I woke up to the comforting feeling of a soft body on top of mine, and peering down, there was my Cici, in all of her beautiful furry glory. Her ears twitched as I began to gently run my hand down her slender back, reaching her tail, where I began to softly stroke and massage the cute appendage. This was how it should be. Falling asleep and waking up with the person I love every night.
We hadn't done anything untoward last night, although Cici definitely wanted to, and I'll be honest, my dick fought me all night to break free, but I was able to hold the little bastard back. Apparently we were to undergo a marriage ceremony of sorts, which definitely checked the fantasy world box for sure, but I guess that led into the final part of the ceremony, which was the mating ritual, and that was pretty straightforward. Complete the ceremony, then we fuck like rabbits. Or I guess... like cats in heat.
"Eli..." Cici murmered, kissing my chest as she began to stir.
I ran a hand through her hair and began to massage one of her ears, making her purr rather seductively.
"Morning beautiful." I said, kissing the top of her head.
She nuzzled into my neck, peppering it with licks and kisses.
"Good morning darling." She said, leaning up to plant a kiss on my lips.
It was a soft and gentle kiss, one that reminded me that I was where I was meant to be. I was home, and now that I finally found it, I wasn't going to give this up.
Currently, we were sprawled over a very comfortable yet fairly formless bed shaped from my Abyss power. I had actually made some for everyone else, and found that it cost me nothing to actually will them to stay as permanent fixtures in the world, and since I had infinite mana, it didn't even phase me. The family had decided that only they would know of my true power for now, and it was best to keep everyone else from learning the full truth, at least for now. All they knew was that I was ridiculously strong, but they didn't know to what extent.
"Today is the big day." I said, feeling nervous for once.
"It'll be fine, Eli. My parents are already impressed with you, and they really seem to like you too." Cici said, and I knew she was right, but it still didn't help my racing nerves that much.
With that, we got up, and our day truly began in earnest. I was going to be busy as hell for a few days at the very least. We ate, chatted with her family, and then went to our tasks. I was fully on board with making Cici my wife, but to that end, I had to do my part in accordance with these strange Beastkin customs and shit.
The females of the Cat Beastkin were the ones to choose their mates, and the way it was described to me was almost like a 6th sense, kinda like how regular cats chose their humans, if you will. I felt honored and privileged beyond words to be chosen by a woman as wonderful as Cici. The marriage ceremony was upon me, and I was going to meet the criteria head on, and make her mine.
The ceremony consisted of three different objectives I had to meet, so to speak. The first was one that I had already done, so that was going to cut some time out of the whole thing according to Anya and Warren. I simply had to prove to them that I was a good man that was fit for their daughter. They said I did that when I rescued their family, but then bringing Cici home safe and sound? They said if it wasn't against their traditions, they would have skipped the whole thing in general.
So technically, I was starting at the 2nd step, which was me being able to provide for her, meaning I had to be able to keep her fed, and housed, and to that end, I had to either have a home, and if I didn't, I had to build one. Needless to say, that's what I ended up doing as the day had progessed, as I obviously wasn't a homeowner in this world. Thankfully, using my Abyssal powers was helping tremendously. I wasn't going to make the house out of the stuff, as I wasn't truly sure if it would disappear eventually, but I was using my summoned minions to help gather and supply me with materials that I needed.
Besides that, there was nothing saying I couldn't have help, as long as I did the majority of the work, so I had Warren coming over to check on me and give me tips as I went. He was also busy rebuilding his home, but since I was building ours right across from theirs in an open space that was available, it was pretty easy for us to chat and discuss different ideas. Cici would come over here and now to give me some water, or to kiss me a few times before going back to her parents home to help clean up.
These people were also ridiculously fast, and very good when it came to woodworking. Most of them already almost had their houses completed after only a day, and there were people here with classes specifically for building and doing various tasks. There were a few people making everyone new beds and furniture, while another couple of people were busy making people clothes, including myself, because apparently I looked a little too "evil" for a hero. Yeah, the red eyes and white hair stayed, but I honestly thought I looked a lot better. Damn good, if you asked me.
"How's it coming?" Warren asked me as I hammered another board into place.
"Better than expected. To be honest, I've never done something like this, but I am learning way faster than I feel like I should, and I pretty much know what I'm doing just from talking to you and watching everyone else." I said, and Warren nodded.
"You better, with stats like yours. Intelligence in particular will help you learn things faster, as well as let you process information better. It does a lot more than just making your magic more powerful, but many seem to either not know that or don't bother to learn." He said, then began to inspect what I had done so far, "Nice work. Looks sturdy, and the detail is actually impressive."
So far, I actually had the foundations set, and I was going with a simple one floor home. From the entrance, the left side of the home consists of the kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom. On the right side, the living room, another bathroom, and a spare room that I had the space to build, but I am not currently sure what I'll use it for. Maybe storage? The back of the home split off to the left and right, as Cici insisted I build a couple of guest rooms. The back middle was going to be our room, and we were having a bed made for us as we speak.
"Honey?" I heard Cici ask, and I smiled as I set down my tools, and turned around to see not just her, but another Cat Beastkin woman.
This woman was pretty, but I was pretty biased towards Cici, as she was the definition of beauty. She was blonde, and that was true for her ears and tails as well, and her tail had a white tip that was goddamn adorable. Her face was a distinct and soft kind of cute that made me want to pet her head. I used my Abssyal Eye, and I actually looked a both of them.
[Name: Cecilia Romina]
[Age: 20]
[Race: Beastkin (Cat)]
[Class: Stealth (D)]
[Designation: Quiet Kitten]
I actually chuckled at that. The Framework had a sense of humor. The designation she had was pretty apt. She was a fully grown kitten for sure, and I loved everything about her. I checked the other woman next.
[Name: Talia Markesh]
[Age: 19]
[Race: Beastkin (Cat)]
[Class: Tailor (E+)]
[Designation: Clothes maker]
This one was pretty normal all things considered, and she had a really pretty name. I assumed she was a friend of Cici's since they were around the same age. This was also the lowest ranked class I've seen, but it made sense since she was a simple class not built for fighting or combat. I was told that simply using and training with your class will help you increase it's rank, and frankly, I didn't know what that meant for someone like me. Could I even increase my class anymore? Did I even need to?
"Hello, I'm Elias." I said as I held out my hand to her.
She took my hand, her own small and delicate hands fitting inside mine with ease.
"Talia..." She muttered, and it was now that notice how tired she looked, and the tear stains under her eyes.
Cici put a hand on her back.
"It's okay... Eli, Talia has been a friend of mine ever since we were small. My best and only friend I've gotten along with... and she wanted to tell you something." Cici said, rubbing the girl's back encouragingly.
Talia sniffled, but looked up to meet my eyes, new tears falling down.
"Those people... they killed my father... and Cici said you killed them?" She asked me, my heart hurting for this girl, and I nodded firmly.
"I did. The ones who did it are dead." I said, giving her hand a firm squeeze.
She choked on her saliva, and then began to sob.
"He was the only person I had besides Cici... since mom died when I was still a child... but now..." She said, her words choked and full of sorrow.
I didn't even think, I just reacted as I pulled her into me, and hugged her. It's what she needed. She trembled against me as I just rubbed her back gently.
"I'm sorry. That's horrible... there's nothing I can say that will take away that pain... but those people paid the price for what they did." I said, and she began to sob harder as she wrapped her arms tightly around me, "You'll be all right. There are people here for you. Cici, I'm sure, and me too."
If she was a friend of Cici's, she was a friend of mine. She clutched at me as she sobbed into my chest, and Cici shot me a teary eyed smile. What a horrible thing to go through. Even if my dad was a fuck head, at least they were there as I grew up. I can only imagine.
"Thank you so much... at least I know the people who did this are dead!" She cried, and while she tried to inject as much venom in her voice as she could, I only heard hurt and sadness.
"They are. They'll never do that anyone again, and no one will ever hurt the people of this village ever again. I'll make sure of that." I said, my voice soft and gentle.
"My mate is the best man you'll ever meet." Cici said warmly, rubbing Talia's back affectionately.
Talia eventually calmed down after a few more minutes, and she wiped her nose on her sleeve, and her face was as red as her eyes as she stared at the stains she left on my clothes. I didn't mind at all.
"I'm so sorry! I can clean those for you!" She said, but I just smiled and held up my hands.
"Hey, hey, no need for that. I just wanted to help. I can take care of this later." I said, and she sniffled as she smiled at me, and then looked at Cici.
"You really did find a good man. He's so nice, even if he is a little human looking..." Talia said, studying my face, "You look a lot better than any human I've ever seen. I like the eyes, and the hair reminds me of Cici."
I scratched the back of my head. She was a nice girl, and while I was insistant that she didn't need to wash my clothes, she in turn insisited on being the one to make me new clothes. I couldn't turn her down. Once she and Cici left, I kept making progress on my home. I might even have it done in a day or two if everything keeps going this well. And then after that? On to the next step towards making Cici my bride.