Chương 998: Day Nine Hundred And Ninety-Six

Dear Diary, It's weird, with how much my Soul Realignment sessions with Dad wind up leaving me completely out of action for the whole day after, I kind of expected being heavily Soul damaged the way I am to leave me physically crippled somehow. Unable to keep up my normal level of Strength, Agility, or most of all Endurance. I definitely expected that I wouldn't be able to Shape normally. I mean, that just makes sense.

I learned that way back when Doc Zeccardi mentioned to Doc Glass that seeing and Shaping Mana is a Soul thing. Soul damage makes it harder to Shape. Okay, I really should have realized that when I gave up the Soul of my left arm to Revive Bill, but as I may have mentioned, I am dumb of ass. So with my Soul having a big gaping hole in it that lets all the overwhelming emotions leak out like a perforated colostomy bag, I'd assume Shaping would be rough.

Seriously, if emotions are flowing out, and I know I've pushed emotions into Shapes just like Mana, that means my Mana ought to be flowing out too. Then again, it may be another of those scale things.

Like yeah, if I tried to do one of those monstrously big Shapes again, like a Mana Blade big enough to guillotine a Kaiju, or a Mass Cure big enough to Cure everyone in the New Amsterdam area, the Mana might spill out and make a mess, but for little things like Translocating around the Practice Yard or Stabilizing Cadets who collapse in the middle of the warmup run, things where I don't even notice the expenditure, it's just not an issue.

It's not like I'm in that deeply depressed state where I can't feel anything at this point, after all. I mean, I might have been, maybe, for a bit, right after New Year's. The moment I executed the Spartan invaders, for example, I just didn't feel a fuckin' thing. Okay, maybe 'tired', but that is in fact a depression symptom for me. I've read where a lot of depressed folks just don't feel anything, like emotions are too much energy expenditure, so their brains just give that shit up for Lent or something.

At any rate, spent all day yesterday doing basic starter stuff with a whole class of Freshman Cadets. Yes, I did wind up having to catch one poor bastard before he faceplanted into the pavers during the morning run. I'm kinda wondering when that whole 'all the kids are surviving childhood, so the cream of the crop is creamier' is gonna kick in, because Cadet Aetos did not live up to the family name.

Okay, that's not entirely fair, he's Strong as a fuckin' ox, and based on what I saw when I had them going through the obstacle course in the afternoon, not lacking in Agility, but his Endurance? Absolute shit. That's not entirely fair to say either, because I'm judging him based on the standards of Phileo Academy Heroes, or at least Cadets, or at least maybe Freshman Cadets who are secretly Elder Primordials with outsized Endurance.

Okay, yeah, he passed out when all fifteen of his classmates had just started really sweating. So he got caught before he broke his nose and had a Stabilize shoved into him. I wasn't sure if Stabilize would negate the positive effects of training until collapse, so I kept it on the small side. Enough to wake him up, enough to get him on his feet. Then I set him to doing pushups, because I figured he'd be less likely to smash his face in falling from push up height.

I mean, I could have let him sit the rest of the run out, but I figured I'd save that for when I needed to shame some slacker who wasn't trying. Not that it'd work, but that's what my gym coach did to me, and I figured it was tradition or shit like that. Also, yeah, I've got an Aetos, a Lands, and an Obol in the class. Apparently Bonnie's family has some folks here on this side of the river as well.

Sadly, those were the only names that stood out, and I was focused more on doing my own small 'A' assessment of the Cadets to really memorize names and shit. Overall, with the exception of Aetos, their wind wasn't bad, their Agility was mid at best, but their Strength was surprisingly good across the board. Got home after a day of running around chivvying Cadets to find Marie had dinner waiting. Pizza, including all the varieties I'd come to enjoy here and now.

Of course, before I got a single bite, Saffron got home, took one look at me and, after a deep breath, pointed to my seat.

"Sit!" Because I am not an idiot, I sat. She then pointed to her seat.

"Sit!" I hadn't really been Co-Located all day, mostly because of my worries about Shaping, so I sat there as well. At which point she pointed to the seat on the far side of mine from hers.

"Sit!" I chuckled and planted another of me there. She smiled, clearly forcing herself not to laugh, and pointed at the seat on the far side of hers from mine.

"Sit!" At that point all four of me were laughing, and she said, "ladies?" while plonking that glorious ass down on my lap, then shoving her face in my cleavage and inhaling.

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked, as Siobhan claimed my lap above Saffron's normal seat, Tallulah arrived and perched on my leftmost lap, and Marie set one pizza down and sat on my right. She pouted.

"I have made a strategic error." Before I could tense up, she pouted harder and explained.

"You are scheduled to teach Physical Training three days every week, and Mathematics the other three, with a day of rest on Sunday."

"Okay, day of rest on Sunday is traditional, I can dig it. What did you mess up?" As the others each indulged in Tabitha sniffing of their own, each according to their nose and nature, she folded her arms under her bosom, causing it to ample more, and almost whined, "I should have had you doing independent Physical Training of your own at least one day a week." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

That got a round of chuckles from my ladies, which I cut off by the simple expedient of feeding them slices of pizza. They returned the favor, although honestly I just ate for the flavor, because that snuffling definitely got me some happy Worshipful vibes from all four of them. The kids, of course, declared us all silly. Okay, Menace, Daya, and Davey all did. Alex agreed with them, as did Lindsey, but she seemed like her agreement was mostly Clerical solidarity.

I carefully forced myself not to think about how Maze just smirked, and Ria followed her sister's lead. I very carefully did not think about how none of the kits joined in on the silly chorus. I've got sixteen daughters now, and if you'll note the lack of my favorite fuckin' adjective, you'll realize what I'm really not eager for them to start doing. I'd like at least, I dunno, a solid year of not worrying. Maybe two. I do not need precocious children of that sort.

Fortunately, the ladies kept their enjoyment of my natural Pumpkin Pie Spice smell to some general sniffing and snuffling between bites. I didn't quite catch the smell coming from the kitchen, either, until Marie brought the actual pumpkin pies in. Pumpkin pie, just cool enough to have set properly, with melting whipped cream atop. I did not feel embarrassed in the slightest taking one slice for each of me sitting there with a lady in my lap.

Plus one for them, because while I'm willing to share, I'm not gonna give all of it to them, because holy crap if Marie's cooking is awesome, her desserts are to die for. No dying tonight, though. Pizza, then pie, then bath time. My ladies refused to let me collapse into one of me until they'd each scrubbed one of me down. Okay, Siobhan didn't so much 'scrub me down' as rub a washcloth over my back and abs while whining just low enough it didn't carry over the sound of the shower water.

After I'd washed that me off reasonably well, I leaned over to her ear and whispered, "you gonna fall asleep in the Bath?"

"No?"

"You gonna pass out in the Bedroom?" While she giggled and squealed, I hugged her and added, "okay, yeah, wrong question."

"What's the right one?"

"How many times before you pass out? Two? Three? Five?" She got a little over pink right then. Must have been the hot water. She pulled my ear around and said, "thank you, beloved Tabitha." Gotta say, it still lights a fire hearing her say my name the way she does.

"For what?"

"For caring for me so assiduously that, even after a year of pregnancy, I can tell you without doubt that the number will be more than one." She giggled.

"Even if I'm not lying flat as you see how high that count can go." I carried her to the tub, where Saffron finally let me collapse down to one of me, after which she nuzzled up to Siobhan.

"May I inflate that count further?" Siobhan gave her an arch look and, one hand on her belly, murmured, "I think you've inflated me quite enough for now, Mistress." Saffron gave her a look, and Siobhan smiled and said, "so inflated, filled with your child, Saffron." Yeah, looked like Saffron liked Siobhan orally caressing her name too.

"I cannot get you further pregnant, Darling."

"No, but..." When Saffron raised an eyebrow, she muttered out, "you'll put me out too fast." Saffron lay there, mouth working, until Tallulah cleared her throat and said, "you're welcome to release your tensions with me, Mistress." Saffron pouted again.

"I'm not overwhelmed with frustrations. I wanted to see how high I could get that number." She paused, then quietly said, "I wanted Siobhan." Before Siobhan could say anything, Tallulah reached over and traced her fingers across Saffron's face.

"You don't want me?" Yeah, Saffron caught on real, real quick. Not surprising.

"Oh. Oh, Elle. I didn't mean to hurt you." Tallulah just nodded.

"I know. Perhaps..."

"Go on?"

"Perhaps you could test me instead of Siobhan?" Saffron started, then smiled.

"Is this your roundabout way of saying you'd like to dally with me tonight?" Now it was Tallulah's turn to pout.

"I didn't think it was all that roundabout. Simply less bold and coarse than saying, 'please fuck me tonight, Saffron'." At that point Marie, who'd been playing with the kids, paying special attention to the two new ones, broadcast, Menace is right. Silly, into all our heads. For those in the cheap seats, the count wasn't clear in Siobhan's case, because when her eyes fluttered shut after six, her abdomen occupant did the macarena and woke her up.

Then did that again another three times after eight, eleven, and twelve. As I gently kissed her forehead, watching the little one stretching her belly and still not waking her, Saffron groused, "I'm not sure whether to be irked that Darling kept waking back up or that this one hasn't succumbed yet." When I looked over at Tallulah, I realized she'd joined club 'hot enough to make drooling look sexy'. She also wasn't blinking.

"Tallulah? You dead?"

"Hnnmmmghh." As Saffron and I looked each other, then back at Tallulah, she thought, speaking hard. Thinking hard. Continue? We both chuckled, and I said, "you want us to wait for you?" Saffron's hands slipped into motion as she looked at me and said, "you don't want to watch?" I snorted.

"I'd join in if it wouldn't mess up the count." Saffron just laughed and tossed her head toward the Divan, where I realized right then that Marie had been lounging there doing some knitting.

"You want a turn, Marie?" She smiled, patted the divan next to her, and once I'd settled with Siobhan cradled in my arms, leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Took Mine." before settling back to watch the show, knitting needles flashing. She may have paused now and then to lay a claw on Siobhan's belly until it settled down. In the morning, Saffron sent me to the Temple of Love. So weird, having a bunch of kids I barely knew not just happy to see me, but happy to have me teaching them Math of all things.

Even still doing that 'Worship my brain' thing, not to mention some of them who'd been nervous when I walked in relaxing completely when they saw I was the one teaching. I might have spent longer than I normally did teaching. Definitely wound up staying as long as there were kids who wanted more, right up until some time in the late afternoon, when Karen walked into the classroom.

"Pardon, Children. Goddess?" I did my best to hide my tension from Karen.

"Whatcha need, Karen?"

"You've a visitor at the door." I thought about the time of day, then turned to my class.

"Okay, kids. I'll be back on Thursday. Keep practicing, okay?" So weird to have them all sad to see me go, happy to hear I'd be back, and most of all to get even vague, unspecified homework. Almost as weird as seeing Saffron Rae waiting in the entryway. Upon seeing me, she stepped forward, reached for my hand, and said, "Tabitha? Or should I say Mimic? I... I need your help."