Chapter 192 – Grinning and Bearing It

Lilyth

‘Stop it,’ I grumbled to Aki who kept poking me in the arm.

She didn’t seem to have noticed, so I let it go. For now.

I guess it will be a bit of an adjustment for all of us.

Only Fluffy, contentedly vibrating in my lap as I absentmindedly gave him scritches, seemed to have almost immediately accepted the change. The irony was palpable there, as he was the one I had been the most worried about.

Luckily, enough sliminess remained in my body that our cognitive link was unaffected. When Caei, Aki and Ren helped me into our room I could feel his brief confusion as to why momma smelled different, but he then decided that momma was still momma and immediately required my attention. I was more than happy to provide. His vibrations had a calming effect on me and kept me from dwelling on my circumstances or my fantasies about wanting to strangle the conspicuously absent Nyx.

Initially, I wanted to keep my change hidden from my wives until I figured things out and was done with the deicide, but the quiet dignity of that was denied to me the moment I tried to take my first step. Short story, I used way too much strength, lost balance and fell backwards, and if my “shitshitshit” followed by a loud thud didn't catch their attention, my scream of pain caused by the crunch in my right wrist after I landed on it certainly did.

Moments later, my wives ran into the room I was about to take my nap in, only to find me writhing in pain on the floor and holding my hurting wrist.

Likely used to me being able to shrug off way more damage, it wasn't as if I didn't lose the same arm a few weeks ago, two days after being blown up in half, they just stared at me for a moment.

‘Y- you have blood,’ Caei helpfully said, reminding me about her ability to smell that particular bodily fluid.

My only response was groans of pain which finally caused her to do something, and soon I was back in our bed and plotting divine murder.

‘So, you really are “normal” now?’ Deirdee asked after returning from fetching me a bowl of stew from the camp of the Kitsune and I finished explaining the past few minutes of my life to them.

‘Not entirely, I think, but close enough for it not to matter,’ and put my new body’s first spoon of food into my mouth.

The taste was… divine. The right mixture of sweet and sour.

‘Oh… god,’ I moaned in pleasure. ‘So good!’

Confused, Caei stuck her finger into the stew and then put it into her mouth.

‘It is the same as yesterday,’ she said, giving me a pause.

‘Let me try!’ Aki said, but also couldn't see any difference.

Could it be…

‘Fuck, I think it is because I have actual taste buds now,’ I mused. ‘Not an approximation. I wonder what else will feel differently…’

‘Willing to help you experiment,’ Aki said with a devilish smile and my other two lovers nodded with grins of their own.

‘Should I leave the room?’ Deirdee asked.

‘Nah,’ I responded and realised what I had just said. ‘I mean… that's an experiment for later. Right now, I need answers, and a certain deity is sending me to voicemail.’

I shrugged and wolfed down my stew.

After I was done, Aki nuzzled against me and wrapped her hands around my body. Her body definitely felt different. Better.

‘Still warm and soft,’ she purred, giving me her ultimate seal of approval.

I put the bowl aside and hugged Aki back, also enjoying her warmth and softness.

Caei and Ren soon joined in on the hug and we ended up inviting Deirdee too, so that she wouldn't feel left out.

Half an hour later, when I was thoroughly relaxed Nyx decided to show up with a sheepish smile.

‘So… it happened,’ the goddess said as if she was talking about the weather, causing my blood pressure to spike.

Caei must have felt it as she said:

‘Easy, my love.’

‘Sorry for not showing up earlier… I was… um… busy.’

‘Busy not getting strangled by me?’ I asked with venom in my voice.

‘Actually… Yes,’ Nyxie replied casually. ‘I also wanted to give you time to experience some of the perks of the new body.’

‘One of those perks was me breaking my fucking wrist.’

‘C’mooon… you would have healed.’

‘It still fucking hurt!’

‘Look… I’m sorry,’ Nyx finally conceded. ‘I didn't realise that you would have issues walking after changing. That's on me.’

‘Why didn't you warn me?’ I asked an actually important question.

‘I had my reasons. Tell me… what would you have done, had you known?’

‘Likely rush into it,’ I replied almost immediately. ‘Especially after the Helrika incident.’

‘Yes,’ Nyx nodded. ‘That one made me realise I would need to hasten the process. Gently push you towards it. Teach you how to take care of your needs. Eventually, you would fully accept yourself as a Kitsune and the change would happen.’

‘Why not make me a human then?’ I asked.

‘Because you hated being one, sweetie. I chose to turn you into a Kitsune because deep down you wanted to be one.’

I didn't bother denying that.

‘So, over the past week you accepted the potential consequences of the choice and slowly changed your attitude from just enjoying your form to actually living as a Kitsune. I am surprised you got over having to go into heat so quickly though.

‘It beats eating people and I mean it is not like I will have to worry about it for a few months, right?’

Nyx averted my gaze causing a sinking feeling in my stomach.

‘Right?’

‘So you know how those things are… hormone-based?’

I don’t like where this is going.

‘Nyx,’ Caei said with an edge in her voice. ‘What did you do?’

‘N-nothing. It is just that the menstrual cycle is based on hormone levels, and Lilyth's right now may be… I believe the scientific term is “out of whack”. I am not saying she will go into heat anytime soon, but assuming it will take six months is… premature.’

‘How much time do I have?’ I felt blood drain from my face.

‘I don’t know,’ Nyx shrugged. ‘I doubt it is an immediate concern, but in two or three weeks? Maybe. This is just a guess though. Could be months. I would say three on the outside, but there is also the question of weather, stress, your individual cycle length and so on. It will also be a while before your hormone level stabilises. I will be surprised if it will be more than six weeks.’

My mouth suddenly felt very dry.

‘You know…’ I finally said. ‘I feel a sudden urge to rekindle my relationship with Dainyir.’

‘You said he was terrible in bed,’ Aki, greenfaced, added.

‘I’m open to suggestions.’

No one had any and Nyx said she was my patron and not my pimp. Ultimately, we agreed we would just figure it out when it happened, as the timing was too unpredictable.

We then covered less pressing issues like what was left of my slimeling abilities. As it turned out - not much.

I still could regenerate, including limb regeneration, but since I had internal organs now getting hit in the wrong place would kill me.

My super hearing was gone. [Enhanced Acoustic Processing] would let me hear better, but it was nothing compared to my previous capabilities. This also meant I would have to retrain all my combat skills.

Oh joy.

As it turned out, I did keep some non-ability-based shapeshifting capabilities. They were mostly cosmetic and worked differently than previously, but with some effort,, I was able to make some small adjustments. Nyx also “unlocked” an ability for me that allowed me to regain my bedroom flexibility, though I wouldn't be able to get rid of my uterus using it. Still, it made my wives happy. Happy wife, happy life and all that.

My body did, for the most part, retain its previous level of fitness, I would just have to relearn how to use it.

Once Nyx left us to our own devices we immediately decided to take my body for a spin, and the experience turned out to be transcendental compared to my old body.

Maybe it won’t be that bad, I thought before I dozed off in Aki’s arms.

When we finished our afternoon nap and went to the kitchen to make ourselves some supper, we found very pissed off Savri waiting there for us, along with contrite-looking Nyx, suggesting it wasn't us that Savri was angry at.

‘H-hi, Sav,’ I waved.

‘Hey, guys,’ she said angrily. ‘This idiot…’

She pointed at the goddess.

‘... didn't think to include me in her schemes.’

‘Y-you were busy, hon,’ the goddess meekly protested.

‘NOT BUSY ENOUGH TO IGNORE MY TEAM! PARTICULARLY WITH REGARDS TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!’

Nyx cowered and Sav turned to me.

‘Lilyth, I am going to borrow you for a moment. One of the Life mages at the clinic agreed to examine you. NYX! PORTAL! NOW!’

Nyx immediately followed Sav’s orders, and moments later, I found myself in a very busy clinic in Ror-Bhyk. Persephone, apparently handling triage, waved to me and returned to directing incoming patients into one of five rooms.

‘Mild respiratory illness symptoms, severe respiratory illness symptoms, other diseases, wounds, emergencies,’ Savri explained. ‘There are Life mages in the second and the last one, while the other three are manned by normal doctors, so should patients sent to those require magical aid, they are then redirected to the emergency room or one of us gets called in.’

‘I mean,’ I looked around the waiting room,’ I don’t want to impose. There are more urgent cases than mine.’

‘Nonsense,’ Savri smiled. ‘I have been on shift for the past forty hours and was about to head home, but I can stay for another one to cover for the Dryad in the SRI room. After several hours of casting [Lesser Cure Disease] over and over you really enjoy some variety.’

‘Fair enough.’

Savri led me to one of the backrooms where she left me to wait. I sat down on a cot, and moments later, a green-skinned woman with red wide blades of grass for hair entered. She was wearing a blue sweater, black pants, a white labcoat and a pair of copper-framed glasses over her orange eyes.

‘I am Yuvir,’ she introduced herself and sat down next to me.

‘Lilyth.’

‘Nice to meet you.’

She then took a deep breath and in a neutral tone said:

‘I understand you are the one who killed Helrika.’

‘Y-you knew her?’ I asked, feeling suddenly scared.

‘Oh, don’t be afraid,’ Yuvir smiled. ‘She was a source of great shame for my people. I just don't believe in celebrating death.’

‘Makes sense given your profession.’

‘Yes. And this is where I want to start with your examination. I understand her death was caused by you losing control and a more beastial side taking over. I want you to tell me the full story of your relationship with it.’

Seeing my expression, Yuvir quickly added:

‘Take your time.’

It took me twenty minutes and a pack of tissues but I gave her a good picture of my dealings with the Huntress from that fight against the Goblin Chief till the fate that almost befell Persephone.

‘Thank you,’ she gave me a reassuring smile. ‘I know this was hard to talk about. I also understand now why the Lady of Air chose the course of action she did. I was sceptical about the approach when Savri told me what had happened to you, but it was probably for the best. Perhaps I would have made the change more gradual, but it is what it is. Right now the priority is making sure your new body works right. Do you have any immediate concerns?’

I told her about the heat.

‘Oh. Savri’s anger makes more sense now. This is something you definitely should have been handled… more tactfully. Just springing the knowledge of this particular feature on someone already struggling with control over themselves is… not the best of ideas.’

‘I think I know why she did it though.’

‘Oh?’

I told her about my experiences with Kojiro and my pregnancy.

‘I… see,’ Yuvir sighed. ‘You sure had an interesting life here. As I understand, Savri is not aware of the… latter incident?’

‘I kept it a secret.’

‘As was your right. I still stand by my position that it should have been handled with more tact. I think I know everything I need unless you have any more concerns?’

‘Too early to tell. I have had this body for just a few hours.’

‘My door is always open to you, Slayer of Helrika. Now, let me see if I can allay some of your fears.’

‘Should I undress?’

That turned out not to be necessary. Yuvir asked me to lie down and scanned my body with some Life magic. With some amusement, she did note my pre-nap activities and, without judgment, gave me a lecture about hygiene now that I wasn't a slimeling.

‘I imagine your regenerative properties should still give you some measure of protection from health issues down there, but better safe than sorry.’

After a few minutes Yuvir was finished and actually, for once, seemingly had good news.

‘You are in good health, and while your body is definitely heavily internally unbalanced it shouldn't have that much of a long-term impact on you.’

‘And short-term impact?’ I asked, not wanting to hear an answer.

‘You have a month. Tops. I would recommend starting to drink those herbal teas Meei suggested in about a week and doing so daily for the following five. That should prevent any unwanted passengers, though to be thorough I would also recommend visiting us for both a check-up and… clean-up once you are sound of mind again. As I understand, some of your party know the magic required for the latter, but not asking them for help will be a perfectly understandable decision.’

I nodded sadly.

‘At least I will get it over with quickly.’

‘Like ripping a waxing strip off,’ Yuvir sighed. ‘I will also need to teach you a certain spell to help deal with… issues caused by your fight with Helrika.’

‘What side effects… Oh. Right. The increased toxin resistance from being part plant.’

‘Yes. That thing is most annoying sometimes.’

That got me curious, so as Yuvir walked me through casting the [Lesser Toxin Vulnerability] spell, she explained that Plant fae, like everyone, enjoyed using recreational substances but their effects were dampened by their innate resistance, so they had to experiment with means to bypass that.

All in all, despite some less-than-ideal news, I felt better after talking with Yuvir than I did with Nyx or Meei, and decided she would be my doctor for more complex issues.

We went to retrieve Savri, and as I waited for the combat medic to come back, I wanted to catch up with her. I saw a twitchy, very sick-looking young man enter the clinic. The brown-haired man kept looking around, clearly confused, though he recoiled in pain whenever his amber eyes fell on a light source, and his hands were actually slightly spasming.

What the fuck? Does he have rabies?

Realising something was very wrong I called over Persephone, but before she could come over, the man pounced on a frail woman standing in front of him and tackled her to the ground. He began clawing at her face, shrieking in pain, and to everyone's horror his lower face began to rot away and his muscles began to wither.

Oh… fuck, I thought when a dim recollection of a certain ledger surfaced in my mind.

The man, now sporting a rotten grin, resumed his attack. He leaned back to vomit, but didn't get a chance as I executed him with a [Shadow Bolt].

‘WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS?!’ Savri screamed at me. ‘We could have restrained him!’

‘Burn the body,’ I replied, ignoring her.

‘That man needed help!’ Yuvir joined the protests.

‘There was nothing we could have done for him,’ Persephone said in a grave voice. ‘Do what Lilyth said. Burn the body and quarantine everyone who came in direct contact with him.’

Yuvir looked at her, now more perplexed than angry.

‘Why?’

‘There was an outbreak of this disease in Ror-Bhyk five hundred years ago,’ I said. ‘That was the only way back then.’

Savri, likely having read the patient ledger Caei brought back from Akh'ret's Mercy, paled, finally connecting the dots.

‘It looks like we have a case of the Smiling Death on our hands,’ I made the final pronouncement.