Chapter 65 part 5

It felt deeply nuanced and Jenn was confident that she wasn't going to understand fully unless she made an in depth study of this, though she doubted that it would help her out any if she did so. Especially since she couldn't say if there were any stars like those on Earth or the world that her people were from.

Jenn started to translate what she understood what Blossom had said, though she wasn't sure what Blossom thought about what she was doing, since Jenn was confident that she could understand what Jenn herself was saying. Much like others who would listen to her talk to others and could understand Jenn, but not the other person.

Although, as she finished talking, she just remembered about linking another person to let them hear what was being said. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of it before, but she knew that she could do that now and let Embris listen in on what was being said. Though, she wasn't sure if she should, since she felt like it might be a little difficult to explain how Embris could suddenly understand without the need to have what was said translated for her, nor why it took Jenn herself so long to remember about that ability of hers.

"Oh, how do you know what star someone is born under?" Jenn asked, feeling like it was more than just a date, given people tended to have different personalities, even when they were born on the same day. That very few people would have the same personality just because they shared a birthday within a certain timeframe. Where these people seemed to have a deeper understanding of something, since what Blossom was saying seemed a little too accurate for it to be just coincidence.

Blossom shook her head. "That's for those who were born under the time star to know. They could explain it to me, but it's not necessary for me to know, nor would I likely understand it. I'm just not made to understand that kind of thing."

Jenn felt like she'd had something tantalizing dangling in front of her only to have it snatched away. Just when she'd been about to reach and grab it.

After Jenn translated that for Embris, she was about to ask more, when Chonyne walked up next to Blossom and hugged her, as if she was afraid Blossom would disappear right before her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Blossom asked, her concern immediately for Chonyne. "They didn't fail you, did they? Getting lost wasn't your fault, even Chinta said as much."

Chonyne buried her head in Blossom's bosom and shook her head. "They didn't fail me, but I was told that I'd be a part-time huntress if I succeed at the Trial of the Hunters, so we won't be able to get married just yet."

Blossom wrapped her arms around Chonyne, her face softening quite a bit. "As long as you're able to participate then I'll be happy anyway. Even if I have to wait until you're sixteen and come of age, then I'll happily wait."

"But you know what they say about those who turn eighteen and aren't married," Chonyne said, lifting her head from Blossom's breasts and looking straight into her eyes, her own glistening with unshed tears.

"Let me worry about that," she said, placing her hands where Chonyne's human part met with her equine part. "It wasn't like either of us chose to be matched up under the rabbit star, nor for us to be so far apart in age, but as long as we can be together, I'll be happy with you, no matter what you say or do."

Chonyne smiled and they started rubbing their cheeks together. Jenn wasn't sure why, nor did it seem anything special, but at the same time, it felt strangely intimate. Almost like they were making out. Which Jenn wondered if maybe that was their way of making out among their kind.

"Ahem!" a voice called out, startling everyone present, causing Chonyne and Blossom to pull apart, like they were caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

The owner of the voice was Chinta.

"Blossom, you know what the chief would do if he saw you doing that to his daughter. You're not married to her yet, so you know what the consequence would be."

"It's not fair," Chonyne complained, as if she was the one who had been courting trouble. "I see others my age doing that openly, why can't I do that with Blossom? We were both brought together by the rabbit star, right?"

Chinta sighed as if she was dealing with an unruly child. One that should know better. "As the chief's daughter, you should know that one who has come of age isn't supposed to be like that with one they're not married to. It would create chaos if they were to put aside what the stars chose for them," Chinta said, as if she was the judge in the case against Blossom and Chonyne right there.

"It's still not fair," Chonyne complained.

While Jenn didn't really understand, she couldn't say that she disagreed with Chonyne. While she didn't understand if this was anything similar to the laws of consent she knew in her home country on Earth or if there was something more to this that she just didn't understand, she got the sense that there were laws or restrictions about how they could show each other affection, even though it was clear that they both were in love with each other.

Besides, Jenn also noticed that while Chinta had spoken about those who were going against what the stars had chosen for them, that wasn't the case with Chonyne and Blossom. As they had apparently been brought together by the rabbit star, or whatever, and so weren't really defying the stars in order to show their affection for each other.

However, Jenn kept her mouth shut. She was well aware that if she said anything about it, that she'd probably encounter another situation like when she'd tried talking to Blossom about what 'being born under the stars'' or 'being brought together by the stars' and all of that. Where Blossom had gotten rather upset and gone off on her about the subject.

"Fair or not, you know your father would make things difficult for Blossom if he saw you two doing that together."

"What if they spent some time in the Forest of the Lost?" Jenn asked, not sure why she said that in the first place.

"What's the 'Forest of the Lost?'" Chinta asked, her eyes narrowing on Jenn.

"That's the name of the forest that Chonyne got lost in," Jenn replied, hoping that her motives wouldn't be questioned. As she wanted o find a way for them to be together, even if it was through having them away from this village. Especially since she'd already started down the road of making this gate an open thoroughfare of travel between this world and the one her people called home.

"How long would you want them to spend there? And why those two?" Chinta asked, her tone indicating just how thin of a line Jenn was treading right then.

Jenn shook her head. "It isn't like that," she assured Chinta. "It doesn't have to be only those two, I was thinking that we could have some of your people among mine, learning our language and all that while I send some of mine to learn yours. Naturally, if Chonyne and Blossom come, they'd return in time for the Trial of Hunters so Chonyne could at least try to become a part-time huntress. That way nothing else will really happen as a result."

Chinta looked like she was considering what Jenn had said, though Jenn was also getting the feeling that she was going to suggest something that Jenn wasn't going to see coming. Something that was going to throw what she was doing for Chonyne and Blossom into ruin.

"I'll speak to the chief about this, but I doubt he'll be willing to let his daughter stay over there for long. Maybe long enough to see Blossom settled in, but otherwise, she'll likely have to return here," Chinta replied. "Though, your proposal does sound appealing. I'm just hoping that you'll be more open about your intentions in the future."

Jenn wasn't sure what Chinta meant, but she left, motioning for Chonyne to follow her, before Jenn could say anything.

"Thanks for trying at least," Blossom said, giving Jenn a small smile. "Most find what I was doing with Chonyne appalling. Like they don't understand how I could do that with a child."

Jenn felt like this was another cultural issue that she wasn't sure about. As it was clear to her that Chonyne wasn't that much younger than Blossom, in addition to the fact that they were already talking about marriage. Though, she did wonder if that might have been why Chinta had gone off so much about them doing that in the first place. With rubbing their cheeks together to the point that felt like they were making out.

"By the way," Jenn said, partly to get her mind off that subject and where she was confident it would lead her. "How many stars are there? You know, that influence things."

Seventy-eight," Blossom said without hesitating. Fourteen are stars that one can be born under, seventeen affect the seasons, ten influence how farming and hunting will be, twenty-three determine what kind of occupation an individual has, thirty-five determine the safety of our village and if we need to move or not, seven disclose the reasons of why things happened the way they did, even if it didn't make sense to us…"

Jenn started to feel her mind blank as Blossom continued on. She'd already lost count of how many stars were involved, although she suspected that some stars, if not all of them, had multiple uses. Though, rather than astrology, she got the sense that this had an almost religious component to it. Where it directed their very lives, down to the smallest detail that Jenn wouldn't have imagined.

"…t's the star that likely directed them to decide Chonyne needed to be a part-time huntress rather than a full hunter if she passes the Trial of the Hunters."

Jenn nodded as Blossom finished, as if she had been able to pay attention to her whole dissertation about the stars. She certainly didn't want to let Blossom know that she hadn't been able to stay focused through all that. Especially with how tired she felt right then.

Though, as she thought about it, if she had translated that for Embris, she couldn't help but wonder how much she'd have picked up on the speech, as she'd have needed to at least pay attention in order to translate the words, but that didn't exactly mean that she'd be able to have any of it sink in to the point where she'd actually remember what was said.

"That's a lot to take in, Jenn said, feeling like she should at least say something in response.

"The ones who know exactly which stars influence everything are the ones who help guide our chief," Blossom said. "Sometimes it takes a while before they can find which star is influencing what we should do, but its never been wrong. Even that time when we knew a really bad storm was coming and a third of the village was washed away, we didn't lose anyone in the village. But if we had tried going anywhere, we might have lost everyone."

Jenn nodded, feeling like this was a little too weird for her. Either that or a little too freaky. She wasn't yet sure which it was, just that she had a feeling that it might be best for her to not really know about the finer details about it if she could help it.

"If you'd like, I could help you learn more about the stars while I'm staying with your people," Blossom suggested, making Jenn blink at the sudden change in the subject. "That way if the stars direct that Chonyne and me take you as a lover as well as whatever lover you have then, you'd be able to understand and accept why that would need to take place."

Jenn wasn't sure how this subject had come up, but she was pretty sure she'd have been just fine without knowing that portion of what the stars might require of them. Jenn also wasn't sure if she would want to translate that for Embris. Though, a glance over to Embris made her find that at some point Embris had fallen asleep where she stood, leaning against the wall of the shelter. Jen wasn't sure how long she'd been like that, but felt a little guilty at not having kept her awake by translating for her.

Although, she couldn't help but get the sense that Embris might have fallen asleep during the long speech that Jenn had inadvertently initiated with her simple question about the stars. Which Jenn was resolved to not bring it up again. That way she wouldn't have to worry so much about having to lose her interest in the answer part way through the answer.

Even though she was pretty sure that her question didn't really need to include all the information that Blossom had been imparting as a result.

Jenn looked back at Blossom and could see she was waiting for something, but couldn't think of what until she suddenly remembered what she'd said a moment before.

"Maybe," Jenn hedged, not sure she should discount learning more about 'the stars' just because she found it hard to follow. "I'll have to see how much time I have available."

"Are you normally busy?"

Jenn shrugged. Technically no, but that didn't really mean that she had all that much free time just because nothing was planned. Especially with how she knew that things kept popping up whether she wanted them to, whether she liked it or not.

"I can't really say if I'll be busy or not," she said out loud. "While I don't have anything planned, I can't say that things won't come up."

Blossom nodded, like she fully understood Jenn's problem. "Yeah, that does happen. Especially when you really want the day to be free."

Jenn couldn't help but chuckle at the last sentence. She fully understood that, as not only had she seen it happen to herself back on Earth, but also she'd experienced it a few times since becoming this Blue Rose. Though, usually those times took up longer than a single day to resolve. Such as with the Wolf-kin and the Jackalope-kin. Though, she hoped that with that gate, that she'd be able to eventually get a road paved where she'd be able to quickly return to Earth rather than having to take a rather roundabout route to get there.

"So, maybe if nothing too time consuming happens, you could help me understand what you know about the stars," Jenn said, hoping she wasn't biting off more than she could chew.

"I can't tell you everything," Blossom repeated. "I wasn't born under the time star, as that would indicate that's what I should do for my life."

Jenn shook her head. She certainly wasn't going to hold that against Blossom. After all, it wasn't like it was her fault, nor did Jenn really need to know everything there was to know. If she did, she suspected that it'd take a few years, at least, of diligent study for her to remember most of it, let alone all of it.

"Don't worry about it," Jenn assured her. "That's not what I'm worried about. I'm just wanting to know everything you know about it. Otherwise, I think I'd at least be spending a few years learning the intricacies of how the stars work and all that. At least."

"Well, have a good night then," Blossom said, smiling at Jenn. "I'll see you in the morning then."

Jenn smiled back, wondering what would Tchisa think when she returned with the centaurs. Of course, she also couldn't help but wonder what everyone else would think as well. Since she was pretty sure that she knew they likely hadn't even heard of anything like centaurs before, but then there was also the fact that during another assignment, she managed to make contact with another species and establish friendly relations with them.

Not to mention that the gate to this world was much too close to the duchess' residence. Where any patrols she send out could just happen by where they'd be entering or exiting the gate. Which meant travel through that gate needed to be rather limited, unless she wanted to let Versith know about it, which, in turn, would mean that she'd be likely to try and restrict travel through that gate as well.

_

Jenn hadn't been surprised at having Chonyne and Blossom accompany them through the gate and back to the village they'd made their temporary headquarters, but she had been surprised that five others had joined them. One she was told was born under the water star, another was born under the healer's star, another was born under the holy star, and another was born under the time star.

She wasn't sure if all of it was really necessary, but the centaur who was born under the time star assured her that it was.

Though, she did tell Jenn that she was born under the demon star, even though she wouldn't say any more than that. It made Jenn want to ask for more details, but was afraid at what kind of response she might get if she did.

Yet, that surprise wasn't anything compared to the surprise that everyone had when Embris and Jenn rode in on the backs of Chonyne and Blossom. Though, Jenn would have rather ride on the back of the one born under the time star, since at least she didn't seem as interested in talking as much as Blossom was.

Although, she was also rather distracted by most plants around her, since she clearly hadn't seen them before.

"What is this?" Tchisa asked, when she dismounted Blossom at the entance to the village.

"I guess new friends," Jenn replied, not sure if she should try to elaborate on some of the finer details that she doubted Tchisa would follow completely. "Though, it might take the rest of our winter to sort this out."

Tchisa sighed. "I might as well have you assigned here then," she said out loud. So everyone could hear, Jenn was sure. "That way you don't keep bringing stuff like this back with you."