I start at a light jog to where I had seen some brambles on my last run, once I reach them, I morph out Justice and begin attacking them, listening to the sword critique me again, but still feeling like I’m making progress in combat. At one point, I hear a rustling behind me, and I find another animal that I can eat. Hunger sated, I resume hacking at the brush, remembering Lillith reaching out to me and giving me a hug. Sometime later, I recall the explosion that had triggered my awakening and Alastor’s later explanation of my powers. In particular, the one that had shocked me. ‘Alastor? Remind me about that one please?’
‘Judgement.’ I hear Alastor say. ‘The ability to inflict plagues and pests upon a world, in the name of righteousness, and even declare a city as but salt once per year.
I nod to myself upon recognition. ‘So, I have a sword named Justice that plants fear into the hearts and minds of my enemies, a blessing called Judgement, and I am a superpowered, mind-controlling planeswalker. What am I meant to be??’
‘It appears you have all the qualifications to be an intergalactic mobster, threatening whole planets with doom unless they bow to your boss and your boss’s whims.
‘Great… Who’s idea was it to give me these powers?’
‘The answer to that is buried in your memories.’
‘Does it have anything to do with why I reincarnated?’
‘No, actually, you did so for other reasons entirely unrelated to what you did with these powers. Well, mostly unrelated.’
‘Okay, so, was the intent for me to take on the role you mentioned?’
‘Yes, and you accepted it gladly, you did the job quite well for many eons, keeping planets in line, yet still growing as various cultures, there’s even whole mythologies about you.
‘Ughhhh, really? That's kinda cool, yet terrifying to think of, so, what were my boss’s intentions?’
‘You weren’t exactly sure, they weren’t good, but they weren’t all bad, either.
‘Hmmm… well, I suppose I'll have to meet my past at some point, did I at least consider myself to be a good guy?’
‘Yes.’
“Alright then, I guess I’ll have to figure something out as I go.” The sun is back again, peeking between the trees on the hill I stand on. I turn and sprint back to the rock bench, hoping to meet Lillith there again. On my way, I see a little animal chewing on a rock, upon seeing me, it attacks me. I accelerate myself, catch it, and kill it easily. I create a knife and cut it open, my AI helping ID various parts, and I quickly realize what this thing is capable of, thick, heavy teeth, capable of munching on anything less than good steel, a stinger on the tail with paralytic toxin inside, corrosive glands on the inside of its cheeks that can be spat at any apparent threat. Not to mention the claws that can climb anything and rip most clothes to shreds. My AI helps me identify a strange substance inside of its stomach, something similar to fungi on Earth, that seems to be digesting all the bits of stone, wood, and other strange materials inside of it. It's no threat to me, with Resistance and Regeneration, and I can kill it easily, it being far slower than my top speed. I crush the skull to ensure death, then finish the run home to relax on the bench, waiting for Lillith.
I wonder if she’s been waiting for me when she steps out only seconds after I arrive. No food this time, so maybe she was already up and has eaten? She walks over to me, her white wings fluttering slightly with every step. She’s wearing the t-shirt I saw her in the first morning we were here, it reaches mid-thigh on her and drapes nicely around her form. I smile at her.
“Good morning, again.” I say
“Good morning. Again?” She responds. “Wait… did I wake up when you left this time?”
“You did, you gave me a hug, and I told you I was going to practice.”
She nods slowly. “I think I remember that. It feels more like a dream… Sorry.” She smiles. “We hugged though?”
“That’s alright, we did, you put your arms up and pulled me into a hug.” She smiles again.
“Umm, since I don’t remember it very well, would you hug me now?” She asks.
“Sure,” I stand up and open my arms. She steps into them, wrapping her arms lightly around my waist and laying her head on my shoulder. I return the hug firmly, holding it, then let go and sit back down. She smiles, then comes to sit beside me. I put my arm around her, and I relax, watching the lake shimmer as the sun rises. She lays her head down on my shoulder again and I lay mine on top of her head. I can feel her body pressed against mine, she seems to relax into me more every second we sit here. I glance down at her bare legs and idly wonder what she even has on, then squeeze her shoulders. I wonder what she’d do if I touched her legs, but I’m not brave enough to try, for fear of wrecking what we have. She wiggles around a bit, then tucks one hand between her thighs and settles into me more. I relax under her, holding her close.
The door to the cabin swings open behind us and Twila approaches the bench, then sits down on the other side of Lillith. Laying her head on Lillith’s shoulder, she relaxes, staring off into the lake. I glance at the two girls at my side, content with my current lot in life, mildly unsure if I should tell them what I can do, or not yet.
We sit there for at least 30 minutes, shifting around a bit, but content to all lean against each other as the sun rises and the air warms up. I shake myself, then slip out from underneath Lillith, and stand up, stretching out my back. Lillith and Twila cuddle together closer, it seems, as they watch me. I face them and smile, swinging my arms, “Well, what do us lazy folk want to do today?” Lillith pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her wings around herself, but not before I catch a glimpse of her underwear. She mimics falling asleep in her cocoon, and Twila laughs. I join Twila’s laughter and toss some lake water at Lillith. Her wings shield her head as best they can and she shakes her head and stands up, her hair slightly wet.
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I glance down to see that my ankles are covered in rock again and I sigh. I then go intangible and step out of the rocks, now hovering in the air, and returning to my normal state. Lillith frowns playfully at me.
“I knew you weren’t going all out on me yesterday…” She teases, sticking her tongue out.
I shrug, “It would be what a normal person could do. If we’re fighting other planeswalkers, you’ll need more than rock forming to beat them.”
“You’re anything but normal. Superhero, remember? Doesn’t change the fact you let me win.”
“Fair, but neither of us were going all out to kill each other.” She raises her eyebrow at me, then lets it go.
“Anyways, today?” She asks.
“Hmm.. do we want to fly around the planet to see what we can see?” I ask. Lillith glances at Twila.
“Is that ok with you?” She asks.
“I can easily carry Twila if she really wants to come with us.” I look at the girls.
“I could make her lighter too, but it’s up to you.” Lillith says, waiting for Twila’s answer.
“Weight isn’t much when I’m flying,” I state, “As long as I’m expecting it, that is.” Twila tilts her head, considering. “I think I'll stay here, but thank you for the offer. I want to try returning to the pact dimension for a bit and see if I can find some information about this world. Although, Lillith, would you mind leaving some food for me?” Lillith nods and looks at me.
“I’ll go do that now?” She offers. I shrug, and the girls walk to the cabin. Lillith emerges alone a few minutes later, now wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, with what looks to be some granola bars in her pockets. She ties her hair back, then looks at me.
“Ready?” She asks.
“Let's go!” I grin excitedly. She picks up on it, and launches into the air. ‘Race you to that tall tree in front of us!’ I hear.
I grin, and accelerate, then explode upwards, ‘Not going to be difficult.’ I burst past her, and wheel around with a wide grin. ‘Maybe I was holding back on speed yesterday.’ I wink. Lillith groans and beats her wings harder. She falters for a moment, but then her speed picks up quite a bit. It seems she's maybe changing her gravity, but I’m still quite a bit faster than her. We fly around, checking out hilltops and valleys, finally coming to rest on a mountaintop. I land and look out over the varied landscape, it all seeming so small and distant. LiIllith looks around, turning in a slow circle. I smile at her.
“It’s so big and peaceful…” She says quietly.
I nod, “That it is…” She turns to face me, looking a bit awestruck, then looks out over the horizon again.
“So, what is your plan?” She asks after a bit.
“For what?”
“Do you just want to fly around? Do you have any goals?”
“I wanted to explore the world with whoever would join me. And,” I turn to face her. ”I am very happy you wanted to come with me.” She smiles at me, shuffling a bit closer and tilting her head to rest on my shoulder for a moment. I place my arm around her, and squeeze.
“Did you have something you wanted to see or do?” I ask her. She shakes her head, looking at me with a smile on her lips.
“Wherever you would like to go.” She says.
I smile and nod, then look back up at the sun, “Midday at the cabin, we can fly for a few more hours away from it.” She nods, but makes no move to walk away. She reaches her hand up and gently brushes my cheek. I place my hand against her cheek, gazing into her eyes. She tilts her head up, rising on her tiptoes, gently pulling me in, towards her upturned lips. We kiss gently, then I place my arms around her and deepen our kiss. She returns it passionately, sliding her hand to the back of my neck as she presses into my body. We slide to the ground and I hold her close, kissing her, pausing only to breathe. I don’t know how long we kiss, but she is flushed when we finally break apart, her hair tousled from my hands. She smiles at me, her eyes bright with excitement. She pauses, taking a deep breath.
“Umm, sorry, I probably should have asked you first…” She says.
“That’s okay, I haven’t been kissed like that before. Though, I’m not complaining. So I take it that you do like me?” I wink at her. She grins, a laugh bubbling out.
“Yeah, pretty sure I do. Maybe I should test it one more time though.” She says, teasing, holding her hands out to me. I move into her embrace, our lips meeting and kissing again. This one is shorter, sweeter, less wild, but more tender. When we part again, the sun is noticeably lower in the sky. She smiles at me again, and I feel a warm glow within me. I take her hand in mine and smile down at her, rising to my feet and pulling her up after me.
“Should we return home?” I ask. LiIllith looks around.
“Maybe we should at least find one new type of plant we can tell Twila about?” She asks. “Not that she doesn’t suspect this is what we’re doing, I'm sure.”
I nod, “I think I saw a different plant down in one of the valleys we passed over. She smiles, then lets go of my hand and backs up a few steps before taking off. I follow her swooping flight to the valleys, and soon we find a different kind of fungi than what we have around the cabin. It’s bright yellow and Lillith comments that it smells like mangos. I chuckle at that, then scan it with my AI. It reads as non-toxic, so I taste it, “It does remind one of mango.” I tell her, then hand her a piece as well. She tastes it and nods, “It does taste like mangos, kinda. But more… earthy. Do you say earthy on a planet that’s not Earth?” She asks, scrunching her nose up.
I shrug, “If the shoe fits…” I think her nose is rather adorable. I lean in and kiss the end of it. She blinks in surprise, then smiles widely, reaching out and lacing her fingers through mine. Lillith pauses, then demorphs her wings and steps closer to me.
“Would you carry me home?” She asks shyly. She starts floating off the ground, her hand in mine keeping her anchored. I nod and turn around, offering my back to her. She wraps her arms around my shoulders and her legs around my waist, then I lift off. I fly back to the cabin charting a different path than before, and this time skimming the treetops with my feet. I feel Lillith rest her head against my neck, almost snuggling with me, and I smile. A few hours later and we return in time for the sunset, Twila just getting out of the lake from what seems to have been a relaxing swim. She smiles at us, then shakes herself, water droplets flying off her. I land and Lillith slides off my back, her hand trailing down it as she steps away from me, her gravity returning to normal.
“Thank you.” She says with a shy smile.
“No problem.” I smile gently at her. “Did you enjoy it?” She nods happily, then pulls a granola bar out of her pocket. I pull the fungi out of my pocket and hand it to her.
“Want to show Twila?” I ask. “I should probably eat as well.”