“This isn’t really necessary, is it?” Sorcha mumbled as she shuffled nervously in front of Syd. “I mean, we’ve kind of already said goodbye just a few minutes ago.”
“Eir would be much happier if you saw her off properly with everyone else,” she replied to the nervous goblin. “Come on, it’ll only take a few seconds to get up there.”
“Right, but, I could just walk up. It won’t take me long if I jog.”
“Come on, Sorcha, you know I won’t let anything bad happen.”
“Of course not,” Sorcha immediately agreed. “I just don’t think it’s necessary, is all.”
“Maybe not, but it is a lot of fun. I promise you, those screams coming from Kerr were happy ones.”
“Yeah, well, you were doing bloody loops so I’m not so sure about that.”
“Look, I won’t do any loops,” Syd assured her little green lover. “Straight up. That’s all. I promise.”
“Bloody better be all,” Sorcha grumbled, but then held up her arms so that Syd could pick her up. “Fuck. Who told you it was okay to grow wings, anyway?”
Syd didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, she gave Sorcha a loving kiss before grinning and spreading her new wings wide. Flapping wasn’t really necessary, she had found through experimentation, but the mental effort of moving her tentacle wings also helped guide her magic so that she moved the way that she intended through the air. Lifting up into the air, she was careful to not take off with too much speed while carrying her tiniest companion.
“Charos’ balls,” the goblin cursed as the ground fell away below them.
Ever since she had taken her first leap into the air earlier that morning, Jadis had been enjoying flight immensely. More than she had expected, and she had anticipated having quite a lot of fun to begin with. The fluid and easy movements through the sky that her wings allowed her to perform were intoxicating, to the point where she had almost lost track of her time limit on a couple of occasions. It was hard for her to describe just how exhilarating flying was. Her heart pounded like it did in battle, yet she had none of the cold, analytical determination that she normally possessed while in a dangerous encounter. Flight was adrenaline mixed with sugar and sex, without the stickiness. Jadis couldn’t get enough.
After a couple of hours of practice, with pauses for magic replenishment mixed in, Jadis was feeling wholly confident in her ability to fly without crashing into anything. So, when the time came for the passengers to start loading into the airship, she took the opportunity to ferry all of her lovers from Aelius’ manor to the top of the sacred tower. Most had been thrilled with the experience, though Sorcha had delayed as long as she could, her fear of heights rearing its ugly head. She was a brave woman, though, and was getting much better about heights with constant exposure.
Syd still made sure to fly slow to make sure her little witch didn’t puke all over her pretty dress.
“Your name, please?” Aila asked formally as she checked her list.
“Ah, Anatolius, of East Haven,” the human man said distractedly. “I, uh, have my wife and son with me.”
“Your names as well, please,” the redhead asked patiently, her question directed at the middle-aged woman next to the man, and the teenaged boy just behind her. When there was no response, she cleared her throat. “Ma’am? Your name, please?”
“Oh! Yes, my name is Xanthe,” the woman replied. “And this is Nik. Nikanor, I mean.”
The skinny teenaged boy barely acknowledged his name, eyes glued to Jay and her pulsating wings.
Aila nodded as she checked off the family’s names from her list. Waving with her feathered quill, she directed them towards the wooden gangway that had been set up to give easy access to the airship.
“Please proceed,” Aila ushered the three onward. “Welcome aboard the Leviathan. Move towards the back of the cabin to fill the seats. Leave your luggage at the door, it will be stowed for you.”
As the trio headed up the boarding plank, Aila turned a reproachful eye towards Jay.
“This would probably go much faster if you didn’t have those wings out.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining about them on the way up,” Jay answered with a restrained smile. “Except maybe that I wasn’t going fast enough.”
Aila’s freckled face blushed, but she maintained her cool demeanor. Turning her gaze away from Jay, she focused on the few remaining names on the list that Magistrate Lodovico had provided her with.
“Situations are apt to change, and we must all learn to adapt.”
While Jay could have continued to trade banter with her leggy lover all morning, she kept her lips sealed as a pair of gawking women approached the airship. They did have a departure schedule to keep, after all. She couldn’t cause too much distraction.
Jadis’ plasma-like tentacle wings were proving to be quite the attraction. They were eye-catchingly wonderous and beautiful in her not-so-humble opinion, so she didn’t blame all the people for staring. Mixing the mesmerizing wings with her supernatural good looks and pretty much everyone had to spend a few moments gawping at her like largemouth bass. Fortunately, the list of passengers was almost completely exhausted, so Aila’s patience would soon no longer be tested.
Most of the people who Lodovico had sent to board the airship for a quick return to the capital city were soldiers who were in the most direct need of healing that was beyond what Eir or anyone else in Glanum could provide. In that sense, it was a good thing that the saint was traveling with them, since those critically wounded men and women needed constant touchup healing to keep their health pools from reaching zero. The remaining seats had been designated for non-combat civilians who needed to be sent back to Eldingholt as soon as possible for one reason or another. Jadis wasn’t entirely sure what rated these individuals worthy of a reserved spot over all others, but she knew it generally had to do with their importance to the war effort, from a support perspective.
As the two women Aila had just checked off from the list headed onto the airship, Jay whispered to her redheaded lover.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“We’ll be gone for one week, at most,” Aila tutted.
“I’m going to think about you all day.”
“You’ll be far too busy for that.”
“I love you.”
“…I love you, too,” Aila whispered back with a slight catch to her voice. “Now stop distracting me! This should be the last group.”
The magister was right. There were eight more men and women approaching the ship from the roof exit, which was how many unmarked names were left on the list. They didn’t look like they were all part of the same family or business from what Jay could tell, though they had likely come up the stairs together due to the young woman in the lead. The pretty brunette was very clearly in the late stages of pregnancy, and the rest of the passengers had obviously helped her up the long stairs to the top of the tower.
“Your name, please?” Aila asked the woman with a polite smile.
“Liane of Hamarrholt,” the pregnant woman smiled with a hand on her swollen belly, though her eyes kept straying to Jay’s slowly drifting wings. “And little Ella, sooner rather than later.”
“Hamarrholt?” Aila asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’s far to the south. How did you end up here?”
“I’m a script mage,” Liane replied humbly. “I do spell copies of written works. I was part of a caravan that was making rounds here in the north, creating copies of various books and tomes in this area when the Demons invaded Volto. I’ve been helping however I can ever since, but my condition has… well. I don’t think Glanum is the right place to bring a baby into the world right now.”
“Perfectly understandable,” Aila nodded with a small smile. “Welcome aboard the Leviathan.”
Directing the woman towards the airship, Aila questioned the older orc with silver hair who was next in line.
“I’m going to miss you so much,” Dys told Eir for the umpteenth time. “When you get back, I’m not going to let you walk for a week.”
“Because you will be carrying me like a princess, or for other, more lewd, reasons?” Eir asked with a twinkle in her purple eyes.
“Yes,” Dys answered with a straight face.
“What about me?” Kerr asked from where she leaned against the wall inside the airship. “Do I get to be carry-fucked?”
“Every damn day you ask,” Dys grinned at the therion.
“That’s fucking right,” Kerr grinned before motioning with her hands. “Give me another kiss.”
Dys unabashedly gave both Kerr and Eir deep kisses, not caring that there were dozens of witnesses further down the interior of the Leviathan. She was too focused on making the most of her time with her lovers before they left on their trip. She couldn’t say that she wasn’t worried about their safety; she was always worrying about the safety of those she loved. But she knew that with how powerful her women had become, there wasn’t much that they couldn’t handle, even if she wasn’t around to protect them.
Jadis wasn’t the only one saying goodbye. All of her companions who were staying behind had gathered to bid the Leviathan and her crew farewell. Even discounting the hugs and kisses that were being shared between her lovers, Tegwyn’s team were there to bid safe travels to their Dryad leader as well. Terrance would be in charge while Teg was gone, and the Dryad was busily telling the bald runner a repeated set of instructions concerning his duties for the next week.
“Ugh, this flying shite is for birds and dragons,” Sorcha moaned as Syd landed on top of the tower. “Goblins belong on the ground.”
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad,” Syd laughed at the witch’s antics. “You can’t tell me that the ride wasn’t smooth.”
“It was fine,” Sorcha allowed. “Just so long as I kept my eyes closed.”
“I would say that Jadis has made excellent progress in a short amount of time,” Severina said as she walked up to the two. “Most young Seraphim are far wobblier when they make their first few flights.”
“Thank the gods I’m not being carried by any young Seraphim, then,” Sorcha grumbled before jumping out of Syd’s arms. “Everyone’s inside the airship, yeah?”
“Yes, they are. Go on up, my Dys self is in there, too,” Syd said with a shooing gesture. “Kerr just told me she forgot to pack her second pair of boots. I’m going to go get them for her real quick.”
“Are you keeping track of the spell time?” Severina asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Yes ma’am,” Syd said before giving the blonde a kiss. “I’ve got time. All of me will be here to see you and everyone off.”
“Good,” Sev said, then pulled Syd down for a second, deeper kiss before letting her go. “Be quick.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Leaping over the edge of the tower, Syd soared down to Aelius’ manor like a diving fighter jet. Her increased Agility translated to some absolutely insane speeds while flying. She wasn’t sure she was close to breaking the sound barrier, since she had never done so on earth, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she could get there in a few hundred more points. Maybe that was an optimistic thought, but she felt like she was going faster than anything she was capable of achieving on land. She’d have to see how much her armor slowed her down once she put it on, but without armor, she was a blur in the sky.
Once on the ground, Syd rushed through the house to their guest bedroom as quickly as she could without causing damage to the furniture or running over any of the servants walking the halls. Despite her speed, it took her a couple of minutes to find Kerr’s boots. The therion had somehow managed to hide them in the bathroom of all places. By the time she had found them, the spell duration of her wings had worn off.
With prize in hand, Syd headed out the bedroom door with the intention of resummoning her plasma wings as soon as she was out in the open. She was so focused on getting back up to the Leviathan that she almost didn’t notice the mousy servant who stood in her way in the hallway.
“Oh! Sorry,” Syd said as she narrowly avoided stepping on the small gnome woman. “My bad.”
“You are not bad at all,” the gnome countered with a shake of her head. “Oh, but please, a moment, Lady Jadis?”
“Yes?” Syd stopped to hear the woman out, though she was itching to keep going. “Do you need something?”
“There is a guest here to see you, my lady,” the gnome said with a small curtsy. “He asked for you, specifically.”
“Can you tell him to wait, please?” Syd told the servant, already inching further down the hallway. “I need to get to the top of the tower to see my family off. If they can wait fifteen minutes, I’ll be back.”
“I will tell him,” the gnome performed another curtsy.
Just as she started to put some speed back in her steps, Syd paused and turned back to the small woman.
“Did the man say who he was?”
“Of course,” the gnome nodded her curly-haired head. “He said his name is Timur of Clan Nox.”
Syd’s back straightened while her head tilted to one side. Staring at the woman with one eyebrow raised, she made sure she understood what had been said.
“Did you say Clan Nox?”
“Yes ma’am,” the gnome confirmed. “He’s waiting in the foyer by the front door.”
Taking a moment to consider, Syd eventually let out a frustrated huff.
“If you wouldn’t mind, can you take me to him?”
As Syd followed behind the scurrying servant, she mumbled under her breath, not quite loud enough for anyone else to hear.
“What are the fucking odds Kerr’s clan would be in Glanum…”
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