Lilli and Nat watched the bus creep off down the road and where about to head back inside when Nat's sister in law, Maggie, jogged up to them. It didn't take longer before the conversation turned to children, and the practicing of making them.
"My little sister just had a boy she called Dennis, he is so adorbs!", Maggie gushed. "Unfortunately, despite banging like bunny rabbits, Dom and I still aren't pregnant.", she added, sounding a little bit sad. "So how's your sex life?", Maggie asked with a cheeky grin. "Are you kidding me, after having eight kids, Eric seems to have developed an allergy to sex, it's not like he even had to carry them for months on end!", Natalie replied with a grin.
Both Nat and Maggie turned to Lil, who although normally quite chatty about children, had been silent for the entire conversion. Lilli held their gaze for a moment before relenting and joining the conversation. "Don't look at me girls, I have nothing to add, I haven't been intimate with anyone since V passed away."
"Just wow!", blurted Maggie, "So its been that long since you got any, you probably don't even remember who gets the feather duster and who gets the fluffy handcuffs?", Margarita added with her usual cheeky grin.
"No it's been that long that Iv'e probably regained my virginity, and need to buy the book Kama-Simtra for absolute beginners, unless I can borrow your copy!", Lil asked politely.
"A little bit of what you fancy always does you good!", Maggie said cryptically.
Lil, Nat, and Maggie spent most of the morning drinking coffee and talking about babies, and sex, and babies, and sex, and babies, and fashion, and babies and sex. Lilly eventually excused herself from the conversation and headed for the junkyard, not that she was needed their, the new managers that Nat had appointed were running the business fine. Years of pretending she didn't need physical intimacy after V had shrugged off her mortal coils bubbled up inside her and she was feeling rather horny, rather than slipping out to her bungalow for some self satisfaction, she decided to walk it off.
Lil was halfway to the yard when she spotted two Animal Control officers trying to round up a large black horse. The horse obviously had no intention of moving, and reared up aggressively whenever the officers approached. As Lil approached the horse, she saw the red sparks in its eyes and instantly recognized it as a Black Fae mount. "Officer Juarez, Miguel Juarez, isn't it?".
Animal Control Officer Miguel Juarez was human, but his mother was a fairy, and he knew not to pull the authority card on this woman, so he bowed slightly and answered "Yes M'am". "Miguel, did your mother ever tell you stories about the Black Fae and their steeds?". Miguel took two steps back as the light came on and he realized what he was dealing with.
"Its the eyes Miguel, Black Fae steeds have a reddish light than no mortal horse has.", said Lil explaining, she took a quick look to clarify, and added "And if her master or mistress has told her to stay, you might need to head to the army base and borrow some tanks and some chains to make it otherwise."
"But the animal is not allowed to be here, its not secured to a horse rail, because there isn't one here. It needs to be impounded and a fine needs to be issued!", announced Miguel's assistant, fumbling through his Animal Control Rules And Regulations handbook. Miguel glared and him and pointed to the van, and his assistant stomped off huffily.
"How about you go back to the office and put 'Owner given warning and lecture' or something in your report, and I'll go talk to the Black Fae for you?", Lilli offered. Miguel said 'Thank you' at least a half dozen times and turned and ran back to the safety of his van, as if the hounds of hell were on his tail.
Lil offered the dark horse a fresh apple that she had picked before leaving home. "We've met before, haven't we?", Lilli whispered in the horse ear. Lil turned towards Varg's Tavern to find out why the Kingsman or woman was in Elba.
"One fer the first year, two fer the secon year, three for the third yarr, and so on, an so on!", boomed the armored fairy. "That was round thirteen, and there's still another to go, so MOARR SHOTS!", yelled the obviously inebriated Black Fae. The terrified barmaid looked to Lil for help, rumors around town about Lil ranged from her being some kind of Fairy Godfather mobster to being the secret heir to the royal fairy throne. Whatever the truth may be, the barmaid knew that almost all the supernaturals in town respected her immensely, and maybe, just maybe, Lil might rescue her from this crazy dark fairy.
Lilly leaned on the bar and ordered a single shot of the same and fourteen more for the Fae. "New loss, or not much of a loss!", the Black Fae sneered, sweeping her arm across the bar, knocking the thirteen drained shot glasses to the floor. "Just as deep as yours, and twice as old. I drink to celebrate them, not to forget them, Master Sergeant Zinnia Bluebell", said Lilli quietly.
"Lady Lilliana, Your Majesty, I humbly apologize!", Zinnia almost groveled as she leapt from her barstool.
"Seriously, if you bow to me, armor plated or naked, I will put you over my knee and spank you like a sprout", Lil insisted. "Really?", asked Zinnia, "now I'm tempted to try!"
Lil raised an eyebrow at the Fae, there was a spark about her that reminded her of her departed soulmate. "You gave a drinking ritual to complete first!", said Lil. The barkeep stopped sweeping the glass shards long enough to pour fourteen more for the Black Fae, and one for Lil.
"I don't know what is worse, the fact that at first I expected the pain of loss would never fade, or the fact that that pain has now become numbness, and I don't know when it happened.", Zinnia explained. "The loss of a soulmate leaves a great hole in you, and though you can never refill or repair that hole, you can surround it and cushion it with comfort and love for others.", Lil explained. "For me it was my soulmates son, and then his children, and then their children.", Lil added.
"Black Fae have no husbands, no wives, no parents, no children, as you know, and those that do at their turning, have to turn their backs on all they had. I had to choose between dying and losing her, or living and losing her, I know my soulmate still lives, and we will be eternally apart.", Zinnia explained to Lil, trying to hold back tears. Lil pulled the Black Fae into an embrace, and patted the fairy gently on the back.
"The worse thing is I can still feel the bond, its like a spiders silk thread instead of an iron rope, but its still there", sobbed Zinnia, letting a few tears moisten Lil's jacket.
Both Lil and Zinnia easily ignored their fear of intimacy in the others company.
Lil and Zinnia chatted long into the afternoon and into the early
evening, reminiscing and regaling each other with tales about everything
from their childhood to the current day.
Eventually Lilli reached over and kissed the royal warrior fiercely on the lips, or Zinnia passionately smooched the disinherited princess, either way, the two began getting frisky.
Lilli and Zinnia were so busy hugging and kissing and things, that they didn't
hear the barmaid clear her throat the first or second time.
Sonia, who was working the night shift suggested that as Lil was the closest thing that Elba had to a celebrity, and that the favorite pastime of Elba citizens was extreme gossiping, that Lil and her friend might want to use the staff room downstairs to avoid any scandals.
And they did, until 3am when the tavern closed.
Natalie urged the children to put the last of the dishes on the sink, pack up their homework, or whatever else needed doing and get ready for bed, Eric was going to be home soon, and she wanted all the kids asleep shortly after. Lilli had just called her to say that she had met a friend at Varg's and wouldn't be home until very, very late, or early. Eric arrived home just as the children were heading off to their rooms.
"Okay my princesses, bathroom, pajamas and bed chop chop!", Natalie smiled. "And if you are quick, I will read you Grandpa's newest book, which is so new, even his publisher hasn't read it yet."
Lilly-Rose, Ceci, Sophia and Jen quickly got ready for bed, they were keen to hear the new story.
Once the girls were all tucked in, Natalie read them "SkittyKitty meets The Sphinx", and went to say goodnight to her sons.
"Bed, Pyjamas, Bathroom, Hugs. Hop to it!", Eric ordered. The boys all giggled at their father. "Is.. There.. Something.. Funny.. Soldiers?", Eric asked in a quiet version of his drill instructors voice. Nick, John, Chris and Nathan giggled again. Eric may be using a serious voice, but it was hard not to laugh at the silly faces he was making as he spoke.
"You got it all wrong Dad!", said John, "You muddled it!", added Nathan. "You said it in reverse order Dad", supplied Chris. Nick just nodded his head in agreement. "Well, it's been a long day, and I'm sooo tired! You boys might need to help me remember the right order!", Eric stated, while faking a big yawn, and exaggerated stretch.
"Bathroom first!", said Nick.
"Then Jammies!", said John.
"Then Huggles Dad!", added Chris.
"And then bed!", finished Nathan.
"Rightio then!", enthused Eric, clapping his hands together.
"If that's the order of things, hop to it soldiers!", Eric smiled.
Eric snuggled each one of his sons before tucking them in, and went to say good night to his daughters,
and hello to his wife.
Authors Note:
Ive spent most of the last week learning to 'skin' clothes and use paint.net and Gimp. 130 to 150 child t-shirts at a rough guess, and a handful of toddler and teen tops.. I've used some here in the kitchen shot, and better shots in the bedroom. Some come out better than others, and some were a total pain. For example, one of the teen female tops stretches its textures, which meant I had to 4:3 some of my square stencils..
There was no clue to this other than a final product being stretched and spazzy, so I had to redo a bunch of stuff once I had worked out what was happening.
