Chapter 8:
Indecision
Situated five miles outside the city of Garland, the Aegis Academy was a sprawling complex of buildings, towers, waterways and even subterranean tunnels. All designed to accommodate the wide variety of monster girls in attendance with their human partners, not to mention the intensive training programme for prospective Aegis operatives.
Nameless still struggled to find his way around, though Ophelia and Volka being able to fly helped enormously.
It had been a week since the night they had gotten to know Ginger, and indeed many of the other Cadets. Though the orgy she was after turned out to be a pretty mellow gathering, with less than half of the cadets in attendance and the ones that showed up too tired for any sort of shenanigans.
Beyond the intense physical conditioning the cadets endured, the Aegis training was roughly divided into three categories: Monster Girl Care, Lost-tech Applications, and Criminal Law.
Having five bond-mates, Nameless excelled at Monster Girl Care; one of the prerequisites for joining the Aegis was having your tamer license and he passed with flying colours when he challenged the certification test, having been coached so much by Miranda when they were searching for Volka.
That and he cheated outrageously.
Given his abilities, and his past experience with Tenebrae, it was easy for him to suss out the source of a monster girl’s distress, even in training simulations.
There was even talk of him getting an automatic pass on the subject, but he didn’t want any sort of special treatment, so he just contented himself at being the best in the class for the first time in his life.
The other branches of study however, revealed his shortcomings as a student.
While he was intimately familiar with the Aegis charter, the more complicated nuances of it eluded him, particularly when it came to questions of jurisdiction.
The Aegis was the ultimate authority when it came to monster girls and crimes committed against them, as well as any crime involving lost technology.
But the organization, while vast, wasn’t nearly monolithic enough to keep the peace in all of the city states, this is where local lawkeepers came in. The question each operative therefore had to deal with when it came to any given crime outside their purview was: is this worth my attention or can the locals handle it?
For Nameless, who was fully aware of his own idealism, the answer was... troubling.
On top of the struggles with the nuances of Aegis operating procedures, they had yet to get into Lost-Tech Applications, their instructors waiting on them to complete their first six weeks before throwing them into it.
So Nameless put it out of his mind for now, focusing on the present rather than dreading the future.
Normally when in the comfort of their dorm room he took off his Witch-charmed bracer, as his forearm got itchy if he wore it too long, and the previous evening was no exception. But as he was putting it back on that morning he noticed with no small degree of panic that Erica’s heartstone was no longer in its place next to Ophelia’s.
He opened his mouth to voice his alarm to the others but the Katje in question held up the emerald green sphere and winked at him.
When she had removed it, he had no idea.
“Been waiting for you to notice lover.” She winked at him and giggled at his flabbergasted expression; “Don’t worry about it. I’m just borrowing this for a bit.”
“O-okay?” He said uncertainly, though his relief at seeing the stone safe in her care was palpable.
She laughed again as she sauntered out of the room towards the showers with most of the other girls.
“You’ll get it back, I promise!” Her voice floated back through the open door.
At first he was left bemused, but once he took a moment to think about it he realized what she was up to.
His fingers played over Nina’s heartstone in the silver bracelet on his wrist and a broad smile crossed his face. He looked up to see Ophelia sharing his smile, having witnessed the exchange while preparing her bag for her own lessons.
His eyes flicked to the stuffed bear sitting on the end table.
Ophelia’s heartstone was always either in the bracer with Erica’s or hidden away in the teddy bear she made for him when he was a child.
Before he could give voice to what he was thinking she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
“For us monsters, for Erica and Nina and of course Milly too-” With one finger she delicately flicked the braid of Minotaur tail hair around his neck containing Milly’s heartstone; “Fashioning some means for their bond-mate to carry or display our hearts is something of a ritual. And if you will recall, I did make that bear for you, long ago. Though at the time, I didn’t intend for it to be used as such.”
Nameless wrapped her in his arms and held her close.
“I know how special that bear is to you, and me too really. So if you say that is all you need, than I believe you. But I’m sure Nina would make you something more durable, though unless I missed my guess, she is going to be busy with whatever Erica is after.”
Ophelia leaned away from his hug and kissed him on the lips before letting out a dramatic sigh.
“The one downside to being bonded to an Empath.”
“Oh?” His brow furrowed as he waited for her to finish her thought.
“It is impossible to surprise you.”
He thought about what she said, thought about all of the excited emotions coming from Erica, and had to admit she had a point.
“Maybe, but that goes both ways! Think of all the times I picked wildflowers for you when I was a kid! You always acted delighted, but how many times were you actually surprised?”
She giggled and kissed him again.
“I’ll never tell dearheart. Mmmm, actually if you want to do something nice for me, pick me some wildflowers?”
“Find my Flutterby some flowers in the dead of winter? No problem.” He replied drily as she laughed again.
Ophelia gave him one last peck on the lips by way of goodbye, but he felt the kiss was far too perfunctory so he grabbed her arm when she turned to leave and pulled her back into his arms.
Then he really kissed her.
Things were actually getting rather heated, one arm wrapping around her back while the other cupped her breast, but she broke away from him and flicked him on the tip of his nose.
“Down boy, you need to get going, I do believe you are running the obstacle course again this morning?”
“Don’t remind me.” He groaned.
Nameless had come to believe that the academy’s obstacle course was the universe’s way of balancing the scaled against him for having too many bond-mates.
Ranging from crawling up steep wooden ramps to dancing across raised pillars and rope bridges, it was a gauntlet in the truest sense of the word.
The thought of another humiliating run was more than enough to cool the passion in his blood.
Given that its difficulty was geared towards humans, it typically wasn’t challenging enough for the monster girls in the Aegis. So instead he ran it alongside the other human cadets, and he always came in last.
Though much more physically fit than he used to be, physically gifted he was not.
“Don’t worry, you can get the Amazons to rub your tired shoulders when you’re finished.” She said cheekily.
When Nameless decided to join the Aegis, he was under the protection of the Saenga tribe of Amazons, now, at the Academy, the close personal protection was largely unnecessary, and even inconvenient.
But there was no way that the Aegis would turn away an Amazon war party, and there was also no way that Myrina and the other Saenga warriors would leave after a second encounter between Nameless’s bond-mates and Evadne.
So while there might not have been a place for the wild Amazons within the academy, Margaret Bloom had come up with a solution.
With Yana Brael missing, her war-sisters were also at something of a loss and in need of some extra support. So at the councilwoman’s advisement the two groups joined forces to act as extra security for the academy, led by Tiana, Yana’s second.
There were those on the council, Aegis Booker in particular, who did not agree with tying up so many monster girls, but ultimately the headmistress was able to justify the extra security by arguing that the Academy would be a particularly juicy target for Evadne and Jonathan, especially with Nameless there.
As such, while not the everyday occurrence as it once was, Nameless and the others did get to see the beloved Amazons of both tribes semi-regularly.
Such was the case a few hours later when Nameless was heading to the showers, covered in frozen muck from his run against the obstacle course. Much to his chagrin, he had fallen off of the rope bridges twice, landing in the frigid mix of slush and mud below.
And worse, he was the only one to do so.
“Valkyrja-datta!”
A familiar voice called to him and he looked up to see Escrya striding towards him.
With golden tufts of Valkyrie feathers braided into their hair and their deadly spears always at hand, she and the other Saenga girls had always held a wild edge that fascinated, and slightly intimidated, him.
The icy-eyed young Amazon wore an amused expression as she looked him over head to toe.
“You look... well.”
“Ha ha.” He said through chattering teeth.
She chuckled at his response.
“Helena asked me to bring this to you, it’s a letter for Goodman Fletcher.”
While in Kettering the Amazon in question shared a brief dalliance with the old farmer and his Cockatrice flock.
Escrya held up the little square of paper as proof of her words, but didn’t hand it to him as he was dripping wet.
“Evidently he made an impression on her?” Nameless asked wryly.
She laughed again, her voice rich and musical.
“Just so! But I would presume that you are heading to the bathing rooms to warm and cleanse yourself, do not stop on my account, I wouldn’t want the mud to freeze around you in the chill.”
Even shivering as he was he couldn’t help but return the friendly smile, but her words were more accurate than she knew and he quickly continued on his way to the bathroom at the dormitories.
To his surprise, she followed him.
“What?” She asked innocently; “I need to make sure you arrive safely, it is my duty.”
Nameless was not fooled by her innocent expression.
“Right.” He replied with amused skepticism; “And I’m sure you want to ensure I get into the shower stall in one piece as well?”
Her smile widened and she deliberately winked at him.
“That would be safest.”
Together they walked through the chill air until they reached the dormitories where he bade her farewell and firmly closed the door in her pouting face.
Quickly stripping out of his muddy training clothes, he took up a towel and headed for the showers.
He didn’t really have the time to savour the hot spray of water cascading down on him: the rest of the cadets and their monster girl partners would soon be grabbing lunch before their afternoon lessons, and it wasn’t like the instructors would care that he had to clean icy mud out of his nose.
As it turned out, he ended up needing the time he saved in the shower: Escrya was still waiting for him when he finished, sitting on his bed when he got back to his room.
“Oh! Um, hey, what are-”
He flinched back as she tossed something at him with a negligent flick of her wrist.
He nearly dropped the towel around his waist in a bid to catch it.
Thrown off guard he brought her heartstone up in his hand before looking to her inscrutable expression.
“What is this?” He asked carefully.
She raised one eyebrow and smirked, causing him to turn a bit pink.
He felt decidedly exposed, and not just because he was wearing next to nothing.
“Okay, I know what it is. But... what does it mean?”
Her own features were a bit pink as she looked away and drew in a deep breath.
“Once, some time ago now, I promised my mother that I would not offer you my heartstone again unless you asked for it. But I have come to the conclusion that you never will.”
This was not the conversation Nameless expected to have when he got up this morning.
“My sisters and I have all offered ourselves to you, but you have claimed none of us. I offer my heart again, with no expectation of you accepting it, because I feel the need to remind you that it is yours for the taking.”
Her voice was steady, but he could feel her resignation at what she suspected his response would be, and also... her apprehension.
That concerned him, his brow furrowing as he puzzled over what could possibly unsettle the young Amazon warrior.
Since he held her heartstone in his hand, Escrya’s emotional landscape was laid bare to him, so without really intending to he quickly discovered her greatest fears, chief amongst them that he would do just that.
More than anything else in the world, she was afraid that he would never come to see her as she saw him, returning the love that burned in her chest and yearned for his touch.
And, much more insidiously, that he would accept her but never as anything more than a replacement for Kar, the Brael Amazon that died protecting him.
“As I said, I have no expectations, but you have yet to...” She trailed off as she took in the shocked look on his face.
Suddenly she did not look so composed.
It was plain to see that he had just discovered the one thing above all else that she hoped to keep from him, and she could not hide her mortification.
Her eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened as she held out her hand.
“Escrya, I would never-”
“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have-” She gestured once with her fingers, her voice growing thick with emotions that he couldn’t help but share; “My heart, give it back to me, please.”
He pressed his hand into her palm, but did not release the stone. He could not, not with her in such pain.
Leaning in and looking up at her downturned face, he tried to meet her eyes with his.
“Escrya, you are not Kar! I have never thought of you that way.”
She turned away, her cheeks burning with shame and humiliation.
“Please let me go.” She whispered.
The agony inside of her was almost too much to bear, and he strongly considered holding on to her heartstone, if only to help her overcome it.
But it wasn’t his right, as much as the Amazons told him it was, so he released her stone into her hand and she left the room quickly, saying nothing more.
Still standing in naught but a towel Nameless sat on the bed with a heavy heart, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
__________
While Nameless was sulking in their dorm room, two monsters were going head to head on the cold dirt floor in one of the many training salles at the academy.
The ground shook as Nina’s hammer fell, leaving a deep divot where Milly’s head had been a half second prior.
Her weapon was the reason that they were practicing in one of the salles that didn’t have a padded floor.
“Not bad! But you’re reacting too much!” The giant shouted as the Minotaur rolled into a tumble to escape; “Keep changing the pace. Force me to react to you! And don’t roll again: you’ve done that twice already so you have to know I’ll be ready for it!”
She lunged, but Milly couldn’t stop herself, her instinct said dodge and so she flung her torso towards the ground... and ended up flat on her belly with a giant’s foot resting in the small of her back.
Through the daze of her sudden take-down she heard Nina’s pointed words.
“Thought I told you not to do that?”
Milly’s eyes watered and she sneezed at a bit of dust tickling her nose, her face bouncing off the ground with force at of the involuntary movement.
“Ouch.” She said plaintively as she rubbed at her nose.
Her bond-sister chuckled as she helped her to her feet.
She handed Milly a water pail and waited as the parched girl drank deeply, only stopping when water poured over either side of her mouth and soaked down her front, making her flinch back as her nipples peaked from the sudden chill.
The salle wasn’t heated, the intense training usually more than enough to keep the occupants warm.
“Years ago, you just stood and took what I had to give, took what every girl in the arena dished out. Now look at you-” Nina dramatically wiped at her brow; “Making a Gigas work to kill you.”
Milly was somewhat distracted as she sought to get the wet fabric clear of her sensitive breasts, but Nina’s words made her sigh heavily.
“For days now all you’ve had me doing is dodge. I don’t understand how any of this helps me win against you, or Evadne.”
Her bond-sister’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you kidding? In what world do you think you can beat me?”
The Minotaur opened her mouth to protest, but Nina was on her again, this time bowling her over, the pail soaking her further before clattering away.
The Gigas ended up with her tiny feet on either side of Milly’s head, sitting on the cow’s wet breasts while she lay flat on her back.
“I’m not training you to win, I’m teaching you how not to lose. Big difference. If you can dodge my hammer, then maybe, maybe you can dodge whatever shit Evadne might throw at you. The fact is you can’t beat her, any more than you could beat me.”
“But I stabbed her!” Milly protested.
Nina nodded as she followed the cow’s logic through.
“And then she kicked the crap out of you. The moment that fight started it was simply a matter of time. She is too old, too experienced. Eight Amazons and a Valkyrie fought her and lost. A hive of Hornets fought her and lost.” Nina’s jaw tightened as she continued ruthlessly; “Kar fought her and lost. The Chimera is too powerful for you, any of you, to face.”
There was a long silence as Milly soaked in the hopeless words, feeling a sharp pain of remembrance at the death of her first combat instructor.
“Then why are we doing this?” Her voice was miserable.
Nina shifted on top of her, placing her hand on the Minotaur’s cheek and leaning in close and bringing her red eyes inches from Milly’s blues.
“Because if you had held out for twenty more seconds, than Volka and I would have been on her, and we would have killed her. Instead, you tried to take her head on and we had to save you.”
Milly was stricken by the hurtful words, but Nina was quick to continue.
“It’s not your fault! Like I said babe, this is all shit I should have taught you ages ago.”
They stayed on the earthen floor for a few more seconds, just long enough for Milly to wipe at her nose and give a big sniff.
Once she was back on her feet again, Nina stepped to the wall to fetch a towel, but she paused with a frown as she considered the Minotaur’s spear leaning against one of the weapon racks.
Curiosity piqued, she picked it up and gripped it in two hands, flexing her arms slightly as she did.
“Nina?” Milly called.
The Gigas flexed harder, her eyes widening by the second as she exerted more and more of her considerable strength.
The spear remained unbent.
Finally she relented, afraid to cross a catastrophic threshold with the unique weapon.
“That thing is unnatural.” She muttered as she set it down.
Turning away from the wall she reached up to hand Milly a towel, indicating her chest with a nod.
“The walk back to the dormitory is gunna suck if you don’t dry those puppies off.” She frowned before Milly could respond though; “Did our weakling milk you yet today? These seem... extra large.”
Milly was still a little distracted by Nina’s attention on Kar’s spear, but at the question she pressed the cloth to her sodden shirt and shrugged uncomfortably.
“He was busy talking with Ophelia and everyone was in such a rush, so...”
“Oh you dumbass!”
“Hey!”
“Well you are! You need to speak up about that shit!”
“I-I didn’t want to be a burden, everyone is so busy.”
Nina shook her head helplessly as she fetched the empty pail.
“You’re only a burden when you don’t speak up. Now take off your shirt, we can at least fill this up. When we get back you are going to demand that the others take care of the rest.”
Just as Milly was taking off her shirt however, a group of cheerful monster girls came in to use the training facility.
“Hey.” Nina snapped at them; “We’re in the middle of something. Fuck off.”
“What? We reserved this hall!” A young Wolfen protested as her eyes darted to the blushing Milly holding her shirt closed.
“Then stay, but if any of you sees my bond-sister’s tits I’m taking your eyes!” Nina roared back, shaking the walls.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened: she had a reputation around the academy.
“You’re such a bully!” A brave Harpy with flaming red hair said with one wing outstretched accusingly.
Nina rolled her eyes and scoffed at the monster’s words.
“No I’m not. I’m just bigger than you.”
Behind her Milly had buttoned her shirt back up.
“Come on Nina, they reserved the hall after us, it’s only fair. I can wait until we get back to our room.”
She and the other girls had long since accepted that it was up to them to spare the population of the academy, and the world at large, from Nina’s blunt personality.
The Harpy shot the Minotaur a grateful look as she walked past, the Gigas grudgingly following, muttering all the while.
“What the hell does ‘fair’ mean?”