Chương 926: Day Nine Hundred And Twenty-Four

Dear Diary, I'm really not sure how much of my worry about Changing my partners, my kids, my family is a genuine worry about something supernatural about me altering them in ways that they wouldn't choose if allowed Agency in the matter and how much is just the normal worry that every parent, every partner, has about hurting their family unintentionally, just cranked up to eleven. I kinda do that with everything here and now, even if I don't think about it that much.

I crank shit up way past any normal person's tolerances. Then again, I'm not sure if that's something about my existence as Mimic here and now, or if it's just my natural personality doing what it would do given vast cosmic power. I still remember that first night, when I told Saffron and her immediate reaction was to deck me, then declare me her Patron.

I remember that feeling of utter horror at the idea that I'd be in a position to control someone else, to take their Agency away, to manipulate their Consent somehow. I think a descendant of that same thought is what drove me to go hide at the bottom of the ocean for three days. Thing is, that first night I wasn't thinking I would use some kind of Divine Woo to warp my Kitten into a living sex doll or something.

I was worried that I had too much influence over her, too much ability to scare her into saying 'yes' when she wanted to say 'no'. Shit, Siobhan treats being scared like an aphrodisiac. That's a particularly dangerous thing for me, one that I don't think I've been sufficiently careful with. I'm not going to cut her off, because after Tallulah's impassioned argumentation about my ladies' desire for very special intimacy with me, I can't really bring myself to say no.

But at the same time, I'm gonna be very specially careful to make sure that any time she's being frightened, it is in fact fun park frightened, not actually in danger of losing her life and Soul because I got peckish. Which means no Maw play until and unless I'm very certain I have complete control over those urges.

Of course, when it comes to so much of that, especially the urges, spending the better part of the past two days being a party favor and Smite target for my collected Clergy left me fully satisfied and unable to do more than leer appreciatively at various pairs, trios, and in one case Kitten showing she was fully capable of pulling a three horse hitch even with steeds as epic as Lachlan, Linus, and Silk. Honestly, that kinda made me feel very conflicted.

Not the Saffron giving in to her annoyance at her stature in the most her way possible part, because that was almost hot enough for me to want another little bit of something, but at how the various groups of my friends with benefits decided to share those benefits with each other. I mean, yeah, from what Saffron told me this kind of thing wasn't entirely uncommon in certain Camden Yards circles.

The only oddity about it might be the number of participants and the overall hotness of the people inexplicably drawn to me, but even there, we're rich and powerful now. I'm pretty sure if Mrs. Driver hosted a clothing optional, orgasm mandatory social event, she'd have a lot more participants than she did normally. Not long before dinner time, I asked about that.

"Hey, Kitten?"

"Yes, love?"

"D'you know if the Drivers still do their swinging thing?" I realized my mistake the moment her eyes lit up.

"They do! I can get us an invite to their next one if you're interested?" The look on her face made me very aware that she desperately wanted me to be interested. Unfortunately my opinion on that had not changed.

"I keep telling you, no bull cock in my vag. Too big is too big." She snorted.

"Oh, please. Mister Driver isn't that much bigger than the boys, and I know you've accommodated both of them at once." Kinda funny, she'd ridden her steeds into the ground, but Silk perked up a little at that. He wasn't so crude as to say anything directly to either of us, but I saw the questioning look he shot Linus and Lachlan, as well as Lachlan's answering nod.

"Yeah, no, try that on someone who doesn't know the square cube law and its impact on pizza diameter."

"Drat. Foiled again by my lack of foresight in marrying a math teacher." I chuckled, enjoying how Marie and Tallulah had interlaced their hands on my chest before going to sleep using my shoulders as pillows.

"Hey, I wasn't a math teacher when you met me. Still not sure how I wound up one."

"That would be why I'm playing at being upset by my lack of foresight, Goof."

"Playing?" She smiled and nodded as she pulled Silk around. First she looked him right in the eye and said, "she's very soothed now, but should you stay around for another few days, I'm sure someone will assist the two of you in recreating that particular sensation."

"But how can you be sure the others will remain, or be willing?" Boy mode Saffron pulled him in until their lips almost touched, then said, "because I can do this if they're not, and I enjoy stretching my beloved Goof's... boundaries." When she let him go, she looked over to me.

"Yes, playing."

"Huh. Here I thought you really did want to keep putting bigger things in me until you could climb in and wear me like a suit of armor." While Silk adjusted to the reappearance of Saffron's bodacious bosom, she smiled and said, "oh, I intend on putting 'bigger things' in you, but your reticence just means you'll be that much tighter on Ledger Day." This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"I'm in danger!" Between trying not to laugh and sudden butterflies, I almost couldn't get those words out. By the time everybody exhausted themselves at least once, then we all spent some time napping, we had to hop to the Bath to shower for dinner. Dinner wound up being the kids' first attempt at making pizza. It came out more like that bread I always forget the name of. Starts with an F. Fuckasia bread? Something like that.

Was not super pizza like, but the flavors were good and the bread was surprisingly pleasant. After dinner we all returned to the Bath, soaked for a while, after which my thoroughly calmed ass figured we'd hit the sack. Did not expect to fall asleep in the Bedroom, definitely didn't expect to sleep there with only two partners, watching as my ladies critiqued Silk's performance paired with boy mode Saffron as the two of them had their way with me. Most adorable thing of the night was Panther.

No, he didn't show up in the Bedroom. Yes, he did show up briefly in my Maw, much to the pleased surprise of all my ladies, who welcomed him and gently, inexorably tugged him to the very center of my Maw, then submerged him with excruciating patience. He tasted of blood oranges. I was a little upset in the morning until I saw him at breakfast. He refused to meet my gaze until Saffron walked over, took him by the hand, and brought him back to sit with us at the high table.

"Do not be ashamed or embarrassed, Panther."

"But I..." She silenced him with a quick kiss, then turned him to face me. I was still kinda whelmed from the past couple days, so I just pulled him in, kissed him, and hugged him.

"Seriously, dude. You did everything right. Nothing wrong. I loved having you there."

"But..." He stopped talking immediately when my mouth opened.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Far too much."

"No such thing. That is a very special place for people who Worship me, and I'm proud and pleased you showed up." I watched his cheeks go ruddy as he glanced away and said, "but... I..."

"Woke up to very messy sheets?" I could tell I'd scored a hit by how he finally stopped trying to declaim how bad he'd been. I made sure he was looking into my eyes before saying, "I'll definitely think of you fondly while I'm doing the laundry then."

"Truly?" I nodded. He looked down then said, "I... Would like to visit that place again."

"So long as it's in dreams? I got zero problems with that, Panther. You, my fine Worshipper, tasted incredible." Yeah, he got a little bit flustered at that, so I let him get to the serious business of eating breakfast. Nothing super complicated this morning, just eggs and oatmeal with fruit preserves, but given how every able bodied adult in the house had been exhausting themselves shutting down my guilt and despair responses for a while, I wasn't gonna complain in the slightest.

"May I accompany you today?" he asked when breakfast was done. I shrugged.

"I'm gonna be spending some time with my little Sidhe girl today. You're welcome to tag along, but I'm gonna be focused on her, so if you'd rather do something else, I won't be upset." He shook his head, and followed along as I went over to Ria.

"Hey, Ria. How you holding up?" She looked at me, then at Maze, who she'd been chatting with, then at Panther, then back to me.

"As well as can be expected."

"Wanna talk about it?" She tilted her head, considering, then shook it.

"Not yet. Perhaps later." She turned to Panther.

"Do your people use spears?" He waggled a hand back and forth.

"I prefer bows myself, but we do." She made a little moue.

"Oh. I'd hoped to get practice in against someone with a different style of spear use."

"I have been trained, I could show you what I learned?"

"I would very much like that." So we all adjourned first to the courtyard, where we wound up getting snowed on, then to the dining room, where Marie eventually chased us out, and eventually to the roof of East House, where I put up a Filtration Ward to keep the snow off of us. Panther wasn't great at explaining, but he was patient, and clearly trying to impress me with how often he glanced over to me while he worked with Ria. Funniest thing had to be the number of times she disarmed him when they sparred.

He looked kinda ashamed by the last time, so I hugged Ria, congratulated her, then with her under my arm turned to him.

"Hey, Panther, how many dudes have you fought. Like, seriously, attempting to do you harm kinda fought?"

"I've not had that experience, although I'm not sure whether to regret or rejoice in that." I nodded.

"Rejoice. Seriously, do you want to fight other people?"

"Aren't all men supposed to?" I snorted.

"Fuck no. I mean, some guys really get into that kind of thing. Some girls, too. Me, for instance. Uh, Lemmy from up in Boltophsberg, he likes to brawl. Marie's really good at it, and I think she enjoys it, kinda, but she likes doing wifey things better. But there are lots of people who will never enjoy it." He looked thoughtful, then looked at Ria.

"What of you?" She glanced at me, and when I nodded, she said, "I train because it is expected of me as a potential Heir of House Crow, and in order to protect my family should I need to." Before he could reply, she added, "I do enjoy the physical exercise, and the competition, but I think I might enjoy footraces with Lindsey just as much, were I skilled enough to compete fairly with her."

"You're not?"

"I am an urban Sidhe, raised in a fortress. I had little opportunity to run." He shot the two of us a lopsided grin.

"Still, I am a man grown and she a young girl."

"Not as young as you think, and like I just said, you're a hunter who's in decent shape and maybe learned how to use a spear. Ria has basically been training for a decade to fight other people. It's not really in any way embarrassing that she can beat you with her weapon of choice. Pretty sure if you were playing hide and seek in the forest you'd be schooling her."

He chuckled, and gained some points when his chuckle got less rueful and more amused when Ria said, "I know several Shapes that assist with stealth, Mama."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. And he knows how to use a spear." That got her looking really thoughtful for a bit, at the end of which she asked, "Mama, do you know any Shapes that would have stopped Lyssa's madness from affecting me? I think I would have been able to defeat Alex without doing her permanent mischief had I been thinking clearly."

"Alex?" Panther asked.

"My other daughter. She's another one who actually enjoys fighting."

"Another one? Who can fight this one to a standstill?" When Ria nodded, booger look firmly in place, he said, "please tell me she's older than this one?" I didn't have the heart to stop her when she shook her head and said, "Alex is roughly half my age." Before he could get all up in his own feels, I cut in with, "not a bad thing, Panther. You don't enjoy fighting. You're a good hunter, and very attentive in other ways. Way better, in my opinion." I mean, I wasn't lying. I liked Siobhan way more than I liked me.

Then I turned to Ria.

"I know of one, but it's really tough to do. Takes lots of Mana and the ability to control it. I'm not sure you can Shape it yet." She shrugged.

"If I cannot, then I cannot, but if you show me the Shape, I will at least know what goal I am training for." Which is how I spent the rest of the day showing Ria, and inadvertently Panther, how to Shape a Divine Ward.