Sachihiro

I sit in the study with the door locked looking at my hand as closely as I can while moving my fingers and opening and closing my hand carefully. I feel tighter in my skin and it isn’t just a product of high muscle tone and low body fat but something I’ve been aware of since yesterday when I came back from my little visit from the sidhe Makin. I feel lighter on my feet as well and all round more able today than I did yesterday and it has something to do with my little insights into my true Self.

Testing myself I pull spirit energy from within me and mix it with my aura as easily as I would take a breath. I can feel vitality and power fill me, fill every fibre of my physical body as I clad my entire body with spirit permeated aura while visualizing what I expect to be happening.

Visualisation is part of everything I do these days and in all my skills as it makes everything easier, especially the first time around.

‘’Impressive,’’ Mira says as she saunters into my space in her lose elastic pants and a tight fitting leather jacket. "Was that aura and spirit? Now that I’ve seen it I wonder why more people don’t try it, it seems like an effective combination.’’

I take a breathe releasing from the strain harnessing spiritual energy causes.

‘’It mostly depends on the opponent one faces I assume,’’ I say leaning back into my chair and letting my gathered energy dissipate with motes of orange light that’s reminiscent of dying flames. ‘’You hardly ever visit me here in the library?’’ I make the statement a question and leave it be as she looks at the books on the shelves without really seeing any of them, her attention wholly on me.

‘’How was your talk with Damage and Kuyoki?’’ She asks pulling a book by the spine from a shelf and shoving it back in.

‘’Is that what you’re worried about? Come here, let me reassure you.’’ I say pushing my chair back so she can sit on my lap and she does. I hold her close putting my chin on the top of her head and encircling her in a aura of peace and love in silent communication, a trick I learnt from Aurora actually.

‘’Add your spirit, I wanna feel it,’’ she whispers into my chest breathing me in and I smile as I push my spirit-energy into my aura again. It’s even easier this time than it was a moment again and orange moths of light seem to be flowing off me like luminous leaves being blown about by a light breeze.

Mira sighs against my chest as she holds me close, ‘’I remember when it used to be just Kuyoki, Saya and I sharing your affection and attention with your training as you got ready to return to the war of your people. I didn’t see you as a husband then but I knew you were mine none the less. Everything is so complicated now, and you’ve hardly trained with me in months let alone with anyone else.’’

‘’I know your longing Mira, I know the nostalgia of past times. But I know that you wouldn’t change a thing or go back to that time if it meant losing what you already have. You may not know how to deal with him half the time but I know you love Rigdiss and that you are tortured by the fact that you’ll never bear him a child,’’ she stiffens in my arms but otherwise says nothing nor tries to pull away.

‘’I know you love Shea and little Rayna is the apple of your eye not just because she is your youngest but because she is the only child you’ll have with him. I know Kuyoki is your best friend and you worry that what happened between da and her I’ll consider a betrayal and will let it come between us, it won’t. ‘’ I kiss the top of her head and push her away so that we can see eye to eye.

‘’Everything is out in the open so nothing has been left to fester, nothing is coming between us, alright?’’ I ask her sternly and she nods gingerly before laying her head back on my chest. We stay this way a while, me experimenting with a meld of spirit and aura that’s stable enough to be a sustainable spirit-aura. Mira letting her guard down and being cosy in my arms.

With the way she carries herself and how competent she has become with her martial prowess it’s easy to forget how petite she actually is with her fae stature and Sandersonian lineage. Our daughter Saya is a more heavy set version of her mother, stronger, with denser muscles and other advantages garnered from her Barbadian lineage.

‘’By the way,’’ Mira says then pauses, ‘’did you notice the sex partners the kids took during-‘’

‘’Yes,’’

‘’Do you think we should...’’

I sigh at that one, "I honestly have no idea whether or not to get involved with their business in any way at all.’’

‘’And Kiera, she had sex with your manservant or whatever you call Soal these days. I don’t think that’s something we should keep from Om.’’ I lift an eyebrow at that.

‘’I didn’t even know you liked Om,’’ I say with a little grin.

‘’Om is a sweetheart, nothing like you with your philandering and womanising ways and that smooth smile of yours you plaster on when you pretend you don’t know the effect you have on women.’’ Mira complains with a huff and I can’t help but laugh.

‘’Honestly, I have no idea what you are going on about.’’ I say with a grin, ‘’and Kiera will speak to Om herself if she gets the chance.’’

My words seem to sober both of us up some and we remain quiet because she may not get the chance, it’s possible none of us may see our loved ones that aren’t in the same continent before the coming of this calamity. It could be within five years it could be tomorrow, the point is we don’t know. And even the Council of Chiefs cannot maintain the people’s readiness for a fight that doesn’t come.

‘’By the way there is a beautiful Jotnar maiden parked outside your library with two of her friends and they seem to mean business.’’

‘’Great, and it’s only now that you choose to tell me about it?’’ I ask as she sidles off my chest and stretches her lovely arms over her head and yawns.

‘’I had to have my own time with my husband you know, I still can’t believe I have a husband let alone two husbands and a lover. Mistress Barathian would bite her tongue if she saw me now.’’ Mira says with a bit of wistful longing in her voice.

‘’Still don’t want us to go South on a hunting trip? We could collect some slave owners heads and maybe bring back a demon or two to peddle to Wes when he passes by this way again.’’

She grins as she leans into me and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips, ’’You are very thoughtful my husband but no, I don’t want to kill my old slavers. If I did I’d have to start with my mother then eradicate the Grayson family root and stem before using a scalpel on the Barathians. It may be difficult for you to understand but I actually liked the Barathians and still feel some loyalty towards them.’’

‘’I understand plenty, but when you change your mind I know Ikigai has been dying to meet your old owners as well.’’

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‘’You are a terrible influence on that girl Sachihiro, she needs to let loose and have some fun like a kid.’’

"What are you talking about, Ikigai does have fun.’’

‘’Going to the dungeon, training, fighting near death matches in the arena? I didn’t see her even when this sexual thing happened, at least with her I'd have finally been sure her pipes work; where was she anyone?’’

‘’She was there, she got affected as well, stop worrying so much about her.’’

‘’Who did she have sex with them?’’

I pause for a moment as the aura, the face then the name comes to me. ‘’One of Saya’s guests, the nervous one named John. They had sex several times yesterday but have been quiet about it ever since.’’

‘’You know I’m not sure not to welcome these guests as people we can fully trust or just keep them at arm’s length. Saya seems to be serious about that Michael but then he goes and has sex with Nikita as well as Saya, I honestly wasn’t sure whether to brain him or applaud him at that stage.’’

‘’You worry that Nikita won’t find anyone?’’ I ask with a grin.

‘’She spends most of her days in that lab doing gods knows what and she hardly cares what she wears or what people think of her. She hasn’t had a lover in over a year and he didn’t last more than two ten-days so yes, I worry about Nikita finding a mate."

‘’You shouldn’t,’’ I say with a grin, ‘’Out of all our children Dishna and Nikita are the ones I feel the least need to worry about.’’

‘’That’s because Didi was smart enough to find herself a mate and stay in Pangaea away from her weird da, unlike all these other crazies that are in love with you to some degree. She has her own child now, which should indicate to you how old we are.’’

‘’My children are not in love with me stop saying that, and Didi comes home to visit often enough for the distance she has to cover. At least Alta has spent time in the Tundra, even if he was still just a toddler.’’

‘’Every daughter is a little in love with their fathers from what I have noticed and I doubt you will see little Alta or his mother here again before what we are preparing for takes place.’’ She sighs, ‘’you have a plan right Sachi? ‘Cause we have little kids now and I don’t know if I could survive losing any of them.’’

I stand and hold her to my chest again as I take that in, that responsibility and expectation. Even Shea who is a Tier 2 Awakened Blood Mage, a tier 2 Awakened in her own right through her own struggles has expectations of me. That somehow I know the best way to survive what is coming to Gaia but I really don’t, and I don’t know how to tell them that.

There is a knock on the door and Soal pops his head into the office, ‘’sorry to interrupt boss, your girl seems more vocal than usual today. I think she wants to fight you,’’ with those words the door again shuts with a click.

‘’I should go deal with that girl,’’ I say as we separate.

Mira's nose scrunched in cruel anger a moment before transitioning to amused pity.

‘’Can I watch?’’

‘’Sure, but ill schedule a fight for another time at the family training room so its less bloody and public.’’

‘’How boring.’’

We head out of the library offices and down the twisting carpeted stairs, I’m honestly proud of this collection of books, scrolls and manuscripts even though it’s small even in comparison to some private collections. The shelves are darkwood cut from the Dawn Dungeon at the stage where I can cultivate all the ingredients and tomorrow they will all have replenished themselves. Very few trees have been cut from elsewhere since the Awakening of the dungeon as it’s now mostly used for resource gathering by the city.

I walk through the foyer at the ground floor, only two people are in the library reading and none of them are Barbarians. My people don’t yet see the value in books even though they are allowing our histories, our stories, our folklore to be recorded and immortalised in the Museum.

I squint as I walk into the sunlight, Rigel is particularly bright today but again I squint because it’s expected not because the light is too bright or even that I need the light or even eyes to see. Selah is standing with a friend of hers and one of her mother’s friends facing the library with a small crowd of onlookers gathered.

‘’I challenge you Sachihiro van Damage to a mating match before these witnesses, do you accept my challenge?’’ She shouts without preamble and I find myself with my hand on my face completely blindsided by the type of matchup.

‘’Isn’t that a bit extreme?’’ I ask in a low voice and a few people close enough to overhear snicker at my response. Mira’s fist into my ribs makes me grunt and quickly accent as is expected of a Barbarian man.

‘’I accept your challenge for two days hence at the end of dawn-‘’

‘’In the Council Chamber fighting circle, it has been arranged,’’ and with that she walks away with her two witnesses and the gathered crowd scatters gossiping about the possible matchup.

‘’You do realise that she just bet all or nothing on the one fight right?’’ I ask Mira as she has a thoughtful look on her face.

‘’I wonder why she wants you so badly.’’

‘’Hey, didn’t you just call me an irresistible womaniser not ten minutes ago?’’ I say and Thandeka snorts as she emerges from her hiding place proud to have caught Mira off guard.

‘’Thandeka please follow them for me, get close enough to hear what they talk about but if you can’t just make sure you know what they do for now.’’ Thandeka grins a lovely excited grin and she is off like a cat chasing her prey.

‘’How long have you been giving her assignments like that?’’ Mira asks with another thoughtful look.

‘’First time actually. Anyways leave me be, I have things to do so go fight someone or something.’’

We kiss and she is off in her own direction, probably to report to Kuyoki everything we spoke about. Sometimes I think those two love each other more as friends more than they love me as a husband, but that’s not something a man in my position can feel nothing but grateful about.

A fucken’ mating challenge huh?

‘’What’s a mating challenge?’’ Soal asks as I take my chair on the little patio outside the library.

‘’The winner can choose to take the loser as a mate or a servant or kill her. But it wouldn’t work with me even if she won ‘cause then she'd have to fight each of my mates until she earned from them the right to have me as a servant.’’

‘’So basically the girl knows she will lose and get to be your mate anyways?’’

‘’Something like that, I guess she underestimates how mean I can be when pushed into a corner.’’

‘’She’s too pretty to be killed outright I’ll tell you that, it would be such a waste.’’ Soal says thoughtlessly, I give him a look at that.

‘’You know the way you think of women makes me glad my daughters didn’t grow up where you did, ‘a waste if she died’ spirits beyond. I wonder what you’d have her doing instead.’’ Soal disappears back into the library leaving me to enjoy the sunlight on my skin in peace.

To be honest I'm worried that Soal will die as soon as Om comes home but Soal seems oblivious to the danger so why worry him about it? What was Kiera thinking anyway, doesn't she know how dangerous Om is? But the problem is that none of us were thinking much and even she probably doesn't know how dangerous Om is. There are consequences to all things, and the consequences of Erotica's meddling are going to be felt for a while still.