Tears began to form slowly in the corners of the petite girl’s eyes, the vibrant blue color returning as the eerie golden hue faded away completely, like ashes to the wind.

Briar stared down at the sticky fluid still coating her small hands with shaky, unfocused eyes, her tiny shoulders trembling as droplets slid silently down her flushed cheeks.

"I... I became carried away just now... p-please, forgive me for what I did..." Briar’s voice cracked with raw emotion as she spoke, her words tumbling out in a hurried, remorseful rush.

In her distress, her feet tangled awkwardly beneath her, causing her to trip over herself and land hard on her soft little bottom with a quiet thud against the carpet of grass.

"Please... p-please," her voice dropped into a trembling whisper, as if she didn’t want him to hear her, "don’t tell F-Father about any of this, I b-beg you. He warned all of us so strictly not to h... hurt normal people... He would become so angry at me again. He will try to k-kill me again, just like before!"

Briar was now trembling in a deeply disturbing manner, her entire small frame shaking violently as if caught in an invisible storm.

The sight shocked Heka out of her lingering post-orgasm daze almost instantly.

The Amazon woman pushed herself up from the grass with surprising speed despite the weakness still lingering in her legs, rushing forward to close the short distance between them.

When she reached the fallen girl, Heka dropped to her knees and gently but firmly grabbed Briar’s small face with both of her large, calloused hands, tilting it upward so she could look straight into those wide, tear-filled blue eyes.

"I am not angry at all," Heka affirmed in a straight, firm voice, her expression steady and reassuring, leaving no room for doubt. "We were only... playing together just now, nothing more and nothing less. See? I am not hurt in the slightest.

"And listen to me carefully, Briar... I do not fully know the exact details of your relationship with Benjamin or how all of you came to be together as a family... But I can swear on my own life that Benjamin will never hurt you. Not now, not ever."

The tears continued to fall steadily from Briar’s eyes, tracing wet paths down her soft cheeks.

However, her violent shaking had begun to reduce noticeably, the tremors growing smaller and less frantic as Heka’s words sank in.

"But... But that time, Papa threw me—"

"That was that time," Heka interrupted softly yet decisively, pulling the small girl into a warm, enveloping embrace, wrapping her strong arms around Briar’s tiny body and holding her close against her bare chest. "Whatever happened back then was simply ’that time.’ The Benjamin who left all of you children in my care TODAY would never hurt any of you. He loves you very much — more than you can probably imagine. And... I do too."

Briar’s blue eyes widened dramatically at the simple but sincere word "love," as though the concept itself carried an almost overwhelming weight for her.

Then, with sudden urgency, she pulled herself free from Heka’s embrace, slipping out of the comforting hold with surprising quickness.

"N-No, surely you should spend your love on someone much bigger and more deserving, like Father!" Briar explained rapidly, her cheeks flushing furiously once again as she averted her gaze. "My wise teacher told me very clearly that one must always have a great deal of pride and hubris, and that love should never be handed out freely to just anyone!"

"Pfft... hahaha!" Heka laughed heartily, the rich, warm sound bubbling up from deep in her chest and echoing lightly through the secluded forest clearing. "Who exactly is this silly teacher of yours?"

"Hm? Lady Tera," Briar replied, tilting her small head to one side in innocent curiosity. "She said she is the wisest being in the entire world, and that all races come to her whenever they need important advice."

"I know of a certain Superior Spirit called Tera mentioned in some of the ancient tomes I have studied," Heka said gently, reaching out to pat the small girl’s silver hair with affectionate care. "But nothing at all concerning great wisdom was written about her there. However, Briar... I still love you, just as I said. You are so innocent... and small... and incredibly cute; how can I not love you?"

Briar blushed deeply once more, her gaze dropping shyly to the ground as she played nervously with her small fingers, twisting them together in front of her.

After a long moment, she gave a small, hesitant nod of acceptance.

***

While the two of them moved together under the gentle cascade of the nearby waterfall to rinse themselves clean, the cool, refreshing water pouring over their bodies in soothing streams, they eventually settled comfortably into the natural rock tub.

The basin held them both easily, the fresh water reaching up to their chests as they lounged in peaceful silence for a few moments.

Briar soon felt it was the proper time to speak again.

"Heka-sama, Heka-sama," she called out softly, her voice carrying a curious lilt.

"...See, you really should just call me Heka from now on," Heka replied lazily, her strong hand reaching forward to rub the top of the small girl’s head with slow, soothing strokes.

Both of them sat relaxed inside the tub, the water lapping gently against their skin.

"I wanted to ask you something important..." Briar started, turning her head to look up at the woman positioned just behind her.

She leaned back comfortably, using the soft, generous cushion of Heka’s full breasts to support the back of her neck in a gentle, intimate press. "Do you have... two souls living inside you?"

"Huh?" Heka made a visibly confused expression, her eyebrows drawing together as she processed the unexpected question. "Two souls?"

"Ah, please forget my offhand comment just now. It was rude of me to ask something like that without thinking," Briar said quickly, sinking a little deeper into the water as if trying to hide her small face.

"No, please, explain yourself fully," Heka urged her with genuine interest, her voice warm and encouraging rather than scolding.

"..." Briar remained quiet for a long while, the only sounds the soft splashing of water and the distant call of forest birds.

Then she turned around completely to face Heka directly, her blue eyes lowering thoughtfully to stare at the Amazon woman’s lower abdomen just beneath the surface of the water.

"When my tongue was deep inside you earlier, I kept feeling a strong mass of spiritual energy bumping against me repeatedly," Briar explained in a soft, precise tone, reaching out one small hand to touch the spot on Heka’s stomach lightly with curious fingertips. "It felt as if that energy was being disturbed every time I lapped at your womb. And after a while, I realized that it was actually another soul resting inside you."

Heka’s eyes widened first in pure wonder at the revelation, her mouth opening slightly in surprise.

But the expression soon melted into a bright, childishly delighted smile.

She laughed softly, then grabbed Briar playfully and stood up in the tub, lifting the small girl effortlessly into the air.

"Hehehe!" With a joyful spin, she twirled the petite titan around once before stopping and sitting back down into the cool water, settling Briar comfortably in front of her once more.

"That is because... Aunty Heka is having a baby growing inside her right now," Heka said with a proud, affectionate grin spreading across her face.

Briar’s blue eyes went wide with innocent curiosity, sparkling with fascination. "Ah, another type of Briar is inside Heka-sama right now?!"

"Uh, er, well... you ARE a baby, technically," Heka replied, looking away awkwardly for a brief moment as a faint blush touched her own cheeks. "But this one inside me is an even smaller baby. Currently it is only about the width of a single small hair — we call it an embryo at this stage.

"You see, millions of tiny little parts from Benjamin went inside me during our time together, but only one of them successfully took hold and started making a real baby. That tiny spark of life... that is probably the soul you noticed bumping against your tongue."

"Oohhh!" Briar beamed with pure delight, her small face lighting up completely.

She leaned forward eagerly, pressing her soft cheeks against Heka’s stomach beneath the water’s surface, her silver hair floating around her like liquid silver as her head dipped partially under the clear water in her enthusiastic exploration.