When they finished with that chore, she kissed him gently. "Good luck in class. See you in an hour or two!"

He gave her a quick kiss back before wandering off. She took the time to run out and grab some quick lunch and meet Theodoren at the entrance of his class. "I'd like to join you, if you don't mind."

Theo blinked and looked around, then shrugged. "I mean, you don't have the class, so just keep quiet?"

So she did, just looming a bit behind him as he studied. Watching him just felt right. It was only halfway through the class she wasn't paying attention to that it hit her. She quietly slipped from the class and flopped her back against a wall. "Dang it. I'm letting my brood mouse instincts win out. I don't need to lurk over my partners like that." She rubbed her nose. "I guess it's good to know what it is that I'm doing."

She spent the next hour reading a magazine in the grass, enjoying herself. When Theo came out of the class, he looked around for her and lit up when he saw her. "Oh, there you are!"

She smiled. "Here I am."

"I thought maybe you had an emergency or something, since you vanished." He sank down to sit next to her. "You were there, then you weren't. For being so big, you can be quiet when you want to be."

Daisy shrugged. "Sorry, I just felt silly." She put her hands behind herself. "I'm just brooding over you too much. I need to chill. So, I needed some space to get myself together." She folded her magazine shut. "You and Cedric are both adults. As a functional adult, I should let you get your business done, and we get to hang out after, if you want."

"Well, yeah, but." He casually leaned in against her, sinking down until his head was resting on her chest. "I want to do that." Apparently finding her to be quite the agreeable pillow, he closed his eyes. "Were you paying attention in class? We've got to write an essay on magic use and proper procedures for handling dangerous materials."

Daisy sighed. "That sounds like your problem, because I'm not in the class. But if you want to bounce ideas off me, I'd be glad to hear them."

Theodoren sat up, looking offended. "How is it not your problem? You're acting like you stopped going to class all of a sudden."

"Because I did, stop going." She tapped his nose. "I graduated, or they kicked me out, your pick. You're looking at a paladin, a magical warrior, not a wizard. Class for me is practice. Speaking of! Can I count on you next dungeon I head towards?"

Theodoren huffed and leaned back against Daisy. He was clearly enjoying using her as support. She was enjoying being used. "Fine, I get the message. Yeah, I'll help you. And Cedric. It was pretty fun. But what do you mean by that? We're in the middle of a semester, not the end of one."

"They didn't care. They said staying would be entirely for giggles on my part, so I'm taking them at their word." She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him closer. "So I don't go here, for school, anymore. I'm still a test subject though."

He rolled over to rest his head directly in her lap, looking up at her. "So you'd be like a wandering student, taking classes where you want them? Or just no class at all?"

"I don't need to be in class. I wandered in today because I was busy feeling clingy to you. Sorry about that." She reached down to ruffle over his head gently. "Swat me next time I do that. We all need a little space to just be ourselves."

Theo sighed, relaxing in her embrace. "I don't mind you hovering, so long as you're not literally doing it over me while I'm trying to write a test or something. But, if you insist, I'll let you know if I need some me time."

She tickled along one of his ears. "That's the important part, knowing you can shoo me way when you want to. I'm a girlfriend, not your mom, and even moms should back off once in a while, eh?" She sat up, placing him so he was sitting in her lap. "It all happened so quickly, so this is a check in. You alright with this, with us? I don't even know how you feel about Cedric, really. You like him, or you put up with him to be near me?"

Theo looked away, rubbing his hands. He wasn't looking at Daisy in the face anymore. "I like you both. I'm glad you both want me."

Daisy hugged him. "I'm glad to hear it." She gave his muzzle a kiss. "And we'll make sure you're happy with us. We can start with some more kissing."

Theodoren sat up, his cheeks darkened. He looked ready to return that favor when a voice called from nearby.

"Dais!"

Cedric rushed in, waving. Theo looked away and slipped from Daisy's lap. She shrugged to Theodoren, standing up as Cedric skidded to a stop.

Daisy waved to Theodoren. "I was just asking about you to him. You already gave your counter reply. I'm glad you two like each other." She gestured at Theo with a smile.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Cedric nodded. "You mean about being a family?"

Daisy cocked an ear his way, then towards Theo. "Exactly. It's a new thing." She paused. "I think? Either of you get in a committed relationship before?"

Theo and Cedric both shook their heads.

"Great, so we'll be figuring this out together?" She smiled brightly. "Good! I like the idea. You're both great in my mind, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this unfolds."

Cedric bounced lightly on his feet. "I was told you were given a list of places to go explore. We're coming too, right?"

Theodoren sighed. "Of course you want to go exploring." He shrugged. "I'm game. But, next time, I'm coming with some fox vials in hand in case I get deformed in any odd ways I don't like."

Daisy leaned in. "What if you get deformed in any odd ways you do happen to like?"

Cedric tilted his head at that, blinking softly.

Theo just shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "I'll cross that bridge when we reach it."

"Right!" She took them both by an arm and hauled them along. They squirmed and laughed, trying to keep up with her long stride while being dragged along. "I vote we do something special, to celebrate this new chapter we're starting." She held the two closer, looking from one to the other as they walked along. "As a family. What do you two think about that?"

Cedric leaned into her grasp, his ears perked. "You don't have to go out of your way for me. I'm already pretty happy."

Daisy shook her head, squeezing his shoulders gently. "It's not about going out of my way for you. This is for all of us, including me."

Theodoren looked away. "We, uh, started on a rough note. Sorry about that. Glad we got past it." He squirmed a little. "I never had a girl want to get this close to me, not in a, you know, long-term kind of way." He cleared his throat. "I don't need a special day or nothing. You being here is enough."

Daisy felt her cheeks warm at the admission. "You two are amazing." She wrapped them both into a tight hug. Part of her wanted to insist, but she fought against it. If they were comfortable, that was good. "Alright then. No fancy festivities." She released them both. "Do you two have homework to do?"

Theodoren nodded. "I sure do."

Cedric shrugged. "Not really. I've finished up."

Daisy leaned over towards Theo. "Want to get together and work on that?"

Theo looked around nervously. "Um, sure, I guess. I mean, if you really want to." He raised a hand sharply. "Wait, no. I got this. I can handle my homework." He waggled his fingers. "You two go play."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "You're silly. I'm not going to distract you too much, promise." It took a moment for her words to echo back on her. "Oh, I'm doing it again. Sorry." She turned from Theo. "Good luck with your homework. Cedric, let's give Theo space. He can call for us if he wants to."

Theodoren waved them away and wandered off. Cedric waved a farewell and gestured for Daisy to follow him.

She smiled and held his hand as she walked with him. "Thanks." She spotted a little tracker, casually keeping note of how many of her family were close by. It had gone down when Theo left, but it wasn't zero. That felt, somehow, really important. She frowned a little. "Dang brood mouse urges. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Step away from her," came a firm authoritarian voice, male. The source was a feline, striding towards them in an outfit befitting a medieval law keeper of some sort. "Slowly." He directed a rapier towards Daisy. "And you, stay away from him."

Daisy raised her hands slowly, eyes wide. "I'm confused. What's going on? I haven't done anything wrong."

Cedric reached a hand to the cat. "No!"

The feline grabbed the outreaching hand and pulled Cedric a step away from Daisy, interposing himself between the two. "That is a brood mouse! Very dangerous beast. You're lucky she hasn't already torn you apart, or worse, far worse."

Daisy narrowed her gaze. "You have me mistaken, officer." She bowed her head to him. "I'm not an enemy. Shoot, I work here, as a lab mouse." She giggled lightly, imagining herself in a proper lab worker outfit.

Cedric rubbed his arm where it had been grabbed. He looked at Daisy with a smile, then at the cat. "Um, she hasn't hurt me, or anyone, sir."

"She's a brood mouse without a brood." He kept his rapier raised and ready. "Likely looking for a new mate. You're lucky she didn't pin someone down the moment she happened on a male."

Daisy huffed, crossing her arms under her chest and leaning against a tree. "Wow. I was the one almost raped, not the other way around, thanks." She waved to Cedric. "And that is a partner of mine. We live together. The odds of any rape between us are pretty small as a result. Not zero, if we were jerks to one another, but still pretty small."

The officer looked at her, eyes narrowing, then at Cedric, eyes wide. "You are in a relationship? With this... beast? A monster?"

Cedric nodded, rubbing his arm again. "S-she's really nice, um, Sir. Her name is Daisy, and she even knows some healing magic. She's a great friend and dungeon diver."

The cat raised his head. "Dungeon diver, you say?" He lowered his rapier a few inches. "I'd like to hear more about that."

Daisy rested a hand on Cedric's shoulder, pulling him around to be at her side instead of the feline's. "I cleared the starter dungeon of the academy a few times, and two others once, completely." Though she was not looking at him with that intention, his statistics began to appear. He had some good breeding values, that she waved away. "And I graduated as a paladin."

He narrowed his eyes. "A rare breed, and a graduate? My name is Jaspur." He gestured with the rapier. "I've been on your tail since I heard reports of a brood mouse roaming around."

Daisy colored faintly. "And when was that?" Having Cedric behind her eased a lot of her tension. "Really, I'm not a monster. I only infected one person ever, and that was only out of ignorance. I've learned how never to do that again."

Jaspur raised the rapier up. "But you admit to doing it. You infected someone without their express permission?"

Daisy thought back to that shopkeeper that had greedily drawn from her and ended up with a bit of mouse features. "She liked it, but she hadn't asked for it specifically. I didn't know how mutagens worked that point, or that I was one." She pat one of her sizable breasts. "Don't drink from these directly. The milk's harmless after it's had a moment outside of me though."

Jaspur nodded, but his blade didn't move any more. "I see." He looked her up and down. "You are dangerous, and you seem to be aware of that fact." He pointed to Cedric, who was huddled against Daisy's back and peering over her shoulder. "Are you certain this is the kind of person you wish to associate with?"

"Yes." Just one word, clear as his intent. He nuzzled into Daisy's side and clung to her.

"She's already gotten to you," Jaspur sighed out. "For unlawful infection, I place you under arrest."