---Twenty Minutes Later---
Manufacturing several molds and trowels for us to work with, I showed Nuelalla the basics of sandcastle building. Starting with a moat to keep the ocean from washing away our work, we proceeded to use a few molds to construct fortification towers. Spacing them out evenly on the edge of our work area, Nuelalla started to connect them with meticulously crafted walls.
"So… What exactly is the purpose of building this fortification? Is it meant to distract tiny creatures away from us, or something else?", Nuelalla inquired, trying to make logical sense of work.
"Haha, it is nothing like that. This is just something I enjoyed doing as a young child.", I chuckled, finding her creative imagination humorous. "During ancient times, at least for us humans, people used to hold sculpting competitions quite frequently to display their artistic abilities. These competitions would sometimes use different mediums, like ice, snow, and wood, to further increase the difficulty for contestants. For those that did it recreationally though, sand and snow were the preferred choices because of abundance and affordability."
"I see, so this is just a recreational activity meant to stimulate the mind.", Nuelalla remarked, nodding her head in understanding.
While I could see how my daughter came to that conclusion, she completely overlooked the real reason for doing this. While it upset me a bit, I could not fault her for the misunderstanding. From birth, Nuelalla had been taught to look at things logically and never express emotions. We have made great progress in peeling back her defensive shell, but it looked like it was too soon for us to start building a father-daughter bond.
'This could also be a societal norm hardwired into her brain. Amallyn, Isha, and Lileath are anomalies when it comes to marriage and rearing children in a family household. Most Aeldari pair up to have kids, and only one parent raises the child.', I thought, looking at Nuelalla carefully. 'No, I am certain that is not it. Even though it is very abnormal, Nuelalla has always asserted both her parents were involved in her life. I need to try harder for her sake!'
Rinsing my hands off in the ocean, I gingerly patted Nuelalla on the head and praised her work. Suggesting we get started on the keep itself and worry about the finer details later, we began piling up wet sand in the middle of the work area. As we started carving out the castle from the large mound, an energetic Slaanesh came barreling down the pier.
"Oh Victor, what do you think of my amazing swimsuit?", Slaanesh inquired, shaking her breasts over exaggeratedly as she approached us. "Be honest, were you being truthful when you said this color looked good on me?"
Looking in her direction, the first thing that drew my attention was her inside-out top piece. Letting it slide, as she had never worn a bikini before, I took a moment to closely look her over. Fully recognizing Slaanesh was a drop-dead gorgeous woman, her terrible past overshadowed it completely. If she had been a benevolent deity, like Isha and Lileath, we might have had a chance as a couple. Since she had deeply scarred four of the most important women in my life, only a monumental miracle would put her on my radar.
'At this point, if I was forced to pick, I would choose Loki over Slaanesh in a heartbeat. Both are annoying as hell, but at least Loki has not harmed the ones I love.', I thought, giving Slaanesh a smile. "I knew royal purple would look good on you, but there is a slight issue. Your top piece is inside out."
"Ugh… I thought so, but I was not one hundred percent sure about it.", Slaanesh remarked, reaching back to untie it. "Could I maybe get your help with this, hehe?"
"You are more than capable of fixing it yourself, but I suppose I can help tie everything together. Last thing I want is for you to have a wardrobe malfunction.", I compromised, retrieving the sunblock from my inventory. "Here, you will want to put some of this on as well. Without any protection, your pale skin will quickly burn and start blistering. Believe me when I say, sunburn is no joke."
Walking up to me, Slaanesh took the bottle from my hand and quickly looked it over. Popping the lid off, the Chaos God went to take a swig of it when I was not looking. Noticing what she was about to do, Nuelalla quickly stepped in to stop her. Turning my attention to where my daughter was looking, my expression soured a bit.
"Are you seriously that stupid?! Read the damn label, woman!" I snapped, wondering if all her brain's nutrients were stolen by her breasts.
"You did not tell me to. How was I supposed to know?", Slaanesh spat back, inspecting the bottle closer. "It does not say how to use the… For topical use only. Seek medical attention if ingested…"
Flinging the bottle at me with an embarrassed expression, Slaanesh berated me for not being clearer from the get-go. Demanding compensation for this humiliation, she commanded me to apply the sunblock to her body. Rejecting the demand immediately, I offered to apply it solely to her back since she could not reach it. Agreeing nearly before I could finish the sentence, the Chaos God dropped her top and turned her back to me.
"I want to be crystal clear here. One moan or sexual noise from you, and your ass gets an express ticket to the middle of the ocean.", I said, adding some lotion to my hands. "I will not have you perverting my innocent daughter's mind with your filth."
"Jeez, Victor, you are taking all the fun out of this for me.", Slaanesh giggled, accepting my conditions. "Just so I know in advance, should I expect a cold or slimy- "
Pressing my palms to her back, Slaanesh released a high-pitched squeal as a cold chill shot up her spine. Leaping forward, she tripped over her own feet as she landed and faceplanted in the sand. Picking herself up in a hurry, Slaanesh began immediately apologizing to both of us.
"I swear, I did not make that noise on purpose! When you put those cold hands on my back, the scream just came out on its own.", Slaanesh asserted with a flushed face. "Please do not throw me out to sea. I cannot swim!"
"It is fine; calm down. What happened was a natural reaction, not a forced provocation.", I said, doing my utmost not to fall to the ground laughing. "Some people have extreme reactions when something cold touches their warm body."
Relieved I was not upset with her; Slaanesh walked back to me so I could finish applying the sunblock. Applying it evenly across her whole back, she fixed her top pieces and handed the strings back to me. Double knotting her top for extra protection, I was confident she would not have any mishaps.
"Alright, now that is out of the way, what the heck are you building? Maybe a scale model of the finished product, or are the enemies we are facing super small?", Slaanesh asked with a straight face.
"No, this is just a simple sculpture in the shape of a castle.", Nuelalla proudly explained.
"I see, so this is an artistic activity then. Victor, may I build something other than a fortress?", Slaanesh questioned, looking over our work thus far like a judge at a competition.
"Yes, but keep it age appropriate and clean for Nuelalla's sake.", I agreed, handing her a pail and trowel.
Graciously accepting the tools from me, Slaanesh wandered a few years from us and set about building up a five-and-a-half-foot pile of sand. Once the desired height was reached, she proceeded to compact it into a block and then began carving it meticulously. Leaving her to it, Nuelalla and I resumed building our sandcastle.
---3rd Person POV, Shopping Center---
Stepping off their shuttle, Angelica and company stood on the catwalk surveying the massive shopping center before them. As this was a resort world, everyone had anticipated finding only a few luxury and novelty stores here. Instead of that, they were staring out over a large island covered in a variety of businesses and shops. Uncertain where to begin their search, several women began to wander away.
"Olivia, there is a confectionary shop here!", Angelica proclaimed, pointing to a cute café a half mile from them. "We need to go check it out right away!"
"Holy shit, is that a gun shop I see over there!", Bo-Katan gasped, squinting her eyes to get a better look. "Aela, Samus, Roxanne… Let's go check it out!"
"This is completely different from the resort worlds I have vacationed on in the past. Those crappy destination worlds only had goofy gift shops and rundown convenience stores.", Samus remarked, following Aela, Bo-Katan, and Roxanne. "I do not want to even think about how much Victor paid for a two-week vacation here. All I can say is… I think we should express our gratitude to him appropriately."
"Oh, believe me, we have that covered.", the Lethan Twi'lek Binja giggled, looking back at her fellow newlyweds. "Right, ladies?"
Nodding their heads in near-perfect unison, the formerly enslaved women were eager to show Victor their unwavering love for him. As the first and only man to ever show them kindness and love, they felt honored to share his last name. Ready to take the next step with Victor, each of them silently hoped soon many tiny bundles of joy would fill their home.
"LADIES!!", Mylene shouted, wearing a disappointed look as she demanded their attention. "Where do all of you think you are going? Before you go off on your own, we need to support our fellow harem members by helping them purchase their first lingerie and nightgown."
Apologizing to Binja and the other women, the group began visually searching the waterfront for a lingerie shop. Finding only curio, shoe, and swimwear shops, Mylene took point and began walking into the shopping district. Checking the front windows of stores as they walked by, they continued down the main strip until Lucoa's patience ran out. Telling Mylene to stop for a moment, she marched up to a robotic worker who was sweeping the sidewalk.
"Excuse me, but where the fucking hell are the lingerie shops?!", Lucoa snarled, upset they did not have a guide or map to help them.
Sensing the hostility in her tone, the robot put down his broom and dustpan to give Lucoa his full attention. Politely requesting her to repeat her request, the pink Zeltron Eoffi stepped in to speak on Lucoa's behalf. Gesturing for others to pull the dragoness away, she apologized to the robot and politely stated her request.
"Could you please point us toward the nearest lingerie shop? We want to purchase a few items to commemorate our honeymoon.", Eoffi said, giving the machine a warm smile.
"Thank you very much for your assistance!", Olivia said, bowing her head respectfully.
Watching the women head down the street, the worker was about to resume cleaning when another voice called out to it. Turning back to see who it was this time, it was startled to find a small, spherical robot floating right in front of it. Immediately recognizing it was not a staff member, the worker attempted to run a deep scan of the machine.
Surprised to learn such a person existed, the worker pressed Cleare for additional information. Happy to oblige, she asked a few questions herself, trying to gauge the situation here. Chatting for several minutes, Cleare excused herself and went to catch up with her charges. Watching his fellow AI fly off, the worker decided to share this discovery with his fellow AIs.