An important talk.

The rest of the day is relatively uneventful, with the party walking in a subdued silence. As soon as I have the Mana, I heal both Ash and Em, as well as cleanse Ash, just in case. Both girls smile at me gratefully before returning to their own thoughts. In truth, I'm doing the same, running over the skirmish in my head and going over what went wrong and what could be done to improve.

The sound of flowing water, considerably greater in volume than the stream, breaks us from our revery. We all share triumphant smiles as the river we have spent the last couple days looking for comes into view. The party takes a moment to watch the water flow by, before continuing on, following the river downstream.

Early evening finds us a little further downriver. I am keeping an eye out for a decent campsite, somewhere for us to stop for the evening, when Ash walks up beside me. I offer her a small smile before asking, “Hey Ash, how’re you holding up?” she looks thoughtful for a moment, then replies, “I… I don’t know. I should be freaking out about what happened today. That was the worst I’ve ever been hurt in my life. Hell, if you hadn’t been there, I could have died, but…” she sighs, shaking her head.

“Honestly? I feel fine.” She shrugs at my incredulous look, before adding, “You yourself got shot in the arm today. How do you feel about that?” ‘I got shot in the arm? Holy fuck, I got shot in the arm! How the hell did I forget about that!?!’ I nod slowly, understanding her point. I look back on the event, and can only seem to muster up a mild emotion response. “Well, that’s a little disconcerting.”

“Ya think?” Ash smirks, then adds, “do you recon it’s got something to do with the System? Some inbuilt mechanic to help us deal with traumatic events, maybe? I’m not sure I’m full comfortable with that.” I merely shrug again. Unfortunately, I lack the answer to her question.

“I get that, but maybe it’s a good thing? Yeah, we’re not freaking out about getting hurt, but if you’re anything like me, which, twinsy, I know you are, you’ve been running through the fight in your head again and again and noting what you could have done better.” She nods, confirming my suspicion. “We’ll keep an eye on it for now. If anything changes, I can always send a message to that System Admin and ask them.”

This seems to satisfy her, at least for now. We spend the rest of our march for that evening talking about small, inconsequential things. By the time it's time to stop for the day and set up camp, everyone's spirts have lifted somewhat. We stick to our usual routine whilst setting up camp, Lisa and Mum wander off to collect firewood, whilst Ash, Em and I are left to set up the campsite.

It all starts off innocently enough. I fail to look where I’m going and almost knock Ash onto her ass. Catching her reflexively, I wrap an arm around her, drawing her close to me for support. She flutters her eyelids at me, then says something facetious along the lines of “My hero.” I let her go, and we laugh it off. Em watches the exchange with a blank expression, then suddenly declares that it was “far too hot”. Right in front of us, she uses her inventory to switch from her armour into a tank top and a pair of criminally short shorts.

Not a minute after that, and Em ‘accidentally’ trips on a tent line. I am **** to either catch her, or let her face-plant. Naturally, I catch her like the good brother I am, rather than let her eat shit. She looks up at me doe eyed, tits smooshed against my chest (I have long since cleaned then changed out of my armour), before thanking me in what I swear is a bad impression of a southern drawl. She glances sidelong at Ash, who watches us in exasperated amusement, before landing a quick and unexpected peck on my cheek.

I recoil slightly, and Em slips out from under my arms again. I watch the little tease practically skip off towards her next task, sigh whilst shaking my head, then look sidelong at Ash. She watches Em leave, clearly amused. We share a look. At least, I look at her with an expression of long-suffering weariness, and she looks back at me with a knowing smirk. Then I shrug and return to work.

I have the audacity to think that is the end of it. I am of course wrong. Both girls seem to take it as a personal challenge, each finding excuses to touch, stroke and brush up against me. Well, I’m not going to sit back and take this lying down (again). I touch and stroke right the hell back… to an extent, anyway. I keep things PG-13 for the most part, worried about taking things too far. Still, I return the touches as much as I can whilst still feeling comfortable, fussing hair, stroking arms, backs and cheeks (face, not ass) and draping an arm around them in one armed hugs.

The tactic seems to work. I see Ash and Em share a look before they too follow suit. We work in congenial silence for the next few minutes, sharing small physical gestures of affection. A small, satisfied smile touches my lips as I see Ash side-hug Em, who stiffens for a moment, before relaxing and returning the gesture, resting her head on Ash’s shoulder.

Soon enough, our task is complete, the tents are up, and the firepit has been prepped, ready for firewood. We sit around the centre of camp, chatting about small things whilst waiting for Mum and Lisa to return. They are not long in coming, and soon the campfire is lit. Em gathers a few bits and bobs together before starting work on our evening meal. Lisa and Ash sit side by side on the bank of the river, chatting together quietly as Lisa takes the opportunity to drop a fishing line into the flowing water.

Mum watches us, a small smile on her face as she presides over the goings on in camp. I consider calling off my plan until I see her smile take on a slightly downcast edge. Sighing, I clamber to my feet, before slowly wandering over next to her, and, taking a leaf from Em’s book, I rest my head on her shoulder. The angle is a little awkward, what with me being quite a bit taller than her, but it is totally worth it as, after her initial surprise, she treats me to a radiant smile filled with genuine affection.

I return her smile as she asks, “Hi, sweety. What’s this in aid of?” my smile turns into a slightly mischievous grin as I reply, “Hey, a son should be able to shower his mother with affection at every possible opportunity, they fact that on this particular occasion I want something from you is just happenstance.” She grins back, no stranger to my antics, then says, “is that right? What do you need from your poor, old mother?”

“First of all, you’re not old, but we’ll get to that later. For now? I want to offer you a massage.” She raises an eyebrow, clearly surprised, before replying, “Oh really? And what have I done to deserve such doting treatment?”

If anything, my grin only grows as I reply, “You always deserve a massage from me, you need only ask, but if you want a reason for this one, I actually have two. Reason one, you’ve been clanking around in that heavy armour all day and generally acting all badass-like.” My face takes on a slightly more serious air as I continue, “and reason number two? I want to have an important talk and say lots of nice things about you. If you try to run away mid massage, I can just sit on you.”

She looks back at me, expression rather flat, before she sighs. “Ok, fine. Where do you want to go?” I raise an eyebrow at her rather subdued response before nodding at one of the tents. We walk over, and I note with slight alarm that her expression has set into a blank mask. Not only that, but her movements can only be described as stiff. ‘She heard me when I said I’d be saying nice things, right?’

Mum leads the way inside, and I follow, sealing the flap behind us. Now ensconced inside the relative privacy of the tent, Mum turns to face me. My heart breaks a little as I see the tears in the corner of her eyes. In a small, shaky voice, she says, “You want me out of the party, right? Because I can’t keep up? It’s ok, I get it, we’ll find a town or something then mnrrrf!” She doesn’t finish her sentence, and instead lets out a startled (and rather muffled) noise of surprise as I wrap her up in a fierce hug.

I let out an explosive sigh, then say, “No, you dummy! That’s the exact opposite of what I was going to say!” she wriggles in my arms a little, enough to free her face from my chest, then looks up at me. She opens her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “No, that’s why I wanted to talk. For some reason, you’ve got it in your head that you’re no good, that you’re going to slow us down or something. That’s simply not true!”

“I saw part of your fight today, during that second wave of goblins. You were fighting like a verified badass, holding off three of the little buggers at the same time! I got lucky and only had to face one at a time. I sure as hell couldn’t hold off three at once!” Mum's lower lip trembles slightly, her eyes a little red. I sigh, before taking a slightly gentler tone. “I don’t know what got into you recently. Each of us loves you, treasures you, and wants nothing more than to adventure with you.”

“Please, can you talk to me? Why do you feel like you’re not welcome? Is it something we’ve done? Something we’ve said?” I look down pleadingly at the woman in my arms, **** to understand. Mum sniffles, then... stomps a foot? “Its… Urrrrg! I just feel old and useless, okay?” She pouts up at me, as if daring me to contradict her. Her petulant look, combined with the almost bratty way she spoke, reminds me far too much of Emily. I smile down at her.

Her pout only deepens. I grin sheepishly at her before settling back into a more serious expression. “For the record, you are neither old, nor useless. You are a highly competent, extremely beautiful woman. Anyone who says otherwise is not only wrong but is also a complete idiot.” For the first time, she graces me with a small smile before replying. “Thank you, Adam, I appreciate it.”

Her smile turns a little sheepish as she adds, “It’s just… it’s been so long since your father passed. It’s been... a long while since an attractive man, hell, any man really, has shown any interest, you know? The men at my last job all steered clear, even if I showed an interest…” She sighs, clearly exasperated, before her eyes meet mine again.

Just like that, I am suddenly hyper aware that I am holding a gorgeous woman in my arms. I blush as her scent and her warmth suddenly become the only things I can focus on. The problem, as it happens, is my previous shift in perceptions. I had let the cat out of the bag, allowing myself to feel feelings towards one of my sisters. It was as if I'd accidentally set off a wildfire. That spark of attraction had spread to my older sister, then my twin, and now, apparently, it had spread to my mother too.

I swallow, suddenly aware of the lingering silence in the tent. I glance down at Mum, only to find her watching me. Her sad expression is gone, replaced by a small, almost satisfied smile. **** to fill the sudden silence, I blurt out, “Those men, the ones from your work? They probably couldn’t handle a beautiful, competent, and intimidating woman like you! ‘Intimidating?!? Where the hell did I get intimidating from?!?’

I glance back down at Mum, only to find that her small smile has shifted and is now more of a smirk. In a voice that can only be described as a purr, Mum asks, “And what about you, Sweety? Could you handle a beautiful, competent, and intimidating woman? If you ever happened to meet one, that is?” I open my mouth, ready to assure her I could handle such a woman, but I close it again, taking a moment to truly consider the question. Somehow, I get the distinct impression that this is a test.

Blushing furiously, I decide to answer her question honestly. “I-I-I-I’m not sure…” I swear I see her face fall slightly, before I hasten to add, “b-b-but I sure as hell wouldn’t mind being handled by such a woman.” “That, Sweety,” she says, her grin returning in full, “is a very good answer. Now, I’m pretty sure you owe me a massage…”