My Servant System

It took a few minutes for Mother to eventually calm down, the mature Dogkin Baroness still biting her lips occasionally to stop herself from crying again, but otherwise she was able to come back to me and give me another hug, leaning side to side as we embraced.

It was soft and warm and something that even now, even as someone who had a high overall age - at least when compared to humans - I just knew I would never be able to get enough of, especially since I had once lost the ability to feel this warmth and love.

In this life though, I was going to do everything I could to ensure it remained with me, and that the woman who had 'brought me into this world' would remain in it for as long as she possibly could and as long as she wanted to; that was why I had searched for those rings, and it was also why she was so emotional at the moment.

"I want to only be proud of you, Katherine, but... it just feels like a reminder that I'm not the one who is able to just say 'everything will be alright, you'll always be safe'... and that just... that just-!"

Hugging her back, I felt my eyes grow wet as I cut her off and said "You did keep me safe; you still are keeping me safe. Besides, Mother, I'm grown! I have to take care of myself, and now that I am grown, I have to take care of you! Please, focus on Alessandra and Lakshmi; I'll be fine! You raised me right, and showed me how to find my own safety..."

She buried her face into the crook of my neck at that, her arms tightening around me as she gave me a squeeze, though we both froze for a moment as the Marquess approached and gently laid her hands on our shoulders, wearing a gentle smile.

"If anything, you should~ be throwing yourself at me, Julie~! I'll be the one to keep you, my adorable daughter in law, and the two new babies safe~! So stop crying, alright?"

Mother pulled away from my neck and frowned at Chordeva, before narrowing her eyes as the Demoness' smile turned sultry as she leaned down and asked "And question... was the way she showed you to find safety... was that by finding yourself an excellent, amazing, hung like a horse stud of a Demoness~?"

Of course, it was almost instinctual with how the Marquess needed to 'ruin' the moment, something that seemed to have been inherited by Jahi as she just smirked and tried to hide her expression from me, but I clearly caught it; however, as much as it did 'ruin' the moment between Mother and I, we both were well aware of its real purpose, which she attained with efficient ease.

She made Mother forget about her self induced 'flaws' and instead gave her something else to focus on, which was punching the Demoness' stomach and glaring at her as she unleashed her emotions in another way; was it healthy though?

No, but really... nothing about how this family of ours works is healthy; it's manipulative, self absorbed, toxic, and it works so damn well with how each of us function as a person that it's damn near scary to think about for too long.

A single session with a therapist would have said therapist bleeding out on the floor before any of us decided we wanted to actually work through some of the problems we had, but hey, recognition is the first step on the path of healing or whatever.

The Countess came back over to me and showed me the red crystal ring that she wore on her right index, the blonde Elf giving me another hug as she said "Thank you, Katherine... it's a wonderful, intricate gift. It means a lot, even if..."

Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the Marquess, who had decided enough was enough and she was going to retaliate, which was simply done by spinning Mother around and out of our sight so that she could silence her woman in the only way she knew how; a deep, passionate, sloppy kiss that made me cringe as I looked away instantly.

Even though I knew well enough what sort of equipment the Marquess wielded, and knew just what she did with it and who she did it with, I still didn't want to see it, which the Countess knew as she let out a sigh and said "Chordeva... please. Not in front of the children..."

Rolling her eyes, the Countess looked back at me, allowing me to say "I know that you and the Marquess don't really need it, but-"

"Katherine... you said it yourself, my dear. We're family; practically your parents in a few separate ways. You don't need to keep using titles to address us."

That made me blink, my brain short circuiting as I tried to piece together what she was saying and tried to make sense of it, only to fail as I stared at her blankly, something that the Elf found rather amusing as she chuckled beside me.

"This goes for you two as well; there is no need to refer to Chordeva and I as 'Miss', 'Lady', or by our titles. If you would like, 'Mother' and 'Mom' will work just fine. You can add our names to that too to be less confusing."

Reaching over, the Elf pinched my cheek and smiled at me as she said "Go on, try it.", her eyes sparkling with both mischief and anticipation as she waited for me to say something, and for the first time in a long time...

I felt my cheeks flush with blood, a large portion of my face going red as I became rather embarrassed, something that had become a rarity when it was genuine, and now... now I was staring at someone I respected and loved the same way I respected and loved Mother, albeit not to the same heights.

But still...

To be asked to show that affection verbally in this way was...

"M-Mother Ria..?"

Her lips curled into a grin as she nodded, her sapphire eyes sparkling with joy as she said "Yes, Katherine~?", making my blush deepen for a moment before she turned me towards the Demoness, who was staring at us with a narrowed gaze.

"M-Mom..?"

The Demoness just blinked once, before glancing to the side and looking at Jahi, who met her gaze and raised a brow, only to roll her eyes when the older Demoness said "Now why can't you sound like that? Respectful and nice..?"

"Chordeva..."

She rolled her eyes this time and looked back at me, tilting her head slightly before shrugging as she said "Yeah?", those ruby eyes staring straight at me without an ounce of confusion, boredom, or anything else that would make this awkward; it was just matter of fact and accepting, which...

Mother Ria ruffled my ears and smiled at me, before sauntering her way over to Anput and Leone as she stared at them expectantly; unsurprisingly, Leone was blushing just as much as I was, with her gaze flickering between Mother Ria, Mom, Mother and Jahi, before landing back on Mother Ria as she hesitantly said "Mother... Ria..? Momma Chordeva..?"

The two nodded, before Mother smiled softly even as she wiped at her cheeks and dapped at her eyes when Leone added "Mother Julie..?", the Vampire deciding to not forget her other Mother in law too as she looked between the three.

What was surprising was the fact that Anput was rather twitchy and refusing to look at anyone, her face darker as well while her ears twitched constantly, and when everyone gazed at her, well... it only got 'worse', and she knew that the only way to alleviate this was to say it, so she too managed to mutter "Mother Ria... Momma Chordeva... Mother Julie..."

She peeked at each person as she said that, hesitation and slight fear permeating her obsidian eyes as she studied their reactions, only to flinch when Mom stepped forwards and ruffled her ears, the Demoness saying "Stop with the weird sentimental emotional thing; we all know you as a cocky little prick..."

That made Anput blink in surprise, though she just chuckled wryly when Mother Ria let out a sigh but didn't say anything else, which made relief seep into my mates eyes as she nodded, slowly returning to her usual self.

"Well, can't say I really wanted to 'adopt' the lot of you all at once - seems like a damn poor investment if you ask me - but to hells with it, whatever. Just don't get weird or something, yeah?"

Mom waved her hands and walked away, scooping up the two babies and returning to laying on the floor as she started to benchpress both of the babies, sending them high into the air before bringing them down to get a kiss on the brow.

Lakshmi just giggled maniacally as she was sent up and down and up and down, all while also leaning in to get her kiss and enjoy each lift and lower, while her sister squirmed around and looked desperately at her own Mom, who shook her head slightly before coming to her rescue.

The room descended into that wonderful warmth again, though it was momentarily broken by the younger Demoness as she approached Mother and stood in front of her, scratching the back of her head and seeming far more meek than ever before, while Mother's expression went flat, her eyes steady as she stared at the Demoness straight on.

"I... guess I should say thank you, Mother Julie..?"

She stared back into Mother's eyes, waiting for a response as Mother just looked at her, before she let out a sigh and said "I guess you should, Jahi..."

Taking a step forwards though, she brought her finger up and pointed at Jahi's chin, staring up at her and saying "And if you ever put my baby in harms way like that again..."

She narrowed her eyes, before letting out another sigh and hugging the Demoness, surprising her before she just said "I forgive you for the previous ones, but going forwards... I'll kill you myself if she gets hurt."

The dark, oceanic blues that stared up at Jahi made the Demoness shiver, and for a moment the entire room was completely still as we all looked at Mother in surprise, only for her to take a deep breath and smile gently as she added "Otherwise, I do think the two of you are a perfect match~!"

Patting her cheek, Mother continued to smile at Jahi before letting her go and walking away, joining Mom on the floor and stroking Lakshmi's head as the baby Demoness stared at her for a few moments, before extending her arms straight towards her chest and babbling incoherently.