Growing Pains

*Bryna's POV*

The battle that occured next, after we defeated the loogie monster, was hectic to say the least. Drawn by the disturbance in the ecosystem, these creatures had come. Having Thomas' mom helped, once she was able to unleash her breath weapon again. For dragons, there's a build up in their system to do their breath weapon. Unlike for me, where I have to rest to use it again. Not that I really use it. Though, I used it this time, just because the enemies tried to swarm. Exhaling my blisteringly icy breath, I froze some of them to death before using Hail of Thorns on another grouping trying to attack us.

I wasn't even sure the numbers, but I made sure to be right next to Thomas the entire time. He'd step behind me to keep from being very hurt, and most attacks that hit me just rolled off doing very little. It was the perk of this half form. I had my parents cursed resistances this way. Being merciful, I would have let those who tried to run live. But Dirthin ordered his caster people to finish them. So Daelyn and I picked off a few while the casters finished them. Daelyn had been roughed up again, to the point he used me, like Thomas.

"I keep telling your bardic floofy butt that you aren't meant for front line fights." I joked at him, giving him and Thomas a piece of cake. I made sure to give some to the caster's too. Making me run out.

"And I will continue to choose to ignore that." Daelyn responded, eating his cake. He knew the cake was special now, anyways.

I petted Thomas' head and said, "Good job utilizing your surroundings, Thomas. You did very well." I was glad to see the frontline people and Dirthin didn't seem hurt, Thomas' mother was also fine.

"Thomas gets better all the time." Thomas said.

The boys and I went ahead and took the time to take the weapons from the fallen enemies. No use in leaving them for the next enemies to take up against another with. Besides the weapons they didn't have much of value on them. I did find a letter containing information on our skirmish with the goblins and wolves. It told these people to aprehend the ones who wrecked the group for 'repurposing' and sale.

"Ah. So, these people were slavers supposed to catch us and slave-break us for selling purposes." I summed the note. It was written in Deep Speech, so I'd had to use Comprehend Languages for it. "They were unrelated to the loogie monster, and that strange looking beast that resembles a werewolf is a demonic Half-Drow called a Draegloth that was supposed to make their job easier."

"It's pretty common practice down here for slavers. Best we just keep moving." Dirthin commented.

Since we were ready once more, we started heading that way. I had no desire to stay in my half shifted form, I took out the vest and half put it on, shifting to wolf form. It was a compromise, because I wouldn't feel vulnerable shifting to my wolf form like I would to my human form around a bunch of males that I don't know well. Thomas adjusted it to be on correctly with the supplies being available, taking water for his mom, himself and Daelyn and we all set off again. Dirthin kept the pace much brisker this time.

Probably just wanting to get back to his lady and babies. He's a loving and affectionate husband and papa. Not all men like him could claim so, and I wasn't sure he did. It was simply a fact you could tell if you saw him near his family. It was one thing I liked about Daelyn's uncle, aunt, and mom. His dad always felt stiff to me. I was sure he loved his family, too. but his brisk mannerisms always felt odd to me. Not that it mattered at all. Daelyn loved his entire family, and he wasn't mistreated.

Even with the fights we'd had we managed to reach a location near Dueling Rivers by supper time. The sun was still decently up and Thomas' mom particularly enjoyed that. We continued to Dueling Rivers as a group, Daelyn left his cloak and such with me, his uncle and the people headed to Hearthstone Town, probably to disperse using Sarial's portal. Or that's where James was. I didn't know.

Thomas left the stuff with me, knowing I'd take care of it, or wait for him to do so. I'd save Daelyn's cut of the profits until I saw him next. But first, I stopped by Bibs' house and left the pack with Kershka. Then, I made sure no one was looking and shifted to human form to tell Kershka I'd be back, I was heading to Tilton's real quick. He smiled and inquired bout our trip. I told him we were successful and that Thomas was spending time with his mom. I made sure to put the slaver letter in my pocket, cause Tilton would ask bout it, I was sure. Then I scampered off to head to Tilton's.

I doubled back, reconsidering how I wanted the interaction to go, and went to the Tavern to get a meal for Tilton and I. I'd do so occasionally. As soon as I had the food, I officially went to Tilton's. I had to be careful, balancing the meals so that I could knock. Once I'd knocked, I made sure to have both meals in their own hand so that I didn't have to fear dropping it. As per usual it took about a minute for him to come to his door.

He looked past me and said, "Ashtar, you're leading dogs to my house."

My eyes widened, "You're lying!" I accused, glancing over my shoulder.

"Huh. They scampered off. Come on." Tilton said, letting me inside.

"That's not funny. I'm close to the age of puberty again and I don't know how it works for my kind." I told him.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll tell the butcher to lock up his dog." He replied, while heading to his dining room.

"Hmph. I've figured out your great mystery." I told him.

"Doubtful, but let's see what you have." Tilton replied.

"I was right all along and Daddy helped Thomas' dad to disappear. Daddy set the scene up to stump you, to throw the people off Thomas' dads trail." I said, while Tilton got us drinks and silverware. I set the food on the table. Knowing Tilton's taste really helps pick meals for him.

"Well, now that is interesting. Did he also tell you he's hiding in Scraver's Coast as a man named Bill?" Tilton asked.

"No. But I doubt that's the case." I said. "I didn't ask about his wearabouts acause only you and Thomas' mom cares." I replied.

"You say that like you've met her." Tilton noted. "Pretty sure she wasn't even alive last time you were."

"I did meet her this morning." I said.

"What have you been up to?" He asked, his tone scolding.

"We went to get her yesterday morning. Ran into some trouble, rested and was hunted. We got caught by the hunter when we reached his mom, fought an aboleth, Daddy said it was one. Then we started heading back. ran into some slavers and a tentaclely loogie monster. Then we came home." I poorly explained.

"And what hunted you?" Tilton asked.

"An angry ki-cat. All acause Daelyn taunted his daddy." I answered.

"So Dirthin found you abd helped you kill an aboleth." Tilton said.

"Yeah, I had the kids shoot it for practice. We would have been fine to handle it ourselves, but the things after it would've been hard to weather." I explained.

"Ok, one. That is an ancient being, not a target dummy. I have a vague idea of what this loogie monster was, a Balhannoth. And then you said you ran into slavers. Did they have any particular markings?" Tilton asked.

I patted my pockets, finding the one with the letter in it, I took it out and showed it to him. "Don't remember anything standing out, but a Draegloth looks like a diseased werewolf."

He looked at the letter. "I.. can't read this." He said.

"Oh." I said. I took the letter back and read every word from the page after castimg Comprehend Languages.

"It does just seem to be another slaver ring. All to common down there." He said.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how I would have got the kids out of that one." I admitted. "Luckily we did have that back up and Thomas' mom."

"I imagine she and Dirthin were quite the boon." Tilton acknowledged.

"Dirthin is only a pretend hard-ass, I think." I commented. "I won't say so to him, acause cats have to prove you otherwise, you know?"

"Yes, I can't imagine you ever calling someone out on their presented persona." Tilton said.

"Not if they may make me eat my words. They won't taste good." I said. "Unless Kershka is nearby."

"Those two ever decide to go at it, I don't know who'd come out on top." Tilton said.

"Hmm. Dirthin. Acause Kershka would feel sad I think." I replied.

"Oh, I'm sure he would. He is a gentle giant." Tilton agreed. "But I have seen him cleave people in half for the right reasons."

"I think to be gentle you must be able to be merciless." I said.

"I can agree with that." He nodded.

"Like you." I said.

"I would hope no one would ever call me 'gentle.'" He responded, giving me a daring look.

"I just did, though?" I taunted him.

"Don't make me get the eggs." He said.

"I'll eat it." I warned.

"Of course you would." He sighed.

"Don't fear, I'll keep your secret." I said.

"You're the only one who believes there is a secret." He replied.

"Acause you like to appear unapproachable. You're really lovable, you know?" I teased him. "And I know, acause I love you."

"You little brat." He grumbled.

"Of course you love me, too." I smiled at him.

"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" He replied.

"I'm sure of you. I'm unconfident in myself and my abilities." I said.

"You seem to be doing just fine." He said.

"That's just acause I can pretend very well." I told him. We'd finished our meals by now. "Asides, I can always tell you the truth."

"There have been many successful conmen who have used the phrase 'Fake it until you make it.'" He replied.

"I like to be honest." I said. "But sometimes that serves no purpose."

"The truth is like any other tool. Best used when most needed." He said.

I agreed and we had a conversation about nothing in particular for a bit. I cleaned up the dishes to take back to the Tavern. Just to be extra cheeky, I gave him a hug before I left.

"That takes the one from your twenty third birthday." He said.

"Nope. Acause that's just me hugging you, which was never discussed." I grinned.

"Oh, you cheeky little shit." He grumbled.

I giggled and said, "See you soon."

"Yes, yes, go on." He grouched.

I headed back to town and to the tavern, where I returned the dishes. They knew I would return them so they readily allowed me to take the dishes from their area. I liked having dinner with Tilton almost as much as I enjoyed having tea with him. With the dishes returned, I headed to Bibs' house. Kershka had taken my stuff inside and was waiting for me. He'd learned over the past few years that I wasn't the most affectionate child, but he also knew I gave hugs if people wanted them. Kershka, like Thomas, was someone I was fine hugging any time. So I hugged him this time, before we headed inside.

Kershka got ready for bed, and Bibs, seeing that I was indeed back, was also heading for bed. We'd chat about everything in the morning. He wished me a good night, and I also headed to bed. To be honest, the Deathless Nature still hadn't fully kicked in. I still needed sleep, to eat and drink. But I could put it off some. But know I was most certainly exhausted and slept like a log.

In the morning, and much to my dismay, I discovered that the bleed had begun. That damned cat had cursed me. Unlike in my first life, I didn't panic and begin screaming. No, rather, I just changed the sheets, putting them where I was previously told to, and changed my clothes, setting up a cloth rag. I'd need to go get the proper things for such issues today. Then, I headed downstairs for breakfast.

Well, atleast this should mean I was healthy. I greeted the men, unenthusiastically, taking my usual seat.

"Good morning." Kershka said.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Bibs asked.

"Anything is fine." I said, shifting my weight uncomfortably.

"You know, I have never tried that option. Let's give it a shot." Bibs said, walking to the pantry, and opening it. He then slammed it shut. He turned and said, "Anything is not an option. Well, it is, but I'm not using it."

I chuckled a little, slightly amused. I knew he was being serious, and something bad probably resulted, but I made a proper choice. "Cucumber salad and fish."

"Alright.. Let me get that." He said.

His pantry was controlled by an entity Bibs made a contract with. I didn't know the specifics of it, but the contract with the pantry was that the pantry provide meals for a cost. The cost was covered by a different contract with another entity, and so on. The entities were devils, and they could be devilish. There were a lot of things about his house that was controlled by such entities.

He got my requested meal from the pantry and served it to me. He settled with his own meal at the table, then. How is it that the most important people in my life turned out to be men again? Shouldn't a girl have female friends to interact with? I suppose there is Xi-an. But she preferred staying close with her family and Thomas and I usually ran around. But he had his mom again.

"Oh, Tilton mentioned Thomas' dad is in Scraver's Coast and called 'Bill'." I said. "I think he was just saying something random, but maybe not."

"Oh, there's no telling with him. Could be complete nonsense, or could be the truth." Bibs said.

"We fought a Balhannoth yesterday. Atleast, from my description that's what Tilton said it was. There was a Draegloth, too." I told him.

"Sounds like it was quite the adventure." Bibs commented.

"The Draegloth was with slavers that were looking for us." I said. "Looking for us because we scared a large group of their underlings and killed a few."

"Goodness gracious. I'm just glad they didn't end up capturing you." Bibs said.

"Me too. I would've been very upset with myself for allowing Daelyn and Thomas to be in such a situation." I said. "I'm not sure I woulda been able to get them out."

"Well, luckily you don't have to worry about it." Bibs replied.

"Yup. I have a different annoyance anyways." I said. "Daelyn's in trouble with his dad, though."

"Hm. That boy could do with some gentle guidance." Bibs replied. "And what annoyance would be bothering you?"

My face turned a little pink and After a moment I answered, "My chest is growing... and I've started my lady times now.."

"Understood." He said. "Yes, I imagine that would be an annoyance."

"If I die and live again, I hope I can be a boy that time." I said.

"As much as I would hate to agree, boys do have an easier time of it, I feel." Bibs replied.

"The heightened hearing and smell of my half shifted form really came in handy yesterday." I told him.

"Down there being able to hear is better than anything else, so you were well suited for it." Bibs agreed.

I nodded, having finished my meal. "I gotta go get lady stuff." I sighed, getting up. "Least I don't gotta worry about my Daddy marrying me off to someone."

He put his hand to his chin and said, "I don't know. I know a couple of good boys I could set you up with."

"Well, I'll just remind you that I stab people, Daddy, if they touch me." I grinned.

"And that's perfectly fine." Bibs replied.

I told him I'd let him know if I'd be out over night, before I gathered my packs and headed out. I was positive he was joking, but if he makes such a joke again I might accept it to bully him. I wasn't boy crazy in my last life because I'd had that crush on Tilton. My feelings for Tilton this time were different. I adored and treasured him as my friend. I didn't have any romantic ideals towards him.

I wasn't even sure when that'd become the case. When I went to the market, I realized my next issue. Normally, my mother would provide me with the lady products, so I wasn't sure what to do. Then I got a brilliant idea and went to Kaz's bakery. Once there, I was greeted warmly by Kaz. It was the kind of person he was. His wife was the same way. Since it wasnxt late night I wasn't sure if she'd be out hunting or not, but I asked for his wife, embarrassed.

It was out of the norm for the both of us, but luck was on my side and she was home. Once she came out and greeted me, I waved at her to come lower. So she crouched down. I whispered to her my problem and asked for her help to solve it. My cheeks were pink the entire time. She accepted and told her hubby and adopted kitten kids that she'd be back. She then went with me to the square and explained to one of the ladies the issue. The woman waved me over and made me a couple of the products right then. She'd have more for me by the end of the day.

They were cheap in price, too, and I was glad to pay her extra for making them for me. They talked me through how to clean them properly and when to change them and such the like. Then Goruza, Kaz's wife, took me back to the bakery into the a more private area to show me how to correctly use the product. She then showed me the process of cleaning the blood out. Cold water was best for blood, apparently.

I thanked her, but she wouldn't accept payment for this. She was a kind lady, after all. With this out of the way, I headed to see Balnur. I wanted to sell him the Underdark weapons. The weapons earned us one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-five gold. Or, five hundred eighty-five gold for each of us. I asked for a type of weapon like a glove type thing for Thomas to be built. He said he'd collaborate with some people and get back to me on a price.

I accepted that. I left the store to hide away and seperated our gains into three seperate parts, for easier distribution. I wasn't really sure why they trusted me so much to fairly handle our money, but I was glad they did have trust in me. After I was done I headed to find Thomas. His mom was with him near the square on the side his home was on. I approached them without reservation, and hugged Thomas.

Thomas hugged me back and said, "Hi Bryna."

"Good morning Thomas, and Thomas' Mama." I smiled, and gave Thomas his pouch of gold coin. "Here's from the weapons sell. Haven't taken care of the skins yet."

"That's quite the haul you two have. My name is Wren, by the way." Thomas' mom, Wren said.

"Wren's are pretty songbirds. It's a lovely name." I smiled. "Oh, I don't know if he was telling the truth or not, but that rapscallion Tilton said Thomas' Dad is in Scraver's Coast going by 'Bill'."

"I will.. investigate that in a little bit." She said.

"Okies. I need to smack Daelyn for cursing me." I told Thomas.

"Daelyn cursed you?" Thomas asked, baffled.

"Yeah. He mentioned puberty then said that thing about the blood, so now he deserves a smack." I said.

"Aaah. Good luck." Thomas said.

"It's really uncomfortable." I complained.

"I would love to give you advice, but it's not the same." Wren said.

I smiled at her and said, "It's ok. I went through it in my past life for several years."

"So, you are a reincarnated soul. How long ago was your last life?" Wren asked.

I looked at her with surprise for a moment, then grinned and said, "Three hundred seventy-nine years ago I died. I was born as Bryna after three hundred sixty-seven years."

"My, that places your soul even older than me." Wren said.

"If Ashtar really was my first life, then my soul is three hundred ninety-six. I was twenty-two when I died." I told her.

"Oh, you make me feel young. I am only three hundred and four." Wren said.

"You are a young lady then. That ancient one is a grouchy fellow." I told her. "He once told me I'd have better luck walking in reverse over a cliff."

"Then he was being nice." She said.

"What you two up to today?" I asked.

"Thomas is taking me around town to show me what he's been up to." Wren replied.

"Beating up guards for Tilton." I said with a smile, looking at my friend.

"Keeping them on their toes. It was an essential part of the job." Thomas clarified.

I giggled and said, "I'll leave you to it, then. I'm gonna go see Sarial. Don't forget to show your mom the nearby city."

"Oh, we're definitely going there." Thomas said.

"See you later. Lovely to meet you, Wren." I said, heading for the East Gate.

"It was lovely meeting you as well." Wren said.

I nodded as I went along, greeting Frank at the gate abd heading out. The trek to Hearthstone Town was chill like usual. I reached it pretty quickly without Thomas. But I felt off with it. Or maybe it was just hormones. I entered the town and went downstairs. Sarial was out and about today, as per usual Jaime was on her hip being carried. He always looked at everyone and everything with a detached look on his face. I didn't mind that at all, he was a cute kid.

She'd clearly just been done talking to someone, she looked very slightly annoyed. Still, I approached her. I wasn't afraid, even if she may be angry with me.

"Ah, Bryna. Could you not have simply talked to any of us?" She said, straight away.

"I told Daelyn my intentions for the day. I left it to his discretion what he would do." I said. "I probably should have thought ahead on it, but to be perfectly honest, I've never had parents to be concerned about worrying. I do call Bibs my Daddy and he does fine, I guess. Either way, I trained both boys as best I could to take them to get Thomas' mom. And that was achieved with much learning."

"Regardless of your past life, you are still a child and Daelyn knew better." Sarial sighed. "I'm not angry with you."

I accepted that. "I guess so. I'm not sure why Daelyn was choosing to be antagonistic. He's always been clear that he respects his family."

"He's probably just feeling burdened by the over protectiveness. Aside from that, I'm not sure." Sarial said. "Did you need something?"

"Uh-huh. I gotta know how in trouble he is cause I have coin that belongs to him at the very least. And a slap." I told her.

"A slap?" She asked with a frown.

"Yeah, I mean, I probably won't smack him, but I am very annoyed." I said.

"... Why?" Sarial asked, slightly amused.

"Um.." I turned pink. "Acause he cursed me by saying 'The blood comes for you.' I woke up today with the bleeding."

"Ah. No, I completely understand your vexation." Sarial mused, after a moment she said, "Alright, come to my office and you can ask my Dad if you can deliver his funds or not. We'll use the communication device."

"Okies." I nodded. "Jaime is cute today, too."

The boy looked at me, before exhaled a bit and laying his head on his mom's shoulder. We went to Sarial's office where she sat in her chair, settling Jaime in her lap and taking out the magic device. She set it and called James.

"Hello, Sarial, what can I do for you?" James asked.

"Oh, not much, Dad. Daelyn's friend wants to deliver him his share of profit." Sarial said, her blunt nature is something I quite liked and respected about her. "She also if miffed at him over what was probably meant to be a joke."

"I feel we are all currently a little miffed at Daelyn." James said. "If it's money gained from that previous adventure then I can currently put it into a holding for him. He's not currently in a position to accept anything."

"Alright, we'll send it via Dia to you, then." Sarial said, then to me. "You can trust that Dad will see it to him, no matter how miffed he is, he'd never short his children. As for the slap, if you really want to give that to him, you'll have to wait."

"Why is she wanting to slap him? Not saying that's a bad thing, just wanting to know." James inquired.

"Are you comfortable with him knowing?" Sarial asked, being respectful about it.

"Not entirely...." I answered hesitantly, my face turning pink. "But I guess he is the Daddy of girls... Daelyn was picking at me about puberty, though, I started that at him first, and he said 'the blood comes for you,' and it did."

"Ah." James said. "Well, I certainly don't blame you for wanting to slap him then. Inmay shave a little time off of his punishment for you to do so."

"That's alright. I'll probably be over it fast. My sort don't hold grudges long." I said, offering Sarial Daelyn's gold. "I can't say I understand Daelyn, but I do respect you and yours acause of him."

"Something tells me my sons tune will be changing about me for a while." James said.

"So, what training did you put him through? You said for five years?" Sarial asked.

"He said he was gonna be a spy so I taught him what I know about spy work." I answered. "I used to collect intel for Daddy and Tilton a long time ago. Acourse you gotta be extra sneaky and use more senses. It's not simple roguery, you know. I used to be a trained scout, with assassin teachings."

"I see Daelyn trusts you quite a bit to tell you what he's going to be doing." James said.

"Us three went through a lot together by now." I said. "If he didn't trust me, he'd probably had died. I admire his strong headedness, even though it got us into some bad situations. He had mostly learned to curb it by now."

"I'm glad to hear he's been learning from his experiences. It's what I hope he's doing now." James said.

"I don't understand why he taunted you both." I said, frowning. "But I guess it's not really of my concern."

"He did it to get exactly what he wanted and what he got. And he knew I wouldn't just send him down there without a justifiable reason." James said.

"I guess that's acause Jasper's still away." I mused. "Mm. I apologize for any alarm my previous appearance may have caused."

"Oh, I've already forgotten mostly about it." James said.

"Can I see that form in person?" Sarial asked, curiously.

"Uh, sure." I shrugged. The doors were closed anyways. And Jaime would only talk to his family, so I shifted to that half state.

"Pretty." Jaime said, surprising us.

"She is pretty, huh? Thank you for showing us." Sarial said. "What are your kind called?"

"Wolfborn." I answered. "I'm a winter sort."

"What other kinds are there?" James asked.