Chapter 177 – Direct Communication

“You need to be the one running these conversations, Val. Not to shove you into a role but, as the first, you need to be the one to bridge the gap between Kurt and anyone wanting a piece of him. Conversations need to be had, and decisions need to have good reasons behind them. I know we had our thing before him, but this time is different and likely the last. Also, despite it being unlikely, Kurt could very well say no and that’s the end, so don’t get her hopes up too much.” - Kristi talking to Val after Rindi had left.

It was a rainy morning after Val had split from her family and they had met with the local director of the FBI about the ‘incident’ that occurred in the downtown area. They didn’t have any work, getting a few days off from their boss and they had already run some essential errands for new clothes. That left the group to leisure or whatever they wanted for the next couple of days.

“Alright, I am going to go have a talk with Jade. Can you let the others know?” Kurt said after he drained the last of his coffee and put the cup in the sink. “I should be back for lunch though.”

Val waved from where she was reading on the couch. “Sounds good. Love you!” She was the only one up there at the moment. Kristi was doing something to her gaming setup and Rindi had excused herself for the bathroom.

A few seconds after Kurt left, the afore mentioned tiger woman stepped out of the hallway and looked around. “Was that Kurt leaving?” She asked.

“Yup. He is going to go talk with Jade about wolf stuff I think.” Val replied while placing a bookmark between the pages. She then got up and walked to the kitchen to place her own cup in the sink.

“Umm, is Kristi still downstairs?” Rindi started walking that way before Val answered.

“No, I’m right here.” Came the voice of Kristi as she crested the top of the stairs. “Did you need something?”

Rindi glanced around, her eyes flicking to Val for a moment before she responded. “Umm, I was hoping to talk to you. Alone.”

Kristi frowned slightly at the worried looking tigress. “Is everything ok?”

“Oh, yeah but I – it… umm. I was hoping to talk to you about my, umm, social situation and how I might… advance within the cla-family?.” Rindi was looking rather uncomfortable, somehow shrinking in on herself.

Kristi didn’t need to look at Val to know the kitsune was listening intently. “You want to talk about your position within our team or within our family?”

“Both?” Rindi asked, her voice being a little higher pitch as her posture ducked in a submissive manner.

“Kristi.” Val spoke loudly from the kitchen and seemed to startle Rindi. “You know, we haven’t had a good spa day in a while, and the renovated shower remains untested...”

“That sounds like a lovely thing to do this morning.” Kristi said looking past Rindi to where Val was getting the cooler and filling it with ice. “I will go and get the water running.” She then walked right past Rindi who looked rather distraught at being seemingly ignored.

Val was walking over to her a moment later, large plastic cooler in hand. “Come on. Let’s go have a chat.”

Rindi hesitated for a while before following Val down the hall. She was surprised when she was led to the bathroom and could hear the splashing of running water. She was then completely baffled when she saw a naked Kristi in the shower and a suddenly nude Val opening the door to join her.

“Umm…” Rindi began to back out of the room, but Val poked her head out of the shower door.

“Hey, come in and join us.” Val said with a friendly smile. “Feel free to wear a towel or whatever if it makes you more comfortable.”

With that, the kitsune stepped into the steaming shower, leaving a still hesitant Rindi standing in the doorway. She wasn’t sure what to do until she felt the presence of Kristi in her mind. “We are going to use the sauna feature of the shower. Nothing sexual is going to happen. Just wrap one of the big towels around you and come in.”

Still hesitating for a moment, Rindi summoned her courage and did as instructed. She grabbed a towel off the shelf and unfolded it, holding it out in front of herself as she dismissed her clothes then wrapped it to cover from her chest down to upper thigh. Her new tail sticking out the bottom only complicated things a little, but she pushed past it.

Slowly, Rindi made her way to the shower door. She opened it cautiously, like she was unsure of what lay on the other side, despite being able to see the two naked beauties already within as they lounged on the wide bench. Both of them were damp, though only their skin and not their hair.

“Well, don’t let all the steam out.” Kristi said. “Come in already.”

Taking that as an order, Rindi took a large step, shutting the glass door behind her, instantly feeling her fur puff from the heat and humidity. She almost couldn’t help it as her eyes were drawn to Kristi sitting across from her, Val lying back on a towel with her head in Kristi’s lap. She tried not to let her gaze linger on them, aware that this wasn’t the time for it.

“Wh-what am I supposed…” Rindi vaguely waived her hand about the recently renovated shower stall.

“You have a couple options.” Val began, cracking an eye open to look at her. They made eye contact and Rindi got the distinct impression that she was being challenged to something. “You can either sit down with your towel, sit down naked, hop under the spray then sit down, or you can leave. Personally, I recommend the option of taking a quick rinse to really relax the muscles but that’s just me.”

Deciding that being hesitant was to fail the challenge, Rindi squared her shoulders and walked to the far side of the shower where the spray was making a cloud of steam that slowly filled the enclosed space. She dropped the end of her towel, letting it unwrap before hanging it on a hook.

Two steps later she was under the nearly too hot water. Val had been right about it being just what she needed as she turned her face up to the spray before rotating to let it hit her shoulders and back. She stood there for a moment, absorbing the heat and letting the water reach every part of her before she stepped away.

She hadn’t noticed while under the water, but Val and Kristi had taken up a quiet conversation. They were softly talking to each other, seeming to ignore Rindi completely as she made her way over to the bench, towel still in hand.

Rindi folded the towel in half before placing it on the bench and sitting. She was amazed at the warmth of the tiles as she leaned back against the wall of the shower. Somehow, Kurt’s enchantments had allowed it to warm up despite the shower only being on for a few minutes at most. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, enjoying the hot, steamy air.

“So, you wanted to talk about your future.” Kristi began in a friendly tone.

“Yes. It is something that I have been thinking about recently.” Rindi answered, opening her eyes to see that Kristi had taken a similar pose and was resting her head back against the wall, eyes closed. Seeing that, she resumed her previous position.

Val was next to speak. “How recently?”

“The past couple weeks.” Rindi replied honestly. “But I have felt things more intensely after the other night.”

“That tracks.” Val said. “We have noticed you looking at Kurt a lot. Little lingering glances and stares.”

Feeling herself blush a little, Rindi opened her eyes again to see that Val had rolled over and was now on her stomach. She had her chin in her hands while her feet kicked idly behind her swaying tails.

“I didn’t mean any disrespect. Honest, I am ju-” Rindi began, feeling her pulse quicken until she was interrupted.

Val smiled then laid her head back on Kristi’s lap while the dragoness ran her fingers though her dark hair. “Just something we noticed. Not that you did anything wrong.”

Kristi opened her eyes and brought her head up to look at Rindi. “I have an idea. How about we make this one of those free spaces or whatever the humans call them.”

“Safe spaces.” Val corrected.

“Right, thanks hon. Safe spaces.” Kristi smiled down at Val before looking back to Rindi. “You can ask anything and say anything in here and this is where it stays. We won’t judge you for your opinions and will answer as honestly as we can. Sound good?”

Rindi nodded. “Yes. That umm, makes me feel more comfortable… I think.”

“Great.” Val said and returned to looking at her. “Now, how about you ask us or rather tell us what you want.”

Taking a steadying breath, Rindi reaffirmed her position in her mind. “I want to stay a part of the Order and a part of the team after I am free.” She said.

Kristi snorted. “That was a given. We like you, Rindi. You are a good fit for our team and we like working with you. Kurt has told you several times already that you will have a place on our team as long as you want.”

“Its not…” Rindi faltered for a moment, recalling how she had been told that several times. “It’s not just a part of the team and having a place to live.”

“Then what is it?” Val was laser focused on her, her gaze intense. “What do you really want?”

“Remember, you can tell us anything or ask us anything.” Kristi added in a much calmer tone.

Rindi once again gathered her courage and decided to just get it over with. “I want to be a part of the family. Of your family.” She grimaced and closed her eyes. There, it was out. If they hated her for it then-

“Sweetie, you already are.” Val said, making Rindi’s eyes snap open to look at her. “But I think we have a follow up question to clarify things.”

“When you say a part of the family. What do you mean?” Kristi began, building off of Val’s words. “Do you mean that we will love and support you as we do now or something else?”

Not being outright rejected had stunned Rindi for a moment but she recovered once she heard a question. “I want, um... Oh, this is going to sound bad…” She paused and buried her face in her hands. She didn’t know how to ask but heard the shifting of people and someone walking over wet tiles.

A moment later, Rindi felt a hand on her shoulder as someone sat down next to her. “Hey, remember, this is the time to get it all out. I am sure you aren’t going to say anything horrible and there isn’t anything that will make us hate you.” Kristi said.

The dragoness had abandoned her duty as Val’s pillow and come over to sit next to Rindi. She had draped her towel over her shoulder to give the appearance of modesty along with not sitting too close.

“I want what you have with Kurt.” Rindi mumbled into her hands, not daring to look up. “I-If there is room or if he will have me. If he doesn’t want me like that then I can-I can…”

Val piled in on her other side. “Shhhh. Sweetie, it’s ok. These are good things to get out in the open. If we don’t know how you feel, then we can’t help you in any way.”

“You’re not rejecting me?” Rindi was surprised. She had figured that, assuming she wasn’t outright denied, that they would have massive stipulations. She supposed there was still the possibility of that but at least she wasn’t rejected immediately.

“Of course we aren’t rejecting you.” Kristi confirmed. “We like you. We like spending time with you and your personality and how you act. You are a really sweet woman any way we look at it. But why do you want to be in our relationship?”

Rindi didn’t need to take long to think about that answer. “Because you are all so nice to me and supportive.”

“The wolves are all nice and I have seen you getting along with Gus pretty well in the rift and on the range.” Val replied.

“But… but I like the way Kurt is.” Rindi defended lamely. “I like how he treats me, how he treats you. Even with his power, he is kind. And the way he looks is…”

Kristi hummed happily. “Yeah, we get it. Just wanted to hear your reasons on why him specifically.”

The smile that had been growing on Rindi’s face came crashing down as Kristi continued. “That being said, this isn’t a simple yes or no. In case you hadn’t noticed, our relationship isn’t Kurt-centric.”

“We all love each other equally.” Val clarified. “Kristi and I have romantic feelings and physical attraction for each other just like we have to Kurt.”

“Oh.” That was all Rindi could think of saying as she looked from one to the other.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Val pressed. “Not saying that we have to get it on right now but… in the future it might be a thing.” She stood up, along with Kristi and they took a step back to stand in front of Rindi. Both of them stood hands on hips as they looked down at her, putting themselves on display.

“For a little peace of mind, both of us have talked and find you to be rather attractive.” Kristi said. “You’re physically very in line with our tastes. A lot of that is your personality, now that we have gotten to know you.”

Rindi accepted their implied invitation and let her eyes roam over them. She had only considered them in that way in little more than a fleeting thought before. Now that Val had mentioned it, and was practically giving permission to get an eyeful… Would she be able to physically be attracted to them? She hadn’t even had sex with a man, let alone a woman.

“I, um, don’t know.” Rindi answered honestly. “You are both very beautiful, but I don’t have the… experience.” She hung her head and muttered the last word like she was admitting to a great sin.

“That is fine.” Kristi assured her as she took her place back on the bench. “We appreciate you being honest and not just saying what you think we want to hear.”

“Really?”

Val nodded after returning to her spot. “Yeah. Can’t fault you for it. Hell, the two of us are still kinda figuring things out. So far, we only get with each other when Kurt is there but that might just be a timing thing.”

“Speaking of Kurt.” Kristi led. “That is the other major obstacle standing in your way.”

“He… doesn’t like me?” Rindi wanted to cry. She had been on such an emotional roller coaster these past several minutes that she didn’t know what to do.

“Oh, it’s not that. He probably likes you a lot. Proximity to someone as pretty and nice as you will do that to anyone.” Kristi clarified while Val nodded her agreement. “The problem is, in case you haven’t noticed, Kurt is a bit… how can I say this?”

“Obscenely loyal?” Val offered.

“I was going to say dense but sure, let’s go with that.” Kristi shrugged. “Like I said, he likes you and I can guarantee he finds you attractive, but his fidelity is absolute. Unless we introduce the matter to him, he probably won’t make a move.”

Val leaned in. “That’s what I had to do with him and Kristi.” She giggled. “I played both of them for way longer than we have with you. Had to feel them out a bit and make sure everything would work out.”

“Oh. I see.” Rindi wasn’t quite sure how to take that but had an idea. “Would you be able to talk to him about me?”

“Sure.” Val shrugged. “But we have to get rid of something first. That slave thing has to go.”

“No matter what, he will not do anything while you are still technically a slave.” Kristi confirmed. “I know, it’s weird. While you are not treated like one, it will always be in the back of his mind that he has dominion over your free will.

“That flies right in the face of his aspect. To him, any type of coercion or force is unacceptable.” Kristi elaborated a little. “He might not say it and might even deny you if you press too soon.”

“Then how?” Rindi almost sounded pleading in her tone.

Kristi and Val shared a look before Val spoke up. “You need to act free. Right now, you are a little too timid, always standoffish and trying to be out of the way. I know a big part of the thing with Kristi was just being more casual with things.”

“Like what things?” Rindi wasn’t sure what they meant. She was hoping it was nothing too lewd. Just being in the shower with these two was almost too much and she wasn’t sure if she could stand any more lewdness in front of Kurt.

“Casual proximity is one.” Val replied. “Like when we are watching a movie or something. You can join the snuggle pile with us and not sit on the far side.”

“Perhaps sharing your interests. I know you mentioned wood working. Maybe you ask him to take you to find stuff for it.” Kristi offered before looking to Val. “Let’s just not push it too fast like what you did with me.”

Rindi looked from the smirking Val to the perturbed looking Kristi. “What did she do with you?”

“We all took a shower together.” Val answered.

Kristi tisked. “You made us soap each other up using getting wet and muddy as an excuse.”

“Yeah, and he was hard as a rock over you.” Val shot back. “Seriously, I think I did you a favor there and sped things up by months.”

Blushing at Val’s choice of words, Rindi couldn’t help but look away, feeling self-conscious as her thoughts ran rampant. Was she supposed to put on a show for them or attend them in the shower? Were they going to make her do things before giving their official blessing?

“Regardless, we are not doing that again.” Kristi huffed, interrupting her thoughts. “Rindi, let me make myself perfectly clear and reiterate what Kurt said. You do not, under any circumstances, have to expose yourself to any of us. You are free to deny any invitations to do so without consequence.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” Kristi nodded and reached over to the cooler that had been forgotten in the corner. She grabbed a few bottles of ice-cold water and passed them out while returning to leaning against the wall as Val scooted to lean against her.

Rindi had noticed a little discrepancy to Kristi’s words then. “Umm, if I don’t have to do those things, then why did you make me come in here?”

One of Val’s eyes cracked open again. “You didn’t have to come in. This wasn’t really a test so much as confirmation of our suspicions. We knew that you were interested and we just wanted to see if you would have the courage to follow through or if you were more timid.”

“So, I passed?”

Val reached out a hand and patted Rindi on the thigh, reminding her that she was still very naked. “Yes dear, you did very well. Now just relax and let’s chat and gossip.”

Rindi expected that to be the end to her talking and was just easing into a more relaxed position when Kristi started talking.

“So, Val, how did you like being between us last night?”

A smirk appeared on Val’s lips as she wiggled into Kristi even more. “Almost as much as I liked being pounded into the bed by Kurt. Seriously, he didn’t hold back when I told him to do it hard.”

The sound of the door opening followed by the slapping of wet paws on tile made them both stop and look up to find Rindi gone, the shower door still swinging closed. A moment later the bathroom door shut just before the shower door swung shut on its soft-close hinges.

*****

“Too far?” Val asked.

“Yeah, just a bit.” Kristi sighed. “Oh well, maybe she will be into girl talk later.”

Val nodded sagely. “You never know what people will grow to enjoy. One minute they are blushing virgins and the next they are asking to have things put in their ass.”

“VAL!” Kristi swatted playfully at her, not really trying to hit her as much as she was hiding her blush.

After a few moments, Kristi’s expression sobered. “Are you doing this for you? Pulling Rindi in, I mean.”

The fox was thankfully serious and considered the question for a while before answering. “No, well, not completely. I won’t deny that I am curious about her.”

“So…” Kristi poked her with a finger. She wasn’t about to let Val off the hook with that statement hanging there.

“Sooo…” Val repeated while dodging the poke. “This isn’t just for me. This is for Kurt and Rindi.”

Kristi frowned. “Care to explain that reasoning?”

“Kurt needs another. While the three of us are great, it doesn’t make for the best security. We either go everywhere as a trio or we split up, leaving one or all of us without someone to watch our backs.” Val explained. “That is bad from a tactical perspective but also from another way.

“With all the changes we are going through, I think we need to be keeping better track of each other’s humanity. I can see any of us being pulled into our path to power, but I especially worry about Kurt. That wolf, the Origin, it scares me. When I think about what it might do to Kurt if he isn’t ready... We need to be better custodians of each other when we are messing with divine power as mortals.”

Nodding along, Kristi fully agreed. “What about the part about it being for Rindi?”

“She needs it. She needs the love and support from a family or, in this case, a pack.” Val answered easily. “Call it divine intuition or whatever but I have a good feeling about her. I get the feeling that if we bring her in, all of us will be better because of it. I sense that we have a lot to gain from her in regards to power, and personal growth. I feel like, with her, our family will be unrivaled in the mortal realms.”

“And the immortal realms?” Kristi asked, half joking.

The smirk that tugged at the corners of Val’s lip was only there for an instant before she reigned it in. “Let’s leave that one as a stretch goal for the time being. We all need to walk further on our paths before we worry about that.” She kept her tone light and flippant.

“Uhhh, ok.” Kristi gave her a healthy amount of side-eye. “But you are sure about Rindi and Kurt?”

“Oh yeah.” Val nodded. “He wants her. I can feel it over the necklace and a little bit from my domain and aspect are backing that up. Kurt wants Rindi but is too in control to just go for it. He is always the type to be content with what he has and sometimes won’t realize what is already his.”

*****

Rindi fled the room with as much haste as she could manage without accidentally breaking something. That was to say, not very much, since she was still adjusting to her new body.

She didn’t even stop for another towel as she rushed into her room and firmly, though softly, closed and locked the door. Taking one large step, she immediately flopped face down onto her bed, heedless of her still damp fur. She groaned into the pillow from her embarrassment.

How could they so casually talk about having sex with Kurt while she was there? She knew that Val was always teasing about that, but Kristi always corrected her when it was in public. Wait, did that mean she was not considered ‘the public’ anymore?

In Rindi’s mind that made the instantaneous leap to being in the family. And if she was in the family then she was one step closer to being with Kurt. If she was one step closer to being with Kurt, then that meant she was closer to those things that Val had talked about.

Rindi realized that she wasn’t warm from just the shower anymore and squirmed slightly as her thoughts raced. She went from fantasies of being friends with the girls to Kurt giving her the same smile he showed Val when she came out of their room with hair still messy from bed.

Would she get that same look? Would she have the casual closeness that he showed the others? The touching, the loving looks and words of love might be hers too. Maybe she would even have him touch her in other ways…

She now moaned in a different way as her thighs slammed together and she squirmed again. No, she was getting distracted. She couldn’t get too far ahead of herself again. There was a process to follow, and she had two guides to help her.

Two guides who had admitted they liked her in that way…Confusion and anticipation flooded her mind as she laid there on the bed, unsure of what to do or how to feel.

She lost track of time as her mind wandered through fantasy and nightmares alike until she felt the brush of a presence in her mind again. “Hey girls, I’m back.” Kurt’s mental voice echoed in her head.

Rindi hopped to her feet, making for the door to go greet him, only to pause as she put a hand on the knob. She realized she was still naked. She then looked to the bed that was a mess of damp spots and bunched blankets from where she had tossed and turned.

Jumping to it, she quickly sorted her bed as best she could before summoning her clothes. The top blanket would have to dry on its own but at least she was presentable. She had the sudden urge to look her best for Kurt. A strange urge that seamlessly layered in on her desire to be useful to him… a desire that was now spreading its branches to Kristi and Val.

Rindi shook the distraction from her head and entered the hall. She could sort her feelings out later, when she didn’t have anything to do.