After the first stage concluded, Albino and Fierawr were ushered back inside. Quionne followed along, complaining about her future husband’s actions nonstop. “While it is amusing how confused the nobles were, how about you keep your head out of trouble? That girl is violently despised by everyone! She was only allowed outside because noble children celebrate their public debut at nine, but guess how many engagement requests she got? Zero! Can you not seduce some well-meaning, kind old lady? One was right in the stands, cheering for your relationship with Fierawr! Now they hate you even more!”
“You mean the Lady who looks about thirty? How is that old?”
“Do not deflect my question! That was reckless! Perhaps even more so than the other things you do, but this time… The common noble does not take kindly to outliers if they cannot profit from them.”
“All we have to do is make ourselves useful, then. I will quite literally be Lord Marciel’s tool of war for a while, and there are several avenues we can take to become indispensable in that sense. Enough of that! What is the girl’s condition? She looks like a human. She resembles the pair who claim to be her parents too much to be unrelated. As far as I can tell, neither parent has non-human blood in their ancestries.”
Quionne seated herself on Albino’s head in her large butterfly form. Albino had these exhausting phases. “I never bothered looking into the ailments of lesser races. It could be a rare genetic disorder. It could be a curse. It could be an issue with her power lines. It could be the work of a yonder. You aren’t the only intrusive entity in Queensland.”
Albino hummed. “I wonder… Would asking the girl be considered rude… or her parents, perhaps?”
“It would certainly be considered rude, but that should not stop you. All humans are insignificant little insects. Do not allow their petty judgment to steer your course of mortal life.”
“Language, Quionne. Language.”
“Hmph!” Quionne blew a wind current against the corridor ceiling, releasing a dusty rain.
Albino coughed and laughed, swiping the dirt from the air. Fierawr did worse, gagging when dust entered her lungs. Albino patted her on the back until the coughing subsided. “How are Brenda and Cormali?”
“Fine. Normal. Annoying. Both want to see you, especially the peasant girl. She really thinks she deserves-“
“Please calm down, Quionne. I did not mean to upset you with what I did, but… that noble girl does not deserve to be ostracized. Was it wrong to console her?”
“Maybe not, but you did not console her. You stated your own curiosity. That girl will misunderstand your intentions. She probably did. Nobody understands you as I do, your faithful servant and Albi-Onna… Actually, I am an Albion now, huh?”
“I planned on making you one, but you shoved yourself cleanly into the Worshipper class.”
Quionne fluttered her wings. “I like the sound of that.”
“Of course you do… You would have done well as an Albion.”
“I… do not think so. This is more appropriate for me. Nobody understands you as I do, my Master. Not that noble girl, not the peasant girl, and not even the beast… though she might have the potential to see what you truly are. I only tolerate her because of that.”
“Sure, my love. I am certain you do.” Albino chose to keep quiet about Agathe Phangor, who was a deity and a long-lived being beyond even Quionne’s wildest imagination, and so understood Albino’s struggles better than an Albi-Onna ever could by principle.
By the time Albino and Fierawr returned to the stables, Fierawr’s breathing was deep and heavy. She clutched her belly and whimpered with a pained expression. Even Quionne showed concern for the woman, looking at Albino with a pleading gaze.
Albino frowned. “How long until the second stage of the test?”
“Tomorrow, I would wager,” Quionne answered. She helped Fierawr to a patch of straw on the ground, where she held the Howler’s claws and caressed her ears. “Parties and long periods for socializing are an important part of festivities such as the beast-keeper test.”
“Oh, yes. Very festive.”
“Their words, not mine.” Quionne shrugged. “There have been tests with long pauses between stages before.”
“Jerome will not wait,” Albino said, joining his lovers on the ground. He knows too much about Howlers to be fooled. She will give birth soon, and that soon seems to have come. Her dryness is not a good sign for a Howler’s childbirth procedure. They tend to drool like waterfalls.”
“Surely he will not continue the test during childbirth?”
“Not during, but after. Jerome will think the exhaustion and hormones grant one of his hounds an opening to overwrite my status as Fierawr’s mate… and he could probably do it if we let him.”
“With an ordinary man, he might. Fierawr is too deep to be seduced by dogs who are too aware of you to even try to claim her.”
“No sane sadist will play fair with these things, Quionne. They might restrain her, threaten our children, or do anything else to bring Fierawr into conflict with her innate sense of loyalty. She will be weak, and her body will be a mess. That is how Howler births usually go. The most we can do is get Fierawr through that process with as little pain as possible. Any other worries come after.”
Quionne shook her head. “I don’t get it. Why is she not erupting in flames already? For me, just one time was enough.”
“Not everyone is as quick to throw their mortality aside,” Albino said, placing his palms on Fierawr’s belly. “Until she accepts me as the man she wants to spend eternity with, and until Fierawr accepts and desires for eternity to be hers, she will stay mortal. Agathe does not accept that future as of yet, either. Give them some time. Our duty is respecting whatever decision they end up making.”
“A mortal? You really just called Agathe mortal?”
“…She is to me. Now enough. This will be a long night.”
Quionne scoffed.
“Fierawr’s body is in shock because it is calm when it should be on edge. That throws her biology off, so we can only push it back on the right track.”
“…We? Why should I waste my energy on someone who fails to understand something so elemental as your greatness-“
“That is my daughter in there. Choose your next words wisely.”
“…Yes, my Master.”
Unresolved issues aside, Fierawr demanded their attention with a loud howl towards the ceiling. The Howler hadn’t noticed the argument between her mate and alpha female. The other hounds grew restless, but Albino ignored them all.
Albino’s thumbs found her ears. He gently pushed them into her fluffy tufts sprouting from the base of her ears, massaging the area there. She was incredibly soft, like a ball of cotton clad in the finest silk. Fierawr’s ears twitched as Albino worked on them.
Quionne, still a bit miffed, pushed against Fierawr’s belly, alleviating the weight of it. Childish kicks came from the baby chamber, protesting against this delay. It was faint, but Quionne felt the presence of her beloved in the beast’s womb… and her own. They whispered to her, beckoning the Albi-Onna-turned-Worshipper to let the newest Albion out of her motherly prison. “The child seems quite large,” she noted, carefully feeling around the baby Howler’s outline.
“It is my child. Some curiosities are a given.”
“…Her belly almost bulges as much as a typical wolf female’s.”
“…Yes.”
“Giving birth to many pups is a sign of fertility and health among Verqinian Voohr Wolves, no? If Fierawr gives birth to a single child…” Quionne trailed off in light of Albino’s expression.
“…Help me get the baby out before worrying about those things. Good girl,” he whispered whenever Fierawr had the mind to listen. The words sent convulsions through the Howler woman. “Good girl,” Albino kept saying. “Good girl. You are doing so well, Fierawr. Good girl.”
When Fierawr was properly in the mood, Albino carefully sent the first burst energizing energy through his mate. Intense convulsions rocked her body, sending her into a frenzy. Fierawr’s daughter stirred, feeling her father’s presence. Like all beings of energy, she craved to meet the familiar-feeling energy that had created her.
Fierawr was ready. Birthing sex was a common practice among Verqinian Wolves.
“As together we conceived,” Albino chanted, “so together we shall invite our child into the world. Hear our call now, dear daughter of ours. We welcome you into the world tonight, so come and join us among the living!”
Fierawr howled, causing the entire pack of hounds to join in. They behaved like Fierawr was the alpha giving birth, and the hounds were the lesser pack members cheering for her child. Quionne frowned at this new dynamic that had formed. Albino placated her with a kiss, elevating her position above Fierawr.
Fierawr laughed and fluttered in the air. Her skin marks burst to life, and she threw off her shrine maiden gowns to expose the fires to the hounds. “Haha! Remember that, you dumb mutts! I am above you all! Don’t you dare to disrespect me, or I will kill every one of you and be forgiven for it! Snivel and bow, you stupid mutts! Watch as my insignificant little sister-wife gives birth! I am above her! You hear me? Above her!”
Albino tuned out Quionne’s speech. Her obsessive tendencies were getting a little out of hand, even if he didn’t particularly mind that Quionne was so obsessed and clingy with him.
“Rawr! Aeeno! Aeeno! Rawr, rawr, raaah!” Even her cute way of saying rawr devolved into moans of bliss and mindless pleasure. “Feerawr loof Aeeno! Raaawr!”
“How can you say these things before saying yes or no, my cute, adorable, good girl of a Howler?”
Their activities continued for a good hour. If not for the guests Albino soon spotted with his farsight, they might have continued.
Quionne giggled. “Weak little beast. Maybe one day you will match his prowess… Though I doubt you will ever reach me, your alpha female!”
“Rawr… Keeon… Rawr…”
Quionne smiled, shaking her head. “Despite studying our words for three months, you still know so little…”
“Care to check the corridors for undesirables, Quionne?”
The Albi-Onna sighed. “When you get like that, you already saw something… Oh, it is that girl, and- Ugh! That bastard is with her, too. I know you like the girl, but can I choke that stupid hound breeder already? He is worthless to us, anyway!”
“Suspicious deaths while a very capable Howler and beast-keeper are at the fort? Surely you jest.”
Quionne sighed. “I knew you would say something like that. Alright, then. I will not kill him today. In case you need someone gone-“
“I know. Now hide yourself and maybe look after poor Brenda for a bit. We can handle ourselves.”
Quionne hesitated. “…Can I meet her later? I feel her… calling for me. Maybe. That sounds incorrect, but it also does not… Is that weird?”
“By mortal standards, it is.” Albino stood up, grabbed Quionne by the cheeks, and briefly connected their lips. “You better get used to this weirdness. You are no longer mortal. This is your eternity now.”
“…Yes, my Master.” Quionne nodded. With a twirl, she grew to the size of an index finger, changed colors to an unsuspecting brown, and fled the room through the window.
Albino crouched next to Fierawr and locked his hand with her claw. “Is it time, my darling mate?”
“Rawr!” Time seemed to slow down for the pregnant Howler. Their child had begun its journey into the world.
Fierawr howled from the strain. Slowly, inch by inch, Fierawr’s baby moved toward the exit, stretching her insides to the limit. She howled again, startling the people who just arrived in front of the door…
Greetings and salutations! You have earned my eternal gratitude for reading this humble mortal’s story. If you enjoyed yourself, I will have done my job well. If not… well, there is always room for improvement.
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