Soul of a Human

After the first excitement was over, the Soul-kin girls looked somewhat expectant at Mor, who in turn let out a sigh.

"You want me to come home with you right now." He stated.

"Yes, of course, and while traveling, you can tell us what has happened," Tiara chimed in.

"That won't do," Elly stated.

"And who are you to decide that?" Tiara growled, having ignored the "new" girl for now.

"Mor and I are family, " the Ice-kin girl said while grabbing onto the boy's arm.

Mor let out a sigh and looked at Elly with a look, conveying, "Are you stupid?" and before any of the other girls could demand answers, he looked around at the very interested Ice-kin, waiting for some entertainment, and made a proposal.

"How about we discuss everything at a less public place?"

And to his relief, it was Clare who answered first.

"That sounds like a good idea. It seems there is much to be explained, " the girl agreed.

Lize and Gorn both nodded and offered their homes for this discussion, which was graciously accepted. However, the chief reminded them that they had to leave soon, tomorrow morning at the latest. This made Mor remember something else.

"Chief, this is Clare, and she's the healing mage I talked of a while ago."

Clare got a questioning look as the chief's eyes lit up. He looked expectant for Mor to continue, which the boy did. The boy explained the problem to the Soul-girl and asked her for help at the same time. Clare had indeed trained stronger healing magic and would be able to help the still-suffering hunters, but her help had a price.

Namely one for Mor to pay, as she would demand that the boy explain everything without omitting anything. Which he, of course, had planned. The chief accompanied the Soul-kin entourage to the hut, where the hurt hunters were treated, and Elly tagged along until Clare shot her a stern gaze.

"You are not allowed to join."

Both Saphine and Tiara grinned at that statement as the Ice-kin girl wanted to protest, leaving it again to Mor to calm the situation down. Ultimately, Elly had to wait outside, pouting at the unfairness. However, to Mor's surprise, Tiara stated that she wanted to have a girl-to-girl talk with Elly and stayed with her. A big part of that was that both of them had similar personalities, and the Soul-kin girl was also curious about the village and wanted to look around.

Now, while Clare did her very best to get the wounded hunters back to health, even with a bunch of scars remaining, Saphine almost drilled holes in Mor's back with her gaze. Still, with Clare's need to concentrate, there was no chance to question him thoroughly. Tiara had made the better choice here, as she could question the Ice-kin girl to her heart's content.

"So, what did you mean by saying you were family?" She asked the most important question on her mind.

Elly looked at the girl and sized her up, trying to gauge if more jokes were a good idea, which, of course, ended in a resounding yes. However, there was a question Elly wanted to have answered before that.

"Am I right, thinking you girls are Mor's girlfriends? He said that he had some girls he missed."

"He did?" Tiara stated, then added. "Of course, he did. Probably while he missed his family, too. Still, you didn't answer my question!"

Elly smiled while the girls walked on, having fun with the Soul-kins' growing agitation. However, before Tiara could ask again, Elly gave her answer.

"Mor needed a family, and my parents took him in, so you could say I'm his sister now."

The sigh of relief Tiara let out made Elly giggle.

"I see. Mor has a good eye for cuties. Well, the other two are also not too bad. You three are an endearing combination and make it easy to tease you."

The blushing of Tiara and the subsequent deflation, leading to a grim silence, confused Elly.

"Is it that whole Commoner and Noble thing? Mor tried to explain it to me, but I still don't grasp it."

Tiara nodded. "To explain, before Mor got here, Saphine, the blue-eyed girl, and I fought over Mor, both having a serious crush. However, after he "died", we thought about it and well moved on, at least we should have. Clare is soon to be married to another in our friend group, a boy named Orth, and Saphine also has found someone, but with Mor reappearing... Who knows what she will do."

"And what about you?" Elly asked.

"I don't know. I'm confused. On one hand, seeing him alive made all those old feelings flare up, but I'm not sure if it is only a crush," Tiara admitted. Why am I even telling you? I barely know you!"

"Because I'm a good listener and have a positive personality? Jokes aside, the only one who can decide what your life should look like is yourself. Still, listening to advice is good," Elly replied.

"Don't listen to her. If she had decided for herself, it would have been a mess. Mor and her father gave her the right idea." An Ice-kin boy butted in, going for a quick kiss from Elly, which was denied with a pout.

"Jorgen! You didn't have to say that!" the girl protested, but being denied just encouraged the boy.

"She almost got together with the chief's son, but after Mor put him in his place and Fortress approved of me, she gave me a try. She made the best decision in her life with that." Jorgen stated confidently, making Tiara smile, as she enjoyed Elly getting bashful.

The talk repeated as Jorgen took his turn, questioning the Soul-kin girl and failing to understand her troubles. For him, it was just as simple. If you're unsure about your feelings, try acting on them, and if they change, then you know for sure.

They kept wandering for a bit, chatting a bit, with the main topic being Mor and his time here and some of his more strange quirks. This led to the revelation that all of them knew of Mor's human, as he had told all his friends. It might not have been the smartest decision, but everyone had promised to keep it secret.

At the end of the little tour, they arrived just in time with everyone else at Elly's home, Jorgen tagging along after introducing himself to the girls. Clare had done what she could, and the wounded hunters would be able to go back out soon. This also gave her the gratitude of the chief, as they left the man to take care of his clan members.

After everyone sat down, wherever there was space, Elly simply sat in Jorgen's lap, almost daring Tiara to do the same. However, the girl didn't act on it. What followed was Mor's story, starting from when the glider crashed and ending just before Elly came to get him. The whole story, just as Clare had demanded.

However, no one could tell Mor why his long-range communication spell still didn't work. Still adamant about helping his Ice-kin friends with their first hunt, Tiara amended her previous information to Sophie, telling the woman to meet them at the glacial fortress, as no force would be able to keep her from her son. Mor had an inkling that his new form might surprise his mother, a sentiment the human wholeheartedly agreed to.