With another little push from Sandra

Sandra gives Lady Emira a hug and says "You're going to be lonely up there in the north. Don't you want to watch a dozen of your own kittens learning to crawl and climb and, one day, to wrap men around their fingers? Why should your husband have all the fun of knocking up your fellow wives?"

Deep in the back of your mind you feel a twitch. You feel for it, trying to figure out what set off your magical senses. Once again you feel that strange trail of power, almost the same as when the high inquisitor tensed up as she was preparing to leave. It's so strange - a kind of magic you're unfamiliar with, yet it doesn't seem to be affecting you. Once again it doesn't seem directly dangerous, but you make another note to yourself. You really must come up with a decent way to determine the power's source and nature.

Lady Emira laughs at Sandra's sales pitch. A good, shoulder rolling, honest laugh. "I will definitely miss you Sandra. I hope Laura is as devious as you claim, otherwise I shall become bored." She turns to you and says, "If you are not too tired to change them for me then I accept." Then she puts her hands on her hips and looks over the captives with an appraising look. "I will need a few hours to think about this."

"Oh?" asks Patrick. "I thought if it was going to be one of each breed then the choices should be pretty easy. You need the big blonde to make a Valkyrie, the short nun is perfect for a Foxfall and the last is a good match for a Snowshoe catgirl."

"Yes, all that is true," says Lady Emira, tapping her chin. "But the breeds are merely the beginning. I need to choose some names, after all. All the captives from your expedition need new names lest someone suspect something. Then there are many other things to consider. I need some paper and ink."

"Take all the time you need," you tell her. "I think it's late enough in the day that Sir Galren isn't going to leave."

"Oh yes, his poor horse," she says, smiling. "I checked on that stallion and found six catgirls happily brushing him down and sneaking him apples. I think with that kind of treatment the horse is going to be moody when he is **** to leave. A little sickness is nothing when he is being cared for like that."

"Especially when he's only 'sick' for the few minutes when Sir Galren comes to visit him," says Sandra. "There again, Sir Galren has six catgirls looking after him, so it's only fair his horse gets the same."

"Quite," replies the lady, though you can tell her mind is working very hard on a different kind of problem.

Some hours later...

You went upstairs to tend to several things. Replenishing some wards, writing replies to a few missives from various nobles, priests and merchants about your catgirls, checking on your wives. But you spend most of the time in the nursery, sitting between Yvonne and Helena as they feed a number of energetic little kittens. Doe's two daughters and Renee's children, born much earlier than most, are bigger and more active. You're wondering when they'll begin taking their first steps - it's sure to happen sooner than for human children, but you have no idea how many months away that day will be.

Eventually you receive another mental ping from Sandra and make your way down to the sanctum to see the results. Lady Emira places a sheet of paper on the table before you and asks "Could you please verify that this is correct?" before excusing herself to get a drink.

Sandra pounces onto the couch next to you and says, "She's been going over our transformation notes and scribbling away furiously all the time you've been gone. She hasn't let Patrick or I see anything."

In Lady Emira's neat handwriting you see not a plan for the three captives, but instead a neat chart detailing the other women she is already sharing with her future husband:

You can feel Sandra's tail batting against you as she quickly absorbs the information. "Oh yeah," she says, "we came up with the breeds later but Nancy and Vania fit Nightfall and Shadow Stalker nicely. Everything else looks good, except I'd say Casmira is maybe a small B in the bust and maybe Nancy is as much horny as shy."

"Yes," says Patrick, "but overall I think it's a good fit."

You agree and when Lady Emira returns you help her fill in some blanks. Flora's waist was always relatively straight as she guessed, but Casmira's waist was slender or possibly even narrow before her pregnancy.

"I am going to need to keep myself in shape," she replies. "Most of my wives are at least as slender as I. Some are even thinner."

"Yeah, but it's not like you need to convince Sir Galren to pick you over them. He gets to have it all and it's all thanks to you. I think after a couple of months he'll be willing to walk over broken glass for you."

Lady Emira smiles. "I hope so. Despite the fact I chose him purely for his position and abilities I must say I have started to develop a fondness for him. He is honest at the right times. He may be... less complicated than some of the men I once fawned over, however I find myself valuing that earnest smile of his, and his willingness to follow words with action, more than I would have a few years ago. My time on the run has changed me."

"Better a good man you can count on?" asks Sandra.

"Simply put, yes." She looks at the chart and makes the few corrections or updates you've mentioned. Then she says, "Thank you, it is always best to start from the correct place. Still, my conclusions are the same." She pulls a second piece of paper out and unfolds it in front of you. Patrick arrives back from feeding the captives just in time to see it and perches on a chair, just as eager a Sandra to see what the lady has been up to.

"If I am welcoming three more women into my family then I wish to be certain that I have missed nothing - that their forms should balance those of my other wives."

In front of you is another chart, this one for the three soon-to-be catgirls carefully selected by Patrick and Sandra.

Lady Emira sits down on another chair and waits until all of you have had the chance to look at the paper. Then she explains, "I was concerned at the number of us who have green eyes, for example. I realize that green eyes are more common among catgirls, but I do want some variety. For myself and my wives as well as for my husband. Oh yes - one other small detail, would it be possible for all of them to gain that same pelvic adjustment you gave to Tanya, Reyonne, Laura, Mercy and myself?"

Sandra laughs. "This is not what I was expecting, but maybe I should have. You're a very peculiar kind of picky, milady."

Patrick snorts, "That means most of the women in your house are going to be swinging their hips like brothel workers." Then he realizes that Lady Emira is included in that group and tries to backpedal.

Lady Emira interrupts him and says, "Terrible, I know, my tastes are so unladylike. I feel it is only fair to my future husband. If he is to be **** to bed myself as well as so many young catgirls then we must ensure that every one of us is doing our part to make his life one worth living."

"Damn," says Patrick. "Are there any more women even half as awesome as you up in the north? Because I'm willing to make a really long trip with that featherwagon."

"You've got three lovely ladies already," says Sandra.

"I can certainly give them the hip sway you like," you tell the Lady. "Does that mean you want to widen Nyerra's hips? Also, since both you and they have this it's very likely any children will also have it."

"Mmm, yes, if you can I would love to see the little nun sporting wider hips. As for the children... could you make it a certainty that they inherit their mother's hips? I would be pleased if every one of their daughters and mine inherited that family trait. I have already found it to be quite enjoyable and I do not wish to deny my daughters such joy."

Looking back at the sheet of paper that started this discussion Patrick notices something else and says, "Wow, you want to stuff quintuplets into the big northerner?"

"Yes," replies Lady Emira. "She will certainly look like your Yvonne. If her personality is anything like Yvonne then I want to ensure she recognizes the joys of motherhood."

"Mmmm, yeah," says Sandra. "Best way to do it is stuffing her belly with as many little ones as you can fit!" Then she grins and says, "But really that's the right answer for all of them, isn't it?"

Lady Emira shakes her head and says, "Never change, Sandra." She looks to you and asks, "Can you do it? That is, are you rested enough?"