He was a little hesitant, but he had to admit, he was curious now. He slid his hand under the water and touched the base of her tail, feeling that little knob she was talking about right at the base. There was a indention of sorts a little more prounounced in her back down there. Where in a human, the back flattened out from its lined dimple formed by the spine, it continued on in her back, all the way to where the hips widened and the muscled curve of her bottom began.

"When did you learn all this, Kimmie?" he asked curiously.

"I'm a Wizard, Tarrin," she said pointedly. "Wizardry isn't just about learning how to cast spells."

"I didn't know that."

"Not many people do. A good Wizard is well versed in biology, chemistry, physics, alchemy, herbology, and also ancient history. That's all in addition how much we study the magic itself. We have to know those things because it helps us design magic to affect the physical world. So we study all about the physical world in our studies, from how rocks form to the anatomy of many kinds of creatures."

"Sounds like you don't have much free time."

"It's a good thing we don't age. I don't think I could learn everything there is to know about magic in a thousand years," she admitted. "I don't see how Phandebrass does it. He's only a little over forty, yet he's learned so much in that short time it's almost mind-boggling."

He accidentally slid his hand down to the top of that forbidden area under her tail, then pulled it back quickly with a bit of a blush. "Sorry," he apologized.

"I told you I don't mind, Tarrin," she told him with a smile, looking back at him. "If you stuck your hand between my legs, I wouldn't mind."

That made him blush furiously. "Does it hurt when you sit in chairs?"

"The tail is extremlely flexible," she told him. "I can push it up against my side if I have to. But if we sit up against our tails like that, it cuts off the blood flow and goes numb."

"Huh," he sounded. "It must be interesting to have a tail."

"Well, in a little while, hopefully you'll have yours back," she said. "Though I do like your curiosity," she admitted, wrapping her tail around her arm, like a snake. "You won't be putting your hands on girls' butts in the bathing pool at the Tower," she said with a wink, "but one that knows you may ask you to help scrub her back, just like I did. Think you can handle that?"

"I guess," he answered.

"You did with me, and I'm as good as a stranger," she assured him. "It's the ones that ask you to scrub the front that you have to watch," she told him with a smirk.

"You!" he said loudly, pushing her from behind, but she didn't go far, because her tail was still wrapped around his arm. "You said you'd behave!"

"I am behaving," she teased. "And I got you to relax. That's what I really wanted. I want you to relax around me, Tarrin. I want you to not feel nervous around me, no matter what I do or what I'm not wearing. I want you to feel comfortable with me, even if we're both wrestling naked in a pool."

That caught him a little off guard, and he chuckled ruefully. "Well, it's working," he admitted. "I don't really feel as self-conscious as I did when we started."

"Good," she said wading up to him and, to his surprise, wrapping her arms around him. He'd never been so close to a naked woman before, and the fact that he wasn't wearing any clothes either made it even worse. "Calm down," she said in a gentle tone, looking over at him with a smile and dancing eyes. "Boy, you weren't even close to being this jumpy when you were a Were-cat. I think it's kinda funny."

"You should see it from my side," he said bluntly.

"I did," she laughed. "Do you know what Mist did to me to break me of my modesty?"

"No."

"She made me go naked for almost a year. Then she made me walk through a village in Arkis naked, then she took me to a Druid and had him summon a male Were-cat to deflower me. She seemed to think that the fact that I was a virgin was the reason why I didn't like being naked."

"She didn't!" he gasped.

"Oh yes she did," she laughed.

"Did-Did you let him-"

"Of course I did," she said. "I was getting used to my instincts by then, and if you didn't notice, there are very strong instincts about that kind of thing in animals. I was curious, and truth be told, I was ready for some serious deflowering."

Tarrin felt distinctly uncomfortable talking about sex with a naked woman who had her arms around him.

"Now calm down and give me my attention, and I'll let you go," she told him.

He wasn't sure what she meant, but he did hold still when she pulled him close and hugged him to her. He could feel her body against him in a most intimate manner, and he struggled to not pay too much attention to it. She clapped her hands around him, gave him a gentle squeeze, then let him go with twinkling eyes. "There, it didn't kill you," she grinned.

"I have no idea what that was about," he told her.

"It's simple, Tarrin. I was getting my free feel."

"You're terrible!" he said with a gasp, then he laughed and splashed water in her face. "Taking advantage of me like that! Shame on you!"

Kimmie laughed and splashed him back. "Well, you are my mate, Tarrin!" she shot back. "I shouldn't have to trick you into getting my feels!"

"Oh, you're in trouble now, woman," he said in a dangerous tone, splashing her vigorously with both hands.

In moments, they were laughing and playing in the water like two little kids, splashing one another as quickly as they could. He redoubled his efforts when she shielded her face with her hands and turned around, but realized too late that it was a ploy. Her tail whipped around right along the surface of water and sent a sheet of stinging spray over him, making him stagger back and wipe at his eyes.

"Alright, you two," Triana's voice called. "Out."

"Mother!" Tarrin said in surprise, clearing his eyes. She was standing in the archway, stalking over to them quickly. She was wearing a ragged sleeveless buckskin shirt and breeches, not too far off the color of her fur. She came up to the edge of the pool and glared down at them in a manner that Tarrin did not like to see.

"Are you nuts, Kimmie?" Triana said in an accusing tone. "I thought you knew better!"

"We're just taking a bath, Triana," Kimmie said.

"She hasn't messed with me or anything, mother," Tarrin affirmed, defending her. "We're just playing around, that's all."

"That's not why I'm mad at her, cub," she told him. "Out, both of you. Now!"

They both scrambled out of the pool, and he felt a little silly for a moment. There they were, standing naked at the side of the pool, both of them. Triana was between them and the towels, and neither of them felt like trying to go around her to get to them. She fixed Kimmie with a stern look, then snorted in that strange manner that she did. "Didn't you think that you'd pose a danger to him girl?" she said in a flat voice.

"I know he's fragile, Triana," she said quickly. "I was being very careful-"

"That's not what I mean!" she snapped, which made Kimmie flinch. "Foolish cub, you're a Were-cat! You just got in a pool with a human, and you unloaded the trees know how much spit into that water! Thank the furies it's a big enough pool!"

Kimmie suddenly paled, looking at Triana in sincere chagrin. "I never even considered -I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I won't do it again, I promise!"

"I don't understand, mother," Tarrin said.

"She could have infected you," she told him gruffly. "Spit can do it, and it only takes a drop of it in your eyes or going up your nose with the rest of the water. The pool is big enough to where it diluted it down to the point where it was harmless. If that had been a smaller pool, though, you may have been turned again. Not that I wouldn't have been happy to see it, but we're going to play this by Dolanna's rules for now. That means we keep you human so that mad Wizard has a chance to find a cure for your amnesia. Don't get back in that pool until I have a chance to purge it, Tarrin. Now dry off and get dressed, both of you."