The Island of Wonder

The four girls sat in the big room on the ground floor around a square wooden table. It was an early evening by the time Nicole was done explaining what happened.

"What do you think? That whole Antihum thing sounds dangerous." Nicole sipped her tea.

"That's only if we believe Lamia's words." Soi added.

"I am not sure we have an option with that." Annie shrugged. "Extra caution won't hurt."

Iloe was sitting next to Nicole, hugging the girl. "Can't believe that snake bitch fucked you while I was gone! I am not leaving you anymore, ever!"

Soi rolled her eyes. "That's what you are worried about?!"

Nicole gently petted Iloe's head, scratching behind her cat ears. "I told you I am fine. Focus, we have more important matters."

Iloe shook her head. "What do I think? We can't let them take or hurt Nicole! A-and Annie, I mean!"

"Well, we already know that."

"We can stay here and hide." Nicole was thinking out loud. "There is a chance that if they didn't do anything for now is because they don't know about us yet."

"And spend the rest of our lives hiding in the forest?" Soi was unsatisfied with the idea. "What's the point of living then at all? I say we just go continue our ways. If they come, we will see if they are as strong as that Lamia said."

"Tsk, I should have asked Monica more about Antihum and Vole." Nicole sighed. "If they are a small and not too politically powerful group, they wouldn't dare to come after us if we were in a city. Especially if I get some kind of deal with another noble, like it was with the Queen. We would have a way of protection. But if they have people everywhere and on the court as well, we would just walk into their field. Can we trust anyone at all, now?"

Heavy silence filled the room, but then was quickly shattered by Annie.

"I know! We need a training arc!"

"Training what?" Soi raised an eyebrow, her cat ears twitched with interest.

Nicole almost facepalmed but held back with just a smile. "Really? I know you still see yourself as a character in some fantasy anime but-"

"No, I am serious! Look, we now know how to ascend our powers, right?" As Annie explained her idea, her eyes ignited again. "The only thing that holds us back are we ourselves, no? We just need to get strong enough to fight back!"

"Sure, but it's unreliable. Every one of us tries to get stronger anyway. Our enemies as well. Do you think they will just sit and wait? And who knows how long will it take for each of us to ascend at least once."

"Hey, it's at least something! We can just stay here, fight a bunch of monsters and get better! It's not like you came up with anything better anyway."

Soi sighed. "So we have to either try and hide, while trying to get at least one tier of ascensions or go back to the Hive and stay close to the Voru'kai Queen and hope that Antihum won't try their chances…"

"Basically, yes." Nicole nodded.

"Then I say we stay. I hate the idea of being a prey, afraid of every shadow and waiting for the predator to jump at me. That is, if they even exist in the first place, because I am still not sure we can trust that Lamia's words."

Nicole's eyes darted between Annie and Soi's faces before dropping to Iloe's.

"And you?"

"I am just staying by your side, wherever that is." The catgirl purred, her eyes closed. Then she stopped and looked up at Nicole. "But if seriously, I would rather stay in the city. I barely use my claws at all, no way I will get to ascend anytime soon, if ever. I am an alchemist, after all. And Hive has a whole market of stuff for me, while the forest is… even if you know what you are looking for and how to find it, it can be already taken by someone else." The girl shrugged, closing her eyes again and grinding her cheek against Nicole's arm. "But I don't really mind staying, if that's what you all want. I don't want to hold you back."

"Your opinion matters too, it's okay if it's not always aligning with mine or someone else's." Nicole sighed, leaning on the table. "Ugh… I feel like both options are flawed…"

Annie fixed her glasses and imitated an old, wise voice. "If both roads are dangerous, just pick either. If you got lost, just go forward and at some point you will find an exit." She chuckled. "Two of us vote for staying and one for leaving. You are the only one left."

"Fine…" Nicole groaned. "We can stay. It would be a pity to leave this house behind after I worked so much on it already. But we really have to step up with trainings."

Contrary to her words, during the next few days Nicole spent most of her time working on their home. Slowly, there appeared one more floor with a couple of rooms in case there was anyone in need of a safe place and with a couple of coins ready. The steep, simple roof was placed in overlaying tiles as a protection from rain. As quickly as possible, she made simple furniture for every room and the main hall on the ground level.

This should be enough for now.

Meanwhile, Soi was the lead hunter of the team – with Annie overlooking the area from above and Mignon equipped with a crossbow, she provided food and materials for sale later. For now, most of her prey were smaller creatures. Additionally, Nicole used her ability to dig holes in the ground that they later covered with leaves and cloth. Though simple, it was at least something against potential intruders or wild animals that got too close to the house.

When Nicole was done with the house, it was time for a more dangerous activity. Nicole and Soi stood in front of the house, on the forest clearing.

"Soi, remember back in the Hive, when we just met the Narakai soldiers, that girl attacked me and I turned into water for a second?"

The catgirl nodded.

"Before she did that, I already had focused on the water in my storage and just acted on the gut feeling, I think I just got lucky with the timing. I have to get better at this."

Soi smiled. "I know where this is going." Her cat claws appeared out of her knuckles.

"Good. Just let's not get too reckless." Nicole held out her right arm, fist clenched and elbow slightly angled defensively. "You need to be quick, I can't hold the form for longer than a blink. Or rather I can, normally. But it's like... held by a thin, invisible wrap. If something cuts or pierces it, everything starts to fall apart, or rather pour down. And I don't want my limb to turn into a wet pool on the ground and test if I can regrow it back."

Nicole's whole arm turned into the transparent water, with the outline slightly trembling. “For now, just hit it and I will turn back. Just go whenever you are ready and then when I get back into the water form."

Without a warning, Soi immediately struck with a stab of her sharp claws, hitting under the girl's wrist.

SPLASH!

Some of the water splashed under the assault, but as soon as the catgirl's claws were withdrawn back after the hit, Nicole's arm turned back into flesh, the droplets of water turned into blood in the air and fell on Nicole's shirt.

"Something like tha-."

She couldn't finish as Soi didn't give her any time to slack. Nicole jumped diagonally back and to the side to dodge the swipe aimed at her.

"Hey, what was that for? I didn't switch back yet!"

"Would your enemy wait?" Soi smirked dangerously. "What's the point of holding back? You have to feel the pressure. To speed up the process." The catgirl's tail swayed from side to side rhythmically, knees bent and ready to jump at any moment.

"Yeah, and lose an arm in the process- Damn it, wait a second!" Nicole was interrupted again, forced to dodge an incoming swipe.

"Nuh-uh. This won't do!" Soi wasn't stopping now, attacking again and again. "You have to switch forms!"

Ugh, she says so because she is not the one risking.

On the next incoming blow, instead of backing off, Nicole suddenly moved her arm at the strike, turning water for a second and then back when the claws were no longer dangerous.

"Good- Ouch…"

After the evade, Nicole kicked Soi away. "Hm? Haven't you said that enemy won't wait? Now that I thought about it, an enemy wouldn't just allow you to hit them, too!"

"T-that's not the point of your training!" Soi frowned, but her lips were curled into a smile. "But if you think you are able to both avoid being hit and counterattack as well, fine!" Soi's claws appeared on her second hand as the catgirl seemed to get more serious.

"Try your worst." Nicole grinned back, her eyes staying focused on Soi's hands.

The training on the clearing quickly turned into a duel, though Nicole left her real weapons aside and only relied on her fists, legs and water form against Soi's claws. After half an hour, both girls stood across each other, breathing hard.

Nicole couldn't dodge all the hits in time, resulting in her both arms being covered in mostly shallow, slightly bleeding and red cuts. Meanwhile under Soi's clothes, some of Nicole's strikes left bruises blooming.

"Need a break, hah?" Nicole smirked.

"Pff, hah… You seem to need it more."

The girls challenged each other to call for a stop, to admit the loss, but neither of them did. Without a warning, Nicole surged forward to deal a deciding hit, but Soi stepped to the side and grabbed her forearm, planning on using Nicole's own momentum to throw her on the ground. Yet as her fingers gripped at the shirt, the girl switched to an iron form, increasing her weight a couple of times in almost an instant. The disbalance of one iron shoulder weighing more than the still normal other one, Nicole started falling to the side instead. She grabbed Soi and both girls ended up on the grass.

"Hah… Hah… That wasn't fair. You weren't supposed to use anything except the water."

"Hah… We never set any hard rules. And back to your own logic – would an enemy hold back an ace in their sleeve or use it at the right moment?"

"An ace? Oh, that game with cards, there was one called ace, right? I like the phrase, hah…"

The girls giggled, still lying on the ground.

"Now that I think about it, we should have picked a place near a water source. I am all sweaty and we are not even done for the day." Nicole groaned.

"Annie said that she saw a small river not that far away. Like, twenty minutes far?"

"Good. Just give me one more minute and we can start again." Nicole said, closing her eyes, enjoying the quiet hum of the forest around them.