Change Of Life (Romance, little explicit sex) [5/5]
Change of Life, pt 5

Jacqui entered the realm known as Heaven.  She saw the "pearly gates" as
described in so many stories.  The Dreamspeaker Master stepped up to the
gates and said, "We seek-"

They all heard in their minds, {Forgive our interruption, but we know what
you seek, and you must go quickly to accomplish your mission.}  The gates
opened silently and far faster than Jacqui would've expected for gates as
large as they were.  {The Akashic Master is in the Elysian Fields.  You
must move quickly.  He contemplates ending his own existence.}

The Dreamspeaker Master picked up Jacqui and Norma in his arms and took off
in flight.  He flew straight east.  At least Jacqui felt it was east, they
were flying into what appeared to be the rising sun.  As if reading her
mind, the Dreamspeaker Master said, "It's not a sunrise.  No one knows what
it is.  Most seem to think that it's the one true Heaven.  But whatever it
is, everyone who has ever flown into it has never returned."

"And that's where we're going?"

"No.  We're going to stop in the Elysian Fields, an island off the coast."

"Elysian Fields?  Isn't that..."

"Ancient Greek belief?  Yes, it is.  Unlike the various punishment realms
for sinners, all "heavens" are linked, and one can be reached from the
others.  I like to think it's because true goodness isn't exclusionary.
The Elysian Fields used to be the predominant presence here, but has since
shrunk to nothing more than the size of a small island."

The three flew together until they passed over a small mountain range and
out over an ocean.  Jacqui wondered where they were headed, until she saw a
small, tropical island on the water.  They flew straight to it, and around
to the far side.  They saw a single man standing on the beach staring off
into the 'sunrise'.  Along the edge of the beach was a crowd of people
dressed in tunics, togas, and even a few in bronze armor, all watching the
man.

Thy landed between the crowd and the man, who turned out to be, as Jacqui
suspected, Joe.  The Dreamspeaker Master spoke first, saying simply,
"Akashic?"

Joe, who had clearly been crying, said, "I couldn't save her.  I couldn't
even find her.  I have failed her again.  I can save the universe, but when
it comes to saving my family I am a hopeless failure."

Jacqui said, "Joe, your family needs you."

"And what happens if I fail them when they need me most?  Better that they
learn to do without then be hurt later on."

"But your children need a parent.  They need someone to raise them."

"Mom can do that.  It'll be tough on her, but she has you and Laurie and
the rest of the Sisterhood."

Both Jacqui and the Dreamspeaker Master tried to think of something to say
when a small, soft voice said, "Daddy, please."  They turned and saw that
it was Norma, speaking, not mentally, but with the voice she had not used
in 7 years.  Joe turned to face his daughter.  She stepped up to him.  In a
voice barely louder than a whisper, she said, "Lani, Alia, and Tasha and
Inya need you.  And... I need you most of all.  I have lost two mothers,
daddy, please don't take you away from me."

Joe stared at her for a while before dropping to his knees beside her.  He
wrapped his arms around her and began crying openly.  "I'm sorry, honey.
I'm so sorry."

Norma hugged her father and began crying with him.  They stayed like that
for a while before settling down.  Joe picked Norma up in one arm, and
said, "Let's go home."  Jacqui could tell he was still hurting, but at
least he was willing to start the healing.

In less time than it took them to get there, they left through the gates
they had entered into.  The Dreamspeaker Master used his magics to quickly
return them to the apartment in the consensual reality with the space gate.
The Dreamspeaker Master then returned to the base, and Joe teleported home,
to be greeted by hugs and well wishes from those who were there.

Finally, Julie asked, "Joe, are you okay?"

"No," he replied, "but better than I have been."  He then looked wistfully
upstairs.  "I suppose there's no use putting this off any longer."

They all went upstairs to his bedroom.  Bronwyn's body was still lying in
exactly the same place as it had been when Joe brought it home.  Joe
stretched out his hand and the glow surrounding her body faded and
disappeared.  When it was gone, he turned to Laurie and said, "Do what you
have to."

Joe turned away as Laurie moved closer to Bronwyn's body.  But suddenly all
of them froze in place as they felt the sudden, overwhelming presence of
Bronwyn.  Joe turned to Bronwyn's body, and was as surprised as the rest of
them when Bronwyn suddenly gasped for air.  They were all too stunned to
move as Bronwyn lay there taking deep breaths.  Finally Joe said, "Bronwyn?"

She looked to him and asked, "Did I make it?"

Joe leapt forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly
as he could.  Crying, he said, "You came back to me.  I haven't lost you
after all."

She let him hold her that way as their family moved closer to her.  When he
let her loose enough to allow some light between them, she asked him to
initiate a mental link so they could talk privately.  He was surprised, but
quickly agreed.  In the link,they discussed certain changes that she wanted
in their life, and Joe quickly agreed.

After they were finished, he asked, "How did you manage to return to me?"

"I almost didn't make it, but I had some help.  To be honest, I didn't
think together we'd make it.  But I forgot that when you combine love it is
greater than the sum of its parts, but combined pain is only as great as
the sum of its parts."

"But who helped you?  Who brought you back to me?"

Suddenly they heard Norma's whispering voice say, "Mama?"

Everybody looked to her, thinking she was talking to Bronwyn.  But Norma
was staring into the room, apparently at nothing.  Joe followed her eyes
and stared into the corner of the room.  He tilted his head a bit, as if he
could barely make out something none of the others could see.  Suddenly, he
leapt off the bed and plunged his hand into nowhere.  Everybody in the
room, even those with no magic senses at all, felt an out-pouring of
magical energy, more than any had felt in their entire lifetimes.  The room
fairly exploded as reality itself protested what was happening, but Joe
ignored it.  And when the magic cleared, Joe was standing there holding a
dark-skinned, naked woman.

She pulled her head up, and looked at him with wonder in her eyes.  "I had
no idea you were THIS powerful."

Tears in his eyes, he said, "I couldn't lose you again, Tarina."

Suddenly, Tasha, Inya, and Norma yelled, "MAMA!" leapt off the bed, and ran
to Tarina.

Tarina knelt down, said, "Oh, my babies, I missed you," and swept them into
her arms.

Joe stepped back, allowing them to be reunited, and Laurie was suddenly
struck by the physical symbology of it all.  On one side of the room was
Bronwyn, Shawna, and Ariel; on the other side was Tarina, and her children;
and right in the middle of them was Joe and Stephanie (who had moved closer
to her father).  And Laurie couldn't help but wonder how he was going to
handle this.

Tarina looked up and saw Stephanie standing next to Joe.  Tarina walked up
to her and asked, "Who are you and why do you look so familiar?"

Stef smiled.  "Try to guess."

Tarina looked her up and down, and it was clear from the look on her face
that she wasn't figuring it out.  Then Tarina's body flowed into a
half-woman, half-cat almost 7 feet tall.  She took a deep whiff and said,
"Steven?"

Stephanie giggled.  "It's Stephanie, now."

Tarina turned to Joe and said, "You know, whenever you told me that story
of you having been a woman, I was never quite sure whether or not to
believe you."

>From the entryway to the room they heard someone clear their throat.
Everybody turned and saw the Verbena Mistress.  "Not to interrupt your
family reunion, Akashic, but you did agree to destroy a Marauder for us."

With a guilty look, he turned to Bronwyn and said, "I did already agree to
this."

She nodded and said, "I understand."

Joe and the Verbena Mistress suddenly disappeared.  There was an awkward
silence before Bronwyn said, "I suppose I should go away and let you have
Joe to yourself."  Laurie could tell that just saying that hurt Bronwyn
more than she'd ever admit.

Tarina looked at her with a puzzled expression.  "Why?"

"Because... you were married to him first."

Tarina clearly didn't understand.  But finally a look of understanding came
across her face.  "Oh, that silly monogamy thing you practice here in the
states.  It's unnecessary, at least in my opinion.  I have no intent on
chasing you out."

Bronwyn smiled.  Tasha grabbed her mother's hand, said, "Come on, mom.
We've got ice cream in the freezer," and dragged her out of the room.

Bronwyn tried to get up, but flinched in pain and fell back.  Laurie linked
to her and checked her out.  "Can you fix whatever's wrong?"

Laurie said, "Can, but not going to."

"Why?"

"Your body has been held in stasis for the past few days.  From all that I
can tell, your muscles are just stiff and tired.  And the best way to
handle that is just to take it easy for a day or two."

Bronwyn turned to Jacqui.  "Can you?"

"Sorry, Bron.  Same thing applies to me.  Best way is the natural way.  So
can but won't."

Bronwyn sighed.  Shawna grinned.  "You never did like convalescing, did you?"

"Never.  Can one of you at least get my laptop so I can do some writing
while I lay in bed?"

Ariel looked to Laurie to see if it was okay, and when the healer nodded,
she got Bronwyn's laptop.  Julie said, "Excuse me, but I'd like to get to
know Tarina."

"Sure, Julie, go ahead."  After Julie left the room, Bronwyn said, "Look,
there's no point in the rest of you sticking around while I just sit and
write, and I'm sure you have things to do."

Shawna asked, "Are you sure, mom?"

"Go!  I'll be fine."

After everybody left, Bronwyn closed her eyes and started making some
telepathic connections.  There was some things she had to handle before she
could relax.

************

EPILOGUE...

That evening, Laurie knocked on the door to Bronwyn's room and stuck her
head in.  "You wanted to talk to me?"

Bronwyn closed her computer.  "Yeah, come on in."

Laurie came in and flopped down in a chair.  "Goddess, I can't wait till
you're back in the swing of things."

Bronwyn grinned.  "Finding being the high priestess a bit taxing?"

"I never imagined you had so much...  There's no nice way to put it... crap
to deal with."

"There's just a lot of stuff since most of the Brotherhood who transformed
is still in training.  Things should settle down over the next couple
years."

"I'm just glad I won't have to deal with it."

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.  Laurie, I'm not
going to be the high priestess anymore."

"What?!  Why not?!"

"Laurie, when I only had two children in the Sisterhood and one baby, I had
no problem with being high priestess, but with my marriage to Joe, and
Alia's birth, I now have a total of eight children, only two full adults
and one in training for the Sisterhood.  I'm too busy with being a mother.
So Joe and I discussed it.  He's giving up his position as Akashic Master
and I'm retiring as high priestess.  I've already told the others by
telepathic contact, but I wanted to let you know in person."

"I guess I can understand that.  So I guess I'll be turning the job over to
your appointee rather than your replacement.  Made a choice yet?"

"Actually, I decided that the woman they decided on as Interim replacement
would do a fine job as the next high priestess."

"But they decided on me."  Laurie looked at Bronwyn's big smile and
realized Bronwyn knew exactly who had been the Interim high priestess.
"Oh, no!  You can't be serious!"

"'Fraid so."

"But-  But the high priestess needs martial skills.  Tactics.  Strategies.
That kind of stuff.  I'm a healer, not a fighter."

"That was when the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood were at war.  Now that
the Brotherhood is taking on the martial aspects of the fight against evil,
those skills are not quite as necessary.  Besides, tensions are still
running high between our orders.  It seems that a healer would be the best
choice for the next high priestess."

"But-  But I don't want to be high priestess."

Bronwyn shrugged.  "That's up to you.  You can always turn the position
down.  But I'll let you in on a secret, I didn't want the job either.  But
after I thought about it for a while, I realized I was the best person for
the job.  And if you think about it, I bet you'll realize the same."

Laurie thought about it and crawled up on the bed beside Bronwyn.  "You
know, you can be a real bitch at times."

Bronwyn just smiled and kissed her.

************

Joe walked into the council room.  It had taken three days to hunt down the
Marauder and kill him.  As he walked into the room, Master Nakayama started
to rise, but Joe said, "Wait.  Ladies and gentlemen, I have finished my
job, and now choose to announce my retirement.  I do hereby appoint Master
Nakayama as my replacement, subject to the approval of this council and the
approval of the Akashic faction within this realm."

The Hermetic Master said, "You can't be serious!  We do not accept your
resignation."

"And this is relevant, why?"  The Hermetic Master sputtered a bit and Joe
said, "Look, I have a family now that needs me, I can't go gallivanting off
after every little threat you don't want to face on your own."

The Verbena Mistress said, "But, Joe, there have been threats we needed
both you and the Soul Blade for.  I would be the last to deny you your
right to a peaceful family life, but what happens if we need the two of you
again?"

Joe unbuckled the Soul Blade.  "The Soul Blade has a will of his own and is
dedicated to the fight against Marauders and Nephandi.  He will continue
the fight."  Joe tossed the Soul Blade into the air and it disappeared.
"If you need help with something, search him out.  If he needs help, he'll
contact me.  Now if you want to see me in a social setting, please feel
free to stop by.  But don't expect me to fight your battles anymore."

Joe then said, "Lara, Master Nakayama, David," the Virtual Adept Master,
"Running Wolf," saying good-bye personally to those he cared for most.

He then turned and left the council room behind.

************

Bronwyn walked into Laurie's house.  Earlier that day Laurie had undergone
the ritual signifying her new place as the high priestess and Bronwyn
needed to talk to her.  Julie was there discussing some things with Laurie,
and both greeted her with a hug.  Then Laurie noticed it.  "Okay, love,
what's wrong?"

Bronwyn said, "It's Tarina.  Ever since she and I were reborn, she's been
so cold to me.  She refuses to let me get close to her no matter how hard I
try."

Stephanie wandered into the room and got a bottle of soda out of the
fridge.  She then took a chair, turned it around and straddled the back.

Julie said, "That doesn't sound like Tarina.  She's only been the nicest
person to me."

Bronwyn said, "You're the mother of her lover.  I'm the rival.  I think she
wants me out so they can be alone."

Stephanie said, "That definitely doesn't sound like Tarina.  If she wanted
you out, even if she weren't willing to chase you out, she'd say so.  She's
a very direct woman."

"You know her best.  Any idea why she's treating me like this?"

Stephanie shrugged.  "I can ask her if you want."

"Thanks."

Laurie asked, "Haven't you asked the Goddess?"

"I tried.  But every time I ask her, my own biases interfere.  Instead of
getting an answer from the Goddess I always get the answer, 'Tackle her.'"

Stephanie said, "Now that makes sense."

Laurie gave her a look like she had just said something stupid.
"Stephanie, the Goddess would never suggest violence."

"She would if she knew Tarina.  Besides we're not talking violence, we're
talking knocking her to the ground and holding her there."  When the three
adult women gave her a look like she was crazy, Stephanie asked, "Didn't
dad ever tell you how the two of them got married in the first place?"

Bronwyn shook her head.  "He never wanted to talk about it, and I didn't
want to press."

"Ahh, that explains it.  Okay, sit back while I tell you the story.  It's
kind of weird, kind of romantic and really combative.  Now dad did tell you
how they met, didn't he?"

"He fought some big, nasty... what do you call 'em... Marauder, in the
heart of the Amazon, and nearly died, and she found him and nursed him back
to health."

"Okay, that's a good place to start.  Now, dad, after fighting the Marauder
is lying on the jungle floor in a state of delirium.  He's questing out
with his magics in an attempt to contact those he was fighting for, but, as
you know, there was nothing.

"Now Tarina's tribe had confronted the Marauder earlier, at least some of
their best warriors had, and the Marauder had killed them without a scratch
on him.  Now Tarina was the best warrior they had, so she and another group
had been sent to try to fight the Marauder, and she had seen the entire
fight, and knowing that the Marauder had killed a group of warriors from
the tribe, she was impressed that Joe had beaten him single handed.  So
they take him back to their village.

"Now the trip makes his delirium worse, so they're forced to restrain him.
They try woven vines at first, but when he tears them apart, they're forced
to use their Spirit magics.  But even those are far less effective than
they expected, and over the next half year, they're forced to post an
almost continuous person by his side in order to keep him from hurting
himself.

"All this goes a long way towards impressing Tarina and when his delirium
finally breaks, she takes it upon herself to help him recuperate.  Now dad
knows that gradual healing is usually better than instantaneous healing, so
he doesn't just fix himself, but he does use his Life magics to accelerate
the healing process, further impressing Tarina.

"So one day he's fully recovered and practicing his martial arts.  He's
trying to figure out some kind of gift to give them for their help, when
Tarina comes into the hut he's in and asks him to come with her.  He
doesn't think anything of it, and follows her to a secluded grove.  As soon
as he walks in, he can feel the mystic power of this place.  And she takes
him into a building that was formed out of living trees, shaped with
powerful magics.

"She tells him that it was the Caern of their village.  Dad felt honored.
Even when the changing breeds are nice to magi, they almost never invite
magi to their Caerns."

"What is a Caern?  And why is it so special?"

"In certain places mystic power pools into areas where it can be tapped and
utilized.  These places are called Nodes.  A Caern is where a Node, or
perhaps even a small group of close Nodes, are taken and dedicated to Gaia,
their spiritual totem being.  A Caern to one of the changing breed,
were-creatures, is basically like a church."

"Why don't they want magi in them?"

"You may have noticed that some magi are very arrogant people.  They seem
to think that any source of magical energy is theirs to be used as they
wish.  And the changing breeds consider power from a Caern to be a blessing
and object to the way a magi exploit it.  Think of the reaction a Catholic
might have to someone who comes into the church and takes a big drink of
the holy water just because he's a little thirsty.

"Anyways, dad's now inside this Caern and Tarina uses her spirit magics to
close and seal the entryway.  Dad's a little curious now.  With all the
magic energy, he couldn't teleport if his life depended on it, and with the
door sealed, the only way he could leave would be to blast his way out.
And Tarina comes over to him and stares right into his eyes... and hauls
off and hits him."

"You're kidding."

"Nope.  Dad's shocked as hell and wonders what's going on, then he feels
it.  The magic of the Caern turns on him and dad realizes that if he loses
this fight, he'll be bound to Tarina and the Caern for the rest of his
life, something he can't allow to happen.  So he's forced to fight Tarina.

"Now Tarina's good, but against a Master of the Do, she never stood a
chance, so he puts her on her butt without hurting her.  But then she
shifts to her half-panther, half-human form and attacks him again.  But he
still defeats her.  Then she starts using her spirit magics.  Dad has a
much tougher time with this, but he still manages to defeat her.

"Then from the ground, Tarina dissolves into tears.  Dad goes to the ground
beside her and asks her to explain.  What she says, and this is where you
need to pay attention, is that she was trying to invoke the marriage
ritual.  You see, in her tribe, a warrior has a very important role as the
defender of the lives of the tribe, and anybody who wishes to mate with
them must prove that their own spirit will not weaken the children they
produce.  So they have to confront and fight the warrior to prove their
worth, and if they can defeat the warrior, that warrior is forced to accept
a mating.  And if the fight is performed in the Caern, the mating is for
life.  But when dad defeated her, she lost the hope that she and he would
be life mated.

"So dad confesses that although he would love to be mated to her, he had
other responsibilities that dictated that he not be bound to any single
place.  That's when he feels a magical change and realizes that Tarina has
just become bonded to him.  He realizes that having defeated her and
confessing his desire to marry was all that it took.  And, ta da, dad and
Tarina were married.  Just with her being defeated, she was expected to
join his tribe."

Bronwyn thought about it, and said, "You're right.  That was both weird and
combative.  But if Tarina wants to mate with me, why hasn't she decked me?"

"Because you're not a warrior.  You're a fighter.  But in Tarina's tribe,
everyone's a fighter.  If a warrior wants to mate with a non-warrior, then
they can suggest the non-warrior attack them, but that's all they can do."

"Then why..."

"Hasn't she suggested it?  Because if she suggests it and you turn her
down, say, because you don't know why she's asking for it, she can't ever
propose it again, nor can she accept any challenges from you in the future.
My guess is she's waiting for dad to get home to tell you what to do."

"I'm not sure about this."

"Don't worry.  Like I said, the objective isn't violence, it's to put the
other person on their butt and hold them there.  But, Bronwyn, if you do
this, you can't hold back.  The fight's for real.  One advantage that
you've got is that, as the challenger, you get to determine the intensity
of the the fight.  You only use physical attacks, she can only use physical
attacks.  But if you use shape-shifting or magic, she gets to do the same,
and you are not prepared for what she can dish out."

Laurie asked, "Are you saying her magics are more powerful than the Goddess's?"

"I'm saying that her magics are geared towards combat.  You've seen her
shape-shifted combat form, 7 foot tall, big claws, big teeth.  Her combat
magics are no less impressive.  My suggestion?  Go home, send the kids to
the movies, then pick your time and knock her down and try to hold her
there."

Bronwyn said, "Okay, I'll do that.  Thanks, Stef."

After Bronwyn left, Laurie said, "That was very nice, Stephanie."

"Thanks.  I want to see them get along."

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

"The way that you're sitting, straddling the chair like that, isn't very
ladylike."

"Yeah," Stephanie said, twisting the top of the soda off, "but I'm a
teenager," she took a big drink, "I get to break the rules."

Laurie just shook her head, saying, "You are unlike any initiate we have
ever had before, Stephanie."

Julie said, "I've been thinking about that, Laurie, and I think you ought
to expect more like Stef in the future."

"Why?"

"Before, when we were tricking our children and transforming them without
them knowing what was happening, they were stunned and just kind of went
with what was expected.  Stephanie has known since she was a little boy of
what he could expect and, as a result, is having a lot more fun just being
a girl."

"And since the birth rites are gone, and we're telling our kids what they
can expect, you think more will be turning out like Stef?"

"That's my theory."

Laurie sighed.  "I'm really starting to hate this job."

Stephanie and Julie leaned over and hugged their new high priestess.

************

The Goddess stared at the breach in the very fabric of Her realm.  Although
She had more than enough power to repair it, She was bound by Her word.
What human will has done human will must undo.  Besides, eventually the
realm would repair itself.

She felt a man enter Her realm, and even before She knew who it was, She
saw the damage being repaired.  Only two men could do that without having
seen the damage.  The Akashic Master, who had done the damage, or the
Dreamspeaker Master, who had seen the damage.  It took Her less than a
second to say who it was.

As he entered the main chamber of her realm, She said, "Good day, Akashic,
what can I do for you?"  She noticed that the realm seemed to shift around
a bit.  Joe wasn't sure of what to expect in his visit.

"First, I wanted to apologize and repair the damage I had done.  I was out
of control."

"I understand.  Your grief was driving you to irrational actions.  All is
forgiven."

"I also wanted to talk to you about Tarina."

"Yes?"

"I've dealt with some wraiths before.  From the moment a soul decides not
to go on to their final reward they enter a fight with oblivion itself.
Tarina's been dead for seven years, yet when I took hold of her soul she
had only slightly more of the Void upon her than Bronwyn did.  The only way
that would be possible is if she had been under the protection of one of
the Major Incarna."

"Yes."

"Was it you?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because, in order to get Tarina's consent for my protection, I had to
promise her to never reveal her presence here.  She felt that if you had
known, you would've spent too much time focusing on her rather than your
duties in the consensual reality.  I tried many times to convince her to
let me let you know, but your wife can be a bit stubborn at times."

Joe grinned.  "That she can."  The realm shifted and took on a far more
beautiful aspect.  It had a soft beauty that the Goddess was sure came from
Bronwyn, but also had the primal beauty that Joe saw in Tarina.  "Thank
you, Goddess."

"You're welcome, Akashic."

Joe stood there for a few seconds and said, "Goddess, I release you from
your vow never to use my name."

"Thank you, Joe."

The two embraced and Joe left the Goddess's realm.  Normally, the Goddess's
realm would shift back to pure spirit matter when visitors left, but She
decided to hold it for a little while.  Joe's image of Her was truly
beautiful.

************

Bronwyn washed the dishes for dinner (she had a dishwasher, but sometimes
she preferred to do it by hand).  Tarina, without saying anything, had
grabbed a dish towel and helped dry.  The entire event had been done in
silence, and as soon as they were finished, Tarina had tossed the towel on
the table.

As she left the kitchen, Bronwyn said, "Tarina?"  Tarina turned to face
her, only to have Bronwyn tackle her, driving her into the living room.  As
they fell to the floor, Tarina shifted her weight and rolled Bronwyn onto
her back, but Bronwyn had been training under Joe for a while and was able
to perform the same trick, with her winding up on top of Tarina, pinning
the warrior's shoulders to the ground.

>From underneath her Tarina smiled.  "So someone finally told you what I
wanted?"

"Stephanie explained it.  So how do we finish this?"

"Simple.  One of us has just got to hold the other in such a way that the
one being held admits she can't get up or win."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You don't seem able to get up."

Tarina smiled a savage grin.  "A suggestion.  Keep your elbows a little
closer to your side, it'll keep me from doing this."  Bronwyn felt Tarina's
legs snake under her armpits, then Tarina used her powerful legs to throw
Bronwyn back and off of her.  Before Bronwyn could recover Tarina was on
her and had her pinned to the ground.  Bronwyn struggled a bit as Tarina
said, "Do you surrender and accept joining my family as mother and partner?"

Bronwyn tried once more to get up before saying, "I do."

Tarina let loose of Bronwyn and said, "Turn over."  Bronwyn did as ordered,
Tarina still above her.  Tarina reached up and unclipped a feather she had
clipped there.  "One last custom to adhere to in order to make this
official.  This is a feather from a Darkett.  A rare bird found deep in the
Amazon, my first kill."  She clipped the feather into Bronwyn's hair.
"Custom says you don't remove that except in my presence and with my
permission."

"Anything else?"

"By my culture, no.  By yours, yes."

Bronwyn tried to think about what it could be, but had to ask, "What?"

Tarina leaned forward and said, "I believe you call it 'consummating the
union'," and kissed Bronwyn.  Bronwyn wrapped her arms around Tarina's neck
and kissed back, feeling Tarina slide her hands under her blouse and gently
massage her breasts.

"Mmmm, want to take this upstairs?"

"Actually, there's something you should know about me."  Tarina yanked her
arms apart, ripping Bronwyn's blouse open.  She held up her finger and
shifted just it into cat-woman form.  She said, "I'm not a patient woman,"
as she clawed the fabric between Bronwyn's bra cups, splitting it wide
open.  Tarina pulled her t-shirt off (like Tasha, she preferred athletic
loose fitting clothes), then leaned over and kissed Bronwyn again, rubbing
their breasts together.

Tarina kissed her way down Bronwyn's neck and down her breast, taking her
nipple and suckling it like a baby.  Bronwyn took Tarina's breasts in hand
and rubbed them as Tarina sucked on her nipples.  Although Bronwyn supposed
she should've expected it, she was surprised when Tarina actually started
to purr.  Tarina moved her way down Bronwyn's body, lifted her skirt, and
pulled her panties down.  She started licking Bronwyn's cunt and Bronwyn
threw her head back in physical joy.

Bronwyn sat back and enjoyed Tarina's tongue, when the sensations became
more intense.  Bronwyn looked up and saw that Tarina had shifted into her
cat woman form, and was using her now feline tongue on Bronwyn's cunt.
Tarina reached up and started rubbing Bronwyn's breasts with her furred
hands.  Bronwyn came almost immediately from the velvety touch on her
nipples.

Tarina shifted back and lay beside her "wife".  The two women kissed.
"You're incredible," Bronwyn said.

"Thanks."

Bronwyn shoved Tarina on her back.  "My turn."  Bronwyn reached down and
undid her lover's pants.  She pulled them off, and asked, "Do you ever wear
any lingerie?"

"If I have to, but usually not."

Bronwyn just smiled and pulled Tarina's pants off.  She went between
Tarina's legs and started licking the smaller woman's cunt.  Tarina moaned
and took her own breasts in hand and started playing with her nipples.  The
two moved together until Tarina came into Bronwyn's mouth.

After they finished, Bronwyn said, "I want to check the babies first, but
let's take this to the bedroom.  I've got some toys I want to play with."

Tarina stood up, helped Bronwyn to her feet, and took her hand as they went
upstairs.  They entered the nursery and saw Joe sitting on a chair with
Alia in his arms, feeding her with a bottle.  "Hello, ladies.  Saw you
playing together downstairs and didn't want to disturb you.  Glad to see
you two got together on your own."

Bronwyn said, "It almost didn't happen.  Bum, you should've explained about
Tarina's marriage ceremony."

Joe set the bottle down then proceeded to burp Alia.  "You're right.  I'm
sorry."

After Alia let loose her little burp, Bronwyn made a quick mental
conversation with Tarina and said, "Sorry isn't good enough."

Joe had known a mental conversation had gone on, but had not tapped into
it.  So he gave them a suspicious look and, as he put Alia back to bed,
said, "Oh?  And what did you have in mind?"

Each of the women took one of his arms and dragged him back to the bedroom.
They quickly stripped him and threw him onto the bed.  Shedding the last of
their clothes, they jumped up and joined him.

As they started playing Joe said, "This is going to be fun.  Taxing, but fun."


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