“Thank you, Fiona,” Andrea said, stepping next to Sean. “You’ll get my back, sir?”
“Of course,” Sean said as he watched Fiona walk away.
Once Andrea’s back was clean, he handed her the soap, only to have it slip out of her hand. “I’m so sorry,” Andrea said, dropping to her knees to pick it up. Deftly grabbing the soap, she looked up at him, “I have it, sir. Thank you again.”
Sean blinked at her; she was a foot away, on her knees, dripping wet, and smiling up at him. “Err… no problem,” Sean said, stepping away as his cock started to rapidly rise.
“Master,” Myna called to him from next to one of the tubs. “I have this one ready for you.”
“Thank you, Myna,” Sean breathed out in relief, all too aware of the eyes following his movements.
“I wanted to ask a favor,” Myna said as he reached her. “Can you give me a tail?”
Sean stopped a couple of feet away from her. “Huh?”
“You said you’d like me with a tail, and having seen Fiona’s new hand… Can you?”
Lips pursed, Sean sat on the edge of the tub and scratched at his chin. “Probably. Are you sure, though? It might raise questions about where it came from.”
“I’ll just say I’ve always kept it hidden,” Myna said quickly. “You seemed like you were sad I didn’t have one.”
“No,” Sean corrected her gently. “I love you just the way you are, Myna. If you want one for you, I’ll do it, but not because you think I want you to have one. My silly kitty is perfect the way she is.”
Myna’s eyes watered, “If you’re sure, Master.”
Catching her around the waist, he stood up. “Myna?”
“I just want to be everything you want,” Myna whispered, laying her head against his chest. “I’d be fine with being fully Moonbound if that is what would make you happiest.”
Sean paused and kissed the top of her head. “Okay, silly kitty, but I want it to look right. Brace against the tub.” Letting go of her, he touched the spot just above her rear.
Myna’s breath was fast as she leaned against the tub, swallowing hard while she thought about what she had just asked for. All of her life, she wanted to be as far from a Feline Moonbound as she could. Ever since she met Sean, however, she wanted to embrace that side of herself because she knew he adored it.
Focusing his energy into Myna’s body, Sean started with the bone. Once he had split the new part off the vertebrae, he began growing the bones. He let them taper in diameter, narrowing as they grew. With the bones in place, he started in on the muscles, tendons, veins, and nerves needed for the tail to be healthy and able to move. Next came the skin and fur. Matching the fur to her ears, Sean smiled when he was finished. A wave of exhaustion washed over him and he leaned against the tub.
“All done.”
“Amazing,” Ryann said.
“He really can do anything,” Chastity gasped.
“Sean, are you okay?” Fiona asked.
“He does everything for those he loves,” Andrea’s whisper was soft, but he still heard it.
“Fine. A little tired.”
“Can I touch it, Myna?” Ida asked, less than a foot from her.
The dark brown tail lashed back and forth suddenly, and Myna craned her head over her shoulder to see it. “It’s moving on its own?”
“You can control it some, but mostly it’s going to move based on what you’re thinking and doing,” Sean said. Stepping into the tub, he sank into the hot water.
Sean tuned out what the women were doing as he let the hot water soak into him. Their voices washed over him like the tide, and he was only semi-aware of them carrying out an animated conversation.
Idle thoughts darted through his mind, but none of them stayed long enough for him to focus on. Many of them had to do with flesh Shaping, but he did not try to grab at them. As the water cooled, a pair of arms pulled him up and hugged him against the back of the tub.
“Thank you, Master... thank you,” Myna purred as she squeezed him.
“I’m glad you’re happy, Myna,” Sean replied. “Does it feel okay?”
“It’s very natural... like I was meant to have one all along,” Myna said. “Do you want to see it?”
“Let me up?”
Myna let him go and Sean got to his feet before turning to face her. She watched him, looking a little uncertain as she stood there in profile to him, her tail twitching back and forth. “Is it okay?”
The contrast between her skin and the dark brown fur that covered her tail was shocking, but Sean felt a smile on his face. Stepping out of the tub, he walked behind her, gently reaching out to touch the base of her tail. The transition from skin to fur was strange to him, and Sean’s smile slipped.
“Hmm, do you mind if I change you a little more, Myna?”
“Not at all,” Myna replied instantly.
“Hold still,” Sean whispered as he touched her hair and the base of her tail.
It did not take him long to coax a streak of fur to sprout down her back, connecting her head and tail. The fur was silky to the touch and a few inches wide. Once it was grown, he gently stroked the new strip.
Myna let out a gasp and a deep purr. She leaned against the tub, arching her back for him.
“Silly kitty likes her new fur and tail?”
“Yes! Thank you, Master.”
“You are beautiful, Myna,” Sean whispered as he continued to stroke her fur. “Everyone else left already?”
“They went to help Andrea with dinner,” Myna purred. “Fiona said we can take an hour to ourselves, though.”
Part of Sean was immediately behind that idea, and Sean chuckled as he stepped sideways and put himself directly behind Myna. “Well, we should make sure your new tail is okay in all situations.”
Myna’s eyes fluttered, and she purred louder when his hands slipped around her to cup her pert breasts. “As you wish, Master.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Sean waved to his friends when they reached the Oaken Glen. Ida, seeing her father at the table shared by the smiths and Shapers rushed to him and hugged him happily. Sean smiled when he watched Ida crush her stout father in a hug.
“Sean, you won’t believe this!” Joseph called out in greeting as they got closer. “Brendis found a healer who was able to replace his arm.”
“What!?” Sean exclaimed in his best surprised expression.
“It’s true,” Brendis said, showing off his two arms and forcing Ida to back away. “It cost us, but I can finally help Sam in the forge again.”
“Sounds like a celebration is in order,” Sean cheered.
“Would you like our best?” Bemin asked when she approached the table.
“Not sure we can afford that,” Sam said.
“I’ll help cover it,” Italice said, arriving at the table.
“We will,” Ryan said. “We might need the good stuff for another reason, too.”
Italice nodded, “If those rumors are true, we will.”
“I’ll be right back,” Bemin said, leaving the table.
“What rumors?” Knox asked.
“Let the drinks get here first,” Ryan said. “Besides, did we hear right? You had an arm replaced?”
Brendis showed off his arms, “This one was regrown from this point. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like, but I’ve been using it for the last few days and it seems normal.”
“I’ve heard of Shapers who can do that, but they are few and costly,” Italice said. “Where did you find one?”
Brendis bowed his head, “I can’t say. I have an Agreement in place.”
“Interesting,” Italice said, studying his arm. “You don’t have any loss in feeling or movement?”
“None at all,” Brendis said as he took Sam’s hand in his.
“I need to go sit with my peers,” Ida said, giving him another hug and a kiss on the cheek before she went to the apprentice table. She was greeted enthusiastically, and Sean
could tell the other apprentices were asking about her father.
“We have a variety of drinks to suit your tastes,” Bemin said as she came back to the table with two others, all of them carrying loaded trays. After serving the drinks, she smiled as three more Moonbound came out of the back with trays full of desserts. “There you go. If you need anything else, please let me know.”
When the servers had stepped away, Italice glanced at the door before sighing. “I was hoping they would get here soon. The rumors we heard say that Fredrick ended up in a confrontation with Denmur at the party last night. It seems Denmur was less than pleased to hear how Eva had announced her dislike for him in her shop a few days ago.”
“I was there for that,” Sean said. “It wasn’t as if she personally insulted him.”
“I believe it, but she announced that she was not Denmur’s ally, and that her friends weren’t either,” Italice said. “That made Denmur take notice. From what I’ve heard, after the gifts were presented, Denmur was irate that Eva’s and Fredrick’s gifts were the highlights of the night. During the dancing, Denmur interrupted them and started to insult Eva. Fredrick slapped him with a glove, and the Lord’s guards had to restrain both men.”
“Pretty much what I heard,” Ryan agreed, “except it wasn’t a glove, but a solid punch to Denmur’s face.”
The table was silent as they chewed over what they had just been told. The doors opening brought everyone’s attention to the entrance, where Fredrick and Eva were just entering.
Conversation all around the inn came to a stop when Fredrick and Eva walked into the inn. Eva was hand in hand with Fredrick, her head held high as she looked around the room with a challenging glare. Seeing everyone at the table staring at them, Fredrick sighed and walked their way.
“Seems the rumors have gotten here first,” Fredrick said as he sat Eva. “Brendis,” Fredrick said, surprised to find the smith at the table, “been awhile.”
“It has, and tonight it seems we both have news worth sharing, Fredrick. I got my arm back, and it sounds like you’ve been sharing yours.”
Fredrick looked torn between congratulating the smith or arguing about the second comment. Eva sat up straighter and stared hard at Brendis. “Is it a problem if I was using his arm?”
Sam shook her head, “He meant the slap to Denmur, not you, Eva.”
Eva looked down, a faint blush coming over her normally pale features. “Oh, I apologize.”
“We have no problem with a Dwarf and Human being together,” Brendis added, laying his hand on Sam’s. “Others might be more narrow minded.”
Fredrick took his seat and placed his hands on the table. One of them was visibly injured. “Denmur was upset that his long quest has been stymied twice in such a short period of time. Your daughter spurned him, and then Eva did the same.”
“Slimy bastard, he is,” Brendis snorted. “I can’t tell my story because of an Agreement, but the long and short is I have both arms again.”
“Meaning the productivity of your smithy is going to increase again,” Fredrick smiled. “That is good.”
“With Denmur being the ass we’ve all known him to be, we might not be doing much more work than normal,” Brendis replied. “Now, tell us about the party. It looks like you hit something solid, so I’m thinking Denmur’s head.”
Eva smiled and her hand covered Fredrick’s injured one. “He did indeed.” Picking up a glass of wine from the center of the table, she sipped at it. “After the slimy toad said unkind things about me.”
Fredrick’s smile grew and he accepted a mug of dark ale from Knox. “You should have seen his face when the gifts were received by the Lord and Lady. Both of his gifts were dismissed with hardly any comment. Our gifts, however, were lauded. Lord Sharpeyes went so far as to have the statue of him brought forth so the full effect could be seen. Every detail was pointed out by him personally. Lady Sharpeyes was quite happy with her new kettle featuring her favorite design, and positively ecstatic that any of her staff could prepare tea with it.”
“I was asked by several of the Dames present to make them similar kettles. I shall be quite busy over the next few tendays. I might need to get a second apprentice soon,” Eva smiled.
“Hob could help with that,” Sean said.
“Oh, you wouldn’t mind me taking another one of your students?”
“It’s his choice, or his and his family’s,” Sean replied. “It’d be best if he got more specific training than what I can give him.”
“Torin, would you bring Hob to my shop tomorrow?” Eva asked the boy’s father.
“I’d be happy to have my son apprentice to you,” Callon smiled. “We’ll be over before midday.”
“I want to hear more of the story,” Joseph laughed.
“The gifts had all been presented and the dancing started,” Eva said. “Fredrick is more of a dancer than I thought he would be. As the first dance was coming to an end, Denmur stormed onto the floor and into our path. He was positively ranting, using harsh words that shocked everyone who heard him. He made threats aimed at my business and Fredrick’s that quite a few people heard.”
“He went too far,” Fredrick said when she paused. “He called her… something I objected to. I didn’t think. My fist caught his jaw, and he went down. The guards separated us, and we were escorted from the party.”
“I took him home and tried to help his hand. He should see a healer still,” Eva said pointedly, staring at Fredrick. “I see you favoring it.”
“It’ll be fine, just bruised,” Fredrick replied.
“Broken knuckle,” Ryann said. “I’ve seen it often enough. Eva is right. You should get it seen to.”
Eva gave Ryann a thankful nod before her hand gripped Fredrick’s injured one. “Tonight, after we leave.”
Fredrick winced at the grip, “Fine.”
“Wish I’d seen that,” Joseph chuckled. “Denmur laid out... must have been quite the scene.”
“To our victor,” Torin Callon said, raising his mug. “Fredrick, champion of Shapers and good men and women.”
A cheer went up around the table and everyone drank to the toast. The mood was light as the drinks went around and the desserts were sampled.
“Sean, do you think that Oscar Blackhammer is sufficiently advanced?” Fredrick asked.
“Yeah, he’s as far along as Hans was,” Sean replied.
“I could use the help. Today was exceptionally busy,” Fredrick said. “Avery, do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Avery beamed, proud that his son was going to be Shaping alongside Fredrick.
“Oh, speaking of busy,” Chester Knox added, “Marjorie has started in on the towels for the baths. We should be ready for opening soon.”
“The drains are done,” Ryan said. “Italice and I finished them today.”
“Which leaves me for the summoning parts,” Sean said. “I’m close to what I wanted, but not quite there yet. I’ll start installing the first iteration tomorrow.”
“This will be interesting,” Joseph laughed. “Do we have a list of people to reject?”
“I’ll arrange that,” Italice said with a dark smile. “I know most of Denmur’s cronies.”
“I’ll help,” Eva added. “I think I know a few you don’t.”
“Maybe we should get a bouncer like the other bathhouses,” Avery said.
“If the pay is good, I think I know the right man for the job,” Sean grinned.
“Thinking of Angusson?” Joseph chuckled.
“He could do the job. Not many willingly stand up to him,” Fredrick chuckled. “Might put a damper on getting supplies delivered, though.”
“Not if we give the suppliers a steep discount to use the bathhouse,” Eva said with a smile. “It might even help sway them to our side. After all, our bathhouse is going to be something new.”
“New and sought after,” Sean added. “Many nobles will want what I’m going to do in their homes. As soon as I have the final pieces d
one, I’ll be making sure the pipes are patented, and you’ll all be granted equal rights to make them. I just want an Agreement from all of you that they’ll only be installed in places a majority of us agree to, and sold to no one without the same majority vote.”
“Now that will really hurt Denmur,” Fredrick chuckled.
“You’re going to be our face, Fredrick,” Sean said. “You’ll deal with anyone of power who wants to have them.”
Forged Bonds (Binding Words Book 4) Page 26
