The War Chronicles of a Little Demon (Youjo Senki alt)

[Sunshine Temple]

And here's the second part of today's feast. Enjoy these pieces of fun art. I have a few more in the wings and being made but those can be posted later

First we have this wonderful piece from LexiKimble showing Tauria's two sides as she wonders who she upon her third life.

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From DP we have the opposite end of introspection with this piece of Baroness VioletBlood being her best self. That is haughty and arrogant.

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Next from ScittyKitty we have a bit of a cross cultural summit with Coordinator Elena talking with her sister's favorite granddaughter, the reborn DarkStar. The two seem to be up to something.

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And finally from PlayerError404 we have this great piece of Tauria and her two Vs. Despite Tauria being in the most fluffy version of her nun's clothes she seems to be making the most of this, or at least plotting.

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[Sunshine Temple]

Merry Xmass, Happy Holidays, and a somber SBRs Watch.

Yesterday may have had a chapter 29 posted but the gifts aren't over!

Please enjoy this bit of art, but not before a bit of lore dump.


White Feast of DarkStar is on the 16th of September, is one of the Church's most important events, and one of the few ones that most of the sects largely agree on the same day of observance, the faith does have other holidays thought the year.

Known for her charity, piety, and skill with the blade that gave her the nickname: the Saber, Saint BloodRuby was known for her standing vigil of her village, especially in winter where she said she was "Awaiting Her return."

What had started as a minor Saint's Day at the end of a long fasting period, had in the modern DarkStar Church grew into a ritualistic fasting period followed by a celebratory feast with the exchange of gifts. This includes a lot of cross pollination with the plethora of other solstice time celebrations on the variety of other Diyu faiths (both native and imported).

Like many Saints Days, there is little consensus on when to celebrate SBRs Watch among the branches of the DarkStar Church. Though all the largest branches do recognize BloodRuby as a saintess. For example: the Order of Our Martyred holds observes on December 15th while the Order of Lady Our Hallowed Lady observers nearly two weeks later on the 27th. There is some merit to the idea the BloodRuby's profile was raised to give the DarkStar Church their own major solstice-time holiday.


But now onto the art.

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First from Lexi Kimble we have this slick piece of Reinhild helping Countess Tauria get dressed for a social event with Baroness VioletBlood. This piece has some fantastic coloring and shading.

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Next from Player Error 404 we've got the woman of the hour, DarkStar herself returned to Diyu and in formal attire. Though she's adding a bit of her own touches for her big gown.

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From DP we have Chief Librarian, and adviser to BlakSky, Mira Heartwood in drawn in spiffy business wear with a lot of fun detil.

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Next, Player Error 404 shows the two aspects of Imperial Heroines.
Fabia Firmitas HarrowFang in her Sarpedona RP suit shows the warrior side while Countess Tauria Magnus DiamondDust in yet another gown shows the pomp and pageantry side. The contrast is really fun, and I do like how the renditions of Ritual Plate have gotten more to how I envision the flight suits (more armored segments and less skinsuit)

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And from Scitty Kitty we've got a great set of wonderfully expressive emotes of VoiletBlood, Tauria, and Visha. They've all been getting great use in the Little Demon discord.

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And finally from Player Error 404 we have this wonderful piece of DarkStar bringing holiday presets for SBRs Watch while Tauria and her mother Sister Clementia watch with joy

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Again wishing you all a Merry Xmas and holiday season and thanking you all for enjoying this story.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

With ch29 being posted, the current arc may be wrapping up but a map of the various worlds on the Dimensional Spine will still be pretty handy. As it will give some context to events. Thanks to Readhead for coming up with the name, and for the LD Discord for helping revise the map.

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Map of Diyu itself can be found here. And the Map of House BlackSky's provinces on Diyu can be found here.

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Diyu Demons have three main forms of teleportation. There is the persona teleportation magic many Elder Demonesses have, some of them have the ability to teleport between worlds. Due to the relative rarity of Elders with this ability and the limitations they have on where they can go and who they can bring, this method has been supplanted in many cases.


Teleport Runes are a common way to allow a vessel (typically an airship but other conveyances can be setup) to jump from one world to the next along the Dimensional Spine (and to different Aether Layers). However, this method is limited to surveyed routes. This results in many worlds being travel hubs, bottlenecks or dead ends. Finding new routes (and new worlds) is the primary goal of the Transcendental Survey Branch of the BlackSkyvian Cartographer's Guild. The other Great Houses have similar services as such explorations have strategic consequences. There are two primary frontiers on the Dimensional Spine one in the Up-spine direction, the other in the Down-spine direction. That the Dimensional Spine has directionality, implies it has a structure and many theorize that it means that this region of space has importance as some type of cosmic mega-structure. Diyu seems to be some type of central lynchpin as it has an unusually high number of connections to other worlds.


The final method are Teleportation Gateways. These are large, expensive structures that are built in pairs to maximize their thaumaturgical similitude. Then the two Gateways (each with a large chamber inside) are transferred to other worlds using a Teleport Rune equipped ship. Once emplaced, calibrated, and given considerable power, instantaneous travel between the Gateway pair is possible. Note that a given Gateway only allows travel to its twin. Father travel requires using another paired Gateway. However, unlike Teleport Runes, distance is functionally immaterial. Thus a critical colony can have a direct connection to Diyu (or another critical colony) no mater how far out it is on the Dimensional Spine. In addition to the great expense of production and operation (which means only the most vital colonies have Gateways), the dimensions of the chamber inside the Gateway does limit transportation to objects to the weight of tanks and lighter, and to medium VTOLs and smaller. Still this allows for teleport Gateways to supplement other forms of travel.

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House BlackSky's primary holdings are in the Up-spine/Sinister region. This is a large contiguous territory that is well developed and has access to the Up-spine frontier. Closer to Diyu is the one colonial holding of House Andromache and the Up-spine enclave of House Trosier, which acts partially as a buffer between BlackSky and Luxon. Father Up-spine, the minor independent world of New Van Zandt has a similar buffer effect with Elena's holdings.

The Dexter half of the Up-spine region is primarily split between House Alecto and House Elena. With the latter braiding their territory across the Alecton Worlds. Elena has considerable holdings but also has them spread out over many areas, while Alecto is even more of a narrow strip of worlds. Both Great Houses also have access to the Up-spine frontier. Ziox's holdings are also here, as well as the fractured Harp's World. The Independent world of Redemption is on the far Dexter corner. Continuing their tradition on Diyu, House Alecto supports and acts as a patron for all the independent worlds. Though Elena, BlackSky, and Luxon have their own alliances with various breakaway colonies.

Down-spine on the Sinister side is House Luxon. They have a rather large contiguous territory with plenty of worlds and access to the Down-spine frontier. However, economic troubles have prevented full development of its holdings, but this is changing with Luxon's revitalization as of late. Also in This region is Mard, the largest independent world. Mard has good relations with the other independents, Alecto, and Luxon as patrons. Mard is a world where many independent traders hang their banner. The Dimensional Spine has considerable merchant traffic as there are dozens of colonies that need supplies and have resources to trade for what they require, not to mention various garrisons in need of support. Also in this region is Trosier's Down-Spine enclave as well as Elena's toehold onto the Down-spine frontier.

These small holdings also border on the Down-spine Dexter region which is a collection of smaller territories: RedStorm, BlackSky's Down-spine enclave, and Irkella, However, it is the Empty Quarter that dominates this part of the Dimensional Spine. The site of much of the fighting, and the concluding campaign, of the War of Reprisal, this area was always desolate, but after the conclusion of that war, and subsequent explorations, a parade of dead, frozen, charred, and just inhospitable worlds were found.

Haven, the only marginally habitable world, was picked as a forward base for the Empty Quarter Patrol. The last legacy of the grand alliance of the War of Reprisal, the EQP is a multinational force where each Great House contributes a formation of ships, troops supplies, or other war material on a rotating basis. Each of the larger Great Houses contributes to ensure that they still have a say in how the EQP operates, while the smaller Great Houses do not want to be cut out of the loop, and all are interested in seeing what lays on the other side. The EQP works to survey and observe the Empty Quarter and to carefully explore Down-spine to ascertain its limits. While Haven does have a pair of Gateways, they do not go to Diyu, but instead go to secured, isolated bases on Nida and Huido controlled by BlackSky and Elena respectively.

 

[ellf]

And Omake time! Chapter Two of Knight Sirens!

Knight Sirens

Chapter Two

The Mountain felt empty with everyone gone. Nightwing and Artemis were back in Gotham, Kid Flash was in KeyStone City, Zatanna was visiting friends of her father, and Red Arrow was dealing with some of the fallout that came from the reveal of his status. It made it hard for M'gann M'orzz to sleep without those comforting presences. Sure, Kaldur and Connor were still in the Mountain and that helped, but the absence of the rest of the team ached.

Kaldur was asleep in his room; she could feel it. He'd spent a good portion of the day training, and M'gann couldn't fault the Atlantean for taking his rest when he could get it. There wasn't any major mission that the Team was needed for at the moment, but she knew that could change at a moment's notice. M'gann almost hoped it would. After all, the Mountain would be full again, and the familiar minds would help her rest.

She wandered into the kitchen, careful not to make much noise, and she considered what was available. Perhaps some cookies? She might wake someone up if she overdid it, but at least they'd have some sweets to offset any upset they might get. Wait, was that correct phrasing? Well, perhaps not, but it wasn't like she was trying to be perfect. After all, cookies just needed the right amount of love, combined with the recipe, in order to sweeten the pot.

M'gann mixed her ingredients, accidentally dropping one of the metal bowls before she could catch it. Perhaps she was trying to alert someone to her presence, just so she wouldn't be alone. There were those with enhanced hearing in the Mountain at that time, after all.

M'gann felt Superboy stirring from his room, and a private smile came to her face. He'd enjoy the cookies, but even more, he'd enjoy helping. Or at least licking the bowl.

He made his way into the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a muscle shirt. "Guessing you couldn't sleep?"

M'gann couldn't help her eyes tracing his form, but she simply smiled at him, turning her private one toward him directly. "Not really. With everyone gone, it's quiet here."

"Yeah, it is," Connor said. "With Wally Artemis and Robin--excuse me, Nightwing, back at their homes… I can only hear you and Kaldur. I guess you've gotten used to all of us."

M'gann nodded. It wasn't that she hadn't been alone before, but the comfort of others, others who were friends and willing to not only put up with her, but welcomed her in their presence… she felt spoiled by it. Still, Superboy's presence was comforting. As it always was, these days. She smiled at him. "I'm sure I'll sleep eventually. I just need to tire myself out."

"How can I help?" Connor asked.

M'gann directed him, and soon the two fell into an easy silence, anticipating the needs as they went along. The recipe was easy enough, as M'gann had made it before, and soon enough, they had the cookies in the oven.

As they cleaned up their preparatory dishes, the Zeta-Tube console and reception area activated, lighting up in preparation for transit.

"Odd time of night," Connor said, frowning as he stepped toward the Zeta-Tube, placing himself between it and M'gann. He wasn't wrong. Usually, the League would call before directly coming over. However, it wasn't like exceptions hadn't happened.

"I don't think we're expecting anyone," M'gann said. She frowned, glancing toward Aqualad's room. "Do you think we should wake Kaldur?"

"Not yet," Connor said. "No messages came in. We'd have heard it, with us out here. We can buzz his communicator, but he doesn't need to "

M'gann nodded. The rings on the Zeta-Tube started spinning. Before she could respond to her friend, the console announced the arrivals. "Recognized, Nightwing, B-01. Guest User BlackFire, A-08. Guest User FrostShadow, A-09."

Connor and M'gann shared a look of confusion before looking toward the Zeta-Tube exit. Guests were not unheard of in the Mountain, but they usually were somewhat known. With the names given, clearly they were of the more masked variety and not civilians.

Nightwing was a familiar mind to M'gann. She gave him a brief telepathic greeting, a brush across his mind, before directing her attention to the people he brought with him. An initial brush indicated a lack of humanity. Not that they had ill intentions or anything, but they certainly didn't feel the way humans tended to. Nor, M'gann noted, did they feel Martian.

Whatever they were, she could feel a psychic resonance within them. A sort of telepathic and empathic link connected the two visitors, and as she reached out to them, they started to reach out back. The way they felt was almost familiar, familial, yet it was different enough that she pulled away after the first touch, out of an abundance of caution. Whatever they'd done, it had been instinctive.

Nightwing brought the pair out of the Zeta-Tube, a pair of winged humanoids, one with leathery wings, the other, smaller one with more feathered ones, and the two of them seemed somewhat disoriented at first.

Then the disorientation shifted to something worse. It was as if a dam had burst, and a psychic scream echoed throughout the Mountain so loud that M'gann almost didn't hear the vocal one that accompanied it. It pushed her down onto a knee, slamming into her own psychic defenses, weighing her down. The pain, the immense, overwhelming pain. It was theirs, she felt it pressing down upon her, everything they felt. The two had fallen, nearly catatonic themselves.

"M'gann!" Superboy was at her side in an instant. He wrapped an arm around her, and she felt more than saw him look up at Nightwing. "What's going on, Nightwing? What did you bring here?"

"I didn't know this would happen!" Nightwing said. "They were fine back in Gotham! Miss M! M'gann, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Hurts…" M'gann said, focusing on the familiar minds nearby, trying to push away the ocean she felt flowing through the guests. Her skin rippled near her forehead as she almost lost her form, but she adjusted it back. It wasn't her pain. She could block it out, now that she knew where it was coming from. She let out a sharp breath. "I'll be fine. Thank you, Connor. It's your guests that I'm worried about."

"I don't know what's going on," Nightwing said. "They didn't seem too worried about the Zeta-Tubes when they came, but… this…"

"What are they?" Superboy asked. "The feathered wings on that one… well, she's still got too many other features to be a Thanagarian…"

"They said they were from a place called Diyu," Nightwing said. "Demons or aliens, given that it's an alternate plane of existence or something. Batman believed them, and he asked if they could stay here."

M'gann turned her attention closer to the supposed demons. She carefully, without lowering much of her shields, touched the barest edges of the minds. Empathy. Both were highly empathic, but the smaller one was even more so than the larger, given her longer, curled horns. Add whatever happened with the Zeta-Tubes… "It's too much. Too much input. They can feel all of Happy Harbor… from here. Oh… wait. Huh. Hello, Megan! The solution's simple!"

"What?" Connor asked.

"The bioship! It can help block out the excess emotions and help them!" M'gann looked at her friends. "Connor, do you think you could carry them both there? Nightwing, check on Kaldur? I think he should be awake for some of this."

Nightwing nodded. "I really should be getting back to help out--" At M'gann's sharp look, he held up both hands in surrender. "Fine. I'll go see what he's up to."

"You know where the room is," Connor said, and he scooped up both girls with ease. A brief shudder went through him as he touched their skin with his own, maybe something to do with the G-Gnomes? He shouldered them and glanced at M'Gann. "They're not that heavy. Do you really think the bioship can help?"

M'gann nodded, floating alongside her friend as he carried the guests. "If it's not enough, some distance should help some more." She was worried a little about them. Their eyes were open, darting around, yet not focusing on either Connor or herself, and their tails thrashed back and forth while they were carried. It was lucky that Connor was harder to hurt than a normal human, but it helped that neither one was using their clawed hands to scratch at him, instead mostly being limp in his grasp. M'gann hadn't heard of any species like them, nor had she heard of Diyu at all. Demons, aliens… something that could be considered both?

Of course, given Mars's isolationist state before her uncle arrived on Earth, it was possible that someone had encountered Diyu before. She just hadn't heard about it. M'gann adjusted her mental shielding as they came upon the bioship's hangar. She couldn't help them if she fell back into the same state as the guests.

She gestured for the ship's boarding platform to lower, and she led Connor inside with the girls. "Place them down on the ground, anywhere that looks comfortable."

"Sure," Connor said, following her command. "So, you were saying something about excess emotion before?"

M'gann nodded, using the biomorphic properties of her ship to generate a safe area for the two alien girls to rest. Once no longer in Connor's arms, they thrashed about, their bodies trying to latch onto something. As their mouths opened, M'gann noted the sharp fangs in each of their mouths, matching with their horns and tails, somehow. She carefully moved, placing a hand on each of their heads, shivering at the touch. The raw emotion filtered through them was almost too much to handle, even with her shields. "Something happened during the Zeta-Tube transit. I suspect that normally, they have some sort of mental shields to block out emotion, sort of like my own, but both are very empathic and slightly telepathic. Something disrupted those shields when they went through, and it overwhelmed them."

Connor frowned. "And the ship can create its own shields to help them?"

"That's the theory," M'gann said. "It does have a sort of shielding, but whether it's enough… "

Connor nodded. "Do you need me here with you to help them?"

"Not exactly," she said. "They should hopefully come back to themselves soon enough, and Nightwing trusted them enough to take them with him here. But if you wanted to…"

Connor smiled, placing one of his hands on her own. "I could. NIghtwing and Kaldur can wait, and if they're hostile…"

M'gann met his smile with one of her own, and she patted his hand with her free one. She then turned her attention to the Diyu aliens. Diyuvians? Close enough. With the shielding up, they started to still. M'gann ran a hand through the powder-blue hair of the smaller one, careful not to dislodge the hairpins she had placed there.

Now that they were in the shielding of the bioship, it didn't seem as if either was telepathic the way Martians were, but there was a form of something akin to it there, in addition to the empathy. The girl's eyes remained unfocused, roving around the bioship. M'gann felt a little guilty over what she felt she needed to do, but if she was to help them, she needed to see what she was working with.

So she delved into the girl's mind.

The imagery of a great forest flickered before her, the vast reaches of space, and then M'gann's eyes locked tightly on the girl's. The blue pools, almost like ice crystals, held shadows within them, flitting about, never quite the same as they were there. The blue eyes overtook her entire vision as she delved further into the girl's mind.

The girl, FrostShadow, had a mind full of secrets, ones that M'gann instinctively avoided, but she still saw. She held herself to a high standard, with a desire to help people that permeated throughout. She saw a city of trees, a key. A gate. Shadows and ice, and storms surrounding her and her older sister. Death. Destruction. She saw a massive battle, a series of massive battles. Deaths, and then a need to pull back. She was more affected by it, and… then M'gann was forced away, but she found herself hugging the girl tightly, and the emotions grew more intense. The selfless actions, even in the face of adversity, meant that the girl was good.

Then, like a moth to the flame, she probed the second girl, meeting her pair of burning red eyes in the process. BlackFire's mind was much like her younger sister's, full of secrets, full of battles. She'd been affected by what they'd needed to do as well, but she worried more about her younger sister, about FrostShadow's health. It was BlackFire that suggested they take a break and the way it happened. She loved her younger sister very much, and the two were bonded. M'gann could tell how close they were, but where FrostShadow had ice and shadow, BlackFire had her namesake. Flames surrounded M'gann, but somehow her normal fear never came. The flames wouldn't harm her. Not here. They faded away, revealing the alien girls themselves.

She hugged them both, as Connor watched.

"Whoa, what's going on, M'gann? You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, hugging the two tighter. "They've just… they've been through so much."

He frowned, nodding. He fell into a defensive stance as a rumbling sound started to come from the girls. They started to snuggle into M'gann's embrace, and it occurred to her what it sounded like. Purring. They sounded just like cats, and they even somewhat looked like them too with their graceful movements and the way they moved their eyes.

The smaller one slowly blinked, pulling slightly away from M'gann as she did so. Her eyes seemed to regain focus, and she looked around the cockpit of the bioship, curiosity wafting off of her. The smaller girl's eyes paused on Connor for a second before coming back to M'gann and meeting her own.

"Huh," said the girl as she tilted her head to the side. Her horns glinted some in the ship's lighting, and her eyes seemed to glow blue as they caught the light. "You are… new. Both of you. Perhaps, you are friends of the Nightwing?"

The girl's sister seemed to come back to herself, and she nodded.

"I'm not sure you could call us friends," said Connor, and M'gann shot him a glare.

"Of course, we're his friends," she said. "I'm called Miss Martian, and that is my friend Superboy. Who is indeed friends with Nightwing."

"Some of the time," Connor added.

The older of the pair let out a snort. "Clearly. My name is BlackFire, and she's my younger sister, FrostShadow."

M'gann heard the way she stressed the names and adjusted accordingly. BlackFire, not Blackfire, FrostShadow, not Frostshadow. It was important enough. "Nice to meet you both."

"Indeed," FrostShadow said, a smile playing cutely on her lips. "Though I did not expect to meet other nonhumans today, let alone end up on… a Martian ship?"

"Yes, this is my ship," said M'gann. "You were affected by the Zeta-Tube transition and needed some psychic shielding."

Both girls nodded. They spoke in unison for a second. "That makes sense."

"It was a form of teleportation we are not used to," FrostShadow said. "The method probably interfered with us metaphysically."

"We'll be prepared next time," BlackFire added. "And… Miss Martian and Superboy, huh? You do have… other names, correct?"

FrostShadow reached over M'gann and poked her sister in the shoulder. "BlackFire! That was rude. You should not just ask about something like that. Secret identities are secret for a reason."
BlackFire made a comment in a foreign tongue that sounded almost like Latin. That explained the accent that both had. It reminded her of the humans from Italy. Her tail swished from side to side.

FrostShadow replied in the same tongue and then nodded to both M'gann and Connor.

BlackFire sighed, and she nodded. "Apologies, Miss Martian, Superboy. My sister isn't wrong about the politeness. I managed to refrain from asking the same question of Nightwing and Batman, but in my defense, both were human. Despite my surprise about Batman."

"I did tell you," FrostShadow said.

BlackFire shrugged.

"It's okay," M'gann said.

"Sort of," Connor added. "It's not like we haven't been asked before. You were tamer than some."

"Curious," FrostShadow said, her lips quirking into a smile again as her tail swished. Amusement wafted off her. "Of course, those names are hardly the most creative that could be used. Miss Martian and Superboy? A girl from Mars and a boy with superpowers, I suppose. Any relation to Superman?"

Connor looked down, clenching his fist.

FrostShadow held up a hand. "Apologies. I did not mean to bring up something distressing."

"Kryptonian, but only partially," BlackFire observed. "That explains it. You are part human."

"I am," Connor said. "I'm a clone, a mix of his DNA and a human's."

"We see," said the girls. "Apologies again. We did not wish to cause you pain."

He waved the unclenched hand. "It's fine. Fine." He looked at them, cuddled up to M'gann and nodded. "I'm assuming FrostShadow and BlackFire aren't codenames?"

"No," said BlackFire. "They're actually our names."

"Then you can call me Connor," he said. "Just Connor."

"And my birth name is M'gann M'orzz," said M'gann. The purring sound from them, which hadn't stopped, got louder at that.

"M'gann… M'orzz… Connor…" the girls almost tasted the names.

An involuntary shudder went through M'gann, albeit not of disgust. She wasn't entirely sure, but something about the way they said her name caused a telepathic ripple, yet not an unpleasant one. It was actually the opposite of that. She wasn't sure what they did, but they were… there.

FrostShadow blinked, tilting her head to its other side. "Oh. Right. I apologize. You are… It just… Never mind."

M'gann pursed her lips, and then she reached out with her mind. Whatever had happened between the four of them had been interesting, and she needed to find out more. Unfortunately, as she brushed FrostShadow's mind, she immediately was assaulted with a pair of icy eyes that chilled her to the bone. If she pushed, she got the feeling that it would simultaneously be the best and worst decision she made that day. It certainly was tempting.

"Careful," BlackFire said after a second. "Dipping into my sister's head is a recipe for madness, and the protections she has…"

The accent was more pronounced that time. M'gann wondered where they had learned English, as for the most part, their diction was good, but the accent came through at times. More so with the younger of the pair. "I'm sorry. It's been a few months since I've been around other telepaths."

FrostShadow nodded. "I understand, but please ask permission before you try and listen in. We have strong defenses on our minds, most of the time."

"You mentioned that the Zeta Tubes disrupted those defenses," Connor said. "How are you going to be prepared for them next time?"

"We know what they feel like now," said both of them at the same time. It was a little eerie, as their voices synchronized and harmonized. "We can adjust accordingly as we prepare. We may need to study some of the literature on the technology to make sure our calculations are correct, but it should work."

"I see," said M'gann. "Do you think that your defenses are good enough to leave the bioship now? That you won't be overwhelmed?"

"We should not even be 'whelmed' about it," said the girls, smiles playing on their lips as their tails swished in unison. "Especially with the two of you there."

"How am I helping, exactly?" Connor asked.

"You both are familiar to us now, as Nightwing is," FrostShadow said. "We can use your emotions as an anchor, if it comes to that."

"Perhaps it won't," BlackFire added. "But it's good to have backups."

M'gann nodded. She could understand that, and given what she had seen from the two of them before, she was pretty confident that it was worth helping them out. She stood up and offered each of them a hand up, and so did Connor.

The two paused for a moment then with solemnity they took the hands, standing on their taloned feet, and together, the four of them left the bioship. As the four of them made their way into the hangar, both FrostShadow and BlackFire immediately sniffed the air. Curious, they must have had some sort of enhanced sense of smell, compared to that of humans or Martians.

"So, where are we, exactly?" BlackFire asked. "Batman just called this place the Mountain."

"I'm not sure if I should say," M'gann said. "We do keep locations secret, for safety reasons. Maybe if you stay longer, or we hear from some of the League, we can share it."

"It's an older League facility," Connor added. "That they repurposed for our team. I'm not sure how much you know, given what Nightwing mentioned."

FrostShadow waggled a hand. "We have heard of some of the Justice League, but how much of our knowledge is accurate is unknown. Some of the heroes had partners in our intelligence, but I am uncertain as to how much veracity it contains."

"You did research on us?" Connor asked.

BlackFire shook her head. "Not as such. We read some passing reports on various Earths as they come through, and this isn't the only one with a Justice League."

"Various Earths?" M'gann asked. "Your species does dimensional travel?"

"It is how we arrived here," FrostShadow said. "We will need to recalibrate some things to attempt a return home, but much of Diyu does reach out to extradimensional areas. Our nation even trades with multiple Earths."

"That could be interesting, I guess," M'gann said. "So you haven't encountered the League yourselves before, just in intelligence briefings?"

"Something like that," BlackFire said. She tilted her head as they made their way into a hallway. "And… it looks like the only other person here is awake now."

"That would be Aqualad," Connor said. "He spends the night here often enough."

"Any relation to the Aquaman?" FrostShadow asked.

"He's a subject of Atlantis," said M'gann. "But we'll let him introduce himself properly."

The four of them fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the walk as an ease settled over M'gann in their presence that she hadn't really felt since she left Mars, save for around Connor at times. They seemed to anticipate the directions that M'gann and Connor both wanted to go, and both Diyu-vians had no issues navigating with their help.

When they made it into the Mountain's lounge, both Kaldur and Nightwing were sitting on the couch, deep in conversation. Nightwing gave a nod and a smile upon spotting the girls up and about.

"Glad to see the two of you are feeling better," said Nightwing. "Aqualad, those are the two I was talking with you about. Meet FrostShadow, the smaller one, and her older sister, BlackFire."

Kaldur stood and bowed to the guests. "A pleasure to meet you both. It is always good to meet someone under peaceful circumstances."

"Indeed," FrostShadow said, returning the bow, dipping her horns to Kaldur. "M'gann said that you were a citizen of Atlantis. I am curious how you decided to fight for surface dwellers."

"I merely followed the example of my king," Kaldur said. "What affects the surface can affect Atlantis as well."

"That makes sense," BlackFire said, also bowing her horns. She stood up, and smiled. "And as Nightwing introduced us, I want to make it clear that those names are actually our names. We do not have the same sort of codenames as you do."

"They're soldiers," Nightwing said. "In the general sense of the word."

FrostShadow nodded. "More specifically, we are pilots within our country's Fleet."

"So, why exactly did you come here then?" Connor asked. "And by yourselves…"

"Technically, we're on a temporary assignment to a testing facility," BlackFire said. "We were in the process of testing some new hardware, and we went somewhere we… normally would not have. In order to avoid a dangerous situation, we did a blind transition and ended up in Gotham City."

"It may not have been the smartest move, but it was necessary," FrostShadow added. "We will need some time to calculate the best route back home. Batman's offer was generous, but Nightwing made it clear that it was not up to him."

"They helped with Solomon Grundy and the Joker," Nightwing said. "While wearing their power armor."

"Ritual Plate," FrostShadow said. "It requires innate energies of the pilot to help operate, whereas power armor would have a separate power source."

"If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck," Nightwing said… He shook his head. "But yeah, they don't really have a place to stay. I know we have room here, but it'd be up to you three."

"I have no objections," Kaldur said. "I would be curious to discuss these energies with you both."

M'gann nodded. She was curious to learn more about both of them as well. Plus, being with other telepaths was comforting in some ways. It reminded her of home in the best ways. "They can stay."

As everyone looked at Connor, he raised his hands. "I don't really care either way. How long are you planning on being here?"

"As long as necessary to get our bearings so we may return home," said BlackFire. "We can, perhaps, help some if you require it."

Connor nodded. "Then sure, you can stay, for now."

"Thank you, Connor," FrostShadow said.

"If you are staying, I'll introduce myself properly. I am Kaldur'ahm, of Atlantis. You may call me Kaldur in private, but I am Aqualad in the field," said Kaldur. Everyone turned to look at Nightwing.

He raised his hands and shook his head. "Sorry. We just met. Maybe after we get to know each other more, we can share that, but I'm fine with you just calling me Nightwing."

"NightWing is a nice name," FrostShadow said with a swish of her tail. Perhaps she found something amusing. "It is surprising that we have not met someone with that name before now, but I suppose some mothers would rather choose other names."

"And NightWing chose his," BlackFire said. She glanced over to her sister as FrostShadow started to yawn. "Perhaps we should retire to bed. Frost and I would like to share a room, if possible."

"You can have the room next to mine!" M'gann said with a smile. It was so nice to have additional telepaths here, and girls to boot. "I'll go ahead and show you where it is."

"Until tomorrow morning then," Kaldur said. "Nightwing, are you going to stay as well?"

"Not tonight," he said. "The new Robin's probably getting restless with Batman out alone. I should help him work off some of that stress. I'll bring him with me when the rest of the Team meets up tomorrow."

Kaldur nodded. "We will have to ensure his readiness. Hopefully he… will be better prepared than the last."

Nightwing grimaced. "Yeah. See you."

"Good night, NightWing," said the new girls, and M'gann led them into the room they would be staying in.

The room next to hers had been empty since Artemis had moved out of it entirely in favor of a room closer to Wally, but it still had a couple of twin beds, a dresser, and a mirror. The beds had the most basic of bedding on them, pillows and a light comforter. Immediately, the Diyuvians pushed the two beds together and climbed into the bed. They smiled at M'gann, and a wave of tiredness seemed to overtake them.

And her, for that matter. She was going to say good night, to head back to her own room. But something made her linger, and as she stepped closer to the bed, the girls pulled at her mentally. When she got close enough to them, FrostShadow's hand lightly landed on M'gann's arm. Somehow, she found herself lying on bed between the two of them, and before too long, sleep claimed her.

In a way, it was the best sleep she'd had since setting foot on Earth.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Greetings, been a bit since there was an art update but we've got a few great pieces.

In other good news a draft of ch32 has been written and is being edited. Chapter 33 is also being outlined and will be making good progress and will be the start of a new arc that will be the second half of Book 2: More than a Shadow.

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First from Scitty Kitty we have this fun piece of Lares trying to hold back a... passionate Tauria. Even lifting her off the ground does little to dampen her "enthusiasm".

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Next from Lexi Kimble with some amazing shading, colors and textures we have Tribune Artemis Quirinus in her Harmonia RP and the late Lady Primus Felicity IvoryQuiver in her Svalinna warding suit.

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In a piece very ably colored by Scitty Kitty we have a nervous DarkStar showing off a new gown to her eldest and youngest daughters.

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And from Daywalkerrl enjoy a nicely-detailed pic of Tauria telling Visha that it's time for them to go out for dinner.

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And once more from Scitty Kitty there's this great piece of Invidia trying to convince a, shall we say skeptical, Tauria.

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Finally from PlayerError404 we have Tauria being mobbed by two of her nieces Talia and Liata while in the back her maid Reinhild is trying to warn the Countess that the broodlings have gotten into the sugar.

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And thank you all for reading and enjoying this crazy story! I'm still amazed to have this continued and growing interest in Tauria's adventures.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Chapter 33 has over 9k words written and I'm on the last scene. The next main arc to Book 2 is shaping up well as it'll show Tauria back on the homefront for a bit.

But now, the art.

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First from, LauraCaroline a rendition of DarkStar in a formal gown that was previously seen here

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From Lexi we've got Tauria being tempted by Invidia of CSR versus Mira of the Palace Librarians. She is spoiled of choice.

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Next PlayerErorr404 helps fill out the cast. by showing Baroness SkySpear of VioletBlood's Noble Flight in some fancy gown that she finds a bit much. This also means that there is now art of everyone in Flight 2: VoiletBlood, Lavish, Pulivia, and SkySpear

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DP brings a very fun piece of Head Maid Reinhild SunShower doing a bit of business work to help balance the Countess's books. Or at least her petty cash.

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From ScittyKitty we have an adorable a sequel to this piece of Tauria and her nieces.
Now Tauria is teaching her niece Talia how to train her new Zephyr

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Also from Lexi we have Tauria and her Vs enjoying a night on the town.

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And finally also from DP we have two more pilots in the squadron Lady Adriana Melisande and Lucia Hood. Melisande is trying to cheer up Lulu, who for her part, is more focused on pouting.

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And with a piece showing Octavia that I have in the queue, there are just two pilots of Squadron 3 left to get art of: Charity of Flight 3 and the late IronTalon.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

I want to thank everyone for reading and supporting this story. Little Demon wouldn't have gotten as far as it has, or have been as good of a story without the work of readers, commentators, and editors such as: Ahuva, DCG , ellfangor8 , Green Sea, Larc , Readhead, metaldragon868 , WhoWhatWhere, and ScarletFox


Chapter 34 stands at 11k words and I'm finishing up the last scene, so hopefully that will be finished and with editors soon.

But first some art! Including Tauria's new Ritual Plate!

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First from Lexi Kimble we have another piece showing the meeting between Countess Tauria and DarkStar, where Tauria insists she is not that pious.

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Next from Scitty Kitty we have the captains of the HFV Tarantula Hawk and the HVF DarkStar. Praefectus Commodores Valentina SharpTail(Left) and Countess SunsetFrost (Right).

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And from Laura Caroline we have this lovely piece of VioletBlood being her charming self.

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Also from Scitty Kitty we've got Octavia and Tauria. This is the first piece of Octavia, one of the normal, but skilled, Fliers back from Tauria's Flight Leader days. The Countess is proposing one of her entirely sensible plans and Octavia seems skeptical to say the least.

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Next to last from PlayerError 404 we have how VioletBlood's meeting with DarkStar will go. Namely in the squared circle with DarkStar doing a DFA from the top.

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And book ending from Lexi Kimble we have Taruia's mothers doting over her new Polyxo RP suit. Some of the visual upgrades include the headdress, ornamentation, and her repaired mask.

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[ellf]

(Realized I forgot to post this here)

Knight Sirens Chapter Two

The Mountain felt empty with everyone gone. Nightwing and Artemis were back in Gotham, Kid Flash was in KeyStone City, Zatanna was visiting friends of her father, and Red Arrow was dealing with some of the fallout that came from the reveal of his status. It made it hard for M'gann M'orzz to sleep without those comforting presences. Sure, Kaldur and Connor were still in the Mountain and that helped, but the absence of the rest of the team ached.

Kaldur was asleep in his room; she could feel it. He'd spent a good portion of the day training, and M'gann couldn't fault the Atlantean for taking his rest when he could get it. There wasn't any major mission that the Team was needed for at the moment, but she knew that could change at a moment's notice. M'gann almost hoped it would. After all, the Mountain would be full again, and the familiar minds would help her rest.

She wandered into the kitchen, careful not to make much noise, and she considered what was available. Perhaps some cookies? She might wake someone up if she overdid it, but at least they'd have some sweets to offset any upset they might get. Wait, was that correct phrasing? Well, perhaps not, but it wasn't like she was trying to be perfect. After all, cookies just needed the right amount of love, combined with the recipe, in order to sweeten the pot.

M'gann mixed her ingredients, accidentally dropping one of the metal bowls before she could catch it. Perhaps she was trying to alert someone to her presence, just so she wouldn't be alone. There were those with enhanced hearing in the Mountain at that time, after all.

M'gann felt Superboy stirring from his room, and a private smile came to her face. He'd enjoy the cookies, but even more, he'd enjoy helping. Or at least licking the bowl.

He made his way into the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a muscle shirt. "Guessing you couldn't sleep?"

M'gann couldn't help her eyes tracing his form, but she simply smiled at him, turning her private one toward him directly. "Not really. With everyone gone, it's quiet here."

"Yeah, it is," Connor said. "With Wally Artemis and Robin--excuse me, Nightwing, back at their homes… I can only hear you and Kaldur. I guess you've gotten used to all of us."

M'gann nodded. It wasn't that she hadn't been alone before, but the comfort of others, others who were friends and willing to not only put up with her, but welcomed her in their presence… she felt spoiled by it. Still, Superboy's presence was comforting. As it always was, these days. She smiled at him. "I'm sure I'll sleep eventually. I just need to tire myself out."

"How can I help?" Connor asked.

M'gann directed him, and soon the two fell into an easy silence, anticipating the needs as they went along. The recipe was easy enough, as M'gann had made it before, and soon enough, they had the cookies in the oven.

As they cleaned up their preparatory dishes, the Zeta-Tube console and reception area activated, lighting up in preparation for transit.

"Odd time of night," Connor said, frowning as he stepped toward the Zeta-Tube, placing himself between it and M'gann. He wasn't wrong. Usually, the League would call before directly coming over. However, it wasn't like exceptions hadn't happened.

"I don't think we're expecting anyone," M'gann said. She frowned, glancing toward Aqualad's room. "Do you think we should wake Kaldur?"

"Not yet," Connor said. "No messages came in. We'd have heard it, with us out here. We can buzz his communicator, but he doesn't need to "

M'gann nodded. The rings on the Zeta-Tube started spinning. Before she could respond to her friend, the console announced the arrivals. "Recognized, Nightwing, B-01. Guest User BlackFire, A-08. Guest User FrostShadow, A-09."

Connor and M'gann shared a look of confusion before looking toward the Zeta-Tube exit. Guests were not unheard of in the Mountain, but they usually were somewhat known. With the names given, clearly they were of the more masked variety and not civilians.

Nightwing was a familiar mind to M'gann. She gave him a brief telepathic greeting, a brush across his mind, before directing her attention to the people he brought with him. An initial brush indicated a lack of humanity. Not that they had ill intentions or anything, but they certainly didn't feel the way humans tended to. Nor, M'gann noted, did they feel Martian.

Whatever they were, she could feel a psychic resonance within them. A sort of telepathic and empathic link connected the two visitors, and as she reached out to them, they started to reach out back. The way they felt was almost familiar, familial, yet it was different enough that she pulled away after the first touch, out of an abundance of caution. Whatever they'd done, it had been instinctive.

Nightwing brought the pair out of the Zeta-Tube, a pair of winged humanoids, one with leathery wings, the other, smaller one with more feathered ones, and the two of them seemed somewhat disoriented at first.

Then the disorientation shifted to something worse. It was as if a dam had burst, and a psychic scream echoed throughout the Mountain so loud that M'gann almost didn't hear the vocal one that accompanied it. It pushed her down onto a knee, slamming into her own psychic defenses, weighing her down. The pain, the immense, overwhelming pain. It was theirs, she felt it pressing down upon her, everything they felt. The two had fallen, nearly catatonic themselves.

"M'gann!" Superboy was at her side in an instant. He wrapped an arm around her, and she felt more than saw him look up at Nightwing. "What's going on, Nightwing? What did you bring here?"

"I didn't know this would happen!" Nightwing said. "They were fine back in Gotham! Miss M! M'gann, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Hurts…" M'gann said, focusing on the familiar minds nearby, trying to push away the ocean she felt flowing through the guests. Her skin rippled near her forehead as she almost lost her form, but she adjusted it back. It wasn't her pain. She could block it out, now that she knew where it was coming from. She let out a sharp breath. "I'll be fine. Thank you, Connor. It's your guests that I'm worried about."

"I don't know what's going on," Nightwing said. "They didn't seem too worried about the Zeta-Tubes when they came, but… this…"

"What are they?" Superboy asked. "The feathered wings on that one… well, she's still got too many other features to be a Thanagarian…"

"They said they were from a place called Diyu," Nightwing said. "Demons or aliens, given that it's an alternate plane of existence or something. Batman believed them, and he asked if they could stay here."

M'gann turned her attention closer to the supposed demons. She carefully, without lowering much of her shields, touched the barest edges of the minds. Empathy. Both were highly empathic, but the smaller one was even more so than the larger, given her longer, curled horns. Add whatever happened with the Zeta-Tubes… "It's too much. Too much input. They can feel all of Happy Harbor… from here. Oh… wait. Huh. Hello, Megan! The solution's simple!"

"What?" Connor asked.

"The bioship! It can help block out the excess emotions and help them!" M'gann looked at her friends. "Connor, do you think you could carry them both there? Nightwing, check on Kaldur? I think he should be awake for some of this."

Nightwing nodded. "I really should be getting back to help out--" At M'gann's sharp look, he held up both hands in surrender. "Fine. I'll go see what he's up to."

"You know where the room is," Connor said, and he scooped up both girls with ease. A brief shudder went through him as he touched their skin with his own, maybe something to do with the G-Gnomes? He shouldered them and glanced at M'Gann. "They're not that heavy. Do you really think the bioship can help?"

M'gann nodded, floating alongside her friend as he carried the guests. "If it's not enough, some distance should help some more." She was worried a little about them. Their eyes were open, darting around, yet not focusing on either Connor or herself, and their tails thrashed back and forth while they were carried. It was lucky that Connor was harder to hurt than a normal human, but it helped that neither one was using their clawed hands to scratch at him, instead mostly being limp in his grasp. M'gann hadn't heard of any species like them, nor had she heard of Diyu at all. Demons, aliens… something that could be considered both?

Of course, given Mars's isolationist state before her uncle arrived on Earth, it was possible that someone had encountered Diyu before. She just hadn't heard about it. M'gann adjusted her mental shielding as they came upon the bioship's hangar. She couldn't help them if she fell back into the same state as the guests.

She gestured for the ship's boarding platform to lower, and she led Connor inside with the girls. "Place them down on the ground, anywhere that looks comfortable."

"Sure," Connor said, following her command. "So, you were saying something about excess emotion before?"

M'gann nodded, using the biomorphic properties of her ship to generate a safe area for the two alien girls to rest. Once no longer in Connor's arms, they thrashed about, their bodies trying to latch onto something. As their mouths opened, M'gann noted the sharp fangs in each of their mouths, matching with their horns and tails, somehow. She carefully moved, placing a hand on each of their heads, shivering at the touch. The raw emotion filtered through them was almost too much to handle, even with her shields. "Something happened during the Zeta-Tube transit. I suspect that normally, they have some sort of mental shields to block out emotion, sort of like my own, but both are very empathic and slightly telepathic. Something disrupted those shields when they went through, and it overwhelmed them."

Connor frowned. "And the ship can create its own shields to help them?"

"That's the theory," M'gann said. "It does have a sort of shielding, but whether it's enough… "

Connor nodded. "Do you need me here with you to help them?"

"Not exactly," she said. "They should hopefully come back to themselves soon enough, and Nightwing trusted them enough to take them with him here. But if you wanted to…"

Connor smiled, placing one of his hands on her own. "I could. NIghtwing and Kaldur can wait, and if they're hostile…"

M'gann met his smile with one of her own, and she patted his hand with her free one. She then turned her attention to the Diyu aliens. Diyuvians? Close enough. With the shielding up, they started to still. M'gann ran a hand through the powder-blue hair of the smaller one, careful not to dislodge the hairpins she had placed there.

Now that they were in the shielding of the bioship, it didn't seem as if either was telepathic the way Martians were, but there was a form of something akin to it there, in addition to the empathy. The girl's eyes remained unfocused, roving around the bioship. M'gann felt a little guilty over what she felt she needed to do, but if she was to help them, she needed to see what she was working with.

So she delved into the girl's mind.

The imagery of a great forest flickered before her, the vast reaches of space, and then M'gann's eyes locked tightly on the girl's. The blue pools, almost like ice crystals, held shadows within them, flitting about, never quite the same as they were there. The blue eyes overtook her entire vision as she delved further into the girl's mind.

The girl, FrostShadow, had a mind full of secrets, ones that M'gann instinctively avoided, but she still saw. She held herself to a high standard, with a desire to help people that permeated throughout. She saw a city of trees, a key. A gate. Shadows and ice, and storms surrounding her and her older sister. Death. Destruction. She saw a massive battle, a series of massive battles. Deaths, and then a need to pull back. She was more affected by it, and… then M'gann was forced away, but she found herself hugging the girl tightly, and the emotions grew more intense. The selfless actions, even in the face of adversity, meant that the girl was good.

Then, like a moth to the flame, she probed the second girl, meeting her pair of burning red eyes in the process. BlackFire's mind was much like her younger sister's, full of secrets, full of battles. She'd been affected by what they'd needed to do as well, but she worried more about her younger sister, about FrostShadow's health. It was BlackFire that suggested they take a break and the way it happened. She loved her younger sister very much, and the two were bonded. M'gann could tell how close they were, but where FrostShadow had ice and shadow, BlackFire had her namesake. Flames surrounded M'gann, but somehow her normal fear never came. The flames wouldn't harm her. Not here. They faded away, revealing the alien girls themselves.

She hugged them both, as Connor watched.

"Whoa, what's going on, M'gann? You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, hugging the two tighter. "They've just… they've been through so much."

He frowned, nodding. He fell into a defensive stance as a rumbling sound started to come from the girls. They started to snuggle into M'gann's embrace, and it occurred to her what it sounded like. Purring. They sounded just like cats, and they even somewhat looked like them too with their graceful movements and the way they moved their eyes.

The smaller one slowly blinked, pulling slightly away from M'gann as she did so. Her eyes seemed to regain focus, and she looked around the cockpit of the bioship, curiosity wafting off of her. The smaller girl's eyes paused on Connor for a second before coming back to M'gann and meeting her own.

"Huh," said the girl as she tilted her head to the side. Her horns glinted some in the ship's lighting, and her eyes seemed to glow blue as they caught the light. "You are… new. Both of you. Perhaps, you are friends of the Nightwing?"

The girl's sister seemed to come back to herself, and she nodded.

"I'm not sure you could call us friends," said Connor, and M'gann shot him a glare.

"Of course, we're his friends," she said. "I'm called Miss Martian, and that is my friend Superboy. Who is indeed friends with Nightwing."

"Some of the time," Connor added.

The older of the pair let out a snort. "Clearly. My name is BlackFire, and she's my younger sister, FrostShadow."

M'gann heard the way she stressed the names and adjusted accordingly. BlackFire, not Blackfire, FrostShadow, not Frostshadow. It was important enough. "Nice to meet you both."

"Indeed," FrostShadow said, a smile playing cutely on her lips. "Though I did not expect to meet other nonhumans today, let alone end up on… a Martian ship?"

"Yes, this is my ship," said M'gann. "You were affected by the Zeta-Tube transition and needed some psychic shielding."

Both girls nodded. They spoke in unison for a second. "That makes sense."

"It was a form of teleportation we are not used to," FrostShadow said. "The method probably interfered with us metaphysically."

"We'll be prepared next time," BlackFire added. "And… Miss Martian and Superboy, huh? You do have… other names, correct?"

FrostShadow reached over M'gann and poked her sister in the shoulder. "BlackFire! That was rude. You should not just ask about something like that. Secret identities are secret for a reason."
BlackFire made a comment in a foreign tongue that sounded almost like Latin. That explained the accent that both had. It reminded her of the humans from Italy. Her tail swished from side to side.

FrostShadow replied in the same tongue and then nodded to both M'gann and Connor.

BlackFire sighed, and she nodded. "Apologies, Miss Martian, Superboy. My sister isn't wrong about the politeness. I managed to refrain from asking the same question of Nightwing and Batman, but in my defense, both were human. Despite my surprise about Batman."

"I did tell you," FrostShadow said.

BlackFire shrugged.

"It's okay," M'gann said.

"Sort of," Connor added. "It's not like we haven't been asked before. You were tamer than some."

"Curious," FrostShadow said, her lips quirking into a smile again as her tail swished. Amusement wafted off her. "Of course, those names are hardly the most creative that could be used. Miss Martian and Superboy? A girl from Mars and a boy with superpowers, I suppose. Any relation to Superman?"

Connor looked down, clenching his fist.

FrostShadow held up a hand. "Apologies. I did not mean to bring up something distressing."

"Kryptonian, but only partially," BlackFire observed. "That explains it. You are part human."

"I am," Connor said. "I'm a clone, a mix of his DNA and a human's."

"We see," said the girls. "Apologies again. We did not wish to cause you pain."

He waved the unclenched hand. "It's fine. Fine." He looked at them, cuddled up to M'gann and nodded. "I'm assuming FrostShadow and BlackFire aren't codenames?"

"No," said BlackFire. "They're actually our names."

"Then you can call me Connor," he said. "Just Connor."

"And my birth name is M'gann M'orzz," said M'gann. The purring sound from them, which hadn't stopped, got louder at that.

"M'gann… M'orzz… Connor…" the girls almost tasted the names.

An involuntary shudder went through M'gann, albeit not of disgust. She wasn't entirely sure, but something about the way they said her name caused a telepathic ripple, yet not an unpleasant one. It was actually the opposite of that. She wasn't sure what they did, but they were… there.

FrostShadow blinked, tilting her head to its other side. "Oh. Right. I apologize. You are… It just… Never mind."

M'gann pursed her lips, and then she reached out with her mind. Whatever had happened between the four of them had been interesting, and she needed to find out more. Unfortunately, as she brushed FrostShadow's mind, she immediately was assaulted with a pair of icy eyes that chilled her to the bone. If she pushed, she got the feeling that it would simultaneously be the best and worst decision she made that day. It certainly was tempting.

"Careful," BlackFire said after a second. "Dipping into my sister's head is a recipe for madness, and the protections she has…"

The accent was more pronounced that time. M'gann wondered where they had learned English, as for the most part, their diction was good, but the accent came through at times. More so with the younger of the pair. "I'm sorry. It's been a few months since I've been around other telepaths."

FrostShadow nodded. "I understand, but please ask permission before you try and listen in. We have strong defenses on our minds, most of the time."

"You mentioned that the Zeta Tubes disrupted those defenses," Connor said. "How are you going to be prepared for them next time?"

"We know what they feel like now," said both of them at the same time. It was a little eerie, as their voices synchronized and harmonized. "We can adjust accordingly as we prepare. We may need to study some of the literature on the technology to make sure our calculations are correct, but it should work."

"I see," said M'gann. "Do you think that your defenses are good enough to leave the bioship now? That you won't be overwhelmed?"

"We should not even be 'whelmed' about it," said the girls, smiles playing on their lips as their tails swished in unison. "Especially with the two of you there."

"How am I helping, exactly?" Connor asked.

"You both are familiar to us now, as Nightwing is," FrostShadow said. "We can use your emotions as an anchor, if it comes to that."

"Perhaps it won't," BlackFire added. "But it's good to have backups."

M'gann nodded. She could understand that, and given what she had seen from the two of them before, she was pretty confident that it was worth helping them out. She stood up and offered each of them a hand up, and so did Connor.

The two paused for a moment then with solemnity they took the hands, standing on their taloned feet, and together, the four of them left the bioship. As the four of them made their way into the hangar, both FrostShadow and BlackFire immediately sniffed the air. Curious, they must have had some sort of enhanced sense of smell, compared to that of humans or Martians.

"So, where are we, exactly?" BlackFire asked. "Batman just called this place the Mountain."

"I'm not sure if I should say," M'gann said. "We do keep locations secret, for safety reasons. Maybe if you stay longer, or we hear from some of the League, we can share it."

"It's an older League facility," Connor added. "That they repurposed for our team. I'm not sure how much you know, given what Nightwing mentioned."

FrostShadow waggled a hand. "We have heard of some of the Justice League, but how much of our knowledge is accurate is unknown. Some of the heroes had partners in our intelligence, but I am uncertain as to how much veracity it contains."

"You did research on us?" Connor asked.

BlackFire shook her head. "Not as such. We read some passing reports on various Earths as they come through, and this isn't the only one with a Justice League."

"Various Earths?" M'gann asked. "Your species does dimensional travel?"

"It is how we arrived here," FrostShadow said. "We will need to recalibrate some things to attempt a return home, but much of Diyu does reach out to extradimensional areas. Our nation even trades with multiple Earths."

"That could be interesting, I guess," M'gann said. "So you haven't encountered the League yourselves before, just in intelligence briefings?"

"Something like that," BlackFire said. She tilted her head as they made their way into a hallway. "And… it looks like the only other person here is awake now."

"That would be Aqualad," Connor said. "He spends the night here often enough."

"Any relation to the Aquaman?" FrostShadow asked.

"He's a subject of Atlantis," said M'gann. "But we'll let him introduce himself properly."

The four of them fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the walk as an ease settled over M'gann in their presence that she hadn't really felt since she left Mars, save for around Connor at times. They seemed to anticipate the directions that M'gann and Connor both wanted to go, and both Diyu-vians had no issues navigating with their help.

When they made it into the Mountain's lounge, both Kaldur and Nightwing were sitting on the couch, deep in conversation. Nightwing gave a nod and a smile upon spotting the girls up and about.

"Glad to see the two of you are feeling better," said Nightwing. "Aqualad, those are the two I was talking with you about. Meet FrostShadow, the smaller one, and her older sister, BlackFire."

Kaldur stood and bowed to the guests. "A pleasure to meet you both. It is always good to meet someone under peaceful circumstances."

"Indeed," FrostShadow said, returning the bow, dipping her horns to Kaldur. "M'gann said that you were a citizen of Atlantis. I am curious how you decided to fight for surface dwellers."

"I merely followed the example of my king," Kaldur said. "What affects the surface can affect Atlantis as well."

"That makes sense," BlackFire said, also bowing her horns. She stood up, and smiled. "And as Nightwing introduced us, I want to make it clear that those names are actually our names. We do not have the same sort of codenames as you do."

"They're soldiers," Nightwing said. "In the general sense of the word."

FrostShadow nodded. "More specifically, we are pilots within our country's Fleet."

"So, why exactly did you come here then?" Connor asked. "And by yourselves…"

"Technically, we're on a temporary assignment to a testing facility," BlackFire said. "We were in the process of testing some new hardware, and we went somewhere we… normally would not have. In order to avoid a dangerous situation, we did a blind transition and ended up in Gotham City."

"It may not have been the smartest move, but it was necessary," FrostShadow added. "We will need some time to calculate the best route back home. Batman's offer was generous, but Nightwing made it clear that it was not up to him."

"They helped with Solomon Grundy and the Joker," Nightwing said. "While wearing their power armor."

"Ritual Plate," FrostShadow said. "It requires innate energies of the pilot to help operate, whereas power armor would have a separate power source."

"If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck," Nightwing said… He shook his head. "But yeah, they don't really have a place to stay. I know we have room here, but it'd be up to you three."

"I have no objections," Kaldur said. "I would be curious to discuss these energies with you both."

M'gann nodded. She was curious to learn more about both of them as well. Plus, being with other telepaths was comforting in some ways. It reminded her of home in the best ways. "They can stay."

As everyone looked at Connor, he raised his hands. "I don't really care either way. How long are you planning on being here?"

"As long as necessary to get our bearings so we may return home," said BlackFire. "We can, perhaps, help some if you require it."

Connor nodded. "Then sure, you can stay, for now."

"Thank you, Connor," FrostShadow said.

"If you are staying, I'll introduce myself properly. I am Kaldur'ahm, of Atlantis. You may call me Kaldur in private, but I am Aqualad in the field," said Kaldur. Everyone turned to look at Nightwing.

He raised his hands and shook his head. "Sorry. We just met. Maybe after we get to know each other more, we can share that, but I'm fine with you just calling me Nightwing."

"NightWing is a nice name," FrostShadow said with a swish of her tail. Perhaps she found something amusing. "It is surprising that we have not met someone with that name before now, but I suppose some mothers would rather choose other names."

"And NightWing chose his," BlackFire said. She glanced over to her sister as FrostShadow started to yawn. "Perhaps we should retire to bed. Frost and I would like to share a room, if possible."

"You can have the room next to mine!" M'gann said with a smile. It was so nice to have additional telepaths here, and girls to boot. "I'll go ahead and show you where it is."

"Until tomorrow morning then," Kaldur said. "Nightwing, are you going to stay as well?"

"Not tonight," he said. "The new Robin's probably getting restless with Batman out alone. I should help him work off some of that stress. I'll bring him with me when the rest of the Team meets up tomorrow."

Kaldur nodded. "We will have to ensure his readiness. Hopefully he… will be better prepared than the last."

Nightwing grimaced. "Yeah. See you."

"Good night, NightWing," said the new girls, and M'gann led them into the room they would be staying in.

The room next to hers had been empty since Artemis had moved out of it entirely in favor of a room closer to Wally, but it still had a couple of twin beds, a dresser, and a mirror. The beds had the most basic of bedding on them, pillows and a light comforter. Immediately, the Diyuvians pushed the two beds together and climbed into the bed. They smiled at M'gann, and a wave of tiredness seemed to overtake them.

And her, for that matter. She was going to say good night, to head back to her own room. But something made her linger, and as she stepped closer to the bed, the girls pulled at her mentally. When she got close enough to them, FrostShadow's hand lightly landed on M'gann's arm. Somehow, she found herself lying on bed between the two of them, and before too long, sleep claimed her.

In a way, it was the best sleep she'd had since setting foot on Earth.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Merry Xmass, Happy Holidays, and a somber SBRs Watch.

Another year for Little Demon. It's been a pleasant surprise that it's gotten this much continued engagement and support. I'm thankful for all of you for reading, commenting and your continued interest. I know this is a bit of a niche story, let alone being an original setting, let alone what the setting is like. Once again thank you all readers new and old.

Edit: Oh, I'm so sorry, I also want to thank all my editors and beta readers for all their help, corrections, polishing, ideas, and support. The story is a much better work for all their help!

Chapter 36 is being edited, and ch37 has 5,800 words being written.

And now, onto the art.

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First by Scitty Kitty we have the Railroad Lady, the pride of progress, and her right-hand... associate Miss Crow

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Next by Lexi Kimble we see the Railroad Lady's other minion: Mistress RainsFord Songstress. She is trying to charm a very overdressed Tauria

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And by PlayerError404 we have Tauria gamely trying to get her nieces Talia and Liata down, and not doing something rather... risky

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Also by Lexi Kimble we have Visha and Tauria showing off some fancy Elenese style fashion

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And also by Scitty Kitty we have more Tauria emotes. (The previous batch can be seen here). Shows how expressive she is, and these emotes get a lot of use in the LD Discord.

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And finally by Lexi Kimble on a sober note we have Volantes Centurion Lady Adriana "Milly" Melisande and her late mate Volantes Centurion IronTalon Cardino

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Also by PlayerError404 we have this lovely scene of Duchess SilverFlight and Tauria taking a break after flying together.

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And last but not least by Tiffanymarsou we have DarkStar in a fancy holiday gown. Which is an adaptation of a previous work by PlayerError404 posted last year.

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Once again Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[Sunshine Temple]

So some good news. Ch37 is making good progress and should have a release before the month is out. Ch38 is on the penultimate scene with 9k words written.

I also have some work on a new bit of Legionary kit: the Stiletto recoverable, but attritable, air combat golem. It is compatible with existing Fujiwara Heavy aerial torpedo launchers, transports, and storage, and can carry up to four Konoe Light Torpedoes (or equivalent munitions).

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First by Lexi Kimble, we have a beach party of Tribune Quirinus (standing) with two of her squadron leaders Julia (2nd Squadron; left) and Fabia (4th Squadron; right)

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Next by PlayerError404, Tauira and VioletBlood in fancy dress.

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And by Tiffanymarsou, Imperatrix BlackSky in her regalia

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Also by Duchess SilverFlight and two of her neko maids by Lexi Kimble

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And also by PlayerError404 we have The Fox Family; seated Reinhild and Uwe with Brabant chasing her daughter Phalia (who has the eggs and is being very helpful)

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And finally, Tauria doing a mobility test of her new Polyxo Ritual Plate, much to VB's delight by Scitty Kitty

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[Sunshine Temple]

Tauria POV Omake for LD Chapter 37

Here's the second scene of chapter 37, but this time the POV is Tauria instead of VioletBlood

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Smaller than my county, the Barony of Lilla was a compact fief. Much of it seemed spread before us as my touring car crested a final hill.

A chain of stone cairns followed the ridgeline. Many were large enough to be topped by compact windmill blades that would turn prayer wheels lower in the stone structures. That they all lazily turned in the wind, despite the winter snow showed they were well cared for. Which made sense, spirit-calling was one of Lillia's specialties. Curiosity raised, my zephyr perked up where VioletBlood's became excited with what must have been a familiar sign of home.

As were the wintering orchards and greenhouses that were on either side of the trade road Brabant was driving us down. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Reinhild was alert, her ears upright and twitching.

Next to me VioletBlood was happily pointing out the local sights, her tail swishing. "And that's Missy Palmer's grove. Oh they've got a new greenhouse and repaired the north water tower. Her family provides rootstocks for half of the alchemists east of the capital to graft their cultivars onto."

"Do many alchemists grow their own plants?" I asked as we passed the farm, something about the name and the logo with a tree growing out of a hand seemed familiar. It seemed productive enough with an array of large blue-glass greenhouses and a collection of barns and other outbuildings.

"Some! There are a lot of useful potions and chemicals that come from magically enhanced plants. There's all sorts of tedious cutting, drying, separating, and refining," VioletBlood waved her hand dismissively

"It sounds like a lot of work," I noted.

"Exactly! But a lot of these plants have been arcanely bred so they don't exactly make the best of seeds. Not all but enough, and enough of those can be grown from cuttings"

"Hence making more plants by grafting cuttings to rootstock?"

"And compatible high quality roots for the common alchemical plants are quite lucrative. Relatively small volume, but high yield," My redheaded fiancee gave a sharp smile. "My family invested in Missy Palmer's mother in my grandmother's time."

"Does the Palmer farm only do rootstock?" I asked as we drove past a series of orchards with the occasional collection of farm-houses that was not quite large enough to be a hamlet, and only one of which had a tavern.

"Nope! In proud Lilla tradition, the Grove has a still and makes herbal bitters and other digestifs."

"Oh! That's what you have with your wine after dinner," I exclaimed as the recognition hit.

"Took you long enough to remember the label on a bottle?" VioletBlood teased.

Tail flicking, I looked out the window.

VioletBlood followed my eye and looked up into the blue cloudless sky. "Still upset about yesterday?"

I gave a casual shrug. "Mother has been very busy with her... guest. We should be thankful that we got to fly with her two times in the last week."

"It was good learning from her. I think we impressed her; even the Islander Girl was at the top of her game. And this time we were there with you just in case," VioletBlood added, giving a toothy grin that covered her anxiety.

I could hardly blame her for being concerned that we might run into something.... untoward during flight training. "You are right LoveBlood, Mother is very proud of us."

"That's why the Duchess came back with three of her own pilots and had Flight versus Flight level training. And we rose to that challenge!" VioletBlood bragged, though there was an edge of humility to her voice.

Admittedly, my fiancee's pride was justified. Mother was not one to rest on her laurels, and she made sure her own pilots were skilled and experienced. I exhaled. "Fine, I was looking forward to the training scenario Mother had planned for yesterday. And it was nice to not have any crows to worry about, especially as our suits were in training mode."

"There were contingencies, and we've got time, the Duchess will reschedule," VioletBlood put her hand on mine. "Your mother's being very busy."


Tail curling, I nodded. "I know. BloodStone's testimony has broken open the investigation. Focht and Mother have new names, accounts, and offices to investigate."

"Is a date set for the Apology?"

I shook my head. "There's still a lot of negotiations going on. BloodStone is leveraging her knowledge, but it's only a matter of time."

"I wish I could do more. No one in my Barony has standing, and I wasn't even there when you ran into the... Lady." VioletBlood looked out through the windshield. The two kitsune in the front were doing their best to give us our privacy.

"I was happy Mother was there, but I did miss you and Visha having my back," I reassured her. "Besides, you've been a great help. Your negotiations with the drow matriarch were key to the spur line project's success."

"They've only pledged to build two bridges in their territory. The surveying hasn't even started, let alone the digging. We can celebrate after they sign a contract, assuming everyone can agree on the toll price," she added with a sigh.

"We have plenty of carrots to offer. Plenty of landholders are taking up the spirit cairn grants, and well loans. We also have some electrification access to offer."

Eyes teasing, VioletBlood smiled. "This is the downside of having such a spawning fief, Countess"

"Well, now we can go relax at your home," I offered.

By the way the redhead's wings flexed ever so slightly, I suppose town was just around the next bend or the next one. "Exactly, we can relax! There will be no deluded hillfolk in my barony to interrupt us."

"Like how Mother had to cancel our third training flight with her?" I asked.

"Yes, that inspector called in your mother and a flight of her RP for that raid yesterday..." VioletBlood trailed off barely hiding her jealousy at not being invited. Of course my bloody baroness wanted to fly a show of force mission.

"Mother is fine," I said a bit testily. "No one got hurt, Inspector Focht was being cautious, justifiably so given how isolated some deep woods folk can get." Support missions where no one fires a shot were far more preferable than the alternative.

"Better than those heretical cultists deserved," VioletBlood spat. "First they deify DarkStar, and then they harbor fleeing criminals?"

"They turned the guilders over." I pointed out simply relieved that the Provincial Contract Enforcement Inspector used a gentle touch when visiting that commune. Inspector Focht was an integrant woman. If she could avoid angering the locals and giving them a way out, she would. "And I'm not sure they're a... you know, cult."

Both my preceding distrust of entities such as Being X and my adherence to the more Orthodox Church of DarkStar wanted to use the word cult. But... if they were a truly dangerous cult then surely the Provincial governance would have dealt with them?

"I note you didn't deny their heresy," VioletBlood smugly stated.

"DarkStar is no god," I hissed. It was a key point of dogma, that while DarkStar was a person worthy of great veneration and honor, and that She would return to us, She was not a god. DarkStar had not created Diyu or any other world.

My fiancee held up a hand. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have set you off."

"It's okay," I tried to relax. "This whole railroad thing is growing more and more frustrating. We're supposed to be on leave, but the second I arrive everything gets put in my lap. Who knew that land administration would be so frustrating?"

VioletBlood gave me a long stare before shaking her head. "It's easy to forget you weren't born noble. Oh, Xanth Orchards reroofed their barn."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"You're not asking about the barn?" The redhead waved that off. "Ah well. Things happen, and we have to be flexible. DarkStar's blood, you'd think being in the Legions would make you a bit less rigid."

The two foxes in front exchanged a look and kept quiet.

"I am not rigid!" I glared, my tail flicking. I had spent far more time than her in the military and I was plenty flexible! I just also liked things done the proper way. "You know what happens to Flight Commanders and Squadron Leaders who get set into rigid thinking.

"There's more to life than combat. And outside of an RP you're almost stogy; I was hoping this vacation would help you loosen up." the Baroness laughed then gave a coy smile. "That's the real reason I approved of your mistress. With the Islander Girl helping me, we can almost get you to do more than just being a dutiful noble, nun, and soldier."

I crossed my arms. "Then Visha not being here must be a real burden."

VioletBlood's tail snaked around mine as her smile grew. "That's all part of being flexible. And family is important to her, I respect that," her tone was sincere but there was a bit of jealousy. "It is funny that a gaggle of commoner fishmongers will get to sightsee across the empire before either of us."

"Maybe for our next leave we can go on a trip? The full circuit. Not just New Florentia to Bovitar, but also down south to Cape Niflhel and back," I offered, trying not to flush.

VioletBlood squeezed my hand and released her tail. "Promise?"

I nodded. "It would be good to see more of the House."

"Doubtless you also have a list of museums, monasteries, and research parks to visit. Oh and ballets of course," she teased.

"You like those too!"

"I do, but I know you'll find all of the stops that cover those things. So I'll look for things like opera and fashion. Visha will like to hear about this trip." She sighed. "If I had a phone in my manor house, she wouldn't have had to stay back at yours."

"Mine's had a phone for all of two weeks," I assured her. Telecom on Diyu was well behind my first life, and roughly on par with that of my second. With the major difference that magical communications were far more integrated among the Diyu Great Houses. "Your manor is scarcely lagging behind."

"I know, but I feel like a poor hostess for not being ready," VioletBlood pouted. "At least my cousin will be able to share a ride with the Islander Girl when they come over tomorrow."

"LavenderFang does seem a bit over-stimulated," I admitted. The poor girl seemed more and more overwhelmed as my manor house filled up with guests. "With visitors from the orphanage arriving, I hoped having some girls her own age around would help."

Though maybe a spoiled noble and a bunch of orphans might not make for the best match at least until an orphan catches Lavender's eye by being a Heroine, a cynical voice whispered in my mind.

VioletBlood laughed. "Those are fine, even your little cousins Talia and Liata aren't too much to her."

"Those two can be a handful," I smiled. Sharing LoveBlood's mirth was easy away from the two terrors. That they had found their way into the chapel's bell tower had been a moment of anxiety for me and my sisters. And it took all of us to keep the other broodlings from climbing up the ladders.

Between the orphans, the kits ArgentShroud's daughters and the girls RedWing had brought over, the house was quite full. I was more than happy to have Mother Clementia and a couple other sisters helping organize events to keep everyone busy, and resume regular services in the chapel.

As Lady Castellan, Mother's heir, ArgentShroud also brought her own staff. I was a bit worried at having to host her for the holidays, but our Duchess had already made it clear where she would be spending SabersWatch. Part of me suspected that mother had more of my sisters come over as a way to bulk up the security around the manor.

It was nice to have the place fill up, even if only temporarily, and this was before Visha's family arrived.

"It's the kitsune. The kits are fascinated with her wings. I guess feathers fascinate the little foxes," the redhead laughed.

Up in the front row my maids' tails swished. Watching, I nodded along. "It makes sense. If a clowder of broodlings can get entranced by fluffy tails, so why not kits feel the same for fluffy wings?" I asked, finding a small pout on my face.

"But you've got feathers too, so why aren't you always followed by little foxes?"

"I am, sometimes," I replied, not crossing my arms.

"Maybe they were told not to? To not bother you of course," VioletBlood offered and for once her attention went to the two people in the front of the car.

Reinhild gave a small shrug while Brabant coughed.

"Yes, they're just being polite," I agreed. "LoveBlood, Visha has to stay back to make a phone call, but LavenderFang could have come with us."

The redhead shrugged and idly fluffed her hair. "I suppose you're right. Oh well, but this way we can have a nice drive, and the Islander Girl won't be alone. Though after that call maybe she would want some privacy. I don't really know about large families."

I sent her a comforting emotional pulse. I could relate to her situation, even if I was, technically, now part of a large family.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised her family could directly receive a call; it seems like every hotel has a phone now too."

"Well, hotels in the capital at least have phones. And this call is important to Visha; they haven't talked in a long time. She'll catch up and come over tomorrow, so she won't miss the ceremonies."

"Yes, yes, Silvana is very modern, and I did book the Shadow family in a rather lovely..." the Baroness coughed.

"LoveBlood, did you give that family of fishmongers a SabersWatch present?"

"Of course I did, I have some proper gifts waiting for them here. VioletBlood flushed. "Oh look we're here!"

VioletBlood's barony was small enough that it had only one real municipality. Said town became visible as we rounded a turn. Below us the last few orchards and farms gave way to a settlement that had a town wall of all things.

The stone structure had been torn down in places and was far too small to be of any real defensive value in the modern Epoch, but the prayer wheels, banners, and engraved towers showed that it had been repurposed to suit one of the barony's key sources of income.

Less than half the size of Jopecott, Lillaton had a storybook charm to it. White stone with orange roofs peeking through the snow, the buildings were mostly two stories. Though a few near the center of town had three or even four floors. In almost all the upper floors slightly overhung the ground floor.

Red banners with the silver four-pointed DarkStar were over the mostly symbolic town gates. Light glowing with foxfire had also been strung up around the arch. Leading up to the gates and inside where rows of garland strung trees.

Crossing the gates and the line of prayer wheels and stones my air spirits swirled and pressed up against the glass with a tinge of anxiety while VioletBlood's Zephyr comforted them with their easy calm and joy.

VioletBlood took my hand again and her tail swishing she gave it a squeeze.

Driving into town, the car's tires drove on the swept-clean cobbles. Decorations were also in many of the windows. Brabant carefully navigated the car around carts, golems, and trucks.

"The decorations look good this year," VioletBlood noted. "I hope the Commercia Guild didn't spend too much."

"Market fair seems lively," I twisted my head as we drove past a plaza that had been filled with stalls for various foodstuffs, trinkets, and games of chance. A choir was singing in front of a drained fountain that had been strung with lights, streamers, and stars. A beer garden had side of the plaza with its tables warring for space with those setup in front of a cafe and a bakery.

"Oh yes, I suppose the festivities were moved up earlier."

"The town's more Martyred Lady than Hallowed?" I asked. My sect celebrated Saber's Watch near the end of December, where Martyred Lady, the sect Lucia belonged to, had the holiday earlier in the middle of the month.

Which was the compromise we had worked out: in two days, we would have the Martyred Lady observance here on the fifteenth, and then come back to my county with plenty of time for the Hallowed Lady observance.

"Maybe a third of them are that sect, half are Hallowed, and the rest some flavor of other. Most of those are Reformed Asatru who came down from Andromache a few generations back," VioletBlood explained as she looked around her town with eager interest.

I could hardly blame her. It was clear that a lot of work had gone into Lillaton. It looked quaint, almost saccharine compared to the more no-nonsense, workaday Jopecott. Perhaps this was key to the barony's self-identity?

"The people seem very proud of their home," I said, as the car slowed to a crawl to avoid any revelers.

"As they should be! The economic value of our spiritual and botanical output has allowed Lilla Barony to stand as its own administrative division, as opposed to being a mere part of a larger county," VioletBlood smugly said before coughing. "Though the Duchy we're under will change in a few years."

I absently nodded, trying not to think about the implications of that bit. With the advancement of golems, artificer flight systems, alchemical pharmaceuticals, and processes VioletBlood's barony had become even more of a valuable hub.

However, the vast spirit ranches of Celia and Atrax Provinces were still where the bulk of such spirits were sourced for Fleet, Legion, and civilian needs. Thus while Lilla was valuable, especially for Bovitar and Eastern Province, it was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

"There's a lot of potential here," I said, as thoughts about her future, our future, loomed large.

Smiling, VioletBlood bowed her head at the compliment.

"Given your neighboring counties were backwaters even by the standards of this province, I suppose there's some room for your barony to, one day, grow into a full county," I said as we passed between a pair of churches.

On my side was a Hallowed Lady Order Gothic Revival Church, stately in its engraved stone and lofted towers. Across from it was the pale dome with its clean yet pugnacious lines of a church of the Order of Our Martyred Lady.

"Maybe that's something our daughter can tackle," VioletBlood said, her tail curling around mine. "Our second, obviously."

Every part of me froze. We were wed to marry. Daughters, heirs, were expected. One to inherit County Larium, and one to inherit Barony Lilla, at the least. Part of the marriage agreement was that while the barony would fall under the aegis of my Mother's Duchy, the new Baroness of Lilla would be the daughter of me and VioletBlood.

And mother was practical minded enough to insist on heirs and spares. I would have a brood of my own. I exhaled and tried to unclench everything.

"Tauria?" VioletBlood asked, but her horns told her exactly my feelings. She squeezed my fingers with both of her hands and pulled my arm close to her chest. "It's okay, I know motherhood is... a lot, but we have time. Time to learn and to... heal."

"Duty to the Legions first," I nodded, relieved that she shared some of my trepidation. Though LoveBlood was more confident than I.

VioletBlood leaned her head on my shoulder. After a time of just taking comfort in her support, I realized that the car had stopped.

"Mistresses?" Reinhild asked with a gentle cough. "We've arrived."

I looked out my window and saw across the road a governmental building in the neo-Baroque that emulated the late Third Epoch. Its ornamentation and scale surprised me as it was as large as the county building in Jopecott.

"That's not where we're going," VioletBlood laughed. "Though the Baronial Council building has a lovely wine cellar in the basement."

"It's... big," I noted.

My betrothed rolled her eyes. "Not everyone can have a separate courthouse and the space is also used as a guildhall."

"Apologies." I held up my hand and exposed my neck in submission. "Where are we going?"

VioletBlood's grin expanded as she gently turned my head so that I was looking out her window. Opposite the government building and on a small rise was a white manor in the beaux arts style.

A sleek two story affair with a pair of small wings, her manor was a compact and elegant affair as opposed to the sprawling compound I had been deeded. Each window was lit up and foxfire crawled along the edges of the manor, highlighting the building's lines in sinuous green and silver illumination.

The gates were open and a procession was already making their way down the driveway.

A trio of maids in black on red uniforms with silver trim was being led by a stern woman with curled silver horns framing a white bun. Unlike the others, she wore a severe yet prim black dress with a silver embroidered white sash. Her skin was a pale green and despite the controlled expression and stiff tail, her pale blue eyes lit up.

Many of the maids were carrying large silver boxes.

"Oh, what does Miss Patricia have?"

"Lady Patricia BoneWing, your seneschal?" I politely asked as Reinhild got out of the car to open my door.

"She was my governess first; it seemed wise to appoint her to a new post once I joined the Legions as a cadet," VioletBlood said after Brabant helped her to her feet.

Freed from the confines of the car, my bell shaped dress poofed out, sprung by its white petticoats. Summoning my dignity, I suffered Reinhild adjusting the ruffled layered white overskirt atop my red shoulderless dress. Then after checking the flared cuffs to my lacy sleeves, the maid fussed over the big red bow over one hip before finally depositing a big floppy be-ribboned hat atop my head.

I did not give VioletBlood a jealous look as Brabant merely had to drape a red fur-trimmed coat over the baroness's wings and shoulders and hand her a pair of kidskin gloves. Both matched her red with silver piping evening-dress. I almost kicked myself as it was only know when I realized she was dressed in the colors of her Barony.

Noticing my attention, the redhead gave me a cocky smirk.

After giving us a moment to assemble ourselves, Lady Patricia bowed her horns before going into a curtsy. "Prefect Volantes Centurion Countess Tauria Magnus DiamondDust, novitiate of the Order of our Hallowed Lady and Imperial Heroine, it is a pleasure to have you as our guest. On behalf of the household staff, accept our thanks for your engagement to our young mistress."

Then with a less formal smile, she gave another bow. "Volantes Primus Centurion Baroness VioletBlood, welcome home."

"Lady Patricia! It is lovely to see you," VioletBlood cheered as she practically ran to the taller woman, her heels clicking on the cobbles.

I stood by a bit awkwardly as the two embraced. Glancing back to the street, I saw that a crowd from the plaza had drifted over with many of the locals watching us.

My smile turned wry when the maids opened their boxes and they started pulling out a selection of familiar plush dolls and books. Though unlike at most toy-stores the majority of this selection were dolls with redheaded curls, not that the blondes and brunettes were not underrepresented.

With their hug concluded, I approached the Barony's seneschal "Thank you, for hosting. It's lovely to finally meet you. VioletBlood had spoken with great affection about you. Please forgive my delays in finally meeting you all, we've only just been able to come back to Eastern Province." I bowed my horns to the pleasantly surprised woman.

"You honor us, Countess. All us Lillains were heartened to hear of your betrothal to our Baroness as it was an ideal match in several ways and gladdens us to see the affection between you two," Lady Patricia said, pitching her voice to carry.

"Thank you! It is good to be back! I'm sorry that my duties have kept me away from you for so long; such is the burden that has fallen upon the wings of every Baroness of Lilla. But by DarkStar's grace, I have returned from bringing the Imperatrix's justice across the Spine my Countess at my side," VioletBlood said, taking my hand in hers and lifting it in celebration. "Alas, our time together will be short, but do not be sad. No! Be merry, Citizens! We all have much to celebrate and will make the most of the time we have together!"

Her declaration was followed by her maids handing out the dolls, books, and treats. LoveBlood then took one of the boxes and handed out blonde dolls to excitable broodlings while giving me a smug look.

I waved to the happy crowd, taking in the mythology of it all. The people of Lilla seemed to love their young baroness. And why not? VioletBlood was a photogenic and talented pilot, who had also secured an Imperial Heroine for a wife, and was the next-to-last of a line that had ruled the barony since the Third Epoch. Her family had volunteered to defend the barony and empire, and had done so until the family was nearly snuffed out in service to the House.

Meanwhile, I was merely handed a County as a prize for being an especially lethal little Legionary Flier. The citizens of the County of Larium respected me; where those of the Barony of Lilla loved their baroness.

Smiling, I let LoveBlood have the moment as the crowd cheered. This was important to her. Bowing and chatting with the locals, VioletBlood was doing her best to stay stoic and rising to the occasion.

After some time the crowd was politely dispersed back to their revelries with promises that we would be attending various services and events. A couple of VioletBlood's maids helped my own staff remove the luggage from the back of our car.

We were then escorted up towards the entryway of the baronial manor. The doors were opened ahead of us, and in contrast with the beautiful adornments on the outside, the interior was starkly minimalist, even cold.

Given how even my insulated wings were shivering at the literal chill of the somewhat drafty foyer I stretched a wing out to put over VioletBlood's shoulders to help keep her warm. The lighting was low and while the artwork and furniture was few they were all of high quality. I was reminded of my first visit to my own manor, which I suppose war proper; both buildings had lain dormant for years. Sill, it was quite the contrast of the cheering crowds, revelry, and mirth on the outside.

Tail swishing, VioletBlood looked around with comfortable familiarity and an easy smile. "Ah, it is good to be home, Lady Patricia," she said with a smile.

"Shall I have a fire lit in the drawing room while dinner is prepared, Chef SpringBounty came back for your stay and is making your favorite?" the former governess asked.

"That would be wonderful," VioletBlood cheered as she took my arm. "Tauria, you'll love it, SpringBounty was my childhood chef, she has a restaurant in town, and she makes the best strudels and tortes."

"That does sound lovely," I smiled, my mood brightening at the idea of good food, a comfortable room, and time with someone I very much cared for.

End Omake

This hopefully is a fun extra that shows how perspective can change things just a bit. And the differences between how Tauria sees herself and how others see her.

This scene was first written from Tauria's POV but ScarletFox suggested the change to VB. And as the chapter was being edited I tried to make this a fairplay shift, by keeping the dialog and actions the same.

And we got this in just before April Fool's Day!

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Speaking of the art that was mentioned earlier, there are a couple pieces that could be considered... foolish.
(Don't worry there's still quite a few more pieces to post)

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First by Scitty Kitty we have this delightful piece of Talia showing off her newest friend to her aunt Tauria (with a background added by WhoWhatWhere). Don't worry it's just a plushie spider, probably.

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Lady Adriana "Milly" Melisande has had some challenges in her life, most recently the loss of her mate IronTalon over Harp's World, but, as this fun piece by PlayerError404 shows, Milly's vivacious and playful personality comes out through her mourning. And she is happy to share her hobby of frilly dressup. Meanwhile Lucia is just happy that this time it's Tauria who has caught Milly's eye.

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