We showered first, apparently that was what you did before getting into a hot spring. Then we entered the hot water.

"Uhhh, this feels different than the baths in Lupos." I said. The water had a real nice feel to it. It was hard to describe.

"It's an interesting sensation. Having your head out in the cold and your body so pleasantly warm." Cassie mused.

The edge of the pool we were in had a bench carved into the stone. So you could sit inside the hot water with only your head, and possibly parts of your shoulders, emerging. Well, most of us could. Skadi, being a dwarf, was a bit shorter.

Cassie, spotting her girlfriend's problem, grabbed Skadi and pulled her onto her lap. Both blushed slightly but Skadi quickly relaxed and leaned on Cassie. They were really cute together.

Meanwhile Hatsumi was still outside, carefully poking the water with her finger.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Helena said this water has a healing effect. I am wondering how this affects undead." She replied.

Hatsumi observed her finger but nothing bad seemed to happen. Then she shrugged and joined us.

"How does it feel?" Helena inquired.

"Surprisingly nice. My body does not crave heat like a living creature. But my skin seems to agree with the water." Hatsumi said, while poking her arm.

"Our water is so great, it even helps undead skin." Helena said with a grin.

"Being a vampire she is closer to a living creature than most undead. She still has blood, for example." Cassie reasoned.

"And she has plant seeds in her." Skadi added.

"Well, not really. We used those seeds to improve the blood but they should have dissolved." Cassie corrected her.

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"Should have?" Hatsumi asked.

"You are an experiment. I am not sure if anyone has done something similar before." Cassie explained.

"That means you are truly unique!" I added.

Hatsumi pondered that, then she smiled. "I like being unique."

"You would be anyway, just like any person." Helena added.

"Thank you." Hatsumi replied.

Meanwhile Nyx was still staring at the water. Ivy and Yoru were sitting next to the pool as well. Nyx carefully dipped her paw into the water. Then she sniffed her paw.

"I guess the water might not be the best for bones?" I wondered.

Nyx looked at the water once more, then she jumped on Hatsumi's head. There she started purring and kneading. Hatsumi did not seem to mind.

"So, I guess we are done with hunting? Or do we just go into the mountains carrying treats from now on?" Skadi asked.

"I think the Devourer has scared everything away. I doubt we would find much. How about we return to my home?" Helena suggested.

"I do have that ibex corpse. I wonder if we can do something interesting with it. A mount might be useful." I said.

"Do you want to make a draugr again? Or a vampiric undead?" Cassie asked.

"I am not sure if it needs to be vampiric. I think a draugr is enough. Also, we do not have all the resources from the academy." I pointed out.

"Do you have a lab I can use, Helena?" Cassie asked.

"Uh, there is an alchemist in town…" Helena replied.

"Maybe I will just keep it simple. I only have one horse. With Frank and Hatsumi an additional mount will be great. It does not have to fight too much." I mused.

"You know, Nyx could be a mount in her large form." Skadi suggested. Nyx stared at her, disapprovingly.

"I think it is the other way around. We are mounts for Nyx." Hatsumi said.

Nyx curled up on her head and purred.

"You know, we should also do some training." I suggested. "Hatsumi needs to learn more magic and Nyx could profit from some training too."

Nyx, of course, ignored my words.

"I would like that." Hatsumi replied.

"I don't want to think about any work right now." Cassie mumbled with her eyes closed.

She had a point. We were here to relax after all. I closed my eyes as well and fell asleep.

I awoke when I felt a hand stroking my ears. That was not all, my head was now leaning on something. I opened my eyes and realised I was leaning on Helena's shoulder.

"Your ears are pretty soft." She said, as she noticed my eyes opening.

"Um…" I blushed, unsure what to say.

Helena yawned. "We should go to bed, the others have already left."

"Probably a good idea…" I agreed.

We got out of the water, dried ourselves and walked into our bedroom. That was when I realised it was a double bed. I stood there, staring at it. Then I picked a side and crawled under the blanket. My back was towards Helena's side. My heart was racing as I heard her enter the bed. Then I felt her hand as she touched my tail…

I quickly turned around, looking at her.

"Oh, sorry if I…" I did not let Helena finish her sentence, I just kissed her.

Afterwards I blushed, looking into her wide eyes. Was that it? Did I make a mistake? Did I ruin our friendship? I wanted to bolt and tried to move away. But her hands grabbed me and she pulled me close.

"I like you too." She whispered into my ear.

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