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nI convinced Keri to ride up on my shoulder, and I headed out of the town and towards the Fire Lake.

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"Tell me about your people. What will happen if I take Lizy away? You make it sound like you reproduce a lot, so what does that mean?

" I asked, unsure how to phrase it properly, but Keri seemed to understand what I was trying to get at.

n

"I get what you are saying, and yes, we do reproduce fast. It only takes about a week for us to have our children from conception, but we only do this often when there are threats because we have very little in the way that can hurt the things that attack us in our environment. Normally the heat is enough to keep normal creatures away, and the ones that do come are usually resistant to fire, or Immune like us,

" Keri explained, and I nodded.

nThat wasn't so bad, and the reasoning made sense in a weird kind of way, but it still did.

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"Okay, so then can you tell me about it,

" I started to say, but frantic patting on my head made me stop and look around me.

nI wasn't out of the village yet, but there seemed to be some Elementals roaming around town, and some had just found us. Two Komodo Dragon-looking mother **ers, but their bodies were pure orange and yellow fire.

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"I told you!

" Keri whispered harshly as she started to shake in fear, and I turned back to just jog away, but three strange dog-looking wolf fire hounds were blocking my path.

nI felt something very warm run down my chest and back as Keri started to whimper. I placed a hand on her lap and turned my head to her.

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"I-I'm s-sorry! I'm scared!

" Keri said as tears poured down her face, and I squeezed her leg gently as I let go of the Earth Force Pact and activated the Fire Force Pact.

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"Don't worry about it. It happens to the best of us, but I guess I should have told you about this when we left,

" I said, and the three Lava Hounds laid down on the ground in front of me.

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"Huh? What is going on? Why aren't they attacking you?!

" Keri asked in confusion as she rubbed the tears from her face, looking behind me and then forward again.

nI stretched out my hand towards the dogs before talking and called their energy to me or back to me since these were all just remnants of Fireden's Elemental Magic. The creatures disintegrated into embers and absorbed into my body, and Keri put a hand over her mouth as she gasped.

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"You're him! You're Fireden?! Why did you leave?

" She asked, but I pointed to the red Suncrest Fire Force Pact Tattoos of a blazing tribal sun on my stomach.

n

"No, I am not him, but Fireden is inside of me along with the other Primal Elementals. I can reabsorb any Elementals that we meet, and I will try to get as many as I can before leaving. I am sorry that I didn't tell you before this,

" I said as I turned and absorbed the other two lizards that were lying on the ground waiting for me.

n

"Oh, but then why did you take him? He was keeping the elementals in check, but I guess if you are going to be taking care of them, then it doesn't matter, but he also kept Lizy in line,

" Keri explained as I started to walk back out of the village.

nI wanted to get Keri to give me some information about Lizy's habits and what kind of things I should watch out for. Women were notoriously good at pointing out the flaws in others that they didn't like.

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"I plan on taking Lizy from here to take care of her and get her out of your hair. Mex told me that she has been getting worse, so I will figure out a way to deal with her, but that's why I wanted your help. I want to know about her habits, strengths, weaknesses, and anything else you can think of,

" I explained, and Keri stiffened on my shoulder, making me stop again.

nI didn't see anything around us when I looked around, so I looked up to Keri, who had a confused look on her face. I wasn't sure what she was confused about, so I decided to keep walking to the lava.

nAfter I started to move again, Keri spoke up.

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"What do you mean that you are going to take care of her?

" she asked, and then it dawned on me what she was confused about.

nI mean, I would be pretty confused if someone told me that they were going to capture a murder and then go take care of them. No matter what way you spun the term, it didn't sound good.

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"I take care of misbegotten Monster Girls that I find, or Mex suggests could use my help. I am just trying to make a place for people that don't have homes or don't fit in the environment that they are in. I am just trying to help out before I leave,

" I said, and that made Keri start to fidget on my shoulder, and I rolled my eyes and stopped again.

nWe had barely made it ten more steps since the last time that I had stopped.

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"What is it this time?

" I asked, trying not to sound impatient, but she could at least wait till we got to where we were going to ask me questions.

n

"How do you feed them?

" Kerri asked, and I resisted a sigh.

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"I can make food that satisfies the girls, and I can usually make whatever they need,

" I said, and there was more fidgeting.

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"So, what if they don't eat normal food like everyone else, and they need certain things?

" She asked, and I could see where this was going, but there was no point in holding back the information now.

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"The Rancher System that I have allows me to help the girls, and it provides me with all the tools that I need to do so,

" I explained, and Keri stopped kicking and then slid off my shoulder, forcing me to catch her in my arm cradled.

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"Um… Do you have room for one more?

" Keri asked as she looked up at me with big eyes and a cute little smile.

n