Divine Harem Ch. 02

Aswan stared at the beautiful blue sky above him with a dreamy haze in his golden eyes.

A wonderful, serene quiet hung over the beach, despite the sounds of the seabirds and the gentle crashing of the waves against the soft sand.

Vati was either asleep or so deeply relaxed it might not make a difference, nestled in the crook of Aswan's arm with her cheek firmly against his fluffy chest.

Every few moments, she rubbed her face against his fur, making happy sounds that reminded the warrior of a content kitten.

A long content sigh escaped from Aswan's throat.

It had only been two weeks since he met the goddess through Vati, two weeks since he had been married to her. His first wife, one of many, according to the goddess, a thought he still found strange.

The two of them had just clicked, probably better than the goddess had even anticipated, and every day had been a little adventure, preparing trips for their impromptu honeymoon, learning more about one another, and repeatedly consummating their marriage with a passion that neither knew they had inside.

And thanks to the goddess' blessing, it was clear without a doubt that the gorgeous priestess was now pregnant.

This whole thing made Aswan's head spin, a new mission, a wife and a child on the way in just two weeks.

Yet, despite the uncertainty, he had to admit to himself that he felt happy.

When he had decided to retire, he had absolutely no idea what to do, where to even go. He was tired of his questing days, and wanted something different in his life... but what?

But divine intervention, literally, had been chosen for him.

Apparently a huge family was in his future.

Would he be a good husband? And not for just one precious creature like Vati, but apparently others as well?

Would he be a good father? He hadn't even met his own.

And yet...

Vati snuggled closer to him, one of her petite hands grabbing a tuft of fur from his chest.

He couldn't help but swoon for her.

It didn't matter what it would take, he would not let her down, nor any of the others yet to come.

He closed his eyes and relaxed listening to the waves, pressing his small wife closer to him, who let out a pleased and happy whine.

When planning their little trip, Vati had asked him to take her to a place that was both quiet and beautiful, and Aswan had remembered this little inlet by the coast that he had visited during his travels.

It was remote enough that they had it all for themselves, and the big rocky walls surrounding it gave them privacy, in case they got amorous.

Aswan was not a fan of the sand or salty water, as it was a nightmare to get it out of his fur, but Vati had assured him that she could cast cleaning spells with her divine magic.

Not that he could say no to her deep blue eyes.

So here they were, just enjoying the feeling of not having to be anywhere in a rush, the breeze and sound of the ocean like a natural lullaby.

The warrior was unsure how long they had been in this delightful stupor before they were disturbed by the sound of splashing.

Aswan lifted his head to look towards the water, his golden eyes adjusting to the light on his face.

What looked like a female figure was slowly walking out of the water, her legs almost gliding through the waves as if they offered less resistance than you would expect.

She had a slick body that reminded Aswan of a smooth slide, with skin of a turquoise blue that would have made her almost impossible to see while submerged.

The visitor seemed to have been swimming, for she was just wearing a tight two piece swimsuit, though she was also carrying a small net or sack on her chest that made soft clicking sounds as she walked.

Her hair was of a darker blue, cut in a cute bob above her shoulders that really framed her girlish face.

When she noticed that Aswan was staring, she waved at him with a glowing smile on her face, slowly walking towards them.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii," she said in a cutesy tone, stopping her advance at a polite distance, "I didn't know anyone was here when I went down swimming! It's a lovely beach, right?"

Years of being always on guard made Aswan wary of random friendly strangers, but this newcomer didn't really give him a bad vibe, and his intuition was usually on point.

"Hi!" he said, making Vati stir and open one eye towards the stranger, "yeah, sorry, we thought there was nobody here."

The newcomer giggled and waved as if telling him not to worry.

"Oh please, the beach is for everyone!" she said, shaking some water off her hair, "I just hope I didn't disturb you!"

"I thought about just passing by without saying anything, but since it's only us here, I thought that would have been even more awkward!"

Aswan had to concede that she had a point.

"I'm Momi by the way, pleased to meet you!" she said, gripping her bag and smiling.

The warrior nodded back to her as he petted Vatiana, who had moved her head onto his thigh since he was now sitting up.

"I'm Aswan," the leonin said, "and this is my lovely wife Vatiana."

Vati smiled, still sleepy, and waved at the visitor.

"Nice to meet you both!" she said in a tone that made the couple smile.

"You live around here?" asked Aswan, getting more comfortable and just going with the flow.

"Yup!" she said, "born in one of the nearby villages, but I tend to spend a lot of time around here or under the waves.

It dawned on Aswan.

"You're a genasi!" he said impulsively.

Momi winked at him and gestured with a finger gun at him.

"You got it!" she said with a little laugh, "a water genasi, though I believe that's obvious."

"Not sure who of my ancestors was an elemental, but every once in a while it manifests in the family, and I won that little lottery."

Aswan smiled back at her, it just dawned on him that she was very pretty, with a fantastic swimmer's figure.

His thoughts paused for a moment.

Was this the goddess' blessing?

"Must be useful being so close to the sea," he said, trying to brush the thoughts aside.

Momi nodded effusively and smiled at Vati who had finally decided to sit up. The priestess waved at the genasi lass with her cutest half asleep face.

"Oh you bet it's useful, it means I can dive for hours looking for the best sea glass!" the blue gal said as she hugged her bag.

"Sea glass?" asked the still sleepy Vati, who was now hugging Aswan's big arm and trying to bury her face in it.

The genasi girl beamed and nodded so hard her head seemed ready to fall off.

"Yeah! Have you ever seen some?" she asked excitedly.

"No...no?" asked Vati, slightly confused.

With a lively set of movements, Momi knelt next to their towel, and happily opened her bag, which dripped seawater everywhere.

Inside, Vati and Aswan marvelled at the beautiful collection of shiny frosted crystals that filled it with a kaleidoscope of colour, though most were a shade of green.

Vati stared at them with fascination, and extended one of her hands as if asking if she could pick one, to which Momi nodded back.

"They are beautiful! Are they gems?" the priestess asked.

The genasi shook her head.

"Nope, they are regular glass that after being dropped in the ocean has been tumbled into smooth little pebbles like this!" she said with joy, "if it stays long enough underwater it gets this nice frosted look!"

If she had been a dog, she'd be wagging hard enough to take off.

"She is adorable..." said Vati out loud with a smile.

"She sure is," agreed Aswan.

Momi waved them off as she went through her loot, separating the prettiest ones from the lot.

"For you!" she said, offering a gorgeous blue pebble to Vati and a golden one to Aswan.

Both lovers picked them up with a smile, rather delighted with their new guest.

"You should totally keep her..." said Vati to Aswan with a side look and a grin.

The leonin warrior paused for a second, this was a bit of new territory for him, for his time with Vati had been delightful and he felt a strong connection with her, the last thing he wanted to do right now was to damage it by chasing other wives.

But almost as if guessing what he was thinking, the priestess squeezed his big arm, shooting him a loving yet fiery look.

"We're in this together, handsome, the goddess chose me for a reason..." she said, putting his husband at ease.

"Hum? Is everything OK" asked the lovely genasi.

Both Vati and Aswan smiled and nodded back to her.

"It's all good, we're just recently married and still getting the hang of things," said Aswan, wrapping his arm around Vati who was happily squeezed against his chest.

Momi beamed them a gorgeous smile as she placed her hands together in delight.

"That explains why you are so cuddly!" she said with an infectiously cheerful tone, "you make an adorable couple."

Vati blushed as she grabbed Aswan tightly once more, shooting a sweet and somewhat flirty look to the lovely genasi with her blue eyes.

"Can I ask how you both met?" Momi asked as she sat cross legged on the towel.

Aswan shot a look at his lovely wife, doubtful if you just tell their new friend the truth, but Vati gave him a reassuring nod.

"Well... our goddess got us together..." he said, not sure how to really start.

Momi tilted her head like a curious otter.

"Come again?" she asked with a confused tone.

Aswan took a deep breath, and tried to relax as much as he could.

"So... we're both followers of the Lady of the Star," he said in his best formal tone, "Vati is one of her priestesses, and I was a warrior dedicated to her cause."

"Ah! So you met in one of the temples?" the lovely Momi asked, her naivete rather endearing.

"I mean... we did meet in a temple I guess... but I was being literal before," Aswan said, "the goddess tasked us with a quest, and married us."

Momi blinked a couple of times, as if processing the information slowly.

"Your goddess, literally married you," she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, yes indeed, as part of a quest..." said Aswan, who had mindlessly started stroking Vati's hair, the lovely priestess almost following his massive hand like a delighted kitten.

The genasi lass was struggling to not have her jaw fall to the ground.

"What kind of quest?" she asked timidly.

Aswan looked at Vati once more, who softly caressed his mane and gave him a complicit nod.

"She tasked us with settling down in a new city... and populate it..." while the warrior had faced epic threats in his questing days, this new adventure still made him feel somewhat timid.

"Like... finding people to come live in it?" asked Momi, already suspecting that her guess was incorrect.

Both Vati and Aswan shook their heads.

"She tasked us with making them," said Vati with a giggle, "I'm actually baking the first one right now..."

The beautiful priestess caressed her pregnant belly. It had only been a couple of weeks, so it was not noticeable, but she had become quite excited about her upcoming motherhood.

Momi seemed to wiggle a bit on her spot in the blanket, both lovers noticed how she was biting her lip.

"You will probably be... very busy, a whole city is a lot for just two people..." the lovely genasi said.

Aswan took a deep breath.

"It will not be just us... the goddess, well... she said I should get more wives..." he said, looking to the side with surprising timidness.

Momi stared at them as if something had snapped in her brain.

"So... like a harem of cuties that you will knock up as much as possible?" she asked with bated breath.

Aswan nodded as Vati smiled like a cheeky cat.

"That's... so hot," Momi said, blushing hard.

Vati leaned forward, her blue eyes shining almost as those of a predator about to pounce on a tasty morsel.

"Interested?" she asked with a mischievous smile that Aswan found incredibly arousing.

Momi covered her face with her hands and then shook them, as if she had burnt herself, she was visibly flustered.

"That's mean... I have a terrible breeding fetish..." she said, biting her lips again.

Aswan and Vati once more looked at each other, their minds syncing up a plan for their lovely new friend.

"Why don't you come over for a drink in our cottage? We can get to know better, see where this goes..." said Aswan, his voice almost carrying a purr.

Sweet Momi bit her knuckles, visibly being more excited than she expected about the invitation.

"That... that actually sounds really nice," she said as her hands squeezed her firm swimmer's thighs.

All three of them giggled together, the situation was tense, but not in an unpleasant way.

Aswan took the lead and stood up, helping Vati up and then offering one of his big clawed hands to Momi.

"Shall we?" he said, giving her his best smile.

Momi stared at him for a second, taken away by his size now that he was up, but also by his sweet demeanour.

Tenderly, she extended her hand as if taking a huge step and pulled herself up with the help of the warrior.

With a shy smile, she started picking up her sea glass and putting it back in her bag, while Aswan and Vati put away their towel.

As they finished, Vati extended her arms to Aswan, playfully asking to be carried, and the leonin warrior obliged her with a smile, picking her up and settling her tightly against his left flank, the small and slender woman sitting on his forearm as he tightly gripped her legs.

Momi brightened up at the sight of this and did a cutsie clap.

Vati winked at her and snuggled up against Aswan, as if she was addicted to his fur and body heat.

"I'm not going to be the only girl in his arms for long, I want to milk this for all it's worth!" said Vati with a cheeky smile.

Momi looked to the side somewhat taken aback.

"I... well..." she stuttered.

But before she could say anything, Vati caressed her wet hair and made her look up at her blue eyes.

"Honey, it's fine, I'm not the jealous type... if I was the goddess wouldn't have picked me," the priestess said with a glowing smile, "besides, I'm sure in exchange for not having this big kitty anytime I want, there will be other things to enjoy."

Vati shot a wink at Momi that felt as if it had gone straight through the genasi's heart, for the lovely young woman blushed even harder.

Aswan, who had been looking at the scene with amusement, decided not to think too deeply about anything at this very moment, and just bask in how pleasant the ambiance was all the sudden.

Once more, with a tenderness that was surprising in someone with his appearance, he extended a hand to Momi, who tightly gripped it as they went up the hill towards the little cottage in which Aswan and Vati were staying.

The walk there was pleasant but mostly silent, the three of them too excited to articulate much. However, towards the end of the walk, a curious look overtook Momi.

"This city you need to... populate... where is it located? As in, what kind of features does the place have?" the genasi asked with a whimsical look.

Aswan and Vati looked at each other as they had developed the habit of doing.

"It's actually at the top of a gorgeous short cliff by the sea, the view is fantastic," said Vati as she played with Aswan's mane.

"How do you plan to handle stabilisation? Sounds like a place where long term erosion from the wind and the sea could be an issue..." the genasi said in her best nerdy tone.

"We... haven't thought of that...'' said Aswan, who quite frankly hadn't gotten that far in this whole endeavour.

"Well, you need to account for it to avoid structural issues, for you see..." the lovely woman slowly erupted into an in depth explanation of the steps they should probably take, interspaced with questions about the geology of the area, what kinds of materials were there to be found, and so on.

Vati and Aswan looked at her with a sweet smile, the lovely Momi seemed to glow when speaking about her favourite subject, and her enthusiasm when speaking about rocks, of all things, was infectious.

"Oh by the goddess, just knock her up so we can keep her, she's adorable!" said Vati, literally fawning about their new friend.

Momi suddenly stopped her little monologue and blushed like a tomato.

Aswan hugged her against his free flank to make her feel less awkward, and to his joy the lovely girl thoroughly rubbed herself against his fur.

"You are so soft!" she said in delight.

"And so warm too! I like to use him as a big furry furnace!" said Vati with a giggle.

Aswan didn't quite know what to say, only that he felt insanely lucky, and yet, he couldn't shake a feeling of pressure on his chest. He wanted to do right by them.

After a few more steps, they finally reached the cottage. A small but cosy place with a nice view of the sea.

There was no other house around in sight, and the small wooden structure looked minuscule versus the grandeur of the area.

Apparently it had been the residence of a follower of the goddess, but they no longer resided there, so Vati and Aswan had been given permission to use it for as long as they wished.

Before stepping in, Aswan put Vati down gently, who did a big stretch before opening the door and heading inside.

"I just realised we invited you to a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere with nobody else knowing you are here," said Aswan stroking his chin with a worried look on his face.

"Yeah! What is this, a warehouse of red flags?" said Momi with a giggle.

Aswan smiled but still gave her a serious look.

"I mean it... what can I do to make you feel safe?" he said wholeheartedly while extending his big hand at her.

Momi very gently grabbed his hand with both of hers, her amber eyes surprisingly full of warmth.

"I'd say you are already doing a wonderful job making me feel safe, handsome," she said placing his hand against her cheek, it felt soft and sleek, as if she still had just come out from the sea, but a tender warmth irradiated from her that made the big leonin want to purr like a kitten.

"It's ok, truly, you both make me feel... home," she said as she kissed his palm tenderly, "it's very strange, but if you say a goddess is involved... that would explain things."

Aswan contemplated if this was part of the blessing the goddess had given him, how it would exactly work wasn't particularly clear.

He took a deep breath, and with a smile, he welcomed Momi to come inside.

The cottage was nothing special, but it was cosy, a very rustic looking kitchen adorned one side, while a big comfortable bed covered the other, with sparse furniture littering the places in between. There was a little anex with a bathroom, but not much else.

Vati was brushing her long hair with enthusiasm, and she threw a wink at both Aswan and Momi as they came in.

"Do you have a basin or something where I could wash off the sand?" asked Momi.

Vati came over to Momi with a mischievous smile on her face, her bare feet making almost no sound as she stepped over the wooden floor.

"I have something even better, lovely," she said, and with brief hand gestures and a small prayer almost imperceptible golden light covered them.

As the light ran down their bodies, any sand or grime that had stuck to them on the beach fell to the ground as if leaves in autumn.

Aswan, being familiar with the trick, quickly used a nearby broom to brush away the sand out of the cottage.

Momi looked at her cleared skin with amazement, almost squeeing with excitement.

"Our big kitty friend is not the only one with the favour of the goddess," she said with a playful bow.

Vati extended a hand to Momi, who took it with a delighted smile as the priestess took her to sit by the side of the bed, seeing as they didn't have many chairs as it is.

Aswan felt a happy shiver run down his spine, and turned around towards the kitchen to see what they had to offer their guest.