This S.O.B. System

Everyone sat quietly as they watched the hologram movie that Dea was making for them. Asher couldn’t sense her mana as it formed the images. Dea took some time to think about her words as the details of the image became sharper. There were people grouped up in a large tent. Asher recognized a much younger Yevus and Aiysoyim in the crowd. As well as a few other Primevals he had seen pictures of during his Primeval History class. 

 

Asher remembered Dea had said there were 53 Primevals in the beginning. Inside the tent were a lot more than that. All the Primevals were a myriad of races, but mixed in with them were green men and women that he recognized.   

 

“The System led us Primevals to the Hethos homeworld, Highgarden,” Dea said. 

 

“In our Primeval class they said you were led to Central,” Asher said. 

 

“Don’t believe anything the high humans teach,” Dea said. Asher frowned, he had wasted hours in the class and absorbed all of it because he thought it would be important. “Don’t interrupt,” she added. Asher nodded. 

 

“The hethos were nomadic, but academic even back then. Their planet was one of the first truly Initialized planets. They didn’t have a Champion, but did have a hero. His name was Bultem. He led their people to accept us Primevals as we appeared over a few years. Coming in from all different corners of the universe, guided to dungeon jump to Highgarden by the System.”

Another hologram appeared above the first showing Dea as she moved from dungeon portal to portal. Eventually she joined those in the tent. “Awyrenn took charge of us Primevals,” Dea said. The human man appeared at the center of the tent. He was Dea’s height of about 5 foot 8 inches. He had his head shaved except for one side above his right ear. His hair was blonde and braided, the braid went down to his shoulder. Asher thought the hair was dumb, but who knew the style back then. His body did appear strong as he gave the group in the tent a smirk. 

 

“Back then we didn’t know the trick to breaching level 100,” Dea said. “We all thought 99 was the max. I had been alive for 10,000 years at this point. Many of us had. Renn told us the trick of it. Get 10 skills to max level. We were able to focus on 10 skills then and I was the second at level 100.”

 

“He was much stronger than us,” Dea said sadly. “But never lorded it over us. He was always helping.” Asher heard her voice crack but ignored it, Yevus had said she and Awyrenn had been lovers. “The first year on Highgarden was spent getting to know one another. He came from a war torn planet. He had a Sex System and he was shunned. He dungeon jumped as soon as he found one and never went back. I never did find his home world,” she whispered the last sentence. 

 

“Renn said that we needed to make a society. Bring all of our species together.” The hologram showed him talking to everyone in the tent. “We Primevals fought much back then. Renn beat everyone into submission. He would duel any that had an issue. With his Sex mana he would make them submit easily. Never hurting them, just embarrassing them.” Asher knew how he did that. “The System started the duel function soon after that. It was watching us all the time. The Avatar made many appearances.” The figure of the Avatar appeared. It was the same little boy Asher had seen a few times. 

 

“The Avatar was much more involved. It had rolled out the Group Formation and Identification skills and upgraded our Systems. Renn treated it like a friend, much to the Avatar’s annoyance,” Dea chuckled, a smile on her face as she stared at the man’s image. “At first we focused on laws. A few of us had made homes on worlds and wanted to keep them. We started trying to map the universe then. It took us about 200 years of trial and error on Highgarden to figure out how to travel the stars.” The hologram showed many renditions of space ships. Everyone cheered as the first one that made it out of the atmosphere continued on into space. 

 

Then it blew up and people yelled in anguish. A portal appeared and Renn and another Primeval jumped out as the ship began to fall. Then Renn was back to working on another ship. 

 

“2 of us Primevals were Portalmancers, but just barely over level 100 by that point. They could only recently travel far distances with their space mana. It took another thousand years till we figured out the Etherstream.” More revisions to the ship were shown. By that point the tent around the Primevals had turned into a large city. The hethos working day and night to come up with new ideas for ships. 

 

“Soon after that the System did the first Champion Trial. We were sent to gather the heroes. There were 5 at that time. They were close to Highgarden. We brought them back, and the System had trials for them. Back then it was just the heroes, they didn’t have groups. The System tested them, mainly to introduce them to us. Primevals chummed up to them, and quickly they were brought into the fold. Another 100 years later it happened again. We were getting close to level 200 by that point, Renn had already made the jump and was close to level 300.” 

The hologram showed the Primevals going into dungeons. Fighting monsters. Making new accessories. New ships. New everything as they all worked together. 

 

“It was the best time of my life,” Dea whispered. Some tears fell from her eyes with the words. Tiffany sniffled as she watched and extended her hand to the Primeval. Dea took it slowly and gave her a smile. 

 

“Soon after that Renn said we were imposing too much on the hethos. We were using their resources and they were doing all of this for free. No one had noticed. The hethos were driven to find new knowledge, and were more than willing to keep going the way we were. Renn put a stop to it and said we would find our own planet. That was when we came to Central. It was only a couple of months from Highgarden. There were plenty of resources. He explained his dream. He wanted to make a space station. A place not locked down by a planet. Many of our worlds had been destroyed by higher tier dungeons breaking. The System had mostly fixed the issue by that point, but Renn didn’t want to risk it on our new world. He wanted the place to never be at risk of destruction. Central was Tier II and surrounded by moons that were all Tier I. The moons were moved into place over a century. During that time Renn and others started ripping out the mana leylines and branches from the moons. We began braiding them together.” The image showed the moons leylines in bright blue. They were torn out of the ground and extended up and up. The moons began to dim as the veins of the planet were pulled out into space. Around Central a blue arcane ring appeared.  

 

“Wait, I’m sorry,” Joon said, holding up her hands. “Are you saying the leylines were used?” 

 

“Of course,” Dea said. “How do you think they power it?” 

 

“I heard they do runs from the Etherstream,” Joon said. 

 

“Oh no,” Dea said. “How do you think Prime always had a feel of a Tier I planet? We used the leylines. That way there was always power present.” 

 

“I never thought of that,” Joon whispered as the hologram continued. 

 

“It was unstable at first. It took us 800 years. There had been many Initializations and Champion trials by that point. The heroes would come to Prime. Pass their trials. Then they would send people to help us as Renn talked about his dream of Prime.” In front of them League Prime was slowly built around the moon leylines. Piece by piece. Asher wondered how they got all the materials for it. 

 

“On Renn’s planet when you propose you put a ring on someone’s finger. He-he wanted to give me that ring,” Dea said, staring at the ring around Central. Her voice cracked as the exterior of Prime was finished. “Renn and I were lovers. He wanted to start a family. But I said we had too much work to do. I wouldn’t let us start until Prime was finished.” She was quiet for a time as the hologram focused on Awyrenn. Eventually she snapped out of it. 

 

“It was around then that he admitted to getting his skills at every Prime level,” Renn said. “That was how he could level so much faster. With random Max Skills he reached the thresholds much easier than we did. The System soon sent him off on a quest. We didn’t think much of it. The System had sent us on thousands of quests over the centuries. I was planning to go with him, but the System sent me on a different one.” Her eyes were moist with tears as she stared at his face. “He died a few days later. One of his skills connecting him to me was severed. I didn’t believe it at first. We rushed to the dungeon portal he had entered. There was nothing too odd about it. The portal said it was a Tier V world. Only Renn would have been able to handle it. We rushed in but everything was much stronger than we expected. At least 5 asterisks. We found his body and brought it back, but he couldn’t be saved.” 

 

“The System killed him with no explanation,” Dea said. Asher felt the anger from her. Her fists clenching as a shiver ran up his spine. “The Avatar had stopped coming to us at that point, and we never saw him again. We demanded answers, but we received none. We stuck with it, for Renn. The exterior of Prime was complete, but a lot had to be done on the inside. One of the newly Initialized came to us and told us she received skills at every prime level as well. She was killed soon after. A monster that had no business on the planet appeared and killed her. Far above her level. We knew then that the System was targeting primes.” Dea frowned as she fought tears. 

 

Asher studied her instead of whatever hologram was playing. She and Tiff still held hands. Tiffany’s eyes were locked on him. Tears streaming down her wide cheeks he had told her the same story about Awyrenn, but she was actually feeling it now. He wanted to give her reassurance somehow, but right then they couldn’t talk about it.

Looking around the room Zora, Joon, and Lyola gave him the same look. They were the only ones that knew he was a Prime. He wanted them to stop looking at him like that. He was starting to feel tears in his eyes too. He willed them away as Dea continued. 

 

“I left then,” she said. “Space travel was common. I took one of our ships and wandered. Eventually I came to a planet and simply existed for a long time. Yevus came to me a millenia later. Over time I was brought back into the fold of things. The Systemic League had been formed. Every century some new people would be added. I would join now and then, and over time the hurt of Renn’s passing faded.” 

 

“Yevus and I married and soon after I had a son,” Dea said. A beautiful boy appeared in the hologram. He had thick black hair at birth. “Then a daughter.” A daughter appeared. “We raised them on Central. By that time Yevus had found other high humans and he began moving some to Prime. They considered it an honor to serve us. The centuries flew by. By the time my son and daughter were thousands of years old I was happy and content.” 

She showed them killing monsters as a family. Her own children having kids of their own. The palace they lived in growing larger and larger until it was the size of a city. “My eldest died in a dungeon delve. A freak accident. It was an underground cavern, and a rock fell. Struck him. His healer was off somewhere else and my son died. I didn’t think much of it at that point. He had grandchildren, and his grandchildren had grandchildren. He had married a high human girl. I’m sure some are your ancestors,” she said to Siela. The high human shook as if struck. Her chest filling with pride at the words. 

 

“I grieved, and we were pregnant again. We had another son. By that time we had been alive for over 200,000 years. We were all around level 400. I moved to my planet. My children and their children would come now and then. The System would give us high tier dungeons to clear sporadically. About 100,000 years ago my daughter was killed. A bar room brawl. Stabbed in the back with an artifact. I wasn’t the only Primeval to lose family. I knew it was how the System worked. The strong survived, the weak died off. But she wasn’t weak. She was hundreds of levels high. I killed the man that did it, and destroyed his home world in a fit of rage. That was when the System sent the first Lawful Good my way. He was nearly as old as we were. From one of the first Trial of Champions. He had been my friend thousands of years prior. He was blinded by the quest and wasn’t ready. He died, and I secluded myself. For all those years we had trusted the System. I didn’t agree with what it had done to Renn, but every few thousand years another Prime would show up and be killed. I just thought it was how it worked.” 

 

“Yevus never gave up on me though. He always brought me back. Tried to keep me connected. I lost touch with my children’s children. Many died off. Some from old age. Some from backstabbing. It is sad how much I simply didn’t care anymore. I existed. Fought. Tried to become stronger. Just to keep my mind busy. I had so much rage, and no where to direct it. I would see the other Primevals sporadically. We would talk about old times. They would talk about this drama in their sector or that war that broke out. Always so…petty,” she said. 

 

“Here they were, hundreds of levels high. Ageless. The most powerful humanoids in existence. They were talking about having some young kid killed because he didn’t agree with their rule. They said it like I should agree with them,” Dea said, disgust clear on her face. 

 

“Aiysoyim and Tellus weren’t so bad, but the others. They have done atrocities to their people. Dama, the Mind Primeval, he was at that meeting yesterday. He took over a planet. Used his mind mana to convince them he was their god. They worshiped him. Virgins sacrificed themselves to him. Killed themselves so he would notice them. He lived like a god for millenia. Then he got bored and abandoned them. The people were so distraught they began killing themselves. Their devotion was so high, so ingrained into their being that they couldn’t live without him. They were convinced that they angered him somehow. They killed themselves one by one. Only a few at first. Then all of them. Mothers killed their children, then themselves. The last man on the planet came to the League Prime conference. Dama wasn’t there. The last man announced what the others on his planet had done. Begging Dama to forgive them. Then he killed himself.” 

Asher felt sick hearing that. Why would the System send him to kill a few goblins, but not this sicko?

 

“He got a slap on the wrist,” Dea said. “Told by Yevus and a few others to not do it again. He apologized. Paid a fine, and that was the end of it. An entire people. A civilized people that were part of the League. They had gone through Initialization. They had their own heroes. Their own hopes and dreams. He got to their planet and started playing with their minds. Now they probably aren’t in the history books.” 

 

“That is one of the worst,” Dea said. “But every one of them has done something just as bad. Me included,” she added, shaking her head. “That’s why I don’t get you. Why would you care what happens to me? You should have just let us kill ourselves.” She stared at Asher as she said the words. 

 

“I regret it now,” Asher said. “But not you. I’m glad you’re here with us. I mean, you are our sponsor, you did offer to train me. How can you do that if you’re dead?” 

 

Dea studied him, but slowly nodded. “We can be sappy later, finish your story,” Tiffany said. 

 

The hologram between them winked out. Dea sighed again. “8,000 years ago, we were sent to a Tier VIII dungeon. Anything over Tier V is very rare. They only appear every few thousand years. My youngest son and last child had died recently. At that point I was pretty out of it, but I joined them on the quest to close it. There were strong monsters there. It took 5 of us to kill 1. I leveled for the first time in a long time. Was getting stronger. I’m sure you all know the thrill of it. New stats. Something that was hard before became easier. We were there for some weeks. Not making much headway. I split off from the other Primevals one night. Found a village of the monsters. They were large bear beasts. I stumbled on a group of them fighting another monster. You could tell the bears were a family. They fought hard and barely survived against this thing. It simply struck me as odd. Here we were told to kill these strong monsters. Every single one of them had the strength of a Primeval. We were expected to wipe them out.” 

 

“I saw it then,” Dea said. “The truth. The System doesn’t care about us. We Primevals weren’t special. Strength is relative. If we were never Initialized by the System we would have been happy in our own little worlds. I would have died off long ago on my planet. I wouldn’t have been able to destroy people and planets. Hurt far more than I helped. Here I was, an agent of the System, quested to kill some animals that were just living their lives. I became convinced then that the System had been trying to kill me and mine for a long time. My children died in freak accidents. I was too naive when my eldest son died. For all I knew someone had been quested to kill him, and they played it off like a freak accident. The System killed Renn, why wouldn’t it kill my children. I made the System angry. I have been the target of over 10 red quests, and always came out alive. I turned the other cheek to the System trying to reward people to kill me. All because I was scared of what it would do. Like these bears, I would someday be the target of a quest and I wouldn’t survive.” 

“I went back to our camp. Tried to convince the others of the truth. The monsters weren’t doing anything. We would be next. I was ranting and raving. Then we started fighting,” Dea said. “Fights often broke out between us, but this was different. I tried to kill. I had gone easy on them before. But Death Mana was always one of the strongest. In my anger I damaged many of their cores. I confronted Yevus about his complacency on letting the System do this to our children. He became the focal point of my anger. The mere sight of him sickened me. The man had done nothing but try to fill Awyrenn’s shoes. I said many things I regret, but it was the truth. I was done this time. I wouldn’t have him trying to bring me back. Nothing ever changes, least of all the System. I left and never looked back.”  

 

“I traveled past the borders the System sets, which is a story for another time,” Dea said. “I came back a few years ago and simply lived. Unsure what to do or where to go. Then I…decided to sponsor you,” she said to Asher. “I thought maybe my anger had subsided. Maybe I could forgive them. But seeing them at their annual meeting. The conniving and backstabbing that still went on. It brought all those feelings back. I wanted them dead.” 

“Do you still want them dead?” Asher asked. 

 

“I don’t know,” Dea said. Her eyes took on a distant look. “You are the first people I’ve talked to in a long time. Maybe I…” Dea’s words trailed off. Tiffany finished them for her. 

 

“Maybe you should spend some time with us,” Tiff said, clapping. “Lyola is due any day now. Our first guild trial is in a month. We will probably have to go home sometime before then. You can hang out with us until we have to leave.” 

 

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” Dea said. “I will have anger a lot of people and-” 

 

“Lyola, there you are,” Tyranis said walking in. He stopped himself as he noticed the rest of them. “I did not realize you all were here. Asher, when did you get back?” 

 

“A few hours ago,” Asher said. “We used the portal from Prime.” 

“There you are,” Tyranis said, seeing Siela in the group. “We received a Comm message from Prime asking if we had seen you. Your father is quite worried. Was there really an attack on Prime?”

 

“There was,” Asher said. “We just barely escaped in time.” 

 

“Good,” Tyranis said. “I will send a message back. I’ll expect you at the capital later.” He turned around and headed out before Asher could say anything. 

 

“Should we stop him?” Asher asked Siela. 

She looked around but shook her head. “No, I should go back. I was caught up in the moment a little. It would be best to not make my father angry.” 

 

“I thought she was another of your wives,” Dea said looking to him. 

 

“She’s not,” Asher said. “High humans don’t approve of being with non-high humans.” 

 

Dea looked at him oddly then to Siela. Some mana swirled around the room then back into Dea. She gave the high human a very sad look. He guessed she read their minds or something. “Take it from me, it is worth angering your family to do what you think is best for you.” Siela appeared to take the words to heart. She nodded and put on a small smile. He guessed she had come to some sort of decision. The room was quiet as the conversation died down. 

 

“It’s killing me,” Nsabita said loudly. “I have to know what you got for your quest.” Asher gave her a weird look. Her large pupilled green eyes bored into him. He chuckled. 

 

“Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes. Bringing up his notifications he noticed the others on the quest did the same as they stared at nothing. 

 

RED QUEST COMPLETE

League Prime is facing destruction.

Stop the calamity before it can destroy the headquarters of the Systemic League

Time Limit: N/A

Quest Rewards:

Syscos

Experience points

Legendary Accessory

 

Rewards
Syscos	x 79,200 (800)
Experience Points	x 800,000
Hidden Halo	x 1

 

Congratulations

On reaching level 70

 

“Fucking hell!” Asher said louder than he meant to. It was not a happy yell. 

 

“What?” Lyola asked, concerned. 

“I was level 69,” Asher said. “This stupid thing just shot me up to level 70.”

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Tillie asked. 

 

“No,” Asher pouted. “I wanted to have sex all through level 69. Enjoy it, you know? This is dumb.” 

 

“I fucking love you,” Tiffany laughed. 

 

“Same,” Joon said with a smile, then they were back to looking at their screens.

 

Asher still pouted as the ring appeared in his hand. He used ID. 

 

Hidden Halo
Rarity	Legendary
Capacity	?????
Enchant 1	Invisible & Unsensed
Enchant 2	Binding
Enchant 3	Timefreeze
Enchant 4	Wide Mouth

 

The ring itself was a white glowing ring. Like a real halo. “Fancy,” he said while studying it. “A Legendary.” 

 

“Legendary?” Nsabita asked. “Seriously?”

 

“What the hell, I only got Epic,” Tiffany spat. 

 

“Heroes always get better rewards,” Dea said with a chuckle. 

 

“Give it,” Zora said. 

 

“But I might need it,” Asher said with a frown. 

 

“For what?” Zora said. 

“A quest,” he said. “Obviously.” Zora rolled her eyes. 

 

“Not every item you get is some special tool you’ll need later on,” Joon said. 

 

“You don’t know that,” Asher retorted. A tiara appeared in Zora’s hand. 

 

“Dibs,” Tiff said, trying to grab it. 

 

“You already have a circlet,” Zora said, pulling it back. Asher chuckled as they fought over it. He began cycling mana through the Hidden Halo. Putting it on he would move stuff from his Timeless Band later. “Can you see my ring?” He could still see and feel it, but it had an Invisible enchant. He wondered if he had to cycle mana through it to use it. 

 

“Not anymore,” Genieve said. 

“Neato,” Asher said. He brought up his status screen and manipulated his new stats. 

 

Name:	Asher Whitmore		Skills:
Alias:	Quinten Hardly		Acting	LVL MAX
System:	PORN STAR		STD Immunity	LVL MAX
Level:	70		Roleplay	LVL MAX
Experience	15,354/800,000	0+%	Prop Manifestation	LVL MAX
Title:	Lawful Good (10)		Relationship Screen	LVL 15
Guild:	Community		Ahegao	LVL 12
Syscos:	124,610		Survival	LVL 20
			Tracking	LVL 22
HP:	240	/240 (5)	Brawling	LVL 22
MP:	210	/210	Battleshout	LVL 22
			Intimidation	LVL 27
Stats:	0		Powerstrike	LVL 30
Strength:	80		Justice	LVL 24
Dexterity:	70		Battle Instincts	LVL 24
Endurance:	80		Weapon Throw	LVL 22
Agility:	70		Full Body Control	LVL MAX
Wisdom:	70		Mesmerizing Gaze	LVL 20
Intelligence:	70		Healing Touch	LVL 27
Luck:	52		Mana Sight	LVL 36
Charm:	51		Revenge	LVL 30
			Role Immersion	LVL MAX
Custom Stats:			Mana Sense	LVL 30
Dick Length	9 Inches		Share the Love	LVL 21
Dick Diameter	2 Inches		Cleanliness	LVL 29
Fertility	Off		Dragon Palm	LVL 15
Pheromones	20		Sex Bomb	LVL 27
Libido	10		Coupling Mana	LVL 20
Height	6'-5"		Orgy Control	LVL MAX
			Empower	LVL 16
			Casanova	LVL 18
			Kama Sutra	LVL 14
			Mana Manifestation	LVL 16
			Tantric	LVL 11
			Stunt Double	LVL MAX
			Rage	LVL 15
			Lust Frenzy	LVL 4

 

He would miss level 69, but in the long run it was probably a good thing. Although right then he couldn’t think of an upside to it. 

 

“Dea, you staying with us?” Asher asked. She had grown quiet. Eyeing everyone in the group she slowly nodded. 

 

“For a few days,” Dea said. “Maybe I could use some…rest. After that I feel maybe I should apologize to some Primevals.” 

 

“Fair enough. Maybe you could train us a little,” he said. 

 

“Why would I do that?” She asked, a small smile on her lips. 

 

“You literally just about destroyed the center of the universe because they threatened to kill me,” Asher said. “Can’t you give us a little help? You know, so we don’t need you to save us.”

“I did that because I was there. You shouldn’t expect me to go out of my way to help you,” she said. 

“Because you have so much going on?” Asher asked. “You spent years hanging around your gloomy castle. Doin nothin.” 

“My time is quite full,” Dea said, but he could see a smile behind her eyes. 

 

“I’ll pay you,” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. 

 

“I have millions of Syscos,” Dea said. 

“What? Give me some,” Tiffany said. 

 

“No,” Dea said. “I need it.” Asher wanted to laugh at her reaction. The once scary Primeval was already acting like a normal person. 

 

“You’re stingy,” Tiffany pouted. “Asher prostitute yourself out to her. She admitted it has been a while since she talked to anyone. I bet it’s been years since someone cleaned the pipes.” Asher held back laughter as the Primeval blushed. 

“I’m not doing that,” Asher said. “I quit that a long time ago.” 

“You went down on me 3 days ago for the last Ice cream cone from my ring,” Tiffany said. 

“Food is an exception,” he said. “Come on, please train me,” Asher begged Dea. “I’d hate to get stuck doing another quest because I asked someone for answers. Next time you might have to blow up Central to save us.” 

Dea rolled her eyes again. “Fine, a little,” she said. “But it really is preemptive before level 100. Things become a lot easier after that.” 

 

“Deal,” Asher said. 

“Woohoo,” Joon said excitedly. The other girls around them were excited as well. 

 

Tiffany stood up. “Until then, let’s have some fun. Zora was kind enough to remind me that we really need to make a pillow fort.” 

“A what?” Lyola asked. 

 

“A pillow fort,” Tiffany said, like it was obvious. She grabbed Dea’s hand and began walking her back to Lyola’s main room. “We have all of these giant pillows. I can’t believe we didn’t make a fort.” 

 

“What is that?” Tillie asked. 

 

“We will show you,” Asher said happily as he followed. “It is a must do for any sleepover on our planet. You’re so smart.” He gave Zora a kiss. She blushed as he princess carried her back to the main room. “And your tiara is so cute. What does it do?”

 

“Increases my mana pool,” she said. The shiny white tiara practically glowed on her head. 

 

“Fancy,” he said. He would ask the other girls what they got later. 

 

“Are we seriously making a fort?” Gen asked. 

 

“This is perfect,” Joon said as she sped up. By the time they got to the room Tiffany was already using her Mind Mana to make the large pile of pillows float. 

 

“This is going to be gigantic,” Zora said happily. 

 

“I don’t understand,” Siela said as she watched Tiffany lay the groundwork for it. “What is the point of a fort?” 

 

Asher cursed. “Tiff stop. She’s right,” he said. Moving forward as Tiff gave him a sour look. “What we need is 2 forts. Then to pick teams and have a pillow war. Let’s put 1 here, then the other over there.” 

 

“Brilliant!” Tiffany said with a gasp. “I knew you weren’t just a pretty face.” Asher gave her a kiss as he directed her where to put it. It didn’t take long for the forts to take shape. With so many pillows they were able to make the walls about 4 feet tall. Instead of picking teams they flipped coins. Heads on his side, tails on Tiff’s. Heads was very unlucky as he only got amateurs. Dea, Nsabita, and Lyola were on his team.

 

“Alright girls, show no mercy,” Asher said. 

 

“Husband, what are we doing?” Lyola asked, more than a little frustrated. 

 

“War, my love, war,” he said. “Arm yourselves.” He grabbed a pillow. Looking over the fort wall as Tiffany looked up he smoked her right in the face. She let out an oomf as it hit her. The battle was on then. The girls on the other side were quickly pummeling them with pillows. The humans on the other team were far more experienced as a rain of pillows fell on them.

 

“Fire back!” Asher yelled. Grabbing the smaller pillows he was struck 3 times in quick succession. It didn’t take his team long to get the idea of the game. The large room was filled with laughter as pillows were thrown at those dumb enough to look over the walls. It was bloody. Asher had to do a skirmish to the other team and kidnapped Zora. He was able to talk her into helping but then Joon made a portal and grabbed Zora and Siela. There were no rules after that. Everything was free game as they threw pillow after pillow. They called a cease fire for lunch. A truce agreed upon, they made a giant pillow fort next. 

 

Asher noticed smiles on everyone’s faces as they continued. One crept up on Dea’s face without her noticing. Asher shared a look with Tiffany. Not sure what they were doing most of the time, it felt like they finally did something right. Dea needed to remember what it was like to be surrounded by people. She needed to know that life was hard, but there was always some time for fun.