Star nodded slowly while watching Daniel leading the girls into the hall, the jinx’s tails slowly waving behind while she had a calm smile on her face.
Daniel and the girls made their way through the archway and over towards the kitchen area of the dining room where three others were cleaning up leftovers from the group’s dinner that night. Although it was mostly just two who were ‘taking care’ of the excess food.
“This is so yummy!” Cindy squealed as she shoved one handful after another of meat and bread into her mouth. The sand wraith stood at the counter where all the dishes from dinner were set aside on, steadily devouring everything she could get her hands on while her little helper was doing the same. Snapper was hopping from one platter to the next with buzzing wings, the youngling hastily chomping down the leftovers with hungry snarls and quickly scampering hands and feet.
“Look at her go,” Specca marveled. “She just loves eating like no other.”
Cindy grabbed a large platter of mashed potatoes and beanstalks and literally dumped it all into her chomping mouth, with everyone watching in disbelief as the sand wraith gobbled down the food while wiggling her hips and chest in merriment.
“Where’s she putting it all?” Falla wondered. “She always eats so much yet her figure never changes.”
Snapper stuck her face in a bowl of gravy and slurped it all up while kicking her legs, knocking away plates and cups with a clatter as she downed the seasoned sauce to the last drop. With a large burp the swarm then scrambled over the empty bowl and started munching on mutton slices that she hastily shoved into her mouth.
“We need to be careful with these two,” Specca worried. “If we’re not vigilant they could eat us out of house and home very quickly.”
“Snapper’s so hungry,” Luna said as they saw Snapper eating just as much as Cindy. “I didn’t know babies ate so much like that.”
“Most babies don’t,” Clover mentioned shaking her head. “But swarm apparently do.”
“Don’t let her eat me too,” Pip worried as she quickly flew over onto Daniel’s shoulder and held his head. “I’m not food. I’m not.”
Cindy shoved fistfuls of food into her mouth again and again, each time drawing a passionate moan from the wraith as the various tastes she experienced were just as moving to her as the other girls felt with Daniel making love to them. She drank down a pitcher of juice with a gurgled cry of joy, stuck a large mound of cake into her mouth that she squealed in sheer bliss from, and then moved onto the salads that she quickly pushed into her mouth with hungry groans.
“She’s like a bottomless pit,” Alyssa commented. “She just keeps eating and eating, she never stops.”
Star merely nodded slowly while watching Cindy quickly devouring all the leftovers from dinner, seeing very easily that the wraith was clearly enjoying it and likely only wanted more still.
“She does like to eat, doesn’t she?” Doku asked, with the group then seeing the harpy walking over beside them with her head turned towards the giggling sand wraith. “I suppose it does make cleaning up after our meal easier, and I’m happy she’s enjoying my cooking this much. Though her table manners… leave a little to be desired.”
“Just a little?” Falla dryly said as Cindy let out a long burp before continuing to eat everything she could get her hands on. Doku slowly shook her head at the sight then turned her unseen gaze towards Daniel with a troubled frown.
“I don’t suppose there’s any news of Kroanette’s return, is there?”
“Not yet,” Daniel answered shaking his head. “We probably aren’t going to see her tonight, if she’s this late getting here she must have really gotten turned around out there.”
“I see…”
“We’ll see her tomorrow though.”
“How are you certain of that?”
“Because either she finally makes her way here on her own or I’ll go out there myself and bring her back.”
“I see…” Doku again said lowering her head.
“You don’t believe Dan would do that for her?” Clover questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Doku shook her head at Daniel with a very faint smile, almost being forced, before Daniel let go of the two girls at his side and stepped closer to the harpy.
“I’m certain you would go out searching for her, Daniel. But… I’m just very worried about what will happen to her tonight. I know we wouldn’t be able to find her ourselves right now, it’s dark out and Kroanette has very likely raced off in some random direction other than towards her home here. Still… what if-”
“She’ll be back,” Daniel assured as he held the harpy around her waist.
“But what if-”
“She’ll be back.”
“But-”
“No buts,” Daniel said giving her rear a light smack. The harpy yelped with a jump before trembling with a deep blush, her anxious eyes being seen with Daniel brushing aside her long bangs.
“Kroanette will be back here where she belongs soon,” Daniel told her. “Either by making her own way here to us, by Kitten finding her out there tonight, or by me getting on Lucky and racing out there towards wherever she may be running in circles. All I would need is Twilight to tell me where she was and nothing at all would stop me from going to get her. She’s going to be back home here where she belongs soon, Doku. I promise you that.”
“Of course,” Doku timidly replied. “I do believe you, I really do. I’m sorry for worrying like this, I don’t mean to be a bother and bring everyone’s spirits down.”
“You’re not doing anything of the sort,” Daniel assured, his hand gently brushing her cheek while some of her hair dropped down before her eyes. “It’s okay to be worried about your co-mate like this. But you don’t have to be, I’ll do all the worrying about my mate for us. There’s no burden being placed on you, Doku. Let your man handle this and take care of you girls, just like he promised to.”
“Daniel…” Doku breathed out. She let out a short yelp as he then lifted her up and carried her in his arms, her legs and wings freezing in place as she stared at him in awe.
“Now then,” Daniel said with a knowing smile. “It’s late and you’ve been working way too much for us, Doku. It’s time for you to come to bed along with the girls.”
“B-B-But I h-h-have to d-d-do the d-dishes and- and- and also-” Doku stuttered before Daniel leaned closer to her, the harpy losing her voice as her hips quivered along with her lips. He gave her a kiss that caused her whole body to lock up from, the harpy’s eyes being wide before fluttering closed as she practically melted in his embrace. When the kiss ended Daniel gently nudged her nose with his before standing upright and shaking his head.
“No, you don’t. You’ve done way too much already. I’ll handle the cleanup tonight, all you need to concern yourself with is preparing for a well-deserved good night’s sleep.”
“But-”
“No buts,” Daniel told her, the harpy squeaking before burying her face in his shoulder. “I’m taking you to bed. Don’t fight me on this, Doku.”
“…okay,” she quietly said nodding. “Whatever you say, dear.”
Daniel smirked at the bashful harpy then looked over to see Cindy and Snapper still gobbling down what little food remained on the counter.
“Cindy,” he called out, with the wraith quickly turning to him with a jump. “It’s time for everyone to go to bed for the night. Everyone needs their sleep.”
“But I don’t sleep,” Cindy said shaking her head in puzzlement. “And there’s still more yummy food here to eat.”
“You may not sleep but we all have to. It’s late and we all need our rest for tomorrow. Besides, Snapper needs her rest too; she’s just a young child.”
“But Snapper wants to eat more with me,” Cindy pouted as she watched the swarm making short work of the remaining mutton slices. “We don’t wanna go to bed.”
“Alright,” Daniel replied with a shrug. He turned to walk away with Doku in his ar
ms then glanced back to the sand wraith with a playful smile. “I guess I’ll just go to bed with the girls who love me and want to stay by my side.”
“But I do love you!” Cindy insisted.
“We love him more,” Specca said coming closer to Daniel’s side and resting her head on his shoulder.
“No you don’t!” Cindy yelled waving her arms around. “I love him more more more!”
“We love him more than food,” Clover boasted as she walked over and held onto Daniel’s other arm. “That’s way more than you do apparently.”
“No! I love him more than anything!” Cindy barked out. She looked back and forth between Daniel and the girls who were smiling amusedly at her and the platters of leftovers where Snapper was now watching her curiously from. After a fierce internal struggle Cindy quickly grabbed Snapper and started dashing past everyone.
“C’mon, Snapper! We have to go to bed! Right now!”
Daniel and the girls laughed as she raced out of the room then followed after, all of them making their way into the bedroom where they saw Cindy now sitting on the bed holding Snapper in her arms. The wraith had a pouty face while Snapper was just chewing on her sandy arm with kicking feet.
“I’m a good girl,” Cindy moped. “I love Daniel more than anything. I do.”
“I can see that,” Daniel kindly said as he came over and gently set Doku down on the bed. The harpy quickly started to get up to rush out of the room before Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her back down on the bed, the bird yelping in surprise while all the girls were watching Daniel curiously.
“But… I… need to…” Doku breathed out.
“No, you don’t,” Daniel corrected shaking his head. “I’m going to clean up the kitchen, I’m going to handle the dishes, and you’re going to stay here and rest. That’s final, Doku.”
“But I can-”
“No, you can’t. You’re not to lift a feather with any more housework tonight, Doku. That’s an order.”
“But… Daniel…”
“Alyssa,” Daniel said glancing back to the witch. “If Doku tries to leave the bedroom you have my permission to punish her.”
Doku squeaked and turned to Alyssa in fright as the witch nodded with a stern smile at the harpy.
“Okay, Daniel,” Alyssa sweetly replied. “I’ll make sure she stays here like you told her to.”
“But… Alyssa,” Doku whimpered. “The dishes… and the cleaning… and-”
“Do I need to bend you over?” Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow.
Doku squeaked and quickly shook her head, the girls giggling in amusement while Daniel stood up and turned his calm smile over to Cindy.
“Thank you, Cindy,” Daniel said holding a hand to her cheek. “I know you don’t sleep at night, but it’s nice having my girls here together with me like this when I do. It gives me pleasant dreams knowing you’re here with me, safe and sound.”
“I give you pleasant dreams?” Cindy wondered. “Is that good? I don’t know what dreams are. I hope that’s good.”
“It’s very good,” Daniel agreed with a nod. He then leaned in and kissed her, the girl closing her eyes and wiggling her chest a little in excitement. Snapper looked up to Daniel with a curious gurgle as he kissed the sand wraith before he broke the gesture and pet the girl’s head.
“You’re a very good girl, Cindy. I’m happy you’re here with us.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” Cindy bashfully replied. She glanced down to Snapper then held her up towards Daniel with a hopeful smile. “Snapper’s a good girl, right? She wants a kiss too.”
The others watched in nervous silence as Snapper snapped her teeth and flailed her claws around right in front of Daniel. To their surprise he didn’t flinch or back away as a sensible person would certainly do, instead he gently reached out and held the child’s hands still before giving the youngling a kiss on her forehead. Snapper stopped moving and watched him curiously as he then nudged her nose with his, something that made her flinch with a gurgle before she cawed at him with a smile.
“Snapper’s a good girl too,” Daniel agreed lightly shaking her hands. Snapper cawed and snapped her teeth a few times then quickly lunged down and chomped on his hand. Daniel froze with a stunned smile as the swarm growled and tugged on his hand using her teeth, with only Cindy smiling happily at the youngling while the other girls were watching with exasperation.
“Every. Fucking. Time,” Clover flatly said.
“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised she did that,” Specca sighed.
“I was kind of expecting her to,” Falla commented.
Daniel chuckled as he tried pulling his hand out of the swarm’s mouth, with little Snapper growling and tugging back at first before she let go and snapped her teeth excitedly. Rubbing his hand Daniel watched with a weak smile as the youngling was chomping the air again and again before she turned around and started mauling Cindy’s chest. The sand wraith coddled the child with a loving embrace, despite the swarm tearing into her bosom with sharp claws and teeth in a very savage manner, then looked at Daniel curiously as he stood in front of the bed.
“Aren’t you going to go sleep now, Daniel?”
“I will soon,” Daniel replied looking to the sore mark on his hand, seeing that Snapper drew only a little blood with that particular bite. “I’m going to go clean up the kitchen and dining area before turning in for the night.”
“I can help with-” Doku insisted before Daniel held a hand out towards her.
“I’m going to take care of it alone,” he continued before looking around at his mates. “In the meantime you girls relax and get changed for bed. When I come back I don’t want any of you worrying yourself sick about Kroanette, hiding your beautiful smiles from me for any reason, or wearing any clothes either.”
“Daniel,” Specca spoke from behind her hand, a stunned smile on her face as the girls showed equal surprise at his choice of words.
“Well I suppose if you want to sleep in clothing you can,” Daniel reasoned with a shrug. “I wouldn’t want you to get too hot during the night though, so I’ll leave that decision up to you. At the very least I don’t want there to be any gloom in the air when I get back.”
He turned to walk out of the room before glancing back to the girls, all of them watching him in speechless wonder as he casually waved a finger in the air as a warning to them.
“Remember, not any gloom. If there’s anything to be concerned about let me deal with it. You girls don’t need to worry about a thing tonight.”
“Whatever you say, Dan,” Clover managed to get out, herself and the others then watching Daniel walking out of the room before turning to each other in question.
“What happened to him earlier?” Falla asked. “He’s never been so commanding of us before.”
“I have no idea,” Clover said shaking her head. “He took a nap outside, and when he woke up he just… took charge. I don’t know what got into him but I love it.”
“He completely took away all my fears for Kroanette,” Specca marveled. “His words to me and the way he held me earlier, it washed away my worries so quickly.”
“He made me feel better too,” Luna added. “Even with all the bad things happening outside Daniel made me feel so safe and happy with him.”
“Daniel actually told us to take off our clothes,” Alyssa commented with a raised eyebrow. “He wanted us all to be naked for him when he came back. That’s the first time he said that to us.”
All the girls blinked, looked to each other for a moment, and then quickly started stripping down in haste while Cindy watched them curiously from the bed. Squeak smiled amusedly at the girls as they swiftly rushed around the room to take off their clothing and put it away, with Clover and Specca tripping over each other in the process while Pip zipped around in a tight circle with her skirt and stamen bra being tossed out from the glowing blur of light along with her boots.
“He’s never ordered us to get naked bef
ore,” Falla fretted as she and Luna scrambled to hang up their clothes in the wardrobe. “What does that mean when he tells us to?”
“It means I’m fucking stripping right away!” Clover barked back as she frantically pulled off her tunic and yanked down her skirt. “If he wants to see me naked then he’s gonna! I don’t need any other reason than that!”
“But we can’t have sex tonight,” Specca worried as she hung up her shirt and tie. “It’s not right for us to do that when Kroanette’s missing like this.”
“Plus there’s four of us here who haven’t gotten that right yet,” Falla pointed out looking to Star who was quickly taking off her tunic and skirt, Clover who was yanking out her leafy ribbons, Doku who was frantically fluttering around in a panic with her shawl hanging off her shoulder and a bright blush on her face, and then Cindy who was still watching the girls in puzzlement from the bed with Snapper coughing out sand in her arms.
“Daniel said we wouldn’t be doing that tonight,” Alyssa explained as she used her magic to cast her clothes over into the wardrobe to put themselves away. “And I agree, tonight isn’t the night for us to engage in lovemaking with her being out there like she is. Our hearts wouldn’t be in it and for good reason.”
“Then why does Daniel want us to be naked when he gets back?” Luna wondered looking down at her breasts.
“He never said we wouldn’t be cuddling tonight,” Alyssa answered expectedly. “And I don’t know about you but I’d much rather be naked like he wants me to be when we do, especially if he’s going to be naked too.”
As the girls ran around the room to get ready for the night with quickly beating hearts Cindy looked down to her shirt with a curious expression.
“Daniel wants me to be naked when we cuddle? That would make him happy?”
All the girls stopped and turned to her as the sand wraith was tilting her head one way then another in thought about that idea. Snapper finished coughing out sand and squirmed around in her arms before Cindy set her down on the bed, the youngling hopping around with a few snaps of her teeth before turning to the wraith with a curious gurgle. After a while Cindy shrugged before her clothes began to crumble apart into sand, the loose grains sifting away and being absorbed by her body as the wraith undressed in her own way. The girls all watched Cindy in silence as she stood upright on her knees and looked herself over with a curious eye, slowly turning around to see only bare skin where there was once the appearance of clothing over it.
Chronicles of Eden - Act XI Page 19
