Raising Beautiful 02

A.N. Thank you for coming back! I promise I am dedicating myself to improving as I go.

*****

When Silvanus returned to pick up Zorah from Rob's clothing shop, he was both shocked, and pissed. "Corian!" The two young women sitting with their backs to the entrance, a tapestry in their laps, fringe in their fingers jumped at his sudden exclamation. "What, per-say, are you doing here?" Silvanus asked darkly.

Before Rob could interject, Zorah stood and whirled on Silvanus. "Now see here Silvanus, you don't need to worry about her stealing any more! I am going to make sure she is honest. If she took something from you in the past we can work-"

Silvanus couldn't hold in his frustrated amusement any longer; it escaped as a snort. Zorah stopped talking and glared at him. He had little idea about what she was talking about, regardless she was mistaken. He lifted his hand and made her wait until he knew he could speak in a level tone. "That thief is my sister and she needs to leave. Now." the last word was practically a bark.

Zorah and Silvanus were just staring at each other, he could see the different thoughts passing through her mind. Rob interjected in his kind business tone and reminded them that they had places to go, and they were going to scare away any potential customers.

Silvanus just started walking out, and when both girls followed him he couldn't help mentally complaining. 'Not only does he have to deal with Zorah, but now his sister is back and trailing along like a puppy. Why is she even here?' Silvanus was sure he was not hiding his anger well, but he honestly did not care. It had been many years since he has had to deal with his sister and with the things going on when she left, he was not glad Corian came back.

When he could no longer stand the inner monologue that his brain was throwing at him as he listened to the two women trailing after him. He turned on his heel, grabbing Zorah by the shoulders to keep her from slamming into his chest. "What, precisely, are you doing?" he demanded, looking over her head at his sister.

"Serving," she said so simply and cheerfully that Silvanus was sure she had been waiting for his question.

"Serving who?" Silvanus gritted out without parting his teeth.

"My new Master," Corian grinned, her finger pointing strait ahead, it took Silvanus an embarrassing moment to realize that she was pointing at the female still in his hands.

"Gah!" Silvanus tossed his hands in the air and spun around to walk again, "When will this end! She is not even from here! How can she be your Master?! Why are you even here!"

"I just graduated as a Copper Mage, I get a year off to explore my talent and decide if I want to enter the more rigorous training to advance to a Jem Mage, I was planning on just stopping here, get a horde of money and retiring, But that didn't pan out." Corian's explanation was overly peppy, "Zorah here is immune to me to I have sworn oath to her," her peppiness petered out and became quite sober, leaning into agitated, "And I am quite upset she is one of your girls." by the end nothing but the agitation was left.

The sneer that infected Silvanus' face was quite cruel, Corian had always paraded around with her emotions on her sleeve, but the fact that his exploits reached even her, and the assumption that this was more of the same gave him the power to prove her wrong. Not now though.

"What do you think, Zorah? You want her to come with us?" He put syrup in his voice and looked sidelong over his shoulder. She bit her lip which just aided the intensity of his gaze.

"Can-, can I think about it? I barely know her. Or what she can do, where we are going. I would prefer to make a more informed decision," Zorah said, heat in her face. She let out a breath when Silvanus nodded.

"Alright, we will head home tonight and sort this out later,"

"Do we need to grab anything for dinner?" Zorah asked with a slight smile, most likely remembering the day before. Silvanus just patted the pack on his back and kept walking.

~~

When Silvanus woke the girls were still sleeping in the next room. Having needs to take care of he headed out into the woods, preferring privacy. When he found a suitable spot he unlaced his trousers and pulled the fabric around so his phallus peeked out. Silvanus quickly rocked up onto his toes and dropped back down to let himself emerge completely. Usually when he peed, he does not hang on, but today he found himself grasping his shaft as he waited for his muscles to relax enough to let his urine pass through and escape.

When he finished and he was still standing proud, Silvanus let out a sigh. This really wasn't his intention, and he hated waste. Taking his fingers and pulling his foreskin the rest of the way back he winced at the sensitivity. Shaking off any moisture, he slid his hand up and down the shaft and avoided the tip. Making a ring with his fingers he mimicked the contracting muscles of a woman and slid his hand slowly down. He pictured one of the many girls spread before him, remembering how they would clamp down on his fingers, the defining scent of their petals, he leaned into his hand. Hanging his other hand below so that as he humped one, the other would gently tap his balls as if he was landing home. When he felt the distinctive spasms in his gut he lifted his lower hand in front of him and ever so carefully pressed it on his tip. The heat from his hand sent him over and he gushed out the creamy liquid that signified completion. As he was leaning on to the tree for support and milking out the last of the damp, his stomach gave a loud growl, demanding to be the next need on the list.

Silvanus gave it another wiggle before meticulously placing his skin back in its place, ultra careful not to trap any seed inside for fear of the lingering smell that would accompany his carelessness. Regretfully kicking some dead plants onto the mess Silvanus used his clean hand to pick a few nearby apples. They were slightly under ripe but that was manageable.

~~

The apples were almost done roasting and the meat was threatening to become dry when the two finally emerged. His sister got expectantly excited over the apples.

"Moms apples!" Corian cried, "are they done? Which ones mine? They smell delicious!"

"Relax, its a little different than you remember," Silvanus grumped. He never did like high pitched squeals early in the morning. In fact he never liked them. Though he did perk up when each of them vocalized their approval of breakfast throughout.

"Alright," Silvanus announced, dusting off his hands and standing up and heading inside, stomach finally content. When he returned with a few staffs Corian started clapping in excitement, just as she always did as a child.

"You actually like this one?" Corian asked as she ran out into the clearing and found a place to sit.

Silvanus just ignored her, letting her assumptions grow further, and told Zorah where to stand, "Catch!" he tossed the staff to her as she turned to face him. Zorah was slightly startled and caught it with nearly perfect grip. Corian clapped from her seat which earned her a dark look from her brother.

"What are we doing?" She asked, looking at her weapon.

"Are you serious? Didn't we already have this conversation? Why would I buy you a staff to keep you safe if I was not going to show you how to use it? We have a very long way to travel and if anything happened I could get in a lot of trouble if you did not keep yourself safe,"

"Can't she just make whoever it is not realize I am there?" Zorah asked waving her arm to indicate Corian.

Silvanus smacked his hand to his forehead, "That's a soul bound spell, not one she can currently cast on you. She has her own training to do if she wants to be of much use to anyone else," Corian made a point of looking away before Silvanus' dark glare met its mark.

Zorah started mumbling about the high grass and the fact that she just ate, but Silvanus just ignored her and started in on the lesson.

After a few hours had past and Zorah had a number of welts. Corian must have realized that her brother was going a little too hard on her and piped in.

"Silvanus, I think you've beat her enough, she is past being able to learn any more today. At least we know that if anyone but you were to attack her she would win simply by outlasting them. This is ridiculous!" Her tone was seeping with judgment. Silvanus had long since noticed that Zorah had a set to her jaw that showed that she wasn't going to give in. He did admit to himself that he was venting some frustrations on her, but she made it too easy with her defiance. Speaking of defiance...

"Don't you berate me!" Silvanus yelled, spinning on Corian, eyes almost glowing. "You think you can come here and tell me what to do? You made your choices. Just because you have an official title does not make you someone special. And technically Zorah is in charge of you and I am in charge of her, so just-" Silvanus stopped, looking down at the heat on his arm. Zorah had placed her hand there and was looking into his face, her eyes seemed to peer into the darkest parts of himself. Swallowing his words he let out a sigh and shook his arm away.

"I am used to bathing every other day, and I am mostly uncomfortable because my hair is getting itchy and I am starting to smell. I am assuming that you wash yourselves here, and am hoping there is warm water to go with it. Besides," Zorah's stomach let out a loud growl, "I am hungry,"

The muffled snort that demonstrated Corian was doing her absolute best not to laugh showed Silvanus the ridiculousness of the situation. Silvanus, relented and they had stale bread and cream for lunch while a few pots of water heated.

~~

After accomplishing what few chores Silvanus could, he sat down on the bench by the front door and waited for the girls to be done so he can safely go in. He could hear Corian's intense voice retelling Zorah about their childhood. It was Slightly aggravating at first, but as he listened he realized that Corian really did not know the truth of what had happened. She did not know how spiteful and conniving her father was and how he completely destroyed their family. It is no wonder she had acted the way she did in the end.

"What exactly happened between the two of you? If we are going to be traveling together I need to know what sets you guys off. Plus I know practically nothing about you, so any details are good," Zorah mentioned.

"Well, that's the problem, I don't really know exactly what happened. We were young,"

"Then why don't you tell me the story and maybe we can figure something out,"

There was a decent pause before Corian started, "Growing up, our Mother had two best friends, Silvanus' Father, and mine. She was in love with Silvanus' Father and they ended up getting married. When Silvanus was merely three years old, our fathers went out one day to hunt. Only my Father returned.

"One of the Rebel Camps had been scouting and found them, they fought, but only my Father escaped. My mother was devastated, and collapsed into my Father's arms, needless to say, nine months later I was born. It was, I don't know, around four years later? Well, Silvanus' Father returned, he was in horrid shape, and furious. I remember being terrified at the sight of this man, bursting through the door during supper.

"I vaguely recall being held by Mother who was weeping, Silvanus crammed in close to me. I remember being quite uncomfortable but too scared to say anything. I could tell she loved Silvanus' father by the look in her eyes, but was scared of his current temper. All I remember of the argument between our two fathers was my father storming out, Silvanus' Father wanting to follow, but my Mother stopping him, crying desperately, repeating over and over that she did not know. He stayed for a year, Skyler, our younger brother, exact look-a-like of Silvanus, was born not long into that second year. Nevertheless, one night my Father came back. That is when all chaos began to break loose.

"Our fathers started to fight, and my powers started to emerge that night." Corian was telling Zorah.

"Your powers? You mean magic? It is not all the same?" Zorah asked.

"No, it varies quite a bit in both intensity and style between people. At that moment my powers were unrestrained due to lack of knowledge and training. My powers still fluctuate in strength and are very much attached to my emotions. That fact proved a challenge for my teacher at first, but when I learned to meditate I became suddenly quite skilled." Silvanus could hear the pride in his sisters voice. "I took about a year less to be trained than most, however my skills appeared overnight and I was able to receive training right away, most people spend more time unlocking their skills. So they don't receive tutoring right away, and they have experimented with their talents so it is harder for them to learn to use them another way. I was quite lucky, in this respect, though I know I had caused my family a lot of strife," Corian took a moment to think about all that heartache, and decided she might as well tell Zorah more about it later. There was a long pause punctuated with the sound of the girls washing in the basin sitting in his living room.

Suddenly Corian continued. "When my powers were new, and I felt uncomfortable or scared I radiated a haze that would make people forget about me. Sometimes that's great, but when your only five or six, that is not always that 'great'. I made some nasty mischief, after I figured it out, but the first time it happened I was traumatized. Anyway, back to my story. Needless to say, my Father had come back to start a fight, now both wanted to finish it.

"At one point my Mother got up and walked over with plans to plead for them to stop, just like before. However, my Father slapped my Mother aside and she passed out. After which our fathers fought. I remember Silvanus trying to get us kids to leave, and failing. I had just turned 8, and was horrified by what I saw, Our fathers were literally killing each other. At the end of it all, Mother was still unconscious, Skyler was crying, thankfully too young to really understand, though he developed magic even younger than I, he was only 3, so at least subconsciously he must have known something. I digress, My father was dead, and Silvanus' was barley standing. In fact he barley looked human,"

Silvanus could barley hear Zorah's reply, "No wonder the two of you have so much tension!"

"Oh, I am not done yet, It gets even better," The sarcasm was not missed. "His Father did not make it through the night. He had won the fight, but at what cost?" Corian abruptly changed subjects, "Here let me help you with that." There was a sudden sloshing sound and Silvanus realized that they were in the tub together. Glad he had relieved his tension earlier he stashed the image of them naked together to recall at another time.

"Our town never had any proficient healers, and by the time the one we did have arrived, there wasn't much he could do. Mother was in shock, and felt she caused all the grief. She was never the same after that.

"I do not know what had happened to Silvanus' Father, or how he was able to come back. I would assume that it was because my Father killed his, but they both died that day, so that's not that fair of a response. It could be the fact that I am the reason that they got so out of hand, I don't know, I am assuming that both men wanted a life with Mother and the other would not give her up. I do not know for sure. I have never actually put it to words. Now that I think about it, I do not blame Silvanus. But he loved Mother so much, and took such great care of her, and myself when we were tiny, that I am quite surprised he involves himself with so many women then just leaves them behind when he is bored. Silvanus is known for his flings even on the mainland. My understanding is that he started watching the girls when he was quite young. Mother never spoke of what happened. None of us really did, so I may be missing something vital. It got to the point where Silvanus drifted away from me, and because Mother was so reserved Skyler came to me for motherly attention like scrapes or bruises because Mother would never acknowledge them,"

"Your brother is promiscuous?"

"You don't know? Didn't he bring you to this world?"

"No, someone else did. He does make some lewd comments and expressions, but he hasn't advanced on me," Zorah said thoughtfully.

"Well, You should hear the stories that find me, especially when they don't know I'm related to him," There was a snort and Corian continued. "It makes me sick sometimes,"

"So what about your Mother?"

"Mother was so pleased when Skyler started showing powers, that was the only thing about him she acknowledged. Silvanus had never shown any powers and there was this hazy confusion over the two of them with her. I don't know if it is because they looked so much alike she just would forget the age of her son. That may be one reason he despises me as well, I was the first born with magic, Mother always doted on magic. Neither of our fathers had magic, maybe that's why she like it so much. Like I said earlier, there's a lot I don't know about all this. Mother sent Skyler to live in the healers hut, for his budding talent was obviously of that nature. He was only 4 then. And when Silvanus and I were alone together, things only got worse. But that's a story for another time, I'm starting to wrinkle,"

"I see," Zorah reply was almost lost in the sounds of them getting out. "Why not try to talk to Silvanus?"

"I have tried a few times, but he ignores me," Corian said simply.

It did not bother Silvanus when Corian spoke of his exploits. In fact that he was boasted about over such an area excited him. He knew what he did, and he loved to hear how the stories changed and grew. Besides, most of the women he entertained were usually quite spiteful, taking advantage of other men, or Silvanus himself. Silvanus took great pleasure in acting as the lost innocent type once alone, but startling them with his powers. Once rumors spread he had no problems finding women to attach to.

Some of the women he brought over from other places, the way Zorah had come over. He subtlety set them up with great lives for themselves, many of which were ruined because of their selfish natures, but at that point he did not feel responsible. Either way he had some fun. Besides, if people learn a little heartache early, they are less likely to be fooled later in life.

Also, whats wrong with a little publicity? It sure earned him a pretty penny.

Realizing he did not want to seem the voyeur when his sister was involved, Silvanus stood and rapped on the door, "I hope your done, I am coming in!" Before entering. Zorah was on a stool by the fire with her cloak draped over her trying to finger comb her hair again.

"Hey, before we leave can I have a comb? And maybe a few other things?" She asked, looking over her shoulder, completely unaware that most of her toned thighs were exposed. Silvanus found his thumb rolling over his fingertips as he dragged his eyes up to meet hers.

"Sure," he managed, proud how little emotion the one word showed. You would think with how many bodies he has seen he would not react as such, but knowing she was off limits made him want to run his fingers over her even more.

Corian claimed she wanted to go lay in the sun to dry, but Silvanus was sure she just needed some time to herself.

Silvanus went and got the comb again. When he was sure they were alone he pulled a chair up behind her. Zorah's stool put her lower, and his inner thigh, just above the knee was resting on her upper arms. "I am sorry for overworking you," Silvanus cooed as she clutched her cloak tight in front of her chest from the inside like a blanket. "I did not volunteer for this task, and having my sister join just threw me over the edge," He sent warming sensations where his body touched hers and watched as the goosebumps on her fleshed changed from the cold to being excessively aware.