No, just amused

"It is a good thing you did not send for Fionn or one of the others who does not know you quite as well as I do." Ailis continues, shutting the door behind her.

Your first instinct is to scramble for your clothes or try to cover up, and clearly Brighid's is as well since she brings her arms down across her breasts and starts to roll back off of her side. Then your mind makes a mental connection and you stand up, facing Ailis with your hands on your hips, and say to her, "I do not recall asking Cai to fetch you here; I had intended to visit you in your own home. In fact, now that I consider it, it hasn't been long enough for her to have made it to your home and back. You were on your way here already, weren't you?"

She arches one pale eyebrow above her ice-blue eyes, but her mouth quirks up in a smile. "Yes, in fact, I was. Very good, Aidan."

"And you didn't exactly announce yourself when you knocked; you let me assume it was Cai or Llwyd at the door. You wanted to catch us exposed like this." Then another thought occurs to you and you smirk at her. "What would you have done if I had been busy with Brighid? Would you just have watched ... or would you have joined us in our bed?" Ailis's eyes widen just the tiniest fraction and her cheeks take on the slightest hint of red; if you weren't watching closely, you wouldn't have noticed. Before she can reply, you press onward. "You would have, wouldn't you? Well, don't let me stop you now, come join us." You challenge her and kneel back down on the bed, making sure not to obscure the sight of your manhood, and to leave plenty of room for Ailis to join you. Brighid follows your lead and kneels down on your left, her heavy breasts bared to her mother's eyes. Her head is held high, proudly displaying the collar wrapped snugly around her neck.

Ailis hesitates for a moment, clearly completely blindsided the way you seized the initiative of the conversation. She was trying to put you on the defensive by catching you in a vulnerable state, but you managed to turn it completely around on her. Her eyes search your face, then they flick down to your groin and across her daughter's breasts before returning to yours. Then, taking you by surprise, her hands reach for her laces and she swiftly undoes them and pulls her shirt off, placing it carefully on Brighid's table. You have seen her naked before, but you still take a moment to appreciate her pale beauty as she walks towards you. She kneels down on the bed in front of you; Brighid's bed is large by Earth standards, but not large enough for two centaurs and a human to share it without being packed very closely together. Brighid, of course, is snuggled right up against you, but Ailis is forced to sit with her small, pale breasts only maybe half a meter from your face. If you wanted, you could bend over and suck on her pale pink nipples without even moving from your knees.

You consider pushing the envelope further, but decide that you don't want to risk going too hard and making her uncomfortable or, worse, angry. "Thank you for meeting me, Ailis. There are several things I need to talk to you about and I'm sure you have questions for me as well. In fact, I'm sure the entire Council does, which is one of my reasons for asking to talk to you." You decide that a little pushing is okay, and you reach out and take one of her hands, raising it to your lips so that you can brush her knuckles with a kiss. "And, of course, it is always nice to see more of the mother of my beloved." Brighid stifles a laugh, and Ailis shakes her head bemusedly at you, but you notice that her nipples start to crinkle and harden as you continue to lightly hold her hand. You rub your thumb across the back of her hand as you continue, "In light of the events at Bannagh Macht, we need to discuss the future. I really had hoped to just be a very unique Starchaser and live my life out here with Brighid, but clearly that will not be possible now. My first question for you is: do Brighid and I need to prepare to leave? I realize that I have, inadvertently and not entirely of my own will, placed the entire tribe in danger. If it would be best for the tribe's safety, I would be willing to--" But already Ailis is shaking her head and squeezing your hand.

"No, Aidan, that would in fact be the worst thing you could do for us, I believe. You are quite correct that your display of power and the coming of the new Age -- I assume that is what you were referring to?" At your nod, she continues, "You are correct that they place us all in danger, but that danger will be the same whether you are here or not. Your absence will not prevent someone who hears of the events of Bannagh Macht from seeking us out, and if they mean violence then your absence would not spare us that, either. No, if you wish to leave to extend the time it takes for someone to track you down, that is one thing, and our own laws prevent us from interfering if that is your choice. But if your true desire is to help your tribe, then the best thing you can do is to stay with us, grow strong, and defend us when the consequences of your actions come home to roost." You wince at her blunt words, but given that she is sitting naked on your bed and still holding your hand with hers, you don't take it too personally.

"You are right, of course," you concede to her. "And I had come to much the same conclusion, but I value your judgment in matters relating to the good of the tribe. I am glad that we are in agreement about that." You squeeze her hand back and resume stroking with your thumb. You note with satisfaction that her nipples have hardened completely despite the serious nature of the conversation; it must have been quite some time since Ailis has been flirted with like this. Brighid must have noted the same thing, or else felt left out, because you feel her hand stroke down your back and onto your tail, out of her mother's sight. She runs her fingers lightly along the ridge of one of the flanges at the tip of your tail and you suppress a shiver. Her head comes to rest against your shoulder as she starts stroking your tail tip back and forth; Ailis's eyes dip downwards quickly as your cock begins to harden in response to her daughter's caresses.

You do your best to focus and ignore the rising sexual tension in the room, because you really did want to talk to Ailis about several important matters. "Now that it's settled that I will be staying, my next concern is that everyone who went with me into the city is cared for. We all suffered at the hands of the Tannath Taig and its minions, and though the ritual I used to defeat it was able to repair all of the physical damage, it appears that healing emotional trauma is tricky even with the power of a deity being channeled through you. Brighid and I were just handling some of the aftermath of her reactions to what happened, and I know from speaking with Ceirios that she is still troubled by it as well. I intend to speak to Cai and Llwyd as well, as they were both badly affected in different ways too. I was able to do a lot for Brighid," Your lover kisses your shoulder and nuzzles against your neck in response. "But I can't help the others in the same way. I don't know that you can, either, but you are at least able to monitor the state of their Psyches, and I would be very appreciative if you could help them however you can. I don't know if Ysbail or Maeryn need the help, but you might check on them as well."

Ailis nods and says, "It reflects well on you that your first concerns are to your tribe and then to those who were harmed under your command. You are a good man, Aidan." She shifts her weight and leans just a centimeter or two closer to you. "I will of course help them any way I can. You already know that I have no magic which can erase the hurt from their minds, but they will not be the first Starchasers I have helped heal in this way. You do know, however, that I will need to know the complete truth of what happened there, correct? Your team has been remarkably tight-lipped about it; even my own daughter," And she lifts her free hand to softly stroke Brighid's cheek as she continues, "would only say that your secrets are yours and that she would not betray them to me."

You nod and reply, "Yes, I do realize that. As long as whatever is discussed with you is held in confidence, I have no problem with them talking to you about anything which happened at Bannagh Macht or afterwards. In fact, I am going to insist that Brighid talk with you as well." You feel her stir against you, but you wrap your free arm around her waist, completing the triangle of touching, and hug her more tightly to you. "I know we have already dealt with the big issues, beloved, but it will help you to talk with someone who wasn't quite as directly involved. It will also be a good bonding experience for both of you, I think." Tears come to Ailis's eyes at that and she shoots you a look of undisguised gratitude. You smile at her in return and bring her hand to your lips for another kiss. Brighid stills against you and kisses your neck by way of acquiescence, but her fingers on your tail become a little firmer, more demanding.

"The third thing I wished to discuss with you," You tell Ailis, "is a Quest the gargoyles gave me shortly after I returned. The deal they presented to me seemed a little too good to be true. Where I come from, there's a saying that goes, 'If you think it's too good to be true, it probably is', and I wanted to get your opinion of the Quest and the Sapphire Sky before I accept or reject it." At her nod, you quickly outline the limits of the Quest, without detailing why the gargoyles want you to research for them, and the gargoyles' offer of assistance for simply accepting.

Ailis listen intently to your explanation, then chews on her lip for a while as she thinks. Finally her eyes focus on you again and she says, "I admit that I know less of the Sapphire Sky Horde than I would like, but I have never heard of them attacking unprovoked; in fact, the ones who fought with us at Bannagh Macht are the only time I have heard of them fighting in my lifetime. They generally keep to themselves. If they have offered you their help in return for just agreeing to help them in the future, it must be something they dearly, dearly want. I cannot tell you what the end result will be, but I believe that as long as you do what you agree to do, they will keep their end of the bargain. Speaking only for myself, if you do choose to accept, I would very much like to hear any knowledge they share with you." Her voice drops to a slightly more sultry tone at the last.

"Oh?" You say, willing to play her game for now. "And just what would you be willing to give me in return for such knowledge?" Daringly, you allow her hand to fall from your grasp and reach out to touch her just below her waist, where the smooth skin of her Elven torso meets the fur of her equine body.

Her nostrils flare and she leans a tiny bit closer to you, eyes fixed on yours. "That would depend on just how rare and valuable the knowledge is, of course." Her cheeks are fully flushed now and she wets her lips subconsciously.

"That doesn't seem very fair to me," you tell her. "I tell you a secret and only after I have irrevocably given it away do you tell me what you will give for it? Does that sound fair to you, Brighid?"

The Paladin raises her head off your shoulder to look at her mother and shakes her head. "No, that sounds like a very poor deal indeed, Master. You should make her pay up front; once you have told her the secret, it no longer has any value, and I do not believe the gargoyles would waste your time or theirs with banal secrets."

You nod and hug her to you again. "Yes, that was my thought as well. What do you think I should ask for in payment, though?"

"Mother was the one who brought us together, in a way, so I think you should give her the first for a kiss. After that, though, the price should go up. If she wants more secrets, she will need to offer more in trade."

As you and Brighid casually discuss the terms of the deal, the red in Ailis's cheeks gradually begins to spread down onto her neck, shoulders, and the upper slopes of her perky breasts. You caress her side right along the edge where fur and bare skin meet with soft, slow strokes, and say to Ailis, "Well, you heard your daughter. I do believe I will accept the Quest, and I would be happy to sell you any knowledge they do not forbid me from sharing -- for the appropriate price, paid ahead of time."

Ailis's eyes are starting to burn with lust and she wets her lips again. She leans forward and says, "Then let us call this the payment for the first secret," just before her soft lips press against yours. A moment later, she crushes her hard nipples and soft breasts against your chest as she commits fully to the kiss. Her tongue slides out from her mouth to trace across your lips. You part your lips in response to her unspoken request and she slides her tongue inside, exploring your mouth for a moment and then retreating when you engage her with your own tongue. You chase her tongue into her mouth, sliding your hand up from her waist to slip between your body and hers and cup her left breast in your hand. She moans into the kiss and sucks on your tongue, and you can smell the syrupy scent of her arousal beginning to fill the air as you rub your thumb across and around her nipple. Then it's your turn to moan as Ailis reaches down to your hip and then slides her hand across and onto your dick. She is tentative as she explores your manhood with her hand; it must be awkward and thus unusual for centaurs to give handjobs or blowjobs, given their anatomy. Still, though, her small, soft hand feels heavenly on your sensitive skin and you start to pant into her mouth as the pleasure mounts inside you.

Just as the summit of your pleasure is within sight, Ailis stops stroking you. You groan in complaint into her mouth, but she slowly withdraws from the kiss as well. Her voice is throaty and her own breath comes in short, breathy pants as she tells you, "I think that is more than sufficient payment for one secret. I must not over-pay at the start, after all; I have to preserve something for subsequent payments"

You lean forward and press a rough, demanding kiss onto her, then back off right after she starts to respond and tell her with a growl, "I'll hold you to that. The price for the second secret will be to finish what you started here today." She moans and her blush deepens, but she leans back away from you and you let your hand fall from its place on her perky breast.

Congratulations! You have reached levels 2 through 5 in Persuasion; you are now a Novice in Persuasion. People are 10% more likely to agree to your reasonable requests without asking for anything in return.
Congratulations! You have reached levels 2 through 5 in Seduction; you are now a Novice in Seduction. When you propose a deal to or make a request of someone who is currently aroused by you, they will be 20% more likely to agree and 10% less likely to renege after their arousal fades.
You have earned 100 experience for reaching Novice rank in two Skills.

"I look forward to future negotiations, then." Ailis says, her eyes slightly hooded. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss with me?"