Afternoon Wanderings

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Having wandered the village during the morning, Ahsch decided that a visit to the other nearby community was on the docket for the afternoon. Ivrine's herd had made themselves known to Sarvas and some trading had even occurred, though notably (and somewhat shockingly to the villagers), breeding was not on the table. Ahsch had already known that before he and the herd queen had parted ways the night before, as she had informed him that the entire herd was, essentially his - unless he allowed it, they would accept no other man’s seed. His flushed response had been that if they wanted to, that was fine with him, but clearly they (or at least, Ivrine) did _not _want to, as they were trading for goods rather than pregnancies.

The herd had set up camp about a fifteen-minute walk from the perimeter of Sarvas, within and around a clearing in the woods where the trees were sparser, allowing them ample room to set up their tents close to each other and make some fires safely. Accompanied by Aena and Kirasiel again, and with Stisea tagging along to see her herdmates, the foursome caught quite a bit of attention as they were admitted past the perimeter sentry and into the camp.

Or rather, _Ahsch _caught a lot of attention. Pretty much every single one of the satyrs at least sent a look his way as he went by. More than a few did a bit more than that, giving him inviting looks, posing slightly to accentuate their curves, with a handful even going so far as to casually shuck their tops in the (mild) heat of the afternoon.

“So, the idea is you’re going to breed… _all _of them?” Kirasiel asked quietly.

“I-Is that really so surprising?” Stisea looked over at the royal.

Kirasiel’s mouth worked silently for a moment. “Well, yes,” she finally said. “Sure, there are some larger harems in the Capital - or specifically, R’sath - but an entire herd of two dozen monsters? That’s a bit much.”

“Huh.” Stisea blinked in thought. “Most feral herds would take at most a handful of men and have them breed the entire herd, with most members taking seed from as many of the men as they could. But the herds with multiple men are usually at least 40 strong.” She thought for a moment. “Outside of legends, the largest herd I’ve heard of had around 75 members and at most six men.”

Both Ahsch and Kirasiel stared at Stisea in shock long enough for her to blush and duck her head. “W-We’re too small to have multiple men,” she said. “Other herds would fight us for them.”

Recovering, Kirasiel frowned in thought. “Is that why you would sometimes trade in men’s seed? To help boost your numbers without becoming a target for ferals?”

Stisea nodded. “It also prevents the local settlements from hating us as much, since we’re not, you know, matenapping.”

The two royals nodded their understanding and looked around the camp again. “Depending on how you count it,” Kirasiel mused, “you could claim to have the largest family of any noble.”

Ahsch snorted. “It’s a transactional relationship, not a familial one,” he objected.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I don’t think a purely business relationship would include exclusive breeding rights,” she pointed out dryly.

His face darkened slightly. “I… don’t think that’s included under the business part,” he said. At his fiance’s questioning look, he sighed. “Enochiel.”

Kirasiel frowned. “And that’s a bad thing?”

Ahsch made a face. “Not… inherently, no,” he allowed.

She stared at him for a moment. “...Then what is it?”

“My Creator is unwilling - or perhaps mentally or emotionally unable - to accept the full mantle of Enochiel,” Aena suddenly contributed.

Now both of Kirasiel’s eyebrows were raised. “After all this time? After everything that’s happened?”

“Can we -” Ahsch started, his voice raised before he caught himself and eased his tone. “Can we not talk about this?” He shot a reprimanding look at Aena. “And be careful what you say in public.”

The angel’s eyes widened in shocked revelation at what she’d done. “Apologies, Cr- Master,” she said with a slight bow, “I am uncertain as to why I did not undertake my usual discretion.”

Ahsch waved off her apology. “We all make mistakes, Aena,” he reassured her, then added under his breath, “Some of us more than others.”

Stisea, with a monster’s keen hearing, looked at her mate with an almost pained expression, and gently touched his shoulder. Ahsch nearly flinched at the sympathetic gesture, but gave her a small, sad smile, and covered her hand with his own. The mousy satyr stepped closer, half-hugging her mate as they walked, and whispered to him, “As long as you continue to do your best, for yourself and those around you, the herd will follow you, my mate. My Master.” She gave him a significant look. “My God, Enochiel.”

Ahsch’s throat caught, and he clenched his jaw, inexplicably overwhelmed, but he managed to give another small smile and nodded. With Stisea snuggled under one arm, he held out his other to Kirasiel, who hesitantly, with almost mincing motions, slipped into his hold. With his mate and fiance under each arm, he took a deep breath to clear the heavy thoughts from his mind. “I don’t know how it works in a herd,” he said, “but how about we do some shopping?”

As it turned out, virtually all of the satyrs with something to trade were more than willing to all but give their wares away for Ahsch, and he had to haggle them _up _to not feel guilty. The first time (which was only the second conversation) that the proposed trade was for a quickie to knock the seller up, Ahsch felt as though he was an Earthian computer experiencing an error in Ahsch.exe and needed to reboot. Finding a way to diplomatically decline and offer something else required insight and suggestions from both of the girls in his arms.

By the time the four left the camp and made their way back to the family home, they had picked up some exotic herbs and spices for his family, a few simple toys for Luna and Sola (and any of his other sisters who still had a youthful itch for playtime), and a small, hand-sized statuette of Ahsch that Aena had been insistent on obtaining.

Given the way the angel seemed absorbed in her prize the whole way back, Ahsch had to agree with Kirasiel when the blonde suggested, I think your angel has found something else that tops her ‘Things I Like’ chart