War of the Races Ch. 32

Chapter 32- Introductions and Goodbyes

Glenna found herself surrounded by darkness. This wasn't the same as if she were standing on a hilltop in the dead of night. No, this was like being shut inside an interior room with no windows or doors. It was absolute darkness. It was a void of nothingness. Was there air here?

Suddenly she was having a hard time breathing. A wave of panic tightened her throat and she found herself panting as waves of fear rolled over her.

Looking down, she realized she could perceive her body. It wasn't her new, goddess-gifted, hybrid body with four arms, bountiful breasts much larger and perkier than was natural for a woman of her build. Nor did she still have broader hips and buttocks that were thicker and rounder than natural. There was no tail splitting the cheeks of her buttocks made up of flexible tailbones that turned outward from the sacral promontory of her pelvis and some four and a half feet long before ending in a pointed tip. No, her fused sacrum bone once again curled inward naturally. Glenna saw her thighs and further down her lower legs and feet. They were no longer hybrid legs with hooves. Also, she was no longer luminescent, giving off light with phases of the moon. Her skin was simply white now. As white as newly fallen snow, but still, it was natural. Her hair brushed across her shoulders and back, and tickled at her behind and the backs of her thighs, and for the first time in her life, she knew what it was like to have hair that fell down her body instead of floating above. This body she saw in this place was her body. Her true body. The one she would have been born with if not for the Blessing of the Queen of Heaven, or, more recently, the divine changes she received from her goddess Seline.

Everything she perceived took only a minute to interpret and understand. Then, the long pointed ears sticking out from her head and the long black hair hanging down over her shoulders and back quivered. She heard something. Weeping. It was soft and tremulous, bitter and lonely. Looking around, Glenna saw no one nearby, and so, her ears perked up as she used her sharp alfari hearing to hone in on the direction the weeping was coming from.

Spinning around she determined the crying was coming from behind her and started in that direction. She walked upon nothingness like there was a firm floor beneath her feet. To walk on her own feet again felt strange, and yet, also so very natural.

She was naked so as she walked she tried to will clothes in existence, but nothing happened. Wherever this place was, she was not in control. Her breasts and buttocks jiggled with every step, and for the first time, Glenna blushed from embarrassment. It wasn't as it was before. Without the inborn Blessing of Queen of Heaven, her breasts were only slightly larger than handfuls. Her breasts jiggled instead of bouncing and swinging pendulously. Without her breasts being so large and her hips broader, her waist didn't seem quite so tiny in comparison. Her hips were still as wide as her shoulders were broad, but now they seemed toned and athletic rather than being seductively curvy and voluptuously thick.

Was this what nottalfar women were supposed to look like? Naturally?

The tips of Glenna's long black hair whipped the back of her thighs and buttocks as she walked. The right cheek and thigh then her left cheek and thigh before whipping the right again. She ignored her hair. It was so strange how it fell down her body now. Moving ahead, always ahead as far as she knew, the sounds of weeping grew louder until a woman appeared as if out of a heat haze. The woman was crouched down sitting with her haunches on her heels and bent prostrate as she wept. In front of the woman and hovering above her were pictures. Still pictures and moving pictures. They seemed to be recordings. Memories. All of them were of a young boy and his mother. Sound accompanied the moving pictures. Sounds of laughter and excited talking. Once seen and watched the pictures and videos winked out as others appeared. The boy was now a young man and his mother was a little older.

From what Glenna could see as she approached the woman, crouching down amidst pictures and videos of her memories, was very beautiful. She looked to be close to her middle years, but that seemed to only make her more beautiful. She was a flower in full bloom. Prostrate though the woman was, Glenna saw that the woman was tall, nearly as tall as Glenna herself who was five feet ten inches tall. The woman was thick and curvy as if she was blessed by the Queen of Heaven. Her legs were long and thick. Her hips were broad and her buttocks were thick and well rounded, rivaling Glenna with her blessed body from the Queen of Heaven and hybridization from Seline. The woman's waist was slim though not as slim as Glenna's, and the woman's breasts were very large and beautifully shaped. At least, as far as Glenna could tell from the way they hung pendulously beneath the woman and jiggled every time her body shuddered from her turmoil. Lastly, Glenna saw the woman's face and she was stunned, the woman was beautiful. If anything Glenna would say the woman looked remarkably similar to herself, with a sharp jaw and pointed chin, a plump mouth, a well-shaped nose that curved out like a ski-slope before turning upward, and bright, piercing blue eyes that spoke of intelligence, optimism, joy though they were terribly sad at the moment, a deep passion, and a twinkling of mischievousness. All of it. All of the woman's beauty was surrounded and encapsulated by thick golden lashes and eyebrows, and long golden hair that seemed to glow with a rose tint to it. Glenna knew herself to be a beautiful woman, but still, in the presence of this woman, for the first time in her life, she felt inferior.

"Hello, are you well?" Glenna called out as she approached, but the other woman didn't respond.

The woman was completely absorbed in the pictures in front of her. Turning her attention to the still frames and moving pictures, Glenna watched a young woman growing up. It was only her and her son. She was only a little older than her son. In one moving picture she was nursing a newborn. In another moving picture, he was a young man and the woman was older. They frolicked on a beach, both of them in undergarments made for swimming. The boy's shorts were modest while the woman's clothing was revealing enough to rival a temple priestesses' habits of seduction. The two of them played and enjoyed the beach, and then they moved to lay out on the sand. The mother rubbed some sort of oil on her son's body, and then she had him rub the same oil on her. From her hairline to her toes, she made him cover every inch of her.

Glenna quickly saw the underlying attraction the woman felt for her son. The way she flirted, though never over aggressively. Her cute requests. The way she pushed the boundaries of their mother-son relationship, making her son nervous and uncomfortable though he never complained. The way she clung to him when they were together, revealed more about the woman than anything else, and then there was the way she looked at her son. Glenna knew that look. She had given the same look to her son, and she felt the same burning love, the same desire, barely concealed behind her eyes until yesterday.

Still frame pictures of memories popped up and replaced others, and then another moving picture appeared of the woman cooking in her kitchen. Preparing dinner for herself and her son before carrying it to her son that sat in his bedroom, his back to her as he typed in programming code into a computer. Glenna didn't know how she knew what this computer or code or programming was, she just did. The woman set the tray of food down beside her son on the desk, but he was so focused on his work that he failed to see his mother or acknowledge her efforts and the love she had expended selflessly on his behalf. Disheartened, the woman still smiled at her son as she combed her fingers through his dark blonde hair as she turned away and left the room.

A new window with video-like memory appeared and this time the boy was young, maybe ten or so while his mother was in her mid-twenties. There was a tired cast to her eyes. She had worked hard to provide for her family. She had just returned home from a night shift and instead of going to bed, she took her son to a pool where they spent several hours swimming and playing. As Glenna watched she felt much of herself in this woman, and to her surprise, the boy looked more and more like her Viridian. Finally, a moving picture window opened and Glenna watched as the woman walked into her son's room, and sitting there at the desk was the blackened form of the burned-out husk of her son, and Glenna gasped in shock and began to wail from grief.

The pictures and videos winked out and new ones replaced them. Glenna watched the woman as she sat in front of the computer in her son's room. The body of her son was gone. She was alone. So alone. So lonely. Her eyes were red from crying. Unshed tears glistened on her lashes. Long painted nails clicked on the keys of the keyboard as the woman typed in a command, and then she smiled wanly and sat back in the chair as the computer revved up and the screen started swirling with the colors of the rainbow. The hovering moving picture window went dark before another replaced it. The face of a beautiful dokkalfar woman filled the screen and Glenna understood that the perspective was that of the woman as an infant looking up at her mother. The memory was then quickly followed by a succession of videos and Glenna watched as the woman's new life played out before her. She was young, having been transferred to this new world like her son before her. She was only a month younger than Viridian. Only recently having reached her eighteenth year in the Verdant Realm.

The woman's life was sad. Horribly sad, and lonely. Marked most profoundly in both lives by loss. First by the loss of her boyfriend when he found out she was pregnant. The loss of her father. The degeneration of her mother. The loss of her son. Then she was reborn only to be condemned by her father and nearly murdered. Witnessing her mother save her by killing her father only to lose her mother a few years later to rape and murder. Then surviving alone for years before she finally found the wolf pack only to be lost to the darkness that despoiled the earth and her new friends and family. The tragedy was over for Glenna and she found that she couldn't stop crying. Her heart was breaking, and she had no idea what to do!

Closing the distance between them, Glenna reached out and grasped the prostrate woman's shoulder. The woman jumped in fright, and then the picture windows surrounding them started swirling about them both. Half of the windows were of the woman's past while the other half was Glenna's past. The memories played out their lives for each other, and at that moment Glenna knew the woman as Helena Reas mother of Daniel Reas. She knew her as Hlina Reas-Alvadottir, the lonely soul born to an enslaved dokkalfar, Alva, and she knew Hlina as the Oracle of Gaia.

Simultaneously, Hlina saw Glen'nathel Moonlilly's past. Born of Yul'Anahaen Moonlilly, priestess of the moon goddess Seline. Hlina saw her grow up and go for her training as a priestess when she turned twenty. The taking of her vows as a priestess and consummation with one of the young priests. Hlina saw her adventures when was given her missionary service and appointed as an Apostle. Hlina saw Glenna's first meeting with Summerset Vale and the romance that quickly followed. Hlina watched Glenna marry Summerset Vale. She saw Glenna's rape and impregnation, and the subsequent birth of her daughter Silvain. Hlina saw Glenna's patience as she waited to get pregnant with Viridian. Hlina witnessed her becoming pregnant, Seline's vision of who her son was going to be and where he came from, and Hlina witnessed Glenna giving birth. The memories continued on and on, and Hlina watched as Glenna became both mother and wife to her son, Viridian Vale. The same young man was also Daniel Reas.

"Daniel!" Hlina cried out in shock, and then as understanding came with Glenna's memory sharing, she asked, "Daniel? Your son, Viridian, is my son Daniel?"

"Yes," Glenna replied breathily, "It seems so."

"How is he? Is he well? Is he alive?" Hlina asked in an excited torrent as she giggled.

She also hugged Glenna and kissed her and then hugged her again. Glenna took it all in step, giving Hlina time to express her relief and joy as she came out of her despair. Then, she answered Hlina, "He is well, he is strong, and yes he is very much alive. Right now, he is celebrating his marriage to Orsa and Tampa."

"Marriage!" Hlina gasped in surprise and horror, "No no no, he can not marry. He is mine, and he will not get married unless I approve of her!"

Glenna chuckled as she responded, "I have seen your memories Hlina, and I know your heart. You wouldn't let him marry anyone but yourself if you were to have your way."

Hlina started to shake her head and pull away as she objected, but then Glenna's matrilineal and wifely relationship hit her and her eyes grew wide with understanding.

"You!" She gasped, "You are Daniel's mother and wife? And, you are still married to Daniel's father as well?!"

"Yes," Glenna replied warmly, "Such relationships are not frowned upon here. The Nottalfar from which I was born is a matriarchy. We take many husbands if we wish too. Summerset Vale, Viridian's father, is a Villralfar. Their people are a patriarchy. They take many wives. With the union of our two families, and to maintain our alliance, I have two husbands. Summerset Vale, and his heir, Viridian Vale. Likewise, Summerset is married to me and my mother, Yul'Anahaen Moonlilly. Also, Ana's children by previous sires are all married to men of the Vale Household. This guarantees that the union of our Houses will never be sundered."

"Yes, but, you're his mother!" Hlina gasped in outrage.

Glenna smirked at Hlina before she responded, "Do not try to deceive me Helena Raes, I know your memories. I have seen your past, and I know the depths of your love for your son. I know that if it were possible your relationship with him would have been much as mine is with him now."

Hlina swallowed nervously and new tears lined her eyelashes as she said, "So, I've lost my son again. I've lost him to you, haven't I? There is no room for me to be with him, is there?"

Glenna felt tears bud at the corners of her eyes and she couldn't help but step in and hug Hlina Reas-Alvadottir. Hlina hugged her back and they both started crying before Glenna finally answered, "That isn't true. There is room for you here with him. There will always be room for you from now on. He is the one that rescued you, and he was the one who saved you from dying."

"How?" Hlina asked as she reined in her tears.

"The amount of healing you required forced him to take you as his wife," Glenna said, "His healing magic is in his seed, so..."

Hlina's expression was a mix of horror, shock, and amazement. She obviously didn't know what to think or how to feel about this revelation.

"So," Hlina finally said in a breathy whisper, "My son had sex with me?"

"Yes," Glenna answered then paused before continuing, "Though I feel like I must point out that he was your son in your previous life. Now, he has no relation to you. You can however tell him who you are. I'm sure it will reassure him that he didn't leave you behind in Midgard."

Hlina smiled and nodded, but then her smile fell and her expression became pensive before asking, "But what if he rejects me? I am... I was his mother."

Glenna's smile deepened as she shook her head and replied, "Remember who I am. I am Viridian's mother and he has no qualms with being married to me, or having relations with me. After all, I am currently pregnant with his heir."

"You're what?!" Hlina gasped.

"Wake up Hlina," Glenna purred, "Wake up and join the living world again. Leave behind these sad memories. I promise you, from now on you will make happier ones."

Glenna felt herself growing faint, like she was dreaming and now she was waking up. Hlina reached out for her. Hlina called for her, but Glenna couldn't stop from waking.

----(!)----

Sound was the first awareness Hlina had of her surroundings. There was crying in the distance. Infantile crying. Then it stopped and was later replaced by whimpering. Hlina opened the slits of her eyes. Just a crack at first, letting her eyes adjust to the light in the large room she was laying in. It wasn't bright. Actually, it was quite dark besides the light that beamed in around the ill-fitted door and its casing. Still, the dark room was brighter than the place she had been.

To her right she found a very pretty bunny female with hairless pink skin, and long white-furred bunny ears. She didn't look like a bunny body wise though. She had seen dead bunny females as her wolf tribe gutted and butchered them for eating. All bunny-females were short in stature and extremely curvaceous. This bunny-female was none of these traits. This bunny-female was tall and lithe. Her breasts were about the same size as Hlina's, maybe a smidge larger, but not much. Her hips were broad and her thighs muscular, but her curves were long whereas a true bunny's were short and exotic.

On the other side of the bunny-female was... an... insect-female. A bee, she thought. The bee was distinctly feminine. Her face. Her hair. The shape of her arms. Four arms, imagine that! Though the second set of arms were smaller and appeared to be scythe like appendages. She had broad hips and thick thighs that were fat with stored pollen. Behind her back were gossamer wings, and below them, as if growing right out of her pelvis above, what Hlina thought of as her buttocks, was a long thick insect abdomen. It was mostly black, a glossy black like the rest of her body, with two thick bands of orange that circled the entire circumference of the bee-females abdomen. The orange bands pulsed a bright orange glow, and with every pulse Hlina saw hundreds if not thousands of tiny eggs within.

"She's a queen," Hlina gasped.

"Oh! Good morning," A soft sultry voice purred on her left.

Hlina whipped her head to her left and there she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Her skin glowed faintly a surreal celestial moonlight white. Her long midnight hair danced around her head periodically getting in the woman's face as it slowly moved to and fro like a flame. A flame that was underwater. As she looked closer she saw that she could see the heavens in the woman's hair. Stars. Nebulae. Galaxies. The woman's hair was like a moving window revealing snap shots of the heavens as if seen from a telescope, but much much more detailed and vibrant. Then Hlina saw her eyes, black orbs filled with stars and galaxies, and her breath caught. She nearly screamed, but the woman put one of four hands on her arm to calm her.

"Shhh," She shushed softly before whispering, "The babes are sleeping. You don't want to wake them. Calm yourself. We met in your dream. I am Glen'nathel Moonlilly, Viridian's mother and wife."

Hlina looked at Glenna with a shocked expression. She looked Glenna down her celestially blessed body and then came back to her eyes before she finally hissed, "You don't look anything like you did in my dream!"

Glenna nodded, "That was my true form. It is what I would look like without the Blessing of the Queen of Heaven. It is a hereditary blessing. All nottalfar are blessed with skin that glows with the phases of the moon, and eyes and hair that reveal the vast glory of the universe. I am a priestess of the moon goddess Seline and she further blessed me by raising my station so that I am her Oracle, and as such, she has given me a body that resembles her own so that those that worship her will worship me, and through me, her."