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Sighing, I relaxed in the pool, letting the hot water wash over my lower back. It hadn't taken the girls long to find their alchemical supplies, and now I had a full glass of water I was downing, as a chaser to both a stamina and a regeneration tincture. This wasn't the same kind that they used in medical situations, instead meant for specifically targeting certain bodily fluids. Of course, you had to supply your own water downed at the same time, otherwise you risked getting really dehydrated.

Nara and Feeria both nursed their own waters to my right, with Nara closest to me. We could probably only get away with doing this once, as the stamina tinctures couldn't replace sleep and it was already a long day. Swishing what was left of my water around in my glass, I looked into it, tracing my finger along the bottom and admiring how it was refracted. Sometimes I liked reminding myself of little things about how reality worked, just to double check that I was still firmly in it.

"You seem deep in thought," Nara observed, drawing my attention back to her after. She wore a faint smile on her muzzle, and my eyes traced her features again, trying to make this feel more real.

"Just a reality check. Feels like I'm going to need to ground myself again. Things are moving really fast..." I admitted, giving a softer chuckle at that.

Feeari perked her ears up at that as well, tilting her head. "What's a reality check?" she asked, looking skeptically to Nara instead.

Taking her cue, Nara nodded and explained, "It's kind of like pinching yourself to make sure you're not dreaming. He means things are moving fast and are really abnormal for him, he's wondering if he's dreaming or not..."

"Oooooh," the Illan muttered, then suggested, "I could kick you into the rim of the pool again if you don't think a pinch is working."

Saw that coming. "You're not fooling anyone. You just want to be tied up and punished again," I shot back with zero hesitation.

I must have hit a vital spot, as she flared up blushing again and pouted. "Here I was hoping you'd eventually do that again without me needing to misbehave first," she admitted after, giggling to herself.

"The first step to being a giant pervert is admitting you have a problem," Nara agreed, causing me to snort for a moment before chuckling. She grinned, then openly admitted, "I should warn you, I'm kind of a nympho. Hope you don't mind spending at least three hours a day pumping me full of, or covering me in your seed."

My nose wiggled, and I didn't even look down when the red tip of my cock stabbed out of the water. Nara smirked, but Feeari whined, "What about me?! You said I wasn't going to be abandoned!"

"Don't worry, Feeari. You can have some of his cock too. After I'm done with it," Nara assured, winking over at the now indignant looking Illan.

"I meant with you!" she hissed, huffing after.

To my surprise, Nara actually paused and glanced over at me instead. Hmm? I looked over at her, left ear perking up as I tilted my head the other way. "What's up?" I asked, curious at her sudden attention.

"Mmm, jealousy forecast for that statement?" she inquired in possibly the nerdiest way possible. I gave a chuckle and shook my head.

"I mean, it's not like I know exactly how it works. What would work for a Vulkus? Obviously, I'm not going to be happy if I get in the way of you two ever spending solo time together again..." I reasoned, frowning at that thought.

Feeari looked pleased by that answer, but Nara less so, still showing concern. "I just don't want to trigger you or something. If we're comparing it to the Vulkus, that scares me big time, because they make a huge deal over all sorts of social rules revolving around claiming and marking and packs and alphas..."

I frowned for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Well if there's a lot of information you're afraid of, chances are, someone's written a book on it. Does the palace have a library?" I suggested. That perked her ears up, eyes widening.

"Oh, duh! You're right! We should look up a Vulkus psychology book. And order you some of those tests so we can find out for sure. I mean, we're all but certain, but what's the harm?"

I smiled and nodded to her, then assured, "If it makes you happy, of course!" Her cheeks flushed again but she smiled towards me once more, expression softening.

"So mushy. I can't believe you had me tied up and were spanking me earlier," Feeari chirped, giggling as I gave her a pointed stare.

Nara smirked her way instead though, then muttered, "It's too bad. We lucked out and got one of the atypical males who can be both at the same time! But you're really missing out on not liking romance." Her tone was whimsical, but her eyes lidded at the same time. At first, I thought she was going to start teasing the Illan with romantic gestures, but she rotated in the water and flopped into my lap instead.

"Exes at least likes romance, thankfully," she needled, winking again to the now surprised Illan staring at us. Like? I loved romance!

Thus, I had zero problems at all with Nara pressing in and kissing me right on the muzzle. She didn't seem to mind me pulsing against her navel as she squished my cock between us and slipped her arms over my shoulders. Mine wrapped around her waist, and I started stroking and kneading at her back, earning a moan into my mouth.

"N-No fair! I want to play too!" Feeari whined.

Nara broke off the kiss, leaning back from me before raising an eyebrow to her. "But you don't like romance, silly. It's mushy, remember? We're only kissing and snuggling here..." she pointed out. I could have noted that we were also technically grinding sexy bits together, as I distinctly felt her against my balls, but she was clearly just tormenting Feeari, so I let it slide.

The Illan's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, before closing once more, her not quite coming up with a retort it seemed. Nara snickered at her display before suggesting, "Mmm, do you want to try kissing one of us?"

I froze for a moment, looking between the two, and realized that Feeari was doing the same with Nara and I. "It, um... Could I maybe kiss you for a while, Nara?" she finally asked, honestly not surprising me in the least. When given an option between Nara and I... heh.

Nara frowned at that, looking to me of course, but I just nodded to her. "It's fine, Nara. She deserves attention too," I assured, not entirely sure if I believed it myself or not, but I was going to try regardless.

She didn't look convinced, but relented and moved away from me again. "All right, but we're not going to ignore you. I still want you in me before the night's done..." she warned, causing me to pulse in the water again. There was no way I was going to turn her down, that was for sure.

Downing the last of my water, I turned and watched the girls, just as Nara slipped into Feeari's lap instead. The Illan's eyes kept getting larger and larger the closer their muzzles got, and I admitted to being a little sad that Feeari hadn't had nearly as much build up or anticipation when she pounce-kissed me earlier.

It soon snapped though as their muzzles made contact, and Nara melted into the embrace of the Illan, just like she had with me. I swallowed once, but forced myself to watch it, trying to feel out the exact nature of what triggered what. Both girls moaned at almost the same time, pressing harder into each other, breast to breast. Nara's arms wrapped over Feeari's shoulders, then curled around the back of her head to hold their muzzles together even harder, and I could actually see their tongues moving inside of their muzzles. Damn. I frowned when Feeari started rocking her hips, clearly grinding into Nara's groin and causing the Inaga to shudder.

I was mildly surprised when Nara broke off a moment later, shooting a skeptical glance at Feeari. "It almost feels like you're aiming for more than just a kiss," she noted, causing the flushed Illan to look away from her.

"Well, maybe. I mean, I could totally go grab a strap on and-" she suggested. Feeari topped?

"And Exes?" Nara interrupted, raising a skeptical eyebrow down at the smaller girl under her.

She paused for a moment, then suggested, "You're stretchy, and you have two holes!" Nara went from skeptical to deadpan stare for a moment, then shook her head.

"I'm not having Exes lose his virginity to my ass, Feeari..." she objected, looking a bit exasperated now.

"It's a perfectly good hole! W-What if you get pregnant?!" Feeari asked, actually looking worried afterwards.

Nara shook her head to that, then assured, "I feel fine, Feeari. Estrus isn't for at least four or five days. Besides, at some point, I'm going to want kits you know... Last I checked, you lacked the equipment to give those to me." I flushed at the implications towards me there, but remained simply observing the conversation.

"I... I could get some! Exes is a super smart alchemist; he probably knows the transmutation formulas!" Feeari exclaimed, flushing a bit herself as she suddenly looked over at me. Uh, wait, what?

"You're asking Exes_for aid in letting you gain a way to breed _me...?" Nara asked skeptically, as if not quite believing what she was hearing. I wasn't either, for that matter.

The Illan wiggled a bit underneath the larger female, then averted her eyes again. "Um, y-yes? What would I have to do for that? J-Just name a price!" she asked rather boldly, looking up at Nara after. I swallowed the lump in my throat, this conversation going from reasonably acceptable to diving past my comfort zones and having a wild party on the other side.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Nara switched to a completely serious expression and asked, "You're not joking? You really want to have a kit with me?"

Feeari hesitated, and I watched her swallow before shakily nodding back up at Nara. "Y-Yes! I do! Exes can do it, right?" she asked, looking back over at me. My tongue suddenly felt parched, like I needed another glass of water, but Nara started to look over at me too, so I suddenly slammed into golem mode as fast as I could.

"Yes, I do know how to make transmutation potions. Including gender appending or altering, depending on if you prefer to keep your female bits too..." I explained, voice level and neutral.

Nara narrowed her eyes at me, but Feeari suddenly looked perplexed. "Wait, I could have both?" she asked, exhaling after and actually seeming to calm down a little before admitting, "I thought I'd have to give up being female..."

"The system's flexible. Giving you male reproductive organs generated right off your essence means they'd be fully functional and capable of impregnating a female. You'd still need an additional modification afterwards to cross-breed species, and Nara would end up producing a baby Inaga, not an Illan," I explained, actually having given this information out before to others that have requested gender shifts. The tribe did get visitors from time to time, and I was one of the main alchemists.

"An Inaga is fine with me," Feeari assured, smiling as she looked back at Nara, just in time to meet her scowl looking down at her. The smile faltered a moment later and she swallowed nervously.

Nara stood up off her, still frowning while dripping there. "The last time we talked anything about this, you said you were fine waiting until we were older. Now Exes is here and suddenly you're wanting to rush into it. Are you just worried about wanting to get to me 'first' or something...? I'm perfectly fine giving you both a kit," she suddenly accused.

Feeari's ears flattened back as she frowned at that. "You just made it sound like y-you were going to breed with Exes _this_Estrus! I mean, we were... We were together first, Nara! Is he suddenly more important to you?" she asked.

"It's not a pecking order! Does it matter who I'm with first so long as I want to be with both of you?! Should we roll some dice for it or play a game of cards?" Nara asked, sounding annoyed now more than anything.

I sighed softly, drawing the attention of both of them with the noise cutting through the awkward silence. "Nara, being first is obviously important to her in this regard. So just let her have it. I can wait... I never... even fathomed that I'd have my own kits at some point, so waiting isn't going to kill me," I suggested. I could tell that Feeari could have some seriously hurt feelings over this, and I didn't want to be responsible for that. The ache in my chest was promptly ignored, and I began to see downsides to apparently being part Vulkus.

Feeari looked shocked by my comment, but Nara just looked away again, clenching her paw. For a long moment, she just stared down at the Illan, who looked increasingly uncomfortable under her scrutiny. Finally, she spoke up, tone hard to place but sounding at least a little frustrated. "Well, Exes is not only willing to make you the potions to enable this, but to give up being 'first' with me willingly. I'd say you owe him. A lot," she declared. I frowned, but she sounded adamant, and I bit back trying to say otherwise. Nara was scary when upset.

Feeari swallowed uneasily, frozen looking up at Nara before slowly nodding. "A-Anything. I'll pay any price I can..." she agreed, standing up herself and trying to give a little bow to Nara.

"Anything...?" Nara asked, expression not shifting in the slightest. Feeari's eyes widened a little, but she nodded again, causing Nara to ask, "You're keeping your female parts. What if that price was getting bred by Exes at the same time?" My turn to widen my eyes. Somehow, the Illan's got even wider, and she shakily looked over at me. I just stared at her for a long moment, no clue what to say to any of this and really not wanting to say anything at all.

Feeari's eyes softened a little finally, and she nodded again. What? "I said anything. Yes, I'll carry Exes' pups. If that's what I have to do," she agreed, turning and looking back at Nara after. Everything about this was making me want to throw up now.

Nara closed her eyes and sighed again, then slowly nodded. "You're serious then. Alright. Then I will this season. I don't think Mother's going to like this, but... it's not really her choice, so it doesn't matter. Can you have the potions ready by Estrus, Exes?" she asked, looking over at me instead. I felt dizzy, but managed to run the math through my head and nod.

"Uh, yeah. The distillation for the testes will take the longest, but it should be only about two days total, assuming you can get me an actual alchemy lab," I muttered.

"...you were just... testing me?" Feeari asked, sounding a bit surprised.

Nara nodded to me instead before assuring, "There's one downstairs in the basement. Mother was already going to give you full access to it, so it shouldn't be a problem. Are any of the ingredients rare?"

Shaking my head, I explained, "As long as you have a full transmutation stock, no. You should have everything."

"I'll check tomorrow morning, but we should..." Nara stated, before finally looking at Feeari and sighing, answering, "Yes, it was just a test, Feeari. I'm not going to force you two to breed. I did promise that one day, we'd have a kit together, so... How you pay Exes for his work making the potions, and make up giving up the first breeding for you, is between you and him. I'm not going to let him just do this for you out of the kindness of his heart though, Feeari. You're adding a lot of stress to the relationship..."

I exhaled, wondering if my uncomfortableness was really that obvious. Or maybe she was basing it off the fact that I'm atypical, and apparently my Vulkus half is telling me that I should be pissed at all of this.

The Illan swallowed, but nodded rapidly to Nara before looking back at me, looking uneasy. Sighing, I noted that the mood had died horribly at this point, and slowly shook my head, wincing as I braced against the side of the pool and used it to help lift myself to my lower paws again. My back felt a little better but was still not too happy at moving, it seemed.

"Exes?" Nara asked, eyes flicking down to my sheath only to see that my arousal had been murdered along with the mood, and I was safely tucked inside again.

"I can't speak for you two, and you can stay up if you'd like, but after that conversation, I'm not feeling particularly horny in the slightest. It's been a long day, and I think I'm just going to take a regeneration tincture and turn in, if nobody needs anything else..." I muttered, wobbling for a moment as I stood fully, trying to keep my balance.

Nara sighed and looked down for a moment, and Feeari looked like I really did punch her face in this time, ears flattening as she physically winced. It struck me as kind of odd at the same time that I was standing here right next to two naked girls and actually _not_turned on in the slightest. The power of my Vulkus side was stronger than I realized, it seemed.

"Alright..." Nara muttered, nodding to me after a long moment, then fidgeted lightly. "Tomorrow, Exes. Tomorrow for sure..." she muttered after another long moment, and I just nodded to her before stepping out of the pool and walking over to where we had our towels folded...

---

It was a rough morning, I admitted. In everything that had happened at the end of last night, I'd forgotten the effects of the targeted regeneration tincture and all the water I'd drank. The girls were unconscious in the bed still when I finally woke up, as I was pretty sure they stayed up after me to hump each other more. I couldn't blame them knowing that they took the same tinctures.

Me? I ended up having to urinate for almost two minutes, then couldn't get myself to go soft until I pawed off _three times_in the bathroom. Fuck. Paw pads aren't the smoothest and most gentle by the third shot, and now I was sore in awkward places. At least my back and legs were feeling better, which was a small victory.

I padded down another hallway, then peeked through another set of doors, discovering another entry into the dining hall. Mentally flagging it, that meant I'd finished checking out all three floors in the palace, and I knew my way around pretty good now. I'd already seen Queen Calien in my rounds and she was surprisingly polite, simply stopping me to give me a key to the alchemy labs, as Nara had mentioned. I asked her about the test too, feeling daring, and she simply agreed to have one sent from the public distribution center in the city. That was easy.

Unsure of what to do now with my day, I decided that I should probably just get started making those potions for Feeari, as they'd take time to prepare. Giving a sigh, I turned and headed back out into the hallway, then took a left and made for the back stairs that went to the basements. Of course, the back stairs goes up too on this side, to the guest wings.

I wasn't anticipating running into Exir, I admitted. He froze, wide eyed for a moment as he spotted me walking down the hall, then gave a small smile. "Exes! Thank the gods for small favors... How have you been since yesterday?" he asked, getting a bit of a smirk as he recalled the last time he saw me.

My averted gaze wiped the smirk free of his expression and he frowned instead. "It was an alright night. I'm not used to sleeping in a bed. It's almost too soft..." I admitted, looking back to him after, then frowning as I saw Iri of all people walk down the stairs behind him. Huh? She stopped behind him about a meter or so, and kept her head down.

He saw where I was looking and sighed without even turning around. "Cute, isn't it? I think it's the Queen's version of a practical joke..." he muttered, before raising his right paw up. It glowed for a moment, suddenly revealing a line of mana dancing through the air, connected from his palm to a space on Iri's neck. Eh?!

"Wait, she gave you Iri?" I asked incredulously.

Exir sighed at that, but nodded. "Yup. Really funny, isn't it? She's to 'pay for the inconvenience of the situation'. Do you have need by any chance for a pink-collar indentured servant with a good five years left on her contract? I certainly don't want her..." he pointedly offered, glaring back at her over his shoulder. She winced, shaking there but not saying anything. Pleasant...

"Did she... really have any choice in what she did? I mean, you two seemed happy together before..." I muttered. His ears and eyes lowered at the same time and he sighed again.

"I... don't know, Exes. How do you move past something like that? Though, I'm guessing you didn't have a good night either?" he asked. I stared at him for a moment before sighing and shaking my head, then gesturing to the stairs.

He looked that way for a second before nodding to me, so I continued on my original route. "Turns out Nara has a... servant. The Queen mentioned her before but nowhere near the details involved..." I admitted, hobbling down the stairs as Exir followed me. I was halfway down when he pulled my right arm up, and braced me down the final fight. I gave him a nod of thanks before heading down the dank hallway towards the alchemy lab.

"So... a servant? Male or female?" he asked, sounding uncertain as to wanting the answer.

"Female Illan. Her name's Feeari. She's actually Nara's slave, but it's more a formality from everything I saw. She's basically Nara's First, and has an extreme jealousy streak... which didn't clash well with my newfound jealousy streak at all..." I explained.

Opening the alchemy lab door, I glanced back at Exir and Iri, just in time for him to frown and simply mutter, "Fuck... That's kind of messed up..." I nodded to him, then let them both inside. Exir wasn't exactly a security threat so I didn't see a problem with it.

"I'm going to guess you two didn't get along?" he asked, scrunching his muzzle up, then looking around the lab as I headed over to one of the ingredient cabinets.

"We got into a shouting match after Nara's brief attempt at diplomacy, then I'm pretty certain she tried to murder me. I ended up losing my temper and hurting her instead, then stormed out. Ziri and Zira came and got me back though, and we, well, mostly came to at least a ceasefire I think..." I summarized.

He looked skeptical at best at that, and I flushed a little, which was like blood in the water at that point. "Okay, now you have to spill the beans..." he needled, smirking a little again as I huffed.

"Look, it was Nara's idea. When they brought me back there, she was 'punishing' Feeari. The kind involving leather straps and spanking..." I admitted. Exir actually barked a laugh at that, so I guess I was at least cheering him up.

I exhaled after and admitted, "I may have gotten into it and went overboard, which she apparently liked, and got us onto ceasefire terms, sort of. The night still ended... unpleasantly after that, when Nara mentioned Estrus coming up and breeding."

"Uh oh. Wait, she's a girl though..." Exir started to note, before I raised an eyebrow to him. He stopped, then looked around for a moment before flattening his ears down and groaning.

"Wait, seriously? You've gotten roped into helping this girl you didn't even know about before yesterday breed with Nara in the upcoming Estrus...? What the fuck? I mean, seriously... Nara actually agreed to this?" he asked, starting to sound more and more pissed the longer he talked.

I sighed and nodded, then shrugged. "They've been together since they were eight. It was important to Feeari, so I just let her have it. Nara seemed pissed that it was even a conversation we were having, so I just wanted to bow out and be done with it..." I muttered before turning around again.

The cabinet apparently contained all of the bases commonly used, and a ton of medical ingredients. I picked out the four bases I'd need for the transmutations that would make a complete male reproductive system plus the species adaption, and closed the cabinet up again.

Exir sighed after another moment, then muttered, "Guess the Queen's 'carrots' turn out to be rotten on the inside. Probably says something about her, personally." I gave a chuckle to that, but shrugged again after, setting the bases down on the counter before moving to cabinet number two, helpfully right next to cabinet number one.

"I... went through quite a trip last night of ups and downs, I admit. I'm more confused and frustrated than anything, and I'm not really sure where I stand with Nara. Or where I want to stand with Nara. Turns out she fucks Ziri and Zira too. Just sex, no relationship. Nara seems to like me, but..." I muttered, not really expecting any answers but just needing to get it out. I glanced over at Iri at the last bit, and Exir nodded.

"Trust is difficult with royals and nobles. I agree. Turns out, you really can fake a relationship with someone, so I don't blame you for being concerned," he admitted. Iri winced again behind him, and to some degree, I did feel bad for her. But ultimately it was the Queen that shoved her into the situation to begin with.

I shook my head and shrugged. "Guess all we can do is pick up the pieces and either try again or move on. I'll be teaching Nara for probably at least six years anyway, so I might as well attempt to get along with her. If we're still mates the entire time, I guess I can admit that she's serious about it. There'd be no need for the 'carrot' I guess after a while, or once the Queen gets everything she wants from me..." I deduced.

Exir nodded slowly at that, then reminded, "Don't forget, Exes. The only thing you're getting by taking the 'carrot' is a stream of extra funds for our tribe. I know you don't want that to stop, but if the relationship sours, or you think you're being played, you can just break it off. This seems to be an extremely rocky start so far, if you ask me, is all..."

Sighing, I nodded slowly. Maybe I was just trying to convince myself. So far, things had been fun to some degree, but mostly either weird or painful. Maybe he was right and either she was just acting the part of the carrot, or there were just incompatibilities. He clapped me on the shoulder, rousing me out of my thoughts, and smiled. "Relax. You know I'm here for you no matter what happens. I might as well stick around the capital now and chill with you for the time being anyway," he assured. I relaxed from his gesture and nodded, finally smiling a little.

"Yeah, thanks Exir. I'm here for you too," I assured. He grinned at that and nodded, seemingly feeling better as well.

"Best bros, right? Regardless, I'm finally going to go see if I can find my folks. You good here doing whatever mad science is needed to let two females breed?" he asked, giving another skeptical glance at all of the vials and equipment around.

Snorting at that, I nodded and waved him off. "I'll be fine. Tell your parents I said hi," I asked. It was kind of sad that I'd never actually met his parents. They left the tribe while we were really young, called back by the current royalty of the time to, if I remembered right, operate some sort of production facility here. I kind of hoped that Exir wasn't forced to only see them once a year over something as stupid as glass bottles or something.

"Of course! One of these days you should come with and finally meet them! They keep asking about you," he chirped, earning a chuckle and nod from me.

"Sure. Maybe once Estrus hits, so I can stay as far away from Nara and Feeari while they breed..." I muttered. Yeah, that sounded like a very solid plan.

"Don't blame you there, in the slightest. Anyway, stay strong! Don't do anything or anyone I wouldn't do!" he called out, stopping at the door to wave. Iri quietly followed after him, still looking miserable.

I waved back to him, even after he was gone, then sighed. Talking with Exir always seemed to help me just piece everything together that's been going on. I don't think he'd ever realize how much he helped me sometimes. I just hoped he took my advice and maybe at least forgave Iri. Of course, that was easy to say. What would I do if the Queen one day just told Nara she could stop acting... and she did?

My expression softened at that, and I felt that cynical side of me creep in. It was easier to expect nothing at all and be pleasantly surprised if something did work out. That had been my coping mechanism my entire life, apart from my golem. Shaking my head, I opened up the second cabinet and peeked through it, looking for the transmutatives instead.

---

I gave a little yawn, propped up in a wooden chair that was haphazardly balanced on its two back legs, leaning back against the wall. Three distillers baked near me, two that were almost done and one processing an exceedingly stubborn compound that would lend itself to the completely new fabrication of a pair of fully functioning balls. Of course, I really didn't have to kitsit them. I was the only alchemist in the city that had access to the normally unused palace lab at the moment, so it wasn't like anyone was going to interrupt the experiments or break something important.

My finger slid along the edge of the next page, then slowly drew it across before flipping it. A huge book was resting in my lap, propped up by my lounging legs. I didn't even really know what it was. I'd just found it in the closet while peeking about for entertainment. Half of it wasn't even translated, instead looking to be some sort of nonsense language. Probably a cipher, actually. There were a lot of notes though, sometimes pertaining to the pictures, and other times to the weird language.

Ultimately, I was bored and hiding. I didn't want to wander outside for fear of encountering drama or a conversation I didn't want to have or half a dozen other things that sounded exceedingly unpleasant at the moment. Well, more unpleasant than sitting in a chilly, musty, dark lab with poor air circulation, reading a book I couldn't actually read.

There was a paper on the desk next to me, in front of all the distillers, and I'd occasionally scratch some notes on it, making a sort of game of compiling all of the notes on the cipher I could find. I didn't even know why I was doing this, as by the pictures, this appeared to be a book on plants. Half of them I already even recognized as alchemical ingredients.

I sighed and scribbled down another note. Weird cipher, if it was one. From what the notes seemed convinced of, it fucked with the grammar too. The basic sentence structure was always the noun, an unholy string of adjectives that could be any amount, and then a single verb. Always. There were no other types of words present, no clauses, no structure variation... I had no idea how the note taker even came up with that. Annoyingly, I was yet to run into a word that existed more than once. There was nothing to compare, and somehow, each of the mad scribbles and shapes they were made out of seemed... unique. I scoured pages trying to find a repeat, but had no luck so far. Worse yet, the longer I tried and more annoyed I got with it, the more I wanted to try even harder. It was like I didn't want this stupid book to beat me at this point.

A little chime resounded, and my right ear perked up, aimed towards the three distillers. Righty was done, which means I could, with a bit of prep, give the Illan functioning internal glandular systems and the piping involved. It would, with just this, only merge with her existing systems of course. Without a booster, it would probably do nothing. If I really forced it, she'd probably get a prostate, gain a boost to anal sex, and produce a lot more fluids, especially when orgasming. Fun, but ultimately not what we were aiming for.

I detached the vial and turned the distiller off, peeking at the purple liquid it had produced. Always double check. Sighing, I put my notes page in the book where I'd stopped reading and set it down on the desk before righting my chair with a dull thud. I carried the vial over to one of the analysis machines and plunked it in, flicking the device on.

My practiced fingers flew over the settings, and soon I had a readout display to peek over, floating to the side of the machine via illusion projection. It took me a couple of minutes, but I double checked the composition and it passed. Sighing, I put the vial into the splitter and got to work making the base needed to initiate the first catalyst reaction.

By the time I'd finished, I realized that I was getting hungry, unfortunately, and would have to leave at some point to see if I could find food. The downside was, I had no idea how to actually do that here. The 'dining hall' I heard about was usually only for events and meetings and stuff that the Queen sets up, and I wasn't sure how day to day food was acquired.

I set the first third of the finished potion next to the still brewing ones and sighed. The book was still sitting there on the desk, and I glared at it for a long moment before picking it up again. It had literally been covered in dust on the shelf, so I doubted anyone needed it for now, right? I tucked it into the small carry pack on my back and padded out of the alchemy lab, my new street sandals making soft little taps on the stone floor of the hallway.

It didn't take me long to make it up to the main floor again and head over to the dining hall. Predictably, it was empty, but the attached kitchen was not, I realized. Jackpot? Pushing on the staff door, I peeked around inside of the kitchen area, sniffing the air lightly. I couldn't help but lick my lips at the tasty smells coming from inside, and moved past the door into the room. I only stopped when I heard voices to my left.

"Yeah, I've never heard her so loud! The new male the Princess brought back must have been really railing her!" came a male's voice. Wait, what? I knew there were three 'Princesses', at least two of which were in the city right now. That gave it fifty percent odds that they were talking about me.

Peeking to the left, I saw that there were three individuals in the oven area, wearing servant clothing. The male was a Keld, his soft charcoal fur having splotches of gray to it as he stood quite a bit taller than me, leaning against one of the ovens not in use. Two tails danced slowly, swaying behind him and to the side, and he grinned over at a much shorter Illan girl who was sitting on a food prep table across from him. His smaller, triangle-shaped ears stayed perked high into the air as she giggled, and I had the thought that he seemed to be enjoying her company.

"It could have been Princess Nara, not the new male! You know how loud they get sometimes. Ooo, do we know anything about him?" the Illan asked, her tail swaying behind her in an excited fashion, tuft on the end brushing along the wall.

"Wait, the Princess brought back a new male?" came a third voice. She rounded the corner on the other side of them from me, also wearing servant's clothing. She had a white fur color instead, and looked a little shorter than the male, and I admit that I flicked my gaze down to her chest for a moment after, noting two sets of breasts under her tunic. Keld were interesting in that they doubled up some features, like their tails, and mammary glands in the females. I'd heard in the far past that they used to have double ear sets like the Vulkus did, but that apparently got evolved out at some point. Her shorter muzzle curled into a grin before she asked, "Is he cute?"

The male shot her a skeptical stare before asking, "Does it matter? He's the Princess'."

She just held her paws up, snickering, before she paused and was the first to finally spot me. "Oh! Um, hello! Who are you?" she asked, causing the other two to snap to attention and look over at me as well.

For a moment, I froze in place, not used to the spotlight being focused on me so quickly. "O-Oh! Uh, I'm Exes. I was actually looking around for somewhere I could get something to eat, and wondered if you were making anything in here?" I asked, suddenly feeling immensely awkward. My paws fidgeted in front of me for a moment as I stepped out more into the aisle.

The Illan girl giggled again at that, then admitted, "Well this is the kitchen. There's nothing going on at the moment though so we normally just take the custom orders of the palace residence. Uh, are you new here or something? I notice you don't have a uniform..." Eh?! Uniform?

My ears flattened back at that, and I asked, "I need a uniform? I didn't... I mean I knew I was supposed to wear something 'fancy' but I didn't realize it had to be something specific."

She grinned at that and nodded slowly, but the female Keld frowned and held a paw up to her. "Wait, I mean, you are wearing a very nice tunic already. Uh, are you actually staff...?" she asked, apparently noticing something about me. I looked down at the new, light blue tunic I was wearing, admitting it was a lot more comfortable than the leather one I'd arrived in, apparently being made of a spun fabric instead.

"Oh, staff? No, I don't work here. Um, I'm kind of a guest; Nara's new alchemy tutor and mate in training. I don't really know where anything is or how it works in the palace though so uh, I didn't know how to get food..." I admitted, deciding just being as honest as possible would be the best bet.

Or maybe not. All three of them snapped to attention instantly, the Illan actually wobbling before accidentally falling off the table. "Y-You're the new...?! Ah, sorry sir! Uh, normally food's ordered through the magical communication system installed in each of the bedrooms, or in one of the offices. Then we just deliver it right to you. Uh, do you know what you want to eat?" the male Keld asked, standing upright and rigid suddenly. The Illan scrambled up to her lower paws again a moment later, dusting the front of her dress off after and giving me a nervous grin. The female Keld coughed lightly after, then slunk to the right, closer to the table the Illan had been sitting on, and used her right paw to dust off where she'd been in several awkward motions. Uh...?

I held both paws up, now feeling even more awkward somehow. "Uh, no it's fine. I'm not really that special. I just didn't know how to order or anything. Um, what exactly are you making? I don't know what's available that I could have..." I tried to explain.

They looked at each other for a moment before at least the male relaxed a little. "Oh, uh, we do custom orders, so you could ask for anything really. I'm the cook, and then one of the ladies would deliver it wherever you wanted," he explained. My eyes widened a little at that.

"Whoa... anything? You mean I could have soup for breakfast, or an egg bowl for supper...? And you'd just deliver it wherever I was?" I asked. I didn't particularly like a lot of living inside of a palace, but I had to admit, that was pretty amazing!

The Illan relaxed a little, then burst into giggling again. "Of course, though uh, I'm not sure what an 'egg bowl' is. Though eggs are usually for breakfast, which is closest to now. Did you want some breakfast-y food?" she suggested, giving me a little grin.

The female Keld nodded enthusiastically to that, then assured, "Yeah, we can get you whatever you want, Sir!" The Illan shifted her lower left paw to the side a moment later and kicked the Keld in her right shin instead. "Ah! Ow..." she muttered, staggering for a moment before huffing and pouting. Uh, right...

"Well I like eggs. I don't know what kind of meats you have available, but I think I smell ham...?" I asked, sniffing the air again.

The male Keld grinned and nodded to that, suggesting, "Fried meats usually goes best with breakfast. Ham, bacon, or sausage if you'd like to be traditional. Could also whip you up some pancakes to go along with it."

My tail started to sway behind me a little at that and I nodded rapidly. "I don't know what a pancake is, but it sounds good! Should I wait here then or something?" I asked, getting another giggle from the Illan.

"I can deliver it wherever you wish, don't worry. Did you want it brought to Princess Nara's room?" she offered, giving a warm smile after.

"Ah, sure! That would work," I agreed, suddenly not wanting to be too much of a burden. I didn't know if they did deliveries down to the alchemy lab, though this forced me to go back up to Nara's room, unfortunately.

She nodded, giving me a little bow, and the male Keld tossed me a short salute. "On it! Should be about half an hour," he assured, grinning again.

"Ah, thanks!" I chirped, then waved to the three of them before heading back out the way I came. Well apart from initial awkwardness, that went fairly well. It certainly could have been worse!

Giving a little yawn, I certainly wasn't in any rush to get back up there, but also didn't want to miss food again like I had last night. Exiting the dining hall through the double doors leading to the royal wing, I padded slowly up the first flight of stairs before wincing as I suddenly heard rather sharp voices from nearby. I knew the second floor had the Queen's office and bedroom suite, and that did indeed sound like her.

"And out of all the possible times you two could have picked to do this, you decided upon now?" Queen Calien asked, not _quite_shouting, but getting close. Uh...

"We'd been talking about it for a long while, as you know! I didn't realize that my _womb_was a political asset!" I heard shot back in a distinctly Nara voice. Oh. Nope. Definitely nope. Deciding I wanted nothing to do with the rage sounding like it was coming from the office, I slunk up the stairs instead.

"I expected you to have a bit more common sense than this, Nara! You're still a Princess, and I need you to-" I heard, at least before I fled down the hall and as far out of earshot as I could get. Seems like I really dodged an arrow there, yikes!

Sighing, I turned the corner and moved up to Nara's door, now knowing she wasn't actually inside her room. A test of the handle showed it was locked, and I reached into my pocket, pulling out my rapidly expanding ring of keys. I hadn't anticipated being given access to so many areas of the palace, I admitted. Well her room was a given, but other than that!

The door unlocked easily enough and I slipped inside, closing it again with a click. I still wanted to figure out the auto-locking mechanism, but wasn't sure if I could put the door back together again afterwards in working order. Pity.

At this point I was a lot more familiar with Nara's room and just walked right through the 'entry' portion with the instrument. I'd asked her about that last night and turns out it was just hold over and a decoration that wasn't used anymore. But apparently it was some sort of antique and her mother didn't like her suggestion of just trashing the thing and turning the room into a magic lab. I would have been all for that, but the Queen had the final say.

Nara's actual magic lab was thusly in her bedroom. I'd only walked past it three times yesterday without noticing, though admittedly, yesterday was filled with distractions. Moving into the actual bedroom area, I peeked the lab over again. It was small but well equipped, with one corner of that side of the room a miniature isolation chamber, for casting magic in a safe zone that could be shielded in case you expected potentially explosive results. There was also a desk with writing supplies, and a sizable bookcase with glass cover. Her book collection was indeed impressive there, and I wondered if there were any tomes on healing magic. That was really my only specialty, apart from the bog standard basic magical education for a few utility spells. I could make illusion panes to display things or create illumination. A small burst of flames to ignite something if desired. Pretty useful for starting campfires or alchemic burners, I had to admit. A basic barrier and dispel spell, though I'd not used the normal barrier. It did have a useful branching off point into ward magic for alarms and other utility things, like privacy wards.

Peeking the desk over, I did see a lot of notes spread out all over, and a tome that was already open. It didn't take me long after examining each to realize that this was a whole lot of sex magic. I really should have seen that coming. She was a self-proclaimed nymphomaniac after all.

Turning away from the desk, I moved to go around the partition and into the bathing area once again, only to stop and freeze in place. It was silly of me, I admitted, to think that just because Nara wasn't here, that the room would be empty. Instead, it was very much not.

Feeari was under the shower spray currently, looking like she was washing her groin in particular. To my surprise, a very naked Zira was lounging on the tiles nearby on what looked like a rolled-out cushion bed of some sorts. Er, was that an ice pack tucked up under her tail, against her rear? Oh, wait, I think I remembered something about this. Excessively confirming my suspicions, there were not one but two strap-on harnesses and at least half a dozen dildos littering the floor around the pool, not to mention what looked like artificial lubricant of sorts. Wait, did that one have a pump attached to it? My thoughts and curiosity were interrupted as my eyes shifted to an also extremely naked Ziri, who was just stepping out of the pool as well, and toweling her hair down. She froze in front of me, eyes widening a little. The heat flared into my cheeks and I managed to mutter, "Ah! Uh, s-sorry." Abort! I must have missed the morning orgy and blundered into the cleanup and aftercare instead.

Turning, I quickly looked away from all three before promptly backtracking the way I came. I'd just have to go back down to the kitchen and get the food delivered somewhere else. "Wait, Exes..." I heard Ziri behind me, and I froze, not turning around again.

"Uh, y-yes?" I asked hesitantly, swallowing and hoping I wasn't in trouble for accidentally looking at her.

A paw touched against my left arm however, and gently rotated me back around. She'd moved the towel from her hair down to around her body, it serving as an extremely revealing strapless tunic of a sorts that barely covered her enough to hide everything. I forced my eyes to stay locked to her face as best I could.

She was blushing, but gave me a little smile and shook her head. "It's fine, Exes. This is your room too. We're just so used to it being just the four of us that you surprised me is all," she assured. Oh.

Zira had looked up from her lounging, me just now noticing that she had some sort of magazine or something in front of her. She seemed far less concerned about her nakedness, even if all I could see was her icepack-laden rear, and just gave me a smile and waved. Feeari had also noticed me by then and simply grinned, waving at me from the shower spray and not bothering to cover up in the slightest. Of course, we'd already gotten acquainted rather intimately, so she probably didn't feel the need.

"Oh, it's no big deal. I just didn't want to intrude. Um, I ordered some food that's supposed to be here soon for me, but I can just wait for it in the entry area if-" I started to offer.

"Ah! Food! Breakfast sounds amazing, especially after we just burned so much energy off! Think you could order some for us too, Ziri?" Feeari suddenly asked, turning around and stepping out of the water spray after. Her tail moved down behind her and actually turned the lever to shut the water off, even as she gave three short, slow little hops to get over to us, still dripping wet. I tried really, really hard not to watch her chest with each hop, but thankfully she was looking towards the honor guard instead.

Ziri gave a smile and nod back at her, then agreed with, "Food does sound good. I'll go place an order. The usual?" Feeari grinned and nodded, and I saw Zira pump one of her paws into the air behind her, with a "Yes!" added for good measure. I admitted that this all gave me the sensation of normalcy for them. They were like a family of sorts, and I wondered if it was just politics getting in the way of Nara asking her guards to join her pack.

After Ziri moved past me, Feeari turned and looked up at me, grin shifting to just a softer smile. To my surprise, she didn't say anything for a long moment, until her expression softened even more, and her eyes lowered a little, suddenly making her look a bit sad. I felt a twinge inside of me. Was I just a giant doormat? She was the reason for basically all of the pain and drama of the last day or so for me, causing large amounts of stress between Nara and I. But I still didn't like seeing her sad.

My paw moved up of its own accord, and her eyes widened a little as I brushed it along her cheek. She looked back up at me as I did, and I just gave her a little smile. Maybe it was because I could see things from her perspective too, and felt a lot of the same things all of a sudden? She'd been together with Nara as a friend and more for seven years. Then I show up and suddenly she has to share. And from what I'd seen of her first impression of me, she had no idea that it was coming. I suppose that kind of made it Nara's fault most of all, didn't it?

I widened my eyes a bit instead when she suddenly shifted forward, burying her face into my chest. Her arms stayed limp at her sides, and I just exhaled, giving in and putting mine around her entirely. And now my tunic was soaked... It took me a moment, but a little shiver wormed its way down my spine when I suddenly realized that she still smelled like me. Did the others pick up on that? How could they not if they'd been in an orgy...

Zira had apparently been watching, and started snickering in the background. "You really should have dried off first, Feeari..." she reminded after. The Illan's eyes opened with a snap, and she backed her head off me enough to look at my tunic's front, now soaked and partly see-through.

"Err, oops. S-Sorry, I just... I don't know why I felt like..." she muttered, frowning after.

"It's fine, Feeari. I can just change the tunic..." I muttered, releasing her as she backed up again, but not before giving her cheek another gentle rub. She flushed instead, eyes searching my expression for a long moment, but I just smiled to her and nodded before turning around and heading for the closet, undoing my sash as I went.

It was rather convenient to put the clothes hamper right next to the closet door, I noted, after tossing my wet tunic into it. I heard her distinctive hopping incoming before she arrived this time and turned to watch Feeari scamper up again, towel in paw as she rubbed herself down mid jump. Wait, she got all the way over to the towels and still made it to me in the time it took me to cross the bedroom area? Sheesh...

"Just stay in the shorts. They're comfy, right?" she chirped, grinning at me as she slid up and stopped right before me.

"Didn't we just get done with an orgy?" Ziri murmured, collapsing the illusionary plane display that came from the panel next to the door and walking back towards us, adjusting her towel. I blushed at mention of it, but not nearly as much as I honestly should have. This was quickly becoming my new normal, and I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

Feeari scoffed at that, assuring, "Well I'm _always_okay for more. Plus _Exes_didn't. And I kinda owe him big time..."

I shot her a skeptical look at that, then pointed out, "You don't have to sleep with me to pay me back. In fact, you don't have to pay me back at all. I'm not going to tell Nara if you don't." Given that Feeari was a slave, about her only way to pay me back was with her body, the only thing she still vaguely possessed. I'm pretty sure Nara knew and expected that, sadly.

She hesitated for a moment, then addressed the megama in the room abruptly with, "I'm pretty sure Nara expects me to. What else am I going to give you?" Bingo.

"No-thing..." I reiterated, grabbing both sides of her cheeks with my paws and holding her there to look right at me. She frowned for a moment, but I smiled again and gave both cheeks a little rub before leaning in and giving her a little peck to the forehead instead. She kind of reminded me of my little sister sometimes, I admitted, at least in the stubbornness department. Though I could be too, I realized.

Her cheeks were flushed when I pulled back, so I released her and gave another nod before hopping up onto the giant bed, slinging my carry pack down next to the bedside stand. Feeari followed me up onto the bed with a much more graceful hop than I managed, and to my surprise, Ziri sat down on the edge of it as well and stretched out.

"What if... I wanted to?" the Illan asked, still flushed a little as she crawled up to my side. I stayed flopped on my stomach, tail limp behind me and ears flat against the bed.

Considering it for a moment, I glanced back at Feeari, who was looking down at me rather hopefully. I gave a sigh and nodded to her. "I'm not going to get in the way of anything you want to do, Feeari. If you wanted to just have fun with me, we don't need to weigh payments or debt into it though, right?" I reasoned, not sure if she was getting the message or not.

She frowned again, cheeks turning even more red for some reason, then admitted, "That's not exactly what I meant by-"

All three of us jumped when the bedroom door slammed open in full force in the other room. "Oh dear..." Ziri muttered, and it didn't take long for a really pissed off looking Nara to furiously stalk around the room partition, sandals actually managing to make noise despite the carpet. Uh oh. Well I already knew her meeting with the Queen hadn't gone well.

She froze for a second when she saw me, then softened her expression a little into only looking miserable instead. "It... didn't go well?" Ziri asked cautiously, just as Zira walked back in from the bath area completely naked. My eyes widened for a second at her, and I quickly snapped my focus away again and back to Nara, swallowing nervously.

Nara sighed, not seemingly minding the various states of undress most of the room was in. Which was concerning, as I assumed she'd be minding in the other direction were her mood better. Though it sounded like Ziri, and probably Zira too, already knew about why she was meeting with her mother. "She relented finally, but she's pissed. It got taken out on me, but..." she muttered, eyes raising again to lock onto me as I rotated and sat upright to face her fully. Feeari mirrored my movements, only holding an immensely guilty look instead.

"But?" Zira asked when she didn't continue, sitting down on the opposite corner of the bed from Ziri and frowning as she watched.

Giving a sigh, Nara shrugged idly. "The whole situation's not ideal. And despite being upset that she's taking it out on me, I can't help but think that maybe she's right. A lot of this is completely my fault. I didn't warn Feeari about Exes before I left, I didn't tell Exes about Feeari at all, and I basically just left them to sort out their own issues by beating the crap out of each other. Despite me knowing, or at least suspecting at that point, that both of them had jealousy and possessive traits. And now I've let my eagerness push us into a situation where I literally have no choice but to play favorites and screw over Exes," she explained, giving a tired groan after before just flopping onto the middle of the bed's edge, limp now.

Ziri and Zira both shifted over and started gently massaging her back, but she just lay there, similar to my old position from earlier. It didn't seem to help much, as she started to shiver a bit after, and both twins were forced to pull back as she suddenly screamed right into the bed, lashing with her arms and just smacking the mattress over and over again. I winced, and four sets of ears all dropped at once as we watched.

"Nara, it's my fault too," Feeari whined, slipping forward and trying to massage the top of Nara's back, at least causing her to stop the flailing. "I'm being... selfish and possessive again, I know. It's disgusting and I can't even make myself stop it. But... now I know Exes has the same feelings. He's just in control of himself and nice about it, and..." she started rambling, eyes getting watery again the longer she went on. I swallowed, not exactly able to deny what she said. I wouldn't say I was in control of it though.

My ears slowly lowered into a downwards position instead of flattened, and I sighed. "I'm not in control of it really. At all. It's more I just... don't want to hurt anyone with my own feelings. I'm the 'atypical' one here, and I'm starting to kind of feel like a lot of these half-Vulkus thoughts are just a curse or detriment. I don't know," I attempted to explain, frowning as I tried to organize the jumble in my own head.

"Don't want to hurt anyone, or don't think you're worth it enough to be troubled over?" Ziri asked, expression blank again as she looked back over at me and exercised her words as accurately as she sliced through something with her spear. Nara looked up at her, then over at me, her own eyes wet and pooling tears towards the bottom, even as she frowned.

I stared at her for a long moment before simply muttering, "I'm a male. And I'm not the Grandmaster Alchemist yet. Only an apprentice..." It was just a fact. The Queen expected her daughter to treat me like I already held the position. Bribe me ultimately so I stayed interested in Nara and eventually was mated into the royal family, where I could be ultimately monitored. Expectations versus reality however were starting to take their toll.

Ziri slowly shook her head at that. "Who you are and what rank you hold, in regards to being mated and a pack, only should matter to those who are outside of the pack. Ultimately, everyone in the pack should hold their own values, and in regards to this being Nara's pack, even those outside of it no longer matter. She can pick anyone she wants to join. You being male isn't a negative thing, nor is your station..." she corrected, holding a surprisingly modern viewpoint on things.

Zira sighed next and observed, "I almost think the Queen thinks your potential station makes you even more important actually. Though I don't think her tugging in both directions all the time is helping stress levels either..."

Giving a low whine, Feeari asked, "Would it help any if I... backed off? Maybe if Nara didn't breed at all this Estrus?" I leaned back against the pillows with that and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Would it?

"Her breeding or not is up to her," I pointed out, then asked, "But you backing out, would it really make any difference, Feeari? When Nara is ready to actually have a kit, there's still going to be no resolution there, and we'll just have a repeat of things now but with however many years of stagnation's built up. Plus, this is a kit we're talking about. Brand new life being brought into the world, not just a single event during Estrus."

Maybe it was because being a medical mage had me actually helping deliver a lot of aforementioned new life. It was messy and often ugly, and not always a pain free experience even with modern magic and medicine, but ultimately, I did think the rewards were worth it. What got me the most was the mother getting to hold her kit for the first time and watching that immediate bond just bursting between them. I smiled a little to myself thinking back on it.

The room was unnaturally quiet for an extended period of time, and that actually pushed me faster out of my thoughts than a direct addressing would have. My ears perked up again and I opened my eyes, looking at everyone, only to discover everyone looking at me instead, spiking my awkwardness to heightened levels.

Feeling like they should have an explanation, I tried to run through what I had in my head earlier with, "I just have helped deliver a lot of kits, being a medical mage. It's... always a big deal and huge event, especially for the parents. It's also a commitment, but from everything I've seen, it really is worth it. If Nara wants to be a mother, she has my support is all I'm saying." Nara's eyes widened at that, but I looked to Feeari instead and added, "Plus, you're right, Feeari. You've been with Nara for seven years, which completely dwarfs the amount of time I've been with her. Your relationship and feelings for each other are adamant and strong, while she and I haven't even gone a full day into a trial mating. If anyone should be considered for being the father, it should be you, not me..."

I really did try. I'd thought pointing all of it out would make her feel more adamant and assured of her feelings, but it seemed like every word I spoke to her just looked like I was punching Feeari in the face more and more. And now she was crying again. Was this my fault...?

"Feeari..." Nara muttered, eyes softening before she sat up again and pulled the Illan over against her, sighing. "I was too hard on you last night..." she muttered, giving her a squeeze against herself. The Illan seemed incapable of actually talking now and just cried into Nara's chest. I'm really bad at this, I noted.

Ziri gave a sigh, watching the scene from the side before looking to me again. "I'd always figured those that started into the medical professions early, grew up a lot faster. And not always in a good way..." she admitted, causing me to shrug. She shook her head however, then noted, "But what's also causing stress is that there's indeed an imbalance. You're new to the pack, if we consider Feeari, Zira, and I to be honorary members. Even if you were Nara's 'Fourth', in that case, we still should be making you feel welcome and trying to keep you engaged and actually in the pack..."

They started to do that 'twin' thing again, when Zira nodded at the same time, then asked, "Do you feel welcome and engaged then? Where have you been for most of the morning?"

They were ruthless. She saw an opening and went right for the heart in one go. Swallowing, I opened my mouth to say something, but then realized I didn't know what I should say here. Hesitating, I looked to the side instead, causing Nara to wince as she watched. Fuck.

"I was down in the alchemy lab mixing up the potions for Feeari..." I finally answered, leaving out the part where I was technically just hiding down there.

"The whole time? Even through the distilling?" Nara asked, frowning to me. Right, I was teaching her alchemy.

Zira sighed at that instead, then answered, "That would be a no, then. Time to yourself is fine but so fast after the attempted start of the trial mating...? Avoiding the pack is usually not a good sign."

"Yeah, that's mostly what my mother was yelling at me for. Apart from her obviously having a big investment in making sure Exes does stick with us, she's right of course..." Nara acknowledged, squeezing Feeari a bit tighter before leaving her right arm wrapped around the Illan and pulling herself across the bed with the other.

My first instinct was to back up a bit to give them room, but she didn't stop, dragging herself and Feeari right up against my side instead. They both looked up at me afterwards, one still crying, and I swallowed the lump in my throat, having no idea what they wanted me to do.

Nara watched me for a long moment before sighing and leaning in again, placing her muzzle on my shoulder instead. "I'm sorry, Exes. It feels almost like you're back to how you were when I first met you. Shy and nervous," she murmured, closing her eyes as she rested against me.

Ziri spoke up a moment later. "We should probably go and leave you three be."

Frowning, Nara opened her eyes again and looked over at her before asking, "Didn't we just talk earlier about you two being in the pack too? I think you should stay..."

Zira noted, "I don't think it would be a good idea to give Exes a reason to actually consider himself your Fourth."

"It's not a pecking contest," I cut in with, quoting Nara from last night. She looked up from my shoulder at me and gave a little smile before nodding, herself.

"This is too complicated to assign an order. I don't think we should number any of you. It'll just lead to hurt feelings..." she agreed. I normally would have too, but I was having trouble feeling fully attached now. Everything Exir and I talked about was still bouncing around inside my head, now that everything was being brought back up again. The problem was, now I couldn't stop thinking about him and Iri. Was Nara faking this too and just really good at acting? Did that mean they were all in on it, and if so, why cause this huge amount of drama if the only goal was to keep me interested? Even if Nara wasn't lying to me and everything was legit, the original relationship we'd formed had changed, hadn't it?

Back when I met Nara, it was just Nara. The payment to the village was just to tutor her; the relationship with her was entirely on us. But it was created, at least on my end, with the knowledge that it was only Nara. Now that we got to the capital, it wasn't only Nara. Now I've discovered that I get to actually _share_Nara with not one, but three other individuals that she failed to mention she was in various stages of sexual and romantic relationships with. It felt like a bait and switch now more than ever, and suddenly I realized that I needed to decide if I was okay with that. Was the new deal something I could stomach still, or not worth it? Especially with how things had played out so far...

I was lost in thought, even as I realized they were still talking. "It's been something that's been brewing for a while. I don't think public opinion has much sway anymore," Nara muttered, shaking her head before adding, "Everyone in and out of the palace knows my and Feeari's relationship with the two of you is more than just professional. You two officially joining would just be publicly stating that, and not really even be news..."

Ziri sighed at that and shrugged weakly. "It just makes me nervous. I know we're 'technically' already members, but it feels like making a big deal out of turning it official will just pull even more focus away from Exes and adapting to the changes you and Feeari are already going through..." she explained. The more I heard them talk, the more I felt like it was me that was the one getting in the way of the four of them adjusting to stabilize their relationships.

"I think you should," I cut in, causing them all to look back at me before I elaborated, "You spoke about values and making sure each and every member of the pack was welcome, but you keep propping me up way higher than I should be. All three of you have known Nara for a laughably longer time than I have, but her two loyal guards since kithood get put on hold to let me adapt? I've known her for two weeks, and been in a _trial_mating with her for less than twenty-four hours. The only person intentionally shoving me up higher in importance is, as Zira said, the Queen."

Nara frowned at that, still staring at me while the other three just looked to her instead. I kept my expression neutral as I looked back to her, and knew that even if she accused me of trying to minimize myself again, she couldn't actually deny what I said. It was just the truth. I was the newest person to be introduced to... whatever this was. I didn't even know anymore.

Zira finally sighed however, looking back to me before bluntly asking, "We know this hasn't been the best time or what you expected. But one thing that's really important to ask is, in suggesting all of these things, are you actually just gearing up to cut your losses instead?" My eyes widened a little at that, but Nara suddenly looked like she inhaled her tongue. A sentiment I could at least sympathize with.

"Cut his losses?" Feeari asked, frowning as she opened her eyes and looked over at Zira instead. I looked away from both of them, but Ziri answered for her.

"Accept that it's not working out and leave the pack. And no, Zira, that's not really a good thing to ask. It'll just put him on edge and force him to try to evaluate it now," she pointed out, the twins sharing a rather mutually annoyed look at each other.

A rather loud knock to the door interrupted all of us however. Thank the gods beyond for distractions. "Mmm, food," I reminded, shifting away from Nara and Feeari but suddenly getting stopped when Nara's paw shot out and grabbed my arm. Tch.

"I'm dressed, I'll go get it. Please, Exes, just stay?" she pleaded, expression looking worried now. Did she mean stay in the room or something else?

Sighing, I nodded to her, and she slid off the edge of the bed instead, moving to the entry area at a jogging pace. Feeari didn't leave however, instead shifting up and against my side where Nara had been before. She looked nervous as she glanced up at me, and I couldn't help but just sigh again. My old tribe life was way less complicated, I realized...