Reunion

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“How did you know we were coming?” Ariin asked her younger sister, all five of the siblings walking alongside each other, leading the group back to Sarvas.

Sti’el opened her mouth to reply, but Diex beat her to it, causing the leopard-patterned cat-girl to flick an ear in annoyance, “We’ve been coming out here every day for the past…” she paused, counting on her fingers. “Sixteen days?” Ariin raised an eyebrow and shot her brother a significant look, one he returned. They’d left R’sath sixteen days before. “Which, to be fair, she got it right eventually,” Diex continued, “But she was _insistent _every time that ‘today was the day.’”

Mahlith rolled her eyes, scratching at the base of one of her horns. “Let’s be honest, she was right not only that they were coming, but that _Ahsch _was alive.” At that reminder, all three of the hrafthi’s younger sisters paused and looked at him.

“How… did you survive?” Sti’el asked, her voice timorous. “The letter we got said you were dead… died in a fall…”

Ahsch opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Your sisters and our parents will all want to hear it too,” he said, voice already heavy with weariness as he considered his options. “Since I don’t want to repeat myself a hundred times, let’s wait until we’re all together, eh?” There was a chorus of grumbling, but the three eventually agreed.

Then Diex looked over her shoulder before turning to her brother with a mischievous smirk. “You have a lot of ladies in your group,” she remarked with suspicious innocence.

Ahsch looked over his shoulder as well. With Kirasiel, Aena, Rwnil, Ivrine, Xitia, Felori, and Stisea all in the group, Ahsch and Dorin were outnumbered nine-to-one once Ariin and Mahat were considered. Though the hrafthi wondered how long that would remain true, given a certain conversation he’d had with his servant not terribly long before. “The population skews towards ladies,” he eventually replied to his sister, impressed at how neutral he managed to keep his voice.

Diex raised an eyebrow and kept quite, and it was Mahlith who stepped closer, leaning in from behind to softly ask, “What’s that rich bitch you saved doing here?”

Ahsch flinched. “It’s… complicated, but Kirasiel isn’t a bad person…”

All three of his sisters gave him doubtful looks. Eager to head off any further probing questions (most of which he knew he’d have to answer eventually), he instead asked after the village. A knowing look from Mahlith let him know that his trick was noticed, but he succeeded in changing the topic of conversation for the rest of the walk home.

Much like on the road, Ahsch was all but mobbed when they arrived at their destination. Dahil and Noeh claimed the first bone-creaking, **** hug, but he was quickly swarmed by the other mothers and his sisters. By the time he managed to win free, he was sweaty from all the shared body heat.

After that came the barrage of questions. A barrage that Ahsch managed to halt when he reminded his family that he and his group had been traveling for days and were rather road-weary and hungry, and perhaps the discussion could wait until after dinner? A suggestion that was met with agreement - especially _eager _agreement from the younger sisters of the family. Ahsch felt some slight guilt that he and his ten traveling companions would be eating homemade cooking while the two dozen members of Ivrine’s herd would have to make do with their own supplies, but when he said as much the the herd queen, she reassured him that the herd was quite self-sufficient in that regard, and generally proud of it.

It was only after the large meal and ushering of the youngest twins, Sola and Luna, to bed, that they all sat down and the weight of his family’s eyes came to rest on Ahsch. Rather than shrink away like he wanted to, the hrafthi, the Dominant Mage, the godling sat up straight. Taking a deep breath, he met each of their gazes in turn, before speaking. “Before I begin… I need you all to swear a binding oath to not repeat what’s discussed to anyone outside this room, under any and all circumstances, unless keeping the secrets I’m about to share would bring far more harm than good.”

His sisters and parents shared confused glances, but eventually they all agreed. Closing his eyes, Ahsch took another deep breath. As he exhaled, he opened them to reveal that they were glowing with Mana and… something else. “Then give your oaths.”

The weight of his words startled his family, but he **** himself to remain stoic until they had all given their word, and Ahsch finally sagged in his seat, the glow in his eyes vanishing. Taking another deep breath, Ahsch began. “The letter you received wasn’t wrong. I did die. But it… it wasn’t the first time…”

Ahsch had considered giving his family an edited version of events. Of maintaining some of the secrets. But guilt and a simple _distaste _for lies and secrets and scheming made him start from the beginning and carry his story through to the end.

His family listened in shocked silence.

A silence that was maintained for several long minutes after Ahsch finally stopped speaking, gazing listlessly at the middle of the table. His attention jerked when his mother stood, swiftly rounded the table, and hugged him strongly. “We love you, my son,” she murmured.

His father stood after another second and joined Dahil in embracing their son. “No matter what, you are our family.”

His sisters all began to speak up as well, agreeing quite strongly, though some jokingly complained about him keeping the biggest secret of their lives from them and how bad of a brother that made him.

When his parents finally ended their hug, Dahil crossed her arms, a conflicted expression writ across her face as she gazed between her son and daughter, before she finally sighed. “With that ‘Boon’ of yours, I suppose I can’t rightly complain about you two having children together,” she said. Then she frowned thoughtfully at Ahsch. “Speaking of, that technically makes you my grandson, doesn’t it?”

“Not… really?” he said tentatively, the fingers of one hand worrying at a feather in his hair. “This body is essentially a clone of the one you birthed, with some… minor alterations. And the soul, the mind that’s attached… it’s still me. So… no, not really. You’re still my mom, even if this body wasn’t the one you… uh…” he flushed bright red. “Made,” he weakly finished.

The adults laughed, and his sisters were split pretty evenly between complaining about the thought of their parents fucking and laughing right alongside the older members of the family.