Becoming Monsters: In the Mirror 46

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the exceedingly cute creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

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Chapter 46: Sharp Distinctions

Time was short, so with a few words of thanks I set off towards the Medical Tents. This would be cut short rapidly by a frankly enormous clawed hand, covered in golden fur, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and pulling me backwards. New experience, to be sure. "I'm not through with you. You still need more healing if you don't want your scars to start pulling at you again."

Emily's combat form, apparently, has more applications than just tearing her enemies apart. My response would need to be quick and precise. "Uh..." okay, sue me, I was tired and off-guard. "Okay, Emily, tell you what. I'm headed to the Medical tent next for my task list. Soon as I get there you can use one of the facility clean rooms instead of the open dirt for the quick checks."

I could hear Nisha and Kamira laugh a bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lucy with her arms crossed, grudgingly nodding. It seemed that Emily also saw the gesture and let me go. Thankfully. That was not exactly a gentle grip. After stretching a bit, I set off again... this time, tailed by my six-tailed healer along with my wife. Honestly, this was comfortable. It felt right.

The Medical Tents, much like other sections, did have rooms one could utilize to apply aid to oneself or, such as in my case, be seen to by a Guild healer. They were spartan, to say the least, only containing a table, chair, and VERY basic supplies, but they saved the overworked healers a lot of time. Thankfully, they also had solid floors and doors which locked.

"Alright, Jay, strip and get on the table facedown." Emily was in charge now, Lucy relaxing in what would have been the examination chair as she got to watch me get ordered around this time. I obeyed, rapidly. The Kitsune's hands roamed over my back, legs and arms, utilizing her curious abilities to siphon off some of the bruising and burns I'd gotten.

Not going to lie, it felt amazing. Same when she told me to roll over and did the same up front. Little though I wanted to admit it, the pain I sustained in that duel was not playing well with the extensive scarring I was dealing with. It caused my demonic flesh to pull at it oddly, causing more pain and interfering with my movements more than the sum of the two parts.

"Jay, other detail. You didn't have sex this morning at all, did you?"

Unexpected. "No, not today. Why?"

Emily's eyebrows furrowed. "You have been on the precise opposite of a cold spell for the last five years in general, and the last couple of weeks in particular. In case you forgot you're also an Incubus. You are distracted and can't feel it right now, but your balls are looking angry. Eighteen hours without an orgasm when you're hardly ever going more than eight isn't healthy. Stay right there." The speech, cold and clinical as it was, ended with me rock-hard and pointed directly at the ceiling. Emily, never one to waste an opportunity, climbed up and sank me directly into her, sighing in bliss as the feel of my massive member filled her.

"Jeremiah, you can't just abstain from sex because it can interfere with my pregnancy. Especially you." Lucy would be the one to give me a lecture while watching the golden fox on me get her feet into position to squat-ride me and get started. "I'm not the only girl with needs in our Guild, either, and you aren't slowing down our daughter by being intimate with the others."

I was having some difficulty focusing on her words. Both because of the surreal reality of my wife being the one to speak them at this particular moment, and the fact that as soon as Emily got to the good part I very suddenly felt what she had told me. My balls were overloaded and begging for an outlet, sore almost to the point of pain. Normally, I prided myself on going the distance, on making sure my partners very thoroughly enjoyed themselves by the time I finished. Emily in particular had experienced that many a time, a couple even before joining up.

Today? Barely thirty seconds after the sexy Kitsune got started, I was orgasming straight into her body. As I Fed upon her, I could see her face light up with pride and joy, could feel her join me in an orgasm of her own. Even for the normally highly sensitive Emily, this was unusual. Had I been neglecting her? I didn't think so, but life had not exactly been steady lately. It's possible I hadn't been physically intimate with my little fox in a while, and it was a thing she valued deeply. Even Lucy couldn't help but smile at her pure bliss.

I didn't want to have to put my lovers on a calendar, but it might be necessary.

Either way, I definitely did feel enormously better as I stood to get my gear back on and clean up the room. Both from the healing and from the relief. My stance was definitely much straighter as we walked out towards the back, a couple of other other healers giving Emily approving nods. One, some kind of Wolf Beastfolk, looked again with a twitching nose. He realized what I was, though, and didn't ask any pointed questions. Odder things had been done in those rooms at need.

Gloria and Amber met up with us out back, both with some serious smiles on their faces. Gloria was carrying her new bow in hand as if afraid to let it go. Apparently, Quiverbow did quality work. Amber was carrying Gloria's old one, and I could see the subtle glow on it indicating that her class features were at work upon it. That bow had been through a lot in the last month, and all of that was now feeding Amber's own abilities as if she had been the one launching the arrows. The two formed up with us as I spotted and sought out my next target.

Three men in robes stood to the side, observing the practice ground that Gloria and Amber had just been using. The better to react quickly to injury or mishap, I guess, same reason the grounds were located directly adjacent to the Medical Tent. A tall lizard-like Beastfolk with enormous, bulging eyes was discussing something with a Human, joined by what looked to be an electric-blue Otter, the latter whom I recognized as being at the meeting I just came from. He'd stayed quiet, though. There was a serious look on all their faces. Given how the meeting had gone, I could probably guess what the chat was about.

The lizard-like man had his back pointed to me, but I saw the moment one of his eyes swiveled to point my way. His green skin shifted, picking up highlights of gold and red. Ah, Chameleon of some kind. One who wasn't bothering to hide, which was a bit of stereotype which bore up unfortunately frequently among his peers.

The blue Otter stepped forward. A glyph of some kind was etched onto his white belly, also in blue. "Guild Leader Kithkin, what brings you our way?"

I had to dig through my memory a bit to remember the man's name. "Guild Leader Smith, I find that I need to ask advice from those who serve the Patrons. You are the authority on that here." I did not need to look to be able to feel Gloria scoff behind me.

"Call me Peter, please. I do not enjoy formality when I can avoid it. The meeting was a refreshing change from what I usually do. Congratulations on your promotion, by the by."

"It has not been confirmed yet." The comfortable feeling I'd had for the last five minutes found itself facing down a maelstrom of nerves.

"Oh, it has been. By the time I got to the table to sign, you had more than enough signatures just among the Leaders and Independents. Their people were streaming in to join up, too, once you put your own skin on the line to prove it. For a Minor Guild Leader, you now have at least informal command over at least as many personnel as any of your peers at the table on Monday's Conclave."

The maelstrom was rapidly winning. "Be that as it may, I'm here to ask about a different piece of my life. You see, Lucy is pregnant, we found out recently."

"Ah, congratulations! I assume you come to ask the blessings of our Clerics for a healthy and happy little one?"

"Not... quite. There is a problem. Due to Racial issues, whenever my wife and I are intimate, the pregnancy slows down. The doctor estimated that at the current rate Lucy may be pregnant for years, and I do not want to put her through that. We want to keep the child, but were hoping one of your people could help. Perhaps a Cleric of Teteoh or the World Serpent."

"Jeremiah, I am not a believer in coincidences. Hugh here," the Human waved, "and Daniel," the Chameleon nodded, "are my Clerics of exactly those two Patrons." The two stepped forward, but the Chameleon... Daniel... held out one three-fingered hand.

When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly smooth. "Guild Leader, in order for me to do anything, the World Serpent requires that I make sure I am tipping the scales in the correct direction. I must analyze your soul, and see where the weight of it tips the cosmos. With your permission, sir?"

I gave the question the weight it deserved. Magical information gathering was tightly regulated. He could not cast what he needed to upon me without my direct permission, not without running afoul of every temporal authority aware of it. However, there was no way to know just how much he would get from it. Given his Patron and how he acted so far, it was likely a good assumption that he'd be exceedingly proficient at this particular spell. He'd be laying my soul bare for inspection, and nobody is fully innocent. Refusing, however, would mean something wildly different. That I feared something there, or valued it above even getting help for my wife and unborn child. This, besides being false, would also set the forming union back five steps as I showed that I had skeletons in the closet.

The choice was clear. "I consent."

Many of these spells were subtle, some (like mine) effectively invisible unless one knew to look and possessed specific extraordinary senses. Daniel's ability was not one of them. From his outstretched hand, a soft white light shone upon me, and I could see flickers of gray and black within it. Over the course of a few moments, Daniel's own coloration shifted slightly, some of the red easing off, the golds and greens becoming more dominant and brighter. His eyes went a bit wild, seeming to drift rapidly and independently of one another.

I assume he did not usually react like this. Mostly because of how the others reacted. The moment ended, he settled. "Guild Leader, that was certainly unique in my experience. Your soul is a complicated thing, but I think one that is worth supporting. It is unfortunate, then, that the Lord of Endings and Beginnings has not seen fit to grant me a way to assist in this particular problem. Hugh, anything from Teteoh?"

Hugh was working on something himself, but the bright streams of light his hands were tracing similarly fizzled out. "No. It is important for some reason that this proceeds as it will. I cannot intercede."

Both looked at the electric blue Otter beside them. "Sir, does your Patron have anything to say on the matter?"

Guild Leader Peter Smith, possibly the strongest Cleric at Camp and one of the most knowledgeable about the Patrons, considered the question gravely. "I'm afraid not. Lord Bob only tells me that the story is worth the struggle that will go into it."

Wait. His Patron's name is Bob?

Apparently, others behind me reacted similarly. Gloria was not so restrained. "I told you that they would not be able to help, Jeremiah." Her accent got noticeably thicker than her usual, the anger she was feeling under the surface must be hitting hard.

I wasn't the only one to notice. Guild Leader Smith fixed her with a piercing gaze, one which I felt despite not being directly in the path of it. The oddly cute exterior seemed utterly irrelevant as the weight of what the Cleric had been through came straight to the fore. "Another one. Gloria, was it?" My Hunter nodded. "None of us were given a choice in who we became. The only choice we had is what we did with it. Whether you choose to believe in them or not, the Patrons are quite real. How much do you know about me?"

Gloria was thoroughly caught off-guard by the question. She could not find the words to reply.

Smith continued. "I thought not. Let me tell you one thing. When the Change struck, I was in the middle of my third year of Seminary. Top of my class, too, and unmatched in philosophy and ethics. Bob spoke to me, then, and I dropped out. All I knew was irrelevant in the face of this. It took me more than a year before I was willing to tap into the abilities he granted me, to be able to help. How many died in that first year that I might have saved? I will never know, save that the number is not zero. God has not linked us together without reason, whether I know it or not, and so here I stand."

The shock on her face was obvious, the shock in her soul a mighty weight that seemed to radiate outward. "But... you worship Bob, not the Lord Above!"

"Whatever gave you that idea? I believe the Patrons to be somewhat akin to our Saints, though obviously their selection process is vastly different from our own. Intermediaries, intercessors. I have no way to know this for certain. None of them are talking about their natures, and I have spoken to hundreds of Clerics, Paladins, Incarnates, and Angelics over the last few years to see if any of them had a clue, either. If you ever find a detail of who they actually are, let me know. Until then, I will aid who I can. Like your Guild Leader." His steely stare came back to me. "Daniel has never once been wrong about the nature of the soul he analyzes. We may not understand in time, but never wrong. If he says you are worth helping, you are. Please do not betray our trust, we see the results of that every day."

"You have my word."

"Good. I represent fifteen good people, Jeremiah. Possibly two more by next week if they complete their apprenticeships. I would not want to throw our weight behind one not worthy of it. Daniel, Hugh, we need to get going. Call the others, we will meet at the usual spot. Fare well, Jeremiah, I look forward to our next discussion." Abruptly, the three turned as one and strode off.

My party of five looked off in their direction. Amber was the first to voice what we were all thinking. "Well... that just happened. What did he mean when he was talking about you representing them? You're already a Guild Leader."

Ah, right. Explanations. I'd been a bit busy for the last hour getting into a duel, getting healed, having sex, then getting into a discussion with three Clerics. Seriously, what even is my life anymore? "Short version is that a lot of the Minor Guilds and Independents are unionizing and picked me as their new boss. Long version, I don't even know yet. I need all of you ladies to go by the Archivists and find Annabelle, then sign the form she has there. If you can, estimate how many signatures are already there. Find the others, please. Sarah should be at the Enchanter's Open Tent. I'll be over by the food stalls, a lot of people will have questions."

I heard four sighs, entirely expected. Lucy's voice came, "yeah, like us. Even for you, this story is going to be a good one."

Everyone trotted off to what they needed to do. I just stood for a moment and closed my eyes, gathering my thoughts. There were some sounds of practice drills behind me. Birds chirped in the autumn sun. Distant conversation and laughter. The sounds were familiar. Comforting. I almost jumped out of my skin when something touched my right leg. Looking down, Nibbles was there. "Let me guess. Gloria sent you to keep an eye on me?" He shook his head in the negative. "You were worried about me yourself?" A nod. "I'm touched, Nibbles. I'll be fine. Just a lot going on. You know. You were there. Come on, let's get you some turkey." The yarrb flashed an enormous toothy grin at that and trotted alongside me towards the food stalls.

That did take a while, mostly because I got enough for the family. Given that the family included Gloria, this was a bit of an ask, but the treat would be good for all of us. Regardless, I was glad for my significant Strength score as I hauled the load over to an open table. The noise was significant as others ate their lunches, chatted, and transmitted rumors at twice the speed of light. I saw many glances my way, but as I set up the meal nobody bothered me. Either they already knew what they needed to, or just respected the desire to eat in peace. Nibbles enjoyed some bites of roast turkey from my hand as we got some time to sit and breathe.

That peace did not last long. "Mr. Kithkin, sir!" The voice was that of a young man, in sturdy but unarmored clothes. His blonde hair was buzzed close, and he carried a carbine and pistol. So, too, did his four Human friends behind him. None wore Guild Badges, though that was not exactly uncommon.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Sir! We, I mean my friends and I, we saw what you've done. We want to learn. Can you teach us how your team works together? We want to be that good."

He sounded like an eager puppy. This was going to be one of those hard conversations, wasn't it? "Normally, I'm all about it, but in this case I'm going to have to say no. It would be counterproductive."

The five of them recoiled as though slapped. One, somewhat older-looking, asked from the back, "why not?" His voice was rougher, his dark hair sprinkled with gray.

"Because you're soldiers, not Delvers."

The man in front was visibly confused. "How did you..."

"You came to me, please do not insult my intelligence. Gunslingers are rare and valuable, a pack of five Unguilded carrying firearms is unheard of. That's besides your regulation haircuts, and the fact that you kept calling me 'sir.' Plus, you're all carrying identical carbines and pistols. M4 or AR15, can't see your selector switch to check, and the pistols look to be in the 9mm range. I could go on."

The darker-haired and older man stepped forward. "Get back with the others, Williams." The blonde puppy of a soldier did so. "I'm Sergeant Lafayette. Care to explain the distinction? I did think you'd be good for group tactics."

"I fight monsters. Dragons, demons, wargs, scorpions, and all kinds of nasties. You don't. That's not your job. You fight people. When those meant to fight people train to fight monsters, they start treating people like monsters. I will not be the one responsible for that. Neither will anyone I command."

"And if I told you we are a monster-hunting team?"

"I'd suggest, just between you and me, to keep that quiet. If you're going Below to farm materials for the Department of Defense, you don't need instruction from me. Point those guns at the thing and pull the trigger enough times, they'll die and you can get your loot. If they don't, run. Simple. Just don't tell the others you're here, they don't like uniformed interlopers in our Dungeon. If you're doing this topside, you're literally stealing food from my mouth personally and from the mouths of the SWAT officers trained to do that. If you're just in it to grind levels for whatever your Class is, come back with a Delver License and gear appropriate for what you do. Whichever way you end up going, the one you chose is wrong. Oh, and tell your boss the same thing. Either you're doing this in secret with issued gear, somehow, or they sent you. Neither is a good look."

"You don't believe in sugar coating things, do you, sir?"

I grinned, letting a bit of fang show. "Sergeant, you need to understand something. That was sugar coated. You're lucky you asked me first, because quite a few of the others would have attacked you without warning once they figured you out. There are four people that I can see who are judging you right now, likely coming to the same conclusions I did. I suggest, strongly, that you get clear of Camp. If I hear gunfire, I will be one of the enemies you face, and by no means the strongest one. Just perhaps the most famous. If you ever want to do this the right way, I'm easy to find."

"I see. Gentlemen, let's go." The five of them took off at a brisk walk. As they passed out of sight, I felt the tension in my wings ease off. I really did not want to be facing a team of soldiers. Despite appearances, I fell into the "person" category, which meant that if they decided to throw down I'd likely not come out on top. I hoped they took the message in the spirit which it was intended. Despite the severity of the tone, I wanted no such thing to occur at camp.

Lucy and the others got to me shortly afterwards, attacking lunch with gusto. Perhaps it wasn't quite as perfect as the amazing meals that Gloria could regularly put on the table (when she wasn't mad at me, anyway). Didn't matter, the eight of us together could enjoy this. Nibbles enjoyed it even more, being spoiled rotten by all eight of us... and the couple of other Delvers who, seeing that the atmosphere got happier, were much less afraid to come over to inquire about random things or just say hi. They all seemed to think that slipping a certain yarrb a treat was his just and proper tribute. Nibbles agreed.

Granted, by the time we made it back to the bus to go home, he was so deep into a turkey coma that I had to sling him over my shoulders, but such was life.

The trip home was quiet. I told the ladies everything I could think of from the day's events, fielded their ideas of what to do. What to write, to clarify. The fact that more than seventy names had already been entered on the Union Roll. We turned our discussion to Sarah's backlog, and what the rest of us could do to ease it. Other than getting components, we were already doing that. Runes to carve, components to sort, experiments to try.

Experiments like the elephant in the room. The Greater Masterwork. The Hunger Battery. Even if it worked as expected, we had no idea what its specifications would be. Sarah had made her best predictions. Thing is, these things had a certain way of completely defying them. It might end up with a miniscule end capacity, or be hideously inefficient on transmittal. The US Government Feeder Boxes suffered this problem, after all. There was no way to know what the sensation or flavor would be for the Hunger, or if other side effects might occur. That didn't even get into any odd interactions with our own unique sub-System.

It was nearly two in the afternoon when we got back home. On Sarah's enchanting table, the ritual circle was no longer lit. The project was completed. For good or ill, the time to test the battery was now.