Chương 896: Day Eight Hundred And Ninety-Four

Dear Diary, There are times when I am not a very smart woman. Yeah, yeah, yeah, go ahead, laugh, I sure as fuck am. I've been completely stumped about what to get for Garde, worried about asking her what she wants somehow ruining it by making it clear that her mama doesn't know enough about her to know what she wants. Thing is, while she's quiet, she's not bookish like Maze is. Or at least I'm not sure if she is or isn't.

Because I'm just now realizing that I don't know all that much about her, because she's neither Hailee, who has stuck to Siobhan like a limpet, or any of my other kits, who just make a massive impression on any environment they're in. Even Isadora, who sleeps on every occasion she can, just, I dunno, sleeps loud. Not snoring. She's just there, sleeping, and you can't miss the fact that she's totally in her element while asleep. But the thing is, there are four other adults in the house.

I don't need to ask her, or even ask one of the other kids and hope they're mature and aware enough not to let on to Garde that I asked them. I hadn't even thought of that until now, not even for any of the other kids. So now I've got a day to ask my ladies while the kids will be in school. Yes, I'm taking my kits to school. I'm aware that it's well before their first birthday, but Isadora's already gonna be the biggest fuckin' kid at the school other than some of the Young Adults doing internship shit.

But tomorrow is a school day, because tonight is a Revel night. As I sat everybody down in the dining room for dinner, I slipped over next to Saffron and whispered, "Sorry, Kitten. I guess you'll have to wait for tomorrow night." She just smiled serenely. After a solid minute I got it.

"You planned this. You remembered and planned this." Still smiling, she pulled me down, kissed me, and shoved me backward to land with my butt on New Amsterdam's Altar. I glanced to one side, then the other, noting Dana on my right and Marie on my left, although where Dana stood patiently, Marie had kind of draped herself behind me. Big cat gonna big cat, after all.

"Happy early Yule, everybody!" That got a surprised, but not displeased chorus of Happy Yules back from the congregation, who cheered when I followed that up with, "one last Revel before winter begins!" Stella came first. My inner Tomoko insists I point out that he also came second, and third, and I was kind of a mess by the time his eyes rolled back in the middle of the fourth and he passed right the fuck out.

Dana lifted him, surprising me just a little that they could, and carried him off while Marie tidied me up a little with one repeatedly licked paw.

"Feeling festive, Mittens?" She just grinned at me and slow blinked. Next up was Denise, who frowned as he stepped to me. Okay, more than frowned, he seemed almost like he was gonna start crying right there. Not sure if he didn't want to harsh the vibe, or didn't want to not seem manly, or what, but I pulled him into my lap, held him, and whispered, "what's wrong?"

"My... My name." For some stupid reason I wound up irrationally glad he hadn't regretted getting what he wanted the first time I saw him up here.

"What's wrong with it?" He sighed.

"It's not... It's not right?"

"You want to change it?" He frowned again.

"Yes? No? I feel like changing it would be hard, and disrespectful to my parents, and I'm used to it, and..."

"Which is why you're so torn up about it, but you came up here needing that." He nodded. Struck by sudden inspiration, I thought, Tallulah? Little help here? She sighed into my brain with so much force I almost thought I'd somehow turned her into a fifteen year old emo boy. Just so you're aware, that is a stereotype. Before I could reply, she stood to my right, where Dana hadn't returned, and snapped her fingers. When Denise looked at her, she said, "may I have your name, young man?"

"Of course, High Priestess, my name is Denise, but I am twenty-eight years old." Midway through talking about his age his eyes glazed a little. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Tallulah just rolled her eyes.

"And I stopped counting long before twenty-eight hundred. Now, what is your name?"

"I... I don't know?" he answered. Tallulah looked around.

"Does anyone remember this young man's name?" Everybody looked just a little bit spooked, but other than some shaking heads, nobody said anything. I thought you said that was a stereotype. How do we give him a new one? Tallulah just rolled her eyes and stepped away. I never said it was untrue. Just a stereotype. Also, you are a Goddess. Statements you make become true. Thanks, T. Saffron? See to it our long tall Sidhe lady gets rewarded for that, please? I smiled at the young man in my arms.

"So. What name did you want?"

"I... I don't know?"

"Does it have to be very different from your old one?" I'm not sure how I remembered what it used to be, or if I even did, but I'd asked just in case." He shook his head.

"My parents named me after the God who blessed their union." At my lifted eyebrow, he said, "Dionysus."

"You wanna be named after D?" I stroked his hair gently as I asked. He worked his mouth a little.

"I... Nothing quite so obvious? But I wouldn't mind something oblique?" I smiled at him, "Oblique? So, Richard? You like that name?" I'd felt the giddy shudder run through him when I said it, but I waited for him to nod. I pushed Mana into my words as I said, "your name is Richard." His eyes lit up, and he grinned from ear to ear.

"Wanna make me scream it?" He did. Enthusiasm for the win. Of course, I can neither confirm nor deny whether he managed to hit word salad levels, because most of what came out my mouth was just what I think his preferred nickname was gonna be, and I'm pretty sure he took it as a request for more. Right up until he draped himself over me, panting, and said, "forgive me Goddess, I..." Then he fell the fuck asleep.

"Nothing to be forgiven for, Dick. I'm glad I asked nicely. Sleep well." Dana, who'd returned, carried him off. Ray showed up next, and wanted some complex Shapeshifting scissoring fun. Not gonna lie, I am not fond of not being able to see my partner, and what he wanted had us both scissored and facing away from one another. Really intense, popping off both ways at once, but afterward he seemed disappointed. I held him, stroked his hair, and then her hair when she Shapeshifted all the way that way.

"Punish me for my transgression?" Silly Ray, not knowing I could see inside that dark place of what she wanted, what she needed.

"What transgression? Although I could reward you for dreaming up with something I've never tried before."

"Really?" I nodded.

"Uh, which part?"

"The position. The reward. Which could be this part," I slid her onto me.

"In that one." She bit her lip.

"More?"

"Tentacles then?" I looked in her head.

"Okay, very kinky Shapeshifted tentacles then?" She stopped bobblehead nodding when one of said tentacles filled her mouth. Silly bugger loved every minute of it, right up until, right before she blacked out, she Shapeshifted just a little more to paint my belly. I laid her on the Altar with an impish grin etched on her face. Marie looked annoyed at that, and cleaned me up again as Dana carried Ray off. When they returned, I pulled them to me.

"So. I've got about half the night left, but you've not had a lot of one on one time up here with me." They smiled shyly.

"I did have a request?"

"Go on?" I could see the edges of it forming in their head, but I could tell they wanted, needed to tell me in front of the congregation.

"Would you sing to me?"

"Sure."

"With musical accompaniment?" I looked around, but there were no instruments. Before I could open my mouth to ask, the image formed up and Dana shyly, but still loud enough to be heard by the congregation, said, "on the Maenad psaltery?"

"Really?" They nodded.

"I didn't think you were one for, y'know, titillation?" They shrugged, still smiling.

"I love to hear you sing. And I enjoy watching. Please?" I turned to ask Marie what she thought of that, only to see her standing there with the saddle in hand. With the double mount on it.

"This gonna be a duet then, Mittens?" She settled it next to me, settled down onto it, and leaned back across my lap as she said, "No." I couldn't help it, I laughed a little at the pure joyous Worship that already flowed from Dana.

"Extra Secure." I turned to Dana.

"Wanna help me play?" They blinked.

"Just a little. Here." I tossed them the remote.

"Just think of it like tuning the music so you like it more, in real time." When they looked uncertain, I smiled and said, "it's a toy. Play with it." Not sure how much they did. But they liked being given some kind of Agency in their Revel time with me. And they did figure out how to get amp the volume on my Maenad Psaltery.

I started off with Hallelujah, then did All I Want for Christmas, but I sang 'Yuletide' instead of 'Christmas', because I didn't need to explain that particular thing just now, and after that I just sang all the stupid old holiday songs I could remember. Not that anybody could hear much of them, what with Dana turning the volume all the way up on the Maenad Psaltery.

Even more fun was pretending to be one of those fancy mystic psaltery players when I felt sunrise coming, slapped Marie's white Holy Garb on her, and let her lift herself, the saddle, and me into the air above the Altar as she roared out her final crescendo of the evening. Of course, I had to make the biggest mistake of the Season right then, when I pulled her up into a kiss, then whispered, "so, which is the better way of fixing you up? Sparagmos, or your Holy Garb?"

What the fuck else was my magnificent Murder Mittens gonna say?

"Both, Please."