James felt Jamie leave her brother and move swiftly through the forest to return to him. Mender was clueless that his sister had left him, and was busy fighting off a pack of wolves.

Jamie stepped around a tree and smiled when she saw James. "Can we talk?"

Gesturing to Bo, he said, "he already knows about your job."

"Oh…"

Bo smiled. "It's fine, Jamie. I don't know why you turned to assassination, but it explains why you are so good at fighting."

James nodded in agreement. "Do you want to talk here, or should we walk further away?"

"Can we walk please?" Jamie murmured.

"I'll be back," James said before linking arms with Jamie. Leading her away, they walked for a few miles before coming to a stop. "What's wrong, sister?"

Sitting down on a tree stump, Jamie held her head in her hands. "Why aren't you judging me for killing people for a living?"

"Do you want me to?" he countered.

"No…"

"Then I won't. Besides, it's not like I don't kill people. Also, I'm going to need your skills when we get to Running River. You are going to be one of my key players. You and Amber."

Sighing, Jamie looked up at him. "I need this power, James."

"May I ask why?"

Shaking her head, she lowered her gaze again. "I don't want to involve you. This is for Mender and I to handle."

"Okay," he said. Reaching out, he ruffled her hair. "If you want to talk about it, I'll listen."

Pushing his hand away, she giggled. "It would almost be better that you judged me. I can't tell Mender what I do."

"Then I won't tell him either," James assured her. "But what did you really want to talk about?"

Frowning, her shoulders slumped. "Are you going to push me aside once we gain more people?"

"No. Goodness no." Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her back. "When I need to travel to new research facilities, you'll be coming with me. Or at least I hope you will."

Embracing his hug, she sniffled. "Thank you. I don't want to be left behind again. You understand me…and I haven't felt that in a long time."

Pulling away, he said, "you could talk to Mender, you know."

Shaking her head, she pressed her forehead against his stomach. "No. He has enough to worry about on his end. Maybe someday."

Resting his hand on her head, he said, "that's fine. I won't leave you behind if you want to come with. I hope you will, but I won't force you. And, if you need to talk about anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Thank you, brother."

Letting her go, he pointed into the forest. "Now. I believe you are supposed to be getting stronger. Are you really going to let Mender win?"

Jumping up, she wiped her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. "You're right. I need to kick his ass."

Chuckling, he pushed her away. "Go on. We can talk more tonight about enchanting and Soul Senses."

Beaming, she turned away and started to run. Left alone once again, he scanned the forest and found Bo only a few miles away. Jogging back over to the elder, he rejoined his side.

"Is she okay?" Bo asked.

"Yeah. Just needed some assurance about her future." Turning his gaze toward the sun, he frowned. "We sill have a few hours left before dark. If we walk for another hour, we can set up camp."

Bo followed his gaze. "I agree."

Keeping their pace even, they walked through the forest until they came to a wide enough clearing to set up camp. The ground had dried as the day passed making the camp more comfortable.

Setting up the tubs, he filled each of them with water before preparing the wash basin for clothes. To his surprise, Linda was the first to return.

The elf stripped off her clothes and added them to the washbasin before claiming a bath. "That was a hell of a day."

Scrubbing her clothes, he asked, "how is your crossbow?"

"It's not strong enough. I need my Soul Weapon as soon as I can get it."

Bo frowned as he looked between the two of them. "Soul Weapon?"

James nodded. "Yes. Each of us gets a unique weapon that is exceedingly strong. Mine is a sword. Luna has her wolf form, and Amber has claws."

"Amber already has hers?" Linda asked with a growing frown.

"Yup. Got it at level one." James flipped the clothes over and kept scrubbing. "She didn't get a Soul Attack like the rest of you."

Grunting, Linda closed her eyes and sank into the water. "This Soul Water is amazing for recovering at the end of the day. Are you going to try and learn more elements?"

"That's what this water is?" Bo asked.

Once again, James nodded. "Yes. The elements change when we use our souls to create them. I focused on water because I needed it to survive. Bronson is trying to learn earth, and Luna learned air. That's as much as I know."

"I don't know what I'll learn," Linda admitted. "I should do earth to help with construction and farming, but the Elson brothers are all learning it."

"There's no rush to decide," James said. "We could use another water user though. How else are we going to water crops?"

Cracking one eye open, Linda smiled. "I might take you up on that."

Bo shook his head as he sat nearby. "It's fascinating that you all can simply learn the elements."

"It is what it is," James said. Pulling out the clothes, he carried them to a branch and hung them to dry.

The Elson brothers returned next and promptly dropped their clothes into the basin before claiming tubs. Moving back to the basin, James started cleaning again.

"None of you seem concerned about bathing in front of another," Bo pointed out.

"Nah, it's fine," Bronson said. "We'll be travelling together for a long time. No point of partitioning the baths and risk getting attacked."

Chuckling, James felt Mender arrive next. Without looking up, he held out his hand and waited until the healer handed over his clothes. Jamie came a minute later and added her clothes to the mix.

"Where's Luna?" Jamie asked as she sank into her tub.

Scanning the forest, he frowned as he realized the two women still hadn't started making their way toward camp. In fact, Amber was still fighting, despite being in a tremendous amount of pain.

"They will arrive eventually," James answered. "How did you all do today?"

Linda spoke up first. "I'm making progress to level two. It's taking longer though with these weaker monsters."

"Same," Bronson said. "With how far we have to travel, it's hard to do what we can during the day."

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The others quickly agreed.

"Once we get into the wasteland that will all change," James said. Frowning, he turned his attention to the sky as a vulture started lowering itself towards him. Everyone in the camp tensed for a moment until they realized what was happening.

James almost laughed as a certain panther was dropped off, shivering and shaking in fear. The vulture bowed its head once before flying back into the air to find a place to rest for the night.

Turning to the panther, James summoned a chunk of dragon meat. "Eat your fill, bud. You need to find shelter still."

The panther happily calmed down and started eating.

"Did you tame him?" Jamie asked.

"No," James stated right away. "We are simply friends. I don't believe in taming someone. He is free to go wherever and whenever he pleases. But I do find that they grow stronger as long as we are helping one another."

Bo hummed. "Interesting."

Mender turned his attention to James as well. "I'd be curious if the panther would let me study his soul. I can feel that he is getting stronger as he eats."

The panther looked up at the healer and growled.

Chuckling, James said, "that's a no. The vultures won't let you either."

"Damn," Mender muttered.

Checking on Luna again, James found that they had finally started walking back towards him. Amber felt like she had reached level two, and her excitement was palpable even from the distance.

She's going to be a handful when she gets back.

He didn't have to wait long to confirm his thought. The cat came bounding into the clearing with a wide grin as she raced over to him. Before he could react, she launched herself into a flying hug.

"I reached level two!" she squealed in joy.

Knocked over, James pushed her away. "Congratulations. But you're getting blood all over me."

Frowning, she climbed off him and shrugged. "Oops."

Looking over his armor, he couldn't actually see any blood, but she did nearly spill his washbasin. "Get undressed and into a tub," he ordered.

"Does Master want to gaze upon my wonderful body?" Amber teased.

Turning to Luna as she entered the clearing, he asked, "can you calm her down? She said she was better looking than you."

"I did not!" Amber gasped. A growl filled the air a second later and she whipped her head towards Luna. "I swear I didn't!"

Smirking, James went back to washing the clothes. A moment later, Amber handed over her clothes before slipping into a tub. Luna joined him and took over the scrubbing.

"You know you don't have to do the laundry, right?" Luna voiced.

Shrugging, he said, "I want to help in a few little ways. Everyone exhausts themselves every day with hunting."

"Well, thank you," Luna said softly. Turning to the tubs, she called out, "wrap up your baths! We have skill training still."

Jamie was the first to climb out. Summoning a towel from her ring, she dried off before getting dressed in crude clothes. "When you're ready, James."

He gave her a thumbs up. "Let me finish Kitty Cat's clothes and then we can practice."

A growl filled the air as Amber glared at him.

"Should I call you Kitten?" he asked.

Closing her eyes, Amber disappeared under the water, clearly giving up. Luna nudged him with her elbow while giggling. "It's too much fun to tease her."

"It is," he agreed. "What are you going to work on tonight?"

"Nothing, if you want me to be honest. I'm gong to wait impatiently for you to finish with Jamie so I can drag you away."

Laughter filled the air from the others as James gave her a blank stare.

"Really?" he asked. "You don't want to make a stuffed mouse or anything for our resident cat?"

Amber growled again. "You're an ass!"

Even the panther seemed to laugh before bowing his head.

Bowing in return, James said, "get some sleep. I'll be leaving at first light if you are coming with."

Jogging into the forest, the panther disappeared, but James felt his soul before he went. The panther was excited about traveling by foot in the morning.

James finished the laundry as the others dried off and prepared to settle in for the night. They still had an hour or two until the night flares started and he needed to focus on Jamie.

Once everyone had spread out to practice their skills, he wandered over to Jamie. The woman was sitting on a boulder with her eyes closed.

"How do you sense the world right now?" James asked as he joined her.

"Like a normal person," she admitted. "I don't understand what you do."

James rubbed his chin as she opened her eyes. "You need to push your soul outside your body. Spread it out like a wave that coats everything around you. It might feel weird at first, but you'll get used to it. It's how you will sense monsters around you without being able to see them."

"Yes, monsters," she said with a snort.

"Focus, sister," Bopping her on the head, he had her close her eyes again. "Start small. It's going to take days for you to spread your soul out enough to even reach the point of feeling others. It took me three months to gain the skill."

"Three months?" she shouted.

He ignored the silence that settled on the clearing. "Yes, three months. Now start practicing before I smack you again."

Pouting, she shook out her body and got started. Minutes passed as he felt her soul squirming in her body. She wasn't making much progress, but then again, it took him weeks to figure it out.

Luna joined his side after half an hour. "I need that skill too."

"You are already proficient at pushing out your senses," he stated. "You just need to push them to their limit to learn the skill."

Rubbing his shoulders, she sighed, "I'll do that tomorrow. It's hard to do it when you are nearby. Your soul smothers the senses."

Glancing at Jamie, he frowned. "Maybe that is why she is struggling so much."

"You could always practice at pulling in your soul," Luna suggested. "There has to be a way to contain your power."

Rubbing his eyes, he nodded. Tilting his head back, he pursed his lips, much to the delight of his wife. Bending down, she kissed him before patting his cheek.

"Get to work," she told him. "I'll keep watch over the group. Plus, Elder Bo is here to help."

Sighing, he nodded and worked at pulling his soul into his body. The air around him wavered and distorted, making Luna step back. She continued to whisper words of encouragement, but he knew he wouldn't master anything in one night.

***

Luna sat with her legs crossed in the center of the clearing. Spreading out her senses, she felt each and everyone of them apart from James. His soul was impenetrable.

When will I reach your level, my love? I want to be of more use to you.

She knew it was a silly thought, but she still wanted to make him proud. He didn't set out with the thought to gather people around him. She was partially responsible for putting that idea into his mind. And if she didn't, she was sure Amber would have. That woman was a devout follower.

She'd probably be pregnant with his kid by now if I hadn't met him first. That cat barely can control her urges around him.

She wanted to laugh, but knew she shouldn't. If anything were to happen to her, she knew Amber would make sure James kept going forward. Amber was his second, and Luna had complete faith in her. Even if she did have to judge Amber harshly and push her to grow faster than the others.

Where are our lives going to take us? Will other sects grow scared of our power and come for us? Will they risk the wastelands and scour the landscape for where we settle?

She didn't like the questions, but she knew James wasn't thinking them. It was her job to ensure that they would be safe after Running River. She would guide James to the distant lands of Asia, and maybe even to Africa to settle. How they were going to cross the rent was beyond her, but she would think of a way. If she didn't James would.

I have to be the best partner that I can be. The path that James has started down is going to be hard. Very hard. Our followers will have to venture into the wastelands and fight without us. They will need to grow strong. Very strong if we are to carve out a slice of this world for ourselves.

Opening her eyes, she looked to the darkening sky. The clouds were hued orange and red, signaling the end of their day. A warm breeze was starting to pick up, fluttering the leaves and bushes. She could smell the clothes drying at an increased rate as everyone continued their practices.

Elder Bo had taken out some sort of tent that was enchanted against the night. The old man was already settled inside, closed off from everyone. Soon, the others would begin to bleed and do their best to sleep through the pain. They only had a few nights left before they were nearly immune.

James's soul spread out across the forest in a burst that stopped everyone in their tracks. The man was standing with the air fluctuating around him. A chill traveled down Luna's spine as she felt the sheer power he was emanating.

Poor Jamie was laying on the ground next to him, her eyes closed as he stepped away. Running a hand through his hair, he walked off into the forest. Amber shared a look with her and they both nodded.

Getting up, Luna trotted after her husband. He had only made it a mile away when she sniffed him out.

"Hey, Love," she said gently as she found him resting against a tree.

James grunted, but didn't say anything.

Moving to his side, she sat and wrapped her tail around his back. "If you want, I can bring Amber out here and have her wrap her tail around you too."

The joke worked and James snorted a laugh.

Holding up her hands, she chuckled. "I'm just saying. She claims her tail is better than mine, but you're the judge. Also, I'm pretty sure she's going to convince you to send me off on a long mission so she can sleep with you."

Now he really laughed. "Don't be silly, Luna. If you aren't by my side, I don't know what I'd do."

"Well, you would be back in the wastelands already," she stated. "Can't we just abandon this silly mission and leave?"

Shaking his head, he pulled her tail into his lap. "No. I gave my word that I would help. I can't break that."

Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Amber has the others tonight. I found a clearing nearby that we can enjoy together."

Smiling, he nodded. "Thanks, Luna."

"For finding a spot to have sex?" she teased.

"No," he said softly. "For not judging me as the monster that I am."

Her heart sunk at his words. She wanted to say that he could never be a monster, but she'd be lying. She once believed he was one. Even now, she couldn't suppress her shivers when he displayed his raw power.

"Even if the world turns against you," she whispered, "I will not leave your side. We live and die together, James."

Running his fingers through her fur, he hummed. "I do believe that this needs cleaned again."

"It does, huh?" she teased.

"We have just enough time to pamper you before the sun sets. Shall we?"

Practically jumping up, she pulled him to his feet. "Follow me, Master."

"You don't get to call me that," he grumbled.

Laughing, she waved him off. "Let's go, James. Are you really going to make me beg?"

"Yes," he deadpanned.

Scoffing, she slapped his arm. Pulling on him harder, she led him through the forest and to a small clearing. Once she was satisfied they were alone, she summoned her personal tub and waited for him to fill it.

Stripping out of her clothes for the second time that afternoon, she let out a pleasant hum as she sank into the water. She didn't have to wait long for James to pull out her tail and lather it with soap. He even produced a brush and she melted into the water.

She was in heaven, but she couldn't stop thinking about how he was hurting. Maybe Amber could help her come up with some way to help him. That was a tomorrow problem however. For tonight, she was going to repay his pampering in kind, and show him how much he meant to her.

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