Chapter 301 – Re: Coil

Day 41 (Cont)

That Evening

"There we go. All done. What do you think, Floppy? Can we catch some fish with these?" John said to the rabbit as he put the finishing touches on the last fishing pole he was making. He was puttering around in the garage, drinking some beer, and hanging out with Aqua's horned rabbit. It didn't appear impressed with his craftsmanship, as it continued to whack his thigh with its pink pool noodle-wrapped horn, but that was okay. He was happy with his work, and that was all that mattered.

He set the rod, which was little more than a long stick with a string, a bent nail for a hook, and a small piece of wood for a bobber, to the side with the rest, picked up his beer and the ornery rabbit, then plopped down on Ruby's makeshift bed. The rabbits had already been moved from the garage to their new shed, but he wanted some quiet company while he was puttering, so he snagged the one rabbit that had a name and brought it along. It wasn't happy about it and made sure he was aware of its displeasure.

"Now, the rest of the rabbits are terrified of me, but not you. Did your momma tell ya that I'm not allowed to eat you? Is that why you're so damn cocky?" He murmured, scratching the rabbit's head. It just sat on his belly, head twisted to the side so it could watch him, clearly unimpressed but accepting the attention anyway.

He didn't know why this one had no fear, but it really didn't matter. He was just hiding out here to get away from the bustle inside the manor at Lina's reveal and Aqua's newfound healing ability. She was currently taking the women through the mana pool one at a time, revelling in the attention they were giving her. 

Rightfully so. He wouldn't say he knew everything about her, but the sheer fact that she was able to teach herself how to modify her healing spells to act more like her old divinity spoke volumes about how much effort she had put into this. He wanted to do something for her, but he wasn't sure what. 

"She likes to swim, to drink, and to sing. Hah, if we could go back to that beach resort, we could have a great vacation there, but that would be with Xiaolin, and I don't want either of them to feel like a third wheel. I want to do something just for her with my own hands...but what? Any ideas, fuzzball?" He said, massaging the rabbit's ears with his fingers, idly trying to make peace with the beast whose first choice with him was usually violence. Which it chose to do right then, smacking John with the pool noodle. 

Most of the women were crowding in the mana pool with them, even the ones without scars that needed to be healed. He had tried to join them; the Carpenter and Armoursmith were still in the village, and he wanted to know for sure if he had impregnated them as well. Lina had chased him off, saying it was women's business tonight. Once they were finished, they would tell him the results. 

His mind was racing; he couldn't just sit idly and do more translation work in the library, and making more bricks right now would drive him insane. He needed to do something constructive, hence why he was making fishing poles. 

"This world is so weird. I'm excited to have children again, but... they will be children for what, a week or so before they are adults? This place is making becoming a parent a mild inconvenience at most. Yet all I want to do is have sex with them all." 

*Whack*

"Not the children, you silly rabbit, the women. I want fat bellies full of life. All of them...but I want to watch my kids be kids for a while, to change their diapers, watch them learn to walk, to learn to talk. Watch them grow into adults, teaching them what they need to know to find their own way in the world. I want to be there for everything that happens in between. Riana is just starting to show, yet her children will come out adults. There is no teaching for them, not really. They will come out knowing everything a Dryad needs to know, and bound to a tree. 

The ogre children will probably be no different. Lina, bless her heart, seems excited about having my children, but they will be adults in a week. She already has a boy in the village, though he's been an adult for a while now. How weird would that be, to have your couple-week-old child be taller than you already and able to hunt for their own food. Well... now that I say that, that sounds about average for you rabbits. Maybe not the size thing, but your offspring are ready to leave the nest in a few weeks at most. Is that all I am now, a damn stud rabbit like you? Just here to breed, not for need?" 

"Is that all you think you are? You know that isn't what we think of you." 

"You have reforged our nest, turning us mere goblins into something more."

"Humans were our enemies, but you have turned them into our friends."

"You changed the fate of so many of us; we need you. I... need you."

"You did say we would make good wives. Did you mean for someone else?"

Startled by the sudden intrusion, John sat up quickly and turned towards the six female voices, holding Floppy as a shield in his lap. "Umm, good evening. What are y'all doing here?" 

Ee, Mi, Sato, and Ruby stood in the doorway, while Felicia and Alma were behind them, the twin cooks blushing from speaking at the same time. Mi stepped forward, wearing the new metal arm Returner had him place on her. It looked like a grey armoured gauntlet, but it moved like an actual arm, fingers and all. If you got past the looks, it functioned like a prosthetic you'd find in a world like Infinite Frontiers. 

"We are here because Aqua thought you were acting oddly and needed some cheering up," Mi said, taking the rabbit from his arms and setting it on the floor. She then plopped her butt down on his lap, causing Little John to immediately stand at attention. 

"She said you were making confessions to Floppy about how you love all of us," Ee added, sliding in behind him and wrapping her arms over her shoulders.

"I...umm..." He started to say, but was cut off when Sato slid under his left arm and Ruby his right. 

"We get it, we really do. She explained how you want romance, how you think things are moving too quickly in this world you have found yourself in." Sato said, rubbing her hand along his lower back.

"In this world, we don't have long, drawn-out romances as you would hear in a fairy tale. A young couple might have a night or two of romance, then suddenly they would find themselves married, with a child already on the way." Ruby said, rubbing his thigh.

"We are lucky when we even have the choice of who we want to be with; usually women our age would have been married off by our families already," Felicia added.

"And if we can be with a man who loves our cooking, is a lord with his own castle, and can provide for us, who would ever turn that offer down? We are not some noble women who are expecting the world to be handed to them; we will work to earn our keep with you." Alma said, the twins looking for a spot to grab a hold of him as well. They both ended up sliding in behind Mi and Ee, pushing the two Hobgoblins tight to his body. 

"What about my choice?" He said, finally able to start articulating what was on his mind. "You're all young and beautiful, but ogre stamina or not, I'm just one man. I can't possibly treat you all as you deserve."

"Treat us however you want to, John. You can be a bit selfish; we don't mind." Mi said, whispering seductively in his ear while rubbing her cheek against his.

"Yeah, John. You have been through so much; enjoy your rewards." Ee said in his other ear. She then nibbled on his earlobe.

"We want you to take us and make us yours, John," Sato said, licking his nipple.

"I want my first time with you, John. Take me now." Ruby said, sucking his fingers while stroking Little John.

"We feel safe with you, John. You can protect us, right?" The twins said, then dipped down between his legs, somehow each of them taking one of his balls in their mouths.

"What is even happening- WAIT! How do you know my real name?!?" He said, his mind reeling at the situation.

*Rrrreeeekkkk Tictictic*

*Cuurrrr Cuurrrr*

He froze at the sound, then turned his head towards the noise. Floppy was sitting there, or what had been the rabbit; its skin was tearing open as it grew, flesh reshaping and expanding, turning an ugly purple colour before reforming into a-

*KRRRREEEEE!*

"ARRRGGGGHHH!!!!" John screamed as he awoke, his heart beating crazily. He looked around, confused for a moment at his surroundings. He was in the garage, lying on Ruby's makeshift bed. A very confused-looking horned rabbit with floppy ears was beside him, the tennis ball still stuck on its horn like it was on the day he moved the rabbit in here. It bopped him in the shoulder a few times with the side of its head, then curled back up beside him, going back to sleep.

"God damn it, these dreams are getting worse." He muttered, trying to remember why he laid down in the shed to begin with. He had been making fishing poles, getting things ready for their trip to Riana's old tree and the nearby lake and river while Aqua was healing people over in the mana pool. That much of his dream had been true. He had a couple of beers, but those wouldn't even touch his constitution, so he wasn't drunk. "Maybe I just decided to have a nap?"

*SNORE....SNORT!!!...SNORE*

He looked to his right, realizing Aqua was lying on the floor beside him, apparently having rolled off the makeshift bed. "Just what in the world is going on, darlin'." He murmured.

He slid his hands underneath her body and moved her back on the pad, twisting himself to take the big spoon position. That is when he noticed a marking on the centre of her back. A silver cross, the same colour and style as the one on his armour, was tattooed between her shoulder blades. 

What in the heck... when did she get a tattoo?

He shook his head, then wrapped his arm over her body, pinning her close to him. He was too damn tired to worry about that right now. Floppy, having been disturbed yet again, whacked him in the back of the head with his horn, but settled down once he realized John wasn't moving any longer. 

Giving the back of Aqua's head a kiss, he closed his eyes and began to drift off again. This time his dreams were much more pleasant. Just him, sitting in peace on his patio overlooking a vineyard, drinking his coffee as the rains poured down.

Day 42

"Riana, this is... crazy. How did you manage all of this?" John said after a few moments of staring out over the lake near her old tree. Things had changed significantly since he had last visited, and he wasn't sure when she had time to do it.

The grove around the tree was blooming like spring, not midsummer as it had been after their night of lovemaking, but the surrounding lands reminded him of a Caribbean beach resort. A path edged with a waist-high vine fence led down to the lakeshore, covered in a variety of flowers. From there, the path wound along the sandy shore, with several open-air vine tiki huts overseeing the lake. Everything was covered in vines and flowers, making it a colourful, fragrant resort. There was even a vine dock that extended at least fifty feet out into the lake, though its surface was covered in boards rather than living vines. 

"Your energy is scary; It won't just dissipate. I needed to put it to use somewhere." She said, draping his arm over her shoulder as she stood beside him. "Besides, Sui wanted to make a place to bring people to relax outside of the mansion and had shown me a picture of these places called resorts. With her guidance, I built this place in a day."

"Am I feeding you too much ki?" 

"Maybe... though I burn through a lot as well. These dryads are draining my reserves fairly quickly. It's just that when you top me up, you always seem to go overboard, to the point I feel like I'm about to burst." She replied, rubbing her slightly distended belly. "It might be good for you to grab someone else to pump your daily lust into, else I'll end up building you a whole town with trees, vines, and flowers with all this extra energy." 

He rubbed her fattening belly with his hand, feeling the life growing within the bulge with his magic. "I thought you liked being filled to the brim?"

"I do... but you're too much, even for me. Please, Rou, accept Sui, Mi, and Ee at the very least, if not all the others. I need a break before you break me." She replied, holding his hand to her belly. She was positively glowing now, her cheeks still flushed from their morning shower exertions. That was also when he had noticed she had the same silver cross tattoo that Aqua had, though hers was on her lower back.  

Before he could reply, he felt a sharp kick on his palm, as one of the babies inside her jerked around. He was surprised, but a wide smile formed on his face. It had been so long since he had felt something like this, and it gave great pleasure to think he had a hand in creating new life, however odd, in this woman's belly. "She seems active today." 

"You have no idea. I swear, all three of them are already trying to be warriors like their father."

"Do you have any idea how much longer?"

"It's hard to say, maybe in as little as two more weeks. Their magic circuits have already matured; it's just the time they need to finish developing their initial bodies. We need to find some trees to implant them into soon. I want my- our daughters to have the best start they can."

"Just tell me what you need, and I will make sure it happens." He replied, wrapping his other arm over her chest, hugging her tightly to him. 

"I need you to spread your seed to the others that share your bed and give my poor mana circuits a break. Unless I'm spirit walking everyone like today, I just need the top up in the morning." She said, clutching his arm tightly. "Now, feed me more so I can walk the rest of them here, unless you want to just make love under the tree again. I'm good with that too. If you feed me enough, maybe I can make one of these skyscrapers that were in those pictures, though I don't have any glass for windows."

"Heh, let's worry about construction projects another day. Today is about relaxing in the sun with everyone and fishing." He replied, funnelling his ki into her body as he eyed the dozen fishing poles he had made last night before falling asleep in the garage. They were simple things, but with that dock, they would more than do for a relaxing lakeside afternoon.

"Ahhh! Whew, that is a rush. Okay, here we go!" She said, raising her hand and forming a portal beside her tree. A moment later, Aqua stepped through, followed shortly after by Mi. Soon enough, the entire village had passed through the portal, many standing in awe at the picturesque sight below them. Returner and Sato were the last to come through, the Carbuncle sitting on her shoulder while inspecting the magic that Riana had used to move them all. 

"Welcome to Wayne Manor's Lakeside Retreat. Please, enjoy yourselves. Pick as many flowers as you want, though be respectful to the plants. This was my home not that long ago, and I don't want to see things damaged." Riana said to the milling group, still holding his arms to her body. "However, catch as many fish as you want; it's what's for supper after all."

 With that, the first of many festivals in their village had begun.