“Never heard of an elf snoring before,” Clover said. “Honestly surprised me to hear Dan doing it the first time he did.”
“I never heard of a harpy doing it either,” Doku mentioned. “Perhaps it really is rare for monsters to do such a thing.”
Daniel slept loudly for a while longer before snorting and opening his eyes. As he did the world slowly came into focus before he saw all the girls smiling at him, silence befalling the room as he took a moment to realize he was awake and all of his mates were staring at him with adoration in their eyes.
“Good morning,” he said with a smile of his own forming.
“Good morning,” all the girls said, with Squeak and Star saying so in their own tongues.
Daniel slowly sat up, with Clover and Specca holding onto his arms and keeping close to his sides, and gazed around at all the girls as something was noticeably different this morning. It wasn’t that they were all naked with every curve and feature they had being caught by his eye, nor was it they were all awake before he was as that happened frequently.
“Daniel?” Pip asked while holding onto his chest. He looked down at the fairy as she held onto him with a loving smile on her face, a curious look coming over him as he saw the same thing with each and every girl in the room except for Snapper.
“What is it, dear?” Doku asked, with his eyes turning to her and seeing something that amazed him.
“How did you sleep?” Falla asked as she and her sister held each other’s arms and watched him timidly, again both showing Daniel something that he couldn’t help but stare at.
“Thank you for holding me last night,” Clover said, with his eyes turning to the elf and words still failing to form in his mouth as she too had the same difference about her. “I’ve never slept so well before in all my life.”
“Daniel?” Specca asked, with him turning to her in silence still. “Is something the matter?”
“You okay?” Alyssa wondered as he looked to her with the same expression on his face. His eyes glanced to Squeak and Cindy, up to Star who tilted her head with a curious mew, then back to Clover as the elf sat upright along with Specca while Pip fluttered over onto Luna’s chest.
“What is it?” Clover asked. “Say something.”
“Are you that speechless to see us naked with you this morning?” Alyssa coyly said while batting her eyelashes.
“Really?” Cindy wondered before looking down to her bare breasts. “Do you really like seeing me naked like this?”
“Daniel, what’s on your mind?” Specca asked as she guided his vision back to her, the nixie seeing the awestruck expression on Daniel’s face remaining as he looked her over and remained silent.
“You’re starting to worry us here,” Falla mentioned with an uneasy smile. “Please say something.”
“What’s wrong, Daniel?” Luna asked.
Star warped down beside Squeak, the two exchanging curious looks before seeing Daniel just staring at everyone while not saying a word. After a while he blinked then smiled awkwardly as all the girls were watching with growing concern.
“It’s… your auras.”
“Our auras?” Specca wondered. “You’re looking at them now with your magic?”
“No, I’m not,” Daniel said shaking his head. “I don’t have to. I just… sense them.”
“Is that… good?” Clover slowly asked.
“It’s just… they’ve never been this bright before,” Daniel explained. All the girls looked to each other in question then back to him as he slowly gazed around at his mates while seeing very well something that was noticeably different about their monster energy that day. It was glaring to him. Each girl’s vibrant star in his mind was practically bursting with such radiances that even without focusing on them in his mind he still saw them lighting up around each girl. Turning to Alyssa he gently held a hand to her cheek, the witch quickly taking hold of it and nuzzling against his palm as he admired her fiery star that seemed like it was burning with greater intensity than ever before.
“Do you see mine now?” she timidly asked. “Do you see my love for you?”
“Very clearly,” he said with a nod. “I’ve never seen all your auras so bright before. What happened? How am I seeing them like this?”
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a shrug. “But I do know that I love you so much, more than I ever can say. You mean the world and much more to me, Daniel. And I swear once all this crap around us is handled I’m going to make you feel so loved, yes I am. Your witch is going to take very good care of you.”
“Same for me,” Specca swore. “I’ve never wanted you so badly before, Daniel. I want to make love to you when this hardship is past us, I want to make our bonds stronger than any steel the world has. I know we pride ourselves on self-control, but darn it, I want my man so badly that it burns more relentlessly than ever within me.”
“I’m so wet for you right now,” Falla admitted with her sister nodding in agreement. “I don’t want to wait any longer than we have to. As soon as everything is normal again I want us to make love like never before.”
“Me too,” Luna giggled. “I want to make you very happy, Daniel. So very happy.”
Squeak slowly nodded and squeaked something while eyeing over Daniel with obvious immoral intention.
“I want you more than boobies,” Pip purred, with everyone quickly looking to her in surprise as she fluttered closer to Daniel. “I want my man. I want Daniel. I do. As soon as I can I’m going to take care of you because you’re my mate. I promise I will.”
“More than boobies?” Luna repeated.
“I want Daniel,” Pip said nodding quickly. “I really do. I love him so much, I can hardly contain it.”
“I’m so hot right now,” Alyssa panted. Daniel looked at her, seeing the witch not really sweating but obviously struggling to control herself with the hungry look in her eye. “I want my man, so badly. I’ve never been more grateful for having you before, but I really am now. I love you with all my heart, and I’m going to give you everything I have as much as I can. I swear it.”
“Girls…” Daniel softly said, his eyes going around at his mates who were almost swooning from merely watching him in bed. Turning to Clover he saw the elf nodding slowly while licking her lips.
“I want you too,” she purred. “I’ll wait until I have the right to mate with you, I’ll earn my place in your harem just as I must. And as soon as I do you can fucking bet that I’m going to make you feel better than ever. I’m going to apologize sincerely for everything wrong that I’ve done to you, Dan. You can count on that.”
Daniel seemed taken aback by the sudden declaration, words failing him as he saw the immoral look in Clover’s eye along with her star in his mind which was letting off powerful waves of dark green light. Moving his gaze over to Doku he saw the harpy tilting her head slightly, her bangs swaying aside to reveal her golden eyes which also held a hungry look in them.
“I agree with their wishes to be a good wife for you, Daniel,” she humbly spoke. “If you could find it in your heart to grant me the chance I’ll certainly do my best to make you feel loved with everything I have. I’ll do anything for you, even if it’s rather… dirty.”
Daniel opened his mouth to speak then halted, not being sure what to say to the harpy whose love for him was nearly blinding to see in his mind. Doku’s silver star was a bit different from the others as it seemed to overpower them slightly, the harpy’s monster energy that was in full bloom before him being far larger than he expected. Turning his gaze aside he saw Star smiling coyly at him with waving tails, the jinx cocking her head slightly with a mew while her burning sapphire star remained constant within his mind. Squeak’s brown star burned heavily and strongly, the ant girl’s love for him seeming to have grown since the other day as it too was clearly felt by Daniel without having to focus on it at all.
The girls watched as he finally turned to Cindy, the wraith showing a curious expression towards
the others while Snapper was kicking about in her arms and snapping at Daniel with a wide smile.
“I’m not sure what they’re talking about,” Cindy said before smiling hopefully at Daniel. “But I want to be a good girl for you too. So does Snapper. We love you so much, Daniel.”
Daniel saw the wraith’s golden light in his mind shining bright, her words of love being proven without a doubt. Looking around at all the girls he was both moved by their powerful declarations of love for him and also amazed that their auras had brightened so much since yesterday.
“Girls… thank you so much,” he finally said. Giving another look around at his mates he felt at a loss for words before something else suddenly clicked in his mind. “Hey, wait a second. Did Triska and Kitten ever come back?”
The girls blinked then quickly looked around to see that the cambion wasn’t present still.
“Hey, yeah,” Alyssa worried. “She never came back, did she?”
“Why didn’t we notice that?” Specca asked.
“We were too busy ogling our man,” Clover pointed out. “I never took my eyes off him once since I woke up.”
“Same for me,” Pip agreed holding up her hand. “I never looked away once. Nope. Never did.”
“Neither did we,” Falla admitted with Luna lowering her head in remorse. “Some co-mates we are. We didn’t even notice one of our own was missing.”
“Triska?” Doku called out. “Kitten? Oh dear, they’re still out there?”
Daniel quickly rushed off the bed and ran out of the room with the girls dashing after him, all of them racing outside and looking around in search for their missing mate while not caring at all that they were completely nude still. The sun was coming through a few clouds in the sky while Lucky was sleeping in the bedding Alyssa had made for him. Ruhelia was still a desolate scar in the land before them however there was no sign of either their missing centaur or cambion near the area.
“Triska?” Daniel called out. “Kitten?”
“They’re still out there?” Specca wondered. “How long were they going to fly around in search for Kroanette?”
“You don’t think they got lost too, do you?” Falla worried.
“I wouldn’t think Kitten would lose her way that easily,” Clover said shaking her head. “Same for Triska. Those two had to know where we were.”
“Why didn’t they come back?” Luna nervously asked. “Where are they? You don’t think something bad happened to them, do you?”
“Kitten isn’t one to be pushed around by anyone,” Alyssa assured her. “I feel sorry for the poor sap that tries to pick a fight with her. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably still out there searching for Kroanette.”
“What should we do, dear?” Doku asked Daniel while staying close to him. “Now we have two of our family missing. Three actually since Triska and Kitten are in the same body. What if they’re lost or hurt now? What if both they and Kroanette are-”
“Stop,” Daniel said, holding the harpy close and carefully surveying the area. “It’s going to be okay, Doku. Kitten’s a strong girl, I’m sure she’s fine. I feel sorry for anything that presses her while she has the Hellfire’s Edge at her side. Hopefully she’s just late getting back because she’s hot on Kroanette’s trail.”
“Yeah,” Alyssa hopefully agreed. “She might have found where our centaur ran off to and is tracking her down. I mean she hasn’t come home empty-handed, that might be because she found where Kroanette went this morning.”
“Twilight?” Daniel called out into the air. All the girls looked up and around at the sky while hearing no response. “Twilight? Are you there?”
“She might be sleeping still,” Specca mentioned. “It’s always impossible to tell when she’s present or not.”
“We really need a way of getting her attention,” Falla added.
“I’m sure she’ll check up on us soon,” Daniel reasoned. “She usually does when she’s able to. In the meantime we’re going to stay focused and get ready for Kroanette to return to us today one way or another. Let’s get cleaned up, prepare breakfast, and plan on how we’re going to console Kroanette about the loss of her homeland. That’s all we need to think about right now. That’s all we can think about.”
“What about Triska and Kitten?” Specca asked. “What should we do if-”
“There’s nothing we can do about them not being here right now,” Daniel interrupted her. “They’re in the same position Kroanette is, they could be anywhere out there and the last thing we should do is scatter in search of them and risk more of us getting lost. Both Triska and Kitten should be able to handle themselves, we need to have faith in them just as we need to for Kroanette.”
“I know we do, it’s just…” Specca worried looking down.
“As soon as Twilight is able to tell us where any of them are I’m heading off myself to bring them back,” Daniel promised. “You can rest assured of that. I want to bring them back just as badly as all of you, but we can’t do that unless we know where they are. Until then all we can do is get ready for the day and wait.”
“You heard our man,” Clover said while keeping her eyes on him. “Save the worrying for when our centaur comes back. Let’s get washed up and get something to eat while we wait for her. We’re going to need our strength for today.”
“I suppose that’s all we can do,” Specca sighed. She ruffled her hair then looked around at the ruined countryside with a low murmur. “I have to say, the graveyard Ruhelia was turned into is certainly doing a fantastic job with pulling down our spirits.”
“It really is,” Falla muttered. She glanced around the area for a moment then shrugged. “Well… since we’re out here…”
“Way ahead of you,” Alyssa said walking off to the side towards the thicket.
“Might as well,” Specca agreed following them and Luna along with Squeak and Star. Daniel and Doku watched them go before the harpy gave her mate a weak smile and giggle.
“Excuse me, dear,” she said before quickly trotting off after the girls.
“Where are they going?” Cindy asked as Snapper was now mauling her chest with tiny snarls.
“Nature’s calling,” Clover told her.
“Nature is calling? I don’t hear anyone. What’s it saying?”
“Don’t worry about it, Cindy,” Daniel said with an amused smile. He blinked then chuckled as he too started heading towards the nearby woods. “We’ll… be right back. Just stay here.”
“Um, okay?” Cindy confusedly replied. Clover smirked and quickly trotted over next to Daniel before looking back towards the carriage that the puzzled sand wraith stood next to and where Pip began flying in tight circles overhead.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Clover mentioned with a raised eyebrow. “Do you think Twilight just doesn’t ever have to go, or was the exclusion of a restroom in her study done by accident?”
“I’m not sure,” Daniel replied. “Of all the things I want to ask her, Clover, that is one question I’m not going to bring up when she speaks to us.”
*****
Deep underground where the sunlight never reached ant girls dressed in red tunics were going about their normal routines as if their days never ended, which to them they never did. Throughout the tunnels of their expansive nest tremors and echoing booms sounded off again and again as the monsters continued their excavating deeper into the world, the dedicated miners either working in their many tunnels or being relieved by others so they could sleep in their dens or eat in their populated caverns. For them work shifts weren’t determined by the rising or lowering of the sun but instead an individual schedule as not all ant girls were on the same clock as their fellow sisters. This also included those who were assigned a very different and more serious task within a certain cave in their home.
Within the hollow that held a steel platform void of ancient metallic statues that once sat atop it three sets of three ant girls were on constant patrol around the base, all marching i
n steady rhythm while having pickaxes held over their shoulders and focused expressions adorning their faces. Next to the entrance of the cavern four more ant girls were standing guard, all of them making sure none of their sisters strayed into the chamber for any reason and having satchels filled with bombs in case they needed to quickly seal off the room for any dire reason. Torches were lit around the cave to provide more light in the darkened hollow while crates were stacked to the side near a wall that held various digging supplies for the ant girls. All the underground monsters were following their orders very strictly, each of them remaining focused on their task and nothing else. The complete opposite of what three others were doing in the chamber with them.
“For crying out loud,” one of the desuwraith sisters groaned. “Why are you so stupid?”
“I agree,” the second tiredly sighed. “Honestly, you’re just being too stupid right now.”
“It’s not stupid, it’s genius,” the third snapped while standing in a very deep hole that only her head stuck up from. “You two just don’t get it.”
“You’re right, we don’t.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s so obvious,” the third snootily replied. “Look, all we need to do is dig out holes that we can hide in like this, see?”
“Okay?”
“But why?”
“To help Nuci!” the third whined hopping about in her hole. “Why else do you think I’m doing this?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why would we want to hide in holes? We can just turn invisible if we want to hide.”
“But this way we’ll be invisible and hiding in holes! We’ll be double hard to find, and that means we’ll do a much better job of keeping this place safe from intruders.”
“But who’s going to come here now?”
“Yeah, the Dark Queen is dead.”
“But what if someone else comes down here for Nuci? We need to be better prepared to protect her.”
Chronicles of Eden - Act XI Page 45