Page 64 of It Varies
Vine said, “I hope she finds joy.She deserves to be held and cuddled and protected for the rest of her life.Despite the fact that she can protect herself, she shouldn’t have to always be on guard.”
She smiled.“Being a mage-omega is rough.Ready for battle, wanting a soft place to curl up.It’s a strange combination.I don’t think we were ever supposed to be.I think we were created to save us, and it is a strange thing.”
Kazuya frowned.“What created you?”
She smiled at him.“What created you?What looked at you and said that water would be your domain?”
He frowned.“The energy that runs through my people.The magic.”
“And where did it come from, originally?Who gave the power to your ancestors?Who gave them the options that would shape their children?”
He blinked, and Mao said, “The earth itself made the enhanced alphas this way.”
“The earth made me as well.It gave me the spark, and I shaped it to my survival.It learned from whatever made the elves so that it could shape its own children.The males were the early copy because it had plenty of you to use as a template.The females were done with caution.Omegas were generally avoided because we are emotional in the extreme, but the modern age has let us to use that emotion rather than confining us.The omega disaster that took out the school scattered the souls but left a vacuum for us to be valued and to grow.It turned omegas from pets into treasured assets, and that was a shift that modern males don’t appreciate.They know they need us but don’t know why.”
She picked up her cup and sipped her tea.They were both stunned.
“We are driven to continue our lines because that is the trade that our destiny made for power.”Vine smiled.“We weren’t consulted on the matter, but I know where this power came from.”
Mao asked, “Where?”
“Need.In a lightning-fast decision for the planet, it made the first enhanced alphas thousands of years ago when it saw the elves for the first time.After some trial and error, the earth knew how not to make gods that would need worship.Self-sustaining paranormals were much better.The wolves protected each other, so they were the first and the initial project.They were the ones that everyone accepted, whether they shifted or not.”
Kazuya asked, “So why aren’t your new generation simply living on their own?”
“Because we are given the need for a partner, a family, children if possible.A few are in guidance roles, and they do not have the same need.If they choose a partner, it is just that.A choice.”She reached out to Mao.“Don’t worry about it.She will be fine.She’ll find some kind of water-born alpha and live happily with little babies with tails and scales.”She shrugged.“Or she won’t, and she will give in to the draw of the deep.”
“You think she will,” Mao murmured.
“I am pretty sure.Her wings are only for escape or rescue.”She shrugged.“You feel like you two are a bad match?”
He blinked.“I am bound to Lord Kazuya.”
Kazuya stared.“I have never held a servant once they found a mate.”
Mao cocked his head.“You haven’t?My grandmother said that this service was for life.”
Kazuya rubbed a hand over his face.“No.Why didn’t you ask me about this?Your family swore itself to me for life when I saved them from a flood seven hundred years ago.One member per generation was assigned to serve, but I can actually do my own errands and laundry.The modern era is delightfully easy to navigate.A housekeeper for daily activities is all I truly need.When you next find a female that suits you, pursue her.”
Mao paused.“Lady, I don’t suppose you know if Meeda is busy?”
“I do, but she’s settling herself.You said she could return if she got hungry, so if that is the only reason she needs you, she will call.”She mimicked his words.
Mao groaned.“I sounded like an ass.”
“Yup.”Vine and Kazuya said it together.Vine added, “Arrogance against a peer is always in bad taste, and while her power is new, it is not weak.You helped her to strength and then mocked her for it.That is what hurt.”
She sighed as he flushed, and his demon form was apparent.The grimace of his features matched his grabbing his head.He looked miserable.He got up and left.
Vine took a sip of tea.“Harsh reality check?”
“Needed.One gets used to being strong, and this last generation of women is changing the definition of strength.I have noticed that your world is making this into a trial by fire for many of you.The power is tempered by the pain you have been through.”
“It is shaped by what we need.Meeda’s skill with shaping clay was hers, the wings were hers, and the tail is hers.Her magic?That only happens when she’s happy.”
“What is her magic?”
“Finding.If she is happy, she can find what she needs or what she wants.When we needed to go, she found the time, the place, and the power to throw us back where we came from.”Vine sighed.“She is tethered by her hunger, by the memories of her survival.That does quite a number on morale.”
