Lucinda awoke around dawn, feeling a bit groggy. Despite trying to go to sleep early, her anticipation for the coming day had kept her awake for a while the night before. After a quick breakfast, she set off for the forest once more. Her choice hadn’t changed overnight, she still intended to spend time with a deer. It was a safe choice, she just needed to track one down.

I suppose I’ll head for the river first. I found one there last time, it seems like a good place to start.

Lucinda entered the forest from close to the western edge and made her way north, like the previous day. After reaching the river, she retraced the steps of her previous journey, hoping to run into another deer in much the same way. Reaching what felt like the spot a few hours later, Lucinda had yet to find the animal in question, and she was feeling a little disheartened as a result.

I suppose I can wait here for a bit. Maybe one will wander by?

She sat down next to a tree and began waiting.

After a lengthy stretch of idleness, Lucinda got up. Tired of waiting, she decided to try her luck heading off in the direction the deer has fled the day before, which had resulted from the cry of wolves, something she was quite hoping to avoid a second time around. Consulting her memories as best she could, she soon set off in a roughly west-north-west direction from the river.

A short walk later she was stopped in her tracks by a yelp, which seemed to have come from somewhere up ahead. Deciding to investigate, she changed direction and increased her speed.

Before long she found the source of the noise. A pair of wolves were attacking a stag and a doe. The stag was doing its best to fend off the wolves with its antlers, while the doe kept back. Noticing a number of wounds on the stag’s flanks, Lucinda sprung into action.

Reaching the closest wolf, Lucinda unleashed a swing with her staff with as much might as she could bring to bear. With a meaty crack, her blow landed cleanly on the back right leg of the wolf, who let out a loud whine as it took the impact. What Lucinda had hoped to be a disabling strike, proved to be anything but, as her target spun around and lunged at her. Avoiding its counter-attack as best she could, Lucinda managed to land another, albeit weaker blow on the wolf’s muzzle.

The second hit seemed to do the job, as the wolf let out another yelp, and then took off. The remaining wolf, who had been continuing to battle the stag without much luck, didn’t linger long now that it was outnumbered and alone, and it too soon fled, heading off in the same direction as its ally.

With a sigh of relief, Lucinda relaxed and turned to the rescued animals, just in time to avoid a sudden jab of the stag’s antlers. Backing off, Lucinda stilled her thoughts and began projecting a sense of calmness towards the angered animal. Fortunately, the stag didn’t pursue her, instead staring her down and stamping its front hooves occasionally.

This continued on for a few moments more, until the stag finally relented, and Lucinda waited just a little bit longer before slowly approaching the two animals, the stag now watching her passively, while the doe fed upon the leaves of a nearby bush.

Like the day before, Lucinda had come prepared with treats. Reaching into her pack she brought out some berries she’d collected on her way through the forest, and offered them to the antlered animal. The stag didn’t hesitate long before partaking of her offered gift. While the scent of wild berries soon caught the attention of the doe as well, who came wandering over to join the feast.

From there things went smoothly, Lucinda petted the two deer for a while continuing to offer them more berries, giving them ample time to get used to her presence. This allowed her to follow the pair of them as they went about their daily business, which wasn’t particularly exciting.

I’m not sure what I imagined happening today, but watching two deer eat leaves sure wasn’t it. Oh… of course.

Naturally, the two animals also chose to unabashedly enjoy an intimate moment or two throughout the day, which Lucinda did her best to ignore.

Eventually, Lucinda managed to come up with something fun to do. It was hard work, but after an hour or two of effort, she managed to get the doe to play fetch with her using one of her socks that she’d rolled up into a ball. The doe seemed to enjoy it, and it kept Lucinda entertained for some time, though despite her best efforts the stag didn’t seem to be interested in joining the fun.

Finally, a few hours past midday, Lucinda was startled by the sudden appearance of a status notification overlaid over her eyes.

You have cleared stage 1 of 3 for class unlock: Shifter

Relieved to see her efforts had paid off, Lucinda dismissed the notification, bade farewell to the two deer, and then began her journey back home. Retracing her steps wasn’t difficult thanks to the layout of the forest, she headed south until she found the river, then continued south again after crossing it, emerging back near the town an hour or two later.

One down, two to go… What should I choose next? Hmm, considering how long it took to find a deer and then complete the task, I might just have to go with whatever I can find on my next visit. It’s not like I can just run through the forest. That will scare most everything away. Oh…

Lucinda realised she knew the location of one particular animal within the forest, which she’d accidentally discovered the day before. She was of course thinking of the giant spider.

It’s risky, but if what Waflaw says is true, I should be okay? Becoming a giant spider is going to be really weird… But, kind of cool too…

On her walk back to her home through the town, Lucinda kept considering the idea, and in the end she decided to go with it. In part, her decision was based on the fact that Waflaw had said he would keep her from real danger, and the knowledge that delaying the class unlock process by another day if she failed wasn’t the end of the world.

Entering her house once more, Lucinda was just in time to have dinner with her parents. Conversation once again trundled onto the topic of her day spent in the forest. Lucinda was initially reticent, but as she recalled her time spent playing with the deer, she found herself growing more talkative.

“…And then I taught the doe how to play fetch.”

“Oh my, that’s incredible. I had no idea you could do such a thing. Isn’t that impressive, Dear?” Lucinda’s mother said, prompting her father for a response.

“Mmhmm,” her father replied non committally.

“Well, I think it is, Honey. You are off again tomorrow?”

“Yes, off again early and back again late.”

“Then I hope you have more tales to share with us when you return.”

Lucinda was part way through rising from the table to begin clearing up the remnants of the shared meal, when her mother interrupted her.

“Lucinda, tidying up can wait a spell. We need to talk about your future.”

“My future?” Lucinda asked with a sudden surge of concern at the change in tone her mother’s voice. “…I thought you were okay with it?”

“Not that, well, it relates to that in a way. But, I mean… marriage.”

“What!?” Lucinda’s eyes went wide in surprise at her mother’s words.

“Your father and I had hoped you would marry one of the young men at the temple. Perhaps not as soon as you came of age, though I’m sure many of your friends from school will be, but certainly within in a year or two.”

A brief pause by Lucinda’s mother ensued, but it was hardly enough for Lucinda to discern the purpose behind the topic of conversation.

“Of course, now that you no longer wish to become a Cleric, things will be more difficult.”

“Indeed,” Lucinda’s father added.

“…I’m not ready for marriage…” Lucinda voiced uncertainly, glancing back and forth between her parents.

“And that’s fine,” her mother said with a reassuring smile. “We want you to be happy, but at the same time, it’s a fact of life that finding a husband becomes more difficult as you get older. And if you’re worried about how having children might interfere with your plans, don’t be. As you know, your father and I were married when I was only a bit older than you are now, but we didn’t have you until much later on.”

“I know…”

“There’s also the issue of purity.” Lucinda’s face flushed slightly as she caught her mother’s meaning. “It’s not something your father and I agree with – otherwise we never would have married.” Lucinda’s cheeks reddened further as she watched her mother smile at her father, who cleared his throat quietly while looking out the nearest window. “But, we are in the very small minority in that regard. I do remember how I felt when I was your age, with men suddenly becoming quite a bit more interesting…”

“Mother…” Lucinda groaned, as her embarrassment only deepened.

“But, you’ll find it quite a bit easier to find someone if you wait until after you are married. And had I not found your father, I would have dearly wished I had done so.” Lucinda’s mother smiled warmly at her across the table. “As you’ve shown us, it is your life. We both just want you to live happily and have a wonderful family of your own. I’m not sure I can describe how beautiful a feeling it is to have new life growing inside you. To then hold that new life in your arms, to see it grow up and become its own person. It is one of the true pleasures of being a woman that men can’t even begin to understand.”

Lucinda’s father made another non-committal noise, that caused Lucinda’s mother to reach over and pat his hand.

“Some do try at least.” With another smile at Lucinda, she continued. “I can only imagine you are planning to head off exploring, journeying, or perhaps adventuring now that you’ve changed your mind about your class. Promise me… promise us, that you’ll at least think about these things no matter what you decide?”

“…I promise,” Lucinda reluctantly said.

Lucinda’s parents left her to clean up the kitchen, which she did before heading up to her room. Then after sorting her pack for her next foray into the forest, Lucinda found herself struggling to fall asleep as her mother’s words echoed around her mind.

Marriage… How could I when I want to travel the world? Maybe one day… But, not any time soon. Mother will just have to wait… Although…

Though embarrassing, her mother’s allusion to a budding interest in men was certainly true. Her only real experience in that regard was a single kiss with a boy from school that had occurred before she’d begun her Cleric training. However, it was hard not to miss the frequent gossiping and whispering of other women on that particular subject, which sometimes even happened within the temple itself. From those overheard conversations, Lucinda had been left feeling very curious about the potential experience, which made the thought of having to wait until after a marriage she didn’t think could happen, seem unfair to say the least.

It was sometime later when she finally found sleep.