Chương 103: Chapter 100 – Big Strong Chelsea

Freya sighed from her place beneath the tree.

"Ugh." She looked past Chelsea toward the edge of Bradford's shell.

"It would seem your turtle…"

"Tortoise," Chelsea corrected.

"Your turtle has finally attracted the attention of some of the other Valkyr. They are on their way here now. It will be a few minutes though." Freya had settled into the shade with one shoulder against the trunk. Chelsea sat a few feet away in the grass, close enough to talk comfortably but with enough space that the whole thing still felt casual. She had one hand buried in the wildflowers and was slowly sorting the stems between her fingers while Bradford continued his slow, steady walk through the pasture.

"You need to come out of your room more often. Hell, even if it's just down the hall to mine would be a good step. I don't mind visiting you in yours, but I want to actually hang out with you more." Freya's attention stayed on the distant edge of the shell.

"But I don't want to talk to the other girls."

"You don't have to." Chelsea replied simply, brushing a bit of loose grass from her skirt.

"You can be completely silent and stoic like you were at my manor and just talk when it's us like this. By the way I am going to be spending a lot of time on my turt… Tortoise."

"Turtle. I'll be more than happy to join you up here. It's so pleasant out…" Freya's expression changed.

"Bah. They got here faster than I expected." She stood and glanced toward the tree, already looking for a place to be out of sight.

"I will be behind the tree if you need me." Chelsea laughed.

"That's fine." Freya stepped behind the tree just as a pair of griffins crested the top of Bradford's shell. Their talons dug into the grassy surface, wings folding tight against their bodies as they steadied themselves. A moment later, Virtue climbed into view, followed by Principle and Absolutes.

"Havoc?" Chelsea looked up from the flowers and gave them a pleasant smile. Virtue approached first, her eyes moving across the field of wildflowers, the shade tree, and the slow rise and fall of Bradford's movement beneath their feet.

"What is this?" Virtue asked.

"This? This is Bradford. He's my steed." Virtue stared at her, then at the tree, then at the enormous shell beneath them.

"No your steed will be a griffin, or a Pegasus or…" Chelsea spread her wings and gestured toward her left one.

"I don't need a flying steed. I need a Bradford. He makes me happy and is such a good boy." One of the griffins shifted behind Virtue and clicked its beak. Was it offended?

"Where did you even get this thing?" she asked.

"Freya?" Chelsea asked, seeing if that were a valid option.

"Try again." Virtue said.

"Where did you get it Havoc?"

"Seriously!" Chelsea replied.

"I asked her if this could be my steed because I loved this tree back home so much and…" She looked around at the field and the branches overhead.

"Here we are."

"Why would she do that for you? As far as I've heard she's still not even your patron god. And where would you find Freya? She only appears during important events."

"Or to talk to her most favoritest demon in the whole wide world." Chelsea replied with a smile. Virtue let out a laugh.

"A weak little shit like you? Why would she waste her time?" Chelsea rose to her feet. Bradford's next step caused the grass beneath her boots to rock gently, but she had already gotten used to the movement. She gave Virtue a proper curtsy.

"I'm sorry my strength is not up to the level you wish it were, Virtue."

"Stop saying sorry about everything and do better! And quit lying about where this monster came from!" she yelled. Chelsea straightened. Virtue's griffin lowered its head slightly, sensing its rider's anger. Principle remained quiet, watching the exchange with a tight expression. Absolutes stood beside them, her face unreadable but her attention fixed on Chelsea. Chelsea took a breath.

"Virtue, did you know that Freya can talk?" Chelsea continued before Virtue could interrupt her.

"But there is only one person in the world she talks to at a time. Coincidentally, that one person has a sub-class that starts with the letter H. Oh sorry. You haven't been attending my reading classes. H makes a hhh sound. Can you think of a subclass among the Valkyr that starts with a hhh sound?"

"Havoc." Absolutes answered from beside Virtue. Chelsea's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Yes yes yes. Awesome job Absolutes. Havoc starts with an H which makes a hhh sound. See what happens when you show up for class Virtue. Absolutes is already killing it." Absolutes smiled, proud of herself. Virtue did not appear to appreciate the lesson.

"You're trying to say that Freya only talks to you?" Virtue asked.

"And apparently spoils me? Look at this guy. He's perfect!" Chelsea gestured proudly toward the tree and the field of flowers around them. Bradford continued his slow walk below, completely unconcerned with the argument happening on his back. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"This isn't a steed. It's a monster. We need to kill it before it gets loose in Valhalla." Chelsea's smile vanished. She held up one hand, then turned back toward the tree.

"Bradford, please stop moving." Bradford obeyed. The gentle rocking stopped all at once.

"Whoa." Chelsea spread her feet to steady herself.

"I was used to that." Virtue glanced down, then across the shell.

"So you control it?"

"Of course I do. He's my steed." Chelsea gave her the smile. Virtue stared at Bradford with a new expression. The anger did not leave her face, but something greedy slipped in beside it.

"I want him. Let me have him. You take my griffin."

"Oh no thank you. I appreciate the offer but you need to be able to fly."

"That wasn't a request. I am taking him. You can get a different steed." Chelsea stepped backward until her palm rested against the tree trunk. For a brief second, she saw Virtue's posture shift, preparing to move.

"Again, no thank you." She pressed her palm flat to the bark.

"Back in the pouch you go." Bradford shrank to the size of Chelsea's palm in an instant. The field disappeared beneath them. Chelsea flapped hard, throwing herself downward to reach Bradford before anyone else could recover. The sudden drop caught the other Valkyr, the griffins, and Freya completely off guard. Virtue, Principle, Absolutes, and their mounts plummeted at normal falling speed while Chelsea folded her wings just enough to dive faster. She reached the ground first.

Bradford landed in the grass near her boots, tiny and unharmed. Chelsea bent down, scooped him up, and kissed the top of his head before tucking him safely into her pouch. The other three Valkyr hit the ground with less grace. Their griffins recovered quickly, wings snapping out as talons scraped against the pasture. Virtue was on her feet almost immediately. She was seething. Chelsea had not seen that kind of anger from her since nearly the beginning of the month. Then, strangely, it disappeared.

Virtue's gaze lifted past her shoulder. A shadow fell over Chelsea from behind. She had dropped the other Valkyr. She had dropped their mounts. She had also dropped Freya. And Freya was now standing behind her. Chelsea turned around. Freya stood behind her in full armor, helm back in place, with the shadow of her massive frame falling across Chelsea and the grass around her. For one awful second, Chelsea wondered if she had actually managed to make Freya angry.

Then Freya reached down, took Chelsea by the wrist, and started walking. Chelsea stumbled for half a step before catching herself. Freya's grip was firm but not painful, and she did not drag Chelsea so much as make it very clear they were leaving. Behind them, Virtue, Principle, and Absolutes remained where they were. The griffins shifted restlessly, wings half-open, their attention fixed on Freya. Chelsea twisted enough to look back over her shoulder and gave them a small wave.

"Bye Virtue, Bye Absolutes, hey Principle, we don't spend enough time together." Principle looked too startled to answer. Absolutes lifted one hand in a small return wave. Virtue did not move at all. Freya continued across the pasture without slowing. Chelsea had to take quick steps to keep pace. She glanced up at the goddess's helm, but Freya gave no sign of anything. No laughter. No comment. No reaction at all. From the outside, she looked exactly the way the Valkyr expected her to look. Silent. Imposing.

Completely untouchable. They passed the stables. Chelsea could still feel the weight of Virtue's stare against her back. Freya led her beyond a low fence and around the side of a storage building where they were hidden from the pasture. The moment they were out of sight, Freya turned back to Chelsea and started laughing.

"You dropped all three of them!" Chelsea relaxed immediately. The tension left her shoulders, and she looked down at the wrist Freya had been holding.

"Yeah, sorry I dropped you too. That was my bad." Freya released her wrist and waved that away.

"Don't worry about it, I can fly. I was ready for it when you started saying the words to make him shrink." Chelsea stared up at her.

"You can fly? Then why did you have me carry you here?" Freya's laughter shifted into a grin. She leaned slightly closer, still wearing the helm.

"I liked being held by my big strong Chelsea and her big strong muscles." The voice was soft and exaggerated enough that Chelsea could only stare at her for a second before committing fully to the bit. She stood straight, planted her feet, and gave a traditional bicep flex. The pose lasted several seconds. Then she glanced at her arm, lowered it, and poked her bicep with one finger.

"The problem with my ailment. Nothing about my body will change. Unlike mister muscles-mcgee over here." The goddess leaned one shoulder against the storage building, finally letting the full weight of the public performance fall away. Chelsea looked back toward the pasture. Bradford was safe in her pouch. Virtue had not taken him. Freya had come out of her room, spoken to Chelsea in front of others without speaking to them, and then laughed about the whole thing the moment no one could see.

That felt like progress. A strange, ridiculous kind of progress. But progress. Amber Amber was running out of room. That was the newest problem. Her world had always been small, but lately it had become smaller. She could feel more of it now. She could feel her hands and feet and even the bend of her knees. The pressure of her mother around her whenever her mother moved, sat down or rolled in her sleep. Amber was not sure whether being able to feel more was an improvement. On one hand, it proved she was growing.

On the other hand, growing apparently meant being squeezed. She shifted one foot and felt the faint press of resistance around it. The movement was tiny, but it was hers. A few weeks ago, commanding any part of her body had been a fight. Now she could at least kick on command and turn just enough for a more comfortable position. Her other senses were still unreliable. Sound came through her mother as deep vibration and muffled rhythm. Light did not mean anything yet. Taste and smell were not worth considering.

Touch had improved, but only enough to make her aware that her body was trapped inside another body. Mana was different. Mana had become easier. At first, sensing it had required all of Amber's focus. She had to quiet everything else and reach outward carefully, tracing the living presences beyond her mother without losing herself in the blur. Now the awareness waited at the edge of her mind. She could find mana surrounding her mother. Beyond that, she could sense others moving nearby.

The shapes outside her mother were still unclear. Amber could not see faces or expressions, but the blobs of mana had become less vague with practice. Her mother was the center of everything, strong and close. Her supposed father was easy to recognize now because of his size and the way the missing mana lingered near her mother more often than not. Other presences came and went. Some moved with quick bursts. Others barely moved at all. Amber had started using them to measure the day.

When this father figure stayed near her mother for long stretches, Amber assumed they were resting. When many presences gathered nearby, her mother was probably around family. If the mana was chaotic and Amber was shifted with heavier rhythm and more movement, she suspected her mother was walking or training or doing some other deeply inconsiderate activity while carrying a passenger. After a while, she pulled up her status screen again. The words appeared clearly in her awareness, still in English.

They were readable despite her useless eyes. Her name remained Amber Wixx. The ability list held her attention. Amber focused on the ability Berserking Rush. For one brief moment, something in her body tried to answer. Her muscles tightened. Her tiny limbs jerked. Even her mother shifted immediately, and the entire world pressed closer around Amber in response. Then a notification appeared. Ability unavailable. Body does not meet activation requirements. Amber stared at the message. That was probably for the best.

She did not know what she had expected. Charging into battle from inside her mother would have been disaster. Still, the fact that something had responded at all was not nothing. The ability was there. It simply could not be used yet. Amber dismissed the screen and let her attention drift outward again. The mana surrounding her mother. Her possible father waited nearby. Other shapes moved at the edge of her awareness, blurry but easier to follow than before. Then something new happened.

Something Amber should have expected eventually. An unfamiliar pressure. Amber reflexively kicked against it which made the pressure go away. This was followed by muffled voices of excitement. Her mother had informed someone else of her and they were feeling her. Amber wanted to sigh. Another unfamiliar hand pressed against her. She kicked it too. The space was only so big and it didn't exactly feel good to be pressed on like that. She was getting bigger.

Amber settled into the warmth and pressure, listening to the distant rhythm of her mother's body while her awareness brushed against the mana beyond it. The mana void blobs were leaving. Good. Sooner or later, she was going to get out. Until then, she would just keep practicing with the mana.