeik before he knew and she was happy enough that she was here now. Though it seemed in that instant that the rooms conjoined even more without the door.

The room was big enough now with a huge canopy bed. Xeik was right that Mia loved the ocean. For right now it looked like the night that they had spent as Aaya and Mia. The stars were shining and the moon caught Mia’s attention.

It was for just a moment as a stupid large smile was on her face. She pulled Xeik to her quickly for a long kiss and held him close. Pulling him into the bed she didn’t bother to change as she pinned him under her with a chuckle.

Before long she flopped herself on him and kissed him again. She was happiest right here. The new bed was super comfortable as if Angela had worked just a bit more magic into the room.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:47 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

They were lucky that Rhenakos had left the room to take the trash out when the prank was almost exposed, but with a hush from Lewis, it seemed to have been dropped by the time Rhenakos came back. The night seemed to go on as the cleaning turned into an impromptu mini celebration of the new relationship. While it was fun, it had to end at some point, and slowly the group left, once more leaving Mia and Xeik alone.

“Well…I guess I’m going to need to change out the hammock,” he said finally. “It can’t be too good for you to always sleep curled up on it like that.” He crossed his arms. “That is, of course…you do want to stay in here, right?” There was a half hopeful look on his face. It may have been new, but he was already invested in the relationship.

It dawned on him later that Angela must have seen this coming. Mia’s room was now an add on to his own for more space. “That crafty witch…” he muttered to himself. She was always pushing things, even when they didn’t need pushing. “I hope she’s happy with herself….”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:41 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Angela pouted a bit, “They banned me right away! It was unfair Xeik! I just get to watch and eat snacks!”

Simone smirked a bit as she grabbed Lewis kissed him which shocked Mia. “Doesn’t that look familiar Xeik? Lewis taught Mia it just in case.” Simone thought it was proper payback as she went to help the others.

Angela patted Mia’s shoulder. “Oh, Lewis. We owe you for whatever you did to distract Xei–”

At that cue, Simone was on the floor again laughing, “Oh my… The look on Xeik’s face.” She was crying again. “I’m pretty sure I felt a part of Lewis die when he said he thought Ezili was pregnant. HE PAINTED OUR BABIES BLUE. They loved it but,” Simone couldn’t get the rest of it out as she continued to laugh on the floor. “This is better than that time with the pink dy-” She stopped herself.

Osiria stood up and turned, “Pink what?”

“Nothing. Pink nothing,” Simone quickly went to clean another side of the room as she cut her laughter off.

Mia went over to Xeik and put her arms around his waist before kissing his cheek. She was really happy.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:34 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was actually mildly impressed at the fact that Mia so effortlessly tossed Rhenakos out of the room, and was more worried about the floor where Mia cracked the tiles more than anything. Still, when everyone else made their way into the room, explaining what happened, Xeik merely stared in shock.

“I’m so disappointed in you all,” Xeik said with a heavy sigh. “Betting? On romance?” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you guys would go so low. I bet even Angela wou-” He paused. “No, never mind. She would. She would 100% bet on that. And then stack the odds in her favor.”

“I know, that’s why we banned her,” Lewis said as he walked in with a heavy sack of silver.

“Not you too…”

Lewis shrugged. “It’s easy pickings. I don’t go out on many jobs anymore, so I get bored. Besides…a bet on you being oblivious was a sure win.” That earned a glare from Xeik, to which the assassin just shrugged. “Doesn’t change the fact that I won, which is all the proof I need.”

Xeik really couldn’t argue that point. “Well, if I’m the entertainment for the night, the least you all can do is help clean this mess up since you instigated it…” There was a murmur of agreement, which turned into a quick cleaning spree.

“Lucky you, Mia…you got out of it this time,” Xeik said with a half smirk.

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:27 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia was snuggled into Xeik and had her eyes closed. Once he said her name she looked up at him. Blushing a bit she took her finger and drew a heart on Xeik’s chest. Hopefully, he would understand that she loved all parts of him. Equally. That meant she loved Aaya too.

Once he brought up the cleaning she huffed again and made a sound with her lips from the hammock. The door slamming in got Mia’s attention. Her eyes shifted to red as soon as she saw Xeik get pinned. “Mia no!” Osiria tried to stop her but easily got pushed aside as Mia grabbed Rhenakos and launched him out of the room. She stomped her foot causing the floor to break.

“Okay! OKAY!” Simone and Lewis got between them. “It was just a friendly bet. Right Rhenakos?”

Mia’s eyes shifted back to gold and she held this look on her face. Bet?

“We did a bet on if Xeik would be completely clueless about you two!” Raine popped up. “We do bets on everyone! Rhenakos and Osiria lost four hundred silver!”

Leilah had a look on her face as she came in and hugged Xeik, “I lost fifty… I had such high hopes you would make the first move.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:16 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

While the arguments were made in the betting room. Xeik and Mia found themselves idly laying in the hammock, staring at the vast mess that Mia had made in the room. At the moment, it didn’t seem to bother Xeik. Mia was curled into him, her head resting on his chest as they just enjoyed each other’s presence. Now that all of the feelings were out in the open, things felt different, more relaxed and even more so comforting.

Though, Xeik was curious. “So…Mia. What about Ayaa? Do you like me as her as well?” It was a little hard to get a straight answer in their position, but he figured at the worst they could discuss it later. For now, though, this was enough.

Moments later, though, there was a knock at the door. Xeik wiggled his way out from under Mia, who made a face and huffed as he went to answer. “It’s fine, Mia, I’ll be back in a minute…and you DO know we have to clean this up tonight, right?” He sighed, opening the door.

At once, Rhenakos barged in, grabbing Xeik by the shirt. He spun Xeik around and pinned him up on the wall, “Do you have ANY idea how much money I lost because of how DENSE you are?” At this point, Xeik knew that Rhenakos was pissed, but there was no way he was going to hurt him.

“Rhen…just calm down. I can’t help that you suck at bets. And what do you even mean, I lost you money?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:07 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia got excited once he got it and nodded. He got it! He finally understood! Once he called himself an idiot she gave him her now-signature sly smile and nodded but it slowly melted away as she couldn’t gauge what he was thinking.

That changed once he swooped in and kissed her back. It was gentle and not nearly as forceful as she had been. In her defense, she felt like she was dealing with a brick wall and was at her wit's end what to do with him.

Mia bounced on her feet and jumped on him to kiss him again. She had wanted to do it for some time but she was hoping to do it in a spectacular way. She took his hand and showed him the room and shook her head with an embarrassed smile. Then she pointed at the chocolates and shook her head before sliding them into the trash. She would need to try again. She didn’t want him getting sick.

–

Simone got her winnings as Leilah hung her head, “But… I was so sure.”

“Leilah, you are always so sure,” Simone said but not before Raile earned a glare from her. “Keep my baby boy and those heathens of yours out of your bets. Rex is fine. He probably deserves it after that stunt with Ezili and Lucas.”

“My precious sunflowers aren’t heathens,” Leilah was almost in tears.

“Yeah, I’m sure they are your precious sunflowers when they are swindling your ass too,” Simone said pointedly. “Then Kali has to come to save you because you are in a pile on the floor. Heathens.”

Leilah couldn’t even argue, “All they need is a good influence like Ever–” There was that deadly glare once more.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:59 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

There was a moment of confusion mixed with shock. Mia had grabbed him, and forced a kiss onto him. His mind went blank. He wasn’t sure what to think. It took a moment as their lips parted, and suddenly everything clicked into place. The flowers. The chocolate. The dress. The piles of roses. The banner of the moon. The moon. The words that he had said echoed in his mind. He was her moon. The realization hit him harder than anything else had.

“I’m…your moon…” he uttered, staring down at her. They had been together for almost three months at this point. They had lived together, eaten together, bathed, and even slept together, and all this time the meaning of it had been lost on him. Yet, now that the feelings were out in the open, plain to see, it was dawning on him how much that time with her had meant, and how much he would miss it if it were to go away.

“I’m…an idiot, aren’t I?” he said, still in a slight state of shock. At this point, Mia was starting to look worried. “I’m sorry, Mia…I should have seen it sooner…” He leaned in closer, and kissed her back, gently. “I really am an idiot for missing all of this…” There was a crash from the other room, but it barely registered to Xeik or Mia…



—

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Rhenakos yelled at the reflection. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?”

“Calm down, Rhenakos,” Lewis said as he held out his hand to Raile. “It’s not like I didn’t warn you.” There was a smirk, but the demon hunter was too enraged to notice.

Raile smirked, handing out the winnings to all involved. “Pleasure doing business,” he said with a wink. “Now, we’re taking bets for how long it takes Rex to settle. Secondary bets also include Ever-” Before the word left his mouth, Simone gave him a glare. “Oh c’mon, Mone…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:47 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Did… He not like the dress? She looked down at it to make sure it was all in place. Raine said she had good assets for it… He even had picked the color of the outfit out though he might not have remembered because it was in her rage of asking Xeik a thousand things so she could plan this event… But when it left his mouth that he thought it was for someone else… Her mouth dropped.

This boy… Was truly clueless.

She was so much in shock that she turned around and banged her head against the door. Once she was calm she came back to explain.

Lewis grabbed Simone and Simone let out a shocked noise as he kissed her soundly.

With that in mind, Mia rubbed her fingers against her thighs nervously, bit her lip, and finally, she grabbed Xeik and pulled him down to her kissing him as fierce as she could.

Once she let him go she just crossed her arms and huffed at him. Pointing from him to the moon and finally back to him.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:39 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was confused at what was happening. Why was Raine there? What was this mess? The only thing he could come up with was that this was one of Raine’s bird brained schemes, and Mia had fallen for it. It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before, and this time it seemed as though it had just gotten out of hand. Still, Mia had something to show for it, and had asked him, practically begged him to wait, so he did.

It was all he could do not to move, though. The room was a wreck, scattered with dirt and roots. He was pretty sure it would be easy to clean, but the fact that it had to be cleaned was a problem. And there was still the problem that Mia was acting so weird. Whatever Raine had gotten her into was definitely a wreck this time.

But when Mia walked in wearing a rather revealing dress, Xeik stared for a good few seconds, more surprised than anything. “Mia? Why are you dressed like that? Did you have a date planned with someone?” Perhaps Raine had set her up with someone. Things were starting to click into place. Perhaps she wanted tips on how she looked before she went out. “I’m so glad you managed to find someone Mia! I’m so proud!”

Xeik paused, looking around. “Is…is someone yelling in the other room?” He shrugged. Probably Angela dealing with an unruly patient. He let it pass through his mind as Mia pulled him up, pulling him through to the other room. It was worse than the first one, with flowers pulled front the ground, dirt and roots still attached everywhere. There was misshapen chocolates on the desk, with a giant banner in the back of a moon. Mia pointed to the moon, and then to Xeik.

“I…what?” She wasn’t making any sense.

Mia was getting flustered, but there was one last thing in the back of her mind. The image of Lewis and Simone, and the helpful suggestion that Lewis had given her. It was almost as if she could hear his voice, clear as day, “And when he acts clueless, because I know he will, just do this….”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:26 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia was full-blown panic attack now as she was literally screaming. Well, as much as she could for a mute girl. It sounded like a rush of air as she waved her arms around panicking. Raine opened the door. “I forgot to spread the… OH LOOK XEIK IS BACK,” Raine laughed a bit.

Mia grabbed Xeik threw him in a chair and told him to wait. Then she proceeded to throw herself onto the floor and beg Raine for help. PLEASE HELP.

Raine nodded and helped her up, “We’ll be back Xeik!” After they bathed her and got her dressed Mia shyly opened up the door. She looked beautiful and dressed up as she slid in and closed the door. Her face was bright red though as she started to play with her hair. She had learned it as a nervous habit from Raine of all people.

Raine had chosen a deep plum-colored outfit for Mia to wear. It had white flowers detailed across the top and bottle. The top was more like a bikini as it wrapped around her neck with a nice little choker. The skirt was long but tied on her hip showing all of her left side. She wasn’t shy about her body and she barely even understand why people wore clothes, to begin with. Raine had braided the sides of her hair back and left the back long.

Once she got in she took a breath and pulled Xeik up. She showed him the room and though it was a disaster it was still more than she thought she was going to get. She showed him the banner of the moon and pointed at him. She had hoped he understood what she meant. He was her moon.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:14 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Lewis was pacing back and forth outside of Ezili’s room. For the most part, he knew how long the exam should have been, but he had a bad feeling about it. Surely enough, Xeik walked out of the room with an annoyed look on his face. “Ezili tells me she’s been taking a potion herself, given to her by Simone. Same for Lucas. She’s showing zero signs, and I’m starting to think you’re just messing with me.”

The assassin sighed internally, “Well you know…I’m just parano-”

“This is beyond paranoid. Are you trying to do something? Is this another one of the ‘hair’ things that you pulled last year? Because Rhenakos was furious, and it took months to get all that pink out.” It had been one of the most impressive pranks Xeik had ever seen, but he had been completely thrown that it was Lewis who had done it. Rhenakos still had no idea who the true culprit was, and had blamed it on his enemies.

“No, I swear-”

“Look, I have a lot to do today, and Ang is going to kill me if I don’t get it all done.” Xeik started to walk past Lewis, and the assassin panicked, starting to draw a dagger. Xeik felt the motion, and rolled his eyes, turning one heel to unleash his secret weapon. It was something that not even Lewis could survive.

“Lewis! Look! Janus is about to take his first step!” Xeik pointed. Whether or not it was true or not, Lewis ran.

“Fuck! I’m not going to miss this!”

And with that, Xeik escaped, making his way back to the portal to Elysia.

Once there, he felt the aura of the temple…and it was oddly tense. Things felt in disarray as he walked down the halls. There were strange piles of petals all over the place, almost as if someone had just dumped them there to leave them, and he could have sworn he felt Simone’s presence if only for a second.

As he walked into his room, a dazed Mia stared back at him. She was covered in paints and dirt, almost from head to toe. And was that flour on her arms as well? She looked as though she had been in a whirlwind of disaster. At once, her eyes got wide, and she started to panic. Her arms went up and it looked as though she was trying to scream.

“Mia? What’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:46 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia was up off the floor as soon as Xeik was done. She gave thumbs up to Angela and as soon as Xeik was gone there was laughter out in the hall. Simone was on the floor and she couldn’t contain herself. “I fucking love that man,” Simone was actually crying.

Angela quirked an eyebrow, “Are you going to be okay?”

Simone took huge breaths as she looked up at them, “Yeah. We better hurry though because I don’t know how long Xeik is going to put up with Lewis.”

Raine bounded in with the petals. “How are we doing this.”

Mia arranged all of the piles where she wanted them. Simone got the paint and let Mia paint to her heart’s desire even making a huge cute moon banner. “Alright, next is the chocolate. I’ll be making some too since Lewis wanted some. I’ve been learning how to do it so I could show you,” Simone said proudly. Before leaving they hung up a "Best Xiek" sign on his door that Mia had spent a long time painting to make it look legible.

Mia forgot the sugar but she didn’t stop. Next, she got a portal open and began to heave in flowers with their roots and dirt still attached. The plan was to cut all the stems and put them in beautiful vases that Angela was arranging in Xeik’s office. There Raine was hanging up the moon sign and fretting over the dirt that Mia had tracked in everywhere.

The chocolates were laid out even if they looked bad. She stood looking around and she fretted at Raine for not going to spread the rose petals soon. The bird left as soon as Angela told her she was slacking to try and spread them.

Mia was trying to arrange the flowers by color and Simone was helping. “Uh… oh…” Simone’s color went away. “I HAVE TO RUN GOOD LUCK! Remember what LEWIS told you to do!” She waved and ran out to avoid something.

“Well, that’s not a good sign…” Angela disappeared too.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:36 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It had become a strange routine, having Mia sleep with him on a regular. For some reason, which the mender could not figure out, she just couldn’t fall asleep on her own. He had more or less accepted it, and it wasn’t as if he were losing sleep over it. If anything, it was strangely comforting to have her there, almost reminding him of the days he spent sharing a sleeping space with his fellow thieves. Underneath it all, there may have been other reasons, but Xeik was far too busy to explore them….

Of course, when Angela barged in, Xeik was up in an instant, almost flinging Mia off of him as, even with her strength, she was light as a feather. He apologized immediately, but was already halfway out the door with his bag in hand, heading to the portal. In no time flat, he found himself at the Terrowin Castle, running in to be greeted by a strangely stoic Lewis, who should have been panicking per his usual.

“Oh, you’re here,” Lewis said. “You’re a lot faster than I give you credit for…” He pointed upstairs. “Janus and Lila…they’re looking a little blue. I’m worried.”

Hearing this, Xeik ran up the stairs and into the nursery. Janus was awake, babbling away while Lila seemed to be sleeping. The two were sharing a crib. But, as Lewis had said, they were strangely blue. He walked over to them. Neither one seemed to be in distress, so what was happening?

“Well…at least they don’t look in danger…” He started to examine them. Their pulses checked out fine, as well as their breathing. Eyes looked normal, as well as their extremities. The mender looked puzzled, and checked their mana veins, all which were acting normally. “I don’t…” He narrowed his eyes. “Areas around their mouth and eyes look normal. And…” He wiped their faces with a cloth. “…is this…dirt?”

Lewis groaned internally. Xeik was too good at his job, and this definitely was not fast enough. He had to think of something quick.

Xeik sighed, crossing his arms, “It’s just…paint. They’re fine. Is this some kind of jo-” he turned around.

“I think Ezili’s pregnant,” he blurted out, looking almost as shocked as Xeik. “Can you check? I’ve been slipping them both potions without them knowing, but who knows what kinds of things they get into. Can you just…check and make sure? I hope I’m wrong.”

Xeik sighed. Both he and Angela had provided the philters for Simone and Lewis, and the mender knew very well that the potions worked. But, he also knew just how Lewis was. “Fine… go get her. I’ll run some tests…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:19 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia proudly nodded as she let him take the piece of paper. There would be many more if she had a say! Could he keep all of them? She would have to find out.

Time went on and they settled into an odd routine. Their lives revolved around each other in weird ways. Simone was a good teacher but more than once she sent Mia home for misbehaving out of shock. For instance, Mia did something she shouldn’t have and Simone scolded her. So… In the very most Mia way she wrote lame and pointed at Simone. “Take her back for today. Have a talk with her,” Simone waved her hands. It looked like Lewis was laughing in the background. “IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

That would just lead to more huffs from Mia as Xeik tried to get down to the bottom of what exactly it was that Mia did this time. Normally it was something dumb and little but it was consistent only when she was bored.

This morning was a very special morning for Mia. She was going to use Lewis as a distraction but first, she was doing something she did often… She peeked her eyes only a little bit to see if Xeik was awake. He wasn’t but she snuggled close to him and rolled on his chest. She put the entire blanket over her to hide on his chest.

She would do a meek little wave to him when he finally woke up to see her. She would often sneak into his hammock at night to sleep now that she could walk. The conjoining rooms made it easier for her to sneak in and out since the door was constantly left open thanks to her.

Mia got close to his face and sniffed his hair making a huffing noise. It was time for his bath. She flopped on him. Should be… Any moment nowwwww….

Angela slammed the door open, “Lewis sent a message. Apparently, it’s an emergency.” Now!

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:10 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

When Mia tried to get his attention again, Xeik put the book aside. Whatever it was that she wanted to show him was vitally important to her, so with his full attention on her, he nodded to signify that he was ready. He watched carefully as she painstakingly wrote on a fragment of paper, but she did her best to hide what she was actually writing. Slowly, but surely, she finished up, and with a proud look on her face she presented the paper to him.

“Look at that,” Xeik said with a smile as he looked to Mia. “You did such a good job on this! Did Simone or Raine teach you this?’ She shook her head no to Simone, and then yes to Raine. “Make sure you thank her,” he said as he looked down at the paper again. “Can I keep this?” He looked back, wondering if she’d say yes. It was impressive how far she’d come in the short amount of time they had been together, and it was only going to get better every day.

“Okay,” he said as he closed his book. “It’s almost time for some more physical therapy. Are you ready? It’s the pools again today, so go get ready.” He stood up and stretched.

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. As Mia’s routine settled after her rehabilitation, Angela decided to give her a room for privacy. Though, in her usual odd fashion, Angela made sure that the room was directly next to Xeik’s, with a door between the two rooms. Per the goddess, this was to make sure that Mia was safe at all times and had access to her ‘caretaker’ in the event of an emergency.

And so, as time went on, they settled into a strange, but close routine…

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 12:14 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

There was a huff from her as she heard the book had no pictures. Even books for work could have pictures. This was just boring. Mia got comfortable in his lap and laid her head against his chest. There was a content sigh that left her lips until he questioned her. She wasn’t about to fall asleep on him! Pillows were for sleeping!

Mia once again nodded and she lightly started to pull on him. Pulling down the book she laid out some paper from her pocket and she took out what looked to be a piece of charcoal. She stuck her tongue out as she concentrated. Her hand was a bit shaky as she moved her wrist. When he tried to peek at what she was doing she shook her head and waved her hand at him to hide it.

Once she was satisfied with what she did she leaned back and presented him with a badly written page that held ‘Xeik’. It was her first thing she wanted to learn how to spell and Raine had helped her at the plaster wall. She wasn’t so sure what the letters were or meant but she would find out in time. Mia smiled up at Xeik happily.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:58 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was reading up on new mana flow techniques, mostly for helping Simone and Lewis with the twins. It was one of the most complicated things that he, and even Angela, had ever come across, and everything was a new experience when it came to them. The Divine Mender had taken it upon himself to research a variety of different cultures in order to see how each of them dealt with similar issues, and compare the techniques with what they used today, hoping that by combining the past and present knowledge, they could come up with something that worked in such a unique situation.

He barely registered that Mia had entered the library, but when she crawled into his lap, he lifted the book just a bit to give her room, seeming not to care. While he was a little annoyed when she tried to look at the pages for pictures, for the most part he was okay with it.

“No pictures, Mia. This is for work,” he said as he turned the page. “Simone and Lewis are getting back to where they should be, but I’m a little concerned at how they got there in the first place. I want to know how to prevent it, or even fix the problem entirely. Angela has her own theories on it, but I can’t sit back and let her do all the work.”

He pulled the book to the side and looked down at Mia, who settled for just resting her head on his chest. “You do know that I’m not a pillow, right?” She nodded. “Right…well…” He sighed, and went back to his book. “Are you feeling okay today?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:35 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia huffed a bit more and flopped on the floor. “You are a freeloader!” Raine pointed at Mia.

Mia lifted her foot up and wiggled her toes at Raine.

“I am not going to massage your feet!”

Once more Mia huffed.

“I don’t care! I’m not Xeik!” Raine was fighting around Xeik and saw that Mia had a smirk on her face. “You are so mean Mia,” Raine laughed a bit. “We can fix it together. I can teach Mia how to do it!” Raine had made plenty of holes in her adventures around the temple.

The following day Mia worked on the wall and redid it a few times. Raine flailed in front of Xeik only once where Mia had taken the plaster and splashed it on Raine. Raine admitted it had been her fault for trying to boss Mia around and Mia wasn’t hasn’t it. Mia had been shown how to do it the right way by someone else and she finished it easily enough.

After she cleaned up the mess she made of the plaster and once she was done she padded her little feet to where Xeik was in the library. He was on a couch reading a book and taking notes. She weaseled her way onto the couch and up under his arms and contorted herself until she was in his lap so she could read the book. Or… well try and find the pictures. She leaned her head to the side and pulled up some pages carefully to see if there were any pictures. Once she found out there weren’t any she huffed.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:27 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik couldn’t help but smile when Raine explained that Mia was happy, and when the poor lycan turned a bright red, Xeik started to laugh. Raine and Mia’s argument seemed to be getting a bit heated, and Xeik stepped between the two, and he held up his hands. “Calm down both of you…Mia, I’m glad you’re doing better, but you really do need to take it easy. You have plenty of time.” The warmth in his smile never left as he spoke. The healer was genuinely happy to see that she was feeling better.

“But, I think one of the tasks for you to do today or tomorrow is to help fix the wall,” he said, looking over to her. “Angela can fix it with magic, but she tends to rarely use it. Something about it not being good enough unless it’s done by hand.” Xeik looked to Raine. “And I’m tempted to make you supervise so you two can work out this little tiff…”

Despite the whole thing, Xeik was feeling really good about how Mia was acting. She seemed to have a lot more spirit, and now that she was able to move, it would be easier for her to learn about the world on her own terms. She had even started managing to visit the Terrowin’s on her own. This was all just the beginning.

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:20 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia was pretty tired but she didn’t want to have to try and explain that she hit the wall hard. She was rubbing the back of her neck and huffing whenever Xeik said something she found dumb.

“WHOAAAA,” Raine bounced in. “You should hear all the priestesses Xeik.” Raine didn’t even see Mia as she came in and carried a stack of books. “Apparently Mia came through like a herd of elephants and crashed into the wall. There’s even an impact mark where she hi-” Mia had taken half the stack of books to give Raine a stern look.

“I mean I didn’t see or hear a thing about Mia ruining the wall outside,” Raine let out a laugh. After putting the books down Mia facepalmed and she planted herself on a seat.

“He would have found out Mia you can’t be upset at me!”

Mia gave a huff at her and pouted at Xeik.

“I’m sure she just wanted to show you how much better she is! She’s been looking forward to you not worrying so much about her!” At that sentence, Mia was bright red and she took a shoe off one of the priestesses and whipped it at Raine’s head. It nailed the phoenix right in the back of her head and Raine turned around scolding Mia.

Mia held a blank look and huffed at her. The priestess was yelling about how Mia took her shoe. All it got was another blank look from Mia and she pointed at Raine blaming her.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:13 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik had been working on replenishing his tonics and salves, something that he had been neglecting due to his lack of time. With Simone helping teach Mia, this had given him the much needed break from taking care of the lycan woman in order to catch up on this. He wasn’t in any danger, of course, still having more than enough reserves, but he liked being prepared in case an emergency happened.

Of course, since his entire focus was on the salves, he missed when Mia came bounding in, and as she leapt onto his back, the shock and surprise almost caused him to fall over. However, Mia wrapped her arms around him, and started to spin him around. Where she had seen this from, he wasn’t sure, but later he would reflect that Rhenakos may have been involved.

After setting him down finally, she twirled herself around, much like Ayaa did, and Xeik let out a sigh. “You’re really pushing yourself too much, Mia,” he replied in a worried tone. “I’m glad that you can move, but you should still try to take it easy. Stamina is something that’s built up by time.” Sure enough, after all of that, Mia seemed a bit winded, but stubbornly she stayed in front of Xeik.

“All right Mia,” Xeik said as he crossed his arms. “Be honest. You’re about to fall over now, aren’t you.” She shook her head, huffing. “Mia….”

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:02 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Another week passed as her rehabilitation was reaching its end. Mia put her feet on the floor. Today she was with Simone learning how to read and how to write. “Mia, please be careful. Xeik is letting you come here on the terms that we don’t let you get hurt.”

They had been working on stuff for a while and Mia had that determined look on her face. Xeik had been overprotective of her.

‘Mia, don’t strain yourself.’

‘Mia.’

‘Mia.’

She puffed her face and jumped up out the chair before she balanced herself. Looking back she saw the surprised look on Simone’s face. It was very rare for the mother to be surprised like this, but Mia was a strong-willed girl. “Xeik will be excited to see this.”

Xeik.

Mia’s face lit up and she twirled around on her foot like she had seen Aaya do. She lost her balance only once but she jumped up and down at Simone. “Calm down! What do you want?”

Mia started to do a whole bunch of hand signs. Simone was trying to follow along but she ended up sighing and taking a guess with a laugh. “You want to show Xeik?”

Mia gave a nod and was almost in a half jog as Simone took her to the preset portal. “Okay, but remember your lessons at least a little… Don’t kill poor Xeik. You are a lot stronger than he is,” Simone went into full lecture mode but Mia ran past her as soon as the portal was open. Simone looked annoyed as she sighed. “Did I ever act like this towards you?” She directed it towards Lewis as she shut the door.

Mia was in full sprint her bare feet clapping against the floor. It hurt only a little but she was powering through it as she skidded past the workshop and hit the wall. After pulling herself up she ran into the workshop and threw herself onto Xeik’s back. He had been so into what he was doing he hadn’t heard her crash where everyone else was busy looking at her in shock.

She was hugging him and spinning him around. Once she got done hugging him she spun him around and then she did a little twirl once more. She wanted to show him how much better she was.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:49 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was woken by the sudden feeling of Mia reacting to a nightmare. At first, he wasn’t sure what was happening, having not realized he fell asleep in the bed versus his normal place. Then he realized Mia was twitching and breathing hard, seemingly terrified by what she saw in her dreams. As she started to dig her nails into him, the mender held her tight, whispering that she was okay, that she was safe.

“Mia,” he whispered as he ignored the pain she was causing. “It’s okay, I promise. You’re here. Everything is safe. There’s nothing that can hurt you here…I promise.” He stayed like this for some time, comforting Mia as she pushed through the nightmares, hoping that his voice was reaching her. There was a thought to wake her, but he wondered just how much that would help. “Mia…I’m here for you…” He ran his hands through her hair, gently petting her. It seemed to calm her down eventually, and he smiled.

Rest. You’ll need your strength to live in this world…and though you’re discovering the joys of life and having fun, you also know that there are dark and evil things in this world. Your freedom is just the first step… There was a pang of guilt in his heart as he thought this. She was having so much fun, but soon he would have to pull her away from it and show her the reality of the world. The good and the bad…

“But I can keep you in the dark for a little while longer…for now, I can chase away that darkness…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:36 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It wasn’t that she couldn’t sleep but it was still hard to get Xeik to understand her. She figured Raine could understand her because the girl was quirky and odd. While she didn’t end up in the hammock Mia did at least get something she wanted as Xeik pulled her onto his chest. She snuggled in and listened to him.

Mia’s mind was a mental maze since everything was always so new to her. The safe places she had were Xeik’s room and Xeik himself. She moved herself once Xeik was good and asleep. Settling Xeik’s head right into her chest so she could pet his hair. She considered this returning the favor.

Wrapping her arms around him she snuggled into him and closed her eyes. Sleep found her soon enough and her dreams were rather vivid. She couldn’t describe what she was seeing but her body was having a reaction since her voice couldn’t. She would jolt and attempt to toss but thanks to Xeik being on her it was just subtle movements and huffs that came from her.

Mia’s grip tightened on him and dug her nails into him at various parts of the nightmare. It was very vivid and she couldn’t remember having anything like that before thanks to the drugs.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:28 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Once they got back to Xeik’s room, Ayaa helped Mia get into some more comfortable clothes. After a quick change back into Xeik, the mender tucked Mia into bed. He thought he heard a huff from Mia as he walked away, but he figured it was another yawn and readied himself for bed as well. It wasn’t long before he was crawling into his hammock, and almost immediately he started to doze off. The poor healer had exhausted himself with the day’s activities.

It wasn’t long though before he felt a random object pelt him. Groggily, he looked up as a book hit his face. It hadn’t been thrown hard, but it was enough to startle Xeik, and he groaned, shaking his head. “Mia? What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” He noticed that she was on the edge of the bed, holding her arms out.

“You can’t sleep?” He sighed, crawling out of the hammock and over to her bed. He laid down next to her, pulling her into his chest and slowly stroked her hair. “It can be a lot sometimes. Your mind racing with everything that happened through the day, too tired yet too excited to sleep. When that happens, sometimes it’s best to just close your eyes, and hope that you drift off to sleep when you least….” His voice seemed to trail off as he fell back asleep.

Author: Mia, Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:33 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia quickly put her arms tightly around Aaya and shook her head at the thought of her leaving Xeik. If the whole world wasn’t like Xeik then why would she want to leave? She was content and safe where she was. Even if there was a whole wide world she wasn’t sure she wanted to experience it without him. He was quickly becoming a whole part of her life even if Raine was better at communicating what she wanted… He took care of her and cared about her welling being.

Pulling herself up the lycanthrope had Aaya under her and gave her a stern nod as Aaya told her to get well. She settled herself onto Aaya again this time laying on Aaya and looking up at the sky by leaning her head back. There was a look of wonder in her eyes.

Once she let out a yawn Aaya helped her out of the hot spring and got her all dried off and settled. She was sad that it was ending so quickly. Getting back into the room it wasn’t long before Aaya became Xeik and he was moving her into her bed. There was a huff from her as he left.

Her hands fumbled at the things around her bed and she started to throw things at him. Pointing at her then the hammock and then to him. She shuffled herself and dragged her body to the edge of her bed and put her arms up to him giving him another huff. She wasn’t quite ready to let go just yet.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:01 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Ayaa had been caught up in the breast size comparison when Mia surprised her, practically leaping into the poor healer and groping her. This caught Ayaa completely off guard as the two splashed around, Ayaa’s face turning a bright red. Soon, Mia was resting her head on Ayaa’s chest, and the splashing subsided, and ended up with the lycan woman just laying there, seemingly content. Ayaa was still flushed, definitely feeling heated and embarrassed, but pet Mia’s head, just accepting that she was there.

And she couldn’t deny it, it felt nice to have Mia there. Almost comforting. They stayed like this for a time, with Mia resting her head, and Ayaa petting her hair.

“It’s a nice evening,” she said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re doing better, Mia. Soon, you’ll even be able to come out here on your own, and go wandering without the need to have Raine or I tag along all the time. You’ll be truly free to do whatever you want.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice. She had grown accustomed to having Mia around, and the thought of her suddenly being gone was a strange one.

“I’m sure Angela will give you a place to stay while you find your way in the world, though.” She smiled. “But for now…just get well.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:55 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik and Aaya were Mia’s moon. No matter how beautiful the moon looked at her Xeik had become a very important part of her life. Mia sat down on the shelf and looked up at the stars again. She noticed Aaya looked at her chest so Mia grabbed herself and made a face at Aaya. Before long Mia was groping Aaya’s chest and pushing her over so she put her face there. Mia looked up at him and smiled.

This was nice, she liked this. Wrapping her arms around Aaya’s waist Mia closed her eyes. To Mia, Aaya was pretty much perfect and her chest wasn’t so bad. She gave Aaya a squeeze for a hug and turned her head to give a smile.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:47 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.

Author: Mia, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:32 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:21 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.”

Author: Angela Rose, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:08 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:57 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:44 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:33 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.

Author: Simone, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:22 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:10 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:58 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

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?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:39 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was impressed with the way that Raine so expertly put outfits together. Despite her being a living doll for Angela and Lady Celeste, she seemed to have a great deal of knowledge on how to match outfits. The only person Xeik would rate on equal ground was Simone, and that was a comparison he hoped to never see. But that was neither here nor there, and not important for the time being.

“It’s a good outfit,” he said. “Thank you Raine.” Mia seemed to ask the phoenix a question, and when she repeated it aloud, she suddenly bolted out of the room. The healer started to laugh when Mia asked for an explanation, and he held up his hand. “One moment…” He took a breath. “Raine is super shy. You get used to it, but sometimes it’s a good laugh.” He walked over to her, and took her chair. “All right, all ready then? Off we go.”

When they arrived, there were already a few people there. Rhenakos and Osiria were first, which was a strange surprise. The demon hunter was already into the drinks and food, and when he saw Xeik, raised his hand. “Ah, so this is the rescue chick we’ve been hearing about? Miranda? It’s a pleasure!” He held out his hand. When Mia refused to take it, obviously untrusting of the brutish man, he shrugged. “I don’t blame you.” He introduced Osiria, and the girl in her arms, Reva.

“Izzy should be here as well, if Toya lets her,” Xeik replied. “I invited them as well, but you know how they are.”

Rhenakos nodded, “She’s been a lot better behaved, but since she practically lives with Toya now, I don’t get to see her much. I hope she shows.” It was one of the rare moments where Rhenakos looked sincere and worried. He knew that he and Osiria had fucked up raising her, but they had learned, and hopefully Izori didn’t suffer to the consequences.

“Oh look, Lewis and Simone are arriving,” Xeik said as he pointed. “The other children that you didn’t get to meet. That’s Lucas, and the girl holding his hand is Ezili. You’ll like them. That’s Rex. If he looked like Rhen, it’s because he’s his son. Complicated, I know…” He wasn’t sure if Mia really cared about the relationships. “And Mira and Fiori there. And Lewis and Simone are holding the twins, Janus and Lila.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:24 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia clapped excitedly at hearing that he finally got her apology. Her happiness was overwhelming Raine and Raine clapped too finally. “She’s been waiting for you to understand. I asked her if she wanted me to tell you but she didn’t want me to force it on you that she knew. She thought eventually you would get it.”

The lycan thought about what he said and nodded. She was finally understanding the difference between male and female. She started to make hand signs at Raine and Raine was nodding. “Let me get this right.” Raine was making hand signs back at Mia and Mia would shake her head or nod. “Okay, she says she understands male or female but it doesn’t matter to her. That right?” Mia nodded. “You are Xeik and Aaya and both of you are important. Is that right?” Mia nodded furiously. “She likes you both!” Once more Mia nodded.

Raine got excited, “I’m glad you asked! I brought the temple colors! Wouldn’t you bet that Mia’s dress matches what I brought you!” Raine was quick to dress him up in white and gold. It matched the colors most associated with Angela. “You two look really cute! Like me and Maalik!” Mia was always hearing about Maalik and so she did some signs at Raine who did some back. Once Raine understood she blushed.

“We… are? Like Lewis and Simone?” She was bright red. “IT’S BEEN NICE TALKING TO YOU BOTH BYE! SEE YOU AT DINNER!” Mia was in shock as the bird ran out. She looked up at Xeik for an explanation and finally, she shrugged.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:14 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik looked at Raine, and then to Mia, and sighed. So, it was easy enough for her to tell because of the scent? That was something that he would have to work on in the future. Probably perfume or something else to mask his own scent. He smiled. “Well, I guess that’s that… It wasn’t to deceive you, I promise. It’s just…to be safe.” It was a little hard to explain to Mia, but he tried his best. “The short version is, I used to live a dangerous life, and it was to keep myself safe. Now, it’s because I want to help people, but there are a lot of people who are afraid of men for a variety of reasons…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand your apology,” Xeik said with a quick half bow. “We accept it.” He smiled. It was starting to make a bit more sense at her reaction to Ayaa. Mia may not have a lot of experience in the world, but there was certainly some depth to the way she felt her emotions. “Well, I’d be glad to share both sides of myself with you. But for now,” he looked in a mirror. “I think Angela would kill me if I showed up looking like this. Knowing Simone, she’ll probably make Lewis show up in something fancy too…” He sighed.

“All right, Raine…help me pick out an outfit. What do you think I should go with?”

Author: Raine, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:04 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia tilted her head at Xeik and nodded. She wanted to apologize still about Aaya but hadn’t found a way to do it. She had actually had a conversation with Raine about it. Raine was good at guessing Mia charades. “Xeik… I don’t know how to tell you this…”

Mia looked up at Raine who was taking Xeik by the shoulder. “But Mia knows you are Aaya,” Raine was patting him on the shoulder. Mia once more gave an affirmative nod. “She’s known since she first met Aaya. She could smell that you and Aaya were the same person. She was upset that she was so rude to Aaya.” Raine kept looking to Mia to confirm and Mia kept nodding.

“She tried to tell you she was sorry but you didn’t get it. Most likely because you didn’t realize she knew you were Aaya.” Raine patted Mia’s head. “She would like to hang out with Aaya more. It took me three hours of playing charades with her to figure this out by the way. You can thank me later.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:59 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It took them a bit of time to find the dress that Mia liked the most, but when they did, and she was settled back in the wheelchair, Xeik laughed at her question to Raine and him. “I wouldn’t know too much about it. I know that Ayaa gets catcalled a lot about her shape, though, and I’d say you’re a bit sapphire than she is,” he said with an objective eye. “I do like the way Raine has your hair, though. I wonder if Ayaa would like that…”

It had, of course, not been revealed that Mia knew that Xeik was Ayaa, so this entire conversation might have been a tad bit confusing. It was a tough thing to go about doing, as separating the two had always been a thing for Xeik. There were very few who knew the dual identity of Xeik and Ayaa, and the less who knew the better. Between his work and his previous life, it had been essential to keep them separate.

Author: Mia, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:45 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Raine looked at Xeik with a pout and Mia watched before mimicking Raine. Both of the women were pouting at him now. “Unfair Xeik! I am just helping Mia with her new freedom!” Mia nodded but still decided to side with Xeik in the end which made Raine frown a bit.

“You can’t just put her in a dress! Lady Celeste and Lady Angela spend hours picking out my clothes! We would disgrace them!” Raine spun around in the cute outfit that the Volkov women had picked out. She was like a living doll to them. It made her wonder if Mia would also be an extension of it or they would leave her alone.

Mia decided she didn’t like puffy dresses as Xeik helped her stand in front of a mirror. The faces she made at them was making Raine laugh. Finally, there was a white silk dress that was deeply cut in several areas. The white silk covered her just enough while the gold details took up most of it. It was clinging to her body’s curves. “I think this accents your assets as Lady Angela calls them.” The dress was halter style and looked very nice on her. Raine looked down at her own chest and frowned. “I do not have any.”

“Your butt looks cute too!” Mia heard Raine and tapped Xeik for his opinion. Cute sounded good but was her butt really ‘cute’? Raine stuck her tongue out in concentration as she braided Miranda’s hair and pinned it up delicately with white flowers in her hair.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:20 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Raine was already waiting for them when they got back to the room. Xeik was glad to have help with Mia, especially when it came to fashion. Having grown up the way he had, he barely had any sense for it, and usually just wore the same old clothes that he always had. It was lost on him when someone tried to get him to dress differently, although Angela had been pushing him to at least try different things when they went out.

At Raine’s suggestion at disobeying, the healer gave her a stern look. “Do I need to have a conversation with Angela about your privileges again? I’m sure I’ll have plenty to discuss with her over your behavior…” Mia seemed content to listen to Xeik though, which was a good sign. He couldn’t handle a second Raine.

“I don’t want to stress her,” Xeik said as he looked at all of the dresses. “We can just pick one and go. They all look pretty to me.” Once again, Xeik’s lack of fashion sense was showing. He was pretty much hopeless when it came down to it. At least Mia was enjoying herself, and he smirked. “You like the idea of being in a dress? Just wait till you try heels.” He paused. “Err, not that I know what that’s like…” He glanced away. “Anyway, let’s you dressed up. Here, I can help with at least getting you on the bed.” He waited for her to be ready, and he picked her up, putting her on the bed.

“Of course, we could just ask her which dress she likes, right? It’s going on her body. What do you think, Mia?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:58 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia smiled up at Xeik when he asked her how she was and shook her head at the dizziness. She seemed pretty okay now. Mia puffed up her face when he told her not to get up but she relented and nodded once he told her to simply ask.

Her face showed she was fascinated by what Xeik was saying and she excitedly smiled and nodded. Once they got back to his room Raine was there waiting. “How are your legs?! Are they feeling better?”

Mia made a puffy face and looked up at Xeik.

“Oh, he isn’t letting you do whatever you want? Don’t worry soon you can disobey him whenever you want! We can run and frolic!”

Mia got all excited at the prospect of it but looked up at Xeik waiting for his reaction before politely declining Raine. Raine held a sad face, “Oh okay. Well, at least you have some loyalty here Xeik.” Raine teased him as she got a few dresses. They were all gold or yellow. “Xeik, which one do you think we should throw Mia in? I’m sure we could have her try all of them now.”

Mia got excited at the prospect of trying dresses on and pulled on Xeik’s sleeve. She had never had the chance before. “Then we can do your hair! I think playing with hair is a lot of fun! I do Tamara’s hair all the time!”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:30 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik was glad he could be here to comfort Mia, even if it was in the slightest of ways. Watching Angela work was, as always, an experience. He took mental notes, and watched carefully as the procedure went off without a hitch. There were questions that he asked, and others that he stored for later when the goddess could focus on an answer. Soon, after hours of operating, she finished up and smiled at Xeik.

With her permission, Xeik went off to invite everyone to a dinner for the evening, and when he came back, Mia had woken up. “Oh good, you’re awake.” He walked over to her, and squeezed her hand. “How are you feeling? No dizziness?” He was sure that Angela would have taken care of it otherwise, but it was a habit.

With care, he lifted and set her into the wheelchair, and gave her a stern look. “No getting up. If you want up, let me know.” The healer knew how stubborn she was, despite not knowing her for long. “Well Mia, it seems we’re having a fairly large gathering for dinner tonight. You’ll get to meet a lot of people who I consider friends. Just…they’re all a bit eccentric in their own way.” He had a thought, and wondered if perhaps he shouldn't have invited so many people. It was definitely too late now.

“Well, let’s go get you ready. I’ll have Raine help me pick out an outfit for you and get you changed. How does that sound?” Xeik asked as he nodded to Angela. “Do I need to do anything else to help set up, Angela?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 2:32 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Angela nodded, “You might as well invite everyone at Raile’s as well. I’m sure everyone could use a small outing. Mia might like Piper and Nyssa too. There’s also Reva. She needs to meet all types of people and that would be the Talon residence.” Angela smirked a bit before checking over Mia’s feet once more.

“Mia?”

Mia perked up at her name and tilted her head.

“We’re going to start the surgery now… Is that okay?”

Mia looked over to Xeik and her eyes were suddenly filled with anxiety. It took her a few moments but she reached for his hand and held it before nodding over to the goddess. There was a smile on her face.

“Everyone needs someone they can trust. I’m glad you have Xeik,” Angela pat Mia’s head and the lycan smiled towards her and nodded once more. After using some herbs on her Mia was fast asleep on the table. “Now, pay attention. Someday you might have to do this.” It was a long surgery and Angela was basically almost reconstructing Mia’s feet. It was using a variety of tools and magic at her disposal.

Once she was done she set some stitches and applied a balm before wrapping them. It took several hours and Angela finally washed some blood off her hands. “Operation a success. After a few days to a week, Mia will be able to walk normally.” She gave a grin to Xeik. “We can use that wheelchair for now for her. You’ll have to wheel her around for the time being or carry her. I’ll watch her while you send the invites.”

Mia woke up and attempted to move her legs but Angela stopped her, “Try not to do that Mia. You could hurt yourself.” The lycan woman looked around for Xeik but eventually her head back down with a pout.

She only perked back up once Xeik came back. She looked tired but once more it had been a big day for her. “I have a balm for that brand on her thigh. It won’t get rid of it completely but we can heal it to almost look gone,” Angela told Xeik with some confidence. “Her skin is so pretty it's a shame she has such a thing on her.” She directed Xeik to the wheelchair. "That's what you'll be pushing Mia around in."

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:30 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

The rest of the visit with the Terrowin kids went about as well as expected. The children were doing quite well for everything that was going on, and even with the new twins drawing magic from Simone and Lewis, everyone seemed to be in good health. With their plan in place for Mia, Xeik and the lycan woman stepped back through the portal to Elysia with the promise to return.Almost immediately, Angela was on them and ready to perform the surgery for Mia's feet. Xeik was surprised, but glad that the goddess had decided to do it earlier rather than later. Watching Mia try to get around was rough, and he wanted her better as soon as possible.At the mention of dinner, Xeik smiled. "That's a good idea. I'll let Raine know so she can come. And Mia seemed to like Everett and Alshaya… wouldn't hurt to see if the Terrowins want to visit as well. It's not like they get off the island much these days."He was already excited about the plans. "But surgery first." Xeik wasn't sure what he needed to do for this particular one. In fact, he had rarely done such intensive surguries like this one, and despite it being Mia, was eager to learn what was involved. Xeik was ever the student.

Author: Mia, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:13 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia got excited and she looked at Lewis and nodded a bit reaching over and patting his head. She could feel similar energy off him as she did the slavers but for some reason, he didn’t scare her. Maybe it was because he had a reason to feel the way he was.

Simone was highly amused by Mia and how she was acting. Telling Lewis to be gentle with the strange girl. “I’ll tell you what. While you work, Mia can be here on the island. There’s not that many of us and she can use the education. I can help teach her after all I taught Lucas. She’s just mute so it means teaching in a way where she can’t use syllables to help. Plus I’m sure that Lucas would love to help.”

Once things with the Terrowin kids were settled Everett and Alshaya hugged Mia. Mia was blushing, and it was really cute to watch her. “Can you come back to play? PLEASE?!”

Mia looked towards Simone who nodded. Once she got permission she was enthusiastic to respond with a nod as well. Back at the temple, she was immediately taken to Angela who put her up on a table.

“Mmm… Good job Xeik. She has all the toxins out of her. I bet you feel a lot better.”

Mia nodded and smiled at Xeik. She looked sheepish. “I can do the surgery now. She will just need help for a while getting around. After she recovers which will be a few days because of her lycanthrope blood… You can return to duties. Might I recommend a dinner tonight though? To celebrate Mia being with us?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:04 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik sighed. Yet again, she had an excuse so the mender couldn’t be mad at her, but it was getting really hard to let her get away with things. Still, at least Simone had been more willing to have a conversation. Had it been Lewis, things might have gone horribly wrong.

“All right then. Miran-…Mia. You can stay while I check up, as long as Lewis is okay with it.” The healer looked to the assassin. “Well?”

“Simone?” Lewis asked. They had a quick conversation, and he nodded. “Fine. She can stay.” He gave her a look, “If you so much as harm a hair on any of my kids, I’ll-”

“Annnnd I think that’s a good place to drop the conversation,” Xeik said as he interrupted. He smiled as the kids took her off, but she stumbled, and the healer frowned. They still hadn’t heard back from Angela on when the surgery was happening to fix her feet, but it should be soon now that she was over the worst of her addiction withdrawals.

“She’s getting her feet fixed soon. Lady Angela herself is going to do it. It’s just a matter of time,” he told the kids. He looked to Simone at her suggestion, and nodded. “It’s less about it happening, and more when. We just got over the worst of her issues. Now it’s getting her body fixed. Then, maybe we’ll have time to teach her once she’s more functional.” He sighed. “Is what I want to say, but things are ramping up again, and I can only put my duties off but for so long….”

Author: Mia, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:52 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Simone tilted her head, “Miranda?” She was definitely new and it made sense once Xeik filled them in. “She’s probably never seen kids before.”

Once they were outside Miranda perked up at Xeik and held a big smile on her face as the kids had her hands. She looked down at that them when they said she was in trouble and shook her head but was obviously excited at the name.

“You like Mia? We can call you Mia!” Mia nodded and smiled at them before coming over to Xeik. She spun around and smiled up at him showing she wasn’t hurt at all.

“Miranda,” Simone was gentle. “It’s not that you would have hurt yourself… but we’re very protective of our children and we didn’t know you.”

That got Mia’s attention and she looked at the kids and back at Simone before nodding.

“She can’t talk Mama?” Alshaya looked sad for a moment.

“No, Uncle Xeik said that she lost her ability to a long time ago. Be gentle with her okay?” Simone smiled at them and the kids got more excited.

“We like Mia!” Alshaya told Lewis. “Can she stay Uncle Xeik?” Alshaya ran to his leg and held onto it looking at him. “She’s fun to dance with! We showed her how to dance!”

The children grabbed Mia and pulled on her. She went willingly but stumbled thanks to her feet. “We thought you said your feet would be okay?” They got all worried for her.

Mia sat on the ground for a while and pouted at them. But then she had an idea to cheer them up. Looking up at Xeik she started to tap her feet wanting him to explain about her upcoming surgery. Angela was going to fix them. She tapped her feet and pointed at the children.

"Xeik, if we taught her to read and write she could write on a board… It would be better."

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:44 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik had taken a look at Everett and Alshaya first when he entered the Terrowin Castle. For the most part, the first two little ones had not had any issues, other than the one time that they had been sick. Their check up went smooth, and he smiled, ruffling Everett’s hair and giving Alshaya a hug before moving on to let them play.

Before he could make his way up to the twins, he was stopped by Lewis to ask questions about their exercises to fill the magic void in them. It wasn’t a complicated conversation, but it was time consuming, and soon the mender lost track of the time. It was when Simone came over and asked him if he knew who the blonde woman was, that he realized he had been rambling on.

“Blonde…” He paused. “I don’t know an-” His eyes widened. “Miranda.” Xeik let out a long sigh. “She’s not dangerous…but she is a handfull…” He quickly apologized to Simone, and as they went to collect her, he explained who she was and where she came from.

“Miranda!” Xeik said, giving her a disappointed look as he crossed his arms. “Why did you come here? I thought I told you I’d be back.” It was clear he was frustrated, but not mad. “It’s dangerous out here for you. You could have gotten hurt…”

Everett and Alshaya both looked at each other, and then to Miranda. “Ooooohh….Miran…Miira……Mia is in trouubblllee!”

Author: Mia, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:17 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia nodded and smiled up at him. Xeik had been good about keeping his word with her. Once she saw that Xeik was leaving she got sad but she instantly perked up at the sound of food. She nodded to all of Xeik’s instructions and sat down in the dining room.

Raine got excited to see them, “Miranda you look so much better!”

Mia just at first but then she smiled and nodded at Raine.

“Yeah, I can do that!” Raine gave a salute. “Consider her under my protection!”

In the middle of Mia eating Raine heard that Maalik was here delivering papers, “Mia you have to stay here okay? I have to go get these papers from Maalik!” Mia nodded and had the banana hanging out of her mouth. Before long Raine left her and Mia got up.

Following Xeik scent was easy enough and she was curious where he went. How mad could Xeik get at her if she followed him? Finding the portal she sniffed it and sure enough, Xeik had gone right through. Once she was through the portal she found herself in a house and out the door she went. Her eyes got big as she spun around.

“Whoa! You are pretty!” Alshaya ran up to her Mia got scared and fell down. Looking at the tiny child she tilted her head. “It’s okay we’re not going to hurt you! Are we Everett?”

“No! Will you play with us?” Everett got excited and they helped Mia up. “Are your feet okay?” Mia looked down and shook her head but smiled anyway. She liked these littles. They began to play and Simone noticed the blonde woman from the study. Getting up the mother calmly made her way down to where Lewis was discussing things with Xeik.

“Xeik? Who’s the blonde woman playing with Everett and Alshaya?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:09 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It was interesting to see that Miranda somehow understood that he was exhausted. What was more amusing though was her insistence on him getting some sleep, and what surprised the mender was that, within a few moments of being dragged into her bed and told to rest, that he actually passed right back out.

A few hours later, Xeik woke up. He was still tired, and knew that he needed more sleep, but for the time being it was more than enough to run off of. Besides, there were other things that needed to happen. He stood up and stretched as the woman went about excitedly, showing off the things she wanted to see in the book.

“I know, I know,” Xeik said with a smile and a laugh. “There’s plenty of time for that. We’ve got to get you situated though. Breakfast first, and then we need to have Angela fix your body…well, as best she can.” He yawned. “And I have an appointment today, so you’ll be by yourself for awhile. I’ll drop you at breakfast. I’ve already told the staff that you are to be left alone unless you otherwise ask for help. They’re all here for you, but they won’t approach you unless you let them.” He thought for a moment. “And I’m sure Raine will be at breakfast as well.”

He took her to the dining area of the temple, where he sat down the lycan woman and helped her order food. Xeik ordered himself something to go, and took it.

“I’ll only be gone for around two hours,” he said to Miranda. He looked to Raine, “Can you take her back to my room once she’s done eating? I have to take care of the Terrowin kids today. Just a checkup.” He smiled back at Miranda. “Have a good time. I promise I’ll be back.”

With that, he slipped out of the room, and down the hall to the preset portal.

Author: Mia, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:52 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Miranda could hear the sigh and she frowned a bit. She sat up and nodded at him. She felt tons better she had lots of energy! She tilted her head when she saw his face though. Getting up she put her hands on his face much as he did hers when he was feeling if she was ill.

She touched his dark circles, his chin, and she tilted her head. She didn’t know what he needed exactly but she took his hand and dragged him over to her bed. Throwing him into it she climbed in next to him and pulled a blanket up over them.

She was laying on her side looking at him. When he didn’t close his eyes she reached over and covered them. She snuggled in close and put her chin to his shoulder. He needed sleep and she could tell he was tired at least she thought so. He had been watching over her all this time and she woke him up!

Once he had gotten more rest she was bolting out of the bed and she got a book. She bounced back to him and onto his lap before flipping to the page with the flowers. Quickly she flipped through the book and pointed out all the things she wanted to see. She was all excited as she bounced around and tilted her head up at him with a smile.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:45 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It had been a restless week for Xeik. With everything going on with Miranda, he barely got a wink of sleep, and instead had found himself teetering on the edge of hallucination by the end of it all. On that particular morning, it had been the first time that he had slept during that week, and he was out cold. The leaf hammock swayed gently as the mender snored, completely and blissfully unaware to the world.

It was, unfortunately, interrupted though as a now well Miranda found herself leaping into it, snapping the supports and causing Xeik to fall to the ground. Hard. He bolted up, looking around only to see Miranda laying next to him. Even though she was turned away from him, he could feel the aura of mischievousness about her, and he let out a deep, deep sigh.

Let it go/ He couldn’t be mad at her. Not right now. She didn’t know better.

“It seems like you’re feeling better at least,” he said, groaning as he tried to get up. His body was aching from both the lack of sleep and hitting the ground so hard. Even with the little bit of rest that he had managed to get, there were still dark circles under his eyes from the exhaustion.

“How are you feeling this morning, Miranda?” he asked as he finally got to his feet.

Author: Mia, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:33 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

She didn’t know if he got her apology but he appeared to be accepting of it for now. What came next would be horrible for Mia. It took a full week for Xeik to get rid of the toxins in her body. A full week of Mia having to fight through the withdrawals of the heavy drugs.

Thanks to Angela’s tonics Miranda’s natural healing was able to kick in and help get rid of the toxins. The first morning she woke up where she was able to get up on her own she found Xeik asleep in his hammock and it made her smile. She wanted to have snuggle time with Xeik which had often happened because he would stay near her. She remembered his warmth.

Because of her height, the hammock was up just a tad too high for her. Mia stuck her tongue out in thought before she got a running start-up and flopped herself next to Xeik. There was a surprised look on her face as the leaf hammock came crashing down.

She held a sheepish smile on her face as she quickly laid down next to Xeik and pretended she didn’t do it. Even if he saw her.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:18 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It was unfortunate that Miranda’s apology was lost to Xeik. Her way of communicating was so different, and even she was having trouble figuring out how to convey what she wanted. In the end, he chalked it up to something that he would have to figure out later, and instead focused on the other tasks at hand. Even the trip back to the room was a whole ordeal; her trust in people was practically non-existent and it caused a lot of issues.

With as much as she had been doing, her legs finally gave out, and the mender ended up carrying Miranda back to the room. Despite it being time to eat, though, Miranda only seemed to get worse. Xeik had a faint idea of what was happening, but he wasn’t sure the entirety of the withdrawal symptoms she would have in comparison to his own experiences.

That was when Raine came in with a slew of medicines, most of which Xeik recognized at first glance. From that, he worked in reverse; Angela pretty much knew what drug was used, and that gave Xeik all the information he needed. As the convulsions started, Xeik went to work, and started to treat her.

Time seemed to slip by as Xeik made sure she didn’t hurt herself in her convulsions. He wiped away the sweat, cleaned off the vomit from her mouth, and made sure that she was cleaned as she lost control of her body. It was almost hard to watch, knowing full well that just over five years ago he had experienced the same thing. Still, he was glad that he could help someone in their time of need, a testament to how far he had gotten.

The tonics he had given her started to settle in, and she was able to drift off into a restless sleep. He remembered it…conscious, unmoving, but not entirely there. The half sleep, waking to only find pain, only to be put back to sleep moments later. It went on for almost a week like that. It would probably take longer for Miranda to fully recover, unlike Xeik. He had been lucky…

“Just hang in there, and fight…” He muttered, taking her hand and squeezing it. “You have so much to live for…things you’ve never seen or done. You’ll find happiness, and find love…visit fields of flowers every day if you want. And the ocean…you’d love the ocean.” His words carried a longing weight, almost as if he wanted to show her. “You just have to survive…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 7:14 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Miranda didn’t know how to convey what she was sorry about so she put her hair over his head and lightly slapped his wrist. Then she gave him a frown and rubbed his wrist. It was her own way of saying sorry to Aaya.

Once they had dried off Miranda was quick to throw a towel over Xiek’s head and attempt at being gentle. Which wasn’t really gentle and more whipping his head around a little. She did try to the best of her ability.

Xeik helped dress her and she looked at the dress. It was a light nice material and her fingers rubbed against the fabric. She spun around in it and looked up at Xeik. It was just being given to her? Just like the bath? Clinging to him she peeked around him in the hallway.

There were women there talking and she scooted up against Xeik. One even tried to greet her and it forced her almost into Xeik’s arms. Her legs gave and she found herself being carried by Xeik back to the room. Even one person she didn’t know how too much for her.

Mia’s color started to look a little worse for the wear as well as she laid down on the floor and looked up at the food. She shook her head and closed her eyes. Her stomach made a noise but she didn’t feel good as she curled up into a ball.

There was a knock at the door and it was Raine, “Lady Angela says she’s showing signs of the drug now that we flushed her system a little… It might be a rough night for her Xeik.” Raine had a tray full of medicine. “Here this is for her. This balm on the right should help speed up the healing of her thigh bruises.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 6:58 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It took some time to detangle the mess of hair on Miranda, but eventually he worked through it. With a quick rinse, her shimmery, silver blonde hair was finally in near pristine condition. He took a comb through it, and noted that it was smooth. To Miranda, it should have felt good.

“There we go,” he said with a smile. What came next, though, surprised him. Miranda tried her best to dunk him, and succeeded. Luckily, he didn’t inhale any water. The woman wanted to repay the kindness. “You don’t have to,” he started, but she seemed determined to work through his hair. The healer sighed with a half smile, and let her do her thing, which barely had any affect on the shorter hair that Xeik had. When she was done, though, she seemed very content with her work.

“Good job,” he said. “Didn’t really need it, but thank you anyway.” For some reason, though, she suddenly had a sullen look, and hugged Xeik. “Hm?” he asked as she broke away, leaving Xeik blushing just a little bit. “What was that for?” He looked at her curiously.

As they finished up, he showed Miranda how to dry herself with a towel, helping her at least with her hair. Wrapped in his own towel, he lead her to the changing rooms, and helped her into the short replacement dress that Angela had chosen. “All right, and now back to the room. I bet you’re hungry. I think they made something easy tonight. Probably a soup or porridge.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:40 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia patted the top of her hair and tilted her head. It was a long tangled mess but she didn’t know the difference. Every once in a while the slavers had cut it off because it had gotten too long. Miranda followed along and got her hair soaked for him. She nodded once he showed her how to say it hurt.

However, what followed next hurt but it didn’t hurt as badly as some of the things that had been done to her. Mia just calmly waited for him to be done with it. There was a small clump of tangled hair that came out and she poked it on the water. She watched it float. Taking her hair once it was done she smelled it and then looked up at Xeik.

She pulled him down into the water and dunked him to get his hair wet. It was her turn. Right? This was normal? He did it to her. She put way too much oil in his hair and she was rough with the comb. She was trying but at least Xeik’s hair wasn’t long. Once she thought she did a good job she held a proud look as she handed the comb back.

Remembering the book Mia felt a bit bad about earlier though she couldn’t place the feeling. In the book, it had a picture of Miranda and the man. She held a questionable look on her face as she pouted and hugged Xeik. Looking up at him she once more pouted before hiding her face.

Maybe he wasn’t trying to trick her after all.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:33 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik had stripped down to his undergarments. It was less that he was shy (though he was) and more than he didn’t know exactly how to explain to Miranda the differences between male and female at the moment, and that was only going to cause more problems in the short term. The easier he could make it on her, the better. He pulled the bath stuffs out, and opened it, taking a quick sniff.

Angela had given him oils for her hair, and it seemed like the best place to start. He produced a comb and brush, and looked at the tangled mess that lay before him. “Okay. We’re going to do something about your hair.” Luckily, because of Ayaa, he had some experience in dealing with long, tangled hair. “This is going to hurt a bit, but it’ll feel better at the end.” He explained first that he needed to get her hair wet, and demonstrated how to do it. Once she had, timidly, soaked her hair, he moved behind her, and with the utmost care, he started to use the comb and brush as needed to try and detangle her hair.

“Once we get this taken care of, I’ll teach you how to maintain it. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you once you learn, and it will keep it from ever getting to this point again.” He paused. “If it ever starts to hurt too much, just tap my arm, or…wherever, three times. Like this…” He tapped her shoulder three times in succession. “If you do that, I promise I’ll stop whatever I’m doing.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:24 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia didn’t understand and all she knew that this felt like a trick to her. Something akin to a lure and that scared her but Mia felt more like she needed to stay stubborn. Once Xeik was back Miranda turned on her heel and faced him. She might not have noticed what she was doing but she was tapping her foot at him. There was a look on her face that said she didn’t know why he did what he did.

At the words, he spoke Mia looked up at him and shook her head before touching his face. In her mind, it was the same but him being Aaya scared her. There was a flashback of something in her mind and for a moment Mia froze. Something about a stuffed animal. Shivers went up her spine and her breathing increased rapidly. It was only once she noticed it that she tried to stop and took a look around her surroundings to make sure she was safe.

Once she was free of her clothes all of her scars were showing. Deep wounds old and new across her back from different things. They were sore in some places like it had only been a few days ago. On her left thigh was a firebrand of a hawk-like creature. Miranda felt the water with her food and looked back up at Xeik. She had never seen this much water before but as he motioned her in she gently lowered herself.

There were winces from her as the water hit areas on her back and on her bruised thighs. The baths had herbal soaks in them not that she knew it but it would help with the wounds on her. She ran her hand over the top of the water and looked up at Xeik. She wasn’t shy because she didn’t understand the concept of it. She didn’t know what to do next so she simply just waited.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:13 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Ayaa pouted when Miranda slapped her hand away. Why was she being so difficult? Most women hated it when a man had to help them, and usually it was ayaa who had to tend to them. For Miranda, though, it seemed as though she were being stubborn about it. The woman kept pouting, “Do you know why Xeik wants me to help?” The lycanthrope shook her head. She didn’t seem to care about the reason either, and kept looking for Xiek to reappear.

“He’s not coming back,” Ayaa replied. “Not until you’re finished at least.” The blonde haired woman crossed her arms. “You’re a woman, you know, and most women don’t like men invading their space in a private setting such as bathing.” At that, Miranda just gave a deadpan look, completely unable to comprehend what Aya was trying to explain.

“You…have zero concept of this, do you…” Ayaa replied, answering her own question. She let out a long sigh. “Whatever…” She turned around and walked back around the corner. Xeik definitely felt hurt as he turned around the corner. Ayaa was definitely as part of his personality, and she hadn’t been getting enough time out. He had been so busy with the Terrowins and everything else that he wasn’t allowed to use her as often.

“Ayaa is really, really disappointed…” Xeik replied as guided her into the baths. “Let’s just get this over and done with so we can get you back to the room and fed.” There was definitely an aura of disappointment around Xeik as he helped disrobe the lycanthrope woman. “Now, gently into the water here. Be careful, it might be a bit hot.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:01 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Miranda took his hand with little effort as she trusted him only a little bit. Thought that little bit seemed to be expanding. Once Xeik told her he was leaving she was… distraught. Even visibly so that he would just up and leave her with someone she didn’t know. Even if he said that everything was okay.

Once Aaya showed up Miranda made a face and came over to her. Something was off and Miranda squinted her eyes. Getting closer the lycanthrope started to sniff Aaya and then she made a face. Smacking Aaya’s hand Miranda crossed her arms and turned her back to her.

Xeik was trying to trick her for some reason that she didn’t know. She didn’t understand the concept of sex, to begin with. It was awfully hot in the room though, but she didn’t budge as she held a pout face and kept looking towards Aaya with it. She was slightly disappointed and she wouldn’t stop looking nor acknowledge anything Aaya was saying.

She kept slapping Aaya’s hand if it was offered.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:56 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

As Miranda started to make a mess, the mender rolled his eyes. For now he would tolerate it, but she definitely needed etiquette lessons in the near future. As one of the clergy came in with clothes and body care supplies, Xeik was unwholly surprised that Angela was making him do it. There was always some underlying excuse on why, and usually it was right, but Angela had a way of throwing everyone she knew into the absolute most uncomfortable situations she could find.

“It’s not like I haven’t had to do it before,” Xeik replied with a sigh. “Thank you.” He turned to Miranda, and smiled. “Well, let’s go ahead and knock this bath out. By the time we’re done, food should be here. Here…follow me.” He held out his hand again. Once more, she apprehensively took it, and was led once more out of the room.

They stopped in front of the communal bath, to which Xeik took a deep breath. “Okay. I have a friend who will help you from here. She’s…just like me. Gentle, and kind. I promise.” There was another warm smile. “She’s a lot better suited for this than I am. I’ll be back after the bath.” He walked around the corner, leaving her alone.

Not a few seconds later, a cute woman popped out from the side. While Miranda was curvy and hourglass shaped, this blonde haired woman was not. Still, she held what little bust she had with confidence. She was wearing a loose fitting top and shorts, and had a basket of her own bath washes.

“Ah, you must be Miranda,” she said with a smile. It was warm, just like Xeik’s. “My name is Ayaa. He felt it would be easier for a woman to help another woman.” She held out her hand, just like Xeik had. “Shall we go?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:42 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

“Something I’m used to fixing. The slave trade is very prominent back home.” Angela looked her over. “Miranda?” Mia’s eyes snapped to Angela to acknowledge her. “Have you always never had a voice?”

Mia thought about it and shrugged.

Angela did an impromptu medical evaluation, “It’s been surgically removed. That I can’t fix. I might be able to mend what’s left but it’s professional work. If she can’t remember it that means she was very young when it happened. She was most likely born in captivity. Lycanthrope slave trade is a big seller especially for people who need workers who are strong.” Angela thought about it for a moment. “She’s… never mind. Xeik just keep her close. She’s a valuable one.” She was going to explain something else but it could wait.

Angela waved him off and smiled, “I’ve had worse. This year is just a bit busier that’s all. That and the triplets are running a muck. I can just ship them off to the Bastion if I have to.”

Miranda tilted his head and followed him. She was wondering how he was going to fit her in his room if it was anything like her ‘room’. What she found was actually shocking to her. She hobbled around the room looking at everything.

She flopped back on the bed and stared up at Xeik. She tilted her head and wondered if he was going somewhere. Mia managed to immediately make a big as she pulled books from the bookcase. Laying them all open where she could look at them on the floor. The ones without pictures she made a face and threw them to the side not knowing any better.

There was a knock at the door where Melina was waiting, “Lady Angela wanted me to give you these. It’s a fresh dress, some undergarments, oil for her hair, and other things for a bath. She said you can use the communal bath and that just say the word and she can keep others out. Lady Angela wants to remind you that she probably doesn’t know how to bathe or anything so you’ll have to show her. Which means and I’m quoting her ‘You’ll have to suck it up and deal with it’. She should have Raine do it but… She’ll probably show her how birds bathe.” Melina sighed a bit. “If you need anything else please let me know.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:31 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It took her a moment, but the woman agreed to the name. She seemed to like it enough, and for Xeik that was enough. “All right then, Miranda.” He was about to recommend they move back to the room, when Angela appeared, scaring Miranda. What was surprising was not that Miranda jumped into Xeik’s arms, but more that Xeik was able to hold her weight.

She’s so light. That was concerning. They’d have to get her a good meal.

“So it’s something you can fix, then?” Xeik asked, referring to her feet. Angela was good at a great many things involving healing and mending, but something this drastic was new to Xeik. As Angela went on, though, Xeik was barely surprised at how she just dropped Miranda’s care into his lap. No shock there. He sighed. At least the woman liked him well enough. That would make things easier.

At the mention of a chosen name, Xeik nodded. “Miranda. At least, she seems to like it.” The fact that Angela was getting someone else to deal with his regular duties was a lifesaver. And with the way Lewis was, he wasn’t surprised that he was still in charge of the Terrowin kids. Lewis would likely kill anyone else.

“All right, then…their check up isn’t for another few days, so I should be able to get Miranda settled enough that I can leave for a few hours.” He crossed his arms. “And make sure, Angela, that you’re taking care of yourself as well. As busy as we are, I can’t have you falling out. Besides…I really don’t want to answer to your husband.”

With the plans laid out, Xeik explained as best he could to Miranda that they were headed to his room. It was a lot larger than the exam room, and could comfortably house more than a few people at any given time. Normally, though, it was just Xeik and every so often an urgent care patient.

As they entered his room, Xeik looked around. It had taken a new form a few weeks ago, almost like a comfortable island bungalow. The bed that he usually slept in was a giant leaf, strapped in the corner of the room. On the opposite corner was a bookcase and desk, where he worked. There was an adjoined room, for the most part where he did his potions and tonics, as well as a spare bed. Unlike his hammock style bed, this was a regular, single sized with fluffy down pillows.

“You can sleep here. If you need anything, let me know. Food will be here within the hour, as well as some picture books since you seem to like those.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:18 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia looked down at the flowers once Xeik brought them back and her smile grew again. She didn’t understand what love and affection were but… It sounded nice. She figured that Xeik would tell her if she needed to know. Then he looked in her eyes and said a name. It was the one from the story. She pointed herself and she mulled it over.

Miranda. Miranda. Miranda.

Her eyes rolled back and forth in a lull as she thought about it. Finally, she smiled and she nodded. She liked it a lot.

A lady with red hair appeared in the flowers and Mia jumped. Immediately she was in Xeik’s arms and clinging to him with her full weight on him. “She is a jumpy one isn’t she?” Angela didn’t get any closer. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Her eyes went to Mia’s feet, “I’m going to have to fix her legs Xeik. I don’t know how she is even managing to walk on those. She’s been in a cage far too small and growing in it. It’s why she is so small as well. Well, it’s more so her feet than her legs. They are all deformed.” Angela frowned a bit. “By the way, you are responsible for her. From feeding her, to bathing her, to making sure she stays out of trouble. She’ll be staying in your room with you. I would put her on Raine since she brought her… but do we need another Raine? Also, Raine likes to run off to the Bastion too much.”

Putting her hands on her hips she looked over Mia, “Raine said that she didn’t have a name… Have you thought of one yet?” Mia climbed off of Xeik and tilted her head before nodding. She liked her name a lot.

“Miranda? That’s a good name. We’ll set a date for her surgery to correct her feet. Until then you should get her settled in. Don’t worry about your duties for a little bit. I’ll have Melina and Anemone pick up the slack. Miranda is a priority at the moment. The only things I want you to keep doing is watch over the Terrowin kids. I’m sure Miranda will be fine by herself for the few minutes you are gone.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 4:03 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

It took her a moment to understand what he meant by holding out his hand, but once she got it, he carefully led her to the field that was closest to the area they were in. Her reaction was completely worth it. At once, she was in utter awe at everything around it. For a moment, Xeik was worried that he had overloaded her senses, but she seemed to recover rather quickly, and took to the field. The flowers, the sky, the birds, all of it was so new to her and it showed.

She was, sadly, a little rough with the flowers, and she gave Xeik a sad look as she tried to gauge if he would be mad. The healer walked over to her, and knelt down next to her. “You were a little rough with them. Flowers are delicate.” He held out his hand, and closed his eyes. It wasn’t his usual branch of magic, but he assumed if he could mend a cut, he could mend a flower. Surely enough, within a few moments, the flowers that the woman had messed up sprung back to life, if a little worse for wear.

“They’re resilient, but can only take so much. Some flowers respond to love and affection, while others grow wild and free like this. Both of them are equally strong in their own right.” Xeik looked into her eyes, and smiled again. “Miranda. For the time being, we can call you Miranda. Do you like that name?”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:53 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

She looked up at him with curiosity once more. What the hell was a bath? What was feeling clean? She would find out but for now, she was content with just the field of flowers. She looked down at his hand once he offered it and she was scared for a moment. However, she had never actually taken a hand before.

She held up her own to his face and looked at it before deciding that isn’t exactly what he wanted. Finally, her hand settled in his and she tilted her head. His hand was warm and her face flushed a soft color as she felt his skin. She had never felt another person’s skin before. Taking his hand she rubbed it on her face and looked up at him.

Her gold eyes were curious but immediately she pointed back down to the book at her feet. Flowers now. Skin later.

The moment she was out in the field of the flowers her jaw dropped. She hobbled with her feet and felt the flowers. The smells assaulted her and she was in utter awe. She had never seen anything like this before. She wandered away from Xeik and plopped down in the flowers. Looking up at the sky. Once she saw birds flying above she got excited and pointed up at them.

Just like Raine. They didn’t look like her but they were soaring just like her. She reached over and took an arm full of flowers like a hug and smothered her face in them. Taking in the scents. Once she realized she had damaged them there was a sad look on her face she looked up at Xeik. Was he upset she ruined them?

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:39 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

When Raine left, the woman seemed to get a little braver, and started to move closer to Xeik. While she definitely held some human-like traits, for the most part she acted almost like a wild animal. With the way that she had been held captive, he wasn’t entirely surprised, but there were definitely going to be some heavy learning curves when it came to how to act around others. Still, for the time being the goal was to make her comfortable, so he let her sniff him, if only to show that he wasn’t a threat.

“You like that?” he asked. “We can get you a bath too, once Angela comes back. It shouldn’t take too long, and I bet you’ve never felt clean.” He thought back to the times when he had been living on the streets. Even then, he had managed to get a cold shower in every so often. This poor woman hadn’t managed even that.

As she went back to the book, taking it from Xeik, she flipped to the field of flowers and seemed to question whether or not that place existed. “Maybe not specifically that place, but yes…fields of flowers exist.” He thought for a moment. “Here…” He held out his hand to her. “Trust me…” He smiled. “I’ll show you a real field of flowers. It’s close by…will only take a few minutes to get there.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:29 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

The snap spooked her lightly but once she calmed down she managed to nudge the book towards him. She sat up on the bed on her knees and tilted her head. She was anxious to hear what he had to tell her. She got off the bed and came closer to Xeik to look at the picture. She looked over at Raine and then looked at the book. She was putting two and two together that she and Raine weren’t similar.

Raine watched how Mia looked at the book. “Do you have a name?” It would be silly if they didn’t use it.

Mia stood up and gave Raine a look and tilted her head.

“Like I’m Raine. This is Xeik.”

Mia pointed at herself and shook her head. She had heard herself be called things but everyone had been called those things. These seemed like special names like Miranda in the story.

“She can’t just be the Woman I saved from Vilpamolan,” Raine made a face. “I have to go do paperwork though and Lady Angela is getting back soon. She said she wants to meet her. We should figure out a name for her so Lady Angela doesn’t name her.”

Mia tilted her head again and turned to Xeik. He seemed ok and that he wasn’t going to hurt her. As Raine closed the door Mia got closer to him. She put her nose to his skin and sniffed. There was visible confusion on her face. He smelled good and it wasn’t something she had smelled before.

Taking the book from his hands she seemed to have gotten a little more comfortable with him as she flipped back to the flower field and stared at it. She held it up at him again. With the look on her face… It almost seemed as if she was questioning if it was real.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 3:12 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

When Xeik came back with Raine, there was a moment before she freaked out that she looked almost relaxed. He hated that they were interrupting that time, but hopefully with the way things were going she would have more time to adjust and grow accustomed to the feeling of freedom. The fact that she hadn’t tried to bolt, or even attack, was a great sign. In all fairness, though, she probably didn’t have the will to fight.

“Ah, that book,” Xeik said as she showed it off. He watched her show off the pictures excitedly, and as Raine asked the questions, the woman seemed not to understand what she was.

“We can figure that out slowly, then,” Xeik replied. He smiled. “You can turn into a wolf.” There was a look of confusion on her face, and the healer thought for a moment as he crossed his arms. He had an idea, and snapped his fingers, which caused a twitch from the wild girl. “Ah, sorry. But that book…may I see it?” He held out his hand.

Curiously, the woman put it down, and nudged it closer to Xeik before retreating. He carefully picked it up, and shuffled through it. “This book here is a children’s story about a child of the moon.” He cleared his throat. “There was once a woman who loved a man. Her name was Miranda. They were happy together, but there was a jealous soul, an evil witch who sought the man for herself. Using wicked evils, she cast a dark spell over Miranda, and cursed her to howl at the moon, and turn into a fearsome beast. It was meant to scare the man away, and chase him into the evil witch’s arms. So, as the full moon rose…the woman changed.” He flipped the book, and showed her the woman changing into a wolf.

“The man saw this happen, and as Miranda howled to the moon, he started to run. He didn’t get far, though. Miranda’s howl pierced the night, a sad, lonely sound. Realizing that the only thing that had changed was her shape, he returned to his love. The witch was furious that her plan had failed, but there was nothing that could be done…” He smiled. “As the moon disappeared, Miranda changed back into her human form, and the two lived happily ever after.”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:57 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Mia looked at the apple and rolled it in her hands. Her eyes went to Xeik and she watched him before she tried to mimic. Small bites and chew. It was tougher than bread once she took a bite but her face lit up immediately. Her eyes wandered to the plate of food and she chewed. She shouldn’t waste food. Who knew she was going to get another meal like this.

Immediately the moment he started to move her eyes shot towards him. Every movement he did was giving her red flags but she calmed down as she realized he was alright. Once he told her she could move to the bed she took the tray of food and climbed up on it. The plushness of the bed caused her to sigh happily as she flopped.

Taking a grape she rolled it around in her fingers with wide eyes before she plopped it into her mouth. She had never had fruits before and they were yummy. She took a big old drink of water and soon Raine returned with Xeik.

Mia was on her belly looking through a book with pictures. Her feet were daintily kicking up and down as she plopped another grape in. Once she saw them she was a little spooked and tried to hide the book under her.

“It’s okay!” Raine held out her hands. “Did you like that book?”

Mia held out the book and showed them the pictures. It was a flower field. She was tapping the page enthusiastically.

“Oh! You like flowers?” Mia looked at the picture and nodded. Mia began to poke at the sky and then pointed at Raine. “Yeah! I can fly in the sky! Do you like the sky?”

Mia tilted her head and she looked sad for a moment. She flipped through the book until she found the picture of the night sky. She held it up and showed it to them.

“That’s a nighttime sky. Have you ever seen it?”

Mia shook her head no.

“Have you ever shifted?”

Mia tilted her head and gave a look of curiosity.

“… Do you know what you are?”

Mia dropped the book and rolled away from them as she thought about it. She thought she was like them. Can she not turn into a winged thing?

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:51 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

At the mention of Raine, she seemed to calm down a bit, but as with anyone in her situation, she never really let her guard down. That was fine. Xeik didn’t expect her to deal with everything that was happening. She mimicked his name with her lips, but no sounds came out. Raine had been right; she wasn’t able to speak. She seemed able to comprehend what he was saying, and without words answered most of his questions. She was starving, and the places where she had been injected still hurt.

When she collapsed, Xeik resisted the urge to rush to help her. Sudden movements would only scare her at the moment. So instead, he let her discover what her freedom was. She’d find out soon enough. However, she seemed almost confused at the apple. That almost hurt Xeik’s heart to see, but he smiled.

“Bite it, carefully.” He made a chomping motion with his teeth. “Small bites, though. And chew carefully.” He pointed to the chair. “You can sit in that, too. Or sit back on the bed. I can bring you the rest of the food if you want. I’m sure it’s more comfortable than the floor.” He slowly stood up. “I promise that it’s ok.” He went to the door, and looked back.

“I’ll be back in just a moment. I’m going to send for Raine. She’ll want to know you’re awake.” He thought for a moment. “Don’t leave the room. Just eat and drink, slowly. I’ll be right back. I promise…”

Author: Mia, Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:04 AM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Raine. She recognized the name instantly. How could she forget even in this panic? The tiny girl who fought off an entire pack of slave traders. All to get her out of a cage. She hadn’t even asked but Raine said something about the look in her eyes asked for her.

Xeik held up his hands and her eyes snapped to him. They watched carefully and she scrunched herself up to the wall the more he got close. She felt the pain from the wound go away and curiosity killed her enough to look at it. Gold eyes looked down from where the wound had been up to Xeik.

Those eyes held uncertainly as he spoke and told her his name. Her lips mimicked his when he said his name and she nodded. Putting her hand on her stomach she thought about it. How best to say she had eaten two days ago. That was more than she had eaten before. The weight on her even said as much.

Once he got to the pain she showed him her thighs where the bruises were and lightly tapped them where the injections were. Finally, her eyes went up to the food and she looked like she was drooling a little bit. Not to be taken off guard though she immediately watched him once more. Scared. He seemed okay for right now but she didn’t know him very well.

Xeik motioned to the food and she got up stumbling a little from the bruises. The way her feet were was obvious what Raine had said. She had been in a cage far too small as she hobbled over and collapsed in front of the small table with the food. She wasn’t even in the chair but then again chairs weren’t for people like her as she reached up for an apple.

She held the apple in her hand and tilted her head as she rolled it around. Giving Xeik a questioning look she pointed at the apple and shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t even know what it was. How did you eat it?

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:29 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik noticed when she started to stir, and kept his calm aura up. Despite this, the moment she noticed Xeik, she started to freak out. This was something that he had seen over and over in the victims that he had rescued from captivity. He mentally cursed Raine and himself for forgetting to make the area safe, but he raised up his hands in response to her fear.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m with Raine.” Slowly, he let his hands fall. “I promise I won’t hurt you…” He slowly moved his hands towards her, just close enough to use magic. He let a bit of mana flow, and closed the wound she had just created. He wished he could do more, but with drugs and poisons, it was no use. The best he could do was heal physical injuries with magic at the moment. Anything more was likely to fail.

The moment he was done with the magic, he pulled his hands back, and calmly sat back in the chair. “My name is Xeik.” Raine had told him she couldn’t speak, but not that she couldn’t understand him. “How are you feeling? Hungry? Thirsty?” He paused, letting her think. “How about pain? Do you hurt anywhere?”

Author: Raine, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:22 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

There was an excited look on her face when Xeik said she was proud of her. But then he bonked her on the head and she rubbed it. “Owie,” she winced and groaned a bit. “I know… but I couldn’t just leave her there. She was all by herself in a tiny little cage. I don’t think she even fit in it.”

Raine was a little tired and she nodded, “Okay, I got some oil and stuff for her hair. It’s all knotted up. I wanted to save it… It looks like silver strands and I didn’t want to cut it.” That was just eye candy for a bird. “I’m going to go to the Bastion to see Maalik. I’m sure he misses me! If you need me just send someone.” She was probably going to go sleep in his lap while he worked. That was pretty typical of Raine at this point.

It took a few hours but the girl began to stir and once she was awake she looked groggy. Her head felt like a muddled mess and to make matters worse she still didn’t know where she was. The pink-haired one had carried her off and stuck her in a room. There had been no words exchanged only that her name was Raine.

Only free people had names, or so she had been told. She grabbed at the blankets and felt how soft they were. Immediately she was on her hands and knees on the bed feeling it. Her face had a look of wonder on it as she felt everything about the bed.

And…. Then….

She noticed Xeik.

She was off the bed and stumbled almost immediately into a table. She sliced open her leg by hitting something just sharp enough that Raine had forgotten to move. She was curled up against the wall looking at him. The pain from the wound was making her wince but her heart and breathing were out of control.

Her eyes were like gold and they were full of fear.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:13 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik wasn’t exactly sure if Raine expected him to be mad, but he stopped what he was doing, and turned to Raine. There was a strange look in his eyes as he looked at the phoenix in a different way. “You know, before I lost my guild, one of the things that we used to do was liberate children from slave traders. A lot of times we got the adults too, but we never intentionally went after them. I couldn’t stand those people abusing kids like that. Even though I was just a starry eyed brat, I still fought for their freedom. Sometimes I wish I could go back to it, but…well, I’m here now, and I know I’m helping. But Raine…I’m proud of you.” With that, he bonked her on the head with a closed fist. “However…that was extremely dangerous…”

He sighed, and looked back to the patient. “Now we just have to wait, and see what happens. It’s likely that it’ll take some time.” He pulled up a chair, and sat down, taking a book and some notes from his coat pocket. More material for Lewis and Simone to help them. “You can leave if you want Raine. I’ll stay here, and if anything happens I’ll come and get you.” He smiled. “I promise. Get some rest. You’ve been trying to do this alone for awhile, so you deserve a break.”

Author: Raine, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:05 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Raine was quiet as she formulated just how to tell Xeik exactly what had happened. “I was afraid people would send her back. I was in a cage once too…” She knew how people could be even in Angela’s temple. Angela wasn’t here to protect her so Raine did it all by herself. Not that she didn’t think Xeik would help. “I trust you. I don’t trust everyone else. The fewer people who know about her the better.”

Angela hadn’t told Xeik much of anything about Raine. Just that she had been born in the temple and that the temple was all she had known for decades. Once she got the words she was looking for she looked up at Xeik cheerfully. “I was flying in Vilpamolan delivering papers to Freya who is in charge of the church there. She is the cardinal… Anyway, I saw this caravan of people. It was massive. Just outside the city. I’ve only ever heard about the slaves and the slave trade. It was like a store for them.”

She got sad a bit, “So I wanted a closer look. One of the guys tried to nab me so I just lit his coat on fire. Enough to get away but not hurt him. She looked so excited to see a bird Xeik. I’ve seen that look before. Being in a cage and seeing the other birds flying. I know that look. She wanted to be free too. So… I took her.”

“From the slave traders.”

“By force.”

“I lit them on fire okay.”

"They came at me with pitchforks and screaming, 'THAT'S MY PROPERTY!'"

“AND THEN, I put her in here and here we are. I don’t know anything about her.”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:58 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

“Where she came from can wait until after she’s in the clear,” Xeik replied. “But, I think we can treat her with what we have here. So start talking,” he said as he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Normally he would have left this to Raine, but he felt he should handle the physical work while Raine explained herself. Better to let her focus on her tale while he worked.

For the most part, what Raine had said made sense. Based on her weight and size, and what he knew of Toya’s children, the dosage was as close to right as it was going to be without the proper tools. With the way she was right now, there was no way of getting good measurements off of her, so using what they had on hand was the best they could do. She seemed to accept the doses without much of a fuss as the sleeping tonic did its job, and once he was done with the vial, he did a once over of her vitals again.

“Not much of a change, but it hasn’t gotten worse. We’ll check up on her after awhile…” He looked to Raine. “You shouldn’t have hid her. You know I would have helped.”

Author: Raine, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:51 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

“I took a peek at the notes for some of Toya’s children and gave her dosages based on the one her size.” Raine was at least playing it safe. “Tempest is about as big as she is and while she is only a half-werewolf I just adjusted the portion to make up for it. As for the sleep tonic I gave about a half dose. Enough that we can wake her up if need be.”

Raine nodded and looked worried, “I wasn’t sure at first but she has the telltale signs of silver and wolfsbane poisoning. You can see the veins from it on her arms. It’s faint but that means they were doing it as a sedative. She is definitely a werewolf and not half.”

Once more Raine nodded once he sniffed the vial. “Yeah, we can’t treat the drug usage with all the other crud in her system. It’s weakening her body’s response so she can’t fight the drugs.” Not wanting to answer him she looked away for a moment but finally, she caved, “I took it from Toya’s stash. I figured if it worked for Aurora or Tempest that it would work for her. Plus, there were mixtures for Blaine, who is a full-blooded werewolf. I could double the dose if it doesn’t work since Aurora and Tempest are only half.”

Rubbing her neck in a way that she obviously picked up from Angela Raine got sheepish, “Yesterday morning. I was detoxing her naturally when she convulsed this morning. I had no idea they had laced her with silver and wolfsbane.”

She got quiet and looked at Xeik, “Aren’t you going to ask me where I found her?”

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:41 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Despite being angry with Raine, Xeik let her talk. For the most part, the healer was done with his duties for the day, and that left him free to do whatever he wanted. Normally that would be study or clean, but today it seemed as though he were taking care of an impromptu patient. Raine seemed to roll with the fact that Xeik was there, and started to talk as though he was supposed to be there.

“How much did you give her?” Xeik asked. Depending on the dosage, he could probably do a quick examination and she wouldn’t wake. But something about her was…different than most of his usual patients. He placed his hand on her wrist, and checked for a pulse. “Normal.” Her skin was bruised about, and like Raine said, she had injection marks in vital areas. “Silver and wolfsbane…she’s a werewolf then?” He double checked her pulse. Normal for a human, but slow for a werebeast. She’s also colder than she should be. He popped open the vial that Raine had, and took a sniff.

“To flush the silver, then?” he asked. It wasn’t something he worked with on a regular, but he knew the ingredients. “Who mixed it? She’s tiny. If the proportions are off, it might not do anything.” Normally he wouldn't question Raine, but the fact that she had been doing this all in secret made him question if she was thinking clearly.

“How long has she been here?”

Author: Raine, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:32 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Raine was on the move once more and she opened the door and backed into it with a tray full of food, water, and in her mouth was a vial. No one would miss that it was missing. As long as it did some good no one would get mad at her. She had been treating people long enough to know when to administer medication and when to avoid doing so.

Once she turned around and saw Xeik she tried to talk but her mouth was full. It came out as mumbled yelling and she had a look of fear on her face. The face that she was in fact in trouble. Xeik removed it and Raine looked stubborn. “Don’t scare her.”

Raine took the food over to and set it down. “Too many people might scare her.” Which would explain why Raine was using the west wing. No one was going here right now but… The why she was keeping it a secret part was still… a mystery.

Putting her hand to the girl’s forehead Raine looked worried. “She’s having an allergic reaction to silver, wolfsbane, and I think she’s been drugged heavily on something. She has injection marks on her skin.” Raine was delicate enough to move the girl’s ripped skirt so Xeik could see the multiple bruises from forced injections.

“She had a panic attack so I gave her sleep tonic… She can’t scream though but she was trying. I don’t think she can talk.” The girl was small, but a little taller than Raine. She had long damaged pale blonde hair and her skin was really dirty.

Author: FalseHope, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:23 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Xeik barely thought anything of it as Raine asked him for things. It was a busy time of the year, and with Angela out and about dealing with the season, it came down to Xeik to do almost everything that she normally did around the temple. Even Raine was pushed to her limits dealing with the comings and goings of patients and others alike, but the way that Raine was acting was…off. It was subtle, and at first Xeik barely noticed. But each time she came in, she was asking for things that didn’t seem to quite make sense for the season nor the patients that they had at the time.

It was about when the other clergy women came, complaining to him about her behavior, that he started to wonder just what the phoenix was up to, and he assured the women that he would try to get their stuff back. It usually wasn’t too hard, but Raine was always complaining when he took the items back.

“Just…give me some time, please,” Xeik said as he walked past them. “I promise I’ll get you’re items back. Just be patient. It’s a busy time.” He sighed with relief once he was out of earshot from them. At least this time they weren’t out to bed him. Five years of avoiding their advances had taken its toll on him, and he was more than tired of hearing about it. Most of them had gotten the idea that he was more interested in learning and helping people than he was in sex, but every so often they attempted to court him, to which he politely declined.

“Now where is she…” Xeik muttered to himself. He wandered the halls like he usually did, looking about. There were subtle trails of where she had been, which in all fairness, was everywhere in the temple. But there was a certain trail that didn’t quite make sense. “West side? We’ve closed that off for the time being since Ang isn’t here…” He followed the trail, which lead to one of the unused examination rooms. He slid inside after easily picking the lock, and shut the door softly behind him.

“And who do we have here?” he asked softly, immediately detecting a presence. The room had been moved around a bit, and instead of an exam table was a bed. How Raine managed to do that without anyone knowing was anyone’s guess. In the middle of the bed, though, was a woman curled up, dressed in rags. Hanging on the other side of the room was a dress; presumably the stolen one. On the table was the comb, to which Xeik noted that the woman’s hair was a mess.

“Jeez…what happened here?” he thought back to the logs, and realized the woman didn’t match anyone on their regular list. The fact that she was asleep, and had yet to wake up meant that she was under the influence of something. Xeik crossed his arms, and thought back to Raine’s requests. Detox salve. She mentioned wolfsbane. And sleep tonic. There were a few possibilities, and the way that the woman looked was oddly familiar. Deathly pale, shivering, and she had been put to sleep with a tonic. Overdose? But of what. And why is Raine hiding this?

Author: Raine, Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:00 PM, Post Subject: Freedom [P/R]

Life was a wild ride, that’s what Lady Angela said. “EXCUSE ME!” Raine opened Xeik’s workroom door. “XEEIIKKK, are you here?” She peeked around. Once she found him she bounded over. “I need a detox salve and potion please.” Once she got it she romped away.

An hour or two later she romped back in and up to his work station, “Can I have something that can get rid of wolfsbane in the blood? We got that right?” Of course, since Toya’s children were lycanthrope. Once she had it she once more romped off just the same as she had come.

About thirty minutes later she peeked her head in and came back over, “Hey, do we have a tonic for sleep? Can I have it?” Romping back off she left this time for an undisclosed amount of time. Ordering food, stealing some dresses from the closets of some of the clergy, and finally stealing everyday items from the women as well like a hairbrush.

All of the clergy women she stole from came to Xeik, “She’s doing it again. She stole a dress this time!”

“She stole my hairbrush!”

“She stole my comb!”

They squawked at him and Raine was coming around the corner. They didn’t see her but she stopped short and started to back herself up. She kept checking behind her as she made her way to the west wing of the temple. It was barely used and no one was there. Making it to the first door on the left she once more checked for people behind her before slipping in.

Once she thought the clergy members were gone she slipped back out and went back to the clinic to try and thieve another potion or two. She was going to need it.