Chapter 8: Maryam's Conversation

Right off the bat, both Heroclades and Rey turned their faces in the same direction. From the opposite side of the plains, Maryam and Wulfgang approached calmly.

Maryam walked gracefully. On her shoulder she carried a parasol; she wore a full-length, close-fitting dress, which revealed her thighs to her hips on the sides, plus a wide hat. Just by looking at the new clothes, Rey could tell that she was capable of using her legs as weapons. From the garments she wore, the vampire knew how to deliver each and every one of the countless kicks that existed in the world of combat. Although kicks were slower in melee confrontations, these could be much stronger than punches.

Wulfgang, on the other hand, was also dressed smartly, in suit, tie, shirt and a hat, as one who had no intention of running nor cared that his movements were restricted. Rey could perceive that his father behaved like a shield, the strongest of all.

As soon as the pair got close enough, they exchanged words with Heroclades. Maryam as the mother she was, disposed her free hand to wipe the dust and blood that covered the face of her battered son. She looked pleased with what she saw, as one who rewards the suffering of others, but, for a moment, her smile broke. The vampire quickly disguised the gestures on her face.

Rey noticed such a change, as if his mother could not use her powers despite having tried. But he wasn't too worried either, as it was early in the morning.

On the other side, the lycanthrope gave his master a firm handshake. A handshake that was preceded by a warm embrace and some laughter typical of two great friends meeting. As soon as they parted, the wolf looked up and down the little one's battered body. His eyes did not unleash murderous instincts and his aura was not threatening at all, although he still had a haughty and arrogant look.

"Hello... son, I see you're still alive."

Rey nodded respectfully, more to annoy his father than to keep his distance, for he knew the wolf was wary of people who want to keep their distance politely.

Maryam, with finesse in her actions, decided to devote herself to pointing out the Heroclades' mistakes, more as if it were a hobby:

"How about Hero? I think your training was a bit rough, don't you?"

Before Heroclades could give a proper response to the smirking vampire, Wulfgang said as one who gave less importance to the matter:

"Don't worry about that, my beloved. No child of mine is so little as not to go forward with a broken bone or two" And returning his gaze to the tan-skinned master, he added, "Hero, we need to talk."

Maryam realized something. Rey had manipulated her father's response, all so she wouldn't feel the pressure of having to use her powers. Even more, he was watching her as if to deduce her reaction. "Extraordinary," the vampire thought.

Heroclades, delighted that he didn't have to answer the vampire with another uncomfortably obvious question, decided to turn his attention to his first disciple:

"Of course! Come with me. This way, by the way, you can see the camp I made, I hope my girls are ready for another round."

Rey watched them leave. He also saw how his mother lowered the strange artifact that covered him from the light, as soon as he entered under the shadow of the tree. The vampire took two steps and turned quickly to slowly take a seat on the grass and lean back against the trunk. When his mother's dress lifted with the turn she took, he was transfixed with memories that came to his mind. Seeing the skin between his mother's legs exposed brought back thoughts of Silvia's vagina, which he couldn't help but compare. "Maybe once the belly opens it never fully closes again?" he wondered.

Maryam held out her hand and called her son out of his trance to sit next to her.

"Mother, are you angry with me?" he said as he took a seat where he was told.

"Yes. I am disappointed that you have grown up so fast, that you are so independent and distrustful...as well as that you have tried to run away."

Rey swallowed dryly, took a deep breath and tried to pull away, but had to give in to her mother's hand gently hugging her head.

"Why can't you act like a normal child? Have the curiosity that a normal child has? Ask the questions that normal children ask? Worry about the things that normal children worry about? Why are you so extraordinary?"

Rey was silent, his mother was still rambling and perhaps she was reluctant to jump right into the matter with the intention of drawing out more information. Out of the grass came the little Paradise guardian hatchling. Ignoring the awkwardness of the situation, the little furry ball squatted down and peed on the ground as the females of her species did, and then wandered between mother and child with the intention of finding the perfect spot. That one that would be most conducive to lying down as the two of them were.

"Awww, but what a beauty. I've always wanted my kids to find someone who could walk with them on their journey without breaking them. She's perfect for you, you know? It's normal for someone lonely like you to end up involved in a lot of trouble. By nature some beings may be attracted to you, but also keep in mind that, if at some point someone approached you, this person may have done it with ulterior motives. If when they approach you, you don't identify them as a threat, they will not hesitate to take advantage of your naivety..."

"Are you talking about Silvia?"

Maryam widened the corners of her mouth even more, at the same time trying to contain her excitement:

"I was talking about Heroclades; he's the one I'm most worried about. One for what he might teach you, another for what he might make you do....."

"Teach me?"

"For example, stealing. Recognizing that stealing isn't good if it doesn't come with a prize included, it's wrong. And while hiding the truth is not honorable either, seeking pleasure to avoid pain is less so. I'm not the best person to tell you about the latter because I confess myself guilty of it. But in Hero's culture, pederasty is not frowned upon. In the eyes of those who share his ways, it would be a disgrace to you if you did not get to have a relationship beyond training with him. By this I want to tell you that both I and your father will respect your decisions from now on, and now that you are warned, you will know whether to allow it or not. But did something happen between you and Silvia? If you say yes and you feel violated in some way, me and your father can work it out."

Rey kept silent, his mother was good. But he had to ask.

"Pederasty?"

Maryam swung her legs at the question. Now that she thought better of it, seeing her son's tiny size brought a whole host of painful memories of a past back to life:

"Let's just say it's a twisted and unorthodox way of fostering trust, respect and loyalty between individuals of different ages..."

She didn't hesitate to run her hand over the little Paradise guardian's head and add:

"Thank you for being so supportive of my son; the bond of friendship can mean so much....".

Rey nodded his head, for he really felt much more attached to Silvia, he could even call her Nana.

Seeing the unsympathetic look on her son's face, the vampire could deduce that he still remained incredulous at the subject; baring her fangs and playing with the fringe of his hair, she stopped petting the puppy and continued:

"By deeper I mean sex....."

Maryam felt the pleasure of being a mother once again.

"Rey, although in some cultures two adults must first marry to have sex, sexuality is fundamental to all stages of life. I will start with the parts of your body that are considered 'private'. Between your legs at the front, where your belly ends, you have a penis and two testicles. Although they have not reached maturity, that which is now flaccid is ready to grow and harden when you get aroused, as well as your daddy and any other male members you may encounter out there."

The vampire continued:

"On the other hand, as you could see when I turned around, I and the other women have vaginas. A place which becomes moist when the person in question becomes aroused and which biologically is the entrance to the penis when you have the motive to conceive or experience pleasure. Women also have breasts and although they are not considered private, they are very sensitive and are kept hidden for protection. Now, both sexes have a cavity in common, the anus. Which is originally designed to defecate food that cannot be consumed by the digestive system. Vampires don't need it, so maybe you don't need it, at least not for defecation."

The vampire opened her eyes again, to confirm if her son was interested in the conversation.

"Usually, a man cannot conceive a baby with another man nor a woman with another woman, but they can ignore the natural purpose of their bodies and have sex with each other. Sex is anything that arouses arousal in an individual, regardless of gender. As well as others, it is not wrong for you to be curious and want to experience arousal, if... you touch yourself, touch another person, give or receive a massage, masturbate, lick their private parts...."

Rey remembered Silvia for a moment. He licked her "private" part, it was moist, he felt aroused and thought about eating her. She massaged his body while she bathed him and watched him while he touched himself. But his mother's words were unspecific, so he thought he had not had sex with her. And if it was sex, he didn't care, for he had received a great benefit in return.

Maryam continued:

"You penetrate her or let yourself penetrate her. By sexual penetration I mean the introduction of your intimate part, your bodily members or some object into the body of the other via vaginal, anal or oral...."

Rey didn't show it, but he traveled back in his memory once again, this time with the intention of tying up some loose ends. Images flashed through his mind of when he walked through a world in which no one could see him. He remembered when his father was "excited" with his mother at the time when they were alone in the matrimonial room. When Katherine locked herself in with Mijan. The time when they all gathered in the living room and rolled around with each other. "What the older people saw as interesting when they were glued together was the pleasure that, my mother says, you can get to feel."