Claim of the Dragon

“So, what’s your big idea you’ve got cooking?” Beth asked the instant all of them were comfortable in the meeting room after Verida and Teri’s return from the goblin village.

“You could let them start with how things went with the elders,” Vivian chided.

“They came back in one piece, so I think that means things went well,” Senka chimed in before smirking at the returning pair. “How close am I to the bull's eye?”

“Rather close,” Verida answered. “Tjkon was the only one to receive us and he was quite pleasant actually. Took today’s events well, didn’t blame me for not preventing it and was happy that in the end I was able to banish Fortuna.”

“Which has me worried that political shit’s about to hit the fan,” Teri grumbled. “Vrexty’s not going to be happy with Tjkon going over his head like that.”

“Aren’t the elders supposed to be on equal footing?” Brenda asked. “That’s the impression I got when you laid everything out.”

“They’re supposed to be,” Teri said with a shake of her head. “Vrexty’s used his past glories from protecting the clan in his youth to more or less browbeat the others. Even before we got attacked, he took the lead more times than not.”

“Getting back to a degree of normalcy might be giving the other two the sure footing they need to rein in this Vrexty’s attitude,” Estelle chimed in.

“Yeah, they have been pushing back against his ideas even before we met,” Teri sighed. “I’m getting a headache just thinking about it on a surface level.”

“Then we should probably move onto something less controversial than politics,” Aeolia interjected, looking over to Verida.

‘Not exactly going to get her wish there,’ Senka tittered.

John glanced at Verida and saw her expression set to one of grim determination. Whatever she was going to say, she was ready to lay it bare.

‘I just hope this doesn’t blow up,’ he thought as his eyes caught his mother’s. She didn’t look concerned that things were going to head down a messy path and he placed his hopes in her intuition. If the most mundane person in this whole group was for this plan, even if they only knew the vaguest idea of how it was to go down, then the others should be up for it, right?

“Suppose that’s my cue to start,” Verida said, offering Aeolia a contrite smile. “But I, um, can’t say that my idea isn’t going to be a bit controversial."

Aeolia let out a clearly exaggerated groan. “Okay, lay it on us.”

Aeolia’s antics managed to elicit a laugh from the goddess and she relaxed slightly.

“I suppose the place to start is with a confession,” Verida said, looking over the group before her gaze landed on Kiera. “I got a bit more than vague impressions of what happened yesterday at Estelle’s lab. I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront with that.”

Kiera’s face turned red but she managed to squeak out, “I, I figured you knew more than you were letting on. Y-you didn’t seem surprised by Anita afterwards. A-and I get why you didn’t bring it up. T-thank you for being considerate.”

“Yeah, we can’t really blame you for trying to spare us the embarrassment after everything that happened,” Vivian said, her cheeks tinged pink. “We’re all mature adults here. More or less.”

“Oh no, I’ve been hit by friendly fire,” Beth joked, a wide grin on her face.

“Case in point. Thank you for your promptness, Beth,” Vivian said.

Verida took a breath, clearly buoyed by the lack of rebuke, and carried on. “I felt I needed to be clear about that because the idea I have to better ensure everyone of you is protected from people like Fortuna is to mark you as mine.”

While she started her pitch strong, by the last words, she had grown quieter and her posture shifted, curling in slightly on herself as if in fear.

“By ‘mine’ you aren’t talking about something akin to the power that welled up in us right before you first showed yourself, are you?” Vivian asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

“Yes,” Verida answered in a small voice. “I am more than a goddess, I am a dragon. Dragons are very protective of what they lay claim to. The combination of my two natures should allow me to leave an indelible mark on you that will offer protection from divine beings.”

“Wait, so like a magical hickey?” Beth bluntly asked, which caused the tension in the room to break slightly as Kiera let out a squeak as the thought crossed her mind.

“What’s a hickey?” Anita asked.

“I think we can talk about that later, dear,” Brenda spoke up calmly. “Verida’s trying to explain this to us and doesn’t need us going off topic.”

“Going by your hesitation and nerves, I’m thinking this won’t be some ‘peck on the cheek’ kind of thing, right?” Estelle asked. “It needs to be something deeper.”

“Yes, it will need to be far more intimate,” Verida confessed, her pale face growing redder by the second, all of her confidence drained.

John wanted to say something to aid her, but any angle he had thought about employing just left him feeling like he was in support of this plan solely to add another woman to their collective relationship. Even Senka, with her open acceptance of the idea of more people joining them, rankled under that perception.

Thankfully, Vivian was quick to get on top of things before they spiraled into something unsalvageable.

“Verida,” the redhead said calmly in a soft voice. “We’re not dismissing your idea right off the bat, but I think we need to actually talk about what you’re offering.”

“Y-yes, of course,” Verida shakily said. “I’ll just go down the hall.”

The goddess beat a quick exit, lacking in her usual grace and Vivian sighed.

“Why are our lives so complicated?” she bemoaned.

“What’s complicated about it?” Anita innocently asked. “It’s just like yesterday, without the magic, right? That worked out well.”

“There is a bit of difference between getting a little push from some magic and trading sex for some powerup,” Aeolia answered before looking over to John. “How much of this did you know?”

“Just the general idea, nothing more than what she told you,” he replied.

“Is there some big cultural thing I’m missing here?” Brenda asked. “I understand that adding another partner can be a messy affair, but it feels like there’s something more going on.”

“Not so much culture but,” Vivian spoke before pausing to choose her words, “this is a big commitment. And maybe it’s already a bit late for those of us that had a hand in bringing about Verida’s manifestation, but openly having the mark of a god could invite forces we have no way of matching, utterly invalidating what Verida intends for this to be.”

“I can understand your concerns, Vivian,” Estelle chimed in. “And maybe I’m speaking out of order, seeing how it’s only day two for me, but is that such a concern? Most gods nowadays aren’t really that active. Something about a non-aggression pact to prevent wiping out too many people.”

“Didn’t stop Fortuna from messing with us,” Teri spoke up. “Or Gaia from interacting with John’s powers. Gods may not want to cull their source of power, but they aren’t above playing with us. And maybe having an extra layer of protection isn’t such a bad thing.”

“I think we’re spinning our wheels here avoiding the real question,” Beth added. “Do we want to fuck Verida?”

“You didn’t have to put it so bluntly, but I think that is the real thing we should answer,” Senka said. “Whether or not her added mark on us would protect or attract divine danger is something we can’t predict, but I’m of the opinion that she wouldn’t offer to do this if she didn’t think it would be to our benefit. She’s been too nervous about presenting this option for there to be any ulterior motive.”

“And she’s completely terrified about ruining her friendship with everyone,” Brenda added. “Almost makes you forget she’s a goddess.”

“I’m not entertaining the idea that Verida has some ulterior motive,” Vivian defended her position. “I’m just saying we can’t really just add every woman we meet to our relationship.”

“Have we added Nephele? Or tried to woo Rowan from the Order to join us in our debauchery? Or any of the pretty women we met yesterday at the mall?” Senka asked. “I’m all for increasing the amount of love and affection we all get to have, but it’s rather meaningless if it's just for the sex.”

“How romantic of you,” Aeolia quipped before she shook her head. “Can’t say I’m against her joining. I mean, how many people can say they’ve got a goddess as a girlfriend? It’s not like we aren’t already deeply involved with each other. What’s one more step?”

Vivian seemed ready to issue a counterargument when Kiera spoke up, “I, um, I know I’m not an expert on th-these sorts of things, but s-sometimes I get the feeling she’s lonely.”

“I get that sometimes too,” Teri added in a sad tone. “She hides it well but it’s there.”

“Way to make me feel guilty about trying to play devil’s advocate,” Vivian muttered, her head lowered.

“You’re trying to make sure we don’t jump into something half cocked and make a mess of things down the road,” John said, hoping to soothe away her shame. “That’s not a bad role to take.”

“You’ve been pretty quiet, John,” Estelle pointed out, curiosity burning in her eyes. “What’s your opinion on this?”

“Well, I can’t say I’m not open to the idea, even if it makes me sound like some sleazy hentai protagonist,” he answered. “I imagine if I was the lone single person in a group of people all involved with each other, I’d feel pretty bummed out.”

“Let those of us who haven’t thought Verida was hot cast the first stone,” Senka said in a dead serious tone before letting out a laugh. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. But let’s be honest here, none of us are puritans or prudes. We aren’t going to dog pile you for that.”

“Yeah, did you not hear my question?” Beth added with a shit eating grin. “If we’re putting it to a vote, tally me in the ‘yes’ area. Verida’s hot, nice and a badass dragon god. What’s not to love about that?”

“At least you put ‘nice’ on that list,” Vivian sighed.

“I’m not like those bimbos from school,” Beth scoffed as she turned away from the redhead.

“I know you aren’t, but…” Vivian began to walk back her remark when Beth turned back to her, her tongue sticking out in a rude way. “You’re messing with me.”

“Duh,” Beth said. “You’re talking things a bit too seriously. Do you think Verida will somehow hurt us if she’s sleeping with us?”

“No, of course not,” Vivian protested. “But I don’t just want to go around, scooping up people.”

“A position I believe we’ve already addressed,” Brenda pointed out. “The final question is, dear, do you, or anyone else, have a compelling reason to deny Verida’s desires?”

“I’d say the size of this group would be one, but after adding five people in one shot with no issues so far, I don’t think that’s a big concern,” Aeolia said. “We’re all capable of being adults and talking out our issues, just like this.”

John looked at Vivian. The redhead was chewing her lip in thought and he wondered how hard the two options were warring in her mind.

‘Given how she hasn’t just put her foot down and said “no”, whatever argument she can come up with isn’t enough to counter the “yes” one,’ he thought. ‘I get why she’s hesitant about this, but the good outweighs the bad.’

“Are you hesitating because you have a real issue, or because it's the responsible thing to try and be the voice of restraint?” Senka pointedly asked.

“Is it a bad thing for it to be the latter?” Vivian asked after a long moment of silence. “I don’t want to be the stick in the mud, but if someone doesn’t consider the negative outcomes of a decision, who knows where we’ll end up.”

“While that’s a prudent way of thinking, dear,” Brenda said in a soft, understanding voice, “trying to live life by thinking about every negative possibility is taking things a bit too far.”

“I know,” Vivian protested loudly. Even she seemed surprised by her volume. “I know,” she repeated softer before sighing. “I think I might be over correcting for the lack of control we’ve had in the last few days.”

“Things have been a bit crazy,” Beth sagely remarked as she rolled one of her new balls in her palm.

“Exactly, and that’s why I’m getting worried,” Vivian said, nervously fidgeting with her hands. “We’re taking steps into greater unknowns and I don’t want to invite any unneeded risks.”

“If you didn’t want risks, you wouldn’t have started up Renox Solutions,” Senka pointed out. “Going off on your own was a great risk.”

“Yeah, and bringing that up makes me feel even more stupid over holding us up,” Vivian muttered, her face flushing deep red.

“Does that mean you’re okay with Verida joining us?” Anita innocently asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine with it,” Vivian answered sincerely. “Everyone’s points countered what fears my paranoia could drum up. I’ll have to think of some way to make it up to Verida for thinking her inclusion would lead to our doom.”

“I’m sure you can kiss and make up in short order,” Senka jibed. “Shall we call her back in and get this party started?”

“Do we even have a place for this?” Brenda asked. “I don’t think the meeting room is a proper location for Verida’s first time.”

“A-actually, there’s a rather well furnished bedroom,” Kiera supplied. “D-did you think Verida was sleeping under the trees?”

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if she needed to sleep,” Brenda answered. “I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

Further conversation on Verida’s godly idiosyncrasies were put on the back burner when the goddess herself returned. She looked nervous, giving John the confirmation that she hadn’t picked up on anything from Kiera.

“So, what’s the verdict?” she asked, looking more like a girl asking her crush out on a date than a goddess with a Kingdom under her protection.

Beth opened her mouth to say something but Vivian stepped forward before she could utter a sound.

“There are probably many ways to say what our decision is,” the redhead said, toying with a bit of her hair. “But I’ve been in my head too much today so I think actions will speak louder than words right now.”

Before Verida or anyone could ask her what she meant, Vivian strode up to the goddess and pulled her into a steamy and deep kiss.