Duality

 

"What is that?" Lyra asked as she felt the insane amount of power coalesce near the center of the town. Merla felt a tug on her heart strings.

"Be nice!" Merla called out. "My Grammy!" The pressure slowly let off, and disappeared. Lyra looked down at Merla.  She felt the divine presence appear, and though she did not know what it was, she felt it respond to her daughter's command.

"Baby?"

"Big people. Up." She pointed. "White wings. Black wings. Angry at grammy." She pouted a little. "Merla grammy. Mad. Still, Merla grammy." Laenda smiled gently.

"Even after you were angry enough to throw her with magic, you still think she's your grandmother?" Laenda asked her. Merla tilted her head.

"Merla grammy. Mad at momma.  Merla momma. Mad at Meena.  Meena belong Merla.  Merla grammy." She shrugged. Lyra smiled a little.

"She has no choice but to accept her as her grandmother, but Tazaa will probably get thrown again if she gets angry at Meena. She's quite protective of her chosen mate." Lyra said gently, and looked at Meena.

"You'll have to accept the fact that she can't treat you differently from a pet, Meena. Can you handle that until she matures?" Lyra asked. "She'll be happy when she's around you, and affectionate, but she's a child." Meena slowly nodded.

"She's already up here." Meena tapped her temple. "Protected me when Duality appeared. Strengthened my consciousness so I could survive her presence. I felt like I would pop like an air bladder." Meena blushed. "Duality said I would give Merla babies." Merla blinked.

"Really? Babies?" Merla asked.

"It was in our dream, Merla." Meena said, with red cheeks. "That means it might happen, but not now. At a minimum, thirteen cycles from now." Merla pouted a little, then shrugged.

"Momma, Merla hungry." She frowned slightly. "Where grammy? Need heal grammy." She heard a cleared throat, and turned. She giggled. "Grammy!"

 

* * *

 

"That feels so much better." Tazaa said and moved her arm. Merla grinned and put her forehead to Tazaa's chin. She had a firm grip of her tusks, and bathed her with manna.

"Grammy soul weak." Merla said. "Wispy. Make strong." She felt Tazaa's arms come around her.

"You are a strange child. First, you throw me like I'm a leaf, and now you heal me. Is this how you felt, Taen?" Tazaa asked her.

"It's like a cool breeze." Taen said. "She has so much manna, it only helps her to heal you." Tazaa frowned a bit.

"That's odd. That old injury is healed too. That time I stressed my manna veins was incurable." Tazaa looked down at Merla. Merla grinned back up at her.

"Not cure. Rebuild. Break, straight, fuse, strong." Merla said. Tazaa hugged her gently.

"It has to be broken, straightened, fused, and reinforced?" Tazaa asked. Merla nodded. "I guess that makes some sense. It's not a disease. It's damage."

"Grammy. Come Merla." Laenda frowned.

"What's wrong, Merla?" Laenda came in closer.

"Grammy, neck band." Merla said, and her eyes began to glow. Laenda began to blush.

"You naughty child. Making your grammy a binding." Tazaa said.

"Merla not make band. Grammy make band. Merla connect." Merla said. "Grammy belong grammy. Not Merla." Tazaa lightly rubbed Merla's back.

"You're right. She belongs to me, and it's time I marked her properly." Tazaa said softly. When she put her hand on Laenda's throat, Merla put her hands onto her wrist.

"Bind." A wristlet appeared on Tazaa's forearm. "Obey." Merla looked at Tazaa. "Repeat. Bind. Obey." Tazaa took a slow deep breath.

"Bind. Obey.

" A golden chain was strung from her wristlet to the new golden band on Laenda's neck. It turned immediately to a gossamer silk thread when she said obey. Merla's eyes began to glow, and both orcish women staggered.

"Oh sap!" Tazaa said softly. She opened her eyes and looked at her wife. "So it's true." Merla grinned.

"Now play up here." She tapped her temple. "Speak. Hear. Bound." Laenda sucked in her breath as her wife smiled.

"Bad girl. Not in front of our beloved granddaughter."

 

* * *

 

Merla curled up on Meena's lap while Tazaa, Laenda, Taen, and Lyra talked quietly. Meena hugged her to her belly, and felt little Merla's hand rub her belly through the robe.

"Be good, Merla." Meena whispered. Merla grinned, but didn't stop. Soon, a golden ring was set in her skin in the top of her belly button. "How are you going to hide the fact that you gave me another ring?"

"Meena love jewelry. Meena belong Merla. Gifts normal." But Merla turned as Tazaa came up behind her. She picked Merla up, and turned her so that she faced her.

"Even though we're still in the room, you dare to put more jewelry on her." Tazaa said quietly. There was a frown on her face, as she had felt the fluctuations of manna, and how compressed it was.

"Meena special. Fam-mil-li-ar. Know Meena." She frowned slightly. "Not know why. Just know. Meena heart warm. Quiet." Merla closed her eyes and smiled as she relaxed. "Gentle. Warm hug. Protect Merla. Not dirty." She opened her eyes. "Always know Meena. Not know how." Tazaa groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Manna echoes." She said, and watched as Merla looked confused, and tilted her head. "If there are strong enough manna fluctuations, you can send yourself impressions from far in the future." Tazaa said and smiled gently. "There will be a time that you know Meena quite well, but for now, you have to show restraint." She tapped Merla's nose.

"Why? Meena belong Merla." It was a simple logic, and she couldn't get around it.

"Because Meena will lose business as other orcs look at her as though she's chasing a child. They will look at her badly. They may not say anything, as your family watch over you and can stop her, but they will still not look at her nicely." Tazaa said.

"What Merla do?"

"You mean, what can you do about it?" Tazaa asked her. Merla nodded. "Protect her reputation by not doing these things all the time. Be discreet. Meena is an orphan." Tazaa's eyes twitched a bit, and she realized something.

"Wait. That's it! If she were your sworn sister, the affection she shows for you would be normal in any orcish family!" Merla smiled up at her.

"Grammy, adopt Meena? For Merla?" Merla hugged her, and smiled. "Merla love grammy." Merla reached up and grabbed onto her tusks.

Manna rapidly rushed throughout her body. Tazaa started to shiver and shake as the manna ran wild throughout her veins, core, and shook her organs. She saw Merla's eyes glow white as the manna became agitated.

"Meena is important to me. I reward the ones who protect my love."