It's About Time.

Mary and Talia were relaxing after a long day of fighting orcs. Talia was sitting at the dining table with the tablet in her hand while Mary was cooking dinner for the two of them. Talia occasionally glanced up to appreciate the way Mary’s gear accentuated her curves. She also thought it only fair that Mary had to wear the ridiculous getups that the rest of them had to endure regularly.

There was another notification on the tablet from Freya, letting Mary know that she needed to take care of spending her BP. This message informing her that if she doesn’t reply to this message, Freya would be coming to the room in person to make sure Mary remembered. Talia dismissed the message immediately. Good, we need to talk with Freya anyway.

A few minutes later, Mary said, “Okay, just about done, mind coming and helping with plating?” Talia stood, but a knock at the door stopped her from going to Mary, and instead, Talia answered the door, finding an annoyed Freya.

Freya said, “Good evening, Mary. Talia, I don’t appreciate you turning Mary’s devices to silent and refusing to inform her about my messages.” Talia pretended to look innocent but wasn’t fooling anyone. “Mary, you asked to be reminded about spending your BP before the end of the day. Neither Laura nor Isabella has gone to the store to buy the TFs you approved for them to purchase.”

Talia said, “Freya, why don’t you come in? We were just about to have dinner. I’m sure Mary made enough.”

Mary was about to object that she really hadn’t made enough for three, but looked at the food again and realized that she might have put in more meatballs than she realized. That or Talia’s TF magically added more meatballs to the dish.

Freya said, “No, thank you. I’ll be going now.”

Talia reached out and grabbed Freya by the wrist. “Please, join us. I’d like to talk with you about something.”

Freya narrowed her eyes at Talia. “You didn’t tell Mary about the messages because you wanted to **** me to come here?”

Talia smiled, confirming that it was the case. Freya sighed and walked in and sat down at the table. “What would you like to talk about then?”

Talia went to help Mary with the plating, and only after all three were seated with food in front of them did Talia answer Freya’s question. “Freya, I’d like your permission to discuss a sensitive topic.”

Freya narrowed her eyes in displeasure, realizing what Talia intended to talk about. Mary frowned as well, but remained quiet for the moment. As Talia was actually asking for permission from Freya.

Freya didn’t answer immediately but instead looked at the dish in front of her. It was some type of curry over rice with meatballs. She knew that this was one of the dishes Mary regularly made before the show, as it was rather simple and low effort. Freya had sampled a lot of Mary’s cooking during her research into Mary’s tastes. That had been the primary reason she had recommended having one of the amenities encourage cooking.

Freya really hoped that Mary had improved her cooking. Freya decided she’d rather brave the cooking first before answering. Maybe I’ll get food poisoning so I can leave… She was surprised. Mary had improved. The meatballs weren’t overcooked, and she had actually gotten the seasoning proportions correct this time, instead of just dumping a bunch of garlic powder, turmeric, and marsala into a premade curry.

“This is really good, Mary,” Freya said as she finished her first mouthful.

Mary smiled, “Thanks. Talia was rather insistent on the measurements for the seasoning. I usually just eyeball it and call it good enough.”

Freya glanced at Talia and saw a knowing look that said, ‘I know, and you’re welcome.’ Freya thought, Thank the gods, actually, I guess, since it was Talia’s doing, thank Laura. As Freya thought that she saw Talia smirk just as she thanked Laura.

Talia said, “Freya, I can’t really talk about this unless you give me permission.”

Freya frowned and wearily said, “Fine, go ahead.”

Talia nodded her thanks, “Look, Freya, I have a plan, and it might end up with you in the harem. Honestly, I think you should join just because I think you and Mary would be really hot together.” Talia saw Mary glare at her and changed track, “But I can respect that you don’t want to do it for that reason. Now I’ve talked with Mary about some of this, but I’ve got several solutions to our Astrid problem.”

Freya’s face lit up with hope. “Solutions? As in, you think they will actually help?”

Talia nodded, “I more than think. I have evidence to support my plans. They help to different degrees, but I believe it is possible to give Astrid back most of her autonomy.”

Freya eagerly asked, “What do you need from me?”

Talia considered that, even extending her perception of time considerably, to figure out what to actually divulge. Talia eventually said, “Your trust more than anything. Mary’s too.”

Freya frowned, “Talia… I need more than your assurances.”

Talia held up her hands as she shrugged. “You’ve got to decide. Have faith that things will work out. I think we need you or Astrid in the harem. Which we have pretty good odds of getting with my method.”

“Good odds? What do you mean?” Mary asked.

“You’ll need to boost your Princely Staff,” Talia replied. “If you do that, you should get three options to choose from to make permanent. So, unless you get more staff members, there should be about an eighty percent chance of success in adding either Astrid or Freya. Unless the order isn’t actually random like the TF claims.”

Freya continued to frown, “You want Mary to add Astrid?”

Talia nodded, “Yes. It might not help her in the short term, but long term, her being part of the harem should allow her to function normally.”

Freya scowled, but her expression betrayed that she really wanted what Talia was saying to be true. “Please explain.”

Talia replied, “Well, if Astrid joins the harem, Hilde should be able to fix her eventually. It might take forever, but she could do it. At least according to the rulebook I read. It was out of date, but there was a provision in there that made it quite explicit that Hilde should be able to help.”

Freya asked, “Then why do you want to add me?”

“Because Cassandra obviously intended you to be with Mary,” Talia replied matter of factly. “Do you think it was a coincidence that Hilde just so happened to get a transformation that could be used to edit other transformations?”

Freya seemed to consider that, then said, “So you think I would get something to help her as well?”

Talia nodded, “Essentially.”

Freya nodded, “I understand, and thank you. Both of you, sincerely, thank you for working on this so much. Also, for a wonderful meal, but I think it’s time I get going. Mary, don’t forget to spend your BP. I’ll come back if you haven’t after an hour.” Freya stood, gave Mary a slight bow, and excused herself from the room.

When the door shut, Talia turned to Mary, “Now, Mary, it might not be obvious to everyone else, but you’re stressed again. I’d like to help you relax tonight. What’s the cause?”

“Everything.” Talia rolled her hand for Mary to continue to explain. Mary sighed, but continued. “Where to even start? I’m stressed about my harem expanding for one.”

“Why? Shouldn’t that be like the dream?” Talia got a little wistful imagining a dozen buff individuals catering to her every desire.

Mary asked, “Would you really be interested in having something like thirty partners?”

“Thirty?” Talia asked disbelievingly, “I hardly think thirteen women count as thirty.”

Mary shook her head, “Fourteen, you’re not including Merigold. Merida made her permanent. Then, if Merida gets up to nine tails, which she will, that’s twenty-one right there. We’re talking about Freya, Astrid, and maybe Ethel being added. Not to mention, Cassandra sounded like she had other planned additions still coming when Brooke was added. Thirty isn’t outside of the realm of possibility.”

Talia looked contemplative. “Hmm, okay, that’s fair and a lot of women to juggle. What else is stressing you?”

“I’m going to be a parent. I’m ecstatic but terrified. Especially because I didn’t think I’d have so many kids so fast. Not to mention, I expect that number to go up before the end of the show. So, I could see going from no kids to a dozen in the span of one month, when they’re all born.”

“You’ll have plenty of help, though. All of us will be there, and I’m sure that Freya can get a nanny or two for your staff.”

“Thanks for trying to reassure me, but it’s still a lot of responsibility. Then there are a dozen other smaller things. Like how the challenge is going and how, no matter what, people I care about are going to end up getting shafted. So just a bunch of things.”

Talia got up and sat next to Mary, leaning against her arm. “Well, how about we relax then? Nothing strenuous or taxing for your brain.”

“You’re okay with that? I sort of got the impression this morning that you wanted to go wild.”

“I am, and you weren’t mistaken. The idea of using every free sample you got and having you ravish me is extremely appealing. But I care about you, Mary. So if you need to relieve some stress, that’s what we’ll do.”

Mary gave Talia a thankful smile. “One thing, though. Don’t you need at least one more orgasm today? I gave you one earlier, but that only gives you four things to wear tomorrow.”

Talia considered that. “That shouldn’t be too big of a deal. I just have my robe, cloak, and underwear that really matter. I guess one more orgasm would be a good idea, but I can always just do that myself, if that would tax you.”

Mary shook her head in disbelief and rustled Talia’s hair. Talia furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. She tried to smooth her hair out, but a cowlick kept popping up. Mary chuckled, seeing it spring up repeatedly. Mary held Talia’s hand and said, “I’m not going to make you do that, but relaxing sounds nice.”

Mary stood and gently tugged on Talia’s hand to get her to follow her to the bed. Mary slowly lay back on the bed, pulling Talia into her arms.

Mary’s hand gently slid around Talia as their soft lips and eyes met. Mary stared into Talia’s green eyes, which had the faintest glow about them. Mary found it rather flattering that Talia extended these moments with her. Mary’s other hand ran through Talia’s midnight blue hair, and she grasped the back of her head as their kissing became more intense.

Talia began to explore Mary’s body in turn. After a moment, though, she realized her reach was much shorter than Mary’s and decided to just wrap her arms behind Mary’s neck. Talia was lost in the kiss, as was Mary. Neither was in any rush and savoured the touch of one another. Their bodies slowly became more intertwined as minutes passed, and their clothes were lost.

Mary watched as Talia squirmed in her embrace and reached down and began to gently massage Talia’s wet snatch. Talia quivered as Mary thrust a finger inside her, followed by another one, and then another. Talia pulled Mary into a firmer kiss as heat and desire rushed through her. A desire to make Mary feel just as good as she was. Talia leaned slightly to one side, making it easier for Mary to work her magic between her legs while also letting her slip a hand around Mary’s ample bosom.

Talia began to ask multiple times if Mary would like her to go down on her, but each time Talia pulled away to ask, Mary pulled her back into a kiss more intense than before.

Talia let out sound after sound of pleasure as Mary continued, until finally Mary bestowed upon her her Goddess’s blessing as she came.

Talia lay her head on Mary’s shoulder as she reveled in the divine gift for a long time from her perspective, but for only a few seconds for Mary. Talia then said, “Now my turn to return the favor.”

Mary started chuckling, confusing Talia. Talia asked, “Why are you laughing?”

Mary, still chuckling, replied, “It’s just that… I’ve already cummed.”

Talia furrowed her brow in confusion. “How? I’ve just played with your breasts and kissed you.”

“On our last date, you made me climax just from playing with my breasts, don’t you remember?”

“But… that… is that seriously all I have to do?”

Mary’s previous chuckle became a full belly laugh. “You sound disappointed that it’s easy to get me off.”

Talia pouted, “Well, maybe a little, yeah. I didn’t even notice when it happened either. Still, would you mind if I went down on you?”

Mary bit her lower lip in thought. “Talia… I…”

Talia held up a hand to stop Mary. “It’s fine. You don’t feel comfortable with it.”

Mary vigorously shook her head, “That’s not it. Please, I don’t want you to misunderstand.” Talia stared up into Mary’s eyes as she listened intently. “I wouldn’t mind in general, but you were definitely right earlier. I’m stressed and could use some relaxation.”

Talia said, “Well, according to Her wisdom, sex is a great form of relaxation and stress relief.”

Mary let out a slight chuckle at that, causing Talia to frown slightly.

Talia slightly chastised Mary, “I’m being serious, Mary. When done correctly, it is a way to cleanse one’s mind and spirit. Please don’t laugh at my beliefs.”

Mary tried to compose herself, but was still smiling. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t meant as an insult. And I agree that it can be relaxing, but I think that if we continue, I’ll get rather worked up, and in combination with your Anime TF, we might end up going much farther than intended, which could backfire on the relaxation part of things.”

Talia nodded, “Okay, let me go get cleaned up. Would you like me to grab you a towel to wipe off your hand?”

Mary held up her hand and waggled her fingers at Talia, while saying, “No need, see? I can’t remain dirty. ”

“Right, that’s so unfair,” Talia replied as she slipped out of bed and went to the restroom. Mary stared at Talia’s naked backside as she walked away. While Talia was cleaning up, Mary started to rearrange the pillows so she could recline and cuddle Talia when she returned, which she did in short order. Talia happily snuggled up to Mary and asked, “So, anything in particular you’d like to do? I assume listening to more confessions wouldn’t help, and besides lying here and maybe watching something together, I don’t really have much in the way of ideas about how to help you.”

“Honestly, I’m rather beat. Cuddles and watching something until we fall asleep sounds wonderful.” Mary replied.

Talia immediately grabbed the tablet to put something on, but there was a knock at the door, causing Mary and Talia to both frown. Mary said, “Come in?”

Freya entered the room for the second time that evening, once again rather annoyed. “Mary, I wish to remind you that you still need to spend your BP. At this point, I’m not leaving you alone until you spend it.”

Talia glanced at the time on the tablet and noticed that Freya seemed impatient and deliberately stood such that the door couldn’t shut on her, with her inside. Talia smirked as she had a wicked idea, then frowned and shook her head to clear the idea from her thoughts. It didn’t help clear it. I’ll have to tell Mary that as soon as Freya ends up leaving. Then again… Freya getting trapped in here and having to share Mary’s bed would be rather amusing.

Mary said, “Thanks seriously. I can’t believe I nearly forgot that.”

Freya muttered something under her breath, quiet enough that Mary actually couldn’t make it out clearly, even with her improved senses, but it sounded something like ‘I can.’

Mary asked, “What was that, Freya?”

“Nothing important. Now, please, don’t get distracted and spend your BP before you forget again.”

Mary nodded and turned to Talia. “Would you mind reaching out to Laura? Check with her if she or Isa would like the TFs I approved for them to get.”

Talia nodded her head between Mary’s thighs. “OH Most Holy Laura, your humble and pious servant beseeches your wisdom!”

Laura immediately replied, “I SWEAR TO GOD, TALIA, I CAN AND WILL SMITE YOU!”

Talia started to giggle both over the connection and out loud. “Only if I break your tenants, which I’m sure you can tell I haven’t. In any case, Mary wanted to ask about buying you or Isa a transformation from the shop. She actually set it up so either of you could buy a specific option. Full disclosure, I recommended them to Mary as transformations that would be decent targets for fun upgrades if we were the ones to get them.”

“I’ll have to go check. I’ll check with Isa, too. But we aren’t getting those upgrades with Mary’s lead over Mark, so not sure if we should really get the transformations. I’ll check back in a few minutes. Also, thank you for not having Mary come to us to ask this.”

Talia smirked, annoying Laura as she replied, “I live to serve My Most Benevolent and Holy Goddess.” Talia thought she heard knuckle cracking over the connection, which then abruptly cut off.

Talia said, “Okay, I asked, and Laura is checking with Isa. It should be a few minutes. Freya, why don’t you come in and take a seat while we wait? No reason to just stand there looming in the doorway.”

Freya did not move. She simply replied, “I’m fine where I’m at.” Freya tried to keep her voice even, but it was slightly frosty towards Talia, as she had an inkling as to what Talia was trying to do.

A few minutes went by with no one really talking before Laura contacted Talia. “Hey Talia, so Isa and I looked at the TFs and discussed things. I’d rather not take it, as Mary is going to have more points than Mark. Isa, and I’m quoting here, says, ‘If Mary buys that for her, she’ll bite Mark’s dick off.’ So Mary will need to find something else to spend her BP on.”

“I thank Her Holiness for Her divine counsel in this most dire of decisions.”

“Talia, please stop that. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Laura, I’m sorry, but the connection actually requires some level of acknowledgement of your divinity to work. I’ll try to tone it down some, where I can.”

Talia heard Laura grumble in frustration. Then Laura replied, “Thank you, and you should be thanking Mary, not me, for your most recent orgasm.” Laura then cut off the connection.

Talia flushed slightly at being called out like that. Talia said to Mary, “Laura and Isa don’t want the TFs. Isa rather vehemently.”

Mary asked, “Did they say why?”

“Laura doesn’t see a reason to buy one anymore since she thinks you will end up with more points than Mark does. Which I can’t blame her. Isa threatened to bite off your dick if you bought it for her. Don’t know why.”

Mary released Talia from her embrace so she could back up and look Talia in the eyes. “You’re being serious?”

Talia nodded, “Laura made a point that she was quoting Isa, so I figured I would relay it to you. I guess I was wrong about how much she was into pet play. Or she just isn’t being honest with herself.”

Mary let out a frustrated sigh. “Well, that’s just great. Now I have to find something else to buy.”

Talia leaned towards Mary with her eyes twinkling in anticipation. Mary rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

Talia hesitated, “Does it have to be something for me?”

Mary looked at Talia skeptically. “You want to transform someone else? Without their consent? I thought we talked about this.”

“We did… but… well… I was thinking you could get Isa a temporary version of the transformation I recommended. I’m pretty sure she’d love it and just can’t admit it to herself.”

Mary shook her head, “Absolutely not.”

Talia pulled out her notebook and started to rifle through it for suggestions.

Freya gave one before Talia could. “Mary, might I offer a suggestion?”

Mary nodded, “Absolutely, Freya. I’m always open to your advice.”

“Upgrade one of Isabella’s TFs. Particularly, either Cooking with Love, Experience Exploit, or Gifts from Grandma. I mention this as these TFs were designed with Allie in mind, not Isabella. Alternatively, harmonize them with her new paths.”

Mary thought about that, “I worry that harmonizing them might end up making her dislike them more. Plus, I can’t really think of how those would change for any of her current paths. An upgrade, though… that has some merit. Freya, could you go relay a message to Isa? Tell her I’m giving authorization for her to pick one of them to upgrade and that I expect her to pick whichever she would prefer, or I will just upgrade one myself. Her call.”

Freya nodded, “Absolutely. I’ll take my leave and make sure she makes a decision.” Freya hurried to go find Isa, with the door shutting behind her and not long after locking automatically.

Mary gave Talia a knowing glance, hearing the sound of the door locking. Talia sighed and said, “Yes, I invited her in, hoping she would get locked in here with us and would have to spend the night. The thought popped into my head that it would be funny, essentially harmless, and good for both of you. Are you really just going to upgrade one of them even if she doesn’t want you to?”

“Yes,” Mary said firmly.

“Why?”

“Several reasons. I need to spend the BP being the biggest.”

Talia quirked an eyebrow, “Yes, but you know you could upgrade my TFs instead, and I’d be happy about it. So why do that to Isa?”

From Mary’s chest, Talia started to hear a low growl forming. Mary got defensive, “She’s mine. I’ll take care of her how I see fit.” Mary’s tail thumped once against the bed quite hard.

Talia pulled away from Mary in alarm. “Mary! What’s gotten into you?”

Mary took a deep breath. “That… is a good question.” Mary went over her thoughts. Then realized the issue, “You were questioning me about how I handled my hoard. I really didn’t like that.”

Talia pursed her lips. Mary might need to swap out that TF if this continues. Talia was about to tell Mary as such, but realized she couldn’t, or she’d break Cassandra’s rule. Damnit, with Sam captured, we really can’t afford to lose Mary as a dragon either. In that case, damage control. “Okay, I’m sorry, Mary. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just curious. I wasn’t judging you or challenging your authority to do something with your hoard.” Talia noticed Mary begin to relax as she took deep breaths. Talia continued, “Would you humor me with an answer to my question?”

Mary nodded as she continued to take some calming breaths. Eventually, she said, “First, Talia, I’m not just going to target you with permanent transformations just because I need to spend BP. I know full well that you’d probably like it if I did, but it’s too much to saddle on one person. Second, Freya had a good point about her TFs. Third, Allie and Isa have to share their BP for upgrades. I just want to give her something to help with the fact that TFs that should be rather nice for her, aren’t really suited for her.”

Talia seemed to doubt that was Mary’s complete reasoning, but left it be. She did ask, “So, not cool if we give her a temporary TF I think she would like, but it’s fine to give her a permanent upgrade because you say so?”

Mary didn’t meet Talia’s gaze. “Isa made it rather clear she didn’t want that one. Upgrades, on the other hand, have been positive overall. So not the same thing. Also, I think we both know if she got that temporarily, Cassandra would put it up for a vote to make it permanent.”

Talia conceded that with a nod. “Which one do you think she’ll pick then? If she refuses to pick, I think you should pick Gifts From Grandma.”

Mary received two notifications back-to-back. Mary looked at them, saying, “It’s a moot point. She bought one, and that is the one she bought anyway.” The first notification was from the BP store letting Mary know of the upgrade. The second notification was from Freya.

Freya: Isabella bought an upgrade. She’s not particularly thrilled about it vocally, but her wagging tail is betraying how she truly feels.

Mary then went and examined the upgrade.

Gifts From Grandma: Occasionally, Isabella will receive a gift from Grandma Cass. This can be as simple as a small chunk of BP or as big as a minor positive TF, depending on how much Cass currently likes Isabella. [Little Red Riding Hood]

Upgrade: Isabella will receive gifts more frequently, but depending on her relationship with Grandma Cass, some of those gifts might end up being subtle jabs of displeasure.

Talia glanced at the screen as well and commented, “That’s a pretty good upgrade. Still disappointed you didn’t upgrade one of mine.”

“Don’t be too much,” Mary replied as she pulled Talia into a hug. “I’m currently saving my boosts for the last day of the challenge to help the team. Currently, I’m thinking of using three of them on you, maybe all four actually. We’ll see, though.”

Talia’s eyes went wide in surprise, and she took in a quick, sharp breath from sudden arousal. “Really? Why me?”

“Because you’re our team’s ace. Laura is great, but you are an utter menace. I was going to boost your boon three times.”

Talia frowned, “Wait, but my plan for Astrid requires you to boost your own TF. If you do that, then you’ll have to wait.”

Mary said, “I can already tell you that I can’t use them like that right now. I think it’s because of the split bodies, and Mark has used some of his boosts. We could do it first thing next round if we wanted, but not before the end of this one.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s fine. Now, where were we before Freya interrupted us?” Talia thought back and then grabbed the tablet, bringing down a screen at the foot of the bed. “Right movie and cuddles. I’ve heard good things about this one.”

Mary asked, “What movie?”

“It’s a romance called About Time. It involves a guy with personal time travel capabilities trying to woo a girl.”

Mary gave Talia a nod of acknowledgement as she pulled Talia in close under the covers and wrapped her tail around Talia’s legs. The two watched and cuddled, though Mary didn’t make it through the whole movie, falling asleep with her head resting atop Talia’s.

(Author's Note: End of day Standings)