~Lisa~

“Nope, not happening,” I said.

“Oh com'on, it won’t take that long to get up there. The others can walk ahead and we can catch up in the air!” Ashley argued.

“The timing isn’t the issue. It’s illegal for people to climb up the wall. And I don’t mean walking around naked ‘illegal’, I mean serious consequences illegal.”

“We won’t get caught, we’ll jump off and fly away before they even notice us!”

“They know we are leaving with the rest of the group, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who we are from there. Not to mention the fact that some of the guards can fly as well; likely better than I can while carrying you.”

“Well, aren’t you a noble? Sara too. With one noble I can get away with breaking the stupid clothes law, with three I bet we can get away with jumping off the wall!”

“What? That's not how nobility works. Besides, it wouldn’t be very noble to abuse our status, now would it?”

Ashley tilts her head to the side, “Since when are nobles actually noble? I think you don’t know how nobility works.”

“She's got you there,” Hellen laughs.

“Just because some are corrupt doesn’t mean we all should be,” Sara says as she rejoins the group, “Lisa’s aversion to abusing her status is commendable and the city would be a better place if more were as considerate as her. Just because we could get away with it doesn't mean we should do it.”

“See!” Ashley exclaimed, “Sara thinks we can get away with it too, let's go!”

I decide it’s best to ignore her. I’m not entirely sure why I’m even going along with this expedition in the first place. Sure, I could say cultivation resources, but I could easily get a group of followers from my own clan to tag along. There's no need for me to go off with practical strangers. At least, that's what my father says.

It was refreshing to be around people who weren’t judging me. As a female cultivator, an heir, and a nyx. I didn’t realize I had grown so used to the burden and losing the weight made me feel like I could soar higher than ever before but at the same time I could still feel it dragging me down in the back of my mind. I felt rather reluctant to return home.

I always tried my best to avoid others, thus minimizing the amount of drama I had to go through. The self-imposed isolation only caused the ignorant to assume myself arrogant and cold. Well, they were probably right about the cold part; though, it’s hard to care about your clansmen when their scorn seems everywhere.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what new gossip has already spread because of my departing with strangers. Becoming friends with other ‘beasts’ and questioning of my ‘purity’ would likely be the least of the ruckus this outing will cause.

“Are we all here?”

Breaking out of my musings, I looked up to see another woman joining the group. Her skin was white, not the pale white that cultivators drool over but white as chalk. Her hair was long and tangly with thick individual strands that reminded me of white bean sprouts.

I was going to ask the woman if she was one of the guards that would be joining us, when Ashley walked up to her and started sniffing.

“Avery?” she asked.

“In the flesh,” Avery said, “well not really. Close enough.”

I was concerned for a second that this might cause some issues in their relationship, but Ashely just grinned. If anything, she seemed to have taken much more interest in her future partner. Fortunately, Sara was as confused as I was.

“Wait, so you were female the whole time?” Sara asked.

“Definitely not!” Hellen winked.

“Plants don’t have strict sexes,” Avery clarified, “And fungi are even less biased. It would be more strange if I stuck to one.”

“I wonder if I could do that,” Ashley muttered. “I could–”

“Ahem, we should head out since we’re all here,” Sara said.

Shrugging, I followed the group towards the outer gates. I had left the city a few times with my mother on hunting trips, but we left the gates in a carriage when we left. Walking through the gates was an intimidating prospect.

A gate behind us and a gate in front of us created a 5x20x5 meter kill zone. ~(15x65x15 ft) Arrow slits lined the walls and murder holes filled the ceiling where boiling water, heated sand, and tar would be poured on invaders. The exterior portcullis was elevated and required walking down a large wooden ramp before setting foot on the road. Those were just the mundane battlements, as the entire area was inside a formation of some sort. She knew at least one was a frenzy formation, but her mother suspected several others to be hidden and activated depending on the specific threat.

It felt a little surreal to be outside the city when so much of my life was spent within the confines of its walls. Narrow alleyways and crowded streets made me used to the suffocating atmosphere, but being out in the open felt as freeing as it did dangerous.

Ashley broke the silence, “I thought you said we didn’t have any farms.”

“We don’t have grain farms,” Lisa corrected, “these are mostly tubers, veggies, and other greens. Occasionally there are herbs and spices. Even then, a mostly fish and beast diet is usually cheaper. Most of this is reserved for vegetarian species.”

The road we follow leads to a small dock used for incoming merchant ships. There is no proper road leading to the city aside from this; travelers only come via the river from the north or the sea. We could take a boat upriver, but that wouldn’t be much faster against the current and we aren’t going far before making camp anyway. Instead, we start following a trail along the river before stopping about half an hour's walk to the treeline.

“What are those thorny vines? They look creepy,” Ashley asks, pointing towards the thicket.

“Bloodthissle, also known as brittle prickles,” Hellen answers, ”they die after they release their seeds, but grow in a way that basically makes a wall of thorns. Basically, their seeds like blood-soaked soil.”

“Their berries are tasty though, and used in lesser healing potions,” Sara added.

“True,” Hellen agreed, “but mostly for coloring and flavor. A lot of people don’t trust a healing potion unless it’s red.”

“These thorns are also why we insisted on buying your clothes and boots,” Avery smirked, “some of the thistles are up to 4 inches long, and they coat the ground quite liberally.”

“Lots of snakes like to make nests in there too, so don’t get poisoned and bleed to death trying to crawl out.” I add.

“Why do snakes like thorns?” Ashley asked.

“Birds can’t dive through the thorns so lots of critters, including snakes, use them for cover. Plus, if the other animals get poked and start bleeding, it's easier for snakes to hunt them.” I said.

“Alright,” Sara interrupts, “lets get camp set up, then we can talk over dinner.”

Five tents were set up in total. Avery and Hellen shared one, Sara and Ashley took another. My guard and I each had our own tent; Avery’s guards were sharing the last. They were placed in a circle around a firepit that Ashley managed to light with her bloodline. I put up a few baited traps between us and the treeline. Nothing large, mostly in case snakes do decide to come over. Most of the time was spent making sure there weren't any thorns underneath the sleeping rolls.

Once camp was set up, the guards basically started their own group for conversation. Far enough, I suppose the difference in status and age are enough of a gap. Plus they were only really there to babysit, stepping in only in an emergency. I was afraid that my guard would somehow offend the others due to cultural differences. He was human while Avery’s guards were spruds.

It was hard to see Avery as the same species as the others. He, or I guess she now, took a form that looked relatively human. The guards were much more tree-like. They both had long limbs with dark bark like–skin? I suppose it could just be bark. One had a bush of leafy greens growing out of their head, the other had vines braided in a lattice.

“Hey, I got some fish from the river. Do you want some?” Sara asked, showing her catch of two large tigerfish.

“I’d love some,” I replied, “My mother says it's the roc in me, but I've always loved raw fish.”

“Well that’s something we can agree on,” Ashley said, as she trotted over in her beastial form.

It was a night of relaxation and contentment, despite being vulnerable out in the open. The warmth of the fire combatted the chill of the early spring air even as the sunset finally came to an end.

Sara took the first watch, I would take the last. Ashley offered to take the middle as she preferred shorter naps rather than long periods of sleep. Despite the bizarreness of traveling with near strangers, I quickly fell asleep under the chaotic chirping of insects.