The Empath Cycle: 2001 It Takes One - Book 2

As they were led to Sylvie and Patricia's bedroom, Julia and Ryanna held back.

"What is it? We need to lie on the bed so we'll be more comfortable." Sylvie asked.

"It is mammy Catherine and mammy Martine's bedroom."

"Not anymore, girls. They gave it to Patricia and I."

"That's all right then."

Once they were all cuddled on the huge bed, they found they still had room to spare.

Sylvie asked Julia and Ryanna to go into a meditative state and that she would pick them up on the way. The others had their own procedure with which they were intimately familiar, having visited there many times.

The four women 'woke' on the four-wide thickly padded patio lounger. At first, they were just happy to be in their special retreat, then they realized their friends weren't with them.

"Didn't you pick them up, sis?" Jade asked.

"I did." Sylvie answered. Looking around, she saw the two calico cats wrapped in a tight bundle of fur, looking at them. "You don't have to stay in cat form, girls. I invited you, remember? Why don't you join us over here? And as much as we would want to stroke your fur, we would prefer to cuddle with your nice bodies."

The cats rose timidly, stretched languidly and jumped on what became a humongous bed during their air time.

"Don't be afraid to express yourselves here, girls. I have every confidence I can help if you forget to control your projections."

In minutes, they had them purring as they began showing them what they had missed by not allowing themselves to feel by fear of hurting others. If it wasn't too much of a mixed metaphor, it could be said that the young pussies took to physical love like fish to water.

While they were busy learning the finer points of cunnilingus from Jade by practicing on Patricia and Karlie's vulvae, Sylvie sent a tight thought-tendril of inquiry she hoped wouldn't be picked up by the others.

"We are here." The answer came in her mind. "We saw what happened in your living room. We had been afraid of this for a long time. Ever since their talents began manifesting and they had to learn to control themselves tightly. We tried to balance the training by bringing them here so they could let their hair down, so to speak, but they never really did. They are too serious for their own good. So they didn't have a chance to go through a normal adolescence like other children. Now their world has been turned upside down by the realisation that there is a part of me in you."

"I figured something like that happened when they sounded like they were reverting to their younger selves. I did a lot of reading on the subject in the last weeks."

"You did exactly the right thing there and here. Our Sarah helped your Jade earlier, but it may be a good idea for you all to consult with the support trainers while you are at the compound. Even if you two have the most tools right out of the gate to help them should they need it, it may be a good idea for your other wives to have an idea of what to expect."

"Don't get me wrong, I owe them big time and will do whatever is needed for them, but won't they resent us, and me in particular, if we are to help them? They are the ones who were so much in control when they helped me before."

"Like I said, they were too much in control. They need to learn to accept and genuinely feel their emotions rather than always analyse them if they are ever to be of any use to their patients when they finish their studies. We hope you will accept them in your loving family as you would your own children, if 'special' ones judging by the enthusiasm they are showing in making love to your wives."

Sylvie got a distinct feeling of multiple mischievous grins in the voice 'talking' to her. Looking at the bed, she saw that Jade had conjured a strap-on dildo and was enthusiastically demonstrating its use on Patricia for the intently watching girls who had their vulvae on the older women's talented mouths which were put to good use judging by the glazed look in Julia and Ryanna's eyes.

"I don't know if we can be up to the task, but I promise we will do the best we can, though I suspect the helping will go both ways."

"That is exactly the point of our request, little one. You and your wives will need their specialized training for you to completely integrate my chi and for them to make use of their new talents, limited as they are, while they will need your guidance in the mundane aspects of 'normal' life if they are to expect to found their own families and have children of their own."

"You have a good point there. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that your great-grand-daughters will be loved as if they were our own even after they don't need our help anymore. Geez, I sound like an old biddy. These girls are the same age as Jade and I."

"You show the wisdom of a good heart. Now, if you could ask them to walk down the beach, we will say our goodbyes to them. Be well, daughter of my heart."

Though the mammies had thought of their family along the image of a wolf pack, Ryanna and Julia had always preferred to adopt the feline way when they visited the island. So when Sylvie suggested they walk down the beach to find their surprise, it had been natural for them to revert to their favorite calico form. As was their wont, they played. Mock-attacking each other. Rolling on the warm sand in a grapple. Jumping vertically with a hiss to avoid the waves. Batting at the butterflies mammy Catherine always conjured for them to play with.

At one point, they were sitting on the beach, watching fishes jump out of the water when two hands scratched behind their ears, causing them to instinctively lean into them and purr at the caresses. It was so natural for them to hear the familiar voice that they didn't react immediately.

"How have my little pussycats been? Did you behave yourselves like young ladies?"

That's the point at which their rational brain finally caught up with their instincts. They jumped and blurred back and forth for a few moments between the feline and human forms. Somehow the hands kept contact through their physical uncertainty and, when they settled for human form, pulled them in a loving embrace. They would have been overwhelmed by their astonishment when they found themselves in a group hug with all five of their mammies, but the blanket of love enfolding them kept things on an even keel.

They kept wiping their tears away so they could look at their mammies. They were not surprised that they looked so young because that was the way they always appeared on the island.

"Are we dreaming? Did you come back to us, mammies?" They asked in unison.

"We are only visiting this once, little ones. We wished to see you again and say a proper goodbye to you." Catherine said.

"But this is your island, mammy Catherine. You must be here for real."

"No, little ones, this is Sylvie's island now. I gave her the key a long time ago, but she had lost it. She found it again and it is hers in full right but I'm sure she will let you visit."

"Yes, but you must be good girls. Have you been good girls?" Ari teased.

"We have, mammy Arianna. We promise... Well... Our new friends have taught us some naughty games, but we are still good girls."

"I'm sure you are. Good girls are allowed to play naughty games with their special friends."

"And I know for a fact that they know some really naughty games for you to play as long as you are good girls." Jules, the mistress of the naughty games, giggled.

"We will be, we promise, mammy Juliette."

"That's well and good, but there is more than naughty games in life. Have you kept up with everything I taught you?" Martine asked mock-sternly.

"Yes we have, mammy Martine. We practice, practice, practice and then we practice some more, like you always said."

"The martinet has her uses, girls, but also remember what I taught you." Sarah added.

"We remember, mammy Sarah. 'Look with your heart first and then with your senses before letting your brain come to any conclusions'."

"We are very proud of you two, Julia, Ryanna. You are fine young ladies and you will be great women. We are glad we were given this opportunity to see you one last time, but we must go now. We leave you in the good hands of your new friends and we hope you will come to see them as your new family. They will need your help as you will theirs. Know that we will always love you and be with you in your heart."

The blanket of love that suffused the two stayed with them until it met that of their new family with which it blended before gradually fading away.

"I still think we should have told them." Catherine said, grumpily.

"You know why we couldn't." Jules told her

"If they knew of the future, it would be altered in unknown ways which could jeopardize their happiness." Sarah continued.

"We gave them the tools and a push in the right direction. That's all we are allowed, baby." Martine finished, hugging her wife.

"Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, let's play some naughty games of our own!" Ari laughed.

Chapter 3

The women invited Joannie to supper. She cried when they told her of their afternoon visit, but she was happy to know her mothers were at peace.

"You see, my mother never had children of her womb like the Mother, Aunt Juliette, who had six, or Aunt Arianna who had four, but from the time she found me, it became her mission in life to pick up strays and help any child in distress she came across or even only heard of. She adopted some, like me, and she found good homes for the others. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she created a foundation to carry her work after she was gone."

"She sounded like a very nice woman when we spoke." Sylvie said. "From the bits and pieces I remember of her from the island, she used to sit and watch us play for hours. She was kind to us and when it was time to go back, she would gather us around a camp fire and tell us stories about princes and princesses. Somehow, every single one of them finished with the phrase 'And they live happily ever after.' She never said no when we would ask for one more. She would go on until every one of us was asleep."

"That's my mother all right. She had the patience of an angel with the little ones. Almost until the day she died, she was the go-to person when parents needed a babysitter. In the last weeks, there would have to be someone with her because she couldn't be as active with the children, but they still came because it made her so happy to be surrounded by them."

For long minutes, those who had known Catherine Lamoureux shed tears in memory of the beautiful woman with the great heart. Sylvie hugged Joannie and did her best to project understanding and compassion to her, but her simple closeness did more to convey her sentiments than her new-found ability. Ryanna and Julia sat on the laps of Patricia and Karlie and were hugged lovingly.

The rest of the evening was spent companionably in the great living room in front of the fire, making plans for the week ahead.

The city girls weren't too keen on the skiing excursions proposed by Ryanna and Julia, but they compromised on tobogganing as their contribution to afternoons in the snow.

Sylvie wanted to visit with Gaia, the old Archivist to get copies of the ancient documents Catherine has spoken of to bring back to the sensei.

Karlie said she would visit the institute lawyer to go over the mammies' will and to begin the title transfer of the house to Sylvie.

"Could you make it the common property of us all?" Sylvie asked.

"Funny you should ask. When we were on the island, I had a private visit from Sarah. She told me I should take on the role of Archivist for our family because my wives were destined for great things and someday our grand-children would want to know about us." Karlie answered. "Is there anything we should know about, sweetie?" She teased.

Sylvie blushed furiously. She had acknowledged her own sentiments, but she wasn't sure about the other women's. It was Joannie who came to her rescue.

"We have a motto in our clan. 'Listen with your heart first.' I realize I've only met you this afternoon, but it's pretty obvious to me that you are all in love with each other. If the mammies have taught us anything it's that love will win in the end. So stop teasing poor Sylvie and tell her how you really feel."

"Aw shucks, sis. You know we love you. And Martine also told me we were already married in our hearts when she came to me." Jade said.

"She did? You didn't tell us."

"Well, she also told me some other things too. Like I had to make a career change and that I should go see the head support therapist trainer ASAP to get a head start because I had a lot of practice ahead of me. When I told her that, for a ghost, she had a lot of nerve telling me what to do with my life and that she should stuff it before I called the Ghost Busters. She gave me a quizzical look. Then she patted me gently on the cheek. She said I would do just fine and that the little ones would be in good hands because I wouldn't let them get away with slacking like her Catherine had. I couldn't say anything to that because I felt such a sense of her pride in me that I told her 'Okay then, as long as we're clear who is the boss'. I can still hear her laugh."

"That's our mammy Martine." Ryanna laughed.

"Mammy Sarah called her a martinet, but a nice one." Julia finished.

"And you, love? Did you have a special visit?" Sylvie asked Patricia.

"As a matter of fact I did." She answered. "Juliette told me that, like her own wives, we were pretty much all alpha females, but that there could be only one Mother in a family. She said I had already marked you all in my own way and that I would be a great mother, not only to the little ones, but also to many more. She too expressed great pride and confidence in me. I'm not too sure what she meant, because, at 38, my child-bearing days are pretty much over."

"Don't take this too literally, dear." Joannie told her. "Catherine never had children of her own, but she was like a mother to hundreds."

"But I'm an engineering student, not a social worker."

"Yeah, mom." Jade chimed in. "But you do it only because you love the science, not as a real career goal. You already have lots of administrative skills from your old job at the university and you created a foundation all on your own to fund scholarships for kids who want to study in science. I'm sure they would be happy to have you at Catherine's foundation. Heck, I bet in no time at all you'd be running the whole show."

"That's a lot to think about. Why don't I sleep on it?"

"You're right, love. It's been a long day for all of us. A good night's sleep is exactly what the doctor would order if asked." Sylvie put in.

"I can feel your evil grin, Jay. She said 'sleep'."

"Why, Kay, you're not even looking at me. How could you tell?"

"For one thing, you have your hand not so discreetly on my ass and also you forget our new special connection."

"Does this mean we won't be able to take the other associates at your firm to the cleaners anymore because it would be cheating?"

"Exactly. Also, you forget we have company. I'm sure Joannie is scandalized by your shameless behavior." Karlie had gone with this last dig after looking over to see the old woman grinning from ear to ear.

By the time Jade turned to her to apologize, Joannie had her poker face on, but it didn't last long. "You have no idea how nice it is to hear laughter again in this house. Remember, this was a nudist home and there was sexual teasing going on all the time. Our mothers were a lusty bunch of women."

They all laughed at the image of the five women playing together.

"It is getting late for these old bones, so I will call one of the grand-kids to come pick me up. Good night ladies. Sleep well, if you can, because you can expect a lot of visit tomorrow."

The women opted for a last glass of wine and cuddled in front of the dying fire.

When Ryanna asked if they could borrow some clothes to walk to their apartment, Jade told them that they could not. Seeing the serious look on her face, the two young women looked crestfallen and rose. Shedding the borrowed robes, they steeled themselves to run home, naked as they had arrived.

They were already walking to the door when they heard the sound of resounding slaps on a meaty surface. They didn't have to search long for the source of the noise. Jade was on her mother's lap, being spanked vigorously, both naked like the two women coming toward them.

"You girls will have to get used to Jade's... our wife's twisted sense of humor real fast, or you're going to be on an emotional roller coaster all the time." Karlie told them gently. "What she meant, in her own thankfully inimitable way, is that we won't lend you some clothes tonight because you don't need them."

"That's true, dears. This is your home now for many reasons." Sylvie explained. "First, we have been told by unimpeachable sources that we would need your help and you ours. Second, I personally owe you for your assistance in my time of need. I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't dropped everything to get me out of the mess I was in, which you did again today at the risk of your own health. Third, and most important as far as we are all concerned, in our own unique way, we are a family and you are part of it and we hope you will consider our casa to be your casa."

Since there could be no doubt as to the emotions involved between people of their special talents, Ryanna and Julia leapt through the intervening space to hug Sylvie and Karlie, raining kisses all over their faces.

Ryanna and Julia were born only days apart from parents who were closer than most since the two brothers had married the two sisters. It was natural that they were literally raised together as siblings. When, at menarche, they showed the first signs of the empathic talent at a high degree, they were in the best environment possible to be protected and its development nurtured.

Over the following years, they became the first empaths of an equal caliber to Catherine in the clan. There had been others, to a much lesser degree and receiving or projecting only, never both.

In the clan, ethics were a paramount element of the children's education and even more so with any who were even slightly talented. Catherine had taken a special interest in the girls as she could relate to the challenges awaiting them, having been there herself without the benefit of experienced guidance. With Martine's help, they tried to give them the tools that would help them face life outside the compound where they were at least understood.

The most important of which was the ability to shield from the emotional storm of crowds surrounding them.

In their exuberance at being accepted in a group where they really belonged and, being in the only place where they had ever felt safe doing it, for the first time in years, the young women lowered their shields. Hesitantly at first, testing the emotional waters so to speak, then fully when they only felt love and acceptance without reservation.

Tears of happiness were falling on their cheeks when their faces were cupped in gentle hands and their lips lovingly kissed. The contact was soft, meant to reassure, to show affection.

Soon, the heat of the bodies pressed against theirs was met by their own and they deepened the kisses, opening their mouths to the tongues delicately licking their lips. Their hands doing some caressing of their own.

Karlie held Julia's ass as she wrapped her legs around her waist firmly and walked them to the couch where she sat with the girl straddling her.

She felt a responsibility to the young woman to make her first real sexual experience a happy one she would remember fondly. Sure, they had played a little on the island, but it had only been in the order of a game, a naughty game as they had called it. Karlie wanted this to be a learning experience in making love, not just a romp in the sack.