Chapter 302: The Second Worst Kind of Dinner Party

Chapter 302: The Second Worst Kind of Dinner Party

Jadis stared at the ominous figure standing in the open door to her guild hall for a frozen moment. Around her, the rest of the table was just as still. She really shouldn’t have been surprised that Magistrate Vraekae would come storming down from the city hall to drag her by the ears to her office. But she had hoped that maybe the news Willa would have no doubt delivered to the magistrate would have won her a little consideration, at least enough for a night’s peace.

Before Jadis could respond to the interruption, she was startled all over again as both of Aila’s uncles, Gerwas and Ludwas, jumped to their feet so fast that their chairs clattered to the ground behind them.

“Magistrate!” both men shouted as they saluted the blue-skinned elf.

Vraekae ignored the two mercenaries as she stalked forward, slamming the door behind her to shut out the cold and snowy wind of the night. She was wearing a heavy fur cloak, her usual military uniform partially visible underneath. The glowing red sphere that followed her everywhere hovered over one shoulder like some mockery of a pet bird. Jadis eyed that globe cautiously. She’d seen Vraekae wield it in battle and she knew it was a thousand times more deadly than any war hawk or eagle.

As she strode up to the table, Vraekae’s blood red eyes flitted over the gathering. Her icy expression didn’t change, but when she met Noll’s gaze, she did incline her head slightly in some form of familiar acknowledgement. She didn’t speak again until her feet had brought her to a stop in front of the target of her ire. To Jadis’ surprise, Vraekae didn’t stand in front of any of her selves.

“High Priestess Vita,” the magistrate spoke in a voice that cooled the room by several degrees. “I believe I requested that you do not leave your quarters without escort for the duration of your brief stay in Far Felsen. I remember asking this of you personally not two days ago. I did not think your memory would be so short.”

So, Vraekae wasn’t here for her, but for the high priestess. That made a lot of sense, Jadis realized. Vita was here in her guild hall without any kind of visible escort. Sure, her CLR was past the one hundred mark so she was probably able to take care of herself, but her level didn’t necessarily translate to combat prowess. Jadis was certain that even if Eir was level one hundred, she’d still be an easy mark for a maligned thug at half her level, just because her skill and stats weren’t geared towards combat. She didn’t know what classes Vita had, but Jadis doubted a priestess of the goddess of hearth and farming would have classes meant for fighting.

“Oh, fi,” Vita purred in a dismissive tone, her tail lashing once to the side. “You are being unnecessarily restrictive, Vraekae my dear. I have no doubt that I am as safe in your city as I would be back in the capital. Besides, you are being rude. Dare you chide me in front of our hosts without even greeting them?”

At the priestess’ reproach, Vraekae’s eyes narrowed to near slits. Her attention shifted then towards the Nephilim in the room, a fact that Jadis did not thank Vita for. Jadis had always bristled like an angry hound whenever she’d butted heads with the magistrate. But tonight, with how Vraekae was looking at her, Jadis found that her normal attitude was curbed slightly. She wasn’t exactly cowed by the elf, but she did feel a bit like a child who had tried to sneak something past their parent and had got caught red-handed.

“Good evening, Jadis,” Vraekae coolly greeted her, revealing that at the very least Willa had reported the nature of her class to the magistrate. Of course, Vraekae had already known that fact about Jadis, but now she was making it clear that she wasn’t making an effort to keep her secret for her anymore. “I am gratified to see you returned safely from your expedition. I had hoped we would be able to discuss the details in my office.”

“Good evening, Vraekae,” Jay said back to the obviously pissed elf. “Glad to be back. We had planned on reporting to you, we do actually have a lot to discuss. Just, in the morning.”

“Since it’s, you know, late,” Syd added.

Syd didn’t exactly droop under the withering glare that Vraekae shot at her, but she did squirm slightly in her seat.

“Would you care to join us, cousin?” Eir spoke up abruptly, rising from her seat in a polite gesture. “We were just sitting down to a late dinner. We can make room for you.”

“No thank you, I already dined this afternoon,” Vraekae rejected Eir’s offer, though her stiff tone was far less icy towards her younger cousin.

“Thanks,” Jay smiled down at the cat woman. “It’s from a story my parents really loved.”

“I’m not familiar,” Vita mused, her little tongue licking her chops in an oddly ordinary cat way. “With the story, I mean. I should think I would remember a tale with such an unusual name. Were your sisters also named after characters from this story?”

“...Yes. Yes, they were,” Jay answered, purposefully not correcting Vita’s assumptions.

“Perhaps you will regale me with the story sometime in the coming days,” the priestess said, empathy clear in her tone. “I understand you have no other family left. You have my deepest sympathies for your loss. But should you wish to share the tales your family once told you, I would happily listen and pass those stories along among my own kin, so that they will never be lost to time and misfortune.”

Jay’s expression turned into a far more genuine smile as her eyes flickered over to her lovely girlfriends, all four of them.

“Thank you, but I’m not worried about losing those stories. I have a new family now. One that we hope to grow soon enough. I’ll have many I can pass those stories down to.”

Vita’s eyes narrowed, a cheshire grin spreading across her feline face. Just beyond her, Jay could see that Vraekae had also taken interest in what Jay had just said, her blood-red eyes focused sharply on her. Both women regarded Jay with their own odd expressions, but it was Vita who responded first.

“That is wonderful to hear!” She purred in obvious delight. “I’m certain that Aurea will be ever so pleased to hear that you have children on the way!”

“Ah, what?” Jay startled. “No, uh, not yet. We’ve been talking about it and we’re looking into it but—”

“Oh, no need to fret my dear,” Vita interrupted her. “I can see by the look in your eyes that it’s no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ you will have little ones. I shan’t press you further for details, but I want you to know that when the time comes, I would be happy to serve as midwife. Ulya will undoubtedly grant her blessings upon any births, and I have spells that can help ensure a healthy pregnancy and an easy delivery.”

With every word Vita spoke, the more attention was drawn from others around the table and the more Jay felt like crawling into a hole and dying from embarrassment. Vraekae looked like she had a hundred words sitting on the edge of her tongue. Gerwas and Ludwas were looking between a scarlet red Aila and Jadis’ three bodies, their expressions a mix of shock and panic. Sabina and Bridget were both staring at the other women of the group with their own surprised expressions while Noll had buried his nose into his mug, looking for all the world like an uncomfortable father listening to his daughter talk about sex. Tegwyn had his hand over his mouth and was holding back an avalanche of laughter. Eir was nervously glancing between Vita and Jay while Thea had gone stiff as a board, her brown eyes wide as saucers. And Kerr...

Kerr was just sitting there with one elbow on the table and her chin on her hand, grinning at the show.

“That’s a kind offer,” Jay finally forced out in response to Vita. “I’m sure we’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good, good,” Vita purred, seemingly oblivious to the havoc she had just unleashed. “Of course, should you wish to have children that are not half-breeds, you’ll have to consider incestuous copulation. A generally distasteful practice, but necessary in some circumstances such as yours. I’m not sure how it would be necessarily with Nephilim, but I know of a few priests who should be able to help make sure there are no deformities in the children, should that be an option you and your sisters wish to explore.”

Suddenly, talking to Vraekae about Alex and Sorcha felt like a far better option than her current conversation.