Gwenvair shuffled a bit uncomfortably, then pushed her mother’s head further up to rest on his shoulder and he nodded in thanks before striding away with ease. Gwenvair quickly leapt to his side then began leading the way, her face a brilliant shade of red. Kilniara also joined him on his other side, just as red in her blushes.
Joe saw this and looked between the two before looking behind to find the crowd left behind and he turned back to the girls.
“Why are you blushing so much? Did I do something wrong or offensive?”
Gwenvair said nothing, but her blush increased. Kilniara, more used to Joe’s cultural infancy, answered him quickly, if still with embarrassment.
“You… carry the Matriarch as a man carries his wife.”
Joe blinked at that, then flushed red himself, “Oh. I apologize. That was not my intent at all. I promise you. I have no intentions on the Matriarch. Please know this, Gwenvair. Kilniara,”
Joe looked to Gwenvair and Kilniara at that, pleading for them to understand. When he looked at Kilniara, she was still blushing, but was smiling shyly and he knew that at least she understood him. But when he looked at Gwenvair, she was looking away from him but her blush was still evident. A harrumph came from the Matriarch and he glanced down.
“Calm yourself, girl. He has no interest in me! He only carries me.”
Joe glanced down and saw that the Matriarch was also blushing and realized he’d done something that was culturally powerful and meaningful, but he was in it now, and fought to keep his blush down. Joe looked to Kilniara, hoping to use the Matriarch’s statement to solidify his innocence.
“Really, Kilniara. I do not seek anything with the Matriarch.”
Kilniara smiled happily and looked up at him, relieving him. She brought a hand to his cheek then nodded and turned away.
“I believe you.”
Joe hid his relief but then was interrupted by Gwenvair on his other side, “Truly? You are not seeking the Matriarch?”
Joe look at her and spoke quite seriously, wishing to nip this in the bud quickly, “Truly. I have no designs on your mother. Cheating is abhorrent to me, and being a part of cheating is as well. I could never do this to your mother or father.”
Gwenvair searched his face carefully, and Joe found himself growing nervous and his nervousness drove him to keep moving but straight faced as well. Gwenvair seemed to find what she was looking in his face and smiled softly before looking away.
“He does not seek me for his Queen, fool girl.”
“Of course!” Joe spoke quickly with a bit of indignation, “I hate disloyalty, and cannot be the cause of it either. I told you this already. I will not do that to your mother and father.”
Gwenvair smiled and nodded, but didn’t look at Joe, “You do not wish to do that?”
Joe smiled nervously, and tried a small joke, “I really have absolutely no desire to be your father!”
Gwenvair looked at him with wide eyes, shock rippling across her face before she began to giggle brilliantly. Joe felt relief rush through him and joined in her laughter before he once again heard the unhappy grunt in his chest.
“You do not have to reject me so firmly!”
Joe laughed at that and shook his head, “Your beauty aside, to steal from another man, to ruin a marriage and destroy relationships… I truly despise these things, and could never do such things.”
“Widows do not attract you?” the Matriarch asked, a soft smile on her lips.
“Are you a widow?”
The Matriarch shook her head no against his chest, then groaned at the pain with a hiss, "No. I am not."
Joe took a deep breath before answering her question, “I apologize, Matriarch, but I already have another and will never be disloyal either.”
The Matriarch seemed to relax in his arms and though he didn’t notice it, Gwenvair stiffened, then shivered at his statement. He didn’t notice, but suddenly Kilniara was at Gwenvair’s side and was hugging her, grinning brightly with excitement and Joe smiled back at her, glad that she was trusting enough at what he was doing but also happy to see that she believed it and was so touched at his declaration of loyalty. Gwenvair hugged Kilniara back, seeming genuinely happy for her, smiling so brightly that Joe had never seen her so happy. The Matriarch as well smiled, speaking softly.
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“You are… very loyal.”
“Of course,” Joe said, “It is… important to me.”
Their conversation ended at that point, but the two girls buzzed in quiet conversation with one another, Gwenvair and Kilniara now several steps ahead of him as they lead them but kept their conversation soft enough he could not hear. They arrived at the bathing halls and Joe found the bath that was prepared for the Matriarch. He walked in and settled her carefully on a bench before stepping back.
“Let her rest in the waters as long as she wishes but do not let her stay long in cool water. Once the waters begin to cool too much, take her out, or give her more warm water. We need to keep her loose or she will stiffen up and it will only be more painful later and in the mornings. Try to not let the water cool too much, if you can.”
Gwenvair quickly nodded at that while Kilniara shooed him out of the room and Joe found himself outside as three voices began talking rapidly with one another, the Matriarch’s voice cool but calm while Kilniara seemed to reply to the Matriarch. Huh… very polite… must be trying to include her and ask about her.
Regardless, Joe found himself sitting on the floor outside the bathroom door waiting for the bath to end, quickly becoming bored. He flipped open his status and began going over his options but then stopped as he realized that he could be under surveillance and didn’t want to be rude or cause worry. He’d already made a pretty big mistake picking up the Matriarch, so now found himself second guessing a lot of what he could or should do.
Regardless, he used his memory to consider options for his next job. Next Loki priest job, of course. Next staff job. Uh… and party job! Definitely get the party jobs rolling. What about the last one… oh… right… an education job! Let me do the doctor job… that would be smart. Gotta work on increasing the healing power in the group. Man… wanna check my job gains and my status.
Joe’s mind whirled with possibilities and found himself preoccupied enough to lose track of time and be surprised when the door opened. Both Kilniara and Gwenvair stood before him with the Matriarch much more active, if still in a lot of pain, propped up between them. She was looking at him easily now, able to keep her head up, but obviously struggling as her body shook under the strain.
“You should really try to lay down now. You shouldn’t be standing like this. It will only increase the pain and slow your healing. Let’s get you to a bed. You need to rest.”
The Matriarch sighed, then nodded, “Of course. Return me to my chambers.”
Joe nodded, then stopped, “Is it… appropriate for me to be there?”
The Matriarch smiled at that, “You worry of that after you laid hands on me?”
Joe blinked at that, then glanced between Kilniara and Gwenvair, “Is that… bad?”
Gwenvair broke into laughter at that and looked at Kilniara, “He truly is like a child!”
Kilniara giggled in response and Joe rolled his eyes, but smiled, “Hey! Laughing at me is not nice!”
Gwenvair laughed even harder, as did Kilniara, but the Matriarch only quirked and eyebrow and a corner of her lips in a smirk, “You mocked me for my pain, and now you complain of yours?”
Joe grinned back at that, “It makes their laughter more enjoyable.”
The Matriarch looked at her daughter, then Kilniara, and saw both of their bright laughter and only smiled and nodded, “You seem to be correct.”
Joe shrugged and smiled, “Sometimes. One thing I have learned is that women find men wrong more often than not!”
Her smile grew at that and she raised a brow once again, “A wise man! Quite the catch!”
Kilniara blushed at that, her face going bright right, just as Gwenvair’s did, and Joe shook his head and sighed, “Don’t give her any ideas! I’ll be in big trouble!”
The Matriarch fired back with a grin, “I believe it is too late!”
“Yes, it probably is,” Joe sighed with a shrug.
The Matriarch laughed at that, then moaned, as Gwenvair opened the door to her room and the four walked inside. Joe made sure to leave the door open, not comfortable having it closed while the two girls walked the Matriarch to a comfortable divan where she could lay down to rest. Joe waited for them to comfortably settle before finding another seat where he could sit, picking it up and setting it down closer to the divan where the Matriarch and the other two sat. The Matriarch lay on her back but was half reclined on the seat and Joe suggested a change.
“She will be very uncomfortable like that. Allow her to lay completely flat. It is likely best, for now. If you have a masseuse, it is also an incredible help for the pain, but it does not add much to the healing. A healer will completely remove the pain and return you to health.”
Gwenvair leapt to help, Kilniara also doing the same, and the two soon had the Matriarch laying on the divan on her back while sending a maid out to call in a masseuse and healer. Joe nodded, then settled in his own seat as he sighed deeply, preparing his thoughts.
“What do you know of how the body strengthens itself?”
All three looked at Joe with some confusion before they shook their heads, Gwenvair speaking for them, “We know of the stats growing and developing as your digits increase, so does your power.”
Joe nodded, “That is true, but that is a system gift… a … system enforcement? Developing your body has nothing to do with the system and…” Joe paused, Uh… hmm… is the system apart of the magic? Or is it separate from magic? It’s gotta be made by magic, right? So… can’t be magic itself? Maybe? Garnedell seemed pretty firm about being from a magic-less place… what should… Joe quickly stifled his thoughts and erred on the side of caution. “… and is something specific to your body only.”
That last statement seemed to confuse all of them and Joe continued, “Your physical body grows weaker or stronger as you use it. It is a strength in your body and not the system. Even if you never grow your system skills or … digits; even if your digits remain exactly the same, you can become stronger or weaker purely from your body. So even a single digit commoner could become strong enough to fight double or even some triple digit people even with help from the system because they have made their own strength equal to that of a triple digit, but it seems that the greatest strength of a base human is triple digits or so. I would think that Acokzau are likely to be a bit weaker in strength than most base humans and likely other species would be stronger, some even much more so than base although I am uncertain because I do not know anyone beyond base humans.
“In fact, I do not know if my training will work with Acokzau or with other species and can only test it carefully with them. That is why I have only pushed them until exhaustion and not until what your mother has felt. What your mother did is very effective and one of the best ways to train your body, but it is also dangerous and can greatly harm the body if you are not cautious. If you do this exercise with caution and regular rest, you will continually increase your strength. If you stretch, then you will continually increase your dexterity and flexibility. It is wise to do both with intermittent days of rest and recuperation for your body.”