The Mothering

[HoodedRat757]

IV


With one hand softly clasping Will’s, the sleek, feminine fingers of Mother Aria’s free hand adroitly manipulated the buttons on the lift panel. “Floor 35…That’s where we’re going…” Will thought. The metal elevator doors opened to a sight that hit Will like a bucket of cold water. The room was small, windowless and concrete. Dim, weak pinkish tinged light seeped forth, coming from two sets of three circular ceiling lights, spaced about a metre and a half from each other. One of the rows of light illuminated what appeared to be a small, concrete stool that was fused into the equally cold concrete floor of the room.

The other row of light illuminated a glass table and was strong enough at least to capture the breathtaking beauty of the 5 women in skimpy navy outfits sitting at it, their long, smooth crossed legs visible through the glass front panel. Will recognized the red-haired one in the centre as Senior Mother Talia. On her immediate left was an absolutely ravishing woman with long dark hair, full lips and big brown eyes that looked like you could melt into them, all of this wrapped in smooth olive skin. Her hourglass figure was fuller than many Sentinels Will had seen and it suited her perfectly. Will thought she looked Persian. On the far left was an Eastern European long legged beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes. The Eastern Bloc had long been absorbed into the Ecstatic Union but Will thought she was most likely ethnically Ukranian or Russian.

The women that made up Senior Mother Talia’s right side were no less glorious. The woman on her immediate right appeared to be of Chinese ancestry (The mainland had long succumbed to the Ecstatic Union though the Taiwanese Citadel still held out as a bastion of heresy). She had exquisite pale skin and soft feminine features, with a very slim hourglass build. The last Sentinel on the far right appeared to be of Indian descent with a caramel skin tone and hauntingly beautiful light blue coloured eyes that seemed to stare into the soul. Will notice that the chairs the Sentinels sat in were also made of glass.

Senior Mother Councils were usually made up of 5 Sentinels and this one was no exception to the norm. “Senior Mothers Sophia, Indira, Talia, Kalia, Taia!” Mother Aria was quick to salute the 5 of them. “Disrobe your Devotee, seat him and take a seat yourself Mother Aria.” Senior Mother Talia stated, saluting Mother Aria in return and motioning to a glass chair off to the side that Will hadn’t noticed. Will expected to feel his cheeks burning as Mother Aria undressed in front of the women with tender swiftness but it seemed he’d grown used to the experience with how many times it’d occurred in the last 24 hours.

Mother Aria carefully sat Will down on the concrete stool, forcing himself to ignore the unpleasant coldness of it against his naked rear as she did. Mother Aria smiled as she took her seat but Will could detect a slight nervousness in those big brown eyes. Senior Mother Talia began the proceedings, zeroing in on Will with that disarming smile. “Well Will…Welcome to your first Group Mothering session…We’re all very excited to have you here.”

The red haired Senior Mother paused for a moment before continuing. “Tell me Will…How are you finding things here so far? And how do you feel about your Main Mother so far?” Out of the corner of his eye, Will could feel Mother Aria’s eyes widen with nerves. He’d have to reply to the Senior Mother’s questioning with tact, for both their sakes.

“I-it’s been different to how I thought it might be…” He began in a more timid tone than he intended. “My room is really nice and all the Mothers have been kind. Mother Aria’s been real caring to me and I’m g-grateful to her….” Will kicked himself inside for trailing off the way he did at the end of the sentence but Senior Mother Talia smiled reassuringly. To the right of her, the Chinese looking Sentinel who was apparently Senior Mother Kalia appeared to be dutifully transcribing Will’s answers into a Cyberpad.

“I’m pleased to hear that Will. I’m sure your Main Mother’s already grown very attached to her very first Devotee…” Senior Mother Talia directed her smile at Mother Aria momentarily. Will expected Senior Mother Talia to resume her line of questioning and was slightly thrown when the Persian looking Sentinel who was apparently called Senior Mother Indira was next to speak. “We’ve been over your academic record Will. You're clearly a very intelligent if perhaps overly introverted young man…It seems you excelled at History and Social Sciences in general during your late schooling years, earning a scholarship in your final year even!” Senior Mother Indira paused here, her sense of timing oh so similar to Senior Mother Talia’s.

Eventually she continued “...And yet it appears you’ve chosen not to begin your university studies this past year as would’ve been expected. We’re all fascinated to know why that is…Could you tell us Will?” Will flinched on the inside and hoped that he hadn’t on the outside. Even if he hadn’t, maybe the rumours that Sentinels could read minds were true. Who could say they weren’t?

“I-I…I don’t…” Will was feeling flustered already and he hated himself for it. “I…In the last year things have just changed for me…A lot of things I took for granted just seem wrong now…” Will knew where Senior Mother Indira was going with the questioning and the prospect frightened him. “Ah, indeed…” She smiled. “And that’s the reason you sit in front of us, here in this little room without a window onboard the EUS Ophelia is it not? Tell me Will, why is it that you think you’re here with us now?”

That flustered feeling was morphing into a bottomless pit of trepidation in Will’s gut. He hated it when he felt cornered. It could make him lose control of himself and right now he could feel his cool slipping. Within seconds the pent up frustration and resentment exploded to the surface. “I-I’m here because I think a bunch of the Divine Teachings are insane! We don’t have to have public orgy festivals to prove our devotion to each other! Not everything has to revolve around sex, we can have other things we care about in life and it shouldn’t be up to any Senior Mother’s Council who we marry!” Will’s face had flushed red with his outburst but the second he’d finished it he felt all the colour drain from his face. He’d done it now. What he’d spoken was complete blasphemy and not something anyone with any modicum of sense would do.

He braced himself, waiting for the hammer to drop. It never came. Senior Mother Indira seemed quite unbothered and with a flick of her fingers indicated that she had no further questions. Mother Kalia continued to transcribe Will’s responses in the same attentive but unperturbed fashion as if Will had just told the Senior Mother’s what his favourite colour was. Senior Mother Talia clearly picked up on Will’s discomfort. “You can relax a little, Will. As I said when you sat down, this is your first Group Mothering session. That means that all we want from you is your honesty. We can’t get you on the right path until we know where it is you’ve gone wrong…”

Will nodded in understanding and was both relieved and frustrated with himself at the same time. At least his head wasn’t on the chopping block right now but why’d he have to go and reveal his hand like that? At 18 years old he was going to have to grow up quickly if he was going to make it off the EUS Ophelia without his mind being broken. At least from what he could see out of his peripheral vision, Mother Aria was looking a lot more relaxed. Maybe he hadn’t put his foot in it as badly as he thought he had.

Some time passed as Senior Mother Talia resumed her line of questioning again, albeit with very innocuous questions about Will’s upbringing and relationships with his parents and friends. It was a welcome change from Senior Mother Indira’s drilling but Will knew that was intentional. He wasn’t so naive that he couldn’t tell that the Senior Mother’s were giving him time to cool off before they went in deep again. Surely enough, it wasn’t long before the real probing began.

“So Will…” The Blonde, leggy Eastern European looking Sentinel - who Mother Aria had saluted as Senior Mother Sophia - suddenly perked up with a warm smile. “Why don’t you help us get a better feel for your situation. We want to help you afterall…” She beamed again. “U-uh, okay sure…” Will wished he could stop stuttering like a goofball. Senior Mother Sophia smiled at his compliance. “So tell me Will…What famous female celebrity would you say you fantasize about at night the most?” Will felt the slight burn on his cheeks again. Mother Sophia had caught him off guard quite cleanly. What she wanted from this question, Will wasn’t sure but he wasn’t going to take the risk of lying about it, however trivial it seemed.

“I…I…I’d have t-Morana…It’s Morana Le Fay…” Will really felt his face burning now. The gorgeous 25 year old redheaded singer - with a stunning body that was always on display in the black corsets and knee high level boots she wore - was known for her rather shocking and unpredictable concerts. The frequent public orgies that occurred at them had even drawn praise from some well known clerical figures in the Ecstatic Union, both male and female.

“I have to say Will, not quite the answer I’d expected from you given your little outburst just now. I’m surprised but pleased.” Senior Mother Sophia smiled smugly, looking more than a little pleased with herself. “DAMNIT!” Will cursed himself inside his head. The leggy Senior Mother had him dead to rights. What he’d just told her didn’t just seem odd, it seemed borderline hypocritical given what he’d told the Senior Mothers just before that. Of course a beautiful woman was a beautiful woman regardless and Morana Le Fay was certainly that but still…Was this how they’d break him down? Make him doubt himself? Mother Kalia was transcribing again. Fantastic.

“I have a question of my own for you Will and please don’t be prudish about it…” It was Senior Mother Taia’s - the Indian looking one - turn to grill him. Her stunning light blue eyes locked eyes with him. “How often would you say you masturbate in a week? Everything we ask, we ask to help you Will so please don’t be shy, Diddums.” If Senior Mother Sophia’s question had caught Will off guard, Senior Mother Taia’s just about knocked him off his stool. Here he was, imprisoned by the ocean around him, sitting naked in a cold room in front of some of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen as they analyzed his every response and now he was going to have to tell them how many times he masturbated weekly.

His face burned again but he was determined to just get it over with. “I’ve been trying…Trying to have better self control recently. I’m probably doing it about three times a week.” He scanned the faces of the women but they were all unreadable again. No hint of amusement or mockery. There was a silence again that seemed to last an eternity. Finally, Senior Mother Talia broke it. “You’ve done really well Will and in being honest with us and yourself, you’re doing the right thing. You’ve been in here with us for a while now and you’re probably feeling quite tired and hungry, especially seeing as you’re a growing young boy. Senior Mother Kalia just has one more question for you and it’ll all be over for the day, I promise.

With that, The beautiful East Asian Sentinel fixed Will with a smile that would’ve made his cheeks blush if they weren’t already burning. “You’ve been really brave and well behaved Will…I’ll cut to the chase shall I? All I want to know from you is this: How many women have you had the pleasure of being with?” Will wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. After the masturbation question he really should’ve seen this coming and yet he hadn’t. He knew it was too much of a risk to answer dishonestly here but he had no idea what reaction the truth might bring. “I-uh-welll. It’s not something I’ve gone out of my way to dive into yet…Not that I don’t want to but I haven’t felt the need to rus-What I’m trying to say is…I’m a virgin…”

A deathly silence came over the room. Just how much trouble was he in? He’d kept his eyes to the floor as he finished his answer. He expected the eyes of the Senior Mothers to be on him as he forced himself to lift his face back up to look at them. Instead they were looking at a rather uncomfortable Mother Aria with grave expressions on their faces. The silence continued a little longer. Once again, Senior Mother Talia was the one to break it. “I understand this isn’t your fault in the slightest Mother Aria but I do expect you’ll rectify it immediately?” The Senior Mother’s tone wasn’t harsh but it brooked no argument. “Of course Senior Mother Talia, I’ll take care of young Will right away. This’ll be a blip on the radar, nothing to worry about at all after tonight.

There was another short silence. “Good!” Senior Mother Talia finally responded, that reassuring smile returning to her face. “We won’t keep either of you any longer, best you get straight to it! And you Will, you’ve done very well so it’s only fitting that your Main Mother has a very special reward waiting for you tonight!” With that, Senior Mother Kalia approached Mother Aria and handed her a bag without saying a word. Mother Aria immediately scooped Will’s clothes up and put them in the bag. She took Will by the hand. “Come Will, let’s get moving Sweetpea.” “Aren’t you going to dress me?” Will whispered. “No need for that right now my Special One, no need at all…”

Within minutes Mother Aria had guided Will back into the elevator. As Mother Aria selected the floor, her lovely hand seemed to shake a little too much. “She’s nervous still…” he realized. “We’re going to level 33 not level 4…Where is she taking me?...” The elevator doors opened to reveal a hallway with cream carpet and orange walls. The occasional verse from the Sacred Texts adorned the orange walls “Through the Union of Man and Woman, the Divine Truth is reached…”, “Live not for yourself but for your other Half" and “The Main Mother saves the Devotee as the Devotee saves her.” Dark wood apartment doors lined the hallway with numbers on them. “These are living quarters for the Mothers aren’t they?” Will said. “That’s right Will. Come this way Duckling.” As they walked the hallway, they passed the occasional Sentinel. None of them paid any attention to Will’s nakedness, it was obviously nothing they hadn’t seen on this floor before.

Finally, Mother Aria stopped at an apartment door with the letter V on it. “This is it Will. Let’s get you inside Sweetling…” Mother Aria opened the door and ushered Will in. What was he in for now? Deep down he already knew but something inside himself made him deny it.