Children of the direwolf, and a kitsune's schemes

Lilli and Yumiko had their children only a few days apart, a single succubus on the part of Lilli and two direwolf pups from Yumiko. Lilli was radiant as Fenrir had never seen her the first time she gathered her infant in her arms and gazed down into its tiny face. She spared just enough attention to whisper a heartfelt thanks to Fenrir, who was sitting beside her where he had remained for the entire process of childbirth.

"Thank you for this, Master. I know I've already sworn my allegiance to you, but I'll never be able to repay my debt to you for this. I've always wanted children of my own and it seemed a cruel fate that made me a succubus, who so often engages in the act that creates children but without any possibility of actually conceiving. But I suppose Carnachias knew her business, for along you came, sent by the gods themselves, and now I hold my child, my very own." Quiet tears fell to dot the blanket, Lilli's happiness entirely too much to express in only words.

Fenrir squeezed her hand in silence, and together they watched the baby nurse for several minutes. "What are you going to name her?" he eventually asked.

"I don't know. Will you not name her? You were the one to name all your other children, after all."

"Sure, but Aimi insisted on it being me that named the slimes, and Kira just didn't have any names in mind. It's not as though the right of naming is something I jealously guard. If you have a name, then by all means suggest it."

Lilli was silent for a long moment. "I want her to be named something bright and hopeful. She is my first, my morning star, and a symbol of our future with you."

"Hmm." Fenrir thought about it as he looked the baby over. She was a tiny slip of a thing, bright blonde curls adorning her forehead, still damp from being cleaned up. Unlike her mother's green eyes, big blue orbs showed whenever her lids opened, but she shared Lilli's pale skin as well the shape and color of her wings and tail.

"It's simple, but how about Glory?" he finally said. "I can certainly see her becoming a glorious thing as she grows."

"She already is," Lilli replied softly, her arms tightening a little around the tiny bundle.

Fenrir chuckled. "You've got me there."

"Glory," Lilli repeated. "Glory. Yes. She will be our Glory."

Yumiko had her twins several days after. The first was a girl, the second a boy, both with the same textured brown fur, just a few shades darker than Yumiko's hair. In all other respects they were nearly identical to Penumbra when she had been born, aside from being slightly smaller. Yumiko was predictably ecstatic despite her exhaustion, looking at her children with glowing eyes.

"Master, may I name them?" she asked, glancing up at Fenrir.

"What do you want to name them?" Fenrir asked.

"Kala and Korir," was the prompt response.

Fenrir cocked his head. "Why those names in particular?"

To his surprise Yumiko ducked her head in a blush. "Well, Korir is a combination of both of our names. 'Ko' from mine, and 'rir' from yours. Plus it sounds strong, and any son of yours is sure to be strong."

"Okay, and Kala?" Like Yumiko, Fenrir pronounced the name as 'Kay-la'.

Yumiko ducked her head still lower. "...I just thought it sounded pretty."

Fenrir could not help but chuckle. "No need to be ashamed about that," he said, gently tousling her hair. "As it happens, I agree with you."

She lifted her head. "Really? But all the names you chose are so pretty and poetic. You know, they all have this deeper meaning to them. It kind of makes the names I chose feel silly."

"I don't know about that. But you sure came out with these names pretty quick considering you're so uncertain about them."

"Oh, well, about that, I've been thinking about it ever since I found out I was pregnant. I decided that if it was a girl I'd name her Kala, and if it was a boy I'd name him Korir. -With your permission, of course!" she hastened to add. "I kinda wanted it to be a boy, even though Nelith and Lilli both thought it'd most likely be a succubus. I never thought I'd have twins."

"While I on the other hand am surprised not more of you had twins at least. But consider my permission given. They're both of them good names."

These two events were interspersed by much activity on the part of the castle's denizens. Fenrir spent several hours each day out in the courtyard sparring, and Katari was kept busy training not only him but also each of the rest of his followers. When they weren't doing that, they were working on repairing the castle. This was made much more difficult by their collective lack of experience in such matters, but the simpler projects were not beyond their reach, and Fenrir resolved to keep an eye out for any experts that could be trusted with the knowledge of the castle's location.

He was also kept fairly busy satisfying each of the succubi, not to mention Katari, Safara, and Mitzi. The tiny goblin had integrated herself into his growing family without the slightest difficulty, seeming as much at home among the succubi as she ever had among the goblins of Shazrak's tribe. Despite her pregnancy, she eagerly threw herself into whatever project the rest of them were working on, and Nelith quickly learned that it was useless to try to dissuade her. Fenrir only ensured that she knew he expected her to avoid overworking herself or endangering her unborn children, then allowed her to do as she pleased.

She ate ravenously and so did Safara, forcing Fenrir to set aside more time for hunting than before lest they burn through their preserved food too rapidly, though he considered it time well spent not only because the act provided food for his followers but also because it allowed him to practice stealth and tracking. It also provided him an opportunity to more thoroughly explore the mountains around the castle, and he took advantage of it to begin mapping out every pass, every bench, and every game trail within a day's travel of his home.

Once both Lilli and Yumiko had given birth, Fenrir began to turn his thoughts to the diplomatic visits he intended to make. The oni chief's request that he bring Katari along when he visited was a subject of frequent thought, but canvassing it did not bring any new revelations. One possibility that he dwelt on for some time was that the chief intended to try to recover the diminutive oni, likely by means of a duel of honor. He could not blame him if this was so; she was an accomplished warrior and a valuable addition to any group she might belong to.

He talked it over with her one night after the evening meal, but she was doubtful. "It is possible, but such a strategy might be considered by some to be skirting the bounds of honor. I am not so valuable to the clan that I would be worth risking such an action. If the chief of an oni clan stoops to dishonorable actions, he does not remain Clan-Chief for long."

"Then why do you think he requested I bring you along?"

Katari was silent for so long that Fenrir thought she meant not to answer, but eventually she said, "...I do not know." She looked up at him, eyes troubled. "I have no right to ask this of you, but would you fight for me if he does wish for me to return to the clan?"

"Of course," Fenrir replied. "You're a part of my family now, I'm not giving you up without a fight. Do you want to leave-"

"No!" Katari almost shouted, then blushed. "No, my place is here in your service, my lord, for as long as you will have me."

Fenrir smiled; he had expected this response, but it was still good to hear it. "Then get comfortable, because I don't intend to give you up anytime soon."

Katari may have been certain of her choices, but the same was not true of at least one of the guests Fenrir had brought from Eldfall. Myrina had taken to moping about the place, flinching whenever Fenrir addressed her, and in general exhibiting all the mannerisms of a kicked puppy. He tried to talk with her about it several times, but she practically ran from him as soon as he asked about how she was feeling. God's Eye was uncharacteristically unhelpful in this case; it only told him she was beginning to love him without offering any context which could explain her actions.

Thinking it over, there were several possible causes for her behavior. The most likely culprit was the fact that he was a Dark-race. Sure, she had accepted him fairly easily, but being alright with a Dark-race as a companion was not the same as accepting one as a lover or master. He also gave some thought to her being an unrealized submissive, but that did not satisfactorily explain her behavior either.

Had she perhaps learned about his slaughter of the Vigil company when he had first materialized in Ruyanei from one of the succubi? It would certainly explain some of her behavior. But that did not satisfy Fenrir either. She didn't really exhibit any fear of him; and while she showed definite discomfort in his presence, it did not explain why she spent so much time within sight and sound of him.

Fenrir was unwilling to leave on his diplomatic trips before resolving Myrina's issue as she did still constitute something of a security risk, and more importantly, if he left her to resolve her problems on her own, she might decide the best thing to do would be to leave. He had not given up on eventually calling her his own.

He was debating confronting the amazon in a manner which precluded any retreat when Saeko came up to where he stood leaning against the battlements on one of the curtain walls of the castle. "May I?" she asked, ever the picture of courtesy.

"Certainly," the direwolf responded, eyeing her curiously. She had made no particular attempt to speak with him directly since they reached the castle, contenting herself with merely participating in the same general conversations. The kitsune took a seat on a stone bench beside where he was standing, looking down into the courtyard where Katari was overseeing Nelith and Aimi as they sparred together.

"Forgive me if I overstep, but does not a succubus' strengths lie in the arcane? Or perhaps the manipulation of others?" she asked.

"So far as I'm aware, yes," Fenrir responded. "Though as of right now my succubi are limited in both."

"Is that why you have them train in martial arts?"

"Not precisely. I simply believe in being prepared for any eventuality." Fenrir paused, but seeing that Saeko kept looking at him expectantly, continued. "We already know from what Safara's been through that there are ways to negate a person's use of magic, and while abilities like Seduction aren't strictly speaking magic, they're still in the same vein and it's not unfeasible that they'd be affected as well. And even if their magic isn't negated, a magic user **** into melee combat is at a major disadvantage. What happens if one or more of my succubi finds themselves in a combat situation when I can't be there to protect them? They've already lost five of their number to exactly that kind of predicament.

"Thus, while I'm not expecting them to become the best fighters on the continent, they should at least know which end to grip a sword by. Of course, ideally, no enemies will ever be allowed to get close to them, so they'll never be **** to put this training into practice, but we don't live in an ideal world, and even the best laid plans sometimes go awry."

"A wise precaution," Saeko said softly, and Fenrir caught a glimpse of a thoughtful look on her face as she turned back to watching the mock battle below.

"Do you have any proficiency in melee?" he asked.

"A little. I know which end to grip a sword by, as you so eloquently put it, and I am versed in the use of a dagger for self-defense. Tsavani outstrips me there however, I believe."

Fenrir nodded and there was a momentary silence. Then she continued. "...I hesitate to ask, but what are your plans for us? I mean Tsavani, Myrina, and myself. You have brought us to your home and have laid no charge on us to go or stay, but I cannot help but feel our presence here as outsiders. The more so since you returned with the goblin Mitzi, for she is not an outsider, despite having only arrived a week ago."

This time the silence stretched for longer as Fenrir considered how to respond. Eventually he said, "That's a difficult question to answer, because it partially depends on each of you. I would like for each of you to become mine as fully as any of my followers are, but that has to be a voluntary decision on your part. I have no interest in forcing you to obey me. You, Saeko, have traveled with me from Eldfall because of your perceived debt to me. Tsavani would say she has come because the distance from here to her home is far less than that between her home and Eldfall, though the real reason is somewhat more complex. Myrina... I am uncertain of. I extended an invitation, and she accepted. I do not know the full reason why, and I suspect neither does she."

The kitsune's tails curled and uncurled around her legs for a moment, then she stilled the movement. "We will pass over my 'perceived' debt to you for the moment" -here Saeko shot him a sharp glance- "and speak of the other two. Tsavani, whatever her stated intentions, does not wish to leave. If events continue as they have begun, she will commit herself to you fully before much more time has passed.

"But Myrina is different." Saeko straightened and turned subtly towards Fenrir, now giving him her full attention. "She is in a most unsettled state because of you."

Fenrir sighed. "I know. She won't talk to me about it, though. I've been debating what to do about it." He looked over at Saeko. "You wouldn't happen to have any insights that could help, would you?"

The kitsune shook her head, her tails once more beginning to curl and uncurl around her calves. "What have you done to affect her so?"

Fenrir opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I will avoid specifics so as not to violate her privacy, but some days ago there was an intimate moment between us. I saw that she had not yet made up her mind regarding me, so I went no further than a kiss. She did not begin exhibiting her current behavior until a day or two afterward, however, so I am not convinced it was this event which caused her current perturbation. At least not in and of itself."

"Hmm." Saeko was silent for several minutes, thinking. "I will speak with her and see whether she can shed more light on this matter."

"I'd appreciate that. I take no pleasure in seeing her so depressed."

"Perhaps my doing so will somewhat lessen my 'perceived' debt to you." Saeko shot him another pointed look as she rose to walk away, but she had not made it two steps before Fenrir spoke.

"Stop." He waited until she had turned back towards him, then continued, "Clearly you take umbrage with my phrasing. Elaborate."

"Whatever do you mean, Fenrir-sama?"

Fenrir frowned. "Don't play these petty games with me, you'll just waste both of our time. I said perceived because I don't view you as owing me anything. What I did for you, I would have done for anyone."

"That only speaks to your generosity. It does not lessen what it may mean to the recipient."

"But if I have not sacrificed anything to aid you, how can there truly be debt incurred?"

Saeko's tails lashed back and forth. "What reprobate is there, however depraved, that does not view the saving of his life as a debt incurred?"

This stopped him cold. "...You are right. I apologize."

Saeko surveyed him for a moment in silence, her tails still swishing back and forth. Then she dipped her head in a shallow bow. "No, I apologize. I ought not repay your generosity with petty disrespect. I was incensed that you should view what you did for me with such indifference, but it was unjust of me."

"Perhaps, but still understandable. For my part, I should have given more thought to how you would feel about the matter."

A hint of a smile crept over the kitsune's face as she straightened. "Shall we then forgive, and be forgiven?"

"Yes." Fenrir returned the smile as he extended a hand. Saeko only looked at it in confusion, causing him to chuckle and drop the hand. "Ah, never mind. I forget the cultures here do not share the gesture."

Saeko cocked her head, prompting further explanation. Fenrir obliged her. "My former homeland had a gesture where people would clasp hands, often merely to say hello or goodbye, but sometimes to seal agreements. I am told the dwarves do this as well."

"I know nothing of that, but..." Saeko extended her hand, a little awkwardly. Fenrir took it, and shook. She blinked. "An odd custom, but I do not dislike it. It carries an air of resolution."

She looked up at him, her relatively small hand still engulfed in his. There was an almost shy look in her eyes for the briefest of moments, then she shifted and it was gone. "I will then take my leave. I thank you for your understanding."

Fenrir bowed his head in acknowledgement. "And I for yours. If you discern anything from your talk with Myrina, please do not hesitate to bring it to me."

"I will." Then she turned and walked away along the top of the wall.

Fenrir went back to leaning against the battlements and watching the sparring match below, but now he had a rather different topic to occupy his mind.

Saeko's thoughts were in equal perturbation. She had almost lost her temper with her host, something which could have had disastrous consequences. It seemed that maintaining the necessary emotional distance to ensure the success of her plans was far more difficult than she had anticipated. She had also lost control of her tails more than once, something which had not happened for a very long time.

It was vexing, but far more vexing was the direwolf himself. His reserve was effortless, and so carefully maintained that she could at times almost believe he had none at all. But that was impossible, for the mind she glimpsed in the depths of his bewitching golden eyes was far too brilliant for there to be no greater depth to his plans than he would have her believe. He was a frustrating mix of simplicity and complexity which foiled her every attempt to read him, but the same did not seem to hold true for him. On the contrary, more often than not he seemed to be toying with her as a cat plays with a mouse. How much of her inner thought was laid bare to his tremendous penetration? She began to wonder whether he might even know her true purpose in remaining close to him.

Saeko shook her head. This was foolishness. She knew better than to make such assumptions of him when she knew so little about him. If she continued in this manner, she would end up convincing herself that he knew all and would betray herself to him when in fact he knew nothing of her true purpose. The real difficulty, she knew, was not that he was so very clever, though indeed he betrayed considerable depths of wisdom every time she spoke with him. No, it was that compelling quality of his which she could not help but feel whenever he was nearby, that insidious pull which made her want there to be something more between them.

It was this, she knew, which had made her so angry that he had been so willing to dismiss his saving of her, for it was her only tangible bond with him; her only real claim to his presence. Without it she had no excuse to remain close to him; without it all her plans would come to naught.

But of equal danger was her tendency to forget herself when he was speaking with her. If she could not maintain her reserve, she would sooner or later betray herself, and this could not be allowed. Constant, unceasing vigilance must be hers; she must command perfect control of herself at all times. It was a game she had often played before, though she could not help but feel that in the many allurements of his voice, figure, and most of all in his disarming manner she faced her greatest challenge yet.

But their conversation had not yielded only negatives. Through Myrina's behavior she now had a potential avenue to his confidence. If she could find the cause of the amazon's recent conduct and do so with discretion, his trust in her would grow, and he would confide in her further. He was too spoiled for choice for her body to be likely to prove the means of gaining his confidence (there was both a twinge of disappointment and a larger and much more sensible measure of relief at this thought), but she was certain he would place great value on a capable servant.

This, then, was her path forward. She must become his most valuable agent; the one he went to when there was a task which could not admit of failure, and especially if it was of a sensitive nature. His trust in her competence and discretion must become absolute.

She was not blind to the difficulty that achieving this most coveted position presented, but it did not deter her. This was the path she had been set upon, and she would prove herself worthy of the trust bestowed upon her. She would not bring shame to her name in her part of the grand and subtle weaving of the tapestry of the coming world.

This chapter felt kind of short, even though it's not far shy of four thousand words. Maybe it's because of the way it's structured; I don't usually have as many line breaks as I do here.
Ah well. Three more of Fenrir's children are born and can begin their journey to adulthood. Fenrir begins to think about the diplomatic trips he wants to make to his (dubious) oni allies and (far more certain) goblin friends. But first he wants to deal with Myrina, and acquires assistance from an unexpected quarter.
Fun fact, the little spat between him and Saeko caught me by surprise. I love when my characters take the reins from me like this; it means I'm doing a good job of letting them be themselves and not shoehorning them into roles just to serve the plot.
Enjoy!