“So, I get why Cora left. And I also get why Noct is over there. But why did Severina leave?”

Ida looked up to meet Amarantha’s questioning gaze. Like everyone else currently in the room, she was naked, and quite unabashed by the condition. The petite catgirl stood off to the side, hands clasped in front of her as she rocked back and forth on her heels. She looked calm enough, except for the flaming tail that whipped from side to side behind her.

“Severina and I are on the roof right now,” Ida explained as she turned her eyes downward again so she could better keep track of her fingers. “There’s a ritual that we’ve been putting off that will boost her stats. Tonight seemed like a good opportunity to make it happen.”

“Outdoor sex?” Amarantha ventured.

“Basically, yes,” Ida murmured as her fingers pressed deftly against the small of Kerr’s back, drawing an appreciative groan out of the therion. “There has to be a risk of exposure and discovery, otherwise the ritual doesn’t take effect.”

Ammy made an O shape with her mouth, nodding in quiet understanding. She continued to stand at Ida’s side, rocking back and forth as she watched the Nephilim massage Kerr’s lower back. It wasn’t until she had made her way down to the archer’s buttocks and upper thighs that Amarantha spoke up again.

“So… you don’t want me to leave?”

Ida smiled lightly at the question. It was the one she knew the Lares had been dancing around for the past twenty minutes, ever since she had fully recovered from the seriously intense fucking they had all been participants to. Now that the ritual was over and the majority of the sex was done, there wasn’t much reason for the Lares stick around. No more than there had been for Cora.

Right?

“Do you want to leave?” Ida asked, eyes still on the task beneath her.

It took Ammy a few breaths to respond.

“I mean, I guess I don’t mind sticking around, if you’re inviting me to.”

Finally raising her gaze again, Ida met Amarantha’s eyes.

“You’re always welcome. But do you want to be here? With me?”

Ammy balked at the direct question, eyes darting down as her hands went behind her back. The catgirl’s ears fell to either side of her head, twitching occasionally, while her tail whipped around with even greater fervor.

“She’s being blunt,” Kerr spoke up, one green eye open and assessing the Lares. “Just be blunt back. You’re both big girls.”

The words came across as dismissively harsh, but Jadis recognized the kind intent behind them. Kerr cared for Ammy, and what she said was meant to galvanize, not deride. For her part, Amarantha seemed to come to the same realization.

“Okay, yeah,” Amarantha looked up once more, her expression showing resolve. “I want to be here. And, I’m not just saying that because the sex was amazing. I mean, it was really, really amazing. I think I’m going to keep this form around for a while longer, just because I kind of hope you’ll want to do that with me again. Frequently.”

Ammy bit her lip as she looked at Ida, her gaze roaming across her body as the catgirl’s thighs rubbed together for a few seconds. Then with visible effort, she shook her head and pulled her wits back together.

“However… I’m not leaving Willy.”

Ida smiled at the Lares’ wincing expression. The poor girl looked like she was expecting an explosion, anger, maybe some cursing. Instead, Ida reached out and pulled Ammy closer. When she opened her mouth to voice her confusion, Ida quickly dipped her head down and took the catgirl’s lips with her own. The kiss was sweet and full of longing, but Ida did not let it go on for too long. She had to clear the air between them. Everything else could come later.

“Ammy, I would never ask you to,” Ida stated while holding the woman’s cheek. “You’re one of the Hero’s mighty companions. You think I would take that away from you? Or take you away from him? Not a chance.”

“So, you don’t mind if… I’m not always around?” Ammy asked tentatively, her expression brightening.

“Mind? Yes, I’ll mind. I want you to be around me all the time,” Ida stated her thoughts as bluntly as possible. “But I’m an adult. I have restraint. And I can wait until this whole Demon invasion bullshit is over before I drag you away from Wilhelm so we can date and dance around the inevitable for a while before you eventually become one of my wives and we make lots of little half-giant cat-eared babies.”

Ammy’s body went stiff as a board at the declaration, her ears and tail standing on end as her flames doubled in size. With huge, unblinking eyes, she slowly nodded her head.

“Th—that works, for me. Yeah. I, uh, I can do that.”

“Until then,” Ida continued, “I’ll just have to settle for a semi long-distance relationship. With frequent visits for fucking. Sound good?”

“Yes!” Ammy squeaked, her face flushing with excitement as she rocked her hips from side to side. “Very good! Can… can we start that last part, right away?”

“Perhaps,” Ida smirked at the eager catgirl. “I have a different question first, though. Do you want to take advantage of my Lewd Lover’s Bond? I’m sure Kerr already told you what it does. You won’t always have it active, but—”

“Yes, let’s do it!” Amarantha cut her off while also jumping forward to wrap her arms around Ida’s neck in a joyful hug. “I don’t need it all the time, anyway! I’ll just brew up as many potions as I can while I have the boost in effect! I’m sure the extra hundred or whatever points will be a big help with my mixtures, and they’ll still be just as potent after the ritual wears off.”

A hundred or so points, was it? Ida glanced at Kerr, who gave her an over the shoulder wink. It seemed that not all of the relevant details had been shared.

“Mm, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait your turn,” Ida pointed towards Maeve who was sitting with her Dia self. “I can only do one ritual at a time, and once I’m done with Sev up above, Maeve has dibs. We need to boost her Vitality stat.”

“Oh, right,” Ammy scratched her fiery head while turning her cat ears in the direction of the Fetch. “That’s a good choice, by the way. Solid health benefits, and she can use her Penumbral Boost to increase one of her other physical attributes when needed while still having the ability to take hits.”

Frowning slightly, which on the cute catgirl looked more like an adorable pout than an actual frown, Ammy tried to give Ida a serious look.

“You know, we don’t review our skills like this in the Hero’s party. I’ve never heard of anyone being this open with their skills, even among dedicated groups of high CLR fighters. I mean, we do discuss our skills and spells so we know what everyone can do, but not at the level of detail all of you do. It’s so… personal.”

“Maybe you should try it,” Ida suggested. “It’s helped us plan out our progress a lot better, and I’ve picked out skills I probably would have overlooked if Aila or others hadn’t pointed them out to me as better options.”

“It’s helped me,” Kerr added, her head still resting on her forearms. “Can’t hurt you Hero types.”

“Maybe I’ll suggest it,” Amarantha said, lost in thought for a moment or two. Then her expression brightened with wicked intent. “But not right now!”

Leaping forward, the catgirl flopped on top of Kerr’s back, making the therion grunt with the impact. Situating herself comfortably while not giving a damn about the archer’s complaints, she turned her back towards Ida and gave her pert ass a couple of pats with her hand.

“My turn! Start here and… see where the mood takes us!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“No complaints from me,” Ida smirked as she dug her fingers into the swell of Ammy’s backside.

“Some from me,” Kerr grumbled. “I was enjoying that massage.”

“Shush,” Amarantha commanded. “I’ll take care of you.”

To Ida’s surprise, Ammy immediately began to lick the back of Kerr’s neck. It was an incredibly odd gesture, until Jadis remembered that the Mystic was a Lares after all. Apparently, grooming flames was a thing, and not all that dissimilar to how a mundane cat would go about it.

Kerr looked like she was going to say something, but Jadis guessed she changed her mind as the therion simply rested her head back down, closed her eyes, and relaxed into the attention. After all, there wasn’t anything to protest. A pretty girl was licking her. What more could Kerr rightly ask for?

While her Ida body gave Ammy’s body the proper attention it deserved, Jadis’ other selves were staying busy in conversation and preparation for the rest of the night. Aside from the additional rituals that were waiting to be completed, the review of massively increased stats, and the discussions regarding who would be doing what in the morning as they finally began their march on Kastoria, Jadis had one other significant chat that needed to be had. The only problem was, the person she needed to have that chat with was not being particularly communicative at just that moment.

“Hey, Noct. Hey,” Jay tapped the Valravn’s shoulder with one finger. “You okay yet? Ready to talk?”

The response Jay received was a muffled growl and a flick of an elongated ear. Sighing, she settled her back against the wall while exchanging glances with Thea. The shieldmaiden was just as worried as Jadis; scratch that, Jadis reconsidered almost immediately. Thea was no doubt more worried than Jadis, considering her personality. There just wasn’t anything either of them could do. Until Noct was ready to talk with them, they were stuck waiting.

It was just getting a little frustrating as Jay was starting to need to pee.

After the residual haze and weariness of the built-up climax had worn off, Jay had been able to properly assess what had occurred with Noct during their concurrent orgasm. The woman had thrown off her self-imposed bonds, likely without even realizing what she was doing, and had latched her teeth onto Jay’s lower chest with just barely enough force to break the skin. Considering Jadis’ extremely high Fortitude, which had just gone up by a considerable number at the conclusion of the ritual, it was honestly impressive that Noct had been able to draw blood. As it was, the wound, if that was what one wanted to call it, was so minor that it hadn’t even cost Jadis a single point of health. But the small sip of blood had been enough to put the sated Valravn into a state of senseless euphoria. All of her words, which were few enough as it was, came out slurred and dreamy, almost like Noct was experiencing some kind of a high. Jadis didn’t know if that was normal for Valravn after drinking blood, if the reaction was unique to Noct, or if it was her own blood that had somehow caused the woman’s inebriated state. Whatever the reason, Jadis wasn’t able to properly communicate with Noct for several minutes.

Eventually, Noct did come to her senses. However, rather than engage with Jadis or anyone else, the woman had promptly wrapped her arms around Jay’s leg, set her teeth into her thigh, and was refusing to let go, talk, or respond to anything anyone said beyond a few growls or a flick of her wings or tail.

At least the prolonged refusal to communicate gave Jadis time to process the fact that Noct had grown a tail.

As part of her loss of control, Noct had transformed into her… well, Jadis wasn’t sure what to call it. True form didn’t seem right, since clearly Noct considered her base appearance to be her preferred form. Battle form also felt off, since Noct didn’t actually transform when fighting. At least, not if she could help it. Monstrous form was one hundred percent out of the question, since that was both an insulting thought and completely inaccurate, as there was nothing monstrous about Noct’s other form so far as Jadis was considered. She eventually settled on bestial form, as that didn’t seem like a negative term to Jadis and, to be frank, Noct’s transformation did grant her some animalistic qualities.

Noct had grown in size by a full foot, perhaps an inch or two more, and had increased in body mass, though not by too much. She was a thin, athletic woman to begin with, and while she had definitely gained some extra muscle, she still didn’t look bulky the way Bridget or Sabina did when they flexed their arms. Aside from her height and mass, Noct had undergone a litany of changes, some cosmetic, others more significant. The smaller changes were about what Jadis had expected, based on the brief loss of control Noct had shown during their previous conversation. Her nails had turned to claws, her red irises had grown in size, and her ears had lengthened to a size close to an elf’s ears, with a soft layer of black fuzz on the outside.

The bigger changes were a little harder for Jadis to anticipate. Noct had grown a sort of back-ridge mohawk that consisted of a mix of black feathers and fur that went down her neck and followed her spine all the way to the base of a large, muscular tail. The tail that had appeared just over Noct’s ass was far different from either Kerr or Ammy’s tails, as it was long, thick, and sort of flattish, and it was also at least partially prehensile. The black feathers and fur covered the top of the tail completely, while the underside was the same pale flesh as the rest of the Valravn. The base was decently wide while the tip was thin, and it reminded Jadis of a dragon’s tail more than a monkey or a demon or any of those sorts of tails.

The final big difference were the Valravn’s feet. Noct’s feet had elongated and her toes had increased in size and flexibility. The change had given her that sort of backwards knee look that Jadis had seen depicted in fantasy art for demons with hooves or other such fanciful creations. With the big claws sticking out at the ends of her toes, Noct’s feet looked like they could be used to pounce on prey and keep them secured while she lifted into the sky, or to eviscerate enemies with a well-placed swipe.

Overall, while some of the changes were unexpected, Jadis didn’t think the transformation was ugly. On the contrary, she thought Noct looked pretty cool and had even tried to compliment the woman by saying as much. However, despite her attempts at reassurance and Thea’s efforts to cajole the Valravn into talking with them, Noct stubbornly held fast onto Jay’s leg, mouth full of increasingly damp thigh.

“Noct?” Thea tried again, putting her face close to the other woman’s. It was a little weird for Jay, since it meant the brunette was basically laying across her naked lap, but it was what it was. “P—please? Can we talk?”

The Valravn let out a noise that was closer to a moan than a growl before promptly shutting her eyes, either unable or unwilling to meet Thea’s gaze.

Noct’s actions triggered a memory for Jadis, and she recalled how her grandparents’ dog, Hank, used to close his eyes and ignore everyone around him whenever he didn’t want to acknowledge a command that he didn’t want to follow. Jadis had never been sure if the mutt had been smart or stupid for playing at being blind when he so obviously wasn’t. Either way, the silly measure had worked, at least sometimes, when her grandparents had decided that trying to force Hank to respond just wasn’t worth the effort.

For obvious reasons, Jadis could not give Noct the same allowances that she had afforded her grandparents’ dog.

“Look,” Jay said as she gently rubbed the feathery fuzz on Noct’s back with one hand. “If you aren’t going to talk, then I need you to at least listen. And if you want, you can reply with a grunt. Or a blink. Or you can even wag your tail, if you like.”

At those last words, Noct’s long tail curled up under her.

“I get that you’re embarrassed that you lost control,” Jay said, pushing past her possible error. “You’re probably pretty unhappy to be showing yourself like this right now when you didn’t mean to. But I want to make it absolutely, completely, undisputably clear that no one is upset with you, least of all me. I don’t mind that you bit me. I don’t think your current form is ugly. I am not disappointed that you broke out of your bonds. Please, will you talk with me?”

While no sound came from Noct, the woman did at least open her red eyes and meet Jay’s gaze. Jadis took that as a positive sign, even if her leg was still being slobbered on.

“Okay, let me ask you the exact same thing I just asked Amarantha and Cora, alright?” Jay said, keeping her expression purposefully open and kind. “Do you want to stay here, with us?”

At first, there was no reaction. Then Noct blinked, and the throaty noise she made sounded something close to a yes.

“Okay,” Jay grinned at her. “Then you are welcome here. Now, do you want to talk about performing any secondary rituals?”

Another affirmative noise.

“Good. We can talk and figure out what you want to do. Let me just make this point clear as well, though. We do not expect you to share any of your status sheet information if you don’t want to. Just because we are talking about our information doesn’t mean you have to. We trust you to not discuss anything we say about our own status sheets with anyone else, but there are no strings attached to that trust. You’ve more than earned that much.”

Noct made another noise, but it was a little harder to interpret. Based on the expression the Valravn was showing, Jadis continued to believe the reaction was positive.

“Alright. Do you want to talk about… our relationship, going forward?”

The last was possibly not the most appropriate topic to bring up under current circumstances, but Jadis didn’t care. Noct seemed like she needed a lot of reassurances, and Jadis was happy to give them. Where they were going with their connection was still nebulous, but given how it had gone so far, Jadis was more than willing to explore with the dark-haired woman.

Slowly, Noct’s head lifted off of Jay’s leg, her sharp teeth leaving behind faint impressions in the skin but no damage. With a rasp in her voice, Noct answered with a single word.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Jay gently ran her fingers through Noct’s hair, brushing aside the thick strands to better look into her red eyes. “We’ll talk about whatever you want to, for as long as you want to.”

Noct smiled almost imperceptibly, to the point that Jadis was barely certain that she could see the difference in expression. But she did.

“However, before we do, I really, really need to use the bathroom. Do you mind if Thea takes my place for a minute while I visit the toilet?”

Noct blinked twice, then hesitantly released her hold on Jay’s leg. Without complaint, Thea slipped into the seat Jay had occupied. With what could only be described as a look of confused relief, Noct hugged Thea’s leg rightly against her chest and bit down on the shieldmaiden’s thigh. Thea did not show the least bit of discomfort, as Noct was nowhere near capable of harming the human with her teeth if she could barely break Jadis’ skin. Instead, the brunette started petting Noct’s head, and the two fell into a comfortable silence together.

Heading to the door, Jay mumbled a single complaint to herself as she left her two lovers behind.

“I sure wish Mirrored Body’s Shifting Reflection worked on needing to pee…”