The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 126 - Yesterday’s Patterns of Truth & Preference

Chapter 126: Chapter 126 - Yesterday’s Patterns of Truth & Preference

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Elua shook her head to dispel the memory of her mistakes. There were so many she had made in her past... and a large fraction, if far from a majority, were related to that former wife. Dwelling on it after all this time would not serve her that well.

It was just one of many separations she’d endured - as well as a lesson in just how petulant she could be with her partners, if she thought she would get away with it. It was also one of the clearest times that a call to duty had only deepened her heart for them to near untenable degrees of heat.

Suffice it to say that this particularly harsh experience ended quite tragically and had affected her deeply, leading her to pull away from things that reminded her of that woman in her subsequent romantic pursuits. In short, she was put off by women for a while... as the next few possibilities she had felt drawn to were men.

’I’ve always wondered if I was fooling myself with that assessment, as it wasn’t the first chain of men I developed any crushes on in a row.’

The core of what drew her particular sense of ’romantic love’ remained consistent - that inherent desire in them to protect others. It was the key that made them worthy as well as the rose tinted goggles she would always view their actions with. All the other parts that attracted her to them would develop around this single trait.

This was not so different from how it started with Qatrand er Yecine, though it was certainly how *interesting* her deception was that led the reincarnator to look more closely at just what kind of person her spirit suggested her to be.

There was certainly the chance that, if the Yecine heir had been an *actual* male - and if that annoying buzz of interference from the masking tool over her spirit hadn’t distracted her... that she might have still found that theoretical boy an attractive option.

She was a little less sure if her urges and ’evil thoughts’ within such a reality would have occurred exactly the same as they do now, with her Physique seeming to heighten her teenage hormones.

"Men or women didn’t matter, there were never children..."

Her fingers massaged the center of her chest as if the action could somehow positively affect the proto-lifeform that was the fragment of her beloved. She had looked into the spiritual methods of conception mainly because of a few particularly good relationships with some of her wives... including some of her only carnal encounters with another person in that life.

Not that it made her value the memories of her three husbands any less, but they had been a lot more platonic and intellectual. This proved to be another reason that she felt, every time the vizier’s daughter popped in her head, that the idea she had ever been ’repulsed’ away from women - even for a while - was simply a coincidence of bias and spiteful expectations.

’After the first try, I never really had the inclination to consummate relationships with any men. No matter, it is not relevant and those few didn’t seem to mind.’

The brunette sighed while closing her eyes.

’My current beloved is very much a woman, even if she prefers the male presentation. There is no part of me that would *trade* who she is on any level just for some hypothetical experiment on this body’s gender attraction. Most importantly, she... still has those muscles.’

The nails of her fingers scratched against the center of her chest before she hopped up and went for the door in a panic.

"P-putting idea of physical relations and Qat anywhere together. What was I thinking!?"

As late as it was, or as early depending on the outlook... the young heiress planned to dive right into a bath. One filled with very, very cold water.

---

Dawn’s first light filtered through the canopy, gently rousing a black haired swordswoman from her slumber. Qatrand quickly blinked away the remnants of sleep, feeling surprisingly refreshed after her small bit of struggle to fall asleep.

Before she sat up, her calloused palm crossed over her heart. It pressed down while she focused on the extremely faint sense of foreign, if familiar warmth she recognized. She was almost sure that the last bloom of *something* that she felt was the cause for her restful night, so the teenager closed her eyes and imagined her wife.

"Good morning, El."

She whispered, pretending as much as hoping that it would send a spiritual greeting to her wife. She knew already that the distance was too great for any honest connection to form, but the fanciful act itself brought her an embarrassing amount of joy.

Her red tipped ears took in the sound of the camp stirring to action. The attempted low and gravelly tones of morning voices mixed with the clinking of equipment, The volume grew steadily louder over a few minutes as cultivators emerged from their tents.

Many were well and ready to face another day of containment carving and research notation. The Yecine began to prepare for the day ahead, herself - hoping that her release from this mission would be soon.

She found her brain being drawn to the resolutions she’d made the night before. The chat with Navuill had ignited something within her - a spark onto a pile of tinder that she had been stacking carefully for some time now. Already, she felt that she could expect it to burn down to hot embers... her sense of purpose that went beyond mere duty.

’The heat of the coals may be slightly less than the flame, but it is more consistent and useful for *making* things. Like our swords. Or like food...’

For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she was just hungry herself - or if her thought about learning to make a dish for her wife was rearing its head again already. She shook her head after realizing a decision in that regard was not important!

’I will lead the Yecine family towards constructive change.’

She continued to affirm her goals silently, knowing that repetition was key to training any skill. Qatrand felt sure that leadership was like most things. Talent... should she have any, would only take her so far.

Her thoughts turned to the Goltbred heiress and a light smile tugged at her lips.

’I’ll honor my longstanding commitment to El. While protecting and cherishing... and even feeding my wife, we’ll build something beautiful together. Especially if she keeps her... her *air* feeding the embers of my intent!’

The teenager frowned a bit. She knew it wasn’t the mint-eyed girl’s actual Element, but the real name of it didn’t fit the joke well! One side of her lips rose while her eyebrow height became just a little asymmetrical.

"Maybe it is better that it doesn’t fit... it might make her complain and groan even more."

While brainstorming a way to potentially tease her wife through making what she might consider ’badly crafted jokes’... she strapped on her sword to get ready for a patrol through the encampment. Her fingers lingered on the luminescent crystal as she did so, recognizing it as a sort of bridge that helped connect those two orphans even *more* conveniently to their sometimes too uncertain in herself mentor.

’If I can be a connection between them, then I can also be a connection between the Yecines and the Goltbreds. We can both be this. My birth family and the family who has accepted me... they don’t have to be at odds because of their differing ways.’

She had noticed the tension on both sides when Yatrel had come to retrieve her before the wedding venue visit, the ill moods of her father after having to visit the Goltbred estate, and obviously the disapproval of her wife over that father’s recent statements about Qat herself.

Immediately, she added and repeated a goal to help the two sides understand each other better into her list of things to accomplish. With so many things to keep in mind at once, the Yecine felt that she would have to approach her duties with a broad ranging perspective for the coming while.

It felt very much like early self-training... there are so many directions possible that finding a truly proper first step might not be as feasible as shoring up weaknesses as one goes along. At least, she felt like that was the case with how Elua had helped her out all this time. She had never forced her to re-learn anything from scratch, only to augment what she already knew.

The black haired and clothed ’swordsman’ reached where the other cultivators were gathering for their orders. When she noticed her cousin among them, she didn’t think twice and approached him.

"Good morning."

Her greeting voice was a *bit* more than perfunctory, causing the other Yecine to snort softly with a small smile.

"Sleep well?"

"Better than expected."

Their short exchange ended as they went back to watching the other Order members. Eventually, Navuill chuckled at the entire situation. Despite being an Empath, he wasn’t exactly good with small talk... and the person beside him who had spoken so strongly and confidently last night was no different.

"I also slept more soundly than I hoped. I feel... optimistic. Like we might actually make a difference some day."

Black hair that was swept up and tied together behind her neck bobbed as she nodded. For once, she had an easy time understanding the position of a peer - and while she would never claim that her attempts at appreciating everything behind a pair of mint eyes had not affected her...

"We will. One step at a time."

Qatrand could finally answer back not entirely as a Yecine and not primarily as someone trying to fit in, but merely as herself. An individual with her own goals. As well as one quietly making her way to a spiritual Primalist.