228 228 The Pool
Priya headed for the stack of swimsuits just as eight other witches and Stephanie all barged into the newly renovated exercise area.
“Wow, this is nice. The realistic sky is an excellent touch.” Mary congratulated them as she looked around the training area.
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“We felt the arousal from Priya and your amusement and thought we should warn you that the tour was going to be here right away, but it looks like we misunderstood.” Mary giggled while the others pretended like they hadn’t rushed over here expecting Wolfe to be doing indecent things in public in the middle of the day.
“Well, you were only half wrong. Priya was about to get naked. Do the rest of you want to try out the pool as well? You’ll be the first ones in it since we just finished it. It’s pleasantly warm and sunny in here, so I don’t think it will stay empty for long.” Wolfe recommended.
“They’re going to be so jealous when they get here. We should get our laps in before the place gets crowded.” Mary agreed while already running for the wicker changing cubicles that had been stood up on the far side of the pool.
Wolfe smiled as he saw that there was also a stack of swim trunks in various sizes included in the swimwear for those who didn’t like the bikini bottoms or the one-piece suits.
The ones in his size were in a separate pile, being larger than any of the others, so Wolfe grabbed them and quickly changed from his magical armour to the trunks.
Eventually, he should likely have them make some proper clothing for him using the disguise spell so that he didn’t have to wear an armour spell all the time. But it was comfortable, and he had gotten used to the feeling of vague warmth from the spell, which didn’t actually touch your skin.
“Damn, I had missed that eye candy.” Ella joked as she saw Wolfe headed for the pool.
They were together without clothing fairly often but usually in bed and without the lights on. Maybe they really had been too busy lately. Wolfe felt like it had been forever since he had seen a swimsuit. They should have built this place earlier.
Come to think of it, there was a hot springs room in here that he had never used as well. He was really going to have to work on his priorities.
Wolfe dove into the water and found that it was comfortably cool in the warm air of the Den and refreshing in a way that only magically purified waters could be.
“Now, that’s not fair. How did Stephanie manage to get in the pool before I did?” Mary complained as she came out of the changing booths and saw the cat leap from the edge of the pool to Wolfe’s shoulder, leaving only her paws in the water.
“Well, she didn’t need to change, so she’s just been waiting on all of us to be ready.” Wolfe pointed out, then laughed at the hiss Stephanie let out as she was soaked by the splash from everyone else jumping into the water.
[You know, you could transform back and go swimming with them if you wanted.] Wolfe teased the Familiar Cat, knowing that she was more than strong enough to break the curse that had transformed her by now.
[Not happening. You have no idea how good being a cat is. This is the life.] Stephanie retorted, still certain of her decision to remain in cat form.
[How about halfway? Katerina is really cute with the fluffy ears.] Wolfe suggested.
[Nope, I’m not opening up a new hobby for you. You can pet the witches or the cat ears, but you’ll have to find the little one if you want to pet the cat-eared witch.]
Wolfe began to laugh, confusing the other witches in the pool, but waved off their questioning looks. “It’s an inside joke.”
The girls splashed around in the water for a while, then the tour group arrived at the newly constructed recreation area and gasped in awe. None of them had seen it before, so they all had the same look on their faces at the sight of the blue skies and the white sand beach with its running track and crystal-bottomed pool.
“The rest of the Den is amazing, but this is something else. I almost forgot that we’re deep underground with that dome and sky overhead. Oh, look, there are swimsuits already set out. Do you think that we have time for a swim before going to pick our rooms?” One of the new arrivals begged.
“I don’t see why not. It’s not like you’re on duty. We will get you into a chore rotation once you’re all healed up.” The tour guide agreed.
“Thirty minutes after eating is too long. Pool, here I come.” The golden-eyed new arrival laughed as she ran to the changing room with a swimsuit in hand.
For all her excitement, she had a regretful look on her face when she came back out. “I just realized that I wasn’t the one that activated that armour spell, and I don’t have any clothes other than the swimsuit.”
Wolfe chuckled, but Priya was already on top of the situation. “There are generic clothes in all the rooms, a nightgown and a few baggy shirts with tights plus a pair of slippers. We expect everyone to be short on supplies when they arrive.
You can either get a witch to make your clothes, or if your aura isn’t too badly damaged, you can make them yourself after Wolfe treats the damage from the Nerve Gas. But most of us wear armour spells all the time now. It’s easier, and we can make them look like whatever we want without ever having to do laundry.”
“Well, I never could use disguise magic to create clothes. I wasn’t strong enough, so I guess I’ll have to beg.” One of the witches sighed.
“Not necessarily. Once Wolfe finishes with you, you’ll be a whole new witch. He even awakened ones at the Academy who couldn’t do magic at all.” Ella informed her with a smirk.
“And they just let you take him away with you? How does that even happen? I would have expected all three of you to be locked up in a tower somewhere, only let out under guard to work your magic on the freshmen.” Someone asked from inside the changing rooms.
“They didn’t notice what was going on before we were drafted and sent to the front lines. Sylvan Coven had pretty much figured it out, but then the mundane army attacked, and we were separated, and he’s been here ever since.” Cassie explained.
Now the looks from the new witches had moved from awed to greedy. Nobody would want to pass up an opportunity to increase their potential by even a little bit.
“As I said, I’ll be working to repair the damage later today. It takes some time, so let’s swim and then eat first.” Wolfe informed them, knowing that he would have to go over the entire Den over the next few days.