Alex in Wonderland Chapter 15 Draden By Amethyst

Despite the late celebrations on the night of our wedding, I awoke early the next morning. For several minutes I just laid there smiling as dawn painted the sky outside, while I drank in the naked form of my new bride. Finally I decided to wake her and I whispered in her ear, “Time to wake up sweetie.” I followed that up with a soft lick behind her ear and she giggled and opened her eyes. I had discovered the night before that having a cat’s tongue can make things very interesting in the bedroom, especially when it’s applied to the erogenous zones.

“Ya do realize tha if’n ya start wit’ tha again we’re goin’ ta be in bed fer candlemarks,” Jezz replied breathily. “I thought we were plannin’ on an early start.”

I had moved down to begin licking her right nipple, but I abruptly stopped at her words. “I suppose we’ll have to wait until we arrive at the summer house then,” I teased.

She let out a soft groan as I stopped and said, “I s’pose we ‘ave a few minutes.”

“I thought you might say that,” I replied with a grin, before getting back to where I had left off. It was over a candlemark before we had had our fill of one another’s bodies for the time being and decided to call Felice and Kiryn to bring breakfast and help us get prepared for the day ahead. The pair had packed our bags for the trip the night before, so all we had to do was to eat and get dressed for the trip. Once we had finished a filling breakfast of broiled lake fish and potatoes, scrambled liddeck eggs, toasted sweet bread, and rillfruit juice we both got changed into our drakan-hide riding gear.

I had my entire outfit on, in case we ran into trouble on our journey to Draden and I would need to do some scouting. I also had my rifle in its harness and my weapons belt on with my sword, dagger, pistol and several extra clips. Jezz had followed my lead and had all of her weapons on as well. We were hoping for an uneventful trip, but one can never be too careful, especially since our honeymoon trip was common knowledge throughout Azure by now. Once we were completely dressed and equipped, I sent out my thoughts to Michelle. ~Good morning sis, are you ready for our trip?~

~Ready and raring Alex,~ came her cheerful reply. ~We’ve got our harnesses on, your baggage in the saddlebags, and it’s a beautiful day for flying. I can’t wait to get up there.~

~Me either,~ I agreed. ~Are Snow and the others ready too?~

~We’re on our way now sis,~ I replied as Jezz and I headed out the door and made our way to the courtyard, where Patar and Runne waited with Michelle and our guard contingent. Everyone was mounted and ready to go, but I was a bit confused by Grayle’s absence. ~Where’s Grayle?~ I asked my wife as I squeezed her small hand in mine.

~She decided to get a head start while we were otherwise engaged,~ the Cinole replied. ~She wanted to give the others a chance to fly flat out for a bit before having to slow to match her pace. And this way I’ll get to ride with you for a while.~

~Well I won’t complain about that,~ I sent back with a grin as I released her hand. We placed Pounce and Chrissy into one of the bags on the harness and made sure there was an opening to give them some air. Then I leapt scrambled up Michelle’s back with feline agility and then made my way onto her shoulders and into the safety straps, which I made sure were well secured. Jezz flew up to join me and wrapped her arms around me from behind causing me to sigh happily. “Okay Runne and Patar, we’re ready when you are,” I called out once we were both comfortably settled in place.

Runne leaped into the air and all five of our Drakans followed suit. Soon we were high above the castle and making our way westward over the farmlands and lush forests of Azure. Flying again, and experiencing both Michelle’s and my own feelings of exhilaration at doing so, had me on cloud nine. Within roughly half a candlemark we had caught up with Grayle and slowed to a more sedate pace, so that the Earth Drakan could keep up.

The sun was high in the sky when we took a break for the midday meal in a small clearing. Everyone was in high spirits from our first official flights and we all talked merrily about it, and the trip, as we ate the picnic lunch that the palace chef had prepared for us all. While we talked and ate, Pounce and Chrissy enjoyed the sunshine and a meal of their own and our Drakans hunted and ate their own meals before returning to join us in conversation. Finally Patar got us moving again and it was back into the sky and onward to Draden, though this time Jezz rode Grayle on the ground.

I could see the ocean on the horizon, and as we made our way closer I began to discern buildings and streets, but nothing prepared me for the sight of Draden laid out beneath us. The city was massive, almost twice as big as our capitol city of Velheim, and at the center was a large array of brightly colored tents, with throngs of people walking between them as they checked out all the various goods in the marketplace or looked for something specific. To the northwest were the docks, where boats of every shape and size from row boats and fishing boats to large trading vessels sat amongst the flurry of activity common to any major trade destination.

Once we had reached the city, Irric and Lannah broke formation to land and have Snow and Forte run alongside Grayle, ensuring that she and Jezz were well guarded as they made their way around the outer edge of the city. Patar had us following him to the southwest where soon a large house, or perhaps a small palace, sat overlooking the beach. The grounds were fenced and well-tended for from the looks of the short grass and the beautiful gardens with a fountain at the very center. A cobblestone path led from the gates to the front entrance of the large stone house, passing through the gardens and encircling the fountain. We flew over all of it and landed in the inner courtyard while Grayle, my bride, and their escort made their way along the path to join us.

As soon as we had all left our Drakans’ backs the house servants were there to take our baggage to our rooms, under the expert supervision of a pure white Zenin with blue eyes and long curly hair blonde hair that was nearly as light as her fur. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and, once she had sent all the servants off with our baggage, she approached our group and gave a low curtsey. “Your Highnesses, it is a pleasure to have you here. I am Laila, I run the house, and I will be more than happy to see to whatever needs you may have while you are here.”

“Thank you Laila it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said with a genuine smile as I looked around. “This is a lovely home you have here.”

“It is your home Your Highness, whenever you have need of it. I merely manage it for you, as my mother did before me,” she replied with a smile of her own. “I haven’t seen you since you were a kitten and my mother still ran the house. I was only ten then, but I used to take you to play on the beach and change your diapers. You have grown into a beautiful young Zenin and I heard great things about you from your parents when they were here earlier this pass, they are very proud of you, you know, all of Azure is.”

I could feel myself blushing under my fur. “I’ll do my best to be worthy of all that pride.” Then I hurried on to introduce everyone.

She seemed fascinated by our Drakans and finally said, “They are beautiful, I love how pretty Michelle is with the setting sun reflecting off her scales. I was told that you were only Chosen a few tenths ago, but these Drakans look to be fully grown.”

“We got some surprise wedding gifts yesterday. Kanae decided to gift us with vitality, so that our Drakans could grow to their full size. Even after the other gifts, that one was a bit of a surprise,” I informed her with a laugh. “We can tell you all about it over dinner if you’d like.”

“I would love to hear about how the ceremony and the celebration went,” she agreed. “Dinner should be ready in half a candlemark, so I will give you a tour and then show you to your rooms so you can all clean up a bit before we dine.”

The house, if you can call something that big a house, was made of solid stone and thick yalk wood and was designed to remain cool in the summer and warm during the winter rains. It wasn’t near as big as the palace, but it was very comfortable and boasted a large rooftop patio, twenty guest bedrooms, a lounge, stables, ballroom, formal dining room, and all the amenities required to live comfortably. The heir’s bedroom suite that Laila showed Jezz and I to was similar to our quarters in the palace, and we quickly changed into more casual clothes. Jezz and I had left most of our weapons with Michelle and Grayle for safe keeping, but we kept our pistols on us and as hidden as possible in case of emergency.

Dinner was a casual affair, and as we ate we told Laila about the union ceremony and everything that had happened after. She seemed very interested in it and I felt a little bad that someone who served the royal family so loyally and well hadn’t been able to be there. After that the subject changed to Drakans and Gifts, and what we should do while in Draden. Laila had no experience with either of the former as she wasn’t Gifted herself, but for the latter she had a number of suggestions for us.

First, she suggested taking us on a tour of the city whenever it could be arranged. I suggested doing a preliminary tour from above on Drakans to avoid the crowds and she seemed really enthusiastic about the possibility. Next she suggested spending some time just relaxing on the beach and enjoying the sunshine. Lastly, she thought that we should go to the marketplace to do some shopping. Draden had the biggest marketplace in Azure and carried items imported from all over the Greylands. They had prickleberry brandy from the Great Sands, satins and silks from Torma, spices and delicacies from Syrnia, fine weapons and armor from the greatest Jiquar smiths in Hirn, and even rare herbs, tapestries, and perfumed oils from the fabled Dacotis Islands.

The last part really caught my attention. “The Dacotis Islands? I thought that the Kyran are extremely isolationist.”

“They are,” Laila agreed. “They don’t trust outsiders much, but they are practical and they have needs that we can supply. We have a half-Kyran living here in Draden and, since her looks are all Kyran, they’ll trade with her when she goes to visit her father. I’m surprised you don’t know about her actually, her name is Visanna and she’s the Chosen of Arina.”

With the sole exception of Patar, every jaw at the table dropped at that revelation. I gasped and stared at her as I remembered my history lessons and replied, “They were the first Drakan and Chosen pair, and it was Visanna who discovered that Drakans could bond to other species. They helped my mother to reclaim her title of Heir and become Queen during the Shadow War eighteen passes ago. And it was them who gathered all the remaining Drakans, led them to Azure, and convinced them to start the Choosings. But I didn’t know she was half-Kyran, and I thought she left Azure.”

“She left for a time,” Patar explained. “She went to the islands to visit her father and then she and Arina decided to facilitate trade between our two nations, since they were going back and forth anyway. She still loyally serves the royal family by doing a lot of our ocean scouting, to make sure the empire doesn’t send an army this way by sea. She and Arina have a beach house not far from here actually.”

“Do you think we could add a visit with them to our itinerary?” I asked, suddenly eager to meet the first Drakan/Chosen pair.

“I shall see if it can be arranged,” Patar responded with his bearish grin. “If she is back from the islands before we leave I would not think she would mind seeing her Jikkune again. She has not seen you for several passes and likely would have been at the Union ceremony if the timing were better, but there was some sort of emergency among her people.”

I blinked several times as I stared at the Jiquar, not sure if I had heard him right. Jikkune meant goddaughter in Zenin with godson being Jikkun and godparent being Jikkara or Jikkar depending on the gender. It was usually an oath sworn before one or more Gods within the first few days after a child is born, to watch over and protect them should anything happen to their parents. It wasn’t something that was done often though, because since most Zenin families have multiple parent figures there is no need. “She’s my Jikkara?”

“Aye, your mother trusts Visanna and Arina as much as she does me and Runne, possibly more,” he said with a sigh as he reminisced. “When you were born I was still new to being your mother’s protector, and Visanna was like a sister to your mother. The Sea God Orin always calls to Visanna so she does not like being too far from the ocean, but she did not want to leave your Mother, you, and Azure unprotected when she left. So thirteen passes ago, before she left to return to her people for a time, she and Arina gathered all the Drakans they could find in the Greylands, brought them to Azure, and helped to forge the agreement between them and your mother, which led to the nest breakings and the Chosen.”

We had planned to hit the beach the next day, but our plans needed to be changed for two reasons. The first reason was that when we woke that morning it was to the sound of heavy rain pouring outside. The second reason, we didn’t discover until after Jezz and I had a morning romp to both relieve our desires for one another, and for something to do while we were stuck inside by reason number one. Afterwards we had headed downstairs for a late breakfast in the dining room, where the others were waiting and already half finished their own morning meals. I had barely sat down when I was hit by a wave of desire and the realization that someone smelled very good.

Jonth seemed to realize it at the same time, and I could see the desire in his eyes warring with other emotions as we stared at one another. Lannah was of course the first to notice the looks that we were giving one another, and her voice slipped into my mind with a mental grin. ~So, it’s that time is it? I would suggest you eat something before you drag Jonth off to your rooms though, you’ll be needing the energy.~

I tried to busy myself with helping myself to the morning banquet that had been laid out for us as I considered both my desire for the handsome Zenin, and the fact that this would be my first time with a man of any sort. Between my nervousness and my need to do something about the desire, my hands were shaking as I loaded up a plate. I made a conscious effort to more tightly control my empathy as I began to slowly eat. ~I know I promised myself, and my mother, that I would produce an heir, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this. I’m a bit nervous about being alone in bed with Jonth, what if he doesn’t enjoy himself? I mean, I really like him, but this could change our whole relationship. What if I enjoy it with him more than I do with Jezz?”~ I sent back to the other telepath.

~Calm down Alex, it’s only sex.~ she tried to reassure me. ~It’s meant to be enjoyable by all parties involved. You love Jezz, anyone can see that, and she knows that you need to produce an heir. You need to get over this monogamy hang-up you have. You’re free to love more than one person, and to have sex as an expression of that love or even just to have a child. You and Jonth are not cheating on me and Jezz as you seem to believe. How do you feel about me and Jonth?~

I thought about that for a while before answering. Thinking would have been easier if I wasn’t so horny, but eating at least gave me an excuse to be quiet. ~I really care for both of you. I care for Irric and Rozia too, but with you two it’s different. Jonth and I have the whole gender swap thing in common, and he’s attractive and a sweet guy who respects me as a person and not just because I’m the princess. Most guys would want to produce an heir with me just to get an in with the royal family, but not him, he considered my needs first. If I had wanted to make things easier on myself by marrying a Zenin male instead of Jezz, he’d likely be the one I would choose. And you…~

~And me…~ she urged.

~We have a lot in common too; we’re both telepaths, we both come from families where just being born put high expectations on us, and we were even born on the same day. You’re sweet, funny, attractive, and once you got over your nerves and saw me as a person rather than the princess, I think we formed a really strong bond. I think I’m in love with both of you, but not in the same way as with Jezz, you’re different people and I love you for different reasons. I don’t want to hurt either of you and that, plus growing up on a world where non-monogamous relationships were frowned upon, makes me think that I would be betraying you and Jezz by sleeping with Jonth.~

~I think there will be a lot more than sleeping going on,~ she joked. ~You’re not on your old world anymore and you can’t let it hold you back from being happy. The four of us have formed a wonderful relationship since we met and we all care for one another deeply. This is just taking that relationship to the next level.~

~She’s right you know,~ Michelle interrupted. ~We’re not on Earth anymore, so you don’t need to conform to what’s acceptable there. You let that hold you back from transition for years, don’t let it hold you back now when it’s not even an issue. You’re my sister and my Chosen, and I want you to be happy. I’m the only other person from Earth who will ever know about this, and I say that you need to go native.~

~Jezz and I will be there with you the first time,~ Lannah offered. ~We’ll help you relax and enjoy yourself, and then hopefully afterwards it won’t be so much of an issue for you.~

Once we had all finished eating I was escorted back to the Heir’s Suite by Jezz, Lannah, and Jonth. I was a bit nervous about this, so I was a bit slow at undressing, and I was pretty sure that I had a full body blush going on underneath my fur. The others didn’t seem to have my reservations as Jezz seemed only too happy to get undressed again. Lannah wasn’t just getting naked, she was flaunting her body and it was turning me on even more than I was before. Jonth too had no qualms about undressing in front of Jezz and I and, once he had dropped his pants, I discovered that he was… obviously very enthusiastic about the current situation.

Jonth seemed to notice my nervousness and the way I was staring at his naked form and said, “I know you said that you want to use this Tahrin to have an heir, but we have time to take it slow if you need to. We can wait until tomorrow.”

I appreciated his concern for my needs and my feelings, it was one of the things that I really loved about Jonth, but I needed to do this sooner or later and we were already here, so it might as well be now. I carefully peeled off my underclothes and took a deep breath to calm myself. “It’s okay Jonth, I can do this. I need to do this.” I tried not to focus on my own nakedness, and the fact that my Earth-bred inhibitions were screaming at me to stop this, by focusing on Lannah and Jonth. I had never seen either of them nude before and I had to admit that both of their naked forms were very pleasing to the eyes.

Lannah was even more slender than I had originally thought, with very nice curves, and while her breasts were not large they were perky and firm and looked very nice on her frame. And apparently when she changes her coloring she changes it all, as the current white hair she was sporting was matched by the nicely trimmed bush between her legs. I had seen Jonth shirtless before, but this was totally different, I hadn’t noticed before how muscular he was under that grey fur, or that little patch of white on his lower belly.

The three of them guided me to the bed and insisted that I just lay back and let myself enjoy it this first time around. Usually in my very limited sexual encounters on Earth and with Jezz I tried to make sure that my partner was enjoying the experience as much as possible, while my own pleasure was a secondary concern, so this was a bit difficult for me, it made me feel selfish in a way. Those thoughts soon faded though with the pleasure I was experiencing. Lannah and Jezz both were taking turns kissing me while caressing me with their hands and whichever one wasn’t kissing me was licking or sucking at my breasts. That on its own would have been amazing, but then I had Jonth between my legs showing me exactly how my own cat’s tongue must have felt when I used it on Jezz. He could have just taken me and had his pleasure while I was distracted by the girls, but he wanted me to enjoy myself before he got his own pleasure, and frankly knowing that relaxed me even more than the pleasure I was receiving.

When he finally did enter me, he warned me first as he took his own turn at kissing me deeply. There was a brief stabbing pain, but it soon subsided and I was once again immersed in pleasure. Part of that was of course from the two beautiful women doing their best to tease me into slow orgasm after slow orgasm, but I also found that the feeling of being entered, having a man that I genuinely cared for inside me making slow love to me was a pleasurable experience in itself. I was nowhere near wanting to swear off women, and I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t the fact that the man was Jonth rather than someone I barely knew, but the thought that I could feel this good with Jonth making love to me made me feel much better about giving into my Tahrin like I was.

It felt a little strange when Jonth finally came inside of me, but it was a good strange. I knew that I both needed and wanted a child, and if I could choose any man I knew to give me one it would be him. We continued to all kiss and tease and give one another pleasure for a while after that. Finally we all collapsed together into a huge snuggle fest that made me feel so loved and wanted that I thought I might have trouble ever sleeping alone again as one by one we drifted off for a nap.

For all three days of my Tahrin we spent much of the days in that bedroom making love, whether it was all four of us or just Jonth and I… because of course we wanted to be sure that I would be pregnant, and this was the best time and all. I had mostly gotten over my hang-up and realized that all three of my lovers were right, this wasn’t Earth and while a foursome relationship might not be acceptable there, here in Azure it wasn’t uncommon, and it was something that we all wanted. It was a nice time for me and, with the last of those Earth-bred inhibitions gone, I was finally beginning to feel completely at home in my new life.

Not all the time was spent in bed though, since Patar was making sure that we all got our daily combat practice in. During those practice sessions we all noticed a marked improvement in both Jezz and myself. The pair of us had more stamina, strength, agility, speed, and better reflexes than we had ever displayed before. Jezz could now pull off some mind blowing aerial manoeuvres and whereas my balance, flexibility, and climbing skills were good before, now they were amazing. It would seem that when Gund gives a gift he doesn’t skimp.

The day after my Tahrin ended we went for an aerial tour of the city at first light. Laila rode Michelle with Jezz and I, while other servants who knew the city well were chosen to ride with Lannah, Rozia, Jonth and, Irric. It was a lot of fun and, although I couldn’t see her face to know that Laila was enjoying herself, I could feel the joy and excitement coming off the white Zenin in waves as she pointed out areas of interest, told us a bit of the history, and helped us to decide on what places to go to when we were in the city rather than above it.

At the end of our Drakan-back tour we followed Runne toward a large stretch of beach, where the Drakans landed and took a morning nap while we all headed into the city. First we visited all of the temples and then Jezz and I spent some time visiting Varun, the Earl of Draden, before going to check out the marketplace. If I had thought that it looked big from above, it was absolutely huge from the ground. Everywhere I looked there were colored tents with friendly merchants hawking their wares. I didn’t buy anything, but there were some very nice clothes and jewellery, and some well-made weapons and armor. I didn’t think anything could compare to the weapons that Kardis forged at the palace, but these came pretty damn close.

Patar and Laila led us past various tent-shops to a large blue one and we all entered. The inside was filled with the most interesting scents, and well lit by kida lamps, so I assumed that the shop owner was wealthy, had connections, or ran a good business. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, so I began to look at one of the tapestries while Patar waited for whomever it was that ran the shop. The weavers had done an amazing job of the seascape and the colors were so vibrant. I could hear talking, but I was so engrossed in looking at the tapestry that I wasn’t paying much attention to who was talking or what was being said.

Suddenly a high-pitched voice shouted, “Jikkune!” I turned just in time to see a blue and green blur before I had the air knocked out of my lungs by some sort of kamikaze tackle hug. Then the person’s lips were to my ear as she nuzzled my cheek and said softly, “I heard you were going to be here, but I wasn’t sure if you would have time to see me. I am sorry that it has been so long since we have seen one another.”

“Umm… that’s okay,” I said uncertainly to this person, who was apparently my godmother and had no sense of personal space. “I guess you’re my Jikkara, Visanna?”

She nodded and continued to nuzzle my cheek with her own before seeming to realize what she was doing. “Oh! Right, Nisa did tell me when she was here that you had lost your memory. I am glad to see you healthy and whole, I have not seen you in passes, and I’ve missed you. I am sorry if I took you by surprise, I forgot that you might not know me. My people show our affection through physical contact, and I’ve gotten into that habit as well spending so much time with them. Let me get a good look at you sweetling.”

She got off me and took a few good steps back so that we could look one another over. She wore only a bright yellow wrap around her waist and a bikini style top of the same color, and she was humanoid with long powerful legs and arms with large webbed hands and feet. Her skin looked to be composed of very tiny scales, ranging in shades of blue and silvery grey. Her dark green hair was currently tied back, revealing flared fin-like ears that resembled clam shells and she had large purple eyes. She was about a tayr (close to a foot) shorter than me and had these strange slits along the outer part of her ribs which I thought might be gills of some sort.

Despite all this, I think what surprised me the most was that she didn’t look a day over eighteen. I had been told that she was sixteen when she and Arina had formed their lifebond, and that was well over eighteen passes ago. There was no way she should still look that young. She smiled as she looked me over. “You have grown sweetling, you’re taller than me now, and you’re so beautiful.” She let out a sad sigh. “I am so sorry that I could not be at the Union Ceremony, but we had the mother of all windstorms hit the islands and there has been a lot of damage.”

“Do your people need any assistance? Azure would be more than happy to offer you any aid you might need,” I offered. If a hurricane had hit and done a lot of damage then they could probably use all the help they could get.

“You are very kind, thinking of us like that, just like Nisa, She must be very proud of how you are turning out. I would be glad to take any aid you can give to the islands. Perhaps with your show of generosity, the elders might see fit to allow more personal relations between our two nations.”

I blushed at that, “Thank you, I’m just trying to be a good person, I think I need to do that before I can be a good leader.”

She nodded in approval. ”You know, Arina is going to want to see you. We had been talking about coming to see you after you had your Giftsun, and taking you to see a bit of the world. You were always so eager to see new places and find adventure, but I gather you have found some of that on your own sneaking out and going to the Frozen Wastes of all places. You could have come seen me, I probably would have taken you home, but we would have had some adventures along the way. And I hear that you have a Drakan of your own now, and a Radiant of all things, Arina and I look forward to meeting her. But first I must meet this Consort of yours,” she said with a grin.

Introductions were made all around and then Visanna showed us some of the more interesting items she had brought from the islands. There were the tapestries, scented oil lamps, and she gave Jezz and me some seeds for a healing herb they called Kala. The large leaves were supposedly incredibly good at preventing infection in wounds. She also had us all try something they make on the island called battu. It was named after the tree it came from, which only grows on the islands. The tree is really sappy and bark grows very quick. They shave off the bark and grind it into a powder, which they mix with the sap and ground loiku to add sweetness. The result was a dark purple substance that tasted a lot like chocolate. There were two things I missed from Earth, chocolate and coffee, so with Michelle insisting she wanted a taste too, I quickly bought all that she had and resolved to definitely start better trade relations with these people.

Afterwards we talked about what kind of aid her people might need, and how quick we could get it there. By boat it would take a week and with Drakans we might not be able to carry as much, but we could at least get it there with a flight of roughly six candlemarks. With Arina, Runne, Michelle, and my four guards’ Drakans, we had seven flying Drakans between us. I quickly sent Patar out to arrange for medical supplies, food, and other supplies that we thought they might have need of that could be carried by the seven Drakans. I figured that if we got the supplies that afternoon, and left sometime very early the next morning, that we could be back before Jezz and I had to hold court in Draden in less than three days.

When we were finished with the preparations, and Patar had arranged for the goods to be delivered to the royal family’s summer house that evening, Visanna closed up shop and we returned to the beach where the Drakans waited. Laila and the other house staff returned home to supervise the unloading and eventual packing of the supplies. Visanna had Arina join us at the beach, and the Water Drakan was as excited to see me as her Chosen had been. I’m really glad she didn’t tackle hug me too; I doubt I would have survived it. She too felt the need to chastise me about not coming to her and her Chosen when Visanee had run away to find a replacement. The pair seemed to care for me a lot, and I was starting to see where Visanee had gotten her need for adventure and exploring from.

The pair seemed very welcoming not only toward Michele, Jezz, and Grayle, who eventually joined us, but to all of my guards as well. They wanted me happy and safe and felt reassured that I would be, with so many loyal friends and protectors, so they treated them as family as well. We had a cookout at their beach house that evening after Visanna taught us humanoids to spear fish and Arina introduced Xuth to the joys of deep ocean hunting. As we sat around the fire that night the first Drakan/Chosen pair told us stories of their adventures and even how they had first met my mother. We all enjoyed just relaxing, listening, and being content in one another’s company until it was time to return to the summer house to get some sleep.