Finally yes.

You couldn't help but feel starved having been smelling some of the food cooking. Lira first brought you to a table that had been set up for drinks. She explained the various drinks, but one in particular caught your eye. Mead made from honey and fruit. You'd always wanted to try it back in your old world, but never really got around to trying it. You had missed your chance in this world so far, but you weren't going to miss it this time. You weren't sure exactly what you were expecting, but it was interesting to see it was basically a wine. Lira poured all of you a cup and drank some with you. You could definitely taste the honey, and overall you liked it. You noticed Yvette taking a rather large swig and smiling at you when you grin at her.

"This stuff could definitely get me in trouble" you joke to her as you take another sip.

"I think we've caused enough trouble for today" Annabel says giving you a wink.

"That's probably true" you shrug chuckling.

Lira leads you to the next table where her favorite food is being prepared. You watch the person take a type of flat bread and split it open, they then take some meat and fill it up, and finally ladle some type of sauce into it. Taking a bite you're glad to discover it is a pretty tasty meal. The meat tastes like chicken and the sauce is similar to BBQ sauce from back in the old world, only a little more fruity and tangy. Looking behind the table you see where the meat actually comes from. It looks almost like a standard chicken being slowly roasted over a fire, but you have to chuckle a little because the body of the bird is bigger than an ostrich.

"You'll have to show me sometime what one of those things looks like when it is alive" you tell Lira as you finish off the sandwich.

"We call them forest fowl. I can show you a few of them later if you wish. We keep them in the village with us. Their eggs are very large, but when they can no longer lay their eggs we have other uses for them" she says gesturing at the forest fowl roasting over the fire. "Or if they are a male forest fowl we'll let them get big and then eat them since we don't need more then a few males at a time" she adds smirking at you.

"What other animals do you keep here? I notice that besides my own there aren't any dinos here" you gesture at Copper who noticed your gesture and starts walking over to you.

"In the past we had a tamer toOOOOO" Lira starts to say before Copper nuzzles his head under her arm startling her. Lira smiles and scratches his neck in response. "As I was saying, in the past we had a tamer, but as it is told to me she attempted to tame a large predator and failed. She was the last of her skill unfortunately, and the last of her dinos died fifty years or so ago. We have not had anyone born with the natural ability to tame since then. We have adapted, but just looking up at the tree houses above you can tell it was a blessing to have a tamer" she explains and then focuses more on petting Copper. Copper purrs and lets out a low warble of contentment. Lira runs her hands over some of the leather of his saddle for a moment to examine it, then quickly retracts her hand.

"Want to give a try at riding him" you ask. Lira pauses and looks at the saddle. You can see the wheels turning in her head on if she should or not.

"I promise Copper will take care of you, right buddy" you ask him and give his chin a scratch. Copper let's out a couple raptor barks and lowers down to the ground. He swivels his head around to look at Lira expectantly. She smiles, but you notice she is a bit hesitant as she climbs onto the saddle and grips the saddle tight enough to see her knuckles turn white when he stands up fully. You can tell she's trying not to appear worried as she sits rigidly in the saddle. You run your hand down her calf as you gently place her feet in the stirrups, and Lira relaxes slightly as she watches you walk around Copper to set her other foot in the stirrup.

"Alright Copper, take it easy with her until she lets you know she's ready for more" you say patting his shoulder. Lira let's out a startled squeak as Copper begins walking along.

"It's interesting seeing your mom a little...well...scared" you tell Aella as she steps next to you to wave at her mother.

"You should see her when there is a spider" Aella responds with a giggle. "Really though, she is the strongest woman I've known. For whatever reason riding that raptor is terrifying to her. She is hiding it well, but she can't hide that from me. Despite that she's doing it anyways. My mother always taught us that fear is nothing more than a challenge meant to be overcome so you can be a more complete person. You embrace the fear. Accept it is part of who you are, and then you overcome it" she explains.

"Your mother is very wise and very strong willed it would seem then. She must have killed many spiders in her time" you chuckle and Aella chuckles with you.

"No, the truth is she may scream when one is on her, but she will not kill it nor slap it away. Instead she will calm herself and take it outside" she says almost lost in thought as her mother rides out of sight. Aella turns to look at you as you try to act as if you were not just staring at her. She smirks.

"Your mother is definitely stronger willed then me. I am sorry to say that any spider on my person doesn't have much longer to live unfortunately" you reply chuckling. Aella chuckles for a moment before looking suddenly serious.

"What is it you fear John" she asks. You hesitate for a moment and look at Yvette happily eating another of the forest fowl sandwiches.

"You saw it today actually. When Yvette had that blade to her throat. I know what I want to accomplish comes with the risk of losing some along the way...but the thought of losing any of my family to anything other than old age..." you trail off. You are almost startled when Aella puts her hand on your shoulder.

"Yet you did what you had to in order to prevent that today. I did not see any hesitancy in your actions. That fear did not control your actions" she tells you.

"It did a little bit. Made me use way too much magic" you respond "almost killed myself."

"Yet you live, and somehow I doubt it was fear that caused this. I would say anger was the reason for that" she says rubbing your shoulder tenderly "that's an entirely different beast" she smiles at you. She isn't wrong. You do distinctly remember feeling an almost incontrollable rage. You can feel it even now when you think about Cal. Before you can reply you are both startled by Copper zooming past you. The sound of Lira laughing as she zooms by makes the whole group chuckle. Soon after Copper and Lira return and Lira hops off of Copper.

"Ok...that was pretty fun, and I'll be dreaming of an Amazon cavalry atop raptors as amazing as Copper here I'm sure" Lira says almost wistfully as she holds Copper's head stroking his cheek.

"Well I can't promise raptors, but you can consider my taming ability at your service" you say slightly bowing.

"There are a herd of long necks a little farther south of us" Aella tells her mom.

"Mmmmm...maybe we can get another Duncan" Lira replies and they both chuckle. You look at them curiously.

"Duncan was a long neck. As the stories go he was huge and fiercely loyal to the Amazons. One day he would be playing with our children, and the next, depending on who told the story, he'd be single handedly repelling an invasion from the south. Some of our elders remember him, but regardless of who is talking about him he is spoken of with fondness" Lira explains.

"Well I'm certainly willing to give it a try. I suspect taming a herbivore would be a lot less stressful, but I'd like to know for sure. Also just as a heads up there is a group of lizard people who have a settlement to the south, so we'll have to be wary of them" you reply.

"We know" Aella replies "We have watched them for a little bit. For now they seem pretty content building their settlement, and they aren't building walls or defenses yet, so for now we are assuming they aren't looking for a fight any time soon" she adds.

"Do you watch that southern coast pretty often" you ask her.

"We have to" Lira answers you "we've had some rather aggressive groups land there in the past, so we can't afford to get surprised. Fortunately they either didn't bring many forces or the ocean dwindles them down to manageable numbers."

"Is the ocean pretty rough to the south" you ask.

"It isn't the ocean you have to worry about, but rather what is in the ocean" Dawn answers "I have seen some truly gargantuan monsters there. That part of the ocean is a lot warmer than other parts, which allows for an ample amount of prey" she adds. Lira and Aella look Dawn up and down. You are fairly certain they are wondering how Dawn could know that, but now isn't the time to explain who Dawn is to them.

"So uh...Lira, what other food and drink do you make here" you ask and Lira's attention snaps away from Dawn. She smirks making you think she knows what you just did, but tells you to follow her to the next food table where they are serving a stew. The stew is delicious, but you had to eat it slowly due to how spicy it was. You watched Annabel and Dawn secure some of the seeds from the cook to plant the chilies back home. Soon you found yourself walking around alone chatting with various people. You met a blacksmith, a farmer, a leatherworker who was willing to offer some leather to Jane, and many other professions. One thing you noticed for each person was their zeal in what they did. Everyone seemed to love what they did for the village.

You took a moment to people watch. You saw your family standing around and talking with Lira, Aella, and several other Amazon women. You smirked to yourself seeing some flirting going on, and you were pretty sure that tonight you might be sleeping alone while your girls have some fun with some Amazon women. Although the looks Lira and Aella were giving you made you doubt that conclusion a bit. Turning your attention away from your group you watched people dance and enjoy themselves. You hoped one day you could be sitting like this in your own village of people. Seeing them enjoy themselves and forgetting about their life as a ****. Singing, dancing, eating, drinking...you realized this place was giving you a deeper resolve then you had before. Even if in the end it all failed. Giving them just the briefest chance of a real life would be worth it...wouldn't it?

You turn and watch Yvette and Rene chatting together with a rather muscular woman. You can't tell what they are saying, but from the light touches and looks it seems like they are working towards a fun night together. You notice Yvette occasionally stroke her collar, and you wonder to your self if she's thinking about you when she does. Focusing on the bond between the two of you answers your question. Every stroke of the collar you feel a surge of love and you can't help but smile in response. A pair of hands on either shoulder startle you out of your thoughts.