.^^ Kiana ^^

— Athenos —

I entered the courtyard, with Rafaela, Gabriel, and Emmanuel, to find Kari angrily drawing a portal.

"Running away on Fortuna? Who will man the Grill?" I joked.

"I've got it for four more minutes!" James called from behind the behemoth of a cold-iron grill.

"I'm working as fast as I can, nephew, portals aren't my strong suit!" She snapped at him.

"Here, let me help." I knelt next to her, and helped her finish the portal, making it more accurate, and stable. "Where we going?" I asked.

"Brazil." She sighed.

"Ooh, I get to meet your wife now? Very nice!" I grinned.

"Mm." She shrugged, and let me activate the portal.

I turned to my father. "Ah! Papa, these are Rafaela's children, Emmanuel and Gabriel. I brought them for Fortuna, I thought you'd like that."

He laughed and jogged over, shaking Emanuel's hand, then kneeling in front of Gabriel. "Well hello, little one! I am Xeda, Athenos's Father!"

She shook his hand seriously. "I am called Gabriel Diana Santa-Jeanne Maria Nero."

He smiled and shook her hand just as seriously. "Aha! Then I am fully introduced as Xeda Triskelion Parthenos, Patriarch of Clan Parthenos, and Elder Wizard."

She hummed, then looked up at her mother. "I like him. He knows how to play along."

"That Really is his name, Bebe Linda." Rafaela laughed.

"Ooooh... even better!" She grinned.

"We going, or no? I don't want your son to burn my ribs." Kari sighed.

I nodded and activated the portal.

We were suddenly in front of a blazing Forge, while a woman hammered steel with a large hammer.

I blinked. "Is your woman a Dwarf?" I asked.

"Only half." Kari stepped through, and hugged the woman, surprising her.

She yelped, nearly smashing her hand when the hammer cam down. "Dammit, Kari! You scared the hell out of me!" The woman quenched the metal, then turned, hugging and kissing her wife, before seeing me, still standing in front of the portal.

I waved, grinning. "Nice to finally meet you! We have food about to burn, though, so come on in."

Kari chuckled at the taller woman's blank look of shock, then dragged her into the portal, after snagging her a shirt. (She was only wearing pants and her leather smithing apron.)

After she made herself decent, I held out my hand. "I'm Athenos, Kari's little Brother."

She shook my hand slowly. "Yeah... I'm Kiana."

"Great! Come meet the family! Kari, you can man the fire again." I dragged her over to Rafaela, who was standing with my father, and grinned. "My lover, Rafaela, and the children, Gabriel and Emmanuel, then my father, Xeda, and my grammas, all four of them. Don't worry about the names, it's no issue. Then there's the rest of these savages, whom I grudgingly call family." I waved a hand at the rest of them, and smiling through the good-natured jeering I called upon myself.

She waved mutely, still mortified.

I nodded and walked her back over to her wife, releasing her into more capable care. "And my son James, by the way." I grinned and patted his shoulder. "Did you burn anything?" I asked.

"No!... a rib got a little blackened, but not burnt." He frowned, blushing.

"Good, then, Gramma Bahri likes hers blackened anyway, we know which one is hers." I shrugged, and then sat down at one of the preparation tables. Emmanuel sat with me, and started peeling potatoes with me, while Gabriel commandeered my Father, commanding his attention as not only the smallest person there, but also a very powerful personality.

"So How was... class?" I asked.

He smiled. "I start today, actually, at 6pm, so I can't stay more than a few hours."

"Right, that's the cool thing about being halfway around the world! It's 4pm, here, and only 8am, there!" I grinned.

He nodded. "Yeah, it is very convenient. Ancestral magic doesn't do portals, so this is a refreshing take on magic, even if it feels very odd to be out of my Territory."

"Maybe you can learn new magic. It wouldn't be the first time. There's precedence." I nodded, and started on the carrots, while James started the lettuce.

We managed what was left easily, with three of us, and I blinked at the sight of another readhead. "James, who is that?" I asked.

He looked over his shoulder. "Oh, that's uncle Warren, one of Mum's brothers. He's here because Aunty Durham said I would be going through the Fae Version of Puberty, and I'd need a coach, of sorts. He's also going to teach me the secrets of Ünterking magic, which is going to be awesome." He grinned.

I nodded slowly. "Alright... if your mother said he can be trusted, I suppose..."

"Oh no, mum said he was as sly as a fox and I shouldn't trust him farther than I could throw him, but that his reason for being here was genuine, and I do need his guidance." He shrugged.

I nodded again. "Okay, that makes more sense."

"What's wrong with him?" Emmanuel asked, glancing at Gabriel worriedly.

"He's a Male Irish Fae, and an Ünterking. They're notorious for their skill in battle, and an unhealthy appetite for pranks... and War." I explained.

He relaxed. "Alright, so not inherently dangerous, just untrustworthy?"

"Basically." I nodded.

"Alright." He nodded, and grabbed an eggplant, and looking at it slowly. "How do I peel this?"

"You don't, we chop them." Alexia made an appearance, and gently took it, placing it back, then sweeping all our peeled and chopped potatoes and carrots into two giant pots. She set one into James's arms, and then mine. "Alright, Those go to the kitchen, and Emmanuel, are you any good with a cooking knife?"

"I... don't cut myself very often?" He answered honestly.

"Perfect, do as I do." She smiled, and showed him how to slice the eggplant.

I carried the pot into the kitchen, with James on my tail, and received my next task.

—

I collapsed next to Rafaela and Kiana and Kari, groaning in pain. "My poor, poor hands!" I tried to work the cramp out of my hands, which had snuck in while I was grating several dozen pounds of cheese, for a dozen more dishes.

Kari laughed. "Man up!"

"You wanna play that game?" I pointed at her cooking apron.

"Point to you." She shrugged.

"So, Kiana, What do you do? Other than Blacksmithing? Is that your normal day job?" I asked.

She mumbled an answer I didn't catch.

"Relax, dear, no one here is going to judge you. We're Greek. We invented anal lube." I smirked.

She snorted, while Rafaela cackled, clutching her stomach. "Seriously?" She asked.

I nodded, smiling. "Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Extra Ironic, more like."

She laughed, the ice breaking. "That's terrible! Why would you use a food supplement-"

"How do you think they figured out it was edible, and that it tasted good on olive buns? We invented that, too!" I added to the joke, keeping the ball rolling.

Rafaela was now in hysterics, crying from laughing too hard, and the Brazilian dwarf was grinning widely.

"That's actually hilarious." She nodded, apparently impressed.

"And not exaggerated in the slightest. That's the actual origin of olive oil, scouts honor. Ancient Greece, lots of butt stuff." I shrugged.

She laughed again, and shook her head. "In answer to your original, innocent question, I am actually a mechanic. Blade-Smithing has really fallen out of use, these days, so my skills are better spent and better payed, as a mechanic."

I nodded. "Interesting. And you've been with Kari for what? Ten years? A bit more?"

"Yeah, Maybe... May 21st of '04, so... 13 years, going on 14, yep." She nodded, doing the math.

"Ouch, down to the date! I like her, Kari. Keep her." I nodded.

"I plan on it." She shrugged, laying on the other woman comfortably.

James sat near us, and grinned. "So you're actually a Blade-Smith!?!?"

She nodded. "Yes, and my Mother before me."

"Would it be weird if I said I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on a sword I made?" He grinned.

She shrugged. "I'll give it a wink."

He nodded and drew his sword, handing it to her.

Her eyes widened, and she breathed a few words in dwarfish, then unsheathed it, sitting up. Kari raised both eyebrows. "Pretty."

"Pretty?!?" Her wife breathed. "You can't see this like I can, lover... Meus deuses... Boy, you say you forged this?" She gazed at him, her eyes still glowing from when she examined it.

He grinned. "I made it from a few other things, some raw material, and some blades. A Shard of Excalibur, a Dead Shard, a few amulets, some magic crystal of my own invention, Dragon Bones And Scales... every relic I had, really."

She nodded slowly. "Where did the Dwarf Magic come from?" She asked softly, turning the blade over carefully, and it ignited. "Ooh! And the Ice of Helheim, in Flame Form? Interesting..."

"A Dwarf put a Dwarf Heart into a ring for me, after I helped turn his son back from a dragon. That's where the dragon bones and scales came from, as well." I nodded.

She gazed at it again, and smiled. "And you added your own ingenuity, it would seem... to absorb malignant threats that can strengthen it? I've never seen the like... an inspired craft, James Parthenos." She sheathed it, and handed it back.

He blushed and ran away, hugging the sword.

I laughed. "He's still struggling with not thanking people, huh? He'll get used to it." I shrugged.

She gazed at me, the glow in her eyes fading. "He's a naturally gifted Craft-Smith. Not just blades, but magical Relics."

"Yes, He is." I agreed.

"Is he receiving the proper teaching?" She demanded.

"I'm teaching him." Kari answered, pulling her wife back down to the semi-reclined position most of us were in, on the lazy couches, waiting for the moon, and the food to finish cooking.

"In your class, or personally?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Talent like that doesn't happen every century, Kari, and you should see it."

"I am aware, yes. I've arranged to be able to teach him personally, every Sunday. He's a member of my Personal Assistants, starting this Sunday. If he keeps up, and I believe he will, he'll join the Apprentices, and make his way up the ranks. I can only do so much without it looking like favoritism." She sighed.

"Mm, True. Can't have him getting a big head." I agreed.

Kiana snorted softly. "He should, looking at that Relic. He took a Shard of Excalibur, and matched it, with random other ingredients, then Upgraded the Ice of Helheim, that which the gods fear. If he gets arrogant, you can't even blame him."

"Yes, well, he also has elf ears, so he can hear you. And he'd better not get arrogant, or his mother will kick his ass to the moon and back." I looked in his general direction, and saw him duck behind a couch.

The moon started to peek over the horizon, and I whistled, cheering it on with everyone else, as the fireworks started, all around the city.

One of our cousins who was a fire Mage had apparently made his backyard into a fireworks show, because the air directly above our compound came alive with black and silver fireworks.

I laughed. "How did he manage black fireworks?"

"A mixture of sulfur, phosphorous, and andesite!" James grinned, looking at the animated pictures the fireworks began making.

"Very good!" I grinned, hugging him and then setting him next to his mother. The Feast started, and after a bit, the adults began pairing off with their lovers or spouses, slipping away into the night.

Rafaela's lips found my neck, from where she was standing behind me. "I suppose it's our turn? Manny has Gabriel..."

I smiled. "Yes, lets test our luck, dear."

—

My alarm blared next to my ear, and I groaned, reaching to slap it, but instead hit grass. "Fuckin' what?" I groaned, and sat up.

Rafaela grinned, holding my alarm, while I shielded my eyes from the afternoon light. "I had to go get this from your house, you know? Up and at 'em, Axiom."

I sighed and pulled my pants on, standing up and buckling them. "What time is it?"

"In Laos, where we somehow ended up? About 2 in the afternoon." She laughed. "I called Manny, he took Gabriel home at a decent hour, and James helped clean up the courtyard with your grandfather and Alexia. They were pretty much the only adults left, by 10:00."

I laughed softly. "Yes, Fortuna is supposed to be a great time to get wasted and have fun with your lovers. Speaking of, how did we end up in Laos?" I asked.

"I think you got drunk off my liquor cabinet, and I asked to see your old stomping grounds in Cambodia... mission accomplished." She gestured around.

I looked, and then laughed. We stood at the foot of Phou Pha Thi, the Sacred Spirit Mountain of Laos. "Wow... been a while since I was here! I wonder if my old teachers remember me?"

"So long as the earth remembers you, Boy, so will I. Unfortunately." A little old lady appeared from thin air, sitting on a hillock nearby.

I grinned. "You opened the portal for her?"

"Hmph. A favor owed, Indeed! You'd think this nonsense would have stopped, now you had children of your own?" She raised an eyebrow sharply.

I blushed, and avoided Rafaela's gaze. "Well... It's Fortuna." I explained myself.

"Ahh, the day you Greeks get drunk and dance in the woods or screw yourselves silly. Wonderful, maybe you'll get her pregnant, and finally settle down." She said dryly.

Rafaela raised both eyebrows now. "This awkward darling is a lady-killer?"

"Oh don't let him fool you! He's got the skills! My daughter, 40 when he was 32, fell straight into his arms, as did every other girl in this village!" She cackled.

I blushed visibly, even on my olive skin. "That's simply not necessary information- I was grieving, and also I wanted children."

"Oh I'm not judging! It was hilarious, and it humbled plenty of men here, which was an added bonus!" She shrugged.

Rafaela smiled. "So your skills are hard-earned? I'm surprised, but pleased. Wait, you were properly tested for-"

"I'm a surgeon, of course I ran all the tests!" I snapped, covering my face. "Save me, James!!!"

"Never thought I'd be the one to save you from embarrassing old people. Come on, I'm supposed to be meeting Warren." He surprised me, grabbing my clothes and bag, shoving them into my chest, and then dragging me and Rafaela through a new portal, while my old teacher laughed and waved.

It was still morning, in Greece, at 9:00, but that meant it was around 1:00 in New Orleans, so I relaxed, laying in my bed with Rafaela. "Mm... well, you went to Cambodia, chalk that one up off the bucket list, eh?" I chuckled tiredly.

"Why is your alarm clock magical?" She asked, apparently in no mood to be distracted.

"My Witchcraft takes a Toll. A literal toll. So, I am dead to the world, from the time I fall asleep, until that alarm wakes me, or 12 hours pass." I sighed.

"Even if you're in danger, the house is on fire... nothing wakes you?" She asked, almost horrified.

"Yep. That's why my kitchen has a very, very powerful anti-fire enchantment, as does the rest of my house, and the intruder alarm sets off the clock, when it's plugged into the home system." I shrugged.

She nodded, setting the alarm back on the bedside she'd snatched it from. "That's terrifying, Athenos."

"Sometimes it is, Yeah. But everyone has to pay something for witchcraft." I shrugged again, and began gently massaging her back. She was already laying on her stomach, so it was the prime target.

"Except Ancestral Witches." She smirked.

"Yes, Indeed. Except Ancestral Witches. Though, technically? You do pay something. You don't get an afterlife, you stay in this realm." I hummed.

She nodded. "I suppose that is true, we can't get reincarnated unless we make sure of it before our deaths... preparations have to be made..." she sighed softly when I worked out a tight muscle in her lower back.

"Mmhmm..." I nodded, and rolled my knuckles down her spine, making her groan in contentment. "So what did you think of Laos?" I asked casually.

"Your teacher was amusing... So tell me about these women?" She asked.

"Ah, that..." I sighed.

"I'm not jealous, just curious." She assured me.

"Well, Alright... as I said, I was grieving. The love of my young life, my first and brightest love so far in my life, at the time, had completely abandoned me. I knew I wanted to be a surgeon, but I guess I'd become almost codependent on her, after eight years together. I decided it wasn't heathy to pine for her, and instead tried to start the next stage of my life. Children." I explained, working now her shoulders.

"That's what she meant, by 'someone to tie your shoes for you'?" She asked.

"No, that was a nasty comment about how bad my hands used to be. I literally couldn't tie knots without serious effort. Imagine tying your shoes like a marathon, every morning." I shook my head.

She growled softly, either at the nasty comment, or my knuckles finding a tough muscle at the base of her neck. "That's just Rude, I think." She commented when I let her breath deeply, before continuing.

"Yes, I suppose it was. Anyway, I tried every fertility spell or herbal remedy there was, but eventually decided I was sterile. Then... well by then it was for fun." I blushed again.

She laughed softly, then groaned. "Well, I can say I appreciate your efforts in learning this technique, 'mount ass and massage back', I really like this one." She giggled.

I laughed and kissed her neck. "Just lay there and enjoy it, then, unless you want to reciprocate..." I drifted my hands down to take handfuls of her ass.

"Ooh! Way to sexualize a perfectly innocent massage!" She chided me falsely, while raising her hips slowly.

"I know, I know, I'm a villain, a sexual deviant-" I traced fingers down her ribs, not quite tickling her, making her squirm.

"Shut up and move your hips, deviant!" She commanded comically.

"Sí, Señora."