At a table in the Wooden Eagle Tavern and Inn, Justice, Krane and Faye sat eating their first good meal since leaving New Birth. Stine was a small town, but it was still twice the size of where they had left, and Faye and Justice were acting a little like tourists. They arrived late in the evening but there were still several shops open. It was only Krane, saying that he need food and sleep, that kept the two new bloods from running into the stores and exploring.

  Far from wanting sleep, Faye chatted excitedly with Justice, perhaps the most talkative she had ever been her entire life. Justice didn't seem to mind being on the listening end for once, and proved to be a most attentive conversationalist.

  Soon, the patrons of the Inn – Gracely and Adonna, twin Daemona sisters- brought them each a piece of pie, and when they were done they went to their rooms.

  Krane and Justice shared a room, and Faye had one for herself. It was small and plain, but very comfortable and inviting. Faye washed herself in a basin of quickly cooling water, one of the twins had set out for her, and changed out of her warn-out woolen cloths into an airy shirt and loose pants. She didn't look very feminine in it, but that was never a concern for her really. She combed out her hair, which had become close to a rat's nest over their long journey to Stine.

  Once they were all clean and refreshed they returned to the tavern downstairs. The twins provide the group with drinks and proceeded to chat, mostly with Justice. Faye guessed that, having learnt that he was a New Blood, they found the handsome man all the more alluring. Justice wasn't complaining.

  Both Faye and Krane spent the rest of the evening enjoying small talk.

  "How do you like your new people so far?" Krane asked with a lopsided smile.

  "Well, I'm having fun." She laughed taking a sip of the cinnamon flavored ale, " And that is an improvement."

  "Yes, the Daemon people know how to enjoy themselves." Krane chuckled.

  "I think seeing people almost more animal that anything else will take a little getting used to..." She said eyeing a man at the bar who looked more like a lizard on two feet than anything.

  "You seem the adaptable sort. I'm sure you won't even notice it soon. In fact you may even look that way yourself. Though it's quite unlikely."

  "Why do you say that?" She asked the older man curiously.

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  "Look around." He chuckled " Do any of the Daemona look overly different than humans?"

  "Faye took a closer look around the bar and saw that Krane was right. She could instantly tell the Daemona from humans, by some innate instinct she assumed, because, unless you looked closely at many of them, it was hard to tell the difference. Even the twins looked human except that one had a thin tail. Faye couldn't even discern any sort of animal trait attached to the other.

  "The only Daemon I have contact with are the ones here in Stine during the years there are new bloods to bring. Still, one thing I've noticed is that the females, though very beautiful, are very subtle with their spirit assimilations, and the males are very flashy."

  " Oh my gosh!" Gasped one of the twins, Faye had already forgotten which was which. She and Kane switched their attention to the them and Justice.

  "I did." Justice laughed giving the women a dazzling smile. "Who mouths off to a dragon the size of a mountain? Any dragon really. Clearly I wasn't thinking straight."

  "Maybe you are just that brave." Said the twin with the tail, batting her eyes at Justice. Faye rolled her own eyes. Obvious flirting always annoyed her.

  "I would have loved to have been in the cave when Faye went through." He said with a big grin, shifting the focus to her. "She had a whole conversation with the dragon"

  "Hang on" Said the tailed twin, shooting her sister a confused look. "You went through the Awakening too?"

  "Yes, I did." Explained Faye, feeling that this was a conversation she would have to have quite often. " I'm Daemona now."

  "But... I've never heard of a Searx female becoming Daemona?"

  "I'm told that I'm the first." Faye still hadn't told anyone what Thane had said about her being Domina. She didn't feel comfortable telling people about it till she could find out more about what that was exactly.

  One twin looked to the other and then both scurried off. If Daemona were like the human women she knew, then Faye knew that a gossip chain was in the making. Perhaps she should have just let them continue believing she was a human woman...

  "Well, that aside..." Krane said taking a drink from his tankard. "The ambassador from Vairem should be here soon. I sent the Daemon kingdom a letter when the Awakening was over telling the royal family that there were two new bloods this year. "

  "Won't it take them a while to get here?" Asked Justice, his face a little rosy and his eyes droopy.

  "Only a few days. They always send flyers. I've never had to wait more than a day or two, and we are a little late ourselves."

  "What are the ambassadors for?" Faye asked.

  "They will explain the basics about being Daemon, as well as walk you through your Forming. I don't know much about the process myself, but it's a little like the Awakening from what I hear."

  "You mean we have to go through that all over again?" Moaned Justice.

  "I'm afraid so. Usually Damon are in their mid-teens when they do this, so I am sure you will be just fine."

  "Says who?" Justice laughed.

  "Just so you know, daemona are all about a male's dominance. If you keep bellyaching you may find yourself bereft of female attention."

  "Dominance?"

  "Yes, that's what I've heard it called anyway. Apparently, everyone has it and your people can sense it. I've heard that most humans have next to none. You'll have to wait for the ambassador to explain it better." Krane stated while Justice suddenly looked horrified.