Chapter 253: First

“Hey, Blue,” Jay called out to Aila as the soldiers and mercenaries broke camp in the morning light. “Do you have a minute?”

“Yes, of course,” Aila replied after her eyes settled on Jay’s face. “Just a moment.”

Aila quietly finished rolling up a large blanket before packing it into the wagon. Once she was done, she stepped away from the others and followed Jay into the trees just outside the clearing. The two walked together silently, though Jay reached down and took Aila’s hand in hers. The redhead made no comment, yet she squeezed her hand tightly.

Once the two had walked a couple of minutes away, they stopped next to a couple of large pines, putting the trunks between themselves and the camp.

“What’s wrong?” Aila asked, looking up at Jay with concern in her eyes.

“Nothing,” Jay assured her, “just one more second. Kerr and I are almost here, too.”

A few seconds later, Syd and Dys came around the trees with a confused therion in tow. The confusion on Kerr’s face quickly morphed into apprehension as soon as she saw Jay and Aila waiting for them.

“Oh, shit, we’re having the talk now, aren’t we,” Kerr cursed as her tail tucked between her legs.

“What talk?” Aila asked, this time with more force in her tone. “Jadis, what’s going on?”

Jay heaved a sigh as her other two selves took up positions on either side of her. Jadis didn’t need all three of her to be present for this, but she absolutely felt they had to be there, to show that all of her attention was on her girlfriends at that moment. Dys and Syd became silent shadows as Jay became the mouthpiece for the important conversation.

“Kerr, do you want to say something first or should I just lead?”

“Well, I—” Kerr started, then glanced at Aila’s blankly composed face and blanched. “Merde

. You know what, you go ahead and take this one.”

Jadis couldn’t blame Kerr for balking at the idea of explaining the details of her class to Aila. As much as she treasured and appreciated the redhead, the girl could be intimidating when angry. She really knew how to lean into the stern lecturer persona which made a person feel small, even when they were a literal giant. For the sake of peace between them, Jadis would broach the issue. Better to rip the bandage off, too.

“Aila,” Jay said as she looked down at her redheaded lover, “Kerr’s third class isn’t Slut Sniper. It’s Bonded Slut Sniper.”

There was a tense moment of silence as Aila processed Jadis’ abrupt statement. As the seconds ticked by, her body almost imperceptibly stiffened. Aila’s emotionless expression barely changed, however Jadis couldn’t help but notice the way her Jaw tightened.

“Oh.”

Jadis waited for a moment to see if Aila had more she wanted to say, however no more words came from her mouth other than the single syllable. Sighing out of her nose, Jay slowly crouched down so that she was looking slightly up at the mage. Gently, but firmly, she took Aila’s hands in hers. Jay’s eyes never left Aila’s.

“I love you,” Jay spoke clearly, her words ringing in the crisp morning air. “I love you. And for a third time, I love you. You are closer to me than anyone else in the whole world. Aila, you are the first love of my life, and I include the life I lived in my past life, too.”

“But not the only love of your life,” Aila whispered quietly.

“No,” Jay slowly shook her head. “You’re not. I’m not sure if that makes me a bad person, but as much as I love you, I love Kerr, too. She’s just as important to me as you and I can’t imagine a life without either of you in it. I’ll also take this moment to say that I think I feel that same way about Eir and Thea. I would never, ever want to lose either of them. I care about all four of you tremendously, more than I ever knew was possible before I met any of you. When we talked about our relationship before, you seemed accepting of the idea of sharing me with Kerr and others. Do you still feel that way?”

Jadis’ throats tightened as she waited for Aila’s response. She could feel her hearts beating faster than they had ever beaten before in any battle. So much was dependent on Aila’s feelings. If, in that moment, Aila rejected her, Jadis wouldn’t know what to do. She couldn’t even think of the possibility, it hurt too much. But she waited. Ultimately, the decision was up to Aila. She couldn’t make it for her.

“I do,” Aila whispered, her words practically drowned out by the blood pounding in Jadis’ ears. “I do still feel that way.”

Jay gulped, her whole body sagging with a relief so sudden that she felt dizzy for a moment. She had to take a few seconds to just breathe and blink away a stinging in her eyes.

“Good,” Jay said as her thumbs rubbed Aila’s hands. “Good. I’m so, so glad to hear that.”

“But you’re still pissed, aren’t you,” Kerr stated.

The therion stood awkwardly off to the side, one arm wrapped around herself as she watched Aila and Jay. Her tail was still between her legs and her cow-like ears drooped low. She looked vulnerable, almost fragile, in a way the brash woman rarely did.

“Yes,” Aila said, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared it before continuing. “Yes, I am. I’m jealous. Jealous and envious. It’s stupid and pointless to be, but I am. I can’t help it.”

If Aila was going to say anything more, she didn’t get the chance to as Jay pulled her in close and wrapped her up in a powerful hug. Since she was crouched down, it was Jay’s head pressed into Aila’s chest for once. Her girlfriend made no attempt to resist the hug and, after a couple of heartbeats, melted into it. Her thin arms wrapped around Jay’s head as her face buried into her hair.

“You’re mine,” Aila murmured as she held Jay tightly. “I found you first.”

Jadis’s heart trembled at the pure, plaintive need in Aila’s voice. It made her want to hold her even tighter, keep her bundled up in her arms for the rest of eternity. Given half the chance, she would have remained in that same hug until the sun faded to nothing.

It was Aila who pulled away, gently forcing Jay to lean her head back. She let out a soft sigh, a bemused expression on her face as she turned to look at Kerr.

“I’m sorry. That was immensely childish of me. It’s just…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Kerr said with a slight shrug. “I mean, you’re the top dog here and I just kind of cut the line in front of you. Seriously, though, it was never my intention. You’re the head wife. I completely bow to you, no contest. I just happened to have gotten this whole bonded thing before you. I won’t tell any other girls about it either, I swear. I wouldn’t try to subvert you like that.”

Aila stared blankly at Kerr for a long minute before letting out a puff of laughter.

“Therions…”

“What?” Kerr responded with a frown. “Look, I said I swear—”

“Shut up and come here,” Aila motioned as she opened up one arm to let Kerr join in the hug between her and Jay.

“Oh, uh, alright…”

In the next moment Aila had an arm wrapped around Kerr as she leaned her head against the woman. Jay shifted to encompass them both in the tight hug. A second after that, all three were enveloped by Dys and Syd, turning them into a ball of warmth.

“You know we aren’t married,” Aila murmured with her eyes closed as she accepted the comforting embrace.

“Yeah, but, the principle is the same,” Kerr replied in a kind of petulant tone.

The trio was silent for a while longer, just basking in the glow before eventually Aila spoke up again. The redhead let out a sigh, her shoulders heaving as she opened her eyes and glared at Kerr.

“You haven’t gotten rid of your dick yet, have you?”

“Nope,” Kerr quipped. “Sorry. Sort of has a mind of its own, doesn’t it?”

“Perhaps,” Aila snorted. “Though if it does, it’s hardly much of a change from its source.”

The group pulled out of the hug then. As Kerr adjusted her pants, Jay rose back up to her normal height and smiled down at Aila.

“So, we’re good?”

“Yes,” Aila said with a half-smile. “I would hope you’d know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn’t throw a fit over something so petty.”

“So you aren’t mad at me?” Kerr asked with a hopeful lilt to her voice.

“No,” Aila said, though her eyes narrowed slightly. “Again, I’m not petty. I have Jadis’ love and I don’t need a class to prove it. However, once I do reach level sixty, I’m going to have a bonded class anyway so it makes no difference.”

“See,” Syd laughed, holding up a hand. “That’s what I said! The system would be broken beyond all repair if it didn’t.”

“That’s enough nonsense for now,” Aila commanded as she straightened her shirt. “We still need to finish packing up camp. Plus, we have to prepare for the ambush that should be happening later today. We can’t spend all morning fretting over our feelings.”

“True enough,” Dys chuckled as she and Kerr followed behind a lightly blushing Aila. “We do have a lot to do today.”

As they walked back together, Kerr’s words about Aila being the first wife drifted through her head. The thought brought images of Aila in a wedding dress, followed shortly after by a vision of Kerr in once as well, though it was a significantly more revealing dress than Aila’s, as would suit the shameless therion. After that, she couldn’t help but imagine Eir and Thea in white dresses as well, bouquets of flowers in hand. Jadis had no idea if marriage on Oros even involved white dresses or bouquets or anything else she was familiar with from back on Earth, but the image was tremendously pleasing to her.

Then, as they neared the camp, Jadis’ imagination led her to thoughts of her lovers together with her in a quiet little home, their smiling faces filled with joy as their hands rested on bellies swollen with child. She could practically see Aila standing there with a newborn held in her arms as Kerr cooed adoringly over the beautiful little baby.

“Holy shit,” Jadis murmured as her stomachs clenched with need and longing as the vision of her pregnant lovers flitted through her mind.

“What is it?” Aila asked, turning to look up at Jay as Kerr did the same with a raised eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“No, ah, no. It’s nothing,” Jay mumbled with a shake of her head. “Just, um, had a weird thought. Nothing important.”

Whether they believed Jadis or not, neither woman pressed the issue. Soon they were all back at camp and joined the rest of the group with finishing up the packing. As Jadis threw herself into the work, she couldn’t quite shake the image of her girls with children from the back of her mind. The distraction wasn’t helped when she remembered that she had a skill in her arsenal that could specifically ensure that her daydream came to pass. She’d been using Potency Alteration to make sure they could all engage in lewd ritual sex without worry of an unwanted pregnancy, but there was another possible use for the skill. Should the desire arise, Jadis could essentially guarantee that anyone she slept with would get with child.

Children had never been a strong desire in Jadis’ life, but the more she thought about her lovers having children, the more she liked the idea. Would they look more like her, with marble-like skin, or would the children have color more like their mothers? Or would they be some kind of mix between the two? What about their eyes and hair? Would they be giants? Half giants? Would they be hermaphrodites? Or was there a chance they could be any sex since Nephilim had four different versions?

“—ay. Jay!”

“Huh?” Jay was startled as she looked down at whoever was calling out to her.

Eir stood next to her, her dark purple eyes almost glowing as she smiled serenely up at her. For a brief moment, the image Jay had of a heavily pregnant Eir superimposed itself over the elf standing before her. The vision made Jay’s heart leap before it was dispelled with a blink.

“Captain Willa says that she and her soldiers are ready to set out. Are you ready as well?”

“Yes,” Jay nodded, smiling at her priestess of love as she put aside all thoughts that didn’t pertain to the mission at hand. “I’m ready. Let’s go finish this vendetta so we can get on with our lives.”

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