After the frustrating encounter, she needed to release her built up tension. She went to the dungeon with Bell, and Meda as her helpers. While slaying monsters they competed to see who could kill the most. Even going into one of the many pantries within the upper floors. This wasn't training, this was pest control and stress relief.
A few hours later, they returned, cashed in their crystals, and then continued exploring the city, looking for what they felt they might need for a trip deep into the dungeon. All while Meteria thought to herself just how much she wanted to kill Riveria at the moment… I wonder how Shurry managed to hold back that much anger for so long. I can't imagine feeling like that every day. Anyway, it's Bell's job to punish the ones who killed his father. I'll handle Ottar outside of the wargame, but I'll leave everything to those young ladies. They're strong…
"Mommy! Look at what I found! Look, it's got a rabbit!"
"Pfft, that's cute. Remember, you're supposed to be looking for things for the dungeon expedition though."
"Yeah, I got this? I heard all the stories about papa. Maybe with this I can feel closer to him?"
Bell's kindness was almost too much to bear; it always put a smile on Meteria's face. Should I reveal it to him now? I will! Meteria reached into her bosom, and pulled out the necklace Alraj had given her as a birthday gift, so- so many years ago…
"See, I have a matching one. Your father gave this to me 10 years ago, on my 14th birthday. He said I should wear it to remind me of him whenever we were apart."
Bell saw the necklace his mother held out for him to see, it looked like the same rabbit character, only a different pose. Meteria's necklace had the bunny trying to kiss the viewer, and the one Bell bought from the vendor just now… The bunny was trying to hug the viewer.
"Wait a minute… I remember that necklace?" The vendor said, and then sighed, looking to the wall of their stall. "I miss them, all of them. Maxim was strong, Gale was always annoying but funny in his own way… The day I saw Alraj carrying Silence, and Gluttony upon his tiny frame, I knew things had been hard… What happened to him was shameful, criminal, and evil. I had always wondered why… Why didn't Origin Wolf rip their throats out. Now, I see the reason why."
"You knew Alraj?"
"Yeah, he's the one that brought me a bunch of pretty materials from the dungeon. He seemed to have quite the good luck in finding them… Miss Meteria, that necklace he gave you, I made it with nothing but materials he provided for me. He had ordered two to be made, and said he would come back for the hugging one to give to you on your 10 year anniversary. Who would have thought that kid would come to purchase it himself."
"Really?" Meteria's eyes watered, pooling up with a faintly salty fluid…
"That's right. I only made two necklaces like that. The kissing one, is to show the young spark of love, and the hugging one is meant to show the continued love, how it matures into being more than words can express." The vendor, a man, dolled up to look feminine, likely to show off more of his jewelry with a little more pizzazz.
Bell looked at the necklace again, and looked like he was deep in thought about something. He couldn't quite figure it out, but he had a feeling. He looked over to Meda, to see her giggling along with Bell's condition. Then he looked back to his mother, Meteria, then back down to his newly purchased necklace. The last thing his father had ordered… He walked over to Meda. and held it up to her neck. And then he smiled.
"You should wear it, Meda."
"Huh?"
"Pfft, like father, like son."
Meteria smiled, and let her necklace lay prominently displayed on her chest. Meda was a little confused…
"Meda, hold up your hair. I'll put it on you." Bell smiled.
Meda blushed… And was unresponsive, so Meteria moved her hair out of the way. To which Bell took as the opening. Once done, Meda looked down at her chest where the bunny necklace rested.
"It's cute…" She said, gently touching it. "Mommy Meteria, Bell, is this really okay? It-"
"Yes, it's fine. It's yours now."
…
Back at the Hathor familia, the dungeon expedition team was making preparations with everyone involved in the upcoming wargame. While they helped with preparations, they wouldn't actually go on the trip this time, the reason? To make sure nothing too terrible happened on the surface again… And to keep the Freya and Loki familias in check while Shurry would be gone.
"Alright, I think that's everything we'll need this time." Alise said, finishing her check of the gathered resources, as well as checking over the members that were coming with them. "Though I'm surprised, the four of you are coming down with us. Are you all pregnant right now?"
"Well, three of us are, but it doesn't matter, the safest place in the world right now is right beside our mate." Neze answered.
"I'm not going to miss a single moment I could be next to him, not after waiting so long already." Alfia answered.
"He's my husband, I'm going to stay with him this time. I wouldn't want him to worry about our baby's condition even for a moment. Plus… I plan on building our vitality stat a bit while we're down there."
"Better not do it too loudly. I might just come watch."
"I like it wild, so quiet isn't going to happen." Rose said, doing more checks on her equipment.
"Rose, isn't this your first time in the dungeon?"
"Uh, actually no. I've been down to the 37th floor before. Now that I think of it… It was during that research expedition that I realized I had feelings for Shurry."
"Pfft, he must have been showing off a bit."
"Just a little, Gale did something stupid, and Shurry picked up the slack without missing a beat. It was then I wanted to have his puppies."
"But I beat you to him." Ardee giggled.
"Yeah, I may not have imagined sharing my mate with others, but this group of sisters isn't bad."
"So… Why aren't you pregnant yet? That seems odd considering everything."
"Well, I really want his puppies, I also don't want to be level 1 for long. So, I'm challenging myself to level up before the mating season ends."
"Oh wow, that's not long, only a few months." Alise's eyes widened… "You're trying that crazy training program?"
"Yeah… I'm going to do it. My puppies are on the line!"
"I see, it's always interesting to hear about how motivated other races are about having kids."
"They're the cutest things in the world. Of course I want some of my own."
…