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https://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment", "writing": "Ugh. I felt a little dizzy, as Kada kept gently rubbing my back from behind. I flushed the toilet again, then moved my head away before flopping over into a sitting position instead. He shifted around to my side instead, snuggling under my arm, and I relaxed a little. At least I still had him here. My right paw gently stroked at his back, and he smiled up at me.\n\nIt had been similar to shock, and the full gravity of the situation took a bit to set in after Exia, Yimir, and Niva left to try to find Exir and talk to him. It had all just... [i]snapped[/i]. I'd actually suggested that they help Exir make it to Kaldar until Niva could heal. And they agreed. Tch. They actually [i]agreed[/i]. So now, two of my three mates would be temporarily Exir's mates instead for a week or so. At least, sexually.\n\nHad I hoped they wouldn't agree to it? That they'd fight a little harder and force me to back down? No... I wasn't... I couldn't be angry at any of them for something I suggested. Not that I didn't trust Exir. He was... basically my brother. I didn't... really even remember a time when we weren't in each other's lives, growing up. That... was the only reason I'd offered this suggestion at all, really. I cared about him and didn't want to see him get hurt, or hurt someone else. I knew him, and he'd be torn apart if he accidentally hurt someone. That didn't make the situation any less shitty, but...\n\n``Don't... tell anyone...'' My voice was hoarse, and I coughed after.\n\nKada nodded, resting his head against my chest. ``I wasn't going to.'' It all kind of hit me all at once after they left... but that didn't mean I wanted them worrying.\n\nHe helped me up, and I got a drink of water before we headed back into the bedroom instead. I flopped down on my stomach on the covers, and Kada immediately rested against my side, head on my shoulder. My left eye opened again and looked his way, immediately noticing the concerned expression. \n\n``I'll be okay, Kada. You should play some PEC or something. I might just rest for a bit...'' There was... so much I could be doing. I had a lot to research. Notes to look at. The essence patch data still in my suitcase. Oh, right. The mess in the suitcase to clean up.\n\nBut I wasn't moving. I didn't feel like doing any of it now. Now, I was just sick and exhausted, and just wanted to sleep. But he was persistent. ``Is there anything I can do to help, Exes? I mean, I honestly don't even know what to do or say...''\n\nI exhaled softly. Somehow, he still managed to be disarming. I rotated onto my side, and he immediately tucked up against my chest. Yeah... ``You're already helping a lot just by being here, Kada. Trust me, I'd be a lot worse if I was alone right now.''\n\nHe smiled against my chest, staying against me while my chin rested on top of his head. Yeah, I was... really glad he was here. Exceptionally so. He was also really nice to rest against. I must have been more tired than I thought, because it didn't take me long at all to pass out.\n\nSleep was a quiet, black thing. I don't remember any dreams I may or may not have had, which might have been merciful. By the time I'd woken up again, it was dark out and I was pretty sure I had destroyed my sleep schedule. Kada's too, by the sounds of his light snoring against my chest still. My left arm gently wrapped over him and pulled him a bit closer, causing him to murmur in his sleep and instinctively tuck his muzzle up under my chin. Heh.\n\nStill... I sighed, then moved my other arm enough to see my comm on it. Three messages. Tch. I flicked the display up and started reading.\n\nOne from Exia, another from Exir, and one encrypted one from Annah, via the Realmsguard network. Odd. Well, Exia's first. ``Found Exir. We're talking to him now. Don't forget to make those injections. I [i]don't[/i] want to end up like Niva.'' Oh, right. I'd have to whip those up real fast. They didn't look that complicated to make, thankfully.\n\nI almost dreaded opening up Exir's, but did anyway. ``Exes... I know you're not `okay' with this, but you're seriously letting this happen? I know you have instincts like mine and they must be absolutely screaming at you. Fuck. But you're doing it for me anyway. I guess you're right. I broke one of the mirrors in the public bathroom. This... isn't me. There's so much I wish we could change. I guess we don't have any choice, but I'm not going to leave it like this, then never talk about it again. If we're like Vulkus, then you know their other instincts too. I have to make this right again.'' I read it twice, then sighed. I figured it was too much to hope for to just get through the week and pretend it never happened. Why couldn't people just let me bury stuff inside and forget it ever existed?\n\nSpeaking of quickly putting it out of mind... I switched to Annah's message next. ``Exes, can we talk? I know you're getting evacuated actually before us now, but it doesn't feel right to just leave it off like we did. Especially after you saved me at the coronation. Now that you're definitely moving to Koramir, it feels like I should clear the air at the very least. Oh, and please stay away from the second floor. There're some serious security concerns with the guards for the guests. They brought in town guards for the two faction leaders, and I know for a fact that they're not background cleared like the honor guards are. Let me know if you want to meet somewhere.'' Great. Given how the last event was possible because of city guards, that made me very not confident as to the security of the palace now. Though Annah specifically said the second floor. I... trusted her as a Realmsguard, admittedly. Kyry had proven more than competent, after all.\n\n``Mmmph...'' I flicked the comm off, then looked down as Kada stirred, murmuring against my chest. ``Mmm, Exes? How are you feeling?''\n\nI relaxed against him before slowly nodding. ``A little better. Thank you, Kada, for staying with me.'' He gave a softer smile up to me, then widened his eyes a little as I dipped down instead, capturing his mouth in a gentle kiss. A shiver, then he leaned up into it, paws sliding up my chest, then gently over my shoulders.\n\nHe was flushed and grinning when I pulled back again. ``Mmm, I'm glad you're doing better. And of course I'm here for you! You're stuck with me, now.''\n\n``How absolutely horrible. So bad that we'll have to start up a two player Chronicles of Na'ard file tonight...''\n\n``Ooo, yes please!'' He grinned, tail bobbing behind him now against the mattress, and I nuzzled along his ear, getting him to shiver.\n\n``Mmm, and be the first to try out your romance mods for it.'' That got him to shudder, and I kissed along the edge of his ear, getting a groan from him instead.\n\n``Mmm, very yes. I could use some more... practice... with my augment, anyway. Gotta make sure it's working properly. Today. You never know when it might stop working!'' He grinned, and I returned it.\n\nAnother nuzzle, and I felt him stiffen a little against my stomach. ``True. Maybe I'll just have to fall asleep knotted to you a few times. Then you'll know right away in the morning that it's working...'' He shuddered, now fully hard against me and clearly enjoying the banter.\n\n``Hah... you can do that...? Wouldn't you just... I mean, in your sleep you'd...''\n\nI smirked and nodded against the top of his head. ``Yeah, expect sleep humping. And probably at least three loads pumped into you overnight...'' That got a low squeak and quiver from him.\n\nAnd then the comm went off again and I sighed. He perked, looking to it, and I flicked the display open for both of us to read instead, seeing as it was Exia. ``He's agreed. Can you get the injections ready for us?'' I sighed. Terse, but she wasn't screaming at me now at least. Right... Well, I guess terse was better than `disgusted until violently ill'.\n\nKada lowered his ears as he read it, immediately deflating. Both in spirit, and stiffness against me. Yeah, I knew that feel... ``Well, at least she... doesn't sound as mad anymore?''\n\nI chuckled dryly at that, sitting up finally. It was hard not to be... hostile over the situation. ``Give it a day or two. They'll probably be loving it, between how much bigger he is and the addictive hormones...'' He winced at that, frowning to me as he sat up too, then shook his head.\n\n``Size isn't everything. Just ask Niva. I... like your size a lot more, Exes. I think it's just perfect inside me.'' And back to disarmingly adorable, yet somehow sexy at the same time. I shot him a skeptical look at that, but felt the heat drift into my cheeks. He smiled and nodded twice, and I chuckled.\n\n``Somehow you said that with a straight face.'' I didn't know what I'd do if he wasn't here...\n\nHe huffed, pouting then. ``What?! It's the truth. I really like your cock! There, I said it!'' Heh.\n\nI gave his cheek a nuzzle at least, to that. ``Well, I really like yours too. So, I guess it works out like that.'' He grinned, then nuzzled me back before I slipped off the bed and over to my suitcase.\n\n``Gonna make the augments then...?'' I looked back to Kada, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed and watching me.\n\n``Yeah. The sooner I can deliver them, the sooner Exir gets... relief.'' I exhaled slowly, feeling a twinge again and that acidic sensation dancing under my breath. Tch.\n\nKada sighed, then gave a little nod back. ``Yeah. If there's anything I can do...''\n\nI turned back to the suitcase, sliding my paw idly along the edge of it before opening it again and putting it on its side, upright. ``Thanks, Kada. I'll... probably want to game later at least, just to take my mind off things.''\n\nI could almost [i]feel[/i] him smirking behind me. ``Oooh, that'll be a tough one on me. But I'll try my hardest!'' I shot him a grin over my shoulder, then stuck my tongue out at him before stepping in through the suitcase again.\n\n...and almost tripping over the fallen headset and wire. Right. There was still blood on the floor too, probably stained on now. I sighed, grabbing the headset and rolling the wire up until I got to the device itself at the base of the table. Oh...\n\nThe musical disk at the base of it looked like it had been struck by lightning. I frowned, carefully unhooking it from the plate, then moving it into my paws in three pieces. Had my ward done this in order to turn it off? Fuck... There was no way I was going to be able to repair this, I rapidly assessed. I stood up again, then moved to put the pieces on the table, only to freeze.\n\nIf the plate looked like it was hit by lightning, the table looked like I'd sprayed the surface down with acid. There were deep claw gouges along it, and the wood was warped and twisted, like it had turned to liquid in parts. Oh, shit... That wasn't... That hadn't been... in my head? When the effect ended, it had clearly left the wood... shaped, with bubbles coming off it in spots. A dozen or so little wooden orbs lay on the floor and top of the table from where they'd clearly fallen out of the air. The song... It had...\n\nWell, this was clearly enough evidence to note that the song did a lot more than let someone read Demonic script. Mentally, I undid the seal on my chest, and information spilled into my vision as my eyes activated. The table's damage displayed readily in my eyes, and I wasn't just imagining it, as I could measure the size of each crater and groove, as well as the wooden orbs strewn about. It did, curiously, show something I hadn't seen before, though.\n\nIt looked like someone had splashed a very... strange glowing paint over the entire table. I wanted to say the paint was... purplish-pink, but it [i]wasn't[/i] at the same time. It was like a space in my vision that my mind refused to identify, color-wise, and distorted to some degree, with at least three overlaying, translucent shifts, spatially. Huh. A look down at the burnt disk showed it covered in the stuff too, and I almost dropped it for a moment until I realized it wasn't wiping off onto my paws. There was no tactile sensation for the... whatever the color was.\n\nI set the disk bits back down on the table, feeling along the color there but not noting anything other than wood. That was... weird. It felt like I'd seen something like this before, though. I frowned for a moment, thinking back to my studies, then recalled dimly something that I'd seen when Chronak was showing me divination magic. ...magic!\n\nEnergy manipulating something left a residue. I'd seen it before with magic. It lasted usually a few hours to a few days after a spell, depending on how much mana was used. Vita techniques did the same, but for much shorter duration. But it left a... sort of paint that divination spells could pick up on and highlight for you. Did... True Alchemy also have something like that? Was this Aether residue, then?\n\nThere was an easy way to find out. I stepped off the splatter zone around the table, and moved over to the bookcase instead. Touching the edge of it, I did a simple True Alchemy tweak and altered the temperature of the wood under my fingers, cooling it by several degrees. My ears perked up as I noticed a second later that it was splattered down with that weird shade around where my paw was touching. Ah! Okay, so that's what it was. I'd just set off a small bomb of True Alchemy in here. ...made sense. Mostly.\n\nWith the mystery solved now for the most part, I moved to the alchemy workbench instead and started setting up ingredients. I was... distinctly aware that I could still remember the formula from when I'd glanced at it on Kada's comm earlier. Normally I'd have paid no attention to that whatsoever, but with all the weirdness I just went through, maybe I was hyper-aware of weird things now. It had been... just a glance.\n\nStill, I set up the ingredients. I'd anticipated it was a pretty simple formula for just a material transmutation, but transmutations always had a lot of stages to them for creation. I made a large batch, which should cover half a dozen doses or so. Enough for all three girls. Once the distillery was going and cooking off the mix, I sighed and started gathering up some of the bits of the table and tossing them into one of the boxes I hadn't removed from the suitcase yet from Chronak's clutter, in the other corner. Just don't think about it, Exes.\n\nInstead, I noticed the black book was still laying open on the table, where I'd left it. Which was at least a little bit suspicious, given how much the table got jarred around. More importantly though, I was looking at it with my newly upgraded vision now, and the book had a name. Figment Black II? That... could mean all sorts of things. Walking up to the table again, I looked at the open page, still showing the goggles. Only this time, everything was perfectly translated. I could read the dimensions listed for the goggles, and the disk was indeed called the `music generator'. Oh... My new eyes translated Demonic like the goggles did.\n\nI quickly grabbed Chronak's book and opened to the introduction with the words he'd written there. Indeed, the `meaning' of the Demonic he'd given came to me, all the same. Well... I guess there wasn't as pressing a need to figure out how to repair the music generator thing after all. I'd at least still be able to translate for myself like this. Still... the book. Figment Black II. Well, the color of the book was definitely black. Two would probably indicate that it was the second volume, maybe? Was Figment the series?\n\nMy gut instincts said otherwise, though. Figment. Something that is believed to be real, but exists only in the imagination. My paw traced over the page, feeling the texture of the paper, ears twitching above me as I did. Everything... about the book felt real, indeed. But nobody except for me could see or interact with it. The... goggles couldn't see the book either. I couldn't translate the pages until... I'd gotten this weird eye upgrade. Which I'd already confirmed wasn't an [i]eye[/i] upgrade per se. It was either something mental, or connected right to my soul, thanks to listening to the music directly. Which I now suddenly realized that the goggles were made specifically to avoid having to do. The diminutive size of the prongs and minimal vibrations made it so that the song itself very clearly wasn't audible. Guess I'd... ignored those safety instructions entirely by accident.\n\nMy first instinct was to start exploring the book immediately now that I could read it. But I didn't even have the protections set up again. Plus, I was in a hurry to just get the brewing of the augments out of the way. Though... I closed the book again, locking the clasp in place once more. It had been exactly where I remembered it to be, even though I hadn't realized the table had moved. I stared at it rather intently, but my eyes saw it as definitely there. I couldn't... Books didn't just get up and move by themselves, obviously. It was a book. That much my mind told me. But... what if it wasn't a book?\n\nI looked over at the box sitting on top of the stack in the corner, where I'd tossed all the wood chunks. No, it was... a book. That form was useful and familiar to me. But what if... it wasn't where I remembered it? I walked over to the plywood box and looked it over. It was a bit dirty, and obviously pretty cheaply made. A shipping crate, more or less. But it was at eye level with me. I... knew it was empty. At least before I had tossed the wood chunks in it. But was it empty? Was this the same box that I'd put the chunks into...? I forced myself to try to remember if I'd put the box back here or not, or stacked a box on top of it for some reason. I knew I hadn't, right? But with enough thinking about it, soon I suddenly started to second guess myself.\n\nIf I'd stacked another box on top of it, anything could be in the box I was looking at. Anything at all. I slid the box off the stack, instead focusing on remembering where I'd put the book. Had I moved the book? I think I did! And there the black book was, sitting on top of the wood orbs in the box. Fuck! I almost dropped the box again when I saw it, but instead scrunched my muzzle, picking the book up again. A glance to the table showed it not there anymore, indeed. It... clicked a moment later. I realized... it wasn't a real book. It was in my fucking head! How was this even possible?! Did True Alchemy have stuff that could do this?!\n\nThe alchemy workbench made a dinging noise, and I really did drop the box with a start. Of course, it landed on my paw, and I let out a series of curses as I flopped backwards onto my rear and rubbed at the now sore appendage. Damn it! ...box confirmed to still be very real. Tch. Once I'd hobbled over to the workbench, I moved the mixture off the cooker and mixed in the remaining ingredients while it was still hot. No, while it was nice to be distracted, Exir was still relying on me.\n\nThe mixture in the bowl hissed out steam as I slid it onto the reactive magical plate, then fed it a bit of mana, causing it to flare up and activate fully. Most advanced alchemical mixes required one or more steps that used magic. The simpler ones that didn't were called `Catalytics'. Ingredients that you could mix together to just get a different effect, without magic. Probably where Alchemy had started, as a science, if I had to guess. Someone, at some point, had to question ``What would happen if I mixed these things together, then drank the results?'' ...they probably died, but here's to them, the founders of one of Aion's greatest sciences! I raised the bowl in cheers to the air, before getting out the measuring cups...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nThree light-orange, carefully measured out mixtures of highly targeted, extremely specific transmutative effects. I held the three shots in my paw now as I re-sealed my Keyhole, then exited the suitcase, only to discover the room had been populated again. Kada sat on the bed, looking awkward as he set the PEC up for us. Exir leaned against the wall, attempting to look stoic but failing miserably this time as his ears drooped and his eyes stayed bloodshot. Niva rested against his side, while Exia and Yimir were sitting stiffly on the bed behind Kada, looking at their laps. Ugh.\n\nEveryone looked up as I exited the suitcase, eyes lingering on the three shots. Uh, right... Exia stared blankly at them, while Yimir exhaled softly. ``Those are the elasticity augments?'' I managed a small nod.\n\n``Yeah. Fast acting, targeted transmutation. Should take about ten minutes to fully affect you.'' I gave a little sigh, then walked over and sat down on the bed next to the girls.\n\nYimir didn't meet my gaze, instead just lifting the sleeve of her tunic up. Exir gave a sigh as he watched, then pushed off the wall instead, standing fully again. ``Exes...'' I focused on the shot into Yimir's arm, not turning to look at him. Now I was afraid that sudden movements would send me rushing for the bathroom again...\n\n``I... know we always said that we'd do anything for each other. It... was just how we felt. But you're... proving that it was true now, too. I know you're not okay with this. Nobody is. But the fact that you're still all doing it for me...''\n\nExia slowly shook her head, lifting her own sleeve up too. ``Exir, you're like a brother to us. Of course, we'd do anything for you. I just wish it didn't hurt Exes to do it. This feels...''\n\nYimir gave a rub of her arm after the injection, and I slid past her to Exia instead, sighing myself. ``I'll live. I... Let's just get through this until we get to Koramir, then just... not talk about it again? Like I said, it's just sex, and it's not really anyone's fault that things turned out like this...'' Actually, if anything, it was the current atmosphere in Laridia. We might have been able to find temporary females for Exir, if the concept of an Inaga Alpha Male hadn't been turned into a horror story by the current political climate.\n\nOf course, Exir shook his head, however. ``You know I can't do that, Exes. It's nobody's fault, but some people are still paying for it. I'm... putting a huge strain on your pack because of this. All three of you are doing me a huge favor, brother or not. Would you... really be satisfied just dropping things if our positions were flipped?''\n\nI paused at that, then slowly lowered my ears. Well, no. I'd feel like shit over it and want to make it up to Exir. Which I mean, deep down, I knew he wanted to make it up to me too. And Exia and Yimir at that point. But what do you do to make up for this...? The situation was so... disgusting feeling that nothing really seemed specifically appropriate. \n\n``I guess not. But that doesn't really... give me any ideas as to how I'd make it up to you, if we really were flipped. Really, I just... want to get through this, preferably as fast as possible.'' I drew the needle back from Exia, who winced and rubbed at the site herself, before sighing.\n\nShe finally turned and looked at me, still looking miserable. ``We'll want to fix things after this too. Yimir and I still want... what we've been telling you all along. We want you to be our Vulkus alpha. We want that... life. That lifestyle. It feels... right, to my instincts. It makes me happy. But this is going directly against that, and I know it is for you too. Which means doing this is going to... set us back from that.''\n\nNiva nodded as she came over herself afterwards. ``Yeah, so we'll have to... come up with a way to heal the damage once this is all over with. Umani suggests we go to a relationship therapist in Koramir together. All of us...'' They talked to [i]Mom[/i] about this?!\n\nExia must have seen my sudden look of horror. She held her paws up to me, frowning further. ``Exes, we had to talk to someone. She knows what Inaga Alphas, and our instincts, are like. She... was just as bothered by it as we are. But... she grudgingly agreed with you. That there weren't many options available.''\n\nIt felt... It was a sinking sensation in me. Like this whole situation was... shameful, and the more people that knew about it, the more my heart sunk into my stomach. Like it was some filthy secret that I was mortified over. I sighed, defeated feeling now, before just nodding. ``Yeah. Therapy is probably for the best...'' I slid back as Niva sat down next to Yimir, her own sleeve raised, and prepped the last shot.\n\nExir shook his head. ``It definitely is. I need... to know how to fix this, Exes. If you have any ideas, feel free to tell me. Anything.'' I gently injected the shot into Niva's arm, then gave a tired shrug.\n\n``Again, I just want to get it over with as fast as possible. That's about... all I can think of.'' My eyes lifted to Yimir and Exia, before I sighed again. ``You two... should just stay with Exir until then. I don't... really want to see anything. Or hear or smell anything, really, for that matter.'' I'd rather just blissfully pretend it wasn't happening, really. They both sagged a bit at that, but Niva sighed and nodded.\n\n``I figured... you'd want that. We'll... definitely keep things to Exir's room.'' I nodded to her, and she searched my expression tentatively. Hmm? Whatever she was thinking, she kept it to herself however, instead just giving a slight nod back.\n\nSighing, I slid back from her, then set the syringe down with the others again. ``Well, everyone should be set in about ten minutes. If there's anything else you need or that I can do, just ask...'' I looked back to Exir with that, who just lowered his ears more instead.\n\nHe shook his head, though. ``You guys are doing way more than enough already. It's... Thank you.'' He seemed like he wanted to say more, but had no idea what to say after that, looking down to the floor in front of his paws instead. I just gave him a nod, then sighed and gestured towards the door instead. It felt... mean, but the faster they left, the faster I could go back to pretending this wasn't happening.\n\nHe watched me for a moment before giving a small nod, then exhaling. ``I... right. We'll leave now.'' The females didn't say anything, and didn't look over at me again with that. Instead, they just followed Exir over to the door, and then out of the room again. The click of it closing felt... suddenly more final, and I shuddered before sliding off the bed and moving for the bathroom again instead...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nKada and I ate in. I didn't really want to meet anyone in the cafeteria that would ask about where Yimir and Exia were. Or worse, run into Yimir and Exia. Instead, we just chilled in the room and started a two-player session up for Chronicles of Na'ard. This time with me trying out a melee class instead of magic. Kada was perfectly content switching to a magic archer and hiding behind me as I guarded him, it would seem. Mercifully, I was able to relax and just be distracted for a long while instead.\n\nNight peacefully creeped up on us, as we made it all the way to level ten in one solid run. At least until my comm went off. I groaned, almost not wanting to answer it this time, but it turned out to be just a message from Calien. The court had approved the emergency transfer unanimously. They were preparing the guard train overnight, and we were leaving first thing in the morning. She also said she'd sent the message to everyone, so I didn't have to worry about sending it around. Which was a blessing there.\n\n``So, we're leaving tomorrow...?'' I sighed and nodded over to Kada.\n\n``Last chance to back out, Kada. I know at this rate you're not going to be able to say goodbye to your parents thanks to the lockdown, but nobody says you have to go with us... You could even follow at a later time.'' I wanted to give him every option available to make sure he absolutely wanted to go.\n\nHe grinned at that and turned, sliding up against me instead, before nuzzling my chest. ``I'm fine, Exes. Actually, my parents are already planning a celebratory vacation now to Koramir in a moon or so. They said they'd visit us then of course. Plus, I mean, after we get nice and settled down, I can always come back and visit them too, right?'' I relaxed at that and gave him a nod and smile.\n\n``You're certainly sure of yourself in coming along. But... I'm glad...'' My own arms slid around him and I pulled him into my lap, getting him to shiver before tucking under my chin instead. ``Something to do with `fate' was it?''\n\nI must have surprised him, because he gave a little jerk at that, then looked down slightly, blushing now. ``Ah, hah... uh, you remembered that?''\n\nI nodded, tilting my head to him before gently raising his own up to me, brushing his cheek. ``It's okay, Kada. You don't have to tell me. I was just curious. You know it's not going to change anything, anyway.''\n\nHis flush deepened a little, and he snuck a little kiss in before slowly nodding. ``I... know. You're amazing like that. But it's... really nothing major. Ever since I became a mage, I've gotten... well, gut feelings about things. Like something's tugging at me to make certain choices. I know I want to get into game design for the crystal mechanical alchemy, but... I wouldn't mind picking up a bit of divination specialization on the side. Maybe... try to figure out the feeling that I keep getting...''\n\nMy ears flicked, and I nodded to him. ``Following you so far. You've followed these gut instincts before?''\n\nThat he nodded enthusiastically to. ``Almost religiously! I mean... t-they told me to take the cleanup job that day that I... met you in the hall. They also... got me into contact with the academy staff about the game placement.'' Hmm? He saw me perk, and nodded again. ``They enrolled me ahead of time for the game courses that I wanted to start taking, right out of basic school! All because I followed my instincts and went to talk to the academy at almost closing time the one day. Caught a professor leaving, who just had a cancelation, and she was impressed by my eagerness. She just slotted me into the newly opened slot right then and there!''\n\nHuh. I smiled at that and nodded. ``Well, I think someone or something is trying to help you then. I'd keep following the urges. And they're telling you to go with us?''\n\n``[i]You[/i], actually.'' Eh? He grinned at that and nodded. ``They're telling me to stick as close as possible to [i]you[/i], specifically. Not that... I have any reason [i]not[/i] to do that. But they've never felt so... insistent before. So, I figure if it [i]is[/i] fate, then it's got to be something pretty important.''\n\nSlowly, I nodded to that. ``Well, if you ever get any involving me, do tell. It sounds like... a definitely useful thing to have.'' Plus, admittedly... I was really thankful he was here now. Being alone tonight would have been... really, really shitty. \n\nKada flushed as I gave him a peck between the eyes, but rapidly nodded after, tail swaying happily behind him. ``Of course! And, um, thanks for not thinking I was weird. Well, weirder I guess.''\n\nThat I gave a light cough to. ``My... mind has been opened quite a bit as to possibilities of things in the world. Aion's become a lot stranger to me lately...'' That he snickered to and nodded without hesitation.\n\nAnother ping, and both of us jumped this time as my comm went off again. Uh... I flicked it on again and glanced, only to find Lilita instead via normal methods. Of course, just because she wasn't using Realmsguard lines to contact me, didn't mean it wasn't something unpleasant to read, I realized, several seconds after opening her message up.\n\n``Hey Exes. Is everything okay? I noticed that you and Kada weren't there during supper, and a friend reported that Exia and Yimir followed Exir back to his room instead. Just worried about you.'' Kada winced as he read it himself, and I sighed, flopping backwards onto the bed.\n\n``There's just no escaping it. Ugh. But... I did tell Annah that I'd talk to her before leaving, I guess.'' Kyry must be really bored if she's-\n\nKada lifted a skeptical eyebrow to the message. ``They're spying on them...? Why would they... do that?'' Yeah, that.\n\nI sighed, then shrugged. ``Probably because they're bored. Did you want to stay here? I should probably go at least tell Annah and Lilita that we're leaving tomorrow.''\n\nHe shrank a little, then sighed and gave a nod. ``Uh, yeah. I don't... deal well with talking to really um, higher up people. Princesses make me nervous.'' Heh. I was starting to wonder if there was a definite point to his mother trying to get him accustomed to that sort of thing.\n\nI relaxed, then nodded to him again. ``Alright. Hopefully I won't be gone for too long. Don't play our file without me!''\n\nHe scoffed. ``You know I wouldn't! Besides, I can't try out the romance mod by myself... So hurry back!'' He grinned, and I flushed a little before standing and tossing him a wink. Kada, flirting! He was getting more confident it felt like, at least with me.\n\nHe grinned back, but I stuck my tongue out towards him, stopping at the door. ``Careful, or I'll make you top.'' That got a squeak and flail on his part, and I laughed before heading out of the room again.\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nAll three of them were in Annah's room again, though they hadn't been expecting me to make a personal appearance this time. Not that it seemed to bother them anyway. Of course, at this point, seeing them all in pajamas didn't even faze me. They also had already known about the train leaving tomorrow, which didn't surprise me in the slightest. Exir, however...\n\nIn general, they seemed a tad disgusted, but Annah looked absolutely horrified as she'd listened to the conclusion we'd reached, all four ears flattened back against her head. Lilita frowned as I finished, then gave a low sigh. ``You have my sympathies, Exes. I suspect that Larid's going to have more and more Alpha concerns over time. Your generation at the very least appears to have started the capacity to become one.''\n\nAnnah shuddered, then shook her head. ``Alphas or not, Exes still has instincts like a Vulkus. This is... I mean, I understand. Compared to Exir Raging, this was... the better choice. But it's still terrible. I really do think therapy is the best route. Especially once you get to Koramir. Our therapists are used to handling Vulkus instincts.'' I suppose that was true. They'd... at least know what we were dealing with.\n\nLooking surprisingly solemn, Kyry offered a nod as well. ``Agreed. This is... kind of just a terrible situation in general, for everyone. But you'll get through it, and then just focus on recovering and healing over any hurt feelings. Is there anything we can do for you, Exes?''\n\nThey were all sitting on the bed, and I'd stayed standing, leaning against the wall in front of them. I gave a shrug at that, keeping my gaze on the floor instead. ``I mean, I kind of just want to pretend it's not happening. But... nobody seems to want to let it go. I know that... if it were me in Exir's place, I'd want to make it up to me too but... really I just want it to be over with and move on already. The situation's so fucked up that I don't really think there's a generic way to make it up to someone. `I'm sorry for having to borrow your mates to fuck for a week or so?' I doubt they make sympathy presents or cards for that.''\n\nKyry snorted out a laugh, but Lilita shot her a glare at that, then looked back to me with a more sympathetic expression. ``It's not about finding a precedence, Exes. It's about finding a way to help heal the pain. I know you'd rather just bury it away inside, but I don't think that's very healthy for dealing with it either.''\n\nAnnah shook her head. ``I think the most important thing is bolstering your instincts back up again afterwards. Getting you comfortable again with Exia and Yimir. Your scents back onto them, and making sure you know they'd rather be with [i]you[/i]. That this was... utility, to help Exir through a rough patch...'' I sighed at that.\n\n``Exia said something similar before all this. To make sure I knew that no matter what happened, they were still mine. I guess... she knows me a bit, because of course I'm immediately thinking... what if they don't [i]want[/i] to come back? Exir's... way more [i]male[/i] than me now, in all aspects of the concept. I was struggling to figure out [i]before[/i] this, what they saw in me. Now it's hard for me to even fathom that I have anything to offer that Exir doesn't do better. He's... already exactly what they were hoping I'd be for them.'' I idly shrugged after, but Lilita slowly nodded.\n\n``It's a pretty common problem, generally speaking. When we define our self-worth through the opinions of others, it can be extremely dangerous. Thoughts can be... poisonous, and we're our own worst critics. Vulkus in particular, I hear, can have issues with this, thanks to their instincts. And the fact that the Alpha mutation exists. A Vulkus that turns out [i]not[/i] to be an Alpha can feel... inadequate in light of someone who is.''\n\nSurprisingly, Kyry nodded slowly to that. ``Kor has a lot of issues with that, even to this day. I mean, the boots he's trying to fill are absolutely massive, with his father being [i]the[/i] Kormir, King of Koramir and practically a living legend for the Vulkus. And Kor, his son and crown prince, doesn't even have the Alpha mutation. I... do my best to make sure that I prop up his ego whenever I can, but sometimes it still gets to him.'' Oh, she knew Kor? She smirked a second later after seeing my expression, and nodded again. ``Uh, right. Not many know it but I'm Kor's first mate.'' Oooooh!\n\nAnnah chuckled at that. ``Only mate, so far. I pester him about that but brother's... He's very insistent on putting his training and education first.''\n\n``Like you're one to talk, there... I've never heard you even swoon about a guy before Exes, and I'm pretty sure that's just because he's a nerd, like you are...'' Kyry stuck her tongue out back at Annah, who flushed furiously and returned a glare her way instead. Uh... swoon?\n\nLilita giggled as she watched the two of them, then shook her head before looking back to me instead. ``Well that just goes to show, we understand at least, at a base level, where you're coming from. But I doubt Exir himself feels like he's any better than you are. If anything, I wonder if he's felt the opposite before now, given your achievements and intelligence, and now your position as Grandmaster Alchemist.'' That was... huh. He'd never said anything about it if he had, though... would he really say something about it? He was such a stoic soul, I kind of doubted it.\n\nAnnah nodded as well, looking back to me instead. ``Yeah. There's plenty already amazing about you, Exes. And I think Exia and Yimir have already proven that they're very much attracted to [i]you[/i] over any other choices. They've more than proved it, even if you're not sure why yourself, or don't fully trust it. You can trust their actions though. They definitely weren't happy about this, clearly.''\n\nI nodded more slowly to that, relenting. ``You're... right, yeah. I don't have any reason to doubt them, and how much they like me. It's... really just me being insecure. I've never been entirely happy with my body, for obvious reasons...'' I shifted my left knee, and let my brace clack against my leg as emphasis. ``I just... want to be the best for them that I can. And I was worried that after they've... been with Exir, that I won't be able to really... make them happy?''\n\nA nod, from Kyry. ``Nobody wants to think they're someone's second best choice.'' Annah shot her another glare, but I nodded to her instead.\n\n``That. Exactly... that. Exir's got more stamina, and I know he's bigger than me now by far. To the point where they needed elasticizing augments. Everyone says bigger isn't better but...''\n\nLilita gave a nod again. ``The heart has trouble believing someone when there are doubts present, yeah.''\n\nKyry averted her eyes at that, and I looked back to her, tilting my head. She coughed, then chuckled again. ``I mean, there's diminishing returns, obviously. Enough to feel and give a good stretching is nice, but really, we don't need more than that. Some people like the more... `full' feeling of a larger dick, but otherwise, they don't feel that different from a smaller one after a certain size. Though... uh, last I checked, `big enough to draw blood' wasn't exactly a desirably trait most guys wanted in their dicks.'' Er, well no, she had a point there.\n\nWincing at that, Annah coughed too, then slowly nodded. ``Well, no, you're right there. To be honest, Exir's probably feeling atrocious in that he's [i]too[/i] big. Especially when he hurt someone he loves like that.'' That... yeah, he looked like he was feeling down even this morning when I'd just gotten there. I considered what Kyry said, then slowly nodded.\n\n``I... alright. No, I guess you're all right. They're... well no, I trust them. They're obviously happy with me the way I am. I just need to get through this, I guess, and focus on patching things up afterwards.'' Lilita and Annah both nodded, and Kyry gave me a grin and thumbs up behind them. I... guess I was rather happy that I'd come to visit them now. Having a different perspective on things helped.\n\nKyry nodded, grin widening afterwards. Uh... ``Of course, if you're lonely tonight, or on the train ride, hey, you're going back to Koramir anyway, and Annah would totally be all for keeping you company...'' She gestured with her thumb to the Vulkus, who flushed bright red at that and turned to glare at her again. Surprisingly, Lilita smirked though.\n\n``Well, I mean, she would...'' If anything, Annah's look of mixing horror and disbelief towards the Keld was even more amusing, and I tried not to chuckle. These three were definitely close friends, to tease each other like this.\n\nThen, all the sirens went off in the hallway! The blast door slammed down to my left, shaking the wall so much that I stumbled off it and wobbled. Annah reacted fast, and was already ducking down and forward, enough to grab me as I fell over and lower us both to the floor instead. Lilita was standing and frowning to the door, before she looked back to Kyry, who'd flipped to her paws and was listening carefully, long ears raised now. What [i]now[/i]?!\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Ugh.  I felt a little dizzy, as Kada kept gently rubbing my back from behind.  I flushed the toilet again, then moved my head away before flopping over into a sitting position instead.  He shifted around to my side instead, snuggling under my arm, and I relaxed a little.  At least I still had him here.  My right paw gently stroked at his back, and he smiled up at me.

It had been similar to shock, and the full gravity of the situation took a bit to set in after Exia, Yimir, and Niva left to try to find Exir and talk to him.  It had all just... snapped.  I'd actually suggested that they help Exir make it to Kaldar until Niva could heal.  And they agreed.  Tch.  They actually agreed.  So now, two of my three mates would be temporarily Exir's mates instead for a week or so.  At least, sexually.

Had I hoped they wouldn't agree to it?  That they'd fight a little harder and force me to back down?  No...  I wasn't...  I couldn't be angry at any of them for something I suggested.  Not that I didn't trust Exir.  He was... basically my brother.  I didn't... really even remember a time when we weren't in each other's lives, growing up.  That... was the only reason I'd offered this suggestion at all, really.  I cared about him and didn't want to see him get hurt, or hurt someone else.  I knew him, and he'd be torn apart if he accidentally hurt someone.  That didn't make the situation any less shitty, but...

``Don't... tell anyone...''  My voice was hoarse, and I coughed after.

Kada nodded, resting his head against my chest.  ``I wasn't going to.''  It all kind of hit me all at once after they left... but that didn't mean I wanted them worrying.

He helped me up, and I got a drink of water before we headed back into the bedroom instead.  I flopped down on my stomach on the covers, and Kada immediately rested against my side, head on my shoulder.  My left eye opened again and looked his way, immediately noticing the concerned expression.

``I'll be okay, Kada.  You should play some PEC or something.  I might just rest for a bit...''  There was... so much I could be doing.  I had a lot to research.  Notes to look at.  The essence patch data still in my suitcase.  Oh, right.  The mess in the suitcase to clean up.

But I wasn't moving.  I didn't feel like doing any of it now.  Now, I was just sick and exhausted, and just wanted to sleep.  But he was persistent.  ``Is there anything I can do to help, Exes?  I mean, I honestly don't even know what to do or say...''

I exhaled softly.  Somehow, he still managed to be disarming.  I rotated onto my side, and he immediately tucked up against my chest.  Yeah...  ``You're already helping a lot just by being here, Kada.  Trust me, I'd be a lot worse if I was alone right now.''

He smiled against my chest, staying against me while my chin rested on top of his head.  Yeah, I was... really glad he was here.  Exceptionally so.  He was also really nice to rest against.  I must have been more tired than I thought, because it didn't take me long at all to pass out.

Sleep was a quiet, black thing.  I don't remember any dreams I may or may not have had, which might have been merciful.  By the time I'd woken up again, it was dark out and I was pretty sure I had destroyed my sleep schedule.  Kada's too, by the sounds of his light snoring against my chest still.  My left arm gently wrapped over him and pulled him a bit closer, causing him to murmur in his sleep and instinctively tuck his muzzle up under my chin.  Heh.

Still...  I sighed, then moved my other arm enough to see my comm on it.  Three messages.  Tch.  I flicked the display up and started reading.

One from Exia, another from Exir, and one encrypted one from Annah, via the Realmsguard network.  Odd.  Well, Exia's first.  ``Found Exir.  We're talking to him now.  Don't forget to make those injections.  I don't want to end up like Niva.''  Oh, right.  I'd have to whip those up real fast.  They didn't look that complicated to make, thankfully.

I almost dreaded opening up Exir's, but did anyway.  ``Exes...  I know you're not `okay' with this, but you're seriously letting this happen?  I know you have instincts like mine and they must be absolutely screaming at you.  Fuck.  But you're doing it for me anyway.  I guess you're right.  I broke one of the mirrors in the public bathroom.  This... isn't me.  There's so much I wish we could change.  I guess we don't have any choice, but I'm not going to leave it like this, then never talk about it again.  If we're like Vulkus, then you know their other instincts too.  I have to make this right again.''  I read it twice, then sighed.  I figured it was too much to hope for to just get through the week and pretend it never happened.  Why couldn't people just let me bury stuff inside and forget it ever existed?

Speaking of quickly putting it out of mind...  I switched to Annah's message next.  ``Exes, can we talk?  I know you're getting evacuated actually before us now, but it doesn't feel right to just leave it off like we did.  Especially after you saved me at the coronation.  Now that you're definitely moving to Koramir, it feels like I should clear the air at the very least.  Oh, and please stay away from the second floor.  There're some serious security concerns with the guards for the guests.  They brought in town guards for the two faction leaders, and I know for a fact that they're not background cleared like the honor guards are.  Let me know if you want to meet somewhere.''  Great.  Given how the last event was possible because of city guards, that made me very not confident as to the security of the palace now.  Though Annah specifically said the second floor.  I... trusted her as a Realmsguard, admittedly.  Kyry had proven more than competent, after all.

``Mmmph...''  I flicked the comm off, then looked down as Kada stirred, murmuring against my chest.  ``Mmm, Exes?  How are you feeling?''

I relaxed against him before slowly nodding.  ``A little better.  Thank you, Kada, for staying with me.''  He gave a softer smile up to me, then widened his eyes a little as I dipped down instead, capturing his mouth in a gentle kiss.  A shiver, then he leaned up into it, paws sliding up my chest, then gently over my shoulders.

He was flushed and grinning when I pulled back again.  ``Mmm, I'm glad you're doing better.  And of course I'm here for you!  You're stuck with me, now.''

``How absolutely horrible.  So bad that we'll have to start up a two player Chronicles of Na'ard file tonight...''

``Ooo, yes please!''  He grinned, tail bobbing behind him now against the mattress, and I nuzzled along his ear, getting him to shiver.

``Mmm, and be the first to try out your romance mods for it.''  That got him to shudder, and I kissed along the edge of his ear, getting a groan from him instead.

``Mmm, very yes.  I could use some more... practice... with my augment, anyway.  Gotta make sure it's working properly.  Today.  You never know when it might stop working!''  He grinned, and I returned it.

Another nuzzle, and I felt him stiffen a little against my stomach.  ``True.  Maybe I'll just have to fall asleep knotted to you a few times.  Then you'll know right away in the morning that it's working...''  He shuddered, now fully hard against me and clearly enjoying the banter.

``Hah... you can do that...?  Wouldn't you just... I mean, in your sleep you'd...''

I smirked and nodded against the top of his head.  ``Yeah, expect sleep humping.  And probably at least three loads pumped into you overnight...''  That got a low squeak and quiver from him.

And then the comm went off again and I sighed.  He perked, looking to it, and I flicked the display open for both of us to read instead, seeing as it was Exia.  ``He's agreed.  Can you get the injections ready for us?''  I sighed.  Terse, but she wasn't screaming at me now at least.  Right...  Well, I guess terse was better than `disgusted until violently ill'.

Kada lowered his ears as he read it, immediately deflating.  Both in spirit, and stiffness against me.  Yeah, I knew that feel...  ``Well, at least she... doesn't sound as mad anymore?''

I chuckled dryly at that, sitting up finally.  It was hard not to be... hostile over the situation.  ``Give it a day or two.  They'll probably be loving it, between how much bigger he is and the addictive hormones...''  He winced at that, frowning to me as he sat up too, then shook his head.

``Size isn't everything.  Just ask Niva.  I... like your size a lot more, Exes.  I think it's just perfect inside me.''  And back to disarmingly adorable, yet somehow sexy at the same time.  I shot him a skeptical look at that, but felt the heat drift into my cheeks.  He smiled and nodded twice, and I chuckled.

``Somehow you said that with a straight face.''  I didn't know what I'd do if he wasn't here...

He huffed, pouting then.  ``What?!  It's the truth.  I really like your cock!  There, I said it!''  Heh.

I gave his cheek a nuzzle at least, to that.  ``Well, I really like yours too.  So, I guess it works out like that.''  He grinned, then nuzzled me back before I slipped off the bed and over to my suitcase.

``Gonna make the augments then...?''  I looked back to Kada, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed and watching me.

``Yeah.  The sooner I can deliver them, the sooner Exir gets... relief.''  I exhaled slowly, feeling a twinge again and that acidic sensation dancing under my breath.  Tch.

Kada sighed, then gave a little nod back.  ``Yeah.  If there's anything I can do...''

I turned back to the suitcase, sliding my paw idly along the edge of it before opening it again and putting it on its side, upright.  ``Thanks, Kada.  I'll... probably want to game later at least, just to take my mind off things.''

I could almost feel him smirking behind me.  ``Oooh, that'll be a tough one on me.  But I'll try my hardest!''  I shot him a grin over my shoulder, then stuck my tongue out at him before stepping in through the suitcase again.

...and almost tripping over the fallen headset and wire.  Right.  There was still blood on the floor too, probably stained on now.  I sighed, grabbing the headset and rolling the wire up until I got to the device itself at the base of the table.  Oh...

The musical disk at the base of it looked like it had been struck by lightning.  I frowned, carefully unhooking it from the plate, then moving it into my paws in three pieces.  Had my ward done this in order to turn it off?  Fuck...  There was no way I was going to be able to repair this, I rapidly assessed.  I stood up again, then moved to put the pieces on the table, only to freeze.

If the plate looked like it was hit by lightning, the table looked like I'd sprayed the surface down with acid.  There were deep claw gouges along it, and the wood was warped and twisted, like it had turned to liquid in parts.  Oh, shit...  That wasn't...  That hadn't been... in my head?  When the effect ended, it had clearly left the wood... shaped, with bubbles coming off it in spots.  A dozen or so little wooden orbs lay on the floor and top of the table from where they'd clearly fallen out of the air.  The song...  It had...

Well, this was clearly enough evidence to note that the song did a lot more than let someone read Demonic script.  Mentally, I undid the seal on my chest, and information spilled into my vision as my eyes activated.  The table's damage displayed readily in my eyes, and I wasn't just imagining it, as I could measure the size of each crater and groove, as well as the wooden orbs strewn about.  It did, curiously, show something I hadn't seen before, though.

It looked like someone had splashed a very... strange glowing paint over the entire table.  I wanted to say the paint was... purplish-pink, but it wasn't at the same time.  It was like a space in my vision that my mind refused to identify, color-wise, and distorted to some degree, with at least three overlaying, translucent shifts, spatially.  Huh.  A look down at the burnt disk showed it covered in the stuff too, and I almost dropped it for a moment until I realized it wasn't wiping off onto my paws.  There was no tactile sensation for the... whatever the color was.

I set the disk bits back down on the table, feeling along the color there but not noting anything other than wood.  That was... weird.  It felt like I'd seen something like this before, though.  I frowned for a moment, thinking back to my studies, then recalled dimly something that I'd seen when Chronak was showing me divination magic.  ...magic!

Energy manipulating something left a residue.  I'd seen it before with magic.  It lasted usually a few hours to a few days after a spell, depending on how much mana was used.  Vita techniques did the same, but for much shorter duration.  But it left a... sort of paint that divination spells could pick up on and highlight for you.  Did... True Alchemy also have something like that?  Was this Aether residue, then?

There was an easy way to find out.  I stepped off the splatter zone around the table, and moved over to the bookcase instead.  Touching the edge of it, I did a simple True Alchemy tweak and altered the temperature of the wood under my fingers, cooling it by several degrees.  My ears perked up as I noticed a second later that it was splattered down with that weird shade around where my paw was touching.  Ah!  Okay, so that's what it was.  I'd just set off a small bomb of True Alchemy in here.  ...made sense.  Mostly.

With the mystery solved now for the most part, I moved to the alchemy workbench instead and started setting up ingredients.  I was... distinctly aware that I could still remember the formula from when I'd glanced at it on Kada's comm earlier.  Normally I'd have paid no attention to that whatsoever, but with all the weirdness I just went through, maybe I was hyper-aware of weird things now.  It had been... just a glance.

Still, I set up the ingredients.  I'd anticipated it was a pretty simple formula for just a material transmutation, but transmutations always had a lot of stages to them for creation.  I made a large batch, which should cover half a dozen doses or so.  Enough for all three girls.  Once the distillery was going and cooking off the mix, I sighed and started gathering up some of the bits of the table and tossing them into one of the boxes I hadn't removed from the suitcase yet from Chronak's clutter, in the other corner.  Just don't think about it, Exes.

Instead, I noticed the black book was still laying open on the table, where I'd left it.  Which was at least a little bit suspicious, given how much the table got jarred around.  More importantly though, I was looking at it with my newly upgraded vision now, and the book had a name.  Figment Black II?  That... could mean all sorts of things.  Walking up to the table again, I looked at the open page, still showing the goggles.  Only this time, everything was perfectly translated.  I could read the dimensions listed for the goggles, and the disk was indeed called the `music generator'.  Oh...  My new eyes translated Demonic like the goggles did.

I quickly grabbed Chronak's book and opened to the introduction with the words he'd written there.  Indeed, the `meaning' of the Demonic he'd given came to me, all the same.  Well...  I guess there wasn't as pressing a need to figure out how to repair the music generator thing after all.  I'd at least still be able to translate for myself like this.  Still... the book.  Figment Black II.  Well, the color of the book was definitely black.  Two would probably indicate that it was the second volume, maybe?  Was Figment the series?

My gut instincts said otherwise, though.  Figment.  Something that is believed to be real, but exists only in the imagination.  My paw traced over the page, feeling the texture of the paper, ears twitching above me as I did.  Everything... about the book felt real, indeed.  But nobody except for me could see or interact with it.  The... goggles couldn't see the book either.  I couldn't translate the pages until... I'd gotten this weird eye upgrade.  Which I'd already confirmed wasn't an eye upgrade per se.  It was either something mental, or connected right to my soul, thanks to listening to the music directly.  Which I now suddenly realized that the goggles were made specifically to avoid having to do.  The diminutive size of the prongs and minimal vibrations made it so that the song itself very clearly wasn't audible.  Guess I'd... ignored those safety instructions entirely by accident.

My first instinct was to start exploring the book immediately now that I could read it.  But I didn't even have the protections set up again.  Plus, I was in a hurry to just get the brewing of the augments out of the way.  Though...  I closed the book again, locking the clasp in place once more.  It had been exactly where I remembered it to be, even though I hadn't realized the table had moved.  I stared at it rather intently, but my eyes saw it as definitely there.  I couldn't...  Books didn't just get up and move by themselves, obviously.  It was a book.  That much my mind told me.  But... what if it wasn't a book?

I looked over at the box sitting on top of the stack in the corner, where I'd tossed all the wood chunks.  No, it was... a book.  That form was useful and familiar to me.  But what if... it wasn't where I remembered it?  I walked over to the plywood box and looked it over.  It was a bit dirty, and obviously pretty cheaply made.  A shipping crate, more or less.  But it was at eye level with me.  I... knew it was empty.  At least before I had tossed the wood chunks in it.  But was it empty?  Was this the same box that I'd put the chunks into...?  I forced myself to try to remember if I'd put the box back here or not, or stacked a box on top of it for some reason.  I knew I hadn't, right?  But with enough thinking about it, soon I suddenly started to second guess myself.

If I'd stacked another box on top of it, anything could be in the box I was looking at.  Anything at all.  I slid the box off the stack, instead focusing on remembering where I'd put the book.  Had I moved the book?  I think I did!  And there the black book was, sitting on top of the wood orbs in the box.  Fuck!  I almost dropped the box again when I saw it, but instead scrunched my muzzle, picking the book up again.  A glance to the table showed it not there anymore, indeed.  It... clicked a moment later.  I realized... it wasn't a real book.  It was in my fucking head!  How was this even possible?!  Did True Alchemy have stuff that could do this?!

The alchemy workbench made a dinging noise, and I really did drop the box with a start.  Of course, it landed on my paw, and I let out a series of curses as I flopped backwards onto my rear and rubbed at the now sore appendage.  Damn it!  ...box confirmed to still be very real.  Tch.  Once I'd hobbled over to the workbench, I moved the mixture off the cooker and mixed in the remaining ingredients while it was still hot.  No, while it was nice to be distracted, Exir was still relying on me.

The mixture in the bowl hissed out steam as I slid it onto the reactive magical plate, then fed it a bit of mana, causing it to flare up and activate fully.  Most advanced alchemical mixes required one or more steps that used magic.  The simpler ones that didn't were called `Catalytics'.  Ingredients that you could mix together to just get a different effect, without magic.  Probably where Alchemy had started, as a science, if I had to guess.  Someone, at some point, had to question ``What would happen if I mixed these things together, then drank the results?''  ...they probably died, but here's to them, the founders of one of Aion's greatest sciences!  I raised the bowl in cheers to the air, before getting out the measuring cups...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Three light-orange, carefully measured out mixtures of highly targeted, extremely specific transmutative effects.  I held the three shots in my paw now as I re-sealed my Keyhole, then exited the suitcase, only to discover the room had been populated again.  Kada sat on the bed, looking awkward as he set the PEC up for us.  Exir leaned against the wall, attempting to look stoic but failing miserably this time as his ears drooped and his eyes stayed bloodshot.  Niva rested against his side, while Exia and Yimir were sitting stiffly on the bed behind Kada, looking at their laps.  Ugh.

Everyone looked up as I exited the suitcase, eyes lingering on the three shots.  Uh, right...  Exia stared blankly at them, while Yimir exhaled softly.  ``Those are the elasticity augments?''  I managed a small nod.

``Yeah.  Fast acting, targeted transmutation.  Should take about ten minutes to fully affect you.''  I gave a little sigh, then walked over and sat down on the bed next to the girls.

Yimir didn't meet my gaze, instead just lifting the sleeve of her tunic up.  Exir gave a sigh as he watched, then pushed off the wall instead, standing fully again.  ``Exes...''  I focused on the shot into Yimir's arm, not turning to look at him.  Now I was afraid that sudden movements would send me rushing for the bathroom again...

``I... know we always said that we'd do anything for each other.  It... was just how we felt.  But you're... proving that it was true now, too.  I know you're not okay with this.  Nobody is.  But the fact that you're still all doing it for me...''

Exia slowly shook her head, lifting her own sleeve up too.  ``Exir, you're like a brother to us.  Of course, we'd do anything for you.  I just wish it didn't hurt Exes to do it.  This feels...''

Yimir gave a rub of her arm after the injection, and I slid past her to Exia instead, sighing myself.  ``I'll live.  I...  Let's just get through this until we get to Koramir, then just... not talk about it again?  Like I said, it's just sex, and it's not really anyone's fault that things turned out like this...''  Actually, if anything, it was the current atmosphere in Laridia.  We might have been able to find temporary females for Exir, if the concept of an Inaga Alpha Male hadn't been turned into a horror story by the current political climate.

Of course, Exir shook his head, however.  ``You know I can't do that, Exes.  It's nobody's fault, but some people are still paying for it.  I'm... putting a huge strain on your pack because of this.  All three of you are doing me a huge favor, brother or not.  Would you... really be satisfied just dropping things if our positions were flipped?''

I paused at that, then slowly lowered my ears.  Well, no.  I'd feel like shit over it and want to make it up to Exir.  Which I mean, deep down, I knew he wanted to make it up to me too.  And Exia and Yimir at that point.  But what do you do to make up for this...?  The situation was so... disgusting feeling that nothing really seemed specifically appropriate.  

``I guess not.  But that doesn't really... give me any ideas as to how I'd make it up to you, if we really were flipped.  Really, I just... want to get through this, preferably as fast as possible.''  I drew the needle back from Exia, who winced and rubbed at the site herself, before sighing.

She finally turned and looked at me, still looking miserable.  ``We'll want to fix things after this too.  Yimir and I still want... what we've been telling you all along.  We want you to be our Vulkus alpha.  We want that... life.  That lifestyle.  It feels... right, to my instincts.  It makes me happy.  But this is going directly against that, and I know it is for you too.  Which means doing this is going to... set us back from that.''

Niva nodded as she came over herself afterwards.  ``Yeah, so we'll have to... come up with a way to heal the damage once this is all over with.  Umani suggests we go to a relationship therapist in Koramir together.  All of us...''  They talked to Mom about this?!

Exia must have seen my sudden look of horror.  She held her paws up to me, frowning further.  ``Exes, we had to talk to someone.  She knows what Inaga Alphas, and our instincts, are like.  She... was just as bothered by it as we are.  But... she grudgingly agreed with you.  That there weren't many options available.''

It felt...  It was a sinking sensation in me.  Like this whole situation was... shameful, and the more people that knew about it, the more my heart sunk into my stomach.  Like it was some filthy secret that I was mortified over.  I sighed, defeated feeling now, before just nodding.  ``Yeah.  Therapy is probably for the best...''  I slid back as Niva sat down next to Yimir, her own sleeve raised, and prepped the last shot.

Exir shook his head.  ``It definitely is.  I need... to know how to fix this, Exes.  If you have any ideas, feel free to tell me.  Anything.''  I gently injected the shot into Niva's arm, then gave a tired shrug.

``Again, I just want to get it over with as fast as possible.  That's about... all I can think of.''  My eyes lifted to Yimir and Exia, before I sighed again.  ``You two... should just stay with Exir until then.  I don't... really want to see anything.  Or hear or smell anything, really, for that matter.''  I'd rather just blissfully pretend it wasn't happening, really.  They both sagged a bit at that, but Niva sighed and nodded.

``I figured... you'd want that.  We'll... definitely keep things to Exir's room.''  I nodded to her, and she searched my expression tentatively.  Hmm?  Whatever she was thinking, she kept it to herself however, instead just giving a slight nod back.

Sighing, I slid back from her, then set the syringe down with the others again.  ``Well, everyone should be set in about ten minutes.  If there's anything else you need or that I can do, just ask...''  I looked back to Exir with that, who just lowered his ears more instead.

He shook his head, though.  ``You guys are doing way more than enough already.  It's...  Thank you.''  He seemed like he wanted to say more, but had no idea what to say after that, looking down to the floor in front of his paws instead.  I just gave him a nod, then sighed and gestured towards the door instead.  It felt... mean, but the faster they left, the faster I could go back to pretending this wasn't happening.

He watched me for a moment before giving a small nod, then exhaling.  ``I... right.  We'll leave now.''  The females didn't say anything, and didn't look over at me again with that.  Instead, they just followed Exir over to the door, and then out of the room again.  The click of it closing felt... suddenly more final, and I shuddered before sliding off the bed and moving for the bathroom again instead...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Kada and I ate in.  I didn't really want to meet anyone in the cafeteria that would ask about where Yimir and Exia were.  Or worse, run into Yimir and Exia.  Instead, we just chilled in the room and started a two-player session up for Chronicles of Na'ard.  This time with me trying out a melee class instead of magic.  Kada was perfectly content switching to a magic archer and hiding behind me as I guarded him, it would seem.  Mercifully, I was able to relax and just be distracted for a long while instead.

Night peacefully creeped up on us, as we made it all the way to level ten in one solid run.  At least until my comm went off.  I groaned, almost not wanting to answer it this time, but it turned out to be just a message from Calien.  The court had approved the emergency transfer unanimously.  They were preparing the guard train overnight, and we were leaving first thing in the morning.  She also said she'd sent the message to everyone, so I didn't have to worry about sending it around.  Which was a blessing there.

``So, we're leaving tomorrow...?''  I sighed and nodded over to Kada.

``Last chance to back out, Kada.  I know at this rate you're not going to be able to say goodbye to your parents thanks to the lockdown, but nobody says you have to go with us...  You could even follow at a later time.''  I wanted to give him every option available to make sure he absolutely wanted to go.

He grinned at that and turned, sliding up against me instead, before nuzzling my chest.  ``I'm fine, Exes.  Actually, my parents are already planning a celebratory vacation now to Koramir in a moon or so.  They said they'd visit us then of course.  Plus, I mean, after we get nice and settled down, I can always come back and visit them too, right?''  I relaxed at that and gave him a nod and smile.

``You're certainly sure of yourself in coming along.  But... I'm glad...''  My own arms slid around him and I pulled him into my lap, getting him to shiver before tucking under my chin instead.  ``Something to do with `fate' was it?''

I must have surprised him, because he gave a little jerk at that, then looked down slightly, blushing now.  ``Ah, hah... uh, you remembered that?''

I nodded, tilting my head to him before gently raising his own up to me, brushing his cheek.  ``It's okay, Kada.  You don't have to tell me.  I was just curious.  You know it's not going to change anything, anyway.''

His flush deepened a little, and he snuck a little kiss in before slowly nodding.  ``I... know.  You're amazing like that.  But it's... really nothing major.  Ever since I became a mage, I've gotten... well, gut feelings about things.  Like something's tugging at me to make certain choices.  I know I want to get into game design for the crystal mechanical alchemy, but... I wouldn't mind picking up a bit of divination specialization on the side.  Maybe... try to figure out the feeling that I keep getting...''

My ears flicked, and I nodded to him.  ``Following you so far.  You've followed these gut instincts before?''

That he nodded enthusiastically to.  ``Almost religiously!  I mean... t-they told me to take the cleanup job that day that I... met you in the hall.  They also... got me into contact with the academy staff about the game placement.''  Hmm?  He saw me perk, and nodded again.  ``They enrolled me ahead of time for the game courses that I wanted to start taking, right out of basic school!  All because I followed my instincts and went to talk to the academy at almost closing time the one day.  Caught a professor leaving, who just had a cancelation, and she was impressed by my eagerness.  She just slotted me into the newly opened slot right then and there!''

Huh.  I smiled at that and nodded.  ``Well, I think someone or something is trying to help you then.  I'd keep following the urges.  And they're telling you to go with us?''

``You, actually.''  Eh?  He grinned at that and nodded.  ``They're telling me to stick as close as possible to you, specifically.  Not that... I have any reason not to do that.  But they've never felt so... insistent before.  So, I figure if it is fate, then it's got to be something pretty important.''

Slowly, I nodded to that.  ``Well, if you ever get any involving me, do tell.  It sounds like... a definitely useful thing to have.''  Plus, admittedly... I was really thankful he was here now.  Being alone tonight would have been... really, really shitty.

Kada flushed as I gave him a peck between the eyes, but rapidly nodded after, tail swaying happily behind him.  ``Of course!  And, um, thanks for not thinking I was weird.  Well, weirder I guess.''

That I gave a light cough to.  ``My... mind has been opened quite a bit as to possibilities of things in the world.  Aion's become a lot stranger to me lately...''  That he snickered to and nodded without hesitation.

Another ping, and both of us jumped this time as my comm went off again.  Uh...  I flicked it on again and glanced, only to find Lilita instead via normal methods.  Of course, just because she wasn't using Realmsguard lines to contact me, didn't mean it wasn't something unpleasant to read, I realized, several seconds after opening her message up.

``Hey Exes.  Is everything okay?  I noticed that you and Kada weren't there during supper, and a friend reported that Exia and Yimir followed Exir back to his room instead.  Just worried about you.''  Kada winced as he read it himself, and I sighed, flopping backwards onto the bed.

``There's just no escaping it.  Ugh.  But... I did tell Annah that I'd talk to her before leaving, I guess.''  Kyry must be really bored if she's-

Kada lifted a skeptical eyebrow to the message.  ``They're spying on them...?  Why would they... do that?''  Yeah, that.

I sighed, then shrugged.  ``Probably because they're bored.  Did you want to stay here?  I should probably go at least tell Annah and Lilita that we're leaving tomorrow.''

He shrank a little, then sighed and gave a nod.  ``Uh, yeah.  I don't... deal well with talking to really um, higher up people.  Princesses make me nervous.''  Heh.  I was starting to wonder if there was a definite point to his mother trying to get him accustomed to that sort of thing.

I relaxed, then nodded to him again.  ``Alright.  Hopefully I won't be gone for too long.  Don't play our file without me!''

He scoffed.  ``You know I wouldn't!  Besides, I can't try out the romance mod by myself...  So hurry back!''  He grinned, and I flushed a little before standing and tossing him a wink.  Kada, flirting!  He was getting more confident it felt like, at least with me.

He grinned back, but I stuck my tongue out towards him, stopping at the door.  ``Careful, or I'll make you top.''  That got a squeak and flail on his part, and I laughed before heading out of the room again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


All three of them were in Annah's room again, though they hadn't been expecting me to make a personal appearance this time.  Not that it seemed to bother them anyway.  Of course, at this point, seeing them all in pajamas didn't even faze me.  They also had already known about the train leaving tomorrow, which didn't surprise me in the slightest.  Exir, however...

In general, they seemed a tad disgusted, but Annah looked absolutely horrified as she'd listened to the conclusion we'd reached, all four ears flattened back against her head.  Lilita frowned as I finished, then gave a low sigh.  ``You have my sympathies, Exes.  I suspect that Larid's going to have more and more Alpha concerns over time.  Your generation at the very least appears to have started the capacity to become one.''

Annah shuddered, then shook her head.  ``Alphas or not, Exes still has instincts like a Vulkus.  This is...  I mean, I understand.  Compared to Exir Raging, this was... the better choice.  But it's still terrible.  I really do think therapy is the best route.  Especially once you get to Koramir.  Our therapists are used to handling Vulkus instincts.''  I suppose that was true.  They'd... at least know what we were dealing with.

Looking surprisingly solemn, Kyry offered a nod as well.  ``Agreed.  This is... kind of just a terrible situation in general, for everyone.  But you'll get through it, and then just focus on recovering and healing over any hurt feelings.  Is there anything we can do for you, Exes?''

They were all sitting on the bed, and I'd stayed standing, leaning against the wall in front of them.  I gave a shrug at that, keeping my gaze on the floor instead.  ``I mean, I kind of just want to pretend it's not happening.  But... nobody seems to want to let it go.  I know that... if it were me in Exir's place, I'd want to make it up to me too but... really I just want it to be over with and move on already.  The situation's so fucked up that I don't really think there's a generic way to make it up to someone.  `I'm sorry for having to borrow your mates to fuck for a week or so?'  I doubt they make sympathy presents or cards for that.''

Kyry snorted out a laugh, but Lilita shot her a glare at that, then looked back to me with a more sympathetic expression.  ``It's not about finding a precedence, Exes.  It's about finding a way to help heal the pain.  I know you'd rather just bury it away inside, but I don't think that's very healthy for dealing with it either.''

Annah shook her head.  ``I think the most important thing is bolstering your instincts back up again afterwards.  Getting you comfortable again with Exia and Yimir.  Your scents back onto them, and making sure you know they'd rather be with you.  That this was... utility, to help Exir through a rough patch...''  I sighed at that.

``Exia said something similar before all this.  To make sure I knew that no matter what happened, they were still mine.  I guess... she knows me a bit, because of course I'm immediately thinking... what if they don't want to come back?  Exir's... way more male than me now, in all aspects of the concept.  I was struggling to figure out before this, what they saw in me.  Now it's hard for me to even fathom that I have anything to offer that Exir doesn't do better.  He's... already exactly what they were hoping I'd be for them.''  I idly shrugged after, but Lilita slowly nodded.

``It's a pretty common problem, generally speaking.  When we define our self-worth through the opinions of others, it can be extremely dangerous.  Thoughts can be... poisonous, and we're our own worst critics.  Vulkus in particular, I hear, can have issues with this, thanks to their instincts.  And the fact that the Alpha mutation exists.  A Vulkus that turns out not to be an Alpha can feel... inadequate in light of someone who is.''

Surprisingly, Kyry nodded slowly to that.  ``Kor has a lot of issues with that, even to this day.  I mean, the boots he's trying to fill are absolutely massive, with his father being the Kormir, King of Koramir and practically a living legend for the Vulkus.  And Kor, his son and crown prince, doesn't even have the Alpha mutation.  I... do my best to make sure that I prop up his ego whenever I can, but sometimes it still gets to him.''  Oh, she knew Kor?  She smirked a second later after seeing my expression, and nodded again.  ``Uh, right.  Not many know it but I'm Kor's first mate.''  Oooooh!

Annah chuckled at that.  ``Only mate, so far.  I pester him about that but brother's...  He's very insistent on putting his training and education first.''

``Like you're one to talk, there...  I've never heard you even swoon about a guy before Exes, and I'm pretty sure that's just because he's a nerd, like you are...''  Kyry stuck her tongue out back at Annah, who flushed furiously and returned a glare her way instead.  Uh... swoon?

Lilita giggled as she watched the two of them, then shook her head before looking back to me instead.  ``Well that just goes to show, we understand at least, at a base level, where you're coming from.  But I doubt Exir himself feels like he's any better than you are.  If anything, I wonder if he's felt the opposite before now, given your achievements and intelligence, and now your position as Grandmaster Alchemist.''  That was... huh.  He'd never said anything about it if he had, though... would he really say something about it?  He was such a stoic soul, I kind of doubted it.

Annah nodded as well, looking back to me instead.  ``Yeah.  There's plenty already amazing about you, Exes.  And I think Exia and Yimir have already proven that they're very much attracted to you over any other choices.  They've more than proved it, even if you're not sure why yourself, or don't fully trust it.  You can trust their actions though.  They definitely weren't happy about this, clearly.''

I nodded more slowly to that, relenting.  ``You're... right, yeah.  I don't have any reason to doubt them, and how much they like me.  It's... really just me being insecure.  I've never been entirely happy with my body, for obvious reasons...''  I shifted my left knee, and let my brace clack against my leg as emphasis.  ``I just... want to be the best for them that I can.  And I was worried that after they've... been with Exir, that I won't be able to really... make them happy?''

A nod, from Kyry.  ``Nobody wants to think they're someone's second best choice.''  Annah shot her another glare, but I nodded to her instead.

``That.  Exactly... that.  Exir's got more stamina, and I know he's bigger than me now by far.  To the point where they needed elasticizing augments.  Everyone says bigger isn't better but...''

Lilita gave a nod again.  ``The heart has trouble believing someone when there are doubts present, yeah.''

Kyry averted her eyes at that, and I looked back to her, tilting my head.  She coughed, then chuckled again.  ``I mean, there's diminishing returns, obviously.  Enough to feel and give a good stretching is nice, but really, we don't need more than that.  Some people like the more... `full' feeling of a larger dick, but otherwise, they don't feel that different from a smaller one after a certain size.  Though... uh, last I checked, `big enough to draw blood' wasn't exactly a desirably trait most guys wanted in their dicks.''  Er, well no, she had a point there.

Wincing at that, Annah coughed too, then slowly nodded.  ``Well, no, you're right there.  To be honest, Exir's probably feeling atrocious in that he's too big.  Especially when he hurt someone he loves like that.''  That... yeah, he looked like he was feeling down even this morning when I'd just gotten there.  I considered what Kyry said, then slowly nodded.

``I... alright.  No, I guess you're all right.  They're... well no, I trust them.  They're obviously happy with me the way I am.  I just need to get through this, I guess, and focus on patching things up afterwards.''  Lilita and Annah both nodded, and Kyry gave me a grin and thumbs up behind them.  I... guess I was rather happy that I'd come to visit them now.  Having a different perspective on things helped.

Kyry nodded, grin widening afterwards.  Uh...  ``Of course, if you're lonely tonight, or on the train ride, hey, you're going back to Koramir anyway, and Annah would totally be all for keeping you company...''  She gestured with her thumb to the Vulkus, who flushed bright red at that and turned to glare at her again.  Surprisingly, Lilita smirked though.

``Well, I mean, she would...''  If anything, Annah's look of mixing horror and disbelief towards the Keld was even more amusing, and I tried not to chuckle.  These three were definitely close friends, to tease each other like this.

Then, all the sirens went off in the hallway!  The blast door slammed down to my left, shaking the wall so much that I stumbled off it and wobbled.  Annah reacted fast, and was already ducking down and forward, enough to grab me as I fell over and lower us both to the floor instead.  Lilita was standing and frowning to the door, before she looked back to Kyry, who'd flipped to her paws and was listening carefully, long ears raised now.  What now?!

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