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Kuro nodded removing a small all purpose knife from his pocket, he actually had a bit of experience skinning and preparing animals having helped out around the kitchen back home. He was always a bit squeamish when it came to things like this, he didn't like it, but he could do it, he began to remove the skin from the rabbit in a rather automatic fashion. He simply hummed as he worked, letting his mind flow a bit from his work. In a few short minutes the rabbit was prepared for use, cut up into small pieces, the unusable pieces off to one side along with a pile bones and the skin. "Shall we proceed?"

Honehime slowly moved out of the stream, watching as Sakazuki bends down to dip a hand into the water before using an odd technique of one kind of another to create a semi-liquid material, which she moved to lend her a hand in terms of covering her modesty. Honehime didn't know a technique like that, the closest she could do would likely be to use her family gift of manipulating her own bone structure to create a layer over those same places on her own body. but that was a somewhat uncomfortable series of techniques to use, feeling her bones shift and warp was still a slightly alien sensation to her, she didn't like using it if it wasn't absolutely necessary. So instead, she just decided to not worry about it, and head back to camp with Sakazuki. Hopefully the solution would show up sooner rather than later. She thought for a moment, and then finally made a reply to the Circe. "Yes, that is true. But it is because of that that it is truly enlightenment, the journey is just as important as the destination."
(8515 words + 190 words = 8705 words)


Lieselotte was glad that Kuroshika seemed to not have too big of a problem with taking care of the rabbit. She hadn't been looking very much forward to having to do it herself, so that saved her the discomfort. She heard him whistle, either he was very comfortable with the task, or he was trying to distract himself from it. Either was fine, as not very much later, he was finished, and asked if they were ready to continue. She nodded, and began putting the pieces of meat into the cauldron, along with the last of the herbs and plants. "Zis should not take too long to cook fully, so we should be able to eat before too much longer now. Zank you for lending an 'and." She looked up from the immediate area, but it looked like the others still had not returned yet. If they didn't return soon, she would begin to worry. As it was, she was already beginning to wonder if something had happened.
(9483 words + 170 words = 9653 words)


Mei sighed with relief as the light from her transmutation faded, revealing it had done precisely what it had been supposed to do, plus a little extra. Sure enough, Shuku took a drink of the mug of milk. Only after that did Mei remember that certain property of her milk, if another girl were to happen to drink some without it being heated through first... She sighed, and decided to not mention it to Shuku, not wanting to worry her. And after all, if she had actually drank enough to cause such a change, it wouldn't really be uncomfortable, and it would go away on it's own soon enough, so it really shouldn't be something to worry about. At least, she hoped not. She stood up once more, dusting herself off as she did so, flicking a few stray leaves from off of her skirt. She turned in the direction of the camp, they had been gone a while, they should probably head back. She turned back to look at Shuku once more. She looked alright, but she should probably ask, just to be on the safe side. "Umm, are you alright? Feeling okay? The alchemy seems to have worked just fine, but, um, you don't feel weird or anything, do you?" She looked at Shuku some more, watching her intently as she tried to spot any sign that, in fact, something bad might have happened. But nothing made itself known, the only last test remaining was Shuku's own words, to say if she would agree, that everything had gone alright, or not. She hoped it had gone well! She also hoped they'd go back to camp soon, and that supper would be ready just as soon. She was getting hungry!
(8223 words + 297 words = 8520 words)

Honehime was finally out of the water, and now the second attack of cold was striking. Wherever her clothes were soaked, wherever her bare flesh had gotten wet, now the wind saw fit to try to make her even colder. She tried to ignore the feelings, however, thinking of it as further training to detach herself from her body and it's distracting sensations. She looked back at Sakazuki, now reclining on a rock, once more, before answering both of her comments. "Thank you, I try. As for the journey, I am still a mere novice, there are still countless miles I must walk before I may catch even a glimpse of my goal."
(8705 words + 114 words = 8819 words)


Lieselotte slipped the last of the few remaining herbs and berries into the boiling cauldron, watching as they were swept away in a torrent of bubbling fluid. One could almost watch the individual objects within dance, as if pulled along by the strings of a phantasmal puppeteer. Perhaps that was just her own abilities guiding her thoughts, though? No matter, it was still a mildly diverting thought, and it helped to lessen the worry over what had happened to the majority of her companions, that they had yet to return. Her patience, already wearing somewhat thin, was dwindling down to nothing, and if they didn't return soon, she would likely traipse off into the woods and bring them back herself.
(9653 words + 121 words = 9774 words)


Mei smiled with relief when Shuku said that nothing had gone wrong, just that she was a little tired. That was a relief, she had been worried over nothing, then. She wondered if that small drink of her milk had that one particular effect upon Shuku. Generally, the effect wouldn't even become visibly apparent until several hours later, so in this case, there would likely be no way of knowing if Shuku would begin to lactate herself until everyone awoke in the morning. She saw Shuku look at the mug again, and recognized that particular look she saw in the Mayonaka's eyes. Thinking of the problem, she tried to find a solution, but the only one she could think of made her embarrassment come back in full force. Even just picturing it brought back that haze over her eyes, and it took a concentrated force of will to shake the sensation off once more. But even so, Shuku looked pretty thirsty, and she really should help her with that, especially since it was probably because of her alchemy that Shuku was so thirsty in the first place. "Umm..." she called out tentatively, her face turning a deeper red with every passing moment, scarcely able to believe she was going to say what she was going to say. "Umm... If you still are thirsty, umm, we don't really, umm, need another mug..." Her cheeks were positively molten red by this time, as she moved to shift her top to once again grant Shuku access to her chest, that the parched Mayonaka might soothe her thirst straight from the tap, so to speak. A faint tremor ran through her, wondering what it might feel like, and at some level, she hoped Shuku would pass up the offer. But the other, more insistent hand, spoke much more strongly, hoping that Shuku would indeed take her up on the chance. Her tail swished agitatedly as she waited nervously, to see what Shuku would do, to hear what she would say. The air felt shockingly cold to her heated up body, causing certain changes to become apparent, especially considering how a certain portion of her normally covered up anatomy was now unveiled for Shuku's perusal. No surprise, then, that Mei's blush had spread from it's constraints of her face, to nearly her whole body, tinging it a faint but unmistakable pink over much of her skin.
(8520 words + 407 words = 8927 words)

Honehime nodded, Sakazuki had good advice. Quite at odds with the way she had seemed when they first began this journey. At that point, she had seemed sleepy, or at the very least, out of it, like she wasn't quite there. But now, now she seemed much more alert, and she did seem to possess some wisdom, as well. Honehime thought it'd behoove her to pay attention when the Circe would say something next. She looked at the Circe once more. "You speak the truth. And yes, we really should return to the camp."
(8819 words + 96 words = 8915 words)


Lieselotte looked up when she heard a faint rustling in the bushes a bit further away from camp, but nobody emerged from the darkness. Sighing, she asked Kuroshika if he could keep an eye on the cauldron. It looked like if she wanted the others to return, she'd have to get them herself! She got to her feet, and dusted her clothes off fastidiously. Looking around, she tried to remember which way the others had gone in. Finally remembering, she set off. Her first targets? Sakazuki and Honehime.
(9774 words + 89 words = 9863 words)


As Shuku began to move closer, Mei's pulse raced, and her heart was hammering furiously inside of her chest. She could feel sweat begin to form on her brow, and she even felt a little lightheaded, and Shuku hadn't even touched her yet! Was she really that sort of person?! Or rather, person and animal hybrid, but whatever. Was she really like that? When she finally felt Shuku's hands delicately move against her flesh, she shivered, goose bumps rising rapidly along her arms and legs. She looked down and could barely see Shuku's face over the curvature of her chest. It looked like Shuku was almost, in not just as, nervous as she was. Then her head dipped below the expanse of flesh, and Mei was lost in heaven. If she could have reached, she would have moved her hands forward to keep Shuku's head in place, to make the sensations just go on and on forever, it was unbelievable! Plaintive moo moans grew from her throat, now only soft squeaks as she nursed, but slowly but surely gaining in volume and number. Soon, she felt her knees change, almost like they were made of jelly. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but not of sadness. These sensations, they were just too much! She didn't know how much longer she could last, but she held onto her consciousness with all the force she could muster. If she slipped into the black void, the delicious feelings would go away, and she wanted more! She began moving forward slightly, trying to press herself more insistently against Shuku, wanting more, more feelings. In her rush, she perhaps pushed too hard, it was possible, if the Mayonaka wasn't prepared, her move forward would knock Shuku on her rump. Mei was so lost within the ecstasy that if Shuku were to pull away, even in falling, Mei's mind would only allow one reaction. To follow, even if it meant falling on top of Shuku and practically forcing her to continue doing what she was doing. This was so much more extreme than Shuku or Sakazuki using their hands, how had she never known that something like this could feel so amazingly good?!
(8927 words + 377 words = 9304 words)

Honehime looked up sharply at Sakazuki's last comment, she hadn't expected the Circe to just randomly toss out an insult like that. She let the irritation she felt drift away, though, not letting it cloud her judgment. If Sakazuki chose to underestimate her and the others because they were different, that would likely lead to her being shown the error of her ways. Likely with a decent amount of pain and humiliation. But instead of retaliating now, she just supplied one more comment of her own, as she made her way back to camp, following the Circe's path. "If I am a monkey, then what does that make you, a salamander?"
(8915 words + 114 words = 9029 words)


Lieselotte moved deeper into the forest, moving silently, her reflexes still in good shape even after this impromptu vacation of sorts. She focused her senses, and a slow smile spread across her face as she heard voices. She had found them! They didn't seem to be too far away, they were finally returning, apparently. Nonetheless she started toward them, ready to make sure they made it all the way back to camp without getting sidetracked or anything. And once that was done, she could search once more, this time for Shuku and Mei. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to find them, either, as playing chaperon wasn't anywhere on her list of activities she enjoyed.
(9863 words + 118 words = 9981 words)


Mei let her most recent moo turned moan rise sharply in pitch and volume, until it was more of a yelp. The cause? Her, following Shuku down into a tremendous yet squishy tangle on the forest floor. A moment later, another moo moan turned yelp escaped her lips, as she felt a set of teeth sink into her flesh, from right where Shuku had been drinking just a moment before. The sensation hadn't really hurt her, per se, but it had surprised her more than anything. And, for some reason she didn't even want to risk thinking too much about, it had also felt kind of nice, in an odd way. As her senses slowly, and only partially successfully, tried to return to her, she looked down under her, to see that she was indeed lying on top of Shuku. She could feel the older woman's body pressed up close to her. As well, she could see the top of Shuku's head sticking up into her vision above the distorted swell of her chest. The Mayonaka was looking at her with a clear expression, nothing like the one that she was, likely even now, sending Shuku in return. The stare that she was sending Shuku spoke volumes, especially of an urgent, driving hunger that could not be satisfied in the same manner as Shuku's thirst was. Although, the method that Shuku's thirst was being quelled was actually driving Mei's hunger on to steeper heights, truth be told. Instead, her gaze was a smoldering ogle, more than anything. As she felt Shuku's body beneath her, she focused on it, and clung closer to it, shifting repeatedly as she tried to become more comfortable, without ever getting up off of the Mayonaka, or of removing her flesh from the woman's mouth. No, she had no intentions of getting up, not yet. It seems that, once again, her senses had been overrun by the world of pleasure, and that once more she was more beast than human, in her single-minded and obsessive quest for more. Was it because she was in fact part animal, that these instincts were so strong in her? Or was it because of the human part of her, that she would have wound up this way even without the animalistic enhancements she now possessed? She had no way of knowing, and even if she did, right now, she simply wouldn't care. Right now, she was busy enjoying every last second of her surrender to the sinful pleasures of the flesh.
(9304 words + 432 words = 9736 words)