by Xander Jade
"Val, you still want to try what we discussed this morning? I’m not going to pressure you into anything?"
She nodded slowly, so I got up to leave, and kissed Cass tenderly on the lips then left to go to my room with Val in tow, and closed the door when she passed the threshold. She sat nervously on the bed and wouldn’t look at me. Going over to her, I raised her chin up to me so she would look in my eyes.
I whispered to her, "Val if this doesn’t feel right, you can leave if you want."
"No, I want it," she murmured. "I’m just scared to be touched by a male. It reminds me of the years with my pride, and Damien."
My thoughts turned to anger when realizing the significance of her statement. She had been forced into those situations. "Val, are you saying that they forced you to have sex with them?" She nodded and I was livid, "Val, where can I find those men? I vow to you I will end them."
She shook her head no with tears streaming down her face, "No Max, I don’t want to bring up those horrible memories, and they can stay in the past. I just want you to hold me, please!" I held her while she sobbed, stroking her silky purple/black hair and hauled her into the bed, pulled the covers over us, and wrapped her in my arms. She held on with a steel grip, almost crushing my ribs.
She continued to cry, "I’m sorry Max, this was supposed to be a night filled with pleasure, and I ruined it."
I kissed her tear stained face, "Sweetie, just holding you is special enough, and I feel privileged to have you in my life." That comment just made her sob more. She finally fell asleep while I pondered what she must have been through. I had to stop because I was getting angrier by the minute and went to sleep still fuming but couldn’t do anything at this time. I would bide my time, find those fuckin idiots, and end them for hurting my Val.
I awoke the next day alone in the bed, remembering the night before, but couldn’t do anything about the situation just yet. I got up to get dressed and went to get some breakfast to find Cass and Val at the table. They were silent when I came into the room, and neither would look at me for some reason. Picking up some fruit from the counter, I ate my share, and shuffled toward the exit, stopping by to kiss the top of both their heads as I walked out of the cabin. Taking a deep breath, I went to the forge to see if it could be it fixed and fired up.
Figuring out what was needed, I went to the barn, and got the items necessary for the repairs. Hauling the objects back, I went to work fixing and replacing parts as needed. Two hours later, I looked around and found the repairs done, so decided to fire up the forge. Rubbing my hands together with glee, I was excited to get my hands working again to create some new blades, and repair the ones I’m carrying at the moment. I got my butt in gear and hurried back to the barn to grab some steel and iron ingots. While digging through the available material and moving the boxes of ingots around, I was shocked to see some zorichalcum. I had only seen this mineral once that was sitting in front of me, but I looked to see what other ores were stored. I moved the materials to a corner to see better, noticing different colors of minerals: yellow, purple, blue, green, and black colored bricks were the ones that stood out. Adamite, lepidolite, malachite, azurite, and obsidian were in a box. Not many bricks of each, but damn, how the hell did grandpa get his hands on obsidian. The rare material is hard to mine, not to mention harder to mold, but was sure as hell going to try to mix it with titanium and make a couple of daggers for myself. The others would be used on décor for the hilts I suppose, but had an idea that they could mix with iron or steel to make a style all its own. My thoughts ran in all kinds of directions but shook my head from those thoughts, I needed to get back to start crafting, so I pulled an empty box off the floor, loaded up some bricks, and scurried out of the barn.
Back at the forge, I set the material on the counter and separated them, but didn’t bring any of the rare ingots because I needed to get back used to getting the metal just like I wanted. It would take a little time, but after a few tries and failures, I should be able to repair or create anything I wanted. Melting the ores, I poured the hot material into the molds, and waited for the outcome. Taking the casts out, then hammered them to how my mind wanted the knives to look, and set them aside to form. When the forms were done, I sharpened them on both sides, and tested the edges. When that was done, set them on the counter, and got the dagger mold ready. Time seemed to fly by when I was in my own little world, and didn’t realize it was lunch time until noticing the girls standing in front of me.
Wiping the sweat off of my face I said, "Hey girls, what’s up?"
"Babe, we just wanted to make sure you were okay in here. We haven’t seen you come out, so both of us were concerned," Cass stated while Val had her head down.
"I was just making some equipment, and getting the feel back working in the forge." I glanced at Val, who had her head down still. "Val, is something wrong?"
She shook her head no and said in a low voice, "Nothing hon, I am sorry for everything that I’ve put you through." Tears falling down her face again, I sighed loudly, and walked over stand in front of her. Putting my fingers under her chin, I lifted and had her to look me in the eyes.
"Then, why are you crying again? I told you last night, I’m here for you, and if that need is a hug, then I would be happy to give one."
She sobbed out, "How can you be like this? I-I-I’ve never had someone not demand things from m-m-me." Val jumped to me and I caught her in mid-air. She put her head on my shoulder, still crying while I hugged her tightly. I knew that my attire was dirty, but Val evidently didn’t care because she held on to me like a vise grip. A few minutes later, Cass came over and joined in the group hug.
"Val, I would love to do this all day, but my hands are grimy, and need to finish my project. Are you going to be okay?" She nodded and wiped her tears since calming down.
"Thank you Max for being the man you are. I love you," Val replied with a salty kiss on the lips.
"I love both of you!" I responded, and then gave a tender kiss to Cass too which she enjoyed.
"What are you doing in here, Max?" Cass asked as she looked around the forge.
I shrugged and said, "Making some throwing knives, daggers, and some small repairs. Basically, just getting back in the groove of metalworking."
"Really, can we see?" Val asked while Cass nodded in agreement. I shrugged and led them to the finished knives and dagger that I had made.
"I haven’t polished them yet but here are the throwing knives," handing them over to Val. She tested the razor sharp edges and in a blink of the eye threw one across the barn to hit one of the targets I had set up. Walking over to see how deep it went, I found the blade sunk half way into the wood.
"Damn Val, helluva throw." She smiled and went to get the blade out of the target. Checking for any nicks or chips, she handed it back to me.
"Awesome blade you made there, hon. I don’t suppose you can make some for me and Cass?" Val questioned. I nodded and agreed to her request. Finishing up in the forge, I spent time with ladies the rest of the day, and loving them more and more.
Chapter Seventeen
Three weeks went by, the girls and I spent every moment we could together. We cleaned up the cabin and started replacing the items that had rotted: part of the roof, some window frames, siding, etc. Most of the time was taken up by training with weapons and hand to hand, gardening, hunting, and Cass helping me with magic. For some reason, I can't seem to work out how to get a spell to last more than a few seconds. I would try to cast the basic spells of lightning, which is what Cass knew since she's a lightning mage, but the spell would fade out as fast as it formed. It was highly frustrating, but strove ahead still working on my techniques and exercises that she set before me. Cass did inform me that I may never be able to cast any lightning spells, but the exercises that she instilled in me is supposed to build up stamina when we find out what kind of mage I am. Needless to say, I was bummed out for a little while.
When having some time to myself, I worked
in the forge, and the girls let me have my time alone in there. Creating the molds for making their knives and daggers took longer than necessary, but I wanted them perfect, and the moment of truth will be seen today. While in the forge my ideas come to life, the creations that can be made are only hindered by my mind, and the design I have come up with for the loved ones in my life will be marvelous. The weapons are going to be forged in titanium mixed with different minerals to color them. I poured the titanium mixed with azurite in the mold for Cass’s throwing knives and dagger, because she is a blue avian. The design that I came up with for her is a sleek 6 inch long, 3 in. wide jagged edge arrow shaped blade. Hauling the casting out, I applied the art of jimping for an easier grasp, and followed up with edging then polishing the blade. If you didn’t know, jimping is putting notches down the spine of the blade for better grip, and since Cass has dainty hands, this will help her with accuracy.
Testing the blade’s edge, I felt how sharp it is, and was happy with the result. The blue streaks within the blade made it look like streaks of lightning, which is awesome, since she’s a lightning mage. After inspecting my creation, I set the finished items aside to get working on Val’s. For the lioness, I was creating an 8 in. long, 4 in. wide jagged edge blade with blood grooves. Since she has purple/black hair, I added lepidolite with some obsidian that would surround the grooves. Pulling the casting out, I marveled at the darkness of the titanium with purple streaks, so I carefully sharpened the edges, and polished them. When the time came to make the daggers, I used the same minerals for the same effect. The daggers were 12 inches in length, 8 in. blade with blood grooves, and attached simple hilts on the blades. I had checked the inventory in the barn for sheathes for the different size blades and brought them to the forge. After a few minutes contemplating with myself, I decided to put the gifts up so no one could find them, until they were ready for them. I had made some basic armor for myself, they denied needing it because of them being weres so I didn’t worry about them for now.
At night, the ladies had a schedule of what nights each would spend with me. Cassie and I usually ended up fucking like rabbits most of our time. Val’s time typically had us just talking, kissing, and cuddling. She was opening up a little each time, but hasn’t taken the last step yet, which was fine and was adamant about her being able to control if or when anything happened. In the mornings, we would discuss what was needed to be accomplished, and mainly it was taking care of the gardens. Observing our work carefully, I figured that within a month’s time most of the veggies could be harvested, and we could sample the fruits of our labor. It’s a weird feeling being on my own, the need to provide for my family overrode any fears that I had, and ended up with a euphoric sense of accomplishment. The ladies would help without complaint and go beyond what was asked of them. Checking our inventory one day, I found we would run out of some essential items in a couple of days, we would need to travel to town to get supplies. When dinner came around we cleaned up and sat at the table to eat.
"Ladies, we are running low on provisions, and will need to travel to town to resupply."
"When will they run out?" Val asked.
"In a couple of days."
Cass spoke up, "Okay, we need to get some other supplies too. Could we get some new clothes? Ours are getting ratty."
Val put her two cents in, "What about getting some rides Max?"
I looked at her in confusion and asked a stupid question, "Horses?"
Cass responded quickly, "Yeah babe, walking is great exercise but we could get around faster if we had some good horses." Val smiled and nodded.
"Okay. I was under the impression that since you’re weres, you couldn’t ride any animals, horses being the first I would think of."
Both of the girls laughed for almost five minutes before they finally quit, rubbing tears out of their eyes. Val spoke first, "Just because that’s what we are, doesn’t mean we can’t hitch a ride on a horse."
"Yeah babe, what made you think that?" Cass asked trying to hide her smile
Max shrugged, "I don’t know, ever since Reap came into my life, he has spooked them, so I just figured it was the same for you guys. Even those we rode on from the Oakenshore group was skittish."
They nodded and thought about what was said. Val came over and snuggled up with me, "Well, since we got that out of the way and you know it doesn’t matter for us, it would make our trips more efficient."
I smiled and replied, "Sure loves, we have money left over, take what you need, but I will need at least twenty gold for those rides you wanted." They squealed in delight and started planning what they were going to buy. I had no idea what was involved with buying horses, except they were expensive and needed care. Dad showed me how when I was younger, but figured with Reap around that I would never need to know much. Now, I’ll have to try and remember those lessons. Shaking my head, I just went back to my food and thought about how to earn some cash. We had been living on hunting and fishing for most of our nourishment, but would eventually need to earn some coin. Hmm… maybe we could track down some slavers for payment or maybe some healing ointments and potions. Shaking off those thoughts, I cleaned up my spot at the table. The girls were still jabbering about their trip, so I kissed them on their foreheads, and went to my room. After getting undressed and taking care of my nightly ritual of getting my teeth clean, I got into bed and fell asleep.
The next day was lovely, our daily routines went by without a hitch, and enjoyed each other’s company. That night I decided to give the ladies what I made them since we were leaving our woods.
"Val, Cass, I have something for you," I stated and got up to give them their weapons. "I made these for you."
Both ladies gasped, and Cass was the first to get her voice back to speak, "Max, these are beautiful and deadly."
"I am at a loss for words hon, these look spectacular," Val whispered as she looked over her weapons. "I’ve never seen such a weapon. How did you come up with this?"
I shrugged and replied, "It just came to me and I needed to make sure you’re protected when I’m not here." The girls squealed in delight and went to test out their new toys. After a few minutes, they came back and told me they were lethal and complimented on how they felt when sparring with each other. We agreed to head out the next morning for our supplies. After getting a well-rested night of sleep, we set out early the next day.
"Alright, grab your gear ladies, and let’s set out." After getting dressed out in our gear, we met up outside. I had all my daggers and knives hidden in my outfit, fastened my scabbard and quiver to my back then made sure they were secure. Holding my bow, I walked towards the ladies, Valencia was amazed, "Damn Max, how many blades do you carry? You’re like a walking armory: sword, knives, daggers, and a bow. Doesn’t all that weigh you down?"
"No ma'am. I'm used to it," responding to her question and looking around for my duo of killers, who were standing and waiting. "Let's go!" Our group of five headed for the town of Silvershore, in no hurry at all. The girls made small talk while I looked around the scenery for any danger as was Reap and Herc. The trip ended up being peaceful, as we came into Silvershore the guards lazily scanned the crowd but not moving around which must mean nothing of importance today. We walked through the gates and the girls went straight to the clothier to get some new clothes for us, while I went to the livery stable. Walking into the front door and up to the counter that no one was manning, I waited for a few minutes before a female came from the back entrance.
"Good morning, sir. My name is Sheila, how may I help you?"
"Well met, my name is Max. I’m looking for some horses, can I take a look at your inventory?"
She smiled and responded, "If you would follow me out, I can show you our selection."
Following Sheila out to the corrals in the back, we walked around as she commented on the different breeds. "What exactly are you looking for Max?"
Thinking about my answer, I replied, "I need three in total, two of them
need to be mares and the temperament is the most important factor. Strong, loyal, courageous, somewhat sassy, but affectionate. The last one needs to be strong, powerful, and swift."
She nodded thinking about my response. "Well, the mares are easy. Those two Morgans over there are what you need, the chestnut and palomino over by the gate." Sheila pointed them out and continued, "The last one is a choice. You’re looking for a Destrier, Courser, or Rouncey. The first is expensive and used by noble knights high up in the hierarchy and the latter is an all-purpose war horse. The Courser is what you want, swift and powerful. Let’s go and see them."
I nodded and followed the lady, watching all the happenings around us. Coming to their section, horses of all sizes were walking or running around in this particular corral. My eyes roamed around looking and came upon a big bastard. He was standing in the east corner watching us, or at least it seemed that way. Strolling that way, Sheila tried to stop me and point out another one, but my eyes were set on the all black stallion. He slowly walked over to the fence where I stopped and we had a staring contest. The big bastard huffed, somewhat sizing me up. His head was taller than me by at least a foot, the entire body was as black as night. I walked over to the huge beast and it stomped his front hoof, seeing if I was going to flee. Fuck that, this magnificent animal was going to be mine. I didn’t show any fear and the stallion wasn’t going to show any either. When I got near him, he watched me for a few moments and the intelligent creature actually nodded at me, then lowered his neck and head to me wanting to be petted. I laughed as the stallion nickered and tried to knock me aside as I was rubbing his neck.