Dear Diary,

It's weird, getting back to school, to the Academy where everybody looks on me not as some kind of rampaging murder beast, but just, y'know, a Hero among Heroes and Marshall duBois' chosen successor in the field of shit-kickery.

Seriously, other than Prellwitz, who is from New Amsterdam, where there are like, cults worshipping me and shit, pretty much everybody else in the Academy just treats me as Tabitha. Y'know, 'don't spar with her unless you have some weird fetishes about being a pretzel, and be sure you get your food before she starts eating, but otherwise just a dorky clown'. That first bit might eventually cause me some troubles. I know I can't legitimately get Skills, but I still feel like I benefit from practice. Like, I've gotten pretty good at thinking fast, so if I've practiced shit enough, I can make it happen. I don't know how I got the fast thinking thing, but my best guess is it had something to do with rubbing my head against Saffron's until some brains moved over due to diffusion or some shit.

Probably the delinquent ones who cut brain cell school and got isekaied into my skull. I said fast, not good.

Oh, shit, I wonder if that applies to antics? Like, yeah, I'm fast and shit, I get that. Although I'mma state right here and now that I prefer 'decisive'. I see Teh Hawt, I decide to rub it all over me or vice versa. But I'm really hoping that I'm not fooling myself about the mutual satisfaction with our antics. Okay, back early on Marie made it pretty clear she felt okay with things, what with purring so loud it shook the fuckin' walls, but things have changed. Yeah, I'm a really responsive durable toy for her, which is fine if I'm just, y'know, yet another in a long line of playthings, but now the M word is involved. She's got to be thinking long term. What with the general lack of mortality in the family, really long term. Priorities change when situations get altered that much, y'know?

I know that I'm more than just a bed toy to Saffron and Marie both, but... am I? Really, what else do I bring to the relationship? Saffron's clearly the brains of the outfit. She makes the plans, designs the gear, makes everybody look cooler, and pays for everything. Marie. Oh, god, Marie slots into the 'housewife' role so hard it's like she's got neodymium magnets in her ass. Cooking. Cleaning. Sewing. 'Wifely duties'. Fuck, if you just put a recolor on her she'd slip without a splash into a PTA meeting from the sixties and shit.

Okay, sidebar, my perceptions have definitely shifted since I got here. I recall the first time I saw her I thought Marie ought to be pegging every danger meter I had. Heh. Pegging. Wonder if... no, how often Marie's done that with D, or anybody else? Anyway, a big part of that is, well, wet cat. Big parts of her fur go translucent or transparent when wet, just leaving a kind of greasy looking layer with weird spiky bits everywhere. Without the fur puffed properly, her uniform doesn't quite lie right either. It also shows off exactly how inhuman her physique is. Like, I'm not sure there's much other than bone, thin corded muscle, and translucent skin on most of her. I can't see bones anywhere, but without her fur she's got this look that says they're just barely hidden, y'know? Of course, once she got herself dried off and cleaned up, which apparently wasn't a priority with Aquarium S&R to do, her creepy really came from the combination of inhuman flexibility and raw intensity. If Marie does something, she does it hard. Cooking, Sewing, Fucking, Fighting, all of it straight up balls to the wall, nothing held back, even if she does manage to keep her whole hypercontrolled super Maid thing going on unless she's fighting. That kind of intensity was more than a little intimidating.

But over time, I stopped seeing the weird. The digitigrade legs. The tail. The creepy fur matting and near skeletal look she gets when she's wet. The way she does not move like a human, like, at all. The mouth full of fangs. The ears. Honestly, I think my own weird elf-ears had me so jacked up about ears that her cat ears seemed, I dunno, normal. But all of that just gradually got overshadowed by her being... Marie. Yeah, okay, between the Arse Priests and some of her more enthusiastic and dictatorial bedroom events, she probably deserves an address in the Uncanny Valley. Like, a rainy season home, at least, because looking at Marie and having your gonads go trying to clutch your kidneys for something to hide behind is just good common sense. But when I think of Marie? I don't really think of any of that first. Oh, if I'm in a fight I'm gonna damn sure want her watching my back or my wife and kid. If we're in the bedroom that perpetual looming threat of getting Marie'd at her most Marie is like a Carolina Reaper hiding at the bottom of a really big pot of stew. You always know it's there, waiting, and it definitely kicks the whole damn thing up a notch, even the tamest potato stuff.

Don't get me wrong, potatoes are awesome, even by themselves, but they really shine when you lube 'em up with butter, make 'em a little salty, smash them, and or throw them in boiling oil. And now I'm really not sure if I want to follow that potato sex metaphor any further. Which is, again, Marie in the bedroom in a nutshell.

But when I think about Marie? The first thing I think about is cuddling. Playing toddler games with Menace, which I'm desperately afraid she's gonna outgrow any day now, which will be sad. Lying there, not a single thought between us, just silently, motionlessly reveling in each other's presence. Reveling in it literally, maybe even.

All that stuff sort of meandered through my head overnight, because really weird somehow savory mouth feel of Marie hair aside, and I'm specifically referring to her long, straight, platinum hair rather than her fur here, being the object of nocturnal worship isn't intellectually stimulating. And now I can't believe I said that with my own mouth.

Slid my eyes open to find the whole fam snuggled up on our bed. I'm sure I lay down with Saffron in between Marie and I, but somehow overnight I'd wound up in the middle, with Menace sprawled face down on top of me, limbs dangling off my sides, snoring prettily. I lay there and vibed for a while before eventually whispering, "anybody awake?"

"No." Marie's lips barely moved when she said it, but a moment later they twitched when I smiled at her. Right about then Marie and I both got to watch simultaneous Saffron and Isnomi boot ups. Twitch. Nose wrinkle. Brow furrow. Sniff the air. Mlem. Taste test the air. Then, finally, in complete sync, both of them slid their eyes open.

"Mama!"

"Good Morning, love. Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, yeah." I grinned. "I think I'm still recovering from Friday."

"The combat? Or the celebrations of your victory?"

"Celebrations? I thought those were rewards?"

She chuckled, "oh, I think they can count for both."

I pouted up at her as Menace climbed up onto Marie to loom over me. "But I wanted both. Separate. No combo gifts."

"You are a greedy little Goof, aren't you?"

"Excuse me, Kitten, who are you calling little again?"

She rolled her eyes, "Okay, you are an enormous greedy Goof."

I smiled. "Yay! And?"

"Do you really think any of us need an excuse?"

I put on my best 'voice of wisdom' face and said, "it makes it even better."

I even managed to maintain my straight face when Marie said, "Yes."

"Ma siwwy. Mama siwwy. Mawa siwwy. Aww siwwy." After making her pronouncements from on high, Menace giggled, went fluffy, and tumbled face first down onto me. Adorable, and yet somehow the sudden screaming pain did not allow me to appreciate it. Yeah, Menace re-earned her name with her unerring ability to ram herself directly into my most recent major injury.

"Wait, does that still hurt, love?"

I clutched at my side, trying really hard not to snap at Saffron or Isnomi. "Yeah. Menace is getting some heft to her."

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"Tabitha Diaz, you will tell me right now exactly why you didn't tell us sooner. It's been nearly two days since you took that wound. Not to mention... ah..." she glanced at Isnomi. After watching her disgruntled exodus of the room when she figured out shenanigans were imminent, none of us really hid the idea of sex from her, but we generally didn't go into any kind of detail. "I'm sure you insisted on testing if my hand fit through there."

I chuckled, buoyed by the memory despite the pain. "Endorphins are a hell of a drug. Also, some things you just gotta do. For posterity if nothing else." As I forced myself not to bat curious Menace hands away from my through and through, instead gently taking her wrists and pulling her away, I chuckled out, "heh. Elbow." Then I looked Menace in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, Menace, but that really hurts right now. Maybe once it's all scarred over and numb or shit I'll let you poke at it..."

"No you will not, Goof. Everyone, time to get dressed. Marie? Could you arrange a reasonable amount of broth for our endearingly dimwitted champion?"

"Hey, I want eggs!"

"I have no real idea how your digestion works, but I am not risking this wound having penetrated it. If you overflow with broth, that will be much easier to bring up than eggs."

"Okay. Fine." I pouted, but fuck it, I hurt. Marie had already dressed herself and had Menace half ready. Saffron swung out of bed and dressed herself with maximum efficiency. I pouted more and insta-dressed myself in my Cadet uniform. I refused to let myself be mollified by Marie princess carrying me down to the Dining Hall. Or spoon feeding me broth.

Okay, I think we all know I was absolutely mollified. Hyper-mollied, even. But I sure as hell wasn't gonna admit it, especially since Menace found it funny, Saffron found it funny, and Marie was having the time of her life pampering me.

When we got up to class, the Doctors and Sister Siobhan stood there talking, but stopped and gave us looks when Marie carried me in. "Is everything okay, Tabitha?" Doc Zeccardi asked as he scooped up Isnomi.

"Mama hurt herself."

Of course she puts the Hell of Teeth away to talk to Doc Z. "I did not. Somebody shot me. With a fuckin' crossbow."

Before anyone else could comment, Saffron said, "one of Norfolk's Champions had one. Investigations are underway even now."

Doc Z nodded. "How long ago was she injured?"

"Two days ago."

Doc Z sucked his teeth a little. "That's... not good. Was any first aid applied?"

I shrugged. "One of the other motherfuckers used the bolt as the contact point for a big assed bolt of lightning. I think that cauterized the area."

He winced. "Oh, that's not good. I mean, it likely kept you from bleeding out, but burn scars are some of the hardest things to Heal. Can we take a look at it?"

The others pushed a few tables together as other students wandered in. When Hero Davis arrived, he took over moving the furniture around so everybody could get a good look. Right about then, as Marie gently lay me on the table right between Sister Siobhan and Doc Z, Saffron banished my jacket and blouse. Siobhan went beet red so fast I thought she might fall over.

Really, Kitten?

If she gets to look, I get to watch her looking. Besides, she's a professional.

She really was; after her initial swallowed eep of embarrassment over having to swallow her reaction to Sudden Tabitha Titties, her expression shifted through concern into horror. "How big was that crossbow bolt?"

"Hey, you don't expect me to let something small penetrate me, do you?" She frowned down at me, clearly unimpressed by my bullshit at the moment. "Sorry, sorry. Hurts like a bitch and humor is my preferred not violent way of lashing out. When Weyson hit it with that bolt of lightning, it melted. Before it could, y'know, become one with my hips or some shit I put a quick and dirty Filtration Ward around it, and I think that pulled a bunch of me out when I slid off it."

For some reason that got a big wince out of everybody except Cadet Smith, who looked a little impressed and gave me a nod of respect, and Hero Davis, who smiled and gave me a little thumbs up. The teaching team gathered around, gently poking at the wound. Doc DeLeon called out "Everyone come take a look at this. I've not heard of someone using a Filtration Ward to excise damaged tissue before, probably because it would be extremely painful, but I can see where it might be useful in certain situations."

Grunting though the pain of being poked at, I said, "like, uh, debriding a wound?"

Doc Z nodded, "exactly! For a normal patient I think we'd have to strap them down or put them under, but being able to selectively remove only dead tissue will be extremely useful. Well done, Tabitha!"

"Yay. Go me." If my cheering was a little weak, I blame the class cycling through and poking at my wound. I mean, I get it, to recognize shit you've got to know what it looks like, feels like, even smells like, because Davis and then Karen both bent down to sniff at it.

"No rot. Something else?" I just grinned at Davis, even if I might have blushed a little until he figured it out and laughed. "Okay, yeah, no rot, just... sweat."

Once everybody had a chance to poke at it, I asked, "so, can you guys fix it?"

Doc Z shook his head. "Maybe if the wound were fresh, but between the cauterization and two days of healing, about all we can do at this point is help it heal to the point where it's not actively sore to the touch. Given where it's at, I'm surprised you're not having problems breathing."

I thought about it a second. "I think I kinda am." At the confused looks, I explained, "double digit Endurance." Everybody seemed to have a 'that tracks' acceptance to that, although Siobhan blushed again. "Uh... if you Heal somebody, it can fill in missing tissue, right?"

"That's not the issue here, although the amount of Mana needed to replace that much tissue would be more than any one of us could do. The problem is the dead tissue, which has begun to form scar tissue already. Double digit Endurance indeed."

I took a deep breath, felt the hitch, and let it out. "Is there a way for you all to team up on it? Like, pool your Mana?"

Docs Glass and Z shook their heads, but before they could reply Doc DeLeon said, "yes..." When everyone turned to him, he said, "I'm familiar with the theory, something Doctor Roberts and I worked on while he attempted to recreate Tabitha's Mana Blade spell. He's better at it than I am. I suspect that with the entire class working together we would have the Mana to close the wound, if the scar tissue weren't in the way."

I looked up at my Murder Mittens. She met my eye and, after a moment of wordless commune, nodded. "Do it."

Without waiting for me to lose my nerve, she pinned my waist down with one big hand, then proceeded to use one claw to slice away the inside of the hole through me, peeling the dead flesh away until the entire interior surface of the wound bled like living tissue do. My screaming got really breathy and quiet when she cut away the cauterized lung bits, but it sure as shit didn't stop. I clutched the table, leaving splintered fingerprints, and I think I shattered the end of it drumming my heels against it. She did the entire process at her 'inhuman sewing machine' speeds as everyone else stood there gawking.

I mean, Hero Davis tensed up like he wanted to intervene. So did Cadet Smith, of all people. But both of them were smart enough to Choose Life.

Saffron just looked at me, shook her head, then stepped away and returned a moment later with Doc Roberts in tow. "You couldn't wait long enough for us to set up the Healing spell, could you, my adorable moron."

"Wasn't sure I could go through with it if I waited," I wheezed out.

"Hold her still and hold the wound open please, Marie."

Marie's other hand, index finger looking like she'd fingerblasted our Kitten thoroughly during her period, wrapped around my ribcage just below my breasts, pulling the wound open just a touch further.

While I made vague pain noises in hopes of eliciting some carnal sympathy if the operation was a success, Docs Roberts and DeLeon led the rest of the class through setting up a quick and dirty 'Mana Network', while Docs Z and Glass discussed the optimal Shape to use. Apparently using the default 'Heal Injury' Spell wasn't the most efficient way to heal wounds, and they had some worries about the size of the wound, especially with it now having roughly a half inch wider radius.

Saffron held my hand as the rest of the class linked hands, put hands on shoulders, or otherwise got their 'Auras' in contact to minimize Mana loss. Doc Z, as the one with the most experience Healing physical trauma, Shaped the spell. Unlike other Shapes I'd seen, he released part of it early as Mana still poured into it from the Mana Network. Starting with my back, the Healing took effect. It did not, in fact, taste minty like my earlier experiences with magical Healing. This shit was like an Altoid Peppermint and a Thai hot pepper had a baby made out of hellfire. It felt like I was getting penetrated by a bolt big enough to stretch my current wound, only slowly, so it would hurt more.

"I'm sorry, Tabitha," said Siobhan, distracted by her need to pour Mana into the Shape. I guess I'd screamed those last thoughts out loud. "That is essentially what Doctor Zeccardi is doing, only in reverse. He is 'un-wounding' you, but your body can't tell the difference. I'm sorry."

"Don't. Be." I wheezed out, clutching at Saffron's hand. She winced, my hand anti-tingled, and her hand felt a lot more solid all of a sudden. I squeezed harder, because yes, that shit hurt. She smiled comfortingly and stroked a hand across my drenched brow.

"Doctor, I estimate we've used between a third and half of the Network's Mana. How is the Healing progressing?" asked Doc Roberts.

Gotta hand it to him, for a non combatant, Doc Z had a good, calm, even humor-laced crisis voice. Good bedside manner in an emergency room, I guess. Hell, maybe calling him a 'non-combatant' wasn't fair. He just used Healing Spells to fight against injury, up to and including Death itself, what with him knowing how to Revive. Props to him, which I'd give once I didn't have to wheeze-scream them. "Well. I'd best be far more efficient with the rest of this then." I don't know what he did, but it hurt even more. I think my mouth opened so far my jaw might have dislocated to get more scream out.

Saffron registered what Doc Z had said, frowned a very 'not today' frown, my hand anti-tingled enough to go numb, and she grabbed the wrist of the nearest Cadet.

I saw the Mana flow through the network.

Then it hit Doc Z's Shape, and a moment later I blacked the fuck out.