Chapter 24: For the Love of Goddess
It was late morning when Annita's eyes fluttered open. The room was lit brightly with the sun pouring in through the window. Her chest felt heavier than normal, and looking down, she found Kat sprawled on top of her. The woman's arms were wrapped around her torso, and she was drooling slightly.
Slowly, Annita remembered the night they'd spent together. The heat they'd started with had devolved into a carnal hunger for each other they'd done their best to satiate. She was pretty sure she had passed out still in Kat, but had softened as they slept.
Shifting slightly, she felt the stickiness of her lower half, and the completely ruined bed sheets beneath them.
"Kat, sweetheart, time to get up," Ann whispered to her sleeping girlfriend. The thought still sent a thrill through her. Kat had reciprocated her feelings! So quickly too! She was terrified that it was a purely physical thing for Kat, despite some offhanded comments, but no. She liked her!
"Mmmm, time is it?" Kat groaned as she came out of her catatonic state.
"Not sure. Late. Bren's probably been waiting for us," Ann replied, running a hand through Kat's messy hair.
"Fine. Ugh," Kat squeezed, her strong arms constricting like a vise. "Wanna lay here longer, but 's fine."
"Can snuggle more tonight," Ann giggled, kissing her girlfriend's head before rolling her off. "Besides, we're a sticky mess. Housekeeping is going to hate us, too."
"Wooorth it," Kat mumbled as she sat up, wiping her bleary eyes.
"Yeah it was. Love you," Ann said, feeling heat in her cheeks at the words.
"Love ye too. All right, get the bath started. I'll join ye."
Ann and Kat shared a quick bath, waking them both up quickly as they washed the remains of last night's activities. For a few minutes, they relaxed with each other in the warm water, just enjoying the closeness, but time was something they couldn't ignore.
Getting dressed, they headed back downstairs. Both were a little wobbly, but tried their best to play it off.
Bren, waiting for them as expected, wasn't to be fooled.
"Have a fun night?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Damn right we did," Kat beamed at him as she took her seat. "Gonna have a lot more."
"Oh? That entails a deepening of your relationship past the physical. Did you steal dear Katlyn's heart, Annita?"
Annita blushed furiously at the dead on accusation. "I guess I did. Seemed more like a mutual thing, though."
"Well, I for one approve," he said smugly as he sipped his tea.
"As do I."
All three of them turned to the woman's voice that had interjected in their conversation. A gorgeous woman stood just off to the side. None of them had noticed her in the room before, but there she was and clearly knew what was happening.
"Who?" Annita asked.
"Child, did you already forget about me? I'm hurt."
"Oh, for fuck's sake." Annita cursed, as the woman grinned.
"First, can anyone else hear us?" Ann quickly asked the woman.
"Nope. Just you, me, your girlfriend, and your lovely companion," the woman answered. "The rest of the tavern will hear a perfectly normal conversation."
"Well, in that case. Guys, didn't think this'd happen so blatantly, or this quickly for that matter, but meet Orenous," Annita introduced.
Kat fell out of her chair.
Bren stood bolt upright.
"A pleasure, my darlings," Orenous said, with a low bow to the table. "May I sit?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Annita pulled up an extra chair for her. "Gotta say you look different."
Kat pulled herself back into her chair but her mouth still hung open. Bren was seemingly petrified, not even daring to look at Orenous.
"Oh, this thing? Hardly any fun to be stuck in one appearance when so many others offer a beauty all their own." Orenous brushed her pristine shoulders. She was a feline Vulhardrin this time. The picture of a catgirl that Annita had drawn hundreds of times, with blue hair and fur, a tail, and yellow cat's eyes. Her form was no less voluptuous than her appearance in Annita's mind, and she was dressed to accentuate it with sheer cloth and pants that did not match the weather.
"Sculpture don' do ye justice," Kat murmured as she drank in the sight.
"There is a limit to human skill, dear Katlyn. Enjoying my gifts, are you?" she teased.
"Aye. I sure feckin am," Kat grinned, with a sidelong glance at Annita, who blushed deep red.
"Good. I told her to have fun, and I'm glad she is. And you, dear Bren, how are you handling this new development in your life?" Orenous asked as she leaned on the back of her hands, folded primly before her.
Bren startled from his state, looking around hurriedly before sitting down. "I, uh, yes ma'am. I am quite all right with things. Would you, uh, would you mind me asking the reason for this visit? Our records rarely speak of the gods being among us. All of the records for the last two thousand years have merely been theories. I really must ask what prompted your appearance in the flesh?"
"And there is that beautiful curiosity of yours. You two," she pointed to Kat and Bren, "have my sincere thanks for helping our Annita here get on her feet in this new lease on life. To your point about records, they are mistaken. We were only physically here during the cataclysmic time of our return. What you all are seeing is in your minds. A nice bit of trickery so I can more comfortably talk to everyone."
"So I look like I just pulled up a seat for no one?" Ann asked.
Orenous let out a tinkling laugh. "Yes, and you were so dashing, doing so," the Goddess teased. "I must say, though, you three have been doing a fantastic job of integrating with each other. One can practically see the bonds between you growing. I mean, I literally can, but you get what I mean."
