Dear Diary,

I guess that whole 'leaking into one another' thing goes both ways; not surprising, really.

"Mom shaped?"

I looked sheepishly up at her. "Yeah?"

She shook her head and reached down to me. "Now I see why your wife calls you Goof." I took her hand and she effortlessly lifted me to my feet, then held me at arms' length by my shoulders. "You meant well, I'm sure."

I pushed a little, and she let me into her embrace for a hug. "I didn't though. I didn't mean anything. I just... I didn't think when shaping her. I just shaped her like Mom."

"I'm sure your mother was a lovely woman."

I snorted. "I love my mom. My mom from back, y'know, in the day. But other than maybe having a Pixar quality dump truck, she wasn't really anybody's idea of a MILF. Except my dad, but that would have been before she was a mom, so that means she would have been an ILF. But that doesn't make any sense. Woman? WILF? Wait, no, that's Widow. Girl? GILF? Shit, no, that's Grandma. Which really encompasses both of you two now."

"And now you're babbling, Daughter. All is well. That the part of you beyond thinking sees me as Mom is no insult, Tabitha." I snuggled in just a little more, because Sigyn warm and soft. Super Mom shaped. Wait, 'mom shaped' pretty much involves the spread hips to let the crotch goblins out, and the mommy milkers to feed the rugrats. Which Saffron had plenty of both of. Shit, was I into MILFs? I mean, my initial response of 'who isn't' is pretty telling, I guess.

Isnomi led Domnu over to us, tugging on her finger the whole way. "Mama! Mama! Thee! Thee! I fine Gammama!"

I squatted down to meet her and scoop her into a hug. "Yes you did! I saw you fly up and find her! And you brought her right back down to us!"

She tugged on Domnu's finger. "Gammama! Dis Mama!" She pointed to Saffron as I snugged her in to keep her from autoyeeting onto the shingles. "Dath Ma!" She tried to wriggle towards Saffron, and rather than lose my grip on her, I stepped us closer.

Saffron curtsied and said, "Mother Domnu."

While the two of them glared at one another, Isnomi kept introducing people. "Dath Mawa, dath Siggy, dath Gampa, an dath Tikibada."

"Really, Menace?"

She heaved a huge sigh for such an itty bitty Menace, then relented and said, "Tikibada wanna be cawwed Conwad."

I'm not sure if Domnu flinched or just got bored, but I felt satisfaction radiating from my Kitten when Darkness looked away first. Her gaze swiveled across the rest of the family on the roof, nodding to each in turn. "Loki. Sigyn." She looked Sigyn up and down, then glanced down at herself, then to me. I shrugged, she shrugged, and she continued. "Maenad. Smith." Finally her gaze returned to Saffron, who'd moved up to lean against me and put her arms around Isnomi. "Priestess."

"High Priestess, Mother Domnu."

Domnu blinked. "Acceptable."

Saffron frowned, and I thought at her, She's not exactly a people person.

"In what way am I not a person?"

How did she hear you?

Domnu's gaze swiveled back to Saffron. "Why would I not hear words not spoken?"

Saffron nodded. "Well. That explains that then. Mother Domnu, would you like to see our rooms? Where your granddaughter spends her evenings, as well as many of her days?"

"No."

Apparently a complete lack of social skills means you also don't notice when everyone on the roof is staring at you, either in disbelief or in preparation for incipient toddler bawling instigated beatdown. Domnu might erase a Dragon to protect Isnomi's body, but Sigyn was about to go ham on her for putting that hurt look on Menace's face. That thought must have inspired my next comment. "Mother, you've hurt our little Menace."

That got her. She jerked like I'd just slapped her. With a prizewinning tuna. After a moment of all of us watching her regal posture slump in confusion, she asked, "How?"

I snuggled my Menace to me, nuzzling her to hold off the waterworks. "By saying you don't care about her."

"But... I did not say that."

"If you care about somebody, you care about more than just their physical well being, Mother. You care about where and how they live. Who they interact with. How they're treated. You care about the whole person, not just their body." On the one hand, I realized that dealing with Domnu would be remarkably like dealing with somebody way off in their very own special corner of the spectrum. On the other hand, I definitely felt some kinda way about having to be my mother's keeper. The things you do for your kids.

Upon your subjugation of Norfolk, I will reward you for this as well, my Goddess.

"Unacceptable."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. What's crawled up your nonexistent asshole and died now?" I really didn't want to fight with Domnu, with 'Gammama', while Isnomi watched us, but the bitch was stomping up and down on my calm.

"Many things at any given moment."

I took a deep breath and tried again. "What. The fuck. Is Unacceptable. This time."

"Your Priestess should not be rewarding you."

I tilted my head. "The fuck not?"

"If that form of worship is your preference, that is acceptable, but she owes it to you as your due. Withholding it as a 'reward'? Blasphemous."

Fuck on a stick this was such a pain in the ass. I seriously considered ending her right then and there, but then I opened my eyes and saw Menace looking up at me with tear-filled eyes.

"I like my High Priestess doing things that way. My religion. My rules. I like it when she 'worships' me for doing good things. It keeps me human."

She somehow managed to sniff without lungs. Then again, she'd been talking just fine without them. "That is exactly the problem."

That snapped some kind of final straw. I smiled sweetly up at her and said, "Mother?"

"Yes, Daughter?"

"You're coming downstairs with us so we can show you where we live now." She just stood there. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you coming?"

She tilted her head. "Of course. I am waiting for you to show me."

I nodded to everybody else, and, Marie in the lead, Isnomi and I bringing up the rear save for Domnu, who still had one finger held captive by Menace, and Conrad, who again followed us to prevent slapstick. When we got down to our rooms, most everybody gathered in the office; Marie perched on the end of the bed, watching everyone through the doorway, and after he racked Isnomi's glider, Conrad excused himself to head back to his Workshop.

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Isnomi wriggled out of my arms and, still clutching to Domnu's finger to tow her along, dragged her over to her little toddler bed. Specifically to the end of it where Vulcan sat in his case. "Dith ith Vulcan!"

Domnu stared at Vulcan for a solid ten seconds. Then her lips curved into a smile and she said, "Excellent."

Of course Dommy Mommy would approve of my less socially acceptably evil son. Right about then, as she babbled out something about Mister Kraken, Isnomi yawned. Everyone near enough to get a good look wound up staring, maybe wincing a little, as her jaws yawned open wide enough that she could have swallowed Saffron whole if she hadn't been rocking dentition to make a garbage disposal look warm and fuzzy. "Okay, Menace, time for bed." Her lip stuck out a little until I said, "while Grandmama is visiting, you can stay up late, but you still need to get your sleep in every day." She squeed a little bit, and I turned to Domnu. "Do you..." I interrupted myself as I thought about phrasing. "You want to help Menace change clothes for bed and tuck her in."

She opened her mouth like she was gonna argue, but after a look from me she paused, then asked, "how?"

"Can you show her, Menace?"

"Yeth!"

While our little one distracted Domnu, I walked the few steps over to where Saffron had been showing Loki her Spell crafting setup. Sigyn stood behind both of them, looking about as lost as I would have. Okay, probably more than I would have, because I'd actually attended Shaping classes. Every single bit of what Saffron worked on daily stood so far above my level I couldn't even see it if I stood on tiptoes, but in an abstract way I knew how it ought to work. Sigyn... did not. Obviously so. She had that glazed look I'd seen more than once back in Camden. I took her by the hand. "Mom?"

She blinked and looked at me. "Yes?" I nodded and led her to the bedroom, then over to the window side the the bed. While Marie scooted around to kneel behind us, I pulled back the thick curtains she'd made for us, and sunrise washed into the room. She gasped. "That view is... beautiful."

"Yeah. Sorry I haven't gotten you guys out of that cave yet."

She pulled me into a crushing side hug. "You can only do so much, so fast. I..." She took a deep breath. "I have faith." Her lips twisted into a wry grin. "In you."

"Hey! Mom? You're fine. And I mean that in more than just the easy on the eyes sense."

She let loose with that Candace Bergen chuckle that rubbed velvet up and down my spine, turning to stare right into my eyes as she said, "you claim me as mother, then speak words of wooing unto me? What kind of family have you drawn me into, Daughter?" I spluttered a bit, and she broke down laughing, collapsing backward onto the bed, where Marie caught her. She laughed even harder at that. Eventually she dried her eyes and sat back up. "Oh. Oh, my, you should have seen your face. Oh, thank you, Tabitha. I needed that."

"I think it still might be time for us to take our leave? Before you wake the little one again?" Loki stood in the doorway, Domnu standing behind him glowering.

"Of course." She hugged Marie and I, whispering, "if you could see fit to get us a mattress like this one, though?"

"I got you, Mom."

With that she stood, brushed past Loki and Domnu alike to kneel down next to Isnomi's bed and brush a kiss across her forehead without disturbing her snores, then gave Saffron a quick hug good bye. Her farewells taken, she held a hand out to Loki and, as imperious as Saffron or Domnu ever were and commanded, "husband, take me... Home."

Their laughter trickled through the room after they disappeared. I turned to Domnu. "Okay, I don't think anybody is gonna be copacetic about you being here, Mother, so... do you want to stay here in our rooms with us, or in our Library room?"

"No."

I shook my head. "Okay, then, Library room it is." When she opened her not-mouth, I interrupted with, "I like to be worshipped in private. So, you wait down there." I took her by the hand and stepped her to our little sex nest. I looked her in the eye and asked, "can I trust you?"

"No."

I facepalmed. "You will remain here until Isnomi wakes up normally and is rested enough for another visit"

She stood there, impassive, finally saying, "Acceptable."

"Right. I'll see you tonight."

With that I left her there and stepped back to our room, where I collapsed into bed face first. "Poor Goof. Is there anything I can do without distracting you from Norfolk?"

I mumbled into the bedding. "Worship?" I definitely felt some kinda way about saying that out loud, right up until a quiet humming filled the room, followed by an absolute avalanche of energy smashing down on my from all sides. It... wasn't the same as before. Rather, it was that plus something more. I realized that somehow this had a different flavor. Didn't want to get up, but managed to flop my head sideways to see a ring of alternating Saffrons and Maries around me. "Isn't D gonna feel some kinda way about that?" The Maries all looked up, grinned, and shrugged. "Shit, will he notice?"

"Maybe."

Half-moaned words kinda dribbled out of me. "Fuck. This feels so goddamned good, like a million nights of sleep all at once. Or maybe, wait, no, definitely like all the food comas in the world hovering over me. Seriously. I don't want D getting all jealous, Marie. Is he gonna get jealous?"

"Briefly."

"Shit, don't hurt him." She got all pouty, which was adorable, and after a second I said, "okay, don't hurt him more than you normally would." Her grin popped back up, her face went down, and the wattage climbed into the 'just gonna lay here and vibe forever' range.

At some point they unplugged to come to bed, but by that point I was fully ready to go to sleep, or lie there for a few million days, or, y'know, whatever needed to be done.

Mimic dreamt briefly of the return of chibi hibachi chef Saffron, but most of the night she spent hiding under her own ass, staring at her own navel in vaguely terrified fascination.

We slept away most of the day. Tuesday night Isnomi, Domnu, and I went to the roof again. I showed Domnu how to buckle Isnomi in, then I lay there looking smug and thinking about my set on Thursday while the two of them played tag or some shit in the sky. This time they flew until well past dawn. A little while after I heard Cadets going about their duBois supplied misery down in the Practice Yard, I caught sight of a dashiki moving across the roof toward me. "Hey, Headmaster."

He closed within conversational distance and asked, "how go your efforts in Norfolk?"

I shrugged. "Two down. One halfway done, duel is scheduled for Thursday. Planning it now while I watch." I nodded to the sky.

"Good news, I suppose. Please let me know if there is any way the Academy can support your efforts, High Priestess."

I shook my head. Sorta, at least. I wasn't feeling really move-y. "Appreciated, but I gotta keep this to me, maybe the fam or folks who would support me without it being, y'know, an Alliance thing."

"Amusing that your wife, the Imperator, might qualify under that."

I chuckled. "Yeah, our command structure is all kinds of fucked up, ain't it?"

He shrugged. "Most young things are, if they're healthy."

I pondered that a moment before replying. "Thanks. Makes me feel a lot better about shit."

"My duty as Headmaster, to foster the health and growth of my Cadets." He paused, but I could tell he hadn't finished, that he wanted to avoid a non-sequitur, but couldn't think of a way. "What is that flying with your daughter?"

No point in sugar coating it. Not like she would if somebody got close enough to ask her. Just had to get ahead of it. "Domnu."

The clockwork soul hiccoughed, but didn't stop, and when it came back up to speed he said, "Domnu."

"Yeah. Guess she managed to impress somebody enough to get absolution instead of extirpation. Conditional absolution, anyhow."

"Conditional upon?"

I wriggled a little to scratch my back on the roof tiles. "Helping out with Norfolk. Amusing Isnomi. Good behavior." I paused in thought. "Y'know, typical ex-con shit."

He sucked in air, blew it out through his nose, and said, "I'll leave you to it then."

Isnomi didn't come down until Domnu carried her down, snoozing in the harness. I unbuckled her, picked up her glider, said, "wait here," then delivered her and her glider to Marie in our rooms before returning. I looked Domnu in the eyes and said, "you heard what I said to the Headmaster?"

"Yes."

"So. You want absolution?"

"No."

I scrunched up my face and everything, but it didn't seem to make any sense that way either. "You want me to end you?"

"No."

I reminded myself, deeply neurospicy territory, or an analog thereof. "Do you want anything?"

She looked at me as if surprised I'd asked. "Yes."

"What?"

"Endings."

"Of what?"

"All things."

Well. Should have seen that coming. "Anything else?"

"Freedom."

"Yeah... pretty sure that's not going to happen any time soon. Sorry not sorry."

She shook her head slowly. "Family." Before I could comment, she continued. "For you to stop apologizing." That shut me the fuck up for long enough for her to get an almost wistful look on her face before she said, "for my children to sing with me at the end of all things."

That reminded me of something, and laughter bubbled out of me. "If Johnson heard that, he would move Heaven and Earth to get that fuckin' Jotnar fuck pole inside you."

Her head cocked to the side. "Why?"

"Shit, Mom, why the fuck do any of us have any of the kinks we do? They put lead in the pencil, lubricate the love tunnel, and make the happy making happier."

She sounded kinda put out when she said. "I do not understand."

I snorted. "Ain't that what I just said?"

"No, Daughter. I do not... understand." The way she stressed that last word finally got the point across. She might get it intellectually, but love? lust? fucking? None of those were things you could really grasp entirely without any connection to all that good biological shit like getting turned on like a fuse and popping off like a goddamned firework. Right then and there I realized how I could finally make her understand, but I also realized I didn't have the energy to interface with her any more today.

I took her unresisting hand in mine, stepped her down to the Library Love Shack, pressed my forehead against hers like she knew what that meant, and said, "I'll be back for you around dark." Then I stepped back to our room, fell into bed next to Saffron, let Marie arrange us into optimal snuggling positions, and drifted off to sleep.