Reprieve
It had been a week since the boar attack, and it had been surprisingly quiet. There was still lots to do, but nothing nearly as pressing as imminent destruction. This gave Zen a lot of time to plan, build things and get to know his mates better.
He was particularly fond of Fenya, the soft-spoken romantic. They had met briefly to tour her garden and spent an hour there enjoying each other's company. He also spent some time in the library reading up on some history and geography books that she recommended.
Zen had also met Zerina, a young wolf-person who had studied medicine. She was deferential but direct in all their interactions. Her bedside manner could use a bit of work, but she was smart and determined.
The other surprise was Winnie, a black-haired cat-person who moved so silently that he didn't hear her follow him around for the better part of five minutes. Nyala had brought her into the house, but lost track of her when she turned to address her by the office door, which was only ten meters away. Winnie was a bit of a mischievous sort but seemed good-natured.
These were the three mates that stood out to him as good fits for the current households. The other candidates were all lovely and friendly, but he was having a hard time figuring out what position would make them the happiest. Sarina reminded him that while all the mates were available, they did have their own jobs in town, so there wasn't a rush to decide.
He spent more time with his wives too, especially Sarina who was missing him terribly after their last fight. They spent most evenings together, and any night the service mates didn't request, not that there were many requests for those outside of Mana.
Aleyna was a bit different as she was used to being independent. She spent a lot of time with Oryn and Trisha teaching them to fight. She had also brought in some of the Coon Brigade to spar with them so that they could learn how to defeat stronger foes. The first couple of sessions went about as well as could be expected from two people without any fighting experience, but they were fast learners and were soon able to disarm and restrain the kids. He did feel a bit bad about the rough treatment, so he tried offering some snacks and sweets, but they seemed largely uninterested.
Aleyna and Sarina had also agreed on the newest designation of mates, which surprised Zen as he didn't have to play middleman. They had discussed the duties and determined that the new escort mates would provide security for Zen, attempting to remain unobtrusive but ever present. He wasn't sure what threat they could handle that he couldn't but if it provided some level of comfort to others, then so be it. They could always go and warn Aleyna if something really bad happened. That way he could always have bear support.
The new uniform for the escort mates fell in line with what Zen had come to expect. Tight blouses with mini coats, straight line miniskirts with slits to allow for movement, thigh-high boots with heels. He had asked about the heels considering how active they would have to be, but Oryn and Trisha proceeded to sprint around the cottage and restrain two of the Coon Brigade in only a few seconds, so he dropped his objection.
Zen also made sure to make time for his service mates and scheduled time for each of them. Mana would request the overnight visits so that she could wake up in his arms, while the others simply took their regularly scheduled meetings.
Nyala spent a lovely afternoon sipping tea and telling Zen about herself. It was the longest conversation he had ever had with her, and she was surprisingly funny in a dry sense. After they were done, she asked him to fuck her throat and leave her breathless in a pile for Mana to find later. The girl knew what she liked, he had to give her that.
Oryn was surprisingly shy. He had expected the silver-haired wolf-girl to be far more direct and outgoing, but she preferred to spend the time quietly putting together a big puzzle. He did learn that she had four brothers who used to rough-house all the time, which might explain her natural talent and strength if she was always keeping up with them. She had managed to ask while furiously blushing if she could schedule an overnight stay with him, which he gladly agreed to do for her.
Trisha was a confident rabbit-girl and very outgoing. They scheduled some time in the evening and had a few glasses of wine while getting to know each other. She told him a lot about her family life growing up, practically raising two of her sisters while her mother worked on the farm. She had very long legs, and it didn't surprise him that she was able to leverage those to kick Aleyna's hand so well. Perhaps feeling a bit tipsy, she bent over the couch invitingly and asked him to fuck her right there. He certainly obliged.
Anna was interesting, as the red-headed cat-girl seemed to have a bit of an inferiority complex. She always worked twice as hard to feel that she was worse at something than anyone else, which was almost never the case. She had given him perhaps one of the most impassioned and seductive blowjobs of his life, and then had to be praised and assured that he liked it. It just made him want to hold her, protect her, and make her feel loved.
The wall had been completed and braced with sharpened stakes placed all around it. The permanent watchtowers were still being put together, but the gates had been completed and installed. Zen had also considered a moat for the town, but that may have to come later as it would take a lot of effort to reroute the river.
On the production side, they managed to get fourteen of the hides cured and two bows complete. It took a lot of experimenting with the sinew, but they did manage to make some great curved bows that would work. The only issue was that only Zen or Aleyna could actually pull it back far enough to use. Making arrows was simple and they used stone tips as he couldn't trust the blacksmith not to fuck it up again and give him hooks or something equally ridiculous.
It took a good hundred or so shots before either he or Aleyna could hit anything at even 100 meters. Zen at least had some archery experience as a boy scout, so he wasn't starting from scratch. Aleyna was just more athletic and had better aim. They both felt good about hitting a boar or something similar if it was stationary for a long time at close range. They were also confident that if they hit anything, it would die as they had pulverized more than a few arrows by hitting a boulder and leaving a dent in it. Aleyna still thought hands were better though.
***
"Good evening master," Oryn was dressed in her uniform, which did a great job showing off her physique. Her silver hair was down today, a flower clip in the back holding it. Her cheeks were a little rosy, her button nose as well, and her piercing green eyes captivated Zen.
She was fidgeting a bit, shifting her weight back and forth while playing with her fingers. "How, do you usually like to have your mates?"