CH 176: Lingering Feelings

“Want to talk about it?” Claire asked gently. Jasmine clung to her arm as they headed to the Bree tavern.

“Not really,” Jasmine sighed. She didn’t want to talk about her sister at the moment. Or the complicated feelings she was having.

“Okay,” Claire whispered. She spotted Ursa lingering by the entrance of the tavern. “At least you may become an aunt soon.”

Jasmine exhaled softly. “Yeah, maybe…”

“That’s good news,” Claire clarified.

“I know,” Jasmine muttered. “Just…”

She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t admit the fact that she was jealous in so many ways. A part of her she wanted to deny was jealous of Lyn, one she wouldn’t acknowledge at the moment. A major part of her, however, was envious of them both. They get to have a child. It brought back the complicated feelings she had just before they left over two months ago.

“Wish we could too.”

Claire took a slow breath. She waved the Ravian woman over as she thought about what Jasmine had said. She remembered the state they were both in after the Goddess manifested in the physical world for the first time.

“I do too,” Claire admitted quietly.

“I’m really starting to want to say ‘fuck it,’” Jasmine continued. She watched Ursa rushing over. “Say ‘fuck it’ and stop taking Lily’s potions. Have a kid despite our mission.”

“That’d be incredibly reckless,” Claire said, though every part of her wanted to agree.  “We- I need you. Not just for fighting, but emotionally.”

Jasmine forced a smile and looked up at her former student. She was proud of her lover’s maturity. “Exactly why I haven’t.”

“We’ll have our kids after we fix this rotten society,” Claire whispered. “What better way to celebrate?”

Jasmine leaned her head against Claire’s shoulder. “That does sound nice.”

Ursa was finally standing before the two. She had a worried look as she listened to the two. “What happened? I heard a scuffle.”

“Fought with my sister,” Jasmine said, letting go of Claire. “Thought it was a good idea to try to recruit her.”

“Oh, thank Rava,” Ursa exhaled heavily. “I thought it was an intruder.”

“Nope,” Jasmine smiled. “Just my annoying Daphne.”

Claire took a moment to study Jasmine. She could tell when she was suppressing her emotions now. Before, the assassin could fool her by faking her emotions, but not now. Claire saw the pain behind the mask.

“Good girl,” Claire said, lifting her hand.

Ursa lowered her head without thinking, letting Claire pet her head. Claire gave the warrior a few gentle pats on the head before taking her hand. Jasmine bit back her laughter, not wanting to ruin Ursa’s moment.

“Jasmine’s sad,” Claire whispered to Ursa. “We need to cheer her up.”

Ursa nodded, watching Jasmine’s hips sway toward the entrance. Claire was watching too. Their attention was solely on the woman’s butt.

“Um, we could do it like that one time,” Ursa said, wiping the drool from her mouth. “You know. Without Ana this time.”

“Good girl,” Claire whispered. She snaked her hand down Ursa’s back, landing on the warrior’s butt. She couldn’t resist the urge to squeeze it. Ursa yelped, alerting Jasmine to their stares.

She rolled her eyes before opening the door. “Ignore her. I’m fine.”

“No she’s not,” Claire said playfully. “She really needs to be cheered up.”

“Getting mixed signals,” Ursa added. “Before you were talking about wanting a baby.”

“Fuck, forgot you had super hearing,” Jasmine muttered.

The three walked into the tavern and were greeted by the Brees. Mother and daughters were cleaning the kitchen area after sending the boys to bed.

“Ursa seemed worried,” Jess said hesitantly. She was still scared of the northerner. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, she just overreacted,” Jasmine said. She glared at the two behind her, warning them not to try anything. “She has a tendency to do that.”

“Better to make sure,” Ursa replied.

“Shouldn’t pry, though,” Jasmine retorted.

“Did I pinch a nerve?” Jess asked, confused.

“Ignore them,” Claire told her. She tried to shuffle the two towards the twins’ room. “Jasmine’s grumpy.”

“I am not,” the assassin tried to say as calmly as possible.

“Right, well,” Jess mumbled to herself. She’d never seen Jasmine like this. Couple that with where they were headed, Jess needed to exit the conversation entirely and find a distraction. She didn’t want to think about what they’d get up to in her daughters’ room.

The barmaid turned and walked straight into the kitchen with surprising speed. Her daughters watched her leave before turning to the assassin. Ana walked over and hugged Jasmine tightly.

“Out with it,” Elsie demanded.

“No.”

“Jaz, something’s bothering you,” Elsie said with a surprisingly sincere tone. She glanced at Claire, who nodded in confirmation. “You need to tell us.”

“Why?” Jasmine asked. “I can deal with my emoti-”

“Th-that’s no good!” Ana cut her off. The younger twin squeezed Jasmine tightly. “Let us help.”

Jasmine let out a long, exasperated sigh. She glared at Claire, annoyed that she put her in this position. “Alright. Whatever.“

Elsie stepped in close. She looked into her conflicted grey eyes. A small smile formed on the older twin before she joined her sister in the embrace. “Good. Hard to get you to open up when Lily isn’t around.”

Claire was eager to join the hug. She wrapped her three lovers in a tight embrace. She was thankful that Elsie was serious and didn’t take this time to tease her. “Won’t let you bottle those emotions up.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. She literally just explained her feelings to Claire. But she would have kept the others in the dark, which wasn’t fair to them. She glanced at Ursa, who was hesitantly standing by.

“Gonna join us?” She asked.

The northerner nodded. “Only if we get to cheer you up.”

Jasmine swallowed. She thought about what she heard the two discuss. Giving up her control to them, not just to Claire like last time. It was tempting. Ana felt Jasmine’s arousal grow.

“...Fine.” It came out in a far huskier tone than she was expecting.

Ursa’s face lit up. She embraced the four of them, squeezing them tightly. She was so excited that she lifted the women off their feet, followed by them all groaning in pain.

“Sorry…” Ursa said sheepishly.

“Goddess,” Elsie groaned. ‘For a moment there, I understood.’

Ana perked up at her sister’s thought. She glanced at Elsie, who had a slight blush on her face. ‘Really??’

‘Yes, but only for the briefest of moments.’ Elsie confirmed. She squirmed at the conflicting feelings she felt. She wasn’t into it like Ana was, but feeling just how strong Ursa was did something to her. ‘Do not tell her that.’

Ana hugged her sister tightly. She was extremely glad to hear that.

Jasmine was distracted by the twins’ nonverbal conversation; she didn’t see Claire sneaking up on her. Claire picked the assassin up in a prince carry, causing her to yelp.

“Hey!”

“Shhh,” Claire hushed her. “Still have to cheer you up, isn’t that right, Ursa?”

Ursa’s eyes dilated as they wandered over Jasmine’s body. “Damn right.”

Jasmine could feel her face flush with heat. She hid her face with her hands. “I said I was fine!”

“Mmm,” Claire mused. “Fine. Then we do this because I want to.”

Jasmine gulped. She could feel her chest ignite with lust. Her heart began to race as she felt just how strong Claire had become. She doubted she could even wrestle out of her grip from here.

“Probably best if we head to the carriage, though,” Elsie suggested. “Our room is connected to some of the boys’ rooms.”

“Is it still out back?” Claire asked as she headed towards the back door.

“Yup!” Elsie said with a mischievous smile. “Far enough away for us to do whatever we want.”

Jasmine gulped. She wasn’t ready for what was about to happen.