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"So, good?" Shalsa asked as she hurried into the room. Her wet hair made it clear that she'd just rushed through a shower. "And you should probably wait to answer that until Amerlee's out of the shower."
"I can hear!" Amerlee called from their bedroom.
"It was amazing," I said, raising my voice enough that it would carry. "Saval is a great instructor, Zeal took over my Word class, Ela and I spend most of the day together, and Anver's in a few classes with the guys. I'm not sure of how many yet. Oh, and someone named Farik is teaching my Action course."
Amerlee leaned through the bedroom door, wearing nothing but a towel. "The physician?"
"Mhm, and he recognized Jamik."
"He's teaching an initiate course?"
I nodded large enough for her to see. "Yep. He sounds like he knows his stuff, too."
"He does," she said. "Let me get dressed."
She disappeared back into her room, but Shalsa took over. "Farik is the top physician in the temple. Some say he is god-touched because of his skill. He has a knack of knowing exactly what is wrong, and he puts people back together as if the injury never happened. Amerlee once said that he has the kind of memory where he can read something once and never forget it."
"Well, he seems to like me," I said as I headed to claim a chair. "It's like this year is everything I missed from Primary. More than that, Zeal's been all over. I didn't realize how many people can see him now, you know? But it's got to be at least half the temple. Maybe a bit less, but it can't be much."
The bedroom door opened again and Amerlee came out wearing a loose dress. "It's because of this Priestess we know. The one with all the lace who's on a new Path," she teased as she came over to hug me. "The more they talk, the more they believe. You look nice today, Nari."
"Thanks." I ran my hands over my skirt, smoothing it. "I can wear dresses again, since I'm not in Protection this year."
"Mm," Irila murmured as she carried over a pair of cups. Stopping before me, she offered one of them, and it smelled like tea. "We'll be starting up lessons in the Salle again next week. You're expected to be there, you know."
"That's fine," I promised. "Anver said that the guys are going to help me with the homework load again, but this time we'll stay ahead of it, and I actually like the training. I just also happen to like wearing things that make the guys smile at me."
"And how many guys are we talking?" Shalsa asked. "Just your four, or is there a god in that too?"
I grinned at her. "There's a god smiling, but that's about all. Maybe a little kissing."
Amerlee sat down on the cushion beside me. "Are your guys ok with that? I know they don't have a choice, but if you have an actual relationship with someone, it's a little different than a session."
"Zeal is one of us," I assured her. "Anver's getting there too. Not that Anver has sex or anything, but he's been flirting a bit. Ela, Wraythe, and Talin all promise it's ok. With both of them. So, yeah. I think I have a slightly larger family unit than most in the temple."
"And it works for you," Shalsa said. "Amerlee, don't try to make problems where there aren't any. Those kids have their relationship figured out better than we do."
That made me look over to Amerlee. "Are there problems?"
"No," she promised. "It's just that with Jamik and Irila no longer being ringed, we're learning how to adjust to a new version of normal."
"Basically," Irila said, "the bed gets crowded." Then she glanced down and smiled. "And it's harder to remember that I'm allowed to do this. I can kiss Amerlee and Shalsa isn't upset. I can spend the night with Jamik - " Her mouth snapped shut and she looked up quickly.
"I still know that all of you are jumping on his dick," I assured them. "Not wanting to hear about it means the detail part, not the fact that things are good. I just have no interest in thinking of my parents like that." And to make the point, I gestured around the room at all three women. "It's a communal thing, so you know."
"So I get to be a mommy too?" Shalsa asked.
I just tossed up my hands. "Why not? I mean, all four of you raised me. I don't know what else to call it. I've kinda been thinking of you and Irila as stepmothers, if I'm honest, since aunt isn't close enough."
Shalsa just bit her lips together and lifted the backs of her knuckles to cover it. "Really?"
Irila quickly hurried over. "You have treated that girl like your own since she showed up," she told her desire. "Shalsa, of course she loves you like family."
"You were part of what I bargained for with Zeal, actually," I admitted. "All four of you. I didn't include Saval, because I didn't realize at Choosing that she'd be so important to me, but I really don't think Zeal's splitting hairs. I asked for my family, and he promised we'd be able to stay together."
The look Shalsa gave me was happy, but her eyes were just a bit too glossy. "We're proud of you, you know. Oh, fuck it."
Then she pushed out of her chair and crossed the distance to smother me in a tight hug. "I love you, Nari. You made our family complete, and I love your boys too." She leaned back just to squat down at my knees. "I just wasn't sure you'd even thought about it."
