Fantasy Cursed Island

[Fangs9090]

Erina blinked. "What? No. Why would I be mad?"

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Fia spoke up. "Do you think Beri would get in this water? It's nice and warm." Oddly enough, she seemed a little bit taller than she was, standing next to Shuffle, and her chest wrap looked a bit tight.

 

[Darkling0096]

"I touched your loom?"

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Veo considered that, "I don't think so, you've seen how Beri is about water in general. Adran had to wrangle him just to clean crud out of his fur." She shrugged, then paused. "Fia, are you alright?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina paused for a moment before she smiled. "Oh, it's fine. I know you wouldn't mess up my work on purpose. I could show you how to use it, if you want."

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Fia blinked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't say anything immediately. She was used to being hit or yelled at for things, old habits die hard. "Please."

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"You look... bigger? Come, here, you two," she called Shuffle and Fia over. Fia usually only came up to Shuffle's navel, being the smallest humanoid in the group, but now she was somehow taller. Maybe she was hitting her growth spurts? Veo didn't know what the life cycle of Fia's species looked like, or even what Fia actually was for the most part, so she couldn't tell.

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina smiled and took a step to the side, gesturing for her to come over and take a look.

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Shuffle and Fia both went over and climbed out of the water, standing next to each other. Sure enough, Fia was now tall enough that the top of her head was just under Shuffle's bust.

Emil tilted his head. "I thought I was imagining it, but you're right. She wasn't that tall when we got to the springs."

 

[Darkling0096]

Now a bit excited, Lyak hopped off of the piece of wood she'd used to reach the weaving part of the loom to follow Erina and see what she was trying to show her.

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"Fia," Veo looked between the two, "How long does it take for you to grow after you die?"

 

[Fangs9090]

"Before we get started, I'd like to give you this." Erina crouched down and held out the dress she'd made for Lyak. It was sleeveless with a short skirt that wouldn't get in the way of movement. The design was simple, but it was good quality.

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"To full size? A few years, same as any harpy." Fia looked over at Shuffle, noticing the difference herself. "Not this fast..."

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak gingerly took the dress. She looked very confused as to how she was supposed to put it on, there wasn't an apparrent way to put on a dress that she was familiar with. "It's pretty." But she didn't know how to put it on.

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Well, now Veo was very confused. What could have caused that? "Have you eaten anything weird lately?"

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it." She watched her for a moment before tilting her head. "Do you need help?"

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Fia shook her head. "No. Only the food Adran made."

Emil spoke up. "Could it be the spring, somehow? It was here that got that growth spurt."

Fia though about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah!" She hopped around to look at the water. "This water is infused with the power of life and purity. Phoenixes are symbols of life!"

 

[Darkling0096]

"I don't know how to put it on," Lyak shook her head as she looked up at Erina.

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That would actually explain how the phoenix Adran caged was reborn as an adult when Fia was reborn as a small child. "But the phoenix up at the top turned into an adult almost instantly," Veo glanced up at the terraces blocking a view of the camp, "You're growing slower than that."

 

[Fangs9090]

"Ah. I'll help you. Here, hold up your arms." Erina held out her hands for the dress.

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Fia shrugged as she looked at Veo again. "Maybe he grows at a different rate. Or maybe it's because his rebirth happened in the water. He might have absorbed more power from it all at once."

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak handed the dress over and stuck her arms straight up, stiff as a board.

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"Hmm," Veo glanced at Emil, then back up at the camp, "Keep an eye on the kids, I'm gonna go find what the phoenix says."

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina took the dress and turned it so it would be on the right way before putting it over Lyak, making sure her arms and head went through the right holes.

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Emil gave a nod. "Will do. Good luck."

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak grunted and squeaked like a small child being stuffed into their church clothes, mostly because she wasn't used to being dressed by another person many times larger than herself. Her floppy ears gave Erina some trouble, too.

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Veo smiled and headed back up the grove, hitching her skirt for when she had to go across shallow pools. Getting back up the slope was more difficult than going down, her original path wasn't an option.

"Hey, Veo," Jerry waved when the minotaur appeared, still processing sulfur out of the rocks. The phoenix was sitting pretty still, trying to conserve energy and probably trying to make a plan for escape. Veo waved back and knelt next to the phoenix's circle.

"How did you mature so quickly when Asta killed you?", she asked the bird. Jerry raised an eyebrow, looking up from the stones.

"Why would I tell you?"

"Because I want to know why our phoenix is growing so quickly."

"And you believe I would say anything to help a filthy half-breed?", the phoenix sneered at the mention of Fia. "Her father can't have any decency to nest with a harpy." One of Adran's arrows went through the bird and it reappeared within the circle as a hatchling again.

"I don't know if you just think you're better than anyone else or if you're doing that to be an ass," Adran warned, "But I've got a lot of arrows, and you're going nowhere, so start talking."

"Within the waters of life a phoenix's life spark grows into a mighty inferno, and we reach the prime of youth very quickly. It is why I settled in this cavern." The phoenix narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

 

[Fangs9090]

It took a bit of effort, but Erina eventually managed to get the dress properly onto the little goblin. "Hah, there. How's it feel?"

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As Veo headed back up to the camp, Fia went ahead and hopped back into the water. Shuffle followed after her, feeling a bit cold out of the water.


The conversation with the phoenix caught Niudisa's attention. She was mostly waiting for the last of her potions to settle, so she turned to pay attention to the discussion.

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak rubbed her sore ears, "I don't like that part..."

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"Was that so hard?", Adran rolled his eyes and lowered his bow.

"Good bird," Veo smiled, gave the phoenix a pat on the head, and then started the journey back down to Fia and the others so she could relay that information.

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina smiled at her. “Sorry about that. I would’ve made the neckline bigger, but then it might not have stayed on your shoulders.”

—————

By the time Veo returned, Emil sitting down again, looking away from the pool, though he was still listening to the little ones. The reason for that was that Fia had taken off her chest wraps. She intended to grow all the way back to full size, so she decided to just remove the wraps before they got uncomfortable.

 

[Darkling0096]

"What about buttons?", Lyak gestured to the button that held her pants up.

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"What's- oh." Veo found the sight amusing, Emil flustered. She made her way over to him, trying to be quiet even though more than likely he could hear her coming a mile away. "Boo!"

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina blinked. "...huh. I've never worked with buttons, but I imagine that would work."

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Emil flinched at her "boo," though whether he was actually surprised or just playing along, it was hard to tell. He looked over at her and smiled. "Ah, you're back."

 

[Darkling0096]

Now it was Lyak's turn to look confused. "You've never worked with buttons?" But she made such pretty clothes!

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"Yes I am," she nodded and glanced back at the little ones, "Why don't you head back to the camp, I'll bring these two with me when they get tired."

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina shook her head. "No, I haven't. Most of what I've made has been simple woven fabric. It was only recently that I got this loom and was able to make more complex things."

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Emil nodded and stood up. "Thank you. You're more qualified than me to watch them at this point."

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak looked down at the ground, then back up at Erina with a wide smile. "Then I get to teach you something!"

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Veo chuckled and waved as Emil left, turning her attention back to Shuffle and Fia. "Fia!", She hustled over to the side of the pool to deal with the rapidly maturing phoenix. They had enough problems keeping the little ones clothed with Shuffle, and at least she had fur to keep things covered!

 

[Fangs9090]

Erina giggled and nodded. "Yes, you do. And I look forward to learning from you."

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Fia looked over before wading to her. She'd more or less reached the "young teen" phase by now.

 

[Darkling0096]

Lyak giggled, and looked around for something that could be used to perform the function of a button. "I'm gonna go..." she picked up a stick off of the ground, "Do you have a knife?"

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"Come here," Veo started undoing the top part of her apron, she could stitch it back together later. "You can't run around topless, you know?"

 

[Fangs9090]

"Hm, I don't, but I'm sure Jerry has several."

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Fia blinked. "I'm not running around, I'm in the pool." She pointed a wing at where she left her wrappings. "I only took them off because I knew they'd get tight while I'm growing. I'll put them back on when I finish." Even her voice was starting to sound slightly more mature.