Biohuman

"Something's not right about this place…" Ritsuka trailed off. A cold wind blew past the group as they huddled together. Their eyes occasionally looking around still on edge someone, or something could be lurking where they couldn't see.

"So, you came to the same conclusion." Keng nodded. He folded his arms together, bundling for extra warmth as his mind replayed meeting the first and second set of Ice Elves. "They appeared out of thin air and bypassed seismic sensing as well as hearing and sight… It's like they don't exist but suddenly do… Does anything else have the sort of capability to hide their Dark Matter presence like that?"

The group thought for a moment. Had they ever heard or even encountered such a thing? One by one they all began to shake their heads. They hadn't heard of anything like this before.

"Creatures who can manipulate DM to hide themselves…" Manny whispered. "It doesn't sound too farfetched."

"They're Ice Elves, too, so their affinity for ice and snow must be strong… Maybe an environmental advantage?" Evan asked, looking at the others. Liz began to nod at Evan's question. There was something Keng wasn't getting as the others began to nod.

"What?" Keng asked. "Environment advantage? Stuff like that exists?"

"Olivia and I did a paper on this." Evan answered. "Monsters and creatures always tend to stick to environments they're familiar with. They know the layout and scope of the place, so they can better manipulate it and get an advantage on their prey. If you add in a monster's magical affinity into that, it can either make 'em stronger or weaker." Keng slowly nodded, digesting the summary of environmental advantages. His mind flashed to Lee Seng fighting that Blood Puppet in disguise as an Elf.

"So, like that Blood Puppet then…" Keng whispered. "Why didn't I think about that? Maybe that's why it's so hard to track them. They're using their environment to their advantage. They can hide easier here."

"Probably why we can't sense them before they attack." Ritsuka added.

"Aren't Ice Elves typically C-rank humanoids?" Liz asked.

"They're usually C-rank." Manny nodded. "But like any humanoid, they have the capability to climb ranks."

"Anything can climb the ranks depending on their circumstances, but yes, humanoids tend to be more a problem because they're intelligent."

"Which makes any beast/creature with intelligence terrifying." Olivia spoke. The group nodded in unison.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't the humans." A sultry female voice spoke. Keng and the group turned to see three female Ice Elves in winter gear. They were all pale like snow and had varying colors of white/light blue hair.

"What're you doin' in our town?" The second Ice Elf asked in a lower voice register.

"Must be why they're all sayin' there's a ruckus. The humans have come back." The third Ice Elf commented. The three Elf women were intensely beautiful. So much so, Keng's AI was bringing to his attention their natural charm spell.

[Ice Elf passive skill, Charm, is being used. You are immune to Charm-effects.]

'What about the others?' Keng glanced behind him. Olivia, Evan, and Liz were struggling to fight the Charm effect off while Manny and RItsuka seemed to be under their spell. Keng let out a sigh as he turned to look at the Ice Elves. They came upon the sidewalk and stood a polite distance away. Their hands in their winter coats as they casually breathed in the cold air.

"What're you doin' here? Are you with the Academy?" The sultry Ice Elf asked. Keng's eyes widened as Ritsuka and Manny naturally took a step forward. He threw his hands out, holding his male friends back as they drooled. The second and third Elves chuckled like they knew this would happen.

"You know about the Academy?" Keng asked.

"Oh! Do we? Ha, of course we do, dear. We know they own this land." The sultry Ice Elf replied. "Don't tell me they didn't tell you about that?"

"It would seem that's the reason why our scouts are dead." The third woman spoke up. Keng kept a neutral face as Manny and Ritsuka groaned.

"Pretty…" Manny complimented. The Elves chuckled.

"Oh, you should really get a hold of your friends. I think we're too much for them." The sultry Elf pointed out.

"If only they knew what this one was, they would be more careful." The second Elf spoke in Elvish. Keng pushed his friends back, glancing at the others. Olivia had turned away while Evan and Liz seemed to look like they were suffering in the sight of temptation.

"So why are Academy humans here?" The sultry Elf asked, again. "Is there some sort of job you must do? If so, does it involve killing my people?"

"N-no." Keng shook his head. "T-they came outta nowhere and spooked us, so we…"

"Killed them." The third one finished. She nodded, distastefully as she turned her head towards the street. "We know. We are aware."

"We-we're actually looking for someone, ma'ams." Keng continued. The Elves all seemed to raise their eyebrows in unison when Keng used 'ma'am' with them. "We're looking for someone named Gloria. We were told to take Gloria back to the Academy."

"Gloria? Do you know someone named Gloria?" The second Elf looked at the sultry and third Elf. They thought for a moment and as the first and third began to shake their heads, the second one snapped her fingers. "Oh! Them! Yes, I know who you're talking about, little one!"

"Oh, you do. That's great." Keng smiled. The second Elf stepped forward, away from the other Elves as she cocked her head. She raised her finger up to her mouth and tapped her red lipstick lips.

"If you wanted to fetch Gloria, all you had to do was ask. No need for endless bloodshed. We are trying to be peaceful people amongst your kind. I wish for us to not cause endless bloodshed if we can avoid it." The second Elf leaned into Keng's ear and whispered, "Little Fox Spirit." Keng immediately pushed his friends backwards, snapping Olivia, Evan and Liz out of their dazes as Ritsuka and Manny fought harder.

The look in Keng's eyes made the Elves chuckle as the second Elf moved straight up to Keng and smiled, biting her lip.

"Do you know what I'm saying, little Fox?" The second Elf asked in Elvish. When Keng didn't respond, she raised her hands up in the air, switching to English. "I'm not going to hurt you. I have no reason to hurt you unlike some of the men around here… I just want to give you a little something to remember." Keng narrowed his eyes as she moved her right hand towards Keng. "Can I… touch you?"

'Does she know?' Keng wondered. She smiled at him as her hand waited for his response.

"Why do you need to touch him?" Liz asked. The Elf woman looked at Liz, keeping her smile.

"Y'see, it's a little give and take. You want something so we must take something in return, and I want a piece of hair from your friend here." The elf pointed at Keng.

"Just a strand of hair?" Keng asked. The Elf nodded.

"That's… DNA, though, Lee. Should you give it to her? What if she…Hoodoo voodoo's you?" Liz asked. The elves erupted into laughter. They clutched their stomachs, covering their mouths.

"Voodoo? No, dear, we aren't skilled at curses. If you want curses, see our Dark Elf brethren for that. They'll curse you. Barbarians, they are." The sultry Elf told Liz. "Only a strand of hair from your friend here and we'll take you to Gloria, how about that?"

Keng looked over at Liz and the others. Evan moved to grab Ritsuka, pulling him to the back while Keng wrapped his arms behind Manny and held him in place as he drooled. Keng, Liz, Evan and Olivia conversed with their eyes, weighing the options for a while as the Ice Elves regained their composure from the silly joke Liz had made.

"Up to you." Olivia nodded at him. Keng sighed and turned his attention back onto the Elves.

"Fine. One strand." Keng agreed. He turned sideways to let the Elf woman pluck a single strand from him. It felt like a prick as she looked at the hair strand in awe before icing it and sticking it into her pocket.

"Good. We'll show you the way." The second Elf nodded.

"But do be warned, once you leave our care, you're on your own." The third Elf warned.

"Can you… Make these buffoons not… Horny for you three?" Evan asked, strained. The Elvish women chuckled as they turned. The glaze on Ritsuka and Manny's face faded.

"W-what's going on?" Ritsuka asked. He could feel the cold drool on his face. Evan pulled away as Ritsuka wiped his drool and looked around.

"What the hell happened?" Manny asked as Keng pulled away. He wiped his drool and looked around. He spun around looking at Keng and the others. "Why am I … Drooling?"

"Horny as always." Liz shook her head displeased. "Clean yourselves up, our 'friends' are going to take us to Gloria."