Kai's stories

Another KFM. The beginning of some changes for our hero.

Kaiten's Felaryan Misadventures Chapter 10

Darkness was beginning to fall over the land as all creatures began to scurry and search for safety. One in particular was doing quite the opposite. A giant naga with a tail of green and messy brown hair found himself desperately searching for SOMETHING.

"Oh god…Jessica, w-where are you?! Jessica?" Kaiten had been following the trail of his little friend for a while now, and was beginning to get extremely worried. This could be seen in his horribly frightened, usually happy face.

"Gods, I've been following your trail for awhile, I MUST be getting close!" Though Kaiten wasn't exactly aware of it, he was extremely lucky, as there were no other giant predators in the same immediate area as the concerned and worried giant.

Placing his face closer to the ground, the sullen naga found himself trying not to whine as slithered forward, sniffing as hard as he could to hopefully get a whiff of his friend.

Something caught Kaiten's attention ahead of him as he saw some black smoke rising from a small field. Getting closer to, and examining the strange area, he found that the smell he was following stopped suddenly, as the scent of burning plants took over his nostrils.

"Holy crap…what happened here?!" Looking closer, Kaiten realized that something big had gone down here. It looked like there were bushes here at one time, but now they were all horribly burnt beyond recognition. Among the destroyed plants was what appeared to be a horribly burnt frog, much larger than a human. Wondering for a moment, he picked up the large amphibian, prodding its stomach. There didn't appear to be anything, this dead creature was completely empty, and he dropped it in frustration.

Inhaling the air once again, his look of worry intensified as he could no longer smell Jessica. Letting out the beginning of a loud whine, he began to call her name, his voice cracking almost instantly. Not hearing anything, despite looking around, his eyes began to water slightly.

Seeing just how dark it was finally beginning to get, Kaiten looked around. While none of the trees in the immediate area were very good for sleeping, he knew he would have to make due. Climbing what appeared to be the tallest tree near him, he quickly settled himself in its branches.

"I can't believe it…I couldn't even protect her…" Speaking to himself softly now, he found himself looking at his arms, his ribs, his flat body. "I wasn't strong enough…" Tears began to run down his face as he lay there, unable to believe that his friend was actually gone. "Some friend I am…"You'll get home to your family!" I said. But I couldn't even do that right…" As he said this, he smacked the tree itself with his hand as hard as he could, his fist turning a bright red, but his mind too cluttered to take in the pain he felt.

At that moment, He held his hand over his chest. It was an odd feeling to be sure, but it felt like his heart was hurting. He could feel it thundering in his body, as he began to shake and sob. He then put his hand to his forehead, tears now streaming down his face.

"I…I can't stay like this…Jessica is dead because I was too weak…That's it. Tonight is the last night of the weak little man named Kaiten. First thing tomorrow, I'm gonna find somewhere to do it…I'm gonna train there! I'll become stronger! I'll laugh at fear! I'll never let anything like this happen ever again! I'll be a true man!" And as these words were uttered, he felt truly focused on something for the first time in years.
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Wading through the water in front of her, Jessica's legs felt like they were on fire. She had been on the run from her pursuers, and it was beginning to show itself in her shortness of breath. Her harpy guest had been following , giggling all the while, despite the apparent danger they had been in only a short while ago.

"Crap, this isn't good…I have no idea where we are, Kaiten is extremely far behind…if he's even still alive…Guess I just gotta do what he said and find that Sheska girl…she'll help us." Stepping out of the water, Jessica looked around. "I think we lost him."

"Lost? Lost!" While Jessica liked to be understanding of children, this harpy's constant yelling was beginning to annoy her.

"Listen kid, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. I don't know who you are, I don't know where you're from…so after I find Sheska, I'll leave you with her." Oddly enough, as soon as Sheska was mentioned, the young one cocked her head to the side in a manner most odd.

"You like that name huh? Her name is Sheska. She's apparently a fortune-teller. She can tell what's going to happen in the future." These words registered strangely well with the small harpy as she started to make some noises.

"We better find some shelter for tonight though…" She found herself getting a bit frustrated as the small harpy began heading off in another direction. "Kid, wait up!" As soon as Jessica said this, the harpy looked towards her and pointed in the direction she was waddling with one of her wings. Jessica knew the dark wild was no place for a child, and so she began to run after her, despite cursing under her breath about the danger around them.
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Darkness was dawning at the human camp near the Ascarlin mountains. What few armed soldiers remained found themselves keeping an eye out for the few who were sleeping. A very tall man, clad in an opened red jacket showing off his chest, long black shorts, and running shoes, was walking towards a particularly nice looking tent, stopping in front of it, looking towards the men nearby him.

"Alright boys, listen up! You all realize how Joseph has gone with Rojer and the other soldiers to get rid of Jessica, right? Well, we have all that we came for. Once we can make sure that we won't leave behind any dirty trails, we're going to head home. As stated before, the military has acquisitioned a large sum of money to repay you brave men for your efforts in this most dangerous mission. You've all done well. I congratulate you! And now, bedtime. Keep your eyes open boys!" Spinning around, Marcus walked into his tent, smiling extremely widely.

The little girl that had been staying with these men decided that it was time for her plan to go into action. Shienne sat inside of her tent, preparing to do what she had planned to do for days now. Reaching down to the small key she had stolen from a certain soldier earlier that day, she left her tent.

"Hey, Frank? I can't believe we finally did it. We're finally gonna go home soon." A man dressed in the same getup as the rest of the man there spoke in an incredibly happy, excited tone.

"Well duh. It took awhile, but we did it. It was bound to happen. Marcus' plans rarely fail, right?" The second soldier spoke in a sarcastic tone as he looked at his comrade.

"Well, yeah. I have to admit though, I feel bad about what we did. I mean, we may have been in more danger, but then we wouldn't have had to kill those folks." The young men held his hang low as he said this.

"Well yeah. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel bad. It had to be done though, for the sake of our mission."

"I guess so…still leaves a rotten taste in your mouth, ya know?"

"Yeah. Say, do you know what Marcus is gonna do with that dridder?"

"The girl? I have no clue. Probably let her go. And if she tries to attack us, we'll kill her."

"Seems pretty barbaric…"

"Beats getting your organs melted and sucked out."

"Oh yeah, that sounds horrible!" The young man grimaced as he said this, the thought making his hair stand on end.

Seeing another man heading their way, Black hair and green eyes, they waved in a very friendly manner. "Joe! What's up?" He spoke to the two men guarding the large tent behind them.

"Hello boys. Not much." As he spoke, his voice sounded a bit odd for one of his stature, cracking slightly like that of a teenager.

"Hey, you okay man? Ya sound funny…"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't had anything to drink. I'm here to take the shift of one of you guys. Artifact guarding duty is important after all." The man smiled as he said this. "Go get a snack or something.

"You know? I think I will. You two keep an eye on the goods. We worked hard to get that stuff. Gotta make sure it all stays safe. " And so he left to get something to eat, leaving the two soldiers sight quickly.

"So…whattaya think of that Shienne girl?" The replacement asked his partner with a smile.

"Eh, I guess she's alright. She's a pretty damn rude little kid though. If she were my daughter, I'd teach her a thing or two." He couldn't help but notice that as he said this, his partner scowled slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing at all. Hmmm?" The strange man looked away from the tent they were at, focusing on the distance.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Look over there. Can't you see that?" He was now pointing towards the distance, looking quite worried.

Walking in front of his comrade, the soldier found himself staring at nothing. Feeling slightly annoyed, he began to turn around, only to feel two hands around his mouth extremely tightly. Despite trying to fight it, the man held tightly, making sure his target couldn't move. In almost no time at all, the man passed out from lack of air.

Looking around to make sure there was nobody watching, the man stepped inside the artifact tent, dragging the young man's body with him. As he did, he poked his head out to make sure nobody was heading there. Smiling widely, he pulled a pillow sack out of his pants, opened the trunk within the tent, and began to fill the sack with the artifacts. Medallions, knives, strange orbs and gems, there were many there. As he finally got every one of them, he left the tent, albeit slowly. Leaving the small tent, he realized that someone managed to catch a glimpse of him doing this. As the man raised his arm to yell, something struck out of nowhere, pinning him to the ground. Though he struggled, it proved useless as his body suddenly just stopped moving.

"Good work Sandy. I thought our cover would be blown. The man said quietly to the dridder he found in front of himself.

"You too Shienne. Nice costume. So, that's it? We're done here? I can go home?"

"Yeah. You can. You did good covering for me. Now, you see what happens, when you work together with people?" The man's voice started to sound more like a little girls as he spoke, stepping away from the tents almost immediately with his friend, his face and body beginning to take on a different shape.

"I'm still a little freaked out that you can do that…" Sandy tried not to stare as her comrade took on her original shape.

"Eh, you're not exactly normal either, what with being half-spider and all." As Shienne's appearance took shape once more, a strange material started to come from her skin, eventually taking the shape of a long white dress on her.

"Wait, that thing was a part of you?!" Sandy practically did a double take as she saw this, now walking through the darkened wilderness with her friend.

"Yeah. Always has been. Why?" Shienne said this so casually that Sandy couldn't help but giggle sheepishly.

"Errr…no reason. I'm going to head back to the dridder forest now. You?"

"Hmmm. I'm going to head wherever. I have a lot of stuff I can use these artifacts for. I'm going to head somewhere I can have fun with these things." This was punctuated with a childish giggle which made the dridder gulp in fear.
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"Marcus! Sir! We found someone unconscious! The artifacts are gone!" A young voice had awakened Marcus from his slumber with greater haste then one of his appearance would normally have. "And Shienne is gone as well!"

"Of course, it's always something! Guys, search the camp. I'm going to go after her."

"What do you mean? Why do you think Shienne is behind this?"

"I thought about it. No normal person has magic like Shienne has inside of them. She was acting so odd, I should have seen it sooner!" Grabbing some vials of strange looking liquid from his table, as well as a small coiled item with a handle, he rushed outside.
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Meanwhile, not TOO far away, Joseph found himself walking through the dark jungle, his wary eyes searching his surroundings with the utmost caution. Hearing a strange chirping noise, he simply found himself looking around, his face in a cold sweat now. "Hello?"

To be continued

can't believe I didn't add this sooner>.>

Shorty 1. Molting.

A large pack of wolves found itself stalking through a small clearing, looking for something, anything to eat. Their movements indicated strength and some grace as would be expected in an animal of such stature. The largest of them stopped moving as its ears perked up at a strange sound.

Suddenly, what appeared to be a gigantic green tailed snake burst forth from the brush. Oddly enough, a large arm burst out of nowhere as it showed itself to be a giant naga! Though he grabbed at the swift furry creatures, he appeared to be preoccupied with something.

"Gotcha!" Though he reached for one that he KNEW he could catch, he stopped as his face scrunched up in discomfort, letting his former prey get away. Looking around the clearing, he began to grumble to himself somewhat. "Awwww, crud!"

Rising somewhat quickly, he began to eye his surroundings again, almost as though he hoped his near-catch had left one of their own behind. Seeing that this wasn't the case, he simply breathed in and stubbornly puffed his cheeks out as he sat down, his face somewhat red.

Rubbing his tail, he frowned widely. "Stupid snake skin. I hate having to remove the dead stuff…" Plucking a tiny little piece of hanging scaly flesh, he couldn't help but whine slightly at the uncomfortable sensation.

Suddenly, almost as though out of nowhere, he felt something through vibrations in the ground. It was something BIG. Looking around, Kaiten began to hear something rustling in the bushes. "H-Hello? Whoever's there, show yourself!"

Standing now, Kaiten looked around himself cautiously. He had seen some of the dangers the world had to offer, and knew you couldn't be too careful.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAITEEEEEEEEN!!!" In an instant, something red and brown had launched from the bushes and knocked him to the ground. "Hi Kaiten!" Before he could even react, his sister wrapped her arms around him a very tight hug.

"Hi Scala! Ya scared me…" Though he was incredibly relieved, he sounded quite agitated as he spoke, looking at his tail past his big sister.

"Hmmm? What's the matter Kaiten? Is something wrong with your tail?" As she said this, she gently let go of him and examined his bottom portion.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just…My skin is peeling again. It's always pretty painful since ya have to pull it off bit by bit…"

"Hmmm. You DO know that there is a better way to do it, right?"

"Really?! There is?" He seemed astounded. This had always been a pain for him, and any way to alleviate the frustration was a welcome one.

"Very well, come with me Kaiten. We'll see what we can do." She simply smiled widely as she said this, happy to help family. Taking his hand, she lifted him up and led him forward.
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"Ummmm...Sis?"

"Yes Kaiten?"

"I'm not too sure about this..." Kaiten found himself staring into a rather large river, trying to keep his eyes off of his big sister as she removed her shirt and slithered into the water.

"C'mon in Kaiten! The water is fine! If not a lil' cold when you first get in." As these words were uttered, she beckoned her little brother towards the water with open arms. An act that made him blush heavily as he looked at her.

"Ummm...I think I forgot to mention that...err...I can't swim well? Hehehe..."

"Kaiten. Get in the water now. I can't help you if you don't. Just take your shirt off and get in."

"Can't I get in WITH my shirt on?" As he said this, he slithered into the water, albeit looking slightly embarassed.

"Here, let me help you." Speaking in an almost motherly tone, she had reached under his arms and pulled his shirt off of him, throwing it to the shore. "This will help the process, I promise."

"I-If ya say so sis...H-How exactly does this...err...work?" The trembling green tailed naga found himself shivering, partially from the cold, and partially from his sisters body being in front of him.

"I think it helps to loosen the dead skin so it comes off more easily. Sylph taught me this. Trust me on this Kaiten, it works very well. And also...you don't have to freak out Kaiten. I'm your sister, remember?" Her tone had some annoyance as she said this.

"Y-Yes sis. Are you sure this'll work?" He still sounded slightly skeptical as he said this.

"There's one more trick to it Kaiten. I'll show you."

"What's the next part sis?"

"Turn around Kaiten. I'll help you this time." She eyed her little brother's tail as she said this.

"Ummm, if ya say so." And as he said that, he turned his back to his sister.

"Ya see Kaiten, the trick is not to take it off piece by piece. You need to take it all off in a few swift strokes!" Stating this, she grabbed a loosened chunk of dead skin beneath the flowing water, and ripped it off in one swift yank, clearing a good deal of what he wanted to get rid of. Oddly enough, Kaiten stayed turned away from his big sister after this had happened. "Are you okay little brother?"

"...Yeah..." He had stated quietly.

"Errrr...It was still tender wasn't it?" She spoke in a rather sheepish tone as she talked, trying to see her little brother's face.

"Well, maybe a little..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Though his face was obscured to his sister's eyes, he was biting down on his bottom lip as he tried his hardest to hold back a stream of tears.

"Oooohhhh...it will get better with time as you get used to it Kaiten I promise." Scala managed to pat Kaiten on the back as she said this.

"That's good. Thanks sis. I appreciate it." And though Scala still couldn't see his face, he appeared to be trying not to whine as he spoke.

About time eh? Here we have the first step to Kaiten's path to manhood: Finding a proper training ground. Kaiten, Eza and Helen are mine. Scala and Sylph belong to Blazbaros.

Snail

Kaiten found himself looking away from the giant naga in front of him, his face a mix of annoyance and disappointment.

"Kaiten. What did I tell you? Come on." Scala glared down at the underweight naga in front of her as she spoke.

"I know...C'mon sis, it's embarrassing..." Kaiten's face was now covered in a bright red blush.

"Maybe so, but really? You need to eat. And until you learn to take care of yourself, I'm going to do it for you."

"Oh...fine!" Kaiten said as he grabbed the few remaining fruits on the ground in front of him and shoved them into his mouth, gulping hard to get them all down.

"There. Now do you feel any better?" The annoyed frown on her lips quickly flipped over into a large smile as the shadows overhead danced off of her face.

"Yeah, I feel loads better. Thanks sis. Hey, sorry about all the whining before. I was just in a rush..."

"I know, Kai. But you have to have some food in your belly if you're going to be up and about. Am I right?"

"I guess so." Forcing himself up from the mass of coils serving as a makeshift seat underneath him, Kaiten wiped off his hands, stopping to lick off excess fruit juice.

"I can only assume you're going out again. In that case, you know the rules. I want you back home before sundown. No exceptions." Scala simply held up one finger as threateningly as possible as she spoke.

"What?! Awww but sis! That's still so early in the day...Can't you push it back a little?" The underweight filthy naga whimpered as he spoke.

"We made a deal, remember? Until you can do things by yourself, I'm going to make sure you'll be safe. If that means being strict, then I will. That's what sisters do."

"Yeah, I know...I'll be back by then. I promise." Kaiten's cheeks simply puffed up slightly as he spoke.

"Good! See you shortly then!" The taller red haired naga waved goodbye as her underweight little brother began to slither off.

Sliding away from the clumped mass of trees he had slept around, the small naga's eyes scanned his surroundings. Seeing several notches on the trees, he knew these paths had been traversed by him recently.

Turning towards a yet unmarred tree, Kaiten picked up a small stone and began to rub it against the bark's surface, leaving a noticeable groove. Satisfied with his progress, the skinny snake-man dropped the stone and slithered past the large moss-covered tree.

As the small naga slithered forward, his mind was overflowing with thoughts that had been plaguing him for the last few days. What if he couldn't find a good place for his training? If that was the case, he wouldn't be able to travel the world. While a life of comfort and safety around his sister DID sound nice, he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy it. His true calling was out there in the unknown.

Having slithered for what felt like a very long time, he continued such thought, only pausing every once in a while to listen to the calming sounds of nature. His thoughts were interrupted suddenly as his movement ceased, the ground underneath slowing his slithering to a halt. Trying to crawl forth once more, Kaiten's face scrunched up in frustration. Looking down at the dirt beneath him, he could see the sun glistening off of some very shiny looking grass.

"What the hell is going on here? Hmm?" Despite his inability to move, his sights quickly turned towards a large strange looking stone in the distance. The stone stood nearly as tall as he was and had strange spiral patterns on the side his strange angle would provide. Near the rock, there appeared to be several half-eaten fruits.

"What the...? Huh?" Hearing something in the distance, Kaiten swallowed hard. He realized that someone...or rather, something was headed his way. What came into sight both frightened and irritated him.

"A naga! A pretty big one too!" A massive girl, a slug's bottom portion from her own, slid out from behind several large trees, no doubt searching for sustenance caught in her slime trails, which Kaiten had foolishly not avoided.

"Ummm...yeah, I'm a naga. Think you could help me instead of staring?" Despite his words being clearly heard, they didn't seem to have any effect as the slug girl crawled closer and closer to the shaking snake man. As her body came into clearer view, her size finally donned on Kaiten, his eyes widening as the humongous slug girl loomed over him, her black hair and strangely marked arms standing out to the frightened man.

Reaching down towards the naga, the slug girl was drooling heavily, letting the saliva run down her chin. As her hands wrapped around the naga's waist, he began to struggle for all he was worth, loud whimpers and yelps accompanying his harsh movements.

In his mind, Kaiten knew what was about to happen to him, and this prevented him from voicing his fears properly, which had been replaced by a series of high-pitched yells and screams mixed with frenzied frantic movements from the naga's tail and arms as he was handily lifted from the slimy trail beneath him.

Lifting the small naga up to her face, the slug girl ignored his pleas and cries and quickly shoved his face into her mouth, his blows doing little to deter the hungry slug. Taking little to no time to savour the taste of her latest catch, she shoved the small naga further into her mouth and began to gulp, the small naga's insults and screeches not affecting her in the slightest.

"NO! IT CAN'T END THIS WAY! LET ME GO! NOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!" Kaiten struggled for all he was worth. He knew full well what fate awaited him if he didn't escape this aggressor. Even so, his fight proved to be a futile one as his body began to go right where the giant slime covered woman wanted. Feeling his body beginning to slide downward to the beat of an extremely powerful suction, his eyes widened, his heart felt like it was going to jump right through his chest, and his struggles multiplied threefold, thrashing and fighting with a strength he never imagined somebody like him could possess.

Feeling the gooey liquid drenching his upper body, he could no longer make out any light. Rather, he could only hear a loud sucking noise and what he made out to be a powerful heartbeat. His screams were so loud, so forceful, that his throat and chest were beginning to hurt, yet his mind wouldn't let him stop.

The slug girl, having forced the naga's human portion into her throat, slowed down now to enjoy the flavour, his protests having been drowned out now. A large smile appeared on her lips as she slurped down the thrashing snake tail. Seeing something crawling towards her, she looked downwards towards what appeared to be a slime-drenched human woman attached to a large spiral shell, two stalks rising out of her head. She appeared to be more snail-like than human, her bottom portion showing this clearly.

"C'mon Eza, let him out. His screams woke me up and I saw the whole thing." The slime drenched snail woman spoke in a sweet tone as she looked up at the imposing slug.

Slurping down what was left of the tail as fast as she could, Eza looked down, her face clearly filled with annoyance and anger as she rubbed her squirming belly. "I always let stuff go for you...I caught this guy fair and square, so not this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap." Eza turned and began to crawl away until the small snail's voice boomed out once more behind her.

"Say, you remember Scala, right?" As she said this, Eza rubbed the strange marks on her arms, her expression turning to one of discomfort. "Well, that was her son you just gobbled up. I'm sure you wouldn't want her mad at ya, so..."

"Son? Really?" One eyebrow rose as she spoke and turned to face her little friend.

"Well...I see them around sometimes. The two of them were hiding in some bushes and tracking an animal one time, and on another, she was carrying him somewhere telling him not to worry. Back to what I was saying before though, let him out now."

"No! So long as nobody says anything, she'll never find out. Just leave it as is."

"That's her SON! This isn't right...let him out, or I'm going to go out and tell her you did this."

"FINE. Have it your way. Take my food away from me when I caught it fairly. Not like I care." And as these words left her lips, she turned away from the slime drenched grass.

"It's good that you don't care. Otherwise, I might actually feel bad."

In no time flat, Kaiten found himself lying on dry ground, sunlight pouring onto his liquid covered body, his mouth surprisingly absent of the screams that he had been letting loose until this point. As the snail girl loomed over his frighteningly calm body, she poked him gently, staring at his face. It was at this point that the underweight naga began to thrash around, letting out a loud screeching noise and screaming something that sounded strangely close to "OH GOD! I'M GONNA DIE!".

It wasn't until several minutes later, that his thrashing ceased, and his sights came upon two very concerned eyes attached to a very cute face, which itself was attached to a slimy body with a slight potbelly and messy black hair.

"Are you okay little guy?" She spoke with one of the sweetest tones Kaiten ever heard as she stroked his hair and looked him over, an action which made his face turn a bright red as he looked away from her.

"Y-Yes...Ummm...what happened?"

"Well, my friend here ate you, and I made her let you out." As Kaiten looked up at the slug girl, his expression turned into a wide frown as he began to shake. Sighing, the chubby snail looked up at her friend. "Eza, could you please leave so the poor kid could calm down some?"

"Fine. Good luck or whatever..." As Eza began to crawl away, she saw Kaiten eyeing her. Scowling at the small naga, she saw him hide behind her little friend's shell, shaking heavily.

"It's okay little guy. You okay?"

"I-I'm fine...Ummm...Thanks for helping me?"

"Not a problem. So, my name is Helen. Yours?"

"K-Kaiten. Ummm...not that I don't appreciate what ya did, but...why did you rescue me if she was your friend?"

"Well, I've seen you about with Scala. Let's face it It wouldn't exactly be the nicest thing if I let her son get eaten."

"Mother? Ummm...She's my big sister. And thinking on it...I should prolly go and tell her about that stupid lady dude eating me." As the wet naga began to crawl away, he heard desperation coming from the snail girl's lips.

"Wait, I told her I wouldn't tell Scala if she let you out! C'mon! Please?"

"What's to stop her from doing it again?! I'll tell Scala and that'll be the end of that.."

"Isn't there ANYTHING I can do for you?" Her tone turned to a much more sultry one as she leaned towards the visibly agitated naga, rubbing her hair back and trying to give him a clear view of the front of her body.

"Unless you know of a quiet place where I wouldn't be bothered by other folks, no..."

"Ummm. I DO kinda know a place, but...I use it when I wanna take long naps without being bothered. Wide space, hidden from view by lots of vegetation..."

"Okay then, just take me there and I'll forget everything. What slug girl?" The agitation in Kaiten's voice was replaced by utter joy upon hearing her words.

"Fine...follow me." Speaking in a disappointed key, Helen began to crawl off at the fastest speeds a snail girl could manage. Not surprisingly, it wasn't very fast.

"How did you get that...THING to let me out anyway?"

"You see her arms? Those are burn marks. A long time ago, Eza ran into Scala and tried to do the exact same thing. You can guess what happened."

"Heh. That's sis for ya! Ummm...can you move any quicker?" The surprised naga raised one eyebrow as he spoke.

"This is how I usually move." As she uttered these words, the slightly smaller naga slid next to her and continued moving.

"If ya say so...I hope this place is good."

"Say, you said Scala is your sister right? Then how come I once saw her cradling you in her arms?"

"She was just playing around! She does stuff like that sometimes."

"Fine fine, don't get all worked up, silly. I actually have another question for you. Why aren't you looking at me?"

"I'm shy around girls...sis and mom have been helping me with it though."

"Well that's good! Because it's kinda hurtful if a cute guy won't even look at a girl like me." Kaiten's face turned a bright red color as she spoke. "Say, out of curiosity, why do you need my nap space?"

"Well...in order to not bore you with a long story...I wanna become stronger. I wanna be able to protect people instead of always having to be protected BY them. So I'm gonna train and exercise to become tougher. I remember the way my dad used to do it, so I'm gonna work with that."

"That's actually a really noble goal. Why don't you train around you sister though?"

"I tried for awhile. Sis got worried when I went with it for too long, so she made me take lots of breaks. Needless to say, I wasn't getting anywhere. Also, I really don't wanna worry her. She's been so good to me."

"Thoughtful of others too? I think I like you Kaiten. Wanna...go out later maybe?"

"Ummm...I appreciate the offer Helen, but uh...gosh, I don't really like man-ladies though."

"You're thinking slug girls Kaiten...I'm a full-on woman." While he wasn't staring at her face, her tone told him he made a big mistake in saying this.

"I'm sorry! That would explain the belly I guess. How far along are you?"

"What?"

"How long have you been pregnant? Did the last guy leave you?"

" I'm not pregnant. Although I would LOVE to be. I want to have a kid someday, but...wait, are you calling me fat? I'm beginning to wonder if having Eza let you out was a good idea..."
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"So this is it?" The underweight naga's eyes were opened wide as he stared at the area in front of him, the light from above making him squint slightly.

"Yup. This is where I usually live." Speaking in a calm happy tone, Helen extended her arms to show off what appeared to be a small field between a mass of clumped together trees, lush vegetation every which way.

"This is where you live? Then why were you out there?"

"I was getting some fruit. It doesn't grow around here and I LOVE that stuff.

"You do? Well, how about I bring you some? As a way of saying thanks?"

"Yeah, I like you already." She spoke in a dreamy tone at this point as her eyes just stared at him.

"Thank you! I'd kiss ya but, what with the girl thing and all..."

"I'll hold you to it then. Not many guys come through here, and I USUALLY spend most of my time here. So when you've gotten better with the "girls thing", remember what ya said!"

"R-Right. Wait...holy crap! Look at the time!" Pointing at the sky, Kaiten's eyes detected orange along the clouds. Night was approaching. "Sis is gonna be so mad! Last time I was late home, she lectured me all night! Bye Helen! See ya tomorrow!"

"I'll be here!"
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"Sis?" Kaiten slithered towards his sister as carefully as he could, the darkness overhead making her look near ghost-like.

"Where were you?! I've been worried sick! And why do you smell so bad? And why are you so sticky?" The much taller red haired woman spoke quickly as she lowered her face to be level with his.

"I...I was just...umm..." As he spoke, Kaiten knew in his mind that unless he could come up with something good, he was in for an earful. "I met a girl, and we were just...hanging out. I think she likes me."

"She...likes you? Kai...you have a girlfriend?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess I do." Kaiten wasn't prepared for what happened next as his big sister let out a girly squeal, forcing him to cringe slightly.

"Oh my gosh, you have to introduce me to her sometime! I can't believe you're growing up so fast!"

"So...does this mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Only if I get to meet her soon. Oh my, I have to tell Sylph about this!"

"Umm...sure thing. Oh boy..."

Awww. That was a nice read. It was also my first time reading about Kaiten... Scala too, for that matter. I got to understand quite a bit about them from this story. I've got to read the others.

I look forward to future stories as well.

Awww well thank you!^^

Here's something a little different .o.

Reflections

Lightning cracked across the sky leaving a thunderous boom in its wake, as what could only be described as a torrential downpour occurred.

The sky had blackened considerably, everything underneath being soaked in the resulting rainfall. Were one to look upwards, they would not be able to tell day from night.

Letting out a loud moan, Kaiten looked outwards from the tree-made canopy, trying as hard as he could not to whine, his tail twitching in anticipation, his mind filled with the hope that the rain would stop soon. Looking back to Scala and Sylph, he managed to let out a loud whimper.

“Geez Kaiten. Relax, ya got the day off so you may as well enjoy it.” The orange haired fairy leaned back, sitting against the base of the tree, her tone very calm and laid back.

As another loud thundering boom echoed across the darkened clouds, Kaiten yelped and dove back towards his sister, cowering slightly as he crawled up to her. “Geh...I hate lightning!”

“There there Kaikai...why not take a nap? There’s not much else to do with the weather so bad...” Scala spoke in a warm tone, not unlike that of a mother as her little brother curled up next to her, shaking slightly.

“Maybe a nap WOULD help...thanks for the suggestion sis. Night...” As his body shook ever so slightly, he pushed himself against his big sister for warmth, as she gently rested a hand on his chest...
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“Sweetie? Wake up. The sun is high in the sky now. Your Dad needs help outside. Seriously, wake up.”

“Uuuuuu...” As the covers were pulled off of the young man, his eyes opened slowly. Letting out a loud yawn, the small boy rose off of his back and into a sitting position. “Mornin’ Ma...Da needs help?”

“Yes he does. Breakfast is ready, so go eat and hurry up outside.” The middle aged woman pointed towards the messy bedroom’s door as the boy climbed out of bed and quickly forced his shirt on, a new style from the imperial city called a “Hoodie” which, true to its name, had a hood to cover the head as well as a symbol depicting the sun and moon on it. As the boy walked out of the room, he grabbed a pair of blue shorts hanging on the door, fur adorning the openings for the legs at the bottom.

Rushing down the wooden staircase, the boy rushed over to the table in the middle of the room and grabbed the large knife, quickly jabbing it into the loaf of bread present in the middle of the table. Forgetting his mother’s advice on how to properly cut bread, he cut of a very jagged uneven chunk. Grabbing the large piece of bread and stuffing into his mouth, the boy ran towards the nearby door, only stopping to put on some leather shoes that lay near the entrance.

As the boy stepped outside, sunlight streaming onto his short body, he could see a pile of neatly stacked wood on the grassy plain, as well as a tall bear of a man doing push ups nearby. Near the man were two horses tied to a cart, as well as the stable that normally contained them.

“Da? I’m up and I’m ready to help...”

“There you are lazybones! What took ya?” The man had spoken in a loud booming tone as he rose from the ground, practically towering over the small boy and wi[ed the sweat off of his brow. “Ya took so long, figured I might as well get some exercise while I waited for ya! Beats sitting around, that’s for sure.”

“I’m sorry Da. I was up late last night.” The boy hung his head in guilt, the wood chopping having evidentially been before he even got there.

“It’s fine son. Ya did nothin’ wrong. Now that yer up though, you can help yer ole man pile the wood in the cart. I’m gonna go get something to drink. Do it neatly.” His voice was powerful and firm as he walked back towards the small cottage and entered the structure.

Grabbing the first chunk of wood, he set it neatly inside the back of the cart, working carefully so as not to get any splinters. As the child continued, His father walked outside and watched his progress with a satisfied smile.

“Y’all done son?”

“Y-Yes Da.” The small boy had replied as he wiped sweat off his face.

“Hard work eh? It’s alright, you’ll live. Ya want muscles like yer old man has, don’cha? “ As the small boy eagerly nodded his head, the man couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.

“So...to the village now Da?”

“Yes. I’ve already told yer mum yer comin’ with me, so get on the cart. We need to make a delivery and pick up somethin’ for dinner. Yer mum is gettin’ sick of deer.” As the boy worked his hardest to climb into the cart, his little legs were wiggling, unable to climb into the driver’s seat. Sighing, the massive man helped his son up.

Grabbing his woodcutting axe from nearby, he Climbed into the driver’s seat himself. The man took hold of the reins attached to the two horses and gently snapped it, as they began to walk on the small path.

“Da? It’s gonna be awhile ‘til we get to the village, so... I have a couple o’ questions.”

“Let ‘er rip boy.” He stated as he kept his eyes on the dusty trail ahead of the two.

“It’s about that letter Geoffrey sent.”

“I kinda had a feeling you’d bring that up.”

“Well, why does he have to go to war?”

“Your brother is doing it to protect people like us.”

“From what?”

“You may be too young to understand it, but there are some bad people out there. They don’t want us to live the way we are. They want us live by their rules, and do what they say. And if they had their way, you and I wouldn’t be seeing each other as often as we’d wish to.”

“So big bro is doing a good thing?”

“War is never a good thing son. He’s going to be killing people.”

“K-Killing? Does he have to?” The young boy was clearly in shock as he spoke, having never once considered the prospect.

“As unfortunate as it may be, yes. In doing so, he’s helping millions of people.

“But isn’t killing people wrong? I mean...they might have families too.”

“Son, we could go on about this all day. In the end, I doubt I could change yer mind. Not everything in the world is so black and white though. So whattaya say we just enjoy the sights until we get there, hmm? You just keep an eye out for any trouble.”

“Okay Da...” The boy’s tone turned surprisingly quiet as he watched the trees pass by.

Though it felt like forever to the young boy, it wasn’t too long until the duo saw the outskirts of the village ahead, a busy trading place, and home to many people.

As the horse drawn cart made its way through the busy streets, people of all shapes and sizes went about their business, children playing amongst the small crowd as well.

Stopping the cart in front of one house, the giant of a man climbed off and knocked on the door. “Stay there for a minute boy.”

Doing as he was told, the small child waited calmly, watching the two horses in front of him as he did. Soon enough, his father returned to him and gave him a handful of coins. “Alright. There’s a package waiting for us with the fishmonger. That’s to be our dinner. Go and use this money for it. And please try to be quick. I don’t wanna be travelling during dark.”

Nodding his head, the child departed into the village. Trying not to get distracted, the boy continued forth, ignoring the other children and several small merchant booths set up every which way.

Inhaling the smell of fish, and seeing the portly man with his short beard, he knew he was close. Walking towards the stand, he stood on his tip-toes and stared as the man took a blade in hand and used it to take the head off of a particularly large fish.

“Hmmm? Kaiten! My favourite little customer! How ya been?” Though the man’s tone voice was gruff, it was obvious he was trying to be friendly.

“I been real good mister! I’m actually here to get dinner.” Kaiten dropped the small pile of coins on the counter as he spoke.

“Right. So, how’s that magic stuff comin’ along?” The fishmonger stated as he reached around in his several packages, looking for the one in question.

“Oh it’s coming along great! I’m even better than I was at the birthday party!” Kaiten spoke in a proud tone, not unexpected of a small boy like himself.

“Is that so? Well, next time we invite your family over for dinner, you can show it to the kids. How does that sound? Just so long as your Dad doesn’t bring that axe of his along.” He said with a laugh as he handed Kaiten a large, tightly closed package reeking of fish smell.

“That’d be great Mister Fishmonger! But I gotta go for now. Da told me not to take too long.” Waving farewell, Kaiten ran back towards where he had last seen his father, his hands holding a large package.
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A massive boom rolled across the sky as Kaiten’s eyes opened, forcing him to nearly jump and yell. Reaching for his sister, he could see her talking with a figure which it took his weary eyes a moment or two to recognize.

“Did you sleep well Kai?” The orange haired fairy beside him had asked.

“Y-Yeah. Who’s that? Over there with sis? I mean...it’s still raining out. Who would show up in this kinda weather?” Rising from his spot, Kaiten saw the large Red-headed naga speaking with a girl whose body appeared to be attached to a spiral shell.

“Good morning KaiKai!” Scala cheerfully called to her still somewhat shaken brother.

“Ummm. What is she doing here?” The green tailed snake man asked as he pointed to the nearby snail girl.

“Well, if you must know. The weather outside was beautiful, so I decided to come and visit. Besides. You said she wanted to meet me, right?”

“He promised me that a long time ago.” Scala simply rolled her eyes as she playfully glared at her little brother.

“Y-Yeah. Sorry about that. Just slipped my mind.”

“He might be forgetful, but he’d make a great Daddy. That’s why I’m with him!”

Scala simply looked down at Helen’s slightly outstretched belly and gasped as she put a hand over her mouth. “Kai...you never told me you were going to be a Father! Helen, what the hell is wrong with you?! He’s...young! He’s not fit to be a dad and you know it! I can’t believe you’d take advantage of him like that!

“W-Wha?” Kaiten simply stuttered as Scala rose up and looked at Helen with her hands on her hips.

“I’m not pregnant! I just...eat alot.” Helen’s words forced Scala to do a double take as she looked at Kaiten, who giggled and nodded his head.

“I...I’m sorry.” Scala’s face turned a bright red as she scratched the back of her head.

“Whatever...still nice to meet’cha.” Kaiten simply groaned at this. As his sister and his girlfriend continued to talk, he crawled back to his spot, a large blush forming on his face. Seeing this, despite wearing a large smile at seeing everybody so happy, Sylph let out a small sigh.

Been a while, Kaiman. Let's a-see what-a can-ah tell ya.

As always, your material is flawless as far as I'm concerned. I believe on principle that it can be improved, but it has no glaring flaws.

Chapter 7...

Well, Kaiman sure looks like the gregarious, laid-back type.
I take it Rojer's honor isn't as compatible with ours as we would have thought. Kinda makes sense to see him now with the humans: after all, hoomynz iz made for snackin.
Kyaaaa! You know your cute very well, Kaiman! It's not that I'm rolling on the floor laughing or melting, but I'm smiling either way.

Chapter 8...

It's a good thing Kaiten's soon enough going through puberty: the eloquence of his silliness is starting to run quite shallow.
Shienne is interesting, to say the least. That well-prepared camp is a big pile of sitting ducks to her- not the kind of threat you usually face. Very tense here.
Glad to know Kaiten accomplished something in the end, even if it had to be the mother of all consolation prizes- take away Rojer's desire to keep on this vein.

Chapter 9...
Jessica's a tough nut to crack, eh? Bullets and luck do run out, though, and she should keep this in mind.
Shienne's plan comes in small installments... now I'm curious as to what's next.
"The kitty guy"? Kaiten really got hit on the head a lot.

Chapter 10...
Well, that's an interesting notion. Kaiten is really going to do something about himself being a wuss? That's good, but do accompany it with some character development, will ya.
Shienne's plan finally comes to be! I wonder what is it Marcus is going to do next. This... I can tell it's reaching its fair end.

I just wanted to say, thank you. I appreciate all the interest and comments from folks. It keeps me going^^ So here we have a request/gift I did for Blazbaros awhile back. Only just now realized it wasn't on here. This is the beginning of his Dryad Miracle's travels

Miracle

The sun. To most that live under the wide, open sky, it represents many things. Warmth. Safety. Light. In the world of Felarya, this is no different. Very few appreciate the sun more than dryads though.

In a small grove, surrounded by large, bunched-together trees, there was one that seemed rather out of place. With green-ish bark for the most part, it stood at even shorter then the average man.

A small bird had nestled itself in the small tree's upper portion, still sleeping from the previous night, now since passed as sunlight spilled into the grove and the warm rays covered the small and growing plant.

The bird quickly began to flap its wings as the perch it was sitting on began to shake. The small avian creature left its temporary home, the small trees shaking frightening it greatly.

As two of its branches began to stretch outwards, a small face became visible on the plants upper front upper portion, yawning widely as the branches took on their shape as arms.

As the small figures eyes adjusted to the light around her, a wide smile began to form on her lips. Stretching out her arms, the small green skinned figure yawned heavily, letting some dew fall off of the leaves hanging above her face.

Unlike most other beings just waking up, she found herself full of energy, the sunlight drenching her young body in its glow.

Feeling that it was time to get up and start moving, the young girl strained a little bit and pulled up on her lower body as the roots keeping her in the ground slowly plucked out of the dirt. As the dust began to fall off of the roots, they began to take on a shape, slightly like that of human legs.

Falling down as she tried to move forward, the small dryad grunted a little bit. Regardless of whether or not she was full of vim and vigor, her legs were still a bit stiff. With some effort, the smile on her face returned as up she righted herself and began to leave her small haven, the dirt around her roots being knocked off as she did so.

Exiting her current residence, she looked upon the world that lay in front of her. Plant life as far as the eyes could see, strange sounds coming from almost every which way, a massive world just waiting to be explored all for the taking, and she had all the time in the world to do so.

Now, any wanderer knows full well that water is essential to any trip. With that thought in mind, the young green skinned child walked forward, keeping an eye out for any small pools of water with which to fill up on, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings all the while.

As the small wanderer walked forward, she took in the many sights and sounds that surrounded her, enjoying and listening carefully to every single one. Sure, she had heard many of these sounds on most other days, but they still filled her with wonderment. Just what could be making them?

Stopping in her tracks, the young one began to hear something. Or rather, she began to hear someone. Not being able to see anyone, she figured that another dryad was trying to contact her mentally. Letting her mind work the message, she concentrated on it.

"Miracle? Miracle, it's me. Momma. Miracle dear, please, come home. Momma would like you to be here."

"Momma? What's wrong Momma?" The young dryad had spoken in a very soft tone, much expected for one of her demeanor. She had heard this voice many times when she was younger, a reassuring voice that always told her via her mind, that everything was going to be okay.

"Momma is waiting for you at home Miracle…please, come back." At this moment, the soft caring voice young Miracle was hearing simply vanished.

"Momma…you sounded worried…I'm coming Momma!" Looking around somewhat desperately now, Miracle spotted a puddle of water, most likely left over from one of the recent rain showers.

Planting her roots squarely in the liquid, the water began to vanish as her roots started to suck it up. "Ahhhhh! Much better! Now…I'm coming Momma!"

It was an odd feeling, but Miracle knew exactly where to go. Yanking her roots out of what abysmal amount of water there was left in the small pool; she began to walk forward, heading home at long last.
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Nature had always intrigued young miracle. From the smallest bugs, to the largest animals she had seen. Hence, when she saw several moths flying overhead, she couldn't help but watch their movements. As she reached for one though, they all scattered and flew away, leaving the small dryad in awe.

"Are you sure about that? Tom? We lost her? That harpy was pretty persistent…" A strange male voice had risen from almost nowhere, causing the small green-skinned child to look around in confusion. "What if she actually says no to me?"

"Hello? Who's there?" Looking around, somewhat worried now, Miracle noticed a large bird sitting on a tree branch near her, one easily identified as a jaykay bird. Miracle had realized a long time ago that these strange avian creatures said some VERY random things at times. Once in awhile, she had listened to them for a good laugh, others, they had kept her awake at night with their ramblings.

"Well, I'll make sure to ask her when we get ba…what the hell is that thing?! Oh my god! It's crushing them! We have to get out of here! GAH!!!"

"Huh? That was…creepy…" Very often, she had heard weird conversations from these strange birds, sometimes giving her the impression that other people were talking through them. She had begun to truly hope that whatever it was these possible people ran into wasn't anywhere nearby.

As she continued moving forward, a nice cool breeze flew by her head, rustling the leaves in her hair. As she let the breeze whistle through, she looked down at the ground and watched as several ants walked by. She was one with nature and it just felt right.

Eventually, after what may have been several hours of walking along, a rather strange sight came into view; what appeared to be many shattered stones near a large grove of Bramble covered bushes.

Examining the area somewhat closer, mostly out of curiosity, Miracle realized that many of these strange looking rocks resembled human body parts. A fact that, while extremely fascinating, was somewhat unnerving.

"Hello?! Frank! If you're there, say something! Anything!" Miracle could hear a human man's voice from somewhere. However, the fact that she couldn't see anyone in the immediate area caused the small dryad to cock her head to the side in confusion.

"Hello! Who's there?"

"Is that…a little girl's voice? Hello?!" Following what she could hear, Miracle found something odd on the ground. It was shaped like a box, grey, and much like some bugs she had seen, it had what looked like a long antenna coming out of it.

"Hello?" She spoke into the little box, albeit a bit confused as to how it worked.

"Hello?! Who is this?" The voice was coming from inside the box, giving Miracle quite a fright.

"I'm Miracle! Who are you? Are you trapped in there?"

"Miracle? That's a weird name. What are you talking about "Trapped in there"?"

"I mean, inside of this box thing!" As she said this, she began to poke the little black box to free whatever captive might be held inside.

"Box thing? Whatever…Who's around there? Do you see anyone?"

"No…there are just a bunch of weird looking rocks. They look a little bit like humans."

"Wait, like humans? Who the hell is this? What are you? What did you do to my comrades?!" The voice was enraged now, like one who had just lost something very close to them.

"I told you already, my name is Miracle. I'm a dryad!" She spoke proudly as she said this, much like a child of her age normally would.

"Fine. You DO sound too young to have eaten them anyway…Last thing I heard was some screaming from my friends about a huge lizard. And after they got away from that harpy earlier, I find it hard to believe a simple animal could do them in. Can you see anybody there?" His enraged tone had changed to a somewhat more understanding one as he spoke these words, the thought of a young child being on the other line coming to mind.

"Giant lizard?" Asking this, Miracle realized a long rock near her that looked far too much like a human arm for her liking and she gulped heavily. This sudden new fear was only amplified as she heard something in the leaves above her.

"Yes, I think it might have been a basilisk…" No sooner had the man on the other line finished saying this that Miracle saw something humongous scaling it way down a particularly large tree. It was at this moment that Miracle had realized what her new friend was talking about. So, this was a "Basilisk". She had seen these creatures before, but had never had a name for them. Their gaze turned the body of those whose eyes connected with its own to stone!

As the creature landed on the ground with a heavy thud, the massive reptile eyed Miracle intently. Dropping the small box and paying more attention to her surroundings now, Miracle quickly moved as fast as she could into the bramble covered bushes as she heard a loud roar behind her, the gigantic predator in hot pursuit.

"That was close!" Miracle had managed to yell as she hit the grass. While she was small enough that the large brambles didn't touch her, she was lucky that the gigantic basilisk was not.

Climbing inside the safe haven as far as she was able, the branches of the bushes began to mangle together, forming a blockade against all light. And while it certainly looked rather imposing, Miracle couldn't help but feel safe as she gasped at her near-escape. Still being able to hear the frustrated creature on the other side of the thick and sharp blockade, she decided it would be best to find a good escape route. Seeing a small hole in the thicket, she swiftly crawled through it, effectively moving her far enough away from the basilisk to alleviate her fears.

After what felt like ages, despite being only minutes, Miracle arrived on the other side of the sharp fortress she found herself in only moments before. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, her mind began to focus on the task at hand.

"That was scary!" Wiping her brow with her arm, she found her breathing beginning to regulate again. As Miracle began to walk again, she heard something above her, much like the flapping of wings. Tilting her head to get a good view, she saw what appeared to be a gigantic bird heading straight for her. Diving to the ground, the gigantic creature's talons missed her by a very small margin.

"Crap! You hairless apes are always so hard to nab!" While Miracle was still a bit dazzled by what had just happened, she could have sworn she heard a loud, obnoxious voice yelling at her. Looking towards where her assailant had headed, she saw what looked like a gigantic mix of bird and woman perched on a high branch.

"What are you doing?! I'm not a monkey!" The little dryad found herself waving her arms defensively as she spoke, causing the harpy to narrow her eyes at her to get a better look.

"Well, well! You ain't a one o' them common ground walkers, that's fer truth!" Translation: "Oh? Well what do you know? You're not a human afterall."

"That's right, I'm a dryad!" The child simply put her hands on her hips as she spoke proudly.

"Aaahhh one of the leafy ladies that always grow like weeds? I never tasted one of the little green beans…well, down the hatch I guess!" Translation: "You're a dryad? Hmmm….I don't think I've ever had dryad before. They always grow way too big. There's a first time for everything I suppose, and you're the only thing in sight. So…"

Miracle began to back away as she realized the harpy was licking her lips. Seeing the harpy launch from her perch, Miracle dove back into her pokey playground, crawling away from the sound she heard behind her, a mix of cursing and bird talons trying to rip through the safety she had found.

Despite crawling back through the small opening she had come out through, a familiar noise reached her ears. Looking forward, she could see something moving. That nasty basilisk had been breaking through all the bushes all that time and trying to get to her! Desperately searching for a way to escape her attackers, Miracle spotted one more small opening. Crawling through it as fast as she could, she could see the feet of the basilisk following her along. It could see her now and was following her along the edge of the bush, waiting for her to exit. Looking around as hard as she could, Miracle realized that there was no way out. Rushing towards the exit ahead of her, light spilling from the hole, she tried desperately to think of some way out of this situation.

"C'mon string bean…I need my veggies!" Translation: "You can't get away…hurry up and leave that thing so I can eat…" The harpy had now focused her sights directly on the small dryad running through the bushes, visible by a bright green color amongst the dark grey of the thorns. Seeing Miracle was just about to leave her safe abode, the harpy aimed for where she saw her running, planning to scoop her up in one fell sweep. At this point, the harpy left the spot she had just been watching from, and flew as fast as she could towards the little green girl.

Feeling the light against her skin, Miracle suddenly saw a massive pair of reptilian feet in front of her, bending as though the creatures head were reaching down. Falling to the ground and screaming, she held her head in her hands.

The harpy who hadn't been paying much attention, was still in mid-flight as she saw Miracle exit, found herself staring into the face of a gigantic lizard out of nowhere! "What the hell?!" Translation: "What the hell?!"

Despite waiting for the inevitable, it did not come. Miracle heard a very odd noise, much like a crashing noise. After a few seconds of unnerving silence, the tiny dryad opened her eyes and raised her head. Looking around, she realized that the basilisk wasn't overhead any longer, nor was the harpy that was after her anywhere near. Near her young body though, there was what appeared to be a long and massive stone. It looked almost like a bird's wing. Lifting herself off of the ground, she looked beyond the rock only to see the basilisk was out cold on the ground, a bloody spot on its head, and another large figure made of stone close by to it.

"That harpy must have gotten…stoned! Oh, what a relief!" Wiping the sweat from her face, her harsh breathing began to return to normal. Deciding she didn't want to wait around for the basilisk to awaken, she decided it would be best to head out and return to her original journey.

As she took her first few steps, she concentrated as hard as she could, her mind focused on only one thing. "Momma? You'll never guess what just happened to me!"

Well now, that was a moving story. Things are so much more captivating when a child is involved. Very nice story indeed. If I may offer one suggestion, try handling the translation of Harpy language a little differently (if you haven't already had your fill of that XP). It was a little distracting to see "Translation:..." and so on. I'm not sure of the best way to do it, but the current method was just a teeny bit awkward to read.

Once again, very nice story.