-Chuck Sigars

John jetted over the grass, his feet threatening with each step to tangle themselves in the grasses and roots he was haphazardly stomping across. Lunaya was behind him but not by far, staying right by his side as they charged off toward the forest. John wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting to find - there weren't any creatures in this world that could pose a threat to Moira, unless she had started some kind of altercation with the Nekos.

"Please don't kill my friends," John thought, hoping to Gaia that Moira was as merciful when he wasn't around as she was when he supervised their interactions.

They reached the treeline in seconds, but with no clear way to know exactly what direction the scream had come from, they were reliant on luck to find their way. Luck and, surprisingly, Lunaya. She took the lead when John started to hesitate on which way to pass through the trees, her nose pointing directly toward the ground while running. John didn't know if she inherited the full nasal capabilities of a canine but had no skills of his own to track.

Eventually, they came upon something John did not expect - rather than Moira, they found Seras. She had her back to a tree while she quivered, although the oddest part of it was that her hands were firmly planted over her eyes, and she seemed to be hiding something from herself, rather than attempting to hide herself from someone else.

"I-I found them," Seras said as their stomping footsteps echoed around her. "I-I just don' know what to do now…"

"Seras, what are you…"

John trailed off as he caught sight of the scene before him. Glancing around the trunk of the tree that Seras was cowering behind, John found himself face-to-face with one of the last things he'd expected to see. Moira, clad in the shirt she had worn earlier and nothing else, was leaned up against the trunk of a tree with two Nekos very fiercely pressing her against it. Surprisingly though, she did not seem so eager to escape their control.

John, in his haste to find what he had assumed would be a very precarious situation, found himself dumbfounded at what he saw. Moira had disrobed her lower half, including what appeared to be a medieval chastity belt that lay beside her, in order to fully expose her drenched sex. How drenched it had been when she parted with her clothing was a mystery, as both Maera and Mithra had planted themselves firmly between her legs, their tongues fighting for dominance over the Warden's sex, dueling in the most salacious of manners as they shoved themselves further and further into the erotic domain of the young Warden.

"Moira!" John exclaimed, having no idea what else to say but unable to contain his shock and awe at what he was seeing.

"J-J-John!" Moira replied in turn, stammering as her hands apparently moved to cover herself. The two Nekos currently doing that for her seemed to take offense at the idea, using their own arms to block her hands and continue on with their conquest, greedily devouring her snatch in turn while Moira's own face gave away her explicit enjoyment, regardless of her protestations.

"I, uh… I can come back later," John suggested dumbly, already turning one foot away despite the fact that his eyes refused to budge. He had imagined Maera and Mithra indulging in each other's company on occasion, what the two sisters might have done on cold and lonely nights together, but he had never thought he'd actually get to witness it. Yet here they were, proudly sharing the young, ginger Warden of the Golden Rose, while Moira's mouth hung open and her eyes quivered like she was about to let them roll back fully at the next stimulation.

"N-no!" Moira shouted, her hands momentarily gripping the Nekos by the scruff of their collars before her own hands betrayed her and went back to gripping the roots of the tree she was pressed against.

"I mean… no, please, get them off me! They assaulted me and refuse to release me from their grasp," Moira pleaded, pressing herself further into the trunk. She was colored a darker shade than even her own hair now, and it seemed as if she were hoping the Lady herself would strike her down rather than allow John to continue to watch.

"Assaulted you?" John asked, glancing at the pile of clothing. "But… how did they get all that off? Maera shredded my last pair of pants, and that kind of looks like a chastity-"

"Do not stand there and ask questions while I'm being molested, help me!" Moira blurted out, hands returning to the Nekos’ heads. Despite her apparent effort, neither of them budged, nor did they even show any discomfort or sign of being dissuaded from their task. If anything, it only encouraged them, as both Nekos began to mewl lightly and Moira's moans increased again the moment she stopped speaking.

"They're lower level than I am, Moira. How can you not pull them away? If you really want to be free, just tell them to stop and mean it. They kind of understand language; it's not like they're rapists."

"J-J-John Newman, I swear to the Lady herself, I- I-… I--- AHHHH!"

Moira shook with the of her conviction as she wrapped her arms around the necks of both Nekos, no longer even feigning an effort to push them away as she pulled them directly into her snatch, both of the Nekos pulled off balance by her sudden gusto and seeming to genuinely start squirming to escape, if only for a moment.

"Ahh… ahhh…" Moira's orgasm seemed to last far longer than it should've, her body shaking with as much fervor as the two panicked Nekos; her plain tee doing little to hide her arousal considering the sweat that was rendering it nearly see-through. The only thing that saved her dignity were the naked catgirls covering up her crotch, and they were too busy lapping up the latest of her juices to be of much use hiding her dignity. Fortunately for Moira, now that most of the show was over, John finally found himself able to turn away.

"I'm sorry, Moira, I heard you scream and thought you were in trouble. I can see now you were just getting to know Maera and Mithra… they're rather friendly, aren't they? I'll see you back at camp after you collect yourself," John said, unable to fight back a laugh as he turned and started back toward the campfire.

"J-John Newman, Gaia help me, I will make you pay for this somehow! You will-"

"Come on Lunaya, Seras," John said, sighing as he grabbed the blushing vampiress by the elbow and pulled her away from the scene, "everything's fine here. Let's head back to camp."

---

John didn't have to wait too long after the three of them returned. While they were sitting around the campfire awkwardly trying to decide what to do, Moira stormed free of the forest with the two Nekos trailing behind, looking entirely too pleased with themselves considering how upset Moira looked.

"John Newman, you foul pervert, you have had this ability for less than a week, and you've hand-crafted no less than four creatures, all of which are women, and three of which you haven't even had the decency to give clothes?!"

"Well, I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet," John replied, studiously avoiding her gaze. The catgirls made themselves at home almost immediately, apparently sated enough to curl up in the tall grasses and settle in for a nap.

"That's not my concern; you can cause Abyssal creatures to drop items, why not spawn them with clothes?! This ability of yours is most troubling, and it seems to be based on your more base of instincts."

"It didn't seem to trouble you much when my ability's creations were preying on your baser instincts," John said, daring to meet Moira's gaze. He immediately regretted that decision. At his comment, Moira's demeanor took on a cold fury like nothing he'd seen in her before. A glittering spark ignited behind her eyes as the pendant on her necklace that held her weapons of choice dangled dangerously over her cleavage.

"John Newman, your creatures assaulted me, and the only response you have is to label me a common whore?!"

"Well, Maera kind of did the same thing to me, and even though she's gotten smarter, she didn't even really understand what pants were back then. There's no way she got whatever that thing was beside you off. Seriously, do you wear a chastity belt? I know you're British and medieval and all that, but-"

"This conversation is finished, John Newman," Moira blurted out, flushing furiously as she stomped to the other side of the campfire. Maera and Mithra tagged along. It seemed their natural feline instincts to find the person who disliked them most were running strongly, and Moira didn't have it in her to kick them away as they threaded themselves between her legs.

There was blissful silence for a few moments, save the occasional purr from one of the Nekos as they rubbed up against Moira until she eventually shoved them away. They seemed completely impossible to dissuade though. John for the most part tried to keep to himself. Now that she'd recovered from her embarrassment, Seras was as quiet as ever, and Lunaya was simply tending the fire.

John was just beginning to think about laying down for the night when Moira let out a particularly loud sigh and stood up, shooing the two Nekos away.

"I fear I will not be able to sleep with these two pestering me. Can you do nothing, John?"

"They're pretty hard to keep control of… they seem to be pretty worked up after earlier. I could try running a Dungeon with them."

"A… Dungeon?"

"I, uh, a Barrier. With monsters, and a Boss, and… you know, video game stuff," John said, shrugging as Moira raised an eyebrow at him.

"I understand you have innate abilities, but I would have thought that you could perhaps avoid the video game symbolism for a few moments," Moira said with a long sigh. "I suppose there's little alternative if I want to get some rest so that we can more quickly be out of this bizarre Barrier of yours. But… John, how can you make a Barrier when we're already inside of one? Even the Fateweavers must have difficulty doing so, judging by the prices they charge."

"I… I don't know, Moira. I wasn't joking earlier, I really don't understand half of what I do. It really is like a video game, the good and the bad. I can do all these awesome things, but I have no idea how. I push a "button", real or imaginary, and they happen."

"Well then, press your button, John Newman. Let's see what sort of monsters you can conjure up. Surely with a Warden by your side, you will be able to handle them with ease."

John was about to do exactly that when he realized he still had not dealt with his message from earlier - the one about his new ability.

"One last thing, Moira."

"For the love of the Lady, I swear-"

"Relax, it's done!" John said, tired of arguing with Moira, and mashed the Reincarnate button without thinking. A flash of light engulfed him, and he felt a wave of power, followed by almost exactly the opposite. His muscle mass seemed to vanish, his stamina left him so quickly that he fell to his knees gasping for air, and even his senses dulled a little as he hit the ground. So severe was the reaction that he didn't realize fully what had happened until Moira was holding him up by the armpits and nearly shouting into his face.

"-ohn? John? John! The Lady blesses you!"

John was caught off guard as Moira leaned in just as he was regaining his faculties, planting her ruby lips on his cheek. A second wave of light, this one somewhat less intense, washed over John and felt like it restored at least part of what had been taken from him. He no longer had the feeling of fatigue, though his body still felt noticeably weaker, and he could support himself on his own two legs as Moira nervously set him on his heels.

"What in Gaia's name did you do to yourself, John? I was afraid you might die!"

"Nice to know you care," John said, smirking weakly. "I… listen, this is gonna sound dumb, but according to my menus, I hit max level, and the only way to get a higher max level was to reset."

"Reset? John, you can't mean… no, it's true, your mana is almost gone!"

Moira set him down and stepped back, eyeing him carefully. John took the opportunity to open up his menu. As with all of his other skills, Reincarnation had been truthful - his level was now set to one, and although he couldn't see a max level, he did have nine points waiting to be spent on his stats.

"…Moira, how fast do mages get?"

"What do you mean? Some mages can cast spells instantly, using only gestures or other somatic components, sometimes as little as a wink or a flick of the-"

"No, I mean… how fast can they move?" John asked, glancing over his stats. For some reason, his gaze kept lingering on his Agility score. He remembered the encounter with the Albidian diplomat, how fast he had seemed to move. Moira was barely able to keep up with the man, and John could only see the barest hint of his movements, even when he was nearly at his "maximum" level.

"That is entirely dependent on the mage, how skilled they are, and what their specialty is. Generally speaking, magic doesn’t make you faster than anyone else by itself, but eventually every mage learns to weave magic in their own body to enhance strength, speed, and endurance. Without magical enhancements, most spells that any novice can cast will easily shatter a human body, or travel faster than a human can blink. It's only because of magic's innate ability to mix with and strengthen the human body that one can survive such onslaughts. It is said that when my father was in his prime he could see a bolt of lightning travel all the way from the heavens to the earth and strike the exact place it was to land before it finished its path."

Moira told her story with such certainty that John wasn't entirely sure whether it was true or merely a legend, but it at least confirmed what he had seen with his own eyes. John still had no idea what kind of mage he wanted to be. He had wielded a baseball bat for most of his time thus far, only picking up a sword by dumb luck and circumstance. At the same time, he'd never really become proficient with his magic, only using the abilities he had in just coherent enough of a pattern to avoid and squeeze his way through the conflicts he'd been a part of. He had no idea what he wanted to do or what kind of person he wanted to be… but he knew that without speed, none of it would matter. He'd be getting speed blitzed every encounter if he didn't do something about it.

So John spent his free points in the only way he could think - he put two each in his Strength and Intelligence scores to retain at least some offensive potential, then dumped all five of the remaining points into his Dexterity. Moira's eyes twitched a little as she stared at him, watching his fingers move along the buttons while unable to see what he was pressing.

"Your mana is fluctuating quite heavily… I can only assume you're doing some kind of min-maxing? Perhaps speed-based?"

"I might just make a nerd out of you yet, Moira Brighton," John said with a smirk. He extended his hand to the Warden. Despite all that had happened in the last day, he was happy to see that she was still capable of joking, still attempting to fight through her doubts and trust John. Aside from Moira, the only anchors that John had were creatures and characters he'd created himself, which only really added to his confusion and stress. Moira was something far closer to a friend than anything John could remember having in a long time. Well, aside from a few buddies on Discord.

"You can make me nothing, John Newman. The Shield Warden is immovable, unbreakable, and-"

"NEEEEERD!" John screamed as he reached out to grab Moira's hand, shaking it firmly as the message popped up on his screen despite Moira's reddening face.

Party Invite Accepted!