The rental car that Rya had gotten was definitely not as nice as her vehicle, and after sitting for about 30 minutes straight, my ass had gone numb. Despite that, having two soft and gorgeous women napping in your arms was a wonderful thing, I'll tell you. They had both dozed off as we watched the scenery pass by, and to be honest, I've been missing out. The sights where we were sure were beautiful.
We were ascending up the mountain side via the road, and the amount of vivid plant life was more than I ever thought I'd see in this state. It was still spring, so it wasn't too cold and I didn't see any snow, but from what the thermostat said from inside the car, it was getting chillier the higher we went. Hell, I could even see one of the great lakes from here. I was pretty sure it was Lake Superior, and Rya confirmed that for me a moment later. This was actually the furthest I've been from home, so I pretty much knew fuck all about the rest of my state. I only guessed this one right because I kinda remembered their relative locations from when I was in school.
I was still shocked at it wasn't even 4pm yet. That flight had taken roughly 15 to 20 minutes. The drive to the location we were going to was taking longer despite the relative distance being much shorter.
"I've never seen these girls so happy and content before. I just knew this was the right call." Rya said to me, gaining my attention, "I don't know what it is. Something in the back of mind just told me that it would work. Or, I guess I should say, it would work for you. There's something about you Sid, in the way you present yourself, but also the feeling I get from your mana, and just your overall presence."
I considered her words, and I couldn't disagree. I kept saying that as well. Being with both of these amazing women just felt right. Not just that, but it felt like how it was meant to be. I just knew that they would never hurt me, never betray me, and always stay by my side.
"It's because of what I am. Despite not actually knowing what I really am, I can feel it inside of me. Like an instinct. Your daughter, and Nadia, are the most important people in my life now. I can't even put it into words how grateful I am to have them by my side." I replied, and she just smiled warmly at me.
"You are a good man. I knew from the moment I first saw you. A little shy and timid at first, but now look at you. You're making both of them happy, and that makes me happy." Rya said, and I wasn't going to lie, I was both parts shocked and touched by hiw earnest she was being.
There was no innuendos, no jokes, no motherly snark. Just earnest appreciation of me, and how I made the girls feel. I lived on basically fucking autopilot for so much of my life that my life in my memories practically felt like a blur up until that first day Liz spoke to me. My happy memories with ny parents were obviously still there, happy and untouched, but everything else? It's like none of it mattered anymore, and honestly, it really didn't. The here and now, and what came next was what truly mattered to me now.
We rode in a comfortable silence for a bit, occasionally sparking up more conversation about certain landmarks, or a beautiful piece of scenery that we passed. I zoned out after a little bit though, and I had to blink bleary eyes to alertness when I felt a tug on my arm.
"Sid?" Liz asked, and I turned to her, blinking to refocus.
"Oh wow. That's a pretty lady." I said as I yawned.
Liz giggled as she gave me a soft kiss, and afterwards she looked at me and smirked.
"You aren't so bad yourself, mister. We are here." She said.
"Yeah, it's time to work kids." Rya said from the front seat as she began to get out.
"You might wanna rouse that one." Liz said, pointing to my other side.
I looked down at Nadia, who had her face buried into my chest from under my arm, and I almost couldn't bring myself to do it. Foxes are cute fucking animals by themselves. My fox girl was THE most adorable fuzzy eared creature to walk the goddamn earth. If that makes me a furry or something, at this junction, I'm all fucking in. Regardless of of that stupid thought though, shit needed to get done, and she needed to get up.
I reached down and began playing with one of her ears, rubbing and tickling it. It twitched, and she began making cute little noises in her sleep. I bent over and put my mouth right next to the ear closest to me.
"Nadia. Wake up you little vixen." I said in a low voice.
"Mmm Sid."
Liz barked a laughed from behind me Nadia pretty moaned my name in her sleep. Hell, now I was laughing. I reached down and gave her bottom a firm smack, and her eyes flew open.
"Wh-What??" Nadia squeaked, and I laughed harder. Liz and Rya were both laughing in equal measure as well.
"Have a good nap?" I asked.
Nadia's eyes darted around for a bit, and then her face turned red.
"Oh. Oops." She said, and I just chuckled.
"You can get to all of that later. Come on kids, it's time to get to work." Rya said, winking at us before she opened her door and got out of the car.
I gave Nadia a quick kiss on the top of her head.
"Come on cutie. Don't worry about it. Besides, the quicker we get this done, the sooner we can get to whatever you were dreaming about." I told her.
That caused her to quickly lunge up at me to capture my lips with hers. It was a quick kiss, but the message in her blazing eyes was clear. Liz giggled from behind us I heard her open the door on her side and begin to get out. I just followed behind Nadia who did the same thing on the left side of the car. As I stepped out of the car, the cool air instantly hardened my nipples, although it didn't necessarily feel very cold to me. I could tell it was chilly outside, but the temperature didn't effect my body.
Nadia, despite wearing only a t-shirt and pants, acted like it was 75 degrees outside. I felt along our bond, and the reason instantly made sense. It was her foxfire that was keeping her body warm, and she could even regulate part of it to keep it from making her body too hot. Rya also seemed fine, and I assumed her fire magic was also helping with that for her. Yeah, she had on a thick ass coat, but so did Liz, and my elf was shivering.
It was an instinctal feeling inside of me that just told me to send her warmth through our bond. I had no fucking idea why or how, yet I flooded our bond with that feeling, and my eyebrows rose when she immediately stopped shivering, and just looked at me in surprise.
"Oh wow. I didn't know you could do that." She said, giving me a grateful smile.
I just scratched the back of my head.
"I... didn't either. Hmm... nice." I said, really not knowing how else to put it.
Liz just giggled at me, and yeah, that was fair. It was funny I supposed. I kept doing crazy or just interesting things with my powers despite not understanding most of my capabilities. Some of it was shown to me via my foresight shit that I still had no idea how to trigger when I wanted to, and lot of it was just me doing it out of some of kind of reflex. A lot of it was beneficial to me so I wasn't going to not use it, I just wanted to understand it more. Hell, something told me that I needed to understand it. It was just a gut feeling, but fuck me if I didn't trust my gut at this point.
"All right you three," Rya said, gathering our attention, "This shouldn't be too bad for us. It sounds like these are just some elemental creatures. Definitely something a normal person can't handle, but for us, it shouldn't be an issue. They have a couple of people up here that they probably could have asked, but since this cave is unexplored, there are too many unknowns to this place, and the people here aren't as experienced as I am."
"Oh nice, so you're basically the one they call when they need shit done right." I said, and she pointed at me.
"Exactly. I'm just that good. And while you three aren't exactly experienced at this, I figured it would be good practice given that the level of danger is pretty low. Still, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay attention. Even weaker creatures can be deadly if you aren't careful. Sid, you will be dealing with dangerous situations soon. Criminals with paranormal abilities are no joke. Unlike these creatures, they can think in a clever and unhanded manner, and are very unpredictable. I'm also sure that these two will want to help you in some way too now that I think about it. I know how they are, and you sure as hell do too I'm sure." Rya said, and that caused me to turn to my girls, and yeah, she was right.
They both had determination in their eyes, and from the feeling I got from our bond, I didn't know whether to be terrified, or the happiest man in the world. They wanted to stay by my side, and join me in whatever endeavors I undertook. Obviously, their safety scared the hell out of me because if something happened to either one of them, I honestly think I'd lose my fucking mind.
On the other side of that though, there were two wonderful women that felt my desire to make a difference in the world. They, like me, wanted to use their abilities for the good of others. I knew Liz wanted to use her abilities for good, as she had mentioned it earlier. For Nadia, even though we hadn't explicitly talked about it, I could feel she was the same way. If I had to guess from what I felt, she must have thought her powers weren't strong enough to make a real difference beforehand.
I'd have to talk to both of them about it later when we were by ourselves. I didn't want either of them getting hurt because of me, but I also wasn't about to try and tell them what to do. I could tell I wouldn't win that fight anyways. Plus, being prepared and practicing to handle situations like this seemed like a good idea regardless of what happened. I could feel their desire to not just be my girls, but for us all to be a team. To be a family. That tugged at my emotions for sure. I don't care how great people thought their relationships were, I truly had the two greatest women on this goddamn planet.
"So, what should we all be doing?" Liz asked her mom.
"Well, definitely keep your eyes and ears open. Liz, you've never been much of a fighter, but a support role is just as important. If one of us gets hurt, you'll be the healer and make sure we stay healthy. You have probably the most important role among us. We should be fine, but we also can't be sure there isn't something bad down there." Rya told her daughter, and Liz nodded.
"I promise to do my best." Liz said, and Rya smiled.
"I know honey. You always do." Rya replied, then turned to Nadia, "Your illusions could prove to be a distraction to something if we either fight a really strong creature, or if you run into something you can't handle. Although, since you're a little cheater and can use two different magic types, I'm sure that foxy fire can do some damage as well. You're also a bit stronger with your Kitsune blood running through you, which you might need in case you find a bad match up. I don't think your fire will do much against something else that also uses fire. We'll try to keep you in a kind of floater position. You'll be where we need you." Rya said, and Nadia actually looked proud of herself as she bobbed her head.
"Both of our powers have gotten a lot stronger thanks to Sid. You can count on me!" Nadia said with exuberance.
Rya again smiled, looking like a proud mother watching her children become adults. They already were, but this was a big step for them. They had lived pretty sheltered lives. Granted, my life wasn't dangerous or anything either, but I'd dealt with some crazy shit ever since the day I had gotten my powers.
"I'll take point. I have enough fire power to burn this whole cave out if I have to, although I don't really think that'll be necessary," Rya said, finally looking at me, "Sid, you are... well, you're fucking crazy. I don't want you stealing all of the fun in there, you understand me? That being said, you are pretty much everything we need you to be. You can hit hard, and you can get hit hard. Depending on what we find, we may need that. If ANYONE needs help, yell for Sid or me. Hell, if I need help, I'm yelling for him."
Rya made sure to look at both of the girls to make sure they understood. They nodded, and I already knew they did before Rya said anything. Hell, if I sensed anything was going to hurt them, I'd be there in seconds. I couldn't sense Rya obviously, but make no mistake, when she calls for me, I'll be there.
"Okay kids, you all look ready. Lets get to it." Rya said, and she began walking up the steep incline of the sloped mountain.
I couldn't see the entrance to the cave yet, but Rya seemed to know exactly where to go given she had a map open on her phone. The girls walked a little behind me, and were actually alert and checking around for threats. They definitely were taking this very seriously. I was casting my senses around me, which I quickly found were fucking ridiculous in this environment.
My hearing was insane, as I could hear the smallest movements of the small little critters running around up here. I could hear some breathing nearby as they did their best to hide from us, as we probably looked like giants to them. Some of them even had some mana in them, and I had no doubt they used that to hide from predators. You sensed something with as much mana in them as any one of us, Rya and myself especially, and you got the fuck out of dodge.
My sight had improved even more since the bank incident. Zooming in my vision was easier than ever and I could catch even the small details such small particles being carried through the air. It was like seeing in fucking 10k or something. Hell, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I had some kind of fucking x-ray vision or something. I actually briefly looked back at the girls at that thought, and after much testing and a resigned sigh, it was pretty safe to say I could not do that. Then the girls began giggling at me as they no doubt felt what I tried to do, and I turned away from them, my cheeks growing hot.
"That's not embarrassing at all." I muttered, causing one of them to snort.
"Be on your toes kids, we're almost there." Rya said from ahead of us.
Soon enough, after only another minister or so of walking, we arrived at a flat area that had some foliage and plants growing on it. Not really remarkable, but it did look really nice. The greens were definitely a different shade up here. Cleaner, and healthier perhaps? I'm not a botanist or anything, so I could just be talking out of my ass.
"All right you three, be ready. We are here." Rya said.
Fuck, I totally zoned out thinking about stupid shit while I should have been paying better attention. At least we were finally here. A large cave mouth was visible to me behind a cover of grass, trees, and rocks. Honestly, the shade from the trees caused it to barely even be visible. I was pretty sure I had found it so easily was because of my improved eyesight.
Rya took the lead, and we followed her, and Liz grabbed my arm from my left side.
"It's a little creepy." She whispered, and I nodded.
I didn't feel I necessarily felt scared about many things, but I had to admit that the dark atmosphere, and the way many of the noises actually quieted down the closer we got to the cave was a little disconcerting. I felt her hesitancy to enter through our bond, so I pushed positive thoughts back through it. Strength, courage, calm, and the like. It actually worked like a damn charm, and I felt Liz relax considerably.
"I don't know how you are doing that, but thank you." Liz said with a grateful smile.
Nadia bounced up next to Liz and began rubbing her back smoothingly.
"Come on, Lizzie, this could end up being really fun. It's a little ominus, but that's what makes it exciting." Nadia said, and despite her previous feelings, Liz let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, it honestly just might be." She replied, and I smirked. Everyone just got along so well.
Rya had stopped and was waiting for us at the mouth of the cave. Once we got to where she was, I paused. Then, I coughed and plugged my nose while Rya looked at all of us with a shit eating grin.
"Sweet fucking god." I said, gagging at the stench that was coming from the cave. The only description I could even think of for the smell would be something like rancid asshole drenched in 3 month old piss.
"Oh that's really gross." Liz said, and she was on the verge of throwing up.
"Oh come on you two. It's bad, but it's just nature." Nadia said, seemingly unaffected, as was Rya.
"It's your Kitsune blood. Makes you more tolerant of stuff like this. Me though? I've dealt with worse. Now come on, I wanna be home before 10." Rya said, and just proceeded to walking into the fucking cave like she owned it. Hell, she probably did at this rate.
A couple of things happened at that exact same time. The smell of was terrible, but thankfully we were already getting used to it. Honestly, the way my bonds felt right now, I think Nadia's disregard for the smell was starting to affect us as well, which was nice, because holy fuck. I didn't know how that worked, but I was not going to complain about that.
The other thing though, and the only that actually concerned me that I suddenly got a strange feeling in my gut as soon as we stepped into the cave. I wasn't necessarily sure if it was bad or not, but I didn't like it one bit as the feeling was accompanied by thoughts of my girls.
Liz and Nadia were currently walking beside me, and I grabbed both of their hands and squeezed them reassuringly. I sent warmth, love, and my protective instincts for them through the bond. If anything in here even sneezes on them, I'll rip them apart.
I could feel my eyes crackling with power as we descended further into the cave.