Reunion and Revelation, pt 1

You step into Ailis's house behind Brighid and close the door. Turning back around, you see Ailis seated in front of a table with a book open in front of her and a mug of something at her side. You settle down onto the pile of cushions which Brighid gathered beside her and rest your hand at the small of her back, just above where her elven torso and equine body meet, under her shirt. You start the conversation with small talk, saying, “Good afternoon, Ailis. Catching up on some reading?"

The corner of Ailis's mouth twitches up in slight smile and she responds lightly, "I am forever catching up on my reading; there is always more to know. Thank you both for coming; there are two very important things I needed to talk to you about." Her voice turns more serious and she addresses you directly, "The first, and of more immediate concern is to check on your health. After you collapsed during the inquiry last night, I used an Ability of mine to assess your condition and then a spell to calm you. Aidan, however you were able to return to life, it healed the Wounds of your body, but not the ones of your mind. I don't know how much you know about Psyche..." You shake your head and shrug at her, and she nods and continues, "That's not uncommon since it isn't an Attribute which can be viewed without some special access like my Ability. Psyche is essentially the mental and emotional equivalent of Health; it is the amount of mental pain and anguish you can go through without going insane. You were very, very close to empty last night, Aidan." Brighid whimpers very quietly and you slide your hand around from her back to her opposite side and pull her close to you in a one-armed hug.

Ailis takes notice of the interaction, but does not comment on it. Instead, she continues, "Fortunately I have a Beast Magic spell which calms the minds of animals and dissociates their emotions from their memories for a time, which is useful for helping animals which have been mistreated. It is also useful for allowing the interrogation of traumatized men. Unfortunately, I do not have any way to directly heal those Wounds. I can work with you to help you manage and eventually overcome the trauma, but your Psyche may have been permanently damaged."

You give her a steady look and say, "That is not pleasant to hear, but if you can help I will listen."

Ailis nods and asks, "May I have your permission to use my Ability on you again? Last night was something of an emergency; you were not responsive and I needed to assess what was wrong then and there." At your nod, she reaches across the table and places a hand on your forehead. She concentrates for a moment, then makes a surprised sound and pulls her hand back. "Hmmmm! Your Psyche has recovered immensely since last night. There is still a Wound present, but it is only of Moderate severity and you are overall much less fragile than you were." She eyes you curiously, looking between you and Brighid and then down to your arm around Brighid's waist. "I would expect some level of natural healing, especially as the circumstances behind the trauma are still fresh, but not to this degree. Something happened last night after the Council meeting which smoothed out the harsh edges of your memory and allowed you to move past it. Do you know what that might be?" She hurries to add, "You do not need to tell me if you do not want to. I am asking out of professional curiosity."

You and Brighid look at each other, communicating silently, then the redhead turns back to face her mother, head held high and with an edge of defiance to her voice, "I teased him all day yesterday leading up to the Council meeting, and when I got him home afterwards we made love."

Ailis's face is unreadable as she looks back and forth between you and her daughter. "Very well. I cannot say that I expected that, or that I entirely approve. No, settle down," She says as Brighid opens her mouth to retort, "I did not say that I disapprove, and it is none of my business whether two members of the tribe become lovers or not. Clearly last night was of great benefit to Aidan, and you look happy as well." Her eyes shift back to you and she says, "Just have a care. Break my daughter's heart and you may wish we exiled you as Anwn wanted."

This time it is your turn to quell Brighid's reaction, by hugging her more tightly to you and quickly responding, "You may rest assured; Brighid means the world to me. I would sooner cut off my own arms than hurt her. While our relationship has undeniably grown very quickly, we have talked a great deal and discussed what we expect of each other." You kiss Brighid tenderly and she kisses you back. Then you slip your hand from her waist down under the front tail of her shirt and up onto her belly, where you begin to lightly brush your fingertips in slow, random spirals across Brighid's bare skin. The table is high enough that Ailis can't see exactly what you're doing, but there's no hiding that you moved your arm, or the slight blush across her daughter's face.

Ailis's eyes shift to Brighid and she grins mischievously. "And how was your first time with a male? Did he satisfy you?" You are surprised at the question; you know the Starchasers are much more open and free about sex, but damn, right in front of you?!

Brighid smiles broadly and places her hand on your upper thigh under the table. "Oh, yes. He satisfied me very thoroughly. Three times, in fact, and once before he even mounted me."

"Indeed?" Ailis arches one eyebrow and looks at you speculatively.

"Oh, yes!" Brighid continues enthusiastically. "He teased me until I could not stand it any more and just as I thought my mind would break from the need for release he pushed me over the edge in exactly the right way. Then he made me lift my tail for him and..." She moans at the memory. Her hand under the table moves up and begins to caress your dick through the material of your pants.

Brighid continues with a saucy smile directed at her mother, "So yes, Mother, I am very, very satisfied. And, once we are finished with today's errands, I plan to take Aidan back home and handle any ... satisfaction issues which may have," She rubs your hard cock firmly from the base all the way to the tip, "popped up during the day."

"Well," Ailis says; is that a blush of arousal you're seeing on her cheeks and the sides of her elegant neck, or one of embarrassment? "I will not keep you too much longer, then. I do have one more matter I wanted to speak to you both about, though. Brighid, when you returned from the city, you and I had an argument and you appealed to the Council my decision. First, I must apologize to you: even then I was manipulating you.” Brighid stills against you at that admission and you can practically feel the anger pouring off of her. “I know that makes you upset, and it should. I have been … made to realize that I have become so focused on how I must act in the Council in order to guide the tribe to what I feel are its best interests, that I have been treating everything else in the same way. I am sorry for that. Both of you have been my victims when you did not need to be. Aidan, knowing what I do now, you would have willingly gone to Bannagh Macht and scouted it for us without any **** on my or the rest of the Council’s part. What happened as a result is because of the Council, and the Council voted the way it did in no small part because of me.”

Ailis looks you right in the eyes, sincerity shining in the depths of irises the color of a cloudless winter sky. "I will come right out and say this: I, Ailis Silverhair, acknowledge a debt owed to Aidan Lostlorn for my actions which resulted in his **** and continued emotional trauma."