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As I grasp the doorknob of my newfound home, I find it stranger and stranger each time I walk through this door. What was once expected to be my mother with two cups of hot cocoa on the other side has been replaced by a strange lab in a strange castle in a strange city invested with strange people. Elrick aside, although I hardly know him. And Selina. If it weren't for Jacob, I might have gone stir crazy by now.

I dragged my feet through the entrance, closed the door behind me and collapsed in my seat at the table where Elrick sits reading his novel.

"Haven't you finished that damn book, yet?", I ask, leaving my face buried into the wooden surface.

"I like to savour the story.", Elrick tells me as he flips a page. "And the excitement that comes along with it."

I tilted my head to the side and opened one eye to read the cover. "Warm Embrace?", I question, averting my gaze from the front of his book to his eyes. "You're reading erotica?"

"I'll have you know this is a romance novel.", Elrick says, lowering his head into the pages.

"Is there sex in it?", I ask, rising to one elbow with my chin in my palm. "Honest to God, down and dirty, 'warm embracing' sex?" Elrick said nothing and lowered his head further into his novel. "Thought so.", I conclude, dropping my head back into the table with a thud. "Ow."

"What's wrong with you today, Nathaniel?", Elrick asks, bookmarking his page and setting the novel down.

"Long day.", I mumble.

"The day's barely half over.", he informs me. When no words came from me, he continued to locate the source of my irritation. "Did the training this evening not go so well?"

"Something like that.", I mumble again.

"Really?", Elrick asks. "It was my understanding that the king's' archers were learning quite well from you. At least, that's what I've heard."

"THEY are.", I assured him, rising back to my elbow. "Jake is the problem."

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me.", Elrick states. "What has he done?"

"It's what he hasn't done.", I answer. "It's like he is complete incapable of wielding a long range weapon. I've spent just as much time with him as I have the others and he falls behind more and more everyday."

"Maybe that is the problem.", Elrick says. "Remember, son, the other men are trained professionals."

I gave Elrick a deadeye.

"Not compared to you, of course.", he added in defense. "It's much easier for them to pick up than it is for him. I would suggest you give Jacob a little one on one time."

"Private lessons?", I question.

"Quite."

"I can barely keep his attention with a focused group around, what makes you think pitting him alone with his always-holding brother will make a difference?", I asked in all seriousness.

"Well, for starters, maybe holding wouldn't be the best idea.", Elrick said. "He can't be tempted if there's nothing to tempt him."

"First, look who your talking to, Old Man.", I told Elrick. "No way in hell you'll get me to leave my weed behind. Second, if Jake is bored, he'll find a way to change that. He'd smoke the grass on the ground if he thought it'd help."

"I thought it was Jacob who asked you to train him as well.", he states. "He's lost interest already?"

"Are you really surprised?", I ask rhetorically, softly resting my head back on the table this time. "He has a few select interests, it's not easy to get him hooked on something new. God, the past three weeks have been brutal."

"Have you tried bribing him?", Elrick asks.

"That'll only go so far with him.", I answer, glancing around the room from the tabletop. "That guy is a fuckin' puzzle. You know, I took him hunting before we left to come here. He struck down a doe on his second try. Of course, his last attempt with a bow before then, he nearly severed my ear. My point is, I know he has the potential, it's the attention span he's lacking. It always has been."

"With a state of mind such as his, it's not surprising that he easily loses focus.", Elrick says. "All in all, It sounds to me that he has a weakness in him for you."

"Of course he does.", I reply. "We've been guiding each other most of our lives. He's family to me, I have the same weakness for him."

"Attempting to be a mentor to him as well as twenty others leaves him with a fraction of your attention.", he continues. "And vice versa. How do you expect to help him if you're preoccupied with one or several of the archers?"

"I was trying to teach them as a group, Jake included.", I answered. "But his one track mind takes him to Wonderland every time I give a lesson. Like he's deliberately ignore my words."

"I'm telling you, Nathaniel, he needs your complete undivided attention if the two of you are to make any progress together.", Elrick assures. "If it worked during your hunting trip, why would it not do so now?"

"Since when are you a psychiatrist?", I asked, eyes blankly staring at him from the tabletop.

"I have several professions.", he answers. Elrick sits back in his chair, retrieves his book and points a finger at me as he opens to his saved page. "Do as I say. I guarantee you will see results."

"Yes sir.", I said, unenthusiastically, rolling my eyes.

"Where is he, anyway?", Elrick asks, skimming the page for the paragraph he left off on.

"Cigarette run.", I said. "He went to Native Ash, he should be back soon."

"Delightful.", Elrick sarcastically states, eyes glued to his novel. "There's a pot of stew in the lab, it should still be warm. Help yourself if your hungry."

"I love your cooking.", I tell him as I stand and proceed to the room with all the beakers and tools. I walked through the doorway and turned to a coal stove in the corner with a pot resting on top. "How's the search for the mysterious cave going?", I ask as I retrieve a bowl and grab the ladle to serve myself.

"As you would expect.", Elrick says from the other room. "I've found many scriptures of famous cave formations. Several referring to tourist locations and twice as many in folklore of supposed mystical underground tunnels with unexplainable power."

"Think that's what my dad was talking about?", I ask as I snag a spoon from a drawer. "Some mountain's magical asshole."

"You tell me.", he says. "Was your father the sort to believe in that type of thing?"

"Not really.", I said, walking back into the room with a bowl of stew and sitting at the table again. "None of us were. Mom, Dad, me, Jake, Tony, Albert. Life in the mountains require faith in one another, not in some retarded fairytale."

"Don't you think that is a bit intolerant?", Elrick asks, peering over the rim of his glasses at me.

"Nope.", I muffle with stew in my mouth. "I'm not a fan of that shit."

"Well, I suppose we all have our beliefs.", Elrick says, returning to his book.

"What do you think?", I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Believe it or not, I have a very keen interest in the sort.", he tells me.

"Hmm.", I contemplate then swallow my food. "Now that I think about it, I remember seeing the word 'magic' in your letter to Jacob.", I stated, waving my spoon at him. "What was that about?"

"I've been digging into a bit of folklore myself for a few years.", he says. "A very particular story involving the evolution of mankind. Would you care to hear it?"

"Save it.", I told him. "I stopped being a kid a long time ago. Until I have a legit reason to believe crap like that, the less I hear, the better."

Elrick shrugged and flipped the page of his book.

"How 'bout Victor?", I ask.

"Do you really want to know?", Elrick asks, peering at me again. "It'll just add to the disappointment."

I shrugged and looked him in the eye. "How many people named Victor can there be?"

"On record, three-thousand five-hundred and seventy-two.", Elrick states. "Excluding children and the adolescent."

My jaw dropped and my spoon fell from my hand into my bowl, splashing the thick stew.

"What did you expect?", he asks me. "This is a very large kingdom we live in. If we have any hope of pinpointing this man, we'll need more than simply a first name."

Jesus Christ, dad, even in death, you make nothing easy for me.

"So now what?", I ask in frustration, retrieving my spoon.

"I suggest you contact your family.", Elrick said. "If you're father knew this man-

"Maybe someone back home does, too.", I finished his sentence for him. "Why the fuck didn't I think of that?"

I jumped from the table and rushed into the patient room. I scavenged through the drawers for some paper, a pen, and an envelope. When I had finally found what I was searching for, I returned to the table, sat down and began to write.

Mother, 6-19-1014

It's been a while now and I'm still not used to city life. Jake has made himself perfectly comfortable, naturally, but my luck hasn't been as fortunate. I miss you and Tony. I miss the snow and my arrogant hunters. I've just begun to settle in but I still feel out of place.

Even so, Jake is, occasionally, helping me through it. His uncle, Elrick, is a bit odd but very friendly. I'm sure the two of you would get along great. I've also made a friend. A woman slightly older than I am, her name is Selina. Wonderful girl, very peppy and enthusiastic.

How are things? Hopefully society hasn't collapsed since I've been gone. I'm sure you've found plenty of ways to keep yourself occupied without me. How was Adam's funeral? I wish I could have been there, not a day has gone by that I don't think about him. Knowing that the animals that did it to him are still up there makes me worry. I'm sure my actions didn't make them any more subtle, if anyone else were to be killed by those wolves, it's just more blood on my hands to me.

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write, things have been slightly hectic. I've been meaning to send you a letter for weeks but I've found myself with more to do than I thought. Unfortunately, I'm not only writing to catch up. I need some information that I think you can help with. Do you know a man named Victor? His name was mentioned in a conversation involving my father. I haven't the slightest of who he is, what his last name is or where to find him but I feel as though I need to. Whatever part this man played in his life, I have to know. If you or anyone in the village have any knowledge of him, please pass it on to me. Even the smallest of detail would be a great help.

With Love,

-Nathaniel

I folded my letter in half, stuffed it in the envelope, sealed it and addressed it directly to my mother's house. I stood and tossed the envelope on the top of Elrick's outgoing mail pile near our front door.

"Now we wait.", I thought aloud. As I sat back down and rested my head on my crossed arms on the table, I continued to ponder familiar questions.

Why is this guy so important? What's so special about a damn cave? More specifically, why the hell am I looking in the first place? What's the worst that could happen if I just drop it? Some renounced tourist location shuts down business? Victor, what, gets sick and dies?

...Okay, that's a little unsettling, I'm responsible for enough deaths.

Still, how the fuck am I supposed to know what to look for? And even when - scratch that - IF I find them, what do I do then? I'm putting a lot of faith into a dead man based on a dream. I'm starting to think I might be over reacting.

Dad, if you're still dicking around in my head, I could really use your help.

And, of course, the only sounds to be heard are the echoes of my own words in my mind. Go figure.

Just then, the front door flies open and hits the table I had just sat my letter on, sending it and several other sealed documents gliding to the floor. I turned to see Jacob standing in the doorway with a six pack of beer in both hands.

Why am I surprised?

"Hey buddy.", Jacob says. "Look what I found."

A figure in overalls walked past Jacob and into the room.

"Danny.", I acknowledged Daniel as I spun around in my seat to face them. I stood and held my hand out to him. "Good to see your shoulder healed."

Daniel smiled, grasped my hand and shook. "Healed, my ass.", he tells me, releasing my hand and pointing to the wound under his shirt. "The stitches are still in there and, damn, do they itch. But it's good to see you're still alive. Frankly, I was 'fraid you'd be knee deep in a new pile of shit by now."

"Not yet.", I reply with a grin.

"Danny?", Jacob questions, walking in and shutting the door with his foot behind him. "Screw him, I meant the beer!"

"Jacob, bring the alcohol to the table and pick up the mess you made.", Elrick orders, pointing to the snow pile of papers scattered across the floor.

Jacob sighed and did as he was told.

"Speakin' of healed wounds", Daniel continues, "How are yours?"

I smiled and lifted the front of my striped sweatshirt. "What wounds?", I asked, exposing my chest and the four furless scars across it. "They've completely heal. Honestly, I've never felt stronger, I could take that grizzly on again without a scratch."

"Cocky are we?", Jacob teases from his task on the floor as I let my sweatshirt fall back down.

"No more than you, buddy.", I teased back.

Daniel stepped closer and lifted my sweater back up himself. "How the hell?", he questions as he brushed the pale, hairless skin of the new scars. "That's incredible, how did you recover so quickly?", he asks, rising up to look me in the eye.

"A very appointive question, indeed.", Elrick butts in, not looking up from his pornographic literature. "It should have taken much longer for the healing process to take a physical effect. Statistically, his motor skills should still be limited, but he seems to have surpassed that of a normal individual."

"It's not like it hasn't always been that way.", I said, looking back at Elrick. "Even as a child, under sickness or injury, I was never bedridden for very long."

"That just raises my curiosity further.", Elrick replies. "You're a unique being, Nathaniel, and I'd like to find out what it is that accelerates your recovery."

"Uh..", I mumble, looking back at Daniel then to Jacob who had finished his task and began paying no attention as usual. "Mkay... how do you plan to do that?"

"I'd like to take a sample of your blood.", Elrick says as he walks into his lab and comes back with a compact metal case. He sat down and opened the container. "Will you allow me to do that?"

"I'm not particularly a fan of needles.", I answer, feeling slightly nervous.

"That's fine.". Elrick tells me. "Give me your arm."

I did as he asked, regretting it more as the seconds passed by. Elrick grasped my wrist, rolled up my sleeve, reached into his case, brought the hand up with something unseen and swiftly pricked my arm at the vein. I recoiled in shock, stumbling back a few steps into Daniel who caught me as I covered the new hole in my body with the opposite hand.

"What the fuck, Elrick?!", I bitched in a new rage. "For Christ sake, you could have warned me!"

"Please.", Elrick responded, cleaning his miniature weapon with an alcohol wipe and placing it back into the case. "You can take a savage beating to the brink of death but you can't handle the simple prick of a needle?"

"Did I not just say I'm not fond of them?", I reply.

"You'll get over it.", he tells me, raising his hand to me. "Now come here before it heals."

"It doesn't work that fast.", I mumble as I approach Elrick.

He had me hold out my arm while the blood pooled in the crease of my skin, soaking my blueish grey fur with a dark red tint.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to tie off the veins around the biceps before drawing blood?", Jacob asks, joining our conversation. "And I'm pretty sure normal medical professionals use a syringe."

He understands medical science but can't shoot a freaking bow properly.

"Yes, but with Nathaniel's astounding rate of recovery, I suspect it will seal without a trace within the hour.", Elrick answers, retrieving a blood slide in one hand and a small glass rod in the other. "In his case, such precautions are not necessary."

"I feel like a science project.", I joked as Elrick spooned my blood with the rod and let a drop fall onto the slide. He then sat it down, cleaned the rod, returned it to the case and placed another slide on top to seal the blood between. Elrick then cleaned and wrapped my arm at the wound and closed his case. "Great.", I mumble again, inspecting my arm. "More bandages."

"Quit fussing, you can take it off in a minute or two. It won't take any longer for the bleeding to stop.", Elrick said. "At least, not for you."

Elrick stood with his case in one hand and the slide with my blood in the other. "I'll begin my research.", Elrick continues as he walks into his lab. "I should have results in a few hours, please do not bother me."

"Your welcome.", I groan under my breath in sarcasm.

"So, uh, hey, let's crack open some brews, huh?", Daniel suggests as he sits at the table and pulls three bottles from the six pack. He handed one to me and Jacob as we sat across from him. "So how goes the whole training the archers or whatever going?", he asks.

"Very well.", I answer before I pop the lid from my bottle, chug a few gulps then return to my stew.

"HA!", we hear Elrick laugh loudly from his lab. The three of us looked to the doorway, expecting something else. "Don't mind me, just, uh, remembered a funny joke.", he says from the room.

"Right..", I say to myself as I turn back to the table. "So how goes the whole delivering cargo across the kingdom or whatever going?"

"Not quite as eventful without you two.", Daniel answers. "As it turns out, I'm heading up there tomorrow morning."

"Really?", I ask, swallowing my mouthful. "You think you could delivery a letter to my mother for me?"

"You mean this one?", Jacob asks, pulling my envelope from his jacket. "I was gonna take it to the post office downstairs for you but since The Hobo is making the trip anyway." He handed the envelope to Daniel who took it and happily stowed it away in his overalls.

"I appreciate it.", I told him with a smile.

"It's no problem.", he says after chugging his beer. "Not like I'm going out of my way. If I were, then we'd have a problem."

I laughed and shook my head. "Yeah, I'm sure."

I finished the last of my bowl of stew and pushed it aside as I began to reach into my pocket. I pulled out my tin case, took the last remaining joint I had left and rested it between my lips. Returning the case to my pocket, I heard something snap next to me.

"Need a light for that?", Jacob asks as I turn to see him holding a lit match in my face.

Mooch.

"You know," I began before puffing the tip of the joint in the bright orange flame, "EVENTUALLY, you're going to have to buy your own." A steady breath passed my lips as did the smoke the oxygen had combined with in my lungs. I puffed three circles in a row, let them flutter in the air for a moment like tiny clouds then blew the last of the disorienting fog through the center, wiping the circles out of sight. "I'm not always gonna be around for you to lean on.", I conclude.

"I do not disagree.", Jacob says as he snatches the joint from my fingers. "That's why I'm making the most of it now."

With a grin, he took a few puffs then passed the piece to Daniel. I shook my head as I chuckled to myself. I'm not gonna lie, I set him up for that without even knowing. Clever dick.

Of course his brain would function properly if there's weed involved.

Suddenly, it hit me and I slammed my fist down on the table with great determination, rattling the spoon in my empty bowl, knocking my bottle of beer over, spilling the alcohol across the tabletop to pour over the edge and spreading over the floor at our feet.

"No way in hell I'm cleaning that one up.", Jacob said as he sipped his bottle.

"I just had an idea.", I said with a wide grin.

"Well I hope it was worth the devil's nectar you just wasted.", Daniel picks.

"With luck, it will be.", I replied then turned to Jacob. "Jake I'm going to be completely honest with you."

"Okay..", Jacob responds with a nervously strange look. "Please tell me you're not coming out on me."

"What is it with you two and the gay jokes?", Daniel asks, leaning forward with an awkward eye.

"Ignoring that.", Jacob said, glancing over to Daniel for only a moment. "You were saying?", Jacob turns his attention back to me.

"You suck.", I tell him. "You really suck."

Jacob looked at me funnier then opened his mouth to say something. His eyes scanned the room as he tried to think of something to say, like he was surprised I would say such a thing. Actually, his face right now is pretty comical.

If I wasn't such a nice guy, I'd probably drag this on to fuck with him just for the sheer amusement.

I chuckled under my breath and continued. "I mean you suck with a bow."

"That's much less awkward.", Jacob replied, nodding his head. "Explain."

"To put it simple, Jake, you just can't shoot.", I told him.

"So you're giving up on me?", he questions. "What the hell, Nate?"

"Let me finish.", I snapped with a mean look. "The only reason you suck is because you won't give two shits when I try to teach. If you actually took the time to listen to me, you'd be a much better shot than any of those other archers by now."

"You told me you weren't going to train me the same way you were the others.", Jacob says then sips his beer. "I figured you had something else in mind for me so I didn't think it mattered if I heard what you were saying to them."

"I was saying it to you, too, Jake.", I told him, leaning over the tabletop then pulling back when the spilled beer soaked through my sleeves. "I told you I was going to teach you what I wouldn't teach them, and I will, but you gotta get the basics down first."

"The fuck do you mean basics?", Jacob asked. "You've had me shooting at impossible targets for the past three weeks, how the hell do you call that basic training?"

"Again," I said, frustrated, "If you had been listening to me, you would have figured out for yourself. All I have done is lead that group through a standard method of training at an intensified level. It was my hope that you would pick up on this so what I do have to teach you will come a little easier, but appearantly, that fact slipped your mind like every other word out of my mouth for the past three weeks."

"Okay.", Jacob said. "Let's say you're not totally full of crap and you actually have a point here. Mind telling me what the hell that point is?"

"It's too late to go back to the courtyard with the others and start over.", I told him, plucking the joint away from Daniel when I had realized it had been burning in his fingers all this time. I puffed and calmly exhaled to ease my nerves. "And you're too far behind to catch up to their progression level. At this rate, another week or so of this crap and the other archers will be second only to me. But, if I bump you straight to the real training, and you pass with flying colors, you can best them with no strain."

"And you think I will pass because..?", Jacob prompts me to fill in the blank.

I grinned and held out the joint to him. "Cause I know how to keep you focused."

"Smart thinkin', there, Nate.", Daniel congratulates me. "Use his weakness against him."

"Exactly. I don't know why I didn't think of it before.", I replied as Jacob took the joint from me. "Anyway, for this to work, I need you to do exactly as I tell you, Jake. Can you do that?"

Jacob shrugged as he chugged the last of his beer. "I only promise to try.", he tells me.

"Good enough.", I reply. "Remember the forest you found me in after my fight with the grizzly?"

"How could I not?", Jacob asked rhetorically.

"In three hours, I want you to grab my hunting bag and walk that same trail until you reach the center where that enormous oak tree is.", I told him. I stood up and grabbed another beer. "Until then, sit tight and feel free to finish that joint. Oh, and, uh," I mumbled as I backed up to the front door, "I owe you one for that mess you're gonna have to clean."

I quickly grasped the doorknob and flew out into the corridor as Jacob yelled, "Oh, hell no!", as he realized I left without cleaning the beer I spilled.

I'll admit, that was a dick move, but how often do I get to screw with him, really?

As I walked the hallway, I popped the cap from my bottle, dropped it in my pocket and chugged a few mouthfuls.

The idea I have planned is going to take some work. And money.

I looked down to my coin bag and to my sweet relief, I found it fat with gold from the past three weeks I've been saving up. I'm probably going to have to spend every bit of it, but with luck, it'll be worth it.

Frankly, it's coming out of Elrick's pocket. If it wasn't for him, Jake and I would be even more flushed of money than we were living in the mountains. Honestly, I'm not too happy about taking Elrick's money without having anything to offer in return.

I'm going to have to find a job when I'm finally done with this training.

I turned the corner of the main hall, stomped down the stairs and wizzed out the giant castle door. As I came out into the daylight, I bumped into a shady hooded man.

"Sorry.", I apologize, turning to expect a response. The man's head turned slightly but he continued forward into the castle, ignoring me completely.

Okay, fuck you too, then.

Shrugging off the irritation emanating from the rude encounter, I continued into the streets and disappeared in the wilderness of the city. I traveled with the crowd as I made my way to my destination, blending in like any ordinary person, gradually sipping my beer as I proceed. For several minutes, I shifted from one group of civilians to the next as I turned down the appropriate side streets. Eventually, I tossed my empty glass bottle into a street dumpster, as well as the cap in my pocket and the bandage covering my vein and within time, I found myself standing alone in front of Pete's shop and grew nervous as I remembered the last time I saw Selina.

The last we were together, I treated her to a lobster dinner and got us both trashed off our asses. We fucked and I ran out on her the next morning. Of course, I had good reason but Selina doesn't fully understand and I'm afraid if I explained it to her, she'd think I'm insane.

Oh God, what if she told Pete about it?

He wouldn't be happy to hear his daughter got played, at least, that's how he'd see it. What if he's on the other side of this door waiting for me to walk in so he can rush me like a wild man?

Let's hope not, I don't want to hurt him.

So what do I do if he does know? He could bring it up at any moment, what would I say? I'm sorry I stood your daughter up to chase after a cave and a faceless first name, please forgive me, it won't happen again. Sadly, that's the best defense I can come up with at the moment.

What if Selina is in there waiting to ride my ass for an explanation of why I haven't bothered to visit her in the past three weeks? I guess I could tell her I've been caught up training the city's archers. Technically, it's not a lie. But it's not the full truth either.

God dammit, I've never been good with women.

I sighed deeply and took a step towards the front door when the doorknob began to shake. I stopped as my heart rose into my throat, wondering who was about to come through that door. The knob turned and the door opened as Selina came through, shutting it behind her. She slowly walked up to me and stood in front of me.

"Hey there.", I greeted her, hoping to break the tension I felt in my gut.

She looked me in the eye blankly for a few moments as if she was reading my soul. I swallowed as discreetly as I could and waited for her to say something.

Just then, she smiled wide, unlike any smile she's revealed to me before, one more innocent and thanking. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a tight hug. She squeezed tighter, choking the oxygen from my lungs.

Selina giggled as she released me. "Sorry, I forgot half your body is in bandages.", she told me. "But it serves you right for disappearing for so long."

"I have a valid excuse for that.", I said in defense. "And actually," I continued as I pulled my sweatshirt off, "My body is fine."

Her jaw dropped slightly in wonder as she softly caressed each of the four scars across my chest. Her fingers brushed through my fur and tickled my nerves as she slid her fingers down the length of the scars with four fingers.

"Wow.", she finally announced. "I gotta give you credit, you can take a beating. It looks much worse than I first thought."

I chuckled and decided to tease her. "Thanks for the compliment.", I said sarcastically. "I happen to wear these scars with pride, I'll have you know."

I grinned and she shoved me. "You know what I mean, asshole.", she joked. "The injuries were worse than I thought. But the scars are kinda sexy. You look like a renegade.", Selina says as she leans on me, inspecting the scars further with arousal in her eyes.

Renegade, huh? Not sure I like that idea.

"Soooo", Selina mumbled as she curled the fur on my chest, "Are you gonna stand out here all day and expose yourself to me in public or would you care to come in?"

"Lead the way.", I said with a smile.

Selina pushed herself off of me and shook her ass in my face as I followed behind her. I pulled my sweatshirt back on before walking in the door and greeted Pete sitting in his stool at the showcase up front.

"Nate.", Pete acknowledges me. "Good to see you. I was beginning to think I lost a customer." Pete stood and held his hand out to me.

"Are you kidding?", I rhetorically asked as I shook his hand. "I haven't gone anywhere else since my last visit."

"Finished that bag already, huh?", he asks as he sits back down in his seat. "Honestly I expected it to last longer."

I chuckled. "Any bag usually doesn't last long in my hands.", I respond. "Especially with Jake around."

"Ah, yes, your thickheaded 'adopted' brother.", Pete stated.

"That's him.", I said, pointing a finger in the air. "Actually, he's why I'm here."

"Hey!", Selina cut in, waving her hand between her father and I, "What about me?"

I smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of my head. "Well, obviously I came to see you, too.", I defended. "I figured that was a given."

That was such a lie. I didn't even think about seeing her until I froze at Pete's front door.

"Yeah, yeah.", Selina picked at me waving her hand in the air as she walked around her father and into the back room. "Continue with your business, BOYS."

"Well then.", Pete mumbles as he watches his daughter trot off through to doorway behind him. "She gets that from her mother. Anyway, what can I do for you, son?", Pete asks, turning back to me.

I untied my fat coin bag from my belt and dropped it on the top of the showcase.

"I see.", he states. "You owe your brother this much?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that.", I reply. "God, the day I owe Jake weed, the Earth will fall apart."

Pete chuckled at my pun and motioned me to follow him into the back as he carried my coin bag off with him. "Come on back.", he says. "You can explain while I count this."

I walked around the showcase and into the backroom where Pete already sat in his seat on the sectional, counting the gold spread across the coffee table piece by piece. Selina is on the other side of the room mumbling to herself as she waters the plants growing under the skylight of the grow room. I sat on the opposite end of the sofa where I sat before and made myself comfortable.

"So, Nathaniel.", Pete prompts me. "If you don't mind my asking, did you lose a bet?"

"Uh, no.", I reply, slightly confused. "Why would you think I did?"

"Forgive me.", he says. "I'm just trying to piece together the story behind this buy. There's quite a bit of gold here."

"Oh, right.", I responded. "Well, to put it simply, I need it to keep Jake focused."

"I'm still lost.", Pete says. "Can you elaborate a little more?"

"Uh, okay, let's see.", I mumble, trying to think of where to start. "You remember the story I told you about all my run-ins with the smugglers?"

"Do I?", Pete repeats me. "It's one that's impossible to forget. Before then, I've never heard of such an encounter. If I hadn't seen the bandages myself, I wouldnt have believed it."

"Speaking of which.", Selina butts in as she plants her ass firmly into the sofa next to me. "Take your shirt off.", she orders me.

"Chose your words carefully in front of me, Selina.", Pete scolds her.

"Please.", Selina laughs as she pulls the bottom of my sweatshirt up and over my head. "You're as perverted as he is, Dad."

She seriously just said that.

Pete chuckled then stared in astonishment when his daughter revealed my scarred chest to him. He investigated from afar for a minute or two then leaned back without a word.

"You certainly are a tough bastard.", he finally stated.

A smirk spread across my cheeks. "I've been hearing that a lot today."

"Okay, anyway.", Pete said. "What were you saying?"

"Um.", I mumble to myself as I backtrack. "Oh, right. Well, as it turns out, I kinda forgot to mention that the king confronted me about the whole ordeal."

"You're kidding?", Pete questions. "What happened?"

"He kind of put me to work for the damage I caused.", I answer. "You see, he's had me training his soldiers for the past three weeks."

"That's weird.", Selina says. "That's all he did?"

"Yeah, believe it or not.", I replied, turning my attention to her. "Since I've been here, I've heard from several different people that he's the farthest thing from a tyrant. If I hadn't met him myself, I'd still be skeptical."

"I've met him myself as well.", Pete says. "Though on quite different circumstances. He gave me this building when I first had the idea to open a shop. I asked for a settlement to rent a vacant property and instead he told me to set up here and I could pay off the debt when I had built up a steady income."

"Oh, I remember that!", Selina exclaims, girly pointing her finger at Pete. "I was so little, too."

Pete chuckled and raised his hand to Selina. "My talented daughter had decided to turn every wall in this room into an arts and crafts canvas the first day we opened.", he explained to me. "She covered everything from the floor to the ceiling in a variety of colored permanent markers."

I laughed at the thought and glanced around. "I guess there's only one way to cover that up."

"A couple buckets of paint is all it took.", Pete says. "But enough distractions."

"Right.", I agreed. "Anyway, Jake eventually asked if I'd train him with the soldiers the king assigned to me. I told him I would but since day one, he's done...", I considered a few words before picking one, "poorly, to say the least."

"Okay.", Pete says.

"I've been trying my best to teach him what I can but I've been having a problem keeping him focused.", I continued. "So I came up with an idea for a training coarse I think will help."

"I think I've heard enough.", Pete says. "I get the gist of what you're going for."

"I don't.", Selina says, turning her gaze to me. "You're gonna bribe him?"

"Eh.", I mumble, shrugging my shoulders, "Kinda. I'm going to make it a game for him. He'll learn and have a hell of a time doing it."

"I'm confused.", Selina says, shaking her head.

"Well", I began, "if you want to know exactly what I'm up to, why don't you join me? Besides, I only have three hours to set it up anyway and I could use your help. It'll go a lot faster if I had you around."

"Why not?", Selina replies. "I came to town today to get out of the shop anyway, I guess I'm not exactly doing that here."

"God forbid you spend a day with me.", Pete says. Selina shot him a look and he raised his hands in defense. "Kidding, I was kidding!", he pleaded.

"So you're spending everything you have just to train your brother?", Selina questioned, then smiled wide. "That's sweet."

There isn't a lot I won't do for that pain in the ass.", I said. "Though a pain in the ass he is, I can't help but feel for him." I stood and stretched, yawning as I did so. "With that said, I'm in a rush to get everything set up so.."

"No problem, I hear ya.", Pete states as he rises to his feet. "Come up front and I'll hook you up. Oh, and you can put your shirt back on."

I completely forgot Selina took it off.

I turned around to Selina standing behind me with my striped sweatshirt in hand. She giggled then took it upon herself to dress me. She pecked me on the cheek then followed behind her father as I followed behind her.

"I got something new I think you'll like.", Pete says as he shuffles through the bins of marijuana in his front showcase. "Right here, a shipment that just came in from a friend of mine. He calls it 'Devil's Fruit."

Pete pulled a bin from the top shelf and placed it on the glass surface in front of me. The buds were unlike any I've seen in his or Selina's stockpile. They were darkly colored, like blood, and the crystals sparkled with the brightest red tint, like rubies. I picked a decent sized bud from the bin and raised it to my snout. Like anything you could buy from Pete, it was sticky enough to compare to chewed bubblegum. I took a whiff and detected a sweetish scent, like an apple or a pear. Inhaling the aroma sent a chill down my spine. I'm definitely interested.

"Well it's properly named.", I said, placing the bud back into the bin. "I'll take it."

"I thought you would.", Pete says. He returned the bin to the showcase and began to dig into a large wooden box at his feet behind the showcase. Seconds later, he rose again, tossing two quart sized sandwich bags filled to the zip lock with the Devil's Fruit onto the glass.

"Holy hell.", I mumble to myself upon seeing the large bags. "Didn't realize I was that rich. I've never been that rich."

"Don't smoke it all at once.", Pete jokingly warns me.

"No promises.", I joked back. "Before I go, you would happen to have any string would you?"

"String?", Pete repeated as he went back into the room behind him. "I might, but what for?"

"Well, this would all be for nothing without it.", I replied. "And, honestly, I forgot to grab some before I left the lab."

"Ah, here we go.", Pete says to himself. He came back into the room with a half used roll of bright orange string. "How's this?", he asks, handing the roll to me. "I found it hiding in the corner of a drawer of my side table in there."

"This'll work.", I told him. "In fact, it's perfect."

"Well then, help yourself.", Pete says. "No charge."

I chuckled, thanked him then stored the string in my pocket and the bags in my sweatshirt. "You ready?", I asked, turning to Selina.

"Let's do it.", she says with her usual seductive smile.

I waved goodbye to Pete and walked out the front door with Selina.

"So where are we going?", she asks as we proceed to the front gate.

"I'll show you once we get outside of the city.", I told her. "I can point it out from there."

"Okay.", she says. "What's the string for?"

"All in due time, my dear.", I reply. "For now, enjoy to summer air with me."

"Technically, summer isn't for another two days.", Selina picked at my words. "You should get your facts straight, darling." She smiled and bumped into me, I grinned and nudged her back.

We turned a corner onto the main street, cutting it sharp and nearly running into another civilian. I quickly stepped aside and let the stranger pass me, although as he did so, I noticed something odd. I stopped and watched him walk off and disappear into the crowd.

"Nate?", Selina calls for me. "What is it?"

"That guy.", I said. "I swear I've seen him somewhere before."

"I don't doubt it.", she replied. "These people do live here, you know."

"Yeah.", I agreed and turned to her to continue on. "Right."

We cruised the edge of the main street towards the front gate, avoiding any other physical encounters. The guards greeted us as they recognized our faces and happy let us pass through. When we found the dirt underneath our feet I looked upon the horizon of the surrounding forests. I then turned to Selina as we walked, nudged her and pointed at the enormous oak tree rising up into the clouds in the distance.

"That's where we're going.", I told her. "That tree is perfect for what I have planned."

"Oh, I know that tree.", Selina says, raising a finger. "My mom used to tell me stories about it when I was young."

"That's where I fought the leader of the smugglers.", I inform her. "That's where I almost died."

"Really?", Selina asked, looking up to me from my side.

"Yeah. Right at the base.", I answered. "I bet my blood is still stained into the trail where Jake found me."

"I hope not.", she said, shaking her head. "I don't want to know how close we came to losing you."

"With any luck, maybe the rain last week washed it out.", I assumed. "I don't know though, the trees are pretty thick."

"Only one way to know for sure.", Selina said, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward with her.

Selina and I walked the trail, side by side towards the oak tree and the forest beneath. As we went, Selina asked about the archers the king assigned me to. I told her the simple things. I told her about their attitudes about the situation in the beginning and how I showed off to grasp their attention. I told her their progress over the past three weeks were about as expected and that I should finally be free from the duty soon.

Selina then asked about Jacob, how he's been lately, and how he was doing with the training. As I said before, I told her that he simply lacks the attention span but I went into more detail about it. When she asked how he was, I said he was just about the same as usual, a friendly jackass. She laughed and said the three of us should get together for a drink. I agreed and smiled as we entered the forest.

Several minutes passed and we found ourselves surrounded in its delightful dark embrace.

"It's so peaceful, isn't it?", Selina asked as she gazed upon the trees. "I think I'll start coming here more often."

"I wouldn't blame you.", I told her, looking across to the opposite side of the trail. "It reminds me of the woods back home. Just, you know, without all the snow."

I glanced around and froze in place. At my feet by the edge of the trail I found a dark, almost black mark in the ground. Its shape was disfigured with long arms spreading out towards the trees.

"That's it.", Selina said as she walked up to my side. "Isn't it?"

"I think that's pretty obvious.", I replied, staring at the ground. "So much for washing away with the rain."

"That's a lot of blood.", she said, turning in disgust. "Luck must favor you."

" I wouldn't be so confident in luck.", I said, crossing my arms, not looking away from what was almost my deathbed. "Actually, I think it's my lack of faith in luck that kept me alive."

"I guess that's one way to look at it.", Selina said, softly grabbing my hand. "Come on, you shouldn't have to look at this any longer than you have to."

"No, it's okay.", I said, "I need this. It might sound strange but this is therapy to me."

Selina stood at my side, waiting patiently, holding her hands at her front. My eyes were glued on the dark splotch at my feet.

That really is a lot of blood. I may have, how'd Elrick put it? An astounding rate of recovery? But that doesn't explain how I survived THIS. This is just... gruesome.

After several deep moments taking in the reality of what had happened here, I brought my eyes up to the trees in front of me when I heard the snap of a twig under pressure.

"You heard that, too?", Selina whispered to me.

I scanned the background for movement. I caught a glimpse of something, a silhouette of some being but recognized its shape. With realization in my heart, I turned.

"My ears don't miss anything.", I finally replied. "Don't worry, it's just a doe." I held my hand out to Selina as I walked past her to continue down the trail. "Come on.", I said. "I've seen enough." She took my hand with a smile and caught up to my side.

We walked for another ten minutes before the soft spotted soil of the giant oak tree cushioned the pull of the Earth's gravity under our feet.

"Ready?", I asked, pulling out the quart bags and the yarn.

"Yup.", she replied in the peppy way she does. "What am I doing?"

"Here's how it's gonna work.", I began explaining. "We're going to pull single buds from these bags and hang them from the limbs of this oak. I want to bring them about a foot lower than the treeline below."

"Ummm, okay.", Selina said, taking one of the bags from me.

"I'll explain the rest when Jake gets here.", I told her. "That part is mainly for him, anyway."

"Fair enough.", she said, her free hand at her hip as she gazed up into the enormous tree. "But how are you going to get up there?"

"I may not have wings but I'm more capable thank you think.", I assured her.

"Well, alright then, big guy.", Selina picks with a smile. Her wings spread and flapped towards the ground with great power, lifting her into the air. "See you at the top!", she hollered as she sped off high into the sky.

"Selina, wait!", I yelled into the air, cupping my hands around my mouth. "We're not going all the way up!"

I don't think she heard me, her wings continued to flap as she flew around the extent of the branches, all the way up to the top.

"Fantastic.", I sighed to myself.

What is she thinking? Obviously, we're not hanging them from the top. And even if we were, what does she expect to do? The yarn's still in my pocket.

"Dammit.", I groan.

I sighed once more then began to stretch my muscles, focusing on my approach. Once I get into the limbs, I shouldn't have a problem. It's the climb up to them that's going to be a bitch.

My arms and legs loose and ready to take the strain, I broke out into a full sprint toward the tree. The soft soil began to fraction my velocity so I stepped it up and put everything I had into my momentum. Within seconds, I reached the base of the tree and sprung straight up with a powerful jump, pushing as far up as I could go. My speed began to drop rapidly as I rose higher, forcing me to throw myself at the tree bark at the peak of my jump, latching the claws of one hands into the wood, holding my position. I took a moment to rebuild my stamina and looked down then up.

I'm barely half way up and I'm already winded. God dammit, these past three weeks have made me lazy.

Accepting my task at hand, I thrusted my other hand higher into the wood and began climbing, one arm at a time. Half a minute had passed by the time I reached the first limb and pulled myself up into the leaves.

Finally.

I sat on a branch and let my breath catch up. I bet Selina is already up there, sitting at the top, counting the seconds it takes for me to climb the monstrous tree.

"Oh well.", I said aloud as I stood on the branch. I sprung up again and grabbed the closest tree limb at the peak of my jump. I flipped myself up to its top, planting my feet firmly along its length before flying high into the oak tree's inners.

As I climbed, I estimated the time since I left the lab. It was a twenty minute walk to Pete's where I spent another ten socializing and making a buy. Then Selina and I walked from her father's shop to the edge of the forest for an additional fifteen. It takes another twenty to get to the center of the forest where the oak is so that would make just five minutes over an hour since I first left Jacob.

Good, I still have time.

The climb was taking much longer than I expect. By now I should be about halfway to the top. I'm starting to pant from exhaustion, I need to start getting out more now that my wounds have healed.

I wonder how Jacob will respond to all this, seeing all that weed hanging from bright orange strings. I bet the first thing out of his mouth will be, word for word, 'What in the hell?" I think I might know him to well.

All that aside, I'm sure he's not going to be happy about the circumstances I'm going to pit him against. But, unless he's changed since I last saw him an hour ago, he'll do whatever he has to to get his hands on these buds. And that's exactly why this is going to work. If this doesn't help to train Jacob with a bow, or the crossbow at least, I don't think anything will but himself. In his scenario, he's the only thing standing in his way to being a successful archer.

Guess that's why they say, "You are your own worst enemy."

"Hey down there!", I hear Selina's voice call through the limbs above me. I looked up only to be blinded by sunshine leading through the leaves. I stopped on a branch to shield my eyes as I peered between my fingers. Concealed in shadows from the sun shining behind her, Selina's slender silhouette sat on a branch as her hand girly waved down to me. "Took you long enough.", she teased me.

"I'd like to see you get up here without those wings.", I teased back.

"Whatever.", Selina giggled. "Get up here, there's something I want you to see."

I took a deep breath and used my remaining strength to propel myself to the top where Selina sat waiting for me. "What's up?", I asked as I flipped up onto her branch.

She pointed out in front of her without looking away from me. I followed her finger out into the distance.

We are literally as high up as we can go. Well, at least, I am. The number of limbs up her were hardly a tenth of the number of them below, leaving an open gap in the leaves, exposing the land below and the sky above. The lush, green trees I've only seen from the ground spread across as far as I could see, stretching passed the horizon to the edge of the world. They glowed bright in the warm sunlight, waving and dancing above the Earth's floor in the wind. It looks as if the treetops were a giant green cloud you could jump into from this height and softly bounce back into the air.

The sky above possessed a few fluffy clouds, expanding from one side to the other in a glorious blue color. The sun hung high in the sky, burning hot with radiant rays, warming to the touch as it had already begun its slow decent behind the green mountains circling the kingdom.

I can see clear to the border from here.

"Beautiful.", I whispered to myself as I gazed upon Mother Nature herself.

"I thought you'd like it.", Selina says, scooting over to me on her butt. "I have to be honest, I lied to you. I do come here. Almost everyday."

"Really?", I asked, looking down to her at my side as I stood against the thin tip of the oak.

"Mhm.", Selina hummed. "I figured this would be a better therapy for you."

I blinked then turned my attention back to the wilderness below with wonder. "I had almost forgotten how amazing it can be to look down on the Earth like this.", I mumbled, taking in the sensation of the wind blowing between the hairs of my fur. "It feels like it's been so long since I enjoyed something like this. I've been so caught up in my own issues lately, I never thought to take the time to so much as look out a window."

"What better time than now?", Selina asked, rising to her feet as she used me for stability. She reached into my pocket and pulled out the orange yarn. I looked down as she did so to figure out was she was doing. "I'll go back down and start hanging up the bud.", she told me. "I think I get what you're doing now so I'll get on it. Besides, I'll get it done faster than you would. Take all the time you need up here." Selina smiled at me, pecked my cheek and jumped from the branch, flying along the leaf line of the oak to the bottom. I watched her until she disappeared behind the tree limbs then brought my sight back to the beauty before me.

It still reminds me of the woods back home. The way Jacob and I rested in the trees of the mountains, looking down onto the snow covered ground. The frozen trees glistening in the sun light. The snow sparkling like glitter. The chilling air brushing over my body. This is practically the opposite but it fills me with delight all the same.

I decided to sit and light myself a cigarette. As I trashed the match into my pocket and allowed the smoke to roll over my tongue, my eyes remained glued to the scenery.

I wish my mother could see this. If there was anyone other than myself who could truly appreciate a sight like this, it would be her. Or my father, God rest his soul. If they could be up here with me now.. well, my mother would piss herself. She's so terrified of heights, I doubt she'd ever open her eyes. But my father would look about this wonder in the same fashion as I am.

I remember when I was younger, maybe four or five, before I met Jacob, my father would make me hike with him for hours on end just to look at land like this. The first time, I was annoyed. I didn't understand how to embrace the beauty of the world back then. But then he showed me how to look passed what the naked eye sees into the hundred of hues of the picture before me. He taught me how to see the wind blowing through the sky or how to watch a plant grow. Of course, living in the mountains, you never saw that much green, but I learned to accept the same wonder from average house plants, the aroma of the flowers and the detail to its figure. After that first hike with my father, I realized that it is things like this that we live for.

I brushed out the cherry of my burnt cigarette and placed the butt into my pack then stood. I began to make my way to the bottom of the trees limbs, all the way, feeling more with life than I have for the past three weeks. Seconds turned to minutes as I jumped from limb to branch, flipped from branch to limb, casually making my descent. In time, the soil below became visible and I could see several of the lowest hanging branches with tied orange string hanging from them.

She's done so much already. Hell, she's done more than enough. This is plenty for me to get a start with Jacob.

"Howdy!", Selina greets me, flying into my face from below without a warning. In surprise, I shifted my weight back, losing my balance and falling from the tree limb. I became horrified for a moment then grasped my senses and flipped to bring myself upright. I landed feet first on another branch about ten feet lower.

Jesus, that was close. A fall like that would've been bad if I wasn't able to catch the ground with my feet.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!", Selina cries as she floats down to me. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright.", I assured her. "It'll take more than a fall from a tree to kill me."

"Either way," she continued, "It looks like luck is still on your side."

"Yeah, I guess so.", I reply as I squat on the branch to look below. It looked as if there were hundreds of the bright orange string hanging from this tree, each with its own piece of the Devil's Fruit in all different sizes. "Selina you've practically done everything.", I said to her. "I should have come down sooner."

"It's perfectly fine, Nate.", Selina says, resting her wings as she stood on a branch across from me. "Really, I don't mind."

"Well, let's see.", I said aloud. "Its been about an hour and a half since I left Jake. Give or take. All that's left to do is wait another hour and a half for him to show."

"That's all?", Selina asked. "This is all we had to do?"

"That's right.", I answered. "Although, knowing Jake, it'll probably take another two hours for him to get here. That's how he is, fashionably late."

"You have plenty of bud left.", Selina tells me, tossing me the bag she used. "I only used about a quarter of what you gave me."

"Awesome.", I respond. "What say we go enjoy some of it for ourselves?"

"Sounds good to me.", She says then jumps from her branch and softly fluttered to the ground.

I, in turn, jumped from mine and plummeted to the soil below. In a mere few seconds, my feet met the ground as I came to a sudden stop, pounding my weight into the Earth and splashing the soil into the air around me. I slowly stood as my feet and legs stressed to absorb the recoil of the impact.

"That was fun.", I joke as Selina looks to me in horror. I grinned and laughed a little then sat at the oak tree's trunk.

"Didn't that hurt?", she asked, hand on her chest as she walked over to sit beside me.

"Of course it did.", I said, digging into my pockets for my pipe. "But it's nothing my body can't take." I scavenged through all my pockets but found I had forgotten to grab it from my nightstand when I left my bedroom this morning. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have a piece on you, would you?", I ask after abandoning the search for my pipe.

"It just so happens, I do.", she replied, pulling a glass pipe half the size of mine from her own pocket and handing it to me.

"Much obliged.", I thank her with a smile. I took a minute to pack my new bud then decided to take a lesson from Daniel. I retrieved a twig from the ground next to me and lit a match to set it ablaze. I didn't want to tear my cloths like Daniel did, so I'll just have to make sure it keeps burning.

When the tip of the stick had begun to burn bright, I lowered it to the pipe, inhaled deeply then passed it to Selina as the twig burns in my hand. As I held the smoke, Selina sat still, staring at the ground with the bowl in her hand. I turned my gaze to her and exhaled.

"Something wrong?", I asked her.

"I need to talk to you about something.", Selina said abruptly, eyes glued to marijuana in her pipe. "Something I've been dreading to say since I met you."

Random. Where's this going?

"Okay.", I said as I used my twig to light the pipe as she inhaled. "I'm listening."

Selina exhaled followed by a few light coughs then handed the bowl to me. "About whatever we have going on.", she continued. "I need to say something just to be sure I don't give you the wrong message." She lifted her head and looked at me. Her eyes said she was afraid, probably of how I might respond.

I think I know where this is going.

"When you first walked in my store", Selina began, "and we did what we did. And then what we did at the hotel in town." She looked back down towards the soil underneath us. As I lit the bowl for myself, I thought to myself of what she would say next.

"It was out of lust.", Selina finally revealed. "I never intended to create... something.. honestly I still don't. I didn't want a relationship I jus-

I raised my hand to her, exhaled my smoke as I handed her the bowl then spoke myself, "I get it. Really, I do, you don't have to explain yourself."

"How can you?", she asked me.

"Well.", I mumbled. "I'm going to go ahead and guess you were going to say you felt physically starved and wanted relief."

"Not exactly.", Selina replied, taking the burning twig from me. "But that's pretty close."

"The truth is, I feel the same as you.", I told her. She pulled the pipe from her lips as she handed it and the twig to me and gave me a look. As if she was surprised. "Honest.", I continued, looking up at the buds hanging overhead. "I haven't had fun like I've had with you in so long, I can almost go as far as saying I forgot what it was like. After I left your shop that day, I felt the same as you do now. I didn't want to say it because I was afraid of the same thing you are. I didn't want to break your heart. I knew eventually I'd have to say something but I never brought myself to do it."

"That's exactly how I feel.", Selina said, looking up to the flying weed as well. "At first, I was going to say something the morning after the night we spent in the hotel room. But you ran out so suddenly, I never got the chance to. After you left, I went back to my shop and worked through the day thinking about it. I started to think I scared you off. Or maybe you took me for a one night stand. I thought I'd never see you again but then I realized, you're too good of a person for that." She brought her gaze back to me to which I looked back to her. "Then you show up out of the blue today and I felt so relieved to see you, I just threw myself at you, not thinking how you would take it. All this time, I just didn't want you to think I was leading you on."

"I never did.", I assured her. "If anything, I was scared I was leading you on."

"You're such a kindhearted man, Nathaniel.", she tells me, placing her hand on my arm. "After today, I'd like to think we could still be friends. I know that sounds typical out of a situation like this but I mean it."

"I believe you.", I told her, setting the pipe down, rubbing the flame of the twig out and placing my free hand over hers resting on my arm. "I'd like that too. Nothing more, nothing less."

I smiled as I looked into her blue eyes. She looked into my eyes and smiled back.

"I'm so relieved to hear you say that.", Selina said with a laugh. "You just lifted so much weight from my shoulders."

"I know the feeling.", I told her. "I'm glad it turned out this way."

Silent moments passed as we looked at each other. Eventually, I relit the twig and took my hit from the bowl. As I passed them both to her, I tried to think of something to break the silence.

"In any case", I finally blurted out, motioning to the marijuana hanging above, "I owe you one for setting all this up for me."

"You know what?", she asked, setting the pipe and twig aside.

Seriously? I just relit that thing.

"You're damn right you do.", she says.

I gave her a funny look, wondering what was going through her mind.

"You could always make up for that now.", Selina told me, voice low and seductive like the day we met. "We have time to kill so..." her hand brushed up my arm and across my chest, the tips of her claws pulling at my sweatshirt as she caressed me. Then suddenly, she pulled away and put her hands to her sides. "I mean, if you want to.", she quickly added.

A few moments passed as I ran the process of all this through my mind.

She's horny now? This girl is something else.

"I'm sorry, we were talking about it and I started to think about the fun we had.", Selina said, hoping to justify her actions. "It was just impulse, I understand if you say no."

I looked at her funny for another moment then smiled to myself. Before she noticed, I swiftly spun over her, landing my knees in the soil between her legs and slamming my hands into the tree on both sides of her head. For a few seconds, she look at me with fright in her eyes like she thought I was going to hit her. Instead, I leaned forward, connecting our lips and gentle wiggling my tongue in her mouth. She gave in with a short whimper then stuck her tongue in mine. Her hands came up my sides as she fell into the arousal, digging into my skin with her claws and arching her back to press her chest against me. I enjoyed the feel of her delicate lips against mine and began to dig my claws into the wood of the oak tree as I fell as deeply into as she was.

I pulled away and took in a breath as our saliva dripped from our mouths onto her top. "I don't see why one more time would hurt.", I softly whispered to her. I grinned and felt the urge to tease her. "You better give it your all this time."

"Fine.", Selina replied, smiling back as she wrapped her arms around me. She then tossed me on my back and pinned me down in the spotted soil. She lowered her head to my ear as she held me down and whispered in return, "Just remember you asked for it."

"And just what do you think you're gonna do?", I whispered back, dragging my tongue slowly up her neck.

"I'm raping you.", she said with a giggle then stuck her finger in my face. "Don't you dare move, understand?"

I laughed and gave into her amateurish roleplay. "Whatever you say.", I reply. "Just promise you wont hurt me."

She lifted herself from me, standing, kicking off her shoes and striping off her pants, watching me with a grin to make sure I don't move. She then got down on her knees with my head between her legs, bent over me, resting her body ontop of mine and started to undo my button and zipper. She pulled my pants down over my hips, reached into my boxers and pulled my dick out. As she began to softly stroke me from base to tip like she always does, she rested her head on my leg and stuck her free hand between us to pull her panties aside and expose her pussy right in my face.

She was already soaked as she began to play with herself, caressing her clit as she rubbed me down. She moaned slightly from her own hand as she stroked my cock, her ass bouncing in the air as she twitched in pleasure and stuck a finger inside herself. Her pussy dripped her juice in my face, crossing over my snout and sending a rush of adrenaline throughout my body. She stuck a second finger inside as she spit on my cock for lubrication. Her hand sped up and she began twisting it from side to side as she stroked up then back down. For what felt like forever, she continued this, fucking herself all the while.

Her hand must have gotten tired because she switched around, fingering herself with the other hand now then sticking the head of my dick in her mouth. I twitched in response to the touch of her tongue on my skin and clenched my teeth as she swirled it around and around. She slowly pushed down once, stuffing me down her throat to my base, held it as she wiggled around and slowly brought herself back up. I groaned and wrapped my hands around her thighs. She dripped in my face again, toying with her pussy as she teased me. She dropped her head again, taking me in. I tightened my grip around her legs and moaned her name as she began to suck my dick in the amazing way she does, although I feel so deep into the sensation, it just came out as gibberish. Selina giggled with my cock in her mouth then brought her toying hand up to stroke me as she sucked.

Selina lowered her ass, sticking my snout in her crotch as she bobbed her head up and down. I shut my eyes as I let the pleasure she gave me overwhelm and slowly dragged my tongue up the length of her pussy. She whimpered and twitched again and began to pick up speed as my tongue circled her clit. With smooth rhythm, Selina twisted her hand around my shaft as it came up, her lips slid down over the head of my dick, followed by her warm tongue as it swirled around my length. She lightly slobbered a couple times, covering me with her saliva. I dug my tongue inside her, taking in the taste of her cunt, and wiggled it like a snake.

"Aaah!", Selina lustfully cried in response, lifting her head and looking back at me.

I dug my tongue deeper, squirming inside her as she gripped the fur on my legs, breaking skin with her claws when she convulsed in pleasure. I slowly pulled my tongue out and dragged it between her pussy lips every so softly. Selina twitched and cried out again, licking my cock when she could manage to control her body. I kissed her pussy then began to suck on her clit, tossing it around between my lips. One of her hands came back, gripping one of my ears and pulled my head, jamming my face into her ass as I continued to caress her clit.

I slipped a hand in between our bodies, up her shirt and began to pinch her nipple between two fingers. My other hand came up to my mouth and started to vigorously rub her clit when I jammed my tongue back inside her.

"Dear God..", Selina called out, the infliction in her voice completely off balance.

She twitched forward, still holding onto my ear and taking me with her. I started twisting her nipple as I pinched and replaced my tongue with my index finger while my thumb continued going to work on her clit. I picked up the pace, jamming my finger into her cunt over and over while I stretched the muscles in my neck. Selina began to whimper like an injured animal, her cheeks blushing through her purple fur. Her whimpers turned to yelps as her juices splashed off my hand and soaking the fur on my face and sweatshirt. Yelps turned to hollered gibberish when I squeezed another finger in her pussy, still caressing her nipple and clit. Hollers turned to screams when she finally reached her peak, squirting passed my fingers. I pulled my hand back and let her quiver on top of me as her pussy continued to drip and drench everything between her legs. Her pleasured screams turned to erotic sighs and she laid her head back down on my leg, catching her breath.

"Christ Almighty.", Selina prayed with a giggle. "My whole body tingles." She moaned and convulsed a little more before her muscles finally settled.

I softly licked her inner thighs, tickling her nerves while I waited for her to rise from her orgasm. A few whined huffs crawled over her lips before she finally rose to her knees. My head resting in the soil between Selina's legs, I looked up to her bright blues eyes with a wide, self satisfied grin. She giggled again and slapped my cheek with a much harder 'smack' than I anticipated. I rubbed my face as she laughed then she leaned down and kissed it for me.

"Alright, big boy.", Selina says, taking hold of my sweatshirt and forcing it over my head. She tossed it in a pile with her pants then untied the strings of my boots, tossing them aside as well. My pants came completely off and she threw them into the pile along with my boxers. "I told you not to move but you did it anyway.", she said to me, ripping her top off and throwing it aside.

"Oh, God, I did, didn't I?", I acted panicked while I pretended like my hands had been tied the entire time. "I won't do it again, I swear!"

"Oh, no.", Selina replies, unhooking her bra and tossing it into the pile. "You already burned that bridge, mister." Flapping her wings, she hovered over me, bringing her face to meet mine as she fluttered back down, straddling my throbbing cock between her legs. She leaned forward and stuck my snout in her cleavage, pinching her nipple with one hand and stroking my cock between us with the other. I shuffled my head and opened my mouth to suck her tit but she stopped, grabbed my arms and pinned them to the ground above my head again.

"Don't. Move.", she threatened in the sexiest voice possible.

I grinned again and let her have her way with me. At first she began to grind her still soaked pussy along my shaft, softly rubbing her clit with one hand and stroking my dick with the other. She started to drip again, spreading her juice over my cock as she grinds up to my tip. She just barely let the head penetrate her cunt before wiggling a little and sliding her pussy lips back down my length.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a cock tease?", I picked as she continued to drench my legs with her cum. It trickled down my shaft and rolled over my balls into the manmade dirt beneath us.

"No. No one has ever said that before, you are the first.", Selina sarcastically replied with a smirk on her face.

"Smartass.", I picked at her, grinning back.

Selina slowed her pace then gradually came to a stop. She lifted herself from me and spun around, straddling my dick again with her sweet ass facing me. As she reached down between her legs and gripped my dick, she looked back at me with her sexy smile and whipped my snout with her tail. The look on her face said she was ready and the way she slapped the head of my cock against her clit only told me she couldn't wait any longer. She blew me a kiss then averted her gaze as she took a position.

My tip found its way inside Selina, spreading the muscles as it pushed inward. Selina lightly whined when the head slipped inside then started to rotate her hips as she continued to tease me as well as herself. She bit her bottom lip as she moved around, whimpering like a puppy while the head of my dick wiggles around inside her. She slowly came to a stop, hung her head low and smashed her ass into me, shoving my dick balls deep inside her little pussy.

"Ssoo..", Selina moans to herself as she brings herself up, sliding my cock out of her tight cunt, "deeepp..", she finished as she dropped back down, forcing me back inside and spreading her muscles squeezing around my shaft.

Selina took her sweet time bouncing her ass on top of me, softly pushing me inside from behind as her warm, wet pussy clenched tighter every time my cock squeezed in. "Jesu-hhaaahnn...", I groaned, throwing my head back into the soil. "Hahnn.. hah.."

Yeah, I'm just not gonna bother trying to speak.

Selina giggled at my moans as she looked back at me again from her hands and knees. As she watched me clench my teeth and claw the ground, she never stopped. She spread her legs a little further apart then picked up speed, swiftly slamming her ass into me, pushing me harder inside to our limits. She squealed in unison to a grunt I cried out into the air, throwing her head back with her mouth gaping open. A single eye half opened and peered at me passed her tail whipping my face.

My eyes wouldn't open anymore than hers. Panting and barely able to hold a breath, I brought my hands up, grasping the base of her tail with one to pull her into me and wrapping the other around one of her thighs. As she came down, I yanked her tail towards me, drilling my dick into her drenched cunt. She screamed with a pleasured smile across her face when her ass slammed into my pelvis and started to twitch as she brought herself back up, she still looked back at me, drooling on the ground as her cheeks got redder by the minute. Shoving myself back in as I pulled her back into me, I brought my free hand to her bubble butt and helped her rise from the impalement.

"Anyone ever tell you you don't listen well?", she asked passed her whimpers and whines.

I chuckled without losing our pace. "Only hahhn-on occasioonn..", I replied, gibbering my words as my cock slid endlessly in and out.

"You should wo-work on that.", Selina told me, speaking with more sense than I could manage.

Selina leaned forward, spreading her hands out in front of her and laying her head in the soil as I stole the control from her. I held her tail up, pulling so she was forced to hold her ass in the air and arched my back, thrusting my dick inside and splashing her cum with a "wap" sound when I forced myself as deep in as I could manage. Selina screamed again, burying her hands into the ground above her head as she clawed into the fake dirt. Her voice cracked as she squealed each time I pounded inside her pussy. I built up as much speed as I could, straining my spine to pay for the sensation of being inside her, feeling her juice spread over my length as I shoved my cock in, trembling to the tension of her muscles squeezing as I pulled out just to slam it back in again.

My back's gonna be sore after this but ooohhhhh my God, so fuckin' worth it.

My claws began to dig into the fur on her ass and I started to use both hands to ram her down on me when I pushed in. Selina gave up all restraint and clenched up as she came to her peak once more. I'm not far from it myself.

With all my strength, I slammed into her cunt as hard as possible, grunt loudly when her ass smacks into me. I pulled out and forced it in again without hesitation, giving her my all as we both screamed out in lust. At the top of her lungs, Selina cried out into the leafy sky as I rapidly pounding her pussy. She began to convulse again and climaxed in the dirt. Her cum pushed around my cock as it continued to slip in and out and shot out like a constricted garden hose, splashing over my legs and everything in between.

I kept going for only a few moments more before I pulled out, busted and spurt my load into the air and spreading it across her back. Laying on my back in the soil under the oak tree, my body went limp as I huffed to find my breath. Selina collapsed in her position, my dick resting between her pussy lips, and fought to catch hers as well. We both trembled for what felt like an amazing eternity, intoxicated by the adrenaline flowing through our bodies. After a minute or two, Selina rose to her knees, crawled up to me and collapsed again on my chest.

"What.. the hell.. did you do that for..?", she asked, hyperventilating between her words.

"Do what?", I asked in a quick, short breath.

"Since when do you pull out?", she questions, looking up to me with a cocky grin.

"Since I forgot to ask when you last went into heat.", I replied then laughed to myself. "It's been about a month since the last time we had some fun and, if I recall, you had just came out of it."

Selina giggled then rested her head on my shoulder. "No worries.", she said. "I have a couple more days before it hits. You might not want to be around, though, I like to bite heads off when I menstrate."

I laughed hard as I processed her words. "Just like any other woman.", I teased.

"Sexist.", she accuses me as she rises to her hands and knees and straddles me again. She leaned back, pressing her body into mine and started to nibble on my neck. She chewed the fur, tugging with her teeth and laughed at me when I over exaggerated the pain. She did this for a few minutes while she wiggled around on top of me. The shaft of my dick rests between her pussy lips like it did before and I could feel her starting to get wet again. My dick throbbed as it stretched and hardened again. "This time, DON'T MOVE.", Selina says, rising to her knees, grabbing my cock at the base and rubbing the head against her clit. "And it better stay inside. If you even think about pulling out, I'll bite your cock off and save it for a dildo."

"Nympho.", I called her, chuckling to myself while I rested the back of my head onto my palms. "How's this?", I asked, shrugging my shoulders like my hands were tied behind my head.

"Perfect.", she says with a smile then leans back down on me, getting right in my face. "Now stay still and accept your fate."

Selina looked back as she reached behind her to slip my dick head inside her cunt. Her face lit up red again as she turned to face me. She wiggled her butt around, teasing us both like before and staring at me, eyes half open as she slowly rotated her hips. Her hands rested across my scarred chest between us, her head hanging over mine and her breath blowing in my face. Oddly enough, it had a hint of the same sweet aroma the Devil's Fruit did.

Does my breath smell that good?

I brushed the question aside and brought my focus back to her hungry half opened eyes. She finally stopped teasing and softly slid my dick inside her once more, squeezing around my shaft tighter and tighter the further she forced me in. Her mouth gapped open and she gasped as she quickly brought her ass back up. When she slowly fell back into me, she moaned as long as she pushed me in. I groaned as she swiftly slid back up and exhaled hard when she dropped down again.

Her pussy began to drip as her juice poured down my shaft when she pulled up. She rode slow, taking in every inch with a random noise passing over her tongue. I began to claw the back of my head as I stared into her blue eyes. My jaw dropped slightly and my hips twitched when Selina dropped her pussy down my length. She giggled at me and playfully slapped my cheek without losing pace.

Selina continuously backed her ass, pushing off my chest and pumping me inside her. Her body heat began to blend with mine as she grinded our fur together, her breath pelted my face and her legs tangled with mine. She pulled my hands out from under my head, pinned them above my head and intertwined our fingers. Her back arched as she picked up speed, her tits bounced in my face when she took me all in and we both lost it when she jammed her tongue in my mouth.

In a deep display of heated fornication, our tongues danced together between our lips, swapping spit as Selina slammed me into her tight pussy like it was the first time. Our hands clenched one another, her wings spread out and shadowed us from overhead and my toes crinkled in the soil. Selina bounced up and down on my dick, biting my lip while we made out and letting out tiny gasps when she smacked into my base. Her juice continued to roll over my skin, soaking the fur until it dripped to the ground. I peeked down to see our pelvic areas drenched in the mess so bad, the wet purple fur on her turned to a much darker shade and the blueish grey on mine darkened to a nearly black hue. I peeked back up to Selina falling deeper into arosal. I closed my eyes and joined her.

Selina began to slowly slide my cock out just below the tip then drop her ass hard and fast, ramming me deep inside her juicy cunt. She started whimpering and digging her tongue deeper in my mouth. I began to tear up the ground under my feet as I shoved mine in hers. Her hips started rotating as she took me in, bouncing her body around on top of me and spreading her juice everywhere. Her claws started scratching at the back of my hands and her tail wrapped around mine. Selina broke lip contact, trailing saliva with her tongue as she threw her head back and cried out in pleasure. She picked up speed again, vigorously ramming my cock inside her from every angle. I looked up to her to see her eyes shut tight, cheeks blushing like the sun and grinding her teeth behind her lips. She squeezed my hands with rather surprising strength and she screamed out in a second orgasm. She buried her face in my chest, jumped forward, sliding me out of her pussy and squirted a couple of times on the ground between our legs, screaming into my fur all the while. Selina convulsed once more, twitching, moaning, and breathing heavily on top of me.

As she lies, motionless, catching her breath, I brought a hand down and curled the fur on her cheek with my finger. "That was faster than usual.", I teased with a smile she couldn't see. "I was barely half way there."

"Don't you worry that pretty face of yours.", Selina replies, lifting her head to smile back at me. "That one was for me." She slowly rose to her knees, grabbed my left ear and pulled until I followed her hand.

"Ow. Ow, that ear's sensitive!", I told her, stumbling backwards on my hands and ass until she had me sitting against the oak tree.

"You'll get over it.", Selina responds as she straddles me again. One of her hands softly brushed my face until my cheek rests in her palm, the other glided down her body until she wrapped her fingers around my length and started stroking again. I slightly grinned, letting my head fall into the tree and watched her work to finish pleasing me. Her hand twisted in one direction as it slid down my cock, spreading her leftover cum, then in the other as it stroked back up.

My muscles spazed, thrusting my hips slightly upward as I grunted in her palm. Selina giggled at me then softly pulled my head into her chest, sticking her nipple in my mouth and forcing me to suck on it. I closed my eyes and drooled over the skin as I circled it with my tongue, pinching it between my teeth and tossing it around in mouth.

"Ohh my..", Selina groaned in my ear. "Ah! Hey, that tickles!"

My head fell backwards as I laughed but I was cut short by Selina dropping her ass down on me and shoving my cock back inside her. Caught off guard, I moaned loudly and fell forward, burying my face in her cleavage as she stuffed me inside her still drenched cunt. One of her hands came up, holding my head against her chest, the other went down between our hot bodies and stroked up my shaft as she lifted her pussy off of me. I moaned again, letting my body go limp and giving in to her sensual lust.

"How's it coming down there?", Selina giggles over her words as she watches my face crinkle between her tits.

"Close.", I mumbled, "Getting close."

Selina continued to stroke me as she lifted herself from the base of my dick, twisting and turning and dropping back down with smooth rhythm. My brain focused on the warmth of her sweet pussy, the wetness of her juice sliding between skin, the touch of her hands and the rush of adrenaline intensified by her romantic embrace. I wrapped my hands around her, digging my claws into her back and scratching down both sides of her spine.

"Easy, tiger.", Selina growls, sticking my ear between her teeth and chewing on the tip.

Selina moved the hand from underneath herself and brought it up to the back of my head with the other. She pressed my face in her fur and bounced on my cock, gradually speeding up, building up the tension inside me.

"Fucking... shit...", I grunted, babbling nonsense as Selina's pussy massages me in the best possible way.

She laughed aloud and tapped my snout with a finger as she continued to ride me. "Don't talk.", she told me, with a grin. "You don't make sense when you're about to cum."

"That obvious?", I asked, rhetorically.

Selina giggled behind her teeth and sped up again, pummeling her cunt as she worked to make me burst. As fast as I believe she could manage, she consistently slammed my cock inside her soaked pussy, twisting her hips and rocking back and forth. I moaned long and loud into her cleavage as I felt the orgasm rise up in me. I clenched my teeth as my base began to tingle. The tingle spread up through my shaft as I dug my claws into the soil at my sides. The tingle spread throughout my body and my dick began to throb as I started to climax.

"Aahh.. hahmm..", I mumbled, infliction rising in my voice as it came forth. "Mmm.. Christ, Selina.. Oh.. God, fuck! Oh, FUUAAAAAACK!", I screamed into Selina's fur as I came inside her pussy still bouncing on my dick. The sensation flowed through my body as I felt myself spurt deep inside her a few times as she continued to stroke me with her cunt.

"THERE it is.", Selina announced, slowing her pace as she lifted my head with both hands to meet my gaze.

She was smiling wide in the usual seductive way. She stared into my googled eyes as I trembled underneath her, releasing myself to her will. When I had finally settled, Selina slowly rose on her knees until my dick popped out of her pussy, leaned back and spread the lips with her fingers. My cum began to drizzle out from inside her and dripped to the ground.

"Nothing quite like a creampie, huh?", she asks as she looks down at me, quite pleased with herself.

"Took the words right out of my mouth.", I mumbled, my hips twitching from the throbbing still flowing through my cock.

"That was amazing.", Selina whined in my ear as she held my head in her chest. "Every bit of it."

I chuckled and nodded as I agreed. "You know you said that last time, too?", I asked, bringing my gaze back up to her.

"Doesn't mean I didn't mean it.", she says, rolling over me and resting against my chest. "Doesn't mean I don't mean it."

"Well, on the off chance you don't, you're a phenomenal actress.", I joked, leaning my head on top of hers. "Even so, you're right, that was fucking amazing. Best sex I've had in the past three weeks."

Selina lifted her head and looked at me in curiosity. "Exactly how many girls have you slept with since last time?", she asked, sounding a bit cocky.

"Oh, you know.", I mumbled, looking up at the bud hanging from the orange string. "Eight. Nine. Somewhere in there."

I could see Selina staring at me in my peripheral vision but I continued to stare into the air. After a few moments, I brought my gaze down to her and grinned. Selina pushed off my chest and punched my shoulder with a look on her face that said, "oh, you bastard!".

"You're such a horrible liar!", she told me, laughing along with me.

"Am I?", I questioned, placing my hands behind my head. "I had you going for a minute there."

Selina giggled at her own expense then punched me again as she leaned against the tree next to me. "Whatever.", she pleaded. "Ass."

"Bitch."

Selina shot me a look but laughed with me again when I exposed the humor in her response. We sat, naked, side by side, for a few moments, leaning on each other as we enjoyed the end of our last night in bed together. Except the bed is an enormous mass of manmade soil. Either way, it made no difference. We had our fun as sexual partners. Once our cloths go back on, we start again as loving friends.

"We should probably get dressed.", Selina says, poking me in the side. "Jake'll be here soon."

"What?", I replied, lifting my head in surprised, "Has it really been that long?"

"Well, yeah.", she replied rising to her feet and approaching the pile of our cloths. "Like I said before, you're an animal. You're gonna make some girl real happy someday."

Selina turned to me as she pulled up her panties and smiled with a smile that told me she knew it to be true. I smiled back, feeling confident that she has such faith in me.

I stood, walked over to the cloths pile and began dressing myself. First my boxers and pants, my boots and then my sweatshirt. While Selina pulls her top over her head and starts to button her pants, I picked up the quart bags of the Devil's Fruit, stuffed them in my sweater then checked my pocket to be sure the yarn was there.

After we had made ourselves decent, Selina and I sat together and finished the bowl I packed in her pipe over an hour ago. We conversed, made jokes and laughed together as if we had known each other as long as I've known Jacob. It's a bond created under the most vulgar of pretenses but a bond nonetheless. It made me happy knowing that she plans to stick around with us. It makes me happy knowing I have another friend I would bleed for and even happier knowing I have another willing to do the same for me.

I could see Selina was happy too. She made it obvious with her peppy attitude and the way she speaks to me. She told me she didn't want to act like it never happened and I didn't want that either. We both found our terms with each other on the same page and it enlightened us both.

What a gal.

Soon, as Selina predicted, Jacob was spotted coming down the center of the trail in front of us. He carried my hunting bag on his shoulder as he casually approached. When he drew closer to us, he slowed and dropped the bag on the ground as he stared into the air over our heads.

"What in the hell?", Jacob blurts out, staring into the giant tree.

Called it.