The Celebration: Afternoon/Evening

A LITTLE LATER:

Kyuala and Amilia are casually drinking with Sydna, Apollita, Naura, Sophia, Kova and Diane in the smaller dining room that the group entered when they first arrived at the Manor.

The conversation is mostly just gossip and idle girl chatter which bores Kyuala, but Amilia is surprisingly intrigued about hearing the dirty secrets of the rich and nobles around these parts.

Eventually, Sydna turns and sees that Kyuala isn't exactly interested in the current conversation, so she gets an idea. "So, Kyuala... what's John like in bed?"

Immediately, the other sisters all choke on their drinks, all apart from Naura. Amilia simply laughs at the question and puts her hands under her chin whilst waiting for Kyuala to respond.

"Sydna! You can't just ask that! It's incredibly rude and inappropriate!" Apollita interjects, admonishing Sydna for her crude question.

"Oh, c'mon Polly. I know you're the kind, conservative sister and all, but surely you'd like to know how the Hero of Reduna'z Gaze wields his sword in the bedroom? I did hear a little moaning last night, but I was too tired to do some snooping."

"Yeah Ky, tell them about your rugged boy-toy." Amilia says with her favourite devious tone, earning an unimpressed look from Kyuala.

Diane then interjects, "You don't have to answer her, Kyuala. Sydna is simply trying to push some buttons to satisfy her nosiness."

"I am not! I am honestly curious about how a drop-in goes at it is all." Sydna continues, trying her damnedest to get any sort of answer.

Kyuala then looks at the sisters who just simply face palm, obviously annoyed and embarrassed at their sister's actions. However, Kyuala has a plan for this. She then leans over to Sydna and says, "You really want to know?"
Sydna is immediately intrigued as she also leans forward.

"Hells yeah. I want all the juicy details."

Kyuala then smirks before starting, "Well, we always start with a wrestling session. We use that to try and assert dominance, and whoever wins is in control for the night. When he wins, he pushes my legs up and ties them around my body. That's when he pinches and bites my nipples until they're practically red raw and covered in slobber. After he's done with that, he pulls out his thick rod and shoves it down my throat until I can barely breathe. Then, he uses my throat like a cock sleeve and slaps me ten times for every time that I gag before slapping his wet shaft all over my face, marking me like the little orc whore I am, and I love it soooo much. When he's done with that, he teases me for thirty straight minutes, making me a moaning, panting mess and all I can do is beg him to let me cum, but he doesn't, not at that moment anyway."

Kyuala quickly looks around, and sees that every sister has a shocked expression on their face. She can't quite tell if they're scared or turned on by her story, so she decides to continue on anyway. "Next, he finally plunges into me, and he doesn't go slow for even a second. I don't know how he has the stamina to go full speed for as long as he can, but he is like an animal! He tells me to open my mouth and spits in it before twisting my nipples and calling me a whore again, it makes me melt every time. When he's about to cum, he leans forward and put his forehead against mine, telling me everything he loves about me before breeding me, filling me to the brim as he sticks his tongue in my mouth. I feel every throb of his cock as his thick, creamy man batter fills me up, but there's just so much that I can't keep it all in. I have to practically scoop it all up before it drops onto the bed, after all, I can't waste such a delicious treat after all that hard work now, can I?"

As Kyuala looks around for an answer to her rhetorical question, she sees almost all jaws have crashed onto the table with the exception of Amilia. Shock and surprise can't even describe the looks on the Tarron sisters' faces as they just gawk at Kyuala who grins at their reactions. Eventually, Amilia cuts the silence by asking, "Since when did you learn how to talk so damn dirty?"

"Well, I've learned quite a few things being your friend for so many years."

The two friends begin laughing as the others in the room just look on in their combined expressions of confusion, shock, surprise... and arousal. In fact, as Kyuala and Amilia are laughing about the whole thing, Apollita carefully shifts in her chair due to certain "parts" becoming wetter than they usually are, but her chair isn't the only one that begins to get a little moist. Naura's imagination begins running wild at all the things that she wants John to do to her... purely just prove that she's better than Terra though! Totally no other reason whatsoever! Or so she attempts to justify. The only thing that matters to Naura now though, is that she is going to put her plan into effect tonight.

---

MEANWHILE:

John flies through the air before landing hard back-first onto the concrete below. He lets out a grunt of agony upon impact before the pained groans start. "Ahh, you really don't hold back, do you?"

Terra then walks over to him. "Why would I? Trying to baby you would only impede your growth. You have the same affinity as us snow elves now, and this is how my mother taught me. So, get up and try again."

John rolls onto his stomach before get up to his knees and then to his feet. After a few more breaths to try and get through the pain, John turns around and sees a ready Terra, who asks, "Are you ready?"

"Uhh, yeah. Let's go."

John then positions his arms into an X shape in front of him before saying, "Guirrde!" A translucent ward appears in front of him. Terra then thrusts her hand forward before a strong blast of wind rushes toward John.

John manages to hold his position for a few seconds as the torrential wind batters against his ward, but he isn't strong enough as his ward eventually falls, and John is flung back once more.

"You have to stay focused! If you don't focus, you're going to find yourself dead!"

"I'm trying..." John responds as his pained groans start once more.

"Trying isn't good enough! You either do, or you don't!" Terra snaps, somewhat startling John who looks at her in stunned silence.

Terra realizes what she just did, and her face drops as she is immediately wracked with guilt. "John... I didn't mean to-"

John stops her, "It's fine.." He then sits up, putting his hand on his back to try and alleviate some of the pain.

Terra looks at her friend and the guilt just intensifies almost tenfold. She then decides to take a break herself, sitting down just ahead of him before bowing her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It was completely uncalled for."

"Don't worry about it. You haven't exactly had the most relaxing time since we got here. Hell, I'd be more worried if you didn't blow up at someone sometime."

"It wasn't just that." Terra responds. "It's just... being at this place, teaching you how to use magic... it just reminded me of my lessons with my mother."

Terra sighs, the memories of her lessons flooding back like they happened yesterday. She remembers every welt, bruise, scrape, cut, sprain, bloody nose, broken bone, even the time she got concussed. The amount of time she spent gripping onto her staff trying to keep herself from being toppled by her mothers attack, her knuckles practically split open every lesson. Then there was the hand-to-hand training. Even as the strength of her healing magic got stronger, she still ached for days due to the intense regime.

Terra then looks over at the training dummies and can feel the phantom pain in her knuckles as she recalls every punch she threw at them. After she had a decent mastery of the hand-to-hand training, she moved onto using her staff. The splinters in her back from her mother's staff were long removed, yet she could still feel every one of them. Next comes the vibrations she felt in her hands as her and her mothers staves collided causing Terra's hands to practically tremble at just the thought.

Terra recalls this all out loud, and John can't believe it. He knew that Terra had a rough time when it came to training, but he couldn't even imagine half of the things that Terra recollects.

John doesn't quite know what to say to try and comfort Terra, so instead of words, he just puts his hand on hers and looks at her. Terra meets his gaze and feels a sense of comfort wash over her. The horrible memories fade away as she's brought back into the moment by her friends soothing presence.

After a few moments of relaxing after the horrible trip down memory lane, Terra eventually says, "Thanks for that."

"Always here to help." John replies, offering a sincere smile to his new teacher.

Terra eventually stands up, and offers a hand to John, which he takes. The man then stands up, seething as his body is still quite sore from constantly being thrown onto his ass. He then puts his hand onto his lower back before saying, "Hæela." The spell immediately takes affect, and while it doesn't remove the entirety of the pain, the spell is definitely stronger than it was before.

Terra then smiles, seeing that John is getting the hang of using spells, even if they're just the basics. She then realizes that while she can teach him, using her Mother's method isn't the way to do it. "Are you ready to go again? Or do you need another minute?"

John moves around a little, seeing how much pain remains in his back. After a few quick stretches, he responds, "I'm good to go."

Terra chuckles before saying, "Okay. This time, we both need to do something differently. So, this time, I want you dig your feet in, and when the blast hits you, I want you to try and deflect it back toward me, okay?"

"Dig in my feet and deflect the blast. Got it." John says as he takes a few seconds back before getting into position. He then jokes, "You're not gonna shout at me if I fall on my ass again, are you?"

Terra laughs. "No, That is what I'm going to do differently."

John then lets out a small laugh of his own before digging his feet into the ground and crosses his arms, preparing for the blast as he says, "Guirrde!"

Terra then gets into position, seeing that John is looking more ready and determined than any of the previous attempts. The look on his face actually gives her confidence about his chances to do this. Terra then thrusts her hand forward, and the next attempt begins as she shouts, "Whyrlvind!"

The wind immediately blasts John's ward, and he grits his teeth as he starts to hold on. The wind is so powerful that it would actually knock over Kyuala in mere moments, but the ward is surprisingly holding up. John can feel himself slowly being pushed backwards, but he tries his best to just dig his heels and focus on deflecting the blast back towards Terra, just as she said to.

Eventually, John no longer feels himself being pushed back, and isn't straining as much as he was just mere seconds before. He actually finds himself being able to hold on as the wind begins splitting off to each side of him rather than just directly blasting the ward. His breaths quickly become more focused, and his arms no longer feel like they're being relentlessly battered by the focused gale.

John feels the wind shoot past him, and something within John compels him to move forward. So, after a few seconds of taking the blast, John gathers the strength and finally takes a step forward.

Terra is shocked as she sees that John has begun moving forward. He takes step after step, slowly but surely making his way towards her, and Terra begins to feel a little intimidated.

Eventually, John is just mere feet away from Terra who is putting more energy into the blast, using two hands to make it even more powerful. John is back to gritting his teeth, feeling his arms grow incredibly tired as the tornado-esque wind batters against the ward.

Five feet. Four feet. Three feet. He just keeps walking forward. Now, Terra has become somewhat scared of John, seeing that he's taking the full brunt of the wind attack, and is still moving forward. Eventually, he takes one more step, and is literally within arms reach of Terra. So, he quickly lifts his arms and knocks Terra's arms upwards, stopping the blast and successfully passing the test.

Terra looks at John and is very proud of John's ability to adapt in a short amount of time. "To the gods above, you did it! You didn't even stop at surviving the blast, but you actually walked through it! I haven't heard of many mages who could pull off what you just did, never mind any first-timers!"

John laughs. "Guess I had a good teacher."

Terra looks at John with a smile on her face due to receiving the compliment. "And I had quite the exceptional student. Now, let's go get something to eat. I am starving."

---

A FEW HOURS LATER:

Everyone is back around the table in the throne room, but this time, it's for lunch.

The plates are dominated with fruits and small vegetable sandwiches, but John's group along with Holvaeth have an assortment of meat sandwiches on their plates. Hell, Amilia's plate alone evens out the meat to vegetables ratio.

As they dig into their respective platters, they begin making casual small talk amidst one other. John asks Lani, "So, what have you been up to today? I haven't seen you since breakfast."

"Oh! I was learning to make remedies with Bislea! You wouldn't believe how many different types of potions you can make with just a handful Orange Fluclam!"

John just laughs at Lani's enthusiasm, not even knowing what a fluclam is, but he assumes it's a type of flower.

Further up the table, Synda whispers to some of the other sisters about Kyuala's answer to her question from earlier. Kyuala sees that she and John are getting curious double glances, so she winks at whoever she catches, causing them to blush and quickly turn away.

Terra talks about the training with John to Myssera who asks, "I'm assuming you tried the method that I used, and it didn't work?"

Terra is a little surprised by the comment. "How did you know that it wouldn't work?"

"Because not everyone learns well under the same conditions, dear. You and Virra learned well under the methods I was taught, because you both had the same desire as I did at your age. John obviously has that desire, but he has other reasons for learning, reasons that don't work well with the Orders style of teaching. Oh, and since we're on the subject of John." Myssera then looks down the table, "John, I shall give you your gift later. Also, I expect you girls to be wearing the dresses that I got for you. That also goes for all of my daughters as well. Tonight's dinner is meant to be a celebration after all."

Lani is excited at the prospect of wearing the fancy dress that Myssera gifted her. However, the other three aren't as keen on the idea. John is also a little apprehensive as to what he will be wearing in the first place since he has yet to see the outfit in question, at least, he hopes it's an outfit.

Holvaeth chuckles. "I would try and help you out here, but I learned long ago that it is not wise to argue against my darling wife. It is easier if you just go along with what she wants, as she is very stubborn in every regard."

"That stubbornness is the reason why we have twelve beautiful daughters." Myssera quips back, causing the married couple to chuckle.

"You really wanted a boy that bad, Mother?" Sydna says in jest, earning a laugh from the table.

"I wasn't going for a boy, dear. I came from a small family myself, so I always wondered what having many siblings would be like. Whenever I would dream of having a family, I always pictured having a lot of children when I got married, I was just lucky enough to marry your father. When I told him that I wanted more children after having Bislea, he was hesitant, but my persistence and aforementioned stubbornness paved the way for the rest of our darlings to join us."

"The only thing her stubbornness didn't get her was when she tried to get me to go vegetarian!" Holvaeth says, causing the table to laugh once more.

As they calm down, a question enters Holvaeth's head as he looks at his guests. "So, I'm interested to know. What are your families like? I assume they aren't exactly as strange as ours."

The group look amongst themselves, wondering who should answer first. Kyuala eventually takes the reins and starts. "My family are a proud people. I've got quite a few uncles, aunts and cousins. Amilia and I used to live in a very tight-knit community, so I even consider those without blood to be my family as well."

Holvaeth then responds, "That is quite heart-warming, hearing of a community that close. So, what about you, Amilia?"

"Uhh..." Amilia starts, unsure of if she should tell the truth or not. She then just decides to go with, "I don't really do the family thing, but I guess Ky's folks are sorta the closest things I had to parents."

"Ahh, you were adopted then?" Myssera asks.

"Uhh... yeah."

"That's so cute!" Sophia says, "You two are essentially sisters!"

"Well, we do argue quite a bit. She also gets on my nerves very easily and her disregard for my plans makes me want to throw her head first into a pile of kukibori shit." Kyuala replies.

Amilia quickly retorts, "Yeah, the arguing thing is true, but if anyone is getting on any nerves, it's her. Every time I want to do something fun, she always gets on at me about it being, 'unsafe' and 'extremely ridiculous.' But when she wants to do something that'll get her killed, it's all cool. I just point out the hypocrisy. It's not my fault that thick skull of hers can't see that I'm right."

"Thick-skulled, huh? That's mighty big from the hairball hocker!"

Amilia gasps over-dramatically. "That was one time, and you know that I was trying a new grooming style!"

"Oh yeah, I remember that month veeery well. That was the time you looked like a bolt of lightning hit a ratfolk halfbreed!"

The entire table erupts into laughter, even Amilia can't help but laugh at the comparison, but eventually has a joke of her own. "That's nothing! I remember when Kyuala went through her strong and independent phase, and I convinced her to shave her head bald! She looked like a boiled Frylirk egg!"

Laughter erupts once again, and the embarrassed yet laughing Kyuala just shakes her head, trying to get rid of the memory. "I still have to get you back for that. Maybe when we're travelling, I'll push you into a big mud puddle."

"Do that, and I'm giving you the biggest hug of your life."
More laughter ensues, and the two old friends feel a sense of warmth within themselves, like they've never been apart.

Eventually, Holvaeth moves his questioning on. "What about you, Lani? I'm most curious to hear about a fairy family."

"Oh! Well, I wouldn't say we're so different. My Mother and Father are both such kind souls! I do have quite a few relatives as well, and we have this big family dinner near the end of the year! Or we used to..." Lani's expression drops, remembering her mother's current predicament.

The entire table sees Lani's face has turned dour, and while the rest of the Tarron family are confused, the group know all too well what is going through Lani's mind.

Holvaeth then decides to move on, so he asks John. "What about you, John? What is your family like?"

"Uhh, well, my parents are hard-working folks. They put everything they had into their jobs, so they weren't always around for my sister and I, but they made sure that we were cared for, and that we never had any worries. The last time I saw my sister, she was going through that bratty teen stage, so I can't really blame her. When she isn't a hormonal bitch, she is really sweet and considerate. My grandparents on both sides were very doting and tried to spoil us as best they could, but my grandfather on my dad's side made sure to instil a hard-working mindset into me."

"Do you miss them?" Kova asks.

"Of course." replies John. "But I wouldn't trade these girls in for the world."

A chorus of "aww's" ring out from the table as Kyuala wraps her arms around John before planting a kiss onto his lips which he happily reciprocates. As they break from their smooch, John looks around and sees smiles on Lani, Terra and even Amilia's faces.

John thinks about the circumstances that caused all of this to happen, and while he still doesn't quite understand why he was brought to Fucknowswhat, he's just happy that he was.