Joram broke out of his training trance at the unusual sound behind him, his mind now focussed on his field of perception. What he found was Avi, face pressed against the floor plates trying to breath.
He immediately killed the extra gravity and dashed over to her, sending a [Mend Body] through the Network as he moved.
“Are you OK?” He asked anxiously as he slid to her like a baseball player sliding into home base.
“That wasn’t well thought out,” she mumbled to herself, allowing him to help her sit up.
He just about leaned in to kiss her when his musings came crashing back into the front of his mind. Instead, he used the aborted motion to give her a light hug before sitting back, legs spread out in a wide “v”.
“I’m glad you’re OK,” he said, focussing on her eyes. “But what’s so important that you couldn’t just chat over the Network?”
“Well, I thought talking in person might be a bit better for this,” she said, looking away from him.
Oh shit! Is she mad? Is she going to break things off? But wouldn’t that be for the best? Having a complicated relationship like this wouldn’t be good, would it? Yeah, friends is-
He was snapped out of his growing anxiety by Avi’s finger smacking into his forehead, right between the eyes.
“Hey, where’s that brain taking you?” She asked, looking a bit annoyed with him.
“I-“ he said, but was cut off.
“Don’t answer that,” she said, sighing. “I can just imagine the places it would go. No, I came to break some bad news about out tails. Not us,” she finished, keeping eye contact with him.
“Oh?” He said dumbly as he tried his best to jettison his fears and anxieties regarding “them”.
Avi proceeded to explain her findings. About the tail, how to deal with it, and everything in between. When she finished, she took his hands in hers and took another deep breath.
“I’d like to keep the tails for at least a little while,” she said earnestly. “I really enjoyed our play with them. I also know that you liked it as well. So, let’s keep them until we know for sure if we like them or not.”
Joram could only stare at her, his words failing him for a time.
“I’m not worried so much about the tails,” he started, “so much as ‘us’,” he said, slipping his hands out from hers so that he could instead hold her hands.
“What are you talking about?” She asked, a suspicious look growing on her face.
He then shared the thoughts he’d had over the last half day. He explained his fears that she was just acting according to Altaea’s programming and how them having an intimate relationship wouldn’t be appropriate under such circumstances. By the time he finished speaking, his voice had trailed off to a murmur under her incredulous gaze.
“So, those were my thoughts….”
Avi stared at him as though he was some sort of alien creature she was trying to figure out for a full three minutes and twenty-seven seconds before she spoke.
“Joram,” she said, then stopped a moment. “Joram. That is probably the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever had the misfortune of hearing,” she said, shaking her head. “One: Altaea would never program a slave. Two: Altaea made me based off her own personality. Three: No amount of programming would me affect after having my nascent soul fully realized.
“I may have originally been made to help you, and to be helpful. But no more than Altaea would have been in a similar situation. If I didn’t want to be here, I would have left. It doesn’t matter that our souls are linked. We’re still our own people, our own selves. I am no more beholden to you than Bai Lian, Wentian, or Mo Yu are.
“Do I know if our budding relationship will be long term? No. Do I want to see where we’ll go from here? Certainly. Even though we started off a bit backwards, I’m certain that I want this. Do you?” She asked seriously as she stared into his eyes as though she’d find the answer before he spoke.
As she’d spoken, he’d gone through every one of his arguments and fears, dismissing them when Avi brought them up. He really had nothing to say to that, so for answer, he leaned forward to kiss her, but stopped halfway.
“I think that I do,” he said, then closed his eyes to wait.
He only just got his eyes closed before he felt her lips on his, her arms wrapping around his neck in a fierce embrace.
Well, that answers that, he thought. Which happened to be the last thing the thought of for the rest of the night.
- - - - -
Joram lay with Avi in bed, enjoying the feeling of her as he spooned with her. Her tail made it slightly awkward, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying the cuddles.
“So,” he said, his chin resting on her shoulder. “Tonight will be a full moon. Are we really just going to keep out eyes closed the entire day?”
For answer, Avi snaked her hand back to stroke his tail, causing shivers of intense pleasure to run up his spine. He refrained from doing the same to her, genuinely not wanting to distract her so that he could hear her answer.
“No, that wouldn’t be entirely practical,” she said with pout. “Given that the full moons fall on Sundays, we’ll just have to make sure to spend out time indoors, away from windows or something. Either that, or we can start wearing sunglasses that prevent people from seeing out eyes so that they won’t question why we’ve got our eyes closed.”
“That sounds just as bothersome,” he said, imagining people instead pestering them about why they’d both suddenly started wearing sunglasses all the time.
Avi sighed, causing her to shift against him. With a supreme effort of willpower, he concentrated on the conversation instead of her body.
“We can play it by ear,” she said, once again sounding a bit put out. “I really don’t want to give up my tail yet,” she said, then wiggled around until she faced him, their foreheads touching.
“As much as I’d love to spend every waking moment in your embrace,” he said, then gave her a quick kiss. “We do have things we both need to get to.”
“That we do,” Avi said with a smile. “But first…”
She finished her statement by once again running her fingers down his tail, leaving him primed.
She didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
- - - - -
Manifesting another [Cleanse], Joram slid out of bed and summoned another outfit as he shifted into his High Elan form. After a quick [Everyman] he got dressed, making sure to not look back at Avi for fear that his resolve would crumble.
“Be sure to stay away from windows tonight,” Avi said from the bed.
He very much didn’t like his field of perception at the moment, as he could still “see” Avi as the sheets dropped from her form as she slid out of bed and started getting dressed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll likely stay in my study for the rest of the night as its windows don’t face the moon’s path,” he said, testing out the fit of his clothing.
It was a bit weird to be in his High Elan form but shapeshifted to be the same size as his Aneath form. He’d been too distracted last night to really notice the body dissonance. After having learned the [Everyman] Power from Altaea, he hadn’t used it at all. But now that he was using it to mimic another form of his, it felt more than a little weird.
“Just relax,” Avi said, noticing his stress cues and coming over to give him a hug. “Once you’ve tamed the beast, as it were, you’ll not have to worry about your work-around,” she said, referring to what he was doing.
“I really hope so,” he said vehemently. “It’s more than a little bit embarrassing not being able to keep my mind out of the gutter when I’m in my Aneath form. Heck, it’s still hard even now. But at least it’s manageable.”
Avi pulled back a bit so that she could look him in the eye.
“Should we cancel the study sessions with my friends until you get a handle on things?” She asked seriously, concern written in her expression.
“I would very much hate to cause any incidents before I can get myself under control,” he said seriously, which caused a trinkle to appear in her eyes.
“What,” she said, her tone turning teasing. “You don’t want to start adding women to your harem yet?”
It’s a trap!!!
“I don’t think that I would survive such a thing,” he said, shaking his head before Avi caught it with both hands to give him a kiss.
“Wonderful answer,” she said, a huge smile on her face. “But I really don’t care either way. I just want you to always love and appreciate me. If you can do that, I’ll accept more women in your life… that I first approve of, that is.”
Joram suddenly felt that his life had gotten immeasurably more complicated than it had been just five minutes ago.
- - - - -
*1346.06.05*
Captain’s log, arbitrary stardate 1346.06.05.
It’s really arbitrary because, as far as I know, there wasn’t really a proper way to calculate a stardate that wasn’t in the 23rd or 24th century. Sure, there were suggestions, but that was about it. Suggestions. So, here we are! The date presented in a way that looks more like a software version than anything else.
Anyways.
The past two months have passed relatively painlessly. Relative to, say, having every bone in your body crushed one by one by a medieval master of torture who happened to be drunk at the time.
I took Avi’s advice of putting off the tutoring sessions for her friends, or anyone else for that matter, until I could at least keep my mind from undressing my fellow students. Which had worked reasonably well, until her friends started just dropping by to “say hi”.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After a particularly close call with Daleira, I started staying in the Realm when not going to class or performing at Dawn Star.
On a positive note, the time spent there exercising and cultivating at the same time has been very productive. While keeping myself occupied, I had Kinkade work on building my Cores while M3 worked on integrating T2 Mana into the Psijic Star.
Aside from feeling like a gym rat, I’ve actually made good progress with my cultivation. I’ve now reached the 4th Rank of Tier 5, something that the Trio has told me is altogether too fast. That said, M3 successfully managed to integrate the T2 Mana into my Psijic Star, leading to an insane boost in its power. Which also led me to reaching the 6th Tier as a Mentalist.
Their ranking for Mentalists is a bit weird, though. There’s no way to determine someone’s cultivation in “Mental Strength” by just looking at someone, so instead they just go by what their testing stones measure. Much like how I was tested at the entrance exam.
How would I get my hands on something like that, you ask? Well, the Dean being a fanboy helped. In exchange for being able to use a testing stone whenever I want to, I just had to make him a permanent sculpture of a Heavenly Lightning Jade Dragon, 1/1,000th the life sized version.
Anyway, the testing stone says I’m actually now at T6R4. Handy. Now I don’t really have to worry that much about Jae-Eun’s murder machine taking me out if I say something wrong.
All-told, huge progress was made on all fronts concerning my cultivation. Heck, I’ve even managed to get up to 6G in my resistance training! Win!
On the personal side of things, it’s been tough.
I’ve spent as much time as I can spare with my family, Xixi, Zanth, and Grammy as I could. Even helping Grammy by answering her hundreds of questions related to Encompass the Universe, which was draining. I hadn’t really known just how much of a research fanatic Grammy was before this. It’s actually a bit scary.
Anyways, I found out that mom had decided to break through to Tier 2 at the same time as Grammy and Avi, which was a bit of a surprise. It seems that the three of them have become pretty close friends over the past few months, especially in the past two months.
I suspect that both mom and Grammy know that Avi and I are a thing now, but neither of them has said a word about it. So, I’ll just leave that conversation with them alone. No need to complicate life further, after all.
Anywho.
After having kept our tails for a good six weeks, Avi and I decided that it would ultimately be for the best to amputate them. I can’t express how much that hurt, but I’m pretty sure that Avi is as relieved as I am that we won’t have to worry about accidentally seeing a full moon and going on a rampage.
Which led to an unforeseen benefit. After my tail was removed, and I’d recovered from the shock, I found that my nearly unbridled sex drive had dropped to manageable levels again. Not that it’s easy, no. It’s still a chore to keep focussed, but at least I’m no longer on a hair trigger, as it were.
Which made classes so much easier to attend. Even though I’d read through and memorized the textbooks for each class before hand, being distracted by pretty classmates had made it hard to focus.
Now that I’m not constantly distracted, I was able to notice an interesting pattern with arrays. Or, rather, in how they’re written and compiled. As annoying as having to draw out a geometric diagram to make an array is, I found that it was ultimately still inefficient.
I then went and reread the advanced textbooks on arrays and the theory behind them and found my answer. There is indeed a “language” for magic. It’s used in arrays as well as artifact refining, the process of making a magical item here. I’m not as familiar as I would like to be with the Language of Magic, so I’ll need to put in more study time.
That said, Alyraele, Sophia, Gabrielle, Daleira, and Jae-Eun didn’t have a clue about any of that yet. I’m not sure if they’ll continue to study arrays as they progress in their studies even though I think that our study group is getting along well.
Yes, I now have five of the goddesses as consistent study partners, not including Avi. That said, Avi has mentioned that a few others on the Ranking expressed interest in joining their study session. She was a bit hesitant to accept as she still hadn’t gotten a read on their motives or personalities yet. Which is why we’ll all be meeting later this evening to “interview” them.
On another note, I was happy when the four girls accepted Alicia’s invitation. They’ve gone out questing more than a few times since, and they seem to really get along well. With Alicia taking defense with Gabrielle, the other four are able to deal with any problems that pop up with ranged attacks.
Ah, what else?
Most of the clan has relocated from my Realm to the Prime. Most of the residents of Brightside chose to start rebuilding their lives alongside Brightside’s construction. It has certainly made a few things easier having them all helping with Brightside’s construction and planning. Heck, they were even excited to see the cultivation cave that I made a while back.
My family, though, decided to settle in Stormhaven, Tillia’s parents included.
That said, my family is still managing Brightside and the area. Kinkade helps with transportation when time is of the essence. Otherwise, they just use one of the runabouts that Avi had continued making.
We have six now, as well as a Defiant-Class starship. And a Falcon.
Their systems aren’t fully flushed out yet, but Avi assures me that they can fly and are space worthy. Which opens up a space exploration in the future!
In the meantime, I’m sure that Avi’s already got something going on up there considering the amount of resources she just so happens to have on hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already got mining operations and refineries set up out there.
Hmm, what else? Mentioned my cultivation, school, the gals, my family…. Oh, right.
Before the interviews tonight, I’ll be speaking with the Trio. Wentian’s been a bit weird these past couple months, constantly slipping into conversations I’ve had with Bai Lian, never leaving just the two of us alone together. I’m not sure if he’d trying to attract Bai Lian’s attention, or acting as a very weird wingman for Mo Yu, seeing as how he never interrupts our conversations together.
At least Bai Lian and Mo Yu seem to have calmed down a bit in the past two months. It had gotten a bit weird with how protective they’d gotten with me. It could be that they were worried that one of the girls in the study group would try something with me or something. Kind of like overprotective sisters filtering out the ones they didn’t approve of.
Anyway, today is the day to let them know that I’ll be releasing them from their Oaths if they’ll agree to another Oath to keep my secrets. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but sometimes people get talking and things slip out.
Ah, well. I’ll end it there.
End of Log.
Joram leaned back in his chair, doing a full-body stretch that felt amazing after having sat for so long.
He adjusted his glasses as he sat up again, noting that it was almost time for the Trio to come in for the meeting. With the last few minutes, he went over what he wanted to say to them. It wasn’t too complicated, but he was still crap with talking about serious and sensitive stuff.
*Knock-knock*
He once again refrained from going there and instead called them in.
Bai Lian led the way, as she often did. He wondered if she took the lead because of a weird sense of seniority they had amongst themselves based on who was brought back first.
Either way, Wentian followed her closely with Mo Yu taking up the rear. The three of them lined up in front of his desk, looking like they’d been called to the principle’s office or something weird like that.
“Why the odd looks?” He asked rhetorically. “Just have a seat, relax. Take a load off, as it were,” he said with a smile, which seemed to have the opposite effect on them.
They did sit though.
“What’s on your mind, young master?” Mo Yu asked, the most composed of the three.
“I’ve been thinking long and hard about your Oaths to me,” he said, getting startled looks out of them.
“Have we done anything wrong?” Bai Lian asked anxiously, now looking worried that she’d somehow messed up.
“No, not at all,” he said with a smile as he waved that concern off. “Quite the opposite in fact.”
“Then what’s this about?” Wentian asked warily, leaning back a hair.
Joram looked at Wentian, trying to figure out what was going on, but then just gave up.
“I’ve spoken to you all about my views on slavery, right?” He asked, getting not just startled looks, but worried ones now.
Nevertheless, they all nodded slowly as he suppressed the urge to facepalm.
“OK, that was a bad lead-in,” he said with a sigh. “What I’m trying to get at is that I think your Oaths are a bit too close to making slaves of you for my comfort.”
That got even higher levels of surprise from them than his other statements had.
“But such Oaths of loyalty are common,” Bai Lian said slowly, concern written on her face.
“Not for me, they’re not,” he said quietly, images of horrible feudal states coming to mind. “I am sorry that I asked such Oaths from you. So, as of now, I’ll dismiss those Oaths in favour of just one. That you keep my secrets, as well as those of those close to me. Do you agree?”
It seemed as though he was carpet bombing the Trio with shocking questions and statements, for they were once again stunned into silence as they processed his words.
Wentian was the easiest to read. His suspicion had faded into an eagerness that he wasn’t quite able to hide. Which honestly was both understandable and worried him a bit.
Had he somehow treated the man poorly over the past five months?
Bai Lian was the next easiest to read, but still a confusing smorgasbord of emotions played across her face. He managed to identify traces of anger, confusion, sadness, and even betrayal in there. None of which made any sense to him until he remembered Asura’s words when he’d run back to his old training grounds to get away from his family as they tried to give him “the talk”, or a pep talk, or something equally embarrassing.
“Don’t forget about Bai Lian and Mo Yu.” Asura had told him, which had initially confused him. Now, well, even he was starting to understand as he watched the emotions warring across Bai Lian’s face.
He turned to study Mo Yu then and found that she was already studying him. Her face was unreadable, but he did see heat in her eyes as she regarded him. And not the kind of heat he’d been seeing in Avi’s eyes the past two months. No, he was sure that she, too, was angry with him for reasons he couldn’t properly explain.
“Ahem,” he said, drawing their attention back to him. “Wentian? Would you like to go first?”
Wentian nodded slowly as he shot a quick glance at Bai Lian.
“I accept,” he said, causing both women to look at him. “I also swear to keep your secrets, not sharing them with anyone not already in your confidence. If I break this Oath, may the heavens punish me as they see fit,” he said solemnly.
Joram nodded, accepting the Oath for what it was. It left a lot of leeway for the punishment of breaking the Oath, but he was more concerned by the spirit of the words. Which seemed sincere enough.
Bai Lian and Mo Yu shared a look as he sensed a conversation going on between them over the Network. He certainly didn’t want to listen in on it, as it was probably several levels of personal.
After a moment, they nodded to each other before getting up, each making their own way around his desk to kneel on either side of him. He looked from one to the other before rolling his chair back a bit so that he could more easily see the pair. Though, once the room opened up, they shimmied forward so that they were both kneeling in front of him, their shoulders touching.
“I, Qin Bai Lian,”
“I, Li Mo Yu,”
Bai Lian said, followed by Mo Yu, then they spoke together, sending chills down his spine.
“Vow to the Heavens and my ancestors to forever be loyal, true, and faithful to you, Joram Aneath. Whatever may come, whomever may protest, this will be true regardless of any words or actions to come; forevermore.”
“OK,” he said.
Given the looks of fierce determination they had, he couldn’t think of anything else to say to that. What could he say? He only had an inkling as to why they’d made such an Oath, but really had no idea how they’d come to the decision to make that Oath. Especially one that bound them to him “forevermore”.
The words of his father came to mind as he watched the two young women slowly stand up, hand-in-hand.
“I think that you underestimate the allure of a handsome young man whose talent is above the clouds. Not to mention someone who’s selfless enough to help complete strangers without asking for anything in return. I could see it in those girls…”
Had he been mistaken this whole time? Were Bai Lian’s and Mo Yu’s feelings not those of overprotective sisters, but something more? How was he going to deal with that?
“Wentian, thank you for your sincerity,” he said as he turned to the man. “If you could give us a moment alone?”
Wentian looked torn between his automatic reply that had formed over the course of five months and what he was now able to say. Eventually, wisdom won out and he nodded.
“I’ll get started on making snacks for this evening then,” he said, giving Bai Lian one last look before leaving.
With a thought, he dragged the chairs that the young women had been sitting in over, then motioned for them to sit. A few moments later, he was ready to speak with them without feeling like some skuzzy protagonist in a harem comic.
“Tell me, what brought on the new vow?” He asked infinity more calmly than he felt inside.
The pair exchanged looks again before Mo Yu spoke up.
“Should it now not be obvious to you?” She asked, pulling a Socrates on him.
“What I don’t understand is the ‘why’. Or maybe the ‘how’ of it,” he started, trying to find the right words. “With what you just did, even I understand your intent. But given the eminently unequal dynamic between us, I just don’t understand how your feelings came to be.”
The two exchanged another Look before Bai Lian spoke up.
“Your grandmother was correct,” she said as she shook her head slightly.
“Do you not remember what your father told you?” Mo Yu asked as soon as Bai Lian finished, making him think that they’d somehow reversed this.
“Are you talking about the whole talent thing or my kindness?”
“Talent is indeed important but character, more so,” Bai Lian said, now showing a bit of difficulty looking him in the eye.
“Kindness,” he started with a sigh. “Receiving kindness shouldn’t be like finding an Immortal Coin on the street. Nor should it be something that someone shows another for any reason other than it being the right thing to do,” he said as he stared at Bai Lian.
When she looked up at hearing his words, he locked eyes with her.
“Being a decent person, no matter your social standing, ethnicity, race, or any other factor should be a universal standard. That this world only seems to worship strength is its greatest failing,” he said in all seriousness.
Then, as the seconds ticked by with the two of them looking at him as though they’d encountered a mythical and wondrous beast, he started to feel self-conscious. Had he come off as a sanctimonious prat?
At length, Mo Yu finally replied.