Soul of a Human

Now, while the "relationship" between Mor and the two girls did return to lighthearted banter even as they upped their advances, Mor continued to feel uncomfortable with it. Still, he had to play along if he didn't want to get "punished" again or strain their friendship.

While the human wasn't a big help because they could only give human advice, which mainly meant letting Mor decide for himself, he tried to confide in the only other person who might understand him, Orth.

"What should I do?" Mor asked his friend. "I mean, it's flattering that Tiara and Saphine are that interested in me, but why don't I have a say in it?"

"I don't know, you can't make them stop without sacrificing your friendship. Of course, I would stay with you, but I can guess that Clare would side with the girls. Girls be girls, and those are also nobles, who never heard no and can't comprehend being rejected." Orth answered as truthfully as possible.

°Ok, my advice is unhelpful, but this is plain shit. Girls be girls? In which fucking world does he live!° The human complained, and Mor had to agree.

Then, after they dragged on the discussion for a while longer without getting anywhere, Mor accepted his lot. He knew he was on his own, so he had no choice but to keep up and try to keep the girls at arm's length. All while not completely rejecting their advances because there might be another sleepover if he dared. It might be exciting for his adolescent body, but the constant fear of it drained his psyche.

This went on for a few weeks, and just as he thought he couldn't take it anymore, Lady Luck smiled at him, as another person he could confide in wanted to talk.

"Hello Mor, how is everything? Your mother wanted me to call you because last year at this time, you were in deep trouble." His father asked.

"Father! Tell Mother I'm fine, though there's still a looming threat of a Shadow-kin running around and wanting to get the princess." Mor answered, and before Morokhan could reply, the human interrupted.

"Yo Daddy-o! Ya, boy, is doing good. He's got two bitches around his little finger!"

"I didn't understand any of this. What's a Daddy-o, and bitches?" Morokhan questioned.

"The human is being stupid again." Mor tried to deflect.

"I most certainly am not! Our little Mor has girl problems." The human stated.

"Shut up!" Mor complained.

"What girl problems?" Morokhan asked.

"Don't worry, I can deal with it… somehow." Mor tried to play it down, but again, the human wouldn't let him.

"Yeah, right. That's why you bashed your head against a stone wall for half an hour yesterday."

"Mor, if you need someone to talk to, I'm your father. You can talk to me," Morokhan said.

Far away on Diamond Isle, an agitated Sophie wanted to know what her boy was doing. She still couldn't contact him on her own, but Morokhan only told her that Mor was doing his job as a bodyguard and was a good student. Of the trouble with women, he said nothing because his wife would just up and leave to "protect" her boy from those stealing harpies.

The human would react to the word harpy, but they have nothing in common with the mythical equivalent the human might know. Instead, they were birdlike monstrosities, more giant eagle-bats than winged women. They were known for "carrying" away the biggest prey, meaning primarily men, and therefore were also dubbed husband-stealers.

Mor sighed and then explained the situation to his father. When his son had finished, Morokhan was stumped and couldn't give any good advice about how Mor could keep his friendship with the girls intact.

"If it drains you, you must decide what's more important. Right now, they are using every dirty trick to make their advances, but are you fine with that? Sometimes doing the best thing for yourself is to cut the bad things out from your life, even if it hurts." Morokhan said and then continued with a light chuckle. "You probably won't believe me, but I was in a similar position. I was a complete pushover, but after meeting Sophie… I changed. I knew she was the right one, and boy, was I right. One of the other interested girls still wouldn't give up on me, but your mother quickly put her in her place. Thinking of it, I never found out what she had done, but no other girl made advances on me after that."

"I already told him that, but he doesn't want to give up his friendship with them," the human said.

"Then, you made your choice. Now, you can only endure, but you know what? While you're home on break, we're traveling, making a father-son escape and giving you room to breathe and think in silence." Morokhan offered, and Mor felt much better. True, his problems were far from solved, but knowing that at least his father had his back did much to calm his nerves.

"Thank you, Father, that would be nice. See you soon then." Mor answered.

Back home, Morokhan sighed, hoping he had given his boy the right advice. Dealing with women was always a big ask, especially with the noble kind. And he would know because his own was nagging him for more information about their boy. Other than his boy, he had a distinct advantage because he had already decided on a single woman and could use more effective techniques to silence her. So, to shut Sophie up, Morokhan pulled her into a kiss and told her in a stern voice.

"He's fine. Don't worry." ending the questioning.

Mor endured until it was time for this year's finals. This looming threat stopped most advances, giving Mor some peace. He didn't mind tutoring all his friends, as it helped him review everything. Still, he had another advantage: the human could help and peek at other students' papers without triggering the anti-magic, anti-cheating safeties. When the grades were revealed, it was no wonder Mor had aced everything again, just like in his entry exam.

But now that the year was over, Mor was reminded by the human of the other problem that had slipped his mind with the test preparations. The Shadow-kin promised he would strike around this time. This meant that until it was time to leave, Tiara was confined to her shared room, and the headmaster added a combat affine teacher on overwatch duty. Those additional preparations would stay in effect until it was time to leave, and only when the glider was ready to go with its passengers would Tiara be allowed to board it.

The Shadow-kin was very amused by the effort to keep it away, but its plan was entirely different. It thought the Soul-kin's preparations were cute but, in the end, pointless, so it simply waited for the perfect moment. Still, it wanted to "stretch" its muscles again and limber up to regain peak efficiency. Staying still for prolonged times affects your reaction times and flexibility. Meaning it played some "pranks" on the Soul-kin adult, put towards the princess's defense. It stole every left sock, hiding them in many different rooms, and exchanged a carefully concealed bottle of liquor with vinegar. After it had its fun and felt up to perfect form, it got ready, and on the last day, it put its plan into motion.

The princess could be teleported out, but contingency plans were in motion where she would be captured the second she arrived at Diamond Isle. In the end, those were unnecessary because the glider was deemed the safest option by the Soul-kin.