ShamelessPride

Korrina Tiller struggled as her need to focus warred with the excitement rising from her abdomen and trying to come out through her mouth in squeal. Her knees twitched occasionally as she fought her desire to run to the sky ship’s top deck and take in the view she knew was extraordinary; however, she was equally determined not to mess up her first job and maintaining the integrity of the ship’s most precious cargo and an important job at that. Korrina counted four slow breaths, managing to bring her excitement levels down for the moment, and refocused on her task. She imagined cold winds coming off of snow capped mountains, the refreshing coolness of a shaded wading pool, and a glass of ice water. As she imagined these things, she felt the swirling of energy inside her belly, stirred by her thoughts and looking for a release. Opening her hands, the energy flowed up through her arms and began emanating from her palms in a mist of icy blue sparkles. Korrina watched carefully as

Yelda had spent most of her life in the shadow of her mother’s belly. An enormous oblong sphere of fat containing deep stores of mana wrapped in tan skin, making the rest of her mother’s body appear a mere growth by comparison. It occupied almost the entirety of the building they were in, colloquially known as the ‘sow house’. The deafening roars from that massive gut were like a territorial beast challenging any who might approach. Otherwise, the room echoed with the smacks of her plump lips and the thunderous belches that escaped them. How was Yelda, with her tiny, skinny, magicless frame supposed to measure up to that? Even now, she and her mother were physically separated by a table piled high with the food her plump servant girls brought, but they at least did her the courtesy of not blocking their view of each other. “You’ve been allowed to drift for almost a year now,” her mother said between mouthfuls. “I think it’s time you started taking your life more seriously.” Yelda

All Mika could do was stare up, and up, and up. Lockers towered above her like big metal skyscrapers, the benches were like overpasses above her head, and the floor tiles seemed like huge blocks of concrete, the mud-filled gaps between them like rain gutters. “How did this happen?” Her voice was an inaudible squeak, too weak to be heard inside a room that was typically infamous for carrying echoes, forcing the chatty girls inside to whisper lest the subjects of their gossip overhear. Unless, of course, that was the point. Mika had been the last to return to the change room after Gym class had ended. It was her turn to put the equipment away. Some of the other girls were supposed to help her, but after putting a mere handful of articles into the equipment room, they scampered off to change, telling her to deal with the rest. Mika possessed neither the backbone nor social clout to do anything else. After that, she had returned, changed into her classic sailor schoolgirl shirt and