Chapter 10:
What Matters Most
Every day since he had come into his powers, parts of Nameless dwelled within each of his bond-mates, just as parts of them dwelled within him, but he had never completely entered Milly’s mind like this.
Like all monster girls, how she viewed herself and how she viewed the world was reflected in her mental landscape.
In a word? Rustic.
It reminded him of nothing so much as an amalgamation of their homey cottage and Paul Fletcher’s barn.
But the whole place was shaking as waves of shame wracked the little Minotaur nestled in a pile of hay in one corner.
He was vividly reminded of what Miranda had once told him: with a few careless words, you could ruin her.
Oh Milly, my Milly, you have nothing to be ashamed of!
But the piteous little girl that she had become in her own mind let out a painful low and turned to bury her face further into the pile of hay.
At something of a loss, Nameless thought on how he had helped Erica and Nina, who were both Tenebrae when they met.
But their shame had been different, so all consuming that he initially could not get through to them with his desperate pleas.
Milly was choosing not to hear him.
Dimly he heard, or rather felt, Volka’s mind reaching for his.
Husband, please. I know what is to be done! I have seen this before, long ago.
He cast about, looking for her in the rustic cottage of Milly’s mind, but could not see her, or any of his anchors for that matter.
Once more Volka’s worried thoughts joined with his, explaining things.
You share the sacred bond and it is therefore impossible for you to lose yourself in her mind. Your anchors are unneeded so you left them behind, left US behind. Draw on our strength, I have told the others what is needed.
Distracted as he was by the sobbing Minotaur youth, it took Nameless a few moments to do as his Valkyrie asked, but soon they were all there, their minds all joined as one inside of Milly’s.
Erica’s hazy form waved her hand in front of her face, watching the ethereal limb ghost by her nose.
Whoa. This is so trippy.
Ophelia floated over to her, her wings unneeded, and was quick to admonish her.
Dearheart! Focus! Our bond-sister needs us!
Right! Sorry!
The tiny red mountain stood by Volka’s hip, also looking around.
Forgot what this shit was like, it’s much nicer in here then it was in mine. But let’s get this done already. Milly, quit being an ass.
The youthful Minotaur mooed louder, ignoring Nina’s words.
The mountain shrugged.
Worth a shot.
Volka interjected, her thoughts commanding.
Enough! Please, all of you! Do as I said! Erica, you have known her the longest, I think this will work best with you. Show her.
Um... okay, but... how, exactly?
With a thought, Volka conveyed to Nameless what was needed, and a moment later he was shifting everybody, including the sobbing Milly, into Erica’s mind.
It was like their cottage had been converted into some kind of fetish club.
Liquid arousal permeated the air, reflecting the Katje’s amorous nature, while memories of her numerous couplings with Nameless and the others filled their shared mind.
More than one of them questioned how the Katje was able to function.
That... is so incredibly hot.
It was Volka’s turn to be distracted, as she witnessed her first time with her husband, through Erica’s eyes.
But her distraction was short lived: a now-sulking, but at least fully grown, Milly had her arms crossed and was doing her best not to watch the sex-crazed cat’s thoughts as they played out around them.
I don’t see how this helps anything.
Nameless felt a wave of relief that she was at least talking to them, but he simply watched as Erica came to the fore and stood before Milly.
This helps, because now I can show you something, something I’M not proud of.
With a thought and a wave, she cast aside her constant arousal and the recollections fueling it and instead directed the Minotaur’s attention to another memory.
This one was bundled up with a familiar possessive emotion, but it wasn’t directed at Nameless.
It was about Milly.
The memory of Erica was watching the cow girl sleep, Nameless on the other side of her, snoring softly. It was the night after the cat had first made love to her new master.
Her emotions were still quite shaky from so recently being a Tenebrae, and she had much to work through. And though she felt the heat of the bond, so strongly she even now wanted to wake Nameless up for another round, she was also deeply conflicted.
Nameless and Milly had been selling the Minotaur’s milk, in a desperate bid to raise enough money to rescue Erica.
But Milly’s milk was hers! It had always been hers, since the first time the Minotaur had blushingly exposed her breasts to the hungry cat’s eyes.
Her most selfish desire in the whole world was for her and Nameless to feed off of Milly... and no other.
The Minotaur was thunderstruck.
As were her bond-sisters, save Volka.
Before any of them said anything, the horny Katje flooded her own mind with thoughts and memories of going down on each of them, including Nameless.
It was... distracting, just as she intended.
I love you all, so don’t make too big a thing of it. Once upon a time Milly’s milk was all mine, as were her big ol’ boobies. But things are infinitely better for us now, and I honestly don’t mind sharing them.
As they shook off the wave of arousal her ardent thoughts inflicted upon them, she focused her attention on Milly.
I would bet my claws that it is like that for all of us, in some way or another. Ophelia had him all to herself for ages, but could never act on it, so that’s gotta be all kinds of complicated. And Nina! I mean, fuck! I asked for a bite of her sandwich the other day and genuinely thought she was going to kill me!
The Gigas interrupted her at that point with a nonchalant shrug.
I would only have hurt you a little bit, and that was if you’d taken the bite. But you are viewing it the wrong way: it’s not like I’m sharing my weakling, because all of you belong to ME.
At first they all shared some humour at her words, but she was deadly serious.
The tiny red girl looked to Nameless, sending a wordless invitation to him and with a thought he brought them all into her mind.
It was the opposite of cozy.
They beheld an immeasurably vast mountain, a formidable and imposing peak that took their breaths away and made them feel tiny. The impression they got from Nina was that of a fortress of strength, both prepared to be sieged and to lay siege.
But at the same time as they beheld it, they were all somehow inside the fortress, and once again their little cottage was visible inside of a massive echoing cavern.
It lacked the comfortable hay from Milly’s mind and was a far cry from the cluttered arousal of Erica’s.
The giant’s forge was much larger on the side of the little building, with the clanging of metal resounding from everywhere as she worked her trade and practiced with her hammer.
As they looked around their home, they realized something else that was rather critical.
There were no exits from the cavern.
Nina’s possessiveness, unlike Milly’s, extended to all of them, and it made the Minotaur’s seem almost inconsequential.
Her tiny form approached the cow, her expression not unlike the one she wore when they trained together.
You get it now babe? You. Are. MINE. The mountain has claimed you and there is no escaping it.
In that moment, Milly saw their training through the giant’s eyes, felt her pride at how far she had come under the Amazons’ tutelage, and her hope for how much further she could go under Nina’s.
But then she also experienced the memory of seeing herself slumped against the side of the ruined Hornet hive, bruised and beaten by Evadne.
Then she saw Ophelia, on her knees before the scumbag in the wilderness.
Finally there was Nameless, broken and bleeding from the Chimera’s attempt on his life in Divinity Square.
The cottage constricted around them, the fortress bringing its defenses to bear as her anger rose from the unpleasant emotions the memories conjured.
They weren’t inside a mountain anymore, instead they found themselves in the caldera of an active volcano.
The giant’s rage took the form of red hot magma, bleeding from the walls and rapidly forming a broad moat around the cottage, and even though they knew it was there to keep them safe, they still felt its heat.
The message was clear: never again.
While Milly struggled to recover from the heavy thoughts, they all felt the giant express another possessive claim, nearly as overpowering as the one she felt for them.
Just like the men who had assaulted Ophelia, Evadne the Chimera was hers to kill.
Enough, mountain-daughter. Your point is well made.
Volka stood, unafraid of the Gigas and her rage, or of the dark monster that inspired it.
The giant looked ready to argue the point, but opted not to.
Fine. I’m bored in here anyways. Let’s go back into Erica’s head and fuck or something, I liked it in there.
The ease with which they shifted from one mind to the next was almost unsettling.
Now they were in Nameless’s mind, though he felt no need to reveal anything, as he had always been completely open to his bond-mates.
Milly seemed so much better, he could feel it inside of her: her shame was gone, though now she felt a little silly.
But as Nameless was about to pull them all out, Ophelia shook her head.
A moment please, dearheart.
She drifted over and embraced Milly, holding her tight for several seconds.
Once they broke apart Ophelia looked deep into the Minotaur’s eyes with her warmest smile across her face.
I don’t think we need to get into all of my baggage, I believe our point has been made. Despite what Erica might think, my feelings are... not as complicated as they once were. Suffice to say, I was once the second loneliest Flutterby in the world, and now I am not. I love you Milly, and you love me too.
After they were all back inside their own heads, there were a great many hugs and kisses shared between them.
It was a few minutes before Nameless looked to Volka.
“Wait, how come you didn’t show us what was in your mind?”
She smiled and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead, then closed her eyes and shared with him exactly why she hadn’t needed to.
A wave of utter selflessness flooded into him, making him somewhat dizzy for several moments before she stopped.
It took him a second to figure it out, but when he did he felt supremely stupid for having to ask.
“Because you don’t feel the way the others do, it would completely go against your nature.”
She raised her eyebrow at him, as if prompting him to continue.
“Which means... that, while you have the same desires as any other monster girl, you would cast them aside without ever complaining if you thought it was needed to help someone else.”
Her expression remained unchanged: her delicate eyebrow stayed where it was, as did her smile.
There was more.
Her feather in his hair tickled the back of his hand as he scratched at his chin for a moment.
Finally it clicked.
“It also means, of every monster girl breed in existence, only the Valkyrie are immune to becoming Tenebrae!”
The others gawked at them at the revelation, having missed most of the conversation.
“Well reasoned my love, and indeed you are correct. We are creatures of sacrifice, to put others first is no burden to us, though that is not to say we cannot be selfish in our own little ways, as I have demonstrated on more than one occasion in our bedchamber.” She winked at him and drew a giggle from the others, but her expression turned more serious as she continued; “As for the darkness of man, it can gain no hold on my soul, so I remain undaunted in the face of it.”
She sighed then, putting her face in her hands momentarily.
“That is not to say I don’t make mistakes.” She peeked through her fingers to look to Milly: “I was so focused on Escrya that I completely missed what was happening within you. I am sorry, my love.”
The Minotaur shook her head as she wiped at her nose with her polka-dot hanky and gave a huge sniffle.
“You were worried about her, and you had every right to be. She’s been such a good friend to us, and we’ve kind of taken advantage of her.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Erica said uncomfortably.
The Katje had all but attached herself to the Minotaur’s side, refusing to release her from her embrace.
“Yeah, it’s not like we took it in turns to finger-blast her or something.” Nina agreed.
“Nina!” Ophelia gasped with a blush.
“Oh shut up, you liked it.”
Nameless smiled as the Flutterby’s flush deepened, but with Milly taken care of his thoughts soon returned to the young Amazon, and his spirit fell again.
“What do we do now? Escrya was so humiliated when I held her heartstone.”
With one last kiss to Milly’s cheek, Volka moved towards the door.
“I will speak with her. Unless I have misread the situation yet again, I believe that she may yet have cause for hope?”
The Valkyrie looked to all of the faces in the room, especially the cow’s.
Milly blushed but eventually gave a little nod before speaking earnestly, if softly.
“I think maybe not right away, but I would like to see more of her, I miss training with the Saenga, and the Brael for that matter.”
“Then that is what I shall convey, my love. As I once said with regards to Kar, we do not have to make a decision immediately. I was mistaken to press the issue earlier.”
With a wink and a blown kiss, Volka took her leave.
Nina let out an impatient huff before looking around at the others.
“So, are we going back into Erica’s mind or what?”