Kiri wasn't home when I got there. There was a fifty-fifty chance of that. I seldom use my own room these days. Kiri's bed was pushed to the side of the room, and the floor was covered with sheepskins. Felix joined me, and I changed into my bear form and settled down for the night on the sheepskins. Kiri might come home. She might not. Sometimes she comes with injuries that are still healing. Sometimes she will tell me where she has been, and sometimes she won't.

I woke in the early morning when Kiri and Pānihi came in. Kiri stripped off her outer clothes and snuggled into my fur with Pānihi on the other side. She was asleep almost instantly.

I could smell blood on her, and some of it was her blood. Pānihi also had a slash down one side. Pānihi shared Kiri's Regeneration skill, but it still took time. I reached around with my head and licked her wound clean, helping the blood to clot and closing the wound. It would speed up the healing. Pānihi started purring. Then I did the same to Kiri's puncture wound. She squirmed and complained it tickled, but I don't think she woke up fully.

I don't push Kiri to tell me where she has been. She will tell me if she wants to. I settle down, and we all sleep late. Even when I wake, I lie there, being a cushion for Kiri. Pānihi looks at me, purrs, and goes back to sleep. This is comfortable.

From what I have read about Human relationships, they are quite different to what Kiri and I have. I have read about arguments and jealousies that started wars. I am happy just to be there for her. I will help her out if she wants me to, but she is very competent on her own.

Kiri doesn't insist on talking all the time. We are both hunters and used to being quiet for long periods, and we are comfortable with that. Kiri really likes my fur, and I've found that I have some sensitive spots that I enjoy having scratched.

We are relaxed and content. The sex is like the icing on the cake. And the cake is good with or without the icing.

We had a late brunch. Kiri poked at her nearly healed puncture wound. "That is healing faster than normal. Is that thanks to you?"

"My skills are only level 1, but I am glad they made a difference. I trust the other guy was worse."

"Pānihi had to get involved, so we had to kill them, otherwise my Jenna ID would be outed."

Jenna was her other alter ego, along with Leo. I hadn't met Jenna yet.

"You should take Kevin," I said, "then 'Kiri' and Pānihi can save you."

"That is the plan, but Kevin has a lot of skills to level first. Plus, of course, I don't want to be in a position where I need saving. You should come next week. Your Field Medic can patch people up and get a few coins."

"Where?" I asked.

"I have a confession to make." I raised an eyebrow. "Auntie Drica grew up brawling in the illegal fighting pits, and Jenna had her first fight last night. The Orc didn't like getting a beatdown from little old me, so he and two mates ambushed me on the way back. I wanted to experience it for myself."

"And how was it?" I asked.

She waved her hand horizontally, "So-so. Having an affinity is really a cheat. I would have still won, but I would have had more broken bones if I hadn't strengthened them with Tough Bones. The risk is different from when Auntie Drica was fighting without an affinity. It is a good place to level skills, though."

"Are there many killed in the pits?" I asked.

"Only one last night. It is not good for business. Part of that business is the sale of health and bone potions. Fighters mostly have a second person to pull them out and get a potion into them when things go wrong. You could set up shop as a cheap alternative to potions. It will level your new skills quickly."

"Who was your second?" I asked.

"I didn't actually have one. I wanted to experience some risk," she said, acting like she was going to get a scalding.

"That wasn't smart. If Pānihi had to come and get you out, all your cover would have been broken."

"Ha. You are definitely a keeper," she said, hugging me. At my questioning look, she said, "Leif keeps on at me about my 'stupid risk taking'. But you just reminded me about Pānihi and her looking out for me."

"Next week, you can hire me to be your second," I said.

"You are known as Kiri's bodyguard," she replied, "How are you going to explain that?"

"Kiri doesn't pay me enough," I said. "Plus, trotting around after her is boring; I need some excitement."

"Boring, am I?" she asked dangerously.

"And cheap," I said. She jumped onto my back and nibbled one of my ears. "Although there are definite side benefits," I added.

"You bet there are," She whispered. She let herself drop to the ground. "Deal, you are hired."

"In return, I will hire Jenna to be my second," I said.

"You want to fight?" she asked.

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I nodded, "I have a technique I want to practice. Are claws and teeth allowed?"

"Yes, but not in the unarmed combat pits. You will have to be in the Small Blade fights. There is a Wolf beast-kin that fights, but he was only watching last night. What level is your small blades skill?"

"Upper Apprentice."

"Good. If it were journeyman level, you would be in the open fights, and I don't think you are up for that," she said.

"What did you fight in?" I asked.

"Open Unarmed."

"And the orc that you fought?"

"All strength, no technique or speed to him," she said. "A brawler with a wrestler specialisation was my guess. I would have been in trouble if he caught me. He did land a few blows, and I wanted to draw it out for the crowd. Betting is a big part of the draw for the crowds. Making a name as a fighter is part of it."

"And your name is?"

"Jinx."

"Jinx?" I asked.

"Jinx," she reiterated, "means to bring bad luck."

I nodded. "I am already known as the Beast."

"Are you now? I heard some talk last night about bringing the Beast to fight in the pits. I had no idea who they were talking about. You beat up some gang enforcers. You will probably get approached."

"Well, there's my in," I said. "It is almost lunchtime. I have an appointment with the skill trainer. I want to see what he has."

"Not worth it for me," she said. "Remember to think about skill synergies, they can boost things a lot."

Felix and I found the place fine, and Taji was in. His classroom was in an upper-class business area. I seem to recall that he primarily marketed to the wealthy. We had to wait before entering as a dozen well-dressed children filed out.

"Ivan, come in! Good timing, we just finished morning class." I entered a large room with a board at the front, and dwarven writing everywhere.

"Morning class?" I asked.

"I am a teacher. I hold group classes on various subjects. It is the way to level lore skills. Today was the Dwarven language, if you couldn't tell. Come through here, I have a smaller room for specialised things, like skill books."

The room was small and comfortably furnished.

"So what skills are you interested in?" Taji asked.

"Healing skills," I said at once.

"I don't have any proper healing skills. Healers tend not to be willing to share. I have a couple of Skills like Close Wound that are not in demand."

"Oh, why?"

"Soothe Burn does what it says, but it is mostly only used by trainers to help people get Fire and Heat Resistances, and then it is not used anymore. Most people just buy the ointment as it is not that expensive and aids healing as well."

I thought about it. It might help if Solar Flare got out of control. The poor were often coming in with burns. The Harmonic Order did sell a cheap version of the ointment.

"What is the other one?" I asked.

"Extract Impurity. It is basically a cleaning skill for wounds. Most people just wash with water. However, at Apprentice, it can extract poisons, and this is where it is useful in training Poison Resistance."

"I am interested in both of those," I said. I wasn't sure if it was my Field Medic Class pushing for them, but it would give me a full range of wound care. I have seen and used the First Aid kits, which are designed to have the equipment to do all this. I don't tend to carry equipment.

"Really?" he said, surprised. "Well, they are quite cheap and easy for you, as I saw how you took the other skills. We could probably do a third if it is not too hard."

Did he need more sales or something? "Can I sell you some skills in exchange?"

"Of course," Taji said, "What do you have?"

I thought of the classroom, "My Dwarvish is at 12."

"Language is like Lore, but it is best from a native speaker. They lose nothing, and I have a couple of people who sell me dwarvish when I need it. What Journeyman Lore Skill do you have?"

"Animal, Plant, Anatomy, Monster, Physiology and Mathematics," I replied.

"Physiology is interesting," Taji said, "but there is not a lot of demand for it. Mathematics is best learned, and the others I have. What about Combat Skills?"

"Only Shield, Unarmed and Tough Hide."

"I can't do Tough Hide and the others I have."

I mentioned my other journeyman-level skills to him. His summary was depressing, up until I mentioned Tremor. "Tremor? You have Tremor at 10? How many levels are you willing to sell? This is a mining town, and Tremor is in demand."

"I will lose the levels, right?" I was unsure, as Tremor is a very useful skill.

"Yes. We can't drop it below Apprentice, so five levels is the maximum."

"I don't want to drop it that far. How many will pay for the other skills?"

"One level will more than pay for the other two skills. I will owe you, but I have more than healing skills available. I also have some healing adjacent skills. The ladies at the local brothel sell me the Revitalise Skill. They use it on their gentleman clients to help them have a second wind, if you know what I mean. However, it revitalises the whole body, like a sugar rush, or some herbal boosts. It can give you or your patient the energy rush to go further and start healing."

"That sounds useful. What are the downsides?"

"After the boost, you can feel lethargic, but a good rest is all you need. If you overuse it, then it will deplete your physical energy, and you will be worse than when you started, but with moderation, it can be very effective. The side effects are reduced through the apprentice levels; at Journeyman, it is no longer touch-based. You can use it in your area of Spiritual manipulation."

That interested me greatly. It was something I could use in my Cosmic Aura.

"Let's put the high on the list," I said. "Do you have some sort of Stunning Shout or roar?" I asked, thinking of my Savage Wildfang skills. Dread was not suited for the roar part of it.

"I have a Rallying Cry," he said. At my look, he shook his head, "That is all I have, maybe you can get it where Beast-kin are more populous. It is not generally a complex skill to learn if you have the intent."

That was good to know. I might develop it with my Rake and Roar.

"Here," said Taji, "I don't normally do this, but here is a list of the skills I currently have available."

"Thanks," I said, scanning the list. I was looking for something that would synergise with my affinity. Then I got excited: "What is that one?"

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