Chương 757: Day Seven Hundred And Fifty-Five

Dear Diary,"Vengeance is not what you think. It never becomes Justice, But it's better than nothing." - Tabitha Diaz, Doctrine of Tabitha, Book of Vengeance In this first Verse of the Book of Vengeance, Tabitha lays out for us in simple terms multiple truths about Vengeance for her followers. First, and this might be lost on some or glossed over by others, Vengeance is deceptive; we often believe it will deliver many things that it will not.

She then clarifies the most pernicious lie we tell ourselves about Vengeance; that it is Justice. There are many other such lies; that Vengeance will bring closure, peace, or that it will, in and of itself, make the world better.

While all of those things may appear true from certain perspectives, including most especially those driven to Vengeance by pain, by loss, by despair, the chances of Vengeance providing them are so terribly small, especially when weighed against the other consequences of Vengeance, that they might as well be zero, so seeking them by seeking Vengeance is a fool's errand.

Still, in the final line of this Verse, Tabitha reminds and reassures us that sometimes, when there is nothing else to be done, Vengeance is still something. A fool's errand, a last desperate gamble, but still, better than slipping quietly into the long dark in the face of outrageous injustice.

- Priestess Most High Above All Others, Archmage Imperator Saffron Aetos-Diaz, Commentary on the Doctrine of Tabitha Yeah, my Kitten can salvage even crap like yesterday's and when I give her something decent to work with like today, she knocks that shit clean out of the park. I hadn't even been thinking about 'closure' or anything that fancy when I talked about Vengeance not being what people think it is. Okay, I don't really remember if I was or not.

But she's absolutely right, Vengeance gets built up to be a lot of things it's not. The big one is Justice, sure, but she's right, people think it will bring closure, or balance, or a fuckin' laundry list of other shit that, at the end of the day, it just does not provide. When all's said and done, Vengeance is about hurting people.

I'm not gonna be an enormous hypocritical asshole and say that 'hurting people is always wrong', especially not after going through the whole gradual escalation list where hurting was clearly defcon two. But hurting people always has negative consequences. I guess that's a big part of what I tried, am trying to do with my Doctrine and my Temples.

Along with providing community centers and education and shelter and food and maybe even some really specific service jobs, I'm tryna help people remember that some actions have bad consequences, no matter how right they seem at the time. But also, again because I'm tryna not be an enormous hypocritical bitch, let them know that sometimes you take those actions anyhow, because not taking them has worse consequences, or because all the bad consequences have already happened.

Now if I can just remember all that shit and apply it to my own life. Although, maybe I kinda already am, which is a weird thought for me. Sure, yeah, I got the bully pulpit so I'm gonna try to show people a better way than 'biggest dick uses their phallus as a club to beat everyone else down into subservience'. But I'm still surprised that I am not, in fact, the world's largest hypocritical asshole.

I mean, given my Mimic me, I might have the world's largest asshole, but that doesn't mean I have to be the world's largest asshole. Different thing. Also, now I'm entirely enthralled by the fact that while I am clearly in possession of a big honkin Maw of a mouth, and given the sheer size of that part of me and the fluidity of my shape I've got literally countless limbs, I do not know where Mimic's asshole resides, or even if I have one.

I mean, yeah, I've got one on my normal arguably Mortal body, but it's an unused orifice, despite what Saffron and Marie keep hinting at. It is, in fact, an unused exit, that has only been used as an entrance by high speed projectiles, hence my distaste for the thought of anything else using it as an entrance.

Okay, I guess I also expelled one of those projectiles, extruded that metallic shit as sharp edged wire, but that's not really any better or more convincing of an argument when it comes to letting Saffron, Marie, or anyone else ride it like they stole it. Fuck, Saffron's totally gonna go heist movie at some point, and I'm gonna wind up with improbable volumes of her entering my digestive tract from the other end.

Fuck it, not gonna worry about that, except to be sure I get the full wide screen full sensory image of whatever hijinks she pulls. Okay, now I just hope she doesn't shove a wide screen TV up my butt. That would just be weird. Also possibly painful, but mostly just weird. Especially if my ever expanding retinue of High Priestesses decide to, I dunno, plug it in and watch family friendly animation on it or something like that. So yesterday after the big...

I don't want to call it a wedding ceremony, because in my personal opinion High Priestess does not equal Wife, even if two of my six High Priestesses are in fact my Wives. I'm not going to talk about how two more are my Concubines. Shit, I'm not sure if Tallulah is technically my Concubine or not.

Part of me wants to put my foot down, but so far I'm two for two upsetting people I really don't want to upset when I tried to do that, so I'm just gonna quietly ask Saffron to let me know if Tallulah is an official Concubine or not. Also if she wants a fuckin' collar, which I do not understand, and I've just remembered that I told Marie I would get her one, and I didn't, except holy fucking shitballs I actually wound up...

I dunno if it counts as a tattoo or scarification or what, but she's now got an inch thick black stripe around her neck, right about where Siobhan's collar is. Anyway, big ceremony, new High Priestess, five women wearing the Sluttiest Wedding Dress Ever™, and then after some dancing and surprisingly normal if very touchy feely socializing with the congregation, we all, and I mean me, my ladies, and the girls, all wandered up to the restaurant in the Temple.

I gotta say, the cook there is top tier, and I'm comparing him favorably to a woman with centuries of cooking experience here. I mean, not 'better than', but if somebody had told me she'd snuck back and made our dinner, I wouldn't have called bullshit on it.

"Ooh, fancy!" I said, entirely unironically, as the waitstaff set the plates in front of us. Each had a baked potato, split open with butter, sour cream, chives, scallions, and some herbs, spices, and crusty salt. One of those cuts of meat with the bone sticking out like a handle leaned against the potato so the bone stuck up. To either side of that were roasted veggies; carrots in some kinda cream sauce, and corn in melted butter. Garlic butter, once I tasted it.

We each even had a full loadout of cutlery: knife, fork, and spoon. Nice metal ones, too, not the common wooden ones. Some sliced pickled ginger sat to one side, I wasn't sure if it was decoration or an aperitif. I mean, I was gonna eat it either way, but I still kinda wanted to know. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I also appreciated the salad and soup set to either side of the entrée. I wasn't super into salad, but I figured Lindsey and Ria would both appreciate it.

Also, again, like the ginger, it was going into my merely Mortal Maw. It'd be rude not to, after the staff put hard work into getting it to us. I sliced off a bite of the meat with the taste of garlic butter corn still in my mouth, and might have moaned a little in sheer gustatory bliss.

"Oh, this is so good. What is it?" Marie, who'd gone straight for the meat, of course, chewed her first bite thoughtfully, then pronounced, "Mutton. Good."

"Very good," agreed Saffron. I glanced around the table, then frowned.

"Where's Siobhan?" Saffron sighed.

"I'm afraid she wasn't feeling well enough to enjoy this, love." She reached out, brushed her fingers across my cheek.

"We will absolutely celebrate her completion of the Trials just as fervently." I nodded, but said, "I still feel kinda bad that she's missing out on so much lately." She shrugged.

"So we'll have to make it up to her, make up for lost time, after her little one arrives." I snorted.

"After she recovers." I looked at Saffron, who just smiled, glanced around the table to see each of my High Priestesses grinning at me as they ate.

"We are gonna let her recover first, right?"

"That depends entirely on whether one of us is ready to play wet nurse while the rest of us play with her." Saffron had been tapping at her chin while she spoke, mesmerizing me just a little, and I jumped a little when Marie pronounced, "Oh. Wait." My big Tigress Bae has the driest sense of humor for somebody so good at making people wet. Horny, pissing themselves in terror, bathing them, throwing them in the Bay, I've seen her do all of those with panache and grace.

I definitely gave the staff some extra props for keeping the kids occupied, almost entirely with putting food in their bellies. Karen? I'll see to it they're properly rewarded, Goddess. Thanks. When we finished dinner, I moved to gather the kids, but Marie's hand on my arm stopped me.

"Let me." I pulled her into a hug as half a dozen of her popped into existence behind the kids, scooped them up, and disappeared.

"You sure? I mean, I guess some of this is the Maenad thing, right? I don't want to dump everything on you, though." She smiled, but got a faraway look as she thought.

"Different." Then she growled low enough to start up some unintentional waterworks in everyone within hearing distance.

"Mine." I didn't think, I just grabbed the scruff of her neck, turned her to face me, and with our lips brushing, growled back, "Ours." Ours. The word echoed through my head, and when she eventually pulled away, she flopped backward to land, not nearly as sheveled as she had been pre-kiss, on the Bed. I glanced from side to side to see Madeline and Karen kneeling on the bed to my left, Tallulah and Saffron mirroring them to my right.

My brain started fizzing a little, because their dresses rode up and cinched tight when they knelt, in every possible right way. That weird hum that told me my ladies were using my brain as a signal repeater filling my thoughts, I asked, "I... uh... is this what I think it is?" Saffron raised an eyebrow, but Karen was the one who answered.

"What do you think it is?"

"It..." I licked my lips, the taste of dinner still lingering.

"Yeah, private location, limited guest list, total open secret, this looks a lot less like a Revel and more like an Orgy." Now Saffron spoke.

"Do you want it to be?" She paused, mouth open, deliberately taunting me.

"Goddess?" I closed my eyes for a moment. Took a deep breath. Almost lost my fuckin' mind, with seven of us in the Bedroom. I realized right then, mostly by feel, that Siobhan sat on the divan in optimum watching position. Holding one index finger up to my ladies, asking, telling, demanding they wait, I turned to her.

"Just watching tonight?" She looked so fuckin' cute when she pouted.

"I haven't finished my Trials." Before I could say anything, she raised her head, her face firming.

"I don't want to bypass them, either." I reached into the drawer with my tentacles as I knelt before her, taking her hands in mine.

"But you want to be part of this?" She bit her lip and nodded.

"So... spectating?" She nodded.

"Gonna do some single-player mode while you watch?" She opened her mouth to say something, probably about the whole 'never done that before' thing, and I slipped one of those vibrating rings onto each of her index fingers, pouring enough Mana into them to keep them, and hopefully her, shivering until morning. I slid one of her hands gently between her legs, laying the other on her breast.

"Just do whatever feels good. Don't be afraid to sing out if you need advice." Her eyes got a little wider, she nodded, and then kind of tossed her head to redirect me to the bed. I turned to my collected ladies, who'd all smiled at the byplay between Siobhan and I, and stretched my neck as I took them all in.

"You guys know what pre-gaming is, right?" They all snickered a little. All except Madeline, who asked, "is that prohibited?" I shook my head as Karen sidled over to her. My tentacles and hands roamed over Marie.

"Absolutely not. It's encouraged even. Not gonna say required, but... encouraged. Yeah. I will absolutely be thrilled if every place I look tonight I see my ladies... involved." Madeline smiled as Karen's hand slipped across her shoulder.

"One rule." My breath getting ragged as the smell of them all overwhelmed me, I ground out, "the dresses stay on. Undamaged. Just like all of you. Until I get to you." Saffron gave me a playful disapproving look, and I smirked at her and said, "it's good to be the Goddess." Madeline swallowed.

"Will this be rough, then?" My hands and tentacles manhandling Marie by her dress, I reached over and brushed one gentle tentacle across Madeline's cheek.

"It will be exactly as rough, or not, as you want and need it to be."

"About Time." I turned to Marie, and whispered into her mouth.

"No Sparagmos for you tonight, Mittens." Before she could express more than token displeasure at my pronouncement, I pulled her close, her fangs nipping at my shoulder as I took her ear in my teeth.

"I'm gonna leave you and this dress more utterly wrecked than any Mortal could survive, so I can see you like that while I'm with each of the others." Yeah, we weren't done by morning. Okay, I wasn't done with Saffron when every one of my ladies got picked up by their dresses, backs arching in ecstasy as I flopped back next to Siobhan on the divan.

"Beautiful."

"They are," she whispered. Then kinda whined until I took her hands in mine and pulled her into my lap.

"You know you didn't have to keep that up all night, right?" She snuggled into me, opened her mouth to answer, and fell right the fuck to sleep. Kissed Karen and Madeline good bye before they left to go to their Temples. Wasn't super tired, but wasn't nearly as jazzed as I had been the night before. Something about taking every ounce of Worship and turning it into fun time energy. Still, went about my day, including taking the girls to school.

They got annoyed, just a little bit, because they'd apparently stayed up a little late. On top of everything else? Two of me rejoined the kittens and Marie in the bedroom. I got a very unpleasant surprise when I pulled that little Mimic and Shapeshift trick only to find that my breasts were full. Very full. Painfully full. Never thought I'd appreciate Isadora's appetite quite that much.