-J.R. Ward

By the time John and Seras returned home, the sun had already set, a fact his semi-nocturnal vampiress was more than happy about. Despite his worries while they were gone, Sophia and Maera seemed to have fared very well during their absence. When John stepped through the front door, he found Maera doing something he'd never even imagined - dutifully scrubbing at the floors, sponge in hand, as Sophia stood above her and supervised. The Harpy woman wasn't only standing idly by, she seemed to be actively inspecting each area Maera passed, while the naked Neko toiled with a proud grin on her face.

She was so absorbed in her task that the initial click of the door opening didn't disturb her, which was what allowed John a brief moment to observe her task. Sophia poured herself over every area that Maera touched, until eventually catching the entry of John's group out of the corner of her eye. When she realized who had arrived, Sophia pulled herself to Maera's side and **** both of them to bow dutifully, shrouding Maera within her wings as they knelt for John's arrival.

"Father, I am glad to see you have returned!"

"Myaster! Wing-lady said you'd be happy if we cleaned, are you proud of me, Myaster?!"

Maera asked her question with such exuberance that all John could do was smile and nod, causing Maera to erupt with glee as she shot between the counters and the table, escaping Sophia's grasp. Her charge undid some of her cleaning work as the kitchen table toppled over when she barged into it while trying to reach John as quickly as possible. John chuckled lightly, catching Maera almost effortlessly while scratching behind her ears.

"How did your travels go, Father?"

"Great, actually. I mean, we didn't have enough cash or 'mana gems' to buy most of the stuff at the market, but now we know more about it. I also managed to talk Kim into forging me a sword, but it's going to require a lot of training. Basically this entire next week, actually… I'm going to be gone quite a bit. Six hours a day is what she requested, and given how determined she sounded, I think she might actually be up for it."

"I will prepare myself for extended combat, Father," Sophia swore, bowing.

"Errr… actually, she kinda demanded we not get involved. We thought she didn' know enough about games, but turns out she knew a big group meant slower levelin'. Master said none of us can come along," Seras noted, sighing. Sophia noticeably bristled at the idea.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone could have come even if she didn't already know. I'm going to be cutting her gains in half as it is, minus completion bonuses, and frankly, if she doesn't improve as much as she wants, she might renege on the deal anyway, regardless of if I technically fulfill my end of the bargain. I'm still new to the Abyss, but all the shit we went through in that war? I'm done getting taken advantage of and having us spend so much time on our back feet, dealing with what everyone else throws at us."

"It's sexy when you take charge, you know that, right?" John fought a lustful blush at Seras' words, wrapping an arm around the vampiress' hip and pulling her tightly to him.

"Anyway… we start tomorrow, so I'm putting you two in charge of Maera. And you can't just make her clean the entire time, so all of you are going to have to think of things to do while I'm gone. Kim wants to do it at the Order's mansion so that it's neutral ground. With travel time and prep, I figure I'll be gone between seven and eight hours. Do you three have anything in particular you want to do?"

"I will train on my own while you are gone, and maintain this dwelling. Is there no way you could produce those barriers for us as well? Your ability to help us grow is incredible, Father, but I am sure that with worthy foes I could improve myself even without your presence."

"Sorry, Barriers fall apart with nobody to maintain them."

"I could 'elp!"

Seras volunteered immediately, grinning brightly. John blinked a few times, glancing over in confusion.

"Help with the training?"

"Y-yeah! I mean, I've never actually done it, but I kinda started learnin' 'ow to make a Barrier… Etriyya was teachin' me a bit, those times you were off dealin' with Moira."

"Oh, so that's what you two were talking about back then. Why did she try to keep it a secret?" John asked. The thought of Etriyya and what she must have thought of him now burned John still, but thinking back to the times he had found Seras dwelling in their shared barracks, John felt satisfaction at finally uncovering what had been kept so secret.

"Um, y-yep! She was just teachin' me about Barriers and stuff. Nothin' else cause we didn't have enough time, y'know! But I never actually made one, so maybe if you let me 'ang out with another teacher over at the ol' manor for a bit, I could get it down?"

"I mean… that might not be too bad, but do you really want to go over there? I won't be around, and you know the Order aren't your biggest fans because of the whole 'undead' thing, as stupid as it is."

"They're not really all tha' bad," Seras replied, shaking her head. "Honestly, they ain't 'alf as bad as Moira 'erself. Most of 'em treated me with a lot of fear, but a bit of respect too while we were stayin' there. When they actually bothered talkin' to me, they were almost friendly."

"Well… if you say so," John said hesitantly. "If you want to go and see if Moira can find someone to teach you, that's fine by me."

"Myaster, teach me too!"

John glanced down at Maera, who had pulled herself away from his chest just long enough to glance furiously into his own eyes. Lowering himself, John gently set the Neko on the floor again and cocked his head questioningly.

"Teach you? You want to learn magic?"

"Myagic? Maera wants to learn how to fight! Myaster always talking about fighting, but Myaster never lets Maera fight! Maera wants to fight good, then she can be with Myaster all the time. Myaster is going to be gone though… so let Maera learn how to fight from the good guys!"

John paused, glancing between the others. While he wasn't going to complain about his creations wanting to get stronger, John did not relish the thought of turning Maera over to the Order and asking Moira to find her a trainer. Firstly, she was a Neko, and John wasn't sure how much a human instructor could even properly teach her. Secondly, Moira had already asked John for Purified warriors… and he had rightfully denied her. If he were to send in Maera and ask her to train them, what would she ask in return? Would she expect the Neko to aid them in war? More terrifyingly, would Maera agree to please her "Myaster"?

"Maera… I really appreciate that. Really, I promise I do. But what you're asking is hard to do. They won't want to train you for free. If they agree at all, they're going to want you to fight for them, to help protect them."

"Order protects Myaster. Myaster protects Maera. Maera protects Order!"

"By Gaia, is this how Moira feels looking after me?"

Looking over Maera felt like watching over the youthful innocent in one of his RPGs, the person too young and inexperienced to make the hard choices… which, he realized now, was probably exactly what he seemed like to Moira and Kim. Maera's earnest belief that because John was good, and he worked for the Order, that the Order must themselves be good was oversimplified beyond belief, but felt wholesome and warming to see.

"The Order are friends, but they're just friends," John said slowly, trying to phrase it as best as he could for the gloriously light-hearted Neko. "Maera choose friends. Okay? No making friends because they're Master's friends."

"Myaster no want Maera friends with Order?"

"N-no, I- Master not per- Master isn't perfect," John emphasized, trying not to simplify his sentences for the still very smart Neko. "Master might be wrong about some friends. Master doesn't want Maera to assume he's right all the time."

"What if Myaster want friend, but Maera want enemy?"

"Then…" John paused, thinking deeply for a moment. "Then Maera and Master will talk. And Master will try to figure out why Maera thinks they should be an enemy. Master trusts Maera."

"Maera trusts Myaster too. So Maera always watch over Myaster. Maera will ask Order, but no friends yet. Maera will make sure they are good to Myaster first. Maera protect Myaster, and one day, Maera protect Myaster's children too. Mithra very quiet, but Mithra love Myaster… almost as much as Maera. Maybe one day Maera protect her own children with Myaster."

Maera gently buried herself in John's shoulder, and all John could do was silently run his fingers through her long, ivory hair. Absently patting away, enjoying the warmth pressed into him through her, John smiled in appreciation of all he had been given. Despite some initial hardships, all of his creations were far closer to him than he probably deserved, and even Lunaya had slowly warmed to him, his promise to her yet pending. John pulled Maera tightly to him as he spoke.

"Maera, I can't promise much, but I'll give you all the same devotion you have given me. After all that you've done, all that you have entrusted me with, I think I…"

John eyed Seras, a bit warily. The vampiress seemed to sense what he was thinking, and her smile never wavered. She nodded enthusiastically, and as she did so, she knelt down to wrap her arms around both John and Maera in one motion. Sophia joined them a few seconds later, visibly confused but clearly happy to be a part of the embrace.

"I love all of you. Whatever this world may do to us, I hope that you remember that. Maera, and all of you, and those who aren't here with us… you're my gift to this world, and this world's gift to me. Thank you for being here. Just… thank you. All of you."

John couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry, so all he did was grip his family tighter as they cuddled around him.