World of Ranicke Bk. 02 Ch. 03

Both girls walked with the boys and one or two other girls to other small tents that had been set up for them. When the Stone Master had activated the stones they started glowing blue and both girls looked rather startled by that. A few moments later and Jim's voice and another angelic voice came out. The singers and musicians started playing the songs. The stones were basically used to coordinate the singing at the various tents set up. This was so everyone was singing on queue and together.

Ana leaned against Allie and was pleased when her sister gave her a hug. The first song was so sad in the beginning but by the time it finished there was a great deal of hope in it. She didn't really have any idea of who died even though it seemed to be connected with her mother. She cried due to the song and that her mother was rather upset.

Allie wrapped her arm around Ana and cuddled her close. "It will be okay Ana and mom will explain it when she is ready. Relax and enjoy the music." There were one or two tears trickling down her face as well. Much like Ana it was the songs more than anything that was making her cry. At one point everyone could see a flare from what she assumed was the funeral pyre. It didn't last very long but everyone became silent when it faded.

Through the stone they heard Moran speak and sighed. What all was going to happen they weren't sure but they were sure the boys would show them. Once the singing was over and the fire seemed to go out the boys came over and stood with them briefly.

Saulo and Farion walked over to the two and each offered them an arm. "Dinner is going to be a sort of ongoing buffet affair. People can come and go as they please. It is because the entire tribe is going to be dancing. It allows them to come and get a snack or drink before going back to dancing or talking." Saulo was pleased when Allie took his offered arm.

Farion was a bit more hesitant but offered Ana his arm as well and both blushed as she tucked her hand in his elbow. "We will escort you to get something to eat and then to the young adult and teens tent. There are different tents that were put up when we got here so that we could have gatherings. For some reason the adults just don't understand the fun of getting soaking wet."

Ana snickered at Farion when he said that. "I have a feeling that Uncle Jimmy might object as well." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and finally had to ask. "What species are you and about how many turns old?"

Farion smiled at her and her questions. "I am an inu like mama Nasha but of a different type." He had mostly white fur but with black spots scattered around. "I am just over 66 turns old. I have 14 turns till I reach my majority." He was almost painfully shy since he was in a gangly awkward stage and wanted to make a good impression on her.

Ana did some quick math in her head. "Okay, your majority is eighty turns and for us that is eighteen years. Based on that it is about 4.44 turns per year so that would make me about 62 turns." She sighed slightly. "Darn it I don't feel like waiting almost twenty years before I am an adult."

Farion looked very impressed with her doing that in her head. "You are a really smart girl if you can do that in your head." He meant it as a compliment and it didn't even occur to him that she might take offense.

"Excuse me? Are you trying to say most girls are dumb?" She started to lean back from him till he looked shocked at her reaction.

"No I wasn't trying to say that at all. You are a girl and are smart. It was a compliment and nothing else." His ears were pulled back and he looked distressed at upsetting her.

Allie snorted. "Relax Ana, different culture and different meaning for the same words. We are going to encounter all kinds of misunderstandings till we get used to being here." She turned and looked at Saulo. "You have to admit that they have some very nice tails. I keep resisting the urge to ask to pet some of them." Just for good measure she gave Saulo's arm a squeeze.

He dropped his ears and his tails sort of drooped a bit as she teased them. When he glanced at her he could see a slight smile and realized she was sort of teasing her. Just for good measure he lightly smacked one of her legs with his tail. "You are as bad as poppe Yimmy when he starts teasing."

They finally made it to the food tent and walked in and pulled the hoods back. Ana was muttering to herself. "Remember don't ask just try the food. Once you have started getting used to it then ask." She still wanted to know what she had eaten that morning since it was really good. A bit chewing but had a really interesting flavor.

Farion snickered at her. "I know what poppe Yimmy likes so I am sure I can help you pick out something you like. I will make sure not to tell you what the food comes from." He winked at her and smiled when she lightly punched him on the arm.

"Now I am scared that you are going to slide something I would be horrified by on my plate." She glowered at him as he snickered at her. The other two were snickering as well till Saulo spoke.

"I promise the same thing Allie. I won't mention if it is a badgor, snail, or eels." He figured he would get punched next but when Allie narrowed her eyes at him he actually started worrying.

"Be good or I am going to tell Sheeha to pounce on you. I will tell her that you aren't cleaning your ears well enough." When he looked horrified at that idea she squeezed his arm. They walked into the tent and she had to sniff appreciatively. "It does smell very good."

Both girls listened to what the boys were recommending and put small samples on their plates. As they were moving through the line several of the workers greeted them. They weren't really sure what to do except give some shy smiles and greetings back. The boys traded looks and there was a slightly evil glint in their eyes as they slid small pieces of the nasty fruit on the girls plates.

When they reached the drink table Saulo looked at them and then the table. "The drinks are placed on mats of different colors to indicate what they are." He went on to explain that the first two colors indicated they were juice or had just a trace of alcohol in them and that was the only drinks the minors could have. He explained there was tea and water as well if they wanted.

The girls swapped looks and with a grin grabbed a glass from the second mat. The boys were a bit startled and weren't sure what their parents might say. Then again they were only allowed one glass per meal and it was strictly enforced. After they had what they wanted the boys escorted the girls to a table with other teens at it. Once they were seated they introduced the other kids and started eating.

Jim and the other adults were at a different table that had mostly adults or parents with little children. Tonight the third older boy and other teens were taking care of the younger children and once they were tucked in they would go dancing. The littles knew to stay in the tent unless there was an emergency so he wasn't too worried. Both he and Nasha had slings with one of the twins in it and Sorrel had their daughter with her. Nang had sort of kidnapped her and was looking happy as she fed her.

Back at the other table both girls got to the fruit about the same thing and right as they swallowed the taste hit. Both gagged and glared at the two boys as they started laughing. Allie looked at Ana. "Most definitely I am going to talk to Sheeha tomorrow about Farion. You might consider mentioning Saulo to her as well."

Ana was glaring at Saulo which only made him laugh harder. "Most definitely mention both to her. I want to see them pounced on and have their ears licked clean." She had her arms crossed in front of her as she glared.

Saulo didn't look to worried but Farion did and his ears were lowered indicating a blush. It was almost worth it to see their reactions but Sheeha was really cute in a sort of aggressive kitty manner. "We might do the same as well." He tried smirking but it didn't work very well.

Allie glared at Farion. "If you want some sympathy from us you are going to take us dancing and you are going to be gentlemen for the rest of the evening or else." He nodded and stood up and offered her his arm. She took it and poked him in the ribs before grinning. "That was horrible tasting and I might slide some of it on your plate next time."

Ana rolled her eyes. "Of course you would find that funny since you have daddies warped sense of humor." She frowned at Saulo. "Do it again and I personally will have Sheeha hold you while I feed it to you."

Saulo grinned and sighed. "Nope, I wouldn't do that to you twice. One time is funny but after that? Even Farion isn't that mean." He stood and offered her his arm. Once she took it they headed towards the tent where the younger generation were dancing. "We won't be dancing for too long since we need to go back to the tents and make sure the kids are being good."

They started dancing and Allie had to smile and leaned against Farion lightly. So far she liked what she had seen of all the kids that belonged to Uncle Jim. She still didn't remember him very much other than small flashes of memories though. It did seem really strange for him to have three mates and actual children with them. "I like the feel of your fur since it is so soft." She giggled slightly. "Your ears and tail are killer as well."

Farion dropped his ears again when she complimented him. "Thank you Allie I do my best to keep it clean and tidy but in the rainy season it can be hard." Rinsing the mud off wasn't really that bad since their fur didn't let it stick much. He still hated getting the mud on his feet. "You have really smooth skin and I have never seen skin color like you have." He wanted to say more but just couldn't bring himself to do that.

Ana and Saulo weren't dancing quite as close but they appeared to be chatting quietly to each other. Both couples danced for a while before Farion got a tap on the shoulder. "Would you mind if I cut in? I would like to talk to Allie for a few minutes." Jim smiled at him and didn't seem upset.

Farion nodded and with a slight bow stepped back and Jim stepped in. "Why don't you go back to the tent and I will send Allie over in a few minutes." Jim started dancing with her but headed towards the edge of the crowd and then over to some benches. "There isn't anything wrong but I did want to talk to you about underage relationships for a few minutes."

Allie had been looking concerned at first and then blushed when he mentioned underage relationships. "I was just dancing Uncle Jim. His fur felt good and so I leaned against him." She was looking concerned that she had broken some rule she didn't know of.

"I know Allie and you weren't doing anything wrong. Mostly I wanted to assure you that you can date or see boys or girls as your preferences may lie. I just wanted to give you the rules relating to it. First as I said dating and having a relationship is accepted as part of the normal part of growing up. You can hold hands, kiss, hug and wrap arms around each other while walking. If you want to cuddle and curl up with each other that is fine as long as you are in public view. That includes the living areas of the tents. The one very strict rule is that cloths don't come off and no touching the important bits."

He gave her a light squeeze. "I will tell you that the longer you are here the more this world will impact on you. You will probably want a certain amount of intimacy but till you reach your majority any sexual desires are mostly muted. I can't really explain it other than it is something about this world and maybe the spirit of the world impacting on who we are. Look at it this way I am technically 42 years old in our world but look mid to late twenties. It happed slowly over a period of time and I hadn't noticed till I got a glance of myself in one of the few mirrors."

"So basically what I am saying is you can date as your father allows and it is normal and expected. Just nothing beyond a certain amount of contact." He smiled down at her. "Farion is a good boy even if he can sometimes get in trouble standing still." He had to laugh slightly when he said that. "Now why don't you go back to the tents and relax and keep an eye on the littles."

Once she had left he headed back into the crowd and eventually found Ana and had pretty much the same conversation with her as he had with Allie. One thing Jim had done was talk to Nang before explaining this to the girls. Once he was done he walked back to the tents with Ana but turned towards the love shack and found Sheeha waiting for him. He had expected her to pounce on him and she did.

"You made me wait Yimmy so I am going to make you pay for that." She snuggled close to him as he was laying on the thick carpets and started playing. "I am not going to let you get much sleep tonight either."

Jim gave her a snort. "When was the last time you let me have much sleep during your heat? I do believe it was never. Besides I had a good reason for not being here earlier. I had a talk with the girls about the rules about dating while they are minors."

Since she was already stripped he ran his hands down her back and just shy of the base of her tail which got an excited purr. "Now since I don't want to have shredded cloths give me a moment to get undressed." That didn't happen since she was already in the process of taking them off him and he started giggling as she tickled him in the process.

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