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nI walked over to the water and bent down to splash my face, and then I cupped my hands to take a drink. Mary was swimming around me as I did this, softly humming to some unknown melody that was both beautiful and alluring at the same.

nI turned my face to look into Mary's stone eyes as I listened to the song she was humming. I felt myself being drawn into Mary like there was some unseen force that was pulling me closer, then I got a rough smack upside my head.

nIt didn't hurt, but I was knocked ass over tea kettle from the impact of Jilly's big hand in my squatting position. As I slowly picked myself up, I realized something, I did not have time to be messing around like this right now!

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"Come here! What did I just tell you!

" Jilly shouted as she came over to the water edge and dove in after Mary.

nOr, that's what had assumed was happening, but only the female half of Jilly went in. Her red-plated centipede body stayed up, and soon it reared up, pulling Jilly back out.

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"Stop acting like a child! Or I will put you over my knee like last time! I am not hurting you; I am teaching you valuable lessons!

" Jilly growled at the squirming Mary, who suddenly stopped resisting.

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"Isss just wanted to have some funsss with him, Aunty,

" Mary whimpered out in a hiss.

nI was glad I wasn't doing the punishing right now. That little stunt right there would have turned me into jello, but Jilly seemed to have a fly up her ass right now.

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"Yes, later when we are home and safe, or would you like to get eaten by a pack of Behemoths? You know what it's like out here at night, even for you,

" Jilly said as she set Mary down.

nI was back up on my feet again, and I walked over to where Jilly had set the downcast-looking Mary. I reached down, and put my hands under her arms, and lifted her up.

nAs I did, Mary started to smile again, and she slowly wrapped her body around mine. Once she was done, I let go of Mary, and she moved around to her spot where she usually stayed.

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"Isss be a good girl forsss my now, okay?

" Mary hissed softly into my ear and then licked my neck up to my ear.

nI closed my eyes briefly for a moment to enjoy the wave of pleasure that rocketed through my body, but then I opened my eyes. I turned to Jilly, who was looking as impatient as ever.

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"Are you okay with running with Nushi on your back?

" I asked Jilly, and she nodded.

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"Yes, let's just get going already; if we can make it there fast enough, the bitch will still be sleeping. So, chop-chop Rancher Boy,

" Jilly said and took off towards Fireden and the Lava Lake.

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"Make sure you hold on, okay? I am going to start running,

" I said to Mary, but then I turned to my Cerberus girls.

"Are you girls ready to go for a run?

"

nThe girls all started to bark with different levels of excitement, but their body was jumping back and forth. I smiled and then took off after Jilly, and Nushi who had already gained a bit of distance from us.

nJilly was in a hurry, and I guess that I couldn't blame her if she disliked Lizy that much. I ran hard to catch up with her, and the Cerberus girls ran beside me the entire time.

nWhile I had never really had many pets, it was only because I had a job at the time that required me to be away from home a lot. I didn't think that it was right to own animals if you couldn't take care of them.

nWhile this might seem like common sense to most, it wasn't, and animals were neglected all the time. So, running with the Cerberus girls was like having my own dog, even though I didn't consider the girls to be something I owned.

nFor me, all these girls were just people to take care of, and I was slowly starting to get past my aversions with even Jilly's body. Thinking of her body, I started to look over her red carapace shell as I ran.

nI remembered it being a lot shinier before, and now there was even some dust and mud covering some of the red. I think that maybe tomorrow I will give Jilly a bath if she lets me.

nMaybe it might be able to help with some of her wild pent-up stress that she was under from Lizy coming to join us. I liked Jilly, and she was a great help when I came to get people in line, so I wanted her to feel the same as the other girls were.

nIt was starting to get hot fast as we ran, and I could see the smoke rising from far up ahead. As we got closer, the trees were starting to thin, and now were nothing more than wilted and ash-covered sticks poking from the ground.

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"Let me do the talking with this one, I know Fireden well, and he will not mess around if I tell him not to,

" Jilly called back to me as we neared the massive crater that had a small stream of smoke coming out of it.

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"Sure, let's get this over with, and then we can get to the last challenge. Windorf's challenge was speedy last time, so that shouldn't take long,

" I said as we reached the edge of the crater, but we had to start back peddling right away as we felt the heat begin to rise fast.

nA massive melting hand that was on fire reached up and gripped the edge of the crater. The other one followed, and then the enormous burning face for Fireden poke above the edge.

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"Oh! Look who has come back for storytime! Boy, do I have a good long one for you today!

" Fireden said with a chuckle, but his laugh was cut off.

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"No, you don't; you have a very short story to tell us. I refuse to be near this place when SHE wakes up!

" Jilly said as she clicked over to stand between the elemental and me.

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"Oh, Jilly, I didn't see you there, hmm. Sure, but you had better let the boy come without you tomorrow if you're still going to be sore about this,

" Fireden said with a hot sigh.

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