Chapter 186 – Adaptations and Control

“Magic comes in may forms. Some of which are nice and neatly catalogued like spells or physical abilities. Others are more esoteric and contingent on intent, willpower or other factors. We will hopefully narrow down some of those but don’t be surprised when a lot of the answers are ‘it depends’.” – Professor Dawson – Magical Society Studies, UCLA

Kurt flopped down on his couch while popping the tab on his beer, exhausted after the last day of work for the week. He sighed explosively and passed an identical can to Rindi, who had moved over for him. He took a long pull before just closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the top of the cushions.

After the successful implants with his team earlier in the week, he had gotten an updated schedule from Penny. Where his days had previously been entirely blocked off for ‘office work’, otherwise known as enchanting, he now had another task.

Mornings had become enchanting while afternoons had become implanting as the various teams cycled through the medical center for their tailored Interface and enchantment rings. Adding in that he had been doing a casual tour of the Order production facility every day and he was worn out socially, if not physically.

Still, he appreciated what Jay was trying to do as he introduced them to the people they had liberated. Each one was a reminder that, while they didn’t always see the end result, his team was making a difference. Those were also just the people he had personally helped, and he began to realize the cascading effects of what he had done for the other teams would put even more people on the list of those he aided in some way.

“Rough week.” Kristi agreed from where she sat on his other side.

“No kidding.” Val added, walking into the basement and pausing to find a seat. Seeing none readily available on that part of the couch, she decided to sprawl across all of them, putting her head on Kristi’s lap and her tails in Rindi’s face.

Absently stroking the fluffy black appendages, Rindi grunted in agreement, her deeper voice reverberating slightly. “Is it always so… chaotic, when we meet with the other teams?”

“No, that is unique to Gella and Piper’s teams.” Kurt assured her as he rested his hands on Val’s back. “Sam likes to stir the pot sometimes but Gella’s team is starting to warm up to us. I think, anyway.” It was sometimes hard to read the half-orc’s team members who all seemed rater stoic.

They had just finished with Piper and her team, having done Gella’s the day before. While Piper had been her usual stern self, Sif and Sam had been playing games and it involved Kurt.

“What was it they were trying to do?” Val asked, her voice muffled by Kristi’s stomach while the dragoness ran her fingers through her hair.

Kurt shrugged and jostled Kristi who had been leaning on him. “Sorry, Krisit. And Val, I have no idea what they were doing. Seemed like they were both in on it though.”

The duo had spent the entire time they were in the operating room teasing his team, using every opportunity they could find. It was rather amazing how they both managed to use the experience to amuse themselves in the same way and get different outcomes.

“I think it was Sif’s idea.” Kristi said. “I think she was kinda trying to make up for when she got in your face a while back. We haven’t seen her much since then and interacted closely even less.”

At the mention of Sif, a rumbling noise came from Kurt’s left, and he turned his head to look at Rindi who suddenly realized she was growling. “Problem?”

Rindi flushed, her ears laying back and the already tanned skin of her face going a bit red. “No, sorry.”

“Rindi…” Val said, turning her head so she wasn’t so muffled. “Talk to us.” She finally decided to quit being obnoxious and rolled off their laps to walk over to the other part of the couch and sit facing Rindi from the side.

Taking a moment to grind her teeth, and put her foot claws away, Rindi composed herself. “I just didn’t like the way she was trying to embarrass Kurt like that.”

Kristi snorted. “Ha! Not like he needs help.” When everyone looked at her, Kristi just winked. “But it’s his fault for making so many of his enchanted items into rings that he hands out to the women he knows.”

Kurt rolled his eyes while Val chuckled. “Well, Rindi, that’s just how Sif is. Kinda a capricious bitch.” He would be first to admit that he didn’t get along great with everyone in Jays teams and Sif was one of the ones on that list. He much preferred the even temper of Rupert or even Sam’s persistent, yet clearly harmless, jokes. Even Tig, who didn’t know the meaning of personal space, was likeable from just his blunt honesty and curiosity.

“Still, it is unbecoming and shameful.” Rindi insisted before muttering darkly, once again in a rumbling tone. “I’m surprised the bird-brained bitch didn’t flip her gown up at him.”

“Rindi!” Kristi said in a scolding tone. Rindi ducked her head and hunched her shoulders at the rebuke.

“HAAAAHahhahaa!” Val cackled in counter point.

The sudden turn of the conversation made Kurt replay the meeting in his head. It had started like many of the interactions they had with the other team. A quick round of greetings and a few hugs between the girls while Kurt kept a polite distance, only shaking hands.

He realized that it was once they had changed into the hospital gowns that the two had begun acting up. Sam in particular had made some rather bawdy jokes, referencing her ‘pale and supple thighs’ as she had put it. The vampiric changeling even made some jokes after climbing up on the operating table to quote a famous line from the Titanic movie while striking a pose.

While Kurt did not want to paint Sam like one of his French girls, he did push through the operation as fast as possible while not cutting corners. After that, he did Piper, who was as stoic as normal, barely saying a word.

Then came Sif. The elven harpy seemed to have two settings, pissed and lascivious. This particular interaction was definitely on the latter side of the scale which seemed to agitate Rindi to no end. The body language of their newest team member had shifted dramatically when Sif was up, going from bored to tense in a moment.

Sif had taken it way to far with how she had pinned her gown around her, clearly trying to emphasize her figure. Then she feigned helplessness at how to get on the operating table, asking if he could ‘push from behind’. The final straw for Piper was how the half-harpy had sprawled on the table and asked if Kurt wanted to join her.

Piper, being a half siren and half demon, had a way with words that most others couldn’t quite match. When she told Sif to knock it off, the effect was immediate and there wasn’t a peep from her after that.

Kurt zoned back in as Rindi suddenly stood up. “…Just need a minute.” She said while making for the stairs.

Kristi made to follow but Val held up a hand then tilted her head, ears flicking as if she was listening to something. “Give her some time.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for something. Kurt wasn’t sure what that something was, but the way Val’s ear flicked occasionally clued him in that she was talking to someone. That someone was probably Rindi since Kristi was otherwise motionless.

“So, little thing but probably best to head it off before it turns into a big thing.” Val declared after several minutes had passed.

“I assume it has to do with Rindi?” Kurt guessed, not at all having to try to figure out who it was about.

Val bobbed her head. “You know how she changed?” she began.

“Yeah… we noticed.” Kurt said, sharing a look with Kristi who had sat up to face Val.

“Not that.” The kitsune rolled her eyes. “Her, let’s call them ‘behaviors’, have changed.”

Understanding what Val meant, both Kurt and Kristi nodded as she continued. “Well, she is having a little difficulty adjusting to them. The emotional piece is particularly hard as she is now adapting to instincts that she didn’t have before. Or maybe they weren’t as strong, it’s hard to tell since they previously changed between her forms.”

“Is that why she has kinda spaced out a lot?” Kristi asked, referencing the way Rindi had been so easily distracted lately.

“Yeah, that’s in there too.” Val’s eyes flicked over to Kurt. “And now she is getting a little territorial after we have ‘accepted’ her.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” agreed Val.

Kurt frowned. “She didn’t seem upset when Sam was teasing me.” He remembered Rindi seeming bored as she looked around the operating room.

Val nodded. “Yeah, well, Sam didn’t touch you. She barely even teased you beyond words that were pop culture references. Sif took it a step past that and used a lot more physical flirtation. Apparently, body language is a big thing for ambush predators.”

That all made a sort of strange sense to Kurt and he began to consider what this would mean for the growing and changing relationship that he had with Rindi. “You don’t think she will try to edge you out, do you? If she and I… you know.”

Considering the question, Val shook her head, much to their relief. “No, I don’t think so. I think she imprinted on us pretty hard and we are a sort of package deal. The fact that she approached Kristi and I makes me think she sees us as some sort of superior in the family hierarchy.”

“We don’t have a family hierarchy, Val.” Kristi correctly pointed out.

“Not officially but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t see it that way. At least subconsciously, anyway.”

Kurt needed to get the conversation back on track. “Ok, so what does this mean for our future? All of us.”

Val grinned, flashing her canines. “Just means we need to keep the sluts off you.”

“OH!” Kristi popped up, suddenly excited. “I have been waiting for this.”

“What… on Earthhhh… What is that?” Kurt began but stopped as Kristi summoned something from her ring.

His draconic lover was holding what appeared to be some sort of bendy rubber baton that was shaped like a baseball bat but thinner and had a series of bumps on it. The grip was also textured, which made the whole thing look like a miniature tetsubo with a rounded point. It was also a horrible shade of pink with the words ‘Slut-Stick’ emblazoned on the strike surface in bright white. He wasn’t sure what the purpose of the thing was and was nearly afraid to ask.

“I got this just in case any of the other fem wolves tried to slip into our bed.” Kristi said, proudly displaying her weapon.

“H-how long have you had that?” Kurt asked, having to be the voice for both him and Val as the fox was too stunned to speak.

“Ah, since you let that pack move into the farm.” Kristi smiled while waving the thing around over the ottoman. “Shame I haven’t gotten to use it.”

Finally breaking her silence, Val began madly cackling and took a couple minutes to stop. A couple minutes that Kurt spent staring as Kristi waved the ‘Slut-Stick’ around like a flexible club. Every time she struck at a pretend enemy, Val’s laughing only got more intense as the ‘weapon’ wobbled around.

“Kri-… Krissssti.” Val gasped after finally getting ahold of herself. “That’s-that’s not a we-weapon.”

Stopping mid -swing, Kristi stared at Val. “Then what is it?”

“It’s hhHmmmmAHhahha… Itssss a…” Val was struggling once again but paused for a few deep breaths. “SSseeee… Ahem… It’s a sex toy.”

Confusion dawned on Kristi’s face while realization broke on Kurts. The rubberized material, the flexibility, the texturing… the name.

“Hmm.” Kristi said, holding it up and watching it droop slightly. “Well… I guess it’s two things then.”

After Kurt and Val quit laughing and, Val changed her underwear, they returned to waiting for Rindi to come back to the basement. When she didn’t return after 15 minutes, Val went to investigate.

She reappeared with a very abashed looking Rindi who muttered an apology about her behavior. They all accepted it, not making a fuss but also not brushing it off as nothing.

“I’ll talk with her about it.” Kristi told them over the mental implant, leaving Rindi out of the message. “I think she will take the critique better in private.”

As a group they decided on going out for dinner, rather than making something while all being worn out from the week. Some fast food sounded like just the ticket to round out the day before they crashed.

*****

What are we going to look at this time? Kurt wondered to himself as he strolled into the gallery with the wolf beside him. He began walking toward the lit panels but was stopped before he made it very far.

“Wait.” His wolf said, turning its head to look at the cave entrance. “The Lady is coming.”

“The Lady?”

“Your ‘saint’.” His wolf said not bothering to roll its eyes, having enough snark in its voice that the action was implied. “Who else would it be?”

Kurt gave the spirit an incredulous look. “How the fuck should I know? Last year I didn’t even know this place existed and now I am talking to the fragments of a pseudo-god.”

The wolf ducked its head. “Fair. Ah, here she is.”

Strolling into the cave, of course in her werewolf form, was Jade. Walking right beside her was… another wolf?

Staring in absolute confusion, Kurt watched as the wolf separated from Jade and walked right into his wolf. The two beings sort of blended together, blurring slightly before they merged. The effect was like seeing a TV station with bad signal, showing duplicated and blurry images that slowly resolved into focus.

“Well… that explains a lot.” Jade said. She had stopped in her tracks when she noticed Kurt’s version of the wolf.

“Yes, it does.” Kurt agreed, finally gaining some understanding of the entity that he had come to think of as the wolf part of a werewolf. “I just never put two and two together. But it makes sense after some of the comments he made.”

“Kurt, you struggle to add one and one let alone two and two.” Their wolf said, not missing a beat. “There are a lot of things that I have told you that you never pushed for more information on. That doesn’t include the things you have seen in the gallery.”

Jade stepped over to him, turning to face the wolf. “That is why we are here, however.”

“Speaking of that, how did you know I was here?” Kurt asked.

“I didn’t.”

That made him frown slightly in confusion. “Then how did you know to show up at this time?”

A smirk twitched the corner of her lupine muzzle as Jade repeated herself. “I didn’t.”

“Time isn’t a real construct here.” His wolf said. “By your perspective, Kurt, Jade is still awake in the real world. At least, for another few minutes.”

“Great, now there is fucking reality manipulation going on.” Kurt grumbled.

Jade’s ears perked up. “Oh, so you already know why we are here.”

“What?”

“What ‘what’?” Jade stared at him. “Oh, never mind. Kurt, we are going to talk about some of your divine powers that you need to start using.”

“Yeah, I already use them.” Kurt insisted. “I based it on what you were doing in the rift. Hell, I even used it in my fight against that lesser construct.”

Almost but not quite succeeding in suppressing a tired sigh, Jade looked at him. “That is just you projecting mana with a bit of your divine will mixed in. It’s probably the simplest way to express your power and not what we are here about. We need to talk about your more passive abilities”

Kurt was beginning to regret coming to the forest that night. “Ugh, alright. Let’s just get on with it. What am I going to learn about today?”

“Territory.” The wolf said.

“You’re gonna need to elaborate a little bit.” He tried to convey his annoyance at the coy answer.

Huffing, the wolf gestured to the outside of the cave with his nose. “Where do you think this place came from?” When Kurt shrugged, he continued. “Remember when I told you that this place is real? Well, it’s part of the real world but held separately, part of its own reality, in a way.”

“You can begin to claim your territory, or what you see as your territory.” Jade added. “I learned that your influence will have an effect on what you consider yours.”

“So, what’s the end goal here?” Kurt asked, he understood the words, but the reason was escaping him.

“There are a lot of things.” Jade said. “The impression you leave on your territory will have an effect on the land itself under YOUR authority.”

“Kurt, the influence doesn’t end at just places and things.” The wolf sounded tired like a parent trying to help their children with algebra. “It extends to everything you consider ‘yours’ or part of you. If you have a claim on it, regardless of how small, it can be changed given enough time and effort.”

“People?” Kurt made the only logical guess he could see. “I can influence people with this godly power?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, pup.” Huffed the wolf in an only slightly insulting laugh. “It takes time but the stronger your influence and the longer they are around it, the more it will stick.”

Taking a moment to consider, Kurt asked the next thing that seemed important to him, one that he should have asked from the start. “What can my influence do?”

Jade and the wolf then began running down a list of things that Kurt could and eventually would be able to do. Much of it was of little importance to him but a lot was rather startling.

He already knew that he had a certain amount of control over the werewolves, a borderline compulsion from what he understood after talking to some of them. They described it as having a passenger in the car telling you where to go in an unfamiliar city. Sure, they could ignore it, but the results would be worse.

Kurt could also support them with his divinity and trade power with them if needed. Jade was a sort of refinery for that, filtering their faith before sending it to him and focusing the divine energy he gave to her into spells or rituals. Under the right circumstances, they could create a self-sustaining loop in which the cycled power to and from each other.

It turned out that he could also influence his physical property, the land, that he owned. It involved a more animalistic approach to getting started but after ‘marking’ his land, he could subtly influence things. Most of it was the way the land changed, plants grew or what animals might find it attractive, similar to how many dryads worked. It was something that took years to see significant changes, but it was all passive changes. The people were a different story.

Part of what he did to the land would spill over on those living there, including the non-werewolves. It would slowly influence how they acted by changing what they found rewarding or, inversely, disgusting. It wasn’t any different than someone growing up in a certain culture, but it took effect on people already set in their ways.

The greatest effect he would be able to create was on those he was more connected with. That was taking into account the multiple interpretations of the word ‘connected’. It seemed that he would be able to physically alter werewolves and some others under the right conditions. After learning about it, Kurt wasn’t sure he liked the idea of having that kind of control over people.

“What’s wrong?” Jade asked, seeing the way his tail stilled and his hackles rose.

“I am not sure the abilities I have over you wolves and the girls is a good thing.” He grunted. “The physical buff and mental benefits are one thing, but this just feels wrong.”

Jade shared a glance with the wolf who shrugged, deciding not to get involved. “Kurt, as you know, having power and using power are different things.”

“No shit, Jade. I get that.” Kurt snapped, fangs flashing in the candlelight of the Gallery. “But why the hell should I be able to dictate when a werewolf goes ‘into season’ as you put it? Why should I be able to do that with anyone, my wives included? Sure, I might be able to help Kristi, but is that my right to do it?” The issue was a contentious one for him, given his predilection toward free will and the reality that Kristi lived with.

Sighing, Jade crouched, sitting on her haunches while the wolf finally decided to answer. “Kurt, yes, it is your right and in some cases your duty.”

“What do you mean duty? Why would I ever have to sterilize someone, even temporarily?” He asked, still bitter about that little fact.

“Kurt, what is one thing you and your mates really like doing after a high stakes fight?” The wolf asked, his voice sounding much more patient than it had been. Seeing Kurt realize what he was hinting at, the wolf continued. “Yeah, sex and passion are very much ‘life affirming activities’ and the other werewolves celebrate the same way since they have the same instincts and urges you do.”

Jade made a motion with her paw. “It’s the same in the Den. And before you start, we are taking precautions.”

“Not Calum.” Kurt grumbled.

“Well, no, but that’s between him and Kate.” Jade conceded the point and threw it back in his face. “You have to remember that there are a few dozen very healthy and attractive wolves living on your property. They tend to get around. While I can’t have children or even a normal partner, I won’t deny them the joy when the time comes.”

Kurt remembered the restriction to her becoming his saint and once again felt remorse at the circumstance. His tone softened as they shared an understanding look. “Then what is the point of controlling their ability to reproduce?”

“The behavior doesn’t change when we go on a great hunt.” His wolf said. “Do you think the packs can afford to have pregnant wolves and children when they have enemies to fight? We are only part wolf, so the breeding instinct is slightly different. We don’t have the alpha pair as the only ones making children, so we regulate things and save that for when we return. That happened a lot, by the way, lots of kids popping up after a hunt was finished.”

“Fine.” Kurt threw his hands up, the fight having gone out of him. “I give. It’s a good thing to have and it isn’t permanent. Can we move on?”

“Again, you will want to offer this to the packs, sire.” Jade said, not quite ready to drop it. “While we do take measures, this will definitely help with morale and their baser desires. We were never agents in a field office, so we didn’t get the nanite injections that control those things. So, you need to let them make that choice.”

“Are you serious?” Kurt couldn’t believe Jade and when she just nodded once, jaw set, he knew he wouldn’t win that argument. “Fine. I’ll do it. But only on a case-by-case basis. No mass anti-baby spells or whatever I call these powers.”

“And you should tell your mates. The cat included.” The wolf added. “You won’t be able to instantly influence them like you can with werewolves but with some time and concentrated effort you will eventually be able to.”

“Fine. I will tell them and Jade will talk to her people.” He really didn’t want to have the birth control talk with all the werewolves under him now. He just wanted to flip the switch for the ones that wanted it without the drawn-out chat.

“The terms are acceptable, sire.” Jade smiled. “Now, we should return to learning about your ability to influence and heal the minds and souls of your people.”