Satyr Play 04 Pt. 01

"Gods! Hilda... you're back?" Revna asked softly.

Hilda bellowed a warrior's victory cry and leapt from the doorstep, her arms outstretched to grab the two women, carrying them down into the snow of the drive.

Three more Valkyrie swooped down from the sky to land a few feet back from the three wrestling in the snow. Hilda popped back up to her feet and moved to grip the forearms of the three women smiling at her in delight.

"Ingrid! Runa! Sylvi! So good to see you again!" Hilda exclaimed.

Revna pushed herself to her feet, brushing the snow from herself as she continued to stare at Hilda in shock. Her companion, Kari, scowled at Revna from the ground and got to her feet on her own.

Sigrid appeared in the doorway, and all eyes went to her.

"Sweet miracles, it's true!" Runa gasped, and Sigrid's face burst into a dazzling smile. She stepped out to lean against Henry. Eyes snapped to him, and smiles disappeared as comprehension dawned.

"That's the father?!?" Kari snarled.

Sigrid looked to Henry. "Can you switch to your glamor?"

He nodded, and he was suddenly Human in jeans and a leather winter coat.

"That's just a glamor!" Revna cried.

Sigrid's smile didn't waver, and Hilda watched her daughter proudly.

"You know a Valkyrie can only become pregnant if her body chooses a suitable Human male. Henry's glamor is powered by Wild Magic and has properties unlike any other. It matches the desires and needs of his partner. Henry was able to give a Kitsune a child. He was able to give me one as well."

"This Wild Magic, just how strong is it?" Revna asked doubtfully.

Sigrid looked at her. "I cannot don my armor for obvious reasons, but I can give you a little demonstration."

She looked at Henry and gripped his hand. "Charge me up," she whispered.

He nodded and fed power into her body until she let go with a sigh. Henry stepped away and turned his face as he closed his eyes tight.

Sigrid's wings snapped out to full extension, and everyone staggered back, Revna falling to her ass once more as the front lawn momentarily became full sun midday instead of the dull gray stormy afternoon. She pulled her wings in, and the dim light returned.

Revna stood again, patting the snow from her ass and blinking the spots from her eyes. She looked to Hilda, who was staring at her daughter in awe. "You didn't know?" Revna asked.

"No, she hadn't mentioned she was powered by this new magic yet."

"A glamor cannot read and respond to desires and needs!" Kari insisted.

Sigrid looked to Henry, who was looking back at her pleadingly. "I'm sorry, Henry. They need to see it working."

His shoulders dropped. "I'm gonna put up another privacy field, so everyone hold still," he growled.

The Valkyries looked at each other as Henry created a dome over the immediate group. Now they were invisible from outside it. Taking a deep breath, he dropped the clothes from his glamor.

"Ooo! Very nice, Henry!" Hilda purred.

Everyone got a good look, so he dropped his glamor, canceled the privacy field, and shot an annoyed glance at Sigrid.

Kari gave Sigrid a frustrated look. "All this proves is that he has a good penis."

"Hold your hands up to show the length you saw," Sigrid instructed as she demonstrated what she saw. The gathered Valkyrie held their hands up and stared at each other's measurements. Some were close, but some were definitely not. Everyone looked at Revna as her hands were a good twelve inches apart. She stared in surprise at the others.

"Now use your hand to indicate its girth," Sigrid said.

They compared again, and no one had the same measurement. They all looked at Revna, who was using two hands.

"Hey! Don't kink-shame me!" she barked and eyed Henry hungrily.

"Also note that Kitsune are wielders of the old realm magic. Wild Magic is toxic to them. Henry's body is saturated with Wild Magic, but he was able to make love to the Kitsune, help her conceive, and his essence contained no Wild Magic, so she was protected. This was what she needed, so this is what the glamor did for her. I'm linked to the Wild Magic realm, so Henry's energy just powers me up. What I needed for creating a child, he provided. He gave me this."

"But he's not Human," Kari insisted.

"No, he's not. He's a Satyr and a beautiful person."

"What if the child isn't a Valkyrie?" Sylvi asked.

Sigrid giggled, and the others shifted uncomfortably. "If she wasn't a Valkyrie, she wouldn't have been in such a hurry to be born."

She shook her head gently at the doubting expressions. "You only need to wait a few more hours to see for yourselves. You've already waited forty-five years since the last birth. I think you can be patient a little while longer."

She went back into the house, and Henry stood to the side of the door as the women followed her inside. Revna was last and paused before him. This close, Henry realized just how massive she was. Then he jolted as her fingers were under his kilt, wrapping around his cock.

"Mmmm, you don't disappoint, do you," she purred.

He knocked her hand away and looked her in the eye. "No, I don't, but for you, I'll make an exception."

She blinked then laughed as she joined the others. Hilda looked back and saw the suppressed rage on Henry's face. She frowned at Revna.

Henry pulled the front door closed and remained outside to cool off.

He saw the Silver Soldiers race by, dragging their big snow scoops behind them. He walked around the house and saw the shovels leaning against the shed. He realized the soldiers were recharging, so he waited. They soon came rushing back, all smiles.

Specialist Feinberg stopped before him. "This was a lot more fun than guarding a hospital room, and that charging station is amazing! I wish we had one of these in Washington."

"Has the Strike Zone started to fade?" Henry asked.

"No, the power there is still sharp as glass shards," Dane replied.

Henry frowned. That was odd. Maybe he'd be allowed to look into that. He smiled at the group. "Thank you for your efforts today on such short notice."

"Like I said, it was fun! Our pleasure," Feinberg said with a nod. They opened the shed door and stepped through carrying their snow movers, and Dane closed the door behind them. Henry released the spell.

On his way back to the home, he spotted the twinkling of headlights in the distance, moving along the lane. He moved faster and was at the front door when a trio of Valkyrie marched up the drive to face him. Uniformly large and strong, striding boldly into the unknown. The two at the back might have been twins. Blonde and blue-eyed with their long hair bound back with ribboned braids. The one in front wore her curly red hair loose. She had gorgeous but intense green eyes and three deep scars crossing her face. Henry could see the left corner of her mouth drooped slightly, which was probably a cut nerve. His hands began to itch with his need to heal that. His mind flashed back to a memory of Ikehorn and feeling his need to heal Tish. He smiled at the memory.

"Are you going to stare at us like a simpleton, or are you going to let us in?" the redhead snapped.

Henry jolted out of his trip down memory lane. "Apologies," he said hastily and opened the door. Hilda's voice boomed out in laughter from the formal living room. Henry looked to the lead Valkyrie once more. "To the left." She nodded stiffly as she began to enter.

He couldn't stop himself. "Speak to Hilda about her healing."

Green eyes locked on his and the fierceness in her gaze pushed at him to avert his gaze, but he didn't. He saw a little confusion slip into her eyes, then she was past him. Next, he was facing the blonde twins, and their fierceness was only a shadow less than their redheaded friend. They leaned closer and closer until he could feel their breath on his face.

"Who are you to defy Talia?" the first whispered.

Henry sighed. He'd hoped by the time he'd grown up, he'd no longer have to deal with bullies, but these Valkyries were reminding him of all those episodes in the hallways of the schools he'd attended. Unlike then, he was no longer defenseless.

He engaged his personal force field, and the powerful charge instantly stunned the two who were standing much too close. He dropped the spell as he took their arms and marched them staggering into the living room. He pushed them into a loveseat just inside the entrance. He looked up and saw a room of silent Valkyrie staring at him in shock. "These two need a lesson on respecting personal space," he growled and left the room.

Hilda's delighted laughter followed him down the hall to the kitchen.

His mind was still stuck in the dark times of his childhood, and Camila saw the pain beneath. She stepped forward and pulled him into her arms. He wrapped his around her and breathed in her warm and spicy scent, feeling his calm returning. He closed his eyes and let the comforting sounds of cooking and the aromas of the delicious food fill his awareness. He heard Lorelei's joyful laughter from the dining room, and Siobhan's and Michelle's laugh join hers. Tish's family was busy trading stories, and the sounds of their happiness helped unwind his tension. Roy's big hand rested on his back, and Kesini wove her locks around Henry's fingers. He gave them a squeeze and raised his hand to his lips to kiss the hair. He heard Sandy's sigh nearby. Camila leaned back to look into his opening eyes as Roy moved into view.

"Could I ask you to greet the rest of the incoming Valkyrie?" Henry asked.

"Sure," Roy said. "Mary finished the window frames, and they're up on the walls."

Henry returned his gaze to the adoring eyes of the woman in his arms. He felt something move in his chest and felt a little embarrassed by the surge of emotion. He covered it up by dipping down and kissing her. She squeaked in surprise but enjoyed his enthusiasm.

When he pulled back, he didn't feel any less emotional, so he released Camila, who watched his expression.

"If no one minds, I'm going to take a little me time to check on the spells I need to set up for the windows in the cave." The people in the kitchen just nodded.

He took one step toward the hall, turned, and kissed Sandy until she gently pushed against his chest. He quickly walked away, hearing Camila's deep purr of amusement as she helped a wobbly Sandy make it to a chair.

The noise coming from the living room was unsettling, so he rushed through the hall door into the vestibule then into the cave, closing the double doors behind him. The doors blocked all sound from above, so he had silence at last. Henry slowly walked down the gentle slope to the cave's main hall, feeling his emotional equilibrium returning.

He saw the framing hung on the wall to the left and approached it. The illusion spell slipped into his mind with ease. He realized his ability to access Baba's magic was no longer a matter of hunting and picking through lists. Now he just had to think of what he wanted, and the appropriate spell slipped into his control. If his suspicions were correct, he understood why his abilities with magic were improving so rapidly.

He couldn't focus on that right now, but soon.

Seemingly out of the blue, his mind took him to Sigrid's comment about his impregnating a Kitsune. Once again, he wondered how Yuko was and if she was having any issues with their child. He wanted to know, but he wasn't sure if he should just use his magic to appear at her location to speak with her. Maybe he could ask Kali to find out for him.

Putting these thoughts aside, again, he approached the construction Mary and Roy had done for him. He linked each opening to a corresponding window pane in the kitchen. As the framing was the same size as the windows they were connected to, the illusion filled the space with a duplicate of the source window. He made his way down the row of windows until they were all showing the back yard. He caught sight of Ron and Dixie Tennison walking back from the charging station. They were talking with Layla and Felicia, who walked along with them.

When he turned to face the chamber, he saw multiple round tables had been set up under their lighting. Each table was decorated festively. They likely borrowed all these tables and chairs from VRL.

Henry walked across the cavern to the other frame. He applied the illusion spell to link these to the windows on the front of the house. Two more Valkyries were walking up the drive, and a third landed on the driveway and turned to wave at the others. They did the forearm embrace and grinned at each other. It was nice to see these people coming together after a long period, and their being able to fly openly must have felt good as well.

Henry turned from the windows and walked deeper into the cave until he reached the hidden corridor. He hadn't expected to have all these extra guests, so he hadn't gathered enough crystals to give one to everyone. He'd put them away for now until the Valkyrie had left.

He picked up the two heavy gym bags, carried them back to the vestibule, through his door, and left them in his condo's closet. Then he went back to the mansion. Several people were entering the corridor from their homes, and they were all carrying platters of food.

"Ah! Just the man we need!" Dayshia called out from the door to the main floor hallway. He turned to follow her to the dining room, where he saw all the chairs had been pulled back from the table, which was now bare.

Dayshia stepped up to Henry and smiled at him. "We have so much food we need to get this table down into the cave to hold the platters. Can you open a Magic Door?"

Henry looked at the table and the fully open French Doors between the dining room and kitchen. "I've never made a Magic Door using French Doors. More importantly, will the table fit through the doorway?"

"If we roll it onto its side first and carry it that way, it will," Mary said.

Dayshia and Mary closed the doors, and he pictured the doors leading into the cave. The glass panes flashed to black, and for just a second, Henry thought he saw something in that darkness looking back. Then the panes were all showing the stone corridor leading to the cave. He would have put that brief impression down as paranoia, but it matched the pattern he was tracking. No one else seemed to have noticed it, which was another sign he was on the right track with his suspicions.

Again, he pushed it aside to deal with later.

The table was enormously heavy as it was overengineered, so Henry told everyone to leave it where it was while he got help. He marched to the living room and was almost there when he heard Camila's strong voice.

"...before you even think of disrespecting him, ask yourself if you have what it takes to endure what he has. Do you have even half of his willpower and strength of character?" She was quiet for a moment, and the room matched her. "That's what I thought."

Henry resumed walking, and all eyes went to him as he entered the room. Camila turned to look at him, and he swore he could see the hair on the back of her neck standing up in her rage. Her cheeks were pink, and she was breathing through her flared nostrils in an attempt to control her breathing. He leaned towards her and tenderly kissed her cheek. Her eyes flashed to his, and a smile slipped onto her lips. He wasn't sure what she told them, but they were quiet now.

"I need seven volunteers to carry a dining room table a few dozen feet. Weaklings need not apply." Amused snorts were forced from several of the ladies. He raised his hand to stop Sigrid from standing. "Pregnant ladies need not apply either." She grinned at him.

Camila left the room, and Henry followed her. He knew he'd get more volunteers than he needed. Valkyrie pride demanded nothing less.

When he arrived in the dining room, he had a dozen Valkyries lined up behind him. He immediately stepped up to the head of the table closest to the French Doors, which were now wide open. He took a grip on the tabletop and the end leg.

Mary stood at the top of the table and waited until everyone had a grip. "Okay, eyes on me. On three, lift. One, Two, Three!"

The warriors grunted with the effort but got it a foot off the floor. Mary marched them through the door and down the ramp. When they finally got it into the chamber, several of the Valkyries were distracted by the fire orb lighting and lost their grip. Then a few more as the dropping table slipped through their fingers. Then only Revna at one end and Henry at the top were keeping it from crashing into the floor.

Henry turned his head to look back. "Half of you get to the other side of the table and lift the bottom so we can tip it back onto its feet!" Six of the Valkyries hustled to get around the table.

"Hurry, damn you!" Revna cursed as her muscles shook.

Once there were hands on both sides, they tipped it up and got it on its feet. It was much easier to work with then. They positioned it where Mary pointed and stepped back with a sigh.

"Thank you," Henry said to the Valkyries, and they nodded though some looked a little embarrassed at having lost their grip.

Meixiu approached Henry. "Can you change the Magic Door to face the kitchen instead of the dining room so we can bring the food in?"

He walked to the door and altered the spell to do what she asked and got a kiss on the cheek from her for it.

The remaining Valkyries, including Hilda and Sigrid, walked down the corridor. A few more had arrived, bringing the total to eighteen. They joined the others and stared up at the lights.

"What manner of flame is this?" Talia asked, her intense green eyes locking on Henry's.

Henry approached her and handed her a smaller ball of rose-red fire. She looked confused at first but accepted the ball in her palm. He saw her grit her teeth, expecting to be burned but still taking it. He nodded to her as she gasped softly in relief as she realized it had no heat. Henry passed a finger through it to show it was safe.

"It's from a Will-O'-the-Wisp spell but with the malignant purpose replaced with instructions to remain tethered," he explained.

"It's lovely," she whispered, eyes mesmerized by the slow ebb of the flame.

He smiled and nodded to her.

The platters of food were coming down the corridor to be placed on the long table. The kids started arriving and began a search for seats. There were no formal seating arrangements.

Henry saw the Valkyries were watching the children, and most of the expressions were positive.

Soon the parents were coming down the ramp, bringing the last of the food for the table.

Mary whistled shrilly for attention and got it from everyone. She then gestured to Meixiu, who faced the group.

"Firstly, I would like to thank you all for joining us for the very first ever Christmas dinner celebration in my home. I've lived in this mansion for more than a century, and there has never been more joy and laughter within its walls than this weekend. Never has it seen children running and playing in its halls and yard, filling the home and property with their happiness. The transformation of my home to a place where families are welcome has filled my heart with a happiness I don't have words to describe. Thank you for sharing your joy with us."

There was a burst of applause and whistling for her, and she bowed graciously to the group. She held up her hands and people quieted once more.

"I also want to thank everyone who helped prepare this feast on the table behind me. It all smells very good!" She clapped, and more cheering erupted.

"We should also thank Henry for the extraordinary efforts he made to transform what was once a dark and gloomy cave for a cold and evil dragon into a warm, open, and dazzling banquet hall! These windows are amazing! OH! I can see another Valkyrie guest arriving!" she said, pointing to the window across the room. Roy headed for the front door to greet the late arrival. Meixiu turned and looked at the back window, then faced the group again. She pointed to that window as well. "The Silver People, who give their time and effort unselfishly to help and protect others, are welcome here as well! Henry provided them with a charging station they seem to enjoy very much." More cheering as Roy returned with the last Valkyrie to join, bringing the total to nineteen.