Clang! Clang! Clang!

Saelak stood in the doorway a bit breathless as he watched Aster hammering away shirtless with sweat trickling down his chest and across taut muscles. It seemed like so long since the last time he got to witness Aster in this state that he didn’t quite know how to break out of his trance. He could feel that heat burn in the pit of his stomach again and it wasn’t until Donoma clapped him on the back that it felt like cold water smothering out the small flame of desire that tried to consume him again.

He was both irritated and grateful for her intrusion as she asked, “Why ya just standin’ in da path, Saelak? Ya got somethi-” Her eyes fell on the hyper-focused half-naked half-elf and gave Saelak a knowing look as she said, “Ah, I see.”

The trimagi blushed brightly and hotly retorted, “What do you see?!”

Donoma gave a slightly sad little grin then leaned an arm over his shoulder casually as she looked back at Aster while speaking quieter so only Saelak could hear, “A young, healthy and rather handsome man that would make anyone appreciate da sight before them.”

Saelak shot her a glare of disapproval as she pointed made a gesture of trailing her eyes up and down Aster’s body as though taking measurements before looking back and returning Saelak’s glare with a wink that caused another rush of crimson to color his features.

“You’re teasing me.” He said in a flat and unamused tone as she laughed and slightly shook him in a friendly manner.

“When do I ever stop? I think ya secretly like it fer all da opportunities ya give me.” She said as she gave his shoulder a final pat and walked past him to make her way to one of the storage rooms. They had been helping to organize the shop since this morning while Aster assisted at the forge, crafting various pieces of armor. It had actually been a rather pleasant endeavor, Donoma thought, as she helped inventory things. They had eaten breakfast and were doing some honest work, it was almost a taste of what a normal life might have been for her.

Honestly, she secretly admired the hard-working fervor Aster seemed to enter when crafting. It showed a level of commitment and attention to details that she had never really seen up close. She was also enjoying spending most of her time with Saelak though since neither of them were good with a hammer. They had been set to cleaning and sorting and, though she loved teasing him, they had actually been able to work fairly well together. If she gave a clear request he obliged and in return, if he needed assistance, she gladly offered it. They were surprisingly efficient together and didn’t even devolve into arguments… much. As the noble entered the storage room bringing in his own box she couldn’t stop the grin from lightening her face, truly enjoying herself in this moment.

You used the technique: Smith Sight for 10 qi.

The metal seemed to gain a technical overlay, informing him of the temperature and durability of it, as Aster quenched the hot steel. He unexpectedly heard Rosabella in his mind with her sultry trills, “You know, mi amor, this would be the perfect time to enchant this breastplate with some resistance to Fire.”

Aster almost dropped the piece along with his tongs into the cooling liquid as he asked aloud, “I can do that?!”

That time he heard a chorus of giggles as all three girls laughed at his reaction. “Of course, mi amor. Would you like to try?”

He nodded before realizing that they weren’t actually next to him and mentally replied, “Yes please, I’m sure Slava would be thrilled to get upgraded work to sell.” He paused before asking, “It won’t hurt the armor if I fail to enchant it will it?”

Rosabella gave another laugh and said, “Don’t worry, there is only a tiny chance of explosion. Honestly I am surprised your mentor didn’t at least show you the process despite not being able to do it yourself.”

“I think he didn’t want to depress me. He most likely planned to teach me if I ever showed affinity for a Blessing but, as you all know, that never happened.” He pulled the armor out as it reached the temperature he was aiming for and set it back on the anvil. “Wait, did you say something about an explosion?”

“Nevermind that. Now, you’ll want to keep that fancy sight on and spread your mana throughout the metal. Use your metal bending to make the piece more willing to accept it while infusing your fire bending into making it more in tune with the element and taking on its properties, merging the two.” She explained patiently as he tried to focus on following her instructions.

Imbratisa’s heavily accented voice in the background muttering, “I know two thing she like merge together.” surprised him enough that he actually flushed and broke his concentration, sending a ripple through the metal but luckily no explosion.

Congratulations!

Your Luck increased by 1.

Aster tensed noticeably at that message, more sweat rising on his brow, realizing that it really had been lucky there wasn’t an explosion before being surprised once again as Rosabella quipped back, “Shush you or I will personally show you the proper way to merge people later,” and he could almost hear the mental click of Imbratisa’s jaw closing.

Hitsuki’s cheery voice spoke up, almost tauntingly sweet, “I thought that’s what you were doing last night in her room after you were done petting Aster?”

The not-quite-a-cat replied in a matching sweetness, “No my dear bunny, I was showing her how to properly use a tongue-”

“Can we focus on this armor?” Aster interrupted before hearing more details about the supposed intimate activities his Soul Bonds were doing… inside... him… his mind?... How tired was he to not have noticed something like that happening inside his own mind?!

The others quieted as Rosabella continued instructing him, infusing and spreading his mana around, keeping an eye on the durability, and before too much longer felt that magic snap into place and Rosabella instructed him to continue finishing the piece as normal.

Congratulations!

Skill Rank Up: Blacksmithing (Apprentice 1, 0%)

Your Strength increased by 1.

You gained 600 experience.

Crimson Destiny gained 300 experience.

You created: Fire Resistant Chestplate

No armor acting as an oven for you!

Quality: [ Flawed ]

Availability: [ Uncommon ]

Type: Chest Armor

Effects:

+5% Fire Resistance.

Aster was a little sad that the piece had come out flawed, most likely to almost blowing the thing up, but he was still proud that he had successfully enchanted it on his first try.

He had been slowly getting better with controlling his magic, particularly the will-driven bending abilities, and he found that even with Metal being his newest affinity, he was much quicker to get the hang of it as it was a similar action to fire or air bending.

He was also amazed at how much easier it was to help in the forge now that he had proper access to his techniques that supported it. It made him feel a little bitter at the memories of struggling through the process that had been his daily experience before. He tried to shake the melancholy from his mind as he took a moment to set the piece aside for Slava to inspect later before sitting down for a small break and a quick chat in his Soul Space.

As he sat on the mental couch he let out an exhausted sigh before glancing over to Rosabella as she sat next to him, her grey furred cat ears sticking up through her tightly tied back hair, and asking, “Where did you even learn how to do that?”

She paused for a moment before saying with a slightly malevolent smile, “I saw a blacksmith doing it before I ate him.”

Aster just blinked at her for a moment, letting the words sink in, before asking with a slightly nervous tone, “When you say ‘ate’ do you mean that in a literal or metaphorical way?”

Her grin widened to display her spectacular feline fangs, “I will leave that to your imagination.”

He gave an awkward chuckle before clearing his throat and asking a bit louder to change the subject, “So… you and Imbra?”

Rosabella gave a single clap as she said in excitement, half laughing the words, “Imbra! I love it! I will use that too!” She gave him a playful pout then and said, “And when you left me yearning as you slept blissfully unaware of my predicament, Imbra was merciful enough to liberate me.”

At that moment, Aster noticed the subject of the current topic had come into the room, as she gently scooted Rosabella forward, settling behind her and wrapping an arm around the feline’s waist, and saying playfully to Aster, “I liberate clothes from body”

Aster and Rosabella both laughed at that and he could feel himself relax a bit as he watched the two that had obviously become close in a short amount of time. He was a bit surprised to notice that Imbratisa was actually quite a bit taller than Rosabella despite the massive size difference their original forms had, it struck him as an odd reversal.

He also noticed that, while they were both kemonomimi, or “animal eared”, and looked like Half-Beastkin as Beastkin were completely anthropomorphized animals, what he would have labeled as “Furries” back in the Tutorial, they were more like what was seen in anime with more human features and only the ears and tail or another defining feature, like Kanati’s wings, that hinted at their animal natures.

What struck him as odd though was that, now that he saw these two so close to each other, he realized they weren’t the same type of kemonomimi. While Rosabella’s cat ears sat on top of her head like the frequently seen headband version on Earth, Imbratisa’s ears were at the side of her head like where a human’s would be but they still flared out a bit, showing off the mostly round with a slight point and lightly furred hedgehog ears.

He also didn’t see an obvious tail on Imbratisa like he did with the sleek grey panther tail that Rosabella liked to use and show off. As he thought about it though trying to recall the little he knew about hedgehogs he figured she didn’t have one or it was just tucked in her jeans.

He was abruptly brought out of his musing by Rosabella leaning back enough to turn and give the strong woman a kiss on the cheek, leaving a comically bright red lipstick stain in the shape of her lips. Aster couldn’t stop smiling at the pair, feeling the adoration radiate off them. “I’m happy for you two.” He said softly.

They both looked at him before Imbratisa spoke matter-of-factly, “This we know.”

Rosabella nodded and added, “We’ve seen your memories, mi amor. We know how you see relationships. We feel what you feel. We know how you experience compersion.”

Imbratisa continued, “If I thought you would jealous, I would not liberate.” She nuzzled into the nape of Rosabella’s neck, enticing a giggle from her paramour’s lips, as she added almost offhandedly, “I know you like share.”

Aster nodded despite the blush alighting his face. They weren’t wrong. Even if Aster had felt the desire to accept Rosabella’s offers of seduction, he wouldn’t have felt the least bit upset at these two becoming intimate. He had never really experienced jealousy over a relationship before. Seeing his partners happy made him happy and he wasn’t vain enough to think that he could provide everything another person needed from a relationship.

In the Tutorial, he had identified with the label of Polyamory because of this inclination. Even though he had identified with the labels of polyam and bisexual, he had never been open with anyone about them. He had been afraid of destroying his family and it didn’t seem like any good would come from being open about it when he had a loving spouse and wonderful children that cared for him.

Now though, Aster had experienced the last couple of decades as a single person with no real intimate relationships. In some regards it had been a nice break from the responsibilities of maintaining a healthy and happy relationship but in other ways it had been extremely lonely for him.

Two different hands gently covered his own which were resting in his lap, pulling his mind back to the women in front of him who gifted him with warm smiles of love and affection. Rosabella almost purred at him, “Mi amor, you are no longer alone.”

“Only death shall part us.” Imbratisa recited once more and he gave a wan smile in return.

“Thanks, you two.” He said a bit sadly before adding as an afterthought, “Maybe I’ll actually take you up on that earlier offer some day, Rosa.” He swore to himself years ago now that he would be honest and open about his feelings this time around and would be up front with anyone that he might get involved with, that he was attracted to every gender and that he wouldn’t limit himself to a single person. He hadn’t quite gotten up the courage to enter into any intimate relationship though so his resolve hadn’t quite been tested yet. Maybe Rosabella could help him work through some of his uncertain insecurities though…

They both grinned at him and she replied, “Whenever you need my comfort, mi amor. My door is always open for you.”

Aster nodded and opened his eyes back in the forge and took a deep calming breath before rocking himself back onto his feet and encouraging himself, “Alright, back to work.”