We’re sort of her guide out here in the world above her nest, but she’s able to help us with whatever we may come across all the same. She’s there as our shield in a way, able to help us up when we stumble across trouble. We can always count on her to help us, I know I do,” he explained, with Squeak nodding with a squeak and a smile. Daniel smiled a bit and shook his head.

“Even though there is a pretty big language barrier between us,” he mentioned, with Squeak blinking then looking down with a weak smile in response. Daniel then turned to Alyssa, with the other girls looking to her curiously now as well.

“And you, Alyssa, have been what’s kept us together out here,” he said, with Alyssa looking at him with wonder.

“What? I have?” she asked.

“Yes, you have. We wouldn’t even be out here right now if it wasn’t for you; this ride and the horse pulling it are from you. Your magic has helped us survive out here, as well as your experience traveling in the outerlands. You’ve aided Specca with the planning and research on what monsters to find and speak to, you’ve helped Triska and Squeak fight off danger with your magic, you’re able to help with cooking from time to time alongside the rest of us, with everything that we do out here you’ve been right there to help us every time,” Daniel explained. Alyssa looked at him while being rendered speechless as the boy pointed to her focuser.

“You have the power to help me with my quest, Alyssa, and you have the power to strengthen what we all have as a group,” he complimented, with Alyssa looking down to her crystal while thinking about his words.

“What we have as a group?” she asked. Daniel nodded and looked around at the girls.

“Specca’s intellect, Triska’s fighting spirit, Squeak’s protective nature, and your…” he said as he turned to face Alyssa, the witch watching him with hopeful eyes as he smirked slightly.

“And your magical power,” he finished. Alyssa watched him curiously then tilted her head slightly.

“And?” she asked softly. Daniel thought for a moment then shrugged.

“And your horse and caravan?” he replied.

“And?” Alyssa asked again as she leaned closer towards him.

“Um… and the fact that you’re the famous Wildfire Witch?” Daniel added unsurely.

“And?” Alyssa asked again as she leaned even closer to him, batting her eyelashes a few times with a small smile on her face. Daniel hesitated as he watched the small girl crawling forward onto her hands and knees as she smiled innocently at him, then slowly shook his head.

“And… I don’t know what else you’re driving at here,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh, I think we can all take a wild guess,” Triska commented flatly, with Specca and Squeak watching Alyssa with dull stares along with her. Alyssa giggled and gently took hold of Daniel’s hand.

“Just think about it, Daniel. There are other things I can offer you,” she purred with a wink. The other girls narrowed their eyes at her while Specca set her hands on her hips.

“Excuse me, but are you implying that you’re the only one who could have sex with Daniel?” Specca snapped, with Daniel jumping with a startled expression from that. Alyssa merely glanced to her with a shrug.

“Well, real sex anyway,” she reasoned.

“What’s that supposed to mean, what can you offer that I can’t?” Triska barked out.

“For one I’m a sweet little girl, while you’re just a loudmouthed, temperamental idiot,” Alyssa shot back with a dull glare. Triska growled with anger while Specca crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow at the witch.

“Be that as it may, at least I have a developed figure to offer to my love, not one of an adolescent little girl,” Specca shot back. Squeak looked at her with discontent and squeaked something while gesturing to her own breasts and hips while Triska shook her head and looked at Specca with anger.

“What do you mean ‘be that as it may’? Are you agreeing with what she called me?” she yelled out.

“You yelling that to me isn’t doing much in your defense of her statement,” Specca replied while rubbing her ear from the teen’s shout, with Squeak glancing to the human with a raised eyebrow and nodding in agreement.

“There, they agree with what I said,” Alyssa boasted smugly.

“No they don’t!” Triska yelled out at her.

“See? Still yelling, I rest my case,” Alyssa concluded while pointing to Triska.

Daniel, at this point, had covered his eyes with one hand while looking down with a tired sigh, listening to the girls arguing back and forth between one another.

“Hey!” he called out. All the girls stopped and looked to him curiously as he slowly shook his head.

“Can we at least agree that each of you is important to me, and that you all have your own strengths that will help us on this trip?” he asked plainly. The girls looked to each other for a moment then back to him with a simple nod.

“Ok,” they said together, with Squeak squeaking in agreement. Daniel nodded then turned around and made his way towards the front seat of the caravan.

“Good enough, I’m going to find a place for us to stop for the night, try not to draw more blood from one another in the meantime,” he said before sitting down on the seat and taking hold of the reins. The girls all turned back to each other with stern expressions before the boy snapped the reins, the sound signaling Lucky once again resuming his trek across the trail and the girls once again resuming their arguing and shouting, along with squeaking, at each other. As Lucky pulled the caravan along the trail Daniel was sitting back against the ride while listening to the horse’s trotting feet, the wheels rolling below, and four bickering girls yelling at each other behind him. He sighed then looked up at the sky as it was turning to dusk, hearing two girls, presumably Triska and Alyssa, rolling around on the floor in a struggle together while shouting, and thought about his four companions that all wanted to be his mate.

“This is not helping me pick one, not at all,” he said dryly to himself.

*****

Under the darkening sky Falla was flying back towards where she left her sister and the young human, the butterfly girl carrying a pouch that was made of leaves wrapped with small vines and flowers that she had crafted out in the wilderness. She glanced to her carrying parcel with a raised eyebrow then looked around the landscape for where she left her sister earlier.

“Not sure what kind of beetles humans prefer to eat, but surely the kid would like some of these in here,” she reasoned to herself with a shrug. The girl burped then patted her chest with a smile on her face.

“Nothing like finding a nest of the delicious little buggers next to some sweet golden sap, looks like my luck’s starting to pick up again,” she said happily to herself.

She flew across fields and trees, scanning the area carefully for any sign of her sister or the human child. After a while she stopped and looked around with a puzzled expression.

“Odd, I was sure they would be right around here,” she mentioned carefully. There was no sign of anyone around the surrounding area, not even any wildlife. Falla groaned and looked up with a dull expression.

“I gave her one simple task of staying put, and what does she do? She doesn’t stay put.