Three
Onboard the Kashmir
It was nice being back aboard the Kashmir again.
It'd been almost a year since the last time I was aboard with Rachel.
I was spending about half my time in the Seven Worlds, and half back at home in the Highlands on Saladin.
When I was here, I spent most of my time in Suffolk because they needed help there.
Now that things were becoming stable again, they didn't need as much handholding.
Still, as I was the regent, I did need to show up.
If I gained the ability to gate through to my daughter Tirumalamman's temple in Mangan on Lassen, it would make it much easier to visit Kani and fly to Amnar, where Suffolk was.
Getting a temple in Suffolk would make it easier still.
Then again, the way things were going, I would probably be able to gate into Elavan's temple on Amnar sooner rather than later, seeing as his high priestess Dianysyllian had plans for me.
Not counting the deckhands, the only single males aboard were Bork, Boe, and Thraznick.
The first two were orcs: Bork was the purser, and Boe the assistant engineer.
Thraznick was a dwarf and the ship's engineer.
I know a lot of the elven women from Suffolk were widows, and a surprising number of them had been hooking up with the orcs who were helping rebuild the southern parts of Suffolk, so I had to wonder if she was involved with Bork or Boe?
Then again, Jill and Anna were single, as was Neli, the senior helmsman, and they were all Junturans.
A lot of orcs had a thing for catgirls, which made the high percentage of Junturan females very enticing to them.
But I'd since learned that once you threw female elves into the mix, a lot of orcs very quickly changed their focus, because their cultures had a lot in common over the many thousands of years they'd been at odds with one another—not to mention, female elves could give them children, male children.
Then again, maybe I was just putting my own views on things. It was equally possible that she just wanted to get away from where so many bad things had happened.
"Hey, boss, what's up?" Kardez asked, coming up into the roof of the bridge.
I tended to lie up here and watch the clouds or other ships when I wanted to think about things.
Rachel was currently going over what to expect in Suffolk with the priests and priestesses we'd brought along from Saladin, along with Zed.
"Eh, nothing much. Just curious about what's going on with the crew, not that I suspect anything's really changed. Or that it's really my business, as I'm not the captain anymore."
"Rella is a friend of Glaesile's, and she just wanted to get away. Her husband died when the goblins from the south came raiding."
"How are Kanhz, Muahtz, and Haas doing as deckhands? I'm surprised they stayed after we stopped carrying a squad of marines aboard."
"Anna asked them to stay."
"She asked them?" I said, surprised. Anna was one of our cooks.
"In bed, apparently!" Kardez said, laughing.
"Damn, I can see Jill doing that, but I would never have pinged her."
Kardez laughed. "After all the time she's spent onboard, and all the females who didn't have a single issue with us orcs, I think she lost any fear she might have had.
That, or she didn't want to remain celibate?
A catfolk with her looks gets a lot of interest, and back when we had all those catfolk soldiers of yours, she spent a lot of time entertaining them, if you remember. "
"I guess that makes a certain amount of sense."
"The rest of the crew has been appreciating their staying aboard, as well."
I snorted. "Kanhz may be the scariest-looking guy you've ever seen, but he's thoughtful and polite. I'm not at all surprised they're happy he stayed. I'm just surprised that our Junturan natives have dropped their bias against orcs. More than a few of them were quite afraid of you."
"That may be, but then your sister came along and had her way with more than a few of them!" Kardez said, laughing.
"I recall you being one of them," I grumbled.
"Why do you think I'm laughing? I don't think the word 'scared' is in your sister's vocabulary."
"How's she doing, working for Sanugok, anyway?"
"Don't you know?"
"I want a more… unvarnished viewpoint."
"Umm, there have been some discussions on just what kind of upbringing the two of you must have had, because nobody's sure which one of you is crazier, and while I used to think you were the scarier one, sometimes I hear stories that make me wonder."
"Now I'm not sure I want to know!" I said with a heavy sigh.
"I think it's the bar brawls, mostly. She goes to some pretty nasty places and just lets loose."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"Word is if you can stand up to her, she'll let you drag her back to your place and try to do to you in bed what she couldn't in the bar," Kardez said, snickering.
"How are Bazz and Makill doing?" I asked, changing the subject; I didn't need to hear about my sister's sex life.
"Bazz and your daughter Tiru are doing great. Business is going well, and as I understand it, the church is doing incredibly well. I think they're getting ready to move into the temple at this point. They've been working hard on it."
I nodded. I knew about that part from talking with Fel.
"Makill is also doing great. The partnership they formed to run their shipping company has been quite successful. Rumor has it they're looking to add a few more ships."
"Haven't you asked?"
"Not really. Running this ship takes up most of my time, even with Glaesile and Bork's help. The Gray Moth is still doing shipping contracts for them, and, of course, the Gretchen-Marie is doing well. So Makill's considering buying a few ships outright."
"I've been thinking of acquiring a few more to add to the company, as well."
"Oh?"
"Building churches and temples ain't cheap."
"Buying ships ain't cheap either, Boss."
"Yeah, I know, and that's why I'm up here thinking," I said, grinning.
"I know that look."
"Well, you know, why should I buy a ship when I can just go pick one up that doesn't have a crew or a captain anymore?"
"And why wouldn't they have a crew or a captain anymore?"
"Umm, because I killed them?"
"You know there's a word for that, right?"
"Yeah, I know, and that led me to an interesting thought."
"And that thought is?"
"What group of people can't go to the authorities when bad things happen to them?"
"You're crazy, you know that, right?"
"Actually, I thought it was a stroke of genius. I get a free ship, and there's one less pirate sailing the skies. Everybody wins."
"Assuming you can find one."
"Oh, I think I know where to look."
"As long as you ain't looking to rope the rest of us into it. This ain't a fighting ship anymore, Boss."
"No, definitely not. Also, it won't be anytime soon. I need to spend some time with Kani, and we need to go to Suffolk and check on things. But after that? Maybe."
"Well, I'm going back down to the bridge. Later."
"Later," I agreed and, getting up, I went in search of Rachel. I'd have to think about this a bit more. Flying a ship by yourself isn't all that easy because the engine room and the helm aren't close together. But that was for later.
#
A week later, we put in at Mangan.
As I came down the gangplank from the Kashmir, Kani was there, and all but threw herself at me as soon as I stepped off. Pulling her close, I stepped out of the way of the folks behind me and took a moment to give her a kiss.
"I've missed you, Will!" she said, holding on to me and rubbing the side of her face into my chest fur, as I wasn't wearing a shirt today.
"We missed you, too, Kani," Rachel said as she hugged Kani from behind.
"Yes, we definitely did," I agreed. "Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, I'll be here more often."
"Oh?" Kani asked, looking up at me.
"I need to talk to my daughter about how the temple here is coming along. Once it's finished, I'll eventually be able to open a portal here. I'm guessing Daniel, Slash, and Estelya are back at the apartment?"
Kani nodded, then she let go of me, turned around, and hugged Rachel. "I missed you, too, Rachel."
Rachel smiled down at her. "Now, how about we all head back to the apartment and spend some time with the children?"
Smiling happily, Kani let go of Rachel, took us by the hand, and pulled us off towards a waiting car. "Bazz and Tiru invited all of us for dinner tonight. Nikki will be there, and so will Makill and Revi. I think Wyal will be there, as well."
When we got into the car, I nodded hello to the driver, whom I recognized, and tried not to laugh as Kani sat between Rachel and me.
It'd been about six months or so since I'd been with Kani, and a few months longer since she'd seen Rachel.
Someone was obviously feeling more than a little needy.
We'd gotten into port early, just before noon, so I gave Kani a hug and asked what time dinner was.
"Oh, after seven," she replied, smiling.
I smiled back at her. "So, spend some time with the children, then spend some time with you," I purred.
Kani leaned into me, sighing happily. "I'd like that."
The ride back to the apartment was a quick one, as usual. Going upstairs, we went inside, and I immediately got mobbed by Slash and Daniel. Even Estelya was happy to see me and came over. I sat on the floor as Kani and Rachel sat on the couch and caught up a bit.
"Okay, I think it's lunch time," Kani said after a while, standing up.
"Kani, I think Breena and I can handle lunch," Rachel said, standing as well. "Why don't you and Will go spend some time getting reacquainted?" Rachel said with a smile and a hint of a purr.
Kani's eyes went wide as I got up, gathered her into my arms, and kissed her for a couple of minutes while Rachel and Breena, Kani's catfolk babysitter, herded the kids into the kitchen.
"Now, bed."
"Yes, William."