LimitlessPath
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Limitless Path Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine
🕑 Added 2023-11-15 18:00:01 +0000 UTC"We'll take the next couple days and chill. I think I might even be ahead of where Baelvyr expected, anyway."
"How has that training been going?"
"I got Swords to Journeyman[1] and Unarmed to Journeyman[2]. Apparently, I'm actually pretty good with Unarmed overall, and I have to work a lot harder with the sword to get the same progress as with my fists and feet."
"So, you'll be ready for this trial thing pretty soon?" Sabs asked.
"Ah, I mean, I don't know about 'soon.' Baelvyr doesn't want me to wait too long, but I'll keep training for probably…I don't know, two more months? Maybe a little longer? Then Blood and I are off to the trial."
"And how long is this thing?" Sabs asked as they got ready to head out for the day. Even for a few days of relaxation, the girls had gotten into the habit of never leaving the room without being fully geared. They stepped out in full armor and weapons, with Beth having her backpack equipped and greatsword slotted in the holders on the side of the pack. Sabs had gotten even more dexterous and suited up even faster while also managing to hide a score of knives about her person.
They made their way to the lounge first, Beth noting they had another newbie, with a woman looking to be only a little older than them, maybe in her mid-twenties, sitting at one of the tables. Beth's sisters were present, and Beth stopped to tell Baelvyr she was going to be taking the next couple days to relax due to holidays. The big ogre just grunted and waved them off, making a massive plate of food appear and starting to eat as Beth rejoined the others and headed out of the lounge.
"You finished the gauntlets?" Kim asked as they made their way to the lobby.
"Yeah, worked on 'em a few times the last couple weeks. Baelvyr didn't want me on nothing but combat training. Got one more level in Smithing while I was at it," Beth replied with a nod.
"They don't have any enchantments on them?" Soph asked from the rear of the group, eyeing the gauntlets with a raised brow and a slight frown.
"If you're at the point where you think you can etch something in them without busting them, you could do it," Beth replied. "I just don't want to have to re-forge them right after getting done fixing them the first time."
"You think I can't handle something so simple," Soph replied, sticking her nose up, which is why she didn't see Beth stop to wait for her so the tall woman could flick the pretentious girl's forehead. "Ouch!"
"I don't know how you can keep that attitude after all this time, but you're a real brat," Beth scolded as the group came out into the lobby. There were two people standing at the counter talking to Tazeen, though they didn't appeared to be hostile or with any kind of major organizations. The group of girls ignored the discussion happening at the counter, with Beth giving a lazy wave to Tazeen as they left the lobby.
They made their way to the Bell's household, where a number of others joined them for a party to celebrate the holiday. With travel of any distance over a few miles prohibitively dangerous at this point to all but likely Beth, people within the neighborhood were making an event of the holiday by gathering together. Not only would they have a white Christmas, they already had a white Christmas Eve, as the girls made rapid time through a fresh half-inch of snow on their way back to the development.
They spent the entire day enjoying themselves, with plenty of food available thanks in large part to the girls' constant hunting and culling of beasts. It made a rather meat-centric diet, though there were some wild greens and even wild onions that helped to diversify the meal. Beth also took the time as her mind was on food to check the seeds she had planted that she had brought back from the first trial she had done. Surprisingly, they had sprouted into little shrubs already and, though they weren't ready to bear fruit, it didn't look like it would take as long as she had first suspected before that was a reality. Apparently, her mother had been keeping to watering them alongside the other handful of plants in the house for the last few months and the alien fruit shrubs had responded to the attention quite well.
Beth decided to take the opportunity to stay at her parents' house with the family that night, joined later by Sabs after the rest had turned in for the night. She was already beginning to think of her childhood home as 'her parents' house' versus 'her house,' something she had only just realized but wasn't particularly bothered by. No matter where she went from now on, she knew she had a place at the CRA and, as long as nothing catastrophic were to happen, she always had those places of her childhood to return to.
Sabs had partaken in a little wine or, well, more than a bit of wine, and Beth laughed at the smaller woman's antics in sloppily kissing and caressing her while giggling. Beth didn't let it go too far, happy to let Sabs mostly have her way as she pleased, but not wanting to take advantage of her girlfriend while she was drunk. Sabs eventually fell asleep on top of Beth during the middle of nuzzling the taller woman's breasts, something that had Beth silently laughing before she gently wrapped the small woman in her arms and promptly fell asleep herself.
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Beth was the first to wake Christmas morning, still in the very early hours before dawn, when the whole world was silent, grey, and calm. Part of that was also likely due to a light snowstorm that had just started outside, making her glad that everyone had decided to get most of their partying for the holiday done the day before, not that the cold or ice would bother her much. She luxuriated in the warmth of her girlfriend piled atop her under the blankets, gently caressing Sabs's smooth, warm, muscled back as the smaller woman slightly snored. Beth could only snicker at the feeling of wetness between her breasts that was just registering, the little drool demon having lived up to her usual standard.
Sabs slept much longer than usual, normally waking not long after Beth, especially if the taller woman was caressing or nuzzling her. This day, however, it was over half-an-hour before Sabs returned to the land of the living, coming up out of her sleep with a very slight groan. Beth doubled her current efforts, moving from caressing to rubbing Sabs's back, kneading her long fingers into the slim but dense muscles of the little rogue. Sabs let out a grunt and then a long sigh as Beth worked, only moving after a minute as she finally realized her face was wet.
"Oh, goddammit Beth, I'm sorry," she muttered, rubbing first at her face with her right arm before trying to wipe at Beth's chest.
"Sabs, seriously, it just doesn't bother me," Beth replied with a throaty chuckle before sitting up, moving Sabs with her. "Why don't we go rinse off in the shower?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute," Sabs grumbled, rubbing her temples. "It's not awful, but I definitely have a bit of a hangover."
Beth simply scooted to the edge of her bed, carrying Sabs with her by proxy of the older woman being on her lap, and stood up, lifting Sabs in her arms as she did so. Sabs didn't even mumble in response, just wrapping her arms around Beth's neck as she set her head on Beth's shoulder. The much taller woman moved into the bathroom and turned her shower on, waiting a moment for the hot water to start flowing before stepping in with Sabs. She didn't mind putting in the work, rinsing them both off while basically holding Sabs the whole time. The older woman was recovered by the time Beth was done and shut the water off, enough at least to take care of drying herself off. Beth was always quick to dry, though she grumbled a little about her hair starting to get too long.
"Beth, it's only slightly past your shoulders," Sabs said with a little eyeroll, wrapping the towel she used around her torso.
Beth, completely uncaring of modesty around the older woman, dumped her own towel on the floor as she was finished, saying, "It's too damn long for me. I was rocking more of a pixie cut like you had for a while before I grew it out to just short of my shoulders. I want a cut."
"We should go see my mom, then," Sabs replied, doing her best to ignore the reflection of pure sexiness in the mirror as she got ready to brush her teeth.
"Your mom a stylist?" Beth asked, quirking an eyebrow as she slid a little to the side, now standing behind Sabs and setting her hands gently on the smaller woman's hips.
"Mm-hmm," Sabs replied around the toothbrush with a quick nod, spending another handful of moments to finish cleaning before spitting in the sink. As she was doing so, Beth snagged the brush out of her hand and put a little more toothpaste on before starting on her own teeth.
"Beth!" Sabs exclaimed.
"Wha-? It'sh mah too'brushh," she replied while brushing.
"Not with your mouth full," Sabs said, giving Beth a little slap on the thigh to emphasize her point. Beth just snorted, having stepped up beside Sabs, and continued brushing. "And yes, to return to the topic, my mom's not just a stylist, she works as a professional, uh, what is it? Beautician or something? She does hair and make-up for models, actresses and actors, even singers and all that. She could give you a professional-level cut, if you want."
"Mmph," Beth replied intelligently before leaning down and spitting herself, rinsing the brush afterwards. "Yeah, I'd like that. You think she'd mind doing it today? I don't know what anybody's plans are today."
"I don't think my parents are up to anything," Sabs returned. "We can just walk over and check. After, that is, you put some clothes on."
"C'mon, you like what you see," Beth shot back with a grin, flexing into the mirror but watching as her girlfriend's eyes stuck to her reflection like a magnet and her face went bright red.
"W-well, yeah, of course," Sabs stammered before taking a deep breath to calm herself. She then turned and wrapped an arm around Beth's waist, giving it a squeeze as she gently kissed the side of Beth's right breast. "I like it very much, but we can continue later today back at the Hall, after we take care of anything else we have planned."
Beth snagged the shorter woman before she could make it out the door, giving her a passionate kiss as they still stood within the rather steamy bathroom. Sabs's towel was lost in the process and Beth once again luxuriated in the feeling of their bodies pressing together before Sabs finally broke them apart.
"Down girl!" the older woman hissed teasingly before slipping out into Beth's bedroom. The two dressed and headed out the door, finding themselves the only ones awake at this time. They moved down into the living room, where the family cat was asleep on the sofa. Beth gave him a critical eye, seeing just how large he had grown since the start of the changes to the world. Blood had disappeared the previous evening, likely sleeping in Soph's room if not curled up with the tiny terror herself, and they were not just waiting on them but for it to be a more reasonable time before going out.
Beth plopped on the couch and Sabs plopped right on top of her and, after a moment, a very sleepy and rather large cat plopped on top of Sabs, much to her delight. Beth held her lovely girlfriend while said girlfriend doted on the large cat, who lay sprawled with his eyes closed while purring deeply.
Some time passed this way before it got to a reasonable hour and others started to stir. Soph was the first person downstairs after them, but only because she was riding Blood down while still half asleep. When everyone was up and about they made breakfast before the two oldest headed out to Sabs's home, finding both her parents home and in the living room. Sabs explained to her mom what they wanted, who was delighted to put her old skills to work. Beth explained how she wanted her hair as they moved into the kitchen, where the tile floors would be fairly easy to sweep clean after the cut. She was rather surprised when Sabs's mother immediately responded with an, "Oh, like the Major from Ghost in the Shell?"
"Wait, you know GitS?" Beth exclaimed in surprise.
"I've always loved sci-fi, including cyberpunk," Sabs's mother answered. "It shouldn't be that surprising."
"Yeah, uh, sorry," Beth said sheepishly, sitting in the chair indicated as Sabs's mother finished getting her tools ready. She even had an apron to keep the clipped hair off Beth's clothes, which she wrapped the tall woman in with a flourish before starting. Sabs sat in a chair to the side, engaging in the conversation as her mother trimmed her girlfriend's hair.
"I'll give you something similar, but not an exact match. Trust me, it'll look quite good on you," Sabs's mother said.
"I'll leave it to the experts; I don't understand anything about style or fashion," Beth replied.
The three then fell back into sci-fi, still somewhat to Beth's surprise, finding that both Sabs and her mother were familiar with everything from early Asimov and Phillip K. Dick to later authors such as Stephenson and Tad Williams. It was actually a quite pleasant discussion, and Beth barely noticed when Sabs's mother removed the apron to carefully trim around her neck before brushing her off with a soft brush meant just for that purpose.
"You should still probably take a shower, dear," Sabs's mother said as she finished.
"We took one earlier, but I don't think another will be a problem," Beth replied laconically as she stretched out.
"Oh, you did, did you?" Sabs's mother said with a bit of a teasing tone.
"Yeah, this little cutie is a real drool machine when she sleeps," Beth started, only to be interrupted by a mortified "Beth!" from her girlfriend.
"Oh, she makes a bit of a mess, does she?" Sabs's mother asked conspiratorially as she cleaned up, totally ignoring her daughter's protests.
"Oh yeah. She really likes my boobs, which I'm totally down for, and she fell asleep buried in them last night. Well, this morning I woke up to a lake between the mountains, if you see what I mean," Beth explained with a wag of her eyebrows.
"This is great future blackmail material," Sabs's mother said with a wicked grin as her daughter, bright red and covering her face, just groaned loudly.
Comments
Garrett Byers
This is both oddly unspecific and aggressive, particularly as a first comment. Not sure what you mean.
Arkeus
The whole 'bounded companions do not count' thing is basically insulting your readers imo.
