Blessed Ch. 04: New Normal

Her smile deepened, and she silently started to roll; I lifted up a bit to let her get onto her stomach, then settled back down over her waist, and began to gently massage the back of her head.

The trip back down her body took a bit longer, both due to not having nearly as much to skip, but also because my hands were getting quite tired and sore - I hadn't given a massage this involved for years, and my hands weren't used to the motions. I did take the opportunity to slow down and tease Kyuku when I reached her ass, slowly kneading her cheeks, then running my thumbs almost down the cleft. A groan from the Oni made me grin and move on down to her thighs.

A couple minutes later I finished off massaging the soles of Kyuku's feet, then sat down on the edge of the bed. A small, content smile was on my face - the first of its kind, I would realize later, that I'd had in years - as I watched her take deep, relaxed breaths. Eventually, she let out a long, humming sigh. "Thank you, I needed that," she said, turning her head to look at me.

I grinned at her. "Of course."

"Though, you know you missed a bit," she critiqued playful, sitting up.

"Oh? Then maybe you should show me so I can fix that."

Kyuku shuffled to the edge of the bed, then gently pushed me towards the middle and onto my back, removing my robe somewhere along the way. Then her hands went to my feet. "Oh, we'll have plenty of time for that," she replied, beginning her massage.

Just as it had been years since I'd ever given a massage, it had been just as long since I'd received one. And - to steal from Kyuku - Au'rea's tits, I never realized just how much I needed one.

Everywhere Kyuku touched turned to jelly, it seemed, my muscles simply melting, the knots I didn't know were there being brushed away. Groans of satisfaction were pulled from me with every passing moment, and it wasn't until the Oni's hands pointedly went around my cock that I realized I had gotten extremely hard.

I cracked my eyes open just in time to see Kyuku blow a stream of cool air at the head of my dick, causing me to shiver, before she moved on, up towards my stomach. She likewise skirted around my nipples, blowing small gusts at the sensitive nerves. My eyes drooped closed as her fingers reached my face, but my attention was torn between the oh-so blissful, relaxing pleasure of her massage, and the hot, damp heat of her pussy, which sat just above my cock from where she was straddling me.

I heard - almost felt - her hum mischievously. Then my eyes popped open when Kyuku started to gently rock her hips against me. She grinned, then leaned down and whispered into my ear. "Why don't you roll over so I can get your back?"

I managed to give her a small glare, which just made the Oni laugh softly. Rolling over took far too much effort since I knew it took my cock further away from Kyuku's pussy, which promised to be oh-so wonderful. But I eventually made it onto my stomach, and then the brief concern of being that half-foot further from fucking her melted away as her hands went back to work massaging the tension from my body.

The only reason I was surprised when she teased me a minute later - her fingers skirting around my ass - was because my mind had blanked out completely. I felt her breath tickle my back as she laughed softly at my shiver. "Sensitive much?"

I grunted in what I hoped was a non-committal tone. Kyuku chuckled again, blew a stream of air towards my ass, and then resumed her massage, eventually finishing back where she started at my feet.

Rather than move, I just sighed appreciatively. "That was amazing," I said, feeling like a puddle. The mattress listed sharply as Kyuku laid down beside me, her tall frame stretching out on her side. One of her hands gently stroked my back, which felt... comfortable. Friendly. Intimate.

I managed to pry my eyes open for a moment. "Though I think you missed a bit."

The Oni grinned at me. "I'll fix that if you'll get what you missed."

I grinned back, rolling onto my side. "Deal," I agreed, my hands reaching out to her chest while she trailed her hand down, down, down... and onto my cock.

You'd think that, as big as they were, Oni would have a rough, powerful grip. Kyuku's feather-light touches, the way she more brushed and stroked my dick with her fingers than pumped and rubbed it, put the lie to that notion. On my part, I decided that subtly died at least a half-hour ago (though I had no real idea how long we had been massaging each other), and all but dove right in, taking large handfuls of both of Kyuku's massive tits and gently kneading them, her hard nipples caught in the center of my palms.

We moaned in unison, eyes sliding closed as we pressed those sensitive parts of ourselves into each other's hands. Kyuku's other hand dropped down and began to oh-so-gently caress and massage my balls, even while I slowly migrated my attention from her boobs at large and zeroed-in on her nipples, plucking and pinching and rolling the hard nubs between my fingers.

I opened my eyes to see the Oni staring lustily at me, her lips parted as she let out small, gasping sighs. "Oh, Au'rea," she whispered.

"Fuck," I groaned, not for any particular reason, only because it was all my mind could come up with in reply. My body, however, knew better: I rolled towards and then atop Kyuku, my cock sliding between her thighs and against her hot, soaked pussy by chance as I straddled the massive woman. She started to grin up at me, but a moan and her body arching in pleasure as I pinched and twisted her nipples in unison interrupted the smirk. And, when she was able to look back at me, I halted any words or grin with a needy kiss.

There was a moment's pause, as though she wasn't sure how to react - or, more likely, was surprised by my forwardness. But it only lasted a second, and then she was kissing me back, our tongues dueling, advancing then retreating, above then below, flanking and being flanked. Kyuku squeezed her thighs together and gently bucked, rubbing my cock in a new and wonderful way. Then she cocked her hips, spread her legs out and around me, put her hands on my hips to help guide me, and then I was suddenly, blissfully, inside her.

Any worries I'd had about being too small instantly vanished. That wasn't to say I stretched her out or anything, but Kyuku was amazingly tight as she rhythmically clenched around my cock. In fact, she was in perfect rhythm, squeezing greedily as I pulled back, only to open in welcome as I sank into her.

The angle I had to crane my neck at to kiss her while also fucking her was quickly becoming uncomfortable, so I changed my focus, breaking off the kiss to nip along her jaw, down her throat, over her collar, and onto her breast. I spent hardly a moment to tease, trailing my tongue around the edge of her areola, before latching onto the turgid peak of her nipple and sucking, my teeth gently scraping the sensitive flesh.

A low, throaty moan let me know I was doing something right, and I began to lave her nipple with the flat of my tongue even as I sucked. Kyuku's rhythm went a little haywire there, and she let out a long groan, her legs coming up to wrap around me, holding my hips close as she ground her pussy against me.

I managed to last longer than I'd thought, despite the amazing tightness of Kyuku's pussy. But knowing that I didn't really have a refractory period, I didn't hold back, and ended up coming after only a few minutes. Looking up, my lips still around the Oni's nipple, I saw a nearly wild look in Kyuku's eyes, and even as I moved to the side a little, I also dropped one hand between her legs while my other went to her unoccupied breast. I zeroed in on her clit and nipple, and began to stroke, pinch, twist, and pull. I slid two, then three fingers into her pussy, curling them upwards as I thumbed her clit so that I hit her G-spot (I felt pretty safe assuming she had one, and the reaction I got out of her confirmed that there was something good there).

Kyuku's eyes closed slowly, the Oni fighting to keep them open and meet my own gaze. But eventually, she gave in to the pleasure, her back arching as she threw back her head, another long, loud moan splitting her lips. I didn't let up as I rose in pitch, and worked even harder when it became almost strangled, her body shaking in bliss. I kept it up through her orgasm, though the three fingers inside her got a little stuck when she clenched down hard, the vice-like contraction not relenting for the entirety of her orgasm.

It was after a couple dozen seconds that I realized she was still cuming, her body locked into that state of pure bliss as long as I was stroking and pinching and caressing her. With a final, harsh pinch, rub, and stroke, I pulled away, wrenching my fingers from her pussy and letting up on her nipples. It took Kyuku another dozen seconds to come down from the high, her body still shaking. When her eyes opened, she stared blearily at me, a lazy, almost loopy smile forming on her lips.

"Fuck," she murmured, a particularly violent shiver going through her body. "That was..."

I just grinned, blushing hotly at the implied complement of her wordlessness. Then I laid down beside her, throwing one arm across her chest and idly stroking her hair with my other hand. She hummed appreciatively, then closed her eyes and seemed to doze off, though it was clear from the way her hand caressed the back of my shoulders that she was still awake. I closed my eyes too, enjoying the simple pleasure of intimate company.

"I can't wait for you and Stheskiths to spend some quality time together."

My eyes popped open, and I saw Kyuku gazing at me while smiling lazily. "I, uh..." I wasn't sure how to react to that. "Does she even... want to?"

The Oni chuckled. "Of course she does, she's just too damn shy to say anything."

"And you know that... how?"

A snort. "Because I sleep with her almost every night and spend most of my days with her, so I know her behaviors. I know her... looks."

I frowned. "I didn't notice - or sense - her looking at me."

Kyuku grinned. "She tends to look around people, not at them. Again, shy. Naga have bad overall vision, but comparatively good peripheral vision anyways, so if someone has to be looking directly at you with 'interest' for your Au'rea-granted 'sense' to work, you'd probably miss every look she's sent your way."

I thought for a long moment, considering the unique vision of Naga. "Wait, do Naga..." I trailed off, and Kyuku raised an eyebrow. "Do they like... taste the air? Like snakes?"

The Oni smirked. "Have you seen her 'taste the air?'" I blushed and shook my head, and she chuckled. "No, they don't, but they do have the ability to sense heat and have an excellent sense of smell."

"Good to know," I said slowly, hoping that my sweaty-ass self hadn't been repulsive at the hotspring. "But anyways, we've gone off the original topic: you 'can't wait' for her and I to... spend time together. Why?"

Kyuku grinned. "I think you'd be good for her, and while I can't think of anything specific, I think spending time with her - and not just time fucking - would be good for you too." She shrugged. "Just an instinct I have."

"Uh-huh," I replied noncommittally. "And here I thought I was the only one with weird, unusual 'senses' about people."

Another snort. "You might have some kind of strange 'wants-to-fuck' sense, but the rest of us make do with our instincts, and they work just fine, thank you very much."

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "You sure that's not some sort of hidden gift from Au'rea too?"

Rather than the chuckle I was expecting, the Oni got a sort of far-away look in her eyes, and she looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder..." was her subdued, enigmatic response.

I frowned. "Kyuku?"

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, then smiled, huffed a small laugh, and shook her head. "Nothing. A talk for another time. Maybe."

I nodded after a moment. "Uh, sure. Sorry, didn't mean to pry."

The Oni just smiled a little larger at me, then stretched. "We should go meet up with the others. I bet at least one of them will want to talk with you, and it wouldn't hurt to see if Gladra wants to see you before we all go to sleep."

I nodded again, with more surety than before. "Yeah, sounds good," I agreed.

It was only a few minute later that we re-entered the dining hall, which was somehow even more crowded than before. It wasn't even a second after we walked in that I started feeling looks. I still flushed, and dropped my gaze down towards the floor bashfully, but I did manage to keep from shuffling along; rather than try to hide from the looks, I did my best to ignore them.

It didn't work, and I was very quickly half-hard again.

I need to get a codpiece, I bemoaned, hoping my erection wouldn't tent my robe too much. I missed underwear.

Our seats were still open at the same table, and Kyuku and I rejoined Di'ia, Stheskiths, and Rhaliyah. The Kitsune and Elf gave us knowing smirks, Di'ia brushing her tail along my back, while Stheskiths' eyes darted between us and then pointedly looked around us.

I was surprised to feel... something. It wasn't quite the same as the knowing I had from every other woman's gaze, but there was something there when Stheskiths looked at me. It was hard to describe, but perhaps... like the feeling of something swinging very close to you, close enough that you feel the air currents of its passage.

Either that or I was imagining things, now that Kyuku had told me about the Naga's non-direct looks. Regardless, I tried to avoid looking at her too much - not only would that be rude, but she was so shy already, it wouldn't be nice to stare and make her uncomfortable.

Instead, I tried to engross myself in the conversations Di'ia and Rhaliyah were having with our neighbors. Di'ia was talking to a young-looking human girl about the Kitsune's home, Seyashan, which was intriguing. Meanwhile, Rhaliyah was talking to one of the warmaids about combat practice, and how they wished that they could incorporate some way to practice magic safely and efficiently.

Wait, hold on a moment.

"Di'ia," I said softly, gently tapping the Kitsune's shoulder. She turned to look at me, and I continued, keeping my voice quiet to avoid being heard. "You said before that I have an absurd amount of aether, right? Is there any way to share it? You know, like you channel magic into those orbs?" I looked significantly towards Rhailyah and the warmaid, and we listened in just long enough for Di'ia to get what they were talking about.

At first, the Kitsune's eyes were wide in surprise, seemingly shocked by the idea. Then, slowly, a wide grin split her face. "Yes, actually!" she replied gleefully. Then she glanced around. "But let's first talk to Priestess Gladra. She needs to know first." The Kitsune looked at Rhaliyah for a moment. "Her too."

I tapped Rhaliyah's shoulder and asked her to come with Di'ia and I while the Kitsune apologized to the human girl for cutting their conversation short. After excusing ourselves to Stheskiths and Kyuku, we then hurried out from the dining hall and towards Gladra's office. Di'ia knocked a quick, sharp triple-knock, and was quickly answered by the Pristess within: "Enter."

We did and Gladra's eyebrows rose slowly when she saw that it was the three of us. "What brings you three here during dinner?" she asked.

Di'ia's grin would have better suited a child. "I tested Aaron's crafts and rank," she said gleefully. "And you'll never guess what rank he is."

"Oh? Do tell."

"It's so high he'd need his own."

Rhaliyah looked sharply at the Kitsune, then stared at me. Priestess Gladra's eyebrows went even higher. "You mean..."

"He could probably recharge everyone in the Monastery within a few hours and be right back at a full pool."

Both the Elfess and the Priestess had wide, awe-struck eyes, and both were fixed on me. I shrank away a little, once again uncomfortable being the center of attention. After a long moment, Gladra schooled her expression, and looked back at Di'ia. "That's quite spectacular, Di'ia, but surely you didn't need to interrupt your meal to..."

The Kitsune shook her head. "Gladra, think about it. The biggest restriction on magic training is mana pool and flow - use too much during training, and most won't have any left should they need it. But if we could siphon some from Aaron..."

The Priestess' eyes were wide once again. "We could train our Sisters as quickly at magicraft as we could at warcraft," she murmured. She stared at nothing for a moment, likely considering all the implications of that, then she looked directly at me. "Would you consent to do such?"

I nodded. "From what Di'ia's told me, it shouldn't harm me, and it won't cause me any real inconvenience, right?" Both Gladra and the Kitsune nodded. "Then yes, of course. I don't want anyone to have to fight, but if the women here ever need to, it would be far better for them to have every tool and skill at their disposal, and to know how to use all of it properly. If I can help, I want to."

Gladra gave me a warm smile of gratitude. "Thank you, Blessed Aaron. Your concern and your aid is most valuable." I shrank a little at the formal title, a small blush touching my face. It still didn't feel right to be treated and referred to with such reverence. Hell, it felt wrong to some extent. I was just trying to be helpful, I didn't see why Gladra had to make such a big deal of it and go all formal on me.

"I-I'm happy to help," I replied. "But, um... I do have a request regarding the whole thing." Gladra gestured for me to continue. "If possible, could we use the aether crystals or something, and not have some big display of me being a magical battery?"

The Priestess gave me a small, sympathetic smile. "Regardless of how we go about the task, it's unlikely that we could hide what's happening. Everyone is likely to know within a week what you are doing for us."

"That's... that's fine." It wasn't - not really - but I also could see that there wasn't any point arguing over it, not the least because there was nothing anyone there could actually do about it. "I don't care if everyone knows. I just..." I held my arm close to myself, looking down towards the floor. "I don't need all that... attention. It's not normal. Not for me."

There was a long moment of silence, long enough for me to look back up and see the three women in the room sharing glances. Then, Gladra looked back at me. "Very well. I can't promise that we'll do anything to try and hide what's occurring, but we won't stand on ceremony about the matter either."

I smiled slightly in relief. "Thank you."

"But you should know," the Priestess continued, "Who you are, what you are - it matters a great deal to everyone here, more, I think, than most of us can realize. You should come to terms that being the Blessed of Au'rea, having the powers that you do... they're a part of you now. Whatever 'normal' was for you back on Earth, this is your new normal."

I swallowed heavily, a heavy weight beginning to hang from my heart. It was a truth that I hadn't wanted to admit, least of all to myself, but now that it was out there, I couldn't deny it. My options, to paraphrase from a game I had been playing back home, were to embrace it, or defy it.

I was Aaron Wells. I was a human from Earth.

I was also the Blessed of Au'rea, a Goddess, and I now resided on Xeria, a world of magic filled with fantastic peoples. And I was supposed to save this world.

What fucking part of that counted as 'normal?'