"I… didn't screw up or anything?" I mumbled, hesitantly looking at him.
"Not at all, Arielle." He kissed me again. "You were amazing, and I'm honored I get to enjoy you tonight. Hopefully, I did a good enough job to get a second chance."
"Of course, Bru! I mean..." I blushed at my quick reply and groaned. "Bru-Ree embarrassing."
"Adorable, Bri," he replied, his accent coming out. "I love you for being everything a familiar could ask for."
I stared at him with wide eyes and a small smile formed on my lips as I whispered my response.
"I love you too, Gabriel. Thank you… for everything."
With those words, we shared another passionate kiss.
"So that's how you have sex with ONE guy. Now, if you're going to include TWO guys, it's a bit more complicated. It's somewhat more painful in the beginning but trust me. It's a lot more pleasurable than what you experienced with one. Think of double the intensity."
I didn't know how long my jaw had been wide open, but I couldn't stop gawking at Faelia as she continued to explain in detail everything I needed to know about sex.
Last night with Gabriel was mind-blowing, and I'd never felt such pleasure in my entire life. The way he handled me with so much passion made me shiver with delight. And the fact that he had talked with Noah and wanted to ensure I had a good first experience was a comforting thought.
Even though Gabriel was more experienced, it had still hurt, but I guess it wasn't as painful as it could have been with Noah who had no experience in that department.
This morning was a bit hard to get out of bed, or essentially walk, but I decided to switch back to my familiar form, and that reduced the pain a lot. It did feel good to be back in my phoenix-harpy form, and it was more fun to see Gabriel in his phoenix-dove form.
He looked similar to Noah and me, but his feathers would shift from pink to white, and when they flamed up, they were bright pink flames with hints of purple. He said if he used magic, the flames would change in color, but pink was the main color his flames usually stuck with.
Overall, his appearance gave off a purity vibe, which was intriguing since he was far more knowledgeable in departments that were far from "pure."
After I'd returned with Gabriel in the morning, I'd felt a weird difference in Celestia. From what I could feel, it seemed as if she was exhausted and kept going in and out of sleep.
Gabriel had been fine with me heading to check on her while he went back to check on the others if they were awake.
Halfway there, I'd met Rainer who explained to me that he'd stressed to Finn to make sure Celestia got checked. I knew it had to be regarding that wound that had yet to heal, and it only left me more worried, even though I did my best not to show it to Rainer.
Upon my arrival in Celestia's room, I'd seen Finn laying her on the bed.
* * *
“Bru."
Finn turned to the window I was currently perched on. The moment his confused lime green eyes met mine, I began to flutter my wings and hop up and down to get his attention.
I paused when he noticed and made his way to the window to open it. The moment the window slid up, I flew right in, ignoring Finn to go straight to Celestia.
Without a second thought, I began hopping around her, my eyes scanning to make sure she was okay. I didn't notice anything too different, but I could tell she was exhausted.
I moved to sit on the pillow Celestia was currently cuddling.
"She's fine, Arielle," Finn announced.
"Bru-Ree, Bru?" I replied. Are you sure? She seems exhausted. What about that wound?
I had no idea if Finn understood me fully yet, since he wasn't like Magnor or Hunter who could understand phoenix dialogue.
“Yes. She's fine. Harrison, Magnor, and the others did a long assessment of her and were able to heal the wound on her thigh. There's no connection to the Darkness anymore. She's safe and is resting because she was up until five in the morning."
He stared into my wide amber eyes and moved to sit on the bed. He reached out to stroke my head, which was comforting. He must have seen how worried I was.
Celestia was my priority and I didn't want her getting hurt because of my negligence.
"Trust me, Arielle. I wouldn't leave Celestia's side if she weren’t okay. Rainer told you Celestia was getting looked at?"
"Bru." I nodded. Yes.
"He told me to take her in. I'll thank him when he wakes back up. Now, I need to have a quick meeting with Celestia's family and Orion. Are you going to stay here?"
"BRU-REE!" I said happily, stretching my wings out and allowing my pink and blue flames to ignite. Of course! Comfort my Mistress.
Finn stroked my head a few more times and then I moved to snuggle into my favorite spot in between Celestia's neck and shoulder.
I watched Finn leave and I stayed there with Celestia until she woke up. She'd been a little surprised by my presence but looked really happy that I was there.
Thankfully, she looked refreshed and I couldn't sense anything wrong with her which was a relief.
* * *
Now that we were back at Aslan and Celestia was dealing with a few issues of her own with the other guys, I decided it was the perfect time to get knowledge from Faelia. Or a SEX 101 as she liked to call it.
However, as she continued to explain everything, I was getting lost in all the terms.
She'd taught me from the basic type of kissing like French kisses and moved onto blow jobs that would please the guys. She then went into more detail and explained the full definition of masturbation.
I knew what it was in the back of my mind, but it was weird to associate it to myself compared to my usual teasing with Celestia. We'd moved on to actual sex with one partner and now Faelia was explaining when two people were involved.
I glanced at the clock and bit my lip. "Um, Faelia?"
"Yes, Arielle?"
"Didn't you say you had something to do at two?" I questioned.
"Yes, I have to help Othello and Miona with a few things." She followed my glance to the clock. "AHH!! It's two already?! Damn, sex education makes the time fly!" she exclaimed and rushed over to her mirror to fix her appearance which, to me, was already flawless.
The benefits of being a Fae.
"Hmm. What to do, Bru," I mumbled to myself.
Faelia turned to look at me. "Why don't you go see, Rainer? He should be in his room. You two can hang, or you know, use some of my teachings." She winked when my face began to grow red.
"No. I'm not gonna be an addict. You said I shouldn't!" I pointed out.
Faelia shrugged. "Being a sex addict is like doing it ALL the time. If you two start kissing and it leads to sex, allow it. Totally not forced. You'll understand when you get used to it." She giggled and headed towards the door of her room. "I'll chat with you later. Go keep Rainer company."
"Okay, Bru. Bye." I gave her a small wave. She smiled and waved back before she left me.
I rose from her bed and moved out to the hall of the familiar house. Heading down the hall, I made my way to the end and reached Rainer's door. Knocking gently, I waited for him to answer. There was no reply, which left me curious. I opened the door and poked my head inside to see Rainer was on his bed.
"Rainer?" I asked. There was no response which told me he must be taking a nap. Moving into his room, I closed the door gently and glanced around the clean space.
Gabriel and Noah were pretty neat, from the quick glance I got of their joined room, but Rainer was the next level of neat. Everything was in place and nicely decorated from the desk that had everything organized and not a paper or book out of place to the way the furniture overall was organized.
Even with him lying on the bed on his back, the green sheets were barely wrinkled. It made me curious as to why his room was so well kept, as if he never stayed around long enough to make a mess, but I'd ask him when he was actually awake.
I moved to the side of the bed and sat down very slow
ly so I wouldn't disturb him as he continued to sleep. His short gold hair was off to the side as one of his arms was resting over his head and the other lay next to him. He wore a simple white t-shirt and dark green shorts, which was what he'd worn before we'd left Alpha Pure.
He must have come back and decided to nap.
I reached out to move a bit of his hair from his face and continued to watch him sleep. It kind of reminded me of when he'd taken care of me during my injury. He had no obligation to, and I knew he hated staying in his human form for long periods of time, but it was very comforting to have him there while the others were busy, even if it meant he was uncomfortable.
After staring at him for some time, I placed my hands next to my hips, using them to support me as focused on the white ceiling.
I didn't want to admit it, but I was beginning to see how difficult it was to balance having more than one boyfriend. I'd technically had two dates with Noah, if the hot springs even counted as a date, and I had a long afternoon and all night with Gabriel.
Rainer was next on the list and he was currently sleeping. Not like this was a date or expected at all, but I wondered how I'd get a chance with the others. Asher would have to be during the night because he was knocked out during the day, and Axel and Griffin really depended on their schedule.
Axel was a little moody today, which we'd found out upon arrival was Theo's influence. Until that problem was fixed, I doubted he'd be up to hanging out, and Griffin was assisting Faelia with a few things.
I just felt a tad rushed, as if I couldn't just take my time to really get to know each of them, and maybe that was the problem?
Noah, Gabriel, and I easily clicked because we were similar hybrids. We had one thing in common which was our phoenix side, and Faelia had mentioned before her SEX 101 talk that we'd bond a lot faster than the others.
Even if it wasn't a rush, maybe I'd need to talk to the others about my uneasiness. I didn't want any of them feeling like I didn't want to spend time with them. It was just difficult to balance dating and getting to know one another while Celestia was either in trouble or hurt.
She was still my priority, and no matter how much I loved the guys and spending quality time with Faelia, Celestia would always be my top concern. If I knew for sure that the others would be taken in by Celestia's boyfriends, maybe I'd be more at ease?
It didn't make much sense, but if they were going to be permanent familiars to Celestia's men, then I'd get all the time to hang out with them instead of there being a chance of them being busy with academy work and being familiars for the new set of students.
Maybe I was just making excuses, but I really just wanted more time with each of them. To learn more about their pasts and then have a simple date with each to determine if we were compatible.
Something rested on my left shoulder, and I turned my head slightly to see Rainer's sleepy expression.
"Oh. Afternoon Rainer, Bru," I greeted.
"Am I dreaming or is Arielle in my room?" He questioned aloud, more to himself than to me. I smiled and reached out with my right hand to ruffle his short hair.
"I'm here, silly," I confirmed. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"No," he replied and closed his eyes. "Your smell woke me up."
"I hope that's not a bad thing?" I asked, wondering if I smelled unpleasant. I'd taken a quick shower before coming to see Faelia, so I shouldn't have smelled bad.
"No. It's nice… rosemary," he mumbled.
"You want to go back to sleep?"
"Would you leave if I did?"
"Do you want me to?"
"No."
"Then I'd stay," I replied.
"Can we cuddle?"
"We can." I smiled slightly at his question.
He lay back down and I crawled into bed with him, snuggling into his arms. My cheeks grew warm when I felt his lips press against my forehead, and he leaned back and smiled sleepily.
"I missed you."
I gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry. I don't think I've been doing a good job with going down the line," I admitted.
He shook his head before resting it on his pillow. "Nah. A lot happened with your Mistress, so it's expected. None of us are in a rush."
"Is it weird for me to feel rushed? I mean… I was thinking about it, and I want to please all of you and spend time with each of you, but it's been kind of hard. I know we've done this order thing, but I don't know if it can really go in an orderly fashion with everything going on, and I don't want to upset anyone." I vented out my thoughts to him as I relaxed my head on the other half of his pillow.
We stared into each other's eyes while he replied.
"Not weird. I don't think any of us want you to feel rushed. I think we're still kind of adapting to the fact we even have a chance."
"Why wouldn't you, Bru?" I asked, feeling a bit confused.
"Aside from the fact that there aren't many female familiars here, they aren't very nice at all. The crowd is influenced by who shows off power and strength. We usually keep our power on the down low and, again, it's based on the Master or Mistress we're assigned to. A few of the familiars like Axel because they know dragon familiars are powerful, but it's not genuine interest."
"It's all based on power and ranks," I mumbled, feeling disgusted by the thought alone.
"Sadly," he whispered. "That's why finding a rare gem like you is kind of a blessing to us. Especially when you’re willing to be shared amongst us."
"So… you don't think the others are upset that I've been closer with Noah or even Gabriel?" I asked.
"Nah. Even though some of us argue all the time, when it comes to you, there's a mutual understanding between us. None of us are in a rush and we already knew you'd bond faster with the twins."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yup. Similar breeds. Even if you three are hybrids, the common denominator is phoenix breed. It's the same as your Mistress and Orion and Finn, right?"
"Ah… yes. They did bond a lot faster compared to the others," I admitted.
"Then there's nothing to be concerned about. We all know that and, as I said, we aren't in any rush. Just spending time with you once in a while is good enough for us. I think right now the others are more anxious about the end of the term. Don't know about the others, but I really like Finn. He's kind like my previous Master and really neat," Rainer explained.
"I wanted to ask, you're really neat for a boy," I complimented. "I haven't seen the other rooms and stuff, only a glimpse of Gabriel's and Noah's, but my instincts tell me Gabriel likes to clean up after Noah."
"You're 100% correct. Asher's pretty neat. Axel and Griffin are all over the place, especially Axel. I think it's a dragon thing. And Griffin's usually messy when he's spending all his cleaning time arguing with Axel over something silly."
"Are you just neat out of habit? Like… is it a fairy thing?" I inquired.
"Not really." He closed his eyes.
I wondered if there was something more to the topic, or if he just didn't want to talk about it.
He was quiet for a few more seconds before he spoke. "I had to be very neat around my Master."
"Was it because he was raised that way?" I questioned.
"He was prone to getting sick easily. Therefore, everything had to be cleaned every few hours. It was difficult for him to go outside or enjoy a whiff of fresh air without him getting sick. When the nurses couldn't come over due to weather complications, I'd have to make sure everything was clean and neat so he wouldn't get an infection," Rainer revealed.
I was quiet, and he opened his eyes, looking at me with a blank expression.
"Your Master… was he always um..."
"Ill?" Rainer finished.
"Ya..." I replied with a sad face. He lifted his hand and brushed it against my cheek.
"No. He was healthy for a long time. Really strong too… it's just..." He trailed off for a moment, and it was my turn to lift my hand and lay it on his cheek.
We stared in sile
nce and I waited for him to continue. He took a deep breath and went on.
"He got attacked by Forsaken one day, and though he defeated them, he got a little scratch from it. Wasn't a big deal at first. He called a healer when it didn't go away after a day or two and the healer did his job in fixing it. The healer instructed that it would take a few days for the bruising to go away and it may leave a scar, but that wasn't too big of a deal. My Master went about his life, training and teaching others in the area."
Rainer lowered his gaze absentmindedly as he continued to tell his Master’s tale.
"One day, there was a huge attack that involved Forsaken, and my Master went to assist. He used a large amount of magic and suddenly passed out. It took three days before he woke up, and that's when the doctor and healers realized he was tainted."
"But he wasn't hurt the second time, was he?"
"No."
"Then?" I prompted. "Unless..." I trailed off, thinking about Celestia's situation.
"It was from the first incident," he confirmed. "Even though the physical surface was healed, the darkness had lingered. It hid within his body, using small amounts of his magic as fuel. My Master didn't notice because he has a large amount of mana, to begin with, and wasn't using it for a duration of time. It wasn't until he used that large amount that it really showed the problem, but it was too late."
"They couldn't heal him?" I asked. "Like a strong light shifter or familiar? Celestia has strong healing magic. So does Harrison," I pointed out.
Rainer gave me a sad smile. "Light shifters like unicorns, pegasus, and even fairies were beginning to decline during that time due to Hunters. The progress was too fast, and my Master was already deteriorating. He began to lose feeling in his legs and arms, and soon he was practically a vegetable in bed. His immune system was the next to decrease, and whenever he got sick, it was as if he was close to death. I'd heal him the best I could, as often as my magic allowed me to, at least until help arrived. It essentially came to a point where it wasn't a life worth fighting for."
"Rainer..."
He smiled, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
Arielle Rainbow (Familiar Blessed Chronicles Book 2) Page 7