LILITH

“Let's go to Sera and Phim, and ask them what to do. They've traveled a lot, so they probably know something that can help us,” Ambrosia suggested. And then Michael pointed to Aqorm and me, “Let's have a family dinner together, and invite Ambrosia and her family too.” I thought about inviting Sera and Phim while we were at it... but at one point they did try to attack us, so maybe that idea would have to wait.

This request seemed to come out of left field, but I understood. I knew firsthand how my sleeping about had created instability and unrest in my personal relationships. I mean, I had two families, one of which I had neglected. It was time to fix that.

I was married, and I couldn't exactly be polygamous. You have to pick someone and make it work. I couldn't commit myself to Michael without hurting Aqorm, because marriage was about giving yourself totally to another. You can't have multiple husbands or multiple wives without treating one or both of them like property. But it was time to fix the neglect to my other daughter, and it was time to repair the hurt I had caused to Michael. Since I was married to Aqorm, I had been pretty faithful to her.

It mattered that Portia and Sastraneth were half-sisters, but I'm not sure that she cared as long as I stayed in touch. Any excuse for her daughter to hang out with her friends was good enough for her. And so, she said, “That's fine by me. Let's do that first. From what I found out, Sera and Phim live in the middle of nowhere, so that seems like too much of a trip right now anyway.” And so, rather than making a long overseas trip, we instead parked Bahamut on the same isolated island that we had previously managed to enter a gate from. This island had no people, but plenty of forests nearby with wild game. Zoe shot an arrow through the head of an ostrogoth. The poor thing looked terribly depressed anyway with its black part of long feathers and general grumpy face, so at least it was out of its misery. Removing its feathers, we put it in a roasting pan and slowly cooked it, basting it semi-regularly with its own drippings. We also prepared a number of casseroles and side dishes such as stuffing, something with green beans and mushrooms and a cream sauce with fried onions on top, and this sort of jelly with cranberries in it. Bahamut punched down a couple of trees in her human form, and helped us make a large booth of sorts where we could sit, eat, and rest for awhile. Even Bahamut joined us, though she held back some, so as to save food for others. Later that night, I saw her foraging for other things to munch on.

Next, we had to invite our guests. After all, we didn't bring those two with us. Michael was able to not only fly, but also instantly transport (given a lot of familiarity). It wasn't much good though, as Michael couldn't actually take anyone along. Basically, all we could do was tell Sastra and Portia about the party, and we had to wait a bit. Portia got here instantly, while Sastra kinda fast-paddled a canoe and got here by nightfall. We had long talks and generally enjoyed each others' company, played some games, and then all that Tryptophan caught up with us. The next morning, we slept in some, and Tamashii spent some time with her friends. After that, Bahamut escorted them back, and we waited on this island. It was time to head for Sera and Phim, but I was thankful we got to spend this time together and mend some of the rifts that had developed over nine years. Sera has always been kinda rough with all of us, and over half the time we had met, we were literally fighting, usually because Aqorm was a bit outspoken.

Okay, a lot. Okay, maybe sometimes it would be better if she shut up. Yet for the most part, I loved her, and understood that both of us had our flaws but we also had reasons for choosing each other. Love wasn't all there was, we needed commitment, respect, and it was constant work. Some days it was real work, as we barely treated each other as friends. But we kept at it, because we understood that you can't just treat love as a convenience, or decide to stop loving people who are counting on you because things seem hard. Love isn't never having to say you're sorry. It's saying sorry over and over, and hoping they don't suddenly decide you don't mean it one day. And it's trying to be better, even when you fail. Love is hard. And harder still with a former lover.

And so, as part of this commitment to work, I was fully prepared to put a gag over Aqorm's mouth before she said something that made these two attack us before they gave us any information. It turns out that I needn't have bothered. When Aqorm entered, she was speechless. Just one look inside, and she turned around and hauled me in there.

Sera and Phim's place was a small wooden hut grafted on to a large cave. It looked like the mouth of a cave from the outside, but the inside had wooden walls and all manner of creature comforts. The water raged hard against the coast, and it was probably unsafe to build a house here, so they improvised. They had a number of nice furnishings: a stuffed green chair, a king-sized bed, a lantern enchanted by actual runes, a hot tub, a serious collection of rare books, not to mention a hoard of gems that would make a dragon blush, and even a Preserver to put their food. I could suddenly tell why they were so committed to bounty hunting, their house itself sucked, but it was sturdy and fill with nice things. I imagined they were the type of people to pay in installments. In any case, I stopped looking around when I saw Sera. Aqorm was already stuttering, “S-she... S-Sera... Sera's a girl?” Sera was not in his tight-fitting fighting uniform, but now in a long white gown, and was sitting legs spread. His. I noticed that with a gown leaving nothing between her legs to the imagination, and with a number of bandages that were obviously used for binding her chest tossed about the floor, it was pretty clear that Aqorm was right. If that weren't enough, she was holding an infant on her belly, and it looked like she had just given birth recently. I was tempted to believe that this was just some woman who looked like Sera, that maybe Phim was hanging out with Sera's sister or something. Sera called out, “Hey! What are you people waiting for, a written invitation? Stop gawking at me and come here. Especially you, Aqorm! Honest God, you give me no end of trouble, don't you?” Sera scolded us, yet she didn’t look angry. She was just sassing us.

Nevras stared, and then remembered something, “Sera, can you show me that identification of yours again?” He looked it over, and I looked over his shoulder.

Before, her index finger had covered most of the top two lines because she was holding it by the edge, so we did not realize the truth. But now all this information was plain to see. “Ah!” he gasped, “Now I remember! I was very young, but I do remember a knight who was dubbed only to apparently disappear from view. I had received word that she had later had become part of the bounty division, but somehow her identity had become lost from our records. Yes, Serafina Ichikawa was a legend.”

We looked around again. A papoose was nearby, so I imagine she intended to haul her baby along on bounty hunts with her once she had recovered. And she would probably raise her child knowing how to fight, since these two were hardcore, and probably thought of nothing but fighting. “It's not his,” she offered, seeing us look from her to Phim questioningly. She explained, “We've been earning money for Phim’s seven nephews to keep that dumb broad on life support. One day, I just kinda needed something to take the edge off, so I went to the bar and I just met this guy. We had a wild night, but I don't really know his name. When he found out I was pregnant, I never saw him again. But Phim said he'd stick around and we raised this little girl together.” Now that we were here, maybe it was a good time to ask our question so she could get back to the important work of raising a child. Though she appeared to be using her child to weigh down her push-ups, so maybe it was a bit early to expect a typical mother.

SERA

I dunno what all the fuss was about. They haven't seen a breast-binding woman who wanted to kill beasties get stripped down to her undies and cuddle a baby before? And it's not like nobody's seen have seen a woman living with dwarves.

Anyway, those guys kept interrogating me about that big flying Universe Egg out there. I told them flatly that I didn't know anything, that my bounties took me all around even into Belial's Castle, but it was another thing entirely to explore the inside of something like that. “Stop hiding things from us!” Aqorm demanded, “Or would you prefer us to make you talk?” Hey, I was into kinky stuff too, but I really didn't know anything. Except... “What about the Orihime Flute? Isn't that supposed to break up all kinds of magical barriers?” asked Phim. I shrugged, “I thought that was a legend, though.” We looked at each other, then debated about whether or not the legend is true, before I told them all, “Oh well, if it is a real thing, that's probably in that dungeon. We used to be adventurers, and it was the only one I hadn't explored. The puzzles were the worst, and I didn't fancy getting trapped with water rushing in if it suddenly sank.” That hottie Nevras asked where this place was, and I circled his map right near here. It was easy to miss if you didn't know what you were looking for. They were getting ready to walk away when I told em, “Wait you! I wanna teach him our special move.” And setting my girl down, I slowly got up. “You sure you're up for this?” Phim asked, “I mean, you just gave birth like a day ago...” Hey, no sweat. Any real man can do this move, so I can definitely do it right after pregnancy. I gave an okay sign.

“Alright, you remember what you saw, right? Phim tossing me up, then I used the air to kinda shoot my sword like a meteor, right?” Nevras said yea, “I do remember that. But how do I do this move without ummm someone tossing me?” I looked him over. He'd probably fit into some of the old dresses my folks kept giving me. In fact, that was a good idea. I motioned Ambrosia over, “While I'm distracting him with this lesson, I want you to load all of my dresses into that bag of yours. I know it can carry quite a bit, right?” I turned back to Nevras, “Hey you. I bet I can toss you in the air, easy. If I can do that, I'm pretty sure you're light enough that you can learn that triple jump that I've always had trouble with.” Sure enough, I tossed him a good thirty feet in the air.

I spent the next few days giving him the hardest training he'd ever seen. First, I weighted his legs and ankles, and had him practice wall jumping. “You're gonna want to replicate this motion in midair, boosting your upper body.” I had him run laps, uphill and down, climbing the walls outside the cave until at least he managed to double the height of his jumps. But it wasn't over yet. I needed to teach him to fall from great heights without getting hurt or permanently paralyzed from the neck down. Then I showed him how to use rolls and somersaults to change his fall speed, and build up the proper momentum for this move. Finally, he was ready. “Show me the SeraPhim Slice,” I said, and he quickly proved his skill by drilling a hole through the wooden target I'd set up. It exploded after being struck. I praised him, “Great! But your training isn't done.”

His eyebrows raised, since he basically broken his bones and been healed, and by all accounts had mastered the ability. He was done, but I had to be sure if my suspicions were right. I motioned to Aqorm and Ambrosia, “Give him a makeover!” And I got Zoe to summon a powerful storm. “What?!? Wait no... what are you doing?!?” While the other guys quickly looked away, we got him into a bra and some panties, then padded him up. I loaned him my old black stockings that I never wore, and a purple strapless cotton dress that hugged his body tightly and gave him such nice curves. His hair had grown out a bit so there was no need for any wig, so I instead dunked his head under the water and started curling his hair. Finally, I gave him some white gloves. I was right! Ambrosia was a lucky girl... Had I found him first, he'd be my sort of guy. I'd teach him all sorts of things. “I think you just wanted to dress me up!” he protested, with his voice lacking a great deal of anger that another male might have had. Nonsense, I would never want that. Okay, maybe just a little. Keeping a straight face and trying not to blush, I said, “Absolutely not. It is the mark of a true master to be able to fire an arrow in any condition. Likewise, you will have to use this in a rainstorm, wearing these tight clothes, and... I almost forgot, you need to wear these heels.” He looked like he had smaller feet than the average male but these would still hurt. “Alright, practice! Run in those heels! Run without tearing those stockings! I'm not satisfied! Now jump!” The rain and wind beat hard against the coast, but I insisted that he keep the grace and poise of a proper lady, because after all, he was royalty. He looked tired and kinda embarrassed. Bah. No mercy! Every jump he had to land on his feet, and keep his legs tight to avoid showing anything, yet he also had to match his former jump height. It was impossible training, but I was determined to see my fetish... umm I was determined that he should master the technique. Finally, they got in their boat and took off, but I gave him that outfit to keep.

ELIAS

Ah yes, I had forgotten about the Orihime Flute. The myth states that long ago, an immortal girl named Orihime lived near the Heavenly River. Her father loved the clothes she wore, but she never managed to meet anyone. One day, she met a charming boy who made her happy named Hikoboshi. But her father decided to separate the two of them on opposing sides of the Heavenly River. Seeing her despair, her father allowed them to meet only on the seventh day of the seventh month, when she finished her weaving. But the first year, there was no bridge and it was rainy. The next year, though, she managed to cross. As an aside, this is really a star festival of the stars Vega and Altair, which you can only see close together on this night (and only when it’s not raining) The Orihime Flute is likewise able to break down barriers. Anyway, let’s not talk about Nevras.

AMBROSIA

I wasn't about to let Sera have my man, so despite the fact that Aqorm was finally starting to get along with those two, we cut our reunion short. We would later invite them to meetings with our family and friends. But for now, I wanted some alone time with my husband. While our boat sailed to the dungeon given Sera's drawn directions, we went below deck. The air up there was too salty anyway, and we wanted to chill.

The ship had a few floors as a result of renovations over the few years. The barrels of salted food, logs, and supplies were in the galley, along with the seawater extractor for giving us more salt and our fresh water. Meanwhile, the Preserver for other food was near the kitchen on the floor above that along with the dining area. The kitchen featured a wood stove so cooking could actually be done within the ship, and we had created a sort of “slush fund” by selling the grease from our cooking back at ports. The kitchen also had a crude container that cooled water and air to make ice. Above the dining deck were cabins for our rooms and a large common space near the front of the ship. The heat from the stove was transmitted through pipes, so the rooms were warmer than the rest of the ship. In the commons, we did most of our entertainment during long trips, Aqorm played music, some of us danced, sometimes we talked, and occasionally Bahamut joined us when she wasn't flying around. Above this were the decks and the navigator's quarters where the ship's wheel was. Aside from more floors, one of the major renovations was a large ethereal cannon, a foremast in addition to our original mast, and a grounding bar.

Let's talk about that last one first. At some point we realized that Tamashii's nightmares tended to be very destructive to wherever we slept; while she didn't have to worry as much about running out of mystic power like most of the spellcasters here, when she wasn't conscious her powers tended to be uncontrollable. At home our solution was simpler, we just rebuilt the house. But we couldn’t do that on a boat, so we installed a metallic mast of a Selenium-Tungsten alloy which acted as a lightning rod but also was effective at drawing away delta wave (resting) psionic energy. It also loaded the ethereal cannon! Not that we tried to make her have traumatic dreams, that would be bad parenting. She always dreamed that all her friends disappeared and she was alone. I told her that we were there for her, but nothing cheered her up for this dream.

The cabins were simple yet comfortable. They had a small bed that had a pullout where another person could sleep, a small table for study, a mirror, and a dresser. We were about to settle in for a good time when Tamashii burst in, “Please let me sleep with you guys tonight! I'm scared I'll have another nightmare~” As much as good parenting would be to say, “Of course you can sleep with us,” first of all, I didn't want her to be clingy. And I was kinda hot for Nevras right now in that cute dress of his... So I told her to go sleep with someone else. If not, at the very least, there was a beanbag in the commons. Although I’m not sure it was very soft, since it had been squished by sitting.

TAMASHII

How rude! I tried to sleep out in the commons, but Zoe and Azrael were lying together in a couch. If I had been less educated and more naive, I might have said they were “wrestling” considering the way they were rolling over each other. But I was me, so I knew they were going at it. Apparently, finding out Sera was a girl was incredibly sexy, because I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone besides me on this ship was getting lucky tonight. After some time passed, Mom and Dad let me in.

AMBROSIA

Nevras, had come to realize in our years together that during our travels fighting sandworms, olgoi khorkoi, and lesser worms... I had become very hot for annelids. I went crazy once he covered me with fireworms. I moaned as they crawled on me, and their tiny bristles pricked at me, as we had like the best time ever...

After we'd had our fun, we invited her back in to stay with us. She looked a little sad for being left alone during that time, but after a hug and a bedtime story she cheered up. I told her The Tale of The Plague, a rousing and fun story about everyone getting an epidemic. She did not have nightmares about loneliness tonight.