"Shiloh, now!" Twil's shout cut through the din of battle as her spell took effect.

  Shiloh, who was hiding behind a wide tree to keep himself out of sight, immediately ged his Emp Pool from Ara to Elnor. She paused in firing her arrows long enough to put the forty-six point boost into her Finesse. Her eyes lit up in glee, and she began firing at least twice as fast as she had been, unloading arrow after arrow into the moss troll they were fighting.

  The enormous, lumbering creature was being enraged as the shafts began burying themselves deep in his hide, where they had merely been gng off at the beginning of the e. When the brief stun Twil inflicted him with had ended, he turo the one suddenly causing so much damage so fast, and bellowed at Elnor. She took the opportunity to fill the soft interior of his mouth with six arrows before he snapped his jaw shut and charged at her.

  Beck appeared in front of Elnor as if jured from thin air, her shield raised in both hands. The troll smmed into Bed, while its momentum was halted, the Defender went flying and smmed inte rock. She didn't get back up.

  "Beck!" Shiloh cried out before moving close enough to her for his Cleric's Radiao take effect.

  "No!" Twil called, but it was too te. As soon as he had stepped out from cover, the moss troll charged at him, instead. For some reason, the huge creature had a special hatred for Aphrodite's avatar. When they had first a, the thing had pletely ighe four futas and goraight for Shiloh. They'd mao distract it long enough for Shiloh to hide, but now he was visible again.

  Shiloh realized the mistake he'd made, and quickly analyzed his options. The moss troll roag from his left, passing Elnor on the way. Ara was behind the troll, trying to catch up to distract it. Twil was behind him, but the troll would be immuo her stun for awenty seds. Beck was dead ahead of him, but she was on the ground and he wasn't sure how long his healing would take to get her back up.

  He decided to go for broke and redoubled his dash to get to the downed foxgirl. He activated Cleric's Radiance as he ran and pulled out his Wand of Minor healing, pumping both of them into Beck. She immediately jumped up to her feet, still looking dazed with blood dripping from her mouth. When she saw the troll chasing Shiloh, however, she leapt into a. In moments, she had pced herself iweewo of them, raised the shield, and braced for impace more.

  The impaever came, however. Elnor lined up and nded one well-pced shot into one of the troll's many eyes. The shaft buried itself up to the fletg, and the troll toppled forward. It nded with ah-shaking crash, and the four futas immediately charged forward. Ara, Twil, and Elnan dumping mp oil over the beast, and Beck started striking flint against steel, throwing sparks onto the fmmable liquid.

  As Shiloh watched, the arrow iroll's eye began slowly sliding backwards, out of the monster's head. When it was halfway out, the body jerked and began trying to climb to its feet. "Quickly!" Ara shouted at Beck. "It's regeing!"

  Beck furiously sparked over and over until finally, blessedly, the oil caught fire. The troll squealed like a pig as it colpsed to the ground, writhing in agony. It wasn't smart enough to try and smother the fme, however, and its pnt-based body was soon nothing more than a rge bonfire. Breathing heavily, the five of them regrouped and watched as their foe slowly disied until, in a split sed, it suddenly turo ash.

  You have defeated a Moss Troll!"What the hell was that, Shiloh?" Beck said, pung him in the shoulder. "You were supposed to stay out of sight!"

  Shiloh looked at her, hurt by the acg tone in her voice more than the punch. "You went down, Beck! I wasn't going to let you die."

  Beck threw her hands up in frustration. "I wasn't going to die, Shy. I've got a skill that lets me recover from big hits like that."

  "Well I didn't know that!" Shiloh replied. "All I knew was that thing unched you into a fug boulder and you didn't get back up!"

  "You still shouldn't have left cover." Besisted.

  "I thought you were dying." Shiloh murmured, feeling stupid.

  "I think we should revisit Shiloh's take on css details." Twil interrupted before either of them could say anything more. All of them looked at her, waiting for an expnation. "While it is more socially acceptable to keep css details private, we were just pced in a very dangerous position because we don't know enough about how each others' csses work. How much health did that hit take from you, Beck?"

  Beck paused and looked at her stat sheet. "Two hundred and ten."

  Shiloh felt the blood run out of his face as Twil tinued. "In other words, more than enough to literally kill Shiloh i, which it was extremely close to doing because Shiloh o keep us alive, but didn't know that you weren't in need of his help at that moment."

  "So, what, you think we should all spill our css details to each other?" Ara asked.

  "Yes." Twil stated. "Although, I should hat is only half of the solution. I think we should fight with our status sheets on dispy, if there aren't any other people present."

  The other three girls immediately began objeg, but Twil raised a hand for silence before finishihoughts. "Monsters have nnition of written nguage, even supposedly intelligent ones like liches and neancers. If there are no people around us, then the information on our status sheets wouldn't be anything that we don't already know, but it would offer us immediate insight into necessary information. Shiloh would have known that Beck wasn't actually dead, and he would have seen that the troll could kill him instantly if he got close enough. We would also know if any status effects are pced on any of us, and Shiloh would know immediately who is in need of healing."

  By the end of Twil's speech, Ara, Elnor, and Beck were all looking thoughtful instead umentative. Shiloh thought Twil had done a remarkable job of putting into words exactly what he had been sidering since yesterday, when they had gotten into their first real fight against a pack of wolves.

  "She makes a lot of good points." Elnor finally admitted. Beodded.

  "We've got it bad, dies." Ara sighed. "Throwing out thousands of years of social norms because we 't lose the man we love."

  "Indeed." Twil said while Elnor blushed and nodded. Beck looked away from the group, not engaging with the subject. Shiloh had seen her do this enough that it was starting to worry him. Did she not feel like a real part of the team? Did she not love him? They had never said it explicitly, but the irls always included her in these ents about they love they all shared.

  "I think it's a good idea." Shiloh smiled. "But I also have no cept of how big of a social taboo this is. If any of you don't want to spill your own css secrets, I think it's important that none of us shame them for it."

  Beced over at him, and Shiloh saw anger fsh through her eyes before it melted into anguish. She muttered an agreement with the rest of them before turning around and examining their surroundings.

  "It's getting dark." Beented in a louder voice. "We o set up a campsite."

  ***

  " we do the whole skill discussion tomorrow?" Ara groaned.

  Finding a suitable location aing up camp had taken far lohan any of them expected, and it was te into the night when they had finally gotten to eat dinner. Now they were sitting around the fire, physically aally exhausted from the fight earlier and the intense versations.

  "That's a good idea, I think." Shiloh responded. "It would be better to talk about it when we all have a clear head."

  "I'll take first watch." Beck said, standing up and stretg.

  "Fourth." Ara immediately said, stig her to at Elnor when the elf gred at her.

  "Sed." Elnhed.

  "Then I'll take third." Twil said.

  "Why don't I ever take a watch?" Shiloh asked. "I keep a just like any of you."

  "Thirds have better eyesight aer hearing." Beck responded, gng at him. "We also don't require quite as much sleep. Besides, you get woken up enough throughout the night."

  Shiloh blushed and Ara sniggered. It was a fair argument. They had traveled for two days before finding the goblierday, and eaight Shiloh had his rest interrupted at least twice by his lovers. After he had received his feat, they seemed much less worried about letting him get a full night's sleep, not that he was pining. He loved catering to their desires and being an outlet for their frustrations and aies.

  "Alright, but if you all ever wao take a shift, I will." Shiloh responded as Ara, Twil, and Elnor crawled into the tent and undressed. He hesitated, wanting to talk with Beck, but she strode away from the campfire, and he relutly joihe others.

  "Is something wrong with Beck?" Elnor whispered as soon as the tent fp was closed. She, Twil, and Ara were all sitting up, naked and waiting for him.

  Shiloh stopped, stunned by the beauty on dispy. It took Ara tapping his knee for him to refocus and sider Elnor's question. "I think she's feeling a little lonely." He replied, not wanting to admit how much he knew about her emotional state.

  "Well, go fort her." Ara said with the air of someone expining that you put out fire with water.

  Shiloh hesitated, then crawled back out of the tent. He saw Beck's silhouette on the edge of the fire's glow, and he slowly walked over to her. As he drew closer, he heard her sniffle and realized she was g. He lowered himself to sit o her, and pced a hand on her knee. He didn't say anything, just offered his panionship as she worked through her emotion.

  "I hope I'm not keeping you from yirlfriends." Beck eventually muttered sullenly.

  "I'm with the ohat needs me most." Shiloh responded. Beck gred at him, her ears fttening against her head.

  "I don't need your pity, Sutton."

  "I wasn't you any." Shiloh said, a note of steel in his voice. "I tell you're having a hard time. The others , too."

  "So how is this not pity?" Beiffled again.

  "I'm you help and friendship, if you would like it."

  Beck scoffed, her ears twitg. "Friendship. I suppose I'll take what I get."

  "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Now it was Shiloh's turn to be angry.

  "I'm just the side piece." Beck's ears fttened again. "Which is ironic when you're dating three different women. I know I said I was fine being the harem bitch etting hazed or whatever, but I thought that would e with at least some love. What is wrong with me, that I don't qualify for the same-"

  Shiloh kissed her. He grabbed her hair and curled a fist into it, pulling her head bad invading her mouth with his tongue. Beck sputtered and pushed him off.

  "I fug love you, Beck Quickfoot." Shiloh growled. "How dense you possibly be to not uand that yet?"

  The gre that had been building on her face at the sudden advance quickly faded to fusion at his admission, and her ears slowly stood back up. "But... you... you khat I was in love with you ever sihe night with Aphrodite, and you old me you felt the same way!"

  Shiloh let go of her hair and sat back again, sighing. "I'm sorry for that. I wasn't sure if you would take it the wrong way for me to reciprocate when you didn't actually tell me. I didn't want you to think that I was just trying to appease or mirror the desire I saw in you that night. By the time I was sure I wao tell you, you'd started drawing away and I didn't know how to reect."

  "How do I know you aren't just trying to make me happy?" Beck asked suspiciously. "How do I know you're not just saying this stuff?"

  "Well, you could trust me because I've never lied to you, and I've been as vulnerable and open with you as I've been with any of the others." Shiloh said, a hint of annoyan his voice. Beck blushed and looked at her feet. "Or you could trust my holes."

  "Not really in the mood, Shy." Beck sighed. "Besides, fug doesn't prove love."

  "Fug me does." Shiloh said with a grin. "I'll let you in on a little secret that I haven't told the others. When Ashleigh was... you know... I passed out. While I was unscious, I had a little chat with Aphrodite, where she told me about the ges she'd made to my body. You notice how you were able to fuck me dry?"

  Beck blushed slightly and nodded.

  "Well, Ashleigh did as well, and the two of you had substantially different outes, not just because of her anatomy. Aphrodite blessed the body she gave me to be exactly as accepting of my lovers as my soul is. So tell me, was it difficult to get inside of me?"

  Beck shook her head.

  "I didn't think so. Because I love you. My soul loves and accepts you, so my body does too. That's why sex with the four of you is so fug fantastic."

  Beck didn't respond for a long time, and Shiloh let her process. He didn't push her or rush her, just gave her the quiet panionship he was sure she needed right now. He gazed up at the fantastic heavenly bodies orbiting above them. He hadn't quite learhe triple lunar cycle or the steltions of Glitnir yet, but they captured his attentioime he saw them.

  "S-so... You really l-love me?" Beiffed. Shiloh looked down and was shocked to find her face wet with tears.

  He leaned over and wiped the tears from her cheeks before cupping her fa his hands. "I really, really do, Beck. I'm sorry I made us gh the ahase you wao avoid."

  Beck ughed weakly and sniffled again. "It was always going to happen. You and I might be sluts, but we've got the awkward streak in us that Ara certainly doesn't."

  Shiloh snorted and sat back, releasing Beck. "She's blushed enough for that to not be totally true. Maybe we o work on finding a way t that out in her."

  "Why don't you go brainstorm, and ut our heads together when she goes on watch?" Beck suggested. "You're pretty distrag, and a distracted guard gets the camp ambushed."

  "Alright. Just don't push us out anymore, promise?" Shiloh asked, standing up.

  "Promise."