Bonded Summoner

Book 2 - Interlude 4 – Boredom, the Most Powerful Enemy

Berri looked over the birds that landed on her armored shoulders and palms, observing her with interest. She wasn’t sure why they would always gather near her, but their feathers were a wide array of colors, and their songs helped stave away the boredom between fights. Jake had said that her holy aura and her nature probably attracted them, but she wasn’t sure about any of that.

[Berri, don’t you wonder how that white one might taste? We’re getting a little hungry, and I don’t think our Lord is planning on cooking anything anytime soon.]

As long as Berri could remember, her sister had always been there, sharing their body. Blood, her sister, excelled at the things that she couldn’t do, and helped protect them. They kept their secret for years, and used their nature as a shield against the Dark Lamia that constantly plotted to punish or otherwise torture or kill her, cursed as she was. Even now, they kept their secret from their Lord, Jake. While Berri had wanted to let Jake and her new sisters know about Blood, she had refused.

Their nature even kept her sister from fully being influenced by the Framework.

She considered the white bird. It had almost the same disgusting color of skin as her. Would it even taste good? Jake had tried to convince her that her skin was not ugly, but how could the skin that caused her and Blood so much torture and pain be anything but that? Jake and Ophelia’s skin was much closer to a tan color, while very light for a Dark Lamia, was much more appealing than her skin. Fhesiah’s was nearly as pale and as white as hers: a terrible color.josei

Her hand slowly wrapped around the bird, and it started to feel distressed, she could tell; its freedom being restricted. It squawked and chirped as it furiously tried to wriggle from her grasp, but her grip could pulverize stones. How could a tiny bird hope to escape? The other birds all flew away, and she shoved the bird into her mouth and chewed. The bones crunched and blood drained from the bird as its life expired, and she swallowed the remains nearly whole. Their blood tasted well enough, but she definitely preferred her lord’s cooking.

The tiny morsel barely provided any sustenance compared to what she needed, but she was satisfied she removed the bird with the color that bothered her. Just as she was about to try to find something else to do, she felt the wave of disappointment and frustration coming over the bond from Jake. Had he seen her eat the bird? Why would he care? He approached her with an exhausted look on his face. She dreaded what he would say. Had she done something wrong again, that would make her have to wait even longer before they could mate?

Jake looked like he was having trouble looking for the words to say when he sighed. “Those birds, they’re prey animals to large creatures like you.”

“Yes?”

[What is our Lord on about now?], her sister chimed in, in her mind.

“Prey animals, they don’t really come near anything they perceive as something that would cause them harm, or eat them. For them to come near you, it’s like they trusted you. And you… violated that trust, killing them and eating them.”

“Okay? You don’t want me to eat the birds? I’m sorry, Jake, I didn’t know you didn’t want me to eat them.”

Jake sighed again, and she could once again feel his frustration. “It’s not really about the birds. I just wanted you to think about what you did. How would you feel if you were attracted to something’s beauty, or their positive energy, only for them to torture and otherwise kill you the moment you let your guard down?”

Berri tried to think about that for a moment, but was interrupted by her sister speaking to her once again.

[If something happened to us because we let our guard down, then we deserve it, Berri.]

Jake continued before she could think further on it, “Just imagine, a Dark Lamia matriarch, beautiful and somehow caring, takes you under her protection. She promises you won’t be beaten anymore, and you can even have babies if you want. You join and serve her, only for her to have you beaten and consumed.”

[What a stupid thing to say. Those things already happened, and I protected you while you slept, Berri. I poisoned her food, and with you none the wiser, they determined some enemy of hers was much more likely to have killed her. Their truth sayers and mind flayers could not find the truth thanks to our nature, and then we moved on until we found a matriarch more tolerable to us, until they made this armor for us and left us to our own devices fighting creatures in the Underworld.]

“What you did to that bird is no different, the same things that have probably been done to you, only you managed to live. Again, it’s not really about the bird, but especially when your actions will affect others, you should try to consider them as if they were you and treat them how you would like to be treated. Would you want that to happen to you?”

Berri very much did not like that happening to her, but before she could say anything her sister spoke using their body, “No, but so what? It’s the Matriarch’s right to torture me how they see fit. They’re the ones with the power, and it’s their right to do what they want.”

“Their right or not, wouldn’t you rather they saw things my way? That they would have mercy on you, and treat you how they wanted to be treated? Do you really think that the Dark Lamia are so great, always having to worry about being poisoned by a rival or a dagger in the dark? To never know genuine love or affection, only getting what they want by taking it?

They may be powerful, but there’s many different kinds of strength. I’d wager that they lived underground, not by choice. They raided towns for breeding stock, but they kept their raids to a minimum to not draw too much attention or ire from humans and other surface races to band together and eliminate them. In the end, they were at the mercy of the other race’s desires.”

Berri had mostly stopped listening after Jake mentioned love and affection, her sister doing much of the talking. She instead thought about Jake’s affection for her, and her finger lingered near her lips, once again remembering their kiss. It wasn’t just the sensation of Jake’s kiss, but his feelings of care and affection that she felt. They made her feel warm inside, and–

Blood snorted in her mind, [What is this garbage? Does he really believe that nonsense? The Dark Lamia are a powerful race, one that enjoys plunder and excess. Humans are weak, they are only useful as breeding stock.]

“Just think, the goddess, Hestia, could have used you like those Matriarchs and never let you join my family, perhaps just leaving you to die after she got what she wanted, or let you go back to the Dark Lamia you think so highly of where you would never mate. Is that what you want, a world in which you are always beaten down or waiting for that dagger in the dark, or the one where you care for others, and hope that they do the same for you? I think it just comes down to, would you rather your life be one like the Dark Lamia, where all you care about is yourself and never know real love, or have it how the goddess would want it, where you love both yourself and others?”

Berri very much wanted the world where she could have children and feel Jake’s love, rather than having to worry about being beaten or killed. Is that all she needed to do, was care for others? Jake, Ophelia and Fhesiah all showed their care for her, and helped others besides.

Shouldn’t she try to be more like them, and to embody the ideals of Hestia? There was that one movie that they had watched a few days after the one with the old man with the balloon house, that really struck a chord with her. It was about an old man who hoarded his wealth. They refused even his blood relatives any help, and he lived a lonely existence. Berri couldn’t help but feel that he was not very dissimilar from the Matriarchs in her conclave, except for how weak he was. They would butcher a person like that within but a few moments in the conclave, their wealth exceeding their strength far too greatly.

But in the movie, the old man was visited by three ghosts, and they showed him that his love for money and power led him to an empty existence. Realizing this, the old man became more generous, and he enriched the lives of others, and they enriched his life in return. She thought that this was perhaps Jake’s goal for her, though she felt it was different. After all, she only sought wealth in having children and power, or strength. Still, she could see how if she was too focused on one thing, perhaps she would miss out on others.

Perhaps, rather than being worried about her eating the bird, Jake was just worried that if she didn’t care at all for others, she would never be enriched like the old man was. That if she only sought strength for her children, only valuing that aspect, they would ultimately end up like the old man, too. Her children would full of power as they ruled some mountain top, alone. Not only that, but she had a much more profound thought.

Would anyone want to play baseball with someone like the old man?

Certainly, after his goodwill and caring about others a little more, people wanted to do more things with him. Sure, the best baseball players had no problems finding people to play with them, but she knew that those that were good to others had no shortage of friends and people wanting to spend time with them. She was sure that even that decrepit old man that was terrible at it would still have had a line of people wanting to play baseball with him, but before, he would have had to pay people to do it, and that would hardly be very fun. She decided once and for all that she would do her best to embody this type of person, hoping everyone would want to play baseball with her.

[...Sister, you may actually be crazier than people might imagine. But don’t listen to Jake, Berri. All that matters in this world is you and me, as that, along with power, is all you can ever count on. That was just a stupid movie: make believe, like Jake said. In the real world, that man would have been taken advantage of, his good will met with theft.

Who was there for you when the matriarchs wanted you dead for their pleasure? Three times, I had to save us. When Jake tires of us, I’ll still be here. Jake is weak, his women will show their true colors soon enough, and that Goddess will benefit plenty from using us until she abandons us, just like our Dark Elf goddesses; you’ll see.]

Berri replied firmly in her mind, “No. I’m tired of looking at things this way! You may have protected us, but Jake has made us stronger than ever. He won’t let anything like that ever happen to us again. Ophelia and Fhesiah do really care about us, wanting the best for us. Hestia has delivered on her promise, and only asks that we do our best to protect families. I want to believe that she includes our family in her circle of protection. I don’t want to go back to how things were in the Conclave, just us two against the world! Being like the dark lamia… I hate it!]

Berri could feel Blood recoil in her mind, and thought that Jake looked satisfied that his words had at least made her thoughtful.

[So that’s it then? You don’t need me anymore, no longer wanting to be like the dark lamia? All it took was for some male to bat his eyelashes at you, and you think that he won’t eventually betray you? I’ve seen how this story ends a thousand times. He still hasn’t mated with us. How laughable.]

“Don’t you feel it? I know what you feel is less, but I know you still feel it through me. Even now, I can feel his care for us over our bond. He wants us to care and understand others for our benefit, not his. He would never do that to us. I know it for a fact! Can’t we just try it? We always both enjoyed making the children happy. Can’t we just extend that to others? Of course I still need you! I can’t even cast dark magic on my own, and even if I think Jake will never betray us, I know that others can! I think Jake needs you, too. Even you could tell there was something fishy about that Alisara, and that was without magic.”

[That was because those children were glorious Dark Lamia. How can others compare? This is something that I tire of. I have let you control our body and our actions for long enough. I only let you talk me into backing down on taking what I wanted because you convinced me Jake would give us what we wanted, eventually. Since you cannot see things my way and keep letting this human take advantage of us, I will take control and take what we deserve. I will either force Jake to mate with me, or leave the party and find some other male to breed with. You were always weaker than me, and I can see why.]

Berri felt the familiar stirring of Blood’s soul and consciousness pushing on hers, pushing it into the corner of their mind. Normally, they freely exchanged or relinquished control over the body, but there had been many times where Blood had edged her out to get what she wanted, like when she had fought with Fhesiah those weeks ago. Up to now, Berri had never won over her sister. She felt the overwhelming power of darkness crushing her and shoving her into a corner of their mind. Her sister was much stronger than her: more intelligent, and more cunning. Her power over dark magic also provided an advantage, it appeared.

But Berri had wanted nothing more than she wanted to feel more of Jake’s love and affection. It was similar, but very different from the feelings Blood and Berri shared, and she never wanted that feeling to go away. The idea that Blood would leave their new family scared her, as she didn’t want to lose what she had with Lord Jake. She also didn’t think she could force the males her sister bred with into playing a satisfying game of baseball.

If Blood’s Dark Magic, her intelligence, and her cunning made her strong, then she would use what she had to fight back: love, desire, and holy light magic; the power of the goddess. When she became Hestia’s priestess, it enhanced her soul of light to become something more, to become holy. She would prove to her sister that love and care did not make them weak, but strong. Jake’s bonds with Fhesiah and Ophelia made them much stronger, more than enough proof for her to have found her conviction.

Her soul lit ablaze, her soul and holy magic pushing back against the darkness of her sister. She pushed her feelings for both Blood and Jake to the forefront, and used her desire to weather the pain from the crushing obstruction that was her sister’s soul and mind pushing against hers. For the first time, her sister was in retreat; Berri had never stood up to her before, like this.

[You! How did you get so strong?], and Blood screamed in anguish and pain, as she struggled and fought against Berri.

Jake looked quite concerned now, as her body was spasming as the two fought for control. It looked like she needed help, but how could he help her, fighting herself as she appeared to? All he could do was send his concern and feelings over the bond, and let her know he was there to help. He did his best to monitor her with [Arcane Eye], but this was some battle of wills or souls, something he was inexperienced in.

Empowered by Jake’s feelings, she pushed even harder against her sister, until Blood was the one shoved into the corner of their mind. Their body was once again in her control, and she had done it: she had finally beaten her sister. She felt the power that she had over her, that she could snuff out her sister with another push. But that thought passed quickly, as her sister was in this same position before, yet she never took that irrevocable step. As tough and heartless as she made herself seem, Blood still loved her sister, cared for her. There were many times in her life where Blood had taken on the brunt of the pain and suffering, for both of them. She just needed to open herself up more, and find that she can love herself and others and trust them.

Blood spoke again, but this time it was in fear and pain. [So that’s it then? You’ll get rid of me, after all that we’ve been through?]

Berri replied, “No. I wanted to prove to you that love does not make us weak: it makes us stronger. We are also stronger together. We are two halves of a whole, two souls born of one body, but still incomplete. What makes us complete is Jake, and our family. We will become stronger than the Dark Lamia from our world could ever imagine, which I know you enjoy. We will crush countless enemies together.”

She reached out with her soul, reaching out a metaphysical hand for her sister to take. “Now come. Let us try the path that Jake laid out for us. Stop sitting on the fence and join the Framework properly this time, can’t you see? Jake and the Framework strengthens us, I know that matters to you. I need you, and even Jake needs you. Let’s continue, but as equals. Didn’t you enjoy the feeling of Jake’s affection through me, too? I want more, and I know you do, too. I know that we’ll be happy together with Lord Jake.”

Blood hesitated, but her feeling of anguish and fear was replaced with what felt like a small smile, and hope, instead, as she sighed. [I suppose… You have proven your strength. I can see that Jake’s feelings have made you stronger, along with that goddess and the Framework. I’ll watch our back just a little bit longer, I guess. If that man doesn’t give us what we want, I’ll be there to make sure we get it. Besides, with how difficult this Alisara person has been for them to deal with, I suppose that is proof enough that I can trust that they can’t betray us in a more significant way.]

Blood then reached out with her soul as well. Their souls circled one another, growing in unison, in equilibrium. One dark, and the other one light. Their souls coalesced into a single construct, assisted by the framework. Where one would sit separately on the gateway of their souls, their souls and magic now both sat at the gateway at once, allowing both types of mana to be used freely. Jake’s bond latched on to the new construct properly, where it was previously only linked to only Berri’s soul.

Misc. Passive Skill Gained: Twin-Souled, Twin Minded

This being has two souls and two minds in one body. This skill assists the twins in managing the connection to one another and to the body, to allow better coordination of both their magic and the body itself.

Status Change!

Name

Bloodberri

Age

39

Class

Monstrous Holy Dark Priestess of Hestia

Race

Twin-souled Dark Lamia

They luxuriated in the feeling of no longer needing to give up control to one another, of now becoming a new being, in a sense. Now, both could be in control at the same time. One could focus on casting magic, while the other controlled their body, or even controlling different portions. There were some difficulties with them trying to do conflicting things at the same time, but now sharing their thoughts in total made things much easier for them. Before, they only communicated the thoughts they wanted to. Now, they had to consciously block their thoughts, instead of the other way around. The Framework’s constructed skill for them was nothing short of a blessing.

Jake looked relieved that nothing bad had happened despite the struggle as she looked over at him. She sent her feelings for Jake over the bond: the love, affection, and desire she had for him, now unrestricted by her sister holding her back. She urged her sister onward, to lower her guard and try to trust Jake, and to feel what she felt more directly than before. Previously, Blood could only feel a small amount of Jake’s emotions, indirectly through Berri.

[I…will give it a try. And if trying to treat others how we would like to be treated is going to help us get what we want, I will do my best. Also, shit.]

“What is it, sister?”

[That Odin guy… Do you think he was hinting that I might have been able to help with that Alisara problem? I wasn’t a part of the Framework, so I could have probably done something? Until now.]

“I’m sure it’ll be fine? I’m just so glad we’re together properly, sister! Now, show Jake how you feel about him properly.”

Berri felt her sister Blood reaching out to Jake, to send her feelings— “Sister, that’s mostly just lust! Try to focus more on the warm feelings.” Berri felt that Jake almost felt embarrassed, but he smiled at Bloodberri. He said, “It’s quite a surprise that there are in fact two of you in there. I had suspected something similar, but couldn’t imagine that you had two souls. It’s nice to meet you, Blood. Welcome to our family.”

Berri could feel her sister’s emotions struck with confusion, as Jake sent his feelings of acceptance and positive feelings over the bond. Why should she care what this human thinks, but why does it feel so good? Perhaps, other than her sister Berri, she had never been accepted in her life, hidden as she was, but also having to accept being an outcast for her whole life. That he would accept her so unconditionally and assuredly had surprised her greatly, as the bond left no room for misinterpretation. Jake truly accepted her, and that made Blood feel things she hadn’t felt before. She now began to understand better why Berri had thought there was no way for Jake to betray them, his feelings of care for her was real. At the same time, she was still a little wary, as even those with the best of intentions can fold when they are at risk.

Tears came to Bloodberri’s eyes, a result of both her and her sister’s feelings. An emotion built in her, a dam opened of desire and longing to be accepted and loved. Blood had long since kept those feelings to herself, ones that she thought would never be returned or validated. Jake returned those feelings, assuring her she’d be cared for, that they were no longer alone.

Bond Increased!

Summoner’s Bond: Bloodberri

Level 4

She luxuriated in the new feelings of the bond strengthening, and to be hearing Jake’s thoughts. She smiled, as it appeared he was imagining being hugged in her massive breasts but being thwarted by her restrictive equipment.

[Oh? It appears he enjoyed the hugs even more than I could have imagined. It looks like all we had to do to mate with him was to hug him more, don’t you think, Berri?]

Berri was ecstatic that they had finally moved forward, her and Blood. But she heard Jake’s thoughts; it was soon time to crush their enemies. She knew that once they finished this fortress assault, they would have what they both desired not long after.