C&C chapter 37 going to prereaders · 2:53pm Oct 27th, 2023
Hey, folks. Feeling better and finally back on my usual time zone after two good nights’ sleep, though my cold remains. Regarding Feathered Hearts, I did indeed decide to split up what was turning into another enormous final chapter of the Gilda vs Cipio arc. Though tempted to keep it all together as a climactic chapter, I’m going to break it both for purposes of storytelling and to keep the heavy M-rated part of the chapter more isolated. So you’re going to get a ~9,000 word chapter to start that will be completely T-rated, ending on the brink of where the adult content begins.
What follows after will probably be a 15k word M-rated chapter that will translate into a T-rated version I would guess about 2/3rds as long. It’s in that chapter you’ll get a great deal of Changeling philosophy and worldbuilding as Queen Lepidoptes explains their outlook on not just life, but their place among races in the greater world of Tellus, all the while resolving the disputes of her guests in a manner only she can. In the leadup chapter, you’ll get Gilda finally confronted by her friends and comrades over what happened with Karin Kazal, and I’ve tried very hard to make their reactions realistic. But as always, you be the judge. And enjoy the following teaser:
“I’m afraid I must agree, Centurion,” Giraldi offered cautiously from beside her. “I am not one to speak of poor timing in matters of mating, given what I nearly did with the Shadow Decurion. But had I done so, it would have been dereliction of duty. As our drakina friend says, the battle was far from over, and you had no idea how long the lull would last. Worse, I spent five minutes increasingly certain you were dead, Centurion, calling to you repeatedly. And now it turns out that you were rutting him in the cove while human and griffon communication methods kept pleading for you to answer?” he recited the damning facts.
This time, Gilda had no reply. Her beak began to quiver, feeling like a cub who had disappointed a parent. She couldn’t help it, given he looked and sounded like a father scolding a teenage cub to whom he had granted trust, only to have it betrayed. Worse, he was someone she looked up to and leaned on, not unlike a father figure. “I’m… I’m sorry…” was all she could think to say. “It hit so hard and so fast…” She could only hope that at least he and Fortrakt would remember how powerful the cider compulsion could be.
But Giraldi only shook his head reproachfully. “Even under the influence of the cider, to abandon your post like that for personal indulgence is not acceptable for a soldier of the Kingdom, let alone a Centurion. Had a soldier under my command done it, I would have severely reprimanded them, separated them from their partner, and likely demoted them both if they were in positions of responsibility.”
Still unable to speak, Tribune Cipio nodded hard, his eyes all but bulging as he looked ready to launch into a tirade but for the Queen’s presence. But Gilda barely noticed, caring far more about Giraldi’s reaction than his, given how much she respected her longtime First Spear and now-second in command.
“The cider was part of it. But not all of it,” she finally admitted, deciding against explaining that her aborted encounters, which they didn’t know about, kept adding fuel to her fire. Then it’ll sound like all I do is think about sex, which just makes things worse right now… “I can’t explain it and I can’t excuse it. It just... happened. And at the time, it felt like exactly what I needed to happen.”
“Needed?” Fortrakt echoed in disbelief. “By all our Ancestors, he and his comrades were going to cubnap Chris! Perhaps they helped us, but only because they had to! And that’s to say nothing of Marco…” he told her, his feathers ruffling hard. “You betrayed him as well as us! So tell me, Centurion—does he know that you were unfaithful?” He sounded like he was using her rank as a pejorative.
She looked up sharply, finally able to look him in the eye as she felt her emotions surge again, this time in anger. “He does, cub! I told him after I made it back to the hill, when I went down to check on the wounded—I had to! Ancestors knew I couldn’t live with myself if I died without telling him.” She winced at once again contradicting herself, noting the remark earned a smoke-filled snort from Obsidian Ire. “He took it… poorly. At least until Tara talked some sense into him.”
“And she approved?” Fortrakt’s beak fell open further.
Gilda resisted the urge to pull at her own headfeathers in frustration. “Maybe not so much approved as understood. But I won’t speak for her. I’ll just say that without her there…” She shivered, recalling how close she’d come to losing Marco. “It would have ended far differently.”
“I will give you due credit for telling him, Centurion. It was honorable to do so, and I can only imagine how difficult. But that does not make the act itself honorable,” Giraldi reminded her, and for the first time, she heard an undercurrent of anger in his voice. “So just when, by the Ancestors themselves, were you going to tell us about this?” he wanted to know, his tone not just scolding, but sounding like a sire starting to ponder a punishment for his wayward daughter.
“Never, if I could help it,” Gilda admitted, still unable to meet his accusing gaze. “But not because I regretted it—how could I after all that happened? But because I knew how it would look. And what could happen to both of us.”
“Because It looks like exactly what it is!” Tribune Cipio finally exploded despite the Queen’s warning look. “Clear dereliction of duty and evidence that you can’t control this accursed cider compulsion! Never mind the dishonor of laying with an Ibex, but it could have gotten everycreature killed! So how can you possibly take her side after learning this, Queen Lepidoptes?” He rounded on her.
“Because I already knew,” she replied softly, closing her eyes. “Indeed, my entire hive knew. We could all sense it when it happened: a brilliant beacon of the most intense and unlikely love, occurring even amid such awful carnage and chaos. It was so amazing and wonderful to behold that we all stopped what we were doing for a few moments, just to bask in it.” She smiled at the memory, causing Gilda to blush at the knowledge that they’d been observed from beginning to end by an entire Changeling hive.
“We took not just great heart but great strength from it, as it boosted our power while we stood on the brink of battle. Thus, when we finally did engage, it enabled us to annihilate the Cloven army and Overlord far more swiftly and at no cost. For this, we must thank you both, Centurion and Starshina. And apologize.”
“Apologize…?” the Starshina echoed blankly as Gilda turned her gaze on the Changeling Monarch as well. “For watching us?”
“Not just for that,” the Queen said, closing her eyes again. “I know not how you two will take this, but it is time to let you and your comrades know… that the events in that cove were not entirely of your own volition.”
I intend to release the chapter on Halloween night. Trick or treat, folks. 🎃 And prereaders, please try to get to it this weekend. After a six month hiatus from C&C, I owe it to readers and don’t want to let this deadline slip.
Pre battle snacking... Sneaky Changelings ♡
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Wait until you see their midnight snacking!
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Crunchy teen puppy love?
Smooth smoked older couples love?
Spiced up after battle Lust?